First off, I appologize for the delay in posting an update. Exterminator came, so I had to get out of the house for most of the day a few days ago. Combined with my friend getting out of the hospital and ending up with swollen kidney's and a forming infection, I've been to worried to get much writing done. Still, I try to get down what I can when I feel like I can write. So here it is.
But first, as always, I answer reviews.
Zeknos: One of your ideas is pretty close to one I had, though can't talk about that one just yet. As for the others .... well, read ahead. You may see something familar.
Gforce Member 45: Well, I do have plans for Chaos. I can't spoil anything just yet, but they will have a pretty big role later on in the story, in what I'm mentally dubbing Act II.
Gyphrus-One: Very much so. Infact, that movie was one of my favorite movies as a kid. ... I wish I had a copy of that now.
Inquisitor Soren: -pictures that now- Death via laughter. .... Does that make me the Joker?
As If You Cared: I'll be looking forward to it. And Ripper-Kun! T.T It was so cute to ...
Icee: One thing I have learned. Never question women. EVER. They are more dangerous then Berzerker's of Khorne and they're minds more complex and unfathomable then the Lord of Change himself. Though perhaps we will answer this later on.
v0iddragon: Nids are honestly going to be the hardest for me to fit in, the hardest for me to fit into a bracket in terms of "how do we live with them", so they may not make it. Necrons ... well, I have plans for them to. I'm still ironing them out, so they may not make the cut, but watch and see.
Danilacious: Tau are one of my favorite armies to. Only the guard beat them out and that's for eight simple words. "Basalisk, Leman Russ, and Mother Fucking Baneblade bitches!". The problem is, there's not much in terms of Tau perspective in terms of stories for me to draw from. Fire Warrior I think is the only book that ever had you looking through a Tau's eyes and that was good awful. I'll work on writing them a bit better, maybe put some focus on the Kroot (Surprisingly, I've HAD some more looks into their mindset then the Tau themselves. Weird.)
DrinkArizona: Ask and ye shall recieve.
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I caught up to the little bastards just as they were disapering into the Annex building. Grabbing the box out of their grubby little paws, I punted one of them with enough force to send him flying up onto the roof, screaming "WAAAAAAAARGH!" ... right until a hawk grabbed him mid air and started flying off. Blinking after it, I paused just long enough to wondering who I should feel sorry for. The ork or the bird.
Looking back at the others, I glared, pointing at their oversized leader. "You! What did you think you were doing!?"
In typical Ork fashion, the Nob reacted with a mixture of fear and sheer stupidity. "We wuz hungry boss. Da umies didn't see us ...."
Growling, I gave it a swift kick to, though this one didn't send it flying like the last one had to its buddy. "Idiots!"
Scooping them up, I dumped them into my bag in a big handful, hearing them cursing and hollering inside, scuffling with eachother and the Scouts. Looking at the box once they were secure, then popped open the box, looking in. "Mhmm. Pepperoni."
Pulling out a slice, I took a big bite. I know what your thinking, but honestly, what was I going to do? Its not like I could take it back. And some little ethiopian boy would kill his neighbor for this. I wasn't going to just throw it away. Besides, who was going to know?
"HEY! What the hell are you doing with my pizza!?"
.... Fuck .... Me.
Turning my head, I saw a face I really, really, REALLY wish I didn't recognize walking toward me, flanked by four guys in Football jersey's. Franklin, Franky to his friends, "Tank" to football fans, was one of the biggest linebackers on the team and built like his namesake. He was also a guy who had it out for me like no other.
I had known him since middle school. One time, ONE time, I accidently tripped him in the cafeteria. Since then, he had had it out for me. He had made me his biggest enemy for one mistake. And now he had his sights locked on me.
"Little thieving bastard ..."
I knew how this would go. I had been in this situation to many times not to. So, I reacted how I had learned to.
I bolted.
And as I expected, they gave chase.
Now, I mentioned before that I wasn't very athletic. This is true, I'm not. But I have one field I excel in, though I suppose you could debate its merit as a sport. Track. I was DAMN good at running. And I was putting that to good use.
Tank and his buddies gave chase as I darted into the hall, weaving through packs of students, taking corners at full tilt, planting my foot into the wall to keep my momentum going and propel me forward. The football jocks were forcing their way through, shoving and battering their way through, but they were still slowed. Not by much, but enough. My own agility was letting me outpace them.
Of course, if I slowed for even a moment, they would catch up. And if one even managed to grab a hold of me for an instant, I was done. I couldn't outmuscle one of them, much less five. So when I saw the stairs, I didn't slow, aiming straight for the railing.
Hitting it at a run, I vaulted over the railing, launching myself over space at the wall. Planting my foot in it, I used it as leverage to launch myself down from the landing to the next floor without slowing. But doing something like this is NEVER smart, no matter WHAT you saw in fucking Casino Royale (If you have no damn clue what I'm talking about, wikipedia Parkour). Even an expert in that crap can land badly and that's just what I did, feeling my ankle twist and send a bolt of pain straight up my spine as I tried to tuck myself into a roll, landing heavily on my shoulder..
Biting down hard on my lip to avoid yelling out in pain, I pushed my self up, kept moving, biting even harder as the jolt's came again and again from my sprained ankle. Ducking into a computer lab, I ducked low, hearing the idiots thundering past hunting for me. Staying still, listening to them run, I let a slow sigh of relief escape me, slumping down a bit. I could taste blood in my mouth where I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. Spitting it out, I looked around, thankful the place was empty of anyone as I pulled my backpack off, looking in. "Anything broken?"
The Orks were sprawled in a pile in the corner of my bag, each one bleeding from where they had cracked skulls or been hit by flying books. The Scouts weren't much better, one of them nursing what looked like a broken arm, albeit without complaint. Made of stern stuff the Space Marines.
The Sister's, while looking scuffed and battered a bit, were unhurt. Macha, unsurprisingly, didn't even seem to have so much as a hair out of place.
It was Teresa who spoke first, glaring up at him angrily. "My Lord, who were those vile heathens!? Why did you run!? We would have stood with you, destroyed them for their arrogance! Calling you a vile thief! The nerve, they audacity!"
Shaking my head, I looked down at her, silencing her with a raised hand. "Teresa, forget it. Its nothing."
"Nothing! My Lord, those heathens tried to attack you! Let me take my sisters and we shall cleanse them with Purifiying Flame!"
Scowling, I reached in, pulling out the angry Sister of Battle and shaking my head at her. "No. Teresa, listen to me. I'm not going to let you run off and fight my battles for me. Frank is MY problem, mine. I'll handle it."
The Sister was trembling with rage, eager to speak, but it was the Scout's Leader, their Sergant, that spoke what she must be thinking. "A battle can't be won by running from it."
Looking down at the socout, I scowled faintly. "Never heard of a tactical withdrawl? Five on one isn't exactly odds I can live with."
"Do nothing but retreat and eventually you will have no where left to run."
Eyes narrowing, I grit my teeth, forcing myself to stay quiet. The Sergant's words were to close to home for my taste. "Enough. Your not fighting. End of discussion."
They all seemed to fall in a sullen silence, the Sisters of course looking frustrated, along with the Orks (who had heard the word "fight" and their eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas). Zipping the bag back up, I set off to my last class, nursing a faint limp thanks to my aching ankle. Hopefully I could avoid any more problems before the day was up.
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Apparently, the Space Marines have a saying. "Hope is the First Step on the Road to Disapointment". I had never heard anything more depressing then that.
I'm quickly learning the sense of that saying.
Orks apparently are poor passenger's. With classes over and me getting away from the Football team, I had been feeling relaxed, let the others out for a bit to breathe on the bus.
Big mistake.
When the Orks saw we were on a bus, or as they called it, a "Wartrukk", they got excited and just lost it, yelling and shooting into the air. I managed to shove them back in before anyone saw them, but the damage was done. Orks can't hit a target right infront of them ... but apparently they can hit the bus driver in the back of the head from the very back of the bus.
Before you ask, he's fine. Like I said, being shot by these idiots just stings like hell. But for good reason, he was pissed. And when he saw me shoving something into my bag from the back of the bus, he figured I did it.
And so here I was, now kicked off that bus and walking home with a sore ankle, two seraphim perched on my shoulders, Macha in my breast pocket with Teressa, the Scouts running ahead to "scout out" the area, and the Orks trailing behind like a couple of puppies who just got yelled at.
The silence was good. It kept me from saying something stupid. ... But of course, it wasn't to last. Surprisingly, Macha was the one to break it.
"They were merely acting out their nature."
Scowling, I winced as a particularly nasty bolt of pain traveled up my leg. "Yeah? Well their nature cost me my ride, so excuse me if I'm pissed off."
"You knew what you were getting into when you took us in, did you not?"
I couldn't keep my hand from curling into a fist, looking down at the Farseer gripping onto my breast pocket, looking up at me. Gritting my teeth, I tried to keep my voice level. "Took you in? You say it like I had a choice! You landed in my damn lap, tore my life apart, and then expect me to just grin and bear it!? I'm stuck with a bunch of pint sized horrors running around my house, tearing it apart, RUINING MY LIFE! I had enough problems already without you little hellions adding to them!"
Macha looked up at me silent, her only reaction to grip the pocket a bit tighter. I ignored her, I ignored the looks the others were giving me, just storming the rest of the way home. Tearing off my pack as soon as I was through the door, I tossed it under the side table there, the Orks cursing and howling when it barely missed them. Slamming the door shut, I pulled off my hitchhikers, sitting them none to gently down on the small table. "Look, just give me some FUCKING PEACE, ALRIGHT!?"
Storming off towards my room, I barely dodged a speeding Chimera, cursing all the while. My life seemed destined for suck. I just wanted some peace in my life! Was that to much to ask!?
Maybe I wasn't being far to them. Maybe this was a huge change for them to. But this was my life for god's sake! I had enough trouble just getting through my classes!
Sighing, I stormed into my room, slamming it shut and nearly stepping on the walking toaster, Adiac, as he carried one of my old sci-fi novels over for the others to read.
Biting back a curse again as it blaired out an appology, I just threw myself onto the bed, grabbing the pillow and jamming it over my head, hoping maybe it would make this little hell disaper.
(**)
They watched from the shadows as the traitors and xeno's left to perform whatever foul acts they saw fit, leaving the witch alone, leaning onto her spear and staring off into space, an unreadable expression covering her xeno features. The mere sight of it filled them with disgust, grips growing tighter on their blessed weapons.
They had been watching, waiting for days, watching the prey, waiting for the moment to strike. But their master had been clear. Do not strike in the presence of the giant. Do not reveal yourself. Destroy the witch once it is free from prying eyes. And his voice was the voice of Our Lord, who rests on Holy Terra.
Silently, one drew her blade across her palm slowly, the blood of a true servant of His Holiness blessing the blade with its purity.
"It is time."
As one, blades were silently drawn from scabards, the xeno witch still unaware.
"In They Emperor's name."
As one, they stepped from hiding, moving in on the motionless xeno, their blades streaked with the blood of the Pure, eager to cleanse the filth of this creature from the galaxy.
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And thus does this admitedly smaller chapter come to a close and we reach the begining of "Act I". I had planned more for this chapter, but with me stressing about my friend, my inability to stay focused on writing because of it, and general BS, I didn't get as much done or as well as I would have liked. I'll try to make it up in later chapters.
I'll go ahead and say now, my "Act's" are going to be far more action heavy then humorous. There will be some moments of humor, but the Act's themselves will have a more serious tone. Don't worry, the light hearted stuff will return quickly (I have numerous plans set aside for that), but expect the next couple chapters to be more fitting to the grimdark universe of 40K.
I'll try to work on the next chapter tomorrow morning and have it up by Monday or Tuesday, but ... I said the same thing about this chapter. We'll have to wait and see.
Reviews and suggestions are, as always, encouraged.