Chapter 37
Did You Miss Me?
"YOUR CHOICE IS SIMPLE NOW" Penitence said. "EITHER YOU SURRENDER TO ME OR MY ROD OF GOD WILL DESTRTOY YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS SHIP".
"You can't" Skuld said woodenly. "Temeraire is here with us. Now my sister may be heartless old Valkyrie but she could never kill her own daughter, even for the sake of her son". She shot Temeraire a glance but the girl couldn't find anything to say.
"THAT MAY BE SO" Penitence said, "BUT HER ORDERS ARE TO DISABLE THE SHIP AND THEREBY PREVENT YOU FROM ESCAPING. YOU'LL BE STUCK FOR YEARS AND SO WILL JAGO… AND I DOUBT THAT LAMB AND DAMASCUS CAN SURVIVE THAT LONG WITHOUT A HOST. ARCHS CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH, AFTER ALL". You could almost hear the smile at this point and it made them shiver. "NOW I'M A REASONABLE DIETY, SO I'LL GIVE YOU A CHANCE. YOU HAVE UNTIL LIND REACHES THE SHIP TO SURRENDER… SO ABOUT TEN MINUTES. TTFN!" With that, the radio crackled into silence.
"So… what do we do?" Kitara asked, unable to remain silent any longer. "I'm guessing that we aren't going to surrender, so…"
"Aunt Skuld, tell me something" Temeraire said. "Do we have any space suits or power armour on board?"
"You mean like that one your mother was wearing in Africa?" Skuld asked doubtfully. "No… but I do have a couple of lightweight nanosuites, if you're interested. They're a new design; tiny robots the size of atoms, that work together to form an ultra-lightweight suit that moulds to fit the wearer".
"Are they hermetically sealed?"
"Sure, why?"
"Well if I can buy you some time, do you think you can take a shot at Gungnir, then get this thing ready to depart?" She rapped a knuckle against one of the Pucelle's bulkheads for emphasis. Skuld frowned and drummed her fingers on one of the ship's consoles for a few moments.
"With the time it'll take for your mother to get here included? I would say… if you can buy us fifteen minutes, we MIGHT be able to get out of here in one piece".
"Done" Temeraire said and turned away, heading for the door.
"WAIT TEMMY!" Kitara cried, turning to follow her. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to try and kick the shit out of my mother…"
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"I don't think I have a vocabulary that's large enough to express how much I disagree with this plan" Beregond said darkly as he leaned against the doorway to the locker-room, watching as Temeraire stripped down and stowed her combat leathers.
"Vocabulary? Who's been teaching you words of three or more syllables" she asked, as she selected a black suite from the rack.
"I'm trying to be serious here" he said with an exasperated sigh. "Temmy… this is your MOTHER we're talking about here. You know… Lind Valmeyar-daughter? The most powerful and formidable Valkyrie in existence, half-sister to the Norns and former Almighty One? The same goddess who once almost wiped out all life on Earth, while trying to recover Mjolnir from a rouge demon?"
"I'm well aware of all that" Temeraire said. "That's why it's me going out there, rather than you guys". She slipped the suit on and fastened it. Instantly it tightened until it was skin tight, flowing across her with a soft whir, perfectly melding to her form. "Ok, this might have been a bad idea" she said, flexing her hand within one of the gloves which had formed around it. "I feel like I'm in some kind of erotic playsuit…"
"No worse than a normal Valkyrie kit" Beregond said mildly (*1). "Besides… you look good in it".
"Close your mouth, you're drooling…" she said with a sigh and he hurriedly looked away, trying to change the subject.
"Still I don't think that you should be going out there" he insisted. "What if something goes wrong and you're injured or left behind? Or worse?"
"Well what would you suggest?!" Temeraire suddenly snapped, rounding on him with the ferocity of a cornered predator. "Lamb and Damascus can't; they've been miniaturized and are at barely a fraction of their power, so they would be crushed in seconds! As to the others? Well Skuld and Noble Scarlet aren't soldiers and would be dead in seconds. Kitara and Mere Wolf might last a little while… they have the pure brute strength to give my mother a challenge. But She would beat them in the end; she's got far more experience than they do and in a battle like this, experience will tell".
"What about you?" he demanded, glaring at her. "You're not exactly the most experienced fighter either! In fact, you've only ever been on one proper mission in your life, aside from helping your dad".
"True" Temeraire admitted, "but I'm still far stronger than you and Bloody Thorn are and while you've got the experience, you have nowhere near the strength".
"And so we're expected just to sit here and wait for you to get yourself killed?!"
"Yes". With that, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, silencing him. "You and your girl are precious to me… too precious for me to risk in a battle which you might not come back from. Even if you are both a pain in the arse… In all good conscience I cannot let you two come along with me though… I can't let you get killed".
"And what about the baby?" he demanded. "OUR baby Temmy! I don't want to risk losing you when…" He slowly faded into silence, while she cocked an eyebrow at him.
"When what?"
"When I love you as much as I do…" he said and he blushed at her.
"You soft bastard…" she said and kissed him as hard as she dared, pulling him into a tight hug as she did so. He kissed her back, putting his hands around her waist and for a moment, they just stood there, lost in their moment of bliss. But all too soon it was over, as Temeraire pulled away. "Don't worry" she said, patting his cheek gently. "I know what I'm doing. Besides, I've got a trick or a two tucked up my sleeve". He sighed but had knew better than to argue, so he nodded as she turned away to collect a helmet. She pulled it on and screwed it down, locking it into place with a click and a hiss. She gave him a final nod and then tapped the side of her helmet, keying her mike into the Pucelle's emergency frequencies. "Ok Skuld, I'm ready".
"About damned time too!" came the reply, as it was played directly into the interior of her helmet. "Now get a move on! Your mother is almost here and we're all sick of having to listen to all of your lovey-dovey carp over the intercom… and tell Beregond to stop leaning on those buttons too!" All Temeraire could do was blush.
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To those on board the Pucelle, Lind resembled little more than a streak of white fire, as she roared towards them at well beyond the speed of sound. Under normal circumstances, such as those found on Earth or in Heaven, even the fastest goddesses only had a top speed of about Mach three without a broom or with one to help them stabilize, Mach ten. However, here and now, Lind was traveling through a vacuum and with nothing but rocks between her and her target, she could reach her full speed potential… a substantial percentage of the speed of light. Not that she was in any great hurry for her own purposes but if Penitence thought that she was slacking or holding back for even a second, there would be Hell to pay. She could clearly see however, the vast bulk of the Pucelle, just ahead of her and growing closer by the second; a vast, irregular cuboid, almost than twice the size of Mt Everest and shining dimly in the light of her glowing wake. She wasn't usually one to admire machines but evens he had to admit that the Pucelle was something special… no wonder that it had taken the better part of the last three decades to build. And now it had fallen to her to destroy the ship…
Muttering a soft prayer under her breath, Lind summoned her halberd and swept it upward, raising it above her head, as she closed the final few feet towards the Pucelle, preparing to hack through the ship's armoured hull, with a single, powerful blow… but at that moment, a lance of blue light burst from a hatch in the ship's side, streaking straight for her. At the last second, Lind jinked aside and spun to face this new threat… as Temeraire roared past her, swinging her polearm with one in a wide arch, scything with the long blade at its base. She was forced back, as Temeraire drew up sharply and hovered, facing her, panting slightly.
"Hi Temmy" she said tiredly, using her mind to speak to her. "It's good to see you're in one piece".
"You too Mum…" Temeraire said, replying in kind. "How's Hervar?"
"He's alive… which is the only reason that I'm here at all. If I don't at least try to take this ship out, Penitence will kill your brother… and even for your sake, I won't let that happen". She hefted her halberd, preparing for a fight, training the top spike on her daughter's chest. "Now I don't want to hurt you Temmy but we both know that you won't be able to stop me".
"I don't know about THAT!" Temeraire said, tightening her grip on her weapon. "And besides, I don't need to stop you. I just need to buy them a few minutes".
"Good" Lind said with a wry smile. "Then we had better get started…" And with a flash of sparks, their weapons met.
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Blades locked as the pair struck in the same instant, each wrestling for control. However, with nothing to brace against in this airless vacuum, it was a stalemate and the two soon spun apart, propelled by their own inertia. Temeraire summersaulted backward and touched down on the Pucelle's hull, crouched and then kicked off hard, aiming her polearm's spike at her mother. Lind spun nimbly to one side and kicked Temeraire hard in the back of the head, booting her into a nearby asteroid.
"Still alive?" she asked, as Temeraire pulled herself free of the rock.
"Of course I bloody am!" she snarled. "But how are YOU still alive? I mean, you're out here without a god damned spacesuit!"
"It's genetics" Lind said with a shrug. "I am for want of a better word, a full goddess. I don't NEED food, sleep or even oxygen to survive, while my leathers protect me from the worst of the vacuum".
"Is that so?" Lind nodded… and was just in time to dodge Temeraire's thrown polearm, as it whirred past her head. At the same instant, Temeraire shot forward and tackled her around the waist, carrying them both into the surface of an asteroid, forcing the older goddess to lose her grip on her halberd. Lind struggled and tried to break free of her grip but Temeraire pinned her, straddling her chest and started raining blows down on her, pounding her face with her fists. Lind snarled and reached up, grasping Temeraire's hands, gripping them through her suit. For a second, they were locked in a stalemate, neither able to move or land a blow… but then Lind kicked upward, knocking Temeraire aside and rolling back to her feet. She grabbed her daughter by her helmet and with a roar, she slammed her forehead into the hard rock, pulled back, slammed again and again and again, until finally, the rock gave way and the asteroid shattered, sending Temeraire tumbling through the debris. She paused for a second, then hurried off, disappearing amongst the great boulders. She had the advantage now and she intended to use it…
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"Ow…" Temeraire said, shaking her head to try and clear it. Her vision was blurry from the pounding her head had taken and she was having trouble seeing clearly but she wasn't beaten yet… but as her vision cleared, she realised that she did have ONE major problem. "Skuld, my visor is shot! I can't see shit!"
"It must have been cracked" Skuld said, speaking into her helmet's mike system. "It's on an auto-repair cycle, which means that a pressure seal has come down over it, to stop it from haemorrhaging air".
"Ok that's great but how am I supposed to fight?" Temeraire demanded. "I can't see shit!"
"It must have been cracked" Skuld said, speaking into her helmet's mike system. "It's on an auto-repair cycle, which means that a pressure seal has come down over it, to stop it from haemorrhaging air".
"Ok that's great but how am I supposed to fight?" Temeraire demanded. "I can't see shit!" There was a long pause. "Aunt Skuld?"
"Pull back" came the reply after a moment. "I'm on my way".
"Not a damned chance!" Temeraire snapped back. "You can't fight!"
"We've got some of that heavy armour your mother used in Africa" Skuld said. "If I use some of that-"
"Not a chance!" Temeraire snapped back. "You'll be slaughtered!"
"Well unless you have any other ideas…"
"In fact I do" Temeraire said, after a moment's consideration. With that, she closed her eyes, trying to focus her mind and shut out the inquiring voices that were still babbling into her ears. Instead, she focussed on expanding her mind, seeking out what was out there, beyond the confines of her own head. And then she saw it; the swirling pulses of power, that showed as bright sparks and flashes of light across the inside of her eyes. There wasn't much around her, just an odd speck of solar radiation, as it rippled through space but as she turned slowly and brought the Pucelle into view, her sight was filled with a beautiful sight; the entire ship was throbbing and pulsing with power, in a beautiful, repeating pattern. It looked almost like the ship had been built from shining silver threads, as each wire and cable within thrummed with power, almost like a heartbeat… and perhaps it was. After all, it was powered by a living creature, even if that creature WAS Deaderuss. And she could see other lights in amongst the shining silver… a few fainter pulses of shining gold, most of them concentrated around the bridge of the ship. Those WERE heartbeats she realised or more precisely, the electrical discharges of nervous systems, which were in turn, causing hearts to beat… It was quite beautiful, in its way. But now was not the time to get poetic. She had to focus. Quickly, she spun, scanning the space around her for any sign of her mother. For a second, she thought that there was nothing… but then she caught it; the faint trace of a golden heartbeat, heading away from her and towards the ship. Lind was on the move.
"What's going on out there?" Skuld said, her voice suddenly cutting through, into Temeraire's mind.
"I've found my mum… I'm going after her".
"Found her? But h-"
"No time!" Temeraire said and sped towards the glowing gold shape that was just on the edge of sight. It was moving fast but she was just ahead of it and with a roar, she punched through a boulder, crashing through it and tackling her target. With one hand, she grabbed her and hurled her hard against another asteroid, pinning her there with her fist. "You thought that you could get away from me?" she snarled through her mind. "I told you that… wait…" There was something amiss here. The creature she was holding had a heartbeat but with a different rhythm to the one she had been expecting. This was… "Wait a minute… Spear Mint?!"
"How did you know it was me?!" the angel asked. "You can't see anything through that busted helmet!"
"Never mind that! Where the fuck is my mother?"
"RIGHT HERE!" With that, the boulder exploded and Lind charged Temeraire, thrusting with her halberd as the asteroid shattered between them, allowing Spear Mint to slip away. Temeraire sensed her coming a microsecond before she emerged though and in that instant, she jerked aside, the blade of Lind's halberd sliding beneath her right arm. She clamped down, wrapping her arm around the blade and gripping the haft with her other hand. Lind snarled and tried to pull it clear but Temeraire braced a foot against her mother's stomach, preventing her from retrieving her weapon.
"Very clever Temmy…" she admitted after a few seconds of struggle. "But we both know what happens now… we fight unarmed".
"Good" the girl said and wrenched her mother's halberd away, tossing it into space. She turned back the face her mother, dropping into a hovering crouch, as Lind did the same. "Now come and get me!"
"Ladies first!" Lind chuckled and shot forward, as Temeraire did the same. They collided with a flash of sparks and started exchanging blows, striking, blocking and counter-striking so fast that it was almost impossible to keep track of them all. Suddenly, they sprang apart, with Temeraire panting inside her armour, while Lind growled.
"You've gotten stronger…"
"Of course I have" Temeraire said. "I should probably give you fair warning; I'm pregnant". Lind's face became as hard as stone for a second but then she sighed.
"Well that's just fighting dirty…" she said softly. "Beregond?"
"Who else?"
"You have a point I suppose…" Then Lind shot forward, aiming a blow at Temeraire's skull. She blocked with both arms, aimed a shot at her mother's gut, doubling her over and then kneed her in the face. Lind floated backward, reeling and Temeraire delivered the coup de grace: an iron-hard blow to her Lind's chest. The Valkyrie cried aloud in pain, as her ribs cracked and she was forced backward. The blow was tremendous, almost like being stuck by the steering column of a car… a blow so hard that it almost stopped her heart in an instant. Luckily, she didn't need to breath and with a second powerful blow, this time from her own fist, she restarted her heart.
"Fuck me sideways…" she said softly, grimacing in pain.
"No thanks, you're my mother" Temeraire quipped. "But I think I've won…"
"Are you sure?" Lind snarled, spitting a little blood. "I…"
"You're in no condition to fight anymore Mum" Temeraire said. "Besides" she said and gestured back towards the ship, "I think you're too late now…" And indeed she was, for at that moment… the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon located on the ship's bow opened fire, spitting forth a ten gigaton nuclear weapon, at close to the speed of light.
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"YOU FOOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Penitence shrieked, as she watched the white-hot streak that was the MAC shell streak through space, heading straight for Gungnir. "QUICKLY! CLOSE THE GATE!"
"It's too late for that now" Skuld said grimly, from over the radio. "You're about to lose your precious orbital gun…"
"I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THIS!"
"I already am…"
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The vast shell arched through space like an avenging angel, streaking towards the glowing whole in space, that was the portal to Gungnir. It flew silently, for in space, there is no sound… although if it could've been heard, the shell would've been shrieking, as the outer surface burned off its layer of plasma. Gungnir was preparing to fire once more, this time training on the shell itself but it was too slow… far too slow. As was the closing Gate in fact, for the shell streaked through just as it snapped shut… and out in another part of space, there was a flash as the equivalent of one billion tonnes of TNT detonated all at once…
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"Looks like I've failed" Lind said mildly. "Penitence is not going to be best pleased…"
"Then why not come with us?" Temeraire asked. "You wouldn't have to face her then".
"No" Lind said. "I cannot leave your brother or my sisters… I must go back". She paused and gave a small smile. "Don't worry, she can't be too hard on me; I'm her main weapon now. And besides, I'm going to be a grandmother". She smiled again and Temeraire managed one of her own, as her visor unsealed, letting her see with her own eyes once more.
"I'm sorry…" she said softly.
"Don't be" Lind said. "You put up a good fight and kicked the shit out of me". She winced a little at her cracked ribs and frowned. "Although maybe next time… you could try being a little less brutal".
"Well I had to make it convincing" Temeraire said with a shrug and her mother sighed, pausing to retrieve her halberd.
"I'd better be going" she said and then paused. "Be safe… DON'T do anything I wouldn't do".
"It's a little late for that" Temeraire said and Lind flashed her another small smile before taking off, disappearing into the cloud of floating rubble. Temeraire waited a few moments longer, then turned back towards the Pucelle and sped back towards it, landing just inside the airlock. "Well that was fun" she said, as she stepped through and into the main ship, where Beregond was waiting for her. "I told you not to worry".
"You almost got yourself killed, several times out there…" he said darkly, as she unscrewed her helmet and took a deep breath of relatively fresh air.
"But I WASN'T killed" she said stubbornly. "I'm alive and well and… slightly bruised but otherwise, I'm ok". He didn't respond immediately, instead fixing her with a disapproving look.
"Temmy" he said, after a few seconds, "there's a massive rip in your suit". He pointed down and she saw that there was indeed a large tear on her side, under one arm.
"What the!? Where the heck did that come from!?"
"Possibly when you grabbed her halberd?" he suggested, as she stared at it for a few seconds.
"Fuck! How am I not dead!? I should've been sucked out of that!"
"Don't ask me" he said and ran a finger along the tear. "I'm an idiot, remember?" Temeraire snorted but her face remained serious, her brow knotted in concentration.
"Perhaps…" She paused, thinking back to something her mother had said. "Perhaps… I'm pressure resistant?" she said. "I mean… goddesses don't HAVE to breath and my mother was out in space without a suit so…"
"That sounds reasonable". The pair of them turned and saw Kitara, as she entered the room. "You gave us quite a show out there, you know?"
"I do my best" Temeraire said and nodded to her friend.
"Now we'd better get going… Skuld says that she's ready to fire up the warp drive and then open the portal…"
"Ok then, let's go".
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Penitence growled as she watched the Pucelle slowly turn away, point out into deep space. The outer hull started to crackle with charged particles, while in front of it, she could see the pale blue glow of a portal to the future being opened. Slowly, it opened and then she saw the ship seem to stretch into a long, thin cord… and it disappeared into nothingness, followed by the portal as it winked out of existence. She ground her teeth, as she dispelled the orb and turned her attention to Lind, who was kneeling before her.
"YOU FAILED ME LIND… I TOLD YOU TO DESTROY THAT SHIP BUT INSTEAD, YOU LET THEM ESCAPE AND ON TOP OF THAT, YOU'VE COST ME OUR MOST POWERFUL WEAPON!"
"With all due respect my Lady" Lind said darkly, "You told me to DISABLE the ship, not destroy it… and that wasn't exactly easy to do, when I was being forced to fight my own daughter".
"SILENCE!" Penitence shrieked and for a second, Lind thought that the Arch-Seraph was about to leap at her… but in the end, she snarled and spat, turning away. "FILTHY VALKYRIE…" she snarled and turned to Yukio, who had been hovering by her elbow, observing the fight and Lind's subsequent chewing out. "LADY YUKIO, TELL ME… HOW MUCH DAMAGE HAS GUNGNIR TAKEN?"
"Approximately eighty-eight per cent" Yukio said. "I just went to check the systems myself… it IS repairable but to do so will take time".
"HOW MUCH TIME?" Penitence demanded, while Yukio pinched the bridge of her nose in thought.
"Say… eighteen months?"
"TOO LONG!" Penitence snarled. "YOU HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WAY!"
"I'll see what I can do".
"YOU'D BETTER! OR ELSE YOU'LL BE GETTING THE SAME AS THE OTHERS!"
"The others?" It was then that Penitence paused.
"THAT'S RIGHT… THE OTHERS. I HAVE SOMETHING PLANNED FOR OUR MORE… DIFFICULT GUESTS. BRING PEORTH TO MY CHAMERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE… OH AND BRING LIND TOO. IT WOULD BE BEST IF SHE SAW WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, SO THAT SHE KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT THE NEXT TIME SHE FAILS ME…"
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The portal shimmered and waved before them, glowing blue, white and gold, as the ship soared through. For a while, it was awe inspiring… but by this point, it had gone on to become… just plain dull.
"So… where exactly are we going?" Kitara asked, as she sat in on of the bridge's chairs, leaning against a console, her chin resting on her hands.
"We're following Damascus" Lamb said, glancing at the tiny devil, as she sat cross legged on the console. "She can find anyone in all of space and time, because of her Nightmare stuff… and because of that, the ship is basically tuning directly into her brain, using her as a navigational computer".
"That's… pretty awesome" Kitara said, looking a little stunned. "But that still doesn't answer my question; where are we going?"
"We're heading for a tiny planetoid, in the middle of what was the Horsehead Nebula… approximately fifteen-hundred light years from Earth" Damascus said, not opening her eyes. "It's probably an abandoned world that orbits some kind of dead sun… although I couldn't say for sure, not having been there myself. Now shush! I'm trying to concentrate!"
"She's unusually grumpy because apparently the link makes her head hurt" Lamb whispered to Kitara. "Come on, let's leave her to it and go find some food".
"What about Aunt Skuld and Noble Scarlet?" They both glanced at the pair, who lay slumped against the ship's main controls.
"They're not going anywhere" Lamb said. "Come on, let's go eat". Kitara nodded and followed the diminutive angel to the canteen, where they found Temeraire and Beregond, who were munching something luminous and green.
"What the Hell is that?" Kitara asked, bending to inspect the thing as it sat, quivering on the plate.
"I don't know" Temeraire said, "but it TASTES like my mother's cooking".
"That bad huh?" Kitara asked.
"Yep".
"Well it's alright for you" Beregond said. "At least your dinner didn't crawl away…" He pointed over to one corner, where something blue, with many long, spindly legs was hanging from the roof.
"Why are you eating that?" Lamb asked. "That's not supposed to still be here".
"We found it in the vending machines" Temeraire said, taking another spoonful of the green thing and pulling a face. "I'm not sure what's safe to eat in the kitchens…"
"Well let's see what we can find then".
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A little while later and after locating some real food, they were all around the table once more, eating in silence. After a time, Temeraire paused and set down her fork, frowning.
"Lamb, can I ask you something?" The tiny angle, who was currently sat in the middle of the table, gnawing at a cookie that was almost as big as she was, nodded.
"Sure, go ahead" she said.
"I was wondering… you know Penitence better than anyone right? So why is she doing what she's doing? I mean… was she always evil?" Lamb munched quietly for a while, considering how best to answer.
"No" she said finally. "She wasn't always evil… in fact there was once a time when she wouldn't even fight, which for a fighting Arch was a bit of a problem".
"So what happened?" Kitara asked, intrigued.
"Well you all know the story of how I got my name, right?"
"You mean Astrakhan Lamb?"
"No, I meant my original name, Striking Twilight. I got it because I killed four demons within the first hour of my life, as I sort vengeance against them for the murder of my Mistress's tutor… but you have to remember that I had my sister too. She was stronger than I was and she tried to save her, while I was fighting… but she failed. And because of that failure, she refused to ever take a life, having already lost one. Because of that, she was originally called Silver Bullet… and it was agreed that she would be my Mistress's silver bullet; her instant kill weapon, for use as a last resort. Until then though, she was trained to fight but never to kill… that was my job".
"So she was a non-lethal weapon?" Beregond asked.
"Yes" Lamb said with a nod. "That's exactly it… and it was a good plan. She was the strong one, who provided the power. I was the blade that did the damage. Between us, we became the most powerful angels in Heaven… bar Alpha and Omega of course. No-one could beat her… not even together".
"So what happened?" Lamb shrugged in reply.
"The Angel Eater happened" she said and took a bite out of her cookie.
"I heard about that" Beregond said. "The whole thing where it went to Earth inside Lind right?"
"That came later" Lamb said. "The first time we met it, we were still at war with the demons. We're not sure what it is or where it came from although it was probably some kind of demon weapon for assassination. What we DO know is that it started picking off angels left, right and centre… more than fifty before we were able to track it down".
"So what happened?" he asked.
"We needed a weapon that could take it down but no angel could get near it" Lamb said. "So my Penitence… Bullet… agreed to take part in an experimental procedure. She had a little of the Angel Eater injected into her, so that she had a better chance of fighting it. Her powers increased massively and she became immune to its magic… but at the cost of her emotions and personality. She was able to defeat the creature and imprison it… but it was only later that we discovered the true cost of her new powers. She had become a sort of parasite, feeding off the energy of other angels. In fact, it wasn't until she sucked one angel dry that we realised what she had become… an Empty. And she wasn't the only one. There were about a dozen of them in total but most were destroyed, when they tried to attack some of the others. She was sparred at my insistence and placed in isolation… and now… well now she's different. Deaderuss picked her up and part of his personality rubbed off on her. Now, she's almost murderous".
"So we saw" Kitara said. "So… what can we do about her? I mean… of she's some kind of Uber angel now, not to mention the fact that she has Seraph blood too now".
"Now that is something I can't help you with" Lamb said. "She was always stronger than me and now, she outguns me by a wide margin".
"So we saw" Kitara said. "So… what can we do about her? I mean… of she's some kind of Uber angel now, not to mention the fact that she has Seraph blood too now".
"Now that is something I can't help you with" Lamb said. "She was always stronger than me and now, she outguns me by a wide margin".
"So it's up to me then" Temeraire said. "I've got to get my girl back on my own".
"No, not on your own" Lamb said and laid a tiny hand on the back of hers. "We'll be there".
"But you just said-"
"That we would be outgunned? Yes, without a doubt she would… but that's not going to stop us from helping you". She smiled up at her and Temeraire smiled back.
"Thanks Lamb".
"Well during the battle with the Angel Eater, we discovered something; when it used more power, it had less control over itself. If we can cause her to overload, she might be easier to beat".
"You really think that something like that might work?"
"It's worth a go". Just then, there was an unpleasant sensation that crawled across all of their skins. If they had describe it… it was like being drunk. And while being drunk isn't a problem, having someone DRINK YOU feels incredibly uncomfortable.
"EWWWWW!" Kitara said and shuddered a little. "What the fuck just happened?"
"We just came out of the warp" Lamb said.
"That meaning?"
"It means we're here".
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With a rumble, the Pucelle dropped out of warp space and into "real space" once more.
"Looks like we made it" Noble Scarlet said. "So where the heck are we?"
"I don't know" Skuld said after a second's pause. "I can't see much out there".
"There's not much to see" Noble Scarlet said, looking out of the main viewport. "There's… there's nothing out there at all. I mean NOTHING! There isn't even a star out there!" And she was right. There wasn't even the smallest speck of light out there.
"Well there's gravity" Skuld said, glancing at the console in front of her. "We're in orbit around some kind of planetoid or so the ship's scanners say".
"So now what do we do?"
"Now we try and find my Master" Damascus said, hovering up to her. "Call the others and see if you can prep a dropship; we're going to the surface as soon as possible and we need some way to get there".
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"So… do you think we'll need space suits?" Kitara asked, as they prepped for the drop, strapping her Dragunov to her back.
"I don't think so" Temeraire said, frowning to herself. "Aunt Skuld said that the atmosphere was breathable, so as soon as the dropship touches down, we should be safe".
"I don't think safe is the word I would've used" Beregond said, tightening the straps of his new combat cloak. "I got a look at that place before we came down here… whatever that planet is, it doesn't look particularly welcoming". He had a point; the world below them was dark, it's surface shrouded by black clouds. It was orbiting what was left of a long dead sun, its surface reflecting the lights thrown off by the Pucelle, as the ship's scanners attempted to penetrate the world's fog bank… to little avail. Aside from a surface of hard rock, there wasn't much out there that could be seen. Not at least until they actually got there, that is.
"We'll be fine" Temeraire said. "We just need to get there, find my dad and get out".
"And how exactly are we going to find him?" Kitara asked. "There's a lot of rock to search down there".
"Damascus will be guiding us; she's going to stay here on the ship and keep track of us and my dad from orbit".
"Well that works" Beregond said but then paused. "So… how long do you reckon this is going to take?"
"It'll take as long as it has to". She shouldered her pack and clipped a torch to it, testing the beam before clicking it off. "Now come on, let's go".
8888
The Ziz dropship's engines roared as they rolled up to full power.
"Everyone ready?" came Skuld's voice over the radio.
"We're ready".
"Ok, good" Skuld said, as the Ziz started to roll forward, along the launch ramp. "You've got enough food and ammunition for forty-eight hours; that's when the dropship will be back to get you. If you haven't found him by then…." She let that statement fade into silence, as the ship reached the end of the ramp.
"So what happens now?" Beregond asked, looking out of the ship's viewport. "Do we fly down there?"
"Not quite…" Temeraire said. "I think we drop". With that, the ship's engines screamed and it roared forward, dropping out of the Pucelle's open bomb bay and towards the world below.
"OH SHHHHIIIITTTT!" he screamed, as the ship accelerated almost straight downward, shaking and roaring through the planet's atmosphere. Streams of vapour and cloud were curling off of the ship's wings, as it screamed lower, St Elmo's Fire crackling off the hull, as it passed though the charged upper levels. Then they were below the clouds, rolling in low over the landscape, the gunship's lights piercing through the dark, to illuminate the black shapes of mountains on either side.
"I-I-I-h-hope-w-w-we-do-don't-hit-an-i-i-ceberg" Kitara said, gritting her teeth as the ship shook violently, buffeted by the waft of its own engines. Beregond looked like he was about to be sick, while Temeraire hung on grimly, until at last, the ship touched down hard, almost jolting them out of their seats.
"I think we made it".
"Good" Beregond groan, unbuckling himself from his seat. "Now get me off this tub before I ruin the chrome work". The girls shared a look, as they unhooked themselves, waiting for the back door of the ship to open, which it did with a hiss. Instantly, a wave of freezing air flooded in, turning their breath to vapour and causing frost to blossom on their eyelashes.
"Bloody Hell!" Temeraire whispered. "It's so cold!" She took a step out and into the darkness, away from the rear of the Ziz. It was so cold that not only was her breath becoming vapour but she could swear that the moisture in it was literally freezing and dropping out of it.
"So where are we exactly?" Beregond said, having finally managed to stagger out after her.
"I don't know" she admitted. "Somewhere near the end of the universe I think, which would explain why it's so damn cold!" They'd all been given combat cloaks by Skuld, made of an ultra-lightweight material that was both very tough, being proof against moderate ballistic rounds and exceptionally insulating, able to keep the wearer warm in even the most harsh of conditions. However, even as they tightened their cloaks around themselves, they could feel the cold creeping through, biting to their very marrow.
"Just how cold is it?"
"I would say about minus one-hundred degrees C" Kitara said, testing the air with a licked finger. (*2)"And no wind…"
"Of course there isn't any wind" Temeraire said. "There's no sun to drive any kind of weather". She looked up at the sky, which was still shrouded in black clouds, although they could see the sky through them in patches. "It's not just night… all the stars have burned out. We might well be the only living things in all of existence now…"
"You think so?" Beregond asked, cocking his head.
"Well we ARE a LONG way from home, in terms of time" Temeraire said, still looking upward. "About… fourteen BILLION years or there abouts".
"That's… quite a long time" he said. "I… I don't think I can quite think in numbers that big".
"Don't worry" Temeraire said, shaking her head. "I think it's affecting all of us… now let's go. I've got ice forming on my wings". She flicked her tiny ear-wings, causing a flurry of tiny snowflakes and then started forward, across the bare rock of the valley, as behind them, the Ziz gunship roared back into life and started its slow, ponderous assent, back towards the Pucelle.
"Ok guys" Kitara said, pulling her loadstone radio from beneath her cloak, "where's the best place to start looking?"
"You need to travel a couple of miles North" Damascus said over the radio. "There's a cave in the mountains, in that direction… you should find him in there".
"Ok, we'll be there as soon as we can". She clicked off and led the way down the slope of scree, towards the bottom of the valley below them. There may once have been a river here but it had long since vanished and all that was left was a few slightly discoloured stones, that reflected the light of their torches, as they passed them.
"Temmy, you seem to understand this kind of thing" Beregond said as they walked. "If there's no weather here then why are there clouds?"
"I don't know" she admitted. "They could be gasses that are separating from the atmosphere or possibly some kind of charged dust particle… It's hard to say really".
"Oh". He paused and looked up at the sky. "Well let's not hang around. This place gives me the creeps". The other two nodded… but then Kitara threw up a hand, dropping into a crouch.
"What is it?" Temeraire said, as she dropped down beside her.
"I saw movement" her friend said in a fervent whisper.
"My dad?" Temeraire asked hopefully but Kitara shook her head.
"I don't think so" she said and pulled her radio out once more. "Aunt Skuld, are you there?"
"I'm here" Skuld said. "What's wrong?"
"I saw something moving" she hissed. "Can you guys see any kind of life out there?"
"Not at the moment" Skuld said. "Hang on, let me check the scanners". There was a moment of silence, as Skuld ran through various scans, checking for everything from heat signatures, to bio-signs, to heart beats, only to come up blank. "I've got nothing" she said. "Maybe… you're seeing shadows?"
"There's nothing to cast shadows…" Beregond snarled, looking out, over the dark rocks of the valley.
"We need to move… now" Kitara said and stood quickly. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting here… there's something out there".
"Wait a minute… Temmy, can you sense anything?" Beregond asked, cocking his head at her. "You could sense those electrical currents on the ship and you said that you could sense your mother in the asteroids, so if there IS anything out there…"
"I'll give it a go" Temeraire said, closing her eyes, as Kitara nervously unclipped her rifle and trained it up one of the hills. Watching through the scope, she could've sworn that something had just moved, up on one of the ridges, sending up a cloud of dust.
"Temmy" she hissed.
"I'm doing it".
"Temmy!" she hissed again.
"Calm down!" Temeraire hissed back. "This isn't easy!" Kitara licked her lips. There was something moving out there… she could almost SMELL it. Beregond sensed it too now and drew his falchion, taking up position on Temeraire's other side.
"Temeraire" he said hoarsely, as he watched a shadow flicker in the light of his torch.
"I'm working on it!" she hissed. "Just give me-"
"TEMMY!"
"GOT IT!" she suddenly cried and her eyes snapped open. "IT'S A TRAP!"
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Out in the darkness of the dead world, the Watched snarled. It could hear the sound of the Stalkers, as they chittered softly and scampered about outside. Something had them agitated… the most they had been for a LONG time. It sounded like… something new had come to the valley. Slowly, the watcher moved forward, peering out of the cave mouth and frowned as it spotted the bright beams of light below. Fools… the Stalkers were being drawn to the light and noise they were making and were quickly closing the trap.
"Fools" the Watched muttered softly, through teeth stained blue with vile slime. "They should be left to die…"
"But do not forget what they are to you" the Kind Watcher said to it. "Or WHO they are".
"Forget it" the Dark Watcher snarled with a sneer of disgust. "His mind is broken… he cannot remember them".
"Perhaps" the Other Watcher said from deep inside, making the other two cringe with fear. "But if all else fails, there is precious little meat left in the larder… and the clouds are starting to gather once more". All four of them looked skyward, to where the dark clouds were starting to boil and roll, threatening to bring more cold…
"Better get going" the Watched said and picking up its club, it started down the hill, towards where the Stalkers were…
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Kitara snarled, as her light illuminated the nearest creature. It was the size of a large bear but much more spindly, walking on five long legs, the middle one in the middle of its chest. Its skin was a pale purple, almost white and sickly looking, while its ribs were pressed against the stretched skin of the torso. On its back were two huge wings, while its head looked like someone had tried to cross breed a hammerhead shark and an X-wing fighter, with powerful, snapping jaws, that extended from inside a long, sharp beak and a long, barbed tongue. It had no eyes but was making a loud clicking sound as it approached, possibly meaning that it was seeing with sound… but this wasn't very important, as it crept closer, flashing two long, scythe-like wrist blades.
"What are they?" Beregond whispered, watching the creatures as they crawled forward, clicking as they came.
"How should I know?!" Kitara hissed back. "Am I suddenly an expert on alien monsters?"
"Now's not the time guys!" Temeraire hissed, drawing her khukuri from her belt. "I think we need to focus on getting out of this alive!" The other two nodded and then turned their attention back to the creatures around them. The closest was about twenty feet away now, drooling as it stalked in closer.
"Well do we have a plan?" Beregond asked nervously, eyeing the one nearest himself.
"Umm… plan?" Temeraire said.
"Oh… ok, good to know". He snarled, as the creatures snarled back… but then came another sound… a deep, grating hiss, that sent a flurry of excitement through the packed ranks of the creatures.
"What the fuck?" Kitara hissed, as the predators jostled and hissed around one another. Suddenly, one of them charged, heading straight for Temeraire, who ducked and slipped beneath its snapping jaws. She thrust upward with her khukuri and rammed the blade through the creature's throat, almost decapitating it in a single blow, soaking her hands in a foul, blue ichor. The other creatures chittered and screeched, but slowly started to back off, disappearing between the rocks… as a shadow slowly made its way down the valley towards them, loping as it came. It was making the hissing noise that had so unnerved the monsters and was approaching at speed, as Kitara levelled her rifle at it. "HALT!" The creature kept coming, seemingly oblivious to the weapon. "I SAID HALT!"
"Kitara, what are you doing?!" Temeraire cried but her friend then squeezed the trigger, missing the creature by a fraction. It swerved aside and snarled at them… and they realised that whatever it was, it was wearing a skin, fashioned from the hides of the chattering predators, that were still watching them from the rocks. It was then that the creature spoke.
"What are they? Not food like Stalkers but fat Blue Marks, come from another time and place". These words made them pause, as the creature shuffled forward, its claw-like hands outstretched before it. "Not food at all… too many boneses! Not enough flesh!" Then the creature snarled to itself and seemed to shake and from under its skin hood, they saw a flash of red, as its eyes lit up. "Shut up you!" it snarled to itself. "Dammit; the way you're talking, you'd think that you'd been alone for all this time!" It was then that Temeraire recognised the voice.
"Dad?" she whispered and for a second, the red eyes focused on her from under the hood…but then the glow disappeared, leaving the shape within in blackness.
"Meat…" he hissed softly and the trio shared a nervous look. Had he become cannibalistic?! "Meat!" he hissed again, this time with more fervour and they hurriedly backed away, as he scuttled forward but instead of attacking them, instead, he started tearing at the carcass of the dead predator, using hands and teeth. "Nasty…! Stalker…!" he said, tearing chunks of oozing, blue meat from the corpse and devouring them as fast as he could get his teeth into them.
"That's revolting!" Beregond said with disdain, earning him a red-eyed look from Jago, who then stood, rolling his shoulders a little, as his eyes then turned copper.
"Easy for you to say, when your only course of food isn't raw monster-beast" he said. "But it's good to see you all".
"Pluto?" Temeraire asked hopefully and he nodded.
"The one and only…" he said but before Temeraire could greet him with a hug, he stopped her. "Bad idea" he said. "I'm not in any kind of condition to hug…" Then his eye changed once more, as Jupiter tool over once more.
"Storm coming… Better get moving".
8888
"So how long have been here?" Temeraire asked, grimacing as she watched her father tear at the dripping, blue meat with nothing but his teeth. He had changed in the time that he had been on this world and not at all for the better. For now though, they had taken cover in Jago's home; a deep cave, hidden in a ravine, on the side of one of the mountains.
"About a year by our reckoning" one of his Opal-Essence said, probably Brother Pluto. "It's hard to say, with so little light and no day or night cycles… and the fact that without any kind of clock or day pattern, the human body will start operating on a twenty-five hour pattern". (*3)
"A year?" Pluto nodded and used a wrist to wipe a smear of slime from his chin.
"Thereabouts…" he said and to be honest, he looked as if he had been there that long. His skin had become pale and his clothes had been torn apart, thanks to the creatures he called the Stalkers and the rough terrain, meaning that now he had wrapped himself in the hide of one of them, using it to protect himself from the cold of this near dead world. His face and chest were stained with blue gunk, that had tangled and matted his beard into a foul mess, while he had become almost skeletally thin, his entire torso covered in deep, dark scars. But worst was his single eye… whenever the Opal-essences retreated inside his head, his true mind came forward and it frightened her. Her father would start gibbering and twitching, muttering to himself and then laughing out loud for no apparent reason. It was disconcerting to say the least.
"So how have you survived so long?" Kitara asked, watching him carefully. "You can't seriously say that you've been living on those things?" She gestured to the half-eaten corpse, which was now hanging from the roof to drain. "I mean… that's just… GROSS!"
"You'll do anything when you're starving" Pluto said nonchalantly but then, his face twitched, as Jago pushed to the fore.
"Stupid girl" he hissed at her. "Girl does not know food when sees it! Girl is lazy! Will not work for food! Girl knows not how to care for herself! Girl is-"
"Oh will you shut the fuck up!" he snapped to himself, as Jupiter took control for a second. "This isn't the time for that!"
"Silence Watcher! I-"
"Shut it or you'll have to kick yourself in the fork!" Since Jago's ID didn't then respond, it was now safe to assume that Jupiter was now in control, so he sat back, grimacing as he gnawed at a greasy bone with his blued teeth.
"So… how far gone is he?" Temeraire asked, meaning her father. Jupiter gave her a disapproving look at this.
"How far do you think?" he said darkly. "A year alone with bugger all to eat, bugger all sleep, freezing temperatures, dangerous carnivores and nothing to see except darkness all around? Imagine how YOUR mind would cope…" He paused and flicked away the bone, wiping his fingers on his skin parka, then spat.
"Oh…"
"Yeah…" he said and shrugged. "It could be worse… if it hadn't been for Skuld, we would all have lost the plot by now. Not so much of a problem for me, considering that I'm the evil one but the others? Not so good…"
"Skuld kept you sane?" Beregond asked. "But how? She's on the Pucelle, isn't she".
"Yes" Jupiter said but then reached under his parka. "But she gave me this". He then pulled out thin silver tube and Temeraire gave a snort.
"That's that sonic screwdriver she gave you, isn't it?"
"That's right" he said, with a nod.
"But how could something like THAT keep you sane?" Kitara asked, leaning forward to inspect it. "Temmy said that it took you weeks to get enough charge to send a message to us, didn't he?" She glanced at Temeraire, who nodded and then turned back to Jupiter, who shrugged.
"I never said that I was talking to you guys… this world may be ALMOST dead but it's not quite there yet". He paused for a second, closing his eye and rolling his head back, as the others watched him nervously.
"Is he alright?" Beregond asked.
"I… don't know" Temeraire said, as Jupiter slowly straightened himself.
"Ok, it should be possible to see it" he said and stood. "Come on, let's go".
"Where are we going?" "Just outside" he said but before turning to leave, he paused to collect something from the wall… it looked like a plank but with knife blades, made of bone hammered into it, all along its length, sticking out at ninety degrees from the base. The whole thing was also covered in the same skin as his cloak and looked… decidedly menacing, almost like someone or SOMETHING had taken the decision to GROW a spiked club or maybe a macuahuitl (*4).
"What's that for?" Temeraire asked, gesturing at it, as it was slung across Jupiter's back.
"It's a rostrum" he said, "from some kind of monster that attacked me… it was bigger and meaner than the Stalkers but died just the same, so now I use its snout as a weapon". He shrugged and then nodded towards the cave entrance. "Now let's get a move on… before your dad tries to do anything unpleasant with it, while I'm not looking".
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"I DO HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING YOURSELF" Penitence said with a grin, as she glanced at Lind, who simply glared back. She had been brought to what was once the High Council chamber by a quartet of Praetorian guards, but which had now been converted into some sort of interrogation room, the great table chopped up for firewood and now replaced with a single strap chair… in which Peorth was now sat. The goddess looked pretty broken up, her usually perfect skin marred by dull green and purple bruises, one eye was swollen shut and there was a trickle of blood coming from her nose, but Peorth still managed to give Lind a small nod of greeting, as she was brought in.
"Are you ok?" she asked and Peorth nodded again but was struck across the face by a backhanded slap from Penitence. "HEY LEAVE HER ALONE!" she said and tried to take a step forward but one of the Praetorians smartly blocked her path and thumped Lind hard in the stomach, making her collapse to the ground, gasping.
"You will speak when spoken to!" she snapped and was about to aim a savage kick at Lind's face, when Penitence spoke up.
"LEAVE HER" she said. "THE BITCH HAS BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH". The Praetorian saluted and stepped back into line, as Lind struggled back up.
"So what IS going on here?" she demanded, panting a little as she shot the Praetorian an evil look.
"WELL THAT'S SIMPLE REALLY" Penitence said, as she slowly circled Peorth's seat, making the goddess cringe in fear. "I NEED TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO STILL RESIST ME, WARNING THEM OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THEY TRY TO CONTINUE THEIR FIGHT AGAINST MY WILL… ON TOP OF THAT, YOU FAILED IN YOUR DUTIES AND MUST BE PUNISHED".
"But then why torture Peorth!?" she snarled. "She has done nothing to you!"
"TRUE, SHE HAS DONE NOTHING TO MY PERSONALLY… BUT SHE HAS BEEN CREDITED WITH A NUMBER OF PRAETORIAN LIVES. ON TOP OF THAT, I BELIEVE THAT PUNISHMENT BY EXAMPLE MAY BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN ACTUAL PUNISHMENT". With that, she turned away from Lind and summoned a seeing-ball, which crackled for a few seconds, until it finally became a blank screen. "NOW THEN, LET US BEGIN… MY FELLOW GODS AND GODDESSES! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL!" she said, smiling into the screen, as an image of the room was projected across every screen in Heaven. "I'M SORRY TO DISTURB YOU ALL AT THIS HOUR, BUT UNFORTUNATLEY, I HAVE SOME BUSINESS THAT I NEEDED TO TAKE CARE OF". She turned the screen, so that it was facing Lind, who scowled at her. "YOU ALL KNOW LIND; FORMER ALMIGHTY ONE, VALKYRIE, ECETERA… AND NOW, SHE WORKS FOR ME, AS MY SINGLE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION. HOWEVER, DURING HER MOST RECENT MISSION, SHE FAILED AT HER TASK AND IF THERE'S ONE THING I CANNOT ABIDE… IT'S FAILURE". She turned the screen so that it was facing away from Lind and pointed it at Peorth, who flinched. "NO DOUBT, YOU ALL ALSO KNOW PEORTH… SHE'S NOT EXACLTY HARD TOO MISS! I MEAN, LOOK AT THE WAY THE LITTLE SLUT DRESSES!" she chuckled, enjoying herself but then went on. "HOWEVER, I'M AFRAID THAT NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE FUN TO BEGIN! SO WHY NOT SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE SHOW?" With that, she took a step forward and gently grasped Peorth's chin in her hand.
"GET OFF HER!" Lind cried, trying to break free but received a slap from one of the guards for her efforts.
"NOW, NOW, DON'T BE SHY" Penitence said to Peorth, ignoring the struggling Valkyrie. "THIS WON'T HURT A BIT…" With that, her skin suddenly went ashen and grey and the corners of her mouth stretched back, revealing row upon row of blade-like fangs. Peorth screamed, as the Empty leaned in close to her… and her scream went silent, as Penitence's fangs locked around her face. There was a moment's silence, as she took hold, then jerked back suddenly, tearing Gorgeous Rose from her Mistress's body. For a moment, the angel made a silent scream, as she watched Peorth go limp… and then Penitence swallowed her, devouring the angel whole, with a satisfying snap of her teeth. She paused to lick her fingers and then turned back to the screen, her fangs fading away as she did so. "I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THE SHOW" she said. "AND NOW A WARNING TO YOU ALL; ANYONE FOUND EITHER TO EITHER BE AIDING THE REBELS ON EARTH OR PLOTTING AGAINST ME WILL SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS PEORTH JUST DID, WITH YOUR MINDLESS BODY BECOMING ONE OF MY PERSONALLY SLAVES… ON TOP OF THAT, ANY TIME THAT LIND FAILS ON ONE OF HER MISSIONS, I WILL RANDOMLY SELECT ONE OF YOU TO BE MY NEXT MEAL". She turned and flashed Lind a brilliant smile. "SO NO PRESSURE, OK? TO THE REST OF YOU… TTFN!" With that, the screen went blank and disappeared, while the Praetorians finally stepped aside so that Lind could go to her friend's side.
"PEORHT?! PEORTH!?" she said desperately but got no response. She snarled and raised one of the goddess's eyelids, to inspect her eyeball but then Penitence spoke up.
"IT'S NO GOOD" she said. "LITTLE ROSEY IS PART OF ME NOW… AND RATHER TASTY SHE WAS TOO!"
"What do you mean part of you?" Lind demanded, turning to face her.
"I'VE ABSORBED HER INTO MYSELF AND COMBINED HER POWERS WITH MY OWN AND THE SERAPH'S, LEAVING DEAR PEORTH AS LITTLE MORE THAN A SUBMISSIVE, MINDLESS ZOMBIE".
"So this is my punishment?" Lind spat. "To watch my friends tortured and maimed by having their angels torn out?"
"YES! WELL THAT AND THE FACT THAT IT'S FUN!"
*1 Just a personal observation but I can't be the only one who thinks that it's a little odd that the kit of choice for the Valkyries is (what appears to be) skin-tight white leather, rather than say… plate armour? Or at least scalemail or something…
*2 About minus one-hundred and forty-eight Fahrenheit
*3 This is true; apparently, if you are unable to tell whether it is day or night for a long period of time (several weeks say), your body will naturally adapt itself to a twenty-five hour internal clock
*4 A sword with a blade edged with obsidian