Chapter 2: Saber and Skull

Sabre paced around impatiently. Although she'd convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. that she wasn't an enemy due to the fact that she'd singlehandedly saved two of their best agents' lives… well, there were still problems. It was all summarized in paperwork.

Sabre was never good at dealing with authorities, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was willing to let her operate as a more freelance heroine, provided she "checked in" with an Agent of her choosing. She had chosen the alias "Lady Saber", and had already made her name known to quite a few people. Her sword style wasn't too strange-it was a fast-paced dual-wield style that relied more on getting lots of successive hits in than pouring a lot of strength into each individual strike. She was nimble and lithe in her movement, able to easily dodge anything thrown her way and adapt to her environment quickly. It was some… other aspects of her being that they didn't understand and/or like.

Her "L'Cie Magic". The strange form of magic she used… it was something else. Sometimes, she would use it to cripple her opponents in various ways. Other times, she would use it to enhance her abilities. Sometimes, she would use it for almost pure defense. But then, she would slash and hack at her opponent, using very little magic at all. A spin, and she would immediately throw all sorts of offensive magic at the opponent in question. If she was injured, she'd be able to heal herself to a degree.

Then… there was her "Eidolon Summon" ability. Just by calling out the name "Solstice", she would pull out a crystal. She would then toss it In the air, strike it simultaneously with both swords, and it would explode. This caused a series of strange glyphs to appear, and not long after, a mechanical creature would appear to do her bidding. At times, it operated on its own accord, focusing on defeating the enemy while protecting her. Other times, it transformed into a mount, and they worked together. She switched between modes at will.

The creature was something in and of itself. When operating by itself, it was a massive female, mechanical, humanoid warrior woman, clad in eclipse-themed valkyrie-like armor. It had no weapons, and metallic yet feathery wings. It would switch between physical attack patterns and brutally blasting opponents with magic. When it was ordered into the "Gestalt Mode", it transformed into an equally-large alicorn, a horn coming out where the head guard was. Sabre would mount on its back, and the fighting style would shift entirely.

S.H.I.E.L.D couldn't make proper sense of the strange abilities, and, well, Sabre was no good at explaining them. She really didn't know how they worked. She only knew how to use them. It was a head-shaking matter. It had been settled amongst the Agents that they would wait until Sabre's "missions" caught the attention of Asgard, and when whatever Asgardian was sent to investigate, they'd ask questions then. After all, it seemed like those god-like aliens knew everything. Sabre's abilities were certainly no exception... at least, that's what they hoped.

Sabre currently resided in a hollowed-out section of the Cascade Mountains. She enjoyed the changing seasons and natural environment of the briskly cold mountain range. It reminded her of her time on Gran Pulse. She loved hearing the wind howl during snowstorms. When it thundered, she would go running, the thunder like a starting pistol for her.

But the conditions in the range were calm right now. She was currently relaxing, all amenities in her base provided as part of her deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. (it made her wonder just how much money the espionage organization really had) when the alarms went off. She sighed, walked over to the briefing room, and sat down.

"Hit me with your best shot, Skylark." Sabre said, plopping down in the chair.

The face on the holographic screen was immediately frustrated. She whined in frustration.

"For the love of God, Sabre, my name is SKYE! SKYE!"

"Oh, get your panties outta that wad in your ass and tell me what's going on." Sabre said nonchalantly, waving her hand off to the side. Skye slammed her fists into the keyboard.

"I don't get why Coulson puts up with you! You're such a… a…"

"Bitch? Yea, not the first time I've heard it, and not the last. Just tell me what's going on so I can get it overwith."

Skye hung her head, and sighed.

"Right… Well, cameras caught an old enemy in Germany."

"You guys got a lot of enemies."

"It's not just any enemy. It's Red Skull."

Lady Saber hissed.

"Where is that son-of-a-bitch?!" She demanded.

"He's… uhh… He's in Berlin, preaching to a crowd…" Skye said nervously. Sabre checked her swords, re-sheathed them, and stormed off. She immediately summoned the mechanical warrior Solstice, ordered her into Gestalt Mode, and rode her off to Berlin.

Get ready for the asskicking of a lifetime, Skull, because I'm not gonna hold back on you, bastard!

With eyes narrowed, Lady Saber rode through the skies at maximum speed. She arrived on the scene, ordering Solstice to tear through the crimson fascist's armies with a powerful black laser beam shot from the horn mounted upon its forehead. It whinnied when a rocket tried to hit it, flying away from it. Sabre answered by throwing a Thunder from her sword.

"Let's do this, Solstice!"

Solstice let out another whinny, and continued her Gestalt Mode assault, under the direction of Sabre. Black lasers tore a path. Bombs dropped from the sky, generated by Solstice, causing silver-colored magic energy explosions everywhere they landed. She charged through on the Eidolon, a silver barrier covering her. Solstice flapped her wings, sending feather-shaped silver blades that exploded upon contact with anything at the enemy.

"Face the wrath of the eclipse!"

The two rode up to the sky, causing it to becoming a pitch-black backdrop for a perfect eclipse. She raised her twin swords to the sky, calling forth silver lightning. She leapt off of Solstice, and swung them downwards, releasing a massive burst of silver energy just as Solstice shot forth a powerful black beam from her horn. The attacks combined, devastating the area and isolating Red Skull. He looked up, but kept his cool.

"So, you are the latest hero sent against me?" He asked sarcastically. Lady Saber's anger grew.

"Pathetic. You are small. Weak-GAHH!"

In that instant, Lady Saber had appeared behind him, and stabbed him.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking bastard!" She cursed. He turned around, eyes wide.

"When… did you…" He asked, gagging, choking, sputtering, and breathless.

"I'll admit that no one is ever a perfect saint. But people like you are pure evil. I made a promise, and if there's one thing that's true about me, I keep my promises. This is the end of the line for you, bastard."

"So… you kill me… because of a promise… How… pathetic…"

He cried out in agony as she burned him alive by driving a Firaga into him on her blade. A fiery burst lit up the area. All that remained of him was a pile of ashes. She wiped off her blade, and sheathed both.

"A monster like you would never understand." She said coldly, walking away. She mounted Solstice, and left the area.