Finally, part two is out (I blame my own lazyness and having to rewrite a great part after looking about lore about the Storm troopers.)

This day was probably the worst day of Roland Vandalarius, Duke of the respected House of Vandalarius, firstborn of the glorious Lord General Sebastian Vandalarius and current Planetary Governor of Deva Secundus.

Until now, while his position did not gave him the power he felt he deserved, he was mighty enough to only worry about his greedy peers and making sure the tithe was paid without issues, but now not only a part of the rabble went nuts and decided to do things their way, but also they had enough bollocks to mess with the local television and make their declaration of war to all the main hive, and before dawn there was a lot of reports about sanctioned abhumans murdered, entire blocks put to the torch and lots of gangers coming out of the streets just to let their bloodthirstiness out in someone who was not some poor citizen or themselves.

Now he was trying to convince the other nobles to let their personal army to at least secure order beyond their petty castles without having to retort to a death threat by an Arbiters' club.

"Lord Governor. We have reports of more murders of sanctioned mutants in the east!" One of his assistants gave another bad news

"Of course, there are more. Do you have at least any news about something good happening?"

"The police forces managed to keep the main plaza of the Spire and all the Train Stations under control. Also we got informed House Gottsched is sending forces to aid our PDF to secure the factories of the Norwest."

"The fat arse of Gunther is not going to let his spoiled daughter's birthday without another demonstration of the joys of multi-melta. Still, this is a welcome relief."

"Errmm…my Lord?!" A soldier put himself in the room. "A man claiming coming from the Inquisition wants to see you." Roland was now regretting the show of his joy about the good reports.

"Let him enter." The soldier did so and it was clear the newcomer was ready for war. Under a red hood the man showed the pass of time with locks of white hair and a scar crossing his left bionic eye, while the right one had a dark blue iris that could break the souls of the weak traitors. He was using also red power armor not unlike the fabled Space Marines, leaving his gaze eight meters above the floor; it had big illustrations of symbols of the Ecclesiarchy, ancient scriptures with promises done to the Ordos and the Emperor put in the left shoulder, left power fist and left boots; but what was more striking were a power greatsword in his left hip, a grand book in his right hip and a gigantic 'I' with a human skull in the middle in the chest, the symbol of the Holy Orders of the Officio Inquisitorious.

Compared with that, the Governor only had a military coat, a pretty monocle and a portable bolter pistol in case the madmen managed to get inside his own palace.

"I am Inquisitor Helmut Montag, Ordo Hereticus." The man presented himself with a tone of disappointment. "It is clear that you are failing to live up the name of your House. This is not what I expected to see in my own homeworld." Roland wanted to come up with a decent excuse. "But the time of pointing fingers for the guilty has yet to come. I am here to help to put down the rebellious rabble. Do you mind telling me where the leaders of this uprising are?" The Governor gulped a bit before ordering to bringing him the news.

"The main issue is in the middle hive, a horde of rebels known as the 'Cult of Redemption' is causing burnings there. Their leader is a former priest known to accuse the local abhumans of unproven heresies." Then they put in the table photos of the mentioned leader. "We lost contact with the main horde two hours ago."

"You should thank the Golden Throne that he will not be a problem anymore." Then the Inquisitor put above a dantesque picture of the whole group of cultists killed, their leader included. "Still, I highly doubt some mere gangers were capable of such feat. Even misplaced, the Faith in the God-Emperor can lead one to great accomplishments." The Governor was covering his mouth of the shock. "I will send my Inquisitorial Tempestus Scions to his deathbed, along with any place that requires my services." Roland Vandalarius knew it was not a kind gesture of charity and now he had nothing to do about it.

"Understood, I will signal you the worsts skirmishes."

Ranger felt his whole body in pain, he somehow knew his back was against the floor and that he had to get up and open his eyes. Doing so granted him a familiar but hated sight.

I know this place.

He was inside a cathedral, but the windows instead of angels or something comforting represented a hooded winged monster with a bleeding heart above its head. There were small rivers of blood leading the center of the place and the few open windows showed floating terrain united by chains, clouds barely hiding monstrous tendrils and limbless abominations flying around. Before Ranger could come to terms what he was seeing and that he was wielding a machinegun, a demonic voice appeared.

Welcome again.

"No, no, not again…."

Prepare to fight.

"No…I'm not longer your gladiator!"

Round begins in three.

"No"

Two.

"No!"

One.

"You bast-"

FIGHT!

Gunshots started to rain everywhere as Ranger ran quickly to find any ammo, weapon or armor those bastards did summon, but instead…

"Time to get some air!" A thin punk junkie in a hoverboard armed a blue weapon known as a nailgun. Ranger hated both the junkie known as Anarki and the design of his weapon, which did shoot nails that Ranger managed to avoid without issue; but he also failed to hit mark with the rapid bastard.

Noticing his awful aim, Anarki instead pulled out a small purple device that worked as a gauntlet with a small chainsaw. He grinned knowing that getting killed by one of these was the worst shame in the Arena and charged at Ranger, who ducked the hit and shoot at the hoverboard, making the punk fall on his face, not giving him enough time to avoid the lethal burst in the back. Ranger then grabbed the Nail Gun, spat at Anarki's body and went to search for more resources.

"I will harvest your soul!" Shotgun fire came from one of the fanatics of the particular God who was watching this match. A woman of short white hair, glowing eyes, pale blue skin and armor from the medieval ages was shooting him to feed his blood to her Gods and Ranger was having none of that. He ran forwards away knowing he could be blasted away by the shots or her Unholy Totems she could summon.

The zealot Paladin named Galena, would not let a sinner who killed one of the Gods themselves goes unpunished and pursued him in the halls, but after one corner she got hit in the face with Anarki's hoverboard, then got executed by Ranger's nails. They were not of nine inches large, but it did the job. Ranger was just loading the shotgun when rockets came from the right.

"You're among the wolves now!" Ranger realized that now he was facing one of the few sane warriors of the Arena. A man of middle age with light brown hair, light brown jacket, graying brown pants and army boots; that man was William "BJ" Blazkowicz, a veteran hero of an ancient war that happened in home too long ago, but Ranger knew he came from a timeline where evil has triumphed, also that he was dual welding rocket launchers. Rocket launchers aimed at him.

The barrage was too much to handle, so Ranger uses the Dire Orb to go to a high position to fire the nailgun at BJ, who escaped as he wasted the lasts rockets. Ranger jumped down, putting himself point blank at BJ with shotgun in hand, and muttering "I'm sorry." as he blew up the veteran face off his body.

Excellent.

Ranger snarled at the voice, but he got grabbed in the neck by a warrior covered from head to toe by a green armor corrupted by demonic energies and the whispers of his dead home. To many souls, this warrior was the one whose undying rage saved them from being slaves of Hell itself. For Ranger, this Doom Slayer was just another madman he had to put down again. Unlike Blazkowicz, Doom did resist being shot point blank by the shotgun; his only reaction was throwing Ranger to the floor and then he dedicates himself to punch him in the face nonstop.

The Hell Walker may be feared as an avatar of Rage, but Ranger felt his own anger forming in his right hand and used a small pause from his foe to connect a powered jab at his helmet that stopped Doom in his tracks. Ranger did not stop there; against common sense he punched the Doom Slayer's face again and again, to the point they both noticed the latter visor breaking at each punch; but when Ranger felt this last punch would put this rabid bunny down for good, Doom grabbed his arm, used it to throw Ranger to the floor, put his foot in the slipgate warrior's face to keep him still and then he ripped the arm apart.

Ranger wanted to scream, but something was stopping his voice in his throat. Doom Slayer was not done yet; he grabbed Ranger's head, then he put his hand in each part of his jaw, and then began to open it apart.

Ranger couldn't do nothing to stop this mute psycho, he was feeling every part of his head being torn apart not fast enough, it hurts, it hurts, ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsImustscreamIhavetoscreamwhyIcannotscrea-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ranger opened his eyes and instead of a Cathedral of the Elder Gods, he was above of a mattress in a somehow familiar room, lacking his armor and weapons except for the boots; with the naive girl being near, obviously frightened by his scream.

"Mister, are you alright?!" She said worried. Ranger then noticed that she had pointy ears like the drawing of her mother.

"Lofn…that is your name?" She nodded. "It was…an awful nightmare. Just that, a nightmare."

"No, it was a memory; but I can't tell her that."

Lofn sighed in relief, but Ranger also had some questions.

"How I got here?"

"I don't know. You just walked here, wounded and mumbling about someone." Ranger tensed, he noticed the bandage in his hips, but there was the fear he said something nobody should know.

"Who was that person?"

"Annie." Ranger felt an odd confusion, he should be relieved nothing eldritch came from his mouth, but it also brought back painful memories. Not the ones who tore your body apart, but the ones who broke your soul. Lofn noticed his distress. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to-"

"It's okay." Ranger interrupted. "She is my wife, I have a family too." His mission was returning too. "They are waiting for me."

Lofn sighed; she guessed it was everything good now. "Well, I will be back to my room them, you scared Ripper too." She went there but then…

"Wait." Lofn turned around at Ranger. "Thanks kid." Then finally Ranger went to rest under his own terms. Lofn returned to her bed, also to sleep, completely happy for receive a confirmation of her beliefs.

"Status report: All insurgents were purged" A tempestor informed by a sanctioned vox channel. He along with his squad was standing above the pile of dead redemptionists who wanted to use this place to kill beings the Emperor needed yet to keep His wars run smoothly. Unlike the Planetary Defense Force, who were lucky to have armor covering their chest and have a basic lasgun at all, these soldiers were granted the best Carapace armor a baseline human can wield in the Imperium and the destroyer of armors Hot-shot lasgun (also known as Hellguns), as expected of the Tempestus Scions, especially those who worked alongside the Inquisition itself.

"Alright. I will inform the lads of the PDF that the Main Warehouse is waiting for them." A voice speaking in a link between them and Inquisitor Montag, who was testing the Governor to see how much he deserved to be punished for failing to maintain order.

"With all respect to the Inquisitor, why do we need to aid them in putting down these amateurs?" The Scions are supposed to go the worsts places the enemy, be heretics or aliens, had when the Artartes were not around; not killing some upstarts gangers in a hive, which is the job of the Arbiters.

"The Inquisitor does have some fondness of this particular planet, but these actions will let us operate here without issue in case the Command Squad somehow fails to purge that…abomination." The voice responded with information the Stormtroopers knew already, this was nothing but a show of might, to let it clear to the local nobles they had to answer to people who could sentence the damnation of their souls if found wanting.

"In that case we will hold position until the PDF relieve us." The tempestor then closed the connection, when one of his men gave him more news.

"New hostiles going by the main door, they seem be just mere looters." He spoke almost bored.

"Kill one of them as a warning. If they don't leave, then throw some frags for good measure." It did not take more of a few seconds to hear a shot and screams from the looters.

"Those frakheads are from the Inquisition! Run!" At least someone was smart enough to not mess with the eyes of the Emperor himself, not that it was enough to spare at least five of the looters if the screams and shoots counted were to considerate, but those who died are lucky the Scions were too professional to give them an awful death for daring desecrate a holy place like a mob of greenskins.

The tempestor decided to give a prayer to Him on Terra, to give strength to the other squads to finish off the bunch of traitors the Inquisitor seemed to be obsessed with for once for all; lest their years of training and gear gets wasted in more gangers.

"Attention all citizens. Emergency curfew in progress." A monotone voice was heard once again in the morning. "Remain in your homes and pray for deliverance. The PDF has everything under control."

"They said the same thing again?" Ranger asked while doing some abdominals exercises despite Lofn's warnings about his wound.

"How you can't understand Low Gothic?" That was a question that pursued Lofn until now.

"I told you, I'm not from here." Ranger suddenly remembered an unasked issue. "Wait…what tongue are speaking now?"

"…eldar tongue…"

"The heck is an eld…your mother's people, right?" She nodded. "Or they speak English, or my mind got so wacked up I am speaking alien now." Ranger did not like either option.

"Do…you have issues with aliens?"

"As long they don't try to kill me, I don't care." He claimed at her. "I have to yet meet one who is not an asshole, thought."

"Really?" She sighed with relief.

"Let me guess, most humans here despise them?"

"Yes, but not without reasons by the way."

"Are the humans here assh…jerks?"

"In the best of cases."

"…"

"How do you speak eldar?"

"No idea, kid. Perhaps they share tongue with the humans from home." His suspicions were not very encouraging. "Are they jerks too?"

"Mom says they wouldn't let me live in the craftworld until I grow up. I don't know why."

"Something tells me it must be related with the whole interspecies…'partnership', but I will keep it quiet for now."

"Do you remember how you got here?"

"…no, and I would rather forget that."

"Your dreams?" Ranger's mood worsened in an instant.

"Look kid, I don't want to talk about it, understood?" He said. "Unless you tell me first what is this 'Imperium of Man' and who is this 'Emperor' who commands it. Then I can tell you the censored version." She seemed to accept that deal, as long he also stopped his exercises. She would need to get new bandages after this.

According to Lofn, the Imperium was born ten thousand years ago by a being known as the Emperor who united the disorganized human planets under his rule after a disaster called 'The Long Night', where hundreds of aliens preyed in the remains of old human civilization and it was linked to a part of eldar history she did not want to speak about. According to her father, he is the most glorious protector of Mankind and a living God in his prime; while her mother says he was just a powerful psyker, strong enough to unite most of mankind and turn them in one of the most dangerous species, but too blind and prideful to watch his foes from within, leading to his undeath at the hands of the voices of the Warp, the dreaded forces of Chaos.

As vengeance for the unpunished raids suffered in their darkest hour, the Imperium was founded in the hatred and desire of extermination of all xeno life, even the lifeforms they never met before. After the fall of the Emperor by his generals corrupted by the forces of Chaos, madmen who follow the voices of the Warp where added at the blacklist. According to her mother, the current High Farseer of her Craftworld of birth tried to warn the Emperor himself of the Ruinous Powers, but he was ignored by the arrogant human and it cost him dearly.

"What about you mister?" Sha asked. Ranger wanted to hear more, but he guessed he would ask her parents themselves why they did not kill each other.

"Well, in my planet the eggheads…I mean the men of science invented a technology called the Slipgate, which was supposed to let transport provisions and people at large distances in an instant, but the idiots forgot about what could be living in between."

Lofn had an idea of what Ranger meant, which would explain his broken mood.

"I was a Marine, but-"

"You? A Marine? Then why are you so tiny?"

"Would you let me finish?"

"Sorry."

"Apology accepted. I was a Marine, but there I was some poor sucker who was not aware of what they were doing. I learned it the day of the invasion zero at five of the freaking morning. An alien being codenamed Quake who lurked in another world was invading mine using the slipgates, successfully brainwashing most of the personal there. Me and my team were the best, but Quake brainwashed most of them…I had to put them out of their misery."

"I'm sorry."

"The majority of HQ was dead or missing, and the last orders were 'go to the slipgate and stop the invasion at all cost'. I doubt they had any idea what was at the other side: there were countless worlds corrupted by the enemy and its inhabitants transformed beyond recognition, my only guide left was the flow of the slipgates left in the remains of our own bases."

"Did you manage to defeat Quake?" She asked

"Yes!" He said with a sudden grin that disappeared just as quickly. "But with a high cost, I had to put…bad things in my head to find the knowledge of what Quake was and how to kill her for good." Lofn shuddered at the implications of his claims. "The source of it coming from some magic runes I lost a long time ago." He skipped the part he kept one of them. "Quake needed four of those runes to destroy Earth in a fell swoop, but I managed to get them before her minions offered them and I used them to destroy her. If only that would mean the end."

"There is more?"

"Yes, I spent twenty years trapped in their realms, away of home, having to hear the whispers of her fellow 'gods'; they eventually trapped me in an Arena where I lost my own name and most of my humanity. It's hard to think when I am not in middle of a combat, at most I got some of their powers and resilience." Ranger then opened his right palm again and summoned the Dire Orb. "This is my war trophy, the proof that even the Gods can be destroyed; but also, it is a constant reminder I am no longer a human." Then he closed his hand, shutting down the orb too. There was a tense calm until Lofn ended it.

"What you showed me is sorcery, which it would be a proof that you surrendered yourself to the madness of the Warp, yet you don't seem crazier than the average human psyker. But I know Mom and she hates humans with your type of powers."

"I don't blame her if she wants to kill me."

"I need to know that you are not one of them."

"How?"

"Why did you kill the redemptionists? Just the first reason in your head." The mind of Ranger began to cloud in images of the battle, forcing him to ignore the gunfire and screams until he found what started it in the first place.

"Anyone who wants to join our just cause shall be welcome as brothers and sisters, but those who tries to resist the Truth of Redemption will be punished for heresy like the rest of the scum tonight!"

"That last photo...it was my mother's people..."

"...They wanted to kill everyone…I faced cultists before…and it did not take much conclude they would be here eventually…I may be a monster, but I can't let other monsters cause havoc when I can do something about it, even it is just killing them."

"But you like to kill."

"…I did eventually, but I would rather out an end to it. Die with my family, as a human again."

"You are not a monster. I can tell it."

"And you are too naive, kid. Once you parents arrive, I will be in my own way. I don't think we both can convince your mother to spare me."

"They should be clo-"

A great explosion nearby shocked the house.

"What now?" Growled Ranger at the sound.

The Taurox is considered one of the most powerful carriers both the Imperial Guard and the Tempestus Scions can use in the hour of duty; while not as robust as a Chimera, its twinlinked Autocannons put either in its sides or as a turret above, its fast and amphibious quad tracks and its imposing size made it ideal to transport heavy infantry, a shock weapon against the Emperor's foes and a brutal asset of counterattacks. In this mission the Stormtroopers counted with the Prime pattern; stronger plates, bigger gun loadout and faster tracks makes it essential to bring the fury of the Militarum Tempestus. Since this mission was to destroy a child psyker xeno, a good old-fashioned Gatling gun may be considered overkill to those less enlightened, but years serving in the Inquisition showed the wisdom in the saying 'walk softly and carry a big gun'.

"Squad Phobos, what's the status? Over." The man who connected the Tempestus inside the vehicle with the Inquisitor's will spoke trough the vox.

"Tempestor Prime Altdorf reporting, nothing worth mentioning so far, over." The soldier responded. He had the Taurox and ten men strong of the best Stormtroopers of the Sector, all to kill one child xeno.

"Be advised, there are reports of possible redemptionists survivors in the area, along with the unknown witch who destroyed them; while it is not your primary objective, if you see him Inquisitor Montag wants him alive, due at the same reasons of our intervention at the conflict in Vactis IV." Altdorf nodded, knowing some of those men were in this very planet, probably aiding to put down the current rebellion.

"Understood Command, over and out." The Tempestor Prime turned to his men. "Very well lads, it is time we finally put this abomination out of the Emperor's sight, lest we repeat an incident like the "hugger" Carnifex." They nodded as they prepared their hellguns.

"Tempestor, there are sightings of possible hostiles." The driver warned as he saw a group of redemptionists getting closer to their position, probably unaware of the fate of their fellows. "Should we engage them?"

"Negative, even they are not stupid enough to-"

"THOSE SOLDIERS WORK FOR THE HERETICS! KILL THEM!" The renegade cultists opened fire on the Taurox, but since their weapons were only stubs, at most it scratched the paint from the vehicle. The driver turned to point the cultists and returned their greeting in kind, turning this mob into more paste for the carrion.

"Keep your eyes open, they must be watching us" Tempestor Prime Altdorf thought for a moment if that little fight might alert the abomination, only for a rocket fly above the Taurox Prime. "We lost the element of surprise! Men, get out and purge these madmen!" The squad got out of the vehicle by its backdoor and opened fire at the redemptionists, lest they ruin even further their assignment.

A few hundred of matters away, Ranger and Lofn barely could see them in action.

"Should I-"

"No." Her voice is firm. "They may be here only to deal with the other bad guys."

"Do you know them?" He was curious.

"Stormtroopers, I think, they work for the former bosses of Dad. We better leave them alone." The Ripper appeared and looked at the soldiers with slight distaste.

"As you say." The slipgate marine muttered, his killing intent already getting sapped away by the aura and his common sense; if only it could also make the whispers go away too. Still, he decided to keep an eye on them while checking his weapons.

Somehow, both the pistol and the machine gun had new ammo, Ranger guessed that at this point it became an instinct to loot every bullet left in his rampages and after a quick order he now counted with six magazines and ten clips along with some spare bullets to deal with any hostile stupid enough to get close.

For their part, the Scions proved themselves far more disciplined that the Cult of Redemption, the former went in pairs, covering each other as they eliminate the latter's men in coordinated shots from their lasguns. The cultists fired back with their machine guns, but it barely phased the soldiers. Only the heavy guns and the bazooka managed to force them to fall back and regroup.

Ranger got out of the window in search of a sharpener for the fire axe, once he found it in the kitchen he went back at the window, only to realize the battle got away from his watch; perhaps the kid was right, and these guys were only there to mopping up what was left of the cultists. He then noticed the ripper looking at their former direction too with suspicion in its eyes.

"Do you think those guys might come for us?" Ranger asked, at which the animal looked at him with a face accusing him of being a complete fool. "Of course, they might…I have a feeling I will fight them soon enough."

Or it is your desire to fight them making itself manifest?

Ranger cursed at whatever made that question at him. He did admit he enjoyed the carnage he caused yesterday, but now he was in a realm where common sense should have a better grasp in it.

Besides, that kid was the first friendly face in a long time, se he better starts to behave like a human should, lest it gives her parents an excuse to frag him to oblivion.

"All rebel hostiles are purged. Over." Tempestor Prime Altdorf informed as he put the last shot into the cultist's heart. It seemed that Fate itself was making sure to slow down the execution of the cursed spawn that was driving the Inquisitor mad. To be fair to Montag, the fact that there could be a human/xeno hybrid at all was an affront to the Holy Human Form that had to be corrected at once.

"Be advised," Mission Control spoke again. "Our servo-skulls discovered that the unknown witch is near your position, over."

"Should we try to capture him or just go to the Primary target and call it a day? Over."

"Only if you feel you can handle it, otherwise we can send reinforcements to your position, over."

"Negative, the lads can handle a confused witch and that little xeno turd. We will communicate once we assured our victory, over and out." The Tempestor Prime cut out communications then he turned forward his men. "I know this is not the kind of glorious combat we were trained for, but the inquisitor does not need to remind us why it's imperative to do this."

The other Stormtroopers said nothing, all aware of both the necessity and the pettiness of this mission. Inquisitor Montag hated leaving any loose ends, especially those that seemed pitiful only to show their true colors. Still, their sense duty overcome their reservations. Without any word, Tempestor Prime Altdorf and seven of his men went towards the zone where they suspected both their targets resided, while the three soldiers left were tasked with guarding the Taurox from any looters. They advanced in pairs as before, making sure no one would notice their presence more than it was needed.

"They are coming for us." Lofn announced suddenly.

"No shit." Ranger's mind scoffed as he was preparing his weapons.

"Maybe we should wait for my parents to arrive."

"Or I could just go out and kill those bastards"

"These bad men know how to kill better than the redemptionists, their lasguns can pierce armor and flesh like is nothing, while your stub guns will not work against their carapace armor."

"Even this gun which blew up part of a corner?"

"That one it would take one magazine in the head."

"…You know a lot about guns for someone who doesn't like violence."

"My dad used to work for them…and mom is used to fight them."

"Anything else I should know about those soldiers?"

"That they are very mean." Ranger would have laughed if it wasn't for the severity of the situation.

"Trust me kid, I fought things meaner than them." After that little talk, Ranger gave one last look through the window and saw far away two pairs of stormtroopers aiming right at him; one pair in the window of the house in front of him while the other pair was lying in the ceiling of a bigger building; both clearly unwilling to move out of their positions, then he noticed Lofn hiding below a trapdoor making gestures to go there, which he followed.

"We lost visual contact with the package." One of the stormtroopers who was planted in the ceiling announced to his teammates. "Should we get inside?"

"Not yet." The Prime murmured. "Tell two of your lads to move positions and watch for any way in we might have missed." With a signal, the receiver gave the order to move out of the house at the pair inside it, which they followed with haste. The men in the ceiling kept their eyes on the other pair as they moved forwards the streets. They lost visual contact with them when their allies went inside an alley at their right.

"Do you see anything?" The men in the ceiling asked to his squad mates.

"Two doors at the left, one window at the right and a sewer cover in the front. Sending images for analysis." They pressed a button and the images appeared in the HUD of the rest, even those guarding the Taurox Prime. It didn't take much until the Prime's judgment.

"Check the sewer." The pair followed suit, yet the one who opened it saw nothing beyond a large hole and stairs while the other kept watch.

"Are you sure, Tem-" The complaint was suddenly interrupted by the sound of dismemberment and blood boiling, with the stormtrooper watching in horror at a man in yellow armor covered in the blood of his pair; armed with a fire axe and a stub pistol in his hands, with a stub machinegun in the back; the stormtrooper raised his hellgun but the stranger shoots him in the head which disorient the scion, followed by a strong kick which push him down the sewer, forwards a painful death.

"Jackal and Sidonius are KIA!" The scion in the roof shouted. "It was the package!" They all saw their last moments of both through the HUD.

"Hold your positions and stay in overwatch." Tempestor Altdorf gave the order. "The orders with the package is now shoot to kill." Inquisitor Montag would not like this, but it was clear this witch had no honor and he along the hybrid abomination had to be purged for mankind's sake.

It was a good they were not working together as far as he knew.

"Well, shit." Ranger commented as he looked at the seemly big hole. "I needed those magazines. At least the laser of that other bastard is still in one piece." Indeed, the hellgun of the telefragged soldier was ready for action, but with only the magazine inside available. He sighed and went to close the window which he came from and then he made a call. "Two down. How many were they again?"

"Between ten to fifteen." Lofn spoke trough the tiny vox she put in Ranger's ear. "Did you close the window? Over."

"Yes, I did." He rolled his eyes. It was less to cover his tracks and more to avoid other two houses and their owners to be caught in the cross-fire (Even if there wasn't anybody there). "Where are the rest of 'em?"

"There are still two in the roof, but I can't see the rest." The marine put the hellgun in his back along the machine gun. "And don't forget to say 'over' when you finish."

"Why?"

"That's what the adult soldiers always say, over."

"Look somewhere else, because they are next…over." Ranger could feel both the annoyance of to be reminded of proper military conducted by a kid and the so-called Warp flowing through his body and attempting to overwhelm him, which made him glad that directing it to summon the Dire Orb instead was as easy as breath. He saw the two jackassess in the rooftop, who opened fire at the sight of him. With the Orb still in hand, he grabbed the sewer tape with the other one, which was big enough to cover his torso and head (and of course, it had a skull in the front).

He run out of the alley which draw fire from the scions, shots blocked by the sewer tape were responded by the Dire Orb which moved Ranger to the rooftop, eldritch energy pushing aside the enemy pair almost near the borders at opposite sides. One of the scions reacted just in time to avoid a barrage of stub fire and returned with his las-shots, yet they failed to aim true. Ranger unloaded an entire magazine of the machine gun and it hit the target, but just as Lofn warned, it did not cause enough damage to perforate the armor. The other scion charged behind him, but Ranger whacked him with the blunt end of the axe, only receive lasfire in the front chest from the first scion and falling in his back.

"Witness yo-" The head of the stormtrooper melted as Ranger responded with lasfire from his own Hellgun, then turning to finish off the other soldier by blasting his head away too as he was getting up. He touched his chest armor looking for any wounds, luckily the were only three hard hits in it that were cooling off. Had two of those landed in the same place, it would be his own guts the ones melting away in the floor.

"Fucking lasers." Ranger had been shot countless times by the damned Railguns in the Arena Eternal, and this Imperium already knew how to make them automatic. At least now he could respond them in kind. "Four down, where are the others?" He called Lofn as he looted the magazines from the dead bodies. "Over."

"I found another pair of stormtroopers going below you. I think they know it is you who is killing their friends. Over."

"I see them." Ranger confirmed. "There's also a trio of their allies near a vehicle with a pair of guns stuck with their doors. Over."

"I always found that car a bit dumb, over."

"Agreed. Find the last pair, I will get the truck for last." Ranger cut the communication, then opened it again. "Over and out." And then he closed it at last. He prepared again the Dire Orb to take down the soldiers below in the street, and as he threw it the scions realized the danger and run away while giving suppressing fire at Ranger's current position. The orb exploded in the floor without harming anyone and Ranger has lost the pair, so he decided to go down the old-fashioned way, using the stairs inside the building.

Unknowing to him, the stormtroopers had the inverse idea and went upstairs in the same house to fight the rogue psyker and avenge their comrades. The building seemed to be an apartment, and if the shouts above them were of any clue, their foe was making no effort to conceal himself between the citizens who were not obeying the curfew properly. Still, they would deliver proper punishment after they kill the psyker.

"PISS OFF!" Ranger scared the onlookers away, men and women who looked they were used to misery, cursing again the fact he could not speak their language instead of whatever the hell was the eldar tongue (despite the fact his mind was still convinced he was speaking English). The only thing the humans here could understand from him was rage and killing intent, and that shout made his message clear enough, but not soon enough to disperse everyone when the next pair of stormtroopers arrived and opened fire at him in the corridor, which Ranger responded by dropping gut down to the floor to avoid the las-shots.

It was both the professionalism of the scions and some dumb luck that no civilians were harmed, but now Ranger lacked any cover and he could not fire more than a few las-shots of his own before the scions retreated to their end of the passage. The hostiles realized their advantage and one of them opened suppressing fire while the other threw two frag grenades once he was sure Ranger was immobilized. The marine was still on the floor, but he quickly noticed a door barely opening by some clueless onlooker, so as he heard the pin of the frags coming out, he fired the Dire Orb forwards the door, teleported there, opened the door with brute force, pushed the onlooker inside and shut the door just before the grenades exploded in the hall.

Ranger sighed in relief at his renewal survival and the fact the fool who unknowing saved his life was now unconscious. As he was smirking at the sounds of the scions cursing their failure, he heard a sound from his earpiece and so he opened the communications.

"I am bit busy kid." Ranger muttered as he heard the pair of soldiers getting closer. "Over."

"Mister, I found the last pairs," A hard was heard in the other signal. "and they are at the door here!"

"Shit!" He had to end this skirmish quickly. "Hold on, I'm coming soon."

"Please come before they find me, over and out." And she cut down the vox communication, as Ranger noticed his pursuers also trying to break the door he used as refuge. He reloaded the hellgun, then put it in his right hand. Ranger then put the machinegun in his left hand. Dual-wielding was not exactly his forte.

*CRACK*

That door would not las long, so in an instinct from a better man, Ranger put the unconscious civilian out of the sight of the door, then he moved a table and kicked it, making it a decent cover.

*CRACK*

"We found the refuge of the Primary target," Tempestor Prime Altdorf's voice. "Get out of your position and regrou-" The voice was cut by the two vengeful scions.

*CRACK*

"You will die here, heretic!" Shouted one of the tempestus, no longer containing his hatred as he and his teammate pounded the door.

*CRACK*

"Bring it." As Ranger finished the whisper, the door's lock was broken, and two barrages of lasers blasted the place apart, leaving the living and the table full of burned holes. The hellguns ran out of shots and the stormtroopers were changing their battery magazines when a monstrous snarl vibrated the room.

"What in the Emperor's nam-"

"My turn, assholes!" Ranger was hiding in another door, he jumped out of it and opened fire at the pair, being close enough to both guns managed to hit their targets, the hellgun burning the armor and guts of the right soldier when the machinegun stunned his teammate long enough to aim the former at him and turn his insides into paste too. He ran as he reloaded both guns and put the machinegun in his back until he found a window where could see the last two pairs of stormtroopers kicking the door of the house he was residing and going inside while shouting what sounded like death threats.

"Nowhere left to hide, abomination!" Shouted Tempestor Prime Altdorf as he inspected the house with the last three scions disponible, leaving only one soldier left guarding the Taurox. "Your sinful existence ends here!"

Lofn was below the floor, scared and hugging Ripper as she heard the soldiers above tearing everything apart in their zeal. She prayed once again for her parents to arrive and save her from the bad men.

"Damn it, damn it!" Cursed Ranger, who in a hurry crushed the window with the butt of the hellgun, relented for a moment until the Dire Orb formed in his hand. "Fuck it!" He hurls it forwards the door of the hideout, the eldritch energy coming out of the tele transportation alerting the scions inside.

"Witch sighted, purge it!" The Tempestus opened fire at Ranger, who ducked and fired at the head of the closest scion, blasting his head off.

"Throw some frags!" The Stormtroopers obeyed the Tempestor's will, the explosives bouncing the floor to deliver inquisitorial judgment to their foe. They could already see the enemy trying to get out of the refuge, only to be torn up the shrapnel while they were safe behind cover, two in the couch and Altdorf in the kitchen.

Little they knew, combat in the Dreamlands of the Elder Gods and the Arena Eternal of the Vadrigar common sense was a drawback.

Ranger ran forwards the scions instead of retreating, seemingly ignoring the frag grenades below him, until he steps on the last two, and in what should had torn apart his legs and foots, instead the explosion pushed him to the air and forwards the scion of his left, tackling him and crushing his internal organs from the impact.

Despite the pain, Ranger quickly turned around to blast Altdorf, missing the shot because the other scion jumped at him, knife in hand striking in the unarmored arms and the face of the psyker, slashing in the former enough times to force him to drop the Hellgun. Altdorf could not get a clear shot between the melee.

"They keep trying, over and over again."

Realizing the lack of guns, Ranger's right hand moves forwards the fire axe.

"But they will never break me!"

Painted in its own blood, Ranger's arm strikes with the axe, landing a horizontal cut in the eyes of the scion, leaving him blind. The pain forced Ranger to release the axe, with it stuck in the stormtrooper's face, now helpless and screaming for dear life. Ranger barely managed to get up as he saw the blind scion hitting a wall, pushing the axe further in the brain long enough to put him out of his misery.

"Oi! Suzy!" He turned aside, receiving a strong hit in the face from the butt from Tempestor Prime Altdorf's hellgun, downing him, followed by a stomp in the face and a spit from the last stormtrooper.

Altdorf praised the Emperor for giving him the chance to put the double-cursed psyker at this downed state, even if it costed the lives of all his men but the one soul guarding the Taurox Prime. He could see in the eyes of the fallen witch the hatred at his incoming execution. Altdorf grinned as he aimed at the head, ready to finish this off.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Ranger saw in his blood-tainted eyes a white blur landing at the neck of Altdorf, followed by the sound of flesh being torn apart, the white blur going inside, the neck of the Tempestor Prime spraying blood in the living room, the victim incapable of screaming as he turned around repeatedly, until he fell dead to the floor, eyes wide open. Out of the great hole in the neck came the little maggot thing called Ripper, who was now spitting the remains of the neck with an almost comical annoyance in its face.

"Remind me…to not piss you off." Ranger spat some blood out of his mouth as he raised from the ground, forcing himself to not fall again. He heard a door open and looked at Lofn stunned at the onslaught that just ended. "Hey kid, they won't hurt you now." He noticed the hybrid was now wearing a backpack and another hat that covered her pointy ears.

She snapped back to reality and she looked at Ranger while avoiding the dead bodies. "Mister, thanks for arriving, but we must get out of here."

"And was I beginning to like this place…lead the way then." He snarked as he walked slowly to retrieve his hellgun and fire axe, then he heard some whispers from one of the dead scions.

"Oh no…" Lofn heard them too, one of the scions was talking barely in High Gothic.

"…Prime down…barrage to my position…the Emperor protects." Then he looked at the thrice-cursed psykers, insane grin behind his mask. "We all die in His name..."

"Run!" Lofn grabbed Ranger's wrist and quickly both ran away from their now former refuge, Ranger barely understanding anything beyond the need to survive at all cost. They managed to run one block when the sounds of dropping missiles covered the middle hive, followed by earsplitting explosions. Both fugitives knew where it hit.

"What her parents did to anger those assholes so bad?" It has been a long time since Ranger was at the receiving end of proper air attacks and he was not in the mood of be fragged again from above.

"Mister, do you remember where the vehicle was?"

"Two blocks to the right…then straight to the-" Familiar chants interrupted him, and it was the coming of worse news.

"Redemptionists?" She could see them, the last straglers of the horde of maniacs who were still trying to torch the Hive City to the ground, and they seemed to recognize them.

"There he is!" One of them pointed at Ranger. "He is the witch who murdered our beloved Redeemer!" The mob screamed in zealous rage and charged at the pair.

"Follow me." Whispered Ranger, who wounded and tired as he was, he still sprinted forwards the direction of the Taurox Prime as he fired the machinegun at the cultists pursuing him and the kid. The sudden death of their friends froze the cultists in their tracks, giving Ranger and Lofn enough time to get out of their sights and forwards the Taurox, their now only possible mean to escape this doomed place.

Tempestus Scion Amodeus rediscovered fear.

He was no Adeptus Astartes, but for him fear was something left in the past since the days of the Schola Progenium, where he spent most of his childhood since his parents died heroically holding the line against the tide of the foul greenskins. That place had no room for mercy, so Amodeus inspired by the tales of the Space Marines, forsook the fear that held him back since birth, which made him worthy to join the Tempestus Scions. He proved the Emperor his worth by slaying hundreds of aliens, traitors and heretics in the worsts battlefields was given to him; places that would had make simple guardsmen desert their post at the mere thought of it. After a costly battle against a warband from the traitor Alpha Legion and the Planetary Governor they brainwashed, he was granted with direct service with the Ordo Hereticus, serving as part of a Kill Team to purge the traitors within without breaking the illusion to the citizens that there was nothing to worry about their betters. Many times, he fought in silent wars all over the sector, where a misstep spelled the damnation of countless planets in a second, yet he never met fear, because his faith was enough.

Yet he saw everything, how the rogue psyker who Inquisitor Montag showed sudden interest slaughtered all his comrades in arms, how quickly he fell to the whims of the xeno hybrid they were hunting and how even at the Gates of Death he kept fighting. He was the last one of the Command Squad and he could feel him coming.

"Scion Amodeus to Inquisitorial Command, I am the last survivor of my squad, requesting immediate evac. Over." Despite everything, this mission was supposed to be top secret, so help from everyone else was forbidden.

"Inquisitorial Command here. How you managed to fail? Over." The voice was not raising his voice, and Amodeus dared not guess how many Kill Team went before his.

"Tempestor Prime Altdorf divided us in pairs to hunt the Primary Target with me left guarding the Taurox Prime, but they were killed down by the optional package who is in league with the Primary. Not even a barrage could put them down. Over."

"So soon…" The Inquisitor will not be pleased. "Hold your position. Evac by Valkyrie will arrive in five minutes. Over and out." Amodeus sighed, five minutes alone inside a Taurox that could only shoot in the front. He was preparing to calm himself down by breathing when he saw the bloodied face of the soldier witch behind this disaster. His yellow and brown helmet was soiled with the blood of faithful soldiers, yet behind the mask of hatred and spite his face that showed nothing but tiredness. And that moment of pity cost him dearly, because he failed to notice a small white monster managed to get inside the Taurox and jumped at his neck, quickly biting apart the armor between and the flesh, crossing the flesh and eating the bones connecting his back with his cranium, killing him at last. The deed done, the 'worm' went to the bottoms of the vehicle and pressed everything until one bottom unlocked the side doors.

Ranger and Lofn went inside quickly the vehicle, the former going directly to the driver seat, grabbing a handful of grenades and magazines, and kicking the dead stormtrooper outside the transport; while the latter went to the rear, looking for anything useful there and stay away of the smell of Ripper's latest victim.

"So….do you know how to drive this truck?" She asked at the marine, who was immobile in the seat, despite the howling from the redemptionists outside.

"Where is the key?" He muttered, his eyes tired and the wounds starting to paint him up. Lofn grabbed the medikit the Tempestus left inside and quickly began to clean and patch Ranger's arms with bandages, him more focused in the front, where the remaining cultists were aiming at the Taurox with their stub guns and the occasional lasgun.

"The driver is dead! %&$*, take his place and get us out of this blasted jungle!"

Just as the hybrid finished the right arm, Ripper managed to find the lost keys. Yet the redemptionists got closer and surrounded the vehicle.

"To where?! The HQ, dumbass! Victor Charlie has taken over the entire city!"

Just to be sure, Lofn took care of the of the left arm, ignoring all shots and hits bouncing in the armor of the Taurox.

"What do you mean this thing doesn't run?! We're fucked if we don't get out of here!"

"Mister! Wake up!"

"%&$*! Fix this shit before I kill yo-"

"SHUT UP, SARGE! I GOT IT!" Ranger shouted and grabbed the keys. "At the count of three, I will open fire and drive us away from Victor Charlie. Three…"

"Victor Charlie? What in the Warp are-"

"Two..." Ranger inserted the key, putting the motor in action.

"I don't like where this is going." Lofn quickly putted her seatbelt and grabbed Ripper as tight as she could.

"One…" He gritted his teeth and putted his hand in the gearshift.

The cultists' shouts were meant to shatter the minds of those inside, yet the marine's one was focused in one objective since decades and not them or their god would distract him from it.

"FIRE!" Ranger pressed a bottom near the handle, which activated the Taurox's minigun, blasting apart those in the front too slow to run away. He then moved the gearshift accordingly and stepped on the accelerator.

The Taurox Prime moved quickly and crossed above the remains of the cultists, its driver not caring of hitting some of their kin or those few who had the foolish idea of grab the Inquisitorial carrier. Their remains were not pretty.

"We lost them." Grinned Ranger, his mind enjoying victory at least against these elite soldiers.

"Who the hell is Victor Charlie?!" He just remembered that Lofn was at his right, angry at his conduct in the last part of this escape.

"An old army I fought when I was a human, before I faced Quake and turned into this." He sighed, it was the first time his mind clouded in middle of combat, using his own memories too. "Tell me where we must go first, then I can tell you more."

"Ok, but if you act like that again I will sic Ripper at you." Lofn was not in the mood to deal with more madness for this day.

"Yes sir…and tell him thanks for saving my ass from that bastard."

An aircraft with the symbol of the Inquisition arrived just in time to watch the stolen transport leave the deranged redemptionists behind. The pilot went to communicate with the Inquisitor.

"Falcon Omega, the Taurox Prime is leaving without your orde-"

"It's because the little verminspeaker got the package as its new thrall, who then killed all Command Squad!" The voice of Inquisitor Montag was full of hatred, having watched how everything went wrong and hoping that the God Emperor punished the Tempestus Scions for their hubris and failure.

"Should we follow them? Over." The crew would not say their own doubts to their Lord.

"Negative, I will send Vulture squadrons to take care of them if they go to one of the main highways." The inquisitor was also remebering to not let such fine equipment get looted by underhive rabble. "Reinforcement will secure the area and you must give them areal support. The Governor will think this is just more mundane purging."

"Understood Inquisitor, His will be done." They said relieved for those orders.

"Do not contact me directly until you succeed in your duty. Inquisitor out." Montag cursed again, this warrior proved to be an unexpected headache, and there was no doubt that the cursed xeno hybrid has now put him against the Will of He on Terra and the Inquisition.

"Need us, Boss?" He noticed a gruff voice entering the room, he looked a pair who would not look out of place in any crack team made of guardsmen, but now they were his only hope to stop this blasphemy.

"Sarge, Nathan Grunt. Tell me what do you know about this 'Ranger' fellow and how to stop him."

And done. Answer time!

sonic: Thanks.

yo99: Here I have more.

Guest: Trust me, Ranger will need update his gear to survive the new Millenium.

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