Paradoxical [Destiny/Worm Post-GM]
- Thread starter ensou
- Start date
- Crossover
Crucible
ensou
Magical G̶i̶r̶l̶ Servant Mordred-chan
- Location
- NEW YORK CITY!??
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Note: This replaces the earlier version of the Crucible fight, which can be found in the Apocrypha. Hopefully this is at least marginally better.
Present Day, The Last City
There's a number of things I like about being twice-living, about being a Lightbearer.
Being able to find myself, to find who I am without the baggage that Taylor's memories brought along gave me a perspective I don't think I ever could have accepted otherwise.
First, I love challenges.
I finally had to admit and accept this five years after my resurrection when my Queen managed to twist me into taking over the Eliksni contingent of her Guard with nothing more than a few pointedly-aimed words.
Secondly, I hate losing. I hate it. It was a bitter pill to swallow, finding that I had such a glaring and easily-manipulable flaw, but as far as being Risen goes, it's actually not that bad.
Because being Risen? Means you don't have to give up. (…Usually.)
There's no absolute death as long as you're not totally stupid, and the ones that you do experience are often painful enough to teach you the lesson of not ever trying what caused them again. And the firepower a single Risen can bring to bear is no laughing matter.
In the twenty years of practice I had, I'd managed to get my Solar fire strong enough I could melt a city block if I truly wanted. I'd only gotten it to happen intentionally once, and it took a hell of a lot out of me, but it was possible.
So with those two things in mind, being in this Crucible, facing someone who had decades if not centuries of experience on me? It was maddening.
Two teams, six people each.
It took the first two rounds just to get a hang of how the engagements flowed and how my teammates worked.
Why so long? Because I quickly learned that fighting other Risen is nothing like fighting anything else.
The Hive are at least semi-careful about fights, but rush in and attempt to overwhelm if they feel backed into a corner, the thrall and acolytes fighting with fervor that could only be done by zealots. The Cabal are a military force, built on honor and working like a machine so well-crafted it doesn't even need oil.
A splinter like what I'd dealt with, I learned, was very, very, very rare.
Eliksni in general were scavengers, skirmishers, fighting when they felt threatened or were after some objective. MyEliksni were strike teams, terrifyingly accurate and well-trained, the fifteen years I'd put them through pushing them to match the rest of the Guard's ridiculously high lethality.
But, they still fought with self-preservation as their core, something I'd beaten in to their heads to avoid any idiots from getting notions of self-sacrifice.
One's life is sacred, because without it there was no way to further keep your companions from dying, to serve and be useful (something I'd found was oddly offensive to the Wolves of the Guard, not being useful).
Guardians?
Guardians are idiots.
And they fought nothing like the commandos I was so used to.
They're not so much idiots in the way they act or react, but the way they treat their (im)mortality.
They were so much more aggressive in obtaining objectives or pushing to gain ground it wasn't even funny.
Cayde was by far the worst. Because he had the skills to back it up.
I may have had different equipment, custom weapons with exotic effects that seemed better than theirs on average, but that in no way prepared me with having to fight a bunch of extremely mobile tactical nightmares that were more than willing to get grievously (or even mortally) injured to get what they wanted because they could heal in seconds.
And as depressing as it is to say it, it probably showed.
I was not trained for this. Whether as the Queen's Weaver or in my previous life, I was not prepared for this sort of situation. It was like fighting a team of capes that were all Brutes and could heal in seconds, with a versatility that easily rivaled the strongest parahumans I'd encountered. Hell, most of them outshone that blue lady I'd collected, and she'd been ruling her world.
The closest I could compare was fighting the Slaughterhouse Nine Thousand, except there were no direct counters like we had in that fight.
I quickly realized I was not winning this. There was simply no way.
I hadn't needed to accept the challenge, but I had.
And now I was paying for that.
Not that I was going to let them beat my impromptu team and I easily.
The Queen's Blade did not go down without a fight.
"Kali, prep the Shrapnel Launcher."
This was going to get messy.
"It was a good game."
Five to three. Five to three.
Kali could feel Weaver's frustration.
Ugh. Well, they'd known this wouldn't be easy. They just hadn't predicted how much so.
Weaver stared at Cayde's extended hand warily for a moment, eyes moving up to the Exo's face and then back down, before she sighed and reached out to shake it. "Yeah."
"Hey! No need to be so down!" Without any warning, the man had swiveled around and clapped her shoulder, arm across her back. "You did pretty damn good for a rookie. Not many people could have pulled that off. Also, can I just say, that I will never be able to look at a bow the same way again?"
Kali felt Weaver's lips twitch at the corners.
The bow, simultaneously one of the simplest and most sophisticated weapons they had, was something they were particularly proud of. A weapon that could channel Light itself. Guardians could temporarily create constructs of Light when they'd generated enough to use in a fight, but Weaver could channel hers directly through the bow in any element, making it last significantly longer. Aurelian Fiat may have been a bow in a gunfight, but that didn't make it any less lethal, especially with the Light.
"I'd say the same thing about those knives you threw if I wasn't so interested in trying them myself," Weaver said, looking at her hand as a flare of Solar energy rushed down her arm and then filled out into the shape of blades held between her fingers.
Cayde pulled back to look at Weaver. "Okay, now you're just showing off."
The brunette made no attempt to hide her smirk, the blades of Light fading as she released her hold on the construct.
"But seriously, good job. I haven't been pushed like that since Ikora," Cayde said. He suddenly turned to her. "Say, do you play cards?"
Kali started cackling.
As least they'd get to make up for the loss in the Crucible by robbing the Vanguard blind.
The Queen would probably enjoy hearing that.
A/N: Written literally today after waking up at 4am, because I'm tired of trying to get the fight right and I want to move on to the important stuff. Like the Wolves. And Orin. And Oryx.
Next chapter we meet Zach's buddies and probably deal with the Heart.
Present Day, The Last City
There's a number of things I like about being twice-living, about being a Lightbearer.
Being able to find myself, to find who I am without the baggage that Taylor's memories brought along gave me a perspective I don't think I ever could have accepted otherwise.
First, I love challenges.
I finally had to admit and accept this five years after my resurrection when my Queen managed to twist me into taking over the Eliksni contingent of her Guard with nothing more than a few pointedly-aimed words.
Secondly, I hate losing. I hate it. It was a bitter pill to swallow, finding that I had such a glaring and easily-manipulable flaw, but as far as being Risen goes, it's actually not that bad.
Because being Risen? Means you don't have to give up. (…Usually.)
There's no absolute death as long as you're not totally stupid, and the ones that you do experience are often painful enough to teach you the lesson of not ever trying what caused them again. And the firepower a single Risen can bring to bear is no laughing matter.
In the twenty years of practice I had, I'd managed to get my Solar fire strong enough I could melt a city block if I truly wanted. I'd only gotten it to happen intentionally once, and it took a hell of a lot out of me, but it was possible.
So with those two things in mind, being in this Crucible, facing someone who had decades if not centuries of experience on me? It was maddening.
Two teams, six people each.
It took the first two rounds just to get a hang of how the engagements flowed and how my teammates worked.
Why so long? Because I quickly learned that fighting other Risen is nothing like fighting anything else.
The Hive are at least semi-careful about fights, but rush in and attempt to overwhelm if they feel backed into a corner, the thrall and acolytes fighting with fervor that could only be done by zealots. The Cabal are a military force, built on honor and working like a machine so well-crafted it doesn't even need oil.
A splinter like what I'd dealt with, I learned, was very, very, very rare.
Eliksni in general were scavengers, skirmishers, fighting when they felt threatened or were after some objective. MyEliksni were strike teams, terrifyingly accurate and well-trained, the fifteen years I'd put them through pushing them to match the rest of the Guard's ridiculously high lethality.
But, they still fought with self-preservation as their core, something I'd beaten in to their heads to avoid any idiots from getting notions of self-sacrifice.
One's life is sacred, because without it there was no way to further keep your companions from dying, to serve and be useful (something I'd found was oddly offensive to the Wolves of the Guard, not being useful).
Guardians?
Guardians are idiots.
And they fought nothing like the commandos I was so used to.
They're not so much idiots in the way they act or react, but the way they treat their (im)mortality.
They were so much more aggressive in obtaining objectives or pushing to gain ground it wasn't even funny.
Cayde was by far the worst. Because he had the skills to back it up.
I may have had different equipment, custom weapons with exotic effects that seemed better than theirs on average, but that in no way prepared me with having to fight a bunch of extremely mobile tactical nightmares that were more than willing to get grievously (or even mortally) injured to get what they wanted because they could heal in seconds.
And as depressing as it is to say it, it probably showed.
I was not trained for this. Whether as the Queen's Weaver or in my previous life, I was not prepared for this sort of situation. It was like fighting a team of capes that were all Brutes and could heal in seconds, with a versatility that easily rivaled the strongest parahumans I'd encountered. Hell, most of them outshone that blue lady I'd collected, and she'd been ruling her world.
The closest I could compare was fighting the Slaughterhouse Nine Thousand, except there were no direct counters like we had in that fight.
I quickly realized I was not winning this. There was simply no way.
I hadn't needed to accept the challenge, but I had.
And now I was paying for that.
Not that I was going to let them beat my impromptu team and I easily.
The Queen's Blade did not go down without a fight.
"Kali, prep the Shrapnel Launcher."
This was going to get messy.
"It was a good game."
Five to three. Five to three.
Kali could feel Weaver's frustration.
Ugh. Well, they'd known this wouldn't be easy. They just hadn't predicted how much so.
Weaver stared at Cayde's extended hand warily for a moment, eyes moving up to the Exo's face and then back down, before she sighed and reached out to shake it. "Yeah."
"Hey! No need to be so down!" Without any warning, the man had swiveled around and clapped her shoulder, arm across her back. "You did pretty damn good for a rookie. Not many people could have pulled that off. Also, can I just say, that I will never be able to look at a bow the same way again?"
Kali felt Weaver's lips twitch at the corners.
The bow, simultaneously one of the simplest and most sophisticated weapons they had, was something they were particularly proud of. A weapon that could channel Light itself. Guardians could temporarily create constructs of Light when they'd generated enough to use in a fight, but Weaver could channel hers directly through the bow in any element, making it last significantly longer. Aurelian Fiat may have been a bow in a gunfight, but that didn't make it any less lethal, especially with the Light.
"I'd say the same thing about those knives you threw if I wasn't so interested in trying them myself," Weaver said, looking at her hand as a flare of Solar energy rushed down her arm and then filled out into the shape of blades held between her fingers.
Cayde pulled back to look at Weaver. "Okay, now you're just showing off."
The brunette made no attempt to hide her smirk, the blades of Light fading as she released her hold on the construct.
"But seriously, good job. I haven't been pushed like that since Ikora," Cayde said. He suddenly turned to her. "Say, do you play cards?"
Kali started cackling.
As least they'd get to make up for the loss in the Crucible by robbing the Vanguard blind.
The Queen would probably enjoy hearing that.
A/N: Written literally today after waking up at 4am, because I'm tired of trying to get the fight right and I want to move on to the important stuff. Like the Wolves. And Orin. And Oryx.
Next chapter we meet Zach's buddies and probably deal with the Heart.
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- Location
- Australia
Now that was some good civilisation.
..and because Shaxx's crucible is televised (because of course it is, also if the Hidden aren't watching the Queen's Blade fight I'll eat my hat)
Guardians watching from the sideline of that fight: Ha! a bow, this'll be good for a laugh..
*A few moments later*
Guardians watching: I WANT ONE!
nothing gets a guardians mettle up like a new exotic..
As to the chapter itself, this version of the fight is far less confusing and more narratively consistent than the blow-by-blow version
Guardians watching from the sideline of that fight: Ha! a bow, this'll be good for a laugh..
*A few moments later*
Guardians watching: I WANT ONE!
nothing gets a guardians mettle up like a new exotic..
As to the chapter itself, this version of the fight is far less confusing and more narratively consistent than the blow-by-blow version
- Location
- Tel'aran'rhiod
If only taylor was in my fireteam, then maybe I'd have that god damn luna's howl
Evil Atlas
Inspector of Details
- Location
- Denial
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yep, this was excellent. Entirely believable reasons for her to be thrown off, additional worldbuilding done in the process of showing that, and sufficient displays (or at least implications) of competence on all sides.
(And I loved the line about Guardians being idiots. I mean, suicidal aggression backed by superpowers is actually an effective tactic here, but I do wonder what heights Taylor could take them to if she had the time to think up some training...)
Glad you were able to get this out and free your muse. Very much looking forward to the upcoming adventures.
(And I loved the line about Guardians being idiots. I mean, suicidal aggression backed by superpowers is actually an effective tactic here, but I do wonder what heights Taylor could take them to if she had the time to think up some training...)
Glad you were able to get this out and free your muse. Very much looking forward to the upcoming adventures.
Spectral Waltz
Scatterbrained Writer
- Location
- Walking the Endless Corridors
I like it, just as good as the previous fights and it's clear through how it flows that you were a lot more 'on' for this iteration of the fight. Glad to see you back in the saddle ensou!
- Location
- United States
It's clear you were much more into this version of the fight. You were more on your game this time.
She can choose any element? HAX... want it
Agreed. Certified Good Civilization™ right here.
- Location
- CA
Lovely chapter, just one minor nit pick.
Personally I would change it so it's either 5/4 or 4/3. This both makes it a closer result so Weaver looks a little better, and makes it look like an actual match. (Every match for any game I've heard of are best of an odd number. Currently you're at 8. Just a thought)
Personally I would change it so it's either 5/4 or 4/3. This both makes it a closer result so Weaver looks a little better, and makes it look like an actual match. (Every match for any game I've heard of are best of an odd number. Currently you're at 8. Just a thought)
- Location
- somewhere over there.
- Pronouns
- They/It
It was probably a best of nine, but Weaver didn't win enough to push the series all the way to the ninth match. Also, having her not be one match away is more meaningful in showing that she was actually bested and it wasn't just a bit of luck from the other side. I'm glad ensou didn't end up doing that.
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ensou
Magical G̶i̶r̶l̶ Servant Mordred-chan
- Location
- NEW YORK CITY!??
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Multi-round Crucible matches don't work on a "best of
n rounds", but rather a "first to win n rounds". It's similar to short-match sports like tennis where you have to win six games to win the set, allowing anything from six to eleven matches per set.
The limit is different for different Crucible modes: Countdown is six, Survival is four, Breakthrough had three, etc. This (which I'm starting to imagine as having been Zone Control) had five.
- Location
- California
- Pronouns
- She/They
This was the perfect way to sum up the crucible fight.
UnfortuWatcher
(Verified Lovecraftian Horror)
- Location
- Genellian
While I did love the first version, this probably worked for people who don't know the true mess that is the Crucible.
And besides, now I know where Shaxx got the idea for bows from.
And besides, now I know where Shaxx got the idea for bows from.
THE HELMET STAYED ON
Audience
ensou
Magical G̶i̶r̶l̶ Servant Mordred-chan
- Location
- NEW YORK CITY!??
- Pronouns
- She/Her
20 Years Ago, Serenna
"Hah. Hah. Hah."
'Weaver…'
"What is it?" the young woman asked from where she lay on the top of the building, staring up at the ever-purple mist hanging in the sky and the stars twinkling behind it.
A burst of light bloomed into existence in front of her, Kali materializing from the subspace pocket she'd been in. "Why are we still doing this?"
Weaver stared at her Ghost, eyes scrunched in confusion even as she still panted from exertion.
"When did getting back to Earth and the Vanguard become unimportant?" she asked. "We've been here for three months. We aren't even trying to get back anymore, and don't tell me it's 'just temporary' because we know it isn't," the Ghost said shortly, cutting Weaver off as the woman opened her mouth to refute Kali's statement.
Weaver sighed, her eyes moving away from the floating intelligence back to the stars and the sky. "I don't know."
Maybe it was when they'd found out getting a ship for outbound transit heading towards Earth—if not one for themselves personally— would take at least a month, and more glimmer than they had. Maybe it was that first night when Taylor had saved and healed the Awoken woman. Maybe it was when they'd seen the prejudice and treatment of the Eliksni first-hand.
"Wasn't it what you wanted? Getting back?"
"Yes!" the brunette answered immediately, but then hesitated. "No. Maybe. I don't know, okay?" She gave a deep breath. "…Does it even matter?" she asked quietly.
"Doesn't having to skulk around like this bother you? Moving around so much? Sleeping in alleys and renting rooms from people who won't ask questions? Getting meals in places like Erkis' bar? Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to hide and could be recognized for what you're doing? Could live off it?"
"How many people have we saved, Kali? How many muggings? How many assaults?" Weaver asked, sounding tired.
They both knew it was a rhetorical question.
"I don't care about recognition. Or money. Or comfort," she said, and looked back at her Ghost. "If I hadn't helped those people, what would have happened? Nobody else tried to help them. Even when there were other people right there. …Fucking bystander effect," she muttered heatedly.
It seemed like another piece of Weaver's first life was showing itself.
Kali groaned to herself, floating down to rest on Weaver's hands, which were crossed over her chestplate.
"This… vigilantism isn't sustainable, Weaver. We can't do this forever. We've gotten lucky so far, but sooner or later someone is going to start asking questions," she said softly. "I'm with you no matter what you choose, but…"
But some choices just didn't work in the long run.
"I know," Weaver whispered, extracting the hand on the bottom to bring up and rest on Kali's shell.
"…I know."
It turned out it was sooner, rather than later, that their luck ran out.
"Halt!"
Weaver froze mid-step in the darkness of the alley, turning around slowly.
An Awoken woman stood in the mouth of the alley, dressed in a skintight black outfit with purple sash and a black helmet and visor that almost completely covered her face. A blue pistol was held in front of her with both hands, pointed right at Weaver's center of mass. "Raise your hands above your head."
'Kali?'
'She's one of the Queen's Guard.'
'Actual law enforcement then. Shit.'
'What do you want to do?'
'Well, I'm not going to resist, if that's what you're asking.'
Weaver was already doing as the woman had ordered. The Guard moved forward two steps, gun still trained on her. "Lace your fingers together and put your hands on your head."
Kali's partner complied, putting her hands on top of her hood. The officer's left hand came off her gun and lifted to push something on the side of her helmet.
"It's her." She paused. "Acknowledged."
She turned her attention to Weaver. "If I ask you to come with me, will you resist?"
"No," the young woman responded.
"…Will you please remove your hood?" the Guard said.
Weaver hesitated for a moment, the Guard's right hand tightening on the grip of her pistol before Kali's partner reached forward and drew her hood away.
The Guard took a half-step back. "Human…?"
The fact Weaver's eyes were still glowing probably threw her off even more.
For a minute neither of them moved, the darkness and quiet of the alley seeming to become oppressive.
"Can you please lower the gun?" Weaver asked, breaking the silence.
The Guard jolted, as though she hadn't even been aware she was still pointing it at Weaver, before hurriedly holstering the pistol. "Ah. Maybe you should keep the hood up for now."
Weaver just nodded, replacing her hood.
"Follow me," the Guard said stiffly, turning around and beginning to walk towards the entrance of the alley.
Weaver trailed after her obediently. "Where are we going?"
At the mouth the Guard paused, glancing at Weaver before looking forward again.
"The Queen."
They did not go directly to the Queen.
First there was a airship to take them to the palace's city half-way across Vesta, the first small transport Weaver and Kali had been in together since Weaver's resurrection.
Then there was processing, waiting, getting screened, and more waiting.
Apparently, the Queen was a busy woman and didn't have much free room in her schedule.
They were forced to wait for three hours in a bare room barely five meters square, though it was significantly higher quality construction than what they were used to in the Eliksni ghettos and poorer areas of Serenna.
And then—only then, when it was just becoming Vesta's equivalent of 'evening'—were they finally escorted under armed guard to the throne room.
The room was large, a hall more than a chamber. Purple banners with the same crown emblem the Guards had hung from the walls, with pillars carved from glazed white rock that had black and light purple veins running through it and the floor made from the same. Starbursts of indigo-blue were embedded in the stone, pockets of amethyst that had somehow been (un)naturally formed inside the rock.
The moment Weaver laid eyes on the Awoken woman seated on the large chair—throne—at the top of the tiered stone platform, she knew the Queen was not to be trifled with.
Just looking at her made her spine straighten.
Once they were within ten feet of the platform the Guards that had escorted Weaver stopped, turning and moving away to stand at the edge of the room at the walls.
The Queen and Weaver stared at each other, analyzing, measuring.
Her hair was white, not platinum, or light blond, but the color of snow, of ash. Her eyes were like flecks of glowing glacial blue ice, as cold and hard as what they resembled.
"Human."
In comparison, the pale violet undertone of her skin was unremarkable with how accustomed Weaver had become after three months of being among the Awoken.
Weaver stayed silent, the Queen's eyes locked with her own, darting between the Risen woman's own glowing irises.
At this point Kali was pretty sure she was just keeping it up to unnerve everyone else. People did not expect humans to have glowing eyes.
"And a Lightbearer. Tell me why we shouldn't have you struck down now for invading our realm, much less your crimes against our citizens."
"I didn't have a choice," Weaver said stubbornly. "And if helping others is a crime it'd certainly explain why no one else did."
The Queen's expression didn't change, but it felt like the air between them froze. "We can protect our own. We do not need assistance from one such as you."
"I didn't do it for you," Weaver retorted. "I did it for them."
The Queen remained impassive. "You presume much. This is not your City. You do not belong here, Lightspawn."
"I don't 'belong' anywhere. Much less some City I've never even been to on a planet I can't even remember," Kali's partner returned hotly. "They already have enough people, from what I've been told. Why shouldn't I be where I can actually make a difference and not just be another body?"
"We do not need you," the Queen restated, but her voice was less harsh than before.
Kali floated out of where she'd been resting in Weaver's cloak, unable to stay quiet any longer. "There's a crashed Cabal ship that was intended for Serenna that says otherwise. How many did we save by bringing it down where we did? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Did you ever wonder why so many of the crew were dead before you got there? You may not need us, but we still helped save you."
The Queen fell silent, staring at them. She took a slow breath, then stood, descending the steps until she stood less than two feet from Weaver and Kali. Her eyes never broke from Weaver's. "You…"
Her mouth pursed. "You are something quite different, aren't you?"
'I think I should take that as a compliment,' Weaver sent to Kali. 'But I'm not entirely sure.'
The Queen extended a hand, and Weaver had to fight to stay exactly where she was. Two fingers came up to touch her forehead, and then trailed across to her temple. The Queen's ice-blue eyes flared slightly, their glow strengthening. "So much, for nothing. So close, but not enough."
The glow subsided, and her hand dropped away. The Queen took a step back, still looking up at Weaver.
For a moment, neither moved. And then the Queen spoke. "We have decided."
Kali shifted nervously, her shell twitching.
"We give you a choice. Take a ship, go to your Last City. Become what you were intended, one among many."
"Or…?" Kali prompted when it didn't seem like she'd continue.
The Queen's eyes never wavered from their laser-like focus on Weaver's. "Join our Guard. Prove yourself to be what you say. Live up to your ideals.
"Become something more."
"Hah. Hah. Hah."
'Weaver…'
"What is it?" the young woman asked from where she lay on the top of the building, staring up at the ever-purple mist hanging in the sky and the stars twinkling behind it.
A burst of light bloomed into existence in front of her, Kali materializing from the subspace pocket she'd been in. "Why are we still doing this?"
Weaver stared at her Ghost, eyes scrunched in confusion even as she still panted from exertion.
"When did getting back to Earth and the Vanguard become unimportant?" she asked. "We've been here for three months. We aren't even trying to get back anymore, and don't tell me it's 'just temporary' because we know it isn't," the Ghost said shortly, cutting Weaver off as the woman opened her mouth to refute Kali's statement.
Weaver sighed, her eyes moving away from the floating intelligence back to the stars and the sky. "I don't know."
Maybe it was when they'd found out getting a ship for outbound transit heading towards Earth—if not one for themselves personally— would take at least a month, and more glimmer than they had. Maybe it was that first night when Taylor had saved and healed the Awoken woman. Maybe it was when they'd seen the prejudice and treatment of the Eliksni first-hand.
"Wasn't it what you wanted? Getting back?"
"Yes!" the brunette answered immediately, but then hesitated. "No. Maybe. I don't know, okay?" She gave a deep breath. "…Does it even matter?" she asked quietly.
"Doesn't having to skulk around like this bother you? Moving around so much? Sleeping in alleys and renting rooms from people who won't ask questions? Getting meals in places like Erkis' bar? Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to hide and could be recognized for what you're doing? Could live off it?"
"How many people have we saved, Kali? How many muggings? How many assaults?" Weaver asked, sounding tired.
They both knew it was a rhetorical question.
"I don't care about recognition. Or money. Or comfort," she said, and looked back at her Ghost. "If I hadn't helped those people, what would have happened? Nobody else tried to help them. Even when there were other people right there. …Fucking bystander effect," she muttered heatedly.
It seemed like another piece of Weaver's first life was showing itself.
Kali groaned to herself, floating down to rest on Weaver's hands, which were crossed over her chestplate.
"This… vigilantism isn't sustainable, Weaver. We can't do this forever. We've gotten lucky so far, but sooner or later someone is going to start asking questions," she said softly. "I'm with you no matter what you choose, but…"
But some choices just didn't work in the long run.
"I know," Weaver whispered, extracting the hand on the bottom to bring up and rest on Kali's shell.
"…I know."
It turned out it was sooner, rather than later, that their luck ran out.
"Halt!"
Weaver froze mid-step in the darkness of the alley, turning around slowly.
An Awoken woman stood in the mouth of the alley, dressed in a skintight black outfit with purple sash and a black helmet and visor that almost completely covered her face. A blue pistol was held in front of her with both hands, pointed right at Weaver's center of mass. "Raise your hands above your head."
'Kali?'
'She's one of the Queen's Guard.'
'Actual law enforcement then. Shit.'
'What do you want to do?'
'Well, I'm not going to resist, if that's what you're asking.'
Weaver was already doing as the woman had ordered. The Guard moved forward two steps, gun still trained on her. "Lace your fingers together and put your hands on your head."
Kali's partner complied, putting her hands on top of her hood. The officer's left hand came off her gun and lifted to push something on the side of her helmet.
"It's her." She paused. "Acknowledged."
She turned her attention to Weaver. "If I ask you to come with me, will you resist?"
"No," the young woman responded.
"…Will you please remove your hood?" the Guard said.
Weaver hesitated for a moment, the Guard's right hand tightening on the grip of her pistol before Kali's partner reached forward and drew her hood away.
The Guard took a half-step back. "Human…?"
The fact Weaver's eyes were still glowing probably threw her off even more.
For a minute neither of them moved, the darkness and quiet of the alley seeming to become oppressive.
"Can you please lower the gun?" Weaver asked, breaking the silence.
The Guard jolted, as though she hadn't even been aware she was still pointing it at Weaver, before hurriedly holstering the pistol. "Ah. Maybe you should keep the hood up for now."
Weaver just nodded, replacing her hood.
"Follow me," the Guard said stiffly, turning around and beginning to walk towards the entrance of the alley.
Weaver trailed after her obediently. "Where are we going?"
At the mouth the Guard paused, glancing at Weaver before looking forward again.
"The Queen."
They did not go directly to the Queen.
First there was a airship to take them to the palace's city half-way across Vesta, the first small transport Weaver and Kali had been in together since Weaver's resurrection.
Then there was processing, waiting, getting screened, and more waiting.
Apparently, the Queen was a busy woman and didn't have much free room in her schedule.
They were forced to wait for three hours in a bare room barely five meters square, though it was significantly higher quality construction than what they were used to in the Eliksni ghettos and poorer areas of Serenna.
And then—only then, when it was just becoming Vesta's equivalent of 'evening'—were they finally escorted under armed guard to the throne room.
The room was large, a hall more than a chamber. Purple banners with the same crown emblem the Guards had hung from the walls, with pillars carved from glazed white rock that had black and light purple veins running through it and the floor made from the same. Starbursts of indigo-blue were embedded in the stone, pockets of amethyst that had somehow been (un)naturally formed inside the rock.
The moment Weaver laid eyes on the Awoken woman seated on the large chair—throne—at the top of the tiered stone platform, she knew the Queen was not to be trifled with.
Just looking at her made her spine straighten.
Once they were within ten feet of the platform the Guards that had escorted Weaver stopped, turning and moving away to stand at the edge of the room at the walls.
The Queen and Weaver stared at each other, analyzing, measuring.
Her hair was white, not platinum, or light blond, but the color of snow, of ash. Her eyes were like flecks of glowing glacial blue ice, as cold and hard as what they resembled.
"Human."
In comparison, the pale violet undertone of her skin was unremarkable with how accustomed Weaver had become after three months of being among the Awoken.
Weaver stayed silent, the Queen's eyes locked with her own, darting between the Risen woman's own glowing irises.
At this point Kali was pretty sure she was just keeping it up to unnerve everyone else. People did not expect humans to have glowing eyes.
"And a Lightbearer. Tell me why we shouldn't have you struck down now for invading our realm, much less your crimes against our citizens."
"I didn't have a choice," Weaver said stubbornly. "And if helping others is a crime it'd certainly explain why no one else did."
The Queen's expression didn't change, but it felt like the air between them froze. "We can protect our own. We do not need assistance from one such as you."
"I didn't do it for you," Weaver retorted. "I did it for them."
The Queen remained impassive. "You presume much. This is not your City. You do not belong here, Lightspawn."
"I don't 'belong' anywhere. Much less some City I've never even been to on a planet I can't even remember," Kali's partner returned hotly. "They already have enough people, from what I've been told. Why shouldn't I be where I can actually make a difference and not just be another body?"
"We do not need you," the Queen restated, but her voice was less harsh than before.
Kali floated out of where she'd been resting in Weaver's cloak, unable to stay quiet any longer. "There's a crashed Cabal ship that was intended for Serenna that says otherwise. How many did we save by bringing it down where we did? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Did you ever wonder why so many of the crew were dead before you got there? You may not need us, but we still helped save you."
The Queen fell silent, staring at them. She took a slow breath, then stood, descending the steps until she stood less than two feet from Weaver and Kali. Her eyes never broke from Weaver's. "You…"
Her mouth pursed. "You are something quite different, aren't you?"
'I think I should take that as a compliment,' Weaver sent to Kali. 'But I'm not entirely sure.'
The Queen extended a hand, and Weaver had to fight to stay exactly where she was. Two fingers came up to touch her forehead, and then trailed across to her temple. The Queen's ice-blue eyes flared slightly, their glow strengthening. "So much, for nothing. So close, but not enough."
The glow subsided, and her hand dropped away. The Queen took a step back, still looking up at Weaver.
For a moment, neither moved. And then the Queen spoke. "We have decided."
Kali shifted nervously, her shell twitching.
"We give you a choice. Take a ship, go to your Last City. Become what you were intended, one among many."
"Or…?" Kali prompted when it didn't seem like she'd continue.
The Queen's eyes never wavered from their laser-like focus on Weaver's. "Join our Guard. Prove yourself to be what you say. Live up to your ideals.
"Become something more."
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- Location
- United States
Taylor and the queen are kindred spirits. They've both had a long and hard history of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Taylor sticking with her bad decisions is pretty Taylor. 
Also, queen is best girl.
Missing period at the end which I totally forgot to mention earlier, like a jerk. V:
The bit with Taylor stiff/squirming as the Queen touches her is either amazing or hilarious and I'm still not sure which. Or maybe it's both???
Also, queen is best girl.
Missing period at the end which I totally forgot to mention earlier, like a jerk. V:
The bit with Taylor stiff/squirming as the Queen touches her is either amazing or hilarious and I'm still not sure which. Or maybe it's both???
- Location
- Edmonton
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Dont tempt me, I'll ship it man dont think I wont. YOU DONT KNOW ME MAN. YOU DONT KNOW THE PAIRS IVE SUPPORTED. This is Canon compared to some of the things ive shipped.
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Do it. Do it! Doooo eeeeeet....
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Nah, the Queen totally does that to everybody. Haven't you seen how intense she can get? V:
globalwarmth
ruining the weather.
- Location
- Polar ice caps
"Fantasized of on a lonely Saturday night vis a bottle of Chardonnay - most certainly. But not trifled with."
