Don't Blame Me

She stared up at the large Eliksni in front of her, tipping her head all the way back in order to meet her eyes. Eramis stared down at her, growling softly. It had taken an embarrassingly long time to defeat the scorn, especially because that particular one kept reviving. Luckily, Yetta had solved it without having to message Carman. And then she followed Eramis to the landing she was on now. Where she was currently staring up at the Eliksni, her eyes wide.

Crow transmatted in, Carman not that far behind. The exo walked up to Yetta, placing her hand on her shoulder. "Good job," she praised. "Not a single cry for help. Your puzzle solving could use work, just on timeliness."

Yetta grinned widely, taking off her helmet. "So…that's Eramis, huh?"

"Yes."

"Hot, mommy even," she blurted out, louder than intended. Eramis looked over quickly, confused. Crow turned slowly, even more confused and slightly disgusted. Carman slapped the back of her head. And not a gentle tap, either. She had reared her arm back and brought it across Yetta's head, fast and hard.

"Carry on you two. We'll meet you on the helm." She grabbed Crow's arm. "Whatever you do, do not explain what that means to Eramis. I'd like my student alive."

He looked at Yetta strangely. "Will she even be alive when you're done with her?"

"Debatable."

. . .

Yetta watched her mentor and vanguard hold Eramis at gunpoint. She could see her rescue ship sitting outside, not liking how close it was to the Helm. It made her nervous. "Father!" The cry snapped her out of her thoughts, and she gripped the corner tightly, looking over. A Scorn baron stomped a staff on the ground, and that's when it all went bad.

The rescue ship crashed into the Helm, breaking the windows. Her feet slid towards the vacuum, and a scream tore its way out of her throat. Cherry slid towards it as well, and Yetta took a risk, letting go, grabbing her warbeast. They crashed into a wall, hiding under the tabe. Said table was, just her luck, starting to wiggle free of the floor. She watched as Carman slid over to her, trying to hold the table down. 

The wall gave out behind her, and she slipped into the void, feeling cold metal try to grab her hands. They slipped free, and the lights went out, her breath stolen from her lungs.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe.

She was suffocating. 

Her shoulder was in too much pain, she couldn't go to sleep.

Distantly, a chainsaw revved. A silent scream fought its way from her lips.

Red coated everything. Then black.

She couldn't breathe.

. . . 

"….."

"...…."

"…..Yet-!"

Her golden eyes flickered open, her breath coming easy to her. With a quiet groan, she tried to sit up, the room tilting around her. She forced herself to lay back down, gasping for air softly. A soft whimper left her. She hurt. Her lungs hurt, and as she breathed, more and more, she could feel something crawl up her throat. She fell out of the bed, trying to hurry to a trash can. 

Unfortunately, her lunch was determined to make a reappearance anyways. With a choked gag and cry, it left her mouth, leaving a foul taste behind, along with some burning. She couldn't help but look at the coffee grounds, confused before collapsing right next to it. She shivered, coughing. 

"Carman!" She could hear Jason flying over to her as he called out, Light flooding her body. 

"Shit, shit!" Carman ran over, picking Yetta up. "Can you heal her?"

"Not completely, but I can tackle the more important injuries. That Vex energy is still in her system, I may have to wait for the internal bleeding to run its course."

"Don't wait. Try to fix it." A confused and panicked mumble left Yetta. What was even happening?? She felt the Light patching her up on the inside while she took shuddering breaths. "Easy, take it slow." Carman stood up, carrying Yetta over to the bed and laying her down. "How long will it take?"

"I estimate about....." The world went black around Yetta, and she slipped into sleep again.

. . .

She groaned as she got up, a small wave of nausea rolling through her. Cherry watched her stumble around, softly whining as Yetta made her way over. He nudged her hand with his nose, huffing. "I'm alright, boy. I'm ok." She wasn't sure who she was reassuring more, the warbeast, or herself. The doors to her room opened, and Crow walked in. He breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her close.

"You're ok," he assured himself. "Well, correction. You're standing. And not on the floor vomiting." He cupped her face. "Jeez, your eye…"

"What about it?" Now that she thought about it, things were kind of blurry.

"You ruptured a blood vessel, it's all red." His thumb stroked under her eyes. "I'm sorry," he began. "You shouldn't have been put in danger like that."

"I'm fine now, aren't I?"

"Mostly. There's a couple things that Jason couldn't fix." He took a deep breath, as if to continue, and then let it go. "What…why is there Vex energy inside of you?"

"It's a long story." She looked away. 

"It's nothing I can't handle. What happened to you?" He walked her over to the bed, sitting her down and wrapping the thin blanket around her shoulders. "The dent in your shoulder…" He shook his head. "I've never seen it before."

"I fell into a vex portal," she hesitantly said. "It was…torture, basically." Taking a deep breath, her hand sought out his, gripping it tight. "It was one of those other time lines Elsie talks about occasionally. A darker one. I had gone with her and Carman to research a Vex signature on Europa. I got too curious, and fell into the portal while waiting for the others." His finger rubbed soft circles on her knuckles.

"The time line I had landed in, Carman was the sole survivor, because she had killed everybody already. And she hunted me, for sport. Toying with me, getting me where she wanted. And when she had me down, she struck." Her free hand found her shoulder, dipping into the scar there. "Her weapon…I'd never seen anything like it. It was like a chainsaw, but wielded like a sword. And she would taunt me with the sound of it, revving it just to startle me.

"That's what caused the dent. She had almost completely taken my arm off, when the portal kicked in again and put me back, here. Jason wasn't able to completely heal it, so it scarred over. I have the same injury on my leg." She kicked her legs, the silvered scar glinting faintly. "I've never been able to really…let it go. I guess I can add being stranded in space to the nightmares now."

"…Holy shit."

Yetta laughed a little. Crow never cussed. "Holy shit, indeed."

Release was easy. She signed for herself, and walked out, trying to refuse the wheelchair they wanted her in. Keyword, trying. With a stern look from Crow, she sat down, letting them wheel her out reluctantly. Crow walked alongside her. "I'm putting you in therapy," he announced. 

"'Scuse me?"