Destiny: Legend Untold, Chpt 12 Pt 2

[u]Chapter Twelve: The Old and the New[/u] Part Two An approving roar rose from all the Titans in the crowd, although a few just shook their heads, probably because Drew had beaten them already. But as it began to die down an shout came from the stairwell leading down to the Vanguard Hall. The crowd turned to face the voice, and confused muttering spread through the gathering as Cayde found to be the source of the shout. "Zavala made me come out here, play along," Cayde told us quietly, then resumed his angry-sounding shouts, "Do you know how many rules you're breaking?!" "Four at least!" our Warlock referee answered, the Guardians in front of him parting so Cayde could see, "Gambling, disruption, impediment, and...slander of the Vanguard name?" "You all make me so proud," Cayde said, almost to himself, "This is your last warning! Continue and we will...send someone else to talk to you? Zavala wasn't clear on what he wanted me to threaten you with." That was met with laughter from the Guardians, and someone called out, "You know what our response is, Cayde!" "I'll think of some insult for big blue when I tell him what you all think," Cayde chuckled, "I'll tell him you were all too stubborn to stop." Cayde waved farewell to us, receiving several waves in response, but paused for a moment to look back at us. "Almost forgot," the Hunter Vanguard chided himself, then tossed a small sack of Glimmer to the nearest Guardian, "My money's on the purple guy." With that, everyone turned back inwards to the two Guardians seated at the small table. With no delay they planted their elbows on the table and gripped each other's hands, the Warlock placing his hand on top of theirs to ensure they didn't start early. "Let's get straight to the point," the referee said smoothly, then went directly into a rapid countdown, "Three two one go!" As he finished counting, the Warlock's hand flew up from the others, but as he did so Drew's hand immediately dragged the Hunter's straight down onto the table. Once again the crowd roared with delight, and Glimmer was given up sullenly as the Hunter walked back into the crowd, shaking out his hand. But this time most of the Glimmer was passing from the hands of Hunters to the hands of Titans. "Anyone else?" Drew called challenge out to the crowd. "Right here!" a female voice called from the crowd, and I watched as she pushed her way forward with a female Warlock at her back. This was met with some incredulous laughter from some of the men in the crowd, especially the Hunters, I noticed. But most of them were hushed by quick blows from other Guardians standing next to them, male and female alike. "Hey, there's a little thing called equality," our referee chided, "But I'm pretty sure all the girls in the crowd would kick our masculine butts in a fight anyway." This was met with an approving laugh from most of the crowd, and at that the new contestant approached the table. She was an Exo Titan, most of her coloration being white but marked with streaks of pink that matched her glowing pink eyes. Oddly enough she was of a smaller build for an Exo; still probably a little taller than me but definitely shorter than most other Exos. The referee asked for her stage name quietly as he did with the Hunter as she came and received a whispered answer. "The challenger, Bag of Tricks!" he announced, and she pumped her fist in the air, receiving cheers from the female Guardians in the crowd, "Against the Purple Reign!" "We can handle the countdown on this one, buddy," Drew told the ref over the applause he received. "Suit yourself," he responded, stepping back from the table to give the two some space. They sat down across from each other and set up, gripping each other's right hands and placing their elbows on the table. "Three...two...one..." Drew and the female Exo counted down together, but she suddenly lunged forward and swung her left arm at Drew just before they began. As she punched Drew in the face, stunning him for a moment, she shouted "Go!" and slammed his hand down to the table, uncontested. "I win!" the girl shouted, jumping up and down in excitement. "Dang, you beat me," Drew mumbled, apparently not realizing that she had cheated, but he perked back up automatically, "Good job." The crowd was silent for a moment, trying to contemplate what had just happened. Then a girl in the crowd shouted, "Street rules!" An uproar of laughter and cheering burst from the crowd and many clapped their hands sarcastically in humor at her winning method. But a hushed silence fell over the crowd once more as everyone began nudging each other and pointing towards the Vanguard Hall. At the top of the stairs stood Zavala, standing firm in his usual rigid pose and bearing the same stern and unphased expression as always. "Oh, we are so f-" someone behind me began, but trailed off as Zavala's voice carried over the gathering. "This disruption will cease immediately or I will have Shaxx pit you against teams of his choosing in the Crucible for a week with no breaks, and you will be unarmed," Zavala ordered cooly, no anger showing in his voice or expression. "Yes, sir," several frantic voices called out simultaneously and everyone began to disperse in a quick manner, not wanting to suffer Zavala's punishment. Soon, all that remained in the space next to the Vanguard Hall's stairs were my fireteam, the Exo that had beaten Drew, and the Exo's Warlock companion. Whoever brought the table and stools had apparently grabbed them and taken them away, so Sierra and I both met up with Drew where it had once stood, Sierra deftly juggling four bulging sacks of Glimmer with a smirk across her face. "You bet against me on that last one?" Drew asked, hurt. "Hey, I bet for you on all the other ones. I took the obvious bet on that last one," Sierra replied snidely, John making her Glimmer disappear from her hands into her inventory. "Your only weakness is still women," I chuckled. "Ah whatever," Drew waved his hand in dismissal, "I was just so close to that twenty two win streak." As he said that, I noticed the white and pink Exo finish talking with her friend and start walking over to us, leaving the Warlock to recline against the stair railing. Taking this moment to study her further, I noted that she wore mostly pink armor with white streaks all across it, matching her natural coloration, and that she walked lightly with a hop in her step. "Hey Drew, what's white, pink, victorious, and heading straight for us?" I quizzed him. "Hey that rhymes! I love rhymes! But I hate riddles..." Drew trailed off as he mulled over the question. "Hiya!" the female Titan greeted us as she made it over. Drew turned around to face her while Sierra merely turned her head. Drew looked at her for a moment, pondering, then pointed at her excitedly. "Will, I solved your riddle!" he exclaimed. "Good job," I laughed, then addressed our company, "Hello, who might you be?" "I'm Trixie-33," The Exo told us. "And I'm Drew-22," Drew responded. "Your name rhymes," they both pointed out at the same time. "Awesome!" They exclaimed in sync. "You can call me Trix or Trixie," Trixie-33 insisted. "You can call me Drew," Drew responded. "Now that's just scary," Sierra whispered to me. "A match made in Heaven," I thought aloud, "Or in a factory." At that moment, I noticed an unmistakable shadowy figure prowling towards us. "Crag!" I exclaimed, happy to see him. His head twitched upwards a little at my call, and his steps took a more deliberate pace. A stupid grin stretched across my face as he came up next to us, looking no different than last time I had seen him in his darkly colored armor. "You know Craggy?!" Trixie shouted. "Oh no..." Crag groaned. "Craggy?" I asked incredulously. "Sometimes, when he's extra grumpy, we call him Crabby," Trixie whispered as if she thought Crag wouldn't hear it. "She's part of the fireteam that the Vanguard usually sets me up with," Crag grumbled, seemingly unhappy with the arrangement and definitely with the names she gave him. _____________________________________ Link to Chpt 12 Pt 1: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/223245290/0/0 Link to Chpt 12 Pt 3: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/223245437/0/0 Link to ToC: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/212710816/0/0