“Look at you, human. Weak. Pathetic,” a grimy old voice sneered from somewhere above as Home Run got to his feet, looking around.
“Show yourself!” he yelled up. “Where are you?”
Then he saw them. Up above, near the center of the ceiling was a floating disc, attached by pistons to a contraption above. There were three figures. One was that of an old woman holding a staff of sorts, another was of a smaller creature, somewhat resembling a woman, and the third was Ember, crouched in a kneeling position, unmoving.
“Sunset!” Home Run called, but she said nothing. “What have you done to her?”
“Oh, nothing yet,” the older woman cackled. “We have simply disabled her Warframe. She cannot move nor speak. Perhaps she can hear you, but it won't do any good.”
“As for you, human scum.” The younger woman replied with a high pitched voice as their platform began to move up. “We only need her, so you may die here if you wish.”
Vauban was about to jump up to them when another wave of electricity knocked them down again. Home Run looked up, watching as a weirdly shaped Grineer made his way forward on tiny legs, cracking the knuckles of his oversized metallic hands.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he said in a low voice. “The Queens have ordered your death.”
“What are you doing with my friend!” Home Run raised his hammer and readied a tesla grenade.
“Oh, nothing much...” The blue armored Grineer pulled out a large axe and shield. “She is simply being prepped for something beyond you.”
Then something kicked Home Run in the back, knocking him down. He turned around to see a Grineer manic jump at him, but he tossed the grenade square into its face, shocking it back, allowing him to kick up and swing his hammer, launching it far across the room, off the platforms and down into the depths of the ship.
“Grineer, get him! Do not let him leave alive!” The one with the large hands pointed.
A few squads of them emerged from doors on the sides as Home Run looked around, looking for a way up.
There was none. The platform had already disappeared into the ceiling. The only way now, was through.
“Are you ready, Vauban? This one looks tough.”
“As long as we fight together, I feel we shall emerge victorious.”
“Got that right, buddy,” Home Run smiled. Here he was, alone against a squad of Grineer soldiers, but then he wasn’t exactly alone. “He’s get through this and find Sunset and Princess Celestia. Together.”
Then he was enveloped in an aura of blue energy before he dropped to the ground again.
“Now we’re ready,” Vauban took over. “Let’s go get them.”
The lancers began firing as Home Run and Vauban moved, the baseball player tossing as many tesla grenades as he could as Vauban rushed the blue Grineer. Many lancers went down from the electric shocks, but more arrived, firing at Home Run.
Vauban launched themselves up into the air, spinning the hammer once as he fell towards the blue Grineer, ready to deliver a devastating blow.
The jat kittag impacted against his shield, releasing a wave of air, but the Grineer held strong, only falling back a step.
“Foolish human,” he said, pushing back against the hammer. “Do you know who I am? I am Tyl Regor, best scientist of the Grineer armada. There is nothing stronger than my augmentations.”
Then he pushed Home Run back and slashed at him with his axe. The boy and Tenno flipped back, kicking off another Grineer’s head as he tossed two vortex grenades to the sides, occupying more Grineer as they entered.
When they returned to the ground, Home Run smashed the hammer at Tyl Regor again, only to have his strike blocked by the shield. The Grineer scientist spun around and cut sideways with his axe, forcing Home Run to block with his own weapon.
“Grenade going up, Home Run,” Vauban said as he pulled a trio of teslas from his side.
The Tenno tossed them on the floor below their feet, watching electricity arc around Tyl Regor, distracting him slightly. Home Run ran forward again, slamming the hammer down to his head, but the Grineer still reacted fast enough to block it, though it left him open to the tesla grenade shocks.
“We can do this, Home Run. Focus on his feet. They lack balance.”
Home Run used the shield to his advantage, aiming low as the Grineer raised the shield to his face. He felt the hammer strike metal as Tyl Regor fell to the floor, rolling away as Home Run delivered a downward slam, denting the platform.
“You thought it would be so easy?” he laughed as Home Run dealt with a Grineer butcher who got close. “No, it will not be.”
Then he dashed forward and grabbed Home Run by the head, punching him in the gut before throwing him over the side.
“Agh! Vauban!”
“I’ve got you,” the Tenno answered as he activated the archwing, launching back up above the Grineer. “Let’s see if this works.”
Vauban charged up his energy, then released it in a wave around the room, sending all of the Grineer flying, except Tyl Regor.
“Question, buddy. Why didn’t we use this sooner? It’s awesome!” Home Run cheered as they flew down at the Grineer scientist, barreling into him, knocking his shield to the side.
“It uses more energy, Home Run.” Vauban explained. “But with Maximum Drift, perhaps we can manage.”
“You cheat!” Tyl Regor yelled at them as he slashed with his axe again. Home Run moved his hands and blocked accordingly with the jat kittag. “You cannot fly in here! That thing should only be used outside in space!”
“Psssh. Does it matter?” the blue haired boy told him as he hit up, launching the Grineer up and down again a good distance away. “Whatever helps me beat you works.”
Then they jetted up into the air and brought the hammer down, breaking through Tyl Regor’s axe and chest, hitting him so hard that the floor under him collapsed, sending him and most of the surrounding Grineer down into the dark below. All Home Run could hear was the screams of the Grineer scientist as they began fading down the depths of the galleon. He didn't know how far it went, but he knew one thing for certain. Tyl Regor wasn't coming back anytime soon, in fact, never coming back.
The remaining ones fired at them, but Home Run spun around in the air and launched a few missiles from his archwing, taking the rest down.
“Good job, Home Run. That was no easy feat.”
“Hey, that’s cause I had you to back me up,” he smiled and looked around the room. “And this archwing is some serious business. I’ve gotta thank Stardust a bunch when we get back. Oh, we should let the others know.” Home Run activated his comms. “Girls, Sunset was taken. The Queens are here. Just encountered them. Real ugly fellas, but I need to save her now. Anyone seen the princess?”
“Sunset’s in trouble?” Velvet Breeze’s face appeared on his visor. “We’re coming over. No sign of anyone here. We’ve cleared the ship.”
“We’re still busy here,” Rainbow Dash yelled over some gunfire. “We’ll join you when we’re ready.”
“I’m sure the Lotus must be on your ship, Home Run,” Zephyr told him. “If the Queens are there, then she should be too.”
“Alright, then I’ll see everyone soon,” he nodded and looked at the doors. “Take your pick, buddy. We need to find her before it’s too late.”
Velvet Breeze didn’t want to wait any longer. She broke the ship’s windows with her glaive and flew out, using the archwing to rocket her way over to the ship Home Run and Sunset Shimmer had gone to.
“Velvet, wait for me!” Rarity yelled and flew out with her.
“Sorry, Rarity,” she turned around and slowed down. “But Sunset’s in trouble. We have to save her. She wouldn’t wait an extra second if it was one of us.”
“We’ll catch up,” Mag popped up in Velvet’s view. “Go. I’ll help Rarity out.”
Velvet nodded and turned back, flying on with her silent thrusters.
“I like your spirit, Velvet Breeze,” Ash told her. “You and I shall make a good team and your fighting skill is brilliant too.”
“You too, Ash, but we need to go faster. Think you can handle it?”
“Of course.” The Tenno took over and put his energy into it, moving to the other galleon much faster than before.
Readying her weapon, Velvet and Ash flew through the galleon’s docking bay, somersaulting over a smaller ship as she threw her glaive at a Grineer, watching him fall in two as the weapon returned to her.
Looking for Home Run on the radar, Velvet took a door on the right, leading up to a higher level filled with pipes she had to slide or jump over to get pass. Entering a four way junction, Velvet stopped to take care of a Grineer bombard and heavy gunner, using Ash’s bladestorm to teleport and skewer them before they even knew what was going on.
A group of shield lancers emerged from the door on the left, but they suddenly fell flat on their faces, while one flew against the wall, pinned by an arrow.
“Hey, Rarity.” Velvet waved and finished off the Grineer with her glaive and shurikens. “I’m tracking Home Run. We should be able to get closer to Sunset from his position.”
“Sounds clever, dear,” the violet haired girl smiled. “Lead the way. Mag and I will follow. I’ll watch your back with my bow here.”
“As will I,” Mag spoke on the comms. “We fight together, as one.”
Then the fashionista squealed as she was lifted in a bluish glow, her ears replacing themselves atop her head and her hair growing past her knees in a ponytail.
“Ooh, this is good!” She jumped excitedly.
“So that’s what you meant by Maximum Drift and playing your music together?” Velvet asked as she ran on. “That’s neat.”
“It certainly is, Velvet,” Rarity ran along behind her, an arrow already in her paris bow. “Now let’s rescue Sunset and Princess Celestia.”
More Grineer soldiers fired at the girls as they entered a room with two slopes leading up, but Velvet tossed down a smokescreen obscuring their view as Mag took control and fired an arrow at each soldier, hitting each one in the abdomen, downing them.
Grineer began entering from an entrance at the bottom, firing up at Rarity and Velvet, but the two girls kept running, avoiding most of their gunfire, letting their shields handle the rest.
After two more small corridors, they found themselves in a large square room, the ceiling high above their heads. There were two box like buildings on the left and right, along with a second floor of platforms above their heads and machinery in the middle.
“My, this ship is quite complex,” Rarity eyed the second floor. “I see Home Run, but he’s still moving north.”
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to move faster,” Velvet dusted her glaive blades. “Come on.”
“Wait, look out!” They had only taken three steps forward when Rarity tackled Velvet Breeze to the side, just narrowly avoiding a fireball as it crashed into the wall behind them, setting it on fire.
“Woah, thanks, Rarity. What was that?” Velvet got up and readied herself.
“Seems to be a powerful enemy ahead,” Ash told them. “Be wary. This is no simple Grineer.”
“We can take the Grineer on, Ash,” Mag spoke.
There were a series of clangs on the upper floor before a Grineer in orange armor came into view. He had a single eye in the center of his helmet and in place of his right arm was a cannon.
“That’s him,” Velvet pointed. “That was the one who took the princess.”
“Tenno. Humans. You. Will. Not. See. Your. Lotus. You. Will. Die. Here,” he said, like his voice had trouble emerging from his mouth. “I. General. Sargas. Ruk. Will. Kill. You. All.”
“Looks like trouble,” Rarity nocked another arrow. “Are you ready, Velvet?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” the teal-grey haired girl exhaled and tossed down a smokescreen, obscuring the general’s view as she and Rarity sprinted off in different directions.
More fire blasts rained down from above, but each one missed as Velvet found her way under the Grineer general, looking up at him from a window in one of the small buildings. Readying two shurikens, the girl flung them up, watching as they bounced off the Grineer’s armor harmlessly, alerting him to her presence.
“Oh great…” she muttered as she jumped back outside, narrowly dodging a fireball as Ash took over and scaled the walls to the second floor.
“His armor is tough,” Ash said to her. “We must find another way to kill him.”
“What other way is there?” Velvet looked around. “Can we push him off?”
“No, we can’t do that,” Ash said quickly.
“Why not?”
“We just can’t.”
Velvet shook her head. “I’ll just take your word for it. I see no other ways to take him out.”
“Maybe we can- Wargh!” Rarity leapt away and rolled as Sargas Ruk released a shockwave of fire around himself.
“Wait! There!” Ash took over one of Velvet’s hands and pointed. On the Grineer’s left shoulder, a port had opened up, venting out steam. “Looks like a weak point to me. Let’s get him, Velvet Breeze.”
Velvet jumped off, extending both her arms blades. They reminded her of hidden blades, but the weapon came out over the hand instead of under, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to use it any less.
Activating a bladestorm, Velvet and Ash vanished, reappearing on the general’s shoulder, stabbing their blades into it before disappearing again, next appearing beside Rarity, who stumbled back in shock.
“Oh, Velvet!” she regained her posture. “That was some skill you have there.”
“Weak point,” she pointed as the general touched his shoulder vent, looking for the damage. “He’s got to release all that steam once in a while.”
“Easy picking,” Mag said and fired an arrow straight for the exhaust.
Sargas Ruk turned to them and fired, but staggered back as his shoulder exploded, now a smoldering warped ruin.
“Good shot, Mag,” Ash congratulated. “Now we find more vents and we finish this Grineer trash once and for all.”
“You. Tenno. Will. Not. Succeed!” he yelled at them, spitting out of his gnarly mouth as he readied his cannon again. “I. Will. Have. My. Revenge. On. You. For. Destroying. My. Body!”
He fired a set of fireballs at the Warframes, but with skillful timing, Rarity, Mag, Velvet Breeze and Ash avoided all of them, getting closer to their target, waiting for more vents to open.
“There!” Mag fired an arrow at the general’s chest, where another vent had opened, spewing steam. “Second vent!”
This time, the Grineer brought his cannon arm in front of his chest, bouncing the arrow away as he slammed his cannon arm to the ground, creating another flaming shockwave. Rarity and Velvet were knocked back, sliding across the metallic floor, coming to a stop against a set of boxes, knocking them over as well.
“Tenno. Die!” the general spat again and fired a fireball at them before they could get up, knocking them further back, depleting Velvet’s shields.
“Agh…” the blue-skinned girl clutched her side, which was smouldering. “He’s tough, I’ll give him that…”
“Are you alright, Velvet?” Rarity rearranged her fringe quickly.
“I’ll be fine,” she smiled and got to her feet. “I’ve been through worse, remember? This guy doesn’t scare me. Come on, we’ve got this. Sunset’s waiting for us to get her.”
The girls scattered to the sides, Rarity going left and Velvet going right. Sargas Ruk grunted and slammed another fire wave down around himself. At the last minute, Ash took over and teleported past the fire and on the Grineer’s chest, stabbing both arm blades through the vent as it opened.
“Aagh!” Sargas Ruk growled and grabbed Ash’s neck, lifting him and Velvet away from himself.
Then Rarity jumped in behind him, using her energy to crush his cannon arm into a crumpled piece of metal before Mag took over and spun to the side, jabbing an arrow under Sargas Ruk’s arm and into his chest vent, lodging it deep.
Releasing Velvet and Ash, the teal-grey haired girl took the chance and cut at his exposed vent with her glaive, rapidly striking at it left and right. The Grineer general grunted as it exploded, sending both him and the girls across the room in different directions.
Velvet Breeze landed with a flip, crouching down as she watched the orange armored Grineer push to an elbow, still able to move and growl at them.
“This Grineer sure takes a beating,” Ash said in Velvet’s visor. “We’ll just need to turn this up a notch.”
“You. Tenno… Will. Die. I. Sargas. Ruk. Will. Destroy. All. Of. You…” the Grineer clutched at his chest with his hand.
“Let’s finish this, Ash,” Mag said as the girls readied themselves again.
Starting into a run, Velvet moved from side to side, sliding and spinning as the Grineer general tried to shoot at them with his crumpled cannon, managing small spews of flame, but not lethal enough to hurt them. Once she was close, she expended some of Ash’s energy, teleporting behind the Grineer and stabbing at a new vent that opened on his back. Sargas Ruk reached behind with his hand, but Velvet was already gone, teleporting back in front and kicking his legs out from under him before disappearing again in a puff of smoke.
Rarity hopped up over a railing and pulled the Grineer general around with her power, his back now facing up, venting out a pillar of steam as Velvet returned, repeatedly slicing her glaive against Sargus Ruk’s back.
“Where is Princess Celestia?” Velvet interrogated the Grineer general. “Where are you keeping her?”
“Your. Lotus. Is. In. A. Cell. But. She. Does. Not. Have. Long. I. Made. Sure. Of. That.”
Then Ash took over, bringing the glaive straight down into the general’s vent.
“No. Stop!” he grunted, unable to reach Velvet as she placed a knee down on his back to prevent him from getting up. “You. Cannot. Do. This.”
“You have my friend. You’re preventing us from getting her back, so yes, we can do this.”
With one last swipe, the vent exploded, blowing a hole in the Grineer’s back. Ash had teleported Velvet away from the explosion this time, the humans and Tenno now watching as General Sargas Ruk became a pile of smouldering flesh and metal.
“I think I’m going to be sick…” Rarity placed a hand over her mouth as her cheeks inflated themselves.
Velvet returned to the body and stood over it, kicking him in the head to make sure he was dead.
“Looks like we’re clear here,” she nodded her discovery over to her violet haired friend. “Come on, Rarity. Home Run and Sunset are close. We’re not letting these aliens harm anyone.”