So, I've been pressured into starting another fanfiction that will probably die in the eternal fires of hell from whence it came, given that I can't seem to focus on anything other than my Angels and Demons continuation
This is just a little start-up chapter that I've spent my spare time on when I'm either not on Xbox, not writing other things or when I'm not drawing, so please understand that it's probably crap... It's basically a combination of me and my three friends favorite frames and weapons, with me obviously being the ABSOLUTELY BADASS Chroma, the king of Dragons, as well as Nikana's for days, my friend and his Valkyr Prime who uses what is basically an infinite Hysteria loop build, a Loki user who does nothing but piss me off with his GOD DAMNED switch teleportation, then finally, my friend who uses Volt like a true badass and wacks the shit out of everything with a Bo staff...
PLEASE leave a review so that I can make it better and so I can see if there is any interest in me continuing this as I probably won't be...
Naughtbeast
Chapter 1:
Tenno… warriors of gun and blade… masters of the Warframe… a phrase which has grown to legend across the Origin System, a muttering that had come up anytime 'they' were mentioned. Whilst it might not have been true for the newly awoken additions to Tenno culture, for those that had been warring against the Corpus, Grineer, Infestation and the Orokin for countless years, it couldn't be closer to the truth. If one were to watch upon the battles that were fought by the hardiest and most skilled ranked among the Tenno, it could be described as nothing short of art.
And such was how one would the describe the battle raging upon a Grineer Famorian by a cell of Tenno sent to neutralise the threat in a 'Scorched Earth' policy, opting to crack three secured consoles to retrieve precious data to the Grineer and then continuing to sabotage the engines to stop it from ever proving a threat anymore. It was being undertaken by four of the Tenno's greatest, a motley crew that just so happened to work well under pressure and could get any mission completed no matter the cost.
And the Grineer Sargent sitting at the controls of said warship, his palms sweating in anticipation of the attack. He had been on a simple mission to destroy a colony of pesky Corpus, when his scanners had detected four signatures bee-lining for his cruiser. He had dispatched a small detachment of his crew to take care of the problems until he received probably the worst comms signal in existence. It didn't consist of anything other than the sickening sound of armor and flesh being carved and he didn't need anything to know what had happened, given the signature sound that buzzed from the back of the communication… he knew an Archwing when he heard one.
Immediately detaching an entire regiment of his zero-gee troops, although as he had dreaded, nothing but static remained after little more than a minute. They came within camera range in the next moments and he had a view on what he was fighting. Once he found them in the vast background of space, he zoomed in and was briefly confused as to why there was only three, being righted a second later when he saw seemingly nothing cutting his troops to pieces.
Almost as soon as he had locked onto one of them with the ships port cannons, one of them broke off from the rest and fired multiple flak projectiles into the general direction of his cannons, the Sergeant mistakenly pulling the trigger and watching the projectiles fly clear of their intended targets. His thoughts were interrupted when he realised a sudden and shocking fact… the one breaking off was heading directly for him.
He shakily activated the alarms and it wasn't long before a mass of Lancers, Shield Lancers and Bombards had made it to the command room, forming a protective barrier around the commander to protect him from the threat. It wasn't long before he saw the offending creature floating passively in front of the ships massive glass viewport, an Elytron Archwing letting him calmly re-load a large Grattler that was held within the Tenno's grips. It was a Chroma frame, a night-black visage with burning red vents dotted around the amour.
The Grineer didn't have much time to think as one of its wings angled down and a massive warhead plumed out, heading straight for the glass, shattering it in a massive explosion and knocking down the dozen or so soldiers that were closer to the glass. Warning sirens blared in the Sergeant's ears, although they were drowned out by the high-pitched volume of the ship's air being sucked out into the void of space. It wasn't long before the ships automatic systems kicked in and the blast doors sealed the room and the air pressure returned to normal.
The Sergeant laughed at the Tenno's pathetic attempt at killing them… until he looked up. Standing a few feet from the broken glass, the Tenno waited patiently, their hands settling on the beautifully crafted hilt of a Nikana that was sheathed at their hip, no movements made that indicated that it was even going to attack, the lack of distinct eyes on its helmet doing nothing to stop the Sergeant feeling its piercing gaze drilling into his eyes.
A Butcher was the first to make the mistake of going to attack and charged forward, cleaver held high to attack the Tenno, a gurgled warcry filling the chamber. The Tenno's eyes never left the Sergeant as a brief flash and a slight movement from his Nikana left the Butcher severely lacking a head, a miasma of black energy the only indication that it had even moved, a trail following where he had slashed. As the Butcher's body hit the floor with a loud thud and its blood began pooling around the hole where its neck used to be, the Chroma slowly began walking forward, a slight metallic clinking echoing around chamber as its feet hit the cold steal.
The next few moments were filled with the sounds of every Grineer weapon clicking off safety and setting up a defensive line around the Sergeant, their vast assortment of weaponry all aimed right at the advancing Tenno… and then the barrage of bullets and missiles were let loose upon the Warframe… although all it met was the cold comfort of Tenno steel.
In the lower levels of the ship, the other three Tenno were making themselves well-acquainted with the security systems of the ship… or more accurately, the lack thereof. It wasn't much trouble for one of the three Tenno to slip past undetected as stealth was their forte, being armoured in a Loki Prime frame as well as having a Shade Sentinel floating above his shoulders. He had just finished breaking through the pathetic firewalls they had installed on their data stations and two pings from his HUD indicated that his companions had succeeded as well.
His briefly pulsed energy through his systems and his warframe was shrouded in a cloak of darkness, rendering him invisible to the simple Grineer minds that wandered the ship he was plundering. He made his way through the vast rooms, happily sprinting and parkouring past the unsuspecting Grineer that were stationed in between him and the rendezvous point, where he was set to meet his companions.
It wasn't long before he was sitting on top of a crate, spinning a large Spira throwing knife between his fingers, waiting for the other two to arrive. It took only a couple of moments for one of the doors on the other side of the room to open and a blazing fast yellow blur tore through the chamber almost as fast as lightning and a Volt was standing in front of Loki in the blink of an eye. The two nodded briefly, Loki sheathing his knife before addressing the other Tenno.
"Run into any trouble?"
The Volt only responded by pointing his thumb over the door to where he came from for Loki to see a multitude of Grineer lying on the floor with blue electricity arcing across their bodies every few seconds.
"Point taken… did you see her on the way?" continued the Loki, the Volt responding this time.
"If I did, do you think there would have been anything left for me to kill?"
"Not really, just hoping that she finally decided to give up being… you know!"
They didn't have any time to continue the conversation before a screech echoed down the chambers and the sounds of gunfire broke out from one of the other doors. They looked to see a few Lancers hastily running from the terror that was no doubt following them, although the two Tenno knew that it wouldn't do any good. It wasn't long before the source of their terror made themselves known by throwing a brutally dismembered corpse on one of their comrades, knocking them to the floor, having their own body ripped to shreds a moment later, all the while a warcry piercing fear into their hearts.
A Valkyr Prime frame stood hunched over the corpses of the Grineer, Venka Prime already lodged firmly in their throats as she tore through their armour with ease. The other two Lancers that were left feebly tried to take her down by firing their Grataka's at her, only alerting the Tenno to their presence… and leading them to their deaths a second later as claws ripped their chests open and left them bleeding on the floor.
"VALKYR!" Loki shouted, drawing the woman's attention, a tiny bit of fear emanating from his voice. She reluctantly pulled her claws from their corpses and flicked them clean of blood, making her way over to the two others.
"Why did we have to bother with doing all that stealth stuff if we could have just killed them all" she questioned with a bit of accusation tainting her tone, mainly directed at Loki.
"Well, we didn't want them to purge the data AND we didn't want to waste any more time than we needed knowing that if we set you loose, you'd rather leave nothing left alive on the entire ship before you'd leave"
She nodded in agreement and looked around the room, searching for their fourth member.
"When's Chroma going to get here?"
"When he's finished taking down the command crew to stop them from turning the guns on the colony"
As if on que, they heard a vent break and Chroma dropped down from the ceiling next to them, holding up the severed head of the commander to show that he had completed the job.
"Then that settles things!" Loki announced, jumping off the crate and taking out a Braton Prime, loading in a fresh clip and checking his ammo count "off to the engines!"
[Half an hour later]
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SET THE DETONATION TIMER SO SHORT!" Loki yelled behind him as the four Tenno sped through the corridors of the Famorian, the distant sound of explosions from the ships engines being muffled by the tonnes of metal that stood between the reactor and them… although it wouldn't do much in a minute or so when it would detonate and blow the entire hulk into nothingness.
"YOU SAID YOU WANTED IT DONE FAST!" shot back Valkyr as she sprinted alongside him, her Venka deflecting bullets as they zoomed past small squads of Grineer on their way to the extraction, although even while they were under the effects of Volt's speed boost, they all knew they would never make it in time.
Said warframe was on the soul job of boosting their speed as much as possible while Chroma was running beside him with his Nikana deflecting anything coming from behind the group, having enough accuracy to deflect it right back at those who shot it in the first place. The ticking clock in the corners of their HUD added to their haste as it gradually ticked down to their deaths. The destruction of the ships engines had managed to have… unique effects, given that it destroyed most of the fuel lines along the outside of the ship and rendered just about every extraction around them invalid, so they had to sprint for the closest they could get, which was still roughly two kilometres away.
They were now only a thousand metres to the target… although they only had forty seconds until they were engulphed in flames from the reactor. Given, that even if they were, they would only lose the items they had on them and transfer back to their ships, but they weren't the Tenno to just give up in the face of overwhelming odds and they REALLY would hate it if they lost all the gear they had on them.
As the timer ticked down for even longer, the straight path they had to the extraction was suddenly obstructed as a massive pylon groaned from the weakening of its links and collapsed onto the walkways, blocking the only two exits that led anywhere near the extraction.
"I AM NOT GRINDING TO GET MY STUFF BACK!" roared Valkyr as she activated Hysteria and began tearing through the pylon with surprising efficiency, slowly carving a path through the steel as it melted beneath her glowing talons. The Grineer behind them were able to catch up and the Tenno were once again put under fire by their weapons, their efforts never shifting from breaking through the barrier.
Chroma deflected the projectiles with extreme efficiency as they came his way, taking down multiple foes, while Volt pulled up an Electric shield so that he and Loki could pour out fire in relative safety. Once they heard the sound of Valkyr breaking through the steel on the other side of the pylon, Loki threw down a decoy and they retreated through the breach, beginning their tirade towards the extraction again, Volt activating his speed to boost them again.
"You do know there is statistically no way we can make it there?" Volt put in, never ceasing his running but let the fact stay in the air.
"WELL WE HAVE TO MAKE IT YOU IDIOT!" Loki snapped back as he threw a Spira to take out a sensor that would slow their advance in the form of an energy barrier. With only ten seconds left on the timer, they were a mere five hundred metres from the extraction… but as was said before, only a divine act of some unforeseen entity could ever have hoped to save them… which just so happened to occur right when they needed it.
As the timer hit five seconds, a sound resembling a sonic boom tore through the ship and the four Tenno turned to see a strange portal warping and shifting a few feet away from them, similar to the ones they would see within the void, a glimpse into the ever-shifting waves of the warp.
"Screw it!" Loki said without a second thought, jumping through the portal as the others looked on, a little more tentative than the trickster. Volt was the second to follow, after he thought back to the countless hours he spent to build up the power in his frames and weapons and the pain it took to be that weak again was a big spur. Just as Valkyr was about to jump through, ever the thrill-seeker, she turned to see Chroma looking longingly back at where the reactor would be if she ship was glass.
"Come on buddy, you and me both know you wouldn't make it out" she consoled, knowing that he was seriously considering trying his luck with making it out of the Famorian rather than head through the portal. He turned back to her and nodded, Valkyr accepting his promise and jumping through, knowing he would never turn back on a promise, then jumped through with a cry of glee.
Chroma stayed back for a few more seconds, seeing the detonation timer hitting zero and the distant explosion of the reactor as well as the not-so-distance creaking of the metal of the ship as it bent and warped under the stresses of the heat making its way through the ship. Being coated in his flame-resistant pelt, Chroma saw the flames before he felt them and slowly began back stepping into the portal as it encroached, stepping through at the last moment before the flames completely enveloped him, the portal snapping shut a moment later… sending them to places only the wildest of dreams would lead them.
[Unknown location –Unknown time]
The darkness that enveloped Chroma's visor was something he would never get used to, the immeasurable darkness of the void, although it was the time it took for the haze to dispel that worried him. While he had been through times where light was the second rarest resource, after sanity of course, the darkness of the void could never be compared to that. He reached around his form and felt the familiar curves and plates of his warframe, its design burned into his mind after the many years of using it, his hands immediately travelling in search of his weapon. He let out a breath after feeling the hilt of his Nikana at his side, his hand gripping the hilt with a comforting touch.
It wasn't any ordinary blade, its design unseen by even some of the oldest Tenno awakened, for it was forged long before the war between Orokin and Tenno erupted, by his very own hand non-the-less. It was made with the strongest of metals, ancient Orokin steel that had been tempered to perfection, while its design could be the explanation of the new 'Dragon Nikana' blueprint that was circulating, the blade that he held within his grips being the basis of its design. It was a perfect mix between the Dragon Nikana and the Nikana Prime, a dull gold sheen hinting to its power, while to the untrained eye it would appear as a normal Nikana when he had it placed in its scabbard. He had named it Satsujin-Sha after the ancient nickname he had long lost, given unto him by his brother.
While he reminisced over his past, a bright white light began blotching his vision, his thoughts putting him on the defensive immediately. The bright light engulphed his vision until he felt his body hit a hard surface a moment later, his senses immediately searching for any imminent threats, and he wasn't disappointed. When the optical sensors began working again in his warframe, he came face-to-face with a colossal knight that resembled those he had seen some children drawing back during his days of serving the Orokin.
[Threat detected – power unknown – course of action: assess and adapt]
He jumped back to get a better angle on the situation and drew his Prime Dragon Nikana, pointing the blade at the knight to deter it. The figure was at least three times his size, putting Chroma at only his kneecaps, while the sword he wielded would put a Galatine user to shame. It looked impassive at the moment, focused on something behind the warframe, the Tenno spending a second to look behind him and was shocked at what he saw. A girl barely numbering into eighteen passing's stood there with an incredulous glare at him.
She wore a pure white garb and held a rapier tightly in her grips, her hair held in a lop-sided ponytail with a tiara on top. Before he could see anything else, the knight made a move and began to swing its massive sword, Chroma fearing for the safety of the girl behind him and began forming a plan. He jumped backwards and activated his Elemental Ward, designating the girl as a friendly and watching as the ability's aura surrounded her to allow her more survivability. Before she could complain, he grabbed her and bullet-jumped out of the way from the massive sword, narrowly missing it and landing across the room, setting the girl down and putting his Nikana in a reverse grip, stepping in front of her to stop the encroaching knight.
[possible chance of innocent receiving damage: exceeding 50% - course of action: protect the innocent]
"Who are you!" complained the girl behind him, Chroma not moving as he saw the knight begin to advance on them, "Father never said this would happen!"
Chroma ignored her and waited for the right moment, practically teleporting as the steel of his blade pulled him towards his target, his blade slashing a large gout in the knight's armor and the harsh sound of renting steel echoing around the chamber.
"I'm meant to be the one doing this!" obnoxiously complained the girl, stamping her foot down as she went red with rage. Chroma looked over to her and focused his energy, allowing his vision to analyse the girl for as much data as he could find. From what he could gather, the rapier she held appeared to be a continuation of her own body as he could find no discernible difference other than its shape. He jumped to the wall and vaulted over the knight, dodging another swipe by the knight, landing beside the girl again.
[Tone of child expresses confidence in ability – course of action: assess]
With a nod, he gestured towards the assailant with a 'go ahead', the girl staring at him with another look of confusion. As if to continue his point, he pointed the blade of his weapon to the knight and then at the girl, making slashing motions to emphasise it.
"So, I can go?" she asked timidly, not sure what he wanted, her previously enraged attitude vanishing.
He nodded to conclude his conversation jumping back as the girl readied her fight against the knight. He watched as she began to assail it was incredible agility for most of her people, her skills with a rapier quite a sight to look at, probably being able to out-perform some of the newer Tenno with her techniques.
The knight's weapon was as cumbersome as it was deadly and the girl soon had the upper hand, although it was not soon before she over-extended one of her moves and the massive broadsword was brought around to slam into her. Just as Chroma was about to intervene to save her, she brought up her rapier and managed to block the attack, sending her flying across the room. Chroma watched on, marvelled that the girl seemed to be able to take the hit when she didn't seem to have any other abilities to call on, her rapier managing to prevent all the damage from the blow.
[Target assessment: abilities precede previous assessment – hostile presence invalid – course of action: hold position]
The knight followed up with another hit but it was nimbly dodged, as were the several others that came after, although it wasn't until after climbed up the giant knight's sword and began attacking its helmet that he first noticed another bout of overextension, punished when the knight punched the girl with deadly force and knocked her back across the room, Chroma seeing blood fly from the hit. He leapt into action straight away, diving next to where she landed and activated his Elemental Ward, seeing a large gash over her eye fade as it sealed with his healing powers.
[course of action: protect the target]
He leant down and helped her off the ground, a small smile thanking him for his actions, although her face told him that she wanted to finish the fight herself. Chroma reluctantly stepped out of her way, watching as a barrel at the hilt of her rapier revolved until it landed on a burning red setting, coating the blade in a red glow as she steeled herself to continue. The knight surged forward, swinging in a massive downwards arc, although the girl simply brought up her rapier to parry, the massive greatsword being deflected in an explosion of energy.
She quickly brought her rapier back and stabbed it into the ground, sending a wave of ice at the knight and trapping it where it stood. The knight tried to retaliate and swung the sword in a massive arc, although surprisingly, the girl jumped up onto the flat of the blade, rolling down and stabbing the knight with enough force to break the ice and send the weapon flying across the room, Chroma having to side-step to avoid being impaled by it.
A strange scrawl of pure white energy appearing as a massive glyph beneath the girl as the knight ran forward to continue his assault. Once it made to slam its fist into her, she dived to the side and set off whatever the strange symbol was on the floor, causing the knight to be lifted off the ground as if the laws of gravity left it for a moment. Five new glyphs appeared in a pentagon around the girl, projectiles firing off and locking the knight in place.
She took a deep breath and jumped up high, her body being bathed in the pale glow of the moon overhead, which Chroma noticed for the first time was NOT in face LUA, which immediately gave concern to his current situation. His thoughts were brought back to the battle when sigils began appearing along its length and a glyph appeared behind her, propelling her at insane speeds at the knight, her attack somehow piercing through the knight and landing her on the ground in a crouch, the knight dissolving into nothingness from the sheer power behind the blow.
[Initial assessment of target incorrect – analysis: abilities beyond what should be capable of species – course of action: …. Unknown]
A small smile crept onto her features as he adrenaline dialled down and her walked over to her, offering a deep bow out of respect for her fight. She was a tiny bit flustered but returned it a moment later, sheathing her rapier at her side as Chroma noticed the power draining from it and the sense that it was a continuation of her body, it became a regular weapon. He turned his thoughts to the moon that sat above whatever planet he was on, noticing it resembled how LUA stood before the Orokin began their terraforming of its mass, long before even he could claim to have been alive.
As he stared, the girl before him composed herself and took a moment to look over the strange person before her, being aghast at the perfection of the armour plating and the weapon sheathed at his side. What appeared to be metal plating, onyx in colour and holding a tiny sheen as the moon reflected off it, moved fluidly with his body motions as he breathed, the girl noticing his resemblance to the great lizards of old fairy tales, furthering the fact when she saw a tail flowing from behind him, then a blaring fact seemed to sear itself into her eyes.
"ARE YOU A FAUNUS!" she practically screeched, Chroma wondering what the sudden interruption was as he broke his gaze from the moon, focusing instead on the aforementioned admirer. He tilted his head in confusion, never hearing the term ever used to describe him before. The girl took this as confusion and relaxed a tiny bit, after all, if he didn't know what a faunus was, then how could he one?
A loud grinding echoed around the chamber and she saw the things hand absently move to the blade at his side, turning to face the obstruction. Roughly twenty soldiers flowed out of a door in the side of the room, all holding bulky rifles in their grips and fanning out, surrounding both the girl and Chroma, their vests sporting a strange snowflake emblem he had never seen before. Once they surrounded them, they brought the gun to bear and the girl stepped back in fear, Chroma tightening his grip on the Nikana and stepping so he was right beside her, ready to take any incoming fire.
[Threats detected – minimal effort required]
A small clicking sound echoed as a new entrant strolled forward through the chamber, a middle-aged man in a business suit walking through.
"Father!" the girl spoke quietly, clearly in shock as to why the soldiers were aiming at them.
"Get out of there Weiss, I will take care of this… problem"
The girl, now known as Weiss, looked a tiny bit apprehensive and turned to Chroma, the Tenno nodding, knowing exactly what was going to happen in a moment. Once she stepped outside of the mock blockade that the soldiers had made, the man in the suit clicked his fingers… and every gun opened fire onto Chroma.
Weiss gasped as she saw the weapons discharge onto this completely random stranger that had done nothing to earn her father's scorn, although as she watched, she began to notice something… none of them were even hitting the dragon thing. A black blur was moving faster than she could keep track of and hundreds of malformed and sliced bullets landed on the ground around where the man stood, not one single spark of light to even suggest he was hit. After a few seconds of automatic fire, the guns ran dry of ammunition and the tirade stopped, showing Chroma in exactly the same position as he had been in before… completely unharmed.
The soldiers let out a small gasp and one of them raised a pistol, firing a single shot, only for a dark flash to stop it reaching its target, a bullet cut perfectly in two clinking to the floor. Chroma sighed and fully unsheathed his Nikana, holding it in a reversed grip for a stance that he had taught to one of his comrades during the glory days of the Tenno, known as Blind Justice.
He knew the man in the suit was obviously their employer and they were following his orders, so her wouldn't need to take them out… only the man that stood before him. He pulsed energy through his frame and it glowed like a burning flame, his Nikana's blade being coated in a pulsing black energy as its killing potential was increased tenfold. With a quick movement, he dashed forward, his blade aimed to decapitate the man with one swift swipe, although as it was a mere inch from completing the kill, a small cry of panic stopped it, the blade touching the skin around the man's neck, a face of fear plastered on it.
"NO!" cried Weiss as the stranger almost teleported forward to her father with his strange katana aiming to kill him, but no matter how much she hated his guts, she couldn't see him dead. She was shocked to the core when the thing stopped his blade a moment from killing her father, both of seeming to be frozen in time, until the dragon thing slowly moved the blade away and sheathing it in its scabbard, stepping away as her father nearly feinted to the floor.
"You listened?" she muttered under her breath, her surprise being furthered when he nodded in response, "Why?"
Now it was Chroma's turn to be stock-still in silence… he had hit a roadblock. He sought to find a way to explain it, although he went to the easiest method that seemed to explain it pretty well. He reached up with one hand and made a cutting motion across his throat, the girl's eyes widening in understanding.
"You're mute…" she muttered, Chroma nodding at her understanding. Even though many Tenno thought it was nigh impossible for any long-lasting damage to affect their warframe, he was probably one of the only exceptions where this was the case. His warframe was the first Chroma frame ever implemented by the Tenno and he had used it during the lasting war against the Sentients, his skills becoming legendary among his brothers and sisters, his own hand beginning the tradition of Chroma's proving their worth through the killing of the Draco Nominus, the animals from which he skinned the pelt he now wore.
After countless centuries of warring, it strained the systems enough, although it wasn't until after the Collapse and the betrayal of his masters that it began showing. He was originally sided with the few Tenno that chose to stay beside their masters and defend against the defectors, although many years later he saw just how corrupt the Orokin had become, turning to join the so-called traitors and fought against those that threatened the system's balance, devoting his service to any that proved themselves excellent warriors.
Once most of the threats were taken care of, a vast majority of the Tenno were but into cryo sleep in the fortress moon of LUA, although Chroma was one of the few that rejected the offer, as long as his old team, the original Excalibur and the first mag. They travelled throughout the system to fight any last remnants of the Sentients, which is also where Chroma could track his skill with the blade to. While the first Excalibur could be accredited to being the master above all else with blades, Chroma was THE top Nikana user, being able to surpass him… albeit just barely, it made him the master Nikana user.
"Well, then do you know sign language?" Weiss asked again, breaking histhoughts.
Chroma nodded, although he knew that it would take a painfully long time to convey half of it and he wasn't even sure if it would be the same was where he came from, so he came up with a better way. With a burst of void energy, a data-slate formed in his palm, something that resembled a solid rock, although it basically equated to a small screen which was directly linked to his warframe's processing system. He threw it into the air and it floated into position over his left shoulder, much like a sentinel would.
"I believe this may be a more optimal conversing platform" it quickly typed, his mind converting the thoughts he wanted to words for the girl to read. She nodded, although the room echoed with clicks as the soldiers behind Chroma readied their weapons again with fresh ammunition, although they hesitated to fire as they knew they might hit their employer by chance. Chroma reached for his weapon once again, although he was quelled when Weiss reached out to stop him.
"Lay down your arms men, he isn't going to hurt us" she commanded, the soldiers hesitating for a moment before lowering their guns. She sighed and went over to her father who was still standing stock still in fear, his arm ghosting the area where the blade had touched his throat.
"Father, who did you tell the guards to shoot him?" Weiss asked in more of a scolding tone, her father barely snapping out of his gaze directed at Chroma, enough to reply in a quiet voice.
"H-He's a f-faunus" he stuttered out, Weiss practically seeing his heart hammer out of his chest. She sighed at his response but turned to Chroma anyway.
"Are you?"
He thought of an appropriate response before eventually replying quickly.
"I apologise ma'am, but I am unfamiliar with the term…"
"You don't know what a faunus is!" she cried, more of a statement than a question, "do you even know where you are?"
"My sensor provide insufficient data with which to pinpoint my current position"
"You're in Atlas…" she responded, Chroma tilting his head in confusion.
"Location cross-referencing incorrect… current planet name would be sufficient"
"Remnant?"
Chroma's mind ticked over for a moment as he racked his brain trying to remember any planets by the same name, resorting to spending a moment to look through the entirety of the planet data-bases he had stored, finding no references to Remnant.
"Unable to find location… requesting geological data for further analysis of current location"
Weiss could only stare at him in disbelief, thinking of any possible explanation that could lead to his apparent amnesia as to which planet he was on.
"If I may ask a question myself, have thee heard of the Sol System?"
Weiss shook her head, her composure stiffening when her mind began to think of the more… far-fetched ideas.
[Possibility of returning to Origin System dwindling – unknown circumstances led to position on previously unknown planetoid body – Transference holding firm since emergence – circumstances: acceptable – possible outcome: salvation]
"What exactly are you?"
"I am Tenno, warrior for the innocent and oppressed, master of gun and blade… although I fear you may not have heard of my species, or the source of my powers"
With another shake of the head, his fears were confirmed, although he let out a sigh of relief… for him it meant a way out. He had been fighting a war that had gone on for far too long. He had joined the fight for his brothers and sisters, his friends of the originals… the first warframes that were successfully piloted by the Tenno, a family of their own right. Slowly but surely, they were dwindled down as they had no reason to fight other than that the Orokin wanted them to, so after the Collapse, they chose to drift into an endless dream and let their minds deteriorate until they passed. It was only the most zealous or stubborn that stayed behind to continue their war against the oppressors.
Excalibur had been one of Chroma's only friends and even that waned until the dragon had to once-again watch another friend fall into the endless dream, being left behind as one of the last originals. He had considered the alluring idea of falling into the dream as well, although it was quelled when the void's machinations broke his plans. He was pulled into the endless space of the void onto an Orokin derelict… with no way out. He fought continuously for countless years, knowing it wouldn't be as simple if he died here, he wouldn't just simply awake inside his own body.
After fighting for some time, it was with the help of the Grineer making the mistake of opening a portal into the void… and letting him out. He was in a time where he had almost no knowledge of the passings and knew almost no-one. The only similarity between his old life was an old friend, the original Nova frame who had newly awakened from the dream a mere year before he was found. They travelled for some time and she helped him grow akin to the newer world. After time, she chose to drift back into the endless dream again, leaving him alone and without purpose.
Then was the first time he tried to find his real body… but the ship that had held him was long lost in time and was recorded to have drifted away from the Sol System, too far gone to accurately track… but that didn't even give him pause on his journey. After commandeering arguably, the fastest vessel in the system, he set out and after a time, he succeeded… only it wasn't exactly what he wanted to find. Not only was his body there, but there was another. The owner of said body belonged to the Tenno infamously known as The Stalker, the frame of which greeted him upon his arrival. They both knew each other from times passed and regarded one another with respect and dignity, neither making a move to attack the other.
Chroma had sided with the Tenno-hunter for some time and both knew the others motives, Chroma not holding anything against the Stalker despite his murderous attempts against his brothers. He was allowed to walk away with his own body, neither letting a word pass. He travelled back to a Clan Dojo he had made himself, crafting a Transference module especially for him. Now that he truly had no reason to continue, he was simply on the way to drop into the endless sleep and join the rest of the originals, when he met the group that changed all that.
It had started at a Tenno Relay, when he was knocked over by a Loki frame, causing a flicker of rage to course through his mind before he saw why. A Valkyr frame was sprinting after him at full-pelt with her Hysteria active, every single other Tenno knowing better than to stop her, Chroma however didn't really care if he died or not. He stepped in her way and drew his Nikana.
A minute later, she was lying panting on the floor with hundreds of cuts over her form while Chroma stood over her with a foot on her back to stop her from killing the Loki. It wasn't until the Loki came back and cleared it up that he realised it was just a playful chase and the Valkyr probably wasn't going to kill him, so he sheathed his weapon to leave, only to be stopped.
The Loki offered him sort of a mercenary job to help them take down Alad V, the reason why Valkyr was ULTRA pissed, so he accepted having nothing else to do… then two years later he was still travelling around with the same group. He wasn't exactly annoyed that they were not here but he didn't lose anything much… although this girl showed promise, with her rapier skills and her control over those strange glyphs… perhaps he could find another reason to live again.
[This girl's skills could be worth my time – shows likeness to void abilities – stance is currently unknown – an extended time spent studying could prove useful]
"So why are you here?" she asked, Chroma's mind ticking over and slightly ignoring the question.
"My being here is of complete co-incidence, although I believe we may be of assistance to one another…"
"How so?"
"I wish to be employed under your banner… in return I can offer you my tutelage for your exceptional prowess with a blade"
A tiny bit of red tinged the girl's cheeks at the compliment, although her father had read the message and mistaken it for it being addressed to him.
"You want to work for me?"
Chroma turned his gaze for a moment, causing the man to pale a tiny bit, then shook his head.
"I wish to be employed by your… daughter, was it? She has proven more deserving of my blade"
Weiss gave a look that went far beyond incredulous, her jaw dropping as far as it would go and some of the guards nearly dropped their guns when she read it out loud.
"You want… to work… for me!"
Chroma nodded slightly and drew his Nikana, the guards all lifting their rifles, Weiss even slowly reaching for her rapier. He went on undeterred and reversed the blade, putting the hilt in the girl's palm and taking a knee at her feet, bowing his head in respect while she looked on as confused as ever.
Weiss marvelled at the beautiful craftsmanship of the weapon, the katana barely weighing anything in her palms. She was still going over the fact that she didn't even know this guy and he was already trying to become her servant… or something like that. She knew the process that he was invoking by giving her his blade and kneeling, an ancient tradition that had been used across the whole of Remnant, signifying that he was bound to her will until a time when she either dismissed him or his life ended. It was a ridiculous thing that was stopped for the fact that it was during the Great War when warlords had many guards that were bound by death, being banished by the peace pact afterwards.
If she accepted, he was bound to her until the conditions were met and would follow her every order, while if she denied… he would never be allowed to address her again, forever forgetting her existence. With trembling hands, she thought over the implications and looked him up and down once again. He wouldn't be that good with a sword and be stupid enough to basically give away his life to her… perhaps he truly thought she deserved his blade?
Her resolve steeled and she gripped the blade tight, placing it carefully on each of his shoulders while her father stared on in disbelief. Once the steel clanged against his armour twice, she reversed the blade so that it was pointing at her heart, the hilt pointing straight at Chroma.
"Stand my knight, accept your fate at my side and I hereby place you under my care from henceforth until a time in which your contract is broken" she recited, remembering the exact wording from one of her old history lessons, the words flowing surprisingly easy from her mouth. Chroma stood at his full height, Weiss just now realising that he was a solid two feet taller than her, then took the hilt of the blade, placing it against his heart before putting it back in its scabbard, taking another bow to signify the end of the ceremony.
"So…" Weiss began, unnerved at the situation, "You're my servant, now… right?"
Chroma nodded and waited for his order only to be addressed by her father, the man now having finally worked up the courage to talk properly.
"You can't just walk in here unannounced, inside a COMPLETELY secure facility mind that, then you just decide that you want a job! Leave here immediately!" he ordered, gesturing behind to the guards who raised their weapons again, although albeit a bit slowly.
"I can assure you, your daughter is in no trouble… I am merely offering my service without any reparations needed… she is worthy of my time and I believe I can train her to become a formidable warrior to be proud of"
"I don't want her to be a Huntress!" he exclaimed, earning a glare from said girl, "She should accept her position as heir to the Schnee Dust Company, not as some mercenary for hire working for the damned government!"
"Material values are the root of corruption and hate… her ideals prove to be of better conscience than yours"
"What is that meant to mean! Weiss, get him out of here!" he ordered again, glaring as much as he could at Chroma, not at all phasing him. He blanched when he heard something that he definitely wasn't expecting.
"No…" whispered Weiss, letting out a massive sigh afterwards as if crossing a large obstacle.
"What?" her father hissed back, taking a step forward and raising his arm to slap her for disobeying him… but quickly stopped when he felt the cold steel of the things Nikana pressed against his throat. He slowly turned his head and met with what would be considered the eyes of Chroma, said Tenno blinking as if to say 'try me'.
"Please, leave me and my mistress be so we can move on and so I can fulfil my promise… I believe we may need some time to converse and finalise the details"
Weiss blanched at being called a mistress… she was pretty sure he didn't mean the 'less than appropriate' definition but it was still weird being called one given that she was barely seventeen. Her father gulped as Chroma sheathed his blade for what he hoped would be the last time tonight.
"Miss Schnee, I would ask that we move to a more… acceptable location to give reality to our contract"
She nodded and shuffled off out the door, Chroma in tow a few steps behind, while her father stood stock-still and the guards didn't really know what to do. Once they were outside the door, a butler was waiting for them outside.
"Miss Schnee! I heard there was a commotion in your test but they wouldn't tell me what!"
"Do not worry Klein, I have it… sorted out" she replied with a slight sneer, gesturing to Chroma.
"My, my… well isn't he a big fella" Klein replied, switching to a stooped posture and a slight accent.
Weiss snickered before continuing.
"We need a room where father won't bother us so we can write up a contract. Are any free?"
"I believe I have the perfect one in mind!" he replied, shepherding them off, Chroma silently following. His thoughts shifted back to his accomplices who he had followed through the portal and where they could be. Best case, they were back with their Lotus and continuing on without him, while they could also be here on this strange planet with him… no matter what happened, he knew what he'd do.
[My blade sings for someone worthy of my experience and this girl has proven her skills – routines running simulations… possible outcomes: death… war… experimentation – training may hold candle and bring ability to par – course of action: train to optimal capacity until further instructed]
