[Archive] Of Ash And Fire - Original Thread

[Jeahanne]

Great story Nyght ^-^

[MandoKarla]

Nyght, great job. :) I've been writing like crazy, so here's my 2 1/2 pages in Google Docs.

 

  Morlan landed his snub in the spacious hangar, a room rented for the night in the Tenno station. There he would prep for his soon coming battle. He had used Gor Dei’s private channel to send the information gleaned to Vor, with the signal originating from Dei’s ship. Afterwards, he linked the channel to his snub, so he could continually contact Vor, to frustrate him, to wear him down, and finally kill the monster who slaughtered his clan, the Hunter’s Conclave.

 

 A Mag came by, her emblem indicating she was a guard of the dojo. Morlan saw her, the pangs from his heart refusing to cease. To outsiders, he was just another cold Ash, carrying an unusual loadout. Inside, he gritted his teeth, biting back the tears all the way to his room. He shut the door, and broke again. He took his helmet off and repeatedly battered the unyielding metal walls, “Why? Why? WHY??”.  He slumped to his knees, tears flowing. His face was clenched in a grimace and felt the grief, the anguish, the madness of what felt like an eternity. Finally, he slept, welcomed into the world of spectres and those long gone.

 

  Morlan awoke to a familiar sound, his snub docking to a Grineer vessel. He got out of the pilots seat and entered the prep space, where he found his companions laughing and checking their weapons and modifications, helmets off.

 

  Zimmy looked up, juggling his Kunai and grinning like a maniac. “Look who finally showed up to the party”. Jeny shot a stare at Zimmy and began kicking at Zimmy’s shins, causing the blonde Volt to began shrieking as Kunai started falling all over the place. Morlan sighed, casting a wry grin at the carefree duo. He looked over at Adrazi, who was meticulously assembling her silenced Vectis. The sniper rifle was a recent addition to the arsenal available to the Hunter’s Conclave, and was in high demand. There weren’t many available, but Adrazi was the one of two Banshee’s in the top 5 Hunters in the clan. She deserved it.

 

  Adrazi finally returned his gaze, “Something wrong?” “You seem worried, Adrazi”. Are you stupid?, her gaze said, as he followed her amethyst eyes to the more deranged half of the squad. “Alright, you two, finish prepping, we’re at the asteroid.” Jenny collected Zimmy’s kunai with her power, and loaded her Strun Wraith. “So Morlan, are you going to go invisible and leave us again?” Jenny said with a twinkle in her eye. “No, I’m not. And you know perfectly well, you were the distraction while I did the work. Besides, can you even lift that thing?” Jeny’s mother-of-pearl eyes tracked with his and found the item in question, her Galatine. She looked back at Morlan, and he could see the change in her eyes, the murderous intent as she said “I’ve got a plan.”.

 

  The exited the snub, alert, wondering how many infested lay in wait. “Shinzee, Lotus said there were infested here, are you detecting anything?” The Dethcube’s response came. I am detecting quite a few infested coming your way, masters. Sure enough, an amalgamation of the normal Infested came charging at them. Dispatching them quickly, they moved on, coming to an extraordinarily large room, and before them, they saw the Ancient which had been gathering Infested to an alarming degree. It saw them, as well.

 

  “This one seems pretty powerful, it definitely will take some work. Adrazi, focus it down. Jeny, get to a high place and suppress this hordes movement. Zimmy, paralyze and kill.” Making sure his Fang blades were securely holstered, he pulled out his Hate and stood in front of and to the left of Adrazi, who chambered a round. Zimmy took the right, raising his Braton and opened fire. Jeny wallran up to a derelict crane and began Pulling Infested. Zimmy responded to the action unloading electricity into the stunned hordes, killing some, further paralyzing others. Adrazi fired, but Morlan, slashing away, did not hear the sound of high caliber rounds hitting flesh. “Adrazi!!” Zimmy yelled. Morlan turned around to see the Ancient knocking the shocked Banshee into the wall. Braton rounds exploded the outer layers of flesh, seemingly doing nothing. It turned around, replying with an inhuman roar, and charged. You can’t outrun a Volt. Speed activated, Zimmy circled it many times, slashing with his Dual Ethers.

 

  It roared again before convulsing and spraying poison every where around it. Zimmy was caught full-on by the gas, and fell, spasming and coughing. The Ancient raised its appendage for the killing blow, and Morlan could feel the malevolence. He threw Shuriken at it, but could do no more, as he was barely able to kill the swarming Infested around him. Adrazi’s Lex spat high powered pain into the Ancient further distracting it from the paralyzed Zimmy. Adrazi’s though caught up with her, providing action. “JENY!! Get Zimmy!! This Ancient is turning into a Golem!!” Jeny’s eyes widened and then complied, using her power to lift Zimmy towards her safe place.

 

  A sniper rifle fired. Morlan’s eyes widened as he realized the sound was not that of a Vectis. A scream, from the lips of Jeny, a scream of pain and fear shock. A hole, in Zimmy’s chest, the size of small fist. Adrazi was still pouring Lex shots into the Ancient. She had disabled its leg, and it had begun to crawl towards her. “Morlan!! Get those Ballistas!” He looked around, and saw the glint of a barrel before it disappeared. “Too late, you’re dead.” He teleported to the location high up, swung his Hate, and ripped open the face of the sniper who had killed his friend.

 

  He then saw the small army of Grineer in front of him. “Fall back…. FALL BACK!! We need to get out of here now!!” Morlan backflipped away from the Grineer. slamming on the ground far below, disrupting and killing more Infested. The Ancient lay dead, succumbed to the Lex fire from Adrazi. She had risen, and was by the exit, ready to go. Morlan teleported to the collapsed Jeny, still in shock from Zimmy’s death. He grabbed her and teleported to Adrazi. He handed Jeny to Adrazi. “Get her to the sub! I’ll be right behind you.” “Make sure that you are, Morlan.” Adrazi took the unconscious Mag and ran to the snub. “Zimmy…. “  Morlan’s bloodlust grew, extending the blades in his arms and legs as he lept and teleported from unit to unit, rending, ripping, stabbing, slashing every enemy he saw. Grineer attacked Infested, Infested attacked Grineer, and Morlan killed. “Morlan! We need to go! Our clan is under attack!!” “How is that even possible?? They’ve never found a dojo before.”  “On my way, Adrazi.” Morlan retracted his blades, teleported to Zimmy’s body, and ran with it. As soon as he was safely inside, Adrazi took off, leaving the asteroid behind.

 

  

Three hours later, snub arrived to see Grineer ships encircling the dojo. Jeny’s eyes were red from the tears as she looked at Morlan. “Morlan, I’m sorry your birthday had to be this way.”. He choked out a laugh, “I don’t know when my birthday is, you just chose today randomly.”  

“I’ve been collecting items for you that I think will suit you well.”

“Jeny, I appreciate it, but I know you don’t think I was meant to be an Ash, now’s not the time.” “And don’t lie to me, I can tell when you do.”

 

Jeny looked at him, pain and sorrow turning her pearly eyes from their normal splendor to a dull, dead, grey. “Zimmy and I were engaged. You introduced us, that’s what the gifts were for. Things we had saved up for to thank you. And I don’t expect I’ll survive this.”

“Jeny, don’t say that. Our clan is strong. We can survive this.” Adrazi came into the prep space. “I’ve plotted a course that will let us dock behind the Grineer. We can get the jump on them.” Jeny looked at Morlan, “They’re in that locker.” He sighed, “Alright. Let’s win this, so we can honor Zimmy and those who have fallen today.” Their assent settled into the uncomfortable silence as they set foot into their battle scarred dojo, the sound of combat ringing in the air.

 

[Wrath_Of_Chrysalis]

Lullay moon princess, goodnight s...ZIMMY IS A MAN!?

[Spikey844]

Sophia drifted. She was unconscious after being hit around the head by gun butts several times after the Grinner had realised she was struggling to get free, and getting close to it. Images flittered beyond her sight in the mindscape that she knew was her own. She had never seen it before, but it had a homely feel about it that made her relax somewhat.  In it, she was lying in a boat, floating on what looked like water, but was too blue to be water. She stared up at the sky, again, too blue to be real. It was peaceful. Her hand drifted in the water, making slight ripples as it moved in spirals.

 

“Nice place you have here.”

 

Sophia stared. She sat up, and spun round, to see a figure standing on a small rock that had appeared form the mindscape sea. It looked like a Nyx warframe, but… it had gold in places, making it subtly different from any other Nyx. Sophia was jolted as she realised it had to be a Nyx Prime. There was no other reasonable explanation. The voice coming from the other Tenno was slightly accented. It sounded like… Old Earth Russian.

 

“Who are you?” Sophia demanded, “How did you get in my head?” Sophia had found only one other Nyx who could break the defences on her mind.

 

The Nyx seemed to smile slightly. “In reverse order, I am far more powerful than you, despite your somewhat ludicrous level of mental defence it took only a few seconds, and my name is Nyx.”

 

“Nyx?” Sophia asked, her mind whirring. It took her several seconds to figure who was standing in front of her, then she nearly fell out the boat in shock.

 

“Nyx,” Sophia said slowly, “as in the first Nyx? The Nyx who founded the Tenno alongside Hayden Tenno?”

 

Nyx nodded. “The same, but that is not important right now. We need to talk.”

 

The mind scape shifted, and they were standing next to a tall tree, near a lake. Nyx sat under the tree, and motion for Sophia to do the same. When Sophia was seated, Nyx began talking, quite fast.

 

“We don’t have much time here. The others are on their way to rescue you, including your brother and Kris. They have run into heavy resistance, but they will get someone else, an assassin named Galen, to find and protect you while they fight their way to you. I will release you when they destroy the dampener, but not until you and another person sort out something very important. And we do have enough time for this before you ask.”

 

As if acting on a cue, a second figure appeared. Sophia took in a sharp breath. She recognized the colour of the armour. Scarlet, with white shoulders and white on the cross on the front of the Nyx helmet. Sophia nearly recoiled as the helmet retracted, and she looked into her own eyes.

 

Venefica.

 

Sophia’s armour was a dark red, with black shoulders, but it shifted to this when Venefica took control. Sophia looked at Nyx. The ancient Tenno just sat under the tree, not moving.

 

“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Venefica said, “you punish the person you should have killed, kiss him, then get drunk in a bar, trash it, he comes in and you end up sleeping with him, and get yourself pregnant along the way!” Venefica’s voice had been building while she spoke, until she was nearly screaming. “You should have killed him, dam it! You freed him from Zerk the first time and what did he do for you?! Nothing! Not one dam thing!” Venefica paused to draw breath, to continue her tirade, but Sophia cut in.

 

“And what have you done for me?” She demanded. “You ripped off Jacob’s privates and tied him to a tree, you enjoy making others feel pain, anytime previously that I’ve had a boyfriend you end up hurting them, sometimes nearly killing them and you nearly caused my own brother to try and kill me!” Sophia was the one screaming now. “You have made my life a misery! Why can’t you just leave and never come back! You even offered to sleep with my brother!” At that and the mention of ripping off manhood’s Nyx, who had been watching the whole thing, visibly flinched.

 

The shouting match went on for quite some time. Both Sophia and Venefica hurled in insults and accusations at each other. Nyx was visibly shocked and appalled in equal measure by some of the things that had happened. Finally, both sides stopped shouting and just stared daggers and each other.

 

Sophia sighed suddenly. She chuckled sadly, and looked Venefica straight in the eyes, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

 

“You know something though? Life would be far more boring without you.”

 

“Well duh,” Venefica said, “you wouldn’t get J-3 running without me.” She looked away, suddenly seeming

embarrassed. “And to tell the truth, I wouldn’t have a social life without you. I would just end up an emotionless killing machine.” Venefica looked back at Sophia, and grinned. “I would never have got laid in my life if it wasn’t for you.”

 

“You beginning to understand something now,” Nyx said. She rose and walked towards the two younger Tenno. “You need each other, whether you know it or not. Two sides of the same coin. Not complete without the other.” Nyx paused for a moment, as she thought, then nodded to herself, “You should now be able to merge.”

 

“Merge?” The question came from both Sophia and Venefica.

 

“Merge your personalities, you psychic forms, your identities. You won’t be two minds in one body, but one mind. You will gain and loose from each other.” She looked at Sophia. “You will gain Venefica’s anger and all that goes with it, including her power.” She looked at Venefica. “You will gain Sophia’s compassion and care for others, but you will never find joy in hurting others in the same way you did before. But before you merge…” Nyx took a step forward and cracked Sophia’s and Venefica’s heads together. As the other Tenno staggered slightly in pain, she looked at Venefica.

 

“That was for offering to sleep with Kylar, though I can see why you would want to.” That prompted a gasp of outrage from Sophia, causing Nyx to look at her. “And that was for getting as drunk as you did. And yes, your brother looks that good.” Nyx said, plainly smiling behind her helmet. Then she vanished with a flash of light. Sophia and Venefica look at each other, and nodded. They stood in front of each other, and placed the hands on the sides of each other’s heads. Energy rushed between them. They closed their eyes as things began to change.

 

 

Sophia woke, feeling very different. A large explosion rang through the base. She felt her power come back in a rush, and then even more power came. The dampener had been destroyed. She also knew without a doubt things had change forever. She looked down. Her armour was a lighter red, not scarlet, as Venefica’s had been, but not her normal dark red. Her shoulders were now a light grey, instead of black or white. She knew that what had happened had been no dream. She flexed her power, and the restraints holding her shattered. She stood from the table, oblivious to the weapons that now pointed at her instead of at the door. She looked around the room, gazing with contempt at the Grinner around her, reading their minds, ignoring them as they crouched behind upturned tables and work benches, barking orders at her.

 

The next moment, the entire room was dead as a wave of power shot from the Nyx. Sophia walked to the door, and with not much effort, blasted it open, crushing an unfortunate Lancer against a wall. No weapon seemed to harm her, the bullets just seemed to deflect past her. Her psychic bolts never missed. They dispatched foe after foe, often killing more than one before they dissipated. No Grinner could stop her as she revelled in her new found power. What really unnerved the Grinner was the fact that the entire time, Sophia was singing. She was like a siren, bewitching and deadly. Her voice carried over the clamour of battle as she moved to where her weapons were held.

 

Stepping into the storage room over the body of its guards, she reclaimed her weapons, but kept them sheathed and holstered. She did not need them at the moment. She ran around a corner, to face a wall of gun barrels. Sophia smiled under her helmet.

 

“I am Sophia”. The voice rang in the heads of the Grinner.

 

“I am Venefica,” came the voice again. An order was barked, and the entire gun line opened fire. Sophia vanished in a hail of lead and explosions. It went on for about ten seconds before the Grinner stopped firing. When the smoke cleared, Sophia was still there, surrounded in an orb of blue energy.

 

“I am both,” came the voice again. Then Sophia expelled the energy of the Absorb, vaporising the entire gun line except for a lone Lancer who was crouching just around the corner. He was still going to die, as the blast had shorn half his chest off. He heard the voice on last time before he died

 

“Fear me.”

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

I did say that this would be different.

[Entari0]

*whistles* note to self: NEVER PISS OFF SOPHIA/VENEFICTA

[DraikoHunter]

Sophia drifted. She was unconscious after being hit around the head by gun butts several times after the Grinner had realised she was struggling to get free, and getting close to it. Images flittered beyond her sight in the mindscape that she knew was her own. She had never seen it before, but it had a homely feel about it that made her relax somewhat.  In it, she was lying in a boat, floating on what looked like water, but was too blue to be water. She stared up at the sky, again, too blue to be real. It was peaceful. Her hand drifted in the water, making slight ripples as it moved in spirals.

 

“Nice place you have here.”

 

Sophia stared. She sat up, and spun round, to see a figure standing on a small rock that had appeared form the mindscape sea. It looked like a Nyx warframe, but… it had gold in places, making it subtly different from any other Nyx. Sophia was jolted as she realised it had to be a Nyx Prime. There was no other reasonable explanation. The voice coming from the other Tenno was slightly accented. It sounded like… Old Earth Russian.

 

“Who are you?” Sophia demanded, “How did you get in my head?” Sophia had found only one other Nyx who could break the defences on her mind.

 

The Nyx seemed to smile slightly. “In reverse order, I am far more powerful than you, despite your somewhat ludicrous level of mental defence it took only a few seconds, and my name is Nyx.”

 

“Nyx?” Sophia asked, her mind whirring. It took her several seconds to figure who was standing in front of her, then she nearly fell out the boat in shock.

 

“Nyx,” Sophia said slowly, “as in the first Nyx? The Nyx who founded the Tenno alongside Hayden Tenno?”

 

Nyx nodded. “The same, but that is not important right now. We need to talk.”

 

The mind scape shifted, and they were standing next to a tall tree, near a lake. Nyx sat under the tree, and motion for Sophia to do the same. When Sophia was seated, Nyx began talking, quite fast.

 

“We don’t have much time here. The others are on their way to rescue you, including your brother and Kris. They have run into heavy resistance, but they will get someone else, an assassin named Galen, to find and protect you while they fight their way to you. I will release you when they destroy the dampener, but not until you and another person sort out something very important. And we do have enough time for this before you ask.”

 

As if acting on a cue, a second figure appeared. Sophia took in a sharp breath. She recognized the colour of the armour. Scarlet, with white shoulders and white on the cross on the front of the Nyx helmet. Sophia nearly recoiled as the helmet retracted, and she looked into her own eyes.

 

Venefica.

 

Sophia’s armour was a dark red, with black shoulders, but it shifted to this when Venefica took control. Sophia looked at Nyx. The ancient Tenno just sat under the tree, not moving.

 

“I can’t believe you sometimes,” Venefica said, “you punish the person you should have killed, kiss him, then get drunk in a bar, trash it, he comes in and you end up sleeping with him, and get yourself pregnant along the way!” Venefica’s voice had been building while she spoke, until she was nearly screaming. “You should have killed him, dam it! You freed him from Zerk the first time and what did he do for you?! Nothing! Not one dam thing!” Venefica paused to draw breath, to continue her tirade, but Sophia cut in.

 

“And what have you done for me?” She demanded. “You ripped off Jacob’s privates and tied him to a tree, you enjoy making others feel pain, anytime previously that I’ve had a boyfriend you end up hurting them, sometimes nearly killing them and you nearly caused my own brother to try and kill me!” Sophia was the one screaming now. “You have made my life a misery! Why can’t you just leave and never come back! You even offered to sleep with my brother!” At that and the mention of ripping off manhood’s Nyx, who had been watching the whole thing, visibly flinched.

 

The shouting match went on for quite some time. Both Sophia and Venefica hurled in insults and accusations at each other. Nyx was visibly shocked and appalled in equal measure by some of the things that had happened. Finally, both sides stopped shouting and just stared daggers and each other.

 

Sophia sighed suddenly. She chuckled sadly, and looked Venefica straight in the eyes, the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

 

“You know something though? Life would be far more boring without you.”

 

“Well duh,” Venefica said, “you wouldn’t get J-3 running without me.” She looked away, suddenly seeming

embarrassed. “And to tell the truth, I wouldn’t have a social life without you. I would just end up an emotionless killing machine.” Venefica looked back at Sophia, and grinned. “I would never have got laid in my life if it wasn’t for you.”

 

“You beginning to understand something now,” Nyx said. She rose and walked towards the two younger Tenno. “You need each other, whether you know it or not. Two sides of the same coin. Not complete without the other.” Nyx paused for a moment, as she thought, then nodded to herself, “You should now be able to merge.”

 

“Merge?” The question came from both Sophia and Venefica.

 

“Merge your personalities, you psychic forms, your identities. You won’t be two minds in one body, but one mind. You will gain and loose from each other.” She looked at Sophia. “You will gain Venefica’s anger and all that goes with it, including her power.” She looked at Venefica. “You will gain Sophia’s compassion and care for others, but you will never find joy in hurting others in the same way you did before. But before you merge…” Nyx took a step forward and cracked Sophia’s and Venefica’s heads together. As the other Tenno staggered slightly in pain, she looked at Venefica.

 

“That was for offering to sleep with Kylar, though I can see why you would want to.” That prompted a gasp of outrage from Sophia, causing Nyx to look at her. “And that was for getting as drunk as you did. And yes, your brother looks that good.” Nyx said, plainly smiling behind her helmet. Then she vanished with a flash of light. Sophia and Venefica look at each other, and nodded. They stood in front of each other, and placed the hands on the sides of each other’s heads. Energy rushed between them. They closed their eyes as things began to change.

 

 

Sophia woke, feeling very different. A large explosion rang through the base. She felt her power come back in a rush, and then even more power came. The dampener had been destroyed. She also knew without a doubt things had change forever. She looked down. Her armour was a lighter red, not scarlet, as Venefica’s had been, but not her normal dark red. Her shoulders were now a light grey, instead of black or white. She knew that what had happened had been no dream. She flexed her power, and the restraints holding her shattered. She stood from the table, oblivious to the weapons that now pointed at her instead of at the door. She looked around the room, gazing with contempt at the Grinner around her, reading their minds, ignoring them as they crouched behind upturned tables and work benches, barking orders at her.

 

The next moment, the entire room was dead as a wave of power shot from the Nyx. Sophia walked to the door, and with not much effort, blasted it open, crushing an unfortunate Lancer against a wall. No weapon seemed to harm her, the bullets just seemed to deflect past her. Her psychic bolts never missed. They dispatched foe after foe, often killing more than one before they dissipated. No Grinner could stop her as she revelled in her new found power. What really unnerved the Grinner was the fact that the entire time, Sophia was singing. She was like a siren, bewitching and deadly. Her voice carried over the clamour of battle as she moved to where her weapons were held.

 

Stepping into the storage room over the body of its guards, she reclaimed her weapons, but kept them sheathed and holstered. She did not need them at the moment. She ran around a corner, to face a wall of gun barrels. Sophia smiled under her helmet.

 

“I am Sophia”. The voice rang in the heads of the Grinner.

 

“I am Venefica,” came the voice again. An order was barked, and the entire gun line opened fire. Sophia vanished in a hail of lead and explosions. It went on for about ten seconds before the Grinner stopped firing. When the smoke cleared, Sophia was still there, surrounded in an orb of blue energy.

 

“I am both,” came the voice again. Then Sophia expelled the energy of the Absorb, vaporising the entire gun line except for a lone Lancer who was crouching just around the corner. He was still going to die, as the blast had shorn half his chest off. He heard the voice on last time before he died

 

“Fear me.”

 

____________________________________________________________________

 

I did say that this would be different.

My privates hurt after reading that, and good god......... that's some scary S#&$ right there.

[Jeahanne]

So there might be a little bit of continuity issues with this post. I was trying to tie together Viking's last post with what was written by fish with our new little Nekros friend. I hope it's alright and still works. If not, send me some suggestions and I'll be happy to edit.

 

I hope this works with anything else people are planning on posting. Thanks guys, and feedback is always welcome.

 

__________________________________________________

 

 

The fight to take the staircase had been a brutal, grueling uphill trudge. The four Tenno had been forced to battle through a colossal room filled to the brim with Grinner and Corpus, with each side’s troops just as willing to kill one another as to temporarily call a truce to focus on the more immediate death threat posed by the Tenno. For each step the squad won forwards they took several backwards. It took all of their skill for each individual to not get pulled in a different direction by the tides of the battle and become separated from their comrades, and the effort the small cell had to expend to move as a team towards their goal was titanic. To make matters worse, for as many Corpus, robotic proxies, or Grineer soldiers they felled, more came pouring in to fill the gaps. Acantha felt like she was fighting a Hydra; for each enemy she ended it seemed three more appeared to take its place. Even with her Molecular Prime to help clear large amounts of troops at once, Aiden’s Stomp to immobilize others, Kylar’s Radial Blind to stun opponents, or Kris’s crowd control devices to hold the tides at bay, none of the Tenno had enough energy to use their skills to do much more than make scant headway against the flood of incoming soldiers pressing against them at every side.

 

Acantha watched as her energy meter slowly recorded an increase in her resources and yelled out a warning over the uproar around her, “Get ready, Prime coming!”

 

She didn’t wait on her allies to answer; she knew they would be ready. She waited a few seconds for the last bit of energy she needed to trickle into her frame’s reserves and then released a cloud of particulate antimatter. The battle was going slowly as each Tenno fought back to back, relying on melee weapons in an attempt to conserve their limited ammunition supplies. Even having run across a stockpile that had let them refill their stores, the group knew that against the numbers they were facing, a gun battle wouldn’t last long and would not be to their advantage. Melee weapons might be a bit too up-close for some people’s style, especially Acantha’s, but they all understood the necessity of reserving limited resources for more strategic uses later. Acantha spun her Orthos in her hands, feeling flesh, bone, metal, and shields give way beneath the blades, before the end of one blade on the pole arm wedged itself between two plates of Grineer armor, leaving her vulnerable as she tried to wrench it loose.

 

“Damn it!” She cursed. She pulled it free just in time to see a Grineer Trooper step past her normal guard. She could only growl as she stared defiantly as his leering expression. Her weapon was too long to reach him, it’s normal advantage of reach becoming a weakness in the close quarters, and his finger was on the trigger of the gun pointed directly at her face. She knew she didn’t have time to kill him before he shot her. She reached for a kunai anyway, determined not to give up the fight despite her effort being futile, only to see his head explode in a cloud of gore. His body never hit the floor as it vanished in a halo of white, nearby enemies doing the same as the chain-reaction of explosions caused by the Trooper’s death consumed everything in its path, leaving a cleared area of floor around the squad of Tenno, at least for a brief time. She whipped her head around to see where the shot that had saved her had come from, her hand still at her holstered kunai, to see Aiden lowering his Lex.

 

The heavy pistol looked like a toy in his hands, and she swore he was smiling, despite their grim circumstances. “Not a bad gun.”

 

She laughed, “Then remember to thank Quinn when we get back. He always does make the best.”

 

“Less chatting, more running. Come on!” Kylar yelled as he ran ahead. Kris was already well in front, having cast a Bastille around him to hold back the never-ending tide that was the seethe of robotic and flesh enemies they were surrounded by. The net of energy shone brilliantly against the grime of battle. Smoke rose in the air staining it black, and blood, gore, and ash stained nearly every surface, even the ceiling, adding to the apocalyptic scene as bullets flew, weapons clashed, and screams arose from all around.

 

The three Tenno rushed to regroup with their squad leader as he tossed several Teslas in front of him, clearing a narrow pathway to the bottom of the stairs. It was a victory, even if I small one, and the four rushed to push their small advantage. “Can you Wormhole us to the top?” Kris asked, pointing above them.

 

She looked in the direction he was indicating, noting the large number of enemies that still surrounded them, many fighting on the stairs and blocking their path, others swarming in from behind only to get caught in Kris’s net. She glanced at her energy gauge and then nodded. “I can get us to the first landing at least. I have just enough energy for one use, so get ready. Aiden, can you give us some breathing room? We all have to get through this at once, it won’t stay open long.”

 

The Rhino didn’t answer. Instead he Roared, then Stomped the ground with enormous power, temporarily lifting and holding surrounding enemies immobile and helpless in the air as they ran towards the Tenno through Kris’s fading Bastille, the net having come apart just seconds earlier. Acantha then opened a Wormhole and the four stepped through it to be instantaneously transported to the first landing of the staircase. There they had the element of surprise, landing on unsuspecting enemies who were busy fighting one another instead of watching around them. The Tenno quickly pressed their advantage and rapidly made their way to the top of the stairs, which was the perfect vantage point to watch the battle change entirely.

 

Acantha had turned around once she had reached the top of the staircase, intending to help push back any pursuing enemies, when she saw the entire tone of the battle change. In an instant the Corpus proxies went from staunch supporters of their masters to being on the side of the Tenno. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t complain when a nearby Shield Osprey came up behind the squad and boosted her cell’s shields. She watched as the Corpus defense utterly crumpled under the combined might of their own technology and Grineer firepower. Within minutes very little remained of what was once a mighty offensive force, and the fight became a one sided rout in favor of the Grineer.

 

What was left of the Corpus forces quickly regrouped and attempted a hasty retreat through a large portal that took up an entire wall of the room, and had acted as their entry to the Grineer facility in the first place. She was familiar with such portals as she had used them herself when clearing Corpus ships of Infested during the hunt for Alad V. However, she watched, entranced, as the soldiers seemed to back away in horror from what was obviously, from her vantage point, their safe haven. She observed a figure materialize out of the portal and begin cutting down anything in its path, beginning with the doomed Corpus who tried to flee around him to safety, and then moving on to Grineer when his supply of Corpus victims was depleted. His stance and attitude declared him to be Tenno, although it wasn’t until he came into clearer view that she recognized him to be a Nekros.

 

Although he seemed to have the fight well in hand, she couldn’t bring herself to move on with the odds so stacked against one of her brethren, so she drew her Vectis and began providing supporting fire for the lone warrior.

 

“What are you doing? We don’t have time to take out every last one. We need to go while we still have the advantage. Soon those Grineer are going to run out of Corpus to play with and turn on us.” Kris grabbed her arm, trying to draw her away.

 

She shook him off, “There’s a Tenno down there. I can’t move on knowing we’re leaving kin to face an entire Grineer army alone.”

 

“What are you talking about? They’re just firing at Cor…” His voice trailed off as he saw what she did, the Nekros, single-handedly taking on an army.

 

Without another word the four Tenno drew their weapons and began laying down fire, effectively pinning the Grineer between Kris’s squad and the one-man army that was the strange Tenno. Acantha watched him as he fought, and noticed that something about him felt off. She couldn’t quite pin down what about him didn’t feel right, but there was something about him that didn’t seem like it should. Knowing that there wasn’t much time to spare she tried opening a channel between her squad and the Nekros, hoping talk him into drawing away from the battle, but she couldn’t get through.

 

“This guy ignoring anyone else?” Kris asked as he took down Grineer soldiers that were trying in vain to charge up the stairs.

 

“He won’t answer my attempts to hail him either.” Acantha stated as she sighted down the rifle and shot down more Grineer. “He’s either ignoring us or is unable to open a communications line.”

 

“I am not entirely sure his warframe is properly operating.” The Djinn’s voice sounded almost confused, “From what I have been able to access, while its core systems are online, others seem unstable. Certain systems are running with below normal efficiency while others are overextended, and still others are entirely nonoperational. Overall the entire system within his warframe is strained and unsound. I cannot be sure his communications systems are functioning normally even though they are currently online.”

 

“Something isn’t right.” Aiden muttered. “No Tenno would willingly leave his equipment in that sort of disrepair, let alone come to battle alone with it.”

 

“Looks like he’s doing alright with it though.” Kylar commented.

 

The three other looked down at the battle and saw that the Excalibur was right. The Nekros was decimating anything that came near him, and between him and Kris’s squad, the room bad been emptied of everything but few remaining soldiers with astonishing speed. Everything else that had once been in the space had either fled or been killed. The four Tenno stood uncertainly at the top of the stairs and watched the unknown Tenno finish off the few remaining enemies. As the last of them fell dead at his feet, the warrior paused before turning to face them. He said nothing, although he seemed to hover a moment, undecided of his next course. Then, with steady gravitas, he raised his handgun, a Corpus weapon, and fired a bolt of energy straight at the squad’s Rhino.

 

“Aiden!” Acantha cried out in warning and dove for the Tenno, intending to push him out of the way, but Qarin acted faster. The Djinn, able to process and act upon information faster than the four Tenno, had realized what was going to happen and activated his only defensive precept, installed on him just moments before he and his Mistress had left for this mission; Sanctuary.

 

Before the bolt could hit a glowing blue energy field emanated from the Sentinel and deflected the shot entirely, leaving the Rhino unharmed but shocked. All four Tenno took cover as the field faded and watched cautiously as the Nekros approached.

[Spikey844]

My privates hurt after reading that, and good god......... that's some scary S#&$ right there.

And Venefica getting Cain wasn't? I just want to remind you that in that story, Venefica was restrained. She could have made Cain scream until some took pity on him and killed him, or was willing risk Venefica's wrath.

Now they have merged, Sophia is far more deadly.

 

And Jea, great story. Personally I think either you or Bej are the best active writers on this thread. By active I mean writing fairly often at the moment. The only thing you might have forgotten is that Gentlecube is with Kylar.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Spikey844

[FatViking]

._,

[NyghttheClassy]

Dun dun duuuuuu....!

 

Nice pieces Spike & Jea.

 

And thanks for feedback on mine. Glad you all liked it

(Imagine a puppy running in circles just because it can. That's what is in my head right now)

[Jeahanne]

Thanks ^-^

 

And I'm glad to know you're happy Nyght ^-^

[Wrath_Of_Chrysalis]

I...I think I need to go find a massive pink bulb and break it.

PLANTERA...AWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

[Kalenath]

___________________________________________________________________

 

I did say that this would be different.

 

The First Nyx is NOT someone to tick off.

 

Now this... Grineer might want to RUN AWAY now. Fast.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Kalenath

[EDeN153]

I'm trying to think of what i could write while waiting on Quinn...

 

Next part in Eden backstory or some random subject from Warframe...

[EDeN153]

Oh, that Grineer got his chest torn shorn off. He's pretty much dead.

Edited January 28, 2014 by EDeN153

[FatViking]

Welp...I have to say that the First Nyx sounds like a Lasrian...But that is only the Dark Sector in me speaking.

[Spikey844]

The First Nyx is NOT someone to tick off.

 

Now this... Grineer might want to RUN AWAY now. Fast.

 They won't be fast enough...

 

And Vik I haven't played Dark Sector so I don't know the accent but I guess it sounds similar to Russian. Hence why Nyx sounds Russian to Sophia.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Spikey844

[Kalenath]

Welp...I have to say that the First Nyx sounds like a Lasrian...But that is only the Dark Sector in me speaking.

 

Actually, by now she sounds like a Tenno. :p

 

(Edit) As for sounding Russian? Lots of people took her for one, so no biggie. If SHE doesn't care (and she doesn't) are YOU going to argue with her?

 

 

 They won't be fast enough...

 

Nope. Hard to outrun the speed of thought.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Kalenath

[bejuizb]

I just got a barrage of plot twists. Now it's time for me to work on my part if you guys don't mind. I need to adjust my battle plan as well....good lord.

 

EDIT: Just realized we need fish to continue the thing....damn. Would anyone mind if I interject? I really want to continue.

Edited January 28, 2014 by bejuizb

[FatViking]

You think that is bad? Now I got to build up a mask of humor fro Kris when he meets Sophia again -.- And I am not humorous.

[Spikey844]

Don't worry Bej, just keep at it. We are waiting eagerly.

 

And Vik, Sophia will just throw herself into Kris' arms the moment she sees him, before dangling him upside down while she demands what took him so long. xD

Edited January 28, 2014 by Spikey844

[Jeahanne]

I just got a barrage of plot twists. Now it's time for me to work on my part if you guys don't mind. I need to adjust my battle plan as well....good lord.

 

EDIT: Just realized we need fish to continue the thing....damn. Would anyone mind if I interject? I really want to continue.

I don't mind the interjection.

[bejuizb]

Okay, I'm going to start writing the next bit. This is fundamental, so please, try to hold off on writing any more mind boggling twists till then. I'll try to finish within 2-3 hours from now.

[Divinity112]

Kevin winced at the large amount of cake still next to him and held his stomach. Judging by how much sweets Kelly consumed every time dinner arrived, he would probably be the first Tenno to die of diabetes in a thousand years. Seriously looking at the thing would not make you think that it was high on sugar, but despite the shortcake's plain and simple appearance it was packed with enough sugar to put the biggest Grineer Napalm you can find in a coma.

 

Kevin was still recovering so all he could do was sit here and eat. Or read when the time came, John had apparently left him some old books to read. One in particular was a very old manual of Bushido that few Tenno owned. Emm said that John had way too many books in his quarters to do much reading. Running a clan took a lot out of someone, even a Tenno like John, seeing as he had contacts with other Warlords who roamed the stars.

 

The Nekros looked at the cake and shook his head. Wasting food was unthinkable. Even if it was bad for you.

[EDeN153]

Food wasted? Unthinkable heresy.