Sorry for the long update, I was busy with my freaking graduation test; but I have passed, so I hope that I can update more frequently. This is my longest chapter so far; Enjoy Warning: some part is pretty cheesy because I am not totally sane these days. Sorry :p
CigarChomper: thank you, that helped me alot. And I'm Guard's fan, too :)
Glen had been staying at this town for nearly a month, spending most of his time training the folks in military skills. The townsmen, now familiarized themselve with him, began to call him "Angel of Light" because of the "staffs that shoot blood-red beam and vaporize anything in their wake" he gave them, which was kind of irony, since the objects with that scary name were actually lasguns, and everyone in the Guard called it "flashlight". And although his new name made him uncomfortable, Illiara liked it nonetheless. Weird.
"Um...mister angel...I have a question..."
Glen turned around, and saw the newest recruit, Mist, holding the lasgun with the business end pointed at herself.
"Yes ?"
"How can we fight with this stick ? No, no, it doesn't mean I doubt you, but these "guns" don't even have edges ! Others have told me about the light they create, but I have been trying the whole day and still...nothing happen."
Glen smiled "I see it. Your gun is totally normal. I have set it to safe mode so you cannot hurt yourself when practicing. If you want to operate it, you must learn something. First, never pointed the end with hole at yourself like this. Second,..."
It took him an hour to explain how to use lasgun to Amelia "Now you understand ?"
"Ye...yes."
"Okay. Now set the gun to standard power mode, and aim at that melon. Ready ? FIRE !"
POOF ! And the melon exploded.
"Oh crap..." Mist stuttered.
"That is the reason why I set all the guns on safe mode. If I hadn't done that, there would certainly be some amateurs blowing their heads off. Now hand it to me..."
"Angel ! Angel !"
"Ah Thule. What's up ?"
Thule stopped, trying to catch his breath " The...Angel of Essence calls you. We must hurry."
Glen lost several seconds trying to cope with the situation "Illiara ? Why does she call me ? If she wants to do something she has entire group of admirers to..."
"She told me that it must be you ! This is serious !"
"Okay, okay. Relax, I will be there in no time."
Her runestones were still glowing when Glen barged into the room, an irritating look on his face "Would you please explain to me why you call me here ? Have I told you not to disrupt our training ? I don't want those watching my back to die when they meet the Dark Eldar just because they don't know how to handle a gun."
"Calm down, Mon'keigh.I don't do anything without reason. And...the fruit of your hard work will be test in the flame of war...soon..."
That sent a chill down Glen spine. Illiara looked like the dark Oracle from Vierin legend "What do you mean ?"
"My dark kin...They are coming."
Several hours later, in the training ground
"So basically, you pretended to be a noob so that you can gain the Angel's attention," a tall hunter with the name of Wilhelm said, still holding the long-las sniper rifle "and it worked."
"Well, you could say so." Mist said, sending a hail of shot toward the wooden pole line, blew them apart.
"Hazz" Wilhelm sighted "I wished I could be able to make the Angel of Essence notice me, even if it is just a moment."
"Oh, don't be so desperate. All you need is..."
"MIST, WILHELM. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ?"
Wilhelm stuttered "Oh...oh Thule, we...are practicing..."
"You are supposed to be in the meeting house to be briefed about the upcoming battle with the demons !"
"You can personally do it to us, brother." Mist said, smiling "So why must we go ?"
"You never change." Thule shook his head "Someday your arrogance will cost you your life, Mist. Now listen carefully, this is very important to our war effort; Wilhelm, you will be on the roof of Dalla's house, observe the battlefield and relay enemy's action via...um...the vox; Mist, you stay with me, we are the reserve force under the command of Angel of Light...
"Wow finally." Mist cheered, but then realizing that the two guys were looking at her. She looked down, blushing furiously.
"Do not do anything stupid, or I will kill you before the bad guys do. Understand ?"
"Yes sir !"
"Good. Dismiss."
This was only the second time Illiara walked down the street of the town so everything was still unfamiliar with her. She was reluctant to do that, but she must sure the defense of the town was properly set up. Glen had done a good job training the people of this town, but he was a soldier, not a strategist, so the rest was up to her. She couldn't count on him during battle either, he was still not ready to kill. That was why she put him in command of reserve force. Her troops manning the defense line woule be responsible for most of the killing, and Glen would do the mopping up operation. If he had been a professional warrior, her job would have been much easier...
"Angel..."
The sudden appearance of one townsman pulled her out of her thought "Oh hello...what's your name ?"
"Wilhelm. The sniper, remember ?"
" are you doing outside this late ? You should have some sleep. We must be in our best condition when the enemy struck."
"Yes I know. But I got something to say. To you. But first, please take this."
He then handed her a bunch of surprisingly beautiful green flowers. She took it, and her cheeks slightly turned red.
"Awww...That is...very nice of you...but you don't have to..."
"Yes I have to." Wilhelm took in a deep breath, to delay the sentences on his lips or to get some courage ? She would never know.
"I want to be with you !"
"Wut ?" Illiara let out a small, unintelligible sound. Did her ears deceive her ?
"I'm just a normal man. I have no right to ask an angel that. But I have to say. If in the upcoming battle I die and haven't said that, I couldn't die with my eyes shut. But now you have known it, I hold no regret."
He ran into the nearest alley, leaving Illiara speechless, alone in the dark.
The battle came sooner than she thought. It began as any normal day, but when the sun rose, three black Raiders, accompanied by a dozen Hellions, appeared at the horizon. People of the town, although terrified, knew what they must do. Women, children and the old went down the underground shelters, prepared for them in case of attack; men, weapons at hand, rushed to their posts. After several minutes, the town returned to the eerie silence of early morning.
"Smoothly, huh ? This is what I have tried to teach them. Guess it was worth the effort."
"Please quiet, Glen ! I don't want them to detect my position !" The Warlock grumbled over the tele-vox "Wilhelm, report !"
"The demons are approaching very fast. Their flying troops will be over us in several more seconds."
"Good. Do not do anything until they are in range. Remember to pick up those wearing distinct armours or carry special weapons. May Khaela Mensha Khaine guide your blades. Over and out."
The Dark Eldar got closer and closer.
"I can see them from here." Illiara heard Glen mumble over the vox.
The Raiders stopped outside the town. The Hellions flew through the entrance, dived low, searching for prey. All the townsmen standing beside Illiara pointed their lasguns at the invaders.
"Hold your fire. Wait for them to get close."
The Hellions quickly closed the distance to the defense line. Just one more moment and they would be all over them. Lucky that the camoflage she set up in the trench worked.
"People, prepare to fired on my mark."
The enemies were right in front of them. She could now make out every single detail on their clothes and sky boards.
"Marked."
The townsmen opened fire at once. Hail of las bolts and stubber rounds filled the air. The Hellions were totally caught by surprise; they were agile and fast, but at this close those advantages were meaningless. Several were shot down in the first volley, including the Helliarch, and the surviving Hellions were quickly sent into disarray. However, the transports had seen this and swivelled their guns, prepared to returned fire.
"ZZAP !"
The trademark ruby beam of the lascannon flew toward the leading Raider. The flimsy vehicle stood no chance; it exploded and fell to the ground, burning furiously. The other two pulled back, blinded by smoke and fire from their fellow's hulk. All they could do was firing their Distintergrator cannons aimlessly through the smoke, hoping to hit something.
Illiara smiled. Everything happened just as she planned. But the Raider's burning remain attracted her attention. It was shaking, just like there was someone inside trying to get out. Impossible. How could they...
The hulk's shell was torn apart as something large, something horrible made their way out of it. Their hulking frames were covered in chains and hooks, two large cylinders protruded from their backs, pumping sicky green liquid into their bodies. They stood; their faces hidden behind black masks. The Warlock's heart was filled with terror.
"Grotesques !" She screamed "Take cover !"
The Angel moved gracefully. She danced among the monsters, took them down one by one, with skill and beauty no human warrior could hope to achieve. Even though he was looking through the scope of his rifle, Wilhelm could feel fear and awe . He could watch that all day. But he still had a duty. Reluctantly, he pulled his sight out of her, and pointed his gun at the two dragons which were disembarking demons, and fired several shots. While he could not stop the monsters, he was able to pinned down the demons behind their transports, prevent them from joining the chaotic melee on the street. Suddenly Wilhelm caught a glimpse of movement from the back of the transports. He didn't know what they gonna do, but he would not wait to see that.
"Angel of Light, Wilhelm here. Enemy's movement detected to the west of your position. Over."
"...buzz...buzz..."
Wilhelm turned, only to see his vox caster fell to the ground, impaled by dozens of tiny shards. He looked back, and saw one of the sky demons flew toward him, swinging its sinister-looking blades. The gun underneath its sky boards fired continuously, and Wilhelm was hit several time. His vision blurred as the toxin began to take effect. The demon dived low, prepared to deliver the killing blow.
This was gonna be rough.
Glen tapped on his personal vox, to no avail. He lost contact with Wilhelm several minute ago, and began to think of the worst since he hadn't found any error within his vox. But there was no time to hesitate, he had got the information he needed, the lives of hundred people depended on him. He led his squad, twenty-strong, cautiously toward the barren land outside the town, where he had decided to tackled them head on. Mist and Thule followed him suite.
"Angel...I see them." Mist said, pointed a finger at a group of figures, clad in black armours, dashed rapidly between covers. Mist sometimes made him uncomfortable, her unusual white hair, along with her deep blue eyes, created a feeling that she could looked right into your soul. But now...that feeling had gone, she trembled with fear. She was still a little girl, he should not let her go to war, he should not...
"Now what's the plan ?"
Someone's voice dragged him out of his thought " I have no idea what to do, this is the first time I have led troops in battle. But remember to take shelter, and then aim at the foes, in that order. You don't have to kill them right away, just keep them pinned down long enough for reinforcement to come. Do not let them get close, we won't last long in melee combat. Understand ? Good, now spred out."
The townsmen did what he said. With a simple gesture, his horse kneeled, obscured most of his body behind a rock. Glen took aim at the Dark Eldar. Lucky that they wore war masks, otherwise he could not bear himself to kill them.
"Fire !"
Dozen of las bolts flew toward the Dark Eldar, but they dodge it with little difficulty. They immediately returned fired, Glen's troops's hiding places were scratched by hundred of toxin shards. They continued to trade fire for several minutes, and some townsmen had been seriously wounded.
"What are you doing ?" the voice of Illiara over the vox made him startled "We are being overruned ! Wilhelm is downed ! Without him, there is nothing to stop the warriors. Help us !"
"I...can't !" Glen answered in the sound of gunfire "My force are engaging a squad of Kabalite Warriors, they had held us out for a long time !"
"I don't care ! Whatever you are doing, do quickly ! Or else they will destroyed us and every other thing in this town !"
"Okay okay ! Over and out !"
Glen tried not to panic. Another nearly impossible task was on his shoulder, he felt as if his heart had been put under a rock. Then he noticed something landing nearby. It wasn't thought which propelled him, but instead instinct threw his body into Mist's, bringing both of them to the ground before the disc-shaped grenade went off.
The world was eerily silent for a moment, though that faded to a persistent ringing in the ears. As much as Glen wanted to contemplate how long that ringing might last, they were still being shot at. Virtually being thrown off Mist didn't help the matters at all.
And something formed inside his mind. It might be an ascending moment of his brain, or just the after effect of being stunned, he didn't know. The important thing was it might work.
"Thule, come here !" he shouted.
"Yes, angel ?"
"I've got a plan. But it is fairly risky. If anything happen to me, you are in charge, okay ? Good, now listen carefully..."
Not until his horse had leaped over the rock where he had been hiding did he realize how insane and stupidly dangerous his plan was. He would be exposed to enemy's fire until he reached their cover, and even then there was no way he could defeat all of them in close combat. But he had to do it. His only hope was his force was able to reach the foe soon enough to relieve him.
His steed charged forward. He continuously pouring fire onto Dark Eldar position with reckless abandon, the carapace armour protect him from their retaliation. He pulled the bridle. The horse jumped, landed in the middle of the xeno pirates. They scattered. He reached for his chainsword, but felt something wet running down his hand. He looked down, and saw blood, his blood
His face began to feel as if a thousand pins were prickling it "Oh, God Emperor no..." he said, his voice breaking.
With that, his world went dark.
Sybarite Eraah observed the Mon'keigh lying on his feet. Fool. Did it think it could take on entire warrior squad by itself ? This creature needed to be re-educated.
His fellow warriors had completed subduing the Mon'keigh's horse. When its master fell, it fought back, desperately tried to protect its rider. The horse had been genetically altered to the point that it was almost twice bigger than normal; it had caused considerable trouble for his troops. But now, it laid on the ground, entangled inside a web, unable to move.
"Don't kill them. They will become Uzel's new toys; he will love to..."
His words were cut down as one of his warriors fell face first to the ground, a hole on his back.
And then several other las bolts were sent toward them, killed more warriors; Eraah suddenly understood the purpose of the Mon'keigh rider: he would distract the Dark Eldar long enough for his comrade to flank them. Bastard ! But he didn't have time to express his anger, they were taking fire from both side. Now he was able to see the Mon'keigh; they were approaching from both side, guns blazing. The creatures fanned out, totally surrounded his squad. His fellows warriors returned fire, but were caught by surprise and hopelessly outnumbered, they could only mount token resistance. And soon, the last fell out, leaving him to fend for himself. Eraah turned toward the Mon'keigh responsible for his downfall. Raising his Venom blade, slashed at the creature's neck. If he died today, he would bring someone with him.
"CLANG"
Eraah's weapon was stopped by a female Mon'keigh. Her features were interesting, even for the Dark Eldar: white hair, blue eyes. The Sybarite increased the his strength on the weapon; the human's simple iron sword was broken in half. He twisted his wrist, created a small cut on her shoulder. Although the wound was small, that was enough. His blade contained the most poisonous substances in the galaxy; if not treated quick enough, nearly always resulted in death. He smiled, and raised his blade again as the female human collapsed.
And then dozen of las bolts torn his body to pieces.
Wilhelm stood up, his head hurted. He didn't remember what he had done, but the sky demon now lying on his feet. He felt weak; the demon's toxin was very effective, although not enough to kill him. He looked down the street below: it was running red with blood. The demons had broken human's defense line. They were heavily outnumbered, but they fought with such ferocity that it usually took three men to kill one.
And he saw her.
The Angel, covered in blood, but otherwise unharmed, was trying to protect the wounded
And he saw it.
A large demon, wearing massive armour, with a set of horns on its helmet. It was destroying everything on its path with a massive two-handed sword. And it was heading toward her.
He had to act fast.
Wilhelm took the sky demon's sky board. Although it was malfunction, it could still be used. He jumped on it, and dived toward the demon, slammed his body into its. The demon startled, surprised by the action. It reached back to grab him, threw him into the ground. It certainly broke some of his ribs, but he didn't care. He felt no pain.
He turned to face his love. Her eyes widen.
The last thing he saw was the black sword of the demon.
The sound of the impact hit Illiara like a gunshot.
There was no thought. There was no sanity. Illiara was only dimly aware of her action, of what was going on. Rage had enveloped her. She send a hail of Destructor bolts toward the Incubus killing Wilhelm, threw him flying backward onto a wall.
And before the killer could regain his conciousness, the Warlock lunged forward, impaled him with her Witchblade, sliced his abdomen in half.
Her hand was blistering, her face felt hot. But she had other concerns. She moved toward Wilhelm's body, falling to her knees.
But an explosion drew her attention.
The remaining Raider went down in flame. Dark Eldar warriors died suddenly, with a hole in their bodies. Some surrendered, some didn't, and were killed instantly.
Glen's force had arrived.
But where was him ?
She ran toward them like a star, and her fear was confirmed.
"Noooo !"