A/N: One of my favorite chapters! I hope you enjoy!
Book Two: Corruption's End
Chapter 45: Awakenings
"In one's life, as one ages, some moments remain clearer than others." - "The Laughing Titan", a Ultramarines Librarian in his popular treatise 'Reflections Upon a Life of Service'
Yang didn't know where she was, but she hated it already. It was like a hospital, if hospitals were even creepier than they already were. Empty tables surrounded her, encrusted with purple-red crystal, discarded tools scattered about their surface.
Groaning, she blinked and tried to rub her eyes. But when she brought her arms up, a seizure of pain ripped through her, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. As the agony ebbed away she looked down at herself. Oh fuck.
Lifting her weird robe-y hospital gown, she found a mass of scar tissue rippling across her stomach, reaching up towards her breasts and around her back. It was white like lightning, and just as jagged. Slowly, carefully, she ran her fingers across it, feeling the smooth ridges. She swallowed a mouthful of bile.
In her arm sat a tangled rope of IVs, running up and down its length and pumping her full of unknown chemicals. None of them defaced her shoulder glyphs. Looking at the bags that hung above her, she couldn't make sense of the words that stretched across their plastic faces.
I'm alive.
Not only was she alive when she should be dead, she was free of taint, and her dreams were peaceful and arcadian. When she closed her eyes, she could still recall bouncing golden braids, and sunny yellow eyes. Comforting, somehow.
Looking at her hands, she saw they'd been scrubbed clean of the blood and viscera that stained them.
It's more than I deserve. Like a bursting dam, a rush of images struck her, screaming, panicked cultists and the feel of her fists crushing the life from them. Sighing, she leaned against her table. An uncomfortable sensation scratched at her mind. Yang felt like she should be nauseous, but the sensation was weak and faded like a death gurgle.
And Ros was gone.
Only then did she have to fight the tears, struggle to not break down and submit. I failed her. I failed. I failed.
That she had descended into a warp-fueled frenzy made it all the worse. Is that all that stands between me and damnation? It's that easy? It had been a matter of minutes. Any longer, and she knew that the warp would have claimed her soul.
Activating her aura, she basked in its comforting warmth and the bubbling light of her hair. It offset the damp and ocean-trench blue of her surroundings, bringing as semblance of humanity to the twisted instruments and deadened air.
Twirling a lock of gold between her fingers, she sighed. Without my aura, I'd be lost. Yang never thought she'd imagine grimm to be such a pitiful threat, but in the face of Chaos, the black-furred beasts seemed childish and insignificant.
And they don't exist in the Imperium.
Was she still in it? Did Weiss try and save her, or did she bleed out? Or did the Inquisitor cut her losses and put a bullet in her brain? Did I die… again?
"Gah," she said, trying to speak and finding her mouth far too dry. Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling, she hoped she was still in the Imperium. The conclusion she'd reached on the Ascendant Dawn all those months ago still hadn't changed - she'd burnt her bridges, claimed her stakes. Meeting Weiss only confirmed it: Remnant was dead to her, and she to it, no matter how much she wanted to go back.
Her destiny lay within the Imperium, whatever it may be.
The thought made her frown. Destiny didn't sound like a word she'd use. For a sick second, she imagined Weiss rooting around in her mind, leaving latent impulsions and purging any 'impurities' she might find.
She shook the thought away. Nothing seemed out of place. Somehow, she knew her friend hadn't fallen that far. A metallic skittering startled her from her thoughts. The sound echoed across the room, lonesome and hacke-raising.
"Hello?" She asked, trying to sit up before wracks of pain stilled that notion in its infancy. "Fuck."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," the echoes said.
"Trooper Yang Xiao Long, you awaken," a voice called out from behind her. It was spritely and feminine. A pent-up breath leaked out of her nose, and she closed her eyes. I'm still in the Imperium.
"Doc, is that you?"
A red-robed woman slithered behind her before leaning over the table to meet Yang's eyes. She was stunning, a vision of pure porcelain skin and full, smiling lips. Silken black hair spilled out from her silver-framed hood, tickling Yang's cheek.
"Hey there beautiful," Yang said, trying to muster a smile. The woman tittered, eyeing her as a spider eyes a fly. It sounded like the kind of 'laughter' that came pre-packaged in Atlesian androids.
"Forgive my rudeness," she replied. "I am Magos Ada Prexius, and this is my laboratory. I'm afraid I need to ask you a series of questions."
"Ask away, Doc," Yang said. She was no stranger to hospitals (or laboratories, apparently), despite her hatred of them. "I know the routine. But can I call you Ada?"
Prexius tittered once more, covering her grin with a gnarled mess of needle-fingers. Yang's smile faded. The magos slid into full view, a massive segmented centipede body protruding out from underneath her voluminous robes, bristling with baroque instruments.
"Aw fuck, I regret everything," Yang said. Why? Why me? Why does she have to be a creepy mechanical centipede-person? But above all else, why am I not surprised?
"Is there an issue, child?" Magos Prexius asked. Yang shook her head shamefully. "Very well, let us proceed: how much do you remember?"
"Everything. Including what put me here."
The Magos made assenting noises in a strange chirping language, nodding and making notes on a large dataslate. "And how do you feel? Is there any pain?"
Yang grimaced and swallowed. "Yeah. I'm okay though. You seem to have me on the good stuff. Where is your lab, by the way? Are we still on Uriel?"
"We are indeed," Prexius said, wearing a soothing, beatific smile. "You have the honor of inhabiting Master Tyrham's workshop, in the center of his Holy Forge."
"And how long has it been since I… since I was shot?"
"One point oh-seven months standard."
Yang fell back against the table, letting loose a long sigh. Golden Throne, that's a long time. I hope Caolin, Mael, Theni and Asgeg are okay. The thought of her friends brought another smile to her face. I remember their names, their faces. I still care.
The thought was a relief, but it recalled images of Caolin, his tears rolling down his cheeks and drowning her whole.
"Worry not," Prexius said, ducking under the table and emerging with some diagnostic instrument. "I've done my best to keep you in top physical condition during your extended sleep. In the midst of my other, infinitely more fascinating duties."
Considering her apparent area of expertise, Yang didn't want to know what those were comprised of. "Thanks… I guess. Did Weiss order all this?"
"Whom do you speak of, child?"
"Sorry," Yang said, grimacing at her slip of the tongue. "The Lady Inquisitor. Did she bring me here?"
Magos Prexius bowed her head in reverence before leaning forward, brandishing her instrument. She smelled like preservatives and noxious blood. "She did. Now recline, child," she cooed. "Let the diagnosticator perform its function."
Yang obeyed, still wondering why Weiss saved her. An insignificant prick of pain stabbed into the crook of her elbow as Prexius inserted a needle-pointed finger into it.
"One moment, child."
Can I still be an Inquisitor? Is that what Weiss really wants from me? Does she want to study me or something? The idea sprouted goosebumps down her arms. Am I tainted… forever? When the Inquisitor spoke of Chaos, it didn't seem like something she could recover from.
"Can I speak to her?"
"The Lady Inquisitor? Certainly. Though word of your awakening will take time to reach her. Currently, she is aiding General Campbell in cleansing the last of the rot from this world." Glancing at her wrist, she gave Yang a pleasant smile. "No signs of physical or mental contamination. Your body is reacting well to the implants as well. No signs of host rejection."
"What."
Magos Prexius cokced her head, hair rustling within her decorated hood. "Your internal organs were severely damaged, some beyond repair. Hyper-functioning replacements have been installed in their place, in order to assist and enhance your bodily functions."
I'm… a cyborg? Damn. Amat fucked me up pretty bad. Made sense though. Once more, her hand caressed the long, spider-web scar. As long as nothing was replaced that didn't need replacing.
"You do good work, Magos," Yang said, trying to grin. In all honesty, it looked a lot better than some of Remnant's bionics, scarring included. Prexius returned it glowingly, a pair of mechadendrites clacking together. Almost as if she was preening. "I need to be on my feet as soon as possible, so let me know what's gonna make that happen." She knew the routine.
The Magos' grin widened even further, revealing more of her weird but captivating teeth. "Your attitude is commendable, child," she replied. "A true soldier. A true Cadian." She paused, turning to conceal her face as she tapped absentmindedly on her dataslate. "But you're not Cadian, are you?"
"Uh… nope," Yang answered, now wary of the Magos' intentions. The uncomfortable note of savor had returned to Prexius' flanged voice.
"I thought not. Your genome doesn't match the profile," the centipede-woman said. Or any profile in my databanks, for that matter. Curious, curious curious. Although you do contain several polymorphisms displayed in cultures with strong martial traditions. Convergent human evolution, but on a scale once thought impossible."
Yang sat up, swallowing the pain that screamed at her, begged her to sit back down. "Please, Magos, spare me the techno-babble. I'm happy you're… fascinated or something, but I need to know what you put in me. I want to recover as soon as possible."
And do what? Do you think Weiss is just going to let you back in the fray at the drop of a hat? 'Sure Yang, have at 'em?' She snorted. What Weiss would 'let' her do and what she would do wouldn't always be the same thing. She's right about one thing though, she thought, recalling the last time they fought. I need to dial it back. 'It' was still a nebulous concept though. Something she didn't want to think about right now.
I wish Ruby or Ros were here. The thought stung.
"I'm sorry, child," Magos Prexius said. "My fascination with flesh is a long and storied affair." Could she possibly be any creepier?
"Uh, it's fine. I've just been out for a month, ya know," Yang said.
"Of course. Such a long break from my work would be inexcusable. As for your bionics, your stomach and right kidney were replaced completely."
Yang almost skipped a breath, but nodded instead. This wasn't unexpected, considering her last conscious memory.
"The replacement systems are much more efficient. They also possess poison filtration suites, which synergize nicely with your liver… which also needed replacement." Noticing Yang's paling face, she pursed her lips and tried a reassuring smile, which came out… wrong. "Worry not, child. The flesh of the Omnissiah is strong. Though your own body is resilient beyond most predictions, His touch is that of perfection."
Yang nodded dumbly. "Anything else?" She asked.
"Your small intestine suffered extensive damage. Not severe enough to warrant complete replacement, but still significant. I've repaired the damage to the best of my ability. A colostomy bag won't be necessary."
"That's… uh… good to know," Yang said. Note to self, never piss off Amat.
"Barring minor spinal reconstruction and neural reconnection, that sums up the rendered services," Prexius said.
"Services?"
"The Lady Inquisitor was very insistent that you receive the best bionics. In fact, when negotiating further cooperation with my Master, she included such a stipulation in the contract." The Magos giggled again, covering her smile with a ghastly hand. "Perhaps I've said too much."
Yang laid a hand against her stomach. So she does care. Maybe. In her own way. It sounded like she did everything she could. "And what do I have to do so I can get back to my unit?"
"Nothing outside regular physical therapy. Maybe even less, with the excellent care provided," Prexius answered.
"Wonderful," Yang said, wearing a half-grin. "Now get me a wheelchair. I wanna see your labs or something. I'll go insane if I'm forced to just lay here."
Maybe not the brightest idea, but the oldest Remnant-stained urge had reasserted itself - explore, seek, adventure. Despite the undeniable creepiness of Prexius' lab, she was curious. Outside of wandering throughout the Ascendant Dawn, Shao-la, and Vadiik's lectures, the Imperium's finer details avoided her. She'd mostly been confined to blood-soaked battlefields.
Exploring a little more should help me deal with… everything.
"I am allowed to leave, right?" Yang asked tentatively. She held her hand up when Prexius met her question with a nonplussed stare. "Don't worry Magos, I won't run off on you. Just curious if the Inquisitor left any special instructions."
"No no," Prexius said. "Nothing like that. She did warn me that you might be restless upon your awakening. Though she did instruct that you were to do nothing further to jeopardize your health.
Yang groaned. Sounds just like Weiss. She smiled. It sounds… exactly like her. "Fair enough, Magos," she said. "Let's see your lab." Sure it was probably full of horrific shit, but she refused to lie down and do nothing. "And I could use some food. Hell, I'll take anything you got." Her stomach rumbled. "You do have… food right? Being Mechanicus and all?"
Magos Prexius chuckled. "Of course, child. I shall call for some. But first…" She chirped another strange noise, summoning a squad of chuffing servitors to her side. With fluid, practiced precision, they gently rescued Yang from her table, setting her in a motorized wheelchair.
Hissing with pain, she accepted their help, careful not to put too much weight on her wounded torso. Settling down, she bit down the agony and worked her lips, while the servitors attached her IVs to the back of her chair.
Prexius made a note in her dataslate.
"The Lady Inquisitor informed me you were instrumental in acquiring some of the most fascinating samples to date," she said, her body clattering as it sidled up next to Yang's.
"I don't remember collecting any samples," she replied. "Not of anything you'd be interested in, that is."
Tapping a selection of buttons on her dataslate, her grinning face was illuminated by a series of vats, each of them glowing ocean blue, each of them hosting an eldar corpse.
"You'd be surprised, child."
Yang's face contorted, and she felt her knuckles tighten around the arms of her wheelchair. The same fuckers that took Ros. The mud and blood-flavored memory did not sit well with her. At least the ones with heads looked like they died in sufficient agony.
Their bodies were incredibly well-preserved, missing only small sections of precision-cut tissue, probably for sample taking. A few of them sprouted needles, and one was splayed open, the xenos' innards displayed for Prexius' probing. Wheeling herself closer, Yang traced a hand along one of the tubes.
"These are not quite like their craftworld kin. These are Dark Eldar - xenos born and raised in the dark city of Commorragh," Prexius said, sending a probe to peel back a layer of skin on one of the female corpses. "Much more physically resilient."
"Wait," Yang said, pivoting her wheelchair. "Craftword? Commorragh?"
"Yes, quite!," the Magos said, gesturing to the cadavers, "Of all the foul xenos that lurk in the galaxy, the eldar are among the most fascinating. At some point during their history, they split into two distinct factions. Billions cavort in their colossal worldships, while billions more inhabit the twisted city of Commorragh."
"And that's where these ones are from," Yang said, staring into the corpses' tar-pit eyes.
"It is a nightmare realm," Magos said, tapping a few buttons on her dataslate. With needled fingers, she gestured the wounded trooper over to a sealed tank. "And this is what it spews forth."
Churning servos and whirring metal revealed another eldar… though this one was no corpse. Immersed in the same blue fluid but with an oxygen mask concealing chapped lips, this one squirmed and twitched, his black eyes bright and full of fear.
"Emperor," Yang whispered.
"Yes," Prexius said, her lips split into a hungry smile. "A very generous donation from your Lady. He shall be an excellent source of data. The Imperium knows very little of Commorragh… only that it is hidden far beyond our means, and that no human has been there and returned. They drag their captives there, and they're never heard from again."
Yang didn't want to hear any more. She turned away from the alien's desperate clawing, never wanting to see another one. Well, one that she wasn't about to splatter into a thin paste with Ember Celica.
Oh shit, Ember Celica!
After frantic looks at her wrists, she spun her chair around to find the Magos wearing (or trying to wear) a comforting face. "My gauntlets," she asked. Demanded.
"Are in a safe place. Their machine-spirits are… restless, but now properly assuaged."
"Machine-spirits?" Yang demanded, wheeling closer. She wasn't in the mood to deal with the Imperium's technological idiocy. "Look lady, I… appreciate the effort, but I'd feel a lot safer if I had them with me."
A different voice answered her.
"With all the trouble you had getting into that chair, I think those weapons of yours would be little more than a deadly pair of handcuffs."
"Amat!" Yang cried, beaming. Shuffling down the laboratory steps, he approached them, a silver tray in his hands, his rifle across his back. He still hadn't left his sleek, form-fitting suit, and he'd donned his mask again.
"Magos Prexius said you were hungry," he replied. "I brought something."
Yang scoffed, but said nothing else. She found words difficult to say. Or, rather, there were a lot of things she wanted to say, but their order was a tangled mess. Out of the knotted phrases in her mind, there was only one that sounded sufficient.
"Thank you. Not for the protein-gel," she said, nodding at the the covered tray. "But you know… for everything," she said, studying his boots. When she looked up, the assassin merely shrugged.
"My mission was to eliminate you if you fell to chaos. You hadn't fell."
"You're a big softy, assassin-man."
"Greetings, Assassin," Magos Prexius said, inserting herself into the conversation with a nod of her head. She slithered closer to Amat, studying him from every angle while Yang's eyes grew dangerously narrow. "The Lady Inquisitor instructed him to stand his watch, even while you slept. Today, he is finally of use."
"And," Amat said, ignoring Prexius' chittering legs, "this isn't protein gel."
What.
"The gracious Magos keeps a selection of more… palatable foodstuffs for visiting dignitaries. Inquisitors' retinues included," he continued, stepping closer.
No way. Yang's tongue darted out between dry lips, her eyes now very focused on the platter Amat carried, and the silvery tarnish of the lid that concealed her meal.
"Amat, if you tease me any more I swear to the Emperor I will do something... " she couldn't think properly. The last real meal she had eaten was on Woadia… it had been nothing but gelatinous Guard rations and occasional nibbles of stale bread since then. "I don't know… but it'll be violent."
"I shiver with fear. Perhaps you'll strangle me with your hospital gown," he replied. Yang laughed, a sound that echoed in the stifling, corpse-filled laboratory. It seems he's grown more of a spine in the past month!
He unveiled her meal, a burger of unknown meat that sat in the center of steaming potato slices and a side of leafy greens. Yang couldn't keep herself from salivating.
"Eat slowly, child," Prexius said. "You might need time adjusting to your new stomach."
She'd already eaten half of it, choking down the simplistic goodness like she was starving. It was the best thing she had ever eaten.
"Slowly, Yang!" Amat exclaimed, backing away from her. "I haven't even set the tray down!"
She said something that may have sounded like 'shut up', but her mouth was too full of food to make sensible words.
"It can't be that good," the assassin said, brushing off bun crumbs from his tight-fitting cat-suit. He'd been caught in the splash zone. "I've survived without such frivolities for my entire life."
Yang stopped eating. "You what," she demanded, ignorant of the grease now staining the lower half of her face. "I bought the whole mind-wiping thing, I bought the hypno-sleep, and I bought everything else. I don't like it, but it's certainly plausible. But now you tell me they didn't even feed you properly? How the fuck do you look like…" she waved her hand at him, words failing her once more.
"Like what?" He asked, head tilted.
"Like that!" She replied, huffing. "Well, it ends today. Here." she said, pointing to her plate. "Have my fries."
"Yang, I couldn't possibly-"
"Child, your diet has been-"
"Stow it, you creepy worm-lady," Yang snapped, silencing Prexius with a pointed finger. "And as for you, assassin man, you are going to eat real food, and you are going to enjoy it."
There were no more arguments.
"Well… thank you, Yang," Amat said, once more removing his mask to reveal his face. Though his beard was still unkempt, his eyes looked less gaunt and sunken. He looked healthier, like he'd slept sometime in the past week. He looked good.
"No problem," she said. "They're too greasy for me anyways." A blatant lie, Yang thought, smiling.
A/N: Thanks so much for your patience! Things have been busy on the 'life' side of things, and starting a new Quest on SV hasn't helped.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I feel like Yang's trying very hard to avoid thinking about Ros, which will be touched upon next chapter, hence why it didn't appear too much in this one. Next chapter also features the return of Palatine Naja... WITH A VENGEANCE!
As always, I'm excited to see what you guys' thought, so please be sure to let me know! :D
Also, HOLY GOD EMPEROR YOU GUYS! 1,000 REVIEWS! You guys are the best! Thanks so much for everyone's continued support! I love you guys!
Review Replies:
Inquisitor Azreal: Funny how she loses an arm in canon shortly afterwards, huh? XD
tankbuster626: Yeah, she'd need a lot more damage done to her before she'd qualify for Dreadnaught-hood!
ZalrokCSoulDeath: I'll give it a look sometime soon. I'm crazy busy these days...
Absolute Configuration: I'm glad you like him so much! He's admittedly pretty baller.
Quelthias: That would require knowledge some would deem... troublesome...
theblacklightprojekt: What makes you say that?
Dark Knight Gafgar: She mentioned it before she left!
Hypothetical Spiritual Entity: Something like that might happen sooner or later...
blaiseingfire: Oh he already got his, my friend.
Magnificent Bosh'tet: Nah, I figured she'd take things in stride. The alternative is death, something she patently doesn't want.
haha oh hehehe: Not quite... Imperial/Mechanicus healthcare is actually crazy good if you have the resources and ability to obtain it.
Redcollecter: Well, it'll be really goddamn hard to poison her now, that's for sure!
snoogenz: All things considered, Yang got pretty lucky.
OBSERVER01: Huh, an interesting theory! As for Ember Celica being a part of her body, it's not likely to happen. No reason to fix what ain't broke.
reality deviant: Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter!
Kiyoushu: Hahahaha holy shit that's great. And yeah, Myrtenaster needs to be a bit beefier if it wants to survive the Imperium...
Rampant Poultry: Aw, you're too kind! Thanks so much for your kind words!
Hefster: Hey, those are some interesting theories! I wonder what you'll make of what I have...
ATP: Yeah, right now, Sorcerors doing anything of the kind is extremely unlikely.
LordGhostStriker: Oh Yang would love that.
LUrky: Thanks so much! No word on the Necrons right now, except that I actually really like them as a faction.
Nemris: Glad you enjoyed it so much! The Chariot's actually pretty important though, it'll come up again later...
Jack Inqu: What an interesting theory! ;)
Kaeni: Oh Emprah that would be awesome.
soupie13941: A very interesting choice of words... Hope you enjoyed Yang's reaction!
Thanks again for all your support. If you guys weren't so awesome, we wouldn't be here right now! Keep 'em coming!