Emperor's Shields Arise
Only an indistinguishable noise.
Hundreds of thousands clashed with all their might in the streets and cities; block by block, building by building. Hundreds fought. Hundreds of thousands more died. Their screams overtaken by the thunderous Bolterfire, Artillery, screams of pain, valour and the traitorous melded into an unyielding cacophony of white noise.
Unending in its assault.
All while the sky burned with rage as hundreds of dogfights blanketed the spaces where battleships of all sizes weren't lighting the Palace with their guns alone.
Imperial Fists held the line as best they could. Each and every weapon they held laid down unyielding fire upon any who stood against the Emperor. Even though the snap of the Ninth Legion shattered the defence, it also began a total rout of the Sons of Horus and the Word Bearers.
Though their sudden and abrupt violent change was a concern to the Custodes. The suicidal charge may increase casualties on the traitors but would reduce the numbers to defend the Palace. With the Scars rushing to reinforce and cause as much chaos amongst the enemies ranks… defences were thinning slowly.
A loud screech in the distance followed by earth-shaking explosions signalled a Titan falling. Whatever side it was on no longer mattered.
They all knew what was happening, even if they still fought as hard and viciously as possible, it was becoming inevitable with Guiliman and the Lion nowhere to be seen.
Terra was falling.
Kotek's lips thinned as a Blood Angel near him let out a cry of rage mixed with sorrow and charged one of Horus' sons. Within the time it took for the Blood Angel to kill the traitor, he had taken half a dozen, raising his kill count well into the triple digits.
Their defences would fail if action were to not be taken soon. The problem of what action remained tall.
"NO MERCY, NO RESPITE FOR THE TRAITORS!" an Imperial Fist screamed as he brought his hammer down on a fallen Astartes. The 'Fists that weren't holding a shield line followed suit with various warcries, their resolve strengthening in spite of the situation ahead of them.
Valdor had given orders for them to hold for as long as possible while he took to the field wherever needed, Dorn, Sanguinius and the Emperor himself had boarded the Vengeful Spirit to hunt the former Warmaster. To put an end to his rebellion that shook the Imperium apart for the last decade.
Billions, maybe even trillions had perished in his ambitions.
Just now Kotek could count the lives lost around him, numbering in the hundreds easily as the Guard fell in the dozens every second that passed while the Astartes stood longer, but not by much. Even the Custodes were taking losses if, at an even slower rate than the Astartes, they were losses nonetheless.
A tower tilted as flames engulfed it and Artillery battered its side until it caved under the assault and collapsed. The debris scattering forces on all sides, inflicting losses as it crushed all undertones of rubble.
Yet the fighting continued as if nothing had happened. Traitors scurried over the debris and corpses like it wasn't there while they howled for the Emperor's head.
If the Palace truly falls, it will not fall without a fight. His sons and daughters will forever stand against the tide in any form, Astartes to Guard and his companions of the Legio Custodes.
Traitor after Traitor alike charged their line, ever falling in the hundreds and thousands a minute as warhorns shattered the already broken skies above. Chunks of metal, the size of an Astartes at the smallest- Imperator Titan at the largest, rained down through the thousands of fighters.
Hundreds of Blood angels rushed the traitors using anything as a weapon, forgoing that, they became a weapon. Even as the traitors retreated.
Retreated?
Kotek laid waste to the closest Son of Horus as he and vile brothers disengaged the fight to run, the Blood Angels in their ravenous state for blood gave chase, butchering the traitors in their wake.
"Kotek, the Throne Room, now!" Valdor's voice buzzed through the vox in his helm,
"On my way," he spoke over the groaning of metal and cracks of Bolter-fire.
He let his gaze settle on the panorama of destruction for a millisecond as he turned to jog to the Throne Room.
He passed very few Guardsmen and even fewer Astartes and his own, but plenty dead from all sides. Under rubble and wreaks and in piles as tall as himself, corpses were everywhere. What little surface that wasn't red with blood was rough and uneven from the thousands of Bolter rounds that hit them.
The halls of the Palace fared little better; cracks and holes from artillery and stray rounds littered the walls and roofs, a few traitor corpses lay across the floor with Custodes nearby, their weapons wet with the blood of the fallen. So a few did make it through…
His brows furrowed at the trail of blood that led through the doors of the Throne Room, Had they made it this far in?
He jogged into the room.
"-Be faithful! Be strong! Be vigilant!"
The Emperor screamed as the Golden Throne was activated.
And for the first time, a Companion of the Emperor felt sorrow and shame.
"I never thought you would be cleaning clothes of all things,"
"It needed to be done, Katarinya,"
Greyfax flattened her expression more than it usually is at Celestine as they made their way through the heat, "why the girl?"
The Saint looked at her out of the corner of her eyes, "I said before, she needed someone to protect her, I chose to."
Greyfax hummed then cast her gaze over the street they were walking down and caught the looks of the handful of people walking around, some were paying more attention to herself than Celestine, and those who did hold awe at the winged woman.
The looks she got were ones of caution and acute fear. Especially off the Abhumans.
"Are the Abhumans usually cautious of newcomers?"
Celestine tilted her head in Greyfaxs' direction, "I do not know, the Faunus likely believe me to be one of their own. Even then, they care not for species. Why?"
"They reek of caution whenever they look at me, but nothing other than awe at you," Katarinya settled her hand on her bolter, "are they a threat?"
The Saint slowed her pace, "if I saw them as a threat, would they still be here?"
Greyfax frowned and placed her free hand on her hip, "so why don't you?"
"Full of questions, are you not?" Celestine smiled, "they have not shown to be one to myself or others, so I refrained from punishment,"
This time, the Inquisitor's brows furrowed, "and if they do become one?"
The hilt of the Ardent Blade warmed under Celestine's palm, "I will deal with them as I have with traitors and Xenos alike, simple,"
Greyfax snorted, "things are usually that simple for you..."
A soft chuckle left Celestine, "I try to keep it simple, easier to deal with that way," the Saints eyes twinkled, "easier to deal with you…"
"Funny." the Inquisitor deadpanned,
And she could hear the amusement in Celestine's voice, "I know~"
They made the final few meters to the Guild office in silence and the Saint enjoyed the cooler interior whereas Greyfax radiated impatient indifference, maybe even annoyance.
The Guild worker stuck his head around the corner at the sound of them entering,
"oh, you're back," his tone went from happy to curious, "who's your friend?"
Greyfax cast her own curious glance at Celestine before turning to the displays.
Celestine juggled her head from side to side as she approached the counter, "Inquisitor Greyfax, she came in this morning,"
He flicked his gaze to Greyfax, "Huh, neat," her faced Celestine, "so, whaddya need?"
Celestine planted her palms on the counter, "Gang activity in the area, specifically the ones that attacked a town a week ago," Greyfax came to stand at her side, "is there any information on their movements?"
He sat down at the counter, "most bandit gangs are tracked through Grimm activity and concentration…"
Celestine closed her eyes and sighed, "and I have been killing them all in the area,"
"Right, so it makes things harder, not impossible," she could see his day wither away in his eyes, "I just gotta contact the Kingdom Guard to get their information on the last known and all that jazz…"
"Whatever you can get, get it, please." the Saint prompted.
He nodded, "alright, I'll contact you when I get anything," he spoke as he was picking up a Scroll,
"A Scroll, do you sell them?"
He looked up from the screen and Greyfax shuffled impatiently, "Yeah, not in large quantities... why?"
"Emerald has mine right now and I need one to contact her if need be," she knew Emerald will most definitely be against the idea, but… she needed a way to be contacted if she were away.
He scratched his head, "I mean, yeah I can get one, 'bout two hundred for the lowest variant, five for the best middle one and one point two thousand Lien for one like your current one,"
"What's the difference?" came Greyfaxs' terse voice, causing the Guild worker to flick his head in her direction from surprise,
"The lowest has basic communication, the middle has more CCTS access and overall faster and the one she has," he gestured to Celestine, "is reinforced to withstand more punishment, highly water-resistant, higher specs, further transmit range. Just better in every way really…"
Celestine hung her head slightly and sighed, "start prepping my version, I will be back with the Lien," she settled her gaze on Greyfax, "stay here while I am gone, please, Katarinya. I won't be long."
Katarinya folded her arms, "fine," she said, her accent emphasising the curtness.
Within a few steps she was on the street, and with a single flap of her wings, she was in front of the hotel's doors, uncaring of the spectacle she made to the few who were out in the heat.
Less than thirty seconds later she was inside the hotel room where Emerald grunted with each push-up. The Saint greeted her as she stepped carefully over the girl to the table with the messenger bag and Scroll on it, she placed the Scroll in the bag and the bag over her shoulder as she stepped back over Emerald.
Celestine squatted in front of Emerald and pushed the girl's hands apart slightly, "continue but listen to me, Emerald," the girl slowed her pace, "I have the Guild worker searching for the Bandits,"
Emerald tensed and paused.
"So, I may be gone for a day or two. Hence why I'm getting you a Scroll of your own," Emerald shot Celestine a dirty look, one that was met with sternness, "don't give me that look, it was going to happen sooner than later, Emerald,"
Emerald's eyes narrowed and Celestine flattened her gaze, "If that's your attempt to intimidate me, you'll have to try a lot harder," the Saint sighed and dropped her tone, "besides, would you rather I left with no way to contact me?"
The mix of anger and annoyance dropped from Emerald's face to worry as she sat up, "n-no…"
"Exactly. Some things you will need, Emerald, no matter how much you don't like it," Celestine let herself fall forward onto her knees with a light thump and cupped Emerald's cheek in her hand; taking note of the reluctant joy the girl expressed at the contact, "I- I don't know what else to say, really, Emerald. I'm sorry you don't like it…"
"But I'm not-"
"-a burden, a waste of time or anything else," Celestine cut her off, "if you were, I wouldn't be here or more than content with holding you while you sleep,"
Emerald sighed, "It's not that easy..."
Celestine hummed, "well… what makes you feel genuinely happy or at peace?" Emerald's cheeks darkened the longer the silence carried on, "I'm trying to help, you can tell me,"
Red eyes pointedly avoided Celestine as the girl mumbled, "I… it's nice when you acknowledge me..."
Celestine felt her brows raise in amusement and Emerald's cheeks impossibly darkened more. The Saint chuckled with a somewhat embarrassed hue over her own cheeks, "in that case, do everything to the best of your ability. If your abilities aren't good enough, push them and learn. Have faith in yourself, if that's not possible, have faith in me… if you can't do that, have faith in the Emperor to guide you. Okay?"
Emerald nodded gently, a tiny spark in the back of her eyes. Celestine stopped cupping Emerald's cheek and fished through the messenger bag, dumping the majority of Lien in Emerald's lap, "I'll leave you most of the Lien in case I'm gone for a while."
The shocked look Emerald had at the Lien was amusing enough to sprout a small giggle from the Saint, "yes, it's yours while I'm gone, if I'm gone overnight or for a few days you'll be able to buy food for yourself,"
"O-okay…" the girl uttered as she rubbed her biceps.
"Use your Aura to heal the sore muscles after you're done working out, and use it to fit more into your workout time as well," Celestine advised as she stood,
"I best be going, otherwise Katarinya will blow a Fusion Coil… or throw one at me…" she spoke the last with a wiry smirk earning a soft snort from Emerald.
A quick bid goodbye and Celestine found herself back at the Guild and Greyfax on the left side of the room reading one of the holoprojectors. Upon Celestine stopping in front of the main desk did the Inquisitor move from the holoprojector, "you were gone for a bit,"
"I told Emerald a bit of what was happening,,"
"Right, well do you care to explain to me why we're going after some Bandits?"
Celestine handed over the Lien to the Guild worker and took the new Scroll, "the first town I went into was attacked by Bandits. They died. I come to this town and eventually find Emerald who told me that she used her Semblance to escape some Bandits,"
Celestine led the two of them out of the Guild, letting the worker continue to dig up the information requested. Greyfax Cracked her neck, "And you think they're the same group?"
The Saint nodded, "my gut says so, but even if they're separate entities they need to be taken care of,"
Katarinya adjusted her hat to shield her face from the sun a bit more, "fair point. Any threat, no matter how small, is still a threat,"
They entered the same store Celestine got the schnitzel. She perked up and faced Greyfax, "you want a schnitzel?"
"Do I want a Schnitzel?"
"Yeah, you're probably hungry,"
"True, I haven't eaten in a few days,"
Celestine smiled at her and began ordering.
While the Saint went about business, Katarinya leant her back against the frame of the large opening of the store. With a foot wrapped around the other at the ankles and arms crossed, she observed the few civilians milling about and their thoughts; surface and subconscious.
One had their mind on taxes and a cake they ate the night before.
Another on whether or not their affair would be found out while their subconscious lingered on their child.
The rest of the people, human or not, had their minds on more menial tasks; paying bills, shopping, how much they hated their boss. Things the Inquisitor had heard and seen time and time again over her life. Or until the Necron, Trazyn as it liked to call itself, took her to its impossibly large 'collection' it so delicately 'curated' over its existence.
Only to be spat out god knows how long later at Trazyns' whim, on Cadia of all places, in the middle of a Black Crusade in the planet's dying days.
And die the planet did.
The Guardsmen and women on the planet as it shattered earned vast respect; even as the world literally broke around them, pieces drifting off into the void and the atmosphere burned and decayed, Las-fire could be seen lighting the darkness just as ferociously as it had been when she arrived planet-side.
The planet broke before the guard did. An apt description of the Cadians as a whole.
Katarinya brushed the idle thoughts aside in favour of continued people watching until a single man strode past once then twice. Anger and animalistic hate rolled off him in borderline nauseating waves. The Inquisitor let her eye narrow when he flicked his gaze past her and at the Saint, the animalistic hate increased tenfold.
She focused on Celestine's presence to her left. Do not react outwardly,
"What's wrong?"
Someone's planning your death.
"Appearance?"
Greyfax focused on the man, dark leather jacket, red fabric wrapped on the left sleeve, blue pants, boots, dark hair, medium pigment tone. Nothing from the front, he's leaving town to report back to his… found the bandits.
"And that's why I wanted your help. If he wants me dead, Emerald may be in danger. You follow him, I'll secure her."
Greyfax took her Condemnor Bolter in her left hand, he won't make it far.
The Inquisitor set after the man moments after Celestine passed her at a regular pace, the only thing of note being the Saint's hand on the Ardent Blade and a bag in the other as she made her way back to the hotel. She took in each and every movement the man-made, from nervous twitches to where his hands went and what he was looking at; even his deepest thoughts were monitored. None helped ease his judgement from the Inquisitor, it fueled the opposite, in fact.
Murder of multiple civilians, attempted murder, torture of the physical and mental kind on slaves… and collusion with a cult.
Her frown deepened into a scowl and the metallic click of the Bolter being cocked echoed in the nearly empty street, drawing the attention of the civilians. She focused on his contemptible mind, "In the name of the Inquisition I order you-"
The man bolted to the left towards the entrance of an alleyway but stumbled at the deafening shot of the Bolter that barely missed him, instead, detonating on impact with the corner of the building that made up the furthest side of the alley. Greyfax swore under her breath and took off after him, "Halt, you bastard!"
She rounded the corner and sprinted after him as he rounded the back of the building she unintentionally shot, the servos in her power armour whirring softly in contrast to her heavy metallic steps.
Rounding the next corner to the left, Katarinya followed at a regulated pace as to not wear her stamina down. Her armour vastly increased it but on a world with potentially thousands of unsanctioned Psykers roaming the planet, one could never be too cautious. Though the increasing panting from the man as he led them through the town wasn't indicating a 'Semblance' as Celestine had called it. He would have used it already,
They came round another bend and Greyfax let a tiny, cruel smirk find its place as he booked it towards the exit, charging through the two guards and out onto the open field that surrounded the town. Her jog brought her past the guards who were debating if they should give chase, so the Inquisitor decided to nonverbally answer for them.
A second Bolter shot echoed through the field and the man's right arm exploded in blood and bone. He tumbled to the ground with a shriek of pain and tried to crawl back up to his feet.
The bottom half of his shin down vaporised into red mist and bone.
Katarinya called over her shoulder physically and Psychically, "Celestine!"
Within a few moments, a golden light lit the field and a trio of white doves fluttered over her shoulder.
"You called?" the Saint lightly teased as she came up next to the Inquisitor who continued her merry walk towards the downed and groaning Bandit,
Katarinya gestured to the new amputee, "Got your bandit,"
"I heard that, I thought he'd be dead with the Bolter rounds,"
"The first missed, the last two did not," she admitted,
Celestine hummed, "I can see that as well,"
The two guards jogged up beside Celestine who greeted them informally and slowed her pace to explain to the Abhuman woman and the male, apparently going by the names Marie and Cobalt respectively.
Inquisitor Greyfax ignored the trio in favour of flipping the man harshly with her foot, aiming her Bolter at his chest, "you have information I want,"
"I won-"
His attempt to resist was cut off when a metallic arrow was fired into his thigh from the Crossbow Combi-attachment, "resistance is futile and painful on your part, it would be wise to tell me what I want,"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" he screamed through gritted teeth.
Greyfax's sabaton met his temple with force, "I doubt that. No 'innocent' man preaches their innocence,"
She knelt down and tore the arrow from his thigh and the man grunted in pain. She loaded the arrow into the crossbow and fired it just under his right knee cap.
"The camp. Where is it?" his mind wobbled back and forth between the question and the pain, fuzzy and disjointed.
"You bitch-" his sentence morphed into a blood-curdling scream when Greyfax slammed her foot down on the protruding arrow and used it as a leaver to tear the knee cap off. And despite the pain clouding his vision, the almost bored expression on Katarinya's face burned terror into his mind.
"You still have a second knee. I can change that." the Inquisitor spoke as she loaded the arrow a second time and took aim at his left knee. He tried to squirm away but found himself winded by the golden sabaton on his chest and a flaming blade embedded next to his head, the heat burning his hair.
He looked to the face of the newcomer to find a deep scowl and blue flames in the woman's eyes, "your group were the ones I killed were they not?"
He remained silent and the Ardent Blade was torn from its place and held closer to his head, the heat singeing away his eyebrows and causing his hair to smoke.
The sabaton pressed harder and the sub where his foot once was, was pressed by Greyfax, "Answer."
A puddle formed at his groin, "Mountain Glenn! Fuck, we're in Glenn!"
"We?" the Inquisitor questioned as she stared into his red-tinged eyes.
He stared up at them, the inhuman rage surfacing again. He growled, "fuck you…"
Katarinya shot the arrow into his other knee and cast a look to Celestine who shrugged, "respond."
"No."
He screeched as his knee was peeled off, blood coating the grass a dark red. He thrashed against Celestine's foot as much as he could, yet the Saint stood firm and never moved, even as her armour was coated red from spraying blood. She pushed her sabaton a tad harder earning a series of loud cracks from his chest as his ribcage was pushed in. His thrashing stopped.
Celestine looked confusedly at Katarinya, "that was not much force at all, the servos didn't engage..."
Katarinya's brows furrowed in confusion. She knew Celestine wanted information, so purposely killing him was definitely out, and the Saint would know her armour's capabilities after… however long she'd been using it.
"He ran out of stamina quickly enough, health issues of some type to be sure,"
Celestine removed her foot from his chest, "so it would seem," she hoisted the Ardent Blade out of the ground, "Mountain Glenn. That's roughly where the Kingdom guard tracked them,"
Greyfax knelt down and tugged the arrow out of the remnants of the man's knee, "We're not exactly numerous, Celestine,"
"And I am immortal, Katarinya. Besides, there are at least two Hunters there already,"
The Inquisitor wiped the blood off the arrow on the man's shirt, "and you know them?"
Celestine shook her head, "just one, Branwen," her brows narrowed slightly, "he mentioned a Cult in Mistral when I saw him last…"
"Meaning they've either moved or expanded, potentially planet-wide. Like Genestealer Cults or Chaos, I presume," Katarinya spoke as she stood while placing the arrow in the crossbow. Celestine frowned, "if they have slaves or prisoners we'll need to escort them back… I culled the Grimm down here, but there's bound to be more there,"
"And where is this place?"
Celestine looked for where the sun was in the sky, finding it just past midday, then she pointed behind her, down the path that led away from the town, "roughly seventy-six kilometres that way,"
Greyfax hung her head in disbelief, "we're walking that far?"
The Saint's wings unfurled, "who said walking?"
"I did,"
The Saint rolled her eyes, "we best be off," she turned to Marie and Cobalt who had watched the entire scene unfold in shock, "do what you will with the body, we won't need it,"
The two guards hazily nodded as Celestine wrapped her arms around Katarinya.
Clean halls and bright lights made the path that led to the Bridge. Dozens of uniformed men and women filled the halls; cleaner, sharper white uniforms and caps signified the naval personnel, whereas the armoured and armed formed the soldiers of the ship.
Surprisingly well-armed and they appeared to be well trained in discipline. Only slight shuffles and glances signified they knew she was here through the Null field.
Something that appeared to bother the First Lieutenant as evident by his glances at her, "what was that?"
Alexea's brows rose in questioning.
Clover paused and faced her, "what happened to them? They were tearing their eyes out!"
She sighed and pulled out her Scroll and typed for a minute before handing it over to him, "I am a black hole to people."
"What does that mean?"
She ignored him and marched down the hall to the Bridge. Clover hurried up in front of her, his rank letting them past the guards and onto the Bridge.
Dozens of men and women sat at their stations, diligently performing their set tasks and relaying relevant information to each other through comms or speaking loudly. Bright and clean surfaces covered the interior; no dangling wires or cables, no captain hooked into the vessel itself… just clean colours, lines and the familiar figure of General Ironwood who faced them, a glass projection display behind him.
Ironwood gave a curt nod, "good, Branwen and Glynda are in need of assistance, we're on our way to help," he turned to a monitor, Clover and Alexea came to stand beside him.
"What's going on over there?"
Ironwood pressed a few controls and the large monitor began displaying the beginning of a video. The foreground held the roofs of hundreds of houses that reached the massive wall in the midground, but what caught the attention of Clover and the Silent Sister was the background.
A massive pillar of smoke rose over the mountains and into the sky.
"Glenn's on fire." the General's voice was steely, "Ozpin has the Kingdom Guard manning the walls of Vale and dispatched out to Frontier towns alongside Hunters,"
Clover stroked his chin, "what got everyone to panic? It's an abandoned city,"
Alexea shifted her gaze out to the bow view from the Bridge, a distant but noticeable black pillar rising into the sky contrasted by the orange of the setting sun. Her gut twisted; something wasn't right. First, the informant was attacked and now this? She shifted her gaze over to Ironwood as he spoke,
"An explosion started the fire. One big enough to shake the CCTS and Ozpin's tower," he continued as he began to push a few buttons, "thankfully, the CCTS is still functional but the explosion was enough to scare the civilians and word spread fast amongst the Frontier towns,"
"Contact! one small unidentified object on radar, could be a nevermore!" a female voice called out,
The General's attention snapped over, "direction and distance?"
"Portquater-" a series of thumps resounded from the outside of the hull, - "outside, Sir,"
The bridge fell into silence as the General drew one of his pistols, the white one, as a blue field flickered over his body. Clover drew a fishing rod of all things while Alexea loudly cocked the Bolter and levelled it at the Portside door. The sound of the Bolter drew a nervous glance from Clover and a curious one from the General and crew.
The clumping of footsteps echoed through the hull until they stopped outside the port door, taking a rhythmic knock instead, prompting confusion from everyone on the bridge.
Two far heavier knocks resounded from the door.
Ironwood slowly made his way over and hoisted the lock-up, the door swung inward from the strong wind. Alexea lowered her Bolter immediately and backed herself away as Celestine and Greyfax hurried through the bulkhead, slamming the door behind them.
Greyfax eyed General Ironwood carefully as he holstered his gun slowly, "Who are you?"
"I am Saint Celestine," she motioned to the Inquisitor, "this is Inquisitor Grefax," her eyes flicked over to Alexea who was backed to the opposite side of the Bridge, "and you are a Sister of Silence,"
The declaration drew Greyfax's attention, "have any others come through? Astartes, Primaris or otherwise?"
Alexea shook her head as she relaxed and Greyfax swore under her breath.
"What the hell's an 'Astartes'?"
Celestine opened her mouth but was cut off by Greyfax, "Bio-engineered super soldiers. Why is an Atlesian ship out here?"
"A distress call from allies at Mountain Glenn,"
Greyfax sharply nodded, "good. We're on our way as well, transportation would help,"
Ironwood's eyes narrowed, "who are you to demand anything from me?"
"Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus and Imperium of Man, General." her voice seethed with soft anger at the man, causing his frown to deepen,
Celestine placed a hand on Katarinya's shoulder and motioned for Alexea to come over in spite of the mild discomfort it would cause. She settled her eyes on Ironwood, "I apologize but your vessel is rather important right now,"
"How so?" the General's gaze never left Katarinya's,
The Saint kept her tone a diplomatic yet firm level, "It is a military one and we need a military at Mountain Glenn if our information is correct,"
The General clasped his hands behind his back, "and what information is that?"
"We know there are bandits there, one of their own squealed," Katarinya spoke,
Clover lent slightly towards Ironwood, "it could be a dead lead, General,"
The General hummed, "how was it gathered," he got a glare from the Inquisitor but a response from Celestine,
"The man was coaxed through pain,"
Ironwood cast her a terse look as he strode over to the monitor again, filling Celestine and Greyfax in with what he told Clover and Alexea over a handful of minutes,
"-which brings us to this," Ironwood stood in the centre with Celestine and Greyfax to his right and Alexea on his left. He spoke as he was bringing up on the monitor, "Qrow captured an image of something after the explosion an hour ago. I can't Identify it but I think you can,"
The image, while only coloured in shades of blue, was one of a heavily armoured figure walking towards where Qrow was standing with its head facing to its right. In its right hand was a massive Glaive.
"That's a Custodian," Celestine faced Greyfax, her bob-cut flinging wildly,
"Guiliman decreed that they were to escort the Primaris Astartes, were any with you?" the Saint spoke a mile a minute,
Greyfax nodded slowly as she processed what was asked, "yes, a Shield Host was," she pointed to the image, "however, he is not one I recognize, or at least in with this image format I can't,"
As Celestine and Greyfax debated over the possibilities of other known Custodians, Ironwood observed Alexea getting so close to the monitor that her nose almost touched it, or it would have if the mouth plate wasn't there. Her eyes narrowed on the helm and he noticed the slightly lighter blue that made up the colour of the eagle over the eyepieces and the left pauldron.
Clearly, the discolouration meant more to her than himself as she drew back with her eyes as wide as saucers while they took in other aspects of the image. Qrow didn't send any more details, just the image. Ironwood let his eyes trail over the image, noting the feathers on the front of the right pauldron, until he found a reason for his eyes to widen as well.
Just off to the left of this 'Custodian' was a doorway. It reached just over the bottom of its pauldron.
A sudden, sharp smack on his arm drew is attention, he turned to Alexea who held out her Scroll that held two words on it,
"Hataeron Guard?" he questioned, earning a splutter from Celestine and the Inquisitor,
"A Companion!?" Celestine spluttered behind him,
Alexea nodded her head, "He looks like it. If he is here, the Emperor must have willed it as they never leave the throne room," she typed something else out, "nor would they let anyone in, not even Guiliman was allowed at first."
Ironwood rubbed the bridge of his nose, "you'll have to explain what any of what I just read means later," he looked up to Alexea, ignoring faint nausea doing so, "all I want to know is; how valuable of an asset is he?"
"Strategic value: Absolute."
"I have heard only a few legends of them in my life, and that is an accomplishment," Celestine added,
Katarinya hummed, "As the Sister said; they never leave the Throne room. So much so they became but legend to the wider Imperium as time passed,"
Ironwood's brows rose, "and how long is that?"
"Ten thousand years," Celestine answered,
"Remnant's recorded history only goes back roughly six thousand years,"
Katarinya glanced over to the pillar of smoke that was vastly closer, "It's not Remnant's history,"
General Ironwood stayed silent then sighed, "I doubt that but that's a debate for another time," he faced the bow and gestured to smoke, "I have this to take care.. of... first..."
He trailed off as a singular, glowing white, semi-transparent dove landed on the monitor's controls without a sound as the bridge lit gold. He looked to question Celestine but found only the Inquisitor and a shocked Clover, where did-
"-teleportation. The Hunters and the Custodian are secure." the small frown on Katarinya's face indicated she wasn't amused at the disappearing act, "there's a possibility of mass prisoners, General,"
Ironwood frowned, "Comms, sound General Quarters and get the Bullheads and squads on standby," he faced Alexea, "you trust Celestine with this... Custodian?"
She firmly nodded.
"Good. Inquisitor, numbers."
Ticking and grinding echoed off the glass windows of his tower, small spectacles covering his reflection's eyes.
Ozpin stood resting his weight on his cane and a cup of cocoa in the other as he focused on the pillar of smoke in the distance. Every now and then Vales anti-air systems would make themselves known to the public and any Nevermore attracted to the mild panic.
Mild.
Mere coincidence or planned?
He sipped from the cup. It could be a test of his defences…
Yet it wasn't a sizable offensive to any such thing. An attempt at drawing him out? Drawing Amber out?
He levelled out his cup and his brows furrowed. To draw the new Maiden out? He chuckled; too bad she wasn't a Maiden. She was something more and the God of Light wasn't subtle about it; there was only so much gold and white one could wear while wielding powers to kill a God's creations before subtly was left in the dust.
But why make and send her now of all times? What was happening to warrant an intervention… Was it even the God of Light? There was no known being to wield the power to destroy a Grimm's soul, he honestly didn't believe they had one for a long span of his life and there was something unnerving about the fact that Celestine could.
Now, could it be done in large numbers without killing her?
Better yet, could it kill the unkillable?
He frowned a little at the distant Atlesian airship gliding towards Mountain Glenn, "damn it, James… you better have a good reason for this…"
Their investigation had been going fine; nothing bar Grimm and ruins to take care of throughout the remains of Mountain Glenn. The only things of note were the leftovers of whoever lived here.
A suitcase out on the street burst open and contents now long gone, the wind having scattered it over the decade. Deep scratches in the concrete, some stained a rust colour, some with a dried-up body splayed on the ground.
A toy buried under piles of rubble or the side of a building that collapsed, revealing the insides to the environment for it to decay. A rotten stench clung to the air from the hundreds of unrecovered bodies. Some never made it far out the door for the evacuation underground.
Qrow had long since emptied his flask and for once Glynda couldn't blame him. Not really.
Memories of the final new broadcast and the detonations that collapsed the tunnels echoed in her mind.
Or was it the fires that echoed?
She blinked as she sat up, her glasses nowhere to be seen. She silently thanked herself for primarily being long-sighted.
She lifted her head up to the ceiling to find it was nothing but a gaping hole where the city's ruins once lay above, now nothing bar an inferno and a thick pillar of smoke.
A groan and a cough sounded from her right where she found Qrow on his hands and knees, "crazy bastards…"
"I assume the tower exploded?" she questioned with a cough,
Qrow got to his feet and brushed himself off before offering a hand out which she took, "yeah, those damn cultists really didn't want us in the building," he hoisted her up with a grunt, "or the bandits getting in the building...oh wait, they're the same thing!"
A frustrated exhale left her, "getting upset like a child won't help us, Qrow,"
Only when they neared the Merlot Industries building did the Cultist resistance grow heavy alerting more bandits to the building, escalating the conflict beyond control. Until there was a call of friendly fire. Then shit met the fan and flung it everywhere. A three-way fight was an easier thing to deal with; let the others tear themselves apart, but a direct outnumber of one-hundred or so to two?
It amazed her they were alive as it is...
It didn't help that the building detonated, collapsing a large chunk of the city down into the catacombs that made up the underground city.
A series of distant cracks coupled with the roars of Grimm echoed through the ruins. Glynda sighed, "this has gotten out of hand, fast… not to mention the potential prisoners..."
"No shit?" Qrow lifted Harbinger off the floor and over his shoulder, "Cultist in Merlot's old building and Bandits that got fucked by Celestine are here as well, working with the cult," a disgruntled sigh left him, "we're trained to fight Grimm, not people,"
"Yes, well, it appears we will have to anyway," a series of heavy steps came by the dozen from around them.
Some used the old rubble to use as cover while others wielded their melee weapons in the open.
The surrounding buildings suddenly lit with a deep purple glow as a rift tore open, bubbling and smoking paradoxically. Shifting in its basic shape ever so slightly. For a brief moment, Glynda could have sworn a malformed face stared out from the rift, malignant orbs burning into her mind; scrutinizing her very existence. Her soul.
Qrow next to her shuddered and the bandits around them took a step back from the purple thing, except one where it opened on them leaving their feet the only visible thing.
The rift flashed a brilliant white and gold, temporarily blinding everyone who was looking upon it. A fleshy sizzle and a loud series of screeches assaulted their ears; whatever was happening, it hurt whatever was within the rift.
Just as quickly as the rift came, it was gone. Leaving Qrow, Glynda and the bandits lit by the light from the hole in the cavern's ceiling. Glynda lowered her hand from her eyes, not knowing she even lifted it, to find Qrow on a single knee and using Harbinger to hold himself upright as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand.
Her eyes drifted from Qrow to where the rift once was to find the collapsed and mutated body of a bandit; tentacles slithering from random parts of their body alongside a massive eye where the head used to reside, beating like a heart. The pupil opened to a row of malformed and rotten teeth, each holding an eye or two before a wall of gold fell onto it. Teeth crunched and the eye squelched wetly with blood.
Wide green eyes trailed up the wall of gold until it was covered by a blood-red robe. Glynda let her eyes travel further and seemingly forever up the massive stature of to the chest of the figure which was encased in golden armour which held a deep red gem from which etched lightning bolts came from, long red tassels that extended from the inside of the upper pauldrons fell to the waist.
Pinned from the sides of the golden pauldrons came down a red fabric, stopping at the same place the inner tassels did. The right Pauldron held a trio of feathers that were blue gradient at the tip then red at the bottom behind a large shield with a two-dimensional eagle's head on it.
A massive, crested, golden helm sat where a head should be, long red hairs flowed from its peak and down to an undetermined point on the figure's back. Over small holes in the helm sat a silver eagle that she felt was watching her every move. Or was it the red eyepieces within the holes?
In its hands was a giant glaive with an equally oversized gun on the end, a massive blade coming off it like a bayonet while a golden spike rose vertically from the top of the gun near the end. The gun itself was of worn silver colour with small golden etchings over it, most notably in the form of a two-headed eagle on the side.
Glynda's mind froze for a second as the dot's connected to the symbol. Whatever or whoever this giant is, it knew of the new Maiden. The question was; was it here for her or something else?
The questions were wiped from her mind as she saw one of the bandits raise their weapon at the golden beast, only for it to become a blur of red and gold that was barely comprehensible, and impossible to follow.
A/N:
Sorry for being a lot later than you all probably hoped, the family pet of 20 years had a stroke and had to be put down, so my will to write was kinda killed for a bit and I had to care for our second pet who isn't taking it well. So please excuse the quality.
*Pillar Men Theme Intensifies*
For those who aren't or don't know Polish, put Kotek into google translate from Polish to English. Hehehe
I know it's called a "Guardian Spear" but it really isn't a spear, it's a Glaive with a gun strapped to it.
Originally, he wasn't meant to see or hear Big E's last words, but I saw potential in it.
You can see what I meant by it getting very back and forth-y last chapter now can't you? I actually cut a bit because it was just useless stuff that could be done in a few chapters down the line.
Is it really a 40k fic if the classic "the planet broke…" or "Cadia stands" isn't said at least once? It's obligatory at this point in the fandom.
Yeah, not much else to say for once…
There's a dumb Omake after the reviews.
Onto reviews,
Guest: Will St Celestine be able to form her Geminae bodyguards via huntsmen/soldiers loyal or somewhat/how manage to convert or teach about Big-E?
I would have before the poll came and went. A small part of me still wants to bring them in but that goes against the "no more Imperials" rule I set. As for the conversion, I know it's logical and in character for her to do so, but I'm scared of blasting the small scope I've set up away because she's now running hundreds of churches and sermons a minute. I'll find a way eventually, but not this second.
Guest: The moment the Imperials try to explain what the warp is to the Ozpinalati is going to be a MASSIVE shitshow given how convoluted and nonsensical the warp is.
Even more so with each Imperial probably has a different POV of what the warp truly is barring its most common features.
Keep up the good work looking forward to how the story progresses.
Wonder how Ozpin is going to outsmart an Inquisitor let alone one that belongs to Ordo Hereticus a bloody puritan at that who probably undergone a lot machiavellian politics and probably tzeenchian levels of manipulation in her hunt for heretics.
They'd all think they're on hard LSD or coke, it's why there's the Cultist that mutated with the eye-head-mouth thing, to give credence to the existence of the Warp in some capacity.
If it was just Celestine; Oz would have a decent chance at outsmarting her; not saying Cel is dumb, just that she's, to me, a warrior first thinker second in terms of manipulation/mindgames.
With Greyfax (who I hope I'm writing well), Alexea and a Custodian? They'd run circles around him any day of the week. Especially Greyfax and the Custodes. And that's leaving out the sheer stubbornness of the Imperials.
You also just reminded me to start practising writing manipulation… shit. That's gonna be 'fun'...
Anyway, thanks for the review!
Brother Bov: I can think of three names for the custodian, kittenious, trajan, or the man the myth the legend Constantin Valdor
You might want to translate Kotek from Polish to English...hehehe
Guest: If your planning an omake a non canon just for the shits and giggles I would vote for a TTS custodian a companion at that.
Damn GW for what they did gonna miss TTS on YT.
As for the main story I would vote for the same the Talons of the Emperor the best soldiers the Imperium offers.
Yeah, I'm gonna miss TTS as well.
As for the dumb side story for me to do when I'm not working on this, it may or may not have a certain tube of tomato sauce and a banana or a meme-y, thieving skeleton...
Carre: 1. Greyfax showing up (Washed Thumbs Up!).
2. Keep Up with the good Work (washed Thumbs Up!)
Thanks and I will!
isFAX: good story
I like to think so too! Lol.
But thank you!
Jctherebel: This is pretty awesome
Cheers!
E: As for the fic that I mentioned, it's Starbound. I forget who it's by, but it's part of a series and is pretty long running. Basic premise is that Shepard first entered WH Fantasy and stopped the End Days from happening. Bit of a spoiler I guess and there's a lot more to it than that, but the second story is the one I was specifically referencing. Shepard, after death in Fantasy, is reincarnated by the Emperor to help out in 40k as a Living Saint. It's pretty solid, has great lore use, and definitely doesn't make Shepard a Mary Sue. She loses a lot of people and has actual character development throughout both stories, so I really liked that interpretation as usually Shepard is portrayed as a Gary/Mary Sue who just wins at everything.
As for the story, I liked this chapter a lot. I was worried that with the focus so far on interaction that you may completely avoid the brutality and gore associated with combat in 40k, but the ultraviolence was quite entertaining. Yeah, not too much 'development' for your OC, but it wasn't really a moment where it would make sense anyways. The contrast between that and the later dialog scenes with Celestine was good too, if perhaps unintentionally so? Either way, solid chapter and I didn't pick anything out that seemed like an issue.
I await more, as always.
Cheers! I've been struggling to get into reading fics again so hopefully, this one might kickstart it.
There will most likely be large gaps between action as this is more character centred, but it won't be forgotten. If anything I'm trying to use it a bit sparingly so it holds more impact for when it does happen. I don't think that there's going to be some more for quite a few chapters after the next one.
I wish I could say the contrast was all planned but the only intentional bit about the contrast was between Clover learning what Alexea is capable of and Celestine learning what Emerald can do. Everything else is just a coincidence or an extension of that.
Though the fluff with Cel and Em was planned from the start, it's become my favourite thing to write...
Here's a short Omake I had to do:
"-object on radar, could be a nevermore!"
"Direction and Distance?"
A fleshy thump from the bow startled all on the bridge. Ironwood, Clover and Alexea shot their gazes and weapons- for Clover it was a three hundred dollar carbon sports fishing rod; coloured lure and all- up to the viewport only to find a squashed figure splayed across the glass.
Pristine white feathers fluttered violently as the wind pushed the figure slowly across the glass with a high-pitched, drawn-out squeak, the golden armour scratching deep cuts as Celestine slowly rubbed against the viewport.
"Who...is that?"
Alexea typed out something and shoved the Scroll into Clover's face, "our saviour...apparently…"
His brows shot up, "really? She looks like a bird to me…"
"Same thing."
The wind caught under Celestine's wings and flung her off the side in a tangle of limbs, a trail of white feathers and deep scratch marks in the glass being the only thing evident of her ever being here.
Ironwood stood confused with his mouth flapping open and closed…
Hopefully, I return to the near semi/bi-weekly updates now.