Hey Guys,

Wow, it's been awhile, as usual. I know that this is a relatively short chapter for such a long period of time, but I'm trying something new. There is some music going on during this chapter, so I posted a link that you can click so you know the feeling I'm trying to set. Let me know if you like it!

Graggen.

The council was unusually quiet today, considering that nothing worthy of note had occurred in the past few years. Sure, there had been a few wars, a few died, and they were mourned, but nothing necessarily…eventful had occurred. That was, of course, until Draconir proposed that the mon'keigh be trusted enough to begin to learn the art of war. Uldreth's face darkened. "You know that mon'keigh cannot be trusted! They will use our knowledge against us!" There were murmurs of approval amongst the council members.

The members quieted when Draconir began to speak. "He has been in the service of the Harlequins for over 200 years, and he has never showed any impatience. And Lailan has reported that he is an adequate performer, especially with music. His taste is…unique, but Lailan says it's refreshing to hear some of that…oh, what is it called? rock and roll music. He's ready."

The council members nodded (wow, they're fickle.) "It is decided, then," said Draconir, trying to ignore Uldreth's fuming. "Now, where do we find him?"

Khaine versus the Ancient Enemy, Act III. The most dramatic, and one of the most renowned, Harlequin plays. The Harlequins and Alexander had been practicing for years now to get it right, and Alexander was still frustrated that he couldn't be in the actual play. Instead, after the Beethoven incident, they made him in charge of projections for the plays. It took 20 years for Alexander to master the skill, mainly because most of the time was spent on learning how to summon his psychic powers on demand. It still was easier for Alexander when he was angry, but now he could make a huge projection of Khaine without breaking a sweat.

However, the projection was the least of Alexander's problems.

Tonight (or day; he couldn't tell considering he'd been in space for two centuries) they were performing for the Dark Eldar. That wouldn't have been a problem if a few of the more unruly ones hadn't thought it would be fun to play Harass the Human.

It started with a few jeers and catcalls, which Alexander didn't mind. But it escalated quickly. They started to throw rotten tomatoes (or the Eldar equivalent at him.) Alexander would have taught them a lesson, but he was so determined to keep the projection of Khaine looking as perfect as possible that he didn't want to risk moving.

Then the leader came up and began to speak to him. "Do you know how many members of your pathetic race I've tortured?" Alexander said nothing. "You don't belong here, mon'keigh. Nobody can perform as well as the Eldar Harlequins." He still remained silent, so the leader nodded to his two minions, who grabbed Alexander. "I watched your pathetic United Nations fall, as if mon'keigh could ever be united. I saw the cities you created burned, and I laughed."

Time slowed down for Alexander to such an extent that his harassers seemed to be standing still. Neural activity accelerated into overdrive. Enemies: Two dark Eldar cronies, one arrogant leader.
Provocation: Insult of human race. Punishment: extreme physical pain. This must register on an emotional level. Selected emotion: regret. First, incapacitate leader through quick strike to temple. Suddenly, somehow, Alexander saw a future projection of himself appear, striking a Dark Eldar in the temple, causing him to collapse to the ground. Next, block attack by crony on left. The projection on the left moved to slap Alexander, who caught his elbow. Make him regret his decision. Projection Alexander twisted the Eldar's arm, causing the joint to be ripped out of its socket. The Eldar passed out. Then, finish the job. The last Eldar charged projection Alexander, but the human kicked him in the abdomen, breaking a few ribs in the process and causing him to fly towards the wall. Time slowed down to such an extent that the Eldar seemed to be suspended in midair. Damage report: One fractured skull, one dislocated shoulder, three to five broken ribs and at least 2 broken cervical vertebrae. Estimated mean physical recovery: Two weeks (they are Eldar, after all). Estimated mean psychological recovery: 10 months.

The vision ended, and Alexander was once again looking at three laughing Dark Eldar. Alexander jumped, elbowing the leader in the temple. As he collapsed, Alexander caught the strike by the crony on the left, twisting his shoulder until the joint dislocated. The third Eldar looked hesitant, to say the least, but he charged Alexander. Perfect. The next moment, the last jerk was embedded in the ceiling.

However, Alexander's vision did not tell him what would happen after the awesome Sherlock Holmes sequence. As he sat back down and closed his eyes to concentrate on the Khaine projection once more, the Eldar with the dislocated shoulder stood up and kicked Alexander in the face. This wouldn't have been a problem, except that Alexander had been sitting right next to an open stage entrance. In a millisecond, Alexander realized he was going to slide onstage, ruining the final act. He closed his eyes. This needed to be incredibly quick.

In half of a second, he was sliding towards the entrance on his knees. In the course of the next three milliseconds, he had a mental conversation with the leader, Lailan.

Lailan! We're going to have to make a change of plans!

What do you mean?

I'm sliding towards the stage. If you don't end now, the play will be ruined!

Give us 3 seconds, but if you slide onstage, the end will be destroyed anyway.

No it won't. I have a plan for an encore.

What do you mean?

Whatever happens, just go with it.

The play ended three seconds later, and Alexander concentrated hard on a mental picture of an electric guitar.

Sai'kun slouched in his seat, bored out of his mind. This was the 56th time he had watched this play in his 1,000 year life, and he never liked it. He was already running late for his 10 0'clock torture session (and some fun with the ladies, if you know what I mean). Halfway through, his mind was on autopilot. Blah blah blah, some Eldar die, great tragedy, yadayadayada. So what? It was those craft world Eldar that liked this mushy stuff. They needed to learn how to lighten up. Have some fun, for Slanesh's sake! The music ended. Finally! He began to stand up, when the most random occurrence he had ever seen took place. A mon'keigh slid onstage on his knees, holding an alien instrument with six strings and a very long, skinny end. He (well, he thought he was a male at any rate; they all look the same) began to strum the strings, but not in a calm, beautiful way that the Harlequins do, but in a wild, passionate action. ( watch?v=rBrH9EWZ-Bc ) Three more identical mon'keigh appeared behind him. One had an instrument similar to the first, another set of an assortment of primitive percussion instruments, and the last one with an old keyboard.

"Just let me hear some of that Rock and Roll music!" yelled the lead mon'keigh. He began to sing, or what may have been singing. It seemed as if he were just shouting. Sai'kun loved it, and he got up and began to dance. It was an erratic pattern. The melody was incredibly simplistic and repetitive, but that didn't matter. It was new, refreshing from the stuffiness of the Harlequins. Other members of the audience stared at Sai'kun, but he didn't care; he was having too much fun. The Harlequins on stage, still in mid-bow, stared at the mon'keigh, mouths open in horror. But suddenly, as if they received a simultaneous psychic message, they cartwheeled off the stage. How odd. He thought. The three four identical copies must be projections of his memories from his own planet. They listen to this stuff?

Within two minutes, the song ended, and three of the mon'keigh faded away, leaving only one standing. He had a defiant look in his eyes, as if he were begging that someone criticize his music. Instead, Sai'kun began to applaud; giving everyone else the you better do the same look. Soon, the entire stage was full of Dark Eldar clapping for this rebellious, unnamed mon'keigh. Sai'kun was about to say something, but before he could, a craft world Eldar appeared in a brilliant flash of light and blinked back out of existence, taking the mon'keigh with him.

Time to respond to reviews!

Mr I hate znt nobles kill em: They're making statues of burritos and burgers out of wraithbone, not actual food. I'm not sure I would like to eat a razor sharp double double even if they could do that.

Kelgar04: Thanks! I'll try to get these chapters out more frequently, but this one took time because it just didn't feel right. However, I need it to get to the more interesting stuff next chapter.

BIBOTOT: Good suggestion, and thanks for the review.

Ubermarine: Thank you for your support!

And remember, reviews for the review god!