[Archive] Of Ash And Fire - Original Thread

[khimera]

It was unusual these days if Crowley called...well...on anyone. Even Ein, Khimera, and Nova-Quinn had been off his radar lately since his return. He hadn't been performing ceremonies either, leaving those duties to his successors; Faust and Fenrik. Whatever he'd been doing by himself, today he'd deigned to leave the room, effectively gracing the Dojo with his presence. It was strange, since he didn't have his Hate with him, but no one would complain about Crowley not toting his scythe around. Thankfully, despite his absence, Crowley had at least studied the latest Dojo layout and was not lost as he wandered down the hall.

 

Upon crossing paths with Sandalphon, an Excalibur Prime that Crowley hadn't seen since...wow it had been a long time since they'd last spoken. Sandals was still in his green-striped color scheme, though his Galatine had a shiny new Passa Sugatra on it. Placing a hand on the Excalibur's shoulder, it was obvious Crowley's movements were stiff, almost pained even. “Where is Ein?” He rasped, unintentionally coming off as agitated causing Sandalphon to recoil a bit. “Einherjar. You can't possibly tell me you're that ignorant of recent events.” Clearing his throat the Nekros put a hand to his back, straightening his posture with several unsettling cracks of the spine that sounded less like hard cartilege and more like thin metal plates.

 

“I...ah...er...garden floor? He's there a lot with Zen these days.” Backing away a bit with his hands up defensively Sandalphon let out a nervous chuckle. He was wary around anyone who was involved with Khimera ever since the fiasco in the Greater Hall several months ago. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two Tenno before Sandals decided to literally run off down the hall, barely even able to hear the amused chuckle Crowley gave at the display of anxiety.

 

 

Ein was sitting in the center of one of the newer gardens, the light setting turned to night. The many lanterns floating in the water provided enough light to see, but the darkness granted a certain atmosphere to the room. Zen was curled up on top of Ein's lap, sleeping soundly as could be. Cute as that was, it wasn't like this room was meant for sleeping in. Then again Einherjar couldn't really sleep or 'meditate' being what he was but he was making a good effort at least. With a sigh, Ein effectively opened his eyes, the four red dots on his helmet lighting up as he tilted his head to the side, noting the presence of an ice blue Nekros in the garden.

 

“Father...I didn't expect you.” Scooping up Zen into his arms Ein stood up and faced Crowley. The only expression the other Tenno could sense was a warm smile from the artificial being. “Did you need me for something?” Tilting his head to the side a bit, it definitely seemed Ein had adapted to more human motions and emotive actions.

 

Hesitating, Crowley touched his hand to the chin of his helmet. “I...have reviewed your records. You have not done anything...'outstanding' per sey, but you have not been at your full potential either. You have been limited in your missions to those where your existence his not jeopardized.” As he watched Ein's reaction, Crowley saw what amounted to an expression between acknowledgment and confusion, the 'young' Tenno giving a slight nod for Crowley to continue. “Einherjar...I have discussed things with Quinn and we believe you are ready for the full extent of your abilities.” There was a set of blips and chirping noises of excitement that Ein could not contain, though he ended up waking Zen in the process. Chuckling softly the icy Nekros reached out a hand and lightly stroked over Zen's cheek. “You will get a design overhaul, and your powers shall become focused. While you will maintain power over hard light, you will become 'made' for a role, just like any other Tenno fulfills a certain kind of role in their own Warframe.” The understanding on Ein's face was too obvious to miss: He would sacrifice part of his versatility in being a 'prototype' for the full strength of being a 'finished' Warframe. “It is your life, your body and soul, so you must be the one to choose what role you will fill...there is no going back after this point, you understand?” Crowley looked down, feeling somewhat sad to see Ein go as he was now. His memory and personality would not change, but this design seemed very much a 'child' to him. Einherjar would always be his 'child' as strange as others would see that being.

 

Allowing Zen to climb onto his shoulders, Ein took a moment to think about what he did best in a Cell. While he excelled in hand-to-hand combat, he preferred to keep his distance. Fondly, Ein remembered his precise shooting on Earth that brought Zen to become his friend. Perhaps being not as far away as a sniper, but away from enemies, serving as tactical support? No, that implied something too similar to Vauban's abilities. However it was still true that he could provide tactical support and information from afar similar to the Lotus though...more 'on scene' than her if that made sense. “I would be included on my redesign?” He asked hesitantly, a few things coming to mind already. While Ein's imagination still needed a little work, he was much better than he'd been initially; all logic and numbers.

 

With a nod in confirmation, Crowley held out an arm, bringing his hand to Ein's back as they made for the Foundry. The process would take several days at least for the redesigning process, let alone actually changing Ein's main components to his new body. It would be worth it, especially to be recognized even more as a Tenno, rather than someone testing a 'prototype Warframe.'

 

 

“Seriously? You're going for horns? Crowley I thought he was supposed to portray a wise guardian advisor or something like that” The Foundry Master folded his arms as he looked up from the holographic representation that Ein had created, almost glaring at the Grand Master of the Dead.

 

Laughing a bit as he spun the hologram around, Crowley looked it over. “It's not that bad really. They can serve a purpose too. After all, he'll need a more complex system to control in concert eight drones even if they all serve the same purpose.” Crowley surmised, bringing up another holographic projection of the new drones. “We can keep the Gladius and Scutum drones as a backup of sorts. We could incorporate them into the defense systems of the Dojo or perhaps.”

 

Shaking his head sceptically, Quinn placed his hands on the table, leaning in to look at the holograms. “It's possible...but are the duster tails necessary?” He questioned, not exactly sure why Ein had decided on a design for himself that seemed so much more...oh what was the word for it...audacious? Eh, not the right word but close enough.

 

“Nope. I just think they look cool.” Ein shrugged, grinning up at his two creators who shared a laugh at his response to the question. “I'm sure everything in my redesign can have a purpose, I trust you both to make good decisions on how I should be. I trust you both with my life, it's the thing you created after all.” Einherjar left the table, heading for his special compartment, readying a backup of all data he had, though there was no such thing as making a backup for your soul. He couldn't deny he was a little scared about all this; he was essentially being deconstructed and remade. Ein, Quinn, and Crowley could only hope Einherjar would remain unchanged as a person when the process was finished.

 

 

For the next week or so no one saw Ein, Crowley, and rarely did they see Quinn. Zen, however, frequently sat by the Foundry door, pining to be let in, scratching at the door a bit. In most cases Khimera, or at least Nova-Quinn would pick him up and take him off to feed him or something. The other small percentage of times female Tenno would just take him to cuddle because...well...small fluffy critters are cute right? At any rate, this slowed down Quinn's work in the Foundry, leaving others skilled in crafting to take up the slack.

 

When Einherjar's new body was finished he could scarcely believe it was his own. He did several calibration tests and scans of his own body, but nothing was out of sorts, merely that to him it was strange to be in a new body after living with his original one for so long. What was disconcerting, however, was the fact that his old form now lay in a sort of cryopod, without life or energy inside it. Quinn assured him the helmet was a duplicate, his original one being modified in design instead, but it still was strange to look at his own face without a mirror.

 

“Will anyone recognize me?” He asked softly, allowing the pod holding his old body to glass over, hiding it and letting Ein see his reflection. Touching upon his helmet and the horns it possessed, he still felt they were a nice addition. They weren't curly ram horns or overly demonic bull horns. They curved back smoothly, small energy lights lining the sides. Activating his combat mode, Einherjar saw he looked much more menacing as his normally circular ocular lights changed to angry crimson slits. “I'm certainly not as I was before.”

 

Waving a hand dismissively, Quinn stretched and yawned. “You and Crowley owe me a case of Vodka by the way.” He grumbled tiredly as he stumbled to his desk. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and work on some Foundry requests before I pass out.”

 

He would have rolled his eyes if they weren't technically stuck in place but Ein felt it best to leave Quinn to his own devices for now. “I'll get you the best Grineer Vodka I can find...thank you.” There were no words sufficient for the gratitude Einherjar felt toward his creators. For lack of better wording he was a masterpiece made by them, truly finished now, as it were. Stepping out of the Foundry, Ein was greeted by a blue fluffy thing pouncing onto his head, nuzzling him. In less than a second he knew exactly what this fluffy thing was. “Zen...so you do remember me.” He sighed in relief, holding the small fluffy creature gently in his arms. Being careful of his new strength, if it had been changed at all really, Ein scritched between Zen's ears as he walked back to his room.

 

The walk was very similar to when Crowley had first brought him out to the Dojo; Tenno stared and whispered. Others looked curiously at him while a few ignored his presence entirely as if they knew who he was regardless of the new look. It was only when a familiar Oberon stopped in front of him that Ein felt irked for the first time today. “Ah...uh...h-hello...Sensei.” Ein's new body was actually taller than his previous one, so he was nearly eye-level now which made Khimera's stare all the more unnerving.

 

“You got an upgrade.” He tilted his head to the side, folding his arms and rapping his fingers on his upper arms. “You look good, much better than before. Anything new to show me?” Behind his Oryx helmet Khi smirked, watching the newly redesigned Einherjar fidget nervously. Beckoning the younger Tenno to follow, Khimera headed for the dueling room with Ein in tow. Zen, however, was having fun jumping between the two Tenno, using the horned helmets as grabbing spots.

 

To be continued (perhaps)

 

Edited April 16, 2014 by khimera

[QuinnsWing]

ahh see now i have to write, thanks Kh, this gave me a push and i enjoyed it greatly though you had misspell, paragraph 5 line 3 Instead of "is" you had "his" small, all i noticed but loved it khi.

 

You'll see me in a bit. 

Edited April 16, 2014 by QuinnsWing

[Jeahanne]

It's great to hear from Ein and Quinn and Crowley and everyone again. Great story Khi ^-^

[Spikey844]

Great story Khi, I hope that more will come.

[bejuizb]

Nice story Khi!

[DraikoHunter]

Great stories guys! I look forward to Kris' explots and Ein's new adventures. Now, i must go again. Things to do. *poof*

[fishworshipper]

Drafting a new character, who might be a little lore-bending. I personally see it as possible, considering the Orokin's unfathomably advanced technology, but you guys tend to be better judges of canon than I.

 

Great stories everyone!

[Jeahanne]

Finally! The continuation that you've all (or at least Ensign has) been waiting for! And the ensuing chaos of a kill contest between two of my characters (which can only end horribly for the poor Grineer) to boot!

 

Anyway, it's not my best post ever, but I hope it's enjoyed anyway. The ending was particularly fun to write.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

"Hi X! Hi Acantha! You're a tough girl to track down, you know? Anyway, I'm here to collect on that debt you owe me." Loki seemed positively unfazed at the fact that he’d just dropped in on a mission in-progress.

 

Acantha blinked in confusion. "What debt? I don't remember being crazy enough to ask you for anything."

 

"Heh. Your little floating buddy there will tell you otherwise, I'm sure."

 

The Nova turned to see Qarin hovering sheepishly behind the swordsman. She sighed. "Qarin, what have you done this time?"

 

“I did as I was asked.” The Djinn did his best to look innocent as he hovered backwards to peer around Excalibur, keeping the Tenno between himself and the Nova as much as physically possible while still being in sight of his mistress.

 

“And when exactly did I ask you to indebt me to Loki?” her voice was deceptively calm as she tapped one blade of her Orthos against the side of her boot; the metallic rapping the only other sign of her irritation aside from the increasing white vapor of antimatter venting from her warframe like potentially explosive fog.

 

“Assistance was necessary for the safe retrieval of Sophia. Even you agreed to such.” He told her as he drifted farther away from her with each word, trying to distance himself from the alarmingly spreading haze surrounding the female warrior.

 

“Assistance is one thing, but…”

 

“Tenno,” a cool voice cut in, interrupting Acantha mid-sentence, “The situation has grown more complicated. Secure your objective quickly; Grineer reinforcements are on their way.”

 

“ETA on the reinforcements and clarification on changes to the mission?” X asked, his voice giving nothing away of what he thought about the tiny drama playing out around him.

 

“ETA is thirty minutes and counting. Reinforcements include four full assault teams and a VIP, Captain Vor. Mission parameters have changed accordingly; acquire the information and recover any Orokin artifacts, as well as take out the VIP, before extracting with the operative already in the area.” The Lotus’s voice was cool, clipped, and professional. “The lone operative here, Tenno Rachim, has also requested assistance. Another Tenno is enroute to fill out your squad and provide him with support, and will arrive shortly.”

 

“Understood, I’ll move to assist as well,” she said with a sigh, as she and the others acknowledged the new information. “Come on Qarin, we’ll have to handle this debt situation later. My apologies Loki, I hope whatever you need me for can wait until this is mission is complete?” She didn’t wait on an answer as she stowed her Orthos on her back and drew her bow, nocking an arrow with a practiced motion. “Lotus, may I request confirmation that Tenno Rachim is aware of incoming support?”

 

“He will be made aware will be waiting for you at the marked location.”

 

“Thank you Lotus,” the Nova said before she heard the comm close.

 

Although his relief at his cross-examination being unexpectedly postponed was obvious, Qarin himself didn’t seem too enthused with the situation as he reluctantly moved to follow his mistress. The Nova was either oblivious to his discomfort or ignoring it, as she didn’t do more than glance at him before activating her Null Star ability and beginning to jog across the room to a newly marked waypoint on her HUD.

 

___________________________

 

A Zephyr was making her carefully careless way across the back of the high peak that loomed over the Grineer outpost. The height, dizzying and terrifying to most, only served to make her all the more giddy at her closeness to the sky. She was making her way towards a point that had been given to her by the Lotus. She hadn’t been looking for a mission, but the Grineer were a scourge she didn’t need an excuse to cleanse, and having lost her secondary weapon in a previous mission was only a minor problem. Her best weapon, after all, was her partner, the wind, and it required nothing more than her energy to dance the dance of death, and she herself would take any excuse to dance along with it.

 

She stopped on a nearby ridge and concentrated her attention on a platform a good distance below her, where a large platoon of Grineer troops had their weapons fire concentrated on a single door, just as she had been informed that they would be. The Tenno cocked her head curiously to one side, causing the two dangling pieces of her helmet to jingle slightly as she studied the scene.

 

The platoon was milling about below her, stirring the air up into a chaotic soup as they jostled amongst each other for better positions to shoot from while still trying to stay farther behind cover than the person next to them. She could hear their faint, guttural voices echoing up to her as they yelled at each other over the sound of their own weapons while they fired blindly at the far side of the room towards the door. Sometimes the voices sounded louder or more alarmed than others, but she didn’t read anything into it. She had no idea what they were firing at, if anything, but in the end it didn’t really matter to her. She had no doubt that the Loki she was being sent to assist was on the other side of that door, which meant she had to clear out the scum in the way and get there to open it. It was time to go dancing, and she grinned in anticipatory delight.

 

Crouching down on the edge of the rocky precipice, she drew her Glaive into her right hand and threw herself downward. By the time the Grineer realized anything was amiss, the Zephyr had impacted the ground with tremendous force, throwing away and killing many, and was a whirling dervish among what was left alive, spinning away the wild shots they fired at her with contemptuous ease and throwing her weapon out in brutal, razor edged retaliation with all the grace of a dancer at a ball. Her arrival sowed panic among the entrenched forces, breaking any sort of organization they’d managed to achieve and allowing her to kill many of the troops on her own. Her Glaive spun out again and again, cutting down enemies from afar before returning to her hand to end anything that tried to get too close as she flit in and out of reach with a kind of beautiful but vicious choreography that nothing around her survived.

 

After some time she’d cleared quite a large area around her, leaving nothing but bodies in her wake, but many living still remained, having retreated to better cover at seeing what she’d done to their comrades. She moved to pursue them, only to notice their attention beginning split. She sent her Glaive out in a long, spinning throw, clearing a section of enemies by cleaving them into smaller, more manageable, pieces to try to see what was drawing their notice, only to have an arrow whiz out of the gap and slice a Grineer lancer behind her in two.

 

The Zephyr froze for a heartbeat or two, her every sense taut as she sought the shooter, her enhanced senses of hearing, touch, and even smell analyzing every sound, scent and current of air to paint a picture of her surroundings. In the end it was the gunfire of the Grineer who truly gave the arrow’s owner away. The Nova was perched atop a stack of large crates, bow in hand, firing arrows into anything that moved that wasn’t Tenno while allowing her sentinel pick off anything that came too close, prioritizing the targets as they noticed her, their bullets pointing like an arrow at her location. The Zephyr imaged that she’d made a very good distraction, drawing attention like she did, and had allowed the other warrior to pick off quite a few targets at her leisure without being noticed while she’d sown her choreographed chaos. Then, quite suddenly, the Zephyr grinned an impish grin, which was hidden behind her helmet, and gave a nod the other warrior before nearly skipping back out into the melee.

 

Once there, she let out a gleeful cackle and spun into motion, throwing her hands outward and sending the air around her whirling into swirling vortices as she danced around the impotently struggling Grineer. Realizing her intent, the Nova simultaneously sent out her own attack in the form of a wave of antimatter. By the time the remainder of the pitiful creatures in the room realized their doom, they’d been swept up in a storm, then blown to atomized bits when the first of them died.

 

“Those were mine,” the Zephyr stated bluntly as she toyed with the Glaive in her right hand.

 

The Nova raised her bow, aimed it without any effort, and released an arrow at the last remaining Grineer in the room, killing it instantly. She then raised an eyebrow behind her helmet and looked down from her perch at the other Tenno. “Were they?” she grinned wolfishly, “Oops.”

 

The Zephyr just made a “tsk” noise in the back of her throat as she spun her weapon idly in her hand. “So where’s the Loki?”

[ensignvidiot]

I enjoyed reading that alot.

 

Thank you, and that was an entertaining way to see a room get completely cleared out, ill starting working on my draft now. You shall receive a message with it sortly :D

[Jeahanne]

Yay!!!! Thank you!!! And I can't wait to see what you do with this! I know it's going to be good!

Edited April 19, 2014 by Jeahanne

[fishworshipper]

Fantastic story Jeahanne! +1 for you!

 

In unrelated news, because I'm terrible at explaining a character's capabilities/appearences by simply writing stories of them, here's my newest character:

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/182223-share-your-character-ooc-discussion/?p=2532939

Also comes with a little story.

 

I do plan on fleshing out his personality on this thread, so if he sounds canon-breaking please let me know now!

Thanks!

 

Edit: Also, the Cyrios that I use here and the Cyrios I use in continuities like Life in a Dead System are the same character, but in different universes. So what happens here doesn't necessarily happen there, and visa versa. The event and person posted above are just a sort of baseline for the character.

Edited April 19, 2014 by fishworshipper

[FatViking]

The alarms were blaring, the officers in panic and the only one retaining any semblance of calmness was Clerr. Unlike the rest of the soldiers in this shipyard, Clerr had combat experience, Be it against Corpus, infested or even Tenno. Even when the shipyard was being attacked, he merely stood up and grabbed his Hind. With this gun, he had killed several Tenno and hundreds of Corpus. His armor was no longer the green color of an Elite Lancer, instead being the cold white of an Artic Eximus as his exploits had been heard by high command and been deemed worthy of a promotion of sorts.

 

He gathered his allies and slowly made his way to the area the invader had last been seen in, activating his globe of ice and his aura of slowing cold. The invader had been reported as a Tenno and would be dealt with as such, or Clerr would drop the title Slayer of Tenno. Checking his Hind one more time, he sent his allies into the room before walking into it himself. The room was empty, which surprised Clerr. Not a single body was seen on the ground, not a single bullet casing and not even any sort of evidence that the powers of a Tenno had been used.

 

Minutes went by as Clerr had his allies comb the room for any evidence. He could have sworn that the Tenno hadn't left the room by the latest reports, and yet they had found no evidence of this Tenno except for a hole in the roof and a puddle beneath it. If it had been one if the invisible kind, bodies would be strown everywhere. If it was one of the technological ones, javelins and disfunctional orbs and blood would have been everywhere in the room and the elemental ones would have left evidence of their powers all over the place. The other, stranger types of Tenno would have turned the Grineer who had once been in the room against Clerr and his allies and the strange, rampaging one would still have been throwing Grineer corpses all over the place.

 

Sitting down, Clerr started to think harder. That was probably the best part of becoming an Eximus in the Grineer military. Implants that allowed you to think better were a standard part of the change into these legendary leaders. His thoughts soon went to the latest message from the newly changed Vay Hek. A new type of Tenno had supposedly appeared with unknown powers. Maybe this Tenno could make corpses disappear, or maybe he just eradicated everything without leaving evidence.

 

He stood up after his bout of thinking. Calling his allies back to him, he noticed they were a few short. Calling out the names of the missing soldiers, his awareness kicked in. The doors were locked, the alarms were loud enough to drown out his shouts for his missing allies and the room was lit only by the machinery creating parts of the Fomorians. Something was wrong, so wrong. Fear may have never been a part of the Grineer psyche, but at this moment, Clerr could swear that he was afraid.

_________________________________________________

 

 

He slowly emerged from the puddle, His Nami Skyla in hand. The Alarms masked the sound as the water returned to him, and the light from the machinery never shone for long enough to reveal his form as he slowly approached the Eximus leading the group. Brandishing his blades, the Tenno struck forward, piercing the Eximus from the dark behind him and removing his head. What happened after was Chaos.

 

Shouts in the Grineer native tongue, the bark of rifles, the flashes from muzzles all added into this showcase of terrifying power as the Tenno wound and twisted in evasion, taking every chance he got to kill yet another Lancer, or a Trooper, with the intent on letting the bombard be the only one surviving this chaos.

__________________________________________________________

 

After what seemed to be a few days since he left, Kris returned to the dojo tired and beat up. Not feeling his very best, he walked out of the shuttle bay and headed straight towards the med bay while thinking about his last mission. His actions had been flowing much better into each other than they had ever before and he had surprised himself with the swift, flowing movements he had employed in his evasion of bullets and blades, while taking advantage of the flow of the situation to get some attacks in here and there.

 

His stay in the med bay was a short one, since his injuries were mostly bruises and scratches. The Nurses only needed to clean the scratches before they let him leave, urging him to be a little bit more careful the next time he was on a mission. Thanking them and telling them that he would take their advice, Kris walked back to the room he now had practically claimed as his own. Opening the doors to the room, he closed his eyes and felt the fishes moving around in the pond that replaced the floor. The feeling washed over him as he walked to the center of the room, where he sat down and started to meditate, the water being parted by the koi providing a nice rythm for the session of meditation that was about to start.

 

 

new story? *gasp* I maked one!

Edited April 19, 2014 by FatViking

[fishworshipper]

The alarms were blaring, the officers in panic and the only one retaining any semblance of calmness was Clerr. Unlike the rest of the soldiers in this shipyard, Clerr had combat experience, Be it against Corpus, infested or even Tenno. Even when the shipyard was being attacked, he merely stood up and grabbed his Hind. With this gun, he had killed several Tenno and hundreds of Corpus. His armor was no longer the green color of an Elite Lancer, instead being the cold white of an Artic Eximus as his exploits had been heard by high command and been deemed worthy of a promotion of sorts.

 

He gathered his allies and slowly made his way to the area the invader had last been seen in, activating his globe of ice and his aura of slowing cold. The invader had been reported as a Tenno and would be dealt with as such, or Clerr would drop the title Slayer of Tenno. Checking his Hind one more time, he sent his allies into the room before walking into it himself. The room was empty, which surprised Clerr. Not a single body was seen on the ground, not a single bullet casing and not even any sort of evidence that the powers of a Tenno had been used.

 

Minutes went by as Clerr had his allies comb the room for any evidence. He could have sworn that the Tenno hadn't left the room by the latest reports, and yet they had found no evidence of this Tenno except for a hole in the roof and a puddle beneath it. If it had been one if the invisible kind, bodies would be strown everywhere. If it was one of the technological ones, javelins and disfunctional orbs and blood would have been everywhere in the room and the elemental ones would have left evidence of their powers all over the place. The other, stranger types of Tenno would have turned the Grineer who had once been in the room against Clerr and his allies and the strange, rampaging one would still have been throwing Grineer corpses all over the place.

 

Sitting down, Clerr started to think harder. That was probably the best part of becoming an Eximus in the Grineer military. Implants that allowed you to think better were a standard part of the change into these legendary leaders. His thoughts soon went to the latest message from the newly changed Vay Hek. A new type of Tenno had supposedly appeared with unknown powers. Maybe this Tenno could make corpses disappear, or maybe he just eradicated everything without leaving evidence.

 

He stood up after his bout of thinking. Calling his allies back to him, he noticed they were a few short. Calling out the names of the missing soldiers, his awareness kicked in. The doors were locked, the alarms were loud enough to drown out his shouts for his missing allies and the room was lit only by the machinery creating parts of the Fomorians. Something was wrong, so wrong. Fear may have never been a part of the Grineer psyche, but at this moment, Clerr could swear that he was afraid.

_________________________________________________

 

 

He slowly emerged from the puddle, His Nami Skyla in hand. The Alarms masked the sound as the water returned to him, and the light from the machinery never shone for long enough to reveal his form as he slowly approached the Eximus leading the group. Brandishing his blades, the Tenno struck forward, piercing the Eximus from the dark behind him and removing his head. What happened after was Chaos.

 

Shouts in the Grineer native tongue, the bark of rifles, the flashes from muzzles all added into this showcase of terrifying power as the Tenno wound and twisted in evasion, taking every chance he got to kill yet another Lancer, or a Trooper, with the intent on letting the bombard be the only one surviving this chaos.

__________________________________________________________

 

After what seemed to be a few days since he left, Kris returned to the dojo tired and beat up. Not feeling his very best, he walked out of the shuttle bay and headed straight towards the med bay while thinking about his last mission. His actions had been flowing much better into each other than they had ever before and he had surprised himself with the swift, flowing movements he had employed in his evasion of bullets and blades, while taking advantage of the flow of the situation to get some attacks in here and there.

 

His stay in the med bay was a short one, since his injuries were mostly bruises and scratches. The Nurses only needed to clean the scratches before they let him leave, urging him to be a little bit more careful the next time he was on a mission. Thanking them and telling them that he would take their advice, Kris walked back to the room he now had practically claimed as his own. Opening the doors to the room, he closed his eyes and felt the fishes moving around in the pond that replaced the floor. The feeling washed over him as he walked to the center of the room, where he sat down and started to meditate, the water being parted by the koi providing a nice rythm for the session of meditation that was about to start.

 

 

new story? *gasp* I maked one!

Excellent as usual, Viking! +1

[bejuizb]

Hey everyone, before you read this, I just wanted to make a disclaimer.

 

This story DOES NOT FOLLOW the rules of canon on this thread. So you don't have to be bothered by the canonical impact of it all. Like I've mentioned many times, the plot of the Silver Fang (my fanfic) doesn't follow canon, instead, I am fabricating a universe prior to the Collapse. So please understand that I don't wish to impose any canon onto anyone. Take it for what its worth, and if people have issues with it being here, please let me know. I'll take it down immediately.

 

The following sequence of events happens during the Tenno raid on the Terminus. Aiden has just learned that Damien, who had killed Cathy due to insanity, was innocent. His mind was manipulated by the Orokin and that lead to Damien losing his sanity and thereby killing Cathy. Aiden feels terribly guilty for killing Damien and extremely angry at the Orokin, and therefore plays a majorly offensive role in the assault against the Orokin. That's the lore I have for this segment of the story.

And now that that wall of text is dealt with, here's another one XD

 

Iron Will

 

“Lily,” shouted Aiden, emerging from the wreckage of the collapsed building. “What's going on?”

 

The Ember breathed a sigh of relief. “You're safe! Are you alright?”

 

He nodded, clenching his fists as his shoulder hurt. The last squad had managed to land a solid blow to his upper body. But they had fallen, just like the countless others. Let them keep coming, he thought. They all die.

 

He must have stayed quiet for quite a while, because Lily sounded nervous. “Aiden?”

 

“I'm...I'm fine. Where are the others?”

 

Lily pointed her thumb towards the Spire. “In there. There's a trio of Guardians holding them off. All the leaders of the Heirarchy are inside. Aiden, we're getting destroyed.”

 

He shook with rage. They were so close. He was so close. “Three of them?”

 

“Yeah. Extremely skilled. We've lost two squads as they tried to breach the left side. We-”. She stopped talking as lone Tenno crawled out on her own from the Spire. Aiden's heart stopped at the sight.

 

It was a Zephyr.

 

She was bleeding profusely, and both her legs were missing from the knees. Aiden ran up her and cradled her gently in his arms. Their suits linked up immediately.

 

“Stay awake! Keep looking at me! You'll be alright.”

 

The girl didn't respond. Aiden tried shaking her awake. He felt a lone hand on his shoulder. Lily's body showed defeat, she had lost hope. “She's gone, Aiden.”

 

She's gone. The words echoed in his head louder than the booming explosions that erupted around them. She's gone. He had been powerless to help her. Just like he had been powerless to help Cathy.

 

He felt the rage consume him rapidly. All he saw was her face, gentle and weak.

 

Blood. So much blood.

 

No, he heard the blackness whisper to him. Not enough.

 

Yes...not enough. More. More. MORE!!!

 

His last thought was a bellow, a shout that encompassed all his rage. They will pay. They took her away from me. I WILL KILL THEM ALL!!!

 

Every fibre of his being thirsted for blood. Pain was just an annoyance. An uncontrollable stream of silver swirled across his body, a maelstrom of energy that he could not control. He had become a machine. A monster.

 

He charged forward, clutching his sword with an iron grip. He heard Lily shout out vaguely from behind him, but all reasoning had escaped him. He would kill them all.

 

Lily could see from her friend's body language that he had lost control. “F**K!” She needed to go inside and help him, but they didn't stand a chance. Fear rooted her to the spot. Damn it all! Why can't I go inside?

 

 

The three of them stood impassively, covering the hallway that led to the inner sanctum of the Spire. They had already dispatched of eight Tenno with childish ease. The one called Jon grinned haughtily underneath his gold laden Excalibur. They were too weak, too easy to kill. As if to voice his thoughts, the Excalibur to his right, Pax boasted loudly.

 

“You'd wonder how swine like them managed to take down the Sentients.”

 

To Jon's left, Lancal laughed. “Those things left the system out of pity. Nothing more. Hey Jon,” he asked, looking pointedly at the leader of their group. “Any idea why they call us the Lower Guardians? From what I've seen so far, all they've been doing is kissing our heels.”

 

Jon chuckled. “Stay at the ready. There's bound to be more of them coming here soon.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. We'll keep an eye out. Its a pity our guns don't work.”

 

 

Aiden heard them speaking loudly before he could see them. One of them was boasting about their last victory.

 

“And did you hear her scream as I lopped off her legs? Didn't know they could get so high pitched!”

 

The blackness inside him consumed his being, he felt his heart pounding in his chest and the adrenaline and rage made him shake violently. They were mocking her.

 

He let loose a violent bellow, the sound echoing in the ornate corridors of the building. He could feel the swirls of silver dance chaotically across his body, but he paid it no heed. He wanted blood. The need to see it spilled far overwhelmed everything else.

 

 

“What was that?” asked Lancal, drawing his twin blades and crouching readily. They heard thundering booms, sounds from something heavy. Something fast.

 

The bellow sounded once again as a Rhino charged in, wielding a massive greatsword in his right arm.

Jon clenched his teeth. While the other Tenno they fought seemed defensive, this one seemed far more aggressive. Doesn't matter. Scum will taste defeat at our blades.

 

“Stay in formation. Attack from all sides.”

 

The three Guardians scattered. All of theme piloted Excalibur Primes, and their movement felt perfectly in sync.

 

“Subdue him now!” Jon shouted, narrowly avoiding a powerful swing from the Rhino.

 

The three of them converged on Aiden, their swords lancing towards his heart, but suddenly the room was filled with an earsplitting boom. The leader felt himself being thrown backwards by an overwhelming wall of rage.

 

Sword held at the ready, he watched as the Rhino remained crouched on the ground, the swirling silver nonexistent. Ears ringing, he saw as the Tenno shook. His comrades had already begun to charge at him. As the Rhino stood up, the sound chilled the Excalibur to the bone.

 

He was laughing. A deranged cackle. One that didn't fear death.

 

Aiden whirled his sword in a perfect circle, fending off all three blades at once. He rocketed away from the three of them, holding his sword loosely to his side. Without a moment's hesitation he charged, rapidly building momentum and rocketing towards one of the Excaliburs.

 

Pax deftly dodged the berserk Rhino's charge, spinning at the right moment to grin with satisfaction as his sword carved a deep groove in the Rhino's chest. But he seemed unfazed by the impact. Pax raised his sword at the ready but the Rhino kept moving forward, straight for Lancal. The Excalibur raised his twin blades just in time to block a frontal swing from the massive greatsword, the force of the impact sending a jarring pain through his arms. Lancal grew frantic as he heard a distinct crack coming from his sword. He couldn't believe it. A single swing from the Rhino had cracked his swords.

 

Before he could ponder further, he was thrown aside as Jon slammed into him, throwing him out of the way of the Rhino's fist, which slammed thunderously into the wall behind them.

 

Jon swung at the Rhino with elegant slashes from his polearm. He was completely taken aback as swirling silver streaks ebbed and flowed across his target's body, sending sparks showering from the points of contact. He managed to land a powerful spinning kick to the Rhino's head, knocking him down to the ground. Jon backpedaled into formation with the others as the Rhino rose, greatsword held defensively in front of him.

 

He's very strong, observed Jon, noticing Lancal's heavily cracked blades. But not too fast. And it seems like I disoriented him with that kick.

 

“Again!” he shouted and saw as Pax and Lancal dashed to the sides of the motionless Rhino, streaks of crimson spurting from the points where they slashed into his arms. Jon charged forwards as the Rhino's sword dropped to the ground. He held his polearm at the ready, adjusting it slightly as it lanced towards the Rhino's heart. He gasped as the polearm shattered amidst a sea of silver. No!

 

The Rhino was playing them all along. He gasped as powerful hands crushed his shoulders as he felt the Rhino bellow viciously and hurl him into a wall. The world was a sea of light and pain for Jon as he felt the Rhino let go of him. In the background, he heard his comrades shout something, but it hurt too much for him to comprehend anything. As the world settled back into his vision, he heard the distinct clang of swords rapidly connecting with each other. He managed to crane his head to witness the fight in front of him.

 

He saw as Lancal and Pax struggled to keep the vicious assault of the Rhino at bay, rapidly parrying his furious swings. Jon had never seen anyone wield a Galatine with such mastery, despite having deep gouges in their arms. As his hearing began to focus more, he could hear the rapid pants that the Rhino was making. They weren't of fatigue, Jon thought. I've heard this before. He grimaced as he raised himself off the floor, bits of debris from the wall shaking loose from his form. Its the sound of madness.

 

He watched as Pax dodged underneath a vicious swing, only to meet the Rhino's knee as it slammed into his chest. Lancal quickly stood in front of his comrade to protect him from the maniac, and Jon ran and grabbed the remains of his polearm, dashing straight for the Rhino's back. With a bellow of his own, he drove the blade right into the Rhino's back, feeling a satisfying lurch from him as the shaft dug into his back. He flipped backwards and jogged to Pax and Lancal as the Rhino sunk to his knees, a pool of crimson growing beneath him.

 

“Are you alright?” he whispered, deftly grabbing one of Lancal's blades as his comrade threw it at him.

 

Pax winced as he got up. “Lost a few ribs. Son of a *@##$ hits hard.”

 

The three of them saw as the Rhino rose to his feet, gasping as the shaft of the polearm dug further into his skin. Jon watched in awe as he simply leaned back and pulled the weapon off his back, a small spurt of blood accompanying the clang of the weapon as it was thrown to the floor.

 

It took him a moment to realize that the Rhino was speaking, his head looking down at the ground.

 

“You hurt her.”

 

“He's crazy!” shouted Pax and dashed towards the Rhino, his sword cutting deep into his side; the Rhino lurched, but stepped forwards, limping slowly towards them.

 

“You hurt her,” he repeated, as Pax swung around to slash into the Rhino's left leg. The Rhino sunk to his knees.

 

“You hurt her.”

 

“I've had enough with this guy!” bellowed Pax and he dashed yet again, this time aiming for the Rhino's jugular.

 

“YOU HURT HER!!!” the Rhino roared. Trepidation crawled in Jon's stomach, but it was too late. A massive fist slammed into Pax's chest, leaving him hunched over next to the Rhino. F**k! thought Jon as he and Lancal rushed to help their comrade, but the Rhino deftly grabbed Pax and stood up. Pax struggled in his grasp, his entire body hanging above the ground, powerful fingers crushing his throat. The strength was unnatural, unbelievable. Somehow, deep inside, Pax knew that he had met his end.

 

The massive Rhino slammed the helpless Excalibur intot he ground, breaking his spine with the force of his throw. Jon quickly pulled to the right, leading Lancal away from their doomed comrade. Damn it.

 

The Rhino stood still, looking down at Pax's twitching body. Somehow, the Excalibur hadn't died yet. An armoured head cocked to the side, looking straight at Jon. The Rhino oozed blood from his many wounds, yet his posture suggested no pain.

 

“He is your friend.” said the Rhino. The low voice echoed ominously in the corridor, and fear gnawed at Jon. This Tenno was different. He didn't feel pain.

 

“I had a friend once. He was a brother to me. You know what happened to him?”

 

Jon gasped as the Rhino raised a massive foot and held it above his friend's cracked helmet.

 

“I killed him.”

 

Lancal shouted as the massive foot slammed into Pax's helmet. A small gout of crimson escaped the crushed helmet. Their blood froze when the Rhino laughed again, the maniacal laughter accompany his possessed voice.

 

“I enjoyed it. I beat him to a pulp. He had hurt me. He had hurt her.”

 

The laughter stopped. Jon couldn't move. The thing that had taken the life of his friend was not a Tenno.

 

It was a monster.

 

Aiden's foot slammed into Pax's helmet again and again, each time accentuated by a shout.

 

“BECAUSE! OF! YOU!!!”

 

He began to walk towards them slowly, his left foot leaving behind bloody footprints in his wake. Rage bubbled in Lancal's stomach as he saw Pax's bloody corpse left behind the Rhino. With a vicious shout he charged at the Rhino, with the sole intent to hurt and kill the bastard who had killed Pax.

 

The gleeful cackle escaped the Rhino's mouth as he parried Lancal's thrust with ease. He responded with an elbow to the Rhino's helmet as well as a kick in his already wounded leg. The Rhino collapsed in a fit of laughter. This only enraged Lancal even more.

 

“Stop laughing you son of a *@##$!” he bellowed slamming a foot into the Rhino's gut. That stopped the laughter, to Lancal's surprise.

 

“It hurts doesn't it?” seethed the Rhino.

 

He was forced to dodge the violent lunge from the Rhino, who immediately followed with a daring uppercut from the inside, The Galatine's guard slammed into his sword, and it shattered around the crack, much to Jon's fear. He rushed into the fight to try and distract the Rhino, slashing at his sword arm. He slashed once again at the Rhino's other leg, making him stumble and drop the giant sword. Jon quickly kicked the blade aside, sending sparks flying into the air as it slid across the ground.

 

Lancal sprinted to the other side, standing next to the Rhino who was struggling to get up. Jon could not believe the resilience of the Rhino. No one should be able to live with that amount of wounds.

 

“Why won't you die?” he heard himself whisper, feeling something he never felt before.

 

For the first time in his life, Jon felt fear.

 -oOo- 

So much pain. Aiden could feel the blood dripping from the many wounds on his body. Their blades had cut with ease into his Orokin. Damn them. Damn them all!

 

He refused to let the image of Cathy go away. Memories flooded his mind, always culminating in that night. The night she was taken away from him. His brows furrowed and his teeth gnashed as he forced himself up, ignoring the bouts of dizziness and numbness that accompanied severe blood loss. His arms felt weak. His legs felt like lead. He was as close to dead as he could get.

 

But he couldn't die.

 

No...not yet. He heard on of the Guardians whisper behind him. “Why won't you die?”

 

He rose to his full height, letting the blackness consume him once again. The pain was vanishing, replaced by a desire to kill, to maim, to slaughter.

 

He turned around, feeling the silver dance around his arms. He looked at the two Excaliburs in front of him. One with a broken sword, fingers clenched in anger, and the other, his sword by his side. Aiden clenched his fists, the silver solidifying as he spent the last of his energy strengthening the shield around his arms.

 

“I won't die...” he heard himself mumble. “I can't die.”

 

The angry Excalibur rushed towards him, fists raised. He heard the first one ask, “Why?”. The rushing Excalibur managed to land a hit against his armoured head, but the repeated hits left it splintered and cracked. He managed to grab the Excalibur's legs and tackled him to the ground. Before he could land a blow, he felt himself thrown backwards by a kick from the first Excalibur. He grimaced as a searing hot pain stemmed from his chest. Fresh blood seeped through the cut as the Excalibur brandished his sword, drops of blood dripping from it.

 

A familiar melody began to play in his mind, one that he cherished a lot, for it was a key to many more memories. Wonderful, sweet memories of bliss and calm. For the first time ever since she was gone, Aiden was calm.

 

“I can't die...because I can't forget her,” he replied archaically, before he charged.

 

Jon could see the sudden change in the Rhino's demeanour. As he lunged towards a screaming Lancal, he saw the brute disappear to be replaced by a cold blooded killer. He tried to intervene, but it was too late yet again. Aiden slammed a massive silver fist into the Excalibur's raised arm, cracking the armour with ease; he followed with a vicious uppercut, one which Lancal took the brunt of. Jon rushed in before the Rhino could finish him off, raising his sword above his head, but a blinding light lanced above his head and suddenly he felt something fall next to him.

 

He looked down to see an arm clutching a sword. His arm. He gaped at the charred stump which was all that remained of his left arm. To his left, stood an Ember Prime, her Glaive glowing a brilliant white in her hands.

 

“What...?”

 

The Ember raised her Glaive, spinning the blade rapidly as she spoke. “Rest with peace, Brother.”

 

The last thing Jon saw was the disc of brilliant white arcing towards his head. Strangely enough, the last cohesive thoughts that flowed through his head were the words of the Rhino.

 

Because I can't forget her. I wonder what he means?

 

Darkness.

 

-oOo-

 

Lily turned around to see a gruesome sight. Aiden was crouched over the body of the motionless Excalibur, his silver fists slamming again and again into the corpse's chest cavity. She rushed to his side, worried at the scores of wounds that dotted his body.

 

“Aiden! AIDEN!” she screamed, pulling him arm away from the body. He looked at her, stopping dead in his tracks.

 

The last thing he had remembered feeling was a savage pleasure, one that he received as he felt the bones of the Excalibur's chest break, as he destroyed flesh and beat the life out of him. And yet suddenly he was looking at Lily, blood drenching his silver arms.

 

He stumbled as he tried to get up, but Lily grabbed him under the arm and hoisted him up to his own feet. He felt cold. Numb. Dead.

 

The fight was over. He had won. For some benign reason though, Aiden felt no pleasure in his victory. As he walked forwards to pick up his sword, a lone though occupied his head, apart from the sounds of blood dripping onto the ground.

 

What am I?

[Jeahanne]

Fantastic story Jeahanne! +1 for you!

 

In unrelated news, because I'm terrible at explaining a character's capabilities/appearences by simply writing stories of them, here's my newest character:

https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/182223-share-your-character-ooc-discussion/?p=2532939

Also comes with a little story.

 

I do plan on fleshing out his personality on this thread, so if he sounds canon-breaking please let me know now!

Thanks!

 

Edit: Also, the Cyrios that I use here and the Cyrios I use in continuities like Life in a Dead System are the same character, but in different universes. So what happens here doesn't necessarily happen there, and visa versa. The event and person posted above are just a sort of baseline for the character.

First off: Thank you!

 

And secondly, Fish, while I love the idea... it's not what I'd call cannon. However, if the others think it's ok for him to be in the thread I won't really protest.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Jeahanne

[fishworshipper]

Too much awesome! I can't +1 fast enough!

 

 

First off: Thank you!

 

And secondly, Fish, while I love the idea... it's not what I'd call cannon. However, if the others think it's ok for him to be in the thread I won't really protest.

 

I can definitely see why it could be non-canon.

 

The main train of thought I'm having is: They have the technology (Hek, they have WAY better technology) to do such a thing, as demonstrated by Captain Vor. Vor's got the key, which not only does that fancy shield thing but literally makes him immortal, and plenty of Grineer prosthetics. If the Grineer can do it, the Orokin sure as Hek can. I'd imagine the prosthetics would actually be severely outdated tech, used to try and stop the Sentients from taking over it. But that's just brainstorming/excuses. Either way, you guys are good at judging canon, soooo... your choice, really!

Edited April 19, 2014 by fishworshipper

[Spikey844]

Bej, just amazing.

And jea, sorry about not getting my story together. Stuff overwhelmed me.

[MandoKarla]

I just want to ask one thing. Can we avoid killing Vor? I don't see Vor being the type that can just be recloned. What are people's opinions on this?

[Ajkrumen]

I just want to ask one thing. Can we avoid killing Vor? I don't see Vor being the type that can just be recloned. What are people's opinions on this?

sorry.

[ensignvidiot]

I just want to ask one thing. Can we avoid killing Vor? I don't see Vor being the type that can just be recloned. What are people's opinions on this?

 

sorry.

 

 

If the crazy nova Rachim doesnt put an arrow through his non-aug'd eye, my Vectis will find its mark.

 

Given the Councilor Vey Hek to Birdman the Invincible, i have to say the Cloned leader theory isn't a far stretch.

[bejuizb]

Bej, just amazing.

Thanks buddy!

 

And what's this talk of killing Vor? Currently going through a brain derp phase, sorry.

[EDeN153]

I'll be out with a story today.

[Pyjamalama]

I just want to ask one thing. Can we avoid killing Vor? I don't see Vor being the type that can just be recloned. What are people's opinions on this?

Captain Vor is effectively immortal through the use of ancient Orokin Tech. The game and devs say so themselves, if I remember correctly. A new Vor isn't cloned again and again, it's always the same Vor. All that we manage to do in the game is more or less just temporarily paralyse him... 

[EDeN153]

If you guys have seen what is, effectively, the "end credits" scene of The Call trailer, you've seen what happens.

Edited April 20, 2014 by EDeN153

[MandoKarla]

Captain Vor is effectively immortal through the use of ancient Orokin Tech. The game and devs say so themselves, if I remember correctly. A new Vor isn't cloned again and again, it's always the same Vor. All that we manage to do in the game is more or less just temporarily paralyse him... 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! That's right, I forgot he glued himself back together....