Elementary

 "Is it ready?" Malcador asked as Cawl stepped out of the holodeck.

"It is," Cawl said. "Should I gather the Lord Primarchs?"

"No, I'll get them soon," Malcador said. "I have to make sure some of the costumes are ready. Some are slightly different from the Merican West one they did."

"As you say," Cawl said. 

"Do not tell them," Malcador said. "No matter what they promise you."

*****************************

Malcador headed away from Cawl and the holodeck. He was excited at both having found the holodeck, and coming up with a great idea for it. Valdor of course had told him about the events of their earlier testing, which was how he knew about the initial events with Tolreb. However, no one had told him where it was for him to check out. The Primarchs had been adamant that he not be shown it until all the safety programming was fixed and it was confirmed safe for him to use.

Then there was the idea. He had recently been digging deep in the Emperor's collection of classics, and found Shyrlocke Homs. The stories sucked him in, and he had done more research. Cross-referencing dates he found that Homs could potentially have been around in a Merican West town. 

This idea was going to be a little different as it had a more structured story. Malcador was still debating if he was going to be the client, or potentially some variant of Mircroft, Homs' brother. He was going to leave that to the Primarchs, they would of course need to work out who was playing what. 

"How goes it?" Malcador asked as he entered the tailor's rooms. 

"They aren't quite ready yet, my lord," the tailor said. "But they should be ready tomorrow."

"I appreciate it," Malcador said. "I assume no one's been around asking questions about them?"

"No," the tailor said. She wasn't sure who the Sigillite would think would ask about these strange clothes.

"Thanks," Malcador said. "I'll be back tomorrow."

*****************************

"Something's up with Malcador," Roboute said.

"Like what?" Magnus asked.

"I'm not sure," Roboute said. "It's more just a feeling."

"Hmm," Magnus mused. "Have you asked him?"

"But it's more fun to investigate," Roboute said. "Weigh all the theocraticals to find the best practical."

"I guess?" Magnus said, not sure he agreed. "I haven't noticed anything."

"You've been too deep in whatever book that is you're reading," Leman said. 

"It's The Art of War," Magnus grumbled. "One of the oldest tactical documents ever. You should read it sometime."

"I will," Leman said. "You have to finish it first."

"Guys," Horus said. "Roboute has given us something to do. How do we want to find out what Malcador is up to?"

"We could shadow him," Konrad suggested.

"I volunteer," Corvus said.

"Maybe," Magnus said. "There's the chance either Uncle Malcador or a Custodian will catch on."

"Possibly, but we can switch up who's following," Horus said. 

"I like this idea," Konrad said. He was always looking for opportunities to practice his stealth.

"But we can only do this when we're home," Lorgar said. "It'll make it harder to find him, he's always working."

"Maybe we can get help from the Custodians?" Ferrus asked.

"Ooh, that's a good idea," Fulgrim said. "There's usually at least one following him around. Maybe they know something?"

"But we'll need to know which one," Konrad said. "Maybe ask Valdor?"

"No need," Perturabo said from the cogitator. "It's Zorovim."

"Oh, that's going to be easy," Mortarion said. "I'm helping with Bob, so I can ask then."

"Nice," Roboute said. 

"Corvus, you want first shift once we get started?" Horus asked.

"Of course," Corvus said.

"Wasn't there a saying about what bears do in the woods?" Leman asked.

"Yeah," the Lion said. "But we aren't supposed to repeat it."

*****************************

"Zorovim was a bust," Mortarion said that evening. "I'm sorry, guys. He did mention there was an intruder in the Tower, but didn't give me details."

"Interesting," Horus said. "I think we can recruit someone to assist us."

"Oh! Jyloq!" Konrad said. "He's really good at that kind of stuff."

"Well, someone else will have to approach him," Angron said. "Unless he's finally forgiven you?"

"Not yet," Konrad said with a pouty face. "I don't know why he's still holding it against me though."

"Principle," Rogal said.

"Probably," Konrad said. "I think he mentioned something about waiting until I beg."

"I thought Father shut that down?" Mortarion asked.

"Just the crawling on my knees part," Konrad said.

"Ah, so really you just need to ask for his forgiveness," the Lion said. "Your stubbornness could cause issues."

"He's fine with everyone else," Konrad said. "So it's not an issue right now."

"I think it should be me," Corvus said. 

"He does seem to like you best," Vulkan said encouragingly.

*****************************

They never got the chance to ask for Jyloq's help. Malcador came for them two days later, a day off from Nova. He looked quite excited.

"Come along, Primarchs," Malcador said. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?" Magnus asked. "That's what was up with you?"

"How much have you caught onto?" Malcador asked in return.

"We just know something's up," Roboute said. "We were intending to enlist Jyloq's help in following you."

"Not Zorovim?" Malcador continued. "He's been following me around all week."

"Except for the times you've probably escaped him," Alpharius said. 

"Fair," Malcador conceded. 

"None of this explains what the surprise is," Jaghatai said. 

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," Malcador said. 

"Let's go then," Magnus said.

They headed out of the Imperial Residence, and the Primarchs fell in line behind Malcador. Roboute was the first one to figure out where they were going.

"Are we going to the holodeck?" he asked.

"We are," Malcador confirmed.

"How did you learn where that is?" Magnus asked.

"You know how hard it is to keep secrets from me," Malcador answered.

"But we haven't finished fixing it," Perturabo objected. "We're being even more stringent in the coding and it's taking a long time."

"We didn't want you to find it until it was ready," Rogal said. "It might not be safe."

"Oh, it's safe," Malcador said. "Cawl's been through every little detail."

"But, that was our job," Ferrus said.

"We have been a little distracted," Fulgrim said. 

"But it was still our idea," Ferrus said stubbornly.

"Guys," Horus said. "Focus."

"Do you have a story you want to do?" Leman asked.

"I do," Malcador said. "And it's going to require some volunteers for certain roles."

"Oh?" Magnus asked. "What roles?"

"We'll need a Shyrlocke Homs, and a Wattsin," Malcador said. 

"Wasn't he a doctor?" Roboute asked. "Wattsin, I mean. I want to be Homs."

"He was," Malcador confirmed.

"I can be him," Mortarion said.

"You'll have to be friendly with Roboute," Magnus said. "Can you do that?"

"Of course I can," Mortarion said. 

"What about you, Malcador?" Leman asked.

"There's options for me," Malcador said. "But this is an adventure we're doing together, so you guys will get to decide."

"Oh?" the Lion asked. Angron also looked interested, he wasn't familiar with Shyrlocke Homs.

"Shyrlocke had an older brother in the stories," Malcador said. "I could be him, or a client."

"But Mircroft is supposed to be fat," Magnus objected.

"We can bend the rules a bit, I think," Malcador said. 

"Maybe," Magnus said. He wasn't sure he was alright with it.

"There's still the client option," Jaghatai pointed out. "Besides, Shyrlocke Homs isn't a child in any of the stories."

"Fair," Magnus said, then a thought struck him. "Wait, did you change the buildings to be Londyn?" 

"No," Malcador said. "I wasn't able to bring myself to change the programs you guys set up that much. However, they could have gone to Merica."

"But why would Mircroft go anywhere?" Magnus asked.

"Something of great importance, of course," Roboute said.

"Oh! Maybe something very important got stolen from Mircroft," Konrad suggested. "It got taken to the Merican West for some reason, and he enlists Shyrlocke to help get it back."

"Nice," Fulgrim said. "Mircroft and client rolled into one."

"That is a good idea," Malcador said. "And very much explains why Mircroft is with them."

"What about costumes?" Fulgrim asked. "I doubt they'd dress like they were locals."

"I have those ready," Malcador said.

*****************************

They reached the dressing room for the holodeck, and everyone changed. Those not playing specific roles selected to be various townspeople. A servitor would be filling in the role of thief and bad guy for them to deal with.

"Alright," Horus said. "How about we go in in waves? Townsfolk first, then the Homs brothers and Wattsin?"

"That's a great idea," Malcador said.

"Agreed," Magnus said. He had taken on the role of school teacher, to no one's surprise.

Ferrus started the program, and the first wave went in. They dispersed through the town, several going to buildings designated as stores, and the saloon. Everyone carefully watched the servitors to make sure nothing weird was going on. Angron practically dragged Lorgar to the saloon to check the arm wrestling. They hadn't tested it themselves since reworking it.

"It'll be fine, Angron," Lorgar said. "I doubt Malcador was going to want to do it anyway."

"But it was what I spotted first last time," Angron said. "Before we encountered any of the armed groups. It's a quick easy thing to check."

"But why me?" Lorgar whined. 

Angron paused at that. "Because we're both kind of loners, the closest brother for either of us is Roboute and neither of us are fond of him."

"You're not fond of anyone," Lorgar said. 

"That's not true," Angron said. "I just don't mix well."

It was Lorgar's turn to pause. "And you think I'm the same as you?"

"Sort of?" Angron said. "I figured we could at least try it. It gets kind of old being by myself, even in the group."

"I can understand that," Lorgar said quietly. "Though I would have considered Magnus closer than Roboute."

"Magnus has Jaghatai though," Angron said. 

"We could be a sort of trio, like Lion, Vulkan, and Corvus form a trio," Lorgar said.

"I thought Sanguinius had that slot," Angron said. "What with the Librarius for the Legions."

Lorgar blinked, then looked sad. "You're right, it would be Sanguinius next."

"Buddies?" Angron asked. 

"What about Konrad and Mortarion?" Lorgar asked. "I thought you got along well with them?"

"Sort of?" Angron said. "I'm willing to work with them sometimes."

"I think we can be buddies," Lorgar said. "At least sometimes. Now, can you stop dragging me?"

"Sorry."

The arm wrestling tested out fine, Lorgar getting best three out of four. Angron just barely lost his fifth match and felt proud of himself. The Lion and Rogal had teamed up to get check the raiders, while Perturabo and Konrad were checking the outlaws.

"All good here," Perturabo reported as they met back up. Horus nodded and the door opened so that Roboute, Mortarion, and Malcador could enter. 

"Get in character, everyone!" Fulgrim called out.

*****************************

"My, what a quaint little town," Malcador said in character, using it as a good excuse to admire the creativity the Primarchs had put into the program. Roboute was still trying to get into character, and wandered about trying to see like Homs. This caused him to almost wander off the edge of the walkway.

"Whoa there, stranger!" Jaghatai said, pulling sharply on the reins of one of the new psyberhorses he was testing. Roboute froze, trying to come up with something that would work for Homs. His brain stalled, panicking a bit.

"Good sir," Mortarion said suddenly. "Could you point us to the local drinking establishment?"

"Drinking establishment?" Malcador asked. 

"Of course, Mircroft!" Roboute said, shooting a thankful look at Mortarion.  "We're in the country, the local public house is the best place to gather information."

"I see," Malcador said.

"It's this way," Jaghatai said.

Several of the Primarchs had gathered in the saloon, and several of the servitor inhabitants had been provided lines by Malcador's programming so they could gather information. 

"What'll it be?" Angron asked. He was filling in as the bartender. There wasn't actual food and drink, it was illusions so they wouldn't have to keep the holodeck stocked with viable food supplies. 

They moved through the scene, including Roboute besting the arm wrestler to get information. The trio moved back outside, and the majority of the Primarchs slipped out side ways that had been added to get into other positions.

"We'll need a guide," Roboute said as they turned, intending to find the Lion. 

Malcador paused, just as Leman approached to offer his services as guide. Everyone paused, reaching out to their brothers, or sticking their heads out windows. A moment later, Malcador shook his head, and turned to Roboute.

"What is it?" Roboute asked.

"Your father's been called to Luna," Malcador said.

"Does that mean we need to stop?" Mortarion asked, hoping the answer was no. He was kind of enjoying watching Roboute try hard to be Shyrlocke. Wattsin was also fun.

"No, no," Malcador assured him. "I specifically cleared this day for this."

"Yay!" Fulgrim called from the window he was hanging out from. Ferrus quickly yanked him back inside so he couldn't fall out.

"Do you need a guide?" Leman asked, getting back into the story. Roboute, feeling a bit better about this interaction, quickly started listing what they needed.

"Alright, let's get our supplies and get going," Leman said. 

"Indeed," Roboute said. 

*****************************

Outside the Sanctum Imperialis a shadow breathed out, and pulled a trigger. The EMP grenade struck a back part of the Sanctum, and darkness descended across the whole area.

*****************************

Inside the holodeck, everything shut off abruptly. Servitors and people froze, with only a few squeaks from Fulgrim, and Rogal. 

"Static charge!" Perturabo and Malcador called out at the same time. 

"I'm clear!" Ferrus called back.

Perturabo reached out and placed his hand against the nearest wall, vaguely sad that he wasn't next to Rogal so he could shock him. Malcador was a bit more careful, they hadn't been next a building when the lights went out.

"Where is the nearest wall?" Malcador asked.

"Two steps behind, to the left," Roboute said.

"Thank you," Malcador said. He carefully moved back as Roboute directed, and adjusted his staff to his right hand. After a moment he reached out and poked the wall with just his left pinky finger. 

"That was impressive," Mortarion said. "I could see your finger from over here."

"If only it was just a light show," Malcador muttered, shaking his hand.

"Static charge cleared," Peturabo called.

"Cleared here as well," Malcador called. He was starting to get feeling back in his finger. 

"What now?" Angron called. 

"Has Father headed to Luna already?" Magnus asked.

"He has," Malcador confirmed. "Should be there by now in fact. He said they were already in transit when he reached out to me."

"Ah," Magnus said. "You'll have to reach out to him, Uncle Malcador."

"Indeed," Malcador said.

"What about the vox?" Mortarion asked.

"It was an EMP," Malcador said. "It's the only way I would have had that kind of static charge on me."

"From your collar," Roboute said, it wasn't a question. Malcador nodded, before remembering that even a Primarch needed some light source to see. 

"Magnus?" he called. "You can make a light, it might be a bit before everything comes back online."

"I can do that!" Magnus called back excitedly. There was a pause and a ball of light shot up from Magnus's position. 

Malcador was silent for some time, then came back to himself. "Your father cannot return at this time. He's being vague about what's happening on Luna, but he can't leave."

"Why's he being vague?" Roboute asked. "You're his closest advisor. Shouldn't he tell you everything?" 

"He usually does," Malcador said. "But he knows I'm with you guys, and you are all good at interrogation."

"But we wouldn't interrogate you," the Lion objected. 

"You might not," Malcador chuckled. 

"How far does this spread?" Fulgrim wondered.

"I can't tell," Ferrus said. "I don't have my auspex, and it would be down anyway."

"Probably a good thing you don't have that with you," Perturabo said.

"Probably," Ferrus agreed a bit glumly. 

"But it's not really that bad is it?" Jaghatai asked. "We have Magnus's light, so we can find the door and force it open."

"There's the safety locks though," Rogal said. "It's not like picking a lock will do it."

"Darn," Konrad said somewhat jokingly. He was the best at lock picking among the Primarchs.

"But we should still be able to force the doors," Vulkan said. "It may take a few of us, but it should be doable."

*****************************

They started by gathering together in what counted as the town square. Then moved towards the door, Roigal and Vulkan arguing the whole way about whether or not they could force the doors. It wasn't clear if they could, and Vulkan maintained that they needed to at least try.

"Rogal, Vulkan's right," Horus said. "We should at least try. It's not clear how far the EMP affected, if it's gotten to the government areas Malcador will be needed while Father is on Luna."

"Horus is right," Malcador said quietly. He'd been looking forward to playing Mircroft with the Primarchs for most of the day. Even possibly doing different stories if the one they did finished quickly. 

"I'm sorry, Uncle Malcador," Magnus said.

"It's not your fault," Malcador said. "Unless you somehow set off the EMP?"

"No!" Magnus said. "We knew something was up. Mortarion even tried to question...."

"Wait," Mortarion said, the realizing that had stopped Magnus hitting him at the same time. "Is Zorovim still the one following you?"

"Probably?" Malcador said questioningly. "I don't always notice when they switch out."

"If it's him, he'll have been close by," Mortarion said. "I know he's still trying to make a good impression on Valdor."

"I thought that was what the survival training was for?" Angron asked.

"Sort of," Horus said. "But you can always improve."

"True," Angron said. "And Mortarion's right, he's probably close."

"But it's easier to reach out if you know who's mind you're going to," Magnus said. "We don't know when they switch. Valdor probably has them change randomly so it's harder to find a pattern and get at him."

"I certainly hope that the EMP isn't part of a Blood Game," Mortarion said.

"It most certainly is not," came a muffled voice from the roof of the nearest building. 

"Sanguinius?" Malcador asked, voice trembling slightly.

Magnus cast his light higher as Sanguinius vaulted up from the floor. The others waited with various levels of patience. He called down in a bit of surprise.

"There was a change off. It's Jyloq."

"We'd better get him off of there," Vulkan said.

"How?" Alpharius asked. "We have to go with the idea that his servos are locked."

"True," Mortarion said. "Otherwise he'd have gotten off himself, even if it wasn't the most graceful."

"Lord Mortarion is correct," Jyloq said.

"Hm," Roboute said. "We shouldn't roll him off the roof."

"Yeah, that's a bad idea," Corvus said.

"What about the Catheric story of the lame man?" Lorgar suggested. 

"Maybe?" Perturabo said. "That building does have an opening in the roof."

"It's going to take all of us to lower him safely," Ferrus warned.

"I'll get the ropes," Rogal said. "I hid them when we were done putting up facades."

"I'll stay on the ground," Malcador said. "Two light sources may be good for this."

"Yeah, that's a good idea" Magnus said.  Everyone waited for Rogal to return, then worked out how to get onto the roof.

"I've got the skylight," Konrad said. 

It took them several minutes to find the best way to get the ropes around the helpless Custodian. Then they pulled him over to the skylight and then lowered him down, while Malcador waited at the bottom to remove the ropes. 

"There we are," Malcador said, carefully moving around Jyloq to remove the ropes. "I thought I made it clear I didn't want you guys staying so close to me."

"That's part of why Amon and I are commonly assigned to you," Jyloq said. His voice still muffled by his helmet.  Sanguinius followed him down through the skylight and carefully removed it. "Thank you, Lord Sanguinius."

"Is there a way to free his servos?" Angron asked. Perturabo thought about it for a moment, then got excited.

"There is!" he called out. "Magnus, do you want to come with me? We should be able to use the tools from the servitor maintenance shed. It's just a few buildings over."

"Great idea," Magnus said. "Let's go."

"Has anyone grounded Jyloq?" Ferrus asked.

"I think I did," Sanguinius said. "I took his helmet off."

"There wasn't a discharge though," Malcador said. He was a bit confused by that one.

"The plume," Jyloq said. "I think it got in the way."

"I can ground him," Mortarion offered. "Though it would be fun to see if it'd make Konrad's hair stand on end."

"I don't think that's necessary," Jyloq said. His objection wasn't heeded and Mortarion practically gleefully slapped Jyloq's armor.

"Ouch," Mortarion said. A split second light and outlined his whole hand when it made contact with Jyloq's armor. 

"Thanks," Ferrus said.

Perturabo and Magnus returned a bit later with the servitor repair kit. A few minutes later, the Tech Trio had Jyloq's servos unlocked. This allowed him to move, but it was going to be slow and ponderous. He would have to push against the weight of the armor instead of it assisting him.

"Alright, let's try the door," Horus said. 

Malcador took over light duties so Magnus could focus more on the door. They all studied the doors together, before splitting with nine on each side. Jyloq wanted to help, but wasn't able to, which made him frustrated.

"No one blames you," Malcador said. Jyloq didn't respond.

"On three!" Horus called. "One, two, three!"

The Primarchs strained, trying to push on the doors to open them. However, neither doors budged. Angron let out a frustrated scream.

"Focus on the doors," Magnus growled.

"We can't move them," Angron snapped.

"He's right," Roboute said as the stepped back. "We can't move them."

"Hm," Malcador mused. "Since we are stuck here, do we perhaps want to continue with the story?"

"How would that work?" Roboute asked. "We were going to use a servitor as the thief. And we don't want to know the end before we get there. Then it's not a story."

"Fair," Malcador said. "But there should be ways around that."

"We could take the place of the servitors," Fulgrim said. "And that makes someone takes over the role of thief."

"Konrad can," Mortarion said. 

"But it should be random," Roboute said. "That way we can work in clues to get us to who we want."

"But Doyle wrote the original stories backwards," Magnus objected. "And it would be easier to work in clues knowing who the thief is."

"Magnus has a point," Fulgrim said. "It's easier to tell a story if you know the ending."

"But that takes away the mystery," Roboute said.

"Would it work if I chose the thief, and told only them?" Malcador asked. "Or Jyloq could pick if you want someone impartial."

"I think that would be great," Roboute said. "That way it's still a surprise for me. Jyloq can choose."

"I'm not sure I understand what is going on," Jyloq said. The expression on his face implied he wanted to hold his hands up, but couldn't make them move the way he wanted to.

"I'm Shyrlocke Homs," Roboute said. "Or playing the part. Malcador is Mircroft, Shyrlocke's older brother, and Mortarion is Wattsin."

"Alright," Jyloq said. "I've picked up that there's a thief, and that's the mystery?"

"Yep," Roboute said.

"The original thief was going to be a servitor character," Magnus said. 

"Pick a Primarch to fill in the role, and let me know," Malcador said. 

Jyloq thought about it for a moment, then thought his answer to Malcador. The Sigilite nodded, and hopped that the chosen Primarch could keep his face straight.

The other Primarchs left quickly, Magnus taking his light with him. Malcador considered how they would light the whole room to tell the story. He then began setting a spell to take over the lighting duty. 

"What are we going to do about Jyloq?" Mortarion asked.

"I don't know," Roboute said. "Let's wait for the others to get back and decide then."

"Oooh! He could be the thing that was stolen," Mortarion said.

"But that doesn't make sense," Roboute said, then paused. "Unless less it's the armor that is the item, but that takes away Jyloq's agency."

"It would be easier for me," Jyloq said. "Maybe I'm a statue?"

"That's an interesting idea," Malcador said as he finished setting up his spell. A wave of his hand set it off, and the whole area filled with light. "The others are really getting deep in this."

"Maybe they're scattering to places?" Mortarion suggested.

*****************************

Leman showed up five minutes later, saying that he was ready to lead them. Jyloq was to stay where he was, they'd decided what to do with him and someone would come get him later. With that, he got back into character, and lead Roboute, Mortarion, and Malcador off.

Jyloq waited patiently, though there wasn't really anywhere for him to go. It had grown quiet by the door, the story taking place elsewhere. This made the quiet footsteps of Lord Corax quite obvious to him. 

"Lord Corax?" he called out after a moment.

"I'm here," Corvus said. "Just waiting for Vulkan to catch up."

"What is the plan?" Jyloq asked.

"We're going to have some fun with a statue," Vulkan said. "A moving statue."

"Oh?" Jyloq asked. 

"Yeah," Corvus said as the two Primarchs worked on turning Jyloq in the right direction. "Perturabo, Rogal, and Ferrus are all working on a plinth that you'll stand on. When you move, it'll pull open a hatch in the plinth."

"That might take some work," Jyloq protested. "And where would they find the material?"

"Oh, that's nothing," Vulkan said. "Konrad wanted a gallows, so we're just appropriating that and adjusting it."

"Interesting," Jyloq said. "But what about the panel opening?"

"That's easy," Corvus said. "The gallows was designed to be manual release, we just hide the rope on you, so that when you move it opens."

Jyloq remained quiet at that, focusing instead on forcing his armor to walk. "How much will I have to move?" 

"Not much," Vulkan said. "And you can do it slowly. You're supposed to be a metal statue that's been set up to move with clockwork."

"A very good plan," Jyloq approved. "How much farther?"

"Not much," Vulkan said. "In fact, you should be able to see it."

"Ah," Jyloq said.

*****************************

"We're getting close," Leman said.

"There's nothing out here," Mortarion protested. "It's just empty moor."

"Prairie," Malcador said. "I believe the term is prairie."

"Yep, that's the word I know," Leman said. "But the tracks are strong, they should be just the other side of the prairie."

Roboute remained silent, studying the ground, and the illusion that Magnus was fueling.

"That doesn't change that there's nothing out here," Mortarion said. "And there doesn't appear to be anything on the other side of this prairie."

"About that," Leman said, having gotten a few paces ahead. He spun around making a gesture like he was drawing guns. Instead of taking guns from the servitors they had decided to use finger guns instead.

"What's this?" Malcador asked, almost out of character. Other Primarchs had appeared out of the "grass", also holding up finger guns.

"Ambush," Roboute said. "It would be best if we surrender."

"Indeed. Tie them up," Horus said, gesturing to Perturabo, Rogal, and Ferrus.

The three Primarchs approached, each one tying up one of the party Leman had lead into the ambush. They had pulled out ropes from supplies kept in the building that typically served as the jail. Rogal was careful to be very gentle with Malcador, but did actually bind his hands.

"Let's go," Horus said. "The boss will be happy to see us catching the great Shyrlocke Homs." The three captives had their leads pulled, and they set off back to town.

*****************************

"I don't recall this statue," Malcador said as they approached Jyloq on his "plinth". They'd really just taken down the arm of the gallows used for "hangings" and put skirting around it to make the base of it look more solid.

Lorgar came up to the side of the plinth and pressed on part of Jyloq's armor that they had agreed would indicate a button had been pressed. Jyloq slowly moved his arm up, pulling on the rope they had attached to him that would pull half of the door open.

Perturabo, Rogal, and Ferrus nudged Roboute, Mortarion, and Malcador towards the opening. They'd set up a quick ladder, and the bindings were set to allow them to use it. Once down, Jyloq lowered his arm and the door closed.

+Malcador, what are you doing?+ the Emperor's voice came without warning.

+Being held prisoner by some of your sons,+ Malcador replied nonchalantly. There was a long pause before the Emperor spoke again.

+What?+

+You heard me,+ Malcador said, amusement coloring the sending. 

+What about the EMP?+ The Emperor asked.

+We were hit,+ Malcador said. +We can't get the door open, so what else were we supposed to do?+

+Valdor's asking if you know anything about Jyloq,+ the Emperor said after another pause. +Seems he was assigned to you.+

+Being a very good clockwork statue,+ Malcador replied. +I assume Rogal built this thing we're under.+

+Jyloq agreed to this?+ the Emperor asked, clearly relaying a question from Valdor.

+As far as I'm aware,+ Malcador said. +His armor was affected by the EMP, so he doesn't have a lot of options regarding what to do.+

+That does make sense,+ the Emperor said, now sounding more relaxed than when he had started. +We're on our way back from Luna, but it'll be a little bit still.+

+Understood,+ Malcador said. +I think we'll be occupied here for a bit longer.+

"Was that Magnus, or Father?" Mortarion asked after the Emperor's presence left. 

"Your father," Malcador said. "I think I stumped him a moment when I said I was being held prisoner."

Roboute and Mortarion both giggled at that. It felt like it was a long time since they were placed inside the scaffolding. They began to wonder what that was about.

"Probably arguing over what they're doing next with us," Mortarion said. 

"Hopefully not," Roboute said. "Lorgar could tie them up for quite awhile."

"Angron's good at making people stop," Mortarion said.

"True, but if they start going at each other, who's going to stop them?" Roboute asked.

"Horus?" Mortarion said questioningly.

"They're coming," Malcador interrupted before Roboute could refute Horus's ability to stop arguing between Angron and Lorgar. It was well known that it was hard to get either of them to stop.

Someone made a show of stomping their way up the plinth, and the door opened. Perturabo, Rogal, and Ferrus came back down the ladder, and grabbed their captives again. There was a pause for each at the top of the ladder where Jaghatai put bags over their heads. Angron, Vulkan, and Corvus were waiting at the bottom of the plinth to spin them around several times. 

"I adjust my statement about this town to not include the people," Malcador said. "Doctor Wattsin if you make scribblings about this, please be sure to clarify that."

"I don't think I'll be doing any scribblings about this anytime soon," Mortarion said. "But if I do, I'll be sure to include it, Mircroft."

"Much obliged," Malcador said.

"Be quiet, both of you," Angron said sharply.

"Where are you taking us?" Mortarion asked.

"No questions," Perturabo said, pulling on the rope he was using to lead Mortarion. 

They went around for about five minutes, the Primarchs working hard to make it not feel like they were going in some kind of big loop. They weren't sure if the spinning had done anything, but hoped it had a bit. Finally Magnus signaled to Jaghatai that the next scene was ready, and they took off to meet the boss. 

*****************************

Sanguinius fidgeted, trying to look intimidating. He'd been able to hide his reaction to being picked by Jyloq. However, as soon as they were away from Roboute, Mortarion, and Malcador he had stated how uncomfortable he was with being selected. 

"It's alright," Horus said. "We're just playing, nothing's real."

"True," Sanguinius said, but it's just weird."

"I can understand that," Leman said. "I almost felt dirty doing that to Malcador."

"What was his reaction to finger guns?" Sanguinius asked.

"Amused," Leman said. "Nearly got him to break character."

"What about the other two?" Sanguinius asked.

"They're almost here," the Lion said suddenly from the lookout position.

"Alright," Magnus called back. "We're all ready?"

"Yep!" Horus called, glancing at Sanguinius. "If you hunch a bit, can you maybe hide your wings a bit? Then when you stand up you can snap them out for effect."

"I can give you a moustache to twirl," Magnus suggested.

"Oh, that would be funny," Konrad said. 

"No time," the Lion said. 

"Places!" Horus called. and most of the other Primarchs hid just as Jaghatai was opening the door. The captives were lead in, and forced to kneel before Jaghatai took the bags off their heads. They had specifically set up a spot with a pillow for Malcador. 

"Ah, the famous Shyrlocke Homs," Sanguinius said, going for something close to the tone he used when he needed to chastise one of the Blood Angels.

"You have me at a disadvantage," Roboute said. "I don't keep up with all of you Merican miscreants."

Sanguinius paused, they hadn't actually come up with a name. It hadn't been clear before if he had a name for the servitor one. 

+Two Dot Cassidy+ Malcador sent to him. He repeated the name.

"An... interesting name," Roboute said, nearly stumbling himself. "But ultimately, it means nothing."

"Except that I will go down in history as doing something the famed, lamented, Moriarty couldn't do," Sanguinius said. "Defeating Shyrlocke Homs."

Roboute laughed at that. Clearly showing that Homs wasn't afraid, and possibly a bit arrogant. He then revealed that he had undone his bonds in the time it had taken them to get there. Tossing aside the rope, he launched himself to his feet. 

"You will find that I am not so easy to defeat," Roboute declared.

"Restrain him!" Sanguinius called out. Angron practically did a flying tackle, forgetting entirely about the finger gun option.

+Careful!+ Magnus sent sharply, causing Angron to flinch and glare at him. This was enough distraction for Konrad to slam into Angron from his position. 

"What's going on?" Mortarion asked. He had been focused on trying to unbind Malcador's hands, certain it was something Wattsin would do.

"Merican Marshals!" Konrad yelled. "Nobody move. Are you alright, Mister Homs?"

"I am, Marshal..." Roboute trailed off, clearly asking for Konrad to provide a name.

+Dillon+ Malcador sent as Konrad clearly blanked a moment. A quick nod as Konrad repeated it. 

"Much obliged," Malcador said aloud as Mortarion got the ropes undone.

"What is going on here?" Sanguinius called out, turning to Konrad. "Randy, what is this?"

"I've been undercover this whole time," Konrad said. "You're going down Two Dot."

"Not without a fight," Sanguinius said.

Everyone moved around, pulling out their finger guns. Mortarion's hands were actually still bound, so he couldn't do anything. Roboute hesitated a moment before setting his guns.

"You're outnumbered, Marshal," Sanguinius said. "And surrounded."

"But not alone," Roboute said. Malcador also rose and drew his guns. He was leaning towards being intimidating, making himself seem bigger than normal.

"This is just a small hiccup," Sanguinius said, then turned to Horus. "Take care of them."

"On it, Boss," Horus said with a wide wink.

"Bang!" Lorgar called out, pointing his finger gun in the direction of Roboute. Roboute jerked aside, indicating a missed shot. Mortarion got up, and charged with his hands still tied behind his back. 

"Bang!" Leman called out, also aiming at Roboute. This time Roboute wasn't able to dodge aside and made a gesture like he'd gotten hit in the shoulder.

"Homs!" Mortarion called. Malcador ducked, avoiding a shot from Alpharius.

There was a cacophony of shouted "bangs", including a few from Malcador. It was beginning to get a little messy as it was harder to tell who was aiming at who, and who missed or hit. Everything froze when the lights came back on. 

"End program!" Rogal called, still aiming at Mortarion. The servitors paused, then went into their storage buildings. 

"Hey, that worked this time!" Perturabo said. "The EMP didn't wipe the program."

"That's good," Ferrus said. "I'm hoping that we can reset it easily though, haven't really gotten around to testing unexpected shut downs."

"We never even thought to test that," Vulkan said. "The Palace has never lost power during our lives."

"That's because it hasn't happened since your father moved in," Malcador said. "It was rare before that."

"Um, Malcador?" Corvus called. "Can you turn off your light spell?"

Malcador quickly waved his hand to break the spell, causing the light to drop back to normal.

"Thanks," Corvus said. "Konrad, it's back to normal light levels, you can come out of hiding."

Konrad had dived under a table. The building they had used for the final confrontation was typically a house in the town. It was in fact meant  to be a house for someone to stay in if that was something that made sense for the story. They had chosen it because it was relatively open and closer than the ones that made cliffs and the like. 

+How are things going now?+ the Emperor asked.

+Good, though the ending of the story got a bit derailed,+ Malcador replied. +We ended up in a firefight, and it was hard to tell who was coming out on top.+

+Like a gunfight?+ the Emperor asked, startled.

+With finger guns,+ Malcador said. +That's why it was hard to figure out who was winning.+

+Ah,+ the Emperor said. +Cawl's on his way to get the door.+

+Valdor isn't reaming Jyloq too hard?+ Malcador asked. +He really didn't have a lot of options.+

+No, he's not,+ the Emperor said. +However, there does need to be a meeting of the assassin lords.+

+What did they do this time?+ Malcador grumbled. 

+The EMP situation was their doing.+

+Oh, they are going to get some stern words then,+ Malcador said. +While this was an entertaining diversion, it was not what I had planned for today.+

+I'll leave that to you then,+ the Emperor said. 

+See you soon,+ Malcador said. He relayed the part about Cawl and the door to the Primarchs.

"We should go check on Jyloq," Vulkan said.

*****************************

Roboute, Mortarion, and Malcador were a bit surprised to find they were just one row off of the square where Jyloq was. They found him going through the process of restarting his armor. After a moment he hopped off the plinth and joined them. 

The door opened, and the Primarchs flooded out. Perturabo and Ferrus excitedly telling Cawl about how the program had performed before and after the EMP. Corvus slipped off into a changing room. Fulgrim didn't care as much and just started taking clothing off.

"Lord Fulgrim!" Jyloq called out, somewhat startled.

"What?" Fulgrim asked, drawing the word out. "I'm not going into the wider Palace in this, they're play clothes and are supposed to stay here. I doubt Cawl minds."

"You are a son of the Emperor," Jyloq objected. "What about your sense of decorum?"

"He's got a point, Fulgrim," Horus called. "We made changing rooms for a reason."

"Alright," Fulgrim groaned and went in a room. "I just want it known I only took my shirt off. It wasn't even that bad."

*****************************

Two days after the incident with the EMP, seven people sat in silence in a hidden room within the Palace. They were the leaders of the six Clades of the Assassinorum, and the Master of Assassins. All were masked to hide their identities, the Clade masters in masks that reflected their Clade specialties, and the Master in silver. 

"I've been informed," the Master began solemnly. "From sources beyond reproach, that you and your Clades are responsible for the EMP incident the Palace experienced recently."

"We never meant to trap the Sigillite," Vanus interjected. Vindicare glowered behind their mask.

"I did not ask about your intentions, Vanus," the Master stated. "Though now that you have broached the topic, why was this done?"

"We..." Vanus trailed off and silence reigned for several minutes.

"I'm waiting," the Master said.

"It was a competition," Culexus said quietly.

"On Palace grounds?" the Master asked, turning his masked face sharply towards Culexus.

"It didn't start that way," Venenum said, drawing attention away from Culexus. 

"But it ended up there," the Master said gravely. "He is most disappointed in us for this incident."

"We truly meant no harm, Master," Vanus said. 

"That is beside the point,"  the Master said. "Did you know that several of His Custodians were affected?"

"...I did not, Master," Vanus said, startled. "That was also not our intention."

"What was the aim of this competition?" the Master asked. 

"To see which pair of Clades could work the best together," Eversor said. "Vanus and Vindicare were paired, Venenum and Culexus, and Callidus and myself."

"Interesting pairings," the Master mused. "And it may be a wise idea to occasionally pair you off to see how you do. However, I hope we don't have to discuss why doing this near the Palace is a bad idea?"

"No," the Clade masters intoned in unison. "This won't happen again."

"Good," the Master said. "Dismissed."

*****************************

Malcador stayed behind as the Clade masters slipped out through the various exits to the hidden room. After a short while, the Emperor joined him. Reaching up, Malcador removed the silver mask that hid his identity and changed his voice.

"Paired competition?" the Emperor asked, trying hard to make it sound like he was just interested in what he had overheard. The reality was he had been in a side observation room, and had had to stop himself from laughing aloud at the notion.

"It's actually not a horrible idea," Malcador mused. "If Perturabo and Rogal can learn to work together, it may come in handy for the Assassinorum as well. Who knows when a mission may require the blending of talents?"

"Hopefully not for some time," the Emperor said, the thought of a target that he'd use the Assassinorum on that would require more than one operative on the mission was something he didn't want to think about too hard.

"It's something you know we want to be prepared for," Malcador pressed. "That way we aren't scrambling when it happens."

"If it happens," the Emperor corrected.

"The galaxy's a big place," Malcador said. "And we only think we know everything out there because we haven't met what we don't know yet. Besides, people are people no matter how far from Terra they've gotten."

"You're right," the Emperor sighed.  "It's still not something I enjoy thinking about."

"Isn't that why this is one of my jobs?" Malcador asked. 

"Yes, it is," the Emperor said. "Though part of that job is telling me of things I don't want to think about."

"Well, we haven't found it yet, so it's something you can think about a different day."