Chapter Text
To wake up in a cold sweat, frantically void sling around the backroom while still not fully awake… wasn’t exactly something Fiona thought she’d do after one nap.
But that’s how it is now; building a life in Höllvania in the year of 1999, finding a comfort she’s scared of losing. And with Kalymos running over to her and biting her ankle, Fiona snapped out of her spiral of fearful thoughts and knelt to pet the strangely comforting Kavat, taking in the fact that things were okay.
“Good morning, Kalymos. I’m okay, thanks.”
The feline purred, enjoying some scratches before she returned to her comfy bed.
Jumping back up to her living space, Fiona sighed as she walked over to tidy up her couch, preparing it for the next time she decides to take a nap. It wasn’t necessary, the void rendering her free from the needs of food and sleep – but it often helped her clear her head, and she couldn’t deny that she missed sleeping for more than three hours.
Looking around the room, she thought about the recent weeks. It had been a year since she first arrived, and a few months since she managed to go back and change what happened that day, save her friends, and come back to a stable timeline.
And not long after that, four new protoframes arrived. While it was tough sometimes, Fiona had gotten better at socializing and managed to not only save a marriage, but also help a troubled soul and a techrot symbiote find unity. What’s more, their new youngest member actually managed to figure out time travel.
While she didn’t show it much, it felt amazing, having a life with all these characters. Unlike the people of Duviri, they felt very real. Unlike the people her other self knows in the future, they felt inviting. They were her own, in a way. Her own friends. Her own… family.
A strange family of misfits… but a family nonetheless.
Getting her stormfall jacket on, which she had found at an outpost they cleared, and her Duviri mask, she headed out to check in with Arthur. They had recently opened up the mall to the civilians who trusted them, which were quite a bunch. There were now over a dozen civilians scattered across the mall, some hanging out where there was entertainment, some being patrons at Velimir’s bar, and some seeking treatment from Lettie. While none of the civilians had been rude or anything, Fiona didn’t want them to approach her.
With her face covered by the mask, she was recognisable, but no one could tell what kind of mood she was in. No one dared to find out. The group that usually hangs out by the internet cafe would glance her way but mind their business. Just the way she liked it.
“Good morning, Drifter,“ Arthur greeted as she arrived at his nook of the mall, a mug of tea in his hand.
“Good morning. Anything urgent I can help with?”
Taking a sip, he nodded, “Lettie hollered a minute ago about a supply run, got the list here. Figured you and Quincy could take it, he knows the supplier and can handle the talking.”
Receiving the slip of paper, she scanned it out of curiosity before nodding, “Roget that, I’ll grab Q and go.”
He quirked a smile, her delivery a bit silly. “Good luck.”
As she marched over to find Quincy, she felt her heart beat a bit faster. She loved making Arthur smile, knowing how hard he worked and how much he cared about his team, how rarely he took time to just enjoy himself. So a little laugh here and there felt like a good way to help.
When Fiona and Quincy returned from their mission, not only did they complete the task of retrieving the supplies, but they also had a question for Arthur. A rather important one.
Nilo Costa, the doctor and leader of a small group, reported that Scaldra were getting too close for comfort, and they didn’t dare stay too long at their makeshift settlement.
Counting five in total, Arthur asked some questions before concluding he needed to think a bit more. While it certainly was useful to have another medic, and the others had their talents, he needed to check with the rest of his team and see what rooms were safe to clear out.
Like he predicted, no one had anything against it, and the group was able to rather quickly clear out the old drug store and a few other shops.
A few days later, the group was settled in; Lettie and Dr. Costa had a proper medic station and were getting along well enough. The others in the group mostly kept to their crafts, having several projects going to create things needed for their new home and whatever their new neighbors needed, simply happy to have a safer home.
They were kind and respectful, getting along well with the Hex. But despite that, Fiona continued to keep to herself. She wasn’t quite ready yet to talk with new people, which the others respected, but encouraged her to try before she got too caught up in the fear.
She wasn’t sure when she would be ready, having no real interest, but she didn’t need to wait long for it, as it came knocking on her door… so to speak.
Having finished some upgrades for her weapons, Fiona stepped through the portal and froze when she came face to face with a young boy. He fell back, pressing himself up against the wall, terrified of the masked person.
“S-sorry! It was a dare!”
Letting it sink in, she chuckled, “A dare? …So I’ve become the resident witch.” She then got a better look at the boy and recognized him, “...say, aren’t you Dr. Costa’s kid? Valdemar, right?”
The boy nodded, not surprised she recognized him since they met back when Costa asked for their help.
“...Lettie shared that you were trying to find friends. How’s that working out?”
Still a bit scared but relieved to not be scolded, he cleared his throat, “Eh… well… good, I guess.”
Sensing the uncertainty in his voice, she tilted her head. “Doesn’t seem like they’re making it easy for you, though, sending you to investigate the spooky lady who’s more dangerous than they think.”
Valdemar gulped, “You… wouldn’t hurt me, …right?”
She shook her head, “I don’t hurt kids who behave, but it’s never a good idea to swing by uninvited… Now, how about I let you win the bet and get a peek at what I’m hiding in here?”
Fiona held out her hand, and Valdemar hesitated before grabbing it and letting her pull him up on his feet. Stepping through the portal, Valdemar took a moment to glance around, amazed and quiet until he spotted the big cat in the corner.
Seeing him tense up, Fiona chuckled. “That’s Kalymos. She is very dangerous when she needs to be. But she’s mostly just like an old and wise cat, very sweet to those she likes."
"...wow..."
"And over there sits Umbra, my warframe," she pointed over at the arsenal, where Umbra was kneeling, resting. "He's a bit like the Hex, actually. He's fully... Eh, "robot" but still has a piece of himself, so while he can't talk or really communicate with anyone, he can move around and fight by my side." Looking down at Valdemar, still holding her hand, she figured that was enough of a peek. "Any questions?"
Thinking for a moment, Valdemar eventually shook his head, "I don't want to… intrude..."
"Wow, manners! You're a good kid, Val,” she chuckled. “Now I have a plan for how you can handle those other kids..."
Fiona continued to be kind to Valdemar, his experience leading to the other "tougher" kids trying to enter the backroom as well, despite Valdemar's warnings. And after trying to push through the portal, the kids tried to knock, but were only greeted by Kalymos sticking her head out and snarling, scaring them away. While it kind of backfired as the kids would mostly despise Valdemar for living at the mall and being friendly with "Marty McFlea", he quickly found better friends in the Hex, hanging out with Aoi and Amir mostly.
Eventually, they managed to convince Fiona to hang out in the backroom together, and she let Valdemar see more of her room. And when Quincy convinced her to try out a new outfit, the kid was surprised to see her beautiful face, nothing like what the other kids theorized about. They had a good laugh about it, and Valdemar quickly got over the loss of his attempted friendship with his peers.
He blended in quite nicely with the crew and even managed to bond a bit with Arthur, the two having moments where they acted like uncle and nephew. It helped him heal, as his father was sadly too busy helping Lettie to spend any time with him, and his mother was a difficult story to tell.
And then, one day, when they were hanging out, Valdemar shared with Amir that he had a collector's edition set of the Caliber Chicks action figures. The two grieved the loss together as they knew Valdemar's old home was way too close to the Scaldra base for them to safely retrieve it. And while they held out hope that the set was still in one piece, since the Scaldra only scans after tech to minimize the risk of Techrot, it was still likely they found it and used it for target practice.
But hearing about it, Fiona got curious. Just how dangerous is it to try and retrieve it? She knew Arthur would definitely refuse to let her do it, so she decided to keep her ideas to herself and simply look out for missions that could send her close to the base.
It took some time, but Arthur eventually had something. It was a high-risk stealth mission to hijack the systems to a warehouse rather close to the base. It was perfect. Fiona was quick to volunteer, with her strong argument being her void powers granting her invisibility, Umbra being able to keep an eye out, and her robot companion Shade that could deploy an invisibility cloak to keep Umbra hidden.
"This small team is enough, or we'll risk attracting attention," Fiona crossed her arms.
"But why Umbra?” Arthur asked, “Why not one of us who can report for backup in case you get caught... Or worse."
"No offense, but Umbra is very powerful, quiet, slow, and methodical, very focused, and is more used to how Shade works. And if the mission fails, I still have the reset as a last resort."
Arthur was hesitant, but sighed and nodded, "Alright, fine. Just... don't do anything stupid."
Glancing over at Eleanor, knowing what just went through her head, she was relieved to feel support, Eleanor having a smile on her face as she read the scene like a book.
"I promise I’ll try not to."
She rode her bike most of the way, then turned down an alley, away from her target, to confuse any potential scouts, it being the direction to a spot the other Hex members would attack to divert attention. Judging her surroundings, she located the vents and snuck in, Shade cloaking her and keeping her undetected all the way to the terminal. There, she used her parazon to hack into the records and acquire the data they needed, cleaning up all traces of her activity.
Now done, she was about to report her success when she froze, having a feeling it was a bad idea while she was still in the building. Instead, she headed back the way she came, eventually back out on the rooftops. Thinking for a moment, she remembered where Valdemar said he used to live, and she spotted the apartment.
The lights were on, and Scaldra soldiers walked around the block. It was a bad idea to try and fight her way in, there being heavy units just down the street that could gas up the building if they had to. So, weighing her options, she hatched a plan. Getting out of Umbra, she removed her headset and turned off the volume, attaching it and her Sirocco pistol to Umbra's belt. Then, telling him and Shade to stay put, she used void sling to get down to ground level.
Carefully approaching a soldier, she tried her best to imitate a civilian, which was easier now that she was still wearing the outfit Quincy had convinced her to try. "Hey, eh? Excuse me?"
Confused, the soldier turned to look at her, "...how did you get in here, civilian?"
"Look, I'm just here to grab a box of toys my little brother left behind in the chaos, it's to keep up morale and the Scaldra's good reputation. It's a quick in and out, sorry if it's a bother..."
Glancing over at their friend, the soldier was unsure, "I don't know... I need to report this and ask for permission..." He reached for his radio.
Thinking fast, she blurted out, "But wouldn't Command get annoyed to be bothered about a mere box of toys? ...look, I don't want to stir up any trouble, it's just the box and I'm out of your hair, someone else can fetch it if you don't want me to take another step forward..."
He sighed and turned to his friend, who seemed to be onboard. "Alright, where is it kept?"
"Apartment 2B, his room has Caliber Chicks posters. The toys are in a lunchbox under his bed. Caliber Chicks, collectors edition."
Reaching for his radio again, the soldier activated it, "Ferguson, Kuiper here, have you found a box of Caliber Chicks toys in your apartment? In a lunchbox under a kid's bed?"
Soon, he got a response, "Not the type to rummage through a kid's room, but I'll go check. ...why?"
"Got the kid's sister here, looking for it. Just toss the box out the window to us."
Fiona tensed up, realizing the soldier didn't seem to understand what it meant to keep this deal secret from the Scaldra command, the channel likely being listened to.
Soon, a window opened and a soldier peeked out with a lunchbox in hand, tossing it down to the soldier's friend. But before they could hand it over to Fiona, the radio sparked again.
"Kuiper, come in."
The soldier sighed, "Yes, sir?"
"What was that about a civilian in your area? How did she get past the guards at the entrance?"
Looking at Fiona for an answer, she quickly came up with a response. Gesturing at a nearby TI-92 armored vehicle, "...I held some Efervon bags and grabbed onto one of those cars, was just lucky."
"...she snuck in disguised as a soldier, sir."
Continuing with her civilian act, looking at the ground with guilt as she heard the soldier get chewed out by his officer, Fiona worked some more on her undercover identity.
While she could always just void sling to the box, grab it, and go, she didn’t want to risk it. There was also a feeling that her undercover identity could be useful in case she needed it again. She quickly expanded on the identity, figuring out a good story that had her seem sympathetic to the Scaldra and resentful of the Hex. It felt safe to have figured that out, even if it did seem the soldier was clear to let her have the lunchbox and leave, once they had inspected the box.
But as they were inspecting it, only finding the action figures and some accessories, the officer had a new message.
"Kuiper, new orders, escort the civilian to the Palace. The Lieutenant wants to speak with her."
The Lieutenant... Viktor... Uh oh.
"Oh no... Am I in trouble??" Fiona asked, worried. Looking around, she noticed more soldiers walking by, which meant an even higher risk if she tried void slinging away with the box.
"Yes, sir," the soldier responded before walking closer to her, "I don't know, ma'am, I'm just following orders. This way, please."
She couldn't escape now. She couldn't risk it. And she couldn’t deny that she was curious about what was happening. Was Viktor smart enough to figure out what was going on? Were there cameras they weren’t aware of? And maybe… if he didn’t know who she was… could this be an opportunity for something really important?
With the lunchbox in hand, the soldier escorted her down the street, towards a big mansion. It was the home to one of Höllvania's biggest businessmen until he fled the city. Now it was the home of Scaldra Command. With it so grand, no wonder Viktor acted like he was the king of Höllvania.
Following the soldier inside, she was met by a style that reminded her a bit of the Orokin derelicts. Clean and shiny, gold decorations and white rock pillars. Paintings of fancy individuals hung on the wall, neatly detailed furniture and fabrics were spaced out evenly, complemented by trimmed plants. And everything seemed to be unbothered by the outside world.
Fiona soon watched as the soldier walked up to a guard by big doors, saluting before reporting his orders and handing over the lunchbox to the guard. He then turned to Fiona.
"You'll receive the lunchbox when the Lieutenant says so. Sol be with you, ma'am."
With a smile, she politely nodded, then turned to the guard who knocked on the door, "Lieutenant, the civilian is here." Hearing Viktor's response, the guard opened the door, gesturing for Fiona to enter.
Taking a deep breath, she entered and got so distracted by the interior that she jumped a bit when the door closed behind her.
"Apologies for the sudden invitation, miss," Viktor broke the silence. His voice came from a large armchair that was turned towards the fireplace, his hand poking out with a glass of wine. "When I overheard the report on the radio, I was intrigued and simply had to learn more."
Staying in character, Fiona let fear take over a bit, "I didn't mean to cause a scene, sir. I was just trying to make amends with my little brother..."
"Make amends?" He asked without turning to face her.
"Y-yes... He and Dad... they moved to a new place... protected by the Hex," she sighed with fake frustration. "We argued about it and... my brother didn't take it well. So I wanted to retrieve his favorite toys to prove I still care about him."
"I see... How terrible. ...did I hear some resentment for the Hex?"
"Yes, sir... It's a long story… but I saw what they and that Doctor did to people… and now I’ve tried to survive on my own, hide in abandoned apartments, sneak past Techrot… your soldiers have been good at letting me know when they’re about to purge an area, give me time to move… but the Hex? They just… dive in and stir up the Techrot…” She let out a frustrated sigh.
He chuckled, "Yes, that does sound like the Hex... Unprofessional. Insolent... Brutal."
He sighed and got up from his chair, revealing his rather casual outfit. Leather pants and a shirt that seemed a few sizes too big, deep neckline and flowy sleeves, the collar held up by a decorative chain crossing his collarbone.
He looked her up and down before continuing, "And I assume your time evading the Techrot is how you managed to pass through not one, but two gates to reach the most fortified neighborhood in all of Höllvania...?"
Remaining calm, she shrugged, "I'm surprised too... I managed to find what I needed to look like a soldier, and then just... Jumped onto one of those weaponized cars. And... eh… now I feel silly for putting so much effort just for a bunch of toys..."
He smirked and sipped up the last of his wine, the liquid Eleanor missed so dearly and cursed the Scaldra for hoarding it on day one. He then stepped closer, observing Fiona as she nervously looked away.
"...what's your name, miss?"
"...Märta, Märta Costa," she felt relief, being able to pronounce the name correctly, but just in case... "Though I'm used to being called Morty."
He chuckled, "Morty? ...I see. Well, ...Morty, my dear..." He reached forward and tilted her head up by her chin, lowering his voice, "It's been a pleasure meeting you. In fact, how about you come by for tea tomorrow? I'd love to chat some more."
Taken aback, she stuttered, "W-what for? ...sir?"
"Please, call me Mr. Vodyanoi," he stepped back a bit, looking out through the window, "it's merely professional, I'm keeping an eye out for talent to recruit, and your situation may be perfect..." Turning back to her, he nodded, "3 pm, no need to sneak in, the guards will know. ...and freshen up a bit, it's an honor to even be in my palace. A formal invitation demands a more… formal attire."
Letting it sink in, she nodded, "Yes, thank you... Mr. Vodyanoi. I... I accept your invitation."
"I hope your little brother will appreciate his sister's effort... Make sure to tell him he got it back thanks to the generosity of the Scaldra."
"I will. Thank you." She nodded again and moved to leave through the door, glancing back at him a couple of times to stay in character before exiting the room.
The guard handed her the lunchbox and followed her to the door, asking which gate she went through, and then sent a message to the guards there to let her out without a fuss.
She continued to walk a long way, until she found a good and hidden alleyway where she met Umbra, still cloaked by Shade, but she could sense him. And transferring into him, they disappeared into the night.