*Legend 10*
Filling the Gap
...
Back in the relative privacy of Ruby and Yang's quarters, which currently housed all three members of Fireteam Rosenkreuz, did Ruby pace the floor. Both Weiss and Yang sat on Ruby's bed; Yang, playing a game with her Ghost, involving how far she could let him fly away from her before catching him again; and Weiss, simply watching Ruby's circuit back and forth across the room.
Both Ruby's body and mind were full of restive and restless energy. Both forms of energy stemming from the conversation that she had with The Speaker, and the immanency of their first Vanguard-issued mission. As the leader of this team, Ruby felt it a certainty that her team mates were expecting her to give a grand speech of some sort; a rhetoric that should inspire courage and camaraderie amongst her team. Be that as it may, however, the words eluded her. Ruby was never much for the advanced pedantics of speech making. But given even that, she knew she had to say something! Luckily, she was spared this responsibility by Weiss.
She crossed the room to Ruby's position, clapped both hands firmly on Ruby's shoulders, and said, "Stop." and Ruby did. Weiss stared Ruby in the eye as she said, "I know exactly what you are thinking. That you have to make some big fluffy speech to inspire us to battle and everything. Well, after seeing what you did to that Archon, I know what you are capable of. And Yang has lived with you your whole life, so she knows even better than I."
Weiss smiled. "We both have plenty to be inspired by already."
Ruby felt close to tears. If she wasn't staring into Weiss's magnificent eyes at the moment, she would have let them fall. "Yeah!" Yang said, springing up from the bed. "Everything she just said...minus the touchy and the feely."
Ruby nodded. "You girls are the best," she half sobbed.
"Don't I know it," Yang preened. She took aim at an imaginary target with her Duke Mk.10. "Let's get movin' here. I suddenly feel the pressing need to shoot something in the face."
"Right!" Said Ruby, taking the cue. "Fireteam Rosenkreuz, move out!"
And so they exited the room, Ruby first, with her team mates in tow, as a proper Fireteam should no doubt be seen. They crossed the Tower Plaza amid a mild ruckus of Guardians hurrying back and forth, preparing for the mobilization of themselves and the newbies they would be escorting. Ruby watched the Guardians at the vaults as they transferred weaponry and armor into being for the task. She thought longingly of her own Crescent Rose, locked away in electronic storage. 'I know you're in there, baby. Just give me some time. I'll get you out soon.'
They entered the hall and into a scene of much organized chaos. The new Guardian teams were currently receiving orders from the three Vanguard captains. They were just in time to pass Fireteam Coco on their way out, with Fireteam Cardinal in their wake. Ruby gave Coco the classic 'sup?' gesture; quickly tilting her head up in the air, which Coco returned as she passed. The three of them fell in line behind what Ruby recognized as the first new Fireteam christened during the announcement ceremony. The team consisted of their leader Yuna, a Gunslinger; a spunky young girl named Rikku, a Blade Dancer; and a rather solemn young woman named Paine, a Striker.
Together, they formed Fireteam Celsius.
Having just received their final orders, they made their way from the hall, leaving Pyrrha to assign the next mission. "Ah, yes, Fireteam Rosenkreuz," she said pleasantly.
Ruby nodded in acknowledgment. "What have you got for us Ma'am?"
"Well, as it happens," Pyrrha began, the biggest smile on her face. "You ladies don't fall under my jurisdiction for this venture."
"Cayde-6 then?" Ruby said hopefully, fearing the alternative.
Pyrrha ginned somewhat wickedly. "You wish."
Ruby held herself back from a groan of despair as she and her team reported to her least favorite of the Vanguard captains.
"Fireteam Rosenkreuz," said the crisp voice of Glynda Goodwitch.
"Present and accounted for, Ma'am," Ruby said, trying her best to meet the stern woman's eyes. It was then that Weiss enacted her own form of greeting to her Vanguard captain.
Weiss took up position directly in front of Glynda and then, extending her right leg out and behind her left, and slightly lifting the sides of her skirt, did she bend her knees in an elegant and ladylike curtsy.
The Warlock salute.
It should be told here that this is the only of the three Guardian salutes that differs based upon the gender offering it. The male Warlock salute is identical in nature, but is formed by a bow, with the flourish of much twirling of the hands.
Glynda acknowledged this tribute with a nod and got right down to business, as it were. "Not twenty four hours ago did The Fallen manage to breach and secure an area just outside of the city. This area is known as the Twilight Gap. It serves as an ammunition storage facility for our Guardian contingent. As I've said, The Fallen have managed to take the MAC gun guarding the facility down and have gained access to the contents therein. Your mission is as follows: Eliminate any and all Fallen forces in the area, and bring the MAC gun back online. Any questions?"
"No, ma'am!" Was the response of team Rosenkreuz.
Glynda nodded again. "Very well then. You depart immediately. Fireteam Nikos is waiting for you in the hangar bay."
And with a salute of departure, did Ruby lead her team down the familiar route to the hangar. And there, among the other ships preparing for departure, did they find The White Fang. Blake and Ren were waiting beneath the ship, both of them in the posture of attention. "Good afternoon, Fireteam Rosenkreuz," was Blake's crisp greeting.
Just then, did Celica pop out of Yang's hair. "Is that the girl you were telling me about?" was his question to her.
"Mmm-hmm..." was Yang's dreamy answer, her eyes running an appreciative circuit over Blake's person. Blake caught this from the corner of her eye and when she locked eyes with her, did Yang give her a wink.
"Well, don't we have good taste?" Celica said.
A blush crept it's way into Blake's pale complexion, but she managed to maintain her rigidly professional demeanor. "As you have no doubt already been given your mission parameters, I will supplement them by saying that during the course of your mission, Ren and I will be in orbit, monitoring your progress. Though we are not to interfere without excellent reason. There is no time limit for your mission; so long as you get it done. Any questions?"
When the girls shook there heads did Blake say, "Alright, Adam, the transmat please."
Adam initiated the phenomenon, and the five of them were materialized into the ship...albeit...haphazardly.
The four passengers landed in the extended backseat in a proverbial heap. Ruby ended up completely upside down, her feet touching the ceiling; Weiss was on the floor, wedged between the front and back seats; and Ren, well...he wasn't exactly complaining about where he currently was.
"Um, so sorry," the Ghost Adam said in apology. "I'm not used to transmatting so many Guardians at once..."
"Never fear, Adam," said Blake serenely from the cockpit seat, as she was the only one who landed in the right position. "You did a fine job." She turned her head to look at the mess in the back seat. "If you guys could hurry and right yourselves; we need to be off soon."
"Sure, no problem," Weiss said from the floor, her voice rife with irritation at Blake's angelic tones.
"If I may say so," said Ren from his rather...advantageous position. "I am not at all adverse to the current arrangements."
And no man in their right mind would be. Not when Yang Xiao Long was straddling your hips, a supporting arm on either side of your head, and her breasts swinging oh-so tantalizingly close to your face.
No. Ren was perfectly fine right where he was.
Yang grinned lopsidedly down at her current victim. "You would want me on top, wouldn't you?" She purred. She swayed her chest, her breasts bobbing this way and that.
"At any rate," Blake said rather quickly. "We need to be off. So if you would be so kind..."
After much shuffling and jostling, (And Weiss accidentally kicking Ruby in the head) They managed to get themselves seated. Only to run into yet another problem. Though the backseat was roomy, it still couldn't account for three people, plus Yang's...bigness (given her height and breadth of shoulder). So after another episode of bodily rearrangement, Ren settled on the far left, Weiss in the middle, and Yang on the right, with Ruby seated in her lap. And it was then that Blake could finally get the ship underway.
Blake let Adam handle the course as she addressed her passengers. "It's only twenty minutes to our destination, but still too long to pass in silence for my taste."
Ruby thought for a second. "I spy with my little eye..."
"No," Said Weiss flatly.
As Ruby pouted in defeat, One of Yang's uneven little grins crossed her face. "So you get a million glimmer..."
"Oh, no," Ruby said with a comical grimace.
Yang chuckled and continued. "So you get a million glimmer, yours to spend any way you want, but, whenever you spend any amount of that glimmer...you projectile vomit for that many seconds."
A silence pervaded the cabin then, as everyone tried to wrap their minds around Yang's warped little challenge. Ren braved an attempt. "So if I spend one hundred glimmer..."
"You projectile vomit for a hundred seconds, strait," Yang clarified.
"No thank you," Ren said.
"Blake?"
"I'll pass," the Faunus said.
"Aw, c'mon, no takers?" Yang said.
The question was met with silence.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh, I got one!" Ruby chimed in. "Okay, so you get a million glimmer to do whatever you want with, but, for one whole year, whenever you eat something, it immediately goes right through you."
"Meaning what?" Yang asked, intrigued.
"Like if you ate a sandwich or something, it would just instantly fall right out your butt."
Blake could do nothing to stifle her laughter from the front seat.
"Sounds like we have a taker!" Ruby said.
"Not a chance," Blake said, not wanting her laughter to be misinterpreted.
"Weiss?"
"What did I do to deserve you two as a Fireteam?" was her response, though there was no missing the smile on her face.
"I'd do it," Yang said. Blake whipped around in her seat to face her, both eyebrows raised. "All I'd have do is make sure that I'm already sitting on the toilet whenever I eat something. Problem solved! Easy million!"
After that, everyone took a turn at the million glimmer, but game; the stipulations becoming increasingly vulgar. Until Adam came through on the comm. "Now approaching the Twilight Gap!" he said.
Blake assumed the ship's controls as she expertly guided the White Fang into it's final approach. She positioned the ship a few meters off the ground before turning in her seat to address her passengers. "Alright, one thing I forgot to mention. During the course of your mission you will be being monitored by not only Ren and myself, but the Vanguard as well. So the one thing to keep in mind is; whatever you do, don't-" and the Ghost Adam initiated the transmat and Ruby and her team were transported to the ground.
Ren chuckled in amusement. "Do you have to do that to all the rookies?" he asked Blake.
"Oh, it's all in good fun," Blake said back. "Besides, I've a feeling those three will be alright no matter what we tell them." She turned back to the controls. "To orbit please, Adam." And the ship sped off into the atmosphere.
...
Team Rosenkreuz was deposited gently onto the somewhat uneven ground below them. Ruby's first thought upon landing was, "Don't do what?" She was in something of a mild panic. "What are not supposed to do?!"
Weiss seemed unperturbed. She loaded a clip into her Marshal-A1 and said, "It matters not what we shouldn't do. We should concern ourselves with what we must do."
It was little speeches like that that sometimes made Ruby wonder why Weiss wasn't the leader of this team. She was older; she was smarter; but a better fighter...well, that was up for debate. But if her team wasn't worried, then neither should Ruby be. "Alright then Fireteam Rosenkreuz, lets start our new lives off with a bang!"
"I'm startin' my new life off with a Yang!" Said the titular blonde.
Both Weiss and Ruby gave Yang a 'Really?' stare. To which Yang only shrugged innocently. Ruby gave the signal, and the trio began the hike to the Twilight Gap facility.
The dusty road stretched out before them, the path littered with scraggly trees and boulders as big as jump ships. The girls kept their weapons at the ready, knowing The Fallen were currently in control of this place. Ruby could just picture an ambush waiting for them behind one of those big rocks.
After about ten minutes of walking, was when Ruby sensed it. She held up a clenched fist, the signal to halt. The others did, their eyes on their leader. "Ruby, what is it?" Yang said.
Being a Hunter, Ruby was in possession of near supernatural levels of eyesight and hearing. She could detect distant threats long before they were actually threats. And as it was, Ruby was currently detecting something, although she wasn't quite sure what it was. She raised her eyes to comb the clouds as the disturbance got closer. "I don't know. It kind of sounds like a-"
And just then did a Fallen Skiff roar in from orbit.
"Get to cover, now!"
The three of them scrambled behind an enormous boulder as the Skiff unloaded on their cover with heavy Arc cannon rounds.
"And we were so close to the facility too," Weiss snapped.
"You didn't think they'd lets us in without a fight, did you?" Ruby asked her while priming her Psi-Umbra.
The Skiff was currently unloading Fallen troops from it's bowels. They moved to fortify the road ahead, knowing that the Guardians would have no choice but to come this way.
"What's the plan, Ruby?" Yang asked her leader.
Ruby peeked cautiously around their current cover. From there, she espied six Dregs, three Vandals, and a Servitor. She turned back to her team. "The best thing to do is to get inside the facility," she said. "We'll have better cover and we can fight from the inside out, instead of the other way around."
Weiss poked her own head around the rock now, "Not exactly a clear path..."
"Then we force our way," Yang said, clenching her fist, Solar energy sparking from her knuckles.
"You got a Fist up?" Ruby asked, alluding to Yang's Super ability.
"No, but I got a Flashbang at the ready."
"I've a Scatter grenade ready as well," Weiss said.
"Alright, first the Flashbang to confuse them, then the Scatter to destroy them. Anything left after that is easy pickins' for coordinated fire," Ruby said. "So, on three then. One...two..."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Yang said. "On three? Or three and then go?"
"On three," Ruby said, as though stating the obvious. "It's always faster on three." So the girls readied themselves as Ruby gave the count again. "One..two..three!"
Yang tossed her grenade over the rock before even exiting cover. It took an expertly guided bounce and landed smack in the middle of the gaggle of Fallen creatures. A cry went up from their ranks, but they recognized the threat too late, and all within range had their vision destroyed by a burst of Arc light. (Yes, although Yang's semblance is Solar, she still uses Arc-based grenades)
They dashed around the boulder now at top speed. Weiss cast her Scatter grenade into the group, and the explosive razors of Void light laid waste to those blinded by Yang's previous grenade. But two of the Vandals and the Servitor managed to avoid the oncoming assaults and now readied one of their own. They stood firm and unloaded their shrapnel launchers as the Servitor pelted them with Void-based eye blasts.
The incoming fire tore into the ground in front of them, but Team Rosenkreuz never broke their stride as they focused their gunfire first on one Vandal, and then the second, both falling with little effort. The Servitor proved more resilient to arms fire; it's sturdy mechanical shell deflecting most of their bullets. "I got it!" Yang cried. She ran absolutely flat out now, picking up tremendous speed. The Servitor cried mechanically and focused it's fire on Yang, and despite taking a direct hit, it didn't slow her down one bit. She then put all of her body weight and momentum into a viscous shoulder charge. SHOOON! Solar energy exploded around her as the Servitor was blasted into dust by Yang's attack.
Even in the face of this small victory, they kept moving, towards the facility. Two more Skiffs flew in from orbit, looking to head them off, but the girls were already scrambling up the aluminum stairs and into the heart of the Twilight Gap.
Inside, they found themselves surrounded by enormous crates of various fire arms, warheads, and other ammunition. And surrounding these, were the Fallen soldiers tasked with defending them. Fireteam Rosenkreuz fought their way deeper inside, dispatching waves of Dregs and Vandals along the way. Their itinerary was the MAC gun that Glynda described, all they needed to do was find it.
The Fallen resistance began to dwindle as the group found themselves in the very center of the Twilight Gap. "Where the heck is this thing?" Ruby said. "Isn't it supposed to be like, Ginormous or something?"
Yang, who had wandered a little ways off, was currently peeking down a small staircase. She smiled triumphantly. "Hey girls, I think I found it!" She sang. They all hopped down the stairs and found an identical sight waiting for them. The giant magnetic cannon was pointed outward and into the sky, it's job being to protect the Twilight Gap form airborne insertion. Unfortunately, there was nothing stopping anyone from simply walking up to it and taking it offline, which is exactly what The Fallen managed to do.
Yang let out a low whistle. "Now that, is a B.F.G," she said.
Weiss squinted her eyes in confusion. "I thought it was an M.A.C?" She said. "What does B.F.G. mean?"
"It stands for Big Fuc-"
"Can we stay focused on the task at hand here?" Ruby said quickly. "We need to get this thing fixed and get out of here."
"Right away Captain," said Yang. "Celica, get on it."
"You got it," said the Ghost as he hovered over to the imposing gun. He located the fuse box, which wasn't hard seeing as it was currently spitting sparks, and gave it a look over. "Holy crap..."
"What is it?" Yang asked the Ghost.
"The Fallen really jacked this thing up!"
"You can fix it, right?"
"Of course I can fix it!" Celica said, giving his shell an impatient twirl. "It's just gonna take longer than I thought, that's all."
"Time we don't have," Weiss said, pointing to the sky. Another Skiff was on the way, and it was bearing down on their position in a hurry.
"You guys gotta cover me while I get this done!" Celica beeped.
So Team Rosenkreuz set themselves up to defend Celica as he repaired the MAC gun.
It was going to be a long fight.
...
Meanwhile, in orbit, Blake and Ren sat watching the progress of Fireteam Rosenkreuz. "They're doing quite well," Blake said. "They've already begun repairs on the MAC gun."
"Excellent," Ren said from the backseat. "It is Thursday, and I would like to meditate before service tonight."
"Don't worry," Blake assured him. "We'll be well shut of this before that time arrives."
Ren thought for a moment. "It's a shame though," he said. "Part of me was hoping for a reason to interject..."
"Ren!"
"Oh, c'mon," he said to her. "Rosenkreuz is down there having all the fun while I'm up here, stuck in the backseat of your bus?" Ren always jokingly referred to Blake's ship as 'The Bus', owing to the number of occupants it could hold. "And it would be a good opportunity to put that new semblance of yours through it's paces." This drew a silent agreement from Blake. "How's it coming along?"
"Fairly well," was Blake's response. "I have no problems calling on The Void anyone, but there are still some aspects that I still don't have full control over. I just can't seem to get the Shadow Shot to do what I want yet."
Ren leaned forward, an eyebrow raised. "The 'Shadow Shot'?" He said with a light chuckle. "That's what you're calling it now?"
"Well, yes," Blake said through a blush. "It certainly sounds a damn site better than 'Void Bow' does it not?"
Ren leaned back in his seat. "I suppose so," he said.
Blake received an alert from Adam. "Ah, they're being engaged again." She tapped into the Ghosts video feed. "Let's see what Rosenkreuz is really made of."
...
Ruby had lost track of just how many Fallen she had killed in the past few minutes. The number seemed endless; their enemies were determined to hang onto this piece of acquired territory. What with the potential firepower they could possibly harness from the weapons stored in this facility, The Fallen were fighting ferociously to keep hold of it.
A flock of Dregs were making their way down the short staircase that lead to this room. "Incoming!" Ruby shouted. Weiss saw their their advance and readied her response. She focused Void energy into her right hand as a somewhat eerie deep-purple glow shone from her eyes. Ruby knew this to be Weiss's calling upon The Void. Weiss then loosed the energy from her hand, where it bloomed just before the approaching Dregs. A Vortex Grenade. These amateurs were clearly ignorant to the threat the projectile posed, for they attempted to charge strait through it, and were rightly torn to ribbons by the swirling Void energy.
"Good job, Weiss!" Ruby said. There would be no time to preen however, as yet another Skiff descended on their position. The pilots of this ship took a different approach than their comrades. It hovered just a few meters out and rained fire on them from it's heavy Arc cannons. The girls scampered behind a huge crate as the Skiff blasted away. "Any suggestions?"Yang asked.
"Without heavy weapons, that thing is gonna be really hard to take down," Ruby said.
That's when Weiss spoke up. "Leave it to me."
Ruby looked to her. "You have a plan?"
Weiss smiled back, "I always have a plan."
And from right there on the spot did Weiss use her Void glide to propel herself upwards. She did a one-eighty turn and faced the marauding Skiff. Her whole body began to shimmer with etheric purple light and then, she unleashed her Nova Bomb. The huge Void projectile traveled in a heavy parabola across the space, and then collided with the hull of the Fallen ship. This alone was not enough to bring the ship down however, but the ensuing vortex was. The swirling mass of Void particles tore at the open rupture of the hull, like twisting a knife in a wound. The Skiff belched black smoke and fire, and then sunk out of view. Weiss glided back down to the ground, landing gracefully on one foot. "Done," she said, striking a bow.
"Amazing..." Ruby breathed in awe. While things seemed relatively quiet, she checked on Celica and his progress.
"Almost there," the Ghost replied. "Just a few more minute should do it."
In the time it took for the girls to reload their weapons, did yet another Skiff descend from orbit. "Geez, they don't give up, do they?" Yang said.
"And why would they?" Ruby said. "They want this place as bad as we do."
The skiff moved into position and then dropped off a single occupant. Zwei immediately popped out of Ruby's head. "Wait...this one seems different somehow," he said. After a short analysis, he had his verdict. "It's a Reaver!" He shouted. "It's incredibly powerful!" TheFallen beast readied two of it's hands with deadly laser cutlasses and loosed a chilling cry of battle lust through the air.
Weiss primed her Nox Cantor fusion rifle. "We'll have to cut through it's shielding before we can damage it at all," she said, her eyes locked warily on the approaching Reaver.
Ruby found herself, along with the others, taking slow and careful steps backwards as the Reaver approached, trying to buy more time before it attacked in earnest. "I got a Flux Grenade ready, and my Arc Blade is charged."
"Alright, on your go, Ruby," was Weiss's urgent whisper.
By now, the Reaver had plenty of time to size up it's opposition. It had come here for a fight.
And it was tired of waiting.
It charged the girls openly now, causing them to scatter. Weiss performed a neat tuck and roll and rose to one knee. She began charging her fusion rifle and let loose a volley of Arc bolts at the Reaver. The creature saw this coming, however, and evaded Weiss's fire with a short range teleport, not at all unlike Ruby's own Blink. Weiss had no time to recover before the Reaver was on her. It gave a mighty swing of both of its beam swords, both of which caught Weiss square in the chest. The girl was sent flying clear across the room from the force of the blow, slamming brutally into the opposite wall. She crumpled to the floor as her Ghost Windig was jettisoned from her body.
"Guardian down!" Zwei said in Ruby's head.
"Oh Traveler no!" Ruby screamed. This of course attracted the attention of the Reaver, who locked it's sights on Ruby and charged.
Ruby was all set to charge her Arc Blade, but then she saw a round canister clatter at the Reaver's feet, and was quick enough to shield her eyes before it went off. The Reaver momentarily blinded, Yang rushed to Ruby's position. "Go get to Weiss!" She said without preamble.
Ruby didn't need to be told twice, she was much faster than Yang was and could cross this space before the Reaver could catch her. VROOON! Ruby blinked across the room to revive Weiss.
And it was then that the Reaver recovered it's power of sight. It currently only saw one Guardian when just a moment before there had been two. A clever distraction by this girl, yes. But it had met clever foes before, and trounced them every time. The Reaver gave the swords in it's hands a series of artful twirls before advancing on its target.
Yang, her Striker instincts sensing the tone of this coming battle, holstered her Hand Cannon. Her golden-yellow gauntlets opened to their fullest extension as she turned her body sideways. She raised her fists. "You and me, big boy," she said.
Meanwhile, Ruby had managed to cross the room in a series of rapid blinks and reach Weiss's position. "Just hold on, Weiss," she whispered. She cupped the sphere of Windig's broken shell between her palms and focused her Light into her hands. And in a flash of blue, did Weiss re-appear.
Though Weiss's powers of recovery were great, one did not quickly shrug of a full frontal assault from a Reaver Captain. She slumped to her knees as the residual effects of the blow overcame her. Ruby squatted down next to her and put a supportive shoulder under her arm. "Ruby, I'm so sorry," Weiss gasped.
"No, it's okay," Ruby said, a small smile on he face. "Just stay down. You've done more than enough today."
"But What about Yang?"
Ruby grinned again. "Look and see," she said.
They both turned to observe the scene happening in the middle of the room, which was nothing short of spectacular.
Yang and the Reaver were locked in an incredible hand-to-hand conflict. Yang's wrist-mounted gauntlets were fully extended, providing her with not only another weapon, but also another means of defense. The Clings! and Clangs! of the Reaver's weapons could be heard reverberating off of them throughout the space. Yang was a blur of fists and feet as she ducked, dodged, bobbed, and weaved. Her already tremendous punching power was furthered still by her hand-mounted weapons, which loosed a flare of Solar energy with every impact.
The Reaver, having been purpose-trained for this particular brand of combat, was also giving a formidable account of itself. Displaying agility much greater than Ruby would have expected from a creature of it's size, it easily matched Yang step-for-step and strike-for-strike.
The Reaver aimed a mighty blow at Yang's head, which Yang ducked easily. She came back with a uppercut that split the Reaver's guard and sent it reeling backwards. Yang followed up on her advantage; launching herself forward by kicking off her left foot and into a 'Superman Punch' that connected with the Reaver's chest.
Both combatants took a small moment to recover themselves. "What's wrong, big boy?" Yang asked playfully. The barrels in her gauntlets whirred mechanically, ejecting the spent Solar Shells in favor of new ones. "Had enough?"
The Reaver muttered something in it's unintelligible language as it circled Yang again, it's stance full of the kind of cautious admiration a warrior would exercise around a worthy adversary. And just then, taking Yang by complete surprise, did it "blink". It crossed the space between them in a flash and lashed out with both it's left hands. The beam sword striking Yang in the head, and it's fist hitting her abdomen; a liver shot. Yang reeled back from the blows and the Reaver seized on it's advantage. It's beam swords buzzed through the air as the Reaver aimed them both at Yang's head, and connected viciously.
The Titan spun around on the spot from the force, completely dazed. The Reaver followed mercilessly with a powerful punch right to the side of her head. Yang's knees turned to water as she stumbled around the place, completely separated from her senses. She was, as the saying goes, "Out on her feet".
Weiss made a move to rise to her feet. "She needs help!" she screamed.
"No," said Ruby knowingly. "Watch."
The Reaver, sensing that the kill was at hand, (all four of them) had moved in on Yang. But it came to a shocked halt at the sudden change in Yang's demeanor. Just a second before she seemed completely vulnerable, and now suddenly she seemed no worse for wear; her eyes had turned red and her hair spat fire as she redoubled her attack on the Reaver with renewed ferocity.
"She turns pain into power," Ruby explained to Weiss. "The more you hurt her, the more she hurts you back."
Yang launched herself at the Captain and unleashed a barrage of fiery fists. The Reaver could do almost nothing as it was simply overwhelmed by Yang's new intensity. She aimed a powerful strait-armed punch at the creature's chest, and a discharge of Solar energy saw it careening across the room. Yang literally flew after it, parallel to the floor, in what was unmistakably her Fist of Havoc posture. The Reaver, stunned from it's impact with the wall, was helpless to stop the Solar-Powered missile aimed for it's face.
Yang collided with the Reaver in an absolute cataclysm of Solar energy. Flames spread wildly across the area, and it seemed that even Yang herself had caught fire; her hair burning as bright as the flames around her. Where there had once stood a mighty Reaver Captain, there was now nothing more than a blackened crater. And in it's place, stood an even mightier Titan, burning in victory.
Yang came back to herself as she snapped out of her battle trance, the flames around her all at once disappearing. She turned to her team mates and said with a grin, "Nailed it."
Ruby and Weiss walked out to meet her, Ruby launching herself into Yang's arms. "That was so awesome!" she said.
"Just incredible..." Weiss breathed.
"All in a day's work!" Yang preened. The three of them approached the giant MAC gun, checking on Celica's progress.
"And...done!" the Ghost said triumphantly. He then proceeded to fly circles around the group, clearly flush with excitement. "Did you see my Guardian out there?! She KICKED ASS!"
They shared a laugh as Ruby looked to each of her team mates in turn. "Fireteam Rosenkreuz, I hereby declare this mission a rousing success!"
They pumped their fists in the air hooted triumphantly. But then Weiss sobered the group by saying, "But wait, how do we know if the gun is working?"
And just then, did a Fallen Skiff drop in from orbit.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Ruby shouted as she primed her Psi Umbra.
The group readied themselves for battle as the alien ship approached them. But just then, did the MAC gun come to life. The enormous cannon whirred and clicked as locked itself on it's target. And then it unloaded. KA-THOON! The Skiff was instantly shredded. It sunk in a shower of sparks and smoke, and the Twilight Gap once again had it's main means of defense.
Celica then turned to Weiss. "That's how," he said smartly.
Seeing all was well here, Ruby said to her Ghost, "Zwei, call in Blake from orbit. It's time for us to head home."
...
Glynda Goodwitch stood alone in The Speaker's office. In her immediate view was the great machine that was used for measuring The Traveler's Light fluctuations. And at her fingertips, was the console responsible for it's operation. It was as expansive as it was complex; replete with an almost absurd number of knobs, buttons, levers, and switches; none of which were labeled. However, with Glynda having been it's long-time operator, she was more than intimately familiar with it's layout and function.
She gave one of the nondescript buttons a push and the machine whirled into motion. Glynda also made note of the young man that happened to be currently occupying the space beneath the machine. He was in a meditative state; balanced on a cloud of Void energy, just close enough to the whirring rings of the machine to barely avoid getting hit by them. Just a few moments from there, did the machine complete it's analysis. The results were displayed to Glynda on a screen just at her eye level. She processed this information, and then leaned into the mounted microphone, her finger pressed down on The Tower's PA system button. "Traveler intensity approaching Zenith," her amplified voice said for all The Tower to hear.
Glynda set the machine into motion once more, and then another phenomenon caught her attention. Suddenly, she was no longer alone in this small office. She found herself joined by three other occupants. As Glynda turned in full to face them, she gave a start of surprise and recognition.
It was Fireteam Cinder.
But this was not the same team of Guardians who departed oh-so confidently for their mission seventy-two long hours ago. These three looked as though they had been through a war. They were bruised, battered; their individual armors more or less completely shredded. But above all else...they looked humbled. As though they had encountered some great force of opposition beyond their mastery, which was a foreign concept to these powerful Guardians.
Cinder looked Glynda dead in the eye, mustering as much intensity as she could through her obvious fatigue and said, "We need to see The Speaker."
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*End of Legend 10*
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A/N:
Well, this was a long time coming. What..three months between updates? I must be slowing down in my old age. As I've no sage words of wisdom in this particular case, I just want to thank any readers in advance for giving this a look once it floats back up to the top. The next chapter will...definitely happen...yeah...
-B.D. Skunkworks
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PS-
I've really been caught up playing this crazy little free to play game on my phone called Clash of Cuties. Ridiculous title, but incredibly addicting RPG. I recommend looking into it if such a thing tickles your fancy.