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At the edge of the Laxeron sub-sector, in the shadow of a moon mining outpost, the silhouette of an ancient and hideous Alpha Legion Thunderhawk loomed over the landing platform as it prepared to dock. The bodies of the slain workers had been dragged off to be fed into the incinerators, their blood yet leaving a red trail across the bulkheads. Ten giants cloaked in tattered cowls, that barely concealed the old armor of traitors, walked out of the transporter and entered the empty outpost.
Here, they had been summoned to meet for a scheme that could deal a devastating blow to the Imperium. By whose authority they had been summoned, none but only the harrowmaster that led them knew. In the bowels of the mining outpost, there they witnessed the carnage that preceded them. In days past, the madness of their isolation took hold of the workers, and what little remained of their sanity could only be seen in the bloody handpainted symbols that adorned the walls and floor. The foremen were sacrificed, their corpses torn open and held aloft in chains. A small tear in the fabric of reality, spawned by the heretical ritual forced upon the long dead workers of the outpost, spat out the damned host. The ten Alpha legionnaires stood before the portal, ready to meet their master's demands.
A Chaos warband, numbering fifty strong, stepped out of the Warp.
These too were Alpha Legion, though their name had understandably been changed to separate them from the whole. What led them was neither man nor xenos, but a daemon. This hunched, hooded fiend was no mere lesser daemon, either. It was the Changeling, a horror of Tzeentch that embodied the God of Change's endless capacity for deceit, and twisted humor for trickery. Its involvement proved to be enough to convince the sons of Alpharius that this venture would indeed be fruitful, and so they listened intently to what the thing had to say.
"Welcome, agents of change." The ever-shifting voices of the creature greeted, "Your frustration for inaction has not gone unnoticed by the Lord of Schemes. I've come, bringing your lost brothers with me, to offer you a chance to put your skills to use once more. Take this not as lightly, for 'tis not some errand I shall send you."
The creature's choice of words served to stoke the flames of their hearts, naturally setting their quick tempers ablaze. Though they did fancy themselves as above mere servants of Chaos, the fact that the Changeling called them errand boys angered them to no end. Kassar, the acting harrowmaster of the legionnaires, growled in impatience. "Be brief, daemon."
"Oh? Very well. How would you like the idea of killing a Primarch?"
The traitors exchanged glances, then Kassar spoke again in turn. "That depends entirely on who you are referring to."
"The Imperium rejoices at the return of Korvus Corax, Leman Russ, Horus Lupercal, Roboute Guilliman and Rogal Dorn. Yet there is one, Lion El'Johnson, who is the most recent to be uncovered, who stands as half the man he once was. Even now, he carries himself as though the years had taken no toll on him, but the lion is old- weak and vulnerable as a cub. He does not see the viper that slithers through the grass, while he gazes clear into the horizon, eager for more days of glory." The Changeling pointed to the harrowmaster with a mist-like, ever shifting limb. "You will put an end to such notions. Undoubtedly, the Primarch lies protected by a formidable circle of his most trusted friends, but you have proven skilled in the art of deception. Through the powers invested in me by the God of Change, I will provide your means of closing the distance."
Kassar, knowing well the treacherous nature of those of Tzeentch, demanded. "What will it cost us to undertake this task?"
The Changeling knew that none of these traitors gave an ounce of trust its way and cared little for it. A complexly woven scheme was ready to unfold, "Your face, your voice, and your will. Stand before me, all of you, and receive the gift of Change." It later added, noting the hesitance of the sons of Alpharius. "That is, if you yet have the spine for it."
Kassar's glare shifted from one face of his brother to another. They all gazed at him expectantly, ready to follow their harrowmaster into whatever he would decide. Finally, he relented and approached the far smaller hooded figure and knelt before the Changeling. All the daemon had to do was tap him on the shoulder to set the spell into effect.
The giant gasped and arched his back, dropping the bolt-pistol he was carrying as his armor and body morphed and twisted in an utterly grotesque manner. His weathered and scarred armor changed from dark silver and blue to dark green and polished bronze. The symbol of the hydra changed into that of the winged sword. In but a moment, the Alpha legionnaire transformed into a Dark Angel!
Kassar cleared his throat as he stood up, his voice sounding as clear as a newly spawned astartes. "Now, this path would be long. Who do we kill first?"
The return of Lion El'Johnson aboard The Rock, or more formally known as the Angelicasta, was greeted with quiet ceremony. An event that gave as much cause for celebration was not wholly deemed as such by the Dark Angels, for they had carried on through the years in grief and had only begun to see the light dawning upon the Imperium. The return of the Emperor, the mending of the Imperium, the defeat of the Dark God Nurgle and now the return of their progenitor and father- yet all these were met with the same feeling. No joyful noise could be heard as he strode from one end of the courtroom to the other, not even a whisper of praise as he ascended to his throne.
Only heavy sighs of relief as a great burden lifted from their shoulders at the sight of him taking his place as Primarch of the Dark Angels.
Lion El'Johnson broke the silence first and spoke to his sons, "You have endured much in my absence, you have weathered the storms of these times undaunted by the odds...and here you still stand." His eyes, which betrayed his weary and broken spirit, found strength in the steely gaze of the brave spacemarines assembled before him. It felt as if just the other day, half of these men were just sworn into the service of the legion, now they stood as true sentinels of mankind with all the scars of the long and terrible war upon them. "I am proud of you. All of you." He said this as he looked at even the successor chapters mixed in with the assembled, for even though their colors have changed they were still of his blood. "I make you this promise, as we march together once more to enact the Emperor's will, I will never leave your side again."
"And we..." Supreme Grand Master Azrael said in turn, "...will never leave yours." He presented a newly crafted weapon, a power sword fashioned according to the form of the lost Lion Sword, along with the Lion helm he had worn in his master's absence. "I present to you this weapon, Redeemer. May your enemies know the bite of its tooth and the sting of its claw."
Lion offered a small smile in gratitude for his new weapon, for the sword was indeed a marvel of craftsmanship. A beautiful silver angel adorned the hilt, with her wings raised up to form the base of the blade. Words in high gothic were etched along the blade, and the handle. Little did Lion know that the sword was in fact a master-crafted weapon created by the finest weaponsmiths in Fenris, and was a gift from Leman Russ to his brother as some form of peace offering for past grievances. However, Azrael made no effort to reveal this to his master and instead had the weapon remade to better suit the likeness of the craftsmanship of Calibanites.
"What is your will, my lord?" Azrael inquired.
Lion nodded and rose from his throne, "I have been informed by my brother Rogal Dorn of a snake that has slithered among the cracks, remaining hidden and waging a war against us in the shadows. We will work together with our brothers, the Imperial Fists, to rid the threat posed to the Imperium by the Alpha Legion. Make no mistake, though leaderless, the enemy is still a force to be reckoned with."
"We are the Dark Angels, none shall find us lacking." The Dark Angels responded in unison.
Lion lashed Redeemer to his hip and walked out of the courtroom at the helm of his entourage of Lion Guards. They, eager to resume their service as his honor-guard, pressed in tight formation at his heels. They looked like young cubs once more, eager to walk by the side of the lion they have not seen for so long.
A small group of Imperial Fists awaited him at the war table, where a holo-pict of Ultima Segmentum was put on display. The segmentum had not weathered the times well in recent events, having suffered repeated attacks from Ork invasions, the stirring of Necron tombworlds and now the assault of a Tyranid Hivefleet. The chaos that came with these catastrophic events was perfect for concealing the enemy's operations in the segmentum, allowing them to breeze by undetected as entire systems remained swamped in one conflict after another. Watching the reports streaming in convinced Lion El'Johnson that this was their stage, the theater awaiting their involvement.
He had only to choose the first system among thousands in the segmentum to begin their campaign.
His hand waved through the holo-pict, passing through sector after sector, until he at last came upon a lonely system in the Lithesh Sector. Lion breathed the name, "Kaurava. There, that is where we will go first."
"I shall make the necessary preparations, my lord." Azrael acknowledged.
The skies of Y'ttetia were on fire, set ablaze by the sudden arrival of a terrible warp storm. The storm heralded the arrival of a large voidfleet, commanded by Kor Phaeron's flagship, the living daemon-vessel known as Eternal Covenant. This massive abomination of twisted metal, twitching flesh and empyrean given form, cut through the Luna Wolves battlegroup and sent many a ship plummeting down to the planet below. What they lacked in conventional firepower, the Wordbearers made up with the powers of the dark gods, practically twisting reality and space to their favor. Warp fire bellowed out of Eternal Covenant's many mouths, and the creature weaved through the void like a world serpent, coiling around loyalist voidvessels and shattering them into a thousand pieces!
In the surface of Y'ttetia, a similar devastation could be seen in the mountain shelter that once served as the home of the Lupercal family.
No longer armed with the godlike powers of Soulrender, Horus had to fend against the daemonic hordes thrown his way with the Nebula gauntlet and a bolter he picked up from a fallen spacemarine. Bolt shells blasted off harmlessly against the invisible barrier surrounding Kor Phaeron, and what little ground Horus gained as he approached the Black Cardinal was heavily paid as the daemonic tide swelled ever more at his behest. Kor Phaeron's minions totally overwhelmed the Luna Wolves, but were held just barely back by Arther and the Custodes with him.
The Thunderhawk transport ship lay broken at the cliffs below, pushed off the edge in the chaos of the fighting as Sanguinius and his mother fought against the traitor spacemarines. Though his efforts at defense were commendable, there was a certain hesitance in Sanguinius' actions as he waded through the battle. His mother, Celestine, noticed this and tried to set his mind back to the task.
"Sanguinius!" She snapped, bisecting a heretic in two with a swing of her sword. "Focus!"
Robbed completely of his dominion of the skies, Sanguinius felt awkward having to fight on level ground with his enemies. "I'm trying, mother!" He uttered a loud curse as a massive mutated astartes burst out of the mass of armored bodies, a bloodied sword raised to strike the wingless angel down. His quick thinking saved him as he ducked the blow, letting the blade pass by his head, then countered by backfisting his opponent into the air.
The sputter of a heavy-bolter nearby told Sanguinius to back off, and the violent explosions of the shells detonating into the horde sent the young demigod staggering. The last of the living retinue of Luna Wolves had climbed atop the walls surrounding their compound and had taken his position at a good vantage point, delivering a punishing hail of bolts at their enemies' flank.
Sanguinius waved at him in thanks after the horde was put down. Then, he watched in horror as the Luna Wolf was subsequently turned into a fine red mist, blown apart by a spell conjured by Kor Phaeron. The demigod snarled, "Bastard!" His anger was more than enough to throw all apprehensions aside, as well as all sense of caution, sending Sanguinius into a blind hurdle forward and into the daemonic horde that separated him from the Black Cardinal.
Celestine saw her son's reckless move and quickly flew to assist him, knowing well that alone he would perish at the hand of Kor Phaeron. She caught him under the shoulders and lifted Sanguinius up, dropping him only when they were past the daemonic horde and well within the Black Cardinal's unholy circle of protection.
Horus could barely see what was going on there, finding himself up to the neck with the daemons spilling out of the tears Kor Phaeron had opened. He only knew that his wife and son aimed to end this battle quickly and were well in the vicinity of the Black Cardinal's wrath. His instincts sent his body on overdrive, and he gradually tore through the horde to allow himself and Arther some breathing room. "Arther, to me!" He cried out, shielding Aggregia, who up until now remained cowering behind his back. "Aggregia! Rise up, girl, and do as I have taught you!"
"I-I...I can't!" Aggregia tearfully explained, "My head, father! It feels like it's going to explode!"
"Gia, it only feels that way because you're holding it in." Horus said, "Let the power go, unleash it the way I showed you. Go!"
Aggregia squeezed her eyes shut, felt the fire blazing in her bones surge into an inferno. She opened her eyes again and let out a pained scream as a stream of warp fire came pouring out of her eyes and mouth, thus opening a path through the horde as the beams cut them down- though resulting in the appearance of additional warp tears as the veil of reality thinned even further!
Kor Phaeron smiled in amusement as both Sanguinius and Celestine faced him down. He brandished his weapon, an eight-pointed star fashioned into the head of a mace, and beckoned for the two angels to come at him. Mother and son clashed with the ancient, and the ensuing struggle attracted the attention of the daemonic horde. Half intervened, while the other swarmed after Horus and his daughter.
Clawed hands reached out and grabbed Celestine, sending the Saint plummeting back to the bloodied soil. She roared in all her fury, breaking free from the heavy pile of bodies crushing her down to earth, only to see at the last second the mace coming her way. Left without time to block or dodge the blow, Celestine braced herself for the strike and saw stars as her world blacked out for a few minutes. She felt herself lift off the dirt and glide through the air, tumbling into space wildly in flight, then crashing painfully against hard stone.
The foul taste of blood in her mouth caused her tongue to move to spit, her every breath unleashed wave after wave of agony, she coughed up a mouthful of red as she struggled to get up.
A firm hand reached down and seized her by the throat, sending Celestine to instinctively grasp her sword and thrust blindly forward. Everything was a blur in her sight, but she could make out the Black Cardinal as he raised her up high. His other hand caught her sword arm and crushed it with malicious glee, sending another wave of agony up her shoulder. She dropped her sword into Kor Phaeron's waiting hand, who then turned the blade against its owner.
"This is Saint Celestine? The very one who set the fields of Cadia ablaze during Abaddon's Black Crusade?" Kor Phaeron chuckled, "Pathetic."
Celestine's ears rang, but she could still hear Sanguinius' enraged voice as he roared. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" She heard Horus in her son's voice, and it made her smile, even as she felt the burning agony of something sharp passing through her chest and out her back.
"Now, your turn." Kor Phaeron said to Sanguinius, meeting his charge with the same nonchalance of slaying his mother. He tossed Celestine aside, seizing his mace in one fluid motion, and slamming it down against Sanguinius' shoulder as he moved to tackle the far larger man. Sanguinius yelped as he went face-first into the ground. He moved to rise, but was quickly crushed underneath Kor Phaeron's boot.
Horus, Arther and Aggregia watched in horror with all that transpired in the small span of three minutes, helpless to aid while the horde yet again swelled in number. Horus saw his wife slain and was paralyzed with grief and indecision for a second, his daughter was likewise stricken, and both were spurred to action by an irate Arther. "Move, my lord, lest we die!"
All three caught the attention of the triumphant Black Cardinal, who then prepared to cast a powerful spell to end the battle swiftly. Their limbs suddenly felt as heavy as iron, and before Aggregia could move to counteract the spell, Kor Phaeron had already prepared a second.
"Damn." Arther and Horus, pushing with all their might, moved to shield Aggregia as a torrent of lightning and warp fire shot out of the Black Cardinal's fingers. Arther took the brunt of the assault and was reduced to ash, Horus bore the rest and was burnt deeply but saved Aggregia from the blast. And when the smoke cleared, only Aggregia was left standing, completely at the mercy of the powerful Herald of the Primordial Faith.
"Little girl." Kor Phaeron offered, still holding Sanguinius in place at his heel. "Come with me now. Your uncle Lorgar awaits."
Aggregia trembled, but gathered what little courage she had to throw her enemy's offer back in his ugly face. "I-I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Kor Phaeron shrugged, "Very well. If I cannot have you in body, the gods shall have you in soul." He whispered the damnable incantation, and the spell shot out of his hand once more.
Aggregia closed her eyes at what she knew would mean her death. To her surprise, she felt her arms press tight to her body as something large wrapped itself around her. Two massive red hands reached out of the Warp, pulling her into a dark abyss and out of harm's way.
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