[Fanfiction, Now With Second Dream Spoilers] Fear The Silence, Fear The Screams

[ViralN9]

I get this sinking feeling that before they turn to Rhino, they'll ask Chroma to try and teach her self-control. I also have a bad feeling that Chroma has a dim view of Valkyr that's only been intensified by what just happened.

[Knayles]

Interesting thought

[pavithran_gamer]

WOW, This is by far one of the best Fan fiction I have read.

Great Job.

Keep it coming

[Knayles]

WOW, This is by far one of the best Fan fiction I have read.

Great Job.

Keep it coming

Thanks for the compliment, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in like a week but I've been busy with things. Rest assured another entry is coming soon

 

Edit, to everyone: feel free to hit me up ingame sometime, I'm not on as often as I used to be though. Feel free to request screenshots too, or whatever.

Edited October 18, 2015 by Knayles

[Knayles]

Valkyr had been sealed in a cryopod for everyone else's safety and stored away in the barracks until Excalibur and the others could decide what should be done about her misbehavior. She was left alone while debates and discussions were held, though she wasn't without visitors.

 

Chroma stopped by on occasion. He never did anything beyond stare at her frozen figure.

 

Atlas, new to the dojo, would pause in passing from time to time.

 

Excalibur avoided looking her way even when he had to pass through the area.

 

Loki was often there to think about what he'd done and to wish that he could talk to her about it.

 

There was one visitor however who was more talkative than the rest. One who came daily and sat down with her back against Valkyr's pod. The young Tenno Nova was as reliable as could be; sitting there every evening at the same time.

 

"I'm sorry they did this to you." she said on her first visit. "Loki and Excalibur argued about it for hours but the majority vote leaned in favor of freezing you. I don't know if you can hear me in there or not but I...I know how you feel. They don't trust you, they're scared of you, some of them worry, others look down at you because you're different."  Nova sighed softly, her shoulders sinking. The slender girl tilted her head back until it touched the glass of Valkyr's cryopod and stared up at the cieling. "They treat me differently too, because of what I am. It's not completely the same as how they treat you but...I know the frustration.  Excalibur treats me like a kid, everyone seems to wanna protect me, Loki teases me for 'overcompensating' (Whatever that means) and some of them..." She tilted her head forward this time, staring down at her feet. "Sometimes I think they're scared of me too. I know that my powers are extraordinary, sometimes even I'm amazed at what I can do. I remember the first time I turned an entire army into a chain-explosion of bright vapor. I was terrified by how much destruction I had at my command."

 

Nova was quiet for a moment, then stood. She turned to gaze into Valkyr's pod and laid a hand gently upon the glass. The violent berserker looked at peace for the first time when entombed in the stasis chamber. She never moved even a hair, as expected, but Nova hoped and dreamed that her words might still get through.

 

"My point is...When you get out of there...I hope you'll forgive the others.  They can be idiots sometimes but that's just what happens to people when they care."

[Knayles]

Excerpt from Mag's logs - Orokin Tech

 

Our team returned from a week-long venture in the void to find everyone in distress. We find that Valkyr has been locked in stasis for causing an uproar and Excalibur is uncertain what should be done. It's a rather awkward and unusual thing to come home to.

 

Regarding our mission in the void; Vauban, Nyx and myself succeeded in locating an Orokin tower and scavenging it over for working technology. The mission was a rousing success only daunted by the risks incurred; Corrupt Orokin minions are in large supply and the readings we've taken do not suggest good outcomes.

 

Vauban is insistant that he can reverse-engineer the technology to build us new warframes, modeled after the primes of old and augmented with Orokin technology to amplify our powers further than our usual frames output peramiters. If his theory is correct then we may soon see ourselves with a far more powerful arsenal in our grasp but my concerns remain prevelant. I fear that working with Orokin technology may put us at risk of corruption, resulting in Orokin control

 

>>Objects Recovered Include:

>Orokin Cells x23

>An assortment of damaged weapons

>Helmet from corrupted Corpus soldier

>Helmet from corrupted Grineer general

>Corrupted Moa Power Unit x43

>Death Orb Core

 

Vauban is busy reverse-engineering many of these devices in effort to produce blueprints for a primed version of Excalibur's frame. I pray my concerns will be proven false.

[MopUpCrewman]

Usually not one for reading these types of things but it's certainly got my interest.

Keep up the good work.

 

Also, prey Loki won't meet Limbo. I have a feeling they'd become best buds in shenanigans.

[Knayles]

Usually not one for reading these types of things but it's certainly got my interest.

Keep up the good work.

 

Also, prey Loki won't meet Limbo. I have a feeling they'd become best buds in shenanigans.

Nonsense, Limbo is a refined gentleman of a sir.

[MopUpCrewman]

Nonsense, Limbo is a refined gentleman of a sir.

A cheeky gentleman. HueHueHue~

[Knayles]

Excerpt from Nyx's Logs -- Audio Sample

 

>>It's wrong.

 

>>Everything is wrong.

 

>>Big Brother, his heart is so heavy.

 

>>The silence is everywhere.

 

>>Pain.

 

>>Frustration.

 

>>Everyone is hurting.

 

>>It's wrong, I don't understand it.

 

>>Loki tells me of the fight, he hurts, he never hurts, this is wrong.

 

>>Grief, guilt everywhere.

 

>>It hurts.

 

>>It hurts this one.

 

>>It must be fixed, it must be cured, but how?

 

>>The guilt and grief, the weight, it's pressing down on everyone.

 

>>Only one mind is free.

>>One is quiet.

 

>>She sleeps, but it isn't right.

 

>>She is frozen but her mind wanders.

 

>>Memories.

>>She see's a different body, older, pure.

 

>>Was it before the Corpus changed her?

 

>>No, no, must stop this.

 

>>Too much weight.

 

>>This one must meditate.

>>Block out the thoughts.

 

>>Must focus.

 

-- End Audio --

[Wolvebrother]

I love the Story, keep going.

[Knayles]

Weeks were passing and nothing was being done about the Valkyr. Excalibur couldn't bring himself to make a decision regarding the rage-filled berserker and noone of the other Tenno felt right making a decision either. They still felt the guilt of judging her but it was slowly fading, in time it seemed they might forget all about her. All but for a few.

 

Loki had stopped visiting altogether, the guilt he felt was greatest of all. Every time he saw her frozen in the cryopod it cut him deeply. Chroma had lost interest. Atlas only occasionally glanced at the berserker when passing through the area. Excalibur avoided the area as much as Loki, unable to face the decision with certainty. Trinity visited on occasion to check the berserker's vitals, if nothing else but to make sure that her 'rest' was healthy. Limbo kept the room tidy but did little else. The rest simply didn't visit by lack of convenience; they were often busy with their missions or something of the like. Vauban, for example, remained cloistered away in the research labs working on his experiments. Only two Tenno remained reliable visitors to Valkyr's glass prison.

 

"Blasted infernal worthless scrap!" came Vauban's voice shouting from the lab, followed promptly by a hunk of flying metal. The curse and thrown object missed Nova by mere inches when she passed the lab door.  She peeked inside briefly to see Vauban ranting in front of a melancholic Mag. “This garbage is an abysmal waste! I can’t reverse-engineer anything of value from this heap!”

 

“You picked half of it yourself you know, you were there, in case you forgot” sighed Mag.

 

“Semantics!” Vauban shouted back. “I was pre-occupied with other tasks; I would have expected at least one of you to find me something of value to study!”

 

Nova shook her head and moved on quickly, avoiding that scene before she could be dragged into it. Vauban was such a difficult fellow.  She could still hear the two bickering as she moved on down the hall and slipped into the stasis room where Valkyr was being held. She did this almost daily, the routine was simple. Nova checked the room for other visitors before seating herself in front of Valkyr’s pod, only talking when she was sure they were alone.

 

“Hello again…” Nova waved at Valkyr’s pod as if the other Tenno could see it, sighing when she realized the folly of it. “…I can’t believe you’re still in there, it’s been almost a whole earth-month. I’m sorry to say it but I think Excalibur has just forgotten about you.”  Nova paused in contemplation, sighing as her gaze fell to the floor. She’d been thinking since day one; thinking about what could be done to solve this situation with everyone satisfied. She never had to make difficult decisions before. Most of that was handled by the others. She had been thinking on it for weeks now though and with no one else making the call she felt like it was her turn to step up and take charge.
 

The young Tenno stood up and took a deep breath, fixing her gaze upon the berserker’s sleeping face. She wasn’t going to allow this to continue, she couldn’t let Valkyr spent the rest of eternity frozen in stasis.  Nova stepped forward and reached out her hand, pressing all the right buttons on the cryopod’s interface. Air hissed as the pod opened its vents. “Stage one awakening process initiated” spoke the interface. Nova felt her pulse quickening as she anxiously awaited the result of her interference. She checked the door to see if anyone was coming and there she saw Nyx, already standing by and watching.

 

“Nyx!” Nova gasped. “This is…I…”

 

She didn’t need to say anything, for the psychic knew it already. “You wanted to help” said she, approaching the pod. “You’re wrong. Big Brother has not forgotten this one. He still doubts, but the doubt is fading.” 

 

Nyx touched a hand to the pod, gazing into it as it hissed again. “Stage two initiated.”  The Tenno within began to stir, adrenal boosters were being pumped into her systems and the cryogenics were thawing.

 

“Please don’t tell anyone, I just…We can’t leave her like this forever Nyx.”  Nova pleaded with hope in her heart that she could go through with her plan, fearing what might happen if it were stopped so soon.

 

Nyx gazed into the cryopod at the twitching Valkyr and felt herself twitch a little as well. Thoughts were flooding her mind, not her own but those of Nova and the awakening Valkyr.  “You just want to help her…She just wants to be left alone.” Nyx declared.  She laid a hand upon Nova’s shoulder and met her younger sister’s gaze. “You’re going to get in trouble for this eventually, you know…But since it’s what you believe is best, I will help.”

The cyopod hissed loudly once as the cryogenics vented one final time. The door cracked open and raised out of the way.  Valkyr groaned weakly, her body weary from stasis. She fell from the pod and hit the floor with a thud. Nova cringed, worried that someone else might have heard all the noise. 

 

“Get her up, quick!” Nova commanded, kneeling.  She took one of Valkyr’s arms and slung it over her shoulder while Nyx took the other. They stood, raising the weary Tenno to her feet.

 

“What’s going on?” Valkyr asked softly, even her voice was faint with the weakness she felt recovering from stasis.

 

“Shh, we’re getting you out of here” answered Nova.  “Let’s get her to the hangar, she’s not going to be safe here…”

 

“You want her to leave” said Nyx, reading the young Tenno’s thoughts again.

“It’s not that I want her to leave, I-“

 

“You know if she stays here Big Brother will most likely have her put back in stasis…”

 

Nova groaned a little. It always annoyed her how Nyx could tell what she was thinking. “I hate-“

 

“When I do this?” Nyx interrupted again. “…I apologize.”

 

The two carried Valkyr safely through the Dojo and to the hangar without a single incident. Nyx was able to sense when her fellow Tenno were nearby and made sure that they were not seen in transit. By the time they arrived Valkyr was able to stand on her own two feet – though wobbly.

 

“Just take one of the landing crafts and go…” said Nova, pained inside. She had helped Valkyr out of a frozen prison but this alternative wasn’t much better and she knew it. Valkyr would be a fugitive unless Excalibur and the others could be convinced to leave her be, but surely it was better than stasis…Right?

 

The berserker staggered toward the liset without saying a word to those who helped her. They watched as she disappeared inside.  Nova felt conflicted, uncertain. Was she really doing the right thing?

[Knayles]

Excalibur stood at the dojo’s command console in the observatory, typing in commands and observing the universe in its grandeur.  All was quiet save the soft hum of energy pulsing through the dojo, occasionally the footsteps of his fellows as they moved about the room and the random blips from an alert popping up on the screen.  He was about to plan the next mission when a new alert popped up.

 

“Liset departing from hangar dock”

 

Valkyr was aboard alone and flying away at top speed. Ordis was with her of course, being rather obnoxious at that.

 

“Operator, weren’t you supposed to be in <bzz> time out popsickle <bzz> cryostasis, I mean?”

 

Valkyr ignored the comment and programmed in a flight path. She knew she’d be tracked as long as she was in the Liset, in fact she suspected that Ordis might even turn the ship around itself if ordered.  She needed a fallback plan.

 

Back at the dojo Ordis was making every attempt to alert Excalibur of the current event. The console blipped with an alert before Ordis’ voice came over the speaker.

 

“Sir, the Liset is currently in route towards Neptune with one passenger aboard. I’m sure you can guess whom.”

 

Excalibur mashed at the console, growling lowly. “Turn that thing around Ordis, now.” He pressed the intercom button and spoke to the rest of the dojo quickly. “Mag, Volt, meet me in the hanger!”

 

Valkyr pushed to her feet and turned her back to the nav console aboard the liset. She had a backup plan but it was a bit rushed, probably not the best plan. She walked to the back of the ship, still leaning on the walls for balance while her strength slowly returned. For her backup plan she needed an archwing and the Liset always had at least two aboard. The ship began to turn just as Valkyr opened up the arsenal.

 

“I’m sorry Operator, but I must return you to the dojo.”

 

“Good luck with that.”

 

Valkyr strapped herself into an archwing and reached for the airlock. Ordis could take the ship back to the dojo but he couldn’t stop her from getting off of it.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Operator; we’re too far from any other station.”

 

“I’ll take my chances.”

 

Valkyr pulled the manual release and broke the airlock. The door rotated round and jettisoned the berserker into the depths of space! She tumbled through the dark vacuum while the Liset sped back home, fumbling around to turn on the archwing’s engines.

 

“Sir, it seems Valkyr has ejected herself from the Liset.” Ordis informed Excalibur over the communicator.

 

“Truly?”

 

“She ejected with one of the archwings, I can’t seem to override the controls for that device.”

 

Valkyr managed to right herself and engage the archwing’s engines after tumbling through space long enough. Unfortunately for her she had no idea where to go now. The tumble had ruined her sense of direction and even though she could see the glow of the Liset’s engines in the distance she couldn’t tell exactly which direction it was going. She decided she would just move away from it in whatever direction felt right and did just that.

 

“Damn” Excalibur sighed. “The archwing does have a tracker on it; we can still try to catch up with her.”

 

“I want to come then!” Nova cried out from behind the others. She’d been in the hangar the entire time but she’d hidden when she heard the others coming.

 

“Ordis would like to mention that it was Nova and Nyx who helped Valkyr aboard, sir.”

 

Excalibur clenched his fists growled at the younger Tenno. “You helped? What were you thinking?!”

 

“I thought somebody needed to do something instead of leaving her locked in stasis forever!”

 

Nyx approached the group and laid a hand upon Nova’s shoulder, coming between her and Excalibur. The psychic laid a second hand upon Excalibur’s shoulder and looked from one to the other. “We must not bicker amongst ourselves, it will only lead to more pain” said she. “Ever since this began I’ve felt the weight of everyone’s guilt and your indecision…I cannot say if the little one’s decision was right, but it was better than doing nothing.”

 

“We can’t just leave her alone either, she’s dangerous” Excalibur conjectured, pushing Nyx’s hand aside. “Besides that, she’s too far out in space to get anywhere safely with just an archwing, she’ll die if we don’t go after her.”

 

“Then take me with you, this is my responsibility!”

 

Excalibur gave in to Nova’s begging, reluctantly, and turned to face the dock as the Liset returned. “Get aboard then” he said, motioning to Volt and Mag. “I still want you two with me in case she tries to kill us again.”

 

The four boarded the returned Liset and set off, following the archwing’s tracker. They travelled in silence - awkward silence rather than the usual kind. Nova kept her gaze fixed on the depths of space hoping to see some good news, fearing the worst for Valkyr. The tension she felt grew more intense with each passing moment, could it be that she had sent Valkyr to her death instead of freeing her?

 

“Operators, the archwing seems to have slowed down. We are catching up” Ordis chimed.

 

Nova began to worry even more now. She expected to see a corpse coming into view any moment. Instead the Liset would catch up to find the archwing floating through space alone, abandoned.

 

“What the-…Where is she?”

[OfficerBeepsky]

I might. I fully ship RhinoxValkyr and I had a good idea for that

That pairing makes sense.

 

Valk's Hysteria's probably the only thing that lets her survive Rhino's Charge.

[ThunderPyre]

The plot thickens. I really want to see what happens with Valkyr and the rest.

[Knayles]

The plot thickens. I really want to see what happens with Valkyr and the rest.

*Dramatic 50's TV show host voice* What terrible fate lurks on the horizon? Will our heroes find their missing comrade? Is Valkyr truly gone? Stay tuned to see the thrilling conclusion!

[Knayles]

Jesus, over 1000 views? I seriously wish I could draw gooder or something so I could give you guys a "Thank-You" card D:

 

Know what? F*** it, I'll try to draw something anyway...Soon...ish. Just gotta think up something cool to show my appreciation.

[FiveHours]

Only the first in many! Good job so far, Knayles :)

[Knayles]

#18; Allegiance

Fate had delivered Valkyr unto a new path, be it good or bad. Coincidence is a funny thing and truth is often stranger than fiction. The archwing would never have gotten her all the way to a safe place on its own merit, even fully-charged. She was doomed to die drifting through space until another ship crossed her path.

 

How convenient was it that a trade ship would be passing through the area? Even more convenient that it was a corpus ship venturing from planet to planet. We all know how much Valkyr hates those guys right? The berserker was still lacking her full strength at first but nothing gets one’s blood flowing like mindless slaughter.

 

Valkyr literally crashed through one of the port-side windows of the ship after disconnecting from the archwing and once the window had been sealed with blast plating she got right to work. She was rusty from spending an entire month in stasis but like riding a bicycle one never forgets the graceful art of mass-murder. All the weapons had been left behind on the Liset she ejected from but Valkyr was well known for being every bit as lethal without a weapon as she was with one. Some say she’s more lethal this way. The berserker cut through man after man, her energy returning with every bloody kill. She grew stronger and stronger as she bathed in the crimson that flowed from her victims and soon was tearing through MOA’s like paper. Just like the good old days.

 

She painted every inch of the floor red before moving from one room to another. It was a massacre, plain and simple. Frankly times like this were the only times when she felt, well…Not quite happy…Not at peace either…But good. Yes, good. She was far from happy, she was angry, very angry, but killing just felt good. Valkyr’s mind was normally bubbling with thoughts when she was at rest, she remembered things, usually bad things. When she was quiet on the outside she was screaming on the inside. In moments like this she was raging inside and out but at least she didn’t have to focus on her memories. She could focus on the slaughter, her thoughts numbed by the tunnel-vision her race induced. She felt at home here, burning with her own fury, bathing in the blood of the fallen, roaring and screaming so loud that her own thoughts and memories couldn’t touch her.

 

Unfortunately other things could.

 

During this time Excalibur and the others were discovering the abandoned archwing. The ship Valkyr was now aboard had moved on but wasn’t too far to be seen. In the distance Nova caught the glimmer of the ships engines and the crew aboard the Liset set off to catch up.

 

Someone else would beat them to it.

 

The lights began to flicker aboard the Corpus vessel, dimming and blinking in a way all too familiar to the other Tenno. Valkyr had never seen this phenomena before but she was much too caught up in the slaughter to notice it. She didn’t even hear the whispers of a voice known by the Tenno as an omen of darkness.

 

“Alone? Foolish” the voice echoed through the ship. “But this is a new one; I haven’t seen your frame before.  No matter, you’ll die like the others. I am retribution!”

 

Valkyr was just crushing the life out of another corpus minion’s throat when he appeared, the Stalker, wielding his scythe and dashing right towards the berserker. She turned in time to see him, her tunnel-vision fixating upon that dark figure just in time to react. She was fortunate to be in that fit of hysteria, she was always stronger and faster this way. The corpse she held in her hand was hurled at him first; he cut through it with ease and continued on his way to Valkyr but now she met him with all her fury. She stopped his axe with a clawed hand and struck at his jaw with the other. He fell back and she charged him instead. The stalker struck again and again but was surprised to see such resilience from the unfamiliar Tenno.

 

“That fury of yours, a power, yes?” he realized, waving his hand through the air. “Your Tenno powers are useless against me!”

 

Valkyr halted in her pursuit, suddenly. Somehow the Stalker had silenced her fury. To his surprise, however, she would hesitate for only a second before roaring with fury once more. The stalker cast another wave of his hand and silenced Valkyr once more, again only for a second, and then it was his turn to retreat while the berserker assaulted him relentlessly. If he could not stop that power of hers like he did so many others then his other option was to absorb the fury instead. He began to meditate and a psychic field similar to Nyx’s formed around him. Valkyr struck at the sphere over and over only adding her power to the Stalkers and once he was ready he unleashed it in a mighty burst. The Valkyr was knocked back but rolled to her feet within seconds.

 

“Most interesting.” The Stalker commented, waving his hand again. Valkyr’s hysteria was silenced once more but this time she felt the force of the burst that she was previously numb to. “Let’s take a moment and talk, shall we?” the Stalker asked her, a brand new plot forming in his head. Valkyr was a bit different from the other Tenno he’d seen, he had no intel on her either. If he could learn anything from her he would try while he had her hesitating. Valkyr clutched at her chest and breathed heavily, feeling the pain of her own blows. She glared through one eye at her foe while kneeling, coughing up a little blood.  “Not much of a talker then?” the Stalker asked. “Just answer my questions if you want to live a little longer.”

 

The Liset was finally catching up to the corpus vessel and the four Tenno aboard were gearing up for an assault. Whether Valkyr was still alive on board or not they expected resistance in their pursuit of her. “I want everyone to focus” Excalibur noted. “Nova, remember why we’re here. Valkyr can’t be left on her own, she’s dangerous, she needs to learn some control.  We’ll take her alive if we can but I don’t want anyone to hesitate if we have to kill her. You understand, right?”

 

Nova understood, but she didn’t like it one bit. She was here to make sure that Valkyr was given every opportunity to survive this without returning to a life in stasis. Truth be told she had begun to doubt Excalibur’s decisions. For a long time she had wondered if the stories about the Tenno being the real monsters wasn’t true.

 

The Liset docked with the larger vessel and the group boarded; weapons at the ready. They encountered minimal resistance, the ship was already on alert and the few remaining men aboard were headed toward Valkyr anyway. It only made the group’s job easier really; they only needed to follow the alarms and the MOA’s that were headed to Valkyr’s position. In pursuit they only killed a handful of enemies along the way but the real shock came when they arrived on Valkyr’s location.

 

They found their berserker cutting down the Corpus MOA’s that had reached her location, a sight that – by itself – wasn’t out of the ordinary. What surprised them was that the Stalker had joined her, the two were slaying everything in sight side by side.

 

“They’ve come, at last!” the Stalker cheered, grinning under his mask. “Claim your revenge, Valkyr. I’ll claim mine!”

 

At last I've figured out how to do spoilers, nice. Because of this I've modified the first post on page 1 to include all the pieces of the story up 'till now so that new readers might have an easier time reading without having to scan through all the posts.

 

Thanks again for all the good comments and love, I hope the story continues to impress.

[ThunderPyre]

Dun dun dunnnnnn! Stalker makes his appearance and probably the most terrifying combo in all of Warframe is formed.

[MopUpCrewman]

Dun dun dunnnnnn! Stalker makes his appearance and probably the most terrifying combo in all of Warframe is formed.

But then Nova uses Molecular Prime and Valkyr is useless while the rest gun down Stalker in a manner of seconds.

 

At least, that's how it would go down in the game.

[ViralN9]

But then Nova uses Molecular Prime and Valkyr is useless while the rest gun down Stalker in a manner of seconds.

 

At least, that's how it would go down in the game.

Yeah pretty much.

[Knayles]

But then Nova uses Molecular Prime and Valkyr is useless while the rest gun down Stalker in a manner of seconds.

 

At least, that's how it would go down in the game.

But Stalker Dispel?

[MopUpCrewman]

But Stalker Dispel?

Wouldn't do anything for Valkyr IN-GAME. That's why I said she'd be useless and Stalker would get gunned down in a manner of seconds.

[Knayles]

Actually what would really happen is: Everyone in the group is using lvl0 weapons for levelling and Stalker kills everyone because they can't hurt him.

 

At least, that's what'd happen to me. I always have the worst luck :P 

 

Edit: Furthermore Nova wouldn't want to harm Valkyr. 

Edited November 10, 2015 by Knayles