The prompt for Round 1 is: Tell the story of your Ghost finding your Guardian.

Maybe you’re happy waking in Old Russia? Maybe your Guardian came from someplace much more exotic? Maybe your Guardian’s first moments were confusing, or action filled, or humorous? Now’s your chance to tell that tale. There’s no real minimum or maximum work limit for this first story, though you should be looking to write at least a full scene about your Guardian’s awakening.

Just for clarification, are we to tell the story that led up to our Guardian waking up in the D1 cutscene, or make up something brand new unrelated to the D1 scene?

Note 1: I went to register on the fanfic site and haven't received a confirmation email.
Note 2: This is my first attempt at writing fiction, ever. It's also my first attempt at writing anything ever.

ManKitten: Origins

PART 1 – A DAY IN THE BORING LIFE

Despite my alarm being set for 6:00 AM, I would often wake up around 5:30 and usually look towards the window to see if the glow of sunrise was illuminating my curtains yet. But, living in the shadow of the Traveler meant that direct sunlight was a fleeting gift. I would continue to doze in and out of a “half-sleep” state until my alarm went off. […etty one, my pretty one. When you gonna give me some time, Sharona, Ooh you make my…] SLAM! Even with my back turned to my radio alarm, I had the precision of a perfectly calibrated sniper bot when it came to the “snooze” button. “Good morning, Tamien. How did you sleep?” was the first thing I heard each morning from my programmable AI device. “Well, looks like I’m still alive” I often mumbled as I sat up, immediately losing count of the pops and cracks in my joints.

My morning routine was just that. Routine.
Download the latest Cerecasts – check.
Use the bathroom – check.
Shower – check.
Brush teeth – check.
Get dressed…and daydream – check.

The daydreams were usually similar each morning as I got dressed because in my closet was a handgun in a box on a shelf that was at eye level. It was not a typical civilian weapon, though, it was a Vanguard weapon. I had unearthed the weapon years ago while working on a construction site boring lines into the ground for thermal conduction cables. As I pulled my shirt over my head I imagined myself wielding the weapon in slow motion as vehicles and enemy vessels exploded behind me. I had always dreamed about the glamorous life of a Guardian. I had never actually fired the gun, but not for lack of trying. It didn’t use bullets and didn’t have a trigger so I never understood how it worked. I knew that Guardians had special powers they called “light” and assumed these abilities were necessary to operate certain weapons.

I often handled the weapon for fun or out of curiosity but today I would handle it out of necessity. That necessity was paying rent. I removed the weapon from the tattered box and went back to sit on my bed. Holding the grip tight, I extended my arm aiming down the sites. “Phoo Phoo” I quietly whispered gunshots and slowly mimicked recoil. Pulling my arm back in, I ran my fingers across the barrel where there were 12 notches scratched into the side as well as the words ‘Daisy Maker.’ Along with some other electronics, I wrapped the gun in a towel, put it in my shoulder bag and left my loft to begin what would be my final day “still alive.”

PART 2 – BEST LAID PLANS

Living in the city had its perks. There was plenty of entertainment, every ethnicity had a plethora of culinary options and organized romance was never hard to find. Even the criminals had a certain honorable code of conduct they stuck to. Ever since the Traveler arrived, it was understood that we were protected but had to continuously earn that right. We knew that the Traveler could handle anything but even the tedious tasks that came up, we had the Vanguard and their army of Guardians. I would see them on patrol sometimes, usually in groups of three. They had a certain…majestic quality to them. You knew they meant business even though most of them were pulling pranks, telling tall tales or joining in on alley football games with some children. They never created a presence that made people nervous. They were usually noticed in a positive light, if they were noticed at all.

They city also had its own personality. Almost as if the Traveler would have good days and bad days and everyone below could tell how it felt. Today definitely felt…off. During my morning errands, I saw a Guardian fire team I often saw during my walk and they seemed taller than normal, almost as if they were actively at attention and on alert. This time, their presence was noticeable. I was already on edge knowing what was in my shoulder bag and what I was about to do with it. The paranoia of Guardians on alert is the last thing I want to think about.

Trying to get myself in the right mindset for what I was about to do, I continued my walk. Moments later I found myself across the street from a pawn shop I frequented. I had visited so often, the store looked more like my own personal museum. As I walked through the door I was greeted with multiple reminders of my own failure. But not this time. In my bag was my most important possession.

As I approached the counter, I heard a voice, “Mr. Tamien. What have you brought me today” he murmured with an exasperated tone. “I’m running out of shelf space. You could have purchased a rental unit for cheaper, my boy.” I could only roll my eyes as if his comments didn’t hurt my pride. “Garmin, I’ve got something you’ve never seen.” I said through a furrowed brow as I reached into my bag for the Daisy Maker. “Say hello to my small friend!”

PART 3 – WHAT USED TO BE A BIG DEAL

“It’s little” Garmin grunted as I stood in front of him with the Daisy Maker pointed at the bridge of his nose. “Who cares about the size! This is an authentic Vanguard firearm!” I quickly replied with defiance. Garmin backhanded the gun out of his face. “It’s ‘say hello to my LITTLE friend’ you idiot” he cackled, “You’re the worst at vintage cinema.”

Shaking my head, I continued my pitch. “You would know about vintage, wouldn’t you ‘Mr. Map’.” Garmin was told he was named after one of the first AI systems on Earth…which is technically true, I suppose. “I know you’ve never had a Vanguard weapon at your disposal…what’s it worth to you?”

“Does it work?” he asked as he grabbed it from my hands. “I don’t know if it works. I’ve never fired it and don’t even know how” I told him. He looked the weapon up and down, noticing the 12 notches and responded “well, it’s probably been fired at least 12 times if I had to guess.” He continued to inspect the weapon when he suddenly dropped it on the counter.

“That just got really hot!” he said to me as he held his hands to his side. I put my hand over the weapon and could feel heat radiating.

BOOM! The sound of a massive explosion shook the entire building. Items fell off the shelf and parts of the ceiling slowly settled to the ground.

BOOM! A second explosion echoed through the city bringing Garmin and myself to our knees, bracing ourselves out of instinct. Air raid sirens filled the air as panicked footsteps and screaming filled the streets. People were covering their heads and running one direction as I saw the Guardian fire team from earlier running the other direction. Garmin and I looked at each other in confusion then looked down at the Daisy Maker to see it on the counter illuminated with an internal orange glow and humming as if there was a generator inside spinning up.

Through all the commotion and noise, the sound of a jingling bell caught my attention. I turned around towards the entrance of the shop and saw a lone Guardian Hunter walk in. He was tall and ominous. His armor was orange, black and white, and made of bones that looked like dragons. Obviously in pain and badly wounded, he fell to his knees and called out “Ghost?”

PART 4 – A SHEEP IN WOLVE’S CLOTHING

Garmin and I quickly ran to the Hunter as if we knew how to help him. “Ghost, are you here?” he yelled out. I knew that Guardians had little AI drones that would follow them around so I made the assumption that this Guardian named his drone “Ghost.”

“I don’t think a ghost is here” I told him as I could see my reflection in his visor. I had never been this close to a Guardian. Even with everything that was going on, I had to bask in the awe of his presence.

“I’ve lost my Ghost but felt his light in here, where is he?” he sputtered as he grabbed my shirt. I could hear the electronics of his armor malfunctioning as he struggled to keep a grip of me. “We don’t know where your ghost is! I’m sorry!” I yelled with a sympathetic panic.

“I might know what light you felt.” Garmin muttered with a hesitant tone as he looked down at the Daisy Maker.

“I need my Ghost. I need to rez and get to the tower. I’m responsible for a power core to bring the walls defenses online.” The Hunter extended his hand as a white ball of energy formed in mid air.

It was one of those moments when time seemed to stand still around me. So many thoughts were going through my head simultaneously as I tried to grasp the scenario I was in. This was my chance. This was my opportunity to be a hero.

I stood up slowly over the Hunter and reassured him “I’ve got your back Guardian. I’ll get you to the tower.” I looked back at Garmin with a curled lip and ordered him to “hand me my weapon!” With concerned eyes, Garmin awkwardly tossed the gun to me…from across the store as he yelled “shit that’s hot!” I could see the gun coming towards me in slow motion, rolling barrel over grip. What might as well have been a compact chamber of lava was closing in fast. I reach out to catch the gun and it immediately burned the skin on my hands. I closed my eyes and flinched as I heard a thunderous “fwaPOOOM” come from the gun. I quickly dropped the gun and was snapped back into reality. I looked down and to my horror, saw a motionless Hunter with a gaping hole in his chest.

“Holy shit man, you shot him!” Garmin yelled out!
“What the hell, why did you throw a molten hot gun at me?” I shouted back at him.
“You told me to hand you your…”
I quickly interrupted him “Yeah…HAND my my weapon!”
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Garmin screamed.
I paused and looked down at this poor Guardian and did what I usually do. I made a terrible decision.

“Well, first we have to get him out of here. If his ghost shows up and sees this scene, who knows what he will do to us.” I said with a lump in my throat. Guilt and fear overflowed my mind. This Hunter had a task. What will happen when he doesn’t show up. I’m responsible for this. I felt I had to carry the burden of his responsibility.

I stopped and looked at Garmin, “I have to take his place.”
“Are you kidding me? You can’t do that, you’re just some nobody, you’re not a Guardian” he retorted.
“I know but, if he doesn’t deliver his power core, the Vanguard might not be able to fight off whatever is attacking the city. Help me get his armor off.” Garmin was at a loss for words at my request.
“Whatever he showed us is tied to his armor, I need his suit if I’m going to make it to the tower.” I explained. I had no idea if this was actually true but I had to try something.

It took about 30 minutes to remove the Hunter’s armor and put it on myself. As I stepped back into the front of the store there was a hovering drone inspecting the Daisy Maker on the floor. It quickly turned its focus on me and slowly floated in my direction. It orbited my head as it beeped and booped. It stopped in front of my face as an array of lights began to scan my body. “ManKitten?” the drone spoke with an oddly human voice. “Is that you?” I stayed quiet, not knowing what to do. I was also thinking ‘what the hell kind of name is ManKitten?’

The drone continued, “do you still have the core?” I raised my hand from my thigh and looked at my gloved open palm. Nothing happened. The drone floated down and scanned my arm. “You’ve taken quite a bit of damage. Maybe next time you wait for me before you charge head first into a battalion of Vandals.” It became obvious now that this was the Ghost that the Hunter was looking for. He finished scanning my arm and the same glowing orb formed in mid air above my hand. “There we go” the drone said with an upbeat inflection, “let’s get back at it.”

I had no idea what to think. Did this Ghost really not realize I wasn’t his Guardian? “I guess I could fix this for you” said Ghost as he looked at the huge hole in my chest armor. The little pyramids on his frame began to spin when he suddenly emitted an enormous eruption of energy that surrounded me. It was the most amazing sensation I’ve ever felt! My feet lifted from the ground as I was suspended in mid air. The ghost let go of me seconds later and I landed on my feet. Clinching my fists, I reached down and picked up Daisy Maker, which was still sizzling hot but it no longer burned my hand. “On your mark” said the ghost. I looked back at Garmin and shrugged my shoulders. He just stared at me with a blank face. I ran out of the shop with confidence and strength like I’ve never felt.

As soon as I left the shop, I ran face first into a massive creature. It had human features but was easily 12 feet tall, had four arms and smelled like death. It wielded a shoulder cannon that appeared to harness the sun itself that it promptly pointed at my head and pulled the trigger. It didn’t kill me but I wish it had. In mere seconds I went from the best I had ever felt, to the worst. I writhed on the ground screaming in agony as another Guardian Warlock dispatched of the creature. Ghost floated over my face and instantly healed me. “I don’t know who you are or what you’ve done with my Guardian but now I am endowed to you…ManKitten.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what…”
Ghost quickly cut me off “stop talking! In fact, I never want to hear you say another word. From this point on, I’ll do the talking for both of us. Got it?”

Realizing I had become the most inept Guardian of all time, I slowly nodded yes and accepted my Destiny.

I was told to do this against my better judgement, so I'm just going to do it.

A Titan Haiku

A strong female blue,
Polished steel gleaming, a wall.
Action, no regret.

Born of bone and dust.
The experience through pain.
Bloodied, life repeats.

The light inside burns,
Air crackles, silence engulfs.
Pounding resides, death.

The fire crackles bright.
Another sun sets anew.
Tomorrow begins.

Great walls decaying.
History silently screams.
I enter the maw.

Light explodes my view.
A new wall of steel and cloak,
Friends of light and blood.

A home, a purpose.
A new journey begins fresh.
Action, no regret.

I wouldn't be surprised if you don't get many entries for this first round because...

• this time of year everyone tends to get insanely busy
  
• the latest reminder on the front page didn't link to this
  
• this prompt has scrolled down out of sight by now (unless you order by activity as you should)

Regardless, I hope you keep it up and I hope to participate before long.

Kerm

EDIT: just noticed this. Good on ya, Beorn.

“What could have melted every single circuit?” Lalia asked no one, her small voice echoing slightly as she opened her fifth power junction on this level. Whatever had hit this facility, had hit it hard, and getting the lights back on was key to her ability to fully explore it. The nearby metal wall and floor flickered with blue-white light as she used her cutting tool to clear a congealed blob of precious metals and melted plastics that had oozed down over the area she was most interested in. When finished, she drew upon her Light and reassembled the now revealed logic controller, trusting her instinct to guide her. With that complete, Lalia started quickly mending the first of the ten relays. What would have been a slow tedious process for an engineer or maintenance tech was child's play for her.

Perhaps she didn’t exactly love resoldering circuits and rebuilding complex, Golden Age cpu cores from the ground up, but she was very good at it. And she’d been doing it for so long that it wasn’t so much a chore or hardship as it was her way in life. At least for the foreseeable future. She hummed a little song as she worked, only pausing now and again during the really tricky parts. Even she had to slow down and concentrate when reconstituting a high voltage regulator buried behind a dozen delicate logic circuits!

When she finally finished, she rose up away from the wall then rolled her pearlescent pink-white shell sharply side to side in an attempt to throw off some of the fine dust that her movements in close proximity to the floor had kicked up around her. She gave the junction one last check then zipped back down the long corridor and turned into a small nearby room whose far wall was filled with dark displays and unmoving readouts surrounded by rows of buttons and switches.

The room was lit up just a touch brighter than it had been a few hours before as now a single orange light glowed dimly at the bottom edge of one of the panels. Lalia applied a few beams of gentle force to operate the controls in the right sequence, and…

Lights clicked on overhead. Out in the corridor another series of clicks followed in sequence.

…success!

“Teeeheeee!” Lalia exclaimed as she darted back and glanced left down the hallway. Sure, only the way back to the elevator behind her and the first fifty meters of the near side of the corridor to her left were lit. Another hundred meters beyond in either direction remained dark, but success was success. She expanded her shell gleefully outward and spun its separate facets around her spherical core in a cheerful little dance that saw them mimicking electrons in rapid orbit around a nucleus. So what if she was just a tiny bit of a nerd?!

Having worked the excitement out of her system, Lalia pulled herself back together then spun in place to take one last look at her night’s work before zipping back to the empty elevator shaft and up to the long abandoned facility’s ground floor. The lights were on here, thanks to her. Another minute’s flight through the business-like twists and turns brought her back to the small collapsed section of wall that had first given her a way into the strange facility several months before. With a soft sigh, Lalia set herself down on an eastward facing outcropping and rested for the few brief minutes it took for the sun to rise above the hills in the distance. It was a nice end to a long, successful night, and a nice beginning to what would prove to be the day she had been built for.

###

Things were proceeding much more quickly now that Lalia had a foothold on the first sublevel. With every new junction she repaired, another short section of the windowless facility lit up. Hour by hour she progressed farther in, and soon she turned a corner and spotted a large, ominous door a few meters farther down. Ominous doors were great! They meant there was something actually interesting nearby! Lalia quickened her pace as a result, and just two hours later she had power flowing to where it was needed. That done, it was simple to convince the door’s security subprocessor that everything was in order. For such a strong barrier, it slid open so gracefully, hardly making any noise at all!

Inside, Lalia gave a long, slow whistle. Stretched out before her was row after row of extremely advanced equipment. And, placed here or there, some reclined back on operating tables, others held upright in the grip of special machines surrounded by multiple articulated robot arms, were more than a dozen exos in various states of assembly!

As Lalia flitted around in the darkened room, its purpose quickly became clear. Though not an assembly line, as such, this area of the facility was clearly tasked with the delicate, sometimes hands-on fabrication of exos. The pair of long decayed skeletons in clean room suits at opposite ends of the large room spoke a little to just how hands-on the process must have been.

Lalia took another lap around the room and headed her way back out intending to continue her work when she crossed above an exo she hadn’t spotted. It was laying on the floor as if it had fallen sideways out of one of the assembly stations. As she moved past, a sudden, sharp, bright thrill passed through her circuits. She’d never felt anything like it, and almost involuntarily whipped her body around to stare down at the humanoid machine. There were significant burn marks surrounding contacts on its head and back, but… could it have just been activated… and been alive… when disaster struck the facility?!

The closer Lalia sunk toward the exo, the more powerful that crisp, energetic feeling grew in her core! “Could this be…? Have I found…? I did. At last. It is. It’s… you.” She spoke excitedly to the empty room.

“O…. Ok…” she said, shaking with excitement. She willed herself to be calm, quiet, still, then, trusting her deepest instincts, Lalia reached out with her Light and for the first time felt another’s Light reaching back!

“Eyes up! Guardian!!” She said to the one thing… person… she’d truly been searching for since the beginning of her existence.

The whole room lit up with Light, and then, an instant later, the burnt-out shell of the fallen exo was replaced by the living, Light-filled body of the Traveler’s newest Guardian.

###

“Hel… Hello there! My name is Lalia! I’m called a Ghost. From now on I’m to be your helper and companion. And you? A lot of people will refer to you as a Guardian. A protector and warrior for those that follow the Light. I’ve heard that most Guardians know their name when they are first brought back. So… what should I call you?”

Lalia had spent decades practicing what she’d first say when she met her Guardian. She’d even gotten most of it right! She’d expected her Guardian would be nervous and she’d even expected her Guardian’s initial look of confusion at being brought back into a pitch black room. But what Lalia didn’t expect was to see the eyes of the synthetic woman kneeling before her to take in her first few words with an intelligent expression only to go wide with panic as she attempted to answer what other Ghosts had assured Lalia would be an easy first question.

Her Guardian reached a hand to her throat and then looked up to her with fear now blazing in her bright teal eyes.

“I don’t understand!” Lalia said in reply. “I brought you back as best I know how. I’m sure I did it right. Ghost and their Guardians share a connection… a bond through the Light, and I felt it and I brought you back…”

‘Back?’ Her Guardian asked with her expression and the small, silent motion of her lips.

“Yes… back. You… you died a long time ago here in this room when this facility was attacked. But the Traveler, the thing that created me and linked me to you, gave me the power to bring you back. So you… we… so together we can protect what remains of humanity.”

Her Guardian stood and turned to look around the room and Lalia instinctively took a position hovering just above her Guardian’s shoulder so as to illuminate her field of view. It felt so right! Her Guardian thought so too, as she moved about the room looking at the equipment and other exos with purpose, while trusting Lalia to be where she needed her.

Soon, her Guardian was inspecting the head and throat of one of the exos laid out on one of the tables. She poked and prodded at it with expert hands and Lalia moved in close to provide her more focused light. Her Guardian moved on to tracing the long antennas jutting back away from the inert exo’s head with her fingers then pulled her hand back with a sudden jerk.

“What is it?” Lalia asked as her Guardian remained still for a long moment.

Then, a radio channel suddenly popped and cleared as a strong, smooth silence forced out the naturally occurring background noise.

“No voice boxes or speakers in any of us. I don’t think they wanted us to talk. Not out loud, anyway. I suspect you may have to do my talking for me. Clearly we were a new design, not mass produced. Lean and mobile, but strong and precise, too. Not workers or front line fighters. Special forces maybe? Or assassins?” asked a new voice on the newly opened channel. The voice was female and low pitched, and there was clearly a thoughtful intelligence behind it. One that had seen and understood a good deal with only a few minutes of study.

“You can hear and understand me, correct? I selected the clearest channel I could find,” The voice said.

Lalia very nearly swooned. She’d always been sure that she would feel a bond with her Guardian, but there had always been that fear that he or she might be reckless or overly adventuresome or… a Titan. But this Guardian, she seemed a perfect fit!

“Oh, yes! Of course, I can!”

“Very well. It is a pleasure to meet you Lalia,” her Guardian said. She looked around a moment and then, not finding what she was looking for, took up a relaxed kneeling position on the ground and said, “Now, I do not understand why I am here, or what you are, or what kind of situation we are in. Are you able to explain?”

“I am,” Lalia replied, “but first…”

Her Guardian smiled a knowing smile, lit only by the light coming in front the hallway.

“My name is Tacy. Please, tell me everything.”

"Ghost."

Tess beckons Dinklebot. He floats over as she closes the door to special orders.

"What is it?" Dinklebot asks.

"Dinklebot, I'm bored. Nobody sends and receives any special orders anymore. I'm looking to expand into a busier, more lucrative business."

Dinklebot's interest is piqued. This is the first he'd heard of her ambitions, but admittedly he tends not to know all the goings on at the tower.

"What sort of Business?"

"Fashion. For Guardians".

"That sounds fantastic. So why do you need me?"

Tess leans in close, checking around to make sure nobody is looking. "Seeing as how you don't have a guardian, I thought it would be helpful if you were to find one. One who is rich. One who can get the ball rolling so to speak."

Dinklebot stirs on this, impressed by Tess' newfound cunning.

"We have DNA records from the golden age, of the wealthiest individuals living" he says. I could reference them to pinpoint someone rich nearby.

"Good. I'll be sure to give you a cut of what I make in the first week".

The deal made, Dinklebot departs. Flying to the tower's dock, he accesses a computer terminal. The DNA records are shoddy - incomplete. But there is a match. In Old Russia…

From the darkness came Light.

Arya gasped. Breath filled her lungs, her eyes snapped open, and her heart began to beat.

“Gaurdian!” said a strange voice. Ayra’s eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light shining in her eyes. “Who are you?” she cautiously inquired?

“A Ghost!” the little floating machine responded. “Actually, I’m your Ghost.”

“Where are we?” Arya’s head was spinning. She looked past Ghost and saw a sea of stars. Ghost followed her gaze. “It’s been so long, I’m not completely certain where we are… somewhere past Mars, probably near the Reef.”

It was then Ayra realized she was floating. She turned away from the large glass window; they were in a cryo-bay. She floated back to the only open pod. It’s label bore the name: Arya Rey. The un-opened pods on the left and right had the names: Samantha Rey and Emma Rey. She looked closer, their faces peaceful, but lifeless.

“My sisters, can you...” She looked at Ghost with hopeful eyes.

“No, I’m sorry.” Ghost said with a somber tone. “The Light chose you.”

“Chose me... for what?” Arya turned away from her sister’s caskets to face Ghost.

“To be the spark that ignites the Light. To drive back the Darkness.”

“How?”

“Well, first we need to find a ship. Come on, I’m sure you have more questions. I’ll fill you in on the way.”

And so into the darkness went Light, and the darkness could not overcome it.

"I want a do-over."
The small polyhedron floated over an ancient, rusted-out bus, squinting as he scanned it for any trace of organic matter.
"A deal's a deal, Ghost."
The Warlock scraped his thumb across the side of the bus, trying to read the old writing covered by a layer of dust. The ghost turned to face him.
"I must stress how degrading it is to be treated like a floating vault, as though you don't have more than enough space for your things."
The Warlock was about to retort, when a loud crashing sound startled the ghost, and it turned to face the source.
"You've sworn to carry our burdens. Wouldn't want to be known as a liar, right?"
The Titan cast the warped door aside and entered the bus, searching for anything of value.
"Yes, but. it's technically not midday yet, right?"
He turned to the Warlock, who nodded slowly. The ghost was sure that denying a Titan's happiness through the power of technicality was a great moment of amusement for the scholar, which would be far more satisfying if he wasn't the one who came up with the bet in the first place.
The Titan emerged from the bus empty-handed, something that the group had gotten used to.
"You know," the ghost observed, "I'm starting to feel like your insistence on scavenging every single house, vehicle, and container is probably a deliberate attempt to sabotage my search."
The Titan paused for a moment.
"... No..."
The ghost sighed. They'd been searching almost nonstop for weeks. The pair wanted him to find a Hunter, the quick, sneaky counterpart to the brutish Titan, and while he would have initially been happy enough to find any Guardian amongst the ruins of the old world, he was starting to dread finding another Titan. One was enough.

As the group followed the road, they came upon a large ravine. A common sight on this planet, especially when you were this close to what would have been a densely populated area of the old world. Whatever had hit humanity during the Golden Age centuries ago, it had torn the very ground apart beneath their feet. The rows and rows of abandoned (and often not abandoned) vehicles were a testament to the desperation with which the people attempted to escape whatever it was. The ghost chose these areas for his search, since the odds of finding a Guardian were surely much higher in these areas, although they were far more dangerous, as well, which is why he agreed to team up with the two Guardians. The sooner he found his own Guardian, the sooner he could stop carrying their gear.

As they came up to the edge of the ravine, his sensor picked something up; a faint trace of Light.
"Time's about up, little guy."
The Titan pointed upwards at the looming sun.
"I've got something here."
The ghost came upon a car teetering on the edge of the precipice, it seemed to have been launched off the side of the road during the collapse, but had managed to keep from falling into the ravine somehow. His joy turned to confusion as soon as he looked inside. The reading was definitely here, but the vehicle was clearly empty.
"Are you sure this is it?"
The Warlock ran his hand across the top of the car.
"I'm positive."
The ghost said, scanning again. The Warlock gestured towards the vehicle, and the Titan grabbed the trunk and lifted it, causing it to lean towards the drop, but old foliage held it in place. Under the vehicle was an old rifle encased in the roots. The Titan perked up.
"Is that a Khvostov?"
He let go of the car and began to pull the old rifle up from the roots.
"I dismantled one I had ages ago. This thing's a collectable!"
The ghost sighed again, knowing that he was destined to haul that around for who knows how long. But when the Titan finally freed the rifle from the roots, the ghost noticed something else half buried in the dust: the remains of a skeleton's hand, with traces of what had to have been an armored glove. The ghost lit up, and surged light at the remains. Small rocks began to lift off the ground as the remains reacted to the Light. The body began to levitate out of the dust as it regenerated. At last! He finally found a Guardian, and one that had appeared to be a soldier, to boot. The bones were covered with muscle, then a radiant blue skin (an Awoken!), which the ghost made sure to protect with some makeshift armor pieces that he was storing. Fully regenerated, the figure slumped to the ground, gasping in her first breaths in centuries.
"Well, looks like you've finally won, for once."
The Warlock grinned behind his mask, as the Titan sighed. The ghost kept his eye trained on the Guardian on the ground, not wanting to look away from the dream come true.
"Eyes up, Guardian."
The ghost proudly beamed. The figure stopped breathing for a moment, and looked up, her shining blue eyes peering through loose strands of her purple hair. The ghost was taken aback, and the Titan turned to the Warlock as he cocked his head to the side. She couldn't have been a soldier, could she? The Titan looked down at the rifle in his hands. This couldn't be right. It was a Guardian, technically, the Light proved that... but she was practically still a child.
After a brief pause as she scanned each of them carefully, the Warlock held up his hands, and reached into his cloak. Her eyes quickly trained on the knife that he drew out, holding it by the blade. He nodded and tossed it her way. As she caught it, a spark flickered from her fingertips, and a flame coated the blade.
"Well, she's a Hunter."
The Warlock turned to the Titan, who was clearly disheartened.
"I'm still keeping the Khvostov."
The Hunter frowned at the Titan, but the Warlock had already drawn a new weapon. An intricately embroidered revolver, gold-plated and heavy-looking.
"Your ghost here is a bit speechless, it seems."
She looked over at the ghost, who was struggling to get a single word of his carefully prepared speech out.
"But long story short, you're what's called a Guardian. Now, I'm not saying that you don't look like you can fend for yourself, but this is a pretty dangerous part of the world, so you're probably better off with a group. If you come with us, I'll let you have this hand cannon. Otherwise, my friend here will give you your gun back. What do you say?"
He walked over and handed the weapon to her, which also caught fire as she held it in her hands. She thought for a moment, then smiled, stored the weapon, and leaned against the car as she crossed her arms, speaking her first words.
"Alright, y'all got yourselves a deal!"
Some quick snapping sounds were followed by a short rumble, before a long scream faded into an echo as the car, with Hunter in tow, disappeared into the abyss.
"Well, that seems about right. We gonna go get her?"
The Titan asked, as he draped the rifle over his shoulder. The ghost frowned and turned to him, transmatting the rifle into his storage.
"I want a do-over."

"So, why’d you bring me back?”

The Titan stood still on the deck of the Fallen ketch, gazing over the rusted vista of the Cosmodrome below. His Ghost buzzed and swiveled, approximating a questioning gesture with its crude robotic face. The Titan kept silent for a moment, shifting his attention to the newly won weapon he held. Setting it down, he reached up and removed his helmet, revealing a human male, nostrils flared with the fresh scent of ether. His face could only be described as handsome, but in a way that seemed like a higher power had tried to make him ugly but couldn’t quite pull it off. He repeated, again to his Ghost, “Really. Why did you bring me back?”

His Ghost hovered closer, affecting an expression of seriousness: “You’re my Guardian! We’ve had this discussion before.”

Turning to look at the ground below the ketch, it continued, “Thinking about the day we met? We’ve certainly had some successful days since then, but for me, that will always be my favorite. I looked for you for a long, long time.”

The Titan remained expressionless. He had been thinking about that first day. Birthday? Resurrection day? He still didn’t know how it worked. Who had he been Before? How could he know the things that he knew without any contextual memories? What language did he even speak? These were the things his Ghost had never answered, and as far as he knew, could not answer. His Ghost was his best companion, that had never been in doubt, but when it came to philosophy, it was woefully bereft. That didn’t stop him from asking, though.

His Ghost filled the silence, “That was a dangerous day. The Fallen were right on top of us, and we found a weapon just in time. Luckily for me you knew how to use it. Me and you, we really get things done.”

The Titan mentally agreed. Right from that first moment of consciousness, he had felt the need for action, movement, the completion of tasks. Was that why his Ghost had chosen him? Was that an engrained feature of his personality, his soul? Ghosts could detect many things, but did they detect those? Or was the decision the random process of incomprehensible technology – certainly an inadequate-bordering-on-inappropriate word for the Traveler and its Ghosts. Questions, questions, never answers. Purpose without understanding.

FOOM-AAAAAAAAAH!

The Fallen dropship shattered his introspection. His Ghost: “There’s a Baron on that ship!”

Quickly replacing his helmet and hefting his new weapon, the Titan returned to battle readiness, adapting a perfect combat stance and heading toward the drop zone. “We’ll continue this conversation later.”