A Dark City

PSA: Assault of a particular type ahead but not explicitly stated in text. Just a friendly warning without spoiling. If you still don't want to risk it, skip to the end once Emerald throws up. you'll know why I put this warning before then.

"No, those are Helions,"

Celestine nodded as they made their way into the apartment, "the winged ones are Scourges?"

Lelith, surprisingly, held the doors open for her, "yes. They are modified to fly as you do but without psychic abilities,"

"None of the Drukhari are psykers?" Celestine hummed, "Craftworlders have Farseers,"

"None of us can be 'psykers'," Lelith shook her head, "it risks drawing its attention. Craftworlders have the Spirit Stones for protection, we do not,"

Celestine closed the door behind her. The apartment was oddly quiet, even Lelith seemed to have gone silent,

"What is this?"

Silent for the most part…

Celestine went down the short hall into the living room and halted in confusion. On the coffee table, sat the feathers from Kotek's armour, with Kotek himself sitting on the couch in an almost comical manner, with him being larger than the couch was designed for, Greyfax and Alexea all sat around it with Alexea staring down at the feathers intently while Greyfax was lost in thought.

Kotek looked up at the two of them, his eyes hard and cold, "Sit. There is a lot to discuss."

Lelith shrugged, stepped over the back of the couch, and walked along it to the furthest point from Alexea to sit. Celestine went down the two steps instead and raised a brow as she sat "what has happened?"

"Emerald spoke to Magnus," Kotek answered.

Celestine paused as a flash of concern ate at her, "She… spoke to Magnus? How?"

"These feathers, they are his. I thought them only useful for tracking him," Kotek leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees, "it was a shard of Magnus' soul, but the fact it showed her more than that is concerning."

Celestine glanced at Lelith and they shared a confused, yet somewhat knowing, look. She faced him again, "showed her what, exactly?"

"The Emperor's discovery of Magnus, Horus, Valdor, Fulgrim, myself. All were memories, derived from someone else or Magnus' own, all but myself were linked to the Thousand Sons in some way." Kotek sighed, "she has seen Prospero burn, the Drop Site Massacre, and the final minutes of Horus' betrayal,"

Her mind swirled and churned as it processed the information, "she must not be tainted if He was gracious enough to be within the visions with His holy presence,"

There was a groan from Greyfax but she said nothing, while Lelith frowned, "all from touching the feathers?"

"Theory; Magnus is known to have had his soul shattered, these may have contained a fragment more powerful than the rest- alternatively, Magnus had a direct hand in it or planned for something alike to happen," Kotek speculated, "Emerald may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time to activate it,"

"What about now?" Greyfax asked as she leant forward,

Kotek sighed, "unsure. Potentially still active, but it did not interact with me when I removed them, however, that may be due to my lack of psychic abilities and Alexea's presence,"

Celestine frowned and narrowed her eyes at the feathers, "they seem dulled in colour,"

Kotek nodded and picked one up, "that they do, yes. The energy within them may have been displaced by Emerald,"

"I did what?" The group all looked up to Emerald looking dishevelled and sleep-deprived.

Celestine pat the cushion next to her and Emerald wandered over and dropped herself next to the Saint, "we're discussing what you saw,"

"Oh…" Emerald blinked a couple of times, "uh, there was a bit more at the end…"

Kotek straightened, as did Greyfax, "what?"

"Uh, it was like everything melted and changed," Emerald took a breath, "I dunno how to describe it, but it turned into stairs- when I looked up at them I saw a big, big chair with cables and wires coming from them,"

She narrowed her brows in thought and confusion, "there was, but also wasn't anyone on it like there should be, but wasn't but also was?" Emerald shook her head in confusion, "then there was, like, pain. Really bad pain… gold… there was a lot of gold, wings sprouted like, like a butterfly-"

Kotek hummed, "it sounds like the Golden Throne,"

Emerald shrugged nervously and pressed into Celestine's side a bit more, "I- I think it was Sanguinius, he's the one with wings,"

"An echo left over from his death?" Greyfax tossed out, "but it wouldn't make sense why you were seeing it,"

"But before I woke up, I was noticed, they looked at me," Emerald waved her hand about, "bright gold eyes and Sanguinius' looked down at me and I was forced to my knees,"

A deep breath was let out by Kotek, "Celestine, when we are done here, go to Terra and find Valoris, he may know what to make of it,"

Celestine nodded firmly, "It will be done,"

Kotek looked to Greyfax, "you were starting to say something before they arrived?"

"Yes." Greyfax looked to Lelith, "how do you feel about a hunt? The prize is you can do whatever you want with the prey."

Lelith's eyes brightened at the concept and she sat up, "the catch? There is always one with your kind,"

"Wring him for all the information you can get," Greyfax let a smirk on her lips, "after all, Marcus thinks you're easy,"

"I'm sorry? Marcus?" Celestine asked as she flicked her gaze between the group, "I need some context here,"

Greyfax nodded and sat back with her arms crossed, "Marcus is in Atlas and Mantle. He challenged me to a game of cat and mouse, he thinks he can easily handle Lelith. I'm merely arranging to change his mind,"

Celestine took a deep breath through her nose. That man was as good as dead, especially with Greyfax and now Hesperax wanting his head, "well… how long will it take?"

The Inquisitor shrugged, "unsure. Weeks, maybe months, but I aim for before the Festival since it's only a month and a bit away,,"

"Good plan," Kotek nodded, "he is a security risk to be rid of. My aid is offered any time needed,"

"As is mine," Celestine offered, "between all of us, Marcus is going to die,"

Lelith grinned and was just a bit more alive than usual, "no, no, I get to have my fun,"

"Do it away from us, please," Celestine asked and sighed. She tossed the leather book onto the coffee table, "we found this down in the mines, it hides a series of ruins,"

Lelith sprawled herself out on the couch and closed her eyes, "there are also souls captured in spires of rock and gems, similar to Spirit Stones,"

"The things the Craftworlders use?" Emerald asked,

"Similar, but not the same," Lelith agreed, a small frown on her face,

Celestine nodded, "Emerald was not the only one to experience visions of the past. I witnessed their deaths- a wall of purple energy washed over them, ending their lives,"

"Is that all?" Greyfax and Kotek asked simultaneously,

Celestine nodded, "that is all I saw, yes,"

"There's no traces of That so far," Greyfax said with a glance at Emerald, "so whatever killed them is on this planet,"

"A Semblance, maybe?" Celestine asked then shook her head, "no, Lelith and I figured it would be something more powerful,"

Kotek stood slowly, the fibro-layer he wore flexed with a slight rubbery sound, "an equivalent to a Virus Bomb, perhaps."

Celestine shook her head, "no, I've been in a Virus bombing and this wasn't the same,"

Greyfax snorted, "not even one of those can keep you down,"

"It takes more than petty weapons to end me," Celestine smirked at her, "He protects, after all,"

The small amount of amusement on Greyfax's face faded and she let out a sigh as she sat back, "now what? I'm running around looking for dozens of things at the same time- I can't do it forever,"

Alexea nodded and Kotek translated her Thoughtmark aloud, "the Specialists are getting angsty with the training Kotek and I are putting them through,"

"We'll keep pushing them until they meet our standards," Kotek said as she hoisted bits of armour up and started attaching them, "as for what you are doing, Inquisitor, suspend all other searches until Marcus is in the ground,"

Katarinya nodded, "I was going to do that- I've barely touched anything on the Maidens yet,"

"You still haven't gotten to it yet?" Celestine asked, somewhat amazed, "Ozpin needs them for something and we're going to need to know what they exactly are,"

There was a soft poke between the joints in her armour on her elbow. The Saint glanced down and found Emerald biting her lip, "Maidens?"

"Yes," Celestine said slowly, then furrowed her brows, "you know something?"

Emerald nodded, though not without a flash of annoyance on her face, "yeah, it's a fairytale, like the Girl in the Tower,"

Celestine shared a look with the others and looked down at Emerald again, "what's it about?"

"Uh, four girls are given the powers of the seasons by an old wizard-man," Emerald shrugged, "I can't remember much else…I read it back in the town,"

Celestine gave her a small smile, "it is better than nothing," she turned back to Greyfax, "I'll read up on it for you,"

Greyfax nodded in thanks and faced Kotek, "what did the Council have to say?"

"They are not pleased by myself, the situation, or the call for military action." he spoke calmly as the others gave him a confused look, "there are only three on the Council- Ironwood, Sleete and Serpia. Sleete is the largest barrier as a unanimous agreement is required to pass any and all proposals,"

"We need someone on the Council," Greyfax said with a sigh, "Ironwood may be inclined to work with us, but he's still untrustworthy,"

Kotek nodded and let out a faint grunt as he began placing the last of his armour on, "that is why I plan on taking the seat available. I am already in the public eye, as are you, Celestine. If I do not get it, you should run for it as well,"

Celestine took a sharp breath through her nose, "I do not have the patience for politics,"

"Yet you have a following here already," he said as loud clicks secured the chest piece in place. A loud purr rumbled from the back of his armour and heat waves were seen pouring out of the vents for a moment, then it levelled out. The heatwaves became far and few between as the sounds of mechanical purring eased into a faint and barely noticeable hum in the background.

"I do?" the Saint asked in surprised curiosity, "I've tried to convert many, but none have shown interest in following Him as I do,"

Kotek nodded, "exactly; as you do. People do not change their Ideals and beliefs so easily, but they will if what they perceive as an Angel of their God saves them,"

"What are you getting at?" Greyfax asked as she leant forward,

"The survivors in Vale, many believe Celestine to be the incarnation of the Brother of Light, or at least one of his servants," Kotek told them all and looked back to Celestine herself, "with this following, you can gain support and manipulate them into your beliefs,"

Celestine's eyes lit up, not with unseen powers, but with a simple joy as a realisation fell over her, "the Brother of Light, he may be this world's interpretation of the Emperor!"

"Do not get hasty in your ideas," Kotek said, tempering her almost giddy mood, "this world, as far as we have seen, has had no prior contact with the Imperium, thus no knowledge of the Imperial Cult." Celestine's face fell slightly, "however, you can manipulate their belief in the Brothers to match a bastardised version of Ecclesiastical stories."

Slowly, Celestine nodded, "Darkness can be Horus…"

Kotek shrugged, "whatever works. Having them loyal to you, and by extension, us, means we may have a chance to equip them with Imperial weaponry,"

"A Kasrkin Squad," Kotek spoke Alexea's Thoughtmark and debated it for a moment, "a lot of work, but doable,"

"I can turn the most Faithful of the women into Sororitas," Celestine said, "the armour will be easy to get ahold of,"

Greyfax stood with a stretch of her arms, "get on the Council, gain influence and loyalists, fight the cult and wait for someone to arrive with a fleet… not the best of plans, but it works,"

Kotek placed his helmet on and hoisted the Guardian Spear up in one hand. He stood at full attention with the tip of the Spear scratching the roof as he spoke to everyone in the room, "There are smaller parts to the plan; Marcus, Merlot, Tyrian and Ozpin. The Kingdoms and their Academies, Ironwood and the Military. Many things need to be worked on and planned out. They will change, plans will be pushed aside and forgotten about as the situation evolves," he looked at the lounging Drukhari and Emerald specifically for his next words,

"Perform your roles and perform them well. Speed is essential, but do not rush anything; I am sure we would all rather it is done correctly and slow than fast and incorrectly,"

Lelith opened an eye to glance at him, "yes, yes. Another 'behave or die' warning. At least you were trying to be subtle,"

"That is because I believe you have gotten the message," Kotek said to her and looked back to Geyfax, "can you organise for the captured prisoners to escape?"

His question drew the attention of everyone in the room and the Inquisitor did a double-take, "what? Why?"

"Fabricate an issue that we can solve in rapid succession-"

"Securing more support from the public," she finished for him with a sigh and a nod, "I can, yes. All we need to do is set them free during a transfer to the prison in the mountains,"

"Wait, there's a prison in the mountains?" Celestine asked, "should I not be checking on them regularly as well?"

"Yes, and yes," Greyfax said, "It's more of an open secret amongst everyone; no one talks about it due to the emotions it causes,"

Celestine sighed, "what else don't we know?"

"Everything." Greyfax said firmly, "assume you know nothing and learn as much as you can, then what you learn you keep in doubt at all times,"

"Noted…" Celestine said with a glance at Emerald and then Kotek, "what do we do now?"

"You are to got to the mines again, I will be there within the day," Kotek said, "there is much to learn down there and I intend to gain as much knowledge as I can. Take Emerald with you. I will be bringing Ironwood, it is time to test what little loyalty and trust he has with us,"

As he spoke, Alexea rose from her place by the window and marched over to his side. Even Lelith stirred from her lounging session.

"I will be placating the officers under Ironwoods command," Kotek told them as he turned to squeeze himself out the door, "use the Vox if I am required,"

"I'll start looking for Marcus," Greyfax marched past Celestine and tapped her Pauldron in a friendly manner as she left, "I'll inform you of any developments,"

Celestine nodded and stood with a stretch of her back and arms over her head, "get dressed and armed, Emerald,"

The girl sighed and nodded before she clambered over the back of the couch to her room. Celestine glanced at Lelith, "coming?"

"With the Custodian," Lelith answered softly and placed her arm over her eyes, "I have not slept in a while,"

"Neither have I," Celestine scoffed with an eye-roll and glanced at Emerald's room, "and I doubt I will for a while,"

"Shame," Lelith muttered with absolutely no sympathy in her voice as she rolled over to the back of the couch, ignoring the world.

The ruins were strangely quiet, eerily so. Much like it was the day before, and the one before that.

There wasn't any yelling, people talking or children running around. Yet every time she closed her eyes there was the burning of the pyramids and screams of Bolters. Each blink brought it back.

The snake glared with hatred and sadism, the Emperor marching with the legion of Custodes.

She didn't want to see it, if anything she just wanted to sleep.

"This was under here?" Ironwood asked aloud with wonder in his voice, "Woah,"

Celestine nodded, "yes, ancient by the looks of it,"

Emerald tuned out of the conversation between the two and looked over to Kotek. The man strode through the spires as his head swerved around, searching for threats and anything of notice while Alexea's presence made the spires collapse the moment she was within a metre of them.

With a glance back at Celestine, Emerald wandered over to Kotek, "uh, Kotek?"

The giant slowed his pace, "yes?"

"Why were Magnus and the other Astartes fighting?" her foot caught on a piece of rock and she barely caught her stumble,

"Leman Russ was sent by the Emperor in response to the breach Magnus caused in the Webway," Kotek said, "a contingent of Tallon's were sent as well while the rest of us went into the Webay to fight,"

"So, he broke a thing and got his city destroyed?" Emerald asked with no small amount of confusion,

Kotek shook his head, "technically, yes. Magnus destroyed the last hope humanity had at being free from the Warp and took us out of combat for the majority of the betrayal," he glanced down at her, his golden armour reflecting what little light there was easily, "the damage he caused lead to the Emperor being entombed upon the Golden Throne, leaving the Imperium to fester and dwindle,"

"Oh…" Emerald glanced at her boots,

"We, the Legio Custodes, are not faultless in the years that passed," Kotek let out a sigh, "we forwent the power we held, the seats for us on the High Lords' table remained empty and left the Imperium alone as well. We had every right to involve ourselves, yet we did not for ten thousand years. Standing and watching until Guilliman ordered us to march.

"Patience is a weapon, but it can easily turn into neglect as it did with me," Emerald looked up at him and found his helmet facing forward, "for everything we stood for, all we did and fought for, we let it die in our misery and now we are scrambling to pick the pieces up long after it is too late,"

She blinked slowly and sighed as she processed his words in silence. What was the word, 'regret'? That feeling of wanting to do something different in the past. She knew she felt it before, even blamed herself for things that she barely remembered happening- the wrong turn into an alleyway, the wrong place to kick and scratch… if she fought harder, knew where to hit, maybe, just maybe she'd have gotten away.

But without it, she'd never have met Celestine…

That type of feeling is what she imagined Kotek felt, that gnawing coldness of wanting to change the past.

"Did… did the Emperor want Magnus dead?" she asked, trying to distract herself from her own memories,

"No, Horus lured Leman into believing it was what He wanted, what lead to Prospero burning and Magnus turning on us. Magnus needed to face the consequences of his actions, actions he believed to be just with his arrogance and right at the moment, but not that."

Kotek slowed to a halt and looked around. Emerald followed his gaze to Celestine and Ironwood; she could just make out the faintest conversation about faith with Ironwood looking exasperated at the Saint.

"The General is not suited for the Imperial Cult," Kotek said suddenly, "he requires hardened facts more than blind belief," Nausea briefly washed over her and Kotek let out the faintest chuckle, "I think Emerald would have a better reaction than he would, she knows more after all,"

Emerald snapped her head to Kotek and Alexea, "huh?"

"You're going to learn about darker aspects of the galaxy, as will Ironwood when the time comes, however, that may be for a later date," Kotek said and took the Guardian Spear in both hands idly,

Emerald shrugged slightly at them, "I mean, I've read-ish that book on Cain, it has some things I don't understand in it,"

Alexea rose a brow at her while Kotek paid her a brief glance as he spoke, "Ask and I may be able to help,"

"What's a T'au?" she glanced up at him, "Cain mentioned it in his book,"

Kotek hummed, "an upstart race that has made leaps in technology and science. The Mechanicus are both interested and horrified at them for such things,"

"Why horrified?"

"They view innovation and development as wrong, heretical. That all technology is attached to the Machine God and the Omnisiah and altering it is an offence to them," Kotek explained, "there is no invention, no innovation. Only reused blueprints."

"Oh," she blinked slowly and looked around the ruins, "so, what happens if one of them makes new shit?"

"They're killed for heresy- a Heretek," Kotek snorted, "they are not subtle or the best at naming,"

Emerald laughed slightly, "Heretek… sounds dumb,"

"It is the way of life, their way of life," Celestine said, suddenly at their side, "I never understood their belief or cult, very few ever have. Most believe it heretical but do nothing about it,"

"Why?"

Kotek glanced down at her, "they make everything we use. Reprimanding them would cause more friction and a civil war that the Imperium would not survive, even if we won,"

"Oh," Emerald ran her tongue across the back of her teeth, "uh, they make everything?"

Celestine nodded, "yes,"

"Even toasters?"

At that question, Celestine chuckled loudly, "the Militarum jokingly refer to Tech-Priests as, in their words, not mine, 'Toaster Fuckers'... even some Sororitas do as well,"

"They fuck toasters!?" Emerald exclaimed with a disgusted face, "ew,"

"Not literally," Celestine corrected with a shake of her head, "the clashes of faith between those of the Imperial faith and Omnisiah breeds… interesting disputes and names,"

Emerald glanced between Kotek and Celestine, "I am confused,"

"So am I," Ironwood smiled down at her, "but I'm sure they'd have more information on these 'Tech-Priests' for us to read,"

Kotek nodded, "If you want to sit down and read reports on them, be my guest. The more you know, the better in most cases,"

Ironwood nodded as he followed alongside them, but opposite Alexea, "please, while the others don't believe your claims of the Imperium, I am… at least willing to entertain the notion,"

Celestine nodded, "you can read the book Emerald is reading when she's done,"

Said girl looked up at the General, "I'm nearly done! The chapter I'm on has something to do with the planet Adumbria and, uh, some 'horrid Chaos Daemon,'"

Both Kotek and Celestine shared a look with each other and then looked down at Emerald. Celestine glanced at Ironwood before speaking, "what else does it say?"

The girl shrugged and bit her lip under the intense stare the Saint was giving her, "nothing much… the Commissar didn't write about the Daemons much and seemed to skip a lot of sentences… it made it hard to read, I couldn't tell what was happening,"

Kotek nodded, "the Inquisition at work I see. Did you read the publication page at the beginning?"

Slowly, Emerald nodded, "yeah… I was told to read the whole book, so I read everything so far,"

"When was it published and who edited it?"

Emerald thought for a moment, "uh, nine-hundred and ninety-nine, M41. I think the main editor was Ordos Malleus…or was it Xenos?" she bit her lip in thought, "I think both, but one of them was definitely the editor,"

"You remember all that?" Ironwood asked, "that's a good memory for a child,"

Emerald shrugged, "thanks? It's more like a picture in my brain and I can see the words on it, it's weird but it helps when I use my Semblance,"

The General tilted his head to the side, "what is your Semblance?"

"Illusions," Emerald replied as she looked about the large cavern and the ruined buildings and spires of what once were people. On the edges of her vision, she could swear she could see people milling about the broken stalls and shopfronts, but every time she faced them completely there was nothing.

Nothing except the run-down buildings and a few of the spires.

The fact that it was always just teasing the edge of her vision, lingering ever faintly but never a full, clear view sent a cold shiver down her spine.

Even looking too long at the spire felt wrong, especially as they grew in detail the further they walked. The more she looked into their eyes of them, the more it felt like making actual eye contact with a living being. A few blinked back. Or she thought they did.

The entire city felt more unnerving the longer she was in it, even more so as they split up to look around.

The drips of melting snow, the creaking of rotten wood and falling rocks made the ambient noise, and she hated it. Even as they all slowly made their way into a large, overgrown mansion. The doors fell inwards as Kotek pushed on them, their impact on the dusty tile floor shattered the glass windows in the doors.

The door frame bent under the pressure Kotek's armour put on it as he forced his way through.

Dilapidated balconies and staircases lined the main foyer and a head of firey red hair caught the eye of everyone and particularly startled Ironwood as Lelith fell into a silent crouch on the floor in front of him.

"Where the hell did you come from?" he exclaimed and lowered his revolver,

Lelith brushed hair over her shoulder, "scouting." she turned to Kotek, "your little Comm-Beads do not work down here- a few Beowolves and an Ursa were killed, along with another of the glass sphere Grimm,"

"Very well." Kotek nodded, "we will work fast and find what we can before collapsing the entrance, four days is long enough,"

Even as they spoke, the shadows moved and she hated all of it.

All of it. But she was here because Celestine and Kotek asked, they were well within screaming range if Grimm or anything else was here.

That eased her mind a little as she entered through the door and came out into a large, underground cavern- an already underground-underground cavern. She didn't know what to call it, but it sat under the large mansion and held it up with carved support pillars that held fancy and worn carvings.

Emerald cast her eyes over the subtly lit room, over the small puddles that were made from water dripping from stalactites, and let them land on a half-buried piece of the pillar. It was eroded from the water, giving it a round shape and tapering off the tip into a rough, but distinct, point.

She stared at it as her imagination caught up with her, replacing the piece of the pillar with a worn metal object, guarded by a wall of chipped and decayed bipedal machine that was frozen in time.

"You alright?"

Emerald jolted slightly and looked up to Celestine and Ironwood, she glanced back at the bit of pillar, "uh, yeah. Just… thinking,"

Celestine tilted her head, "what were you thinking about?"

"What I saw," she answered,

Ironwood rose a brow and glanced between the two of them, "what's she talking about?"

The Saint gave him a glance as she knelt down in front of Emerald, "what part?"

"The cavern…" Emerald said softly before she piqued up a little, "I can show you, I think?"

Celestine stood with a nod, "If I know what you saw, I could help,"

"Uh, look to the buried rock-thing," Emerald gestured to the pillar with a small gulp. Celestine did so, "ready?"

The Saint nodded once and Emerald focused on her, ignoring the perplexed look the General was giving them and conjured up what she saw while using the surroundings as a template.

Celestine's eyes wandered over the illusion before they widened slightly, "that's a Dreadnaught…"

Ironwood rose a brow, "a what?"

Emerald ignored him, and the shadow of Kotek cast over her, as she continued to show Celestine what she saw until it reached the end.

The Siant blinked a few times to ease the illusory flash of an explosion and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at Kotek, "have you seen it?"

"No, I have not," Kotek said, "what was it she showed you?"

"A Dreadnaught fighting a Gre-" she glanced at Ironwood and sighed, he knew more than she liked already- "a Greater Daemon,"

His helmeted gaze snapped to Emerald, "show me,"

Not willing to deny him on the best of days, she complied and gave the Custodian the same directions and focussed. But this time, not just on Kotek, but Ironwood as well.

She could say it hurt, but after holding it for hours on end and trying on Alexea dozens of times a week, it was more of a small pulsing throb in the back of her mind. It hurt, yes, but not as badly as she thought it would.

That is until she tried to make them both hear what she heard- the whirring of the machine and world-shattering blasts of the massive gun the Dreadnaught carried as an arm, the crackling of energy the two Thousand Sons cast over the machine and bomb and the cackling cries and taunts of the massive snake-like being.

And it hurt. It was as if someone was splitting her head open and the back of her eyes burned painfully.

"Rylanor…" Kotek muttered, breaking what little concentration she had left and fell to her knees with a gasp.

It all hurt, but she knew her limits, knew what to push. Furthering her skill and usefulness to Celestine.

"W-what was that thing," Ironwood muttered then glanced at Emerald, "you saw this?"

Despite the tightness in her neck from the migraine, she nodded and regretted the action as fire shot up into her mind, "y-yeah,"

She let out a whimper as nausea started to take hold and she glanced up to watch Kotek gesture a worried Alexea back, even as she flexed her grip on her Bolter. If Alexea was near, Lelith wasn't, that much she knew.

"Sit, breathe and relax," Celestine directed her to the stairs and sat her down, "breathe,"

Ironwood glanced out to the cavern and back to Kotek, "what was that?" he gestured out to where the illusion was, "if what she saw was real, I need to know if those things are a threat!"

"Rylanor, Dreadnought of the Emperor's Children and Ancient of Rites," Kotek explained as he straightened, "presumed killed during the opening moves of Horus' betrayal at Istvan three,"

"And the other thing?"

"Primarch Fulgrim,"

Emerald felt Celestine jolt at the name, "Primarch? That thing was a Primarch?"

"So is Magnus," Kotek countered, "Fulgrim, Horus, Pertrabo, Mortarion, Angron, Alpharius Omegon, Konrad, Lorgar. All were His sons, all turned for one reason or another,"

Celestine put an arm around Emerald's shoulder, "if Magnus showed her this, how do we know it isn't tainted?"

"I know the events she saw, I was one of the events she described," Kotek said, "nothing was out of place, just events as they happened,"

Yet despite the reassurances given by Kotek, prayers of protection left Celestine's lips. She didn't believe or understand why people prayed or followed unseen gods, not after being through so much, but she knew how much it all meant to Celestine and how wholeheartedly she believed in her Emperor. And that made it all the more comforting as she prayed for her protection. Just because she didn't like it or really believe in it, it didn't mean Celestine couldn't.

"How many Primarchs are there?" Ironwood asked carefully, "and how many are like…that?"

"Seventeen," Kotek said, "the ones listed already, turned; while Guilliman, Leman, Dorn, Vulkan, Sanguinius, Ferus, Corvus, Khan and the Lion remained loyal,"

Ironwood nodded slowly, digesting the flow of information as it came, "Guilliman became the leader after the Emperor's… death?"

"Close. The Emperor is entombed, and technically alive, but unable to communicate for all intents and purposes. Guilliman became the Regent only four years ago after being revived by Yvraine, Celestine and Cawl,"

"Revived after, what…" the General thought for a moment, "ten millennia?"

"Yes, stasis chambers on Mcragge kept him on the brink of death," Kotek explained, "only after Cadia fell was he revived,"

Ironwood shook his head, "you're going to have to explain all this in much more detail... you all mention Cadia and I still don't know what it is,"

Kotek gave a firm nod, "I will when Emerald is… better than she is now,"

"So long as I don't have to see Fulgrim again, I'll be happy," Emerald muttered with a wince and rubbed her head, "not doing that again,"

"No, you are not," Kotek told her, his voice hard, "do not reveal any of the information you know to anyone like that again, understood?"

She nodded, her neck tight and painful, but it wasn't a good enough answer,

"Understood?" Kotek asked again, this time much louder and significantly more threateningly,

Emerald forced herself to look up at him, despite the pain and nerves being on edge, "yes."

"Repeat it."

She felt her throat dry up and she gulped, "N-never tell anyone what I know again,"

Kotek stood silently for a moment, then faced Celestine, "punish her how you see fit. Make sure the message is clear,"

Celestine nodded quietly, "yes, My Lord,"

"Three days from now," Kotek told them, "you will both learn why she is being punished for showing you and why I am telling you as much as I already have, General. That information alone will help you understand why you will not make the same mistake as she did." he finished by staring the girl in the eyes, "the Knowledge alone is dangerous and would be enough to have you killed, sharing it is even worse,"

"It was a large snake monster," Ironwood protested, "it couldn't be any worse tha-"

"It is." Celestine said softly and cut him off, "it is so much worse than you think, James. It can twist and pervert reality itself, tempt people to do heinous acts in the name of promised power they will never be granted. Heretics, the lot of them," she spat venomously, "believers of the false gods deserve to burn in the hell they worship,"

Ironwood stared at her, unsure of what to say entirely, "'hell they worship?'"

"Three days and I will make it clear that there are things far worse than the Grimm," Kotek said, "we will leave, there is nothing down here,"

He let them out first and followed after a quick glance over the cavern. On the stones were engravings, yet he couldn't figure out why they looked familiar. None bore any resemblance to Chaos rituals, a small relief on his mind, but the fact they felt familiar and nothing came to mind with ease was more worrying.

Age, the one thing even his peers could not contend with, something slowly creeping up on him, muddied his mind. Made it harder to recall some minor things and slowed reaction times.

His vigil was almost over, that he knew. But would not spend his final days standing idly by.

With the knowledge locked in the very front of his mind, he committed the engravings to his memory to draw out the moment he got the utensils and to run them by the others in case on the off chance they knew them.

Kotek looked bat to Ironwood, "for now, I have a task for you,"

The General narrowed his eyes, "and that is?"

"Parts of this building are nearly inaccessible to me due to its decay and my weight, and I have not seen Hesperax since the foyer," Kotek explained and hoped this would take the Generals mind off what Emerald showed him, even if it was for a small while.

At this point, he didn't know what to think, not entirely anyway.

They were strange and hard to follow at times, to put it lightly. But they spoke of events so vividly, referenced places and things he'd never heard of- Horus, Terra, Cadia, Primarchs… now Adumbria and Daemons.

He didn't know what the planet was, hell, he didn't entirely know what Terra was other than a place Celestine worshipped greatly. Kotek spoke of Astartes with distrust, Celestine continuously tried to convert him to her faith of the God-Emperor of Mankind, He Upon the Throne and whatever else she called him.

Then there were all the things they did that made no sense, not to him. Sometimes he'd find Celestine muttering a prayer to a 'Machine-Spirit' inside the Scroll or whatever tech she was using. Then she'd inevitably give it a suspicious look even if it worked correctly. Correctly.

At the oddest of times, mostly at night, Kotek would stand out in front of the Academy at attention and would not move for hours, then suddenly leave from his statue-Esque pose to go about his day.

There was no doubt in his mind that the Custodian was something else entirely separate from them; the man could recollect entire conversations in a split second and memorise reports with a glance. Paperwork that would take him hours to do took Kotek minutes, his teaching abilities were some of the best Ironwood had seen, even Winter had said he was something else entirely with it.

That is until Hesperax got involved somehow, then the best way he could describe it was like herding a disinterested cat.

At first, there was the belief that she was nothing more than an outsider, a begrudgingly accepted one. It wasn't wrong, as he learned, but it was still far from what she really was; a being of pure ego and beauty- anyone would have to be blind to not see her, especially since she had the tendency to make herself the centre of attention in large groups.

But she was still quiet and soft-spoken; her velvety voice wrapped in honey caught any and all attention when she spoke. If he never knew what she looked like, never saw her speed and borderline lust for a fight, he would have imagined a smaller, younger woman with a voice like hers.

Yet she was definitively not small and her looks certainly didn't match her voice.

No bark but a bite that made him tread carefully around her.

Like now, he searched the entire mansion for the self-proclaimed Queen of Knives.

Ironwood let out a sigh and kept a pistol in his hand. The floorboards, rotten and decaying in most places, creaked dangerously under each step he took down the hall. At least now he could see why the Custodian sent him; the giant would fall through the floor.

He let out a small snort at the mental image of a red plume poking out of a hole in the ground.

Ironwood's good mood slowly faded as the hall continued on endlessly and each step echoed loudly in his ears.

"Hesperax?" he called down the hall, "we're leaving!"

He waited for a response of any kind.

Nothing.

Not a sound.

So, he begrudgingly continued down the hall.

Frames that once held paintings now held decayed canvas around the inner edges and dust lined every flat surface he could see. Yet he kept marching down the hall and checked each room he came aross.

All were filled with regular, boring dust and spider webs. Some were rooms with neatly made beds, while others looked as if they were abandoned in a hurry with no time to clean.

There was a story here in this city, an old one filled with melancholy and lost souls.

Much like the streets, the building played tricks on his peripheral vision; with shadows moving and silhouettes of people going about their day. And in a similar vein, any time Alexea got close, the shadows dispersed, the tricks vanished and the strange spires on the street fell apart.

Watching the humanoid collections of rocks lose all green light and collapse felt like watching a person die, the equivalent of the light in someone's eyes fading. But the woman couldn't help it, that he knew. Her strange abilities were just that; strange.

He sighed and called for Lelith again, and just like last time, he got no response. So, he continued down to a 'T' shaped intersection. The hall on his left was decayed, covered in holes and debris from the floor above collapsing and blocking the path, but the one on his left was more than interesting.

No more than a few metres down, on the left side of the hall, blue light poured through the gaps in the door, lighting the hall.

Ironwood drew both pistols that made Due Process and slowly made his way forward, "Hesperax, is that you?"

He didn't get a response but continued anyway towards the source of light and once he was close, gently pushed the door open as he entered.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did a moment later, he could see the room looked more like a large chamber, held up by more intact versions of the pillars underneath the mansion. There were four of them, two on each side of the room holding the roof up.

But it wasn't the pillars that drew his attention into the room, nor was it Lelith facing away from him. No, it was the source of the light-blue light that made him stare in wonder.

An arch as wide and tall as the room stood at the very end, made of a mix of stone and almost bone-like materials. Encrusted along the arch were green, glowing stones and etched symbols that bled the same blue energy that swirled and pulsed inside the arch.

Whisps of smoke and unseen energy flowed freely from the arch while the stones hummed gently.

"What is this?" he pondered aloud as he slowly stepped up next to Lelith.

The woman ran her gaze over the etched symbols and spoke aloud in a sharp, yet flowing language, causing the symbols to light up at the sound of her voice. He'd heard her speak it before but never understood what she was saying. Lelith stepped back and faced the door slightly; with a voice louder than he had ever heard her with, she bellowed Celestine's name in beckoning.

Like always, blinding gold light signified the Saint's arrival,

"I'm here!" Whatever Celestine was going to continue with died on her lips as she took in the sight and she lowered the flaming sword, "is that a-"

Lelith nodded, "not an original one, it is a mix of two different crafts. Impure and imperfect, but it is one,"

Crashing and breaking wood and stone sounded Kotek's arrival as he barreled through the doorway and tore it apart carelessly with his mass moving faster than what should be possible. Alexea followed shortly after with Emerald nervously behind a few seconds later with her pistol drawn and deep, panting breaths.

Both of them stopped once they saw the arch, Emerald blinked in awe while Kotek readied himself for a fight,

"Is this where you have been?" the giant asked,

Lelith nodded, "it functions, obviously since I opened it, but only in a pocket no larger than this building. It is cracking. The walls erected to make it enclosed are breaking as the tides shift,"

Ironwood slowly placed his Due Process in its holster, "what is it?"

"A Webway gate," Kotek answered wearily, "as dangerous as a tear in the Warp in its own way,"

Lelith scoffed, "I took a glance within, it is empty."

The group fell into a discussion about the Gate all while Ironwood looked around the room. It felt familiar but was distinctly different. The stone glowed a familiar colour, that of the fires deep inside Atlas.

His eyes widened and he looked around the room again. The symbols and etchings were new, but the core design of the pillars and the arch were all too familiar, even though it held no physical door.

It was a Vault.

Not one of the main four, but it was one. There was no possible way it wasn't, not with how old Ozpin claimed them to be.

An early version of one perhaps? Or were the Vaults made from the idea of this?

Which one came first?

"You want Emerald to start being involved," Lelith's retort drew him back to the group,

Celestine sighed, "yes, but she will not be able to handle the threats that could be on the other side,"

Lelith crossed her arms, "I am more than capable of protecting her if it came down to it,"

"Do you know what is on the other side of the walls?" Kotek asked,

"Unsure, but I doubt it is much," Lelith said with a shrug, "if my Kin are your worry, we inhabit a corner of the Webway, not all of it. That is for the Harlequins,"

The group remained silent for a moment. And Ironwood wondered just what a Harlequin was, another thing to watch out for? Custodes, Angels, mute women and strange redheads… what was next?

At this point, he half expected Celestine to commit to some form of mitosis and duplicate… at least it would be better than two Leliths.

"Alexea, Celestine, remain out here and kill anything that is not Greyfax or us," Kotek said and faced Lelith, "I will come with you."

"And me?" Ironwood asked as he stepped forward, "I'll come with you,"

Kotek shook his head, "It may be too dangerous for you,"

"And it might be a threat to Remnant," he countered sternly, "it is my duty to assess threats, potential or not, and destroy them before they become a problem." he pointed to the Webway gate, "and that falls under my duty,"

Lelith chuckled and stepped aside with an arm out towards the gate, "then you may go first,"

Ironwood looked between everyone in the room and hardened his features as he took both pistols in his hands. With a final look to the Custodian, he turned on one foot and marched right up to the shimmering void of energy.

He paused and took a breath.

Then stepped through.

The energy around him rippled at his touch and static electricity seemed to buzz briefly, and then a dimly lit room was his view. A room with walls of pure colour and swirling patterns, unfathomable spectrums of colour and shapes pushed against the top of the 'room' while the floor was a dark mass with no end in sight.

And as Lelith and Emerald followed in behind him, the area seemed to shake as green light grew in intensity around them.

He turned to shove the others back through in time to watch the tip of the Guardian Spear come through.

"Look, I don't care what the Vipers think," Junior grumbled into the Scroll, blatantly ignoring Roman in the seat across his desk, "that territory is ours… no! Any attention from Ozpin is our death sentence- not just mine or theirs, but all of us… yeah, fuckin stay away from Marigold street or we'll escalate this."

Roman watched as he slammed the Scroll onto his desk, "upstarts?"

"Yeah, dumbass drug dealers," Junior spat, "mixing Dust and coke, real dangerous shit,"

Roman cringed, "now regular nose candy is understandable, but that? Who puts Dust in their drugs?"

"Vipers, apparently." Junior sighed and rubbed his eyes, "now, what do you want?"

"Heard anything from Atlas?" he couldn't help the anticipation in his voice,

Junior picked the bottle of whisky up and poured out a glass for himself, "nope. Not since your stupid stunt with my Lien,"

"I paid you back," Roman shrugged, unapologetic and with a slight upturn of his lips

"And put the heat on me with the stolen money," he exclaimed, "do you just not care or like the thrill?"

"Yes." Roman smirked, "gotta live life somehow,"

Junior sighed and took a large sip from his glass, "no midget?"

Roman rose a brow, "oh, Neo's around,"

The bartender shook his head, "whatever. I haven't heard a thing from Atlas for weeks, but the news is alive,"

"That mine attack, yeah," Roman nodded and pulled a cigar out of his coat, "Jacques mustn't be the happiest man at the moment,"

He lit the cigar.

The darkest corners of the CCTS were alive with stills of the Custodian and the mute, speculating on what happened and even going as far as to figure out the speed of the giant.

The majority voted for 'fast'. Fucking really fast.

Then shoddy pictures of Grimm corpses came out. There was no feasible way they were real. They dissolved upon death, not stick around like a hit-and-run victim. But given the insanity covering Atlas and the Saint, the Gods could come back and he wouldn't be surprised.

Junior nodded slowly, "the man isn't happy at losing a mine since Atlas put it on the 'no-go' list, but other than that, preparations for the Festival are continuing and their military infrastructure is picking up production,"

Roman blew smoke out to the side, "I thought you weren't hearing anything?"

"Don't need inside sources to see it," Junior said with a sigh, "news is talking about it, Ozpin is refusing to comment on it… between this and Mistral running a series of referendums, codifying new laws and shit, I don't know what's happening anymore,"

Roman narrowed his eyes in confusion, "the hell are they doing that for?"

Junior shrugged, "hell if I know for sure, but a few area governors are pissed about the Wind Path explosion and pinning it on Atlas," the man sat back and sculled the whisky, "hell, even Lionheart is refusing to say anything other than 'the Academies are neutral on this matter,'"

"He's on their side," Roman scoffed, "I leave for a full year and a bit, and this happens? Do they want to piss off Atlas?"

"Mistral has always had a massive independence streak, they're probably thinking they're self-reliant for resources," Junior let out a dark chuckle, "last time they did something in self-interest a war started… probably thinking they're Vacuo,"

Roman rolled his eyes and pulled the cigar from his mouth, "great. What does this have to do with Marcus?"

"Nothing." Junior grumbled, "I can't get any information out of Atlas anymore, remember?"

"Ugh," Roman grumbled, "well, may as well figure out borders while I'm here,"

Junior smirked, "think an apartment block of mine looks like yours?"

"No, just a shop or two," Roman said, "I ain't an amateur, fighting is what gets everyone killed,"

"Can it wait till the get-together after the festival? You might be able to score some land off'a few gangs' concessions,"

He thought for a moment, "I can. Yeah, I'll try to keep my boys out of your way as best I can," Roman stood and brushed his coat, "come along, Neo,"

Junior jolted in surprise as the girl vaulted over his chair and landed silently next to Roman, "don't do that!"

All he got in response was a smug grin from the girl as she followed Roman out.

For a young girl, she was nimble and quick, more than he ever expected when he met her as the brown-haired girl known as Trivia.

It was strange with how permanent the change in appearance for her was, but not that surprising when he considered that she already had her Semblance before they met. He had a feeling that it evolved as all Semblances do eventually, which made sense given that her looks became a more permanent change that night.

Whether it was an actual evolution in her Semblance or a case of the subconscious mind was the cause didn't matter. She was beyond a great help in heists and even better in training; both of them played off what they knew and evolved it- on paper mostly, but they were both getting far better than they were before.

The cool air of Vale hit his face as they exited the club. Roman took a breath of the early night air and looked down at Neo, "want some ice cream?"

"Really?" Neo signed with an unamused glare, "funny."

Roman shrugged and pulled a cigar from his coat, his smile being smugger than it had a right to be, "what can I say? I'm a comedian,"

"An awful one." Neo silently giggled, "what do you think is happening in Atlas?"

The thief lit his cigar and slowly started to walk down the street with Beacon Academy towering over the city in front of him despite the distance and ravine that separated the two, "a mix of preparing for the festival and the shit-show with the nutjobs in that cult,"

A small flash of green light from Beacon tower caught his attention and he glanced up.

It was gone.

"Well, let's hope that all this keeps that Inquisitor too busy to go after us,"

His reaction times were unparalleled- one of the highest the Legio Custodes had and only outdone by Valoris and Longinus. Worthy men to hold such a record. More worthy than he believed himself to be at times.

Kotek watched as Emerald went in and followed after. The end of the Guardian Spear entered through the portal first.

He could calculate dozens of plans, identify weak points and strategize entire regiments worth of battles in a blink of an eye. Read entire tomes and their subsequent successors in minutes all while memorising the page's worth of information easily.

The mind of a Custodian was a weapon and tool all of its own power.

Yet it was not fast enough to register basic fundamentals of the universe- he could witness it, see it happening more clearly than any other mortal, but there was a lag. One that he was sure mortals experienced more often when presented with an overflow of information, the processing and filtering the mind did before it reacted.

Custodians could make it all happen in the blink of an eye, and come to conclusions faster than Astartes.

But the speed of light was one thing they were not faster than.

Yes, Las-bolts were avoidable, but only due to the second it took for the mortal to aim, register their target was in their sights and the signal from their brain to their trigger finger. It was the second between that that allowed them to 'dodge' the shot before it was even fired.

But as the light suddenly went out, the shimmering, light-blue wall snapped out of existence and took the end of the Guardian Spear with it, he realised one thing faster than Celestine could call in panic seconds later-

"A trap." he said lowly, "we walked into a trap."

Kotek took a glance at the severed weapon in his hands- without the Bolter or blade, it was a glorified stick,

Celestine rushed forward and slammed into the wall behind the Webway gate, "No!" she spun around, eyes wide, "we need to activate it!"

Kotek shook his head and glanced at Alexea who nudged the base of the arch with her foot, "I do not know how,"

"We need to find a way!" Celestine persisted, "they're trapped in there!"

"How would we? Who here would know of a Webway gate and know how it functions?" he asked as he looked over the arch itself in the vain hope a simple switch was to be seen, "I know many things and am willing to learn all I can, but the mystics the Aeldari dabble in is still unknown to nearly everyone, including the Ordos Xenos,"

The Saint shot her head up, "Ordos Xenos! Terra must have one there, I can find one and wring them dry of everything they know!"

He nodded, "that may work, but the Inquisition is protective of their knowledge,"

"Guilliman." she stated with an underlying hope in her voice, "he can override their authority, can he not?"

"Go, try and see where it gets you. I will inform Katarinya of the developments," he held the shaft of the Guardian Spear out and gestured for her to take it, "I require a new weapon- Guardian Spear or not, I need something to fight with,"

Celestine sheathed the Ardent Blade and nodded, "I will return with one immediat-"

"No, return once you have bled all avenues of knowledge dry," he cut her off, "I can fight without a weapon just fine for a while," Celestine took a breath and glanced at the Webway gate. Kotek placed a hand on her Pauldron, "Emerald has the General and Hesperax with her, she will be fine,"

The Saint glanced up at him nervously and nodded reluctantly, "I worry,"

"I know." he released his hold on her, "go, Greyfax, Alexea and I will be fine,"

With a last glance at the gate and the two of them, Celestine clutched the broken weapon tightly as she vanished in a flash.

Kotek stood silent for a moment then turned to Alexea, "stay here, I will go to the surface and contact Greyfax. I will return immediately after."

"Do you think Hesperax planned this?" she signed,

"Not this, no." Kotek shook his head as he started to leave, "she was planning something, but this was not her doing."

Alexea nodded despite the obvious dubiousness she felt, "who did it?"

The possibility of it being a coincidence was low but not impossible. If it was someone, they were the creators of the gate or knew of the creators at minimum. Knowledge of such devices were guarded heavily by the Aeldari and their cousins- but this was not pure Aeldari construction, a mock of one.

Even he knew what Webway gates made by the Aeldari looked like, and this was made not too dissimilar to them, but the way the Wraithbone and other materials conflicted, looked less like a painting and more of a childs creation made from the interlocking blocks that did not match. It was an attempt made with limited knowledge of what was actually being tapped into.

Kotek vowed that the next time he saw Ozpin, pressure was going to be put on him. Not physically- despite being the largest suspect and most likely to be behind something here, they had to play by the planet's rules.

And if the Headmaster wanted to play around with espionage, they could to, and that meant Greyfax was going to be key.

The snowy wind whipped around him as he came out of the mine and the sun was just barely above the horizon,

"Inquisitor, we have found a Webway gate,"

The reply was immediate, "Is it active?"

"Was. It closed with Ironwood, Emerald and Hesperax on the other side." he said quickly, "Celestine is on Terra looking for someone who may know what to do about reactivating it,"

There was a frustrated sigh, "Hesperax is going to die when she gets back,"

"No, she will not." he told her sternly, "I plan on using her in Vale,"

Greyfax was silent for a moment, "so was I."

"Then we are in agreement that we need her and can plan accordingly. We will discuss and compromise on what we will be doing later. For now, Alexea and I will be on watch over the gate,"

"Then I will use what power I have to amp up security and secure myself here," Greyfax said, "you may be able to use Ironwood's disappearance to get your seat earlier,"

Kotek nodded, the thought had occurred to him, "I will see if it may work in theoretics first,"

"In the meantime, I'll use Marcus to distract everyone from the shitshow that is Atlas' security right now," the annoyance could be heard as clear as day, "we're too little of a group to do so much,"

"Then you best hope Celestine finds her Geminae Superia," he said as he turned back to the tunnel, "I will deal with the Council tomorrow, perhaps distract them from Ironwood's disappearance,"

"It won't last. The distraction, I mean. If he's gone for too long and you're the face they see every time…"

"Then release the prisoners from Mountain Glenn, put out a statement that they have taken James hostage and fled Atlas down to the mines." he formulated a plan, "their demands will be enough Lien to flee to Vacuo in exchange for Ironwoods life. Once he is back from the Webway, we kill them and say they died in a firefight."

"Ozpin will start asking questions, maybe send Qrow or Glynda,"

"Then divert them to one of the few towns, maybe even Argus or Wind Path under the guise of a lead found left behind by the escapees. Marcus could have something to do with it, get more searching for him and reveal himself,"

"I can work with that. But what if the public panics?"

"Celestine is known and acknowledged as a saviour amongst most of the populace now, with her being the face of the investigation she will cam them. Failing that, I will step into the public eye,"

"She's going to hate that,"

"She will not have a choice,"

The moment her feet touched the tiled floor of the Palace, Celestine marched around to find the nearest anything of help.

She marched around, between the massive pillars and status that held the enormous building up as bleached sunlight burst through stain-glass windows that were as tall as Atlas Academy.

She brushed the observation aside and set to her mission- getting Emerald back.

It took little time before she ran into someone, a man in white robes speaking to a man in all-black armour. Both of which were clearly designated as Militarum due to their Las weapons and flak armour,

"Excuse me," she called as she approached hurriedly but kept her voice as calm and level as it could get, "I need to find a Custodian,"

The two men glanced at her and the one in black armour faced away as he spoke into a comm bead,

"That is a Guardian Spear," the one in white robes pointed out and gripped his Lasgun tightly, "a broken one,"

Celestine nodded, ignoring the suspicion in his tone, "Exactly. Hence why I need to find a Custodian and then Valoris,"

"A Custodian and Sister of Silence are on their way," the black armoured man said, "you will wait here and will not move,"

As the man ordered her to stay, more similarly dressed men and women started to surround her. She glanced about and even found an Imperial Fist contingent moving over.

"I am a Living Saint," she scolded them as she turned on her heel back to the two men, "why am I being treated as an Intruder? Lord Guilliman and Valoris themselves have given me express permission to come and go as I require,"

"I have not heard of such decrees,"

Celestine narrowed her eyes at them, but she remained silent and waited despite the urge to ignore them and go about her task. But it was easier to wait and prove herself innocent, despite not needing to prove anything to these Guardsmen and women, than to leave and put the entire Palace on alert.

If it was one thing she learned while with Kotek, it was that being hunted by Custodian would be an experience she never would like to deal with.

She was skilled, yes, but they were better in every conceivable way.

So, she continued to wait, even as the minutes ticked by and her anxiety continued to grow. The longer she was stuck here, the longer getting Emerald back would take.

That thought alone made her foot tap on the tile relentlessly.

But there was nothing she could do without causing more headaches for Guilliman and Valoris.

"Celestine."

Her foot stopped mid tap and she spun around to the voice. As expected, a Custodian marched through the crowd of Guardsmen and the small collection of Imperial Fists with a Sister of Silence at his side,

"Custodian," she pushed her anxiety aside and bowed in greeting, "Sister, we meet again,"

Aleya nodded and crossed her arms.

"Follow me," the Custodian said, "I have alerted the Captain-General of your arrival,"

Celestine rose from her bow and jogged a little to catch up, "I thank you, Lord,"

"Valerian," the man corrected, "Shield-Captain Valerian,"

The Saint bowed, but not without anxiousness, "Of course,"

"If you wished to speak to the Lord Commander, he has left for Ultramar," Valerian said, "his brother is here to on his behalf to prevent any dissent amongst the populace,"

Her brows narrowed, "people would go against the Primarch?"

"Few would anymore," Valerian translated for Aleya and nodded in agreement,

Celestine sped her pace up to stay beside the Shield-Captain, but just far enough away from Aleya to dull the natural effects her presence made.

It took just under half an hour to reach a terminal for rail cars, ones she didn't even know the Palace had below its surface, but putting more thought into it, the more it made sense given the sheer size of the Palace.

"How far away from the Captain-General are we?" she asked as the vehicle jolted and sped up,

The layout and design of the colossal home of humanity was something so few knew in the scale of the Imperium, certain locations were common knowledge- Hall of Victories, Lions Gate and the Eternity Gate to name some of the few, but the name Valerian spoke sent a shiver of nerves down her spine,

"He is in the Sanctum Imperialis,"

The Home of the Golden Throne itself. She bit her lip and glanced up at the Custodian, "has He called?"

Valerian shook his head, "no, but it is where the Primarch resides and in a current meeting with the Captain-General and High Lords,"

"Y-yes, Shield-Captain,"

The two of them settled into silence and Celestine shuffled slightly- it was still taking too long. Time was not something she had for granted, not now at least. But she forced herself to stand still and clutched the remnants of the Guardian Spear closer,

"Aleya wishes to know how it was destroyed," Valerian spoke up for his silent counterpart,

Celestine looked up at her, "the end was severed when a Webway gate closed around it,"

"Is the Hetaeron Guard injured?"

"No, only without a main weapon for now," Celestine explained, "I have been ordered to finish a variety of tasks before I return with a replacement,"

Valerian nodded, "very well," the vehicle slowed and violently jolted to a stop as the Servitor that controlled it shorted briefly and let out a gargle of static, "we are here,"

Those words spiked her anxiety tenfold. But as the massive blast doors ground open, she found sight more or less the same when compared to the rest of the Palace she'd seen.

Old statues, some of the Primarchs, others of Custodes or Astartes, large enough to act as a pillar on their own lined the gargantuan hall, while actual Custodes were everywhere. All stood at attention at the foot of the statues and only their heads turned to face the new arrivals while the few Mechanicus went about their business as they sprouted Noonsphere to each other.

All while it was eerily silent. So little made noise; not a single Hymn was playing and barely anything moved outside of the Tech-Priests and a few Servo-Skulls. The skittering of the dozens of artificial limbs across the tiles moved.

Her attention was shifted back to Valerian and Aleya as they continued walking and she followed promptly after them, completely mindful of the eyes following her every move.

it made the long and arduous walk all the more nerve-inducing as dozen of Demi-gods, ones that were willing to end anything that looked like a threat, tracked even the smallest of detours she made- stopping to observe the enormous statue of a Primarch she didn't recognise- clad in armour and wielding a hammer the size of himself; and Iron skull on his pauldron.

Was this one of the ones Kotek mentioned to Ironwood?

it had to be, there was no way it couldn't be.

The sensation of staring eyes spurred her to move in a start, unwilling to gain the suspicion of the Ten Thousand.

And then there were the doors at the end of a kilometre-long hallway- foreboding in every way with the mourning face, whose eyes bore into her soul and was guarded by Custodes with red cloth instead of the black the rest wore. Gargantuan Dreadnaughts, ones covered in the Iconography of the Custodes and were of a more elegant design towered over the Hetaeron Guard with their weapons tracking her movements.

Even from that distance, she knew that if they wanted, she would be dead in a heartbeat.

In less than a dozen steps, the sight was gone, replaced with the hall she was walking down.

Not that it registered much as awe and reverence filled her while the image of the doors stuck to her mind, with each blink she saw them.

"Prepare yourself," Valerian spoke up and snapped her out of her mind, "the chamber of the High Lords is close,"

Celestine nodded and held herself high. As a Living Saint, even the High Lords would give her an ear for less than a minute, perhaps that is all she would need to gain their support- for what, she hadn't figured out, but having the majority of the Imperium's leaders on her side for assistance if it was required would be of exceptional use.

So, she puffed her chest under her armour and squared her shoulders as they drew closer to the chamber.

Then the doors opened,

"-the resources are being drawn thin!" a voice gravelled, "this 'Crusade' the Lord Commander has ordered is pushing everything we have to its limits!"

"Forge World Graia is collapsing under the pressure, the workers are starting to insight dissent due to the increase to one-hundred and fifty-hour shifts," another argued, "and their orbital stations are detecting an increase of Ork numbers once again!"

"And that is why the surrounding systems are to increase productivity, to lessen the stress on the infrastructure and increase defences," The voice was smooth and calm; a lighthouse in a storm, yet it commanded attention with firm undertones, "my brother had prepared for this, given orders for all Forge Worlds in advance with a grace period to level out any issues,"

Celestine glanced at Valerian, who held a hand out for her to enter. With a final breath, she stepped into the High Lord's chamber and froze less than a couple of steps in as confusion and awe washed over her.

Her eyes locked with the golden giant at the end of the large table, large white wings curled up behind his back.

The first thing that came to her mind was in Emerald's voice, small and innocent, but filled with mirth- Dad?

Between the insurmountable confusion and the mortification at her own mind, her grip on the broken Guardian Spear slackened and slipped between her fingers. Its rattle against the marble floor paused any and all conversation, silencing everything in one fell swoop.

Sanguinius, the Great Angel, flicked his gaze to her- as did Trajann Valoris- and back to the High Lords themselves, "my brother had laid out entire plans for everyone to abide by and follow. If it is one thing that I know for certain, it is that Roboute has a mind for logistics…" Sanguinius sighed and gave a small, melancholy smile to them all, "it is what held us together during times of need,"

A small, but no less poignant woman stared at her with clear recognition, the same one that Ecclesiarch Slyst gave her. Yet is was far more controlled than his, filled with contemplation and pragmatism.

The woman faced back to the Primarch and spoke softly, "then we, the Adepta Sororitas, shall follow, Great Angel,"

Sanguinius nodded with a more genuine smile, "I give my thanks, Abbess Vahl," he looked out over the rest of the High Lords, "we will adjourn for now and come back to these issues in a days time,"

Many of the High Lords looked as if they wished to protest, but they all bowed as the Abbess rose from her seat and made the sign of the Aquila, "may your Father guide us,"

He walked for what felt like hours. Each time he passed something of significance- a turning point, an intersection or even a particularly odd mark on the walls of the Webway, he would pass them again a few minutes later.

It wasn't an immediate realisation, but one he had when he finally paused to rest his legs for a bit.

It was as if the tunnels themselves were trying to delay him from going anywhere; put him in a loop to stall for time. Or at least, it felt as if that were the case.

He knew it was the paranoid part of his mind, that he was finding patterns where there were none to justify or rationalise some part of his fears of being watched or finding shadows moving faster than he could see.

"It's stress," Ironwood muttered and closed his eyes for a moment.

The distant humming didn't help, not when whisps of wind caught onto it and made it more akin to a series of screams than a hum as it dragged it towards him.

Everything about this series of tunnels was wrong; the way the walls seemed to pulse and swirl, the fog that came and went on a whim in the blink of an eye or even as he found himself walking upside down as if it was normal at one point.

Between the tunnels feeling like a loop and their ever-changing format, he felt like he was going mad.

The General took a deep breath, "Find the girl and Hesperax and work from there,"

He opened his eyes again and froze.

Even under Atlas he never felt as small as he did now, staring into a maw. Teeth spun in all directions while seemingly collapsing in on themselves, ever-shifting and moving. One point would begin and never end, trailing off into impossible angles where it would meet another from which they would conjoin into an unfathomable mess of architecture.

And that was what threw his mind into disarray- it was architecture. The more he looked the more he found steps, doors, bridges and parks, all twisting and turning in ways that made his head spin and eyes hurt.

But the many silhouettes he could see paid it no mind, walking about as if it was no issue at all that the ground beneath them ceased to be and was replaced by a stairway.

And that was the surface he could see, for fog and other vapours condemned the lower parts of the shifting city to be obscured for him to see. Though it mattered little, it didn't stop or ease the scale of the gargantuan city.

"I'm hallucinating," he tried to reason to himself then spoke louder, "Emerald, you can stop the illusion now,"

He waited. Waited for the pain in his eyes to stop, the confusion and nausea at trying to comprehend the city to go away.

But it didn't.

It was only grey, shifted and continued to thrive as screams became the wind and craft continued to buzz between the impossible towers.

A craft suddenly shot overhead, cracking the air apart and shoving him to the ground with a melodic scream of its engines. He fell to the ground as more sped past, uncaring of how low they got to the ground and the cackling briefly heard overhead told him the people aboard cared little either.

And just as quickly as they came, they were nothing more than specks that shot between the buildings before they disappeared entirely from sight.

It took him a moment to collect his thoughts and nerves, or what little nerves he had left before he got to his feet. Ironwood held both pistols ready and waited for anything else to appear.

At the third minute of waiting, he squared his shoulders and looked back towards the shifting city. It was dark, hard to see and what he did see physically hurt to comprehend with the downright physics-defying geometry.

If there were people, he could find help to search for Lelith and Emerald.

Yet as he took the first step towards the dark city, his instincts told him to run.

Run as far and as fast as he could.

He couldn't though, not when the only indication of other people was right in front of him. He'd rather try his luck here than risk wandering the strange tunnels alone- alone with the malevolent faces that pressed into the walls, the shadows that followed his every move and the faint laughter that echoed from behind him; beckoning him to take a look.

Ironwood sped his pace up to a jog while he kept an ear out for more of those crafts. His boots made little noise against the strange surface that made the tunnels, but as he closed in on the maw, he heard something else entirely.

Melded together as one continuous sound, made from billions of others, that made even his soul vibrate and his head dizzy.

Enough so that he didn't hear the cutting of air before sharp claws grated against his Aura and took him by his shoulders. In an instant, his feet left the ground as the claws dug in and fought against his Aura.

Without thinking, he swung Due Process as a baton above his head, slamming it into armour and eliciting a screech from whatever lifted him. But instead of letting him go, hands started to claw at his face.

Then, it stopped.

And the ground suddenly started coming closer and closer with every second.

"Fuck!" he screamed out and flared his Aura as high as it could go just as the side of a building clipped the side of his head, causing the world to become a blur of pain and dark green colours.

His cybernetic side hit the ground first, but the pain in the rest of him from the impact blinded him to the world he now lay in, coughing and groaning in agony.

People moved around him, not once offering aid or even stopping to stare as he slowly pulled himself up to his feet in a stumble, knocking into one of the people.

Ironwood yelped as they hissed violently and scurried off, leaving a smell of rot in their wake.

He took a breath and focused his Aura on the parts that hurt the most as he inspected his cybernetic arm, now exposed to the air through his torn clothes. It was slow to respond and move at first, but the veins of Dust woven throughout it channelled his Aura enough to protect it from severe damage, but not a few dents and breached covers over the shoulder and bicep.

The General gulped slowly and lifted his head to take in where he was, and regretted the decision immediately.

Everything had a sharp edge or point, jagged or elegant, it didn't matter. Neon lights lit up many doorways or open storefronts, adding to the perpetual dark green lighting the world seemed to have.

As his eyes adjusted, he noticed some of the furniture pulsing and throbbing while tired groans came from all around. Liquid dripped from the edges onto the ground into puddles that smelled of iron.

Slowly, he moved to the closest storefront, pushing against the crowd of bustling people. A lot of them were Human, but some were noseless and blue with red-orange eyes or a shrivelled green figure. Others were not even humanoid or were with malformed bodies. The only things they had in common were the tattered clothing that barely covered anything and the many scars across their bodies amongst bruises and blood.

Some were in clear texts, inscribing something he couldn't read while others were patterns of one type or another. Most were clearly gained in combat.

As he burst through the crowd, he holstered Due Process and approached the store with caution.

The man who stood behind what looked to be the counter was small and frail. His face was sunken and malnourished. The shelves were filled with vials of different liquids, some of which even glowed while others didn't while racks held melee weapons up.

Ones that in his hazed mind knew were familiar in design, but he couldn't place from where at that moment.

"H-hello," he greeted with a wince as his jaw ached, "I need some help,"

The man looked up at him with slight surprise and blinked. Then laughed with a croak, "boy, help comes with a price,"

He had a feeling there would be a catch, "of course. I have no Lie- finances, but I can help in other ways,"

"Dressed like that?" he looked the General over, "get out of here, you ain't worth my time,"

Ironwood sighed in frustration and took a step forward, a hand on Due Process, "I need to find some people, two in fact; a girl with green hair and a taller woman with red hair. Just tell me if you know anything and I'll leave,"

"The girl ain't here, the redhead is one in a million," the man dismissed with what he thought was help, unfazed by the subtle threat, "names would help,"

He thought about it for a moment then licked his lips, "Emerald Sustrai is the girl, the woman is Lelith Hesperax,"

As he spoke the last name, the man's eyes widened considerably while other patrons turned to stare at him with surprise, fear and… pity? Why pity of all things?

"You want the Wych Queen?" the man scoffed then froze as he stared over Ironwood's shoulder,

"Iam mure ual, Mon'keigh,"

Ironwood tensed at the distinctly feminine tone and turned to it.

To say it was a parody of Celestine was an understatement; jet-black wings sprouted from her back, dripping with blood, much like her naked form did. Scars ran up her limbs and from her pelvis to her collarbone, still leaking blood from clearly recent surgery. Piercings covered her body and leaked blood, much like the carved patterns in her skin did.

And the sharp, slanted eyes were more than familiar in one way, much like the pointed ears were.

Before he could register anything else, the winged woman shot forward and slammed him through the counter and on top of the owner with a scream.

The wings shuddered as she, in a blur of speed, climbered on top of him, clawing at his chest and neck. His Aura held off the assaults long enough for him to draw Due Process and prepare for the fireball the Dust would create as he kneed her in the stomach and groin,

But the woman only smiled wider as she grunted in pain and pinned him to the ground.

With a roar of defiance, he swung his robotic fist up and slammed it through her attempt to deflect and into her temple, knocking her to the side and granted him enough time to fire a shot into her chest.

He saw everything in slow-motion; the muzzle flash, the Dust round leaving his gun and travelling the short distance to her flesh.

Where it split skin and spilled blood as it penetrated her chest cavity.

But nothing else.

No explosion from the Fire Dust.

He took his chance to get out from under the stunned woman and backed away from her into the crowd that still ignored everything happening and stayed clear of him, and the store.

"Dekar!"

He turned to the shout and felt his heart drop into his stomach as a group of armoured men and women sprinted towards him with the crowd splitting to the sides to let them complete access to him. Those who didn't move fast enough got cut by the spikes and blades that covered their black armour or were executed with a swift slash of a blade, the rest were shot by their bulbous weapons.

Acidic green eye-lenses bore out at him, leaving trails of the same colour behind their movements.

Ironwood glanced back into the store and found the naked woman getting up with a grin as she downed every vial of liquid she had in reach and grasped a melee weapon in the other hand. The blood of the owner coated the obsidian blade.

He pulled his other pistol out and fired a round from each at the woman. He knew his aim was good, he wilded these weapons since his days in the Academy, killed dozens of Grimm in seconds with precise shots.

But the woman was able to dodge them all with a blur of movement, leaving a trail of her own blood behind.

He could use that. The woman was expending enough blood to prevent a prolonged fight, and though the Dust didn't work, he still could use the rounds as regular bullets against the unarmoured woman.

What concerned him were the armoured individuals. How he was going to win that fight was beyond him, but he was going to try.

Even if he knew it was going to end one way, he pulled the triggers and watched in awe as the charging individuals became nothing but blurs that were difficult to track..

And the woman slammed into his side, flapping her wings violently to try and lift him. But she made the mistake of leaving one arm of his free.

He fired a shot into her wings, tearing through the thin layers of skin. Though he wished he had a scatter-gun to rain pellets into her, the round was enough to get her to back off and let the others close in.

The first of the three used a wall to bounce off of and come down on him at a sharp angle.

Ironwood stumbled back just enough for an inch or two of the blade to still clip him with enough force that his Aura didn't have time to react.

He hissed in pain as the ridiculously sharp blade sliced his skin and bone with ease, but thankfully left him intact enough to fire a shot at the retreating form.

The bullet shattered uselessly against the armour. Without the Dust igniting, Due Process was less than useless against armoured targets.

If his guns wouldn't work, then he needed something else. Confusion, pride or even enough chaos to make them easier targets. Only one needed to die to make it easier for him to fight, preferably the one with the pistol and blade that hit him first.

Surprisingly, none of the others moved in. just stood and watched him as he rolled his shoulders and glared back at them. Though one, less dressed like the other warriors and more like Lelith watched him from under a bone mask.

His body was covered in muscle, which in turn was covered in tattoos. Though one of the inky ornaments stood out the most by design upon his chest. It was made of three main parts that made it whole- a backwards 'F' type of symbol where the bottom of it was more akin to a knife, a symbol that was like a numerical five or the letter 'S'- which one it was, he couldn't tell.

And just between the two, was a small cross that intersected them both with its horizontal line while a blood drop hung just below the five.

Then in a blink of an eye, the others moved in a blur with their blades ready.

He tried to use his cybernetic arm to block a strike from the bleeding, winged woman, but the blade made short work of his prosthetic and Aura.

Though he still was able to at least clip the woman with his stumpy arm, but not the others as they ganged up on him.

Then a crack of a whip made them back away, and a second crack struck his flesh arm, snapping skin and bone as the whip wrapped around him and electrified him. He tried to grab it, but the metal stump of his prosthetic only gave the electricity a circuit to flow through.

As his vision faded and pain took him, the winged woman fapped away over him as the armoured warriors argued amongst themselves and the tattooed whip-master.

Right before his eyes fell shut, over the edge of an impossibly angled balcony, a horned mask stared down from under a hood. Then an agonising sleep overcame him as toxins were pumped through the whip and into his bloodstream.

She shuffled to the side as the High Lords left grumbling amongst themselves and aides, but kept her eyes locked onto the Primarch at the end of the massive table.

"Thank you, Shield-Captain, I can take it from here," Sanguinius said as he slowly moved towards her.

Whatever the response was from Valerian, it went unheard by her. But Sanguinius' voice was as clear as day,

"My brother has told me of your current predicament," Sanguinius held his hand out for her to leave the room first, but not after her picked the broken spear up for her to take.

She took it numbly, "I'm hallucinating,"

"I can assure you, I am here," Sanguinius said with mirth, "but I must ask, why are you here so urgently? Guilliman gave me the impression that you were busy,"

Celestine shook her head, both in response to his statement and to shake the star-struck feeling in her head, "I- I mean, we are busy, however, we need urgen aid,"

Sanguinius nodded and the face of kindness turned serious as he lead her out into the hall, Valoris following at his side, "let us talk then,"

"We have found a Webway gate in ancient ruins of the planet," Celestine stated as she took the largest steps she could to keep up with the Great Angel, "our resident… Drukhari said someone else had made it,"

Sanguinius glanced down at her questioningly, "is this the planet with a broken moon?"

"Y-yes…" she glanced up at him in eagerness, "has Lord Guilliman found records of the planet?"

"No, not yet," Valoris spoke up,

Sanguinius nodded in agreement with the Captain-General, "what else is there, Celestine?"

She shuddered as he spoke her name, it sent shivers throughout her body. It was surreal to speak to Guilliman or Dorn, but this was something else entirely.

Celestine shook off the feeling and took a breath, "it closed with some important people inside and we do not know how to open it again. I was ordered to find an Ordos Xenos Inquisitor, my Geminae Superia and a replacement weapon for the Custodian,"

"Quite a list," Sanguinius smiled, "I know not of what your Geminae Superia are or where to start, but the other two I can help with in one way or another,"

Celestine felt her cheeks heat at his smile and she frantically ignored it, and willed the dumb joke Emerald liked making into existence, "Y-you must surely have more important things to do than aid me, Lord,"

"I am confined to the Palace by Guillimans wishes," he frowned, "this is the most excitement I will get here,"

"Then I am honoured," she bowed.

"Hand the Spear over, I will have a replacement for it sent to you," Valoris said as he held his hand out for the broken weapon. Celestine handed it over and Valoris nodded as he split off from their group, "Floor three-hundred and sixty, segment eighty-two, room two-hundred and six. Your Inquisitor is there."

As the Captain-General disappeared around the corner that lead to the Throne Room itself, Sanguinius shared a look with her, then held his hand out once more, "we shall find the Inquisitor you seek,"

Emerald let the vomit flow freely onto what constituted a sidewalk. The patterns and the impossible geometry of the city coupled with the wailing screams of the tortured proved too much.

Mutilated men, women and other beings moved about, some with collars and shrunken forms. Others wore full armour that resembled Lelith's while more wore what was more akin to gimp-suits and all manner of outfits that left a vast majority of skin exposed to the air. Some wore nothing at all, but the struts of pure confidence that kept them free of harm were broken by a single glance at the Succubus Emerald followed closely.

No one stood in her way, none gave her the sneering looks Emerald received.

It became apparent why to Emerald as one woman, one with a collar and mutilated skin, glared at Lelith.

Her scream was barely a gust of air before she was split in two and became food for other, less fortunate slaves of the Drukhari. Or even a meal for the Drukhari themselves.

It was the sight of the body being torn apart that put her where she was now- the wet tearing of flesh and muscle was overwhelming for her to watch.

Emerald wiped her mouth and stood once the memory was banished by force or ignored as much as she could, "w-why are they like this?"

Lelith stared boredly out to the commoners and Kabal warriors that milled about; bartering with stalls run by other merchants and species, all the while off to the side a man was castrated while his skin was stripped from his face, "we feed off the suffering of others; mental, physical and spiritual pain."

"I hate it…" Emerald choked back tears as she pushed despicable sounds of slapping skin and screamed pleas echoed over deep, malicious laughter coming from somewhere behind her, "you wouldn't- you wouldn't do this to me?"

Lelith tilted her head forward and turned it to look at her blankly, "we will continue this conversation later. For now, do not look at any other Drukhari, they will see it as a challenge and insult. The last thing we need are fights,"

"Don't you like those?" Emerald tried to joke, but the pleas became resigned whimpers and broke whatever good mood she had as tears ran down her face. Though she forced herself to ignore it and used Lelith as a whole as a distraction,

"Usually, yes. But that would draw more attention than I would like," Lelith said and sighed, "we must be fast, to stay too long invites attention we can not afford to have."

Despite Lelith's words, Emerald could see the joy it brought her to be here.

To be in Commorragh once again.

"W-what about Ironwood?" she asked as she struggled to stay by Lelith's side due to the pace she was walking at, "he was with us when we fell,"

Lelith glanced at her, "he may already be dead,"

Her eyes widened, "w-what?"

"You are only alive because you are with me," Lelith explained, "he is alone. Pray for Wyches, Kabalites, Scourges and anything else of power to hunt. And killing one will not stop us,"

An armoured hand suddenly grasped her arm and Emerald yelped in surprise, then screamed as the hand was lopped off by Lelith casually.

"It seems they forgot who their Queen is," she muttered down to Emerald before she beheaded the armoured individual and the woman next to them.

A few more of armoured men and women, something Emerald found hard to discern easily, but the larger chest pieces made it somewhat easier, marched forward, their hands grasping strange, bulbous rifles and sharp blades like Lelith's.

But a single look from Lelith made them pause.

The Wych Queen took a step in front of her, but despite the clear protection she was given, Emerald could feel the acidic glares and lecherous eyes from the helmeted men and women.

But they soon changed their targets as Lelith spoke her language.

Emerald couldn't tell what was happening or what any of them was saying, but as Lelith rose a blade to them, everyone flinched.

The Kabalite warriors, slaves and other, lesser Drukhari and races. All of them flinched.

But one took a step forward.

It was hesitant at first, but as the man stepped up, Lelith tilted her head and spoke.

The Kalabite tossed the rifle aside and pulled out a large knife and said something back to Lelith.

The woman didn't say anything in response, just lowered her stance in preparation for a fight.

She wished she could have seen who moved first, or who was the first to go down. But she knew it would never be Lelith. The woman was too fast, too good at what she did to let herself be hit.

But she wasn't worried about that as the moment Lelith was no longer in front of her, a Kabalite warrior was.

Burning orange eye-sockets filled her vision as quickly as the Kabalite tossed her to the ground and pushed its foot into her shin, causing her to scream in pain as the pressure built.

Then the Kabalite's chest had a blade shoved through from behind and it was ripped up and out its collarbone before it was shoved to the side off of her. Yet Lelith did not stop in her movements, she dodged another attack effortlessly and drew away the attacking warrior.

And despite everything she'd seen, Emerald still pulled out her Las-pistol as she struggled to get to her feet. Everything was hard to see, the lack of proper sunlight put everything in the shadows and the only sources of light were the signs and fires lit to keep the serfs warm.

In a flash, another Kabalite was able to swerve around Hesperax while another four kept her busy. Though it was clear it was a very single-sided fight with how Lelith was always leaving gashes in their armour with every dodge she made- even the strange shots from the rifles were missing their target and hitting the many people around them.

But as the Kabalite approached, Emerald did the one thing she could-

She turned to her left and sprinted down the alleyway as the Kabalite strangely walked after her and merely sidestepped all the shots she sent his way. He laughed as she stumbled through a rapidly dispersing ground of feral slaves and let his chained weapon drag on the floor behind him.

"Your running only makes it sweeter for me, Mon'keigh," he spoke with anticipation,

With fear and terror running through her veins as she ran as fast as her legs could take her, she yelled over her shoulder, "go fuck yourself!"

The response she got made her blood turn to ice, "why do that when I have you?"

She was a child, how could anyone do that to a child!? Her mind screamed at her as her mind clouded with fear. The dragging of the weapon, the endless, claustrophobic alleyway, the twisting buildings and casual murder.

This was the place Lelith grew up in.

But she pushed her legs to go as fast as they could as she shoved anyone out of her way and ignored their screams that were cut off prematurely behind her.

And the Kabalite kept coming.

So, she focused on the man behind her and showed him something other than her bolting down the alley in the hopes she'd lose him.

The Madame was easy, she only had to stand still and keep herself hidden, and even if she failed, Celestine was nearby as were Kotek and Greyfax. They all were there for her if she needed it.

But here? The Kabalite ignored her attempts to throw him off with illusions, as her pounding steps gave her away. Fear refused to let her slow or think about stopping.

And even then, if Lelith could see through them when she was standing still, this man could as well.

So she took every turn, every twisted staircase that went up or down in the hopes he would stop coming. But the end of the chain flail that kept hitting her limbs and chipped away at her Aura remind her how close he truly was.

Yet the worst part she realised as a dead end slowly came up on her, was that her screams, no matter how loud, would be droned out by the hundreds of others in the city.

She slammed into the stone wall before she could stop and quickly turned back to face the Kabalite. In doing so, she caught a glimpse of the end of the flail flying towards her and she barely ducked under it as it crashed against the wall and gave her a premature haircut.

She cried as rubble fell down over and the Kabalite laughed, but she forced herself to get up and raise her Las-pistol. Her shots were wild and easy for the Kabalite to dodge, even in his armour he was too fast for her to aim at, and he continued to laugh at her misery.

Though Emerald was not going to let herself get captured without a fight- not again. She was going to see Celestine with or without Lelith's help.

But what could she do against that?

She knew she wouldn't win and she desperately prayed to anything out there that Celestine would save her. She always would, that was her job. She was going to save her.

Each Las-bolt was dodged and the Kabalite kept manically laughing as he threw the chain flail at her. She was able to barely dodge some, but more and more hit her in the arms, chest and legs, whittling down her Aura until one final hit shattered it and her left arm.

Emerald fell to the ground with a scream that hurt just as much as the strike. Her limbs felt numb for the most part and her mind swam with pain and pleas for help. The armoured boots approached and the Kabalite chuckled a low, deep chuckle.

She saw what they did to others earlier, was that going to happen to her?

A hand grabbed her by the neck and hoisted her up, "urinating yourself already? My, we had not reached the best part yet and you are already making yourself delicious!"

She hated where his hands went, how despite the helmet covering his face, she could feel the depravity and wrongness about him.

Tears quickly became waterfalls as she was pinned against the wall-

No, this was not happening, she screamed at herself and started thrashing against his hold, kicking out and using her free and undamaged hand to beat at the one around her throat and her anger grew hotter.

Her hands cut themselves on the spikes and blades protruding from his armour, and she pelted against his helmet but the thing would not let go. Even though her arm felt like it was on fire to move, she still tried to fight.

No weapon, one arm and she could feel her breaths get harder and harder to take, yet she still thrashed no matter how much it hurt.

He suddenly yelped in pain and was torn off her, causing her to fall onto her good arm with a scream and accidentally rolled onto her damaged arm. The feeling of pain was quickly becoming something too common as she still let out a scream and tears rolled down her cheeks, but she found it in herself to glare hatefully up at the Kabalite.

Though she was surprised with how quickly he was rendered helmetless and literally disarmed by the Wych Queen, yet unlike before, she didn't feel sick or disgusted at the sight of blood and limbs.

Emerald staggered up to her feet as Lelith pulled the Kabalite's head back by his hair and spat in his face before twisting a blade that was through his knee.

"If you do not kill him, I will," Lelith said to her over the grunts of pain the Kabalite made, "this wench deserves to die,"

"Befriended your own little slave, Hesperax? Is anything but a child too much of a fight for you?" he chuckled bitterly as he stared Emerald in the eyes, "you can have her then, I like them untouched,"

Emerald let her jaw fall open slightly, she was young, yes, but the environment she was around led her to understand the darker sides of things more than other kids her age. She knew what depraved things the cultists did, and what a lot of euphemisms were when she didn't even that 'euphemism' was the word for it.

It's what made Ilia of all people so much nicer to be around- she didn't know anything other than her family and a decent life. She was innocent.

Unlike the thing on its knees before her, smiling smugly despite the damage Lelith had caused to him. He knew what he was doing, what he did, and enjoyed it.

Enjoyed it as much as the cultists did and he dared to smile about it?

Whatever fear she had still remained, but moved aside for something else next to it. It was hot, mind-numbingly so and she felt her lips peel back in a snarl.

It was a decision made without thought and only after a burning hole in the Kabalites skull was formed did she realise what she did.

The Las-Pistol clattered onto the floor, steaming and hot from being fired so often.

Before she even got to her hands and knees, what little was left in her stomach was drenching the front of her and splattering over the green, marble floor. She knew she was sobbing, but couldn't bring herself to care, not even as Lelith crouched next to her,

"He- he hit me…" Emerald choked out, "w-why?"

"This is Commorragh, no one and nothing is truly safe," Lelith put a hand on her back as she wretched again, "you killed him out of revenge, in anger. He would have done far, far worse if he kept going,"

Emerald turned her head to look up at Lelith, "I killed him…"

"Yes." Lelith nodded, "you did. Do not mourn for someone who would forget about you in an instant,"

"He did bad th-things to me,"

"Welcome to Commorragh," Lelith said as she pulled some of the vomit-stricken hair out of Emerald's face, "where you can have anything for a price; yours or someone else's. Your dignity was the price he paid for entertainment,"

"C-celestine…" she pleaded for the Saint between her sobs,

"Come," Lelith put a hand under Emerald's good arm, "we will find a Harlequin, they would be our best chance at finding a way back,"

Emerald nodded, though it proved to be too much for her body to handle as vertigo overtook her and collapsed into the pool of vomit and blood.

Lelith let out a sigh at the sight. She knew Emerald needed to grow accustomed to death, but this was by far the worst possible way for it to happen. At least with the plan of freeing cultists, it would have been somewhat controlled.

Now she needed to find a Haemonculi for Emerald's arm, then find the General and a Harlequin to get back through the Webway.

She pulled Emerald out of the pool and took her in both arms bridal style. The Wych Queen glanced down at the corpse Emerald created and spat on it, though her eyes caught the symbol of allegiance on the helmet.

So few had the honour of wearing it on themselves, and to wear it without earning it was asking for the worst of outcomes.

She adjusted her hold on the unconscious girl and stepped over the body of Black Heart Kalabite, and prepared herself for the inevitable meeting with the one man she didn't want to see.

Lelith only hoped she was the one for him to see first and not Emerald. But to attract a Harlequin required her to make herself publically known and risk Asdrubael Vect's interest being captured. Because just like even the lowest of Commorites, he witnessed every major performance, gave copious amounts of support and jewels to get private shows.

And like the Overlord, a Harlequin was always watching from the stands.

The Wych Queen squared her shoulders and spat on the corpse again as she passed it. Emerald may not be the best at anything, but she was still a friend, somehow. Whether it stemmed from her friendship with Celestine or vice versa, it mattered not, just that they were.

And while it had been centuries upon centuries since anyone was remotely close in a personal way to her, she remembered what it was like before that night to have friends, people to talk to and relax around.

To be herself around, even if it was little different to what everyone else saw as the Wych Queen. Having the option to be something else was something she missed, maybe even craved after the Void Glass shattered all perceptions she had of herself.

Or was it comfort in something static she wanted?

People weren't static, they were waves of change, always evolving as time passed.

She supposed she wasn't immune to it, only that it took longer for it to come to her. As evidenced by the girl in her arms and the slight remorse she felt at letting the Kabalite pass her. Emerald and the others didn't need to know that, none of them did.

The fact that they were alone made it all the easier to convince the girl she had no choice.

Once she was willing to end a life, the less of a liability she'd be when the going inevitably got tough.

Though no matter the rationalisation she made to herself, the ping of regret in her chest didn't fade.

Lelith paused as the chain of the flail came under her foot. Lelith took it between her toes and held Emerald in one arm as she flung the chain up into her free hand and wrapped it in a loose circle, then draped it over one of the spikes on her armour.

Emerald needed a trophy for her first kill, after all.

Because no matter how hard someone tries, they always remember their firsts; whether it be a kill or intimacy. And maybe, just maybe, she might remember the days to come even if she didn't want to.

As she left the long and winding alleyway, Lelith noted the female Scourge picking at the corpses she left behind like a scrap eater. It was one of the few times she didn't find wings to be appealing, not when they were attached to a naked and bleeding pond scum.

It was evident she was a failed Scourge that broke during the process of becoming one physically, but mentally, little remained. Even a few bullet holes covered her.

"Pathetic," she muttered.

The thing would be killed soon enough by true Scourges or Kabalites looking for some target practice. Maybe it might live, it wasn't like it carried any gear of worth outside of some gene code and flesh a Haemonculi could use.

It looked up and startled at the sight of her, "Wych Queen,"

She didn't respond, just watch as it eyed Emerald in her arms as it flapped its wings, trying to fly. The Scourge cackled and snarled as a group of true Scourges dove in on her, scaring it away in a chase that would most definitely end in its death.

A/N

I bet that warning at the start had most of you confused, but hopefully, Ironwood describing the maw that was Commorrragh had an 'oh, fuck.' moment. That man is not having a good time. A group of Kabalites? He never stood a chance. I think I made it clear why he even got close to killing the Scourge with Lelith's observation.

Naturally, I don't condone anything the Drukhari do, but it's what they do nonetheless. and I hope this reminds everyone that while Lelith is a bit shitposty and nice-ish, she can be much worse.

I thought to myself 'what's a quick way to radicalise Emerald and Ironwood at the same time?'

Answer; a very bad day for them all.

It's not going to be more than another chapter, maybe two, at most, but for Emerald, it is a major point in her life. Her first kill and dip into the horrors of the galaxy in person, not just a dream.

While Lelith slowly realises she wants companionship in some form- that also so happens to have green hair and the other has wings. Cause you know what they say; it's lonely being at the top, and Lelith has been there for a long time.

Now, as for Ozzypin Ozborne shutting it down; that came from a thought I had- if Raven, in canon, was so scared of the war and Salem winning, why didn't she make it mute by taking and hiding the Relics in secret?

My headcanon answer is that Ozpin can tell when a Vault is accessed through a magic alarm system of some type. And to fit the Vaults onto this, why not have them be a part of the Webway because Ozpin didn't know what he was tapping into? Or maybe he did.

Either way, welcome to Commorragh- please leave all morality at the door.

Long reviews won't be copied but I'll respond to them still under your name.

Doc43Souls: Great chapter! Just great! From Greyfax becoming boss of AIA (if I remember the name correctly) to Emerald witnessing the Burning of Prospero and Siege of Terra.

Also I found two small mistakes...

"Was it due to the nature of the FAUNUS being so varying from one person to the next, or the Hunters being naturally showy? Both?"

Not sure if this is a mistake though.

"Patterned etchings of LIGHTNING and symbols gave the chest texture and heightened the sense of regality the armour held.

I'm glad you liked it, and hope this one is as entertaining for you as well lol. You got the abbreviation right, AIA, Atlas Intelligence Agency. And yeah those are spelling errors, but if it's only two every now and then, I can live with that. Especially since I put each chapter through Grammarly multiple times, but I'm finding it pretty useless and buggy now since its starting to get stuck correcting a word. E.g 'sent' to 'send' to 'sent' and so on. Its annoying as hell.

187:

in my mind, keeping up with the Custodes doesn't equate to being as good or fast. Like, in a running contest, you could keep up with everyone for a short while before you fell behind the better runners. In this case, for short bursts of conflicts, a SOS can keep pace with a Custode, but if it drags on, then yes, they fall behind.

And funnily enough with your mention of 'Emperor's Legion', Valerian and Aleya make a cameo.

Saitama1155: that shrimp fried rice bit had me almost spit out my drink lol also great chapter cant wait for the time skip and canon starts

It came to me just as I was about to fall asleep one night and I knew I had to do it no matter what.

Now I'm glad I did.

The time-skip shouldn't be too far away now. the final seeds of the final things are being planted.

BloodRedRoses11:

I got bad news, friend. You're the last comment again.

Lol, maybe. Lmao, if I dare.

As for Lelith and Celestine, they're a product of just writing what comes to mind first, including Lelith's not-so-subtly flirting with Celestine. They've got one of my favourite dynamics to write about because of the differences they have but have one thing in common- their liking of Emerald and eventually, each other as close friends.

Emerald's adventures have gotten so much worse, now.

Somewhere, deep within the twisting labyrinth that was the Webway, laughter echoed from the darkness.