The last stand
Cathi Gata woke up. She lay on something comfortable, surrounded by warmth and gentleness. She did not move, did not open her eyes.
"You did not kill her." Naomi's voice was soft and worried from nearby, but Cathi Gata did not react. "Elizabeth is alive. She will recover. You did not kill her." She repeated.
"'In the heart of the holy see...'" Cathi Gata sang softly and then gasped as raw golden power flashed through her. "'In the home of-'" She cried out as the power flashed stronger but she managed to push it back but lost her place and started from the beginning again. "'In the heart of the holy see...'"
"You know I do not want to hurt you." Naomi was sad now. So sad. "You have been abused so many times. Just the residue is horrifying. I can help. Relax. It will be all right."
The power was easing into her. So gentle and so irresistible. Seeping through every cranny of Cathi Gata's mind. Even with her augmented abilities, she couldn't keep it out. She didn't try. She just kept singing. If she could keep her mind occupied, she had a chance. Not much of one, but a chance.
'There's a foe of a thousand swords
They've been abandoned by their lords
Their fall from grace will pave their path, to damnation'
"An as always, you Tenno have to fight even if there is no point." Naomi sounded almost in tears. "You were the best of the Guard, Catherine Gata. You will be again." She promised. "Elizabeth will remake things, give you back your children."
A stab of rage flew through Cathi Gata, but she acknowledged it and let it pass before the other could take advantage. She would lose, it was not a question of it, it was when. Even Royal Guard had limits as Eliza's mother had proven over and over. Cathi Gata had better mental defenses than most after what she had endured, but she didn't remember a lot of what had happened. From what little she knew? She was glad of that. Child or no, insane or no, the Eliza she had guarded had shown a rare kind of mercy to her guard. That was one of many things that had always drawn everyone who knew her to the youngest Imperial daughter. She could hard, cruel even if needed, but she wasn't that way normally. She was kind when she could be.
"No point?" A new voice and Cathi Gata bite back a cry as the power slammed into her again. Then it faded. The Lotus was crying! "Naomi, do you even remember? Do you remember anything but what the machine says you have to do?"
"Who are you?" Naomi demanded, fury and fear sounding equally. "You cannot be here!"
"Eliza begged me to help and I agreed to try. I came to to try and save this one. She is a good soul. One you tortured before and are again! Let her go." The Lotus pleaded. "She has suffered enough!"
Cathi Gata fought past whatever was holding her and belted out the ancient words anew.
'For the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Gave their lives so boldly'
She started another verse and then screamed as several kinds of power flared through her. It was reaching into her mind, touching her body in ways that she could not define but understood only too well. She knew what it was doing. The same thing Eliza's mother had. Enslaving her.
"Stop!" The Lotus begged. "She has done nothing to you!"
"Whoever and whatever you are, you are not welcome here!" Naomi said flatly.
"You do not remember, do you?" The Lotus asked, her voice a mix of wariness and sadness. "What Orokin did to us? To her? To everyone? Do you care what you did to this poor woman?"
"What happened to this one was a tragedy." Naomi's voice was even more sad now and Cathi Gata fought back a wave of empathy. The machine was trying to get into her mind any way it could. "I was not in control. I am now. I won't hurt her."
"You do not have to hurt someone to destroy them." The Lotus was just as sad as something touched Cathi Gata's mind. She shied away from it, but it wasn't golden! No, this power felt cold, metal and blue? "If I know nothing else, I know that. I have seen it so many times. So many golden ways to hurt people or just make them obey!" The alien female's tone hardened. "You are going to make her obey you and when you do? She will die."
"Elizabeth clearly trusts this one and you? You feel for the Emperor's daughter. Does she feel the same? Perhaps you will serve." The other said as power built nearby. Cathi Gata kept her eyes tight shut.
"Elizabeth is not the Emperor's daughter." The Lotus all but snarled that. "She is the Empress! You are attacking the Empress!"
"Even if she is? Her line is faltering." Naomi sounded sad. "That must not be. I must act to ensure the line continues. I will harm none of them if they do not fight me."
"That was a lie." The Lotus snarled that and then blue energy slammed into Cathi Gata who screamed as the golden energy within her was suddenly pushed back, her body a battleground between to irresistible forces. "The woman I know as Eliza has never faltered. She will never falter in her duty to humanity. Not Orokin, humanity. There is a difference."
"They are the same!" Naomi snapped back. "You harm this one! You would stop me from continuing. That is not allowed."
"They are not the same." The Lotus retorted. "If they were? I would be dead. I am not."
"Not yet." Naomi was ice cold and the Lotus screamed as power flared again. Cathi Gata just kept singing as agony piled atop of agony. She couldn't even bite herself. All she could do was sing.
'For the grace, for the might of our lord
In the name of his glory
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Come and tell their story'
"What is this-" Naomi broke off and then she sighed. "Catherine! There is no need! Guard! Stop! I can help you!"
"YOU HAVE KILLED YOUR LAST INNOCENT!" The Lotus's scream resounded through Cathi Gata as her song finally faded. As did her resistance.
She could fight no more. Golden power shoved her eyes open and Naomi stood there clad in golden surgical scrubs, radiant gold sweeping off her in waves. Cathi Gata was hung upright in some kind of frame. The Lotus was staggering as Naomi's raw power seared into her, but she was holding fast despite being over-matched.
The room was not large and it was odd. The walls were painted in cheery colors and small colorful art decorated said walls in places. It was almost gentle, the room. Far from the brutal golden power that now poured into Cathi Gata's body. She couldn't even scream as it tore into her, taking control of everything.
"This will not be your last stand, Guard Catherine." Naomi said with a firm shake of her head. "I will not allow it!"
"You can't stop her." The Lotus wilted as power flared brighter around her. "All you do is kill! It is all you know! You are violating the spirit of your origination! She is not a member of the Royal Family! Leave her alone!"
"She is close enough to serve." Naomi replied. "Not as I do, but she will bring Elizabeth here. The line will continue."
"No." The Lotus was so sad as she stared at Cathi Gata who could do nothing. Not even cry. "This is her last stand. You will imprison her just as you were, Naomi. And when you do? You are doomed and so is she." She was shaking in grief. "I tried, Cathi Gata. I tried."
Something…
Someone else was singing! The same song! No, more than once voice! Four!
In the heart of the holy see
In the home of Christianity
The seat of power is in danger!
The golden energy was pervading every sinew now and Cathi Gata could do nothing as four very strange beings appeared nearby. The Horsemen. But…
What were they doing?
Naomi gasped as the Horsemen materialized fully and they all held musical instruments? Death sat at a keyboard, his hands flying over the keys. Strife was strumming a double necked guitar. War was playing the drums. Percussion of course. And Fury? The non-human female's face was as fiery as her hair as she grasped a microphone in her hand and belted out the words that Cathi Gata was struggling to sound despite her immobility. The other Horsemen joined in and all of Creation everywhere seemed to shiver at the raw power they threw into the music.
'Then the 189
In the service of heaven
They're protecting the holy line
It was 1527
Gave their lives on the steps to heaven
Thy will be done!
For the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Gave their lives so boldly'
"What is this?" Naomi all but screamed over the music. "This is a holy place! You profane holiness with this filth?"
"There is nothing holy about this place." The small Eliza appeared beside Fury, her face covered by a hood. "As for filth? You would know all about that now, wouldn't you, Naomi?"
"Who-?" Naomi broke off with a gasp as Eliza threw back her hood and showed her youthful face. "Eliza!" She smiled. "At last!"
"Yes, at last!" Eliza's snarl silenced the area but then the Horsemen started playing again. "Leave her alone! It is me you want!"
"She will bring the others to you." Naomi seemed all but jubilant as she stepped towards Eliza, but then she paused as she could not reach the girl looking being. "The line will continue!"
"Yes, it will, but not like this." Eliza was suddenly beside Cathi Gata. She reached out to touch the Guardswoman and gave a sob. "I wanted… Oh, Catherine, I am sorry."
The words Fury was still singing resounded in Cathi Gata's numb mind and her mouth twitched. She couldn't speak, but she could still sing, in the deepest recesses of her mind.
For the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy.
"Stop that!" Naomi snapped as golden power flared around Cathi Gata again. It couldn't quite touch her.
For the faith, for the way of the sword
gave OUR lives so boldly!
The final line was different! Cathi Gata's mind was was free for the moment! She cast every ounce of her spirit, every ounce of her drive, her will to win into one shout.
FALCON! NOW!
Naomi screamed as bright orange energy slid out of Cathi Gata's body to hover in front of her protectively. It coalesced into a Sentient and not just any! Falcon was screaming the same words in rage, in pain, in grief!
For the grace for the might of our lord!
For the home of the holy!
For the faith! For the way of the sword!
Come and tell their story again!
Come and tell the Swiss Guards' story again!
The Sentient's power was far lesser than the Prison's but it didn't matter. Every time the Prison hit her with energy, Falcon adapted to it. She hovered there as the Horsemen played, all of them singing the same song as Cathi Gata felt her body finally fail. As she died.
"What are you doing?" Naomi demanded angrily. "Stop! You are killing her!"
"She was already dead." Eliza was stroking Cathi Gata's arm but the bound Tenno barely felt it. "She struck down her protectee. There is only one penalty for that. The Royal Guard are what they are. Something you knew once, but now? You cannot fathom it. You are not Naomi. You are a pale echo of my dear sister, no more. An echo that will fade today! Falcon… Take it and go."
"No." Came from the orange Sentient. Eliza stared at the Sentient as Falcon continued. "My sister's duty is not done. You are in danger."
"Falcon." Eliza groaned, but did not quibble as Cathi Gata felt her eyes start to shut. Golden power flared, trying to hold her, but it could not. The prison was many things, but there many others it was not.
Cathi Gata felt pride, fear, grief, loss, all of that. Then she only felt peace as the Prison's hold on her faded with her energy. Her life.
The Prison
"No!" The Prison screamed as the bound Tenno expired. She tried to reach Cathi Gata's body, but Falcon blocked the way. "Get out of the way, monster!"
"You call me a monster?" The Sentient snarled. "Hypocrite much, you nasty Orokin thing?"
"Falcon! Do it!" Eliza snapped as the Lotus rose to her feet, the energy that had been assailing her now focused on Falcon for all the good it was doing. The blue armored form was shaking her head but stood up straight as Falcon held off the Orokin tech effortlessly.
"You cannot stop the line!" The Prison snarled as the form of Naomi wavered, showing golden energy flaring this way and that.
"No? Adiinah, now! These coordinates." Falcon asked as part of one wall of the room vanished! A huge gaping area shone behind it, a large part of the Prison's machinery had just been trans-located away! The reproduction parts. "I think we just did."
The scream of rage that came from the golden form was not human in any way. Falcon did not move as the Lotus moved to stand beside her. Both looked at the utterly still Tenno and then the Lotus shook her head.
"In the year 1527, old reckoning before Orokin, a mob of deserters and traitors sacked the city of Rome." The Lotus' words should have been inaudible over the music, over Fury's rough singing, but they were clear. "It was the center of Christianity at the time, not a stronghold. It had few defenders and no chance against a mob whose commanders were either dead or forced to lead the mob there. The complete breakdown of military discipline shocked everyone, even hardened veterans of many brutal military campaigns. What happened when the mob descended on the defenseless people of Rome was a horror on par with any in human recorded history. The leader of the Catholic church, the Pope, fled before the mob, many of whom wanted to kill him in unspeakable ways. All that stood between him and the mob were a hundred and eighty nine Swiss Guards. Paid bodyguards. Many who saw them thought of them only as show troops. Good for parades and nothing more. Until that day. They had forgotten, you see. Everyone had forgotten why the Pope had hired them. They were some of the best soldiers in the world from time immemorial. Everyone remembered after May the Sixth, 1527. Not all of the Guard remember. No one outside their ranks cares now. But they do."
"Give back what you stole!" The Prison demanded.
"It doesn't belong to you!" The young Eliza snapped right back. "It belongs to the Royal Family. We do not need it therefore I have given the reproduction machinery to someone else who does need it. This place will burn as it should have long ago."
"You cannot do that!" The Prison lashed out at Eliza but the the Sentient interposed herself! Eliza reached out with a slow hand to trace Cathi Gata's still cheek. The Tenno's warframe had been burned off and her body was torn, flayed by power. The Prison was many things. It was not and never had been a healer. It couldn't take Eliza for a simple reason. She would not have survived the wound Cathi Gata had given her in the Prison.
"No?" Eliza turned to the Lotus. "Lotus? You know the Empress. What will she say?"
"It will likely be profane." The Lotus' mouth was set in a grim line. "But the gist will be, 'burn it all and salt the earth!'"
"That was and is the plan." Eliza smiled as the Prison coalesced into Naomi again and the woman's face was shocked. "How many members of my family have you killed? How many, you monster?"
"It is needed. The Line will continue! Even this blasphemy can be repaired!" The Prison declared as it focused on Falcon who gave a shrill cry as her energy was siphoned off, but then Eliza was at her side and the golden power faded.
"You won't have the chance. Falcon! Lotus! Go!" Eliza snarled. "My duty is done. The Horsemen will do what they do now." Indeed, the Horsemen were all rising and all were furious.
"Heavy Metal? I hate you!" Fury threw the microphone at Eliza who twisted to let it fly past her.
"That is why you will win here." Eliza said mildly as the Horsemen's instruments faded and they all drew weapons. "Falcon..." She pleaded as Falcon hovered closer to her.
"My sister's duty is not done!" Falcon snapped as she focused on Cathi Gata's body. "I am not leaving you in danger here!"
"You cannot save me." Eliza moved away from the hanging Tenno and nodded to the skull faced being who held twin scythes. "I led you Horsemen here. I forced you to sing. I needed all of you angry. You see why."
"I think I do." Death was mild even as Fury snarled. "Fury is going to kill you." He warned.
"She has the right. This has been a long time coming." Eliza nodded. "For what it is worth? I do apologize for the things I have said, the things I have done. I needed you all furious with me. If I had simply asked, you wouldn't have been able to fight this thing and win. You all needed to be angry. Your reality needs you, Horsemen. The Creator there needs you. I submit to your will." She sank to her knees. Falcon pulsed, but the Lotus shook her head and the orange Sentient remained silent.
"You..." Fury stared from her to Death who shrugged. The other two Horsemen moved to either side, weapons ready. "This was all to make us mad?"
"It did." Eliza smiled just a bit. "I do apologize, Fury. I goaded you worse than the others. I had no right to insult your horse. My sisters needed me and I couldn't fight as I should have. And now? Catherine is dead."
"These Royal Guard are odd." Fury mused. The Lotus and Eliza nodded. "But noble in their own way."
"Call it nobility, call it foolishness, call it idiocy or bravery or what have you, they have a job. They do the job." Eliza was sad, so sad. "The Royal Guard trace their lineage back to the Swiss Guards, guards who stood against a frenzied mob in 1527. Anyone sane would have run away, but it was the job. They held the line. They were slaughtered but they did the job. The Pope escaped, for all the good it did him in the long run."
"She just held a line." Fury said very softly as she stepped to where Cathi Gata hung silent and still.
"It is what they do." Eliza choked back another sob as Fury reached out to touch the still Tenno's arm.
"I know Tenno can revive as we can. She cannot come back?" Fury asked as the Prison threw power at her, but it did not seem to touch the Nephilim.
"She struck down the Empress." Eliza said sadly. "To save Elizabeth's life, but still... Such an act will have caused a feedback loop in Catherine's energy. Even if I could revive her, I cannot save her."
"Can anyone?" Fury asked.
"Perhaps the wardens can, but if so? As soon as she is revived, she will kill herself for what she did. For striking Elizabeth down. It was the only way, but... She did." Eliza was crying now. "I can't save her. My one true knight and I have failed her!"
"That I can understand." Fury said very softly. "But..." She turned to Death who was eyeing her. "This… Brother, I feel…" She slumped. "I am not sure how I feel."
"I bet you are angry." Death replied and Fury had to chuckle at his dry wit.
"I am." Fury agreed. "You hurt me, goaded me, pushed me past all reason with your insults to me and Rampage's memory." She said to Eliza who nodded. "To get me, us, here to...? To save her?"
"No." Eliza grimaced through her tears. "I hoped to, but I think I always knew how this would end. I brought you here to avenge her and save those who can be."
"That I can do." Fury's whip was in hand and she lashed out once, twice carefully. The arcane weapon cut cleanly through the Prison's bindings. Cathi Gata's body fell into her arms as her whip flew back to her side on its own. She stared at the fallen Tenno and then turned to offer the body to the Lotus who bowed her head and took it. "You better get out of here. It is going to get loud."
"Make it hurt." The Lotus growled as Falcon moved to flank her. The Prison was still trying to lash out, but could not reach the pair of Sentient forms.
"Oh, I will." Fury had her whip in hand again as she looked at Eliza who bowed her head. "Get up and get out of here, brat!" Fury snapped and Eliza's head shot up.
"What-?" Eliza all but begged and Fury snarled at her.
"Get lost!" Fury was striding towards the prison's golden form and her brothers moved to flank her. "I will be around to 'explain' a few to things to you. I hate Heavy Metal! But for right now? I have to kill something." She shook her head as her brothers moved to flank her. "We have to kill something."
"You cannot destroy the future of Orokin!" The Prison declared.
"Wanna bet?" All four Horsemen of the Apocalypse chorused as they charged.
Eliza stared at them even as the Lotus' energy swept them away from the horror.