Legendary

"No! He couldn't have just..."

Mary was crying in her bed as Eleanor sat beside her holding her hand. The woman hadn't left Mary's side for the two days it had taken Mary to wake from her ordeals. Everyone had come to see the tyke wake up and while she was unsure of the attention, she was on her best behavior with the Lotus, Nikis, and Rachel of the First along Healer Iriana all standing there with three Elders (Tims, Mavri and Raven) and Tiana of Karl's Shadow hugging the wall. Mary's father had been there, but he had gone home to make sure that medical care for Mary was set up in her home colony. He would be coming back in a few hours.

Iriana had asked to be the one to break the news to Mary about Aziz because she felt shamed the worst. To have reviled the Tenno so badly and have him sacrifice himself so bravely… It hurt.

"He did what he did to protect the Library and the colony, Mary." Iriana's eyes were hooded in grief. "I don't agree with what he did or how he did it, but it is hard to argue with the results."

The Grineer had left. Indeed, they seemed to be a bit warier about entering this area of space. Hard to blame them, really.

"He didn't have to die!" Mary blubbered and Eleanor gave her hand a squeeze. No one would meet her eyes and she scowled through her tears. "He didn't!"

Wonder of wonders, Nikis spoke!

"Mary, there is an old saying. Power corrupts." The ancient Nekros said quietly. "I am living proof. I ain't who I was. I am never going to be who I was. I am far worse now than I was when Orokin thrived and that being wasn't who became a Tenno so long ago." He shook his head. "Mary, Aziz knew his own limits. He knew no one could be trusted with such power. Which is why before he went into the Library this last time, he swore an oath on the Code for all Tenno. In the name of all Tenno, never to use the Library's power for violence after he passed away. He knew he wasn't going to survive what happened."

"But why?" Mary demanded angrily. "He wasn't bad! He wasn't!" More than one person blanched at that, but Nikis just shook his head.

"Mary, think about it. What can be done with hard light?" Nikis asked softly. "If it can be used for violence, what cannot be done with it?" Mary paled and Nikis nodded. "We could make copies of the First. Either let their shades ride them or use them as puppets. They would be next to invincible. Why shouldn't we?"

"Grandmaster… She is only seven." Eleanor started, but Mary just bowed her head. "Mary?"

"Such would be wrong and far too easy for anyone to abuse. I did so many terrible things, Mom." Mary said weakly. "I sent out things that hurt Tenno Jill and Caretaker Jasmina. I..." She swallowed hard. "I am ready to accept punishment."

"Mary!" Eleanor said sharply.

The Elders looked from Mary to her mother. Then at each other. Then they looked at Nikis who shook his head slowly. Each Elder mirrored that and then they left the room! Mary stared at the door in shock, but Nikis spoke up again.

"What happened wasn't your fault, girl." Nikis said gently. "You have had barely any training, and you didn't have any guide since the Library was constrained not to let you do anything. While you were awake, the Library could keep you distracted, keep you from doing anything, but when you slept it couldn't stop your access to the neural feeds" Mary gave a sob and Nikis shook his head again. "No one blames you for having bad dreams, Mary. No one. You were trapped and slowly starving to death. The Code doesn't cover anything like this, for a very good reason. You were not at fault." Nikis shrugged at her stunned look. "The only thing you did that you could possibly be charged for was escaping being confined and no one is dumb enough to do that. Not even the quacks now."

"Why did they lock me up?" Mary begged as Eleanor held her hand. "It didn't help."

"No, it didn't." Iriana said sadly. "But you see, people are people, Mary. Be they human, Tenno, Grineer or anything else, sentient beings are going to be different. They are going to have different opinions and ideas from each other." She was trying very hard to be fair and everyone knew it. She was very angry with those docs still and would be for a long time. "They truly thought they were doing right by locking you away from others, sequestering you from society. The rest of us feel very differently about that." This last was dry.

"What will happen to them?" Mary asked in a small voice.

"That is not your concern, Mary." Eleanor started, but Nikis laid a hand on her arm and she froze, staring at the ancient Nekros.

"She doesn't need platitudes right now." Nikis said mildly. "She needs to know the monsters are not lurking right outside the door. They are not, girl. I scared 'em off." He said in a funny voice to Mary who smiled at him a little tremulously.

"Smart monsters." If Mary's voice was slightly off key, no one was going to mention it.

"Yeah. I don't know what is gonna happen, Mary." Nikis said with a shrug. "I gave up trying to figure other people out a long, long time ago. One thing I can be sure of though, they ain't gonna be allowed to do what they did. Ever again." He shook his had. "Funny how it takes a near tragedy to get everyone focused on what is important."

"Nikis." Iriana warned. Nikis shied away comically and Mary smiled a bit more naturally at his antics. Then the girl wilted. "Mary?" Iriana asked as she scanned the equipment.

"I am sleepy." Mary said softly. "But I am afraid that this is just a dream. I dreamed of Mom… I dreamed of Dad." Eleanor gave a tiny sob as she squeezed Mary's hand again.

"Did you dream of me, darlin'?" Nikis asked gently. Mary shook her head and Nikis chuckled a little sourly. "Well, there you have it then. Reality with all its silliness and nastiness. You wanna sleep, no one is gonna stop you. Ya need it. Ya need it bad, girl."

"I know." Mary's eyes were closing. "Grandmaster… I… I didn't send the guy on the robot." Eleanor stared from Mary to Nikis who shook his head. She refrained from comment.

"Don't you worry about that none, girl." Nikis said gently. "Right now, you gotta heal and grow strong so you can go home. That is all you gotta worry about. We know. We are looking into it. You do what the healer tells you. You mind me, girl?"

"I will." Mary sighed deeply, her breathing becoming slow and regular. "Can you tell me a story?"

Eleanor opened her mouth, but closed it again as Nikis laid a hand on her arm again and shook his head. He spoke softly and slowly.

"Once upon a time there was little girl named Goldilocks..."

Anatoly's Library

"She did not do it." The Library sounded upset, but it had sounded that way ever since Aziz had perished. "If she had sent out a hologram, it would have appeared as thus, not what you describe."

A holo of a man on white horse appeared nearby. The horse reared and then ran off into the sunset, the man waving his hat in the air.

Three Tenno stood just inside the entrance. Only readers were allowed further in, and the Library was not about to lessen any strictures for quite some time, if ever. Alicia, Aeron and Will had stepped out of the Library refreshed and recharged. All three wanted to come back, but their duty as Tenno meant that they had many other things to do. Tiana was meeting with Mary's parents and Iriana, so Cathi Gata had been delegated to try and figure out what had happened along with Olim. Martin had sort of attached himself to the small group and no one really minded. He was quite useful, if a bit on the bent side.

"Yeah." Martin mused. "That is the Lone Ranger that Nikis told us about. White horse, white hat, black mask. Silver bullets." He pulled a small object out of a pouch and stared at it. "The batarang that your hologram used to free Isha from her restraints faded as soon as the hologram did. Why didn't this?"

"That is not a hologram." The Cephalon that ran the Library said calmly. All three Tenno stiffened. "Nothing that the Library could have projected made that."

"But it had to." Cathi Gata said weakly. "I mean, the Lone Ranger is not real."

"All the data on the holograms that were sent out has been provided and corroborated." The Library replied. Olim nodded to that. "So, I do not know what to say. The Library did not do it. Mary did not do it."

"Could Nikis have done it somehow while dreaming?" Olim asked softly. Martin thought about that and then groaned.

"I don't know." Martin admitted. "He is the eldest Guardian, and he has tricks that most of us can only dream of. But he was here when it happened. Forming a hologram at that range? Any guardian can form a hologram, but not from so far away and not hard light. Even Nikis has limits and he was reading."

"Ah, this is not good." Cathi Gata said weakly. "We have another… weird thing running around?" She paused and looked at the Cephalon. "No offense meant."

"No offense was taken. Your point is apt." The Cephalon sounded worried too. "And-" It paused. "Tenno Jill is waking. She should not be yet."

"Call Iriana!" Olim said flatly. "Is Jill close to the entrance?"

"Yes." The Cephalon spun on its holographic axis and a door nearby started to flash. "And… She is not alone!"

"Library!" Cathi Gata had her Glaive in hand, Olim his Dual Kamas Prime and Martin a Lacera. "May we aid out sister?"

"Yes." The Library retreated as the Tenno all but charged the door. It opened, but what happened next…

"They are here." A quiet voice sounded from inside the room. "Tenno Jill, you need to go back to sleep. You will hurt yourself."

"My clan… need me..." Jill's voice was slurred.

"They need you alive!" The other said with a trace of heat. All three Tenno entered the cell and came to a sudden halt. "Hi guys."

Jill was sitting upon the bed, but her eyes wee nearly closed and she was weaving. Sitting beside her was a hologram. It was easy to see it was such, because it was transparent. But it wasn't like any of the Library's holograms. It was not solid looking. But it was who it was that had all three Tenno slowly lowering their weapons.

"Sara?" Olim exclaimed, his tone hushed, almost scared. He had cause.

Sara Priosa smiled at the Tenno, but it was melancholy. Serene's daughter was tired, that was clear just looking at her. But her attire was Tenno robes, not white ones. She had joined Amelia's Voices, the beings who gave up their names and became anonymous to serve humanity throughout the system. She and her adoptive mother Lis had both done it to hide from those who wanted the genetically engineered Tenno child for any number of nefarious reasons. So, what was a hologram of her doing sitting in the Library?

"Sara?" Cathi Gata asked softly. "What are you doing here? Is that really you?" Sara smiled at her and nodded. "You know we cannot take your word for such."

"I know. I heard you call Iriana, she can verify it is me. I am on independent study at the moment so I had time to myself." Sara said quietly. "But I still feel for the clan. When I heard Jill was hurt, I had to to come. It is not safe for me to be here physically, but I can come as a hologram. I apologize for the discourtesy, Library."

"You are Sara Priosa." The Library sad mildly. "We have heard of your adventures." Sara made a face and nodded. "You are welcome in our Library."

"Adventures are fun to read about."Sara said with a soft groan. "They are not so fun to do. Tenno Jill, you need to go back to sleep." She pressed the weaving Tenno. "You need to recover more of your energy. You are nowhere close to recovered yet."

"The clan… need me..." Jill repeated.

"She is true Tenno." Sara said with a sigh as Cathi Gata sheathed her Glaive and strode to the bunk that was the sole furniture in the cell. Not that it needed anymore if the occupant was going to spend all of their time reading.

"Stubborn as rock, all of us." Cathi Gata agreed and eased Jill back down to the bunk. "Lie down, sister. Iriana will be here momentarily. You do not want her mad at you, do you?"

"No." Jill managed as Cathi Gata laid her down. "But..."

"No 'buts', sister." Cathi Gata held the other Tenno down on the bunk effortlessly. "We need you, true. We need you healed. You are not."

"What the-?" Iriana's voice preceded the Healer into view. She strode into the cell which was getting cramped. "Sara?"

"Hello Iriana." Sara smiled at her mother's sister. Her family got very confusing, but in the end, she had both Lis and Iriana as adoptive mothers. It worked. "I was on independent study, working on my Way. I learned how to make holograms." She waved at herself. "Then I heard Tenno Jill was hurt. I had to come."

"As a hologram." Iriana reached out and her hand physically touched the holographic form. She hissed and Sara nodded. "Sara!" She said sternly. "You know better than to play with such things."

"I am not." Sara promised. "This is just for here. I can be partially physical here because the Library was designed for holograms to work in. You know Lis won't let me put myself in danger again. Neither will Jane." Jane was Sara's teacher in the Way of the Technician, a Warrior Tenno and so much more.

"And a good thing!" Iriana took hold of Jill's hands and she frowned in concentration. Jill gave a sigh and relaxed into sleep. "She is going to be a pain about staying in the bed." The Healer said with a groan. "Library, is she healed enough to read?"

Reading the way the Library did it was restful, but it was possible that Jill would use up some of her energy in doing so. Not all Tenno did, but Jill had far too little to spare for anything right now.

"I would prefer she not." The Library said slowly from where it hovered in midair at the door tot he cell. "She is still very weak. Stand away." It commanded and everyone moved to the door. Energy started pouring into Jill from several places around the cell, slowly but steadily replenishing her vital core of Tenno energy.

"We should let her sleep.," Iriana said mildly as she glanced at Sara. "Library, you are authorized to keep her asleep as long as you deem necessary to replenish her energy. Then she can read."

"If she stays still long enough." Sara chuckled as the Healer motioned for her to leave the room. The hologram led the way back towards the entrance.

"With the Healer's authorization, we can make sure her rhythms remain in sleep levels." The Library said calmly.

"You should have asked permission to enter, Sara." Iriana groaned. "I thought you were past that stage."

"I am." Sara's holographic form slumped a bit. "I just… Jill needed to know she wasn't alone. I know about being alone in such situations." Her face was blank now but Iriana hissed and nodded. She did.

"You are not alone now." Iriana said with a nod. "So…" She folded her arms across her chest. "Care to explain?" Everyone stared at her, even the Cephalon spun on its axis to have its face looking the Healer's way. Sara looked at the floor and Iriana nodded. "My Mom radar just went nuts, Sara. What have you done?"

"It didn't hurt anyone!" Sara said quickly. "It didn't! It did exactly as intended and came back just as planned. No one was hurt except some Infested! They will reform!"

"Wait..." Olim actually gasped. "A guy on a robot… and Sara is a Technician." He stared at Sara who flushed, her holographic cheeks turning pink. "You didn't!" Sara's hologram should have combusted, as red as her face got.

"Trainee Technician, Master Cyberlancer." Sara corrected Olim carefully, "Jane wanted me to build a robot. I did."

"You built an Ambulas that had a guy on its back." Iriana asked, dumbfounded. "In the name of the ancestors, why?"

"Did Nikis get the bullet?" Sara asked into the sudden silence that greeted the Healer's stunned words. Everyone was staring at Sara now and she shook her head. "Did he?"

"Sara!" This growl from the Healer was pure 'Mom is not happy'.

"Did he?" Sara begged. Martin shook his head and produced the bullet, staring at it.

"This is physical, not holographic." Martin said with a frown in his voice. "You made this." It was not a question but Sara nodded anyway. "For Nikis?" She nodded again. "Why?"

Sara mumbled something and Iriana coughed. The holographic girl jerked and then looked a bit fearful.

"It won't work unless he touches it." Sara said weakly. "It is set to him. His energy."

"Work to do what?" Iriana demanded, anger rising, mixed with fear. "Sara, you know better than to antagonize Nikis of all people!"

"It is not!" Sara was quick to reply. "It was a project. I did my research, I set my plans, I gathered my materials and I made it. It was supposed to be Nikis handling that, not anyone else."

"Nikis would have." Martin said slowly as he stared at the bullet. "If he had been awake." He winced dramatically. "If this is a joke, I am running as far and as fast as I can."

"It is no joke." Sara said weakly. "It is a present for him."

"A what?" Several people exclaimed but Martin stared from the bullet to Sara.

"Nikis has been a legend with the Tenno for a long, long time." Sara said weakly. "He is a very bad man, but his heart is usually in the right place. Even with Janet, he is alone and hurting far too often. I made that to remind him that he is not alone. That there are people who love him."

"And how did you know about this?" Martin demanded. "He told us about his childhood heroes, but no one else." He paused and then groaned. "You didn't!"

"I have my sources, Tenno Martin." Sara said primly. "Touch the primer." She smiled at Iriana and vanished.

"The what?" Iriana asked, but Martin was scrutinizing the bullet now, hes posture wary. Olim was scanning the thing with code, but nothing seemed to happen. The Cyberlancer shook his head as Martin touched the part of the bullet that had a lip on it.

Everyone froze as music started to sound from the bullet! Olim and Cathi Gata recognized the music from Aeron and Karen's records.

"That is the William Tell Overture." Martin said weakly. "The Lone Ranger's theme."

Everyone went totally still as a small hologram appeared over the bullet. It read-

'Happy Birthday Nikis!'

The four Tenno and the Cephalon stared at each other. Then the Cephalon vanished.

"How could she possibly…?" Martin shook his head. "There is no way she could have known what day he was born as a human. Or that his favorite character as a child was the Lone Ranger!"

"I… have a better question..." Iriana said weakly. "Who tells Nikis about this?"

"Oh. Yeah."

Somewhere

Sara sighed as she returned to her form. She smiled at her companion, not that it mattered with her face concealing veil on, but the other was incredibly perceptive.

"He will get it." The form wasn't human, not in the slightest, but she had been once. "You do good work, Sara. The bot will work well underwater and it will freak the Grineer out when they send troops again, which they will eventually."

"Yeah." Sara slumped in her chair. "But I did want to see his reaction, Caroline."

"Probably safer not to." Nikis' sister, formerly human and now one of the Oracles of Saturn replied. "Or from a long distance away."

"Luckily, we are a long ways away." Sara mused as she rose form her chair and nodded to the sea turtle that had once been a human girl.

"You really think we are far enough?" Caroline asked as the mismatched pair looked out a window into the seas of Titan, Saturn's moon.

"No, but if you give me a job, we can be busy when he gets here." Sara said as earnestly as she could.

"Sara!" Caroline snapped playfully at her. "Lis asked us to give you an internship to do your independent studies, not a job."

"Pity." Sara started to pull her robes off in preparation to put a diving suit on. Unlike the turtle, she couldn't breathe underwater without help. "So, where to?" She groaned as the turtle chuckled.

"To infinity! And beyond!"