It was a barren street two-way street, or at least it used to be. Where once stood bustling shops and stores lay crumpled heaps of stone and metal. Where once humans walked; laughing, greeting and living, only corpses and emptiness remained. Once paved roads were cracked and uneven and abandoned vehicles only added to the chaotic clutter. Dust and smoke enshrouded the air in an obfuscating cloud that afternoon sun tried in vain to pierce. In the middle of this crumbling vista lay two anomalies, a Leman Russ which had fallen on its side and lay silent, and a slowly shifting guardswoman.
Ruby Rose was this shifting woman. She lay in a human interpretation of a pile. Her legs were curled up underneath her while she was slumped over on her side. Her arms were spread wide and her head rested heavily on the ground, her helmet dented sharply where it had collided with the unyielding stone street.
Ruby slowly rolled over and pushed up onto her hands and knees, her head spinning as she did so. She groaned weakly, everything about her hurt, like a swarm of insects had taken up residence under her skin and writhed and bit her in an attempt to escape. Every breath she took was agony as fire burned in her lungs. Other larger spasms of pain served to only add to the discomfort, her leg and abdomen felt wholly abused and her head felt thick and heavy.
She tried to pull herself to her feet, stumbled, and fell to the ground. She didn't bother to move again, her pained moans growing more and more feeble until darkness once more took her.
….
The sound of shifting rubble awoke her and her head popped up from the ancient stone that she had used as a pillow. Her head felt clearer, like a fogged mirror had been wiped clean and she could see clearly. The sun had already begun its inexorable descent towards the horizon, its blue light illuminating the ash and dust around her. All was silent. The raging orchestra of weaponry was absent and blearily Ruby wondered how long she had been there.
Again, she pushed herself up to her hands and knees and looked around. "He- Hello?" Her throat was raw with her words punctuated by wet coughs. She brought a hand up to her mouth as she coughed. She looked down at her hand as she pulled it from her mouth. Red splatters covered her hands and it took her a moment to realize what it was.
Blood.
Suddenly nauseous she curled over and vomited. Panic took her as more crimson fluid spilled from her mouth in worrying quantities. She clamped her mouth shut, hands pressed firmly over her lips as if to hold in the precious fluid.
The bloody stream only lasted a moment before ceasing and Ruby took deep gasping breaths as she wiped her mouth. "Hello?" She whispered again, holding her stomach tightly with sudden fear that it might split open. "Please? Somebody?" Her words echoed from the few buildings that remained standing after the highway had collapsed.
"Anybody?" She whimpered once more.
Silence.
She slowly unclasped her helmet, pulling the armour off. She tossed it aside before working on her flak vest, it felt so heavy and confining to her and she felt a burning need to be rid of it. With clumsy fingers she loosened the straps, sliding it free of her body where it fell to rattle on the ground. Crescent Rose was still at her side and her autopistol at her fingertips but of her lasgun there was no sign.
One deep, shuddering breath later and she pushed herself to her feet and began walking. Limping however, was a more appropriate term for her locomotion. She stumbled and tripped frequently, her feet only barely managing to catch her each time. She stumbled to the crumbled ruins of a shop at the side of the street. A single portion of the wall still stood and a gleaming, polished window was still in place, anomalous in its integrity. She looked at the reflective surface and paused at her reflection.
Her pale cheeks were dirt stained and blood mixed with the dirt around her nose and mouth to create a ruddy mud on her face. But most disturbing of all were her eyes. The once white portions of her eyes were completely red and demonic. Starting at the sight, she rubbed at her eyes and looked again. They remained reddened, but logic made clear what the cause was. Ruptured blood vessels and pooling blood threatening to spill over into her silver irises.
Shuddering, she turned away from her tortured visage and moved away slowly, still gripping her burning stomach and chest tightly. A few sickly coughs slipped from her as she moved on. It was then that she noticed something odd. She had been so distracted that she had failed to notice the sounds of movement behind her. It was only after she had turned from the window that her ears perked as rubble shifted behind her again. Only this time, Ruby noted it was closer than before. In fact, it sounded right behind her.
Her chest tightened and she froze, suddenly very, very afraid. Too afraid to turn around.
"Found you."
The words sparked something within her, panic or courage as she turned to face whoever it was. She pulled her pistol free and turned, raising the weapon to her attacker.
A large fist caught her raising arm before she could fire and gripped the pistol.
Ruby looked at whatever stopped her and dread rose within her again. It was it. That same monster that she had seen in the room where Trunks had died. The armour was blood stained and spiked and its hidden and helmed head was tilted in the same quizzical look. It had followed her.
With the groan of metal on metal, the armoured fist clenched and her auto-pistol shattered. Metal and plastic crumpled under the impossible strength of the giant that held it.
Ruby watched blankly as shards of her weapon scattered even as another hand blurred forward and gripped her about the neck. She felt her feet leave the ground and she managed a single cry before the fingers tightened and her airway closed. She futilely pried at the cold fingers, each nearly as large as her palm. Darkness crept at the edge of her vision as the fingers squeezed and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
Through her panic, a part of her mind screamed out at her. Crescent Rose. Immediately she reached back and extended the weapon to its rifled form. One round was all she had time to fire.
She aimed blindly and pulled the trigger.
The fingers loosened ever so slightly and Ruby brought her feet up and kicked. Her feet connected solidly with its chest and she pressed hard, her neck slipping from the lapsed grip. She fell to the ground gasping and sucking down air as quickly as she could. The darkness retreated from her vision and she pushed herself away, legs and arms clawing at the stone as she tried to slide away.
She drew eyes back to the behemoth, the traitor Space Marine, and saw it gripping its knee tightly in the gap between the armoured plates that covered the knee and thigh. It made only one sound, a horrendous and pleasure filled laugh. It cackled as it stood tall once more as if she had never hit it at all and stalked towards her. A knife appeared suddenly in its hands though Ruby had never even seen it draw the weapon.
She was afraid. More afraid than she had ever been in her life as this juggernaut stomped towards her. "Go away!" She screamed as she scrambled to her feet, her legs feeling weak and her heart stuttering in her chest.
Still it chuckled. It was a dark a reverberating chuckle that shook her to her core, a sound that was so wrong. All the while it leisurely paced ever closer to her and spoke with a deep and sticky voice. "I think not. I rather like this game. Your heartbeat. It sounds so... delicious."
Whatever blood was left in her face drained and Ruby pressed a hand to her chest to hide her thudding heart. As it stepped closer her fear took over and she turned about and fled. She ran as fast as her tortured body would allow. The stomping boots that had somehow been so silent to sneak up on her, now echoed like thunder drawing ever closer and closer. She tried to pull on her semblance, but her Aura was gone, her body was too abused to give anything more. But she continued to run, fear giving strength to her limbs.
But still the steps continued to grow ever nearer.
Ruby looked behind her as she rounded a corner to see the Traitor Marine only a few strides behind her. Its long legs eating up the tortured ground. Its knife was held casually and Ruby could almost see a twisted grin through the opaque helmet.
That's when it hit her. Blindly she ran full bore into an immovable object and slammed into the ground. Stars lighting in her eyes, she looked up and gasped. It was another Space Marine that stared down at her behind ruby-red lenses. Only, this one wasn't covered in spikes and blood, its armour was clean and painted green. A bolter was in his hands.
All the same, Ruby screamed and tried to push herself away when the Traitor Marine's boots slowed into silence behind her. Ruby looked between the two Marines and they stared momentarily at her, then at each other. It was only for a fraction of a second that they stared at eachother before then they both tore into action.
Ruby curled into a ball and covered her head with her arms. She could feel their movements through the ground as they danced about her, then away from her. Bolter fire roared from all sides of her, a staccato of high pitched detonations. It felt like it lasted forever as she huddled into the smallest ball she could manage. Fear drove out logic as she shuddered from bolts rocketing overhead. Though it felt like an eternity, in reality it was but a few seconds. It ended with a sharp ping followed by metallic, choking laughter. A large thud shook the ground, then, it was silent.
Something gripped about her tightly and ripped her to her feet. She screamed and shut her eyes tight, her body shaking in current and residual fear. But no pain came. Instead she was set firmly on her feet and released. She opened a single eye to see the green Marine staring down at her, head tilted slightly.
Ruby stared, her panicked mind waiting for the inevitable blow, certain that she was being played with. Then she saw the still corpse of the one who had been chasing her, a large hole where its neck once held sway. When he, whoever He was, continued to stare with the crooked helm, unmoving and silent, she tried to speak. She meant to say 'Who are you?' in a demanding voice but it only came out in a weak mew, "Who… Who're you?"
"Data'tek." Came a short response after a brief pause. His voice was modulated and menacing from beneath the helm.
"Data'tek?" Ruby repeated. She then nodded at the corpse behind him. "You… You saved me."
A nod.
"Why?"
A single shoulder shrugged slightly.
Ruby cautiously began, her limbs tingling with expected flight, "Well, uh… Thank you. I'm uh, Ruby. Ruby Rose." She held out a trembling hand to shake but the green giant never took her hand and she slowly dropped her arm back to her side.
Without warning, he turned and began walking away down the street. Ruby stared blankly after him, not sure if she should follow him or if it was even safe to do so. That is, until he stopped and turned slightly, staring over his shoulder at her.
"What?" Ruby asked, looking behind her in case he was looking at something creeping up from behind. Seeing no one, she then pointed to herself and back to Data'tek. "You want me… to follow you?"
A nod.
Ruby didn't move at first. Fear still setting her heart thudding in her chest. She wasn't sure if she could trust him. She looked back to the corpse of the other Marine and sighed. He did save her after all and who else could she trust? Eyes still on the corpse, she made her decision. She turned about and limped after the emerald armoured titan. "I hope I can trust you." She whispered as she approached him.
Data'tek shrugged, watching her until she was right next to him. Then, without preamble, he turned and began once more walking. A giant being followed by this small girl.
Ruby tried multiple times to start a conversation, but Data'tek, who Ruby was already abbreviating to Data, seemed to have a cumulative vocabulary of zero. He seemed to answer every question with shrugs, nods, or primitive gestures such as pointing. She did however succeed in drawing a few verbal answers from him. None were very comforting.
"So… Data'tek. Can I call you Data?" Ruby said again in yet another undoubtedly futile attempt at conversation. It had become a game to her to get him to talk. Not the most fun game, but better than dwelling on her pain racked body or the blood she continually tasted. Or the memory of that... Thing. Data'tek shrugged at her request. "Great. Data it is. What are you doing down here?"
A shrug.
"You mean you don't know or you won't tell me?" She pressed.
Data'tek paused, his bolter was at the ready as he continually scanned the building around them. But for the first time, his head turned from the many windows and open doors as he looked at her for a brief moment before returning to his sentinel duties. "I was looking for you."
Ruby kicked a large rock and stumbled. Catching herself before she fell, she sped up to catch up to him. "Wait, you were looking for me? Why?"
He shrugged, although Ruby actually recognized this shrug for what it was. He really didn't know.
"So, you came all the way down here to find me and you have no idea why?" Ruby questioned.
He nodded in response.
"Oh…. Okay I guess. You're a good guy then?"
She received no response to that question, verbal or otherwise.
"Oooookay. So what about the other guy? Why was he after me?"
Again, Data'tek paused, his weapon lowered and he peered over his oversized pauldron at her. "For fun." Was all he said and he resumed walking.
Ruby stopped entirely and felt her limbs grow cold. It wasn't until Data'tek walked back to her and nudged her with his bolter that she moved again. His words were haunting and undeniably true.
'For fun.'
As some point, when the sun was caressing the horizon and shadows filled in the lack of light, Ruby gave up talking to Data'tek. Not because she felt like she couldn't get him to speak, but because she suddenly found herself face down on the ground and couldn't remember how she got there.
Cold armoured fingers gripped her and pulled her up. Again, the action was rough and jerking and the action left her feeling sick. She coughed again, the familiar taste of blood in her mouth before warm liquid began running down her cheeks. The armoured hands that had gripped her did not set her down. Instead they pulled her from her feet, her legs and arms dangling limply.
"You're injured." Came the emotionless observation of Data'tek as he held her.
Ruby laughed despite herself and she coughed out a sarcastic remark. "So you do- You do talk."
Data'tek's head tilted quizzically before he looked at the street around them. They had traveled deeper into the city. Here the buildings were mostly intact and they had been forced to move more slowly to watch for ambush. They had found none even though the sounds of combat had grown steadily louder.
Data'tek then carried Ruby to a large building. The door was larger compared to many other on the street and he likely chose this building for his ability to enter without completely demolishing the frame with his bulk. One booted kick later and the door was opened wide. Data'tek carried Ruby inside and set her on a counter, although dropped on the counter was more accurate.
"Ow. What are we doing in here?" Ruby asked, rubbing her backside where it had hit the table.
Data'tek was rummaging through a pouch on his waist. "You are incapable of travel. Your injuries must be treated." After a few seconds, he pulled something free.
A syringe.
He didn't cease his actions as he pulled another small vial from the pouch. It held a thin clear liquid and the side of the bottle was covered in illegible scrawl that Ruby couldn't make out. He pressed the syringe into the top the vial. He drew a small amount, looked up at Ruby and eyed her for a moment before looking down and squeezing out some of the liquid back into the vial. He repeated this process again, staring at Ruby before squeezing out more liquid. When he finally withdrew the syringe, there was the faintest drop of liquid within.
His intentions clicked in Ruby's mind and she tried pushed herself away, sliding from the table until she reached the edge. "Oh no no no. You're not putting that in me mister!" She flailed at him as he reached for her and she pushed herself away. "No! I said NO!"
His hand came down in a vice grip around her arm and despite all her efforts, it would not move. She screamed as he jabbed the needle into her arm. Then he let her go and stepped away, tossing the syringe aside and replacing the vial back into his pouch.
Ruby's heart was beating rather quickly and she threatened to hyperventilate. "What did you put in me!?" She shouted in panic.
Data'tek rummaged in another pouch and spoke without looking. "Combat drug containing stimulants and anesthetics."
Even as he spoke Ruby could feel the drug pulsing through her body. It was like a pleasant fire was rushing through her body. The feeling that ants were eating her from the inside slowly faded and she felt her heart beginning to beat strongly, more strongly than it should. She could almost feel her eyes dilating.
"Woah." She muttered as the feeling engulfed her body. Then she shook her head and shouted at Data'tek. "You don't just inject people with stuff without telling them!"
A shrug was all she got before he tossed her a thin tube which she caught deftly. "Take a small bite." Was all he said.
Glaring at him, Ruby looked at the gray pouch and gently tore the side. A grey looking solid sludge, not unlike oatmeal that had been solidified into a bar, was inside. She grimaced but her stomach, sensing food, grumbled eagerly at the prospect of being fed. She gently took a very small bite. It was dense, but was surprised when it actually tasted like oatmeal. Stomach rumbling, she greedily took another bite.
Munching happily on the food, she was surprised when Data'tek's large hand swiped the package away from her. "Hey!" She cried out.
Data'tek shook his head and put the food back into one of the various pouches at his waist. He then held up a hand with all five fingers extended. Then, he turned to strode to the door with bolter in hand and peered into the darkened streets.
Ruby stared at him with narrowed eyes, her lower lip pressed forward in an unconscious pout as she eyed him. He had armour like she had never seen before save upon statues and propaganda. It was becoming apparent that this armour that Data'tek wore was indeed an incredible piece of technology.
The armour that he did wear was largely bare. It was green and stylized with a dragon looking symbol on one pauldron and a white arrow on the other. His chest, when she had seen it, had a golden double-headed eagle with wings stretching from shoulder to shoulder. The only other decorative thing of note was his left greave and right vambrace had realistic depictions of flames. They looked so real it was if his limbs were lit by two dimensional fires. Pouches clung tightly to his waist and sickle shaped magazines hung in easy reach from his thighs and waist. A warhammer, roughly a meter long and likely weighing more than two of Ruby put together, hung from an unusual sling made from some reptilian hide that wrapped over and under his right shoulder to cradle the hammer so the haft ran up his back and the head rested at his waist.
Ruby hopped off from her counter and landed steadily, smiling as whatever he had injected her with had dulled the pain significantly. She walked over to Data'tek and stood by him. "Sooooo… Data? Who makes your armour?"
A shrug, to which Ruby rolled her eyes. She was getting rather annoyed with his ill-defined responses.
Closer up, she turned her attention to his weapons. The bolter with the underslung muzzle and his large warhammer. The bolter was enormous. She would have to use both hands to reach around the grip and likely would need several fingers to pull the trigger, but she desperately wanted to examine it. The warhammer could wait, for the moment. "Can I see your bolter?" She asked, fingers stretching out to touch it. "Please?"
He shook his head and gripped the weapon tightly as he pulled it away from her.
"Why not?" She asked.
"It is not permitted for citizens to handle Astartes bolters." He responded, his voice completely devoid of emotion. So flat was his voice that Ruby thought he was joking so she reached out again. She stopped dead when he turned his burning eye lenses at her and she realized that perhaps this once she would refrain.
"Sorry." She muttered, withdrawing her hand. Immediately she returned to questioning. "So... who made your bolter? What does the underslung muzzle use? What about the hammer you have? Did you make any of these?"
"Yes."
Ruby smiled as she heard the underlying pride in his mechanically shifted voice. His great bulk shifted towards her, then, to her great surprise, he dropped to one knee. Even on one knee he towered over Ruby, but it brought them to a more reasonable distance. He held out his bolter for her to see. It was amazing if he had actually crafted them. They were beautiful, intricately carved and decorated. Ruby unconsciously reached for Crescent Rose, she may have met someone who would appreciate it. Ruby again reiterated that it was a masterpiece, but appearances weren't everything. "What does it fire? Is it different calibre from the bolters the Guard has?"
He reached to his hip and removed a single bolt from a magazine found there. He held out the bolt and Ruby took it gingerly from his fingers. The bolt was massive compared to even her scythe's large calibre rounds with the bolt between her fingers being easily larger than her thumb. "Point-seven-five calibre adamantium tipped bolt with a depleted uranium core. This is the standard calibre you will find."
Ruby nodded appreciatively but the bolt was nothing new to her having seen bolters on many occasions. "Do you get um… special ammunition."
Ruby grinned as he slid the bolt he was holding back into its magazine and pulled out another bolt from another magazine. He held it up again but Ruby saw no significant difference. "Inferno Bolt. Uranium core is replaced with Promethium gel that-"
Ruby cut in, "So when the round shattered after impact the gel ignites. It's like a long-range flamethrower!" She covered her mouth as her voice echoed from the distant buildings. "Sorry," She muttered behind her hands, "I love weapons."
Data'tek nodded as if in complete understanding as he pulled out yet another round and let Ruby take it. It was heavy. Far heavier than even the standard bold round. "Kraken Penetrator Round. Depleted uranium core is replaced with solid adamantium and larger charge for increased armour penetration."
"So this one is for armoured bad-guys like that other guy from earlier?" Ruby asked.
A nod as he reached to took the round back from her.
"You know… I made my own weapon too." Ruby said with a mischievous grin, "Wanna see it?"
There was a pause, then a single nod.
She gripped Crescent Rose and held the small box in her open palms in front of her. "This is Crescent Rose. A fully collapsible scythe with inbuilt customizable high-impact sniper rifle." She then extended the weapon in a flurry of grinding gears until the weapon lay fully displayed in her hands. "I only have two magazines left for it though so I really only use it for emergencies." She sighed sadly and stared longingly at her weapon. "I wish I could make more rounds for it."
Ruby looked up to Data'tek and was rather annoyed with the helmet that blocked his face from view. She couldn't tell what he was thinking as he stared unmoving at her. Then he stood and turned back to the street without a word.
Deflated at his seeming lack of interest she practically dropped Crescent Rose so the blade speared sharply into the ground with a piercing screech. Her shoulders slumped and her jaw dropped. "You don't… You don't like it?" She whispered with hurt deep in her voice as if he had personally stabbed her.
She was met with silence.
"Fine you big jerk!" She snapped and turned away, holding Crescent Rose towards her as if to comfort the weapon as she shouted over her shoulder. "You could have at least pretended to be interested like a real human rather than like some- some robot tank thing!"
That was when another thought struck her and she dropped Crescent Rose entirely. "The tank? Nononono how could I forget?" She pressed her hands to her eyes and dropped to her knees with eyes still covered. When she pulled her hands free from her eyes and turned around, she found Data'tek looking at her, his head tilted in his infuriatingly human expression of questioning.
"There was a tank that I fell with. There were people still inside but I was so hurt and- and confused that I never checked if they were still alive." She stood and tucked Crescent Rose back and began walking towards to the door. "We have to go back."
Ruby was halted by a hand on her chest and she snapped out at Data'tek. "No, get out of the way! I'm going back with or without you!" She made to push the hand aside but found the act futile. She stepped around and ran for the door but a certain armoured giant stepped to the door and blocked the frame with his bulk.
"Get out of the way!" She shouted.
A simple shake of the head. And then, "Tell me little one, what made the bridge collapse?"
She scowled, "First off! I'm not little!" His head tilted the other way and Ruby was somehow reminded of Merith's way of raising her eyebrow when Ruby said something ridiculous. That only made Ruby more frustrated as she continued. "I don't know what it was. It was like a sonic weapon or something that made a really deep note."
"Did it hit the tank?"
Ruby nodded, "Yeah, both me and the Leman Russ got hit by it. I don't remember what happened next but I woke up and the bridge was gone and I was lying in the street. I think it broke the bridge."
"It hit you?"
"Yes, that's what I said! Now will you let me go?!"
Data'tek took a slight step back, his grip on his on his weapon loosening slightly. It quickly passed and he shook his head, his grip reaffirmed on his bolter. "You should be dead."
"Well, I'm not. Okay? And neither are they! Let's go before something bad happens to them!" When Data'tek failed to move she shouted in frustration and ran her fingers through her hair. Her shout suddenly shifted to coughing and she doubled over and covered her mouth. When she pulled her hands away, warm blood again splattered her palms. The sight cooled her temper and she stopped struggling against the Space Marine.
"No. You should be dead." reiterated Data'tek.
"Should and are are not the same thing." Ruby whispered as she stared at her hands. "How would you know?"
It was silent for a moment before Data'tek spoke. "That weapon you describe I have seen on multiple occasions. I have seen men disintegrate under its impact. I have seen buildings crumble. I have seen the crewmen of tanks liquified within their vehicles." His deep voice held little comfort as he continued. "Trust me, Lady Rose. You should be dead. They are dead."
Ruby's shoulders slumped and she stepped back from Data'tek. Something about the way he spoke was too honest. Despite her best efforts to convince herself otherwise, she knew he was right. They were gone. She bumped against the counter and slid down to the floor, her legs tucked underneath her and her hands limply resting in her lap. Even if they weren't dead Ruby didn't have the strength to go back for them. Not anymore.
A shadow grew and blocked out the little light that peaked through the windows and Ruby glanced upwards to see Data'tek standing over her. He motioned to the door with his bolter, turned away and walked out of the building.