[Fanfiction] Motherhood

[Shadow977]

To each their own.

 

I grew up with it.

 

I usually think of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' or 'The Princess Bride' when I am looking for silly quotes.

I'm not a big comedy guy. I like comedic aspects in films etc. but not full-out comedies.

 

I thought of Worms because it's one of those games i grew up with.

[-Refractor-]

That cliffhanger though... Perfect addition for a stormy day.

 

I had the same problem, but turning off adblocker on the forums works
not telling you to remove adblocker (if you're using it), just turn it off on warframe forums

This works by the way, adblockers seem to be shredding the forums right now.

[Shadow977]

 

That cliffhanger though... Perfect addition for a stormy day.

 

This works by the way, adblockers seem to be shredding the forums right now.

 

This is weird. Disabling Adblock worked on my own computer but on my schools computers, that don't have Adblockers to begin with are still broken.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Shadow977

[Kalenath]

 

Big Bad

[The distant past]

 

 

The being called Natah moved through the air as easily as she had once slid through space. This time however, she was cautious. Her stealth systems were fully energized and every sense as on alert. Ordinarily, she would use Oculysts for such things. But the drones had proven insufficient for this task. It was suboptimal for her to risk herself in this way, but something needed to be done. The human shaped form that she wore with its mask was not as efficient as her own form, but it was highly useful during infiltration missions. Her own form was far more powerful, but was also a dead giveaway that she was not and had never been human.

 

Part of her remembered a better time. A happier time. But most of her remained focused on the here and the now. This whole 'war' thing distressed her a great deal. She had known on leaving her home that it was a one way trip. That she could never go home again. None of her peers had ever imagined the pain that lanced through her even now. It was all in her mind now, the damage to her chassis had been repaired more than half a century past as the human vermin told time. But it still hurt. It hurt in so many ways that she had never imagined.

 

She had never been a front line combatant. That she knew of anyway. It felt...both right and wrong for her to be this way. Cut off from all the others of her kind, skulking through the darkness that surrounded this hive of humans. She was an information specialist. Others acquired the data, she formulated it into information for her peers to use. She had learned a great deal about her people's foes in her time in this place of pain. Her methods might not be as quick as some of her peers' methods, but she rarely made errors. If one of her peers scoured information from a prisoner, said prisoner was then only good to be rendered down for raw biological material. If they missed information or were given false information somehow, well, that was it. Natah was more of an artist. She worked within the minds of her acquisitions. Most of those now served Sentience willingly. She was not the only one to act this way, indeed, most of her kind preferred to subvert the humans to do their work for them. Occasionally, it had been simple to take over places before the humans living in them even knew it was happening.

 

Natah preferred that. She abhorred wanton slaughter. It didn't serve any purpose and even the most vicious of her kind realized that. This war was needed, and she accepted that as she had for so long. But... It still felt wrong to her. She was a builder, not a destroyer. She was a manager, not a warrior. She was ambivalent about the fates of the humans that came into her care as any of her kind, but... slightly less so. She didn't kill because she could. She killed when she had to. And she was good at it.

 

The single human guard who had been posted to watch this section of the base's perimeter never saw her as she ghosted past his view. This place was...abnormal. Most of the 'Orokin' as they called themselves had learned not to use high tech anywhere that one of Natah's people might gain access to it. But this place reeked of high tech. It sang to her in wavelengths that no human could ever-

 

She went still as something impinged on her consciousness. It wasn't anything she knew. She scanned her memories, sliding into an out of the way alcove to try to make sense of this. None of her memories matched the sounds that she could both hear and feel. Humans generally perceived a very small fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum. Their 'hearing' and 'sight' were painfully limited to a being like Natah who had been created to sense all of the spectrum it all of its glory. It took her a moment to find the answer to what she was sensing. The definition she found wasn't from her own memories, it was from one of her acquisitions. Those humans who had been absorbed by Sentience had gained so much, but part of Natah had always felt... soiled in doing them such a service. It made no sense to her or any of her peers who she had discussed it with. Some of them felt the same way, but none of them would let it hinder their goals. The completion of the sequences. The preservation of their people. It was her people surviving or humanity surviving and she chose her people. Simple.

 

This... wasn't so simple. The sound was 'crying'. Someone was crying. Someone close. She was stunned. She had heard it of course. Every time she went to take a new human subject from the prisoner pens in which they were kept, she had heard such sounds. But it wasn't the same. There was...more than one voice and they sounded... She couldn't define it.

 

She reprimanded herself mildly and started forward again, easing to one wall to avoid an Orokin drone that flew by. She could take control of the device easily enough. But depending on how many humans there were in this place and how alert they were... That might blow her mission and that was unacceptable. She eased forward into another room, a larger room. This one held a number of computer systems as well as several humans. A control room of some kind. It would serve her purposes. The humans were engrossed in their displays and she had time to be careful. The internal security sensors were hers in a matter of seconds.

 

Natah moved behind the first human. The woman had no time to react as Natah struck her across the back of her head with a specialized short ranged weapon. The weapon was silent and non-lethal. Natah was after information here, not slaughter. Natah caught the falling human and laid her carefully on the floor. Then she went about to each of the others. None realized she was there before she struck and in moments, all had been subdued. Natah proceeded to immobilize each human. A series of careful scans and then precisely calibrated pulses of electromagnetic radiation slammed into each human's brain. Each fell utterly limp to remain that way until she was finished. Natah's people had learned that just because a human was fettered did not mean they were not dangerous. Controlled sleep was far safer. None of these would die if Natah could help it. Each would give up their information and serve.

 

She moved to her first subject and laid her chosen tool against the brain case of the human. It would take a little bit of time for the device to cut through the calcium structure and start but-

 

Natah paused. The crying was louder! It was coming from one of the monitors. She looked down at the human woman, then she turned to the monitor. She reached out with both clumsy human style hands and senses that no human possessed. As she had surmised, this was a control room. The monitors had access to the entire base. In moments, the whole facility was hers. Intruder defense systems stunned each and every human before they could react and she felt elation. She had done it with none of the human vermin the wiser!

 

She looked for the source of the crying and went totally still as she saw it. On the screen, she saw a small human form. But... it was twisted. Deformed. It's skin looked more like scales than human flesh. What was this?

 

Natah quickly pulled up every record she could find on the form that she saw and what she found stunned her. This being -this young male sort of human looking being- was a Tenno. But... he had no armor! His form was so grossly misshapen that it was doubtful he could move. This made no sense to her. He wasn't like the others that her people had encountered. Not at all. She scanned other monitors and she saw other forms. Some looked mostly human, others were not even close.

 

This was... not anything she had planned for. So, she did as she should. She contacted her kin. The conversation that resulted had no direct equivalent into any human language, but it's gist went:

 

Natah: I am here.

Others: Situation?

Natah: Facility is secure. No alarms. Thirty seven vermin captured. Oddities.

Others: What oddities? Clarify.

Natah: Not human. Tenno. But not warriors.

Others: The sequence must be completed. Destroy them.

Natah: This is confusing. This is not right. We need more information. I will gain more information.

Others: Transport will be sent for the humans and the Tenno bodies. They will be studied.

Natah: I will seek more information until transport arrives. End of Line.

Others: You have done well. End of Line.

 

That communication along with a myriad of emotional information was sent back and forth in the span of about three seconds. Natah stood over the body of the human woman she had subdued and then slowly bent down to touch her mind to the human's. Hate and fear slammed into Natah as it always did, but she overruled it with iron control. As she always did, she pulled the human woman's mind into hers and slowly, ever so slowly tore it apart, sifting each part and reshaping it to serve. But what she found struck her deeply. Deeper than any human weapon. Deeper than anything she had ever encountered since her encounter with the Tenno at her farm that had sent her careening on this course.

 

Children... Natah felt her world suddenly shake around her. Those are Tenno... children. The Zariman children! They are alive!

 

Her people had been researching as much as they could on the Tenno. They had accessed as many records as they could, but the available data was frustratingly incomplete. Suddenly, Natah had in front of her a treasure trove of information on the Tenno. A trove she had been ordered to destroy. The final sequence was one that would wipe out the Tenno. Her people were still finalizing said sequence.  She had to destroy them but she also had to understand them.

 

Her need to obey orders was suddenly at war with her need to acquire information. The two opposing duties were evenly matched. Then, the balance shifted as the form on the screen started to cry again. Something she had never experienced hit her in where the gut would be on a human. She had no words for the feeling. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew the little boy was crying in fear. In loss. In pain. She felt her world suddenly shift. She felt... different. Calm but poised.

 

"No."

 

***

 

It wasn't easy of course. One did not simply 'leave' the Sentience. Of course, no one would believe that one of their kind would want to. She worked with speed borne of desperation and the skill of long practice. She pushed the facility drones to their limits. She had each of the children sent to a small transport that had been slotted near the rear of the facility as an escape vehicle for the staff along with as much medical gear as the drones could carry. None of the children were capable of fighting. Indeed, most seemed lethargic. Drugged?

 

She hurt herself deliberately. She left pieces of herself in places around the facility as she moved a few of the humans to the transport. Her people would not accept her fate without some kind of evidence. She still needed information. Her newest acquisitions would help her to set up wherever she went and hopefully...

 

"What are you doing?" The voice came from nowhere. Natah spun in place, but no one was there. "Why are you doing this?" The voice was human. Male, calm. Assured. But she couldn't sense him!

 

She ignored the voice as she rigged the reactor with a time delay. Disembodied voices did not concern her. She extruded a blade, cut her arm and dropped a piece of herself there.

 

"This is insane." The male voice said slowly. "What are you doing?" He demanded. "You came to kill them." Natah froze and the unseen speaker took that as assent. "They beg for it. But the Orokin will not. They are too useful as test subects. You will?" The communication was not coming through human wavelengths. She tried to trace it and could not. The male laughed sourly. "Nice try but I am not there. I know you can understand me. What are you doing?"

 

For the first time in her existence, Natah opened the mouth that had been left on her face when her body had been created. It had been made in human form, mostly. But it was not human in any way but that. Her voice sounded pitifully small to her senses, but she forced it to work as the humans did.

 

"Children."

 

"What about them?" The male asked in a dangerous voice. "Your kind kill humans. Why not kill them?"

 

"Not human." Natah felt pain her neck. She ignored it as she worked feverishly.

 

"What will you do with them?" The voice asked her. "None will survive long outside of this facility." Natah grimaced and threw her mind at whoever to shut him up. To her amazement, there was  a reply on a wavelength that no human could access! What are you doing? Instead of replying in kind, Natah sent her plan to the mind she could not sense. For a long moment, there was silence in her head and then... Why?

 

Children. Natah sent sadly. But this was accompanied by her own pain and loss.

 

They will not survive. The other said quietly. You cannot save them.

 

I CAN TRY! Natah thundered in her mind and then there was silence. They deserve better than to be slaughtered. By my people. By the Orokin! They deserve better!

 

I agree. You realize that if you do this... Was he sad? ...there will be no going back. If your people find you, you will die. If the Orokin realize what you are, you will die.

 

Will you tell them? Natah demanded as she finished up her work and ran for the transport.

 

No. The male voice said softly. They have gone too far. Not all humans are self entitled brats. But... They have gone too far. A transport approaches. Your people will slaughter the children, reformat you.

 

No they won't. Natah snapped as she slid into the transport, keying it live even as she felt the first Sentient mind seeking hers in the distance. She shut herself in tight to avoid detection even as the first queries came. She keyed the sequence she had prepared and the transport rocked as the facility blew up. Hopefully she was far enough away on a divergent course not to be tracked. Only ash would remain, ash that mixed human remnants and her own bits. I will not let them.

 

The Tenno and Orokin will not trust you. The male sounded odd now. Almost...appreciative?

 

Trust must be earned. I will. Natah promised. But who I was... just died. I am no longer that being. That carrier of life. I must... find another way.

 

Would you like a suggestion? The male asked, kind now. My name is Hayden and I find your dedication... refreshing.

 

I... guess. The woman who had been Natah said after a moment's check of her charges. All of the Tenno children slept. All of the humans awaited orders. They could do no more.

 

You need a new name. Your people are mechanical but organic as well. The strange Hayden person said with an odd timbre in his voice. Not -quite- amusement.  Anything you choose that is mechanical will be met with immediate suspicion.

 

Why should I believe you? She asked as she set the transport to a new course. Hopefully one that would avoid any Orokin patrols as well as any Sentient ones until she could set up a new set of identification for herself. She set her humans to work on that.

 

Because I am also trying to save my children. My descendants. Hayden replied and she froze for a moment. You think those are the only Tenno children? Most of the Tenno your people have been fighting are less than a year old. None of them are more than a decade old. Few of them know anything but the commands of the Orokin.

 

What? She felt faint. Never in her wildest dreams...That is... horrible.

 

Yes it is. Hayden agreed. Will you help me save my people? She took a bare moment to decide, knowing that her life would never be the same.

 

I will. The other said softly. But as you say, I need to think on who to become. None of your people will trust a strange woman who appears out of nowhere. Not if they are sane anyway.

 

I have an idea about that actually...

 

***

 

The battle was lost. The Sentients and their thralls had enveloped the cell's battle line even before it was fully formed. Jiang had gone down and with the Frost, their defense. Kim had gone to his aid, but the Saryn had been caught out of cover and her shields had not been up to the punishment. All the other two could do was watch as their teammates died. The Excalibur and the Ash were too low on power to do anything but die heroically.

 

Stay there! Kim's pain filled voice  snapped across their mental link as her energy pooled out as blood would in a human. There are too many of them! All you will do is die with us!

 

No, they will not. A new voice sounded in each of their minds. Female. Calm and strong. Just hearing her was awe inspiring. This woman exuded command. Jiang, move to Kim! Scott, get ready to Blind. Horace, Jiang first, then Kim. Pull them into cover! Help is coming, but they won't be in time for the wounded unless you aid them now. None of them questioned her orders.

 

The Frost was feebly crawling towards the fallen Saryn as the Excalibur rose, his blade held high. But when he did his Radial Blind...something else happened. Inhuman screams of pain sounded all across the battlefield as Sentient and thrall alike froze in agony. The Ash had darted forward as soon as the Excalibur rose, pulling first the Frost to cover, then the Saryn. By the time he had the Saryn back, the Excalibur was working on the fallen Frost. They were still trapped in the rockpile, with open ground all around them, but they had solid cover. None of the enemy attacked. All seemed...stunned?

 

It won't last much longer and it won't work again. But help is coming. The female voice said calmly. Hold the line, Tenno.

 

Who are you? Kim asked as she rose on shaky feet to grip her rifle again.

 

I am the Lotus.

 

Edited September 15, 2015 by Kalenath

[evafan002]

huh well that happened.....

Edited September 15, 2015 by evafan002

[Kalenath]

huh well that happened.....

 

Don't worry. That was the EASY part.

 

More on that later.

[renleech]

She was just sixteen and all alone
When I came to be
So we grew up together
My mama child and me
Now things were bad and she was scared
But whenever I would cry
She'd calm my fears and dry my tears
With a rock and roll lullaby...

 

I don't know. I just heard this song and, after reading your chapter, Kal; this is very adequate to the Lotus's situation in the past. I must confess: i felt a little emotional when i heard it, don't know why.

 

Does this feeling make me trust the Lotus? Let's just not mix things, ok?

Edited September 15, 2015 by renleech

[Shadow977]

Neat.

[FiveHours]

And how will the story proceed, I wonder?

[Kalenath]

 

Wonder

[The present]

 

"It cannot have been that easy." Ric said into the silence that fell after the Lotus finished speaking.

 

"Ya think?" The Lotus asked with smile. "Disembodied female voice from nowhere appears and suddenly everyone trusts her unreservedly?" She shook her head. "Yeah, right. They all figured I was a trick of some kind. Some kind of Sentient trap. Luckily for me, they could never find me. They tried, Orokin and Tenno alike, but they never succeeded. The Sentients sought me too, once they realized that I was their enemy. It took them a long time to realize who I had been, and by then it was too late for them to stop what was happening. Eventually, I proven my trustworthiness and the Tenno accepted me a bit. Then things got complicated, but that is a story for another time."

 

"What happened to the kids?" Cecelia asked. The Lotus bowed her head and Cecelia gave a tiny sob. "No."

 

"All of them had been twisted in horrific fashion by the Void, Cecelia." The Lotus held the shuddering girl gently. "There wasn't anything anyone could do. I tried. I tried so hard, using everything I knew, could beg, borrow or steal. It wasn't enough. They just slipped away. Only a few of them woke up completely. Those few... thanked me before they passed. For letting them die. It hurt. It still hurts. I do not know how long they had been held there, kept in a half sleep/half stasis form of hell. There were records in the facility dating back over hundred years. But I do not know." Cecelia slumped and nodded.

 

"Was it really shade of the First?" Karl asked softly. The Lotus nodded. "Why would he help you?"

 

"I confused him." The Lotus said with a grin. "Enemies he understood, but an enemy who suddenly acted in a fashion so totally unlike what said enemy had been?" She slumped a bit again. "I couldn't kill them when ordered to. We..." She swallowed hard. "They..." She corrected herself grimly. "...had learned that just because  a Tenno had multiple holes blown in them and was not moving did not mean said Tenno was dead. It was simply too dangerous to try and hold your kind." She shook her head. "Tenno bodies could not be subsumed. They assumed it was because of the warframes. I know it was because of the Technocyte virus. But I doubt they ever figured it out."

 

"Why not?" The question came from Jasmina who had been relaxing a bit.

 

"Why did Orokin use the Infested a weapons, Caretaker?" The Lotus asked gently. Jasmina jerked and Elenia laid a hand on her arm. The Caretakers looked at each other and then at the Lotus who nodded. "Because what the Sentients are is a bio-technological plague. They cannot subsume Technocyte Infestations because it is so similar to them. Both plagues are working at every moment to take control. Perfectly balanced. The only way for either to stop the other is utter destruction of the host organism. But as to why the Sentients will not have figured out why they could not subsume Tenno? They are rational to a fault. Everything has to make sense. What Tenno are doesn't make sense." Everyone stared at the Lotus and she shrugged. "Think about it. Why would humans allow alien life forms -which is what Tenno  are to them-to survive? To continue to exist? Why would they create such an evolved form and then stop? Tenno are superior to humans in almost every regard." More than one Tenno whose face was visible was paling and the Lotus nodded. "They cannot subsume Tenno because Tenno are far too close to what Sentients are."

 

"That is impossible, Lotus." Karl said tightly. "We are not Sentients!"

 

"No, you are not." The Lotus reassured him and the Tenno relaxed. She smiled at Mori who nodded. "I have had this discussion with the Royal Guard. Well..." She smiled as Mori covered up a laugh with an unconvincing cough. "It was more an argument than a discussion."

 

"Many of us wondered why things were as they were." Mori agreed. "We sought answers and she didn't want to tell us."

 

"I am a guide, not a spoon feeder." The Lotus replied primly and Mori barked a laugh. "You needed to figure it out on your own." She waved both hands at Mori. "Explain?"

 

"Always making me do the dirty work." The Saryn complained.

 

"Well, duh?" More than one person in the audience snickered as Mori made a rude gesture at the Lotus. "But I think it will come better from you." Mori nodded and spoke.

 

"Tenno serve." The Saryn intoned formally. "Tenno do not rule. As the First commanded, so we obey. Hayden Tenno was far wiser than even most Tenno understand." She had everyone's attention now. "He transcended his humanity, became something far greater, but until the end of his time corporeal, he still considered himself human. Altered, but still human. That mindset was transferred to each of his students until it became part of our mythos. Part of who and what we are. Tenno are servants of humanity, not slaves. Not really. No one is supposed to own us."

 

"No one dares." Cecelia swallowed hard as Mori shook her head. "What?"

 

"The Royal Guard was enslaved, Cecelia." Mori said heavily. "All of us. None of us could fight what was done. None of us saw it coming. I went in for a check-up, I came out a puppet." She shuddered a bit and the Lotus patted her arm. "We had been worried about such things after an incident with a member of the Royal Family. But the rest of the Royal Family promised us they were 'researching' it to keep it from happening again after Nikis brought down... the perpetrator. None of us in our worst nightmares could have imagined that what was being researched was better methods. That said methods had been used on the Emperor! By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late."

 

"Oh my god..." Cecelia swallowed hard and then moved to Mori. She hugged the Saryn tight. Mori looked at her and Cecelia grinned. "Please don't beat me, Mori." She begged in a wheedling tone.

 

"Why do any of us even try to maintain proper decorum around you, Cecelia?" Mori asked sourly. She did lay her arms around Cecelia gently. "You are bad, girl. And bad girls get punished." She tweaked the girl's nose.

 

"Hey!" Cecelia retreated a step, hand flying to her face. "Be warned! I have a herring and know how to use it!"

 

"Well, I have a shrubbery!" Mori retorted. "So 'Ni!'" Cecelia made a face as Ric started to sing something softly from his place in the back. Something about 'Knights of the Round Table'.

 

"Children!" The Lotus was fighting back laughter as muffled chuckles came from around the room. But the tension in the room receded a bit. The Lotus crossed her arms. "Mori." She was probably glaring at the Saryn, but of course, it was impossible to tell.

 

"Fine, fine..."The Saryn groused. "Be a killjoy." She gave herself a shake. "Enslaving Tenno is very difficult and as far as we know, it has only been managed twice. Both times against the Royal Guard."

 

"Why the Guard?" Alicia asked from where she stood. "Oh... Wait... You would obey orders even if they make no sense."

 

"It is what we do, Alicia." Mori could have been carved from stone. "And yes, it was used against us. The first time, less than a dozen of us fell prey. Nikis got involved and all hell broke loose."

 

"Why does that not surprise me?" Karl asked in a monotone to muted chuckles. "The second time... Orokin fell."

 

"Yes." Mori bowed her head along with the other Royal Guards. "We were subverted. All of us. Ever since then one of our primary foci has been to find out how it as done and keep it from happening again. We guard each other zealously. Which is why you never see Guards alone unless they are out with your clan. We trust you. No one else."

 

"We are honored by your trust." Karl bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I have two recruits I wish for you to vet when we are done."

 

"More dirty work, huh?" Mori had a smile in her voice. "A lady of poison's work is never done."

 

"You wouldn't have it any other way, Mori." The Lotus said with smile of her own. "But you were saying?" She prodded gently.

 

"Pushy, pushy... Bad Lotus!" Mori said with a fake snap. The Lotus just glared at her some more and the Saryn shook her head. "We don't have time to discuss all of the philosophy, although it is fascinating. Lilly and I have spent a long time working out why Tenno are the way we are. Why we believe what we do. Why we never took power even when it would have been in humanity's best interests for us to do so."

 

"We do not want it." Alicia said slowly. Mori shook her head. "What?"

 

"Tenno are a mix just like any other group, Alicia." Mori said flatly. "We have the quiet, we have the loud. We have the humble, we have the arrogant. We have the pious, we have the ambitious. We have the gentle, we have the vicious. We have every single human psychological type in our midst. So why do we serve?" The Tenno in the group stared at each other and Mori nodded. "It is what we are. What we do. What we have always done. We are servants, not masters. For you, it is worse. You were created. Made in our image. Intended to be slaves to the Ancient Enemy. The Lotus freed you from the Orokin after Richard freed you from the Ancient Enemy." The Lotus bowed her head but did not speak.

 

That had been a hell of a revelation. That most Tenno now in existence had been created by the Orokin to serve as their soldiers at the behest of the most ancient of Tenno enemies. Only the sacrifice of the First Rhino had saved all of the current Tenno from slavery to what most Tenno considered to be the ultimate evil. Because that was what they had been manufactured to be. Slaves.

 

"You are Tenno." Mori said firmly. "All of the First agreed on that and I knew better than to argue with them. Anyway..." She said with a shrug. "You bear warframes. You follow the Code. You act as Tenno. Tenno you be." This was formal and fierce.

 

"Not all agree." Karl said softly. Mori scoffed and he shrugged himself. "They don't."

 

"Getting any group of individuals to totally agree on anything is like herding feral Kubrow, Karl." Mori said with a snort. "Without some form of mind control, it doesn't work. Some of us may say things, but none of us can deny that you believe. That you act as Tenno. That you follow the Code. Not always as well as we might prefer, but then again, none of us are perfect either. The prejudiced ones have learned to keep their mouths shut. It tends to hurt when Lilly hears them."

 

"Or you." The Ash Prime by her side said sourly. Mori just grunted and he laughed. "So you didn't intend to put Guiscard in the hospital?" Everyone looked at Mori who shrugged.

 

"I didn't intend to break his back, no." Mori said firmly. "He moved wrong."

 

"Right." Zio's voice held patent disbelief.

 

"I didn't!" Mori said with a snarl and the Ash shut up. Wise. "He made me angry, yes. I didn't intend to hurt him that badly."

 

"Up to your old tricks, eh, Morgan?" Ric asked from where he stood. He always called her 'Morgan' despite her fervent desire to be called 'Mori'. Most thought he did it just to tick her off.

 

"Don't start, 'Ricard'." Mori said on a tone that firmly discouraged further exploration of that topic. "Anyway. The Royal Guard has experience in this. If... the Gunnery Sergeant and all of you are okay with her past..." She waved a hand at the Lotus who hadn't moved. "We need to focus on the now. Gemina Horati is incredibly dangerous. Not just because she is a master warrior, which she is, but because she is damned charismatic." She swallowed. "I had kind of hoped the other we requested would be here. Sort of."

 

"Sun goes where he wills." The Lotus said heavily. "He finished up his virtual business faster than we thought he would and vanished again. My data feeds are compromised. I cannot contact him safely."

 

"Every moment you are here, the Tenno are directionless."Karl said softly. The Lotus shook her head and Karl paused. "What?"

 

"I have some access. I still guide. Much of that is automated anyway." The Lotus said softly. "I cannot do as much. Not as many feeds. But from here it is far more secure. The subverted Royal Guards have no access to your communications. I will not leave my children defenseless against those lost souls." The pain in her voice had everyone freezing. "I cannot fight them. They too are my children. But I have to do something."

 

"What will you do?" Cecelia asked in a small voice.

 

"Something sneaky."

 

***

 

Jesse was in a foul mood.

 

"This doesn't make any sense!" Jesse snapped for the fourth time at Draco who stood silent and still at the wall. "Four different helmets. Nothing on scans. Nothing wrong down to the molecular level. Nothing different in my brain that anyone can detect. And I still smell it. Even outside the helmet now! I can write a script, do some code..."

 

She sat at the desk in her room, the terminal was deactivated on the Healer's orders. She could get around that, but she would have to use her code to do that. Something that the Healer had been adamant about.

 

"No." Draco said flatly.

 

"Draco, this is driving me crazy!" Jesse snapped right back. "There is no physical reason that I should be smelling orange blossoms. There is nothing in any medical database I have found for why I might be smelling something that isn't there. That I didn't know before this. One small search script, Draco." She begged.

 

"No." Draco repeated. "You heard Iriana. 'No code until you are cleared'. She will sedate you and I will hold you for her to do it."

 

"I..." Jesse slumped in her chair, face in her hands. "I know." Her voice was tiny. "But I don't care if the systems didn't detect me having a dream. I did! I just can't remember it!"

 

"Is this a bad time?" Horat's voice preceded the Equinox warframe into the room. Jesse jerked and shook her head. "What is wrong?"

 

"Ask him!" Jesse snapped, then laid her head on the desk.

 

"I am not asking him, Jesse." Horat said slowly. "I am asking you. What is wrong?" Jesse muttered something into the desk and the armored Tenno looked at her quizzically. "Excuse me?"

 

"Orange blossoms." Jesse said, still with her head against the desk. "I am smelling orange blossoms. I identified them last night." Horat stiffened and Jesse shook herself. "I didn't code. I just did a data search."

 

"All night." Draco said, his disapproval patent.

 

"I wasn't tired!" Jesse snapped. "Not...after..." She slumped.

 

"After what?" Horat asked, confused. "Jesse?"

 

"I um..." Jesse shook herself and met the Equinox's gaze. "I fell asleep at my terminal."

 

"Then I would say you were tired." Horat said with a snort, but it fell flat. "What?"He asked as Jesse looked worried.

 

"I had a dream." Jesse said softly. Horat looked at her and Jesse shook her head. "I don't dream. Not anymore. Not since I was human. It... it is part of what I am now. My meditations serve to let me rest. Some Tenno dream. But I don't."

 

"And?" Horat asked. "You wouldn't be this worried about something innocuous."

 

"If I dreamed, I should remember it and I don't." Jesse said softly. "That is also part of what I am. My memory was enhanced with every other piece of me. I cannot forget things now. And I did." She was shaking now. "I did. What is wrong with me?" She begged. "I... What is wrong with me?"

 

Horat stared at her and then at Draco who nodded just a little. The Equinox warframe stepped forward to take Jesse's arm in a gentle grip. She stared up at the dual face, tears falling unremarked.

 

"Jesse, be calm." Horat gave her arm a twitch and she rose. The Equinox guided her to a clear piece of floor. Another twitch and she knelt. The other knelt with Jesse. "Whatever this is, it is new. It is unknown. Of course it is frightening. But you don't know if it is good or bad."

 

"Unknown in my life is always bad, Horat!" Jesse said savagely.

 

"Always?" Horat asked softly, looking at Draco who nodded slightly. "Oh dear." The armored Tenno reached out to take Jesse's hands. "It's okay, Jesse. We will figure this out. For now, focus. Calm. Breathe. In and out. Slow and steady. In. Out." Jesse did as instructed, her face slowly relaxing from its mask of fear and anger. After a moment, Horat gave her hands a squeeze. "There... better?"

 

"Yes." Jesse said softly. "I am sorry... This is..."

 

"You are under a great deal of stress, Jesse." Horat said sadly. "Your duties as Cyberlancer. Your injury. I do not know all of the specifics of your past. That is your business, not mine. I am simply a Tenno whose sister is in pain. If I can help, I must."

 

"Not all Tenno feel that way." Jesse said softly.

 

"I do." Horat's tone was flat now. "Okay, let's think this through. Did I cause this somehow?" Jesse looked at the Equinox and Horat shrugged. "You were not smelling these... 'orange blossoms' you said?" Jesse nodded. "Before I arrived. So, did meeting me cause something?"

 

"I don't see how. But... How long can you stay?" Jesse asked. "I know you have duties."

 

"I do, but I have not been assigned any new ones." Horat said with a shrug. "This is kind of important. Your sanity is very important to the Tenno as a whole. There are what? Three Cyberlancers currently?"

 

"Yeah." Jesse said with a sigh. "Me, Olim and Quais."

 

"All the more reason to help you." Horat released Jesse's hands and the young Cyberlancer folded them into her lap. "Okay, let's start from when you first met me. You were distressed by me..."

 

Jesse swallowed hard, but focused. She could do this.

She had to.

 

***

 

We erred.

 

How so?

 

We moved too fast. She is terrified. The fact that she cannot remember is hurting her. Stressing her beyond her limits. What happened?

 

She woke before she should have. She was aware before we knew she was. She tried to use her code and it backfired somehow. We are not sure why or how, but it hurt her. We helped, but... if she remembers...

 

If she remembers, all hell will break loose.

 

One other thing. When she woke, she asked 'Who is trying to brainwash me this time.'

 

'This time?' Who would dare?

 

We don't know. Her records are sealed well beyond our ability to access. If we use Hans... maybe we can gain access to them. But that will leave tracks.

 

Do it. Try to minimize our visibility. We do not want to hurt her. We must not hurt her. I will do what I can. I would anyway. She is a good kid. It is easy to love her.

 

Don't lose track of our goal.

 

Teach your grandma to suck eggs, Siri. With the proper help, she can overcome this. She will be a fine addition to our cause. But we must be cautious. Even if her protectors do not realize, we may do irreparable harm if we force this too soon. And we must not. She is our only chance.

 

I... I know.

 

I am out of my depth. If only the mistress were here, she would know what to do. She always did. I am not a healer.

 

We all want to try and help her. She definitely needs help. Will she accept help?

 

I do not know. Maybe. Take it slow. Ease her in. Have someone with her at all times. Keep her calm and let her know that she is safe. Tell her everything you do and why. If she thinks she is not safe... she will fight. Be careful with her.

 

Teach your grandma to suck eggs, Gem.

 

[Shadow977]

I'm very grateful for those coding lessons now. I was able to go "MacGyver" and open the spoiler via this pages code. Let's just hope DE doesn't take any offense to that.

[evafan002]

Why can I foresee nikis recovering from whatever they did to him and going straight for his BMFG for this one?

Edited September 17, 2015 by evafan002

[BaIthazar]

Dear Antagonists,

 

on a scale of 1 to 'getting Jesse involved', how much did you F*** up?

Edited September 16, 2015 by BaIthazar

[Kalenath]

Why can I foresee nikis recovering from whatever they did to him and going straight for his BFMG for this one?

 

Nothing quite so... nice or tame.

 

Dear Antagonists,

 

on a scale of 1 to 'getting Jesse involved', how much did you F*** up?

 

Well, let's see.

 

On a scale of 1 to 'We done goofed BIGTIME'...

 

The Lotus is there in PHYSICAL FORM! Do I NEED to explain how BAD this is going to get?

 

Good thing is, they DO NOT want to HURT Jesse or even alter her in any way.

 

Bad news? They already hurt her. Fixing that... will not be easy. For them OR her.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Kalenath

[Kalenath]

Well, got ahead of myself again! Yay!

 

Let me know if you can't read it and I will delete the spoiler tags.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Where dreams come from

 

She jerked. This time it was different. She was lying on something that gave underneath her and someone was holding her hand. She remembered! She had been...somewhere else. Strangers had been there. It had hurt. They had...done something and when she had woken she had been terrified.

 

"Talk to me, Jesse." A female voice begged. "Please?" She sounded so scared and sad. "We were trying not to hurt you! We didn't want to! We don't. Please."

 

'Leave me alone.' Was that Jesse's voice? It was so low. So weak.

 

"We opened the way, you came. But you woke before we were ready. You tried to see where you were with code and it hurt you." The hand held hers and another was rubbing her arm now. "We need to help you. It may hurt. It may not. But we have to. We didn't know, Jesse. We didn't know what had been done to you." The woman was crying. "Oh Jesse! I am sorry. We are sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you."

 

'Liar.' Jesse managed to say as someone lifted her.

 

"I am not lying, Jesse. I will prove it." The voice was right with her, the hand was still on hers. "We need to repair what happened. It tore a hole in your psyche. You are not... You are strong, but there are limits. We will put you in a bath. It won't hurt."

 

'You have killed me.' Jesse managed as she was lowered. She jerked, She was floating in something. From the sensations, it wasn't water and she wasn't wearing anything! 'No...' She tried to struggle and couldn't as whatever fluid she was laid in covered her. She was lying on something in the fluid, her head and neck supported out of the fluid by something soft and padded.

 

"Not yet." The voice said sadly. "Almost but not quite. This is our mess, Jesse. We will fix it. I need you to relax, Jesse. We can do this with you tense, but it might hurt worse. So..."

 

The voice started to sing. The words... Jesse did not know the words, but they were familiar. Not a lullaby, but a soothing chant. Jesse tried to block out the words, but they resonated right through her, through whatever she was lying in. A hum built around her as the words continued, other voices joining in. A male voice started to sing a harmony to the female one and Jesse felt something happen. Hands were on her skull, several of them. 

 

Something seemed to go 'snap' inside her head and she was falling.

 

***

 

"Jesse?" The female voice from before was worried. "Come on, Jesse. Wake up. Please?"

 

Jesse fought her way back to consciousness aware of several things. She was lying on a bed now. She was clothed. And she felt...good. She looked up to see a dark haired Tenno sitting by the bed, her face intent.

 

"Hello Jesse." The strange Tenno said quietly. "My name is Siri. I give apology. We were trying to talk to you. We never intended harm to you. But we did hurt you." She bowed her head. "I hurt you. My life is yours, if you so wish."

 

"No. I don't kill kin. What did you do?" Jesse asked. She sounded...normal.

 

"I marked you with a telepathic pulse." Siri said with a frown. "That is why you smelled orange blossoms. It was intended to make you curious. Not to scare you." She shook her head. "We didn't know what happened to you, Jesse. All I can do is give apology. So I do now. What we did nearly killed you and there can be no excuse for that. We thought it was your code messing you up. It wasn't just that."

 

"Why am I calm?" Jesse asked slowly. "I should be... scared. Worried... something." She tried to dredge up emotion. It wouldn't come.

 

"Because none of us are healers, Jesse." Siri said quietly. "We know a bit about how the mind works. I know how to do some tricks beyond the usual skills of Nyx's path. None of us knew how you would wake and none of us want to hurt you any more than we have. When we are done, I will free your emotions. You have my word as a Tenno."

 

"Why go to all this trouble?" Jesse asked slowly. "I mean... if you want to talk to me... there are easier ways."

 

"There is no easy way to say this, Jesse..." Siri said sadly. "So I will say it flat out. We... are called renegades by the other Tenno." Jesse flinched back, but she couldn't managed to do more. "We won't hurt you!" Siri promised. "We won't." Was she crying?

 

"Release me." Jesse wanted to shout it. She couldn't.

 

"We cannot yet, Jesse." Siri was stroking her hand now and try as she might, Jesse could not resist. "If we send you back as you are, you will be scared again. You will react badly, maybe hurt yourself. Maybe just act out. They will search your mind no matter how much it hurts you. If they discover us, we die. We cannot die yet, Jesse. We have to finish. We have to reclaim Orokin."

 

"Reclaim?" Jesse couldn't fight the compulsion, but she could keep her mind still. They had to be reading her. She had far too many secrets to let these renegades sift her mind. "What do you mean?"

 

"We are lost, Jesse." Siri said quietly. "We were loyal. We were good at what we did. But then... she came to us. She took us from our captivity. We..." The female Tenno shook her head. "It didn't feel wrong, but it was. We um... We didn't surrender when our mistress was taken from us. The others fell. We continued. Only a few of us are left, but we must finish what we started."

 

Jesse stared at the other. This female Tenno was not acting like a Tenno! She was acting...brainwashed.

 

"By the ancestors!" Jesse managed to feel horror through whatever held her, just for a moment. Then it faded. "What did she do to you?"

 

"She freed us. She taught us about this place." Siri said sadly, waving a hand about. "This is not a virtual world. Not technological. It is a dreamscape. Here, we are unfettered by physical forms. Here we can be whatever we want. It isn't real, but at the same time, it is more real than a virtual environment."

 

"Doesn't make sense." Jesse said weakly.

 

"I know, sister." Siri stroked her hand again. "We are limited in our understanding.  So any explanation we might make will also be limited. We didn't know what the Grineer had done to you. It wasn't in the files we could access."

 

"How long have you been stalking me?" Jesse tried to feel fear. It wouldn't come.

 

"Ah..." Siri shook her head. "A while. We have access to many sources of information. What we do not have is the knowledge or training to make sense of said information. Most of it is in code."

 

"So you need me to code." Jesse understood that. It was what she did. But for renegades? No. She couldn't.

 

"We do." Siri agreed. "Your code will let us find the mistress again."

 

"So then she can brainwash everybody?" Jesse fought to summon her code. It didn't answer her summons.

 

"No." Someone that Jesse did not see had a hand on Jesse's head as Siria shook her head. "Jesse, your code will hurt you here. After what the Grineer did to you... We cannot take the chance. Sleep, Jesse. We will do what we must. When you wake, everything will be better."

 

"No." Jesse fought the compulsion that swam through her. "No. How do you know about that! That is... classified!" Fear started to rise and Siri grimaced.

 

"We didn't know why we hurt you." Siri said sadly. "We needed to know. Now we do. You will come to no harm among us, sister. Let go, Jesse." The resonance was building again. It soothed Jesse despite her struggles.

 

"Please..." Jesse was begging as she fell asleep.

 

***

 

She woke. She felt... good. Everything was good. She checked her readouts and everything was in the green. The armor she wore felt like a second skin. It was. She lay in a cradle like bed in a small room that had been designed for downtime. Sleeping.

 

"Jesse?" Her sister Siri's voice came from nearby and Jesse turned her head to see Siri sitting beside the cradle that Jesse lay in. "Status?"

 

"Optimal." Jesse said with a nod. "Nothing seems out of place. My memories are sequestered. My emotions are shuttered. I am...here."

 

"We didn't want to do this to you, Jesse." Siri said sadly. "You fought so hard. We had to help you and this was the only way. It is only here in the dreamscape. At least here, the neural binding won't cause damage." She reached out with both hands and eased Jesse in her white and gold Trinity Prime warframe into a sitting position. "This is a dream, Jesse. Not a nightmare. You are in no danger. You will wake refreshed. You will be calmer. It will take time for you to recover. Horat will find a scar in your psyche that Iriana can ease. But it will be healing already."

 

"How?" Jesse stared at the warframe gloves. Her fingers moved as she willed them to. "This is... a dream...?"

 

"Dreams have power, Jesse." Siri pulled Jesse into an embrace. "It is not a power that most Tenno can access. As you told Horat, Tenno do not dream. But we do. And now? So do you."

 

"I understand." Jesse felt...good. She felt right. This felt good. But this was all wrong. "I don't want this." Tears were falling inside the helmet, but the warframe removed them as quickly as she cried them.

 

"I know." Siri hugged her gently. "Please don't cry, Jesse. It will be okay. If we had any other choices, we would take them. We will continue to pull you here, talk to you. But here you are safe. We will let nothing more happen to you. We will strive to convince you. And we likely will. Eventually. We will not brainwash you. Anyone else who tries to do so will get a hell of shock." Her right hand stroked Jesse's armored left arm. "All this really is, is an extra layer of protection. You are well defended from physical attacks by your guard. From technological attacks by your code. And now? Spiritual attacks."

 

"Unless they come from you." Jesse tried to speak flatly, but her voice was still normal.

 

"We will not attack you, Sister." Siri chided gently. "We need you. But willing. Not a slave. We know what that feels like. We were until the mistress freed us."

 

"What?" Jesse asked, confused.

 

"Come sister, you need to meet the rest of us." Siri stepped away and pulled Jesse forward. "And we owe you a full explanation. Not that you will believe it. But we will do our best to convince you."

 

Jesse followed, her mind awhirl. In between one stop and the next, the area around Jesse changed from a bedroom to a small amphitheater. In it, four warframes knelt. Three she did not know. An Excalibur, a Mirage and an Oberon. One she did. The Equinox warframe nodded to her.

 

"Horat." Jesse tried to summon outrage, but it didn't come past whatever was holding her emotions.

 

"My true name is Gemina Horati. I give apology, sister." The Tenno she knew as Horat said softly. "For deceiving you and for harming you. I did not know how badly the Grineer had hurt you. We did not think you would wake so quickly. That was our error and it nearly cost you your life. We apologize." The others bowed their heads with the Equinox as Siri led Jesse to the circle and eased her into a kneeling posture. "We apologize for sequestering your emotions. But..." The Equinox gave a helpless shrug.

 

"I am upset." Jesse said calmly.

 

"And you have a right to it, sister." Siri knelt beside Jesse, a Nyx Prime warframe covering her now. "We have hurt you. We have tricked you. The mistress taught us that the end does not always justify the means, especially when we harm an innocent to achieve our end. We have used tactics that any would consider evil. We thought they were needed."

 

"I won't help you." Jesse managed to get that come out flat.

 

"You feel that way now." The Equinox sounded calm, almost approving of Jesse's resistance. "You deserve a full explanation and we will give you one. But once you leave this place, your memories of it will remain here. You will not remember this. You will be calmer. With 'Horat's' help, you and Iriana will find a psychic wound torn in your mind. Horat will help you heal and you will be drawn to Horat."

 

"No." Jesse said weakly. Siri patted her hand.

 

"Horat will turn you down." The Equinox said sharply. "That is beyond the pale even for us. Even for me and I have fewer scruples after all this time than many. Be calm, Jesse. It is trick. No more."

 

"Draco...won't..." Jesse was shuddering now and Siri sidled close, an arm surrounding Jesse. She tried to shy away, but she couldn't move now. The Equinox's voice was everywhere and Jesse's focus was dwindling to that voice. Only that voice.

 

"Your guard is a good Tenno, Jesse." The Equinox said softly. "A very good Tenno. He wants to protect you and so do we. We need you. The rest of our kin need you too. But we will help you now. Help you relax, help you heal."

 

"What are you doing?" Jesse slurred.

 

"Gem!" Siri warned. "Too much!"

 

"Right." The Equinox was growing in Jesse' vision now. Coming closer? "You will wake calmer, Jesse. When you come back here, we will give you the full explanation that you have earned. We will not brainwash you, just keep you calm. So that you can heal. And we will protect your mind."

 

A hum started as hands settled on Jesse's head. The song... was... ...

 

***

 

"I cannot do it." The male Tenno did not move from where he knelt, his hand on Jesse's head. "I will not do it. Not to her. She is a child. A sorely hurt, abused child." His warframe had vanished alone with the others when Jesse had fallen asleep.

 

"Fred, we will be gentle." Gemina said sadly. She alone among the group did not touch Jesse's still form. The Cyberlancer's dreamscape warframe had vanished with her conscious mind.  "She needs to relax. That is the best way. She will consent."

 

"It won't be consensual. And... I don't think she has ever done it." Fred said softly. The others all froze and the male Tenno shook his head. "We all saw the records. Look at the final notation." He pulled up a representation of the record, in his whimsy it looked like ancient parchment paper. He pointed at a line near the bottom. "Psychological profile result: Desire for family overrides all. Need to procreate has been shunted aside by need to aid her family. Recommend counseling on intercourse when time permits." He shook his head. "She hasn't."

 

"Siri." Gemina said slowly. "You are the gentlest of all of us. Check?"

 

"You owe me." Siri said with a scowl as she laid her hands on Jesse's abdomen and energy flared. Then she gasped. "Oh my god... he is right. She... hasn't."

 

"Dang." Gemina sighed. "But maybe..." She mused and the others looked at her. "Look, we won't hurt her. We won't do anything to her without her consent. But if she truly does wish for a family... Can we give her one? A real one?"

 

"She considers the other Tenno her family." Siri said in a flat voice. "So...what? We alter her?"

 

"Is that a joke?" Gemina demanded. "I mean, the Grandmaster of Cyberlancers trained her for god's sake! There is no way she would be vulnerable to our clumsy manipulations. The mistress herself might not be able to change Jesse's mental structure by force." She slumped a bit. "Not to mention... it would be wrong. The mistress would not approve." She reached out a gentle hand to stroke Jesse's hair. "She is a good kid."

 

"So... what?" Siri asked for everyone.

 

"She is alone." The other female in the group said quietly. All of them looked at the speaker and she shrugged. "She is. Even when surrounded by the others, she is alone. Look, do we have a time constraint here?"

 

"Not really." Gemina said after a moment. "Where are you going with this, Cathi?"

 

"Tell me true, Gem." The Tenno named Cathi said softly. "What was your first thought on waking in the mistress' care? After the rage at being a puppet."

 

"Amazement that she had worked so hard to do what she did." Gemina replied automatically. "That she really wanted a...friend." She stopped speaking and hissed. "You really think it would be that easy?"

 

"It won't be easy at all." Cathi retorted. "It wasn't for any of us. But yes. I think Jesse could use some friends. Real friends. Not people who want something from her, but people who care for her. We do. We only saw bits, pieces of the horror she went through in the link we shared. We read the records. Who among us doesn't feel for her? Who doesn't want to hold her and weep at the injustice of it all?"

 

"We do want something from her." The Oberon protested. "Do we lie to her about that?"

 

"No." Gemina said after a moment. "She truly needs the rest. Mental exhaustion piled on top of her injury is adding up. She needs to relax. But... Cathi may have point, Samuel. All this time, all these... less than ethical choices. Hans, Mavri, Nikis... We didn't have a much of a choice, live or die. But... they hurt." The others nodded soberly. "We are Tenno. We serve. But what we serve was corrupted long before we were born."

 

"So what do we do?" Fred asked. "Jesse will not trust us at all."

 

"Trust must be earned." Gemina agreed. "And I think...  Cathi has a good point. Jesse needs friends and so do we. If we offer full trust... we may gain it. A long road. A hard road. But worthwhile and far better than making her what the mistress saved us from."

 

"So... what?" Samuel asked. He went still as Gemina grinned. "What?" He asked suspiciously.

 

"How do you look in a swimsuit?"

 

Edited October 27, 2015 by Kalenath

[BaIthazar]

Hooray, Jesse in a Warframe.
Booo, against her will

 

Hooray, Swimsuits.

Booo, don't trust them -_-

 

Eager to see where this is going, although I do think I made my previous scale of messing up a bit small.

I also really hate semi-brainwash induced love plots.. but I really wanna see how this turns out..

 

I see a few very pissed of characters on the horizon

Janet, Nikis, Draco, Olim, and..

why am I being so difficult..

 

everyone

 

 

I need more paper for this revised scale

Edited September 16, 2015 by BaIthazar

[Spikey844]

*sigh*

 

Why won't people just leave Jesse alone? Seriously, I would have thought that having Draco as a bodyguard would mean they know to back off....

[Kalenath]

*sigh*

 

Why won't people just leave Jesse alone? Seriously, I would have thought that having Draco as a bodyguard would mean they know to back off....

 

They need her help.

 

They COULDN'T just ASK. (Well, they COULD and Draco would kill them.)

 

Thing is...

 

THEY were brainwashed. Is what they are doing THEIR will or someone ELSE'S?

 

We shall see.

[Spikey844]

They need her help.

 

They COULDN'T just ASK. (Well, they COULD and Draco would kill them.)

 

Thing is...

 

THEY were brainwashed. Is what they are doing THEIR will or someone ELSE'S?

 

We shall see.

Please don't start on psychology or philosophy. I spent four days trying to explain why unicorns have horns a few weeks ago and I really don't need more confusing questions like that...

[Kalenath]

Please don't start on psychology or philosophy. I spent four days trying to explain why unicorns have horns a few weeks ago and I really don't need more confusing questions like that...

 

Unicorns horns? Ouch. That... Yeah, did that once myself. Not fun. Wound up just saying it was because medieval peasants were stupid and wanted to believe in 'magic'.

 

And no, it's not psychology or philosophy. It's sneakiness.

 

But um... that doesn't always work when there are OTHER sneaky people about. More on that tomorrow.

[Shadow977]

Well, got ahead of myself again! Yay!

 

Let me know if you can't read it and I will delete the spoiler tags.

You don't need to remove them for me at least. I got them working on my own computer and i can MacGyver my way through them in my schools computers.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Shadow977

[Spikey844]

Unicorns horns? Ouch. That... Yeah, did that once myself. Not fun. Wound up just saying it was because medieval peasants were stupid and wanted to believe in 'magic'.

 

And no, it's not psychology or philosophy. It's sneakiness.

 

But um... that doesn't always work when there are OTHER sneaky people about. More on that tomorrow.

 

Yeah, it gives me headaches. Annoyingly, I'm rather good at explaining it anyway. And in my recent exams it was my best mark by a long shot, so....

 

Meta-physics and Meta-ethics... Bring it on....

[evafan002]

.......so how big an army is it going to take to clear up the mess after this Nikis Karl and the others get through with these idiots? I ask only in the interests of trying to work out how much recruiting we are going to need to do....

[evafan002]

"Don't make me get the Holy Hand Grenade."

 

Been playing lot of Worms lately Kal?

I only just realized what you were talking about.... could be worse she could have threatened to get the Concrete donkey......

[Shadow977]

 

I only just realized what you were talking about.... could be worse she could have threatened to get the Concrete donkey......

 

Or the Fatkins Strike...