Hello again! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! It's a tad short, but still important! Also, the song above is Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush covered by Jonathan Young and Caleb Hyles!
"Aegis, what am I looking at?" A voice asked, clearly male and young, before another replied.
Hovering in the great expanse of nothingness and empty space, sat an odd ship. It had a curved front, with no clear window or glass, its surface was sleek with a void black metallic sheen with accents of deep forest green, and shaped funnily like an arrow.
"I-I do not know Operator. It appears to be some kind of natural Void Gate." This voice was distinctly robotic, and filled with exuberance and energy.
Humming, the first person - The Operator - prodded further.
"I thought only the Orokin could make and operate the gates using a Void Key and an Anchor, how has one appeared out of thin air?" Buzzing sounded off as Aegis answered hesitantly.
"My best guess is that the Orokin made a device to harness the Void to activate remote Void Gates."
The Operator gave another hum, then asked.
"Could you prepare Rhino Prime please, Aegis. Loadout A, if you would." With an affirmative tone, Aegis answered.
"Of course, Operator. Shall I prepare to bring Miny Might out of Hibernation, Operator?" The Operator chuckled.
"Yes, bring him out, he's good in a pinch."
Whirring could be heard inside the ship, distracting the Operator and stopping his meditation in the Void.
Long white hair waved about as he stood up, scratching the scar just below the metal eyepatch covering his left eye, his other eye shining bright emerald as he prepared his Void energy for Transference.
Stretching wide, the Operator walked out of his personal quarters and into the Transference Bay, shouting as he took his seat.
"Aegis, is Rhino ready for Transference?"
From the speakers, Aegis answered.
"Yes, you can begin Transference."
Transferring his conscious mind from his body into a biological war machine was a trip and a half but being in a Warframe was something he'd not give for anything.
Shaking his head, The Operator looked down at his hands, finding them to no longer be flesh but metallic with long claws instead.
Taking a step, it was deceptively silent for something of its size and height, and it walked with grace as it entered the cockpit, ready for travel. Across the comms system, The Operator asked quietly.
"Aegis, how are our supplies?"
Jollily, Aegis answered back.
"The Eclipse is fully stocked, Operator."
With that confirmation, the Operator muttered.
"Then let's go through it."
Cautiously, The Eclipse inched closer, before energy-like tentacles reached out, and The Operator shouted;
"Aegis! Look out!"
But it came too late as the Void Tentacles grabbed The Eclipse, and began dragging it closer to the portal. Nothing they tried could get the tentacles to let go of The Eclipse and The Operator focuses on his Void powers before releasing them upon hearing that voice.
"It's time for you to go, Izu-kun."
Ironically, The Eclipse was eclipsed by the void gate as it slowly engulfed the ship, shooting it through time and space as it rumbled and rattled.
"But, don't worry, I'll be with you as soon as I'm free..."
From the cockpit, The Opera- Izuku - looked on in shocked recognition at the colours and patterns around him; the last time he saw these were when he ended aboard the Zariman.
"You've always had a way of meddling in my affairs, sowing Peace where my Chaos should rule; always being a Hero like you so desired, so you can't be here anymore. My Game is about to begin after all..."
A swirling portal like a miniature galaxy with blues and purples blending into one another as The Eclipse flew further and further, Izuku felt his chest constrict with long forgotten hope and panic.
'Am I...? Is this taking me home? What about the Man in the Wall though? Will he come here too? Can Rell contain It without me?'
Then, like a cloud in the wind, it all vanished and in its place appeared a familiar looking planet. Earth. Without the overgrown forests, or the sprawling Grineer complexes or the destroyed Lua orbiting it. He was home!
The Being forgotten for now, Izuku yelled out in utter elation.
"Aegis, activate Void Cloak. We're landing right here." Izuku pulled up a holographic map of his world and pointed at Japan.
"I'll get right on that Operator... But that's Earth? But it does not match my data-banks! And Lua! What about the Orokin ruins? Where's Cetus? I cannot detect any Grineer, Corpus or Orokin signals. What is going on?!"
Grinning a wide grin, Izuku tells Aegis happily.
"I'm Home, Aegis. This is where I came from before I ended up on the Zariman."
As fast as lightning, The Eclipse zipped towards the Earth, its engines thrumming with unearthly power as it sped towards Japan, and Izuku's home.
'I wonder how long it's been since I was taken...'
"Aegis, can you access any systems on the surface from The Eclipse?"
With a scandalised voice, Aegis replied.
"Why of course, Operator!" The Cephalon huffed, clearly offended. "What do you want me to look for?" Rubbing his chin, Izuku requested.
"The year please. Then you can look through whatever you want." Izuku turned around and watched in glee as he got closer and closer to Japan.
Seconds later, Aegis gives Izuku an answer. "Today, Operator, is 20XX! What an odd time scale! And just to let you know, the best security on this planet is laughable."
Inhaling sharply, Izuku shuffled through the centuries of memories and information to try and remember the date of when he was taken; the memory was greyed and dull, it'd been so long, so very long since he'd thought this far back.
"2 years..." Izuku paused and waved his clawed hand at the interior.
"And of course it's laughable, Aegis. Technology hasn't advanced past our attempt at landing on Mars, a Cephalon like you is the picture of science fiction. You're something of a dream for my people, Aegis..."
"Oh Operator! Is that a complement? Am I your dream Cephalon?"
Izuku chuckled.
"You're my one and only Cephalon, Aegis."
Flying in a comfortable silence, Izuku's thoughts drifted, not to the horrors of his mind, but to the faintest echoes of his past life; one he thought he'd never see again, a world he'd never see again.
What did his mother look like? It had been so long since he'd seen her face that he could no longer remember it. Who was his childhood friend again? Why does Izuku's white hair make him feel a burning anger, and a deep well of sadness?
All of these thoughts ran through Izuku's head like trains, giving him a headache as he asked softly to no one in particular.
"What can I do here? There are no Grineer, or Corpus not even the Infestation. I'm a murderer. A soldier. A weapon. I'm not normal. Not anymore..."
'I want to save people like All Might!' A shadowed voice calls from the deepest pits of his mind.
All Might...
The Symbol of Peace, the pinnacle of Heroism, the saviour of the innocent and the Number One hero across the Earth. It was his clearest memory from his time before the Zariman; He named his strongest Kubrow after the Hero after all.
However, The older, more experience Izuku saw through it; how naive it was, how utterly stupid a single pillar was. It bred incompetence and overreliance. Not a single man can carry that weight, that expectation, that ideal, alone. It is a burden that'll crush anyone who takes up that mantle.
It was always why the Tenno worked in teams, in clans, to maintain the peace in the Origin System.
Or they did, once long ago...
In fact, as Izuku listened to Aegis drone on about heroes, he found that heroes in general were stupid; they weren't anything more than privatized celebrities who've been trained like dogs to use their quirks to hunt down people who've committed crimes and label them as villains.
For most heroes, Saving people came after the fame and money. It was what caught his eye when Aegis was nattering in the background about the home he was coming back to after so long.
Not that he particularly cared. As long as more people are saved, in the end it doesn't matter.
But, for Izuku, that thought, that determination to save others, burned as bright as ever, and with his powers and Warframes he could do it.
Should do it.
Will do it.
His blood stained blade shall be cleansed of its cursed past, his sins never forgotten or forgiven, but he'll fight for what is right, what is just, to maintain balance.
For even a broken blade can be reforged into something better, something stronger...
In response to his emotions, Izuku released a tidal wave of Void energy across the world; a Declaration of his intent.
Within the pits of the darkest alleys, a figure loomed; his grey scarf waving in the wind as he overlooked the city, his goggles gleaming gold. He shudders, his spine tingling as he sensed a change, something was coming and whether it was good or bad, he couldn't tell...
In the offices of a H shaped building, a white creature sipped on his tea, looking at his shattered online defences, thinking out loud with a delighted smile.
"Why, I think a big change is coming!"
Machines whirred as a man wheezed a rattling breath, his ancient body sensing a new power in the game; his quirk quaked, red lightning arching off his body, as if it was sending signals out. A black mask hissed onto a scarred mass, the injured man muttering.
"What power... Perhaps..."
At the top of a mighty tower, a skeletal man coughed up blood as he looked to the sky, his body steaming as yellow lightning arched off his body; his blue eyes shone as he pressed a hand over his heart.
"One for All... What are you telling me?"
Inside an office building, a lanky man with green hair and yellow highlights shot up, his chair clattering to the ground, his face drenched in cold sweat, his voice hoarse as purple eyes faded to golden eyes.
"What...? The Future, it's changed? What are you?"
Unbeknownst to the world, the First and Last Tenno had arrived, to usher in a new age, and the future had shifted dramatically; for what is a Quirk compared to the power of the Void itself?
(Hey, how are you?)