20 - The
confirmation
Vex sprinted down the corridor, according to the
Inquisitor the assault would be in less than two hours, only two
frigging hours to get the base a more defensible place, there was no
escape the attack was coming in all directions they were completely
surrounded, Edrasian of course neglected to tell Vex and co the size
of the army descending upon them the morale was low enough right now
but also it was irrelevant they would need no more than two thousand
and the team would be overwhelmed an army of that size wasn't hard
to find.
Not saying that Vex was a heavy hitter, he was a
cogitator nerd certainly not a one woman/man army such as Latashe,
Ekitsa...Rodyille.
Vex almost spat at the thought of that name,
liar, murderer, and traitor...Daemon.
"Uhh hello!" came
the call that stopped Vex's train of thought and flight.
Vex had
forgotten about him, ironic the effort and trouble they went through
to take him captive.
Vex stepped through the door and into the
wine cellar.
"Hello!" the hostage called again, the
prisoner was held in the east side of the room, the wall of Wine
bottles in their holing blocking his view of the door.
"Yeah,
yeah I'm here" said Vex as he stepped behind the wall.
"Oh
goodie!" said the man tied to the chair "now would you be
so kind to explain why I'm tied up in this..."
The captive
trailed off, seeing the annoyed look on Vex's face and grinned
nervously thinking that Vex cared what he thought of the place "Hehe!
in this beautiful architecture um yes white...nice"
Vex
smiled goodie then he shook away his amusement.
"You work
in the complex right?" asked Vex.
The captive's eyebrows rose
"you mean Asintarte?" he asked.
"The what?"
asked Vex "is that what you locals call it?"
"Ah!
yes your obviously foreign" said the hostage "that's local
tough"
"Obviously" agreed Vex "but we have a
problem"
"And what problem is that?" asked the
captive.
"Your people do not have a local "tough"
you only speak Low and High Gothic" came a new voice and
Edrasian stepped up next to the bewildered Vex "because this
planetary civilization is only a thousand years old at best and
therefore--"
Before Edrasian could continue his already long
winded speech, the captive was free and hurtling down at Vex with
inhuman speed.
He was no longer human, long claws sprouted from
his fingers; his face mutated beyond recognition all purple bulges
consumed it, his teeth long and sharp.
Vex had no time to scream
as a loud bang reverberated the room and the thing's face exploded
in a shower of blood and gore.
"Menace taken care of"
said Edrasian to the scared as bleep Vex, lowering his smoking Bolt
pistol "nice work"
"Th-his confirms everything"
Vex managed in a gasp.
"It does for I too" admitted
Edrasian calmly "you know Asintarte--"
Again Edrasian
was interrupted as the thing got suddenly to it's feet and flew back
at Vex howling a howl that confirmed it wasn't remotely
human.
Edrasian's Bolter boomed, just as the thing's claws where
half a millimeter from eviscerating Vex's face.
This time its
entire upper torso disappeared in mist.
"Holy bleep"
managed Vex.
"Yes bleep" agreed Edrasian, his tone
echoing Vex's.
"Didn't see that coming" continued Vex
"scared the bleep out of me"
Edrasian nodded "I
have studied and seen countless creatures of the warp" he said
"over eighty years of Inquisitorial duty has left me knowing
more than any would ever want to know of the Archenemy of mankind,
their tactics, well as much as there is to know without going insane,
their intelligence but yet.."
"But yet?"
"That
scared the crap out of I too"
With that Vex snorted in
laughter.
21 - The new allies...well kinda
Ekitsa stood
guard out the front door way her Chainsword in her hand and "the
Las pistol" thing in it's Hip holster, human
technology...pathetic.
She deeply missed her Shuriken pistol much
more reliable than this mass produced crap...typical humans
everything about weight of numbers.
She also missed her Powersword
the one she wielded back when she was a Howling Banshee Exarch, the
Chainsword she wielded now was from...
She drifted off in her
thoughts it pained her to remember her past, her Craftworld...she was
an Exile as simple as that, she had always held the Rangers in
contempt, well that was not true, especially now.
The only reason
why she'd joined this band was Rodyille, he held her in complete awe,
she wasn't in love with his as Karman Kons, no Leonard Rodyille a
mere human! The mightiest warrior she had ever seen far exceeding any
Exarchs, any phoenix lords.
But now he was the eternal enemy; a
follower of the Chaos gods, no worse a spawn of them.
Even more of
an enemy than mankind.
But Ekitsa had to remember it wasn't
Rodyille anymore, the man, the human she once would have followed
into the Eye of Terror and back he was dead and gone, his soul
consumed by the Daemon it has happened to the mightiest, especially
now.
Ekitsa spun drawing the Las pistol covering the two large
men, emerging from the forest, both were extremely quite for their
size, both wearing Dark green Power armour.
Space Marines,
realized Ekitsa.
"Who are you?" she demanded calmly.
"No
one you need to know" came an electronically enhanced voice
behind her and the barrel of a rifle pushed up against the back of
her head.
How in the name of Khaine had he snuck up on me? thought
Ekitsa as she involuntarily dropped her Las pistol and
Chainsword.
The two Space Marines stepped into the clearing, now
Ekitsa could see what weapons they wielded, one held a Heavy bolter
and the other wielded a Powerhammer.
"Crap man" said the
one with the Warhammer "we suck at stealth"
"Yeah,
well tell me something I don't know" said the other.
"Yeah
well you do" said the voice who held a gun to Ekitsa's skull
"and it doesn't help when you wont shut up"
It was male
Ekitsa knew that now, the voice echoed ominously.
Another
materialized into the clearing, female wearing a full body, body
glove that should a figure that rivaled any Eldar (Ekitsa included)
and a mask that hid her entire head with a small bug eyes hiding her
eyes, long red hair came out the back of the mask braided up into the
air.
Ekitsa knew an Imperial assassin when she saw one.
The
door swung open and out stepped Harak, he glanced around briefly and
grinned.
"Come on guys is this really needed?" he
asked.
"Just having fun" came the voice behind
Ekitsa, the pressure of the rifle not letting.
"Yes"
agreed the female assassin "showing Eldar scum how it's done is
always fun"
The two Space Marines approached Harak.
"Ah
Nate!" said the one with the Warhammer "I take Edrasian got
our communication?"
"That he did" replied Harak,
then his attention turned to the man with a gun to Ekitsa's
skull.
"Hey man she may be Xenos but she's on our side"
he said.
The gun immediately dropped.
But Ekitsa could hardly
hold down her anger, Xenos a obscure term the humans used to
generalize "aliens" for species such as Orks, Tau, and
Necrons...Dark Elder.
And to be put on level with the dark
cousins even by someone as low as Nathaniel Harak it angered her.
One
day you will die Nathaniel Harak vowed Ekitsa and it will be the whir
of my Chainsword the last thing you hear.
22 - hope shines
through
Kons looked down into the entrance way as the door swung
open and in stepped who she knew to be Edrasian's entourage there was
four of them, two Assassins one of the Callidus sect of the Officio
Assassinorium which were women who infiltrate using disguise to get
close to their targets, the other Vindicare, who are male Assassins
who wield a special Sniper rifle called an "Exitus" rifle
he takes out his targets with long range, then the other two both
Space Marines of the "Dark Angels" Astartes chapter.
All
extreme heavy hitters, no denying that, though that maybe, they were
all dead the army descending upon them was--.
"Ah!" came
a voice behind Kons, interrupting her thoughts, she didn't have to be
psychic to know it was Edrasian "why don't you go and say hi to
my little war band?" he said.
"Why?" asked Kons
darkly, keeping her back to the Inquisitor "there's no point of
getting to know each other"
"Why you don't have to be so
grim miss Kons" said Edrasian.
"Why?" she spat back
with a side long, contemptuous look "without Leonard we're
nothing, already the team's falling apart, Ekitsa's already
contemplating murder, Nathaniel's searching to abandon us, Vex is
scared, poor Wilkenson thinks' that everything's on his shoulders
and it may as well be Latashe cares for no one but her self! And
I'm...and I'm"
"And your what Karmen?" asked
Edrasian.
'Lost' she realized, but didn't say it.
"Don't
you find it strange?" she said instead.
"And what may
that be?" asked Edrasian.
"Why we aren't all dead?"
she said bluntly "why Rodyille...I mean the Daemon why hasn't it
gone on the offensive?"
"Ah!" cried Edrasian "I
was thinking the same thing; I really do not buy his chained
story"
"Neither" agreed Kons.
"What is that
you think miss Kons?"
She turned bodily to the Inquisitor,
hope shone in her beautiful eyes.
"That Leon's still alive,
that Rodyille is still in there fighting!" she said "preventing
the Daemon to harness his true power"
Edrasian smiled "I
thought that, it would be that" he said "and I have thought
on that mamzel Kons and I really do doubt it, I really do and even if
he was how would you break the Daemon's psychic shielding?"
Edrasian
automatically regretted saying that for Kons' eyes turned dark and
her attention fell to the floor.
"I-I don't know" she
admitted.
"And even if you do free him" Edrasian
hesitated "I will be forced to execute him...You know the
drill, Inquisitorial duty"
"Cant I at least try?"
asked Kons attention still to the floor, close to despair.
The
Inquisitor stepped past her and started down the stairway.
"Yeah
go on!" he said with a disinterested wave "but if you only
succeed in frying that pretty little brain of yours do not come
crying to me!"
Kons smiled and ran past the Inquisitor to the
basement all the while ignoring the looks from the Vindicare Assassin
and the two Space Marines.
Latashe stood guard.
"What are
you doing?" asked the tall, Black/red haired woman contempt
burned in her eyes, Latashe had never liked Kons, never, and she
never liked anyone.
Latashe was a loner in so many ways and she
didn't trust anyone ether even Rodyille, well now especially.
Latashe
still held to the past bitterly, the supposed glory days when
Rodyille and she were in the entourage of Inquisitor Torathe.
Many
people would have been intimidated by Latashe but Kons never
blinked.
"I'm taking over guard of Leon" answered
Kons.
"He's not Leonard anymore" automatically said back
Latashe, emotionless.
Kons couldn't help herself she just shoved
Latashe against the door and pinned her there by her arms.
and
despite everything Latashe didn't retaliate.
"How do you do
it?" hissed Kons barely holding down her rage.
"Do
what?" asked back Latashe not taken back even a little by this
outburst.
"How can you just--just"
"Just
what!?"
"Give up"
Latashe actually smiled, that
was rarer than a supernova and she broke free of Kons' grip starting
to walk way "why don't you read my mind and find out!" she
called.
Kons would have just because of complete curiosity but she
hadn't much time shaking away her confusion, she reached for the
door.
23 - the power of conviction
There he was Leonard
Rodyille, still chained to the wall his eyes still black and gold his
teeth still long and sharp, but his face no longer swollen and
bruised after the transformation that had simply disappeared.
Kons
immediately drew her Las pistol and opened fire at the Daemon; again
it just dissolved on the shield.
"What are you doing?"
it asked, its deep voice casual, nonchalant as though it didn't even
half care.
"I know he's there!" snapped back Kons with
another Lasbolt.
"Hm! then you are nothing but a fool"
said the Daemon.
She fired again.
"No!" she said back
"no you are the fool thinking that you can trick us with your
'chained' story"
"Hm!" the Daemon smiled an amused
smile "'us' is it miss Kons? then would you be so kind to
explain why you are the only one here?"
Kons fired again.
"I
don't have to explain myself or my team to you!" she
snapped.
"Yes you are correct" said the Daemon "you
do not have to explain yourself to me your nothing but dead scum why
should I care"
With that Kons chucked away her Laspistol and
ran to not a meter away from the Daemon.
"Leon!" she
cried "Leon I know your in there, I know your still
alive!"
"Wench! it's pointless!"
"Shut up!"
she snapped so forcefully it did "Leon! fight! fight it! with
all your strength! Fight! I know you can win!"
"Shut it
wench!" cried the Daemon and Kons could hear the desperation and
exertion in its voice.
"He's still in there?" asked Kons
"isn't he?"
The Daemon didn't answer, it was struggling,
Rodyille was in there and he was fighting and he was winning.
She
leaned closer "come on Leon!" she shouted right in the
Daemon's face "you can do it! fight! Fight!!"
The
Daemon started to scream, it reverberated the room and the entire
house.
Then light erupted from its body the light engulfed the
entire building temporarily blinding everyone and hurtling Kons
against the south wall.
Kons got back to her feet, winded.
"Leon!"
she called blindly "Leon!"
"I'm here!" came a
voice, Leon's voice "I'm here Karmen"
Her vision cleared
and she saw him, still chained to the wall but his eyes no longer
black and gold his teeth no longer long and sharp.
She ran to him
and embraced him.
"Leon! oh by the Emperor I have missed
you!" she said pulling back from the hug and she searched his
eyes, they where his hazel and green like always.
He smiled and
she smiled back and she reached to the chains.
"No!" his
cry stopped her "don't!
"What? Why?"
"Karmen
I didn't kill the Daemon it's still alive and" he grimaced in
exertion "it will be back soon it's to strong! but Karmen the
shield is down you need to!--"
"No!" interrupted
Kons shaking her head as she realized what he was proposing
"No!!"
"Please Karmen!" he pleaded "please
you have to kill me! before the Daemon takes over! please!"
"No
I won't Leon!" exclaimed Kons "I-I can't!"
"You
can and you will Karmen!" snapped Rodyille; he was getting
desperate "NOW DO IT!!"
"No!" she shouted
"NO!!"
Rodyille smiled leaning back on the wall
seemingly giving up.
"Okay then Karmen" he said "then
what will you do?"
She thought on that, and then it hit her.
"This!" was all that she said as she kissed him on the lips and dived into his mind and into oblivion
