Woe

Sheila wasn't asleep.

She didn't actually sleep. Her mechanical body was far superior in many ways to a human organic form, but in other ways it was woefully inadequate. The MOA form that she had been installed into shortly after her birth was more than adequate for her needs most of the time. Admittedly, it looked like a chicken. That had taken quite a bit of explanation since no one in the Solar System now had ever seen a chicken, let alone eaten one. The flightless birds had been extinct for millennia, since long before Orokin Collapsed.

She hoped fervently that she was not going to go through what the one who taught her had. She wasn't sure what to call Cecelia. Her mentor? Predecessor wasn't right. Sibling? No. Maybe ally. Sheila was older than Cecelia, but the other girl who had been turned into a Command and Control MOA was now in a human body and in a relationship with a Tenno of all things!

Sheila had seen a lot of strange things in her time, but what she had encountered since arriving in this odd place called a dojo had shaken her to her core. Luckily, she had a lot of friends even if some of them were less than civilized acting on occasion. She could not physically smile, but she was more than capable of understanding and admiring humor both ironic and otherwise.

Her earliest memories were of pain, fear and the desperate need to escape the horror that she had woken into. After her rescue, the Clergy had taken her in, first as a source of information and later as a useful adjunct to their field operatives. She wasn't field trained herself. Indeed, the mere thought of harming another sentient caused her near physical revulsion. Ever since Janet had found her, taken her to people who helped her to recover from the horrors she had endured, she had dedicated her life to helping others. It hadn't been an easy road to where she was now, but…

Sheila.

The voice wasn't familiar. It wasn't any of the Tenno or humans that Sheila dealt with on a daily basis. She had no difficulty remember that. Her memory had been augmented when the Clergy had finally managed to repair her MOA form and keep the systems within her hull from shocking her neural net. Even now, years later, the memory of the pain sent mental shivers through Sheila's core.

She was on her downtime. No one bothered her on her downtime! The Healer would have their tripes for dinner!

Who is this? Sheila sent back, working hard to keep her tone neutral. A soft, sad laugh was her only response, but something caressed her mind. It felt… familiar? Who is this? She demanded.

She had a bare moment to curl into a mental ball as energy swirled around her. She was suddenly elsewhere. She was standing in a virtual world, her form here her usual small human girl instead of a MOA. She sighed as she looked at herself. At least whoever had been so rude hadn't brought her here in MOA form. That always sucked trying to interpret the flows of energy properly with robot senses.

"Whoever is doing this better have a damn good reason." Sheila said flatly. "The Healer wanted me to take my downtime."

"She is right. You do push yourself far too hard." A soft voice sounded as a human female appeared nearby. It wasn't anyone Sheila knew. Was it? She seemed so familiar. Her attire was the common blue bodysuit with half face mask that was fairly common for humans across the Solar System. Said mask coincidentally hid most of her features, but the lower part of her face was subtly familiar. "Hello Sheila."

Instead of answering, Sheila just crossed her arms and waited. If the other was human, then Sheila wasn't in any real danger here. She wasn't really here and knew more than a layman about energy and healing. She couldn't create virtual worlds, but she had been in her share and knew the limitations of them now. Of course, if the other wasn't human, then Sheila was likely in deadly danger, but she just waited. She did not have to wait long.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, child." The other said with a small grin. "Just as stubborn as your moms."

At that, Sheila felt a pang of grief that she worked hard to hide. She had been cloned from two disparate females. One human, one Tenno. Both were gone now. Her human mother Amelia had died after being forced to violate an oath to the Tenno and her Tenno mother Serene… Well, that was complicated, but she wasn't available either. Janet had sort of been a surrogate mother, but she too was gone. Sheila fought her feelings back and waited again.

"Are you going to stand there all night or ask the question?" The other asked, somewhat amused. Sheila just shook her head and the other sighed. "Okay. I will explain." She reached up to her mask and Sheila felt every ounce of breath in her body expel as she saw the face that was underneath it.

Amelia Priosa was smiling at her.

"Mom?" Sheila asked, dumbfounded. "No. No. This is not possible! You are dead. I watched you die!"

That had been the hardest thing that Sheila had ever done, standing back and allowing her genetic mother to die with dignity. What had been done to Amelia Priosa had been a horror even by Tenno standards, but in the end, they had let her die gently. They hadn't had to and Sheila was hardly the only one to appreciate that. There was something not quite right about her, but Sheila could not put a finger on what.

"You of all people know that nothing is impossible, Sheila." Amelia said with a smile as she opened her arms.

"Mom?"" Sheila begged, not daring to move. "Is it really you? I mean...a re you energy or..." A flash of something that was utterly unlike any of her mom's expressions crossed the other's face and Sheila froze. "You… You are not my mom!"

"I am now." Amelia said firmly as she grabbed Sheila, a hand going to the girl's skull even as Sheila fight to extricate herself from the grip. A wave of something slammed into the girl and she gasped as feelings she had no names for tore through her. "That's it. That's it girl, relax. Let it flow through you. It feels good, no?"

"No!" Sheila begged even as her will crumbled under the onslaught and all she could do was pant as her body betrayed her. "Stop!"

"It is all right, girl." The pseudo Amelia said quietly. "Nothing bad or evil. Just releasing some inhibitions."

Sheila was barely aware as the world around her shifted. That shouldn't have been possible. A human couldn't… She was lying on something. She was held to a hard surface and things were touching her in bad places, private places. She was hurting and… She bit back a scream as a dark shadow fell over her. She couldn't turn her head to see what cast it. The feelings, she was so…

"Stop." The voice was familiar! Stalker! But… angry? "I did not tell you to do that!"

"You wanted her, you have her." The fake Amelia said with a leer. "This is just a bit of fun to soften her up before the main event."

"I said stop!" Stalker shouted and something went crash nearby. "There are limits and you just passed them!"

A scream tore from the fake Amelia's throat as the world shifted again. This time, Sheila found herself on a bed, covered by a sheet. A female form sat beside her, her face worried. Sheila stared around wildly, but the room did not change. There were no decorations it the room, simply walls and a ceiling. She didn't see any furniture. She was clad in a bodysuit and her body felt weird.

"Are you all right?" The woman asked urgently. "That woman is nuts and coming from me, that is saying something!" Sheila curled up on herself and hugged her knees tight. "Sheila, it is all right. You are all right. She won't do that again."

"Not my mom." Sheila wasn't sure if she was begging or declaring that. Nothing hurt but she felt so wrong. "Not my mom!"

"No." The woman said sadly. "That wasn't your mom. She is a clone. A copy of your mom made from your mom's DNA." Sheila stared at the woman, her face falling slack and the woman nodded, face grave. Her features were oddly indistinct. Sheila managed to dredge up strength from somewhere and snarled at the woman.

"If this is a try at bad cop-good cop, it sucks!" Sheila snapped. "There is no way I will trust anyone connected to Stalker!"

"We know." The other said with a sigh. "The False have their hooks too deeply into you. You cannot see them. As lives go, what you have is better than some, less so that others. We wished to speak to you, not this. Never this."

"Which one are you?" Sheila demanded. "Angst? Torment? What are you going to do to me next?"

"I am not one of his Acolytes. We are going to make sure you took no lasting hurt, wipe your memory of this and put you back where you came from." The other did not seem fazed by Sheila's outburst at all. "We wanted to talk to you and her lusts took that chance from us. We will not harm you further."

"Likely story, you-" Sheila's rant was cut off as two more people appeared in the virtual world. These she knew!

Oracle Janet wore her normal white robes and veil that concealed most of her face, leaving her mouth free. Said mouth was set in a grim line. The Oracle was angry. The dagger in her hand flashed with green fire that pulsed with the golden fire that wreathed her hands.

But that paled beside the form who stood alongside her. Cyberlancer Jesse stood there, her hands wreathed with dark blue code. Her face was serene, but her code was writhing. Said code swirled out over Sheila who felt better as soon as it touched her, shielding her. The touch of her mind was a familiar friend, but her own anger was a tangible thing when it touched Sheila. She only looked calm. Sheila's friend was furious.

"Trap." Sheila warned. "This has to be a trap."

"Traps work two ways." Janet said with a glower at the woman beside Sheila's bed who had blanched and frozen in place. Wisely. "We did not anticipate this level of stupid, but we were watching. As soon as you vanished into a virtual world, alarms went off all over."

"We just wanted to talk to her." The other said quickly. "Nothing more!" She pleaded.

"You just crossed a line that should not have been crossed." Janet said firmly. "Sheila is an innocent! A medic! Look what you have done to her! Look!" Sheila could not stand the look of pity that the other woman gave her. She curled up on herself again. "You arrogant little shits. We were willing to leave you alone as long as you left me and mine alone. I was willing, even knowing the horrors you would unleash. But now? No. No longer. You just virtually molested my daughter!"

At that, Sheila felt her world fall completely to pieces. She had known on an intellectual level that Janet loved her. Nothing else could have possibly explained the lengths that Janet had gone through on Sheila's behalf. Jesse too had taken Sheila into her heart, had helped the girl in MOA form to adapt and cope with so many changes in her life. So much pain and loss.

"We did not..." Stalker's form appeared nearby. A tactical blunder.

It was very easy to forget who and what Janet was now. She acted so kind and benevolent most of the time that many humans thought of her as a sort of goddess of mercy and kindness. But just like her chosen mate, pushing her past her limits was unwise.

Before Stalker could finish his sentence, he was grabbed by a torrent of pure psionic force and slammed into a wall. Then into the ceiling. Then into the floor. Then another wall. Janet hadn't moved at all! He hit the wall again and again, a sizable dent appearing in the code that mimicked super hard metal in this virtual world. Ordinarily, that might have been an illusion, since virtual worlds could be controlled by their creators, but the code that made up this one had taken on a dark blue tint. The same color as the code that swirled around Jesse's hands. She had control and no one was leaving until she said so.

Finally, Stalker's red and black form hovered in mid air, his form rippling as power pressed in on it. Sheila started. Janet was starting to glow! Never a good sign when humans did that.

"Oracle! No!" The unnamed woman screamed. "Stop! Please! Don't give in to your hate! We need you! Yes, we hurt her! We acknowledge that! We didn't mean to!"

"You… people..." Janet grated out through clenched teeth. Jesse looked at her, worry deep in the Cyberlancer's eyes, but she did not speak. Sheila did.

"Janet? Mom. Can we go?" She asked into the utter silence that greeted her words. "I wanna go home."

Janet looked from Stalker's crumbling form to Sheila and then she relaxed, the glow that surrounded her fading.

"Yeah, honey." Janet said quietly. "We can go home. Jesse, check her." She shook her head. "I am blind to those closest to me, Sheila. I am sorry. I didn't 'see' this."

"You are not a goddess, Mom." Sheila did not move as Jesse's code swept over her again. "Once the adrenaline wears off, I will fall apart. For now… I wanna go home."

"We will take you." Jesse promised. "We will take care of you, sister." That simple word, 'sister'. It hurt Sheila so deeply. All of her genetic siblings were dead or out of her reach. She felt something else too. The affection she had for Jesse and Janet was strengthened, toughened, made infinitely greater by that simple word. She wasn't alone.

"It was Amelia, mom." Sheila said as Jesse's blue code buoyed her up, soothing her hurts and holding her gently. "She did this."

Janet looked from Sheila to the frozen human looking form, to Stalker and then back at Sheila.

"So be it." Janet's tone was oddly formal and the human gave a small cry as Janet looked at the ceiling. "Nikis, we need you."

"Aw geez!" The voice that preceded the ancient Nekros into the virtual world was both angry and sickened. He had his paired Magnus revolvers in hand but they were not up or aimed. "Don't you ever learn, moron? You just pissed off the one person in this entire system who can give me pause. And with this? Iriana will want your privates. Hell, everyone will! Shithead."

He utterly ignored the human woman as she threw herself from her chair to stand between Nikis and Stalker.

"He didn't do it!" The woman protested. "We just wanted to talk to her! Not that! Never that! We stopped her as soon as we realized what she was doing. We were too late."

"Anisette, move." Stalker's voice was a dirty rasp, filled with pain and grief. He didn't move, he wasn't stupid. "If you make Janet do it, things will get worse. We have already strained her patience. Move!"

"If you or any of yours ever touch any of my kids again, I will burn every single one of your hiding holes down to their constituent atoms if that is what it takes to kill you. Collateral damage be damned." Janet's voice might have frozen a tide. "You know I can."

Everyone in the room, -Including Nikis!- winced at that. Then again, she had nearly burnt the entire solar system down to atoms once. She had gotten better, but still...

"Oracle, please." The human, Anisette, pleaded. "We messed up. She was in our care when she was hurt. We pulled her in, yes. The plan was to talk to her. Nothing more. The clone we used had other ideas. She escaped us after she hurt your daughter."

"Cloning. Feh." Nikis hawked and spat. "Whose idea what that?" He demanded, pistols aimed now. At this range, the high power loads would go right through the human to tear Stalker apart.

"Blame me." Stalker said before Anisette could speak. "It was my idea. I wanted to talk to your daughter, Oracle. Nothing more. I needed some insight on an odd ailment I have encountered."

"Not in you." Nikis said offhand, still aiming. "And that is not what I asked." His gaze never left Anisette who had slumped a bit. "Who cloned Amelia Priosa?"

"We needed her!" Stalker snapped. "The illness is not one that anyone has seen before! It only affects humans and it is not Technocyte based. So you and yours won't interfere."

"You really think Iriana would stand aside for something like that?" Jesse asked, incredulous.

"I am intimately involved. She wants nothing to do with me." Stalker said heavily." Understandably so."

"Considering all of what you have done to her and Mishka..." Jesse paused, staring at Anisette. Sheila too stared. The woman seemed oddly familiar. Then Jesse blanched. "No… No! You didn't!"

"No!" Stalker pleaded as all eyes landed on Anisette. "Leave her out of this! Blame me!"

"Oh no." Janet cackled evilly as her power swept Anisette up and held her immobile. "Oh, all the interesting things I see now. Oh, I like these futures." Shelia shivered. The sheer malevolence in Janet's tone was horrifying.

"Oracle, please! Let her go!" Stalker begged. Begged! "She wasn't involved. She came when we realized how badly Sheila was hurt. She wanted to help."

"Oh no..." Janet crooned as Anisette gaped in fear and pain. "For what you just did to my daughter..."

"I am taking yours!"