It was often enough in their imprisonment where Adella and Marie possessed very little to do. Qora’s visits were quite irregular so the pair were often left to entertain themselves. Adella spent most of her time praying, for both guidance and for the souls of her fallen sisters. Marie occasionally joined her but one could only repeat the same hymnal so many times before it started to grow hollow. As such, to try and keep their minds off of the situation Adella opted to try something else.

“Marie. Where in the sector do you hail from originally?” She asked out of the blue.

The tiny sister looked up from her place upon Adella’s palm. “Thrax III’s Schola Progenium, Sis- Adella. Why do you ask?”

Adella shrugged. “I know very little about you and you about me. Perhaps we should work to change that.”

Marie seemed to brighten at that prospect. “I-I would like that very much.”

So it was that Adella found herself listening to the tiny sister as she told her of the sights and sounds of Thrax III and its Schola. It was a Hive World and as such the Schola had been a cramped and crowded place. There Marie had been but one orphan among many, though from the very start she had known she wanted to join the sisterhood. The place honestly sounded fairly bad as far as Schola’s went, however likely no more than Adella’s own had been. If for different reasons of course.

“The food was dreadful. Nothing like what we are fed at the abbey even. More of a grey sludge. Sometimes we were bunked six girls to a room this size. The overseeing sisters were taskmasters but always made sure everyone had blankets and something to eat. I remember that they would often give up their own food if someone was going without.” Marie chattered.

“Ha! You were lucky. My presiding abbot was a rotund man who was fond of hoarding food for himself. Said our ‘fasts’ made us stronger in faith. Easy for him to say.” Adella, rolling her eyes as she relived days gone by.

“Seriously? Our abbess was a martyr who wielded guilt like a weapon. Though her cane made up for what guilt could not.”

“Oh? Hard to believe she could care about the misdeeds of every orphan.” The sister superior remarked.

Marie shrugged. “Somehow she made time. It was cramped, underfunded, and undersupplied, but we were a nice little community. The hive gangers tended to leave us alone since the sisters had some combat training and a large gun cabinet.”

Adella was somewhat surprised by that last bit. A place like that seemed like corruption and the like would be rampant. Yet despite everything they managed to hold on to some sense of community. A shining light amidst a place of grime, filth, and overpopulation. The Sister Superior smiled at the thought of growing up in such a place. It was harsh but at least it would be nice enough to be surrounded by good people.

“What of your Schola? Surely they were not all corrupt and mean.” Marie inquired.

She shook her head in response. “Not all but it was a problem. Our Schola was nicer and had fewer orphans, but a number of the orphans would turn to… less scrupulous activities to get supplies when the priests or older orphans would hoard them. Picking pockets, mugging, and I do recall hearing a few of the older orphans turned to prostitution.” Adella said with a frown.

“I was happy when I was selected to join the sisterhood honestly. I had a few friends but most entered the Imperial Guard or PDF before I came of age so I was not exactly leaving much behind.” She offered with a shrug.

Marie was silent for a few moments. “Did you… have anyone? You know, before leaving?”

Adella chuckled. “My habits of intense exercise and prayer were not exactly considered… attractive. I devoted my time to the Emperor and to molding my body into His weapon. Pursuits of the flesh were not a priority.”

“Surely you did things for fun!” The tiny sister said.

“Yes, I…” Adella trailed off.

She knew what she did for fun. How many long minutes did she spend giggling as she crushed the life out of the little green insects that were common on her homeworld? Grinding them beneath her fingers and boots with glee as she imagined each of her bullies in their place. Drowning them by pouring cups of water down their little hills was another method. The tall sister doubted talking about that was the best idea, especially given Marie’s current condition and her struggling with emerging urges.

The tiny sister looked up at her with concern. “What is wrong, sister?”

Adella smiled. “Ah, nothing. I am far more interested to hear about what you did for fun. Please, spare no details.”

As Marie’s expression brightened again the tiny sister lounged back against Adella’s thumb and regaled her with the hiding games she would play. The Sister Superior listened attentively though could not stop her gaze from trailing over the broken legs of her sister. The splints had held and hopefully would help to restore some modicum of movement to Marie. For now… Adella needed to handle her and help her with most basic tasks. It was no bother but even still she worried what the tiny sister might think of herself.

She seemed happy now, chattering away with Adella. However there were moments when she looked melancholy and her mind appeared to be far afield. The taller sister certainly had her more down moments as they were both imprisoned and locked in a closed space. Her claustrophobia was not acting up overmuch thankfully… for now at least. With Marie the moments seemed more prolonged, though given what she had gone through it was not exactly a massive surprise. It was worrying, but not surprising.

After a while the tiny sister fell silent and shifted. “Adella, can I tell you something?”

The blonde haired woman smiled encouragingly. “By all means.”

“I… I wanted to tell you that I am thankful for your caring for me. I am tiny and useless now but you still helped me.”

“You are not useless, Marie!” Adella exclaimed, earning a bitter chuckle from the smaller sister.

“Lying is a sin no? We both know I cannot do much of anything on my own. Even still… I just want you to know that if I can ever do anything for you please let me know. Anything at all.” Marie stated.

The Sister Superior frowned, staring down at her tiny sister with a worried expression etched across her face. Marie winced as she shifted her position, wrapping her arms around Adella’s thumb to use it as a brace. It was only another indication of just how fragile the sister had become. The taller sister did not want her to do much of anything besides rest but she supposed coming up with something for her to do might make her feel less helpless. Nothing stressful of course or overly exerting, something simple.

After a long while of silence Adella spoke. “Sing for me.”

Marie blinked. “What?”

“You wanted to know what you can do. Sing for me, a morning hymnal please.” Adella asked.

The tiny sister stared up at the Sister Superior before clearing her throat. She ran through a few vocal exercises as neither had sung since being imprisoned here. Adella didn’t even want to know how much of a wreck she was after having foregone practice for so long. The Sister Superior wondered if Qora would have her gagged if she filled the room with hymnals. More likely the heretic bitch would laugh and mock her faith.

Finally Marie began. It started soft, perfect High Gothic words leaving her lips in an uplifting melody. Adella closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. The smaller sister’s voice was higher pitched but utterly flawless. The hymnal rose in volume and the Sister Superior found herself, if only for a brief few moments feeling like she was back home. The cell was gone and her legs unbound. For a moment she was not there in captivity but kneeling before an altar devoted to the God-Emperor.

She was carried along by every note and every lilt in Marie’s beautiful voice. Glistening moistness formed at the corners of Adella’s eyes, tears dribbling down her cheeks. As with a man dying of thirst being given a cup of water Adella savored this moment. After torment after torment is was as though her very soul had been invigorated. She felt at peace and it caused warmth to rise in her breast and spread outwards across her body. The Sister Superior felt at peace in that moment.

A moment that was shattered with a single sound. That of the door sliding open and that familiar smack of leather on cool metal floor.

“Shall I fetch you a cage, Adella? For your little bird, I mean.”

Marie’s singing stopped and Adella was jolted back to harsh reality at the sensual sound of her tormenter’s voice. There was nothing soothing about Qora’s voice; instead there was an almost erotic undertone to it. Something about it awakened unbidden lust into Adella’s mind, swimming below her burning hatred for the witch. Teasing, caressing, massaging like velvet drawn upon bare skin. Just hearing her speak was enough to awaken something in one, a draw, a vocal presence more powerful than that of an Imperial Governor. Combined with her super-earthly beauty Adella could understand why so many fell to their knees before her, and by extension her master.

Qora stepped forward into the room, bearing another container. She set the metal cylinder down upon one of the tables and offered Adella a charming smile, chuckling slightly at her own sick little joke. The Sister Superior felt her heart freeze over with fear at the mere sight of the cylinder. Who was in there? What was next? There were only three of her sisters alive by her count, her 2nd in command Iria, a battle sister named Cordelia, and Marie. What horror was Qora going to force her to do to her remaining sisters?

“A pity that she sings such poor songs, awkward and geared towards praising a rotting corpse on a chair. You’ll have to teach her some new songs eventually once she is good and subservient.” Qora said lightly.

“Fuck you.” Adella gritted out.

Qora let out a tsk and shook her head. “Such a nasty tongue, and for one who wants nothing more than to help you. Ah well, time for some fun. I’ve opted to give your remaining sisters a reprieve. I suspect you’ll love this next bit though.”

The Sister Superior expected the psychic hooks of Qora’s power to immediately spear her once more, reducing her to a mere puppet once more. As it was she had no time to react as Marie was grabbed by a telekinetic force and brought into the grasp of the witch. The tiny sister stared up in wide eyed fear from her place on the heretic’s supple and smooth palm, Adella straining against her bonds to try and save her.

“You bitch! Don’t you fucking touch her! I’ll kill you, I swear I’ll kill you, monster!” She screeched spittle flying from her lips as she tried vainly to claw her way across the floor and free her ankles from their restraints.

Qora smirked in the face of Adella’s fury and said nothing. The witch simply picked up the container and up ended the contents upon the floor. What came tumbling out were inch tall men and women stripped of clothing, each one letting out little cries of confusion and distress. The witch stood up straight once more and set the container aside before lifting up a little controller. She clicked a button and immediately Adella felt her ankle bonds become demagnetized.

“Now. Before you get it in your head to attack me head on, I can activate those bonds with the flick of a switch. I also have no doubt little Marie here would fail to survive our little scuffle.” Qora started.

Adella carefully stood up, leaning back against the metal pole behind her. Her eyes flicked down towards the people down there. Eight all told, each one looking more confused than the last. That was until they looked up and took notice of the pair of titans conversing above. The Sister Superior licked her lips and turned her gaze back up to Qora. The witch had an amused smirk upon her face as she caressed at Marie’s tiny head with her finger. The crippled sister let out a little whimper in response.

“Now, to the game. You can have fun chasing these tiny things around and crushing them. Or rather you will. If you don’t I might accidently press a little too hard on Marie’s head. It would be such a pity really. A true waste.” Qora said simply.

To say the conditions set forth enraged Adella was an understatement. More than that though she feared for Marie’s life. There was no doubt in her mind that Qora would carry out her threat without a second thought. The smirk upon her face said it all. She actually enjoyed watching Adella squirm, seeing an incorruptible bastion of the Emperor’s faith weigh the costs in her mind. More than that though there was having the power to utterly crush Adella right in her hand, literally and figuratively.

Adella carefully looked over the people upon the floor. Those that had heard Qora speak were on their knees, pleading with the Sister Superior. They begged for their lives. Others scattered, seeking some modicum of shelter in the small room. She looked back to Qora, pondering the odds of her being able to cross the distance between them in time. Though she also had a point, Marie might well end up crushed in a scuffle between them. The witch had her trapped. On the one hand was Marie’s life, on the other eight others. Numerically it should have been an obvious choice.

“Who are they?” Adella asked.

Qora chuckled. “Future splatters beneath your foot, that’s who. It doesn’t matter who they are. What does matter is if you don’t crush every last one I will kill Marie.”

There were plenty of times where Adella had been sure she couldn’t possibly hate Qora more. This time though she was certain there was no point more she could reach in the depths of her sheer hatred for the witch. She stared down at the people upon the floor once more, blue eyes calculating. One woman went so far as to throw herself down right before Adella’s right foot, tears in her eyes as she pleaded with the sister.

“Please, don’t do this! My son, he needs me! He’s still so young!” She wept.

The Sister Superior felt her insides recoil. She didn’t know what to do. It was either them or Marie. Marie was her Sister, one who had helped to keep her sane in her stay in this unending hell. However these eight might not have done anything to deserve this, simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had families; lives, dreams and those were what Qora wanted her to take away from them. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Tick tock, tick tock, Adella.”

Following that was a pitiful whimper from Marie. Adella opened her eyes and could see one of Qora’s pink painted nails poised to press down on the tiny sister’s head.

Adella couldn’t quite remember how it happened, but suddenly there was a crunch that filled the air. A sickening noise of bones shattering and cracking followed by a wet squelch. Beneath her pale foot pooled a puddle of warm blood. The Sister Superior blinked as she looked down at the puddle. It was forming right where that begging woman had been. Odd really. She moved her foot to the side and could see a mangled mess of red that barely resembled a human being.

She’d crushed her. Just lifted her foot and put it down really. It hadn’t taken much effort, or really any effort. Just by putting her full weight upon her foot the woman had been completely and utterly obliterated. Something in Adella shut down at that point, similar to how she felt when normally taking life. She went completely numb. Anything she might have otherwise felt was pushed aside as she knew what she needed to do.

Those that had been pleading previously saw what she had done and ran. They scrambled as fast as their little legs could carry them. Unfortunately it wasn’t fast enough. Adella easily crossed the distance, her as of yet unbloodied foot slamming down just ahead of the group of three. At this point she methodically started chased them down with her blood soaked foot. It wasn’t exactly difficult; indeed the tiny humans couldn’t put up much of a fight if they wanted to given the vast disparity in size.

The first man screamed just before Adella popped him under her sole, the cracking of bones and the squelch of blood sounding out. She twisted her foot to ensure his demise, cracking more bones under her foot. In a strange sense it felt little different than when she crushed bugs on her homeworld. Still crunchy, still gooey once they were crushed. In a more lucid state of mind she might well wonder about the state of her sanity for drawing such comparisons. As it was she didn’t want to think about it.

A woman ended up taking the full force of one of her toes in the back, knocking her to the ground. There was a sickening snap as her spine was shattered. The shadow of Adella’s bloodstained foot fell over her broken form and that was the end of her. There was a scream and few more cracks and then silence. The Sister Superior caught herself wriggling her toes slightly from the sensations under her sole.

After this she lifted her heel off of the floor and slid her foot back along the floor towards her next target. A smear of blood was left upon the floor in the wake of the movement. She brought her calloused heel down upon the man, splattering the inch tall human easily. Adella ground her heel into the ground, ensuring his demise as sure as the sun would rise. With him dead she turned her attention to those four that had run earlier.

“Four down four to go. I’m almost tempted to join you myself.” Qora said with a chuckle.

One of the men tried to hide under Qora’s robes though the witch obviously had taken note of that. She flicked her sandaled foot out and sent him flying towards Adella. His broken and battered body landed near the Sister Superior, who was quick to finish the job. The witch giggled slightly, biting her lower lip as she watched the statuesque blonde at work. Adella just tried to focus upon her gruesome task, though Qora seemed content to comment as she chased around the three remaining people and popped them under her soles.

“Ohhh, that one looked like a juicy one. They really are useless at this size for anything but amusement.” She remarked as Adella crushed a particularly plump human.

“You talk too much, witch. Your voice is grating.” Adella gritted out as one managed to slip from under her initial step.  

Qora chuckled. “You are enjoying yourself. I can tell, such things cannot be hidden from me darling.”

As Adella corrected her error and smeared the second to last man upon the cool floor she noted with no small amount of shame there was an… excitement in it. She had power over life and death in this situation and was using it to kill these tiny humans as effortlessly as insects. It damned her worse than anything else really. There were no psychic controls upon her now. This was done by her choice. She was trading eight lives for Marie. Eight lives she was extinguishing herself. If ever there were a moment she was further from the Emperor’s light this would be it.

She cornered the last man and stared down at him. She lifted her foot over him and slowly started to apply pressure. All of her kills thus far had been quick; this one though let her take in the little sensations. She could feel his little fists pounding away at her sole, feel his bones creak and threaten to splinter at any moment. A part of her mind, that dark part that grew more and more with Qora’s attentions, reveled in the sensations.

She applied more pressure and finally granted the man death, splattering him beneath her foot. She twisted her foot to the left once before stepping away. As she became less numb she felt a lump rise in her throat. The Sister Superior fell to her knees, eyes wide and filling with tears. Holy Emperor, what had she just done?

The gentle slap of Qora’s sandals sounded out, echoing in her ears as the witch stood before her. The witch patted at her golden crown and let out soothing shushing noises, like a mother might give to a child. Adella should have sprung to her feet and attacked her but in that moment there was not an ounce of strength in her body. Her strength was further sapped as Qora finally spoke once more.

“The faith of the Emperor is one of hypocrisy. People swear up and down they’ll be self-sacrificing for the sake of others but in the end it always comes down to you and yours. Eight lives versus one. For a ‘true’ servant of the Emperor the answer would have been obvious. Instead, you ended eight lives today in exchange for one, a broken, useless cripple. Not only that, you enjoyed it. You enjoyed splattering them upon your soles. Once you accept that, accept your own vice, you will be so much closer to true happiness, Adella.” Qora said softly, not an ounce of accusation in her voice.

As Adella was restrained to her pole once more, Marie still in something of a catatonic state herself the Sister Superior cried. Not out of earlier bliss and happiness but of sheer gut wrenching and crushing despair.