Equestria Girls Alter: Warframe

/

Location: Uranus (Titania)

*Splash*

“Operator…I read multiple grinner forces inhabiting the base. More than normal…this worries me operator…”

“Tyl Regor is amassing his forces to protect his prize. No doubt he’s bringing out the big guns to stop anybody from interrupting his research. I’m going to have to expect the worse as I make my way through the base looking for Sunset Shimmer.”

“They have an arm-umbers don’t mean a thing to you operator but I suggest exercising caution as they can still overwhelm you.”

“Got it, do you have a reading where Sunset may be in the base?”

“She’s in Regor’s lab which is deep inside the base; I have also set up a marker on your radar so you don’t get lost.”

“Thanks, starting mission now,” The Tenno closed off communications for now as he glided through the ocean waters with the help of his arch wing Odatta. His mind is focused on the task at hand as now things have taken a dangerous turn now that Regor has Sunset in his labs. The girls wanted to help him on this mission, but he told them they can’t as it will be very dangerous. Despite being a researcher and a scientist, Regor is a violent man and has been known to resort to desperate tactics just to kill his opponents. Hayden has fought the Grineer before and won but it wasn’t an easy fight as his skills with his ax and shield easily matched and in some cases over powered the Tenno in some clashes.

Knowing things are going to get chaotic once he steps into that base Hayden made sure to dress his best and arm himself accordingly. He brought the Hek, the Talons, and the Nikana in order to hit hard while keeping his mobility, and in addition he went with his Excalibur Warframe as its abilities can get him out of a pinch. As for mission objectives his only one is to rescue Sunset Shimmer and if he has to, destroy all of Regor’s research again as her D.N.A. will really send his progress forward by leaps and bounds; he knows that and so does Regor which means he have to work fast or else.

“If these girls’ magic powers have been converted into abilities similar to the warframes…that would mean the new clones created will share those properties. I got to move fast but I can’t put the entire base in an uproar or else I’m going to be tossed around like salad,” The Tenno thought to himself as suddenly his comns went up again.

“Why hello Tenno…I was expecting you to come.”

“Regor…”

“No doubt you’re here to save your ally but I wonder how long that’s going to take? As you know Tenno I’m a very busy man and right now I’m already working with a test subject as we speak,” Tyl Regor said with his usual calm yet disturbing tone of voice.

“AAAHHH!!!” Screamed a voice in the background which put Hayden on edge.

“Ah such a healthy scream…how I longed to have one of your own at my mercy. I guess dreams do come true after all heh heh heh ha ha!”

“You’re not getting away with this! I’m going to stop you and destroy your research like I did before.”

“Oh Tenno…I’ve learned from my last mistakes and of course I already developed countermeasures…right now I have already discovered many interesting things in this single skin sample I have procured already from your fellow Tenno.”

Hearing this angered Hayden as he promised the girls to bring their thief back in alive, “You kill her and I’ll…”

“Ha! You really think I’m going to kill off such a rare specimen just to spite you? No…she is far too valuable to die, but don’t worry I’ll make sure she gets a taste of my hospitality,” The tone in his voice gave Hayden the hint of what is in store for Sunset as the Grineer cut off the communications leaving the Tenno even more reason to hurry as he breached the surface and landed on a nearby platform. Time is of the essence and currently the clock is counting down.

Wasting no time Hayden starting sprinting through the first door he saw and already two Grinneer infantrymen barred his way, but they were caught off guard as they didn’t expect to see a Tenno running straight at them out of nowhere. Using this to his advantage, Hayden pulled out two of the Talon explosives and planted them straight in their faces as he ran passed them. The two soldiers looked around in panic and confusion before the small explosives detonated and blew off their faces completely.

Normally explosions excited the Tenno, but he ignored the carnage and moved onward as this is merely the beginning of the threats he’ll be facing.

/

“Yes…yes! The D.N.A. is merging with sample perfectly…the melding is happening much faster than my normal formula. Yes…with this I will be able to make a stronger army beyond my imaginative threshold,” Tyl Regor said out loud as his sample of Grineer flesh grew healthier in appearance.

“Ergh…ah…why are you doing this?” Sunset asked with pain as she was still reeling from having a piece of her skin on her right arm be surgically cut off. Thankfully Tyl Regor hold true to his word and bandaged up the wound after disinfecting it so she wouldn’t get an infection and die.

“Ah my dear…have you ever felt like you are supposed to serve a greater purpose then rot with the muck of mediocrity?” Tyl Regor asked as he continued experimenting with his sample of her skin. Sunset was about to say something but the words got caught in her throat as she too shares this feeling but she didn’t want to admit it to the metal monster using her as lab rat, “Of course not…you’re Tenno. All about honor and saving the innocent but nothing more…the problem with you Tenno is that you lack ambition and the drive to move you forward in life. Not that you had any to begin with as you all listen to the beck and call of The Lotus.”

Sunset remain silent as the metal man looked back to her with what she presumed with contempt as his masked face made it hard to see what emotion he was expressing. However, his voice made it clear that he that he was between neutral and livid.

“Ah but that is hypocritical of me to say isn’t it? I mean I serve the Queens with the purpose of strengthening our army with healthy soldiers so we can conquer this system and beyond. However, this role I play aligns with my passion of seeing how everything works on everything living. Truthfully Tenno…I am a curious mind who envies those superior to me, so instead of wallowing in the shadows of those greater than me I instead improvise and conquer them so only I may stay on top. Being called a hero to my people and having my name written in the history books is secondary compared to the satisfaction I get from doing it all. I hate to admit it little Tenno, I was at my lowest point until you fell into my radar and of course like any good opportunist I leapt at the chance to regain everything I lost and gain so much more.”

Sunset rolled her eyes as Regor continued talk on and on with his monologue. Being strapped to an operating table and having a piece of her skin removed was bad enough already but hearing this guy drone on with his own life story was just making her already horrible day agonizing. In addition to this she lost the Element of Magic to the same guy as she saw the tiara holding the magical artifact across from her on a desk.

“Oh yes…I nearly forgot. One of your fellow Tenno has stormed my base and as we speak on his way to rescue you. I bet that fills you with hope doesn’t it? Well I suggest you don’t get your hopes up. I have prepared myself this time so even if he does succeed in rescuing you I won’t lose anything from his victory, and considering how smoothly my research is going along…I believe it’s time to for this new discovery to bear fruit.”

Hearing this didn’t help Sunset’s feeling of dread as she heard it multiple times from this manic that he planned to use her D.N.A. to make an improved ‘Tube Man’ as he like to called it. It sounds stupid when it passed through her ears but it must be dangerous if he’s so excited about it.

Moving over to a strange machine that Sunset couldn’t describe accurately even if he tried as Tyl Regor took a mixed solution he made from the gene fusion from the two samples and poured it into a slot causing the strange machine to activate. The machine buzzed and whirled a bit until suddenly an empty tube next to the machine started filling up with an unknown clear liquid as the machine pumped something large into the tube. The pony turned human wondered what it was before regretting it as a fetus was shot into the tube and floated in the middle of the tube in suspended animation. Seeing it made her want to barf as this thing was made with her genes and whatever gene these guys had.

“Yes…” Tyl Regor said in an unnerving voice as he looked at the recently created being in the tube, “Look at what you help me create Tenno…this is the future of the Grineer army. My new line of Tube Men starts with this one and perhaps…something more,” Tyl Regor trailed off as he looked over to the rest of his solutions seeing that he has only three left to create only three soldiers, “But that can wait my dear…as you’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Sunset gulped as she knew this meant more pieces of her body being harvested to further his experiments. She doesn’t know who’s coming to rescue her but she can only hope that come and save her fast as right now she rather deal with the people Celestia sent to find her than be with this nut job any longer.

/

(“Kill the Tenno!”) Shouted one of the Grineer as a whole firing squad had Hayden pinned down behind cover. Things didn’t take long for things escalate as the entire base already went on high alert as soon as the Tenno made it past a few rooms. No doubt because Tyl Regor wanted to delay him as much as possible so he can gather as much data as he needs.

“When he said he was bringing the heavy artillery he was kidding!” Hayden said to himself as he brought out the Hek. Taking a quick step out of cover he quick fired the Hek’s four shots into the same number of Grineer which thankfully exploded the rest with his explosive rounds. However this left the only the Heavy Gunner left as she brushed off the explosion. Seeing this caused Hayden to swear under his breath as he rolled back into cover just as the Heavy Gunner starting firing again, “I don’t have time for this!” Switching to his Talons the Tenno jumped out of cover and threw two of the mini explosives at the metal soldier’s feet and detonated them causing the female Grineer to fall over out of balance as Hayden went straight for the kill with his Nikana as he impaled her with the katana through the chest, ending the last soldier of this squad.

“Annoying arse…I don’t have time or patience to deal with you people!” Hayden shouted in frustration as he ran down the hall behind the gunner. He managed to pass two rooms before landing in a bigger room filled with complicated machinery. The Tenno didn’t even get a few steps in until nearly thirty soldiers popped out of hiding and opened fired on him. Using the Nikana Hayden managed to deflect a chunk of the bullets fired at him but some passed through his quick defense and managed to nail him a few times in the chest and in the legs. Though it wasn’t enough to knock him down Hayden still felt the pain from the bullets and quickly took cover, “Hell that went straight through my shields! I need to think of something fast while conserving my void energy for bigger threats.”

The rapid shot of gunfire are a steady reminder that those Grineer soldiers aren’t going to wait for him to come out of hiding, “C’mon Hayden, I need a plan that won’t end in me being littered with bullet holes?” The Tenno asked himself hoping that an idea will pop in his head. As he was thinking a voice came through the communications in his head.

“Hayden, above you!”

Hearing this new voice made Hayden jump and immediately look up to see a soldier pointing his rifle at him. The Tenno cursed as he immediately sprang up into the air and flew across the room like a giant flea as all the Soldiers and Gunners changed their aim to follow him, “Shit, I spaced out…I nearly got shot there.”

“You’re telling me…pay more attention next time!” shouted the new voice as Hayden landed into another convenient block of cover.

“Well I’m sorry…but I’m trying to make sure that one of my enemies doesn’t unlock the potential to conquer the entire system! By the way who is this?”

“It’s me Twilight! The girls and I asked Ordis if there was any way to for us to help you on your mission. He told us there is a lack of mission control on the orbiter so we decided to help you through that.”

“So he allowed you to follow me via camera or something so you can help out? Well I suppose that is better than waiting for me to come back.”

“Ton’s better…anyway we have a small camera following you around which is how we were able to warn you about that Grineer.”

“I appreciate the warning Twilight. Now for the more important part of this conversation.”

“Important part?”

“Yes…like can you give me a view on where those metal heads are hiding? I didn’t get a good look when I dived into cover.”

“Hold on I got you covered,” The comns went silent for a few seconds as Hayden spotted the camera they were using which just happens to be his old Helios companion. It made a few scans until returning to Hayden and revealed a hologram of the entire area, “Here you go!”

“Thanks,” Hayden said as he looked over the hologram quickly and saw the multiple red dots all over the place, “Dammit…I should have brought the Ogris for this mess,” He said with an annoyed tone in his voice as he gestured the Helios to stop showing him the hologram.

“I hoped that helped.”

“It did actually. Though it also reminded me how horribly outnumbered I am despite packing firepower that topples a small army. Also by the way…how the heck did you girls figure out how to use my tech?”

“Ordis helped out in that department. Without him we wouldn’t make heads or tails of these interfaces or screens.”

“You’re welcome-oh…it was nothing; Ordis just wants to help out the operator as much as possible,” The Cephalon said semi embarrassingly as he wasn’t used to such praise.

“Thank’s Ordis, it’s always nice to have extra pairs of eyes watching over you,” Hayden said with pure gratefulness which caused the Cephalon to mutter gibberish, “Alright enough shoulder pats, time for some heads to roll.”

“Good Luck!” Twilight said before cutting off.

Reloading his Hek shotgun the Tenno leapt out of his hiding spot causing the Grineer to start firing again as he flew over two Grineer and dropped on top of them. Using the Nikana and gravity he impaled one Grineer soldier while the shockwave from the landing knocked down the metal soldier next to him. Not wasting time he switched to his Hek and blew away the head of the second Grineer before diving next to a nearby large rock to avoid nearby gunfire. Hayden growled a bit as switched to the Talons as he figured that there is more than one person firing on him. Deciding on how to deal with them he jumped straight into the air and threw the Talons at the five Grineer firing on him. He took a few small hits but none of them were bad as he landed back into cover and detonated the small bombs causing metal and blood to fly from the spot he threw at.

“That should take their numbers down to size,” Hayden commented as he looked around for the doorway he should take to get closer to his objective. Hayden then saw the marker pointing behind multiple machinery and no doubt multiple Grineer to a doorway that looks very inviting, “Of course it’s behind the more heavily armed forces why wouldn’t it be?” Hayden sardonically said as he channeled his inner grasshopper and leapt again into the air while throwing all the Talons he had on him before switching to his Hek and opened fire. The longer ranged shotgun slugs exploded onto one Grineer while triggering the Talon explosive causing a chain reaction to go off as all remaining four explosives blew up. The rapid explosions blew away and or killed the Grineer blocking Hayden’s way to the doorway however there was still a hefty amount of Gunners and Soldiers opening fire on him, so he invoked his favorite power from this frame and raised his weapon into the air and emitted a sharp bright light that blinded all remaining forces allowing the Tenno to pass them without being shot at.

“Sorry guys and gals but I don’t have time to deal with you,” Hayden shouted as he made it into the next hallway and later the next few areas. There were much lesser offensive forces in those areas so Hayden cleaved through them effortlessly. After some more plowing through more defenses the Tenno found himself in a large room fitted to look like an arena. Seeing this surprised Hayden as suddenly the doors shut and locked behind him and ahead of him, “Oh boy…” to add to the Tenno’s growing dread the comns went on again but this time it is Tyl Regor calling.

“Tenno Tenno…it would seem the extra help I scourged up is proving to be less than effective…” he said with a hint of disappointment in his voice, “However, this means ‘they’ won’t be bored anymore. I’m sure you’re familiar with them as you killed them before but of course this means the pain will last longer.”

“Don’t tell me…you got The Grustrag Three to help you?!”

“Hired them to be more accurate, but that doesn’t matter as they have been itching to pound you into a bloody pancake.”

The door on the other side of the arena unlocked then opened, allowing three tall menacing figures to walk into the arena carrying their weapons of choice. Hayden heard Regor laugh on the comns before cutting off leaving the Tenno to face the three Grineer monsters in front of him.

“TTTenno” The greenish one growled who Hayden recognized as the leader Vem Tabook.

“Tyl Regor hired us just to take out one Tenno? This is a waste of my time,” The navy blue one said with arrogance who clearly revealed who he is; Shik Tal.

“Doesn’t matter to me, he looks fun to play with,” The dark brown one said as he adjusted his Manticore Axe in his hands. Hayden having fought this moron before knew him very well including his name; Leekter.

“Oh great and here I thought I didn’t have enough problems. Now you three stooges show up just to make my life even harder.”

“Shut uuup. We were pppaid top credit for your head,” Vem said as he readied his own Hek at me.

“Honestly, we should have charged more if you’re this much of a big deal,” Shik added as he too readied his weapon which happens to be a modified Marelok.

“Enough talk! The game starts now!” shouted Leekter as he suddenly dashed forward towards Hayden which forced the Tenno to roll out of the way as his ax slammed into the spot Hayden used to be standing. However the assault wasn’t done as the whistling of a rocket can be heard forcing Hayden to again to roll out of the way.

“You see? This is why we don’t meet up for play dates!” Hayden shouted as he brought out his Talons and started tossing them onto the more melee focused member of the three. This obviously doesn’t faze the aggressive Grineer as he again charged at Hayden while more missiles are also fired at him; courtesy of Shik. Seeing opportunity Hayden waited for a small bit, letting Leekter get closer before sliding between his legs and letting him get bombarded by his own teammate’s rockets.

Hayden wanted to laugh at the friendly fire but instead he quickly switched to his own Hek and spun around to face Vem who already had his Hek aimed at the Tenno, “My wwweapon is better, Tenno.”

“Is it now? Then I wonder how skilled the owner is then,” Hayden mocked despite knowing that there is now way he could get out of this close range combat unscathed. So considering the circumstance he has to take the hit, he just mentally hopes it wouldn’t hurt as much as the damage his own shotgun is capable of. The two didn’t think as they both pulled the trigger on their weapons; blasting out both of their weapons first shots as they made impact with their bodies. Hayden was given a full dose of pain from the enemy’s ten shot burst as it both blasted him backwards and electrocuted him. Inversely, Hayden’s own slug made an impact on the metal man’s armor as it blew up upon impact and knocking him onto the ground.

“Hayden! You took a serious hit, are you okay?!” shouted Twilight through the comn.

“Do you have to ask?!” Hayden shouted back as he jumped back onto his feet to dust himself off before shortly being gored by Leekter’s ax and slammed onto the ground hard, “Ow…”

“Don’t turn your back on an opponent Tenno. Especially with me…” the Grineer trailed off as he raised his ax over his head ready to pound Hayden into the dirt. Not wanting to turn into a pancake the Tenno detonated the Talon’s on the large Grineer’s body which exploded on his body. This forced the marine to drop his weapon from the sudden explosions and lose his balance.

Hayden, despite the pain he endured, quickly got back up just as a few missiles came his way and crashed into the ground, “Your life is slipping Tenno. Not just anybody can take Vem’s ten shot burst at close range and Leekter’s ax to the spinal cord like that…much less my own rockets,” Shik said menacingly as he continued to fire rockets at Hayden, forcing the Tenno to go on the defensive as he rolled and slide his way out of each rocket’s path. Bringing out the Talon’s explosives as he got close he started throwing them at the marine. All of the explosives hit their mark on the Grineer’s chest as Hayden detonated them; blowing the metal man backwards.

“I’m still standing aren’t I?” Hayden taunted before turning his attention back to the recently recovered Vem and Leekter who already which set their sights on him. Hayden switched to the Hek and started unloading the remaining slugs in the chambers into Leeker’s head which stopped the marine from charging at him but not enough to down him as he remained standing looking only more angry than normal, “Damn it…don’t you know eating too much lead is bad for you?”

“Then I should work off the extra metal…” Leekter growled as he resumed his charge while Vem dashed into a new position behind the Tenno and opened fired on Hayden with his own Hek.

Hayden felt like caged kubrow as he felt like his movement options are becoming more limited as he rolled out of the way only to be blasted to the side by a missile. The explosion nearly knocked the Tenno out which would be bad for him as these guys are infamous for sticking a Grustrag Bolt in defeated Tenno which hinder their abilities against the Grineer. Hayden hasn’t had this happen to him before and wasn’t planning to today. Ignoring the pain, Hayden quickly got back up only to be met with a flash bang which blinded him and allowed Leekter to gore the Tenno with great force which sent him flying and crashing into the wall behind him.

The impact left Hayden dazed as he slowly got back up, “I-Is that the b-best you got?” he said drowsily as the three marines laughed at the weakened state he was in.

“Oh look, a Tenno barely clinging to life, no surprise there,” Shik said as he aimed his Marelok.

“PPPathetic, accept your death so we can move ooon with our lives.”

“Another broken toy to the pile…”

Through the fog of his mind Hayden knew he was screwed unless he starts using his powers. However, he didn’t want to burn through his energy supply too quickly so there was only one power he can rely on at this moment. Seeing no other option he clapped his hands together before opening it up and creating a light blue ethereal sword as he open his hands, “Ugh…I just had about enough of you guys. So now you get the receiving end of this sword and trust me it’s not going to feel pleasant at all.”

The trio didn’t respond with words but instead let their weapons do the talking as Vem and Shik fired while Leekter charged forward ax in hand. In response to this Hayden super leap over the group and landed a few feet behind them before swinging his sword a few times which caused the blade of energy to fire out large slash projectiles that phased through the trio causing them great pain and creating slash marks on their armor. Hayden didn’t care for their feelings and after a small spin of the sword he started swinging the sword like crazy; creating multiple projectiles that force the marines to go on the defensive except for Leekter who decided to tank the hits and charge at Hayden head on; big mistake. The multiple projectile slashes whittle away the marine’s armor as he did not notice that his armor was getting weaker before it suddenly broke and the slashes made contact with his clone flesh cutting clean in two as he fell to the ground sliding a bit as a blood puddle began to form.

“UUUseless!”

“You’re going to pay for that Tenno!”

Hayden didn’t respond to their anger but instead continued his barrage on the others forcing Shik to bring up his shield to block the incoming damage but failed as the projectile still phased through the defense though now much weaker due to the mitigation, “This is nothing!”

Vem using the distraction to his advantage got into position and open fired on Hayden. Some of the shots hit their mark which hurt Hayden greatly but wasn’t enough to completely down him as he still stood strong and instead looked over to the marine who shot him before widening the length of the slashes. Vem attempted to get behind his ally but found that his feet were cut off causing him to fall over onto the ground shortly before being decapitated by another projectile.

“Now you’re really making me mad Tenno!” Shik shouted as he peeked out of cover to fire more missiles at Hayden only to be met with a bright flash of light that blinded him completely which caused him to fire wildly. The Grineer’s vision eventually returned along with a sudden feeling of pain as he look down to see the same glowing sword poking out of his chest before it was forced upwards and split his upper half in two. The marine could do nothing as his vision went two different directions as he fell forward dead.

With the deed done he closed his hands together with the sword between them and closed them on the blade causing it to disappear entirely. Shortly after doing this Hayden put his hands on his knees while standing has he panted like an average man who ran a marathon for three days straight.

“Hayden, are you okay?! Those guys really pushed you to your limit!” Twilight shouted through the comns as Hayden adjusted his posture.

“Truthfully…there is a reason it’s ill-advised to fight those tin heads by yourself and what you saw right now is the main reason why,” Hayden said tiredly as he stretched a bit to shake off the soreness on his body.

“Holy hay! Hayden that was awesome! You just created a sword out of nowhere and used it to turn those guys into noodles!” Rainbow Dash butted in annoying Twilight a bit, “How come you didn’t do that earlier?”

“Rainbow, that sword you saw is Excalibur’s ultimate ability and while the initial cost of the power starts small but using it for prolongs periods of time can really drain my energy reserves and leave me without any to spare for my other abilities. In some cases that can leave me very vulnerable to counter attacks and thanks to my current damage I’m feeling more winded than normal.”

“Oh yeah, that is a bad thing,” Rainbow said before being pushed to the side by Twilight.

“Speaking of damage, you took some serious hits in that battle. Can you still continue the mission? It’s okay if you back out now to recover from your injuries since we don’t want to lose you so soon. We need you as much as you need us.”

“I’m fine; I can still continue the mission. Besides I’m getting very close to the target location and I still have a great amount of energy left so I can still take on Tyl Regor when I run into him.”

“Okay, but please be careful alright?” Twilight said lastly before cutting off the comns.

Hayden breathed a sigh of relief as that was a spot of unneeded worry on him. Truthfully, that battle took more out of him than intended but he wasn’t going to tell them that since there wasn’t any real danger in his near dying state, “Alright…let’s do this.” The Tenno said after cracking his limbs a bit before moving onward as the door unlocked in front of him allowing him to proceed forward. Though the next thing he ran into the next room is a long elevator shaft that leads even deeper into the base. Hayden gave a deep sigh as there are two ways to go down these shafts; the fun way or the boring way. Considering that he’s not at one hundred percent anymore, he doubt he’ll be taking the fun way as he most likely would end up flat on his face. So he chose the more sensible route; the elevator.

Pressing a nearby button Hayden heard the noise of the lift coming his way so he position himself near the landing spot as it came up empty allowing him to board it safely. He pressed the button on the platform which caused it to descend and give time for Hayden to think about a few things. “I wonder how that girl Sunset is holding up? No doubt she may have already lost something important like pieces of her skin or something else among those lines as Regor is not a patient man when he finds something of great importance to his line of work. In my current state it’s going to be an uphill battle against the guy. I doubt I’ll be able to destroy his research at the same time as once I take him down I’ll be swamped with Grineer tin heads ready to do me in. I have to be smart about this…especially since I’m running out of Talon’s to throw at people.”

His ride slowly came to a stop and thankfully there wasn’t any Grineer to slow him down so he opened up some containers nearby in order to find ammo for his weapons. He was fortunate enough to find more shotgun shells for his Hek but he couldn’t find anything he could have converted into more Talon’s. Although on the bright side of things he was now a few thousands credits richer as he stole some of the money from some unfortunate Grineer soul. Knowing this made Hayden chuckle a bit as he can only imagine what their reaction would be once they stumbled upon their looted locker and container.

/

The eerie silence as he made his way deeper in the base put Hayden on guard as this was unnatural compared to the heavy forces he met at the start of his mission. The opening noise of each door to the next room always made him flinch as he had his Hek out just in case there was somebody around the corner, but once again there was nobody in sight or around. Hayden kept his guard up until he entered the familiar area he hasn’t been in for quite a while; the original site where Regor kept his original tube men project. The place has since been repaired and the machines are now dormant as they waited for the day they would be used again. Hayden remembered the first time he fought a tube man and was genuinely surprised by the resilience of the new breed of Grineer. What was even more surprising is the fact it was just a trooper as well which gave the Tenno full incentive to destroy the project in the first place.

However, things are not all as it seems as he picked up on the humming from one of the machines and discovered that it was running. This didn’t do Hayden any favors as he followed the machine to a single clone tube which inhabited something that the Tenno thought he would have never see in his entire life; a Grineer version of the Ember Warframe.

“The hell?! It looks like the Ember Warframe!” Hayden shouted to himself as suddenly the windows in the room opened up to reveal Tyl Regor and the currently hostage Sunset Shimmer struggling against her bonds.

“Exactly…” Tyl Regor said as he looked down at Hayden from the window, “Thanks to your Tenno friend’s D.N.A. I was able to create a new breed of Tube Men. With the accelerated aging process I quickly found out my new Tube Man now shares the fire abilities of your Ember Warframe. So I recreated the armor you Tenno use and placed it on her as a way of showing that she is one of ours.”

“No way…” Hayden couldn’t believe it…it was his worst nightmare come to life when the enemy created a Tenno of their own to use against them.

“Although besides the usual abilities scans I have no clear record on her combat capabilities as she is the first of her kind. That’s where you come in Tenno…you’re an excellent target for this test, so...don’t die too quickly. I want a full scale examinations of my new…Tube Man Salamander,” Regor slowly said sinisterly as he pressed the button which open the tube and released the bastardized frame as it fell to the floor on all fours before slowly standing up and giving off a loud roar as her hands ignited into roaring balls of fire.

“Shit,” was all Hayden can say as he aimed his weapon at the abomination as Sunset shouted at him to kick its flank and save her.

The Salamander didn’t waste time throwing fire at Hayden which he easily dodged as he unloaded slugs into the false Tenno creation which did knock it back a few paces but also angered it as she automatically activated her ‘World on Fire’ ability which created multiple explosions in the ground which made traversing the fighting area harder than normal. Hayden got caught by one of the explosions and was tripped up, giving the Salamander enough time to him with her ‘Accelerant’ ability. The force when she applied this ability sent him flying backwards out of the small area and into the wider outer area where the machines are.

“Damn it! I got to avoid getting hit by another fire attack or else it’s going to hurt!” Hayden said to himself as the false Tenno roared before sprinting over in order to follow up with her attacks. Hayden, acting fast threw a few more Talon’s at her feet before getting up from the ground and made a large leap away from her in order to put more distance between them.

“My my…is the Tenno actually having trouble? Then again you do look a little worse for wear, I guess The Grustrag Three really did a number on you did they? Heh, this just makes things more interesting,” Tyl Regor said through the comns as Hayden ignored the obvious taunt in order to focus on making a plan. So far all he got was blasting it to hell with all he got but then again shooting it just made it angrier and more determined to kill him. What make things worse is that she appears to be more durable than the average Ember. Hayden may have to use his ‘Exalted Blade’ in order to do real damage to the being. Obviously, this will use up the last of his energy but desperate times call for desperate measures.

After combining his thoughts together, the Tenno turn around to see the Salamander already catching up with him. Needing to have more time to reload his Hek he detonated his Talon’s on the abomination which tripped it up. Seeing his chance Hayden quickly reloaded his shotgun and unloaded them into the false Tenno which kept the monster down longer as the explosive rounds went off on her back. Using this to his advantage he landed on top of the Salamnder and drew the Nikana quickly before thrusting downward and impaling the false Tenno.

Hayden dug the sword deeper as the acid mod combo worked its magic and eat through the armor and cloned flesh. The creature struggled wildly before releasing a burning wave of fire that both ignited the accelerant on Hayden’s body but also knocked him backwards causing him to let go of the Nikana as he was seriously damaged by the fire. Sunset couldn’t help but watch in horror as her only hope of getting out of here is starting to become bleaker.

“Ow…that bu- er never mind,” Hayden groans to himself as he slowly got back up painfully as he patted out the remaining small flames on his body, “Only one thing left to do,” The Tenno said as he clapped his hands together and opened them to create his ethereal blade again just as the Salamander came out of the smoke holding his Nikana in her hands. Hayden only gave a deep sigh as he quickly went on to swing his sword rapidly which in turn created multiple projectiles that damaged the monster greatly but what surprised Hayden was the fact it was taking all the hits while still charging at him with his own sword. The amount of damage it took was astounding as it continues to charge through despite losing an arm in the process, “Oh you got to be kidding me!” Hayden shouted as he desperately increased the motions he made with the sword but to no avail as the false Tenno hit her mark and stab Hayden through the chest with his own sword.

The Tenno’s eyes widen before narrowing with anger as he brought his ethereal sword down on the abomination cutting it in half as the scientific monster fell down into two separate pieces. With the false Tenno killed Hayden proceeded to remove his own sword from his body which was an agonizing process he quickly pulled it out which caused him fleeting pain as some blood spit out briefly, “Shit…that was close…if this frame get’s damaged like that any further then I won’t be able to pick myself up again for another go,” Hayden said to himself as he leaned against the wall for support. The Tenno looked over to Sunset in the distance behind the observer’s window struggling even more with her bonds as she seem to be shouting something at Hayden but he couldn’t hear what the girl was saying until he noticed a familiar shadow looming behind him.

The Tenno swore under his breath as he turns around in order to face Tyl Regor, “Well well Tenno…you survived. I’m impressed I really am while also really grateful for all the combat data you provided me today. This only gives me high hopes for others of her kind as I create them to be even better than the prototype I had you fight,” Regor gloated as he raised his ax for the killing blow.

“You won’t get away with this Regor…I will put an end to your research like I did before!”

“Oh but not today…and even when you do come back and face me again I will already have the kinks ironed out. Now to put you down for good,” Regor said coldly as he swung his ax at the Tenno’s neck, completely severing it from the rest of his body as said body fell to the ground unmoving as a harsh red light consumed it and its weapons. After seeing the body is gone Regor began to laugh hysterically at his victory over Hayden.

/

Twilight could only drop to her knees in despair as the video feed watching over Hayden was cut out by Ordis. The girls each expressed in their own way how defeated they feel after seeing their only guide and expert in this world be killed in front of their very eyes and being helpless to do anything about it. Without him to guide them in this new world they truly felt lost. The entire room went silent as nobody dared to say anything, not even Ordis who despite everything made himself absent from the group. A few minutes passed since the initial mission failure and suddenly Ordis made himself known again to the group.

“Good news everyone! The operator is safe and sound!” the Cephalon declared which caused confusion among the girls.

“Uh, are you on the fritz or something? You’re operator is dead! We all saw him die with our own two eyes,” Rainbow Dash said annoyed.

“How can you say he’s fine if we just saw his head come off?” Applejack added while being confused and annoyed by the entire situation. The other girls agreed and shared the same sentiments until Ordis shouted at them angrily.

“Quiet! You du-my operator wishes to speak to all of you personally,” He finished as the girls heard footsteps coming into the bridge as small suited figure colored in all black appeared before them and was no taller than three fourth’s the size of Hayden. Questions from the group immediately arise as they all asked the common question of ‘who are you?’

The figure sighed as to everyone’s amazement the hooded mask peeled open like a banana and revealed the face of a young man with dark brown hair, slightly dark skin, and glowing light blue eyes with what appears to be half frame glasses over them. He couldn’t be possible be any younger than they are in their current bodies. The young man gave them a resolute look before speaking, “Girls…we’re going to need to think of a new plan of attack.”