Getting sad over making Earnest a guardian in Destiny 2 cause like the potential of Earnest Winters/Louis Yero is angst filled. Putting under a read-more cause this ended up being longer than anticipated lol.
What if he was a mechanic, during WW2. And he befriended Louis (Louis wanted to talk about some concerns he had while flying so he waits for whatever mechanic but they end up immediately hitting it off) to the point where they might be a sort-of item (or at least, had very strong feelings for each other).
But one day Earnest takes a plane out to test but never returns. No comms. No signs. Nothing. And they look. Try to at least; it is wartime. And Louis keeps looking and keeps asking but time goes on and the war continues and soon enough he's taken out of commission (his vision has deteriorated too much). And it hurts, never knowing.
Then years later, working for the DEO, Louis is pulled CENTURIES into the future. Everything he's known and love is gone. And he's to be the voice for the very being that pulled him here. It's terrifying. But he's not alone. The guardian form of his former coworker and friend is here. And this guardian who is the weapon to compliment his voice. He never sees their face. The entire time on Kepler they've been helmeted, and their very kind Mr. Ghost seems to do most of the talking.
But sometimes Louis does catch their voice. It's so familiar but he can't quite place it. The day they take off the helmet Louis stops breathing. They've become good friends. Very good friends. He's been teaching them dead things, like how to Salsa and speak Welsh. And they've shown him all over the City and Sol System. But here in front of him was Earnest Winters. That sweet mechanic from days so long ago they feel like a haze. Louis doesn't tell him. Not yet. This wasn't like with Nella— Ikora. Or maybe it was. Maybe the Nine made him disappear the same way they did with Nella. To ensure they were in the right place at the right time to be found by their ghosts. To become Guardians.
During one of the more quiet days together, Louis has the courage to ask where he was resurrected (The conversation was about the past and the opportunity to ask came up when they mentioned killing an Archon Priest their second day of being alive). Earnest— The Guardian says they can show him.
Just outside the Cosmodrome walls in Old Russia is a massive lake. Its bright, crystal blue waters contrast against the rusty scenery around it. It reminds Louis of the one from his childhood. Simpler days spent with his brother. The thought of it made his heart ache. But The Guardian leads Louis closer to the shores and points. In the depths, caught on what looked like a ridge, there is a shape. Something metallic and large. When Louis manages to understand its form, his heart sinks.
It's the plane. The one Earnest took. How he got this far out Louis didn't understand. They were allies with Russia then, they wouldn't have shot down his plane. The obvious answer began to form; the same reason he and Ikora were here: The Nine.
Of course. If they manufactured everything to get them him and Nella in the right place, they'd do it to their precious weapon too. The Guardian explains that they woke up, still strapped in. Well it didn't seem like they were at first. They thought they could push off the harness. It looked unbuckled. But something was tangled. They were tangled, more than they thought. Died a few times before they could free themselves and swim to the surface. They prefer to avoid getting into water cause of it. Made helping Deputy Commander Sloane a lot more difficult they laughed. Louis doesn't laugh with them. He remembers Earnest telling him that he was afraid of water. It was silly. No, he was fine with drinking water and bathing. But bodies of water just, unnerved him. He could never place why. He thinks maybe he nearly drowned when he was younger and just doesn't remember. Louis then, agreed, and joked that he'd help him with that once the war was over. Now, Louis thinks it was a sign— like his own dreams— of the Nine's influence. A big flashing sign they had no idea the meaning of.
The Guardian goes quiet. Louis at this point isn't even trying to hold back. He falls, he cries. The Guardian suddenly at his side. He sees the worry on their face, familiar blue eyes, and feels worse. Earnest crashed into that lake. And they never found him. How did no one building the Cosmodrome not even see it? It was right there he could see it even if his vision was shit! Being trapped down there, surrounded by something the thing he feared most. Thankfully it was only a low flight. Looking at the lake and the location of the plane— it was surely deep enough for oxygen narcosis. The oxygen mask would have made his panic worse. Louis only hopes his death was quick.
Louis tells them everything. And of course, they smiled, put their arm around him and asked if he was ok. Earnest always worried about others. His fatal flaw: to put others before himself. That's why he did the test flight. It was supposed to be a pilot but there were concerns and Earnest offered to do it instead. It was his work after all, best he verified it.
Ok I ran out of steam writing that lol Idk how accurate it is I kept looking shit up but going back and forth on the phone is annoying and I got some stuff to do.
