Rick Anderson sneezed as he walked through the marked district of the Last City. He would receive waves from the people he protected. He was a Guardian of the light, and a user of Stasis. What was different about him was he was not just a normal Hunter.
Over the course of his life, he had broken past the boundaries of the Light. He had destroyed the barriers that separated Hunters from Warlocks and Titans.
If anything, he was all three. He was just a Guardian.
He smiled underneath his helmet as children ran around him, before their attention was taken by something else. He laughed, before continuing his walk towards the Tower.
"You know, you could just do it on your own." His Ghost, Eliana said through their telepathic link.
"I would, but Cayde was Banshee's friend. It would be an insult to have his gun repaired by someone other than him." Rick responded, as he stepped into the elevator heading up to the tower. He pulled out the Hand Cannon from it's modified holster.
The Ace of Spades. It belonged to Rick's father, brother, and best friend, Cayde-6. It wasn't a replica like most other Guardians had. This was the original one. The one that Cayde used on his last day living.
'Take care of the Ace of Spades, will ya?'
Rick smiled as spun the weapon in his hand, before walking out of the elevator which arrived at the main Courtyard of the Tower.
He walked over to the Gunsmith's booth, and placed the Ace of Spades gently on the table.
"Hey, Banshee. How've you been?"
The Exo named Banshee looked up from his current project, and smiled in a way only Exo's could.
"Rick, how have you been? It's been a while."
Rick laughed. "It certainly has my friend."
Banshee looked down at Ace. "Standard procedure?" Rick replied with a nod. "Alright, it'll be done soon."
"Thanks, Banshee!" Rick said, before tossing a hefty bag of Glimmer on the table and quickly walking away before the Exo could refuse. He laughed when he heard the Exo groan before getting to work.
Rick took in his surroundings and let his helmet dematerialize. He took a breath of fresh air and smiled.
New and old Guardians walked around the tower area. New one's being taught some tricks by the veterans. Rick remembered when he was a new Guardian. Two weeks right before the red war. He was lucky he was rather smart and crafty for just being revived two weeks before going lightless.
The loud booming voice of Lord Shaxx pulled him from his thoughts. He then noticed The Titan Vanguard waving him over. Rick waved back, and walked towards him.
"Zavala, how can I be of assistance?" Rick asked.
"First off, I'm glad you are here. Last we heard of you, you entered a restricted zone without backup. We would have feared the worst if not for your prowess."
Rick chuckled. "Well, what can I say? I'm tough to kill. Either way, you didn't call me over for a chat. So what's up?"
Zavala nodded "Right to business. A few days ago, our scouts reported a sign of Taken beyond Pluto. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, however, the Taken are not usually pushed out of our solar system. I need you to scout out the area and report back what you find."
"Easy enough. Anything else?"
Zavala gained a troublesome look on his face. "There is one...strange thing." He paused. "From what I've learned from Ikora, her hidden have found senses of warped space, and then an unknown planet not too far out of our system. Coincidentally, that's where the Taken are seemingly heading towards."
"A reality shift from the Vex? The Taken and Vex do seem to have a history from what we've learned from those books found in the Dreadnaught."
"Indeed, but this sign of warped space is what's most curious. That is your main priority. Only take action if needed."
Rick nodded, before taking a data pad from Zavala and walking off.
"What if there's human life on that planet? I wonder what they're reaction to us would be." Eliana said.
Rick only shrugged as he began walking towards the Annex. He jumped down the stairs, waving at fellow Guardians as they passed by. He took the first left but stopped at the smell.
"Oh god, Drifter, what the hell have you been cooking?" Rick pinched his nose.
The man known as Drifter laughed. "Rick Anderson. What a delight. How've you been, brotha'?"
Rick groaned at the smell, before letting his helmet materialize over his face. "Well enough. That tip you gave me was right, by the way. Eliana?"
Right in front of him, a bag full of materials appeared. The Drifter walked up to it and opened the bag. He nodded in approval, before closing the bag and tossing it behind him. Much to Rick's annoyance.
"That's a nice haul, thank you very much." Drifter gave a toothy grin. Rick just nodded. "So, anything up with you?"
Rick was about to respond, but the sounds of footsteps came from behind him. He turned to see a few Guardians walking in.
"We'll talk later." He said, before walking out of the room and heading back up towards the Courtyard.
"So...what do you think of our mission?" Rick asked his ghost.
"I'm not completely sure." She replied. "I never really thought of the possibility that human life was outside of this system. From what I remember, none of the Exodus ships really made it towards anywhere...I could be wrong though."
Rick snorted. "You probably are." He said, which earned a grouch of annoyance from the ghost. He just chuckled. He walked into the Courtyard and over to the gunsmith booth.
"Hey, Rick. She's all done." Banshee said, as he held out Ace. Rick took a hold of the Hand Cannon, feeling its weight. He quickly loaded the gun, looked up and leveled the gun sights into the sky. He pulled the trigger.
*BANG*
The sound of gunfire rang out through the tower, causing people to stare at Rick. He didn't care. He smiled underneath his helmet.
"Thanks, Banshee...You always do Ace well."
The exo nodded. "Anytime." He said, before getting back to work. On his other projects.
Rick holstered the Weapon and began walking towards the hangar.
This new mission excited him.
/ = /
Rick switched the gauge to self flight mode as he relaxed slightly in the chair of his Taken jumpship. How he was able to get the ship still confused him, but he wouldn't complain.
The ship was way too cool.
"Approaching the area of warped space. T-minus 5 minutes." Eliana said. Rick nodded, and switched the gauge to manual flight. He braced himself as the ship moved a bit faster.
He could feel the pressure that the area was giving off. And then, he saw it.
"Would you look at that..." Rick mumbled, as he looked out the window at the front of his ship. His ghost appeared next to him.
"It's...It's a blackhole." She said, moving closer to the window. "No wonder it's been giving off strange readings."
Rick clicked his tongue. "Yeah, but where's the Taken-"
He lurched forward as his ship was pushed by something. He pulled up a feed of what was behind him and his eyes widened.
A massive Taken captain had attached itself to the back of his ship. He saw energy being channeled through the captain as it somehow pushed the ship forward even more.
Rick attempted to steer the ship around, but it didn't work, as the ship was floating towards the black hole.. "What the hell is going on?!" He looked to his ghost who seemed panicked.
"We were pushed into the radius of the black hole. We'll be sucked into it if we don't do anything!"
Rick flipped a few switches and the light jump began its start up. The system began to beep as the ship sensed danger. "Yeah yeah I fucking know!" Rick shouted at the system. As soon as the ship was about to light jump, the Taken captain pushed it back with a blast.
Rick immediately felt nauseous and woozy as the ship was sucked into the black hole. Eliana had disappeared and the ship was flipping throughout the warped space.
He could see the stars circling around as the ship spun around space. Rick latched onto his seat as much as he could as the ship continued to thrash around.
Then, the ship was thrown in a direction, and began traveling in a straight line. Just then, the ship began its light jump, and it blasted forward. He couldn't speak, as he felt like he needed to vomit.
"Prepare for impact!" His ghost shouted as something came up on the radar. Rick looked out the window.
"The...Planet!?" He growled out. He quickly began to take the ship out of it's light jump, but it was too late. He lurched forward once again as the ship crashed into the ground.
He groaned, fully expecting to be knocked out. Instead, he had a few broken bones on his leg. His ghost materialized next to him. He gripped his shin and pulled forward. He yelled out in pain as the bone was forced back in place. Eliana then went down and began the healing process.
Rick let out a sigh once it was done. He was then transmitted out of the ship, and landed on the ground with a slight grunt. He sighed.
The front of his ship was buried into the ground. No doubt completely destroyed. The back part of his ship had suffered damage too. Some Taken energy had been added to it.
"Looks like that Taken Captain added some energy to the ship. That's gonna be useful for repairs." He said, examining the damage. It wasn't as bad as he thought. Then again, it was made of Taken energy. Something he didn't understand yet.
Rick took a look at his surroundings. It was basically a normal field. He saw a forest on the other end of the field. He looked to his right and saw what looked like a mountain covered in snow.
"Weird climate in this world..." He mumbled to himself. He turned around and looked up when he heard noises coming from the forest behind him. "Eliana, give me Ace."
He relished when the familiar weight of his beloved Hand Cannon appeared on his thigh. He quickly drew the cannon and hip fired into the trees. As he fanned the hammer, he heard grunts of pain coming from his hit targets. He smirked.
Rick jumped up onto the ledge of the small cliff. He reloaded Ace as he walked through the forest, then he saw what he hit.
It was a small humanoid figure covered in what looked like fur. Small rags covering areas of the body, with a strange mask on its face.
"Eliana, take a scan of this creature, try to find out what it is." He said. The ghost came out and began scanning the body. He looked around and saw another one. It looked the same, but was a different color. Another one seemed to be smaller, but it had a different shape. Next to it was something short of a staff.
"Nothing on the database about these things." Eliana said as she floated next to him and took a scan of the one he was looking at.
Then, Rick heard a roar that he clearly recognized. He put up a banner shield right in time. The Taken captain had launched a ball of energy that would've hit him if he didn't put up said shield. He unholstered Ace and lit a Golden gun. He shot twice through the banner shield.
Both shots hit the Taken Captain and it flew back a few feet. Rick rushed forward a holstered Ace. He focused Stasis energy and summoned a Kama in his hand. He ran up the captain and stabbed it right in the chest with the Kama. The Captain screeched as it was immediately frozen.
Rick channeled Arc energy into his fist and punched the frozen Captain. It shattered, and was killed.
He sighed. "If the Taken are here...then we have more problems than just a broken ship." He looked at his Ghost. "Try to see if we can get communications up with the Vanguard."
His ghost nodded and transmitted into the ship. Rick took off his hood and let his helmet dematerialize from his head. He took a breath. His guess was right about the air being breathable.
Then, to make matters worse, He heard voices approaching.
"Eliana. We have company. Cloak the ship."
"Got it, and I have visuals on them. 3 females, 3 males...and one...floating child?"
Rick raised an eyebrow before letting his helmet materialize on his head again. He pulled up his hood, and let his hand drop to the handle of the Ace of Spades.
/ = /
Eula wasn't too happy about her current situation. First, she hadn't been able to eat yet. Now, she had a matter that she couldn't ignore. For all she knew, this was an attack from something.
"What do you think It was? Paimon thinks it was a meteor."
Eula had rolled her eyes. Aether had started saying something else. Then surprisingly, Master Diluc had joined in on the conversation as well.
The one who had been quiet was Lisa. Normally, she would've been talkative about this, but the curious librarian had been completely quiet.
"Uh...guys? There's something you wanna see." Kaeya said.
Eula looked forward and her eyes widened. Right next to where the thing from the sky had fallen, was a person. Eula couldn't see exactly who it was. The only thing that she could see was the blue cloak fluttering in the blowing wind. She could see regal markings on the cloak even though it was far away.
"Who...Is that?" Aether had asked.
"Paimon thinks the important question is, Why is that crater there?"
Everyone then looked at a crater that was not too far away from the man. Smoke was rising from something in the middle, but nothing was there.
Eula could somehow sense something from it. It felt like something dark.
"Uh...hello?" Master Jean had called out. "Who are you, is everything okay?"
From Eula's eyes, it seemed as if the figure had slouched a bit. As if he was less tense.
"Yeah! I'm fine! I uh...my uh...I'll just come to you!" The figure, now Identified as a man, shouted back.
As he was walking forward, Eula could see more of him. He had a Navy colored vest with a brown satchel hanging on the side. His face was covered by some sort of black and white helmet. The regal blue cloak that was on him doubled as a hood. White arm plating with matching symbols on both forearms. He had some sort of metal covering on the side of his thigh. Eula's eyes widened when she saw what was inside the covering.
She immediately summoned her weapon, but the man had somehow Drawn his weapon quicker than she could even blink. Everyone had quickly stepped back and summoned their weapons as well.
Eula stared at the man's gun. It was black and white, like a card. To further cement the idea of a card, she saw an Ace of Spades on the side of the weapon.
"Hey now." The man spoke. She looked at him with a glare. "Why don't we all just calm down, and put our weapons away?"
"You first." Eula growled.
The man laughed, surprising Eula. "Fair enough." He said. He spun the gun around his finger and holstered the weapon. "Now, can we all just talk about this? I really don't want to fight anymore than I've had to today."
The others slowly dropped their weapons, but Eula kept her weapon in hand, leveling the tip of the blade at the man.
"Eula." She heard Master Jean call out. She glanced wearily at the acting grandmaster, and then at the man, before letting the blade appear on her back.
"Huh...neat trick." The man said. Eula could tell she wouldn't like this man. "Either way, I believe we got on the wrong foot. My name is Rick. I'm a...traveler."
"Like you, Aether!" Paimon exclaimed. Everyone glanced over at her and she paled.
"Right...Anyway so...I lost my map during my travels. I don't know where I am, and then, something falls from the sky and knocks me back."
Eula thought he was lying. But apparently, Master Jean didn't. "Did you see what it was?"
The man named Rick shook his head. "I didn't when I got up, I ran towards where it fell, and found nothing but a small hole and some smoke."
"I see...well, you said that you're lost?" The man nodded once again. "I believe it will be okay for you to come back with us and let you get your bearings." Master Jean said.
The man sighed in relief. "Thank you, I've been needing a break anyway."
Eula watched as Kaeya, as well as Master Diluc both headed back towards Mondstatd with the man.
"I don't trust his story." Eula says.
Master Jean nods, much to Eula's relief. "Neither do I. He seems suspicious. Too eager to go to Mondstatd. And his weapon is similar to those that the fatui use."
"He could be a spy?" Aether offered.
"It's unclear as of now. Honorary Knight, If you could watch him while he's here, that would be great."
Before Aether could say anything, Eula spoke up. "I'll watch him." Master Jean looked at her. "I will not let it interfere with my duties. If needed I will drag him along with me on mandatory assignments."
Jean looked at Eula with slight worry. "Are you sure? It might be too much for you to handle for a work load."
Eula narrowed her eyes. "Hmph. Doubting my abilities? I'll have my vengeance for that."
Master Jean sighed. "Very well."
As Eula's focus went back to the crater, she couldn't help but feel something was very much wrong. She looked at the librarian, who seemed to share her concerns. She needed to watch him closely.
"Who are you really?" Eula mumbled.
/ = /
"No communication options available. I tried every channel. As of right now, we're in the dark."
Rick frowned at the news as he sat down on the bed in his room that the now named Knights of Favonius had lent him. He ran a hand through his hair.
Mondstadt. What a beautiful city. From what Eliana learned, it was known as the city of freedom. The planet itself was called Teyvat. It was one of the seven nations that resided in the world. Everything seemed old fashioned, but also advanced. Rick didn't know what type of period of time this place was in.
From what Eliana had given him. The people here had forms of elemental powers here as well. It was called a vision. Rick had seen something on a few of the knight's clothing. It was a sort of pendant. That must've been what a vision looked like.
To be fair, he did sense some kind of power from it. It was completely foreign though.
"This world hasn't been touched by the Travelers light, yet the Taken want something to do with it. Why could that be..." He muttered.
"More so, the discovery of more humans is insane. I thought they were all confined into the Last City! Not to mention, they're thriving!" Eliana exclaimed.
Rick nodded, and a knock on the door took him from his thoughts. He grunted as he stood up from the bed and walked over to the door. He opened it to see the same woman who originally pulled her weapon on him.
Rick quickly glossed her over. Her blue and black regal clothing clearly signified that she was someone of importance. She had somewhat of a cape that dangled off the side of her shoulder. He mentally raised an eyebrow as he saw the black, slightly transparent cloth that showed some skin. Not to mention the top part of her thighs were showing in a very alluring way.
But he knew better, so he didn't question it. It was probably something of her fashion sense.
"Ah, Ms...forgive me, but I didn't get your name." Rick said.
"It's Eula. Eula Lawrence. And I came here to apologize and to inform you of an arrangement."
Rick raised an eyebrow. "Apologize for what?"
The woman seemed to bristle, but for a short second. "I drew my weapon on you unprovoked. That is what I am apologizing for."
"Ah...well...don't worry about it. I am a stranger, so it makes sense."
She nodded. "You are a stranger, which brings up an arrangement. Since you are unknown, and we are still suspicious of you, you will be monitored by me."
Rick was surprised by the frankness of the woman. It was almost insulting if he didn't care.
"Tomorrow, once it is morning. I will come to fetch you." Rick mentally scowled. He wasn't a dog. "Once we leave, you follow me with tasks. Once you are deemed trustworthy, this arrangement will end. Any questions?"
Rick shook his head. "No..."
The woman nodded. "Good. Be ready for tomorrow. And note this, do anything that even slightly deems you a threat, and you will suffer my vengeance." At that final note, the woman left, leaving Rick confused and slightly angry. He scoffed and shut the door.
"What a pompous bitch." He grunted, before flopping on the bed. "Hey, Eliana, look for the name Lawrence."
His ghost nodded, before fading into dust, teleporting to another room. When she returned, she came back with books.
As Rick read, the more he came to understand. He sighed, and tossed the book into a pile and scowled once more as he began to fall asleep.
He could totally wait for tomorrow.
_________________________________________________________
This is Light, Stasis, and Ice. By the title, I'm sure you can guess what this is about.
As for now, this is a one off project. I don't plan on doing too much with this story, but who knows for sure.
As the story goes on, Rick Anderson's lore (my given lore) will be explained. I just want to say that I made this character two years before Genshin Impact came out, so I was pretty surprised when I found out that a certain character had very similar lore to Rick.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say Mihoyo is spying on me. But that would never happen...
Right?
...
One more thing, this takes place in the middle of Season of The Chosen. Either way, thank you for reading.
EDIT - 3/1/22: I didn't explain what Rick looks like under his mask, so...If you wanna know what he looks like, just search up Trenton Woodley. He'll look pretty much exactly like him, as Rick was 26 when he died.
May the mist guide you well.
-TheKazooBirb