Disclaimer: Digital Extremes owns nearly everything.
"I've got to find her, I've got to find her. The Lotus said she was here. The Lotus said she was here!"
Zedre ran past another corridor, making sure to illuminate the passageway with fire. She was searching for someone.
"Damn it! She'll be here. She'd never die, she'd never die! Too resilient, too stubborn, too tenacious. Damn it!" The hallway transforms into an inferno as she meets with another dead-end. "This is getting ridiculous!"
The Lotus' neutral voice links to her suit. "Tenno, you must calm yourself. She is here, but I am not sure you will like the state she is in," she laments.
What the hell did she mean by that? If they have touched her with even one finger I'll burn this fucking place to the ground—air, sky, whatever! Zedre's turmoil came from the state her sister was in. Her sister, Anilare, had been captured during the Gradivus Dilemma as the chaos of trying to find their Tenno brothers and sisters, or stopping the enslavement of a population, had ensued. Anilare was barely younger than Zedre when the Tenno went into cryo, but she had been so optimistic and carefree! No one will take her from me. They'll all die. Every last one. Turning on her heel, Zedre sped down the hall, blazing a trail of fire and brimstone with each step.
Rage was a wonderful and potent phenomenon. If Zedre could power her Ember Prime suit with unbridled fury, she would never need those Orokin Cells; Zedre needed control, however, not rage. A little hard to control myself around such swine. These greedy bastards took her from me! None of them will live. I swear it. Her suit clanks along the ground as she sprints through the passageways, letting all Corpus squads within her vicinity know she had arrived with violent intent. A squad of Corpus crewman uncoiled out of cover to fire a few rounds, only they never got the chance. Zedre, with unbounded truculence, combusted everything within view, boiling each crewman's skin off inside their uniform. Zedre smirked, prepared or not, they could not impede her. She peregrinated the rest of the distance to the large pneumatic sliding door further down the hall.
Please be alive. Too young, too tenacious, too stubborn. The door slid open with a whirring whine. Zedre stepped in, only to be accosted by a squad of Corpus. They love to burn. Except something seemed off about their actions: they were not really attacking her, just pointing their weapons in her general direction; a figure stepped down from his perch. He was a short man, with sunken eyes and metal implants along his face. Along his neck a large, flat, circular collar.
"Ah, Tenno! What a surprise." He seemed oddly jolly to be meeting a member of the Elite. "I was just about to send another squad out to find you. Thank you for your consideration."
"Where is she?" Zedre bit out.
"Hm? Oh, you mean the feisty little runt that is currently undergoing reconstruction?"
Zedre snapped. Suddenly, the whole room lit up in flames as Zedre spawned a swirling mass of fire and anger. Then the flames subsided. She cooled, and Zedre stood there, stunned. Where did my fire go?
The man began laughing. "It seems my pet has thwarted your plan; but where are my manners, allow me to introduce you to Zanuka!"
Immediately, a creature made of familiar looking material leapt from the darkness and lunged for Zedre. Zedre proceeded to roll clear of the machines attack. "Oh, I think she wants to play!" proclaimed the man.
The hell is this thing? It doesn't matter, Anilare is more important. Disabling the suits built-in power control, Zedre increased the intensity of her flames, resulting in the floor melting underfoot, permitting passage. The man's bemused countenance quickly morphed into one of shock. "Damn it! All squads, make your way to the Experimentation Chamber! We must not let Tenno capture our 'projects!'"
Landing with a heavy thud, Zedre reconnoitered her environmental milieu. Silver, gleaming walls, all sharp angles and clinical blankness. Row after row of clean (dirtied only by past actions) tables filled the room, making it far more cluttered than necessary. Zedre re-capped the heat limit for her suit. She's here somewhere. I dropped seven floors. The map says down this hall. Zedre sprinted toward the door opposite of her. Boots clanked behind her somewhere. Zedre turned, and using a stream of liquid fire, melted the hole she came in through, and welded the smaller door to her left. That ought to keep them out. She began the hacking process. Just beyond this door. She'll be fine, too tough to die. Delicate maybe, but tough. Does that even make sense? Doesn't matter, almost done. Close. So very close. The door opened with a mechanical whir, cogs twisting and granting passage.
The room on the other side suggesting some new material made up this room, at least apart from the walls before this chamber. Pods lined the walls, with large machines that sparked burning flares along particular points of the pods. Across the chamber, large tubes connected two of the pods together. Hm. She could be in any one of these. No matter; I'll burn them all. Just then, three Corpus scientists walked around the two pods connected by pipes.
"Her vitals seem to have elevated slightly after that last modification," spoke the male on the left.
"Yes, but that occurs after every modification, do you think this one could mean something different?" questioned the female in the middle, looking at the pod with a brow raised.
"Who cares! Aren't either of you worried about the breach?" exclaimed the obviously terrified man on the right.
The other two paused to look at him. "Are you implying that a Tenno warrior could make it down here without sir Alad V catching them?" spoke the male. "You know he doesn't take kindly to a lack of faith, especially when Profit itself is on the line."
The man on the right looked absolutely outraged. "Of course I believe Alad could destroy any Tenno that came along, but what if those traitors managed to sneak in others? All of this work would be for naught!"
Oh, it will be for nothing. Zedre stamped her left foot to the ground. The scientists turned to see her. The blood drained from their faces. "Get out!" Zedre shouted, trying to control her temper. "Leave now, and I won't have to kill you all." The scientists, suddenly overcome with zeal from years of the Indoctrination Temples' teachings, rushed her. Zedre calmly lit them into three resplendent fires. With the scientists charred and scorched, Zedre moved toward her objective.
The pods the scientists were examining appeared to be armored and electrically shielded. If Anilare is in one of these, it's much too risky to melt them. Hm. Controls, need to find the controls. Fingers flying across the holographic interface, Zedre soon obtained the correct key for the command to open the pods. Marching to the pad by the armored pods, Zedre input the code. The pods seemed to shudder violently before collapsing the armor plating, allowing Zedre to peer inside. One held a suit of Tenno armor, one that Zedre had never seen before. Sleek lines of armor with the appearance of muscle, clawed boots and fingers, a curved back that seems to have been ripped open, the suit was stunning, but nothing of Tenno creation. Turning her attention to the other pod, Zedre saw her. Anilare!
Anilare looked so peaceful and calm, ostensibly sleeping, in the opaque liquid. Her white, short hair flowing in the aqueous material, gracefully. Zedre rushed to the pod, trying to find the control panel to release her sister, but to her frustration, the panel was bare of any keys or ciphers, save for an unrecognized Corpus emblem lying in the center. What does this symbol mean? Does it open the pod? It can't be that simple. The Corpus, though ineffective at combat, were not idiots. Stealing herself, Zedre tapped the emblem regardless of her reservations.
The glass containing Anilare began to flicker in and out of sight. Wait! No! What's happening? Zedre began to panic, Please, no, not now! Not when I'm so close! A brilliant flash of light, and the pod was gone. "Fuck!" Zedre screamed. "This can't be happening—" she sat on the ground, crest-fallen, "Not now," whispered a defeated Zedre. Her mask unhinged and collapsed in on itself to the point behind the nape of her neck. A tear. Two. Three. "This is all my fault. I should have asked the Lotus for guidance, or a translation of some sort for that symbol. And now Anilare is . . . gone." Her red hair fell, framing her face. A shuffling of boots outside the large doorway. Zedre did not care. The door opened. Zedre did not care. A ballyhoo of calls and voices from Corpus. Zedre still did not care.
"Ah, here you are, Tenno. I must say, I was worried about you for a moment there, almost escaping like that," Alad sneered. "Oh. And what's this? One of my pods is missing? How amusing, Tenno. You tried to extract her from the pod! Did you not think we have backups?"
"Shut it, ingrate," muttered Zedre.
"Aw. Does your guilt inhibit you? Poor, poor Tenno."
The mask slid from her neck, ensconcing her face from the glares of the Corpus. "I will end you and your pet right here, right now," Zedre vociferated. Fire burst forth from the walls, destroying all the machinery near them.
"Oh, does the Tenno want to play now? How fun!" Zanuka hunched up beside Alad, readying itself for attack. Suddenly, the pod behind Zedre shattered, showering her in glass and metal. She did not care, her suit could protect her. Alad, however, looked awestruck. Zedre turned. There, in the synthetic, muscle-like, armor, stood Anilare, eyes blazing. "So, Tenno, you leave me at an impasse, as I now have to obliterate her as well. No matter, we have her DNA, we'll just clone her like the Dogs do to themselves."
Zedre just stood there, heart pounding, and eyes wide. "Anilare . . ." Anilare moved slowly forward, approaching Alad with murderous intent.
"Zanuka, attack!" commanded Alad. Zanuka leaped toward Anilare.
"Anilare!" cried Zedre. But it did not matter, for Anilare reached up and caught Zanuka mid-air by the mechanical throat, staggering a bit. Zanuka scrabbled at the hand closing over its neck. Anilare looked up. Zedre noticed then that Anilare's eyes were alight with seething energy, her face contorted into a countenance of pure, unbridled abomination of all things. The scars that lacerated a once smooth, innocent face only intensified the intimidation Anilare never before possessed. Abruptly, Anilare slammed Zanuka into the ground. Alad looked utterly aghast.
"What have you . . . How . . . ?" Alad couldn't form a coherent sentence. An ethereal-like whip wrapped around the neck of the nearest elite crewman; Anilare gave the whip a tug and promptly sent the Corpus soldier into a wall. The others immediately began firing at her. In a flash of orange, effusive light, Anilare erupted into a berserk rage. Orange gauntlets, pulsing with raw energy, materialized around closed fists. The magnetically propelled slugs the Corpus used seemed to evaporate before hitting Anilare's shields. The ethereal whip from before latched on to the metal beam above the Corpus soldiers near Alad, and Anilare, jumping and retracting the whip, propelled herself forward, smashing the claw-tipped boot of her suit through the skull of two Corpus soldiers. Anilare skidded across the floor, claws tearing into the ground. Only Alad remained, stricken.
Zedre stared, no words able to propagate. Alad, from what she could see, looked thoroughly horrified. Zedre began to move toward him, intent on snapping his pathetic body in two, but before she could reach him, he teleported away. "That son of a bitch!" she snarled. Zedre stood for maybe five seconds before turning toward Anilare and retracting her helmet. She rushed toward her, excited beyond words. Anilare turned her head, eyes blazing, the scars still there. Before Zedre could react, Anilare's gauntlets grasped her throat and hauled her upward.
"Anilare! It's me, your sister!" Zedre choked out. The hold on her throat strengthened. The room began to swim as her vision blurred. Is this really how she would die? At the hands of her broken, crazed sister? "Please . . . " Zedre begged, bordering consciousness and asphyxiation. The hand around her throat released her. Zedre toppled to the floor, breathing heavily, trying to regain full cognizance. Moments later, she heard a thump, followed by heavy sobbing. Picking herself up, Zedre moved to a now red-faced, weeping Anilare. Zedre sat behind Anilare, reaching around her waist, and pulling Anilare toward her. She rested her chin on Anilare's head, whispering words of comfort to her sorrowing sister.
"Hey, it's over now. You'll be fine, Anilare. I promise. These people won't hurt you anymore." Anilare kept grieving. She's so broken. What did they do to her?
Just when Zedre nearly faltered in anger, a soft, cracked voice spoke thus, "Why?" Anilare asked.
"Why what?"
"Why would they make me like this? Why?" pleaded Anilare. Zedre had no response, for what could she say that would comfort her broken sister? Anilare ceased crying, vouching to relax in her sister's arms instead. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours, just enjoying the other's presence.
"Anilare?" Zedre questioned. Anilare made a small sound of acknowledgement. "You ready to go?" She nodded her head. Sighing, Zedre stood, helping Anilare to her feet. "Here, let me help carry you." Nodding, Anilare threw her arm around Zedre's shoulders, and they shuffled down the various corridors towards the landing pad.
Before opening the final door, Anilare activated her helmet, waiting for metal to encase her face. Zedre noticed a peculiar fact about the helmet currently situated around Anilare's head. It's asymmetrical. It's almost . . . broken. Like her. Exhaling loudly, Zedre began shambling forward, most of Anilare's weight allocated to her shoulders.
"Lotus?" Zedre said.
A comm link opened. "Did you find her?"
"Yes."
"Sending the shuttle now."
Zedre shifted her weight a little, trying not to drop Anilare. The shuttle flew before them, hovering with its door open. Zedre, with Anilare in her arms, went inside and sat down, exhausted from both the mental and physical strain. "Thanks," Anilare said.
"Don't mention it." Within moments, they were both sound asleep, Anilare's head on Zedre's shoulder.
I have decided to make this a three part story! Constructive Criticism is, of course, very much so appreciated!