Back aboard the Liset, the Operator sat in silence, brooding both in Ivara and the transference chair. The soft hum of the ship's systems filled the quiet, but it didn't ease the frustration simmering just beneath the surface.
Ordis, ever the loyal Cephalon, tried to lift his spirits. "Operator, while the data was unhelpful, perhaps some... stress relief is in order? Might I suggest eliminating the Slaughterhouse Nine? It would be good for morale—THEY DESERVE IT ANYWAY."
Helios, sensing the mood, hovered closer. The Sentinel drifted beside the Operator like a concerned pet. It meant well, but the gesture wasn't needed, it wasn't like he'd given up hope of returning or something. He was sure that anytime now he would be contacted by the Drifter—if he ever stopped sucking face with Aoi.
As if thinking his name summoned him, the Operator felt a tug at the edge of his mind. Subtle, but unmistakably his connection with the Drifter. Without wasting time, he informed Ordis to hide the ship and dived into the connection.
Reality blurred for a moment, and instantly the Operator wasn't in his warframe or the transference chamber, not mentally at least. His mind was elsewhere, in the Void. Its impossible colors streaked past at speeds beyond comprehension as the Operator's mind once again traversed unreality.
Then as swiftly as the experience came about, it ended.
He stood on solid ground, but it wasn't any part of the Liset or the Orbiter. The floor beneath him was packed dirt and stone, damp and uneven. Moss clung to the rock in patches. Roots hung from the ceiling like veins, and light blue void light poured in through cracks above.
The place looked like a natural cave that had been repurposed. Stone lanterns glowed faintly along the edges, and at the center of the wide cavern was a raised circular platform with six stone stools surrounding it. It was empty except for two figures standing near the back.
The Operator recognized both immediately—the Drifter, his older looking half, weathered, posture relaxed. Their armor was scuffed, cloak half-draped over one shoulder. Next to them stood the Lotus, she wore her standard attire—smooth, purple and black bodysuit with gold accented robes. Her helmet was sleek and angular, covering nearly all of her face except for what was below her nose.
Then between one blink and the next, she was on him.
The Lotus wrapped him in a crushing hug—tight, desperate, trembling. "My child… I was so worried. I thought… I thought I lost you."
The Operator didn't even jump at his adoptive mothers sudden change in location, he only let out a breathless chuckle and hugged her back. "I'm fine, Lotus. Ordis and Umbra are fine too."
She pulled back just enough to see his face, her hands still holding his shoulders like she was afraid to let go. Relief flooded her visible features, but it was the deep, quiet love in her aura that said everything. He might've been one among thousands of her children, but to her, each child was her heart and for even one to be lost was unbearable.
"But where are you?" she asked quietly. "No matter what I do, I cannot track your location in the Void."
"Another universe, it looks like," Drifter answered before the Operator could. He stepped closer, arms crossed, voice low. "Right before he got pulled in here, I saw an unfamiliar city through his eyes. Pre-Orokin from the looks of it."
The Operator and the Lotus turned to him. Drifter looked mildly sheepish, like he'd just been caught slacking.
"Sorry it took so long to get back to you kid. Aoi was…" He glanced away, eyes shifting to the nothingness above, clearly embarrassed. "...insistent."
The Lotus frowned at him, clearly not pleased he had put time with his girlfriend above helping her find her son.
"There was also the issue of his competence," she added, her tone more measured now. "The Champion could not stabilize a telepathic link on his own. We had to build a custom transference amplifier to reach you. It also unintentionally helped him create this space—a sub-dimension in the Void that allows our mental bodies to interact as if we were physically present."
"Well, that explains why it took so long to contact me," the Operator muttered, shooting his counterpart a dry look before asking for the information he wanted to know. "So how long until you guys can come get me and Ordis? This place is interesting, sure, but I'd rather be back in the Origin System."
Drifter's expression tightened. He scratched the back of his neck..
"Yeah… about that." A beat. "We have no idea how to do that right. We got me to 1999 using a bunch of science I can barely comprehend and a vessel designed with Arthur's proto-frame genetics. You don't have one of those for us to use to pinpoint you and even if we did, we're going to need a new way to cross between universes and time if we want to bring your Orbiter back with you."
The Operator groaned and dragged a hand down his face. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but this is ridiculous."
The Lotus and Drifter both opened their mouths to respond, but stopped when the Operator straightened slightly, his expression shifting.
"But," he said, "I think I've found a way to speed things up."
They both focused on him more intensely, silent, and waiting.
The Operator took a breath, then launched into a summary—how he'd been swallowed by the Indifference, how the orbiter was now stuck in the void but near an opening in it small enough to let a landing craft through, how his Arsenal had been compromised, how he woke up in a primitive new system and discovered another version of Earth.
He explained the existence of parahumans, the way their powers didn't rely on the Void or any other known source of power, his first confrontation with an Endbringer, finding out about this new earth's access to stable interdimensional travel, and finally his infiltration of the PRT and the discovery that Professor Haywire's technology was locked behind political walls.
By the time he finished, both Lotus and Drifter were silent, absorbing everything.
Drifter finally broke it with a low whistle. "Well damn… you've been busy. I think Cy's going to be jealous when he hears about your dog fight."
The Operator laughed, putting a smile on the Lotus face. "That's what I said!"
"My child," she said, voice warm but composed, "If you believe this PRT and Protectorate are worthy of your trust, then treat them like any other Syndicate. Introduce yourself. Offer your strength. Build reputation and trust. When the time is right, use that to access what you need."
He nodded, a little surprised he hadn't thought of this himself. This was the same way he'd dealt with New Loka, Perrin, Solaris United—even the Entrati Family. Different world, same tactics.
"You're right, Lotus. Thanks." His brow furrowed in thought. "So… who's going to lead the effort to crack interdimensional travel? Loid? As Albrecht's assistant, he's definitely the most qualified."
The Lotus gave a long-suffering sigh. "Loid and the Cavia will be asked to contribute. As well as Kaya, given she already has her own means of portal based time travel but... other experts will be needed to help speed the process up."
The Operator had completely forgotten about Kaya's incredible feat of time travel due to the fact the version of her in 1999 from drifters recent memories hadn't cracked it yet.
But what he focused on the most was that sigh from the Lotus. Then there was that tone… Could it be?
"Wait…" The tenno grinned slowly as realization dawned. "No way. Is Al going to help?"
The simultaneous sigh from both the Lotus and Drifter confirmed it before either said a word.
The Operator was grinning ear to ear now. "As in little Al, Limbo Theorem Al? The one who telefragged himself across the system trying to calculate a Rift Walk manually because he 'didn't need a Warframe to be a genius'?"
"That was a long time ago!" a voice snapped sharply.
With a flicker of blue void light, a short boy materialized in front of him, hair dark and slightly unkempt, glowing purple eyes glaring up at him with every inch of defiance his small frame could muster.
The Operator gave him a long, smug look, the surprise of the boy's appearance not stopping the words coming out his mouth. "Sure it was. Doesn't change the fact that I had to rebuild your warframe from scrap."
Al's cheeks flushed red, his purple eyes glowing so fiercely with void power that'd make a hardened Grineer Elite shit their pants. "I said stop bringing that up and give back my Limbo!"
"Make me," the Operator shot back, clearly enjoying himself.
"I'll quit this stupid rescue mission. I swear to Void."
"Do it. Then I get to tell everyone from Simaris to Kayla De Thayme you rage-quit like a baby."
"I WAS TEN!" Al was floating now, his eyes level with the Operators. Not that it helped the ancient child appear more threatening to his older brother.
The Operator scoffed, barely keeping himself from doubling over laughing. "Maybe mentally, but you were well over a hundred by that point. I guess Teshin was wrong about wisdom coming with age, at least when it comes to you."
The Lotus sighed as the petty argument between her children escalated a notch in volume, though a smile was on her face.
The Drifter turned to her, ignoring the argument. "Think if you say yes it'll crash the system?"
"Most likely," she responded after some thought. "But now is as good a time as any for a stress test."
Her words broke the dam.
One by one, Tenno began phasing in, some already snickering, others piling on the teasing as more voices filled the cave. A dozen at first. Then more. Brothers and sisters crowding around him in half-real avatars, shouting over each other, demanding updates, throwing in their own memories.
"How strong are the Eidolons in that world?"
"Who's the strongest parahuman? Think we can beat us?"
"Please tell me you got some scans on the tinker tech?"
"What's the fashion like?"
"You find any cute floofs?"
It was chaos—but familiar chaos.
They were loud. Messy. Invasive.
But for the first time since waking up in this strange world, the Operator felt just a little less lost.
"Alright, quiet down, kids." Drifter's voice cut through the noise, lloud and authoritative.
The silence was immediate, almost jarringly so. Heads turned, around eighty pairs of glowing eyes locking on him.
And then the murmur started again. Not excitement but confusion.
"Kids?" one of the older-looking boys asked, raising a brow.
"Did he just call us kids?" said a sharp-voiced girl in a transference suit.
"We're the same age." said another, her tone flat with disbelief.
"I'm literally older than you by four cycles," muttered someone else in the back.
Even the tiniest of them were staring at him like he'd grown a second head.
Drifter's smirk mirrored his younger self's almost perfectly. He shrugged and crossed his arms. "Yes, kids. I can call you that because I'm one of the two people here that's physically an adult."
A beat.
Then a tiny voice piped up—high-pitched, almost squeaky, from a girl who looked barely older than five. "You spent most of that time trapped in Duviri though. So, even if you look older, you've got way less life experience than the rest of us and even with mom here, we're still the oldest."
A few snickers followed. Some of the Tenno even looked a little shocked at the realization that they were older than their adoptive mother.
Drifter opened his mouth to reply then closed it again when he saw his counterpart smiling while shaking his head at him. Al now on his shoulders like a young prince riding his loyal steed.
"…Fair," he muttered, grudgingly.
But before the Tenno pack could swarm with more comebacks and poorly hidden laughter, the Lotus stepped forward. Her presence alone was enough to calm the room.
"Enough children" she said gently, her voice layered with subtle echo and warmth. "You have had your turn to check in on your brother. Now we must depart. I cannot predict the consequences of so many of us interacting with the experimental transference technology all at once."
Many sighs and whines of disappointment echoed throughout the cave but all the children of the Zariman present nodded, ready to depart.
Al, still perched on his big brother's shoulder with his tiny legs swinging lightly against the chestplate, idly commented, "Well, if we don't manage to work things out by the next big disaster, Drifter could always make himself useful and let you bounce back to the Origin System using your connection."
The Operator opened his mouth, already prepared to repeat—again—that not only could he and Drifter not exist in the same timeline for any meaningful stretch, but that returning would mean abandoning his Orbiter in an untraceable corner of the Void.
But Al cut him off before a single word left his mouth.
"I know, I know. You can't be in the same timeline too long, and you don't wanna leave your stuff," Al said with the brisk impatience only a genius child could wield. "But if we get Drifter to Duviri—or 1999—before you destabilize, you'll both be fine. As for your stuff... well, if push comes to shove and we need you, starting over would be better than being stuck, right?"
There was a beat of silence.
Then a new voice broke through the crowd.
"And what," asked a teenage girl as she stepped forward, "have him abandon Umbra and Ordis to drift in the Void forever?"
She wore a transference suit like the others, but hers was scuffed, worn in a way that showed long use and little vanity. Her fire-red hair was pulled into a rough ponytail, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched just above sharp, no-nonsense eyes.
The moment she spoke, the possibility Al had raised evaporated. The Operator's jaw clenched. Al, still balanced on his shoulder, quieted, sensing the shift in his brother's mood.
"I'm not doing that," the Operator said finally. His voice was low and firm.
"You all know Umbra's story," he continued. "But most of you don't know Ordis. Not like I do. After the old war, I left him alone and it nearly killed him. He couldn't take it. The waiting. The centuries of loneliness."
The Operator's hands curled into fists at his sides, shame and guilt on his features.
"He tried to self-destruct." That got a few sympathetic gasps and Al's legs stilled completely. "But his love for me, programmed or not, made him abort at the last second, fracturing his mind. That's why he's the way he is now. Glitchy with pieces of his old and new personality split and twisted together."
Silence reigned as The Operator's eyes traveled the room, not just to his brothers and sisters but to the Lotus and the Drifter.
"I'm sorry but I'm not leaving him alone again." His words were heavy and final. "I was lucky that Drifter appeared to take care of him after Ballas trapped me in the void. I won't bet on a third alternate version of me appearing if I leave Ordis now.
Even though he couldn't meet all their eyes, he sensed their acceptance of words and even their support.
"Then do not worry my son, no matter what the system faces next, we will handle it." Lotus stated firmly, her voice not just directed at the Operator but to every one of her children in the cave and the ones listening in from the Origin System. "Until the day we can call all of our family back home safely."
A wave of agreement spread through the room once more before Al spoke up again
. "…Sorry." he mumbled into his brother's hair
The Operator heard him and reached up to ruffle the kid's hair. "Don't be. You were just thinking ahead. That's what you do."
"I'll think of something better," Al muttered stubbornly.
The Operator nodded and smiled. "I know you will."
With those words, the weight on the Operator's shoulders vanished as Al blinked out of existence. Following his lead, many of the others began saying their farewells too—some with waves, others with nods or nothing at all. One by one, they shimmered out, until the cave was quiet again.
Only three remained.
"Be safe, my child," the Lotus said gently as she stepped forward. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, thumb brushing his skin in a mother's final act of comfort. "This new world is far from my sight and far from my reach. I cannot protect you there."
The Operator leaned into her touch and gave her a small, confident smile. "Don't worry, Lotus. I'll be careful."
She hesitated, just a second longer, and then she too faded away.
The Operator stood still, staring at the empty space she left behind for a few moments before he finally turned, facing the only other one left.
"Listen, kid," the Drifter said before he could even open his mouth. "I know this new world is dangerous. That Simurgh thing is proof. But if you can fight their equivalent of Eidolons using just Ivara and no void powers… then the rest of this place can't be that bad."
The Operator tilted his head. "Are you saying I shouldn't be on guard?"
Drifter shook his head. "I'm saying you don't need to be war ready every second anymore. So while you're there, live a little."
The Operator raised a brow, lips quirking as he thought back to Aoi. "Like you?"
"Yeah. Like me." Drifter said seriously.
The Operator blinked.
"I mean it," Drifter continued, voice low and calm. "Do normal things. Be a teenager. Go out. Eat junk food. Sleep outside that transference chamber. Date. Laugh. Have fun. Do stuff the Orokin stole from us. This new world isn't peaceful, but it's not the Origin System either. It doesn't need a Tenno to keep it from the brink of ruin. It'll survive if you take some time for yourself."
The Operator stayed quiet as he genuinely considered Drifter's words.
Drifter stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. "And if you ever get homesick, I'll be happy to switch places for a bit. Give you a break."
The Operator glanced away, exhaling slowly through his nose as he realized that for the first time since becoming a Tenno, that the weight of his duty, while not gone, would be much lighter.
"…Alright, thanks Drifter. I'll think about it."
Drifter gave a short nod, then smiled again, more brotherly this time.
"That's all I ask. Just try not to put the fear of Void in too many people, ok?"
"No promises," the Operator chuckled.
With a final smirk, the Drifter turned and vanished, leaving the Operator alone in the cave. It was time to return back to Ordis.