Darkness.

That was all there is, nothing else.

It was all that he could see.

Or maybe he couldn't.

He wasn't sure if he even still had eyes to begin with. Or a face. Or a body.

After all, he's already dead.

Is this what the afterlife really is? Just a infinitely vast expanse of nothingness, trapped with only one's own thoughts for all eternity?

Or is the afterlife really non-existent in the first place? No heaven, no hell. Just empty.

'Well, this really sucks.'

He lost Sundance. He lost his Ace. And now he's apparently going to be stuck in limbo for eternity. That is just unfair.

He really hoped he could see his wife and son again. Even if he didn't really know how they looked like. Guess it's too much to ask for.

He wondered if he regretted it. His life as a guardian of the Last City. As one of the few chosen to bear the Traveler's Light. A role model who all other hunters look up to. warrior who stood against the adversaries of the Light and the remnants of humanity. And a man who loves spicy ramen.

And he thought deep enough, and realized that there was nothing worth regretting. He lived a full life. It wasn't perfect, and it wasn't exactly the life he chose for himself, but it was one worth living. All his time as a lone wolf, and then becoming a Vanguard, which he initially hated at first, but eventually he grew kinda fond of, it wasn't for naught.

'Oh great, I'm getting all philosophical now.'

Okay, maybe there is one thing he regretted. Not being able to see Uldren's face when all the other Hunters finally put a hole in it. He knew that his death is not going to be well-received by other Guardians, especially his favorite one.

Boy, that guy is gonna be pissed. He just hoped the Guardian didn't just dump his robotic sack there to rust, and actually brought it back to the City. He'd also prepared a final note which, hopefully, his Guardian buddy would see. He almost felt bad for the guy.

'Heh heh, you're in charge of all my debts now.'

Still, he couldn't help but grimace. Somebody's gonna have to tell the others. Amanda. Failsafe. Even Colonel. Poor Colonel.

The City had just lost its Hunter Vanguard. He hoped that there's gonna be a big ass funeral, with all the Hunters and other Guardians attending, also with a lot of mourning and crying, preferably crying. Someone's gonna build him a statue as a memorial, and it's gonna be a great golden statue sitting right in the middle of the City. Hey, a man can dream.

He wasn't sure how Zavala and Ikora would react, but he assumed they're going to take drastic action. Very drastic action.

And he knew damn well they're gonna do so and avenge him. If not, at least his favorite Guardian would.

He knew all that would happen because if it didn't, he'll be very pissed and would personally come back from beyond the grave as a literal ghost and yell at them for letting him down.

'Ah well, at least that bastard's gonna get what's coming for him. Too bad I won't be there to see it and laugh.'

And then, his mind was at peace.

Silence. It was his only company.

And then he realized, he would have to face the single, most dreadful thing he could ever imagine. Boredom.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

Then hours.

12 hours, to be exact.

He knew. He counted.

'43200 and 1...43200 and 2...43200-aahhh this is pissing me off!

My WHOLE life -thaticouldremember- protecting humanity and doing other shit I want, and this is the reward I got!? I mean sure, I've done some.. pretty "questionable" stuff before, and yeeaahh I wasn't all that serious in my job, more like I had no choice..but in my defense, I ended up kinda liking it! - wait a minute, I'm not in court. Why am I trying to defend my self?

...Auugh for God's-or whatever god still exists' sake, even the fire and brimstone'll be alot better than an eternity of nothing at all. Come on universe, you big -mostly- empty wuss!! Make something happen!!! ANYTHING!!!'

And then, there was light.

'Wha-oh shi-'

And lo and behold, the universe answered.

"Oh brave heroes!!! Please SAVE our world!!!"

A group of mysterious looking men and women stood in front of a glowing magic circle hidden in a large, mostly dark room, uttering their prayers to the 4 strangers in front of them.

The 4 strangers seemingly appeared from thin air within the circle, all oblivious as to what just happened, how they got here, and what that sentence meant.

"What?"

"E-excuse me?"

"YEEESSSS!!!!!"

1 of them, however, was too excited to think about all of it.

"Ooohhh thank you o mighty Traveler, or Jesus, or Buddha, or whatever deity out there is still listening to me, finally I'm outta that forsaken hellhole of nothingness!!! Ahhh...now where am I?"

He didn't know where he is right now, or even how he got there, but he didn't care. This is his second chance.

He took a quick look at himself. His clothes, even his armor, it all looked perfectly clean and undamaged, as if there was never a hole in the middle of it in the first place.

He was actually resurrected from the dead. But how? The Traveler? But he couldn't feel its presence here, or anywhere close.

He finally took a breather, and scanned the place he's now in.

'Huh, this place's alot darker than I realized. There's 3 other guys beside me, were they all dead too? But they all look pretty average, probably not even fighters...oh those weapons look neat. I'd still prefer guns, but I think I could make use of a sword, and that lance, and..a shield? I can't use shields. I can't kill stuff with it. Also, why is the ground glowing? Is this some sort of...magic sigil? Am I in the middle of a Hive ritual? Maybe I should ask these suspiciously looking guys in robes here...well they seem human. Okay, so not Hive I guess. Why are they wearing robes anyway?

And, why am I holding a bow in my hand?'

He then realized he was getting alot of weird glares from the robed strangers in front of him.

'What, did they just noticed how handsome I look?'

"Uhmm... excuse me, o mighty Hero. We did not expect this to happen, so if you don't mind us asking...w-what exactly are you? You're not human, are you?" One of the robed guys asked nervously.

Even the 3 dudes beside him started staring at him funny. With their mouths agape.

"Woah, is that a real-life robot that can talk!?" One of the dudes, a young blonde man holding a spear, exclaimed.

"That's so cool! Are you actually a sentient robot, or an alien? And is that armor you're wearing real?" The last dude, a spiky haired man with a shield on his right arm, asked.

'Wait, these guys never seen an Exo before? They'll have to be living under a rock for centuries if they don't know what I am. Wait, maybe I've travelled back into the past? Before the Collapse? Or I'm in some alternate version of Earth through some weird reincarnation mumbo jumbo?

Well, if that's the case, shit. I better try to convince these guys I'm not some vengeful machine hellbent on enslaving humanity or I'll get in some trouble.'

"Alright alright, hold your horses people. I come in peace. I'm not an alien, if you're wondering that. I'm also not a robot, at least not the traditional kind, I'm much cooler. Now this may be abit hard for you to swallow, but putting the robot body aside, I'm very much a human, just like the rest of you. I eat, I sleep, I feel, and all that other stuff. Are we good?"

The others began glancing to one another.

"I don't believe you. Maybe you're just lying." The spear guy responded.

"How do we know you're not hostile to the rest of us?" The young black haired boy with the sword warily asked.

And he gladly answered."Uhm okay, listen here kid, if I had any sinister intent or hatred towards humans whatsoever, I would've put a bullet on all of you already, okay? But I didn't, because I'm not an emotionless, homicidal machine. Besides, you ever seen a goddamn robot who could talk like this? Huh? If you don't want to believe me, well that's your problem, but I'm telling you the truth and I don't have any reason to lie here. I'm just the same as you three, summoned into wherever in the universe this place is, with absolutely no clue as to what's going on. So can we just drop it for now and move on? It'll make everybody happier."

That apparently did the trick, as none of them managed to come up with a retort.

"Ahem, sir Heroes?" All eyes suddenly fell onto the robed man.

"While we have certainly come across a very peculiar situation right now regarding one of our summoned Heroes, I'm afraid we don't have any time to waste. There are urgent matters at hand, so we shall put this unexpected outcome aside for now."

The other summoned guys decided to put the previous matter behind for now and listen to what the robed man has to say.

"I still don't trust you, but it seems we're all stuck in the same boat right now, so I'll let it slide." The sword guy replied.

'Well, this is gonna be a hassle. Everyone thinks I'm a freak. What's next, they're gonna dissect me?'

However, he noticed something else regarding the robed man's speeches.

"Hey, why do you keep calling us 'Heroes' all of a sudden? Not that I'm complaining, but I'm just curious, is all."

"Y-yeah I noticed that too, what's going on here?" One of the average looking guys, a young man with spiky dark hair, with the shield on his right arm, asked.

"There is much we must tell you, but to put it simply, you four have been summoned as the Four Cardinal Heroes by us through an ancient ritual, as each of you possess one of the Four Cardinal Weapons which only you, the Heroes, can use!" One of the men in robes explained.

'Summoned? What, like a genie? How do you summon someone from the dead? Do these shady people somehow have access to some kind of otherworldly resurrection magic, just like that? Something that only the Traveler itself and its Ghosts are supposed to have? Ikora's definitely gonna wanna know about this.

But Hero, eh? I like the sound of that. So this bow can only be used by myself? Well it'd better be a damn good bow, coz I'm missing my Ace.'

"The four of us? Cardinal Heroes? Seriously? We didn't ask for this." Another one of the summoned guys, a young black haired boy with the sword pointed out.

Uh oh, this isn't good. If these robed strangers think he's a hero(which he is, duh), and praise him as one, and he didn't even need to do anything to gain such a title, he can't let the others ruin it for him. He needed to step in.

"Whoa guys, isn't it obvious? We've been summoned here coz we're "heroes" and we're gonna do some hero stuff for these kind people. They look up to us. So try to act the part."

It was then the robed man earlier spoke up once more. "There is much more we needed to explain, and I know you are all wondering why you were all summoned here, but all will be revealed soon. Our world is in peril, so please, we beg of you, save our world!"

'Man, these guys are desperate.' Putting so much trust into 4 random strangers who may or may not have some more sinister thoughts in kind, doesn't that just reek of ignorance.

The young man with the shield decided to answer. "Well, I guess we could-"

"I refuse." The boy with the sword promptly cut him off.

'Uh, what?'

"Can't you take us back to our world? And this robot guy to... wherever the hell he came from? We'll talk about your own problems later." The blonde haired man with the spear also chimed in.

"Also, don't you people feel guilty for bringing us here without our consent?" The former added.

"Yeah, and how do we know you won't betray us once we did the work for you?" The blonde guy finally added.

Well they do have a point, he wouldn't deny that.

Being summoned into a place you never knew, then right off the bat you're given a weapon and forced to fight monsters, and then all of a sudden you're some kind of a hero tasked with saving humanity. Gee, this all sounds really familiar.

But he would much, much rather risk his life again and die, and still enjoy it, than having to go back to an eternity of darkness. Being dead really sucks.

Besides, he's a Guardian. Protecting humanity, saving the world, and doing all kinds of badass stuff is what he does. Well, what he used to do.

So for now, he'll play along with this. But that doesn't mean he still couldn't get things to go this way. Plus, maybe he could still sway these 3 strangers to go along with him.

Alright, it was time for him to do the talking.

"Okay-okay, let's all calm down here. No need to start a ruckus.

Ahem, so obviously you gentlemen have brought us here for a good reason right? Maybe we're just here by chance, or maybe we were the "chosen ones" or some prophesied bullcrap like that. The important bit is, our job is to save the world, et cetera. Now the real question is, what's in it for us? Suppose we do help you people kill off whatever monsters or evil beings you guys are fighting, you will repay us, right? I mean, if we're gonna risk our lives again, we should at least be getting something out of it.

Well, I suggest a mutual agreement between both sides, so the gist of it is, we'd happily help save your world and all that , but we'd get some kind of reward. Wealth, women, weapons? I mean, this ain't no charity after all. We help you out, you guys give us some kind of reward, that's only fair right?"

"Hey I haven't finished-"

"-Ahh, tch tch tch tch tch...let me do the talking here, fellas. So what do you say, friend? We got a deal?"

The robed man responded. "Uhh, well... we'll have to escort you to the throne room to meet the king first, before we could make any further arrangements. "

"Alright, fair enough. Take me to your- hold on did you say king?"

"I am the King of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. Heroes, name yourselves."

'Ooh boy what have I gotten myself into.'

Everything looked like it came out of an old children's fantasy book. The architecture of the whole building is reminiscent of ancient building designs from the time long before the Golden Age. Even the clothing of this world's population seems quite classy, yet very outdated. How long, he wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure how he knew that to begin with. He was never a history guy.

Whispers and murmurs filled the crowds within the throne room, some in awe of the ones referred to as Heroes, others in doubt.

He could feel a thousand glares coming from the entire room towards him. Some filled with curiosity, others with disgust. Apparently people in this world do not take too kindly to non-human beings.

He can't really blame them though, considering his own experience with warmongering or cultist aliens. And the occasional reality-warping cosmic deities.

All the four strangers introduced themselves properly.

"Ren Amaki, 16 years old, high schooler."

"I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, 21 years old, and a college student."

Well, almost all of them, anyway. One of them decided to make good use of his great showmanship skills.

"Well, greetings ladies and gentlemen, and your Highness as well. I am many things, a warrior, a champion, a hunter, and a handsome looking fella.

My age is irrelevant, but I can tell you that I'm not too young or too old for anything, I know my way with the ladies, I can hold my own liquor, and I'm the guy you can trust for almost anything, as long as the pay is good.

I've been known by many names from people who look up to me and idolize me. Hero. Guardian. Friend. That handsome looking fella. But you, can call me Cayde."

_

Needless to say, the entire room was speechless. Either that was a good or bad thing is up to one's own interpretation.

"Jeez, aren't you an egomaniac." The sword kid said with a scowled face.

"Yeah, we don't need that much information. Most of what you said is probably just made up." The spear guy added.

"What? I do not lie. It's called making a good first impression. Your introductions are lame. If anything, you guys should learn from me."

Both of them simply scoffed at his proposal.

'Fine, your loss.'

Afterwards, the young man with the shield decided to speak up. "Alright, I guess I'm last. My name-"

"-I see. Ren, Motoyasu, and Cayde. I must say, that was..quite a theatrical display, sir Cayde. I admire your confidence."

The aforementioned simply grinned. "See? Told ya."

"Sir Cayde, I do find it strange that you are not human? Yet you claim to be one. As far as we know, the ritual for summoning the Cardinal Heroes never stated that a demihuman could be summoned as one."

Cayde answered, with a little half-truths here and there. "Well, your Highness, my kind is...a little bit special. You see, I am an Exo, my people, back in my world, we used to be human before we humbly decided to give up our mortality and our own flesh and bone in exchange for the body of a machine, so we can live longer lives, and have a deeper chance to uncovering the secrets of the universe within our expanded lifetimes. So with all honesty, I can assure you that my mind and my soul is indeed human, despite my body looking otherwise. Wait what's a demihuman?"

"Y-yo, King! Aren't you forgetting about me?" The shield guy interjected.

"What? Oh right. Forgive me." The King responded nonchalantly.

"Hey, aren't you being a bit disrespectful? It's the King after all." The spear guy, Motoyasu, pointed out.

"Ahh, sorry. Was that too rude? Should I call him 'Your Highness' as well?

Well, whatever works I guess. My name is Naofumi Iwatani, I'm 20, and a college student."

"...I see. Thank you again for your kind explanation, sir Cayde. Your world sounds quite intriguing to hear about, but we must get on with the matter at hand. Now, I suppose I owe you all an explanation." The King said while rolling his eyes, ignoring the former.

Cayde noticed something odd about the way the King reacted towards the shield guy, Nathan. Or is it Neil? Natalie? Naofumi, right. How could one simply forget about one of the four so-called Cardinal Heroes fight in front of them? And what's up with that eye-rolling? He just skimmed through the poor guy like he wasn't even there.

"Exos? Never heard of those before. Are you actually even human as you say, or even from Earth? Your story is sounding more and more ridiculous." Ren questioned.

'This guy just can't stop it with the accusations, can he? Why can't he be easily fooled liked the others?'

"Look, you wanna believe me or not, it's your choice. Doesn't really matter to me either way, in case you didn't notice. But I can tell you more if you're interested?"

"Forget it. I'm not." Ren rolled his eyes away.

The king's explanation was more of an overly long forced information dump, which was unfortunately too boring for Cayde to pay attention to most of the time.

'So there's gonna be this thing called Waves, which would bring the world to ruin, yadda yadda, bad news for everyone. So the four Heroes are the only ones who could take care of these Waves, thereby not letting all that happen, yadda yadda, good news for everyone. Oh, and there's some stuff about hourglasses, or something.

Okay, I think I'm all up to speed.'

"If you Heroes could help us repel the Waves and save our world, we shall reward you handsomely. Anything you could ask for." One of the king's advisors explained.

"See? We do heroic stuff for them, we get paid for it, it's a win-win situation!" Cayde concluded to the other Heroes.

"Alright, we'll do what you say as long as we have your word." Motoyasu responded.

'Well, that was pretty quick. Tell them there's gold at the end of the rainbow, and they'll chase it to the ends of the earth.' Cayde thought to himself.

"We'll do what you need us to do, as long as you don't turn on us. Remember, we're not just your tools." Ren warned.

"Right, right." Naofumi finished sheepishly.

"Very well. Now Heroes, if you could please check your statuses." The king asked.

"My what?" Both Naofumi and Cayde asked, dumbfounded.

"What's wrong with you guys? It should've been the first thing you noticed in this world." Ren said, irritated.

"Alright, sir Know-It-All, please do lighten us with your vast wisdom." Cayde mocked with both his mouth and his hands.

"Tch, whatever. You see that little icon in the corner of your eyesight? Try focusing a bit on it."

'What ico-oohh. How did I not notice that little blob earlier?'

Cayde did as Ren told him, and all of a sudden, a transparent screen appeared in front of him, showing various information regarding his Hero 'status'.

"Bow Hero: Level 1"'Level 1? That's embarrassing. So all my time as a Guardian counts for squat?'

"Woah, I see it now! What's all this, anyway?" Naofumi asked.

"That is Status Magic, an ability exclusive only to Heroes. You may wonder that your levels are very low. To become stronger, you must partake on adventures to develop and upgrade the legendary weapons you have equipped." The advisor answered.

"Why don't we just use other weapons until these ones are usable?" Motoyasu surmised.

"We'll still have to train ourselves to become stronger." Ren added.

Naofumi continued. "I have an idea! What if we form a party and-"

"Excuse me, Heroes. I'm afraid that's not possible. The Cardinal Weapons repel one another by nature, therefore working together would hinder their development. It is better for you all to go your separate ways and go on adventures with your own respective parties." The advisor explained further.

"Aw, well that sucks. Welp, nice knowing all of ya. I'm gonna go on some 'adventures', if you catch my drift. Maybe go eat a sandwich." Cayde immediately bid his farewell to the other heroes.

"Hey we're not done yet!" Ren shouted.

"Sir Cayde, please consider staying. We have already prepared rooms for you Heroes to rest in tonight. The sun is already about to set. You may set forth tomorrow, and in the meantime we shall gather the best of the best to form your parties." The king concluded.

Cayde thought for a moment. He could just waltz out of here right now and do his own business, just like he always did in the Tower whenever Zavala talked for too long. But then what?

This is a different world. He saw a glimpse of the environment outside this castle, and it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. It felt like Earth way before the Golden Age, before the advancements in technology, when man was still stuck to the ground. Except this time there's magic.

He didn't know where he would be going, or what to do in this society. For the first time, he truly felt alone, in a world he didn't recognize.

Worst of all, he wouldn't even know where the spicy ramen shop is.

"Hmmm... alright, fine. I guess I could use some shut-eye for once. Could you at least promise me there will be ramen?"

"Ramen? What is that?" The king asked, confused.

And that was the breaking point.

Cayde simply stood there. Mouth agape. Unmoving for almost a minute.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't even comprehend it.

His worst fears have finally been realized.

"Um, sir Cayde?"

Defeated, he kneeled, his hands formed into fists, up in the air. He cried, with all his breath.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Author's Note

This is just supposed to be a one-shot. But it may ended up becoming a full-fledged story, assuming I have the time and energy to continue it.

I don't know what came over me. One day I was browsing some Shield Hero fanfics when I just thought to myself, "You know what would make this better? Have Cayde-6 in it."

I was honestly surprised there wasn't more Destiny fanfics involving our most lovable Guardian. Perhaps the lack of Destiny/Shield Hero crossovers was getting on to me, and most of them involved OCs, but I wanted something different, so I wrote one myself. I don't usually write comedy, but I'll try my best.

Also, I apologise if some of the characters seem OOC, I try my best, but my writing is not perfect, just like everything else in this world.

Don't expect frequent updates from me. I'm not a fully dedicated writer. But if you happen to like this story, I would appreciate any compliments you have.

Thank you for reading. Until next time.