Chapter 14: The Emperor vs. Abandon
Reviewers:
Oblivionknight7: He's going to use the great psychic engines to combine his energy with avery person on the Imperium and use the combined energy to overwhelm the Chaos Gods and dissipate them.
Liljummyurine: Yes he was killed, but the Watchers in the Dark took his body. I'm assuming they put it in stasis and then used their unknown technology to revive him for the final battle. Khan was taken into a Dark Eldar Warp Portal, where I'm having him have been suspended in time.
Shogun Lodge: Yes he is, but no one knows what kind of technology the Watchers possess, so I'm having then transport him through the Warp to the Emperor. Sorry about the Sanginius thing, it's been corrected. Don't worry, the fight will be AWESOME.
Silvanans: Who is the Dragon? That's actually a good idea. They'll only be able to use AQ warp technology because there's no Webway in the Star Trek galaxy.
The fleet of the Despoiler swung around and opened fire on the Emperor's fleet, which returned the favor. Dozens of ships from both sides were destroyed. The surviving loyalist vessels added their firepower to the Emperor's. Together, the two fleets began driving Abbadon back. The Guiding Light crippled the Death of Hope's engines with a single Vengeance Cannon strike.
"Emperor, the target had been disabled," a Custodes officer reported.
"Then prepare my shuttle. I will personally board that ship and kill the Despoiler," he ordered. The officer nodded and moved to comply.
As the Emperor was boarding his shuttle, three small warp portals opened. The Custodes guards raised their weapons but the Emperor raised his hand. There was something familiar about their energy. Suddenly they flared and three figures stepped through. Leman Russ, Jaghati Khan and Lion el Johnson stepped through, going down on one knee before their Father and Emperor. The Emperor was astonished. "How can this be?" He whispered.
"It is time for the final battle Father," Russ said, hefting the Frostblade Myjolnar. "My visions told me that now was the time for your sons to return."
"The Watchers in the Dark knew as well. They used their power to revive me when the time was right."
"And now we will fight alongside you once more," Khan finished. The Emperor looked at his sons with beaming pride. He had always known somehow that they would return.
"I am glad you have returned." He said, taking each of their hands in his own. "Now, let us finish what was begun ten thousand years ago," he ordered. Emperor and sons boarded the shuttle and shot towards Abbadon's ship. It was time for Abbadon to die.
Abbadon had felt the arrival of the Primarchs. He knew his greatest test was about to begin. If he emerged victorious, he could finally claim the mantle of daemonhood. He would win, he vowed. This day the False Emperor would die!
The shuttle pierced the hull of the Death of Hope near the bridge. The Emperor, Primarchs and a force of Custodes warriors emerged into a massive corridor, paved with human tongues. The beats of a distant giant heart could be discerned. Massive clouds of flies fluttered around them. They switched over to internal oxygen supply. Déjà vu assailed the Emperor. This ship was an exact replica of Horus's battle barge. Abbadon was messing with his head. Hands of stone reached out for them, just like last time. This time though, the Emperor destroyed them before they could take a life. Hordes of Daemons came at them, and the Emperor and his Primarchs slashed their way through them. The Emperor had the Custodes return to the shuttle. They would stand no chance when they came face to face with Abbadon.
The tide of Daemons finally began thinning out. The Emperor and the Primarchs bashed the last of them back to the Warp and emerged in Abbadon's throne room. It was massive, at least the size of a small stadium. The Despoiler was waiting for them. He regarded the intruders with pure hatred. "So you have come to be killed again." He said.
"Not this time, spawn of Horus. This time I will not hold back. Horus was my most revered son, my greatest general, and I the end he did come back to the light. But I was too weak, if Chaos had returned to his body…I could not take that chance. But I know you are too far gone. You were once pure, now you are nothing but a madman!"
"You are deluded. My power is greater than Horus's ever was!" He yelled as he threw himself at the Emperor, Drauch'nyun distorting reality itself as he tried to split the Emperor in two. He blocked with his golden runesword, the impact throwing the two combatants a dozen meters from each other. A second later daemons poured from entrances to the chamber. The Primarchs moved to deal with them. The Emperor would face Abbadon alone.
The opponents circled each other. They battled on a mental level first, their minds grinding against each other, searching for an opening. It had ended in a draw. Neither man could best the other. This battle would be decided by blades. The Emperor made the first move. He aimed his sword at Abbadon's heart and launched a tongue of golden fire at the Despoiler. He swung Drauch'nyun in a complicated pattern and the fire was deflected. The Emperor charged at Abbadon and swung a fist, sending Abbadon through a stone column. Abbadon was back up in an instant. He connected with a punch as well but the Emperor moved with and was knocked back but not down. He did have a sizable dent in his chest plate though. Abbadon came again. He fired a blast from the Talon of Horus, and Emperor swiftly dodged. Abbadon charged at the Emperor again, the Talon of Horus aimed at his throat. The Emperor countered with his own lightning claw. Sparks flew as the two combatants gave it everything they had. Gradually Abbadon's fantastic strength began pushing the Emperor back, but he used that. He fell backwards, pulling Abbadon with him. While the Despoiler was off balance, the Emperor swung his sword with all his might. Abbadon brought up the Talon of Horus and blocked. Golden fire washed down Abbadon's arm, ripping a scream of agony from his chaos-altered throat. He swung Drauch'nyun, forcing the Emperor to back up a bit, but the damage had been done. Abbadon's entire right arm was blackened, the armor cracked. As he regained his feet, the Talon of Horus fell to pieces, having been stripped of its chaos energy. Without it the Emperor's sword had shattered Horus's weapon to pieces.
As the Despoiler watched the last remnant of his master crumble to dust, he felt his rage rise to the surface. Drauch'nyun hummed loudly, sensing its master's anger. The red energy surrounding it grew is size and intensity. He fed it his rage and as one man and weapon swung with all their might. The Emperor drew on the strength he had gathered. During his ten thousand years on the golden throne he had trained his mind. He drew the energy of the souls that had been sacrificed to keep him alive. He had been disgusted that he had to take the souls of loyal citizens of the Imperium to sustain himself. He had briefly joined his mind with each soul and they understood. He had known he would eventually be reborn, and he had stored the energy from those souls for the time when they would be needed. That time was now.
Abbadon felt the full power of his amulet come out. His strength was ten times that of Horus. He poured all his strength into this one blow, the blow that would decide this battle. He aimed Drauch'nyun at the Emperor's heart. This battle ended now!
The Emperor watched the Despoiler lean in for the final blow. He sent every ounce of his power into his sword, causing it to explode with golden fire. The same attack that had bested Horus struck the Despoiler's blade, amplified five fold by the soul energy and the blade. Drauch'nyun screamed as pure spirit energy reached out for its soul. The creature within the blade felt itself being destroyed, its soul becoming fainter and fainter until it was gone, never to threaten reality again. In Abbadon's hands Drauch'nyun shattered. Abbadon could not believe it. A moment later the Emperor's attack hit his body, engulfing it in golden fire. The Chaos Amulet cracked and shattered, overcome by the force of the Emperor's blast. He screamed the scream of something that had known it would live forever realizing its end was at hand. His armor and body began to crumble.
The Emperor felt Abbadon's soul fading. Unlike Horus, who had realized what he had done and repented at the very end, Abbadon's soul was too far-gone. It had known only the touch of Chaos for ten thousand years. The Emperor sent a final surge of energy that obliterated Abbadon's soul forever. As soon as the body of the Despoiler was gone, the Emperor fell to his knees. The Primarchs ran over from where they had finished killing the daemons. Lemun Russ knelt beside his father. "Are you all right?" He asked. The Emperor looked as his son with pride.
"I am fine. That last attack merely drained my energy. Now come," he said, getting to his feet. "Let us leave this place." As the men filed out of the chamber, the Emperor couldn't help but feel a tinge of regret. If he had defeated Horus Abbadon and many of the Chaos marines could have been saved. He would have to make due with the fact that the last commander of Chaos was dead. Now he could move on to his ultimate plan: the destruction of the Chaos gods.
Back in the other galaxy, the Imperium was carrying out the second wave of the Dominion's destruction. Unlike the worlds of the Borg, many Dominion worlds were ripe for colonization once their populations of Jem Hadar and their conquered races had been destroyed. The Space Marines and Imperial Guard were cleansing worlds left and right. The Jem Hadar were totally unprepared for the towering titan legions or the massive tanks of the Imperial Guard. With the two largest threats to the Imperium's presence removed, Lord Admiral Madthayn had decided it was time to pay a visit to the humans in this galaxy. They would be freed of the dominion of aliens and reborn as part of the Imperium of Mankind. The Lord Admiral would lead an envoy to Earth and begin talks. But first, he needed something that was even now coming through the wormhole.
What did you think? Did I do a good enough job on the battle? If you think there's anything I could add tell me and I'll try and put it in. In the next chapter the Imperium will travel to Earth and attempt to get the Federation to join them. And there may be some Stay tuned and see what happens in Realities Collide!
Also, is the Imperium really evil? (sniff sniff). All they want is to make sure humans are always powerful. Please tell me I'm not a citizen of an evil empire.
ENTILZA