[Fanfiction] Rage

[UnworthySeraph]

 

"Shut up and kiss me." Aeron said with a snap.

Hilarious.

[KF5AQX]

 

 

 

"Good." The Volt's words were heartfelt. "One sadistic Mag is more than enough." Something hit him from behind and he sighed as he pulled a Kunai throwing blade from a non-vital spot. "See?" He asked as a wicked chuckle came from the massed warframes.

 

 

Have I mentioned how much I love this Mag?

[Kalenath]

Waking up, after

 

Aeron hurt. Every fiber of his body was on fire. It was too much to ignore, too much to move past. All he could do was writhe. He opened his eyes, but saw only black. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He was...alone. Why was he alone? What had happened? Where was he? Everything hurt and he...

 

"Oh my god!" Alicia's voice was sharp and agonized. "Aeron! What the hell?" Aeron clung to her voice. Anything to stave off the pain. "No..." She begged him. "Don't try to move, Aeron. Easy..." Numbness swept across him and he sighed in relief as the pain that had been every bit of him vanished. "Better?"

 

"Better. Can't see." Aeron agreed but then memory returned. "Wait... Karen...in the Mag." He pleaded.

 

"Karen? She is...in a warframe? How ?" Alicia said after a moment. "Oh, yeah... What a stupid way to try suicide." Something whirred, probably a medical scanner. "She is alive. The imprint didn't kill her. I am... What the-?" Now her voice turned sharp ."What the hell did you do?" She demanded of Aeron.

 

"Karen..." Aeron begged. He couldn't get the words to come out quite right. It wasn't his voice, no... It was something in his head. Maybe. He struggled to sit up but managed only to flop on his side. "Karen..." He begged, his voice slurring.

 

"Aeron, don't move." Alicia said with a snap. Gentle but irresistible hands took hold and moved him so he was lying on his back again. "You have second and third degree burns on your hands and an arc of burn through your body. Don't move." She commanded. "If you move, you may start to bleed internally."

 

"Had to protect Karen..." Aeron said softly. "Not her fault..."

 

"No, not her fault." Jac's dazed voice sounded from nearby. "She was confused and terrified. Not her fault, Alicia."

 

"What did Aeron do?" Alicia demanded. "Karen is unconscious, but she should wake shortly. I don't detect any neural trauma at all. There is always neural trauma with an imprinting, even when one is prepared. There isn't any."

 

"Aeron asked me for power." Jac said softly, her voice taut with fear. "He had hold of one of Karen's neural ports. He grabbed my power jack barehanded."

 

"He what?" Alicia demanded, her voice shrill. "No wonder he is burned. Aeron, you idiot! That power arc should have killed you!"

 

"I don't know what happened." Jac said softly. "I was... I thought he was dead. I hit her...The feedback must have knocked both of us out." Her voice was apologetic. "I am sorry, Karen." She pleaded.

 

"Not your fault, Jac..." Aeron said as clearly as he could. "Come here." He tried to move a hand and pain shot through him again. He groaned.

 

"What part of 'don't move' do you not understand? Your hands are burned." Alicia said with a snarl. "Do it once more and I am paralyzing you before you hurt yourself further." Numbness swept through him again and he relaxed.

 

"I am here, Aeron." A gentle hand caressed Aeron's cheek. Even through a  warframe, Aeron could feel her warmth.  It warmed him in ways he had never understood. Until now.

 

"I have a gurney on the way." Alicia said after another moment. "Don't move, Aeron. I mean it." Something  touched his head. "You should be able to see now. " He cracked his eyes and Alicia was bending near. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

 

"Jac?" Aeron asked as  groan sounded nearby. Karen. "Be my hands?"

 

"Of course." Jac said softly. The touch caressed his cheek and then was gone. He closed his eyes, keeping them open was hard. "Easy Karen. It's okay." Jac's voice was soft and gentle. He could imagine her kneeling beside the still Mag warframe, soothing their frightened sister. "Easy..." She crooned.

 

"I am sorry." Karen cried, abject. "Aeron, Jac, I am sorry..."

 

"Don't cry, Karen." Aeron said with a sigh. "It's all right." He cracked his eyes again and they worked. Everything was blurry, but it focused.

 

Alicia was kneeling beside him, her face intent. Karen's warframe lay in a heap nearby. Jac was squatting beside the other warframe, her hands soothing the sobbing younger woman. But it was the huge dark shadow at the door that held Aeron's attention. Even through his warframe, it was easy to see that Sensei was not happy.

 

"Not her fault, Sensei." Aeron pleaded. "She thought she was going mad. She wasn't, was she?" He asked.

 

"No." Sensei said as he stepped in, his posture easing. "Do you take responsibility for her?"

 

"I do."Aeron said formally. "Well, Jac will help, I hope."

 

"Of course I will." Jac said irritably. "I need to stay close to you or who knows what you will do next?"

 

"Probably something stupidly brave." Aeron said with a soft chuckle that hurt. He winced and Alicia looked thunderous. "I am not moving!" He pleaded as she reached for her belt.

 

"And you don't take direction well." Alicia said with a snort. "Take it easy, Aeron. You are badly hurt. You don't feel it through the painkillers but you are. The sooner you are in medical and we can treat you, the better I will feel."

 

"I wear a Volt warframe, Alicia." Aeron said quietly. "I know what happens to unshielded skin when raw power hits it."

 

"Um..." She swallowed heavily and shook her head. "We will talk about that later. The good news is that your heart and lungs seem to have escaped relatively unscathed." Alicia said with a sigh. "Your voice is slurred and...well... Your hands? We shall see." Aeron carefully did not look at his hands.

 

"There is something we need to do first." Aeron said softly. Alicia looked at him and nodded. "Karen, you need to exit your warframe."

 

"My warframe?" Karen asked, stunned.

 

"You imprinted on it. No one else can wear it while you live, Karen." Aeron said quietly. "Yes. It is yours." He looked at her without moving his head, her hands were seeking a seam. There wasn't one.

 

"I... I don't know how..." Karen said softly. "I never expected... I mean... It was supposed to kill me..."

 

"It didn't." Aeron said kindly.  "We will teach you what you need to know. And with a warframe, you will learn very quickly indeed. But some things need to be done outside of the warframe first. Jac... If you would demonstrate?" Jac nodded and stepped to an empty rack. She backed into it. "Do what Jac does, but find an empty rack."

 

"Okay." Karen said, rising slowly and carefully. She walked to an empty rack and backed into it. She gave a squeak as the rack's mechanical arms reached out to take hold of her.

 

"Don't struggle." Jac cautioned her. Karen froze in place. "The arms are supports, no more. You can and will break them if you struggle." She snorted. "I bet Sensei wouldn't like that."

 

"Miguel would like it less, since he would have to fix them." Sensei said from his spot near the door.

 

"What do I do?" Karen nearly begged.

 

"You saw how it opened?" Aeron asked encouragingly. Karen nodded. "See it that way. In your mind. You know the hall I was describing? Can you find it again?"

 

"I can." Karen's voice went far away. "I am in the hall... It... The warframe is there..."

 

"You can change things in that hall, Karen." Aeron said calmly. "See the warframe open. From the back of the head all the way down your neck to your shoulders, down your arms, down your back, and then down each leg all the way to the feet."

 

"I..." Karen gave another squeak as the warframe suddenly halved. Jac had exited her own warframe and helped Karen out of hers. "That was...really weird." Karen said slowly, holding onto Jac for support. She wore a Tenno style bodysuit, but that was nothing new, most of the residents of the dojo did.

 

"You will get used to it." Aeron promised her but then his tone hardened. "Karen. You scared us all."

 

"I know." The newest Tenno in the room said in an abject voice.

 

"I have responsibility for you, Karen." Aeron said firmly. "To teach, to nurture and to discipline. Do you accept my responsibility?"

 

"What do I say?" Karen asked. "I don't know what to say..." She begged.

 

"You have two choices. 'Yes' or 'No', Karen." Aeron said quietly. "If you say 'Yes' then I am liable for any mistakes you make, so I will do my darndest to keep you from making any more like this."

 

"And if I say 'No'?" Karen asked softly.

 

"We won't kill you and you won't suffer." Sensei said softly.

 

"Sensei." Aeron said sharply. "With all due respect, if she is my responsibility, then she is my responsibility." Alicia glared at him and he sighed. Sensei looked at him and then nodded. Aeron spoke again, in earnest. "Karen, please. We do love you. Don't leave us or make us take your choices from you. We would have to confine you to an electronic limbo and I do not want to do that." He begged. "Please?" Karen stared at him and then bowed her head.

 

"I... I say 'Yes'." Karen said softly. "What do I do?" Aeron relaxed a little.

 

"Alicia, I need to touch her." He said quietly. Alicia made a put upon noise, but her eyes were glistening as she knelt down beside him, her hands gentle as she moved his hand. Fire burned through his veins as she did, but he kept the pain at bay. "Jac...?"

 

"Come, sister Karen." Jac said in a very formal voice. "Come meet your destiny." Aeron watched as Jac led the stumbling Karen to kneel beside him. Seiza posture did not come natural to her, but she was a fast learner. Jac only had to correct a few points. He carefully did not look at his hand as he reached out and took her hand in his. It hurt, but not that bad.

 

"Sister Karen." Aeron said formally. "You come to us from sorrow and pain. You come from grief and fear. You choose to join us?" He asked. Karen nodded and he smiled. "You need to speak aloud, Karen. Just say 'Yes'. No need for overly formal language." His dry tone brought a small smile to Karen's face.

 

"Yes." Karen said softly but clearly.

 

"The Way of the Tenno is filled with pain and fear, Sister Karen." Aeron said calmly. "All too often it is cut short. Our enemies are many and multiplying while our numbers dwindle with each passing solar revolution." He closed his eyes for a moment and when he spoke it was sad. "We cannot replace what you lost. We can only do our best to aid you, guide you, teach you. We will do everything we can, but in the end, the only one who can make you everything you should be... is you, Sister Karen." He shook her limp hand.

 

"I understand." Karen said quietly.

 

"Not all of us follow the Way that Karl Sensei embodies, Karen." Aeron said slowly. "You must find your own Way, although Karl Sensei's Way has much to recommend it.  I do not follow his Way, but there is overlap between his and mine. Loyalty, Karen." Karen stared at him, her eyes wide. "Your loyalty must be to the Tenno. No one else. You have seen firsthand what happens when one puts himself before his brethren."

 

"I have." Karen met his gaze calmly. "I... I do know words for this..." She said softly. Aeron nodded to her despite his pain and Alicia's hiss of disapproval. "My sword, my soul, my life, my death. I swear loyalty to the Tenno. From now until I pass beyond this form, I will be true to our kin. Or my own blade will end me for the dishonor."

 

"Well said, Sister Karen." Aeron said as a murmur of approval came from the others. "As I am incapacitated, Tenno Jac will instruct you. She will also administer your first punishment."

 

"For what I did." Karen said softly. "For taking the warframe." She steadied herself and nodded. "I am ready to accept punishment, Brother Aeron."

 

"We are hard, but not cruel." Aeron replied easily. "Rules have a purpose. You will show the others how you got in here so the security leak can be plugged. But for scaring us..." He reached out and tapped her nose. Pain flared in his blackened fingers, but he had to smile as Karen's eyes crossed. "That is for scaring us. Jac... Take our sister in hand and see to her punishment. Then, the minimum. Ten." Jac raised an eyebrow and Aeron grimaced. "Can you can do it, Jac?"

 

"I can." Jac said sadly. "I would rather not, but I can."

 

"Ten what?" Karen asked, her gaze fearful.

 

"Ten lashes, Karen." Aeron said quietly. "To remind you the cost of being selfish." Karen gulped and Aeron sighed. "Karen, we cannot be selfish. Even the most jaded mercenary Tenno cannot only think of themselves. We are all we have, Karen. Every action has a consequence, Karen. Each warframe has the power to fight armies and win, Karen. It is a horrible burden, but one we shoulder. For if we do not, who will?"

 

"I understand." Karen replied softly. She bowed her head  "I will not dishonor you again, Brother Aeron."

 

"I hope not." Aeron said with a sigh. "I face Jac when I get out of medical."

 

"What?"  Karen asked, confused by his tone. "What do you mean you face her?"

 

"Your administrative punishment will be decreed and administered by Tenno Jac, Sister Karen." Aeron said formally. "The lashes are for me."

 

"What?" Karen nearly jumped to her feet, only to freeze at a warning cough from Jac. "No... I..."

 

"You will attend the punishment, Karen." Aeron said calmly. "You will watch while Jac whips me. I am responsible for you. Everything you have done and will do until you are trained to mine and Sensei's satisfaction is my responsibility. You put on a warframe without authorization. Ten lashes is the minimum punishment for such a crime. You are young and inexperienced and were not planning to steal it, so...the minimum is enough."

 

"I can do it, Aeron." Sensei said into the silence that fell. "There is no need to make Jac do it."

 

"She is going to want to hit me anyway." Aeron said with a sigh. "I put her through hell. I am sorry, Jac."

 

"My jokes about whips to the contrary... I don't like them." Jac said quietly. "But I can do it."

 

"I know." Aeron said in a sad voice. "I know you can, Jac. The woman I love can do anything she puts her mind to." Jac froze and a pin dropping in the room would have sounded like a grenade going off. "And me without a camera." Aeron quipped. "Jac speechless? The mind boggles."

 

"You... I..." Jac shook her head. "What?"

 

"Karen was selfish and a bit stupid for a short while." Aeron sad with a sigh. "I have been selfish and stupid for a long, long time. It is time I put it right." He raised his hand slowly and Jac took it carefully. "I do love you, Jac of the Tenno. Please forgive my silliness and stupidity." He closed his eyes, regret and remorse climbing.

 

"Only if you forgive mine." Jac whispered as she knelt down beside him. "We have much to talk about. But first, you have healing and I will see what Sensei has in the way of punishments here." They both paused as Karen spoke again.

 

"It's not right..." Karen said softly. "I messed up. Punish me. Whip me." She begged.

 

"No, Karen." Aeron said in a soft, but firm voice. "I am responsible for you." He smiled at her. "Trust me, you won't enjoy whatever Jac and Sensei come up with for a punishment. But this is to show you how we handle things. If I take responsibility, I take it all. The good and the bad."

 

"But..." Karen was crying softly. "It's not right."

 

"Right and wrong don't come into it, Karen." Aeron said gently as the door beside Sensei opened and a gurney entered, followed by Amelia. She gasped on seeing Aeron but did not speak, instead joining Alicia at his side.

 

"We need to get him up." Alicia said quietly. "On three."

 

Arms eased under him from several bodies and he braced himself. Despite the painkillers, Aeron's training and his stubbornness,  the shock of movement sent a roar of pain through him. The last thing he heard before passing out was his own scream of pain.

[Kalenath]

When you anger a Tenno...

 

Aeron was dimly aware of things at times. At one point, he was floating in something that was warm. It was quiet and calm and he reveled in the feelings. But then, he was lying on something while surgically garbed forms moved around him. Then it all went away.

 

Aeron came back to himself lying on a bed. He felt wires and tubes, but none of that mattered. The cool gas that was playing into his nostrils didn't matter. All that mattered was the still form that sat nearby. Jac looked like hell. He tried to reach for her and paused when his hand only moved a little. He looked down. He had all his fingers, but they were covered in organic bandages. Nothing hurt, but the memory of pain echoed through him.

 

"Don't." Jac said sadly. "Don't move too fast." Aeron remained still while her hand came down and cupped his. "We nearly lost you." She said sadly.

 

"You didn't." Aeron expected a rasping voice, but it sounded normal to his ears. "How long?"

 

"You have been out for two days." Jac said as she gently caressed his hand. "The external burns were bad enough, but you hurt yourself internally too. They weren't...They were not sure you would wake up." She dashed her hand across her face and snarled.  "I will not cry... I will not..."

 

"Jac." Aeron said kindly. "It's okay. No one will say anything. You can be yourself here." He said quietly as she stared at him. "And I do love you." She lost her battle and tears started falling. "Come here, girl..." He said softly and she eased herself closer so he could lay his arm around her shoulder. "Easy, Jac... I am not dead and neither is Karen." He paused. "How is Karen?"

 

"She is...coping." Jac said with a nod. "We don't leave her alone for long. Even when we must, we have her under observation. She is handling it well. But she is also researching the Code, trying to find something that will let me punish her instead of you."

 

"I took responsibility." Aeron said with a shrug. Something hurt and he grunted. Jac was staring at him and he shook his head.

 

"Aeron?" Jac's voice was taut again. "How bad?"

 

"On a scale of one to ten? About a eight." Aeron admitted. "In the chest."

 

"Your heart and lungs took damage." Jac said softly. "Alicia and Amelia won't tell me exactly how bad it was, but I can read a med readout fairly well for not being a professional. You nearly died on the table while they were operating on you, Aeron. Fixing your internal injuries."

 

"I didn't." Aeron said frankly. "Jac?"

 

"Yes, Aeron?" Jac asked, bringing his hand slowly up to her face and cradling it against her cheek.

 

"When I get out of here, you and I will find a room." Aeron said with a smile as her expression changed to incredulous. "I need some...education. Do you think you can provide it?" He asked as her cheeks slowly turned red.

 

"Ah, Karen has been staying with me." Jac said slowly. "She needs the companionship, the stability. There is nothing between us, but..."

 

"Would you mind sharing me?" Aeron asked. He paused as Jac gasped. "Did I ask you that before?" He asked, curious. Jac shook her head and Aeron shook his. "I could swear I did, but whatever." He waited for Jac to answer.

 

"I want to be selfish." Jac admitted. "I want you all to myself. But Karen needs us. Now more than ever." Her face turned sad.

 

"Do I want to know?" Aeron asked slowly. Jac shook her head. "But I need to, don't I?" Jac nodded, silent. "Go ahead." The reclining Tenno said with a sigh.

 

"The Nova warframe that I imprinted on came from a sister who attacked Nicholas' renegades while they were out looking for 'volunteers'." Jac's voice was dead of emotion. Aeron shuddered. She only got that way when she was beyond angry. "She got into the dojo, avoided or disabled the security systems and fought her way almost all the way to Nicholas before falling."

 

"They killed her?" Aeron breathed, horrified.

 

"Worse." Jac said sadly. "They pulled her from her warframe and wiped her mind." Aeron went still at that. Such a horrible fate. Everything that sister had been, gone. Jac took a shuddering breath and Aeron gave her hands a squeeze. "Karen had been one of the humans they had been interviewing. She was caught in the crossfire and hurt very badly. They brought her back, but she was too far gone. So they put her mind in our sister's body. A human in a Tenno's body. Small wonder she was confused and thought she was going insane."

 

"My god..." Aeron said softly. "Is she.. I mean... Does she know?"

 

"As soon as we discovered what happened, Sensei and I told her." Jac said sadly. "She took it fairly well. She cries a lot, but no one blames her at all. She wants to swear to you."

 

"To me?" Aeron asked slowly. "Not to Sensei?" Then he paused and smiled. "Oh, sneaky girl..." Retainers had the right to take punishments for this sworn masters. Aeron could take any punishment for Sensei if the Elders decreed it and Aeron felt it was unjust. He looked at Jac whose face was carefully blank. "You didn't... um... direct her studies that way, did you?"

 

"No." Jac admitted. "Although the thought of her becoming your retainer and being able to take any punishment for her master does have a certain appeal, its dishonorable sophistry."

 

"Good." Aeron said with a smile. "I would hate to have Sensei order you to whip yourself." He said with a grin, but it was a sober one. As he had said, Tenno were very strict. Hard, but fair. He felt sleep coming and fought it back. "I am going under, Jac."

 

"You need rest to heal." Jac said softly. "I will be here."

 

"Don't drive yourself crazy, Jac." Aeron said as sternly as he could. "We will...talk some more when I wake up again. But don't just sit here looking at me, Jac." He smiled and squeezed her hand again. "We have a lot to talk about, but go do something. I bet you are bugging the docs." Jac looked sheepish and Aeron grinned. "You are, aren't you?"

 

"I...uh..." Jac shook her head. 'They wanted me to rest. I slept, but..."

 

"Come here." Aeron waited until Jac was close and then leaned up and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Consider that a down payment on the debt I owe you." She kissed his cheek in return.

 

"I will find something to do." Jac promised Aeron as she sat back.

 

"The world have changed, Jac." Aeron said on the edge of sleep. His eyes closed on their own. "Find out how much..."

 

"I will." Jac promised, her voice serene as a kiss landed on his forehead and then he was asleep.

 

***

 

"We have to tell him!" An urgent voice had Aeron waking up a little. Karen? She sounded as if she was in tears. "We have to. If he finds out that we didn't..."

 

"Karen, come on!" Alicia's voice was low, but sharp. "Do not disturb him. He isn't healed, not yet. Damn it! He is waking. Get out!" She commanded. A gulp sounded and a door hissed open and shut. "It's all right, Aeron. Go back to sleep." Alicia said gently. "It's okay."

 

"You have never lied to me before, Alicia." Aeron said, his eyes shooting open. "Don't start now. And if I suddenly fall asleep in the middle of this conversation, I will remember." He promised her. "What has happened?"

 

"I..." Alicia shook her head. "We don't know. Jac and Two went out on a mission, to get Jac acclimatized to the new situation. Two came back hurt." Aeron felt his guts clench.

 

"Jac?" Aeron heard someone else ask in a calm voice using his mouth. He was far too stunned to react.

 

"Two says she was taken prisoner, but what she says makes no sense." Alicia bit her lip. "The Stalker doesn't take prisoners." Aeron stared at Alicia and then he slowly sat up. "Aeron..." She warned him, but he just shook his head.

 

"Get me into my warframe and the rest of my injuries will heal." Aeron said calmly. Far, far more calmly than he felt. The anger that he expected didn't sound in his voice. Instead, the white surged back in his head. But this time, instead of fearing it, he embraced it.

 

"We...can't..." Alicia slowly raised her hands in a warding gesture as Aeron looked at her. "We can't Aeron! If you put on your warfame... You won't be able to resist, not as angry as you are at the moment. Aeron, please..." She begged. "The clan is gathering. We will get her back."

 

"Aeron." Sensei's voice came from the door. He turned to see the Tenno who led the clan standing in the door, clad in his warframe.  "Alicia... leave." Alicia bolted for the door Aeron just sat and waited even though every nerve quivered.  "She is right, Aeron." Sensei said quietly. "We found some records. Ancient records. We don't know how to fix it, yet. But the base cause is genetic."

 

"Stalker took Jac." Aeron said in a quiet, deadly tone. "He wants his scythe back, doesn't he?" Sensei nodded and Aeron took a deep breath. "Are we going to argue?"

 

"We are preparing another warframe for you." Sensei said quietly. "A Loki. Jac's Loki actually."

 

"If I show up in anything but a Volt, Sensei, he will kill Jac." Aeron said softly.

 

"And if you get into the Volt, you will go berserk and attack him. And he kills Jac." Sensei said calmly. "Aeron, what would Jac want you to do?"

 

"I am angry, not stupid, Sensei." Aeron replied without heat. "I know it is a trap. You said once that I would be  a powerful weapon. I currently have a target. Use me." Aeron said flatly. "Or I will."

 

"Aeron, we can't let you use the Volt." Sensei said sadly. "We will lose you and there will be no coming back."

 

"That is your final word?" Aeron asked softly.

 

"It is." Sensei replied.

 

"Let me talk to Karen, calm her down." Aeron said as he sat back down on the bed. Sensei looked at him, but Aeron did not speak again. Sensei stepped aside and Karen bolted into the room, her eyes streaming tears. "Don't cry, Karen. We will get her back." Aeron said gently as Karen ran to him, pleading with eyes and body language. She ran to him and he held her as she cried. The white retreated as soon as he touched her and he felt his own tears start. "I assume you have a plan." Aeron asked Sensei.

 

"I do." Sensei replied. "We fit you into a new warframe quickly and head out as a clan as soon as Amelia finishes patching Two up."

 

"All of us?" Aeron asked slowly. "He has got to expect that."

 

"Amelia, Cora, Mari and Miguel will be safe here." Sensei said with a nod. "The internal defenses will keep most enemies at bay. They also have a panic button to call us if anything else happens. Two contacted some of her friends on the way. We will hit the Stalker with a tide of bodies."

 

"He will expect that." Aeron said softly.

 

"So...what?" Sensei asked sourly. "Put you back in your Volt, let you lose your mind and charge him alone? Aeron, the Stalker has no honor."

 

"If he had no honor, Jac would already be dead." Aeron said, shaking his head. "She had no reason to fear him. She hadn't earned his wrath. I have." He paused as Karen squeezed him and something hard pressed into him. "Karen...?" He asked slowly. "Why is there a grenade in your pocket?"

 

"There is only one person I can legally take hostage." Karen said, her hand that was not clenching him had it's hand in her pocket. "Myself." Aeron stared at her. "Help Jac!" She pleaded.

 

"Karen!" Aeron said with feeling. "You just got me punished again!" He said as he trapped her hand with one of his. She gave a small cry of dismay, but he wasn't listening. He deftly filched the grenade from her, disarmed it and tossed it to Sensei. The Rhino caught it and the small explosive device vanished. Aeron rapped the now still girl gently on the top of the head. "You crazy girl." Aeron said as he hugged Karen tight. She collapsed into his arms, bawling and he soothed her. "It's okay, Karen..." He soothed her. "It's okay." After a moment he looked up at Sensei. "You didn't mention Karen..."

 

"She is coming with us." Sensei said dryly. "Not that I trust her without supervision anyway."

 

"That was a dud that you conveniently left out, wasn't it?" Aeron asked without heat. Karen stiffened but Sensei didn't reply. "Fine. Your plan?"

 

"You mind being the bait for a trap?" Sensei asked.

 

"Sensei, if we show up in masse,..." Aeron said with a shiver. "He will vanish. Probably kill Jac and disappear. He teleports, you know."

 

"He is not the only one who can do that." Sensei said with a nod. "We have a few tricks of our own. Speaking of..." A male Tenno edged into the room around Sensei and nodded to Aeron. "Ric, what have you got?"

 

"What a bloody mess." The other male Tenno said with a sigh. Indeed, as Sensei had said before, his accent was..odd, but understandable. "I rigged the holo projector on the Loki to emulate a Volt in all respects. It should stand up to even close range scrutiny. Even from that sodding scum."

 

"Didn't the Corpus do something to Jac's Loki?" Aeron asked with a frown.

 

"They did." Ric agreed. "Bunch of evil slithy toves. But they are not as smart as they think they are. The programming was beamed into her skull. There were a few tracking devices attached too, but they are gone."

 

"Good."Sensei said with a nod. "Aeron, can you stand?" Aeron sat up again, Karen helping him to rise.

 

"I can." Aeron said with a nod. "It hurts, but I can."

 

"Okay." Sensei said with a nod. "Are you in control?" He asked calmly.

 

"Karen, let go  of me and step back for a moment." Aeron asked. Karen looked curious, but did as ordered. As soon as she did, the white surged up inside his skull. "This is strange..." Aeron said. "Karen. Take my hand for a moment." He held out a hand for her to take. She did and the white retreated. "It's like Karen is dampening it. Or..." His eyes widened. "My sister's need is dampening it."

 

"What?" Karen asked, hope warring with fear in her eyes. The fear wasn't for herself, Aeron realized.  It was for him.

 

"You need me whole, Karen." Aeron said, squeezing her hand. "Jac needs me whole. So..." He shook his head. "I know what to do. Sensei... In the presence of two witnesses, I must ask this formally."

 

"What Aeron?" Sensei asked, curious.

 

"May I have the clan's permission to court Tenno Jac as my mate?" Aeron asked in the sudden silence that fell. The white...vanished. No, it didn't disappear, but it did retreat almost to the very fringes of his mind. He could think clearly again.

 

"That is a big step, Aeron." Sensei said, his tone worried. "And we may not be able to get her back."

 

"I know." Aeron as Karen gave a cry of alarm. "Karen, The Stalker fights as a Tenno. We don't know what he is or where he came from. If the Lotus knows, she isn't telling."

 

"If she knows." Ric said sourly.

 

"Where does that leave me?" Karen asked, her voice faint.

 

"No." Aeron said dryly. "You are not my retainer." Karen slumped a bit and he pulled her close, not missing Sensei's sudden tension. "Relax, Sensei. I am in control." Aeron promised. "For now." He hugged Karen. "I am asking the clan's permission to court Jac, no more. But Karen is still my responsibility."

 

"You stubborn Tenno." Karen complained, but then hugged him back. "I am sorry, Tenno Aeron. I thought it would help..." She said in a small voice.

 

"Sensei would have knocked you unconscious before we got three steps, Karen." Aeron said with a nod. "That is why he is carrying a Prova instead of anything heavier." Karen turned her head. Sensei nodded, turning slightly to show the shock prod that hung from his back.

 

"I am an idiot." Karen said, burying her face in Aeron's shoulder.

 

"Actually...Not a bad idea, just... not complete." Aeron said, musing. "Sensei, can I ask for some specialized gear?"

 

"Anything we have available, within reason." Sensei said after a moment. "What do you have in mind?"

 

"Stalker wants his scythe back." Aeron said with a feral smile. "What say we give it to him?"

 

Sensei looked at Aeron as both Karen and Ric stared at the sitting Tenno. Then, in unison, both grinned as well. A feral smile, just like Aeron's.

 

"Tell me more..." Sensei said as Alicia entered the room. "While Alicia unhooks you."

 

"Well... It's like this." Aeron lay back and shooed Karen away as Alicia, her face set, came close. The white did not surge in him and now he knew why. His mate was in danger. She needed him. His mind and body, operating on an ancient, primeval level, recognized that. No anger. Not yet. He focused on Sensei as Alicia started working. "We can't trust the Stalker and he is not going to trust us, so I have to appear alone. I have to go in alone. I will take his scythe and another melee weapon, a glaive if we have one. But if we.."

 

He started laying out his plan, ignoring the medic working on him as he worked to save his mate. And maybe himself in the process.

[KF5AQX]

At last! Loki shall prove his worth!

 

Loki Master Race. ._.

[kyuosumaru]

[BinaryJavelin]

 

[UnworthySeraph]

Haha^

I agree.

[Kalenath]

Shocks to the system

 

Aeron walked into the building that was at the coordinates that the Stalker had provided -by attaching them to a note that had been wrapped around an arrow the scum had shot Two with- with only faint misgivings. It was an outlying lab building on a Corpus base. Getting in wasn't that hard. He knew what he had to do. He had a purpose, a clear direction. Jac was in trouble. The deep, primal need to protect his mate overrode anything else, even the white. He knew it was only a matter of time before the white surfaced again, he couldn't possibly be that lucky. But Amelia had promised that she would find something that would help. Right now, he had a task. Find Jac.

 

As he walked past the entrance he saw bodies. Corpus bodies. Something -or someone- had come through here already and slaughtered the guards. But... His eyes narrowed as he examined one of the bodies. The Corpus crewman hadn't been killed by an arrow, a throwing blade or a wielded blade. Aeron looked around and his sense of disquiet grew as he realized all of the goons at the entrance had been killed in explosions. No -make that one explosion- a chain reaction explosion. Like a Nova might produce.

 

He wasn't too worried about the explosions. Warframes were built to survive explosions after all. Even the heavily modified Loki he wore had weathered damage like a Nova could produce. What worried him was why Jac might have blown the Corpus goons into pieces. If she was a prisoner...

 

Aeron passed a door and froze as the door icon changed from red to green. He paused, but no threat showed. He shrugged internally, he had to be under observation. He walked to the door and froze solid as he saw what was inside the room.

 

It was a standard Corpus operating theatre. Aeron had seen far, far too many of those in his time fighting since he and his small clan had woken from cryo. Thinking about his lost clan mates brought a momentary ache to his heart, but the white didn't come and he managed to pass beyond the pain. The med banks, gleaming surgical robots, none of that mattered. What mattered was the warframe lying on the table. He went even more stiff as Jac spoke.

 

"Hi, Aeron." Jac's voice was...wrong. He couldn't define exactly what was wrong with it. It was slightly slurred. But Tenno did not speak in the field. Unless secrecy did not matter anymore. "You gonna stand in the door all day?" She asked with a giggle.

 

That was so very wrong. Jac was funny, yes. She rarely giggled. Chuckled, laughed, rolled on the floor a few times. Giggled? Not hardly.

 

"Any alive?" Aeron asked calmly, his Lato pistol tracking from side to side.

 

"Nah." Jac said offhanded. "I made a mess. Used all my power, but made a big boom..." She giggled again.

 

"Can you move?" Aeron asked. The lack of any obvious threats was worrisome. Where was the Stalker?

 

"Could, but I don't wanna." Jac slurred. "I am comfy. Come join me?" She asked. Aeron didn't move. "Aeron..." She sounded like she was pouting.

 

"What happened, Jac?" Aeron asked softly. "Two said you were ambushed."

 

"Guy in red armor." Jac said with a shrug. "Threw a ball at me and I went down. Never saw one of those before." She giggled again. "Made me see pretty colors."

 

"Nervo." Aeron said to himself. "And now?" He asked.

 

"Now?" Jac said with a shrug. "I was scared, so scared. But he was nice. He wanted to talk to you. I was scared and he gave me something that calmed me down. He is nice..." She said, but her helmeted head was lolling.

 

"Drugged." Aeron said with hint of anger. "Figures. What did he want?"

 

"He just wants to talk, Aeron." Jac said sitting up. "You gonna stand there all day?"

 

"Jac, you need to get out of here." Aeron said quietly, his head turning, scanning searching eyes roving all around. "Go outside and head for the large hill in the distance."

 

"He knows you are not alone." Jac said with another giggle. "He doesn't care. He called me 'Sister'."

 

"Did he now?" Aeron asked. "That is not...entirely accurate, Jac." Aeron said slowly. If she was drugged, she was  a distraction or a threat. He couldn't detect the Stalker with his warframe sensors. But the assassin was close.

 

"He wears a warframe." Jac protested. "That makes him Tenno, like Karen. He wants to talk to her too."

 

"I bet." Aeron said as he finally took a step into the room. He was unsurprised to her the door hiss shut behind him and lock. He didn't move. Instead he spoke flatly. "I am here, scum. Show yourself."

 

"Aeron..." Jac protested. "No need to be rude."

 

"There is every need to be rude." Aeron said with a snap. "Show yourself, you lying piece of crap."

 

"Why?" The voice of the Stalker, as always was dark and dangerous. "I just want to talk."

 

"I have nothing to say to a traitor." Aeron said, not moving despite Jac's cry of alarm.

 

"I am no traitor." The Stalker said quietly. "You are."

 

"Maybe I am misled. Maybe we all are." Aeron admitted slowly. "But my loyalty is to my kin. First, last and only. You kill my kin. We have nothing to discuss."

 

"You are wrong." The Stalker replied from wherever he was hiding. "You have seen the truth. You have touched the truth. You can be what the Lotus denies you. You can be everything you were meant to be. Cast off your shackles, Aeron. Join me. Join us."

 

"What have you done to Jac?" Aeron asked as he slowly quartered the room with visual scanning.

 

"Our sister was afraid." The Stalker replied. "I dampened her fear. She is...nice."

 

"Jac." Aeron finally let emotion entered his voice. Worry. "Did he touch you?"

 

"I am in my warframe, silly." Jac said with a laugh as she sat, twiddling her thumbs. "He used a hypo."

 

"Jac." Aeron pressed. "Did he touch you?"

 

"Uh..." Jac paused. "I dunno." She said with a shrug. "All the pretty colors are..." She shook herself and her voice strengthened. "All my warframe diagnostics are green. You need to calm down, Aeron." She said, her tone dazed. "It's okay."

 

"It's a calming agent, Aeron, no more." The Stalker said into the silence that fell. "I did not harm her. She is innocent."

 

"Right." Aeron couldn't have kept the scorn from his voice if he had tried. "You know, all you had to do if you wanted this back..." He holstered his pistol and drew the scythe. He waved it in the air and Jac winced back from the humming red blades. "...was ask nicely. I don't like it. It smells of dead kin." He threw it across the room and it buried itself in a bank of computers.

 

"You took me by surprise on that Corpus ship." The Stalker said calmly. "I didn't understand who and what you were. Now I do. You can be so much more than a slave, Aeron."

 

"A kinslayer." Aeron agreed. "A traitor. A boogeyman." He shook his head. "No, thank you. I have a job. Come on, Jac. We are leaving."

 

"Aeron." Jac said, shaking her head. "You are being rude. This isn't like you." She made a noise of dismay. "I don't like this you."

 

"Jac." Aeron said softly. "You have been drugged. Come on, Jac."

 

He was so focused on the shadows that he nearly didn't see the ball that materialized in Jac's hand and came flying at him. But he did see it. The other melee weapon that he carried met the nervo in midair, slicing the stunning ball neatly in two. The glaive hit the wall and ricocheted away. Jac ducked as the whirling blades passed close to her head.

 

"Now what did you go and do that for?" Jac demanded, hurt in her tone. "That was my shiney ball..." She gasped as Aeron sheathed the glaive and drew his primary weapon. "Aeron... no..." She said, sitting very still. No one sane would blame her.

 

"This is a fully modded Ogris rocket launcher." Aeron said into the silence that fell. "It has a full clip. How much of the room must I destroy before you show yourself, assassin? Do you feel lucky?"

 

"You would kill Jac?" The Stalker asked, still that maddening calm. Instead of answering, Aeron spun and fired. Jac screamed. The rocket hit the wall, obliterating the shadows that had been in that section of the room and now the Stalker sounded worried. "What are you doing?"

 

"Evening the odds. Jac?" Aeron said conversationally. "Duck." Jac slammed herself to the floor as Aeron spun in a circle, firing all four of the remaining rockets in the clip. Each rocket tore huge holes in the walls, destroying everything close to the points of impact. Fire and shrapnel flew everywhere. Jac was holding her arms around her head on the floor, her screams loud in the sudden silence  as he reloaded. "Do I have your attention?" Aeron asked in a voice that mocked the Stalker's calm.

 

"That is right, give in to your anger, Aeron." The Stalker said with hint of emotion. Glee. "Be what you were meant to be."

 

"You are an idiot." Aeron said, still calm. "I will not be your pawn. You want to make me berserk. Make me kill Jac and turn on my brethren. Go away, assassin. You have failed."

 

"It's not like that, Aeron!" Jac begged, but did not move from the floor. "Aeron, please!" She cried as he leveled the rocket launcher at another shadow. As he did, she jerked and another ball shot from her hand and he couldn't dodge or deflect this one. He screamed as every nerve in his body was suddenly jolted by energy. The rocket launcher fell from his hands to clatter on the floor. "You said we wouldn't hurt him!" Jac screamed as Aeron fell.

 

"I said we would try not to hurt him. Bring him, Jac." The Stalker's voice...came from Jac. "Get him on the table." The red and black armored form appeared from the shadow Aeron had been aiming at and strode to where the red scythe hung motionless. "Ah yes, my Hate..." He drew it from the computer, caressing the edge. "Get him on the table, Jac. We don't have a lot of time before the deluded fools who call him 'Brother' come charging to his rescue." He slung the scythe.

 

"Yes...brother..." Jac said as she bent down to scoop Aeron up. She laid him on the table that she had been on and restraints snapped into place as she laid out each limb. "Why won't you listen, Aeron?" She begged. "He feels...wrong. I... I don't..." She started to cry. "I don't..."

 

"Easy Jac." The Stalker said as he stepped close to her. A hypo flashed and he had a wicked smile in his voice as she slumped to the floor. "Better?"

 

"Pretty colors." Jac slurred.

 

"Good girl." The Stalker purred as he turned to look at Aeron. "I wasn't sure you would do it. But now, we have a chance to set things right. I know you can hear me, but I don't have time to monologue." He hit controls and surgical machines started powering up. "Crude, but effective, these Corpus toys. Don't struggle. It's pointless. Those restraints are designed to hold warframes while the Tenno inside is removed." He said as Aeron fought the paralysis.

 

"All..." Aeron gasped as the paralysis faded. "All this time, you wanted me as a weapon. To kill Tenno."

 

"A powerful weapon." The Stalker agreed. "A useful weapon, once I got past my anger at your treatment of me I saw the possibilities. You are so like me. Anger manifest."

 

"I am nothing like you." Aeron bit out as machinery started to whir and ominous looking needles and saws started closing in on him. "I am not alone. You are."

 

"Not for long." The Stalker promised. "And then, once you are done with the behavioral reconditioning, I think Jac will go in next. She is a good kid, but can use a bit of...adjustment."

 

"There is one minor problem with that." Aeron said quietly as the machinery closed in.

 

"Oh?" Stalker asked. "What?"

 

"This." Aeron looked at the Stalker and keyed for a Switch Teleport. He found himself standing staring at the red armored form that suddenly started thrashing on the table. "Surprise, sucker."

 

"This is not possible!" The Stalker screamed, his control undone. He fought the restraints, but, as he had said, they were far beyond any warframe's ability to break. Even the Stalkers.

 

"You expected a Volt." Aeron said as he dropped the holo. The Stalker stared up at the visage that Aeron knew he wore now. A Loki. "I wonder... I can't contact anyone outside the room. Does whatever is blocking me block teleports too?"

 

"You will not escape!" The Stalker screamed as the various mechanical arms darted in. Then his screams came in waves. Aeron picked up the rocket launcher and a blast blew the locked door open. Jac was sobbing on the floor as Aeron slung his rocket launcher and bent down to pick her up.

 

"Oh, I think I will." Aeron said as he carried the sobbing form of his mate from the room of horrors, ignoring the screams coming behind him. "After all, escape is what Loki is all about, isn't it?" He didn't get a response except more screams but he didn't expect one either. He strode towards the facility entrance.

 

"Aeron..." Jac sobbed. "I am sorry..."

 

"Not your fault, Jac." Aeron said gently as he walked. But then, an alarm started blaring. "Wonderful..." He groused.

 

MOAs started pouring from the many fabrication modules scattered through the facility and Aeron could hear shouts as flesh and blood security forces started closing in on the building. As he reached the entrance, he saw a number of Corpus troops outside. Lots of them.

 

"Aeron..." Jac begged, her tone terrified.

 

"It's okay, Jac." Aeron reassured her. "You are not alone. We are not alone." He started running and all the Corpus tracked him. But then, shadowy forms appeared all around. At least a  dozen Tenno danced into the Corpus ranks, sowing confusion. A few of the Corpus opened fire on him anyway, but then he threw a Decoy and they focused on that.

 

"Fall back!" Sensei's command came as Aeron cleared the security fence around the base in a running jump, barely breaking stride. "We have what we came for! Aeron, how is she?"

 

"Drugged." Aeron said sharply. "I don't know with what. Possible threat."

 

"Meet me." Alicia commanded and a waypoint appeared on his HUD as a pair of shadows angled to meet him. "And slow the frack down!"

 

"I could learn to like this warframe." Aeron said with a grin as he skidded to a stop in front of Alicia and Will. Will was scanning the area for hostiles and Aeron did the same as he laid Jac's still form down. "I don't know what he gave her, but it was at least two doses."

 

"Oh boy..." Alicia said slowly as she bent over Jac, her scanners whirring. "She is a mess. This may take a while."

 

"I will keep them busy." Aeron said with a snarl. "Keep her safe." He pleaded.

 

"You will get the chance to ask her." Alicia said with a nod. "Go." She said as she hit Jac with a hypo of her own. Jac grunted

 

"Ask me what?" Jac asked, her voice clearer. "What? What happened?" She asked as she tried to sit up.  "There was...a guy in red..."

 

"Stay down, Jac." Alicia commanded. "You are hurt."

 

"What are you doing in a Loki, Aeron?" Jac asked as she subsided a bit. "I..."

 

"Might as well ask now." Aeron said as he fired a rocket at target that he could barely see. The fiery projectile lanced straight and true, slamming into the group of Corpus that had joined the one who had seen the small immobile group of Tenno. "Will you marry me, Jac of the Tenno?"

 

"Now is not the time!" Alicia snapped. "Go!" She thundered. Aeron nodded to her and vanished from sight. But another rocket slammed out of nowhere and tore apart a group of MOAs.

 

"Did he... just ask...?" Jac was shaking, and tears sounded in her voice as Alicia hit her with another hypo. "I..."

 

"Talk after the battle is done." Will said quietly, covering the two females. "But yes. He did."

 

"Oh." Jac said distinctly and then passed out.

Edited July 23, 2013 by Kalenath

[SOUP.CAN]

XD

[UnworthySeraph]

Oh dear...

[KF5AQX]

Yes! Will has reappeared as the badass we know and love!

[UnworthySeraph]

Yes! Will has reappeared as the badass we know and love!

Well he didn't do much, but ya.

[frogs2345]

Cant wait for the next post.

[KF5AQX]

Well he didn't do much, but ya.

 

It's the fact that he appeared that makes him so badass.

 

Though, I might be biased, as I am also named Will...

[UnworthySeraph]

It's the fact that he appeared that makes him so badass.

 

Though, I might be biased, as I am also named Will...

Gotcha. I'm sure he will do something useful though.

[Kalenath]

Healing a Heart

 

"Aeron?" Karen's soft voice startled Aeron out of his doze and she jerked back as he looked up at her. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I brought food." She was carrying a tray that held a small meal and a drink. "Any change?" She asked, not moving from her stance of almost attention.

 

Aeron stared guiltily at the datapad he had been perusing. Armaments, ammunition and resources readouts for the clan. Sensei had decided that Aeron was a shoe-in for a weapon's officer. Aeron had to admit, he was a good fit. If there was one thing he did know, it was weapons. The docs had told him to quote' get out' and he had hastily complied. He had found his way to a small briefing room and asked Sensei for a secure video link so he could at least see Jac, even if he couldn't touch her. He needed the reassurance.

 

"No." Aeron said softly. "Put it down." He said with a nod to a table nearby. His eyes traced back to a monitor screen. On it, Jac floated in a tank filled with an odd looking yellow substance. "She is in withdrawal from the drug, which they finally identified. An ancient herbal extract of all things. Rare and almost unobtainable to most people. The Stalker is not most people." He shook his head. "The docs are weaning her off it, as gently as they can."

 

"She wouldn't want you moping any more than you wanted her to." Karen said with a nod as she set the tray down. "Can I...ask some questions?"

 

"Go ahead." Aeron said quietly. Not that he could disturb Jac. The medics had barred him from the ward. Just as well, he wasn't...totally stable at the moment. Just closer than he had been for quite a while. "Sensei says you did well. High praise from him." Karen remained standing and Aeron sighed. "This isn't  a test, Karen. Sit down already." He waved at one of the other chairs in the small room.

 

"If you wish." Karen said soberly. She sat still for several moments, gathering her thoughts. Aeron let her. "Are battles always like that?" Karen asked finally. "All dust and fear. Movement and shooting at things you can barely see? Getting hurt and keeping on going?"

 

"The way I used to fight..." Aeron said after a moment. "They were rarely like that. I struck form hiding. I hit my target and vanished." He shook his head. "But usually with my small clan? Yes."

 

"I don't know if I can do this." Karen admitted, her voice small. "I... I killed today, Aeron. I shot a Crewman who was looking the other way."

 

"There is no fair in war, Karen." Aeron said with a small, sad smile. "Never has been, never will be. There are those who survive and those who do not. It is a hard lesson." Karen sighed and nodded. Aeron reached out and took her hand. "Karen... If you find, after time to think, that you cannot continue, we will put your warframe in storage and find you a non-combat role."

 

"But..." Karen shook her head. "The clan needs every warframe."

 

"Karen." Aeron's voice was hard now. "It can and will drive you crazy if you let it. This was your first time killing another sentient." Karen nodded, not looking at him, then she stiffened as he reached out and took her head in his hands and made her look at him. "Karen... listen to your heart. What we do is not easy. It should not be easy. It is an awful job, but someone has to do it. Better us than many. If you can't do it, we can handle it. Is the white still there?" He tapped her nose, making her smile, and then took her hands again.

 

"it is." Karen said after a moment's thought. "Not strong, but it is there."

 

"We will both have to be careful." Aeron said as he gave Karen's hands another squeeze and let her go. "It is like having bad temper, only more so." Karen made a face but nodded silently. "Have you eaten?" He asked.

 

"Yes." Karen said with a sigh. "I have sword practice and needed the energy."

 

"Will is a very good sword instructor." Aeron said with a nod as he started eating slowly and carefully. "He is a far better swordsman than I am. I am a distance fighter usually."

 

"Every time I go into the training room, I wind up eating the deck plates." Karen said a bit sourly. "I have a long way to go."

 

"Every journey begins with a single step, Karen." The male Tenno said between bites. "Everyone starts the exact same place." He chuckled as he finished his food and sipped his drink. "You should have seen me the first time I picked up a sword. I was convinced I was hopeless." Karen looked dubious, but did not speak. "You will learn. Even if you cannot be a Warrior, Karen... The sword is a good way to follow. The ability to focus on a task to the exclusion of all else can be a very useful ability in many circumstances."

 

"As long as we don't tunnel our vision." Karen said with a nod. Then she glanced at the chrono and blanched. "I am going to be late. Give Jac a hug for me?" She asked a she rose and bowed formally.

 

"Go." Aeron growled, but was smiling as she literally ran out the door. "Ah, Karen..." He said fondly to the empty air.

 

Aeron was smiling as he slid the tray with its organic detritus into one of the recyclers that dotted every room in the dojo. They eliminated the need for staff to work on cleaning dishes. Of course, the recyclers got messy and had to be cleaned regularly. Karen was on that particular duty for the foreseeable future. Speaking of...

 

Aeron split the monitor screen to look at the training room. He saw Karen run in and bow, out of breath. He didn't need the sound on to know what Will's utterly polite yet scathing comments would be. Timing was everything in sword work. Aeron was smiling as Karen laid her practice sword down and dropped to the floor to start cranking out pushups. He sighed as he cut that feed and looked back to where Jac floated.

 

"She is right." Aeron said to himself. "Ah, Jac..." He said sadly, touching the screen. It clicked off and he rose. "Better get to work myself." Aeron walked from the room and nodded to the two Tenno who stood by the door to the firing range. "Two, Ric? What would you like?"

 

"I need to run the shoot house." Ric said with a nod. "Pistol." Aeron nodded. Ric was a very good tech, and he was a passable swordsman. His shooting was okay, but it could be so much better.

 

"Right." Aeron said as he unlocked the door to the firing range. "I will set it up. Just remember to safety your weapon before exiting this time. No more accidental discharges, please." Ric's face was a mask as he nodded. "Two?" He asked as he entered, automatically checking to see that the range was clear.

 

"Moving pop-ups." Two said as she followed Ric and Aeron into the range. "I finally got the bow fabricated and I want to see if it works." She nodded to a table nearby and an oddly shaped thing on it. The gold contraption was unusual to say the least.

 

"Let me see..." Aeron stepped to the table and scrutinized the Paris Prime. Then he nodded. "Looks okay. You will need to dial it down so you can draw it outside of a warframe. And use a release. No sliced off fingers on my range." He cautioned Two who gulped and nodded. Paris bowstrings were very thin and had a distressing habit of slicing unarmored flesh. "Ears." He said as he pulled a set of hearing protectors from a locker.

 

Two and Ric had already pulled out their own hearing protection. He would have their rear ends in a sling if they didn't. Ric had pulled a pistol from a locker and was slowly disassembling it, obviously marking off each piece on a mental checklist. Two was checking over the bow just as carefully even though there were fewer moving parts, they all had to function properly. Aeron nodded and entered the control booth. He had Ric's run set up quickly, programming a few surprises for the tech, but nothing too extreme. No tear gas, flash bangs or enemies who shot back. This time. For Two, he had the pop-ups gradually increase in movement speed and decrease in time upright. She would expect no less. He highly doubted she would miss much. She wasn't the greatest rifle or pistol shooter he had seen, but with a bow, she was scary.

 

"Ready? Shoot house is up, Two is on lane four." Aeron asked, then paused as an icon appeared on his screen. "Wait one." He snapped. Ric and Two both froze and retreated from the ammunition lockers they had been reaching for. "Someone else wants to join the session. Hold position." Two and Ric both nodded.

 

Aeron went completely still as the door opened and Sensei walked in followed by... Alicia wore an irate look, but Jac's face was serene as she strode into the range. He felt his heart lurch, but he had to stay professional. All wore bodysuits instead of warframes.

 

"Sensei, Alicia, Jac." Aeron said quietly. "Come to shoot?"

 

"I need some practice." Sensei said agreeably. "Jac wants to shoot some too and Alicia won't leave her side."

 

"Doc." Aeron said, not looking at Jac. "Is she up for this?" Jac grimaced, but remained silent.

 

"Physically, Jac is fine." Alicia said with a glower. "She should still be resting."

 

"I need the practice." Jac said quietly. "My shooting was adequate when I went out with Two. No more." Two looked askance at her, but did not speak. "I need the practice." She repeated softly.

 

"Okay." Aeron said with a nod. He couldn't fault her for that. "Preferences? Sensei?" He asked the clan leader first.

 

"A mix of targets please." Sensei said with a nod. "Moving, pop up and stationary. Rifle ranges. Not your rifle ranges, mind you." He said with a grin that Aeron shared. He wouldn't have done that to Sensei. Not really. Probably anyway. Aeron programmed the targets quickly.

 

"Jac?" Aeron asked calmly but his heart was doing somersaults as she looked at him.

 

"I have sighted my target." Jac said with a small smile.

 

"Jac." Aeron said, exasperated. "Now is not really a good time..."

 

"And the middle of a battle, with me drugged out of my mind, was a good time to propose marriage?" Jac asked softly, her eyes never leaving him. "But..." She smiled as the door opened behind her. Aeron stiffened. Only one other being in the dojo could enter the firing range without permission.

 

"Range master." Miguel said with a nod as he came close.

 

"I thought you were working on that stuck freight elevator." Aeron said with a small frown. The whole reason that Aeron had take the job was to free up Miguel to have time to do other tasks.

 

"Fried CPU chip in the main board." Miguel said with another nod. "Fast fix." Now he smiled. "Best not push it, boy. That girl of your has a heck of a temper."

 

"What did you do, Jac?" Aeron asked sourly as he exited the control booth.

 

"I didn't mean to break the tank." Jac said sheepishly. "But they wouldn't let me out."

 

"Jac..." Aeron said in a soft, disbelieving voice.

 

"She didn't break it." Alicia was scowling, but  a smile was creeping up it. "She cracked it and she will help me fix it. Won't you, Jac?" Jac nodded, her eyes never leaving Aeron.

 

"Wait a minute..." Aeron said slowly. "The image I was seeing was you asleep." He said to Jac who shrugged. He looked at Alicia who shrugged as well.

 

"It kept you from running to medical every time she twitched." Alicia said with no trace of apology. "Tell me I lie."

 

"You don't." Aeron said with a reluctant smile. "So... what...?" He asked Jac.

 

"Yes." Jac said softly. Aeron went stiff and Jac smiled, her face softening. "You asked me a question and the answer is 'yes'."

 

"I..." Aeron stammered and then shook himself. "Miguel?" He asked the other range master who chortled and nodded.

 

"Take what time you need." Miguel said as he headed for the booth. "But get off my range if you are not going to be shooting!" He growled good naturedly. As he passed Aeron, he gave the Tenno a leer. Aeron bit back a laugh, he liked Miguel.

 

Aeron inclined his head to the door and Alicia nodded, but waited for Jac to move first. Jac sighed and stepped off, the others following. As soon as they were outside the door, Jac crumpled a little and Alicia was right there, scanner whirring.

 

"I am all right, Alicia." Jac protested. "Sheesh..."

 

"You went through an ordeal." Alicia said kindly. "No one blames you for being a little weak. The drug is out of your system, but you may have flashbacks despite the counter agents we gave you."

 

"And if I do..." Jac said a bit surly.  "...the pharmacopeia you attached to me..." She touched  a small device on her arm. "...medicates me and I call you immediately. Can I have at least the illusion of privacy please?" She snapped.

 

Alicia looked at Aeron silently, but her words were clear even unspoken. 'Be gentle' Then she was gone.

 

"Jac." Aeron said quietly. "This will not be easy."

 

"Tenno don't do easy." Jac replied. "I... I don't know what to say... What to do..."

 

"You never did either, did you?" Aeron asked after a moment.

 

"No." Jac said with a sigh. "Training from birth, then the warframe, then fighting... No." She said sadly. "I never did. I wanted you, but..." Aeron nodded. He had never been interested.

 

"Then we both have some education." Aeron said with a smile as he took her hands in his. "One thing. Karen."

 

"How has she been handling my... um..." Jac swallowed. "My incapacitation?"

 

"She killed today for the first time." Aeron said sadly.  Jac froze and he nodded. "I think she can handle it. We will have to be careful, but she is a considerate girl."

 

"One with a lot of emotional scars." Jac agreed sadly. "What if we adopt her?"

 

"Adopt her?" Aeron asked slowly, then he paused and grinned. "You evil woman."

 

"What?" Jac asked with an innocent expression. "So what if when she is adopted, all her past transgressions are locked away in sealed files only to be opened if she goofs again? And then in that hypothetical situation, she will be responsible for her own actions." She kept a straight face through it all.

 

"As a daughter or as a sister-wife?" Aeron asked after a moment.

 

"Ah..." Jac paused. "Daughter I think. Even if she wasn't far, far younger than either of us, she has been abused. She needs care, comfort and stability. We can provide that."

 

"You think she will agree?" Aeron asked slowly.

 

"She worships the ground we walk on, Aeron. We could tell her to walk through an Ember's World on Fire naked and she would. She would try anyway." Jac said soberly. "We need to show her the true path. Discipline."

 

"Honor." Aeron said calmly.

 

"Perseverance." Jac replied.

 

"Service." They chorused.

 

"Okay." Aeron said with a nod. "We will talk to her when she is done with Will. Well, after she soaks for a bit." Jac looked at him and he shrugged. "She was late to his session." Jac gulped and nodded.

 

"If he is anything like my old sword master..." Jac said, her face sick. "She won't die. She will wish for it."

 

"Her problem for now." Aeron said calmly. "Jac, are you sure?"

 

"I have never been surer of anything in my life." Jac said as she stepped close, her arms going around him. "I said 'Yes' and I meant 'Yes'. I am yours and you are mine. Now and always."

 

"Now and always." Aeron said, putting his arms around his love. "But... room..."

 

"Don't tell me you don't have this planned." Jac said and then gave a squeak as he lifted her in his arms. "Aeron?"

 

"I did." Aeron stepped to a door nearby that opened as he approached. Inside was small, comfortable room. A bed, a table, a small food preparation area and a door that probably led to a bathroom. "I wasn't sure when you would wake. So I had the systems set this room up for us. If you said yes."

 

"Oh Aeron." Jac said, hugging her mate close. "I do love you."

 

"Good." Aeron said with a smile. "Because I love you too. Care to see how much?"

 

The door hissed shut behind them, but they were too busy to notice.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Kalenath

[KF5AQX]

This just went places.

 

Like the bed.

[UnworthySeraph]

Why is their room connected to the firing range?

[frogs2345]

He had the room made there just in case she said yes, because he would always be working there.

[UnworthySeraph]

He had the room made there just in case she said yes, because he would always be working there.

I knew he had it made just in case, but I found it weird how it was connected to the firing range. Now that you mention it it does make more sense.

 

Another thing I just thought of. Looks like To Be The Darkness was the only story not to end in a loving couple. Then again, the next one picked up with the same story and Karl and Serene are basically a couple now.

 

But now I'm ranting, pay no mind to me.

[KF5AQX]

I have made/blatantly stole the theme song of Aeron.

 

*ahem*

 

"You're in the sniper's sight, his first kill tonight!

Time to die!
You're in the bullet's way, the Loki's prey!

Say goodbye!"

[Kalenath]

A New Beginning

 

"Eyes on." Karen's soft voice was calm and sure as she looked through the scope of her rifle. "Target identified."

 

"I count five Troopers, twelve Lancers of various kinds, two Napalms and four Scorpions accompanying the target." Jac's voice was also calm and sure. "Target is unaware." She knelt with her spotting scope up and tracking. "Range twelve hundred sixty. Speed of target is approximately four kilometers per hour. Direction of march is south, south west. Visibility is good. Wind from  the north at six."

 

"Karen?" Aeron asked, his eyes roving around the area and his Braton rifle tracking with them. He was the guard for this jaunt. "Your call."

 

"I can do it." Karen said, her eyes never leaving the target. "Engaging."

 

Her heavily modified Snipetron Vandal twitched just a little. The long rifle was had been a gift from Miguel. The other range master of the clan had been very tightlipped about where and how he had gotten it. But Aeron wasn't jealous. Much anyway. A regular Snipetron worked just fine for Aeron. Even if the newer weapon was very cool. Karen held her breath, let half of it out as she had been taught and gently squeezed the trigger with her middle finger. Most snipers used the middle finger because it gave finer control with training than the index finger normally did. Not to mention the symbolism of 'giving the enemy the finger'. Her rifle fired and she made a soft noise as she watched through her scope. The other two remained motionless.

 

"Hit." Karen said quietly. "Hurt him, but didn't kill him." Aeron nodded. Captain Vor was one tough Grineer even without his purloined Orokin technology. "Retargeting."

 

"Jac?" Aeron asked. "Response?"

 

"Troops are deploying." Jac said quietly. "I don't think they know where the shot came from. Vor might but I can't tell if he is telling them. Wait..." She paused and nodded. "He just shielded and a new trio of Grineer just teleported in. I guess the Lotus was right when she said he could teleport. And not just himself. If he sees us, we better displace fast or we might get overrun even at this distance. Teleports were usually line of sight."

 

"Right." Aeron said with a nod. "Karen, when he drops his shield, try for a headshot. If you hit, all well and good. If not, we move to our secondary snipe point. At least there is no sign of artillery."

 

"That would suck." Jac agreed. "Shield is..." Karen's rifle fired before Jac could finish the sentence. "Good shot, Karen." Jac said with a nod as the distant enemy fell over.

 

"Good rifle." Karen said a bit laconically, emulating Aeron. "He won't stay dead, will he?" Karen asked as she kept her eyes on the distant enemies.

 

"No. It will take him a while to regenerate." Aeron said with a shrug. "But no. He won't. Orokin tech was capable of wonder and horrors." He paused and then he snarled. "Someone saw us. Two reports talk of Grineer artillery reorienting this way! Displace! Now!"

 

The others did not argue, simply got up and ran. Aeron kept pace with the Mag and Nova warframes easily. The Loki was fast as all get out.

 

"Is she going to be okay?" Karen asked, keeping the pace easily despite her large burden. Not that she had much else. A Lato pistol and a simple Skana were her other weapons.

 

"Two is a born sneak." Jac said with a laugh. "As long as she doesn't move, they won't know she was there at all." She increased speed as a series of explosions sounded behind them, engulfing the position they had just left. Of course, the trio of warframes were a hundred meters away and expanding the distance as the explosions continued. "Dang. Say what you will about the Grineer, they are not slouches at counter battery fire."

 

The trio was nearly to their second snipe position when it happened. One moment, the way on front of them was clear, the next a spindly looking Grineer appeared out of a golden burst of energy. Vor stood there, his face a bloody mess.

 

"Tenno." He snapped as he brought his pistol up, but Karen was faster. A Pull and he was off balance but then the area came alive with brown and green armored forms.

 

Aeron and Jac split up, Karen dropping to a kneeling position, her rifle steady despite the short range. Aeron darted in and out of invisibility as he fired in short bursts, his heavily modified Braton tearing through armor and flesh with equal abandon. Jac distained stealth and her Hek roared, each roar a testament to an obliterated enemy. Then the area was clear except for Vor who stood, his pistol coming around. Aeron dove to the side as the oddly shaped weapon fired. From the heat that Aeron could feel, the blast had missed him by millimeters. Then Karen's rifle roared again and Vor, an incredulous look on his face, reached up to touch the large golden key that adorned his chest and the huge hole that had been torn in it. He fell slowly, all the way to the ground where he lay, unmoving.

 

Aeron made a gesture and the others responded the same way. No injuries. Jac moved up to the still form and kicked it to no response. Then she pulled her Lex and fired a heavy slug point blank into the Grineer's skull. Aeron looked at her and she shrugged. He shook his head but didn't protest. With Orokin tech one couldn't be too careful. Karen was scanning the oddly shaped pistol that was still clenched in the Grineer's hand. Aeron might have looted it, but it was obviously damaged, the barrel warped. Looking at it, it was easy to tell it was genetically locked so that only Vor could use it and if Aeron was any judge, probably had several tracking devices attached to it in case of theft.

 

Luckily the rest of the trip back to the rendezvous was quiet and quick. Two was waiting there, her bow held in a negligent seeming grip, but Aeron could read her like a book after working with her and training with her. The Banshee was tense but relaxed as she looked the others over and saw no injuries.

 

"I thought he was down." Two apologized. "Then he vanished. I heard shots, you all okay?"

 

"Karen shot his key." Aeron said with a snort. "It will reform, but close range from a Snipetron? Let alone her Vandal? It will take a while."

 

"He will be prepared for that next time." Two said with a shake of her head. "But nicely done, Karen." Karen mumbled something, her postured embarrassed. "Karen?" She asked as they waited for the ship to fly close to pick them up.

 

"I was aiming for his head." Karen said sheepishly.

 

"Karen." Jac exclaimed, her tone chiding. "Close range, center mass. How many times must we say it?"

 

"Jac." Aeron said with a snort. "We are alive. She will practice harder. Right, Karen?" Karen nodded quickly. "Good girl. All in all, a good run."

 

"Lots to learn." Karen said, hanging her head as the ship appeared in the distance. "Wait..." She said with a shake of her head. "Is that our ship?"

 

It wasn't moving to pick them up. Indeed, it moved to... Aeron went still as four forms dropped from it. Four Tenno landed and drew their weapons. An Ember, an Ash, a Volt and a Saryn all pointed weapons at Aeron and Karen. Two and Jac were ignored. No, they were not, but the four Tenno were acting as if Aeron and Karen were threats, which was insane.

 

"Jasmina?" Two demanded. "What the hell?"

 

"Tenno Aeron, you are under arrest." The Ember said calmly. "Will you resist?" Aeron stared at her, then at the others, his rifle still down.

 

"What charge?" Aeron said calmly.

 

"Mental imbalance." The Ember replied evenly. "Come quietly and we will help you." Jac and Karen both twitched, but Aeron shook his head.

 

"We are not rogue, Jac, Karen." He said calmly. "Tenno do not kill Tenno. Weapons down. Now." His soft words were a command and Jac and Karen both lowered their rifles that had come up. "I assume the Elders ordered this." He said to Jasmina who hadn't moved, her Burston rifle still tracking his center mass.

 

"We are ordered to take you and Karen into custody pending a full psychological evaluation of both." Jasmina said with a sigh. "Come quietly."

 

"Over my dead body." Jac growled, her ire up. One of the newcomer Tenno turned slightly, his Sobek shotgun now covering Jac and Karen equally.

 

"No." Aeron snapped. "Tenno do not kill Tenno." He declared. "Jac. Stand down. It will be all right. Can Two collect our weapons?" He asked Jasmina. "We really need to be gone soon. We stirred up the Grineer for Sensei to strike." He paused. "That is why you hit us now. He is distracted."

 

"Stand down." Jasmina said quietly. "This is your final warning."

 

"Look, we have." Aeron replied calmly. "But I am not dropping my weapon in the muck. Two can collect them."

 

"So be it." Jasmina said sadly.

 

Aeron had a moment to see silver balls in her hands, then they were in flight. Karen had no chance to dodge the one aimed at her. She gave a scream and went down in a heap. Aeron however, had been ready for something like that and the Ash that had been at the back of the group found himself standing where Aeron had been. He gave a shrill scream as the ball that had been aimed at Aeron hit him and he collapsed. Jasmina froze, Aeron's rifle was pointed at the back of her head from a range of less than a meter.

 

"That... was rude." Aeron's short clipped comments showed just how angry he was. But the white didn't come. Indeed, it hadn't since he and Jac had...um...gotten better acquainted. "Karen is my responsibility. Mine to punish. Mine to command. You had no right to hurt her."

 

"They are stunners." Jasmina said, not moving. "She is not hurt, just asleep."

 

"Jac." Aeron snapped. "Check." Jac darted to Karen's side and after a moment, nodded. "Tenno do not kill Tenno, but if you had hurt her, I would hurt you. I am not berserk. I would be well within my rights to defend myself using non-lethal force from an unprovoked attack."

 

"I am ordered to bring you in." Jasmina said slowly. "Using any force necessary."

 

"Is that so?" A new voice interrupted. Aeron did not shift his aim as Sensei walked into the tableau. "Whose orders? Aeron is my clan's responsibility."

 

Will strode from the shadows to stand beside Sensei, his hands not on his weapons. But only a fool would call his body language relaxed. Alicia appeared as well, her Bronco in hand as she bent to check Karen. Two moved to stand beside Sensei and Ric appeared from the shadows as well, his hands full of purloined Grineer data. The whole point of Aeron's ambush of Vor had been to distract the Grineer base from the Tenno team stealing in to snitch some vital information. It had worked.

 

"Elder Grina ordered us to bring him and the girl in for examination." Jasmina said slowly. "Karl, please..."

 

"My brother's name is Aeron, Jasmina of the Tenno." Sensei said formally. "The sister you attacked unprovoked is named Karen." He shook his head. "I might have known. Grina... The one who wants to dissect Aeron." Aeron went stiff at that. Jac as well froze in place. Sensei shook his head. "Alicia? How is she?"

 

"Unconscious but stable." The Trinity flicked the ball off of Karen's still form and shook her head. "She will be out for a while."

 

"This problem is above our pay grades." Sensei said calmly. "Aeron." He commanded. "Stand down. Jasmina is not going to start a fight. Again." Aeron lowered his rifle. But then something hit him and oddly soothing music slammed him unconscious.

 

***

 

"...of all the stupid, idiotic...just plain dumb responses I might have heard of..." Aeron had to smile. Amelia had a large range of invective at her disposal and she was using quite a bit of it. "He is coming around. Aeron?" She asked, worried.

 

"What hit me?" Aeron asked, cracking his eyes. He relaxed to find himself in the medical ward of the dojo.

 

"Another one of those stunners." Alicia said as she came into his view. She still wore her warframe he noticed. Indeed, so did Aeron.

 

"Tell me that me going down didn't start a firefight." Aeron said with a sigh. "Please?"

 

"It didn't. Barely. Jac was...a bit upset but Sensei calmed her down." Alicia said in a tone of trying to be diplomatic. "Can't really say I blame her. Even if he doesn't always reciprocate my feelings, if someone hit Will with a sucker punch like that, I would be pretty upset too." She laid a hand on his arm. "Karen is fine."

 

"This is going to be a mess, isn't it?" Aeron asked sourly.

 

"No." Alicia said with a shake of her head. "It won't. We are not giving you or Karen up to some bigoted excuse for a hidebound fool. Grina couldn't find her rear end with both hands and a map in medical matters, so she can go hang. We..." Alicia waved at Amelia who nodded. "...are your physicians. We have authority. Over you anyway." She said darkly.

 

"Oh no..." Aeron said slowly. "Karen."

 

"We won't give her up. She is still unconscious." Alicia said, concerned. "She isn't fully trained and had never had to deal with neural shocks before." Aeron went stiff, but Alicia reassured him. "She will be fine. There is no damage. Those stunners are a  good idea actually. None lethal and work through warframes."

 

"Better hope the Corpus never figure them out." Aeron said darkly.

 

"They are actually a Corpus design that we stole." Alicia said with a matching nod. "Good news for us is that they are very short range and can be easily blocked if we see them coming. When we can't or don't... Well..." She nodded to Aeron.

 

"So..why am I still in a warframe?" Aeron asked slowly. "Why are you?"

 

"We have guests." Alicia said with a snarl. "Jasmina wouldn't take no for an answer and followed us back. She 'requested' hospitality and we obliged. But we don't have to be any more polite than she was." Aeron winced. Alicia was kind and gentle most of the time, but hurt her kin? Ouchtime. She paused. "Speak of the fracking she devil..."

 

"..and I am under orders, Sister Two." Jasmina was pleading. "I don't want to do anything. but I have my orders."

 

"You are no sister of mine if you can attack a girl who has worn a warframe less than a week." Two said flatly as she followed Jasmina into the room. Both females still wore their warframes, but Jasmina's had no weapons attached to the hard points. Two had a Strun shotgun, a Lex pistol and a Skana sword on her warframe. "She had no chance against you."

 

"We didn't hurt her." Jasmina protested. "We were not going to hurt either of them."

 

"No." Two said with a snarl. "You just deliver them all nice and neat to the Elder with no questions asked. Then you leave with your hands still clean. You know what she would have done, Jasmina. You know what she is still demanding. She is not going to dissect my brother or my sister." She snapped.

 

"Two." Aeron said mildly. "Calm down. We will not instigate hostilities this day."

 

"I... All right." Two said a bit sheepishly. " Hi, Aeron. How you feeling?"

 

"Alive." Aeron said with a nod. "What do you want?" His words to Jasmina were not a demand. Not...quite.

 

"My orders are to take you back to Elder Grina for psychological review." Jasmina began only to break off as Amelia of all people snarled at her.

 

"That stupid woman wouldn't know a psychological review if it bit her on the butt." Amelia said with a snap. "She wants to dissect his brain! She said as much."

 

"Indeed she did." A new voice sounded and Aeron went still as another form entered the room. This one was a Tenno Elder in formal robes. His wrinkled face and dark eyes spoke of lots of laughter. But he was not laughing now. Indeed, his face was set.

 

"Elder Mavri..." Amelia stammered. "I..." He waved to her to stand easy.

 

"No one is taking anyone anywhere." The Elder said calmly. "Tenno Jasmina, your orders are countermanded. You were correct. They were not from the Elders as a whole. Thank you for your diligence in reporting the questionable nature." Jasmina jerked and then slumped.

 

"Did she have any idea that she nearly started a clan feud?" Jasmina asked, her tone dejected. "That she caused a rift between friends, between brothers and sisters that might have led to spilt blood?"

 

"No." The Tenno Elder said sadly. "What is worse? She doesn't care. All that matters to her is her position and the perks that come with it. We are working on finding a solution." He said with a grimace.

 

"That is way above our pay grades." Aeron said with a wince. "So...?" He inquired.

 

"I personally am here for three reasons, Tenno Aeron." Elder Mavri said with a sigh. "The first and foremost is to offer apology to you and your clan." Aeron inclined his head accepting the apology and Mavri relaxed a little. "Contrary to my less than distinguished colleague's view, I know you are not berserk." Jasmina looked at him and he chuckled. "Tenno Jasmina, even discounting the doctor's reports -which is just plain stupid by the way- he stood there while you threatened him, while you attacked and knocked unconscious a girl under his protection. He and Tenno Jac have formally requested to adopt Karen and the Elders as a whole -with one exception- have approved his request." He smiled as Aeron gasped. "It is odd, but no odder than some other things I have seen recently."

 

"But... He..." Jasmina was sputtering, trying to figure this out.

 

"Tenno Jasmina." Mavri said sternly. "In all ways except the formality, she was already his daughter. If you had attacked my daughter the way you attacked his..." He shook his head. "Well, let's just say I wouldn't have kept my temper nearly so well. He has a temper. So what?" The Elder demanded. "So do I."

 

"So do I." Jasmina said in a soft voice.

 

"You wear an Ember warframe. Why am I not surprised?" Elder Mavri asked with a laugh. "That is the second thing, Tenno Aeron. Your request was approved."

 

"Thank you, Elder." Aeron said with heartfelt gratitude. "And the third?" Aeron asked after a moment.

 

"Well..." Elder Mavri had a grin on his face now. "I got a call from a girl named Jac." Aeron froze and the Elder chuckled. "She said she wanted to be made an honest woman."

 

"She..wants...a formal..." Aeron swallowed heavily. "I...uh..."

 

"Give her what she wants, Aeron." Mavri said with a nod. "It will hurt less." Aeron sighed and nodded. Mavri spoke again. "Tenno Jasmina, Tenno Alicia, Tenno Two, I ask you all to stand witness. Is Karen conscious?"

 

"She is." Alicia said with a snarl."Karen! Eavesdropping on an Elder? You bad, bad girl."

 

"I was scared." Karen said sitting up in her warframe.

 

"You have no reason to fear now, young lady." Elder Mavri said gently. "I read the reports. Your ordeals might have driven a lesser being mad. But your family is here for you." He nodded to the others and Aeron nodded back. He smiled. "The transgression is forgiven. This time." He warned her. He took a deep breath and spoke softly. "Karl Sensei? We are ready."

 

The door opened again and Sensei entered, his hand on Jac's arm. Both still wore their warframes, but that was normal. For a Tenno wedding anyway. Aeron rose and moved to stand by the Elder, his faceplate unsealing.

 

"Dearly beloved,..." Elder Mavri began. 'We have come together at this time to witness a union between too disparate souls. Through pain and fear. Through war and death. Through grief and rage they have found each other. Let us now formalize the relationship with the vows that predate the Orokin era on Earth..."

 

Aeron did not move as the Elder spoke the ancient words that signified a marriage bond. He didn't dare breathe as the white in his head slowly retreated even further. It was still there. Still waiting, lurking. But now, he had something to combat the rage. It's antithesis. Love.

Edited July 25, 2013 by Kalenath

[UnworthySeraph]

I almost cried...

[frogs2345]

Awwww! They got a formal wedding! I love how your stories are written Kalenath, and please continue to write.