Responsibility
She had no chance and she knew it, but Magda was Tenno. She fought. She had been a cop for a long time, and as a mind control specialist, had seen a lot of bad things in her fighting. She did not bother trying to attack, she simply defended herself as she tried to retreat away from the sudden onslaught. She was stuck in a dead end though and when Sun started to blink in and out of invisibility, she took hit after hit, parrying a few, but losing shields and then bits of her warframe steadily.
Magda! Get out of here! Ollie's power swept over her as the Shade's cloak took hold of her and she wasted no time taking to her heels. But then, Ollie screamed and Magda jerked up short as she realized he wasn't at her side! She spun back to see the shade in one of Sun's hands, menaced by his sword!
"NO!" Magda screamed, throwing caution (and Ollie's cloak) to the wind. She was too far away too do anything as the Loki clad Tenno struck once and her companion's armored shell fell out of the white armored Tenno's hand to lie still on the floor, sparking fitfully.
"He is not dead." Sun said flatly as Magda set herself too charge, for all the good that would do. "Look, I don't want to-." But Magda had heard, and taken, enough! She charged him!
He probably intended to menace Ollie's fallen form with his sword. To force her compliance in whatever mad scheme he was involved in now. She did not give him the chance! Sun was old, powerful and scary beyond belief. He was not omnipotent nor omniscient. Magda tried very hard to be a good person, a good Tenno, because in the deepest, darkest recesses of her heart and soul, she knew she wasn't one. She knew her strengths and weaknesses to within millimeters after so long serving the law. She had a temper and she had lost it on far too many occasions. So, she limited her responses as was right and proper for Warrior Tenno who acted in civilized society. But now? Her fear for her friend was driving her well beyond those limits. She would tear herself, her body and energy to pieces to save her friend if that was what it took. She was-
Wham!
How had she gotten on the floor? Why was she kneeling? She stared down at Ollie's broken form that lay in front of her, unable to muster the energy to look up even as growl of pure rage sounded from in just in front of her. She managed to raise her head, just a little and saw two brown clad legs in front of her. But then her head fell back down. She was too spent to move. Odd. The legs were not a warframe. They looked like cloth covered flesh, not metal.
"Begone." Did Magda know that voice? It was sort of like her ship Cephalon. Sort of. Not quite. It felt both right and wrong. Male. Young, but powerful. So powerful and not of this world. It sounded kind of like one of the Zarimon children who she had dealt with in the past. What had his name been? Her mind fuzzed and she couldn't bring that thought back to the forefront of her brain.
"You." The attacker was further away now. Was Sun retreating? Why? As old and experienced as he was, he was one of the few Tenno in existence who was a match for the Zarimon children. Magda could not move! She should have been afraid, why was she feeling relief? "What are you doing here?"
"I am trying to keep you from making even more of a mess than your compatriots did with Sir Aziz." The other was more than a bit snide as the legs in Magda's vision seemed to set themselves. "You asked her if she had any idea. She doesn't, but accepted that. You have no idea what you are doing, Tenno Sun!" The other declared. "You have no idea how many people who match or exceed your power level are about to get involved in this fiasco."
"I can help her!" Sun snapped, almost derisive. "Them!"
"No, you cannot and even if by some miracle, you do manage to do what you intend? She will not thank you for it!" The other replied in the same tone! "Surrender your hostages and leave. Now."
"Or?" Sun was clearly setting himself to fight, even without Magda being able to see him.
"Or I am going to do what I can to help her and laugh while you get your ass kicked." The other retorted, sheer evil coloring his tone. Even with her emotions dampened, Magda felt fear rise. "Choose, Tenno. Now."
"You cannot beat me, Owl." Sun said firmly. Did Magda know that name? Her mind was blurred. Something was wrong inside her head! Everything was brown, red and fuzzy. Nothing hurt, but she could not focus. This was wrong! The voice of this 'Owl' person was familiar, but she didn't know him, did she? If she did know the name, she could not bring it to mind. That wasn't right. None of this was. What was happening to her? The need to know vanished with her fear and she was just numb.
"You are right, 'I' can't." Something soft was touching Magda's armored head now. The touch was gentle, but the voice was hard as rock. "But they can."
"What the-?" Magda had never imagined hearing the former grandmaster of Tenno Interrogators sound shocked as the golden flash of a portal lit the area and suddenly, two pairs of armored legs stood in front of her. Clearly warframes. No one she knew.
"We tried to do this the easy way." The voice that sounded from the pair of legs on the right was strange. Old. Powerful. In control, but under that control lay a rage as deep as space itself. "Now, we do it the hard way. Owl? Help Magda. Tenno Sun? You will surrender your hostages or we will take them from your broken warframe. Just like Owl, I honestly do not care which you choose, but you will choose now."
Magda felt faint at the sheer callous indifference in the other's tone. That was to Sun! Who the hell was this who could say such to Sun of all people? This person, whoever the hell he was, he didn't seem to care that the former Grandmaster of Tenno interrogators was dangerous beyond belief. Scary as hell in far too ways to list. Something flashed and a sigh came from yet 'another' voice. But when the new voice spoke again, despite herself, Magda shivered at the darkness that reared in that voice. Not evil. Darkness. She hadn't known there as a difference, but now? She did and even as an old warrior Tenno, Magda felt terror rise as power beyond even Tenno comprehension rose to match the voice. The few times she had dealt with Grandmaster Nikis had sort of felt like that to her, but not this bad! Even not as the target of the voice, she felt very small and alone as rage as deep and wide as space itself was given voice.
If you try to leave with your prisoners again, it will hurt. Magda did not know that voice any more than she knew the first speaker. It was different from the first, but similar. This one too was male just like the first speaker. Whoever this was, he was just as old and just as indifferent to Sun's fearsome reputation as the other. But... This voice was wrong on so many levels. Old, powerful and scary as hell. Nikis himself might not have been so frightening! She had heard that voice, somewhere. Magda knew she had. But again, she could not pull a name to mind! I should not enjoy hurting people. But your kind bring out the worst in me, traitor.
"You are one to talk of treason, Inaros." Sun retorted and Magda felt even fainter. Inaros? The lord of the hidden colony on Phobos? The sole defender one place in the whole solar system that no Tenno, warrior or other, dared go uninvited? Nikis' first student as a Guardian of the Dead? That Inaros? Yes. She had heard that voice in a warning to all Tenno not to trespass that had been seconded by Nikis himself. Sudden clamor erupted in front of Magda and she felt fear rise. A fight was happening and she could not defend herself! Anger should have followed it, but she was floating on a sea of lethargy now. Noises that Magda's stunned brain equated to battle were happening right in front of her and she could nothing. She bit back a sob and the touch was back on her head.
It is all right, Magda. The very first unknown's voice she had heard was in her head now. Yes, it did sound like her ship Cephalon. How? Why? It is going to be all right. I know things don't make sense to you right now and there is a good reason. Ollie will be okay and so will you, but I cannot move you as you are. I did not want to call for help, to involve anyone else in this fiasco, but I had no choice. If he hurts you, takes you, alters you… The voice gulped and it was sad, sick. Just relax. He urged her. We have you. You and Ollie are safe.
"Am I?" Magda managed to croak out past sudden pain in her face. What was wrong with her? The whole front of her head hurt! She stilled. The pain was where the Veil had been on here, but it was gone. Wasn't it? "Am I… Narmer?" She pleaded and there was no response, just the continuing battle in front of her. "Please?"
I cannot answer that. The other said softly. Magda, I am sorry. I cannot answer you. You are what you are. You are still Tenno Magda, Officer of the Law. Not even Narmer's evil and power can possibly change that. His voice was soft and kind. Power seeped through her, soothing her hurts even as yellowish white energy swept around Ollie's broken form. Magda felt sudden relief as Ollie gasped, but the other spoke before Ollie could. Officer Ollie, I have her! She is alive and whole! We may be able to salvage this.
I doubt it if Sun is involved. Ollie was resigned now. Not scared even as something hit the floor not very far away and the sounds of battle continued.
Officer Ollie, Sun is not evil any more than you and Magda are. The other replied. He is pragmatic to a fault and he has done evil, but he is not that way simply to be that way any more than you are. Anymore than I am. We have all done evil. He thinks he is doing the right thing, so he won't stop fighting. Maybe he 'is' doing the right thing. I don't know. What I 'do' know is that I am locked into my own course. I promised not to harm either of you and I will not. I promised to help you and I will.
This sucks. Ollie said with such feeling that Magda had to smile even though it hurt again. Ollie was never shy about speaking his mind. She doesn't deserve this.
Deserve has nothing to do with it. The other said sadly. If it did, you and she would be off doing what you are supposed to andI would be suffering far worse than I am. If what people deserved mattered at all in our world, no Tenno would be forced to fight if they did not desire it and things like this mess would not be happening. I am going to get you both out of here and where I have to take you will be very frightening, even for Tenno. He warned as the battle nearby intensified. Magda, you need to sleep now.
"No!" Magda exclaimed, trying to move, to flight. To flee. Anything! "Whatever-"
Magda broke off as beautiful static sounded in her mind and she was suddenly lying on something soft. She felt odd. Not bad, just odd.
"Oh my god! What happened?" Another familiar voice. This one female and scared.
"Sun took the others, tried to take her." The male voice that Magda equated with comfort now said sadly as energy pulsed around her. "We didn't even think about him. I thought he was supposed to stay with the spetznatz."
"He was supposed to stay with the spetznatz." An older voice said flatly as the static that surrounded Magda eased a bit. Magda did not know that voice but whoever it was, she was very unhappy. "Well, Magda's energy is intact. Let me see what I can do."
"Don't… make… me… Narmer." Magda tried to scream that, but only managed to grate the words out. Utter silence followed them. "Please!"
"Magda…" The older voice spoke and then heaved a sigh. "Oh, Magda." Whoever this was, she wasn't Narmer! The worry and compassion in her tone were anathema to any Narmer slave. "Bloody hell." That expletive mixed worry, fatigue and exasperation all in one short sentence. "Ah, shit. I wish Janet were here. She would know what to do."
"You know what Janet would say." The male voice was so sad now even as the static eased back into Magda's mind, suffusing everything. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. Even one Tenno. You just do not want to do it and neither do I. We need this killer stopped and Kanaah found. Magda is the best choice for such. The only choice."
"I cannot make this choice for her." The older female said sadly. "After all the messes I have made, I cannot make such a choice." Was she crying?
"I can." The younger female voice said softly and the static that surrounded Magda picked her up and carried her away to the sound of sobbing.
Somewhere built by hands not even remotely human
Magda lay in her cocoon of orange energy, her huddled form wavering between her preferred Nyx warframe and something far more foul. The black robes and hidden face were familiar to any who had fought Narmer even without the staff of office. A Deacon. That was what Narmer had turned her into. Mind control was her thing, after all. No one would ever know how many she and her follow cops had turned into mindless followers for Narmer. The only kindness was that she didn't remember the horrors she had done while enslaved. Like all the other Deacons, she and other transformed Tenno had been cast loose when Ballas had fallen. Unlike far too many of the others, she and her fellow cops had been rescued before Pazuul had solidified his control over the Narmer forces that remained in the Origin system after Ballas' death.
"She was free!" The transparent golden woman was pacing back and forth in front of the cocoon. "We cannot do this to her!"
"She and hers are the only ones who could possibly find this killer, Lynn." The voice came from a small sentient form that hovered nearby. It glowed orange, but not in anger. In worry and fear. "It is almost certainly a Tenno doing this, but why?"
"If their mind was broken by Narmer as Magda's was, that might be why." The Zarimon child Owl said from where he stood by one wall. He too shimmered a bit, shifting between his preferred bright colors and Narmer's dingy yellow. They had never 'quite' managed to warp him to Narmer's service, but they kept trying and would ever since they got their tendrils into his energy. Even Hunhow's stupendous power could not keep it out. "No right thinking Tenno would ever act in such a way. Not after training and the Trial. But Narmer had to be in control no matter what it did to a mind." Owl heaved a sigh as another voice piped up and all of the others turned to the sentinel that hovered right beside the cocoon Magda lay in.
I do not know what she will remember, but she will remember something. I do. Ollie said very sadly. I… We tried! He pleaded to anyone and everyone.
"Ollie, you and your compatriots did very well. Narmer had millennia to plan his attack." The shade said quietly as she stepped to the cocoon, extending a hand to the sentinel who flew to perch on it. Not that it actually could, since she wasn't physically there, but she could offer comfort that way and did. "You companions and Laney managed to get her free. Her and the others."
And then they all went mad! Ollie all but screamed that. There was nothing we could do!
Freeing the cops from Narmer's control had actually been the easy part. The rest was anything but easy. If they had been in their right mind, they probably would have taken their own lives, but they hadn't been! Only the containment of the ship and the dutiful attention of their companions had kept them from becoming ravening monsters.
"I know, Ollie." Lynn said softly. "I know."
"She wouldn't want this." The orange sentient said quietly. "We may need her, but do we have the right to do this to her? To prolong her suffering?"
"That is probably why Sun was trying to take her." Owl said very softly and everyone winced. "So many people hate him now, what are four or five more Tenno lives?" He bowed his head. "Especially insane ones."
She is not insane! Ollie said flatly. Even through the programming, I heard her. She is still in there. Somewhere. Lost in Narmer's darkness. Drowning.
"Then what say we toss her a lifeline?" The small orange sentient moved toward as the cocoon only to have everyone else bar her path!
"Falcon! Don't you dare!" Lynn said with a glower as the sentinel and Zarimon child both flanked her. "You know what Narmer does to your kind!"
"I know that Officer Magda is the only Tenno cop left." Falcon said reasonably. "Ali and Inaros may be able to rescue the others from Sun. Even as powerful as they are, they may not be able to. We need Magda."
"Falcon…" Lynn groaned. "If you get turned into a Narmer slave, you know what your mothers will do to us. Let alone Janet or Marlena!" The ancient shade of a long dead Tenno actually shuddered.
"The needs of the many, Tenno Lynn." Falcon said softly as her energy shifted, just a little, becoming the orange of the cocoon.
"FALCON!" Everyone else screamed and tried to stop her, but she as already moving, flying into the cocoon to settle against Magda's stomach.
The the scream became static filled words and it was Falcon who screamed.
Healed, the pain of independence
Strong, our wise and trusted friend
We, united in one vision
Rise to sing of sorrow's end
And was that a whisper that came from Falcon as she too started to glow dingy yellow like Owl?
For Narmer