Chapter Three
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"That which causes us trial shall yield us triumph and that which makes our hearts ache shall fill us with gladness. For the only true happiness is to learn, to advance and to improve. None of this could happen without rejecting error, ignorance and Imperfection. We must pass out of the darkness to reach the light!"
-Primarch Fulgrim, Attainment of Perfection
….
Fulgrim pulls the controls downwards the moment that the first explosions rattle the Mammoth Shuttle that they are in. The spacecraft is designed for holding cargo and people, not fighting in a dog-fight. The Manta Rays pursue it like lions would do on a wounded wildebeest as it banks downwards throwing the only passenger of Fulgrim all over the place cursing in her musical native dialect. The shuttle drops like a rock of lead as gravity pulls it downward to the nearest landing pad it can see.
"You are going to kill us!" screeches Jain Zar as she holds on for dear life when one of the shuttles vanes explode, courtesy of the Manta fighters currently trying to plasma fire their engines to nothing.
"Probably, but I will land this thing nevertheless," answers Fulgrim as he hefts control of the protesting machine spirit so that the shuttle might land heavily even when it is spewing fire and smoke behind it like a dying animal.
"Hold on to something!" shouts Fulgrim as the Mammoth shuttle lands on the landing pad in an explosion of steel and fire.
Jain Zar for her part slams her war scythe on the floor and holds on to its handle even as Fulgrim holds on to her waist as both of them goes flightless for a few seconds before slamming back down like the judgement of the gods clattering Fulgrim's teeth. The wraithbone protects him from the worst of the impact but it is still enough to set his teeth on edge and clacking inside his skull as he fells alongside Jain Zar in the steel floor of the shuttle which skids for a few meters or so before stopping, the smell of burnt smoke and oil pervading the air inside the shuttle.
"Are you alright?" he asks his companion helping her up steadily back to her feet. She growls at him simply before punching his face making it smack to the side upon impact.
"Stop touching my body every chance you can get!" hisses the Eldar before marching outside bringing her weapons with her.
Fulgrim simply touches his cheek. Her punch hurt, but not that much and more of an expression of anger than any sort of real attack. He shakes his head. It's not as if he chooses to touch her. Fate seems to be throwing him at her a lot ever since they escaped their imprisonment of the Necron base. Picking up the ornamental saber which has been his companion this entire time; he walks outside surprised to see Jain Zar ducking on the downed wing of the shuttle and for good reason.
The entire landing pad or rather pads is a space port of some kind and a full on warzone. Xenos in yellow plastoid kind of armor with support from more Xenos which look like humanoid birds with spears that are more like rifles are charging the lines of the Imperial Guardsman who seems to be fighting a losing battle. The Xenos it seems are the ones attacking and the Guard is defending with how fast they seem to be abandoning their positions only to reform in a more defensive line. Las-fire, plasma and blue energy bolts are being traded fire among one another along with the occasional sound of an explosion of cannons.
"What do you want to do now Mon-Keigh?" asks Jain Zar looking at the two opposing forces.
"I think this is an opportunity for us to bring our reputation in order," answers Fulgrim readying his sabre before smiling brightly at the Eldar. "Here's what we are going to do. We charge and eliminate the ones wearing the yellow armor and we do so quickly and in front of the Imperials,"
"We'll kill them all?" asks the Eldar who seems a little too excited for some reason Fulgrim notices.
"Yes, every single one of them, I take left you take right. The ones with the most kills wins,"
The Eldar looks at him through her war-mask and he can almost picture the face beneath it to be grinning at him before she disappears in a flash and he scowls as he realizes that she has broken cover in a flash and charges the Xenos attacking the Imperials at her side with the speed of a cheetah. He barely has a second to hear her banshee screech that makes them cover their ears in pain and surprise at the sudden new foe before they are being cut in the dozens by Jain Zar with her war scythe, the giant shuriken flying and stabbing the soft turret of a floating tank making it explode immediately as it turns to fire at her.
"What a showoff," Fulgrim grumbles to himself before also jumping out of his hiding place grabbing a rock, the size of his middle finger before jettisoning it like an arrow straight at one of the yellow armored Xenos.
The throw is made with such force that the helmet cracks and blood squirts from behind as the head it hits turns to pulp, courtesy of Fulgrim's throw. Immediately two of the beaked aliens charged him with their spears and Fulgrim readies his duelist blade before easily dodging one and stabbing him at the back, blocking the other before cracking his skull wide open with his own spear. He charges the yellow armored humanoid Xenos who panicks as they start shooting him. One turn at the right and one gets sliced and another turn to the left and another gets his head cut off. A stab ends one at the front while a slide swipe does not penetrate the helmet with the sabre but it does crack the skull beneath it easily.
A bird xeno tries to attack him from behind but Fulgrim is quick to change his attention easily shifting his attention from the one whose head he just broke to the bird Xeno who he bitch slaps twice making the head turn three sixty with such force before piercing its feathered throat with its own spear-rifle in a cascade of blood. Its companion tries to help him but Fulgrim karate chops its unprotected head almost cutting the skull in two upon impact, its eyes popping out of its socket upon impact.
Plasma bolts go past him and Fulgrim in a fit of acrobatic maneuvers backjumps a couple of times while throwing one of the discarded spears of the dead bird Xenos grabbing it by hand upon landing and throwing it like a glaive straight at the chest of the one shooting at him, bursting it open like a piñata upon impact before focusing on sidestepping and charging another set of xenos who tries to shoot at him only to miss epically as the best duelist that the Imperium has ever seen dances back and fro from the plasma bolts before upper-swiping with his saber removing the chin of another Xeno and landing on him, crushing his body upon impact in a mass of pulped flesh.
Another bird xeno tries to attack him in a straight off fight which Fulgrim easily handles by defeating it by its own game before landing a deadly strike on its groin making it vomit blood before he slices its throat with the sabre. Punching through its rib cage and removing what seems to be three bone ribs, he hurls the bones like daggers taking out three with armor as the bone jettisoned out cuts through their necks where the helmet connects with the body armor. The last one tries to shoot him but Fulgrim kicks one of the downed rifles in the ground making it head straight at his head, taking his skull off when it meets the heavy weapon.
More enemies surround him and Fulgrim grabs the sabre in a dancer's position whipping it once cutting the throat of the nearest one that dares to come near him before they try to charge him altogether at all sides. Immediately it is as if someone is watching a dance as Fulgrim turns and twists in a manner that is both graceful and beautiful to look upon. Skulls and bones crack from Xeno bodies as Fulgrim whips them to good order. None can stand against the dueling blade of the Phoenician as he dukes it with them. There are ten of them and only one of him and they are heavily outmatched against the duelist who whacks them all to oblivion. Jaws are broken, necks are cut, heads are removed, all are being thrown into disarray as crimson blood spills the ground where the Xenos lie dead. He continues it again and again as more enemy appear in his vision.
As he caves in the skull of the last bird hybrid Xeno, Fulgrim realizes that there is no one left to fight. He has left a trail of dead bodies behind him and his entire body is covered with gore and blood.
"Ninety-Eight," says Fulgrim as the form of Jain Zar approaches him covered in so much blood that her pale silver wraithbone is almost encrusted crimson.
She scoffs at his words before answering smugly. "A hundred and thirteen," she intones making Fulgrim sniff before looking at her great weapons, especially the overlarge shuriken at her back which is as big as she is.
"That is not fair, you have those overlarge weapons while all I have with me is this ornamental sabre," says Fulgrim.
"Ah ah, are you really blaming the weapon for your inadequacies Mon-Keigh," snarks the Eldar making Fulgrim grit his teeth. In a way she's right. She is certainly faster than he is.
"Fine! You win this round, but next round's mine, I swear," says Fulgrim brushing his wounded pride off.
He can almost feel the smugness rolling off the Eldar as she preens at her victory which Fulgrim ignores before gesturing for her to follow as they approach the Imperial lines. The Imperials it seem have not left their defensive positions upon their massacre of the attacking Xenos forces and are looking nervously at him and his companion. He counts at least sixty of them hidden all over the broken crates, cargoes and sandbags as they hold their lasguns pointed at him and his companion. Sheathing the sabre, Fulgrim holds out his open palms at their direction.
"HALT OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!" someone from the Imperial lines shouts out and Fulgrim pauses.
"I mean you no harm Imperials, we are allies and we come as friends," he yells in his most non-threatening voice as he approaches only to get a las-fire that bounces off his wraithbone armor. He can hear Jain Zar at his back scoff something that sounds like:
"Pathetic Mon-Keigh,"
Scowling at both the las-fire, and the insult of the Eldar, Fulgrim shoves off his original good natured plan of approach before boldly shouting out to the Imperials hiding in the hangar of the platform he just liberated.
"Who's in charge here?!" he booms out, his clear voice heard from one end of the hangar to the other. For a few seconds none answers. Fulgrim is just wondering if the Imperials have completely lost their nerve at their display of violence against the Xenos when a man wearing a great coat and a cap steps out holding a las pistol at their direction. He has one eye only and his face looks like someone has tried cutting his nose off.
"I am Commissar Root," he bellows back to him. "I am the one in charge of the defense of this platform. In the name of the god-emperor of mankind, I demand that you identify yourselves!"
"Well that's easy. As I said before, I am not your enemy. I am Fulgrim and I am a Primarch, a son of the god-emperor and I have come to liberate this world from the might of the Xenos that are currently invading you," says Fulgrim regally.
"A Primarch, a son of the god-Emperor comes to life? How so? It is impossible!" hisses the Comissar. "You are a fraud! A liar!" he snarls out.
Fulgrim immediately bridges the distance between him and the Comissar who yelps and tries to shoot at him only for Fulgrim to easily grab the las-pistol off his hand nearly ripping his arm off in the process.
"You can believe me or not, but I am here to help. If you do not believe me, then believe what you saw I did. I laid waste to near a hundred of your foes besetting you without batting a sweat. I am your best bet to winning this war and I would not have you waste good lives trying to get rid of me when you can be using said lives to fight the Xeno invaders instead," Fulgrim says coldly at the Commissar who breaks into a cold sweat at having his face so close to the Primarch.
"I-I believe you," says the Commissar finally before letting his sabre down. "Are you really a son of the god-emperor of Mankind?" Fulgrim can almost feel a desperate hope from the man as if he wants to believe it but simply does not want to in fear of being disappointed.
"Yes, I am. And I come now in your darkest hour to aid you against the alien, the traitor and the heretic," says Fulgrim regally. Like the original one, he has a bearing that makes everyone in awe at him. For the men at the hangar, it looks almost as if the legends have come to life.
"Then you are badly missed my lord," says the Commissar bowing to him and also the men who are in the hangar who starts to trickle out from their hiding places. "The Imperium sorely needs you and it would be good news once word goes out that a son of the Emperor is walking with us all again,"
"It would, but first let us liberate this world," says Fulgrim gesturing for his companion to follow who immediately tries to only to pause as sixty las-rifles points at her. She hisses at the direction of Fulgrim.
"Be at peace mortals. This is Jain Zar, she is an Eldar and a sanctioned Xeno. She has been my companion through thick and thin. You have nothing to fear from her,"
"Oh you have everything to fear," he hears the Eldar mutter beneath her breathe but he ignores it as the Comissar looks at him and the Eldar back and forth.
"You have a Xeno as your companion my lord?" he asks hesitatingly at him.
"Yes and she is a great fighter as you all have seen, she will serve my father and humanity well," says Fulgrim ignoring the mutterings of the Eldar about her not serving anyone.
"Very well, if you say so my lord," says the Comissar haltingly, his face still unsure as he looks warily at Jain Zar then back at him.
"Good, though first things first Comisssar. Tell me, what is this planet's name and what are the forces assailing you?" asks Fulgrim.
"The planet's name my lord?"
"Yes, the planet's name, focus," says Fulgrim pulling the attention of the man away from the Eldar and back to him.
"Well my lord. The planet's name is Ritzbir. This is a Hive World though we have been slowly fortifying it under the orders of Lord Guilliman as all planets should be ever since the Cicatrix Maledictum," he explains.
"Guilliman? My brother's alive?" asks Fulgrim as unbidden memories of the original Fulgrim about nearly murdering the Avenging son comes to the forefront of his mind.
"Yes my lord. The Archmagos Belisarius Cawl have brought Guilliman back from stasis Emperor be praised," says the man. "He has been given the title of Lord Commander of the Imperium and currently his Indomitus Crusade is blazing through Imperium Nihilus to liberate the worlds there at the darker part of the Imperium,"
"Imperium Nihilus, what is it Comissar?" asks Fulgrim not aware of what the name is.
"The dark part of the Imperium my lord, it is the part of the galaxy at the wrong side of the Light of the Emperor and it is the name that it is given in this Era Indominatus,"
"I see, and what about this part? The one with the Emperor's light. What is it called Comissar?" asks Fulgrim.
"This part my lord? The Imperium Sanctus,"
"I see, and the reason why the Imperium is cut in two is because of the Cicatrix Maledictum which is a…..?" he looks questioningly at the man.
"The Eye of Terror my lord. It has spewed out like a river cutting the galaxy in half. It darkens the Emperor's light or so the rumors say from the higher ups that we have heard about my lord,"
"I see," Fulgrim sighs resisting the urge to smile. It seems that his time of escaping is perfect. With the Imperium so embattled, it surely would need the help of a Primarch to bring it back up from its knees again. The only thing however that he needs to do is to make sure that he makes enough of an impact that would prevent the Avenging Son from nailing his head once word gets out that the Primarch Fulgrim is abroad and are saving lives. He is under no impression that whatsoever reunion with Guilliman would be awkward at best and disastrous at worst. The Avenging Son would surely remember the sins of the original Fulgrim and would not hesitate on putting it on his shoulders. The only thing that can stave it off is reputation and deeds.
"This Xeno that you are fighting Comissar, tell me about them," Fulgrim genially says. First things first. He's going to save this planet of Ritzbir from the Xeno problem it has.
…
Author's Note:
So another chapter done. Hopefully again I did not disappoint. As usual please review for the reviews are the song to this writer's heart. Also comment about things that you know about Fulgrim and how he fights, how he thinks how he looks, so that I can incorporate it.