A/N: got busy with stuff, am back now! :D
I grabbed the messed up helmet from the floor and walked into Fortuna. Suddenly, I was tackled to the ground by a Solaris. He dragged me behind a crate and held his hand over my mouth. He was largely still flesh, save for his left foot. His slim frame and blue clothes were soaked in blood and one of his fingers was missing. Fortuna was quiet, save for the noise of the vents. The bustle of activity was no more. Loud footsteps tromped around in the distance. Umbra dashed over next to us, putting his Skiajati up to the man's throat. I frantically shook my head and pulled the man's hand from my mouth. He held a finger to his lips. "Come out come out wherever you aaare!~" A deep, sultry voice called. "It's a Ventcrawler. Keep low and follow me.", the man whispered in my ear. He motioned for us to follow. I peeked over the crate. A tall, monstrous looking thing with a piglike snout and tattered Solaris uniform paced. It sniffed and snorted. It looked right at me, its smooth, eyeless face seeing nothing. It's permanently open mouth, filled with broken teeth drooled. "Mm.. I smell a tasty treat.~ Come out, so we might feast..~" It sniffed harder. I piped back down and shifted into the Void. I dashed in front of it. Without warning, it lunged down to bite me, missing by inches. "I sssmell you!~" It swiped at me with its yellowed claws, meeting nothing. It gave an angry roar and pounded the ground, coolant splashing everywhere. "I want a treat! I want a treat!" It wailed like an overgrown infant. A grate fell off a wall and clattered to the floor. Its ears twitched. It charged in the direction of Umbra and the Solaris. The Solaris scrambled into the vent. Umbra howled his absolute loudest, the entire room shook. I fell to the floor, clutching my ears. The Ventcrawler squealed and leapt with surprising grace up to a vent. Suddenly, a volley of arrows pierced its back, spraying strange, oily blood everywhere. It lost its grip. Umbra dashed forwards and stabbed the thing in the back repeatedly. It swatted him away as if he were nothing. "MEAT!" It bellowed. More arrows flew from the ceiling, striking it in the back of the head. It jumped onto Umbra and started biting him, its teeth tearing into Umbra's steel flesh as if made of ribbons. A crack of a rifle. One, two, three. The Ventcrawler's skull splattered everywhere. It fell backwards with a groan, holding its ruined head. "Meee.." It rasped. Umbra punched it in the chest, putting a hole in it. Two more rifle shots and the monster fell over dead. Umbra held out his hand, summoning his sword. I looked on from the floor, barely able to move. Blood leaked from my ears.
Ivara dropped from the ceiling, landing silently next to me. "Tsk." She looked scornfully at my crumpled form. Umbra ran his hands over his mutilated bits. They slowly healed. My prosthetics were a lot hotter than usual, causing the coolant to bubble. Multiple heads peeked out of vents and off balconies. The man with the missing finger smiled. "WE'RE FREE! HE'S DEAD FOR GOOD!" Cheers cascaded down, the walls shaking. Ivara pulled me to my feet by my gloved hand. "On your feet." I weakly reached for my belt and grabbed a flask of amber liquid. I shook it up, unscrewed the top and drank. The huntress grabbed it from my hand and threw it. She whipped a bow out of nowhere, shot once and pierced the flask with a single arrow before it could hit the ground. "H-hey!" She poked my nose with a padded finger. "Yeah, I kind of had a feeling." She dropped me to the floor and suddenly disappeared. Did she teleport? Umbra walked over and offered a hand. Shortly after the monster had been thrown into an incinerator, Fortuna went about its business. I dropped off the pouch of minerals, Eudico paid us and we went on our way. "1500 big ones. Bloody hell, Umbra. You know what this'll get you? A-" No. You have more training to do, and intel to find. You're also not keeping that Grineer as a pet. We're taking her to Steel Meridian. I groaned. "Fuuuck!" Focus on your trick hand, aim over there. He pointed off a ledge. Solaris were ignoring us, going about their business. I walked to the edge and focused all of my energy into my hand. It burned. It was painful. The metal glowed red hot and the air around it shimmered. Throw a punch. I gave a kiai and flung an uppercut. A massive burning wave of Void energy wrapped in fire flew forth. The air shimmered, coolant bubbled from below. "FUCK!" I dunked my arm in coolant and jumped around in pain. Not ready for that. From the ground I glared at him. "How do you know all this shite anyways?" Umbra shrugged. I'm making this up as I go along. It has worked thus far. Give me more time to work on your arms. Apologies. I pulled my arm up. It was clean, but very cold. Frost coated the arm. "What if... What if we made coolant cells?" I contemplated that. I added a sparking mechanism, hence the fire. A coolant cell would interfere with that. A Solaris walked up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "You lot melted a scaffold. That's gonna run you 300 creds. Worker's comp for me, because I broke a bloody part, and new scaffolding." I reached into a pouch and took out 450. "Keep the change, mate. Terribly sorry." He accepted it with a nod. "I think we should go now." Umbra nodded. Devon brought the Orbiter to a stop above us. "Ready for boarding, Operator!" She said, cheerily. I transferred into Umbra and let him take control, curious what he'd do. In 5 or 6 leaps and bounds up the sheer walls of Fortuna, we were in the ship. Aya was wearing clothes she made herself, a pair of loose pants woven from plant fibers as well as a shirt. She stood in front of a workbench, working on her Vulkar. "Operator! She has been looting this ship dry!" I waved her off. "You. Aya. Mate. You can't stay here, we've got a place you can go. She nodded without turning around. "Take me to Steel Meridian. I got in contact with Cressa Tal. She's expecting us." I nodded. "Right, help yourself to whatever. There's canvas in a storage box marked 'cloth' inside of the closet. The fibre stems are for emergencies, so please use the canvas." "Noted." "Devon! Take us to Steel Meridian!" The ship began to move. "Confirmed, Operator." I sauntered up behind Aya and put a hand on the lowest part of her back. "Make it quick." Aya said. We walked to my room, derobed and fornicated. A bit later, we landed above Steel Meridian. I waved Aya on her merry way and moved on.
Recon time. You get to search an entire Corpus Stanchion. Here's an incentive for you: I have some shiny new gear if you come back. Don't get caught. I will remain here, working on some new weapons. The intercom buzzed. "Operator, you have a message! Check your inbox." I picked up a nearby PDA. It was from Unknown, the image was of Ivara. My heart skipped a beat. I played it. "You. I need help with something, and the Solaris are ill equipped to provide it. There is some data being held on a Corpus Stanchion that would be helpful to us both. Meet me at my Dojo, at the following coordinates." Numbers flashed across the screen. "Coordinates copied, Operator. Shall we proceed?" We'll see what this 'Ivara' has to say. None of your usual hi-jinks. If she doesn't have anything we need, we're leaving. I nodded, doing my best to hide my eagerness. I mean it, Tess.
We jetted off towards the Dojo. It was inside of a massive ship, orbiting nothing. There were Orbiters and other craft docked on the outsides of it. Massive turrets swiveled, tracking us. "Permission to dock granted. Welcome, Tenno." A voice belonging to a Warframe came through the speakers. We docked with the ship quickly. The airlock opened with a hiss and I dropped out, inside of Umbra. I felt my stomach lurch as I was forcefully ejected from Umbra, skidding across the floor. I hit my head on a ledge, causing it to bleed. I stood up, patting my head. I looked around. The room they had landed in was small massive. The whole place was spectacularly lit, water features and plants everywhere. A couple of Kavats frolicked amid the leaves. I saw Ivara sitting precariously on a zipline above the central platform. I made to dash up towards her but found myself unable. "Huttah!" I jumped to no avail. Ivara disappeared suddenly. I heard feet softly fall on the ground behind me. I whirled around. Nobody was there. Someone tapped my shoulder. It was Ivara. "Finding yourself a bit.. Impotent?" Umbra walked into the room holding some metal pieces. They were free to use. Ask her if there's a forge. Ivara looked at him and her eye glowed more than usual. Up the stairs, down the hall and to the left. Can't miss it, door is perpetually open. Umbra nodded and took off, seemingly delighted to be among his own kind. Ivara took my hand and dragged me into another room. At a desk, there was a Warframe with grey, turquoise and black colors. She had a horn that sloped back and something resembling an eye in the front. She wore a skirt and blouse, her legs were crossed and she typed away at a terminal. Ivara shoved me into the room. "This is Nyx. She reads minds even from a distance and can turn you into a puppet with a snap of her fingers. She's also an analyst due to her abilities." Ivara's movements were stilted and her talking was odd. She went limp for a moment. Nyx laughed. "Now you've had a demonstration. Make it quick, please. And no, I will not 'sit on your face'." I blushed violently. "Uh uh uh.." I panicked a bit. Ivara slapped me in the face, her palm cracking against my cheek. "Focus!" I stood up straight and shut up. "Nyx, please pull up the-" A display containing a strange looking ship appeared on the screen in the back. Nyx suppressed a laugh. "The answer is still no. Be more charming, and maybe we can talk. This is a unique class of stanchion, a Razorback. We need to glean every bit of data we can from it, and then destroy it. To answer your question, I have already checked and nobody in there knows the secret things. Most of the staff are robots and the rest are low level grunts. Dossier on any PDA, just pull up a file named 'don3 ' and you're good to go." Nyx turned to face me. "You best be careful about your thoughts, I don't think you can be charming with statements like 'please just smother me with your thighs'. Get out now, please." Gotta put on a face for clan members. I can put thoughts in your head, if you want them.~ I heard Nyx in my head. I nodded vigorously. Ivara grabbed my arm, slammed the door shut and wordlessly dragged me to another room. "She should keep her fucking mind powers to herself." She flung me onto my back and pinned me. "I don't know what your fucking deal is. I'm not going to sleep with you, no matter how hard you try." My head leaked blood onto the floor, she had opened the wound more. "Sorry. Head wound. Now then, why not? It's not like I'm unattractive. I saw you look at me last time you pinned me. You have a bandage? I'm losing all of my sodding blood, if you haven't noticed." She sighed and picked me up. I toppled back over. My pupils were uneven and everything tasted weird. "Alright, I'll take you to Trinity." It felt like hours before we got in to see her, but really it was only 5 minutes or so.
Ivara dropped me onto a bed and chatted with Trinity. "How's the corrupted reactor? Your 'appendage' doing alright?" Ivara grabbed Trinity by the hips and pulled her in for a hug. She whispered. "Wanna find out?" Trinity giggled. "N-not now, I'm working." I laughed weakly. "Oh, right." Trinity put a hand on my head a moment. I felt pleasant warmth flood my head. The wound was sealed, bloodlessly and without a scar. I hopped off the bed. "Thanks." Ivara waved me off. "Go find Excalibur, we've got stuff to do here." I stepped out and the door slid shut behind me, locking tightly. The room went silent, the lock read IN USE. I sighed and trudged off to find Umbra.
He was in the forge, speaking with a tall, curvy Warframe with a mohawk-like crest on her helmet. She was a fiery orange with grey up and down her body. She wore no protective gear and seemed quite at home with the fiery coals of the furnaces. She idly tossed a piece of molten metal up and down, molding it with her fingers. Umbra wore a thick apron and a mask over his face. His scarves hung on a hook nearby. I watched her work. She turned to face me. Can I help you? , She spoke into my mind, eschewing the use of words. "Can you speak?" "I choose not to." Her voice was spectral, piercing and a little creepy. It sounded like the voice of a Mutalist. "Noted." I replied, a bit unnerved. "I need to talk to Umbra." Speak. He said, not looking up from what he was doing. "Ivara told me to find you. Here, take this." I thrust a PDA into his free hand. He set down the piece he was working with and scrolled. He set down the PDA. I can't do anything with this, I don't know what it means. "She said to find Excalibur! Why don't you know what she's talking about? You sodding knobhead!" You'll want our clan leader for that. Excalibur. He'll be in the sparring hall with Wukong or in his office. Sparring hall is across from here, down the stairs and behind two doors. Keycode is 8831. Get out of my forge, please. Me and your friend here are making something. She bent down to light the coals more and I watched her posterior as she did so. Umbra's eyes drifted as well. Keeping his eyes on her he said, Leave us be. He said. I mumbled angry gibberish under my breath and stomped towards the sparring room. As I made my way down the hall, I looked into a room. Barracks, but with no beds. Instead were chairs of various sizes, beanbags and various floofs. In the corner, curled up on a beanbag, there was a Warframe with something resembling antlers atop his head, he was white with green and black stripes. He wore a T-shirt with a Grineer roller on it that read 'Keep on rolling' in big green letters. He wore no pants, his crotch covered only by the hem of his oversized shirt. He lazily turned to face me. "New here?" He said, glumly. "Don't answer that. I don't care. Go bother someone else." I knelt down beside him. "I'm Tess. I think I can help you out." "Oberon. No, no you can't." I scratched my chin. "You sure?" "Unless you know exactly where Titania went, please go away." "Titania?" "Yes, my sweet love. Bring her back to me or fuck off." "What does she look like?" "Beautiful. She's blue and black with highlights of pink. Her helmet has flaps resembling folded ears and her body has bits of featherlike stuff. Sometimes she's super small, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Other times she's about as tall as you. She was last seen on Earth." He turned away and covered his face. I gently patted his shoulder and left, making a mental note to find Titania.
From the sparring hall I heard loud cracks and the thump of feet. I heard a warcry and a series of striking sounds. I peeked my head around the corner. Inside was a massive room, filled with solid looking punching bags, hundreds of different weapons and all kinds of raised terrain. In the center of the room, on a black pad were two Warframes sparring. One was orange and black, with a helmet that looked very catlike. She had clawed fingers and attacked in a flurry of strikes. The other had tendrils of energy sloping off the back of his head as well as a short tail. He was blue and grey with bits of red. Fighting beside him with a pair of sai was a frame who looked identical. The catlike Warframe deflected every swing with a parry and eventually, knocked one of the monkey looking ones down, sending the staff flying. She helped him to his feet and they both bowed. A very plain looking frame, colored grey with red highlights and a rhino-like horn stepped into the arena. I cleared my throat. "Uh.. Is one of you Excalibur?" The one with the horn turned to me and waved. The monkey one bowed to me, and in an accent not unlike ancient Chinese introduced himself as Wukong. "I am called Valkyr." The catlike one said. "I suppose you must be Excalibur then." He nodded. "What do you need, Starchild?" Wukong asked, twirling his polearm. "One, can I have me transference and stuff back? It's bloody dull walking everywhere." Excalibur walked up and poked me in the chest. I felt strong again, my hands flaring. "Care for a duel?" I asked slyly. Excalibur nodded and told the other two to back off. He drew a sword and bowed deeply. "We do not go for deathblows, so rest easy. You will lose if you get knocked down or you fail to knock down your opponent before time runs out. Understood?", Wukong explained. I nodded. A small bell rang out. "BEGIN!" I charged up my trick hand and swung a weak jab at Excalibur, who responded with a gut kick, knocking me to the floor. I leapt onto my feet right as his sword hit where I'd been. I got a proper strike on his back, which he shrugged off and replied with a brutal punch, which I caught and parried. He pulled out of my grasp and circled me, dodging any hit I threw. He dashed at me with lightning speed and a flash of light but was met with open air when I shifted into the Void. I forcefully reappeared behind him and kicked him with all the energy I had, knocking him to the floor. I pinned him to the best of my ability. He flung me off, knelt on my chest and put his blade to my throat. "I yield I yield!" I desperately, called, my hands above my head. A bell rang out. He helped me to my feet and bowed. "Can I please talk to you? Ivara said to find you." He nodded and beckoned me. We left the room, the clattering of weapons marked Valkyr and Wukong's bout. He took me to a very plain office, with nothing but a chair and a desk containing nothing, as well as a Kubrow bed. He pointed at the chair and sat on the floor. He patted the floor twice and a shaggy looking Raksa Kubrow trotted into the room, curling up next to him as he rubbed its ears. He made a motion with his hand, indicating he wanted me to talk. "I'm sure you know this, but there's been Razorback sightings and I need materials to destroy them. Unless we want to lose another Relay." He nodded. "Can you talk?" I asked apprehensively, expecting annoyance but was met with a nod. "So, will you? Would make it easier to talk." He grabbed a PDA and tapped some buttons. He handed it to me. A message read: "Elders don't speak to outsiders. Nothing personal. Our resources are at your disposal. Good luck, Tenno." He gave a strange salute and I left, stopping to look in on Oberon and the sparring hall. Oberon still looked depressed, Wukong was sparring his clone and Valkyr ran an obstacle course at lightning speed.
Sitting in a beanbag across from Oberon was a Warframe clad entirely in blue and shades of brown. His helmet and lower torso had shades of tan and he vaguely resembled a pre-war sailor. I walked over and held out a hand. "Hi. I'm Tess. I'll be here a bit." He reached up and shook it. In a thick accent that was nearly identical to pre-war Irish, he said, "Hydroid. Pleased to meet you." I looked around the room. "Is this a barracks or..?" He shrugged. "Of sorts. That lug in the corner is Oberon." He leaned up and whispered, "Lost his wife, go easy on him, eh?" I nodded slowly. He gave a mighty stretch and suddenly a tentacle popped out of the floor, along with a stream of water. "Oop!" He tried to slide the tentacle away but I grabbed it. "Oooh.. You can make these?" He did the Warframe equivalent of a blush when I grabbed it. "..Yeah." I gently stroked it and Hydroid seemed more and more flustered. "C-can you just leave it alone, please?" I took my hands off the slimy thing, which squealed in annoyance. I sat down next to it and stroked it some more. "So sorry about this, I can't resist things like these." Hydroid looked quite uncomfortable, his legs tightly crossed. Out of curiosity, I kissed the tip of one. The tentacle slid back into the ground. My lips felt slimy and briny. Hydroid avoided my gaze. "Sorry about that, mind of their own sometimes. Useful though, they can get things I can't reach." I took a step back and slipped on some of the slime, landing face first into Hydroid's lap. He awkwardly scooted away from me. "Ahem. Sorry about that." I stood up, face flushed red. "Y-yeah, no sweat." I reached into my belt and took out a scrap of paper. I scribbled my cell on it along with a xoxo and handed it to him. I left the room quickly, damp in more ways than one. I heard Oberon give a rueful chuckle. "Good luck.."
I found Umbra sitting outside of the forge with Ember, holding a series of long rods interlocked, about the size of my forearm. Ember's head was on his shoulder and they were.. Laughing. Both of them had awful laughs, raspy and gunk-filled. Umbra pressed the spot where his mouth would have been to the place where Ember's cheek would have been. She held the spot with her hand and laughed more. I walked to Nyx's office. Busy right now. Her voice rang in my head. I turned on my heel and headed up a random staircase. At the top was an open door, inside was a monstrous amount of Infestation. In the center of it, stood a tall Warframe covered in Infested tendrils. It stared into space, making croaking noises occasionally. I tried to sneak past but it whirled around, spotting me. Immediately, I froze in terror. "Hey buddy... I'm Tess. And you are?" It waved and turned back around. I heard a hiss in my head. Nidusss...
I kept walking, the next few rooms were storage, down the hall was a door marked 'Armory'. Through the plasma window I could see a Warframe with a yellow helmet and black pants. Pistols holstered on her hips. I knocked on the window. She walked over and opened a shutter. "Yes?" I grabbed a list from my belt and slid it to her. "Mhm. So, Tess, is it?" Her voice was accented with Texan charm. "That's me. Think I can get those guns? Ivara sent me." The Warframe grabbed my arm and examined it. "Nice gun. Didja name him?" I shrugged. "It's an arm, you don't name them, even if they shoot plasma." The Warframe scoffed. "I'm a doggone gun and I have a name. Mesa. Now then, name yer gun." I gave her a frank look and crossed my arms. "Alright, his name is Tiny Tim and he shoots big loads of plasma. Happy?" She chuckled. "No. Keep tryin, hate to see a cannon like that go unappreciated." She drew her pistols with lightning speed, I couldn't even see her arms move. "These are my Regulators. They regulate whatever I point em at. By regulate, I mean turn to chunks." She hyucked at her own joke. "Alright, my arm melts and burns things, it can also freeze stuff with coolant if I choose to." "Well shucks, I guess the only thing you can call him is Guillermo La Lumbre. On account of the burnin' stuff." I scratched my nose. "Guillermo La Lumbre it is. Can I get the stuff now, please? It's just some Razorback Ciphers, some rifle ammo, a recharging plasma shotgun and a few grenades." Mesa held up a finger, walked over to the locked door and opened it. "Come in here, please. Somethin' I need ya to do before I can give you them weapons." I apprehensively stepped inside, expecting the worst. Instead, she led me to a firing range and pointed her finger at a sprinting Crewman. "It's a simulation, he don't feel pain. Shoot him with Guillermo a few times purty girl." I fired off rapid small shots of black Void energy. "Nice, nice. You missed three of those." She drew her pistols and shot through every target in the range, dead in the face. They reset and she did it again without looking. "Not bad, eh? I could be out there shootin' at baddies but instead I get to sort weapons. Darn shame, ain't it?" I nodded, in awe of the display of sheer skill. She walked away a moment and came back with the equipment. "Here you go. I built that shotgun by hand, you best take care of her." It was sleek and white, engraved with gold words written in Orokin. The chamber was empty, containing only a strange ball of glowing yellow. "Take a few shots on the range. Careful, she's got some kick to 'er." I foolishly held the short barreled shotgun in one hand, tossed it in the air and caught it by the pump to cock it. I fired off a shot. The gun went off so hard it knocked me back several feet. Mesa yanked me to my feet and took the shotgun. "No! Like this!" She pumped it once and fired, hot yellow plasma striking precisely into the Crewman's skull. She did it again and again and again. She tossed it to me, still warm. "The shotgun is for my friend. I prefer knives and my Plinx." I patted the holster. She gave me a pat on the back and the rest of the items. I stepped out the door. "Y'all come back now, y'hear?" She called behind me, waving through the window. I walked back over to the forge. It was empty, the coals cold and nothing laying out. The tools were in their places and the ores were in their bags. I walked past the forge. The room on the right was locked. I peeped through the window. Inside were Ember and Umbra. They lay on her bed, face to face. Umbra's hand was behind her head, his fingers stroking her tall crest. His other hand was on her hip. Ember's hands were both at Umbra's crotch, moving quickly, just out of sight. Knowing what was happening, I bolted. I ran and ran and ran until I found a storage room with a cot on the floor. I closed the door and sealed it shut. I flopped onto the cot and stared at the ceiling. Not havin' fun? "Oh shut up, Nyx." I heard her giggle in my head. I don't think so. You want some imagery now?~ "Not particularly. Where's Ivara? I wanna get this show on the road." She's with Trinity. Working on things. She said it'll be a week or so before we can gather the resources. Those ciphers you picked up? They still need omega isotopes. Which we need to collect over time. So, get comfortable and try to forget about the man who you see as a father and his activities with our in-house smith. Maybe go see what Hydroid is up to? "Stay out of my fucking head." A series of tasteful images of Nyx in racy clothing entered my mind. They progressively got more and more racy until they were blatantly erotic. "Thanks. I'll save those for later. Leave me alone, please." If you say so~
I rolled over, facedown. I heard footsteps in front of me and looked up. Above me stood a towering frame with a helmet of horns sloping off to either side. He was grey and blue with inlays of red. He reached down and grabbed my hand. He picked me up and set me by the door. He opened the door, pushed me out and then closed it. I stood up and walked away. To the right of me, down some stairs was the mess hall. It was clean, with a bar and some tables. A colossus of a Warframe wearing a chef's hat behind his horn and an apron over his mountain of a belly manned a flat-top grill. I felt my stomach growl and realized I needed a bite. I walked up and sat down at the bar. It was smooth, black synthetic marble. There was a bowl with some strange looking nuts in small cellophane bags sitting below the counter. The chairs were surprisingly comfortable. I rung a nearby bell. A blue and silver Warframe with strange, hooflike feet and many armor plates all over his body walked up to take my order. "What can we getcha?" His voice was familiar, the touch of New York and rapid speech. "Hey! You knocked me over a bit ago!" He scoffed. "Bygones. What can I get for ya?" I looked up and down the menu. Mostly meats and pasta dishes, along with something labeled 'nutrition paste'. Lots of excellent art along with prices. Expensive, but not insanely so. "Alright, I'll take a burger. What kind of meat is it?" He shrugged. "It came from Earth. Very tasty. Toppings?" "I'll take some cheese and pickled beets." "A rich hippie. Got it. Goats are rare so it's gonna be an extra 3 creds for goat cheese. That cool?" I nodded. "Do you want any sides? We have green salads with several options for dressing, strips of deep-fried kuaka, pobber fries, starch root fries, fruit parfaits, maprico jelly shots-" I interrupted him. "I'll take some kuaka, starch fries and a fruit parfait with whatever melons you have. To drink, I'll take a Mourner's Brew, extra fermented salt syrup." He scribbled my order onto a pad. "Got it." He zipped into the back at light speed and came back out shortly. He grabbed a canister of nitrogen and a couple of unlabeled bottles filled with black stuff. He produced a black citrus from nowhere and chopped it into slices. He poured the drink together quickly and slid it across the bar top. I gave it a sniff. Nothing like the stuff on New Riddha. I sipped it. It was far less bitter than usual, and nauseatingly sweet. The salt syrup was thinner than it should have been and seemed to be the source of the sweetness. The stout wasn't nearly strong enough to be pitch stout. Only the frigid nitrogen held any resemblance to a Mourner's Brew. "Another!" I slammed back two more before my food was brought to me, hot and greasy. I slapped down 100 credits and chowed down. "Keep th' change." I said through a mouthful of food, slurring my words a bit. I ate the starch fries, they were crispy and salty. The pobber fries were spicy and had a jerky-like texture. The fruit parfait came with orange melon in yogurt with granola and honey. I chased it down with another Mourner's Brew. The burger was delicious, oozing hemoglobin. The cheese dripped and the beets had a nice, cool crunch that complemented the softness of the burger. The bun was beautifully browned and toasted on the inside. The sauces used were spicy and vaguely sweet. I ate in gulps, my mind spinning with thoughts of Jackie. The fries were both gone in moments, eaten in several rapid bites. I drank the parfait, spilling honey and oats on my shirt. The burger I crammed down in three massive bites. "Gimme the house special cocktail.." I hiccupped. "You're gonna drink us dry, Voiddamn." Gauss said, irritably pouring me a colorful drink with crushed ice and lemons. He dropped in a curly straw. "All kinds of rare fruits in there. You'll like it." He pushed it to me. I licked the salt off the rim of the glass and chugged the thing, ignoring brainfreeze. It was wickedly sweet, I could barely taste the distilled vodka. It felt like my brain had been rolled in sugar and placed inside of a bottle of simple syrup. I laughed entirely too hard and fell off the stool, onto the floor. This made me laugh even more. "You okay?" Gauss leaned over the counter. I gave him a thumbs up and started taking my boots off. My legs fell off with them. I pulled them up to me and took the boot off, setting it next to me. Gauss watched me, vaguely bemused. "Why even bother wearing shoes? Do your feet even have feeling?" I nodded. "A good bit, but F-Zero old chum.. Why don't ye pour me more o' that-" I busted out laughing, my toes twitched and I put my foot back on. I picked up my boot and put my hand inside of it, making it walk. I laughed even harder. I heard heavy footsteps and the door to the kitchen open. "Gauss!" A booming voice with a Russian accent bellowed from over the counter. "Is time to close up, time for things to eat is over." A massive Warframe with a belly that had something resembling a mouth on it leaned over the counter to watch me. "Drunk human is not pretty sight. Where do you belong?" I looked up at his massive figure with a stupid smile pasted across my face. I squinted and recognition hit my brain like a galleon in planetfall. "You were on Riddha." He nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, I was. It hurt my heart to hear of its fall. We left before it all fell to bits. Sia! Close up please, I am going to the room to prepare for tomorrow!" A teenager popped her head through a door I hadn't noticed. "Done, Uncle!" She looked maybe 17. Dark hair, bright eyes and a lot of acne. She wore work clothes and a smile. She skipped over to him. She looked down at me. "Do you need me to move her?" Grendel scoffed. "Let Gauss do it-" Suddenly, I was lifted off the floor and zipped out of the room. I found myself on top of Hydroid, in his beanbag. I looked up at him, stunned.
I hiccuped. "Hi." Was all I said before passing out on top of him, snoring. I woke up a few hours later, looking up at Hydroid, who had his hand on my upper back and had covered me up with a blanket. "Mornin' lass, sleep well?" I nodded slowly, ignoring the heat rising into my face. He awkwardly tried to scooch away but I held fast. "Hold me for a bit?" He pulled me up under the armpits and set me into his lap. I put my arms behind his neck with my legs draped over his thighs. He cupped his one arm under my legs and had the other on the small of my back. I leaned on him and sighed. "You and me could be good friends, I'd like to think." He scritched his chin. "I would love to be friends." He said, with poorly veiled enthusiasm. "Do you know how to swordfight?" I shrugged. "Can't be that hard." He laughed and shoved me off. He drew a cutlass and dagger from nowhere and stood up, taking a fighting stance. "Follow me!" He turned around and jogged out of the room. I heard a series of beeps as the sparring hall was opened. He poked his head back into the door. "Coming?" I stood up and ran out of the room, following him. He handed me the cutlass. He flipped and leapt from wall to platform before landing on the dueling arena. "Well? Do I have to bloody carry you?" I dashed through the Void onto the platform. I put the cutlass into my right hand and warmed up my trick hand. He swung immediately, with no bow. He was lightning quick with his dagger. I couldn't figure out how to properly parry his attacks and he knocked me to the floor, his blade at my throat. I hit him in the side with my trick hand and knocked him off of me with a blast. I got back to my feet and tossed the cutlass to the side. Hydroid quickly recovered. A tentacle popped up from the floor and threw him the cutlass, which he promptly caught. He got into a defensive stance. "Well, if that's how you wanna play it." He stomped the floor, leaned backwards and raised his hands into the air with great effort. Suddenly, a massive deluge of water filled the room. It was clear as a summer day, salty and frigid. Soon we were under 40 meters of water or so. There was still light. Fortunately, I didn't need to breathe. Hydroid flew at me like a torpedo, faster than I could blink. My hand was not nearly as powerful underwater. He pummeled me with the blunt parts of his weapons and kicked me around with his feet. He hit me in the stomach with his knee and I promptly vomited, clutching my stomach and shivering. He facepalmed and clenched his fist, swinging it in a downward motion. All of the water drained from the room, leaving it as dry as it had been before. I fell several meters and hit the ground with a thunk. Hydroid slowly dropped down, as if still weightless. I was sopping wet and shivering violently. "Bit much, I think." I coughed and shakily got to my feet. "Let's get some breakfast first, eh? I'm bloody spent." A series of large bruises were already forming and my back ached painfully. Hydroid nodded. "I suppose. I'll go a bit easier next time. Need a hand?"
I waved him off and shifted into the Void, phasing into the mess hall in seconds. There were many Warframes sitting around the place, gnawing at various different things. Nyx looked up at me and waved, sitting by herself in a corner, ticking away on a keyboard with a holographic display. Come sit with me. I heard her say in my head. I staggered over and flopped into the booth next to her. I groaned and held my stomach. "Jus' some tea, if you don't mind." She picked me up telekenetically and sat me up next to her. I leaned on her shoulder and watched her type. Her nimble fingers flew faster than I could see. I felt myself drifting off to sleep again. I heard a tray clink on the table and smelled a pleasantly warm herbal blend. I felt a hot cup against my lips. I parted them slightly and sipped. I opened my eyes. The bottom of the cup glowed green, and it floated in front of my face. Nyx's eye thing glowed slightly. I watched her. The teacup set itself down. Mint IS your favorite, right? I nodded. She hugged my head. I scooted away. "I.. I can't do this." Love, I can read minds. You want it. What's stopping you? "I've got work to do. One cup of tea and I'm off to find Umbra." She paused, her eye glowing. "He's with Ember. A bit.. Preoccupied at the moment." I shuddered. "Don't want specifics, he's like the dad I never had." She nodded. I sipped my tea. "Oogh. Didn't notice it, but I have a RIPPING bloody hangover right now. D'you know what a Bloody Mary is? Ancient cocktail, great for hangovers." She nodded, her eye glowed briefly. Done! Lean on me if you wish. Hydroid is looking for you. I saw him at the bar, looking around anxiously. I stood up and shouted. "OI! TENTACLE LORD! OVER HERE!" He turned to look at me before sliding over on a small puddle of water. He slid next to me in the booth and sat down. I motioned him over. He leaned on me. "Terribly sorry about the bruises." I nodded. "It's fine." I fell asleep before my drink got here, leaning on Nyx with Hydroid leaning on me.