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With a steady pace the Astartes walked through the corridors,the farther they went,the more this place started to disturb them.
Massive stasis fields remained operational,thousands of creatures frozen inside.
Amongst the forces were hundreds of imperials,Torgaddon scowled,he could barely resist the urge to destroy every single thing within sight.
Antiges took notice of his brother's behaviour,calm as ever he said: "You are not the only one disgusted,brother. Resist the urge,we must report to the chapter immediately. "
Torgaddon realised,while his rage did not calm,his mission came first,his crusade would have to wait.

Less than a minute later,they had arrived at their destination just in time to see a terminator finish off a Necron with his Storm Bolter.
They calmly observed the Astartes recovering before revealing themselves
Tarvitz scanned the area:"Four Terminators,unknown chapter,proceed with caution,if loyalist they are in need of medical assistance."
Sourly Nathaniel remarked "If only Gideon were still with us," ,Tarvitz shot him a glance before continuing his report,"Numerous xenos still nearby,Tarvitz out."
The Scions slowed down,taking a defensive pose while approaching the Terminators.
Nathaniel crouched slightly,prepared to dodge should they open fire,he slightly held his plasma pistol up,high enough that he could open fire if necesary but not high enough to be deemed a threat by those before him.
Tarvitz was less subtle,he aimed his Boltgun straight at one of the unknown Astartes,prepared to unleash his Melta round should the need arise.
Torgaddon raised his Storm shield infront of him,ready to charge forward at the enemy,his Thunder Hammer clutched in his hand,prepared to strike.
Antiges acted differently,he charismaticaly strud forward,his sword and shield loosely hanging at his side;"Identify yourself!" he yelled,hoping to get a friendly response.

Merric blinked. How the hell had these blood angels just appeared like that?
Oh well.
"Merric verran, first captain of the hounds of loken. And you must be ultramarines. Kidding. Kidding.
How long have you guys been out? If you don't recognise us" he tapped the wolf head symbol on his sloped shoulder pad " than you've been asleep a long, long time."
Sirius slid his axe from it's sheath, just in case. Avicus just starred at the one pointing a bolter at his head.

It had found them, D'Antine and Lorenzo had been moving steadily through the shredded remains of numerous xenos when a mound had risen and a carnifex leapt forth.
In between unleashing bolt shells and evading the crushing claws Lorenzo had given D'Antine what information he had on the tyranid creature.
On impulse he'd blink clicked his Vox and broadcast on an open network, "this is sergeant Lorenzo of the crimson fists, requesting aid from imperial forces."

So far none had come...

The Grey Knights took large steps, moving swiftly through the maze of hallways and corridors in their terminator armor. They continued doing so for several minutes, taking no look at the Black Templars, assured of their goal. These renegades that were waiting for them bore the name of one of the foul Horus the Arch-Traitor, that much they had seen. The Grey Knights would give them the Emperor's mercy. When they finally arrived in the , they spotted two groups of Astartes; the noble scions of Sanguinius, and the foul traitors descended from the Arch-Traitor. The Grey Knights raised their storm bolters as one, activating their Nemesis Force weapons.

"Stand back, noble Scions of Sanguinius! These are foul traitors, descendent of the Arch-Traitor himself, the murderer of your gene-father!"

D'Antine was bleeding again, his body had been battered by the carnifex and his exposure to what created the flames he was using to fight it was doing even more damage.
But both paled in comparison to the turmoil in his mind.
His legion. Traitors.
His Primarch. Heretic.
His emperor. Essentially dead
The crusade. Over
The galaxy. In flames.

Where did his loyalties lie? To his legion or what remained of the Emperors forces?

A claw swiped into him and flung him into a still sealed exhibit, he lay still, he needed to overcome his mind, it was reducing his battle focus.

Lorenzo could see D'Antine struggling, his once proud red armour scorched and smashed by their encounters. His was barely better, also battered by the carnifex. He shouted a warning as D'Antine seemed to ignore a claw swung at him. The hit connected and D'Antine disappeared.
Lorenzo reopened his Vox, "this is sergeant Lorenzo of the crimson fists, urgent assistance needed. Tyranid carnifex rampaging."

Still no-one replied...

"Damn, Terminator armor. I wish I had Lascannons for this but I suppose Plasma will do for now", Garithos says. He flicks the safety back on his Boltgun and replaces it back onto his thigh. He reaches for the leather bound hilt of his gilded power sword. With brown leather, a golden eagle head pommel and the words "Son of Dorn" inscribed on the guard it is undoubtedly a blade fitting for a man of his rank. He takes a firm hold on the blade, draws it out, flicks the activation rune and is washed in the glow from the weapon's blue flickering energy field. The Plasma Gunner and the Boltgun toting Initiates raise their weapons. The Sword Brother also draws his own power sword.


Garithos raises his blade high into the air. "By the Emperor, I will finish the work of his holiness and purge the remnants of your misbegotten legion from this universe!", he shouts pointing the relic blade at the Hounds of Loken.

Torgaddon charged forward at the Hounds of Loken,he had barely taken a step before Nathaniel and Tarvitz stopped him.
Antiges looked over at the Grey Knights and spoke "Those are grave accusations,i assume you have proof to back this up?"
Prehaps they had been out for longer than he knew,these Astartes did not bear a mark of armor he knew and while they seemed to know the Blood Angels,Antiges did not know of them.
Nathaniel was barely able to contain Torgaddon,it took Tarvitz this time to stop him,"Torgaddon,not infront of other Astartes,they may not know of the Curse."
Once Torgaddon calmed,Tarvitz spoke to the rest of his squad,"Let's leave this matter to them,i have been receiving a distress signal from a Crimson Fists sergeant,i'll brief you while moving."

Antiges took up what Tarvitz said and once more spoke to the Grey Knights,"My apologies for the interruption brothers but we must make our leave,we have received a nearby distress signal."
Without awaiting a response Antiges set out,his squad following him in close proximity.

!!!EVENT!!!

Across the facility, a signal rang out Specimen #5424234 Has lost power! Locking down all organic specimens! Massive metal plates slid over the frozen imperials and xenos, closing with a thunderous slam. A few seconds of silence, followed by a low, droning moan.

The Zombies have arrived.

D'Antine pulled himself from the rubble to see the monster loping towards Lorenzo, whose bolter clicked dry.
Summoning all he could he unleashed flame into the rear of the carnifex.
The beast spun back to D'Antine, seemingly unhurt. D'Antine saw Lorenzo reload his bolter and raise his power sword, whilst he scrabbled around for his weapons.
As he got a grip on his bolter the carnifex slammed into him again, he saw his force sword bounce away but kept hold of his gun.

Lorenzo braced, the creature was coming at him, his Boltgun spat a stream of shells before clicking dry, with no time to reload he raised his power sword and braced for the 'fex. A stream of flame washed over the creature and Lorenzo briefly saw D'Antine rise before the distracted 'fex smashed through him again.
There had been no response to Lorenzo's calls, but telltale clicks told him the message had been recieved somewhere...

Graagh!! Wutz Takin ya runtz so longter get me standin? I can hear somefing comin dis way, an' if I aint standin when it gets ere, den yous lots gonna feel my wrench upsides your skullz!!"

Lugklunk bellowed as his oilers, chained to the mega armored mek, tried in vain to lift him to his feet. He had been laying their for quite some time, trying to figure out how he had been about to take a Beaky's head off one moment, and falling flat on his face in a place drastically different than the wastes of Ghazghkull's big fight.

er, boss didn you put in a self getter upper?

wots dat? oh, my standin legs. fergot 'bout dem. good finkin karl!

The mek laboriously pulled his arm out of the shoota arm of his armor and pressed the button that would activate his Klever kontraption. after 2 small explosions and some very loud gear grinding, Lugklunk was back on his feet, and ready to kill something...

The hounds were all on their feet now.
Merric growled, like an animal, at the grey knights. He'd heard of them before, knew enough about them to know that they were savages claiming to be the purest. 
Merric spoke "grey knight. I know not how long you have been imprisoned here, but I assure you, I am first captain Merric verran  of the hounds of loken, our origins are simple. 
You know of the istvaan atrocity.
Our fore-fathers survived it. 
They fled to terra, and were tested. The only surviving one of them, dread-brother Marius, he says that the testing lasted months. Then, eventually, they were released, and slowely allowed to build a chapter.
Fast forward 10,000 odd years, and here we are."
Sirius was loosely holding his axe, head towards the ground. Renal had sheafed his stormbolter. Merric still had his sword in his hand. He pulled his partially ruined helmet of his belt and put it back on.

"Blasphemy! Lies! The gene-seed of the traitor legions was locked away and never used again after the Horus Heresy. There are no chapters today descendant from them. Clearly you have either been lied to or are lying yourself. Either way, you will be purged for association with the arch-traitor himself. The man who nearly undid the Emperor's work", Garithos says.

Meton could make out every feature of captain Merric's face in the ultra-zoom of his Exitus Rifle scope. The incredibly advanced targeting systems in the weapon told him exact range, expected trajectory, estimated damage, and various other data. The ornate crosshair was centered right over the head of the Space Marine, and his finger was placed firmly on the trigger, ready to fire.

Arane slipped away into the darkness. It was too risky to attempt to disguise herself now. Instead, she used her synskin and stealth skills to keep herself unseen, hidden even to the keen eyes of the Astartes.

Decapitator and Xuenth held back behind Meton. The time for them to use their deadly skills had not yet come, and the Pariah nature of Xuenth could be detrimental to the Grey Knights' efforts, despite the considerable distance. His Animus Speculum was closed.

A door slid open in the side of the wall with a faint hiss that was almost imperceptible. Dred stalked out of it alone, not entrusting silence and surprise with any of his fellow Necrons. He had teleported up to the same area where he had been slain before and had been watching events; the Hounds of Loken were in trouble, and Merric's survival was unlikely if he didn't intervene. He wanted that Terminator Captain for himself and so he went to their aid.

Dred smiled to himself for he had achieved the element of surprise; the Imperial Sniper and his buddies was directly in front of him and they were totally unaware of his presence. The sniper appeared like he was about to fire and so the Vargard charged forwards. He unleashed a torrent of flame to engulf the trio as he charged; he would follow up swiftly with punches from his Gauntlet.

The Necron, of course, did not arrive unheralded. While his steps were silent to the ears of a man, the Assassins were so far above the common humanity they could almost be considered a subspecies. Before the Necron Lord- whose movements seemed painfully slow to their razor-sharp eyes- could reach them, the Assassins had already realised that now that they were spotted, the time for sublety was over. In the space of a few heartbeats, Frenzon had been pumped into Decapitator's veins, and he charged forward against the Necron with the speed of a Dark Eldar champion, slashing with his blade like a living lawnmower.

Meton did the only logical thing he could as they were compromised. He took the shot. As he pulled the trigger, the mechanisms in the gun ejected a Turbo-Penetrator round, aimed perfectly for the skull of captain Merric. Immediately after he and Xuenth retreated and continued on into the darkness, leaving the blunt melee to their more specialised companion,

Dred cursed. This annoying creature was fast; too fast for Dred to effectively fight and so he fired his gauntlet at the floor below him. He swamped the entire area in green flames. Let's see that human survive an inferno, he thought, as he continuously unleashed torrents of flames to engulf himself and anything around him.

Dred sent a silent command to his entourage as he fought the Assassin.

-----------------------------

Down in the hall below, Lychguard #307 and two Praetorians dashed out of the door that Lychguard #307 had fled through before. They were right next to the Hounds of Loken. Merric was on the ground and they couldn't tell if he was alive or dead but that didn't matter to them; their mission was to retrieve him regardless. The two Praetorians provided covering fire, firing at the nearest standing Terminators with beams from their rods. The Lychguard dropped his hyperphase sword and covered Merric with his shield as he dragged him back into the dark tunnel. The door slammed shut behind the Lychguard and Merric, leaving the two Praetorians outside.

The sound of uncoordinated feet would have reached Lugklunk's ears at about the same time that nubinz screamed in abject terror, if not for the screaming.
looking towards the area the grots were all tring their hardest to avoid, the mek noticed a few Humies, unarmed and walking funny. not the best thing to see if his shoota still worked, but good enough.

SHUT UP YA RUNTZ, I can't 'ear meself think over yer rakit. now, stop trying to run away, and 'old on. I might need ya in a bit. WAAAGH!!!

With that, Lugklunk charged as fast as his piston driven legs could carry him, right into a small mass of zombies. despite being a fast thinker, it took the Mek 3 kills, of the 7 or so "humies" before he realized that they were acting... funny. no screams of pain, no pleading, not even a cry out to the Emprah. and strangest of all, none of them were running away.

Consciousness evaded Merric.
He was alive, barely. The shot had lodged between his three service studs, and the bullet's tip touched his skull.
He was being dragged, by the lychguard Avicus had grappled with earlier.

Back in the chamber, Merric's squad had no idea what to do.
Avicus saw his best friend being dragged, possibly dead, by xenos-scum.
Before anything else could happen, he was digging his claws deeply into the door Merric had disappeared to. Sirius was next to him, creating a smoke screen with his dwindling supply of fuel.
Renal was bashing the door wit hhis power fist. They had to get to the other side.

Some distance away, a figure in pearl whit, battle-scarred terminator armour fell from an alcove. The narthecium on his left arm marked him out as an apothecary.

The Praetorians evaded the enraged Terminators that were fruitlessly trying to batter down the door Lychguard #307 had dragged Merric through. They decided to leave the area considering there were a load of imperials around and that the Vargard needed help. Therefore they activated their hoverpacks and launched up towards the balcony above.

------

Lychguard #307 stopped dragging Merric. They were in the tunnel now and no-one could get to them. Therefore he simply waited. Waited for Merric to regain consciousness in order to deliver a message.

"Xenos? Heretics? Snipers? By the Emperor, this is just like Armageddon", Sword Brother Bernas remarks.

"Indeed, brother. Thankfully there are no Orks to offend each of our senses. Forget the Hounds of Loken and open fire on the Necrons", Garithos says. He puts away his relic blade, draws his Boltgun and shoulders the mighty weapon. His targeting system displays a small dot to represent the approximate area he was pointing his Bolter at. He takes careful aim at one of the Praetorians, disengages the safety rune and depresses the trigger. A short burst of 5 masterly crafted bolt rounds booms from the Holy Bolter. They rocket forth towards the Necron's head at incredibly high speeds.

Sword Brother Bernas draws his Tigrus-pattern Boltgun. He repeats the same firing ritual as his officer had gone through and fired off a shorter burst of three rounds at the Praetorian. Battle Brother Oniak finds cover in alcove. He depresses the activation rune on his Plasma Gun, leans out, takes aim at one of the Necrons and lobs a ball of superheated gas at the robotic monstrosity. The heat from the shot creates a shockwave in the air that it passes through creating a very audible boom akin to that of a Lightning strike but not as loud.

The remaining Black Templar takes a knee and fires a burst of mass reactive shells at the same Necron that Garithos was firing at.

Merric was still unconscious, but slowly stirred.

Avicus began ramming the door with his shoulder, and Renal's power fist finally started to dent the metal.

apothecary Gaius Took in his surroundings. Necrons. He didn't know how he'd gotten here. But he wa spicing up a signal nearby.
+++Merric verran. 1st captain.+++ Clearly there was some mistake, Merric was the second captain.
Wasn't he?

As the Praetorians attempted to soar up to the balcony, the Space Marines fired up from below. Praetorian Xantek was hit half a dozen times with bolter fire and their explosions damaged his flight hardware, causing him to drop the few stories to the floor below. He landed on his feet like a cat and brought up his Rod, firing off a couple beams towards the nearest marines. He identified one with a Plasma Gun and prioritized him.

Praetorian Claps'a saw the plasma gun firing and the ball leap up to connect with him. He dodged, avoiding most of it but a few drops of plasma splashed onto him as it passed, sizzling and melting a few pitted marks into his body. He continued upwards, heading toward Dred who was still engulfed in a green conflagration.

----------

Lychguard #307 watched Merric stir a bit. He wasn't quite conscious, but he would be soon.

Alas Initiate Palen. He had only just achieved his rank of Initiate after years of dutiful service to the Chapter. The bolt struck the soft armor of his neck, melted straight through his flesh and passed through the other side. He fell onto his back. Melted ceramite mixed with bright red blood oozed around him.

"Palen's down, sir!", the Sword Brother called out. "Find cover, Astartes! Their weapons find no challenge in our power armor!", the Marshal calls out. The Sword Brother and Garithos retreat back towards the corridor ducking back behind their own individual alcoves. The remaining Initiate had melted living metal splash on his and a purity seal catch fire. He fired another Plasma Bolt at the Praetorian.

it was only after crushing the last of these unusual humies skulls that Lugklunk realized... He had not fired his shoota once in the entire fight.

Looking around, he picked the most intact corpse and let loose a few rounds.

Good. Mork aint turned on me yet. alright you runtz, which way do you fink ill take us to a good fight?

the three oilers pondered quickly, and each pointed in the direction the zombies had been moving.
D-d-d-dat way boss.

Well than, I fink we'll go Dis way! Har Har! The mek Chuckled as he headed in the direction his oilers had pointed. I know you lot is more scared of fighten than a humie with no shoota. so you would try to out fink ME an point AT da fighten to get me to walk away from it!

Merric woke up with a groan. His head hurt like a land raider had run it over.

Avicus and renal finally smashed throug the door, and ran down the right corridor, in the opposite direction Merric had been dragged...

Lychguard #307 noticed that Merric appeared to be regaining consciousness, even though he appeared to still be groggy. He waited a little longer for Merric to regain his senses and then he spoke.

Terminator Captain of the Hounds of Loken. I bear a message from the Vargard Dred.
"Our fight is not over. We shall duel again and this time there will be no interference. This Lychguard will take you to a hall where we store many artifacts collected from your species and there you will be able to find an undamaged Terminator suit and anything else you may require. You will also be given time before our duel to fully recuperate from any injuries you have sustained."

---------

Praetorian Xantek followed after the marines who were taking cover, firing off beams whenever they tried raising their heads to fire back. This suppressing fire reduced their accuracy and so the next ball of plasma that shot towards Praetorian Claps'a as he flew ever higher, wasn't even close. Praetorian Claps'a was nearing the balcony now and soon he would be able to wade in beside the Vargard to assist him.

Merric blinked. The xenos scum was offerin him an honourable duel?
First the eldar who's soul still lived inside his blade, now a necron with honour.
Merric stood, his head ache abaiting somewhat.
He looked at the robot before him.
"you, lychguard. Tell me where my men are or I will crush you. If you wish, you can tell your lord I accept, but not unless I know my brothers are in good health."
Of course, Merric knew he had little choice but to accept, if he didn't he was quite certain his brothers would be killed.

Gaius walked down a corridor, heading towards the three dots that indicated his brothers.

"Damn it, Initiate Oniak, you will hit that Necron or I will personally oversee your firing drills. All 24 hours of it", the Marshal says. "My aim cannot be true while I am being fired upon by the abomination", the Initiate replies. "Fine. Bernas and I will empty our magazines on the thing. When it turns it's attention away I want you to fire", the Marshal says over their private comms.

"Yes sir", he replies in a monotone voice. The Initiate thumbs the ventilation rune causing the Plasma Gun to hiss as it dumped out it's excess heat.

Bernas and Garithos popped back out of cover, took quick aim at the Necron's torso and fired off the remainder of their Boltgun magazines.

Lychguard #307 asked Dred via his remote connection whether he could divulge the information that the Captain required. Dred responded to the affirmative.

Your men have gone down access conduit 1633 C. For now that means nothing to you, so I will provide more information. There is a limited Imperial presence in the area they are headed towards and you may take that as either good or bad news. As a warning, stasis fields have failed in the area they are headed towards and the specimens there have been released. That is undoubtedly bad news considering that it contained exactly 11,762 Plague Zombies. Now that your request has been answered, please follow me.

The Lychguard turned and began walking down the corridor.

---------------------

Praetorian Xantek brought his arms up to help block against the incoming bolter fire; the storm of bolts slammed into him and exploded. The majority of the energy from the bolts was dissipated by his arms and armour, but some damage was still caused. Some servos within his torso had been deformed a bit, and because of that his personal agility and ability to rotate his body was affected.

Merric nodded. Zombies? Pah. If need be, the others would just stand there while the things tryed to get them. There armour was simply to strong for any number of zombie to damage. Imperial forces. If they were rescent additions, especially of the blood angels, salamander, or imperial fists chapters, they would know of the hounds, and be able to confirm their loyalist identities.
"alright, lead the way to this "artefact hall" you spoke of.

Gaius had met no resistance, although he had seen carcasses of hundreds of creatures. He turned, and found himself face to face with a group of what could only be zombies.
Still, they may just be diseased civilians. They began walking or limping towards him.
"citizens. Stand down."
"BAHH"
he opened fire with his stormbolter.