Chapter 3: Everything I've Known

It has been a few days since living with the Heelers and my ship being taken by the Australian government. We all decided that to avoid being taken myself, I would stay inside the house and not go near any open windows. Chilli went to work while Bluey and Bingo went to school. That left me and Bandit at home, while he usually worked from his office. But being cooped up inside all day was starting to get unbearable and I found myself inside my mind a lot, just thinking about what to do and going home. It also seemed I wasn't the only one doing a lot of thinking, because I found Chilli spacing out too all day today. I was helping her prepare a stew for tonight's dinner, she and I were chopping up vegetables to put into it when she wasn't paying attention and accidentally nicked the tip of her finger with the knife.

"Ouch!" She yelped and held her finger. She looked at her finger and a small amount of blood started to come out of the wound.

"Chilli are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Shaun, it's just a little cut."

"Let me see it."

Chili put out her and I gently cleaned the blood with a paper towel, but when my hand went over the cut, it started glowing and soon, her small cut was completely healed like it was never there.

"Shaun? What did you just do?"

"I don't know, I've never done that before."

We finished cutting up vegetables and let them simmer on the stove to cook. Afterward, we walked into the living room to tell everyone what I had done. Bingo was sitting on a chair looking at her phone and Bandit and Amy were playing chess, with the help of Bluey, moving the pieces on the board for her.

"Guys! Amy! You won't believe what I can do!"

Everyone looked at me. "What did you do Shaun?" Bandit asked.

"I have healing powers now! Chilli cut her finger, and I healed it for her!"

"Whoa, that's cool! Can you do anything else?"

"I don't know Bingo, I just did it 5 minutes ago!"

Amy looked at me, annoyed. "What's the point of me fixing you and bringing you back to life if you were gonna just get your way of healing yourself?"

"I'm sorry Amy, how was I supposed to know this would happen? And, I doubt this would help bring me back to life if I died."

I got hit with more questions from the Heelers: what other powers do I have, how does it work, what can I heal with it, etc.

Bandit, however, was more worried about his wife. "Chilli, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Bandit, it was just a small cut, and Shaun healed me anyway."

He looked into her eyes for a moment, He knew his wife was careful and wouldn't accidentally hurt herself, unless...

"Chilli? Were you thinking about-"

Before Bandit could finish, the front door suddenly opened. "Sorry to barge in, but I figured I should return that baking tray you let me borrow Chilli…" Spoke a fluffy white dog, she had a piece of jewelry on her fur and a swirly tuff of hair on her head, but she stopped speaking when she saw me. She dropped the tray on the floor and was about to run out the door, but Chilli quickly ran up to her and stopped her from leaving while covering her mouth. The dog must've seen the news about my ship.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

She ignored her husband's question and focused on the white dog. "Wendy, I'm sure you've seen the news about an alien being around here. Well, I want you to meet Shaun. He's been staying with us for the past couple of days. I'm going to let you go. Do you promise not to say anything?"

Wendy looked at me and then went back to Chilli, where she gave her a nod and was let go.

She took a minute to recompose herself.

"I'm sorry about that everyone, it's just that I've, never seen an alien before."

I walked up to the white dog, "It's okay Wendy, I was kinda shocked too when I came here and saw a bunch of talking dogs."

"Do dogs not talk where you're from?"

"Nope, they just bark and only walk on four legs too."

"Hey Wendy, since you're here do you want to stick around for dinner? You can get to know Shaun more." Bandit asked.

She thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I can."

"Yeah, and Shaun gets to tell us another story about where he's from." Bingo said with a grin.

I helped set the table and get food for everyone, I took some time to fill in Wendy about my world and continued where I left off a few days ago.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Was all I could say, taking in the sight of people talking and working on other ships.

"If you think this place is cool, wait till you see the rest." A woman said to me in a Southern accent as she was walking up to me.

"You must be new here, taking account of your ship looking a bit worse for wear." She said, as a panel conveniently fell off my ship.

"Yeah, I am, my ghost says I'm to meet with the Vanguard."

"That would be right, the name's Amanda Holiday, by the way, the best mechanic the Last City has to offer." Amanda said with pride.

"It's nice to meet you, Amanda." I extend my hand for her to shake, and she accepts it. "My name is Shaun Havok."

"Pleasure to meet you Shaun, you should get going, by the looks of your ship it'll take at least the rest of the day and night to get her all fixed for you. By the way, just head out the left here into the Courtyard and go right, down some stairs, and you'll find the Vanguard."

"Thank you, Amanda!" I said as I made my out of the Loading Bay, when I entered the Courtyard, I heard someone yell out to me.

"Hey there mate!" someone called out in an Australian accent.

I turned my head to see another Guardian wearing bulky armor waving me down, however, he wasn't a human like me or Amanda.

"You're that new Guardian, I was told to show you around. The name's Bandit-3."

"I'm Shaun. Bandit-3 huh? What kind of name is that?"

"I'm an Exo, the number in my name is how many times I've been 'rebooted' but I can tell you more some other time, so come on, let me show you around." Bandit said waving his hand to tell me to follow him.

"Hold on a second, I'm in your world?" Bandit asked, shocked.

"Yeah, you are, I had no idea you were the same as mine until I heard your voice in that alley. You're in this too Bingo."

"Sweeet. I hope I'm a cool Guardian."

Bandit showed me around the other places in the Courtyard. The Postmaster, the Bounty Board, The three different faction leaders, the Weapon-smith Banshee-44, the Vault for storing things I find, Shaxx, and finally we stopped at an empty workspace."

"What's this space used for?"

"This is my workspace! When I'm not out blasting holes in Fallen or Hive, I'm set up here as the Armor-smith!"

"Hive?"

"Oh, um you'll meet them soon enough. The Vanguard is all down there so good luck! When your meeting is done stop on by, I can give you some better armor than… whatever you are wearing."

After leading me to Cayde's office and saying our goodbyes, I entered the room and had an… interesting conversation with the Exo. Afterwards, I made my way to Bandit's shop to get myself fitted with some better protection. I said hello to Bandit, and he led me to the back of his shop and into a room that was full of different kinds of Hunter armor.

"Take your time picking out your armor, gotta make sure you do some killing in style. Oh, and there's a changing room near the back." He said with a wink as he walked back to the front of his store.

Looking at all I had to choose from, I found some pieces I liked and walked toward the changing room Bandit had mentioned and put on my armor. After getting myself equipped I left the armor room and went back to join Bandit. He heard me approaching and looked at me to see what I picked out.

"Hey, looking snazzy mate!"

The armor I picked out for myself had a simple design of a wolf's head on the chest plate with a cape that had intentional rips on the bottom and the same wolf on it. I had a hood that connected to the cape and fur along the neck seam. My helmet was also wolf-themed, with it looking just like a wolf's skull with glowing red eyes. The armor also came with three knives that I put on the right side of my waist. Lastly, I wore some armored boots with a bow quiver on my left thigh, all in black and white with red accents.

"Thank you! Oh, how much money is this gonna cost?"

"Don't worry about the Glimmer, this one's on the house since you're a new Guardian."

"You sure? Well, thanks, Bandit. Also. Glimmer? Is that what money is now?"

"Yeah, it is, if you need some to buy something you can get some from selling something or looting it from chests and dead bodies. By the way, what are you going to do now?"

"Well I can't go anywhere until Amanda is finished working on my ship, why do you ask? Did you need something?"

"I was thinking about closing early today. I wanted to see if you'd want to come back to my place, I'll let you crash there until you have your own place to stay, plus, I'd like to hang out with my new friend."

"Um, yeah sure! I'd love to hang out!"

With that, me and Bandit left the courtyard and went down into the city, walking past all the children playing in the streets and people selling food and other items in stalls they put up, we made it to what looked like an apartment building and ascended the stairs and stood in front of the door to Bandit's room. He unlocked it and we stepped inside. On the wall, he had a big Austrian flag hanging above a flat-screen TV and bookshelves filled with old books and different dinosaur fossils.

"Wow, for how far technology has come, I would've thought your home wouldn't look so… ancient."

"What can I say, I like the aesthetic." Bandit said as he walked into his kitchen and came back with two cans of beer. "Care for a drink?"

"Thank you," I said as I took his offer and opened my can and took a sip. "Hey, wait, if you're a robot, how can you drink? Do you eat food?"

"Yeah, I can eat and drink, The process for digesting it is different than you humans but it's still kinda the same result."

"Hey Amy, can you eat food?"

Amy appeared in front of me. "Well considering I don't have a mouth, that would be a no. Did you really have to ask?"

"No, that was a joke, you really need to lighten up."

Amy rolled her eye.

"Hey there Amy, it's nice to meet you." Bandit said.

"I've been here the whole time, but it's nice to meet you too."

"Me there! My name's B1ng0. I'm Bandit-3's ghost." An orange ghost with a green eye appeared in front of them and spoke excitedly with a female Aussie accent.

"Aww, Biscuits." Bingo said, a little sad she was just a ghost.

"It's okay Bingo, I'm sure you are a good Ghost thing." Wendy reassured.

Me and Amy looked at each other. "That's an interesting name."

"She picked it out herself. Even though she's a ghost, I swear she acts like a human kid sometimes." Bandit chuckled.

"Oh, hush." B1ng0 said looking away from Bandit.

A few hours passed as me, Bandit, and our ghosts all got to know each other more. Eventually, me and Bandit were watching a recording on a VHS tape of a Cricket game he found in an old building.

"Oh, come on, how the hell is that LBW?" He said upset and threw his hand up.

I wasn't really following the game, so I decided to ask him a question.

"Hey Bandit? Do you remember anything about before you became a Guardian?"

"Oh um, most people don't remember who they were, but yeah I do but it's a little silly." He replied, surprised by my sudden question.

"Can I know what you remember?"

"Eh maybe some other time, it's getting late and I'm tired," he said getting up off the couch and turning off the TV.

"I didn't think Exos could get tired."

"Well, we do, we need sleep just like the rest of you. Why did you ask me that question, by the way? Something on your mind mate?"

"I'm just trying to remember who I was before I came back. I remember my name, but that's it."

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes, although some other guardians would rather not know."

"Hmm, I see." I replied as I let out a big yawn.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's tired. The couch is pretty comfy, I slept on it a few times when I was too tired to go into my bedroom. Get some rest, you are gonna need it tomorrow when the real fun of being a Guardian starts, sleep well." Bandit said as he walked off to his bedroom."

"You too." I said while I stretched my body across the couch and rested my head on the arm of it.

Staring at the ceiling, I felt my eyes get heavy and I quickly drifted asleep.

Everyone enjoyed the food Chilli and I made, we all chatted and Wendy got to know me better and wasn't as scared as she was earlier. She stood at the door about to leave. "Thank you for letting me stay and have dinner, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier Shaun. I guess all aliens aren't so bad."

"Thank you, Wendy, please don't tell anyone I'm here"

"Don't worry, I won't… Anymore" She joked and left the house.

(The next day.)

It was now Thursday, 6 AM. Chilli and the kids walked into the kitchen ready to start the day, but as they got closer to the kitchen, they smelled something cooking, they found me cooking breakfast for them. Just some simple eggs and bacon and Amy was helping me make sure it was cooked all the way.

"Shaun? What are you doing up at this time? You are usually still sleeping." Chilli asked me.

"Well, I did some thinking last night and I think I figured something out, but I wanted to wait until you all were up. Where's Bandit by the way?"

"He's sleeping in since he is working from home today."

"Aw man, I was hoping to show him now, but I guess I can still show you guys. Let me just get breakfast ready."

I finished cooking and set out plates for everyone. And saved a plate for Bandit when he woke up. We ate and I put all the dirty dishes into the sink.

"Okay Shaun, what's this you want to show us?" Said Bluey.

"Here I go." I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I felt the air around me shift so I knew what I thought would happen was working. I opened my eyes and looked down at my hands, instead of my normal 5-fingered hands they were replaced by 4-fingered hands and the rest of my body had fur and I even had a tail. I had become a dog just like the rest of them, except for one small problem.

"… You look like a kid." Bingo spoke.

"What?!" I yelled out, even my voice changed to sound like I was younger. I was slightly taller than Bingo, so I was probably around the same age as her.

"Maybe try changing into a different dog?" Chilli asked.

I did what she said and shape-shifted into her. But the problem still persisted and now I looked like her when she was a teen.

"Oh, come on!"

I then tried Bluey and Bingo, but it still wouldn't work right.

"Hey, who's little now?" Amy teased; she was having too much fun with this.

"I'm still bigger than you, you know."

"Look at it this way Shaun, at least you can leave the house without being caught." Chilli said, trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah… that's right! I'll be right back! Stay here, Amy." I said as I left the house.

Everyone looked at each other, confused. "What do you suppose that was about?" Bingo asked.

I remember Bandit talking about a library and I asked him for directions for where I was. I remembered them and took a brisk walk there. I entered the building and picked out some books then found a secluded part of the library and sat down to read. I picked out some history books and while I didn't know much about the history of my world before the Traveler showed up, I do know some stuff that my Bandit talked about. I found out most of the stuff lined up with events of my world, just anthropomorphic dogs replacing humans. I looked at some other books about stuff like art and music, I must've spent hours there because it was around the afternoon when I looked up at a nearby clock on the wall. However, when I checked the time, I noticed someone just sat down in the seat across from me, but she didn't look like a dog, if anything she resembled a coyote, I've seen a few of those when I was exploring old America. And I don't know why, something about the way her brown and tan fur looked. I found… attractive. I didn't even notice, but my tail was wagging.

The coyote must've not noticed me sitting here. Because she was wearing headphones and jumped a bit when she saw someone else at the table.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

She took her headphones off. "No, It's okay your fine. It's just that I'm usually the one who always sits here. Hey, you're from America, aren't you? I could tell by your accent."

I nodded, "Yeah, I am. And are you a coyote? I've seen a few in America."

"I am, I'm not from here. I moved here when I was a kid. What are you reading?"

"Just some history books."

"Oh, is it for some school project?"

"No, I uhh, don't go to school. I kinda just got here. Are you here for School?"

"I graduated a couple of years ago, I'm 20 now."

I looked into her green eyes as we talked. And I got that same feeling again. This time I did notice my tail wagging and I made a mental notice to talk to the Heelers about it.

"Hey, what's your name by the way?"

"I'm Millie, What's your name."

"I'm Shaun."

"Nice to meet you, Shaun, that's a nice name."

"I blushed slightly, and Millie let out a small chuckle but pretended not to notice. Seems me being a teen again is messing with my brain because I've never felt like this before, but it was a nice feeling though.

We continued talking and reading. I learned she went to the school Bingo and Bluey go to and I told her about me living with the Heelers. I didn't tell her I was really a human and 387 years old. I also had to tell a little lie about where I was from. I didn't like it. She seems like a really nice girl. Eventually, it was time for me to go home, I'm sure Amy and everyone else is worried about where I have been. We said our goodbyes and Millie said she hopes we meet again soon. I agreed and put the books back where I got them from and headed back home. When I opened the door. Amy flew right over to me, she looked angry.

"Shaun, where the hell have you been?!"

"Relax, I just went to the library to do some research, and no one knows about the real me." I reassured her.

Bandit was awake now and he heard me from the other room, so he came and greeted me. "What did you find out?"

"Well, a lot of the stuff I read lined up with what I know in my world, but I didn't see anything about there being humans in this world. Oh, I met someone, a Coyote."

Chilli was standing next to her husband. "Really?"

"Yeah, her name is Millie. She was… nice." My tail started wagging when I thought of her, and I grabbed it to stop it moving. But it was too late. Bluey and Bingo were hiding and came out when they saw.

"Ooooo, Shaun has a crushhhh." Bingo teased.

"What? No, I don't! And how long were you hiding anyway?"

"Since you opened the door, but that doesn't matter. You totally have the eyes for her! It's so obvious!" Bluey also teased.

"Oh yeah? What about you two?"

"I'm already dating someone."

"I did have a crush on a Border collie from primary school but he moved back to his home country."

"Okay girls, enough teasing, let him be."

"Sorry, Dad. Sorry, Shaun."

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay girls." I said as I changed back to human, I still had my clothes on. I wonder where they go when I change?

"Shaun, would you like to help me prepare dinner for tonight?"

"Yeah, sure Chilli."

Me, Chilli, and Amy all walked into the kitchen to make food for everyone.

Far away outside the city, in a place void of any dogs, is a secret military base hidden by several large trees. A jeep pulls up to the front gate and the guard posted outside presses a button to let the vehicle enter. The gates close behind, and the car drives up to a large door that automatically lifts. The jeep enters the building and parks right in front of a destroyed spaceship that is in the process of being dismantled. The dog driving stepped out of the vehicle. He was a white German Shepherd with blue eyes. He looked at the spacecraft, taking it all in.

"So, this is what they found.."

Two privates approached the dog, a female Doberman, and a male mastiff. They both saluted him at the same time.

"Sir! The captain has asked us to tell you that he wishes to speak with you as soon you have arrived."

"Very well, lead the way."

The two privates lead the white dog through the halls until they reach the captain's office. They saluted him again and left to continue with their duties. The German Shepherd opened the door and walked inside to see the Captain sitting at his desk, looking through files. He put the folder back into the desk and looked up. The dog saluted his superior.

"Good, you're here Corporal. Take a seat."

Corporal Shepherd nodded and sat down in one of the chairs by the desk

"I was looking over your file when you entered. There are lots of good things about you in it. I would like your help in tracking down this alien. This thing could be a threat not just to Queensland, but the whole country of Australia, possibly even the world."

"Yes sir, I understand, I'll get to work right away. I'll also have my command in New South Wales be on the lookout as well."

"Good work, the ship was found crashed not far outside of Brisbane, I'll have some dogs undercover patrolling the city. That was all, dismissed."

The Corporal stood up and saluted before walking towards the door to leave.

"Oh, and Adrian?"

"Yes sir?"

"Be safe out there."

"I will sir." He replied before walking out of the office.