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26th Oblivion

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It had been six months since the attempted strike on the Hive temple. Entropy-25 had been trying to get back into her work after a week long patrol on Venus. She would often join other fireteams for a few missions, being a sought after member for many groups of guardians. But after many failed attempts at bonding with a new fireteam, she gave up. She started leaving the tower for longer periods of time, returning only when she needed the cryptarch’s help with decryptions. Not many guardians would notice her absences, and of those who did, few understood why. Entropy was alone now, and they had resolved to give her space until she was ready to return to her work for good.



But one morning at the tower, she picked up everything she had and left. There was no note, no message left for anyone as to where she had gone, and no trace she had ever even existed, save for the relationships and memories other guardians had with her.



It was obvious she wasn’t coming back. Cayde, the newly appointed Hunter Vanguard, begged the vanguard to keep it quiet for a week, he’d go out and attempt to find her, he understood her pain. His request was denied, and the Vanguard put a bounty on the Exo huntress’s head. The official search lasted two weeks until it was called off, but her friends kept it up until eventually, they either gave up, or were ordered by Vanguard to shut it down. And just like that, Entropy-25 became a memory pushed into the back of their minds.

She sent no messages. Her ghost had gone quiet. Entropy was thought to be dead. Everyone had their own speculations as to what had happened to the white Exo. Maybe she’d been separated from her ghost and killed by Fallen. Perhaps she was on another planet, or on the edge of the Solar System, on some far moon of Jupiter. Some whispered that her light had faded after her abandonment, or that she’d abandoned her ghost. These rumors were kept quiet, and eventually, they too disappeared like she had.

But after four months on Europa, she had returned to the city. Entropy-25 knew what she had to do to rid herself of these awful memories, but whenever she was about to do it, she would stop. Something held her back. Maybe it was a loneliness, or guilt. Maybe she had to say goodbye one more time before she forgot them all. The red eyed Exo hated her lack of understanding, and she came to believe that visiting her planet of creation would settle any doubts she had buried deep within her mind and allow her to go through with the memory wipe.

Life in the city was not comfortable for all who lived there. If you had the money to afford a comfortable apartment in one of the high rises and a stable job, you lived with ease and happiness. But for many citizens of the Last City, life was a constant struggle. In some parts, crime and unemployment rate was high. The City only protected it’s citizens from the rising darkness beyond the walls. On the inside, it could be dangerous. Many children grew up on the streets as pickpockets. Hunger was often a bigger problem to the people than the monsters just outside their walls.

She remembered rules put down for the newly revived guardians, don’t enter the city without a veteran guardian with you. Not many guardians did, but those who did faced the dangers of thieves and anti-guardian citizens. She never understood their logic, or lack thereof.

Entropy had only been to the city three times, and each visit was on Vanguard business. On these trips, she was always with another three other guardians and a member of the Vanguard. The trips were basically conferences, where three model guardians and one Vanguard would stay in a nice building for a week to meet with wealthy citizens to discuss future plans and occurances in the tower and city. Entropy had fond memories of her trips with Andal and Cayde. Cayde probably wasn’t a good choice for the stiff trips, but Andal liked the blue Exo enough that he would come along. It was on these trips that Entropy came to be friends with Cayde.

And here she was, back in the city for her fourth time. Now however, she found herself in a part of the city that the Vanguard had always warned new and old guardians of. It was a gritty place, she had long since stashed away her old clothing for more inconspicuous civvies that covered the majority of her metal and robotic pieces. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be staying here, but she knew that she would need a place to stay the night.

“Entropy.” Her ghost’s quiet voice rang out for the first time in three days. He stayed hidden though, knowing the consequences that could befall his guardian if an unfriendly civilian saw him.

“Yes?” Her metallic voice was a whisper as she quickly made her way to the nearest motel.

“What are you planning? We haven’t spoken to each other in a while, I feel left out of the loop.”

“I need to get up to the Tower, but quietly. I don’t want everyone thinking I’m coming back.” She opened the door to a dimly lit motel with brightly flashing neons. Rain poured down, soaking her civvies and her canvas bag slung over her shoulder. She closed the door behind her quietly, turning to find a man maybe in his sixties sitting behind the reception desk.

“Why didn’t I just put you up on the tower then?” Entropy ignored her ghost’s question, and instead, she imitated a cough, drawing the receptionist’s attention. She tried to hide her face in the shadow cast by her hood.

“Your cheapest room please.” Her voice was quiet, and she desperately tried to keep it sounding human enough to not draw unwanted attention to herself. She had no idea who he would react to an Exo in his business.

The old man wheezed, his eyes suddenly growing dark.

“Read the goddamn-” his gravelly voice gave way to a hacking cough. “Sign you idiot! My esteemed business is Anti-Exo!” He gestured to a sign on the back wall that said clear as day, Exos not permitted. She felt a flash of anger flare up within her, and without thinking, she threw back her hood cover, a fiery undertone hidden behind her red optics.

But she calmed herself, collecting her emotions just as fast as she had lost control over them. She met the man’s accusatory glare evenly.



“I was just headed out.” She pulled up her hood again, and readjusted her bag. Entropy turned towards the door, starting to open it.



“Yeah that’s right. Run home to your tower, Vexo.” She stopped dead in her tracks, hand still on the doorknob. Fury coursing through her in response to the strong derogatory name. She heard her ghost sigh.



“Entropy, please. I know he’s a-” she spun around, and all within a matter of seconds, she’d punched the man in the nose. He’d been knocked backwards from the blow, and his eyes were wide as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding by covering his nose with his hands. His nose was clearly broken, blood poured down from it and into his mouth. Entropy felt a twinge of satisfaction with her result.



“Don’t call me a Vexo, old man.” and with that, she was out of the door and back into the rain.



“We gotta get out of here. You just assaulted an old man.” Entropy picked up the pace, almost running. She heard the ghost give a little laugh, and she knew he didn’t blame her. “That guy deserved it.” Entropy almost smiled.

After finding a motel a bit farther away that accepted Exos, they had settled into a tiny room on the fifth floor. From up here, Entropy could see the Tower. She had once so blindly fought for the Traveler. The perfect guardian, obeying all her orders, having a perfect record, and her kill streaks were fantastic. She was a sought after guardian to have on a fireteam. But now? She wasn’t so sure they remembered her.

As she stared up at the Tower, her ghost appeared next to her. He hovered low over her shoulder, watching the sunrise cast its light onto the Tower.

“Why are we back on Earth?”

“I have something I need to figure out. Something’s holding me back from carrying out my memory wipe.”

“Memory wipe?! What do you mean memory wipe?! Is this what that’s seriously about?”

“Yes. As long as I remember… As long as I remember them, I won’t be able to be at peace. I’ll always carry this guilt that I couldn’t help them enough, that it was my fault they died.”

“But a memory wipe?!”

She couldn’t look up at him. Instead, she whispered,

“Please ghost. I need to do this.” He didn’t respond. It was quiet for a minute. Neither stirred or spoke. “I’m sorry you have such a broken Exo to be your guardian.” Her voice was hopeless, and the ghost finally turned look at her.

“No. You’re not broken, Entropy. I just wish I could have helped you more.”

<center>…•••|•••…</center>

Entropy decided to get up to the tower via her ship. She’d drop down alone, her ghost would stay behind and get the ship out of there before it woke people up. And here she was, still in her civvies and making her way across the courtyard to the Hangar. She knew Cayde would always go to his ship after work, even when he was promoted to Hunter Vanguard.

She had made it all the way too the ladder going down to the hangar, when a robotic voice stopped her in her tracks. She pulled her hood down a little farther, trying to hide her face.

“Sorry ma'am, I didn’t mean to disturb you, I was wondering if you could-could-could-coul-” She turned around to find a cleaning frame, it seemed to be malfunctioning badly. She shook her head. She didn’t have time for this. Entropy sighed, and powered her off. The huntress gently sat the frame down onto a few boxes.

“I’ll let Cayde know you’re malfunctioning, I promise.” Entropy darted away from the frame and to the ladder going down to the Hangar floor. The Exo slid down the ladder with ease, sneaking past the other frames unnoticed and down to ship storage, underneath the main Hangar floor. Cayde’s ship would be in the Vangaurd section, the last row on the left. Entropy quietly jogged over to his ship.

The ship’s side door was open. Warm light poured out onto the grated deck. She took a deep breath, and stepped into the light, peering at the Vanguard. His back was turned to her, he wasn’t wearing his cloak or chest armor, and he seemed to be working on a repair in his abdomen. She stayed quiet, the last thing she wanted to do was startle him in the middle of repairs. She sat down quietly, her legs dangling over the edge of the deck.

Thirty minutes later, the clicking of wrenches and parts stopped, she stood, and she finally understood the organic term, “heart in my throat.” Entropy peered around the corner and into the ship. Cayde stood, grabbing his cloak and armor pieces. She worked up the courage to step back into the light and be seen, but his back was still turned. She coughed, alerting the other Hunter to her presence.

Cayde-6 hummed a response, still not turning from his table, he seemed to be typing into a datapad. Entropy sighed.

“Cayde.” The blue Exo dropped the datapad, and Entropy flinched. Cayde tensed up, and a million alarms went off in her mind in a second. He whipped around, dropping his cloak and armor as well.

“Entropy?” His voice seemed cold and detached. Her eyes dimmed. She knew this could happen. That it was possible she’d return to the Tower to find a distant look in his face. But she hadn’t prepared herself for this. “I’m malfunctioning. I have to be.” She shook her head hesitantly, stepping up into the ship.

“No, Cayde.”

Anger filled his eyes, and had Entropy been organic, she’d be crying. “Why did you leave like that, no note?! No memento? Nothing! You didn’t message us, you didn’t give coordinates! There was no sign you had lived! We thought you were f^<king dead>“Cayde, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah you better be sorry. What you did?! Why are you even back here?!” He stood fuming two feet away from her, and she kept silent. “Well?!”

“I don’t know.”

Cayde seemed to calm down a bit, and Entropy saw his shoulders slump. He looked so sad. She took a step toward him, and tentatively hugged him, her strong arms wrapping around his bare back. She stayed like this for a minute, waiting for a response. He didn’t hug back, and she slowly loosened her grip on him.

“I’m so sorry Cayde, I should have just stayed on Europa.” She gripped her sides, and started for the door, when his hand caught her wrist. She turned to look at him. He met her eyes, reaching up to pull her red hood down and reveal her face.

The huntress was pulled into a tight hug, and they stayed like that for a few minutes, comfortable in the other’s embrace.

“I missed you.” His voice was choked up, and he held her a little tighter. A sobbing noise left her voicebox without warning.

“I missed you.” She replied. He laughed a little bit, releasing her from the hug.

“Why Europa?” He asked, clearing his voice and taking a step away from her, sitting on the chair at the work desk.

“I’ve never seen the moon before, I wanted to go there.”

“Because it’s so cold, organics wouldn’t be able to keep up a search there?” His voice edged on anger again, and she tensed. “No more lies.” Cayde said quietly.

Entropy-25 sat down, her eyes trained on Cayde. “I don’t know why I came to you. I had to figure something out, why I can’t-.” She paused before continuing. “Maybe I feel guilty. Or I need to explain myself… I don’t know.”

Cayde sighed. “Yeah.” The cramped space grew quiet, and neither dared speak a word. “Did you ever open those messages I sent you?”

There was that guilt again. “No. I ordered my ghost to delete any incoming messages. I wasn’t ready to come back. I didn’t want to be swayed.“ Cayde scowled.

“Come on, I messaged you every Friday. I didn’t want to think you’d died alone, I wanted to keep you company, even though I thought you were…” He stopped, clearing his throat. You knew what he meant. “Last Tuesday was your revive day. I sang you a song and everything.” Entropy laughed quietly, shaking her head. “No really! It was great! Even Zavala would’ve been proud of it!”

She broke out laughing, and he joined in. For that moment, their troubles were forgotten. Their laughter died down, and she again was saddened.

“How has everyone been?” She asked.

“Good. Banshee is as grumpy as ever, Zavala still has a stick up his ass, Ikora is kind as ever. And Eris is… Eris.” She smiled.

“Good to know.” It grew quiet again. The clock read 2:00 AM. She would have to leave soon. Cayde seemed to sense this as he watched her grow more restless. Her gaze met his, a sadness and longing in her eyes. The Exo woman stood, and Cayde stood with her.

“You’re not staying, are you.” He kept his blue optics trained on her red ones, waiting for her response. But instead of speaking, she lurched forward, grabbing his face in her hands as she kissed the Exo. He was startled, but not displeased.

When she broke away, she quickly turned, pulling up her hood and grabbing her bag.

“I can’t answer that.” She started out of the door, him close behind.

“Please don’t do it. I know what you’re thinking. I know what you’re going through. Just please. Please don’t.” She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to look up at him.

“I don’t know what else to do Cayde. I don’t want to forget you, or the way I feel about you, but I won’t ever be able to come back if I don’t. I have to do this.” He nodded hesitantly, and drew her in for a hug.

“I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll send a message to the Vanguard of your return. Make sure you don’t forget everything. Don’t memory wipe farther than two years. That leaves you two years experience in your memory banks. I don’t have time to train a newbie.” He attempted a weak smile to lighten the mood. She nodded, turning away from him and walking to the ladder up. Entropy turned one last time before grabbing onto the ladder.

“I love you.” He whispered, almost inaudibly. But she knew. He watched the Bladedancer leave the ship storage, knowing that he’d see her again, but she’d be different. Maybe she would love someone else this time. Maybe she’d hate him. He didn’t know.

<center>…•••|•••…</center>

“I take it you’re ready to memory wipe.” Ghost’s voice rang through the ship’s speakers as Entropy-25 sat into the pilot’s seat quietly.

“Not yet. I need to get my gear on and get rid of these civvies.” She stood, turning to unlock a drawer and pull her old red, black, and white gear out. She got dressed and sat back into the chair. They were both quiet for a minute. “I need to make a recording.”

“recording in 3… 2… 1… Go ahead.” She kept silent, and then she spoke.

“Hello Entropy-26. After the death of your previous fireteam, you explored the moon Europa for four months. You left the tower without warning. Upon returning, you had your 26th memory wipe performed willingly. You loved a member of the Vanguard. I don’t know if you still love him, but he still cares about you. While you may have forgotten that you love him, don’t forget he loves you. Entropy-25, signing off.”

“I got it. What would you like me to do with it?”

“Store it in the ship’s databanks for a year. Play it back to me then.”

“I can do that.”

“Erase all data going back two years.”

“I’m going to shut you down first. It’ll take me a while. I’ll see you again, Entropy-26.” He appeared out of the ship, and she flashed a reassuring grin. The ghost’s nod was the last thing Entropy-25 saw.

</king>

Another Entropy-26, or in this case, Entropy-25 Destiny fic. Takes place after "Let Them Go, Guardian". A little bit of Entrayde, and probably all of the Entrayde I will ever write for a while. Enjoy.
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