The Multiverse Project: Warhammer 40,000

Thirty minutes earlier

"We die standing."

Tangmo drew his broadsword as the column of Union blue Chimeras and Leman Russes rolled toward them. This shit totally sucks, but at least they'll be close enough for him to hit with his sword.

"All heavy batteries forward," Tangmo tapped his earbud and relayed what could possibly be his last command. "We're not dinning alone in hell tonight, brace for contact!"

"Destroy the two communication Chimeras on the right, they're relaying orders from the high command to every regiment on the northern front. Take them out and the army will be thrown into total disarray."

"…What the fuck, who the fuck is this?!" Tangmo bellowed at the unfamiliar, Texan voice blaring in his earbud. Did the frequency got fucked or something?

"This is colonel Joanna," the woman identified herself. "And if you wish to remain alive for the foreseeable future, I suggest you heed my words."

"How fucking stupid do you think I am?!" Tangmo shouted back, drawing a confused look from Leilatha and Raine. "You want us to split our forces, don't you?! Make it nice and easy for your Leman Russes to kill us?! I'm not falling for that shit!"

"Listen to me you fucking idiot! I'm risking my life and that of my men to help your sorry ass, so how about a little cooperation?!" Joanna shot back tastily, "do as I say and make it quick, I can't shield this channel for long."

"Oh yeah? How about I just let your friends know you betrayed them?" Tangmo said snidely. "I wouldn't mind seeing you shitheads cannibalize each other."

"Because they'll wipe both of us out and turn this planet into a daemon world!" Joanna yelled at him.

"Wait, what?!" Okay, now that got Tangmo's attention.

"The Sororitas are trapped inside the cathedral right now!" Joanna went on quickly. "They're gonna get sacrifice to the Dark Gods!"

Tangmo was silent for a moment, "how do I know you're not lying?"

"Because I love my home," the vulnerability in Joanna's voice was surprisingly stark. "Syrathel tricked us, we were fool, and I stand here admitting that. Please, we've made a mistake, so let us make our penance before it's too late."

He needed time to think, which was more or less impossible what with all the screaming, the dying and the explosion raging around him like ten metal bands, from ten different subgenres, performing at the same time. But despite the pressing urgency, the gears in Tangmo's head begin to turn, greased up by what little information he was given and a healthy dosage of sentimentality, because Joanna really did sounded genuine in her plight. Goddamn it, why did he had to be such a fucking softie?!

"Where's the communication Chimeras?" Tangmo asked.

"Your two o'clock, the ones with the antennas and satellite dishes piled on top," well what do you know, the ugly APCs were right there. Maybe Joanna isn't lying after all.

"Concentrate fire on those two Chimeras," Tangmo pointed at the targets. "Bring those motherfuckers down, all guns on them, quickly!"

"You cannot seriously trust her!" Leilatha snapped at Tangmo, unbelieving of what he just did.

"We don't have a choice!" Tangmo countered the same moment rockets and plasma slammed into the communication Chimeras, brilliantly blue fire liquefied the metal hull, men and iron alike boiled and bubbled before melting into indistinguishable, smoldering heap. The moment the two Chimeras died, the Union blue Antebellan war machines veered away from the besieged Immortal Spirit battlegroup and attacked their countrymen. The task was swift and terrible, the dumbstruck grey Antebellan were torn apart with brutal precision. Sheathing his sword, Tangmo, the commissars and the colonels strode up to a blue Chimera that had rolled to a stop in front of them. Joanna emerged from the hatch and swiftly climbed down the side, now dressed like a Yankee as opposed to the dead Dixies sprawled around her.

"Holy goddamn, I didn't expect you to fuck them up like that," Tangmo and Joanna exchanged salute.

"It had to be done," Joanna didn't look happy in the least.

"Joanna?" Akecheta emerged from the crowd and Joanna's hard exterior dissolved into joy and relief.

"Oh Akecheta," in front of the battlegroup and her own men, Joanna threw herself into Akecheta waiting arms, both embracing each other like a Disney hero and heroine at the climax of the movie. They locked eyes and closed the distant between their lips.

"Okay, we don't have time for this Color of the Wind crap," Tangmo stomped up to the pair and physically pushed the lovers apart like an evil stepfather, at least the two colonels had the decency to look bashful. "Now can someone please tell me, in the most concise manner, what in the actual fuck is going on?!"

"Last I heard from the skitarii, the canonesses and about four hundred Sororitas have been captured," Joanna said. "Syrathel, along with lady Azarvhin and mistress Miriael Sabathiel, are now in the process of sacrificing them to the Dark Gods. If they succeed, a Warp portal will tear Tera-Antebella asunder."

"Wait, Miriael Sabathiel is here?!" Tangmo exclaimed, "the Slaanesh Champion?!"

"She's a what?!" Joanna squawked. "Merciful Throne, I only thought she was some indecent cultist!"

"Did she touch you anywhere?!" Tangmo took a step back from Joanna.

"I always high tail it when she's close," Joanna shivered. "Ugh, I knew there was something wrong with her."

"Okay, so it looks like there's a couple of super powerful Chaos Champions inside the cathedral," Tangmo brought the conversation back on track. "And you need our help to stop them."

"Exactly," Joanna nodded quickly.

"This seems all too convenient," Krillen stepped forward, lasgun held at the ready. "I still think this is a trap."

"It's not!" Joanna was angst. "I'm telling y'all the truth! I need your help to save my planet. I already told you Syrathel's plan and my own regiment just went rouge, what more do I need to do to get y'all to believe me?!"

"I can vouch for her, lord commissar," Akecheta took his place beside the exasperated Joanna, a powerful sentinel coming to her support. "Colonel Joanna is a good woman who always strives to do what is right and will risk even her own life to bring justice to the wronged. She might have fought us these past few weeks, but she was only following orders, a duty to her homeland, a duty she now cast aside to help us. Those of ill repute will never make such a sacrifice."

"A glowing testimony, colonel Akecheta," Leilatha was far from impressed. "In better time, I might have been moved, but given the current situation you must forgive me for being skeptical."

"Alright, enough, we can do this I don't trust you shit all day and it won't get us anywhere," Tangmo made a decision then, let's just hope it's a good one. "What's the plan Joanna?"

"My blue allies already got the cathedral's side entrance secure," Joanna said. "The corridor is large enough to accommodate three Chimeras trudging abreast. We will make our way into the great worship chamber, stop Syrathel from performing the ritual and rescue the Sororitas, easy right?"

"You want us to fight our way back through the enemy's line again?" Evangeline deadpanned.

"You're already at the enemy's line, behind it actually," Joanna pointed at the cathedral looming behind her, and it was only now that Tangmo noticed how close the damn thing was. "Your little caravan has been running around in circles for a while now, that's why it took me so long to find y'all."

"What about our wounded?" Commissar Raine asked.

"Our armor battalion can escort them to your line," Joanna offered. "The fight has dissolved into total chaos. We can use the confusion to plow our way out."

"Don't make me regret this," Tangmo tapped his earbud. "Prepare the injured for a medivac, get everyone inside six Chimeras and chart a course eastward. Be advised that a splinter faction of the Antebellan, these one clad in blue, will be joining the escort team, keep a wary eye on them but don't do anything unless they shoot us first. As for the rest of us, we're heading into the cathedral, time to rescue the princesses from the evil dragonesses. Let's fucking go!"

Hearty 'yes sirs!' answered Tangmo as he gave Leilatha's shoulder a firm squeeze, "I'm going with Joanna."

Leilatha nodded sharply and Tangmo sprinted after Joanna, it wasn't until he was shoulder to shoulder with her that she noticed him.

"Commissar Tangmo?!" Joanna spun around with a start.

"You seriously think I'm gonna let you walk off alone?" Tangmo grinned nastily.

"Still don't trust me?" Joanna scoffed.

"Damn right I still don't trust you," Tangmo said. "And I'm sticking with you like a shadow until we reach the cathedral, because if you fuck us, I'm gonna fucking kill you, slowly."

"Fair enough," Joanna shrugged.

Now

"Awaken, my guardsmen!"

Sliding the microphone into his belt, Tangmo unslung his lasgun and fired from the hip at the Chaos Sisters fleeing across the colosseum size cathedral. Goddamn it, shooting things while striking a JoJo pose was really hard, it looked epic as hell though, even if he missed every shot. When his lasgun clicked empty, Tangmo leapt down the Chimera, landing like a superhero of course, and joined the impromptu battle line between the APCs, the Myrmidons and Tauros acting as barricades.

"Are you insane?!" Joanna yelled as she joined the other main characters, the battlegroup were laying down a savage barrage on the Chaos Sisters, but the stone pillars, over turned benches and Syrathel's rippling energy shield was proving really hard to crack.

"I'm passionate!" Tangmo reloaded then drew his mic. "Ladies, get off your asses now!"

That snapped the Battle Sisters out of their collective stupor. The nuns swiftly rose to their feet and made a beeline for the guardsmen. One group broke off to help six, bloody, naked woman, who Tangmo assumed were the canonesses, while another rushed for a Battle Sister who was holding a hospitaller close to her chest, and surprise, surprise, its Miriya and Verity.

"This way! Come on!" Tangmo bellowed into his mic and waved the two groups over. "Give them covering fire!"

Syrathel's energy shield roiled like a storm wall as the battlegroup poured lasbolts, rockets, bolts and plasma at the Chaos Sororitas's position, what return fire they can mustered were sad, stuttering thing. So predictably, the Battle Sisters managed to join Tangmo unscathed. Not quite the right word in hindsight, because the Chaos Sisters already fucked them up pretty bad.

"By the Throne above, corpsman!" Raine threw her jacket off and quickly draped it over the shivering, barely conscious Galatea. Leilatha, Evangeline and several of the Wind Walker also donated their coats and cloaks to the canonesses, more to preserve the women's dignity than anything as a team of medics quickly see to the many bleeding wounds.

"Please tell me they're going to live," Tangmo cast a quick look at the canonesses.

"The wounds are deep and severe, but they missed all the major arteries and organs," Ryvin worked on the canonesses with artful swiftness. "And to answer your question, yes, I can stabilize them. I worked through worse than this."

"My man," Tangmo grinned then turned to Miriya's squad, who were being tended by Kuronese and Mordian medics. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Well enough," Isabel winced when an alcohol soaked ball of gauze was dapped across a gash on her brow, her right eye rolling and twitching. "But I think one of my eyes is malfunctioning."

"If we make it out alive, we'll get you new ones," Tangmo eyed the battered Sororitas. "Can you fight?"

"We are not that easily beaten, commissar," Cassandra try to make a brave face, but the sluggish grimace was really ruining it.

"And you made that abundantly clear," Krillen's remark was not received well by the sisters, but before they can say anything the Cadian colonel pressed on. "Where are your weapons?"

"The skitarii took them," Danae, the redheaded Asian, pointed at the Chaos Sister's line, the little gesture causing her to hiss in pain. "We were disarmed when the Mechanicus disable our power armors with their techno sorcery."

"Are your power armors functioning now?" Kenshin asked.

"Barely," Aemilia's attempt to flex her arms was painfully lethargic.

"Christ almighty," still firing with one hand, Tangmo drew his data-pad from his awesome commissar coat and flipped it open. "Albert, Mary, the Sororitas power armor got hack yo, help them."

"Let me see," at Albert's command, Tangmo handed his data-pad to Cassandra. "Hold up the screen toward you, like that, yes, thank you…yep, they got hacked alright. Hot damn, those are some nasty looking viruses and malwares."

"Can you help us?" Cassandra asked.

"No problem, we'll just put up a firewall, isolate the various infected partitions and clean them, this shouldn't take more than a minute…"

"Incoming!" Not a moment after Meko bellowed those words, a storm of plasma and missiles bombarded their position, killing two Antebellan Chimeras and an Immortal Spirit MKII variant while the Chaos Sisters gleefully gunned down the survivors. Not far from where Tangmo and the main characters were hunkered down a row of Myrmidon jeeps got consumed by a melta beam, the Cadian squad taking cover behind it was annihilated.

"Motherfucking cyborg motherfuckers!" Tangmo bellowed and sprayed the cog sons of bitches with las. Syrathel's shield negated the intended effect however and the skitarii remained unharmed.

"That's a redundant statement," Lingxin observed.

"But accurate nonetheless," Leilatha reloaded her laspistol. "What's the plan, Tangmo?"

"Honestly, I didn't think we'll get this far. I thought she was gonna betray us," Joanna stuck her tongue out and blew him a raspberry. "So we're just winging it now."

"That's reassuring," Isabel laughed mirthlessly.

"Hey! We just bailed your high and mighty asses out of the fire, so shut the hell up!" Tangmo spat at the scoffing sister.

"And…there! The Sororitas power armor should be a hundred percent clean now," at Mary announcement the Sisters of Battle stirred. Their movement fluid and unhampered, every gear and salvo working efficiently, "and as an added bonus…"

Explosions erupted behind the Chaos Sororitas's line and the battlegroup mercilessly exploited the brief opening in Syrathel's shield. Through the sparks and smokes, Tangmo saw the twitching, flailing skitariis dying a fiery death.

"By the Emperor, what is happening?!" Orhul bellowed.

"We traced the viruses back to its source," Albert spoke as Cassandra handed the data-pad back to Tangmo. "We gave them a taste of their own medicine and initiate the self-destruct sequence. Those stupid cavemen didn't stand a chance."

"You're a life saver dude, thank you," Tangmo slid the data-pad back into his awesome commissar coat and glanced at Miriya who was still cradling Verity tight in her arms. "Ryvin, check on them please."

"Don't touch her!" Miriya growled and the medic bolted back like he was shot.

"Yo, chill the fuck out we're just trying to help!" Tangmo said sharply.

"It's okay Miriya," Verity stirred and started prying herself from Miriya's arms, her movement fatigued. "I don't want to be a burden."

"You're still weak," Miriya said as Verity got into a crouch.

"I'll be fine Miriya," Verity made that vividly clear by flopping on her face the moment she tried to rise. Ignoring Miriya's cry of distress, Ryvin dashed to Verity's side and helped her up.

"Easy there sister," Ryvin took a plastic bottle from his satchel, twist the top open and held the tip to Verity's mouth. "Drink this, slowly."

"Will she be alright?" Tangmo knelt down beside Miriya after taking a few pot shots at Syrathel's Warp shield. "We all saw what that Chaos bitch was trying to do…did it get that far?"

"No," Miriya shook her head firmly. "Thank you."

"Huh?" Tangmo wasn't sure he heard that right, were the bullets and las distorting the sound or did Miriya just thanked him?

"If you haven't shown up…" Miriya shivered but steeled herself quickly. "You saved her from indignation while I proved myself to be an inadequate protector, and for that you have my gratitude."

"Don't say that!" Verity pushed the bottle from her mouth and frown, having regained some of her strength. "Miriael would have killed me if you haven't stopped her."

"But I failed," Miriya went on sullenly. "And she almost raped you because of it."

"But you never gave up," Verity reached her hand out and clasped it with Miriya's own. The hospitaller's smile was tired but meaningful. "You never gave up on me, not even when all hope was gone. Thank you Miriya, thank you."

"…You're welcome Verity," damn, Miriya's smile was super fucking cute.

"And here I thought things would be a lot more boring!"

"Everybody keep firing! Don't listen to that bitch!" Tangmo fought the Chaos Sister's booming resonance but yelling into his mic, the vox casters were more than enough to counter the Chaos fueled sound system.

"You must be the famous commissar Tangmo I've heard so much about, Syrathel couldn't stop talking about you!" The smooth, melodic voice rippled across the hall, a serenade amidst the tumultuous wails of war. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Miriael Sabathiel, please to make your acquaintance."

"Who?" Tangmo shot back.

"I am sure the Martyr Lady spoke highly of me," Miriael continued.

"Nope, never heard of you," Tangmo went on nonchalantly. "What are you, some kind of heretic cosplaying as a Sororitas?"

"You don't know who I am," annoyance tinged Miriael's tone.

"Seriously, am I supposed to know you?" Tangmo continued to be his assholish self. "I mean, I know all the big players like Abaddon and Ahriman. Guess you're not important enough to be on my radar."

"Then you shall know my name, lord commissar," the way Miriael said it was both horrifying and sexy, like a BDSM mistress bringing the riding crop down, "forward sisters!"

Marching leisurely out of Syrathel's protective shield came ranks upon ranks of Khornate and Slaanesh sisters, bolters blazing as they waded fearlessly into the battering hail of las. The firefight seemed to be evenly matched at first, with neither side making any headway in killing each other, until the heavy meltas and heavy bolters wielding bitches entered the fray. The hellish suppressing fire tore the barricades apart, balls of fire blossoming across the Immortal Spirit's line, consuming men and vehicles alike. Around Tangmo, squads and companies were tactically withdrawing to a more defensible position.

"Hold the line goddamn it!" Tangmo bellowed into his mic, stemming the retreat. "Stand your ground!"

"Forward sisters!" Miriael crooned sensually, eliciting a throaty laughter from the Slaanesh sisters and an angry roar from their Khornate counterpart. "Let them taste the ecstasy of pain! Make them writhe in the joy of release! Sing to them the thousand songs of depthless pleasure! Touch them with…"

"Terror! Swells inside your hearts!" Tangmo sang into the mic, knocking it out of the park with his epic tenor. "Death calls! To your flesh and blood!"

Roaring ovation erupted from the embattled guardsmen, heralding thunderous barrages that crashed into the Chaos Sororitas, the tsunami of metal and fire was so powerful that the evil bolter bitches were pushed back across the chamber.

"Get the Zodd lasgun forward! Lay it on them!" Tangmo handed his Zetton lasgun to Miriya, grabbed the mic with both hands and belted out the next verse.

"I erase my foe, pulverize their bones, tear them limb from limb! Let my name be feared, let my blade be smeared, with the blood of kings and warhearts!"

The blood red salvo of the Zodd lasguns were super effective against the Chaos Sororitas, the crimson beams shattering armors and punching through ceramite plates with satisfying ease. Soon the Slaanesh and Khornate line started to crumble as more and more women fell to the unceasing laser and Tangmo's powerful voice.

"You will face your demise! Heed the warning of Zodd the Immortal! Bound to fight, kill and die, nothing can stop this tide! The ultimate sacrifice!"

Commissar Severina Raine, the Sisters of Battle and the stirring canonesses all gawked at him, mouths agape like beached fish gasping for air, unbelieving of how Tangmo had just shattered all established notion of what a commissariat was supposed to be. The Immortal Spirit battlegroup and the Ultramar Auxilia however, cheered the kickass-tastic performance thunderously. Tangmo wanted nothing more than to bask in the adoration of his fans, but the Chimeras were floating off the ground. Yeah, that doesn't look good. Before he can even comprehend what was happening, the dozen or so flying Chimeras crashed into each other, reducing them to hulking scraps of metals, before getting dashed across the ground, the broken war machines catching fire and exploding, marring the smooth marble floor with burning skid marks. With only the battered Myrmidons and Tauros remaining, the battlegroup was looking pretty naked and vulnerable right now. And the Khornate and Slaanesh sisters saw it.

"Kill them," Syrathel strode to where the canonesses were crucified moments ago. "I shall proceed with the summoning ritual."

"She didn't like your performance," Cassandra made her snarky comment.

"That bitch has shit taste," Tangmo reached underneath his shirt, the task made somewhat difficult by the breastplate fastened to his chest, but he managed to fish out the obsidian amulet from before. Remembering what R&D had told him, Tangmo flicked the switches and turned the knobs on the oval metallic frame until he heard a click before stuffing it back inside his shirt.

"What is that?" Kenshin asked.

"According to R&D, it supposedly creates a null void around me," Tangmo said. "These were made from the Black Stone shards we found on Zyrien. This thing should sever the Warp connection between this world and the Immaterium."

"Will it work?" Evangeline ducked down beside him after spraying a Khornate sister full of las.

"Shit, I don't know," Tangmo glanced hurriedly around. "Do you guys feel anything? Nausea, anger, revulsion?"

"No," Luva shook her head. "Are we supposed to?"

"Well, yeah, you're supposed to feel something," Tangmo grimaced and started tapping his breastplate, maybe a few knocks will get it working somehow?

"What's the plan?" Leilatha spoke up.

"Get the backup Myrmidons and Chimeras to the front, we can't afford to yield the chamber," Tangmo looked around and wasn't exactly thrill with the sight of the reinvigorated Chaos Sisters advancing on them. "Hold the line and give your spare weapons to the Sororitas, we need all guns blazing."

To Tangmo's surprise, the Immortal Spirit guardsmen obeyed his command without a fuss. He had been ready for grumbles, evil eyes and general unpleasantness, but with surprising amicability the guardsmen quickly share their sidearms or spare lasguns with the Sororitas, who nodded gratefully and quickly took position besides them.

"What's next?"

"Covering fire!" Tangmo vaulted over the barricade as light erupted across the battle line, the barrage was so powerful that the Chaos Sororitas's attack faltered and ceased in some places. All the better for Tangmo because his path toward Syrathel was clear. Veering right, and dodging whistling bolts and las, Tangmo hauled ass across the chamber at a dead sprint, his arm moving like a hundred-meter dash athlete.

"Tangmo, you stupid fucking bastard!" Leilatha furious admonition was lost in the wind as Tangmo closed in on Syrathel, the sorceress's sideway glance was both surprised and amused. So convinced of her invincibility, Syrathel gloatingly spun to face him, all the while mouthing her incantation, the air above her taking on a sickly quality, rippling and glowing as reality sundered to the Immaterium intrusion. When he was three meters away from Syrathel, Tangmo leapt off his feet, tucked his knees to his chest like Finn Balor, and unleashed a running dropkick.

Tangmo and Syrathel locked eyes, their visages a reflection of the other's surprise when the dropkick knocked the sorceress off her feet with an undignified grunt, sending her crashing to the ground. Landing hard on his back, Tangmo sucked in a lungful of air and sprang back up, drew his sword, raised it high above his head and brought it down on the rising Syrathel. The woman caught the blow with the crown of her staff.

"How?!" Syrathel yelled and pushed herself up. Sparks flew as metal grated against steel. "You're not a blank!"

"What's life without a little mystery?" Tangmo shifted his grip, broke out of the deadlock, and Muay Thai kick Syrathel in the gut. The woman doubled over and staggered back, coughing for breath.

"Perfect! Now hold still!" Tangmo brought the sword down in a chopping arc, aiming for Syrathel's slender neck. She expertly parried the attack and thrust the staff at his face. He dodged out of the way just in time before getting his eyes gouged out by the bladed crown.

"What the fuck?!" Tangmo got into a serious kenjutsu stance. "I thought magic user was supposed to suck at melee!"

"I was in a militant order you idiot!" Syrathel growled and got into a European quarterstaff stance.

"Oh, right!" Tangmo started circling Syrathel. "Ain't gonna matter though, I'm still gonna kick your ass."

"Good luck with that," Syrathel sprung forward, and goddamn she's fast! Sparks danced to the ringing melody of clashing steel, Tangmo's sword and Syrathel's staff were two graceful storms colliding into each other, slashing, stabbing, lunging, neither gaining the upper hand, every attack met with sharp, skillful parries and blocks.

"Shit, I can do this all day!" Tangmo barked a breathless laugh after disengaging from a spectacularly beautiful bout. "Damn, you're good."

"You're not so bad yourself," Syrathel smirked, leaning on her staff and taking a deep lungful. "But I'm afraid our little dance will have to come to an end soon."

"Say what now?" Tangmo got his guard up.

"Look around you, commissar," Tangmo hazard a glance and shit, even with the Chimeras reforming the lines, the Chaos Sisters were still pushing hard against the battlegroup and the Sororitas. The four arms bitch from before was back, and this time she brought a friend with gigantic dragon wings to the party, the two of them were raising hell across the Ekkaroqian's ranks. "You're just delaying the inevitable. Your friends outside are surrounded, while those insides are getting destroy, it is only a matter of time before you are overwhelmed. Then I will have all the time in the galaxy to turn this planet into a daemon world. I'll even make you my pet, wouldn't that be grand?"

"No thank you!" Tangmo braced his leg for another charge. "And just so you know, my friends never say die!"

"We're gonna die," Henry deadpanned.

"Yeah, I think we've establish that twenty minutes ago," Damien slammed a new magazine into his bolter and sighed. "Christ almighty, that's the last one."

"Never thought I'll be running out of bullet," Henry glanced at the Zetton lasgun in his hand, the poor thing was on its last leg.

"I know, right? I mean, when does that ever happen?" Damien concurred.

"If the two of you are done mourning your ammo, maybe we can get back to the task at hand?!" Ladaee bellowed and gunned down an Antebellan climbing through a destroyed Leman Russ.

"Sorry!" Henry and Damien added their firepower to the mix, driving back another squad trying to make a break for the surrounded Immortal Spirit battlegroup hunkered amidst a graveyard of tanks that pretty much served as, more or less, their last stand. The grey clad Antebellan were scrambling back when the remaining Leman Russes, the Undertaker, the Evangelion and the King Ghidorah unleashed another concussive salvo, the far off explosion was reciprocated by a merciless bombardment that tore into their ranks, killing more guardsmen and tanks. Yep, things were bleak as hell.

"You know, you should really get back inside the King Ghidorah," Henry glanced at Ladaee.

"I told you, everything beside the weapon system is busted, I wasn't needed," Ladaee shot back. "And there's no way in hell I'm leaving you out here alone!"

"Me too!" Elpida chirped happily beside Ladaee, the girl was startlingly competent with a laspistol, a complete contrast to the weepy child he beat up on Kolasi. The memory made Henry winced.

"Just…be careful alright?" Henry trained his lasgun forward and peppered a scorched Tauros where a platoon of Antebellan was hiding behind, managing to catch one in the throat.

"It won't be long now, general Henry," Steelwall Janet mocking voice echoed across the battlefield, amplified by a dozen loud speakers that dotted the perimeter. "My offer still stand, surrender and I will show mercy."

"My answer remains the same Janet," Henry tapped his earbud. "So how about you go fuck yourself?"

"How admirable," Janet chuckled. "It has been an honor, general Henry. Goodbye." There was a moment of silence before Janet spoke up again, gone was the casual pleasantness and in its place a rumbling timbre that demanded nothing but obedience. "Forward my Steelwall brigade. In the name of the gods bring judgement upon our enemies. Kill every last one of them!"

The surrounding guns went silent and trumpets resounded, heralding the cadence of pounding feet that rose in volume with every passing second.

"Prepare for contact! It's a full on assault!" Henry shouted and braced his lasgun on the wrecked front hood of a Myrmidon jeep he and the main characters had taken cover behind, the clicks of priming weapons echoed down the line.

"Make ready sisters, absolution is at hand!" Sister Emmanis of the Ebon Chalice bellowed, the Sororitas's war cry rising in defiance against the nearing din of hurrah and yeehaw. She looked at Henry, then Damien, then at the Immortal Spirit battlegroup, and a frown marred her resolute determination. "Why are you all so calm?"

"This isn't the first time something like this happens to us," Damien shrugged. "We're kinda used to it."

"And I doubt it would be our last," Xiphos said and those within earshot murmured in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Emmanis demanded.

"To put it simply, there were many instances in our career where death was imminent," Xiphos went on, "yet we manage to survive or a divine intervention happens. From Kolasi, to Ghamarhon, to Jigugeum, it is usually moment like this before things somehow resolve itself."

"Aye, it's almost like a running theme for us," Bruce added.

"The Emperor's providence is with us," Hildebrandt made a sign of the aquila over his heart. "Our service to His majesty is not done."

"I eagerly await this miracle," Alistair managed a shaky grin, not daring to hope for the best.

"The Emperor protects," Emmanis intoned, her sisters echoing her statement.

"You better be right," lieutenant Khaleela hissed as she tightened a bloody bandage around Al-Rahman's right arm, the colonel squawking from the less than gentle ministration. "Any time now would be nice!"

"Welp, maybe if we survive this first wave," Henry managed a pitiful chuckle, one look at the Antebellan forward element and he knew the odds were against them.

"Look! Up in the sky!" Elpida yelled suddenly, pointing upward. Henry and Damien tore their eyes away from the approaching Antebellan and followed Elpida's stabbing finger and holy shit, something was actually cutting through the smoky sky, curvaceous and sleek like a sword.

"Is it a bird?" Al-Rahman asked.

"Is it a plane?" Emily shaded her eyes and looked up.

"No, it's…" Henry's eyes widened when the shapes became clearer.

"Eldars!" Damien shouted then waved at his Space Marine squad, all of whom were training their guns skyward. "No! Don't shoot them, they're on our side! Maybe? Probably?!"

"Everybody hold your fire!" Henry pressed his earbud and spluttered hurriedly. "Don't shoot them for Emperor's sake!"

Henry haven't even finished his sentence when the eldar's ships neatly got into a wedge formation and dived down like swooping eagles, bright twinkling silvery lights flashing from both port and starboard. It took Henry a moment to realize that they were gunning down the Antebellan with their shuriken guns. Henry and Damien were high fiving each other when a squadron of eldar anti-grav vehicles came to hover above them.

"Steady, hold your fire," Henry warned as cables cascaded down the side of the ships and figures started scaling down to join the guardsmen. First to enter the fray were eldar Guardians in their stupid, sexy form fitting armor, followed by Salahdin, Anaba, and the Tallarn and Ekkaroqian guardsmen who went with Laura to the webway gate. The one leading this contingent of eldar was a Ranger, who started waving friendlily at Henry.

"Hey Henry! It's good to see you again man!" A smile split Henry's face when he recognized the voice.

"Erik!? Dude!" Damien cried and wrapped the Swedish elf up in a crushing hug. The eldars raised their guns in alarm, causing the guardsmen to do the same. "Yo, I was wondering when you were gonna show up!"

"My back! My back!" Erik squeaked and Damien let him go. The Swede quickly pulled the black silken scarf from his face, revealing a handsome, bishonen face now beaded in sweat, his breathing quick as he stretched his back. "Goddamn, you're a Space Marine now…wait, hang on a minute."

Erik reached over his shoulder and smoothly drew his eldar sniper rifle, braced it, took about a second to aim down the iron sight and pulled the trigger, the shimmering quicksilver bullet shot passed a startled Moltke and Aileen, leaving a distorted trail that rippled softly in the air. Henry turned in time to see ten Antebellan, having been marching single file, folding in a boneless heap to the ground, mist of red drifted above them like departed spirits, the other soldiers, after getting over the shocks, quickly dashed for cover.

"Holy shit, nice shot," Henry commented and took his place beside Erik.

"Shouldn't have been lined up like that in this day and age," Erik shrugged.

"Alright people, listen up!" Damien turned to the gathered guardsmen, "the eldars are here to help us, so please be nice and don't do something stupid like shoot them. We're all friends now, Roboute Guilliman say so himself."

"So be it," Hildebrandt nodded and tapped his earbud to relay Damien's order, the other colonels doing the same.

"Okay, people and eldar alike, form up and prepare yourself, Johnny Reb and friends are coming," Henry and the guardsmen got into position. After a moment of hesitation, the eldars joined them, accompanying the Guardians were anti-grav heavy guns platforms and a company worth of Dark Reapers. Despite being smaller than the Space Marines, these dudes managed to give off a more menacing aura as they trained their Reaper Launcher at the Antebellan.

"Open fire! Mael dannan!" Erik opening shot was followed by a barrage of shuriken projectiles that sang a ghostly song across the battlefield, the melody shrill. The Antebellan were cut down like wheats before a scythe, the harvest terrible and bloody, the thoroughness of the killing left the guardsmen either angst or impressed. Sixty seconds after the barrage began, the Antebellan vanguard were destroyed. The eldar raised no cheer or war cry, instead going about reloading their weapons with silence solemnity.

"There will be more, make ready," Damien bellowed.

"Are you sure about that?" Erik grinned the same moment explosion erupted across the battlefield, the blooming flowers of fire spurred a platoon of Antebellan into the battlegroup's line of sight, absolute fear twisted their faces. Three of them died in a fountain of blood as a lithe figure leapt into their midst. Henry, with his limited knowledge on eldar's lore, didn't know what he was looking at. The eldar warrior woman was clad in a super sexy form fitting armor that beautifully accented her lithe, but ample, busts and hips. She carried a sniper rifle similar to what Erik got, but more exquisitely decorate, which she used to dispatch the panicky Antebellan at point blank range. After killing five more people, a semblance of wit returned to the soldiers and they bayonet charged her. In one elegant motion, the eldar woman strapped the sniper rifle back over her shoulder and drew two pistols from her hips, dodging every stab and slashes with a ballerina grace while gunning down the remaining Antebellan. Ending her routine with a swan like pirouette, the eldar turned to the last survivor, who threw away his weapon and made a run for it. He didn't make it four steps before his entire torso exploded into a hundred pieces, the loud report of a bolter singing his requiem. Before Henry can asked whether one of the Ultramarines shot him, a green armored giant strode into view, his bolter still smoking. It was an Astartes, clad in forest green and emblazoned in the draconic insignia of the Salamander chapter.

"Nice shot big guy," the eldar saunter merrily up to the Salamander, holstered her twin pistols, and held out her fist in the most un-Aeldari like fashion. "Put it there! Just like I show you."

The Salamander stared at her for a moment before awkwardly holding up his fist, to which the eldar bumped enthusiastically.

"I do not think I shall ever get use to these strange Aeldari hand gestures," the Salamander said with a clear hint of weariness.

"Just so you know, this was invented by humans," the eldar shrugged. "So you guys better get used to it."

"Nikki?!" Henry leapt over the barricade and sprinted for the eldar, who spun around with a squeal and leapt at him, the embrace they share was powerful and ribs crushing.

"Thank God I bailed your asses out in time," Nikki let go and took off her pointy eldar helmet, platinum blonde hair cascaded down her back like waterfall of spun gold. Her breathtakingly beautiful face, already angular and elfin without the now sharpened tipped ear, was bright with a sunny smile.

"Nah, we got everything under control," Henry fist bumped her, showing the Salamander how it's done.

"Yep, we totally did," Damien, along with Erik and the main characters, jogged up and joined them as the eldar forces broke the encirclement. Gliding above the cemetery of tanks, squad of Fire Prisms and Vypers swooped down on the Antebellan with ethereal grace, explosions tore into their ranks as they fled for the safety of the cathedral. Ae-Shin's air force soon joined in, the vengeance they wrought was biblical.

"Yo Ae-Shin, calm down a bit," Henry tapped his earbud. "There are still friendlies around."

"The eldars are herding the Antebellan into isolated pockets, they're easy picking," Ae-Shin responded. "I'm just showing the xenos my appreciation for their assistance."

"You're welcome mon-keigh," Nikki tapped her earbud then glanced at the gathered crowd. "Where's Tangmo?"

"We're getting scattered signals coming from within the cathedral," Hildebrandt spoke up. "He seems to be engaging Syrathel, with the most reoccurring message being daemon world."

"That bitch's gonna turn this place into a daemon world!" Damien squawked.

"Calm down, help is already on the way," Erik pointed at a group of Falcon hover tanks heading straight for the cathedral.

"Is that…?" Henry asked.

"Yep," Erik smiled.

"Can you die already?!" Tangmo roared, his sword chopping and lunging at Syrathel who parried his attacks with infuriating ease. Goddamn it, she was supposed to lumber like a hippo in that armor, not prance around like a fucking gazelle!

"Getting tired, lord commissar?" Syrathel pouted, her lashes fluttering obnoxiously.

"I'm getting pissed!" Tangmo swung low and barked a laugh when he managed to score a hit on Syrathel's right knee, the sorceress was not amused.

"Lucky hit!" Syrathel hissed.

"Still a hit!" Tangmo grinned and launched a sequence of stabs and slashes at Syrathel, blending together elements of krabi-krabong and kenjutsu, the amalgamation of martial art was more than a match for the sorceress, who struggled to block the unorthodox assaults that was quickly breaking down her defenses. Then she missed a step, and Tangmo went for the kill, swinging his sword like a baseball bat at her head. She blocked it of course, but the force was enough to send her sprawling. With Syrathel down for the count, Tangmo took a brief respite to assess the situation around him. And things were not looking good. Despite the reinforcement Chimeras, Myrmidons and Tauros clamoring into the great hall, the Chaos bolter bitches were still gaining more ground. Leading the assault was the Kali Sororitas, wielding four blazing bolters at once, which was cool as fuck. On the far flank, her flying buddy was decimating the Ekkaroqians, the natives tried to gang up on her but she swept them all aside with horrific ease. At the center of the battle line, Miriael was advancing on the main characters with a dozen squads of Slaanesh sisters. Before he can get a better look, the scraping of iron sabaton alerted Tangmo to Syrathel. Spinning around, Tangmo got his guard up and found Syrathel approaching him, her staff lowered for a thrust. She stopped suddenly, and a predatory grin lit up her face.

"There you are!" Syrathel crooned and Tangmo braced himself for the lunge to come. She threw the staff at him, the entire horizontal length flying straight at his face. Yelping in surprise, Tangmo swathed it aside, the sudden parry throwing him off balance, leaving his guard open and his footing unsteady. Syrathel exploited that millisecond and pounced. She landed on him, the pointed boob plates crushing his chest, his sword clattering out of reach.

"Fuck!" Tangmo squawked as Syrathel clawed violently at his breastplate, "what in the fuck?!"

"Should've be more careful, commissar," Tangmo's eyes widen to a saucer when he saw his amulet clutched tight in Syrathel's hand, the damn thing must've gotten loose during the fight.

"Oh, hell no!" Tangmo snatched Syrathel's wrists and hurled her to the side, the sorceress squealing when he got on top of her. "Let go!"

"Get off me!" Syrathel barred her teeth and managed to throw Tangmo off, now she was straddling him. "Give me the amulet!"

"Fuck you!" Tangmo braced his legs and rolled her over again. For the minutes that followed, Tangmo and Syrathel tumbled across the ground like two children fighting in a sandbox, trading punches and kicks and insults, the amulet yanked this way and that between them.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?!" Syrathel snarled. Her gauntleted fingers digging into his hands, the woman somehow managed to get on top of him again.

"Motherfucker, I'm winning!" Tangmo's mad laugh turned into a shriek when Syrathel chomped down on his hand, "ahhh! Let go you crazy bitch!"

Syrathel was snarling unintelligible spittle onto his knuckles when Tangmo wrenched one of his hands free and punched her squarely in the face. Syrathel's head snapped backward, freeing his hand from her gnashing maw, but now the sorceress was super pissed. Growling, she reeled back a gauntleted fist and slammed it down on his gut. Fuck it hurts. Because he was flat on his back, Tangmo couldn't throw a haymaker, but his hook was enough to send Syrathel swaying. He tried to pull the amulet loose but the woman's grip was iron.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Syrathel landed another punch on his ribs then bend forward so that her head was rested on his chest.

"Argh! Bitch!" With only one hand free and the other still clinging to the amulet, Tangmo couldn't stop Syrathel from landing one gut-wrenching punch after another, her ground and pound game was spot on. Unlike Leilatha and Raine, who wore a 19th century style cuirass breastplate, Tangmo's armor was made from ceramites plates sewed together with space age fabric. The entire ensemble looked like what Joakim Broden wore on stage. The armor provided ample protection from las and bullets while also giving him greater flexibility for his bombastic fighting style. The downside was that it's not very versatile against bolter, and it proves to be poor protection in a fist fight.

"Goddamn it woman, get the fuck off me!" Given his less than favorable position, Tangmo could only bonk Syrathel on the head, her skull bounced like a whack-a-mole but it was not very effective, and she returned the favor by punching his abdomen harder. Tangmo knew he had to do something quick, because his side was starting to hurt real bad. So when his hand came down on her head again it wasn't clenched in a fist but spread wide, his fingers bending like talons as he snatched up a handful of the sorceress's gleaming blue hair.

"Resorting to hair pulling now, lord commissar?" Syrathel crooned and pressed her cheek firmly on his chest, bracing for the yank to come.

"Nope," Tangmo grinned, curled Syrathel's locks around his digits, and pressed her face onto his breastplate, making sure that she got a nose and mouthful. Syrathel squirmed fiercely as Tangmo started choking her out, the sorceress's fist was a pounding jackhammer on his ribs while her legs kicked wildly to dislodge him. Tangmo pressed his forearm down on Syrathel's neck and wrapped his legs around her waist, pulling the woman close until both their pelvises were pressed together in a rather…compromising position. Yes, it looked like Syrathel got him in a missionary position, and Tangmo knew, with no small amount of embarrassment, that the red rising up his face was not from the exertion. At least it will be over soon. Already winded from the fight, Syrathel was quickly losing consciousness, the hammering fist from before were now weak slaps that was barely felt. Tangmo was allowing himself a smile when Syrathel's free hand started questing upward, groping blindly until she found his shoulder, her fingers gave a few squeezes before finding a firm hold, sharp nails digging into his awesome commissar coat.

"What are you…?" Tangmo muttered the same moment he saw one of Syrathel's feet rising up behind her, the knee bent. Oh shit! Tangmo started to squirm, but Syrathel was already poised for the killing blow.

"Wait! No, no, no, no, no!" Tangmo was letting go off her waist when the knee careened down. The cup didn't help, at all. The hellish, black pain that exploded in his gut was indescribable, like every organ just got liquefied then churned into a vortex that squeezed and twist everything in the most agonizing way. His bones and muscles reduced to wobbling jelly, Tangmo's hand slipped away from the amulet and Syrathel's head. The sorceress rose with a gasp, breathing hard to replenish her lungs, and damn the Chaos Sororitas was super-hot with the disheveled hair spilling over her face. But what peered through those tangles of blue and silver was a snarl, and she kneed his balls a second time before rising.

Oh fuck, it hurt worse than the first time.

Gagging, every littlest movement igniting pain across his body, Tangmo wanted to curl into a ball, die, puke his gut out, and then die a second time. But he had a job to do. Breathing hard, and trying his damnedest not to vomit, Tangmo actually managed to get back on his feet. Syrathel was standing a couple of feet away, his amulet in her hand, the smile gloating.

"Impressive little trinket, but alas," Syrathel crushed the null generator in the most villainous fashion imaginable, specks of black dust and metal drifting down her clenched fist. "It wasn't enough to stop me."

The Warp power came rushing back, Tangmo can feel the tide of sickening wrongness crashing against his shoulder, the roiling current now amassing around Syrathel who, with a flick of her finger, summoned the staff back into her hand. Tangmo was just turning toward his fallen sword when the Warp energy hit him like a battering ram, the unseen force launching him into the air. He screamed, the pitch embarrassingly high, but managed to turn his shoulder at the approaching ground and rolled his landing, it wasn't graceful or painless, but it was better than breaking bones. And holy fuck, the pain from his ruined gonad returned with a vengeance. It was so bad that it took him a couple of seconds to see that he has landed next to the main characters, all of whom were staring at him with shock and concern. How fucking far did Syrathel threw him?

"Umm…hi – arghhh!" Tangmo dazed greeting was cut short when he was dragged back like a victim in a Sam Raimi movie, unseen tentacles coiling around his waist, arms and legs. Leilatha cried out and tried to rush for him, but Luva and Krix thankfully held her back, dragging the screaming commissar back into cover.

"Think you can escape that easily?" Syrathel crooned as Tangmo was pulled toward her. The smile she wore was hungry, and not in the empty stomach kinda way.

"Oh fuck no! I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going!" Tangmo squawked, his arms flailing wildly but the tentacles refused to budge.

"You need to be punished," Syrathel sang the words.

"Fuck you, bitch!" Tangmo shouted, his fingers finding no purchase on the smooth marble floor.

"Is it too much to ask for a little chivalry in this day and age?" Syrathel pouted.

"You ain't no lady!" Tangmo shot back.

"Hurtful words, Tangmo," the fact that Syrathel used his name made the current predicament even more terrifying, that, and he was now spread eagle before her. "And just so you know, I'm more a woman than you can ever hope to handle."

"I very much doubt that," Tangmo smirked despite getting more and more nervous at how close Syrathel's iron stiletto heels were to his crotch.

"Miriael isn't the only one who's creative in the ways of fleshy pain," Syrathel leered at him toothily. "And as my Slaanesh compatriot said before, feel free to scream, because no one is coming to help you."

Tangmo was squirming and cursing at Syrathel, who made sure that her boots made a nice twinkling melody with every approaching step, when a strange whistling sound erupted across the hall, followed by the very poignant bangs of gunfire and explosion. Craning his neck left and right, he could see the Chaos Sororitas suddenly dashing for cover, abandoning all ground they've just taken as sleek, hovering crafts flew into view. Are those eldar's Falcons?! One of the hover tanks flew over him and a lithe elvish figure leapt gracefully over the side, landing in a billowing ripple of silken dress. The eldar woman barred her teeth at the startled Syrathel and said:

"Get away from him, you bitch!"

"Lita?! Lita! Help me! Help me now!" Tangmo scrambled up to his feet, the tentacles no longer holding him down, and dashed for his fallen sword as Lita raised her fancy eldar spear to the sky, a purer form of Warp energy coalescing on the tip of the leaf blade. Syrathel responded by lowering her staff at Lita, a sickly pink eldritch ball pulsing on the spike crown. Lita gave the spear a flashy twirl and stabbed the blade down, the alien steel piercing the marble with ease as webs of silver lightning exploded forward, the floor torn asunder by the serpentine bolts that slammed into Syrathel. The Chaos sorceress flew across the chamber and collided into a pillar, her shrill scream ended with a choked gasp. She collapsed to the ground and went still.

"Holy shit, is she dead?" Tangmo limped up to Lita's side, his friend now sporting a pointed elvish ear.

"She got her shield up in time," Lita braced the spear on her shoulder, the charged static in the air simmering down. "I think she's just knocked out."

"Good enough for now," Tangmo turned to meet Lita's gaze, then smiled. "It's so good to see you again dude."

"Same here," Lita threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, Tangmo returning it with equal intimacy. "It's been too long."

"I know," Tangmo couldn't stop smiling despite the battle raging around them. "Is everyone staring?"

"Yep," Lita said. "A bunch of guardsmen and Sisters of Battle are shamelessly gaping at us."

"Shock I hope?"

"Oh yeah, but this one Asian commissar is getting angrier by the second."

"I think we should stop hugging now."

"Agreed."

Both of them let go of each other and retreated to a respectable distant, Tangmo adjusting his awesome commissar coat while Lita smoothened her Farseer skirt, the ensemble looked like it came straight out of the Dawn of War games, minus the dildo helmet. Sweat drenched her pretty diamond shaped face, the translucent beads made her olive skin glistered.

"I'm not in the least bit surprise you're a Farseer," Tangmo commented. "I mean, if anyone's a mage in our group, it's you."

"Thanks," Lita said. "But I'm not exactly a Farseer."

"What do you mean?" Tangmo asked.

"More like a hybrid, I'll explain later," Lita glanced at the raging firefight. Bolstered by eldar reinforcement, the guardsmen and Sororitas were leaving their cover to pursue the Chaos Sisters. "But what I did was pretty cool, right?"

"Are you kidding? It was amazing!" Tangmo gave her two thumbs up.

"Aww, thank you!" Lita giddily jumped up and down, clapping girlishly.

"You saved my ass out there," Tangmo continued. "Thank you."

"You're welcome dude," Lita enthusiasm wavered somewhat when the main characters approached them, a pissed off Leilatha at the head.

"Hey! You guys are all alive!" Leilatha ignored Tangmo's greeting and placed herself between him and Lita.

"Uh…hello," Lita demurely offered her hand but Leilatha just glared at it until the greeting receded unreciprocated, the Farseer whimpering like a scolded child.

"I saw the eldar touching you," Leilatha whipped her head at Tangmo, and shit she looked scary as hell. "Are you injured Tangmo?"

"She actually saved me," Tangmo held up his hands defensively. "Easy Leilatha, me and Lita are friends."

"You know the xeno?!" Leilatha raised her voice and Lita jumped back with a squeak.

"At this point I'm not even surprise," Krillen rolled his eyes and the battlegroup nodded in agreement. "So are you two old lovers or something?"

"We're friends! Just friends! Always been friends! Please don't kill me!" Lita hurriedly told Leilatha who loomed over her like an angry goddess.

"She's just a friend dude, chill," throwing his arms around both Leilatha and Lita's shoulders, Tangmo smiled brightly and drew the two women together. "Let me take this opportunity to break the ice. Leilatha, this is Lita, one of my oldest and bestest friend. Lita, this is Leilatha, my awesome and beautiful girlfriend."

"A pleasure to meet you," Lita said breathlessly and extended her trembling hand again.

"Charmed," Leilatha snatched Lita's hand and squeezed hard, teeth barred like a tigress about to go for the kill. Before anything else could happen, the sharp ringing of clashing steel drew everybody attention back to the battle. Bracing their weapons, the main characters spun toward the rising cadence and found the Chaos Sororitas fleeing the chamber in an orderly fashion. Covering the retreat for their sisters in arms, the winged Sororitas, Miriael Sabathiel and a few Khornate sisters were doing an admirable job of holding back the combined Imperium and eldar forces. But what caught everyone's attention was the Kali Sororitas who, despite wielding four tulwars, was being pushed back by two people. One was Laura, her claymore swift and unrelenting, the other, an eldar Banshee, stabbed and swiped her power naginata with the grace of a crane taking flight.

"Is that Yuki?" Tangmo asked.

"Yep," Lita nodded. "She's a Banshee."

"Yes, I can see that, whoa!" Tangmo yelped when Laura and Yuki attacked the Kali Sororitas with a powerful, blinding fast combo. The blue Khornate crashed to the ground in a glittering sheen of sparks, two of her tulwars flying loose from bleeding hands. Roaring in anger, the four-arms sister snatched up the fallen swords and was about to charge Laura and Yuki when the flying Sororitas dropped down behind her, wings unfurled, and held her back.

"Fall back, Kayaamat," she said calmly, but firmly. The Kali Sororitas spared Laura and Yuki a hissing glare before consenting easily to her superior's command.

"Your will be done, mistress Azarvhin," Kayaamat sheathed her tulwars and rushed after the retreating Chaos Sororitas, Laura and Yuki made to follow but Azarvhin, a pretty cool name Tangmo thought, swung her sword across the ground, summoning a wall of fire which she send crashing into the inquisitor and Banshee with furious beats of her wings. Cursing, Laura and Yuki fallback while the Khornate pair glided away to safety, well, Kayaamat did, because Azarvhin soared to where Miriael was helping Syrathel up.

"Look lively now my dear, time for us to make our exit," Miriael threw Syrathel's arm over her shoulder.

"No!" Syrathel snapped and tried to wiggle out of Miriael's grip. She almost shook the Slaanesh Champion off when Azarvhin grabbed her shoulder, the grip unyielding. "Let me go!"

"The eldar have entered the fray in support of the Imperium," Azarvhin hissed. "Janet and the Antebellan are in full retreat, we need to rendezvous with them and flee back into the Warp."

"No!" Syrathel screeched. "I was so close! So close!"

"You will get another chance," Azarvhin snarled, not having the patience for Syrathel's tantrum. "Now move!"

"Curse you!" Syrathel yelled at the main characters as Miriael and Azarvhin dragged her away. "You have not seen the last of me! I will be back and I shall have my reckoning! Do you hear me?! The Dark Gods will have your souls to torment for all eternity!"

The Chaos trio was reaching an archway when Syrathel swung her staff downward harshly, launching a green fireball at the hoard of Sororitas relics that was piled together not fifty paces from where the main characters stood. The Sisters of Battle howled in despair as the statues, scrolls and all the religious stuffs were consumed by emerald flame.

"Did she just went full cartoon villain on us?" Lita turned to Tangmo with an unbelieving look on her face.

"Yeah, she did," Tangmo shook his head at the burning relics. "Goddamn, that was just so fucking petty."

"I know," Lita snapped her fingers and the fire suddenly went out, "but no harm done, careful! It's still hot!"

"That was so anti-climatically easy," Tangmo smirked as the Sororitas ignored Lita's warning and went about rescuing the relics, scorching their hands the process.

"Thank you," Tangmo and Lita spun around to find an injured Galatea, Raine's awesome commissar coat draped over her naked body, walking slowly up to them, an equally battered Miriya and Verity supporting her, "for saving those relics."

"I am happy to help, honorable canoness," Lita's warm, sincere smile actually managed to thaw some of Galatea's icy regards, who nodded stiffly at the Farseer.

"Nice introduction, better than me and Laura anyway," Tangmo nudged Lita playfully in the side.

"I always strive to make a good first impression," Lita said as Laura and Yuki joined them. The Japanese Banshee wasn't wearing an eldar phallus helmet either, but the face guard she wore looked identical to a samurai mempo. She tapped her cheek and the mask slid away, revealing a sharp, beautiful face.

"What? No hugs for me?" Yuki demanded and stepped up to Tangmo, arms unfurled.

"My girlfriend gonna get angry!" Tangmo was about to dash for Leilatha but Yuki snagged the sleeve of his awesome commissar coat and pulled him into a lascivious hug, one leg entwined around his waist, her breasts grinding against his chest, all the while winking at the strangely unperturbed lady commissar.

"Jealous?" Yuki crooned.

"I don't believe so," Leilatha shrugged. "Because the moment you extricate yourself from Tangmo, I'm going to shoot you."

"Nope! Nobody's gonna shoot each other!" Tangmo declared irritably and pushed Yuki's smooching lips away from his face, "and would you cut that out?! Can't you see how hurt Laura is by your infidelity?"

"Get fuck ya prick!" Laura shouted the same moment Yuki bit his hand.

"Fuck! Let go!" Tangmo yelled and shook his hand loose, "Christ, why is everybody biting me today?!"

"Serves you right for being an asshole," Yuki huffed and folded her arms across her chest, dropping the seductress façade, a small grin bending her lips upward. "It's good to see you again man."

"Shame here bro," Tangmo clasped hand with Yuki and gave her a genuine, heartfelt bro hug. "Thanks for the save dude."

"So how many eldar do you know, exactly?" This was Meko, his question echoed by the other main characters and the Sororitas.

"Erik and Nikki are here too?" Tangmo let go of Yuki.

"Yeah, Erik's a Ranger and Nikki's a hybrid like Lita here," Yuki stabbed her thumb at the waving Lita.

"As of this of moment, I know four eldars," Tangmo cast a nonchalant glance at the gathered crowd, a good number of them now comprised of Ulthwe and Biel-Tan warriors, humans and eldars trading each other distrustful look despite having fought side by side just a few seconds ago. "And would all of you please chill the fuck out? Damn! The eldar just help us, for Throne sake!"

"The eldar are treacherous," Evangeline glared at Lita, Yuki and the eldar Guardians. "How do we know they won't turn their guns on us the moment the Sororitas heretics are dealt with?"

"Because we're here to help," Lita spoke up. Her open, friendly overture and welcoming personality was enough to put some of the guardsmen at ease. "Please, you have nothing to fear from us."

"We have no guarantee that she is speaking the truth," Krillen was still not convinced.

"I am the leader of this war host, and you have my word," Lita went on pleasantly. "Nobody in the Immortal Spirit battlegroup will be harmed."

"Unless you pull the trigger first," Yuki flashed her canines wickedly.

"It will not come to that," Tangmo groaned. "Lita's cool, she's not gonna do anything dirty or underhanded."

"That's right love," Laura draped her arm over Lita's shoulder and drew her hellpistol. "So please, don't force me to start keeping the peace."

With a less than pleased grumble, the Immortal Spirit battlegroup conceded to Tangmo and Laura's testimony and relaxed their aggressive stance. At a quick gesture from Lita, the eldars did the same.

"Welp that settles it, for now at least," Tangmo noticed then that the sound of fighting was becoming a distant, near indiscernible thing. The destroyed chamber that had mere minutes ago looked like it would be their grave was now silent and peaceful, "holy shit, did we just won?"

"Yep," Lita smiled brightly. "We did."