Chapter 5

Death to the famine makers! Death to the ones who tried to steal our world! Know no Fear!

-Gaimian resistance chant turned Gaimian Guard slogan, M 3.

We in Salcava have the greatest thing ever given to us, a slogan that came from beings we didn't know of until recently. Quidith can go on and on about how the humans are chain makers and more, but we here in our republic see that the humans know no fear, too. I'm considering moving to that Phenex Station place, because humans are damn hot, and I want me some of that.

-Unknown Asari, M3

The Emperor Protects. That was what I was told at the end when the humans came to our world. I was hesitant upon hearing it. My first thought was that the humans are like the enslavers who once ruled here, but all these years of us being free and now I understand why the humans greeted us that way. Because he does indeed do that. You youngsters don't realize how lucky you are. You are free to have families of your own. Mine was torn from me, but they are back. The humans who are the greatest people in the galaxy stayed and helped reunite us. Never not help humanity, because they did this and more for you.

-Gaimian elder speaking to his grandchildren, M 3

Omega.

Aria was amused by the young Asari maiden before her. The maiden was nervous, as were her two friends. They were all wearing the armor of that new gang that had formed late last year: Eclipse. They were there petitioning for Eclipse to set up a recruiting station on Omega. Aria listened to the faint music of Afterlife, and the roars of the drunks and the people enjoying freedom. The maiden had somehow steadied herself by whispering something,

"Know no fear."

Aria knew that phrase. The Adaptive used it. The maiden had balls to be an Adaptive. A person would be mocked heavily for that. Aria felt a hint of respect. The maiden didn't seem like much, but this was something.

"Your request will be considered. Now, fuck off, I want to enjoy my time."

The maidens bowed before leaving. The young ones were showing respect, it seemed. Eclipse seemed to be built different. Volk looked at his boss.

"They do good things, boss. They'd help out with the problems of the crazies."

Aria hummed in response to that. Volk was right. Eclipse was the only gang who was not a bunch of wimps when it came to the cults. Omega had three of them recently. The other gangs on station just let the cults do their shit. Credits were more important to them than ideals. Eclipse was funny that way, idealistic mercs, but their idealism was winning them massive favor. Perhaps she would grant the request. Volk had opened a data pad and started reporting something.

"Another gang just tried to shoot two of our people. 1 or 2?"

Aria was in a good mood today, but gangs always needed to be made an example of.

"Two. Make it extra bloody."

Volk nodded, and then informed the death squadron of the decision. The mostly Batarian and Krogan group went to wipe out the gang. They even had a stupid name: The Red Varrens. Aria thought more on Eclipse. They could take care of the cult problem for her, make her men less uptight about them. Her men lost five to the strongest of them, all extremely bloody deaths. The cults were always like that though. Eclipse was extremely good at cleaning the cults up. That could be the solution, but Volk made the final move that answered the request.

"One more thing, boss. The maiden brought this, said you might want it. I don't know Asari drinks."

The tribute was presented by a Vorcha. It was an amazing gift. It was a Salcava alcohol that was extremely hard to get a hold of if you didn't have friends in the monasteries that made the drink. Aria grinned widely. Yes, Eclipse was indeed built differently, because the other gangs didn't know her fondness for good alcohol. They usually tried to pay tribute with gems and credits, or carpets and art they stole. Many of the purely Batarian ones liked giving slaves. Aria didn't care for that, but Volk fixed these situations easily. How Aria knew he was an abolitionist, but this maiden was someone who needed to be watched, because this gift was really something else.

"What was her name, Volk? I tune that out because they usually boast about their achievements."

Volk looked at his data pad.

"Liara T'Soni, boss."

Liara had tried to be like Jeanne, brave, like Tsubaki, elegant. She didn't feel either of those here, but her new friends had patted their friend who was out of place here but trying. They had all joined Eclipse because they had wanted to be like the Hero of Thessia. Liara had joined for another reason. Verca had told her that she would eventually be leading a new recruitment station in an as of yet undetermined place. Liara thanked Eve for that. It gave them another excuse to get her to Imperial space. Her mother had been worried about Liara being a merc, but Athetya had just slapped Benezia in a certain way that had the two go do something fun.

Liara had a nosebleed thinking about the fun, but she had grown serious and taken this opportunity because this got her the two others. They would be near the station. Tsubaki had told her that she was getting ready to step down from the High Lords. She had her replacement ready for that job. That Tsubaki would take Liara out on a ship she and Jeanne owned and would see the new worlds the Imperium had settled. Liara felt the wanderlust fully now. She saw why her age group did the things they did, but she would be a warrior, not a stripper or a merc that betrays ideals.

Eclipse had been heavily invested into by another group this week hoping to take the name for their own. They wanted to buy out the company, but the head Salarian had received ninety five million credits from Eve and was told one thing.

"More will come. Don't sell out now. Earn your redemption. You will see what you fight like. A place that once thought they did something like you. They were wrong, but they became a wall never broken. Be like this place once called Krieg."

The Salarian wanted redemption. He had been young once, and had been a slaver for eighteen years. A major one, at that. He was only four years away from forty. He was desperate to make his last years into ones of light. He regretted everything he had ever done. His next cycle would be terrible, but this company of ideals might make it better for him by a little. He remembered what had made him like that. A small Asari maiden and her mother had been set to become pleasure slaves for a rich Hegemony family who paid incredibly well. The daughter had only been thirty five, still a child. He had sold them. He had an awful headache that day that lasted for five days. He remembered the Asari mother begging him not to do this. She was willing to give the Salarian anything, do anything he wanted, if he would just let them go.

He regretted that so badly. He let inaction and greed destroy them. The next year the Batarian had ordered more slaves with the same requirements. The Salarian had asked why. The Batarian had thought he was with fellow scum, and said he'd tortured the previous two to death. The money was better than the first time, but he had denied the offer. He told the few "okay" slavers he knew not to sell to that one. They hadn't listened and made their credits.

Every night he woke screaming because of the one he had failed, the girl especially. He wanted to be like the people of this place called Krieg. The myth was sad, but they had turned into a wall of protection. They had been heroes unsung. The Salarian had seen his hope to be like them: don't be pansies, don't let darkness into the lives of others. It's why he was extremely harsh with his gang. He's pissed off several early recruits because he said no flesh pedaling and no spice running. Nothing that would harm huge numbers was allowed. This had made many leave. Doubts flooded his mind again, but a Turian had stepped up; he was a former member of Blackwatch. He said he and his six friends were staying because they didn't want to have anything to do with that shit either. Those who had left were Salarians and Asari maidens. Those who stayed were Turians who wanted to do private sector work while still holding their morals.

Eclipse had taken them. The Batarians had joined because they were sick of the stereotypes of them. Many had been raised outside the Hegemony. They hated how they, who never participated in slavery, were called slavers behind their backs. They were all from the lower castes and had fled the Hegemony. Their parents told them the evils of the institution, how they were told that they were better than slaves, but were still treated the same. These new Batarians wanted to reform their image. They wanted to be better. Krieg fascinated them, as well as the Turians. Krieg was their redemption. That's why the story was told only internally to those who had extreme doubts.

His company was now swamped with contracts now why they were recruiting. They didn't back down on cults. They would be the company of mercs others would look to and want to be like. The Salarian had done a counter move. He bought out the other company, threw out the leadership who was responsible for their shit. The company had been mostly Salarians who were told they would be better or else. Many left, but just as many stayed hearing the story of Krieg. They had been told that Eclipse was like that place but better.

Galve.

Gaimian troops continued to train. They practiced everything, like shooting and squad based tactics. The Sisters shared a thing they called the Tactica Imperialis translated into Gaimesh. The ideas in it changed the way the Gaimian thought of war. Explaining why they had failed in the last rebellion, because they had not known about modern war. For them, battles were straight lines of infantry poking at each other and never breaking infantry. The Tactica explained to them that those tactics were useless against machine guns, tanks, and artillery. They needed to adapt, because they needed to win.

Groups of Gaimian began to target industrial sites through small sabotage. Same with the power grids. They were hitting at random to confuse the enslavers further. They softly told others in the city to know no fear because they who had trained didn't anymore.

The humans had taught them how to use the Vox machines, how to stab with the halberds and activate the power button, making them crack and the few Enslaver armors they had were destroyed completely. Their army grew as more of the resistance was slowly gathered. This was their Unification War. The divisions between their people that had been forming thanks to the invasion had been mended for now. They would sort that out when they were free.

Three regiments of the Gaimian King's Guard were formed, with equal numbers male and female. There were three thousand soldiers. They had extra guns and armor being stockpiled. Tech Priests had taught the Gaimian how to repair their weapons and armor. King Hesnal had asked if the Gaimian would get the gun plans. The human ambassador Antoinette had softly said something.

"If you get the plans will you ever stop killing? Will you consider that maybe they will destroy your people further? An endless war after? We want to give you them, but those questions have to be answered first."

King Hesnal wanted to be angry. That sounded like enslaver shit of condescending. Of course, the Gaimian would stop. His high prophet shared a vision of a potential future that horrified him. It was a world of endless war. Gaimian destroying each other with the guns. He now saw why the humans were trying to protect them from those lines. These were not condescending questions, but worry for them. They who had not raised those questions before. King Hesnal was ashamed. He had not considered that maybe the humans wanted peace too.

"We will not be them."

The ambassador had her aide, a precognitive, look at them for a second before something was said that they could hear too.

"Lines are better than ever before."

Antoinette nodded at that.

"We will share the plans, but you can't have us always playing what my race is called the devil's advocate. You have to play that yourself. We don't want you in chains. Advice is free."

The new King's Guard were told by champions turned officers in their regiments that they must consider new things. There would be no endless violence after the enslavers were thrown out. Many didn't understand why, but the psykers in their ranks understood immediately. They explained to their comrades what could happen if they didn't consider this.

A small forge was made in the town that held the Gaimian court. A blacksmith was pulled in with his two apprentices by a tech priest, and the man showed them a machine that would make bullets for the auto guns. The blacksmith listened to the tech priest talk of machine spirits and how the machine worked. His apprentices listened to the hum of the machine, and became the first Gaimian to believe in their God in a new way, the Great Bird of Machines. The apprentices saw why they were not being given the plans for guns right away. They thanked the Great Bird because this would not destroy their people. Knowledge sometimes should not be sought till ready. They told that to other Gaimian. The Cult Mechanicus spread into the other two forges designated to make bullets. The young people in them began to ask questions of the Omnissiah. The tech priests gave the young answers.

Sisters had scouted bases and planted well hidden sensors near them. They also planted beacons for landing ships and made rough calculations of enemy numbers. They had the drill abbesses working with the Gaimian as equal officers. Sister squads were placed in positions where they could cause shock and awe on the Race. Exorcist tanks were hidden in positions that made up for their slower movement. There were ten tanks on world, three for each regiment of Gaimian soldiers and one for the Sister Cannoness. The Order of the Sword was preparing their sisters for this fight.

The Gaimian were at first stumped when taught the Oath of Moment, that it was a way to reinforce their God against the Race's. Mortals and Gods were equal and must help each other to win. The Great Eagle needed them, too. The King's Guard took to the tradition fast, because they would do anything for their freedom. That fact that their God was real made them believe more. The fact that the enslavers had one too was disgusting, but they were told mortals could kill Gods, too. The Emperor of Mankind had killed some. They could do that, be like the Harbinger. He stood against Gods. "Know no Fear" took on more meaning.

The Humans promised that a mortal who could kill gods would come to help them, a being called the White Dragon Empress. She had warriors with her that had helped kill gods, too. They needed to believe in the Great Eagle and the truth, because they would be like the Captain of Red Destruction. She would who would lead the Gaimian into the stars.

In the warp, Asgard

The Einherjar broke again as another town outside the walls of Asgard fell. The White Dragon Empress was there, and she wanted blood. Team Vali crushed their enemies with the armies of the Senate. Vali pat Fenrir as he ate a Valkyrie. The Dread Wolf howled, and that was making the retreat worse for the Norse as the dread grew. Vali enjoyed the fights. Killing degenerates was great fun.

Ren was cooking an Einherjar with warp lightning. Frola was laughing with several Votan as they blasted a Champion of Loki with radium guns. The Votan chanted "Rock and Stone!" making more flee in a now deep phobia of that phrase. Valeria was with Louis as the space marine slapped a Einherjar with Shovel-Chan Junior. Percy was with Balamund as the blank made more warp beings scream in horror and go mad. The Team was smaller than before, but they enjoyed their work. Asgard was always getting closer, and behind them, always advancing, was Karen. The Emperor titan Princeps was a very pissed off Sun Elf who let her warhorn scream out as the town fell.

Asgard had suffered horrific losses throughout the seven years of the War in Heaven. The once green realm was now burning slowly. Ragnarök had come, and it was now impossible to stop. More titans blared their war horns. The sizes of them reached the ceiling of this realm. The armies of the Senate were ready for this to end soon, because the Emperor of Mankind was there with more of his Custodian Guard. Loki was for Vali, and Odin for him.

Issei was better knowing that Celestine was not throwing massive fits. She had a connection with him now. Her purrs were helping his own separation anxiety. He hated being a social dragon sometimes, bitterly, but this needed to end. He was with Antony and his shield brothers, the ten Custodians, and one more, Santodes, had lumbered behind them in his dreadnought walker. It was elegant in design and held his twenty names engraved on the outer shell. The sounds of the contemptor dreadnought's footsteps made the few Norse warriors nearby and still alive run. The Norse mythology had lasted longer than the Greeks, by barely two weeks.

Their stockpiles of faith were rationed heavily by Loki. They had fought smarter than the Greeks. Again, Loki had made the war plan they followed. The new Allfather had played on his trickster nature and done unconventional things that made the front here terrifying sometimes, but after the third year the Senate had him on the back foot.

Jotunheim burned completely that year and that was the turning point. Thor had become the Champion of humanity again. He'd crushed the Jotuns, but had gotten help from a very unlikely source. Sutur had brought the fire giants into the war, finally. They enjoyed burning the ice realm. Thor had faced the fire giant king. The rivals had stared each other down as Jotunheim burned. Sutur had been amused.

"Want lava planets, simple as. And to see my brat clone. He might be a pathetic devil now, but he is at least in the strongest peerage of the bats. The Golden Eagle man beat me, slapped me down then gave me Vostroyan Vodka. Will follow the strongest of the strongest, the Eagle Man who killed the beast."

The realms loyal to Loki burned down one by one. The Einherjar fought against the senate every step of the way, but they couldn't, like the Greeks, take the attrition. The guns of the Senate got better, as did their armor faster than Loki's. The dead could easily be replaced with the always refining system of Galen. The Norse had tried everything to get an advantage, but nothing had worked well.

That had changed briefly in the fifth year when Loki tried to get Jormangander to attack Terra. The Midgard serpent had considered helping his dad. It held the entire world in suspense, but Jorm was a troll. He was a mood-kindred of the Alpha Legion. Louis had challenged the Serpent to a game. Jorm had been interested by the challenge. They had played Cards Against Humanity. Louis had also introduced during those games to Jorm a person who was lonely like him, Medusa. The Gorgan had hit it off extremely well with Jorm. The two bonded over their hate of their pantheons. Loki was a shit dad, so Jorm had kept playing with Louis. He kept his father in suspense.

After two weeks of being screwed with, Loki demanded Jorm do something, anything! Kill Thor damnit! Jorm had kept up his troll nature.

"Not feeling it today. Maybe tomorrow."

That lasted for a month before Loki attacked his brat. Jorm just ate them in serpent form, then opened a line to Loki.

"You're a bad dad. The Emperor here is nice, and I got a gal pal thanks to my new best friend and big bro. They are cooler than you. So piss off and die."

Jorm was extremely happy. He and Medusa were both very excited because they were able to fuck around with ships in Terra's oceans. They never really hurt anyone, but enjoyed scaring the shit out of sailors on the water fleet. That got many sailors pissing themselves in fright, but the captains and Jorm had a brain cell. There was now a new hazing ritual for new fleet sailors. Medusa had been in on it, too. She liked her troll boyfriend, and Louis because she had been in a dark place in isolation and had missed so much. The Alpha Legion forums were her haven. She was a moderator there. She had been helped from her curse, and while still a snake lady, she didn't freeze people into stone anymore.

Louis was always ranting about Shovel-Chan to the pair who tuned him out.

Fenrir just ate another Valkyrie, and that made Louis congratulate his friend.

"Soon, Fenrir, you will be like Doge Vandire, the greatest Doge in our Reality! I have your posters ready to go!"

Fenrir liked Louis. He didn't understand this Doge Vandire, but he had food and more. He still didn't like chains, but he never got to wear them with his mother and father. He did smell the golden one. He whimpered unconsciously because the Emperor was the Alpha of the planet. Wolves won't attack Alphas. Issei patted the wolf on his head.

"It's fine, Fenrir. Soon you can have fun outside the warp permanently. Vali, good to see you. We still doing our match on Titan in two months?"

Vali, who was wearing power armor, looked at the Emperor and the Red One. He was damn tall in the warp, easily ten feet. He made his guards, who were usually taller than him, look like dwarves. Vali grunted at him.

"Maybe. I want to help birds. Also want to meet my mood-kindred, have a drink to down. Momma didn't raise no bitch. It will impress the hump fucker."

"Understandable. Ryncol tears you up, but you got this. Your regeneration factor gets better with each fight, I believe. A tip, however, down it all at once, don't take multiple sips. Horus has been begging me to get his Aunti to visit him."

"Rugrat needs to be stronger. Don't beg, but will try before Phenex station. Tell Angel girl hello."

"I will, thanks. Horus wants to dye his hair white like you. I'll let him. It will probably suit him better than his brown. Asia's still working on your mom's last injury from Rizevim. Is his head still good?"

"Yes. Throw darts at it when bored. Loki is getting the fisting today. Also, when is my knight ready?"

"The suit is done. As is Percy's. It will be delivered to your ship, as promised for your last victory bet. You did it Vali, you really are the mecha dragon now."

Vali snorted in amusement. Percy held back his laughter, just barely. It was incredibly easy to make him laugh. He had a knight suit, too! He was going to paint it a matching color for his wife. Vali didn't have the heart to tell her husband that she needed to kick ass for her mood-kindred, Wrex.

Team Vali gathered with The Emperor and his men at a destroyed town that was very close to the front gate. They, and the armies of the Senate, were eager to kill Loki. Karen blew her horn again. The Einherjar on the walls of the city saw their deaths fast approaching. They were heavily outnumbered. The few Norse gods left saw Thor and Baldur. They saw the legions of thousands of Einherjar who waved Baldur's standard and the regiments of the dead imperial humans chanting and jeering at them. They saw the Votan and their war robots and the very pissed off Sun Elves who have made an effigy of Loki and impaled it on a spear, as well as the legions of samurai with Chain katanas.

Heimdall regretted much. He had not spoken when Neoth had been fully revealed. He had not spoken when Odin was placed into protective custody by Loki to protect the real Allfather from killers in the night. The Imperium had scared him too much at the time. He regretted not joining Balder before the war was launched. He saw Thor's children and Sif were regretting that too, but most of all the guardian of the rainbow bridge regretted letting Loki become the New Allfather, because he had led them to ruin.

Thor had new armor with an Aquilla on it, as well as a new thunder hammer. Baldur was wearing armor with the Aquilla, too. The armies of the Senate all wore it. Heimdall saw that the Emperor of Mankind was wearing the Aquilla, too. His sword of Blazing Truth would kill Odin. The White Dragon Empress was cracking her power fists. She would kill Loki. Fenrir howled loudly and proudly. He wanted to eat the sun of Asgard, and for a moment Terra. The wolf regretted the thought instantly, because Louis lived there. Ren and his gal pals were from there, too. Vali has become his mom and was truly an Inspiration to people there. Dad was human. Issei patted the wolf again, settling doubts.

"You're human too, Fenrir. Just shaggy. Don't eat our sun. After we are done here."

Vali finished that.

"Eat this one. They will all be dead, and the dead end faiths don't need one. Good doge."

The howl of joy from the Dread Wolf shook the realm. The Senate armies cheered with the wolf. Ashwatthama readied his chain great-axe. Bagadota stepped away from Fenrir. His mechanical limbs hurt still, but Fenrir had saved him twice, so that was fine. Karen prepared her plasma cannon. The Senate forces put up noise canceling bubbles for them. Heimdall bowed his head. Many other Norse had fled as the gun powered up. Heimdall would not run. He realized his failure. He accepted his end and the death. He was like the Senate said, a leech that drained faith from humanity. The new world order was here, and he would not be a part of it.

The plasma gun fired, and in a single shot, blew the great gate of Asgard open. It destroyed the walls next to it, wood cracking and splintering. Stone became bleached white by the heat. The rainbow bridge broke, and was replaced by one made of gold. It was a path the Emperor had made. It would remain there in a soon to be dead realm.

The Senate forces followed Team Vali and the Emperor. Karen and her kin titans blared their war horns in triumph. The very few survivors of the blast were heavily wounded. Guardian spears, power fists, and other weapons ended their suffering. Baldur picked up Heimdall's helmet. It slowly disappeared forever. The battle began now.

The civilians of Asgard were not innocent. They had cheered when Loki committed genocide on the Sun Elves, had thrown praise at his feet when the Dark Elves had been left with only two hundred in all existence. They'd tortured Sun Elf prisoners for fun under the new laws of Loki. They felt the vengeance delivered tenfold. They died because they had supported evil.

Sun Elves brough chainswords down on their enemies who had abused their people. They showed no mercy. The three Dark Elves didn't torture like they once had, but they took great pleasure in gutting vermin. Angels killed Einherjar, who broke rules of surrender just to inflict more damage on their foes. Valkyrie died to samurai who saw them act without honor countless times.

Thor faced Sif in their old home as the city burned. He wept, because she could have run with him. His kids were dead already from the blast. He looked at his ex-wife. She was pitiful, and not the woman he'd once loved. Sif whispered to her former husband.

"End it quickly. I see you moved on. The Seraph is better than I will ever be. I helped him in the beginning. I am sorry for not being like you. Better. He is trying to escape and will take Odin with him, along with his most trusted. He said he will join with the parasites if it means we get revenge."

"He won't escape. It's not possible with the Emperor here. The secret ways are all watched. As the White haired one said, Fenrir is a good boy. He listened. Loki is doomed."

Sif cried tears of joy at that. The Gould were the worst thing that humanity knew of. It had been when Loki said they should reach out to their Pain Maker that Sif and the vast majority of the remaining gods had seen the madness in him at last. Jormangander had broken the second to last thread. The final had been when Sleipnier had tried to run and join the rest of the family. Loki had killed the horse, and made it extremely brutal because it made the other forces stay in line.

That broke the AllFather, and made him go off the deep end completely. He loved the mount the most out of all of his children. Sleipnir had stayed loyal, unlike the other three. He had been a good war mount. Doubts showed after Jormangander. The mount had regretted everything, until the very end.

Thor pulped Sif. Her blood splattered across what was once their home. He looked around the home, but felt nothing. He would never fight human things again, only Xenos. His new wife would hold him and help the pain leave, because she was very human. She was humbled and had held many like that once. She kept him there now. He would return to his new home in Stockholm, Sweden, and tell the two regiments of his in the Old One Fifty his skald tales. The fact that two regiments of humans called him their patron and aspect humbled him. They were the JormsVickings and the Brotherhood of Metal. They believed in him utterly. They called him the champion of humanity again. He didn't believe that, but they did.

Issei killed a Valkyrie who had tried desperately to kill him. He cut her in half. He then cut down the last two Einherjar defenders before the gate to the palace. He and Vali broke the wooden gate with a slash and punch. The city behind them burned. The Custodians moved with the two of them,then the team behind them. Frola was sad to see the end of where she once grew up, but she had Roseweisse and her grandmother head of the new clan. The old woman had fought her way out of prison, killing many Valkyrie because she was not weak. That grandma was with Rossweiss on Terra.

Vali killed a stupid elite guard that had tried to jump from the ceiling onto her. She broke his ribs, making them pierce his lungs. He coughed up blood before dying. The two friends/rivals advanced further into the palace. The Custodians appreciated Team Vali. They were good warriors. Fenrir sniffed Santodes, but the dreadnought gently shooed the wolf away.

"Not food. Fought End of Empires. Why I'm strange."

Fenrir whined at the mention of Dracneyen. That thing still scared many people. That had been the prophecy of the end of all civilization for humanity. Fenrir had been that, too, but he was not Dracneyen. Vali had been horrified to learn that Dracneyen could permanently kill perpetuals. It had killed the first twelve humans ones. Le Fay had not talked about the fight, refusing to tell Vali anything when they had team reunions. Arthur had been the one to say one thing.

"Destruction."

He had never said anything else about that fight. When Vali pressed her big boss Akio had just remarked that he lost five limbs in that fight, nothing more. Vali realized then she would never fully get that story. They were close to the throne room.

Inside was a massive hall with many depictions of Odin and just as many of Loki. At the far end of the hall was a throne standing before a glass window, depicting Yggdrasil. It was partly broken. Twenty Einjerhar in extensive armor with helms covering their heads in mockery of the Custodians stood before the throne. They carried mock guardian spears and seemed to be new entirely. Issei tisked at the figure on the Throne. Loki was manic. Pure warp beings needed mortals so very badly. No new ideas were ever made by them. It was beings like Athame and Neoth that brought new ideas. Loki just copied the Custodians.

Issei could already see ten weaknesses in the fake ones. Issei did see an interesting thing. Odin was chained to a wall. The one eyed-fuck had wounds, but his lone eye that Issei had seen many years ago being a shameless pervert was now looking to the one he tried to corrupt, begging for help. Issei shook his head.

"Suffer for a bit more. For the humans you destroyed because of Argus. That was your arrogance. You tried to corrupt me when I was a kid who didn't know any better. You took away my family because you couldn't fucking control yourself. If those wards were not there, the gas line would have been found quickly."

Odin prepared to speak and beg openly for a release now, but Loki intruded before he could.

"Boo hoo. Want me to play a string of the warp's smallest harp? Worms like you have no right to complain about your lot in the sad realm that is the fake. You should have taken my brother's advice. You would have prospered with it. Had your disgusting harem. Your filthy children would still have been there, just germs like you should have been. Humanity has always been a plague. I was just thinking about how I kill you in many trees. I watched your dream die. That has been fun watching."

The Custodians growled under their helms. This was the Emperor Beloved by All fucking warp spawn. Vali saw her team was mad too, especially Ren and Frola who were foaming at the mouth. Even Santodues in his walker showed anger. Issei just yawned.

"You do kill me in many trees by exploiting my nature there. Very good tactical thinking. Know thy enemies and all that, but here, I know you. You're a warp spawn. You know next to nothing in your knowledge of genetics, copies of my work and Neoth's. I copied it too, but I made my own innovations for my Custodians. We humans remain at the bottom in many trees. Yes, that's true, but we are here, not there where you want to be. Vali can break your bones, crack your skull, make you bleed. Her versions kill you more than mine. I just want Odin, and to test your copies against my ideas improved upon. You dropped a lot of your stockpiles into this. Vali, use that one rune I showed you. Make it in his blood. It will be fun."

Vali smirked evilly and her well-hidden psychopathy. She would make that rune. She would break this fuck's bones and crack his skull into a million pieces, especially for her doge. Fenrir had bad issues with food sometimes as a result of starvation. He was a bit smaller because of that. Fenrir fed off his mood kindred in mom, dad, and all of his new family. Fenrir might've been warp spawn, too, but he had become a thing humans admired rather than hated. "Dread Wolf take you" gave him power. Humans cursed a lot. He would consume Gould daemons faster. If there is a species of cat out there he would chase after them in playfulness with his best friend Louis, because the Emperor gave him a real family.

On a far off world somewhere in the Milky Way, an entire species of cat people froze en mass. Something just made a vow to chase them, something extremely alien in nature. The god and goddess of the Cathar people looked far off in the distance and swore for a moment that they could see a maw of teeth on something that wanted to possibly eat them. The Husband/Wife duo got ready to hide their planet forever, but their kitten offspring, the new and last of their peoples deities, saw the thing fully. It's eyes widened before saying to its parents, "Thing thinking of us is nice. Was helped by very likely new friends. They have cat people too! One of the mates of the avatar of them is one! We have possible kin because they too are from the shity grandparents!"

The duo froze further before something landed in front of them: Bashive, the nectar of happiness. It smelled so good. The kitten jumped up and down seeing the thing in front of them. It was a cat person. It had less fur and a longer tail, but it was a cat. The Cat man smiled and softly cursed his dad. He hated it when dad saw things and then made his temporary lady in Asia power him into the warp. Kitten smiled a bit forcedly and then bowed.

"Greetings, my lost kin. I am indeed a cat person, too. I'm what's called a nekomata, a subspecies of our world's primary species called humanity. I am the envoy for your galactic neighbors. The thing thinking of chasing you is ok. I can teach you tricks on how to get away from him, but he means no harm. He just has a very weird best friend. That should be calmed down when he gets his mate. We have good news for your people."

The mates blinked before looking at their kitten. The yellow-orange kitten was bouncing up and down in excitement. They then looked back at the nekomata. The male Cathar asked.

"What good news?"

Kitten smiled more seeing the young kitten bouncing.

"Your people are nowhere near a being we call the Pain Maker. You're actually very far from them. You do have friends in us when we meet in the materium, and one of our pride leaders is indeed what the little one said, also a cat person. We are like your people too in that we are proud warriors, and we know honor. Would be happy to be fellow hunter with you."

The Cathar deities now smiled because that was good. The other cat wasn't lying about that. They sent a wave of comfort to their species, and the Cathar just went back to regular life. Kitten talked with them and the Cathar deities like human ideas. The Cathar were almost getting ready to settle their first colony world. They were from the humans in the galactic south as the new beacon of light was beginning to fully show.

The Galactic east of that light was where the Pain Maker was, but he just enjoyed another species his makers found being slaughtered by their legions of slaves. A light hit him, but it was barely a candlelight. Nothing to worry about.

Asgard.

Issei smiled and mentally congratulated Kitten before turning to the fake Custodians. This would be fun. The materium custodians smirked evilly; they all wanted to kill the fakes. Their lord hadn't lied. He had improved them further, made them faster, made them even stronger, and given them more things that made them better than the first ones. The fakes were shit copies. They would crush these posers. They were not rookies, but the fakes were.

Vali started her fight by charging forward with her wings extended and her speed made Loki widen his eyes horribly. Mortals were not that fast! Vali punched with her right fist, and the lightning combined with her speed made it slam into Loki straight in his gut. The punch was enhanced by seven years of killing warp spawn, plus three wins against her rival had made her more deadly. Issei had been helping her in another way, by making her sacred gear stronger and through his tips. They were unlocking the few remaining barriers that could hold her back.

This would make it possible for her to eventually become a goddess if she wanted to. He hadn't told her that. Galen had made gear when humans had been at the complete bottom of the pole. He wanted his adoptive kids to be able to crush the Asgardians and the Olympians when they reached a certain point. It would not be permanent. It was the true purpose of balance break on a Longinus. It was never permanent, but could make you stronger than ever and help you easily kill gods. Vali would be the human destroyer of the foul gods that may've been out there besides the Pain Maker. Vali wanted to fight ever stronger enemies. This would be how she kept up. Mortals would make up the top five strongest beings of Terra eventually. Vali was currently at number seven, but this fight would make her number five.

The punch threw Loki to the floor and left a trail of destruction. The fakes tried to help their lord, but they were immediately attacked by the true and Santodes. The dreadnought spoke the same words of the other him.

"My thermic reactor is pulsating with excitement! Glory to the Emperor, Beloved by All!"

He charged forward and grabbed a fake with one of his claws before crushing them. The snap of the spine breaking was loud and made Odin cry out.

"Kill them, please! End my suffering, I beg you boy! Please do this! I regret everything! You are right, we are leeches, just give me a quick death! I deserve this and more for them! I beg you, please!"

Issei smiled sadistically. This was one of the only times he would ever truly do this.

"Nah. Don't feel like it. Maybe I'll keep you like that for two thousand five hundred days, one for each human your actions killed that night. I'll draw my runes for you, too, make you feel their final moments of death every single second for that time. For my parents, you will feel their fear and horror tenfold. I hate gods because of you. I hated my second dad for so very long because of you. Still don't like him, but you get one good thing Odin: the final knowledge that humans will never be on the bottom here again. We are done with vermin like you."

Odin begged and begged but was met with no sympathy. Another fake Custodian was cut in half by Antony. Two more went down by Fenrir eating their faces off. Sergei fired his bolter on his spear and took a leg off one before he blasted the head off of the wounded.

Vali picked up Loki and head butted him.

"For my mood kindred, asshole. Your death is me honoring him. He will get his revenge and war with me forever. From Tuchanka, with love!"

The head butt broke three of his teeth. Loki broke free and immediately began his new berserker fury and hate at mortals, focusing solely on Vali. His gut hurt like never before. He conjured a sword, and then stabbed at the germ who thought they could defeat him.

Issei slashed and took a fake's head. The head rolled, getting crushed by Santodes. The dreadnought grabbed another fake and slammed the fake into the floor a dozen times in quick succession. The fake was turned to pulp. The True Custodians unleashed a special organ they had that the old didn't, an organ near their voice boxes that made a psychic scream that sent the fakes into stupors because that was made to target warp beings. Fenrir whined at that, but Louis gently poked his friend with a counter rune.

"I know Fen, that hurts, but don't worry. Your posters have already been posted on the Noosphere! They sold out! The greatest doge started his journey with a single step, and a price tag of three fifty!"

Fenrir whined because that joke was horrible. He was better than the damn Loch Ness monster. Why did a monster need three fifty anyway? All it did was eat fish and maybe scare the few tourists that went to see the beast. It didn't need money.

Vali punched and broke a hand in that fury. Loki screamed as a bone jutted out, hitting the air. Another punch, then a second head butt and Loki lost more teeth. He spat blood and then threw hundreds of shards of glass at Vali from the window which had broken further when Santodes had thrown a fake through it and the glass had impaled the fake. The shards slammed into Vali and the cuts were bad, but her regeneration kicked into high gear and the wounds closed before two more punches broke more bones.

Balamund was busy asking Frola about art. The Valkyrie responded that the first tapestry was made by the Norns. It had been a gift to Odin because of a deed when he had been decent. Ren and Valeria were talking softly to each other. Ren wanted to do teaching, but Valeria said he could do more good here on the team still. They could travel the galaxy on Vali's ship cheaper than if they and Frola used travel liners. Valeria was frugal and would save them money. Percy helped gut a few stragglers who were coming to try and help Loki. Einjerhar had somehow escaped the still burning city. Easy claps.

Issei just wandered over to Odin. The old man was crying horribly now, begging for the end and the death. Issei felt the ghost of a slap from his mom on his cheek. He hurt, because that was the same slap he got when asking about Oppai. He sighed and simply ran his sword through Odin.

"Mom gives you this in pity. I believe you should suffer more, but my mom was the best thing. She stopped me from becoming Oppai Dragon, stopped me from being the Breast Dragon Emperor. So, I guess I have you to thank for how I'm not nor will ever be you. Like sex but personalities are my Oppai here. So, take this mercy, chuckle fuck."

Odin looked up into his killer's eyes. And breathed one last time.

"Thank you."

"Thank a regular human woman who has more pity for you than I."

The light left Odin's single eye forever. His body slumped, and the real Allfather that had made life worse was now dead forever. Odin had been tortured badly. Many wounds from heated pokers and scabs littered his body. Loki was a prick to his brother, and the abuse was prolonged. Odin was thin. This probably started in the third year of the war. Issei did now feel pity for the dead god. He would never be sadistic again, because his mom, even dead, was better than him. The slap was a warning to never feed that again, to be better than that.

He lost a tear down his face. He would never be perfect, because man would be flawed forever. So, he who was the champion of humanity must always be better, to push those below him in purpose to be better. It was a never ending cycle. His mom would be there now, fully, to make him better. The harbinger, and like his father, the truest first martyrs. He returned to his men who were butchering the fake custodians.

Vali cracked her fists and then punched an ultra-fast series of them into Loki on every single body part. Cracks of broken bones and the speed of the flurry of punches threw Loki into a wall. Loki and the impact from the blows broke through the wall and into a room five rooms away from the throne room. It destroyed furniture and paintings. Loki landed on the floor. That left an impact site. He shivered at the pain and the feeling of humiliation. Vali followed the destruction, and Loki barely got up before the next wave of fighting happened. There was a right hook that punched an arm clean off. The limb had bones broken, cracked jutting out everywhere. Loki screamed horribly. Vali kept up her fury.

Issei saw Santodes as he crushed another fake one under his adamantine clawed feet. The fakes really were bad. Fenrir was busy being assaulted by his best friend in Louis ranting about Shovel-Chan and how she would get to be the aspect of Krieg fully. The regiments from the world were going to discard chainswords completely for the best melee weapon ever. Louis might have an Asari Waifu coming soon. Fenrir wondered what the new friend would smell like. Maybe they would be tasty? Louis poked the wolf with his shovel.

"This blue lady is friend, not food! She is going to be a ship captain! She'll join me in using the shovel for the millions of uses it has! Shovel-Chan already approved the blue fish lady, so be nice to her!"

Fenrir whined. Ren had said something to the wolf.

"Asari taste like chicken. And though that hurts to admit, you probably won't like that. You are a steak dog."

Fenrir gagged. He hated chicken. He would eat it, but his feast of cows after the starvation made him love steak, simple as. Valeria patted the wolf and was joined by Frola. Balamund was with Percy and Percy was bragging about his knight suit. The blank was still looking at a tapestry of Yggdrasil. He asked Issei, "Are we destroying that milord?"

"In a way, yes. We will be cutting Asgard, Alfheim, Svartsheim and Jotunheim from the tree. They are all dead worlds. The rest will continue, but the spirit of Yig is understanding. They can't feel the worlds already, and they have agreed to let me cut them away, just asked that we don't do more. I told it we are done after."

Balamund nodded at that. He liked the world Tree. It was a warp spawn, yet was nice to him. It cringed a bit when he was on worlds other than Midgard, but had accepted him more than nearly everything else that wasn't already with the Senate.

"Yig is cool, milord. However, that's nearly half the realms."

"It is, but the world tree has seen the rot in it for a long time. It was especially sad about Svartsheim."

"Why? Pre genocide the Dark Elves were the closest we had to the Drukari."

"Because the Dark Elves were extremely close to a revolution. It would have worked. The revolution was planned to hit during the War in Heaven's first two months. They would have destroyed the old. Yig wanted that because it saw the depths the Drukari went to, the desperate ends that the other tree elves went to when the materium finally disappeared and their slaves dried up. It wanted that to never happen here."

Balamund felt worse now. The Dark Elves would never be populous. They had a serious fertility problem, worse than what devils had once had; the Sun Elves in the Sirta Foundation had tried to help their kin, as had Daliea and the Dark Elf population of mostly kids had been sad to learn they were going to be alone in their few numbers for a long time. This revolution could have saved their Species, another thing Loki destroyed. Issei softly said as the last few fakes were being run through by the Custodians, "I will do everything I can for them. Their genome is infested with warp beings. That's hurting the research. It's an entire new field because warp beings didn't become like us in the first tree. We are going to struggle with that more and more. They are all falling from that. By the next century, they will be us."

Vali took a stab from Loki's sword and the sword broke off the power armor. Vali punched in revenge and broke more bones in his face. The bones were healing, but slower and slower as Grey Knight runes covered the room made in blood. Blow after blow rained down on Loki. Vali spat at the warp thing.

"The Red One isn't a bitch like you. He doesn't starve his children. He doesn't use meat shields. We might be worms in many trees to bitch beings like you, but here we are the boss of this gym. You're going to suffer for being the bitch you are. I'm half human in many, and even there I still kick your ass."

Blows rained down faster as Vali finally entered balance break. She knew the truth her rival didn't tell her, that she could ascend to being like Neoth, a true goddess if she really wanted that. Her rival was right about so much. She had her husband, who loved her broken self. She had Wrex coming to battle with her eternally. She would never say this to him, but the fact Horus was her godson was the second best thing he had ever given her. She loved being mortal, and once, before they met on that field of war in Russia, she would have given up mortality for godhood, but she would later regret it. Man was better than gods. It was the best thing ever taught to them by him.

Blow after blow, punch after punch landed into Loki and pummeled the bitch into the floor. Bones broke and now stuck out everywhere from the skin. Loki just couldn't fight anymore. He hurt so badly and his nerves were on fire. He couldn't scream anymore because Vali had broken his jaw and voice box. The agony got worse and worse. The pain climbed more and more with each punch. Loki wanted to die, but Vali was keeping him alive for the Sun Elves, for the small fan club of three Dark Elves she had, to make him suffer for all those he'd wronged, for attempting to have Jormangander kill her home, and because he was a bitch. Finally, after twenty more minutes of torture, Vali punched so hard and so fast that she pulped a god. The one who started this had ended it. The body exploded into billions of pieces, painting the room red.

Vali spat to the last piece of what had been Loki.

"Bitch. Weak vermin."

She left the room red, returning to the throne room to see Fenrir and Issei still there. The others had gone to get ready to leave. Fenrir whined, smelling the blood, but Issei patted him in reassurance.

"Not hers, buddy. Your abuser's. Want me to hose you down, Vali?"

Vali shook her head.

"Hate water. I was almost drowned when I was five by them. I do things my way. I know it bothers many, but I don't care. I won't see the squids. Fenrir, he's dead forever. Go eat sun. Make this shit hole dark forever."

Issei nodded at the answer.

"Apologies, then. I did not know that. I don't ask because it's not my business. I get that completely. If it helps, I have a small case of agoraphobia. Ten years in a forge underground not leaving much helped in that. It's partly why I have the Imperial Palace in the underworld. It helps with that. My therapist and psychiatrist say that it will go away in a few more years."

Vali grunted. Her rival was like her, broken in many ways too. He was not trying to be an ass, just her friend. Fenrir howled and went to go eat the sun. Vali grunted again to her friend.

"I'ill see rugrat soon. I like the boy. He is going to want marines like Louis?"

Issei smiled then shook his head.

"Never like Louis, but he asked Asia if he could have big people like Alpharius. Wilhelm visited today, bringing Alpharius another poster, an Adeptus Ridiculous one. We finally found them here. They said that 'fuck yeah they will tell everyone of the other place.' And how stupid and wacky it was. Horus will get a legion. He has a name for them, too."

Vali was curious. She asked, "What's the name?"

"The Dread Wolves. One of the Custodians softly said that to an annoying noble and Horus heard it. He remembered Fenrir when you brought him last visit. That's what he wants."

"Good name. It'll make Fenrir happy. Let's leave. I'm bored. Want posters."

"I'll get them for you. Which ones?"

Fenrir waited for the last armies of the friends to leave Asgard before he jumped high. He saw the sun and swallowed it whole. It was tasty. It extinguished in his gullet before he howled again. Ragnarok was done. Not in a way that was expected.

Geth Ship, sector unknown

Alpharius looked at his hands again, still in wonder. He was a male Quarian, an unsuited one. He thanked the Machine Goddess once again for her kindness to him. It would take time for others to come off the forges and become like him. Each program raised up into a soul. His ship was small and well stocked with the new things that a person needed, like food and water, air and a toilet, clothing inspired by the old fashion of the others. Two thousand programs ran the ship, allowing Alpharius to enjoy life and all its firsts.

His hair was a light lavender. His eyes were blue like the Voice. He wanted to kneel to her and sing praises unto her. He would get her the dream she so desperately wanted: The Omnissiah. The Geth had a plan, a very decent one in his opinion. There would be resistance to it from his flesh and blood kin on the fleet, but the Geth would make the gift that would show they meant it, truly, in apology. It was a stim that would slowly reinforce their immune system. When in Imperial space, he would petition the Omnissiah for further help in the Anvil of the Forge to help them.

His ship was not based on the old Geth ones, but ancient Quarian ones not seen since the Morning War. It was modified to look just enough like a Turian one. He had not been challenged by anyone. No one, except matriarchs, remembered what the ships of the Quarians looked like. It was smooth sailing.

Alpharius looked at the stars and wept, because they were beautiful. Everything once seen through picts or through a lens by Geth platforms was now beyond anything he had ever seen. He wanted to touch them, to be part of creation. He would do that and more, because he had never had this. The universe was wonderful. He was real, and not just something the Citadel ever said was possible. He would find everything out. This journey will never end.

Illium

Cetum was poked by Eve while at his desk in his office. He was busy shaking his head in disgust at more ignorant shit that was pedaled to the people of Citadel space through the extranet. New theories dying by being shot down by the establishment that were entrenched in stagnation. Many of these new ones were basic damn common sense. He saw thousands of ads for new religious groups that all had one key word hidden in them: Plague. Reaper Cults were recruiting non stop. He saw designs in engineering that, now he was not filled with the memetic hazard, were blindingly ineffective. It disgusted him deeply because he was a scientist.

"I stay off it because of what your experiences are now. The rot is everywhere. This is why our tech falters and the cults get their bodies. We must adopt radical points that make us seem mad."

"This is horrible. And we play their tune. We are their slaves. In everything we think is free will. We can't win easily."

"No, we can't, but we must break the chains one by one. Destroy the old, destroy the ignorance, make the galaxy we know better. Let me show you what our fate would be."

Eve touched his hand. Cetum saw their end and the death. Worlds burning with the suns blotted out by them, the dead brought back by foul machinery that forced the dead to have no peace, factories of beings melting into nothingness to build a new Reaper, more of the species of Citadel space being marched into those facilities by beings like them with blue eyes in fanatically evil faces with smiles wide and happy in slavery. All this and more as history for them all was destroyed. Technology would be removed for the next cycle. Enough would be left to make more slaves out of the newly rising species, but for at least four hundred years what was their federation was dead space.

The vision ended. Cetum saw why Eve took the ridicule. The hate was more openly given by her fellow Asari, as she has promised on vid cams seventy million credits to the Adaptive publicly. The scorn and spits of saliva by her kin in them, because she was free. They were blinded slaves and would be to the end.

"I will commit to the Relgnar, our party equivalent. I will get my hatch siblings to, as well."

The silence was broken by Dollen.

Huff. "Why I'm committing to the" Huff "Cordesh Corporation." Huff.

They three were outcasts together, the three who had seen the end. Cetum spoke softly.

"We need to tell Galter, he is our lawyer. And everyone else in management. Then below slowly."

Eve nodded.

"He's next. Stage two starts in a week. I am Alpharius, and I am free."

The two new saw now who they were, too. Cetum replied, now understanding fully.

"I am Alpharius. I have joined the legion of the free."

Huff "I too am Alpharius." Huff "Another of the freed."Huff.

"We are Alpharius, we who will be legion."

Eve had prepared her next psychic bullet for Galter. She would see their hydra grow, because the plan advanced without issue. Stage two started in that same week.