Howdy and welcome back. This chapter went under a few reworks as I wasn't happy with how I'd done the fight in this one but eventually, I landed on a version I am happy with and hope you enjoy as well so without further ado, I hope you enjoy.
-OtherwiseR00K
A murder of crows fluttered off as the V-2 roared its engine as the bike tore up the grass and dirt beneath it, leaving a trail from the settlement it came from. Its occupants cackled with glee.
"CAYDE, SLOW DOWN!"
Well, one of its occupants.
Cayde didn't slow down, instead, he turned sharply to avoid a rotten tree stump at high speed and barely avoided the remains of the tree the stump once held.
"CAYDE, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF!"
Cayde laughed as Sundnace yelled in his ear, "Why are you so scared, I've done stuff like this on the Gambler's Palm!?" Cayde ramped off a small mound of dirt and fell a small way before slamming into the ground, now going down a leaf-covered hill, the leaves fluttering behind him as he went.
"YES, ON A HOVERING VEHICLE! NOT A WHEELED DEATH TRAP THAT YOU'RE TESTING THE LIMTS OF!"
Cayde huffed at the remark but kicked back the bike to make it ride on its back wheel as a log embedded in the ground lay in his path so he ramped off the surface before landing back onto the ground.
Cayde honestly had no clue how this would go. He'd seen motorcycles in museums dedicated to vehicles in the Last City but had no inclination to actually learn how to ride one. He assumed it was similar to a sparrow with the overall design bearing a resemblance of the sparrow to the motorcycle and thought it would be the same.
Boy golly was he wrong.
The first thing he learned was it wasn't as intuitive as the sparrow so he had to be more forceful with it. No slight adjustment and slackened grip, for now, this girl was a rebellious one but one he would tame in the end.
The V-2 was certainly a beast in its own right, he knew it was nowhere near as powerful as the Gambler's Palm but it would get closer as he began to tinker with it. He really needed to figure out a name for the bike. If he was gonna keep it, it needed a name.
"How far out are we?" Cayde questioned.
"About thirteen miles," Sundance said, her voice still racked with anxiety, "I'm still hating this."
"Ah, lighten up. You've never complained about the speed I go at before."
"That's because I know you won't crash a sparrow, you've barely used this bike and you're using it as if you've been riding it for years."
"Do you have no faith in me, little light?"
"Don't call me that, and no. The last time you tried to drive something new you veered it off a cliff because you wanted to try and drift it as close as possible to the ledge."
He remembered that. It was a little after the guardian killed Gaul and Cayde was on overseeing duty for patching up the City, while also getting any and all Red Legion hardware out of the streets. Cleanup disguised as scavenging.
Honestly, Cayde had never been able to get that many Hunters to help with cleanup duty. Even Ikora and Zavala were impressed.
Anyway, Cayde had found a Red Legion tank in rather good condition and decided to take it for himself. A few days afterward he was on the outskirts of the Last City and was testing the tank out by himself.
He'd wanted to test the tank's maneuverability and attempted to drift using it and it worked. He could drift using the Red Legion tank. So he decided to stress test the thing. Long story short, he flew right off a cliff, into a deep ravine, got crushed, and then revived. Took a few hours to climb back up from the wreckage and he'd lost a pretty cool toy.
Zavala and Ikora gave him shit when he got back to the tower as well so yeah not a great day for Cayde-6.
"Please, there aren't any ravines nearby for me to cra-!" Cayde cut himself off and yelped as he swerved past a boulder he nearly crashed into. His new course sent him up a mossy log that was leaning onto another tree that was on the other side of a creek, which Cayde hadn't noticed.
He sped up the mossy log barely keeping himself balanced and zipped off right before he hit the tree. The bike slammed into the ground barely missing the edge of the creek.
Cayde was quiet as he continued forward but noticeably slowed down a bit and Sundance radiated a smug satisfaction through their shared link.
"How much farther?" Cayde asked, trying to forget what just happened.
"About fifteen miles," Sundance says.
"Alright, well to pass the time, why not tell me more about this crazy world we find ourselves in."
"Really?"
"Yeah, those comments about the Faunus Rights Revolution made me realize I'm sorely lacking in information. I can't be lacking in common information, history, terms, and normal everyday things. I need to know about them."
"Huh, you usually wing things. Where's this coming from?"
"I can't mess up here, this isn't the City where if I mess up Zavala or Ikora even the guardian could pull me out of it. I need to be more careful here."
It was quiet for a moment, the rumble of the V-2 the only noise cutting through the quiet, "Alright, where should I start?"
"The Faunus Rights Revolution."
"Okay," she was quiet for a moment before she finally began, "Sixty-three years ago the Faunus revolted against the oppressive laws and rules laid out for them. The powder keg had been set a few years prior when the last King of Vale, then a member of the newly made Vale Council, made the decision to offer a country for the Faunus. It was an Island south of Anima that was named Menagerie."
"Wait, wait, they named an island meant for Faunus, menagerie? That's incredibly racist."
"For Earth's meaning yes. However, Menagerie means something different for Remnant, its actually used to describe safety or harmony. Anyway, some Faunus saw the Island as a gift and were happy while others simply believed it was meant to be a way of getting rid of the Faunus."
"Gee, I wonder why."
"Hush Cayde. So the Faunus rose up and fought the Kingdoms, hoping to make them listen or wear them down. The aftermath of the Great War still ran deep through the Kingdoms and a global revolt was literally the last thing anyone needed. A few years later the Kingdoms acquiesced at the pleas of the previous King of Vale who in all honestly seemed like a stand-up guy."
"Yeah, he does sound pretty good."
"Afterward many laws were put in place to protect the Faunus, Vacuo is the only real place that had already been friendly to Faunus before so not many laws were enforced there. But racism wasn't so easily stomped out and a group of militiamen led by Captain Delano Winchester attempted to attack Fort Castle."
"Fort Castle? Seriously?"
"Yeah, naming conventions seem pretty on the nose. Anyway, this attack wasn't sanctioned by the Vale military and was more of a rogue operation. Its remembered as the true final battle in the Faunus Rights Revolution and ended with the Captain leading it being ambushed as he forgot to account for the Faunus' night vision."
"Hm, sounds about right. Forgetting something like that is something nobody should forget about when planning an ambush."
"You once forgot Gaul's name."
"Yeah, because it wasn't important. I didn't need to know Gary's-"
"Gaul," Sundance interpreted but Cayde kept going.
"-name, all I needed to know was where he was and a way to get to him. Me and Ace would've done the rest."
"Sure, anyway, after Captain Winchester's colossal failure and his inability to account for something already widely known he was discharged from the military and disgraced. His family was held in similar regard and from what I know they hold a grudge against the Faunus for this blight on their name."
"Huh, yeah that'd do it. Racists be racist and have a poor sense of failure. Got anything else?"
"Hmm, well I could explain how Atlas became a floating Kingdom."
"Wait what?"
/-/
"-gravity dust is crazy." Cayde decided after listening to the story of Atlas being hefted into the sky by said variant of dust.
"Yes, however, its inconsistent…go ahead and stop we're close," Sundance said dropping her previous thought for a more important one.
The V2 rumbled to a halt before digitizing under Cayde as he stepped off the disappearing motorcycle. Cayde looked around the forest, he was mostly just glancing around but he was looking for any signs of something coming through the area.
He noticed some trails but dismissed them as only the local wildlife because of their size. Grimm were large but could come smaller just not as small as a deer or fox trail.
"Sundance, are you getting anything on your scanner?" Cayde asked as he looked at animal tracks he didn't recognize.
Sundance appeared over Cayde's shoulder, her shell spinning slightly, "I'm picking up movements around our area but I'm getting a larger group movement about a mile east."
"Do you know what they're doing?" Cayde asked.
"Not really, I can guess they are just milling around. They may not sense any negativity so are just moving about."
"Thanks, Sundance, I'll take it from here."
Sundance disappeared as Cayde began to formulate an ambush.
The Hunters of the Last City were if nothing else known to be the rebels of the Guardians that occupied the City. They weren't bookworms like the Warlocks, who could also navigate political matters with the grace of a bird soaring through the sky. They weren't as proud as the Titans whose beliefs were harder than tungsten.
No, Hunters were whatever they wanted to be. They didn't subscribe to authority and usually stayed outside the walls and out exploring what was once beautiful, learning things they wanted to learn and being free to do so.
But if Warlocks finessed their enemies with the mysteries of the Light and the Titans bulldozed them with the sudtly of a tank, Hunters preferred to get the drop on them and take them out as quickly as possible.
Cayde planned on ambushing the Grimm, leaving all of them as solar ash on the wind. He looked up to the tree canopy, trees made for a pretty good hiding spot. Cayde jumped up and landed on a sturdy branch before taking off through the trees and toward the movement.
He'd had some experience running across trees from his earlier days of being a Guardian. It was nostalgic in a way. The leaves wipping by, the split-second decisions at the speed he was going, and the thrill of simply running.
Eventually, he came to a stop with an excellent view of a clearing of beautiful flowers.
It was also housing a pack of Ursa so its beauty was dimmed a bit.
Cayde looked over the pack, observing them and counting them up in his head.
…4,5,6,7…
Most were just milling around in a cluster, they seemed younger as they lacked more of the bone pieces he'd seen on a few pictures of an Ursa but they were all close to each other and basically lined up for a thermal grenade.
…10,11,12,13…
A few were spread out from the group. About three, all of them older than the group but only one really had his attention.
16
The Ursa Major was large. Taller than the Alpha Beowolf and a lot more muscle-inclined, though Cayde doubted they had actual muscle and they were just bulky in general. He looked over the clearing and thought about how far he could get if he jumped. The clearing was maybe 10 yards so he could probably make that distance with three jumps.
Cayde nods to himself, With his plan in mind he looks over the groups, judging the distances and waiting.
"And…action," Cayde murmured.
Cayde summoned two thermal grenades into his hands, curled his legs, and leaped. He soared through the open air, his cape fluttering behind him as a younger Ursa happened to look up and notice him.
It roared just as Cayde chucked a thermal grenade directly at the group. It soared toward the roaring Ursa and went directly into its mouth right before it blew and solar energy blasted outward in a small shockwave, the energy itself acting like a virus as it tore through the surrounding Grimm.
The other Ursa took notice but it was too late as Cayde used his second jump and tosses the other grenade directly into the second crowd. The grenade detonates on impact making another wave of solar energy vaporize the Grimm into nothing but solar dust on the wind.
All three remaining Ursa, including the Major, look up at the currently descending Hunter and roar. The two younger ones charge where Cayde will land but Cayde uses his final jump and flips into a side roll before folding his arms into an 'X' and summoning solar knives to his hands.
He strikes out with his arms aiming the first three knives at the closest Ursa and each blade hits the head, chest, and left knee respectively before it turns to solar dust. Cayde twists his body in mid-air before throwing the last three knives once again destroying the second to last Ursa within the clearing.
The Ursa Major roared, its roar far more powerful than the others. It didn't charge though and instead stood on its hind legs and used its front claw to grab a nearby tree and snap the trunk in half. It tossed the tree at Cayde with another roar.
"Oh, Crap!" Cayde exclaimed at the incoming tree that may skewer him or would just break his parts. Either way is not fun.
Cayde quickly manifested a trip mine and tossed it with precision at the incoming tree before slinging out the Ace of Spades and aiming one-handed, his other hand slipping to the knife stored on his belt.
The Ace of Spades fired, its distinctive gunshot ringing out as the bullet sped toward its target and hit the trip mine dead on. The explosion shattered the tree, sending chips of wood flying, one of them snagging on Cayde's hood pulling it down but not stopping Cayde's fall.
Cayde rockets through the destroyed tree and fires off two rounds on the Ursa Major. Both land into its eyes which make it roar in pain while stumbling back into another tree. Cayde continues falling directly toward the Major and flips his feet forward.
He takes out his knife and as he lands on the flailing Major he brings the knife down onto the Major's mask. It pierces through going down to the hilt and all movement ceases. Cayde huffs and pulls the knife out as the Ursa Major begins falling forward.
Cayde casually steps on and turns toward the direction the Ursa is falling, noting the darkness beginning to drift off the Ursa's form. He rides the falling Grimm down and hops off as it lands face-first on the ground.
He spreads his arms out then puts his hand on his chest and bows to the now cleared…well clearing, "And scene! Ha, still got it."
Sundance appears above Cayde's shoulder and he looks at her, "So, little buddy, how'd I do?"
"A solid 7.5/10." She replied.
Cayde sputters, "W-what?! That's at least a 9.2/10! What about the crowd kills?"
"Those were fine, I took points off because of the last bit. The Ursa was able to get a shot on you, otherwise, you would've gotten that 9.2."
"So falling through a splintered tree takes points off?"
"No, getting nicked and losing your hood does that."
Cayde checked his head and yep, his hood was down. He quickly fixed that, "So it's a cosmetic problem."
"Yes."
"I didn't even know you were counting those." Cayde glanced behind him at the now dissipated Ursa Major's skeleton.
"You should have," Cayde went to the skeleton with Sundance following him, "we had a whole conversation about it."
Cayde stopped and glanced at her, "We did?"
Sundance's optic narrowed, "Yes, honey, we did."
"Was I tired?"
"You were drinking."
"Ah, that probably did it. Could you digitize the skull for me?" Sundance complied and a beam shot from her optic the skull then faded away now within Sundance's inventory. The second of many Grimm skulls that would occupy the space.
Cayde and Sundance wouldn't know it for some time but their futures on Remnant would be anything but boring.
And there we are, another chapter finished. How'd I do with the fight? Reviews would be appreciated so I may do better in the future. Cayde's accepted he most likely won't get back to Earth and so feels he has to be more careful because he's the only Guardian on Remnant and since he cannot be careless he has to think over things and learn more about the place he finds himself in. And that does mean the history as well (The Horror). Anyway, I thank you for reading and have a nice morning/afternoon/night.
-OtherwiseR00K