Possibilities
"I am sorry, Mary. It cannot be done."
The soft words were expected, but they hurt nonetheless. Mary lay in the bed that would be her home for the foreseeable future and tried very hard not to cry. The Tenno child was very weak and hurt still after her month long imprisonment. No one had intended her to be so hurt but it had happened. The horror of her captivity, then the wonder of her rescue. So many people had helped her that they all blurred but two beings stood out in her pain. Healer Iriana had come and gone as needed when Mary was suffering and Grandmaster Nikis had been by a few times, oddly gentle and kind. She hadn't always been awake or coherent when they had been by, so she wasn't sure how many times they had come, but this last time, the scary black warframe had arrived while she was awake. Odd. She wasn't really afraid of him. She should be. She knew that. Everyone was afraid of him. But her? She wasn't.
Mary wasn't sure why her mother had trusted Nikis of all people to sit with the girl while she took care of her own needs, but he was good company. Odd. Mary had heard much about the Grandmaster of the Guardians of the Dead and none of it suggested he was kind at all. He did worry her, no question. But he was also kind in his own way, so she had asked the question that had been bothering her since she had first woken in the ICU after her rescue.
"I do not understand, Grandmaster." Mary shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable. Tenno hospital beds were fairly comfortable, but lying in one for so long in one was not comfortable no matter how much the bed adjusted to her movements. "He was in a warframe. You say his energy was destroyed. But in my studies, I have read that energy cannot be destroyed. Only changed."
Nikis stared at her and then he chuckled. "Doing homework, are you?"
"Um, yes sir." Mary flushed a little. "I have a lot of free time."
The Nekros warframe nodded. The docs were not going to let her out of their clutches for a long, long time. Good news was that she was not going to die, but she would need extensive help now, both medical and psychiatric. Many in the medical establishment were falling all over themselves to help her after her horrific experience at the hands of some of their own. Not to mention, she had a lot of stalwart defenders. Nikis reached out and patted her hand.
"Good girl." Nikis had a smile in his tone now. "Learn as much as you can. I wish I had been a better student myself sometimes. I have had lots of time to catch up on things, but it cost me a lot way back when. It took a couple of millennia to catch up on what I thought I knew and didn't.." Mary goggled at him, but then schooled her features as he spoke again. "What don't you understand?"
"We Tenno are energy that inhabit meat bodies. We are taught that from the moment we can understand the difference between Tenno and human." Mary said quietly, looking at Nikis for approval. The ancient Nekros nodded. "Tenno Aziz was caught in an energy discharge. I understand that. But why can the energy not be recovered? Recon- Recon- stratated?" She stumbled over the word and flushed, but Nikis patted her hand again.
"I think you mean 'reconstituted'. Big word for a little girl. Means 'put back together'." Nikis said with a nod. Mary nodded quickly and then he slowly shook his head. "Mary, you saw the recording. You saw how much power flowed through where he was. There was nothing left of him. I looked very carefully."
Not every Tenno seven year old was mature enough to handle such things, but Mary had demanded to know what had happened to Aziz. He had been so kind to her when he hadn't needed to be. She had not wanted to accept that he was dead. Several people including Healer Iriana had tried to keep the facts from her, but Mary was true Tenno. That is to say, as stubborn as any rock. She had watched the recording. Then she had watched it again. Only after a third time watching the fictional space battleship Yamato destroy the Formorian -and Aziz- had she allowed herself to break down and cry her heart out, had allowed the healers to ease her gently past the grief and fear that had permeated her entire being for so long. No one wanted to let her hurt now. But having survived such a horrific episode, to be saved and then to lose one of the ones who had saved her in such an awful way hurt. It hurt a lot. Mary slumped in her bed.
"I know." Mary said in a tiny voice. "But I have to hope. He was so kind to me. I mean, even I know the pragmatic thing would have been to kill me when they found me in that awful room. I did so many bad things."
"Mary..." Nikis shook his head. "Every Tenno has limits. I have limits, girl. Seeing you like this hurts even an old evil scum like me." Mary shook her head and he scoffed. "What? Arguing with a grandmaster now? What kind of Tenno are you?" Mary looked shocked but Nikis just chuckled. "Hey, there. Buck up, kid. I am just messing with ya."
"Grandmaster." Mary said softly. "Why are you acting so nice to me?" She stared around the room, but Nikis didn't react. "I mean, every story I have heard about the Guardians of the Dead says you don't have a heart."
"Because my son is dead." Nikis said quietly. Mary paled and he patted her hand again. "No. No. It ain't your fault. Not at all. Mary, I can't help him. I couldn't help him. I can help you and just for a moment, I can be someone other than who I normally am. I don't always like what I have to do, but this?" He reached up to stroke her cheek gently. "This, I can enjoy. Seeing you smile helps me cope."
"I am glad to help." Mary said in a weak voice. Her smile was heartfelt though. "Shouldn't there have been something left though? I don't know what to think. I just… I want to hope, Grandmaster." She pleaded.
"Nothing wrong with hope, Mary." Nikis said with a shrug. "It can be misplaced or misled, but hope itself is rarely a bad thing. We looked close, but none of us is perfect. He has been counted as dead before, so… maybe. I dunno. We all felt it, Mary." Nikis said in a very soft voice and looked at the floor. "We all heard him scream."
"I didn't." Mary said softly but firmly and Nikis nodded. She was true Tenno. If she found a cause she found worthy? Get the hell out of her way, seven years old or no.
"If you want to investigate, you are going to have to ask for others to be your hands and eyes. You are not leaving that bed for a while." Nikis said firmly. Mary looked away, but nodded. "Then comes the hardest part. You have to trust whatever they find." Mary bit her lip and nodded again. "You want me to ask around?"
"With all due respect, Grandmaster Nikis." Mary said softly. "You have made up your mind." Nikis thought about that for a moment and then growled in annoyance. She was right. "I can find someone. Someone I can trust."
"If they cross the Code or me, you know what will happen." Nikis warned. "There are limits for a reason. I am a Guardian of the Dead and my duty remains."
"I know." Mary met his face plate calmly. "But I feel… I think I need to do this. I think it will help. May I pursue this inquiry, Grandmaster?"
"I got no cause to say no." Nikis patted her hand yet again. "As I say, I ain't perfect. That said, I know some people who might be interested in helping. They are a little different." Mary looked at him and he chuckled. "Yeah, coming from me, I know that is a little much, but they are."
"Who?"
"The Lotus' kids."
Far across the solar system
Six hours later
"What do we do now?"
The voice of the speaker was plaintive and held more than a trifling amount of fear. The girl speaking wasn't really present. Instead, she and her peers were holographic. Even now, with all of the wondrous advances and rediscoveries, it simply wasn't safe for her to be around others physically. Even Tenno in warframes were not proof from the sheer power of the Zarimon children. That didn't even slow some people down. The group who stood around the main hall of this Tenno dojo considered this children kin and so much more. Anyone who harmed these kids again would pay in blood. Period.
"It is all right, Falcon." Healer Iriana said softly as she move to stand by the holographic girl who wasn't one. Falcon might look ten years old, but she was actually untold thousands of years old. After the accident with the Zarimon, none of the children aged physically at all. That was the least of their problems. "It is going to be all right. You are not alone."
"I know." Falcon said weakly. "But I am scared, Iriana. He just… It just..." She started to cry and one of her brothers stepped to her, taking her in his arms. As a child of Zarimon himself, Heron at least could touch her without fear. "He took our mom!"
"I know." Iriana projected calm and gentleness to the distraught girl and Falcon slowly relaxed in Heron's embrace. "Frankly, I are just as scared as you are. The last time an Executor showed up, bad things happened."
Falcon hiccuped a little, her fear altering to concern for the Healer as she stared at Iriana. Iriana had paid a heavy price when that particular Executor had tried to subvert her will, turn her into a willing slave. She had recovered, eventually, but she would bear scars both mental and physical for the remainder of her days. On the plus side? She had gained a new daughter out of it. Falcon smiled as Janna moved to stand beside her mother, but both were still reeling from the horrors and would be for a long, long time even with the best of medical care.
"Is he an Executor?" Heron sounded as confused as everyone else. "I remember him. Some. It is not clear." Fear shone in the boy's face, fear that was mirrored on every holographic face but one. The fury on one child's face was a terrible, tangible thing.
"Yes." Hawk snapped. "He was. Is." The angry girl shook her head. "Why didn't he die? He should have died with the rest! He deserved to die! He betrayed Margulis and gave her to the others!"
All of the kids looked angry at that and the clan leader slowly shook her head. Warlord Tiana was not a gentle soul much of the time, but she did know the children very well.
"Hawk." The Nyx Prime clad Tenno said quietly. "You of all people know how much the mind can play tricks." Hawk glared at the clan leader, but she did nod, manifestly against her will. "We do not know what happened. All of the few records we Tenno have from that time say the same thing: Margulis died." She bowed her head and all of the corporeal Tenno did likewise. "The Executors killed her for helping you all. Falcon." She moved to the still crying hologram. "What did you see? Exactly as you remember."
The distraught girl swallowed hard and then focused herself. All of the others with visible faces smiled approval as Falcon fought her way past her fear. She had come long way since her revival from the Second Dream. She was still more than a bit on the timid side and far more focused on healing than hurting, but every Tenno who knew her was pledged to her aid. Everyone liked her. Everyone hated seeing her cry.
"I was..." Falcon hiccuped again and then took a deep breath, stilling herself with a Tenno meditation. "I was examining the living quarters I had been given. Thank you by the way." She smiled at Tiana who smiled back.
"You are quite welcome." Tiana had a smile in her voice that matched the girl's as the other children nodded.
The children couldn't ever live in the same place corporeal with normal beings. Even Tenno had trouble dealing with the raw power that they exuded unconsciously. warframes were incredibly durable and easy to repair. So, it simply made sense to use such when dealing with the kids. That did not mean that the Zarimon children had to be confined to the Transference chairs for the rest of their existences. They could get up and move around, especially after the events that Teshin had set in motion, the confrontation with the Grineer Queens that had left them all reeling. Tiana and Iriana in particular had spent a great deal of time with the kids after that, working with them, trying to help them deal with the emotions of such revelations. Such deep personal moments were hard for veteran Tenno. For children who had never been allowed to grow up? Devastating. The least the clan could do to ease their stress had been to make living quarters available in the orbiter. Something far more comfortable than a chair. It had taken some doing and more than a bit of cybernetic slight of hand, but they had managed to get each of the hidden orbiters to revamp a section into living quarters. Each child was hidden someplace different. A safety precaution and a needed one with so many enemies about.
Tiana had been the first to visit Falcon's new home and the poor girl had broken down and cried for several minutes as she hugged Tiana's warframe tight enough to damage it. Then she had started to decorate her quarters. Tiana had left her to that, only to be called back quickly after Falcon had experienced something horrible.
The loss of her mother.
"I had set up the bed." Falcon said softly, trying to control herself and Heron hugged her again. "The aquarium was pretty and I hope to get some fish for it sometime." She took a deep breath. "When I moved to the window, I felt a portal. But it wasn't one. It wasn't golden. Darker. Purplish. I thought the Lotus was calling me, so I didn't resist." She visibly steeled herself. "I… I was on Luna. In the place I remember. The landing pad we went to after you removed us from the Reservoir, pulling us out of the Second Dream." She was shaking badly and Tiana slowly shook her head as Heron held her.
"Take your time, Falcon." Iriana said gently. "You are safe. You are here, among friends and family. You are safe, girl." She couldn't ever touch Falcon in the flesh without harm, but she wasn't about to let the girl suffer alone.
"There was a trail of energy." Falcon said weakly. "Purple or blue. I couldn't tell. I knew it was from her, but not why or how. I… I followed the trail. I think I was in a warframe, but I don't know. I..." She gave herself a shake. "Not one I knew. None of the ones I have touched."
At that, Tiana rocked back on her heels. Falcon and her siblings might not ever be able to move around in the real world safely, but they could- And did!- aid Tenno in the field. They added their energy, small bits of it to prevent damage, to Tenno who asked for help. That provided a hell of a force multiplier for any warframe.
Hawk had been experimenting on trying out a warframe without a meat Tenno inside and the results had been more than anyone had expected. She did burn them up, but they were easy to repair and replace. And the fact that she could pop in and out of it had surprised the hell out of lot of people. The Grineer Queens in particular had been shocked when Hawk had stepped out of her warframe in front of them, beaten their Guardians to a pulp and then stolen the scepter that had been their Orokin authority! Tiana had been shocked that Hawk had let Teshin kill the one who had enslaved him for so long, but that had been Hawk's choice. Tiana found that she liked that angry energy girl and she knew she wasn't alone.
"And then?" Iriana asked gently when Falcon buried her face in Heron's shoulder.
"I saw the wrecked Reservoir." Falcon mumbled through her brother's shoulder. "There was a hole. The trail led in, so I jumped in." She shook her head. "When I hit bottom, I was me, not a warframe. I felt safe, but I wasn't!"
"Easy." Iriana crooned, her face so sad. "Falcon, it is okay. It is okay."
"No, its not!" Falcon cried. "I saw her! I saw the Lotus! She was standing there. She bid me welcome but then… He touched me and I couldn't move! I couldn't move or say anything! She called him Ballas! He took her and I couldn't do a thing!" She was sobbing hard now.
"Stop." A firm, hard voice sounded and everyone spun to see Nikis stride into the room. Everyone, corporeal and not, stiffened, but the pitch black Nekros warframe did not stop. He strode up to where Falcon was recoiling in horror and… pulled her holographic form up into an embrace! He held her tight even as his warframe started to smoke. "You are not alone. I have my arguments with your mother, but you are not alone. Do not cry, Sister. You are not alone." He growled that and more than one of the onlookers stared. For her part? Hawk smiled a little.
"Let go!" Falcon begged. "Let go, Grandmaster Nikis! Please! I will hurt you!"
"No. I won't let you hurt me." Nikis' warframe as suddenly covered in orange energy. The smoke faded. "I am an old, evil, hating Tenno, but there are limits to everything. You lot have been hurt enough. Until we find your Mom, I stand with you and for you."
"What?" That incredulous sound came from every throat. Nikis growled at them.
"You lot hard of hearing?" He gave Falcon a squeeze. "Buck up, kid. This is bad, no question. But we can help and we will. Ya is kin. Hayden himself said so and I ain't gonna argue with the First Tenno."
"Really?" A golden hologram appeared in the middle of everything. Hayden Tenno was smirking. "A first time for everything, huh Nikis?"
"You hush." Nikis snarled, but it was humorous rather than scary as Falcon stared at him. "Easy, girl. Easy. Its gonna be okay." He didn't comfort well, but he was trying.
"What is going on?" Falcon begged as she relaxed a little.
"Apostasy."