Warning: This chapter contains extremely violent scenes, discretion is advised.
"Greetings, insignificant beings: I am Archon Neck of the Gray Splinters and I am in command of this entire fleet to take over your pathetic ship and all of you as the next to be swept out of existence along with your precious Lions. We know who you are, what you did and how we are going to make you pay with every ounce of our hatred for all the damage that their predecessors have done to us. "
Neck.
Four days passed in the castle of the Lions and in those four days no accident or attack has been recorded, everyone took advantage of that moment to relax now that things were totally settled with Bismuth and Amethyst returning to the same attitude as always.
Keith was the one who got up early and before leaving his room he recited the Marmora code, grabbed his Luxite sheet and put on an outfit and then left the room and proceeded to go to Matthew's makeshift laboratory that was his room.
His gait stopped when his right ear twitched, half-tick then grabbed his Luxite blade and threw it at the individual who was stalking him from the shadows.
Who was nothing but Lucy.
The Psychic girl stopped the blade only inches from her forehead, her eyes shining an unnatural blue at the telekinetic barrier she created with her mind.
"Sorry if I surprised you, Xeno." The tone Lucy used didn't make it sound like an apology.
Keith snorted irritably. "Another one of your night walks? We are hours away for breakfast to be served."
"Sigh. It is due to my condition as a Psychic." Lucy looked down and the sparkle in her eyes dimmed a bit and the knife fell to the ground like a rock. "Even though the warp tide has greatly ebbed, they are still trying to take control of me."
"I think I can relate to that. In the sword of Marmora we also have Psychics, those who were rescued from being lobotomized by the Druids of the Galra Empire and later turned into beings without empathy worshiping Tzeench." Keith watched as Lucy flinched a little when she heard the name of one of the four gods of Chaos. "They were trained to keep in control with oneself and with the space around them; in their ranks there is a very powerful Galra whom we usually call Shadow Weaver."
"I'm not interested." Lucy held out her hand and the hello Luxite returned to her hand. "Regardless of which side they are on: Xenos will always be Xenos; Psychic or not."Then without further delay he used his telekinesis to return the dagger to the red paladin and later he disappeared into the darkness.
"Creepy..." Keith muttered bored and went to what he was doing.
Steven let out a slight yawn as he walked into the kitchen with his pajamas still on, I decide that before showering and joining Connie for training I was going to have breakfast first.
Things have been too quiet lately these four days, except for the fact that now you have to keep your guard up and not because there are any enemies on board, but because of those soldiers from the Imperium.
No matter where he went or how far away he was in any part of the castle, the pure feelings of hatred and spite towards him could be felt throughout the ship. The half-gem was aware that the people of the Imperium hate aliens as much as they hate those who worship them, Steven could almost understand it: Just look at the kind of enemies he faces on a day-to-day basis and irrefutable proof of that. It would be the Galra, those savage Orks and the Bloodthirsty Tyranids.
They had argued with the boys about this, he was starting to feel bad with the looks of hatred or the death wishes that he can almost hear in his dreams, Keith declared that we would leave them in some world controlled by the Imperial Guard but the problem is is that they were far from the imperial border and no one would dare to welcome a gigantic Alien ship just like that.
Shiro and Connie said that they should be given some time to acclimatize and make their hatred of him lessen. Coram, the reason why none of them dared to assault him physically or verbally and is thanked for it said that he would try to talk to Commissioner Elizabeth and thus convince her to change her mind about the child.
He is still awaiting some response from the red-haired Altean.
"Good morning, Amethyst." Steven scratched his eyes at the bright lights that made up the kitchen unaware of the thing that had entered the kitchen. "Breakfast is serve-?"
"STEVEEEEEEEENNNNNNN!" In front of the young man there was a purple Genestealer, his black eyes, his sharp teeth, the pair of pincers on his shoulders and his own nightmare structure let out a roar at the surprised Steven who let out a scream of total terror not at all manly and when his eyes lowered to the creature's chest, he immediately realized that it was Amethyst who was doing one of his very tacky jokes again. "AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"That's not funny, Amethyst!" Steven yelled angrily at the purple gem who was turning with laughter even though he was still in that form.
"The expression on your face was priceless! AHAHAHA! "Amethyst rolled on the ground and its shape shone back to how it was before."I should do this more often!"
"It would be your funeral." Steven leaned back against the wall trying to calm his hammering heart.
"Aww man, where's your sense of humor!?" Amethyst's head glowed and her shape changed to the head of an Ork. "Yu ar nat fanni, hummie!"
Releasing a last sigh of relief, Steven stood up. "Can you serve me breakfast?"
"Alwight dem." Amethyst made a militaristic gesture and went to the pantry to fix her breakfast.
Steven sat at the table waiting for the food to be ready.
"... So ..." Steven started to speak. "What do you think about the Commissar and those guys from the Imperial guard?"
"What do I think about them?" Amethyst asked turning around for a second. "I don't like them in the least if you ask me: the atmosphere here hasn't been relaxing at all since those xenophobes set foot on the castle."
"I know ... I just want to know why there is so much hatred stored in them." Steven said after letting out a long sigh.
"They hate aliens like me and hybrids like you even more." Amethyst pointed, putting the finishing touches to the plate.
"Yes, B-but there must be an explanation!" Steven looked down at the palms of his hands. "I know it's easy for others to deal with it but I can't."
Amethyst placed the plate in front of Steven and took his hand with a sympathetic look. "Steven, I am not Pearl or Garnet to give you advice on how to handle this but I tell you as a friend that everything will be fine and that nothing bad will happen, we are strong and we will move forward as if nothing else."
It couldn't be said that the half-gem was satisfied but at least he felt a little better knowing that at least he has his sister to make him feel better.
In the castle's training room. Commissar Elizabeth swung her powersword cutting one of the robots in half as if it were paper and rolled on the ground avoiding the swing of another and performed a lunge taking momentum with her feet as she got up but the robot dodged to one side and passed. On the offensive with a series of punches that the Commissar easily pushed aside and shifted her weight back, dodging the robot's blade inches from her chin and took a quick swing that decapitated the robot. The commissar stepped aside so that the robot fell beside her in a thunderous crash.
At the other end of the room, Bismuth whistled in shock. Next to her was Shiro, Pidge, Lisa, and Lori with the latter two showing a remarkable distancing from each other.
"Now, that's a great Bismuth we talked about there." The large gem pointed in shock as Elizabeth returned to the group leaving behind 24 destroyed and shattered robots.
"Then this is how the Imperial guard fight." Shiro massaged her chin thoughtfully. "I can't imagine how a Space Marine would fight."
"For millennia the Astra Militarium has become used to fighting enemies that outnumber them on different occasions." Lisa explained she turned her indifferent gaze towards Xeno and the two Heretics. "An Astarte makes up hundreds of soldiers in terms of experience, agility, endurance, strength, precision, handling of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, intelligence and many other talents."
"Incredible, I have seen an illustration of how Altea represented the Space Marines." Pidge said adjusting his glasses with a twinkle in his eyes. "Are they really described as powerful intergalactic warriors?"
"They are more than just warriors or mere super soldiers." Elizabeth began to speak as she sheathed her sword and stood straight. "They are those who hold on their shoulders the survival of humanity after the great crusade, without the Adeptus Astartes we would be doomed to complete annihilation."
"So if so, why did they let the Galra cause such terror for ten thousand years? No offense." Shiro raised his mechanical arm in a gesture of not wanting trouble.
"It so happens that, on several occasions, the Xenos have shown themselves to be very insightful in dealing with an Astarte chapter." Elizabeth picked up her hat from the sergeant's hands and put it firmly on her head. "There were some species that copied the same example of humanity in creating super soldiers, some failed and some failed to emulate the skills of a space marine to perfection. But it was the Galras who did it. "
"Really?" Shiro was slightly surprised at this revelation. There were more to the Galras that neither he, Keith, nor Allura knew about.
"I don't know the details, but it happened in the year 005-M44 in the Epsilon sector. A planet which was occupied by the Red Wings chapter was recovering from an Orkoid invasion when it was attacked by the Galras, the battle was in our favor with the chapter suffering few casualties, and then they appeared. I must clarify that I do not have a specific description since I never had the opportunity to face the Galra. But what I read of one soldier's accounts in the chapter described them as living bullets: moving with unmatched speed and agility and in armor so powerful that it made their fists shine with every blow they threw, knocking each soldier back in a duel one by one with bolter force. "
Shiro without thinking twice looked at his robotic arm, to be frank he has never seen another Galra soldier or a sentry using the same type of upgrade that he has been given since he went to the arena as a gladiator. (Except for people like Sendak)
It will be possible if-
"Hi, Sorry for come late!" The black paladin was startled to hear the voice of Connie who had the blue Bayard in her hand. "I was caught up in the conversation I had with Luna and Lynn."
"I guess that conversation had to be important." Elizabeth said spitefully and gave the young woman a hard look. "In the recruiting camps, one who was late for a training test was punished with being the example of that test.
Lori and Lisa gave each other questioning looks. Actually the punishments were worse than that and they did not understand why the Commissioner had to lie to him.
"Oh, I see it. hehehe sorry. "Connie apologized and then was surprised by the number of robots destroyed around the place."Holy-moly who did that!?"
"You would be surprised to know that it was the commissioner who beat them." Bismuth pointed to the Imperial woman who gave a disdainful snort.
"Really? That's cool! "Connie exclaimed with a big smile."Would you give me the honor of knowing your technique?"
"Sorry to tell you, young lady. That at the moment I don't feel energetic enough to carry out this task, but… "A knowing look appeared before Lori and the sergeant couldn't help but have an evil smile on her face." I'll let Sergeant Lori take care of it."
"Sweet! I can't wait anymore! "Elizabeth thought that this girl was stupid and that then she would end up with a painful humiliation when the sergeant finished that with her.
Matt came out of his room/Laboratory to get some fresh air and stretch a bit, he has been very busy these days studying and analyzing the variety of weapons and technology that the little imperial guard had at their disposal.
It was obvious to say that he was impressed by how advanced not only laser weaponry was but ballistic and melee weapons as well.
He spent hours analyzing the microscopic details of the Chainswords blades under a magnifying glass and seeing the machinery that makes them fully functional and effective against the toughest materials. Bismuth was even impressed by the craftsmanship of these swords.
If someone were to meet the people who manufacture these weapons, they would be bombarded with a lot of questions, I listen to the anecdotes of the Techno-priests and the forged worlds that the imperium has at its disposal from Coran, I also hear about the God-Machine whom they worship and how Voltron was represented as a powerful machine spirit among the Mechanicum.
His step was interrupted Leni who had a surprised look when looking at him, as if their meeting was not in the plans of the blonde.
Leni's gaze wandered between the sides in search of a possible exit but she realized late that she was in a narrow place.
"H-h-hi…" The Valhallan woman gave Matthew an awkward salute.
"Huh, Hi to you." Matt greeted politely. "Aren't you supposed to be with the others in your squad?"
"I ... I got a little lost and I was wandering around these places for I don't know how long." Leni said sheepishly scratching the side of her neck.
"No need to worry, if you want I can guide you back to your friends." Matt volunteered.
"The truth ..." Leni had a hard time answering but she did anyway. "I would like to know if… I can have my Long Laser again?"
Matt stared at the question for two ticks and let out an exhausted sigh.
"You know the rules, we explain the rules. As Keith quote: They will only have their weapons back when we reach a sector controlled by the Imperial Guard. "Matt reasoned with his arms crossed and a look he occasionally gave Katie when he left without having served his punishment.
"B-b-but we're too far from the Imperial sector!" Leni complained like a little girl. "Can I at least see it to see if it feels good?"
"Since when do you appreciate a weapon as if it were a person?" Matt asked surprisingly.
"Since my childhood." Leni replied cheerfully and proceeded to explain. "You see: I was 7 since then, I lived in an agricultural world with my parents and 5 siblings. Everything was peace and quiet since then, but one day, the Orks came. He, those green skins turned everything upside down in my home, burned down the orchards, destroyed buildings, massacred my friends and family while I stared in the distance; the PDF could not stop its advance and I remained hidden on the roof of a building, waiting for death or some glimmer of salvation. Then: I saw it, a V7-132 Long Laser, hailing from the 50th of Cadia. A Relic at that time! At that time I thought that the Emperor had heard my prayers and gave me a weapon to defend against the green skins! It was pure chance that the Nob Ork was in the middle of the city, in the open without any head protection. So take note, I made sure to give it all the power I had in storage since I only had one chance to hit it and then: it happened. "
Leni paused to extend her left arm and slowly removed the glove from her hand revealing something that horrified the older Holt even more. Instead of having a flesh and blood hand, it was a fully robotic hand only instead of being like Shiro's it seemed thinner in terms of the fingers.
"It's cool isn't it?" Leni smiled despite Matthew's horrified look. "The rifle was badly leveled and it seems that I gave it too much power and to top it off my body was not strong enough to resist the recoil, I ended up severing my arm until near the armpit, but, I managed to kill the Nob creating disorder between the Ork ranks; I thought I was going to die after my own arm was ripped off but the Salamanders came to rescue the world and defeat the Orks. The rest is history: I was rescued and they put a prosthesis on me, I earned the respect of the chapter lord, I spent the rest of my childhood in the Schola and I graduated not with good grades but I managed to enlist as a sniper of the 1216th regiment of the Arctic troops from Valhalla. "
Matt was speechless.
Never in his life would he imagine witnessing the massacre of all his loved ones and acquaintances at the hands of violent and completely despicable beings and then telling it as if it were a mere anecdote. Leni showed him that war, war is such a horrible thing that the only thing you can trust is your own weapon.
As if Leni were reading his thoughts, she continued: "My long laser is the only thing that reminds me why I am fighting for humanity, so that no other child has to go through the same horrors that I have seen."
Matt still did not know what to answer, at this moment he felt a deep empathy for this woman and at the same time a great respect for her, but as he had said before: the rules were established.
"How about I take you with the others and on the way you tell me more stories about the others?" Matt asked starting to walk towards Leni who immediately accepts forgetting the matter he was about and both began their journey of mutual self-knowledge.
"So Commissar Elizabeth is a direct descendant of the famous hero of the empire?" Keith asked raising an eyebrow at the twins and Luan who he was having a conversation with with Lance on his side.
"Absolutely!" Luan proudly declared. "Ciaphas Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM has been one of the most recognized and acclaimed commissars within our imperial guard ever since."
"His last name has power in our military order." Lana said as she sipped a drink courtesy of Amethyst from a straw. "The long-remembered imperial guard Ferik Jurgen has been, along with the hero of the empire, a great figure to follow in the Ice Warriors of Valhalla."
"That is why at every moment we will always be accompanying the commissioner, it is the greatest of honors to fight alongside someone carries a great story on their shoulders." Lola sighed wonderfully at the weight of admiration she has for her Commissar.
"Are you still talking about that guy?" Lance raised an eyebrow at young Galra and the girls. "In my opinion I don't see it as a big deal. I mean: My uncle once described that Commissioner as a being who had a lot of angels guarding his butt. "
"Did Alfor meet Cain?" Keith asked Prince Altean with a wrinkled face.
"Yes, he has cooperated with the Tau and the Imperium to defeat a Necron raid on a Hive World. It was there that he met the famous Commissar. "Lance scored Keith. He then proceeded to sip on his drink. "By Altea, this is good."
"I have to be completely honest: Seeing Voltron for the first time was something; the way I destroy that Galra battleship." "Now we understand why they caused so much trouble for The Necrons and those traitors."
"He, yes, Voltron is something incredible." Lance took a long sip of his juice and gave the humans a resolute look. "But Voltron alone could not protect the entire universe, both my uncle and the ancient paladins wanted to create a universe where all species would unite and work together to defeat Chaos and protect those who cannot protect themselves. . The races we have assisted gladly gave us their assistance and it was only a matter of time before the other superpowers came to represent them in the old coalition: among the Eldar we had the seers Lucullus, Thiriana and Maskalar of the Craft-world Saim-hann; Jor-sar-term-vi from the Tau fire caste and Master Gabriel Angelos from the Blood Ravens chapter."
"Wait, The Blood Ravens?" Luan asked wide-eyed in mild surprise. "That's a Bloody Surprise! Haha, get it? ".
The others groaned at the boring pun.
"As I said: We collaborate together to coordinate attacks against our enemies and at times hold political meetings with other nobles to create agreements or negotiations. The era of Voltron was a great era of progress in the universe. "Lance ended his little story with a nostalgic look."My father gave his life believing in Alfor's dreams."
"And what happened then?" Lana asked and Lance looked at her confused. "With the coalition, with Voltron and the paladins?"
Lance had the correct answer to that question, but it was the weight of it that prevented him from saying it since it brings with it a great shame that just mentioning it brought a great shame to the memory of King Alfor and all that he sacrificed for him, Coran and Allura were still invited.
"It was Zarkon." Luckily, Keith was there to give him what could be said for a half answer. Young Marmoran's face was filled with resentment. "The lust for power led him to enter the coalition and gain the trust of the paladins, only to later betray them off guard and destroy the planets that made up the coalition including his own and then create an era of terror and conquest that lasted for thousands of years, until now. "
Lance gave the poor red paladin a solemn nod, a heavy sadness in his mind.
"Keith ... if you only knew the truth ..."
Connie groaned in pain limping towards the medical wing, the reason for her condition was due to her last "Friendly" duel against Sergeant Lori in combat. The Valhallan proved to be a brutal opponent in close combat with the sword that would surely be on par with Stevonnie when it comes to handling, the imperium soldiers really are tough and instead of being disappointed or sad, Connie was happy and happy as this serves as motivation to continue training, she couldn't wait any longer to train with Pearl again.
"Connie?" Steven's voice came from behind her and she saw that he was concerned only by the expression on his face. "Oh my Gosh, what happened!?"
"Umm… Training." Connie said sincerely. "I'm fine, right now I was going to go to the infirmary to put some cream on the bruises, luckily you are here to help me."
"Oh that." Steven licked the palm of his hand and ran it over Connie's bruises and they immediately disappeared with their healing powers. "Clever."
"Thank you very much, I'm excited to have another round with the sergeant, maybe this time I can ask him to show me some moves."
"Did you fight the Imperials?" Steven asked surprised and fearful. "What were you thinking? They could have killed you! "
"Easy Steven, you don't need to worry so much." Connie put a hand on his shoulder trying to reassure him. "It was just a friendly duel, no one was hurt." She made a face scolding herself for foolishly using the word 'hurt'.
"No, you don't know, Connie. They hate those who collude with aliens or 'hybrids' like me. "Steven said painfully.
"Steven ... you may be absolutely right, but they have a debt to pay to Coran and they swore on behalf of their emperor that they would not harm us." Connie reasoned.
"That does not change the fact that they hate us to the bone, we have read all about the age of strife, the Horus heresy and the imperium in its early days; it only shows that their contempt for us may be unfair but well earned. "
"Shiro has explained to them where we come from, the commissioner and the others seem to understand and see us as people who have not 'seen the light of the emperor'." Connie wrapped her arms around her Jam-bud's neck. "Don't worry Steven, just give them time and they'll see how special you are."
Steven looked down a bit regretfully and hugged Connie. "Even if I'm half-alien?"
"Even if you are, his words do not change who you are in my eyes, that of the gems and others." Connie said motivating her best friend.
Things fell silent with the two trapped in an embrace.
But things took an unexpected turn.
The room through which they were lit up glowed red and the chilling sound of the alarm was so loud that the two of them parted very quickly with shocked glances.
"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Connie screamed loud enough that her voice was heard over the alarm.
"I don't know, we have to go with the others now!" Steven yelled and grabbed Connie's hand to get out of here.
The loud sound of an explosion shook the ground below them causing them to stumble and fall, the lights around them flickered a few times and the shaking continued. Steven picked up Connie and the two of them ran into the control room with some difficulty.
Whatever is going on in the castle only means one thing: they are under attack.
-Dark Eldar (Drukhari) Theme-
The control room was in chaos, Allura ignored the screams of Coran and Peridot and the strong tremors in the castle as she looked fearfully at the fleet of ships that were around her.
"Something is frying the systems!" Coran furiously clicked on the control panel who kept sending notifications about the systems. "I can't activate the particle barrier!"
"The defense systems don't work either! Every time I try to get the energy cannons online, something is blocking them! "Peridot screamed, madly pressing the keys on his panel and suddenly one side of the panel exploded creating a shower of sparks that bathed the face of the little green gem."AAAARGH!"
The same thing happened to Coran but he withdrew just in time to see the side of his panel exploding creating a small column of smoke. The Altean cursed in every language he knew as he avoided the shower of sparks on his already ruined panel.
The doors to the room opened and the first to enter were Lance, Keith, the Gems, and Luan.
"What's going on!?" Lance yelled at Coran.
Keith, Lola, Lana and Luan widened their eyes at the fleet of ships outside the castle watching in fear that these were not Galra dreadnoughts.
They were Eldar ships...
"What the Frak ...?" Luan muttered in utter amazement and fear. "Those are the Eldar?"
"No ..." Allura swallowed a bead of sweat running down her forehead. "They are something worse ..."
A static image appeared in the center of the room unexpectedly and a second later it cleared up revealing something- no… someone…
It was clearly an Eldar from the long ears and pale skin. But what the Eldar was wearing inflicted fear, revulsion, and hatred on those present. The commissioner along with his sergeant and pilot arrived, after them Shiro, Bismuth and Pidge arrived, then Matt and Leni followed by Amethyst with Lynn, Luna and Lincoln. Steven and Connie still haven't arrived but no one noticed when they stared at the Eldar whose gaze was mixed with smugness and sadism.
"Greetings, insignificant beings: I am Archon Neck of the Gray Splinters and I am in command of this entire fleet to take over your pathetic ship and all of you as the next to be swept out of existence along with your precious Lions. We know who you are, what you did and how we are going to make you pay with every ounce of our hatred for all the damage that their predecessors have done to us." The Drukhari Archon explained with a smile full of sharp and hungry teeth. "None of you have salvation, soon this site will be taken over by our sanctuary and we will have you begging for your lives!"
The message was cut off and after this came a great silence inside the control room until Shiro came to Allura.
"Who are they!?" Shiro asked, no... Demand the princess alter who seemed to have brought her out of the shock.
"They ... 'swallow' are Drukhari." Allura revealed and some in the imperial guard clenched their fists. "Dark Eldar."
"How did they get past our radars!?" Keith demanded answers from the technician. "And what did they hit us with!?"
"I'm not sure but I am certain that these were hidden under our noses without realizing it." Coran scratched his mustache and addressed the panel who was no longer shooting sparks everywhere and showing a lot of flaws in the castle. "And for your second question: it looks like we have been tripped with power circuit breakers that overloaded our systems."
"Is there any way to get out of here?" Commissioner Cain asked surprisingly calm despite the situation.
"No, the circuit breakers have blocked the ship's engines, we can't open teladuv portals to escape either." Peridot explained gulping in fear.
"So it means we're stuck." Shiro theorized by clenching his jaw.
"FRAK, this sucks!" Lynn yelled angrily. "We have to do something!"
"We literally have little time and apparently those Xenos Eldars are excited to dance on our skinned corpses." Lori spoke with a cold voice and a frown.
"We need our weapons back!" Lola and Lana said simultaneously.
"Not! Not to mention that! "Keith said stubbornly and glanced at Matt and Bismuth." The defense sentries are ready!?"
"We have forty of them ready and ready to be deployed." Matt nodded frantically at the young Galra.
"I have armed them with the best weapons that I have created, I even made 'break points' they are made to destroy the jewel that maintain our physical form, they should be useful against these 'Dark Eldar' without problem." The great one crossed her arms with a determined look, she would not allow those beings to harm her friends.
"Well. Pidgidot: How bad is the condition of the ship? "
"The ship is barely 16.57% functional. The life support, the oxygen system and the energy system inside are stable for the moment, but the automatic safety of each door is locked, it will have to be opened manually." Pidge reported with her fists clenched so that no one would notice she was shaking.
"The automatic defense systems and the particle shield are disconnected but there are several energy cannons that are operated manually. If I can make them work, maybe we can have a means of defense against the Eldar. "Peridot stood firm with a sea of sweat running down her forehead.
"Hold it! You can't be serious about leaving us unarmed! "Lincoln protested with the rest of the imperial guard supporting him." It is more than obvious that none of you have experienced a Drukhari incursion."
"It's true, whatever type of inner defense you have is not going to be enough to stop them and you forget that they have psychics too." Lucy added and glanced at the rest. "I feel a concentration of psychic energy in them, they are bringing their witches."
"We can provide a secure line to the lions and keep those bastard slavers busy." Lincoln added and snapped his fingers to point at Lucy. "Lucy can hide her psychic signature with her powers but we need some of you to stay to protect her while we will give the paladins covering fire."
"No lord commander would make a better plan than you, soldier." Elizabeth congratulated the young albino who scratched his head with a slight blush.
"They are right, Keith." Coran supported the male Valhallan argument. "They're going to send a lot of enemies inside, I don't think the defenses Matt Bismuth have worked so hard for will work for long, either."
"Dude, that hurts." Matthew said ruefully pointing out his inventions as ineffective.
"The sentries are going to give us an advantage against the great masses, we are going to need all the help." Allura put a hand on the elder Holt's shoulder.
"I do not intend to put the lives of the people in this castle at risk for you." Keith spat and pointed at the commissioner. "What things could happen if you-"
"KEITH!" Allura yelled and all eyes were on the princess. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS! REMEMBER THAT I AM IN CHARGE HERE! "
Time seemed to freeze with surprising glances towards the princess who took a couple of breaths to calm her mind.
"Matt, take the imperial guard to retrieve their weapons, the rest of you prepare for the-"
"¡Hold on: Where's Steven and Connie!?" Amethyst asked with fear written on her face.
At that moment, the paladins felt tremendous concern and fear at the whereabouts of the younger paladins.
Stevonnie moved quickly but carefully through the long corridors of the castle. The reason they merged was because Steven had a bad feeling. The doors leading to the control room were sealed and the shaking continued.
Not only that... Human fusion could feel something malevolent, something ruthless, corrupt and bloodthirsty breaking through the air. These were not Tyranids, this was not the voracious hunger that made up each mind of those terrible creatures; this amalgam of feelings caused a great discomfort in Stevonnie that would threaten to empty the contents of his stomach, luckily he knew how to contain himself and continue walking this time with caution.
The shaking stopped, it was a relief but the discomfort could still be felt this time close. Stevonnie drew her sword and instinctively activated her shield. Something is coming, it's coming for her.
The merger ended in a three-way corridor where the light died at the end of each path, the lights kept flashing and I swear I heard footsteps, the feelings of danger intensified when the castle lights were failing even more so that I almost couldn't see nothing.
And then the lights exploded and everything went dark, Stevonnie heard something to his left and automatically turned, raising his shield in front.
The sound of a sword echoed in the place and the fusion recoiled slightly from the force applied to that blow; the emergency lights were activated thus revealing the attacker or rather attackers.
They weren't human, Tyranids, Orks, or Galra, there were 5 of them in total and each one of them had black skin so dull that it devoured the light with strange runes painted on their bodies shining an ethereal green that matched with their sparkling eyes, their hair was ashen gray and they had larger ears long and pointed than those of Allura and company, the most scary part of these beings is that they had no mouth and had pointed claws.
They carried almost nothing except a loincloth or some ragged pants, the weapons they carried were short-range: one of them had a rusty hand sickle, the other two had handcrafted chains words and the last two had swords that looked like huge blades. Shaving in hair salons.
Stevonnie saw how the thing with the hand sickle jumped towards her and swung her weapon who could block with her shield, the other two attacked with chains words attacked
Performing crude and savage attacks but with such overwhelming force that it almost brought the fusion down.
Stevonnie backed away, dodging the being's swing with the sickle with his friends behind him, the growls he launched as he made an attack considered bestial. The black-skinned being was in charge but Stevonnie was prepared. The fusion dodged a vertical attack by jumping to the left, resting its feet on the wall and propelled itself with the shield in front, colliding with the face of the filthy being and slamming it against a wall of the room, the humanoid creature let out a bestial moan releasing the weapon and being left lifeless on the ground.
The senses of both children were overloaded, these beings apparently are not going to stop until they are dead, Steven was in terrified, since they became paladins of the blue lion they had to end lives to survive, it was not a good feeling that it wouldn't get better anytime soon. But having to put out a life with their own hands, the feeling was indescribable for the children.
"Do not worry!" Connie's side said raising her guard thus blocking another attack. "There will be time to regret later! We must go back to the others! "
This time Stevonnie went on the offensive launching attacks with her sword towards the duo with chainswords, she pushed aside the attack of one and collided with her shield against another who was open knocking him down, the other stepped back a little and ran towards the wall where He climbed two steps up the wall and imitated Stevonnie's maneuver by launching himself into the fusion but she ducked with the shield over her head and the humanoid being had his torso on the shield and was catapulted to the other side of the room crashing into another wall like if it were an insect.
The last two with the huge razor blades went on the attack while another rejoined and charged along with his brothers.
An aggressive bout manifested with Stevonnie alternating between defense and offense. I block one attack and dodge another to push, evaded attacks and knocked down defenses. Stevonnie broke the defense of the one with the chainsword and made a low swing that ended up cutting the leg of the being, the black blood emanated in abundance from his severed leg as the monster fell and twisted, that did not seem to stop the two The last two who charged again but Stevonnie dived in and conjured a spiked bubble over himself, crushing and impaled the last two in the narrow hallway.
Steven broke the bubble and watched with total shock as the last being that was conscious crawled towards them even with his leg cut off, his eyes projecting an animal aura that Stevonnie had to silence by vertically driving his sword into the monster's skull, killing him in the act.
Stevonnie opened her eyes as if she had woken up from a trance and threw the bayard to the ground, undoing her shield. Horror and regret were so strong on the features of her face that she could not hold her shape and she melted into the two young men.
Connie was the one who got up first and gave the half-gem a shocked look. "Steven!"
"Why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why..." Steven began to mutter when he saw with his eyes full of tears the corpse that they just murdered, that he murdered. Did he have to? There must have been another way to prevent this from happening, maybe he needed help...
"Steven? Steven get up! "Connie shook her kneeling, helpless friend." There was nothing we could do, it was them or us!"
"…Well." A thick voice came from the end of one of the roads. "That was pathetic."
Both children turned to see who this voice was and saw what it was about. He was tall and lean with pale skin and pointed ears, he had six slightly muscular arms alongside a chiseled face that was so beautiful it looked like a mere illusion alongside a pair of snake-slitted plum eyes and straight, fine black hair treaty.
The clothing he wore was a large grayish black coat that came down to his knees with tight pants to the bare ankles along with an orange sash cooked in several parts, he was wearing a silver bib with protective plates and some stored knives, his face was made up in such a way that it made him look like a woman with several piercings in his long ears and his three pairs of arms wore gloves and some bracelets, rings and bangles with runes engraved on them.
Shiryuin Skar'gardt
Haemonculi of the Gray Splinters.
"It appears that the Mandrakes can no longer be depended upon in our ranks." Skar spoke with noticeable boredom looking at the paint on his nails. "They are a waste."
Four other individuals appeared behind the Haemonculi, these were different as they wore wicked-looking gray armor who carried curved swords and spiked whips.
Connie sat up quickly, putting herself between Steven and these guys, her bayard pointing at them who were not threatened, in fact, some were bored but no their expressions were not visible.
Skar raised an eyebrow at the Mon'keigh's pathetic attempt to be threatening. A snort escaped her lips and she gave the silly little girl a small smile.
"well... well... resisting?" Skar asked mockingly at the scared girl. "We will fix that."
She just needed a snap of her fingers and the Drukhari charged at the same time.
The caste of Lions – several minutos ago.
Several holes were opened with torches on the outside of the Castle giving way for the Drukhari of several kabbalahs to enter and infest inside, you could already hear the noise of gunshots and the sound of swords clashing, apparently these Mon'keigh and Rock women wasted no time in putting together their own line of defense.
The sentries that Matt created were armed with the finest melee and ranged armor and weapons that he, Pidgidot, and Bismuth created: from laser weapons to energy bows and swords to warhammers. The sentries, despite being few, have been decently defending the ship, cutting off the Drukhari advance towards the control room.
Among them, a squad of Drukhari commanded by Syakallar and the witch Ashi was battling against said sentinels.
The Eldar witch of the Seven Daughters of Sorrow was slim and slender like her sisters, each of them had the same appearance since they came from the same mother, the only way to differentiate them was by their haircut, Ashi's hairstyle was Short and combed up, his suit was tight-fitting black and he wore little armor to give him more freedom of movement.
Syakallar and his squad exchanged shots at the sentries who were blocking their path with a torrent of laser, they were only three sentries and carried energy shields that protected them from their blasters or vacuum lances.
Syakallar emptied his Shuriken pistol towards the sentries while Ashi threw a plasma grenade towards the robots causing them to seek cover, a blinding explosion was created on enemy terrain and this allowed the squad to advance a little but the robotic sentries recovered and killed two of them while the rest sought refuge continuing their suppressive fire.
Syakallar was leaning against a wall while dozens of cyan laser beams flew everywhere, while she was totally occupied in not dying, her thoughts derived from how the other squadrons were...
"Clear." The synthesized voice of an Eldar in crimson armor and incandescent spear in his hands gave the go-ahead for the rest of his team to mobilize.
A Drukhari squad of the Crimson Sharps advanced cautiously through one of the castle's many rooms, the place in total darkness as the breaker hooks had fried the light bulbs. Luckily for the squad their helmets had night vision and at the moment they did not meet anyone in the middle of the battlefield, but that did not give them reason to lower their guard.
"It's very quiet around here ..." An Eldar woman spoke as she covered the rear with her blaster weapon.
"Too much to be another direct route to the control room." The group leader who was wearing a cape on his shoulders looked over at him. "Don't let your guard down at any time."
The team continued its slow journey looking everywhere in search of an ambush or trace of the enemy, everything was calm but that only fed the squad leader's feeling of danger.
"So this is where the green paladin is." The voice of a Drukhari in the group revealed clear and poisonous contempt.
"We better hurry if we want to catch her, I'd be furious if another idiot took advantage of an opportunity like this." Another spoke as he finished checking a path in case enemies appeared.
"Neck promised that we would all have a share of Trigel's bitch's successor as well as the rest of the paladins and Mon'keigh that plague this ship." The leader's voice took turns annoyed when I speak of that idiot. "In return: he would have the female Altean all to himself."
The others winced mentally at the thought of that, but no one made any further comment.
The Eldar woman in the group pointed her flashlight towards a corner when she saw something heard, she did not see more than nothing when she pointed to that corner but a second before she swore to have seen something small hairy and pink.
"Hey ... I think I have-"
His comment was silenced when something strong closed in his leg and he threw him off the ground and then quickly dragged him away from his squadmates, he took ticks to react but he could not let out a scream since the same thing closed in his throat and I ripped it off and after that he didn't know anything else.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" They all pointed their flashlights at the place where the Eldar woman had gone only to reveal something terrifying.
On top of the corpse of its companion, was a gigantic pink feline animal with a long mane of a lighter shade, its paw was on top of its chest while its snout was covered in dripping blood, the gigantic feline was giving them a resounding growl showing its sharp and bloody teeth.
"Shoot to kill!" The leader ordered and everyone pointed their spears and blasters at the creature who did something totally unexpected.
The pink creature let out a roar releasing a sonic slingshot that hit them with the force of a truck causing them to split apart. The creature moved quickly towards one of the fallen ones and closed its jaws on the leg and swung his body along with the Eldar and released his leg sending him flying and slamming against a wall in horrible creaking.
A Drukhari was rising from the shock only to be thrown when the monster lunged at him and bit his throat, then yanked it off. Another recovered quickly and tried to reach for his weapon but the creature was quick and let out another deafening roar at him that literally pinned him to the wall.
The leader of the group rejoined with his helmet falling from his head revealing the face of a male Eldar whose expressions were mixed between rage and fear, he saw how the rest of his squad was mercilessly slaughtered by this wild animal, he watched with horror As the huge jaws of the feline closed on the face of another woman in her squad, the woman let out a gasp that silently shaking her jaws and breaking her neck. Then he saw her weapon that was not about 3 paces away so he quickly crawled towards her to take it and kill the beast who was tearing the inside of the last of his men standing who was screaming in agony.
The squad leader grabbed her weapon and pointed it at the beast, only she was no longer there. Everything was silent as he pointed everywhere in search of that monster.
A growl echoed behind him and the leader couldn't cry out as his world turned dark and then silent.
Bismuth struck a Drukhari in dark violet armor against a wall and with his fist turned into a hammer slammed his face against the wall in a bloody crack, then with his forearm he blocked another's sword and responded with a powerful hook that bent his neck, Another Drukhari jumped on his back to finish him off with a knife but the smithy gem was quick and grabbed his hand and then knocked him to the ground and crushed his head like a watermelon.
She along with Lance, Matt, Lynn, Luna and Luan were battling the Drukhari in the landing bay, several of Matt's sentries accompanied them giving support fire against the Dark Eldar.
Lynn split the face of a Black Star Drukhari with her Chainsword and used her body to ward off the energy blasts that were being given her.
Luan and Luan fired their laser weapons with Lance at their side firing his energy bow, a shot from the bow hit the forehead of one killing him dead while Luan took out a krak grenade and threw it towards the group, the explosion sent some charred limbs flying but still fighting.
Matt was busy fighting hand to hand against a Drukhari that had him cornered, the bastard was tough and it only took a quick leg movement for him to end up on the ground.
"Die, you filth Mon'keigh!" The Eldar roared in a thunderous voice swinging his sword for the final blow.
Only that wasn't going to happen.
A powerful red beam struck the Drukhari square in the chest who sent him flying back with his chest smoking. Matt saw his savior who was Leni who had in her hands a smoking sniper and her face showed a clear contempt for the Eldar.
The expression on his face changed to innocence when he saw Matthew lying on the ground. "Oh, hello there! Sleeping at work? You are lucky the commissar is not here to see this. "
The sniper offered a friendly hand to Matt who gave a funny snort and extended it warmly, they both held hands and she helped him up, but Matthew saw something moving out of the corner of his eye at high speed.
"Look out!" Matt yelled and pushed the sniper away from her position.
A quick swing and a meaty noise was all it took for the defending team to stop and watch in utter horror.
Everyone watched as she peeled it off in a clean cut halfway to the elbow, her arm falling to the ground with her thumb and index finger spamming. Matt saw her arm cut off and the other half sprawled on the ground in utter shock, the agonizing pain followed as the pointed end began to ooze with blood.
Lance and Bismuth shouted his name but the young man did not hear him as the pain was so devastating that he made him bend and sit on the ground while he covered his wound preventing the blood from escaping without success.
"Matt!" Leni screamed and knelt on the ground to help her, pulled a bandage out of her coat and furiously wrapped Matthew's arm.
Bismuth was shocked, she was not used to this kind of confrontation. On earth, when he faced Homeworld next to the Crystal gems, whenever there were skirmishes, the gems, when seriously injured, exploded and took shelter in their gems and if they were fast enough they could collect them and return them to their places so that they could regenerate and get back to the fight.
The same couldn't be said for organics.
Humans don't poof or regenerate, they just bleed and die and there is no way to bring them back to life. That is why the great gem moved to them like a protective barrier and gave a furious glare towards the being that dared to harm it.
Who happened to be a scantily clad Eldar woman, her hair was short parted on two sides revealing her long pale ears, her eyes were cold, and her smile was one of glee as she held two swords artistically crafted by Commonrragh's finest artisans.
Ami
2nd Witch of the Seven Daughter of Sorrow.
"How dare you?" Bismuth growled summoning two great hammers into his hands. "He's just a boy!"
The Drukhari witch chuckled as she took away the bloody sword and licked the edge of it with her long tongue, deeply disgusted by the gem of hers.
"And that? That useless Mon'keigh will die shortly, his screams of pain are nothing more than music to my ears. "Ami said softly and seductively, then pointed her weapon at Bismuth."Filthy things like them are but toys for us to squeeze."
Bismuth the eyes of the gem were opened with genuine disbelief, she met in battle several gems that would gladly make their comrades suffer for having abandoned the light of their diamonds, but these beings ... these Drukhari would annihilate them for personal pleasure.
That made him even angrier.
The witch Ami pointed her other sword at the gem, adopting a fighting stance. "Luckily for you, I also know how to administer pain to disembodied beings like you."
"Well… you know what? You will have to beat me first! "Bismuth declared and went on the attack.
Keith sliced open the head of a Gray Splinter with his bayard and with his luxite blade he pushed aside the bayonet of an Eldar void spear and then twirled it between his fingers and plunged it into the side of his skull falling like a sack. ; He leaned his body back, dodging laser shots and rolling across the ground toward a cover occupied by Lori.
"Seek your own cover, Xeno." Lori said as she fired blindly from her cover with the suppression mode of her laser rifle.
"I would if it weren't cramped here." Keith responded haughtily and deftly hurled his Luxite blade at the neck of another Gray Splinter. "There are a lot of these Eldar around here, we must get to my Leon quickly if we want to get rid of them."
"Don't rush us!" Lincoln yelled from the other side of a cover with Lisa and the twins with him and then stepped out of his cover to shoot at the Splinters and Sharps with his pistol.
On the other side of the battle, the two Eldar witches ran over the walls avoiding the shots of the sentries and leaping towards them with weapons at the ready. The witch on the left who drove her swords into the robot's head and chest had short hair combed in such a way that they looked like two horns, the other witch had her hair combed to the side of her.Aki
Avi
3rd and 6th witches of the Seven Daughters of Sorrow.
Aki and Avi launched themselves into the air and simultaneously threw two implosion grenades towards the rest of the robots while the rest of the living beings took cover in their covers.
Two thunderous explosions wiped out the sentinels Matt, Pidge, and Peridot so painstakingly created.
The two witches came out of their cover taking advantage of the commotion to advance towards their prey but unexpectedly, Keith came forward through the thick smoke and clashed his swords against both of them.
"That sword ..." Avi said as he contemplated the famous sword of the last Altean king, a sneer of mockery and contempt grew on his features. "Patetic, and think that such a relic belongs in the hands of the race that annihilated them.
Keith used his Galra strength and pushed both witches out of reach.
"The irony of things, my sister." Aki mentioned sitting up bored and raised her sword showing the same mocking face. "That shows how pathetic-minded Alfor was, his extinction was well deserved."
"I can't wait to get my claws into the skin of his last male descendant." Avi mentioned licking his lips in a sadistic way.
Keith's eyes narrowed in cold anger at having mentioned Lance and Alfor that way, but he remembered his teachings on the sword and how to deal with the most versatile opponents of the Drukhari.
"Well, how about I give you a demonstration of your sharpness by slitting your throat." The Marmoran sneered, raising his bayard toward the two witches, the edge of his sword glowing menacingly. "Legend has it that no matter how many hits she takes, she will always stay sharp."
Aki and Avi's lips twisted wickedly and they simultaneously crossed their weapons on their chest.
"I'm going to make you cry." Avi purred deliciously.
"We will be ecstatic with the screams of pain that we will force you to bring out." Aki growled menacingly.
They both launched the attack and were the first to strike with a simultaneous rapier but something else happened that they did not expect either: The Galra had dodged the attack together giving a somersault with the same agility, both watched in slow motion as Keith was above them with an arrogant smile.
Then at astonishing speed, the Galra made a quick swing that could have ended the confrontation, instead slicing the hair of the two witches in a molecular way.
"WOW!" Lola gasped as she reacted to the pirouette that Keith managed to do.
Aki and Avi looked at each other in disbelief and then saw the strands of hair that fell to the ground. He obviously anticipated it, and instead of using his advantage to finish them off at once, he did the worst stupidity that any self-respecting warrior can do.
Pissing off not one, but TWO witches.
Avi's face was nothing more than a lot of throbbing veins, her sharp teeth were so clenched her gums were bleeding, her eyes were bloodshot and her throat let out a chilling growl.
With Aki it was different but make no mistake as she was the expert in masking her emotions, but the fury she felt inside of her was such that she could melt adamatium.
The witch Drukhari let out a sudden laugh as the veins on her forehead throbbed with fervor, she would not allow this brat to make fun of her and her abilities and therefore she is totally determined to take her head as a trophy. .
"I'm going to enjoy how I skin you alive."
Both charged the attack against the red paladin in intense combat.
A couple of blots flew towards the wall colliding in a cloud of dust, as it dissipated, a pair of Drukhari Crimsons with their armored armor and their twisted bodies were revealed.
"That should be the last ..." Lucy added standing around a half dozen dead Eldar. Some were twisted at totally painful angles while others were totally charred. "They can go out ..."
From a shelter came the terrified Pidge and Peridot who trembled like dry leaves in autumn.
"I-I-is everything C-clear?" Pidge asked meekly, doing her best not to empty her insides at the sight and smell of blood and carnage.
"You are totally terrifying!" Peridot exploded in terror as she witnessed Lucy's overwhelming power.
"Whatever." Lucy rolled her eyes and pointed at Pidge. "Keep going."
Pidge blinked and then nodded and the three of them trotted over to the location of the Green Lion.
"How are you so good at doing that?" Pidge asked the Valhallan while they were on their way.
"I have excellent notes in one of the Adeptus Astra Telephatica academies in my home world." Lucy responded immediately.
"Do you have a school for people with superpowers?" Peridot asked with stars in her eyes. "Like My hero Academia or the X-men?"
"What?"
"Peridot ... Do you know about Comics… and Anime?" Pidge raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the green gem.
"Hey, when you drop out of Homeword you have a ton of free time on your schedule." Peridot sounded offended at the tone with the Pidge accusing her.
"You Xenos are very strange people ..." Lucy said flatly.
"NOT SO WEAR LIKE YOU, CLOD!" Peridot roared even more indignant.
The instincts of the Valhallan were startled and when they reached an intersection three knives flew towards them but Lucy stopped them instantly with her telekinesis.
The two Eldar who threw the knives were two other Gray Splinters witches who wore few pieces of armor and both had a whip in their hands, the shape of their hair on one of them was short like Ami's but had a more shape neat and smooth while the other had a strange shape of two lower curved ears.
Ani
Ari
4th and 5th Witches of the Gray Splinters.
"Is it you, right?" Ari pointed her whip and a venomous look at the green paladin. "Trigel's successor, isn't she like that?"
"Who?" Pidge looked at Peridot and Lucy.
"You carry her suit and her weapon." Ari pointed with her eyes full of hatred towards the human girl. "A useless Mon'keigh girl now carries her legacy, disappointing!"
"You better go to the Leon." Lucy said without taking her eyes off the Eldar Witches duo. "Now."
"What?" "What?" The gem and the girl asked in unison being more confused now.
"They are not going anywhere!" Ari roared and the two witches readied their whips snapping with electrical energy.
Lucy responded instantly by extending her arm and releasing an infernal warp blast towards the two witches who widened their eyes and summoned psychic shields to protect themselves from the incineration.
"GO NOW!" Lucy roared at the two with a menacing look from her hair waving and her eyes glowing blue.
She didn't need to say it twice and they both ran in terror from the terrifying presence of the imperial woman.
The Gray Chapter.
Neck sat quietly from his control center with a drink in hand as he gazed at the number of Drukhari ships and cruisers circling this lonely and pathetic Altean ship carrying the most powerful weapon in the universe.
His ships were above the castle with their breaker anchors that will hold that thing in place while his forces and those of the other Kabalas take the ship from within.
It was not expected that a good resistance would be found in the hands of those Alteans and the lower races, information was constantly coming to him about multiple sources of defense that they were having a hard time passing through.
The Archon of the Crimson Sharps revealed that the team he sent were being killed by a beast that takes refuge in the dark corner of the castle, another report came from a huge rock woman fighting fiercely against one of the witches of her entourage, the same came with two others who were fighting fiercely against the young Galra; Skar, his Haemonculis was having fun with two Mon'keigh children who were entertaining his bodyguard.
A few moments ago he had contacted Syakallar and Ashi, he had asked how they were in their search and capture of the Altean princess, the captain replied that they were in progress since they have encountered a squad of robots that was suppressing their advance.
Neck was not liking this at all; the fact that he was taking time hinted that they were having problems, he is also not getting answers from Ani, Ari and Achi. His frown deepened and he took a long sip of his Vulpes wine, the bitter aftertaste of the wine only making his mood worse.
"Contact the others: tell him to send reinforcements and to take heavier weapons with them; Call Skar and tell him that-"
"MY LORD!" One of his technicians started screaming. "There is a spike of energy coming out of the ship! ONE OF THE LIONS CAME OUT OF THE SHIP! "
"WHAT!?" Neck screamed at the top of his lungs as the worst possible scenario came true, rising from his chair and striding towards the technician. "WHERE!?"
I do not need an answer as a large object began to move at high speed outside the castle of Lions, it only took to see the color of the gigantic lion-shaped ship to provoke an intense rage to both him and the rest of them.
"To all our fighters: shoot that thing down!" The Archon barked orders and all the Eldar fire from his ships began to focus on the green lion. "Its here where the Trigel's legacy ends!"
"Quiznack! Why are there so many!? " Peridot screeched when he saw too many battleships firing at them.
"It doesn't matter how many ships there are!" Pidge screamed as she maneuvered at high speed to dodge and destroy the fighters that were harassing her. "We must destroy those circuit breakers so the castle can defend itself!"
"I guess you already have an answer to how we will do it!" Peridot gave an arrogant smile.
"Yeah!" Pidge nodded determinedly as he held his bayard in hand.
With a passionate shout, he inserted the bayard into the slot and the vid cannon came to life and began his offensive against these idiots.
Shiro and Amethyst were running through the clear corridors of the castle in search of Steven and Connie, they had been looking for him in so many places that it seemed like hours. Amethyst was in a total panic as he didn't know how Steven or Connie were doing, the inside was a battlefield and none of the kids were here to know if they were safe or fighting those assholes.
"They shouldn't be far away anymore." Shiro spoke in a quest to ease Amethyst's stressful form. "The others are fighting there and none of them saw Steven or Connie."
"I don't know if that would be good or bad." Amethyst said keeping her eyes open everywhere. "You already heard that pale man with a singing voice, surely someone is there hurting them while we are not doing anything."
"There is nothing you should fear, both are strong-"
"Together they are invincible, I know." Amethyst finished reciting for the black Paladin, however, he still did not remove the enormous concern that he had on his shoulders.
The two entered a spacious circular room, this was the observatory: a place where you could admire the beauties in person the beauties that the cosmos had to offer, the huge gate that showed the stars was closed leaving the site in a slight darkness in the one that only the dim light of the ground illuminated it.
The two of them stopped in their tracks, something was wrong, they could feel it in their bodies.
"Amethyst ..." Shiro began to speak with her eyes narrowing. "Go after Steven and Connie."
"What!?" Amethyst asked stunned at what his leader spoke. "Chief ... No-"
"You have to go now!" Shiro ordered with her gaze on his shoulder. "I'll take care!"
Amethyst swallowed a knot and trusting Shiro she nodded and went to find the children.
The room fell silent with the black Paladin all alone.
"It was a huge stupidity what you did there." A cold female voice was heard above Shiro.
Various shapes appeared in the dark, they were seven in total and all of them were Drukhari. Six of them wore wicked gray armor and some carried a melee weapon. The last figure was an Eldar woman with long hair and like the rest of her sisters she was scantily clad along with a tattered black cape covering her back and in her hands she carried a round mallet in her left hand.
Achi
7th witch of The Seven Daughters of Sorrow.
"Do you really think that you alone can against all of us?" Achi extended his free hand to all the Eldar gathered in the room that were surrounding him. "You may be the black paladin, but don't deny it: you are only a weak and pathetic human, something far below what the old black paladin was."
Shiro raised his arm and it began to crackle with purple energy before his entire hand glowed menacingly.
"Why don't you come and prove your point?" Shiro asked coldly.
Achi flashed his sharp teeth in a cruel smile, then let out a battle cry and charged towards the black Paladin with his mass raised at the zenith of him. Shiro raised his guard and leaned his head back to avoid a left side swing and then dodged a vertical one but couldn't dodge a quick kick to the chest that only sent him back a few feet.
The two Drukhari behind him moved to skewer him with their swords, but Shiro foresaw it and activated his thrusters, taking off from the ground and narrowly avoiding being turned into a human skewer, then descending with a cry to the ground with his mechanical arm lowering and hitting the ground creating a shock sling that jerked the two Eldar out of reach.
Another of the Eldar charged with a Bo in his hands and maneuvered it with such deftness that it would make Matt go over the edge, Bo's struck two rapids with the lower end but missed and Shiro counterattacked using an upward vertical slash to split the ball. Eldar's face but it turned out to be very agile as he somersaulted backwards and hit his chin with the tip of his foot, Shiro was distracted and an Eldar from the group took advantage of this and charged quickly towards the Mon ' Keigh stunned and then jumped up and kicked three hard in the air to the chest that knocked him to the ground.
Shiro looked up and saw Achi lifting his dough again with both hands and lowering it to where his face was, fortunately he managed to roll just in time before his face was crushed like a rotten fruit, he quickly rejoined and tried to attack. The witch now that she was exposed but her attack failed to connect when a blow from another Splinter landed against her right cheek and then another on the left that turned her face away.
Achi smirked maniacally as he mounted his foot on the back of the positioned Splinter and gave a boost by leaping into the air and landing his nether region on the paladin's helmet, then in a maneuver that was considered good in wrestling, Achi turned his center and she took Shiro with her causing them both to fall to the ground.
The rest of the Drukhari wasted no time and pounced on the black paladin giving him a good amount of kicks and stomps that had he not had the suit on he would have received a lot of damage.
Achi got up off the ground and was about to join in the beating when Shiro activated his thrusters escaping from the beating they were giving him and quickly raised his guard up in front of his opponents with heavy breathing.
The Eldar with the bare fists charged first and performed some kung fu movements that Shiro was able to evade thanks to his training in the Jackson, as soon as he could see an opening he took it and caught the Eldar's leg and swung it with all his strength away. of him making him crash against the wall.
A hiss was heard and instinctively activated his personal shield and a couple of small thunderous explosions shook the black Paladin and made him back several feet, the person responsible for this was a Splinter who had in his hands two pairs of three Shurikens who launched them with the skill of a master, Shiro blocked each of the explosive Shurikens with each explosion making his bones vibrate, the Splinter with the Bo took a great leap spinning his staff and swinging vertically with the upper end towards the head of the paladin but Shiro acted Quickly and with his robotic hand he grabbed the end of the Bo and with a cry of effort he swung the weapon downwards sending the Eldar away who dropped his weapon and fell like a garbage bag, with another scream he threw the Bo and this spin like a frisbee toward the Shurikens Splinter who leaned back, dodging the staff by inches from his face.
"Don't make up ..." Shiro complained and activated his boosters to avoid another wave of incoming explosive Shurikens.
Achi charged towards the descending paladin and leapt towards the tackling him towards the observatory wall, Shiro whimpered in pain and was forced out of the dent to face the ground.
"Unbelievable, that was the most pathetic thing I ever saw." Achi said bored as he slid off the wall and brandished his mass at the fallen paladin. "They even call themselves the defenders of the universe? You can't even beat a measly group of Eldar thugs! "
Shiro stood up again and charged towards Achi who was standing there with a look of disappointment and boredom, he was about to hit when something stuck to his body that made him fail and fall to the ground once more.
Achi glanced at Shiro's fallen and cloaked form, gave a quick glance at a Splinter who was holding an immobilizer cannon in his hands. Then he kicked him hard in the rib that made him slide across the floor and crash into the wall of the observatory.
"What makes you think that you: a simple animal along with other pathetic and inferior beings can proclaim themselves defenders when they cannot even protect themselves!?"
Shiro coughed loudly with his left rib burning with pain but it was his goodwill forbidding him to give up so with some effort he stood up even if his torso was wrapped.
"Will you stand up again? Do you want to show how weak you are? You can't even defend yourself anymore! "Achi pointed her mace at Shiro with a furious face.
"As long as you can stand up." Shiro took a soft exhale and gave each Splinter a determined look. "I will keep on fighting!"
Achi opened her eyes in overflowing anger and let out a battle cry as he charged towards Shiro to finish him off with the mass of him at once. The black paladin hurried and with all his stored strength he freed himself from what was suppressing him and very quickly used his mechanical arm to grab her above her head and slam her hard against the ground causing her mass to fly through the air and Shiro catches it with his arm and then swings it laterally towards the head of an Eldar who did not have time to dodge it and his head was torn off with a single blow.
The rest of the Splinters were shocked by the brutal death of their partner.
The Drukhari with the bare fists watched as Shiro pulled Achi's hair to detach her from the ground, the witch had a bruised nose and lines of blood came out of both nostrils, Shiro raised the newly acquired mass to crush her face but the martial Drukhari avoided it. Giving a powerful punch to Shiro's face that bent his nose and removed his front tooth, the shocked paladin dropped the mass and recoiled further as the Eldar punched him in the stomach and the side of his head a few times. Eldar warrior was about to deliver a devastating right hand when Shiro caught his fist with his mechanical arm and gave him a death glare then just as quickly grabbed his helmet with both hands and raised him to the ground.
And he began to squeeze.
Slowly, the Splinter's hull began to crack to pieces revealing his old, scarred face, Shiro didn't stop there and began to squeeze even harder and the Drukhari began to kick his face wrinkling from increasing pain and Shiro squeezed. Even louder that he was already growling from the effort he made chorus with the warrior who was feeling immense pain throughout his head, Shiro growled even louder that the Eldar warrior's eyes were threatening to pop out of his head and with all freedom he began to scream in agony.
With one last shout of effort, Shiro smashed the Eldar's head like a melon and his brains were scattered throughout most of his suit, the Drukhari's limp body flabby like a mannequin with blood oozing from the Black paladin's hands
Achi regained consciousness and when he opened his eyes they widened in shock when he saw two of his dead warriors, his eyes fell on the warrior with the Bo who pointed the paladin with the upper end of his weapon, then the tip of it it began to glow with heat and with a scream of fury a blaze emanated from the weapon quickly addressing the pilot who opened his eyes in disbelief and used the flaccid body of the Drukhari as a makeshift shield.
The flare hit the corpse whose limbs shook like a garment against a powerful blast of air while Shiro was bathed in a wave of intense heat, the entire observatory lit up before the intense blazing blast, the Eldar of the Shurikens began to run and climb the walls while Shiro did his best not to be scorched by the infernal field.
The flare lost intensity as its bearer began to feel the fatigue of the prolonged use of its power, which Shiro took advantage of by running at full speed against the withering current with his totally charred body shield and swinging it close to the warrior striking his staff, extinguishing the burst and he raised his mechanical arm to its full zenith and swung it like an ax toward the Eldar's head.
The poor bastard ended up with his head split next to the middle of his torso, his blood oozing all over the floor as he knelt on the ground with his two halves separated like the pages of a book.
A couple of whistles were heard and Shiro thought fast and threw the charred remains of his shield towards the explosive Shurikens who hit and what was left of the Drukhari was engulfed in a bloody explosion while in the cloud of smoke emerged a completely incredulous Splinter who was caught by the leg in the middle of his descent to the ground by Shiro who with a grunt of effort slammed his face against the ground in a terrible crunch and raised him into the air once to finish off with another stamping against the ground that ended up destroying his skull.
The two Dark Eldar with the twin swords charged forward to finish off the black paladin at once but Shiro attacks first throwing the corpse of his companion towards one of them who stopped and cut him off in his arms, then dodged by sliding gracefully the other Eldar's slashes while the palm of his arm glowed violet so that he quickly rose and pierced the other distracted Eldar warrior's face with his glowing hand, killing him on the spot. He then grabbed the sword from the ground and threw it towards the Eldar that was reloading the barrel and ended up with his chest impaled and falling to the ground in agony.
Achi awkwardly rose from the ground, his features indescribable fury as Shiro took a few long breaths with his gaze glued to the last two remaining Eldar.
"What ... did you think ... that?" Shiro asked Achi heavily as pain and fatigue were killing him. "Does that meet ... your expectations?"
The witch gritted her teeth even more and her fists were shaking with anger, out of the corner of her eye she could see the dying Eldar used what was left of her strength to shakily aim Shiro with her cannon and pulled the trigger firing a slingshot that enveloped a surprised Shiro and the two remaining Eldar roared in unison as they charged towards the paladin.
Shiro was bombarded with a lot of blows to the face that removed his helmet exposing him, with each strong blow the pain went up a notch and he could do nothing to defend himself.
But he tried to do it anyway and made a great effort not to fall unconscious before the rain of blows while his mechanical arm shone once more and managed to penetrate once more the envelope and through the stomach of the remaining warrior and with an inhuman speed he grabbed the head from Achi and bent her until her head was turned upside down in a disgusting creak.
Achi's eyes crinkled and her face froze knowing she was dead, her eyes reddened and blood came out of them as she fell to her knees and coughed up a good amount of blood onto her tattered cloak and fell to the ground and didn't turn around to move.
The place fell into a deathly silence with Shiro bending over to breathe and cough a few times, he couldn't feel his face, his left eye was bulging and it looks like he's about to pass out, his suit was left in a bloody mess and torn with his helmet thrown away and badly damaged.
Shiro heard a loud groan of pain and saw with his good eye that the warrior that he pierced with his hand was still alive, his helmet was off his head revealing the masculine features of his youth.
The Dark Eldar was moaning and he could hardly breathe anymore, his intestines were in the air and each breath became more difficult
He couldn't even believe it: a pathetic Mon'keigh, armed only with a cybernetic prosthetic killer to the best warriors the Gray Splinters could offer (including a witch for the love of Khaine) obviously the pride of the cabal would be tarnished if the others. They manage to finish off these paladins.
A shadow loomed over the dying Drukhari who used what was left of his strength to look up and see the black paladin looming over him, his face was totally bruised and he was holding his right rib with his good arm while his mechanical arm glowed. In a threatening purple
Knowing the meaning of this, he only let out a ragged sigh.
"Just..." His voice came out rough at the effort of being able to speak, blood already leaking from the corner of his lips. "Finished…"
Shiro let out a held breath and raised his mechanical arm and with a quick movement extinguished the life of the last warrior Splinter invites.
Shiro let out another painful groan and walked away from the recently beheaded Eldar, then knelt in the center of the observatory and looked at each Eldar that he has slain with his bare hands, his consciousness was already becoming difficult to maintain and the pain was still lingering, as he was struggling to stay awake I wish Amethyst had managed to find the children to come as soon as possible to end this.
Shiro's good eyelid was closing and Shiro lay down on the ground and let unconsciousness claim him.
Amethyst ran as fast as her legs allowed, she was one hundred percent sure that this was the place where the boys were and she could almost feel them up close, she just needed to cross to the left and she will be able to find-
Amethyst stopped in her tracks, her eyes snapping open at the destruction that was in sight of her.
Multiple supports on the wall, several of those dead Drukhari along with other strange black bugs scattered on the ground, there was a pile of debris around the site that was still surrounded by a cloud of dust.
And in the center she could see them.
Steven and Connie.
"GUYS!" Amethyst screamed and started running towards the two unconscious children. "Guys, can you hear me!?"
Both children let out soft moans and slowly opened their eyes as if they had awakened from a long sleep.
"Wh-what happen?" Steven groaned as he scratched his eyes.
"Where we are ...?" Connie yawned in confusion.
"Oh thank lord!" Amethyst squeezed both children into a crushing hug. "I thought they were hurt or worse! Is any of you okay!? "
"What happened here?" Steven asked looking fearfully at the death and destruction that occurred in this place.
"There is no time to lose! Shiro may be in danger and he needs our help! "Amethyst took them both by the hand and ran back to Shiro.
After doing the same reverse journey, the three paladins encountered a scene that haunted them for their entire lives.
"Holy fuck..." Amethyst gasped.
Shiro was lying on the ground around a few Eldar in different states of dismemberment scattered around the site with all of his blood painting the ground; the scene was so scary that Connie almost emptied her stomach when she saw it and they didn't make me talk about Steven. "Chief!" Amatista salió de conmoción y corrió hacia el paladín negro quien recibo lo que podría describirse como una paliza de callejón. "Chief, you okay!?"
Having no response from the unconscious Shiro, the purple gem addressed the young gem in shock.
"Steven, I know it is tough to look at but we need your healing powers to wake Shiro up." The purple gem shook the shoulders of the terrified child whose gaze was fixed on a ragged-cloaked Eldar woman whose head was turned upside down. "Kid, I need you here!"
Steven looked into Amethyst's pleading eyes and swallowed hard, then frantically nodded and proceeded.
The half-gem quickly approached Shiro's fallen form and knelt in front of him to assess the severity of his injuries. The boy swallowed and licked the palm of her hand, wishing her with all his might that it would work and placed it on the black paladin's forehead.
A second later, the bruises on Shiro's face disappeared and he was left as if he hadn't been hit. The black lion pilot's eyes snapped open and the first thing he saw were the faces of Steven and Amethyst.
"Guys..." Shiro spoke as if he had come out of a trance. "What happened?"
"Umm ... what happened was you dropped the Ketchup and a bunch of lang eared boyz meid ya Krumpa." Amethyst explained, imitating cannibalized Ork accent. "Sorry, my bad."
"Good, now that you are here we must immediately go to our lions and give Pidge help." Shiro explained getting up off the ground and checking that everything is in place. Then he felt Steven look at him covered in blood. "Steven, I- this is not the time, when it's all over we'll talk about this, okay?"
It took them a few seconds to take it and nod.
"Well." Shiro nodded and acquired a determined look. "To the lions."
Neck paced back and forth in a fury. Almost none of his plans were going well and he already had the other Archons yelling in his ear demanding status, almost none of his witches were returning his calls and he did not know of Skar's status either.
And worst of all: they still hadn't destroyed the green lion.
"WHAT IS TAKING SO MUCH OF THOSE BITCHES !?" Neck roared, startling his crew, then pointed at the Green Lion moving at high speed, dodging shots and destroying fighters. "AND WHY IS THAT SHIP ISN'T DESTROYED YET !?"
"My Lord, the green lion is outwitting our ships and destroying whatever support we send to the castle!" One of the navigators responded which earned him a slap across the face.
"I want results, asshole ...!" Neck growled at the navigator and then roared gutturally. "NO EXCUSES, CHANGE OF PLANS: DESTROY THE SHIP!".
"But sir!" One of the technicians called the Archon. "Our people are still there, not even to mention the other cabal squads! If we destroy the ship with them inside, we will only earn their- "
The technician's head exploded like a water balloon when Neck fired his plasma pistol at his head.
"Then tell them to come back ...! I don't care about the lives of those damn fools when we have victory in our grasp…! " Neck growled at the entire crew and pointed his pistol at the castle. "Shoot. To! KILL!"
The ship's alarms went off suddenly and Neck saw them as if it were a foreign object.
"What's going on!?" Neck yelled quickly, scaring the technician who went to work.
"By Khaine ..." The technician muttered with his eyes fixed on the screen.
"Idiot, I'm talking to you, WHAT'S HAPPENING !?" Neck losing his temper crashed the technician's face against the panel.
"Th-T-The Lions…!" The technician groaned at the Archon's strength on his face.
"What about the lions ...?" Neck asked the crewman dangerously.
"T-They are here!"
Neck's eyes widened; Anger, despair, and terror washed over every faction on his face.
"Wh-What ...?" Neck prayed to all the gods that it wasn't true.
A tremendous explosion rocked the ship and it was there that Neck got to see it and for the first time in his long, long life ...
He felt doomed ...
"GUYS !" Pidge and Peridot screamed with joy as they saw the other four lions flying through space and beginning to destroy the circuit breakers of the enemy cruisers.
"Sorry for the delay!" Keith spoke with some blood staining his chest. "I've been busy on a witch hunt.
"I pity you, Keith." Shiro said without having his helmet on. "These guys really ruined our day."
"What do they tell me if we tear them to pieces?" Amethyst proposed with an excited look as he tripped another breaker.
"With pleasure!" "No problem." "Count with me!" "Let's kick those clods' ass!" the paladins nodded in agreement at the purple gem's proposal.
"All right, team. Let's do this! "Shiro said." Form Voltron!"
The five lions let out a mighty roar as they soared up into the space. The Black lion's body altered itself; retracting its fore-legs and back-legs and rising vertically upwards; extending out its connector stubs.
"Form feet and legs!" The Blue and Yellow lion, followed behind their leader; retracting their fore-legs and back-legs, before bending their heads forward in the ninety-degree angle; instantly connecting themselves with the back-leg stubs of the Black lion.
"Form arms and body!" The Red and Green lion's soared along aside its leader; retracting ther fore-legs and back-legs and extending their heads and bodies forward, before attaching themselves to the fore-legs stub of the Black Lion.
"And I'll form the head!" As soon as the four, multicolored lions attached themselves to the Black lion, the lead beast opened its maw to reveal the face of voltron: Defender of the Universe.
"Broody, activate the sword!" Shiro ordered the red paladin.
"OK!" Keith slides his bayard into the slot.
Voltron invokes the sword and propels himself towards the rest of the circuit breakers that have trapped the castle and cuts them as if they were made of silk.
"NO! Nononononononononononono! "Neck was insane when he saw the dreaded Voltron cut through his anchors like nothing."SHOOT THAT THING!"
The battle began and all the Drukhari cruisers opened fire on the legendary defender who ascended and maneuvered through the asteroid field evading and dodging the beams and shots of the Dark Eldar. Voltron propelled himself towards a cruiser, extending his sword and driving it into the side to then accelerate the thrusters and completely pierce the ship who unleashed a few secondary explosions before exploding into oblivion.
Voltron shot downward destroying a few fighters who were unlucky when they collided with its sturdy frame and stabbed his sword over the head of a ship, then stabbed his right hand into the ceiling and unleashed a shot that completely annihilated the entire crew of the ship.
More rays tried to reach him but he moved quickly avoiding and destroying how many fighters he had in his way to pass to the next ship.
"Amy, activate the shoulder cannon!"
"Right Chief!" Amethyst activated his bayard and inserted it into his groove.
The shoulder cannon came to life and fired a great horde of lasers that sent a few hundred houses and a dozen cruisers into oblivion.
Neck's eyes transmitted despair as he saw how the fleet he had assembled to finish off Voltron was being wiped out with insulting speed.
He saw how in an impossible way he penetrated against the defenses of his ships and how they were consumed in fireballs sent into oblivion.
He watched as a horde of Drukhari fighters chased after them only to be sliced and chopped up like they were nothing.
How could he have ended up like this?
The answer to that was simple: He has greatly underestimated these Mon'keigh.
"My lord! Syakallar and Ashi have returned to their ship, the same for Skar! Just give the signal and we will start the retreat. "The navigator said in a nervous and fearful voice to his leader.
Neck watched as the other ships tried to escape, some managed to flee but the others were destroyed by a large shot from that cannon that was connected to Voltron's shoulder.
"ARCON, WE HAVE TO GO!" The navigator shook Neck out of his trance.
The Dark Eldar looked between his navigator and Voltron who was continuing his revenge against his kind. It was only a matter of time before his turn came.
Gritting his teeth and feeling a great thorn in his heart, Neck gave his command and prayed to their gods to have mercy on his soul.
"Do it."
"Those cowards are running away!" Keith roared as he watched as all the Gray Splinters ships went into a hyper jump escaping from his sight, The same happened for other Eldar ships who like rampaging rats fled from the surroundings leaving only the crumbs to play and a lot of destroyed ships.
"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm more than sure they learned their lesson!" Shiro said solemnly watching as the last Drukhari ship exploded into oblivion. "Paladins, spread out, danger is past.
The others nodded without saying another word.
As soon as the circuit breakers were removed, the castle of the lions was back online but the cost was something that could not be ignored, 28% of the place was damaged both inside and outside and would need repairs immediately, there was a pile of Drukhari corpses scattered around and there were some wounded inside.
Matt was immediately taken to the infirmary to treat his severed arm, the other half of his arm could not be saved due to him being shot at the climax of the raid rendering him unrecoverable. Pidge almost had a seizure when he received the news from his brother while Shiro and Keith were furious that they had not been there to protect him and but the three were reassured to know that he is now stable and that he is asleep after having passed the effects out of adrenaline, Pidge asked to stay with him from now on.
Leon returned and almost everyone was scared to see him with his muzzle and claws covered in blood, he was surely entertaining the Drukhari that the sentries could not arrive in time, as soon as the storm passed he was going to take a mandatory bath.
The unhurt members of the Imperial Guard volunteered to search for stragglers with Commissioner Elizabeth leading it alongside a squad of sentries. It took her all day to search and kill any Eldar hidden on the ship.
A couple of sentries threw the corpse of a Drukhari scattered on the ground and adding it to the pile of corpses that were in the landing bay, once they would have all the bodies grouped together, he would launch them into space since ironically the castle did not have a waste incinerator. Among the pile of bodies was Ami whose lower part was ripped off, Aki was spread out on a pile with a deep cut on her neck and only Avi's upper jaw could be seen, Ani and Ari were twisted at totally painful angles and Achi she was buried between the bodies in the same state that Shiro left her.
Steven watched with pain in his heart as the sentries took another body, this one had its head uncovered, revealing a woman who probably started adulthood.
He heard footsteps heading next to him but Steven didn't pay attention to him as he was focused on the details of the Eldar woman as they led her away from her.
"Are you okay?" Steven's eyes widened unexpectedly when he saw that it was Leni who was greeting him.
The Valhallan was fine and she greeted Steven with a friendly smile, the boy did not know what to say, this was the first time that he had a conversation with the imperial guard.
"Y-yeah ..." Steven replied calmly scratching his neck as he looked away. "I'll be fine…"
"Is not easy." Leni said suddenly.
"What?"
"It is not easy to see all this, it does not matter if it is from a Xenos or a partner, no one can bear to see a life dull like that." Leni said solemnly. "Life as a soldier made me see things like this at all times, and that taught me only one thing."
"…And that would be?" Steven asked with a little curiosity towards the sniper.
"That it's only a matter of time before you get to be in the pile of corpses." This answer horrified Steven but in his childlike paladin mind he was able to find the meaning. "But that's not a reason to get depressed, on the contrary: it motivates us to keep going because if we keep fighting without any hesitation we can prevent more of our teammates from being added to the pile."
Steven looked down, she was right. We are all in a war and things like this will continue to happen, only his strong determination will keep him firm in the face of the horrors that this galaxy has in store for him.
"By the way ..." Leni drawled as she removed her hat and scratched her head. "I don't think they introduced us: I'm Leni if you want."
The sniper extended her hand in a friendly gesture. Steven's smile widened even more and I narrowed it warmly.
"Steven ..." The half gem nodded to the soldier. "Pleased to meet you."
Maybe this wasn't such a bad day at all.
More than 17,000 thousand words in a week WOOOHOOOO !
I hope you caught several references in Shiro's confrontation with the Drukhari.
My damn neck hurts just writing this. Greetings to all who took the time to read this episode.
