Ick
Amelia was ready for pain. She had been told how much bonding to a warframe hurt. But none came. She had been ready for the warframe to hurt her as it molded her body to its shape. But her body didn't hurt either. Indeed, suddenly, she felt good. Minor aches and pains left over from the rapid healing vanished as if they had never been.
This isn't right. She was not really expecting a response and froze as she got one.
None of what has happened is right. A soft voice. Male. Neither young nor old. She tried to see and couldn't. She tried to move, to speak. She couldn't. Don't struggle. It won't help and can hurt. You...do not feel right. Who are you?
You don't know? Amelia asked, dumbfounded.
If I knew, would I be asking? The other voice was snide now. Geez, the other one was crazy enough. Now I get a comedian. What it is with you fake Tenno females?
I am not Tenno, fake or otherwise. Amelia said quietly. The sudden silence was deafening. What other? She asked calmly. She felt scrutiny, but avoided it.
You...are human? Was that fear in the other's mental tone? What are you doing?
You are about the ninth person to ask me that. Why the hell should I know what I am doing when no one else does? I am making this up as I go. Amelia replied evenly. She could feel a tinge of amusement from deep in her mind, but it faded. The other did not notice it. Go ahead. She said quietly. Do whatever you are going to do. You won't get Sara. My name is Amelia.
Amelia. The other sounded stunned then it turned pleased. The other said you were dead.
Things change. Amelia felt more intense scrutiny on her from all around her. Go ahead. You know you want to. She snapped.
You are human. The male sounding mind sounded somewhat unsure now. That faded. Not Tenno.
So? She put every ounce of derision she had ever heard from Sara in her tone and it seemed to work. The other made a confused noise. You know you are not getting out of here without a hostage. You know it. I know it. You took Serene. You hurt her. I don't know how. To get Sara to come and talk to you. So you could take her hostage. She won't come. No one will let her. I did instead.
The other wanted revenge. The other mind sounded concerned now. I gave it to her.
And the fact that she kills Tenno is a bonus, less for you to do! Amelia snapped. Lazy good for nothing- Her words cut off as something surrounded her. It felt... slick?
This is not what was intended, but it will serve. The other said as the slickness pervaded every millimeter of Amelia's body. The bodysuit she wore did nothing to stop it. It oozed around and through her. It went places that would have had her scream in protest if she had been able. She wasn't. It went into her ears, down her nostrils. She gagged as it forced its way down her throat, but could not resist as it had its way with her. Then it stopped. There. Sleep doctor. You will feel better when you wake.
Amelia fought the compulsion that seeped through her, but a tingle from deep, deep inside her mind had her relaxing. Succumbing to the lethargy. The music was still there. It was still beautiful. She took that wonderful sound into slumber with her.
Everyone watched in horror as the red and black warframe...shifted. Sara, Jasmina, Karl, Iriana, Sheila, Abigail, Vina... All who had come when Amelia had called watched in dismay. It had rolled on top of Amelia and engulfed her. Now? Where the male form had been, a female form in red and black lay. Sara was crying as the warframe slowly rose to its feet. Jasmina held her as the red and black warframe started for the door. Said door opened to show three Tenno with weapons ready. The two guards and the black Nekros.
Will you kill her then? The dark and sinister male voice asked from the female looking form. Sara jerked, but Jasmina just held her. Typical. Protecting humans is passé now.
"I will find you." Nikis might have been discussing the weather as he stepped aside. The two other guards stepped away as well, weapons still ready. "Sooner or later I will find you and destroy you. You got away before. But- What? No!" Nikis declared as the air shimmered and a white armored form lunged at the red and black one.
No one dared to breathe as Sun charged Stalker and the Tenno interrogator swung his ornate Bo staff in a bone crushing arc. Somehow the red and black warframe avoided the attack and danced back, it's hands up in a guard stance as Sun moved in.
Go ahead, Interrogator First Class! Kill her! The male voice from the female warframe said smugly. Give in to your hate and follow my path! If you dare!
The Loki Prime did not reply, instead he attacked. More than one of the watchers inhaled in awe as the ancient Tenno warrior blurred into motion, his staff arcing in ways that were both beautiful and deadly. The watchers grimaced as the red and black warframe took hit after hit, there was no way for it to defend itself. The dark voice was laughing but stopped as a pistol roared. Sun stared at the haft of his staff, which showed where a bullet had glanced off. It hadn't damaged the super hard metal, just left a mark. He did not take his eyes from the red and black form he hated.
"Sun." Nikis' voice was low and dangerous. "Stop. Ancestors know, I agree with your assessment. I want him dead too. But that isn't him. He took her hostage. You know this."
Kill her, Interrogator! The voice of Stalker mocked. Kill her and be damned!
The Loki Prime stared at the red and black form for a moment. Then he straightened slowly. He took his right hand from his weapon, raised it to his neck and drew it across flat. An age old symbol of death coming. Then, like a wisp of nightmare, the interrogator was gone.
Weak. Stalker mocked, only to pause as Nikis' pistol roared again. The warframe's right hand clamped to its left arm where a red hole oozed.
"That won't kill her. As for Sun? Maybe he is." Nikis' tone might have given a Sand Skate goosebumps. It certainly gave everyone listening the shivers. "But you are a moron. And a coward. Was this your plan all along? A hostage?" He spat.
Iriana needed help. The other replied as the suit's right hand came down. The hole was no longer bleeding and sealed itself as everyone watched. This one is in no danger from me.
"Right." Nikis could drip sarcasm out of even a single syllable. "Sure, she is not. Pull the other one, asshole."
I am leaving now. You will not pursue. The red and black for started forward, but neither of the Tenno in the way moved. Or is the vaunted Tenno honor worthless now?
"Honorable tactics are for honorable foes." Nikis said offhand, his pistol still aimed. "Not cowardly backstabbers who run from real fights." He shook his head. "Boys?" The Excalibur and Frost who had been guarding the door stepped aside, but not much. "You have the advantage here, kinslayer. For now. But you will extend too far. You know it. I know it. I just hope Sun is the one who cuts off your arm and feeds it to you when you do."
Your threats are meaningless to me, old man. Stalker retorted as the warframe stepped past the frozen Tenno. I will have vengeance and you cannot stop me.
"No?" Nikis inquired, still aiming. "Well then, get on with it. Why haven't you bothered to take me to task for any of the ones you deem worth avenging, hmmm?" He asked nastily. "Oh, never mind. Every time you show up around me, you get your butt kicked. But of course, you don't care about all the times I clean your clock. Because you are invincible!" Nikis deliberately mispronounced the word with a horrid accent of some kind, slurring the 'v' until it was more a 'w'.
You are not one of the ones I seek. Stalker replied from the warframe as it stepped off. Nikis kept pace. The others stayed where they were for a moment and then followed, weapons ready. I have no call to hunt you.
"Yeah, yeah..." Nikis sounded bored now. "Tell yourself whatever makes you happy, moron. Sooner or later, Sun or I will find you. The real you, not the doppelgangers you keep throwing away. For what you do to my kin, I will kill you. For what you did to Iriana?" Stalker went still as Nikis' voice turned hard. "I will make it slow. Long time ago, Mag taught me a cool trick with ants and a knife. I bet I can still find some ants." The malevolence in his words had several of the listeners paling.
We will meet again, Guardian of the Dead. Stalker replied. But at a time and place of my choosing. You are not invincible.
"Neither are you." Nikis holstered his pistol. "Go on, teleport away. Scat. Now."
So you track me. Try to find my base of operations. Stalker replied offhand, looking around. Besides Nikis and the two Tenno who had been guarding the door, nothing else was in evidence. Or the Interrogator does.
"Oh, we know you are based on a ship." Nikis said offhand. Stalker froze and Nikis laughed. "Probably an Orbiter. We even have a good idea of where it is. But we know better than to look in the Void." Stalker turned to look at the Tenno gunfighter and Nikis was leaning against the wall as if bored. "You would love us to, to lose people trying to find a needle in a dimensional haystack. Not gonna happen. Get lost, you sorry excuse for pond scum. Now."
You do not command me. Stalker snapped.
"No." Nikis agreed. "But in about ten seconds I am gonna start counting down." He shook his head. "Amelia will forgive me if she wakes up with holes in her. But you? You don't care about her except as a hostage. Will you kill her as soon as you are free?"
I am not you. Stalker retorted.
"No." Nikis said softly. "No, you are not. If you were, you would know better than to do what you have. Sara is out of your reach. One Mississippi... Two Mississippi..." His hands were on his pistols as Stalker knelt in the middle of the floor.
We will meet again, Guardian. Stalker promised. At a time and place of my choosing.
Nikis ignored him, continuing to count. He drew each pistol slowly and carefully as he counted, reloading each by touch. The faceplate of his Shroud helmet was on Stalker as the kinslayer keyed for a recall.
"Bring it on, jerkoff." Was the last thing Stalker heard as the Void took him.
Later
Amelia woke to comfort. She was warm, dry and clean. But she...wasn't where she had been. She cracked her eyes and froze. The male form that stood nearby nodded to her.
"Good morning, doctor." The red and black warframe looked as it had on the floor of the detention cell. "Did you rest well?"
Amelia did not move, did not speak. Her eyes flitted her and there. The room was large but it was odd. It wasn't Tenno architecture. But it was. It wasn't Orokin architecture. But it was. Part of it was filled with machinery she did not know and the red and black warframe stood in front of the machinery. She and Stalker seemed to be alone. She stared down at herself and went still.
The clothing she wore -if you could call it that- barely covered her for modesty purposes. Essentially, she wore a white wrap around her upper torso and another around her waist. She was not strapped down, but instead was lying in something that was glowing blue. She was half submerged in an odd looking viscous substance that she could not quite make out the colors of. Red? Dark brown? She couldn't tell. Whatever it was, it wasn't wet. She felt dry. She tried to move and could, but just barely. She could see tubes attached to her arms, her legs. She could feel a tube down her nose. She could see the edges of a mask over her mouth, feel tubes going down her throat.
"I had wondered at the plan you had. Because you had to have one." Stalker said softly. "I assumed Sara would be the one to get in. She was the one that that was postulated as the best chance to get her mom back. Not you." The red and black warframe shook his head. "Then again, there was no way you would let Sara do that. In hindsight, that is perfectly clear." Amelia did not speak and Stalker shook his head. "Doctor, the trackers have been neutralized. There is no need to be rude." Amelia made a sour noise in her throat and closed her eyes. The kinslayer made a soft noise of dismay. "You don't understand, doctor. I will not harm you. I was not going to harm Sara." Amelia scoffed into the tube and Stalker made a noise that was half groan, half sigh. He turned back to the machinery. "This will not hurt."
Amelia tensed as...something engulfed her skull. It didn't hurt. Indeed, it didn't feel wrong at all. But it was. She cracked her eyes, but could not see whatever it was. Pressure mounted, but it didn't hurt. It felt odd, as if parts of her skull were suddenly not there? The she tried to scream as whatever she was lying on suddenly surged up and around her. The feeling was...
She went still. She was being comforted! Whatever was around her was holding her gently, like some kind of arms.
"And... now." Stalker said softly. Amelia felt the world start to fall away and fought it. She did not want to go into any virtual world he created. "Doctor, no." Stalker said softly as something happened and her resistance faded. She wanted to fight. She was trying to fight, but she couldn't. "You cannot resist that. Indeed, you won't want to when you hear what she has to say. What we have to say. Relax doctor. It won't hurt." He repeated.
Amelia fought it anyway. She could not trust him. She would not. She jerked as a hand touched her. Her eyes slid open despite the fluid stuff and she screamed as she saw Serene standing over her. But it wasn't Serene. The face she knew so well was blank and an odd metal thing covered much of Serene's skull. At least it wasn't silver.
"What are you doing?" Stalker demanded. "I told you! She won't understand! Go back! Go back now! Before... No!" Amelia could see lights starting to flash as the red and brown thing that had engulfed her suddenly was shimmering gold and white. "Doctor, be calm! I am trying to help!"
Liar. Amelia screamed in her mind. But...
"That's it." Stalker said as something invaded Amelia's right ear, then her left. "Patterns calibrated. Go!" He commanded and the form of Amelia's love vanished. "We have you, doctor. Just relax. We will not harm you."
No... Amelia tried to scream. Tried to cry. Tried to fight as tides of soft colors burst into her mind and swept her away. But then it stopped.
"What the hell?" Stalker's confused voice came from far away. "What is this? You are not Tenno, so how the hell are you resisting?"
She is not yours! The voice of the Reverend Mother burst into Amelia's mind. The human doctor had never thought to be glad of another mind in hers, but she was. We will not let you subvert her.
"What did you do, you crazy human?" Stalker demanded, angry now. "I am not trying to subvert her, you dumb Clergy bitch! I am trying to help her!" Static burst in Amelia's mind, but the Clergy fought back, holding Amelia as pain erupted inside her head, soothing it away.
Without her consent! The Reverend Mother was beyond angry now. You are not better than an Orokin!
"I need her." Stalker said savagely. "I will use her. The question is how much are you willing to hurt her."
She begged our aid. The Reverend Mother said sternly. You? You would have hurt Sara this way? You are DEAD!
"You don't understand and I have neither the time nor the desire to explain it all to you." Stalker snapped right back. "But for what it is worth? No. I would not have hurt Sara. You will make me hurt Amelia."
Pain slammed through Amelia and despite her skill and training, despite the Clergy's help, she was slammed instantly into darkness.
Clergy. Stalker stared at the woman in the now golden and white pod that was filled with clear fluid. She went to the Clergy! What is she? Nuts?
No. Another voice said softly. She was desperate. You do strange things for those you love. Isn't that right? Stalker turned to another pod that lay against one wall nearby and bowed his head. A young woman lay within the pod, her body covered as Amelia's had been. She was missing her right leg. Same tubes, same icky thing around her. They will track her. They will track me. Snatching me in transit was a bad idea. You angered everyone. Again.
You were not going to heal without drastic measures. Stalker said softly. I can heal the damage.
Correction. The other snapped. You can try to heal the damage.
I am trying to make things right for Iriana. Stalker said softly as he turned back to where Amelia lay silent. He manipulated controls. Rest now.
You have a funny definition of right, father. Mishka -Iriana's daughter- said with a snarl worthy of an Infested. She spoke again as her voice faded, her mind dropping into sleep patterns. I won't help you.
I don't need your help. Stalker agreed. You need mine.