Star Fox 40,000: Realm of Chaos Chapter 17b: Slaves to Darkness, a Star Fox + Warhammer Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: See the Prologue

A/N: To anonymous reviewer Josh. Yeah I did get inspiration from Dawn of War, seeing as how it is part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and one of the best strategy games ever made.

Music listened to while writing this: Mostly Rammstein and Bolt Thrower.

Chapter 17b - Slaves to Darkness (continued)

Ahead of the massive fleet of heavy transport ships descending from orbit towards the surface of MacBeth, each one filled with thousands of hundreds of Guardsmen and their vehicles, was the General's Aquila Lander.

Sitting in the passenger cabin of the Lander beside Commissar Plymouth, the Guardsmen, officers and Ecclesiarchy Priest that made up his command squad, General Sturnn looked almost emotionless as he prepared for the imminent touchdown on tainted ground. He silently prayed that the Emperor would shield him and his men from the lures of Slaanesh.

"Are we certain that it's Slaanesh we are dealing with?"

An officer was going over a freshly scribed scroll, eyes darting downwards as he carefully read it, "Reports of mass cultist activity, described by kemono communiqués as being scantily clad to not clothed at all with pink or pinkish-purple body paint suggests Slaanesh involvement. These are confirmed with the presence of the Emperor's Champion Traitor Legion."

Plymouth snorted, "My instincts were correct after all. One can sense the lures of the Pleasure God anywhere in the universe."

Suddenly the side of the Lander was hit by a lascannon blast courtesy of a passing Chaos Claw, shaking the cabin interior violently. Sturnn was thrown from his seat and landed on his back on the floor…

"Tis' judgement day on us at last!" the priest exclaimed fanatically, clutching his effigy of the God-Emperor, "We shall finally join the Emperor in his realm!"

Sturnn cursed out loud, "But not so soon! PILOT…!"

My Lord General!

"What's attacking us for God-Emperor's sake?"

Claw fighter! It's broke off from approaching southern hemispheric Chaos fleet in orbit!

"Dirty furs!" the standard bearer of the command squad cried as he gripped the folded Cadian 412th battle standard tightly, "With all due respect General, Lord Commissar, what good are they if they can't keep the Chaos air threat off us?"

Everyone hold on! The pilot intercom exclaimed, The Claw is coming in for another pass! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!

The Chaos Claw strike fighter spun around and dodged oncoming fire from the gun emplacements from the other heavy transports and gunned straight for the Lander. It charged it's lascannons to full power, enough to destroy it and all on board completely, then two blue plasma blasts struck it's hull from underneath and destroyed it, the explosion a mix of yellow, red and crimson.

The offending starfighter, an Arwing, emerged from the explosion victorious and sailed past the Lander, relieving both pilots. Looking out the window, an officer noticed the Arwing…

"By God-Emperor, that was a near thing," he exhaled with relief and smiled, "That fur saved our lives."

You better believe it! The Arwings' pilot hacked into their com channel, causing that officer to jump with fright, and the priest to frown. The voice then sounded upbeat as the Imperial's translator units relayed his Lylatian into Gothic, Ready to thank this 'dirty fur' for saving your crapholes?

"You vile xeno!" the priest shrieked, "You deny us our entry to the Emperor's realm and dare subject us to your bastardization of the Emperor's tongue?"

Hmpth! Then switch your translators off and whip yourself to death!

Sturnn slapped his hand over his face and smiled mirthlessly, amused at the verbal jousting between the Arwing pilot and the priest. "This is General Sturnn. Ignore the priest, Cornerian. Identify yourself."

Falco Lombardi, Team Star Fox. Y'know, you pompous officer types got real balls flying ahead of the other ships, Sturnn.

'Pompous? He dares doubts the fearlessness of the Emperor's soldiers,' Plymouth thought, 'Why that smart-alec xeno falcon!'

"I'm flattered," Sturnn replied, then painfully added, "We…thank you for the assist."

Heh…hope they don't burn you for forcing that last bit out. Falco out!

The Arwing then disappeared from sight and back into the clouds below, leaving a cabin full of intrigued, amazed Imperials, surprised that some non-human that appeared to intensely dislike or even hate them had just broken off from the rest of team to save their lives. And that he had stood up to a priest of the Ecclesiarcy – The Church of the God Emperor, spoke volumes of him.

"I hope we meet that damned alien again," the priest iterated irrationally, "I'm personally brand 'dirty xeno' on his forehead and pluck his feathers myself."

Sturnn shook his head. Those damned Imperialism believers were definitely going to have Lylatian opinion turn on their human allies eventually. And that would definitely mean bloodshed on the Imperium's part.

Falco grumbled under his breath as the railway complex came back into view through his canopy, contemplating whether he should have let the General and his henchmen to the Claw. And in doing so let Calgar take command of the Imperial Guard dispatched this world, as he seemed to not want to wipe Lylat off the star map.

And speaking of Calgar, ever since he met the Lord Macragge memories of Falconia returned to him like a tidal wave, especially when he had personally freed him from being sacrificed by his own father to Khorne. When he thought of lying on that alter he subconsciously let go of the Arwing's control stick and rubbed his wrists where the chains had held him as his father stood above him, drenched in blood and garbed in Khornate ceremonial dress.

Hey birdy, you still there?

Falco shook himself out of his state of thought, and caught a glimpse of the other Arwing forming up on his left wing.

"Yeah…I'm still here kitty. I'm talking to you right now."

You saved those old farts that Claw was harassing?

"And they weren't about it," the avian griped, "Honestly, you'd think at least some humans were afraid to check out permanently."

Speak for yourself, avian, Cassius intoned impatiently over the com-line, Your commander has new orders for you.

"You mean Fox?" Falco grinned, "Jeez…didn't think he'd adopt that old merc rank since Peppy's days."

I haven't, Fox growled over the com, And thanks for that, Chaplain. Falco, I need you, Slippy and Katt to provide support for Farsight and the XV88 Crisis Suits. They'll lead the way for the Cadians.

"Right, babysitting the armed pacifists, got it. You and Krystal?"

We'll stick with the Marines.

Fox, Falco heard the vixen address Fox, What about 2nd Battalion? When they land, they will be overwhelmed when they engage the Chaos reinforcements…which will be here at the complex in about fifteen minutes?

Never you mind, Cerinian, Admiral Nero now joined the broadcast, Marauders will deliver the Emperor's mailed fist upon the pleasure cult's heathen heads.

Falco's eyes widened in shock. From the vid-disks he watched of the Battle for Kew the Marauder Bombers had practically leveled the entire planet, or at the very least their major population centres and military installations, causing much of the civilian death toll. He could picture imagine the railway complex, equally the size of a small town, as nothing but rubble once they made their pass over the complex.

"Er…atmospheric Bomber aircraft, Admiral?" Falco sounded as formal as possible.

Nero sounded gleeful, Yes. Once General Sturnn makes planet fall the Marauder and their Lightning, Thunderbolt escorts will soften the enemy positions no doubt firmly entrenched within the complex. I would advise all Cornerian forces still within the base to retreat towards the Ultramarines or Cadian landing zones, should they be caught within the barrage.

Falco frowned, "You'd like that, wouldn't your Nero?"

Nero sounded flustered, McCloud, control your avian's tongue if he can't do it himself.

The blue falcon avian couldn't keep his anger in check, tired at the way the Imperial's spoke about himself and the denizens of the Lylat System. What he said next would send vibrations throughout the Coalition, and would definitely put the Admiral in his place, and letting him know that he could never intimidate Team Star Fox and it's ace pilot know as Falco Lombardi.

"I can control my tongue just fine. And it would like to say…"

…fuck you!

Within the confines of a enclosed courtyard within the abandoned outer base, the Eldar Guardian in his body-tight black and manilla wraithbone armor sniggered slightly as he and his comrades heard the majority of Falco and Nero's conversation over their wraith-transistors. He then tucked his long orange hair into his helm as he put it over his head. He then picked up his shuriken catapult rifle and stood to attention as the Farseer made herself known, escorted by two of her Seers. She was equipped in full ornate Craftworld Ulthwe Wraithbone armor including her helm, and was now armed with a long singing spear and a twin Shuriken Pistol, which consisted of two pistols attached to each other, one underneath the other. Mystic runes had been drawn on her armor and the robes underneath, giving off a even more mystical aura which surrounded her.

"What amuses you, my kin?" Taldeer asked.

The Guardian bowed his head, "Exalted Farseer. I have heard for myself evidence that falcon known as Lombardi has made it abundantly clear that he disdains the Imperial presence, going as far as standing up and mocking them."

"No doubt the surviving sons of Falconia will feel the least shock should we reveal ourselves to the Coalition," one of the Seers spoke up, "Does it not say that the avians are the creations of Faolchú, the falcon spirit who brought Anaris to Eldanesh during the War in Heaven?"

"That particular piece of record somewhere in the forgotten sections of the Black Library, sadly," Taldeer said, "Now…for there is no doubt that the Imperials, ill prepared to deal with the Great Enemy. And the Cornerian Defense Force, overwhelmed and unknowing of the Great Enemy, will quickly fall to destroyer of all Eldar: Slaanesh…."

She took pause to breathe.

"…even with the Archon with his young brother and the Princess of Cerinia he has love for at both his sides; they will not survive. So it is down to us to watch over him and those he stands alongside, for through him holds salvation for the Craftworld, humanity and Lylat."

She then paused again, and looked down at the ground.

"There can be no doubt that it is Jacques Mortensen who is the chosen messiah as the Black Library dictates."

The assembly of Guardians, Striking Scorpions, Fire Dragons, Howling Banshees and Warp Spiders all stood and readied themselves with their respective exotic weaponry and with their Exarchs at the helms. The Farseer took a step to the side and revealed behind optic camouflage two shining Warp Gates, energy glistening within the portals and ready to take them to locations and lands familiar and unknown.

"We shall provide aide to the Imperial and Cornerian forces scattered around the large railway complex," Taldeer announced, "Whether in crippling the Slaanesh war effort or providing aid to those who are about to overwhelmed. We must remain as scarce as possible, for in time we will reveal ourselves should the Coalition hold and all internal squabbles are resolved as much as possible."

Followed by her Seers she stepped into the left warp gate, where then the Eldar troops divided themselves and marched into the gates as well. All of them were unaware of a shady, armored and burnt figure in the shadows, where one can scarcely make out the symbol of the Hydra on his left pauldron.

The figure gritted his teeth and gripped both a manreaper scythe and a Chaos power sword in his left and right hands respectively, "So…Ulthwe has followed us all here after all. It does not matter should they whittle away the forces of divine Slaanesh, I only need to step through the ashes and deliver the killing blow to the creatures holding that fragile alliance together…"

He then smiled evilly.

"…even the Cerinian. I will sacrifice her myself. Her blood will make this a holy world for the Dark Gods, and I shall be redeemed."

O'Shovah's face was as determined and hard as steel as he strapped himself in his modified battlesuit, the clamps under his helm attaching themselves to his armor around his head and his com-systems booting up. His HUD immediately produced a wire-image of the battle area – The central rail network complex and base, which controlled all railway lines all over the planet. He saw through the images that the base was massive, with areas split between rail-yards, storage warehouses, living districts, security sections and administration. The Space Marines landing area were just outside Administration with the Cornerian military bunker just, where they and the Cornerians were currently regrouping.

His HUD pointers reminded him that the Imperial landing zone was the middle of the rail-yards quarter of the base, and detection systems indicated three Arwings were currently heading towards the area. He smirked widely as navigated his battlesuit towards the edge of the hangar, with T'au and Farsight Crisis Suits standing by behind him.

"Adjutant," he intoned of ROB through the com, "Estimated Time to Imperial touchdown?"

5 minutes, ROB replied, We are near the rail sector of the complex. I suggest you deploy now.

"And so we shall," O'Shovah replied, then commanded out loud, "For the Greater Good!"

With ten Crisis Suits at his back, five T'au and five modified Farsight, they engaged their jetpacks and flew out the hangar and down towards the railywards. The T'au pilots armed with their missile and plasma cannons, all the while wondering why the traitor was put in charge of them, and how they could have agreed to the Ethereal to fight beside the Enclaves and their Necron-infused battlesuits. The Farsight pilots charged their heavy gauss flayers and melee blades.

Down below in the railyard, glowing pink eyes looked up madly from behind slits and holes in the boxcars, soft growling echoing around the heretics as they saw the approaching Tau armour. Among them were a squad of Noise Marines, each feeling restless with only listening to their own heartbeats and that of their human and kemono followers.

"FOR SLAANESH – GOD OF PLEASURE, PRINCE OF EXCESS!"

The train cars' doors immediately flung wide open to reveal cultists and traitor Cornerian soldiers, who immediately opened up with a barrage of laser, plasma and rocket fire, mingling amongst bursts of high-pitched sound directed upwards as the descending Crisis Suits. O'Shovah was practically smiling with delight as he was the first to descend and immediately skewered a human cultist with his Dawn Blade, blood once again coating his mysterious weapon. Casting the body aside he was struck by several laser bursts, he retaliated by firing his plasma cannon at the attacking cultists taking cover in a boxcar, immediately blowing it shreds; scattering metal, wood and body parts everywhere.

The Crisis Suits joined their Fire Commander on the ground and begun to lay waste to the rail yards, their opposition not hesitating because their fanaticism to charge them, weapons blazing and blades drawn. The Noise Marine fired away with their sound blasters, which immediately scrambled their communication devices, which didn't matter much as they saw their enemy had just had to tear them apart until the remaining Imperial forces touched down.

Shas'vre'Law touched down on the ground, finding himself wedged between two boxcars. He immediately readied his suit's blades as the door bursted open and cultists charged out, wielding chainblades, machetes and cutting lasers. He frowned as he swung the blade propped onto his left arm and horizontally bisected several cultists, before spinning around and firing his heavy gauss flayer, stripping the flesh off some more heretics. One male cultist lunged at him from behind, attempting to drive his mechanized chainfist into him from behind. He engaged his jetpack and flew backwards through a boxcar, shattering the cultists back, then slowing down and flinging him off himself. He then spun around and fired his gauss flayer, vaporizing him.

O'Shovah went almost crazy with his Dawn blade, reviling the ferocity and bloodshed of melee combat as his battlesuit hacked, sliced, diced and decapitated every cultist that charged him with a blade and a boltpistol in each hand. The Chaos Marines all decided to engage him at once, and O'Shovah realized this when the damage indicator on his Heads-Up Display indicated that a bolter round took off part of the left communication antenna on his helm.

Gritting his teeth and with a T'au Crisis Suit by his side they charged the approaching squad of Chaos Marines who entered the rail yard bolters blazing, one of which was a Havoc equipped with a lascannon. The T'au Crisis Suit and it fired it's burst cannon with it's gun drones blazing away with plasma at the approaching Marines as O'Shovah charged, Dawn shining brightly in the midday sun.

"KILL THE HEATHEN GODLESS XENO!" the Havoc blurted out as his helmet targeter ascertained him as a target.

He fired the lascannon, the beam trailing towards O'Shovah. O'Shovah engaged his side thrusters and sidestepped to the left and the beam just went by him, nicking him only just. The bolts continued to strike his armor, his damage indicator going haywire, until he swung his blade and skewered the nearest Chaos Marines. After flinging the Marine aside he swatted the other Marines aside and went for the Havoc, who would have fired his lascannon again if O'Shovah hadn't sliced the barrel off it. In a fury the Havoc drew his blade and lunged at O'Shovah, putting it through his armor…

"GAH!" the Tau Commander winced in pain, "MONT'AU…!"

He then swung his mechanized left arm and knocked the Havoc aside, then aimed his plasma cannon down at his head and fired, obliterating it and leaving nothing save for ash. He looked down and saw the blade sticking out of his armor, and the pain coursing through his body. He checked his damage meter and discovered that his chest plating had been compromised, but the point of the blade was just poking into his stomach – No serious injury.

COMMANDER! Shas'vre'Law exclaimed as he touched down from above next to him, Your armour…!

O'Shovah smirked painfully, "It is nothing. I will survive. Now…"

As the battle raged around them, both their proximity indicators flashed as three Arwing flew above the battlefield. O'Shovah smirked painfully…

"The legacy of James McCloud come…"

The three Arwings with the avian, the cat and the frog as the pilots flew over towards the rail yards, already catching a glimpse of the action half-a-click away. They saw the Tau battlesuits locked in combat with the cultists and Traitor Marines of Slaanesh, fighting amongst train tracks, trains and boxcars. When they hovered in high altitude above the railways, Slippy was the first to open his mouth and display his awe and sense of relief.

"Man, the Tau are really giving it to those bolter-brains!" Slippy chimed happily, "And those cult maniacs are going down with them!"

Running commentary not needed, Slippy, Falco smirked, Let's just make a pass, and whoever actually sees a Marine falling back wins. The prize is stopping him dead in his size twenty tracks.

You're on, Katt cooed.

They passed above over the rail-yards and the continuing battle, immediately hearing las-blasts hitting the sides of their Arwings courtesy of the cultists. Slippy cringed and gripped his controls a little tighter.

Relax, came Falco's voice over the com, Small las-arms nothing compared against titanium alloy…AH!

Slippy looked out the side of the canopy to have seen something hard strike the side of Falco's Arwing. The avian had managed to stabilize himself and ascend higher to avoid any more fire.

Rocket-propelled ammunition a different story! Falco exclaimed. Slippy then heard him inquire sharply, Yo Farsight, you guys need a hand?

Chaos armor are approaching our position from the administration block leading into the railyards, O'Shovah stated, I would appreciate if you kept them away from us.

Didn't think those mecha would do well against daemon-possess war machine. We're on it! C'mon, Katt…Slippy, try to keep up.

Slippy frowned and he felt flustered. How he hated it when Falco pushed him in the wrong places.

The trio directed the Arwings towards the outer walls leading into the administration block some distance away from the Tau fight zone. An armored group of four Chaos Predators rolled forward towards the battle, Chaos Marine handling the bolters situated near the portholes. Slippy appeared determined when they swooped down towards their targets, with only one goal in mind and a burning desire to fulfil it.

'Amanda,' he thought, 'I will come back.'

And at that moment in her personal quarters back on Venom, Amanda raised her head from the desk she had fallen asleep near, swearing she had heard her lover's voice in the air.

"Slippy?" she murmured, "Was…was that you?"

The Predator's chain-linked bolters fired upwards at the diving Arwings, the porthole gunner cursing upwards at Slippy, Katt and Falco as they made their descent. Katt made sure to keep tilting her fighter to the side to avoid the tracer fire, as did Falco and Slippy. She licked her lips as held the trigger down and fired a continuous stream of laser down at the leading Predator. She saw a tracer pierce her left wing, just as she noticed the gunner off the tank let go of the bolter he was firing from the life left his body from having his head rendered off with continuous laser fire to the neck.

Katt then ascended, just avoiding the tank firing it's autocannon up at her. Falco and Slippy locked onto the same tank with their charge lasers and fired at once, destroying the treads of the tank and immobilizing it. Regrouping, they made another pass towards the Predators, which continued to fire up at them with their bolters, while they begun firing their autocannons at the Tau as they rapidly approached them.

"And I thought steel wears away with age!" Katt exclaims with annoyance.

From within the confines of his Arwing, Falco frowned, "Damn! Anyone got a Smart Bomb that can at least immobilize them?"

Don't you?

Falco appeared beat, "Thanks, Slip."

The avian loaded a bomb and dropped it onto the tanks, the ensuring red explosion causing enough damage to immobilize all of them and kill their porthole gunners. But their strong metallic hulls managed to keep them from being blown apart and they continued to fire their autocannons at the in-ranged Tau. Falco groaned, before performing a loop and descending in a dive, firing two charged shots which blew apart the hulls of two tanks. Before he and his wing mates could make another pass however and finish the job, two massive blasts of lance descended from the atmosphere…

"JEEZ LAWEEZ!"

…and narrowly missed the Arwings as they hit the remaining Predators, the resulting explosion large enough and loud enough for the entire base to hear.

La'Jakob and the Pathfinders looked up at the sky to whence the blasts came from. The only human amongst them tried to keep the bad feeling in his gut down, knowing more of the Imperials will be arriving soon.

La'Tash checked his HUD radar, "La'Jakob! Incoming Imperial transports…LZ train and rail yard sector!"

The gue'la frowned, "Well…they are not wasting any time."

He then waved his hand towards the other nearby rooftop overlooking the Space Marines, Cornerian troops and the Landmaster tank.

"Let's move out, and stay out of range of the mont'au and Imperial targeters if possible."

Scout Team 1, report!

"Enemy forces retreating towards center of the base. Hold up mainly in administration and residential quarters."

From behind the cover of a destroyed Cornerian APC as they watched Chaos Marines, daemons and cultist run by to relative safety, the Ultramarine Scout Leader's head jerked up from his lying position near the edge of the APC's wheels. His grip on his auspex survey device nearly shattered it as he was startled from the sound of an orbital strike on the planet, interrupting him and his squad mates surveillance of the withdrawing Slaanesh forces.

"Looks like the Imperial Guard's attack has started," the Scout Leader said, "How long until the bombs start falling?"

Another Scout tapped his visor HUD, "Marauder Bombers, ETA five minutes. The Slaaneshi forces are withdrawing towards the centre of the base, Marine and daemon alike. The cultists are hunkering down in administration and living quarters of the base…hold up…"

They saw a procession of 20 human cultists in brightly-colored Slaanesh uniforms step by, two by two, flat palms clasped together as they chanted in a daemonic tongue. Their eyes glowed sensual pink as they walked by, unconcerned of the chaos of the retreat surrounding them. The Scouts watched quietly, maintaining vox silence as the procession passed by their cover and formed a circle, arms spread widely as their chanting grew louder.

What are those heretics attempting to enchant, Scout Team 1? Calgar demanded over the vox.

"Unknown, my lord…" the Scout Leader responded.

Fox was strapped back into his Landmaster as he heard the exchange between Calgar and the Scout team, with the 2 Ultramarine Predator Annihilators standing by not far away from his position.

…but previous engagements with cultist groups suggest they may be summoning.

"What else is there to summon?" Fox questioned with contempt, "I thought this was a Black Crusade and Chaos is throwing everything they got at us!"

That is true, Jacques said over the com, And what they could be summoning is unlike anything I have ever sensed before…gah!

Fox's eyes shot open, "Jacques…what just hit you?"

It is nothing. It is…what I think you call…a headache.

'Headache?' Fox thought coyly.

Suddenly the noise normally associated with gunfire and maniacal screaming erupted out Fox's com speakers, causing him to grit his teeth in discomfort until they nearly cracked, making him quickly lower the volume. The frequency indicated that it was coming from the Scout Marines' position, and it would appear that their position was compromised.

Damn it! Position's being comprimised! Attempting to fall back…DIE HERETIC! ARGH…TAKING FIRE…!

Scout Team 1, fall back immediately. We shall take it from here, Calgar ordered, then addressed Fox, McCloud, you and the Annihilators take point. Tactical and Assault squads, keep close. Devastator squad, cover us. Forward brothers…for the Emperor.

Fox adjusted the gears in his Landmaster as he and the Predator Annihilators rumbled forward into the base, with the Space Marines squad following close behind in their respective formation, followed in turn by their commanders – Calgar, his Honor Guard, Cassius and Tigerius. O'Reilly and the Cornerian soldiers scattered themselves into squads and followed the Astartes, moving forward in different directions with blaster rifles and other Cornerian heavy weaponry in hand.

One avian pelican armed with a minigun walked in step with his squad until he noticed a fallen, wounded moaning avian albatross cultist lying in a trench with his entrails hanging out following a chainsword disemboweling. The albatross looked up at him with pained pinkish eyes, the pelican returned the stare, with malice and hatred in his eyes. He then stepped forward into the trench, put his left foot out and stomped on the cultist's neck, killing him.

The pelican soldier then spat on his corpse, before muttering, "Falconia."

Sturnn breathed in deeply, taking in his first breath of MacBeth atmosphere as he and his command squad stepped out of the Lander, his guards immediately taking point around him amidst the shattered ruins of the train yards. He could hear the sounds of heavy transport ships landing nearby, unloading whole convoys of mobile armor including the mighty Leman Russ battletanks, Chimera APCs, flame-throwing Hellhound tanks Sentinels and the Cadian-Pattern Sentinels with autocannon replacing lascannons. Thousands upon thousands of marching Guardsmen stepped out of other transports built to accommodate them, each platoon supported respectively by a entourage of officers, priests and medicae personnel, and where kept in line by no less then ten Commissars. Half of the men in red and scarlet were specialized only in close combat wearing carapace armor underneath their uniforms and armed with power swords, axes and fists.

Regimental Commissar Plymouth were joined by a squad of Commissariat cadets armed with autoguns, the most experienced cadet armed with a boltpistol and a chainsword. He saluted the Lord Commissar and stood to attention before him and the General.

"Lord Commissar," the lead cadet spoke, "We're ready to follow your lead for the glory of the God-Emperor."

Plymouth returned the salute, then asked, "Bombing status?"

"Commencing in ten seconds, Lord Commissar," the ranking officer in the command squad responded, "General, shall we rally the troops to move in after the Marauders have leveled the base?"

The light humming from above drew their attention to the sky as they saw two-dozen Marauder strike bombers in high altitude in the sky flying above. Thousands of Guardsmen all smiled and begun cheering joyfully, the sight of all those bombers raising morale through the roof. While Plymouth couldn't hold back a smirk, Sturnn looked…stern.

Plymouth's smile faltered, 'Grim…yet determined. As if he knows what will come before any of us.'

O'Shovah looked up to see the bombers flying overhead, silently praying that they could end this battle before it had even started. Suddenly, his internal proximity alarms blared and indications on his HUD told him that incoming Chaos Claw fighters by the hundred were en-route to their position. He groaned slightly, feeling the scratch on his torso flare up.

"McCloud, Calgar, Sturnn," O'Shovah cried, "We have incoming!"

What? Fox exclaimed, Where have they being hiding all this time?

Falco eyes widened when he stared out his canopy to see the approaching fleet of pink Chaos Claws. His eyes darted cautiously towards Slippy and Katt's Arwings with much evident concern as the trio hovered above the trainyard, the Tau XV88 Crisis Suits and the slowly marching Imperial Guard. He noticed Slippy staring at him through his own canopy, causing him to smile slightly and tap his beak.

Slippy's eyes widened, "You can't be serious!"

A barrage of long-range lascannon fire struck the Arwing trio, immediately causing them to break hover and fly about in rapid succession circles.

"We're gonna get screwed over one way or another!" Falco exclaimed, "And since it's probably gonna be from the Imperials…"

"…we'll see if we can change their minds," Katt finished, "By keeping those flying lascannons off them!"

Would you kindly? Sturnn said over their coms, sound exasperated but still determined, All Guardsmen, Infantry and Armored Fist platoons, advance through the base and secure the southern and southern--west flanks. Once we deal with the daemon and heretical forces here, we'll begin holding out against the forces approaching from the south.

But won't 2nd Battalion handle the enemy reinforcements, Krystal queried over the com, Or…won't they last long against both Marine and daemon?

I don't planning on throwing away thousands of good souls, Cerinian, Sturnn explained abruptly, They will move and engage the enemy as they move here. We planned all this out the few short hours we had following the formation of our alliance.

Despite being under fire from rapidly approaching Chaos fighters, Falco smiled, 'This is getting better, and more complex, by the minute.'

You think so? Tigerius spoke into his mind.

Falco frowned, 'Wasn't talkin' to you, cablehead.'

The Marauder bombers and their Lightning atmospheric fighter escorts begun passing by the Arwings, their defense guns immediately firing away at the Chaos claws while the Lightnings engaged them in vicious dogfighting around the bombers. The Marauders then begun dropping their payload of high explosives on the base below, leaving warehouses, office building, rail tracks, train cars and barracks.

"C'mon!" Falco exclaimed, "The humans can't have all the fun!"

The Arwings joined the battle as the Claws engaged the Marauders, attempting to get up close to shoot them down, immediately causing extensive damage to the bombers at the front, their defensive lascannons blazing frantically away at them. The Arwings and the Lightnings hurled themselves amidst the centre of the swarm of Claws, cannon, and missile and laser fire exchanging between Coalition and Chaos. Falco immediately shot down one fighter, before playing chicken with another – with the Claw barreling down towards him and launching missiles, but Falco playing it sly and tilted his Arwing to dodge the missiles and firing a charged laser shot, blowing the Claw to pieces.

Katt dodged cannon blasts left and right courtesy of a pursuing Chaos Claw. She gritted her teeth and felt the tears in her eyes as she fretted over being shot down and leaving Falco all alone. She blinked them away and keep determined. But that determination faded when her flight computer indicated MISSILE LOCK.

The Claw behind her readied to fire it's missile pods, it's human cultist smiling behind the stick controls. And he was still smiling when suddenly a long-beam tore through the side of the hull, pierced through his head, out the other end and splattering brains all over the cockpit. Without it's pilot the Claw descended from the sky and crashed into the railyards, forcing the approaching Imperial Guard to tread past it with caution.

Katt saw on her flight-com that she was no longer being pursued.

"Hey!"

The Eldar Ranger Delanos smirked as he lowered his long-rifle as he and the other members of his party observed the aerial battle above the base, seeing that the Imperials will not be able to level the entire base because of the Chaos air defenses. However, he felt glad because he was able to pull off a long-range shot on the pilot of a space fighter and bring it down.

"Good shooting," another Ranger patted him on the shoulder, "But I am concerned if those fallen aircraft will gradually pick off the Coalition forces, and if more comes to fight."

Delanos looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed, "Leave that to the Farseer and the Seers themselves."

Slippy grinned as he piloted his Arwing after the Chaos Claw who tried desperately to evade him, and was leading him towards the small fleet of Marauder bombers. He dodged their defensive lascannon as he went after the single solitary Chaw, making sure to aim his weapons at him and not the bombers they were flying rings around.

"Your tainted hide is mine, freak!" Slippy exclaimed as he got a homing lock on the Claw and fired, the charge shot blasting it apart.

This is Bomber 4 to unidentified Arwing, Gothic was heard over Slippy's com which his translator unit pronounced in the Lesser Gothic language that the denizens of Lylat used, Stay out of offensive and defensive line of fire.

"Copy that," Slippy reported, "Hey, aren't you still dropping bombs?"

We're taking extensive damage. We will attempt to retreat back to a minimum safe distance. Do you copy, Admiral?

God-Emperor damn it all! Nero's voice blazed over the coms, If we had know that Chaos had a substantial air presence here. Withdraw immediately…we can't very well sacrifice the only aircraft crew we currently have.

Well, so much for that, Falco muttered, Fox, the tin-cans and the t-shirts are gonna have extended play…SHIT SLIPPY! LOCK OUT!

Falco's shout startled Slippy when he realized that a Claw was heading toward him without intent to shoot him down, but rather to crash into him as it dodged the bomber's defensive fire and the Lightnings that were pursuing.

"WHAAAA…!" Slippy shouted.

EVASIVE MANUEVERS, ARWING! One of the Lightning pilot's exclaimed, INCOMING!

The Chaos Claw made impact with Slippy Arwing, taking off all of Slippy left wing and shattering the canopy. He screamed out loud…

"ARGHHHH!"

…as he closed his eyes to avoid bits of glass which embedded themselves all over his face, causing him to let go of the controls to pick them out. Falco looked on in the horror as Slippy's Arwing fell out of the sky amidst the massive dogfight above the train complex, before he locked onto the attacking Arwing…

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

…and destroyed it. Slippy gritted his teeth and slightly opened his left eye, just enough to know he was about to crash. He reached for the control stick and pulled upwards so that when he made impact on the ground within the admin grounds of the base, his only his remaining wing tore off as most of the hull, following by rapturing the G-Diffuser and skidding across the grounds. He was then thrown from the cockpit when the Arwing slammed into wall and he was thrown out of it and landing on the pavement in front of the MacBeth Distribution Office building.

His face was a mess, as well as his jump suit, which was bloodied and torn with fresh cuts and bruises marring it. He had lost his trademark cap and he could taste blood, with the bile reaching his throat before he sucked it back down as he moaned in pain. Left arm covering his chest and struggled to get back on his feet and turn to look at his shattered Arwing.

He snorted painfully, "Well…this sucks."

Slippy, NO! Come in Slippy…COME IN! Fox, Jacques, Katt, Falco…? He's down!

Jacques was incensed to hear Krystal cry in despair as the sound and screams of Slippy crashing into the admin block was heard on the secured flight channel of the coms. Already he was on edge over whatever horrible fate was in store for the frog if the Emperor's Children got their tainted gauntlets on him. He gritted his teeth and spun toward the Landmaster leading the Space Marine and Cornerian advance into the base.

"Damnation! Damnation! DAMNATION!" Jacques bellowed in frustration, before tapping his vox, "Fox, did you…?"

Goddamn it Jacques, I heard the transmission as well! Just tell me that we're close to his position so we can pull him out of there.

Calgar looked up at Solar in the sky to see the dogfighting and the passing Marauders, seeing as how they had stopped their bombing run and were attempting to pull out. He looked ahead to see the devastation they had caused in the form of scorched earth, bombed out buildings and shattered roads and pavements. He looked over at Tigerius, he shook his head earnestly.

"Negative, McCloud," Calgar responded, "The Arwing crashed on the other side of the administration area. Which is where the Cadian 412th 1st Battalion will attack after the railyards. They can secure Toad then."

Fox breathed in and exhaled roughly, trying not to hyperventilate with fear and worry over Slippy. He responded as coolly as possible, "Shit…he just needs to keep his head down until they can pass through and take him along. And if the damn past is any indication…"

I advise you to not doubt his instinct for survival, Fox, Jacques noted menacingly to Fox, It served him well back on Papetoon and the Beltino Space Station.

Fox exhaled and muttered, "Suppose not."

O'Reilly glanced side to side as he held a double-barreled heavy blaster in his left hand, his right hand inching towards the combat knife in it's sheath on his left hip. The men in his command were in pairs as they scattered themselves around the Ultramarines marching in tight formation. A Space Marine was at least twenty steps close to the other, with Calgar and his Honor Guard in the middle, with Cassius and Tigerius and his left and right hand respectively.

So far they had encountered no resistance, as true to intel that the enemy were retreating and they had been progressing forward slowly, allowing the bombs to drop ahead of them. But now that the air strikes had been aborted it was inevitable that they were going to be attacked sooner then they had thought. And ever since the Ork WAAAGH! on MacBeth last year O'Reilly had been training himself vigorously hand-to-hand, as seemingly every other military force in the universe had some sort of blade training.

And that training was immediately put to use when suddenly a naked, furless male feline cultist unburied himself from the ground behind him and lunged at him with a knife. O'Reilly spun around as he unsheathed his combat knife and instantly drove it up through the lunging cultist jaw and through his brain, snuffing him out instantly. He pulled his blade out and let the gargling feline drop to the ground, choking on his own blood and brain matter before dying.

"INCOMING!" O'Reilly cried as the shrill screams and cries of lust and sensuality assaulted the air.

Jacques turned his head to see that the colonel had killed a cultist, before looking back to a pink-skinned, velociraptor-like daemon with a daemonette riding upon it slammed itself into him. It sent him sprawling onto his back, knocking Eden and Nemesis out of his hands as it tried to wrap it's long tongue around his neck. Jacques gritted his teeth as he gripped the tongue with both his fists.

The daemonette smiled and patted the Steed of Slaanesh she rode on, "You know you can never resist her."

The steed howled when Ultramarine took aim at it and fired, it's cry immediately silenced when Jacques tore it's daemonic tongue. He then concentrated intensely to unleash a psychic attack that caused the steed and the daemonette to be blasted back into the warp in pinkish flame, the daemonette screaming in agony.

"Foul daemons approach us!" Tigerius exclaimed, then gripped his force staff and plasma pistol, "To arms, my brothers and you dogs!"

Daemonettes and cultists riding the Steeds of Slaanesh came galloping towards the Ultramarines and the cultists. Fox cracked his knuckles and gripped his driving controls as the fighting men took aim and begun firing at the approaching Slaanesh loyalists. Jacques recovered both his swords and immediately swung Nemesis, beheading the cultist armed with a chainblade riding it, before spinning around and driving Eden into the steed, killing it also. He then raised his left gauntlet with the storm bolter and blasted more cultists off their steeds. The steeds altered course and lunged for the Ultramarine, and particularly Tigerius.

The Chief Librarian grinned raised his right hand holding the plasma pistol to his head and the psychic hood he wore as he concentrated, before firing a massive wave which incinerated the daemon with holy writ and sent them back to the warp. Calgar pounded his gauntlets together, then raised his left fist into the air…

"FORWARD, MY BROTHERS!"

…. as cheers broke out amongst the Marines and the Cornerians as they charged forward into administration sector to meet their daemonic and cultic enemy. Fox rolled his Landmaster forward besides the Predators, taking point and firing their plasma cannon and lascannons at the charging enemy. The Cornerian rushed forward and took cover towards behind the tanks, providing cover fire for the Space Marines as they charged forward, bolters and swords drawn. The Assault Marine squads were the first to dive in, chainswords whirring followed by the Tactical and Terminator squads, while the Devastators kept near the tanks and the Cornerian, also providing cover fire.

Fox kept firing his plasma cannon at the approaching daemons and cultists, sending many flying in the air as the shots hit the earth near them. He stopped firing when the Marine came in to melee. Calgar's and his Honour Guard threw themselves into the fight, their ornate armor, short swords and gauntlets immediately glistening with cultic and daemonic blood. Letting loose with holy fury, Cassius swung his mace and sent a daemonette and her steed flying, before bringing it down on a lying incapacitated cultist and practically splattering him into the ground.

Jacques swung both his sword and sliced down Slaanesh loyalists and daemons to his left and to his right, thoughts of the members of Star Fox giving him the will to fight. He spun towards the Terminators blazing away with their storm bolter, heavy cannon and flame-throwers, and saw how they cut down cultist and daemon left and right, blood covering much of the earth they stood on.

'Where are the Emperor's Children?' he thought, 'Surely they would have noticed how advance after them?'

He stopped his swordplay for a moment to tap his vox, "Slippy…Slippy, can you hear me? At least whimper to let me know you are alive."

Nothing but static was on the other line.

"Damn!" he exclaimed, then sensed a daemonette charging him from behind, prepping his storm bolter as he spun around and blasted her head off.

Having heard Jacques' futile plea to Slippy, Fox couldn't stand sitting in his Landmaster doing nothing. He changed the gears and rolled forward towards the centre of the battlefield, startling the Cornerians having taken cover behind him. The Ultramarines saw his approach and were wise to get out his way. Cassius spun around to see him and immediately darted towards him and jumped up onto the tank.

Fox cringed when he felt the heavy weight on top, and was about to say something when Cassius immediately bounded off the Landmaster and throwing himself into a small group of advancing cultists, knocking them all down and finishing them off with his plasma pistol. Jacques was startled at seeing Fox advance forward ahead of him and the Space Marines.

"Fox!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

Going ahead, Fox responded, Slippy's in trouble!

Calgar smiled, silently thanking the green frog for giving Fox cause to go ahead and risk his own fur.

"Devastator, Terminator and Predator Annihilators, follow him," the Lord Macragge commanded, "Tactical and Assault squad, keep in rank behind them. Tigerius, the 412th?"

Tigerius checked his auspex and reported, "Advancing now."

Jacques gritted his teeth as the Ultramarine/Cornerian battle force plowed forward into the base, still attacking cultists and daemonettes that got in their way. He looked up to see Krystal still in the air, and heard he squeal…

"JACQUES, I SENSE…BEHIND YOU…!"

A daemonette was about to slash at him with her claws when he heard suddenly exploded, and her body dissipated into the warp afterwards.

La'Jakob licked his lips as his finger brushed the trigger and his synthetic eye looking through the scope.

"Nice shot," La'Tash voiced his astonishment at seeing the gue'la take down a daemonette, shooting right past his left ear.

Jakob pulled the rifle bolt back and discharged the empty slug casing, "I thought he would have sensed her coming at her from behind."

The other Pathfinders kept their allies in sight as they trudged along the rooftops, firing away with their carbines, rail rifles and one Existus rifle, providing cover for the humans and furries below. La'Jakob saw that the Chaos Marines were not part of the fight and this immediately worried him. That worry turned into brief horror when…

"RAPTORS! ABOVE US!"

….he looked up to see Emperor's Children Raptors descending, chainswords active and boltpistol blazing. Jakob aimed the heavy rifle up at the nearest one and pulled the trigger, blasting him through the chest but still he descended. La'Jakob knew that he and his team were going to get turned into mincemeat if they stood their ground; on the other hand they would no longer be able to provide cover for the Marines and Cornerians below.

He quickly ruminated that they wouldn't do much good if they were dead, and so ordered desperately, "QUICK, OFF THE ROOF! BELOW FLOOR, NOW!"

Firing upwards at the attackers they all tore down the fire escape stairs which lead up to the roof, quickly and cleanly without any casualties save for one Pathfinder receiving a bolt to the shoulder. Jakob tripped and fell down the stairs, immediately pulling out his SMGs and firing up at the door at the first Raptor to follow them. The Pathfinder fired their carbines at the Raptor, their combined fire managing to knock him back out the door.

"Change of plans!" Jakob exclaimed as Tash and another Pathfinder helped him up, "To ensure our survival, we must link up with our allies out on the battlefield."

"It's better then staying here," another Pathfinder agreed, "Lead the way."

Feeling a bruised rib in his left cage resulting from his trip down the stairs, La'Jakob and the Pathfinders made their way down through the building towards the ground floor, where they would blast their way out of the foyer and out into the administration block. They met no resistance save for a sword-swinging cultist who leapt out in front of La'Jakob…

"YAH!"

…who proceeded to swing both his SMGs across his face in a left hook, right hook manner then kicked him straight in the jaw and knocked him down and out. They exited the building and were met with a squad of Noise Marines, their weapns primed and ready to fire at them. La'Jakob awaited his end, which was narrowly adverted when Krystal's Arwing descended from the sky and fired her plasma cannon down at them, piercing through their armor and killing them off effortlessly.

La'Jakob heard Krystal through his com, Chaos has control of the sky, in more ways then one.

Guessing that she was referring to both the Claw fighters and Raptors, La'Jakob sighed and muttered, "It cannot be helped. We will provide long range support for our forces on the ground from as far as possible."

All right. Can you use your markerlight drone to give me and my friends clear targets?

"That is affirmative, Krystal," La'Jakob said, then called to his team holding the Exitus rifle with his right hand, "Let us move out!"

Watching them through the scope of a missile launcher from behind a window from the building the Pathfinders had fled from, a human cultist smirked as he readied to pull the trigger and fire the high-explosive missile that would take them all out with one shot. His targeter indicated TARGET LOCK and was about to pull the trigger when he heard the sound of electricity behind her.

Then felt two sharpened blades pierce through him back and impale him. Killed instantly he toppled forward out the window and landed on the roof of an abandoned ground truck, shattering it's windows and setting off the alarm.

The Eldar Warp Spider Exarch looked down at his handiwork, before disappearing in a blue haze.

The Imperial Guard advanced slowly in rank through the railyards, thousands of Guardsmen with attached Grenadiers marching up front in file while the Leman Russ tanks kept to the back, the Hellhounds and Chimera APCs with their Kasrkrin passengers intact, armed with their hell-lasers, plasma rifles and grenade launchers. Cadian-pattern Sentinels led the way for the whole battalion, as did the hundred battle-standard bearers marching forward. It was an extravagant sight, seeing the Cadian 412th in their thousands march into battle…and not fire a single shot yet.

In the center of their army also march General Sturnn and the command squad, Commissar Plymouth immediately getting restless as they heard the sounds of battle between the Space Marines and the cult groups, but so far they haven't being locked in confrontation with Chaos itself. Sturnn looked over at Plymouth…

"You should be careful what you wish for, Commissar."

Suddenly the sound of something falling from the sky caught their attention, before massive blasts of green plasma landed before the army as they approached the buildings of the administration block, shattering structure and unfortunate Guardsmen that were up front. Sturnn gritted his teeth as he moved his hand to shield his eyes from the blur.

"Cornerian plasma artillery!" he exclaimed, "The Fallen Space Marine must have gotten their hands on it!"

The vox-caster Guardman in his squad cried out as his the many distress calls coming through hit him like a stone, "General! Incoming enemy formations!"

As the plasma and dust faded about a hundred steel boots could heard before the majority of the Emperor's Children 13th Company were seen marching towards the Cadian 412th First Battalion, flanked by a hundred daemons, several corrupted Dreadnoughts, Defilers and Predators and thousands of cultists. The cult groups were mostly human not wearing the mark of Slaanesh on their heads but extravagant clothing. Each one of the cult groups was snarling with blades and laspistols drawn and the daemons sharpened their talons, ready to sink them into human flesh. The Chaos Marine all marched in a straight horizontal line, many of which held the battle standard of the Emperor's Children.

"IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!" they bellowed their ironic insult of a war cry, "DEATH TO HIS FOES!"

The priests and zealots in the Imperial Guard all screamed fanatically, "HERETICS OF CHAOS, YOU FACE YOUR DOOM!"

General Sturnn shouted in the vox, "WE FIGHT IN HIS NAME! CHARGEEEEEEEE…!"

The artillery from the Basilisks and the Defilers at the very back both armies begun raining their payloads on the enemy as both the 412th and the Emperor's Children charged one another, weapons blazing and battle standards and flags raised as both armies converged on each other. Laser, bolter, sound waves and daemonic fire were exchanged as the soldiers of the Imperium all cried out as one while the Chaos Marines and cultist as they marched and charged respectively with guns firing, all cackled and laughed maniacally as the sensations of battle enraptured them. The daemonettes and their steeds wailed as they charged.

The Guardsmen made way for General Sturnn and the command squad as they ran to get to the front of the battle, weapons bared. The cultists were the first to make melee contact with the Imperial Guard, with their blades against the Guardsmen bayonets and sergeant's chainswords and power swords. Sturnn and Plymouth showed no hesitation as they threw themselves against the enemy.

Sturnn grunted with exertion as he swung his lightning claws as the nearest cultists, slashing his throat open before kicking his body away and hurling himself against a lupine cultists and dodged his claw strike, before hacking both his arms off and firing his storm bolter into his face.

"FEAR ME!" Plymouth cried as his fired his laspistol at close range at the cultists while raised his saber into the air for the Guardsmen following to see, "FOLLOW ME, GLORY AWAITS THE FAITHFUL!"

The Commissar then brought sword down and chopped the head of another charging cultist, before parrying the advance off another and thrusting the blade through the sternum of another. He reveled in the righteous bloodshed, but was momentarily disgusted when a priest's eviscerator hacked apart another enemy.

The cultists, though more skilled in hand to hand then the regular Guardsmen all fell against the overwhelming numbers of the Imperial Guard. Many of them were shot in their place by the Imperial laser and special weaponry as they charged, and when they got close to melee they had to contend with the Guardsmen's bayonets. Next came the Chaos Marines, their vehicular support and the daemonettes. The Noise Marines fired their sound blasters, tearing apart dozens of Guardsmen instantly, the combined laser fire on them gradually wearing them down before descending artillery shell set them flying, leaving other Chaos Marines to take their place and continue firing.

The Chaos Predators rolled forward, chain-link bolters tearing apart more Guardsmen and their cannons firing at the closest Imperial vehicle. A Hellhound, fresh from burning a group of daemonettes away, received a cannon shot to the fuel tanks and it exploded in a hellstorm, sending nearly a hundred Guardsmen flying, lasguns and body parts scattering everywhere. The Imperial Leman Russ' turned their attentions towards the Emperor's Childrens' Predators and both tank variation exchanged fire, one Predator immediately blown apart while two Leman Russ' received extensive damage.

The massive battle ranged on for six more minutes, with hundreds of Guardsmen, dozens of daemonettes and at least four Chaos Marines dying every minute. Unknown to them a massive rocket-powered box-like spacecraft descended behind the Imperial lines, where within it's mighty cargo slowly came to life and prepared to roll out.

The Cadian standard bearer of Sturnn's command squad held on the flag standard as high up as he could before he was hacked down by a daemonette, who in turn was blasted away by a chain-lightning throwing psyker. Sturnn lunged towards another daemonette and hacked her physical body down. Chaos Raptors descended from the sky towards amidst the massive air battle already taking place high above.

Suddenly the Chaos lines was struck with a massive explosion courtesy of a massive super-heavy tread tank rolling towards the back of the 1st Battalion. It was armed with massive cannon with a co-axial Autocannon, three twin-linked Heavy Bolters (one sponson-mounted on either side, and one turret mounted on the front hull slope), two sponson mounted lascannons on either side (sharing a sponson with the heavy bolters), and lastly, a fixed-forward hull-mounted Demolisher cannon

Distracting the Raptors as they descended, the command squad was able to defend themselves against their chainswords, allowing Sturnn to strike forward with his lightning claws and the melta-gun equipped Grenadier attached to the squad to open fire and melt the legs beneath one Raptor incapacitating him.

"The Baneblade is online, general!" the vox-caster Guardsman declared almost joyfully, "They've blasted a line in the Chaos defences leading into the administration sector. Reports are already coming in of platoons entering the sector…"

"And pray more able to join them!" Sturnn exclaimed as he dodged a chainsword swing and fired his storm bolter at close range into the Raptor.

Slippy felt like he was going to faint with shock when he saw his reflection from a shattered piece of window glass lying on the ground. As if a human hand had scratched him vertically he had four long slashed down his face and over his eyelids, and one large gash across his forehead. Pieces of canopy glass were still embedded in his face and using the crude mirror he picked them out painfully.

"Ow…ah…gah! ARGH!" he screamed when he pulled a large piece from his forehead.

When he heard loud maniacal pleasure-filled laughter come from behind the building he stood before he bit his tongue as he tried to quell his pain and fear, believing that the Slaaneshi Marines and cultists could smell it and lead straight to him and a slow, carnal-violating death. He limped back to his totaled Arwing and struggled to get back into the cockpit. He reached into the glove box and pulled out his laspistol…and a combat knife. He looked at it curiously, relented, then gritted his teeth and forced himself to handle it.

'I know for sure I'm gonna go melee at least once,' he thought, 'Crap, wish I took Jacques up with his fencing training last year.'

SHIT, SLIPPY! Falco all but screamed over the com, FUCKIN' MOVE ALREADY! HORN-HELMETS ON YOUR SIX!

"What? ARGH…!"

Slippy narrowly dodged a bolter slug as it flew above his head and took off part of the canopy as he leapt out of the Arwing. He whimpered in fear, finally feeling scared for his life as Chaos Marines appeared from behind the rubble of the Predator, eyeports glowing with bolters and sound blasters loaded and charged. He begun to take off as the Marines started firing, their targeters attempting to lock onto to the small stature of a frog.

Slippy wailed in agony as he felt the sound blasters fire at him, causing him to cover his ears to block out the sound, but already feeling his eardrums pierced and a high pitch squealing echo around him. He unblocked his ears to fire his laspistol at the nearest stationary Chaos Marines, striking him in the left eye and causing an enough annoyance to make him stop firing his bolter.

"Blasted amphibian!" that Marine growled through his vox-vocaliser, "Time to die!"

A Noise Marine's targeter locked on the fleeing amphibian and pulled the trigger of his sound blaster, firing a arc of piercing wailing at him, which swept past his ears. Immediately the ringing in his ear grew loud enough he swore it literally rattled his brain, and blood begun to seep from his ears. Shrieking in agony, he dove through a window into a storeroom of another building.

Slippy immediately clutched his chest and vomited.

"Oh…God…" he moaned.

"RAARGHHHH!"

Slippy looked up, seeing a small group of female cultists kick open the door into the store room charge at him from one of the backroom in the building. Blades unsheathed, bras unhooked and lust on their faces, Slippy swallowed what was left of the vomit about to be expunged and fired his laspistol, hitting one in the shoulder and knocking her down.

The others lunged at him, one cultist swept-kicked him off his feet, dropping his laspistol and his knife. The cultists stared lustfully down at him.

Panicked, Slippy swallowed loudly, "D…don't kill me, alright?"

The lead cultist smirked as she squatted and skimmed her blade down his chest slowly, "Don't worry, we'll get as much use of you before we decide to kill you. By them, you won't have the stamina left to stop us."

The frog's eyes widened as he struggled to get up, knowing full well what they meant, "No!"

A piercing wailing sound unlike the minions of Slaanesh caused the cultists to block their ears in pain, then suddenly they all screamed as they were cut down by the Eldar Howling Banshees that had appeared outside the store room and saved Slippy from their grasp. He wiped the blood of his face to see the banshees standing outside the room, one of them pulling her blade out of the back of a cultist.

He eyebrows queered confusingly, "Simulation Bots series #1?"

The Eldar suddenly stepped out of view away from the storeroom, then blades connecting and parrying could be heard before more screaming and crying in pain. Slippy got up, grabbed his weapons…

"Hey! Wait for me!"

…and stepped out the room and onto a blood-splattered hallway decorated with the bodies of cultists and Cornerian soldiers wearing pink bandanna's and had the mark of Slaanesh on their combat vests., some of which were missing parts of their body. Up ahead Slippy saw a Banshee stick a cultist up against the wall with her power sword, his frightened eyes staring into her masked red ones, before she pulled out and disappeared out of sight, leaving his body to drop to the floor.

Slippy begun taking off after the Banshees, passing by the dead or dying Slaanesh loyalists. He kicked the door leading into the building's kitchen, seeing dead and mutilated Cornerian soldiers, their weapons missing and each missing an ear, and saw that the door leading out the back of the building was open. Stepping over the bodies he walked out the door.

And immediately had a dozen lasguns trained on him. Slippy freaked out and put his hands up, closing his eyes tightly.

"Don't shoot me!" he repeated over and over, visibly shaking in his place.

"Oi, it's that dumb frog from the space station," a familiar cockney accent said, "And he looks like he went through a machine."

Slippy opened his left eye and was surprised to find members of the same Imperial boarding party back on the Beltino station standing before him. There was the bearded sergeant Armiel with some olive-skinned officer with a ear-device attached to the side of his head with the name Zakhaev tagged on his armor. And there was Private Schultz at the background, eyes widened in surprise.

"So it is," Armiel responded as he lowered his laspistol, "By the looks of your less-then-pleasant face you're the xeno that crashed that Arwing not far from here?"

Slippy nodded his head and smiled, hands still raised, "Yeah, I am."

"Do we shoot him, sir?" Armiel asked the officer, "He may be contaminated by the Ruinous Powers?"

The blood left his face with fright, momentarily stopping his facial wounds from bleeding. Zakhaev stared at him, looking pensive, before shaking his head much to Slippy's relief.

"No," the lieutenant said, "We don't want the traitor Grey Knight on our backs if we kill one of his pawns. Stand down."

He waved his hand downwards the lasguns were all lowered and Slippy toppled forward with physical and mental exhaustion. He held himself up with one hand as he felt his forehead with the other, seeing that his wounds hadn't clotted yet and was still bleeding.

Taking his officer cap off Zakhaev stepped over and got on one knee, and prodded Slippy on the back with his boltpistol, "Tell me if you're of any use to us or we'll leave you here to bleed."

Slippy frowned and replied, "I'm an engineer."

The officer smiled, "That can be useful. Medicae?"

A Guardsman carrying medical supplies on his back with the Red Cross stamped on his helmet stepped forward, "Sir?"

"Tend to the injuries of this amphibian engineer and stitch him up. We're taking him with us. Give me the vox, we're contacting command and telling them we made it after all."

Slippy sat up and gulped again, "Stitch me up?

As Zakhaev walked away Armiel smirked and raised his laspistol to the side of his face, looking down at the amphibian, "Sorry, we don't have any of the fancy healy-dealies you furs have."

Slippy shrugged his lowered his head, "Suppose not."

Jacques grunted when he felt a las-blast strike him in the shoulder and he spun around to literally disarm the attacking cultist with the laspistol, hacking off his left arm with Eden, then drove Nemesis through his chest and pried the blade out and shoulder charged another cultist. Suddenly the sound of additional bolter fire above the Ultramarines own bolters could heard, one of the bolts passing over his head.

"Emperor's Children!" Jacques bellowed out loud, "They come!"

Fox and the Predator Annihilators held their ground when immediately Chaos Marines charged from the cover behind the buildings of admin, bolters and sound blaster blazing. A squad of Havocs followed close behind, carrying three missile launchers, two heavy bolters and one lascannon between them. The missile launchers targeted Fox and fired, prompting him to engage his hover thrusters and roll sideways out of harms way.

He fired a plasma blast and immediately sent the Havoc flying, but they quickly recovered and fired again. The heavy bolter Havocs begun firing upon the Cornerian soldiers, forcing those that were not torn to pieces instantly to take cover. O'Reilly punched the shoulder of a rocket launcher carrying Cornerian and yelled in his face.

"FIRE THE GODDAMN ROCKET, BOY!"

The Cornerian fired his rocket launcher towards the Havocs, detonating on impact and immediately sent on falling backwards, dead. The others, still alive but their armor badly damage and some of their exposed flesh seared. The Predator Annihilators fired their lascannons at the Havoc, blasting them again and killing two more. The Havocs took the hint and retreated.

All this time the Ultramarines did battle with the Emperor's Sons' Marine that charged. Jacques swerved his head to avoid a bolter round and charged, driving Nemesis through the chest of the attacking Marine, then receiving a chainsword slash to the back and causing him to drop Eden through the muscle spasm. He gritted his teeth and shoulder charged the Chaos Raptor, then punching him across the face, then thrusting Nemesis through his crotch.

He then kicked the Traitor Marine down, recovered Eden and drove it through his head. Another Chaos Raptor descended and swung his chainsword, Jacques managing to block in time. Suddenly Tigerius struck the Raptor with chained lightning, then the Chief Librarian ran to the Grey Knights aid, where he swung his power staff and shattered his soul with psychic power.

"Chief Librarian!" Jacques was surprised, "The Lord Macragge?"

Tigerius frowned and pointed upwards at the sky and the dogfighting between the Chaos and Imperial fighter squadrons, as well as Falco and Katt in the Arwings. Suddenly they saw noticed an Imperial Lightning fighter explode in midair and the flaming wreckage immediately crashed downwards towards them, forcing them to dive out of the way.

"The Lord Macragge can suffice for himself for the moment," Tigerius said, "Can you sense the daemonic taint is increasing by each passing minute. It is a miracle that the 412th has not been turned by the foul whispers of Slaanesh himself."

Jacques picked himself up and nodded, "I sense it. And from what I have seen when I close my eyes, it is enough to nearly make them bleed. What of the Cadian 412th?"

Tigerius spoke casually as they charged back into the gray, "They are advancing into this metropolitan like base little by little. The Armored Fist squads are taking the roads while the ordinary platoon are advancing through the corridors, train-cars, buildings and barracks. They are encountering stiff resistance."

Where is Commander Farsight and his crisis suit squadron? Calgar demanded over the vox, "Sturnn?"

The damn xenos disappeared right after they secured the landing zones for us! Sturnn growled, Blueskin…don't you think of betraying us right now!

Kindly calm down, General Sturnn, Lord Calgar, O'Shovah iterated in response, We are regrouping for another assault. We will engage in five min…

THREE minutes! Sturnn interrupted, We need every bit of Imperial and xeno hand to battlestation! The Emperor's Children have given up on their withdrawal, and they are not letting us destroy them quick enough in time for the enemy reinforcements to arrive.

Fox accelerated forward with the Predators as the Space Marines and Cornerians advanced. He asked, "Have 2nd Battalion landed yet?"

They will shortly, McCloud, Sturnn answered him, They will engage the approaching enemy reinforcments…

"…as they move to bolster our inevitable defenses here," Fox continued for him, "The plan's crystal to me. Let's just stay alive until then. Falco, Katt?"

Right here.

"You might want to consider watching out for us up there. I get the feeling those claws are gonna be gunning for us soon enough."

If we happen to shoot thme down…ah…if they get in our crosshairs, Katt said, sounding strained as she fought, If they get far enough for us not to follow them out or risk of getting our backs blown off…ow…then you're problem.

Fox sighed, "Figures. Krystal?"

Don't worry, Fox.

Krystal flew in low and swept over the tanks and the Space Marines in reassurance.

I'm not going anywhere. An Imperial APC convoy is nearing our position just on the over side of these structures. They're getting hit hard from the windows and could use some support.

The vulpine sighed louder, exasperated, "Just be careful, alright."

Krystal smiled, feeling happy that he trusted her enough to look after herself. She left the Space Marine/Cornerian forward advance area and towards another part of the base, where her radio com had picked up the distress of the Armoured Fist column. Suddenly two Claws were on her tail and she frowned, hoping that Falco, Katt and the Imperial fighter squadrons had kept them all occupied.

'I guess I can complain,' the vixen thought, 'Where are they coming from?'

"TAKE COVER!"

As gunfire erupted from the windows, the Guardsmen took cover behind the armored column, firing up at the windows where they could visibly see either cultist or Chaos Marine blazing away down at them. The officer in charge grimaced and adjusted his cap as he put his back against the Chimera APC, boltpistol in hand and his chainsword in the other. He leaned out of cover for a moment to fire up at one of the windows.

"I shouldn't be surprised!" he exclaimed, "This whole base is like a small city! And a death trap!"

"SIR!" the sergeant nearby cried as he fired his laspistol up at them, "What do we do now?"

The officer looked up at the sky to see the raging air battle above as Chaos Claw and Imperial Lightning fighters dueled for airborne supremacy, faintly making out the Arwing above. He tapped his earpiece vox and yelled into the receiver.

"To any friendly aircraft, this is Armored Fist #2! We're pinned down right below you need assistance now!"

He looked up at the sky again and sighed when he noticed that solitary Arwing shaking off two pursuing Claws and diving downward towards them.

This is Krystal. Allow me… came the Cerinian's response over the vox caster.

Krystal circled around the office building, and from the southern end could see the Armored Fist column pinned down by the Chaos Marines bolters, cultist snipers and missile launchers. Biting her lip in determination she piloted her Arwing closer so that she was hovering in front of the 11th and 12th floors where the cultists were stationed. Just as they were about to redirect their fire onto the Cerinian, she opened up with her laser cannons and blasted both floors, phasing the cultists out of existence and reducing most of them to ash. One smoking Slaanesh cultist corpse tumbled out of the body and landed half-a-click below onto the ground, which messily shattered into pieces upon impact.

The Imperial officer leading the column ducked out of cover behind the middle Leman Russ and tapped his helmet vox, "Much better, Cerinian. Thanks for the assist. We're heading on out now, over."

Right, Krystal response came back through his vox, the voice somehow strangely soothing this facially scarred veteran junior officer, Keep an out for McCloud. He's close to your waypoint towards the Chaos headquarters. Over.

"Acknowledged," the officer responded, waving Krystal's Arwing off as she flew away towards another part of the complex. He then addressed his men with his vox, "Forward."

Two Claw Bombers came hurtling towards the column, immediately drawing Krystal's attention. Their support gunners immediately blazed away at the vixen's Arwing, who barrel rolled to avoid their shots. She then swooped in towards them and fired two separate charge shots, which homed in and hit both their right wing tips, causing them to tilt slightly and slow.

Krystal u-turned and slowed down behind them, immediately firing away at the rear of both Bombers, their gunners immediately firing at her. Her shields held long enough for her to down both Bombers, one of them exploding immediately when she struck it's arsenal head on. The other hurtled downwards and crashed into a warehouse, the ensuring explosion scattering pieces of it everywhere and making sure all combatant from both sides in range to duck for cover.

Fox noticed saw the explosion just up ahead and around the corner leading towards the Finances sector of Administration as he gritted his teeth and plowed forward in his Landmaster, plasma cannon blazing away at the Chaos machines of war that stood in his way. Two Chaos Predators appeared from behind the corner of a building and rolled into view, prompting Fox to start firing, but only managing to hit their bulldozer-like blades. The two Chaos Predators immediately fired their autocannons at Fox, who immediately sustained two hits. He then who gripped the controls and immediately engaged his tank's thrusters rolled sideways to the left to avoid the another couple of hits, which exploded in a hellstorm behind him.

He then engaged the Landmaster's bottom thrusters and took off into the air, the Predators' cannon aiming upwards at him. He aimed his plasma cannon downwards in return and fired a homing charged shot which rattled one of them and caused massive damage. It was there that the Space Marine Devastator Squad and their Predator Annihilator support made their move. The Ultramarine Predator Annihilators fired their twin-linked lascannon at the damaged Slaanesh Predator and blew it to the pieces.

The other enemy Predator fired at the Ultramarine Predators, immediately causing the Devastator Squad to seek cover behind it. They engaged their targeters and locked on to the enemy tank, with the Battle-Brothers armed with the lascannon and the missile launchers fired away at the enemy Predator, causing more damage and stalling it. It was this time that Fox begun to descend back down to the ground, and he begun firing his plasma cannon at the remaining Predator, and finishing it off with a spectacular explosion, which left a medium-sized crater.

Fox smirked and engaged his com, "I'm glad you guys managed to catch up."

We never expected you would take off like that, the sergeant leading the Devastator squad responded with glee, Even if it was because of your attraction to Mortensen's charge.

The vulpine's smirk faded, 'Mortensen's charge?'

Krystal blushed, overhearing the Marine Sergeant's words. Unfortunately her momentary lapse in concentration had her hovering above the office buildings, immediately encouraging the bunkered down cultists to fire up at her, bolter rounds mingling with laser fire. She gasped and gripped her controls as she attempted to steer but…

"Oh NO!"

…the tip of her left wing was blown away and the hull where he G-Diffuser was sustained a critical hit, , fire and smoke immediately bellowing from her engines and causing her to tilt sideways to the left. Fox saw the flaming Arwing in the sky and panicked.

"Krystal!" he exclaimed.

I've taken damage! came Krystal's hurried reply, G-Diffuser had sustained damage. I'm on fire!

Fox gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "I can see that! You're gonna have to land that thing and bail out!"

That…is a good, yet obvious idea! Jacques cried, sounding angry towards Fox, then to Krystal he sounded sincere, Krys, land as close as you can towards our forces.

Argh…I'm burning up…going to have to land on a rooftop.

'Shit! Shit! SHIT!' Fox cursed in his head, 'And those fanatics are holed up in nearly every admin block here!'

Fox…FOX! Jacques boomed over the com, hoping he had interrupted Fox from any worrying thoughts, How far are you from Krystal's position?

The vulpine gnashed his teeth and accelerated forward, "No need to ask me, Jacques! I'm going to get her right now!"

Krystal carefully guided her burning Arwing towards the nearest office or warehouse building with a landing pad installed on top of it, amidst more gunfire from the Chaos Marines and cultists on the ground and the Claw fighters in the air. She found the suitable, flat roof of a office building and directed herself towards it. Unfortunately cultist within the building noticed her descent towards their building and quickly headed for the roof, weapons free.

One of them, a sensual-looking human female cultist in black gear reminiscent of S&M licked her lips with a loud slurp, "Fresh meat. Here's hoping it's a she."

The moment Krystal landed on the roof and jumped out (luckily not sustaining any burn-related injuries), she was engaged by several semi-naked pink painted male Slaanesh cultists who entered the roof through the stairwell door, all oft hem brandishing knives and ornate boltpistols, with the leader armed with a chainsword. Upon seeing her on the landing platform, they all licked their lips sensually as twisted desire kicked in, Krystal reached for her staff and extended it, her blaster secure in her other hand.

"Hey baby," the lead cultist loudly flirted, "That's a big staff you got there. Think you can use that on me?"

If the way vengeance was written all over her face could kill, Krystal would have even brought the Despoiler himself to his knees in an instant, "In what way?"

"C'mon, you Cerinian whore!" the leader smirked, "If you're gonna be that way we'll make do with your corpse!"

Krystal wrinkled her nose vehemently, 'Why do they always call me that?'

The leader fired his boltpistol, and Krystal deflected the rocket-propelled slug with her staff as she charged, which it immediately blasted away part of the landing pad. The cultist leader then gripped his chainsword and swung it as Krystal's head, who quickly ducked and thrust her staff forward, impaling the leader. The leader gasped in pain, before he smiled as if he was experiencing something wonderful, as if it were an orgasm.

"Ohhhh…yeah…" the leader groaned pleasurably.

Disgusted, Krystal pulled her staff out and fired her blaster into his face, blowing half his skull away. She then turned her attentions towards the other cultists who charged her at once. She immediately swatted one across the face and downed him instantly. Another cultist lunged forwards and slashed her across the left shoulder, cutting through her jacket and drawing blood; she gnarled in pain and drove the blunt part of her staff into his face, knocking him backwards into another cultist.

She swung her staff at the next cultist and knocked the gun out of his hand, sending it flying off the roof and towards the ground below. She then slashed him downward from his face to his chest, killing him instantly. Of the cultist she knocked down earlier, she fired her blaster at his head and killed him. The other cultist who had been knocked down as well got up and lunged at her. His blade clashed with her staff, where Krystal expertly parried and slashed him across the throat.

He stumbled backwards clutching his slit throat with blood pouring out in torrents. He then glared at the stunned vixen and lunged at her, wrapping his bloodied hand around her throat to try and strangle her, throwing her down on the ground and dropping her staff and blaster. She gasped out loud as she tried to reach for her blaster, which was the closest weapon to her.

Feeling her vision beginning to fade, she drove her clawed finger into his eye sockets and pierced his pinkish orbs. He tried to scream in pain despite the slash in his throat, and before Krystal knew he expired and rolled off her, his blood having all ran out. Krystal gasped painfully and took large breathes as she hurried to fill her lungs with precious air.

After the light-headedness went away she recovered her weapons and rubbed her sore throat.

'By Cerinia, that was close,' she thought.

The Arwing behind her suddenly exploded, throwing her through the door leading off the rooftop and down a flight of stairs. Land roughly on the ground, she was dazed for a few seconds as the sounds of heavy footsteps made their way up the staircase towards her. She willed herself back onto her feet and gripped her with her left hand, her right feeling the back of her head, feeling her migraines flaring up again.

'I sense something truly evil here,' Krystal then thought, 'It's growing with strength every minute. What is it?'

Her thought were interrupted when suddenly a crude throwing axe struck the wall next to her head, the thrower a Slaanesh cultist. He looked up at her from below at the foot of the winding staircase as he pulled out his standard-issue Cornerian blaster. Delivering her own war cry she lunged down at him down the stairs just as he pulled the trigger. Krystal swung her staff to deflect the laser blast then. She then thrust her hand forward and put the point of the staff through his neck, killing him.

She then continued running down the staircase until the door leading into the 6th floor tore open a leathery glove-hand grabbed her by the wrist….

"AHH!"

…and pulled her into the office block and thrown on the floor. The human female cultist in leather smirked and gripped her whip tightly in both her hands.

"Fresh meat," she hissed, "And of the luscious Cerinian stock."

Surrounded by a dozen other cultists in elegant Slaanesh ceremonial dress she didn't waste rolling backward and onto her feet to avoid the nearest sword swing. Picking her staff off the floor she swung it gracefully and blocked over swing before striking the cultist across the face and swatting him away. The other cultists lunged at her and she parried, thrust and struck them all back. She kicked one cultist through a office cubicle, his head smashing through a computer. With another she put the point of her staff through the chest of another and blasting another through the head with her blaster. When they surrouned her again she called upon the elements of nature as she charged her staff for a ground quake, sending them all flying in different direction, two of which through the windows. Suddenly…

"ARGHH!"

…she was struck across the face and muzzle by the female cultist with her whip, causing her to drop her staff and fall to her knees as her vision blurred slightly, her left hand tending to the wound below her eyes which stretched from end of her face to the other. The whip cut deep enough to assure Krystal there would a scar there once if it would ever heal.

A/N: Think Iruka Umino from Naruto.

She gritted her teeth in pain and looked over at the cultist angrily, "Why?"

The cultist smirked, "To forever mark the Cerinians who lapped after the False Emperor as a damned species, and to avenge our brothers and sisters whom they eradicated back on Dark Cerinia."

What Krystal felt right there and then was completely alien to her, completely unnatural. She herself couldn't describe it, but if anyone else had felt it they would have sensed that it was rage. Rage, anger, livid, whatever it may be called she felt it and what she did next shocked her.

"Dark Cerinia?" Krystal hissed, vaguely remembering her childhood back on Cerinia and what the Chaos-worshipping Dark Cerinians would refer to their share of the planet, "It's just called Cerinia!"

She lunged at the female cultist, taking her by surprise. Krystal felt so angry at hearing her race and planet get insulted that she didn't feel the discomfort in her fists as she brought them towards the female cultist and begun pummeling her face, immediately shattering her nose and her fingernails drawing blood, some of which splattered on her.

"DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU, DAMN YOU!" Krystal screamed in anguish, still feeling agony in her face from the wound.

Jacques felt every muscle in his frame stiffen when he sensed anguish and rage come from Krystal within the office building he and his Battle-Brothers were fighting their way towards. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt shame, but not for her.

'Damn you, Chaos,' he thought irritant, 'You really do mark all of us, do you not?'

As he shuffled forward across the blackened, boomed steel roads and past buildings and structure both intact and bombed out, he noticed Fox's Landmaster parked outside the building with the smoke and flame on it's rooftop. He picked up the pace despite his straining muscles and the weight of his armor. He held both his swords so that the blades pointed backwards away from him, allowing him to move faster.

He saw Fox leaping out the tank and rushing towards the side of the building, presumably towards the back of the building.

'The front entrance was right there,' Jacques ruminated, 'Or if he is thinking one step ahead.'

A few moments later she relented her furious onslaught when she regained 'control' of herself, and was immediately horrified at what she did. Mouth agape and tears pooling in her eyes she stood up and backed away from the facially mutilated, barely breathing brain-damaged female cultist. Krystal looked at her bloodied hands, shocked to see that it was her that did this to her enemy.

'That…that was me?' she asked herself mentally, before clenching her hands into fists and reached down for her staff, 'I did that? I killed her with my bare hands…through my rage. She insulted the memory of Cerinia and I got angry. No…'

She extended her weapon and immediately put it through the cultist's chest and heart, promptly ending her life and somewhat deserved suffering. Krystal then moved her right hand across her face, gently feeling the wound underneath her eyes and hoping that it really wouldn't scar, or that if it did they would be able to remove it.

Krystal, she heard in her mind.

"Jacques?"

What had befallen you? Are you all right?

Krystal tapped her forehead, "I'm fine, it's just a scratch. How far are you and Fox?"

He is right outside the building. Go to him and get to safety. As far from here as possible.

Krystal frowned as she took off once again down the staircase. She snapped, "I'm not going anywhere, Jacques! You can't ask me to abandon this fight and leave you here..."

I did not suggest you retreat, Jacques interrupted sharply, This is your fight as well as mine, and every member of Order is concerned. I only suggested you recuperate then plunge right back in, right beside me and Fox.

Krystal was stunned, having believed he was asking her to sit the rest of the fight out, but instead to just recover herself and to continue fighting. If Fox could hear them, he wouldn't have been happy. She reached the ground floor and tore out the back door through the supply room, instantly confronted by…

"CHAOS CONSUME ME! SLAANESH PLEASURE ME"

…a wretched human/daemon hybrid encased in badly-damaged Astartes power armour. Half it's head was that of a daemonette, as in one half of his face was male and the other half a female. It's twisted daemonic arms and legs ended in talons and the sight made Krystal sick in the pit of her stomach. For a brief moment she felt sympathy for the Slaaneshi Possessed Marine, but when it lunged for her she realized that he had brought it upon herself.

"VIOLATE! DESECRATE! DEFILE!" Krystal gasped when the Possessed Marine directed those words to her as it attacked her, "EMBODIMENT OF FLESHLY DESIRE!"

Krystal ducked under it's claws as they scraped across the wall, tearing pieces of steel. She attacked with her staff, swinging it against the Possessed, who caught it with it's right claw, then reared up it's left claw for a strike. Krystal quickly focused the warp to enact a psychic shield around her which deflected it's attacked, but the sheer physical force sent her falling back.

The Possessed's two-faces smirked and tossed the staff aside as it converged on the fallen vixen, before it felt a blaster shot against the back of it's head, tearing some of the daemonic flesh off. It spun around to see Fox running towards it, blaster blazing away as he held his combat knife in his right hand. It squealed and charged at him, swinging both it's elongating claws. The vulpine dodged both strikes and charged, switching knife hand from right to left, dropping his blaster, and driving it through the daemon's forehead…

…then pulled it out and drove it back in through a different angle, up the jaw and into the brain. He then pulled it out and drove it again into his skull from the side. All the while the Possessed writhed and contorted and gurgled as the vulpine's movements were too fast to comprehend. With that final attack through his skull it toppled over and died.

Fox pulled the knife out and approached Krystal, immediately horrified at seeing the slash across her face. She downcast her eyes as if in shame. He walked over to her and took her face in his hands.

"Are you all right, Krys?" Fox asked, eyes soft with emotion.

Krystal nodded and embraced him, head resting on his chest and closing her eyes as she let Fox's erratic heartbeat calm her. She lamented softly "They always say they're going to do terrible things to me."

Fox glared, her words as fuel for the metaphorical fire he wished to burn Chaos with, "And they never will, as long you have me."

Krystal opened her eyes, looking surprised, 'What about Jacques?'

"Ow…ow…ow…OW! That hurt!"

The medic hissed as he was nearly finished stitching the largest gash on his forehead, "Hold still xeno. I'm nearly done. There, done!"

The wounds on his face all stitched up, Slippy took the cloth and wiped the blood from his forehead. He turned the cloth then applied it to his face, and was relieved that the long cuts down his face weren't bleeding as badly as before, indicated by the little amount of blood there was on the other side of the cloth. He shot a glance at the sergeant, sitting against the earth mound, cradling his saber in hand as his laspistol laid as his feet.

"You set, frog?" Armiel asked, "Not gonna leak anymore?"

Slippy tried to sound jovial, "Nope, I'm A-Ok now…"

Armiel interrupted and stated, "Good…cause' if you slow us down I'll shoot you myself."

Zakaev stepped away from the vox-caster Guardsmen and boomed out, "Alright men, good news for once. More Guardsman squads and platoon are breaching enemy lines and advancing through here. Unfortunately they are being slowed by the Cornerian plasma artillery ascertained by the Chaos forces."

He was interrupted by the booming sound of firing cannons cutting into the air, and plasma sailing in the air above the platoon. One plasma explosion later the sound of men screaming and vehicles exploding complimented the lieutenant's words.

Zakhaev cleared his throat, "Yes…well. Now, we've been tasked with the objective in disabling the artillery, hopefully saving thousand of human lives. Any questions?"

Noticing he was hell of a lot smaller than any human here, two inches above their waists Slippy raised his hand awkwardly…

"Excuse me?"

All eyes turned to him, many looking at him with contempt.

"Er…can I have a weapon? Something more powerful than a pistol."

Zakhaev cleared his throat before saying, "Sergeant, give him Tureen's Kantrael pattern."

Armiel tossed Slippy a lasgun covered in blood, which ended up on Slippy's hand and causing him to suck in air with panic. He held the (comparing to his height) bulky weapon in his hand, where Armiel tossed two additional power magazines at his feet, also bloodied.

Having noticed his sickened looks with having human blood on him, the sergeant leered in close to the frog and haughtily whispered, "Don't shoot yourself in the foot, or whatever you call it."

The amphibian gulped softly as the rest of the platoon got up, dusted themselves off and reacquiring their weapons. Slippy saw Armiel approach Private Schultz as he put his helmet back on.

"Private," the sergeant spoke with authority, "You've in charge of the excess baggage. Don't lose him or, God-Emperor forbid, Command will shove a rod up each our asses."

"Yes sir," Vincent said.

The young Guardsmen then approached Slippy, who nodded in acknowledgment at him as the frog looked up at him. Surprising even himself at recognizing it, he could see the fear in the human's eyes at the thought of jumping back into the fray. He wondered sadly how humanity could live with itself sending boys his age with a lasgun and expect to hold his ground against such horror as Chaos. But then again, he may as well have been thinking about Jacques and his later youth as a Scout Marine.

As he stood up before Vincent, he asked him, "Hey Schultz?"

Vincent looked at Slippy with surprise, possibly over being talked to by a xeno, "Yes, xeno?"

Slippy frowned, "That wasn't nice."

Vincent swallowed and recanted, "S...sorry. Yes, Toad?"

He pointed at his face with a small smile, "Honestly, how do I look?"

The Guardsman rolled his eyes slightly as thought of how to respond honestly. He sighed and replied, "Like a feline scratching post."

Slippy's smile faltered and moved a hand over his face, feeling the scratches and the gash that would surely become scars once they healed and the stitches would have to be removed, forcing him to join the same club as Jacques. For a brief second he felt a sense of pride, where if anyone ever questioned he had ever fought a real battle against Chaos, they could take one look at him and too them it the reply would be a definite 'yes.'

"Hey Toad?"

Slippy looked over at the young Guardsman, now surprised at being talked to by a human himself in a soft manner, "Yep."

Vincent looked at the toad thoroughly, "About what happened back on Beltino Station…I…I didn't mean get up at you like that…"

The green frog looked at him oddly for a few seconds, before he broke out into a smile.

"Hey, no problem! We're all on the same sinking boat here!"

He then moved his hand to pat him on the back, causing Vincent to lean back away from him. Slippy stopped, and realized what he had almost done.

"Oh, right," Slippy rubbed the back of his head embarrassed, "You guys don't like being touched by non-humans. Sorry."

Vincent nodded and straightened himself. He then sighed, "Or shot in the head by a Commissar or burnt alive on sight by some priest."

Niel passed by and immediately growled at Vincent, "Quit making small talk with the fucking xeno, kid. We're moving out."

He then smirked eagerly at Vincent, taking a sideward glance at Slippy.

"This may be our lucky day. Martyrdom and glory awaits the brave."

Slippy gulped again, then reasoned like a fatalist, 'Guess this is what I get for hanging around humanity.'

He then frowned and slapped his forehead, holding his lasgun underarm.

'No, can't think like that,' he handled his lasgun in his hands, 'I've got people to watch out for, and even more people to go home to.'

Carbines and SMGs blazing, the Tau Pathfinder hobbled across the steel ground as they ran towards the Space Marines and the Cornerians, pursued by Chaos Space Marines who were only slowed down by the Tau plasma, receiving minor injuries. La'Jakob cursed this inwardly, knowing of the Space Marine's superhuman abilities and traits, and that he had watched Krystal get shot down as well.

'She has got have survived,' La'Jakob thought, 'Titania proves that the royal-born can handle herself.'

The Tau Pathfinder retreat was suddenly covered by the Ultramarine Assault squad who descended upon the Slaanesh Marines, chainsword coming down on their head, splitting one immediately in half. Ultramarines Terminators complimented the defense, allowing the Pathfinder to take cover behind a wrecked groundcar.

"Our allies must be getting close to the center of this base," one Pathfinder cried, "The Imperial Guard should be over our enemy like a literal flood."

La'Jakob wiped his forehead, which was coated in his sweat, "I hear you. Now let us find another vantage point so we can cover our allies."

"Right behind you, La'Jakob," La'Tash said, rail-rifle in hand.

Moving through the tight corridors between the office supplies depots Slippy fought to keep up with the Guardsmen, with Trooper/Private Schultz right behind him. The sounds of heavy breathing, grunting and equipment shuffling were irritant on Slippy's nearly ruptured eardrums, evident but the constant itching sensations and the deafening sounds of artillery were driving him crazy.

The sounds of Cornerian plasma artillery were growing louder as they advanced and the distress calls also grew louder, which meant they were getting close to their objectives. Soon they found themselves near a clearing controlled by corrupted Cornerian soldiers led by a Aspiring Champion, wearing both pink headbands and extravagant clothing over their vests and armed with Cornerian blaster rifles and lasguns.

Zakhaev raised his fist, signaling them to stop and remain in the corridor between the depots as he raised his magnoculars to his eyes and scouted the area. Machine-gun posts, barbed wire and portable steel cover situated around three large plasma cannons attached to hovering platforms with targeting computers built into the sides.

Looking grim, Zakhaev informed his men, "Twenty corrupt xeno soldiers and one Marine champion."

"You mean Cornerians Defence Troopers?" Slippy called out, eliciting hushes from the men, "Why are there Cornerian soldier fighting for Chaos?"

Armiel shrugged and nonchalantly stated, "Probably had perverted thoughts about their mates and officers when Chaos rolled on in, and that ensnared them indefinitely."

Slippy appeared disturbed, 'Tch…you can't blame people for having thoughts. But who would have thought that thoughts could get you possessed by the closest thing to the devil?'

Zakhaev signaled for Armiel to step up to him. The lieutenant whispered to the sergeant, "You have the explosives?"

"Sir," Armiel responded as he waved his hand at the Guardman carrying a large satchel on his back containing high-explosive bombs, "We've still got enough to level this whole clearing."

Zakhaev nodded, "We'll distract the heretics while you and your squad find a way around."

Slippy's eyes perked up when he thought Zakhaev was about to mention 'blow them up.' He pushed his way through the tight corridor and tapped the officer on the shoulder, who immediately shuddered over contact with a non-human.

"Y'know, we could take those cannons instead of blowing them up," Slippy suggested, voice mild, "I could program in new coordinates and drop plasma on Chaos' head."

Zakhaev rolled his eyes in thought, before he smirked. Armiel gritted his teeth with frustration.

"You are useful after all," Zakhaev turned to Armiel, "Cover the xeno. We'll get ready."

Armiel gave a throaty growl as he signaled his squad to follow him as they disappeared back down the alley to search for an alternative corridor that would lead them around the clearing towards the back of the artillery cannons. They were still firing and sending large wads of plasma into the air, irritating Slippy's ears as he trudged with the Guardsmen, with Vincent still on his tail.

Niel looked over at Armiel, "The lieutenant's kissing xeno ass now?"

"Just only this once, I hope," Armiel responded gruffly, "Remind me to stick that frog in the back with my knife for spreading his 'influence.' It'll be my ticket out of this system and back to Armageddon."

Niel looked over his shoulder at the determined-looking frog, 'Don't be so sure, sarge.'

They quickly and quietly made their way around the artillery emplacements away from the rest of the platoon, not attracting the attention of the tainted Cornerians and the Aspiring Champion. Zakhaev grabbed a frag grenade from one of his Guardsmen and hurled it at the emplacements, the explosion sending two Cornerians flying.

"CHARGE!"

Gunfire was exchanged between the tainted Cornerians and the Guardsmen, with the Slaanesh loyalists dashing behind their cover, while the Cornerian gunnery crews kept at their posts. From the other side of the clearing Armiel noticed their backs turned he grabbed Slippy by the shoulder and shoved him ahead of the squad, scaring him enough to nearly empty his bowels at the thought of marching ahead first towards the enemy.

"You first, heretical techpriest," Armiel whispered harshly, "We're right behind you."

Slippy nodded as he was shoved out of the corridor and into the clearing. The rest of the squad followed with their heads down as they stealthily approached the engaged tainted Cornerian and and Slaanesh Aspiring Champion. Unfortunately the Champion's Slaaneshi enhanced hearing could hear their footsteps and heartbeats, spinning around a firing his boltpistol towards Armiel and Slippy. The frog squealed and ducked, the bolt taking Armiel's left arm off.

"ARGH!" the sergeant screamed, "FUCKIN' HELL!"

The Aspiring Champion and the tainted Cornerians were now defending from both sides, with the now-down Armiel's squad and the rest of the platoon converging on both sides. The Aspiring Champion smirked as he stepped over toward the artillery cannons and stood his ground, firing his boltpistol at Slippy, who dove behind one of the portable covers.

"Foolish kemono!" the Aspiring Champion boomed out, "These xeno guns will bring us victory over you and your damned Imperial allies."

As he fired and chipped away at the cover with his boltpistol a faint light was shining on him from one of the windows of the warehouses overlooking the clearing. It begun to grow in intensity starting from a minor annoyance until he looked at the window and thought he saw a Eldar Seer before a blinding light struck him right between the eyes and his vision was impaired.

"AH!" he cried, closing he eyes as he felt them get seared by the blinding light.

Unexpectedly he was not firing blindly, but now relying on his sense of hearing to pick his shots. Now firing away from Slippy, the frog dove from cover and shakily aimed his lasgun and the nearest tainted Cornerian. He in turned raised his blaster rifle and fell forward onto the ground when Slippy fired and took his leg off.

Slippy dove behind the nearest artillery cannon for cover, immediately attacked by the gunner who was blown back as a sniper shot from an unknown source hit him square in the chest. Slippy spun around to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that saved him, but saw nothing save for the windows from one of the warehouses and nothing standing behind it.

"Simulation Bots Series 1," Slippy said to himself, "They're really real."

A roar of might interrupted the frog's thoughts, the Aspiring Champion appeared around the corner with his chainsword whirring in his hand and his eyes cauterized, rendering him blind. Slippy was fit to puke at the sight and turned to run but tripped over and landed on his stomach. He spun around to see the Champion converge on him, smiling evilly at him.

"I can hear your fear, frog!" the Chaos Marine exclaimed, "I may be blind, but I hear you…and will kill you."

The Aspiring Champion was hit on all sides by lasguns as the platoon moved in over the corpses of the tainted Cornerians. Lieutenant Zakhaev raised his boltpistol at the stricken Marine as his armor melted away with so many lasers firing at him. He aimed at his chest and fired, piercing through his melted armor and out the other end. He turned to a Guardsmen armed with a melta-gun, who fired the deadly 'cooker' and blew a massive hole in the Aspiring Champion's chest.

"And down he goes," Armiel groaned as he limped up to the officer and saluted with his remaining right arm, blood still leaking from the wound, "We've captured the weapons, sir."

Momentarily stunned at the sergeant minus his left arm, Zakaev returned the salute, "In the name of the God-Emperor go see the medicae. Xeno…?"

Slippy picked himself up and dusted himself off, "Yeah?"

"You know how to reconfigure these xeno-weapons?" Zakhaev stated, then ordered, "Then got to it."

Slippy frowned, 'What's the magic word? Honestly…'

Sitting up against the wall in the alley and covered by Cornerian troopers Krystal hissed quietly with discomfort as the Cornerian medic applied disinfectant on a swab to her facial wound, feeling a slight 'ssssss' sound as the substance eradicated whatever germs were in her wound. She was still feeling a slight sting from her bandaged left arm from the blood sample taken by another medic and which was currently being analyzed in his medical PDA.

The medic said as he read his PDA, "Scans check out. No abnormalities in your bloodstream or immune system, apart from the gash above your muzzle which unfortunately may become a scar, but we can treat that later."

"Thank you," Krystal acknowledge him, "That is a relief."

Fox stood nearby and watched her being treated, appeared angered at the sight of her and her wound, which the medics had declared that it was cut deep enough to leave a scar once it healed. Fox had restrained himself from punching the medic out and would have gone and asked the Space Marine Apothecary for help, but remembering that medical apparatus' designed for Space Marine would kill normal humans, and non-humans for that manner.

Fox, pick up the com if you'll still alive.

"Yeah, what d'ya want Falco?" Fox answered gruffly.

Oh, nothing…except we're getting pounded up here. My left wing's hanging by a thread and my human wingman next to me just had his canopy blown off.

"Can you hold out for a little while longer?"

If the good Lord Admiral will send another wing or two down here we'll manage.

"Maybe if you apologize about what you said?"

Well screw everything I said then. We're fine, just fine…please just keep going and blow these assholes away…AW SHIT, HEAD'S UP…!

"INCOMING!"

Fragment of a destroyed Chaos Claw descended towards Fox's position. He, Krystal, the medical personnel and the soldiers ducked out the alley as the Claw crashed in the alley, scattering dirt and pieces of scrap metal everywhere. Fox coughed out loud, before scrambling over to Krystal and helped her up.

"You alright?" Fox asked, grasping her gently by the shoulders.

Krystal nodded, "I'm fine. Where's Jacques and the other Marrines?"

"Right here."

They saw Jacques accompanied by Calgar, Cassius and Tigerius approach them. Jacques eyes nearly bulged out in shock and his mouth was agape when he saw Krystal and the gash on her face; he resisted going over to her and to trace a finger comfortingly over it as Fox was there beside her and that was his privilege. Krystal noticed his concern and gave a reassuring smile.

'It is all right,' Krystal said to him mentally, 'I will survive.

Fox gasped lightly and asked, "Any news on Slippy?"

"He is intact, McCloud," Tigerius answered, much to Fox, Krystal and Jacques' relief, "He is with the Cadian 412th who has just secured the Chaos artillery support."

And with that gripped their weapons just as a band of charging cultists approached them yards away, before plasma bursts from the air landed on them and vaporized them, leaving nothing save for their ashes. Fox smiled.

"I'm guess they haven't killed him."

Cassius frowned, "The Cadian 412th? Of course not, so long as our Coalition stands. Speaking of which, it is driving the remainder of the Emperor's Children to the center of the base, with the 412th in pursuit. All companies are using both the alleys and the roads and are meeting both stiff and minimal resistance depending on their routes and the General's Command Squad is moving ahead of the pack."

They all felt the ground rumble, with bits of shrapnel and metal tapping about on the ground. Fox raised his eyebrows and his eyes scanned the ground.

"I take it that can't be an earthquake?" Fox chided.

"No," Jacques answered, smiling, "The Imperial War Machine just yards ahead."

Calgar pounded his gauntlets together as the Space Marines regrouped in formation, "Onward, Brothers. Let us join the battle."

"WE FIGHT IN HIS NAME!" the Chaos Marines chanted as they charged, weapons blazing.

"WE FIGHT IN HIS NAME, HERETICS!" one of the Priests ahead of the Imperial Guards wailed as he charged, eviscerator whirring in his hands, before dodging a plasma gun shot and drove his two-handed chainblade into the Chaos Marine sergeant.

The thousands strong Cadian 412th continued forward through the base, lasguns and assorted special weapons firing wildly at the Chaos Space Marines holding their ground and were still inflicting heavy casualties on their loyalist cousins, laughing with the pleasure that comes from the kill. Artillery fire was still being exchanged, though the Basilisks situated in the trainyards were supplemented by the Cornerian plasma artillery captured by Slippy and Armiel's platoon.

Sturnn kept his head down and swerving left and right as he went melee against a trio of cultists. He sliced through one cultist, where Plymouth rushed to assist him, hacking down the remaining two with skillful slashes of his saber.

"You still here?" Sturnn demanded, "Shouldn't you be empowering the men to move forward?"

"Since you are no longer occupied, that is your priority!" Plymouth exclaimed, holding his saber with one hand.

"Of course," Sturnn replied, "Accompany me?"

"Of course, General!"

The Cornerian artillery batteries were set upon by more tainted Cornerian soldiers, with Slippy and the Guardsmen platoon establishing a perimeter, manning the plasma machine-gun posts in holding them back. With his PDA and multi-tool linked up to the artillery he continued feeding them targets to fire upon while taking cover and squatting between two of the cannons.

'Good thing Chaos didn't take out the targeting satellites in orbit around MacBeth,' Slippy figured mentally, 'Otherwise they wouldn't have inflicted that many casualties on us.'

"HOLD THE LINE, MEN OF CADIA!" Zakhaev cried, firing his boltpistol and killing another traitor Cornerian, "Kill the xeno! Kill the tainted xeno! Kill them all!"

Sparred on by his zealous words the platoon fought harder, their cheer sparking Slippy to keep on redirecting the artillery fire, his ears now bleeding profusely from the deafening sounds of the guns.

'God, I'm gonna be deaf by the time we're through,' he thought miserably, 'And implants for both ears fetch around ten-thousand tops.'

The slight sound of whistling cut through the air as Imperial-grade mortars begun descending on the artillery positions, forcing the men against their barricades and Slippy to put his head between his knees, whimpering slightly, but mostly from the pain in his cochlea.

'It hurts,' he thought.

Armiel growled as he mortars landed on top of him and the platoon for a half a minute, tearing five Guardsmen apart. Once the dust cleared the sound of men screaming battle cries was heard as about three platoons worth of tainted Cornerians charged into the clearing from all sides, Cornerian and Imperial-grade weaponry blazing in their hands.

"Damn it!" Armiel cried, then shouted to the lieutenant, "We're done for!"

A payload of missile from the air struck all around the fixed artillery positions, sending tainted Cornerians flying. Slippy looked up and was relieved at the sight of the Tau Crisis Suits led by O'Shovah arriving in time to assist him and Imperials. O'Shovah extended his Dawn Blade and immediately hacked apart five tainted Cornerians while the rest of the suits locked themselves in both melee and range combat with the cultists. O'Shovah then turned to Zakhaev.

"Humans," his translator unit chimed, "A massive cultist presence is converging on this position. We are here to relieve you. We will continue the plasma artillery fire from here."

"Good," the lieutenant responded, standing up straight and adjusting his hat, "We're just about tired guarding these xeno weapons. Much offence intended."

He then ordered his men, "Pack it up, men of Cadia. You too, Toad."

"What?" Slippy cried, finger in his ears as he tried to scrape the blood from his ear, 'Shit, I've gone deaf.'

"I SAID WE'RE LEAVING!" Zakhaev bellowed, "Sergeant, we're linking up with the Command Squad. Put the frog back on a leash."

As expected, Armiel grumbled, "Yes sir. Schutlz?"

"Yes sir?" the young Guardsman adjusted the strap on his helmet.

"You just drew the figurative short straw again."

Once the center of the administration district was a clean, pleasant place to take a walk through when not dealing with paperwork over transport of goods throughout the surface of the planet and the other worlds of the Lylat System. With gardens, trees of many varieties imported from the many worlds of the Lylat and fountains, it was a pleasant change from the grayness of the planet's surface outside the base.

Now it was a blood-soaked, debauched closest rendition of the Battle of Kew that could possibly exist thousands of years after that decisive battle. Human, Cornerian and tainted laid strewn about as the battle raged and heavy firepower was exchanged. Leman Russ' followed by the Baneblade in turned followed by thousands strong Imperial Guardsmen fired at the lined contingent of Chaos Predator tanks and Defilers lumbering forward, cannons alive. The Baneblade received the majority of the Chaos shots but proved to be extreme durable and one massive cannon shot later hundreds of Chaos cultists were sent flying. Defilers attacked two of the Leman Russ' and tore them apart, their crews ripped to shreds.

Sturnn gnashed his teeth as he lowered his magnoculars, seeing those tank crews die. He loaded another clip into his storm bolter and ordered…

"CHARGE!"

…with the Imperial war machine continuing forward. The Chaos enemy moved to engage once again, Chosen Terminators and Marines leading the way, with chanting, snarling cultists struggling to get past them and hurl themselves fanatically on their enemy. The Guardsmen and the Sentinels marched and hobbled respectively ahead of the tanks, their autocannons and bolters chipping away at the enemy.

Sturnn, Plymouth, his Commissariat escorts and the Command Squad kept as close to the frontlines as possible, drawing most of the enemy infantry's fire onto themselves. Another squad of human cultists lunged at them with blades, but were all gunned down by the Commissariat cadets. One of the cadets received a bolter round to the head as a Chaos Marine sergeant attacked them, chainsword whirring. He swung at the general, who dodged and the blade was intercepted by Plymouth's saber, which the whirring teeth begun to chip away at. Appearing not amused, Plymouth aimed his laspistol and fired several time into the sergeant's vibrant, blonde-haired Slaanesh blessed face, causing him to wince and lessen his hold on the chainblade.

The priest accompanying the Command Squad charged with his eviscerator and messily gutted the Chaos sergeant…

"EMPEROR HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL, HERETIC!

…smiling maniacally with malice for the enemy.

Plymouth held his hat down on his head as the winds from a nearby explosion wracked past him. He cried, "The foul legions still stand against us, yet we outnumber them."

"It's not always numbers that win the battle!" Sturnn cried, "And they know that."

Guardsmen continued to get chown up by Chaos artillery, much to the detriment of Fox in his Landmaster as he and the Space Marines entered the administration center, with the Predator Annihilators at his sides. He shook his head as he saw the battle unfold ahead of him half-a-click away, infantry and vehicles blasting at one another.

"They're just marching into hell's maw just like that!" Fox exclaimed angrily, "Throwing away their lives."

They are soldiers of the Emperor, McCloud, Calgar said over the line, They would gladly lay their lives down in His Name. But now we must intervene to prevent more lives taken before their time.

"No need to tell me twice," Fox said, "I'm going ahead. You better be behind me."

The Landmaster and Predator Anhillators rolled forward with the Space Marines following behind, walking calmly with Cassius chanting High Gothic incomprehensible to Fox. Jacques and Krystal followed close behind, side-by-side. Krystal looked up at Jacques and narrowed his eyes, making him move his pupils towards her.

"I would be comfortable if you stayed close to me, Jacques," Krystal said, "Things will be rough once again."

Jacques nodded and smiled, "Always."

Krystal smiled back, 'I'm protecting you, Jacques.'

Their heads shot forward when the Ultramarines' bolters went off as did the lascannons and heavy weapons, striking the enemy from another angle as opposed to the Imperial Guard. They both gripped their weapons and charged back into the fray.

"We must be on our toes," Tigerius called out as he charged his psychic powers, "The cultists described by the Scouts were summoning in the center of the base."

The Landmasters blazed away with it's plasma cannon, blasting away cultists and Traitor Marines alike. A squad of Noise Marines fired their blasters at him and immediately scrambled his system, causing his tank to freeze up and his ears to bleed slightly from the sound coming through the hull. He gasped in pain, then noticing one of the Marines were armed with an even larger sound based weapon.

The Nose Marine armed with the Doomblaster fired a massive blast of sound which caught the attention of Krystal and Jacques, seeing half of the Landmaster get torn away.

"FOX!" they both shouted, then ran towards the tank.

Fox groaned as he was temporary deafened from the attack. He felt the cool MacBeth air breeze over him and the left side of the Landmaster still intact. He unbuckled himself from his harness and dropped out of the tank, immediately vomiting as his vision went all over the place as his ears were damaged. He pulled his blaster, seeing the Chaos Marine and cultist approach, receiving oncoming fire from the Ultramarines. One Emperor's Children Marine aimed his bolter and him, before a white blur appeared between the vulpine and the Chaos Marine, immediately hacking the traitor down before lunging for the other Marines, immediately supplemented by the Space Marine Assault squad.

He felt himself pulled up to his feet by familiar arms and his hearing was restored enough for him to hear Krystal say to him…

"…get up…Fox, please…"

"Krystal?"

The ringing in his ears disappeared he found himself staring face to face with the love of his life, whom was covered in fresh enemy blood, over her body and scarred face. She saw a cultist lunging for them and shoved Krystal aside and fired his blaster, scoring a headshot. He then helped Krystal up…

"Sorry, Krys…"

where the vixen looked at him questioningly.

"Are you alright, Fox?" Krystal asked as they sought cover behind the destroyed Arwing.

"I think I'm concussed. But I'm not walking away, at least not yet."

Storm bolters cut through the conversation as Calgar and his Honor Guard strode past.

"I am glad to hear that," Calgar called out to him, "Landmaster or not, you are still part of this fight! Not one step backward for anybody now."

The air battle still raged above the warzone in the complex center, with Falco and Katt fighting to keep their eyes open and battle mental fatigue as they fought against a seemingly never-ending wave of Chaos Claw fighters right beside the Imperial Lightning squadrons. Meanwhile the Marauder Bombers had cleared the skies and retreated to a safe airspace away from the fight.

"I…I don't think I can keep this up, Falco," Katt said as she steered her Arwing to avoid a pursuing Claw.

Eyes forward, came Falco's response, Hey…

The enemy aircraft! a human voice starting out in Gothic but was quickly translated to Lylatian Basic Language exclaimed, I think they're pulling back.

The Claws all performed simultaneous u-turns and begun to flee the Lightnings and disappear back into the atmosphere. The Lightning all begun to follow until…

This is the Sanguinus Pacificus, Lord Admiral Nero speaking, all fighter squadrons stand down. Report back to rearm and refuel.

'Sanguinus Pacificus?' Katt thought, 'He must mean the Pacifier. I knew they named all their ships with really over all the top titles. The Pacifier must have been a nickname or something'

A/N: I realize how they name Imperial ships with such extravagant titles.

Hey, didn't think you'd talk to me ever agai, Katt smirked at Falco addressing the Admiral. Figured I hurt your feelings.

Hold you tongue, falcon, Nero growled, Lest you have it cut out of your beak once this battle is over.

How about some orbital strikes, eh? Level the playing field, especially with those reinforcements heading straight for us.

This planet is as hollow as they come. One lance strike into the planet's crust and you, your friends and the Emperor's soldiers will be drawn into oblivion. Allow 2nd Battalion to engage them…

"And your bombers?" Katt asked, "A great deal of help they were."

I suggest you and the avian start talking respectively to the superiors, feline, Sturnn can be heard gruffly, We outnumber you and your lives are in our hands.

"And we should be afraid?" Katt chimed.

'Vindictive furs!' Sturnn thought annoyed as he gripped the vox speaker in his hands, the vox-Guardsman firing his lasgun as he crouched to allow the general to speak, 'You can't talk for a whole minute with these xenos without arguing with them. Are they so laid back in the face of destruction?'

He then smiled in spite of himself.

'And they don't fear anything as a result!'

"RAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!"

An Aspiring Champion shoved his way through the masses of Chaos loyalists that stood before the Imperial Guards and hurled himself towards the Command Squad. Sturnn dropped the vox-speaker and braced himself, seeing the champion get struck with a dozen las-blasts and he fell. He turned behind himself to see Zakhaev approaching him, boltpistol smoking.

"General Sturnn," Zakhaev saluted, "Are we too late?"

Squatting behind a Chimera APC Sturnn shook his head, "Hardly. Come closer, I can hardly hear your over this battle…"

He stopped talking when he noticed a stitched-up Slippy amongst Zakhaev's platton. He furrowed his brow at the sight of the frog, whose eyes widened at the sight of him and gave a really awkward wave.

"Er…hi?"

"Star Fox's engineer is here?" Plymouth asked, "That must have been the Arwing we saw drop from the sky?"

"And we're stuck with him," Zakhaev nodded, "But at least he's proven he's useful."

Sturnn studied the frog, seeing him hold the lasgun awkwardly in his hands. He never thought the frog for the type to drop his wrench and pick up a weapon to fire back at the enemy to threatened not only his life but that of his people. To the general these sorts of people were cowards, that kemono's dealing with engineering were all cowards.

'Now I'm feeling pleasantly surprised,' Sturnn thought.

And so the battle raged on between the massive armies of the Imperial/Cornerian/Tau Coalition and the Chaos God of Pleasure Slaanesh's loyalists – various cult groups, traitor Cornerian soldiers and the Emperor's Children 12th Company. The air battle was slowly dissipating with the Chaos Claws either withdrawing mysteriously or being shot out of the sky. Fox, Krystal and Jacques fought back-to-back against the enemy, Fox firing his blaster wildly and fighting back any cultist or traitor Cornerian to get in range of his claws and feet. Krystal fought gracefully with her staff, battling Chaos Marine or cultist at range or up close, twirling her staff and moving about like a dancer.

By this time the Tau Pathfinder had found another rooftop that overlooked the central plaza of the administration district. La'Jakob had switched back to using the rail rifle as his Exitus had only five slugs left and he preferred using them against something that 'definitely deserved it.' He aimed at fired at every Chaos Marine that tried to flank the Coalition, blasting the head off one Traitor and the left leg of another.

His scope focused on the Chaplain swinging his power mace like a true zealot, beating down cultist and Traitor Marine alike. Suddenly what appeared to be a long-las shot struck him in the knee from off screen and brought him down onto his knees. La'Jakob traced the projectile beam from another building window yards away and the cultist with the long-las sniper rifle. As the cultist aimed for another shot Jakob fired through the wall and blew his head to pieces.

Cassius got back up and noticed the rail-rifle projectile from the Tau's rooftop having splattered the cultist responsible for bringing the sniper down. He smirked and tapped his vox, looking up at the Tau's position.

"Thank you for the assistance," Cassius intoned, then added, "Ghost."

The Chaplain smirked and switched off his vox, before screaming out loud another litany and sending a Chaos Marine flying with his Crozius Arcanum Power Mace.

La'Jakob was frozen in place where he laid, his face inching away from the scope of the Exitus Rifle, mouth agape in shock and good eye narrowed as if he was recollecting the torn pieces of his past.

Tash noticed how he wasn't firing his weapon and prodded him in the shoulder, "La'Jakob, did the Chaplain just say…?"

La'Jakob shook his head and snapped at the Tau, bordering anger, "Yes he DID! Just keep firing for Aun'va's sake."

Jacques, Fox and Krystal fought almost in complete synchronization as they, Sturnn and the Cadian 412th, and the Ultramarines hacked down every cultist and daemon that lunged at him, resorting to using range when dealing with the Chaos Marines. When a squad of Slaanesh Terminators appeared before them in a pinkish burst of energy they all immediately as one – bolter, laser and staff fire shot.

More Chaos Marines charged from all sides; Krystal, Jacques and Tigerius enacted psychic shields as they Coalition was back to back firing at the Emperor's Children, the daemonette's and the cult groups, every shot counting and bringing down hundreds upon hundreds of foes. Their Tau allies watched with astonishment at how they fought.

'So incredible,' La'Jakob thought, seeing Fox and Jacques ahead of the Coalition, guns firing madly and swords swinging wildly, 'They fight as one, and so shall the fight be won.'

"La'Jakob," Tash cried, "We've got a shot on those summoning cultists the gue'la com lines kept chattering about."

Jakob saw through his scope that the cultists summoning the daemon and the pinkish haze around them had faded following the Coalition assault, leaving the praying cultists wide open. He spat out blood from his still bleeding mouth following his encounter with the lupine cultist and put his eye back to the scope. He breathed in through his mouth as he steadied his aim, seeing an Aspiring Champion approach the summoning circle, standing in the center with his arms stretched wide open.

He sighed, immediately feeling sorry for the misguided souls he was about to extinguish. He centered his sights on the nearest one.

"Whatever benevolent gods may exist in this universe that opposes the mont'au, may they all have mercy on your souls."

He pulled the trigger…

BLAM!

His eyes widened when he saw that the Exitus slug was hovering near the cultist's head, before it disintegrated. The Aspiring Champion smiled as the summoning circle transformed into the mark of Slaanesh and it engulfed him in pink. He raised his arms into the air and begun laughing insanely, the cultists around them slowly and painfully melting from the warp energy surrounding the Aspiring Champion as his eyes flashed purple as he received the highest honor to ever be bestowed upon the Aspiring Champion.

To be possessed by the Greater Daemon of the Chaos God they have devoted their lives to. And the Space Marines knew that.

"By the Emperor!" Tigerius exclaimed, "The Keeper approaches!"

Jacques frowned and rubbed the side of his head in discomfort, "Please, not again. Not so soon."

Krystal felt her migraines flare up, causing her to scream in pain and fall to her knees clutching her head as the Warp assaulted her. Calgar looked down at her curiously, then up at the summoning circle up ahead.

"Hold you ground, sons of Guilliman!" he ordered, "Prepare to send back whatever comes forth!"

The Aspiring Champion laughed out loud as he begun to shift form painfully, contortions appearing throughout his body. One loud shriek later his flesh peeled off, revealing a daemonic white-coloured ball of flesh that slowly assumed shape of that familiar four-armed deer-headed, chest exposed Greater Daemon. The moment it's hooves developed it stepped forward, focusing it's eyes on the Grey Knight and vulpine.

Fox was aghast at the sight of the Keeper, "The hell is that thing suppose to be?"

Jacques spat to the side and stood up, swords in his hand poised to strike.

"The Greater Daemon of Slaanesh," Jacques answered, as if he was bored, "The Keeper of Secrets. Emperor save me, I hoped to fight only one of these perverse monstrosities in my lifetime."

"Huh?" Fox turned to him abruptly, "When did you fight one of these?"

Jacques sighed, "It is what you would call a long story. I will tell you, if we survive."

He moved his head about and cracked the bones in his neck. The Keeper turned their way and appeared to chuckle as it begun moving toward them, arms swaying about and sword swinging. Laser, bolter and rocket fire slowed it's advance much to it's chagrin. Fox saw how determined Jacques was to bring him down, then noticed underneath his hand that gripped Eden something that made his heart skip.

The Star Fox symbol engraved on the bottom of the silver long-sword Eden.

"What the…?" Fox uttered.

Jacques turned his head towards him, eyebrows raised.

"What is wrong?" Jacques asked, "The Daemon approaches, you show hesitation."

"Hesitation my ass!" Fox cried, "Are you using both those swords?"

No sooner had Fox closed his mouth again Jacques thrust Eden towards him, and he hesitantly took the sword in his hand, and quickly got a feel for the surprisingly light blade. They kept their heads down as the Imperial/Cornerian/Tau firepower flew above them, increasing tenfold as the daemon approached. Fox gritted his teeth and charged ahead of Jacques, sword poised at his hip.

"Fox!" Jacques exclaimed, and chased after him.

The Keeper squealed with joy and let out a shrill scream, causing every Guardsmen and Cornerian soldier to cry out in agony stop firing. The Space Marine however didn't let the piercing stop them.

"ARGH! TOO LOUD!" Slippy cried, "WHAT'S IT DOING?"

"FUCKING STOPPING US FROM DOING ANYTHING! INBRED FROG!" Armiel shrieked angrily, "THOSE DAMNED EVIL PIECES OF…"

The Chimera nearby exploded from the sound penetrating it's fuel tanks and las-batteries, sending Guardsmen and Cornerians flying. Sturnn and Plymouth both gritted their teeth in pain as their felt their eardrums get rattled.

"DAMNATION!" Sturnn cried, "McCLOUD AND MORTENSEN BETTER DO SOMETHING!"

The Keeper kept shrieking as it advanced on Fox and Jacques. It hurled it's daemon sword towards Fox, who side-stepped and the blade headed straight for the Grey Knight. Through his psy-enhanced charge he didn't realize until sword-projectile and it struck him in the chest, the point sunk into his armor. It's daemonic power penetrated through the pain reducers in his body and inflicted burning agony throughout him as he flew backwards…

"ARGGGGHHHHHHHHH! KRYSTAL!"

…screaming out loud the first thing that was on his mind as he landed on his back, the sword through his armor and piercing through his chest, mere inches away from his head. Fox spun around, seeing him fall and distraught spread on his face.

"Jacques!"

He turned back to the daemon and saw it before him, but before he could act the daemon looked at him right in the eye and immediately put him under the it's spell – The Lash of Slaanesh. Fox felt his eyes dilute as he dropped to his knees before the creature.

Jacques tried getting up, but the daemon sword kept it down. He saw Fox kneeling before the daemon.

"Fox…no…" he struggled out, the pain coursing through him unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Standing alone and watching the scene before her from yet another rooftop, Taldeer looked solemn with seeing the 'Archon' struggling to get up and off the ground, but the daemonic presence keeping him down. She shook her head.

"Our last hope lies on the ground, daemon sword through his chest as he watches his brother bow before the Pleasure Lord, as he begins to exploit the vulpine's most darkest, deepest desires."

She noticed Krystal down there, running away from the Coalition lines, appearing to scream as she ran to Jacques aid.

"But look…" Taldeer continued, "She comes. She comes to aid the one that has her heart, but does not realize it. Surely she can save him in time so that he can save him."

Taldeer smiled lightly as she turned around, her dress flowing in the wind.

"Our Messiah may live after all."

Once again Krystal felt her heart pounding as she saw the two men most important to her fall. Jacques with a daemon sword in his chest and Fox caught in the spell of the pleasure god through his highest servant. While she desired to save both of them, she headed towards the closest one, seeing him writhe about on the ground, seemingly in pain.

"JACQUES! FOX! HOLD ON!"

Cassius cursed inwardly as she watched Krystal leave the safety of their defenses, "Foolish girl."

He turned to Tigerius, who gritted his teeth and focused as he stepped away from behind the cover of the Predator Annihilator and unleashed a mind wave that vaporized every oncoming daemon in her way as she ran to Jacques. When she reached him, he was struggling to get the sword out of his chest, but the daemonic energy keeping his hand from reaching the blade.

"Hold on Jacques," Krystal said as she reached for the sword's massive handle, "I'll…ARGHH!"

She felt her hands get burned as she touched the demonic blade. Jacques struggled to keep his eyes open, looking up at her painfully.

"Krys…" he struggled out, "My…my gauntlets…to the blade…"

Krystal looked down at him as she shook her hands, trying to cool them. She noticed him trying to reach for the blade, and instinctively grabbed his left hand and put it firmly on the blade. Jacques' power combined with the holy runes inscribed on the gauntlet quelled the daemonic taint on the blade and it lost it's power. Krystal gripped the blade's hilt again and pulled it out with all her might, tossing it aside and it turned to dust.

"Jacques?" Krystal questioned as she picked up Nemesis, "Can you stand?"

The Grey Knight looked at her glaringly. He hissed, "Fox is being tainted! We have to save him!"

Startled by his outburst she watched him get up, inhaling and exhaling harshly with a vicious glare with blood in his eyes. He snatched Nemesis out of Krystal's hand and turned to rush toward Fox and the Greater Daemon.

"Hold you ground, Mortensen!"

He froze when he heard the holy voice of Cassius. The Chaplain approached them, power mace over hi shoulder. He looked as if he was going to kill Jacques, worrying the Grey Knight some and worry Krystal immensely.

"You have been tainted, Brother!" Cassius exclaimed, "Brother Librarian Tigerius has sensed the stem of the daemon imbedded within you. Either you work to rid it out of your form now or prepare for the Emperor's Peace."

Jacques shook his head with contempt, "I will work to preserve myself right after I save Fox…"

He was cut off when Cassius charged and swung his Crozius Arcanum, catching Jacques by surprise and sweeping him off his feet, landing roughly onto the ground on his back and feeling Cassius boot on his chest, pinning him to the ground. Also off guard, Krystal moved to defend him but felt Cassius' gauntlet grab her by the throat and lift her off the air, feet dangling. Still holding her staff but sought not to use it and already gasping, Krystal could only look at the Chaplain with an expression of confusion and betrayal.

"Do you know of the xeno Act of Purification?" Cassius intoned, his voice rough, "The rites and ceremonies that swayed the Dark Cerinians away from the Ruinous Powers? Answer me now, or both McCloud and Jacques will lose their souls."

He then stretched his mace towards Jacques.

"I will kill your protector myself right before you."

Krystal gasped as she thought back to when she was young. And about the mass battle purification during the Cerinia Conflict against the Dark Cerinians so that the Ultramarines would not have purged her homeworld completely. It was the Act of Purification, developed and perfected thousands of year ago by her own royal bloodline that cleansed the mind, body and soul of taint that was one of the reason the Imperium, or more specifically the Ultramarines, sought to preserve and use the Cerinians towards mankind's interests.

That one time she tried to use it in order to exorcise a rogue Chaos daemon out of a misguided, backward Venomian army commander she had killed both the daemon and the commander, which was a major blow to her confidence as a elemental warrior and magister of Cerinina. Afterwards she hoped she would never have to use it again, but now the sudden zealotry of Chaplain Cassius was threatening both Fox and Jacques.

"Well? Do you?" Cassius asked again, his grip on her throat threatening to break her neck.

"Yes…yes," she gasped.

Cassius let go and she fell on her behind roughly, coughing and gulping in air. She fought back the urge to lunge at Cassius for hurting Jacques, but when she laid eyes on the Grey Knights disabled form her mind was immediately flooded with thousands of vivid imagery depicting the most disturbing depravity to be associated with the Chaos God of Pleasure. She gasped when she realized that the daemon had taken root inside him.

"But…the rites could kill him," she uttered in protest.

"Death is a release should he bow before the daemon!" Cassius exclaimed.

Jacques grunted as he tried to stand back up.

"Jacques…"

He looked at her and was horrified at the marks of strangulation on her neck, and the one who could do this shocked him to the core.

"…kneel on the ground."

Knowing what she meant he did so with hesitation. She picked up her staff and extended it, pointing the crystal towards it chests. She shed a single tear, never wanting to be the one to cause pain to her friend, and that all the while Fox was still suffering.

"This may hurt," Krystal said.

Jacques grimaced when he looked over his shoulder to see Fox helpless before the Keeper of Secrets, "It is not as much as what Fox is suffering right now. Be quick about it."

Krystal nodded and bit her lip as she begun the purification, focusing both her own bodily energies and that of nature, which was air she breathed and the moisture from her sweat (not daring to use the Warp as that was the source of Chaos) in order to cleanse Jacques' soul.

'I vowed to protect you, Jacques,' Krystal thought, 'And I'm going to do just that, even against your own kinsmen.'

Jacques saw the staff's crystal glow blue and a weird haze enveloped him. A weird yet comfortable sense of euphoria washed over him.'

'I feel warm,' he thought, feeling, 'As if…our souls are bonding….'

Suddenly the daemonic influence within him shrieked in agony and attempted to move deeper into him to avoid Krystal's power, which cut through Jacques' pain reducers and causing him to nearly crack his teeth as he gritted them in agony, but keeping silent for her sake.

Fox groaned out loud as he laid on the hard marble surface, a massive down-light illuminating the clearing he was in with a sickeningly pinkish glow, with nothing but darkness around it. He put an arm over his chest, feeling breathless and wetness spreading onto his arm. He looked at it and saw that he was bleeding from the chest, where the Keeper had slashed him.

"Good lord, what now?" he uttered to himself.

He heard light footsteps approach from behind him and turned around to face the silhouette of a human female emerging from the darkness, which slowly contorted shape into that of a naked pink-furred vixen. She was almost identical to Krystal except for her royal and sorcerer tattoos she had the mark of Slaanesh imprinted on her chest and over her breasts. Fox's eyes bulged at the sight of the smiling vixen exposed to him and tried to advert his eyes.

"No need to look away from me, Fox," the vixen spoke, in a tone of voice eerily similar to Krystal, "I revel in those who look at me for what I am."

"What are you suppose to be?" Fox demanded, looking at her but concentrating on her eyes and nowhere else, "And where are we?"

The vixen smiled as she approached Fox, tracing her hand from her face, down her chest and between her breasts, "I am everything you can ever desire in life. And we are in a place far from the material universe where you can indulge to your heart's content."

Fox frowned, "The Immaterium?"

"No, your mind," the vixen walked closer.

Fox eyes widened in fright and he stepped back away from her. The vixen smiled wider.

"You cannot deny me, Fox," the vixen started to sound malicious, "Very few have when they stand before my highest servant and under my lash. Those that fought back all died, their desires turned against them and tore them apart."

"Slaanesh!" Fox exclaimed, then sounded angry, "What the hell do you want from Lylat?"

The vixen closed her eyes, stretched her arms above her head and groaned, Fox trying his best to not be turned on by her actions. She sighed, "For every single kemono to bend over backwards, to fulfil both their material and carnal desires, to give me reason for existence."

'Slaanesh' personified opened her eyes, her smile faded and replaced with a look of contempt.

"You kemonos are by right animals…and animals live by instinct. And through instinct…pleasure."

"And just corrupting humanity wasn't enough for you and the other creatures that call themselves 'gods'?" Fox demanded, "Causing death and destruction to innocent people…AWK!"

Slaanesh ran forward and grabbed Fox by the throat, hoisting him into the air so that he begun choking.

"You speak as if I am my brother, Khorne. We are nothing alike. You say I cause death and destruction, it is only towards those who stand against the truth of existence."

"What…truth?" Fox gasped out laid, his eyes beginning to glaze over.

"That all life succumbs to hedonism at one point in their existence," Slaanesh exclaimed, letting got of Fox, him falling on his back before her. She grinned and crawled on all fours, hovering over him, "For you…why not now? Why not with that vixen?"

Fox gritted his teeth as Slaanesh's face hovered above his, her pert, shapely form rubbing against his and slowly beginning to drive him insane. He replied shakily, "Not…now, not when we're trying to stop you."

"And you would let the Grey Knight take her for himself?"

"What?"

Slaanesh then moved forward and nuzzled Fox, who felt he couldn't breath from the shock of having the Dark God's personification paying 'attention' to him. She said, "You think Jacques wants Krystal to himself, though you try to convince yourself that he cares for her as a sister, and sometimes you can not help but wonder if Krystal wants him, rather then you."

Fox was silent as the vixen's words played on his mind, not realizing that she had taken his left hand and placed it against her left thigh, smiling pleasantly. Fox cried out loud and kicked her off him, her spiraling in the air and landing perfectly on her two feet. The vulpine spat in disgust to the side, hand feeling her cheek, which the Dark God had nuzzled him.

"That's bullshit!" Fox exclaimed, pointing his finger at her, "You twist eveything…"

"But it is the truth, right?"

Fox was silent, his mouth slightly agape as he then downcast his eyes.

"I…don't know. I have not idea how they feel towards each other."

He then gritted his teeth again and lashed out.

"But she loves me that way, not Jacquse."

"How can be sure?" Slaanesh still questioned.

"SHUT UP!

The vulpine balled his fists and charged at her. She stepped to the side when he tried to swing a left hook at her. She then reached out and grabbed him by the wrist and pulled her to him. Fear spread through him as Slaanesh smiled desirably at him, as if he was prey. Fox tried to resist, but felt every muscle in his frame tense and lock up, feeling calm as he looked into her pink eyes.

The vixen moved her face towards him, "Give in to me, Fox McCloud. Allow me to take you away from this hellish universe and show you a world, made up of nothing but your wildest dreams."

Fox closed his eyes tightly as he anticipated the kiss from the pink vixen. She smiled, baring sharpened daemonette teeth, before pressing her lips against his roughly, her tongue immediately trying to gain entrance into his mouth.

"You…are mine now!" Slaanesh's real, effeminate male voice echoed around them, "Fox McCloud, son of James McCloud!"

Suddenly 'Slaanesh' was struck with a psychic force attack, which sent her spiraling some distance away. Fox inhaled deeply and turned to see his savior emerging from the shadows of his mind – A big burly heavily-muscled ultramarine blue Cerinian wearing a psychic hood, shoulder and elbow guards and a loincloth, holding a large thick Cerinian staff with the inverted omega symbol tattooed on his forehead.

The Cerinian looked at him and his chains vanished, making him fall 'painfully' on the ground. The walked up to him and Fox found himself squatting on his fours before his feet.

The Cerinian frowned and spoke in a familiar voice, "I thought you were stronger then this, McCloud."

Fox's eyes widened in shock as he stood up and staggered back, forgetting he was bare before the Chief Librarian masquerading as the Cerinian, "Tigerius?"

They heard fierce feminine chuckling from the darkness as the vixen reemerged, eyes blazing pink as flames surrounded her body. Fox caught his breath and glared at the Dark God taking the form of the woman he loved.

'I can't believe I thought of giving in to her,' Fox thought, angry at himself, 'Him.'

Tigerius exclaimed almost angrily, startling him, "And this will the only time I will personally save your soul from the false gods. For if you die, Jacques' resolve will definitely crumble."

Fox turned back to him, and the last thing he heard before Tigerius' furry fist made contact with his face was Slaanesh screaming in rage as the Chief Librarian broke her/his hold on the vulpine's mind.

Broken from the Keeper's hold, he leapt back with Eden still in his hand. Fox then swung it, slashing the Keeper and is stumbled backwards. It then growled and charged him, swinging his claws. Fox adverted each of his swing, feeling confident he could still bring this daemon myself. The Keeper attacked again and Fox back flipped out of his harms way and swung Eden, relieving it of it's bottom left arm.

It wailed again and charged him, swing his bottom right claw and slashing him across the chest. His cry caught the attention of Krystal and Cassius as they continued to try and save Jacques. Cassius looked up and across a few yards to see the vulpine fall over the backward. He grimaced at the amount of blood it just shed, as well as his bits and pieces of his clothes.

Krystal held the staff to Jacques chest as he knelt, eyes closed as if in focus. He opened one eye, which immediately twitched when he saw Fox fall again.

"Damnation!" he yelled again, but as he tried to move…

"Please, Jacques," Krystal urged softly, "Don't move."

"But Fox is in peril."

"Do what she says, Jacques!" Cassius growled, "You are at risk of taint and the daemon approaches. Right now, you are the only one suited to vanquish him and you must still be able to see the Emperor's light."

The Keeper looked over the Coalition forces and how they are just staying put a dozen yards away, with the Chaplain and the Cerinian waiting on the Grey Knight, while the vulpine was lying at it's feet, a mighty slash on his chest and his clothes slowly burning away. It's eyes widened when the wound appeared to cauterize itself.

"Funny," the Keeper said, "So funny."

It then hissed out loud and bent over to the side, picking up a piece of fallen structure and hurling it towards the trio sitting between itself and the Coalition. Cassius and Jacques looked up at the here to see the small part of a building in the air descending towards them. Cassius downcast his good eye and prepared to join the Emperor in his realm.

Jacques looked down at Krystal, "Krystal…"

"Almost done," Krystal responded smiling and in relief of our abilities to perform the Purification rites, "I can't sense taint…"

"I am sorry…again."

Krystal looked up at him and his saddened eyes, then up at the sky and what was falling out of it and onto them. Horrified with the prospect of being crushed as her way of leaving life, she dropped her staff and closed her eyes tightly, clenching her teeth and whimpering slightly.

"No," Fox hissed out painfully as he rolled onto his stomach to see the trio. He then stretched his hand forward towards them as if in a futile attempt to reach them, "NO!"

He balled his hand into a fist and the building piece split itself into two and fell on opposite sides of Jacques, Krystal and Cassius. The trio stared over at the daemon and Fox, the vulpine stunned at what just happened…what he may have just did to save his friends and the Master of Sanctity.

Tigerius smirked as he tapped his forehead and said to Calgar, "So what I felt within the xeno was genuine. His father's genes have definitely passed on down to him."

Calgar stared at the Chief Librarian questioningly, "Is there any danger of Chaos taking him again?"

"So long as he does not literally think of saving Jacques and the vixen like that again. And if he is disciplined on the workings of Chaos and the Warp."

"I grow tired of you lying at my feet, dormant psyker!" the Keeper hissed as it put it's left hoof out, "Your mere presence within the warp is enough to harm my master…"

It's hoof came down on Fox, who grabbed it and grinned sadistically.

"Oh goody!" the vulpine leered.

The Keeper screamed once again in pain as it felt the warp seep into him and freeze his physical body's muscles. Fox was broken from his smiling trance when he realized what he was doing…

"Shit! How…can I be doing this?"

Jacques leapt up onto his feet, feeling his strength returned and the daemonic taint fading away. Stunned at his movement, Krystal stepped back some, almost tripping over her staff if Jacques hadn't grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back. She stretched her hand out so that she was leaning on an upright, battle ready Jacques Mortensen.

"What's gotten into you?" Krystal demanded, eyebrows furrowed sternly, "You could still be hurt!"

The Grey Knight shook his head, "No. You saved me."

Krystal softened up immediately, looking up into his vulpine eyes.

"Fox?" Krystal said, then looked to see him still lying at the feet of an immobilized Keeper of Secrets, "He's still lying there before that thing?"

"And I will save him!" Jacques exclaimed determinedly, "Chaplain?"

Cassius stepped aside out of his way, raising his Crozius Arcanum towards the daemon, face forward and stood in a disciplined matter. He then moved his pupils towards Jacques.

"Vanquish the daemon, Brother Mortensen!" Cassius exclaimed with authority, "The Chapter and the Emperor demands it!"

Jacques nodded, then looked ahead at his target. He closed his eyes and relaxed his mind, so that to him the only things that existed was him – The Emperor's Chosen. Krystal the Cerinian vixen His sister and reason for life. Fox McCloud the vulpine – His brother and Commander. And the Keeper of Secrets – The foolish daemon who dared threaten both of them and who sought to take his purpose in life away.

To Jacques in a situation like this, in order to prevail one must rely on both bravery and the madness associated with his actions…

"Agititis Ultramarini," Jacques whispered…'

He gripped Nemesis' hilt tighter.

"Dominatus Ultramarini…ira furor brevis est…"

Krystal's eye widened, recognizing the language as High Gothic, the advanced form of the antique Latin.

'Rise up, Ultramarines…Dominate them Ultramarines…for wrath is but a brief madness,' she mentally translated, recognizing the main Imperial tongue.

Jacques then pushed her back gently.

"Let me protect you, Krystal," he looked over at her, appearing distraught, "Let me protect him. Please stand aside."

Like a white blur of light the Grey Knight then charged the whole dozen yards at the stunned Greater Daemon, noticing how it tried to move it's limps but it couldn't for some reason. Jacques saw the sense to seize this mysterious opportunity and send it straight back to the closest thing to Hell there is. He hacked apart any Slaanesh lesser daemon that got in his way before he bounded off the ground, feet landing on the side of a ruined structure then bounding of towards the daemon, raising his sword.

"SLAANESH!" he cried out loud, "LEAVE HIM ALONE, DAMN YOU!"

Jacques furrowed his eyebrows and glared as he descended down towards the stunned Keeper of Secrets, Nemesis raised above his head. One cry of might later he brought it down on the Keeper's neck and decapitated the Greater Daemon, it's head dissipating before it hit the ground. Landing before the headless Keeper he spun around and drove Nemesis into it's gut, then unleashed a powerful psychic wave that blew the daemon out of it's mortal shackles and back into the warp in a massive hellstorm of pink energy.

Before Jacques could bend over to recover Fox a flash of pink energy engulfed both of them, blinding Jacques…

"FOX!"

…and when he opened his eyes, he found both vulpine and Eden disappeared. Before he had the chance to figure out why the pink energy behind him exploded and engulfed him. He had been just standing there fresh from killing the daemon when he disappeared amidst the daemonic fire. Krystal's eyes widened in horror with seeing both men disappear before him.

"FOX! JACQUES!"

"Oh my God…" Slippy said softly, seeing all this happen before him from a distance.

"Incredible," Sturnn uttered as he and Cadian 412th watched all this unfold.

La'Jakob and the Tau Pathfinders watched with awe and horror from their vantage point. The only human amongst the blueskins shook his head.

'He can not die,' he thought bitterly, 'At least not yet. Not until he remembers who I am.'

From the skies above the battlefield…

"Fuck me," Falco uttered as he watched this from the air in the Arwing.

Flying beside him Katt could only watch in silent apprehension and worry at the scene unfolding beneath them. The same went for La'Jakob as he and his team moved in towards the center of the administration are where most of the Coalition forces were currently standing. He shook his head in disbelief as he gripped his SMGs.

"Not now," he uttered to himself, "Mortensen can not die now. At least not until I tell him who I really am from my own mouth."

After the dust settled and the eldritch energy faded away there was only him, still standing and looking shocked. Krystal was at first relieved to see him there, but it faded and she was filled with horror when he fell over onto his side, dropping Nemesis which cluttered onto the ground. Krystal ran towards him, dropping her staff in the process, and practically threw herself on him.

"Jacques! Jacques!" she wailed out loud, "Oh, God!"

The Grey Knight coughed, before forcing his eyes open and immediately was both shocked and happy with seeing her face again. The shock with seeing the wound across her face hurt more than any physical pain ever could. Krystal wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled with joy, revealing her canines. She knelt beside him and running her paw through his dirty, bloodstained brown hair, her facial fur wet with tears

"Fox…" Jacques gasped hoarsely, "Where….is Fox?"

Krystal's smile disappeared as she turned around to see where the vulpine had been lying previously, panic and worry on her features. She turned back to Jacques, feeling the tears once again pool in her eyes. She didn't mean to cry so much, but after everything that had happened to her and the team in terms of fighting the hedonistic masses of Slaanesh and risking their hides to their torturous machinations she couldn't help herself.

"I…I don't know," Krystal whispered.

Jacques clenched his teeth and groaned, before moving his right thumb towards her face and delicately gliding it over the wound on her face, sadness and regret on his face. She gasped when she thought she heard Jacques mentally communicating to himself…

'You stupid fool! You…I…swore to protect them! And I failed…again.'

And he was. He mentally kicked and punched himself; shrieked in anger and cursed out loud at himself for not being there for his sister Krystal when she received that wound, which would no doubt become a scar once it healed. And now that his brother Fox has mysteriously disappeared and he wasn't quick enough to recover him from the Keeper of Secrets he begun to feel hatred. Though he knew it was wrong to feel hatred, he did…but only at himself.

'Emperor,' he thought bitterly, 'Why is this happening to me? Why is the taint in all our hearts?'