The twisting roots of the mangrove trees formed narrow paths over the shimmering water. Translucent blue leaves and flowers gave the environment a strange glow with shimmering flies fluttering around. Now free of her fatigue Allisa could appreciate the natural beauty more she had when first she had come to the depths. Ion came up beside her, resting her hands on her knees as she fought to catch her breath. When Allisa looked at her she smiled back.

“Leave the trailblazing to me!” Berken announced as he flew past the pair. “If you get thirsty spy, do not drink the water.”

“I kinda figured that,” Allisa muttered as she followed on. It was only now she realized how tired she was. Ion’s song magic was certainly amazing. Even Melvin’s healing magic couldn’t restore fatigue.

“Keep up spy,”

“I am.” Allisa held out her hands as she balanced herself on the roots, ignoring the little warframe insects that buzzed along the beam. She made it to the end on the root arriving on solid ground. “Whew,” She turned back to help Ion down.

The next part, fortunately, took them along a solid path flanked by the roots of the mangrove roots and metal spires. There seemed to be more metal that betrayed the natural sense that the rest of the world had built up.

Least they’re no dangerous monsters down here.

Allisa’s thought came too soon as she heard a screech from above.

“Allisa!”

Hearing Ion’s call, Allisa teleported back as a creature swung at her. It looked like a monkey with four arms, each with razor-sharp claws. Its skin was a strange blue, looking like it was made from rubber. It had no eyes, and only a mouth with no throat. Two others joined it, screeching as they jumped up and down.

“Can’t it ever be easy?” Allisa sighed as she summoned Excalibar. The trio attacked her all at once trying to overwhelm her, but Allisa was faster. Her blade cut through each limb, each cut letting out a strange glowing blue blood. The final foe attempted to lung at her but missed when Allisa teleported behind it and struck, cutting into its back.

“Ion?”

“I’m okay.” Ion rushed to Allisa’s side as she unequipped excalibur.

“Are those some kinda warframe?” Allisa asked looking at the monkeys.

“Yep. Least half of them.” Berken said hovering above Allisa.

“Half?”

“They’re called fused. A mixture of machine and flesh.” Ion explained. “Organic lifeforms that live too close to the plates get exposed to the residual eather emitted by Sora. It’s very common in places where the surface and plates meet.”

“R-Really?” Allisa looked around nervously. “That’s… not gonna happen to us right.”

“Ion? No since she’s the star singer,” Berken said. “Buuuttt…. You shouldn’t stay here too long unless you wanna end up a fused.”

Allisa felt her insides go cold.

“W-we won’t be here for that long, right.” Ion said trying to save the mood.

“Yeah…” Allisa nodded. She was all in favor of leaving as soon as possible before she turned into one of the ‘fused.’

****

Allisa took the lead as much as she could over the mangrove roots that snaked their way through the glowing water, stopping occasionally to allow Ion to catch up. Yet there appeared to be no immediate end in sight as the twisting coils took them over the shimmering water. Occasionally they found solid ground, rock-out groves and sometimes platforms of strange metal that formed from Sora. More warframes blocked the path, and unfortunately for Allisa, hostile ones. The predators that she encountered on the plain stalked mangroves in pairs supported by literal flying fish the size of soccer balls- named swimmers. More of the fused were also present and were just as vicious as the ones she encountered moments ago, yet nothing Allisa couldn’t handle. She was once again thankful for Ion’s songs.

Then again, it was beginning to feel as though they were walking around for hours with still no end in sight. While the scenery certainly changed slightly- the mangroves becoming less dense, there was still no indication that they were heading up.

“How big this place?” Allisa asked.

“It covers over seven thousand avars between the cragg and the peaks.” Berken answered.

“Right…” Allisa nodded, assuming that was big in Sora. “Figured we’d see a way up by now.” She looked back at Ion and saw her struggling along again. It seemed odd how far behind she was falling, given how she faired in the forest thus far, “Hey Berken, maybe we should rest again.” Allisa suggested. “I think Ion needs a break.”

“It won’t do her much good cause of all the-gah?!” Berken trailed off.

“Huh?”

The rabbit jolted. “I-I mean she just has trouble with the terrain. She’s not a trained spy like you.” He said quickly.

Allisa wasn’t too shore, but Ion did seem to be struggling more than before. “Should we stop?” She asked Ion once she had caught up.

“Oh no. I’m fine,” Ion shook her head. “Just uh, the eather density of the lake.”

“Huh?” Allisa looked at the shimmering lake.

“Actually, that’s a good point. You don’t seem fazed by the eather of this place.” Berken said.

“W-well I feel stuffy if that’s what you mean,”

“Ah, I think I understand.” Ion looked at the lake. “All sentient life in Sora can feel eather, some stronger than others. In areas where eather is in abundance can cause discomfort if stayed in too long,”

“Oh… I think I get it.” Allisa thought of Nel’s sensor abilities in how she can pinpoint mana being emitted. “But wait, you-”

“Don’t be concerned. My chest does feel heavy but it’s not enough to immobilize me. As for you, I suppose there are differences between mana and eather,”

“Yeah. Like she said,” Berken said. “Normally to be in a place so dense in eather you’d need gear like those Altosk soldiers over there,” Berken said pointing to a group of blue armored soldiers below them. “…. Ah Altosk!”

“Crap!” Allisa ducked down along with Ion, summoning Excalibur on reflex while looking down. She could make out about a dozen soldiers by the water’s edge of a lake below them. It didn’t seem as though they knew they were here.

“What are they doing here?” Ion asked leaning over Allisa’s shoulder.

“Aren’t they after you?” Allisa asked.

“Yes, but they wouldn’t send a squad this deep into ravenger territory just for me. Leo would be the one to find-” Ion was interrupted by a bright burst of light coming from the squad. It only lasted for a second before dispersing.

“What do we do?” Allisa asked.

“What else, we get moving before- Ion?!” Berken shot up as he saw Ion climbing down the roots.

“Ion!” Allisa hissed.

“I need to see what they’re doing.” Ion insisted.

“No no no, bad idea,” Berken floated towards Ion.

“It will only take a minute,” Ion looked up at Allisa.

“…. Alright,” Allisa reluctantly nodded before jumping down to Ion. “Stay behind me,” She took point, climbing down the mangrove roots.

“Bad idea…” Berken hissed as she floated after them. “This is a really, really bad idea!

****

Despite Berken’s constant nagging, Allisa and Ion were able to descend the roots to the lower level where the soldiers were, taking cover just above them obscured by the root. It was indeed a dozen all coated in armor Allisa hadn’t seen before. It was the same blue plates among three different races Allisa had seen (with the bunika ears exposed) but with more loose plates tied together with black fabric and a helmet with a gas mask. There were several machines with them and a large collection of glowing cylinders in a high-tech trolly that floated a few feet off the ground.

One of them- a borgo had another cylinder in a pair of tongs that he hovered over the lake.

“What are they doing?” Allisa asked out loud.

She saw a bright light from the surface. Wisps of blue energy seeped from the water’s edge and smashed into the cylinder. The light was almost blinding as the borgo was nearly pulled in.

“Careful,” One of his companions, another borgo grabbed ahold of him, stopping them from falling in. The borgo stabilized as the wisps stopped. The cylinder now shined a bright blue.

“It looks like they’re harvesting eather,” Berken said perplexed.

“Is that strange?”

“No. Altosk has a lot of eather extractors across Ter’figma. But… can’t think of why they’re doing it here this deep in ravenger territory for a puny amount of eather.”

Allisa continued to watch the group, seeing the borgo setting the final cylinder into the gurney.

“Well, they got a huge stack of them.” Allisa pointed out. “What do you think?”

Ion glared at the soldiers. “It’s… definitely unusual.”

“Hold on,” One of the soldiers suddenly said. Allisa froze, wondering if they were discovered. Luckily none of the soldiers were looking at her direction. Instead, they were watching across the lake. Further out, ripples could be seen on the surface of the water. Allisa could just make out something prodding out of the water. It almost resembled a dorsal fin of a shark or a kite sail.

“Oh no. A fused! A big one!”

“Shit! Keep it away from the eather.” The soldiers all opened fire as one of their numbers moved the gurney back. The fused got closer until it hit what was likely shallow water where more of its body emerged. Then it lunged out of the water- a massive creature that looked as though a fusion of fish and tyrannous, its body covered in blue synthetic skin with glowing lines. It had no eyes but a gaping maw that descended on the hapless soldiers.

“Oh no!” Ion looked aghast. “We have to do something!”

“No we don’t!” Berken protested.

“Allisa!”

Allisa looked back and forth. If she helped them, there’s no guarantee they wouldn't attack her or report them. “….. Ahh damn it!” Summoning her sword to her hand-

“Too slow!”

Allisa stopped as a blue flash burst in the location as the monster was sent flying backward, its underbelly now scared with four claw marks. It crashed into the water with a splash. Someone else landed on the water in front of it. Allisa could make out a small girl, the same size as Meracle. She wore the same armor as the other soldiers but with some differences. She wore no helmet save for a facemask and a headgear with pointed parts that looked like cat ears, exposing her light brown skin and light indigo hair tied into a side ponytail.

“Ha ha! Too late to beg for mercy!” The girl boasted as she took a fighting stance, flashing a set of claws extending half a meter with simmering blue tips.

The fused got up on its two feet and roared, fins on its side sticking out. It lunged after the girl. Allisa noticed light seeping from her being as an aura surrounded her. She moved at blistering speeds to the beast’s right side, leaving behind deep grooves in its leg. As the monster attempted to snap at her, she quickly ducked under it slicing through its underbelly before delivering a sharp kick. The monster reared upwards as the girl traveled upwards to its mouth then backflipping.

“Yaha!” The girl cheered, turning to the soldiers as her weapons vanished, giving them two peace signs as the monster collapsed backward into the water dead. “Was that awesome or what?”

There were a few cheers from the soldiers while Allisa just looked perplexed. She guessed she was Altosk given her armor, but she certainly didn't act the part of a soldier. Then again, seeing eccentric people on her travels was not outside the norm for her. “Uh… one of Altosk’s soldiers?” She asked Ion.

“No. Well, yes but…” Ion struggled to find the words. “Kelana. She’s on par with the strength of a lieutenant but she’s a part of a different group called the Next Generation.” She explained as the girl approached the soldiers.

“Next generation?”

“Little pet project by the third star,” Berken clarified. “They’re groomed as heroes of Ter’figmar, but in reality, they’re just a bunch of brats.”

“Berken!”

“What? They are.”

Allisa continued to watch the altosk soldiers and Kelana, picking up a few words from them. She missed a lot of the conversation but it seemed the post-battle thrills were gone as the girl seemed to be in a row with the soldiers.

“-Need to go before they find us.”

“What? They’re just ravengers. I can take them on!”

“Orders are orders ma’am. We need to get the eather back to Grand Vault.”

“Ahh, I don’t take orders from that creep Razz.”

Ion’s brow furrowed.

“Besides, only good ravenger is a dead ravenger. I’ll be doing Sora a favor by wiping out as many as I can.”

“I’m following protocol ma’am. Protocol the 3rd star laid down. You break that you’ll be in the same position as your friend Saku.”

“That scum is not my friend!”

“Load them up!” The other soldiers began moving the equipment before continuing. “You want to fight the ravengers, fine. But you’ll be making your own way back to Grand Vault.”

“.... Ahhhh! Wait up!”

Allisa and Ion continued to watch as the soldiers dispersed. There was then the roar of an engine as an Altosk dropship came into view, taking flight upwards. It was only when they were out of sight did Allisa and Ion emerge.

“What was that about?” Allisa asked.

“I told ya; brats,” Berken floated by her shoulder. “Including her, there’s five of them. And all of them are pretty nasty, right Ion.”

“I-I wouldn’t go that far,” Ion said bashfully. Although her squirming did seem to give away she thought something similar. “Still, we shouldn’t get involved with them. They may not be on the same level as Leo but all of them are formidable.”

Allisa saw the dropship disappearing into the canopy of the forest. “Agreed.” Frankly, the less of Altosk she had to fight, the better.

Prime Jenarthic

Berken continued to lead the girls through the maze of mangrove roots, stopping only when hostile warframes and fused got in the way. It was starting to seem like there was no end in sight, moving over the roots and metal spires that jutted from the ground with no way up.

That was until they reached a large pond with a scaling wall of rock and metal cresting the left.

“There we are,” Berken said, as though he was triumphant about something. It came clear when he pointed to a root that looked climbable that scaled the wall. “If we take that we’ll be long gone from this swamp.”

“Finally,” Allisa breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m soooo done with this place.”

“Uh, that doesn’t mean we’re out of the Translucent woods yet,” Ion pointed out.

“I know,” Allisa said dejectedly. “But once we’re out of the other side we’ll be at the peaks?”

“No but very close,” Berken said. “Then it’s just a matter of getting to them.”

“Hm?”

“Uh, you’ll see,” Ion said as she ran ahead.

“Hey, don’t go too far ahead!” Allisa called out to her, watching Berkin float after her. Not wanting to be left behind, Allisa set of after them. Then stopped when she glanced out to the pond. The water was disturbed, and in it was a trail of ten to seventeen technicolored lights swarving. “Huh?”

Whatever it was down there, it was moving…. Towards Ion.

“ION!” Allisa’s voice reached her as something burst out of the water. Allisa covered the distance, teleporting to Ion and tackling her as the new foe smashed into the ground. Allisa got to her feet with Ion prone to see a new threat, summoning her weapon on instinct.

It was a fused, as big as the one that attacked the Altosk soldiers. It looked like a fusion of a fish and a wolf. Its eyeless head was covered by a thick metal plate with long tendrils with the technicolored tips she had seen in the water. Seeing its prey had evaded it, the fused smashed its clawed arms into the ground and roared, lines of blue and yellow lights shimmered through the lines that made up its turquoise body.

“Of course, something like this shows up now,” Allisa muttered as Ion got back to her feet. Berken floated alongside Ion as she got back to her feet.

“I should have known our luck wouldn’t hold,” Berken said. “So…. best of luck spy!”

“Geez, thanks,” Allisa held her sword out, keeping her eyes fixed on the beast as it circled around, blocking the only way out.

“.... Allisa, my songs can help!” Ion suddenly called out ignoring Berken’s protest. “I can temporarily enhance your body and abilities, but only for a few seconds.”

“Got it.” Allisa nodded as Ion retreated to a safe distance. “I think I need all the help I can get….”

The beast slammed its front legs into the ground, its tendrils lit up, rising as the monster roared, sparks of energy erupted from the tips, cracking as they cracked the ground. It then lunged at Allisa, who teleported back to avoid the claws. She was forced to duck and roll as the beast swiped at her before following up her attack, scoring deep gashes across it’s body and armor before retreating.

When she did, she heard Ion’s ghostly singing. The same glyphs appeared on her skin as her body seemed to lose all weight. This feels so weird…

The beast roared again as sparks of energy erupted from its body with shockwaves rolling across the ground. Allisa managed to dodge them by jumping through the gaps in the energy, the added speed from Ion’s singing proved invaluable. She skidded across the ground to avoid the fused’s swing while slashing at its underbelly before teleporting back, just as energy erupted from its body.

At that moment, the singing stopped and the glyphs disappeared. It seemed Ion was right, she couldn’t keep the song going for too long.

“Alright, better finish this fast.” Flames burst forth from her blade as the weapon morphed into Azure flame. Meanwhile, the tendrils of the fused lit up as the lights on its body began to glow. A light came from its mouth. “Oh CRAP!”

Allisa teleported out of the way as a beam fired from the monster’s mouth, burning through the rock behind her. “Okay… so it can do that.”

At this point, nothing seemed to surprise her. However, she noticed the monster appeared out of breath. It seemed the beam used up a lot of its mana/eather. Using the opportunity, Allisa coiled flames around the black blade before closing the distance, teleporting directly above the fused’s head bringing the sword down with both hands. The weapon cleaved clean through the armor at the left side of the head. The fused roared before leaping back, opening its jaw wide.

Ion began to sing again. With the lightness returning, Allisa jumped back as the fused lunged. Once safe, Allisa summoned more flames to her sword and swung her blade at the monster, landing several hits across its body. The super-heated blade and her enchanted flames scorched through its body, leaving behind burnt flesh and broken metal in its wake. Avoiding more energy attacks emitted from its body, Allisa teleported to a safe distance, summoning flames to her sword.

“Vermilion strike!” Swinging her sword down, the torrent of flames smashed into the fused, sending it flying back into the wall. As the flames dissipated, the charred body took a step forwards, roaring into the air before collapsing to the ground. Moats began to seep from the body with several of the metal disintegrating.

“Whew…” Allisa sighed with relief.

“Allisa!” Ion ran up to her followed by Berken, nearly tripping before reaching her.

“Whoa!” Allisa grabbed her before she fell.

“S-Sorry. Just tripped.” Ion said as she righted herself. “A-Anyway, are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?”

“No, I’m alright.” Allisa nodded. “Man, those songs are something else,”

“It’s only a simple thing but appropriate for the situation.” Ion nodded. “Sorry I couldn’t keep it up all the time. It does take a lot out of me.”

“Oh, eh maybe you shouldn’t-”

Ion shook her head to stop Allisa’s sentence. “I can’t have you take on all the burden by yourself. While I can’t do much, I can at least provide you with boons in battle.”

“Alright, guess counting on you.” Allisa smiled back. “Now let's get outta here before more of them show up.”

The girls walked back to the root. Berken followed behind silently, glaring hard at Allisa.