//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 Bets We Make // Story: Warframe: Relic Hunters // by UnknownEntity743 //------------------------------// Warframe: Relic Hunters Chapter 24 Bets We Make *Location; ???, 1 year since Void Jump Escape* Just on the edge of a grassy cliff. Above a golden city that shined like the heavens. A willow tree stood as old as the land itself as it shook from the impact of an object. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* “Are you done?” Came a dull voice as the thudding stopped and the tree stopped shaking “Leave me alone Stalker, ive got frustration to vent out,” a younger Excalibur responded as he turned to face a younger Stalker “Or you’re trying to think of something, but I doubt that’s what you’re up to,” Stalker added as Excalibur rolled his eyes and sat down “No, it’s about the bet, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Excalibur sighed as Stalker sat down too as he blew his red hair out of his face “It’s about the Void Jump, isn’t it?” He asked as Excalibur nodded “Almost an entire year since that day, not a moment goes by where we all don’t think about it,” “But why does it feel so ‘wrong’, we still haven’t figured out why someone did this to us, why we survived and no one else did, I’m such an idiot!” Excalibur yelled as he punched the dirt and Stalker just looked at him “What do you mean by ‘I’m such an idiot’? not that you aren’t,” Stalker asked as he earned a light punch for the insult “You know how all the children were chosen due to their more ‘Special abilities’?” Excalibur asked as Stalker thought about it “Yes, they had categories, strength, speed, intelligence, etc., what about them?” He asked back as Excalibur faced the ground at his feet “I’m not any of them,” He spoke hollowly as Stalker’s eyebrow raised in confusion “You mean you all snuck in?” He asked as Excalibur got to his feet and looked over at the horizon, his feet only inches from the cliff edge “We had nothing, no home, no money, nothing but each other, so when we found out about the transport taking kids like us with ‘special abilities’ and their families out of the warzone, we jumped at the chance,” Excalibur explain as he looked down at his hands “And we paid the price, now we’re all freaks of nature, and I’m just the reject rat who joined the party,” Excalibur hissed as he looked at the golden city below “You know it’s not your fault, your family couldn’t have known about The Jump, none of us did,” Stalker answered as he tried to reassure Excalibur as he yelled “STOP SAYING THAT!!!” He barked as Stalker kept his steely glare “’I’ told my family about the ship! ‘I’ convinced my own sister to come with me! And in the end, ‘I’ killed my parents when they all went insane! With the fucking powers the void gave us!” Excalibur yelled as he fell to his knees “Every day, as the year came full circle, I never forget what I did, I’ll never remove the blood from my hands, I’m nothing but a rat,” Excalibur finished as he looked back at the horizon again “You’re wrong,” A new voice came from behind him as Excalibur felt something grab his jacket and thrown him backwards as he skidded to a halt He looked to see Stalker hanging from the tree as he watched the girl approach. Her hair was long and orange, her blue eyes however glared at Excalibur as she stomped over and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to his feet. She then pinned him to the tree as he just stared at the girl with fear. “You think we all haven’t suffered? Well you’re wrong!” She barked as Stalker poked her “Ivara, now isn’t the time,” Stalker tried to stop her but she kept going “I know you lost your parents, most of us did, but I lost my brother and sister to the void, I know that It hurts, and I know it feels so empty inside, but if I keep doubting myself, it would never bring them back,” Ivara explain as tears built up in the corners of her eyes “We have a home now, friends that we can count on, so please, don’t let this haunt you,” She finished as she rested her head on Excalibur’s chest as he frowned and rested his head up agenst the tree as he stared at the leaves “She’s right, we’re all here for you, never forget that,” Stalker said with a smirk as he looked back before falling from the tree as the others looked “That was quite the speech, Ivara,” Said a man in a (Golden Warframe) Warframe, his Syandana blowing in the light breeze as they looked at him in surprise “EP, what are you doing here!? I thought you were out on another mission?” Excalibur asked as he helped Stalker to his feet “You’re right, but we just returned and I rather see what 4 of my most trouble making Tenno are up to on this fine day?” EP responded as they all looked at each other before Ivara spoke up “Umm… nothing really, just, well, chatting, yes! Chatting!” She answered hesitantly as EP’s helmet deactivated and they all saw his brown eyes looking at them skeptically “I heard everything.” He spoke simply as they frowned and Excalibur just kept his gaze down “E5- I mean, Cal, I do believe you should take their words to heart,” “I have… I just don’t know how long it’s going to take to sink in,” He replied as he looked up with confusion “I just… wished I could fix things, make them better,” “We all do, but we can’t change the past, but the future is never set, not as long as you can see your path,” EP explained as his helmet covered his face again, his brown hair disappearing also “But, if you’re all done moping, there is a party to celebrate this day, for all we lost and for what we gained. Feel free to join us when you have the time,” EP offered as he began to walk away “Isn’t the party you’re heading to only for Primes though?” Stalker asked as EP looked back as he laughed “Who said I couldn’t invite some guests?” He asked as they all smiled brightly and decided to follow him towards the city “Excalibur?” Ivara asked as she pulled him back “What’s up?” He asked as she hugged him, much to his surprise “We’re here for you, got it?” She asked as he smiled and returned the gestor “Got it.” Excalibur answered as they heard a whistle “Hey, Romeo! Hurry it up already!” Stalker called as they both laughed and ran to catch up ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Location; Research Hub, Bio Lab* “Mam! All preparations for the experiment are in place, but, we need to move ahead of schedule, but we have no test subjects ready yet,” One scientist explain as a woman walked up with a bored look on her face “Then just use one of the testing squads for next week, I should be simple, cause an accident, leak info to the enemies, anything! Just make. It. Happen.” She ordered as she glared at the man “But, what about the others finding out?” He asked as she smiled wickedly “They don’t need to know, they haven’t found out about the ‘Nidus’ project, so this should be a walk in the park. But still keep an eye on that ‘Girl’, she’s been seeing that ‘Thing’ lately and I rather not risk an outbreak,” She ordered with slight disgust “What Warframe Squad should be test? The outcome from any of them could be random,” Another asked as she thought about it before clicking her fingers “I say… Excalibur’s team, that should be an… interesting result,” She hissed as the others looked at each other before continuing with their work “So… what should be the cause of the accident, mam?” Another asked as the woman walked up and looked at the monitor before focusing on one screen that showed a red (Symbol) with a 'WARNING' tag below it The others looked at the location her eyes fell on and they gasped. “Mam! You-you can’t be serious!? That’s going too far, even for-“ *BANG* The man dropped like a rock as the blood covered the white-marble floor quickly as some screamed and she sighed as she holstered her Lato Prime. “Someone clean this up?” She groaned as she approached a holding cell as it looked pitch black, the blue energy buzzing in front of her “For now though, ready the bio hazard, I want this plan in action by the end of the week, any objections, then take a good look at the corpse on the floor,” The sound of typing and mumbling made her smiled as she pressed her hand on a hand=pad and the door opened. When she entered the dark room, she stopped in front of a cryo-pod as she smiled. “Time to put you to work, but don’t worry,” She spoke with venom as she touched the pod “You’ll be going somewhere, were they’ll never find you,” Inside the pod, a creature sat in silence as it watched the woman laugh. “Shut up… you witch,” the creature spoke as she turned to face it with surprise “You… you can, speak!?” She sounded startled as the creature’s low, broken laugh made her blood boil “Some scientist you are, try to figure it out,” he snarled as she regained her focus “I see, you’re using the communicator in the pod, smart, for a parasite, but none the less, you will help us, and the death of Excalibur and those mutated freaks of the void will be on your hands,” She spat as she walked away “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.” The creature sung as the cell closed once more, encasing him in darkness once more, a darkness which he loved To Be Continued…