-Legend 36-
-Dance with The Devil-
…
"Here lizard, lizard…"
Though she had taken every effort to isolate herself here in this otherwise empty cabin, Ilia had still managed to attract a group of would-be aggressors. She reasoned to herself then that perhaps it was her attempt at segregation that had attracted attention in the first place.
"Hey!" Ilia's view of Vale passing beneath them through this window was then obstructed somewhat by her encroaching harasser. She trapped Ilia on one side of herself with an arm propped against the window. Her cronies, two Hunters from the looks of it, blocked her escape on the opposite side. "You gonna act like you didn't hear me calling you?" the Lady Titan sneered.
Ilia sighed inwardly, her exasperation then at the situation, and its instigator. Bottom line: she was attractive. Very attractive. A lob of bright red hair offset her blue eyes perfectly. And she knew what she was doing with that form-fitting "armor" of hers; it flattering the curves of her stolid body, wide in all the right places and slim in the others.
'Traveler, why do the pretty ones always have to be total knobheads…?'
"Oh, I heard you plenty clear enough," Ilia said coolly. "It's just that my name is not, 'lizard'."
"Yeah?" the Titan said unpleasantly. "Well listen here, lizard girl. Nobody gives a flying fuck what your name is. Nobody knows you exist, and they sure as hell won't miss you when you're gone."
Her two Hunter henchmen laughed gratingly.
During all this, Ilia kept her gaze firmly on the window before her. "You seriously think I haven't heard any of this before?"
The two Hunters abruptly cut off their snickering.
"What's that?" the Titan said.
"This kind of crap, it's really par for the course for me. Time after time, day after day, it was always the same thing. Always the same kind of people saying the same kinds of shit. And you know what?" Ilia turned then, her sudden motion startling her aggressors into stepping back. "I welcomed it. I loved it." She took a step forward, her now toe-to-toe with the tall Lady Titan. "They always said that I have no right to exist; that I'm less than nothing; that I'll never make anything of myself. And yet...here I am." She held her arms out, a lopsided smile splitting her face, the gesture full of gleeful blades. "You people and your derision have only ever made me stronger."
There was no reaction from the Titan at first, but then her handsome features slowly contorted into targeted rage. "Okay…" her clenched fist crackled with Arc Light. "I'm gonna break your face, lizard girl!" She aimed a powerful punch at Ilia's head.
The Night Stalker tumbled forward, her body then becoming no more than wisps of trailing black smoke that phased right through her attacker. Still in a crouch, did Ilia draw her level-purple sidearm, Allied Demand, it aimed at the two Hunters closing in on her.
The Titan recovered from her whiffed attack. "You don't have a Ghost yet…" she snarled. "So we're gonna do some very permanent things to you, lizard girl."
The three of them advanced, weapons drawn.
Ilia, sidearm in one hand, smoke bomb in the other, braced to defend herself. And just then…
Did six security drones burst into the room, auto rifles primed.
"Cease and desist at once! Weapons away, all of you!"
The four Guardian hopefuls at once capitulated, their weapons stowed.
"Isolate those three for the rest of the flight," did the lead Redjack say to its troops. The three offenders were herded from the room, the Titan exclaiming: "This isn't over, lizard girl!"
Ilia watched them, her gaze hardened, yet abstract. Her attention then was drawn to the lead Redjack.
"Any harm done to you, miss?"
"No," Ilia said slowly.
The drone nodded, its mechanisms whirring. "We saw everything on the security feed. We know you were only protecting yourself. You're not being punished, but I'm taking the precaution to isolate you from the others."
"That was my intent to begin with." Ilia loosed a small sigh, the whole of her epidermis fading from fiery red to a light, blush pink.
The Redjack turned its optics on her, its empathy algorithms firing in full. "Despicable behavior from the lot of them. And to think they fancy themselves future Guardians…"
Ilia nodded sideways. "I'm used to it. Lesser people have called me worse things."
The Redjack raised its rifle again. "I will see to the security of this room. You are only permitted exit upon arrival at our destination, or for comfort. I stress again that this is not a punishment, miss. This is only for protection."
"I understand," was Ilia's response.
In the relative peace that followed, Ilia made herself comfortable against the window as she took to her Scroll. She read over her mission statement, as well as the transfer documents therein, them bearing the official seal of The Dust Palace. There was one facet in particular that interested her the most. On the fourth page of the digital document, there was a picture. A head shot of the Guardian she was sent here to meet.
Blake Belladonna.
Ilia double tapped on the picture, Blake's face now commanding the whole of the screen. Ilia's gaze upon the device was unblinking. She made to tap the screen again, but then beheld her hand in front of her. Her skin then had flushed a vibrant fuchsia, glowing along with the smile slowly blooming to life on her face.
She shut the device off and stowed it away, exhaling slowly as to regulate her color condition. She then remembered The General's words to her as she began her trip to this planet:
"I'm sending you to Earth, The Tower, more specifically. I want you to intern with Blake Belladonna. She was a participant in the Night Witch program as you are now. She may not have made the cut, but she has much valuable experience she can impart upon you. Not to mention she's positively flourishing under Nikos's tutelage. When you arrive, seek out the Vanguard Vice-Captain, Coco Adel, she'll point you in the right direction."
Coco Adel.
Ilia had heard a lot about her.
Some said that she was a Devil.
Some knew her…
Some didn't.
Either way, her path to Blake went through her.
Twenty minutes from there, the ship finally made touchdown at The Tower. Her Redjack chaperon made it a point to ensure that Ilia disembarked last of all.
And there, at the base of the stairs leading to plaza, did Ilia and her class of twenty Guardian prospects get their first real view of The Tower. Ilia's eyes were in constant motion as she drunk in every detail she could. There was movement everywhere; Guardians and personnel hurried this way and that; Jumpships both departed and docked at the flight hanger on The Tower's right side. But amongst all this, two people in particular caught her eye.
Making down the center of the plaza, hand in hand, they moved somewhat quickly, seeming to be in deep conversation. Ilia beheld the snowy white hair of the first girl, and even in passing profile, could she see the blue of her eyes. That was Weiss Schnee. Ilia soon found herself enraptured by another detail about the girl.
Traveler, those legs went on forever…
Their display was definitely intentional; Ilia had never seen a sun dress so short before. Her skin was so white they practically glowed in the light. And wow did her feet look good in those mules…
Snapping her out of this was her espying the girl Weiss was holding hands with. Ilia actually took in a breath at the sight of her.
That was Ruby fucking Rose.
Leader of Team Rosenkreuz.
Killer of Archons.
Winner of the rookie tournament.
The Little...Red...Death.
And of course, she was a knockout too. The supple muscle tone of her body made those leggings and ballet flats look good. Not to mention all that cleavage going on with that plunging neckline…
Ilia exhaled again. 'I'm here for the mission.' she reminded herself. 'This is not a trip for pleasure…'
"Your attention please," came a sudden call.
At the top of the stairs, there stood another figure Ilia immediately recognized.
"Good afternoon and welcome. I am Glynda Goodwitch, Captain of The Tower's Warlock Vanguard." The imposing woman pushed her glasses up her nose. "You are here today to undergo basic training. I'm sure the lot of you already know the details involved. Those of you that pass the course will advance to the initiation phase, where you will be partnered with a superior Guardian, and your subsequent efforts on the field will be evaluated; determining whether or not you graduate to Guardianship."
She clasped her hands behind her back. "Now, please follow your Redjack escorts to the training annex. Miss Adel is already busy with another group of recruits. You will join with them and undergo Adel's instruction. Is everything clear?"
"Yes Ma'am!" from the rookies.
Glynda bade them departure with a nod and they filed in after the Redjacks.
Ilia made to follow, but was halted at Glynda's call. "Miss Amitola. A word, if you please."
Ilia followed the tall Warlock as she lead them to an area of semi privacy.
Glynda turned to face her, her gaze intense, but somehow not critical. "It is my understanding that you are here from the Dust Palace, correct?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Glynda looked to her Scroll, absorbing the details laid out in the file. "Our newest candidate for the Witch program…" She tucked her Scroll away. "As it is, we've been expecting your arrival. Shaxx has spoken quite highly of you."
Ilia nodded, her body flushing pink.
"With that said, I am under orders to fast-track you along to-"
"-Um, Miss Goodwitch?" Ilia said, raising her hand.
Glynda raised an eyebrow.
"If at all possible, I would like to undergo BT."
Glynda folded her arms. "Is there a particular reason?" she said. "Your credentials alone exempt you from taking the course. As well as Ironwood's instruction."
"I know…" Ilia said. "It's just that...I want to earn it."
"You already have."
"No, I mean…" Ilia paused to gather her argument. "The others...they uh, well you probably already know where I'm going with this thought…"
"Mm-hm," from the Warlock.
"It's just that I want to prove that I can do it. That I can go through the motions just like they can, and to better them fairly."
Glynda's frown was academic. "You owe your peers nothing in terms of proof," she said. "You're being considered for The Night Witches. You've already earned it in Ozpin's eyes."
"I know," Ilia said, her head nodding. "But I'm not a Witch yet. Hell, I'm not even a Guardian yet. I want to go through the grinder, and for them to see me excel."
Glynda's stance nor countenance changed as she considered this. "Very well," she said finally. "Go on and join the group, you're already a ways behind."
Ilia offered a Hunter salute and made from the scene.
The training annex was actually a straight shot from the plaza. Up one set of stairs, down an open-air corridor and…
Did she behold the entrance to the training annex. It was a sprawling space, entirely utilitarian in its form and function.
And it was alive with activity.
Guardian recruits could be seen over every inch of the place; running laps around the facility; exorcising their Light in drills tailored to their classes; and engaging in controlled live-fire exorcises. Among them, were many Redjacks and Guardian instructors. But even among the activity, there was one that stood out among the rest.
"Pain is in your mind!" did the Gunslinger bellow. The eyes behind her dark sunglasses scanned the assembly before her for her next opponent. "Who's next?"
Ilia, her eyes firmly on the Hunter Vice-Captain, made forward and announced her presence.
…..
"Next move's yours."
"Miss Adel!"
At this call, did Coco finally look up from her Scroll. "Yes, dear?" she said.
Glynda expelled a somewhat patient breath from her nose. "If you would be so good as to pay attention…"
"Yeah I got it, but…" she turned her eyes to her Scroll again. "Have any of you seen this? One second Branwen and Ironwood are going at it like dogs. Next I'll bet their going at it like rabbits."
Beside her, her teammate Yatsuhashi stifled a chuckle, his cool demeanor faltering briefly.
Fox maintained his stolid stance of attention.
"Yes, Miss Adel. The world is very much aware of the General and his...courtship of Miss Branwen."
Coco tapped her chin. "Come to think of it, that ship doesn't have a name, does it?"
"Beg your pardon?" said the nonplussed Warlock.
Coco wagged her finger in the air. "I got it. I'm totally calling that ship 'Witchfinder General'."
Yatsuhashi was unable to suppress his bark of laughter, him recovering in short order.
Fox made neither move nor sound.
Glynda her lips pursed, continued in her speech. "Yes, at any rate, Miss Adel, if you remember, today is when we are expecting our next influx of recruits."
"Yeah-huh," Coco uttered, typing on her Scroll.
"And the schedule dictates that you are to oversee their basic training in this rotation."
Coco's sunglasses slipped down her nose as she looked up. "Huh-what?"
Glynda canted her head. "I know you're not particularly great with details, Miss Adel, but surely you would have planned for your rotation in the training program?"
"But…" Coco's mouth was slack in disbelief. "The thing's today? Like, now today?"
"Indeed."
"There goes your shopping trip," her Titan teammate chuckled.
Coco looked across the hall, where she espied her Captain. "Hey, Cayde, buddy old pal! You think you could-"
"Not this time, Adel," the Exo stated. He made a show of readying his trusty hand cannon, the one of a kind Ace of Spades. "That last Fallen assault on The Steppes brought the action just a little too closeto one of my stashes. Gotta go make sure everything is still in one piece."
Glynda turned at this. "Cayde-6, you do not have permission to leave The Tower on personal ventures."
"Exactly," Cayde said.
And his Ghost transmatted him from the hall.
Glynda heaved another sigh. "I'm off to greet the new contingent and give them orientation. Make ready in the training annex, Miss Adel."
"Aye-aye..." Coco moaned in Glynda's wake. She composed herself, settling her sunglasses again over her eyes. "Yatsuhashi, come with. Fox, you're floater for the afternoon in case another team needs a boost."
Fox nodded his heed of the instruction.
"Let's go get this over with," Coco said.
…...
The training annex was already busy with drills and activity by the time Coco and Yatsuhashi arrived. And there, settled into an available space, did the two of them await the newest batch of rookies.
Coco's arms were folded, tapping a booted foot with rhythmic impatience. "Dammit! That new clothing store in downtown Vale opens today! I was gonna be first on the scene…"
"And what did you plan on buying exactly?" asked Yatsuhashi.
Coco shrugged. "Nothing too major," she said. "Some new leather pants; a few pairs of stockings; two pairs of boots, at least; a studded handbag; some new shades, and maybe a trench coat…"
The Titan paid this comical heed, until breaking off as he saw a troop of Redjacks making towards them. "Ah, your recruits are on approach."
"...And I saw these totally fly peep-toe pumps on sale at…" her enthusiasm trailed as Yatsuhashi's statement washed over her. "Bloody hell," she moaned. She looked to the group approaching. "There's gotta be twenty of the little fuckers…"
"Nineteen, from the looks of it," was Yatsuhashi's observation.
The Redjacks were on them now, the band of recruits in tow.
"Miss Coco Adel. The next unit ready for basic training is present and accounted for."
"I can see that. Thanks."
The Redjacks made their exit, leaving the wide-eyed recruits in her care.
Coco stepped forward, a hand on her hip, the other pushing her glasses up. And there, in the direct sight of the lot of them did she pause. After an expectant span of time she roared, "What the fuck are you all staring at! Act like you've got some Traveler-damned sense and get in line! NOW!"
The recruits scrambled to comply, many of them bumping into each other. And at last, did they manage to form a single and orderly horizontal line.
Coco then took to stalking the length of this line, her hand cannon, The Devil You Don't, armed and ready for her purpose.
"I'm gonna be honest with you all. Most of you will not make it to be Guardians; I doubt you'll even make it through BT. The trouble is you are not good enough the way you are-hands at your sides!"
She used her revolver to correct a Lady Warlock's posture.
"Chin up!"
She tilted a male Hunter's head up with the barrel of her gun.
Coco plundered down the line and on with her speech. "I am you drill instructor, Hunter Vanguard Vice-Captain Coco Adel- suck in that gut!"
She whacked a male Titan in the belly with her gun.
"Feet together!"
CLOUGH! She loosed a round at a Lady Hunter's feet, the girl jumping about a mile high before righting her stance.
Her trip down the line complete, did Coco swing back around, making her way to the center. "And to think this had to happen to me...today of all days." She shook her head. "What a bunch of Dregs…" She paused here, front and center. "No! Strike that! You don't rate that good!"
A few of the recruits flinched.
"Never before in my life have I seen…"
Coco stopped her speech there as she tipped her sunglasses down her nose, as to better behold a Hunter at the front of the line. Apparently, something about what she was saying struck the young man as comical. She made it her mission to find out what.
She stalked up to the Hunter, him attempting to stifle his giggle fit. "Do you think I'm funny?" she growled. "Do I make you laugh? You think I'm a comedian, son?"
The young man checked himself. "I'm sorry."
Coco then roared at the group at large. "The first words and the last words out of your stinking holes, will be, 'Sir, yes, Sir!' Do you get me!" She screamed this at the young man before her.
"Sir, yes, sir-!"
Before his response was complete, did Coco grab the collar of his armored vest and drag the Hunter out of line. "See that armory?" she said, pointing across the facility. "Run around it!"
The young Hunter sulked.
"Run I said!" Coco loosed rounds from her weapon at his feet in time with her commands. "Run! Run! Run!"
The Hunter scrambled to avoid the bullets tearing into the ground behind him.
"Yatsuhashi, keep pace!"
The Titan fell in step behind the belligerent Hunter. "Move!" he shouted, Crown Splitter in hand.
Coco turned her attention back to the troop of recruits, the lot of them standing in proper terrified stillness. "Anytime you think I'm being too tough; anytime you think I'm being unfair; anytime you miss your mommy-QUIT!"
The group flinched at her bellowed intensity.
"You sign form 12-48, you grab your shit, and take a stroll down washout lane!" Coco pointed her hand cannon down the facility, at a pair of tall iron gates that marked the sole exit to this place. "Do you get me!"
"SIR, YES, SIR!" from the recruits.
"Pathetic!" Barked Coco dismissively. She stomped back to the front and center of the line, reloading her hand cannon. "I wonder if there's a handful of guts in the whole bunch of you?" She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Now...who here thinks they've got what it takes to down me?"
A Lady Titan in the lineup answered the challenge. "Sir! I think maybe I do, Sir!"
Coco remarked the tall girl and her red hair, not least of all her "armor" scheme.
Anything that fit your body that close was definitely not "armor".
Coco smirked, waving the girl in.
The Titan broke from the line, arming her shotgun, the Botheration MK.28. She then broke into a sprint, her shield of Arc energy crackling to life in front of her.
Coco stood her ground, turning her body sideways, her hand cannon at her side.
Just as the Titan closed to her weapon's effective range…is when Coco struck.
Using the momentum of her opponent's Shoulder Charge against her, did Coco swiftly duck to one side, catching the girl in a drop toe-hold. Kicking her shotgun aside, did Coco mount her opponent, twisting her arm behind her back and…
The recruits grimaced and turned away from what happened next.
Coco stood, looking down at her adversary. "You alright, kid?"
"S-Sir, yes...Sir…" the girl gasped. She cradled her mangled arm, the bone of which forming a lump under the mesh of her 'armor'. "It's my...arm Sir. I r-reckon it's broken...Sir…"
"Medic!" did the Gunslinger call.
At this summons, two Ghosts, their white shells bearing red crosses, puttered over to the injured Titan and shone their reparation beams over her broken arm.
Coco turned back to the remaining recruits."Pain, is in your mind!" did the Gunslinger bellow. The eyes behind her dark sunglasses scanned the assembly before her for her next opponent. "Who's next?"
"Sir!"
Coco turned at this call, witnessing then a young Lady Hunter stalking toward her with confident intent. "Recruit Amitola, reporting for duty, Sir!"
Coco took the Scroll presented her, digesting its contents. "Says you're here from The Dust Palace, under Ironwood's Orders…"
"Yes, Sir!" Ilia reported.
"And you're to rendezvous with Blake Belladonna and Team Nikos?"
"Yes, Sir! I heard she is the best, Sir!"
"Nikos is the best…" Coco said. She then ripped her sunglasses off with one hand, her now standing not even an inch from the Hunter's face. "And what the fuck makes you think you're good enough!?"
Ilia neither flinched nor blinked at the Vice-Captain's intensity. Her eyes never moving from Coco's own did she take a single step back. She flicked her right arm out to her side, and her sword, Quickfang, was brought to bear.
There was a rumbling among the line of recruits.
"How did she do that without a Ghost?" said a male Hunter
"Now that's the kind of gal that makes team leader!" said a Lady Warlock.
"That's my job you're talking about," said a male Titan.
The two Hunters faced each other down, both gesturing and feinting, but not committing to an attack just yet.
Ilia then, launched at her adversary with a leaping scissor kick. Coco evaded this easily enough, though she neither moved nor lifted her feet. Quickfang sliced through the air, aimed at Coco's face. Again, her feet planted firmly, Coco deflected the strike with her own knife, sending Ilia off-balance. Ilia planted her right foot, stopping her stumbling, the used it as a pivot to deliver a kick that collided with her opponent's head.
Coco's designer sunglasses were sent flying across the ground.
An 'oooh' sounded from the recruits.
Ilia followed on her advantage; her sword raised as she charged swiftly.
Coco, feet and scowl firmly in place, again met this blow with her Solar charged knife. She spun low and swept the legs out from under the recoiling Night Stalker.
CLOUGH! A round from Coco's weapon sent Quickfang skittering across the asphalt.
Coco pounced before the girl could recover, jamming her knee into her throat.
Ilia's grip scrabbled desperately for the weapon just beyond her reach, her epidermis slowly fading from scarlet to pale purple.
The girl's eyes rolled into her head, her grip upon Coco's knee clawing with absent rigidity.
The Gunslinger finally relented, raising herself to a standing position. She looked down at Ilia, the girl direly gasping for breath. Her Ghost flashing into sight, did she supply Coco with a newly transmatted pair of sunglasses from her collection. "Hmm...you're not entirely hopeless, kiddo…"
"T-thank you, S-ir…" Ilia panted, her still on the ground.
"On your feet, and in line!" Coco barked.
Ilia retrieved her sword and scrambled to comply.
Coco then, her back turned to the recruits, said, "Winchester!"
The tall redhead, currently flexing her newly repaired right arm, jumped to attention.
"You might wanna take a step to your left."
She did so…
At the exact same moment that a knife thrown by Coco whizzed by her head.
Every recruit looked to see the throwing knife expertly embedded in the bull's eye of a target affixed to the wall just behind them. Coco gestured to said target. "That," she said. "Is your next exorcise!"
…
And from there, did Coco oversee the recruits in their knife throwing exorcise.
The first squad...mostly successful, made way for the second at Coco's command. Her gaze was drawn to one male Gunslinger specifically, the only Hunter in the second unit. If anyone should be able to throw a knife…
The young man swore violently as his knife clattered off the target.
He sulked against the wall as the third unit stepped up. "Sir? I don't understand!"
Coco looked to him, and eyebrow raised over the rim of her sunglasses.
"I mean, who needs a knife in a gunfight anyway?" He then produced his hand cannon, him drawing it with fairly impressive speed, Coco noted. "All I have to do is pull the trigger... Sir."
Coco raised a hand. "Cease fire," she said.
The recruits did so, watching Coco's then slow and purposeful progress to the center of the line. Her place of intent reached, did she say to the belligerent Gunslinger, "Put your hand on that wall, Hunter."
The young man waffled, only half complying with the order.
"Put you hand on that wall!" Coco roared.
He did so, with slow peturbative confusion.
Faster than a blink, did Coco loose her own throwing knife at the target that was the young Hunter's splayed hand.
He cried out, his bark of pain sudden and guttural.
The recruits parted like the red sea as they beheld Coco's advance on the injured Hunter.
The Vice-Captain then gestured grandly to the young man, him groaning in misery. "Your opponent cannot pull the trigger, if you disable their hand." Her point made, did she retrieve her knife, eliciting another grunt of pain from the Hunter. "Medic!"
The Gunslinger was seen to by a medical Ghost.
On her march back to the front of the unit, did Coco belt: "If you New Lights think shit is tough now, you may as well quit right here!" She turned to the group at large. "You lot are easily the saddest sacs of shit I've ever had the displeasure of having to train!"
A few among the ranks bristled at this, though their faces remained neutral.
Coco paced a line back and forth then. "I honestly can't wait to see lot in the combat round. Might actually be somewhat entertaining watching you Dregs beat the ever living crap out of each other!"
Another flinch from the recruits.
"So, with all that said, I can only assume that from here on in, you Dregs are fully committed to the ride? Am I right?"
"SIR, YES, SIR!"
Coco humphed. "We'll see about that." She pushed her sunglasses up her nose and raised her hand cannon. "Welcome to The Grinder."
And their training began in earnest.
…..
-End of Legend 36-
…..
A/N:
Whew! Let's hope that Coco doesn't go too hard on those poor rookies, yeah? Other than that, I'd again like to express my thanks to any and all that spent time with my content. If you liked what you read, a favorite or follow, or review would eb greatly appreciated. If you didn't like what you read, I thank you for reading this long. See you in the next update.
-B.D. Skunkworks