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"Someone or something is headed our way." said the Howling Griffon named Axel.

Everyone turned to see the shrouded figure of a large man approaching them. The sun was low casting a dark shadow across the figure obscuring him.

"Who goes there?" said Axel in a hard grunt.

"My name is Argobeth." replied the stranger. He was no more than 15 meters away having come over a hillock that had obscured his approach. As he stepped closer the image presented was that of a Space Wolf with a long white beard carrying a staff. His face was covered in runes tattooed across his brow and cheeks, his face had a deep dark tan and his eyes sparkled soft brown.

"Halt." said Gannon. "He is not what he seems."

"I have chosen to take a form that Is familiar to you to help set you at ease. I have much to tell. It has been a long long time since any outsiders made it this close to the cityscape. I come in peace."

Squee rested her gloved hand on the grip of her inferno pistol. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"It is something we have never known before my Inquisitor." Gannon bursted forth. "I can see you no longer trust me implicitly as once you did but heed my words and be cautious with this creature. It is something totally different than what we just fought but it is also extremely dangerous."

"I thank you personally for having bested the Guardian. I know it was no small task." said Argobeth as he ever so slightly bent a knee. "There is much I have to tell. You have eradicated a construct recreated by themselves to maintain the demise of our master race when in fact they were originally created to serve us. I am the last of my kind and will share with you everything I know. Come with me and I will show you."

Squee smiled. "Can you tell me what is this?" The Inquisitor drew forth a long tuff of black fur knotted to a golden broach. Casually she tossed it to Argobeth.

Argobeth caught the trinket with a gauntleted hand turning it over as he examined it. His eyes drew slant for a moment. "I can't say."

"It was taken from a demonically possessed member of the Wolf Brother known as Wubba. They were the only successors of the Space Wolves which you have taken as your guise. I have no love for them myself even though they are one of the more well known Chapters of the Astartes. Personally I find them quite duplicitous and cunning. They are not to be trusted by any outside their clan. Of all the Chapters they in fact have the highest number of those that fell turning to the unholy path of Chaos." Squee held out her gloved hand with the palm up. "Return it to me."

Argobeth tossed it back. "You will come to know why I took this form soon enough. I apologize it's not to your liking but heed you not to take it as a negative sign. If you like I can take another form."

"I don't care how you look." Squee replied. "It is your manner that concerns me."

+++ A long time ago when Brother Eustis was a young Doom Warrior just attaining the junior rank of Librarian... Fighting in the Crimean campaign against Black Legion. The vast bulk of the war was fought in the blazing sands of the Pandemnic Desert. There was an uneasy alliance with the Black Wolf Great Company of the Space Wolves. Rumors spread amongst the Doom Warriors that a good number of the wolves had turned traitor rather than die after being cornered by the Black Legion vanguard. To make worse the Wolf Lord had slain the Doom Warriors' Chaplain in an honor duel. Eustis is called upon to make things right...

Eustis coolly looked Vonegan in the eye. "It was an honor duel, which you lost then killed our Chaplain Kessel. I have been told the killing blow came when his back was turned. Kessel drew first blood." Eustis lifted his helmet over his bare head then let it drop. The gorgets hissed as they automatically interlocked into the armored neck plate. Next he drew his force axe igniting the fractal edges. "I can sense your shame."

Vonegan bared his fangs. "Don't be rash Doom Warrior! Kessel met his match for once. His death was inevitable." The Wolf Guard ran his tongue over his fangs. He could still taste the hot bile. "We were insulted and Kessel paid the price."

"Our Chaplain won the duel splitting your left cheek then you stabbed him the very moment he turned his back." Eustis read Vonegan's mind replaying the tragic event. "There will be justice here and now." Blue flame erupted along the edges of the force axe and sizzled.

"Why can't you just let it go?" Vonegan was almost shouting he spoke so loud. "Must I slay yet another Doom Warrior? It is our honor at stake not yours." His eyes blazed as he spoke.

"The transgression will not go unaccounted." Eustis dropped to one knee then righted himself. "To the death."

"You have a death wish." snarled Vonegan. "We are surrounded by the worst of the traitors and this is what you. You are sowing the seeds of our own destruction." The Wolf Guard's pointed fangs projected from his lips glistening under the full moon. "I apologize for the death of your Chaplain. We wolves, we never apologize but there you have it. My battle lust got the better of me." His eyes grew slanted and the irises dilated shining like black polished metal.

"Honor comes before everything else." said Eustis, his words cold as ice. "I foresee your death here and now."

Vonegan felt the hair on the back of his neck stiffen then the Wolf Guard activated his huge power fist bringing its core online. "I could bludgeon you to death but there is no time to be wasted."

Eustis made the first move coming in quickly slinging his axe from left to right. Vonegan's power fist while more deadly was slow and cumbersome in comparison to the lightly crafted force axe. The fractal edge cut through the Wolf Guard's pauldron like foil. Vonegan countered with a head butt. The Librarian lowered his skull in perfect unison as their foreheads smashed into each other. Blood began to quickly flow from each seeping into theirs eyes, temporarily obscuring their sight. Eustis spun away as the Wolf Guard slammed down his power fist in an attempt to smash the Doom Warrior. Reversing the grip on the long haft of the axe Eustis drove the blunted end of the axe into Vonegan's lower torso with such force it cracked the armor. Cables hidden underneath the rented armor came loose spewing gouts of brackish fluid. Following through with a blinding riposte the head of the axe caught Vonegsn square against the the chin cracking some of his teeth. The Wolf Guard howled with rage while he spat out the broken caps.

Eustis frowned as his hatred surged. Vonegan felt his ears close followed by intense pressure on his brain pan. Tears of blood began to leak from the corners of his eyes. The Doom Warrior slapped him across his face with the open palm of his gauntlet cracking a cheek bone and smashing the nose. "Doom doom doom." The pain was super intense. "Doom."

Eustis rolled away then struck again cutting through the cybernetic elbow. The power fist slid to the ground with a dull thud. Vongegan's bloated tongue popped out from his mouth as the Wolf Guard sought in vain to breath. A thin red scar freshly cut across his forehead opened the flesh. "First blood."

"You have won the duel." came another voice. A Wolf Priest stepped from behind moving between Eustis and Vonegan. "Let it be now."

The Doom Warrior came to a sudden halt relaxing some of the pressure on his grip to the force axe. The blue tendrils of etheric energies dampened but did not extinguish. "Alright then... He has learned a lesson."

"Forsooth." said the Wolf Priest. "We must return our attention to the battle. We will perish if the infighting continues." Servitors came forth to the aid of the fallen Wolf Guard staunching the bleeding wounds and administering healing balms.

++ Back to the present time line... ++

Eustis looked squarely upon Argobeth. "I know you looked familiar."

Squee opened a telepathic rapport with sergeant Gannon...

++ Sergeant Gannon I know you disdain the use of psychic powers but I need to see inside your mind now so I can see what you see. I am asking your permission to do so. ++

The Inquisitor heard the equivalent of a feral grunt followed by silence then Gannon replied "You may do so Inquisitor but let me warn you, you won't like what you see and it could lead to sheer madness."

++ I'm willing to take that chance. It is imperative I access the situation at hand. You will feel a moment of disorder. ++

Squee looked into the mind of the Howling Griffon. She involuntarily shuddered as his thoughts took corporeal form. Gannon was on the very brink of insanity. Only his extreme level of practiced discipline held the madness at bay. Quickly she erected equipotential shields to maintain a safe barrier from the more intense forms of dangerous thought. Next she began to sort through the chaos looking for what she needed to know. It was horrifying but she continued to process the raw images splayed across Gannon's id. Carefully she filtered the content paring away that which was irrelevant.

Having found what was needed Squee then looked for the cause of Gannon's blindness and new sight. She found a canker rooted to his soul slowly devouring it bit by bit. Focusing her supreme will like a chirugeon the Inquisitor fashioned her force like a sharp scalpel and began to excise the rot. The canker fought as it was sliced apart then Squee banished it back to the warp.

Withdrawing her mind from Gannon after waiting to make sure the rot had been wholly absolved she felt the sergeant was at peace agsin. ++ You are free now and cured. ++

"Argobeth we need time to consult with each other alone." said Squee. "I propose we meet you at the gate to the city in two hours."

"You wish to be alone?" replied Argobeth. His voice had taken on an unnatural din seemingly angered.

"Yes we do. We have much to learn from you and all the time in this realm. Do you mind"

"So be it." said Vonegan's doppelgänger. "I shall await you at the gate." Argobeth turned away proceeding to make his way back over the hillock.

Squee waited for several minutes to pass then one of the terminators used his auspex to confirm the immediate area was clear. Eustis then raised a hardened kineshield to seal them off from the alien environment.

"I have seen things as they truly are through the eyes of sergeant Gannon." said Squee. She involuntarily shivered then composed herself. "There was once an ancient race that existed long before mankind. They existed even before the eldar and Necrons. This place was their home from wit they originated. Finally they evolved to the point of reaching near perfection and looked to find a new universe, one which they could build a new home and re establish the order to their own liking. There was a catch though... Before they could leave this universe they had to cleanse themselves of all their flaws and negative energy such as feelings of hate. To do so they shed these things to leave behind and that became an entity unto itself. This was the creation of evil as we know it and gave birth to the very seeds of Chaos. It grew to despise them for leaving it trapped here and began to scheme it's revenge. The foresight of the ancient ones gave them the vision to see what would become so they erected a Guardian... A being powerful enough to act as a warden and trap the evil one here. Over the aeons of time the Guardian slowly began to dissipate. This is the being here we first encountered and destroyed. The direct consequence is the evil one is finally free once more and is already beginning to wax.

"I hate to say it but this is our fault and we are responsible. We were warned by Eratus but I chose not to heed his advice. The creature whom calls itself Argobeth is the collective total of all the bad things left behind by the ancient ones.

"In my mind there is no other course but to rectify our mistake the best we can. It may well cost us our sanity or even our very lives. We must make it right or die trying."

Eustis spoke "There is still time to leave this realm via the portal offered by the Infinity Gate leaving the entity trapped here. I believe we have fulfilled our mission seeing you have discovered the root." the Librarian said to Squee. "We can report what you've found and let the council decide the best course of action. Don't think me a coward. You've admitted that there is some truth to what Erastus told us. We have no idea what we are up against here."

Squee frowned. "I wouldn't feel right leaving now."

"Put your feelings aside for now and look at this from a purely logical view." said Eustis.

"I can't and even from that stance it's not possible to draw a definitive conclusion." Squee gripped her hands into fists. "Brother Gannon what is your opinion."

"Speaking openly I know myself and my battle brothers here have seen more than intended for a Space Marine. I have a suspicion what could occur to us upon return to the Imperium." Gannon replied. "We are here now. Maybe the best course is to finish what you've started."

Eustis broke in "I know it's highly irregular but I think we should take a vote to determine the majority consensus if there is one."

"So be it." said Squee. She drew a stylus from her belt. "Each of us in turn will draw one line in the ground. A line over yonder is a vote to stay while a line here is to go." Squee cut the first line then handed the stylus to the terminator beside her. One by one they each drew a line, some to the right and others to the left.

There was an even number of votes when the stylus was finally handed over to the Librarian. Eustis then cast his deciding vote. "So by the smallest consensus there is a greater desire to leave. Will you honor this Squee?"

"Indeed I shall." she said.

- author's note -

We are at a point in the story where it can be concluded shortly or continue on... what do the readers want ?

So no interest in the continuation of the story ?

:sadface