AN: This is a chapter of slight exposition but mostly battle. Note that there are some recognizable abilities but many of them are changed somewhat for individuality's sake. Some provide bonuses but other seek mostly difference from the norm.
Reincarnation
Baldr and Wolfe jumped to their feet, Baldr standing at a lean but muscular seven feet, and Wolfe coming up barely to his shoulder, just shy of six feet. Cinder held out her hand and summoned Jardis, who floated up into the air along with the other Ghosts. Once they reached a level of the rooftops, they expanded and began an eerie song.
[Installation 04]
The music began with a chorus of male vocals that got progressively louder. The two packs stared each other down across the square. The Wolf Baron stood proudly with his vandals at his side, scorch cannon resting upon his shoulder. Cinder stared back at the beast, matching the hatred and ferocity of the eyes. The music reached a crescendo and the violins began with Aslan, the large black lion drew himself up and roared his deafening roar, causing the two sides to launch at each other.
Cinder drew her Vestian Dynasty side arm and threw it at Wolfe, who caught it and started at the Fallen, Baldr close behind with Mercury's. The two stopped at the base of the statue and slid into cover, firing blindly around the side. The strange sound of the small sidearm reminded Wolfe strongly of small blaster pistols in the movie he used to watch growing up. Poking his head around the side, he noticed a small shimmer on a rooftop behind the aliens.
Neo took this opportunity to join the battle herself by launching her invisible body off the rooftop and directly onto the back of one of the Scorch Captains. Upon landing, she buried a two foot long estoc into the base of the neck of the creature she was piggy-backing, piercing several vital organs before a surge of Arc energy flowed from her hands through the alien. The Captain fell to the ground twitching as Neo ripped the blunt blade from it and lunged for a nearby Vandal. Baldr took this opportunity to leap from cover and snatch up the shoulder mounted artillery. Leaping into the air, he spun around and launched the energy shell at the remaining enemies. The shell exploded in a flurry of Solar energy and vaporized the remaining Fallen. Landing, Baldr took the cannon off his shoulder and held it in front of him in admiration.
"This is a beaute! What wouldn't I give to have had this back in the beginning of the Reef alliances with the Earthlings. I don't think I would have died had I had this baby in my arsenal." Baldr gave the hefty cannon a light toss and refitted it to his shoulder, turning back to see the other Rogues. Wolfe had scooped up Baldr dropped pistol and weighed the two in his hands. Cinder looked warily at the sky and called.
"We aren't out of this yet. We haven't even found the Baron yet." A booming report echoed around the square and Cinder smiled sinisterly. "Here is the next squad. Baldr, fire the cannon below the deployment doors but keep your finger on the trigger. When I give the word, release the trigger."
"Like moths drawn to the flame, the beasts line up like sheep for the slaughter." Wolfe spoke grimly and held both sidearms at arms length and took up a combat stance, waiting for the Fallen to drop. The insect like aliens slid down to the end of their ramps and jumped to the ground. As the squad fell, a servitor lagging behind the rest, Cinder spoke.
"Release!" Cinder ordered to Baldr. Baldr obliged and took his finger from the trigger and watched as the ever growing ball of energy exploded in a burst of violent power. The aliens without shields were immediately consumed in the resulting fireball and the two captains lost their shields. Wolfe took the opportunity to run forward, both guns blazing and slide between the legs of the Captains to turn and leap onto its back. Looping one arm around the neck of the alien, Wolfe used his other pistol to fire repeatedly into the back of its head, killing it outright. The other Captain was about to leap on Wolfe but was thrown to the side as Mercury did a powerful roundhouse kick to its chest and sent it through a broken wall, bringing the store down on top of it, burying it.
"Damn." Wolfe rose to his feet shakily and looked over at his fellow Exo. Mercury merely laughed and raised his shotgun, waiting for the next drop. He didn't have to wait long before another booming report sounded and another blue skiff materialized above the statue. Wolfe took a readying stance before feeling a strange surge of power coursing through his body. Glancing over, he noticed Baldr staring at a strange purple glow emanating from his left hand. As the Fallen began to drop, everything seemed to fade from Wolfe's senses as he embraced his newly rediscovered power.
[Feeling Good - Avicii]
Upon seeing the first of the Fallen land, Baldr summoned a strange bow from thin air, made entirely of purple Void Light. Drawing back the bowstring, Baldr released the notched arrow and let it fly at the closest Servitor. The Servitor ripped apart and gravity tethers connected the point the arrow struck and the rest of the Fallen.
Wolfe, then burst forth in a flurry of Arc lightning as a bolt of lightning ripped from the sky and struck him. The energy caused a magnetic shift in Wolfe and he began levitating a foot from the ground. Surging forward, Wolfe threw out his arms and two thick streams of lightning flowed from his arms and engulfed the ensnared Fallen. In a matter of seconds the aliens fell to the ground, dead, with their bodies still twitching as the Arc energy coursed through their corpses. Only one Servitor remained which Emerald took care of in a flurry of Golden Gun shots from two small revolvers burning with Solar energy.
Wolfe and Baldr both dropped to the ground in an attempt to recuperate from the sudden energy output both newborns just exerted upon themselves. Cinder quickly jogged over to them followed by Mercury, while the Grimm, Neo, and Emerald kept a lookout. Mercury laughed and clapped Wolfe on the shoulder, while Cinder crouched before the two of them and stared intently at them.
"That was incredible!" Mercury drew back and laughed again. "All hail the Sith Lord!" Mercury walked away and back to the girls and waited for the next group of Fallen.
"You two do realize that no one has seen those powers present in new hosts in over seven centuries. You two were legends of those abilities back during the first days of the Ghosts." Cinder stated matter of factly at the two exhausted soldiers at her feet. "Maybe you can be great assets to our endevours." Cinder straightened again and looked questioningly to the sky. "Still waiting on the rest of the Fallen." To answer her, a report sounded and yet another Skiff appeared above them. Wolfe and Baldr began struggling to their feet but Cinder placed a foot on Wolfe's chest telling the two, "Stay down, take a gun and do what you can from their. We don't want you killing yourselves." A small collection of guns dropped to the ground as Cinder's strike craft dropped a payload before flying off again. Wolfe grabbed a bronze hand cannon while Wolfe grabbed a blue, Fallen-esque, scout rifle.
The Fallen jumped from their Skiff to the ground, returning the fire of the Guardians. Emerald had her Hawkmoon firing as fast as she could pull the trigger, the beautiful sound of the hand cannon's reports echoing clearly around the square. Mercury sprinted through the ranks of the Fallen, his Fourth Horseman roaring with blue fire. Neo seemed to dance through the ranks, her now shorter double edged blade flashing with electric energy as it sunk repeatedly into the flesh of the aliens around her. Cinder stood over the newest Rogues, her Mythoclast spitting the red energy beams common to Solar fusion rifles; as the two on the ground fired repeatedly into the fray. Wolfe's hand cannon firing exploding rounds, dropping the Dregs faster than they could dart to cover. Baldr's scout rifle was firing much faster as he was able to accurately land headshots on the Vandals fast enough to transmit another round back into his magazine.
However fast the Guardians fired their guns into the ranks of the Fallen, or their Grimm allies rip through the flesh of the aliens, more Fallen Skiffs would jump from low orbit and deploy their troops.
"This isn't a normal patrol!" Emerald shouted over the gunfire.
"No shit Sherlock!" Mercury hollered back, emptying all five shells into the closest Captain, taking off its head with the final round.
"This is a grudge attack after capture of Skolas and the death of most of the Queenbreakers." Cinder replied quietly. "This may have been more than we were relayed. Could be helpful to get some back up from some of the allies."
"We can take them!" Emerald rounded indignantly on Cinder and glowered at the fierce woman. "We need to prove that we can get along without the help of the Tower!"
"Without the Tower and the other Guardians, no one would have survived the last Wolf uprising. We need them and they need us. The Vanguard understand that at the very least." Cinder strode over to Emerald, removing her helmet, and stared fiercely at the still masked Hunter. "I am putting out the call to the few we can trust to ally with us." Turning from Emerald, she waved her off and returned to her comrades and called Jardis down. "Put in distress call to Fireteam Coalition and MC. Tell them our coordinates and to get here ASAP."
Just as Cinder relayed her message, a loud screech rent the air and caused everybody to look up. What appeared to be a small Nevermore was diving at great speeds out of the clouds toward the Skiff. The wings sprouted from the beast of the black predator and a spout of white ice launched toward the gun turrets, freezing them and rendering them useless. The creature landed on a nearby roof top and roared again, this time spitting fire at the Fallen amassed around the statue. Only then did they realize this was the infamous Dovah Grimm that had been believed extinct for over three millennia.
Another new sound began to grow louder as a large jet black gorse creature with two large white horns, jet black feathered wings, and a blood red mane, studded with a ridge of white bones, galloped into the skirmish and speared the nearest Vandal. The horned pegasus cantered over to Baldr and lowered its head to allow Baldr to scramble up to sit between its shoulder blades. The Grimm then leapt back into battle allowing Baldr to fire at more Fallen. The tide of the battle began to change. The Corsairs, with new Grimm allies were gaining more advantages and using those to stem the flow of Fallen.
It was then that the whine of ship engines began to grow louder and louder. The first ship to streak through the sky was a bright blood red Phaeton class jumpship with wing mounted lasers ripping through the Fallen on its strafe. As the ship disappeared over the shops, a lone Titan in dark green armor materialized on the rooftop with a grey scout rifle in his hands. Waving one hand in the direction of Cinder, he brought his rifle to bear and began firing into the crowd below. The gun shots only served to add to the din of the battle raging in the square. The Rogues held a considerable advantage at this point and had pushed the Fallen back into a corner. The final Skiff dropped into their air space above the square and dropped the last round of Vandals, accompanied by the Alpha, Dremaksis Winter-Bane. Just before the last Skiff jumped back to Orbit, a hail of high explosive rockets shredded its hull and the armored rounds of a minigun caused the exposed engine to explode.
The burning wreck fell to the ground and over the top of the cathedral, two Reef blockade runners and the infamous Aspect of Glass hovered low to the ground. Three Guardians dropped from their ships and ran to the base of the statue.
"Hail to the Bane of the Speaker!" The Titan, Diana, called from cover to the Rogues. "Good to see that you guys trust us."
"We trust you to not leave us for dead. One word from us and you are banned from the Queen's territory. No one else has her trust like us in the Last City." Cinder called back, slowly advancing with Wolfe still firing the large Hand Cannon, however now also wielding a Vestian Dynasty in his off hand.
"Oh come on, don't be like that!" Phoenix, the Warlock laughed in response. Poking her body out from behind cover, she leveled the Bad Juju and began firing at the closest Dregs. "You know you love us."
"Don't fool yourselves." Emerald spat coldly at the new arrivals and ran back to join the fight.
"Lighten up Emy." The Awoken Hunter, Junko, called as she raised the MIDA Multitool and popped off several quick shots, heavily damaging the shield of the Baron.
"Ignore her. She is merely proud." Cinder called as she broke into a run, pulling a sinister pump action purple shotgun from her back. Cocking it, she jumped at the Baron.
"Pride goeth before a fall." Wolfe muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear except Cinder, who paid him no mind. As he turned to watch her, he realized her mistake. The Baron turned and leveled his launcher at the approaching female and fired a quick volley, catching her mid flight and ripping through her armor and into her flesh beneath. Uttering a sharp cry of pain that changed rapidly into a death gurgle, Cinder fell to the ground and lay lifeless. Both Wolfe and Baldr cried out in alarm and made to rush to the floating Ghost over her body. However, Wolfe was stopped by Phoenix and Baldr was blocked by Mercury.
"She isn't truly dead. You surely know that the magic of the Ghost is to bring us back from beyond the edge of understanding." Phoenix urged Wolfe who stopped and listened.
"We need to stop the Baron. I have an idea, then we can get Cinder back." Mercury drug Baldr back and talked urgently to him. "I need you to summon that power you had before and Blink. It means you can rip a hole through our dimension and appear several meters in the direction you were moving. We can tweak this slightly and you can carry me to a great height and allow me to launch my attack. We get enough height and momentum and we could squash the alien like the bug he is." Baldr nodded slowly and focused to draw the power within him. He could feel it boiling inside him like a pot of hot water. Opening his eyes he looked down at Mercury and nodded. He leapt onto Mercury's shoulders and Mercury jumped skyward, activating his catapult and rocketing the two upward. As the power began to fizzle out, Mercury shouted. "Now!"
Baldr then made a ripping motion with his knife, now glowing bright purple, creating a hole that sucked the two of them through. The hole disappeared immediately after the two reemerged and Mercury let go of Baldr's legs. Summoning his own power, Mercury's right foot glowed a bright electric blue and he plummeted toward the Earth.
"Titanfall motherfucker!" Mercury hollered with glee as his foot connected with the skull of the Fallen Baron. As its head caved in, purple blood spurt from the skull and the rest of the body as Mercury literally squashed the creature into the dirt. Tucking into a forward roll, Mercury splashed through the remains of the Baron before coming to his feet, arms spread like a great and noble warrior returning victorious from a deadly quest.
Behind Mercury, a burst of fire sprang into existence above where Cinder's corpse had just lay and rapidly manifested into Cinder's form. Cinder walked forward, flames licking her robes and causing the bloodied ground to spread with fire. As everyone got hurriedly away from the pile of Fallen bodies, the pyre quickly consumed the cadavers and burned bright green.
"Let's go. The smell will soon be getting unbearable." Cinder spoke as the flames died from her slender figure, smiling at the limp jaws of the new borns. "Like a phoenix born from the ashes." Cinder walked from the edge of the funeral pyre to Fireteam Coalition, stopping before them. "Thank you for answering the call. I understand that you see us as equals in this fight, while many other Guardians only see us as a means to an end if they make the choice to talk with us." She turned then to the hulking Titan in dark green with a golden yellow visor and addressed him. "Thank you as well John. I know we can always count upon you in our fight against the Fallen and Hive."
"I am glad to be of service. If I may, I would like to accompany you to the Vestian Outpost. I have business with Master Ives." The Titan's low voice held a slight metallic click behind it, indicating his Exo nature but very little else.
"Of course. I do owe you a favor, and I can provide you with fuel for your ship aboard the Comet, as you other Guardians are so fond of calling it." Cinder's lips tugged upward slightly as she bowed her head to the Titan towering over her. "Let's pick up our toys guys. Time to head home." Turning now to the new Corsairs, she approached them. "Once aboard the ship, you will be shown to your quarters but then I do insist you accompany us to the lounge so you may better understand our allies. While I do warn you that their Ghosts are not as accepting as they are, they are none the less friendly."
"With all due respect ma'am, am I allowed to walk again?" Baldr had slid the helmet from his face to grin at Cinder. As she merely rolled her eyes, Baldr hopped from his steed and approached the Cathedral, examining the heavy wooden doors.
"Also, take the time to meet your new Grimm allies. As creatures born of Shadows, we must understand that they are not from the same Light as we are, but they are not breed from true fear and Darkness. If you are wondering as to why we are not killing each other right now, I know someone that can explain that a bit better." Cinder announced once again before turning to return to her approaching strike ship.
Wolfe and Baldr looked at each other before turning to their respective Grimm. Wolfe looked over the Dovah and meet eyes with the fierce creature. The creature was obviously dragon, with black scales, thick black leathery wings with the white bone along the front, and blood red spikes around its skull and down the ridge of its spine. While the creature was large enough to carry him with little effort, the dragon was not gigantic, instead appearing the same rough size of the old biplanes before he became an Exo. Holding out his right hand, Wolfe slowly approached the Dovah, which extended it's neck and meet the hand with its nose. Instantly, Wolfe could feel the power of the creature surge through his mind: the hatred of the invading hordes, the intense hunger to feast, the fierce pleasure of a hearty battle.
"I am pleased to find another as rare as I." The Grimm's thick gravely voice reverberated in Wolfe's head and he looked again at the eyes of the Dovah. "Being one of a kind is as much a joyous feeling as it is a curse." Wolfe nodded slowly.
"We shall have to discuss this more when given the chance." Wolfe spoke aloud to the creature, who nodded in response. "Would it be inappropriate to ask your name?" The Dovah shook its head.
"My name is impossible to say in your language. If you wish, you may instead provide me with a name you deem appropriate." Wolfe considered for a moment before the name appeared in his mind.
"How about Daemon? In my language it is an old name for a demon, which you do appear as. Not to mention you bring a hellish amount of destruction to a battle, befitting even old Lucifer's glory." The dragon considered the decision briefly before nodding.
"Daemon I shall be then. It would appear your comrade is having trouble with these doors." Daemon nodded his head toward Baldr who was hacking at the door with a small hunting knife. Aiming his mouth at the other door, Daemon summoned a small fireball that blew the door open with enough force to knock both bipeds to the floor. "Let's see what's inside shall we?"
"Thank you!" Baldr jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "Oh and Wolfe, this here is Hesperos." Indicating the horned Pegasus at his side. Both Wolfe and the horse exchanged an acknowledging nod and stepped through the hole to gaze at the interior of the building. Tall pillars of marble laced with multicolored dust particles grew from the ground to branch out and create a high arched ceiling. The marble floor was littered with various wreckage from the splintered pews and other loot from the town. A large hole opened before the altar with well worn paths leading into a tunnel subsystem that they assumed ran through the entire town. Piled upon and around the altar were numerous valuables the Fallen had managed to horde. Baldr eagerly jumped over the pit and began rummaging through the treasure.
"Fucking treasure trove in here!" Reaching to his right, he seized a small wooden chest with a heavy iron lock. Pulling his knife back out, Baldr slid the point of the blade in the lock and twisted sharply, managing to turn all the pins enough to pick the lock. "Hell yes!" Inside the small chest were a collection of precious gems including rubies, sapphires, and two large diamonds roughly the size of large quail eggs. "It's like the holidays. Wolfe come get something!"
Wolfe however, stood holding an old gramophone with a gold inlaid horn and silver plated base. Setting it gingerly to the side, he held up a set of onyx bookends in the shapes of the mythical gryphons with one paw resting upon a large pearl. Looking back down at the pile of loot before him, he saw a beautiful mother of pearl necklace that he pocketed. "I've got some stuff of my own Baldr." Looking up at his partner, he saw Baldr seize a large golden crown with several blank spots where the jewels had been pried off. Shrugging, Baldr placed the crown on his head and struck a dramatic pose, holding a calvary saber skyward with his feet resting upon the chest he grabbed earlier.
"Prepare peasants! Your new king has arrived." Baldr sheathed the saber and hefted the chest, along with another into his arms and turned to the doubled up form of Wolfe, laughing at the sight of the Hunter with his few riches. "Oh come now my dear fellow! We shall have riches galore before this one has had enough!" Baldr turned on his heel and strutted out of the hall and back to the door. Rising to his feet and grabbing his own pieces: the bookends, the gramophone, and an intricate globe of Remnant, Wolfe jogged to catch up with Baldr.
"But my liege! I would suggest caution as we still know very little about this time and place. What would thoust do if he were to encounter the Black Knight or stumble upon the infamous Bridge of Death?" Wolfe caught up and did a mocking bow to the back of Baldr. "Should thou answer the Bridgekeeper wrongly, thou are to be cast into the pit of eternal peril!"
"Then let me hope you shall be there to whisper the proper answer in the ear of your King!" Baldr pronounced as he stepped into the sun. Wolfe scoffed and Baldr laughed again.
"About time you two showed back up." Cinder scolded slightly as the air kicked up around her, causing her robes to whip violently around her head. Raising their heads, Wolfe and Baldr stared in wonder as a massive interplanetary cruiser filled the sky and came to a stop with a ramp extended to the rooftops of the nearby shops. "Welcome to the H.M.S. Adveniat Regnum. The Rogue's own personal home away from home, base of operations, and warship. Everything we own is brought here, and it has plenty of room for ships and also serves as cannon bulwark during interspace engagements with Fallen Galleons and Cabal Frigates." Cinder finished her introductory speech and began to climb up the crumble shop front to the ramp of the ship. Above the heads of the warriors, eight ships, one belonging to each fighter except Wolfe and Baldr, flew into a starboard hangar bay passing through a pale blue forcefield.
When Cinder reached the top of the ramp aboard her cruiser, she stood back to allow the rest to pass by her. Holding out her arm, she stopped the newest reincarnations and held them back. "I am taking you two to your new quarters. There you will familiarize yourself with the layout of the room and deposit your loot. Then you follow me to the lounge, where we will properly introduce you to our Guardian allies. Your Grimm allies are currently being shown to their own quarters as well. I do regret to inform you Wolfe that your partner will be largely unable to traverse the ship given his size." The spoke the last words with raised eyebrows to Wolfe who understood and nodded briefly. "Excellent. Now if you will follow me, Anafi is raising the ramp and we shall soon be breaking orbit."
As she led the duo down the closest hallway, the ramp sealed with a pressurized hiss behind them and the ship shuddered as the engines fired and they began to rise. Making a quick right followed immediately by the next left, Cinder brought the two to a bank of lifts. Pressing the button with her thumb she removed her gloves and slid them into the belt on her robe. Riding two floors up, the trio got off and set off down a brightly lit white washed corridor. She stopped beside two doors set into the left wall and punched in a master code. Both doors opened and the new borns peered in. Both rooms were identical, except that they mirrored each other, with plenty of room for the collection of artifacts to fill up the various shelves, ledges, and tables of the living quarters.
"Along the back wall, where there are no shelves, are port windows. The glass is able to polarize from transparent to opaque upon your own request and will only do so to your voice signature. The beds lie around the corners respectively and on the adjoining wall are monitors that allow for access to our ships systems, records, and personal logs. Please take a quick look around before deciding upon your number code and return to the lifts when you are finished." Cinder turned back the way they came and walked to the bank of lifts to wait for the two. Wolfe and Bladr hurriedly set their treasures inside and programmed their door codes before jogging back to the lifts.
"Ready ma'am." Baldr announced as the lift door opened and Cinder led the way inside. Pressing the button marked 'RR' the doors closed and the lift quickly descended. While they rode, a song began playing over the PA system.
[Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin]
"It is customary to play this song when traveling to a new destination or when bringing new faces aboard." Cinder announced as the doors opened again and she led the way out into a spacious open air center with couches, fireplaces and even a bar. "This is the Lounge. This is where we entertain our guests, gather to eat, and rest and recuperate." Cinder walked down the nearby stairs to where the rest of the Corsairs were gathered with the four Guardians. John stood facing out the nearest window, watching the scenery rapidly change from the recognizable atmosphere to the dark beauty of space. Neo and Phoenix sat chatting animatedly, while Mercury and Diana talked close by. Junko sat observing the new comers with eery sky blue eyes and Emerald had taken a seat by herself and currently worked on cleaning her gun.
Everyone currently in the Lounge had their helmets off except for Emerald and John. The human Titan, Diana had light tan skin and short tousled brown hair which complimented her brown eyes. Phoenix, now revealed as an Exo, had a brushed silver faceplate, blue eyes and an orange light shown from her mouth when she talked to Neo. Junko raised her hands to her hood and swept it back revealing lilac skin, light purple hair and her striking blue eyes standing out from her face.
"Wolfe, Baldr, I would like you to meet Fireteam Coalition. These Guardians are the second most trusted Guardians of the Reef, after us Rogues, following the capture of the traitor Skolas. Diana is their Titan, Phoenix is the Warlock scholar of their posse and Junko is the quiet one there observing you. In our line of work, these warriors are some of the first you call from the Tower when you need back up. Junko, while not overly trusting, will be able to grant you audiences with the old Vanguards thanks to her father Zavala." As Cinder introduced the Fireteam, each gave some form of acknowledgement, Diana gave a friendly wave, Phoenix gave a loud exclamation, and Junko merely nodded. "The mystery man staring out the window is the infamous MC. John-117 has been around longer than most other Guardians and is focused almost exclusively on ridding our system of the Fallen and Hive."
"Greetings." John turned and nodded his head to the rest before approaching and taking a seat on the edge of a small fireplace. Wolfe and Baldr both acknowledged the rest before taking a seat with Cinder and John to talk. However, before they were given the chance to, a high-pitched chipper voice chimed in at Wolfe's elbow.
"And I am Anafi! Pilot of this vessel!" The voice announced excitedly, causing Wolfe to swear and jump forward, on edge. Turning back, he saw a small robot that looked as though it were a metal sphere that had split and sprouted a head and arms from within. The arms were held up in a show of joyous proclamation with her arrival. "It is so nice to meet new friends! Miss Cinder said you would come one day!"
"Yes I did Anafi. Thank you for scaring the poor guy." Cinder smiled almost innocently at the little robot that was now being inspected by Baldr.
"My god you are cute!" Baldr proclaimed. "You make me think of what I would want a little sister to be like." Baldr stopped himself and cocked his head to the side. "Well your attitude with an organic body and human shape."
"Thank you!" Anafi chirped happily up at the Hunter. "I must go now though. I will need to get clearance to the Outpost!" Anafi spun around and sped out from the group toward a small chute that lead straight upward, probably to the bridge. A few moments later, a small alarm sounded and everyone grabbed a piece of the ship. The ship gave a slight lurch and the windows became a viewing screen to a psychedelic twist of blue white colors.
"Hyperspace jump. By utilizing specific neutrinos found in Dust, we are able to traverse the distances in space about as fast as light travels. One of the greatest discoveries of the Golden Age of Remnant. Allowed passage to the other planets of our solar system in mere minutes. The only discovery greater, excluding the Traveler of course, was the discovery of the digital plane. That is what allows us to 'teleport' from one place to another and compress items to seeming indefinable masses." Cinder lectured to the the small group. John nodded silently, having heard this before. Baldr scratched at his chin, evidently bored and eager for something to do. Wolfe however, sat hunched over alternating looking at Cinder with scrutiny and the floor thinking hard, trying to remember the technology of his prime.
While the journey continued, the groups gradually fell silent as they ran out of things to talk about. The journey, according to Wolfe's calculations upon remembering where the Reef resided, was only destined to last about 18 minutes, but his head was so full he felt like it had been two minutes before he felt the lurch that signified the exit from hyperspace. As he rose from his seat to look out the window, he was taken aback. The Reef held an eery purple glow that seemed to come from gaseous clouds floating around the asteroids. The ship began slowing considerably as they came upon a much smaller seemingly abandoned ship. The ship came to a relative stop, floating next to a docking tube that was magnetically sealed to the ship preventing separation.
Cinder led the way through the docking tunnel through a set of large metal double doors guarded by Awoken females in skin tight jumpsuits with masks covering their face. Immediately, Phoenix ran ahead and to the right to where a tall Fallen leaning on a staff stood. Cinder held Baldr's arm and shook her head before he could reach for a gun to open fire.
"He is called Variks the Loyal for a reason. Phoenix is nuts about the Fallen. She spends almost every moment in the Reef with him. I think she is trying to become a Fallen herself." Cinder led the rest of the group, minus John who walked up to a bald Cryptarch in simple robes near Variks, over to a small bank of terminals and monitors all watched over by more guards and supervised by one unmasked Awoken carrying a small knife. The unmasked guard had an eye patch and a scarlet punk hair style with one side braided into a bun on the back of her head.
"Welcome back everyone." Petra announced at the approaching group. Cinder walked up to Petra and handed her a blood stained strip of a blue Wolf Banner snatched from Dremaksis's corpse before completely engulfed in flames. "One less Baron to worry about then. The payment will be taken care of an sent to your accounts immediately."
"Thank you Petra. Be sure to send equal shares to Fireteam Coalition, MC, and the two newest members of our merry band of outlaws." Cinder waved Wolfe and Baldr forward to meet Petra. Petra was slightly taken aback when looking at Baldr.
"You are a Venj right? One of the founders of the Venj noble family here in the Reef?" Baldr nodded slowly. "You were lost on Remnant for many many generations. Something like eight or nine I believe."
"Really?!" Baldr looked taken aback. "I guess I had been dead longer than I thought. We shall have to get together and discuss it over a drink something then." Petra nodded and handed off the Wolfe Banner to one assistant.
"Will that be everything Cinder?" Petra turned from the two and addressed Cinder once again. Cinder nodded curtly. "Alright then, I shall let you be on your way. Give the others my best. I am also announcing the Trial of Skolas later today. Fireteam Coalition will preside as judge, jury, and executioner as reward for their capture of the traitor."
"Will do Petra. And we will keep an eye out for the Trial." As Cinder led the Corsairs back through the doors they entered through, Wolfe watched Diana approach Petra and the two talked eagerly to one another. Junko appeared to shrug and walk off toward a couple simple robots standing near a terminal bank and engage one. "Just a quick rundown for you two." Cinder stopped at the entrance to the alcove containing the doors and pointed back. "Where Junko is will be your Postmaster and Tower Bounty handler. Variks, the Fallen Phoenix is talking to, is the warden for the Prison of Elders. The Prison was once simply a prison but has now become an arena for bloodsports here in the Reef under order of the Queen. John is talking to the Cryptarch, a representative of a collection of scholars who specialize in engrams of all sorts. The engrams function because of the digital plane but they can explain that to you later on." Cinder finished and walked back toward the ship beckoning the Corsairs to follow her.
"Does Diana have a thing for Petra?" Wolfe hustled to catch up to Cinder and questioned quietly, avoiding the inquisition of the rest of the Rogues.
"I think so, but I don't know if the feeling is shared. I would love to see Petra find someone. The exile really took a toll on her." Cinder replied quietly and the group passed silently back into the ship. Once aboard, Cinder led everyone to the bridge where they say Anafi rolling back and forth between a bank of terminals initiating detachment and firing up the engines. "Alright. We are headed home, Yuma Tower landing code 13.452.3. You three," she beckoned to the veteran Rogues, "know what that means. You two, however are about to find out. Grab a seat, and start learning the controls. When we start getting into proper battles with this, you have to know what you are doing.
Cinder climbed the dias in the center of the room to sit in a large egg like control chair. Along the arms of the throne were various buttons, displays and levers. Over Cinder's head were more switches and dials reading out everything crucial to the function of the ship. Wolfe took a seat immediately to her back right and started looking into the features of the broadside cannons. He also managed to work his way into the control system of one of the many forward cannons and took the time to spin the turret in every way he could and check the readouts. However, before he was able to discover too much more, the journey through hyperspace was over as the ship shuddered upon exiting into Remnant's atmosphere. Looking up, he saw something beautiful, intimidating, and welcoming at the same time.
Outside the bridge windows, the Rogues could see a large floating sphere. The sphere was a white in color with thin grey lines connecting in patterns all across the surface. At the southern point, several pieces of the sphere were missing showing strange architectural features of the object. While it was obviously a construct of some kind, it almost felt human enough to greet the newly re-reborn Guardians approaching. The ship was closing rapidly on the bay of what was the Last City, built upon the remains of old world Vale. Standing tall and proud in the water was a dark Tower of creeping red and black colors splashed with the brilliant deep orange of the sunset behind the craft. Along the column, running toward the water below was the title 'YUMA TOWER NO.13'. Several other banners and decorations ran along the railing proclaiming the place as a refuge for the tired masses looking for a better life in the Grimm Tower.
"Say hello to your new home."
AN: So there it is. Chapter two. Wolfe will be the first "new" Stormcaller, and Baldr is the first "new" Nightstalker. Because I originally started this story without any reveals as to what the powers entailed, there will be a couple that may or may not appear in the game. Mercury is another example, as I focused his Fist of Havoc into a devastating stomp attack and his melees will be altered to include his kick based attacks.
Fireteam Coalition is the Fireteam of my beta reader and original coauthor. The Assassin's Mentor is his name and he has some great stories for you to check out. This story will include them a fair amount including a lot of original content we are dreaming up.
John-117 is an obvious easter egg to Halo and Master Chief. Other characters such as he will be appearing in the story from various other games but I will let you guys figure that out when you get there. Anafi, is based off Gortys from Tales from the Borderlands (and apparently BB-8) and the Adveniat Regnum, aka the Comet, is based on the Bebop from Cowboy Bebop as the idea of a ship helps considerably with the story in the future (so be prepared).
Thank you guys for reading! If you enjoyed go ahead and leave a fave or a follow. Have any questions that you would like answered, leave me a review or send me a PM.