Table of Contents https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229522482/0/0 The second man repeats himself, "What do you mean you yield?" Some of the onlookers start to speak up, asking the same thing, but Miel cuts them off, "I give up. You win by default. You get your match." "Why'd you just quit?!" Someone demands. Miel indicates himself with the sweep of an arm and replies, "Look at me, kid. I'm incapacitated. I don't have much chance against two men in a fistfight." "Then why'd you challenge us to a match?!" The spiked man presses. Miel releases a short bark of laughter, then states matter-of-factly, "Because if I thrashed a pair of sapheads like you in front of the Commander outside a Crucible match, I'd be discharged immediately." "He's right," Avery confirms under her breath. "That's clever," Noel approves. The two soldiers huff indignantly. "Who ya callin' saphead, tin can," the second man blusters, stirring towards Miel angrily. Sinekis shifts in front of them with a foreboding flurry of clicks. The two of them wisely back up. "Commander," Miel addresses, "I believe these tots requested you and Keis." "Hm," Noel hums thoughtfully, "I know this is off topic, but we should really come up with titles for Keis and me. You being Commander is good and all, but what about Keis and I? We're just those other guys in the Vanguard." "Don't be silly, Noel," Avery chides, tugging me with her into the arena, "Keis and I don't need any more titles." "Wait, what?" Noel asks, but we're already in front of Miel. The Handler removes a hand from his walking stick and beckons us closer as he talks to us, "Now, I know you two aren't much for showing off, but I want you two to beat the Light outta those squirts. Be as showy as possible." "I'm sure you've already proven your point," Avery disagrees. "They didn't learn anything from that," Miel insists, "Except that they need to work on their reflexes. You're gonna make sure they know how much they need to improve if they don't wanna get-" "Please don't say anything about them getting eaten or having their guts ripped out," Avery interrupts, raising a warding hand. Miel shrugs, "Fine. Just do what I asked. It's my job to teach the moppets." "I think you may be enjoying your job a little too much..." Avery mutters. Miel just shrugs again, then leads Sinekis and Arcite back to the edge of the circle. Avery sighs and directs, "Alright, Keis. Might as well make a show. You take point. Set 'em up for me, and try not to knock 'em out. Use the fancy moves." I stand between Avery and the challengers, adjusting my helmet then taking up a fighting stance, and the crowd hushes. The second man shies away from me and reflects to the spiked man, "He's... um.... a lot bigger than I thought..." "That means he's slow," the spiked man reassures him, "Now shut it and get ready." The two of them poise themselves for the fight. Miel calls out, "Ready?" When no one objects, he shouts, "Begin!" Our adversaries carefully pace around me, keeping their distance. I slowly turn, shifting myself to keep them in front of me. The sound of footsteps behind me let me know that Avery is circling to stay away from them. They have no choice but to fight me. The spiked man groans irritably and conspires, "On three?" "Yeah," his teammate grunts. "One," he counts off, then skips the number two and bellows, "Three!" They charge me together. The spiked man goes straight for me with his fist raised for a simpleminded punch, obviously expecting me to be too slow to react. The second man uses a little more strategy, angling his path towards my right side and keeping low, probably in an attempt to get under my guard. The spiked man reaches me a moment before his companion. I sucker punch his unguarded head, then quickly reposition myself and snap my knee up into the second man's lowered chest. The spiked man slams down into the ground, but the momentum from his dash makes him roll past me. The second man rebounds up into me and I grab his arm and shoulder. He cries out as I twist him down into a constrained position and pull his arm back sharply. Avery swiftly advances. I wrap an arm around my captive's neck and pull him upright, giving Avery a clear shot. The man gasps and desperately swings his free arm in front of him, attempting to ward off Avery. Avery bats his arm aside and threshes him with a few blows. I watch the spiked man a few feet behind her as gets backs up, half-dazed. "HE'S GETTING UP!" Noel hollers from the sidelines. His voice booms loudly on the comms. Avery puts a hand to her helmet and gripes, "Ow! The comms are on, Noel!" "Oh... right," Noel remembers, "Sorry." Avery looks over her shoulder to take in the spiked man, then returns her gaze to the second man. "Throw him," she instructs me. "What?!" My prisoner heaves, renewing his efforts to escape. "Now we're talkin'!" Noel whoops, pumping a fist. The soldiers next to him give him confused looks. The spiked man begins to blunder towards us, shaking off his dizziness. I remove my arm from around the second man's neck and grip the bottom of his chest plate. Avery belts his head, lessening his squirming, and I lift him. "Woah!" He yelps, "No! Traveler, are you crazy! Stop! No!" I hold him sideways up to my chest, then toss him at his companion. He screams as he careens through the air and collides with his teammate. They slam to the ground in a heap and the audience cheers enthusiastically. The second man rolls off of the spiked man and the two of them begin to push themselves up. "You first," Avery offers. I tread to our opponents as the second man recovers. The spiked man is still pushing himself up. "Aw, come on," the second groans, then prepares himself and feigns confidence, "Alright, tough guy. All you got is a good swing and a headlock. I can take you. Come on." He starts circling away from his comrade, who's finally on his feet, trying to make me turn my back on him. I play along, following the second man. The sound of boots scuffing the concrete announce the spiked man's charge behind me, and his companion does the same. I step back and spin, deflecting a slug from the spiked man and propelling him past me. The second man catches him, quickly helping him turn back around, and they rush me. Each of them tries to punch me, and I deflect both of their fists. The spiked man immediately repeats the action with his other arm, but I catch his wrist and bat his helmet. The second man throws another punch, but I seize the spiked man by the collar of his chest plate and yank him into the second. They stumble back, separating themselves, then heave themselves back at me. "Duck!" Avery orders. I bend over at the waist as she plants her hands on my back. She swings herself over my back from one shoulder to the other and slings her leg out. Her foot connects with the second man's head, and he topples. The spiked man takes the place of his comrade, and Avery kicks back at him. He blocks it with an arm and grabs her calf. She retaliates by whipping her other leg over his head and planting it on his shoulder. Before he can get away, she rolls off of my back, locking her legs around his head and slamming him down on top of his teammate. Avery pulls her legs out of the tangle and rolls up to her feet while the spiked man tries to push himself up. The second man pushes him off. I look to Miel, but he shows no sign of calling the match. "He's too stubborn," Avery says, "What more could he want?" Miel rolls his hand, signaling us to continue. "Seriously," Avery sighs, "You already threw one of them." "Maybe he needs more pizzazz?" Noel inquires. "Pizzazz?" Avery scoffs. "I don't know," Noel defends, "I'm just throwin' out ideas." "Pizzazz," I contemplate. The Vanguard Chamber's comms click on and a man guesses, "Or the Handler may just want you to turn their faces into oatmeal." Noel can't help but laugh, and Avery dictates, "No disruptions Captains, or there will be consequences." I'm no longer paying attention to the conversation, approaching our adversaries. The second man is on his hands and knees. "Pizzazz," I reiterate quietly to myself, trying to think of the best thing to do. Several ideas flash through my mind and I latch onto one. The second man doesn't have time to get to his feet before I grab him. He thrashes frantically as I raise him over my head. "Light!" He wails, "Stop! Why do you keep throwing me!" I lift him until my arms lock over my head, holding him as high up as I can. The onlookers cheer me on ecstatically. I relinquish my grip on the him and he wails as he falls behind me. His cry cuts off when he slams heavily into the concrete, knocking the air out of his lungs. The spiked man is back on his feet, and he raises his fists defensively. I take measured steps towards him and close half the distance between us. Before I can get any closer, he bursts towards me. I stop and brace my legs to spring in response. Right as he's about to ram into me, I jump straight up and spin in midair, swinging my leg in a powerful kick. My foot plows into his shoulder and he crashes down onto his side. I alight facing Miel. He nods approvingly, then raises a hand and calls, "That'll do!"