Chapter Text
Here we go again.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire, and from that into hell.
To the Drifter’s perspective; moments ago, they were bleeding out on the linoleum floor of Höllvania’s nuclear reactor with a bullet in their chest. Moments before that, some twisted hall of the Zariman, with the Man in the Wall’s voice in their ear; witnessing the deaths of six people who had been twisted into half-warframes that never deserved any of this. They had known them for all of five minutes and they knew that.
Two killed each other, one devouring the other as she bled out, her mind truly lost to the infestation she had sacrificed herself to in some vain attempt at a final plan, the third..
The third, the Drifter only saw a smoking crater of where that line of transference had led them to. They didn’t know him but that sent a chill through them like nothing else. They saw some beads from his braids, one of his prosthetic arms, but nothing else was left. Nothing identifiable.
The fourth, last seen with so much cheer in the face of the end of everything she knew, cooked her brain from the inside out trying to hold back a tide that she just wasn’t strong enough for.
The sixth was succumbing to radiation sickness by the time the Drifter arrived to save the fifth– he was alive. They were fast enough to save even one of them. Even just be with them before they met their end.
Then Entrati took that away, like he had so, so many other things. The look in the tech’s dark eyes, through his lenses, almost seemed accusatory, though that was only in the Drifter’s head.
Where were you.
Where did you go, why did you leave us.
Something about him was what truly broke the Drifter. The shot to the back? No. At this point they were convinced they could never die. At worst they’d probably wake back up in Duviri, and they had gotten out of there plenty of times by now.
The other five? No. The chance to defy Entrati? No.
It was the fact that he, the one member of the Hex that genuinely seemed to trust them, see some kind of hope out of their arrival, died alone, panicking and in pain.
The rest could be added to the Drifter’s ever growing list of tragic reasons to deck Entrati in the face, but him?
Amir. That was his name.
Amir was the last straw that made them bang their fist on the floor.
Then they woke up, with nothing to show for all that happened on December 31st, 1999 other than a new bullet scar on either side of their chest, and a scar to the back of their hand from the leader of the Hex’s Skana, right along the already existing line that the Lotus had left.
They and the rest of the Hex were back in the mall, protoframes arrayed in a circle around their new Tenno. They didn’t even know what that meant, other than the fact that they felt this odd link to that bizarre stranger that had dropped themself into the middle of the worst night of any of their lives.
The Drifter was kneeling, glove of their transference suit drawn back to stare at that scar on their hand as the Hex began to wake up around them.
“The fuck–” Quincy was the first to pull himself up, scanning the room around him before staring at the Drifter.
The other five joined soon after, groaning in pain that immediately subsided. Each of them with a horrific memory in their head of their own death. Some would embrace that. Others would drink it away, or chalk it up to a weird nightmare. For now it left them speechless.
Eyes flicking about rapidly in thought, Amir brought his wrist up to his face to look at his watch. “Uh. Hey, guys? Unless my watch really broke, it’s. It’s January.”
Arthur confusedly furrowed his brow at that, staring at Amir as if he’d grown a second head. “Of course it bloody is, when else would it be–”
“N-no, not. Not 2000. It’s. It’s 1999. January 1st, 1999.” Amir glanced up at the Drifter. He had no clue how ‘Marty’ could have done that, but they were the only time traveler around here– wellexceptEntrati– so maybe they knew?
“Happy New Year.. Old Year?” The Drifter darkly laughed. “Looks like I still have a bit of that old Duviri magic after all.. I’m. Pretty sure you’re all stuck with me now. Sorry. Best I can guess, I just activated a time loop.”
“Holy crap.” Could say that another seven thousand times, Amir, and it would still be as huge of an understatement.
“..They’re not lying.” Eleanor chimed in, reaching past where she was usually comfortable with to read the Drifter’s mind. That wasn’t some horrifically timed joke, they really did believe that by some means, they had just dragged the Hex from beyond death back to the beginning of the year.
“By all the gods..” Lettie whispered, eyes focused, as they had been this whole time, on Eleanor. Her heart was still pounding, remembering those last few moments. Those metal teeth ripping into her neck, knowing that Eleanor was truly gone.
Arthur glared at the Drifter, remembering something important; “‘Marty’. Entrati told you to let the nuke go off. Why, then, are we here still?” Thankful he wasn't dead, but why. Another scheme?
The Drifter glared back. “Because I don’t make a habit of listening to what that bastard wants from me or from anyone. I never actually intended to let that happen.. I got.. Dragged away. I’m.. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” They looked away, back down at their hands. “For better or for worse, we have at least one chance to make all that right. And I mean to do what I can to help– You.. Unfortunately don’t have much choice but to trust me on that. I’m stuck here, too, and I don’t exactly have anywhere better to be.”
Arthur shook his head, letting out a deep sigh. “Well.. Best remember what we were doing 12 months ago, I suppose..” He stood up, regarding the rest of his team as well as the new addition. “Take the day off to collect yourselves and take stock– We’ll have a meeting about all this tomorrow, 900 sharp. Sharp. Do not be late.” That last note was made directly at Amir..
The rest of the Hex stood up, except for Aoi and the Drifter; Quincy and Lettie gave distrustful half-glares at the Drifter as they headed off to take stock of arms and medicine respectively, while Eleanor just sulked off without another word and a thousand-yard stare, and Amir rushed off to his arcade.
Aoi placed a hand on the Drifter’s shoulder, which made the time traveler jump halfway out of their skin. “Ooh.. Sorry.” She chuckled, removing her clawed hand and placing it back on her lap. “Um.. Hi! I don’t think we actually got the chance for introductions? I’m Aoi Morohoshi. What’s your name?” She spoke softly, calmly, putting on a soft smile that was clearly covering all of the emotions she was experiencing from remembering what it felt like for her brain to burst.
“I.. It’s nice to meet you.” The Drifter shifted a bit away, but was facing her still. Not trying to run, though they were establishing a bit of. Personal space. “I don’t.. Really– This is going to sound a bit insane from what I’ve gathered, but I don’t really.. Have a name. Um. You can call me ‘Drifter’ though, that’s what everyone else does. Or um. Whatever you want. ‘Marty’ is fine.” They had no context behind the reference Amir had made, but the enthusiasm in his voice made them immediately file that name as one of the ones they did like.
“O..Kay.” That was weird, but. Future person. Not gonna question that, don’t want to be rude. They’re enough on edge as is. “Nice to meet you too, Marty. I really am sorry about how we treated you before.. Not often an entire time traveler drops into your lap in the middle of a um. Very critical mission.”
“No, it’s. It’s fine, I understand.” Didn’t mean it didn’t fucking hurt. But the Drifter understood. “Um.. I’m fine with just bunking anywhere, I’m used to sleeping in strange places, but is there.. Anywhere in here no one would mind me taking over?” The Drifter looked so sad at that, looking around the mall around them. Could hear everyone getting back to their spaces by now, making themselves busy and processing their new situation.
The Drifter just now realized that they might never see their camp again. Never eat with Kahl and his brothers again, chatting with Kaelli over comms. Might never see the Cavia again, might have abandoned Loid just like his lover did. Might never see Fortuna again, doing all they could to give back to their Auntie Ticker and her community.
Though.. Something deep inside them expected this. Lose the Zariman for Duviri, Duviri for the Origin System, hardly get used to the Origin System before being told you’re the only one that can handle this.
Aoi frowned a bit, taking in the Drifter’s expression. They’d seemed so.. Battle-hardened until right then. They probably didn’t realize it, but Marty was making a big, sad, abandoned puppy sort of expression, realizing that they had just ended up somewhere where everyone already had a place. She didn’t know the depth of how hard that hit them, but it was clear as day that they felt.. Out of place. Which they were. But Aoi wasn’t about to rub that in, on the contrary– “Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind, um, ‘Doktor Friday’’s lab is totally abandoned, and he left a bunch of stuff behind you could probably use. We didn’t even know that was back there.”
Filling in a space where Entrati used to be. Wouldn’t be the first time they’d done that, and they certainly weren’t going to turn down trying to rip down whatever he’d made and make it into something actually fucking useful for the lives he’d parasitized. In more ways than one. “..Sure, that was.. Upstairs?”
Aoi nodded. “Yeah, back behind the clothing store, c’mon, I’ll show you!” She smiled and stood up, beckoning for Marty to follow her. “Feel totally free to do whatever you want with any of Entrati’s stuff, we do not care in the slightest.”
“Alright, thanks. I’ll let any of you know if I find anything important in his documents or the like. Knowing him he probably took most of it with him or sealed it behind some kind of inane riddle, but I’ll see what I can do.” The Drifter said, following close behind Aoi’s heels up to the dark clothing store, then back through that void-scarred door.
“Oh wow, yeah, I didn’t have the chance to look when we came in here after you.. Poofed.” Aoi said, taking in the backroom as she walked around a bit, curiously looking at all the strange machinery and furniture. “He really made a weird little home back here. Well. Weird little home that’s yours now– and it comes with a free pet, apparently?” That weird huge cat was still here. She was kinda cute, if not for the oddly knowing look she gave.
The Drifter finally smiled, seeing Kalymos waiting, curled up on a deep red Entrati sofa on the lower floor. “Hey there..” Their voice softened and they walked over, rubbing behind both of her huge, leathery ears with their voidshell-armored hands. “Good to see you’re still here, Kalymos. I was afraid he might have taken you with him..”
Kalymos mraowed up at the Drifter, leaning into their pets. Happy to see you too, Operator.
“You know her?” Aoi raised an eyebrow.
“Not really, but I’ve heard a lot about her from a.. Friend of Entrati’s, back where– When, I came from.” Loid was far more than a friend but that’s a long explanation that the Drifter didn’t have most of the answers to. “She’s got a whole family missing her back ‘home’, so I didn’t want to see any harm come to her.”
“Aw. That’s sweet of you..” The Drifter and Lettie might just get along, when it came to animals anyway. As long as that big kitty cat stayed far away from her rats.. “Um, I’ve gotta go do my own stuff.. But my little hideout is the media store, if you need me, right across from Amir’s arcade. Okay?”
None of those location words made sense to the Drifter, but they nodded as if they did understand. “Sure.. Thanks.”
Aoi was halfway to the door when she got an even better idea, spinning on her heels to address Marty again, “OH! Or, better, you could text me over KIM– Ooh, we need to get you signed into that, actually. I’ll send Amir up in a bit to get that all settled, give you a bit of time to take in all.. This. And for him.” Aoi wasn’t sure what happened to Amir, but if it was anything like what she’d experienced.. She was worried for him.
“Alright; I’ll expect him to come around sometime soon, then. Thanks, Aoi.” The Drifter smiled as best as they could at her. It was clear it was a forced smile, though they did mean it.
Aoi waved and walked out, leaving the Drifter within another one of Entrati’s old lab spaces.
Well. At least this one was small and not full of Murmur and murderous security systems?
And much more.. Euclidean.