...
Updated on 9/9/2024
Here's to a decade of Legends.
...
-Legend 45-
-Pillar of Strength Pt.1-
…..
"Someone should probably do something about Ruby Rose…"
Sat at his favorite spicy ramen noodle bar, did Cayde-6 and Pyrrha Nikos watch the CCN on the bar's tv.
"Just look at her go! Ata girl, Rubes!" Cayde put the finishing touches on what was his second bowl as he beheld Pyrrha's reaction.
"It's like watching her mother and the Branwens all over again," she said.
"YEEESSSSSSSSS!" did Shaxx roar at Ruby sparking her Arc Blade Super to life.
"A shame The Crucible wasn't televised back in those days…"
Cayde chuckled his concurrence. "Yeah. Shame people couldn't see old Peter Port beat you pillar to post before he retired!"
Pyrrha smile herself, remembering the battering she took from the former Titan Vanguard Captain before inheriting his position. "Sometimes, all it takes to propel one to greatness is a good beating."
TWULAT! TWULAT! TWULAT!
The Read Death claimed one, two...three victims in a row.
"Look at them fall!" Cried Shaxx.
Pyrrha sat with her chin resting upon her fist, now fully absorbed in the one-sided spectacle playing out on the screen. "Her weapon…" she mused out loud though to herself. "It's not like the others…"
"That's Red Death for ya," Cayde said. "Kills just about anything you point it at."
"No, I mean it's not like the other models of that weapon."
Hm. Pretty sure Ada built all those things to the same spec."
"That's just it," Pyrrha said, a finger pointed at the screen. "Ada didn't build that one. Ruby did."
"Uh-huh," from Cayde.
Pyrrha ticked off on her fingers. "The Red Death; The White Witch; and The Steel Witch. All of these weapons are powered by their wielders. The more Light they have, the harder their bullets hit. But Ruby's variant works in reverse." Pyrrha rested her chin upon her interwoven fingers then.
"It saps Light and life force from whatever it kills, adding it to her own Light. That explains why she never seems to run out of stamina." She turned to Cayde. "You saw her in the final against Schnee? After forty-five minutes of fighting she was still throwing Blink Strikes and Arc grenades. That should be damn near impossible for a Guardian of her rank…"
Cayde nodded. "White wasn't so bad herself in that fight; had a lot of Light in the tank chucking those Void 'nades. Must be how she recovers almost instantly from most damage she takes." He reached for his drink, pausing with the glass halfway to his mouth. "These kids are gettin' crazy these days. Must be something in the water."
"And that's the match!" Lord Shaxx roared. "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of Rumble, for the fourth time this day, Ruby Rose!"
The young Guardian, in all her triumphant smugness, stood with her deadly weapon slung coolly across her shoulders.
"Well then, Miss Rose, that was quite the display!" Shaxx said, transmatting to her side. "What have you to say to your recent string of victories?"
Ruby gave an immodest shrug of one shoulder, her silver eyes sparkling. "Eh, not bad for a warm-up," did she say. "I think I'm ready for a real fight now."
Pyrrha's eyes were intent and unblinking upon the screen.
"She's got moxie, can't deny her that!" Cayde said.
"Mmm.." from Pyrrha.
With a final wave to the cameras, did Ruby transmat from the scene.
Shaxx then turned to behold those spectating. "And that concludes our card for the afternoon bouts from The Tower. Next up, in three hours time, we'll be headed to Mars for the highly-anticipated Clash between the visitors of Fireteam Lilysteel, and the Martian home contingent of Fireteam Elision. I hope to see you there!"
The copse of onlookers that had gathered around the bar dispersed at their leisure.
"Man, that Ruby girl is good!"
"Good- looking you mean!"
"She got two Mark of The Unbroken medals in a row! That's insane!"
Pyrrha's eyes were still upon the screen, it now showing a news report; something about Omolon and Schnee or whatever.
But Pyrrha saw none of that.
"She's good…" Her jaw worked as she ground her teeth together. "Maybe too good…"
At this point, Cayde had left his stool, posing for holographs with his gathered admirers.
Pyrrha's eyes remained on the screen during all of this, never blinking once.
…..
"Thank you."
Her purchase cradled in her arms, did Weiss Schnee retrace the single city block back to the lobby of The Tower.
Though said venture was rather short, it was not without desirable incident.
"Good afternoon, Lady Schnee," said a passing Warlock, him offering an embellished salute.
"And to you, mein Herr," said Weiss, dipping into her own curtsy.
A trio of younger girls heralded her then. "Miss Schnee!" the lot of them were literally squeaking with excitement. "C-can we have your holograph?"
"Most certainly." Weiss sent the girls her picture, stamped with the Schnee family crest.
The three of them just about broke the sound barrier. "Thank you!"
As two of them took off, the third waffled a bit as she warbled, "Um...Dunkin' soon, mine frown!"
And she was off.
Weiss rounded the final turn, The Tower in sight.
"Traveler, if I was half as beautiful as her, I'd never ask for anything else."
"If you had half her money you'd be set for life!"
"Never gets old, does it?" said Windig in her head.
"And it never will," said Weiss, her head high.
Into the Tower lobby now, Weiss found herself having to steer around a fair number of gathered onlookers, beholding replays of Ruby's previous matches on the CCN. And then, finally espying her itinerary in a rather isolated corner, did she settle herself next to her.
"Heya, Princess," did Yang say.
"Guten tag, Fraulein Dragon," Weiss responded, crossing her legs right over left.
Yang chuckled from behind her Scroll screen. "You're looking particularly Weiss-y today…"
Weiss had indeed taken extra care in preparing for her outing today: her hair worn in a braided ponytail slung over one shoulder; nails painted pearl-white. She wore a deep-blue blouse and matching pencil skirt, and her usual wedge heels had been swapped for turquoise stiletto pumps; patent and pointed toe.
Weiss drew herself up a little straighter, both from Yang's statement and the many gazes she had begun to attract away from the spectacle on the lobby's main screen. "A Lady must be absolute sure she looks her best when welcoming her lover back from an outing triumphant." She swiveled the ankle of her suspended foot in a slow circle, the gazes of her male onlookers invariably drawn downwards.
"That's what the flowers are for, then?"
Weiss fluffed the bouquet of a dozen roses- six red and six black- cradled in her arms, cheeks coming alight. She then noticed Yang's posture, Scroll sat upon her knees tucked up to her chest, poking away at the screen rapidly and strategically. "Playing a game?"
"Mmm." from Yang. She then turned her Scroll for Weiss to see.
She beheld the frantic happenings playing out on the screen; an attractive dark-haired woman sprinting along a courtyard that seemed to be falling down around her.
'It's collapsing, Eve! Run!'
Weiss watched the woman duck, weave, and roll around falling debris.
"That is...some bodysuit she's wearing, nicht?" did Weiss giggle. Her eyes narrowed comically. "They certainly know what angles to shoot that girl from, don't they?"
"Do they ever," Yang said, tapping on the screen again.
"Was ist the game called?"
"Stellar Goddess: Blade of Victory," Yang said with absent fanfare.
"Of course." Weiss grinned cunningly. "She slightly favors Blake. Is that why you like her?"
Yang laughed. "Nah. Blake is wayyyy hotter. And I finally get her all to myself tomorrow!"
"Good for you," did Weiss say earnestly.
Both of their attentions now were taken by a growing commotion in the lobby's center.
"Ooh! There she is!"
"Ruby, you're the best!"
Fanatics of varying ages crowded around the scene, Scrolls recording what they could of their desired subject through the throng that surrounded her.
Yang and Weiss looked on from the outskirts of the rabble.
"It's strange…" Yang pondered.
Weiss looked to her.
"Ruby used to hate crowds and buzz. Hell, just seeing another person would have her throwing up her hood and averting her eyes. Now look at her, soaking up the attention from her new fan club." She turned a devilish smile upon her teammate. "Something tells me you had a little something to do with that."
Weiss tottered on her stilettos slightly at the little push Yang gave her. "No," she said through a giggle. "Ruby was amazing to begin with." Weiss shook her head, her speech them becoming dreamily recollective. "Even as I berated her for sitting on my attache case when we first met; I...sensed something about her…" She canted her head to her opposite shoulder, eyes upon the floor.
"And then, in the Vanguard hall awaiting Ozpin's speech, I saw her again. It would have been so simple to just stay away, and yet something absolutely compelled me to fight my way across the hall just to see her again. I just...needed to be sure…"
"Of what?" said Yang with soft intrigue.
Weiss smiled in full, delightful chagrin coloring her face. "If her being that amazingly beautiful was somehow a trick of my imagination."
Finally free of the gauntlet of her admirers, did Ruby cross the room to join her teammates.
Her eyes fell upon Weiss first, their smiles blooming in twain.
Ruby took the gift lovingly presented her, her face as red as the roses now in her hands, half of them anyway. "Vielen Dank, meine liebe."
Their lips were joined then, smiles still somehow fully intact.
"Wow, I didn't know Schnee and Rose were an item!"
"Oh, this is going on my page!"
Weiss smiled as she joined her arm in Ruby's. "So, my champion, shall we depart?"
"We shall," did Ruby say with a giggle. "You still haven't told me where we are going, though."
Bidding Yang farewell, did the pair turn to leave. But just then did Ruby notice a marked change in the demeanor of the gathered crowd.
For all their verbosity prior in regards to Ruby, they had suddenly become strangely subdued, as though by awe, their gazes focused in a single direction. They then parted with respectful haste as a lone figure made effortlessly through the throng.
Ruby found herself locking gazes with the one Pyrrha Nikos, the woman looking upon her with placid intent as she approached.
Ruby came to a halt, drawing herself up straight as Pyrrha was now upon them.
Weiss, dipped into a curtsy, the corners of her skirt lifted slightly. "Miss Nikos."
The stamp of Yang's foot echoed through the then silence of the lobby, such was the vigor of her Titan Salute. "Miss Nikos, Ma'am!"
The powerful Defender smiled, though said gesture showed none of her teeth. "At ease, all of you."
They relaxed.
The shining eyes of the Vanguard Captain fell upon her quarry then. "So, Ruby, building yourself quite the Legend, are we?"
Ruby nodded sideways, shrugging one shoulder. "Just doing my best," she said.
Pyrrha nodded. "I would wager, perhaps, that you have time for one more fight?"
Ruby exchanged glances with her girlfriend. "Uhh...I think I could manage that," she said. "Rumble is still pretty populated this time of day. Why?"
Pyrrha's smile, persistent throughout this exchange, bloomed to its fullest. "You misunderstand," did she say. "What I mean to say is: How would you feel about competing against me?"
This time, Ruby's shared glance extended to Yang as well. Again focused on Pyrrha, she said: "Um, sure. It would be an honor."
"Splendid," did the Titan say.
The gathered onlookers burst into excited chatter.
"Dude, Ruby's gonna fight Pyrrha!"
"Post it! Post it!"
"Smart money is on Nikos. Girl's in over her head."
Ruby adjusted the bouquet of roses crooked in her arm as well as her grip on Weiss's hand. "Um, we're not doing this like...right now, are we?"
"Certainly not," said Pyrrha. "I know you have places to go, and-" her gaze fell upon Weiss. "-people to see."
Weiss's face exploded into color, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth.
"Let us meet in the Crucible annex at noon tomorrow, if that pleases you."
Ruby loosed a slow breath, then nodding her affirmation. "Very well. Noon tomorrow."
Pyrrha nodded herself. "Fantastic." She extended her hand. "Until then. And good luck."
Letting go Weiss's hand, did she clasp Pyrrha's own, trying to to flinch at the woman's immense grip.
And the, hands clasped behind her back, did Pyrrha make serenely from the lobby, the lot of its occupants staring after her.
….
"I cannot believe you accepted a fight against Pyrrha Nikos!"
Making down Vale's main street did Weiss again comically chastise her girlfriend.
"Ich auch nicht!" Ruby said. "And I'm the one that did it!" Ruby had changed out of her combat gear and into garb more appropriate for a date: A sleeveless black bodycon mini dress over a red sundress; black Doc Martin boots; artfully ripped stockings, and a red beret upon her head.
Weiss then quite suddenly stopped in front of Ruby.
"Was?"
Weiss held the back of her hand to her girlfriend's forehead. "Hmmm…" she pondered. "You don't feel feverish..."
"Oh, stop it," Ruby laughed. "We won't be going all-out or anything, it's just an exhibition. It's not even being televised."
"Aber trotzdem…" Weiss muttered.
Ruby set her then free hand upon her hip. "Well thanks for your faith in me, Snowflake," she said with a laugh.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "If there is anyone whom I have total and blind faith in, es ist you, my beautiful flower." Weiss sealed this statement with a kiss upon Ruby's lips. "Just...be careful."
"Ugh! I'm not gonna die, Weiss!" Ruby said, smile barely contained. "I promise I'll still have all my bits and pieces by the end of it."
Weiss again took Ruby's hand. "You had better," she said. And they resumed their amble down the street.
"You still haven't told me where you're taking me," Ruby said.
"Das wurde die Uberraschung verderben, nicht wahr?" Weiss said back.
"I suppose so." Ruby's head bounced from shoulder to shoulder as she spoke.
Not too long from there did Weiss guide Ruby to her then destination.
The Jeweler's Crown
Ruby took in what she could of the marquee's fancy lettering before she was lead swiftly inside. "Wow..this looks fancy…"
A little bell tingled upon their entry, sounding delicately through the quiet and classy space.
A well-dressed lady looked up from her current customers. Upon taking in her newest potential patron, did her eyes widen to saucer-like roundness. "Sophie, if you could finish with this gentleman here? We have another customer." The question was not fully out of her mouth before the lady was making haste across the store, patting her suit and hair in strategic places.
Ruby then noticed the marked and very much rehearsed change that had come over Weiss's posture then: feet posed in a stately 'T' ; back as straight as her sword; and her head tipped back just enough so that her gaze angled down her nose.
Ruby was just taller than Weiss by maybe two or so inches. But then, it seemed to her that Weiss all but towered over anyone that looked upon her.
'Traveler...Weiss is a fucking GODDESS…' was her deifying thought then.
I very much second that, Zwei said in her head.
"Good day to you, Miss Schnee!" said the proprietress with prodigious pageantry. "Quite the honor it is to have you visit my little shop. And may I just say that you are so much more beautiful in person than on tv. Not that you aren't absolutely breath-taking to begin with, madam."
Weiss inclined her elegant white head. "I thank you," was her statement.
The proprietress continued. "My name is Eliana Emerald. And I will be absolutely delighted to help you with anything you may need."
During the course of this exchange, the woman hadn't so much as glanced at Ruby.
"What do you have in Ruby's, Eliana?" Weiss asked.
The woman gestured grandly to a corner of the shop. "Right this way, Miss Schnee."
The girls followed in the woman's gracious wake, coming to a stop a crystal-fronted case. "The finest in Vale. Which I'm sure you are more than used to, madam."
Weiss smiled as she turned to Ruby. "Anything strike your fancy, liebchen?"
Ruby actually blinked several times. "Oh, wow. That's where this was going…"
"But of course." Weiss reached out to stroke her lover's chin. "Precious gems, for my precious gem."
Ruby tried, and failed spectacularly to hide the color burning in her face. She cleared her throat as she leaned in to inspect the offerings behind the counter.
"Please, take your time, miss," the shop keeper said cordially.
Ruby's eyes then lit on a particular piece. A round Ruby, its myriad facets glimmering from its golden setting. "That ring is really nice…"
"Let's have a look, ja?" She said this to the shopkeeper with a nod at said ring.
Eliana, with as much haste as care, unlocked the lid to the case, gently retrieving the piece and presenting it to its patron.
Weiss took it. She lifted Ruby's hand, and with much reverence, slid the ring onto her left ring finger.
Ruby's smile bloomed as her cheeks burned crimson.
"It very much becomes you, meine liebe," Weiss said softly.
"And matches so well your color motif," did Eliana say. "As well as those striking eyes of yours."
Ruby smiled bashfully. "Du bist zu nett," she said.
Eliana blinked as she smiled politely, clearly not knowing what the words meant.
"So. That's a 'yes' then?" Weiss said.
Ruby nodded, blush still evident.
Weiss slid the ring from Ruby's finger, giving it to Eliana for packaging. "I'll take it."
"Excellent choice, Miss Schnee!"
Ruby tugged a bit on Weiss's hand. "Weiss...are you sure, babe?" She looked to the price tag of the thing projected from the case. "I mean, that's a lot of zeros…"
Weiss held Ruby's hand in both her own. "My love, this is but the smallest token of my affection that I can offer you." She leaned in, her lips hovering airily over Ruby's ear. "And I can show you even more tonight…" was her sultry whisper.
Ruby was sure steam was spouting from her ears as she giggled manically.
Eliana waffled politely on the spot, her hands folded before her. "I do hate to...interrupt," she said. "But I must ask for your method of payment. Miss Schnee."
"Of course."
Weiss presented her card as Eliana initiated the payment process.
The girls spent a short while whispering sweet nothings to one another, giggling and blushing like the daytime sun.
"And, after this, I was thinking-"
"-Um...Miss Schnee?"
She turned. "Ja?"
Eliana looked uncomfortable as she pointed to her card machine's display.
TRANSACTION DECLINED
Weiss blinked, her head canted. "Run it again. That's happens sometimes with these things.
Eliana did so. The three of them waited just a few moments…
TRANSACTION DECLINED
"Was zum Teufel…"
Ruby bit her lip.
That's a bummer… Zwei spoke in her head. No rubies for Ruby.
"I can't be anywhere near my monthly limit…"
Ruby squeezed Weiss hand. "Babe, it's alright…"
Unpleasant and jeering chuckles came from the other couple in the store. "Looks like that Schnee money isn't infinite after all..." did the woman whisper to her husband.
Weiss covered her face with her free hand. "Traveler this is so embarrassing…"
"Weiss, it's fine, really." Ruby gently freed her hand from that of her girlfriend's, using it to gently prop Weiss's chin up with her finger. "Besides, I think you're forgetting something."
"Was..?"
Ruby smiled, eyes locked on Weiss's own. "I fell in love with you, Snowflake, not your money."
Weiss smiled, her icy eyes dancing with tears.
Ruby head bounced shoulder to shoulder as she said comically, "I mean, sure it's nice and all, don't get me wrong. But, Weiss, you are so much more important to me than just your bank account. Really, you are."
Weiss blinked slowly. "I don't deserve you…"
And despite their onlookers then, did they engage in a kiss, long and lingering.
For all her heckling before, did the wife let out an, "Aww…." righting herself quickly as her husband affixed her with a smug grin.
Their kiss broken, Ruby said to Weiss: "C'mon, I'm lousy with Crucible winnings. Let me treat you to something, ja?"
Weiss nodded, smile aglow. She took her card back fro Eliana. "So terribly sorry about all this."
"No trouble at all," said Eliana with a bow.
Bouquet of roses in one arm, girlfriend in the other, did Ruby exclaim: "To the ice cream parlor!"
And they left the shop, giggles trailing in their wake.
….
-End of Legend 45-
…..
A/N:
Ten years.
120 months
521 weeks
3650 days.
And it all seems like just yesterday when the Legend of Destiny began.
September 9, 2014.
That was the day we waited for.
That was the day we opened up the door.
Many Legends began that day.
And many more will be made still.
Here's to you, Guardians.
-B.D. Skunkworks
