Xander Harris, Rogue Trader of the Multiverse
By Bubbajack
Betas: Icysnowsage
Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS, Warhammer 40K, or anything else that will show up in this fic.
Ch.3: Enacting Change and Drawing in Peers! (Revised)
1000hrs 1-11-1998 Sunnydale California Ethan's Costume Shop
Buffy was the first of them to awaken the next morning, due to her cellphone going off incessantly. Opening it without looking at who was calling she asked groggily "Hello?"
"Buffy, are you alright sweetheart? I was worried when you never came home last night, and it seems a lot of strange things happened last night. Kids running through the streets acting like, well, like monsters," said the worried voice of her mother Joyce from the other end of the line.
Buffy snapped wide awake at hearing her mother's voice, and she said "Oh, hi mom. Sorry about not calling you first, but when things got weird last night, Willow and I took the kids we were chaperoning and headed over to her place. The parents came and picked them up eventually, and I just stayed at Wills for the night."
There was a pregnant pause before Joyce sighed in relief "Oh, that's good. I thought something had happened."
"Nope, all is of the good here mom," Buffy replied, lying through her teeth.
"Alright sweetheart, tell Willow and Xander I said hi, won't you?" Joyce asked.
It took all of Buffy's considerable willpower to not cry out in anguish upon hearing her crush's name. Instead, she said, "Will do mom. I'll see you later, ok? I got some things to take care of today."
"Alright dear, make sure you leave enough time to do any homework you've left undone," Her mother reminded her kindly.
"Sure mom. Love you, bye," She had said before she hung up the phone. After she had done, she allowed herself to sob for a moment once again over the loss of her Xander-shaped friend. The wounds of loss made fresh once again.
But then a thought struck her mid-sob 'Someone, or something made his body disappear. That…thing could have possibly brought Xan back to life after it took him captive.'
The fire of determination ignited in her eyes. 'Xander didn't give up on me even after I'd died. So until I see a body, I'm not giving up on him either,' Buffy then punched the ground so hard in determination that it cratered.
This woke Willow and Cordelia. Willow looked at her concernedly and asked, "Buffy what's going on, is something wrong?"
"My mom just called. She was worried when I didn't come home last night, especially after everything went to shit thanks to Ethan's spell…Oh, shit! Due to everything that happened we forgot to deal with him!"
The other two girl's eyes widened, and their head's snapped to the corner where he was tied up, only to find he was long gone. Upon seeing that, the brunette narrowed her eyes and growled "It's probably for the best. If he were still here, chances are we could all go to jail for murder."
"Too true Cordy, too right," Buffy replied heatedly, not at all happy that the Englishman had escaped her wrath.
"So uh, now what? I mean do we tell Xander's parents or…?" Willow let the sentence hang.
Buffy thought it over for a moment before she shook her head and said "No, we need to go talk to Giles. He may have an idea about how to locate Xander."
"The School Librarian? How can he help us with this?" Cordelia asked, confused.
"He's my Watcher-the guy who trains me how to fight and teaches about monsters and stuff," Buffy clarified when she saw the brunette still didn't get it.
"Oh…cool. Well, let's get going then," Cordelia said before leading the way out of the shop, through the hole Xander had created the previous night. Only for Buffy to grab her by the shoulder and ask, "Cordelia, do you know where Giles lives?"
"At the school library, duh. I mean, have you ever seen him leave that place since he started working there?" she asked as though it were obvious.
Both the Slayer and the Hacker looked at one another as they jogged across town. No, now that they thought about it, they never did see Giles out of the Library. In fact, he was there so often, that it had unofficially become the Scooby Gangs' headquarters and meeting place whenever something wiggy happened. And every time Giles was there.
"Now that you mention it…"Willow began, only for Buffy to finish "He always is at the school library. I don't even think I've ever been to his house. As every time something bad happened I went to the library knowing Giles would be there. It's weird like he's a permanent fixture there, like a light or something," As they walked across campus and into the library itself.
The trio wasn't surprised to find Giles sitting at the large oak wood desk he had as the librarian of Sunnydale High, but they were very surprised to find several of their classmates, one of which was Amy Madison, sitting in the library. It was as if they were waiting for them to arrive.
"Uhh, Giles? What's going on?" The Slayer asked her Watcher slowly, cautiously.
"Ah Buffy, there you are-Why are you Will and Cordelia still wearing your Halloween costumes?" He asked, perplexed.
Giving her Watcher a hard look, the Slayer replied, "Is now really the time for that Giles?"
"N-no I-I suppose not. You see, I was just about to call you. It uh, seems we have a situation on our hands. After something happened last night it appears your-"Giles' stopped once again. This time, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion for a moment before he asked: "Buffy, where is Xander?"
The Slayer grimaced in pain at the question, and Giles' eyes widened in shock. Giles was able to catch on to the subtle clues she was hiding. His expression turned grim, " Good Lord, Buffy, don't tell me something happened to Xander last night ."
"He's…he's been temporarily displaced, Giles," Buffy managed to get out before she turned to her assembled peers and said, "So, which one of you wants to tell me why you all are here, bugging Giles?"
Mutterings were exchanged between the students and several of them nudged Amy as if prompting her to speak for them. Finally, the shy brown-haired girl got the point and stood up. Clearing her throat nervously, she said, "Hey Buffy, Willow, Cordelia…is now a bad time? Did something happen to Xander?" Amy asked worriedly.
Amy still remembered how Xander and Willow attempted to hold her mother off while she was in her body, wielding a fireman's ax. While she didn't involve herself with the Scoobies after the stint with her mother, she'd kept her eyes open from then on. She noticed things after that. How the town had more graveyards than normal and churches too. How, almost every day in the paper, reports of grave robbing and attacks by 'Gangs on PCP' were prevalent. Honestly that one made her very aware of what goes bump in the night. Then she noticed Buffy, Xander, and Willow. How they always looked tired, as if they never had enough sleep. She noticed that all three of them wore something that had a cross on it, and at one point a wooden stake was found in Willow's backpack…
It all made a sick sort of sense of course. If witches could exist, why not vampires, and possibly other, more horrible things? Still her brief stint in the realm of the supernatural had left her too afraid to find out what kind of stuff truly slithered in the dark of Sunnydale. Things worse that her mother lurked in the night that would not show her the tender 'mercy' of just stealing her body. She knew her classmates were blissfully ignorant of what was going on around them and in a way, she envied them for their normalcy and ignorance…Then, last night happened and only the densest or most willfully ignorant of her peers could or would attempt to explain away what happened as just another night in Sunnydale.
And now here she was attempting to explain to Buffy just why they were here "I-uh we I mean, we're here to ah-"
"Amy-" Buffy said in a very even tone "I know you're nervous, but I had a very, very, bad night last night. So could you please get to the point?"
"We wanna help. After what happened last night, we can't ignore what's going on in this town anymore, and we want to help keep everyone safe. Too many weird and down right horrible things are happening now," Amy said swiftly.
The Slayer gave one look at the assembled group of students, most of whom were just regular people with no Slayer strength or magical talent to aid them 'Just like Xander, all they really have is a fierce determination...and that just isn't enough. Unless they are going to march to their deaths like Xander did,' The blonde thought to herself.
Shaking her head fiercely, she replied "Not a chance, we just lost Xander last night, and he's been doing this for a year. I'm not willing to risk any more people."
"Buffy-" Amy said comfortingly "I understand how you feel, but you can't really expect us to turn a blind eye to things going on around here anymore. Especially after what happened last night. Do you know how many of us went out with our younger siblings or friends and woke up this morning with them either dead, missing, or horribly scarred?"
"Amy I get what your saying and it was tragic but you don't understand. I let Xander get involved with all this, and it got him killed. He, just like all of you, had nothing but a determination to help. While that's admirable and all, it's just not enough. The things going on in this town will eat you alive and spit out what is left!"
Suddenly becoming nervous the brunette retorted, "Well, that isn't really correct Buffy. See, I recently came into my mother's magical powers. I at least have the strength to fight back now. So why not let me join you?"
Blinking in surprise, Buffy said, "Oh, well I guess that's different then."
"So you're saying we're not good enough to fight beside a woman because we're not freaks or super nerds. Is that right?" A mocking voice called out, sneer evident.
The man's tone immediately drew the blonde's ire to the speaker. He was a pasty-faced, dark-haired young man with a face like a weasel and sharp dark eyes filled with arrogance. He was leaning against one of the desks and wearing jeans and a tee-shirt underneath an unbuttoned blue and black plaid shirt.
"And who-"Buffy said coolly "Are you?"
It was Cordelia who answered in a dismissive tone, "That's Warren Mears. An annoying little cretin if there ever was one. Real gearhead who's good with machines that lead to him getting into college early, but also treats women like trash. Rumor has it he's a misogynist."
Nodding slightly while narrowing her eyes, Buffy approached Mears, stopping well within his personal space just so she could glare down her nose at him. Only after he started to squirm uncomfortably under her gaze did she deign to speak.
"Let's get one thing straight right now. I don't appreciate you calling my friends names, got it?" Seeing the boy nodding and sufficiently cowed, Buffy raised her voice and addressed the room at large.
"It's not that I don't think you can fight. I know that, with proper training, you can fight. I just don't know if you should. Xander, that goofy, lovable best friend of mine, died last night because of this. I'm just not sure if I can live with myself if I let any more of you die. How much innocent blood will stain my hands if I let you all join me?" declared Buffy to her peers in trying to get them to see reason.
[Then train them,] Jeanne told her in her mind's eye. [Train them so that they will not die, so that when they face their enemies they can kill them or die trying. Train them so that they are no longer civilians but warriors in the making!]
'Jeanne don't tell me you actually think this is a good idea!' The Blonde Slayer asked, scandalized by the fact that her new 'occupant' was against her already.
[If they know the risks and still see the cause as one worth fighting for, who are you to deny them their right to fight for this cause? Just because you are the Slayer Elizabeth doesn't mean you can control the lives of others around you. It merely means you have a purpose in life. You don't get to choose other people's purpose for them. The Freedom to choose was one of the most important things I died for! No one can take that from you! Not a God, demon, or king!] Jeanne gently chastised as passion started to color her tone.
'…I guess you have a point there. But they just don't seem to get it; they could die. This is not a game! They actually could die out there,' The LA native argued.
[Would you like me to speak to them?] The Saint of Orleans offered.
'Would you?' Buffy asked, surprised the martyr would make such an offer.
She had felt her fellow blonde nod before she said [Indeed, but after I do, you must promise me to accept whatever decision they decide to make afterward. Do you so promise Elizabeth?]
Mentally sighing, Buffy replied 'Fine, but you better not go easy on them.'
[Of course not Elizabeth. Now just relax, this shouldn't hurt a bit…]
Buffy then felt as if she were falling asleep, only to wake up a moment later standing in the market square of Rouen once again. Looking around Buffy noticed a well undamaged and clean. Deciding better here than elsewhere, Buffy decided to sit by it she said aloud, "I wonder how she always knew what I was saying anyway?"
In response, a tendril of water rose from the well behind her, floating in front of her and pooling into a mirror-like shape, before it showed her what was going outside through her own eyes. She could also hear Jeanne giving quite the impassioned speech.
"-listen to me! What I fight is not gangs, nor anything even remotely human! I fight things beyond the comprehension of man. Things that today are thought of as no more than myth and legend. The likes of bloodsucking vampires, savage werewolves, evil witches, and the demonic races that will consume your flesh and soul are my enemies. Each are faster and stronger than any ordinary human and that is why I, the Slayer exist. I am faster, stronger, and more agile than any human has a right to be. I am the sword to fight back the darkness!"
She paused and looked around the room then, making sure she had everyone's rapt attention before she continued "That is why I do not want you to fight. It is not because I do not wish for you to fight. In fact, if I could, I would gladly hand my power and fate onto another. But-"She said, holding up a finger-"I can't do that for to do such a thing would be damning another to the life of a Slayer to save myself. I will make no scapegoat or damn another to give myself salvation!"
She paused for breath to continue, "I do not want you to walk the same path I do. For it is dangerous and the life expectancy of a Slayer, even with their enhanced abilities, is only one year. One year fighting the forces of evil even with all their power. How long do any of you, with no such enhancements, think you would last? I ask this not to dissuade you but to hammer home just how dangerous the fight you are asking to enter truly is. If you still wish to fight after this point, I won't stop you. In fact, I'll train you to the best of my ability so you have the best chance of survival, but know that even with my help, some you may well lose your lives regardless. Such is the grim truth of war. Especially when enemies are at our doorsteps and investing our town to the brim!"
The saint then said in a no-nonsense tone, "I shall give you all time to think on my words. Go home, think about what I said here long and hard, and if you still wish to fight, show up here tomorrow after class. Those that choose not to come shall not be judged for their choice. It is up to the individual to make this decision. For the freedom to choose is the most powerful thing I can gift you with! Now go home everyone, and remember to think on my words."
The screen then went black, and seconds later, Jeanne appeared before Buffy, asking "Do you think that did the trick?"
Staring agape at her French tenant for a moment, Buffy finally managed to pick her jaw up off the floor long enough to form words. "That… that was incredible Jeanne."
"T'was nothing," The Saint replied modestly, shrugging off her praise, "T'was mere honesty is all. After all, if one should fight for something, they should know exactly what they are liable to die for. Offering them the chance to choose will only solidify those that are willing to train!"
"True…so how many of them do you think will show up tomorrow?" Buffy asked hesitantly.
Rubbing her chin in thought for a moment, D'arc replied: "Most of them I suspect."
Eyes widening in surprise that her jaw would have dropped to the ground if it could, the Slayer asked "What? Even after that speech?"
Solemnly nodding, the Saint of Orleans replied "You didn't see it in their eyes, Elizabeth. Most of them have something only the most determined have."
Cocking her head to the side, Buffy asked, "What?"
"Conviction. And it is hard to dissuade someone who thinks they are doing the right thing. No matter if they are wrong or not. For it is conviction that moves mounts and conquers armies!"
'Is that what motivated you, Xander? Were you convinced you had to fight? How strong was your will that you fought vampires even when I left Sunnydale,' the California girl thought to herself morosely.
"Elizabeth, is everything alright?" Jeanne asked while putting a sympathetic hand on the girl's shoulder.
Giving the Maiden of Orleans her best fake smile, she replied "Yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry. Anyway, I'd better be going, no doubt Giles will want some answers…how do I get out of here?"
Laughing a little at the look of confusion on her fellow blondes' face, Jeanne took her by the arm and said: "Follow me, I'll see you out."
She walked across the town square with Jeanne until she was led to a small parish. Pointing at the doors, D'Arc said, "Just walk through the doors and you'll 'wake up' in control of your own body once again."
"Thanks, Jeanne," Buffy said before making her way towards the chapel doors.
"Anytime Elizabeth," That was the last thing the Slayer heard. Then, for the second time, she was briefly surrounded by silence and darkness before she was looking at the world through her own eyes.
Or more accurately looking down the blade of a rapier being held by a rather PO'd Giles. Upon seeing the look on his face, Buffy raised an eyebrow and said, "Got a problem, G-man?"
The use of Xander's nickname for him caused the man from the land of tweed to blink in surprise and ask warily, "Buffy?"
Rolling her green eyes, Buffy replied "Duh Giles, who did you expect? And can you lower the rapier, it's tickling my throat," She told him.
Slowly doing so, he ran a hand through his hair with his free hand and, sighing, said, "Buffy, what exactly happened last night. Is Xander really no longer with us?"
"You may want to sit down for this one Giles. It all started when Xan, Willow, and I were roped into taking kids trick or treating by that troll Principal Snyder…"
And so, the Slayer told her watcher everything that happened last night. Being possessed by their costumes, thanks to Jeanne talking her through it, her fight with Willow, the eventual destruction of the Janus statue, and thus the ending of the ritual. Cordelia told him of Xander's sacrifice. Her Watcher was grimly silent for a few minutes after that. Yet Buffy noted, there were both tears and a look of profound respect and pride in the Brit's eyes
"Thank the Lord, you finally see sense! At least one good thing came from last night!" he said when she told him she'd given Angel the proverbial boot.
Doing her best to not scowl, Buffy braced herself. For now, came the hard part. Telling Giles that Jeanne d'Arc was still residing in her head.
Surprisingly or perhaps not so much, he'd already deduced as much. "Am I to assume she is still living in your body then?"
Gaping like a goldfish, the blonde asked, "How, how did you know?"
Smirking a little, the Watcher replied "Don't take this the wrong way Buffy, you are many things, courageous, strong, willful…but one thing you're not, nor ever have you ever been, is an orator…a public speaker," Giles clarified upon seeing the blonde's puzzled look.
Scowling once again, she opened her mouth to refute him, only for no sound to come out, as she realized he had a point, causing her to close her mouth and nod reluctantly. It was easier for her to agree with Giles as he came from no place of hurt.
Giles patted his teenage charge on her shoulder reassuring her he had meant no insult before he continued "Besides the speech she gave, there were other visible signs. Your bearing changed. When you're not fighting, you have lackluster posture. Yet very suddenly, your stance became straight-backed, yet graceful. Like that of a military commander. The look in your eyes became that of an experienced soldier, and the speech she gave was like one a General would give to one trying to recruit for a war campaign. After you had told me about Jeanne, it was all elementary to conclude a part of the Saint of Orleans was still in you helping guide you."
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Buffy pouted, "So, you're not only saying that I stink at public speaking, but I have bad posture?"
Glaring at his charge from over the rim of his glasses, Giles replied "Buffy is that really the only thing you paid attention to when I explained my reasoning?."
Hearing the clear warning in the man's tone, she relented, sighing in both sadness and exasperation before saying "What do you want me to do Giles? Apologize for allowing Jeanne to stick around? Not gonna happen as I actually happen to like her. Do you want me to apologize for Xander's death? He knew what he was getting into. He knew far better than anyone who just left the library. Are you going to say I'm not taking this Slayer thing seriously enough? Well which is it?!" she ranted at him.
Giles understood his charge wasn't specifically angry at him. It was the stress of being possessed, losing Xander, finding out that it was, in fact, Xander who saved her in the Master's Cave and not Angel, and then having her heart broken by realizing the ensouled vampire had lied to her all this time. All of this happening in such a short time frame had likely taken its toll on the girl. A girl who he knew had a tendency to bottle things up and hide them as best she could, to put on a brave front for others.
So Giles gingerly put his arms around the girl and pulled the girl close for a hug. He then said: "It will be ok Buffy, we'll get through this. I know you lost someone you care for but I am not leaving you. You aren't alone in this."
Again, the blonde broke down, crying into her Watchers' shoulder, saying "It's not fair Giles."
"I know," He said as he patted her back.
"We can't even tell everyone how he died as a hero. We can't even tell his parents. He'll be just another 'runaway'. Xan deserves better," Buffy said, her voice came muffled and distorted from her place on the Englishman's shoulder as he felt the tears staining his tweed jacket.
Giles nodded, agreeing with his Slayer's assessment. Xander did indeed deserve better than to be thought of like a runaway. But sadly, there wasn't much that could be done without compromising the secrecy of the supernatural world. The last thing either of them wanted was to cause mass panic and hysteria at the masquerade being dropped.
Willow and Cordelia stood off to the side watching this scene unfold, both feeling slightly sorry for the blonde Slayer. After a moment of awkward silence, Willow spoke up, "I suppose now would be a bad time to inform you that I'm also currently renting out my body to a second century B.C. Amazonian Queen Giles?"
The Watcher looked at the redhead in astonished disbelief with dawning horror overcoming his face. "Good Lord, you can't be serious…right?"
"Afraid so Giles…sorry," The hacker apologized upon seeing his stunned expression.
Seeing the look on her Watcher's face, Buffy guided him to a chair and had him sit down. Rubbing his face for a moment, he looked up and deadpanned "Am I to assume Cordelia has taken on catlike traits as well?"
The Queen Bee of Sunnydale High shook her head replying "Nope, just these two." She then gave the two other high schoolers in the room an odd glance before saying, "Speaking of, how exactly did you two come to an agreement with the people who were possessing you?"
"Y-Yes that is something I would like to know as well if you please," Giles requested, though even with his stutter it sounded like a command to salvage his crumbling sanity.
Seeing her friends' nervousness, Buffy went first. She explained how she met Jeanne in the market square of Rouen and how after giving her a stern talking to, she told her about how Angel was lying to her about saving her life. Then she asked to stay with her, and how doing so would further enhance her abilities as well as grant her access to the Saint's standard Luminosite Eternelle as well as her blade La Pucelle.
"Well, that sounds a lot nicer than my first meeting," Willow said kind of put out with how her gal pal and secondary host bonded.
"Why what happened?" Buffy asked.
Rubbing her shoulders, the redhead said "Well nothing technically bad. It's just…well, it went like this."
(…)
Willow found herself standing amidst a city that had been subject to a siege. Its scorched, and half-ruined buildings reminded her of Grecian architecture. However, that wasn't the first thing she noticed. The first thing to catch her eye was the mass of bodies that littered the streets. Piles of corpses lay piled everywhere, blood pooled in-between the stones of the cobblestone street, and the smell of burning flesh, smoke, and offal lingered in the air, making her want to vomit.
Yet, she forced it down and tried to get her bearings. She found she was standing in the middle of a four-way intersection. The way behind her was blocked by flames, to her left and right, the buildings had collapsed leaving only one way to go, and that was forwards. And so, she trekked through the blood and fire, the corpses and carrion eaters, while muttering prayers for the dead in Hebrew. Finally, she came to the steps of a white marble palace, half-burnt pennant flags flapping in the stale breeze displayed a black gauntlet on a crimson field, its domed roof half caved in by trebuchet fire, and several of its pillars lay shattered and broken.
Yet, there was still plenty of room for the redhead to make her way forwards into the dilapidated structure, and so she continued onwards. Hoping to find either a survivor or a way out of this accursed place. The deeper she went into the palace, the thicker it became with bodies. Soon enough Willow was forced to walk over the corpses of the fallen instead of on the floor, so clogged it was with the dead. Finally, she came to the throne room and gasped.
For on a throne hewn of gold, lined with red velvet, set with rubies the size of golf balls, sat the Warrior-Queen Red Sonja. She was a gorgeous woman in her thirties with skin the color of alabaster, wild red hair that shone like flames, and shrewd blue eyes that she could feel were judging her even from where she sat. The Amazoness woman wore a bikini made of chainmail and on her right hand rested the Witchblade in its gauntleted form. Willow couldn't believe she was standing before her hero. For indeed, Red Sonja was everything the timid wallflower was not.
Sonja was strong, assertive, dominant, and powerful. These were traits Willow herself lacked, yet desired greatly. Which was why she was such a huge fan of the barbarian woman. Just as she was about to pinch herself to ascertain if she was dreaming or not, Sonja called out to her in a powerful effeminate voice, saying "Well don't just stand there, child. Come closer, and let me have a look at you."
Hurriedly doing as bidden, the redheaded valley-girl ran up to the throne as quickly as she could, being careful not to trip over one of the numerous corpses that lay strewn in her path, until she stood in front of the Bloody-haired Goddess of Battle.
Sonja silently appraised her for a few moments, before inquiring "Tell me, girl, you seem rather faint of heart and weak of will, so why is it, that you would be possessed by myself of all people due to the spell of a sorcerer? I was never one to tap into the arcane outs or foul sorcery?"
Clearing her throat a couple of times, before she said "W-Well Your Highness-"
Only to be cut off by the amazoness who said "There is naught but corpses here now girl, so I rule no one. Call me Sonja."
Assenting to the elder woman's request, Willow continued "Well Sonja, if I'm correct in assuming Ethan Rayne was the Sorcerer then I would say I was possessed by your spirit because... Idressedasyoufor Halloween," she finished in nervous hyper-babble by the stern gaze Sonja was laying onto her.
Sonja was silent for a moment, looking at the young girl before her with a bemused expression before she asked: "And why, may I ask, were you dressed like me?"
"Because…" Willow muttered looking down, intimidated and afraid she could possibly die at any moment.
"Hmm, what was that?" Sonja asked mockingly "I couldn't quite hear you over the sound of your simpering, sniveling, and cowardice. The Jester-Warrior from earlier may have had bad puns, but at least he had stones. Stones enough to die for his cause. Speak up child or forsake your peace!"
This caused the meek girl's head to snap up and her eyes to lock with Sonja's own before she said in a serious yet worried tone, "Do you mean Xander? What happened to him?"
Inclining her head respectively Sonja recalled, "Aye, he made the noblest sacrifice to end the wizard's spell that allowed my temporary possession of your body at the cost of his own life."
"W-What?" Yet, Willow's shock quickly turned to outrage and disbelief and, gripping the amazoness by the hem of her chainmail brassiere she all but growled out as she was able to exert what strength she did have on her grip, "You're lying! What actually happened to Xander?! What have you done to him?!"
Instead of becoming incised, Sonja just smiled and said calmly, "Well, it appears a nerve has been struck and that you do indeed have a spine where the Warrior-Fool is concerned."
"Shut up and tell me-" Willow's rant was cut off as the Warrior-Queen finished "This is good, for I would not even consider making a deal with a weakling."
This proclamation stunned the younger redhead silent for a moment and caused her to loosen her grip on the now defunct Queen, who used her momentary distraction to her advantage. She quickly and easily put the younger girl in an arm lock, her arm twisted uncomfortably behind her back, and held her firmly in place with her superior strength.
"Now-"She breathed silkily into Willow's ear making her shiver, "Are you going to listen to what I have to say or will this arm have to be removed?"
When the younger girl didn't answer, Sonja tightened her grip and yanked up on her arms a bit, causing her to whimper in pain before she gritted out "Yes."
Sonja then lightly pushed the high school student away from her and watched silently as she rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders to lessen the pain. Finally, she spoke in an authoritative yet somber tone "I have nothing to do with the death of your friend. He chose to sacrifice himself to end the spell of the sorcerer knowing full well the risks of doing so had on himself. Truly a warrior of integrity that I would have gladly fought with."
Willow silently stared into the eyes of the Bloody-Goddess of Battle for what seemed like an eternity while thinking back to her best friends' chivalrous tendencies. As much as it pained her to admit, she knew Xander would have no problem sacrificing himself for other people. He was just stupidly heroic like that, and that was just one of the reasons she loved him so, so much. Knowing this, she nodded and said "I believe you. So, you spoke of a deal?"
In response, Sonja offered the younger girl her gauntleted forearm, the one bearing the black and gem encrusted Witchblade as she said "Aye. In return for granting me sanctuary in your mind, I shall allow you continued use of the Witchblade. Allowing you to ensure you possess enough power so that nothing like this happens to anyone around you again. So, what say you?"
Willow looked at the offered hand, and thought about the offer itself, before narrowing her eyes and saying suspiciously "What do you get out of this?"
"Freedom," Sonja replied directly. Seeing the girl's confused look, she elaborated, "Humanity has a collective consciousness. This conscientiousness wishes for humanity to survive at any cost. However it cannot act on its own, it requires agents to act on its behalf. These humans are granted boons while alive, but in return, they serve this collective human consciousness eternally after death…Usually, their targets are masses of their fellow humans. As none is more destructive and intent on wiping each other out than ourselves."
Willow took this in silently before she asked: "What does this have to do with the Witchblade?"
"It is the symbol of acceptance of the contract for women," Sonja replied before adding when seeing the girl's panicked face, "A contract that you shall not be bound by, as you made no contract with the collective consciousness. Instead, a sorcerer's magic brought the Witchblade and myself into being. Thus, if you accept it, not only will you gain access to its powers unbound to the Collective Consciousness, but-"
This time, it was Sonja's turn to be cut off as Willow deduced "You'll also be free from having to kill any more innocent people."
"Indeed," Sonja affirmed with a nod. "What I was forced to do as an agent of the Collective Consciousness, was neither honorable nor was it pleasant. I have fought and killed before, on countless battlefields. But what it forces you to do…It is no battle. There is no honor in this. Only coldblooded slaughter. I did not gain the ascension I deserve but damnation as a killing machine."
Willows' heart went out to the fiery-haired amazon. Enough for her to say, "And if I let you stay in my body, that would help?"
"Aye, as much as it pains me to even attempt to place such a burden on a child, I would ask if I could stay within you," Sonja inquired, sounding begrudgingly humble.
"Hmm, do you mean, like possess my body?" Willow asked wide-eyed.
Sighing, the elder redhead nodded and elaborated, "No, Willow Rosenberg, this would not be a possession exactly. I would be willing to pay tithes in the form of increasing your knowledge and skill with weapons, as well as granting you access to the Witchblade. And in return, I needn't not be used as a pawn any longer. So, what say you?" she asked, holding out her arm that was adorned with the Witchblade.
Willow thought about the deal. She didn't see any downsides. Then she thought of Xander and how she didn't want anyone else to be lost in this war with the dark. What else could she do, but accept?
(…)
The room was silent save for the sound of the resident Watcher rubbing his glasses furiously and muttering, "Good Lord," Under his breath.
Finally, Buffy put a comforting arm around her friend and said: "Are you gonna be ok Willow?"
Briefly taking a moment to collect herself, the new wielder of the Witchblade nodded, saying "Y-Yeah, I think I'll be just fine Buffy," Willow then proceeded to take a deep calming breath. Letting it out she continued, "I believe that it would be best if we all went home and got some sleep. A-A lot of bad things happened last night, and we all need time to come to terms with it."
"Agreed, but just to recap. You, Buffy, and Xander became possessed by your costumes due to a spell cast by some wizard, Xander supposedly sacrificed his life to end the spell, and now you two are willingly housing benevolent spirits. Is all that about right?" Giles asked, feeling as if his life had just gotten even more hectic.
Nodding, the Slayer replied, "Right on the money Giles. The sorcerer got away, but he did tell us his name. It was Ethan…Ethan Payne-no Rayne that's it! Ethan Rayne, he was from the Land of Tweed, just like yo-Giles?" Buffy asked her Watcher when she saw the dark, furious look on his face as he gripped the desk near him so hard she could hear it creaking.
Such was the look of fury on the usually jovial man's face that Buffy took a step back in fear, for a moment forgetting she was a Slayer whose powers had been enhanced with the abilities of a Saint. Finally, she gathered her wits enough to ask "Giles, are you alright?"
Instead of answering, Giles asked in a dangerously low and calm voice "Buffy are you quite certain that man's name was Ethan Rayne?"
"Yeah why do you," Buffy was cut off by Giles, who said to the three of them "Go home, the three of you have been through a lot in a very short period of time. You need time to rest, recuperate, and grieve."
"Oi, old guy! Do you know the killer sorcerer or not?!" Cordelia asked tired of him dodging the question.
Giles glared at her harshly in response, but in typical Cordelia Chase fashion, Cordelia glared right back. Her arms crossed in front of her chest, zero shits being given to the Watcher's mood at the moment. The two stared each other down for a time, until finally the aged Watcher replied stiffly, "Yes, I do know Ethan Rayne. I know how he thinks, how he acts, and where he's likely to run. He's a piece of my past I would much like to forget…and now it seems I get to bury him permanently. If the circumstances were different I would be quite happy. Alas Xander is dead from his actions so no joy can be found."
Cordelia locked eyes with the Watcher a moment longer before she nodded minutely and said, "Make sure you make it hurt, got it?"
"Quite," Giles said curtly, accenting the word with a sharp nod.
That was all Cordy needed to hear, as she promptly turned on her heel and marched out of the library, grabbing both Willow and Buffy's arms as she went. They were halfway across the high school lawn before Buffy dug her heels into the earth. Almost causing the ordinary girl to almost trip and fall on her face, due to the Slayer deciding she didn't want to be dragged along anymore.
Turning to her Cordelia said archly, "What's your deal Summers? I don't know about you, but I'd like to get home, get out of this stupid costume, take a long hot shower, and sleep for ten or so hours."
Giving Cordelia a stern look Buffy retorted, "We can't just let Giles hunt that Ethan guy down so he can kill him."
Arching her perfectly plucked eyebrow, Cordy replied haughtily, "And why the hell not? This is the same guy who either killed Xander or potentially poofed him to who knows where. He also made killers out of more than a few people last night even if they didn't realize it."
Seeing the baffled looks on the other girl's faces the brunette scoffed and said, "Oh c'mon, don't tell me you guys didn't think that a couple of hundred people being possessed by anything from pirates to demons, to mummies wouldn't lead to some people dying? Hate to break it to you, but before I bumped into your ex-walking dead BF, I saw pirates killing werewolves, superheroes fighting supervillains, and zombies galore gnawing people to death. I bet at least a few hundred people died last night, and no one is going to remember a thing…Well, not everyone, some people are wising up…But the point is, that this Ethan Rain-"
"That's Rayne with a 'Y,' not an 'I'," Willow told her automatically.
"Don't care! The point is, he knew full well what he was doing last night and did it anyway. So if you ask me, he deserves what he has coming to him when Giles gets his hands on him. He has it coming for all the people he's killed," Cordelia finished coldly.
"But, But he's a human being! We can't just let him be killed," Buffy argued.
Looking the Slayer dead in the eye, the brunette replied, "Tell me Summer's, hypothetically speaking, if you had a chance to go back in time and kill Hitler, would you do it?"
Suddenly, Willow's eyes widened as she went "O~H!
The Slayer blinked in surprise for a moment before asking "What does that have to do with anything?"
Sighing, Cordelia said, "Just answer the question."
"Well knowing what he's capable of, yeah, of course, I would he's,-"The Slayer suddenly stopped talking as she understood what the head of the popular clique was trying to tell her.
"He was a monster. Not all monsters need to look the part 'oh mighty Slayer'. Sometimes, humans can be even worse than actual demons. But just because they don't look like demons, doesn't mean that they don't deserve to be put down when they act like them. Sometimes a person has lost their humanity and should be put down like the monster they have become,"was the impassioned speech Cordelia gave to Buffy and Willow.
"I guess you're right," Buffy admitted grudgingly, yet doubt still lingered in the back of her mind.
"Like duh. Now let's get home, cause I don't know about you, but this costume is starting to chafe, and even worse, my popularity will take a serious dive if I'm caught walking around like this," The snooty brunette finished leading the way to her car, which she'd left parked across the street from the school the previous night, intending to party at the Bronze before all hell broke loose in the streets.
As they parted ways, the trio promised to meet up the next day to see what could be done with whoever showed up after classes. As she drove off after dropping the Slayer at her house while giving her mother a kind wave, all she could think was, 'I hope Summers knows what she's doing.'
(…)
All three of the girls absentmindedly worked their way through classes on Monday. Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be out of it as well, and their teachers chalked it up to it being a Monday morning. Finally, classes ended for the day and the three met up outside the doors at the library. Buffy looked first towards Willow and then Cordelia before staring at the door and saying, "Ready?"
"Don't tell me the 'almighty-slayer' is nervous at having to lead a group of people?" Cordelia teased while glancing at the faux-blonde sideways.
"A little yeah. I mean, usually, it was just me, Willow, Giles, and…and Xan. Now a whole lot of other people might be putting their lives on the line, and if something happens to them…" Buffy trailed off, already feeling guilt mounting for things that hadn't yet occurred.
"If something happens to them, it won't be your fault Summers. Anyone who's behind that door right now is there because they want to be, and because they know the risks. So stop wigging and let's get this rolling," Cordelia said before she pushed the doors open and walked in like she owned the place.
She along with Buffy and Willow were quite surprised to find everyone sans that pig Warren Meers had shown back up in the library once again. In truth, they had expected at least a few people to back out, and they wouldn't have blamed them in the least. Yet, here they were once again, this time, knowing full well what the risks were.
Silence fell amongst their peers upon their entrance. Then Amy, the spokeswoman for the group came forward and spoke to the trio, saying, "Hey girls, we all talked it over, and we decided. Despite knowing what might happen, we can't sit by and do nothing. Not after what happened last night. So, if it's ok with you Buffy, we'd like to help you, Willow, and Cordelia in any way we could."
Stepping forwards, Buffy asked Amy, "Are you sure this is what you want?"
Seeing the girl nod resolutely, Buffy raised her voice and asked, "Are you all sure this is what you want?"
Seeing nods and hearing choruses of 'Hell Yeahs!,' Buffy sighed and said, "Alright then, if this is what you actually want, then I won't stop you. Nor will I stop any of you from leaving should you change your minds at any given point. But for now, let's get to work."
And so they did. Over the next week, a rough command structure was hashed out. Such a thing was never truly needed before as their group had been so small. But now, with over two dozen people filling the Scooby Gang's ranks, such a thing was necessary. Willow took charge of those magically inclined, which meant she had the job of teaching Amy and Andrew Wells proper magic use. Thanks to all of the knowledge stored within the Witchblade, she was in effect, "Sorceress Supreme of the Gang", a nickname given to her by Andrew.
Buffy split those willing to risk their lives actually fighting into two teams. Those with the most promise joined Alpha Team and trained alongside Buffy herself as she continued to learn now in earnest from Giles.
Beta Team was headed by Cordelia, who like all the others in Beta Team, needed a crash course in even basic combat against normal humans before they even thought about going up against something like a vampire.
As for those who still wished to help but not fight, Giles took them under his wing. By the end of the week, he had created a Research Taskforce, whose job it was to translate ancient texts and supply dossiers to both Alpha and eventually, Beta Team.
Yet even as they trained, Xander was never far from the Original Four members of the Scooby Gang's thoughts. Most nights after the patrols were done and they went tired yet satisfied to their beds, they said a silent prayer for their friend, hoping that wherever he was now, it was a better place.
Oh how very very very wrong the girls were. If any of them knew where Xander had been sent they would have hunted down Ethan Rayne damn the consequences.
(…)
Xander was on edge, for it had been almost five days since he'd sent Mr. Grimm out to find the source of Salvadon's weapon manufacturing and either steal it or destroy it. So far, the man had neither returned nor sent word of any kind. This worried the young man as he knew with every hour that passed, the drug lord came closer to bringing his forces to bear upon him.
Not that he was concerned for his own safety. No, for over the past four days, he'd asked a plethora of questions of his three mental residents, in an attempt to get a feel for what he was capable of. The results of his extensive questioning led him to feel safe enough that, should push come to shove even an army of a thousand augmented men wouldn't be able to slow him down in a fight. Thanks to the King of Knights he was forty times stronger than an average man, and thirty times faster and more durable. Combined with his Dragon Core, which allowed him to draw on vast amounts of Warp energy without falling into madness while increasing his hardienss and endurance to the toughness of dragon scales. He also had Archie the Archmage's knowledge of magic, and Adam Jensen's SWAT and security background, Xander felt he was more than capable of defending the bar from assault. Whether it was through technology know how, magic, or pure dominating force.
But never one to leave things to chance, Xander had been asking seemingly simple questions of Kat's mother. Like if she kept any spare promethium gas tanks, which she used to heat her grill, laying around. Xander with some help from Jensen and his own ingenuity was in the process of creating several traps and IEDs, and hiding them all over the perimeter of the establishment without alerting any of the patrons. Most of them were a motley crew of rough and tumble types that left Xander feeling like he was renting a room in a biker bar. His reasons for setting up the traps was quite simple, just because he could use vast amounts of psychic power to wipe out the coming horde, doesn't mean he should. That could lead to unfortunate circumstances, like an Inquisitor from the Ordo Hereticus showing up and killing everyone for simply being in contact with him.
In hindsight, Xander felt incredibly stupid for not only telling the former Catachan Major that he was a Psyker but an Alpha-Plus level Psyker. It took the sixteen-year-old a not so good nights' sleep in the best room Zael's had to offer, which primarily consisted of a cot and a room that had its own bathroom with running lukewarm water, that he realized this was not a dream.
He had indeed accepted a mission from the God-Emperor of Mankind to save the Imperium and unite it with the Eldar and Tau Xenos races. The very idea seemed like a daunting if the nigh-impossible prospect in the light of a new day. Yet, for some reason despite the fact that the Californian was millennia into the future and many lightyears away from home, knowing someone was coming to kill him, he felt…calm, at peace maybe?
'No, that's not really right. I feel super focused like I'm on an adrenaline rush but…not. What's going on? Is this some kind of Psyker power?' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, Xander heard the sound of feet pattering on the floor approaching his room. He quickly got up and answered the door before the person could so much as knock. Standing out in his hallway was Kat, holding a tray of what passed for food in the 41st Millennium in one hand, and her other hand was half raised to knock on his door. Upon seeing her, he smiled a bit and asked, "Something you need Kat?"
He didn't know why, but over the last couple of days, the copper-haired girl had become flustered around him. Xander chalked it up to her being unused to being addressed so politely by anyone, let alone a Rogue Trader. Whatever the reason, this pattern of behavior didn't seem to be letting up as the young woman looked just as abashed as ever around him. She promptly bowed respectfully and said, "It's passed lunchtime milord. When you did not come down for breakfast Mam thought maybe you had a lay in, but now it's almost one, I- I mean, she was gettin' concerned, so she sent me here to check up on you with some food in case you was hungry."
Nodding in thanks, Xander accepted the meal which looked like the mystery meat they served in the cafeteria on Thursdays that everyone tried desperately to avoid. Still beggars can't be choosers. Especially not in the 41st Millennium where most rations are made from the corpses of other civilians. So he silently ate the food that honestly tasted even worse than it looked, washing down the gruel with some weak beer. After he was finished, he noticed Kat was still in his room looking half worried about something.
Knowing how women work to an extent due to having Willow as a best friend, he knew she was likely waiting for him to finish eating. That way she would have his full attention when she told him in great detail all about what was bothering her. Not that he minded. He was used to things like this, moments like this made him feel…almost normal. And so, he smiled and patted the empty space beside him on the cot before saying, "Why don't you sit down and tell me what's wrong Kat?"
Promptly taking the offered seat, the Underhiver stated in a rush of air, "You need to get out of here immediately Alex. I didn't notice when it happened, but one of the people you killed was Salvadon's brother, Luciano. Rumor has it that when his men found the bodies, Salvadon was furious and killed three of them in a fit of rage. He's put a thousand throne and flect bounty on the head of the person who killed his brother and stole his tribute. From the whispers I've heard lately, I think some of the patrons might be looking to collect on you for a quick buck," She told him worriedly.
Xander digested all of this silently before he said, "I see, I was going to wait till Grimm got back and informed me what we were up against, but if that's how things are going, then I guess I have no choice but proceed with the plan I had in mind."
He then let out a near theatrical sigh, before he pushed himself off the cot and made his way out of the room and made his way down the hall with Kat dogging his every step. The bar, a place usually abuzz with the sounds of nigh innumerable conversations of the nearly one-hundred thousand patrons that regularly packed it to the brim systematically went dead silent as his presence became noticed until only the sound of the fryer in the back and the half working radio could be heard. Ignoring the feeling that he was walking into a lion's den, Xander strode forwards until he stood in the middle of the room, where all eyes were on him, and where he was at his most vulnerable due to being surrounded on all sides. Then, it was only then that he began to speak to the crowd at large.
"It's come to my attention that a particular drug lord has put a price on my head. Some of you no doubt wish to cash in on this opportunity, and honestly? I wouldn't blame you if you tried, considering you are down here, in the forgotten pits of the Hive City. However, I have a proposal of my own for the lot of you."
He looked around then, seeing he had everyone's attention he continued, "Join my crew. Join my crew and get out of this dump. Travel the stars and prove to everyone that they were wrong about you, that you really can make something of yourselves if you try hard enough. Join and bask in the journey I will set upon that will make those among the stars shudder. That is my counter offer."
He stood there amidst a sea of potential killers, listening as they grumbled and whispered amongst each other. Finally, a big bruiser of a man whose thick ropy arms were covered in crisscrossing scars stepped forwards. Having to look down due to standing a good head and shoulders over the boy he asked in gruff Low Gothic, "Why should me an' ma' crew folla' ya? Ya gots yer'self a ship?"
"It's on its way, yes," Xander replied smoothly.
Turning to the crowd, the man hollered uproariously stilling the crow to laugh in tern, "On its way 'e says! Wut a load a crock."
Becoming slightly annoyed with the man's attitude Xander replied heatedly, "The Emperor has promised to provide all that I need. Including a ship. I would be careful in doubting the God Emperor's will when you are in one of HIS cities whether it is in the underhive or not."
The man then spit to the side in disgust in response to Xander's threat before turning back to him and saying, "Da Emperor don' give no shits 'bout anyone down 'ere boy. He's abandoned the lot of us to squalor an' death. 'E don' care. Why his highness even put up with us. We are the lowest of the low. Scum to be scraped of the emperor's boot!"
Looking the man dead in the eye he asked calmly "And just what is your name, Mister?"
"Chizz, Chizz Bear-Scar. Cap'in of the Blood Claws. One o' the toughest meanest gangs in the Underhive," He said with pride as roughly half the men in the bar gave a proud roar while raising their glasses in salute as a show of support to their gang leader.
"Maybe you should give him a chance and let him say his peace Jizz," A female voice Xander recognized, called out through the crowd.
Glaring in the direction of the voice, the bear of a man growled out, "What have I told you about calling me that Nalaar? You want me and my boys to show you an underhiver welcome or to you want to keep your big trap shut!"
Inclining his head towards her as she made her way through the crowd Xander said quite courteously and politely, "Mrs. Nalaar."
Scowling at the gang leader and giving the young rogue a flirtatious wink that was accompanied by a warm smile on her ruby red lips she said, "How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Chandra, Xan?"
For his part, Xander just shook his head at her antics. He figured she was here to help him in some way.
Since the first night of his arrival, whenever he came down for food or to make defenses, she would all but glue herself to his side. Not that he minded, she was stronger than she looked and more than that, she was an incredibly powerful Pyrokine. Something she proudly boasted about. When he revealed he was a psyker as well, she stuck to him even closer than before, giddy at the thought of getting to teach him how to burn things. It seemed her true passion was the power of flames and how psykic energy could be used to play with it.
Turning back to the gang leader Chandra's fists, eyes and hair were set ablaze by her raw power as she said in a sickly sweet tone as sparks leaped from her hair, "And I thought I told you not to fuck with me Jizz."
From the back, Jehanne Effernatti called out, "Oi, don't go burnin' down ma' bar Nalaar! If you do we are all fucked so quit it!"
"Sorry Gran," The Pyrokine called over her shoulder as she reigned in her power to still be threatening to the big bad wannabe.
"I'm not that much older than you, you cradle robbing brat," snarked back Jehanne as she cleaned some mugs and kept an eye on the growing conflict.
Rolling her emerald green eyes, Xander heard Chandra mutter under her breath. "Age is just a number," before she turned to him and said "You were sayin' Xan?"
Clearing his throat awkwardly he said "Yeah, thanks, Chandra. Anyway like I said, the Emperor provides, the Emperor protects. I believe I was sent here for a reason. Maybe that reason was to help all of you…But you have to want it. You have to want to get out of this place and better yourselves. A wise man once said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Your first step would be getting clean, and having a bit of faith. If not in the Emperor, then in me. It is hard to believe in an Emperor that has never graced your planet or helped you personally. I really do understand so put a little faith in me that's all I ask."
Xander was silent for a moment before he shrugged and said, "That's all I have to say I-"
Xander stopped when he suddenly felt as if the base of his skull was being pierced by a nail. He opened his mouth in a silent scream before all of the sudden, he heard the voice of a woman in his head. She had a commanding no nonsense tone that reminded him of Giles at his most authoritative.
["Alexander Lavelle Harris can you hear me?"] was the message he received in his head.
["Who the fuck is this?!"] was the only reply Xander could think in response to the pain in his head that made him feel like his skull was going to split.
[Such language is unbecoming of one chosen by the Emperor, young man. This is Inquisitor Lilith Abfequarn Ordo Hereticus, sending you a message via Astropath. I, along with others have been ordered by our most holy Emperor himself to assist you. We are closing in on your location via Warp-travel and shall arrive in t-minus twelve hours. With me are a Vindicare Assassin, and two companies of Grey Knight Astartes, and a Preceptory of the Adepta Sororitas.]
Xander was shocked into silence for a moment as he attempted to wrap his head around having such a massive force at his command. Once he did, he said, [You have two hundred Astartes, two-hundred Battle-Sisters, and a Vindicare Assassin…just how big is this ship the Emperor is sending me?] He inquired of the Inquisitor.
There was a pregnant pause before Lilith Abfequarn replied, [We were ordered to pick up an Oberon-class Battleship from Mars, sir. On the way there I explained the situation to the Grandmaster of the Grey Knights and he insisted on providing support.]
Xander went from being shocked to gaining the beginnings of a headache trying to process all of this at once, while he most certainly happy at the news he couldn't help believe his luck actually came through for once, [You know what, I can't even be shocked by this anymore. So, I guess I'll see you at 1000 hours, Mrs. Abfequarn."]
Xander heard a slight chuckle on the other end of the line before the older woman replied, [Till then Lord Alexander, do try and stay out of trouble won't you? Abfequarn out.]
With that final message, the invading tendril of thought receded, allowing the novice Rogue Trader to come back to his senses…to find Kat, Chandra, and most surprisingly of all, Grimm and another man with a crimson visor and hair that vaguely reminded him of X-men's Cyclops, looking at him worriedly.
Chandra, being who she was, immediately pushed her face as close as she could to his without kissing him, her hair already ablaze before she asked, "Xan, you alright? It looked as though you were being attacked by a mental probe."
Chandra looked around in suspicion at the crowd as if looking for someone specific, before turning back to him and saying "Just say the word, an' I'll torch this place. That'll bring the bastard outta hiding. Some friend he is for attacking you in secret."
Quickly waving off her suggestion, Xander stood on wobbly feet, before saying "No, Chandra, no. It wasn't…whoever the hell you think it was. Calm down alright? I am fine, something important just happened. Some that just turned our fortune for the better."
Slowly, the fire left her eyes, fists, and finally, her hair shifted from a flickering flame to her regular red locks, but an orange tinge still remained even as she nodded. Nodding Xander addressed the crowd at large, who had been too afraid to approach due to the enraged Pyrokine. Clearing his throat he spoke to the entire room, "Alright everyone, listen up. I just received a message from an Inquisitor by the name of Lilith Abfequarn. She along with two companies of Astartes, and a Preceptory of the Adepta Sororitas will be along in about twelve hours. They'll be arriving in an Oberon-class Battleship to pick me up, along with anyone who wants to come with me, and then I will assume command and take us where we need to go. So, any questions?"
There was dead silence in the spacious tavern for a moment, so much so that Xander started to feel self-conscious. Then it exploded into a hurricane of people yelling and shouting, some charging towards him while others hit their knees and began muttering hymns to the Emperor in thanks for a miracle happening before them. Xander suddenly felt himself being dragged backward towards the stairs, and then up them. He was so surprised about what was happening around him, the thought of resistance didn't even cross his mind until he was thrown on the cot in his room. Looking around in a slight daze, he found himself facing Grimm, the Cyclopes-wannabe, Kat, and lastly Chandra. All were staring at him with looks of awe, exasperation, admiration, or respect.
"You don't do things by half do ya boy?" Grimm said, speaking in a weary yet amused tone. He checked the door and down the hallway to make sure they weren't followed by any of the gangers.
"That's my Xander! Leaping in headfirst and damn the consequences!" Chandra boasted proudly as she laughed. Xander tried to hold himself back from staring at the wonderful things Chandra's laughter did for her chest.
Before anyone else could contribute to the conversation, Xander held up his hands and said, "Would someone like to explain to me what just happened down there? Cause, a as far as I know I am pretty lost on the reaction the gangers had to what I said."
It was the Tech-Priest who spoke for the first time, as well as talking to the group, saying, "For someone like you, who is from the time of the Great Crusade, standard Space Marines are probably nothing. Especially to one who lived when the Primarches once walked among Imperium spreading the Emperor's will. Now to put it into perspective for you Milord, Space Marines are like Gods to most folk, who see them as the Emperor's chosen warriors. Whereas the Inquisition, particularly the Adepta Sororitas are looked on with abject fear…as when they show up, people usually end up dead, missing, or dragged off to the black ships to never be seen or heard of again," He finished, his voice sounding grim.
"Where did you hear-" Xander didn't get to finish as the Heretek replied, "T-the E-Emperor. I was one of the people contacted by him along with Inquisitor Abfequarn."
You could all but hear a pin drop in the silence that followed the twin revelations the Tech-Priest just delivered. Yet, he used that very same silence to continue speaking, "And for you to say that you have not only two-hundred Astartes under your command but an Inquisitor as well as two-hundred Adepta Sororitas, that all but makes you a Saint in the eyes of these has been a very long time since a the Emperor has had any of his forces visit this planet much less the underhive."
Xander blinked with his one remaining eye once, then twice before he groaned and said, "I really screwed that up, didn't I?"
Much to his surprise, the Catachan took up the conversation, shaking his head saying, "Not as badly as you might think. Could you have handled it better? Of course, but this can still easily be turned in our favor. They now know you are a man of your word and that you don't offer false or empty promises."
He then put a hand on his superior's shoulder and said in a gruff yet kindly tone, "You're young, and bound to make mistakes especially seeing as, if the priest is to be believed, this isn't the Imperium you remember. Don't let it get to ya. Just learn from them and move on. Sometimes all we can do is move forward."
Taking a deep breath, the boy nodded and said "Right," He then put on a more serious face as he asked, "And your mission? How did it go, any trouble?"
Snapping to attention, the Jungle Fighter replied, "Mission was a success sir, I found and absconded with the source of Salvadon's weapon manufacturing capabilities, One Fawkes Fieri, and have brought him here to be heard out by you, sir."
This brought Xander's attention to the visored man who had thus so far kept himself silent while the two soldiers talked, he was currently pursuing his notes on various subjects from this universe, using a mechandrite tendril to carefully and quietly flip through the pages. Looking up when he heard his name called, he looked up hastily, a look of guilt evident on his face. He nervously put notes away and gave his full attention to Xander.
The two stared at each other silently for a moment, until Xander broke what amounted to eye contact by looking him up and down while commenting, "A Tech-Priest down here working for a drug lord? Unusual. I am glad the Emperor updated you on my situation."
Seeing the machine-man shift uneasily caused Xander to begin to think, 'He's hiding in the Underhive, which means he doesn't want to be found, likely by his own people. I see and sense no signs of external corruption by Chaos, and bet he's made more than a few defensive enhancements to himself, which means only one thing.'
"You're a Heretek, hiding from the Mechanicus aren't you?" concluded Xander at the only reasonable conclusion he could find from the clues set forth before him.
Shakily, the Heretek nodded babbling, "Y-Yes, b-but I never m-made an A-A.I. I-I merely innovated and a-attempted to re-recreate lost technology."
"Which is considered heresy in the eyes of the Mechanicus. So you ran. Let me guess, Salvadon seemed nice at first, offering you a place to stay, if you fixed up a machine here and there…then he demanded you make weapons for him, or the Skitarri would 'conveniently' know where to find you. That sounds about right?" Xander surmised seeing the color drain from the young tech priest's face with every fact he spoke.
Rapidly nodding, Fieri replied, "C-Correct, s-sir. Information on your background and history does not do you justice milord."
Clapping his hands before standing, the young man said, "Excellent."
Although the Heretek had forsaken his ability to blink, he could still raise his eyebrows. Doing so, he said, "E-Excellent? How exactly?"
Allowing himself to smile a little, Xander took what he considered the first of the first steps to save the Imperium of Man, "For too long, we, humanity I mean, have been stuck in the past. Instead of innovating, something humanity has done for millennia first using sticks and sharpened stone, we have been trapped in a state of stagnation and decay technologically. As, whenever someone dares even attempt to even try and move humanity out of this slump they've been in for the past…oh, fifteen thousand years or so, have been killed by the Mechanicus under the guise of being heretics. So you're exactly what I need. Someone who's willing to look past millennia of machine based indoctrination and actually thinks. Plus, if you're on a Rogue Trader's ship the Mechanicus will have no authority over you. If they try to take you on decree from the Fabricator General I have the authority from my warrant of trade to override them and if needed eliminate them."
Xander paused then in thought before saying, "But before we worry about destroying millennia of religious zealotry that has caused the Imperium to rot from the inside out we should probably take care of this Salvadon guy first. Small fish in comparison but still. It is the principle of the thing."
The Catachan gave a savage grin before producing a small remote with a single red button on its face. Handing it to his superior he said, "We're half a step ahead of you there sir."
"Oh, what's this do?" he said moments before he hit the button.
A rumble could be heard in the distance to the north like a peal of far off thunder. The Heretek explained after the sound past, "That was the sound of victory sir. Or, to be more specific, that was the sound of several tons of high-grade weapons and their munitions blowing up in Salvadon's base of operations."
"What are the chances that this explosion killed him?" Xander asked hopefully.
The Heretek answered, "The odds are One trillion four hundred sixty two billion nine hundred ninety seven thousand twenty six to one that he is still alive based on the fact that the munitions compound was kept away from anything essential for that very reason. The odds are heavily not in our favor sir."
"Shit," Xander swore, before turning to his-'Crew, compatriots, Scooby Gang 2.0?'-And saying, "Alright people listen up. All hell is going to be unleashed on this bar in probably a couple of hours. We need to be ready to unleash total hell by then. Chandra, take Grimm and Mister Fieri-"
"Fawkes will do just fine sir," The Heretek said.
"Right, take them both and show them the defenses we've set up. And when I give the signal do as we planned alright."
The Pyrokine, hair aflame in the excitement of a coming fight, nodded enthusiastically, "Right," She then turned to the Jungle Devil and the Heretek before saying, "C'mon boys' we got shit to do and gangers to kill."
As the trio left he turned to Kat, who looked at him worriedly, "Xander, are we going to be alright?"
He smiled at her and assuaged, "Yeah, we're all gonna be just fine, I promise you that. I have a job for you too Kat, a crucial job."
Hearing the seriousness in his tone, the 'Flect addict' perked up, looking at him quizzically before asking, "What do you need me to do Xander?"
"I need you to talk to those people down there. Convince them to either run or fight. We can't afford to be stabbed in the back when we've got an army coming to our front door. I would rather not have innocent casualties because of a greedy ganger who wants a quick buck," seeing her fear at being given such a task, he clapped his hands on her shoulders, startling her before saying, "Kathrine, I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you couldn't pull it off. I believe in you, so just believe in yourself a bit, ok?"
Fire entered the downtrodden girls' eyes and slowly she nodded, "Ok Xander, I'll try."
They both stood, and the Rogue Trader escorted his last guest to the door. Just as he opened it, she turned and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek before saying, "Thank you, Xander. For all you've done, and all you're doing. Most in your position wouldn't bother with the likes of us. Also thanks for giving a girl like me a chance to prove herself after a life of bad decisions."
The teenager in him just nodded dumbly and shut the door. That had been the first kiss he'd ever received from a girl that he didn't consider family, and that wasn't secretly some monster trying to kill him somehow after sex. Even if it was only on the cheek, it was…nice. After a moment, he shook his head like a wet dog.
'Now is not the time to act like a love-struck teenager, Xan!' He mentally chastised himself, 'People are depending on you, the goofball, not the Slayer, not Deadboy, you. So get your head in the game son.' He told himself.
[Well said, Xander! Distraction is the enemy.] Altria's voice spoke into his mind.
Xander nearly jumped out of his skin, after taking a moment to realize it was the King of Knights who spoke he replied, [You guys can talk to me outside of me going in my head? No offense, but I think that might drive me crazy.] He told the group at large.
A scoff was heard before 'Archie' responded, [You can block us out with a little bit of effort boy. I'm sure there are some things you don't want us to see and that we won't want to see so it's best you-]
Xander frowned, envisioning a wall coming down between himself and the thoughts of the Archmage abruptly ceased. He then waited for a whole minute before he lowered the wall and asked, [Altria?]
[Yes Xander?]
[Is Archie still talking?]
The voice of said Archmage cut into the two's conversation then, as he snapped, [Don't call me that!]
The rogue trader took a seat on his cot, stretching for a minute before continuing, [Well, besides learning how to have some peace and quiet in my own head, is anything else I need to be made aware of?]
[Well, since you asked,] spoke up a voice Xander did not expect to hear in his head.
Upon hearing the deep baritone of the Emperor in his head, the Californian was silent for a moment. But once that moment passed… [Umm, not that it isn't nice to hear from you Adamus, but what the Warp are you doing in my head?! Is there an apartment complex in there I don't know about or something?]
He heard the Emperor's chuckling intermix with the Once and Future Kings sigh, before she said, [You still enjoy your pranks I see, Merlin.]
[Merlin? Adamus you're…Right, eight-thousand BC. So of course you are,] A sigh before, [Fuck me sideways, my head is getting crowded.]
[No thank you, I prefer women. Though perhaps if you ask the Once and Future King of Britain…] The God-Emperor went silent when the sound of metal impacting flesh along with a bone-breaking crunch was heard.
[She just broke your nose, didn't she?] Xander asked with a smirk on his face.
The sound of the God-Emperor clearing his throat was heard before he spoke evasively, [That is not important right now. What is important is your plan to deal with the current threat. Do you believe it will succeed?]
Xander put the 'wall' back in place to allow himself to go over the plan without being 'overheard.' He'd gone over every possible variable, using the Archmagus powers of precognition to see into a myriad of possible futures, finally narrowing them down to the one that had the best chance of survival. There was still a chance this could all go horribly wrong of course. One thing he'd come to realize in the passing days while fiddling with this power was that the future was ever changing, always in motion due to the actions and reactions of those whose very fate he was attempting to affect. Even though he knew this was the best possible outcome at the moment, no matter what he did, a fifth of the patrons in the bar were going to die.
In the grander scheme of things, that was nothing, he knew. Just a drop in the vast ocean that was the population on this planet, and they consisted of the outcasts of society that no one else cared to even think about, or would likely even realize that they passed. No one but him. He was no stranger to such a feeling.
Jessie.
His thoughts drifted briefly to his brother in all but blood. He was thought of as nothing but a runaway. But in truth, he died, turned into a vampire, and then killed by his own hands. He didn't want to see that happen to anyone else. For anyone else to just become another 'Jessie' another forgotten runaway that no one would bother to remember. So, while he was sure many would die, many more would survive and get out of this hellish life. He would see to that. Personally. No more left to die or be forgotten.
Reestablishing the connection, Xander replied, [Yeah, I'm sure.]
[Then best of luck to you…Heir to the House of the Sigilate.]
[Thanks…wait, what?!] He asked, startled by that last bit…but he received no answer.
"Damn it, why do I feel he did something stupidly crazy behind my back that could potentially screw me over?" Xander then thought back to something that the Heretek, Fawkes Fieri said that he overlooked, "For someone who walked amongst the Primarchs."
"Oh, fracking shit, Adamus what did you tell these people?" Xander said aloud, sighing and running a hand down his face in exasperation before he told himself, "Whatever, no time to worry about that now."
He looked out his window and as he stared off into the distance he thought, 'I can feel it, they're on their way.'
With this thought in mind, he headed downstairs to see how things were going. Much to his surprise, he found Kat giving a rather rousing speech to those few who remained in the bar. He'd arrived to catch the tail end of it.
"-He's givvin' us a chance! An opportunity to better ourselves to get off this Emperor-forsaken rock which is more than most can say they do in their lifetimes! I say we take it! We take this chance, and we give it our best shot. If we take him up on this, no way any of us is dying nameless gutter trash. We'll be remembered, and who knows, maybe, just maybe, we can be talked about by some kids on a distant star thousands of years from now as 'those heroes who saved the Imperium that one time,' Instead of just nameless Underhivers."
She had paused for a moment before she shouted to the enraptured crowd, "ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! TO BE REMEMBERED, IMMORTALIZED IN THE MEMORY OF THE PEOPLE, FOREVER? TO STAND AMONGST THE EXALTED?"
"AYE!" All those present yelled back.
"Then I suggest you listen to what he has to say," Kat said before turning to him and motioning to the remaining patrons.
Clearing his throat, he started off a little awkwardly, "Thanks, Kat. Anyway, I'm sure you're all expecting me to tell you how we'll all become happy and rich from plunder that we'll find out there in the vastness of space…Well, the truth of it is, no matter how well I plan, and no matter how hard I try, some of you are going to die out there with me. That's just the way of things…"
He paused then, looking around the room, looking each and every single person he could in the eye before he continued, "However, just because you will die, does not mean you will be forgotten. No, you will be remembered, each and every one of you, as legends, as heroes to the Imperium, spoken of reverently for all time! You shall not be forgotten even if others think otherwise," He smirked then, "So, are you ready to be Heroes?"
The crowd was silent at his question for a moment before they went wild. Xander let them whoop and holler for a minute before he raised his hands for silence. Once he attained it, he spoke again, "I'll take that as a yes. Since you're in, listen up, 'cause here's the plan…"
(…)
Just as Xander had foreseen, a veritable army approached Zael's coming with the dawn. They were heard, long before they were seen. The chaotic thumping of thousands of pairs of feet caused the ground to reverberate in time with the tuneless symphony. The giant dust cloud kicked up by thousands of marching feet was another indicator. Xander stood out in front of the bar, Chandra and Fawkes on his left, with Grimm and Chizz on his right with his Blood Claws standing en masse behind him, all of them armed to the teeth, wielding various implements of death. From crude bolters made from pipes to roughly forged blades, his 'army' was definitely a ragtag one. However Xander would not have wished for any others to have his back at this time.
As the sound of marching feet settled, and the dust cloud cleared, Xander gazed upon Ricardo Salvadon the 3rd in person for the first time. He was built like a grizzly, tall and beefy with a blonde Mohawk for hair and a majority of his body being replaced by cybernetics. Xander briefly glanced at the left arm, knowing it could turn into an autocannon at a moment's notice before he locked eyes with the mountain of a man, his remaining now golden colored eye met icy blue. He held his gaze for a moment before he took a couple of steps forward and said in a calm clear voice, "Ricardo Salvadon III I presume?"
In response, the man's bear trap of a lower jaw opened, and a gruff, menacing, and slightly mechanical voice issued from within the depths of his throat, "Yeah, that's right. You must be the little shit stain of a Rogue Trader, who killed my younger brother."
"I prefer Xander, but Rogue Trader will do," He paused, then his face became blank and his words stoic as he continued, "I'm going to give you one chance, leave here and don't come back. Hell, you can even keep the bar, seeing as I doubt we'll be coming back here. However if you don't retreat I will make sure you will not leave this place alive."
There was a tension filled pregnant pause as he allowed the man to consider his offer, hoping against hope he would take the peace offering. "Kill'em."
With that single word, Salvadon's men opened fire with everything from las-weapons, bolters, and melta-guns. Xander threw up a force field protecting the people up front with him. Over the din of weapons fire, Xander yelled, "Chandra, light 'em up!"
The Pyrokine grinned savagely before nodding, her hair, eyes and fists igniting in a flurry of flame. Shen then sent heat through the earth itself, setting off the trap she and Xander had spent time meticulously putting together over the last couple of days. Several barrels of buried promethium exploded, taking thousands of lives in a fiery explosion, and initiating the second phase of Xander's plan.
"Invisible Air!"
It was as if a hurricane had struck with no warning. Gale-force magical winds consumed the torrent of flame, turning it into a pitch black inferno that sucked in all it could into a hellish vacuum. Men screamed like frightened babes as they were lifted off the ground and burnt to the point that not even cinders remained. The roof of the bar was torn off, and some, who refused to head to the cellar and insisted on fighting, were swept away in a tide of void-black fire. Just as Xander was shown in his visions, one fifth of the bar's remaining residents died in the fighting. No one expected the inferno to black flame to swirl and consume all the gangers, rend their flesh and burn them to a crisp. Xander was disturbed that menacing laughter was heard from the flames as if someone or something was pleased at the carnage.
"Finally I am freed from my blasted prison. Let me thank you kind sirs by offering you a pleasure that is simply to KILL for!" was the disturbed message that came from the flames of gangers. Then came the wails of the damned that only heard once before.
"Fuck Salvadon actually brought the flect he was going to reward my killer. What the fuck was locked away in that damn warp glas?!"
The black flames started to coalesce into a singular form that was over 2 meters tall. Then the flames turned purple and Xander started to pale in understanding what happened.
"Fuck we are near of the eye of terror and I just asked a major pyrokine to light up over a thousand souls with warped powerd fire also destroying over a thousand pieces of warp energy infused glass! Of course a daemon would take notice of the carnage," The only question is what the hell the thing meant about being freed from a prison. Xander then thought of how the flect was warped charged glass from a lost planet that was dragged into the eye of terror in warhammer lore. Xander then began to pale at the implications.
The purple fire died down and what was left was something that would be burned into the minds of all of those that fought today.
Two meters tall with horns of all shapes and sizes growing from the creature, instead of hair the creature had prehensile tentacles that twisted and twitched in response to the monster breathing in fresh air for the first time in decades. The daemon for that is all Xander could identify. It was turned on their splayed cloven feet and showed part of their bare right breast in the dark black carapace-like armor.
"My I smell something delicious. Maybe even pure? Oh how a smorgasbord of delicacies has been laid before me. Come to Bain. I hunger for your soul!" was the seductive but dangerous voice coming out from the fully appeared daemon.
"Boy what the flying fuck is that thing? Looks similar to the things that took down my men and got me banished to this planet?" were the questions Grimm yelled over the wailing of damned souls.
"It seems my plan had the unintended consequences of summoning an unwanted guest!" was the retort Xander yelled back.
"Well what ever that fucking thing is I know it ain't any good news. What the hell should be do? Hell the things we fought only got stopped when a sister of battler stabbed the beast?" was Grimm's only reply.
Xander remembered that holy maidens like the sisters of battle gave off an aura of holiness that hurt daemons. He only hoped that excalibur was considered holy.
'It's time to end this while that thing is still weak from being released from he , she or its prison? ,' He had thought before he raised his now unveiled blade for all to see.
He could feel the eyes of everyone around him staring in awe at the true form of his weapon. He glanced at it for a moment himself, for this was no ordinary sword. This was Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. To call it beautiful would dirty it. For it was not a sword of steel, wood, and leather, but crystallized prayer known as Glory whose only purpose was to attain victory and protect humanity. Motes of golden light, prana from his Dragon Core, consumed the pearlescent steel of the blade and it gave off an aura that could only be described as pearlescent or divine.
As this happened, those around him felt different things as their fear of the daemon disappeared and new emotions came in their stead. Grimm remembered his time in the war with his comrades. The Underhivers felt for the first time, hope for a better and brighter future. The Heretek was itching to get his hands on technology and invent, and create. Chandra, remembered her family, the good times, and the bad, and cried for the first time in a long time. The daemon had a much more different reaction.
"What in the name of Slaanesh is that blasted instrument? Is that the sword of the emperor? No he wouldn't send it this close to the eye of terror. I must warn my mistress of this new threat!' were the quick rantings of the daemon that could only sense danger from the sword the wayward human wielded. It turned to flee but Xander would not let it
Then he acted, the collective reverie was broken from all watchers when Xander called out its name. "Ex-" The collected energy reached a fevered pitch whipping around almost as bad as the inferno itself before Xander finished, "-Calibur!"
A beam of golden light as bright as a star sliced through the perpetual darkness of the Underhive. Like a beacon, it lit the way. Hope had come to the darkness, and it burned away those that thrived there.
The beam of light consumed the purple flames and rose up, carried by the magnificent, aweinspring, and turbulent flames, past the Underhive, the Lower, and Mid, even the Upper Hive before exploding like a star going supernova in the atmosphere of Eustis Majoris. This event would later be known in the centuries to come, as the Star of the Savior.
Sadly it was not only humans that noticed this event.
(…)
Just as the explosion happened in space, a massive ship appeared out of the Warp managing to witness the event first hand. From the bridge, a woman watching in awe, next to a giant of a man in dull gray power armor. Once the event passed, the gray Titan next to her spoke, "Do you think that was him, Lady Abfequarn?"
Narrowing her one working eye, the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor replied, "There is only one way to find out. We go down there, we look, and see what happened."
Turning to the Navigator, she barked, "Take us down, head towards the source of that light immediately!"
"At once Inquisitor!" The Navigator replied.
Lilith Abfequarn turned her gaze back out towards the void of space, ignoring the shouts of the Navigator and the scurrying of his men. For her Lord, and the Lord of all Inquisitors, Assassins, and Grey Knights was somewhere on this backwater planet…and she intended to find him. For the Emperor was counting on her, and she would not could not fail him. For to fail the Emperor was to fail at her job, nay her life! She considered herself superb at her job, and she valued her life. Thus, she would not fail. To do so otherwise would be heresy of the highest order.
As the ship slowly began its descent towards the planet, the Inquisitor began to wonder just what kind of man he was, what his plans were, and most importantly of all, what kind of an impact he would have on the Imperium as a whole. Would he be a benevolent peacemaker? A cruel dictator? A charismatic tradesman? A warmongering fiend who killed in the name of the Emperor, perhaps? All of this and more? She didn't know. All she had to go on was passed examples set by previous Rogue Trader Dynasties. She had a gut feeling, however, that the Heir would break the mold…she had no idea how right she would be…
If only she knew the thoughts that other observers were thinking.
(…)
0500 hrs, Segmentum Obscurus, 021 04 960 M41: Eye of Terror
The palace of Slaanesh was colored every vibrant hue imaganable, greens, reds, blues, its construction was just as eccentric. It twisted and contorted into smooth lines and jagged sharp spiked steepled towers, in the air hung the intoxicating smokes of various chems, mixed with blood belching poisons, while fountains flowed equally with wine and blood. Lavish tapestries made on the skin of the flayed were draped across the walls, and in air besides the pleasing smoke, were symphinous music mixing evenly with unending cries of agony. It was here, in the eye terror, that a certain chaos goddess stopped in her revelery of torturing the oh so arrogant eldar souls to sense a smidgen of pain that occurred to her being. Now normal Slaanesh was no stranger to pain and sometimes quite enjoyed it. This however was a pain that made her ache and old wounds to open slightly as her blood dripped onto the ground of her palace.
"My lady are you alright?" was the reply of her lovely hunting dog Shalaxi Helbane.
The Chaos God of passion wiped some of the blood off the floor and tasted it. Unlike other times the blood tasted bitter and rotten as if she took a bite out of a daemon of nurgle.
"I am quite fine Shalaxi, it seems one of my minions has fallen," was the simple answer she gave.
"Shall I interrogate, torture, and flay them for the insolence of losing?" was the aid Shalaxi offered.
"Hard to do so when the poor dear was wiped from the material and immaterial," was the curious reply he received from his lord.
"My lady, was there someone out there with the ability to kill one of your servants permanently? Shall I hunt down this whelp and make them scream your name in ecstasy and pain?" was the response Shalaxi gave.
"Not yet you still have your duties. I will have others look into this. I wonder what man could bring me pain no matter how small. He sounds … appetizing," were the ominous words spoken by Chaos God as she licked her lips with a forked tongue.
(...)
0500 hrs Segmentum Unknown, 021 04 960 M41: Craftworld Uthwé
At the same time, in a room covered in psychically charged wraithbone in the heart of Craftworld Ulthwé, an aged seer also collapsed in pure joy at what he felt from the psychic vision he saw of a daemon of the Great Enemy writhing in agony as it was struck down by a might force that brought him comfort and reminded him of better times when the Great Enemy had not even been born.
Hearing his fall one of the ancient Eldar's guards rushed into the room inquiring of what happened, "High Farseer Ulthran are you alright?" was the worried reply from one of his many guards as Ultrhan then proceeded to rise to his shaky feet.
"I am fine young one. I just saw something that may help our cause more than ever before. Quickly connect me to priestess Yvraine. I have news for her. I think I have found something that will help us more than ever before."
To which his guard questioned, "What is that, High Farseer Ulthran?"
Smiling like a human child on the morning of the bygone religion known as Christmas, High Farseer Ulthran's only reply was, "Hope,"
Word Count: 16,752 Page Count: 37 Date Completed: 6/22/22
(…)
AN: Welcome back and good evening ladies and gents to another installment of Rogue Trader. Snowy is working hard not to get a bolter round in the head acting as my transcriber. He's doing good so far. If he keeps this up, he may even get to leave his Penal Legion alive. Speaking of my helper monkey, he'd like to say a few words before I make him get back to work.
Snowy: Commissar is a kind and merciful leader. I thank thee for the tender mercies given to me. In all seriousness I am working hard to get these old chapters revised, edited and churned out with new ideas for you the readers. Thanks for everything. I am pulling my own weight and adding more depth.
Well said minion… now, just another fifty hours of transcribing before your next five minute break! Back to work! Till next time unwashed masses of FFN, this is Commissar Bubbajack and his personal Transcriber Snowy out! For the Emperor!
