**Author's Note: Making life difficult for my characters is what I do. And, I've also been told by a few people now that this huge Vigaz arc is a living example of the "Let's go, in and out, 20 minutes adventure" meme from Rick and Morty. This was actually entirely intentional! Check out the very last line of chapter 69!**
I traveled down the quiet tunnels with the now-human Alberich as he continued to wobble on his feet. Apparently, the process of soul transference did not feel very pleasant, as the psyker frequently had to take breaks as we walked. He likened the sensation to extreme sea sickness.
While I was happy that the former beastman was now in a human shape, I was not so happy about what shape Tzeentch had planned and chosen for him to take. Nearly every time I made eye contact with the new Alberich, I flinched away, reminded of Tzeentch's humanoid Warp avatar. Since I was a fun amusing toy to that Chaos God, I concluded that this was all probably just for a laugh on his end, and I tried not to think about it.
The Warp remained "on" for the duration of our subterranean journey, so I took occasional psychic glimpses at what was happening in the city above us.
As expected, the city was now a mess. People clustered around outdoor projected screens which displayed Sinclair media figures who told them to stay calm, and that everything would be handled by the authorities. The newscasters told the people that both Tzaangor mutants and the terrorist anarchist hackers from the Tower of Reason were responsible for the malfunctioning of the Wheeler servitors. Luckily, I didn't sense too many scenes of servitor-on-human violence, but there had been a few sporadic incidents of Wheelers cutting down random innocent people on the street. If Langwidere's forces got control of the Tower of Reason, it stood reason to believe that these attacks would become much more frequent.
As the three of us hopped aboard another rickety mine cart, I was struck with a strong vision of the governor as she ordered her forces to continue their assault on the Tower of Reason and its surrounding area. A powerful force field now surrounded the Tower, and sophisticated Necron weaponry illuminated the entire area of conflict with bursts of neon green light. My vision was cut off when I witnessed Langwidere herself smoothly turn her detachable head toward me, and hiss in telepathic acidity, I see you, Evanora! I will find you!
This caused me to pull back to reality. The old Tzaangor was steering the mine cart along as Alberich sat next to him, and I continued to remote view what was happening upstairs as I sat behind both men. The former beastman psyker turned around ahead of me, and asked, "What did you see?"
"The governor. She's still trying to break into the Tower of Reason with her army. Null is there, and they're using Necron weapons to defend themselves."
Alberich then unexpectedly smiled. "I wonder what he will say when he sees me? He can no longer treat me as a malformed mutant."
I heard Zok loudly sigh in irritation, and Alberich then cringed as he realized what he had said. "You have judgmental crew?" the Tzaangor rumbled as he steered us along through dimly lit tunnels. This trip felt like we were on a bumpy wooden roller coaster, but we were still able to move at a good speed, and there weren't any traps or daemons to worry about down here. Small lanterns offered dim illumination in the tunnels, and the air smelled very stale. It was as if no one had come down this track in some time.
"Our tech-priest is used to being in authority, I think," I responded to Zok's concern. "But, I'm the captain. I'll tell him to knock it off, and you'll be fine. We all have to eat, and he enjoys human food, so he has to be nice to you if you're a good cook."
Zok chuffed a laugh. "I am not too concerned. I have seen much in my life. As long as he does not use violence against me, I am satisfied."
"Yeah, he may be difficult at times, but he's really useful," I responded to the Tzaangor. "And yeah, Alberich, I can't wait to see how Null reacts to your body swap."
Alberich smiled as he continued to touch his new human face, clearly happy with the transformation. "In the last many weeks, I have changed much, it seems! I suppose it makes sense, considering that I follow the Lord of Change."
Zok continued to steer us along as I watched the psyker in disapproval. "You should reconsider your patronage of that god. Look what happened just now! You now have another independent version of you running around imprisoned in the body of a cult leader. Do you want dangerous shit like that happening again?"
Alberich turned away, nervously putting his hand through his new hair. "I-I will admit that I have much to consider, my leader."
This caused me to snap. "You're damn right, you have much to consider! We're going to have a long talk about this later when we're not trying to escape this world, but right now, consider yourself banned from worshipping Tzeentch," I angrily instructed as the mine cart began to slow. "No more Chaos bullshit, Alberich! I'm fucking done tolerating it! We get enough of that sadistic god just by existing, and I guarantee that he'll screw you over even harder if you keep admiring him. We're not in our weak magic home universes anymore! No more!"
With a psychic shiver, I then felt a dark eye pass over me. I knew exactly who that was. My Corona briefly emerged in anger. What surprised me was that instead of being upset at my pronouncement, I actually felt the giant evil god smile at me. If only it were that easy, dearest, I felt the cruel whisper drag unpleasantly through me before the presence departed.
Zok informed us that we had reached the landmark that would signal when we were close to the end of this section of our journey. Two long blue and gold ribbons stood tied to a stake in a bow aside the track. The Tzaangor indicated where we were on the map, and we would soon have to disembark. A large "X" on our map marked that a section of track that was not traversable. As our little group glided to a stop, we were now able to see why.
A wide and very deep crater yawned a few meters ahead of us in the dark, and the track was twisted and warped out of shape like a twisted wire. Colorful ribbons and warnings of danger were tied to the areas of bent track before us as we glided to a stop. Beside the crater and against the right side of the tunnel wall, a ladder reached upward. Presumably, this where we needed to go topside. "What happened here?" Alberich asked as he climbed out of the mine cart. "Looks like a bomb went off."
"Doesn't say what happened, and the map says to go up that ladder. There is another tunnel we need to take a short distance to the south. We have to go upstairs now," Zok observed as he studied the guide. The Tzaangor then suddenly sniffed at the air, and his hackles immediately raised.
"What is it?" I asked as crawled out of the cart, and began walking toward the ladder. Looking above, I observed that it would be a far and dangerous climb upward.
"Something's rotten down here," Zok replied with a clack of his beak as he continued to sniff the air. He then pointed at the crater.
"Not more trouble," Alberich groaned as he withdrew his silver dagger.
"Hold on, I'll look," I replied as I pulled into my Sight, and spread my awareness outward. This sort of expenditure of energy would have taxed me greatly before, but now, I found that using my abilities took less and less effort. Was this because I was eating souls, or because of my ongoing integration into the Divine Retribution? Deciding not to think about that right now, I pushed my psychic awareness outward, and into the crater.
A wall of stench that stank both physically and metaphysically struck me with such power that I cringed backward. There was a ragged woman hidden in the debris aside the pit, and large open sores stank of infection and spiritual corruption. The vagrant then realized that she had been perceived by me, and began to smile with rotten teeth. This was when I realized that she wasn't actually alone, and a tiny grinning shape appeared from behind her.
It was small, and only stood up to about her knee, and it resembled a tiny disgusting brown-green infectious pustule. Its mouth was a wide gash of needle teeth, and its eyes were beady yellow marbles.
My senses informed me that this thing was a daemon as it began to dance forward and into more visible light. Immediately repulsed, I drew upon my Corona, bathing myself in protective gold light.
This looked like a nurgling, if my meta knowledge was correct. If I remembered correctly, those critters usually wandered around in packs, and if there was one here, there could potentially be more. My Sight told me that this woman was a minor sorceress, and that this beast seemed to be her familiar of sorts.
The daemon stopped ahead of me, just out of range of my Corona. It then seemed to sniff the air curiously, almost reminding me of a snorting pug dog. Zok now had his fists raised, and Alberich had his dagger drawn beside me as we stood next to the ladder.
The disgusting little creature laughed at us, and playfully backflipped. Behind it, the vagrant woman then began to speak in a phlegmy voice. "You are not Architects. You don't smell like the Architects."
"No, but you serve Nurgle," I found myself saying automatically, heightening my voice which caused the nurgling to back up. The creature then began to cry like a squalling baby as it ran back to its master.
"I do, yes," the woman coughed as she began to cautiously step forward from behind the debris. "I'm the last Plague Eater, and I have been waiting here for the Blue Architects for some time, but you are not one of their family, so I have no ill will against you." She was rake thin, and wore torn rags stained with excrement and blood. The Chaos vagrant reminded me of a mythological hag from a fairy tale, with a long hooked nose and open sores marring her hideous face. Despite her Chaotic taint, she actually seemed quite pleased to see me. The stench emanating from her was now causing me great discomfort.
The vagrant sorceress then paused her approach, and seemed to study me. The nurgling ahead of her hugged her legs with sharp filthy claws. She then smiled widely again. "Ah, you are the gold woman everyone has been dreaming about. I have been imparted a message to you from the Plaguefather himself."
Further examination with my Sight now perceived something exceptionally dangerous. This woman wasn't just a follower of Nurgle; she had been infected with some kind of supernatural Warp disease, and had hoped to infect anyone coming off this mine cart associated with the Blue Architects! Her soul still blazed with a great desire for vengeance, and she had been waiting here for some time for the hated Tzeentchian cultists to appear! Had Heinrich known about this and sent us right into a trap?
I recoiled, and pulled upon my strength, preparing to end this Chaos-corrupted woman.
The woman held her hands out before her, and shook her head. "No, no, no! Calm yourself! I mean you no harm! You have caught my god's attention, and he sees you! He wishes to be your friend! Doesn't everyone want to have friends? Nurgle wishes to help you, he tells me. The Plaguefather can love and accept-"
With a flick of my wrist, the half-hidden and plague-stricken woman had been struck by a bolt of gold lightning, knocking her to the ground. I'm not even entertaining this shit anymore if I could help it, I thought angrily. I then picked up her convulsing gurgling body and threw her deep into the crater. As she was thrown, she struck the side of the ruined tunnel, and a metallic twang echoed through the air, followed by a hissing sound. The nurgling before us watched this all happen. The tiny daemon then turned around to look at me. It now wore an evil smile.
"Bad!" it laughed in a comically high voice. "Bad, bad, bad!"
My senses began to prickle uncomfortably as I now sensed a perturbation in the fabric of reality somewhere in the vicinity of the pit. A squealing sound reminiscent a swarm of maddened rats then echoed up from the crater, and in my mind's eye, I now saw many little smiling daemons as they began to swarm out of the remains of the Nurgle vagrant. The daemon that had been the plague lady's familiar simply stood before me, and grinned.
"Okay, time for us to go," I quickly instructed my companions as I immediately began to crawl up the ladder. Alberich and Zok quickly followed.
As the three of us frantically climbed, the chittering squeals of the nurgling horde began to grow closer. "What did you do?" Alberich asked me in a very accusatory tone that I probably deserved.
"That lady was some kind of infection bomb," I responded as what appeared to be a manhole cover became visible about ten meters above us. "She was a trap for the Blue Architects. I killed her, but it turned out she was also a daemon bomb too. I don't know. I was never into Nurgle shit back in my universe so I didn't expect all that.
"They climb. Hurry up," Zok said from the back of the line.
We found the manhole cover and I went to push it up, and found that it was very stubbornly fastened to the street. What the fuck, Heinrich? There was no warning of this in the map either!
I took a deep breath, drew upon my power, and with a closed fist, I then struck the cover from below in a mighty uppercut, which sent it flying. I could now smell a whiff of what smelled like sulfur or rotten eggs wafting up from below, either coming from the daemons or a gas leak somewhere.
"Hurry, please," Zok replied as I heard the laughing squeal of a nearby falling nurgling as it was kicked off the ladder by the old Tzaangor. It sounded like cartoon, and it would have been funny if this situation wasn't so dangerous.
I scrambled out of the manhole, dirty and frazzled. Alberich and Zok immediately emerged after me, and before I could figure out what sort of area we were now in, I pulled dramatically into my Sight. A blaze of gold surrounded me, which caused my heart to briefly ache as I prepared myself to stop this disgusting daemonic horde from advancing further. Around me, I sensed many eyes upon us, and their souls expressed surprise and upset at seeing us emerge from what appeared to be the sewers.
Looking down the hole, I further summoned my energy as I saw that the swarm of nurglings was almost upon us as they climbed. Each little creature laughed and giggled like evil little babies made of pus and scabs. If what I had smelled was gas, this would certainly take care of any daemonic incursion downstairs.
"Nope!" I shouted as I hurled a gold fireball down into the tunnel, which caused innumerable cartoonishly high screams of pain. A split second later, a very loud boom and a pillar of fire blasted upward from the hole, partially deafening me, and knocking our little group backward from the percussive force of the explosion.
Screams and shouts of offended surprise called from all around us as I found myself momentarily stunned. Alarms sounded and accusations were now being hurled my way. As I started to come back to myself, I found that I had stumbled into a line of finely-dressed people mingling around the entrance to a cozy high society social club.
"What in-?" a suited man pushed me back, and I stumbled to the ground, still unbalanced. "Sewer rat! And with a mutant! Filthy!"
People began to whisper. "Disgusting perverted madwoman! Setting fires!"
"Terrorist!" a man then cried out. "She has a mutant with her, and she blew up the sewers! Terrorist!" This immediately changed the mood, and people began to yell at me and protest my presence. This was not going our way, so I decided to fix these people instead of pleading my case.
You didn't see us or anything unusual! I boomed inside their souls, and I bent their wills against mine. I did this with such spectacular force that two people fainted. When everyone was quiet and confused, I gathered Alberich and Zok up and retreated into a nearby alley behind the social club, and turned a corner to hide beyond view.
"Woah!" I breathed as I leaned up against an alley wall. My full hearing was now returning, but my ears continued to ring. "Zok, let me see the map."
The old Tzaangor handed me the guide pamphlet, and I took a few breaths to center myself after escaping yet another perilous situation. As I got my bearings, I realized that I could now hear the faint sound of what sounded like a church bell ringing distantly. That would probably be the Last Bell, I thought as I examined my map. Above us, an aircraft screamed through the air, further adding to the harried atmosphere. At least some people were leaving this world, I thought.
The map confirmed that we had emerged next to a wealthy social club named "Studio 55", and we were currently within two city blocks of Rhymes Square, which appeared to look suspiciously like Times Square in layout and business. We would have to walk through the Square to get to the next tunnel entryway, which appeared to be behind an art museum.
As my hearing and my wits returned, I realized that I could hear the sound of the Sinclair News Network reporter echoing through the alley. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere out in the city.
"Alberich, hey," I said, remembering something important as I clumsily reached for my scissors in my cloak pocket. This motion caused my mirror compact to fall out and splash into a puddle. Great. Alberich turned to me, and I then proceeded to snip a length of fabric away from my nice red cloak. "Put this around your face. They said that you would be recognized. Don't know if this area has Wheelers but it's best to be careful."
"Yes," the psyker agreed as he took the strip of red fabric and wrapped it about his head. That might not even work, considering Heinrich's warnings that the Wheelers and security cameras could see through disguises, but it was better than nothing.
I reached down to retrieve my compact from the dirty puddle, and as I picked it up, my finger found the release, and it opened. Immediately, I felt a familiar psychic eye pass over me, and I held the compact before me.
Greetings again, my Empress. I'm assuming you're having fun out there, Word Bear's dark evil dragon voice spoke to my mind.
Hardly, I said with a daze, about to close the compact. Anyway, can't talk, see you later.
Wait, wait, listen, the Chaos Marine answered me. I've foreseen that Wheelers are converging near your vessel. My Brothers and I have divined that you are being hunted by the governor, so beware. And, I have-
I closed the compact and my mind. I was done with Chaos for right now.
"Alright guys, time to get out of here," I instructed as I put the compact away. "We've got to walk through the Square, but as long as we stay away from the Wheelers, I think we can do it. Null said that their security network was just having problems, not that it was fully hijacked." I wiped my slight nosebleed away, and began walking out of the alley.
"Pardon me, my leader, but you're definitely a bit too obvious," Alberich observed as he clutched my shoulder, stopping me. "Your costume. If they have an alert bulletin out on you, they will find you immediately if you are dressed like that."
Oh, Alberich had a point. Shit. I stuck out like a sore thumb in in my gold Empress costume. "Yeah, I guess you're right," I had to admit. Dizzily, I wondered what I would do as I leaned up against the alley wall once again. "But, I can't just take it off. Being naked would attract more attention, right?"
Alberich appeared thoughtful for a moment, and then, seemed to have an idea. "You have that ability of psychic domination, correct?" he asked.
"Yeah, so?"
"I saw this in a film once. We are close to a social club. Perhaps it would be prudent to find someone and take their attire? Maybe someone who is intoxicated?"
I began to quietly laugh. "Steal someone else's clothes?" I turned to look around the corner People were milling around outside the club as they socialized and laughed without a care in the world, apparently completely insulated from the chaos in the city. Someone had just noticed that the manhole cover was open, and was warning others to stay away from it as a grey plume of smoke began to rise from the hole. I didn't want to hurt any innocent people, but it appeared from my earlier encounter that these individuals were assholes. It also struck me as incredibly strange that these people were also having a casual social gathering while martial law was in effect. Knowing Langwidere, she probably made an exception for nice restaurants and nightclubs, or just overlooked rich people breaking any laws.
"Good idea," I conceded to Alberich as I began to crack my knuckles. "Let me handle it, though. I'm going to lure one of them back here."
Both Alberich and Zok hid themselves behind the corner as I walked ahead, hugging the alley wall in the dark. After watching the crowd mingle from the alley for a short time, the same man who had called me a terrorist wandered back outside. He was walking as if at least a little intoxicated, and happily, he seemed to be about my height and build. He wore a dark shirt and trousers with a belt. Perfect!
Come to me, I psychically called out to the guy as I visualized him being drawn down the alley. Isn't the alleyway cool? Look how cool it is back here! So cool and mysterious! I implanted the suggestion as I stepped backward, and I began pulling him toward me like a fish on a line. Really cool guys go exploring alone in alleyways!
As expected, the guy began to wander down the alleyway as he whistled an upbeat tune. Soon, I was at the end of this alley, and turned the corner. A short time later, the guy also turned the corner as he explored, and I stepped out from my hiding place. I turned on my Corona, letting it wreathe me in gold power.
"Woah!" the guy explained, stopping in his tracks, his eyes wide with shock. His thoughts loudly echoed that he thought he was actually looking at the Emperor. To him, I was being perceived as male.
I decided to have a little fun with this. "Greetings to you, oh favored son. Be at peace," I said to him in a beatific crooning voice as I pushed my gold light through his being. This caused him to shake in overwhelming emotion as the guy fell to his knees. He even began to cry as I continued to speak to him. "I have finally found you after many years of searching. Lo, you were scattered from me by the machinations of the Warp, but now, once again, I have rediscovered you."
What are you doing?! Alberich asked me in mind as he and Zok hid behind a dumpster.
Just give me a minute, I responded.
"I always knew. I always knew I was special, Emperor," the guy began to stammer. "Whatever it is you would have me do, I will do for you, father, for I-."
"Remove your shirt and trousers and give them to me, my son," I said to the man, who appeared confused at the request.
"E-emperor?"
"You heard me," I said as I began to levitate above him, which scared him into complying. Immediately, the man began to undress, and he handed me his shirt and pants. He was now shivering in his boxers and an undershirt before me.
"You will remember nothing of this," I began to implant the suggestion, but then, I began to feel bad. "You will now also know that this world is doomed, and if you want to escape your death, you must leave immediately. Convince as many as you can to leave this world as quickly as you can!"
"I understand, Emperor," the man replied in a haze.
With another mental nudge, I pushed him to turn around and leave our hiding place. I then walked back to a shadowed alcove, and removed my elaborate gold armor costume as quickly as I could. It was a shame that I couldn't take it with me, but I really didn't want to be recognized. After transferring the contents of my cloak pockets to my new trousers, I took my scissors and snipped another length of cloth from my cloak to form a rough covering for my head and face. Shortly after this, we were now on our way again.
The three of us emerged from the alleyway and were briefly treated to the entertaining sight of the victim of my clothes stealing heist (and fake Primarch discovery) as he was laughed at by his friends outside the social club. We continued onward to where the map indicated. We would first walk down a few side streets before hitting the Square, which was unavoidable.
As we walked, I recognized that this neighborhood was fairly wealthy, and that it also didn't have the elevated rails for Wheeler transport. Instead of combat servitors, I saw actual human soldiers that were now patrolling the streets, and each seemed very friendly and amiable with the local residents. The three of us definitely avoided them, and I did my best to misdirect their attention when we were near. I overheard two soldiers discussing the city-wide martial law that had been enacted, but apparently, this wealthy neighborhood was exempt, since the order was actually to, "corral the lawless trash of downtown into not rioting", which had already begun to happen anyway. The soldiers discussed the terrorist attacks, which, aside from the signaling towers, had hit ports, places of assembly for the middle and lower classes, and a few random locations like Word Bear's bookstore.
After emerging from another alley, we walked down another empty side street until coming up to the entrance to Rhymes Square. Each peripheral street exiting the Square that led into the wealthy neighborhoods was apparently being patrolled by military police who had now set up a checkpoint of entry. Using my psyker skills, I made a group of police believe that they had heard something, causing them all to turn in one direction as we slipped past the checkpoint, and into a small dark park half the size of a city block. The three of us quickly hid ourselves behind a line of trimmed tall rosebushes and began to observe the area before we would move forward again.
We noticed that there were elevated Wheeler rails surrounding this Square, and while I did not presently see any battle servitors patrolling the area, I knew that they could be summoned here (if they were currently functional at all), so we had to be careful. The distant clanging of the Last Bell continued to add to this evening's apocalyptic air. Another shuttle soared high overhead through the night sky on its way out of the city.
About seventy five meters away, the source of the overheard Sinclair News Network broadcast was now evident. A very large screen displayed a male newscaster (the chubby "space Tucker Carlson" guy I had seen before) reading from a sheet of paper as he delivered news of the various terrorist attacks across Evna. This screen stood against a very tall skyscraper, and above, I could see small flyers arriving and departing from a flat roof. A large group of people, presumably wealthy locals, were all clustered around the massive screen, and were watching the newscast fearfully. Clips of burning signal towers, and illustrations of murderous Tzaangors wielding magic powers were currently being displayed to the frightened crowd. This area, according to the map, was sadly where we needed to pass through in order to get to the art museum.
"Getting through all that isn't going to be easy," I whispered to Zok and Alberich. I covertly studied the map. We would have to go around the large central skyscraper building that held the large projection screen. At the very least, there seemed to be numerous alleys that could hide us after passing the Square. After that, the art museum wasn't far.
"This man's name is Rukken. He has a program that is broadcasted each night. The wealthy enjoy him," Zok said in a low voice as Rukken elaborated further on the dangers of mutants. We were then treated with a slideshow that displayed illustrations of greatly exaggerated Tzaangors and other beastmen committing graphic violence against women and children. I could feel the emotion of shock and fear rise from the crowd ahead of me.
"Look at all the people! If there are surveillance cameras and other gestapo in that crowd, how can we make it past them all?" Alberich observed as he readjusted his cloth facial coverings.
I turned to Alberich, and my stomach lurched again knowing the body he now possessed. He looked just like Tzeentch now. Whatever the god had planned by doing this was beyond me, so I tried my best to ignore it. I answered the former beastman with, "I'm not sure if I can mind trick all those people. I don't have the benefit of psyker drugs right now. And I don't want to kill them."
A curious psychic tickle passed through me, and I briefly felt as if I was being watched while we continued to observe the crowd of people occupying the Square. Rukken had finished his news report, and now, the camera focused on a somewhat familiar man who wore a dark grey suit. I initially didn't recognize this individual, but a helpful graphic below announced him as "Lord Justinian Sinclair." Uh oh, this was probably not good. I had met Justinian at the party, and from what Evring had told us in a panic, he was complicit with Langwidere's wishes.
"Good evening, Lord Sinclair," Rukken began. "Always a pleasure to have you on our show. As everyone knows, the beneficent and generous Sinclair family is deeply involved in making Evna a good place to live. Under governor Langwidere herself, Lord Justinian Sinclair works tirelessly to manage the Conglomeration of Ev, making sure all worlds under the governor are happy and healthy. How are you this evening, Lord Sinclair?"
"Aside from these tragic attacks, I'm well, Rukken, thank you," Justinian replied in a deep voice, his expression shadowed with mild contempt. Without his costume, Justinian looked like a stiff man in his 40's. His hair was short and greying, and his features somewhat angular and severe. His hazel eyes were ringed with dark circles, and his brow was creased from worry or anger. From here, Justinian seemed to be the complete opposite of his brother Evring in temperament.
"Now, I'm sure with all these new mutant attacks, some of us might be worried about our safety in Evna. Care to comment on this?"
Two shuttles then soared overheard, and I could tell that they were climbing quickly. Were all these flyers leaving Evna or the world itself?
"Of course, Rukken," the elder Sinclair brother replied. "We have discovered that these attacks were committed by an organization called the Blue Architects, which are a group of malcontents who wish to see our great way of life disrupted. We are lucky in that the Family of Liberty, in their great generosity, has stepped up to help as our security grid experiences temporary disruptions. While this evening has been difficult for everyone, I assure you all that the worst is behind us, and that all criminals are being swiftly apprehended."
"What of the governor's proclamation of martial law? Is there anything a normal Evian citizen should be doing this evening?"
"Mostly, we'd prefer it if all citizens stayed within their homes until law and order is fully reestablished, and as soon as we're able to seize full control of the Wheelers once again. Let our more human police do their jobs. But, I have good news, my dear citizens. The governor has informed me mere minutes ago that the situation is very close to being completely under control. If anyone wishes to offer their support for the tirelessly benevolent Family of Liberty in their efforts to better this city this evening, a vigil to stop the violence is being held at the now-completed Statue of Libertine. Simply contact your local automated taxi service, and you will be given a free ride to this gathering, all expenses paid."
"Oh, fuck," I whispered, my blood running cold. That probably wasn't a "vigil" that they were planning over at the Statue of Libertine! We needed to leave this world as soon as possible!
"Ah wonderful! That's very generous! The Family of Liberty certainly does a lot to help us, so we should all give them our support!" Rukken said with saccharine positivity next to Justinian, who briefly (and humorlessly) smiled. "I have some concerns if you would care to address them, Lord Sinclair. These concerns come from our viewers who have contacted us this evening, and I would like to assuage their worry. Some people are claiming that they have seen so-called "daemon women" who possess crab claws prowling in the streets along with the slightly malfunctioning Wheelers. Now, I'm sure there's a logical explanation, but would you mind enlightening us on these alien sightings?"
"I assure all citizens that you have nothing to fear, and that these sightings of alien daemon women are mere illusions, and are not real. If you see one of these so-called 'daemons', know that these are likely mental hallucinations resulting from the actions of the Blue Architects as they attempt to madden our air with their trickeries. These cultists, as you described in an earlier program, follow a foul forbidden god that deals in deception, sorcery, and roguery, after all," Justinian lied through his teeth as he read off his planned response to this rehearsed question. "I stress that these 'crab ladies' are simply misfires in your neurons, and they cannot hurt you. However, if you happen to see one of these hallucinations, kindly inform one of our uniformed military policemen, and they will get you the help you need. I understand that this all may be distressing, but take heart that after this evening, this vile cult will no longer exist within our borders. Enough is enough!"
A low clatter of applause rattled across the attending crowd under the display. This was an incredibly impressive level of media gaslighting.
"And rightly so. We're lucky to have such decisive leadership here! Another question, if I may. There are rumors being spread through Evna that Tar Vigaz itself is in danger. As you know, some of our more sensitive viewers have been calling in to detail their precognitions concerning their 'end of the world' premonitions, and people are saying that the great gold eagle that flew through our skies the other day was an ill omen of some kind of divine retribution. Do you have any insight into this?"
"I do, Rukken," Justinian turned to the camera directly again. "We are studying this upsetting malefic phenomenon, and we assure you that once all the terrorists are apprehended, all will be well on this world. The gold eagle itself was a simple xenos-crafted void ship, and should be disregarded. And, if any kind of nasty thing that could cause planetary damage to our world is on its way, may I remind our residents of our mighty inter-planetary minefield that destroyed an ork fleet fifty years ago, and another band of xenos pirates just recently. I promise this to you all: the terrorists are trying to play on your fears, but rest assured, you are all safe."
Sighs of relief washed through the crowd, and I sensed once again that I was being watched.
"Well, there you have it, folks! After a little bit of upheaval, we're all safe this evening! The terrorists are being swiftly dealt with, and soon, everything will be back to normal as we rebuild stronger and mightier than ever. We were scheduled to have Raula White on to reassure us all in a meditation for peace tonight, but the Matriarch of the Family of Liberty has been tirelessly busy this evening with her volunteers as she keeps the peace by depriving evil of its foothold on our city!"
"More like I deprived her brain of oxygen," I mumbled. And then, after that, I had broken her neck.
The camera turned back to Justinian, who then smiled coldly as he made some sort of brief mysterious hand gesture. A sense of loathing washed through me as we were brought back to Rukken, who had been given a new sheet of paper by an offscreen individual. He whispered something that resembled, "We doing this now? You found 'em?"
After a short whispered discussion, Rukken turned back to the camera, and announced with a broad smile: "This concludes our formal broadcast for this evening, Evna. After this, our dear beloved Lord Justinian Sinclair will be offering a special announcement aimed toward those of our viewers in the downtown core, directly outside of our studio in Sinclair Tower!"
Echoes of excited cheers rose from the crowd ahead of us.
"That's here?!" Alberich hissed to me in alarm, and Zok lowered his horned head even more.
The large screen ahead of us briefly flickered before turning off. Disappointed moans echoed in the crowd before the screen came to life again. Before us now stood Justinian Sinclair as he held a sheet of paper. He cleared his throat and clenched his jaw before beginning to speak, and his tone was very severe.
"This message is for Erika Romanov," he spoke ahead of him and directly into the camera.
"Oh, fuck no," I whispered.
"I know you can hear me, Ms. Romanov. You and your foul companions have been discovered by surveillance somewhere in Rhymes Square. You are close, and I know you are watching this broadcast."
Confused murmurs echoed through the Square. Oh no. People began to glance around nervously in the crowd.
"We know that you were sighted with my missing little brother leaving the palace, and you likely know where he is. I find this assault on my family inexcusable. First, I will attempt to be reasonable. Surrender yourself to our studio within ten minutes, and I promise to go easy on you, despite your acts of disgusting terrorism against my family and the good and decent people of Evna. If you do not surrender, things will become very difficult for you. Because I know the people of Evna love freedom and hate degeneracy enough to fight for it, I will place on the table a bounty of fifty million script for your live capture and transportation to Port Ruby."
My god! Alberich cried out to me telepathically as Justinian continued to speak.
"To all those others listening to my words: I do not care what happens to her companions, but as an added note, we know that she associates with disgusting mutants and other low class filth. Ms. Romanov has been seen in the company of a white-feathered Tzaangor, a red-robed tech-priest and metal devil of the traitorous Tower of Reason, and a Chaos Space Marine in black armor. Under authority of the governor, and for this evening only, formerly-restricted weaponry is now permitted in the capture of this dangerous fugitive, but I require her alive." Justinian sneered angrily into the camera as the crowd watched breathlessly. "Here are recent images of this woman, taken tonight. As you can see, she also blasphemes those of Imperial faith by dressing as the God-Emperor of Mankind!" A series of candid photos of me at the palace masquerade ball were then displayed, and I now found myself very happy that I had removed my gold costume.
"This is really fucking bad," I whispered.
"And with that, the ten minute timer starts now," Justinian spoke as a timer emerged on the screen, ticking down from ten minutes. "To those of you in the Square, if you see her approaching at this time, let her turn herself in. We are not barbarians here in Evna, even if she happens to be one. For the rest of you, have a wonderful evening, and know that the great Conglomeration of Ev will always stand, no matter what outside influences assault us. Goodnight, my beloved people, and good luck on your hunt!"
The screen then turned black, and the timer remained as it ticked down, second by second.
"Well, this is great, isn't it?" I replied with a heavy sigh. "Fuck this entire planet."
"What are we going to do?" Zok asked, actually sounding afraid.
I actually had no idea what we were going to do, considering that about a hundred people now stood before me, barring where I needed to go. While I could definitely influence people and make people forget what they had seen, I didn't think I was strong enough to brainwash or fireball all those people along with whatever infernal forces Justinian likely had guarding him.
"I-I don't-" I started to stammer when I once again felt the strange sensation of being watched. This time, I found my senses drawn to one particular direction, and I was now examining the side of a tall stone building that loomed nearby.
Standing perfectly still against the frescoed wall of a nearby structure approximately ten stories up, a dark figure was watching and waiting like a living shadow. The figure appeared that he was observing both me and the crowded square below. His pose reminded me of Batman looming over Gotham City. As I studied this strange figure, my intuition informed me that he was both very dangerous, and very powerful. With a further nudge of Sight, I had my answer on this looming figure's identity.
It was the Harlequin Solitaire I had met at the party!
As soon as I had this realization, a new individual was now crouching in hiding behind the hedges with us, almost causing us to scare into action!
"Hello there!" the voice of Zerine the Shadowseer whispered to me. She now wore a strange motley of green, yellow, and black, and her face was covered by a partially translucent featureless shield. Despite her face mask, I could still tell that she was smiling. Both Alberich and Zok nearly stood straight up in surprise when she appeared, but with a desperate reach of my Sight, I forced them to immediately calm so we wouldn't give our location away to the rest of the Square.
"Relax, it's one of the Harlequins," I whispered to Alberich and Zok, who crouched nearby, still ready for a fight. "They're friends, I think."
Zerine appeared positively delighted to be here. She bounced happily on her heels as we looked over the rosebush and at the crowd before us. "Fancy seeing you here, little fugitive! Do you think they'll give me the reward if I turn you in?"
"Doubt it," I hissed. "Where the fuck did you people come from?!"
"We came from the embrace of Cegorach, and we're here to assassinate this cute little interplanetary media empire and organized crime family! And, we're going to look good while doing it! We weren't just here to have a nice play for the silly Mon-keigh, no no! This Sinclair family, they must be snuffed out, guttered and strangled to death like drowned candles! What are you nice people doing here? Dangerous place for you to be, godling child!"
"We're just trying to get through all this and get back to our port," I replied, motioning my chin to the crowd. The timer was now under nine minutes. "I really don't want to fight. I just want to leave, and we have to make it past that group of people."
"Oh, we thought you were present here to do that whole, 'punish and purge the heretics' thing you sort of gold demigods enjoy doing!" Zerine laughed softly. "But, anyway, I should warn you. We have detected the presence of sorcerers in this Square, hence the need for our entire troupe. Our eventual goal is to methodically eliminate every single Sinclair remaining in the galaxy, as their family is most pernicious and now involved in Chaos! This 'Sinclair News Network' has fans on other worlds, and it has a corruptive influence. Their roots must be pulled out! Slowly, painfully, one by one! Tee hee!"
"Okay," I simply said, not quite knowing how to immediately respond to this new insane situation.
Zerine continued to smile at me expectantly before she responded with, "So, would you three like to have fun with us? Be a part of our dance? We can also simply make certain your way is clear, but we figured that we'd be polite. The Mon-keigh are yours to punish, after all! They're under your jurisdiction!"
I thought for a moment. Honestly, Harlequins absolutely hated Chaos, and this was actually a bit of a fortuitous development. If we could simply scooch on by while these aliens decided to assault Sinclair Tower, it would make life easier for us.
Two shuttles raced overhead, and I watched the timer tick down to 8:15. The crowd continued to mill around watchfully.
"You guys know to leave this planet as soon as you can afterward, right?" I asked. "It's doomed. Like, nothing anyone can do."
Zerine nodded boisterously, almost like an excited little girl. "Once we're done here, and we know this dangerous eldest Sinclair brother is dead and not saved in an escape shuttle somewhere, we're off to Commoragh for our next performance! We'll hunt the remaining three brothers later!"
"Alright, fine," I replied, tired of everything. "We just want to get by that crowd and leave as we head southward. That's it."
"Leave the fun to us, godling child!" the Shadowseer chirped optimistically. "At the five minute and fifty five second mark, begin making your way off to the right side of Sinclair Tower. We'll make sure that they're paying attention to us and not you, even if they bring daemonic reinforcement!" Zerine began to giggle happily again. "You know, Justinian is the one who actually 'hired' us for the performance at the palace, and now, he'll get the bonus performance of a lifetime!"
After a few moments, I nodded. "Okay, just whe-"
I turned, and discovered that the Shadowseer had vanished.
"My leader?" Alberich inquired next to me.
"You heard the killer clown alien," I replied. "We're waiting till 5:55, and then we're making our way around the crowd and Sinclair Tower."
Another shuttle screamed overhead, and I took a deep breath as I adjusted my head scarf, hoping that more daemons weren't really in our future tonight, even though it appeared almost certain that daemonic fun times were set to manifest again soon.