*Legend 13*
Shadows of Light
...
In the relatively cozy confines of Ozpin's open-air office, did he, Glynda Goodwitch, and the entirety of Fireteam Cinder meet. Cinder's team, demonstrating something of an urgent punctuality, showed up thirty minutes early. Ozpin was happy to oblige them.
"Thank you for meeting with us so soon, team Cinder," Ozpin said in opening. "Please, tell us what you found."
Cinder, the team leader, and hence, spokeswoman of the group, took the floor. "As per the defined parameters of our assigned mission, we have patrolled, and additionally, attempted accesses to The Vault of Glass. Given Team Nicos' findings earlier in the year, we shifted our itinerary to supplementation of said data. And we found these." Cinder tapped a few keys on the keypad of Ozpin's holographic table projector, and on it, appeared the image of what looked like a simple round metallic plate. "We managed to locate three identical devices scattered about the ruins. We've no real clue as to their origin, but even stranger than that, is their function."
"For some reason, they seem to react to a Guardian's Light. Were one to step onto said device..." she punched a key, and the holographic plate hummed to life, thrumming with an alabaster energy. "It would activate. We learned quickly that all three devices needed to be active simultaneously, and for some little length of time in order to activate a great mechanism that we believe to be connected to the door of this place somehow." Cinder paused her speech here as she expelled a reluctant breath. "However, upon activating the devices...is when they show up."
The projected image shifted, and now displayed what looked like a bipedal humanoid automaton. It's armored casing was an ugly rusty brown, and it moved with horribly stilted and (dare one say) robotic motions, and viewed the world around it with a single, electric-red, cyclopean eye. "This is the smallest, and most numerous unit of the bunch," Cinder began in assessment. "Armed with medium-range, solar-based rifles. We believe they serve of role of foot soldiers or infantry. They're easy enough to eliminate; a single shot to what we think is it's central power core- that glowing white section there- destroys it almost instantly." The hologram shifted again. "The next unit is incredibly similar to the first, save for the telltale shape of its head, and the addition of what looks like a tail. These units prefer to fight from great distance, as they're armed with extreme-range, solar-based sniper rifles."
"And they're accurate as hell too," Emerald said. She rotated her right shoulder, having taken a sniper round there that burned through her armor.
Ozpin gave a nod and bade Cinder to continue.
"And lastly," Cinder said. "Are these." The hologram changed to display the largest unit yet of the robotic force.
"I remember those bad boys," Mercury said. He folded his arms over his chest. "Those are what we had the most trouble with..."
"Indeed," Cinder said in conformation. "As is plainly obvious, these are the largest, and without a doubt, the most powerful units of them all. They are heavily shielded and incredibly aggressive. Their primary targets seemed to be whoever happened to be standing inside one of the devices at any given time; given that, we assessed their function purely to be the immediate eviction of those in said devices."
During a somewhat short pause during Cinder's speech, Emerald cautiously spoke her first words of the meeting. "They weren't really all that tough, not even the big ones," she said. "But it was their numbers." She shivered just slightly. "They just kept coming..."
"Which brings us to my last observation," Cinder said. The hologram projected from the table changed yet again, this time displaying a short video clip that happened to be captured from Cinder's Ghost.
From a very first-person perspective, were the images of a somewhat lushly dilapidated battleground. The territory was largely uneven, with this particular viewpoint being from somewhere on high amongst the ruins. In what looked to be the very center of the place, was Emerald. She was currently doing her best to hold her ground against a wave of the marauding androids. Her hand cannon, the level gold Hawk Moon, was cracking in overdrive as she felled all those that came her way. And then, through a series of very Gunslinger-esque acrobatics, a cleverly placed swarm grenade, and a precise shotgun blast, she dismantled one of the hulking specimens intent on forcing her out of the metallic circle she happened to be occupying.
On what could be called the far right of this arrangement, on a somewhat equal elevation with that of this observers', was Mercury. He had abandoned his weaponry entirely at this point, and was currently destroying waves of androids with nothing more than his fists; the preferred armaments of any Striker. He then used his lift to propel himself to some little altitude above his final targets. And from there, did he plummet down into them; crashing down with a mortar-like eruption of Arc energy that formed a shallow crater around the blast zone. The Fist of Havoc.
All proximate threats clear, he offered a victorious fist pump across the space to Cinder, by whom this was being seen. Her own hand swam into the frame as she returned the gesture, sure now that they would be free to explore the ruins and it's devices at their leisure.
They were wrong.
From a seemingly undetectable source, appeared what looked like masses of billowing black storm clouds. "What the hell is this...?" Cinder's own recorded voice could be heard saying. And in little more than a flash, appeared legions more of the persistent androids, all primed for battle. Mercury and Emerald were soon re-engaged, as Cinder did her best to keep the recording going. And then from her immediate left was there a viciously invigorated, and entirely mechanical kind of scream. She whirled around on the spot and was immediately met with a powerful robotic fist from one of the large units. The recording was abruptly cut off, ending in a hiss of static.
"That was the first wave of those things," Cinder said then. "From there, it was like we were fighting a never ending battle. I'm not sure where they kept coming from, but it was clear that their numbers were inexhaustible. After three days of effort, we were left with no choice but to abandon the mission."
During the brief period of melancholy that followed this statement, was when Cinder's Ghost popped out of her head. His shell was bright crimson red with violent orange flame accents on the points of his shell. "Um, if I may..." he said somewhat cautiously.
"Go ahead, Torchwick," Cinder said.
"While all this was going on, I did some digging of my own, and I found some...disturbing things."
"Please continue," Ozpin urged the little device.
"Well firstly, I managed to pull multiple strings referring to these things collectively as, 'The Vex'. And apparently, humanity of The Sol System weren't the first race of beings that encountered them."
"What do you mean by that?" Glynda asked.
"I couldn't really nail down the specifics, but from what I read, they travel from system to system, literally turning planets into machines. The ones we were fighting against were only the tip of the iceberg." Torchwick paused here, as though for breath (despite having no need of such a thing). "For starters, those black clouds we kept seeing; they are actually local space-time distortions. Don't ask me how or from where, but these things have the ability to travel through space and time; they can be anywhere or anywhen they choose to be, which explains how they managed to close on our position so fast."
"There must be a source, in that case," Glynda concluded. "They have to be coming from somewhere. And from the sound of it, it may not be from anywhere actually on Venus..."
"That brings me to the next thing," was Torchwick's continuation of the thread. "Miss Goodwitch is right, these things aren't native to Venus, nor are they exclusive to it. When they take over a planet, they build what are called Confluxes, these serve as conduits into and out of their networks. Wherever the network reaches, The Vex can be there instantly, like riding some kind of information super highway. And my scans indicated that this network of theirs spans the entirety of the planet Venus..."
"Good Traveler..." Glynda breathed. "So you're telling us that these things can just appear wherever they want, anywhere on the planet!?"
"Yes," was the Ghosts simple answer. "And if you can believe it, it gets worse."
"How so?" Was Ozpin's question.
"This same network that runs through Venus...I've picked up traces of it on Mars as well, and even way out there on Mercury too. These things are moving fast."
"What about Earth?" Cinder asked him.
"They skipped right over Earth, though I can't tell you why," was Torchwick's answer. "The fact remains however that The Vex pose a far greater threat than we initially realized."
Ozpin had heard enough. "Glynda," he said. "Get a message to Winter Schnee at The Citadel. Tell her and her Guardian contingent to be on heightened alert to any activity from The Vex. And then relay the Same message to James Ironwood at The Dust Palace."
Glynda saluted dutifully and made haste from the room.
"What should we do?" Was Emerald's question to Ozpin then.
"Nothing," was the answer. "You have done more than enough in giving us this invaluable information. You will all find a handsome sum of glimmer and a level gold engram waiting for you in your vaults."
Mercury nodded his approval as he and Emerald turned to leave the room. However, Cinder was not yet inclined to take her leave. At the top of the staircase was when they realized their leader was not...leading them.
Emerald instantly recognized the situation. "Mercury..." she said imploringly.
"I know..." he responded with a huff. He approached Cinder, who's eyes were currently boring a hole into the back of Ozpin's head. "Cindy..." he said. "I know what you're thinking alright, just...don't do this. Not again, please..." all of this was said in a strained whisper; Mercury doing his best to keep Ozpin ignorant to their lingering presence, and to diffuse a very angry Sunsinger.
Despite his efforts, Cinder shrugged him off. Her approaching footsteps alerted Ozpin, who turned in surprise to find her and her team still there. "Miss Fall?" He said in question.
"Three days..." Cinder half whispered. "For three days me and my team were out there risking our lives; losing our lives. And for what?" Cinder narrowed her eyes dangerously at this point. "For you." Mercury and Emerald exchanged nervous glances.
"It's times like this I wonder why I even left The Lighthouse; leaving the tutelage of the great Osiris to come serve you. You see, Osiris is something of an academic; he believes more in the theory than he does the method. Which is fine, but I don't happen to think along those same lines. I may be a Warlock, but I'm also a Praxic. I don't read books; I fight wars. And that's why I came to you. I saw that you were a man of action, and you rewarded those who thought accordingly. But now I can see that I was wrong about you."
Ozpin took this verbal due rather stoically; his hands folded atop his walking stick and his face an unreadable mask. Though he had many a rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, he held himself from interrupting this passionate young lady's speech.
"Guardians are not normal soldiers, Ozpin. We are not born just to fight and die. But I sometimes can't help thinking that we're being sacrificed for some huge lie..." She broke off momentarily, casting a look out to the imposing Traveler that was in full view of this place. "The people see us as heroes keeping peace. But in reality...we're just weapons. Pointed at the enemy so you can claim a victory." There was another pause here, permeated only by the sounds of The Tower's populace that drifted through this place.
"You can keep your money and your Traveler-damned engram," she said in finality. "I'm going back to Mercury; back to The Lighthouse. Consider this my resignation."
And she turned on her heel and left the office, not even sparing a glance at her team.
Mercury buried his face in his hand. "Ozpin, sir, I'm so-"
Ozpin held up a hand. "An apology is far from necessary," he said. "Cinder has had that speech on her mind for some number of months now. She needed to get the words off her chest."
Mercury nodded. His gaze then was met by Emerald's own, her red eyes alight with urgency. "Merc, go get your girl," she said through somewhat gritted teeth.
And so Mercury left the office, intent on talking some sense into Cinder. He ambled rather slowly through the courtyards of the advanced Guardian's section, almost leisurely. Fact was, he knew exactly where Cinder was going, or rather, where she'd be after an emotional flare-up of this magnitude. That was the thing about dating a Sunsinger, they were emotional; incredibly passionate people, and to a surfeit. Ozpin had said that Cinder had that speech on her mind for a while now, eh? Well, as it happened, Mercury had a speech he'd been meaning to deliver to her as well.
A few minutes from there did Mercury open the door to the apartment that he and Cinder shared. The space was completely silent, only reaffirming the probability of Cinder's whereabouts. He strolled down the corridor and opened the door to their bedroom, and there she was. She was sat on the edge of their bed, her hands resting lightly on her knees, eyes closed. Mercury stepped fully into the room now, closing the door behind him. Cinder had broken her ruefully meditative trance then and looked him in the eye from her sitting position.
Mercury gave a nonchalant roll of his eyes about the room before locking his gaze on Cinder's. "You're an idiot." Were his first words. This was clearly not what Cinder was expecting, her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she readied herself for the rest of Mercury's immanent speech.
He held up three fingers. "Three days. That's how long we were out there fighting. But you know what's even more important about this number? That's also how many of us that were there. You went and told Ozpin off like you were the only one out there on that rock fighting for your life. There's no 'I' in team, and there's no 'you' either."
Cinder attempted to interrupt. "Mercury, I never meant to-"
"Shut up," the Titan said.
Cinder complied, shocked into silence. Mercury had never, not once, spoken to her like this before.
Mercury crossed the room then, keeling down in front of Cinder, his hands atop her own on her knees. "You said that the people see us as heroes, but you know what else they see us as?" The silence from Cinder served as her question. "They see us as invincible. 'Guardians never die, they have the power of the Light, what could possibly kill them?' That's what they say about us. Of course they don't know that we die every day, on every mission." He gave a shake of his head then. "It's times like this that I envy normal people, you know why? They can only die once." He reached up to frame Cinder's beautiful face with his hands. "When we were out there on Venus fighting those things, I had to watch you die again, and again, and again. Hundreds, maybe a thousand times. And each and every single time fucking killed me inside, Cindy! The Light may be a gift from the Traveler, but sometimes it can be a curse too."
Cinder's mouth was agape in apologetic shock. Surely at that time, words, any words at all would have conveyed her regret. But the words would not come. There was only the weight, the very much physical weight of the man she loved pouring his heart out to her.
"And then you talk about resigning," he said with a cruel smirk and a laugh. "Would you really do that? leave The Tower and your team? Would you leave me?"
Cinder broke at that. "Mercury, I never meant it like that. I would never leave you...never..."
Mercury stood up, pulling Cinder up along with him. He pulled her close, his arms locked around her waist. In the lock of Mercury's body, Cinder's own was somewhat miniscule. But there was, strength; great strength that radiated from her small and clever body. Mercury had never once thought her fragile, just the opposite. He lifted her face up to his own with an index finger. "It's alright," he whispered to her. "I'm sorry if I was hard on you."
Cinder shook her head. "No, you were right. Those were the words I needed."
Mercury brushed a lock of her ash-black hair back behind her ear, revealing those brilliant fiery-gold eyes he loved so much. Said eyes now brimming over with tears she was too proud to let fall, even in the embrace of her lover.
"I'll apologize to Ozpin first thing tomorrow," Cinder said then.
"Damn strait you will," Mercury said back sternly. "But...you really should apologize to me first."
"Oh my dear Mercury Black, I am ever so sorry!" Cinder intoned dramatically, her smile widening all the time. "Can you ever, ever forgive me?"
Mercury pouted thoughtfully. "Well...I'm not convinced," he said, smiling back. "I'm afraid this is going to take something extra special to make things up to me."
"Is that so?" Cinder purred.
"Absolutely," was Mercury's cheeky response.
"Well then..." Cinder then swiveled Mercury around. "It's a good thing I've got something special in mind then, isn't it?"
She gave Mercury a shove and he flopped backwards onto the bed, his smile at it's widest point yet.
And from there, did Cinder begin "Making things up" to her beloved.
...
"I understand. Thank you." The holographic image of Glynda Goodwitch flickered and vanished, leaving Winter Schnee very much alone in her large oval office. She turned then, and crossed the space to the enormous floor-to-wall window at the head of the office. She clasped her hands behind her back in a posture of ever-militant attention while staring out onto the lush Venusian landscape. Far down below, she could see the comings and goings of her Guardian contingent here at The Citadel. Of course, what Glynda failed to realize, was that she wasn't telling her anything that she already didn't know. Winter was fully aware of The Vex and their presence here on Venus. She had been conducting regular studies on their habits and patterns and had learned quite a number of somewhat alarming things about them. Even then, she had the situation perfectly in hand, as she always did. However, with Ozpin and his contingent sticking their nose into matters, The Vex were becoming more aggressive. Winter had to increase patrols around The Ishtar Sink two-fold to keep them in check. They had kicked the hornet's nest, as it were.
Winter expelled a slow breath from her lungs, this breath then turning into a cry of frustration. She pounded the glass window before her, Arc energy sparking from the knuckles of her gloved fist. Her plans to deal with The Vex were so carefully constructed, and then this idiot Ozpin goes and ruins everything! Winter calmed herself and resumed her former posture. Though she was alone, she regretted the momentary cracking of her cool; such displays were markedly unbecoming of the elegance demanded from a lady Warlock.
The Vex would be dealt with. What Ozpin and his people didn't know was that Winter knew exactly where The Vex were coming from. Not from the ruins he was so intent on exploring, but from somewhere much, much, deeper. She had a contingency plan in place to eliminate their source in one fell swoop, but with Ozpin's meddling, said plan needed to be accelerated.
Winter then called to her Ghost. "Palpatine!"
And he appeared before her. His shell was a deep royal blue with electric-colored highlights of pure Arc energy running the length of his spines. "Yes, my lady?" He inquired, his voice smooth and cultured.
Winter's command to the Ghost was short and direct. "Bring me Fireteam Lilysteel."
"At once." Palpatine vanished as he went to retrieve the Fireteam in question.
And in no more than ten minute's time, did the door to her office open, marking the entrance of her most talented and treasured Guardians.
The first of the ensemble was a Hunter; a Gunslinger. Her physical appearance was marked by that of deep crimson hair, amber colored eyes, and an incredibly curvy physique. Said physique was on full display as the girl's armor scheme was...minimal at best; consisting of nothing more than a flame-accented swimsuit top, shorts secured with a white studded belt, and white zippered boots that went up to her calves. Despite her rather brash appearance, the girl was an unbelievably talented sniper, and showed it by carrying no less than two different sniper rifles. The first was the incredible level purple, Y-09 Longbow Synthesis (Void affinity). The second, and much more bizarre, was the level gold No Land Beyond. It honestly behooved Winter as to why the girl would carry a sniper rifle as her primary weapon, but the results spoke for themselves. There was absolutely no Guardian that exited that could best the girl at extreme-distance combat.
Her name was Yoko Littner.
The second member of the team was a Hunter as well; a Blade Dancer. Much unlike her partner's, the girl's armor was much more sensible; colored red, brown, and gold, the material was thin but very sturdy, affording her the flexibility necessary to move quickly. What was most remarkable about the the girl (and most immediately noticeable) was her Faunus heritage. She had two very long rabbit ears sprouting from the top of her head. This set of Faunus equipment earning her the affectionate monicker "The Jade Rabbit".
Her name was Velvet Scarlatina.
The last member of the team, was much more of an enigma. She went by the name Neapolitan, or 'Neo' for short. This name more than likely a product of her unusual hair colors of brown and pink; or possibly due to her having complete heterochromia iridum; one eye a light pink, the other one brown. Her unusual appearance aside, even more unusual, was her fighting style. The girl was a born Void Walker, but she fought like no Warlock Winter had ever seen. Neo's style was swift and cunning; dynamic and clever; much more akin to a Hunter than a Warlock. Which suited the girl just fine as she preferred to be referred to as a 'Void Stalker' whatever that was...
And these were the members of Fireteam Lilysteel.
All three girls stood at attention before their headmistress, waiting for their orders. "Thank you for coming, Lilysteel," Winter said. "I am sure you all know why you were summoned."
"It's about The Nexus, isn't it?" Yoko said.
"Precisely," Winter confirmed. "As you all know, Vex activity has been steadily increasing over the past few weeks. Ozpin's interference has forced us to move up the deployment time of Operation Nexus."
The girls nodded. Neo then took to enacting a series of hand gestures; her fingers curling and pointing through the air.
Sign language.
Through some undisclosed trauma of her her past, Neo had been rendered utterly mute, and as such, this was her preferred method of communication. Velvet watched the girl intently, as she served as Neo's interpreter. "She said, 'When do we leave?'"
"Immediately," was the answer. "You all know what must be done and how you are to do it." Winter cast a slow look across the young Guardians then, being sure to meet each of their eyes. "Good luck Fireteam Lilysteel, and Light be with you."
The girls nodded affirmation and then initiated a group transmat from the office. Winter turned back to look out the great window of her office. 'Yes, the situation will be handled' Winter thought.
As it always was before.
...
Having just finished her business in the Vanguard Hall relaying urgent messages to the other two Guardian leaders of the system, Glynda returned to Ozpin's office. The owner of said office was currently staring, as though transfixed at the projected image of the great horde of machines that now threatened their galaxy. Glynda cleared her throat slightly, announcing her return. "Winter Schnee and James Ironwood have been alerted to the situation, sir."
"Thank you, Miss Goodwitch," Ozpin said, his eyes never leaving the projection before him. Glynda joined his side, taking in the image.
Several moments passed in silence. Glynda for some reason doubted very much that he even knew she was there. It was this very same silence that gave rise to Glynda's next question. "Have you ever really thought about it?" she said. Ozpin turned to her, the question on his face rather than in his voice. "About why any of this is happening?" Glynda clarified. She continued on as Ozpin remained silent. "First, The Fallen; then those things on The Moon; and now these?" She swiped at the projection before her, her hand passing clean through it. Glynda turned to face Ozpin in full. "Ozpin, something has been set in motion here that may be beyond our ability to stop..."
Ozpin regarded her coolly, staring at her over his shaded spectacles. "Where there is Light, there will be Shadows," he said cosmically.
Glynda looked from Ozpin to the projection and then back again. "Is that what you think this is?" She said. "Some kind of cosmic balancing act? Darkness must exist because we are the Light!?"
"If only it were that simple, Miss Goodwitch," Ozpin said. "If only..."
Glynda frowned. Ozpin was being much more cryptic than usual, which was saying a lot, but she could normally see through his riddles. But something about him seemed...different at that moment.
Before she could hazard a guess at what, Ozpin's attention was suddenly taken from the room, as though by some great telekinetic force of will. "The Traveler requests a communion," He said. "I will return shortly."
He then hobbled from the room, opening a rather well-concealed back door behind on of his many bookcases. Left alone in the room, Glynda cast a look out to the very Traveler Ozpin was on his way to commune with. She sighed through her nose. "I hate it when that thing takes you away from me..." she said.
...
Ozpin closed the door of the communion chamber behind him, and without pausing, did he begin the rather harrowing walk to its center. The chamber itself was something of a structural anomaly. It was completely spherical, and equally as infinite. There was a singular walkway that protruded to about the center of this incredible space. And at it's end, sat a rather simple metallic chair that Ozpin now rested himself in. The size and shape of this place allowed for the easy resonance of The Travelers' Light waves to reach him, or rather, his mind.
When The Traveler spoke to him, it was with no immediately audible voice anyone could hear, but rather a sympathetic Light wave that only Ozpin was able to pick up on. The Light layer inside every human beings body was The Traveler's attempt at communication with all of those that it touched. However, only one in every one hundred million people had the necessary Light configuration in order to understand it's words. That person just so happened to be Ozpin. And as such, he was deemed 'The Speaker of the Light'.
Ozpin could feel the voice of the Traveler pressing on his mind in earnest now. He braced himself as he let it into his mindscape. His informal visits here with The Traveler in this manner were never really true conversations, as the traffic was mostly one way; Ozpin serving as the receiver of it's Light waves. It was more like it was...telling him stories. And when The Traveler did speak to him, it was always with a clear, and incredibly self-assured female voice. The same voice that rang inside his head now.
Legends...stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that they are remnants; byproducts of a forgotten past.
Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world.
An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction, set their sights on man and all of his creations.
These forces clashed. And it seemed that the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to The Void.
However, even the smallest spark of hope, is enough to ignite change.
And in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity, lead them to the tools that would help them even the odds.
This power was appropriately named...
Light.
Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness. And in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly...life.
But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die.
And when they are gone...darkness will return.
So you may prepare your 'Guardians'
Build your monuments to a so called 'Golden Age'
But take heed...
There will be no victory in strength...
...
The Traveler's speech ended then, leaving Ozpin, as he always did, to ponder on it's meaning. The message was poignant; long winded, but at the same time neatly concise. As there was no way his physical voice would travel across the space, Ozpin projected his thoughts through his Light layer, and directed them at The Traveler.
Or perhaps, victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller; more honest soul...
Whatever The Traveler's response to this was, or would have been, Ozpin didn't know. He was left alone in this place with nothing but it's foreboding message and the pressure of his thoughts. He stared off into the distance of the chamber. "No victory in strength..." he muttered.
...
*End of Legend 13*
...
A/N:
Well, that was a thing. typed this up in but a single sitting, shoutouts to me for perseverance. I wanted to get this chapter done for a long time, to thicken the plot, as it were. Next will definitely be an action chapter, so stay tuned.
Also, I would like to thank all the readers for their reviews, follows, and favorites. Hopefully I'll get a few more after this chapter goes up. Anyway, hope to see my fellow Destiny players on December 13th for The Dawning!
-B.D. Skunkworks