Guardian looked around his surroundings and smiled, and the sight was something else. Above in the sky hung a large white round object, the Traveler. It was so large that it took up the sky in front of him, and below that lay a bustling, massive city surrounded by huge towering walls, and where he stood was the highest point of the walls, The Tower.
Around Guardian were other fellow guardians - some had odd skin tones, but as his Ghost explained, they were Awoken - and robots. Some of those robots were also guardians - Exo's, his Ghost called them - he was structure-wise in a large courtyard with multiple kiosks, a few towering objects, and numerous pathways to other areas.
"It's weird. How come no one is reacting to my arrival?" Guardian muttered, "I just show up, and you told them we were coming, but I..."
"Expected more fanfare? Shock? Awe? Someone to greet you? A surprise-" His Ghost, who gently floated in the air, asked before being cut off by Guardian.
"Yeah, one of those, also please, don't make it sound like I am so important," Guardian stated as he rubbed the back of his head, "Is it that common for guardians to show up and no one reacts to their arrival?"
"About as common as the guardian casualty rate for those that keep jumping off the tower," Guardian looked to his Ghost and stared at him with wide eyes, "That number keeps on going up," The following blink from Guardian had his Ghost laughing and then floating off in front of him.
"That's not an actual thing, is it?" Guardian remained at the top, staring down at his companion. When Ghost did not answer back, he could only further voice his concern as he began to hastily make his way down the stairs while grabbing onto the railing for dear life, "Please, tell me, that isn't a statistic!"
The following laugh served as the answer.
"Anyways, we should get to work, ready to head back to the cosmodrome?" His Ghost asked.
Guardian gave one more passing glance to his surroundings and nodded his head.
The two transmatted out of the tower a second later.
/.\./.\
Guardian's Ghost jubilantly hummed with his scanning; the jump ship they had used to get to the city buzzed with renewed life, "Alright, the new repairs are doing wonders for the ship, already back at the cosmodrome in less time than it took to get to the tower." His Ghost turned to look at him, "Still, we need to get that NLS drive from the cosmodrome; reports tell me there is a recently crashed jump ship; if it's intact enough, we can scavenge the part from it. If not, well." His Ghost drawled on.
Guardian furrowed his brow at his companion, "Well, what?"
"Well, I hope you don't mind being stuck to only Earth activities for a while."
Guardian bit down on his lip and stared at his Ghost for a solid minute before relaxing into the back of his seat, "Well, I don't think that is going to happen."
His Ghost turned its attention to the console of the ship and worked its magic plotting a course for the cosmodrome, "Alright, setting a course for the cosmodrome, partner- er, pal, uh." His Ghost corrected itself before swiftly asking, "Have you decided on a name yet? It doesn't feel polite to call you partner, pal, or Guardian all the time; you're a person after all."
Watching his Ghost turn around, Guardian shrugged his shoulders, "Well, no? Nothing is coming to mind."
"So, you haven't even looked at the list of names provided by the Vanguard?" His Ghost curiously asked.
"No, I read all of them; it's just nothing fit."
His Ghost turned its shell as its eyes wandered to the floor of the jump ship, "Oh," It spoke with a dumbfounded tone, "Well, in that case, we're just going to have to find something to work with."
"What about you? Have you chosen a name yet?" Guardian asked.
"What? Me? No, why would I?" His Ghost answered back, flabbergasted.
"You're a person after all," Guardian smiled at his use of the repurposed line; when his Ghost looked back to him, he couldn't help but chuckle at the way it floated there, its singular eye squinting, or looking like it was - It was hard to tell if it was the shell or not -
"Really?" His Ghost asked with a deadpan tone.
"Yep, and to make it easier for you, I picked up a few good names for you. Wanna hear them?"
His Ghost reluctantly sighed, "Sure."
"Lightbulb."
"No."
"Hammer."
"No."
"Zavala."
"I don't think he'd appreciate that."
"Gold."
"Pass."
"Widget."
"Taken."
"Spur."
"No."
"Garfield."
"That's the name of a fat cat, from golden age comics and which surprisingly still exists today. But I revived you yesterday; how do you know this?"
"I looked it up when you weren't paying attention, and also, it feels fitting for a name."
"Do I look like I eat lasagna and hate Monday? Also, you could've been looking at more important things!"
"How about Garfiel?"
"No, refer to my prior statement on the name, Garfield."
"Hmmm, I got one more, wanna hear?"
"Hit me."
"Emilia."
"Amelia?"
Guardian shook his head at his companion and corrected him, "No, Emilia."
"Yeah, Amelia, that's a name on the list for new guardians." Ghost rotated his shell and blankly stared at him.
Guardian furrowed his brow and frowned deeply at his Ghost, "No, Emilia." he let out a sigh right after.
His Ghost rotated its shell and bobbed in the air as if processing what he was saying, "Are- are you spelling it different?"
Guardian nodded his head, "Yes." His shoulders relaxed as he leaned his head back against the leather of his seat.
"Why?"
"I dunno, It just came to mind when I saw Amelia." Guardian craned his head to the side and uncomfortably scratched at it before rolling his shoulders.
"Okaaaaay." Guardians Ghost spoke with unease.
"That a yes for Emilia?"
"No."
An awkward silence fell for the next hour, only broken by the jump ship making a beeping noise from one of the consoles, "Well, we're back." Guardians Ghost announced.
"That fast?"
"I told you that having Holiday fix it up a little bit would cut the time in half. Now, let's get back to work."
Guardian watched as the scenery of the ship's consoles disappeared from his eyes while the blue sky bright sun immediately replaced it and blinded him with its radiance.
"Ow, my eyes! Warn me next time." Guardian blocked his vision with his right arm as his vision slowly adjusted. A second later, he was fine and looked up to his companion, who floated on his right.
"You'll get used to it. Anyways I'll mark the position of the ship." Ghost stated before disappearing from view.
Guardian watched as a grey marker blipped onto his HUD; the distance was remarkably close. Guardian's eyes trailed along the path forward. It was just ahead. Guardian moved out with a sprint, his legs carrying him to his destination with the occasional use of his flight. It hadn't even taken more than five minutes to arrive at the ship, though at the back of his mind, something gnawed at him.
Where were the Fallen? They were all over him last time.
The jump ship was damaged beyond belief, burned, damaged, swanned dived straight into the ground. Guardian looked to his Ghost, which scanned the wreckage and frowned, his train of thought ruined. But with a bit of imagination, Guardian could see how it looked prior, undamaged blues and yellows, bright and fresh, a sparkle that anyone would notice- "Hmm, Fallen scavenged the ship, took the drive we need too. Avionics are catatonic. But I can cull the pilot's last transmission for information." Guardian watched his Ghost continue to scan away at the ship, "Looks like they got an information hub back up before they left; it's in the tunnels below." Guardian watched as his Ghost turned towards him, "Shouldn't be hard to find a way in."
The two set off from their current position and wandered to a nearby access point, heading down the stairs into the green illuminated tunnels. Guardian couldn't help but tighten his grip on the railing, he hadn't seen a single fallen yet, and that bothered him. The next room held nothing but the source of the illumination; running up to the console below the screen, his Ghost would scan the console, "It's a map of the whole cosmodrome, useful for what we need to find."
"Where's the nearest drive?" Guardian shifted his gaze to his radar, swearing he saw it go red.
Guardian's Ghost scanned the console, "Hmm, well, you may or may not like this, but there is one where we got our ship."
A flash of red popped on the radar from behind, "So backtracking? How did you even miss that?" Guardian turned his head over his shoulder and looked back from where they came, his hands slowly reaching for his Khvostov as he slowly faced the direction weapon drawn.
"We were under attack, didn't have enough time to do a thorough look around."
A familiar cry echoed from the tunnel and into the room; Guardian raised his weapon and aimed it down the entrance as his radar remained red, "Right, well, we got company."
"Right, I'm disappearing." Guardian's Ghost stated before disappearing from view.
Three dregs sprinted into the room, and Guardian gunned them down without a second of hesitation. The bullets ripped them apart, with ether flowing out from them. Guardian then vaulted over the blown-out window and rushed into the tunnel, the sound of his rifle drowning out the fallen that met him in his rush.
Guardian slid between a group of four fallen, dropping a void grenade that went off a second later, ripping the fallen apart, turning them a brilliant, vibrant purple that faded into nothing. Guardian pivoted himself up and flew up the stairs, turning his weapon onto a fallen captain and dregs. The sustained fire from his gun dropped the shields on the captain while his own absorbed the arc rounds from the dregs closing the distance. Guardian slammed his fist into the captain, hitting him with a load of void energy that sent the captain staggering back into a crate before quickly unloading the remaining magazine into the captain's face, ending him then and there.
A dreg let out a guttural cry and charged at Guardian from behind, quickly turning around and pushing himself back up into the air reloading his weapon before opening fire on the fallen dumb enough to have charged him. The two remaining fallen were quickly put down by Guardian as he landed on the ground.
Quickly looking around, Guardian surveyed his surroundings. His shoulders tense, finger resting on the trigger before relaxing as he stood up straight and placed his weapon back on his back. "Well, certainly should've expected that from the Fallen," His Ghost chimed in over comms, "We should start making our way to the location before the Fallen hit us in big waves."
"Yeah," Guardian watched the waypoint appear on his HUD, immediately moved into a sprint, and combined it with his flight allowing him to quickly ascend through the cosmodrome before landing and repeating the process and then moving through a collapsed building.
Ghost voice buzzed over comm's, "Scanning for the warp drive, uh oh!"
"What?"
"The Fallen have their hands on it."
"Well, let's get it back."
As soon as he rounded the next corner, Guardian found themselves in the room where they had gained their jump ship. There was also a group of Fallen that had decided to get in his way. Immediately, his hand outstretched, and a ball of void energy hurled itself between five of the Fallen, detonating a moment later and vaporizing three in the process. Guardian took to the air, letting the remaining foes' retaliatory shots slam into his shields. The blue arc energy fizzled and crackled as he brought out his rifle once more, leveling it on a Vandel and firing a short burst into its chest.
The Vandel staggered back, and Guardian quickly descended onto him, letting his weight crush his foe. He promptly dodged a spear a Dreg swung at him before point-blank firing rounds at its face-
Guardian flew across the room, shields blaring out as a sensation of dizziness overtook him. A loud booming series of growls and grunts filled his ears. Slowly Guardian pulled himself up from the ground; as soon as he did, he saw a familiar massive figure.
Glowing red lens mounted on a horned helmet bore down at him, a red cape with fur lining hung from its shoulders, three of its four hands clenched into fists while the fourth held a large four barrelled rifle nearly long enough to be a person. It spoke in its booming alien voice as the remaining three Fallen flanked its sides.
"Oh no."
"Uh, buddy, It's that big Fallen again!"
"Yeah, I forgot to mention before, but that's the Archon."
"W-what- You need to inform me of these things!" Guardian reached behind him and pulled out his shotgun as he sized up his foe, who returned the same look.
"Just focus on shooting!"
"You don't need to tell me twice," Guardian stated as he then charged his foe.
The cosmodrome filled with the echoes of gunfire and explosions; metal screeched and collapsed.
Guardian let out a huff as he placed a foot on the chest of the Archon; he leveled his rifle at its head, shattered helmet exposing the Archon blue eyes that stared into the depth of his being with pure hate. Guardian pulled the trigger, and the round lodged itself into the head of the defeated foe.
Stumbling back and falling onto his ass, Guardian let out a sigh of relief. He relaxed his head back and closed his eyes before looking at the carnage around him: holes, craters, steel beams, and floors shattered, with corpses strewn about the room. That wasn't even including the trail of corpses leading into this room.
"That could've gone better." Ghost stated as it popped into existence right beside him as it awed at the carnage before turning to look at him, "I mean, at least your renovation skills aren't terrible."
Guardian cocked his head to the side, "My what?"
His Ghost chuckled, "Don't worry about it," It turned its attention back to the carnage, "Anyway, we should head back and see if that drive is intact."
Guardian let out a groan and collapsed back onto the steel floor.
"Look on the bright side; you killed an Archon, which is gonna disrupt the command structure of the Fallen here."
/.\./.\
Guardian slammed the warp drive onto the table and slid it forwards towards a blonde woman in a green jumpsuit with goggles and a red bandana around her neck. This woman was the towers head mechanic. "How long?" Guardian stepped back and rolled his shoulders, letting them pop. Despite the small silver slender frame of the NLS drive, it was far heavier than it looked.
Holiday leaned forward to inspect the drive, gloved hands delicately running along the drive and lifting small segments. After a few minutes of inspection, Holiday smiled at Guardian, "Well, with the condition it's in, it'll at best take five hours tops."
Guardian smiled at the news, "That's great!"
Holiday chuckled before shaking her head, "But you're going to have to wait a bit until I get some of these other ships done." She briefly looked over her shoulder to the hangar below. Frames and staff worked upon many jump ships in various states of disrepair; Holiday then turned her head back to Guardian, "So a week at most."
Guardian frowned as a loud thud could be heard from the hangar below, "Maybe more," Holiday quickly added. Guardian groaned and rubbed his temple as he closed his eyes and thought for a moment; obviously, this wait time wouldn't do.
Guardian had to do something. He couldn't wait a week. After all, he was a Guardian and a new one, which meant he needed all the experience he could quickly get. His brain fired off synapses one after another as it clicked in his head. Opening his eyes and promptly snapping his fingers, Guardian looked to Holiday with a shit-eating grin, "I see; well, you don't think you could make some room and speed things up?"
"What?" Holiday asked in evident confusion.
Guardians grin only grew, as did his enthusiasm. "You see, I had to kill a lot of Fallen to get this, and I ended up fighting an Archon in the process. So you know I went through a lot of trouble to get this drive. Plus, I mean, I did end up killing an Archon, which means I am pretty good at my job. So imagine what I can do elsewhere off-planet?" He watched as Holiday looked at him for a moment, bluntly staring at him as her brows furrowed.
Holiday needed more than that, and so Guardian would continue his boast. "Think about it, with my evident skill, I could easily become a legend, and who would I thank but you. The one that fixed up my ship and allowed me to crusade against the enemies of the city. Heck, with my skill, I could easily be the next Saint-14." He made a boastful gesture to himself, and with that shit-eating grin, he hoped that his words would touch Holiday.
Guardian watched Holiday's expression, noting how her lips frowned for a moment. Her eyes glanced to something behind him and then looked back at him. She spoke with an unsure tone, "I'll see what I can do, but you mind moving along? There's a line starting to form behind you."
"Huh? Oh! Sure! And thanks, you're the best!" Guardian smiled at Holiday and gave her thumbs up before quickly turning around and sprinting out, but not without feeling a strange sensation on his back as if someone was staring him down.
Guardian made his way to the Tower courtyard, leaning on the railing and looking to the city below. The city stretched outwards as far as the eye could see, and with the sun's setting, the pop of the lights down below became more prominent. The illuminated streets with vehicles moving almost looked like the veins within a body transporting blood from up above.
Leaning more on the rail, Guardian continued to observe and stare at the beauty that was The Last City. His eyes slowly shifted downwards to spot the buildings right below the tower, their lights shining bright and surprisingly getting brighter. Almost too bright- Wait, no, that wasn't the case! Instead, it was that he was falling towards them! Guardian panicked as he looked around, seeing the utter freefall he was in, and attempt to use his flight-based ability only resulted in delaying the inevitable.
Guardian's last few moments of sight were filled with the ground hurtling towards him, and a wet splat filled his head.
Guardian's thoughts had been sour, confused, panicked as he woke up in a place he couldn't quite describe. At one moment, it felt like an infinite black void, then a ghostly version of the landscape he had died around, then it felt like he was looking directly through his Ghost. Guardian began to contemplate his death by taking a seat on the ground in what felt like an infinitely shifting environment. He had never died before, being somehow fortunate not to have been killed within his first day or so of being a Guardian. Upon his first few hours of being alive, he killed his way through a horde of fallen to get a ship, came back to the said area to obtain a drive for his ship, and murdering some big important Fallen, did it all without dying. Everything seemed to be going well, but then he somehow screwed it up and ended up dying in the most humiliating way possible by falling over the railing.
Guardian was ripped from his thoughts as he found himself transmating onto the floor of the courtyard, landing on his feet. His hands went away at touching his body, checking to see if he was missing anything.
Approaching footsteps drew his attention away from his own body, though just as he turned to gaze at the approaching figure, he found himself flying upwards- no, that wasn't right. His body was still there, stumbling back and slumping against the railing while he continued to fly upwards. His head separated from his shoulders, sent flying up high, and then rapidly coming back down as darkness consumed his vision. Then unlike before, he was alive near-instantly, confused, panicked, falling to the ground on all four.
Two.
Guardian heard his Ghost speak briefly, only for his vision to blacken into darkness as the front of his skull caved in from the force of whatever him. Still barely alive, he let out a pained scream which was soon silenced as a force applied to the back of his head, crushing the remaining unbroken bones and silencing him.
Three
The next time Guardian revived, his screams continued and as he turned towards his attacker, only catching the briefest glimpse of their purple visor as his chest cavity collapsed under the brutal force of their foot.
Four
Once more, the revival process commenced, and Guardian was quickly put down, again and again, and again. His eyes were taken out in one case, with his legs smashed, sending him falling face forward to the floor as his opponent's boot crushed his skull. In another, he found his heart being ripped right out of his chest, his eyes locked in horror as a purple armored arm had impaled his chest and quickly pulled out his heart.
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. The deaths blended, the numbers meaningless. With vision blurry from the constant reviving and the blood rushing through him. The sounds distorted in his head. Guardian could swear he heard and saw other people around him, but his focus only fell to his Ghost and opponent, who had turned their back on him. Seizing the opportunity, he pushed himself up off the floor and charged at the distracted foe, screaming his lungs out. Guardian felt the backhand of his opponent slamming right into his face. Immediately his nose snapped with blood running from it, the bones in his face gave out once more, shattering, caving inwards as the force of the backhand once more separated his head from his neck.
The evening sky faded as pitch blackness took over his sight.
Once more, Guardian rose from the dead, this time with clear vision and view of a metal ceiling and bright artificial light. Sitting up straight on the couch he found himself on, Guardian scanned his eyes around a familiar room. Above him were two red banners with the symbol of a two-headed bird holding two swords in each talon, ornaments, and large animal skulls. To his immediate right was a small table with books stacked on each other; mustering his strength, Guardian got off the couch and stumbled forward towards the middle of the room.
"Ah, Guardian, your awake!" A booming voice quickly caught Guardians attention. Turning his head to the left, he saw a far taller man approaching him. The man in question was wearing armor plating with a portion of the left half painted orange, a thick line separating it from the white part, the same for his helmet, which possessed a horn that curled back and then upon the right, and lacked one on the left.
Guardian squinted at the man as he tilted his head to the side as he curiously asked, "Who are you?"
The man threw his head back in a boisterous laugh; Shaxx offered out his hand to Guardian. "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Lord Shaxx. Head of the crucible."
Guardian stared at the hand and then looked at Shaxx's helm, "Ah, the crucible," Guardian returned Shaxx's gesture only to let out a soft hiss as Shaxx's grip was practically crushing his hand, "I don't know what that is."
Shaxx released his hand slowly moved along the left, while Guardian shook his hand, watching Shaxx, "Right, you were resurrected yesterday. Well, the crucible is where Guardians exercise their skills and train in live fire situations, working in fireteams. Win or lose, you've tested your skills." Shaxx now stood in front of the small table.
Guardian shook his hand and flexed it as his eyes looked to Shaxx, head nodding as he understood what he meant, "Ah, thanks, that makes sense." A place to train their skills, he definitely could use that to his advantage.
Shaxx let out a laugh and pressed his fists into his sides before approaching Guardian again, "Remember this though, Guardian. Guardians can also settle their differences within the crucible," Shaxx's left hand then fell on Guardian's left shoulder, gripping it with that same amount of strength, "Remember that." His tone held a stern seriousness to it as he leaned forward, bringing that helm closer to Guardian's face before pulling back and patting Guardian on the right shoulder, breaking it with a slight crunch.
Guardia flinched and hissed as the grip on his shoulder increased, "What-" He barely managed to get a word out as Shaxx quickly answered.
"She's outside waiting for you. Don't keep her waiting." Shaxx let go of Guardian, wandering back to his post. Guardian would stare at the man for a minute before turning around.
Guardian rubbed his left shoulder, groaning as his bones popped, stitching back together due to the help of his Ghost using his light to heal it. Slowly he headed away from the Crucible handler and up the stairs to a slightly more empty courtyard, "Hey, you!" A voice called out to him, catching his attention; looking to the left, he spotted a woman leaning against one of the many pillars in the courtyard, taller than him gesturing for him to come over.
Guardian looked the woman up and down, noting the centurion helm, the horizontal purple visor the metal chest plate dented and pocketed with damage while then accented by a line of purple throughout its frame, those large spiked metal pauldrons. Guardian had to admit. This woman looked like a tank.
"So, you're up. Little shit like you should've stayed dead." The Female Guardian uncrossed their arms and stood up straight, though the blank dead-eyed look Guardian gave to her caused an annoyed groan to come out, "Don't give me that; you know what you did."
"Take a look at my gear," Flippantly gesturing to their gear with a deep sigh, "Remind you of anyone? I mean, you seem to have done your 'research,' so you should know who I based my gear off of, Guardian."
Guardian gave the woman a confused look, his brain trying to piece together what she meant, only for the woman to let out a disgusted groan, "SAINT FOURTEEN! You moron!" The woman pushed off the pillar, grabbing Guardian by the shoulders lifting him into the air as she let out a low growl.
Guardian gripped at her arms, gritting his teeth and squinting as he feared for another brutal end, though his foe didn't; instead, her hands released around his shoulders. He dropped to the ground on his ass as the woman returned to her prior position, arms crossed below her chest.
As Guardian picked himself up, the woman would continue to speak in a spiteful, hateful tone, "You went ahead and used his good name for your advantage, and I can't stand that. It is tarnishing his good name, his legacy to this city." Her general gaze never left him, as Guardian looked to her legs, almost sure she was about to kick him with enough force to send his head flying from his shoulders.
It never came, and Guardian awkwardly looked at the woman, managing to find the words to speak, "Alright, well… What do want me to do about it? It's not exactly like I can travel back in time and stop myself from doing that."
An amused laugh from the woman caught Guardian off guard, and he stepped back, flinching, though when nothing came, he took a more hesitant stance, "You can do one thing for me, enter the crucible and prove your worth. Back up your talk and put a bullet in my head. Show me that you are what you say you are, but then again, what can you do? I brutally beat you into a pulp around all those other Guardians, and you screamed like a bitch." "You're more helpless than the Fallen. At least those guys can put up a fight."
A momentary pause fell between the two as the woman once more returned to her position. "What's your name anyway?" The woman sighed and shook her head when no answer came, "Don't have one, just my luck. Can't even come up with a real insulting nickname for you."
Guardian restated the question towards the woman, "What's your name?"
The woman scoffed, arms crossed as her right foot now pressed up against the pillar, "Nivá Jadvina, or Nivá-7." The disgust in her voice was layered thick on her words.
"Seven?" Guardian tilted his head in confusion
Nivá's aggression faded into a more neutral and relaxed tone; a sigh escaped from her. "Amount of times I reset."
Guardian nodded his head and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh, okay. Reset. Neat. Wait, resets?"
Though Guardian couldn't see it, he felt Nivá's eyes scowling at him, "Yeah, I'm an Exo and-" She paused for a minute before shaking her head, changing the topic. "Anyways, prove it, meet me in the crucible." She pushed off the pillar approaching Guardian and pushing a finger into his chest, as his Ghost materialized right between them, "I'll forward the data to your Ghost on where, when, and what the match is, don't keep me waiting."
Guardian glanced to his companion once the woman turned around and walked off, disappearing with the telltale signs of a transmat; his Ghost floated up to eye level, floating there quietly, "Why didn't you stop them sooner?" His tone sour as his brows narrowed at his floating friend, "I was getting my ass handed to me!"
His Ghost front half spun clockwise, the back counterclockwise, "I was trying."
Guardian scowled his companion, staring down the Ghost as it shrank back, "Really? It didn't look like it." He spat.
"I was trying, please, trust me! I just was trying to figure out the best way of doing it, and you really shouldn't have charged her. I was almost close that time, so please, trust me!"
Guardian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmly exhaled from his nose before looking up to his partner and neutrally stating, "Fine, I will trust you. After all, we're stuck together. It isn't like you can just replace me?" He attempted to push an uneasy smile on his face, only for the momentary pause to make his skin crawl. His Ghost simply floated their shell, rotating as its blinking blue eye stared back at him.
Ghost finally answered, "If I could, I wouldn't. You're my partner, and we are in this together. From our darkest times to our greatest moments, I will be here, with you." It spoke in a lively manner before adding, "Anyways, thanks for trusting me, partner. I promise I won't let you down."
/.\./.\
Only twenty-four hours later, and Guardian was quietly sitting within his jump ship, the rumbling of its descent signaling the end of his flight. His Ghost, on the other hand, was floating around, "Be prepared partner, it's you and her, one on one."
Guardian let out a sigh, resting his left hand on his forehead and leaning into it, "I know."
"One on one, hold the capture point or play merry go around and keep her guessing, partner!"
"I know…" A hostile groan escaped from his lips as the fingers on his right hand restlessly tapped at the arms of the chair.
"There's no way you can win in a head-on fight, so don't do-" Ghost attempted to go on only for the fed-up Guardian to burst out.
"I KNOW!" Snapped Guardian as he leaned back and rubbed his temples, fingers digging into his head, the silence that followed quickly broken by the beeping of the ship's console. Quickly Guardian grabbed his helmet, slipped it on, and prepared himself for whatever was to come.
Guardian quickly asserted his footing and glanced around at his surrounding, "So this is where we are fighting? I expected something more… Clean." Decayed ruins that reached up into the sky looming over, large metal containers rusted over by the passing of time created pathways through broken concrete and shattered floors. His HUD lit up with three points, A, B, C, and the voice of Shaxx blared into his ears not a moment later.
"WELCOME TO CONTROL GUARDIAN! I WILL BE YOUR ANNOUNCER AND OVERSEER FOR THIS MATCH!" Guardian cringed at the booming energetic voice of Shaxx, "Here you will fight to control three points; the more points under your control, the more points you get. The more points kill give. Now, get going and get those points!" Guardian's body moved into action, taking the center path forward through the crates moving through the artificial underpass created by the overhanging crates; puddles rippled as he headed for the B point, intent on capturing it first before making an overly aggressive push for C.
Running into an open circular courtyard overgrown with lush vegetation that covered the rust hulls of cars, Guardian headed for B, which rested at the center where a large stump stood. Guardian halted and watched as the greyed-out B on his HUD began to be encircled by a blue line, slowly filling up-. The sudden red bar on his HUD flashed, Guardian turned his right, and swiftly the world spun and darkened.
Guardian found himself reviving at where he landed, quickly re-orienting himself as the B icon didn't begin to gain a red encirclement. His eyes flashed quickly to his radar, which flashed red, and the rapid footsteps became louder. Leveling his rifle on the middle pathway, he spotted the outline of her figure and pulled down on the trigger, spraying a shower of bullets in that direction only for his foe, Nivá, to slide across the ground just as quickly as he pulled the trigger.
Unable to adjust or keep up, Guardian was kicked off his feet, falling to his side, but just as quickly, Nivá was sending a void-crackling fist crashing down into his face. Nothing splattered out from his head. Instead, his body was enveloped by the void energy hitting him with an overwhelming burning sensation as he cried out, only for his voice to be silenced in mere milliseconds as the energy erased him.
The next time Guardian revived, he found himself within a different portion of the arena, a more lowered down area with stairs that led up to left and right. He was on one of the outer pathways of the arena. His eyes briefly glanced over his hud. The closest point, A, was captured, and the enemy score at two now hit three. Not even three minutes in, and he was already losing.
Cursing and taking the left path up and through a winding hallway, he found himself coming back into the courtyard, his eyes catching a brief glimpse of red on the bottom right of his radar. Taking flight, he landed next to the courtyard's center, turning around and facing where he came from; Instead of taking a shot with his rifle, he channeled his void energy into the palm of his left hand and held it.
The void energy began to grow and grow in intensity before flashing one final time for a full charged up void grenade.
As soon as Nivá rounded the corner and went to slide, he chucked the grenade forward, letting arch and land at her feet. Still, just as it landed, she bolted up into the air crackling with blue arcs of lightning before defying all logic and suddenly changing direction mid-air and coming at him like a missile.
Guardian didn't have time to backpedal or float away; instead, the crashing human missile slammed into his chest, hitting him eradicating his body. Reviving on the opposite end, near C, he would curse and think out his following action. Neither of his prior attacks worked. Nivá also didn't hold back in her aggression. She was on the attack, briefly, though. He noticed B being captured as he glanced to the top of his HUD. He had a small window of opportunity to move around, perhaps heading around the sides and capturing back A-
Ripped from his thoughts, Guardian dashed off to his left, heading through a hallway and up a flight of stairs into what seemed like a small platform for people to gather in, with benches and seats. Collapsed rubble let in natural light from above while also blocking whatever view this small area may have had.
Guardian didn't stop to admire or think upon his surroundings, though. No, he raced by this location, only giving it a brief glimpse for a reminder of where he was. As he descended into the narrow pathways of this outer ring, only to find as he reached the end and rounded out into his starting location that the racking of a shotgun came in from his right. As quickly as he heard it, he felt the shell's pellets shredding him to pieces.
Death embraced Guardian again as his exasperation grew. The next time he spawned, he gritted his teeth and growled from frustration. Guardian briefly glanced at his HUD, seeing that Nivá was up by a total of eight points. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let her win! A small part in the back of his brain nagged at him words of wisdom, told him to admit defeat and give up, back down and save face. But he couldn't. What type of Guardian, a hero! Would he be if he admitted defeat to his opponent? Admitted defeat to her.
No, he must-
Guardian found the fist of Nivá slamming into his face once, sending him staggering back before she grabbed his legs from under him, holding them as she slammed her boot into his face. Dead once more, this time by his mind, distracted long enough for Nivá to find him and close the distance before landing the kill.
The Titan's brutality knew no limits with him, and Guardian rose elsewhere in the arena he could partially wonder for that brief second if she was even capable of being caught off guard. She also had a strategy at play.
Full assault, she didn't let up, and if she did, it was to capture a point. Yet C remained uncaptured.
Going on the move once more, Guardian would do his best to keep his mind clear and concise- Guardian felt nothing, his legs didn't move anything below his waist did not respond. For a brief second, he could look over his shoulder barely and see his lower end attached to his him, and Nivá behind him driving her fist straight into his spine, severing it.
Guardian on his next revival took a minute to process the events, his teeth gritting as he forgot to check his HUD, only for the next corner to be rounded and Nivá to be at the other end. The Titan quickly jumped into the air, enrapturing herself in an aura of void energy which channeled into a shield made of it on her right arm.
Guardian backpedaled and did the same, channeling it into a void bomb, lifting back into the air as he launched it forward. Just as he did, Nivá dropped from the air and landed on the ground dodging the void bomb as it soared overhead, crashing into the wall and detonating. Guardian felt his back slamming into the upper part of a wall and came floating down, his rifle in hand as he sprayed bullets only for Nivá to block them with her shield before she spun around and tossed the thing at him.
With his back pressed against the wall, Guardian couldn't dodge and let out a cry as the shield sliced through him, separating his waist from his legs and the overwhelming void energy atomizing in the following seconds.
On the next life, Guardian ran through the narrow pathways, shotgun in hand, his eyes snapping to his motion tracker, watching as a segment lit up red just as he rounded a corner, face to face with the visor of his foe as they crashed into him with a lethal force. His body smacked into the wall, and his chest cavity collapsed as void energy crackled along his chest.
Guardian had been thrust into a never-ending cycle of death and revival. Dead once more, Guardian respawned and attempted to take the nearest point only for the ever viscous Nivá-7 to hunt him down, pin him to the ground, and slammed her boot into his head. He couldn't escape from it, he revived again and merely had a few seconds to rush to A, but the sound of a rocket from behind and the following detonation next to him ended his current life.
Again, and again. Time blended with each death, losing track of where and when he was for the briefest time.
Guardian revived for one more time panting from mental exhaustion, his face soaked in sweat as he pulled out his shotgun, not even glancing at his hud. He took in his surrounding quickly. He was back where he originally came in at the beginning of the match; Nivá could only come in from three directions, maybe if he- no, no. That wouldn't do, that wouldn't work! Instead of looking to his radar, he trusted his instincts; he listened calmed his breathing. He heard it. He listened to the rushing of footsteps drawing closer and closer and closer. The grip on his shotgun tightened as he spun right, his eyes landing on Nivá, who took the air, keeping it aimed and trained on her as she had her shotgun aimed at him.
Things slowed down, time coming to crawl as Guardian began to pull lightly on the trigger. It was said that in moments of such intensity, a fighter would see the world come to a crawl with seconds becoming minutes. Guardian kept faithful to his aim, waiting to bring the full brunt of his pointer finger on his trigger, as Nivá descended on him, she too biding her time. Guardian needed to wait, but also be quicker, wait and be quicker till- He pulled the trigger and hit dead center on Nivá, nothing from the rounds missed as the Titan went flying back into the ground.
Guardian stepped back, shocked, his eyes blinking as he realized his accomplishment. A sense of joy overwhelmed him, but at the same time, the voice of Shaxx washed over comms, "That's a wrap, you've been beaten, Guardian, but now you can learn from it." Guardian's eyes flashed to the scoreboard displayed at the top of his HUD, his own a fat zero while Nivá.
Nivá had a total of one hundred points. Matchpoint, score met. Game over.
Guardian dropped to his knees, his weapon falling to his side as he stared at the ground, not even paying mind to the rezzing Nivá, whose corpse rose where it fell. Walking up to him, Guardian could only look up briefly seeing the now exposed onyx black mechanical face of Nivá. Those glowing purple eyes stared down at him as she wore a look of pity.
Nivá spoke no words before turning around, helmet in hand, fading away as she transmatted out of the arena. Left alone, Guardian fell onto his back and simply closed his eyes.
He was a failure.
/.\./.\
The Speaker always enjoyed a stroll through the tower at late hours, when the activity had died down when Guardians and lightless alike went to rest while those more suited for these hours became active. But in recent times, things have changed. He glanced to a lightless vanguard member resting on a chair, rubbing his temples with a scowl on their face, eyes sunken with black bags beneath. The faintest of curse words reached the Speaker's ears.
The Speaker knew the man, had even shared a drink in secret with him. Seeing the man he shared a drink with like this did not sit well, but he could do nothing. At times it was better to let people work through their issues than anything else; that wasn't to say, abandoning them, a sprinkle of guidance here and there never hurt.
Moving through the wide halls, The Speaker recalled a time when there was less than foreboding energy in the night when he could look up to the stars and feel a sense of wonder. It seemed easy to defend the city, its people, and the Traveler back then. But tragedy after tragedy struck, and people found hope dying. Sure they had survived and made do with what they could, but it always came at a cost. So many met permanent ends, but by the skin of their teeth, here they were, alive.
The Speaker mused silently to himself, wondering if Saint-14, the legendary Titan he called his son was right. That there was a Guardian out there that would bring an end to the looming Darkness, the same Guardian he looked up to and showed him a city that thrived. The Speaker couldn't help but wonder if his son had gone a little mad, but alas, Saint was always adamant about it. It was a shame that he couldn't be here now.
Entering the central courtyard of the Tower, The Speaker hummed softly to himself as he strode down the flight of stairs, his attention taken away by sudden cursing, "Damn it!" His head snapped to the right, and he noticed a young man with black hair leaning over the railing, his Ghost floating next to him. Saying nothing, the Speaker eavesdropped on their conversation.
The Ghost shell spun as it spoke, "Hey, it's okay. You didn't win but so what?" it made the most adorable of gestures, moving to and fro in an attempt to emphasize its own words.
The young man scoffed to his Ghost, "She was right. I'm nothing but talk. All bark, no bite to it." His tone deflated. It was right then and there. The Speaker recognized the young man; he had heard about the incident two days ago. Two Guardians were getting into a 'scuffle', initially, he had planned to console the new light intent on giving him a guiding hand, but by then, other issues had popped up. After being informed by Lord Shaxx of the new lights impending crucible match, he had simply wished for the best.
It was evident that had not happened.
The Ghost gently moved closer to its partner, nudging the side of his head, "Hey, don't say that-"
"NO!" The young man snapped towards his companion, sending the Ghost reeling back in shock, "We got lucky! I realize it now; we were lucky! That's all. We were incredibly lucky, and, and..."
The Ghost remained stunned for a brief moment before floating closer, "Hey, hey, it's alright. We all make mistakes."
The new light shook his head and sighed, his tone sour, "How can I face anyone after being so humiliated? How am I supposed to amount to anything if all my skill was just luck?" The young man made flippant gestures with his hands before slamming them down on the metal railing.
"I."
"Well, go on. I'm waiting for an answer." The young man's head glanced to his companion, "Say something."
"Maybe I should've sat you down and got you fully adjusted to the situation before heading out to go get that drive. Maybe, let you see some crucible matches beforehand or participate in a few. It's a bit of my fault for not thinking ahead."
"Yeah, well… we're fucked. Rock bottom." The young man hung his head low and gripped the railing tightly
"Well, if you know the saying, the only way to go is up." The shell of The Young man's Ghost spun as it floated closer. The
"Up, huh? I wish I could." The young man let out a defeated sigh, shaking his head. Seeing this, The Speaker could no longer idly sit by and watch.
The Speaker took a step forward and spoke softly, "Guardian," His hands remained at his sides as he patiently observed.
"Huh?" The young man turned his head back toward The Speaker, a confused look in his eyes.
The Speaker spoke in his soft tone, remaining stationary, "You look troubled." He made a small gesture to the young man himself, and he noted now that he was up close that this Guardian was very young, at least past his eighteenth birthday. Someone so young was raised as a Guardian. It wasn't shocking but sad; it wasn't uncommon to find such young light bearers back before the city age.
Confusion bled into falsehood as the young man put on a smile, a chuckle, his nasty eyes staring at the "It's nothing, don't worry about it civilian! I am in tip-top shape!" Turning around rather quickly and standing straight with his fists pressed into his side as he pushed out his chest in a show of bravado. Reminiscent of Shaxx.
The Ghost looked to his Guardian with surprise, attempting to speak up, "Partner-"
The young man ignored his Ghost, raising his right hand pushing the ghost back, "After all, your immortal protector of the city is at your service."
The Ghost floated back against that hand, speaking a tad louder, "Partner, that's the-"
The young man removed his hand from his Ghost and made a small open palm gesture with both his hand, shaking his head with a chuckle, "So, there is no need to worry about me in the slightest."
The Ghost shoved back the hand, "Partner, can you please-"
The young man pushed his partner away, stepping closer to The Speaker, "So why not run along and-"
The Ghost snapped and shouted from behind, silencing his Guardian, "PARTNER!"
The young man quickly swung his head to his floating companion, "What!"
"That's the speaker!" The Ghost said with a sigh.
The bravado of the young man had fallen into confusion, his nasty eyes staring at his floating partner intently; one word escaped his lips, "Huh?"
As the young man looked between him and his Ghost, the Speaker watched an amused sensation running through him, "Who?"
"He speaks for the Traveler!" The Ghost's exasperation was enhanced by the way it tilted forward.
The Speaker internally chuckled as the young man's face contorted, nose scrunching up, brows furrowed, then the realization hit in, "OH!, Oh!" The young man's face paled, those nasty eyes wide as he began to chuckle, and just quickly as he had turned prior, he fell to all fours, bowing before him, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me! I didn't mean to insult you!" Though the young man tried to hide it, those faint words were still picked up by the Speakers ears, "Please don't kick my ass."
The Speaker barely held back the laughter as he lifted the boy off the floor, dusting off his armor, "It's quite alright, New Light. I didn't expect you to know who I am. Though, I will say that your reaction was quite entertaining." Stepping back, he gestured up the stairs, "I wish to talk to you, follow me."
The young man headed on past him. The Speaker then followed suit, picking up the pace a little bit, so he was side by side with the boy, "Tell me, Guardian, how has your stay here at the tower been?" He questioned softly.
The young man gave him a solemn look briefly before staring on ahead, sighing, "I don't know, okay? I mean, I haven't been anywhere else in the city, so I don't think I have a point of reference…." The two passed a few nightshift workers, "But, I don't think it's genuine save for that, Banshee guy. He's nice enough. Everyone else gives me stares."
"What about the vanguard leaders, Shaxx, Holiday? Surely they have been just as kind to you?" The Speaker asked with a curious tone.
"I haven't talked to them that much, Holiday… I don't think. Shaxx he, I am not sure what to think," The young man paused for a moment stopping in his tracks as he stared at the ground, "Cayde, Ikora, and Zavala, I… I haven't had the chance to talk to them, and they are busy after all."
"Mmm," The Speaker let out as both he and the Guardian began to move once more, passing by a few solemn faces and the faintest of chatter. Which caused the young man to look towards the source briefly, only spotting sullen faces and grimaces, "How about something else then, perhaps some words of wisdom from this old man? Or a question."
The young man did not answer immediately. Only when they entered The Speakers tower did he finally answer, "Go ahead, I don't think it will help." The Speaker nodded his head moved to the center of the room where the railing and projector were.
The Speaker gestured over the guard railing and projector, "Tell me, what do you see down there?" He watched as the young man walked over next to him.
The Guardian's nasty eyes narrowed as he leaned on the railing and hummed to himself, "A city? A beautiful one compared to what I fought in the crucible." His head turned back to the Speaker with a brow raised.
"And, the people?" The Speaker stood calmly, hands clasped together.
The Guardian's nose scrunched as his eyes shifted in confusion, "Uh, not sure what you're talking about."
"Look closer, Guardian, tell me what you see."
The young man leaned further over the railing, a huff escaping from his lips as he spent a solid minute staring out at the city before leaning back, "Still don't know what you are talking about." He looked to the Speaker and crossed his arms,
"What did the faces of the lightless men and women look like to you? The ones you have seen."
"I don't-"
The Speaker raised his hand, quieting the light bearer, "Just think."
The young man gave pause and quietly looked around, his furrowed brows shifting and relaxing after a moment. His head gave one more glance before he looked back to the Speaker, "They were sad, depressed, tired. They looked scared." The young man paused before asking, "Are the people down there scared?" He gestured to the city.
The Speaker gave an affirmative nod, "The children are afraid, the people worried, once there was humming and cheering in the air, and now there is nothing. The Traveler remains as it always has, looming over and protecting us even in death, through you, your Ghost." The Speaker turned back to the young man gesturing to him and his Ghost, "So there should not be an issue, but there is. The people can tell that the Darkness is creeping back in, settling in before waiting to strike."
"What does it have to do with me?"
The Speaker answered kindly, as he always did, and approached the new light, "You are a Guardian, chosen by the Traveler through the Ghosts to wield its light as a weapon. It is your duty to ensure the safety of the people. You must never give in; we all make mistakes, Guardian."
"Yeah, I don't know if I can-"
The Speaker firmly grasped the Guardian's right shoulder, "You have much to learn. Mistakes are merely part of life. We all make them," With his free hand, he made a sweeping gesture to those outside of his tower, to Guardians and lightless, "But it is from those mistakes that we learn and grow to better ourselves." The Speaker released the young man's shoulder, turning around as he headed for the balcony, leaning onto the railing and watching the city below, "So, you must grow from those mistakes, Guardian, and become a light for others to follow and lead to a better tomorrow." The Speaker glanced over his shoulder, sighing as he noticed the young man had left, leaving him alone. His head turned back to the Traveler and beyond, to the night sky holding stars, "Or, we are all doomed."
Author's Note:
And that's all for now, and I will say this chapter made me try fucking hardest when it comes to a good fight scene, and before anyone asks. The crucible arena isn't one from the games; it's one I made up. Unimportant, don't think about it. Also, of importance, Guardian is being given a bit of a reality check here, much like Subaru in canon during arc 3 with his beating from Julius. You might wonder if this is quite sudden? I answer with, this Guardian Subaru is nothing more than the most distilled parts of Subaru, both good and bad, and we know how much of a big head he can get in canon.
Because he is also a Guardian and his Ghost was singing some praises about him, and well him taking down an archon, it was quickly going to his head, also not sorry for not writing an archon fight in any great detail. It was either the crucible fight or him beating up a 'space pope.'
The Speaker is a fucking joy to write for; I really liked just writing this wise man who speaks for the trees, I mean the Traveler. In the next chapter, you guys can expect our story to go back and focus on the Emilia camp and their struggles and where that will lead. Hopefully, though, when we come back to our dear Guardian, he will be in a better place also.
Also, for those interested, I made a discord server, so I don't need to make updates on space battles, probably still will as not everyone has discord, so I don't make update chapters on AO3 and FFN. Anyways here it is. DHZGARjwna Just use this bit on discord to join.