It's been a long time since I wrote anything about Vandus-1, a character that came to me in a dream. He was a Vex severed from the hive mind only partially, but came to Titan me, and asked for help to be fully severed from it. So I took him to Europa, and we fought through the Vex there, but one shot Vandus in the head, almost killing him. I quickly gathered Exo body parts, and hooked him up to them, afraid he wouldn't make it. After several hours, the Exo body awoke, and Vandus spoke in his own voice this time, thanking me. We broke out of the facility together, and made it back to the Tower.
Well!! I've got more content for y'all!! :D
Vandus one day feels something in his stomach. He's confused. It's like an empty rumbling...
"That's hunger," I tell him. "Let's go to the ramen shop!"
"What's ramen? What's hunger? I'm... so confused!!" Vandus cries. The rumbling comes once more, and Vandus grips his stomach, groaning.
I chuckled. "It's alright, man. You've never had to eat before, have you?"
He shakes his head. "I've heard of it, but Vex don't eat."
"You're gonna love it!!" I tell him. And I direct him toward the ramen shop.
Once we sit down, the cook asks us what kind of ramen we want. I select salty, and Vandus, he just hesitates.
"He's never eaten anything before," I tell the cook. "He's... new."
Nodding, the cook just makes another bowl of salty ramen, and passes it to Vandus. "Try it! You'll love it!!" they say.
Vandus picks up the chopsticks awkwardly, holding both in his fist.
I chuckle. "Watch me," I say. I place the sticks properly in Vandus's hand, then show him how to pick up the ramen. I put it in my mouth, and chew, then swallow.
Vandus follows along, and puts some ramen in his mouth. Immediately, the lights of his eyes grow brighter, and he perks up. "By the Traveler!! This is amazing!!"
"Right?!"
There, Vandus quickly eats all the meal, and he deeply thanks the cook. "I'll be back as soon as I'm hungry again!" he says. "I... still don't know when that will be."
"Not very long if you're anything like me!" I tell him with a laugh. "Have you ever seen a movie?"
Vandus pauses. "What's that? Something to do with moving?"
"Sort of. C'mon." I take Vandus to the nearest movie theater, and pick out an animated film about talking animals helping one another escape a storm.
By the end, Vandus is standing up cheering and clapping.
I chuckle, and hug him close. His emotions are so pure, so real, so true. He is really free.
And then, it's toward the end of the day. Vandus's first ever day alive and free. Now, the Exo is feeling wobbly, his eyes are heavy, and he asks me what's going on.
"You're tired," I tell him. "It's been a long day, and you need to sleep."
"Sleep?" he asks.
"Yeah! Close your eyes, and just drift off for a few hours into your mind. And you'll wake up feeling better."
"But... what if I... don't wake up?"
"You will. I promise." I hold Vandus close, and smile. "Come with me. We'll go to the house, and I'll keep you close so you aren't alone. And then, we can sleep, and wake up together."
We walk back to my house, and I lead him to the bed. Pulling back the covers and blankets, Vandus climbs in and lays down. I go to the other side of the bed, and join him. Gently, I squeeze one hand of his, while covering us up with the second.
"It's ok, man. You'll be alright," I say. I close my eyes, and Vandus does the same. Together, we fall asleep, hand in hand, and several hours later, we both wake up.
I look at Vandus. "Did you imagine anything while you were asleep?" I ask.
He nods, smiling. "I imagined the animals from the movie climbing a hill, and eating at a picnic together. They had ramen! All of them loved it, and then, they took a short sleep together, holding each other close."
"That's called a nap," I tell him. "Sometimes, you get tired during the day, so you sleep for an hour or so, and wake up feeling better!"
"People sleep a lot, it seems..."
I laugh. "Oh, yeah. A lot. But that's part of the fun! It's a break from life!"
"But... I want to keep living! Forever!" Vandus says.
"And you will. Trust me," I say. "It's just... sometimes you have to take a break. Take it easy! If you do too many things before sleeping, it'll make you more tired more quickly. But if you want to have a lot of fun, I can take you to a Crucible match!!"
"Guardians? Fighting?!" he asks.
"Oh. It's SO much more than that," I tell him. "They put on a whole show and everything!!"
Vandus smiles. "I'd like that. I want to learn more about your kind. The Guardians."
And together, we go off to the Crucible, take our seats, and we watch a few matches together. Vandus cheers and shouts, and his eyes catch one Exo Warlock. This Warlock fights well, he uses his super and takes out the entire arena of opponents, and he absolutely kicks ass.
"What's this feeling?" Vandus asks me, eyes locked on the Warlock.
"Describe it, and I can tell you," I reply.
"Uhh... Happy. About him." Vandus points to the Warlock.
I gasp. "You're probably feeling love!" I tell him. "That's amazing!!"
"It is?"
"Yeah, man!! Come with me. I can help you out!" I grab Vandus's arm and drag him along with me, past the main arena, and up to Shaxx.
Shaxx is clearly elated. "Magnus! Who's this?" he asks. "I've never met this Exo before."
"This here's Vandus-1. And he wants to meet that Exo Warlock when the match is over," I tell him.
Shaxx chuckles. "I can arrange that! Sure!"
And Vandus grows tense. He hesitates, shifting anxiously in place. "What do I say? What should I tell him? What do I—"
"Just tell him your name, and take it from there!" I say.
There, the Exo Warlock walks out from the arena. He's grinning, though clearly exhausted, and chuckles. His green eyes look up, and land on Vandus, who jumps, and becomes still as a statue. The Warlock laughs. "No need to be scared, man! I've met Magnus here on the field! He's a friend! Are you a friend of his, too?"
Vandus nods. "He—he saved my life. Back on Io. I uhh... I'm... Vandus."
The Exo Warlock holds out a hand. "Talos-4," he replies. "You're... kinda cute! Like you don't know how to handle yourself."
"I... don't," Vandus tells him. He grabs the hand and shakes. "I... I like you how I like ramen."
"Is that good?" Talos asks.
I laugh. "VERY good," I say. "That's the only love he knows."
Talos nods, smiling. "Do you wanna go get some ramen?"
Vandus nods rapidly. "Mhm! Please!"
Talos drags Vandus into himself, and does a bridal dip, grinning as he looks directly into the Exo's eyes. "Been a while since I last saw a new Exo. Lemme introduce you to a few things you can do now, eh?" From there, he lifts the heavy Exo into his arms, and begins walking toward the exit. Talos looks back at me. "C'mon, wingman! Bring your boyfriend, too! Let's make it a double date!!"