Chapter Text
Everything felt cold. The robot's shell was shaking. No matter where she went, no matter where she looked, she couldn’t sense the Light.
This is out of the ordinary. The Ghost knew it to be so. She was made of the Light. Not being able to feel what she was made of was impossible. The Light does not work like this. At least… not normally...
She wasn’t sure why it was happening. She just knew it was, and all she could do was protect herself from threats.
So, there she was, in the Cosmodrome. The Mothyards, to be exact. She had been hiding under one of the downed planes for months (at least it felt like months). The Ghost stayed near the shadows and hid in the dirt whenever enemies were nearby.
Everything felt dark. But, in it, there was also hope.
Floating in hiding made her think about the one she would make her Guardian. That was the reason why she was crafted, after all. She had been waiting to meet this person for a long time. And now, she just had more time to think about what she wanted to say. If the Guardian had to wait for the Light to return, the least she could do was make the first day perfect.
On one of her rehearsal days, something happened. There was a loud boom. The Ghost looked out as she felt something powerful yet familiar. There, in the distance, was a dome of white and blue light. And it was fast approaching her way. It didn't take long until she was hit. She grunted upon contact, but there was no pain. It felt as if life was restored to her. And in that euphoria, she froze.
A small Light had formed in the ground in front of her.
She slowly floated down to the small, potent signature she couldn't sense before. The parts of her shell expanded and floated around her as she stared on in hope. And, after a few agonizing minutes, she finally got a hook. A gasp came out of her, along with a computerized sound.
"Found ya!"
A sharp light was suddenly released from her body, and the outside was filled with light…
☀
His vision was white, and his ears were ringing. But amidst it all, he heard a voice.
“...ᴅɪᴀɴ…”
It was faint, but he could make it out somewhat. It sounded feminine… robotic…
“... ɢᴜᴀʀᴅɪᴀɴ…?”
The voice was getting louder as the ringing subsided. He could hear the computerized clicks before she spoke again.
“Hello?”
The white soon turned into color. And he found himself on the ground. He groans as his body acts like it hasn’t moved in years. He takes a moment to look around the rusty place he was in.
“Oh, it worked! By the Light, it worked! Ahahaha!”
His eyes immediately shot up at the sound of the voice. There he saw a small robot spinning in circles. Two parts of its shell were pointed upward, mimicking someone throwing their arms in the air. It would be cute had he just not woken up.
“Wha…. What the f*ck???”
The man seemed to be out of breath. It made sense to the Ghost. Though it took her a second to realize that he was confused. Remembering her practices, she made a sound, mimicking one clearing their throat.
“Ahem! Welcome back to this beautiful Earth, Guardian! I’m your Ghost, Unit SA-3710502! I’m so glad I finally got to meet you!”
Her voice was filled with excitement. He assumed that she was just happy to be here. He slowly stands up, shaking his head.
“Okay… Cool… That’s uh… Great….” he said slowly before taking a deep breath. “But, what the f*ck?”
“I’m sorry?”
The Ghost seemed to be just as confused. The Awoken’s body felt less awkward.
“What the f*ck are you!? Where am I, and why does my body feel like sh*t???”
"Oh! Well…" The Ghost trails off, thinking of her next words. She shakes the nervousness off (for the most part). "I'm a Ghost! I was created by the Traveler to find you! And, now that I have, I'm your Ghost now."
"The Traveler…?" The New Light grew more confused.
"The Traveler is the source of the Light, which is what you have now," she said. "Now, as for where we are, we're in the Mothyards! And that's inside the Cosmodrome." A pause. "And finally, your body… Well… Aha… You've been dead for a really, really, long time. The only reason why you're back to life is because of the Light."
The New Light blinks before holding up a hand.
"Wait a minute…" he starts. "So, you're saying that… You used the 'Light' to pull me back from the afterlife? Like a f*cking… Necromancer…?"
"Yes!" The Ghost chirps. "That's exactly right!"
The Awoken blinks, stands, and walks a foot away. The Ghost stares at him curiously, and the Guardian raises his hand.
SLAP!
"OW! f*ck!"
The noise and yell startle the Ghost. He rubs his face as the robot approaches in a panic.
"W-Why did you hurt yourself!?" She yelled. "Are you alright!?"
"That hurt waaaay more than I th-…" the New Light pauses then mumbles. "f*ck, this isn't a dream…"
"Of course, it's not, silly Guardian!" The Ghost giggles. "This is the start of a new adventure! With that being said, let's be on our way!"
"On our way to…. What exactly?" Asked the Awoken, raising his eyebrow.
"The Last City… Home…" the Ghost sighs happily. "That's where all Guardians go after they wake up. So, you'll see a bunch of people. Oh, and I'm sure they'll be excited to meet us! Especially the Vanguards, which are the class leaders. You'll love them, and-"
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute!"
The Awoken shouts, though a slight discomfort began to resonate in his chest. He made quite the pause...
"I don't know who any of those people are!" he said. "And don't you have an actual name? I’m not calling you numbers.”
At that point, he couldn't deny this reality anymore, so he thought that he should at least learn more about what he has to deal with now. The small robot gives off a computerized clip before speaking again.
“Oh um... Right! Sorry, sorry!” her giggle couldn’t hide her nervousness. “Well, uh, we gotta find a ship before we find the Last City, soooo I can explain along the way! Oh! And maybe we’ll find some cool weapons along the way! Guardians are into finding cool stuff, you see!”
She dodged the name question. Of course… He could groan and say ‘to hell with this’, but the idea of finding things and FINALLY getting some context about this new reality made it hard to refuse.
In the end, he couldn't say no.
-
The Awoken, so far, had learned a few things about this new reality.
First was what a Guardian was, who he was… His class was a Titan. Of what subclass, the Ghost didn’t know yet. She said that his powers will come naturally later, and he'll have the opportunity to learn the other Light powers through the Vanguard. He assumed that she was trying to reassure him, and it worked. For the most part...
Second was about the Ghost. The Ghost had no name, only a unit number. That felt wrong for some reason. He couldn't help pondering over a name. Something to give the robot some identity other than numbers. Third was about things. The Ghost was right, finding said things were fun. Each chest felt like a mystery box on Christmas Day. He didn't know what he was getting but was excited regardless. The first new thing he found was an auto rifle. He practiced shooting with it a little, feeling its groove. Not the best, but it was better than having no weapon. The second thing he found was a new helmet. Just like the rifle, the helmet was not the most promising, neither was it the most pleasing thing to look at, but it was better than the helmet he had on earlier. Plus, the robot mentioned that there is better gear once at home.
The final thing he learned was about this so-called Traveler, which created the Ghost (and the Light, presumably). He first heard about the Collapse, the Traveler becoming inactive, and the Ghosts being sent out. The robot then spoke about how she eventually uncovered him. And, when questioned why she couldn't resurrect him sooner, her expression was downcast.
"The Light was gone…" she says quietly. "I didn't even know you were there… And, even if I did, I couldn't have brought you here without the Light…"
Judging by how the Light was essentially a life force, it made sense to him.
They eventually entered one of the many facilities and found a big room. With a bit of tinkering, the little robot turns the lights on. There was a lot in this structure. Jumpships in varying degrees of completion. The Ghost casts a bright, pale blue light and runs it over the ships.
“Well, um… I got some good news and bad news. Which do you wanna hear first?”
“The bad news”
“Okay…”
The Ghost runs another diagnostic before turning to him.
“The bad news is that none of these ships are functioning at one hundred percent,” she says.
“And the good news?”
“This one over here is at least working,” said the Ghost. “Thoooough… Since it’s not fully functional, I can’t guarantee that we won’t have problems while flying…”
“Eh,” the Titan shrugs. “It’s the best we got. You did say that this City is overseas. From where we are anyway.”
“Yes! Yes, I did say that! You remembered!” the Ghost chirped.
The Ghost seemed to be happy, but he couldn’t find a reason why. He didn’t see it as a big deal. He only remembered the important parts: what was the Light, what is a Guardian, where was the city, and deeming the rest worthless info. But he decided to keep his mouth shut. Not that it mattered. The Ghost jolted and turned his way, looking guilty.
“Did I bore you with my explanations?” asked the Ghost.
“Honestly, yeah,” said the Titan. “No offense, but other than the basic stuff, I forgot about the other sh*t. Didn’t feel that it was as important.”
“Oh…”
The Ghost’s shell shrinks a little. A strange sensation came over him. It was as if something within his own mind was harder to look into. He was about to ask what that feeling was, but the Ghost quickly turned away, almost like she noticed that his attention was on him.
“Are you ready to head out, Guardian?” asked the Ghost. Her happiness that was in her tone was no more. “Judging by the specs of this ship, the flight will take us 5 hours and 9 minutes at the earliest.”
“Uh, yeah…”
The tone, combined with the weird sensation made the Titan uncomfortable, incomplete. It made him feel… pain….?
Whatever it was prevented him from thinking.
-
The ship appeared to be having no issues so far. At least now they didn’t have to worry about drowning (as they successfully made the long journey across the Pacific Ocean). He couldn’t take the credit. The Ghost was the pilot.
He had to admit, she was impressive for a small machine. Her focus was sharp, and her movements were precise... It was quite the show, but something distracted him from thoroughly appreciating her talents. The mental block was still ongoing, though the strength of it lessened a little. It was fading in and out as if it hesitated to leave.
He had enough.
Sure, an hour wouldn’t have bothered him too much, but four??? Not to mention, they were about to hit the five-hour mark. It was too much for him, so he glanced at the Ghost.
“Ghost.”
“Huh?”
The Ghost snaps out of her focus long enough to temporarily forget about the mountaintops she was trying to avoid. When she retains her focus, she jolts in surprise.
“Yikes!”
The Ghost jerks the controls a little and makes the ship move abruptly to the side. The Titan gripped his chair hard to keep himself still. Thankfully, the off-balance was temporary as they (JUST BARELY) dodged the giant peak and returned course.
“Sorry, sorry!” the Ghost panics.
“It’s fine, but… Ugh…” The Titan looks at her. “You’re quiet.”
“I figured you wanted me to.”
“But I didn’t say.”
“Well, my explanations were too boring for you. I figured that you were annoyed by the filler…” The Ghost speaks nervously as she turns her attention to the flight ahead. “So, I thought I should give you some space.”
“By giving me a weird mental block?”
“Well, yeah, if I kept it open, you would have heard my thoughts and felt my feelings. I didn’t want you to get overwhelmed, so I blocked my side of the connection.”
“Wait, hang on,” the Titan’s voice lowers. The bluntness of his tone was replaced with a quiver. “You… have telepathy?”
“I guess you can say that” says the Ghost. “You do too. As soon as I brought you back, our Lights became one, in a sense. Like a symbiotic relationship…”
The New Light grew pale and stiff. If what she said was true, she heard his off-handed mental remarks and intrusive thoughts. She felt the abundance of frustration he’s been feeling about everything. His confusion, which fueled his negativity, danced in his mind. And she was probably hearing and feeling it all since he opened his eyes.
“…… Oh sh*t…….”
His words slipped out as he reached an epiphany. He turned away as guilt began to seep into his body. The Ghost senses this.
“You’re okay, Guardian,” her words are gentle. “Don’t feel bad. You’re confused, lost… And, you have the right to feel that way. You have been dead for Traveler knows how long, and then wake up to see that the world changed without you. I’d be pretty lost too if I were in your shoes.”
The Titan stares off, shaking his head.
“That’s no excuse…” he speaks quietly. “You’re trying to be helpful and have been nothing but nice to me. Meanwhile, I’m…”
His voice trails off, unsure of what else to say. The Ghost gives him her full attention as she removes the block. Her Light poked at him, and before he knew it, he was tangled in her Light. It wasn’t a hard pull. It was soft, warm, soothing… He looks at her, hearing “it’s okay,” telepathically and physically.
“It’s okay… I needed the feedback… I had no excuse to ignore your feelings.”
“But… Weren’t you excited to meet me after… you know… Not having the Light for so long?”
“Yes, I was excited, but that doesn’t mean you were too,” the Ghost says. She moves closer to him. “You’re just like me when I was without the Light. Sure, it wasn’t for the same reason, but you felt fear nonetheless.”
She pauses and snuggles against his armor.
“And, this time, I’m going to make sure your worries are heard,” said the Ghost. “We’re partners now, and I’m going to do my best to do my part.”
“Same here…,” said the Titan. “I’m going to get better. I’ll be the best Guardian you’ve ever had.”
“I cannot wait to be a part of this journey, Guardian,” said the Ghost with a quiet giggle. “I really do…-”
A loud noise abruptly ended the moment between the two. Warning lights and sounds began to go off. The Ghost gasps and checks on the ship.
“What happened!?” yelled the Titan.
“We’ve been shot!” The Ghost panics. “This ship’s going down!”
“What do we do!?”
“One moment.”
The Ghost does some quick tinkering with the ship’s main controls. She made a few clicks as the trees and rock formations were getting closer and closer.
“Got it! Okay, hold onto your weapons!”
-
The ship goes down behind some trees. A bit after the vessel disappears, the Titan materializes over a piece of ground that was a bit ways away from where the ship flew down. He gasps lightly, feeling the dizziness that came with essentially teleportation. He regains his footing and focus while the ship hits the ground with a loud crash and boom. Smoke could be seen from behind the trees.
“Ghost???” The Titan calls out as he starts to regain his breath. “Buddy!?”
“I’m right here!”
The Ghost speaks out to him. It sounded like she was in his head. Remembering how their connection worked, the Titan expressed relief physically and mentally.
“Good… Good…” The Titan takes a deep breath. “What the f*ck just happened….?”
“Well, as you can see, we were uh… Shot down,” said the Ghost. “That’s concerning… We’re not far from the Last City, but I don’t recall the perimeter being this rough… I hope they're okay...”
The Titan makes sure that his weapons are still on his body. He then tries to reassure the concerned Ghost.
“The Last City isn't far, right?” he asked. “We should be able to get there. Don’t worry.”
“Yes… That is true,” the Ghost says, sounding more enthusiastic. “Let’s get going then, Guardian.”
He starts to make his way down, unaware of the beeping coming out of the now smoking ship.
After a bit of walking, the Titan freezes. He heard the sounds of growling and heavy footsteps. His Ghost conducts a scan.
“... We’re not alone…”
A red dot appears on the Titan’s chest. He moves quickly to evade, then looks up. A creature with a sniper rifle stands above him. Its armor had dents and scratches on it. The alien looked beaten up, but it wasn't backing down.
“A Psion!”
The Ghost yells as the alien aims for the Titan again. Pulling out his side arm, the New Light rolls away from the sniper shot. Once on his knees, he aims and fires a few shots. He misses the first two, but the last three hit, with the final bullet hitting the Psion’s head. It falls with a thud, and the Titan stands up.
The growling grew louder, and the Titan looked in front of him. Animals that resembled mutated feral dogs appeared from the surrounding area. He looked over his shoulder and saw more aliens that were similar to the Psion in appearance.
“What are these guys…?” asked the Titan.
“Cabal… But what are they-”
The Ghost squeaks as the hounds howled before charging. Some of the bigger Cabal raised their gauntlets, allowing their blades to stick out from within. They rushed towards the lone Guardian with their beasts. The New Light found himself blinking.
“Uh, run?”
“Run.”
The Titan leaps over the hounds. The dogs crashed into each other while the others managed to dodge and change course. Seeing this, the New Light starts to break towards the direction of the city, which was cast with smoke. He turns around and slows down when he hears a few hounds getting too close. He switched to his auto rifle, aimed quickly, and fired. The array of bullets mowed the beasts down. The hounds whine and trip over their feet, falling limp on the ground. He perks his head up and away from his sights, and a larger Cabal stands above him. The Cabal brings his sword down, forcing the Guardian to dodge. He dodged the swing; however, the Titan also misplaced his foot and lost the ground. He fell down quite the drop and felt his bones crack as soon as they hit the ground.
"f*ck!" he shouts, feeling his limbs go numb.
The Ghost comes out of his backpack and looks at where they fell. The Cabal jumped off the edge, using their jetpacks to slow their descent.
“Yikes!” The Ghost turns to her Guardian and detaches all parts of her shell. The blue light circles her shield. “Heal, heal, heal, heal!!!”
The Titan felt his injuries fade, and he stood back up. He touches his armor and then turns to his frightened Ghost.
“How did you-”
“RUN! RUUUN!” the Ghost yells, hiding in his backpack while the Titan looks at the Cabal getting eerily close.
“OH sh*t!”
He ran for a bit, getting closer to the wall. Noticing this, some of the centurions use their jetpacks to leap above the Titan and land ahead of him. The Titan skids to a halt, quickly finding himself surrounded by Cabal.
“Great…” his muscles tightened. “What now, buddy?”
“I…” The Ghost stutters. “I-I don’t know... I didn’t rehearse this…”
“Practice???”
“Yes, I wanted your first day to be perfect! But now… I-I don’t know what to do… I’m… scared…” she whimpers. “I’m so sorry, Guardian… I’m a failure of a Ghost…”
The Ghost shivers in his backpack. The Titan could feel how frightened she was in their link. Soon, he felt an overwhelming desire to protect. He co*cks his gun and scowls at the Cabal.
“Don’t give up on us yet, Sasha.”
“H-Huh?”
The Ghost was surprised to hear a name. His side of their connection began to spike. Heat emitted off his body as if he was the Sun itself. To the Ghost, it could only mean one thing...
“Your Light…”
His Ghost’s words were quiet. The Titan stood ready.
“You told me that you’re going to do your best... That means I have to do my part. It's a two-way street. We're partners, damn it...”
The Titan speaks with determination. The Light began to tangle over his Ghost. The warmth shelters her, washing the fear away. His eyes began to glow red orange under his helmet.
“This won't end here. We will get out of here. And if I have to go above and beyond to make it happen, I'll give it my all!”
The fire manifested in his hand, and a hammer was formed. Every time he threw one, another hammer was made. He did this for as long as he could, even if he began to get tired. An inferno was created around him. The smoke climbed into the air.
And when he could not throw anymore hammers, he let himself drop onto one knee. Ashes surrounded him and small embers cracked against the ground. His ghost, who felt safe, came out of his backpack and looked at the destruction. She turns to her Guardian, her optic glistening with pride.
“Your Light is beautiful, Guardian,” says the Ghost. “I cannot wait to see what it becomes after this…”
The Titan didn’t need to show his face. The Ghost already knew he was smiling.
“Over here!”
The two turns at the sound of a voice. It belonged to a woman who stood far above them. The woman looked down at the two while a man appeared behind her. The man was only an inch taller than her and wore a cloak and hood. The two jumped down from the wall. The caped man used pieces of the wall to break his descent while the woman gently floated to the ground.
“Are you a New Light?” asked the woman.
“Yes, he is,” said the Gho- no… Sasha.
The woman as she turned to the man, who just landed and was walking over.
“Old Survivor, Nora?” asked the man.
“No,” said the woman. “His Ghost said he was new.”
“Oh sh*t…” the caped man turns to the Titan. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Yeah, I’m all fired up actually,” said the Titan. “I’m guessing you’re Guardians too.”
“We are,” said Nora, nodding towards the Titan.
“Cool, so uh… What the f*ck happened here?”
The two looked at each other for a moment before Nora rubbed her arm nervously.
“It’s… A Long story…”
“Eh,” the Titan shrugs. “Long stories are fine. Had to hear a lot of them before I got here.”
“H-Hey!” Sasha gives a flustered response. “I-I didn’t talk that much!”
Nora giggles, raising a hand over her face, while the caped man shakes his head, heaving a sigh. The Titan softly holds onto his Ghost through their connection. She reciprocates. The two shared a conversation within the link.
“Today sucked.”
The Titan starts first. The Ghost agrees.
“Yes, it was an absolute Nightmare.”
After a bit of silence, the Titan snorts.
“It’s only uphill from here, yeah?”
Another pause.
“.... Let’s hope...”
The Titan agrees. After all, hope was how they got here in the first place.
---
