- -Legend 33-

-Light Up The Skies-

…

The ceiling became the floor-

became the ceiling again-

and eventually became a wall.

All sense and direction had abandoned Weiss as the Warlock, ejected from the deathly impact that was their flight into the hull of the Fallen Ketch, tumbled end over broken end, coming to rest in a tangled heap.

"W...Win…" Weiss's call to her Ghost began and ended in a gurgle, and even that was barely audible.

The little device was by her mistress's side in an instant, shining her blue beam of sanative Light over her mangled body. And but a moment later, was the Guardian again at the peak of health.

"Ach du lieber..." did Weiss moan. She stood slowly, working out the now non-existent kinks in her newly repaired body. "Sterling as ever, Windig."

"At your service always, my Lady," did the Ghost reply.

Weiss then looked about the space she was in, chiefly at the smoldering wreckage from which she had been jettisoned. Her eyes widened as she beheld a detail, stark even amongst the smoke and flames. "Ruby!"

The broken shell of her new lover's Ghost floated in the flames of wreckage, doing what he could to protect Ruby's spark of Light from the destructive heat.

"Help!" Zwei cried. "Guardian down!"

Weiss rushed over and, braving the flames that engulfed the little machine, cupped the thing in her hands, flaring her bodily Light as she did so.

Ruby appeared in a flash, and the two of them tumbled away from the wreck and into relative safety.

Straddled rather desirably over her girlfriend then, did Ruby moan: "Holy crrrrrrap that hurt!"

Weiss cradled Ruby's head in the crook of her neck, Ruby planting a kiss upon it. "You are the worst thing to ever happen to me, do you know that?" she sobbed.

"Love you to too, Snowflake," Ruby chuckled into Weiss's neck.

The girls righted themselves as they looked about for their bearings, their weapons tranmatted into being by their Ghosts.

"Alright, whatever we are going to do, we need to do it sehr schnell," Weiss said.

"Alright, I'll be honest, babe," Ruby said meekly. "My plan didn't go any further than getting us in…"

Weiss's lips tightened as she formulated her plan on the spot. "So...the best way to take this thing down from the inside is to...scuttle the engines, yes?"

"Right," Ruby concurred. "Zwei, ping the engine room."

"Done."

Weiss nodded. "Let's get-"

"Wait…" Ruby said.

Weiss looked to her.

"We're going to destroy the engines on...this ship?"

"Ja…"

"The one we're on...right now?"

"Ja…"

"Zwei, ping the hangar bay too; we're gonna need a ride out of here once it goes down."

"Affirmative."

Their plan and destinations locked, Ruby honed in on the energy marker planted by her Ghost. They were halfway across the room when-

"Movement!" Zwei cried. "The Fallen are here! Look sharp, girls!"

A squadron of Eliksni soldiers poured into the room then, weapons primed for combat.

Ruby hurled an Arcbolt grenade at the rabble, shocking a handful of them to a standstill. Weiss followed by loosing her Nox Astur III fusion rifle (Arc affinity) at those immobilized, skillfully fanning her volley as to disintegrate all three of her targets at once.

The Fallen answered back, sending shock rounds and red-hot shrapnel at the Guardians.

Ruby cried out as she took a peppering of electric projectiles to her midsection and left shoulder.

"Hang in there, Ruby!" Zwei cried. "Harness that Arc energy to charge your next grenade!"

Ruby scrambled for what meager cover she could find, shaking out her arm as she waited for her Light to mend the damage she had taken.

Weiss was on the offensive, however. Fearlessly engaging the whole of the Fallen unit. Her Void Edge was fully charged as it sang through the air and through the bodies of her adversaries. Her strikes were like the steps of a dance; poised and graceful ferocity that saw her sword flow in perfect offensive rhythm with the movements of her body. And soon, she was but alone in the room's center, the Fallen soldiers lifeless at her feet.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Zwei said, almost swooning.

Weiss turned to Ruby, sword at her side, feet posed in an elegant 'T'. "Now, about that-"

She fell over dead; a wire of Arc energy catching her clean through the back of the head.

"Weiss!"

"Sniper!" Zwei screamed. "Ruby, Move!"

Ruby Blinked backwards, deeper into the room; sniper fire and a rain of shrapnel tearing up the floor where she once stood. Ruby crouched behind her new cover, conducting Arc energy through her body as to activate her Camo. "Zwei, activate Shadowjack; I'm gonna need more stealth time!"

"Go for it!" Zwei said.

Ruby, camouflaged from view, whipped around her cover, making a beeline for Weiss's Ghost in the room's center.

The Fallen anticipated this, unloading their weapons from on high at the place they knew she was going.

"The fire's too heavy! We'll have to deal with the Fallen first!"

Still cloaked, did Ruby Blink up to the catwalk that ringed the room; the perch that a litany of Fallen snipers had taken up. And there, with a cry, did she activate her Arc Blade Super. Her knife supercharged, did she cut like a whirlwind through the alien fighters. She sliced her way down the catwalk, reducing the Fallen Dregs and Vandals to ashes.

The last of these threats neutralized, did Ruby Blink down to ground level again. She hurried to the place where Weiss had fallen and cradled the broken Ghost in her hands.

Weiss flashed back into the world of the living, her girlfriend the first thing to meet her gaze. "Thank you, liebchen," she said, planting a kiss on Ruby's mouth.

"We need to get moving before more of them show up," Ruby said.

And again on the trail of her Ghost's marker, did they make from the room. Down a dizzying series of corridors, all bathed in red lights and blaring sirens, did they find the source of the first marker.

The kinetic thunder of the massive cruiser's powerful engines played painfully on Ruby's sensitive Hunter ears. Teeth grimaced and eyes squinted, did she aim Crescent Rose at the whirling turbines of the great motor.

TWULAT! TWULAT! TWULAT!

Weiss followed suit, unleashing Void grenades from both hands, her body singing with energy.

Smoke soon filled the air as oil burned and the flailing shards of broken metal shrieked and groaned in dying protest. Ruby could already feel the ship lilting as the fore of the Ketch dipped towards the ground.

"That did it!" Ruby nearly had to scream to be heard over the combined ruckus of the shattered engine and renewed blare of alarms. "We gotta get to the hangar!"

Weiss turned to lead the way, but came to a stop as a flock of Fallen poured through the door to the engine room.

Weiss peaked her Void energy as she unleashed her Nova Bomb Super. KATHEEEW!

The lot of them were blown into The Void.

"We may leave now," the Warlock said.

They ran full sprint through one corridor, and the next. Their progress made only slightly difficult by the angle at which the Ketch was now listing, and its frenzied occupants attempting to bar their path.

And just a breathless while from there, did they find the hangar bay. Ruby looked to the Skiffs that were still docked. Quite a few of them were gone, the order to abandon ship apparently having been given. Ruby and Weiss scrambled to a Skiff at the end of the hangar. "Zwei, transmat!"

And in a flash, were the two of them in the cockpit of the thing. Ruby settled into the pilot seat of the ship, it a surprisingly similar fit and shape to one she would find on a human-designed vessel.

But that was the only similarity to be had.

"Oh...boy…" Ruby whistled. "Zwei, translate the interface...if possible."

"I'll do my best."

"This could complicate things…" Weiss said.

"Got a rough draft," Zwei said then. "It's not one-for-one, but should give us a rough idea."

Ruby looked to the holographic manual that her Ghost projected. She positioned her feet on the pedals beneath her, and grasped the two control sticks upon the dash. "Alright, hit it!"

And the Skiff shot off sharply to the right.

"Wait, stop! Go back!" Ruby attempted to right the ship as she flailed at the controls. "Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions…?"

The Skiff jerked to the left.

"Ruby, retard the controller!" Weiss said, stumbling about the cockpit under the sudden movement.

"What?"

"Retard the throttle!"

"I'm so confused!" Ruby cried.

"Uhh...sorry about the mistranslation…." Zwei said.

"That's not our only problem," Weiss said, having finally stabilized her footing.

"What do you mean?" Ruby said.

Weiss motioned above her. "Eliksni have four arms, liebchen."

Ruby looked up to behold another set of control sticks above her head. "Oh. Right…" She looked to Weiss. "So...I work bottom, and you work top?"

"Oh, you want me on top, honey?" Weiss cooed coquettishly.

Ruby did her best then to keep her breath steady (and hands on the controls) as Weiss settled into her lap, her hands on the sticks above her.

"The pedals control throttle and air braking. The upper sticks are rudder and bank, and the lower are pitch and yaw." Weiss said this while referencing the new legend Zwei had worked up.

"Ugh, could it be any more complicated!" Ruby moaned.

"Not a lot of time girls! The Ketch is falling fast!"

"Alright. Let's go, Ruby!" Weiss said.

And with their rather haphazard coordination, did they manage to get the Skiff airborne.

"And...forward!"

The Skiff righted itself just in time as Ruby and Weiss flew through the open door of the hangar and into the night skies of Luna.

…

"Risk Runner, what's the situation!?"

Harriet peered with cautious haste around the massive open doors of the cargo bay. "Situation is-"

-An explosion from the room cut off her assessment.

"Not great…"

"Define, 'not great'!" Clover screamed through the comms.

"The Fallen are already inside…" she peeked again. "They've got Servitors! They're going after the Warsat!"

Indeed a group of three of the Fallen data miners were shining their beams over the shell of the Warsat, infiltrating and stealing its secrets. Protecting them was a platoon of Fallen warriors, them already having dispatched the security detail of Luanrians assigned to the asset's protection.

Harriet pressed herself against the wall as The Fallen rained Arc rounds in her direction, barring her entrance to the bay. "Dammit!" she tapped her earpiece. "Clover, I can take them!"

"The hell you can!" was her captain's response. "Dark Lighter and I are en route to your location! Eta: two minutes!"

"There's no time! They're hacking the Warsat as we speak!"

"We'll be there in ninety seconds!"

But Harriet had left off listening. The sub machine gun that was her namesake was primed in her hands. She took a slow, steeling breath. "Time to run for it…"

"Harriet, no!"

The Risk Runner burst from her cover, her weapon humming with sustained fire.

The Fallen unloaded on her with a volley of Arc rounds, the majority of them finding their mark. Harriet staggered, but did not slow in her mad dash. The Arc projectiles burned through her uniform and into her flesh. She grimaced; crying out as she reloaded her SMG at top speed.

The Fallen continued to pepper her with Arc rounds, their assault relentless. And here, bearing the full brunt of this attack; her uniform torn and burned; her skin tingling and charred…

Did The Risk Runner smile.

A current of Arc Light exploded through her body, sending wild tongues of lightning into the air around her. "Superconductor activated!"

And as nothing more than a blur, did she loose herself on her enemies.

Harriet was a whirlwind of supercharged fists and feet as she broke like an electric tsunami upon The Fallen's ranks. The bodies of the alien pirates disintegrated into nothing as Harriet pummeled them into ashes.

The Servitors, seeing their guard fallen, turned to engage this new electric threat.

The mighty blasts from the machines concussed Harriet into stillness, her having to cover up; her arms crossed over her face. Her current of Arc Light acted as a dampener, dispelling most of the incoming damage.

But it was fading fast.

Harriet dropped her guard with a cry. Harnessing the last of her charge, did she launch herself at her attackers.

And even faster than her attack, did the three Servitors collapse their shells. There was a flash and a reverberating mechanical cry. And where there were previously three of the Fallen machines…

There was now but one.

"A Prime…" Harriet gasped.

The enormous Servitor unleashed its tractor beam, catching The Risk Runner in mid flight.

Harriet screamed in agony as the powerful machine ripped into her Light layer, stealing the Arc energy from her body.

"Harriet!"

Clover and May had entered the scene now, them aghast at seeing their teammate at the Prime Servitor's mercy.

The Dark Lighter raised her Subtle Calamity combat bow. Her primed arrow shook indecisively as she looked for an opening for attack. "I...I don't have a shot!"

"Then we make one!" The Pole Lancer hurled a flash bang grenade at the Servitor. It's burst of Arc Light served to both catch the monster's attention, and to disrupt the hold it had on its victim.

Harriet was then sent careening backwards, her falling to the ground between her two allies.

May was immediately at her side. "Oh no! Harriet, c'mon, talk to me!"

The Risk Runner stirred feebly, her eyes cracking open. "I'm sorry, sir...I...did my... best…"

Clover nodded. "Dark Lighter; vanish."

From her crouching position, did May deploy a small device pulled from her pocket. There was a flash of purple smoke, and both her and Harriet vanished from sight.

The Pole Lancer then turned his focus on the marauding Servitor that dominated the room. He tucked his Service Revolver hand cannon into its holster, his hands now free, crackling with Arc energy.

The Servitor watched him, casting about its data banks as to muster the best method to engage this new and very singular threat.

The Pole Lancer strode with a cocksure slowness across the room, in the Servitor's full view. His Arc Light peaked, did his weapon spark to life. With a conductive burst, did Clover's electric pole-arm come to life in his hands. His crackling weapon primed, he smiled. "Let's dance!"

….

"Repeat: The Risk Runner is down; she took a hard hit from a Primed Servitor. The Pole Lancer is currently engaged with the enemy. He's holding his own, but he's just not doing enough damage!"

Yang, along with the second squad of Archers on the ground, lamented at this news. "Dammit!" Sparks of Solar Light billowed from Yang's hair as she paced furiously. "There's gotta be something we can do!"

The Swarm Shooter had her eyes on the sky, her bottom lip between her teeth. She then took to her scroll. "Fiona, how fast can we get an ariel unit scrambled?"

"Uhh...not fast enough," The Pocket Infinity moaned. "We're still reeling from the last battle here. And even were that not the case, both The Moonsong and that Ketch are still en route to this position. The Ketch is just about crippled , but we can't risk you guys leaving with the possibility of another attack coming to Anchor of Light."

"We seemed to have played ourselves into our enemies' hands here…" Elm said slowly.

Silence from the rest of the group met this statement.

Save for Yang.

"Celica!" she called.

"Yo, Boss."

"We have to get to The Moonsong!"

"Got it. I'll call the ship and-"

"-Not fast enough," the Titan said decisively.

"What are you thinking, Sunny?"Celica said.

Yang, the eyes of The Archers and her Ghost upon her, said: "How far is The Moonsong from here exactly?"

Celica was silent for a moment. "Holy hell...you're not thinking what I think you're thinking...are you?"

"You live in my head twenty-three hours a day, Celica. You know exactly what I'm thinking."

"Fuck…" the Ghost puttered just a bit away from her, before turning swiftly back to his Guardian. "That's seriously A LOT of Light I need to get you that far, that fast. Not to mention I'm aiming at a moving target. And then there's-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Yang cried. "Spare me the end user's license agreement! We gotta try something! It's not just The Archers and the Moonsong at stake; The Fallen are about to put all of Luna in danger! And as a Guardian, I simply refuse to do absolutely nothing about it!"

The Archers looked upon this fiery and impassioned Titan, not a single eyes blinking.

Yang looked deep into the optic of her beloved partner, the little machine completely still in the air before her. "Zap me," she said.

"Alright," Celica said. "Hold on to your butt!"

Robyn nodded as she looked the departing Titan in the eye. "Light of Luna be with you, Guardian. And good luck."

And she was tranmatted from the spot.

….

Yang flashed into existence just a moment from there, her world still spinning slightly. "You nailed it, buddy," Yang said to her Ghost.

Her attention from there was immediately taken by the morbid details of her surroundings. Littering the space around her were the many bodies of Fallen alien scavengers and Lunar soldiers alike. Their battle may have been fought, but there was one still raging.

An enormous Prime Servitor was harrying a lone soldier with its tremendous optic lasers. The soldier, who Yang recognized as Clover, The Pole Lancer, was offering a stout defense to his opponent's barrage. His Arc staff was spinning a furious ring in front of him, forming an electrical shield. He was fully committed to this defensive posture, all but pinned down.

"Celica, you good?" Yang asked her partner.

"Yeah...just need a...minute," Celica beeped weakly.

"Take all the time you need, buddy. Mama's got it from here." Yang took to the air with her Titan Lift, her altitude now matching that of her target's.

Clover, assailed as he was, espied Yang's ascent into the air. The Servitor observed the man's sudden change of optic trajectory, and turned itself about to gauge the subject of his new focus.

Here at her apex, Yang banged her fists together, Solar Light screaming from her body. "Death from above, mother fucker!" was her battle cry then.

Like a rocket fresh from the launcher, Yang streaked through the air at her target, trailing fire in her wake like a comet.

Her extended fist crashed right through the Fallen machine, her Solar Light burning it to no more that wafting ashes. Her furious momentum was unhalted by this impact as she careened straight into the floor before Clover.

The Pole Lancer beheld Yang as she rose from her landing; hair like a burning golden pyre; eyes piercing crimson. These features at once abandoned her as the Titan dropped her battle stance. She drew herself up proud and straight, eyes on Clover intently. "Guardian Yang Xiao Long, reporting for duty."

"And none to soon," Clover responded. He shook the hand of his then savior, remarking at her powerful grip. "Forgive me for being short, but we're pressed for time here, Guardian." He then turned to look behind him. "May, how is she?"

The Dark Lighter made herself visible again, her cradling the limp body of her companion. "She's recovering, but slowly. That Servitor took a lot of her Light…"

Yang walked over now, looking down at the two. "Anything you can do, Celica?"

"No. I'm tied to your Light signature; I can't zap anyone else back to health."

"Yeah," Grunted Harriet, her stirring to life. "They can do...everything and anything. Except actually help someone…"

May grimaced in mild chagrin. "She's in pain, she doesn't know what she's saying…"

"I'll live." Harriet regained her feet with gritted teeth.

"Lock it down, Risk Runner," Clover said then. "We owe the Guardian a lot. She kinda just saved my butt...not that anyone need know about that…"

Yang folded her arms as she glared at the man with playful intensity.

"May, run a diagnostic on the Warsat," Clover said grimly. "Let's see what the damage is."

Handing her teammate off to Clover, did The Dark Lighter make across the room. The others followed in her wake, careful of the bodies that littered the room. May then ran the scanner of her Scroll over the massive shell of the Warsat. Her circuit around it complete, did she look to her screen. "Oh no…" she moaned.

"Talk to us, May. How bad is it?" Clover said.

May's head shook back and forth slowly. "It's completely scrambled…" Tears ran their rivers down her face. "T-they took everything…"

Harriet roared her frustration, her anger then affording her the strength to stand up unassisted.

Clover's head was bowed, his hands on his hips. "Traveler dammit…"

Yang was not immune to the sudden and palpable sadness that emanated from the three then, her own eyes beginning to burn, Celica floating soberly by her shoulder.

Clover recovered first. "I'll contact Armstrong, let him know-"

"Wait, there's something else here…" May was again examining the Warsat, her Scroll scanning in overdrive. She at once stopped dead, becoming eerily and morbidly still. "Light of Luna…" she breathed.

"What is-"

"Get everyone off the ship!" May screamed.

"May, what the hell-"

"They rigged it with Arc charges!" The girl bellowed. "It's going to-"

The conduits in the Warsat at once glowed piercing red, a mechanical whine of Arc power building within it.

"ABANDON SHIP!" May screamed.

The three Archers made a mad dash for the cargo bay doors, Clover hitting the emergency alert switch.

"ALL HANDS, ABANDON SHIP. ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE HANGAR BAY FOR IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT..."

Clover then saw that Yang had not moved an inch, despite the evacuation order. "Guardian c'mon!"

But Yang did not hear him. She was in intense conversation with her Ghost. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Yeah, just let me at it!"

Yang nodded as the little device hovered over to the Warsat and went to work shining his beam over it.

"What the hell is it doing!?" May shouted. "We have to get off this boat, now!"

Yang held up a finger as she watched her Ghost at work. And then…

"Got it!" Celica cried. "Get your sunny butt over here, Yang!"

Yang scrambled over to her impatient Ghost.

"Me, inside your head, now!" Celica said.

The little machine flashed into her body as Yang held her hand over the Warsat's control panel. "C'mon, Celica. C'mon...c'mon…"

And the machine went dead, the countdown halted.

Yang straightened. "How much time was left?" she asked.

"You don't...wanna...know…"

She turned to the three Archers huddled indecisively in the doorway then. "You can cancel the evacuation order," she said triumphantly.

Clover smiled as he gave the order over the ship's comms.

"Did...you really do it?" May said.

Yang folded her arms. "Did we?"

"Well now, that's twice you saved our bacon," Clover laughed. "Remind me to buy you a drink when we get back!"

Yang joined in with his laugh, but was cut short by Fiona coming over the comms.

"Guys...you're not gonna freakin' believe this…"

"Try me," Clover said, again all business.

"Well, the Fallen Ketch that's below you had its engines slagged by the other two members of Team Rosenkreuz."

"Why is that a problem?" asked The Risk Runner.

"They're not still on board, are they?" said Yang.

"Negative," said Fiona. "But the Ketch is dead stick in the air, and losing altitude fast. Even with that, with their current heading…"

"Out with it, Pockets!" Clover said.

"The Ketch is less than a quarter mile off Anchor of Light…"

The realization struck them all at the same time.

"They're gonna kamikaze into the base!" May sobbed.

"Fiona, give the order. Get everyone out of there!" Clover said to his Scroll.

"Working on it. But I don't know how much time we have…"

Yang, despite the situation's new gravity, was thoughtfully stoic, her gaze upon the Warsat next to her. "Clover, sir. I need permission to leave the ship."

"For what purpose, Guardian?"

Yang turned to look The Pole Lancer in the eye. "To give The Fallen back their bomb."

Clover's understanding was written over his sudden stillness. "Permission granted."

Yang nodded. "Get the Moonsong over the Ketch. I'll take care of the rest."

As they left the room, Yang turned to look out the cargo bay window before her. The remnants of the ariel battle still raged; The Fallen fighting with lingering determination despite their Mother ship falling from the sky.

Celica floated next to his Guardian then. "Hey, Sunny? I know what you're thinking, and it's crazy…"

Yang looked to him, smirk in place. "So. Stay here."

The Ghost laughed, a series of rapid beeps and clicks. "Unfortunately for us both...I like crazy."

Yang then scrambled for the control pillar that operated the bay doors. She braced herself against it as she grasped the switch above her.

"Just one question…" Celica beeped. "...What if you miss?"

Yang's answer was purposefully and dramatically delayed.

"I won't."

And she pulled the lever.

The cargo bay doors slowly swung open, everything inside then subject to the semi-vacuum of extreme altitude. The Warsat slowly ground into motion. Scraping along the steel floor. And once it finally reached full pelt, it flew uninhibited towards the doors.

Yang, coiled like a spring, waited for just the right moment...and then grabbed one of the Warsats great protruding spines as it sailed by, her and the Fallen-made bomb now flying into the open sky.

…..

Wind, smoke, and shrapnel from the ongoing dogfight roiled the skies around Yang as she flew like a bullet through free air. Her grip deathly on the Warsat, she steered the bomb while trailing in its wake, using the strength of her Light-infused muscles to correct her course in mid-flight.

"The Starboard side, that's where Ruby and Weiss went in! That's our target!"

Her Ghost's scream in her head was deafening, but no more so that than the wind raging in her ears, and the munitions exploding around her.

With a burst of Solar energy, Yang steered sharply around a sinking ship in her immediate path as she gathered more and more speed. "I see it!" she cried, espying the still smoking hole the Guardian ship had punched into the Ketch. Her course then was set; her target locked. Uncoupling her white-knuckled hand from the Warsat's spine, did she lay in over the control panel. "Do it, Celica!"

"Countdown re-initiated!" Celica cried.

The Arc charges inside the Warsat again whined to life. Yang, fighting against the battering wind, braced her booted feet against the Warsat's shell. And with a mighty push, did she launch the makeshift bomb into the hull's cavity.

As Yang plummeted from the scene, she was able to look up and witness the spectacle that now lit the sky.

The Arc charges ignited, them ripping the Fallen cruiser apart from the inside. The outburst of energy then ignited the ship's fuel supply, as well as its ammunition. The night sky glowed like mid-day as the Cruiser burned and disintegrated; the flaming debris of its wreckage falling like fiery rain.

This scene shrank away from Yang as she continued to plummet from the sky in complete free-fall. Her hair whipped above her, like the tail of a meteor, her arms much the same. "Celica...I'm tapped out buddy…" She mustered what she could of her remaining Light to activate a final meager burst of her Lift, it making almost no difference. Facing the sky as she was, she didn't have to turn to know that ground was approaching...and fast.

"You got me, bud?"

"I got you, Sunny."

And she braced for impact.

….

The scene at First Light was somberly victorious. Though the Archers and Guardians had succeed in repelling The Fallen, they had lost the true prize of the scrap. Not to mention a great many of their soldiers had fallen in the battles that raged across Luna that day. From here there was only the mending of their wounds...and their pride.

Armstrong paced a circuit to and fro, his hands clasped behind him. "Years and years of work…literally gone up in smoke." His tone contained no anger, but resignation; a recognition of defeat. He stopped his pacing as he beheld Archer and Guardian alike before him. "I want to thank all of you. Every last one of you not only answered the call of duty, but went above and beyond that call to give everything of yourselves to the cause. You fought like the warriors of Light you are. Even in defeat, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

Robyn, her hand entwined in that of Clover's, buried her face in her lover's shoulder.

Armstrong then turned to the thee Guardians among them. "And to you, ladies, I apologize." The man stared reflectively into space for a moment, the lights of the place shining off his helmet's black visor. "You didn't have to come here; you didn't have to help us. You could have jetted back to Earth, but you didn't. You did everything right by my people, and for that, you absolutely have my thanks. And my respect."

He shook hands with the three of them.

"You don't have to thank us for doing our job, sir," Ruby said then. "It's what we were born to do."

Yang and Weiss nodded.

"And what a job," Armstrong said. "Especially you!" He turned to Yang. "That was some stunt you pulled; flying that bomb into the Ketch like that!"

"Quite!" Elm roared heartily. "For a brick, she flew pretty good!"

Everyone shared a good laugh at that.

Ruby, the first to sober said: "If you ever need us again, Armstrong, call us."

The man nodded sideways. "You understand that we don't exactly have the best communication with the Vanguard. We-"

"No. Call us, specifically," Ruby said with emphasis. She jabbed her thumb at a window, Earth visible through it. "We kind of live right next door, you know."

Armstrong shook with silent laughter. "That you do," he said. "Thank you, Team Rosenkreuz."

The Guardians, sharing another round of thanks and handshakes, left the base. "Let's head back to the LZ, girls," Ruby said to her team.

The trip was quick enough by Sparrow. And upon their arrival, did Weiss share a thought. She smacked her forehead. "How did I forget that quickly that we blew up my ship?"

"Oh...right…" Ruby giggled.

Yang's own rental ship roared in from orbit, settling its shadow over all of them. "Mine's a base model, girls," she said, gesturing to it. "One seat. And its pretty small; even two of us is gonna be snug."

Ruby perched her hands on her hips. "There is a way that we can all fit..." she said.

The other girls nodded their understanding.

"So...who's gonna take the hit?" Yang said, smirking.

Ruby reached out her fist, clutching three sticks made of hard light fabricated by her Ghost. Weiss drew one. Yang drew the other.

Ruby did a double take between Yang and Weiss's sticks, and then looked to her own. "Ah...dammit…"

Weiss giggled.

Yang drew her hand cannon as Ruby turned her back. "Nothin' personal sis!" Yang sang.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ruby grunted.

….

Aboard the ship now, with Yang at the controls and Weiss sat in her lap, did Yang fire the engines and accelerate through Luna's atmosphere and into open space.

"Hey, Weiss?" Yang said.

"Ja?"

"Do me a solid, yeah?"

Sat side-saddle in Yang's lap as Weiss was, Yang only need to tilt her head to get a more than glorious view of the Warlock's crossed and comely lower extremities.

"Could you face forward, maybe? Those legs are about to make me act up…"

Weiss laughed at this. "Hear that, my liebchen? She knows I am taken yet she eyes me all the same." She said this to the collapsed shell of Zwei's Ghost cupped in her hands, containing her lover's spark of Light.

Weiss, kicking her legs a bit higher than she had to, faced herself forward. "Celica, please do hurry us home. I don't know how safe I am sat in this horny Dragon's lap like this."

Yang, laughing all the while, initiated Light speed.

And they were on their way home.

…..

-End of Legend 33-

….

A/N:

Really had fun writing this chapter! Surprised I even had time to get it done, what with the pain of trying to move and all. That nonsense aside: If you liked what you read, a fav, follow, of review is always appreciated. If you didn't like what you read, I thank you for reading this long. Not sure how long til the next update, but until then, stay awesome and take care.

-B.D. Skunkworks