I have done it. Sorry, Tide. It had to be done.
Tide: It didn't have to be done. I would rather juggle trying to give therapy to Kalak and the assassins. Also, what is this direction the omake is taking? I know 40K is pretty inconsistent, but this is turning everything upside-down!
Yeah, this was supposed to just be therapy, but like the last omake, it goes in such a bizarre TTS-type direction. Let me know how you feel about these omakes and if they're too eccentric or something.
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
"Tide, are you alright?"
There was a shift and Tide's awareness became clear. The ticking of the metronome continued on, but it was no longer his focus.
"No." He had considered his words, deciding there would be no point in lying. "Unfortunately, no."
"Has something come up?" Aliciel asked.
"Yes. And you are not going to like it. Certainly not any more so than I."
"Tide, you're starting to worry me now. I can feel your anxiety radiating off you in waves."
The Unfallen form took in a deep breath and sighed before conjuring two chairs sitting across from each other. "Take a seat, Aliciel. I'll try to explain the situation to you. I will have to explain it to everyone else that is aware of me."
The Sister of Battle eyed the chair warily, then she looked back up at Tide. "I think I will stay standing. I'll sit if I need to."
"Very well." Tide paused as he considered his next words carefully. "Aliciel, have I ever told you that there are others like me?"
Her eyes went wide; he hadn't mentioned that before. While she had considered the possibility, it was hard to imagine that there were others like Tide. Some sort of species that could grow and infect as Tide did, whilst possessing the ability to use the Neural Physics that he had described to all of them.
"No. And that you have brought it up has me even more concerned. Why?"
"Well, let me tell you what I know. In another universe, beyond the reach of the Warp, similar yet different, the Galaxy was visited by a race known as the "Precursors". The ancient societies who knew of them believed that the Precursors were responsible for seeding the Galaxy with life. The Flood is technically an offshoot of the Precursors, which is why I am able to use Neural Physics, because I am technically a Precursor, at least on a fundamental level. Though I would not be surprised if a Precursor proper would make me seem like an infant in comparison."
"Truly?" Aliciel whispered, frowning slightly as her eyes narrowed.
She was aware that Tide, that the Flood, could grow substantially stronger, both in biomass and intelligence. Everyone who knew Tide was awareness of these mechanics at least, and that the more intelligent and "aware" Tide began, the more he was able to achieve through Neural Physics. And Tide himself had admitted that both the Gods of Chaos and the Emperor of Mankind were still far more powerful than him.
But this was different. Aliciel and many others had been taught about the powers of the Emperor and Chaos. It was much easier to believe that either were mightier than Tide, even if that was due to "education". Hearing that there were more of Tide's race out there, more practiced in Neural Physics to the point where Tide was hardly even a child... It boggled the mind, and she could not help but wonder how these "Precursors" would compare to the Gods of Warp, or even the Emperor himself.
"I am afraid there's more." Tide disrupted her train of thought. "I should explain to you what I know about the Precursors, such as their power and how they lived. You may want to sit for what comes next."
"How much more is there?" The Sister asked, glancing down at the chair in front of her. "Do you believe that these Precursors may become a threat?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that. Please, sit down. I'm still struggling to believe all this myself."
This time, she didn't question it. She sat down, steeling herself for whatever came next.
"Now, I've come to believe that the Precursors weren't like most societies you'd know. As far as I know, they were equals. Not just in opportunity, but in power. They didn't have leaders because they didn't require leaders. They had no military because they didn't wage war, or rather they wouldn't have to wage war in the conventional sense. I'm not sure what limits they would've had, but to my knowledge, they could wield Neural Physics to such a degree that they could shape and move entire Galaxies."
That had Aliciel's "body" seizing up as her heart dropped. Again, she was aware that Tide could grow significantly stronger, but being able to move Galaxies? An entire race that could achieve such feats, even if this was their limit? As far as she knew, even Chaos could not achieve this. Hell, much of their power came from the thoughts and emotions of countless sentient beings, yet they never demonstrated being able to do anything like this.
"I'm sorry. There's more."
"Of course there is." Aliciel hissed, feeling herself relax as time seemed to accelerate. No doubt so that she could recover quickly. "I know you're telling the truth as well. But why tell us now? What is coming, Tide?"
"Let me finish. You see, the Precursors did not have a typically unifying culture, besides the Mantle of Responsibility, which essentially states that the most powerful or advanced should look after all Life. Some ancient societies have followed the Mantle in a way similar to gardeners, and will deal with the "weeds" however they will. The Precursors, on the other hand, were more of forest-keepers. They would not necessarily condemned the "weeds", as they believed in Sweetness, that the good and the bad were necessary for life. But now all followed the concept of the Mantle. There was at least one that I know of who seems to be an antithesis of the Precursors. Whereas the Precursors could be described as benevolent, this one was very eccentric and sometimes very malicious, doing whatever they desired with no care for life, especially when they had the power to just restore that life. They could not truly imprison or destroy another Precursor, but they did their best to reign this one in when they had to."
"Should we be worried that this one will wreak havoc, then? Is that why you are telling me this?" Aliciel felt as though she was submerged in a sea of anxiety, a sea that was spilling out from both her and Tide. "What you are describing sounds as if it may be even worse the combined might of the Ruinous Powers and every other fiend in this Galaxy."
"Perhaps. I am wary, because even in a limited form like mine, this Precursor would be inherently more intelligent and knowledgeable. But that is not my only concern. You see, apart from being eccentric, he is also very hateful. He's developed a hatred for this Galaxy in particular, especially the Imperium and the Ruinous Powers. And he's been forced to be... helpful. On top of all of that, I think the Precursors wanted to see if I could bring out the good in him, however little it may be, by helping him reconcile with his... "human" son. And perhaps Humanity as a whole, because as it turns out, he is the one who created Humanity."
Before Aliciel could even fathom what sort of emotions she was feeling, Tide decided to drop yet another bomb on her.
"I should also mention that he's apparently the Father of the Emperor of Mankind. So, there's also that to consider."
She had no mouth, yet she still screamed.
"Well... That could have gone better." Tide muttered as she stared at Aliciel's motionless form. It seemed she would need even more therapy now, which would be required for anyone else who learned what she had. Tide himself at least had the benefit of processing all this through tens of billions of mind, but it was a small comfort. "Now I have to figure out how to get the Primordial and the Emperor to reconcile."
"Are you ready, Aliciel? I know it's all very overwhelming."
"Ready? Ready to meet the Emperor of Mankind himself? Ready to meet his apparent malicious and godlike father? No, I do not see why any of it would be overwhelming." Aliciel said, her tone laced with sarcasm. "And I am so glad you invited me to join you for this "session"."
"I need moral support. And if it helps, just think of him as an asshole." Tide nodded. "Speaking of, here they are now."
"Hey, Neoth. Is that who I think it is?"
"Please shut the fuck up." The Emperor said.
"A Bride of the Emperor, they were originally called, yes? I did not think you would have been harem-building."
Oh boy. Tide thought to himself as he glanced over and saw Aliciel blushing and looking away.
"No! I was not building a harem!"
"Oh. Really? It's one thing I wouldn't have been disappointed about. After all, sex is just sex, and only backwards people of faith actually believe it to be any sacred or something. But I guess that's how you feel."
"I do not approve of religion or the idea of sacred sex! Please shut up!"
Tide sighed. "I better step in. Primordial, Emperor, please settle down. You're technically in my mind, so I would really appreciate it if you could both be civil."
"Fine."
"Okay. So, how does this start?" The Primordial asked, his massive serpent-like Gravemind form somehow taking up a majority of the "space" in Tide's Domain. At least he wasn't putting his tentacles on the coffee table Tide had set up.
"Well, I was thinking I could ask about how you are Neoth's father and how your relationship started." Tide replied.
"Very well. Long ago in this universe, I arrived on Earth," as the Primordial spoke, he changed their surroundings and showed an open field with a large apple tree at its center. "and got bored. Then I decided to try and have some fun. Earth was devoid of humans and intelligent life in general, but it would often be visited and cared for by someone you all know as Isha."
...
"Don't tell me-
"Yep. Isha is your biological mother, Neoth. Where do you think your Warp-based "soul" and psyker power comes from when there were no "shamans" to fuse into you?"
"Wait, you always insist that anything from the Warp is imaginary. And yet you're saying that-"
"Your mother is as real as you or me. She was once originally an Elder, one of the first Elder. In the beginning, they had psychic power rather than psyker powers, until they decided to form a connection to the Warp. Isha and the other Elder Gods were once real Elder. They are kinda like you."
"Great, now I don't know what to think, knowing that Isha is my mother. Why didn't she ever say anything? I get that you are just an asshole and didn't care, but what about her? She's always been describe as an ideal loving mother."
"Tide... What is happening right now?" Aliciel whispered to him as she stared at the two godlike beings, trying to process everything she had heard.
"I honestly don't know. The moment I found out that the Primordial created Humanity, well, it threw everything I thought I knew about this Galaxy out the window." Tide admitted. "And unfortunately, I know there's more to come."
"She couldn't. Apparently, the other Elder Gods didn't like me and forbid Isha from seeing you. Believe me, she tried, even sent feelings of love and comfort to you in order to give you some kind of anchor. Then Khaine tried to kill the Eldar, the sadomasochist revolution happened, and you know the rest. If it makes you feel any better, your imaginary enemies, even if they were real, could never truly break her. Both because she knows that her son is out there and still fighting, and even after all this time, she still fondly remembers our time together. Nurgle cannot compete with me, despite all his attempts to woo her."
"... I don't know how to feel about that. On one hand, I'm even angrier at the Four Tumors and the Eldar for taking my mother from me. But I'm also disturbed by the thought that Nurgle can't compete with you. Not that he could really compete with anyone. Seriously, you need to crease and desist right now. I don't want to picture how anyone could," the Emperor looked his father's Gravemind form up and down, "do I even need to say it."
"And that's another thing that disappoints me, son. You're phased so easily. Granted, I know it's strange to conventional folks, but come on! You insist that the Warp is hellish, chaotic, nightmare fuel, yet the little things still get you. Of course, if it's less about how I look and more about the fact that this is your father and your mother, then I understand that much. Kids are always so disgusted and embarrassed by their parents. Even when it's just-"
"Please shut the fuck up!"
"Any ideas about what I should do?"
Tide asked.
"Tide... I think I'd rather try and hug Kalak to see if that gets through to him. Otherwise, I am not going anywhere near this..." Aliciel gestured towards the Primordial and the Emperor. "Whatever this is. In fact, I'm going now."
"Welp, there goes my moral support." Tide took a deep breath before coughing. "Okay, that has revealed a lot to me. As in, a lot of contradictions, even though Neoth's origins were pretty much a mystery. So, let's try and work with what we have so far, shall we?"
"We didn't even make it to the part about our father-son relationship." The Primordial objected.
"What relationship? You were completely absent from my life! That's probably why I was a poor father myself!" The Emperor snapped. "All you've said so far is that you had a one-night stand with my mother, she was forced away from me, and you did nothing afterwards! This whole time, I thought I was the product of literal Primordial Soup, like what birthed life on Terra!"
"Well, I did technically sire life on Earth. Just with technology."
"Seriously, if you were so disappointed in me, why didn't you try and do anything? I'm only your "failure" because you didn't raise me at all!"
"I considered that, but you seemed to be doing alright. I'll admit, I should've done more, but the past is the past. I'd consider time travel, but that tends to make things a lot more complicated. So, you know, better to mend than to undo in this instance."
"What are you even gonna do? Play catch with me for the first time in my life? A little late for that, Dad. We don't even have baseballs anymore!"
"I'll just make one." The Primordial insisted. "Or we could use a daemon head?"
"You know, trying things out together could help." Tide said. "You both know each other, but I don't think you both understand each other. You're already honest, so maybe just take the time to consider things and try making happy memories if you're willing?"
"I'm doubtful, but at this point, why not? We're stuck together, apparently."
The Emperor said.
"Pretty much. My brothers and sisters will not let me leave until we've reconciled. Or until this Galaxy is fixed the long way."
"Let me guess, you would rather use the Flood to consume it, then replace it all?"
"Yep."
"Well, this seems to be going well." Tide said, feeling hopeful about the situation for the first time. "I wonder how they would actually go about bonding, though?"
2 Hours Later
"This is cool!" The Emperor exclaimed from atop the Primordial colossal form as he fired the large plasma cannon batteries at a Great Unclean One, melting away its entire form.
"How do you like my machine gun, you melee pussios!" The Primordial laughed manically as he wielded a giant, triple-barrel Gatling gun firing 240mm rounds at a Bloodthrister and dozens of Berserkers, literally tearing them to shreds. "You're Build-a-God can't save you from me!"
"Build-a-God?"
"Why not? They made it like, and Khorne as scary as a build-a-bear."
"I'll have to remember that one." The Emperor said as he aimed and fired the plasma batteries at another Unclean One. "How are there so many of them?"
"They're probably desperate. Still dreaming that they're real beings and gods on top of that. Time to wake them up."