Chapter Four

Nyx awoke with a gasp. She blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit room. Pain shot through her head as she tried to sit up. She tried again but the pain forced her back down. Her hands felt around her head, and was surprised that she didn't feel any bandages nor bruises. She hadn't suffered a head injury, but it felt as if someone had bashed her skull with a Fragor Heavy Hammer. On her left was a medical scanner which displayed her heart rate and other vitals. She was in a medical ward bed. How did I get here? She was on a mission with Loki; an extermination mission on the derelict Grineer mining ship that had been overrun with Infested. Six other Tenno agents had been assigned to the very same ship. The last thing she remembered was Loki hugging her.

Her eyes widened in sudden remembrance, but then soon closed in annoyance. After she had thought that the corridor was clear, she decided to meditate in the middle of the elevator without waiting to order the doors closed. The lead Ancient Disruptor must have feigned death and leapt at her and Loki when they let their guard down. Clever bastard she mouthed. Nyx rubbed her temples and groaned. Where was Loki? She wanted to see him. She lifted her head slightly and peered downwards at her side to see that a chair was positioned towards her. Had he visited her earlier? She looked at the clock above the door. It read 9:24 PM Earth time. She remembered checking the time right before the Infested charged down the corridor. She furrowed her eyebrows. It must have been around 2:00 PM ET or so, for she couldn't recall the specific time. This meant that she was unconscious for about seven or so hours.

Nyx pushed the light blanket on top of her as far as she could reach. She had been stripped of her original interior armor and clothed with a very thin hospital gown. Her hands felt around the curves and surfaces of her body, neck to waist. She had a slim, fit body. Obesity did not exist within the Tenno people, their discipline and lifestyle did not allow it, nor did the Lotus. All Tenno had little to no fat on their bodies. Female and male Tenno alike who fell underneath the 'Medium' or 'Light' class had to be in top shape in the following categories: agility, endurance, and stamina. 'Heavy' classes had to accomplish the latter but agility was replaced with physical strength.

There were no wounds on her body either. Although she couldn't reach her lower-half, she was positive she'd find nothing. So why was she admitted to the hospital? For simply blacking out? Puzzled, Nyx felt the left side of her bed for the memo pad. She brought it and held it above her as she tapped the screen to activate it. The pad was already at the "Status Report" section. Nyx half-smiled. She was sure now that Loki had surely visited her. He was known to be straight to the point, skipping anything he deemed irrelevant or unimportant. It made sense he didn't care about administered time or who had seen her. She read the short diagnosis in her head. Mental overexertion. Severe mental breakdown. Combat induced stress. She nodded to herself as these seemed to be accurate. It was true that she was frustrated that she had so little time to meditate, and the one time she decided to try while on duty, she nearly got herself and her partner killed. These micro stressors must have built up within her for a very, very long time and abruptly hit her all at once.

247 confirmed as VIP by Lotus. Partner wanted for questioning. The nodding stopped. VIP? ...wanted for questioning? She turned off the memo pad and hung it back on the side of the bed and her eyes widened in concern. Had she gotten Loki in trouble with their superiors? What was this VIP business? She wasn't anywhere near the top ten Nyx's who represented her WarFrame, nor did she believe her skills earned her a VIP status. Questions raced through her mind as she considered as to why she was 'important' or why Loki was wanted for questioning. "Oh no." she said out loud. They probably thought he was responsible for her hospitalization! But surely they reviewed their helmet camera feeds? If so, then it would have clearly shown that she was in the wrong, and that he saved her. She sat up immediately. A jolt of pain shot through her head. She inhaled through her teeth as she brought her hands to her head. The sudden movement hurt like hell.

The thought of trying to sneak out of the medical ward crossed her mind, but it was impossible under her circumstances. The door to her room could only be opened from the outside, or the inside with a special key card. Even if she did manage to get past the door and the alert receptionist, the sight of anyone still in a hospital gown was sure to cause suspicion. She carefully lowered her head back to the pillow and closed her eyes. She really did wish Loki was here with her. If he was, he'd surely tell her bad jokes that she would never understand or even make fun of her. Granted, it would be annoy her greatly, but he was one of her only two friends: 126-Loki and current and ex-partner. They rarely had time to see one another, as her new partner was an high-ranking Tenno: 494-Frost. Because of that, they were tasked with high difficulty missions. Missions, that sometimes went for days and even weeks. And when she did return, her time was fully dedicated to training, sleeping and being briefed on her next mission.

They still kept in touch via terminal messages and sometimes Saryn even sacrificed time allocated for sleep to instead visit Nyx in person. Nyx absolutely treasured these moments with her old partner. Sometimes they went to the spa, sometimes they stargazed at the astronomy conservatory and sometimes they shared drinks at one of the many cafes on the floor Saryn lived on: floor 32. Nyx listened with fascination as Saryn revealed her life with her new partner. Apparently, 494-Frost was one of the top ten Tenno to represent the Frost WarFrame. Every WarFrame had a top ten ranking, yet the numerical order was never released to the ten to prevent jealousy along with to instill a balanced sense of motivation, for no one knew if they were the strongest or the weakest of the ten.

The last time they had met, which was almost about two months ago, Saryn revealed a secret she hadn't told anyone, not even her partner: she had fallen in love with him. Nyx almost choked on her drink when Saryn confessed. They spent the next half an hour or so discussing how it happened. The day Saryn was issued a new partner, she was incredibly nervous. It took long amounts of time and effort to establish a strong bond between partners. Whenever Tenno switched, it was difficult, no matter how disciplined and experienced both agents were. She was relieved when she discovered it was a Frost. Frosts were focused, serious, and often merciless during combat. This particular set of characteristics matched well with Saryn's bold, sophisticated and alluring character. Nyx never met this famed Frost user, but according to Saryn, he was unbelievably handsome. He was powerfully built and had dark blue eyes coincidentally. Saryn admitted with a blush that she often forgot what she wanted to say when she looked into his eyes during conversations. Not only was he physically attractive, his discipline and determination amazed Saryn, and under his guidance and training, she herself became significantly stronger. It took only a matter of months for Saryn to develop feelings for him.

Saryn was attractive, and many Tenno had tried to court her over the years without success. She was tall, had lush black hair, and her brown eyes radiated with confidence and charm. Romance between partners was advised against by Lotus, as it usually strained the relationship between partners. There were cases where Tenno worked better in the field once they had entered a relationship, but most suffered in cooperation and performance due to complications. Saryn concluded with embarrassment that she was too afraid to tell Frost her feelings, nor wanted to make any advances on him. She feared that it would strain their partnership, and she didn't want to switch partners again, for she truly loved working with him and being with him.

Nyx remained relatively silent throughout the story; she slurped her drink with wonder and excitement in her eyes. The occasional nod and gasp escaped her lips as she took in the scandalous story. After she was finished, Saryn burned bright pink from admitting her secret and in front of her relatively silent best friend. She quickly countered and redirected her embarrassment towards Nyx by asking if she had any feelings for her partner. This caused Nyx to spit out her drink into a fantastic spray. She wiped her mouth and vehemently denied that she had any feelings for him. They worked well, but he was a jerk. A talkative jerk. A talkative, rude jerk. Saryn grinned and rested her chin on both of her palms as she listened to Nyx's impish rant about her partner. When time was up, they embraced tightly and discussed the idea of bringing their respective partners and sharing a meal together or something of the sort the next time all four of them were free. And then she was gone. Gone to rest right before the extermination mission she had together with Frost in the morning.

Nyx's eyes grew heavy and she yawned. She finally decided to stay the recommended recuperation time. One and even two days would be more than enough time to catch up on much needed meditation and rest. She pulled the blanket back up to her chin and turned to her right side. She wished that she had been awake when he visited her. There was so many things she wanted say to him. Apologize for almost getting him killed. Apologize for being stupid. Apologize for being selfish. Apologize for being such a weakling. But most of all, thank him for saving her life.

Nyx touched her left cheek and smiled. He was a jerk. A silly jerk. A silly, devoted jerk.


Author's Note

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