Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ghost, after years and years of searching, finally decides to investigate the Cosmodrome.

It’s a desolate place, where Fallen are known to lurk and scavenge, but he must search.

His Guardian is somewhere around here, they’ve got to be.

An anomaly on his scanner draws his attention.

“Is it possible?” He asks, applying more energy to his newest scan.

“There you are!”

“Guardian? Guardian! Eyes up, Guardian!”

“It worked…You’re alive!”

Something floats in front of her face, and it seems to be talking to her.

“You don’t know how long I’ve been looking for you.” He’s right. She doesn’t know.

“I’m a Ghost. Actually, now I’m your Ghost. And you… Well you’ve been dead a long time. So, you’re going to see a lot of things you won’t understand.”

The wave of new information takes a while to process. She’s been dead for…who knows how long, and at this point in time there are many differences from what there were.

But…what things are supposed to be familiar to begin with?

A distant roar reaches her ears and her…Ghost looks spooked.

“This is Fallen territory. We aren’t safe here,” he floats around, getting farther away from her, “I have to get you to the City.”

“Hold still.” He zooms to her face and vanishes. She looks around, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

“Don’t worry, I’m still with you,” he says, sounding like he’s in her…did she always have a helmet on her head?

“We have to move, fast.”

That’s enough of a motivation for her. With another few roars in the distance, she takes off at a sprint, looking around for anything that could attack her.

“Get inside the wall. We’ll be safe there,” he says, and she heads for the only doorway in sight.

From what sounds to be right behind her, a guttural noise reaches her ears, and she only runs faster.

She clears the doorway and continues through. The walls are chipped and metal rusted, and debris covers the ground.

Inside it’s dark.

“Ok, I need to find you a weapon…before the Fallen find us.”

She continues, looking for anything. A metal bar, maybe.

“Quiet.” She stops moving, “they’re right above us.”

The tapping and banging of metal, and various growls and snarls, goes right over her head.

Just where the hell is she?

They come into a pitch black cavern, and her Ghost flies off.

“Hang tight. The Fallen thrive in the dark, we won’t. We need more light. I’ll see what I can do,” and with that he disappears from sight.

She looks around and sees, in the darkness, a shutter. Ghost says something, but the words do not hold her interest, and it seems he’s talking to himself anyway.

The shutter opens at the same moment the lights come on, and on one of the nearby walkways she sees a squad of Fallen running in the direction she’s going to go.

“They’re coming for us!” The Ghost whizzes past her face and heads through the now accessible pathway.

For a brief moment she considers just waiting and letting the Fallen kill her. Let her stay dead, as she was not too long ago.

“Here! I found a rifle. Grab it!”

The thought passes, and she rushes to grab the weapon. Holding it feels like second nature. Maybe in her old life she used them a lot. Was she a fighter?

They proceed through the derelict structure quietly.

“Watch for motion on your tracker,” he whispers, drawing attention to the radar hovering in the upper left corner of her vision, on the HUD.

There’s a bit of red at the top, in the way she’s facing, but nothing is in front of her.

Until she rounds the corner.

A creature with four arms jumps out form a bit of the wall and starts shooting at her.

Instinct tells her to shoot back.

The creature drops, and another one is peeking around the corner up ahead.

“That’s a Vandal. Second smallest of their species,” he informs as she stares at the body.

“But we have to keep moving. We need to find a ship and get out of here, before they all converge on our location,” Ghost says, and she takes off again.

Another one drops from the ceiling above her.

Some instinctual reflex causes her to drop her gun and swing her right hand at the enemy.

A purple light shoots from her hand and instantly kills the Fallen.

What was that?

She stares at her hand in confusion, then tries the motion again.

Nothing.

Another try, this time thinking she wants to attack.

The light happens again.

“That’s your Light, the power you were gifted with, and the power that will help you do great things.”

Cryptic, yet also interesting.

She keeps moving.

A whole group try to jump her when she continues through, and her fear of death perseveres. She completely runs past them and across the catwalk, weaving slightly to dodge their shots.

Thankfully they don't follow, but now she's alone again...in an old structure that's teeming with creatures that want her dead. She continues through the corridors, eyes constantly looking at her tracker. No way does she want another one jumping out from the walls and getting the jump on her.

A whole room opens up before her, well lit, and the second she’s through the door, many more Fallen pour in and drop from the ceiling.

Nope.

Again she dodges them, and sustains many more shots, but she finds another exit and follows it, bypassing a lone Vandal who’s still heading in.

Now she's in some tunnel, with huge fans at either end, rusted and broken. But a bit further down she sees a door with a dim light overhead. Hey, it looks more appealing than the room full of murderous creatures, so she runs over and heads through.

Instantly she emerges on the other side of the wall, with the sky - now darkened with the onset of night - overhead.

“This was an old Cosmodrome. There’s got to be something we can fly out here,” Ghost says, popping out momentarily to do a scan.

She looks around, taking in the scenery. Something feels familiar about it, but nothing indicates that it should be.

Maybe something in her old life.

A flare goes off ahead of her, accompanied by howls and hoots, then a great boom goes off in the sky.

“Incoming!”

She begins running, following the tracker on her radar. It says to go forwards, so forwards she goes.

“Fallen ships, this close to the surface?” Ghost muses, and her eyes look up to the ships flying over her head. Her pace slows as she watches, but then one hovers incredibly close to the ground where she treads..

“Move!”

So she runs faster. The Fallen fire at her, but she dodges and weaves. She was brought back to life, and she is not about to die again.

Finally, after what felt like ages, she enters a building, and the Fallen don’t follow.

“I’m picking up signs of an old jumpship. Could be out ticket out of here.”

Well at least they’re getting somewhere, and she does want to see this City the Ghost mentioned earlier.

She pauses for breath, doubling over a bit and getting her bearings. This building is also old, and she's beginning to suspect that there's nothing new out here, just a graveyard for infrastructure...and for her not too long ago. They continue through the building, and at least this one has lighting on, letting her see the debris and avoid falling on her face. 

Shelves still holding boxes line the walls, though none look to be in a good condition, and a few weeds grow through the ground, determined to survive even with all odds against them.

What happened to this place?

They round a corner and instantly are under fire. She ducks for safety, then sticks her head out and aims her rifle around the corner. With each shot, they drop, heads blown from their shoulders.

Careful not to dirty her boots, she steps around the corpses and heads into the next room, where a ship is suspended by wires.

A team of Fallen patrol the area, and none of them have noticed her yet. But, they’re in her way, and she wants them removed.

Turning around, she picks up a shotgun that one of the Fallen dropped, and cocks it.

Fallen give screeches as she runs out, and she fires at them as they pass.

Click.

Time to reload. She hides behind a pillar and pulls out the extra bullets.

A Fallen jumps out at her while she’s still reloading, and she draws her right arm up in panic.

The burst of light throws it backwards, and it’s clearly sustained injuries from the hit, but it still stands.

Gun now reloaded, she cocks it and takes a shot at the weakened enemy. It staggers back, and gives a pained howl.

Another shot.

With a final anguished cry, it drops to the ground. The rest of the Fallen flee, giving final shots in a pathetic attempt to keep her away.

Ghost pops out once the area is clear.

“Alright, let me see if I can get us out of here.”

He floats up to the ship and begins scanning it, hovering around it.

“Its been here a while. Hasn’t made a jump in centuries. We’re lucky the fallen haven’t completely picked it clean.”

Will it fly? It's all she needs confirmed. 

Ghost looks at her confidently. Apparently he can read her mind. “I can make it work.”

He fizzles out of sight, and instantly the ship’s engines are whirring to life. It sounds broken, but the longer the engines run, the better it sounds. The metal cables holding it up detach one-by-one, until it’s hovering all on its own.

“Okay…it’s not going to break orbit, but It might just get us to the city,” Ghost says, sounding like he’s inside the ship. He probably is.

“Now about that transmat…” as he speaks, a deep rumble comes from behind her. She turns, and sees glowing orange eyes getting closer and closer from the hole in the wall. She backs up.

An enormous Fallen emerges, and roars at her.

“Bringing you in,” Ghost says in a panic, and the next thing she knows, she’s inside the cockpit.

The ship ascends on its own, probably Ghost’s piloting, and emerges from the old building.

“We can come back for them when you’re ready. Let’s get you home.”

Chapter Text

Not that she wants to complain, but the long flight is a bit boring.

She’s not flying – she honestly doesn’t trust herself, not knowing the controls – so there’s not much to do.

At least Ghost has been answering a few of her questions.

Which is how she knows the basics of what life is like for people.

She is an Awoken, a branch of humanity who had fled Earth at the end of the Golden Age. Ghost explained it, but she’s already processing the fact that she’s blue that not much else is going through her.

“Just past these mountains is the Last City. Sorry that your first view is just clouds, it’s usually amazing from back here,” Ghost says, pulling her from her thoughts.

She looks around for any break in the clouds to give her something – anything – to navigate by. How high she is, the terrain. Hell, the time of day or night.

Then, as though some divine being hears her thoughts, they break through the last of the clouds and…

Wow.

It’s breathtaking.

City lights twinkle, some in and some out of focus. Ships fly around, some higher and some lower than her. A huge wall encases the City, with towers rising up from sections. The ships seem to go to those a lot.

But the most amazing of it all is the white moon-like sphere floating over the City. It looks slightly damaged at the bottom, but other than that it seems unmarked.

“That, Guardian, is the Traveler, and this-“ they fly up to one of the towers- “is the Tower. Well, it’s one of them, but this one holds the Vanguard.”

The ship flies up to a balcony and hovers for a few moments.

One second she’s looking through the cockpit window, and the next she’s standing on the balcony.

Teleportation. Interesting.

“Come on, let’s go meet the Vanguard. They’ll be able to help you get on your feet,” Ghost says, popping up next to her head and guiding her.

She takes in the sights and sounds around her as she walks. A few people spare a glance, and one offers a friendly wave that she doesn’t return out of shyness. Most don’t even glance her way, too busy with their own agendas.

She descends a flight of stairs and is nearly instantly deafened by a man screaming at someone.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH CHEATING IN MY ARENAS? I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES, GUARDIAN! DON’T ARGUE WITH ME!”

She’s almost scared to go around the corner, but Ghost nudges her shoulder and heads in the direction of the yelling.

“It’s only Lord Shaxx. He trains the Guardians to fight, and runs the Crucible matches where they can test their skill and improve. He’s…very passionate about his work,” Ghost says, and it calms her slightly.

So she takes a calming breath and then heads through.

A large man in orange, white and navy blue armour is not what she’s expecting. His helmet is missing a horn, which only serves to make him seem more terrifying. The only thing helping her not outright fear him is the fact that his hostility is not directed at her. She’s new to all this, and doesn’t think she yet deserves the anger of a large and heavily armoured man.

Up ahead, down a few steps, she can see a long table with a few people standing around it.

She descends the steps and the woman on the right, wearing a purple robe, turns to her.

“Welcome to the tower, Guardian. My name is Ikora Rey,” the woman greets. “I’m sure you have many questions, and I will do my best to help you.”

All she gives in response is a nod, stepping closer.

At the far end of the table is a heavily armoured man. He is blue, an Awoken, and looks to be in deep concentration. To her left stands another…robot. Exo, Ghost called them. Humans who had their minds transferred into robotic bodies. It’s still a bit confusing.

He’s talking with someone, a woman with light pink hair. She’s leaning on the table, her face hidden from view, but her voice can be heard. It’s a friendly tone, joking with the Exo, and something in her chest hurts at it.

It makes her long for something, but she doesn’t know what.

“It’s alright if you can’t think of any questions right away. I would imagine this is a lot to take in. Take a bit of time, familiarise yourself with the world, and then return. I’ll happily answer your questions,” Ikora says, tone kind yet still formal.

From the corner of her eye, she sees the woman on her left stand up, give a pat on the Exo’s shoulder, and walk back out. She’s an Awoken.

“Thank you,” she says to Ikora. Her first words. Her throat feels a little strained, but she imagines a long time being dead will do that to you.

Ikora smiles and turns away slightly. A clear yet inoffensive dismissal.

So she gives a final look around and then heads back out.

The Awoken woman from earlier is standing next to Lord…the large and intimidating man, but she doesn’t seem afraid. She seems pretty comfortable in his presence.

“-punched her because what she said was downright intolerable,” the woman says to the man, and she hears snippets.

“Well I don’t blame her. If someone said that to me, I’d give them a lot more than a simple right hook. The way I see it, you’ve got-“ the man is still speaking, but she’s walked out of hearing range.

She steps out into the night and instantly heads over to the balcony.

The view is just incredible.

Yet, within a minute, she’s restless. She itches to do something, anything.

“How about we go and see Amanda Holliday and see if we can get our ship fixed up,” Ghost helpfully offers.

A good idea.

Off they go, and when she approaches the shipwright she sees her ship behind her being worked on.

“Dunno where ya found this junk, but we’re fixin’ it up for ya. Just like new,” the woman says, “though you’re missing a warp drive, and we just so happen to not have any in stock.”

Amanda looks apologetic, but she suspects not much sympathy is there. What’s one new Guardian without a warp drive when she’s got to also deal with more serious issues?

“Well, we can always go back to the Cosmodrome and search. I’d bet those Fallen will have one,” Ghost says as she walks away from Amanda.

A great idea, except her ship is out of commission for now, meaning she’ll have to wait.

--

Four hours of waiting later, Ghost says their ship is repaired and good to go. Four hours of sitting in a tree in the plaza doing absolutely nothing but people watching.

“Let’s go get a warp drive,” it says, and she nods in agreement, standing on the thick branch and stretching.

So Ghost summons their ship, which definitely looks significantly better than it did on their arrival, and teleports them to the cockpit.

“Oh, I just remembered. While we headed to Amanda, Ikora’s Ghost sent you a gift. They look like new robes, better than the ones I gave you when I found you. Want to try them on?” Ghost says.

She looks down at her current clothes and sees that Ghost is right. They aren’t exactly made for combat.

“Sure,” she finally replies, and the robe changes from its plain brown into a rich blue.

It still looks and feels the same, but just by changing the colour it already feels more efficient.

“Your clothing and gear are manufactured in such a way that they can be infused with your Light, thereby increasing their durability and power.” They begin to fly away from the City as Ghost begins explaining more.

“You keep talking about my Light. What is it and how do I use it? Sounds important,” she says, interrupting Ghost during his explanation of different benefits of Light infusion.

Ghost looks almost baffled for a second.

“Your Light is…it’s the very power that brought you back to life. It now runs through you, and can be used offensively or defensively in combat. I, as your Ghost, act as a channel between you and the Traveler. If you die, I can call upon your Light to resurrect you, but if I get destroyed, then you become mortal again.”

“So I’m currently immortal?”

“Essentially, yes. Though there is a point when you’re beyond the point of saving. Certain places exist where not even me being there will bring you back, such as the Vault of Glass,” Ghost replies.

The terrain outside changes, from mountains to forest to water to snow. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when they departed, but now it's sinking beneath it again. What a long flight.

In the distance an old coloniser ship, still docked, comes into view.

“Well, here we are. We’re heading to the transmat zone, and can begin looking from there."

--

Luckily for her – but unluckily for the poor soul – there’s a crashed jumpship not too far from where she stands.

The smoke is still trickling up from the crash site.

She heads over, not excited to find a potentially dead person in the cockpit.

“The Guardian’s deserted. They’re nowhere in the area,” Ghost says, and all the nervousness bleeds from her.

They approach the fairly banged up ship – it’s clear this was an unsanctioned landing, what with how it’s half-buried…and has a huge hole blown through it.

Ghost pops into existence and immediately scans the ship.

“The ship’s avionics are catatonic, but I can cull their last transmission.”

The tuning of a radio nearly deafens her over her headset, and none of it is intelligible, but Ghost seems unfazed.

“Huh. They managed to restore an information hub in the tunnels below us. We should check it out, could provide some useful insight.”

She follows obediently.

Fallen block their way, but with her newfound knowledge of her Light, added onto what she reflexively did back when she was previously in the Cosmodrome, clearing them out is a piece of cake. She shoots purple Light from her right hand, and the Fallen who aren’t killed scatter. They howl and screech at her, but she just fires warning shots and continues down into the tunnels.

They don’t go far, but one room is illuminated blue.

Safe bet it’s that room she needs. It’s empty when she enters, though she doesn’t miss the huge hole in the wall, and keeps an eye on it when she passes by.

Ghost zooms ahead and hacks into the hub.

“A map of the entire area,” he says in awe as the map lights up brighter.

From the hole in the wall, she sees lots of glowing eyes. The growling follows immediately behind.

“Time to go,” she says, lunging over a low barrier and physically ripping Ghost out of the air and clutching him to her chest as she runs back out.

Fallen spill from the hole and shoot as she passes them.

Could she take them? Of course, but Ghost was exposed, and she remembers him saying that if he dies, she’s mortal.

“While you’re running, we need to head back to where we found our ship. It’s the most likely place for us to find a warp drive,” he says, slightly muffled by her tunic.

She emerges on the surface, the sky now darkened and the moon shining overhead.

The Fallen no longer stand vigil in the doorway, which means heading to her next destination is much easier.

“I’ve just scanned for a warp drive,” Ghost says, not sounding thrilled.

Why he didn’t just scan in the first place? Maybe he needed the hub.

“And?”

“Bad news. The Fallen already have it.”

Of course they do.

She enters the building and heads through, following the tracker. At the top of a flight of stairs she stops. There’s something in the air making her neck hairs stand on end.

There’s something big and dangerous here.

Ghost gives her a final look before disappearing from sight.

“I hope you’re ready for this. We could always come back,” he says reassuringly.

“No. We’re here, and I can handle it,” she replies.

She quashes the anxiety and reloads her weapons. Best to be fully prepared before charging in.

Deep breath.

Quietly she descends the stairs and peeks around the corner. Only a few Fallen are visible, and she’s seen them all before.

So, with all the confidence of a new immortal, she charges in and shoots them all dead.

That wasn’t so b–

A deep roar echoes around her, making the neck hairs rise again. This is what put her on edge.

From the hole in the opposite wall, she sees orange eyes get closer and closer, until the Fallen emerges.

He’s huge.

He leaps from the wall and slams on the ground, the shockwave throwing small items away.

“Oh mercy,” she whispers, frozen in shock.

The huge Fallen looks at her and points his gun, and only then does she snap back into focus.

He fires at the exact moment she lunges out of the way.

When she finally ducks for cover, three of those bullets have already hit her. Red hot pain courses through her, and she presses her hand against her right hip, where it hurts the most. Deep breaths.

I can handle it.

She checks her gun and reloads it.

With another moment to gather her determination, she darts back out and opens fire.

The Fallen is clearly affected, but he doesn’t drop that quickly.

Hide. Reload. Fire.

Hide. Reload. Fire.

Repeat.

“Is he even getting injured?” She complains, seeing that she’s beginning to run low on bullets.

“He is. You’ve got this, Guardian,” Ghost encourages.

Reload.

She peeks out again, ready to fire, only to find him standing right outside her cover.

She screams and, in panic, drops her gun.

The Fallen laughs menacingly and enters the doorway, crouching to do so. She backs up, failing to realise that there’s an escape route to her left.

Well, time to die.

He walks closer menacingly, his gun pointed right at her. By now he stands only a few metres from her, and the wall is now at her back.

She begins to slip out of focus, not wanting to be mentally present when he finally shoots her dead, but the sensation of cold seeping up her right arm drags her back.

Her arm feels freezing, like she’s submerged it in icy water. She rubs her fingers together, still staring down the barrel of the alien gun, and finds there’s no feeling in them.

But something tells her to fling this cold at the enemy before her.

Well, worth a shot.

In a last ditch effort to save her life, she flings her right arm, as though to throw a ball, and watches in detached intrigue as a purple orb hurtles the few metres through the air, slamming into the Fallen’s chest.

He howls and cries in agony, but his gun is not pointing at her.

She dropped her rifle, but she still has a shotgun. So, not wanting to waste an opportunity, she aims and fires.

And again.

And again.

And again, until it clicks.

Reload.

The purple orb is gone, and she goes to fire again, but the Fallen just slumps to the ground and disintegrates.

From one of his four hands falls a device, and she picks it up.

Ghost pops out.

“You just killed an Archon,” he says in awe, then looks at what’s in her hands, “and we got a warp drive!”

Archons must be something important, with how Ghost said the title.

“This could cripple the Fallen. Guardian, we need to see the Speaker.”

Chapter Text

The Speaker’s speech is probably one that’s meant to draw out someone’s sense of duty, but it only makes her feel dread for the future.

Of course she is resurrected in the middle of an intergalactic war. She would expect nothing less.

Thankfully she’s free to leave the observatory, but now she needs to find a place to sleep. Ikora said she could ask questions, she remembers. So with a destination, she heads off.

Guardians are almost flooding the plaza, unlike when she was last here, and some of them are doing strange things. Maybe it’s because it’s morning, and more of them are awake.

Three are dancing on the balcony rails, all laughing at their outrageous moves. Another one is standing with them but on the ground, also laughing. Two more are kicking a purple ball around. Many others are just milling around or talking to each other.

She passes by and heads down the stairs leading to the vanguards.

As she passes Lord…she still doesn’t remember his name, she sees the pink haired woman sitting on his desk. Both are staring intently at the monitor before them, talking quietly to each other.

As she walks by, she can almost swear they look at her, but she’s too nervous to turn and find out, so she ignores the sensation and keeps going, heading for her Vanguard.

“Welcome, Warlock. How may I help you?”

“Do you have anywhere I can stay?” She shifts on her feet a bit, nervousness pooling in her belly. Ikora looks pretty busy all the time, and she hates to pull her from her work.

“Ah yes,” Ikora turns away from her, “Cayde.” The Exo looks up from the huge map on the table, his expression perfectly capturing the expression ‘caught off guard’.

“Yeah?” He sounds casual, but she sees his eyes flicking around, as though trying to figure out if he’s in trouble or not.

“I asked you yesterday to arrange for some new quarters to be set up. Have you done that for me?” Ikora asks, and Cayde stands up perfectly straight.

“I did, yes, uh the Guardian I got, just…” he looks around. A quick side glance to Ikora shows that the woman isn’t believing word he says.

“But it’s alright though, I did arrange for- GUARDIAN!” His eyes cast to his right and his whole face perks up.

Both Warlocks turn their heads to the entryway, where the pink haired woman from earlier is walking.

“As I was saying, Ikora,” Cayde’s confidence seems to return, no longer floundering for excuses, “I got another Guardian to see to it as I was busy here, and here she is!”

The woman glances at her and Ikora, then looks back at the Hunter Vanguard. Cayde at least seems to have the decency to look a bit guilty.

The woman – a Hunter, as she now knows – steps up to Cayde and leans in to talk quietly. They separate after a minute.

“Yes, I am the Guardian Cayde recruited to arrange sleeping quarters,” she finally says, facing them both.

Ikora just gives a sigh of defeat.

“Quintessa, this is a new Guardian. She needs a place to stay, even if only temporarily until something better is arranged,” Ikora says, and Quintessa nods.

The woman nods and steps around the table, stopping just in front of her. From here she can see that she’s taller, with Quintessa only coming up to her eyes.

“Hi, I’m Quintessa, but feel free to call me Quinn if you want. Come on, let’s see if there’s any free quarters for you.” The Hunter rests a hand gently on her shoulder, soft enough that it’s not forceful, and leaves the option for it to be shrugged off.

She doesn’t mind the contact, and offers a smile to the woman. Together they walk out of the hall, and pass Lord-

“Quinn, come and look at this!”

“Can’t, Shaxx. I’m doing something for Ikora. Document it for me,” Quinn replies, hand drifting from her shoulder to between her shoulder blades, nudging her forwards.

Lord Shaxx just gives a noise of disappointed acceptance and turns back to his monitors.

Somewhere in her gut, she feels this odd satisfaction that she is prioritised over Shaxx. She has no clue where it comes from, but isn’t fully against the feeling.

They cross the plaza in silence. Quite a few Guardians look in her direction, and she feels self-conscious.

“So how long have you been around for?” The woman asks, starting up the idle chatter as they enter another doorway and head towards an elevator.

“Only…two or three days?” She replies slowly, trying to calculate the time. She was resurrected at the sunset of her first day, flew all night and the following day to the City, arriving the next evening. That’s one day. Then her ship was with Amanda, and was available sometime in the night. She flew out, and arrived in the Cosmodrome again the following evening. Two days. Flew back and arrived just before dawn.

“Two and a bit days,” she finally settles on, small nod of conviction. Quinn nods in admiration, calling the elevator up to them.

“You done much in those days? Because let me tell you, I don’t think I left the Tower for my first week,” Quintessa laughs, her free hand gesticulating wildly.

“I…needed a warp drive for the ship I found, so…I went and got one,” she answers, remembering the Archon stalking up to her, towering over her. Pointing its gun at her.

Quintessa gives an interested hum, and the elevator doors open. Two men step out. They’re Warlocks, and Awoken like her. They’re laughing at something only they’d know, and start walking by.

“Oh, hey Quinn,” the one on the left greets enthusiastically. The other one turns as well.

“My boys, how are you?” Quintessa turns from her and faces the two men. They all talk excitedly at one another for a few minutes, not once looking at her.

All three of them look engaged in their catch-up, and it can’t be that hard to find the Guardian quarters. Besides, she doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone.

But just as she begins to step away, a hand grips her arm gently.

“Well, it was good to see you both again, but we’ll have to continue some other time,” Quintessa says to the two Warlocks, her hand still holding her bicep. Both men give exaggerated faces of disappointment, but laugh it off and walk away.

Finally they step into the elevator, which thankfully stayed on their level.

“I’m so sorry about that. I hadn’t seen them for a few years and got caught up in the reunion,” the Hunter apologises, selecting a floor.

“It’s alright,” she replies. Deep down the satisfaction grows and changes slightly. She wants Quintessa’s attention. Something about the Hunter just…she not sure what it is, but she knows she wants to be near her and have her attention.

They arrive at their destination, and step out into the badly lit corridor.

“Well, here’s a good place to start. Nyx,” Quintessa summons her Ghost, “are you able to access the residency database?”

The Ghost, orange and yellow, with small pointy antennae extending from its shell, floats silently.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s no more free rooms. Friends of mine are already bunking together, and that’s not because they’re a couple. We’ve had quite a lot of kinderguardians show up in this last year, and we have nowhere to put you all,” Quinn laughs, while her Ghost still hovers, twitching.

She offers a smile in return.

“Alright Quinn, I’ve checked and double checked. No free rooms, meaning she’ll have to share,” Nyx finally speaks, looking a lot more animated than she did a few seconds ago.

“Well kiddo, looks like you may have to crash with me.” The thought doesn’t bother her, not one bit.

“Quinn, are you sure? I know your lifestyle. Is it fair on her?” Nyx tries to speak quietly as they begin walking down the dim corridor, but she can still hear her.
What does she mean by ‘lifestyle’?

The Ghost just gets lazily pushes away from her Guardian’s face, and disappears with a huff, leaving the pair of them to walk silently.

“Alright, Aurelia, here’s where we’ll be hunkering down,” Quintessa says, stopping in front of an uninteresting door.

She looks around in confusion. Who’s Aurelia?

She doesn’t realise she’s said it aloud as well.

“You are? Isn’t that your name?” Quintessa replies, her expression also morphing to confusion. Her eyebrows furrow slightly, and her whole head tilts.

“Umm…I don’t have a name,” she replies.

“Oh.” A moment. “Well you do now.”

Quintessa then seems to go into a trance. Her glowing eyes dim slightly, and her gaze slowly drifts. She’s not sure if this is a normal Guardian thing, and doesn’t know how to proceed.

But while they have a silence, she thinks over the name. Aurelia. It sounds like a nice name. Aurelia.

Guess I have a name now.

Nyx pops up over Quintessa’s shoulder and looks at her Guardian.

“So sorry about this, it usually doesn’t happen anymore. Why don’t you head in and get comfortable? I’m sure you’re exhausted,” the Ghost says, turning to the door.

Aurelia – the name just sounds right – gives a final look at Quintessa, who still stands in a trance, then enters the room.

First thing she notices is that it’s dark. There’s no windows anywhere. Ghost pops up and after a second the room lights up.

It’s pretty barren. A large bed is in the far right corner, with a small nightstand next to it. To the left is a wardrobe section, that looks a bit of a mess. Cloaks are shoved in, and a few pieces of plating stick out. Boots litter the whole far left corner. Immediately to her left is a desk that has only a datapad on it.

At the very back is a door that’s half closed, and from where she stands she can see a sink.

At least there’s a bathroom in here.

Aurelia steps further in to check the space out, and finds it good enough. Bit too lifeless, but it’s not like she’ll spend her whole life in there. Quintessa said it was only until she got a more permanent arrangement.

“Quinn? How are you feeling?” Nyx draws her attention. She turns on her heel and looks at the Hunter standing in the doorway, who’s doubled over a bit with her hands over her face.

Aurelia takes a step in her direction, but Quintessa gestures her to halt, breathing a little heavier than before.

“I’m fine,” she says, though it’s not that convincing, “I just wasn’t expecting it. Feel free to use the bed, the sheets are clean, I just need to see someone for something quickly.”

Quintessa doesn’t wait for a response, closing the door and leaving her alone.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Ghost says, and she nods in agreement, still staring at the door.

It is then that her body reminds her that rest is desired, her limbs slowly feeling heavier. That bed is looking incredibly comfortable right now.

She collapses like a stone on it, eyes closed. Ghost curls up next to her head and turns the lights out.

--

When Aurelia wakes, it’s to the sensation of fingers through her hair. It very nearly pulls her back to sleep again, but she fights the drowsiness away.

“Good evening,” Quinn greets when she cranes her head to see who she’s managed to fall asleep on. The fingers still card through her hair, and the Hunter looks at ease.

It’s evening?

“You have a good sleep? I can see the indent of my pants on your cheek,” Quinn laughs, and Aurelia shoots a hand up to her face. Sure enough, she can feel the marks, and looks down at the leg that was her pillow.

“When…did you get back?” She asks slowly, voice not fully operational yet.

“An hour or so after I left you. I just needed to see Ikora, and stopped to talk to Shaxx for a bit,” Quinn replies, removing her fingers from her hair.

Aurelia remembers how often she’s seen Quinn with Lord Shaxx already. They do seem friendly, even though the man still intimidates her.

“He scares me a bit. First time I saw him, he was yelling at someone,” she replies, remembering the time not too long ago.

Quinn gives a soft huff of amusement and nods in agreement.

“He has that effect on people, but he’s not bad. He’s actually pretty nice, though I may just be biased,” she says.

They relax in silence for a few minutes, Aurelia just enjoying the proximity she has with the Hunter. But soon it comes to an end when Quinn begins gently shoving her off her lap.

Honestly, Aurelia has no idea when she even moved to lay on her.

“Do you have any assignments? Anything asked of you by the Vanguard? They don’t usually throw much at a Guardian before they have enough control of their Light, but times are a little tough,” the Hunter asks, standing up and walking over to the messy wardrobe.

“No,” she replies, watching as Quinn shoves cloaks aside and pulls out a chest piece. It gets tossed aside after a few seconds, and Quinn goes searching again.

“Nyx, where’s my pants? Are they here or did I leave them in Saffron’s room again?” The Ghost pops up and does a quick scan of the room.

Aurelia looks down at her own clothes. These are all she owns, unlike Quinn, who probably has twenty of everything. Only now she notices that the woman is wearing what looks to be pyjamas, comfy clothes covered in little Ghosts.

When Quinn has grabbed all she wants she heads through to the bathroom, not saying a word. Nyx stays out with her.

“So, what happened before she ran?” She asks. The Ghost glances at the door before floating over to her.

“Quinn has…had a bit of a track record in the past of having episodes like that. As far as I’m aware, she’s the only one who has them,” Nyx explains, unhelpfully.

“Episodes?”

Nyx turns away from her, looking at the bathroom door. “I feel she should be the one to tell you. Not many know about them to begin with, and you simply happened to be present during one.”

The bathroom door opens before she opens her mouth to ask another question.

“Alright, Aurelia. Because your day – well, night – is clear, you’re joining me for a fun session of meditation. You’re gonna harness your Light like a pro,” Quinn encourages, stepping out in armour she’s not seen before. It’s all black, with dark pink features. A purple cloak hangs from her shoulders and reaches her hips.

So she drags herself out of bed and stretches. Multiple joints crack and pop, leaving her feeling somewhat boneless for a few seconds, then walks over to the door to join the woman.

They head out.

Maybe, just maybe, she can get an answer out of her brand new friend about these episodes.

Chapter Text

“Why did Ikora call me a Warlock?”

“Not…not the question I thought you’d ask,” Quinn begins, sitting down next to her.

They’re at the top of the Tower, but in an area she’s not even seen before. They’re outside, facing away from the Traveler. Quinn said it’s called the ‘Traveler’s Walk’. It is a nice view of the night sky and mountains here.

“But how did she know?”

The Hunter hums for a second, looking around. Aurelia’s already done that, and no answer is conveniently lying around.

“Firstly, I’m pretty sure Ikora can just guess what class everyone is, but I also knew what you were. Part of it is to do with how each class chooses to gear up, though sometimes that’s not reliable enough,” Quinn explains, turning to look at her.

She just raises an eyebrow. Ikora gave her the clothes she has now, which explains how Quinn might have known, but Ikora had to know before she gave her anything.

Quinn gives a sigh. “Alright, so there are core habits that most people of a class will pick up and display, whether or not they know it. Stereotypes, if you will. For example-“ she stands back up- “if I’m not wearing the recognisable attire, one way people can tell I’m a Hunter is based on how I hold my hands, and I’ve noticed it a lot in others.”

Aurelia follows her with her eyes. Quinn can’t seem to stand still, pacing back and forth as she talks.

“So a Titan commonly has their hands balled into fists, even without realising it, and their shoulders are pulled back a bit. That’s because they tend to punch their way through a lot of problems – which is another stereotype. We Hunters commonly have our hands hover close to our hips, because that’s where our knife or handgun is. Trust me when I say that this little thing-“ Quinn draws her knife and holds it out proudly- “has saved my sorry hide on multiple occasions.”

The knife is sheathed again, and it shows Quintessa uses it a lot because she doesn’t even glance down when she makes the movement.

“But you, my dear s-Warlock,” the woman pauses after hastily correcting whatever word she was about to say and looks at the ground a few seconds.

“What? What do we do?”

“Hm? Oh, you Warlocks will almost always twiddle your fingers as though feeling something, even though your hand is empty. You were doing it the whole way up here.”

Aurelia watches as Quintessa demonstrates the motion. Her fingers begin a rhythmic dance, movements slow and fluid. It does strongly resemble the motions made when gliding your hand through still water or playing with hair.

“Are you sure that’s what gave me away as a Warlock?”

The Hunter stops the motion to smack her hand against her chest and gasps in offense.

“Young Aurelia, you dare accuse me of not telling you the truth? When I have done nothing but take you under my wing and help nurture you, this is how you repay me?” Aurelia can’t help but chuckle, pressing a hand to her mouth to stay silent.

Quintessa smiles back in return, her hand dropping back to her side. The fingers twitch next to the knife.

“I’ll admit, the main thing that gave you away was the Warlock wardrobe, but I see things and sort them in my mind without knowing it, so when a lot of information about a thing is gathered I can form my assessments. The hand thing is something I’ve observed a lot, and the longer you’re here, the more you may pick up a few of these habits.”

Aurelia stands up and stretches her legs, regaining a bit of feeling in them. Quinn confidently waltzes over to the railing and leans on it.

“Are there any more things I should know?”

The Hunter looks at her, expressionless. No, guarded.

She’s holding something back.

Then she breaks out into a smile. “Kinderguardian, there is a lot you should know. For one, how the new economy works, and where you can score some cash. Really comes in handy when you need materials for weapon maintenance and upgrades.”

The expression from a few seconds ago is gone, but she’s curious about what’s hidden. However, she has known Quinn for only a day, and the Hunter doesn’t know her well enough to share everything.

“But you’ll learn about society as you go. What I’m going to try and help you with is your Light. We’ll spend the day meditating in the traditional Warlock fashion, and then this evening I’ll take you out to a Crucible arena,” Quinn announces, stepping away from the railing.

“Wait. Why a Crucible arena?”

“Combat is what our Light is most used for. Sometimes we need to be in the middle of a fight in order to best harness our Light,” the woman explains, beginning to walk away, and she follows, “and while you slept I spoke with your Ghost. He says you’ve already harnessed it a few times, and all when staring down an enemy.”

Aurelia immediately remembers the Archon. His barrel facing her down.

Her arm feeling cold. The Archon dead at her feet.

“-ith me? Aurelia? Quinn to Aurelia! Come on, girl!”

She jumps slightly. Quinn is standing on her toes and peering up at her, eyes wide and concerned.

“You alright? You spaced out for a minute,” the woman says, stepping back. She oddly remains up on her toes, though.

Aurelia just nods, and Ghost pops out.

“I think she was just remembering when we went out to get our warp drive. I don’t think she was expecting the Archon to be so hu-“

“whoa-hohohoho hold up, let me stop you right there,” Quinn says quickly, a hand up for silence as she stares at the Ghost, “did you just say Archon?”

“Yes?” Ghost whispers.

Quinn stares at the shell for a few seconds then looks up at her, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

Then she looks back at Ghost, “and you didn’t think that was an important piece to tell? An Archon slain within two days of being brought back to life is near unheard of!”

Her poor Ghost is finally released, and he flies up high to avoid being grabbed as Quinn looks back to her again.

“Oh Crucible is absolutely necessary for you. If you took down a Archon then you’re strong, but you’ll need to be trained. Forget meditation, we can do that another time, I need you in the arena, ”

Quinn grabs her wrist and begins dragging her towards the entrance of the Traveler’s Walk.

They come out to the plaza and Quinn keeps pulling her along, passing the bounty frame and continuing to the stairs. They descend and quickly approach Lord Shaxx.

Aurelia finally begins pulling back. Shaxx still intimidates her, and she doesn’t want to be too close.

Mercifully Quinn releases her wrist and continues the final few steps to the Titan.

“Light of my life, I need a favour,” Quinn greets sweetly, stopping in front of him. He is staring at a monitor.

“Are you really in a position to be asking me for favours?” He replies, standing taller and puffing his chest out. He doesn’t look at either of them, still staring at his screen.

Mercy, how does Quinn think she’ll get a favour from him?

“I want the Twilight Gap arena reserved for a private match for the rest of the day,” Quinn replies, tone changing to a more serious one.

Shaxx turns his head finally and looks at her. Not Quinn, her.

“Very well. A match is just starting and another will two will begin after, so you have time to round up any friends and head out. I’ll clear it until dawn.” His chest drops back down to a more comfortable position. He’s still looking at her.

“Cheers, babe,” Quinn says, giving the man a pat on the cheek – well, where the cheek would be – and turning back to her.

“Alright, now we need to find a few available friends.”

--

All they’ve done is walk back out to the plaza.

The view of the Traveler is still amazing, and she can’t help but walk over to the railing to gaze up at it.

Quinn doesn’t join her, wandering over somewhere else to talk to others.

Ghost pops up instead and hovers next to her head.

“How are you feeling? I know everything is new, but how are you taking it?” He asks.

She nods and glances over her shoulder. Quinn is talking to her own Ghost, facing away from the other Guardians around her. Aurelia wonders if her friend is aware that those people are staring at her.

“It’s…new, but I think I’m alright,” she replies, turning back around to look down at the City.

Dots of light move around the labyrinth of buildings, and ships fly in and out. The night really brings out the brightness of the City.

“So-“ Aurelia jumps when Quinn leaps onto the rail next to her- “I managed to get a few friends to agree to join us, and these aren’t just people I grabbed in passing. I picked out friends who can be a great help, and who I would personally trust with my Ghost.”

“Why do we need others?” She asks.

“One, so you can try and make friends or at least get familiar with a few people, and two, Crucible is much better with more than one person on each team,” Quinn explains, “even though it’s just to help you train. You’re a Warlock, and the way a Warlock wields the Light is different from a Hunter, and it’ll be helpful to have another Warlock or two to help out.”

Make more friends? You’re the only person I’m comfortable talking to.

Quinn nudges her with an elbow and jumps off the rails, heading towards the hangar.

She follows quickly.

Amanda gives them a wave as they head down to the bays, and she just looks down.

The platform rises and her ship rests atop it. Ghost pops up and looks at her, then Quinn.

“Go on, I’ll be right behind you,” Quinn replies, and she gives a smile.

Ghost wastes no time, transmatting her into the cockpit. From the windshield she can see Quinn facing away from her, looking to another platform. Then she fizzles out of view and the ship to her left begins flying out.

“Would you like to fly or shall I?” Ghost asks, and she gestures to the controls.

So Ghost guides them out of the hangar and quickly catches them up to Quinn’s ship. It’s mainly white, with blue accents, and looks more aerodynamic than her own.

It flies ahead, lazily banking from left to right and back.

“Alright, we’re coming up on our arena. The two who’ll be joining us will be along in a few minutes. For now I can see how you go in regular combat,” Quinn says, her voice coming through a speaker in her cockpit.

Up ahead is more of the wall, but it looks to be more of an outpost. Two cannons face outward, firing every now and then at a target she can’t see.

Suddenly her ship takes a steep dive, and she lunges for the controls, pulling up to level the ship.

“Sorry, that was my fault. I thought you were a little more prepared for that, but didn’t tell you,” Ghost apologises, guiding the ship closer to the arena.

Quinn’s ship is hovering over the arena, lowering slowly. Just under it the air glows blue, and the Hunter appears, wielding a gun she’s not seen her with before.

Aurelia takes control of the ship again, the motions instantly feeling natural to her, and hovers her own ship not too far from the other.

Ghost floats in front of her and begins spinning.

Everything glows blue.

Next thing she sees right in front of her is Quinn, reloading her handgun.

“The others aren’t here yet,” she says, looking around them. No one else is present. The woman gives a wave of her arm and both ships fly off.

Aurelia looks around the area. It’s old, but so new to her. How sturdy is the structure? How high are they from the ground?

She spins to look out at the wide expanse of the land, at the forests and mountains in front of the starry sky, clear of any clouds.

“Wow,” she says, spinning again to look out to the Traveler. They’re further away from it than they would be at the Tower. In fact, she’s pretty sure she can just make out the Tower on the other side of the Traveler.

Her head looks left to where Quinn stands and-

She’s gone.

“Quinn?” She calls, looking around, but the Hunter doesn’t respond.

Surely she hasn’t left me here, on my own.

Hesitantly, taking her rifle off her back and clutching it tightly, she begins to walk forwards, through a doorway that leads to the cannons.

The Hunter still isn’t anywhere to be seen.

Aurelia pushes on.

The City is just there. The Traveler is just there. Your Ghost is still with you, and you have a gun. Aliens should not be here, it’s too risky for them.

And yet it feels as though one will pop out from a corner at any second.

A cannon fires, and she yelps, pointing her gun at it. It doesn’t fire again.

She passes the second cannon swiftly, not wanting to hear another of its bangs, and ventures up a flight of rusty stairs.

“Quinn?” She calls out again.

Silence.

She’s beginning to feel scared. It’s an old and abandoned building, and even though she started her new life going through them, it feels eerier now.

Because now, she’s with someone she trusts, and that person is nowhere to be seen.

Aurelia exits another door and finds herself looking at the Traveler again. A soft breeze plays with the loose ends of her hair, and for a few moments she forgets where she is.

Snap!

She spins around, rifle aimed. Nothing and no one is there, but she knows that snap came from mere metres behind her, and there’s nothing to hide behind.

Wait, what’s that?

The air seems to shimmer in one spot, roughly in the outline of…

“Quinn?” She says softly, and the shimmering air shifts, slowly moving around to her right. Her eyes track it, head turning.

A noise to her left draws her attention and she looks. Two ships are flying out towards them.

She looks back to the shimmer, but it’s not there. Aurelia looks all around her, but the air doesn’t shimmer anymore.

Curious, and also feeling more confident now that other Guardians are on their way, she walks around, looking for the shimmering air.

Her search brings her back to where she first stood, and both new ships are hovering above her.

“QUINN!” She yells, turning and-

Cold.

The barrel of Quinn’s handgun is pressed against her forehead, and the woman is staring at her, face blank.

Her heart drops and her whole body goes numb with cold.

I thought we were friends. What have I done?

What hurts most is how Quinn presses the gun slightly into her head and leans forward, expression taking on a more heartbroken appearance.

“Wh-What are you-“

Bang!