Chapter Text
There was a soft ringing that filled the new light's entire consciousness along with what sounded like a voice far off in the distance. With a sudden, shuddering gasp, the light was brought back into the world, having been successfully resurrected for the first time. He breathed heavily, taking a moment to look at his surroundings and process what had happened. He didn't get very long to think about it as suddenly something repeatedly bashed him in the head rather aggressively. He reached up and tried to swat it away, blinking in confusion.
"GET UP YOU USELESS PIECE OF HORSE SHIT!" a rather spiky looking drone buzzed loudly with a thick, male accent next to him. The light blinked in confusion, earning another barrage to the head from the weird little flying mech, "LETS GO! LETS GO! GET OFF YOUR ASS, YOU FUQING DONKEY!" The poor light scrambled to his feet then immediately fell over as he was still coming around from the resurrection. The mech's single eye rolled so far back the light thought it had lost it. "FOR FUQ'S SAKE, MY NAN COULD MOVE FASTER THAN YOU!!" he spat acidly, going around behind the light and pushing him from the back. The snow covered ground suddenly erupted in front of them with electric blue rounds and the light yelped in surprise.
"DAMN IT, MOVE DUMBASS!" the mech shouted. The light scrambled up to his hands and knees, finally managing to gain his balance and run towards one of the abandoned structures surrounding the clearing. They floundered about in the snow like a fish out of water, hoping to dodge whatever was getting thrown at them. They made it inside but the poor light tripped and smashed his face into the floor rather ungracefully, sending pieces of his mask and face all over the ground. The mech made a sound similar to a long, agitated sigh but flew down next to the light, "Don't move. Hold still. Gods, you're like a FUQING baby bull in a china shop" he grumbled. The light froze and let the mech run a scan over his face. In an instant, his smashed face was repaired and he reached up to feel it tenderly.
"W… whoa… thank you…." the light finally spoke, his voice sounding very small and very frightened. The drone sighed again and wagged himself back in forth in motion of shaking his head,
"Traveler almighty, what the fuq are you thinking?" he seemed to mutter to himself. He perked up and addressed the light again, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions…." he hovered about the room, making sure the area was clear before settling in front of the light again. "I'm your Ghost…. That probably doesn't explain much, but it'll all make sense in time." he continued, bobbing about as it spoke. The light shook his head in bewilderment,
"Ghost…?" he asked softly. The ghost bobbed in a way to nod again,
"Yup. Ghost. A instrument of the light, just like you. Now, as for some questions needing answers, I can offer you some. You've had previous lives, the lucky number of seventeen to be exact. You're dumba- I mean, you have been transferred to a new body seventeen times, chump. Try to be more careful with this one." he said, ending it's statement with an acidic jab. The light blinked and looked down at his hands, flexing the metallic digits experimentally,
"What am I…?" he asked.
"You really are fresh off the assembly line. For fuq's sake." the ghost grumbled, "You're an exo. Once a human now transplanted into a mechanic body. Oh don't worry, you still feel and do everything you once did as a human but now… metal guess.... That's… not what you were asking, were you?" he trailed off as the light shook his head. The ghost scoffed and took what the light could only guess to be a deep breath, "You are a guardian now. A protector of the light. You keep the people safe in this time of uncertainty. Chosen by the Traveler bla bla bla… nevermind, I'll explain this later." he sighed as he spotted the very lost look on its guardian's face. The light looked about the room slowly, still processing the fact he was alive again,
"Well… you know my name? Do you have a name?" he asked. The ghost hovered up close to his face, his single eye narrowing,
"I'm just called a ghost. You can give me a name and I'll give you yours if you'd like but don't make it something FUQING stupid. I'm a very respectable ghost." he snapped. The light nodded once,
"O-ok…" he said. He looked around again, as if searching for the room for ideas. His gaze settled back outside, the steady fall of the snow quiet and almost therapeutic after all the sudden changes in action. A small smile came across the exo's metal face,
"How about Winters?" he asked, turning back to the ghost. The ghost hovered for a second, his eye blinking and narrowing as he thought it over. Finally, he nodded once,
"It's acceptable. Just don't give me any dumb nicknames like 'Snowball' or 'Snowflake'." he grumbled, flying in close. He seemed to study his guardian, hovering about and spinning around him slowly. He came around to the front again and bobbed lazily about,
"Hmm.... You're pretty aloof for a guardian... Always got your head somewhere else.... How about Cloud?" he said stiffly, his shell flaring for a second. The new light was quiet for a minute, turning his violet gaze to the snow outside again as they thought it over. Finally, he brought his knees up to his black and white breast and nodded,
"Cloud.... I like that...." he said softly. Winters blinked and bobbed to nod again,
"Good. Now get some rest. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. Believe it or not, even if you've been dead for three months, you'll still need rest." he said sternly and disappeared in a flash of light. Cloud-17 gasped and looked around, suddenly all alone in the dark, empty building.
"W-Winters?!" he cried.
"I'm still here, dumbass. I'll always be with you, even if you can't see me. I won't be out and around all the time, its pretty dangerous. I'll only be around if you need me." Winters snapped, Cloud-17 still being able to hear his voice even though he couldn't see him. Cloud-17 looked down and patted at his metal frame, poking around for the ghost.
"Hey, stop it! Do you really need a FUQING babysitter right now?!" Winters spat.
"Well… no…"
"Then I suggest you take the time to reacquaint yourself with life and rest. Tomorrow we head out for the Last City and there your real purpose will be explained. Don't worry about the Fallen outside. I'll keep you safe, guardian." Winters growled. Cloud-17 was quiet as the room fell silent again and he was alone. There was a lot to take in and he wasn't too sure what was going on. Everything looked so… different. What did everything even look like before his death? Speaking of death, how did he even die? And seventeen times?! He shook his head and got to his feet, searching for a suitable place to settle down and rest for the remainder of the day. The outside world was growing darker by the seconds and he could only guess nightfall was near. Finding a cozy, less cluttered corner, the guardian made a little spot for himself and curled up into a little ball. Worn out completely, it didn't take long for Cloud-17 to fall asleep. Once he was fast asleep, Winters rose up again, looking out across the icy landscape before them before back at Cloud-17. The guardian seemed so small and vulnerable behind him and he couldn't help but feel a slight soft spot for the exo. He was new and frightened; perhaps Winters had been a little harsh in the beginning. He sighed heavily and drifted a little ways outside to look up at the starry night sky.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Traveler."
______////______
"And that's it. The Last City... Despite all odds, we made it." Winters said proudly, floating a ways ahead to look out upon the grand, sprawling landscape. Cloud came up behind his ghost, sporting some rough, thrown together articles of clothing that offered him some form of protection from the elements of the EDZ. Along the way, he had learned some things about himself; he was brought back in the EDZ, specifically a place known as old Germany. He was a hunter, having been gifted the ability of stealth and agility most people only dreamed of. They had discovered that he was a Void user after a very close and fiery encounter when he had attempted to use something called Solar.... and they didn't talk about when he tried to use Arc....
"What's down there?" Cloud asked, his eyes darting about the hustle and bustle below. Winters zipped back over to his guardian and bonked him on the head again,
"I told you already. Its's where the remnants of humanity live and thrive. Where the guardians all come together. This is our home base." Winters replied. Cloud nodded slowly even though, still looking about in awe as it was a stark difference from the endless trees and shrubbery he had been wandering. Winters let him stare for a minute and then gave him another nudge, "Well it's not going to get any closer if you keep fuqing looking at it. Lets go!" he scoffed. Cloud straightened up and trotted down the embankment, heading for the large metal and concrete maze before him with a small spring in his step. The spring turned into a trip and next thing Cloud knew, he was skidding to a halt face first into the gravel.
"Why do I even bother..." Winters muttered, making sure his guardian was alright before continuing onward. As they drew nearer to the Tower, Cloud gazed upon the grand structure in awe but also noticed the wreckage of some recent battle. He glanced at some civilians, watching them hobble along before turning to Winters again,
"What happened here? I thought you said the Last City was the sanctuary for humanity." he spoke softly. Winters shell flared and his orb like eye dimmed for a second,
"I'm... Not too sure... Maybe someone up top will have some answers." he replied with a determined bob. Cloud smiled and continued his way forward to the livelier part of the city. People were suddenly dressed in armor, some sporting capes, some robes, and others with large armor that seemed to only emphasize their already huge build. Cloud wandered about, his violet eyes wide as he tried to catch every flash of color and glint of armor that passed by. It was a lot for someone who had been wandering the forest for months. Unable to keep up with the sudden change, his incessant spinning around resulted in a wave of dizzyness and he felt his feet get tangled up with each other. With a strangled yelp, he toppled over and onto an unfortunate person who happened to be passing by too close to him. The two of them fell over and Cloud quickly looked up,
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't...! Uh... My bad..." he stammered, trying to find an excuse to his clumsiness. The other person shook their head, a small laugh coming from them surprisingly as they sat up. They were a male exo, much like Cloud, but he had bright blue eyes and a horn between his brows.
"It's alright! Take it you've never been to the Tower befo- Oh yikes, what are you wearing?" his tone dipped his gaze settled on Cloud's very poor attempt at an outfit. Cloud looked down at himself and then back up to the other exo,
"Clothes...?" he said with a shrug. The exo scoffed and shook his head,
"Buddy you look like you just walked out of the Dark Ages." he chuckled. He got to his feet and held his hand out, letting Cloud take it and pulling him up. He took a step back, putting his hands on his hips as his eyes narrowed in thought, "What's your name, kid?"
"Uh... It's Cloud-17." Cloud said, ducking his head shyly to rub the back of it. The exo nodded, still smiling brightly,
"Cloud, huh? Well nice to meet you, fellow hunter. It just so happens to be your lucky day as you have run into the Hunter Vanguard." he said, shooting a quick finger gun Cloud's way. Cloud blinked slowly, completely lost,
"Hunter vanguard....?" he asked. The exo nodded and threw an arm around his shoulders,
"Yup. Call me Cayde. I'll show you around so we can get you up to speed and into the field...."