"Râsemûse, Râsemûse." The grey-haired male approaches her, watching as she crosses her laces and ties them tightly. She looks up, squinting at the lights beating over his silhouette and dusting her hands on her lap.
"Sam Fisher." She greets slowly, sitting back. "How are you, old man?" She teases, making him laugh heartily as he sits on the bench next to her.
"I'm just fine. How have you been handling your recovery?" He asks as she assembles her vest, undoing and reapplying the velcro a few times to get it perfect.
"Good, I think." She sighs contentedly. "They said I was inside the Singularity for over half a week--dropped onto the deck one night and Gunner and I were clinging to each other." The woman remembers the moment vaguely, brushing off the weird feeling that courses through her for a moment. "Nothing long term though, aside from the knee and a little memory loss."
"Gunner, how is he?" Zero asks, making her stop suddenly. She looks at her husband in the distance, talking with Maxim 'Kapkan' Basuda. He seemed happy, despite the scars on his exposed arms and the brace on his knee.
"He's... Getting there." She averts her eyes. "It took him a while to remember what happened, but now he jokes that we have matching bad knees." She tries to laugh the pain away, a small scoff escaping her.
"Well, I hope he gets better." Zero nods at her with a sympathetic gaze. "Does he know about your message?"
"Da." She nods, holding her helmet in her lap. The visor was still cracked at the bottom from the fight against the Protean. "He thought I made a really noble choice."
"You did. It takes a special kind of person to pick reprieve over revenge." Zero assures, patting her shoulder firmly. "You ready to take over as a captain?" He changes the subject.
"I'm surprised, honestly." She shrugs. Her team, consisting of Maverick, Glaz, Jackal, and IQ approaches her. She wasn't exactly prepared to take over as team captain, but there was no backing down now. This was the last chance she needed. "I thought I'd be the last person Harry would choose."
"Well, you weren't." Zero stands, nodding to the rest of her team. He could tell Ritual felt a bit out of place, but when it came to anything Rainbow, she always felt that way. "Get to it, and good luck."
"Thanks, Sam." Ritual smiles before slipping her helmet over her scarred face. Beside her on the bench lays an oddly shaped submachine gun, its surface just as scarred as her. As she watches her fingers trace over the marks, her eyes shift to the bracelet on her wrist. Its camouflage pattern made her miss the man she called her father. "For you, Yaroslav." She brings the weapon to her face and rests her forehead against the side.
"This is it, team!" She stands and raises her stoic voice, adjusting the wrap on her bruised fingers before sliding her gloves over them. "The Grand Finale. No matter what happens, stick to the mission; If you can't, do whatever you have to, but never give in. Maverick, Glaz, start West." She point to the two men. "We know where they'll be. You're going to clear surrounding site, make some sight lines through Service, and hold eyes on the objective. IQ, you'll start Basement and sweep site for any traps. Jackal, I want you East to clear and hold flank in hallway while I move, so I'm counting on you."
"Attackers, to the map." The Announcer's voice rings through the stadium. Ritual watches the group grab their guns and sprint up to the entrance. She takes a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder at Gunner. Her heart flutters when they make eye contact, both smiling to each other.
"Go get them, Rainbow." He watches with a grin. The blazing sun strikes Ritual, shining off of her visor as her feet meet the bright red track. Her team takes the zipline to the Gantry, the woman feeling her boots meet the hard metal with a nervous breath. Grasping the railing and swinging over, she pulls herself up, meeting thousands of faces all landing on her at the top of the arena. She tenderly brushes her hand over her gun, feeling it against her back. A part of her wondered if Gunner could see her from this height.
"Attackers need to locate and defuse a bomb." The preparation phase is announced, cueing the group to send their drones in. Ritual is quick to find both bombs, being in the first floor Kitchen and Service Area, as she knew they would be, and drops her phone back into her pocket with a deep breath. She sees the timer on either sides of her and swiftly grasps the inner railing, hooking her rappelling line and drawing her leg over. The Stadium is nearly silent as she descends. She turns upside-down, making her line creak with strain, a serenity sweeping over her as she enjoys the suspension for just a moment with closed eyes. She turns fully around until her feet meet the painted roof.
"You know what to do." Ritual affirms her teammates and draws her gun. The crowd roars. Listening closely, she can hear hushed footsteps just below her on the other side of the barricade. She draws her line again and hooks it firmly in place on the yellow tab mounted to the roof, taking a running start before leaping over the edge.
"Team Ritual has breached the map!" The voice announces as the woman kicks through the barricaded window to the Hookah Lounge, landing onto the floor and quickly sweeping the room. A few bullets fly through the soft boards under her feet, grazing her form and prompting her to quickly duck out of the way. They follow wherever she steps, so she grabs the bar beside her and swings over the couch frame, then diving over the counter that divided the room. She can hear the barricade on the other side of the floor being torn down, knowing Jackal was coming to cover her flank. Footsteps approached her other side, coming from the stairs and being matched by a voice.
"Clash, in there." She can hear the source, Ela, informing the other woman, who stands in the doorway and locks eyes with her. Ritual, gripping her gun tightly after being spotted, positions herself behind the counter pillar and holds the angle, knowing the colorfully-haired woman would try to peek around the shield. Clash shouts over the sound of her shield trying to shock the black-clad Captain, but she can't hear it. Ritual can feel the static charge on her clothing. She quickly leans around the corner to try and shoot her, but the chalk rounds only dust the clear cover. Taking a deep breath as she hides around the pillar again, Ritual counts her bullets mentally before trying to get a visual on the two defenders again.
"Jackal, two hostiles on Hookah door." The woman whispers to her teammate. Glancing around the corner again, a choked gasp escapes her as she is met by Ela, quickly dodging the pistol that is swung at her. She twists the woman's arm to disable her weapon, watching her grit her teeth and drop it. Ritual tries to maneuver her small machine gun to tag the Polish woman, but she grasps it and pushes it aside so that the sling wraps around to her back. They push off of each other and make eye contact for just a moment.
Clash takes the opportunity while the two are separated to deliver a shock to Ritual once more, making her lock in place as she tries to charge her opponent with her fist raised. The woman frantically tries to escape the strange, painful sensation coursing through her body, watching helplessly as Ela moves to reclaim her pistol. She starts to break free by shaking her head, reminding herself that she had control, and then thrashes and throws herself through the door beside her, just out of their range.
"Ryad..." She pants out, reaching for her gun and prying herself from the floor. As Ela tries to charge her again, Ritual sweeps her legs and grasps the top of the doorframe, letting her lower half swing down on top of the woman's shoulders as she falls. She squeezes her legs around her neck like a snake, making Ela panic as she chokes and struggles.
"I've got your back," Jackal comms in to her, peeking from the office doorway down the hall perfectly onto Clash's exposed back, "And hers." As he lifts his rifle to shoot, the woman stows her shield onto her back to help Ela with covering fire, and his shots land on it. Rather than reload the empty magazine, he slides his shortened shotgun from its holster and peppers the British woman's legs with it. Her knees give in, making her groan.
"You're doing all the work for me," Ritual taunts, squeezing Ela's neck tighter and making her panic fire her rifle into the back of the shield bearer, who turns to face Jackal. While Clash is distracted, Ritual leans backward to make Ela fall, latching onto the top of the doorframe again as she does. She hangs there for a moment as Ela is winded and lets herself fall with a boot on her chest. Drawing her scuffed black Makarov from her thigh holster, she tags her opponent's vest and eliminates her.
"Four Defenders remaining."
Ritual can hear Jackal shout from behind her, turning to see Clash using her shield to stun the man. Springing up to help him, she takes Clash under her arm and uses her free hand to firmly grasp the hand the woman kept on the red button, preventing her from further torturing her teammate. Looking through the clear shield, she sees him waiting for his opportunity, but Ritual digs her knee into the back of the woman's and draws her pistol to eliminate her.
"Ryad, behind you!" Ritual cries out to him.
"Who had your back?" Flanking the clueless man was the enemy team captain, Vigil, lighting up Jackal's vest with a slug from his high-powered shotgun. Ritual quickly tags Clash's back and throws her aside, using the shield to block Vigil's last round, before sliding and catching her teammate before he shattered his goggles on the metal floor. He lands on her thighs as she fires over him, missing most of her shots on Vigil as he slinks out of her sight and back towards the stairs to the objective.
"Two kills from Ritual!" The announcer cheers, and the scoreboard reflects the quick eliminations from both teams.
"Damn..." Jackal regains his breath as he braces on his palms, looking up to the woman and meeting her eyes. "Sorry, Captain."
"Dust yourself off, Ryad." She uses the soft palm of her glove to shine his lenses, bringing him to kneel with her. She lets out a small scoff before quickly snatching the defuser and slinging it onto her back. "I trusted you on flank for a reason, and you lived up to that."
"Thank you..." He pats her shoulder, then calling her by name for the first time. "Ritual." The man groans as he holds his back, walking off of the field. She smiles softly to herself as she watches him exit.
Hearing another barricade breaking, Ritual turns now to face the stairs just above the objective. IQ had moved from the basement, up the South Ditch stairs to the kitchen, and to the window that saw directly into the bomb site. Her eyes locked with her scanner the entire way, spotting several Alibi holograms. The woman tears down the wooden boards and quickly vaults the window without an order.
"IQ, what are you doing?" Ritual asks as she hears her groan into her headset. She had planted her foot directly onto a Gu needle, making her stumble haphazardly into the line of sight inside the objective. She tries to resume eyes on her scanner, knowing one of the Alibi clones in front of her was real, but it was too late.
"Three Attackers remaining."
"Always wait for the order..." Ritual scolds, shaking her head. Another quick sweep of the rooms behind her warrants no hostiles, but she knew the stairs next to objective would be too predictable, and that Lesion was watching from the Sunrise Bar.
"I need a hand down here!" Maverick comms frantically, making Ritual quickly retrace her steps to the Armory stairs. She skulks down, hearing the commotion long before seeing. "Take the shot!"
"I cant, you're in my line of fire." Glaz warns, trying to focus on the shifting hands through the breaches in the reinforced wall. As Maverick flails to move out of his way, someone grabs him through the small hole he's burned. He pinches the enemy's arm against the wall, feeling the blood coat his arm where he's nicked them, and catches his breath for a moment as they retreat. The force of being tagged through another hole by a familiar shotgun slug knocks him forward onto his chest with a small groan, dazing him.
"Two attackers on the map." The announcer celebrates the other team, making fans of Ritual's team grimace.
"Shit, I lost it." Glaz shakes his head, taking careful aim once more. His blue eyes lock onto his optic, all the patience in the world as he waits for Ritual's order. "All three hostiles' last known positions are Kitchen. I'm coming to help." Glaz pushes his sight aside and approaches the open barricade when Ritual gets too quiet.
"Not yet," Ritual warns. "We can turn this around, Timur." She finally approaches the objective, peering cautiously through the bathroom door as she crosses the main lobby. The massive clear wall distracted her for just a moment, and over the concrete barricades outside, she can see glimpses of the crowd. A shot rings out and a slug flies past her head into the ballistic glass, prompting her to throw herself behind the small barricade that created cover from the bathroom door.
"It's the psycho." She can hear Lesion say to someone else through the wall behind her.
"Ritual?" The Italian voice answers. The woman can hear the hint of fear in Alibi's voice when her name is said.
"Don't worry," Lesion's smooth, taunting voice replies. "Glaz isn't even in the building. She's helpless."
Psycho... Helpless... His words linger in her head for a moment. Her vision reddens as she tightens her grip on her father's weapon, ripping it off of her sling and moving freely. As she rolls her shoulders and cracks her neck, her feet moving without her even thinking, she suddenly remembers exactly what she was truly here to do. The woman draws a breaching charge from her backpack and sticks it to the soft wall behind her and, waiting by the barricaded door to the site in the bathroom, she kicks it in and wraps her fingers around the detonator as though it were someone's throat. The diversion works, making Alibi shift from her spot and set her eyes on the door, waiting. Ritual quickly wraps back around, ducking through the breach.
"One minute on the clock." The Announcer cues her to hurry. She tucks herself behind a large silver refrigerator and swiftly types out the code to the defuser.
"Team Ritual is defusing a bomb!" The announcer both cheers and warns, reigniting the crowd's faith in her team.
"Damn..." Slowly creeping through the Kitchen door into Service, Vigil attempts to observe the area without being seen himself, activating his cloak and cautiously peering around. Ritual, waiting around the corner for a chance to strike, springs forward and grabs him by his vest before pinning him under her arm. He tries to struggle, to no avail, and she quickly puts him down with two shots to the back. Letting him go with a small nod, she acknowledges him as a friend rather than foe. "No hard feelings, Captain."
"Two Defenders remaining." The defuser ticking rings through both bomb sites, reminding them of the urgency.
Ritual dodges Alibi's bullets after eliminating the man, ducking into the bathroom where she could still see the defuser. She knew, though, that the Italian woman could still see her from the Kitchen if she moved. Lesion makes a small gesture to Alibi to hold her position as he takes the back way out of the objective in an attempt to flank, spotting the hole in the wall and grasping the defuser to disable it.
"Glaz, smoke!" Ritual, after ages of dead silence, yells desperately for cover as she plants another breach on the wall between the bathroom and the Service entrance. She ducks into the small corridor to avoid Alibi's eye and hears Lesion drop the counter-defuser to take aim. The smoke flies over the concrete barricade outside and through the doorway, rolling under her feet and bursting into a thick cloud. She uses the cover to duck into the other bomb site. As her eyes clear, she's met by four of Alibi standing before her, quickly reaching and grabbing the real one without needing to analyze.
"How could you..." Alibi gasps, too taken back to react to the woman restraining her. "...Know?"
"Now, now..." Ritual warns, feeling the Italian woman's pulse against her arm. "Dead men tell no tales."
"Thirty seconds until bomb is defused." The Announcer urges further. The black-cloaked woman emerges through the dissipating smoke, the vapor clinging to her body as she steps forward, Lesion's eyes meeting hers. They had now swapped locations, and he hesitates when he sees Alibi helpless in her grasp.
"Psycho, huh?" Ritual scoffs slightly, taking a step forward and planting her foot directly onto a needle. The pain shoots through her bones and into her knee, reminding her of the Rooter, making her scream softly.
"Ritual, I've got a shot." Glaz's voice breaks through the pain, easing onto the trigger and eyes locking onto Lesion in the doorway. She doesn't have a free hand to click her radio; She had to act, and fast. Throwing Alibi towards Lesion, she stumbles and Ritual clutches the trigger of her gun, firing past the woman and putting several white marks on Lesion's plate carrier. He was already out, but a shot rings out from Glaz and dusts the back of his helmet. The force knocks him over, making him aimlessly spray his weapon, his chalk rounds painting a line up Alibi's chest as they both collapse into each other. Before her trigger finger has even sprung back, Ritual pulls her pistol from her holster. With a firm nod as the gun twirls around her finger and takes its position staring her enemy down, she finally finishes Alibi.
"Ace!" The announcer cheers, making the entire stadium scream in praise.
"Try as you might..." Ritual scoffs, pulling the needle from her foot and flicking it at Lesion. "Fate had its own plans for me." She limps through the white shrouded door in front of her, the sun beating through her lenses as she walks across the field. Standing in the center of the turf, she stops, awestricken at the amount of people all looking down on her. Her only thought is to draw her gun, lifting it in both hands over her head and falling to her knees. She cries out in celebration as she hears the words.
"Attackers win!"
"Kámá!" Gunner runs out from the sidelines, meeting her with open arms and sweeping her off of her aching feet. Tears of joy creep into her eyes as he twirls her, lifting the woman onto his shoulders for everyone to see her like he did: A champion. "I'm so proud of you." He praises with a chuckle, voice muffled by the cheers of adoring fans.
"Kámámê," Glaz runs over to them. "Great work out there." He congratulates in Russian, holding her hands as she reaches down to him. She holds them tightly, happy to have had the fellow Spetsnaz soldier by her side. The rest of the team is close behind him, circling around the group. A sudden roar from the crowd makes Ritual look curiously around her, her eyes landing on Zero as he steps down to the field.
"Congratulations, team." He smiles softly as he approaches the group with golden medals resting in a black box. Gunner sets the woman down, watching as she removes her helmet to let the glistening medal come over her head. The blue and white ribbon sits neatly on her black collar and she turns to watch the rest of her team be rewarded.
Giving a last bit of love to the crowd as they go, a final burst of praise and applause erupts as the team prepares to return to the locker room. Ritual leads the team off of the field and into the large room where the other teams were waiting. Familiar faces approach them, all expressing congratulations for the group, some of which surprised her. Had she changed their minds?
"Ritual! Kámá!" Her thought is broken by familiar voices shouting for her from the back of the crowd. Vyacheslav, Anton, Beau, Able and even her brother Arkady all push through, meeting the woman with a dogpile of hugs.
"Hey boys," She chimes as they let go of her, beaming. "I didn't know they'd let you troublemakers down here!"
"Who cares if they let us," Vyacheslav laughs, taking her under his arm. "You were incredible out there!"
"I can't believe you aced, that was crazy!" Beau adds with a laugh as he hangs off of her.
"So is she." Someone speaks up from the other corner of the locker room, making everyone hush into murmurs. Ritual rolls her eyes and steps forward out of the group, crossing her arms as she stares over them all, scanning for the source.
"You don't deserve that win." Lesion hisses. "You played like a coward!"
"I played smart, something you probably don't know much about." She shrugs him off, earning some laughs from the group behind her. "Take your loss like a man, Lesion."
"Why did Harry even pick you for a captain?" Someone calls out. The masked woman scoffs to herself, stepping forward and standing up straight. The light above reflects off of her cracked lenses and shiny new medal, reminding her exactly how Harry had picked her.
"Because I don't treat this like a game." She shakes her head. "There's a level of restraint behind your blows when you're looking a colleague in the eye, even more so a friend... But Harry trusts us to know the difference between reality and a simulation, and greater to handle them equally." The woman realizes she had reflexively clenched her fists, looking at one for a second before releasing her grip and looking determinedly at her gloved palm. "When you allow your guard to drop, you become ignorant to your own instincts. I fight with all of my energy every time, not always because it is hard, but because I must hold my guard up to ensure I never fall victim to complacency."
"You all still speculate after all this time." Gunner steps forward. "When are you going to see that she's untouchable?"
"What she is, is a loose cannon." Ying shakes her head. "It's a miracle she hasn't gotten someone killed yet."
"But she has!" Kali reminds, making the people behind her laugh. Ritual snaps and grabs Kali by the collar, lifting and slamming her against the locker.
"Don't you dare talk about my partner like you didn't set that up." She snarls deeply. Members of NIGHTHAVEN step forward to intervene, but Ritual's team mirrors them just as quickly. She continues. "You don't know loss. You only know your fancy toys and silver spoons, replace them when you break them with your golden coins." Kali smirks slightly, so Ritual shakes her. "Well let me break something to you; I didn't have to show mercy. I did it for him, not you. Keep fucking with me and my men, and I won't make that mistake twice."
"Gunner, it's lovely to see you here," Kali ignores her threat, grinning as she looks towards the man. He suddenly puts his head down in shame, taking a step back. Ritual had never seen him shy away from conflict like that before. While she is staggered, Kali shoves her aside to speak directly to the man. "You always were one to get distracted. Have you been following your heart, or your manhood?" She gestures to her crotch. Several 'oohs' fill the room, like a high school locker room.
"Khuy tebe..." Ritual growls softly, putting herself in front of her partner. Her eyes are frenzied as she looks up at the woman, shielding Gunner from her sharp gaze. For just a moment, Gunner grasps his lover's arm, stepping past her and defiantly up to Kali.
"I follow Kámámê because she's never lied to me." He speaks with his chest, looking into the woman's eyes. "Because I follow the truth."
"You should have made sure you knew why it was hidden before you tried to find it." Kali says quietly to him, leaning forward. They stare intently for each other for a spell.
"Look," Ritual hears a voice she recognizes emerging before she can do anything she'd regret. The man in yellow pushes up to her side, making her gasp quietly in surprise. "I know some of us can't exactly let go of the past- Or whatever you believe it was -But whether you like her or not, Ritual is part of Rainbow and deserves respect. She deserves forgiveness... Just like you gave me once."
"Olivier..." She says softly, smiling at her old friend. Lion gives her a small nod. Another set of hands meets her shoulders, a familiar helmet surprising her.
"Ja, I've never seen anyone else here ace at the Invitational," One more voice chimes, Jäger peeking around her and looking up to her. "That's pretty impressive, if you ask me."
"Shuhrat? Marius?" Ritual can feel herself tearing up at the three standing beside her. She lifts her visor to wipe her eyes, looking back at all of the familiar faces, overjoyed to be surrounded by her friends. "Y-You made it?"
"They're right," Harry can be heard entering the room. Those in front her stop when they see him, murmuring amongst themselves, their whispering filling the space; Six usually never came into the locker room. "I've waited a long time to have this talk, Kámámê... Gunner, come here as well." Harry gestures to them both. Gunner smiles to himself as the group exchanges nudges and glances. The men around them look on like teenage girls, eyes full of vigor as they hang onto each other. They watch as, for the first time, Ritual removes her balaclava.
"Yes, Doctor?" Gunner stands next to Ritual, gently looping his pinky finger into hers. His eyes light up as she shoots him a soft smile. This was just like old times.
"I got your message..." He looks at Ritual knowingly before holding out a black and white embroidered patch to each of them with a soft, genuine smile. For just a moment, the pair felt complete. "Welcome, and welcome back, to Rainbow."