The Eye of Terror: Ascent Into Madness

[Cameron]

Cameron regards the Spire before him. The obsidian tower juts out of the rock like a needle tearing through flesh. The surface of the tower seems solid and impenetrable. But patterns ripple across the surface of it, making it look almost like a liquid with living things swirling just beneath it’s surface. It’s true height is impossible to gauge, as to the naked eye it appears to both be somewhat short, maybe a few stories, and impossibly tall, stretching into the heavens beyond the limits of normal sight. And yet, the companions can see the summit. The tip of the Spire almost looks like it was sheared off at one point. Warp energy pours through the gaping hole at the tip and flows into the sky.

Cameron rips his eyes away from the Spire as Jharm’s mailed hand slides into view from his right. He grasps it and hauls himself back to his feet. He turns and watches as the other companions emerge and land.

Back in the Labyrinth, Danyael responds to Mary’s concern with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Danyael looks up at the distant hole in the ceiling, and Mary follows his gaze as he speaks.

“We probably shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

Mary looks down. After what they had already been through, she would love nothing more than to just take Danyael and leave this place. The whole multiverse would be open to them. But she knows that isn’t how this plays out, and there’s no point trying to change it. She looks back to Danyael, her face set in determination.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Just as she finishes speaking, the tiny skeleton mage belonging to Kitharsis pops out of the recall portal and tumbles to the ground at her feet. She can’t help but grin as the little guy scrambles to his feet and stares at the hole in the distance.

“Hey there. I’ll bet you’d like to return that rune to your big friend, right? Here. I’ll give you a lift.”

Mary scoops up the small skeleton. She sees that Danyael is about to leap into the air and stops him.

“No need for that. I know where we’re going.”

Mary slides her free hand into Danyael’s, and suddenly they are in the Warp. Seconds later, they appear with the other companions. Mary sets the small skeleton down to allow him to return to his master and gives Danyael’s hand a reassuring squeeze before walking forward to join the other elementals and Cameron. She arrives just as Jharm finishes speaking. Cameron responds.

“Not just pure evil radiating from within, but raw warp energy. Whatever’s going on at the top of this Spire is responsible for the Eye’s rapid growth recently.”

As Cameron finishes speaking, Gulgrim speaks up from behind him. Cameron responds to the ork’s question.

“Yes. To the top of the spire. That warp energy rift is what’s causing all of Cadia’s problems. We have to put a stop to it.”

Mary looks skyward. Her eyes glow a bright violet as she traces the warp energy pouring from the top of the spire. It almost overwhelms her, but she keeps her wits.

“The source isn’t in the tower. It’s pulling the energy from below. My guess would be a standing warp gate in the asteroid itself. Though how they’ve kept it stable for this long is beyond me.”

Mary turns to Cameron.

“We may be able to block off whatever is allowing the energy to flow from the top of the Spire. If we do it right, we could destroy it. Maybe even the entire asteroid.”

The other elementals do not have much to offer to the conversation. Even Karyl  is uncharacteristically quiet, fiddling with his guitar and not looking at much of anything else. Cameron does a quick head count. Soul Reaver has Blooddrinker drawn and ready, Kitharsis is present, Mary brought Danyael, and Sepher has landed behind the others. Everyone is here, but Cameron still feels like something’s off.

“Why is it so quiet?”

Other than the sounds made by the companions themselves, there is no sound at all. An erie silence hangs over the area. Cameron quickly reaches to his helmet and re-engages his Voxcaster. His helmet is immediately flooded with the voices of the remaining Space Marine forces. Cameron triangulates his position with theirs and comes to a startling realization.

“The Marines… they’re fighting right below us!”

Cameron storms past the companions, away from the Spire, and reaches the edge of the open courtyard they are standing in. A massive flight of obsidian steps leads to a sealed obsidian gate below. Cameron cannot hear or see anything beyond it, but he can feel many minds. Some are human but many more are tainted by chaos. The fighting seems to be occurring right on the other side of this gate. Cameron engages his power armor’s wrist mounted storm bolter, and as expected, the shells explode before reaching the gate.

“A magical barrier. Of course. Soul Reaver. Think you can take care of this?”

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver nods.

"Probably.  Allow me to examine the enchantment."

Soul Reaver walks past Cameron, stopping just short of the spot that his bolter shells exploded.

He moves his hands through the air, testing the invisible wall.  His eyes are narrowed in careful scrutiny.  Eventually, he takes a step back and considers his options.

It's elaborately woven.  Finding a starting point to unravel it will be difficult.

He looks down at Blooddrinker, shrugs, then swings the blade overhead in a two-handed fashion, sending it crashing into the barrier with a burst of light.  A loud crackling is heard as Blooddrinker's blade skitters against the surface of the barrier.  Beneath its edge, threads of magic are sliced apart and come undone.

Pushing against the sword, Soul Reaver murmurs a Dispel Magic spell, using the opening the blade has created to rend apart the fabric of the enchantment.

[Veldanya Venalla]

The Seraphim watches as the rest of the group assembles, silently listening to Cameron explaining what they are facing.

"Why is it so quiet?"

He hadn't even realized it at first, but now he realized the same thing Cameron had.  The entire area was completely quiet outside of the quiet clinking of the assorted armors that the Companions wore.  He watches as Soul Reaver "attacks" the barrier and begins to work to dispel it.  The warriors eyes gaze around as if he expects something to happen.  Moving forward he stops behind the immortal knight.

"I think it be best we are prepared for anything.  I would be quite surprised if this does not alert someone to our presence here."

He places a large gauntleted hand on Soul's shoulder, the Seraphims hidden lips moving in a silent prayer as a shield of light springs up around Soul Reaver.

"Should anything happen Lord Reaver....focus on dismantling this barrier.  I shall see that no harm comes to you."

He grasps his large hammer in both hands and scans the area, his glowing orbs keen on spotting any potential ambush or attack that may occur from their attempt at piercing the barrier between them and the space marine army.

[Shadow Chorus]

"Space Marines?" Gulgrim asked aloud, looking through the protective barrier, looking intently at it even though he cannot see anyone on the other side. "Dey more o' your gitz, or we'z gotta krump 'em?"

As gulgrim stepped off of his bike it disappeared in a flash of green lightning behind him, and as he pulled his twin Big Shootas from seemingly nowhere, he strode over next to Cameron and looked down. His red eye focused on something that couldn't be seen, and his face broke into a toothy grin.

"Lotz o gitz 'avin a scrap down dere. We'z missin' out da longer we take wif dis wall 'ere. Lemme give yer spikey boy a boost."

Gulgrim looked up toward the tear in the magical enchantment that Soul Reaver was now attempting to unravel. Stepping up next to the black clad knight, he gave Soul Reaver a quick glance before looking back to the barrier.

"Keep doin' yer fing, Spikey." he said, before unleashing a massive, bellowing "WAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!" at the magical tear, pourig pure WAAAGH!!! energy in to the hole, chaotic force attempting to rend the spell asunder by sheer mayhem while Soul Reaver's more careful dispel also does its work. Sparks of green energy danced around, attempting to devour the magic of the barrier. It may not do much on its own, but it may give Soul Reaver's dispel the edge it needs to move faster.

[Kitharsis]

The little skeleton mage gives a wave in thanks as it scurries over to its master.  Kitharsis is genuinely surprised that the little mage had returned.  As the mage holds up the recall rune Kitharsis grins warmly.

"This may come in handy, little one.  Thank you for bringing it back."  Kitharsis scoops up the little mage and props it on his shoulder.  He stuffs the rune back into a pouch on his belt and rearranges a few things while he is at it.  If disrupting the captive warp gate inside the asteroid is the goal, a quick escape will be deathly necessary.

Soul Reaver slashes at the magical barrier with Blooddrinker.  That damned sword.  Once this is over something should be done about it.  Shaking his head, he joins Jharm in scanning the area for potential threats.

"See if you can patch up our golem friend, little one.  The flight up here was not kind to it."  The skeleton mage climbs over his back and hangs from one of the thick wing bones.  There is one remaining skull from the golem's previous form, centered in the middle of the wing structure on his back.  Bones shift as the skull snakes its way forward.  If a skull could look tired, this is a prime example.  The little mage places a hand on the skull's forehead.  Cracks and fissues slowly begin to repair themselves.  The skull seems to sigh as the healing energy flows over its structures.

"It would appear I'm not the only one happy to see you."  The wings shift on his back in response.

As the others work at tearing down the barrier, Kitharsis can't help but feel uneasy.  He unsheathes his horeseman's pick and approaches Cameron.

"How do the Marines fare?"

[Danyael]

All things considered, the trip up was the most pleasant experience he'd had since re-entering the fray. But when he looked to that god-awful eye-sore in the distance, all moods went sour at first sight. He just couldn't catch a damned break. He watched Mary leave his side and the warmth he thought he felt then suddenly went cold. Looking at the non-healing hole in his chest made it all the more frustrating, then the third strike when he looked to that long haired cunt with that damnable sword in the distance. Aside from Mary, the only other welcome sight that lifted his spirits was that of Kitharsis and the skeleton mage.

His power was working at less than a fraction of its capacity, as the previous battle took a greater toll on him than he'd realized. Now, nothing worked right and it was going to take a while for things to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Then came the panic. Marines, fighting directly beneath them! Why didn't he sense them?! Why didnt he feel them?! Why didn't he -- oh, that's right. Well, shit. And with the discovery of the magical barrier came the coming action that made him cringe as Soul Reaver was not only requested to use that damnable abomination again, but that the man actually followed through with it. He shook his head beneath his hood.

"...this fuckery." his cynicism, piqued in a hiss. If anything should happen to Lord Reaver it would be too damned soon. That sword and its owner was by far the greatest pain in the bitchslap of traitorous irony since the Nephilim Lord decided to return to the vanguard and the slow to heal wound on his chest served as a hamfisted reminder of it all. Hiding a wince of pain, he was quickly at Kitharsis' side. With yamato in hand, his stance braced for the coming engagement.

[Daccio]

Sepher seems somewhat distracted as they landed. The strength of Chaos here was really heavy on his mind. Taking a few deep breaths, he watches as Soul move to the barrier to destroy it to allow them access to the battle before them.

He draws his Katana, holding it in one hand, putting the point in the palm of the others. Letting a small thread of his magic flow into it, enacting his metal shaping, he pushes his blade in what appears into his palm, but it does not some out the other side. No, it seems to form into a ball of metal into his hand. As his hands come together, he cups the ball of metal and it slowly seeps around his hands, forming a pair of light metal gauntlets with wicked looking claws protruding from them. He wanted to rely as little as possible on his Daemon powers here, if he could.

He stepped up next to Cameron, Ready to move. He was as quiet as the surroundings, save for the soft swish of muffled metal.

[Cameron]

The blade of Blooddrinker tears into the magical barrier. Progress is slow, but the Dispel magic spell does it’s job, and the threads of magic continue to unravel as Blooddrinker slowly moves further and further downward. Cameron watches intently from behind him.

Jharm moves upon his right, clamping a hand on Soul Reaver’s shoulder before readying himself. His comments make Cameron glance around at their surroundings. If any kind of retaliation would be coming, it would probably be coming from the direction of the Spire behind them.

“Mary. You and the others watch our backs. Make sure nothing jumps out at us from the Spire until we get this barrier down.”

Mary had been focused on Danyael but snaps alert as Cameron gives his orders. She had heard his cynical hiss in response to both Soul Reaver’s actions and Jharm’s words. She slips her hand into his again and gives a reassuring squeeze. Her words are barely a whisper, meant for him alone.

“Don’t worry. If anything happens, we’ll take care of it together.”

She raises her voice then, speaking to the other elementals.

“Alright. You heard our fearless leader. Let’s keep an eye on this thing.”

As the elementals move to the back to watch the Spire, Cameron’s attention turns to Gulgrim. He eyes the large green ork as he speaks. Cameron’s thoughts turn to the Marines as Gulgrim asks about their allegiance.

Our allied forces won’t be expecting an ork on our side. And I can guess that once we get through, he won’t be the only ork. I’ll have to make sure they know.

“The Space Marines are my gitz. Don’t touch them. But the Chaos- the spikey gitz? They’re all yours.”

Gulgrim’s response is encouraging, as he strides forward and begins to pour magic into the wound created by Soul Reaver’s efforts. The barrier begins to unravel at an incredible rate. Cameron readies his weapons while responding to Kitharsis.

“It’s a bloody fight. Pretty sure that it’s the last of the combined allied and Chaos forces fighting down there. They’ll fight to the last man. We have to turn the tide.”

Cameron sets his stance as Sepher moves in with them. The companions are ready to strike.

With a final shudder, the barrier gives way as Soul Reaver’s blade, suddenly finding no further resistance, plunges into the earth. The sound of heavy combat washes over the companions almost instantly, shattering the previous silence. Beneath his faceplate, Cameron’s face twists into a grim smirk.

“Alright, chums. Let’s do this.”

Cameron leaps forward at the unprotected black gate. Fire and energy build around him as he charges. When he hits the gate, the built up energy explodes outward, blasting the gate off of it’s hinges. Beyond the gate are a massive set of obsidian steps that lead into a massive parade ground. Space Marines and Chaos Marines fill the entire grounds. Cameron can see his own Grey Knights mixed among the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Ultramarines, and other chapters. Dreadnoughts from both sides wade through the fray, and tanks from both forces fire from nearby cliffs. Cameron engages his voxcoder.

“This is Strike Team Alpha to all allied forces. We are engaging from the direction of the Spire. There are orks with us. They are our allies. Do not engage any orks.”

With that settled, Cameron leaps down the steps and charges into battle.

[Veldanya Venalla]

The Seraphim watches as the magical barrier collapses, Cameron directing the Ork Warboss not to harm the Space Marine forces.

“Alright, chums. Let’s do this.”

Jharm hesitates for a moment.

"Oh my god....he just ran in.  Save him! Stick to the plan chums! Stick to the plan!"

A large shield (while it would be considered a "kite shield" for Jharm, it could almost work as a tower shield for those smaller in stature) materializes on the Seraphims left forearm as he launches forward, taking flight as his entire sizable figure begins to radiate bright light.  As the light washes over the allied space marines they can feel their wounds begin to bind, their energy fill and their resolve bolster.

"Valiant soldiers of the Imperium!  Stand fast for the Light is with you this day!  Fight on!  The malevolence of Chaos shall not win the day!"

The shimmering figure descends and slams into a squad of Chaos soldiers, the shield bowling the marines over like bowling pins as the gleaming hammer crashes down into the faceplate of a soldier who managed to avoid the initial strike, his armor caving in as if it was nothing much a paltry aluminum can.  The enemy forces have little time to react as they are beset by what could almost be described as a veritable cyclone of light and steel as Jharm barrels through their ranks, and yet not a single Space Marine comes to harm. 

Then from within the sounds of battle an almost...alien sound is heard.  Singing....a beautiful melody seems to rise above the cacophony of war, and while it is almost impossible to determine the source...those who have traveled with the Seraphim can easily tell it comes from him.  A hymn of praise and glory to the Lady of Light rings out above the din and screams of the battlefield even as the angellic warrior continues his veritable rampage through the vile forces of Chaos and evil, the music spurring on the hearts and minds of those he considers ally.  Sledge and shield crash through the enemy forces as the Seraphim moves throughout, the hymn continuing to somehow be heard above all else as he works to help the beleaguered Space Marines.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver's brow furrows as Gulgrim's own orky energy is added to the mix of forces attempting to breach the barrier - he mentally adjusts the Dispel to accommodate for it as much as possible, so as not to lose the threads he is unravelling.

But the additional power certainly helps, and the barrier falls all the quicker.  Blooddrinker completes its swing, burying its tip in the ground.  The sounds of battle now wash over the companions.

Cameron, eager to assist his allies, approaches the double doors and blasts them from their hinges.  Jharm charges after his friend, holy light streaming from his countenance and filling the marines with courage.

Soul Reaver hangs back momentarily.  He still had not recovered all his strength, and he could not afford to drain his reserves at this stage.  He would need to play this more carefully.  Scanning the battlefield, he notes key targets - groups of enemies with heavy weapons hunkered in cover; heavily-guarded chaos ammunition stores; a chaos dreadnaught holding a tactical chokepoint.

Picking the nearest target - the dreadnaught - Soul Reaver casts a simple Shimmer spell upon himself to obfuscate his position and misdirect ranged fire.  He runs low and keeps to cover, avoiding drawing attention until he is as close as he can get.  Then, when the dreadnaught turns to fire its assault cannon at marines to its right, Soul Reaver charges in from the left.

The dreadnaught begins to turn toward Soul Reaver just as he enters melee range.  Blooddrinker flashes as it thrusts straight through the Dreadnaught's massive armour front plate and then scours a line upward.  The muffled screaming within is amplified by the dreadnaught's speakers as the entombed pilot is cut into two halves.  Soul Reaver withdraws the sword and rolls away as the dreadnaught slumps forward, blood pouring from the metal plating and pooling on the floor before it.

His attack has drawn attention and several chaos marines have started to open fire on him.  Before they can get a proper bead on his wavering form, Soul Reaver dives behind a large rock, planning his next move.

[Daccio]

Sepher tensed as Cameron dashed in. Jharm hesitates a moment before he charges in behind him

"Oh my god....he just ran in.  Save him! Stick to the plan chums! Stick to the plan!"

He listened then, as Jharm gave the Marines a cry to rally them. Sepher had no such battle cry. Instead, he clenched his fists, knuckles cracking loudly under the metal claws that shod his hands. He flexed the wings on his back and drew upon the daemon's soul that had given him those wings, adding strength to his body.

He could feel the Daemon soul trying to rise inside his head, to take control, but he quickly put a stop to that, clamping down with sheer will alone. He would have the strength of the Daemon, not his command.

Crouching, he pushed off with his legs the same moment that he swept his wings back, launching him forward, not down amongst the marines, no, but rather up towards the cliff faces and the tanks that lobbed deadly projectiles into battle.

His wings beat at the air, gaining him momentum as he hurtled towards the metal behemoths. One of the turrets on top of a chaos tank caught sight of him as he sped forth and opened up with a turret mounted bolter. Sepher plowed directly towards it, a shield of chaos energy turning aside the explosions of the shells.

With the force of a small bomb, he colided into the tank that had opened up on him. His fist drew back as he threw a punch that was enhanced with the strength of the daemons he posessed into the turret. Metal crunched as his claws rended the exterior of the tank, to find the inner fleshy bits. He tore through the tank, shredding metal with his own claws and destroying everyone inside.

He looked around as he dropped the figure who had been piloting the tank, and spotted another. He growled and prepared to continue his assault

[Kitharsis]

Cameron batters down the black gate and continues through to the waiting battlefield.  The others are not far behind.  Kitharsis lingers a moment.  Surely the Chaos Marines were aware of their presence by now.  The battered gate is a damnable choke point, proving the only entry into the battle below.

"Hang tight, and cover my back, little one."  He says to the tiny mage hanging from his bony wings.  The mage settles in between the two wings, its hand beginning to glow with magical energy.

His glances at Danyael.  Worry causes him pause. 

"Do not over do it, or we will need to put even more of you into the jar."  He jests with a forced smile.  A futile attempt to mask his concern.  A nod punctuates his statement, as Kitharsis turns to the opened gate.

With heavy, ground shaking strides, Kitharsis charges forward.  A glowing crimson shield springs out of the diamond tattoo on the back of his right hand.  He pushes it forward and keeps covered as he emerges through what is left of the black gate.  The warrior is met with a hail of bolter fire.  The shield serves its purpose, deflecting the fire until he reaches the fray.

A wicked backhand smashes the crimson shield into side of distracted Chaos Marine.  Pieces of armor are sheared off by the force of the blow.  A pinpoint blast from the tiny mage pierces through the Chaos Marine's exposed flesh, removing one less opponent from the battle.

With a great, bony wing aided leap, Kitharsis flies through the air and crashes down into a group of Chaos Marines.  He slams the base of his shield onto the helmet of a Chaos Marine upon landing.  The crimson shield parts the helmet far enough to embed itself into the Chaos Marine's head. 

Finding his shield held fast by the formidable power armor, Kitharsis extinguishes it and kicks the body of the deceased Chaos Marine into one of his charging comrades.  With no allies within the vicinity, Kitharsis activates all of the tattoos on his body at once.  Crimson Tirthandaran energy explodes out of his body in all directions.  Those not within range of the blast see a bright red flash of energy engulf an entire area of the battlefield.  The blast of energy pierces and slices into the Chaos Marines surrounding him.  Those closest stood no chance, taking the full force of the blast head on.  Those further do not fare much better, having taken serious damage, if not being wholly incapacitated.

Not missing a beat, Kitharsis unleashes his Horeseman's Pick and tears into the remaining wounded Chaos Marines.  The tiny mage plays defense as it deflects any fire aimed for Kitharsis's flank.

[Shadow Chorus]

The instant the gate is down and Cameron has given his speech, Gulgrim is charging through toward the battlefield. With a massive leap, his hulking green frame landed amidst the forces doing battle. The ground rumbles for a brief moment before Gulgrim stands tall, towering over the marines doing battle around him.

"Alright boyz! Gulgrim's back in fer da gud fight!" The Ork, practically giddy at the idea of another scrap so soon after the last, barreled forward into the ranks of the enemy, guns blazing wildly and massive kutlass swiping in all directions. He was a raucous juggernaut on the battlefield, savoring every Chaos skull he crushed under his boots and every torso he cleaved asunder with his blade. With the rise of a new fight, the WAAAGH!!! energy that had been taking its time to restore itself began to surge, flowing freely through the Ork once more as green lightning crackled up and down his frame, shocking those that attempted to get too near to him. Gulgrim was truly back to full strength. His baseline might even have risen a bit, it was difficult to tell in his case.

"Time ta get stuck in, boyz!" Gulgrim shouted as he slammed a pair of Chaos marines into each other, crushing them beneath his massive hands and their own weight. In a thunderstorm of green energy, Ork boyz began to pour out around Gulgrim, choppas and shootas let loose all around, each Ork eager to get some of the fight against the Chaos marines. While Gulgrim found himself in the middle of a crowd of boyz all looking for a scrap, he noticed the earth breaking open a short distance away, rocks flying as a massive mound of metal, a chaos defiler, burrowed its way up from below.

"Oi! Dat one'z mine! I'z get da biggest fight!" Gulgrim roared as he kicked off the ground, his boots leaving a man-sized indentation in the ground as he sprung through the air, his bulky form smashing head first into the body of the Chaos contraption. The force of the impact pushed the demonic engine back onto its hind legs, and while it was righting itself, Gulgrim began to lay in with his weapons, flailing about and taking strips of metal off as he hacked away with an almost childlike glee.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!"

[Danyael]

"Don't worry. If anything happens, we'll take care of it together."

He gave a slient nod of appreciation for her concern, then watcher her enter the fray. In ways more than counting, she inspired him to be better. And better he would be.

Do not over do it, or we will need to put even more of you into the jar." He jests with a forced smile. A futile attempt to mask his concern. A nod punctuates his statement, as Kitharsis turns to the opened gate.

"Oh, ha-fucking-ha." Danyael winces a smirk toward his friend. He didn't laugh for fear of something embarrassing oozing out of his wound, and the day had been either agonizing or awkward or perhaps even a bit of both already. In the moment shared between the two, it was no doubt that they saw themselves as more than friends - they were kindred; brothers in arms.

He was handicapped, true. But he was far from defenseless. And very much still capable of putting up lethal defiance. Clenching the Yamato ceremoniously aimed down in both hands, he lowered his gaze a moment, calling forth from the depths of his core the capacity for protection. His body, still weak, quivered faintly before a tuft of wind rose from beneath him, lifting his cloak enough to allow view of a carapace form body armor growing around his upper chassis to effectively shield his slow healing wound. With the act complete, his eyes opened and he dashed through the threshold, right into the fray of violence and insanity that raged around him. .  He allowed himself into a quick draw sword stance, back leg bent, front leg extended and sword -hilt forward - pressed tightly against the waist. He stood still, waiting for the roiling chaos to reach striking distance, taking stock of friend and foe alike. He took in the muscle mass within every fibre of his being, communicating with each thread of flesh and bone in much the same likeness as a skilled spellbinder would muster the words to an incantation. With every counting second did he feel his muscles tighten and vibrate, then twitch bit by bit as they fed off of one another, gaining additional mass in tandem. His legs spread further, gathering the power together to a single focal point.

He had only seconds to gauge his opponents, as calling upon the wellspring at the moment was not a viable option.  This attack was going to hurt him almost as much as it was going to hurt his enemies. But the collateral was the major concern. Ultramarines, Grey Knights, Blood Angels, Dark Angels and so many more. He knew of these chapters. He knew of them well. And if he knew them, as he'd hoped he'd known them, the gamble he was banking on should have incredible effect in one way or another. And so, in the loudest possible roar he could muster did he scream in the language of High Gothic that could only translate to "All Chapters down! Incoming - danger close!", snapping them to attention at the exact moment he unleashed the yamato in a fast action slash with the speed of a camera shutter, hurling forth an arc-wave of sound and wind toward the throng of violence in front of him in a wide enough radius to make a noticeable shift. The arc wave waded into the throng at the split second the Imperial marines dove for cover. The wave seared over them and into the chaos marines, shattering through armor and cleaving apart the tender meat within, spraying the battlements and its survivors with gore and vitae. The closest Blood Angel shouted back a praise in High Gothic, but Danyael couldn't hear him, for the Nephilim Lord bent to his knee as his muscles went slack and he hit the ground.

[Cameron]

The Marine forces are emboldened by the sudden arrival of the Companion’s strike team. Their courage is further bolstered when they realize that the sudden influx of orks is not attacking them, but instead taking the fight to their enemies as well. They take the time to regroup, pulling wounded from the battlefield and re-forming into cohesive squads. Sergeants bark orders as the Marines not already engaged in melee combat form firing lines and pour concentrated fire into the Chaos forces.

The remaining Chaos forces are scattered and begin to panic. They were not expecting this large of a force coming from the direction of their own fortress. While some of the Chaos forces turn to flee and are cut down, the rest begin to frenzy.

Cameron moves swiftly within the packs of violent melee. The Imperial Marines are quick to recognize his armor’s chapter iconography and markings and fall in step as he rips through Chaos forces with sword strikes and storm bolter fire. He soon has a formidable force behind him. Though a number of Blood Angel Assault Marines have also fallen in, most of Cameron’s group are made up of fellow Grey Knights, armed with plasma pistols and powerful Nemesis-pattern Force swords. These were developed by Kalana to use a crystalline-matrix system to siphon pure psychic energy naturally built up by it’s wielder in combat situations energize the blade of the weapon with it. The weapons are proving extremely effective in their field tests. They tear through most Chaos power armor with ease.Cameron continues to lead them through the pack, occasionally stopping to help a fallen Marine or cover a squad while they regroup.

The other elementals focus on their areas of expertise. Kari darts in and out of combat areas, healing downed soldiers and shielding others from gunfire. Garr occasionally pops out of the shadows to kill a Sorcerer or another high priority target from behind before disappearing again. Karyl takes to the skies, raining lightning down on foes as he plays a power ballad.

Mary opts to stay close to Danyael. Easier said than done, as she can barely keep up with his speed. She finally reaches him just as he shouts something in a language she doesn’t immediately recognize. As she sees the Space Marines around her quickly snap to attention she finally recognizes it as the language the Marines on Cellairis V conversing with each other in. Seeing that they are now ducking for cover, she follows suit just in time to avoid Danyael’s attack.

As the enemy Chaos Marines in their vicinity crumple and fall to the ground, Mary returns to her feel. She looks around for Danyael and sees that he has dropped to a knee. She quickly rushes over to him, raising a shield around them to block any stray ordinance heading their way.

‘Danyael! Are you okay? This is a bad place to take a nap.”

Mary’s head suddenly snaps up as she feels a disturbance.

“WARP GATES! INCOMMING!”

Warp gates spring open in various places around the current battlefield. Chaos reinforcements flood the area. A massive wave of Khorne Berserkers, who utter rage filled screams as they fall on anything moving with tooth and chain-axe. And in their center, two Greater Bloodthirsters, ready to destroy anything that falls within the range of their axes or lashes.

[Daccio]

He feels little but tired as the chaos forces begin to break and scatter. This place is really wearing on him. He notes, even as he tears into another tank and turns those inside into a bloody pulp, the marines are starting to regroup and push back, Cameron at the front.

As those supporting the tanks try to scatter and regroup, Sepher lays into them, his claws empowered with daemon energy tearing through the chaos marines. He keeps track of his other companions, noting that Danyael is down in some way, but Mary is protecting him.

As his attention was drawn to his companion, one group of chaos marines regrouped and opened fire on him with bolters. He turned and threw up a shield just in time to prevent lethal damage, but the explosions of the bolts tattered his coat, leaving him looking ragged, yet unhurt.

He growled and energy well up in his hand. He leapt among them, and there was a small explosion of energy around him, as the pure chaotic energy tore into the marines, being of a different sort than resided here. The marines sloughed into piles of goo in their armor, essentially melted where they stood.

Sepher's head snapped to a direction in the distance, just as he heard someone yell about warp gates. He watched as the warp gates sprang open in a few places around the battlefield. This was just getting rediculous. Drawing on the energy of the daemons inside of him, he leapt from the cliffside, his wings catching the warm air of death and destruction below.

He plummeted towards the center of the beserkers, a shield out in front of him deflecting explosions. He coursed himself for one of the Greater bloodthirsters, and with a great daemonic roar of his own, slammed into the beast claws first, at diving speeds. He would tear into the nearest Bloodthirster with all the momentum of his dive, in an attempt to slay it quickly. He needed to neutralize these as soon as possible.

[Danyael]

Mary opts to stay close to Danyael. Easier said than done, as she can barely keep up with his speed. She finally reaches him just as he shouts something in a language she doesn’t immediately recognize. As she sees the Space Marines around her quickly snap to attention she finally recognizes it as the language the Marines on Cellairis V conversing with each other in. Seeing that they are now ducking for cover, she follows suit just in time to avoid Danyael’s attack.

As the enemy Chaos Marines in their vicinity crumple and fall to the ground, Mary returns to her feel. She looks around for Danyael and sees that he has dropped to a knee. She quickly rushes over to him, raising a shield around them to block any stray ordinance heading their way.

‘Danyael! Are you okay? This is a bad place to take a nap.”

A nap is what he'd be taking when this battle was finished, that's for sure. He tried to lift himself from the ground, with the yamato as a crutch. He heard the chaos around him, but only muffled by the surge of throbbing from having expended so much of his waning strength so soon. After that damnable battle, he hadn't had any time to recover. True enough, the sleek carapace armor that covered his torso would hold. But he shouldn't have needed it in the first place. True, he could feel his body struggling to piece itself back together again. But that was going to take time he didn't really have.

Mary’s head suddenly snaps up as she feels a disturbance.

“WARP GATES! INCOMMING!"

Warp gates spring open in various places around the current battlefield. Chaos reinforcements flood the area. A massive wave of Khorne Berserkers, who utter rage filled screams as they fall on anything moving with tooth and chain-axe. And in their center, two Greater Bloodthirsters, ready to destroy anything that falls within the range of their axes or lashes.

His free hand went to Mary, clutching her close. He didn't want to ask, but he hadn't much choice presently for an alternative. "I'm not stitching fast enough - I need a boost, a lift, anything to jumpstart the process." his voice was haggard with frustration. With the Berserkers raging forth and the Bloodthirsters all the more a greater concern, he needed to either buy time or to have a helping hand. With foes like these, everyone was essential, and he could not sit off and do nothing while he mended his wounds. He had little use of magick, as that required a working body to channel. And right now, nothing worked right. And because he used so many conflicting weapons all at once, it was no surprise that his body became confused in addition to taking a major toll on itself. He needed an outside source of power, otherwise he'd be useless. He looked to Kitharsis, but knew Mary was closer. He needed to be back in his prime, as this was going to be an incredibly difficult battle, but knew realistically that he couldn't do it alone. Whatever was going to happen next, he was completely at the whim of whichever choice she'd make.

[Soul Reaver]

Soul Reaver wrenches Blooddrinker from the back of another felled Chaos Marine when multiple Warp Gates tear themselves open, belching forth Berserkers and mighty Daemon reinforcements.

Knowing that his strength is far from recovered, he begins mentally plotting a path that will allow him to continue his guerilla attacks... but then he halts when he spies Danyael struggling to get back to his feet, and reaching for Mary, asking for her aid.

Danyael was wounded, and he needed time to heal, but the first vanguard of screaming Berserkers were heading in his direction.

Soul Reaver knew that he could not spare much in the way of magic, and healing had never been his specialty.  But if it was time that Danyael needed, that was something he could buy.

Abandoning his attempts at stealth, Soul Reaver sprints to close the distance and intercept the Berserkers running headlong toward Danyael.  The first two do not see him rushing at their flanks, and Blooddrinker cracks through their ruddy armour as though it were made of nothing but eggshells.

Some of the Berserkers switch targets - those that are in range rev up their chain axes and lunge forward, screaming incoherently, while those further back fire bolt pistols with more enthusiasm than accuracy as they try to scramble into the melee.

One screaming chainaxe is silenced as its chain snaps and tangles itself in the weapon's own mechanisms after foolishly attempting to parry a blow from Soul Reaver's crimson blade.  The second blow reduces the axe into fragments, followed a split second later by its wielder's head.

But the battle is an awkward one - Soul Reaver is forced to switch targets frequently, cutting down those opponents that try to make a run for Danyael and deprioritizing those that focus their attentions on him.  There are almost too many to keep track of at once, and on more than one occasion a lucky blow draws blood or barely skitters off Soul Reaver's armour plating.  He hopes he will not need to keep this up for long...

[Shadow Chorus]

As Gulgrim pulled himself from the wreckage of his foe, he saw the new onslaught of enemies approaching. Berserkers wielding revving chainaxes and bloodthirsters stalking the battlefield. His metallic hand lashed out and grasped a red-armored Berserker by the torso, hefting him into the air as he glanced sidelong at the frothing human.

"Oi! Wot you lot doin' 'ere? Fought we wuz da only ones droppin' in unannounced."

"Kill! Kill! Ki-" The Chaos marine's enraged retort was cut short as the Kaptin headbutted him, crushing his helmet, his skull, and likely, his spine. Throwing the spent corpse at one of his oncoming brethren and bowling him over, Gulgrim hefted his Kutlass and indicated to the battlefield before him. "Alright boyz! Now fer da reel fight! Time ta get stuck in!"

Boyz began to pour in from all sides, hooting and hollering as they hefted choppas of all sizes, prepping for the fight that was coming. They fought and died in droves, the Chaos Berserkers' maddened blood-rage striking down Orks effectively, but their numbers were simply too vast. The Orks were hell-bent on getting into the fight, and they would run, leap, and crawl over the corpses of their brethren if necessary to get to it. Even if at a cost of three Boyz to one Berserker, kills were being made and bloody helmets were being hoisted into the sky. Not to mention the distraction the Orks would provide for the Space marines that were on their side.

The Warboss, meanwhile, had his eyes set on a much bigger prize.

"WAAAAAAAAAGH!!!! DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!" Gulgrim shouted, stomping forward, his third arm and his left arm firing away with his twin Kustum shootas as he cut down any Berserkers mad enough to get in his way. He was firing wildly at one of the two Bloodthirsters, aiming to get its attention so he could have a proper scrap.

"Come on ya big spikey, hoof-faced Ponce! Come an' get some of ol' Gulgrim! You'z gonna get Krumped 'fore we'z done 'ere!"

[Cameron]

His free hand went to Mary, clutching her close. He didn't want to ask, but he hadn't much choice presently for an alternative. "I'm not stitching fast enough - I need a boost, a lift, anything to jumpstart the process." his voice was haggard with frustration. With the Berserkers raging forth and the Bloodthirsters all the more a greater concern, he needed to either buy time or to have a helping hand. With foes like these, everyone was essential, and he could not sit off and do nothing while he mended his wounds. He had little use of magick, as that required a working body to channel. And right now, nothing worked right. And because he used so many conflicting weapons all at once, it was no surprise that his body became confused in addition to taking a major toll on itself. He needed an outside source of power, otherwise he'd be useless. He looked to Kitharsis, but knew Mary was closer. He needed to be back in his prime, as this was going to be an incredibly difficult battle, but knew realistically that he couldn't do it alone. Whatever was going to happen next, he was completely at the whim of whichever choice she'd make.

Mary’s attention is wrested away from the battle as Danyael suddenly clings to her. He obviously needs healing, but the companions who would normally provide it are nowhere nearby. She instinctively senses the exact locations of all the nearby elementals due to their blades, and she quickly locates Kari. Her magic could take care of this in no time. But she is currently on the other side of the battlefield, fending off a wave of Berserkers who are trying to tear into a group of wounded Marines. She won’t be able to help. She can still hear Jharm’s holy hymn but cannot locate the seraphim amongst the Chaos.

There is movement to her left and she moves to defend Danyael, but suddenly Soul Reaver is there. He has obviously noticed the situation that she and Danyael are in and has moved to defend them. This buys her some time, but to do what?

Mary takes another long look around the battlefield. She is not a healer. But Danyael didn’t ask for healing. He asked for energy. And this realization draws her gaze to the warp gates that the Chaos forces opened to provide their reinforcements. They are only just now starting to close.

“If energy is all you need, then today is your lucky day. Hang on.”

Mary closes her eyes and focuses her mind. It is difficult in the midst of the melee, but she soon finds her thoughts clear. She focuses on all of the other elements beside her own, bringing them in line with the whirling maelstrom of warp energy that constantly burns deep within her. Soon all of the elements echoe inside her as one, and she quickly channels that pure elemental energy through the rest of her body.

When her eyes open again, her irises have vanished. Consumed by two solid glowing orbs of gold. Her muscles ripple and expand as she shifts into her true elemental form. Wings burst from her back. She wraps both arms around Danyael and flexes her wings. Within an instant they are both hoisted skyward, above the raging battle. Mary keeps one hand wrapped around Danyael’s waist while she raises the other above her head. The warp gates that had been closing all snap back open, and jagged beams of energy burst forth from them. They streak into the sky and strike Mary, overloading her with warp energy. She roars in agony as her body converts all of this tainted warp energy into pure elemental power. Soon she can hold no more, and the warp gates finally slam shut. She hangs in the sky, glowing bright as a sun.

And then she embraces Danyael. As she does, her wings wrap around both of them, hiding them completely from view. All of the collected energy inside her passes from her into Danyael, completely restoring his depleted energy stores and perhaps even overcharging him. Andwith her energy completely drained, Mary slowly lowers back to the ground.

Mary’s wings vanish as she falls forward, her entire weight settling on Danyael. She continues to embrace him tightly to avoid collapsing to the ground.

“There… that’s… the best I can do.”