Wukong received Ivara's transmission, and was off, dashing through the thick forest. He batted branches out of his way, leaped through the trees, and finally came into the clearing, where the city was visible. The streets were empty, cars were abandoned, and people were running and screaming, pointing towards some kind of commotion. Wukong headed towards the source of the distress, no doubt the two Tenno. He stopped at the courtyard as two streaks of color blasted out of one of the rooms in the tower. They landed, face to face. Excalibur had his Nikana drawn, and Ivara was raising her Artemis bow, aiming for another shot.
Oh, this is going to be fun, Wukong thought.
Excalibur slashed towards Ivara, leaving a shower of sparks in his wake. She jumped high into the air, barely avoiding the deadly blade. She hovered in the air for a second, and let loose a volley of arrows from her bow. Excalibur sidestepped the arrows with ease and jumped towards Ivara as she landed, Nikana ready.
I have you now, Excalibur thought. He swung the deadly blade, towards Ivara's neck, but was blocked by something. A staff.
Wukong. The monkey-like Tenno twisted, and kicked Excalibur back, sending him tumbling head-over-heels until he landed safely. Ivara stood a ways behind Wukong, her bow drawn.
"Wrong choice, Excalibur," Wukong said, twirling his staff. Excalibur stood back up.
"Maybe, but the fact that the Lotus sent a kill squad after me does not make me any more sympathetic towards her."
"She sent us so we can bring you back, Excalibur. It's been an easy mission so far," Wukong remarked.
"I am not going back. And I will not change my mind, no matter what you say."
"Fine, the Lotus told us to kill you and take the files if necessary, and it seems we will after all." Wukong extended his staff, doubling its size. Ivara drew back multiple arrows on her bow, ready to fire. Excalibur concentrated, and held his hands out in front of him. Particles of blue energy began to form in his palms. Those particles of light began to form a blade, and from the blade, an exalted Skana, a weapon he had mastered long ago. He pointed the ethereal blade towards the pair of Tenno, challenging them.
"If you want those files, then come and take them." Without warning, Wukong sprinted towards Excalibur, staff spinning. Excalibur stood his ground, and waited. Wukong drew ever closer, and prepared to strike. At the last second, Excalibur thrust his Skana into the ground, sending shrapnel and energy shooting out in all directions. Wukong couldn't react in time, and was hit full force by the concussive wave, throwing him back a few dozen feet. He recovered quickly, however, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The cloud began to move towards Excalibur, who was backed up to the tower wall. Wukong materialized in front of Excalibur, and whacked him in the head with his staff. Excalibur staggered back, dazed. Wukong gave him no time to recover, and followed up with a violent jab to the gut, along with a knee to the head. Excalibur fell to the ground, dizzy. Wukong stood over him, staff held over his head.
"One last chance, Excalibur. Give us the files, or I smash in your head." Excalibur chuckled.
"And now I see why I ran. Look at what the Lotus has done to you. You would go so far as to murder a Tenno in cold blood?"
"If the Lotus commands it, then yes, I will." Wukong raised his staff, prepared to bring it down on his head.
"Fine. Do it then." Wukong hesitated. His arm trembled slightly. Excalibur knew it. Even when given orders, Tenno are still reluctant when it comes to killing their brethren. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a grey blur, moving towards them.
"Wukong, look out!" Ivara yelled behind them.
"What?" Wukong said, then Excalibur heard a horrible screeching and ripping, and suddenly the sharp blade of a Skana jutted out of Wukong's chest. Excalibur was shocked.
What just happened? He thought as Wukong toppled to the ground, dead. He looked at the newcomer, and instantly recognized him.
"Loki? How?" Excalibur asked, still stunned by Wukong's sudden demise.
"Because unlike the newer Tenno, I'm loyal to my brothers and sisters, not the Lotus." Ivara cried out, realizing that Wukong was dead. Loki offered his hand. Excalibur took it, and Loki pulled him up to his feet. Ivara was running away into the forest, trying to get back to her Liset. Excalibur began to follow her, but Loki stopped him.
"Let her go. The forest is her home, you'll never catch her. Besides, the other Tenno are already coming here to either help or harm you. The Lotus has ordered us to 'Cleanse' this planet, in case any of the files are lingering here.
"What? These are the only Humans we have come into contact with outside the System. Do the other Tenno stand for this?"
"The older Tenno are completely opposed, and even the newer ones are reluctant to do so, even if they agree to it." Excalibur nodded.
"I see. Well, at least the older ones still contain their humanity."
"The Lotus cannot stop the older Tenno from helping you, Excalibur, but by now, she knows of our treachery, and she will turn the new against the old." Excalibur looked at Wukong, who lay on the ground, dead.
"I had to, Excalibur. He was going to kill you." Excalibur nodded.
"I understand, I just never meant for any Tenno to die." Loki put his hand on Excalibur's shoulder reassuringly.
"We do what is necessary to protect the Tenno order, Excalibur. If the Lotus must be stopped to do so, then so be it, she will be stopped." Excalibur nodded. Then he had an idea.
"Loki, if the old Tenno choose to stand with us, even they may not be enough to defend against both the Lotus and the new Tenno. But the people on this planet are warriors. If we can convince them to help us, then we might have a chance."
"Excalibur, the Humans in the Solar System won't go anywhere near us, so what makes you think these particular Humans will help us?"
Excalibur thought for a moment. He'd snuck around for a bit inside the tower, listened to conversations among the students. Since they attended a school of fighters, he had imagined they would be discussing battle plans, or when they would raid a rival city. But no. They spoke about peace, balance, and their everyday lives. He felt that these particular people were much, much different from the war-obsessed Grineer, or the devious, conniving Corpus. Even the Tenno, which now turned against their own kind. These Humans had heart, an honor within them that Excalibur thought was all but lost within people. So he made up his mind. He will fight for these Humans, possibly the last real Humans he would ever see. Ironwood and Glynda rushed out, their weapons drawn. Loki drew his, but Excalibur held him back.
"They are not our enemies, Loki. We agreed to help them, remember?" Loki hesitated for a moment, and sheathed his sword.
"What the hell happened?" Ironwood demanded. He stood back when he saw the late Wukong, who still lay on the ground.
"The Tenno are coming, Ironwood, and you must fight," Excalibur explained.
"Fight? How many are coming? A hundred? A thousand?"
"About twenty five, some are friendly, some are not." Ironwood had a confused look on his face.
"Twenty five? Can't you and the friendlies fight back yourselves?"
"Maybe, but it's a slim chance, and I will admit, even if you do help, the chances will still be small. However, the Lotus has ordered a Cleanse of this planet. I'm sure you know what that implies."
"You mean the Tenno loyal to the Lotus will attempt to destroy all life on this planet? That's impossible!" Glynda replied. Loki laughed.
"You seem to underestimate the power of us Tenno. One lone Tenno can wipe out an entire Fomorian ship. The only reason Wukong here is dead is because we were here to stop him. He had orders to purge all life on this planet, starting with this school." The two Humans thought about this for a moment.
"Alright, what will we have to do?" Ironwood asked.
"Mobilize all of your competent fighters. The assault starts here, and so we will wait for them here," Excalibur explained.
"Wait, so does that mean our students?" Glynda demanded.
"It is for the sake of your entire planet. Evacuate the civilians, but keep the fighters." Glynda was fuming, but Ironwood nodded reluctantly.
"Ironwood, you can't possibly think–" Glynda began.
"I'm sorry, Glynda, but Excalibur and his friend–"
"Loki," he cut in.
"Right, Loki. But they're right if what they're saying is true. We have to warn everyone, including the other kingdoms. Get to the tower, and warn them." Glynda reluctantly nodded, and headed for the tower.
The Stalker sat in his own modified Liset in orbit around Remnant. He meditated over the navigation pad, observing all below.
Soon Lotus, the truth will be revealed, and your Tenno will discover what they really are, how you gave them no choice. He opened his eyes as his Liset's alarm sounded.
The Tenno are here, and so are you, in your mothership. Good. The Tenno will finally know what you did to them.