Little Acolyte

Tentatively, Emerald entered the Inquisitor's room, papers from yesterday in hand, "Hey, Katarinya?"

"Inquisitor," she immediately corrected Emerald, "and yes? I'm busy,"

Emerald closed the door and came up next to the woman. She rocked on her feet, "has Celestine mentioned something about another girl to you?"

Greyfax glanced at her, "yes."

"Are you going to do something?"

"Why should I?" she asked as she continued to fill out a form and a half, "there's no evidence suggesting it's my jurisdiction,"

With a pout, Emerald crossed her arms, "but she's in trouble… like I was,"

"That is good and all, but still not a reason for me to act,"

"She threatened to feed Lelith to the Grimm," Emerald tried to only get a chuckle from the woman,

"And I'd pay her to do it,"

Her pout became a frown. Of course, mentioning Lelith would void anything she had to say… why did she hate the weird woman so much- no, it was understandable to a point now that she thought about it… What else was there for her to do or say now?

Emerald's frown deepened as she stared at her feet in thought, all the while Greyfax continued as if nothing had interrupted her at all. How could someone so easily ignore someone else? Greyfax made it look easy to do… maybe it had to do with her job, after all, you wouldn't be able to catch a bad guy if you were distracted all the time.

Emerald's head shot up and she thought out her sentence as carefully as possible, "but, she, a hotel owner, tried threatening us with military action,"

Greyfax put the pen down.

Emerald continued slowly, unsure of what Greyfax's silence meant, "claiming she had connections with both the Hunters and military,"

The Inquisitor spun her chair around to face her, "and how long ago was this?"

"A few weeks ago," Emerald admitted,

Greyfax spun back around, "I have Marcus, Tyrian, Merlot and a few others to find, Emerald," she said and picked a pen up, "I'll get to her when I have time, but I need to be going over old reports and records to figure out a more defined pattern of behaviour,"

"But, they'll always be out there!" Emerald exclaimed, "you can get them any time, but she's literally down in the city!"

Greyfax sighed, something the woman never really did around her. Emerald knew it was for show, there was no reason for it to be anything else… the Inquisitor would hate the fact that it made her and Lelith so similar in that aspect,

"You need to get better at pulling strings and manipulation," Greyfax suddenly said as she stood, "but it wasn't bad for a first and unfair attempt at it,"

Emerald shook her head in confusion, "Wha? Unfair how?"

Greyfax began to switch out her regular clothes for the Fibro-layer, "you were trying to manipulate me, I'd call that unfair since that's my job,"

"So…" Emerald her palms up with a half-shrug,

Greyfax rolled her eye, "All leads must be chased or I've failed at my job. So, go get your Laspistol and meet me on the steps of the Glass Unicorn."

Emerald jolted in surprise for a moment then tossed the papers on the bed as she bolted out the door of Greyfax's room with a smile. Finally, she was doing something to help someone. Faster than she thought- or was it because she was actually doing something?- the sprint went by quickly, despite quite a few run-ins with random people on the streets.

She bolted into the foyer and rapidly pressed the button for the elevator. The more she pressed, the slower time seemed to become now that the rush was wearing off.

How long did she have to get to the hotel? Celestine took about half an hour maximum to put her armour on, so Greyfax would roughly e the same… though the woman was efficient in everything so maybe less.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. She rushed in and slammed the button for her floor.

Perhaps armour of some type would be good for her? But then it would be too heavy to do all the cool moves Lelith is trying to teach her… then maybe something like Lelith's outfit would be good- but pants were a requirement, that much she was sure of. Why'd it even matter at the moment? she was still growing so getting armour made for her now would be a waste of time and Lien.

The doors opened to her floor and she sped-walked down the hall to the apartment. Opening the door, she jogged to her room and put the holster around her waist and made sure the Laspistol was secure to her hip and ran to Celestine's room.

Three large cases sat in the corner, each one had a wax seal of a cog-like skull and parchment of old, inked writing. But what she was after sat atop of them; two power packs for the Laspistol.

She shoved them in her new holster and left the room, making sure the door was closed and lights were off before she locked the apartment as she left.

By the time she was back in the foyer on the ground floor, a single thought entered her head; "where was the damn hotel again?"

She wandered out onto the street while blatantly ignoring the embarrassment she felt at the odd looks a few people from earlier were giving her and marched down the first direction she remembered taking.

The same process was followed for the next two streets before she stopped with a sigh of frustration. "Sh~it,"

A rancid cigarette and alcoholic smell made her nose crinkle, "Need a hand?"

She looked at the man and found herself on edge with how his grey eyes seemed to bounce around slightly. Like he was seeing more than just her. His Body was taught and ready to pounce while he loomed over her. There were plenty of people around and she had a gun, so… "uh, yeah, could you point me in the direction of the Glass Unicorn Hotel?"

The silver-haired man nodded and pointed to his right, "down that way on the fourth left, can't miss it from there, kiddy,"

She repressed a gag at the unwanted nickname, "uh, thanks, I gotta go!"

As she took off down the street, she made sure to flash the Laspistol, just in case the man decided to follow. Thankfully, the horrible smell never followed, but the sense of familiarity did. She shook it off and continued to find the hotel.

The familiar steps came into view and she almost wished Lelith was there just for the reaction of the staff and the owner. Though knowing her, she was around somewhere in the city or even in Mantle.

It was a surprisingly busy place, people of all shapes and sizes came and went or hung around near the entrance. Some carried weapons on their backs while the rest wore the most expensive clothing she'd seen. Maybe she wasn't lying about having connections with Hunters after all… was that even illegal? The military thing most definitely would be though and Greyfax had shown how much she liked prosecuting people to everyone.

"You are to leave at once,"

Emerald closed her eyes and sighed before reopening them. She spun on a heel to face Madame, "I'm waiting for someone,"

"And you are barred from this locale," Madame spat quietly, now very conscious of the crowds of people going about their day, "same for you Animal friend,"

"And as much as it would have been rightly deserved," Greyfaxs' armour whirred slightly as she came up next to her, "you can not do such a thing,"

"And-" Madame paused with wide eyes when she spun to face the Inquisitor, "and why's that?"

"Given the current climate and external threats, I have deemed a necessary inspection of this hotel to maintain the security and safety of this Kingdom," she shoved a couple of papers stapled together into Madame's chest harshly, "you could be unknowingly harbouring criminals so any obstruction of the law will result in immediate arrest. Clear? Good."

Emerald looked up at Greyfax in surprise and shock at how harsh and blunt she was. She was scary before, but this showed what it was like to be on the receiving end of her missions…

Greyfax grabbed ahold of Emerald's shoulder and pulled her along as she marched up the stairs and into the foyer, leaving a flabbergasted Madame behind on her own steps.

"Keep up and let me do the talking. Pay attention to myself and the surroundings for anything, especially the girl you want to 'save'." Greyfax's voice echoed in her mind suddenly, "the rules I am breaking are innumerable and bound to get me into shit with Ironwood, so you better be right,"

Emerald swallowed, nodded and started looking around the massive foyer to the place. Two girls stared at her in confusion and glanced between the door and herself.

Greyfax must have noticed them as she marched straight up to them. Emerald scurried in tow, nervously glancing around the entire time.

"You two," she pointed them out as she got within a few feet of them, "follow me,"

"Why?" the one with the grey dress asked with narrowed brows, "who are you?"

"That doesn't concern you," Greyfax made sure her Bolter was known by making it rattle with each movement she made, "you two are the owner's daughters and an investigation on this premises is underway,"

The one with the grey pants gasped, "really? What for?"

"That is for me to find out,"

The sisters glanced at each other, "wait," one started and the other finished, "you don't know? So we're innocent,"

"Innocence," Greyfax held the Bolter in both hands, "proves nothing. Everyone is guilty of something, my job is to find out what," the sisters flicked their gaze from the Bolter to her Auspex-eye, "now, you will take me to the security room, now,"

"But-"

"She has the papers," the Madame came up next to them, not without knocking Emerald as she passed, "do as she says. I'll take care of our finer customers,"

"And now the three of them are panicking," the Inquisitor spoke telepathically, "about a girl and a necklace…" Emerald's eyes widened as Greyfax pointed out an emerald brooch on one of the sisters, "lovely necklace,"

But it wasn't- Emerald paused the thought as their eyes widened at the Inquisitor. Oh, that was clever, very clever. Reading minds really was a massive cheat code in finding things, no wonder she used it on everyone.

"It's a shock collar, not a necklace on the girl. I need the girl with the collar," Greyfax cleared her throat, "You may have all day, but I do not and my patience is thin,"

"Yes, of course!" one sister jumped lightly and sped away, "follow me, please,"

"The moment we are out of the owner's sight, go find the girl and bring her to me. Do not remove the necklace, am I clear?"

Emerald focused hard on her thoughts, "why?"

Greyfax blinked widely but hid it quickly behind a mask of stern indifference, "don't focus so hard, pretend this is a regular conversation but in your mind. As for why, it'll be evidence for abuse and a case can be opened to get her out -that is what you wanted, yes?"

Emerald opened her mouth to respond but caught herself in a choke, "Yes!"

"Good, now go," Greyfax suddenly marched up to the Sisters and began asking about tax reforms and fraud being a current high, just as a set of stairs to the next floor appeared next to her.

Emerald took the chance to silently sneak away and up them. If the girl was here, she'd find her.

She scoured as many rooms as she could that didn't belong to the customers, most of which were hunters. The few rooms she could access on the second floor were laundry closets and utility rooms, all of which held nothing in particular or interest.

A few partons smiled or waved, the Hunters were easy to spot with their weapons on their backs or in their hands. Sometimes it was just how they walked; tall and proud or nervous and watching everything for danger, much like Greyfax did.

So, Emerald snuck her way up to the third and final floor.

The halls were much the same as before, though this time they were quiet. No sounds of rustling from the odd room or people in the halls. Not even the classical music from the foyer reached up here.

Nothing, but the sound of scrubbing.

Emerald slowly walked down the hall to the sound. It stopped when a floorboard creaked under his foot, "Madame?"

Emerald picked her pace up and peaked around the corner cautiously, "Hello!"

The girl startled and glared, "you!" she hissed, "If Madame catches you, I'll- you'll be in trouble!"

Emerald snorted and came around the corner fully, "Nah, she knows I'm here,"

"But- what?" the girl stood, dumping the scrubber in a bucket and wiped her hands on the apron she wore, "how?"

A small, smug smile overtook her, "I have more connections than she does!" Emerald jumped slightly, "come on, let's go!"

"I'm not following you," the girl crossed her arms stubbornly, "If she sees me with you, I'm in trouble,"

Emerald clicked her tongue, "do you want to get out of here?"

The girl went to rub the necklace but stopped herself before her fingers touched it. The yellow in her eyes seemed to dim a little, "y-yes…"

"Cool," Emerald took one of her hands in both her own and pulled her away, "lets go then,"

"But you're a kid, younger than me!" she hissed and pulled her hand out of Emerald's,

Emerald sighed and looked back the way she came quickly, "well, all I need is you and the necklace and take you to my… friend, yeah, she's a friend who can help!"

She crossed her arms, "is it the woman from that night?"

"Hah!" Emerald laughed, "no, but if it was, Madame would be a lot angrier," at the terrified look she was given she explained, "Lelith likes messing with people, and honestly, Madame is kinda fun to mess with… only the friend I have here, right now, works for Ironwood,"

"The General?" she whispered in awe, "how?"

Emerald grinned, "I have secrets!"

Both froze at the hard, stomping heels and Emerald put a finger to her lips, "I got a Semblance, pretend I'm not here," she whispered furiously and focused on the approaching person, masking her presence.

The girl stared at her in confusion and fear, only to jolt when Madame came around the corner with a glare, "where is she?"

"Who are you referring to, Madame?"

Emerald quietly let out a sigh of relief as she went unnoticed and stayed pressed against the wall, trying to stay out of reach of the woman.

The Madame sneered, "the little brat brought someone down here, the armoured one seen with the winged animal,"

The girl's eyes widened and forced herself to not look at Emerald, while Emerald's narrowed at the woman.

Madame stepped forward into the girl's personal space and pulled a small device out of a pocket, "Had you done what I asked that night, this wouldn't be happening!"

Emerald frowned at the small thing in the woman's hand and looked at the necklace on the girl. She swallowed and slowly pulled her Scroll out and opened the camera function as the Madame continued to place the blame on the girl.

"I did do what you a-asked, Mam,"

There was a click and the girl grunted, clutching her eyes closed, "no, you did not. Not properly. They left on their own accord, not your orders,"

Emerald stared in disbelief at her; was this seriously how delusional the woman was, so full of herself that she blamed someone else for her shitty behaviour? Emerald held her sneer back and concentrated a bit harder on the illusion as she aimed her Scroll's camera. Greyfax wanted evidence, she'd get the damn evidence.

The Madame clicked the controller again, and the girl held back a scream as yellow electricity arched off the necklace for a few seconds. Madame released the button and shoved the remote in her pocket, "if you see the girl, find me and I shall remove her myself,"

Emerald glared as the woman continued blaming the girl for other, seemingly random things around the hotel. Who blamed someone for a bulb bursting? This dirtbag did, apparently.

Emerald let the Scroll record for a few more seconds before she stopped it and put it in her pocket. A deep breath was taken and she took a small step forward and watched the movements of Madame's hands carefully.

Pickpocketing wasn't something she'd done before, but the remote was something the woman wouldn't need again, was it? Besides, more evidence against her.

Emerald reached out and drew back as a hand swung while the woman hissed out quiet beratings. Emerald glared up briefly and tried again only for the same result.

The girl suddenly rose her voice slightly as she spoke back and the Madame slapped her and held an index finger in the girl's face, now the whisper-yelling rose to an aggravated growl. The entire scenario made Emerald's stomach turn over but she took the chance and slipped her fingers into the pocket and slowly pulled it out.

She grinned when the device was held in her palm and took a rapid step back when the woman spun around, "I'll see to your punishment later, Cinder,"

The woman marched off with the click of her glass heels making both girls jolt.

Emerald let the illusion fall and looked to the girl. She had tears in her eyes but it was overshadowed by the hard determination on her face, "y-you're welcome,"

"You made her hit you?" Emerald asked quietly, "so I could get the remote?"

Cinder nodded, "she would have found you otherwise,"

Emerald smiled softly, "thank you,"

Cinder smirked sadly, "now what?"

"Now, we go to Greyfax!" Emerald pulled her Scroll out, "this'll get the bitch in trouble,"

"Good," Cinder grinned manically and rubbed her cheek, "I want to see her face when the video is shown,"

Emerald turned and gestured for her to follow with a hand, "come on then!"

The two girls hurried their way down to the ground level, with Emerald not particularly caring if she was loud or seen by anyone of importance and followed Cinder to the 'security room'. Though the building didn't have cameras… or any other staff.

Emerald frowned to herself, shame there wasn't anything to swipe from the asshole woman. Or if there was, it wasn't anything worth taking.

They reached the hall the room sat in and Emerald mimicked Lelith's confident stride as best she could when she entered with the largest, shit-eating grin she could muster, "Oh, Inquisitor!"

Greyfaxs' organic eye held a brief flash of mirth at her before it hardened when Cinder entered and a wave of anger and fear rolled off the Madame and her daughters, "yes?"

Emerald tossed the remote to the Inquisitor and the Madame gawked at her, "found this~"

Greyfax glanced up from the remote to Cinder with a flash of apology and pressed the button briefly. Cinder jolted with a scowl and eye twitch. "Where'd you find it?"

Emerald crossed her arms with a smirk aimed at the Madame, "on the floor on the third level,"

"Are you insinuating I abuse my Step-Daughter!?" Madame almost screamed, "get the hell out of my hotel!"

"I don't know what 'insinuating' means," Emerald mumbled as she took her Scroll out and went into the photo gallery, "but I guess it's like accusing you, yeah?" she glanced up at the red-faced woman with a scrunched nose and false sympathy, "but how is it an accusation-"

She pressed on the video and faced the Scroll up to Greyfax- "if there's proof?"

The longer the video went on, the more irate and hysteric the family became, all three trying to discredit the video in some way. But once Greyfax's face settled into a look of genuine anger, they resorted to throwing the others under the metaphorical bus to get out of any punishment that was about to fall on them.

Greyfax let the video end and marched up to Cinder. She spun her around and with as much care as she could muster, unclasped the necklace before she rounded violently on the family, "face the wall and hands behind your backs,"

"We didn't do anything!" one of the sisters screamed,

"And I don't care right now," Greyfax sent a message on her own Scroll, "consider yourselves under investigation of abuse of not only staff but also domestic abuse,"

Heavy footfalls came down the hall, giving false hope to the Madame and her daughters.

Celestine entered with a raised brow, "yes?"

Greyfax glanced back at her, "head to Terra, fetch us a Master Vox and some Comm-Beads. I'm sick of these Scrolls,"

Celestine nodded and glanced at Emerald and Cinder with a raised brow, "I see you got your way,"

Emerald nodded happily, "yep!"

The angel looked to the family with a frown while she addressed Greyfax, "I'll do you a favour and let the Arbites know as well,"

"Very well," Greyfax nodded, ignoring the protests from the Madame, "would you do my paperwork as well?"

Celestine snorted at the joke request, "no," and she vanished.

Guilliman picked up the paper with a victorious smile. Attempt after attempt was made to pick the damn thing up, but the gauntlets made it beyond difficult and frustrating to the point that he just removed a gauntlet to gain the upper hand.

"Finally, the enemy is defeated," he muttered happily to himself,

"A major foe, I'm sure," Celestine snarked back only for her to go beat red and slam her mouth closed.

Guilliman handed the paper over with a smile, "too many years has it plagued the Imperium, and now I have used all the skills He gave me to bring it down,"

The poor Saint looked torn between laughing and finding offence in his words, "I- uh, I never realised you had a sense of humour, Lord,"

Guilliman felt his mood drop slightly, "I am more than capable of a joke, even if Sicarius never understands them," he straightened on the massive chair, "it is one of many ways to deal with the stress of our current situation,"

Celestine nodded gently, "yes, I understand that. I find myself finding comfort in humour all the same,"

"We must in ways we never thought we could," he said with a saddened smile, "in a way, you remind me of someone I miss dearly,"

Celestine couldn't help but tilt her head, "Might I inquire who?"

"Her name was Euten, Tarasha Euten," he sighed sadly and sat back, a look of reminiscing in his blue eyes, "she was a strong woman, always knew what to do and how to treat people, even still called me 'boy' long after the Great Crusade was underway," he chuckled at the old memories, "you have her strength of character,"

Celestine blinked, "really?"

"You're not the same, I'm sure you'd bow to every word if she were here, but you remind me of her," Guilliman sighed and his eyes flicked to her wings with a nostalgic smile, "you have her strength of character, but Sanguinius' kindness,"

With that, he knew his wrath resided within her, two completely unrelated beings, but so similar in many aspects.

Celestine looked down to the side in confusion and embarrassment, "Is that so?"

Guilliman chuckled, "Like with my mother, you are not identical, but there are aspects too similar to not make it a stretch to see it," he tilted his head at her red cheeks, "what is the matter?"

"Uh," she swallowed and looked up, "on Remnant, I have a child we are teaching… she was shown an image of Sanguinius and…well…"

The Ultramarine Primarch's brows rose. That at least explained the Laspistol and extra Comm-beads. "And?"

"She thought he was my father…"

Guilliman's amused grin was wide, "that does have a logical conclusion, but I assure you it is false," he shook his head in amused exasperation, "why a child?"

Celestine bit the inside of her lip, "she needed help, so I did. She has also provided aid in the fight against the cult and has shown willingness to push herself,"

"No need to justify it to me," Guilliman waved he down, "so long as it does not impair what you are doing there," Guilliman sighed and picked up his pen, "now go collect your equipment, I've got the Dark Angels to deal with,"

Celestine rose with a nod, "what are they doing?"

Guilliman nodded his head side to side in debate, "I am not sure, but it slightly worrying that they've gone silent,"

Celestine swallowed with a nod, "that is worrying,"

"Yes," He waved her off, "go, you have a task to complete, as do I-" he smiled slightly- "Defeat the paper,"

Celestine laughed for whatever reason, but the release felt long overdue, "that I will, Lord,"

She bowed once and left the Primarch to tend to his duties.

The heavy footfalls of Terminator armour made the decks shake and serfs cower from them. They marched down the massive halls through the blood and viscera, even creating some with the serfs who failed to move out of the way in time.

Bolters of all types fired, lighting the grotesque halls in a flickering orange hue.

Fabius Bile stood at the intersection, staring down the hall with a blank expression, ignoring the whispers of the Vengeful Spirit's damned souls as he observed the creation of his own making fight.

Black armoured First-Born fought alongside it, flames flicking off their incorporeal bodies as the once crystalline being lashed out viciously against the Black Legion.

The Terminators marched past him, unaware of who made this situation possible, something Bile was grateful for as their cannons came to life and tore everything in their wake apart. All but for the Legion of the Damned, who turned and retaliated in kind, even as they covered the retreat of their target.

Abaddon wasn't going to be pleased, but he didn't care if he just freed Horus' only accomplishment. Not when it proved something far, far better.

He could do something the Emperor never could, even if it took him multiple attempts.

Horus' soul was obliterated, no longer whole but shattered remnants long faded from reality and the Warp; the equivalent of having a Tech-Priest delete and destroy data-stores. Every reproduction of him was a shell of what he once was because of it. It was one of the few things he couldn't overcome.

So why not use a bit of what he learned with Soul Stones and Wraithbone and apply it to… something better? Something that haunted the halls of the Vengeful Spirit.

The Emperor struggled to create life; needed to trick the barely sapient beings that called themselves 'gods' to make his failed sons.

Where he created it, mastered it through sheer skill and research. From the Gene-seed's incompatibility issues with females and mutants to cloning himself and Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus, and now with The Angel reborn again, Fabius knew one thing was certain.

The Corpse-Emperor was a fool. An ill-knowledged, power-hungry fool who stuck to traditions that were long since dead. If He wanted Humanity to ascend, why limit what they could become if not for control where he could take it? Yet Fabius couldn't agree with what everything had become.

The Emperor was a fool, but even He didn't foresee what had become of the visions they sought.

But now something came to fruition, the chance to create the Anathema a new body, a tool to pave the way for Humanity and the New Men would now grow faster to completion. Let the galaxy have the Angel for a bit longer, it was the last they would get before the storm reached a new level.

Now, more tools and subjects were needed, and there was one place he knew would have them for him.

And it wasn't like Trazyn had a choice.

Fabius turned his back on Sanguinius with a grin, Chaos would end humanity, as would the Imperium and Xenos. Only he could save it where no one would. The Great Work must be completed, and now there was added time to it.

The Saint long since left, and the sun faded behind the horizon dozens of times since then and now did so again now. Leaving the Palace in the light of the still smouldering fires of Hive's burning. Even now, the remnants of the Terran Crusade remained with fires and small rebellions being put down. Though they rose from deep within the Under-Hives and sewer systems now, places Astartes struggled to fit.

Places their makeshift weaponry would be effective.

Guilliman looked out over the land, statues of his Father erected at every turn while the Aquila flew high on everything. Disgust remained a constant feeling with everything he saw of the Imperium. It was an affront to all they tried to build. It was something he and Dorn could agree unanimously on.

But even his Father had stagnated and regressed with the time spent on the damnable chair.

A tool.

Celestine didn't need to know what was truly transpiring with Him, the Custodes didn't need to deal with a fanatic trying to enter the Throne Room. Though the longer he spent with her, the more he felt the lie of Him being catatonic was unneeded, a wasteful lie where a better one could have been.

The woman had common sense or was more susceptible to bouts of it in this senseless galaxy.

It mattered not if she found out, it wouldn't cause harm. At worst, a brief explanation.

"Roboute?"

He startled and spun with the Hand of Dominion raised and froze.

Valoris stood to the side with a retinue of Custodes and Sisters of Silence, in the centre was- "brother?"

Sanguinus blinked in confusion, his eyes darting back and forth between everything and nothing. The blue of his eyes was now a permanent violent red. "Wha- what happened, Roboute?"

Guilliman lowered his hand, "to what?"

His brother gestured around frantically, "everything, it's all wrong, decayed," he looked up, "Father, where is he?"

The Ultramarine's Primarch took a deep breath and swallowed nervously at the wrongness of his brother. The air of grace and kindness was long gone, replaced with fear, confusion and anger behind the blood-red eyes.

"You died, brother," Guilliman whispered, "Horus' betrayal was ten millennia ago,"

Sanguinius choked on his saliva and leaned on the massive doorframe, "how am I here? I should be dead, left to wander the halls of the Vengeful Spirit aimlessly," The Angel's mouth flapped open at a loss of words, "I died. I died and walked torment and flames, brother. Why am I here? What is this nightmare, twisted dream!?"

Guilliman took a slow step forward, "I-"

He was cut off when The Angel snapped his head up, eyes blazing with crimson fire, "You let this happen! You were here!"

"I died!" he took a step back with his hands out placatingly, "I died fighting Fulgrim, brother. The Ultramarines put me in stasis when I was on the brink and I only came back not long ago to this nightmare,"

Fangs stretched from Sanguinius' mouth as he snarled. What had become of him? Where was the Brightest One?

Sanguinius slammed both his hands into his head, clutching it as if he was fighting himself before he fell to his knees with a sob. Guilliman stared in horror at the mess his brother had become; a damaged man.

"B-brother?" Guilliman glanced at Valoris who watched with his weapon ready. He crouched down to his brother, "Sanguininus, we are not the only ones, we make four now. Four. Rogal, Vulkan, you and myself. We are not alone,"

A single, transparent golden dove fluttered down and lay on Sanguinius' shoulder. The Angel took a deep, calming breath, "Baal,"

"What about it, brother?" Guilliman's eyes struggled to stay on his brother as they were drawn to the dove instinctively,

"The Devourer, it comes for it," Sanguinius stood slowly, his wings out with his eyes back to the red they had become, "Dante has perished already, brought back by me to continue his duty,"

Either The Blood Angel was losing his grip on his mind, or- "Tyranids?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I must see my sons, we must save them!"

"Indomitus is barely beginning, Baal is on the other side of the Rift," Guilliman said, "we're already pushing supplies to their limits,"

Sanguinius frowned greatly, "supplies are meaningless if Baal is lost!"

"When it is pushing the entirety of the Imperium's supply chains and production facilities to their limit, it is!" Guilliman stepped forward, "this nightmare extends greatly beyond the surface, brother. We are fighting against the dark in everything and everyone,"

The Blood Angel looked out behind him, likely taking in Terra for the first time in all its industrialised hell it became. Pillars of smoke from burning bodies and smokestacks polluted the skies while hymns created the ambience.

"When we pierce the Rift you can go to Baal," Guilliman said softly, careful to not relapse his brother into the fit from earlier, "we have barely made a dent in territories near it."

Sanguinius bowed his head, "I can help on the front lines, it is my duty and place,"

"No," Guilliman shook his head and chose his words carefully, "not until you have adjusted."

The Angel stared intensely at him for a few moments, and even Valoris readied to strike in case he lashed out. But Sanguinius looked down at his upturned palms and took a deep breath, "I- yes, that is wise, Roboute,"

Guilliman nodded slowly, "you can still aid our brothers and the Crusade from here, even as you regain your senses,"

Sanguinius nodded with apprehension and whispered softly, "His dream has faded, hasn't it?"

Guilliman tilted his head forward and turned out to look over the Palace below, "it has, and we must either bring Humanity back or die going out in the flames of war,"

Sanguinius slowly came up next to him, hands clutching the rockcrete railing firmly. The two stood in silence for minutes, watching as the specks in the skies patrolled, "tell me, Roboute, what do you know of a shattered moon?"

"A shattered-?" he glanced up to Luna and found it intact, "what?"

"He is invested in a world and what lies upon it," Sanguinius swallowed and looked at his brother, "when I came to, aboard the Vengeful Spirit, it was after a vision. I know not of what it entailed just that there are six things there He wants to be destroyed,"

Guilliman's brows furrowed as the realisation settled, "if Celestine was here, I'd be able to confirm my suspicions,"

"Celestine?" Sanguinius asked curiously,

"I will explain more later, however, there are Living Saints; beings embedded with His power," Guilliman chuckled, "angelic beings made to mimic your image, now that I think about it"

Sanguinius narrowed his eyes, "my image?"

"Yes, they have the tendency to have wings; Celestine has white ones like yours," Guilliman smiled, "if Father is the reason they exist as Celestine claims, then He missed you dearly. We all did,"

Sanguinius smiled softly, "if that is the reason, then I am fine with it. I've never been fond of worship,"

At that Guilliman cringed and Sanguinius' heart dropped, "about that…"

All the while, a golden dove watched its sons converse for a few more moments before it faded away.

And as the familiar sounds of thunderous machines and psychic energies met in a colossal cacophony, enough to hide the brief spluttering of a dying component, a decayed jaw clenched, and burning, golden eyes looked down at the Hetaeron Guards below it.

Fragments scattered across the stars and Other-sea halted in their uncontrolled spiral away from the burning star and slowly began to lose momentum in one direction, and gain it in another as they were pulled back. It was a painfully slow pace, but with each piece of Golden Throne that failed, the Four increased their tenacity.

Worlds enveloped in Warp-storms, Traitors rose up on countless worlds and stars ceased to be. They spread their taint wherever they could to gain as much ground in a war that was as old as mankind itself.

Two immortals, locked in their own pointless war laid dormant when compared to the grand scale of Great Game. Their pointless war was drawing attention, attention He did not desire on them.

His tools would complete their mission, even if they knew not what it was in its entirety, even if there was an unplanned addition. It will be completed.

Will be completed.

Complete.

A fine tool, a complete task.

The Emperor of Mankind's consciousness was pushed and wavered by the unrelenting prayers and wills of the trillions amongst the stars, forever propelling Him up in the echelons of the Warp.

But the desire to remain as He was in life clung relentlessly to the bones of his being, fighting the machines in the Throne and the will of infinite souls. Trying to find the middle ground, find the balance and stay on the precipice of what he was.

His greatest tool, greatest, pure being had returned. Baal was his apple in his eye, yet there were other plans for him, they would come in time.

For now, the Four must be denied the assets they could gain with the resources they had.

Darkness.

Stagnation.

Desperation.

Death.

Granting His Daughter- Tool- Saint- Prophesy to traverse a thin line to the Avenging Son was the best He actively could do without the strain shattering Himself more. Yet his prison finally started failing completely, even as the Trans-Human Priests of Mars scurried back and forth below.

The Brightest One would find what he was now eventually.

Saint.

Divine.

Archangel.

Shouting echoed with the Laughter of Gods and Prayers, muddying His mind, pushing it further and further away from what He strove to remain.

Desperate.

Penance.

Repent.

Ascend.

His Companions watched as mindless flesh automatons and Mars Priests struggled to find the fault in the endless contraptions of the Golden Throne. Something they never would, as it lay in the centre of it all, where the wiring and connections all led to and ended.

The Emperor focused on another piece, a small, seemingly insignificant piece and at speeds so slow it would take decades to notice, pulled at it.

This prison was coming to an end, one way or another.

Leave.

Stay.

Abandon.

Run.

Fight.

The will of all interpretations made manifest cried out, struggling to take ahold of what was deemed theirs by right of the trillions who believed in their interpretation of His image.

Leave. A burst of psychic energy destroyed and cracked interfaces and toppled over even the Custodes in black.

The wire, and the socket it resided in, pulled a bit faster.

Fight.

Die.

Regress.

And the Astronomican lit brighter than ever while countless Priests of Mars turned to ash and metal melted. Even Custodes fell victim to the burst of raw, untamed energy. The brief moment of intense energies burned out, like a wick at its end and the fractured images pushed once more.

No, they were not He.

Swirls of energies stormed and tore at everything, fighting for the dying light unwilling to give in to the encroaching darkness and beasts that claw from the other side.

The wick refused to die.

Fight.

Live.

Reclaim.

A/N

Sanguinius proceeded to die of a stroke at the news of a Holiday after him, thus sending the Blood Angels into a maddened state that made the Black Rage look child safe.

I wanted Sanguinus, so I got myself Sanguinius through Bile being Bile and cloning everything he touched. And yes, he's back because I wanted to write my Hawk Boi eventually. That's literally why he's here, I want to write him, so I will even if he may not play a major role in the story.

I like the Idea of Sanguinius being the head honcho of Living Saints if he were to ever return

And yes why they're on Remnant is purely Big E's fault and now, you, the readers, know what the plan is. Kill the immortals before Chaos finds them.

Emerald being a smug bitch is so much fun to write and shows how far she's come in so little time. They're rubbing off on her more and more.

Cinder is now free and a recurring character now. Yay. plus one friend for Emerald.

I know it's a short chapter, but it gets what it needs to across and now I can focus on the next few chapters more intently.

Tittle refers to Em essentially being a mini Inquisitor for a day.

Review time

Saitama1155: finally some action damn i feel bad for roman hopefully he doesnt get neo to do something stupid like trying to kill a pysker with a illusion semblance good luck with that mind manipulation semblances wont work that much also i cant wait for Guilliman he is my favorite primarch dude is a beast each primarch was scattered to different worlds at their birth by the time they were adults they ruled the planet they inhabited my man Guilliman ruled multiple planets by the time he met his father he is basically a miniature Emperor. If ozpin or salem knew what was coming they would make a peace treaty with each other unless they want extermanites the way to stop a crazy bitch like salem is to out crazy that bitch

…Roman has already done a pretty dumb thing, so what's one more? Lol.

The best part of Neo's Illusions is that they're physical manifestations, but they're fragile like glass. Hence why they shatter and leave bits behind briefly. I have a few ideas of the inner workings of Neo's Semblance but I'm saving that for later and when I hammer it down.

Bobby G is my favourite as well, hence why he's a recurring character, but I do like Sanguinius just as much… I like badass angels like that lol.

I doubt a peace treaty would save them, besides, Salem tried to fight literal gods with the powers they gave humanity. She's a dumbass who would try and fight fire by standing in it and wonder why she's getting burned.

BloodRedRoses11: Greyfax don't know how to play hide and seek, she is not supposed to be looking when counting, that's cheating!

Anyway, nice chapter! Also, i want to talk more about the population of remnant in comparison with the imperium, is not a correction, only a info that i want to share real quick. Different of what people think, planets with small population like Remnant is very common, a example is Baal(100,000), Catachan(12 million), and FUCKING VRAKS PRIME(8 million), and there is two reasons for that.

1-The fist is because there is no need to put a lot of people in certain kind of planets like mining worlds or new and resent colonize worlds, planets that do just one thing don't need mane people, and it is too risk and expensive to put billions in a new colony, just a million and them wait to they grow over time is far effective

2- The second is death worlds in general, kind obvious the reason no? And Remnant is one.

Most planets in 40k has a population from 10mi to 10bi, being called civilised world and all of then look like ours. Remnant coud be a rich one if not for the grimms.

Anyway that's all, continue with the good work, and have a nice day!

Unfortunately, literally, all the Imperials count while looking, some are better at hiding it. Besides, Roman was always in her sights, he was just making sure the crosshairs are on him unintentionally.

I go by the general rule of 'add an extra zero or two' when it comes to the numbers of the 40k. I like my 40k over the top and fuck off large in scale. Like, Imperator titans blocking flight paths level of massive.

I like big battles, massive stompy walkers and badass angels.

Remnant is still a death world so I imagine its population to be tiny to the point of borderline extinction, especially considering America IRL has a rough population of 350 million. Remnant is tiny.

I shall now start watching Fate.