Tai sat on the bed as Qrow still lying down. A nice amount of his chest had been ripped off, covered by bandages, but thankfully his heart was intact. The warlocks said that anymore nanites, and he'd need to go under yearly surgery for heart and lung transplants, as the infection would've changed his internal systems. His wounds were left unhealed however, as the warlocks were in the process of finding any leftover nanites that may be hiding within him.
For now though, despite some of their concerns, the warlocks allowed the two huntsman to have visitors.
"Yeah like that was nothing but flashy." Qrow said
Summer sighs "Sorry guys. He's just a bit excited with seeing me be a Ironlady and you guys helping me."
"What about Fred?" Tai asked
It only seemed to have soured her mood.
"He, turned down the title." she said with a pause in between.
The two men as when they got to know Frederick for the short time they did he was a really cool guy to hang with maybe get a drink or two.
Not alcohol though, as much as she wanted to try it to see what it was like.
"Wait why?"
"Like I said before. The Speaker doesn't really like Freddie or his friends"
"Yep. I totally called it back there." Qrow stated
"And how would you know that Qrow?" Tai asked
"I may have…..done the nasty with Willow."
"Was this before or…"
"After."
Summer crossed her arms. "You know, you don't have to be subtle. Lux taught me, and I didn't say that pun because I thought it was funny."
"Dude, what the fuck?! I thought you were doing the vow too!" Tai shouted.
"For the love of gods Summer don't make sex puns..."
"No." Summer said with a smug smile. "And what vow?"
They looked to each other at the realization of what Tai just said.
"We made a vow that since you were gone, we weren't going to touch anyone else until both Ruby and Yang had hit 18." Qrow admitted with shame in his voice. "I… didn't do such a good job at that." He then waited for Summer's reaction.
"Well that's a bad vow to have." Summer said casually. "Why in the world would either of you do that?"
"Remember when my sister left and you married Tai?"
"You expect me to honestly remember that?"
"Oh, right, the whole guardian thing…" Qrow said, putting his right hand on his forehead. "I honestly forgot that for a while. That, or its the meds."
"Basically Tai wouldn't marry anyone else and end up giving Ruby and Yang more siblings like how the situation happened a long time ago." Qrow explained. "I'm just gonna keep it a secret anyway to those two. I'd rather them be kept under the understanding that Tai still tried to find others."
"So they don't know?"
Tai nodded. "They don't."
Suddenly, Qrow cough a bit, and the two saw a few nanites escape his mouth and out into the open, just floating in the air without a directive. Summer frowned at this, and she aimed her hand at the nanites, it glowing with solar flames before a small wave of it lashed out at the nanites, destroying them and dissipating before it touch Qrow.
"The warlocks have taken note of what Qrow just did." Drei said. "We're to leave now due to the sudden expulsion of SIVA from him.
Before they could even move, another person walked in it was a scarlet haired teenager.
"Sorry, is this where Summer Rose is?" Pyrrha asked as she opened the door. "This tower is a multilevel maze…"
Summer turned and almost instantly recognized her. "Oh, the Mistral champion. What are you doing here?"
"I was told I was going to be on missions with you Mrs. Rose. Something about the Plaguelands?"
Summer sighed at that.
"Well, there ain't no rest for the wicked. Still, huntress in training nonetheless?" Summer couldn't help but say with a raised brow. "Wouldn't that just be-"
Pyrrha then held her right arm out with a strange black glow on her palm. Suddenly, Summer felt Young Wolf's Howl get lifted off her back, and she turned to look at the weapon floating in the air.
"My semblance is polarity." Pyrrha began to explain, as the warlocks came in to usher them out. "From what I was told, this made me valid enough to be assigned in the absence of Qrow and Tai to fight SIVA. The other is still being selected, if Tai doesn't change his mind on heading back home to keep your family up."
"Not changing my mind on that." Tai said with a head shake. "They already lost you once, they don't need another gone for good."
"Family man to the end I see." Qrow said with a bit of a cough.
A few seconds later, the warlocks then forced them out of the room.
00000
Back at the present, Summer took out some old legendary armor she had of the Titan variety, since she normally never needed to have titan armor. She pulled out the armor and handed it to Pyrrha, who then was sent to a bathroom to change. As she waited, she heard a voice that was familiar.
"Good evening Summer Rose."
She turned to face the speaker, a bit shocked at his sudden and silent arrival. She never even heard the knob move. "Barloc? I thought you wanted to stray from the action?"
"A guardian's job is never over. Cayde and I came to the agreement that I had to come anyhow, he thought I needed to stretch my legs instead of taking all his work, as insane as it is to trust him with all that. Keeping an eye on you when he can't sounded like a good use of time." Barloc said as he idly hefted Shadow Price, not minding the weight of Truth on his back. He had Havoc Pigeon holstered on the left of his hip. "Just remember to share Drei with me. I'm sure you know why."
"Of course." Summer said with a nod, as she looked him over, noticing the lack of bags under his energetic eyes. "You seemed to have come prepared."
"I'm assuming you're noting my physical condition, and not fawning over my guns instead?" Barloc said with a droll.
"Kind of." She said, as her eyes shifted to Truth. She walks up to Barloc, caressing Truth. "Shhh, don't worry… you'll have the chance to fight alongside your brother at least."
All Barloc could muster at that was a face mixed between disgust and amusement. "Please keep your obsession down a bit, Summer."
"Oh please," She said with a grin. "You can't say you aren't over the moon with the brother rockets too."
"I am a man of knowledge." Barloc internally considered alleviating some of the crimes guardians have done towards Taiyang for making Summer have a passion for puns. He then looked to the bathroom. "I assume Pyrrha is adjusting well? Cayde and I went through the trouble of recruiting her to your team, after Lux Syphid had reported her uncanny ability to attract and manipulate metals. Her team didn't like the idea of being separated, as did yours at a time like this, but we had reassured them that they wouldn't see a teammate stricken from their roster with some help from Saladin. As such, we had also gathered some titan armor for the occasion, as to-"
A knock on the door caught their attention. Barloc turned around to look at the door, before looking back at her. "Perhaps it'd be best to show you what we had in store now."
A set of red and gold Mangonel Type 1 armor on a dolly had revealed itself when he opened the door, left behind by a frame who had delivered it. Barloc carried the armor in using the dolly, and set it down a couple feet away from the bathroom door, knocking on it in assumption Pyrrha was there. "Vanguard resources have been delivered to you Pyrrha. I would suggest making use of them."
"Eh?" A moment of pause then came from the other side, before some fumbling around was heard. A fully clothed Pyrrha had then opened the door to see the new armor before her, old Commando Type 0 armor being visible behind her. "Oh! Was this made for me?"
"To your exact specifications, and fighting style. We gathered all this from the data received in regards to your combat abilities, as well as the measurements we acquired from you to give you the latest in the Vanguard Armory." When Pyrrha showed some concern, Barloc laughed. "Do not fret, all we did was scan you when we sent you through the portal. That was enough for the fabricators. Now, would you need any assistance getting it on, since Summer Rose isn't willing to help?"
"That's kind of rude, don't you think Barloc The Warlock?" Summer said with crossed arms, taking a little jab at his name while Pyrrha blushed a bit from the offer.
"Says the one who didn't even try to help her." Barloc said with a tint of annoyance at the nickname, as he peered over Pyrrha's shoulders. "Commando Type 0 armor? I get that you were trying to at least help in that regard, but not only is that armor outdated, it is also the more complex one out of the sets, incomplete even. That one needed two people to put it on a Titan with the various straps and ties to the body."
"And of this armor?" Pyrrha inquired.
"This one you can put on yourself with some straps, but is still complex in terms of reaching certain areas to keep the plasteel plating on you." Barloc stated as a matter of fact as he looked back to her. "You can put it on yourself, but it would be wise for one to show you how to do it as to spare time."
Pyrrha's apprehension was still very much there.
Barloc gave a professional smile. "I promise, I won't make you comfortable. Guardian showers tend to be mixed and open, and almost never was there a case where somebody touched another, most of which were accidents."
"Wait, there are showers?" Summer said as she turned to face Barloc. "I thought all guardians had none."
"For the purposes of relaxation and moping," Barloc quickly muttered the last part as he explained. "The showers are generally public to guardians above the service age of 12-18, depending on how well they've served humanity. This doesn't mean that guardians sit in them with their armor on however, and thus their fireteams would go out of their way to help themselves."
Barloc then blinked. "I just realized something, give me a sec." He said, as he then quickly left the room, leaving the two to stare on in confusion. After a few minutes passed by, Summer's scroll went off, and she took it out to look at her new messages.
91. You are forbidden from putting baby oil in the shower tiles and handles.
92. Leaving bars of soap on the shower floor will result in you scrubbing the floors with them until guardians can see their own face on the tiles.
93. Purposely sabotaging armor so that it falls off shortly after re-equipping it, will give you a week of cleanup duty in the showers.
94. Do not make it rain sun fire from the showers. We are not certain if this is possible, but we do not want to find out.
Summer huffed in frustration. "Oh come on, I didn't even do anything yet!"
"It's best to prepare early with you, considering your reputation." Barloc reasoned, as he walked back in. "Now, would you like the assistance Pyrrha?"
"...Should I be concerned about her reputation?" Pyrrha couldn't help but question, staring at Summer.
"No. Now let's get a move on."
00000
After assisting Pyrrha into her gear, the three made to part for the Tower Plaza, Drei using a small, in Summer's terms, amount of her own currency consisting of one million glimmer and 400 legendary marks from her own vault, to purchase a hub ship fit for six guardians only. All that was left for them was to walk, during which they decided to continue chatting.
"So Summer, how's the Plaguelands? I'd assume they'd be of little trouble?" Barloc asked as they walked, still walking around with Shadow Price in his hands.
"Didn't really get to be there yet. I only paid a visit to Lord's Watch, Giant's Rock, and Archon's Keep." She then pulled out the Dormant SIVA cluster from her pockets. "I found this little souvenir though."
Barloc eyed it critically. "Judging from how menacing and metallic it looks, it must be SIVA?" He then narrowed his eyes and looked at her. "I'd hate to ask, but what are you planning with that?"
"I dunno." She said with a shrug. "It seems like the Calcified Fragments I had found on the Dreadnaught. I'm betting there's a bunch more out there or something of them. Future War or one of those other headcases might be interested in them."
He raised an eyebrow at that.
Summer coughed. "Right, forgot you weren't here during that time. Basically just a treasure hunt for a super cool weapon, like that gun that makes guns maybe!"
"A gun that makes guns?" Pyrrha frowned. "That is… concerning."
"That is a slice of paradise..." Barloc couldn't help but drool a bit at the thought of infinite guns. He then slurped the drool back in and shook his head. "You know what punk? Keep the SIVA souvenir thingy. I wanna see you come back from the Plaguelands with so many guns, humanity won't be without a weapon."
"Join the new age old man…" Summer said, before busting out into giggles.
"I am not old. I'm just right minded!" He jokingly states with her, before chuckling with a pleased sigh. "Y'know, sometimes you're just bearable enough to be near."
"Well, that's why I'm a momma bear!"
"...Sometimes."
"Hey."
The three were stopped by a small group of guardians who were standing in the way of the elevator, a few warlocks, titans, and a couple hunters. They had their arms folded, and while they did have helmets on, Summer and Pyrrha could feel that their gazes were on Barloc. He noticed it as well.
"Trouble gentlemen?" Barloc said, as he idly put Shadow Price into Pyrrha's palms, mimicking their stances.
"Oh nothing." A warlock spoke. "Just wondering where you and Summer are going."
"After all it's rare to see Nero away from her." A titan stated.
"You'll have to excuse us if we can't help but inquire about the newbies." A hunter coolly said.
None of the group budged. The three didn't either.
"Well, it is nice to show concern for her." Barloc said, as he then leaned forward. "Vanguard business. On your way."
A titan stepped forth, clad in blue and white Mycenae armor. "If we could just... speak to you for a moment in private?" As he finished, he clenched his fist, knuckles cracked at the mere action, almost unintentionally.
"Guys, we have missions in the Plaguelands to do." Summer said, as she went to reach for Thorn. "We-"
"Why not here?" Barloc said, as he assumed a combat stance. "I could use the practice."
A moment of silence fell between the two groups as the unspoken challenge was accepted in public view. The other group went to talk between each other, while Barloc waited patiently.
He turned to look at Summer, who had a look of concern on her face, as if asking him to just leave it alone. It only hardened his resolve.
The group had finished talking, and the titan with the Mycenae armor stepped forth once more. "Fine then. Lets have words little light."
"Funny you mention that." Was all Barloc said, as the titan then rushed forth.
The titan went in for an overhand punch, but Barloc merely stepped to the side and returned with an uppercut to the offending hand's thumb and wrist, hitting a few pressure points as a result, and causing the titan to grunt in pain with the warlocks surprised.
The fight didn't stop there though, as the titan attempted to knee Barloc in the chest, but he only stepped on the knee and countered in turn with a knee to the titan's chin, causing him to stumble back as Barloc then followed up with a frontflip drop kick into his head, leaping off the titan and forcing him to roll backwards.
The titan quickly got up, and slammed his fists together. "You're good. I'll give you that."
"Look at what you're fighting," Barloc said with a shrug, as this time he rushed forth. "Chubby."
He continued to attack the pressure points on various parts of the titan's armored body, causing him to grit his teeth in pain as he continued to try and land a hit on him, fists leaving small craters in the ground, Barloc aftly dodging each one with the grace of a hunter.
It was not until 12 seconds in, that the titan started to use his light. Fists crackling blue swung wildly in the air trying to hit its target in some manner, causing small pulses of arc energy on the ground or simply being faster than a normal punch. It did not phase him in the slightest, even as Summer's and Pyrrha's concerns were voiced at the sight. The titan struggled to even damage the warlock, but in just 16 more seconds he fell, no longer able to fight.
"And that's why Kyusho Jitsu should be part of the general training regimen. Do you concede?" Barloc asked, relaxing at the sight of the defeated titan.
The titan merely gritted his teeth. "You're up next, Hes-"
"Don't bother." Barloc said coldly, pulling out a hologram of Cayde that was currently paused. "I've amused myself enough with this tomfoolery."
He then played the message, and watched the group go rigid.
"Alright guys, I know this is a bit last minute, but the guy you see holding this hologram?" Cayde's hologram spoke with total seriousness to his tone. "I trust him. And if you guys don't listen to me, and still cause them any trouble, I don't care who you are, I'll assign ALL of you on latrine duty FOR THREE MONTHS. Capiche? Capiche." The hologram then paused, looking as if it ended.
"Cayde?" Summer said in surprise. "He knows you guys?"
"I assume nothing bad has happened here gentlemen?" Barloc inquired, ignoring Summer entirely.
"No sir." The group said, hurriedly moving away from them, Barloc with a smug smirk on his face.
"So Summer is that famous around here…" Pyrrha couldn't help but mutter to herself. "Or Cayde maybe?"
"What does my fame have to do with any of that?" Summer said as she looked between the two teammates she had with her. "Seriously, what just happened?!""
00000
Kovik looked upon his captured prey, a crooked smile beneath his SIVA pyramid helmet as he watched the ogre struggled against its bindings in a defiant, blind and relentless rage. The eyes of the beast had been ripped off and set aside, mainly for protection purposes. A lot of SIVA fragments had been used to contain the monster before him, the nanites making roots that went several meters into the ground. He then walked to the eye that was violently ripped from the ogre's skull and placed so gently on the ground. He had instruments in hand, a disassembled shock cannon, and a SIVA nanite cluster. His crooked smile became more and more sinister as he put together the shock cannon back together.
By using the nanites to mend and mold machine and dark biological flesh and morphing it into one. Where dusty blood vessels ended; wires, tubes, and scrap metal began. The Devil Splicers, who at the surface looked as if they had just gotten SIVA, had actually grown rather adept with it in a matter of months. Months that would help the Devils retake the Great Machine, and soon, their rightful place in the galaxy.
His musings were interrupted by the arrival of another splicer entering his personal lab. He recognized as Vosik, the Archpriest; second in command to the Archon Prime himself.
"Is the weapon ready?" said Vosik as he approached the Splicer Priest.
"I'm finishing the final touches to the prototype as we speak." Kovik said as he turned to one that was above him in the Devil Splicers Hierarchy, showing his progress on the newest weapon. "Provided guardian forces do not come and attack, I should be able to finish it in a couple days."
Vosik looked down at the weapon, nodding their approval at the Ogre's eye that is being used as both an engine and a focusing lens. "We shall fortify your lab with reinforcements. Once you've finished, the Archon Prime has ordered that you begin mass production of them, and give them to Meksis for his Siege Engine. We need to make them think that is what we're aiming for, and to take as much control from the Hive as possible." Vosik said nodding then turned to leave, only to stop himself and turn back to the scientist.
"One more thing; Taniks has returned to the system, and has generously donated us a portion of his payment from his last job. He wants to see the effects of the Machine Gift on them."
He went to the nearest holographic display, produced a drive and inserted it. The display showed a group of bipedal lizard-like creatures, a large flock of large bat-like creatures and a large scorpion.
Kovik looked at the display and was fascinated with them.
"What are they?"
"He called them:"Creatures of Grimm". Can you do it?"
Kovik turned to his superior, a sinister smile forming under his helmet. "I relish the challenge!"
00000
Summer's newfound hub ship flew towards the plaguelands she then placed the ship on a course for there LZ that Shiro sent them. He then spoke on the comms.
"The splicers are going deeper into the Plaguelands and disturbing Hive nests from what patrols are telling me. Some went dark investigating and what they could be after we dont know we need you guys to check it out."
This caught Summer attention, and she turned to Drei
"Maybe they're infecting them like zombies." Drei offered. "Like those creatures we faced on Mars."
"A zombie virus making zombies out space zombies." Summer hummed in thought. "Gotta love the irony there."
"They are not space zombies, Summer." Barloc corrected, as Oryx growled in irritance at her. "They are in fact darkness mutated moth people. Pyrrha, how's your aura reserves?"
Now I wish he had found my fragments first… clearly a more respectable guardian than the likes of you, Summer.
Whoa, hold on a second though, moth people?
Those 'butterflies' you saw in my priest's chambers weren't just for show. Pyrrha held aloft the Dormant SIVA Cluster as a way to test how much she's going to handle. They were in fact part of the long forgotten species that was us. Gulgoroth was working on a way to evolve them, and send them off to another galaxy… until you came along.
"A little used, but otherwise optimal capacity." Pyrrha spoke, as she dropped the fragment safely into a container. "These things are rather easy for me to lift. Pretty much weightless even, I think I can prevent them from infecting us if Aksis tries to come after us with whole waves of SIVA."
"It's called a joke by the by Barloc The Warlock." Summer said sarcastically with a smile on her face, as she went to look over his shoulder. Barloc happened to be reading Shin Malphur's autobiography. His eyes were focused, as if he was trying to see if there was something to be gained from his story that he could make light of. She then grinned. "Let me know if you've shone your light on anything interesting in that book!"
"Just one call Summer." Barloc whispered to himself. "One call, and Shin Malphur shall be on Tai."
"Chat time is over folks." Shiro said over the comms. "You're nearing Lord's Watch. Head to Giant's Rock and figure out what is going on between the splicers and Hi-"
The ship's alarm then blared, red lights flashing and catching everyone's attention.
"Fallen skiffs next to us!" Drei called out, activating the ship's defenses. "I'm-"
A skiff then flew up in front of the ship the team was in, causing them to aim their weapons, Barloc with Truth and Pyrrha getting ready to rush the ship, while Summer aided Barloc with Gjallarhorn. A vandal had crawled out of the ship, shock cannon hanging from an arm as he climbed up from below the ship
Who they saw shocked them.
"Rahndel?"
"We meet again Summer Rose."
00000
A/N:
Dustiniz117: For those of you wondering about Tanik's job and his payment, see my upcoming chapter for Remnant of an Iron Rose Shorts: Salem's Lesson to be Ascendant (75% done). Now, onto the reviews.
Colvamoon999: is that ultimus Or primis Richtofen
Animeak116: I don't know which one had the medieval armor that he'd pass as a brand new Ironlord? My COD Zombies lore is a bit rusty as it's been way too long since I've played Quest to end the game galore (SERIOUSLY ACTIVISION! What's wrong with classic survival?)
Tempest Light 85:hi im tempest I read his story, and I just hope he'll make. just remember that he would be proud of you all for continuing his legacy while hopefully, he recovers-
Diluation:*Goes to get some popcorn*
Tempest Light 85: I'm so sorry I didn't read the 6th chapter when I made my earlier comment Im so sorry for your loss
Animeak116: Its ok man not your fault
Diluation(while munching on popcorn):Nice to see you again btw. I'd ask how that story of yours went, but I think we both know how it fared.
FoxFanfics:Ok, I've checked database after database. But what is Time's Edge? Closest I can get is Infinite Void Edge.
Diluation:That is from Remnant Of A Rose, the starter fic of it all, introduced near the end of things in that part of the series Ptabs0101 started. You should go read it if you haven't already, or need to catch up on things.
Guest(please choose a name to go by next time -Diluation):How are we going to deal with Titan?
Replace it with the Dreadnaught. As it has been cleared out by Lux, Prometheus, and Cayde, it sets it up so we could put a bit of a spin in place of Titan.
~ In memory of Ptabs0101 ~