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Falchion dashed forward expertly between las fire. Twocaste had to remind herself that he had no enhancements. Twocaste sent La'Vesa forward trying to defend Falchion. La'Vesa's shield sparked as it absorbed las fire. She grimaced as the implant that connected her to La'Vesa shared some of the pain with her. The implant was a risk but was worth it. The neural implant allowed her better control over the drone. It also allowed the drone to operate both a shield and an advanced marker light at the same time. Unfortunately La'Vesa's marker light had very short range.
As he closed with the traitor guard Falchion leapt into the air. He twisted through the air passing over las fire. He came down with a spinning slash that cut down a guardsman. He back spun around the collapsing corpse and hacked down a second guardsman. A third guardsman slashed at him with a makeshift machete. Falchion ducked and spin kicked with a single motion. The heal of his foot caught the guardsman in the neck. There was a sickening crunch and the guardsman fell, his head lolling at unnatural angles.
La'Vesa closed the distance with the group, his targeting system automatically marking the guardsmen. Guided by the targeting system in her scope she took down a guardsman aiming at Falchion. A second guardsman turned towards her. Before he could aim Twocaste sent a plasma pulse through his chest.
A traitor with a flamer levelled his weapon at Falchion. A gout of flame emerged from the weapon. Falchion leapt spiralling through the air. With the twist of his body he slashed, slicing off the flamer traitor's head.
The commissar pulled on a chain he was holding, a frog like alien lead by the chain, emerged from the darkness. The commissar pointed an alien device at Falchion, the frog alien's back arced with pain as lightning coursed through its body. From the Alien emerged a blade of psychic force. The blade flew towards Falchion who dodged out of the way just in time. Falchion, distracted by the commissar and his psychic slave didn't see the sergeant of the traitors levelling a las pistol at him. Twocaste took the sergeant's head off with a pulse round.
Falchion ran at the commissar but as he approached the commissar fiddled with his device and the Frog alien created a wall of flames around the commissar. Twocaste pointed her pulse rifle at the commissar.
Falchion had given specific instructions that only he was allowed to kill his target. Her eyes flashed to Falchion, the man seemed poised to hurl himself through the flames. The thought of him burning himself to death caused a mysterious tightness in her chest. She didn't understand it, Imperials think nothing of killing other races why should she be so worried about this one zealot. All she could think about was those sad eyes of his. A thought occurred to her why she was so worried about him dying, she immediately pushed the ridiculous thought away.
A voice thundered in her mind "I don't want to fight you, destroy the device he holds." Twocaste wasn't sure she could trust the strange voice in her mind, but she had no other ideas. She sent La'Vesa forward through the flames. She winced as the neural link shared with her the struggle of La'Vesa's shield blocking the psychic fire. La'Vesa marked the device as it closed in on the commissar. Her targeting system guided her aim at the device. The commissar's refractor field pulsed trying to stop her weapon's plasma charge.
When the distorted vision of the refractor field cleared, the device and many of the commissar's fingers were gone. The frog alien collapsed and the psychic fire dissipated. The commissar looked up from nursing his destroyed hand to see Falchion nearly on top of him. The commissar pulled out a chainsword and it roared to life as he tried to take off the assassin's head. Falchion dodged the slash and sent a flurry of strikes at the commissar. The commissar's field deflected every strike. The commissar was a skilled product of commissariat training, but Falchion's death cult training and raw fury counted for more. The commissar slashed and slashed again, but the assassin melted like water away from every slash. For every attack the commissar launched Falchion launched three more. The commissar sent a downward chop trying to slice Falchion in two. Falchion twisted aside and stabbed with a single motion. The commissar's refractor field had enough and the stab passed through.
Twocaste sighed with relief believing it was over, but the commissar didn't fall. Falchion had stopped his sword before piercing the commissar's body. Falchion whipped his sword down hurling a device off of its tip. Looking at the now broken device Twocaste realized it was the control box for the commissar's refractor field. Twocaste had a sinking feeling as she realized that Falchion intended to toy with the commissar.
The commissar chuckled and tried to slash at Falchion again. Falchion sent a crescent kick at the commissar's had knocking the chainsword out of the commissar's hand. Falchion kicked the commissar in the stomach with his shin. The commissar collapsed to his hands and knees.
The commissar laughed again "You know my froggy friend has been messing with my dreams for a while." Falchion picked up the commissar and sent a series of kicks and punches into the commissar. As Falchion finished this round of abuse he sent the commissar sprawling on his face.
The commissar pushed himself into a push-up position. Laughing again he spoke "He showed me your family; can't say I remember you, but I do remember your sister." Falchion turned to the commissar, clenching his fists slowly. The commissar chuckled again "She was funny, the first time we cut her, not a peep." The commissar leered at Falchion "But when the first of the boys." the commissar's words were cut off by Falchion hauling him to his feet. Falchion kneed him in the stomach, and sent another hail of kicks and punches into the commissar. Falchion threw the commissar down, this time on his back. Falchion straddled the commissar grabbing the commissar by the collar. Falchion screamed in the commissar's face "She did nothing to you, why!" The commissar smiled up at Falchion "Why not."
Falchion began punching the commissar grunting from exertion with every punch. The commissar only answered each punch with more laughter. Falchion began screaming as he sent more punches into the commissar's face. Eventually the commissar's laughter became to much and Falchion stood. Falchion turned away from the commissar. Falchion tore his mask off and screamed into the ceiling.
Twocaste ran to him she grabbed him by the shoulders. "You can't make him feel bad for what he did!" She looked into Falchion's face, he was desperately trying; and failing to hold back tears. "That's not what I want!" Falchion tried to growl, but it came out sounding almost like a sob. Twocaste quietly "All I can say is, I'm sorry that nothing can undo what he did." Twocaste took a pulse pistol from her belt. She gently grasped his hand and pried his hand open. She then placed the pistol in his hand, and pulled his fingers around it. "The only thing I think you should do now, is end this."
Falchion aimed the pistol and fired. The commissar only laughed louder as the shot went wide. Falchion fired again and missed again. Twocaste looked into Falchion's face, she could see he was still blinded by the tears, he was desperately trying to hold back.
La'Vesa still had the commissar marked. She leaned over to help adjust Falchion's aim using her targetting system. She rested her head on her chest as she looked through the pistol's sights. The feeling of pressing her head against him gave her a feeling that was mysteriously thrilling.
When Twocaste felt the aim was right she whispered "When ever you're ready." The sound of the pistol's discharge was followed by an oppressive silence with the end of the commissar's laughter. Falchion silently handed the pistol back to Twocaste. Twocaste for some reason felt the need to stay close to Falchion. She could feel that Falchion was trembling. Eventually a dam burst and Falchion sunk to his knees and began sobbing. Twocaste cradled his head against her chest. The visions allowed her to understand what was happening. The man had spent his whole life desperately trying to turn his sorrow into hate. Now all the targets of his vengeance were dead. With nothing to hate, he was for the first time mourning his family.
Twocaste wondered something; she wondered what would have happened if she hadn't stopped him from beating the commissar to death. She realized if she hadn't interceded when she had, he wouldn't have confronted his sorrow. He would have gone down the path his cult intended, and became a creature of pure hate.
There was a sensation, that she enjoyed despite feeling guilty for enjoying it. The Imperium touted the value of humanity as the reason for the horrors they inflicted on the galaxy. Yet if they had their way Falchion's humanity would have been the very thing he would have been stripped of. It had instead been her, a vile xeno who had helped him reclaim it.
After a while Falchion stopped, he looked up into Twocaste's eyes. There was a pregnant pause as they stared into each other's eyes. Without either of them thinking about it, they mutually moved their faces together until their mouths met.
Falchion suddenly broke their embrace "Xeno harlot" he spat at her. For a moment he wore an expression of hate, and then looking into her face changed it. A part of her wanted to believe that it was guilt, Twocaste hated the part of her that believed this. She had been so naive and stupid to believe she could undo the poison the Imperium had filled his mind with.
Falchion scooped up his mask up and walked towards one of the room's exits. Falchion stopped to look over his shoulder. Twocaste's mind warred with itself; on one hand she believed it was foolish to believe he could change, on the other she desperately wanted to believe he wanted to apologize. He turned back around and left.
Twocaste walked over to the frog alien. She knelt next to him to help him up "Can you move? Can you Fight?" she asked him. The frog groaned as she helped him up "I can move, but between the illusions I sent you, and the device I am drained." Twocaste nodded "How did you get captured?" The frog looked down as if the memory made him sad "My visions showed me I needed to find you, but I could see no way to you, except as being held in thrall by that mad man." The frog turned his bulbous eyes towards her "When they came to my world; I gave myself over to him, and gave him the device to use on me." "Where did you get that device?" Twocaste asked. "It was a relic my people have held since the time when we were far more than we are now." "What did you think you could accomplish showing him all those things?" Twocaste asked. The frog answered while still looking ahead. "I showed him nothing, I facilitated what the shades of his family wanted to show him." Twocaste arched an eyebrow suspiciously "You expect to me to believe you actually found the souls of his family." The alien disregarded Twocaste's disbelief "It matters not what you think, when the time comes he will listen to them." The two of them made their way in a different direction than Falchion went.
Falchion rushed through the maze like darkness. He was franticly searching for a way out. Despite knowing he was a long way away from finding a way back to the ship, he kept expecting to find a bridge leading back to the ship. He couldn't stop himself from feeling a strange guilt. The Xenos harlot had tricked him. Yet every time he tried to embrace the hate he knew he should feel, he couldn't keep the image of the hurt in her eyes from his mind. He turned corners at random as he rushed through the spire. Suddenly he stopped the chamber in front of him had a beam of sunlight coming from somewhere he couldn't see. Inside the beam of light stood a young girl with blonde brown hair.