Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Johnny?”

Something jabs him uncomfortably in the ribs. He doesn’t startle but his heart skips two beats painfully in his chest. It felt like being ripped out of a dream before you could hit the ground.

The vehicle hums and vibrates as it traverses the icy backroads. The cargo cabin of the large armored truck is freezing, his breath comes out in puffs even inside the vehicle. Outside must be a frozen hell.

Someone asked him a question but he couldn't remember what. He had been listening but then, like fog on the shore, the sun rose higher and it was gone. The haze is so thick in his mind, it’s hard to tell where the beach ends and the waves begin.

“I said, are the detonators secured?”

The voice is rough, the tone of the question is angry but that’s their norm.

Soap turns his head to the voice, dark eyes sunken into bone plating glares at him expectantly.

“Bloody hell Soap.”

A second voice across from him sounds almost concerned.

“Oi, what’s goin’ on back there?”

A third voice, heard over comms and from the front cabin of the truck.

Three male voices, all familiar.

He shakes his head to remove the dust.

Ghost, Gaz and Price are all waiting for him to reply.

“Soaps got his head in the clouds back here Cap.”

“No time for daydreaming! ETA five minutes boys.”

Gaz and Ghost, acknowledge Price’s update and turn back to Soap.

The blip in the matrix passes and Soap becomes himself again.

“Aye, detonators secure, all dolled up and ready for the show.”

His smirk is trademark, Ghost just shakes his head in silent disapproval.

“And the jammer? Gaz?”

“Affirmative.” Gaz replies tersely and pats one of his large breast pockets where the piece of tech sits.

Ghost doesn’t tell them that he's also prepared, they all just simply know he's always ready.

The wet breaks of the vehicle screech louder than any of them would like as it comes to a complete stop.

“Alright lads, you’ve got two hours. Exfil East of the main bridge at 0500 hours. No exceptions.”

Captain Price sends them off with those orders, no well wishes needed. The mission was standard, -as standard as a special task force operation could be.

Soap reaches for the door and pushes it open. The winter air tugs it from his grasp, whipping the door wide as a rough gust of wind blows by. The three men file out of the vehicle, boots meeting crunchy patches of frozen snow.

It’s not snowing but wild blowing gusts of arctic air stir up the flakes on the forest floor. Soap can feel droplets as snowflakes melt against the warm flesh of his cheeks.

“Bloody fuckin’ miserable.” He complains, pulling his protective mask higher on his nose and readjusting his snow goggles to fit snug against his face.

“Better than fuckin’ sand.” Ghost comments, moving ahead of him.

“God I hate sand but being cold is dreadful.” Gaz whines.

“Buncha babies.” Ghost grumbles. “Move out.”

Weapons and torches drawn, Soap can feel the vibration of his watch alerting him the time was now three a.m.. Right on time.

Everything around them is white, brown and green. Thick snow and large pine. Their tactical gear shades of white and grey to camouflage between the two.

There was some comfort in wearing more tactical gear but it certainly was cumbersome. It had been a while since they were sent this far North on a mission. The distress call coming in sixteen hours prior was urgent and the 141 were perfectly suited for the last second job, having completed another mission just twelve hours prior.

Barely enough time to eat, shower and sleep before they were off again.

“We're within range.” Gaz spoke quietly behind him.

“Copy, switching to night vision.” Ghost replies.

Pocketing the torch, Soap pulls down the night vision goggles over his eyes. “Night vision on.” Soap also replies to Gaz as the greenish hue fills his view.

They remained silent, enemy forces should be asleep with the exception of a few look outs but they knew better than to compromise their position with small talk.

Ghost crouches ahead, ducking behind a large tree.

Soap can see a man-made light glowing on the snow beyond the tree line; he and Gaz join Ghost to tuck behind their own trees.

Soap looks past where the forest ends and the yard begins. One hundred feet away rests the main office of the nearby city's dam.

The mission was urgent, thugs of some so called private militia had infiltrated the dam, shutting it tight and preventing the city below access to water but more importantly to the electricity needed to heat their homes.

Soap could hear the clicking of Ghost readying his MCPR-300. Although he couldn’t see the enemy movement without his own scope, he knew Ghost was searching for the one to three enemies that would be on watch in the office and the other three to four that would be patrolling along the rails of the dam.

“In position.” Ghost confirmed for them.

Sprinting low, Soap and Gaz moved out, heading for the entrance while Ghost provided cover. No search lights, but certainly cameras. They flanked the building huddling up to its walls to avoid detection as best as possible.

The snow dampened any noise outside and the only sound from inside was the dull melody playing from a portable radio.

Gaz put his hand on the entrance door and peered through its dark glass. He held two fingers up by his side for Soap to see. Two tangoes inside. His hand went flat, palm down. Both asleep or barely awake.

Gaz’s other hand was on the door ready to push it open, Soap risked whispering out to him.

“Doya think it’s secured?”

The town was small, the dam was the fanciest thing around for miles. If it had any sort of security systems in place, tripping an alarm would alert the whole base.

Gaz gave him a quick ‘shut the fuck up’ glare from over his shoulder.

Soap suppressed a groan. Last minute emergency mission bullshit.

This was something they should have been informed of, prepared for over several meetings. Instead, Soap barely had enough time to memorize the building's layout, forget its camera and security details.

Gaz didn’t respond but Soap knew either way they would try the door.

Soap armed himself with his silenced pistol and moved closer to Gaz’s shoulder.

Gaz pushed and Soap held his breath. The door opened, no resistance, not locked and no blaring alarms. Crouching under the office window, the pair crept around to the open door.

Two men were slouched in their chairs, both asleep. The one in front of a computer that displayed the security cameras was shot by Gaz, the other with his feet propped up on a table by the window, a book resting on his chest was shot by Soap.

“Office secure, two tangoes down. No resistance.” Gaz reported to Ghost.

“Copy, no movement out here. Soap, how copy?”

Soap moved away from the office and headed towards the stairwell door across the hall.

“Moving into position.”

“Get those doors ready Gaz.” Ghost ordered, ready to advance the mission.

The stairwell door squeaked as it opened, luckily no one else seemed to be around. -For now.

Soap’s eyes surveyed every corner, there were cameras on every landing which meant Gaz had a good visual on his progress as he made his way down to the dams lowest access railing.

The floor he was looking for luckily had ‘outside dam access’ signs plastered all over, making it easy to navigate.

“In position two.” Soap announced as he twisted the large crank knob of the metal door that led outside.

The wind was even stronger out on the edge of the dam, winter gusts pulled the door from his grasp like it had when he opened the truck door but instead of a low groan, the metal door beat hard enough against the dam’s wall that it produced a booming noise so loud it echoed off expansive walls.

He bit his tongue to stop expletives from tumbling out.

Movement behind the door caught him by the shoulders, an enemy barreling into him so fiercely it nearly toppled both of them over the balconies railing.

Soap struggled against them since they had the advantage.

Quick whip-like snaps hit his ears, the sounds of Ghost’s rifle picking off other nearby enemies before they noticed him.

Pushing the assailant off, Soap could hear Ghost grumbling at him.

“Fuckin’ hell MacTavish, wait for my signal before blundering through doorways. Gaz, lock down the access ways now. Who knows how many people heard us.”

“Roger, nearly ready.”

Soap righted himself and aimed his gun at the person at his feet.

They had caught him by surprise but had been fairly easy to throw off.

The enemy scrambled backwards away from him. Smaller frame, easily a foot shorter than himself, a woman reached for her rifle that flew to the ground away from where she had landed.

God damnit, not a woman. His frown was so prominent it hurt the muscles around his mouth. A silent apology to god and his mother before he pulled the trigger, killing her.

His watch buzzed against the pulse of his wrist, the walkway was clear so he wasted no more time and secured his carabiner to the rail.

Four a.m., time was running out. Soap carefully descended the wall of the dam, no more shots rang out, Gaz had the place on forced lockdown.

All that was left was to plant his explosive and get the hell out of there.

Reaching the end of his cable, Soap latched the explosive device to the wall and began its activation sequence.

“Soap.”

“Ghost.”

“Get out of there.”

“I wouldn’t dare be late.” He replied, letting a bit of humour enter the mission for the first time that night.

“It’s ready, heading back up.”

“Copy. Enemies getting feisty, I don’t know how much longer I can keep them out.” Gaz interjected.

An explosion could be heard above him, not from the dam itself but most likely from the main building.

“Gaz. Retreat.” Ghost ordered.

“Ghost, Gaz, what's goin’ on?” Soap picked up the pace, panting as he pulled himself up the wire and back onto the balcony.

Nobody answered but he could hear the sounds of gunfire. Soaps boots clinked loudly against the metal bridge, running across it would be much faster than re-entering the building.

“Ghost, do you copy?” Soap tried again.

Seconds felt like minutes but Ghost finally replied.

“Gaz is fine, got clipped but walking it off.” Soap’s chest clenched. “More importantly, they’re onto you. Multiple enemies heading your way.”

Ghost barely finished the sentence before the metal door just ahead of Soap swung open and a large man stepped through it.

For a moment Soap was back on the rugby field, with all the momentum and energy of a teenager wanting to impress his lass on the sidelines, he pushed himself, sprinting towards the man he tucked in his shoulders and tackled the man, sending him over the railing.

The only way out was the metal ladder at the end of the balcony. Soap did not look behind, he only focused on climbing.

Everything was burning now, especially his lungs. Soap would swear off cardio for at least two weeks after tonight.

Enemies were closing in, the dozens that filtered through the metal access doors were shooting up at him. There was nothing he could do but climb. Somewhere through the commotion, Soap could hear Ghost firing his rifle again but there were too many to pick off fast enough.

Soap was stunned for a moment when a shot too close for comfort blew his night vision goggles into pieces.

“Fuckin’ hell.” He batted it off his head, stuck with only the dim lights of the dam to guide him now.

Soap was close to the top as the ladder shook beneath him.

Even if they couldn’t climb fast enough to catch him, all they really had to do was aim straight up and he would be done for. Soap’s mind swirled with ideas, -if only he could shake them off.

Gun fire whizzed from below, Soap had no time left and was still a good number of rungs away from the top. Thinking fast, he started climbing with one hand as the other reached for his detonator.

It fell from his hands when the whole dam trembled, the device below exploding as soon as he pressed the button. The enemy stopped firing, either falling to the ground or over the railing when the whole balcony shifted unexpectedly.

“Soap! What the fuck did you do?” Ghost was angry but Soap swore he also sounded concerned.

“Improvising L.T.”

Soap wasn’t cold anymore, sweat poured from every crease as he made it back to the tree line.

Ghost had his rifle hastily slung over one arm and held Gaz up with the other.

“How bad?” Soap asked.

“Sfine. Hurts less than my last ex.”

A dumb joke, meaning it hurt more than Gaz wanted to let on. Soap quickly got to Gaz’s other side, bringing the man's arm around his shoulder so he and Ghost could help him walk.

“At least tell me its outer thigh.”

Soap risked a glance to Gaz’s leg, anything too close to the middle and they would be in real trouble, a shot to the femoral artery out in the field meant death.

“Outer hip.” Gaz grunted as he hobbled with them through the snow.

The extraction point was still a ways away, moving slower would cut them pretty tight on time.

“Price do you copy?”

“Where are ya lads? Nearly time and I got vehicles gunnin’ it up the hills towards yas.” Price answered.

“ETA five minutes.”

Soap shot Ghost a look, they were at least ten to fifteen away, very unlike him to fib to the captain.

“You’ve got fifteen before I leave you lot to freeze in the snow.” Came Price’s retort.

Fourteen minutes later the truck came into view, -they made it.

Ghost piled in first, helping Gaz into the truck before turning to Soap and extending his forearm for him.

Soap looked at his friend. The realization that finally after so long he was able to call Ghost that washed over him.

Ghost hid himself behind a terrifying mask, closing himself off to the world but eventually he, like Gaz and Price, had become family to Soap.

Soap clasped their arms together and pulled himself into the vehicle.

Price sped off before Ghost had a chance to lock the doors.

Chapter Text

He woke for no apparent reason. The room was dark, no moonlight through the windows. On instinct he lifted his wrist to his face, the blue shine of his eyes glowed softly against the metal and artificial muscle that made up his forearm.

It was another vision, one that left him checking his wrist for a device that no longer sat there, that had him experiencing a cold sweat from the pores he no longer had.

Lowering his arm, Soap focused on the gently spinning ceiling fan above. As its blades swished around and around, it put him in a trance. He forgot why he turned it on in the first place. The cool breeze settled over him, the room was hot but that was not something he had to worry about. Not to say he didn’t feel temperature anymore, more so that it didn’t affect his exo body nearly as much as it did for fleshy humans.

Someone shifted in the bed beside him. Lyla. Soap remembered her name but by the time the sun would rise it wouldn’t matter.

Last evening had been their third date, meaning he had finally brought her home, -had finally given her what she was really after.

Women, human and awoken alike, all enjoyed flirting with him, -to be fair, he typically made the first move. Trade mark grins, subtle jokes, fun banter and lingering touches all leading to dates that lasted well into the night.

Each woman showed genuine interest at first but they were all after the same thing.

To sleep with an exo.

Did he eat? Did he sleep? Did he have a dick? Could he fuck with it?

So they laughed at his jokes, encouraged his advances and endured a few dates but once they got what they wanted they all left.

Lyla was cute. A human civilian, long dark hair, a good foot shorter than him and laughed a little too loud.

Their first two dates were the best Soap had had in a while. Lyla engaged in conversation and had no problem looking him in the eyes during dinner instead of at his mouth like some previous dates he's gone to dinner with.

Do you eat? How do you eat? Where does it go?

But at the end of the night, Lyla had the telltale look, coming off a little too eager when he had asked her back to his place, -he found morbid curiosity in her eyes instead of a passion.

It was not his name on her lips as she climaxed, instead it was kept generic. ‘Yes’ and ‘Oh Traveler’ or ‘This is amazing’.

The way she turned away from him to sleep when he pulled out of her had sealed the deal. They didn’t want to cuddle with an exo, kiss his room temperature plating or bring him around to meet their family. They wanted to fuck him and giggle with their friends about it afterward.

Traveler save him. Soap wasn’t sure when this spiral of woman started but it seemed to be a trainwreck he couldn’t escape. A revolving door of poor choices.

He found it hard to distinguish real interest from fake but he liked the attention they gave him more than he was willing to admit. If he were being honest, it upset him how jealous he got when he would see his previous lovers, weeks or months later with their new flesh and blood partners.

Soap wondered why the hell he had gone through the process of becoming an exo if he had always been this vain.

He willed his mind to calm, the night was still too young and he needed to be asleep so Lyla could make her stealthy escape from his life come sunrise. He turned away from her and the hellish ceiling fan and reclosed his eyes.

~

Spearmint woke him.

Alone in the bed, the only sounds came from the fan still spinning above, humming in a broken rhythm.

“You were dreaming again.” Spearmint commented, not mentioning Lyla’s absence.

“Guardians don’t dream.”

Soap’s voice came out more melancholy than intended.

He stood and pattered over to the window, pulling open the dark curtains to rain. The tone for the day was set, he thought, letting out an audible sigh.

“May I suggest a change?” Spearmint inquired, following Soap around as he moved out of the bedroom and into the kitchen to start his morning routine of breakfast consisting of a large black coffee as scalding as possible and nothing else.

“A change?” He took the first sip, turned to lean against the counter and faced Spearmint.

“Ya, maybe a new headpiece colour? I am getting tired of my blush pink.” She spun in a circle trying to look at herself like a dog chasing its tail. “Maybe we could match?”

She was sweet, really. The only one, -other than Juri, Soap had ever let see him like this. Dejected.

Soap got the feeling he was wrong about that. There had been others but who?

“Maybe wee one… maybe.” He replied, voice falling short as his thoughts sought to distract him from the conversation.

“Your visions are increasing in frequency. Do you really not remember anything about them?”

It had taken Soap a while to realize he was having ‘visions’ at night at all. He often found himself startled awake, drenched in the feeling of sweat, eyes pouring over his wrist like his life depended on what he would find there.

Once, on a date with Myola, -an awoken girl, the topic of sleep came up. Myola was one of the more eager women he had dated and she thought talking about sleep would be a good bridge to use to steer the conversation sexual but somehow he ended up mentioning how he frequently jolted awake for no reason. Myola put it simply for him, he had to be dreaming.

Waking up in a sweat, out of breath and scared for no apparent reason. She concluded that was how everyone felt after a nightmare. ‘Everyone’… every non guardian human that is.

Ever since then, the dreams ramped up, waking him every other night. Soap tried his best to remember what the dreams had been about but the best he could do was grasp some of the feelings.

Most of the time he felt adrenaline or fear but curiously he always felt happy even through the anxious beat of his heart.

That's when Soap started shifting the narrative away from dreams and more towards visions. Labeling them as his own memories felt like the best explanation. Whether they were original Soap’s memories or Soap 1 through 4 he wasn’t sure yet.

“Soap?”

He had been quiet for too long, Spearmint pulled him from his thoughts when he hadn’t answered her.

“Minty, I think I am up for a change. Excellent idea as always.” Dodging her inquiry into his visions, Soap switched the subject back to Spearmint's previous suggestion.

Finishing his mug, Soap readied himself and headed out for the day.

~

The rain had stopped by the time he exited his favourite exo salon. His fohawk-style head piece now shining a shade of blue similar to his eyes, Leo-17 even agreed to Spearmint's request to re-colour her own tiny spherical shell the same shade.

Other than his headware and eyes, most of his metal was a silvery grey making the headpiece stand out no matter what shade he decided on. The lines of his body were clean, he was lean but still bulky in parts, accentuating his large muscular appearance. He was also tall for an exo, leading Soap to conclude exos may retain their human height when created. Soap easily towered over most guardians at 6’2, head piece not included.

Looking down at himself as he walked, Soap felt his burgundy warlock robes clashed with his new style. He wondered quickly if he should head to an outfitter next.

“Outta the way!”

A voice to the right caught his attention. The tone was robotic in its inflection, signaling to Soap that it belonged to a ghost.

Head turning in the voices direction, Soap barely caught a glimpse of a fully armored female warlock with robes a vibrant shade of red with black accents walking quickly towards him, nearly on top of him in fact.

There was no time to stop the collision but Soap still tried to jerk back out of her way. He winced before impact but nothing happened. The woman was gone from view.

“Head out of the clouds, shinny boy!”

The voice of the warlock's ghost echoed from his left now, baffled Soap’s head swiveled the other way.

Without turning back the woman ascended tall stairs, pace quick and completely unaffected by their near crash.

Her ghost was a funny shape with what appeared to be bunny ear antennae protruding upwards from his shell. He threw Soap a dirty look and twirled around, floating up to rejoin his guardian.

“Did she just?”

“-Who has their head in the clouds? Tell that to your own guardian!” Spearmint interrupted, defending Soap. “Jeez, the nerve.”

Spearmint was floating close, grumbling to him but Soap was still watching the stairs the woman had disappeared up.

“Even distracted like that, she managed to blink through me like it was nothin’.”

“Blink?” Spearmint asked, momentarily confused.

“You know, blink. The advanced warlock technique?”

“The one you never bothered trying to learn?”

“Oi, not entirely true.” He quipped feeling oddly defensive when criticized on his ability. Blink was simply something most warlocks felt wasn’t worth it. But Soap had to admit, seeing her flawlessly dodge him, materializing from one place to another was impressive. The few times he came across another guardian use it against him in crucible tournaments had been difficult to work around.

A disappearing enemy, in front of you one second and stabbing you in the back the next.

Soap’s gaze travelled farther up, atop the staircase was a unique looking building, expansive and unlike most other architecture around the last city. It was a newer building, The Ishtar Archives. A massive library of knowledge fashioned around the style of the old Ishtar Academy on Venus. As a warlock he had been in the building a few times but would never admit to anyone that those times had been with Juri, his hunter friend, always more the researcher than Soap ever had been.

Although the Archives were predominantly visited by warlocks, it wasn’t exclusively for their use. Even civilians had access to certain sectors. It was just that warlocks were more naturally gifted scholars.

“Hey, now here’s an idea. Let's go in, see if we can find anything relating to exo or guardian dreams.” Spearmint chirped, thrilled with her idea.

Still staring up at the building, Soap eyes roamed the windows, the building had a glow to it, contrasting against the dull cloudy day. Retracing his gaze his eyes lowered to the stairs and to the large angelic woman statue that divided the staircase into sides. Her womanly figure and stoic pose and face stood out, impossible to miss yet he nearly walked by without noticing a thing.

Other people were passing by him now, a flow of constant bodies heading up and down the steps.

Soap had no doubt the archives held answers to his questions but really, the question was did he want to know the answers at all?

Half way down the steps, heading away from the building, a girl with long black hair grabbed his attention. Soap frowned, it was not Lyla but she reminded him of her just the same.

“Not today Minty. Let’s go home.”

Spearmint didn’t push, she followed Soap silently as they turned and made their way back home.

~

“Ghost, how copy?” A pause, -no response.

“Ghost?!”

“Johnny.” A gruff voice from behind him instead of through his ear piece.

“Christ mate, where have you been!?”

The man groaned in discomfort. “Got a little caught up.” He lowered himself to a knee, unable to stand.

“Fuck, Simon. Stay with us man.” Soap reached down for his friend, pulling him back up to his feet.

“We gotta problem Cap. Please tell me you’re almost here.” He says through the comms.

Blood. Soap could feel the blood from Ghost’s wound seeping from his side sinking into his own clothes.

“Shit Ghost… Price he’s not lookin’ too hot.”

“Almost there son, head outside, we’re coming in hot.”

“Quit your snifflin’ Soap. ’mfine.”

His friend stumbles, unable to hold himself up at all.

~

Soap jolts awake, body twitching reactively when his comrade hits the ground.

He holds his jaw tight, his underarms and lower back radiating heat -simulated sweat. His wrist is in front of his face as he tries to figure out what time it was.

“Fuck.”

He slams his arm down onto the bed. Looking up at the ceiling now, Soap can see he forgot to turn the fan off after yesterday. It gently rotates around, continuously disturbing dust around the dark room.

More importantly than his earlier forgetfulness, he finally remembers something. Two shadows in the dream, one his own, the other felt like a friend. Clearer still he remembers a single name. -Ghost. His dreams were not only happening more often they were intensifying to the point of actual waking remembrance.

There was no avoiding it anymore, the universe was guiding him to something. Soap wasn’t necessarily afraid of change but something about this felt volatile. Like he was on the precipice of a great evolution. If he started on this path… there would be no going back. And that he knew was a fact, he felt it in his heart and in his gut, an instinct he always possessed no matter what iteration of himself he existed as.

Spearmint floated in the room, sweet as sugar. “Mornin’” She announced as she pushed one of his bedroom curtains open. “Sleep well?”

Light flooded in, yesterday's precipitation had moved on and today the sun's rays shone brightly, reaching him in his bed.

Birds were chirping loudly. It would be a better day.

Chapter Text

Her ship swooped down later than the rest. Beamed down onto the glacial ground, she tried to look unbothered to be the last one to arrive.

One of Jupiter’s coldest moons, Europa was no place to stand idle when its arctic gusts were so cold they could be felt burning through your atoms. It wasn’t her intention to be late, in fact she hoped she had left early enough to arrive first. The dice roll was not on her side today.

She quickly scanned her teammates before they could all turn to stare at her. Nilok-4, another exo, looked unaffected by the frigid temperatures, in fact he looked wholly satisfied as Junelle huddled in close to him. Exos may not produce much in the way of body heat but Junelle understood they could block winds well enough.

To their right stood another male exo. Rock-15 if she had to guess since he was the only other exo listed in the mission roster other than herself and Nilok -who she was previously acquainted with.

An awoken male titan stood close to him, somehow at ease in the cold as he quietly explained something she could not hear to the exo hunter. He must be Gorilla, which only left…

“No way!!!” The final guardian of their six man team, a human hunter, turned from Gorilla’s other side and bounded towards her. The young looking woman jumped up and down excitedly, pointing a small finger at her weapon. She wasn't sure if the hunter -Goldie was trying to stay warm or if she was always this energized.

“Cardinal! Good to see you.” Junelle spoke, approaching her with Nilok close behind.

“Junie, you didn’t tell me she had a Jade Rabbit!” Goldie was still hopping from foot to foot as she gestured at the gun in Cardinal’s hand.

Cardinal looked down puzzled. The weapon had exotic status but it was nothing worth bragging about. It was a little rare, sure, but it hardly possessed enough combat prowess to be sought after.

Cardinal held it out slightly so Goldie could get a closer look. The scout riffles light blue paint blended into the icy backdrop of Europa, its white bunny insignia nearly washed out by blowing snow.

“It’s so cool and cute! I’ll trade you for it!” Goldie was still in Cardinal’s bubble, her thrill alerted the rest of the group to Cardinal’s arrival.

Now all eyes were on her.

Cardinal frowned deep and pulled her gun back in close. The Jade Rabbit wasn’t that special but she certainly wouldn’t part with it. She had chosen it for a reason and definitely not because it was ‘cute’.

“That’s enough Goldie, don’t crowd the poor woman.” The unexpectedly friendly voice of Gorilla piped up -he was more welcoming than his large frame made him appear.

As Goldie moved away, Gorilla took her place and extended his arm out to Cardinal in greeting.

“Glad to have you, my name is Gorilla” Cardinal shook his hand quickly before taking a step back. Gorilla was unphased by her distance and continued the introductions. The young one there is Goldie -she waved timidly. I believe you already know Nilok and Junie -Gorilla tilted his head to the pair. And that one -he poked a thumb over his shoulder, is Rock. Rock nodded his head in acknowledgement but said nothing.

Nilok-4, Junelle, Gorilla, Goldie and Rock-15. Cardinal cursed in her head. How the hell did I end up here?

The voice of the infamous Exo Stranger coming through the open team voice channel interrupted their small talk.

“Eramis found it. The Deep Stone Crypt. The birthplace of the exo… and a prison for something sinister.”

Time for introductions was over. The group jumped on their sparrows and moved out now that the Exo Stranger was on comms.

“Her followers intended to make use of it. To unleash a chaos they do not understand. Their success means untamed power beyond their wildest dreams.”

Full speed ahead, the group drove past Fallen enemies and descended farther into the frozen plains of Europa.

“They must be stopped.” The Exo Stranger finished her mission introduction, letting the weight of their quest sink in.

~

Visibility outside was nearly zero as a raging storm began wreaking havoc just as they attempted to enter the Crypt. The freezing cold was relentless but that’s not what bothered Cardinal. She could follow orders no problem, dive on and off her sparrow to huddle under shelter from the blizzard momentarily. She could also handle the droves of Fallen, trying desperately to prevent them from breaching the facility. No, it was simply trying to keep up with the group that frustrated her most.

They moved at lightning speeds, dodging around obstacles, veering over drop offs in the earth. They eliminated the Fallen with such accuracy that when they finally needed to reload their guns, everything around was either dead or being picked off by another member of the team.

Again she was wracked with the reality of her situation. Nilok-4, Junelle and the others were. Legendary.

As she caught up, Cardinal could see Goldie and Gorilla holding the front lines. Goldie backflipped into the air and fired a well placed tether in the middle of a too closely packed group of Fallen dregs. Gorilla close behind was engulfed in solar light. His hammers made of pure flame melted the ground and the enemy from existence.

If you ever heard whispers of their deeds, they often were referred to as Thee guardians. As if their accomplishments were enough to hold up the title of ‘guardian’ all on their own.

Nilok was everywhere, backing up Goldie, swooping in behind Gorilla to absorb the orbs of light his kills were creating. Picking off the outlying enemies with a practiced quickness all while still watching out for Junelle.

A group of the Vanguards most trusted, a part of one of the oldest guardian clans out there.

Not that Junelle needed the protection but she still looked to adore the sentiment.

Junelle was close to the final shelter, waiting for Cardinal to catch up. She tore away at anything that dared get too close to her. Glancing over her shoulder as Cardinal approached, she threw up a protective void bubble.

The team needed to regroup one last time before their final push into the building.

Traveler knew Cardinal wasn’t one of them and Cardinal herself knew this for a fact as an enemy grenade sailed its way towards her. Her sparrow had already taken a beating through the storm and bullets and the explosion would no doubt damage it beyond repair and would hurt like hell.

Another engine revved loudly behind her, Rock-15 sped up to catch up beside her. Cardinal blinked astonished as Rock leapt from his sparrow and launched a throwing knife towards the grenade. It collided with it mid air and detonated it safely above their heads.

She had no idea where Rock had come from, Cardinal was certain she had been dead last.

The area was carnage -bodies disintegrated, ash, soot and fire left in their wake as the six of them converged underneath Junelle's titan bubble.

“Rock, that was awesome man!” Nilok shoved Rock’s shoulder hard. Rock seemed annoyed by Nilok's push but still satisfied with the compliment.

“Maybe. Still not as cool as killing a Hive boomer by bouncing one of your own grenades off the other mid air.” Cardinal heard Rock reply, speaking for the first time since she had met him.

“I agree.” Junelle chimed in.

These people were insane. Cardinal suddenly wished she was back in the Ishtar Archives, alone with nothing but her research notes.

Her research. That was the reason she was standing shoulder to shoulder with top dogs. Nilok was not only tough but also clever, he kept up with all the research and happenings in the Archives.

With a distinct interest in lore keeping, Nilok approached her one day thoroughly impressed by her work into the origins of exo’s and her hypothesis that guardian exos possess an immunity to Dissociative Exomind Rejection.

For all Cardinal’s time reading theories about how Clovis Bray’s created exo life or the rumors surrounding The Deep Stone Crypt, she had never once imagined herself actually discovering the truths for herself.

The opportunity before her was an honor, even if she felt out of her depth around these professional guardians. Honestly, they made it so easy, she was almost tempted to listen to the quiet voice in her head that reminded her she should really get out in the field more often.

“Ready team?” Gorilla spoke, confirming it was time to move on.

~

Cardinal was amazed, not by the Crypt itself, the building was sterile, tech-like, all white walls and boring But amazed by what it was hiding inside. Cardinal already had a myriad of interesting new research topics brewing in her mind.

The ancient AI, with the presumed voice of Clovis Bray himself that was scolding them as they traversed the facility's intricate production lines where exo pieces were produced or the Fallen baroness that somehow had managed to reforge herself into an exo. The first ever Fallen exo. Cardinal could spend years studying her alone. It was exceptionally difficult to leave her body behind when they had defeated her. She should be studied. What other lifeforms could be turned exo? Immortality for all?

~

Cardinal had nothing but the edge of the galaxy below the metal platform she stood on. After defeating the Fallen exo, pods in the Crypt had rocketed them up into space. Like some dream where two locations blended into one or like when she would blink from one side of a room to the other -suddenly they were in space.

“Watch your step Birdy.” Goldie warned, jumping out and around Cardinal. The youthful hunter spun midair but still landed onto the next platform confidently. One would never know from looking at her that the vastness of space awaited if she were to miscalculate a single jump.

Turns out Goldie was always excitable. Cardinal put the female guardians age at about seventeen, -plus or minus two years. It wasn’t common for a ghost to revive someone so young but it was possible, many people believed living as an exo to be hard but Cardinal believed the true curse was to be stuck in a body forever sixteen.

Cardinal came to her senses when Junelle jumped over her head. She couldn’t afford to day dream out here but it was hard after everything she had seen earlier and after everything she could see right now.

Europa was spinning slowly in the distance below her boots, floating carelessly on the horizon of space. Jupiter was so large it took up the rest of her vision, enormous when viewed from this far away.

The Deep Stone Crypt and most of Europa would be annihilated via the space station by order of the Crypt AI’s command if they didn’t hurry to stop it.

Gravity was lessened, helping them make their way over the space station's outer layers. Terrified, Cardinal wasn’t sure if the nonchalance of the others' risky maneuvers made her more or less nervous as she leapt from one platform to the other.

Everyone else was ahead on the final platform except for herself and Rock. Rock was a step behind her but this time it wasn’t strategy, the male hunter simply wasn’t great at jumping about obstacles.

Goldie and Nilok were teasing him from afar. Next to them, Gorilla was distracted, calculating their next move.

Junelle was watching her, reassuring her and reached her hand out for Cardinal’s when she got close. Junelle pulled her up onto the safety of the last platform.

If any of them would have fallen off, Cardinal wasn’t sure how they would go about saving them before they drifted away into space. Thankfully, Rock was quick after her to reach the platform.

Cardinal was glad to enter solid infrastructure, shaking off her nerves as the group pressed on.

~

The final enemy, Taniks, stood no chance. Nilok and Rock seemed to have some long standing grudge against the Fallen long before they all crashed the space station back onto Europa.

Cardinal wasn’t sure how they all got away with the carnage they left behind. The label ‘Vanguard's favourites’ was a gross understatement when Cardinal thought about it.

The Crypt AI was clear in its final statements. The Deep Stone Crypt was now an open wound. Layers of skin torn and exposed, vulnerable for any disease or infection to snake its way in.

They had prevented Eramis’s plan but now the facility was open to the universe. It was now another place for the Vanguard to protect from the forces who yearned to destroy humanity and the Traveler.

Tightly huddled together in Nilok’s Well of Radiance the team fired everything they had left in them to destroy the final enemy of their raid.

Even in the heat of the final battle, Cardinal found herself distracted. Beside her, Junelle was enveloped in dark icy spikes of energy. Stasis Is what Junelle had told her it was called.

Cardinal had limited knowledge as to exactly what Nilok, Junelle and the Exo Stranger were up to on Europa, only that it involved the Fallen using dark artifacts to twist darkness into power just as guardians twisted light into solar, void and arc power.

Cardinal shuddered, not from Junelle's cold fists but from the ominous aura coming from them, the Praxic Order back in the Ishtar Archives would not be happy to know a guardian was using the dark in this way.

Yet even after using dark energy to kill, Junelle remained bright and friendly as she congratulated Cardinal on a well fought battle.

Cardinal was hypothesizing. The dark was known to corrupt but how?

Junelle used the darkness flawlessly and still retained her happy personality. In reality, using light did not inherently make its user good. Cardinal knew plenty of assholes who used the Traveler's light just fine even though their being was sour and rotten. So perhaps dark didn’t make you bad, just as light didn’t automatically make you good? Cardinal almost chuckled aloud when she imagined trying to tell that to a Praxic, light worshipping fanatic.

Moving away from the wreckage, the group headed out to join the Exo Stranger in person just as fleets of Vanguard flew in to secure the area.

~

There they stood, in a semi circle around the Exo Stranger or Elsie Bray as Cardinal had come to learn.

“It's no longer a secret—what lies within the Deep Stone Crypt. The living embodiment of Darkness, shrouded in the DNA of the Vex. My grandfather desired eternal life. He searched and searched, but in the end, he created it instead.”

Cardinal looked around, spotting Nilok and Rock, the only other exos in the group. The secrets of the Crypt were known to nobody except them at this moment. Clovis Bray’s secrets to eternal life, she couldn’t help but wonder how the two exo men were feeling in this moment as Elsie continued.

“-From his "Fountain of Youth," I... and every other Exo was born. This is a truth we cannot hide from—the Darkness within us—and so we must embrace it. You entered Deep Stone Crypt and brought new life to the long dormant machines of Europa. They carry with them knowledge long thought lost. Now is our chance to seize it.”

Basking in the glory of a successful mission felt good but deep in her core Cardinal was ready to return home.

There was much to do, so much yet to research.

Chapter Text

Cardinal rolled over with a groan. Every synthetic muscle ached from the strain she had put them through during yesterday's mission. Her ghost Lupin felt fit to teach her a lesson by not fully healing her. According to him, going to the Archives every day didn’t count as ‘getting out of the house’.

Cardinal could live with the ache, if anything it was a reminder that the previous day's events had been real. She had not only discovered but nearly destroyed the Deep Stone Crypt in the span of a few hours and even managed to keep up with living guardian legends -not that she would ever brag about it to anyone.

Looking up, Cardinal was forced to squint her eyes against the bright light shining into them. Her bedroom curtains usually remained closed, meaning it wasn’t sunlight. Focusing, she realized she had fallen asleep with the lights on again.

Yawning, she stretched her aching limbs and blinked away the spots in her vision from the hanging ceiling lamp.

“Ding, ding, wake up.” Lupin floated into the room, spouting all sorts of descriptive alarm words instead of just beeping them like she knew he could.

“You’re too late. I'm already awake.”

“Yes, well if you don’t need me anymore than just say so”

He fled from the room as Cardinal rose for the day. She donned a pair of robes, mostly red with some black trimmings. All her robes were some combination of red and black.

Boots and gloves secured, Cardinal walked over to her small dresser. A top, in its designated place was her helmet. It was the only other rare piece of exotic gear she owned. The Astrocyte Verse. Just like her preferred weapon -the jade rabbit, the Astrocyte was rare but nothing special. No serious combat guardian would use it but Cardinal had made good use of it and had no desire to part from it.

Taking advantage of its boosting energy, Cardinal blinked away from the dresser and landed across the hall in the small bathroom.

Looking into the mirror she adjusted her robes and ensured the helmet was in place. Within the reflective glass she saw a galaxy reflecting back at her. The Astrocyte Verse glittered and shifted in shades of blue and purple. It was mesmerizing if stared at for too long and often caught the attention of others but soon enough they looked away for fear of becoming too dizzy or lost.

Cardinal liked the way it looked and that was the only vanity she had.

Exiting her tiny home, she took in the day's weather. Sunny. She let the rays warm her but looking up, Cardinal noticed thick clouds rolling overhead like encroaching mist on a bay. Chance of precipitation, 60%.

“Eighteen degrees celsius.” Lupin finished her thoughts for her aloud.

“Indeed.” Cardinal responded as a large cloud passed over the sun. A cooling sensation spread through her nerve wires now that she was shaded from the direct sunlight.

Keeping to routine, Cardinal made her way down the street towards her favourite cafe.

On the far side of her neighborhood, it was conveniently located close to the center of the nicknamed ‘guardian quarter’ where she and most other guardians lived.

Entering the building, the door chimed with her arrival. Any patrons inside looked up at her and away quickly, unaffected by seeing a fully armored guardian since there were many around.

“Dark roast with three sugars please.”

The barista reached for the full coffee cup beside him, he had made her order the moment he noticed her approaching outside through the shop's window.

Cardinal transferred the appropriate amount of glimmer, thanked the exo and headed back out the door.

The sun was blocked again, another larger, darker cloud made its way across the star and Cardinal started to doubt whether or not her calculation earlier had been correct. Chance of precipitation, 60%. Plus or minus 20%.

Rain or not, it would not matter in the sanctuary of the Archives.

The building was massive, not tall but still imposing from the bottom of its large staircase. Cardinal ascended quickly, glancing at the womanly statue on her way to the top. Her recent venture to Europa had her momentarily considering if maybe next time she should try exploring more of Venus, —try and discover new sections of the Ishtar Academy.

“Cardinal, lovely to see you this fine morning.”

The voice of someone Cardinal recognized greeted her as she made her way through the large doorway.

Jess arriving at the same time as Cardinal could only mean she was arriving for her early Tuesday librarian-keeper shift.

Jess was friendly enough but the woman wanted to read books more than she wanted to help others find them.

Occasionally, when guardians came in looking for information on niche topics, Jess would point them in Cardinals direction since she knew more than Jess when it came to data files and not physical media.

Cardinal didn’t mind being interrupted, confronting Jess about it would be more disruptive than quickly answering someone's question. Luckily, it happened fairly infrequently.

“Someone's in a hurry today.” Jess teased as Cardinal blinked past the threshold towards the corner table she typically sat at.

“Yes, nice speaking to you Jess, hope you have a nice day Jess.” Jess complained when Cardinal didn’t stop.

She didn’t mean to be rude, it's just that her head was exploding with ideas.

Sitting at the six person table, she decided to start with her own research paper. Now that she knew more about Clovis Bray and his Deep Stone Crypt, she needed to pour over her DER thesis and ensure nothing she discovered yesterday contradicted her previous findings.

The article still stood. Even with the new knowledge that Clovis used darkness to produce his final iteration of exo, it did not diminish the fact that guardian exos, once revived by their ghosts, did not have to worry about suffering from Dissociative Exomind Rejection.

Cardinal spent the day going over data she could recite by memory by now. She needed to be certain her new perspective didn’t change the facts she had known to be true previously. The day flew by like that and finally her growling stomach signalled to her that she had gone too long without eating. The sun was setting and even though she didn’t need to eat as an exo or as a guardian, her ingrained code still thought she may suffer DER if she did not eat something soon.

Looking up, there was nobody other than a few tidy bots cleaning up work stations. Jess’s desk lamp was off, she had gone home hours ago. Cardinal knew there were still people around, but they were most likely downstairs experimenting or hypothesizing in their private labs.

“Time to go.” Lupin whispered to her.
Cardinal wasn’t sure she even said anything to him all day, too absorbed in her own world.

“You could always do your own thing all day.” She told him.

“Never.” Lupin retorted firmly, floating around Cardinal as she got up to leave.

Leaving the building, Cardinal quickly looked up. No stars. Tomorrow it would rain.

Approaching her block, she took an extra turn to head down the street that housed her favorite ramen spot.

Noodle shops were a bit over done in the city, a new restaurant seemed to pop up every month. At that rate, there would soon be a shop on every street corner. But for good reason. The food was always flavorful, well priced and most of all, quick and convenient.

Ducking under the hanging drapes of the awning, Cardinal was surprised to see a group of three women sitting around her usual stool. Pivoting, she chose the farthest stool on the end instead. She was slightly annoyed they took her spot, it messed with her routine but she’d get over it.

The friendly old chef placed her usual in front of her without her asking. It seemed Cardinal needed to shake things up before the whole neighborhood knew her every preference.

She ate her meal quietly but instead of listening to the melody of the owner's radio, Cardinal was forced to listen to the chatter of the three human women.

“Wait. Where is he taking you?”

“What is it, date two? Three?”

“Not sure and it’s our third.” The petite dark haired woman in the middle answered her two friends as they peppered her with random questions.

“You know what they say about men like him and the third date?” The girl on the right, hair in a ponytail teased her friend.

“No, what?” The dark haired woman giggled but her tone revealed she did indeed know what Ponytail was referring to.

“You have to tell us everything as soon as you can!” The friend on the left begged. “Traveler, I bet he’s huge!” She held her hands out in front of herself, hot pink fingernails on display as she held her palms a foot apart to emphasize the word ‘huge’.

“-orrr maybe there's nothing there at all!” Ponytail pressed Pink Nails hands back together and laughed.

“Don’t know about nothing. Trust me I’ve looked. Plus girls you know it’s not about the size its how-”

Cardinal didn’t stay to finish her broth, she paid the chef and exited before her brain could start to imagine what Petite was about to say to her friends.

As much as her life held routine, it managed to keep throwing moments of unpredictability at her. Approaching her townhouse, Cardinal heard the sound of someone opening their front door just as she began to unlock hers.

“Yes! Car’ it's you. Where have you been?” The voice unmistakably belonging to Junelle filled her metallic antenna ears through her helmet. “Wow, still all geared up. Must have had another serious day.” Junelle jested, knowing full well Cardinal always wore her full attire.

Unlocking the door, Cardinal turned to answer her friend. “Evening Junie and I've been where I always am. The Archives.”

Junelle and Nilok lived together a few houses down and although Cardinal had met Nilok first, it was Junelle who noticed Cardinal lived nearby and always invited her over.

Cardinal observed her friend, standing with her arms behind her back like she was up to something. Junelle was in her relaxed civilian clothes, sans helmet. Without it, Cardinal could see her rust colored hair was smoothed out, her deep green eyes were bright and her full pouty lips were in the shape of a genuine smile. The human woman was attractive and very much in love with Nilok. The pair made love look easy.

Cardinal’s gut rolled, remembering how the human women from the restaurant spoke about the exo male she was dating.

“Got something important to discuss with you.” Junelle stated, a smile still on her lips. “Nilok’s still out so make sure you come see us before you leave tomorrow morning. Okay?”

Cardinal was curious but the day had been so taxing she didn’t have enough energy left to try and convince her friend to just tell her now. “Sure Junie. Night.”

“Night.” Junelle sang back as Cardinal turned to enter through her door.

At the last second, Lupin squeezed through the doorway before Cardinal could shut it completely for the night.

“Where were you? Chatting with your girlfriend?”

“Ghost’s do not have girlfriends.” Lupin protested, whirling in front of Cardinals face. “We simply have similar tastes.”

Lupin's shell was rounded with two rabbit ear-like extensions on top. Berrie, Junelle’s ghost also wore a bunny type shell, but she was smaller and looked more the part with cute glowing ears that hovered on top of her round shell.

The two got along, often flying off together to talk whenever the other was around.

Junelle had even visited Cardinal a few times with the objective of letting Berrie hang out with Lupin for a while.

Junelle whispered to Cardinal that the two needed a play date and Cardinal found herself laughing like it was the funniest concept she had ever heard. Ghosts needing play dates to socialize.

“Of course, my bad.” Cardinal stretched and yawned, yesterday was still weighing heavy on her body. “I thought you refused my offer earlier to do your own thing?”

Cardinal didn’t wait for a response, Lupin would ignore her the rest of the night now anyway.

Entering her bedroom, she reached for the light switch to turn it on but the room stayed dark. Feeling for the switch, Cardinal noticed it was already in the on position.

Perfect. She thought as she realized another light bulb had burnt through. The consequences for leaving outdated technology on 24/7.

With her last remaining bit of energy, Cardinal replaced the bulb.

Flinging herself onto the bed, she lay back and observed her work.

The new light was bright but somehow she still fell asleep before she could get up to turn it off.

Chapter Text

Like clockwork, Cardinal's eyes opened. Once again she was met with the too bright fluorescent glow of her bedroom ceiling light blaring down on her.

Pinching her eyes shut, she sat up and felt the urge to rub at her eyes even though they were made of tiny metal fragments. Synthetic rose coloured eyes glowed softly in the sockets where squishy orbits used to be.

“Beep beep, it’s morning time.”

“Already awake Lupin.”

Cardinal made her way over to the window. Even with the blinds closed tight there was still usually traces of sunlight that filtered through the edges. Knowing it was dawn, Cardinal peered outside to see where the sun could be.

Soft but steady drops hit the window where she pressed her face near against the glass. Dark rain clouds filled the sky completely. Just as she predicted, it would rain most of the morning.

Letting out a slow sigh, Cardinal closed the blind and looked to her dresser. Her helmet sat in its usual place and she was glad she had at least removed it before passing out last night.

Her robes on the other hand were desheveled and sticking uncomfortably to her after sleeping in them all night. Slipping out of them, she let them fall to the floor of her bedroom and made her way out of the room and across the hall to the bathroom.

The small mirror in the room was the only one she owned. The frame was just large enough to reflect from the top of her head to just below her breasts.

Her breasts. Her body. It wasn’t something she put much stock in. Breasts on humans served a vital purpose conducive to life. On her, they were decorative, they were the softest thing about her. Made of silicone and synthetic muscle and shaped in place by metal framing. Their size, proportional to her dipping waist and rounded hips.

Clovis Bray needed to ensure early exos remained as human as possible in order to stave off D.E.R. If the exo subconscious mind were to realize it no longer inhabited a fleshy body the exo would experience total collapse -A rejection of self.

Cardinal hadn’t really looked at herself like this in a while so she regarded her figure for any dents or signs of trauma just in case she and Lupin had somehow missed an injury after the other day's raid. So she looked, not to gloat but to analyze.

Elegant shoulders, a curved lower back, long legs and even toes.

Clovis Bray had a sick side to him in order to make most female exos unnecessarily feminine or she should say, make female exos look like what a twisted man believed the most feminine version of female physicality to be.

Female and male exos even possessed semi-functional reproductive organs. No working internal organs in the traditional sense but exos could have intercourse, they could eat, breath, had a heart beat and flowing blood. The ability to have sex when you couldn’t reproduce seemed absurd but Cardinal could understand the fundamental necessity of including sexuality when trying to achieve a complete human existence in a non human body.

Cardinal moved away from the mirror and turned the shower on and stepped inside. Keeping one's body clean was important, even if some parts were metal. The water felt good when it rained down onto the nano nerve wires just beneath the fibrous synthetic tissue of her frame. She let the water rush around the soft parts and gently washed the more metallic parts with an exo specific cleanser. Her frame was light, made up of white and faded oranges. Nothing too loud as her name and robes were loud enough already.

Refreshed, Cardinal made her way out to the kitchen, opting to make coffee at home this morning since she would be delayed from going to the Archives. Junelle’s request to visit this morning had been cryptic but Cardinal was patient.

She was stirring in her three sugars when Lupin found her again.

“Ew. Put some clothes on.”

“Speak for yourself.” She turned to lean against the counter and took a sip of the too hot beverage.

“Ok. How about, why don’t you have clothes on?”

“Just showered, heading to see Junelle soon remember?”

“About what?”

“I don’t know.” Cardinal replied simply, not showing any interest in the conversation.

Lupin sighed loudly near groaning at Cardinals lack of enthusiasm for the conversation. Without saying where he was off to, he spun and left the room.

Cardinal drank her coffee and flipped through a few notes she had lying around on the kitchen table. The whole morning was her version of relaxing. Better than some scholars she knew, at least she showered regularly. She once encountered another exo researcher that held themselves locked in their research lab for so long he somehow started to smell and exos didn’t have sweat glands.

The sunlight was blocked but the star had long since fully risen. Deciding it was late enough, Cardinal donned a fresh pair of rouge robes, slipped her helmet on and headed out the door.
~

“Morning Car. Please come in.” Junelle greeted Cardinal at the door. Her hair was still a bit tousled from sleep, her clothes were casual but she looked awake enough.

“Where’s Nilok?”

“Oh… Still waking up. Here, have a seat.”

Cardinal took a seat on one of the kitchen island stools as Junelle busied herself in the cupboards.

“Coffee?”

“Had one already.”

“Have a muffin then.” Junelle reached into a dish and placed the home baked good in front of Cardinal with a small smile on her face. Turning around before Cardinal could decline, Junelle resumed her task of making coffee.

Most people would not think to offer an exo food, in fact some awkwardly avoided the subject entirely. After all these centuries one would think it would become more natural but in truth there were still a lot of humans who didn’t understand much of exo workings.

Of course they ate, humans needed to eat so Clovis Bray made it so they could as well. They could see, hear, touch, smell and even taste.

The muffin looked fresh so Cardinal picked it up and took a bite. She could tell the muffin was home made, Junelle liked to bake. She wasn’t sure how the woman ever found the time but Cardinal supposed even heroes needed hobbies.

As curious as she was to know why she was there she knew Junelle would explain when it was time.

Nilok entered the room as Cardinal finished her muffin. Junelle turned to hand him one and a cup of the fresh coffee.

“Morning Car, how’s it going?” Nilok asked as he joined her on one of the stools.

“Good.”

He moved on, not prodding or pestering her further.

Junelle remained on the other side of the island, standing as she delicately sipped at her drink trying not to burn her tongue. She grimaced anyways, the coffee still way too hot so she placed it down onto the counter.

“Car.”

“Junie.” She retorted.

“Tell me what you know of stasis.”

She looked to Nilok who looked back as he ate his breakfast.

Looking back to Junelle, Cardinal recalled the image of Junelle's body encased in the dark coloured ice as they fought Taniks. Without much filtering, she told them her running thoughts aloud.

“Just as solar is an elemental manifestation similar to fire, stasis seems to be similar to water. Of course it’s slowed down to the point of icing. Yet ice would easily shatter or melt, so stasis must require entropy to be slowed enough to keep shape and achieve a durability strong enough to penetrate without easily breaking.” There were no interruptions as she ranted. “The power itself has an ominous aura to it. Conclusion is it's a power fueled by darkness. Furthermore, Junie, a light baring guardian was able to harness it without corrupting herself, leaving me to theorize that wielding it requires a deep understanding of one's inner relationship to self and to the principles of lightness and darkness within all things.”

“Holy shit.” Was Junelle's initial reply after Cardinal’s report.

“Jeez, Car. You gathered all that after observing Junie for what? Mere minutes and during battle.”

“Yes.”

Her one word answer confounded them as its simplicity conflicted with the long winded explanation she previously gave.

Junelle and Nilok looked at each other amazed.

“Damn, girl. I knew you were the right person for the job but you really are next level.”

“What job?” Cardinal asked Junelle, ready now to get to the point.

Nilok left the room but returned quickly with an opaque cylindrical shaped container. He set it down in between the three of them on the counter.

“Inside is a splinter of darkness.” Nilok explained.

“Splinter of darkness?” Cardinal focused her eyes, their cat-like shape sharper as she catalogued the new term.

“Yes, it’s the artifact I used to learn to channel stasis.” Junelle took over the explanation. “After the raid Nilok and I consulted with Elsie on what to do with the shard and we’re all in agreement.”

“We're giving it to you to study.” Nilok chimed in again.

Cardinal said nothing but resisted the urge to reach out for the container.

“This will need to be kept under tight wraps. The darkness and the use of its powers is still highly preached against. If certain people were to find out you not only had such a dark artifact in the tower but that you were experimenting with it, well it wouldn’t end well.”

“What do you need me to do exactly?” Cardinal was still staring at the container as she asked.

“If this is done right, stasis could be an invaluable tool to help us fight back against the darkness.” Nilok said.

“Fight fire with fire, as Zavala puts it. But Traveler, whatever you do, don't let that man find out.” Junelle added.

“Cardinal. We need someone with a heart for research but a head for reason. Dark objects have corrupted many academics in the past so we want this done right. I believe you can achieve the outcomes we're hoping for here.” Nilok placed a confident hand on her shoulder.

Junelle calmly slid the container closer to Cardinal.

“You need any help we’ll be there.” She promised.

~

The rain had stopped but she didn’t notice the clearing of the clouds above, Cardinal's head was too stuck in the clouds of her mind.

Her heart rate was elevated and an exciting buzz filled her body as she lost herself to the racing theories of the mind.

A new subject to study was exciting, Cardinal needed to get to the Archives as soon as she could and she was already arriving much later in the day than she usually would. Cardinal was almost nervous her usual spot would be taken already but considering the research she was about to conduct she would be better off opting for a private lab for the foreseeable future.

In the very back of her mind she could hear Lupin, he was keeping up, flying quickly beside her as Cardinal made her way briskly to the library. The streets were busier than they were in the early mornings so Lupin was left to steer Cardinal away from crashing into anyone.

“Left, cart on the right. Woman crossing the street.” Even distracted with other matters she was still able to hear and follow his call outs.

The Ishtar Archives were in sight now, the stairs getting larger and larger as she approached. People were floating up and down the stairs but for the most part everyone was flowing in the same direction except for…

Lupin spotted him before Cardinal. Directly ahead of Cardinal’s path, Lupin could see a twat of a warlock walking slowly against foot traffic. He was looking down at his robes like he had just casually noticed a stain. He was oblivious to his intrusiveness.

“Outta the way!” Lupin called out, alerting the man and Cardinal.

Cardinal finally focused on the road in front of her, Lupin’s voice peaking her interest enough to see who he was talking to.

An exo warlock turned his head to look at her. Calculating speeds and trajectory, Cardinal knew there was no time to stop before they collided into one another. So instead, just as easy as breathing she blinked herself and Lupin through and past him. Cardinal didn’t slow down, even when Lupin started to chirp back at the man.

“Head out of the clouds, shinny boy!” Lupin taunted.

“-Who has their head in the clouds? Tell that to your own guardian!”

Cardinal barely heard the voice of the man's ghost rise to Lupin's challenging tone.

She still didn’t stop, she simply kept on making her way up the steps.

Chapter Text

It was a late start to the day but he needed the rest, his dreams had kept him shackled to the bed, unable to sleep, unable to get up.

After a long shower, Soap put on some basic robes and headed to an outfitter.

The trend of the week seemed to be self care, a reprieve from the recurring nightmares wrecking his sleep and his shitty break up with Lyla -if it could even be labeled a break up.

“I could just alter them for you if you’d like?”

“Nay, that’s alright Minty. Feels right to start fresh.”

Soap was yearning for change. Today and yesterday, that change came in the form of physical alterations.

When catalyzing change in your life, Soap found altering his physical self much safer than tackling the inner portions of himself.

Soap never considered himself a man that followed any sort of routine but he would be lying if he couldn’t admit his life was nothing but monotony -flirt, date, breakup, mope and repeat.

Making his way through the streets, Soap winded through the crowds, avoiding daily shoppers and the pushy vendors that called out for them to buy their wares.

Soap could have stayed home, asked Spearmint to alter his head piece and robes for him since she could easily fashion him any way he pleased by transforming glimmer -data and light, into something new, but something about the grinding of metal, the smell of fresh paint and the feel of new robes around his frame were realities he could ground himself through.

Entering a quiet shop, Soap browsed the array of clothing from the plain to the intricate. The store was somber. No music or loud banter like in the crowded streets outside. Other than the old shopkeep, Soap was the only one inside. It wasn’t often that guardians needed to buy all new fabric and not to mention the shop was located deep in the guardian quarter of the city so civilian customers weren’t plentiful either.

Moving to the back of the store where the robes were hung, Soap walked by the bright patterns and found himself gravitating towards the basic shades.

Soap usually donned patterns with flashy blues, striking reds or even royal purples but something about his current mood had him eyeing a monochromatic black piece.

“Can never go wrong with black.” The awoken shopkeep with wrinkles around his dim yellow eyes spoke from over Soap’s shoulder. “Timeless.”

Timeless. The word was stuck to him, resonating within him. Time was an endless loop. In his dreams he found himself stuck in the past, reliving previous lives while in the waking day he felt trapped in a repeating cycle of mistakes, fighting and fucking with no conclusion, no happy ending.

He had no past or future, just an infinite pointless existence.

Soap turned from the garment to look at the man, his grey-blue skin appeared bright even under the dim lights of the shop. Timeless black. Soap thought as he assessed the old shop keeps full black attire, his muted skin tone sharper against the contrast.

“I’ll take it.”

Shopping bag in hand, Soap left the store and headed towards his usual cafe. Black robes and soon to be a black coffee, he was almost tempted to re-dye his new headpiece black too.

’It’s not a phase.’

Despite it all, he could still make himself laugh as he let out a small chuckle, the joke in his own mind spilling out to the open.

Spearmint eyed him quizzically but didn’t ask.

Spearmint was keeping her eye on him, he could feel her nervous gaze as he made his way through town, bought his coffee and walked aimlessly.

Soap had no specific destination in mind and honestly he felt like he should just go home or at least head over to the bounty office to try and find some work. It had been a few days off now, which Soap usually enjoyed but wasting the days wallowing in self pity and losing sleep due to nightmares were hardly worth the time away, not very relaxing.

Soap noticed an increase of people fluttering by. The movement pulled him from his mindless thoughts, looking up, he found himself staring at the angelic lady statue of the Ishtar Archives he had walked by yesterday.

Once was an accident but twice made it a coincidence, Soap didn’t need the universe to tell him a third time for him to see the trend. It was time to figure out what his pesky visions were about. Slipping into the stream of bodies, Soap ascended the stairs in flow with the rest.

His thighs protested at the constant climb, the stairs were easily the most impressive set around. Unlike the wide flat stairs going up to the bounty office, these made you work for it.

The building itself stood out, still new, the outside walls were clean, especially compared to the other buildings around. The architects drew inspiration from the bygone Ishtar Academy on Venus, right down to its angelic statue, wide windows and smooth siding and molding.

Inside was quiet, a few hushed voices and occasional page turns could be heard but physical media was rare since most data was digitized and anyone on the main floor wishing to speak louder would be in the private research labs below.

On instinct Soap looked up. The balcony of the upper levels stretched around the entire building. Two layers up in a far corner, a small nook with a couch and a desk sat empty. Once upon a time, Soap frequented these aisles nearly every day but since Juri had passed, his visits had slowed until he couldn’t remember the last time he was here.

Juri should have been a warlock. He was smart and could connect with just about anyone. Soap knew Juri had been the only reason he was able to network with a few of the more uptight warlocks around.

Juri certainly had a lot going for him in life and teaching Soap the importance of having friends and connections was one he wouldn’t forget.

Soap tore his eyes away from his friend's desk. It would never be occupied by anyone that truly mattered ever again.

Spearmint was huddling against the top of his head, snuggling close as if her proximity could rid his thoughts from spiraling.

Soap let out a slow, controlled breath, he wasn’t sure what was wrong with him lately. It had taken him a long time to clean out the belongings from Juri’s bedroom after he passed or to get over the fact that V would no longer look him in the eyes but Soap thought that was all behind him.

Standing alone in the Archives, Soap was having doubts he would ever be over the trauma, even though he was good at pretending, he couldn’t fool himself.

His feet were moving before he really looked, muscle memory of the building's layout still engrained. Shaking his mind free, Soap confidently made his way over to the keepers desk.

He needed a distraction.

Soap could tell the woman behind the desk was gorgeous before she even turned to face him. She had light light brown hair, smooth and straight that laid just above her hips and shone with a brightness that appeared silky to the touch.

“Afternoon Darlin’.”

The woman squeaked loudly and spun to face him. Her big brown eyes were round and doey, exactly the kind he liked to gaze into as he grabbed-

“I’m sorry, you startled me. Can I help you?” She whispered softly to him, holding a hand to her heart and looking around to check if anyone had been disturbed by her loud noise.

“The name’s Soap-5.” Soap wanted to reach out to take her hand but his own hands were full with the shopping bag and coffee so instead he waited for her to look back at so he could give her a sly wink.

Something to the left was holding her attention, Soap followed her gaze to the corner where the physical media was kept.

A female warlock was sitting at one of the large desks between the shelves. Papers, books and tablets surrounded her as if she was in the middle of some deep research. -That or she was just plain messy. Soap couldn’t tell which, from so far away.

What he did notice was how the warlock was fully geared up, from boots to robes to a unique looking helmet.

Soap looked on curiously, nearly losing himself in the galaxy that swirled around the face portion of her helmet but the librarian tore him away.

“My name's Jessielette but everyone calls me Jess.”

Soap looked into her soft brown eyes again, in the distraction, he had missed his opportunity to wink.

“Jessielette, what a lovely name for a lovely lass.” He smirked and held his coffee up slightly towards her. “I’d offer ya my drink but I doubt it would be sweet enough for a gal like yourself.”

To Soap’s delight the woman blushed lightly, her pale skin made it easy to make out the rosy tint.

Soap leaned casually on her counter. “Looking for information on dreams with a secondary interest in memory, specifically guardian memories.” Jess leaned towards him and slowly tucked a strand of her long hair behind one ear.

“Let me see here.” She began, still speaking in a quiet tone as she typed away at a datapad.

Soap catalogued that she was civilian, no significant jewelry that could have been gifted by partner and her body language suggested she was open to his advances.

“There are a few files on dreams available but they are mostly in the civilian section. As far as guardian memories there are a lot of personal journals but anything more scientific, might take me a bit to gather it all for you.”

When she finally looked up, Soap was still smiling and looking at her. Jess blushed again under his attention.

“I've got plenty of time Jess, how much you need Love?” He kept his voice low, a deep whisper.

“Oh, well, uhm.” The woman swallowed, trying to gather a proper response. “It’s late in my shift, I could pass it on to the next clerk or I could have it ready for you early tomorrow.”

“You’ll be here tomorrow?”

Jess nodded.

Soap decided it was late in the day to start researching plus he wasn’t ready to stop teasing Jess just yet.

He wondered if he turned up the charm, would Jess dream of him tonight? The thought was smug but flirting was fun, flirting was easy, flirting made the damn somber feeling in his chest go away.

“Well sweetheart, looks like I'll be back here bright and early to see your lovely face again.” Soap smiled at her, looking her up and down.

If she didn’t appreciate his advances, grimacing at him for checking out her physique would alert him to stop but instead she blushed deeper.

Smiling back at him, Jess promised to try and give him ‘everything’ he needed.

Soap turned to leave but something tingling in the back of his head had him looking to the bookshelves again. The female warlock was still there, looking down at her notes and not paying him any mind.

~

He lay in bed still awake, the fan above him, unmoving. He cursed himself, he had spent the whole day wallowing, reflecting on his past and coming to terms that he was stuck in an endless cycle only to completely lose his resolve at the sight of a beautiful woman.

Barely a few days ago Lyla had laid with him in the bed he laid in now yet he had salivated over Jess like she was the sweetest apple he’d ever seen.

Jess seemed sweet but a lot of the women were in the beginning. Soon, after they got what they wanted out of him they all turned sour. Soap understood this but flirting with Jess had ignited a spark inside him that made him feel like himself again. Not hurt, or stuck, or alone.

Soap rolled over, he should have fallen asleep right away but his mind wouldn’t stop replaying the day.

The guardian warlock with the galaxy helmet had also been interesting. She looked like she belonged amongst the shelves of knowledge but something was itching at him, she felt familiar but he could not place who she was.

It had been a while since he had visited the Archives but still he knew most of the warlocks that frequented the place. Back when Juri was still alive the two of them went nearly every day and had always found someone new to talk to.

She had stood out. Soap could still feel the tickle in the back of his head. He was so sure she had been staring but when he looked back she was wholly entangled in her studies.

Soap threw one of the pillows across the room, nearly smacking Spearmint as she floated in to join him in the bed. She was silent but Soap knew she could sense his ongoing turmoil.

Reluctantly, with Spearmint by his side, Soap shut his eyes and willed his mind blank.

Traveler knew Soap would pray if it meant he could get a full night of uninterrupted rest.

~

Bitter cold rain was falling from the sky endlessly. It should have been snowing but the temperatures had risen early that year. Freezing drops pinged off his jacket and dissolved into the ground.

Snow and mud mixed together was ugly.

His bones were shivering, the jacket was long since soaked through to his skin but he couldn’t find it in himself to leave.

Nobody should be alone on a day like today.

The area was plain, location undisclosed, overall it was very average. This place would only hold meaning to those privileged enough to have known.

Hidden in a small wooded area on the edge of town was a small gravestone. It should have a name carved into it but they didn’t know which name to put.

The group settled on a single word. Friend It had taken them a while to get there but their bonds were undeniable.

In the end, through the rainy snow and mud, Soap… Johnny. was the only one who remained rooted in place.

Death and loss had been his life, he did what he did so others could live but what became of you when there was nothing left? No one to return to? Did you become a ghost?

When he died would he join the ones he’s lost in the afterlife or would he haunt the Earth as punishment for the life he had lived?

Soap finally looked up, behind him was the city skyline but ahead still held some nature. A cliff side and tall crested mountains.

It was the final resting place of his greatest ally, forever stuck between two worlds. Rural and suburban. Light and dark. Friend and asshole. Simon and Ghost.

~

Soap shot out of bed shivering, the adrenaline of his lingering feelings and the chill of the late winter air followed him out of his vision and into his bedroom.

He needed to figure out what was happening, the dreams were intensifying exponentially. Before he couldn’t remember a damn thing about them.

How quickly he had gone from knowing he had dreamt, to feeling the emotions, to remembering details.

Soap was no ‘mystical’, traveler speaking guardian but he was no fool. The universe was flashing signs of neon. And as confused and conflicted as it left him, he would never get another night's rest if he didn’t do something about it.

Rolling over to watch Spearmint, Soap’s mind worried he may be in the early phases of D.E.R.

The thought of his mind rejecting himself was horrifying. Tortuous, if it began with terrifying nightmares of lives past. Where would it go from here? Was it fast or was it a slow drawn out process?

Another thing to look into.

Soap looked at his wrist, there was nothing there but he knew somehow it was only just after midnight.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Soap cursed under his breath as he left his flat.

He skipped coffee this morning, heading in the opposite direction of the cafe towards the upper levels of the tower. He couldn’t shake last night's nightmare, the image of that lonely grave burned into his mind. The longer it flashed behind his eyes, the more he started to realize he knew its location. It could have been anywhere but somehow the distinct mountain range the Soap from his vision had lingered on, unlocked the recesses of his memory, -that mountain range was on Earth, somewhere in the Cosmodrome of Old Russia to be exact.

The bounty office was just as bustling as ever, Soap drifted to the left hand side of the building’s lobby to slide into the commissioning sections lineup. He had only ever been on the fulfillment side of the building, unable to recall if he had ever made a request of his own before.

The queue for commissioning was shorter than that of the fulfillment queue and before long it was Soap’s turn.

He stepped up to one of the bots that manned the booths. Standard issue Vanguard bots could be found all over the tower, running stalls, sweeping floors or tending to gardens. Although Soap was ‘technically’ a robot, he never felt akin to the bots, they were all frame and metal, no distinct human features, no synthetic semi-functional organs, no free thought.

“Good morning Guardian. Have you an inquiry?” The bot's tone was modulated, not nearly as advanced as his own. Exos could sound distorted but for the most part their voice boxes mimicked human quality perfectly.

“Aye, got a search and potential rescue that needs doing.”

“Inorganic or organic?”

Soap raised a metal brow at the peculiar question. “Uh, organic?”

“Living or dead?”

That one was complicated, technically, if the grave was even still there, he would be dead. But if Soap’s instincts were correct, he could very well come to life.

“Both?”

The bot was somehow satisfied with his reply and proceeded to ask more specific details. Was it off planet? Did it require a full fireteam? How much was he willing to pay out? Most challenging to answer was the actual mission location, luckily the bot was filled with geographical knowledge, it seemed Soap wasn’t the first person unable to pinpoint location.
After a short description of the mountains, surrounding environment and the sun's position, the bot confirmed his theory that it was indeed on Earth, the Plaguelands to be precise.

“I’m sorry sir, but the Plaguelands have only very recently been cleared for operation. As such, your request will take a day or so for approval.”

Soap tightened his hands into fists but he did not slam them onto the counter. As sleep deprived and as frustrated as he may have been, he still held tight to his self control. Shit still pissed him off though.

“I don’t have days.” Soap pleaded.

A cough from over his shoulder told Soap his turn was over.

"I'm sorry sir."

Soap grit his teeth. The line behind him was growing, not wanting to waste any more time, Soap thanked the bot after politely asking him to put the request on hold. He would have to think of something else.

Leaving the bounty office, Soap was at a loss. One more night without answers was one too many. The intensity of dreams had escalated to a point where he wouldn’t rest again until the issue was resolved.

He could just fly out there himself but if he was honest with himself, he was a coward. The dreams were dangerous to his mental stability.

If he went out there, if he found the grave, he wasn’t sure it would solve anything. Finding the grave empty would leave him hollow and with no guarantee the dreams would stop and on the other hand if he found the man beneath the grave, well his whole world would change.

He would be better off in the Archives, researching while someone else broke the news to him.

Soap realized he reached the bottom of the office’s staircase when he nearly stumbled on the flat ground. He’d been spacing out more than usual but his damn mind wouldn’t shut up.

He scanned the area to see if anyone noticed his misstep when his eyes caught sight of Dex.

The man was a royal dickhead but he was effective and certainly could be trusted to complete his little quest.

Soap put on a friendly grin, confidently strode over and clamped a hand down on the large titan’s shoulder.

“Dex, mate, great ta see ya!”

The man turned and returned Soap’s grin.

Dex was large, his pauldrons elongating his frame. Even without all his armor, the titan was on the bulkier side, tall but still Soap stood taller.

“Squeaky Soap Five.” The man chuckled like calling him ‘Squeaky’ was the best thing he had ever come up with. “How ya been? How’s Blondy?”

Blondy? Soap thought back, he had been with plenty of blonde women but he hadn’t spoken to Dex in probably a year. It clicked, his mind oddly attuned to all his past lovers. If he recalled correctly, her name was Em and the two had only gone on three dates.

“Been good, you?” Soap ignored Dex’s second question and before Dex could reply to the small talk, Soap pressed on.

“-Actually, glad I found ya, got a job needs doin’ asap.”

The titan tilted his head. “A job? Coming from you that’s intriguing but I've already stacked up on requests for today.” Dex looked over his shoulder towards teammates Soap couldn’t see from his position. “-bout to head out with a team actually.”

“Ah come on mate! Ya know I’m good fer’it. Look I’ll even throw in my best side arm if ya complete the job.”

Dex was about to refuse again when something over Soap’s shoulder caught the titan’s attention.

Leaning around Soap, Dex hollered out.

“Well, well, look over there boys, ain’t that Violent Violet?”

Soap turned quickly, barely spotting the white of V’s cloak fluttering away.

“Bloody daft of a man.” Soap cursed Dex but still thanked him as he sped off in V’s direction.

“Damn pansies, both of ya.” Dex yelled out after them. Soap ignored him, knowing the man would forgive and forget by the time they had to interact again.

~

Soap hadn’t seen V in ages, even longer than the last time he had seen Dex.

Soap knew she was around, but every time he thought he had caught sight of her, she would disappear.

Her presence now was divine intervention. Nobody in the tower was more suited for his task than V was. Plus, he trusted her more than anyone alive, a close second after Juri -when he was still alive.

It didn’t matter that they hadn’t spoken to each other in so long.

Soap was catching up to her. The crowd parting in her wake left his path clear to sprint after her without needing to slow down.

“V? V! Come on, wait up!” He tried yelling out for her but she kept moving.

V twisted and ducked behind a ramen stall. From her tailwind, Soap spotted a ghost that didn’t belong to her. A stray that was struggling to keep up with her evasive maneuvers. If V wouldn’t listen, then Soap would plead with the little light instead.

“You lil wee one! Stop her for me would ya?”

They barreled through a back alley doorway. Soap could just make out the railing of a winding staircase. V was going to try and jump but before she could, the ghost Soap had called out to flew in between V and her escape route.

Unsurprisingly, V stopped. -Her hesitation was all he needed.

“V, come now lass, it’s just us. Talk to me, yeah?” He pleaded, standing in the stairwell behind her.

“Soap-5.” She gritted out but otherwise seemed unaffected by their impromptu marathon.

The next thing to leave Soap’s mouth wasn’t the best way to start his plea but it came out before he could stop it.

“Don’t listen to that pillock, he doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, he-”

“-what do you want to talk about so badly that you literally chased me down and turned my ally against me?” V finally turned to face him. She sounded upset but at least she was listening.

V assessed him. Soap stood silently as she observed. He wondered if she could see the exhaustion that hung from him. Did he look defeated? Frustrated?

In the silent moment, Soap held his tongue. V was feet away from him for the first time in years so Soap appraised her back, hungry for any form of connection.

Her outfit was the usual mismatch of colours and even though she still had her signature skittish look, for some reason she looked almost happy. Well, Soap knew happy was a stretch but V at least looked healthy.

He couldn’t stop his mouth from ginning widely at her. Seeing a familiar face felt relieving, even if their friendship had become strained over the years.

“New head piece?” She observed.

Soap reached up to his new blue head plate, shaped in its usual fohawk style.

“Yep, blue’s in style, didn'ya hear?”

“Righttt…” V having none of his stupid jokes per usual.

“And whose this ‘wee one!?” Spearmint popped up, unable to hold her curiosity back.

“Hey, Spearmint.” V spoke warmly to Spearmint, ignoring Soap to talk to his ghost instead. “That’s Hurricane. If you and Soap weren’t so similar I'd say ‘Cane over here would be his ghost based on how quick he betrayed me for him.”

“Wait I-I didn't -that’s.” Hurricane stuttered, overwhelmed by Spearmint hovering so close.

“Cute.” Spearmint said sweetly. Soap couldn’t help the chuckle that left him, seemed his little ghost had learned a thing or two about charm from him.

“‘Alright ‘Minty, that’s enough tormenting the youngin’”

Spearmint whizzed around Hurricane once more before returning to nestle on top of his head.

V’s face fell impassively as she looked towards him. All smiles for ghosts, but towards guardians, not so much.

“Alright straight to business then.” He concluded. “I chased you down because I have a job that needs doin’.”

“-then do it yourself.” She interrupted.

“Not my area of expertise. Plus got roped into a six team raid.” He added hurriedly. The lie had a fifty percent chance to set V off.

Mentioning any kind of ‘raid’ or ‘team’ was dangerous after what happened to Juri. The lie was a risk but in the moment, Soap couldn’t admit he was too cowardly to go out there himself.

Not cowardly. He internally corrected himself. Just too busy with research.

Before V decided to get angry and storm off, he carried on. “Honestly, looking at you now, I have no idea why I didn’t think of you in the first place!”

“Soap, what’s the job?” V deadpanned.

“Alright, alright, loosen up… I guess I can try to say it as short as possible.” He placed his hand under his chin in contemplation. “I may be the fifth iteration of Soap but I still get -how do I put it? Not dreams but flashbacks?” He wasn’t sure how to explain it. A lot had been feelings and he was at a loss on how to properly convey that he had been remembering dreams when guardians typically couldn’t.

“Visions.” Tam, V’s ghost, finally chimed in after staying silent all this time. Soap almost forgot she was even there.

“Guess that’s what they are. These visions -uhh more like memories, well I’m certain they’re mine, like the original me… the flesh and bones Soapy.” He held his arms out wide to accentuate his point.

Soap could see V retreating inward. If he lost her now, she would never agree. Worse, she would jump over the balcony behind her and Soap wouldn’t see her again for another year at the earliest.

“Basically, I saw myself from before with another man. A good mate. We’re both well, we're both some kind of soldier. I remember that much. And that he was strong, like a real tough head of the Vanguard strong. Been dreaming about him and other little things for years now…” He was rambling unnecessarily.

“Conclusion Soap.” V’s voice was firm but she was still engaging which was good.

“Well, I had another vision the other night, strongest one I've ever had and I think I remember where he died -roughly anyway. So, it’s perfect! You always have tons of ghosts around ya. Head out with some and see what happens, yea?” He ended feeling self assured.

“What makes you so sure he isn’t already a guardian?” Tam asked, clearly intrigued by the idea.

Soap hadn’t really thought of that possibility. Either way, his dreams had become too visceral to ignore, no matter what the outcome.

“Well, I guess I don’t know for certain but there are still lots of ghosts out there still searching, why not at least try?” Soap replied while looking towards Hurricane. “Right ‘wee one?”

A large groan of defeat escaped V’s lips. Soap held his breath, hoping he somehow managed to win her over.

The wheels were turning in her head and Soap knew then, he had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse

“I hear ya thinkin’ lass. So, you in?” His grin was devilish.

“Where?”

Soap told her just as the bot had told him back in the bounty office.

“Plaguelands. Newly unrestricted zone. Due South of landing zone 5.”

Recognition flashed over her eyes but she didn’t say anything else. V nodded and flipped over the rail.

She had accepted his quest and that was all he needed.

~

At this point it was way later than Soap had promised by the time he stepped through the Archive’s doors.

His pace was deliberately relaxed as he headed towards the keepers desk.

Jess was not there. Looking around, there were very few people around. Easily, Soap’s eyes landed on the far corner. The warlock woman with the fantastical helmet was sitting at the same desk as if she had yet to even leave since yesterday.

She didn’t look up at him so he moved on. Looking up at the balcony, Juri’s spot was also vacant. Soap sighed audibly, wondering what to do now. He could go look in some of the spots Jess had suggested but that seemed a waste of time.

Looking back at her station, Soap noticed a stack of papers, books and tablets. It must be some of the information he requested but he wasn’t sure if he should take it without asking.

Maybe she knows? He wondered, glancing back towards the warlock in the corner.

As he pondered, his feet decided for him. Soap stopped barely a foot away from the edge of her table.

“Hey, uhm… is Jess here today?” Soap cursed silently at himself, such an awful blunder of a sentence.

The woman peered up from her work to look at him. Fully armored, Soap couldn’t see any part of her so he instead looked to where he imagined her eyes would be.

The swirling galaxy pattern of her helmet nearly put him in a trance.

For a longer than a normal amount of time, she paused, not saying anything, just staring up at him. He almost backed away but she finally answered.

“She’s on lunch.”

“I see. Do you know if that stack of data is mine?” He asked, poking his thumb over his shoulder towards the desk.

She followed his gesture, looking at the desk but quickly looked back down to her work.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. Just take it.” The woman said in quick succession.

She said nothing else, fully reabsorbed in her work even though Soap was still standing right beside her.

She was completely covered up, physically and mentally. Her quick dismissal of him reminded him of V but V kept herself covered up as an act to keep people away. This woman, he suspected, didn’t mind being seen.

Her robes were a striking shade of crimson, perfectly tailored and complimented her every curve. Her helmet was flashy and mesmerizing to look at. And her voice, although kept short, was pleasant and warm.

She was busy. Soap concluded. Dedicated to her work. Whatever she was working on had her so focused that there was no time to exchange pleasantries with a stranger.

Soap walked to the keeper desk and retrieved the stack of data. The civilian journal on top titled ‘My dreams and me’, was all Soap needed to know the stack was indeed for him.

Another glance up at the balcony made his gut twist with the painful memories of his lost friend.

Soap wasn’t sure he could ever go up there again, so instead, he made his way back to the female warlock's table and took a seat near the end of the six person table.

The woman didn’t look up and he didn’t disturb her again.

Pulling a random book from the pile, he began his own research alongside her.

Chapter Text

He sat at her table all day and well into the evening. His presence didn’t bother her as long as he kept to himself.

Surprisingly he did, the man never once interrupted after asking about Jess and some kind of data he was searching for.

When Jess returned from lunch, he was quick to go over and flirt with the woman for almost an hour. Twice his deep laugh disturbed Cardinal’s concentration but for the most part he kept his voice low at an acceptable volume.

For the rest of the day he sat at the far end of her table and read through stacks of notes and journals silently.

Cardinal did not snoop nor did she stop to ask him what he was reading, she remained focused on her own research.

She had nearly made her way through all the volumes the Archives had pertaining to both the darkness and to recounts of guardian corruption.

Junelle and Nilok had entrusted her with such an important task. Studying the dark splinter. She had yet to touch it, it sat, locked away in the research lab she had reserved indefinitely the day Junelle handed it over to her. With her initial research nearly completed, she wondered if she should finish the day by setting up her lab properly.

The second true interruption of the day occurred after the random warlock had already left.

Jess sauntered over to her table, plopping herself down carelessly into the chair across from hers.

“Can you believe that guy?” Her word choice did not match the giddy tone of her voice.

Reluctantly, Cardinal looked up.

Jess took her gesture as an invitation to ramble.

“I mean… tall, polite and a voice so deep he could say just about anything to you and you would melt.”

“What are you on about?” Cardinal deadpanned, confused and a little aggravated by the girl's interference.

“The man! The one who sat with you all day.” Jess bit her lip before continuing. “Say, do you know him? -I think he wanted to ask me out.”

Cardinal put down her data tablet and sighed. She would have to respond or Jess would never leave at this point.

Jess’s voice trailed off, she was still talking out loud but more to herself. “I’ve never been with an exo before.”

Jess plucked a broken string inside Cardinal, irritation reverberated through her chest. Why did she have to bring race into it?

Cardinal opened her mouth to speak as Jess’s head snapped back, full attention onto Cardinal.

“Car! You’re an exo. You must know then…” The human woman flushed deep but asked anyway. “What’s it like? Sleeping with one of you? Do you have… wait, wait, does he have a-”

One of you. The words bounced inside Cardinal’s alloy skull.

Cardinal knew she was not one to take offence to anything, so it baffled her why Jess’s inquiry was rubbing her the wrong way.

Cardinal could tell Jess wasn’t actually interested in a relationship with this man, she wanted a thrill.

It was presumptuous of her to assume she knew what the exo man wanted for himself. Perhaps he just wanted a thrill too, but a gut feeling was telling Cardinal that he wouldn’t enjoy being used like that.

All this, and Cardinal had only interacted with the man once. Conjecture

Cardinal imagined what it would be like if the roles had been reversed, if Jess had sat there asking him if she had a functioning vagina... The thought upset her.

“Stay away from him.” The words come out angrier than expected.

Jess backed off immediately, physically leaning her upper body away from the table. “Oh, gosh… Sorry Car, are you guys a thing?”

“No.”

Jess tilted her head. “Then why? Do male exos not have dicks to fuck with?”

Cardinal grumbled at Jess’s crudeness.

“Exos are not some joy ride for you to experience. You’re a keeper here, use some sense.”

Jess got red again but it was embarrassment that took over her expression.

“I was rude. I’m sorry.”

Cardinal was done for the night. She closed the journal she had yet to finish on her datapad and put it down next to the rest of her research spread across the table.

“You want to go out with him, do it. Sleep with him. I don’t care, but you should consider him a person not a conquest.”

Cardinal left it at that.

Jess stayed behind, quiet at the table and too ashamed to follow her out or say goodbye.

Tomorrow was a new day. Jess would be off the rest of the week and by the time next Tuesday came around, all would be normal between them.

Cardinal let her defensiveness win this time but she let it fly away with the wind the moment she stepped out into the cool night air.

~

The next few days Cardinal finished up her reading peacefully alone, Jess was off and the exo man had yet to make another appearance.

After her own day off, -mandated by her sister, Cardinal moved her research to the basement, finally ready to crack into the container protecting the dark splinter entrusted to her.

Whether the man had finally returned or whether Jess had gone out with him, Cardinal wasn’t sure. Locked away in the lab, there was nobody else around, nobody would disturb her here and she wouldn’t disturb anyone else.

Preliminary testing of the splinter held little results.

Cardinal didn’t predict her disagreement with Jess would affect her studies, but as it turned out, any traces of lingering negative thoughts poured out from her and into the splinter, making it too angry and too dangerous to analyze.

Of course Junelle made handling the object look easy.

Cardinal considered herself to be level headed but the frustration caused by her inability to even hold the object only fueled its darkness.

Unable to physically handle it, she took note of its other properties. Temperature, colour, density, light intensity, any details she could map out.

She put it in a cryo chamber, lit it on fire, and poured chemicals over it. All of which produced zero notable results.

The object only responded to negativity.

~

The morning wasted away, after two weeks of experimentation, Cardinal concluded she needed to enhance her self discipline. -Something she felt she had plenty of but perhaps that was the issue.

With no other choice, Cardinal ventured upstairs to claim her usual reading table.

As she entered the main open area, Cardinal could see Jess behind her desk, silently reading some kind of old world novel. Cardinal didn’t need to disturb the woman to gather what she was after, she knew where everything was better than Jess did some days.

Settling back into her chair, Cardinal spread the pile of new material across the table, separating physical books from digital and research journals from fully published articles. The topic was meditation with a sprinkling of self help, cognition and emotional intelligence. Hopefully by month's end she would be a yin and yang guru.

A few articles in, Cardinal had achieved a steady rhythm. Nothing she came across had been very eye opening but she had certainly read through dryer material.

She was inevitably interrupted, the sound of prolonged conversation filtering through the words on the paper. Glancing up, Cardinal’s eyes landed on him first. It was the same warlock from weeks prior. He was having a hushed conversation with Jess who was smiling back but overall the conversation seemed professional friendly instead of thirsty flirty.

She wondered for a brief moment if the two had gone out on a date, if Jess had discovered for herself that exos in fact have-

The man turned away from Jess, thanking her as he made his way towards Cardinal.

Cardinal unintentionally looked him up and down, his stride was nice, confident, smooth. His frame was clean, the strong grey silver of him enhancing his blue eyes. His robes were a deep shade of black, they made him look sharp.
Her eyes flicked from his face down to his toes then briefly back up to his face before landing back down onto his thighs.

Beneath her helmet the metal contours of her cheeks pinched. She couldn’t blush but the sensation was still there. Cardinal tried to shake the budding feeling, telling herself the thoughts had been purely observational. It was Jess’s fault she was caught picturing what the man held under his robes.

“Lass, still hard at it I see.”

Hard? Traveler help me. Cardinal slowly tilted her head back, masking the fact that she had been starting.

He couldn’t see her face behind her helmet but she could see the apologetic look over his.

“Sorry for the interruption but Jess said you may be able to help me?”

Help? Help with what? Cardinals mind was still stuck in the previous discussion she had with Jess about this man. In her mental spiral, she stayed silent so he continued.

“Names Soap-5 by the way. I was hoping you could help me sort through a memory problem.”

Cardinal snapped back to reality. Jess had sent him her way just as she usually did when people came in looking for information on topics Jess knew Cardinal had more knowledge on.

All this distraction should bother her but sharing knowledge with those who desperately yearned for it was exhilarating, she felt important when they trusted her valuable expertise.

The thought made her shudder, Cardinal wondered if maybe her ego was a problem too. Immediately she mentally catalogued new topics to read up on. Ego, self actualization, narcissism…

Soap was still staring at her.

“Oi, this is the jagoff that nearly crashed into you the other week.” Lupin chimed in, filling the silence.

Ever since Cardinal started the more hands-on trials with the splinter, Lupin insisted on staying close -just in case.

Cardinal thought back to the first time she and the man -Soap, had interacted. Lupin had gone missing that day shortly before noon.

What was Lupin referring to? What crash?

“Hey, don’t speak to him like that.” Soap’s sweet sounding ghost popped up from behind his head. She was small with a round shell and two antae similar to Cardinal’s own ear-like antennae. She was dyed a shade of blue to match her guardian’s head piece.

Blue, like his eyes, deep like the ocean… Cardinal was observing too many details, all this and she still had yet to introduce herself.

The two warlocks ignored their little lights, Cardinal held a palm up, silently inviting Soap to join her across the table.

“Pleasure, my name's Cardinal. What can I help you with?”

“You work here too?”

“Not anymore than any other guardian here.”

Her answers were short and concise. He stared at her and Cardinal felt him desperately trying to read her. Difficult task when she was hidden behind the endless space of her helmet. For a moment she had the urge to remove it to make the conversation easier but resisted when Soap further explained.

“It’s not my memory problem but a friend's.”

“Uh huh.” Cardinal wasn’t sure she believed him.

“He’s a new guardian but smart as a whip. Been thinking… say hypothetically a guardian is or was a person of notable history. With deeds large enough to be recounted. Recorded. What would happen if that guardian learned about his past?”

Cardinal looked from one eye to the other, the man seemed of solid mind.

“You’re iteration five correct? Seems awfully young to be mind slipping.”

“No, no, not me, lass.” He interjected her but he wasn’t being rude. “I believe my friend was someone worth writing about, he- well we are curious if there was information out there for him to discover.”

“What kind of figure was he?”

“A soldier.” He answered confidently, the first completely truthful statement from him.

“Soldier huh? Golden age or?”

“Older.”

“Space race?”

“Older still.”

“Pre Traveler?” Cardinal's intrigue grew with every leap back in time.

“Believe so.”

Information that ancient was exceedingly rare. Things were recorded but all physical files from that time period had long been destroyed and most of the digitized data was either lost to time or corrupted. But anything that wasn’t…

“Ishtar Academy might have what you're looking for. I know a few of the warlocks that upkeep one of the undamaged centers. Could make a request for the data or try and get you temporary access to the facility.”

Just three sentences and it was the most Cardinal had spoken in days. Messaging her contact on Venus wouldn’t be too much of a hassle plus the look on Soap’s face made it worth it. If she could foster another’s thirst for knowledge, she would help as much as she could.

Perhaps when she sent her transmission, she could make a few requests of her own, you never know where useful research could appear.

Chapter Text

It was strange seeing her outside of the Ishtar Archives. Nearly every time he entered the building, she had been there, stationed at her table close to the stacks, diligently studying with no mind of the rest of the world.

Soap wondered if she ever went home, she was there before he arrived and there when he left.

Yet, here she was, leading him and Ghost through the wet ravines of Venus. She wore her typical crimson robes and galaxy swirling helmet. By all accounts she looked like any other guardian but in Soap’s mind, the image of her surrounded by books and tablets contrasted with the sight of her now, trudging through the wilderness of Venus.

Cardinal was quiet, Ghost was quieter. Soap was tempted to fill the vacant air but years of befriending the taciturn kept his mouth shut. He considered for the first time that maybe he needed to make some more extroverted connections.

Instead of small talk, Soap let his eyes wander the scenery. Even the planet was hushed. Beneath their boots, orange tinted puddles splashed and brown mud squelched. Acid rain was falling in a gentle rhythm, the large droplets pinged as they landed onto their armor. The sound echoed deep creating a melody that became the soundtrack to their journey.

Besides the blue lava within and endless seas shaded orange, Venus resembled the ancient rain forests on Earth. A jungle of tangling greenery, moist from the near constant acid showers.

The buildings in the distance were old but still impressively intact despite centuries passing. The only thing strong enough to topple them now was the sea. The rising orange coloured ocean would someday engulf the planet's entire surface. Giant waves lashed against the foundation of nearby buildings, Soap could see half collapsed skyscrapers teetering over steep cliff edges. -the ocean's next meal.

He had never visited Venus. Enemy activity here was at an all time low, Soap couldn’t remember the last time he saw a bounty or mission that involved the planet. The Fallen had all but cleared out and the Vex had shown no interest in continuing to terraform the planet. If he had to guess, Soap assumed they were too preoccupied with consuming Mercury and Nessus. But when it came to the Vex, it was anybody's guess why they did or did not do anything.

Even when the planet saw more action, Soap generally didn’t accept missions too far from Earth. V and Juri both had a preference to stick close to home so he found himself adopting the habit, meaning, Hive and Fallen were what he usually found himself up against.

Cardinal led their group through a tight alleyway, all nature blocked from view and replaced by the deformed paneling of towering buildings.

Their ghosts flew closer now. All three shining their light to illuminate the dim path ahead of them.

Spearmint wasn’t shy but took her cues from Soap so she stayed silent. Lupin had done nothing but snub his metaphorical nose at them since they had met so he wasn’t much for conversation. Hurricane, who chatted a mile a minute, had to learn quickly when he could and could not get away with antics. Ghost was patient but in the field you had to be business if you wanted to keep him as your guardian.

Beside him, Ghost was mission focused, head down, eyes scanning, light on his feet.

The man had been… completely different yet entirely what Soap had envisioned him to be.

The moment Soap saw Ghost standing next to V outside his flat, a bright spark ignited deep in his synapses. Soap recognized him instantly, releasing a wave of relief and unexpected joy when he realized his visions had been real.

In his dreams, he knew Ghost had been a colleague of his original self but selfishly, Soap hoped he had also been a friend.

Knowing the Soap of the past had a good mate and that that mate was real, elated him.

Surprisingly Ghost recognized him too, not in detail but in feeling. Seeing past Soap’s metal face, he knew they were allies.

Ghost was sharp, finely tuned. It took awhile to get him to lighten up but when he actually engaged in conversation, the doors opened and the two quickly regained their lost kinship.

Ghost’s engrained sense of duty was unparalleled, he went off to basic training only a week into his new life and just a few short months later he returned. Soap was astonished that anyone could complete the mandatory new light training program so quickly.

Although Ghost slotted easily into his new life, Soap knew he longed to discover more of his past.

Soap himself never had an interest in digging up his own history. That was the case for most exos, D.E.R was a fate worse than death, which made the idea too risky to want to look into.

Worryingly, Soap’s dreams didn’t stop. He had hoped finding Ghost would have solved the problem but now that he knew they were indeed visions of his own past, he was fearful he was experiencing early signs of D.E.R.

The more anxious he grew, the more vivid the nightmares he seemed to experience.

The visions still revolved mostly around his and Ghost's time as ancient soldiers. Traveler knew Soap wished he could ignore them but instead, he told Ghost about them.

Once the words started, he couldn’t stop them.

Soap started from the beginning, recounting the feelings of adrenaline rushing through him for no apparent reason right to the night he saw Ghost’s gravestone.

Ghost acted marginally interested but ever since that day, Soap noticed how the man would subtly start the day by asking him how he had slept. -Ghost wanted to know if he had dreamt.

Soap told him the bits and pieces he recalled but it never gave Ghost all the answers he was looking for.

So here they were, on Venus, in pursuit of knowledge.

Cardinal leapt down a nondescript opening in the ground. Nothing marked the area, no signs or notable geographical detail. The hole appeared just as normal as any other sink hole around.

He and Ghost followed anyway. Single file they walked along a cramped dirt tunnel that quickly opened into the wall of what could only be an underground portion of the Ishtar Academy.

A short hallway opened up into a foyer of sorts. Soap’s eyes easily caught the sight of a giant blast door. Taking up most of the back wall, it was entangled with thick vines of deep green.

Moving towards it, Lupin sped ahead to hover over the control panel near the door. Soap couldn’t tell if the cranky ghost was decrypting something or simply lighting the panel for Cardinal as she typed away at it.

The blast doors roared to life, Cardinal slipping through as soon as they opened wide enough.

She did not signal for them to keep following, they just did. Through the doors and into a sterile looking spiral staircase, the trio descended.

The staircase was wide enough to accommodate at least six people to walk side by side as they descended. The walls were simple, clean and white. Soap noted all the cryptic symbols above hallways, original to the Ischar Academy; they were the names of research branches, exit locations or simply the floor levels, all restored and just as clean as the walls.

The Academy this far down was remarkably preserved. The blast doors protecting it from being overrun by foliage.

That or the researchers inside found time to clean between experiments.

As they descended, Soap quickly realized they were not alone. Plenty of other guardians were roaming the halls and stair case. A few even nodded to Cardinal in polite acknowledgement as they passed.

They ignored Soap, he was a warlock yes, but a stranger to them.

Ghost got it worst of all, his imposing titan build earning sneers from the snobbier warlocks that passed.

Cardinal kept walking with purpose, at ease and obviously familiar with the building's layout. Soap wondered how much time she spent down here in order to know the path so well. A few guardians were even speaking to her as they made their way down long hallways. He listened to all her replies, how she sounded when she wished them well or explained how she was researching on Earth these days. It all increased his budding curiosity for the woman. Maybe he could have gotten away with small talk earlier after all? Listening to her really put it into perspective just how little he knew about her.

Cardinal led them into one of the random side rooms. Nothing he could decipher told him what the room was for.

Inside there were numerous empty work stations, each with their own ancient computer set-ups that somehow still functioned.

Only one person was in the room already. Soap assumed they were a keeper of sorts, similar to Jess’s role for the Ishtar Archives.

“Cardinal, it’s been a while.” The man’s voice was warm, welcoming just as the others had been to her.

“Tonto.” Cardinal nodded.

The man, Tonto, shifted his eyes to observe Soap and Ghost.

‘Tonto’ was helmetless, Soap tried not to fidget under the academic scrutiny his dull brown human eyes held as he assessed them listlessly.

“Narrow down the year and location. Additional details such as names or specific dates will improve result accuracy and decrease the amount of time filing through irrelevant data.” Tonto prattled off instructions to Soap and Ghost.

“No introductions then?” Soap quipped, unable to hold it in.

Tonto said nothing.

Fully ignoring Soap’s comment, he signaled for them to have a seat at any of the terminals.

“Once I filter the results, have a look through and if you find a match, flag it so I can make a copy for you.” A small pause, before adding. “Please don’t flag everything you see.” Tonto ended, his tone staying flat throughout.

Lupin and Tonto’s ghost linked up, transferring something Soap could not guess.

“Thanks Tonto. Catch up later?”

“Later, right.” He sounded unimpressed at Cardinal’s -what sounded to Soap as a bluff, and watched the woman leave the room.

A short nod goodbye to Soap and Ghost and she was gone.

Tonto looked down and resumed his typing, disregarding Soap and Ghost until he was needed.

Sitting behind one of the computers, Soap tried not to stare at Tonto. The man obviously knew why they were there, meaning he must be the contact Cardinal mentioned.

The mystery of Cardinal was growing. How did she know this man? She trusted him enough to leave himself and Ghost alone with him. Soap was barely acquainted with Cardinal yet here he was in ‘thee’ Ishtar Academy, with endless knowledge at his fingertips.

Traveler, he was finding it hard not to feel curious. Cardinals life was fascinating, the circles she ran in were nothing like he had ever really experienced. He had been around Juri and other academic types before but this was on a whole other level.

In the row across from him, Ghost was typing and clicking away. He was eager in his pursuit of answers. Soap however felt hesitant. He wanted to know the reason behind his dreams but was nervous too much digging into the past might jumble up his brain. Search too far and one of his lives could start bleeding into the other.

Ghost didn’t notice Soap’s lack of flagged files.

Tonto of course knew but luckily for Soap the man wasn’t as nosy as he was, keeping to his own work.

A few silent hours went by and Soap found himself only searching safe topics such as ‘Army’, ‘War’ and ‘Earth population’. The riskiest phrases he tried were things like ‘United Kingdom’ and ‘task force’. All buzzwords he recalled from recent dreams.

Before his browsing could get too dangerous, Soap’s mind drifted back to Cardinal. The woman had really done him a favor. He felt like he needed to repay her somehow but was clueless as to what the woman would like.

She was quiet but not shy. Disciplined. Smart. She was a warlock -obviously. Familiar with the Academy, which probably explains why I haven’t met her before. I’ve never seen her face but her hips curved deliciously when she descended stairs and her breasts-

Ghost shot up out of his chair, interrupting Soap’s daydreaming.

The two locked eyes for a moment and Soap understood he had managed to find what he was looking for.

“Congratulations gentleman. Fascinating stuff really.” Tonto said, clearly having read through anything flagged.

“A bit niche for my liking but harmless enough that you may have indefinite access to these files.”

Tonto’s ghost hovered over his hands as he typed away, preparing the files for transfer.

After a copy was sent over to Hurricane and Spearmint, Tanto quickly dismissed them.

Ghost was ready to leave anyways, no doubt wanting privacy when he read through whatever had caught his eye.

Soap's head was spinning as he and Ghost made their way through the halls. Cardinal had not returned and getting out of here would be no easy task considering every hallway looked like the previous.

Asking another warlock for directions was more embarrassing than he imagined it would be but since Ghost was growing irritable, he didn’t have a choice.

~

Arriving back to the flat, Ghost disappeared down the hall and locked the door to his room.

Ghost would be up all night pouring over texts while he would be up all night fighting off dreams.

But as he lay in bed, it was Cardinal that he could not stop thinking about.

Should I have tried to contact her before we left? Should I contact her now? Would she be at the Archive tomorrow?

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter Text

Cardinal was there. Soap nearly walked straight to her table when he entered the Archives the following afternoon but instead, he forced his legs towards the keeper’s desk.

“Mornin’ darlin’.” He purred to Jess.

“Afternoon.” She replied. “What brings you in today? More research?”

“Naye, I just like comin’ to see you.” Soap’s suave response came easy but lacked its usual punch since he said it while looking over at Cardinal and not at Jess.

“Seems you may be prone to daydreaming. Or do you see something you like better over there?”

Her cheeky reply had his head finally turning back to regard her. It wasn’t often a woman flustered him with a one liner.

Jess was smiling sweetly at him, her body language was open as she leaned on the desk close to him.

Soap’s brows drew together slightly. Jess was waving the flags he associated with a woman interested in him yet when he had asked her out she had refused.

Jess broke eye contact first to look in Cardinals direction. “How was your outing yesterday? It was really nice of Cardinal to take time out of her research to help you. Smart, nice and beautiful. Quite the combination huh?”

Nice? Beautiful? Was Cardinal the reason Jess had turned me down?

Not even five minutes there and Soap’s head was already swirling with thoughts of the mysterious warlock woman.

Ignoring Jess’s comments on Cardinal’s appearance, he quickly agreed that he appreciated her help and wished Jess a good day before drifting over to Cardinal’s table.

Soap sat down across from her this time. Cardinal’s usual clutter was spread across the entire table with the exception of a neat stack of files in front of her. Soap assumed they were what she had gathered yesterday on Venus.

“How did yesterday go?”

Soap looked away from the pile and up towards Cardinal’s face as she spoke.

For once, Cardinal was already looking at him, speaking to him before he could.

“Good… yea, good. Ghost is still holed up in the flat diggin’ through things.” He fumbled the first conversation volley but quickly tried to cover it up by saying thanks. “Appreciate yesterday. Don’t think they would have ever let me in without you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Cardinal looked back at her work. Soap had to act quickly if he wanted the conversation to continue.

“Did ya find what you were searching for?”

“Mhm.”

“And what about Tonto, did you two ‘catch up’?” Soap threw on a cheeky smirk.

Cardinal looked up again. Soap couldn’t see her expression through her helmet but the tilt in her head made him think she was trying to decipher his intentions.

“Had no time.” She replied casually, not matching his flirty tone.

“Aye, busy woman. Smart, generous and…” Beautiful But he couldn’t say that. He had never actually seen what she looked like. Not that Soap believed beauty to be one singular thing. In truth every woman was beautiful, he certainly didn’t have a type. Blondes, Brunettes, Pinkettes and Bluettes. He had flirted and dated them all yet somehow he had yet to find the elusive ‘one’.

One second too many passed as Cardinal waited for him to complete his sentence. Instead he pivoted.

“Yesterday was the first time I've seen you leave this table. Gotta admit you have me curious.” -His question would be a risk but he was desperate to know more about her. “What are you researching?”

“Looking into something for a friend.”

Her response was vague but at least she hadn’t ignored him.

Cardinal looked back at her work after that so Soap let it be for a while.

She didn’t ask him to leave so he stayed, digging out a few files of his own to read quietly with Cardinal for a few hours.

Tomorrow he would try again.

And he did try again the next day and every other day for the next two weeks.

Cardinal, per routine, was already there when he arrived. The only thing that stopped him from joining her right away was if Jess was working. Their morning chats slowly devolved into simple greetings as Soap was quick to find himself drifting towards Cardinal’s table most days.

Cardinal never shrugged off his company. In fact, after the first few days Soap noticed the spot directly across from her remained mysteriously free of clutter which made it easier for him to settle in.

She certainly wouldn’t talk his ear off but she definitely reciprocated when he spoke to her. Each day their conversation lasted longer and longer, mostly small talk but it was a start.

He kept his banter flirty. She replied with minimal interest. Soap wasn’t sure whether the woman was ignoring his advances or simply didn’t realize he was flirting with her at all. Either way, Soap found himself enjoying his time with her.

Funny how her dodging his playful comments made him want to try them even more.

If she wanted him to stop, of course he would stop but for now he hoped they were both enjoying the game.

On a lazy Tuesday afternoon Soap switched it up. After lunch he returned to the table with a new article, -something he grabbed at random from the return cart and settled back down in the chair beside hers.

Within seconds she put down what she was reading and turned to regard him.

“Are you alright?”

“Aye.”

“Can I help you with something?” She turned her body causing her legs to nearly press into his.

“Aye.” He said again but lower this time, a deep whisper as he placed a hand on the back of her chair and leaned in.

Soap was helmetless, just as he usually was when he went about and around the tower.

Cardinal of course had her helmet on still.

He peered into her helmet, her face hidden away from him all this time. Soap found himself willing to see through to her but as he gazed into the swirling pattern of her helmet, all he could see was his own moving reflection.

Cardinal didn’t back away. Her head was tilted up, looking at him.

If he couldn’t see her face then Soap decided he would re-ask something that had been on his mind since he first noticed her.

She had dodged the question the first time around but had since been more open with him.

“What cha workin’ on darlin’?”

Cardinal still did not back away but she did look briefly towards her notes on the table.

“Been meaning to tell you actually.” She began, looking back to his face. “I won't be here tomorrow. It’s time for me to head down to the lab again for more testing.”

“Testing?” Soap was surprised to hear it. Not expecting her to reply at all. “Testing what?” His flirtatious tone turned to something more curious. Cardinal always brought out a fascination in him.

He saw her body language stiffen, she was hesitating more than usual which Soap took as a sign that she wasn’t going to outright dismiss him this time.

He wondered if she was deciding if he was trustworthy enough to confess to.

“A friend of mine entrusted me with an artifact discovered on Europa.”

“An artifact?” Soap leaned in closer out of interest instead of playfulness.

Cardinal was pleased with his enthusiasm and also leaned in closer, placing a hand on the arm Soap had draped over her chair.

Soap was too enthralled to notice the hand she placed upon him lacked the usual warmth a human or awoken hand would.

“My friends have been able to harness darkness within it and successfully wield it in battle. They call it stasis. Frozen waves of dark energy able to encase enemies and shatter them to bits.” She spoke in hushed tones.

“Harness darkness?” His voice was less than hushed. It was above acceptable speaking volume in fact.

Cardinal flinched and pulled away. The Archives weren’t usually busy Tuesday afternoons but there were still other people around.

“Ain’t the darkness too dangerous to be handled?”

He grew worried the reason Cardinal didn’t tell him sooner was because what she was working on was dangerous. Everybody knew how darkness corrupted even the most pure. Traveler knows he’s witnessed first hand what that kind of power could do when used as a weapon against a guardian.

Cardinal wasn’t looking at him anymore but he went on, desperate to clamp down the images of Juri being torn apart in front of him. “What does it look like? What about the potential risk of corruption? What kind of friends-”

“Soap!” Her tone was unlike any he had ever heard her use. “That’s enough.”

He stopped talking, her words whipping through to him. He raised his brows, mouth open but his words were muted by shock.

Cardinal pulled back. It was the first time she had said his name.

Just as quickly as she had opened up to him, he watched her close up.

Gathering her materials from the table she stood.

“I have to go.”

“Wait, go where? Lass? Was it something I said?”

She paused, looking again to something behind him. “You should also leave.”

With that, she walked away.

Towards the entrance, Soap briefly saw Jess’s confused face at Cardinal’s display. He was lost in trance, watching Cardinal leave with unfocused eyes until the soft click of the doors sealed shut after her and oxygen filled the room again. The door closed and time began moving as it once did, as if her outburst had stopped the Earth from spinning.

A man passed by the table. Not close enough to bump into Soap’s chair but near enough that Soap could feel the breeze he created as he walked by.

Soap stayed at the table for a while after she left, lost in his own thoughts. Cardinal was relaxing to be around, she was smart and fun to tease even if she didn’t tease back. Her genuine interest in her study had him coming back day after day to observe her.

After finding Ghost, his nightmares lessened and his loneliness improved. Soap didn’t realize it had gotten so bad. When Ghost had settled into Juri’s old bedroom, it had finally filled the void Juri’s death still held over the flat. Two cups of coffee in the morning, an extra pair of boots at the entrance or the glow of bedroom light seeping from the crack between the door and the floor.

Having someone else around put Soap at ease.

Lately, he barely saw Ghost. The man hadn’t left his room in days, too preoccupied with battling against whatever secrets he had discovered in the Ishtar Academy.

Which left Soap on his own again.

Spending time in the Archives had been a relief. Soap had been curious from the start about what Cardinal was dedicating so much time to. Hell, he even wanted to help if she would only let him.

Cardinal had started to tell him what she was up to but then… That man.

The man that had walked a little too close was now sitting on one of the balcony chairs across the room above Soap. He had a book in his hands but Soap felt him glancing at him periodically ever since Cardinal rushed out.

A shuffling sound drew Soap’s attention. Jess was packing up her things, preparing to leave for the night.

Soap stood, moving quickly but quietly.

“Oi, Jess.” He whispered.

“Soap.” She teased, throwing a bag over one shoulder.

“Who’s the man on the balcony?”

Soap put his body in front of Jess, turning to block his face from being viewed by the man on the balcony above.

Mercifully, Jess didn’t need to look up to know who Soap was talking about.

“Carden. Member of the Praxic Order. He usually butts into Cardinal’s business when she doesn’t want it.” She paused like she was carefully deciding her next words. “Be careful around that one.” She warned sternly.

“How sweet. I’d appreciate the company.” Raising her voice, she played off their interaction as friendly banter, looped their arms together and steered them towards the exit.

Soap couldn’t help but take one last look. The man, Carden, was watching them, not even feigning ignorance and looking away when Soap caught him staring.

As a warlock, Soap had heard of the Praxic Order. They were a little too intense for Soap’s liking but from what he understood they were relatively harmless. A group of warlocks who kept dark artifacts and fought against guardian corruption.

Dark artifacts and corruption.

What Cardinal had told him, -what he had said back, were all things a member of the Praxic Order would look out for. Whatever Cardinal had, there was a serious reason she always refused to tell him about it.

And when she finally did, he had gone and alerted a member of the Order...

Eejit.

Chapter Text

It was nearly ten by the time Cardinal made it to the lab. She wanted to blame her tardiness on sleeping-in but really it had everything to do with yesterday's outburst with Soap.

The bed underneath her was no safe haven that night but a dungeon. She didn’t need to open her eyes that morning when they felt like they had been open and awake all night. Mentally chained to the bed, she was unable to get up so she gave into the warm sheets and spent way too long staring up at her bedroom ceiling, thinking over the past few weeks.

The third time Lupin floated in to check on her, she forced herself upright. A ghost worried after their guardian the most, even if their concern sounded more like annoyance than genuine worry.

After a long shower, she skipped making her own coffee assuming the cafe would be faster. Of course she should have predicted that later in the morning meant the little shop was packed with all the people who actually woke at a reasonable time.

One far too bitter and cold cup of coffee later, Cardinal ducked into the lower level of the Archive, avoiding Jess entirely. -Avoiding Soap if he showed.

Placing her coffee on one of the long tables, Cardinal climbed onto one of the tall stools and reached for her datapad.

The labroom was silent, quieter than the Archives main floor.

Since no one else had access to the room, the long sigh she let out may as well have been a scream in the deafening solitude.

Feeling stuffy all of a sudden, Cardinal removed her helmet and placed it on the counter in front of her.

The galaxy within its face swirled in starlight patterns and for the first time she wondered if she should stop wearing it so often. She wasn’t trying to hide her face or anything, just the act of putting it on had become so engrained into her ritual. She woke early, donned a fresh set of red or black robes, drank her sweet coffee and sealed herself away behind her helmet. Ready to take on the day, those little morning consistencies were tradition by this point.

Cardinal reached for her coffee and downed it all, no sense in savoring it when it was too bitter to be enjoyed properly.

Placing her hands on her helm she lifted it up but midway to her head she hesitated before putting it back down.

Frowning down at its dark tinted window and ever dancing pattern of light, Cardinal thought of Soap, -again.

The man had spent a lot of time sitting across from her, studying whatever random data he could find but also looking at her, -talking to her. How could he even talk to me when the only thing he got in return was the vacant space of this damn helmet?

Cardinal didn’t mind company or a little bit of distraction every now and again. The problem was she usually found herself so absorbed in her own mind that whoever came to visit her simply left before she realized they had been there trying to talk to her at all.

Soap was quiet when she needed it, patient when she didn’t respond right away and most of all, Cardinal found him funny. Was he overly flirtatious? Sure. But she had a feeling he would stop the moment she became uncomfortable with it. What baffled Cardinal is how he knew, if at all, how she was feeling. He had yet to see her face meaning her facial expressions had been locked behind her helmet.

She groaned, slightly mortified that her gentle smiles at his jokes probably looked like vacant stares to Soap if he couldn’t see her face.

She had dated before. sort of.

The thought of spending any amount of effort looking for love seemed a waste of time. Too many fools played too many foolish games.

Most guardians were too busy for romance. Flings were common but actual love was rare. From her observations, it usually developed between friends or fireteam members. People who were already constantly around each other, working side by side so often that eventually one day you were just ‘a thing’.

Nilok and Junie were the exception. Marriage between guardians was nearly unheard of, the tradition was typically held by civilians who could start families. Whether it be by reproduction or adoption, civilians -although essential to city life, simply had more time to cultivate a family. Civilians were the crux to the survival of the human race. The promise they gave to each other, to raise families, to stay bound together for the finite time they had needed mortal dedication. Guardians were immortal, the notion of staying with a single person for eternity felt illogical to most.

Yet, after watching her friend's love over the years, Cardinal couldn’t deny their union was one of the most logical things left in this disorderly universe. Love for herself however, was an improbability. She had her friends, her sister, her ghost and her research. That was enough for her.

Cardinal could admit though, Soap’s advances had been nice, flattering, even if she didn’t know what to do about it. Cardinal supposed they could go out on a date, have a nice evening but just like when Jess wanted to accept his advances, something in the back of Cardinal’s head told her that Soap wasn’t in it for the sex. He was overly flirtatious but something about him seemed too genuine to merely want to sleep around. Of course she could be wrong.

Lupin floated into view. A clear indication that Cardinal had been lost in her own thoughts for far too long.

“Stop thinking about that numbskull.”

“I wasn’t.” She protested.

“Need I remind you he nearly alerted the whole damn Praxic Order what we’ve been up to?”

Cardinal’s eyes flicked up to the locked laboratory door. The splinter was safely tucked away in its container behind her. Even if Carden had heard Soap yesterday, there was no way he could have gotten in here. Dark artifact or not, entering another’s lab without permission was against Archive protocol. Unless he could convince a high member of the Vanguard to give him a warrant of sorts but Cardinal knew he had no proof to persuade them. Only the murmurings of Soap.

And now she was spiraling with thoughts of Soap again, just as Lupin was trying to get her back on the tracks.

Cardinal regretted not explaining to Soap why she was so upset, she rarely behaved rashly but Carden was an exception. Of all the Praxic members, of course it had to be Carden who overheard.

“Tosser.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying here Car.” Lupin cartwheeled to the left.

“No, not Soap. Carden.” She grit out his name, not wanting to say it all.

“Yes, yes, tossers the lot of them.”

Cardinal left it at that. Too much of her day, wasted thinking of trivial things. Turning towards her work bench, she requested Lupin bring out the master list of data she had compiled the past few weeks and got to work.

~

“Cardinal!” Jess called out to her when she excited the building. She was leaning on the Archive’s angelic statue but stood up straight and waved sweetly when Cardinal noticed her.

It was dark, the sun had set and nobody else was around.

“Jess? What are you still doing here?”

“Waiting for you.” She replied when Cardinal descended the steps and drew closer to her.

“Your shift ended hours ago.”

“You’ve been locking yourself away for days on end, was thinking one of these nights you wouldn’t come out of there at all.” Jess said, ignoring Cardinal's previous statement.

“You know how I get.”

“Yes, which is why I’m here.”

The two descended down the rest of the staircase together, stopping to face each other at the bottom.

“Soap’s been here every day.”

“That’s nice.”

“Car, he’s been asking about you every day.”

“And you can’t tell him where I am.” Cardinal nearly snapped, referring to the Archives confidentiality protocol.

She was feeling oddly defensive, Soap had filled the spaces of her mind every second she let it wander. She didn’t want to know he had also been thinking of her, coming every day to try and find her.

“I saw what happened the other day. He probably just wants to apologize."

Cardinal’s sigh was more grunt as she gave in to Jess.

“I know… Is this seriously why you waited for me?”

“Well that and I do worry for you. Maybe you should invite Soap in? You know, have a partner in whatever this thing is that has you completely buried in work.”

They started walking towards the living quarter. Cardinal was silent, unsure what to say.

When they hit the divide in the road Jess took hold of Cardinal’s arm, stopping her.

“Car, at least take a day off. You know you usually take days off right?”

Cardinal turned to the keeper, more a friend now than a simple Archive employee.

“Thanks Jess.”

She was smiling but the gesture was hidden behind her helmet so instead Cardinal tried gently patting the hand Jess held onto her with.

“Night.” Cardinal said before turning to walk down the street away from Jess.

As Cardinal made her way down the street, light coming from her favorite noodle place caught her attention. Her stomach couldn’t really grumble but she felt the hunger all the same.

She had been holed up in the lab for days, running on nothing but coffee and snacks. She figured she may as well take some of Jess’s advice. Grab a meal, sleep in -even if that meant staying in bed an extra five minutes and then take it easy for the day.

Standing outside the little shop, Cardinal overheard distinct voices.

“You’re going on a date tonight?” One girl asked her friend.

“Wait!” Another friend squealed. “You never told us how Mr. Shiny went.”

The first friend gasped loudly. “I completely forgot, girl, how could you not tell us?”

“Must have slipped my mind?” She giggled.

“What did it look like?”, “What did it feel like?”

The two friends asked questions in quick succession.

Cardinal felt her stomach roll but not out of hunger this time. She couldn’t see the girls from where she stood but did remember the sound of their voices from weeks prior. They had to be talking about the exo the one girl had been dating.

She suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. Maybe a different day or a different person would have confronted them but it wasn’t going to be her that night. She backed away from the shop and kept on down the road. Going home.

~

“Quit pacing and go out for a walk already.”

Cardinal paused for a moment, Lupin interrupting her train of thought.

Just as Jess had suggested she had decided to take the day off. The problem was that it was just after noon and she had run out of things to do that didn’t involve research.

She had slept in -marginally, made her own coffee and breakfast and took a longer than necessary shower. She aimed to spend most of the day cleaning her flat from top to bottom but it didn’t take her nearly as long as she assumed it would since all her time recently had been spent stuck in the Archives instead of in her own home.

“A walk Cardinal.” Lupin stressed again. “Not to the Archives. Maybe see if Junie is around?”

Cardinal didn’t respond initially, she continued her path into the kitchen, pausing again only to adjust the handles of her mugs on their display stand so they all lined up handles in the same direction.

She took a large breath in only to be able to sigh it out.

A small digital display calendar was glowing in her periphery on the refrigerator. The months flicked from one to the next automatically while each square tinted black as the days passed. Cardinal didn’t need to look too hard to know what day today was. -There was another reason she had agreed to Jess’s request.

“Alright, let’s get some fresh air then.” Her voice came out a little hollow, Lupin knew why but didn’t comment.

Fresh air was a stretch when Cardinal had her helmet firmly in place but the breeze still felt refreshing as she wandered down to Junelle and Nilok’s place. Raising her arm to their door, Cardinal questioned if she should have tried to contact Junelle before marching over.

Three quick, firm knocks. Cardinal took a step back and waited. Thirty seconds went by with no signs of anyone moving inside. She raised her hand up to the door once more but lowered it, deciding against trying again.

“Maybe it’s time for the other visit?” Lupin spoke softly, tenderness reserved only for days like today.

Every year on this day, Cardinal took a moment to reflect. It wasn’t a sad day or a tragic day, it was more of a day to give thanks. Whatever the emotion was, she was yet to put a proper name to it.

“Right.” She nodded, turning to head to today's ultimate destination.

The sky wasn’t cloudless. The warm sun was accentuated by rolling, fluffy, pure white clouds. It wasn’t windy, even so high up in the city but yet the clouds were sailing by steadily. Their pace was near perfect for cloud watching.

Cardinal looked up to the sky when one of the larger cloud formations blocked the sunlight momentarily. The sky was still bright but with the sun tucked behind the clouds, Cardinal could feel coolness set in through her body from the shade but all too quickly the cloud passed over, forcing Cardinal to look away from the reemerging blinding light.

She turned away from the sun and over to the stony garden. Marble pillars in elongated rows were fashioned to be memorial gravesites. The rows were labelled but other than that there wasn’t much order to the place. If you wanted to find someone specific there was a terminal to search it.

Cardinal didn’t need direction, she knew where she was headed. Six columns down, three rows in. Plaques stacked side by side, large enough to hold a few names and dates or a single name and a quote. There was a plaque dedicated to all of the unknown souls lost, plaques for entire families, plaques commemorating those who perished in battles and of course plaques that held a single name, either requested by the person themself before death or by a loved one after they passed.

Just above her eye line sat the plaque she visited once a year. She had only ever missed the date a few times in all the years she had been alive. The tradition was the one thing that lived in the memory of every iteration of herself.

She stood in quiet reflection, staring at the name, at the date then at the name again. Thankful? Serendipity? Tranquility? The perfect word to describe her feeling was still escaping her.

Lupin wasn’t beside her, he instead floated by the entrance to the grounds, giving her a moment alone.

Without Lupin around, Cardinal was unsure how long she had been standing there, unmoving. The area was quieter today than it had been years prior, Cardinal supposed it was too nice a day to spend in such a solemn place. Regardless there were a few people milling about, she could hear them crunching the pebbles that littered the pathways.

From the back of her neck, Cardinal felt the prickling sensation of someone staring at her. The feeling gathered through her, moving down her spine and reached around to spread into her gut. The uneasy feeling was enough to break her from her reverie.

Cardinal assumed she had overstayed her welcome, another person was probably waiting for her to move so they could visit a plaque nearby in private.

Cardinal spun on one foot and left without a word, she would unexplainably be back again next year.

Chapter Text

It had been an arduous week, not that he was particularly busy with anything.

Shuffling around at home, visiting the Archives only to get turned away by Jess or completing menial Earth patrols alone. It was boring, it was lonely.

The only spark of his week had been when Ghost finally emerged from his hibernation.

Ghost came out of his room a different person. He was quiet and broody before but now he actually seemed to have a chip on his shoulder worth brooding about. Watching Ghost silently move about the flat that morning, Soap was unconvinced giving the man access to his history had been the best idea

They spoke, -kind of, Soap would label it more an exchange of very few words than an actual conversation but still, it was progress. Finding Soap in the kitchen, Ghost requested they restart their fireteam missions. He readily agreed, pleased Ghost had spoken to him, Soap tried to get him to talk some more but the man turned away and disappeared into his room once again.

Soap was left alone again but at least he was feeling slightly more optimistic.

Leaving the flat, Soap told himself he would not visit the Archives today. He didn’t want to ruin his little victory with Ghost by being rejected by Jess once again. So in the spirit of progress, he decided to visit another friend instead.

As he walked through the city, Soap felt the gentle breeze. The temperature today was similar to the day Juri had passed. The clouds however were way too fluffy and white. When he had returned home the evening Juri and the others were killed, the sky's clouds were harsh streaks pulled taut over the horizon, dark grey yet no rain fell from them.

His admiration of the weather ceased when the tall marble pillars came into view. The memorial grounds were an oddity, just like the Ishtar Archive, it didn’t fit the aesthetic of the rest of the Last City.

When nobody was looking, he jumped the fence, opting to take a short cut.

Turning the corner and down the aisle that held Juri’s life plaque, Soap was surprised to see another person in the aisle. Not just any person but a woman clad in crimson robes and a galaxy swirling helmet.

Cardinal?

She was standing close to Juri’s plaque but Soap could tell she wasn’t visiting his old mate.

Seeing her outside the Archives was always strange, like something rare to be admired.

She had him rooted in place, unable to move even when his body jerked forward, desperately trying to go to her.

Soap had been attempting to see her all week only to get denied day after day by Jess yet here Cardinal was, feet away from him finally and he was frozen.

Her head lowered away from the plaque she had been staring at just above her height. Her posture seemed to stiffen and Soap was sure she had caught on to his staring.

Soap was completely still, he wondered what she would say if she turned and spotted him there.

This place was intimate, a place people went to mourn and remember those they had lost.

Soap doubted she wanted to talk about which dead mate she was here for because he sure as hell didn’t feel up to talking to her about Juri.

He so desperately wanted to apologize to her, to talk about what had happened the other day but as much as his muscles screamed, his brain won out. -This place was not where a conversation like that should happen.

Soap held his breath when Cardinal shifted her feet but instead of looking at him, she turned away and left.

Spearmint pushed up against Soap’s temple. Shaking him back into his own body.

“Who do you think she’s visiting?” Spearmint asked, ignoring for Soap’s sake that he had let Cardinal walk away when he had been trying to reach her for days.

“Donno ‘Minty.”

Soap drifted towards Juri’s plaque. He stopped beside it but somehow his eyes were still glued to where Cardinal had been.

Traveler forgive him, he wanted to look at whose commemorative grave she was visiting. It would be an invasion of privacy but Soap could almost feel himself salivating at the mouth for more information about Cardinal.

His feet moved again, he supposed they were on public property and there were no privacy laws here unlike the one the Archives held.

Soap didn’t have to look upward like Cardinal did to look at the sign.

Amelia Marie Cardinal

No date, no quote, just a name. Cardinal. Soap’s gut sank, he immediately regretted looking at the plaque. The name echoed in his head as he repeated it over and over in his mind.

“Amelia Cardinal?” Spearmint floated close to the sign. “Her sister perhaps?”

Soap was trying not to think about it too hard but if this grave did belong to a family member of Cardinal’s and if Cardinal was only her surname, he wondered what her given name was?

Jess would know? Right? Soap felt like Jess could at least tell him that if she was unable to tell him where Cardinal was during the day.

He ran a hand down his face, feeling exasperated. He was going insane, obsessed with finding love then obsessed with finding Ghost now he was fixated on Cardinal.

He left the grounds, walking out of the front gate this time instead of jumping the fence. On his way home, he made his resolve. He needed to move on with his life, apologize to Cardinal, start taking missions with Ghost and start going out on dates again… leaving Cardinal alone if that was what she wanted.

The latter of the list seemed a near impossibility, deep down he knew he couldn’t let this go. -let her go. But like everyone else, he would if he had to.

~

Soap gave it an extra few days. Instead of heading to the Archives, he headed out with Ghost, getting back into a comfortable rhythm with the man. Completing quests felt good. The pair worked well together. Ghost was actually more fun to taunt now that he had a trauma sized stick up his arse, not to mention the fresh air and exercise had done wonders on his mood, making him even more intolerable.

By the end of the week Soap felt recharged and finally prepared to face Cardinal.

The following morning, Soap had to explain the concept of ‘days off’ to Ghost as he told him he wouldn’t be able to patrol with him today.

Soap knew if it had been up to Ghost, they would never have any days off. Soap of course insisted there was more to this second life than completing bounties and making glimmer.

Ghost was unmoved but still ‘temporarily’ agreed to ‘maybe’ taking a day off and told Soap not to ‘complain’ when he continued to work when Soap didn’t ‘want to’.

The man was more machine than Soap and Soap was at least 70% metal.

When the Archive came into view Soap immediately noticed Jess sitting on the top step with her head buried in her hands over her lap.

He approached the woman cautiously, trying not to startle her.

“You alright sweetheart?” Soap’s voice was low and calm as he placed a hand on Jess’s shoulder.

She reacted instantly, springing up and looking down at him from two stairs up.

“Soap.” She exclaimed excitedly, except Jess didn’t really look excited to see him, more relieved.

“Been waiting for you. Please follow me.”

Jess headed up and through the doors before Soap could question her.

He followed as she went through a side door in the foyer that hid the staircase downward to the labs instead of through the large door that led into the main library floor.

The staircase went much farther down than Soap initially assumed. Jess kept her pace brisk as they passed floor after floor. He almost asked her how many floors there were when she exited the stairwell five flights down.

The hallway was wide, it wasn’t terribly long but Soap could see the hall branched right and left at the end.

Jess made her way down the hall and Soap continued to follow silently. He was busy taking in his new surroundings. Each lab was quite large based on how far apart one door was from the other. A large window, a door, another large window then another door. Most of the windows were blacked out, tinted so nobody could peer inside but a few of the windows were clear, he assumed that meant they were vacant and available to rent.

Jess stopped beside the last lab door on the left hand side. He didn’t need to ask to know whose lab it belonged to, the real question was why was Jess suddenly showing him this?

“I haven’t seen her in days.” She spoke while looking at the door. “One all nighter here and there sure but she always came out.”

Jess turned, a look of worry on her face. “She’s done this once before after what he did to-” Jess paused, cutting off mid sentence.

“After who did what?”

Jess’s face was stone serious. “He- Doesn’t matter now. Just know it didn’t end well and now I’m worried about her.”

More mysteries. More questions piling up.

“Spearmint can get you in.” She said quickly, spinning to leave.

Soap stopped her, catching onto one of her forearms.

“If she hasn’t been out in days then why couldn’t you just go in?”

Jess looked sad. An emotion that didn’t suit her bright personality at all.

“I’m not a guardian.” She said simply.

When Soap didn’t catch on she added.

“If I went in there and found out she has something dangerous inside, something that could kill me, well I would die and I can’t revive like you can.”

Soap noticed Jess’s eyes were glossy. He had spent lots of time with mortal women but whenever he had, life and death situations had been far from his mind.

Jess was upset her friend was potentially in danger and she was too cowardly to risk her own life to try and save her.

“Don’t you worry, the Lass is probably so caught up in work that she’s lost track of time.” Soap gave her a reassuring nod, Jess nodded back, looking one more time at the lab door before leaving.

“‘Minty.” He called out.

“On it.”

Spearmint twirled in front of the door, shining her light onto it for a moment until large holographic words slid across it.

Access Granted

The door slid open and Soap entered.

The large room was cluttered. Notes, data pads, books and pens were scattered around. It was chaos but unlike Cardinal’s usual controlled chaos this was more the result of shutting yourself in a laboratory for days on end.

“Soap.” Spearmint spotted her first, hovering behind one of the large workstations.

In large steps, Soap made his way around the mess to see Cardinal on the floor, back resting against the backwall. Her head was slumped to the side and she wasn’t moving. She looked either in a deep sleep or-

Quickly he was on one knee before her. Cardinal’s chest wasn’t rising and falling. Soap’s heart plummeted, he needed to get her helmet off to assess her properly.

He placed both hands on either side of the helm’s face, not caring if she would be mad as he pulled up.

Cardinal’s hands shot up and latched onto Soap’s forearms.

“Soap?” Her voice was gravely, groggy like from sleep.

“Bloody hell darlin’ are you alright?” The flirtatious term of endearment slipped out as Cardinal stirred below him.

She lowered her hands and nodded her head, the movement shook his hands since they were still holding on to her face by the helmet.

Since she hadn’t pushed his arms away, Soap decided to take the risk and continue removing her helmet.

Lifting it up and away, Soap heard the clinking of jewelry against metal, gold hoops and chains dangling from antenna fashioned as ears. Her face was painted a soft white and orange. At first glance her eyes glistened red like her namesake but up this close up they were more pink than red.

She’s an exo.

Soap was awestruck, marveling at Cardinals features. Her eyes were unlike an exo he had noticed before, sleek and catlike. Very alluring.

His circuits were struggling to keep up to reality. He was in shock. He had no idea how he didn’t realize it sooner.

It sounded dumb but the words tumbled out before he could stop them.

“You’re an exo?”

Her head tilted causing the earrings on one antenna to jingle. She didn’t answer but Soap could tell she was saying. ‘Of course I’m an exo.’

“When we first met you said your name was Cardinal.”

“Cause it is?”

“But-” Traveler he felt like a buffoon.

“What does it matter what race I am? Cardinal or Cardinal-8. You’ll still just call me Cardinal.”

She sat up straighter, now fully awake. The action brought her face closer to Soap.

On instinct, Soap moved to stand but her arms bolted out to latch onto his again.

“Wait, don’t move.” She pleaded, looking into his eyes.

Soap felt something swirl in his stomach as her sultry eyes took him in.

He couldn’t read the expression on her face, she may as well still have her helmet on but when she raised a hand, Soap tried not to flinch when he assumed she would slap him.

A long second went by but instead of a stinging sensation, Soap was launched backwards onto his ass. Cardinal had hit him, thrusting her palm to his chest and expelling energy strong enough to toss him back.

He groaned and clutched his chest in pain. An intense cold enveloped him. Not the type of cold that made you tremble but the kind that left you frozen. Every fiber of your being completely rigid, you could not move, could not breath.

Spearmint was over to him in a flash, blanketing him in healing light.

When the pain eased, he opened his eyes, Cardinal was standing over him with her arm extended.

“I did it!”

Soap’s skepticism on whether or not to take the hand offering to help him up disappeared when he saw the joy on her face. True emotion not locked away behind a helm.

She pulled him to his feet and began to pepper him with questions.

“What did it feel like?”

“Cold but not cold, more like burning.”

“But did it feel natural?”

“Uh-” He rubbed a hand on the back of his head.

“What about darkness? Did it feel dark or neutral? In battle, would you be able to fight through that pain? Oh-” Half way over to a tall shelf she paused and turned back to him. “-sorry about that by the way.”

Before he decided if he forgave or not she spun around again, searching for something.

“Where did I put my notes?” She asked, Soap was unsure if she was asking him or Lupin.

Lupin. Soap looked around the lab but Lupin was missing.

“Where’s your grizzly ghost?”

Cardinal leaned onto a tall shelf against the side wall and rocked up onto tip toes to reach up for a data pad that Soap could see dangling over the edge.

The stretching motion shifted her hips backwards, Cardinal arched her back as she attempted to retrieve the data pad.

Soap could follow the curve of each hip, the dip of her waist, the roundness of her end.

Have exo women always been this shapely? Soap asked himself, enamored by the revelation of her.

Soap, for all his history with women, could not remember ever dating an exo and he wasn’t sure why. If he had to guess it was probably because they usually felt more like sisters to him.

Looking at Cardinal now, he certainly did not see her like that. He was interested in her before seeing her and clearly had no issue shamelessly ogling her behind even though she had literally punched him.

Spearmint bumped into his temple gently, bringing him back to reality. She looked mad that Cardinal had hit him but she was an expert at holding her tongue, even when furious.

When Cardinal turned, Soap was ready, looking her in the eye instead of at her rear.

“I asked him to leave.”

“Why? Lass, do you know how long you’ve been down here?”

She finally observed the chaos of the room. “No?”

“Jess was near in tears worried about ya.”

“She worries too much.” Her tone was dismissive but not mean.

Soap let out a breath. The shock of seeing her face and her assault followed by a flurry of questions was fading.

He made his way over to one of the stools and sat, pulling out another for Cardinal to sit in.

Cardinal seemed to also come to her senses, letting out a breath of her own and sitting down on the stool next to his.

Her face was impassive when she looked at him next.

She calmly placed the retrieved datapad on the table and began typing away as she explained to Soap what she had been up to. Cardinal was conducting clinical trials on the dark artifact she tried to tell him about the other day. Starting over, Cardinal told him again how her friend had used it to harness a darkness fueled element named stasis.

“My friend has been able to master the power with no side effects. I hypothesized that utilization requires a deep understanding of oneself. We may be made of pure light but you can’t have light without dark. I sent Lupin away to test if his intense light influence was tampering my results.”

She was speaking quickly. Scientific jargon aside, Soap still found himself able to follow her explanation.

“Sorry for hitting you, it's just, when I saw you something stirred inside me. You became my catalyst."

Soap wasn’t sure how to take that but Cardinal looked satisfied.

The small smile on her face made Soap feel light. It struck him then that the last time he had spoken to her, he had upset her.

“Right, well, I’ve been wanting to speak with you.” Soap changed the subject before he could forget what he had been trying to do for days. “I’m sorry about the other day with Carden.”

Cardinal did not look happy to hear Carden’s name, her smile falling as soon as it left Soap’s mouth.

“It’s fine. Should have told you in private anyways. It was my mistake.”

Soap wanted to protest but Cardinal quickly moved on, asking him the questions she had earlier, ready to enter the responses into her datapad.

When he felt Cardinal had extracted all she could from him, he looked around the mess of a lab one more time.

“Say Lass, do you want my help in all this?” He tipped his head back, wordlessly acknowledging the state of the room.

Cardinal didn’t look away from her notes as he gestured but she did reply without hesitation.

“Of course, you’re my catalyst now afterall.”

Her smile was confident, large enough to reach her eyes. Soap’s breath caught in his throat, their allure was more mesmerizing than anytime he had looked into her helm.

Soap returned her smile, wishing he would have yanked her helmet off sooner if she had been hiding these sorts of expressions from him.

Chapter Text

His foot twitched back and forth, leaning back in the chair, his extended legs were restless from sitting idle.

The datapad in his lap had been stuck on the same paragraph of text for far too long.

Soap felt he had done well the first few days, he sat quietly, read notes, made sure Cardinal took breaks and kept Spearmint and Lupin from throwing eye daggers at each other from across the lab.

But today he was distracted. Cardinal had her helmet off so Soap could not only see the agitation on her body but also on her face. Unable to concentrate, Soap watched her as she paced, reading, charting and mumbling to herself.

He had every intention of helping her the best he could but she had refused to let him even look at the mysterious dark splinter until he had a quote ‘comprehensive sensibility of the subject and the underlying theses’.

With intelligence as her weapon, she could leave cities razed to the ground.

Her notes were not difficult to follow, one topic flowed well into the other. It was more her fancy words and unwavering dedication to scientific method. -No dumbing down words here. It had taken him an embarrassing amount of time to get through her hypotheses.

Today, his brain was tired so he opted for watching Cardinal instead. Even without her helmet, she was still fairly hard to read. Her emotions were miniscule, never taking up too much of her face.

Admittedly, he was still coming to terms with the fact that she was also an exo. It’s true, people never called him Soap-5, but it seemed an unspoken tradition for an exo to introduce themselves with number.

Cardinal had always just been Cardinal. It’s what Jess called her, what Lupin called her and how she introduced herself to him.

He supposed the armor and helmet didn’t help. Every inch of her had always been covered up. All he had to go on was shape and oh her shape was lovely.

Cardinal had her back to Soap now, reaching up to another high shelf to grab a non descript book.

Feeling like he could finally be useful, Soap made his way over to her. Gliding up behind her body, he got close but remained far enough away to still be able to say he wasn’t touching her.

He reached over her and retrieved the text she had been trying to grab.

Startled, Cardinal bumped into him when she tried to spin to face him. She didn’t realize just how close he had gotten.

Her feline gaze roamed up his chest, to his eyes and then up and over to the hand clutching the book above their heads.

“Thanks.” She whispered low.

They lingered in the position, she was looking up at him and he was looking down at her. Soap was transfixed under her stare.

His mechanical heart felt like it was constricting. Sure women had an affect on him but he could always tell when he had an affect on them. But Cardinal. She stood, motionless, face neutral just waiting patiently for him to move.

He cursed himself and took a step back, realizing he had her pinned between himself and the shelf.

He handed her the book and took another step back. If she was upset with the closeness, she did not say anything about it but he could feel the daggers Lupin was throwing at the back of his head.

“You’re quick.” Cardinal said, no longer whispering. “Blink?”

“Blink?” He blinked his eyes a few times, confused.

“You know, blink?”

When he still looked lost, Cardinal teleported through him and across the lab to land next to her helmet that she had set on one of the corner tables.

“It’s what the Astrocyte Verse amplifies for me.”

Cardinal had a hand on her helmet, naming the exotic armor piece for the first time.

“Ah, blink, right. The rare warlock movement. Never bothered learnin’, too impractical.”

He knew before she reacted that this was not the right thing to say to the woman who owned a blink amplifying helmet.

Her frown was so large he could almost call it a scowl. The largest emotion he’d seen on her other than when he mentioned Carden.

“Tsk.” Lupin scoffed. “You probably lack the finesse and tenacity required to master a skill such as blink.”

Lupin really didn’t like him or Spearmint. In fact, Soap figured the little ghost probably didn’t like anyone other than Cardinal.

“Maybe I just haven’t had the right teacher, yea?”

“Hmph.” Lupin turned away to ignore him once again.

Soap returned to his seat and picked up the data he had been trying to read through all morning.

“How’s the reading?” Cardinal said, surprising him by continuing the conversation.

“You’ve got a lot to say, little birdy.”

He tried a new nickname but Cardinal stayed stone faced. Alright, no nicknames.

He sighed, all these misses were adding up. leaving his flirty ego bruised.

“You should take a break.” She said next, making Soap feel guilty. The whole day had been one long break.

“Take your own advice sometime, yea?.” He half joked before looking down at the datapad in cheeky refusal.

When Cardinal didn’t respond, Soap flicked his eyes up in her direction. She was already diving into whatever book he had reached for her meaning the conversation had ended.

Another miss.

~

For the rest of the day and well into the next, Soap made progress. Once he was finally through the introduction and into the meat of Cardinal’s notes, he found himself growing invested in her theories.

Using the dark. Not seeing it as evil or as the antonym of light but instead as the other side of a tool sharpened at both ends. One side light, one side dark. The issue Cardinal was running into was perfectly balancing the two. Soap fiddled with a data pen, precariously trying to steady it on one finger. One end was blunt, the other pointed into the writing tip making the two ends uneven. If he wanted to level it out, his finger would have to be off center.

“Certainty not confidence, stability not strength, accepting not enduring.”

She cut off his train of thought, mumbling to herself again.

The pen fell from his finger. Soap sat up, removing his legs from the table.

“Practicality not poetry.” He quipped.

“What?”

Soap shrugged. The whole week while he was busy reading, Cardinal had been… well he wasn’t sure what she had been doing. All he knew was the lab was drowning in information but she had yet to go near the artifact.

As relieved as he was that she hadn’t tried punching him again, Soap understood the time to recite poetry was over, it was time to take her findings off the page and out into the real world.

“I’m no scholar Lass but you have enough data here to fill two encyclopedias. Time to get out there and put it all to action.”

She blinked a few times, her face was exposed, helmet was left on the table again today.

“You’ve got me now, if things get too dark I can handle it.”

“You’re right.” She exhaled.

I’m right?

Soap stood, excited to stretch his legs.

“Aye, I’m right! So where to?”

Cardinal looked to the cupboard he knew the artifact to be in.

“Europa.” She said simply.

Europa. His excitement fell, body involuntarily shivering at the suggestion.

~

Bloody freezing. There was no advantage to being metal on Europa, Soap felt his joints lock up as soon as they landed.

Cardinal was kneeling in the snow, her position meditative. Whatever she was doing must be working because Soap had no idea how she could stay in that position, unmoving in the snow for so long.

He was pacing circles a good few feet away from here trying to keep warm.

“You’re distracting.”

“I’m bloody freezin’ to death.”

She groaned in defeat and tilted her head up at him, probably glaring at him from under her helmet.

“I’m your catalyst, yea? So throw something at me.”

Soap wasn’t sure he was ready to get hit with stasis again, especially when he was already frozen but the light side of Cardinal’s metaphorical pencil was too heavy. Soap figured a little push might level the scale.

Cardinal stood, shoulders relaxed but her hands were strong fists at her sides as if she was gripping on to a ball. Something in her stance tightened and Soap could see the beginnings of swirling icy energy forming around her palms.

Larger and larger, intensifying until Cardinal slumped, suddenly letting the energy dissipate.

“It’s not working.”

“What are ya on about? I saw it forming, you’re close.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What, why not?” Soap and Lupin exclaimed in unison. Soap because he felt she would not hurt him -too bad and Lupin because he was excited to witness.

“Well, pretend I’m Carden or something.”

Soap knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say. He didn’t even know what the history was between the two, only that his very name ticked her off.

Cardinal’s fists tightened. Her head dropped and Soap could see the formation of swirling stasis building again.

“Car.” Lupin breathed, hovering closer to Cardinal but she didn’t answer.

The wind shifted, blowing the opposite direction as the power in Cardinal’s hands grew stormier and stormier.

Soap could hear it now, crackling.

Something was wrong, Cardinal was going too far dark.

Soap took a single step towards her but she screamed, winding up her arm to launch a stasis fueled grenade at him.

Her arm swung true but just before she let go, Lupin called out to her again. Cardinal buckled a knee, twisting her wrist just before letting it go.

The ice bomb sailed past his right side and collided with a boulder. Snow dust flew into the air as the rock and surrounding ground solidified, encased in dark spiky ice.

Soap gulped, readying himself for another attack but Cardinal fell to her knees, energy in hand dissipating.

“Cardinal, are you alright?”

She nodded from her knelt position.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

“No I’m sorry Lass. Bringing up that tosser wasn’t my finest idea.”

It was Spearmint who threw him a dirty look this time. Silently scolding him.

“Ya were balancing yer pen too far to the light, so I tried to ruffle you a little. Seems I went a wee bit too far.” He said, glancing over his shoulder at the frozen boulder.

She stood. “My what was unbalanced?” She asked curious as she dusted herself off.

“Your notes talk about using light and dark as a tool and how you need to be able to balance the two.-”

She nodded, placing her hands on her hips, intrigued as to what he had interpreted from her data.

“-Well, whose to say the tool is the same on both ends.” Soap held out a finger, palm up, mimicking when he attempted to balance the stylus. “A pen has a sharp end and a blunt end, to balance it you would need to offset your finger not rest it in the middle.”

Cardinal, Lupin and Spearmint were all staring at his outstretched finger. He was beginning to doubt what he said had made any sense.

Crossing her arms, Cardinal looked up into the sky. She was actually turning over his words, no doubt cross-referencing them with her notes.

“Balancing in that example isn’t fifty fifty, I hypothesized one must have a deep understanding of oneself to utilize stasis but maybe that means the balance of light and dark is different for all of us.”

She started pacing circles around him. He was silent, admiring her brain working in real time.

“You have to know yourself inside out, but maybe I've focused too much on the inner portion. The only time I’ve successfully felt in control was the day you showed up.”

She stopped for a moment to look at him, putting a hand to her hip.

“Therefore.” She resumed her walk. “Maybe I should focus outward first, I can’t channel through you but maybe if I focus channeling through- that's it!”

She halted, face to face with him.

“You’ve got it?” He encouraged her.

“Got it.” She confirmed. Soap could hear the enjoyment in her voice and wished he could see if her face was as expressive as her tone sounded.

“Then take me on.” He grinned under his helmet, widening his stance. “Hand to hand.”

Her stance widened as well, accepting his challenge.

They circled around each other, waiting to see who would make the first move.

Soap knew he could handle himself. His little bookworm however, he was yet to see her in action.

Cardinal had thrown a mean punch in the lab but he hadn’t anticipated that. A duel, out in the field, where both parties were ready was entirely different.

Soap wanted her to make the first move to gauge her capability.

Completing another rotation around each other, Cardinal got the hint and launched herself forwards. Her palm extending as she advanced. Arc energy was sparking from her fingertips as she thrusted her hand towards his chest.

Soap, ready for her attack, shifted his body sideways. One hand came up and latched onto her wrist. Using Cardinal’s own momentum against her, he pulled her closer and flung her behind him.

She stumbled but did not fall as she slid away, her boots slipping against the snow, she spun back to face him.

“Thought you were supposed to be using stasis, not arc.” He tried to taunt her but it didn’t seem to affect her this time as she sprung back towards him.

Soap stepped up to meet her challenge, the two of them meeting in the middle of the imaginary duel ring. She punched, he blocked. He jabbed back, she countered. They threw straight physical hits at one another evenly. -Soap could play this game all day.

Cardinal appeared to realize she could not so she switched up her tactic and swept one leg out towards his. She was quicker than he assumed, her leg just grazing his causing them buckle. Soap retreated back a few steps, he did not fall.

Before he could step back into the fight, Cardinal flashed, flickering from where she was to inches in front of him. Her arm was already pulled back and swinging. Her electrified palm smacked him dead center and launched him down into the snow.

She had used blink, her helmet swirling actively as she utilized it.

Soap flipped back onto his feet. Her hit was impressive but just like in the lab it was unexpected. If this was a real fight, her flaw was giving him too much time to learn her tactics. He wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.

The sparks from her punch were fading as Spearmint healed him.

Cardinal was supposed to be channeling stasis but since she had introduced another element to the fight, he would do the same.

Putting her on the defensive, Soap began hurling solar grenades at her. The fire in them lingered on the ground, singeing and melting icy patches that made it nearly impossible for her to approach unless she were to blink again.

And she did. In the blink of his own eyes, Cardinal was directly in front of him again. Like earlier in the fight he latched onto the wrist of the arm that was swinging at him but this time instead of tossing her away he spun her around and pinned her against him.

She was tense, not fighting against his hold but still resisting. He could hear crackling coming from her palm.

Soap’s head lowered to her ear. “Not even a tiny icicle for me? What now sweetheart, your little trick would never have worked twice.” The words came out cockier than he would have hoped, he meant it to be more playful.

Cardinal responded through action. One moment he was grounded, pinning her against him and the next he was free falling.

Genuinely surprised, his legs flailed out as he tumbled in the air. He kept his hold on Cardinal but she was ready. Gripping the arms he held her with, she twisted her body so she was on top of him as they fell.

Soap wasn’t sure how high up they were, only that it hurt like a bitch when he collided with the ground, wind knocking out of his biomechanical lungs when Cardinal crushed down on top of him, using his body to soften her own landing.

Somehow she had managed to trick him twice. In his defense, he had no idea you could blink with another person. Without looking, without seeming to even concentrate, Cardinal was able to blink them both feet up into the empty sky above their fighting ring.

Cardinal sprung up away from him but before he could recover, a cold burning sensation of stasis pooled close to his heart. Cardinal was standing above him, feet bracketing his hips, one hand enveloped in frozen vapor the other held a stasis made spear, its sharp tip digging into his chest plate.

“Cold bloody hell Lass.”

Any lost pride was instantly recovered, his little birdy may have bested him in combat but most importantly, she had done it, stasis was channeling through her.

Even from her position of power above him, Soap could tell Cardinal was in full control. The light and dark finding balance.

The stasis spear in her hand shattered away, in its place, she extended her hand down to him.

“You’re impressive.” She analyzed as he took her hand.

“Next time sweetheart, I won't hold back.”

Cardinal, per usual, didn’t react to his flirtatious undertone when he whispered close to her ear as she pulled him up.

“Next time? You’ll allow me to try again?” She asked innocently, no playful tone to her voice.

Soap was sure he would let this woman do anything she wanted to him.

“Of course.” He put his hands on his hips before adding. “But only if you teach me how to blink like that.”

He heard her exhale sharply through her nose. The soft sound of a near laugh from her had him smiling from ear to ear underneath his helmet.

Cardinal turned to leave, her hips swaying as she stepped around the chaos their fight had caused.

The Europa sky was still brightly lit, but back on Earth, the sun was dipping below the horizon.

Soap found himself actually hoping they would come back to this icebox soon if he could see her in action again, -pull her close, -flirt openly with her.

The thrill of merely being in her presence was intoxicating.

Even if she did not want him back.

Chapter Text

Bringing Soap along to Europa had proved an excellent idea. Cardinal doubted she would have been able to produce a stable form of stasis for the first time in the field without him.

They had spent every other day that week on Europa fine tuning their skills. Cardinal was able to channel stasis fairly accurately now and Soap had made quick progress in learning blink.

Every time she felt like he would become a distraction, he had proven her wrong.

Forcing her to take breaks had greatly improved her work power, lifted her moods and kept her from getting too dark while channeling stasis.

He was not only a good lab partner but a competent student, he listened intently when she explained the theory behind blink, only interrupting her a few times to ask questions.

Cardinal would pause her own practice to answer and watch him attempt a few jumps before resuming her own work.

They hadn’t dueled again since that first day but Cardinal secretly wished he would suggest it again, she had had fun.

By the end of the week, Cardinal decided Europa had given her everything she needed. So after a Jess sponsored ‘day off’, Cardinal decided to spend the next few days compiling her field data.

She could have done so in the lab but Cardinal much preferred the atmosphere of the main Archive hall.

Claiming her table, she settled in like she had never left, data and files scattered about, except something was off, Soap hadn’t turned up all day.

With a frown, Cardinal packed up early to leave just as Jess was finishing her shift.

Cardinal wondered if the man just needed an extra day off. The notion should not bother her, someone's absence had never disturbed her studies before.

The next day and the next day, Cardinal still found herself alone at the table. She hadn’t nearly progressed as far as she would have liked and desperately tried not to blame it on Soap’s absence.

All week she found her eyes drifting to the door, glancing at the clocks or staring down at a mostly blank datapad.

Soap never showed.

He never showed the entire week. Cardinal had even gone down to the lab numerous times to check and see if he had gone there but it was empty, no signs he had been there.

“Have you seen Soap?” Cardinal cringed, the sound of her voice coming out harsher than she intended.

Jess jumped, not noticing Cardinal’s approach.

“Car! Traveler you move quietly.” She mumbled, composing herself. “Soap?” She looked at the entrance. “Haven’t seen him all week… wait is he why you’ve seemed so distracted this week?”

Cardinal didn’t like the feeling that sank into her bones when she realized Jess could easily tell she had been distracted.

Frustrated at herself, Cardinal ignored Jess’s question, quickly said goodbye and walked away.

~

An unsettling feeling crept into her as she arrived home. Her and Soap hadn’t had an argument but for some reason Cardinal assumed his absence was because of her. She worried she had been too boring or too quiet. Or perhaps she was not engaging enough or maybe he found her overall ‘too much’. All things people had said to her in the past, but it had never bothered her before.

Cardinal had friends, just making them and maintaining them wasn’t always easy.

Soap never seemed perturbed by her solemnity before so she wondered why he disappeared now?

He was a flirt and she liked it but when had she ever expressed to him that she did? Had he given up on her when he realized he couldn’t pursue her? Or worse, had he left after manipulating her into showing him the secrets of stasis?

No.

Cardinal shook her head from such ideas. She stopped her mind from catastrophizing further and listened to her intuition, which was telling her and had told her all along that Soap was not that kind of man.

Cardinal knew all too well what those kinds of men were like. They got close, played their siren song, waited in cunning silence to see which compliment you responded to the most before bombing you tenfold with it and other love gestures. They gained your trust, used you for your power or your money or your body until there was nothing left.

Traveler she needed to talk to a friend, Carden was a parasite not worth her brain power.

Pouring herself a drink, Cardinal asked Lupin to connect her to Junie first. The woman's excitement when Cardinal updated her on how the splinter research was going was contagious, Cardinal’s mood improved greatly by the time they ended their conversation. Junie and by proxy, Nilok, promised to visit her at the Archives soon.

With how well development was going, they would soon need to discuss their next steps.

Stasis was never meant to stay their secret, eventually they wanted a way to introduce the power to many guardians. Once word got out, Junie needed to ensure there would be safe, tested and approved research out there for guardians to utilize. Her research.

Putting her research into perspective eased Cardinal’s mind but she still felt like talking to one more person.

“Car.”

“Laz...” Cardinal warned.

Cardinal wasn’t exactly a fan of the nickname Car but she could tolerate it. Coming from Lazuli, she knew it was a playful dig, her sister was the only person in the universe to know about her aversion to the nickname.

“It’s been too long, Cardinal.” She nearly sang, voice modulating through Lupin’s shell.

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy-”

“Researching, I know.”

“I never told you I was researching.”

“Cardinal, when are you not?”

Cardinal took a sip of her drink. Lazuli always called her on her bullshit, keeping her grounded in reality just as Soap had been…

“So, what’s new? I get the pleasure of receiving a communication call from my sister but she's already gone silent.”

“Same old around here. Researching, visiting the Archives, writing… you?”

“Same here. The place is getting busier. I'm almost afraid it’ll soon be too popular for me to be able to stick around.”

Cardinal put down her drink and folded her fingers together not anticipating the conversation to get so serious so soon.

“You let me know the second you need to leave. Anyone lingers a little too long or makes you uncomfortable in any way you let me know and I'll be there.”

“Thanks sis… sorry, I didn’t mean to damper the conversation.” Lazuli paused, perhaps to take a drink of her own.

She spoke again, tone cheerful this time. “So spill, whose the man that has you calling me like a puppy searching for guidance.”

“How did you know there’s a man?”

Cardinal could hear Lazuli spit her drink out in the background.

“I-I didn’t know, it was supposed to be a j-joke.” She sputtered through choking coughs.

Cardinal ran a hand over her face, yes Lazuli could read her better than anyone but she should have known nobody was that good. Cardinal had fallen into a trap Lazuli didn’t know she had set.

“It’s not like that. He’s a research partner.”

“Right, research.”

“Keeps me on task, not outright repulsed by my disposition.”

“Uh-huh.”

Cardinal had never ‘rambled’ in her life but the words were tumbling out, Lazuli’s ‘uh-huh’s’ encouraging them over the edge.

“He’s an exo warlock too but I've never seen him around. Just showed up one day at the Archives looking for information… I helped him but he stuck around. Gaudy flirt, always seems to have something cheeky to say… should of seen the look on his face when he found out I was an exo, thought for sure he would back off but he just started flirting harder and-”

Lazuli’s giggles were dissolving into cackles at that point.

“Cardinal!” She wheezed. “You like him!”

“I what? No I don’t.”

Lazuli didn’t have to spell it out for her, Cardinal knew it to be true the moment she jumped in too quickly to deny it.

“Cardinal, you’ve made my night, hell you’ve made my month!”

“Great. Glad to be of service.” Cardinal leaned back and crossed her arms even though Lazuli could not see her. “You were supposed to be cheering me up, not the other way around.” Cardinal grumbled.

When Lazuli composed herself she continued. “You don’t even need to explain the situation, I can picture it. He’s been flirtatious and you’ve been sitting there wholly unaffected like the empty chair beside you. -Hidden behind that damn helmet too I bet.”

“Ouch.” She deadpanned.

“Listen Cardinal, if you ever decide you’re ready to love or that just maybe you want more out of a friendship, you gotta show a little interest. No hiding behind a helmet or datapad!” She instructed. “Oh! And please bring him to visit sometime.”

Cardinal could hear Lazuli’s smile through her words. As conflicted as she had been feeling, Junie had eased her head and Lazuli had eased her heart.

More wine, a bath and a good night's rest would hopefully ease the rest.

Their conversation continued with safer topics for a bit longer before Cardinal heard Lazuli yawn, on the other side of Earth, it was getting late into the night so she let her sister go to get ready for bed.

~

Cardinal sunk into the bright pink water in her bathtub. A strong peachy scent filled the room, the sweet smell wasn’t able to cling to her metal but Cardinal still tried, dumping way more salts than necessary every time she bathed.

As she settled in, Lupin floated into the room and landed onto the tub's edge.

“You know…” He began.

“Hmm.” She hummed, cracking one closed eye open to look at him.

“If I would have known it was Soap that had you in a tizzy all week I would have told you sooner.”

That got her full attention, she opened her eyes and sat up a little straighter, peachy pink water sloshing around.

“What about Soap?”

“Well, uhm.” He looked guilty. “Spearmint contacted me earlier this week, told me they got called away on an urgent mission-”

“What?!” She gasped but Lupin continued.

“-and didn’t know when they would be back.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her ghost floated up and shrugged his shell before leaving the room.

Cardinal sank low in the water, groaning and blowing out air bubbles through the water.

Honestly, she felt relieved. Soap hadn’t given up on her, he was just busy.

She wasn’t sure she had ever felt embarrassed in her life but she was certainly feeling it now. The call with Lazuli, her whole week and every interaction with Soap was replaying in her mind.

Cardinal wasn’t sure what to make out of her thoughts. Did she like Soap? Romance had never been anywhere close to a priority for her. Thinking about it, did she really have to have an answer? Could ‘not understanding’ how she felt about him be enough of an answer for now?

Soap initially came off as annoying, too loud, too cheerful, someone who would disrupt her but she quickly learned he was far from it. If she could have the patience to see through the man on the outside to the man on the inside, could he have the patience to see into her as well?

Cardinal pulled the drain of the bath. Hypothetical relationship thoughts could wait. She let her worries swirl down and out the drain of the bath.

Soap wasn’t avoiding her and that was enough for now.

~

Cardinal sipped away at her perfectly sweet coffee. By the time she reached the Ishtar Archive it was nearly finished.

Her helmet was left on its stand at home. Routines could be broken every now and then. The Earth still turned.

Cardinal even smiled softly when she inclined her head at Jess when she passed by.

Jess gave an awkward wave, unused to Cardinal not only being late but actually greeting her with a visible smile.

“Morning Car, you alright?”

“Peachy.” Her tone was her normal monotone, even if the word was odd coming from her mouth.

Jess nodded letting it be.

Cardinal didn’t waste any time opening her datapad, she filled the emptiness effortlessly, feeling lighter than she had in days.

Today would be productive, free of worry.

Chapter Text

Soap couldn’t remember another time he felt this exhausted, the first drink of black coffee burning pleasantly through him as he exited the little cafe.

Birds were singing in tandem and Sol was bright in the sky. Soap drifted towards the Ishtar Archives thinking of his own little song bird. -She may not have been ‘his’ exactly but in the silent moments of the past few weeks, Cardinal was all he had thought about.

V was the only woman in the world that could have pulled him away from Cardinal.

Soap dropped everything when he received V’s call all those weeks ago. He hadn’t seen her since she delivered Ghost to his front door and it had been years since he had a real conversation with her. For too long, the two of them held onto the guilt and sorrow over Juri’s death.

Juri. Endless nights thinking back to the horrible mission that took his life, glowing green fog would haunt him forever. Juri’s life and light, easily snuffed out by a weapon of sorrow like it was nothing but a fallen leaf to be crunched under boot.

The months of grieving alone in his flat were made worse as he slowly lost V too. The Vanguard hounded her for information since she had been the only one to get a good look at the weapon.

Soap knew she blamed herself for Juri’s death and as much as he tried to convince her she wasn’t to blame, V just couldn’t cope and he couldn’t take on her pain on top of his own anguish.

So she too disappeared from his life. Soap was lonely but he never let it show. He still went out on missions, chatted up civilians and guardians alike, smiled, cracked jokes, flirted with beautiful women who left him with lukewarm bed sheets in the end.

V reaching out for help was all he had wanted for years.

Ghost was also eager to see her again, so the two of them raced off to help her.

After the long nights of reconnaissance, destroying Enkaar and his weapon mill, hunting down the ghost killing maniac Cyrell and the stinging betrayal of pup, he should be home resting. But as difficult as the mission was, Soap wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Ghost had stepped into his true self and V had finally come back to her own self. His best friends were back and the void in his chest was finally healing.

Even more surprising than his closure was the jealousy he had felt. Watching V and Ghost find each other and fall in love right in front of him was something he never would have predicted. They gravitated towards each other like colliding stars. How could two introverted, stubborn people make something so obvious so difficult? How could it be so easily laid out for them when they didn’t even try?

Years of dating and heart break but he had yet to find someone. Was Cardinal the one? He wasn’t sure. If it was supposed to be as discernible as the connection V and Ghost shared, then perhaps she wasn’t the one. It felt like he and Cardinal were more like two north poles, on the surface they appear to match up but bring them close and they repel apart. -More like he tried to get close to her only to bounce off her impenetrable force field.

No matter what the outcome, Soap was eager to see her again. To tease her, to listen to her rant about scientific methods and experiments, to-

Soap’s eyes spotted her the moment he walked into the Archives. She was at her usual table but two unusual things struck him, one, she was helmetless and two, she was not alone.

Another exo warlock was sitting in the chair beside her, Soap didn’t recognize him but even from the entrance he could tell the man was sitting comfortably next to Cardinal. The man was chatting animatedly and Cardinal, she was… laughing. Her head tilted back a fraction and although Soap couldn’t hear them from this distance he knew Cardinal was laughing, no snorts or small exhales of air but true laughter.

His gut twisted and his lungs constricted painfully, choking him. He had to clench his fists hard to expel some of the building tension inside him. Never had jealousy wracked him so hard before.

Cardinal was there, -a tiny presumptuous part of himself hoped she had missed him but looking at her now, she looked at ease. No helmet, laughing carefree at the words of some other man when Soap himself had yet to crack her up once.

The overwhelming emotion had him panicking. Weeks of thinking about her, wanting to get back to her, but now what? Should he interrupt their conversation or should he run, try to flee before anyone notices him standing there?

“Heya Soap! Been a while.”

Jess.

She was behind her desk, looking directly at him. It was too late to bolt unnoticed.

He threw on a fake grin.

“My Darling Lassy, just as radiant as ever.”

“Stop, you flirt.” She wagged a dismissive hand at him. “You've been on a mission or something?”

“Aye, or something.” He replied quickly before asking what he was dying to know. “Whose that bloke with Cardinal?”

Jess blinked and looked to Cardinal’s table. She tilted her head like she was confused why Soap was even asking.

“That's Nilok-2. You don’t know him?” She said, matter of fact.

“Never seen ‘im before.”

“Strange, he’s here so often. Traveler, how many hours have I watched the two of them at that table both lost in research.” Jess explained still regarding Cardinal’s table, eyes glossed over as she recalled the memory.

Hours. Two of them.

Soap wanted to throw up, not that he knew it to be physically possible for him but the sensation felt real enough. Fuck. He was cursing himself out now, was this the reason Cardinal had been so stone walled to his advances? Were they dating? Had she ever mentioned being involved with someone romantically?

Their reunion was not supposed to go like this. He was supposed to come in, surprise her, say some cheeky line that she would maybe smile at and then she would welcome him back, even if her words wouldn’t come out as cheery as he would have hoped.

Soap could see Lupin buzzing around the man. Even the crabby ghost appeared to like him.

Appearances be damned, Soap thanked Jess, turned and fled. Coward.

~

“Soap?”

Shit. She was there. How long had he been just sitting out there on the steps of the Archive, -unmoving.

“Lovely to see ya gorgeous.” He cooed, turning his body around to look at her.

“You’re back then?”

Traveler Soap wasn’t sure if that woman would ever react to his flirty remarks.

“Aye.” He spoke low, taking in her sleek, blinking eyes as they assessed him.

Her brows knitted loosely. “What are you doing out here?”

“Well I-” He stood. “I was-”

His mumbling was cut short when behind Cardinal the Archive doors swung open again. The man that was with Cardinal earlier exited the building.

He didn’t seem to notice Soap at first, holding the door open for some other person.

“How does ramen sound?” The exo, Nilok., asked, moving to stand next to Cardinal as another guardian politely thanked him for holding the door.

“Oh, hey dude.” He greeted casually when his eyes landed on Soap.

“Nilok, Soap. Soap, this is Nilok.”

“Nice to meet you.” Nilok extended his hand out. “Cardinal’s told me a lot about you.”

Soap’s eyes flick between the two, he suppresses a frown but regardless, shakes Nilok’s hand. “Oh? Has she now?”

Soap wasn’t sure how to take that information or what stance to take with his banter. Thinking about the relationship between Cardinal and Nilok made his non-existent hairs stand on end.

“Yea, love to ask you some questions -hey, come to lunch with us?” Nilok offered.

Lunch.

“Lunch? Out? In the middle of the day?”

Cardinal looked concerned for his mental stability but Nilok stayed unbothered. “Ramen place just down the street is a favorite of ours.”

Ours?

How had Soap not heard of this guy before? Lunch breaks, favorite restaurants? How did this man not only know about him but share ‘favorite’ dining spots with Cardinal?

As they moved down the road, Soap and Nilok flanked Cardinal on either side. Normally chatty, Soap felt out of his depth. Cardinal was quiet for the most part but he could hear her chuckle at a few of Nilok’s jokes.

Soap was trying very hard not to crack but the man was unfortunately, quite funny. Soap’s style was more cheeky while this guy came off silly yet somehow still clever. Soap could tell he was a smart man. Smart and funny, just enough to piss him off.

The bastard even sported a similar head piece to his. Nilok’s was more of a horn than a mohawk hairstyle. Its yellow colour contrasted uniquely against his blue tinted frame, he pulled it off.

The ramen spot was more of a small restaurant than the typical food stalls found around the city. It had tables lining the street outside and another half a dozen inside the cramped section of the building that made up the place.

It was relatively quiet inside but no doubt the lunch rush would start soon. With tables open to choose from, the three settled into a table corner for four.

“So, Soap.” Nilok addressed him as soon as they sat. “Ever written any articles?”

Soap looked at Cardinal for guidance on how to approach conversation but she paid him no mind, staying silent.

“Can’t say that I have. More of a field man myself.”

“Ah, forgive me. Cardinal here usually surrounds herself with research types so I just assumed. As much as I love delving into the universe's secrets, I’m more of a mission guy also.”

Soap took in the information Nilok was giving. Sitting next to Cardinal, he looked comfortable but stayed an appropriate distance from her.

Soap wondered how a warlock who preferred field work ended up knowing Cardinal. But of course the same could be said about him. Not to mention Cardinal had proven on Europa just how effective she could be in the field.

How much did he even really know about Cardinal?

“Cardinal told me all about your contributions to her research.” Nilok spoke confidently.

This finally got a reaction from Cardinal. Soap knew first hand how sensitive her research was. He had learned the hard way when he nearly alerted the Praxic Order to her ongoings.

Soap couldn’t take it anymore. Nilok knew about him, knew Cardinal well enough to have a favorite restaurant, could make Cardinal laugh and knew about Cardinal’s work when it had taken him ages to get her to open up.

He had to just ask.

“How do you two know-”

The server walked over, interrupting his thought to take their order.

Cardinal ordered quickly, clearly knowing what she wanted. Nilok ordered two things which struck Soap as strange for an exo. He hadn’t even had the chance to look at the menu so went with the first chicken dish he read.

The server walked away and Soap found the question he had been trying to ask stuck in his throat.

“The task we gave Cardinal wasn’t an easy one, but I’m glad she found someone she trusts to help with it.”

Nilok elbowed Cardinal gently, she frowned and elbowed him back. If Soap had the capacity to sit back and analyze he would have noticed the gesture was more friendly than romantic.

Cardinal was smiling, she picked up a glass of water to hide it but from across the table from her, Soap could see it.

Soap wanted to flee again, this was agonizing. A little competition hadn’t scared him off before but this was Cardinal, he didn’t want to upset her.

If Cardinal and Nilok were an item, Soap wasn’t sure if he could switch to being just friends with her. Like a bucket of freezing water pouring over him, he was realizing in real time the extent of his feelings for her.

He flirted with her by day and thought of her at night. Watched the sway of her hips, the delicate movement of her fingers and took those memories with him home. He fantasized about what he would do to her if only she wanted him.

His heart was racing, his heart was racing and the server was placing their damned food on the table and-

“There you are!”

A woman approached their table. She stepped in close behind Nilok and placed her left palm on his chest as she leaned in and over him to take in the aroma of the steaming ramen bowel in front of him.

“What kind did you get?”

She was close to Nilok, closer than Cardinal had ever gotten.

The human woman was in full titan attire besides missing her helmet. Her hair was smooth and chopped at the shoulders. She had green eyes rimmed with charcoal makeup, light skin and pink lips. She was pretty.

“Beef.” Nilok said as the women pulled away from him and moved to sit in the empty chair beside Soap.

“Got you beef too.”

“Thanks.” She said, reaching for chopsticks.

The second order Nilok had placed had been for this woman.

“My name’s Junie.” She was addressing Soap but quickly turned her head towards Cardinal.
“Is this ‘the’ Soap, Car?”

Cardinal nodded.

Soap’s head was spinning trying to keep up.

“Fascinating.” Junie said under her breath.

Table now full, the group began their meals. Nilok continued to tell jokes, Cardinal would smile at most of them but Junie would laugh, she was smiling so big her cheeks were red and puffed out. As Nilok spoke, Soap noticed it was Junie’s reaction the man searched for the most.

Soap ate in silence, observing the others. He didn’t feel as awkward with Junie around but he was still unsure what to make of the group's dynamics.

As soon as they finished eating, Nilok and Junie stood to leave.

“Car, call me tonight.” Junie said before turning her eyes to Soap. “And Soap, I hope you can join us sometime to discuss lab results.”

Cardinal seemed to appreciate Junie’s discretion, not mentioning anything too sensitive about their work in public.

As they left, Nilok held the door for Junie and through the restaurant's glass window Soap could see him throw his arm around her, they walked away down the street and disappeared from view.

Wait? Put an arm around her?

“Are you alright?” Cardinal asked when Soap had been glaring at the exit the two guardians had left from for too long.

“Aye sweetheart, I’m doing just fine.”

Cardinal didn’t react to the playful name and Soap couldn’t help but smile wide because of it.

Chapter Text

It was like she had gone back in time. She was at her table editing a document, Soap was sitting across from her pretending to read and Jess was actually reading behind the keeper's desk.

Distracted, Cardinal peeked up at Soap without moving her head. He was gently rocking back and forth on the back legs of his chair, a few non descript hums escaping him every now and again as if he had the same song stuck on a loop in his mind.

She was glad he had returned to his upbeat self -albeit dialed up to eleven.

Cardinal didn’t bring it up, but yesterday she was concerned for him.

She still wasn’t sure what he had been doing out alone on the steps when her and Nilok headed out for lunch. Had his mission gone badly? She wanted to ask him then and there as she looked upon his forlorn face but she couldn’t bring forth the words.

Mercifully Nilok suggested he tag along with them for lunch but Soap’s mood did not improve.

Honestly his behavior puzzled her, he had looked sad sitting alone on the steps of the Archive but then, sitting in the restaurant, Cardinal started to worry Soap disliked Nilok. He was uncharacteristically quiet,- no jokes,- no teasing, he just stared at Nilok like he was an enigma.

Soap had never met Nilok before but Cardinal never knew him to be shy around new people so she was at a loss as to why he had acted so strangely.

Cardinal had never seen him look so uncomfortable before.

When Nilok and Junie departed, Soap’s tension eased but he did not join her back to the Archive.

With a fake grin and a wave he promised to see her tomorrow and left.

Now he was humming at the table, reading the research notes she had compiled post Europa like yesterday had never happened.

She hadn’t done much in the time Soap was away, finished editing the first draft of her Europa testing, practiced stasis on her own and even gave Nilok a preliminary demonstration of the new skills one afternoon.

There was still plenty to do and Cardinal felt excited to get back to it now that her lab partner had returned.

“Fascinating stuff Lass. Believe it or not, I’ve got questions.”

He leaned forward, chair legs thudding dully against the floor. His voice startled her, how long had she been lost in her own thoughts just staring at him?

Cardinal stood and made her way over to the stacks behind them. She was too eager to know his opinions to waste time by heading down to the lab. At least buried between the shelves, the books would dampen their voices.

Soap quirked a brow but knew to follow her.

Cardinal veered around the first few shelves and headed towards the back wall, attempting to get lost in the stacks.

The farther into the physical media section you wandered, the stronger the smell of books got. Paper based books were rarely produced so the aroma there was ancient. Ancient and musty but certainly not without its own kind of charm and appeal.

“I know I’ve got a big mouth but I think we're going to get lost if you lead us in any farther Lass.”

Cardinal stopped and turned to face him. Still cautious, she glanced around to make sure they were alone.

“No one but you and I here Darlin’.”

“Well?” Cardinal asked, totally ignoring the sly grin on his face when he called her pet names. -She never reacted, she didn’t know how. What should she say? Thank you?

Soap shook his head gently but kept the smile.

“Well, I think you make it all sound so easy. Almost got me tempted to try stasis myself…”

“-but?” Cardinal whispered, waving her hand, silently beckoning Soap closer.

“But.” He took a step closer. “I wonder about other guardians yea? You know hunters and titans. Are they also supposed to channel through a-a-” His hands were gesturing between them as he searched for the term.

“Conduit?” She filled in the blank and Soap snapped his fingers at her successful guess.

“Been thinking about that too, that’s why I wanted to ask if you could get your hands on this. I realize you’re also a warlock but a different perspective would help immensely.”

“Hands on what?” He was finally whispering as he took another tiny step towards Cardinal.

“Well it’s about time you see the artifact, we-” Mid sentence Soap’s hand drifted up towards her face. Her helmet was at home, leaving it behind had become her new routine. Cardinal followed his hand with her eyes. Reaching close to her ear, he gently pushed a loose book back onto the shelf behind her head.

But no book should be at risk of falling, Jess kept the shelves too immaculate for that to occur.

The faint sounds of books shuffling against books and a sudden prickling sensation of someone behind her pierced through her heart. Someone was eavesdropping.

On instinct, Cardinal gripped Soap’s robes near the chest and spun them around. Her back bumped the opposite shelf, the sound of books tumbling to the ground made her cringe. These artifacts were too delicate for such trauma but there was no time to worry about that now.

Cardinal kept a hold of him and pulled him down close to her, she was surrounded, the shelf pressed to her back and Soap’s arms bracing the bookshelf around her so he wouldn’t crash into her.

She looked into his eyes, pleading through them for him to understand what she was doing.

They were so close and apart from their duel, they had never been so intimate. His face was inches from her, she had to look up and he had to look down just to meet each other eye to eye.

Soap’s eyes were wide, he wasn’t making a sound, he didn’t even look like he was breathing.

Cardinal eased the tension of her fists, letting his robes go but kept her palms flat against his chest.

Soap swallowed hard when she slid her hands down closer to his heart.

“Cardinal.” His voice was breathy, low and husky.

It was so quiet, Cardinal could hear it when Soap gripped the shelf behind her tighter.

“D-don’t grip the books.” She hushed, nearly stuttering.

Cardinal never stuttered but something was going haywire in her brain, adrenaline was rising. The sound of her name from his lips and not some cutesy nickname had her chest twisting.

Soap mercifully released the shelf. He lowered his hands and Cardinal watched his eyes move from one of her own eyes to the other, trying to figure out where to place them.

They hovered just by her waist, he didn’t hold her but she could still feel the heat from his palms.

“Car, is that you back there?”

Her head whipped to the left, earrings jangling against her metal ears. Jess was making her way through the stacks towards them, no doubt the sound of falling books catching her attention.

A second sound followed, whoever was on the other side of the shelf quickly walking away.

Soap’s head lifted at the sound of the departing footsteps.

The situation seemed to finally dawn on him so he let his arms fall and backed away causing Cardinal's arms to slip down to her own sides.

Cardinal wordlessly moved past Soap and into the other aisle to meet Jess.

“Sorry Jess.”

To her credit, Jess did look ticked off. Physical books were precious and she was, after all, a Keeper. If it had been anyone else, Cardinal was sure Jess would have given them an earful.

With a deep sigh, Jess snatched a fallen book up and turned it over in her hands to assess it for damage. Satisfied when she found none, she placed it and the other books back to their rightful place and left without another word. Cardinal figured she was lucky the woman accepted her apology, -this time.

Cardinal wouldn’t make the same mistake twice so with Soap following her lead again, she packed up her things on the table and headed down to the lab.

Soap was oddly silent. Cardinal was concerned he had reverted to himself from yesterday but a few easy discussions later and he came back around. Not dialed up to eleven anymore but still his pleasant self.

Cardinal felt like Soap wanted to talk about what happened in the stacks but for some reason neither of them were brave enough to face it just yet.

The sensation in her heart had faded but the lingering feeling was something she had never experienced before nor one she would ever forget. Something intangible had passed between them, she felt it and knew Soap had as well.

Cardinal thought back to the last time someone had been that close to her but every time she tried her brain took her to the moment of Soap’s hands ghosting against her… the look in his eyes, the-

Soap almost had her mind on another tangent but she shook it off, it was getting late in the day and Cardinal still wanted to show Soap the splinter before they adjourned.

At her request, Lupin drifted over to unlock the safe that protected the artifact, Cardinal had left it tucked away inside ever since she first got access to the lab.

Lupin complained under his breath as he decoded the lock. Cardinal ignored his grumpiness and reminded herself that she still needed to ask him why he hated Soap so much.

Unlocked, Cardinal took it down from the cupboard, placed it in the middle of an empty spot on one of the lab tables and carefully removed it from its container.

“That’s it?” He observed the artifact bewildered. “Look’s like junk.” Soap reached for the artifact, wordlessly searching for permission to pick it up.

Cardinal nodded and watched him take it from the table and test out the weight of it with one hand.

“Feels wrong. Like somethin’ I’m not s’posed to be touchin’.”

“Pre-existing conditioning. Guardians learn right from resurrection to stay away from the dark.”

Cardinal watched Soap shutter and put the splinter down. His reaction was similar to the first time she had held it.

“Conditionin’ or not, things got a bad vibe.”

“You have to push through the discomfort. You get used to it.”

“Aye, just don’t make me touch it again.” He crossed his arms across his chest. “At least jam the thing to the end of a gun or something first, then I’ll reconsider it.”

An idea ignited inside her, an answer to a question she had been struggling with.

“That’s it.” Her tone wasn’t cheerful but her smile was radiant.

“What’s it?” Soap asked, his crossed arms relaxing to his sides as he observed her happiness.

“We create a stasis weapon.” Cardinal picked up the dark artifact and returned it to its container as she explained. “Utilizing the splinter, we could infuse guns with stasis giving guardians a more accessible way to introduce themselves to stasis by way of a controlled apparatus."

Cardinal turned about the room, gathering materials and notes she would need for the steps ahead.

“Wonder if my contact at the foundry is still around. I need to discuss this with Junie as well and-”

Soap stopped her on the way by him after the fourth time.

“Lass.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, faltering slightly when Cardinal turned to look him in the eye.

“Yes, thank you Soap. Brilliant idea.” She said quickly, assuming that’s why he had stopped her.

“Anytime, but what I mean to say is, it's late. Work day is done, the foundries and Junie can wait till morn’.”

She was hesitant to call it a night, even if she did go home, there was no way she would be able to get any rest. Her circuits would be firing all night thinking over the possibilities.

Perhaps, Cardinal hypothesized, that was why Soap asked her-

“Go out on a date with me.”

His hand was still steady on her shoulder. The sentence coming from his mouth stunned her, flirty one liners were his things, what had her eyes widening a fraction was the tone he had used to say it.

It was serious. It was sincere.

“Okay.” She found herself saying without thought.

It was his turn to go wide eyed. His hand lifted from her shoulder to rest on the back of his neck.

“I- uh- just figured you could use the distraction.”

The spot where her heart fluttered in the stacks was humming again. The thought of Soap thinking about her made her feel nice.

“Okay.” She said again, hoping it came out a bit more enthusiastic than the first time.

Cardinal walked across the lab again, this time to lock away the contained splinter.

Lupin was faster to lock it up than he had been to unlock it earlier. He was quiet, if her little grump had anything to say or feel about the date, then he was hiding it expertly behind a stone cold poker face.

Cardinal took a peek over to Soap, sneakily observing him as he tidied up a few files. Spearmint beside him was bobbing left and right, the motion was subtle but if Cardinal had to label it, it resembled a tiny happy dance.

Where her ghost had been so stone walled, it made Cardinal want to laugh watching Spearmint’s excitement. She wondered if the little ghost knew what Soap was going to ask?

Cleaned up for the night, Soap exited the lab first, followed by their ghosts and then Cardinal. She turned and locked the lab up tight, doorpad display beeping twice aloud to signal its success in engaging the lock.

The duo ascended the Archive’s staircase up to the main level side by side. Soap was chatting away in small talk and Cardinal of course, was listening silently. She found herself enjoying just listening to the sound of his voice more and more.

Half way up, she decided to make the effort to speak.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“You’ll see soon enough, Lass.” He said smiling.

~

The door to the stairwell clicked behind them as they left. From the floor above, a figure descended down and paused on the landing of the main entry. The stranger had not heard the entire conversation but they had heard enough.

Waiting a few more moments, the stranger shadowed the pair out into the evening.

Chapter Text

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Cardinal had said yes and now Soap had no idea where in the bloody hell to take her.

The questions escaped him before he fully thought through the consequences. Even if he had prepared, Soap would have assumed Cardinal would have said no or just outright ignored the question. Those were the two reactions he had accounted for. He knew how to play off a no or flirt his way out of awkward tension but instead, Cardinal had agreed.

Walking down the steps and away from the Ishtar Archives, his brain was scrambling for impromptu date ideas.

Taking a deep breath, he ran through what he knew.

Cardinal obviously loved books, -knowledge and research, but considering they were on their way out of a library, that was off the list. He thought about showing her something new, maybe a planet she’d never been to but it was too late in the evening and that kind of outing took preparation.

Soap considered the easy out and just taking her out for dinner somewhere, except they had gone out for lunch just yesterday.

Too late for coffee. Most bakeries were closed. A bar was… not her style.

From his peripheral vision, Soap could watch Cardinal, she was looking ahead, walking beside him, silent. Every so often her eyes would blink as they swept back and forth, observing buildings or people they passed by.

Her eyes were truly striking. Crimson-pink, sharp at first glance but soft the more the rose tones shone through. Besides the colour, the shape of them was unique enough on their own. Slightly lidded, almond shaped, slanting upwards to a point but still rounded underneath. Cat-like was how he had described them the first time he had seen them.

An idea bolted through him from top of skull frame to down into the earth past his toes.

He knew where to take her.

His pace was stronger, strides larger now that he had a destination in mind.

Cardinal followed, staying close to his side as they moved through the city streets. A fair amount of people were buzzing about. Citizens and guardians alike were restocking vendor stalls, hanging streamers, decorations and lights. The smell of food being prepared was wafting through the crowds. The city block was alive with a commotion not usually present so late in the evening but the store front of their destination was vacant, Soap hoped it wouldn’t be as busy inside as it was in the streets.

Holding the door open for Cardinal, she entered first.

“Oh! Please don’t let him out.”

A woman was pleading as Soap hurried to close the door.

The woman moved from around the counter she had been working behind and made her way over.

“Thanks honey and welcome, please have a seat.” The woman beamed, putting on her service voice.

Cardinal stepped forward when the woman reached out to her, Soap finally noticing the orange cat in her hands.

“He seems adventurous.” Cardinal said taking a step back away from the woman once she had a grasp on the fluffy orange cat.

The woman laughed, clearly remembering other times the fluff ball had given her trouble.

“Quite. He’s free to roam, just not tonight.” She let the cat go and escorted Cardinal and Soap to a table by the window.

The small cafe was indeed busy on the inside, only a few empty tables remained.

“Why not tonight?” Soap chimed in, watching the mischievous cat check to see if the door behind them was shut.

“Carnival of Lights is tonight.”

“Carnival of Lights?” Cardinal asked, sliding into her chair.

“Yes Deary, the locals have been celebrating it for ten years now. Newer celebration, I give you that.” The shopkeep tilted her head, gesturing behind her. “There’s a petition to get it recognized by the city. I got a copy at the counter if you’d like to sign.”

“What does it commemorate?”

The shopkeep hummed, crossing her arms. “Start of the new year, the peak of winter and to give thanks.”

There was a pause in the conversation. Cardinal had no further questions so the woman left them to decide on a beverage or to mingle with the ‘inhabitants’. A few of which had already taken a liking to the pair.

A wiry gray and white cat leapt onto the table between them.

“A cat cafe?” Cardinal asked him, leaning to see him around the cat.

“Uhh…” Soap didn’t really know how to explain. When thinking about her feline eyes, the date idea was the first one he felt could work.

Cardinal was waiting for his reply, her cat eyes and the grey cat's eyes both looking at him expectantly.

“Honestly Lass, was the only idea I had.” He went to pet the cat but it flicked its rear at him and jumped down before he could. He let out a breathy chuckle. “Maybe I should just fib and say I knew there was a festival tonight.”

Cardinal’s mouth curved upwards fractionally. He must have appeared worried because Cardinal proceeded to assure him that she liked his idea, telling him she had never been to an animal cafe before but could see the appeal.

For a while they sat there, not really speaking. The air between them felt different, the silence wasn’t exactly awkward but for some reason Soap felt himself choking. He wanted to discuss something with her other than research. His throat felt dry.

“Shall I grab us drinks?”

“Okay.” She nodded.

Soap left to grab something fruity -no alcohol, from the counter. Stepping around the cats who walked beneath his feet, interested in what he was holding or trying to trip him, he wasn’t sure.

When he returned, Cardinal was peering absentmindedly out of the window, patting a black cat that had curled into her lap.

“New friend?” He asked.

“You know-” She started to explain as she turned her attention back to him. “-my sister loves animals.”

“Your sister?”

“She does ingenious therapeutic work on the farm she runs, she rescues animals, cares for them and they help her rescue others. I wonder what she would think if I adopted another cat? This one is quite cute.” She ended her mini rant, looking down at the sleeping cat in her lap who was completely transfixed by her pats, purring loud enough for him to hear across the table.

Soap didn’t even know where to start unpacking what she had said. Cardinal had divulged more about herself in three sentences then he could have gathered in three months.

Cardinal liked cats and even owned one herself at some point, she had the ability to find things ‘cute’, and she has a sister. Sister?

A memory jolted to the forefront, one he had forgotten. Amelia Cardinal. It was the name on the gravesite plaque Cardinal had been visiting all those weeks ago when he had been visiting Juri. His theory at the time was that it had belonged to her sister but that was before he knew Cardinal to be an exo. The way Cardinal spoke, her sister sounded very much alive but exos didn’t have blood families considering they were born without their human memories.

He was taking too long to answer but he needed to work this out. If Cardinal had a living sister then the plaque wasn’t hers so whose was it?

“Amelia Cardinal.”

Cardinal stiffened. The cat is lifting its head up, disturbed by her tensing.

“Sorry, I saw you looking at a grave plaque one day when I was visiting a friend. I didn’t mean to pry. I assumed she was your sister but that was before I knew you were-”

“It’s mine.” She cut him off as the cat sank back into comfort against her. Her tone wasn’t angry which made his shoulders relax for a moment before he processed what she had said.

“Pardon Lass? Yours?”

“Amelia Cardinal. It’s my name or was my name before-”

“Wait, wait hold on.” Soap put his arms out in front of him, urging her to slow down.

“What about D.E.R.? I thought it was dangerous for an exo to know too much about their past lives.”

He was feeling stunned but what followed amazed him more than all her revelations. Cardinal lifted her chin, head tilting back slightly as she let out a laugh. A real, full and true laugh. The sound was so precious, he had been trying to make her make her laugh since they had first met. Its cadence was heavenly.

“I take it you haven't read my work?” She asked once she composed herself. “D.E.R. and specifically D.E.R. in guardian exos has been my life's work up until a few years ago. D.E.R. doesn’t affect exos once they raise as guardians.”

Damn. If he could flush with embarrassment he would have. How could he not realize she obviously has published articles, she was a genius and now he felt foolish.

From not knowing she was an exo, to the trip to Venus where she easily got him and Ghost access to rare history, how he had spent the entire day avoiding learning about himself for fear of D.E.R. when Cardinal knew all along as an exo he was immune. She probably had spent years on Venus researching exo history.

At every turn this woman threw him off his game. Shamelessly flirt and get ignored. Spout random ideas and she smiles. Challenges her in hand-to-hand and gets his ass handed to him. Gets her to finally laugh… by accident.

“This is not going how I envisioned it.” He mumbled.

“It’s alright. You’re endearing so you get away with it.”

The compliment had his heart skipping a beat. Her words fueled him, charm returning.

Beyond the window, a crowd was growing outside as the festivities began. Finishing their drinks, Soap asked Cardinal if she wanted to check it out.

“Okay.” She agreed, gently putting the cat who had yet to leave her lap down.

The cafe was still quite full, a few people were crowding the entrance, searching for empty tables. Cardinal squeezed through first, Soap followed her and held the door open by reaching his arm back. Stopping, he looked over his shoulder but the person he thought he sensed behind him wasn’t there.

~

Soap understood why people had been crowding the entrance, the street was busy. Tons of people, citizens and guardians, adults and children were all shuffling down the street browsing vendors, talking and eating snack foods. The atmosphere was joyful if a little bit congested.

Soap looked down at Cardinal. She was taking in the sights as he had been. He hoped she was alright with the amount of people. Ghost would never willingly come here unless it was mission related. V would not only outright refuse but hide before he could even suggest it. When Juri was alive he would have probably tagged along but only to catch up with a few contacts.

Soap hadn’t been to a festival in years. Going alone was just as advertised -lonely.

When Cardinal didn’t notice him staring, his gaze trailed down to her open hand hanging loosely at her side.

He grabbed it, intertwining his large fingers with her delicate ones and dove head first into the current of people, tugging her gently along with him so they wouldn’t get separated.

She followed his lead, closing her fingers to reciprocate the hold.

Soap could feel the blood pumping from his heart straight down to his finger tips. He wondered if Cardinal could feel it beating steady through her palm

Being taller than most, Soap could see over the crowd. Down a side street people were lining up, multiple lines forming behind a long row of similar stalls.

Lanterns. Forget the last time he had been to a festival, he couldn’t recall the last time he had released a lantern.

It felt appropriate so the pair lined up, Soap insisting she let him purchase her lantern since she had refused to let him pay for her drink at the cafe.

Unfortunately he had to let go of her hand to give her the lantern but she still stuck close to his side as they made their way to a higher level, searching for a private place to release them.

“Will you dedicate yours to anyone?” She inquired as they settled against a high balcony.

“My fireteam.” He smiled to himself. “I’d like to tell you about them sometime. Introduce you to them. Only fair since I've met your friends, yea?”

“I’d like that.”

“What about you? Dedicating it to your sister?”

“Yes.” She confirmed. “I’d like to tell you more about her sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

Her face was striking, illuminated only by the fire of their lanterns.

Unexplainably, Soap looked away. Some instinct was telling him he was being watched but as he looked out onto the terrace, he couldn’t make out anything against the light of lanterns blaring in his face.

“Beautiful.” Her words were whispered but they still pulled his attention back.

Cardinal was entranced by the hundreds of floating lanterns in the sky above. Soap wanted to look but found himself entranced by her instead.

She turned, staring up at him, her hands came up to frame his own.

“Are you going to let it go?”

“Never sweetheart.” His voice was smooth and warm.

Her eyes were searching his as he let go of the lantern after saying he wouldn’t.

It floated up between them but they remained locked eye to eye.

He wished to know what she was thinking but all along he never could predict what the woman would say or do.

“Those one liners come so naturally to you don’t they?”

“Aye, attracts the ladies.” He winks but internally he’s cringing. Why did he say that to her?

“No.” She shakes her head. “Keeps people at arms length.”

That hit a mark inside him. He felt an angry wound simmering underneath but he bit his tongue before he could say something foolish like how keeping people at arms length was, if anything, a specialty of hers.

She wasn’t done.

“When the spotlights are off of you, when we are alone in the lab or chatting in the cafe you don’t do it.”

“Do what?” He crossed his arms.

“The disingenuous comments, cheeky winks, the fake grin you put on when you know people are watching.”

His brows furrow. “You think it’s an act then?”

“I know so.” She paused, searching his face. “I like you but much prefer you when you're genuine, when you go quiet or get frustrated.”

The arms he had locked relaxed. Lantern light was still shimmering off of her open face. Her dig had cut deep but the confession she liked him was a balm.

“Got me all figured out sweetheart?” He gruffed.

“Not yet.” She smiled.

His heart rate increased, instincts screaming at him to kiss her. Her last words sounded like a promise. Cardinal sees through him, sees the real him but does she want him like he wants her? He’s never hesitated this much with a woman before.

“I can hear you thinking.”

Soap blinked back into the moment. He opened his mouth to retort but Cardinal beat him to it.

Reaching up on tiptoes she placed her palms against his chest, tilting her head to the side just before bringing her lips to his.

Kissing was not the easiest for an exo to sustain, their lips not nearly fleshy enough for the task but that didn’t stop the emotion of it from exploding inside him.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Cardinal pulled away, lowering herself slightly on her heels, she lingered close enough to rest her forehead against his.

Soap felt more breathless than any kiss he's ever experienced, all his thoughts ceased in their tracks.

“There-” She whispered up close. “Now you can stop.”

She lowered completely onto her feet, pulled away but kept her hands flush against him.

He wanted to pull her back in, feel her, taste her, but the rational part of his brain reminded him they were out in the open in a street full of people.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Soap raised an eyebrow at her abrupt pivot. Was she just ending the date like that? In the middle of the road?

“It’s a promise, okay?”

She took a step back from him, the space between them opening to let the rest of the world flood in again.

“Aye Lass, a promise then.”

Cardinal looked happy with his response so she turned and left him there alone on the balcony.

First dates usually ended with him at the very least escorting the woman home but he supposed a date with Cardinal was destined to be unlike any other.

Chapter Text

The whole date had been spur of the moment, a split decision and Cardinal was not one to make split decisions. Truth was, she trusted Soap and found herself increasingly interested in him.

He was loud, overly expressive and a shameless flirt. Her warming to him was stacked against him from the start but somewhere along the way without her realizing it, she had let her guard down.

Soap acted larger than life, filled spaces with noise and light but somehow he found the spaces in between light, under the shade where she laid.

He didn’t cringe at her silence nor was he deterred by her lack of expression. He was patient. He waited and waited when she didn’t answer right away.

Everything Cardinal did was with intention, the kiss included. It wasn’t a mistake, it was a calculated choice, one she didn’t make lightly.

Cardinal never thought love and relationships were for her. She was too busy, too preoccupied to dedicate time to dating. She had friends but if she was willing to admit, they often took second place to her work. She had to schedule them into her timetable if they wanted to hang out.

Yet, Soap fit seamlessly into the gaps. Wanting to go out on a date with him didn’t feel like a chore, wanting to kiss him hadn’t been a task to cross off a checklist.

She just wanted to, no underlying motives.

The realization scared her.

~

By the time he waltzed into the Archives that morning, Cardinal was already deep into work.

She heard him before she saw him.

Always too loud first thing as he greeted Jess. His tone was as effervescent as always as he offered Jess a cheeky one liner. The woman giggled in response, smiling sweetly.

The interaction as a whole was entirely normal, -routine. The same as it had been any other day but Cardinal was coming to understand that today wasn’t just ‘any other day’, it was the day after their date, -after their kiss.

Cardinal figured she must have had a strange look on her face because Soap’s grin slowly fell the closer he got to her. For as long as her memory was, somehow forgetting she wasn’t hidden beneath a helmet constantly anymore seemed to always slip her mind.

“Mornin’ Lass.” He joined her at the table.

“Morning.” The word came out more rough than intended.

She felt irritated.

Cardinal wasn’t sure how Soap was able to sense that irritation inside her but he was. She looked back down, resuming her work but a few beats of silence later, he spoke again.

“Just so you know Lass… I’m not seeing anyone else.”

She clenched her pen.

“I didn’t ask.” She snipped.

She took a deep breath, taking control of herself. She released the pen and looked up at him. The feeling of jealousy was new for her but she was able to recognize it. There needed to be ground rules.

“But, I am pleased to hear that.” She finally confessed.

He relaxed after hearing her tone shift. “About yesterday.” He started to explain but she felt the need to cut him off.

“I wouldn’t have kissed you if I wasn’t serious about this.” She stated calmly, eyes flicking briefly to Jess before landing back on Soap. “And I don’t share.”

Soap chuckled, exhaling the air he had been holding in his lungs.

“Was hoping you’d say that.”

She observed him for a few more moments. He looked extremely happy which made her heart beat loud in her chest.

“What ya workin’ on today then.”

It was Soap to get her back on track. The rest of the morning moved as it typically did. Cardinal showed him the prototype blueprints for the stasis weapon he had suggested and by the end of day she was hoping to finalize a design and pitch it to someone in the foundry who would hopefully be willing to take a chance on them.
~

By the weeks end they were able to get approval for the weapon. It happened slower than she predicted or wanted which frustrated her.

Cardinal didn’t want to admit it out loud but she blamed Soap.

She had found him… increasingly difficult to ignore. She hadn’t touched him or gotten very close to him since the date. But she wanted to. Now that she had come to terms with her feelings, simply acknowledging them wasn’t enough. She needed to test the limits. How close could they get in public before she felt uncomfortable? At what distance did her heartbeat start accelerating? How long could they stare into each other's eyes before her stomach flipped?

He wasn’t a subject to be researched but it didn’t stop her mind from analyzing their situation that way.

Cardinal had decided a few days ago that tomorrow would be her ‘Jess mandated’ day off but the closer the evening got, the harder it was for her to leave Soap.

Exiting the Archives later than normal, the clear night skies ignited an idea inside her.

“I’m going to the Vostok Observatory tonight.” Her breathy voice puffs out as white vapor as she steps outside and notices the faint stars above.

The clear night caused the temperature to drop but the view of the stars away from the city would be amazing.

The sound of the doors of the Ishtar Archive shutting clicked softly behind Soap, following her out after holding the door open for her.

Even with her back turned, Cardinal could feel Soap regarding her.

“You can come with me, if you want.” She added.

~

Truth be told, it had been a long time since she had visited. Post siva crisis, Felwinter Peak wasn’t nearly as bustling as it had been. Regardless, she wasn’t planning to ascend that far.

The Vostok Observatory was a popular crucible arena by day but on nights like tonight it made the perfect spot to bathe in the stars. And if her calculations were correct, there should be a meteor shower tonight.

Soap ushered her onto the gondola first, always wanting to hold a door open for her. She didn’t need the chivalry but it still felt nice, felt very much like him to want to.

She settled close to the window on one side, keeping enough space on the bench for him to sit beside her but as he hopped on, he turned to sit across from her instead.

Maybe in the light of day she would have stayed glued to her seat but alone, in the secrecy of the dark she decided against it.

Carefully getting up, she moved slowly, the gondola swayed as she joined Soap on his side of the lift. He eyed her cautiously as she settled in nearly pressed into his side and looked out the window without a word. Soap didn’t adjust his position, they were close enough for Cardinal to feel the golden warmth of him.

The ride was tranquil like still waters on a windless day. Cardinal was thankful for it, her entire week had been filled with waves, endless sounds of too many words crashing against her mind. Exhaustive meetings, long winded pitches and other corporate nonsense. -Her least favorite part of being a researcher, pleading to others that your work was worth a damn.

She may actually enjoy a day off for once.

Beyond the worn pane of the lift, the fractured roof of the observation rose into view.

Leading him, Cardinal leapt from the gondola and headed to a nook against a wall of the open building.

Protruding walls created an alcove to protect them from the mountain wind and just so happened to be perfectly positioned to witness Luna’s path -if the full moon had been out. Tonight was the new moon, the sky was dark in the absence of its glow. All the better to observe the stars.

Following the boundary Cardinal had set, Soap sat down next to her just as close as they had been in the gondola.

Their breaths were coming out in clouds. Winters were colder on the mountain but being tucked close to the building made it tolerable.

Their vigil was devoid of sound, not even the owls and foxes were patrolling this high up.

Next to her, Soap was tense. Cardinal wasn’t sure if he was restless or biting his tongue but either way she decided his rigidity was far more distracting than his small talk would be.

Before she could ask, like a play starting on cue, the first meteor ignited through the sky.

Something must have freed Soap's body because as the meteors started sailing through the sky, he started speaking freely. He was conversing to her in hushed tones, talking about himself mostly, inserting jokes or teases in between when he could.

Cardinal was content to listen quietly while she watched the skies but then Soap started asking her questions directly. Cardinal supposed it was only fair to answer since he had just finished telling her all about himself.

“How do ya like your coffee?” He asked her randomly in between tales of his life.

“Three sugars.”

“Sweet?!” He sat a little taller, clearly surprised at her reply.

“What about you?”

“Black.” He smoothed out easily.

“Huh.” She huffed. “Never would have guessed.”

His personality was bubbly, excitable and light. Cardinal assumed a man like Soap either liked his coffee with milk and sugar or not at all, drinking hot cocoa instead. But then again, she liked her coffee as sweet as possible and she would never describe herself as ‘sweet’.

The conversation kept flowing, Soap leading the way while she listened and did her best to contribute a little. Cardinal learned of his time as a guardian, his life and his friends, his wins and his loses. Where he lived, where he bought his coffee. All things that made up the man behind the scenes of the Archive walls.

Lightly shaded in darkness, Cardinal offered him the same. Speaking of her own life, her research, her friends Junie and Nilok. Her sister however was a topic she wasn’t quite ready to expand upon. Cardinal could sense Juri was a soft spot for Soap like her sister was. He spoke fondly of his fallen comrade but kept his language distant enough, a wound that kept festering just below the surface.

Meteors were streaking across the vast abyss above them with increased frequency.

Cardinal was growing tired and colder with each passing light. Shooting stars, more accurately space dust or just plain old rocks burned up as they fell to Earth, they disintegrated well before breaking the atmosphere.

“Torn away from their creator and doomed to plummet to Earth. Unable to fight the pull of the planet they streak across the sky, burning light flickering fast. The proof of their existence is only present for mere seconds. If no one was here to witness, would they even have existed at all?”

Thoughts, buried deep. Existential perceptions Cardinal had only ever said inside to herself but she found herself speaking them aloud to Soap. She wasn’t sure if he understood but she could feel his eyes trained on her profile.

What were guardians if not pieces falling from the Traveler? Destined burn bright in night skies until they eventually disintegrated into nothing.

Cardinal pulled her legs tight up against her chest but let her hands fall free to her sides. The hand closest to Soap inched its way towards the hand he rested on the ground as a prop to hold him upright.

Each finger lifted and crept closer and closer until her pinky hooked and rested on his. They were not holding hands but it was the best she could give tonight.

Black waves were rushing in and out of her vision. Her eyes were heavy, closing and opening, Cardinal was unaware how close she was to the edge of sleep.

“Cardinal.”

Was that Soap’s voice? She wasn’t sure, the sound was so far away and holding her head upright to listen was proving an impossible task. She couldn’t move and she didn’t want to, shifting meant she would lose the warm spot beneath her. Anywhere her body hadn’t touched was cold.

“Sweetheart, we should get you home. You’re frozen.”

Whatever was next to her was warm. It was warmer than anything she had ever felt in her life. She hated to move but if she leaned, a foot -no, an inch, she could fall into the heat.

Next thing she knew, she was swaying, rocking back and forth in a steady rhythm.

Cardinal wasn’t sure the last time she had dreamt. It felt like one of those dreams you couldn’t remember the moment you woke. Like the shooting stars, with no one as witness, had they or the dream existed at all?

The gondola's rusty screech was displeasing. It contrasted with the moment. Cardinal was sitting next to Soap, not cuddled in but leaning against him.

Was she dreaming of their date? The ground below expanded, larger and larger as they descended the mountain.

It’s true they didn’t have to take the lift at all, their ships could have deposited them close to the Observatory without issue but Cardinal chose to take it up the Mountain because, well she wasn’t sure how much to admit -even in a dream, but staying next to Soap for as long as possible had been the goal.

Cardinal tried to recall how the night had really ended. They had had a good time in each other's company, talking and observing the night sky but then their ships had flown straight up to the Observatory and they departed separately towards their homes. Right?

“We’re here sweetheart. Time to go.”

Soap.

Cardinal had never been so aware of how close they were. His voice was vibrating through him and straight into her heart. He sounded… real and not at all like a dream.

Soap shifted his shoulder against her, nudging her to rouse her.

She fell, nothing underneath her, no wind, no gravity but she was still plummeting. Cardinal was ripped from her day dream only to crash into its parallel reality.

Soap was there, staring into her eyes. His voice, his body had all been real.

Cardinal was momentarily at a loss. Had she truly fallen asleep? Out in the chill of winter's night next to Soap?

The fact her subconscious was able to relax into a state of slumber around Soap told Cardinal more than her inner monologue could ever.

She liked Soap, really liked him. His presence was not only a comfort but something she would soon find herself craving.

Cardinal knew herself, she was calculated, reserved, calm like the winter night. But that didn’t stop her from admiring the sun. Soap was impulsive, warm and excitable, a bright summer sky.

Cardinal decided she didn’t want to admire him from a distance anymore, she wanted him to be hers and she wanted to be his.

Chapter Text

Soap felt like throwing himself in the snow. The long night, on the freezing ground next to Cardinal, had done little to cool him off. He was ablaze.

They had done nothing but sit close and talk for nearly the whole night but still Soap was burning up inside.

Cold water ran over his broad shoulders, he watched it swirl and empty through the drain between his feet.

Sitting close, leaning on each other, getting to know one another, watching the falling stars light the sky… her little pinky clinging to his. It was all making his heart clench but it wasn’t the main reason for his fire.

As they parted the gondola, Cardinal woke. Her eyes were lidded more than usual, still relaxed from her near nap.

She had teased him before that she could hear him when he thought too hard but this time he could hear her. She was completely lost in thought, staring at him -staring into him and within her eyes he saw it for the first time. -Embars roaring beneath the surface like hot spots nestling underneath a forest fire, flames spreading underground through the roots and bramble. He saw her arteries alight and he saw lust in her eyes, deeper than he had ever seen on a woman.

Their relationship thus far had been innocent. Two opposites attracting and enjoying each other's company but Soap hadn’t only enjoyed the intellectual part of her.

Many times he had watched her round hips sway out when she rested her weight on one leg and placed a hand to her small waist accentuating it. Or when ogled her freely when she reached to high shelves, her rear reaching out as she attempted to grab a tucked away item. Or how he couldn’t resist sneaking a peek when she was deep into an interesting article, how she would lay her ribs against the desk, breasts resting on top of it and pressing together as she leaned into the datapad, absorbing every word.

Cardinal seemed to be quiet in her confidence as well, never saying anything the times she obviously caught him in the act -checking her out.

How would they approach the next step? He was used to leading the way but their second date had been her idea. Soap wondered if Cardinal counted it as a date. Would they get to a third date? Would it mean what it usually did?

The women he usually chased all liked to feign innocence. They were flouncy and ditzy, acting like they didn’t know what a third date meant. The second he reached for the zippers of their dresses or the hems of their shirts they switched. No more ditzy acts as they devoured him, used him and satisfied their curiosity until there was nothing left but him alone in his bed, staring up at the rotating ceiling fan that he should just rip out already.

Should he make the first move again? Would she reciprocate? Maybe she would make the first move.

Water was still pouring down over his back, Soap closed his eyes and lowered his head to enjoy the pressure against the back of his neck.

Behind his closed eyes, Cardinal was there, bent over a large table in the lab to observe something through a microscope.

He approached her from behind, stopping inches from her rounded ass.

Cardinal moved away from the microscope but didn’t turn to face him. Instead she arches her back into him and her ass brushes up against his groin so suddenly that he instinctually reaches both hands to her. His large hands easily wrap around her thin waist, engulfing her.

Her breath was deep, sides of her expanding in and out, his hands breathing with her.

Arching back further, she leaned her head back against his chest before deliberately grinding her backside against him again.

“I want you.”

Three simple words whispered from her tiny mouth had him gripping himself tightly.

Soaps other hand fumble for the handle of the shower, it was too cold, he was hot, he wanted to stay hot -for her.

The Cardinal of his fantasy, swung her hips for him, spoke softly for him.

He stroked himself to the thought of her.

He stroked up, she turned to kneel before him on the laboratory floor. He stroked down, her eyes were looking up at him from so far down. He stroked back up lingering on his head, the pressure on the tip was just as taught as her perfect little mouth taking him in.

He pumped in full, faster and faster just as she was with her mouth.

His free hand quickly extended to brace against the shower wall. Soap shook, his release hitting hard. It had been too long, built up energy releasing fast. His breaths were deep as he unfurled.

All this from his imagination of her. The real thing wouldn’t be as quick, should he be so lucky, he would savor her, worship her, give her everything she wanted and more.

Soap exited the shower deciding maybe it was for the best that they both had the day off.

With that out of his system, Soap hoped to concentrate on the tasks of the day but every time he turned, Cardinal was there.

When he poured his black coffee, he made a mental note to add sugar to his grocery list.

At the exo outfitter that afternoon, when he found himself unable to resist the crimson paint colour. Shading out the blue, his signature headpiece was now red. The color was deeply bright against the rest of his silvery-grey frame.

Then again in the evening when he felt pangs of jealousy as V and Ghost moved around his flat. They were never overly touchy while in his presence but they both so clearly orbited each other it was hard to avoid their connective pull. When he watched them now, he only missed Cardinal.

Nestled into the living room of his flat, the trio picked away at fruits, vegetables and whatever meats Soap had left in the fridge. Not exactly the dinner he had in mind but the group had been busy.

When he knew he would be free tonight, he had sent the invitation out to V and Ghost. It had been too long since the three of them met up but they were all still trying to pick up the pieces after the ‘Cyrell incident’ as Soap had dubbed it.

Juri had been avenged by V’s hands. Killing Enkaar the Anointed meant he was no longer able to fabricate dark weapons like the one that had murdered their friend.

Cyrell, although his body was missing, was also dead, shot by Ghost with Malfeasance, the weapon created to counteract Cyrells.

Pup was the only loose end. His betrayal had devastated Micah. V quickly stepped up to console the den mother and Ghost was close behind, filling in for Pup where Micah needed someone for mission or errands.

In the aftermath, V was still independent but Ghost had moved in with her quickly. She had Ghost to lean on but Soap had no one. He was the odd man out, alone again in his two bedroom flat.

Soap was okay with it though. He was satisfied enough to not only have Ghost in his life, but V back as well.

Truthfully though, he did have someone. -Cardinal Even if she didn’t know it, she had been his crutch.

Outside, a storm had picked up, Soap wondered if he would be able to see the stars if he were up on the mountain observatory tonight.

Spearmint tapped against his newly painted head piece.

“Earth to Soap, we still have guests sweety.”

Having his fireteam finally in a good place, allowed him to open his heart for Cardinal -if she would have him.

Taking a drink, the alcohol warmed him. Feeling playful, he teased Spearmint, calling her a cutie for insisting her own shell color matched his.

It was V who interrupted the moment.

“I have an announcement.” V declared standing up from the couch.

Soap and Spearmint ceased their conversation to stare wide eyed at her. In sync, guardian and ghost halting their banter to tease her. Soap smirked and wiggled his eyebrows because usually when a lady stood and made a declaration like that, something scandalous followed.

“Stop.” V swatted her hand at Soap. “Don’t you start Soap-5.”

“Never known you to be an announcer V, more a withholder.”

Soap was satisfied when V gave him a menacing glare. She pretended to be upset for a moment before moving on and instructing Tam to send him and Ghost a file.

“Bloody hell V. Is this an official fireteam registration certificate?” Soap read through the document quickly before looking up at her truly dumbfounded.

“I -well… it would need both of your signatures but yea -documents real.” The flush on her cheeks deepened. “Consider it another apology, for running off after Cyrell without telling you guys.”

The room was silent for a beat or two before Hurricane broke the spell by cheering loudly.

Soap was glad they managed to get together tonight. In his heart, Soap hoped the next time they were able to get together again, he would hopefully have Cardinal at his side.

Traveler save him. Soap was in deep, not only was he lusting for the woman but now he was making plans to introduce her to his friends.

The night ended, Ghost and V drifting out into the snowy dark.

Laying in bed, Soap wished away any nightmares. He was still thinking about Cardinal when sleep found him.

~

Soap tried his best but he couldn't help the swagger in his step as he entered the Archives. He never considered himself vain but he hoped Cardinal would notice the change in his headwear. His robes were straighter too, finally remembering to hang them properly in his closet to avoid wrinkles. They were charcoal, nearly black to help draw attention to all the right places, accentuating muscles he wished to be seen.

“Ah, my favorite Keeper.” He cooed in Jess’s direction, a sinking feeling hitting his stomach when he noticed Cardinal’s table empty. “You look well rested. Have a good weekend?” He winked.

Jess smiled but did not flush, -it seemed she was getting used to his playful jests.

“Something like that.” She admitted. “New headpiece?”

“Aye.” He nodded, leaning an arm against her desk.

“Red?”

“Is it?” Soap feigned shock, attempting to look up at his own head.

Soap was satisfied when Jess laughed. He bid her a good day and turned to head down to the lab but he didn’t get too far before Jess called out to him.

“She’s not down there.”

Soap turned, looking into Jess’s face to gauge the truth.

“She hasn’t come in yet.” She added.

Soap didn't want to look worried but it was strange to think Cardinal hadn’t been there at all. It was later in the morning, Soap had slept in, the drinks the night before lulling him into a deeper sleep.

“Thanks Jess. You can let her know I’m in the lab when she shows.”

His pace quickened as he descended the flights of stairs. Walking straight up to the door of the lab he tried pulling on it.

It was locked. Of course.

Placing a hand on the datapad, he hoped Cardinal had entered him as an authorized user. It never mattered until now since Cardinal always arrived before him, he never had to unlock it himself.

The door beeped a high tune and a green light blinked twice from the datapad as he heard the lock disengage.

His heart sank further when he glanced around the empty lab. Nothing was out of order, no mess other than Cardinal typical clutter.

Pulling the doors of the cabinet that held the splinter, he found it was still locked.

Everything was secured so why was he feeling so nervous?

He would go to her house to find her but cursed when he remembered he didn’t know where she lived.

Spearmint floated about the room. She also looked on edge, no doubt absorbing the nervous feelings from him.

Spearmint!

“Minty, open the communication line to Lupin?” He half asked, half ordered.

She hovered silently in front of him for a few moments.

“No answer.”

“Try again.”

Another long pause.

“Still nothing.”

“Again.” The word came out rough. Spearmint flinched, caught off guard by the harshness. “Please.” He added, softer this time.

Soap could hear blood pumping through his ears. Something was wrong, he didn’t know why he knew but he did.

Spearmint moved closer, just as she looked like she would tell him the call had failed, her eye shone brighter as a low humming emanated out from her round shell.

Soap didn’t have to ask aloud if Lupin had responded, Spearmint simply nodded before he could speak.

Nobody was talking but he could hear the hum of background noise. Soap was torn whether or not he should speak first.

“Spearmint. Soap.”

It was Lupin’s low voice saying their names but in a tone Soap had never heard the ghost speak in before.

“Cardinal’s in trouble.”

Chapter Text

Three words was all it had taken for the world to fall out from under his feet.

”Cardinal’s in trouble.”

The communication line was cut off there, leaving Soap in a downward spiral. He had known something was off when Jess told him she had yet to see Cardinal.

Soap’s mind was filled with wild theories. Waking nightmares fueled by real life experiences but the sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt. The urgency, the anxiety, the uncertainty.

His free fall only ended when Spearmint received coordinates from Lupin. There was no room for hesitation, he latched onto the clue and ran. Ran past a confused and angry Jess who caught him tearing through the Archives, flew down its large steps and sprinted through and out of the city, nearly crashing into startled citizens along the way.

Soap stopped in the threshold of a crumbling building on the outskirts of city limits. In the sky behind him, the gentle buzz of ships flying overhead could be heard, that and the desperate pants of his own breath as he tried to catch his air.

It was a quiet corner of the city, unused but still in such close proximity to the Tower, Soap felt it an odd location for a set up but Lupin didn’t joke around, if he said Cardinal was in trouble, then she was.

Soap stepped through what used to be the building's main entrance, its glass long since shattered and turned to sand under his boots.

His arms felt leaded, empty fingers twitching as they itched for a trigger he did not have.

Soap may owe an apology to V because he now fully understood how she could fly off without them when she had been threatened by Cyrell. The need to protect, stronger than any rational thought.

The building was definitely abandoned, mold, moss and water damage touched everything. Each floor needed to be cleared and without a weapon, Soap was forced to sweep each one carefully.

“How many bloody fuckin’ floors.” He huffed, air in his lungs limited. He felt winded again from panic alone.

“Twenty five.” Spearmint whispered, moving her light back and forth to light up his line of sight.

His lips grounded together, holding back curses. He had no idea what floor Cardinal could be on or if she was even there at all.

Lupin still wasn’t answering calls.

Soap pressed on. Floor fifteen caught his attention, it looked cleaner than the others but still there was no one around.

Soap paused in the middle of an open room, many of the walls had crumbled away, giving a clear view of nearly the entire floor.

He took a steadying breath, his adrenaline finally calming to a more manageable state. Soap honed in on the feeling, taming it. If he were to clear the rest of the building properly he would need it to work for him, not against.

He took a fixed step back towards the stairwell but mixed into the sound of his own stride was another noise, subtle, inconsequential had he not been so tuned to any creak or moan the building made.

The foot of his next step hovered in the air, his hearing straining hard enough he could hear the sound of his own flowing blood.

It came from above him, next floor up, someone or something was walking across a room.

As fast as he could stay silent, Soap made his way up to the next level. Peering out from the stairwell, the sixteenth floor’s walls were intact but Soap was still able to pin point the area the sound had come from. -Behind a suspiciously closed door.

Crouching low, he snuck, leg over leg up to it. Leaning in, he brought his deep blue eye up to a crack in the closed door, hoping its natural glow wouldn’t shine into the space and give him away.

A man was there, pacing back and forth in front of another set of double doors. The room looked like it had once served as a reception for a larger office tucked away beyond the double doors he was patrolling.

The man looked -familiar. His robes immediately reminded Soap of the ones Carden wore but the man wasn’t him, this man was an awoken. His baldness was a bold choice for an awoken, no one could quite pull the look off as well as Commander Zavala. Straining his memory, the last time Soap had seen someone like him had been…

The night of the festival! A misplaced memory slammed into him hard enough that he stepped back from the door. On his first date with Cardinal, Soap could have sworn he was being watched. A bald awoken man caught his attention a few times in the cafe but he had shrugged it off. There were so many people out for the festival, it was normal to catch the eyes of a few strangers in the crowds.

Then they left the cafe, people were crowding the entrance but from his peripheral Soap saw the man also heading for the door, Soap had held it open but when he turned, the man was gone.

His final appearance that evening was long forgotten after Cardinal had kissed him on the balcony. But Soap remembered it now. Even if improbable, it wasn’t impossible to run into the same person in a crowd. The crawling feeling of being watched made him turn to a small group nearby. It had been difficult for Soap to make anything out beyond the light of his lantern but the man was there, lingering just out of view. This creep had been tailing them and now here he was in the location Lupin had given them.

He looked unarmed, Soap was confident he could overpower him but the issue was he wasn’t sure the man was alone. Cardinal was still nowhere in sight and Soap couldn’t risk the man alerting anyone else.

The takedown would have to be silent. If he could not go in, then he would make the man come out.

Sneaking down the hallway, Soap tucked himself against a wall out of view of the door. A large piece of rubble in hand, he threw it down the hall and past the door. It bounced a few times before nicking another stone, causing it to veer sharply left and bump into the wall. The sound was not deafening but audible enough for the man to need to investigate.

Soap pressed tightly against the wall, his breaths were shallow and controlled.

The door creaked open, Soap could see it unfolding in his mind. The door opens, the man immediately looks left in the direction of the sound. Nothing would be there. A quick glance to the right to make sure the hall is clear before he steps out. Moving toward the sound, nothing looks out of place so the man won't stray too far.

One step, two steps and one more before bringing both feet together.

Soap steps out into the hall. One moment he's feet away from the man's back and then next he's within grasp. Blinking silently down the hallway, Soap closes the gap between them and roughly presses his metal forearm into the soft fleshy throat of the man, pinning him in a chokehold.

The man’s windpipe is too compressed to scream out. He frantically latches onto Soap’s arm, prying and pulling, trying everything to remove the pressure.

He’s not strong enough.

The man bucks and twists awkwardly, trying to throw Soap off but it’s still not enough. He’s beginning to slack under Soap’s death embrace. The craze of victory rushes Soap as the man passes out. Rage flowing through him, he leaves his arm in place, if he kept pressure a little longer the man would die.

“Soap.” Spearmint grounds him, floating into view.

His faithful ghost was always looking out for him, there to light his way when all was dark. She was there by his side just as any ghost was for their guardian… but if she was there, where was the man's ghost?

Releasing his hold, the man falls to the ground at his feet. If there was no ghost around, the man may not even be a guardian and if he wasn’t a guardian, killing him would be permanent.

Soap felt what could only be described as waves of blood lust, Cardinal had driven him insane. Soap had to get a hold of himself before the incessant urge to protect Cardinal turned him into someone he didn’t recognize.

Leaving the man behind he entered the empty office and moved to the back of the room.

His hands reach out, fingers curling around the hand holds of the two doors. There was no cracks to peek through this time, he had to risk pulling them apart slightly to see into the room the man had been guarding.

It wasn’t a single office but an entire section of the floor was wide open. It had been an office space for many workers. Once organized in dizzying symmetry, individual work cubicles were scattered around the large room. Some still in their original position, some pushed against doors and walls, others piled up and crumbling in on each other. The lighting inside was dim, windows barred up. On display in the center of the room was an assortment of chains hanging from exposed ceiling rafters. They crisscrossed and twisted around each other, all meeting at the same point.

A body was hanging from them, toes barely scraping the floor. Chains curling around them, clinging to their midsection, vining around and under biceps and up, encircling their delicate neck.

The doors slammed open, smacking against the wall and rebounding back.

Blinking, Soap landed in the middle of the room, boots squelching underfoot.

Cardinal was not awake, swinging lightly back and forth only by the building's draft.

Soap reached for the chains around her neck first. They were tight, his panic multiplied, if the chains wouldn't budge under his pull then how could Cardinal breathe under them?

A sickening shot rang out louder than anything Soap thought possible in such an empty place. The chains holding Cardinal up buckled, a rattling metal sound piercing him as the chains ripped against the metal rafter rails.

Cardinal fell, Soap wound an arm around her to break her fall. Coming down on a knee as he cradled her dead weight, Soap could feel the knee he had pressed into the floor grow damp.

Blood. The squelching sound earlier had been from his boots landing in a giant pool of Cardinals deep wine coloured blood. A metaphorical pentagram made of blood and chains. How long had Cardinal been strung up, bleeding profusely onto the moldy remains of an ancient carpet?

Refusing to put her down, Soap struggled to pull the rest of the chains loose with his free hand. Her body was dead weight, eyes closed, her red robes stained true crimson. Focusing, an indescribable relief restarted his broken heart as he witnessed the agonizing shallow rise and fall of her lungs.

She was breathing.

She was alive but in rough shape. Blood loss was not as severe of a problem as it would be for a fleshy human but it still felt dizzying as an exo. Scanning her body, her legs looked unmarred, her chest was alright except for the tattered robes from tight bindings, her neck looked scuffed and one of her cheeks was dented in. But her arms… her hands, her hands were missing. Both chopped off clean mid forearm, no doubt the cause of all the blood.

Soap heaved, wanting to vomit.

Another shot rang out, this one to grab his attention. Pulling Cardinal closer, Soap ripped his gaze away from her and met the source of the gun fire.

Lanky limbs, awkward stance, cocky grin. Carden held them at gun point from across the room.

“Good, you’re here. Now we finally might get some answers.” Carden's tone was sick, Soap hadn’t heard the man say much before, but this vitriol was way beyond anything he had assumed the man to be.

Cardinal hated the man for a reason but Soap never would have guessed him capable of all this. His grin, his stance, his speech. It reminded Soap of the crazed mannerisms Cyrell had before the end.

Soap’s eyes flicked to Carden's weapon, the smallest mercy came when Soap determined he was not branding a weapon of sorrow.

“I'll keep this simple for you.” Carden spat, clearly trying to make an insult on Soap’s intelligence. “Where. Is. Lazuli.?” Every word was drawled, stretched out individually.

Lazuli. Soap had no idea who he was talking about.

“Even minutes from death this bitch won't tell me.” Carden drew closer. With Cardinal in his arms and no weapon, Soap was defenseless. He could try blinking but his mind was too jumbled to risk trying a jump with Cardinal.

“Her sister is so important to the cause. I thought if anyone was brilliant enough to realize it, it was Cardinal.” The gun in his hand shifted, lowering to point at Cardinal’s heart.

“Cardinal-l-l.” He sang. “If you wont respond to threats on your own life then how about his?”

The bullet tore through the shoulder of the arm holding up Cardinal. The pain was nowhere near the worst he had ever felt but it was enough for his hold on Cardinal to relax. Cardinal fell backwards into blood.

“Next two goes through his eyes, then two to the heart and one to spare for his little ghost.” Carden shifted his head to Spearmint’s hidden location.

“Where is she Cardinal?!” Carden shrieked.

Counting back from five, he shot Soap through an eye when reached one.

“No!”

Cardinal snapped awake, pouncing and throwing herself onto Soap, knocking them both back. Cardinal heaved on top of him, hiding his body from Carden the best she could.

Without hands she was forced to push up on her elbows. Blood dripped from her opened wounds, freshly agitated by her movement.

“Ah, she lives.” Carden lifted his arms up in sarcastic joy. “Ready to sing Little Birdy?”

Cardinal breathing was labored. How she was able to sit up at all was a mystery.

“Cardinal.” Soap whispered. He was in pain but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional turmoil he felt as she looked down at him with such sadness on her face. It was the most expressive she had ever looked and it was a look of such sorrow.

Soap needed to get up. Seeing Cardinal in such a state had disoriented him but ultimately Cardinal was alive, Lupin was alive and no other reinforcements had arrived meaning the only thing standing in his way was a book freak armed with a basic gun.

Cardinal coughed above him, blood seeping from her mouth before she fell forward, dead weight pinning him.

“Where is Lazuli! Tell me know or you both die!” Carden screamed.

Cardinal was struggling to breathe, pressed heavy against him. “Fel-felwinter Peak.” She croaked.

“Carden, what the fuck is going on?!” The bald awoken man was awake, sprinting into the room. “I thought you were just questioning her!? What fuck did you do?”

The man sounded frantic, like he truly had no idea what Carden had been doing behind closed doors.

“I was questioning her.” He stated matter of factly.

“You can’t do this. It violates Praxic code! Praxic hono-”

The man's head twisted sideways, neck cracking unnaturally. He crumbled to the floor lifeless as a short, stalky, hooded figure entered, walking around the poor awoken man’s body.

Soap can’t make them out, completely covered in what appeared to be hunter gear but the person's movements were off, gait uncanny and unhuman-like.

“What?” Carden said to the figure, unphased by the bald man's death.

The hooded figure didn’t speak but Carden replied anyway. “We can’t go yet, there is still business to attend to.”

Carden’s gun was pinned to the wall by a throwing knife before Soap could spot the movement with his one eye.

“Alright, alright, we’ll go.” Carden poked a finger out. “But nobody blames me when these fools find us later.”

The two make their way over to a partially uncovered window. The newcomer, the hooded guardian, shot out the window’s glass, letting the outside wind to rush in.

Soap felt the gust of fresh air enter the space allowing him to breathe fractionally easier. There is a thrum sound filtering into the room as well, the sound of a ship idling just outside.

A ghost appears through the now open window.

A getaway.

The ghost must belong to the hooded guardian. Cunning little thing securing their escape just as the sounds of boots sprinting up stairs could be heard echoing through the halls.

Soap lifted his head, carefully trying not to hurt Cardinal with any movement. He blinked his one working eye against the setting sunlight filtering in from outside trying to get a better look at the ghost. -Only a few ghosts he had ever encountered could be so crafty.

Carden and the mystery figure entered the ship first. Close behind, silhouetted in shadow, the ghost faded into light, joining them on the ship.

Their shell, a familiar shape. Their coloring, a familiar shade. Their silence, louder than anything they could ever say.

It was Pup.

The ship sped off just as city guards stormed the room. Soap knew being so close to the city was an odd choice of hideout but it had been their saving grace.

He let his head fall back into the puddle of blood. Keeping his eyes shut even as Spearmint rushed to his side to heal him. Soap was deathly still, wanting to feel the tiny movement of Cardinal’s breaths moving against him, to feel her beating heart against his.

Chapter Text

Giving her some privacy, Soap left her alone in his spare bedroom, shutting the door behind him softly once he was sure she wouldn’t leave.

Perched on the end of the bed, Cardinal felt numb on the outside but on the inside, she was in utter turmoil. The instinct part of her brain was gutting her with a knife, yelling at her to run to Lazuli’s side as fast as possible. The other part, her rational brain, had alarm bells ringing out of every blood vessel.

Cardinal could easily lie and say she had blacked out but the truth was, she remembered it all -every second. The strange call, the coordinates, rushing into the building without a plan.

The torture, ironically, was the part that had hurt the least. Pain was pain and there was no way she would ever give up Lazuli’s location over something as trivial as her own anguish. She was prepared to die to keep her sister safe from that deranged cult.

She had been half dead when Soap showed up so she couldn’t blame him for rushing in, she would have done the same for him. Images of him charging towards her, slipping in the pool of her cold blood would be branded into her mind forever. The sheer look of terror, his shaking limbs and dilated eyes, his fear for her hurt more than any missing limb could.

Then when Carden turned his gun to Soap, she felt her soul fracture in two as she betrayed her sister to protect Soap.

If she had only stalled a bit longer then maybe the city Vanguard would have arrived in time. If she had brought a weapon with her or noticed the trap sooner or waited and asked Soap for help. Or, or, or.

There were thousands of what ifs flying through her mind as the evening sky darkened.

In the aftermath, Spearmint had healed Soap enough for him to bring her to where Lupin had been locked away. While she healed, Soap handled the guards. Cardinal was thankful, she didn't have the capacity to converse with them on a good day.

Once cleared to leave, Soap stuck close, guiding her to her place where she changed into fresh robes and grabbed any gear she would need.

She had yet to say more than a few words and she knew it was freaking Soap out but she couldn’t find the energy.

Sitting her down on the bed, Soap got onto one knee before her and placed his hands to rest on her knees. He whispered to her for a while before she finally nodded in agreement that she would not run off alone into the night.

Perched on the bed in his spare room, fully geared up, fresh robes, helmet firmly in place and her scout rifle, The Jade Rabbit, resting on the sheets beside her. Cardinal would not rush in for she had learned her lesson.

So she would sit, stuck in that position, upright with her head resting down towards her chest. She needed to unfurl the raging thoughts inside her, she needed to devise a plan.

~

The moon dipped low, black sky lightening bluer and bluer. It was not yet dawn but the moments just before when stars began to disappear and the entire world was still asleep.

Stiff from sitting motionless on the end of the bed, Cardinal was still wide awake. By the sounds throughout the night, Soap was also still wide awake. As she rewired her brain, Cardinal could hear him down the hallway, pacing and talking.

Footfalls made their way down the hall, pausing for a few moments before a knock on the door.

Cardinal didn’t call out but Soap opened the door anyway.

“Cardinal.” He whispered in the cadence that matched such an early hour.

The room was bright, she hadn’t moved to turn the light off, it blared blinding into the room all night.

Soap flicked it off before making his way to her and sitting down beside her.

Cardinal dipped towards him when the bed shifted under his weight. Her muscles screamed when they shifted for the first time in hours.

“Sweetheart you should rest, if only for a few minutes.”

Reaching for her, Soap placed his hands on either side of her helmet and lifted it off.

Cardinal let him, thinking it was all he would do but he wasn’t done, taking her bare face in his hands, he gently turned her head to face him.

His mouth was a hard line, nearly a frown but the thumb of one hand began stroking her cheek, the other hand gliding down to rest on the junction of her neck and shoulder.

He had been freely touching her more and more lately but Cardinal supposed they had gone on a date, even kissed. Such contact typically would have her backing away but alone with Soap, Cardinal found she enjoyed his affections.

Her eyes regained focus, landing onto his. Cardinal wondered when his blue eyes had gotten so soft? Suddenly she was unsure if perhaps they had always been that shade. She made a silent resolution to look at them more.

Guiding her slowly, Soap pulled her into his chest, engulfing her in an embrace. She knew he was tall, but wrapped up in his arms she realized how much larger he was than her.

All these little details about him that she had never noticed before were coming to light in the shadow of the room. She wanted to learn something else. What other new detail could she discover?

Nuzzling in, Cardinal turned her head to more comfortably rest against his chest. The steady strum of his heart grew louder and louder, overpowering any other noise.

It was a lovely sound. She wondered if hers sounded the same. Was there a way to sync them up? Make two hearts beat in rhythm together?

Putting a hand to her chest, Cardinal found her own heart betray her, her pulse increasing faster than Soap’s as her mind lingered on him. A flush of warmth pooled in her cheeks causing her to finally push back away from him.

“Are you alright?”

How many times had he asked her that now?

“Yes.” Her voice croaked from little use.

Cardinal wasn’t sure if she sounded convincing or not but it was the first time she had actually answered since he had found her.

“Come.” Soap offered his hand. “I made us coffee and we need to brief before the others get here.”

Like magic words, the spell surrounding her fell away. Stillness was over, despair was over, thinking was over. Now it was time for action.

~

Two coffees sat side by side on his kitchen table. Peering into the mugs, Cardinal spotted Soap’s dark coffee -black, and her lighter caramel colored one.

She sat and took a sip of her own, sweetness blending perfectly with the bitter. Hot liquid trailing down her throat, warming her from the inside out. Cardinal nearly sighed aloud, -It was perfect but she stopped herself when she caught the sly grin emerging on Soap's face.

Cardinal wasn’t sure how she could have any playfulness in her at the moment but she chose to hide her delight and give Soap a curt nod of acceptance instead.

His grin only bloomed wider.

As they sipped their coffees, Soap told her a shortened summary of the mission he had disappeared on weeks ago. He talked about his friends Ghost and V and how the three of them had foiled Cyrell’s plans to mass produce weapons of sorrow.

Cardinal had heard of the weapons of sorrow, how they killed guardians either by ripping them of their light or corrupting them into the dark. The topic had never interested her before but now that she had a handle on the lightness and darkness within her, she had to wonder if she could correlate her theories of conquering darkness and integrate them into the study of dark weapons.

The tangent in her own mind relieved her. It seemed her brain was functioning to capacity again. Filing the idea away, Cardinal continued to listen to Soap as he told her about Pup.

“Even with one functioning eye I could recognize Pup. Whatever he's up to, however he's involved in all this-” Soap paused as a knock sounded from the door. “It can’t be good.” He finished, moving to answer it.

Ghost and V joined them at the kitchen table.

Ghost was tall and quiet, barely making a noise as he entered the small kitchen. Standing next to Soap, Cardinal could see he was somehow taller than Soap.

V on the other hand, walked into the flat with a relaxed familiarity. She was quite comfortable bantering with Soap as she sat across from her at the kitchen table. V engaged Soap warmly but ultimately appeared to be an introvert herself, closing herself tight when she thought no one was watching.

Soap was surrounded by introverts. Cardinal wondered if he had done it by choice or not.

After discussing the implications of Pup being involved, the conversation was directed towards Cardinal.

“What kind of person is this Carden?” V asked her.

Cardinal took a steadying breath, feeling the need to clear her throat after sitting silent for so long.

“He’s scum.” She started. “He doesn’t deserve the honor of being a member of the Praxic Order. If his position isn’t revoked after this, I will go to the Order myself about him.”

Cardinal shifted in her seat, wondering how to best approach the next part.

“Carden is not inherently strong, I’m positive we could all take him in a one on one fight. His real talents come from his mind. He's crafty and highly intelligent. -I’ll give him that much. He’s a master manipulator and a double agent. Whatever he has himself tangled up in, it’s not a directive from the Praxic Order.”

“If he’s not really with the Praxic Order, then who does he work for?” Ghost inquired, speaking for the first time since he sat.

Another sigh escaped her, Carden was a sensitive topic. Carden was Lazuli’s demon and was her story to tell. She had already betrayed her sister once, she would not do it again.

“Who he’s working for is irrelevant in this situation. They won't provide him backup if he screws up capturing my sister. We take him out of the picture and it’s over.”

Ghost’s eyes shifted to Soap. She knew her response was too vague for the man. Cardinal saw the mistrust flash momentarily in his eyes when they landed on Soap’s.

From under the table, V must have rested a hand on his leg because his eyes softened, looking down before shifting to the female hunter.

Soap reached for the arm Cardinal had resting on the table, looking to comfort her but Cardinal pulled back and brought her arms to rest on her legs before he could touch her.

If her action hurt him, she did not look to him to find out.

It was silent for a beat too long, Cardinal wondered if Soap felt the pressure to chime in with a one liner to ease the tension. Did Soap find the need to hold conversations together constantly as exhausting as she assumed it would be?

“So, our enemy won't overwhelm us in power, they only have cunning on their side. We know who they are after and where they are going but not why they are doing it.” Ghost summarized, deciding to trust in Soap and V and not in her.

Cardinal tightened her hands into fist, she knew why Lazuli was valuable but at this point that information was need-to-know and the group did not need to know her sisters secrets just yet.

“There’s also the question of the mysterious hooded guardian working with Carden.” V added.

“I didn’t see him much when they captured me. I have no idea who they could be.” Cardinal told the group, hoping her volunteering the information would earn her a bit of trust.

“We could talk in circles all day.” Soap said suddenly, wrapping the meeting up. “Time to get out there, aye?” He ended, directing the question to Cardinal.

~

Felwinter Peak was not a small mountain. Regardless of the fact Carden had hours of a head start over them, it would have been a miracle if he had somehow already found Lazuli plus Carden had to be careful, the mountain was still a highly Guardian trafficked area, if he went in guns blazing, he surely would be caught.

Cardinal had not visited Lazuli in a while but knew exactly where to go as she led their ships around the back of the mountain.

Towards its northern base, a few kilometers out, stood a small cabin. Smoke was puffing from the chimney as they made their approach.

A few yards away sat a large barn. It had always been her sister's dream to take care of animals and of others, just as they had taken care of each other.

Landing on their feet in the snow, Ghost was quick to take point.

“V and I will go around back. If anyone tries to escape, we'll catch 'em.” Ghost confirms the plan. Moving out with V, weapons at the ready, Cardinal watched as they disappeared around the side of the cabin.

Fresh snow was crunching loudly under Cardinal’s boots. Winter was nearly through but was not quite done yet. Her steady breaths would be puffy clouds in front of her face had she been helmetless.

Cardinal raised her Jade Rabbit, keeping an eye close to the sight, not wanting to be caught off guard like the last time. She could feel Soap behind her, his presence at her back bringing her some comfort.

Moving up to the door, she tried twisting the door knob. Cardinal frowned, the door was unlocked and although not abnormal, it displeased her. Cardinal had had too many conversations with Lazuli about leaving her door unlocked.

Inside the cabin was dark. Since the sky was clouded over, the only light source came from the dying embers of the fireplace.

She did not call out, foot over foot, Cardinal approached the bedroom door. Soap moved in around her quietly, sweeping his gun around the large living space past the entry.

Taking a hand off her gun, Cardinal reached forward to slowly push the bedroom door open. The room was blacked out, curtains shut tightly over the windows. She felt her pulse increasing by the second as fresh worry flooded her veins. Had they arrived too late? Had Carden reached Lazuli first?

A flash of spark lit up the room. From the far corner of the room flames hotter than the dying embers shot out. A barrage of solar throwing knives thunked hard as they lodged into the bedroom wall, door and into her stomach. Cardinal doubled over, the sudden infliction of pain throwing her off.

With no time to recover, Cardinal felt something -someone, barrel into her causing her to tumble backwards.

Soap called out for her but his concern was unnecessary, Lupin was quickly working away at her injury just as the mysterious hooded man that captured her yesterday fled past and out of the cabin with a lifeless Lazuli resting over his shoulder.

“Lazuli!” Cardinal found herself screaming out, pushing Soap’s concern away.

Her strong voice must have knocked sense into Soap because he recovered, communicating through Spearmint to Ghost and V that the enemy was getting away.

Sprinting out after them, Cardinal knew they had to act fast or a ship would swoop them up and Lazuli would be out of reach.

Bizarrely or luckily, the hooded figure holding Lazuli dipped around the far side of the cabin.

“Ghost, target is heading your way.” Soap called out through comms.

Soap chased after them but Cardinal chose a different approach. Instead of going around she leapt up, heading up to the roof.

Reaching the peak, Cardinal noticed V first, the woman jumping high into the air, her body glowing with a purple aura as she fired a tether arrow. Cardinal followed the trajectory, the arrow met its mark, chains of void spreading out from it and latching onto the hooded hunter. He locked in place under the strain of V’s tether but quickly reached for a solar grenade to retaliate.

Cardinal cursed when she finally realized, their hands were free, they weren’t holding Lazuli anymore.

“Soap, he dropped Lazuli somewhere.” Cardinal felt the rush of panic again, calling out for Soap.

“Tracks lead through the dense trees, I don’t see any signs of her other than a single pair of footsteps.” Soap responded, his voice mission focused.

Cardinal’s head spun, it had to be some kind of trick, a ruse. Had she not just told the group that Carden was tricky?

Thinking of Carden jolted Cardinal. Where was Carden?

Cardinal looked away from the battle below and spun around towards the front of the house just as smoke starred billowing around her feet, the cabin had caught fire from the solar knives. Ignoring it for now the scanned the yard, nothing stood out against the snowy ground. Eyes moving back and forth until she centered in on the barn.

Carden was there, dragging Lazuli by her arm through the snow away from the trees and towards the barn.

The barn was a good distance away, too far to blink.

“Lupin. Position E-3.” She commanded.

Her ghost could move faster than she could. A simple code and Lupin knew what to do. The two of them had contingency plans for just about everything. E-1, the one she had used yesterday, meant ‘hide’. E-2 was ‘run’ and E-3 meant, follow.

“Carden!” She shouted, hoping to distract the man for only a moment.

Blinking from the roof, she made her approach.

“It’s a distraction, Carden has Lazuli by the barn.” She yelled out hoping someone could hear her since Lupin was no longer with her.

She was running, Soap mercifully exiting the trees quickly to join her by her side.

“Lazuli!” Cardinal cried out again, hoping to reach her sister’s ears this time.

Now at the barn doors, Carden tossed Lazuli inside and turned to shut himself in. As he pulled the door closed, he looked up, his eyes managing to pierce through his helmet and right through Cardinals to reach her own eyes. The fucker was cocky, acting like he had already won.

The barn doors slamming together shook the entire mountain floor. An explosion boomed out through the valley, bending the trees sideways and loosening the snow stuck to their branches.

Cardinal and Soap flew forward as the cabin behind them exploded into fiery splinters.

They bounced roughly against the cold solid ground, slipping against the sleet. Cardinal was thankful for her helmet, her head hitting off the ice as she slid forward. Her ribs were not as fortunate as she tumbled uncontrollably and collided roughly against an exposed stump.

“Fuck.” She grit out, curling inwards on herself, clutching her side as pain shocked through her. Cardinal hoped it was merely a cracked rib, she could tolerate a bruise but if Lupin returned having failed, she wasn’t sure how she would handle that.

“Car!” Soap yelled for her, recovering faster since he had Spearmint.

He blinked and in a flash he was kneeling beside her.

“I’m fine.” She grounded out but let him help her to her feet.

From the trees Carden’s partner emerged, followed by a void shield soaring through the air. The shield was deadlier than a freshly forged great axe as it tore through the woods, cleaving great pine in two as it flew.

Cardinal watched in awe as it barely lost momentum, even after felling nearly a dozen trees it still managed to stay course until it met its mark. The hunter fell to the snow in two separate pieces, the shield having split him in half faster than the bark before him.

His ghost, who Cardinal assumed had to be Pup, sped out from the trees after him, desperately making his way to his guardian.

Ghost and V launched out from behind the trees next, joining them in the open ground between the barn and what was once Lazuli’s home.

V jumped up high, pulling back her void bow again but instead of aiming for the guardian she hit Pup with a deadly bolt. Half of his tiny shell exploded just as the cabin had. Shiny splintered pieces rained down onto the snow. Light sparking from him like a broken electrical fuse.

Cardinal felt Soap tense the arm he had around her to hold her upright when Ghost and V advanced.

V held a steady hand around her handcannon, its sights locked onto Pup as Ghost pulled the hood from the hunters head.

Even from a distance away, Cardinal could see they were helmetless and very much not human.

It was an acolyte, a hive guardian.

“It’s Enkaar.” Ghost gruffed out to them.

Soap swayed, Cardinal nearly hissing at the pain that stabbed at her ribs.

Hadn’t Soap told her they killed the dark weapon smith Enkaar?

Seconds stretched out feeling like hours but the mountain still was not done. The ground shook again as the barn doors broke open. Lazuli’s ship roared to life, escaping the barn and soaring high into the atmosphere. Even as it fled from view the ground beneath them was still trembling.

“Avalanche!”

Cardinal wasn’t sure who had yelled out, the only thing she could focus on was the point in the sky where Lazuli had vanished.

Ghost dove for V as Soap reached for Cardinal’s legs to swoop her up into his arms.

Their ships descended into the valley to pick them up, barely beating the deadly wave of raging snow before it swallowed them whole.

In the small confines of Soap’s ship, Cardinal felt the numbness from yesterday return. She was paralyzed from the inside out.

Lazuli was gone.

“Head up the mountain. Regroup at the Vostok Observatory.” Soap’s voice was close to Cardinal’s ear as he communicated with Ghost and V through Spearmint.

His chest brushed against her side as he leaned in close to engage auto pilot but she didn't hiss out in pain this time.