(Cracks knuckles) well, ladies and gentlemen, looks like I'm suffering from boredom again. And you know that that means: another chapter! 'course, it probably wont be posted for a while, but eh…..

Security level Omega 39 required…

Password accepted

Greetings, Inquisitor

File Reference: Daemons

Humanity is a naturally psychic race, however unevolved that talent may be in most. Those few individuals who have the ability to use their powers are able to draw on the power of the Warp. This shadowy realm mirrors our own, defying all the laws of physics, constantly changing. It is the realm of true chaos. Whilst mankind is able to make use of the Warp as a medium to travel vast distances in a short time and as a source of psychic power, The Warp is an incredibly dangerous place. This is due in part to the true chaotic energy that it is made up, but what makes The Warp so precarious is the presence of Daemons. These creatures are formed out of the unconscious thoughts and desires of mortals, and each and every one are detrimental to mortal life. A daemon is only as powerful as the emotion that created it, and so many are more or less harmless. However, it is the baser desires of humanity that give birth to the most powerful of these monsters: Hatred, Lust, etc. these Daemons are extremely dangerous, and actively seek out those mortals who are susceptible to their corrupting power – Psychers.

In an area in the material universe where the walls separating the it from the Warp are weak, daemons can sometimes be summoned by the perverted followers of the dark Gods of Chaos. However, they can only survive in the mortal universe as long as the power of the Warp remains strong enough to sustain them.

Sometimes, when a mortal becomes powerful enough, he may be able to cross the boundary between human and Daemon. Such beings are monstrously powerful, and are able to stay in the mortal realm indefinitely, even acting as a lode to other Daemons, thus increasing the power of Chaos in their vicinity, and drawing more Daemons from the warp. The cycle can only be broken by slaying the Daemon Prince as they are known, and sending their soul back to the warp, where they slowly start to regain their power.

Chapter Five: Trial by Fire

Each column in the darkened chamber threw black shadows, hiding Hikari from view. Unfortunately, it also hid those who she was hunting, and she knew that against people such as Asuka and Touji, her senses were inferior.

Flattening her black-clad form up against a nearby pillar, Hikari kept a firm grip on her sword. Not drawing the blade as even the tiniest sound would undo her efforts, she slowly stalked between the obstacles, the padded combat boots not making any noise.

A tiny scuff behind her caused Hikari to spin, drawing her blade as she jumped aside. She caught the basest outline of her foe, and the lightest glimmer of light reflecting off steel showed the position of the sword. Raising herself on the balls of her feet, Hikari lunged towards what she assumed was her opponent's head. The other blade rose up to block the attack, and deflected it away harmlessly. Knowing that a riposte was about to land on her soft neck, Hikari turned the failed attack into a commando roll, slipping past whomever she was fighting into the space between two pillars. Regaining her balance, she turned, dragging the several feet of dull steel behind her back in a tight arc. The clang of the two blades meeting told her that the move had probably saved her life.

Using the momentum she had gained, Hikari pivoted and lashed out with the pommel of her weapon, catching her opponent just under the jaw, dazing them. As they reeled from the blow, Hikari rammed into their chest with her shoulder, sending them sprawling across the floor. Placing the tip of her blade at their throat, Hikari quietly commanded, "Yield."

"Very well." Replied Rei, with a slight edge of pain cutting through her usual monotone. "Your victory, Hikari."

The grin forming on her face was quickly undone by the touch of metal against the side of her neck.

"Nicely done, Hikari," Drawled Touji, but far more quiet than she had been talking. "But not good enou…"

Hikari felt the press of Touji's blade against her neck disappear, a fraction of a second before the ringing sound of two blades impacting on each other burst through the silence.

Before she could get out of the way, a body impacted on her own, slamming her to the ground.

"You breathe really loudly, Suzahara."

"Shaddap" he replied, his voice muffled. Hikari then realised where his head had landed.

"Touji… GET OFF!" she shrieked, as she grabbed a handful of his hair and reefed his head clear of her breasts.

"Hey, I was comfortable there!"

Hikari barely had time to pick up her sword when the lights suddenly flicked on, causing the group to shield their eyes from the bright glare.

"Damn it." came a small voice from behind a pillar. Shinji stepped out, removing the black mask from his face. "Few more minutes were all I needed."

"Ha!" snorted Asuka with derision. "I would have made mincemeat out of you, Ikari."

Before he could reply, the disembodied voice of Captain O'Malley harshly spat out from the loudspeaker. "That's enough. Report to the training prep-room immediately."

"Great. He wants to chew us up over something," muttered Touji, as he picked himself up.

Accepting Shinji's proffered hand, Hikari stood, sheathed her blade and dusted herself off.

"The Imperium could probably just throw you at all their enemies, Touji. You'd do a lot of damage."

Laughing at the quip, the Deathworld-raised boy led the way out of the chamber.

As the group filed into the Prep-room, they were greeted by the scowling face of the Captain. Leaning over the desk, his heavily muscled form did little to improve his appearance.

"Can anyone remind me just what this exercise was supposed to be about?"

Shinji raised his hand, and as O'Malley's eyes glanced in his direction, they softened slightly.

"Yes, You would remember, as you are one of the only two members of your squad who actually followed the instructions." He glanced at Rei, who's expression remained stoic. "As did Rei. As for the rest of you," he snarled, turning to face them all in turn, "This exercise was to train your psychic reflexes, and the only two Psychic signatures we picked up were Shinji's and Rei's."

Sitting down heavily, the captain looked at the group wearily.

"You have been here for six months, and yet your skills in manipulating the Warp are still much the same as they were when we started. If I don't see some improvement soon, I will be reporting this apparent lack of progress to the Inquisition," his eyes hardened around the edges, "and I don't think you need me to tell you that they are far less understanding than we are."

Feeling ashamed, Hikari stepped forward. "We will improve, captain. I promise you, your faith in us will be rewarded. We just need more time."

O'Malley regarded her for a moment, his grey eyes narrowed.

"Very well, Hikari. I'll give you two weeks, which is as much as I can do without the Inquisitors breathing down my neck."

Standing up straighter, Hikari saluted, her face beaming with confidence.

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Two weeks, and two weeks only." He repeated, returning the salute. "Dismissed."

As the group left the room, Captain O'Malley sighed and shook his head.

This had better work.

xxx

As the faraway screams of the last pockets of resistance faded, a dark figure sniffed the air, and hissed. The very fabric of reality seemed to twist and warp around its bulky, shadowed form, with tendrils of pure darkness writhing around in the air around it. A pair of tattered, batlike wings sprouted from its back, coming out of two oozing, puss-ridden rents in what once, many ages ago, was a gleaming set of armour. Its surface was now debased, pitted and black, with leering faces adorning every flat surface.

The Daemon sniffed again, rejoicing in the scent of blood. Glancing at his body, he noted with satisfaction that his power, now dwarfing what he once possessed, had completely corrupted the ancient armour, even the psudo-organic fibre muscles had changed, merging and fusing with his body, until the line between nature and artifice was non-existent.

Cackling with pleasure, the Daemon Prince unfurled his massive pinions, uncloaking his face. This was the one piece of what was once a human body that he had left unchanged, seeing his albino features as a gift form the gods of Chaos. Brushing a strand of silver hair away from his face, he turned his faintly glowing red eyes to the darkening skies. The few remaining forces of the corpse-worshippers were in full retreat, and he could sense their ships hastily entering the warp in order to escape what was quickly becoming a living hell.

"How disappointing..." he mused, as he watched a group of lesser Daemons bicker over the gory remains of what had once been an inhabitant of this planet, "I would have expected at least a little challenge." He snorted with derision. The Imperial forces on this planet had been large, but ill equipped or trained to take on an army of Daemons. "Not even a token force of Astartes. What a shame…"

He tested the heft of his black-bladed battleaxe, enjoying the feel of the weapon. He could feel the pain of the souls trapped within its depths, much preferring the Daemon weapon to the finely crafted, psychically conductive force sword he had replaced.

Stiffening at the memories of a past life, the Daemon Prince snarled. He remembered the battles he had once fought in the Emperor's name, the feeling of newfound power when he had aligned himself with the dark powers long before the upstart Astartes had followed suit, the pleasure in tasting human blood… and the pain and torment of being banished by his own brethren. They had fought and killed across the stars even before the Emperor had replaced them with his genetically-modified creations, and yet had aligned themselves with the self-proclaimed ruler of humanity, even banishing their former comrade-in-arms. Snarling softly, the Daemon knew that they were still present in the mortal realm. Even exiled as he was, news of their fate had reached his ears. After one of their number had defected to the dark gods, the Emperor had decreed that the rest were too dangerous to be left able to follow suit. Thus, their souls had been merged into their armour, to await the time when they were needed most.

The Daemon smiled. He would strike into the heart of the Imperium at the head of an unstoppable army, break into the vault where his former comrades slept and add their souls to his collection.

He started to chuckle, which quickly turned into maniacal laughter. For the first time in over 10,000 years the Daemon Prince Tabris, once known as Kaoru, was happy.

xxx

At the edge of the same system, a small vessel appeared out of Warp space. Onboard, Inquisitor Grant read the sensor output with a rising sense of despair. Turning to his lieutenant, he began his instructions.

"Get us a vector away from this system immediately. Send a message to the Ordo Malleus; tell them that they have some work to do in the Sayda system. Sayda IV has been completely overrun by Daemons, so they will need to arrive in force."

"Yes sir, calculating an escape vector now."

As both the message and the small starship sped off through the warp, Inquisitor Grant hoped that both would reach their destination.

xxx

Dun-dun-duh! The identity of the Daemon is revealed, along with a little history of the EVA suits. Will the young aspiring warriors be able to pull themselves together in time to face this new threat, or will Tabris be able to gather an army of Daemons the size of which has not been seen in the galaxy since the Horus heresy itself, and destroy all who stand before him? It's a good question, as I don't even know myself yet!

Oh, and for those who do not yet know, the Horus Heresy is the name given to the time when half of the Space Marine Legions, led by the Primarch Horus (the Primarchs were the original Warriors created by the Emperor, to lead his armies in his name. The Space Marines were created from their DNA) defected and threw their lot in with the Gods of Chaos.

I know that that should be in 'Greeting, Inquisitor", but eh, I have other things to be putting in there. Until next time, make sure that you don't shine a lasgun into your eye (if you do it long enough, you might temporarily lose night vision.)

And as I side note, I've just gone back through the story, and realised that I had accidentally included Kaoru in chapter two! Never fear, I have gotten rid of that reference, as well as fixed up a few typos and other bits and pieces in the earlier chapters.