Rosetta sat still while Aura wandered about around her. She looked at the entity and was bewildered. She resembled the Aura of old and yet was as much of a friend. She almost smiled but her melancholy heart weighed her down.
"We are not going back."Rosetta declared.
Indeed. There is nothing left for us in the order.
Aura spun about, enjoying her new found freedom while Rosetta delved into thought. After some time the question came to her.
"What now?" Rosetta asked.
Aura paused. Then she replied bluntly.
We run.
"We can't run forever."
Aura spat in frustration.
I know dammit... She sighed ...If only I was whole again.
Aura faced Rosetta who watched attentively and put her fist upon the centre of her chest.
There is an emptiness... Right here, Rosetta... Until I am whole again it will always eat at me.
"Then we make you whole again."
Aura froze.
How? My fragments are kept hidden from me. They are scattered throughout the land. I've no way of finding them.
"Obvious the servants of chaos possess them. We ought to fight to the heart of every Chaos stronghold and rip it out."
Aura stared at Rosetta as she rose to her feet and approached a window. She looked out and squinted as she beheld the midday sun. Then she frowned.
"The best way to find the enemy is to return to the order and hope they keep hurling us at the enemy."
Then she looked at Aura with a grim smile.
"but we can take it can't we?"
Aura shook her head.
No! You said we were not going back! Why must you run me through this all over again! Have you no mind?
"Do you have a better solution? Wander the wild like a wild beast? Follow the order and risk the wrath of the inquisition? No. This is the best way. Trust me... Sister?"
Perplexed, Aura froze and looked away in frustration.
Ugh, fine. We will endure.
Rosetta lifted up her weapon and rested it on her shoulder and began to walk with Aura following closely behind. Only at the screaming thunder of strange weapons in the distance did Aura disappear and Rosetta picked up her pace.
The noises of battle became impossibly loud, breaking all the windows throughout the castle. Rosetta ran over broken glass. The shards all crumbling underfoot and piercing the exposed flesh. She paid no heed to it.
Suddenly she ground to a halt as a blast of immense sound blew away the door to her front-right. Flying through the doorway was the shattered, lifeless remnants of a Mistress. They splattered across the floor in a mess of churned meat and metal.
Rosetta dashed for the wall and put her back to it. She did so just as a giant stomped out into the hall. Wielding a bulky sonic blaster. It crept forth, silent and confident, ever on the hunt and relishing the coveted chase.
Without hesitation, Rosetta leapt out with an overhead slash, revving up her weapon. The Noise Marine swung his weapon around just in time to shield himself. Rosetta's eviscerator fell upon the weapon with immense force In a storm of shattered metal and sparks mighty teeth tore it in two.
The Astartes recoiled, drew his pistol and fired a single shot before Rosetta raised her sword again cleaving his hand off. With another vertical slash from above from above, she slashed and the traitor sidestepped her strike. Allowing her massive weapon to chew its way into the stone floor.
Drawing a sword out he counterstroke. Thrusting his blade forth with inhuman precision. Rosetta ducked and held onto her eviscerator as she swung around it with all speed and landed a kick on the heretic's face with all her might.
The helm shattered and the Astartes fell onto his back while Rosetta landed on her feet. Using her momentum, she pulled her weapon free from the ground and in one mighty overhead swing crushed the chaos marine's torso in an explosion of blood and gore.
Rosetta gazed upon the face of her foe. It was, like many things about the enemy on this planet, unlike anything she had seen before. He was a thing of beauty. Smooth, flawless, youthful skin covered a perfect sharp-featured face.
His shoulder length hair was every bit a sublime spectacle of silver and white. Every strand stood at precisely an equal length to the one next to it. He had the deceptive look of an angel and a calm demeanour even as he died choking on his own blood.
It was now no wonder as to why the people of Helios V seemed to give such beings control over these lands. Rosetta flinched as she remembered her first days on the planet. They were marched about in perfect ceremonial armours to impress those who sought lords of such nature.
Aura appeared, kneeled before the Astartes corpse and studied it.
We thought them saviours from the dark prince when they first arrived embarked on ships of purple and gold... Who could have known that this is the face of one of his followers?
Rosetta nodded slowly in agreement and moved on.
Holding her bloody chainsword at the ready she kept going. Suddenly, the huge bulk of a noise marine smashed through the door and aimed his sonic blaster at her as she lept to the side and against the wall. Then the area was saturated in a devastating storm of sonic power.
Rosetta roared as her eardrums burst and her own body tore itself apart. Struggling through the pain she slammed her eviscerator against the wall she leaned against and destroyed it. Charging through the hole she made for the enemy.
In a sudden burst of speed, she bolted at her enemy and leapt for her initial attack. In one, perfect, smooth motion the Astartes stepped back, dropped his sonic blaster and drew his blade.
Just as Rosetta's revving sword smashed into the marble floor he struck with a single forward hand slash. Slicing off Rosetta's left forearm. Ripping her weapon up from the ground Rosetta recoiled.
Both Aura and Rosetta screamed as one in pain, brandishing their well-groomed hatred with the entirety of their soul. The Astartes charged forth, every thundering step forcing Rosetta back.
Then, as he advanced he thrust his blade at Rosetta making her pounce to the left onto the wall. He then hurled himself at her. In that moment Aura overcame Rosetta and spun to the left, raised her eviscerator and reactivated it.
With all her might she slashed downwards, diagonally, slicing the Astartes in half at the waist. The giant tumbled over in two halves and smashed through the wall with the full bulk of his mass. Aura turned her back to it and raised her severed left arm.
White light shone from the stub and the dismembered arm glowed white and disintegrated. All the while, new bone, muscle and skin formed from Aura's elbow and restored her arm back to its original state. Then she restored control back to Rosetta.
-//-
Rosetta ran through to the next room and found the bloody aftermath of a vicious battle. The butchered remains of Repentia laid scattered about the room in pools of blood and gore. So many had been crushed, mangled and pulverised that it was impossible to tell the numbers.
Every now and then she'd pass by the hulking corpse of an Astartes. His armour riddled with massive gouges from eviscerator strikes. The purple and gold armour had turned red with the mingled blood of friend and foe.
She winced at the death of so many girls. Most of whom were lost like she was, finding their way through a dark world which consumed them. Her feelings sparked hatred in her soul. Hatred for those foul voices of authority that called for such horrid fates. Hatred for the order.
No, she then thought not. Every Sister of the Adeptus Sororitas merely performed their charge. No matter how dark or insidious they may seem. That alone is admirable. To hate them over such menial charges would be pointless.
Instead, as she moved on, she directed her hatred towards the traitor. Those who force the hands of the innocent and the responsible are to blame. Indeed that would place herself among their ranks and there she accepted that fact.
Eventually, she ran down a hall and through a large door. There she happened upon a trio of decorated Astartes. In a split instant, they raised their bolters and opened fire. She survived by diving for cover back behind the door frame just before a wave of bolt shells blazed past her and tore up the wall behind her.
Then a large grenade slammed into the floor at the doorway. Rosetta dove into cover behind a dead Astartes as it detonated, filling the room with fire and flying shrapnel. Shaken by the explosion a mind-numbing ringing buzzed in her ear.
She held her ground as silence took over and her vision cleared. Through the smoke, a trio of giants appeared in all their terrifying glory. They held their bolters at the ready, searching for their prey.
Rosetta moved slowly and prepared to charge. The leading Astartes spotted the movement, aimed at it and opened fire. Rosetta launched herself at him with frightening speed. The two dropped their bolters and drew swords.
The leader, however, merely poked his bolter forward and allowed Rosetta's weapon to pass it by to the left. Then he pushed it left. Parrying Rosetta's attack and throwing her off balance in the air.
As she fell the leader turned to the side and with all his mighty strength kicked her in the head. Rosetta was slammed into the floor by the power of the marine's attack. She coughed and choked as her lower jaw sagged.
It was broken. Every bone within shattered and crumbled into a ghastly, bloody mess that hung from Rosetta's head by the strength of her skin. She growled in and roared in an animalistic rage. She found her eviscerator lying there in front of her.
Like some animal, she scrambled on all fours to reach it but the Astartes stomped on the blade, snapping it in half with his weight. Rosetta froze and looked up and found herself staring down the fat barrel of a boltgun.
Then she noticed a slight twinkle on the chaos marine's breastplate. Aura burned bright with excitement. It was another piece. Aura fought for control while Rosetta dashed aside and into the reach of the second of the trio of enemies.
Without warning, he lashed out impossibly fast. Then Aura took over, slipping to the side and barely escaping a lethal blow. Rosetta took back control and used his arm to swing herself up into the air and land on his shoulders.
They found themselves working together. The shared pain linking two minds together. Their shared fears and anger making them act as one as they fought on. As one they ran circles around the Astartes as they were fluid, flowing through the air with grace and harmony.
She killed one by driving her deadly nails through his lense and into the brain. Then she spun about and the leader caught her by the neck with his right hand. Lifting her up off of her feet he squeezed with all of his wrath.
Rosetta struggled in a futile effort to break free of the choke hold. Then she found it again. The jewel, another lost fragment of Aura. Without hesitation, Aura began to call to it while Rosetta fought on to survive.
It shook and bucked, trying to break free of the chain that bound it to its bearer. The Astartes noticed and took hold of it with his left hand while beginning to batter Rosetta against the wall. In the melee, Rosetta squealed as her jaw ripped itself free of her face.
Clinging to the last vestiges of life Aura beseeched her fragment to return to her. It glowed white hot and the Astartes began to roar as it melted the armour around it. Blasting free of the traitor's grip it shot into the centre of Rosetta's chest.
-//-