**Author's note: This chapter starts slow, and gets loud! This was originally two chapters, but I felt like it worked better as a single large chapter.**
After another room service lunch of some kind of herb poultry dish, my anger had cooled, and I began to speak with Alberich and the two witnesses on what we would do for the rest of the day. There was a Chaos cult out there that wanted me dead, but if they couldn't act openly, and I could use lethal force to defend myself, I actually found myself less worried about it than before. With my fancy gold laurel crown and a newfound sense of confidence, I felt pretty good. It was interesting to think that the gold wreath the Emperor wore was actually a psychic modulator, and not just a symbol of office. I was learning new lore every day!
"What else do we need to do on this planet? Null said he'd get us food and supplies for the ship, so we don't need to get that. I'm just worried that we'll just end up with a year's worth of those terrible rations if we leave it to him, though. We still have a lot of money left, so maybe we should go shopping?" I wondered, fidgeting with the gold leaves of my crown. I started to translate for the witnesses, until, to my surprise, one of them spoke up.
"We learn speak," Ennoia replied as she pointed to herself and her sister, her pink eyes happy behind her mask. "Learn Low Gothic try. We go place?" she asked me, motioning toward the front door.
These ladies were probably looking forward to civilization, considering that they'd been under a stasis lock for over fifteen thousand years. Their healing factors and Blank-ness also made them super tough against any sort of foe, and specialized against Chaos. If anyone gave these women any problems, all they'd have to do is drop their masks, and the fight would be over.
"Where do we go?" Alberich said, turning the channels of the television. "We probably shouldn't go anywhere too outside of public view if we leave now. No walks diverting from the city center, like that word bearing man suggested. I do not actually think the general populace of this city will set upon you like wolves, even after Raula's words. And, if that cult leader tries anything in public again, all the better for us because we can kill her." The beastman grinned happily at the murderous thought.
I found that I was also smiling widely at the thought of killing that woman as I touched my laurels. I caught my inappropriate reaction, and dropped both my grin and my hand. "Good idea. Let's just keep any visit outside utilitarian this afternoon, then. No exploring. So, what do we need?"
Alberich wore a thoughtful expression. He then showed me a few small speckles of blood on his right arm, and picked off a piece of dried gore. "We can go shopping for clothing. It would be nice to have a change of clothing. And for you, you will need clothes that fit. I am sensitive to ill-fitting uniforms, and truthfully, aside from your crown, you are not looking your best right now."
I was briefly insulted, but then conceded. My slight physical growth had left my sleeves a little short, and my jacket was now a little tight around the shoulders.
"Clothes?" Morai spoke up. "Yes, clothes," she said as she tugged at her dirty silky red shirt. Ennoia agreed with her sister, nodding quickly.
"Alright, then it's settled. We need clothes, and maybe we should do a bulk order of food somewhere so we're not stuck with loads of paste anymore," I said. And honestly, all the better if some cultists want to fight us. We'd be able to easily fend off any bullshit without using obvious magic with the blank witness women, and I could pick up some souls to feed my ship. Again, I found myself grinning. A part of me actually really anticipated a fight with Chaos.
As Alberich browsed the cogitator-television looking for good clothiers, I called Null on my little mobile phone vox device thing. He answered almost immediately with his customary brusque style of communication. "What?"
"Hey Null. Are you busy? I forgot to ask you about our ration situation. You handling that or should I do that?"
"I can handle it. Don't trouble yourself with supplies," the tech-priest replied, sounding irritated.
"I have a suggestion. Good food is good for morale, so could you get some better rations than the paste we had before? Can you get us some better tasting food?"
"Mmm, this depends on what can be quickly bulk ordered and delivered, but I believe I can do it," the tech-priest sounded distracted, and I could hear the sounds of humming machinery behind him.
"So, how's Nimmie?" I asked, trying to be friendly.
"Magos Amee is currently speaking to someone in the governing body of Tar Vigaz," Null replied dryly.
"About... the stuff we talked about?"
Null communicated with a short affirmative, "Mmm-hmm." I could sense a mild tension, which gave me a feel that I should not bring up certain subjects at this time.
"I'm taking Morai, Ennoia, and Alberich out to get clothes. We're not going anywhere that isn't very public, and if anyone tries anything, these ladies will kick ass to defend us, no psychic powers required," I informed the tech-priest.
Null responded with, "Understood. Just stay in public. No wandering, and do try to stay out of trouble. And I don't need any clothes, so don't trouble yourself with shopping for me."
I was glad that he didn't fight me on this, but I could also tell that something was distracting him at his location, and that he didn't quite trust his privacy. That made sense, considering the ongoing rot that was filtering through this city. "I hope you and the magos have a good meeting. Let me know how that goes," I sincerely offered. "Contact me if anything gets weird."
"Will do. Goodbye."
I hoped Null was okay. If it turned out that this mysterious magos was actually part of the Dark Mechanicus, I'd be really pissed off. My inner sense told me that while she didn't like me (in actuality, she didn't like Evanora, the woman who had owned my body last), she wasn't evil; her personality was just salty in general. Null and her should get along just fine.
"Alright, let's go. Null is with that other magos right now. He's going to handle the rations, but we still need clothes," I said as I stood up. "Let's go!"
Would I wear my laurels outside, I wondered? I liked wearing the gold crown so much that I didn't want to take it off. It really helped to regulate both my emotions and my psyche, and I probably didn't have to worry about having my Corona jump out of me if I became randomly emotional over something. The problem was definitely that the wreath was incredibly distinctive, and I wanted to cover it up so we didn't attract any more attention. A hat or a scarf would be perfect to cover everything up, but I had neither. I did have a handkerchief as a part of my Imperial uniform, though. Alberich offered me his own handkerchief, and I was able to knot both handkerchiefs together into a crude sort of headscarf that covered my laurels. That would be adequate until I could buy a proper scarf, hat, or any sort of head covering.
We discovered through the cogitator-television that all the nice clothing stores were conveniently located in the same area as Silk-Hand's Costumery, which made shopping convenient. With my laurels mostly hidden under two knotted grey handkerchiefs, the four of us began taking a walk down to the fashion district.
It was now late afternoon, and we had a brief walk down Paradise Boulevard again before turning off to the fashion district. Ennoia and Morai were absolutely amazed at everything, and they themselves attracted some curious onlookers with their gold masks and dirty red tunics. A bum attempted to grab Morai, and with a slap of her hand, she sent him sprawling backwards. The Wheeler that had been gliding above us on the railing didn't even slow down to investigate this.
"The future of humanity is strange," Ennoia said in Nubuan as we passed by the Cat's Meow casino again. Alberich waved at the felinid woman we had called a catgirl earlier, and she turned away from us. "Many strange and different varieties of human," she said as she observed what had to be an ogryn being lead down the street by a leash by what appeared to be an old grizzled male Imperial officer wearing a greatcoat that was absolutely covered in medals. The officer saw our uniforms as we walked past him, and angled his chin at us in greeting. Was that guy a named character in the 40k universe? There were too many books that I hadn't read.
"It gets weirder and weirder," I replied in Low Gothic, still keeping a watchful eye out for any lurking Chaos cultists, and luckily (or unluckily, considering my recent bloodthirsty urges), we saw and sensed none.
We were now at the fashion district, and there were many shops and boutiques available for us to peruse for new clothing. Our first stop was a utilitarian adventure and martial arts-style clothing shop, for all your space ninja needs. The sisters were able to find themselves a small wardrobe of martial arts wear (dark tunics, loose fitting pants, that sort of thing), and some warmer clothes for colder climates. The shop owner tried to be helpful at some point, and tried to remove Ennoia's mask when measuring her head for a hat, which resulted in some confusion. I tried to explain what a blank was, but this didn't help. After finding numerous kung-fu fashions, we discovered that instead of carrying our clothes around with us, we could arrange for all of our new clothes to be delivered to our hotel. That was easy, so we did that.
After spending a lot of money on a new wardrobe for the sisters, we found a high-class Imperial-styled clothier that specialized in military designs. Alberich (after some conversation over his clear mark earring) was fitted for some new dark military aesthetic clothes. He now had a few suits, some casual button-downs, and an impressive black trench coat that made him look extra mysterious, and even a heavy woolen greatcoat for cold weather. Most of his clothes were black, and while impeccably styled against his white feathers, it definitely made him look intimidating. Because we spent a lot of money here, the owner offered us his card, and there, we were given directions to a secret storefront filled with off-licensed (and very questionably sourced) weaponry.
The last shop we found was for me. Its aesthetic was a softly gothic Imperial noble store with classic styling, making it just my style. This store had a broad selection of utilitarian women's clothing, and attractive adventure wear. The vibe was that of a wealthy treasure huntress Rogue Trader woman, and I could definitely dig it. Since it was now near closing, and we were the only ones left in the store (and obviously spending a fortune), the owner locked the doors and attended to me for an entire hour. The owner, named Tabitha, was delightfully acerbic, and claimed to be the ex-wife of a Rogue Trader who lurked deep in the Ghoul Stars. She stated that she was done with that life, and now, she enjoyed fashion instead.
I felt comfortable enough with her that I asked her to make a few outfits for me that would match something very specific in my possession, and throwing caution to the wind, I removed my handkerchief scarf from my head. I left my Corona "off", but she was still very interested in my "leaf crown", as she called it. Tabitha vanished into a back room, and returned with many stylish long skirts with pockets, and sharp button-down shirts. The store owner dressed and styled me to match my gold crown, so my new wardrobe would have a lot of blues, reds, rich greys, and dramatic blacks. For formal events, she offered a classy gold wrap dress covered in tiny beads in swirling patterns. Shopping was fun!
It was almost time to leave, and I had purchased at least ten outfits along with multiple pairs of shoes, boots, and accessories because I went a little crazy. I had purchased some utilitarian woolens for frostier climates, along with a beautiful Valhallan-styled fur coat. As Tabitha started packing everything away for me, she turned and looked at my eyes critically once again. I was currently wrapping up my laurels in one of my new scarves, this one made of gold silk. "Ah, I do believe that I actually may have the perfect dress for you, now that I think on it. Hold on, dearie," Tabitha said, retreating into a back room.
"I thought we were done," Alberich mildly complained. "You've purchased this woman's entire stock. Have mercy upon her, Empress!"
I laughed. "You watch out, or I'm going to make twenty lady primarchs, and they will all go shopping for me, conquering sales across the galaxy!" That was sort of sexist, but whatever, I laughed. Laughter was the only way I was not losing my mind in this real life Mary Sue situation that I hated being a part of.
The owner appeared again, and she held what appeared to be a light blue gingham dress and a white shirt. She was smiling, but I stood frozen as she approached.
"Aw fuck," I shook my head. That was an adult version of Dorothy Gale's outfit. Were there ruby slippers too?
Tabitha saw my unhappy expression, and said, "You don't like it? I think it would go with your eyes. Blue and gold are complimentary. This dress offers an innocent counterpoint to your more stunning majesty. A slice of simplicity in the backdrop of your powerful presence."
"I really don't know," I said, touching one of the leaves of my wreath that stuck out behind my ear.
The smiling woman began to sadly pack away the Dorothy Gale dress. Having that was a little too much, really. "Very well. Now, we'll get you all rung up, and I will arrange for your clothes to be delivered to your hotel. Is that feasible?"
"Sure thing," I replied with a yawn, ready to go. I discovered that I had spent nearly two thirds of my Vigaz script already when the owner went to swipe my card. Oops. I hoped Null could get us a deal on rations through Nimmie. At the very least, we had received a complimentary clothing delivery and a ride back to our hotel. After a short time, our fancy limousine arrived again, and we all piled in for home.
It was early evening when we finally got settled back at the penthouse. Outside our door, I noticed that we had received another mysterious "present" of a few wrapped boxes. Using Sight once again to check for any malfeasance, I discovered that that the gift was actually some fancy food items, treats, and jewelry compliments of the Sinclair family. A card inside the box apologized for Talbot's responsibilities with Lady Langwidere today. Reading this, I then remembered that the Sinclairs and the Planetary Governor were the ones who had actually funded the construction of the Am'Erika statue, so this cast an air of suspicion over my happiness at receiving presents. I wasn't immediately able to tell with Sight this time if my benefactors were actually Slaanesh-corrupted, and I hoped that they were simply ignorant of that statue. Null, I hoped, would figure this out, and get back to us. As difficult as he was from time to time, he was the most responsible of us, so I hoped his meeting with his magos friend worked out.
Thinking about all of this as I unwrapped the packages on the dining room table would normally get me upset, but my crown was helping with that. My worries were now more easily placed on the back burner, and I definitely felt more stable.
The packages revealed themselves to be fancy chocolates and other treats, a fine gold pendant in the shape of a stylized flying eagle with a diamond eye on a gold chain, and a very fancy shiny gold robe, similar to the one I had seen Evring wear on the Shower of Gold. More damn gold and eagles, I thought, holding the little eagle bauble in my hand. Better get used to gold and eagles since I'm psychically linked to a giant gold eagle ship which was slowly turning me into some kind of esoteric weapon. I didn't know how it worked, but I hoped that I could keep myself together long enough in order to get to Molech and get the hell out of here.
I found myself wishing again that I had paid more attention to Emperor lore in my old universe. To me, Emps had always been super boring. Due to me being a more casual player, I had large blind spots in my lore knowledge. At least I was familiar enough with the background lore concerning the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Fallen so I knew what to expect with Null and Lian, but if someone had asked me about much of Imperial lore, I'd be pretty clueless. This included the Emperor himself. I had always just thought of him as some sort of overpowered magic Mary Sue that one of the writers had chucked inside the universe to make it happen.
I found myself nervously chuckling at that thought again. Look at me. I'm the Mary Sue now. Ha, ha...
I still had this annoying suspicion that old Emps had done something important on Molech, and not just try to pass through the Warp Gate there. As Sebastian, he had been obviously evasive when I had brought up the subject of Molech and the Wizard. I only knew that he had been on that planet more than once, and that during one of the visits, he had decided to stay in this reality. I wished that I had asked him better questions when he had possessed me the other day. There was still a lot of mystery surrounding him, his nature, and his history. I wondered what had happened to Sebastian's crew too, and if he had copilots to help him fly the Divine Intervention. Actually, where were those crewmembers now? It had sounded like he had a small group of people that traveled with him, one of which may or may not have been Malcador. None of this was familiar to me, and I actually found myself regretting not being a bigger lore nerd back in my home reality.
I tried on the gold eagle necklace, but it fell too close to my Key, so I took it off. Knowing this universe, all those people were probably daemon food by now. Or maybe even Divine Retribution food.
I shared my chocolates and food presents with my companions, but suggested that we shouldn't eat too much because it was around dinner time. Still feeling confident, I suggested that we actually go out for dinner, and maybe some entertainment. As long as we stayed in public, I didn't think Raula's followers would chase after us, and if they did, I could have some free entertainment by krumping some Chaos cultists. Our little group of adventurers was now too high of a level to worry about these level one psychopaths giving us problems. I smiled.
A welcome knock at the door, and our new clothes had now been delivered. It was fun being rich!
Together, we all talked about what we'd eat as we put our clothing packages in our respective rooms. I decided to hit up the cogitator-television to see what was in the area. Something irregular inside of me again happily anticipated a confrontation, wanting to eat souls for dinner so I could feed the ship (and myself). Being this way was weird, but I seemed to have a handle on it right now, so I just relaxed and browsed more mundane food options.
"Okay, everyone, we've got a lot of choices nearby," I announced, indicating toward the television. "So, we've got seafood imports from a nearby ocean world, an Ultramar-themed fine dining place, a Drukhari-owned restaurant serving Commoragh food, a place that serves ork squigs, and a place that's serving up food from this world called Catachan. Anyone have any suggestions?"
"I'm unfamiliar with all of this," Alberich said. "None of these descriptors mean anything to me."
"Well, we're both in the same boat here, buddy. I know a little about Ultramar. It's a sort of human sub-empire to the far south of where we are. So I guess, regular human food?" I shrugged. I browsed the pictures available. The Ultramar restaurant (creatively named "Caesar's Feast") looked way too high class for what I was in the mood for, so I ruled that out. I also wasn't feeling alien fish right now, so I ruled out the seafood place too.
"Not too sure about the Drukhari restaurant. Drukhari are aliens that feed on causing pain on top of eating normal food, and they're a race of sadistic torturers. I'm going to nix that idea," I said, feeling my stomach growl anyway. "Hmm, what about this squig place? It's called 'Squigs n' Stuff.'"
"What is 'squig'?" Ennoia asked.
"A squig, if I remember right, is some sort of fungus animal. They're used as food by the race of aliens known as orks. I think they're edible to humans, maybe? Actually, I don't remember." The pictures on the page showed mostly ork diners. While I didn't mind a little bit of trouble, dining with orks wasn't the sort of evening I was looking forward to.
"And this Cata-chan place?" Alberich asked me. I looked at the advertisement page for the Catachan restaurant. It was creatively named "The Catachan Cafe", and it wasn't too fancy, nor was it too casual. It actually looked like a hip jungle themed restaurant. There was an illustration of a very buff human soldier giving the thumbs up in front of a big juicy steak. The graphic also advertised that it was "certified toxin-free for general consumption".
"I have no idea what Catachan is, but that place actually looks fun," I said, finding some interior pictures that showed that this place was decked out like a very fancy overgrown Rainforest Cafe. There were lush and exotic trees inside this place like a real jungle. Scantily clad muscular jungle women even did performances some nights, wrestling some animals on stage for the entertainment of the patrons. The menu was filled with weird animals I did not recognize, and there were numerous written assurances that nothing was poisonous or harmful, which of course made me believe that the food was at least somewhat poisonous and harmful. "So, none of us are true baseline normal human, right? We can afford to be a little adventurous here. We're all tougher than normal humans, I take it."
"I say it looks good. I would enjoy another good steak," Alberich agreed. The two witnesses quietly nodded as they pointed toward the screen.
"Alright then, it's settled! We're going to the Catachan place!"
After a quick call to the concierge, we were able to make reservations for later in the evening, and arrange yet another fabulous limousine to take us out to dinner. We changed into our new clothes, and was very happy that I didn't have to dress like a blood-splattered lady Hitler anymore. I picked out a dark A-Line skirt and a sharp grey shirt with a jacket. Once again, I hid my Key under my shirt. Instinctually, it felt better this way. With a wrap of a dark red silk scarf over my head, my laurels were covered. The wreath didn't quite match with the outfit, but I found that I really enjoyed its calming and regulating effect, so I didn't want to take it off. Covering it with a scarf was a good solution. Ennoia and Morai dressed in two formal black martial arts-styled tunics with nehru collars, and Alberich managed, of course, to dress like an evil Nazi again with an all black evil-looking uniform. He'd definitely be a hit in some dubious corners of the furry community, I observed.
A quick drive later, and we were were in front of The Catachan Cafe. The front door was a huge battered steel thing, and the door guys were hugely muscled men in fatigues. They opened the door for us, and we were welcomed inside.
I was never much one for theme restaurants back home, and I had been to precisely one Rainforest Cafe where I got food poisoning, but this place blew all my expectations out of the water. It was pleasantly dark and mysterious in here, lit with soft indigo and orange lighting, almost like twilight under a real forest canopy. There were many tables here, with a few private booths that lined the walls, and some round tables in the center of the generously-sized dining room. Most of the individuals dining here tonight were humans, along with two suspiciously large men at a table by themselves who could be space marines. My attention was strangely drawn to another man in a blue cloak as he nervously observed the patrons around him while he nursed a mug of what appeared to be coffee. He wore a cowl that covered half his face, and if we were in an RPG, he would be the type of guy, that if spoken to, would either try to immediately kill you or give you a quest.
The alien jungle aesthetic in here was done perfectly. Foreign mossy trees decorated the wide space like pillars, and we were taken to a larger booth with a good view of a moderately-sized performance stage before us, which was currently dark. Even the tables and chairs in here were made out of this thick greyish-brown gnarled wood. Above us on the ceiling, long vines and realistic vegetation hung wrapped around reaching tree branches that reached out from thick trunks emerging from the floor, and stuffed models of alien creatures peered out from corners and behind hanging moss. The ambient sounds of buzzing insects and calling birds made for an even more interesting atmosphere, and above the vines and artificial canopy, we could see a starry early evening sky.
"Woah, this place is great!" I said, happy to be in fake wilderness instead of running from monsters in canyons, or through entropy cursed deadly deserts. "Wow! I'm impressed!"
"I am as well! It is as if we are in the jungle. I do not recognize any of these creatures decorating the trees. It is like we're on an alien planet!" Alberich said as a very tough-looking server wearing a muscle tank top offered us our menus.
"We sort of are on an alien planet," I laughed, taking a menu.
"You understand what I mean, my leader," Alberich responded as the server stepped back, waiting for a turn to speak with us, which he then did.
"Hello, and welcome to The Catachan Cafe. My name is Chad, and I'll be your server this evening. We've gotten word that you're VIPs of the Sinclair family. The unmasked woman, I assume, is Ms Erika Romanov."
I nodded as I almost laughed out loud at this guy's name. Chad. A big giant muscled Chad. "Yeah, that's me!"
"So, my lady, have you dined with us before?"
I shook my head. "First time here for all of us!"
"On your table you will find a small pamphlet that details the history of the wild and wonderful jungle world of Catachan. I myself was born and raised there; wonderful but dangerous place, my home!"
Chad's chatter was interrupted by a loud sound that resembled a balloon popping, and sounds of delight. "Ah, that brings me back! But they're not dangerous here, so don't worry. And it offers a nice segue into what I'm about to explain!" Chad smiled widely. This guy was over two meters tall and built like a blond truck made out of bricks. "The flora and fauna of the wild world of Catachan is extraordinarily dangerous. Our menu reflects the cuisine of my home world without all the danger, and that pop you heard was from our Barking Toad Surprise cake! Your pamphlet will describe much of our terrifying native wildlife. We even have a few delicacies from Catachan itself, and tonight, in honor of Miss Fitt's performance, we're offering a delectable Catachan Devil ceviche, detoxified to perfection."
"Oh, that sounds good. And what's this performance you mentioned?" I asked. I actually had no idea what a Catachan Devil was, but I did not want to look stupid.
"You folks are definitely in for a treat! In approximately an hour from now, Miss Fitt, our most powerful beastmaster, will be wrestling and subduing a young Catachan Devil, right on stage! Force fields up for audience protection, of course." Chad happily motioned to the stage before us. "I'll give you folks a few minutes to peruse the menu. Let me know if you have any questions!"
"They're making a woman wrestle a beast for our entertainment?" the beastman inquired dubiously. "And what is a Catachan Devil?" Alberich asked, his brow furrowed as he took out our table pamphlet that detailed the Catachan planet.
"No idea, really," I said. "My lore knowledge only goes so far." As the beastman read the pamphlet, I translated for the two witnesses, who were now extremely eager to watch whatever this show was.
Ennoia happily explained to me in the Nubuan tongue. "Gladiatorial combatery was prevalent in Nubua, and my sister and I greatly enjoyed watching beast-taming sessions. We were both tested by one of the giant lizards of our world. In order to guard the Heart of Worlds, my sister and I both had to prove our strength near the end of our training. When we became of age, we demonstrated to the elders and to the city of Byrblan our potency when we bested an adult river dragon with our hands and guile!"
"My sister still does not admit that I am the one who dealt the killing blow!" Morai laughed as she prodded Ennoia in the ribs. "But yes, as you see, we did survive, and we proved ourselves worthy to fate, and were seen fit to guard the Heart of Worlds."
"What are they talking about?" Alberich interrupted, putting the pamphlet down. "The information here describes the Catachan Devil as sort of giant reptilian centipede, similar to what we fought before on that planet with the canyon. They are easily over man-sized. How can a single woman hope to wrestle one if it has poison and claws? It seems barbaric, really."
"Well, let's just hope her stage name 'Miss Fitt' is accurate for how tough she is," I said turning to the stage, and observing its size. It was currently dark, about ten meters in length, and stood a waist-length distance off the ground. A dark velvet curtain prevented us from seeing anything further. "Ennoia and Morai were just talking about how they beat up a giant lizard when they came of age on their planet to prove themselves to their elders. They're looking forward to seeing tonight's show, it looks like."
Alberich turned to the two witnesses in shock. "Women? Their world made their women fight giant lizards? I do not understand these alien worlds in the least! Barbarity!"
"They have reinforced skeletons, and some gene tinkering that enables them to regenerate faster than normal humans. That's why they're still alive after getting almost killed on Nubua. They're also Blanks, so that makes them both even tougher." I grinned at Alberich's surprise. "Oh, get the fuck over it. Who cares? Here, let's figure out what we want for dinner!"
After a short time of reading the menu, we ordered our food along with some mixed alcoholic drinks which Alberich and I readily put back. We decided on a table-sized portion of the Catachan Devil special, because why not? Eating some kind of alien beast as we watched some muscle lady wrestle and kill the same kind of monster sounded really fun! I also began to notice the shady guy eating by himself was watching us, but unless I wanted my halo to come out and ruin everyone's dinner, I didn't push psychically to see what his deal was. I tried to ignore him.
Our food arrived, and it was a glorious pile of roasted lobster-like meat that another Tzaangor waiter set aflame with a match before serving to us. It was absolutely delicious, but after chewing, it seemed to cause a numbing sensation in my mouth. A small cup of something simply labeled "antitoxin" was supplied for each of us, and we were instructed to swish the concoction around in our mouths and then spit out if any numbness occurred, which we all did.
The lighting above us began to dim, and cheers began to sound in the dining room just as we all began to finish our meal. A rustle of the curtain before us, and I knew that the entertainment part of our dinner was coming.
"You kids ready for more of this reality's bullshit?" I giggled, sitting back in my chair, and feeling quite full from dinner. I noticed that the intense guy had not stopped watching us from across the room. What was his problem? Either get into a fight with me so I can kill you and feed you to my ship, or knock it off, I thought, feeling silly.
I now noticed a soft shimmer of light that had appeared at the perimeter of the stage, and before I could point it out to my companions, the curtain slowly rose before us. Cheering was now heard as we were now able to see what appeared to be a large cloth-covered cage or box about two and a half meters in height and width. Beyond the cheers of the dining room, I could now hear low hissing coming from the stage, and the box lightly rattled under the cloth.
A rough and dangerous male voice began to project through the speaker system. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're delighted to bring to you tonight one of our most favorite beastmasters, Miss Fitt, the fabulously savage and famously beautiful. She will, tonight, for all of you, subdue and kill a young Catachan Devil using only her bare hands! Give Miss Fitt an applause, everyone!"
We all clapped. I noticed that the shady man did not clap. He was gripping the table nervously, and was now slightly rocking back and forth. My intuition was now becoming obviously alarmed at this. As the announcer began to detail what a Catachan Devil was for the audience, I shot over a telepathic warning to Alberich: You see that guy? A few tables down? Gives me the creeps.
This whole spectacle unsettles me, my leader. Barbarism! Alberich's ears were down, and he glanced in the direction of the twitchy guy. He has the look of a man that has ingested Pervitin, if you happen to know what that is.
No idea what that is, I responded as the announcer now detailed the physical characteristics of the female beastmaster before she came on stage. I felt an intuitive flash, and in my mind's eye, I received a mental image of a woman with bright cherry red hair in messy dreadlocks inhaling a line of sparkling white dust into her nose on a mirror in a dressing room. The lady beastmaster indeed appeared to be incredibly fit, and defined muscles carved across her solid tanned frame. But, aside from her obviously doing a line of space cocaine before her show, something concerned me. I watched as she looked up from her mirror, and for the faintest of moments, I felt a darkness pass over my soul. Instantly, I knew that something was wrong with this woman. It was the same feeling I had perceived when watching Raula White on television and her black eyes. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and then, the image cut off when I heard Alberich speak to me in mind.
Pervitin is a drug that quickens your reflexes, and lessens the need for sleep. It was given to German soldiers for wakefulness, and it can cause aggression and tics. Hitler himself, unfortunately, enjoyed it too much, the beastman spoke to me, now also covertly watching the stranger.
I didn't respond immediately as I tried to make sense of what I had seen in the dressing room. Everyone around me was clapping and cheering, and really aggressive electric guitar music began to play in this dining room as multicolored spotlights began to shine on the stage. This caused the shady man watching us to startle in his seat, which further set my danger sense off. There was a lot wrong here this evening, I began to feel. If I had not been wearing my laurel crown, I'd definitely be freaking out.
The spotlight fell on the covered cage, and the cloth was removed, revealing the beast. The cage had actually been a large glass box, and inside, there was a creature that would be right at home trying to kill us back on Kolch, and it looked angry!
The Catachan Devil was some sort of dark green monstrous spiny centipede, and it was hurling its segmented body against the box that contained it. It was somewhat coiled up inside the box, but I estimated that it would be at least two or even three times my height if stretched out, with a body width greater than mine! Around its mouth, small hooks and long tentacles dripped a clear slime as it hissed furiously. Holy shit, that thing looked dangerous. And this woman was going to wrestle it with her bare hands? And we ate one of those? I looked at the leftovers on our table, unsure if I wanted to be sick or proud of my accomplishment.
"That thing! It is ridiculous!" Alberich was able to say over the electric guitars baying over the scene as Miss Fitt made her entry from the side of the stage. She was wearing a form-fitting black suit that resembled a wrestler's singlet, and she was incredibly muscular. What surprised me was her modest height, as she was actually shorter than I was! The beastmaster's smile of filed white teeth was wide, and her eyes appeared intoxicated, her pupils gigantic even from here. Her blood red hair hung messily around her, and I could see from here that she was very sweaty, which was making her eyeliner run already. This woman was as high as a kite!
"And here she is, folks! Give it up for Miss Fitt! Standing at a towering one point seven meters, our beloved powerhouse has bested a total of eight beasts in the last month alone! Fitt hails from deep within the jungles of Catachan, and in another life, served in the Imperial Guard until finding other gainful employment here in Evna!"
I snorted. Sounded like she deserted. The shady man seated near us was now staring at the beastmaster with wide horrified eyes, but at least he wasn't fixating on me anymore. Miss Fitt walked back and forth across the stage, blowing kisses at the people who cheered for her. I heard a guy shout out, "I love you, muscle princess!" which made me laugh.
"Miss Fitt spends her time in Evna teaching children about the wildlife of her home planet, going from school to school teaching our next generation about the beautiful diversity of galactic life! She does this by volunteering under the local charity group, the Family of Liberty, which works helping educate everyone, rich or poor, in the arts and sciences. All tips collected tonight will go toward the Family of Liberty, and we'll have someone come by to collect donations later! But now, everyone, enjoy the show!"
Hold up! Did I just hear what I thought I heard? This woman was a member of the Family of Liberty? She's a Chaos American?
I didn't have time to voice my concern or even react, as the glass box surrounding the Catachan Devil was lifted into the air, and the beast was loose! It, of course, immediately charged for the audience instead of Miss Fitt, but luckily, the force field surrounding the stage held it back, and it bounced with a buzzing crackle off an invisible barrier.
Despite the modulating effect of my gold laurels, this was surprising enough to actually cause my Corona to momentarily brighten in alarm. My halo surrounded my head in a brief flash of gold light. This caused a few members of the restaurant to turn toward me, looking for the light. Luckily, the flash was very brief, and it was loud and ridiculous enough in this room that most people couldn't really place where it had come from, but with one exception:
The shady man had seen it! Instead of watching the Catachan Devil hurl itself against the barrier as Miss Fitt began to stalk the beast from behind, the twitchy nervous man was now watching me again with wide eyes. I made very unnerved eye contact with this man, who actually appeared impressed instead of upset. As he stared with wild eyes, a peculiar message was transmitted to me in mind:
I will protect you, chosen of change! My life for you!
The scary man uncomfortably smiled. He then turned away from watching me with eerie slowness. I flinched again as the Catachan Devil hurled itself at the barrier directly before us. The monster then hissed in anger as Miss Fitt leapt onto its back like a coked out Steve Irwin from hell! The beastmaster then reached around the Devil's front to grab at two of its frontmost centipede legs, and right as she grasped one of them, she happened to make quick eye contact with me.
A moment passed between us, and her eyes briefly flashed magenta as the beast hurled her backwards with a flick of its head, throwing the beastmaster on her back on the stage. The crowd cheered!
I definitely knew then. Miss Fitt was a Chaos American!
Beside me, my companions were completely oblivious to the secondary drama as they cheered for the beastmaster, watching her scrambling to her feet in a motion that was almost too fast to be real. The monster then raced to strike at her. Miss Fitt again jumped clear of the beast's attack, and with two back flips, she was on the opposite side of the stage! The beastmaster laughed, and even offered the monster a rude gesture!
The Catachan Devil whirled around, and skittered across the stage again on many sharp centipede legs. It lunged at Miss Fitt with its drooling tentacled jaws! Again, the beastmaster easily ducked out of the way of the creature's attack, and now, the woman had somehow made it onto the monster's segmented back again. This time, her grip on the foreclaws of the monster was firmer, and she then wrapped her legs around the body of the animal, and began to squeeze!
The beast began to squeal in distress at this action, and began to reach with its mouth tentacles and hooked tendrils to lash at the woman's arms as she gripped the Catachan Devil in a full body bearhug. The monster then hurled itself to the ground, and attempted to scrape the beastmaster off using the stage, bludgeoning the beastmaster. Despite this abuse, Miss Fitt's grip held true, and she continued constricting the beast with her arms and legs! I caught that as she was being, pummeled, stung, and cut up by the flailing creature, the beastmaster's face remained serene, and almost happy. Was she actually enjoying the pain in front of us all?
The woman caught me watching her in revulsion, and I could almost see that she wore a smile. She then inexplicably released the beast, which coiled upward like a giant fearsome cobra, hissing and chittering as it drooled.
I see you, a message was broadcast to me from her as the Catachan Devil lunged again. Miss Fitt then actually charged into the attack, and hurled her entire body into an uppercut to the head that caused the beast to stagger backward. The monster was now momentarily stunned, the beastmaster was now bloody, and a message was being broadcast across the dining area that reassured us that this was all a part of the show. Electric guitar music and loud cheers rang out around me, oblivious to the actual danger that was present here. People were now standing up, thrilled by the exhibition before them! Even Alberich seemed interested, and he was now also cheering.
As the beast recovered, the woman then abruptly stiffened, and for a moment, she seemed to seize. The raucous cheers around me began to blur into mindless static around me, and the Warp became briefly visible to me.
Emotions of debauchery, excitement, and most of all, masochistic pleasure were spilling like polluted rivers from the soul of the beastmaster and the audience, swirling around this entire event like a maelstrom of perfumed filth. And there... yes, I could see it now. My Sight knew where to look.
I saw an obscene shape enter the beastmaster. My vision returned to normal, but I now found that time was slowing.
The world slowed to a crawl. I saw now that the Catachan Devil had been somehow punched clean through its chest by the beastmaster, and in slow motion, Miss Fitt withdrew her arm from the messy killing blow. The beast, in this slowed time, remained frozen in the air, and did not fall. Shards of chitin and rivers of blood floated impossibly slowly around us, like a dream of snow.
I see you, the message came again as the thing within Miss Fitt spoke to me. The voice was of black oil, slick with corruption and unquenchable hunger, threatening to smother my gold light. We all see you.
"What do you want?" I audibly asked the creature in this stolen moment of extended time. The woman then walked impossibly through the force field surrounding the stage to stand before me. She was just out of direct range of my Corona.
I want everything... it hissed from the mouth of the unfortunate beastmaster. Black blood began to flow from her nose. Deep within, I could hear the woman's soul screaming as it was being consumed from within, burned and pleasured at the same time. I come with a message, the creature said to me.
I figured you would,I responded now through the Warp. You're not going to win, and unfortunately, I already promised myself that I would destroy you if you came after me again, I said with cold anger. A flicker of reality, and I found my perspective had changed. I was now looking down at this entity from a tall height. Within a moment, I was now back to my more normal size.
You misunderstand, the creature responded to me with a bleeding smile. We are not your enemies, and I am not the one known as Am'Erika. I am a herald of the Dark Prince himself. I am here to tell you that you have caught his blessed eye.
Whatever you're trying won't work,I responded dryly, not afraid of these stupid attempts to intimidate me.
Do listen to us, please, oh beautiful one? I have a message to deliver to you from his infernal majesty of dark delights! the beastmaster's body was now bleeding from every orifice, dripping messily all over the floor, but despite that, her body laughed and smiled like a happy schoolgirl. She happily splashed her feet in puddles made from her own viscera like a child dancing in the rain. It was all a show to upset lesser creatures, but I was something far more powerful, and it simply ended up causing me disgust
Your struggle is beautiful, Young Queen. Blessed Slaanesh wishes to impart his admiration upon you for your beautiful story, your beautiful fight! You are a consummate artist of suffering; how Slaanesh admires you for that! It has been decided that the Dark Prince will leave his handmaid Am'Erika eternally maimed for her failure, and as a gift for you! Consider this a formal offering of friendship, Young Queen. Your stories, your dreams, all can live forever in the court of the Perfect Prince! Consider coming to his divine bosom, and he can make your pleasure eternal, your artistry everlasting! Live forever in his garden of unearthly delights!
So, now you want to be friends?I asked the entity before me as it continued to spiritually exsanguinate the woman who used to to be the Catachan beastmaster. The request was absolutely absurd, and I actually laughed. After sending a Space Marine Daemon Prince and cultists after me, you've decided to play nice? After possessing giant statues that threaten to chase me down and torture me for eternity, and after your daemons terrorize me by manipulating my dreams, you now want to be fucking friends? Outraged, I felt my radiance began to heighten, causing the entity to step backward.
But now, you have now proven your vivacious spirit to the Dark Prince, and now, he celebrates you! This is simply a message that I, a simple herald, wish to impart upon you, Young Queen, the daemon recoiled from my light as I began to get even angrier. And now, oh yes, I can see it! This fury! Your righteous indignation coupled with a unique purifying perfection! Fascinating! You could make war, love, and art forever in his court! You could-
"Excuse me," a familiar audible polyphonic male voice very unexpectedly interrupted us. "May I cut in here?"
It was the familiar man with white-blond hair in the perfect dark suit. He was grinning, but I could tell that he was furious, somehow. "The lady doesn't sound like she's interested, so you should probably buzz off. And, just to make sure you go away, here's a message for you, little brother." The familiar dark man was now suddenly holding a pistol, and it was pointed at the beastmaster's head from point blank range. "I saw her first!"he keened.
Tzeentch pulled the trigger with a sadistic smile, causing the beastmaster's head to rupture in an artful red spray.
Time restarted, and I discovered that I had been struck in the chest, and knocked to the floor.
I was being slowly helped to my feet by numerous hands, my Corona glowing around me in a very bright protective cocoon, making sure no daemonic taint could touch me when I was vulnerable. I was vaguely aware that my scarf had fallen off, and that people were confused and yelling in here. I felt distant from myself, and life existed around me in a warm gold fugue. I sensed the hot life of the Key at my chest had captured two souls, and that there was a strange dampening aura in here. For whatever reason, I felt somewhat disassociated. I grasped at my Key behind my shirt, catching my breath.
I felt the emotions of the humans in here react in disbelief, horror, and even awe as I was now being helped to walk somewhere. There was an argument, and I could now half-see that a woman with white hair and pink eyes was fastening a gold mask to her head once again. The shouting and arguing continued. These were humans. They were mine, of course. Why were they so upset? The darkness wasn't here anymore! I knew that perfectly.
Someone was making a phone call, and it was quickly decided that since I knew an important person, that this would all be forgotten. That was unnecessary, I thought. I could fix this.
Yeah, I can fix this, I thought as I drank some water offered to me by a nice woman with a gold mask. Don't worry everyone, I can fix anything.
With a flash of my Sight and a broad sweep of my willpower, I had removed all discomforting and traumatizing memories from those who were not my friends in the area. I commanded them to know that everything was fine. And then, everything was. I make things better with the humans. I fix things. That's what I do, right? If something is broken, my imperative is to fix it.
Right?
I was now in a vehicle on my way home. No one spoke. I now could tell everyone was afraid of me, and I was exhausted. I had put out a lot of energy today, and I wanted to rest. Things would be better in the morning.
I laid down in my bed in my hotel room, and went to sleep.