Chapter 1: As the world burns
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'We need more support!'
Hanabi shouted into her dust vox as a stray boltgun nearby slammed into the dirt near her position. Already the sounds of gunfire had been non stop for the last 3 months, 3 months of the most intense and bloody conflict she had ever encountered.
The dead were being used as bags of flesh to hold back the explosive power of bolter rounds as the skies rained hellfire upon the world.
She pulled herself to give a small burst of fire to an area where world eaters had last attacked her position, her rounds merely being a suppression fire as she tried to rack her mind around the absolute nightmare scenario before her, behind her along the trench line were the remnants of her squad along with others within the reserve ranks.
They had been holding out this point for nearly two weeks, ever since they were forced back from the gates of Konoha and were forced to fight within the streets, each alley and pathway was being turned into a firefight for survival, as astartes engaged each other in a grinding attrition that paved the streets with fresh blood.
Her bolter jammed on the fourth round, yet she did not have the luxury to unjam the weapon before another rush of world eaters charged across the fire zone and engaged them in close combat.
Hanabi already had her chakra ready to strike as she danced across her opponents, even as the screams of chainsaws and the cries of dying astartes filled the air, the heavy drench of a coppery smell invading her senses as she was lost in the madness of it all.
She had felled two astartes, each with a precise blast of chakra that destroyed their two hearts, yet even then her position was starting to be overwhelmed by the enemy.
She watched in slow motion as those whom she lead, were being ripped to pieces by the traitors, as those whom they figured were female were being stripped of their armour and taken away, she held back the bile of what fate awaited those whom were taken by these savages yet she would at least give them a mercy.
Her bolt pistol, used only for emergencies, discharged in the direction of these sisters, a mercy granted to them rather than the horrors of being taken alive.
Yet even she could see that she was being surrounded, berserkers had already flanked her squad as they realised they had no way of escaping now, forced to stand shoulder to shoulder as their eyes looked upon her with bloodlust and something revolting.
Hanabi looked upon her bolt pistol, realising that the magazine still contained a few more rounds, considering in her mind if she should take this way out, to rather let it end quickly or suffer even longer in a nightmare.
The sound of a burning thruster would give her pause, as the metal pod slammed into the enemies with the force of a hurricane.
From this, a mighty dreadnought appeared from the smoke.
'I have awoken! Now you shall all die!'
Living lightning cased itself across the armoured sarcophagus, as the dreadnought blasted into the enemy with a speed that was unreal, it's mighty claws piercing the enemies, echoes of thunder blasting out from behind them as the figures collapsed into piles of meat, Hanabi gasped in awe at realising whom this was.
'Lord Kakashi'
'Your time has not come Hanabi Hyuuga. Your sister and my student would be saddened of your loss. So I am here to protect you, as a request from Hinata'
'I... Thank you lord Kakashi. I will not fall to this enemy. I will not'
'That is all that is asked of you'
Hanabi pushed into the enemy, the massive form of Kakashi protecting her from the flanks as she tore into the enemy with a fiery vengeance. Even as the world was burning around her, just the fact her sister still had her safety on her mind was enough for her to keep fighting.
Above them, the skies were alight with fierce fightings within the void, colossal ships clashed as munitions were hurled into the cold, with the sounds of screams echoing across the decks that suffered from their wrath.
Battle fleet Elementia was holding back a force that outnumbered them by a factor of five, yet even with such odds against them they still held proud and true against the bloody harvest.
'Come on people! Put your backs into it!' screamed the gunnery chief, rows upon rows of men and women, mostly a combination of clones of individuals, groaned as they carried shells into the loading breaches of the ship.
Most of the automated systems had suffered critical component failures during the first week of battles, so now most of the systems were being manually fed with the help of countless shinobi, these men and women whom called these planets home.
This was the third straight day of fighting, by now many had aches and pains that were almost too much for them to handle, yet even with such pains wracking their bodies, the thought of losing their loved ones was even worse.
'Lets go! One step go! One step go!'
This was one of many chants the crew made, as the round was hauled across the empty space into the massive chamber that housed the macro shell. Yet with the might of demi gods they managed to load the massive shell and close the breach, even as the floor and sides of the ship shake from the punishing fire from the enemy ships.
'Deck Command! Barrel 22 is loaded!' The vox caller replied to the command deck, as the crewmembers rushed back towards the storage of shells. A few moments later, the massive breach smoked the room as the round had just been spent, it's casing falling out onto the floor as the breach was being cleared.
It was through these efforts that the ship still managed to keep itself in the fight, even as it's ship was making dangerous manoeuvrers just to survive in the inferno.
'captain, we are reporting hull damage on decks ten through twelve, armaments have been reduced to 40 percent effectiveness. What is your order?'
'Have the guns target the smaller craft, order the jaeger supports to do hit and runs across the major ships. Even crippled, we will continue to give what we can in this fight, we can't back out now'
The sounds of silence bathed the mighty battles as those within the void could not be heard, even as the other worlds within Elementia sometimes did not fare any better.
On Remnant, the hunstman academies and the kingdoms contended with the assault of both grim, remnants from Salem and elements of the blood gods forces.
On their world, torrents of raining acid blood echoed across the kingdoms, empowering both their enemies into hordes of monsters whom only wished the consumption of flesh and bone, it is through the efforts of Remnants elites, hunstman and huntresses and elements of the legion, that the tide is being held back.
Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas and Vale each held their grounds, kingdoms founded on blood and bone tested to their limits, yet able to hold on as such.
The fighting was indeed fierce, and a thousand died each day to the unending time, yet for a moment, they continue to hold.
On Terraria, the sounds of pummelling artillery fire echoed across the land, with the great mega cities holding out through a grinding game of sheer attrition.
Their world was not given the luxury of others, where natural and man made wonders were used to slow or hinder the enemy, Terraria did not have such things. Instead, it was through sheer grit and determination that their lines continued to hold back.
Even as a flood of survivors across the planet tried to flee to the safety of the major cities.
One such town had the survivors rushing out towards such a city, as a mother and her children tried to flee against the coming tide of madness and horror.
Their houses were torched, as figures in the smoke laughed with a maniacal glee, their ramblings of blood and murder putting fear into the survivors. She placed her children into their vehicle as she noticed the oncoming militia about to surround her location.
'Momma! Momma I'm scared!' Said one of her children, her youngest daughter, whom was still but a child. She calmed her down with gentle gestures as she looked upon her five kids with tears, she looked upon her eldest, a son whom carried the burdens of their family as he took behind the drivers seat, his look to his mother was one of concern as she did not join them.
'Listen to me my son... you must go now. Flee to Vierra' their mother said, yet her eldest was not having any of it.
'Your coming with us mom! You coming with us!' he said, his voice cracking yet resolute.
'I can't... I need to distract them for you to get out of here. I can't go with you' she said, her heart baring a great pain as her son started to shed tears.
'No! We can get out together mom! Please don't go' her eldest said, his voice protesting, yet he was placed into a gentle embrace as his mother cared for him.
'Listen to me... you have to go... Your brothers and sisters are who you need to protect now. You got it? You have to get them to safety'
'But mom... I can't lose you too'
'You have to be strong for me. You have to be strong' His mother said, as tears were fully in her eyes.
The sounds got closer as the maddening laughter echoed across the flames, the mother did not hesitate as she moved away from the vehicle, pointing in the direction of the city within the distance.
'Be strong my boy... my little Marcus... please be strong'
Figures started to show across the ash and flames as she told Marcus and them to go, he looked on in tears as he floored the engine of the vehicle, as the cries of his siblings echoed across the land, looking back at their mother.
She looked on in tears as she turned back towards the invaders, she had within her hand an old model dust gun, one that her husband had used during the great crusade. She took the first shots as she moved towards cover, a volley of returning rounds echoing across the smoke as she took careful aim into the shadows.
The sounds of dying men and their mother's firing beams was the last thing Marcus had seen as they made themselves towards Vierra, the giant city in the distance that shimmered in a blue glow.
Within the great city, the lines holding back the enemy were being strained to their breaking points.
The enemy had already sent four waves of unending madmen towards their lines, all for the express purpose of grinding their supplies down to nothing. If it wasn't for the miracle that was the replicator factory, the defenders would of lost this battle a long time ago.
Their resources were plenty, yet their manpower was worth more value.
The sounds of heavy artillery pummelled across the landscape, as artillery companies within the city continued to run firing drills through the day and night, the barrels of many guns were red in the night as the sounds of high ordinance rocked the countryside.
Firing crews were almost to the point of collapsing for many within their ranks, some even fainting while bringing forth artillery shells from the supply convoys and trains within the city proper.
Meanwhile, within the factories itself, Leonard was busy creating crystal reactor blueprints for the replicators, Alabast had asked of him to create more of these fusion reactors as their power grid was becoming more volatile due to the sabotaging forces outside the city, it was by his discovery that the city was able to hold out for this long.
In this moment, he was next to his partner Emma, whom he considered more his daughter as his chakra was used to create her, yet even the young S.I was scared as the shells echoing across the dust shield painted a grim picture for the city outside.
'Emma... are you ready baby girl?' Leonard asked, as he had asked her to take control of his marker system, a congregation of wires and such connecting the young girl to a machine, her eyes were calm even as the fighting and such was fierce, as she had a determined look upon her.
'I'm ready Papa' she said, her form stable as she prepared herself for what was going to happen.
The first time Leonard used this device, the information overload almost made her perish, he had cut the power instantly as he held her in his arms, begging her to wake up as he was nearly put into a panic.
Now, through many test and alterations, this model, the twentieth design modification, was about to be used.
'Alright Emma... If it's too much, then just tell daddy. I will cut it'
'Okay' Emma said, as she prepared herself.
The machine turned on with a brilliant glow, as a crystal reactor behind her was glowing fiercely, she gave a grunt of pain as she was flooded with a huge amount of raw, uncompacted data, she gritted her teeth as she tried to focus on her task, finding a spot where her father was trying to reach with his device.
It lasted three minutes, yet those were the three most harrowing minutes of her existence, yet the sound of a loud chime, along with the sound of a voice made the pain all worth it.
'Lock Confirmation. Location area confirmed'
Leonard reduced the power output and unplugged her from the machine, as he gave her a gentle embrace while giving her words of thankfulness.
'Ohh baby girl... My sweet child. You did it' Leonard said, his voice cracking as he had tears in his eyes, Emma merely returned his gesture as she shed tears herself, the pain being temporary as she embraced her father.
'Did... did it work papa? Did it work?' she asked, her voice quiet as her head was still pounding from the data dump.
'It did baby girl. I am soo proud of you'
Leonard looked upon his systems, and sitting there, ready to be used for the deployment, was the location he and his menagerie colleague had organized in perfect detail.
His daughter had achieved the first step on what was thought to be impossible, now it was time for Leonard to complete the next step and achieve it as reality.
All the while, the city of Vierra held, even as more forces appeared to blast her to oblivion.
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Sasuke held a barely restrained Ire for the lord protector.
The battle of Sotha had been pushed into the loyalist favour, as the dark angels had proven themselves tireless warriors while pursuing the traitors, yet the overloading of the pharos was a tactical error that Sasuke believed should not have happened.
Even now, as the remnants of energy had dispersed from the backlash, he could still feel the presence of that machine, something that spelt trouble for him and those whom could sense it.
Yet this was not what drew his Ire.
What did indeed draw it, was the almost reckless use of WMD's across the colonies within the system, he had heard reports from his company of the almost reckless abandon of friendly fire with such weapons by the dark angels, reports of phosphex burned colony cities and the use of vortex style weapons on civilian population centres were common among his communication channels.
All under the orders of the lord protector, all for the use of hunting his deranged brother.
The last report on the night lord left Sasuke with a few clues, such that he had a rough idea where the primarch might be taking shelter, after all Sasuke had plenty of experience when it came to establishing safe houses and such in hostile territories.
Yet, when he received word of a possible location, he did not hesitate to personally check the location out, yet the lord protector decided to follow him to the inner part of the hive city itself, where these reports discussed.
'Such a filthy place. With all manner of scum and outlaws. Why I should just cleanse this area of this mess, saves me the trouble of caring.' Lion said, his tone arrogant as he looked upon the helpless and starving within this place.
Sasuke was barely keeping his cool, as he could feel the primarch was almost edging him onward on such comments, even as he kept his eyes looking among the civilians, he could see the palpable fear in their eyes, a fear that he was all to familiar at unleashing, while he could see the suffering among the populace.
A young boy was running across an area, when he collided with Lion, the primarch's face was placed into a snarl as he decided to grip the boy in his hand and punish him for the act of insolence, the boy looked upon the primarch as a palpable fear gripped his face, his body shaking as he realised he had made a grave mistake, while the primarch was almost ready to deliver his punishment.
Sasuke's hand gripped his, the captain looking at the primarch with a cold look.
'Unhand me boy. This child needs to learn his place' Lion said, his tone unflinching.
'You would strike a child whom only wishes to survive? What a sorry excuse for a protector you are' Sasuke said, his tone icy as he looked upon the primarch with unflinching eyes, his irises red like blood.
Letting go of the child, Lion tried to pry his hand off Sasuke's, yet the captain showed his speed by merely holding onto the other hand, even as Lion gave a look of barely held anger.
The primarch clenched his teeth as he tried to overpower the captain, yet somehow he could not budge his iron grip. Looking a bit more closely he could see wisp of blue energy coming off the captain, as his eyes continued to look at Lions, the feeling of an unnatural fatigue washing itself upon his body.
'You insolent little twat! Unhand me this instant captain. Or so help me' Lion said, his tone barely restraint.
'Or what? You are going to kill me? I would like to see you try' Sasuke said, as he looked with no fear towards the primarch.
The two looked at each other, one with looks of almost anger while the other was merely looking with a cold, indifferent look. Yet it was Lion whom looked away first he ripped his hands out of Sasuke's grip in a sudden feat of strength.
'Lets just finish this... You are not worth it, scum'
Sasuke merely looked onward, his face and posture relaxed even among a primarch whom looked at him with hatred and contempt, yet the subtle sound of something made him turn around instantly, his blade before him as he looked upon the eyes of another.
Pitch black eyes looked upon the captain with barely held madness, as Sasuke could see a reflection of himself upon the eyes of the person whom almost tried to kill him. The could feel Lion drawing his blade, yet the captain and the other vanished into the darkness of the hive.
Lion saw that the civilians had cleared this area, as the sounds of clashing steel and gunfire echoed across the darkness, he gave a curse at his lack of attention as he rushed towards the dark.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was clashing blades with the figure, his demented laugh and look telling Sasuke everything he needed to know, while his eyes looked on with their blood red colour.
'You... your just like me' the figure said, his voice starting to degrade into demented laughter.
'You talk too much' Sasuke said, his blade parrying one of the clawed gauntlets of the figure, they both clashed across the many surfaces of the hive, the figure was displaying feats of acrobatic prowess and superhuman dexterity, while Sasuke used mostly shinobi skills and his speed to keep up with the massive figure.
'You smell of death. You have a killers look, the screams of many haunt behind you... what fun this is... what fun'
'And I see that you have lost whatever sanity you had left... night haunter' Sasuke replied, looking at the primarch with an uninterested look.
Their blades blurred across the surfaces of the hive, the destruction of pipes, metal frames and burst of pipes echoed across the darkness, while Lion was rushing upon the ground, using his hearing to follow the fighting happening above the rafters.
The two settled upon an area, suspended across a chasm that interconnected various wires and platforms together, Sasuke stepped upon a cable, his stance an impossible one for one of his size, his eyes were merely looking towards the night haunter as his face was indifferent.
Meanwhile, Konrad looked upon Sasuke, a demented smile upon his face as his figure hanged off one of the panels below a platform, his smile not faltering one bit.
'You... I can't see what happens next... You are exciting... yes... I can see my future becoming muddled... changing before me... will you give me the death I desire? Or will you die instead... this is soo much fun!' Konrad said, his voice giving an almost happy tone as he leaped towards Sasuke.
The captain of the second company merely shunted across to another set of cables, his face still stoic and unflinching as he drew a hidden kunai blade from a hidden compartment of his armour. His face looked upon the night haunter with his glowing blood red eyes, their spiral pattern making Konrad even more excited as he leaped once again towards the shinobi.
This game of cat and mouse would continue for the next five minutes, with Sasuke merely parrying the blades of the night haunter while Konrad would continue to try and surprise the astartes, the two would use the shadows to appear before their opponent before a clash of steel echoed across the chasm.
Lion arrived before the two, as he tried to aim his plasma pistol against his brother, he fired a few shots yet the both of them moved around the blast, even as Sasuke looked on towards the primarch with a grunt of annoyance.
'You should pay attention to me little bird' Konrad said, his form behind Sasuke as he plunged his claws into the captain.
Yet Sasuke's body merely burst into a murder of crows before his figure appeared behind Konrad, yet when he pushed his blade forward the primarch merely bowed his body forward and with an acrobatic grace that was inhuman, righted himself back into position before the captain.
Sasuke grunted, as he looked upon the night haunter's movements. His eyes could clearly see the primarch even at such high speeds yet it seemed the night haunter was faster than he was showing, he could tell that Konrad was holding back, excited about having someone whom participated in his little game.
'You... you are indeed special... No wonder my brother chose you' Konrad said, as the two were suspended above the chasm center, Sasuke merely looked at the primarch with an aura of indifference, while his mind was calculating what the primarch might do next.
'Well little bird... It has been fun... I will see you later... try not to die until then' The night haunter said, as he dissipated into the shadows.
Sasuke could no longer feel the primarch as he made his way down towards Lion, whom grabbed the captain and slammed him onto the wall.
'You let him get away!' Lion shouted, his voice full of anger.
'He was playing us. He had every opportunity to leave. He only stayed because he found me interesting' Sasuke replied, his voice calm.
Lion shoved the captain into the wall, as Sasuke left an indentation upon it, Lion smashed his fist beside the captain as he looked into Sasuke's eyes, which still produced nothing of note to the Lion.
'Do that again captain. And it might just be your last' he said, his tone a low growl as his face was set in a snarl.
Lion felt a pressure upon his lower torso as a light shined under his eyes, looking down he noticed Sasuke's hand pulsing with living lightning, arks of electricity giving the skin under the Lion's armour an uncomfortable jolt.
'Don't you touch me... again. That is your last warning Lion' Sasuke said, his tone cold as ice as his eyes looked upon the primarch with something Lion could not place.
The two of them stared at each other for a few more seconds, before Lion gave a grunt and walked away, yet Sasuke could see for a moment, the look of absolute shock and fear that had been on his face for but a moment.
Sasuke merely got his point across, that even though he was co-operating with him, he did not take orders from the primarch.
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For all the assaults and bloodshed Khorne's mortal followers were accomplishing, it was nothing compared to their true objective.
Uzushio was bathed in wrath and ruin, astartes and elementians held against a tide of legion, where others were given either the rabble of the horde or a broad onslaught by astartes, Uzushio would be given the honour of facing the greatest force the blood god would muster in the mortal planes.
'Hold the dam wall! We can't let more get through!' shouted a lieutenant of the fourth company, as they stood their ground against the coming of the dark, lines of astartes and elementian auxiliary unleashing fire upon the scene below.
Beyond the island city, across from the maelstroms of water that Uzushio is famous for, the might of Khorne's army had made it's appearance.
Legionaries of the World eaters rushed the single bridge into the capital, an aura of maddened frenzy upon their bodies, while next to them stood manifestations of the blood god in reality, his horde of crazed bloodletters.
Daemons and mortals beyond counting rushed the bridge, their numbers almost frightening, yet almost marching in perfect battle formations, leading these were daemons of great size, wings of flesh and bone upon their backs as faces of snarling dogs looked upon them with a glare that could melt steel, they wielded mighty axes, these being the width of astartes in one hand, while the other contained a burning whip dripping with ash and blood.
While above in the skies, the maddening sounds of screeching echoed across the city, as those who could not fight rushed towards the safety of the armoured shelters.
'Mother Hanako, they are coming!' shouted the voice of a child, their face looking up in fear as a swarm of horrors spotted their group rushing through the streets.
The one leading them, this a female of grand stature, released her robes, revealing a set of power armour behind the simple clothing, with a battle cry she unleashed death, her weapon; a volkite caliver whined as the volley of rays burst upon the swarm, fire propagating across the mass as she unleashed devastating volleys.
'Children! This way to the shelters!' the matron Hanako said, as she unleashed another volley of ray blast upon the oncoming horde of flying horrors.
A sudden scream from a child pulled her attention away, as she saw a daemon grab one of her charges, with no hesitation she leaped across the clearing, chakra empowering her jump as she pulled out a simple cane, yet pressing a switch activated a crackling field of power across it's surface, which she used to smash into the daemon, destroying it and freeing the child into her awaiting arms.
'Your safe little one'
She landed upon the ground, the floor cracking from her weight and size, yet she still pointed her charges upon where to go, the child still sitting upon her shoulder.
'Come children! We must leave this place!'
The company of children moved with swiftness, even as their eyes looked upon the fighting with fear as they watched astartes fighting against untold enemies.
They rushed forward into the city proper, many footsteps echoing across the sounds of gunfire and war cries.
'Mother Hanako... I'm scared' one of the young ones near her said, holding her hand as she looked around.
'It is okay children. I will keep you all safe' she said
'I wish big brother Naruto was here. He would keep us safe' one of the other children said.
A sudden thumping sound ahead made Hanako stop the children, she looked on in anticipation and had a sinking feeling settle within her hearts.
Standing before her, a squad of astartes, these covered in blood while looking at the group with a rancid anger, their weapons; these being chain axes revved across the clearing as their gaze looked upon the children.
'kill...kill KILL KILL!' The figures screamed, Hanako pushed the children behind her as she readied her crackling staff.
Five of these figures rushed towards Hanako, yet with a grace that was inhuman she pivoted herself away from the first figure, striking them upon one of their power joints, collapsing the leg onto the ground, she twisted her body around the second slash from the second fighter as she imbued her attack with a burst of chakra, the blow; which was a simple thrust turned into a colossal attack as the second figure was thrown backwards, colliding with the third fighter behind him.
Hanako pulled out her sidearm, a plasma pistol, the weapon gave a vicious wind as she placed the gun upon the temple of the fourth fighter, his reactions not fast enough as his head was disintegrated by the plasma blast.
Hanako gave a grunt of frustration as she felt the pistol become unresponsive, a cry from one of the children pulled her attention away as she took perception of the situation, the first berserker had rushed the children, his attention focused on butchering the helpless figures before him.
Hanako pulsed chakra through her foot, a sharp pain coming upon it as she had to place it in such an unnatural angle to push herself into a running move, fighting through the momentary lapses of pain, she smashed her figure into the berserker, forcing the two back into the ground.
The next two seconds was a vicious game of Hanako trying to rip out one of the axes from the figure, with her grunts echoing across the area with the shouts of the man, she succeeded to rip one of the axes out of the berserker's hand and used the trigger to activate the chain, using her other hand to force the blade into the neck of the warrior.
Blood and viscera splattered across her face, yet she kept up the pressure, knowing that even with such a wound the warrior under her was still struggling. Another three seconds happened until she felt no more pressure from under her, yet was shaken as her head was smashed into a blunt object, forcing her to the side with a groan of pain echoing across her voice.
Looking up from the concussion, she cursed as the fourth figure had released themselves away from the body of their ally and had hit her with the blunt side of their axe, she barely had a moment before she was holding onto the handles of two other axes, their engines revving as the berserker was looking at her with bloodlust and a sinister smile upon his enraged face.
She was struggling to hold back his strength, as she could see the chains inching closer to her chest, her head was pounding, her arms were becoming weaker as she could see her death coming forth.
The sounds of children grunting and such made her look behind the figure, her charges had taken arms against the fighter and were trying to hit the berserker where they could.
The children had separated into groups, with one group trying to help their matron, another had recovered her volkite weapon and were trying to find a way to operate it, and the third were trying to call for help.
'Insolent little PEST!' The berserker roared, he could feel the children trying to attack within his armours joints, trying all they can to give their matron time.
While others had lined up the volkite weapon, using their arms to hold up the massive weapon, while another from the rear aimed it's sight against the berserker.
'Hold it steady!' said the child aiming the gun, their eyes squinted across the basic sights as the weapon started to hiss and whine from the activation sequence.
Hanako could feel a gap in the strength from the berserker, as her mind had restored itself to a moderate functional state, she gave the figure a push from her right hand, as it felt the least resistance from the axe.
The axe was pushed towards the berserker, his face flinching backwards as the blunt end struck him quickly, it did not do any lasting damage and such, yet the flinch was all that Hanako needed.
Using her body and pulling her right hand into her body, she was able to turn the figure to her right, as the children had finished the firing sequence upon the volkite gun, the kids whom assisted her upon the astartes had made themselves clear from the two as Hanako bellowed a simple command.
'Shoot!'
The discharge of the ray travelled across the clearing, the children were forced away from the weapon as they crashed upon the hardened ground, yet the blast travelled true to it's target.
Hanako gave a grunt as she could feel the energy from the ray scorching her face and front body, yet the look of pain and shock from the enemy in front of her made the pain secondary as she had witnessed the life leaving the figure before her.
Hanako gave a few grunts of pain as her flesh felt like it was on fire, yet through sheer tenacity she persisted.
'Mother Hanako! Your hurt!' said one of the children, as they saw her scorched face, red and angry from the discharge.
'I am fine my child. I only require a little moment'
She stood upon shaky legs, yet the sound of heavy footsteps put her mind on caution, yet relaxed when she saw familiar faces along with the rest of her charges.
'Sister Hanako, we have come to aid you' One of the astartes said, as he held upon his shoulder one of her children.
'Then we must go, to the shelters. Before the tide turns darker' Hanako said.
The group continued onwards, while Hanako was given medical treatment on the move, after a few more minutes travelling through the streets they had arrived to their destination.
The safety shelters on Uzushio were a marvel of the sealing arts and Imperial technology, able to withstand any calamity, the massive vaults were a sea of people, women, elderly and children being escorted into it's halls while the men had taken up arms, many families were giving tearful goodbyes to their fathers and brothers as they gave promises upon their lips, hopeful that they will return to better times.
'Mother Hanako, will you stay with us?' her children asked, their eyes hopeful.
Hanako was conflicted, duty compels her to stand with her legionnaires, while another task, given by her primarch, compels her to protect these children with her life.
In the end, her duty to the future was given more prevalence.
'Brothers. I will stay and defend the shelter, my duty is here. To defend those tasked to me by Naruto' Hanako said, her voice filled with conviction.
Her tactical brothers and sisters gave their nods, understanding of such a duty as they moved back to the front lines, while Hanako provided all she could to her charges, even as the battle raged onwards.
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Naruto stood before the structure, a squad of his astartes along with a group of his most senior technologica and mechanicum technicians, his eye was pulled upon the more intricate symbols and such etched across the surface, yet his eyes looked upon it as memories of ancient times flashed across his head.
'We are close' Naruto muttered, his hand going across the surface of blackstone.
'Lord Naruto' one of the tech adepts said 'How can you be sure?'
' "Those whom look upon this, know that you step on hallowed ground. Your life shall be forfeit for your trespass" This is what is scribed upon this segment' Naruto said, pointing towards a section of glyphs upon the surface of the structure.
'remarkable... you truly understand it' The adept said, his voice in awe.
Eventually, Naruto lead them towards another part of the structure, putting his hand across the various glyphs one part of the section glowed with a green light as the structure shifted away from the surface, showing a large entrance.
'When we enter... do not touch anything. I don't know if we will encounter the previous residence' Naruto said, his tone serious as the group looked upon the darkness.
'You say this as though it is a bad thing lord Naruto' one of the senior mechanicum personnel said, their tone partially snarky.
'If we wake up those that are sleeping in here. We might not return' Naruto said, as the group was now on full alert.
The group proceeded down into the darkened halls, the sounds of footsteps echoing across the cold surface.
The group travelled down in to the depths of the structure, light started to fade as the glows of green fluorescent echoed across the various chambers. Naruto tapped his vox.
'Inari... you got a copy?'
'Getting minor static, but can still hear you Big brother'
'Do you have a feed to our visual?'
'Almost... got it, we can see you all … Image is a bit grainy but we can manage'
'Good'
The group arrived to a massive chamber complex, where green light pierced the darkness, many within the group were on high alert while Naruto lead them across various corridors and such, his eyes looking upon glyphs and such while he pointed towards various area's of the complex.
Arriving at the beginning of a long corridor, Naruto stopped, yet one of his astartes continued to place his foot, a hand held him from taking another step.
'Wait' Naruto said, his eyes looking upon the corridor ahead as the astartes along with the group was confused. Naruto pulled out a kunai from his pouch as he tossed the weapon upon the ground.
Instantly the sides of the corridor sparked to life, as green beams disintegrated the metal to nothing, the process took less than one second yet the corridor stilled to silence once again.
The group was on high alert at such a display, already those elementians whom did not have advanced power armour gulped at seeing the display of force.
'As we travel closer to our destination, the variety of traps and such will just get greater in strength and frequency. We must be careful'
'What was that weaponry? That was unlike anything within Imperial archives' a technician said
'Gauss weaponry. Destroys molecular bonds, a vicious weapon for sure' Naruto replied, as he applied chakra upon his feet as he walked upon the roof of the corridor, reaching a certain point he leaped back towards the ground and touched a certain glyph, the green glow spluttered and died as the corridor was grace with no more light.
'It should be safe to cross now... just be careful' Naruto said as the group made their across.
The corridor lead them into a massive grand room, where various things pulled the groups attention, chief among them were suspended bodies of metal, their forms were merely hanging upon hooks yet many within the group were wary of their metallic faces, cold, lifeless merely hanged upon the walls as Naruto payed attention to other things.
'What... what are these things?' someone asked, their voice a higher pitch than normal.
'They were once Necrontyr... yet their lives were pitifully short... They tried all they could to expand and advance their technology to starve off their deaths but nothing worked. Until they met them'
'Them?' one of the mechanicum asked.
'They called them C'Tan, or star god in their tongue... they were given a way to starve off death... but it came at a cost... their souls for metallic flesh'
'Now... now they are but a remnant of what they once were... one of the first races that had conquered the galaxy... yet do not be deceived, they are merely sleeping... waiting... for the day they will return'
'How significant of a threat are these beings lord Naruto? Can the Imperium take them?'
'In our current state? If they have not fully awakened and such, we stand a fair chance... but fully awoken... we would be destroyed'
'By the Omnisiah...' The tech adept said as a feeling of fear settled upon himself.
'Naruto... come in Naruto' Inari spoke across the vox.
'Inari... send your traffic'
'We're getting some weird energy reading... ẗ̶̳͇̱́̋̑̉h̴̥͌ẹ̷̡͐ ̶̢̤͋̋ͅc̴̮̰͉̅̉͜͠o̶̮͝͝m̶̨͙̃m̷̻̙̩͎̽s̶͔̲̍͛͑̐̎ ̵̣̼̩̲̦͆̃̊̄ḁ̴͎̿̒͆͜r̵͔̼̽͑͠e̶̘̰͖͛̀̔͆̚ getting very static...h̴͔͊͐́̓e̵̳̩͑l̸̤̲͂l̵̻͕̼̐̅͗͘͜ô̸̥̰̍̚?̸̮͙͑?̴̨͕̯̲̽ ̴̼̬̤̈́̐̕B̶̝̒̔̀i̷̠̝̮͂͊̀ͅg̴̮̋̌̈ ̵͇̤͍̍̓̏̔͜b̴͉̞̲̓͂͂r̸̠̃̍͝͝ŏ̶̧̤͇́͊͠ṫ̸̤̼̬̓h̷̙̠͓̆͝ë̶̗̾͊̈̾r̸̨̯̱͓̮̊ ̴̖͓͙͊̀̊́̕c̸͍͠ą̵̩̺͉͒͆͜n̴̖̟͍̓̿̎̓͊ ̶̖̋̓̽y̴͈̹̲̐̈́̿̃̂o̵̞͑ͅų̴̧͕͙̿͘ ̵̡̢̳̣̿͆͂h̸͙̙̔̔̀e̷̡̟̒a̸̱͒r̵̩̱̹͑ ̴̗͉̀ͅm̸̢̛̲̦̱̲͌̎̓̕ę̵̽̋͝?̴̡̨̺͙̗̄̾̄͂'
Naruto's eyes widened as he watched a green pulse of energy echo through the chamber, as the metallic bodies pulsed to life, their lifeless eyes were scanning across the room until they settled upon the group, whom now was looking on frozen.
'We have to run!... RUN NOW!' Naruto shouted as the group moved with all haste, the metallic bodies removed themselves from their hocks as their arms manifested weaponry that was unlike anything the Imperials or elementians had ever seen, yet the first beams of green energy told them that this had just went from bad to worse.
'Take cover!' astartes said as they took shelter behind pillars of blackstone, bolter rounds flew across the room as beams of green were returned in retaliation.
The fight was intense and dirty, yet a lucky bolt round struck the body of the figure as the explosion disrupted it, it collapsed upon the ground as others within the group achieved the same result with the others.
Silence echoed across as the astartes looked upon the corpses of their enemies, a collective sigh came across.
'Thankfully they can still be put down with bolter fire'
Yet an astartes was shocked as a beam of green light pierced his chest, as one of the figures started to re correct themselves, the astartes could feel their body trying to minimize the damage yet the pain was unlike anything he had ever felt.
'Get him out of there!'
pulling the injured astartes behind cover to be attended by the apothecary, the group continued to pour firepower into the metallic skeletons, eventually they collapsed again but the group were taking no chances, pouring extra firepower into them as to destroy body parts and vital area's.
The corpses flickered with a green glow as their presence vanished.
'What the fuck was that?' one of the astartes said, yet the pain filled groan from the down astartes pulled them to his side.
'How is he?'
'The damage is extensive, already his Laramans is trying to combat whatever he is infected with, but even this is straining' the apothecary said, as he tried to apply healing chakra to the affected area.
Naruto turned around and placed his hand upon the wounded astartes, words unlike any other whispered out of his mouth as a golden light pulsed from his palm, after a few minutes the glowing stopped as the wound was healed.
'Was that Gauss?' one of the engineers asked next to Naruto, concern upon their face as he looked upon the broken armour plating.
'Yes... we must be careful now. These Necrons... they can withstand injuries that we cannot, and even if they are down we must ensure they are destroyed utterly'
'Yet even with such actions... we are merely delaying at best, for each one we "destroy" is merely phased out and returned to a deeper part of this structure to be repaired'
'By the Omnisiah... now I understand what you meant... it means we have no time to lose, with all haste... we must find this weapon and leave this forsaken place'
'took the words right out of my mouth adept... lets move!'
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'Odd... usually that tactic works' said the figure upon his throne, various projections of the tomb complex were shown before him yet he payed attention to the red dots that graced a part of it's structure, one of these being the new and exciting energy signature he had discovered along with other less significant creatures.
'Ohh... such excitement. Why I haven't had such fun in a long time... it would be a shame if I didn't at least enjoy myself'
A crash somewhere within the chamber pulled the figure's attention away as frustration echoed across his static face, a long drawn sigh pulsed out as he noticed that a chip upon one of his blade collections was made larger from the bumbling actions of his attendants.
'Such incompetence... At least place it within the repair chambers to be restored... blithering fools'
The machine merely walked away from the room with the artefact in hand, as the figure rubbed his metallic forehead at such an action.
'Now... where was I' the figure said as he once more payed attention to the massive projection screen, his static eyes of green looking onwards at those that had the audacity to walk into one of his domains.
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ATTENTION IMPERIAL CITIZENS:
Well hello there my little humans, welcome to another chapter of the legion of shadows story.
It has been a hell of a ride from these humble beginnings and all, what started as a remake of another story has taken it's own vibe and has become something more.
I have to admit... I am quite happy that my writing skills aren't going to waste.
On another note. I'm going on holiday soon, so won't be doing this story for a while.
Now onto a burning question I had in the review.
If your all wondering about the change of quotations and such, I'm trying out a more formal publishing format, as single quotes are prevalent across normal publishings and such, hense the change and all.
If I'm going to write... the least I can do is write like how others do so.
Anyway... have a safe Christmas and new years people, and hope to see you all next year.
Peace