The trip back from the UEGT seemed like it took several Foodstops worth of time to Skritchit, but to the rest of the world it would have seemed he made the journey in a single moment. Having ÆON around will certainly improve his ability to affect the world around him, he already had some ‘harmless’ fun with it; moving the odd cup of Skavenade, placing the odd hand somewhere it should never have been found. That isn’t to say that the transition between different Timescapes was easy, the little horned rat could actually feel his blood rebel at the change, even at a slow transition. He figured he wouldn’t be able to do it too often lest his heart gave out from the strain.
Skritchit and ÆON made the transition back to normal time at the pick up point for the mobile lab. He was about to send out the mental signal to the lab to come and pick them up when he noticed that Qalash, his lead Packmaster and elementalist, was there waiting for him.
“Mas-Master! Thank the Horned Rat you-you’ve arrived home so-so soon!” Qalash said, obviously disturbed about something.
What is it? Have one of the other Mutators attempted to sabotage me?
“Worse Master Skritchit, Tiks is…is gone!”
***(Several Hours Earlier)***
Deep under Dead Rats Peak the massive Beast of Burden dug its way through the tough earth. It’s heavily mutated body seemed mostly normal from the outside, but its insides were torn asunder as room was made for special compartments within its bodily cavities. Inside various other beasts and Skaven made their way along fleshy pathways and central arteries as the daily requirements of Skritchit’s lab were done. Around the rear of the beast where other various famous fighting beasts were kept was a special chamber set aside for one special monster, if one were to go inside they would find the entire chamber filled with a seamless tide of rats. For the most part they seemed to act on their own, but an observant watcher would notice certain patterns in their movement; like how when one heard a sound all would listen, or when one would get cut all would squeak.
The Observant Watcher had noticed this and he had no doubt now that he had found what he was looking for. What held the Harbinger of the Horned Rat in a single cohesive unit was a very special tool called the Soulstone, the literal evolution of the Keystones created by Skritchit and the Harbinger was one of only two creations known to hold one, the other being the central component to the famed Captain Planet. The Harbinger needed one because of the requirement for one central soul to claim and control the rats around it, a soul who had an intimate knowledge of herding rats and working with them, communicating with them. Few in the Underempire would have been up to the task but there was one who was more than equipped to fill the role, and available for Skritchit to experiment on.
“Tiks…”
The old cloaked Skaven could see the ears of the assembled rats perk slightly at the nigh-forgotten name.
“My ‘aster still has ‘eed for your skills ‘ittle Herder,” he said from the shadows. “The Tri~Cities ‘alls, and I give you this…”
A decrepit reached under his cloak and withdrew a dark box. He opened up the specially constructed container and immediately all squeaking and movement in the room stopped, all eyes were watching the Watcher. Inside the box was a large and highly refined piece of Warpstone, so strong that when he could feel all the hairs on his face stand on end; reaching for the corrupted piece of rock. He carefully picked it up, noticing that the strong warping nature of it tore even at his rugged and tested Skaven form. With an evil smile he threw the stone into the pile of rats as close as he could to the precious Soulstone.
The reaction was instantaneous but the old Skaven didn’t stay around to witness any more. The pile of rats swarmed the stone and reformed itself over and over around it, those who actually touched it were immediately warped and mutated but they didn’t care. Soon the mass began to take form, and with that form came a voice:
“Squeak! Squeak! S… Skkiit. Skrreaiii…!”
The form became more solid, arms and legs could now be determined, a head begun to emerge:
“Skrreaii! Trreeaii! Tri!”
Finally the form was whole, a Skaven made purely out of the conjoined bodies of Rats and Giant Rats stood in the chamber, and it screamed:
“Tri~Cities!!”
***(Present Time)***
Skritchit quickly made his way through the tunnels, thankfully for him the path that Tiks had taken was more than clear given the amount of damage he had been doing. Not only that but the concentration of rats had been steadily growing the closer he got; even some of his simpler Giant Rat brethren couldn’t resist. Truth be told the little horned rat could feel the pull as well, though he was able to resist that primal instinct by concentrating through one of his other brain masses.
Skritchit rounded a final corner and the form that had become Tiks was standing before him, the Harbinger of the Horned Rat. This was the most lucid Skritchit had ever seen his former master; that mass of rats held the form of a Skaven so well that for a brief moment the horned rat thought he was standing before one of the infamous Vermin Lords, but the moment of fear quickly passed and Skritchit regained control.
Tiks, my Old Friend where are you going? Skritchit asked, though he already new the answer.
The Harbinger of the Horned Rat turned to face the Skritchit without actually moving, then in a deafening screech a thousand rats spoke, “We-I go home,” Skritchit couldn’t exactly tell how but Tiks was smiling. “You-you will not stop me-us my-my friend.”
There is nothing left for you at the Tri~Cities Tiks, besides you know it is only a matter of time before your mind becomes decentralized again and all of this will be for nothing,
“Not this time,” as he spoke the rats in his chest folded away, revealing a clustered mass of irradiated rats clutching one of the purest shards of Warpstone Skritchit had ever seen. “This one has power, it guides us and lends me its strength, you-you cannot stop the vermintide this time.”
Skritchit focused on one of the central rats and leveled his gaze on it, giving the slightest of mental nudges before continuing.
I do not want to harm you, my creation.
“You-your creation!? You-you are more insane than we-me! It was I who created you, my pet and I think it’s time I remind you of that.”
The attack was so sudden and powerful that Skritchit barely had time to prepare. In and instant the Harbinger’s form had fallen away into a tsunami of rats all guided by Tiks’ singular consciousness. The horned rat threw his arms up and expanded his mental field around his body, literally forcing all those who entered his aura to turn or divert their route around him, but the tide of vermin pressed down harder and it wasn’t long before the first of the rats skirted Skritchit’s consentration and entered the mental barrier, landing a single bite. It wasn’t much but it much but it was enough to break his consentration for another rat to enter, then another.
ENOUGH!
The mental blast became a physical manifestation of Skritchit’s will, literally blowing hordes of rats away from him. The air around him shimmered and shifted colour, the Harbinger shied away slightly but the mass noticed that the horned rat was now bleeding from the ears and nose from the strain. A hideous squeaking began as Tiks surrounded Skritchit and in one foul swoop engulfed him aura and all.
It proved to be too much for many of the smaller vermin as the conflicting signals to their brain either destroyed their synapses or drove them to the point of attacking themselves as well as each other, the whole tunnel seemed to have come alive with anarchic movement the likes normally reserved for the realm of Chaos. Both combatants were at the end of their ropes when from down the tunnel came the ominous glow of green tinted fire.
Nether Skritchit or Tiks had a chance to react before agonizing Warpflame poured down on them. The rats of the Harbinger screamed in unison and scattered at they felt the painful deaths of their brethren as if it were their own. Skritchit barely escaped the falling bodies of flame as he quickly reoriented himself on the new threat that has presented itself.
“Having trouble with the pets my-my little Skritchit?”
The voice from the shadows was unmistakable; Dawai Lumin. What are you doing here?
The question was one of spoken through genuine shock; it should have been impossible for the ruler of Dead Rats Peak to do anything without Skritchit knowing, not while the Mental Marker was imbedded in him.
“The mental marker?” asked Dawai, as if he could read Skritchit’s mind. “Well you aren’t the only one-one with knowledge of that anymore, you-you see I remember everything now; I-I remember you take-capturing me during the Civil War, placing me under your control, sending my-mine troops to their doom while it was you-you who undermined me-me precious tunnels and exploded the warrens.”
But…how? Even as he asked the question Skritchit’s multiple brains were working on overdrive trying to reestablish his hold on Dawai while still keeping track of the Harbinger’s movements. None of my sleepers know of the power I have over them, how did you learn of it?
“Surprisingly it-it only took a bump to the head, you-you remember the explosions at the Grand Tournament? Got-have a nasty bump but I see clearly know, you-your time is up Comrat.”
“No!” screamed a thousand rats from all around them. “He-he is us-mine to kill! You-you will die as well for the damage to us!”
The ground fell from beneath the feet of the Warpfire Thrower Team as several hundred rats burst from underneath. Skritchit could feel them moving towards his position beneath the earth as well but he wasn’t going to stick around long enough for them to make their move. He quickly darted into the shadows while his two opponents were distracted with each other; he didn’t make it far though as a hidden Skaven suddenly dropped from above.
I must be losing my touch…
“Quite the ‘pposite ‘ittle horned rat,” the Skaven who had up to this point had been content with observing spoke without the usual queekish chopped speech, instead it almost seemed as if he mispronounced the beginning of choice words. An incredibly old and wrinkled hand reached out from under cloak, holding a small trinket, “’our destiny ‘alls you Skritchit. Act now ‘nd you ‘ill ascend, fail ‘nd you ‘ill feel the full ‘rath of the Horned Rat.”
He tossed the trinket in front of Skritchit and disappeared right before the little horned rat’s eyes.
Skritchit looked down and smiled, he picked up the trinket and turned back towards the fighting which at this point had reached a stand still as an uncountable number of rats came at the Lord of the Peak who himself fought back with flame at an equal ferocity.
Amazing isn’t it that the three of us happen to meet up in this way?
The two combatants who had almost completely forgotten about the little horned rat turned to face Skritchit; there was no going back now.
The Holy Horned Rat works in mysterious ways yes? Not even I could have seen this winding path; stretching all the way back to that first encounter that drove Tiks into Father Squee’s grasp. And you Lumin, quietly ruling over your Peak, never knowing the fate that it would lead you to.
“Quiet you half breed, you-your not even Skaven! Why it was this monstrosity here that had created you!”
No, Tiks was simply the tool of the Horned Rat, Skritchit leveled his gaze on Dawai Lumin before continuing. Just like you. I’ve reestablished my link with you ‘Oh Master.’
The look on Lumin’s face was that of sheer terror as he watched himself loose control over his own body. He fought with all his strength but slowly and surely he crouched down to the dripping Warpflame nozzle, lifted it above his head and with a final cry of despair he unleashed the molten tar over his own body.
Skritchit then turned to the central mass of Tiks, who allowed sever of his rats to back off.
I am sorry my comrat for all that this journey has brought you, he said, walking into the center of the vermintide, next to the corpse that was Lumin. But look at you know; look at us now!
As he talked Skritchit reached down to the charred corpse and brought a knife across the one part that was still intact; the skull.
Each of us a living aspect of the will of the Horned Rat; you take the form, I the mind, even Dawai Lumin with his ravenous lust for power…
With a quick and gruesome motion the little horned rat tore back the top of Dawai’s skull, exposing the scheming Skaven mind below. Without so much as a word he unceremoniously reached in and scooped the brain out, then holding the brain in one hand Skritchit cut open one of his own specialized brain pockets and with the help from some Warpstone Paste to galvanize the reaction he placed the brain inside himself.
He didn’t say or move for what seemed like an eternity, Tiks was about to attempt to move off when suddenly Skritchit’s entire body shook in a massive seizure.
When he finally rose a brief flash of newfound intelligence glinted across his eyes before he spoke again, we are now one, Dawai Lumin has been absorbed into my whole.
Skritchit reached down into his robes and withdrew the trinket the Prophet had given him, along with the charm he had been carrying around his neck for all these many seasons.
Now the final step towards ascension…
Tiks hadn’t noticed but Skritchit had mentally nudged his own rats to bring forth the specially formed Warpstone along with his all-important Soulstone.
“No-No! Master! You-you cannot destroy us-me! Please I-”
The little horned rat reached in and withdrew the Shard and the Stone before Tiks could finish. Without a direct link to the Soulstone the Harbinger’s form collapsed in on itself, crushing hundreds of small vermin at the base of the swarm. With their individuality restored the rats ran about in a mass of chaos and confusion; some simply ran away, others turned on each other over feuds that no intelligent mind could comprehend, finally others simply died from the shock of actually being in control of their own lives again. Through it all Skritchit simply stood and concentrated at the task at hand.
Only through destruction can you have creation.
The little horned rat took the four pieces of stone and placed them together; the pendant and the offered token at the pommel, the Soulstone as the hilt, and finally the shaped Warpstone Shard as the blade. All slotted together as if it were there true function all along. Power flowed through the newly assembled Felblade and all motion stopped, every rat still present and alive turned towards Skritchit and slowly began to approach him. Those at the base of his feet scratched and clawed, cautiously trying to climb up.
Through this final act of destruction…
With his head held high Skritchit let out a single tear of joy as he opened is mouth and smoothly brought the Blade down and through his own body until the entire weapon disappeared inside in a river of blood.
Before the body even hit the floor a tide of rats swarmed over it, completely engulfing the modified frame until nothing remained. They gorged themselves of the little horned rat’s body as well at their own in an orgy of violence that ebbed and weaved along the tunnel. Their bodies began to mutate beyond the limits of normal imagination as a new form begun to emerge from the mass. Soon limbs began to form out of the nightmarish mass, one corrupted arm withdrew itself as it held the Felblade aloft, individual rat-fingers merging themselves with the hilt of the destructive weapon. Finally a massive skull emerged with an eruption of curved and spiraled horned at it’s mantle. When ever rat in the vicinity had become one with the monstrosity it finally spoke in a voice no living being had hear in any of their lifetimes.
“…MY FINAL TRIUMPH IS BEGUN!”
The tunnel around the newly formed Avatar of the Horned Rat began to give out but the Verminlord didn’t care; it would take more than the caving earth to stop the will of the Gnawer of the Roots of Reality.
He looked east down the tunnel to Dead Rat’s Peak, then west towards the Tri~Cities. An impossible smile split his horrific face.
“All will bow in the end.”
From the shadows the old jawless rat attempted to smile. Skritchit, Tiks and even Dawai Lumin are no more.
“One ‘tep closer my ‘Aster. One ‘tep closer…”
that was great :D truly made my quick look back here worth while.