27 - The Darkness

27 - The Darkness
Karmen Kons awoke, but it was as if she hadn't woken at all, pitch black, blacker than the blackest night.
Kons sat up half expecting to hit her head on an invisible ceiling.
Her entrance into Leonard was so rough she'd lost consciousness, but it was successful, but it was clear the mind no longer belonged to him but to the Daemon, Inquisitor Fanteen had said never to do this never, it was too dangerous.
Kons shook away the thought and got to her feet, the darkness was despair inducing but beautiful all at the same time though Kons could feel the sickness of claustrophobia at the pit of her stomach.
If Rodyille had control of his mind Kons would have met Leonard's many personalities, his deepest darkest memories, as the Daemon said Kons never really knew Leonard Rodyille.
Kons started blindly forward, she would have also seen his true intentions, his agenda, his destiny because she wouldn't have just seen his mind but his soul.
The darkness blured suddenly and the mini daemons showed themselves, they where black too even blacker than the darkness, dozens of them, the Daemon knew of her, Rodyille was still fighting.
Kons' psywave threw at least twenty in all directions and her fists and feet dissipated the lunging daemons such was the trauma of the blows.
Kons fought, sending psywave after psywave punch after punch, kick after kick, the anger and frustration of the past three hours thrown from her into these disgusting manifestations of Chaos, she was the daemon, not them.
None even touched her, all the daemons were slaughtered, Kons once again was alone in the dark.
Then she continued on, she knew she hadn't the power to defeat the Daemon, this was not her mind, not her body, but by the Emperor she would help Rodyille anyway she could.
Kons picked up her pace, blindly through the darkness.

The attack came,in the early afternoon, thousands of cultists either wielding knives or blades or hideous mutations that transformed their arms into weapons, coming from all possible directions.
"Stand your ground!" ordered Edrasian over the vox sensing the group's hesitation "and fire!"
They did, Ekitsa with her Laspistol, Scythus with his heavy bolter, Vex and Zerkas with their Lasguns, Harak with his Autopistol, Wilkenson and the Assassin with their Sniper rifles and Esinloth with his Boltpistol.
At least a hundred were cut down in their mindless charge, but that didn't even half stall them, within mere seconds they were through the windows and in close combat.
At the back of the house, with the combined cover fire of Harak and Vex flying over his head Scythus drew his knife and disemboweled the first Cultist that came through his window and gutted the second then cleaved the next's head in two and pulped another's face with his fist and continued his slather.
Meanwhile next to him Ekitsa had already scored twenty kills, she was the complete opposite to Scythus who let the attacks of the cultists bounce off his power Armour she was fast extremely fast dodging attacks and scything with her Chainsword, a weapon usually slow and hard to use.
At the same time the at front Edrasian and the rest of the garrison were also engulfed in their own melee,
Esinloth stabbed and scythed and slashed with his Powersword meanwhile exploding torsos and heads with his Boltpistol, the attacks of the cultists raining off his Powerarmour.
Latashe's Roundhouse kick sent two cultists spinning through the air, she slaughtered five more with quick precision, one came on her left swinging out it's knife, Latashe ducked the blow and the tip of the one of her blades impaled it's skull.
She parried another attack and stabbed the assailant in the liver, she dodged the next attack and she swung out cleaving off it's head pushing off her last kill she impaled another's heart with her other blade.
Dravost stood on her right swinging mindlessly with his Powerhammer.
They were holding ,the windows and doors which gave them an advantage only one or two cultists at a time can push their way through.
Up stairs Wilkenson had given up on his Long las and in favor picked up his Autocannon, firing mercilessly into the gathered crowd outside, lucky the wall of the base where thick and the enemies only carried close combat weapons thank the Emperor none of them had guns or explosives.
"Frig this!" exclaimed Vex up the stair well firing into the crowd "how many are there!?"
Zerkas next too him didn't answer his right eye all swollen and quickly turning black.
"Pick a target aim and shoot" said Harak next to them "don't you remember anything that Wilkenson and i taught you?"
Vex grimaced back and continued to fire.
Wilkenson grinned and ducked back behind the wall pulling something from his pocket.
"What's that?" asked his companion the electronic voice sounding almost suspicious.
"Fire and brimstone my friend, fire and brimstone" Wilkenson pushed the button.
Explosions ripped through the first row of trees, engulfing countless cultists and the falling trees crushing many more.
Wilkenson laughed and jumped back to his feet filling many more cultists with Autocannon rounds

28 - Face to face
Karmen Kons continued through the black, walking for what seemed to be an eternaty.
"Leonard!" she tried "Leon!"
No answer.
"Leon!" she almost screamed "leon!!"
The crash broke her shout and reveberated the dark and what seemed to be a missile impacted the ground right next too her.
Kons kept her footing and glanced into the dark at the impact source.
"Leon!" she cried, but nothing, just a few blurs of movement and no answer.
"Crap!" she exclaimed and started on.
The scream pierced the dark and stopped Kons in her tracks.
She instantly recognised it.
"Rodyille!" she cried and fell into a sprint.
Was Leonard still fighting? or...
Kons picked up her pace.

Ekitsa's whrring chain sword messily decapitated a lunging Cultist and she ducked another's attack.
Next to her Scythus had given up on his knife and now was firing his Heavy Bolter, point blank.
This was without a dout the most intense melee that Ekitsa has had ever been a part of and there was so many, too many, her and Scythus where both struggling even with her skill and his super human strength and the combined cover fire of Harak, Zerkas and Vex.
She stepped back only just dodging a cultist blade and cursed Harak's name, the first ground lost.
Her swinging Chainsword ripped off a turso then decaptated another and her round house kick broke another's neck.
Her Chainsword swaythed again and again, she had to kill quick even more where coming through her window and there could have been alot more but thanks to the supression fire.
Scythus Heavy Bolter stopped it's fire with a dull clank and Ekitsa heard the Spacemarine curse, she would have smiled at the ineffentcy of Monkeigh weapons, if it wasn't for the situation.
She killed two more when suddenly part of the wall collapsed under the mass of bodies and blades smashing against it and suddenly Ekitsa and Scythus found themselves fighting off three at a time no longer one.
Ekitsa muttered an old Eldarian curse as Harak confirmed what needed to be done.
"Fall back!"
Both her and the Spacemarine did fighting the entire way, they both stopped at the base of the stairs ways, Ekitsa left Scythus right, holding back the tide the acurate cover fire cutting down any cultists that managed to push through.the twenty or so minutes holding the bottom of the stairs was the most mindless combat Ekitsa had ever knew, there was no skill in it just using her supperior speed and reach she swung and swung over and over again.
With each one killed three would step up to take it's place, they chanted mindlessly, damn Monkeigh!
Ekitsa now recognised those chants, those hideos mutations, they were of the Chaos god known as Tzeench.
Ekitsa slayed and slayed, she knew it was fruitless, that they were all dead and buried it was fate but atleast she would die with honour, taking so many of the great enemies servants to their dooms.

She found him, Leonard Rodyille.
He was tied up the same way as his physical body but not to a wall or...anything, inexpilbly he was floating in mid air, Mini Daemons swarmed over his body, toturing his very soul.
It was his screams that allowed Kons to find him.
She took a step forward, but before she knew it Mini daemons stood in her way, hundreds of them.
Kons only grinned and a huge psywave ripped through thier ranks.
Kons punched one as it lunged at her and kicked the next, she grabbed the third with her telekinesis and throwing that screaming daemon into it's comrades.
She dodged another attack, she punched another her front whip kick dissipated another.
She jumped and side flipped into the air throwing countless psywaves into the daemons.
She landed and murmured a curse, there was too many but she wasn't going too give up.
Kons dodged an attack and roundhouse kicked the attacker, she then side stepped a swipe and dissipated the daemon with an upper cut punch.
She threw another psywave, then another and another and another.
More mini daemons fell in slashing there claws Kons was surrounded now forced only to dodge, with no real hope of retaliation, except.
"That's it!!" she screamed in frustration "THAT"S FRIGGING IT!!"
Light erupted engulfing countless of the the daemons , all screamed as they were evaporated.
The move had saved Kons life but only temporaily the move had left her exhausted, so much so she could only fall to her knees ads the remaining mini daemons fell on her, cackling.
"Stop" came a deep, deep rolling voice, anymore joy of hearing his voice. a familiar deep rolling voice and the mini daemons did as they were told.
"Karmen?" came Rodyille's voice, Kons could never feel so much joy of hearing his voice ever again, she could tell that he was no more than ten meters away, but unreachable Kons' exhaustion was total she couldent even look up at him.
"Leon?" she gasped.
"Thank you"
Kons grinned.
Ther darkness swirled and twisted like clouds and the daemon materialised.
It was just like it's servants made of black fire, blacker than the darkness but only huge, atleast eight meters tall, giant.
The daemon laughed.
"Foolish wench" it said "you sacrifice for nothing! I have Leonard right were I want him, he cannot escape"
"Really?" came Rodyille's voice as the ropes holding him tore and he stepped forward "not right were you want me now am I?"
Then he grinned "thanks Karmen"
"No problem Leon"
The daemon growled in frustration"that psywave wasn't to destroy my servents was it?"
"Nope!" answered Rodyille.
The daemon's claws slashed, but Rodyille was gone.
He came on the Daemon's left and his roundhouse kick sent it flying, spinning through the air.
He landed next to Kons and knelt over her.
"Karmen, Karmen? are you okay?"
"Y-yeah" she answered "L-Leon I-I can recharge, it will take awhile Leon"
"How long?"
"A-an hour maybe more, you will have to keep him busy 'till then"
Rodyille got back to full height and gritted his imaginary teeth.
"I'll try" he replied and started away.
"Leon!" she cried suddenly causing him to stop in his tracks "I-I love you"
The daemon's roar cut Rodyille's reply.
"Karmen, I'm sorry we will talk on this later" he said as he dissapered.

29 - Amaraa's revelation
Latashe only just managed to dodge the Cultist's slash, her knife held in her right hand blocked another one's attack then she ducked a third blow.
She slit the first cultist' throat then broke the next's neck with a round house kick.
Just as those two fell, two more took their place.
Her first blade impaled one of the cultist's heads, the second she stabbed through the other's heart and two more took their place.
She parried the first ones attack then killed him with a daft slice with her knife, she stepped back dodging the slash of a Cultist' mutated, purple claw then it came in to attack again but another came slipped in Latashe wasn't ready at all, it's knife sliced straight through her bicep.
Red hot pain teared up her arm and she screamed, falling too the ground.
The inevitable fatal blow never landed, instead the stench of Protheium assaulted her senses and the two cultists descending on her and many more behind them were engulfed in flame, their death shrieks engulfed the room.
The Callidus Assassin leaped over her the continuous flame engulfing many more.
"Fall back!" came Edrasian's voice from what was almost literally no were until Latashe remembered she was fighting side by side with the Inquisitor.
"Get back to safety Amaraa!"
She looked at him, her vision a blur but she could still see the Cultist's blows raining off his Armour neither him nor the Dark Angel had any sign of fatigue in their individual slaughters.
Just then she realised how much she missed Rodyille, she missed his quite charisma over Edrasian's constant babble.
Latashe missed him he was like a little brother, Karmen was wrong Latashe hadn't moved on, not for a second.
Latashe nodded and got too her feet, gripping her wound and she started to walk away.
"Amaraa!" he shouted keeping his attention forward, continuing his efficient killing "don't give up, if you do were all dead"
We're already are thought Latashe as she started on up the stairs.

"How much ammo you got left?" asked Wilkenson glancing over his shoulder.
"Two clips" replied the Vindicare assassin just letting off a shot with his Exitus rifle "Lynn Wilkenson you should stop using the Autocannon we will need it later"
Wilkenson nodded, dropping the heavy weapon, his arms were getting tired anyway, he picked up his Las rifle and started to fire single shot into the crowd outside.
"How many kills have you got?" asked Wilkenson.
"82" answered the Vindicare assassin, matter of factly "I presume you, yourself have no idea"
Wilkenson grinned "of course not"
Latashe entered the attic, pail er than usual and clutching her right arm which was dead and bloody.
"Amaraa?" said Wilkenson putting down his Lasgun, approaching her he couldn't help be taken aback by the distrait look on her face "Amaraa are you okay?"
She looked blankly at him, combat fatigue, realized Wilkenson.
"This is it isn't it Lynn?"
He wasn't going too lie too her "y-yes it is Amaraa, now please let me look at your wound, you know I was once a corpsman in the guard, right?"
She gripped her arm stubbornly, stepping back.
"Rodyille wouldn't have wanted this" she said.
"I dont know Amaraa but I do know that he would want me to treat that wound, now please Amaraa"
Latashe nodded then she sat on the floor leaning against the wall letting go of her arm.
Wilkenson got too his knees, unrolling his surgical tape.
"I'm sorry" she said.
"What for?"
She looked straight into his eyes.
"For everything" she said.
Wilkenson smiled and started too wash the wound.
"And what do you mean by everything?"
"Exactly what it meant Lynn, the way I am everything"
"Amaraa there's no need too apologize" said Wilkenson as he started too wrap the wound "sure you can be difficult sometimes but that's you and hey! If you needed to apologize I would have left this little band along time ago"
"Really?"
"By the Emperor really! Okay finished! Now just stay down and relax it's more than just a flesh wound"
With that Wilkenson got back too his feet, picking up his Las gun and started back too his window.
"Thank you Lynn" said Latashe under her breath.

30 - The endgame
The defenders at the front held the lounge for another twenty minutes.
They fell back only after the Callidus Assassin ran out of Protheium for her flamer and they backed to the bottom of the stairways.
Meanwhile the back garrison had already fallen back too the center of the building.
Harak, Zerkas and Vex used the stairway to the attic for high ground, shooting over the heads of Ekitsa and Scythus holding back the tide.
Everyone heard Ekitsa's cry as a cultist's blade stabbed into her hip and she fell back onto the floor whimpering in pain.
Scythus was by himself now, taking on four at a time with just a combat knife.
Even an Astartes would not last long at that thought Harak.
As if on queue one Cultist slipped in and stabbed its mutated claw into the soft gap in Scythus' shoulder.
The marine cursed and only just managed too lob off the Cultist's head before he was hit buy the flood and knocked off his feet.
The Cultists swarmed over him like flies.
Harak heard Vex's cry and with accurate shots the trio's fire power blew the cultists off the Astartes.
But seconds afterward more cultists were on top of Scythus stabbing and slashing down on the marine.
They heard Scythus scream, an Astartes screaming just the idea was unheard of but it was happening.
"Get down!" bellowed the order and Vex, Zerkas and Harak did as they where told, over them Wilkenson's Autocannon opened fire, cutting down cultists more effectively than all three Lasguns combined.
Ekitsa got back on her feet and glanced briefly over Scythus, she had no idea whether the marine was alive and frankly she didn't care.
She brought her Chainsword too bear and lunged into the fray.

Rodyille bounced skidding along the ground.
He slid too a stop and rolled onto his side, coughing in the gathered dust.
The Daemon landed no more than three meters away, laughing its characteristic laugh.
"Why do you fight Leon?" it asked as it started to circle Rodyille.
"Don't call me that!" shouted Rodyille, his voice rough and hoarse, only just managing too get on his hands and knees.
The Daemon laughed again, it continued to circle "or what Leon?" it asked "or are you going to kill me?"
Rodyille grinned "I was going too do that anyway"
That made that Daemon laugh even harder.
Rodyille was suddenly on his feet then in the air lunging at the Daemon.
He threw a right hand hook, which connected the Daemon's supposed cheek, and then kicked out in a front whip kick that smacked into its jaw.
Rodyille landed and threw a round house kick that smashed into the Daemon's knee, he pulled back then upper cut-ted the daemon's shin.
The daemon's claw slashed but Rodyille dodged with a back cartwheel, then he dodged its gigantic fist rolling too the side.
The gigantic fist impacted in the ground throwing up dust so thick it never saw Leonard Rodyille until it was too late, running up its arm.
Rodyille leapt in the air and landed a perfect Axe kick right on top of the Daemon's head, it was such a powerful blow that it cried out in pain.
Rodyille started too fall back to the ground but suddenly the Daemon's hand wrapped around him, catching him in midair, Rodyille's eyes widened.
"Fool!" bellowed the Daemon and it started to tighten its grip "think that you could stun me?"
Rodyille only answered with screams.
"Thought so" it said gripping even harder "oh yes Leonard your probably wondering about your ace up your sleeve right? The Kons girl, sure she may save you from this sooner or later but no matter what she does you will die eventually and after your gone I will hunt her down and make sure she will die the most painful death imaginable"
"NO!" managed Rodyille through gritted teeth.
"What?"
"I said nooo!!"
Suddenly, unwillingly the Daemon's fist opened and Rodyille was in the air, he came down like a comet smashing the Daemon into the ground, the floor caved way and a crater was formed, the Daemon's scream echoed.
Rodyille flipped off the writhing thing and back to his feet, he was never ready for the Daemon's back hand, which knocked him unconscious and sent his limp form through the air.
Two hundred meters away he hit the ground rolled and abruptly stopped.
"Impressive" admitted the Daemon, getting too its feet "most impressive"
Karmen Kons emerged from the dark and ran over to Rodyille's unconscious body knelling over him.
"Leon!" she cried shaking Rodyille "Leon wake up!"
"It's fruitless" said the daemon "the trauma of such a blow even with full soul shielding..."
The psywave hit the Daemon as it tried too take a step forward, knocking the abomination off its balance for a second.
Kons was on her feet, her raised right hand smoking.
"I will not allow you!" she cried.
"To do what?" it said "you are not in the position to not allow me to do anything"
Kons fired another psywave, this time dodged.
"What can you do?" asked the Daemon, walking forward "your nothing but a pathetic psyker"
"I can..." said Kons, white fire suddenly erupted around her and her eyes turned blank "do this!"
The Daemon stopped in it's tracks what seemed almost fear crossed it's face "Y- you would k-kill yourself!?"
Karmen Drassian Forth Kons grinned "that was the plan all along!" she said
White light erupted from her every orifice with a brightness and fury that shamed anything that came before and the Daemon screamed as it was engulfed.

The Callidus assassin fell, she was the only one of Edrasian's gang in Vex's view both the Vindicare assassin and the two Dark angels as well as the inquisitor were lost among the tide. Vex didn't know what happened to her but she didn't get up, next was Wilkenson, Vex saw the hilt of the blade jutting from the ex guardsman's gut and Wilkenson collapsed without a murmur dropping his las gun.
Harak stepped up firing wildly with his Auto pistol, the Las round came from no wear hitting Harak in the chest.
Vex saw the cultist that had picked up Wilkenson's fallen Las gun and with a well aimed shot Vex hit the power cell, the explosion engulfed some of the corridor and many more cultists with it.
Wilkenson would have been proud and even Nathaniel Harak would have approved not that ether are in the position to approve anything.
Or ever again thought Vex grimly.

Rodyille awoke with a start sitting bolt up right, gasping for breath, the pitch black did little to comfort him.
"Karmen!" he cried, remembering "Karmen!"
"She can't hear you, you know" said the Daemon's voice, sending shivers up Rodyille's spine he spun his attention too the source, the Daemon sat on the ground no more than eight meters away.
It looked back at Rodyille "because she's dead"
Rodyille's eyes widened, tears welling Karmen!?
He could tell the Daemon was telling the truth.
Rodyille turned away, head bowed, he could sense the Daemon getting too it's feet, he could sense it as it started too approach him.
"Stupid girl she said your name before I killed her it was Delicious, all your other friends are dead too killed by my followers hehehehe! I waited for you to wake up so I could tell you, I do love too kill someone they give into despair hahaha!"
The daemon stopped right behind Rodyille "now let's finish this!"
"Y-you forget Daemon" croaked Rodyille.
"And what would that be Leon?"
Rodyille spun and leaped into the air, the Daemon was taken completely by surprise, it expected Rodyille to land a blow of some kind but it didn't feel a thing.
Rodyille landed, gasping for breath.

The Daemon threw back it's head and laughed "hahaha! What the hell was that Leonard? Leaping into the air? Pathetic! Was that what Karmen Kons gave her life f-!"Suddenly sharp pain erupted through the Daemon's torso, then it saw Rodyille's grin and then it saw the hilt of Masamune jutting out its chest cavity.

"W-what h-how!?" it cried stumbling a step back.

"What you forget scum is that this is mind, my body! And you thought that I'd let Karmen's sacrifice be for nothing fool! Now die parasite!"

The Daemon did as it was told screaming and writhing the entire way.

"I'm sorry Karmen" said Rodyille, just as the darkness dissipated.

31 - The Epilogue

The Adeptus Arbites arrived half an hour later, what they found was total devastation.
The mansion was flattened to nothing but rubble, no walls stood.
"W-what the hell happened here?" stammered Arbites officer Edritch.
"That's what we're here too find out!" snapped Arbites investigator Dorrat, the fat chubby leader seemingly unfazed by the destruction.
"Okay!" continued the Investigator "you all know the frigging drill we split up in pairs, report any findings too me you got that!?"
The searching went for another hour but yet no bodies were found.
"By the Emperor what caused such destruction?" asked Arbites officer Adress "it certainly doesn't fit a typical explosion patterns"
His partner officer Berrs agreed with a nod "the only thing we could confirm is the trees they were blown out by typical Tube charges, guard issue"
"Guard issue?"
Berrs didn't reply, the slight movement in the rubble caught both their attentions.
"What the...?" said Adress.
"Cover me" said Berrs raising his shot gun.
"Shouldn't we--?" tried Adress.
"No point, probably just vermin, but worth a look anyway"
Adress nodded and they approached the movement.
They both saw another piece of Flak board move slightly, then the battered and bruised behemoth erupted from the debre it was two meters tall and positively built with corded muscle.
Both Arbites officers dropped their shotguns, shaking in fear.
"So...anyone up for a manhunt?" asked Nonin Edrasian, with a grin.