Earth was nothing like Alexander remembered it. After traveling through about the 50th layer of orbital defense platforms, the Blood Raven's apothecary began to tend to him.
"Well," said the apothecary, "I can give you a cast for your arm, but I doubt that you need it. As he was saying this, he watched as Alexander's bones began to reattach themselves.
"Thanks for the offer," said Alexander, trying to give a polite smile while he attempted to painfully set his bones. "Where exactly on earth are we going?"
"What's earth? You mean Terra? You used to call Terra Earth?"
"A long time ago, yes. The Emperor and I worked very hard to unite the world. It only took 2 attempted genocides and 4 world wars, but by 2050, the world finally created a stable government. We were even starting to send colonizing ships to Mars before..."
"Before what?" asked the apothecary.
"I was on one of the colonists to establish a settlement on Mars, but the stasis system failed.
"You're saying that the ancients were not perfect, like we're taught?"
Alexander laughed. "We were the epitome of screwing up back then." He turned back towards his old home. "And it sadly looks like we still are."
Nobody was able to judge what continent they were on; everything was covered in weapons. There were no more cultural landmarks anywhere. What they did know is that after the ship landed on a huge docking platform surrounded by more space marines, they were matches to a large corridor full of gargoyles. They began to walk.
"What's with the decorations?" Asked Alexander.
"These are defense mechanisms controlled by the Emperor Himself," answered one of the guards. "They shoot bolters."
"What are bolters?"
"Projectiles that explode on impact. Usually only Space Marines carry them."
After walking for about a kilometer, they began descending deep into the earth. The deeper they went, the more gold everything became. Alexander was sick of the color. The walls were gold. The ceiling was gold. (He began to whistle The Black Keys.). Even the guards themselves were dressed in gold! Alexander was sick of the color after about half an hour of walking down.
That's when they reached the throne room. The gold there was incredibly stunning, even though it was the only color anyone had seen for the past hour. There was a cavernous ceiling, supported by vast Romanesque columns and surrounded by golden guards. However, the main attraction was in the center. The focal point of the room was a massive throne made of gold, ornately carved. The psychic essence that radiated from there made Alexander recoil for a moment.
There's only one psyker in the world who is this powerful, thought Alexander. I was hoping it wasn't him, but it is.
In the throne was a man, or more like the dead husk of one. The...thing inside the throne was shriveled beyond recognition, held in stasis probably by the mass of wires connected to it.
It was his brother all right. Alexander walked up to the throne. The guards looked uneasy. Who was this stranger that dared to casually stroll up to the Emperor of mankind? However, he did it anyway, and once he was within a few feet of the throne, he reached out with his mind.
Hello, brother. Nice place you have here.
A rasping voice responded, a shadow of his brother's voice. Alexander! It's been awhile. How was cryo? I hope the time modification didn't mess with your brain too much.
Time modification? Alexander was perplexed. What do you mean?
Before you left for Mars, I set the amount of time that the cryo stasis system would remain active for 36,000 years and programmed the ship's navigation to take you to an unknown planet light years away.
Why?
You can guess why. Ever since you prevented me from gaining permanent control over the presidency...
Your second term wasn't that well-liked, Mr. Washington, thought Alexander sarcastically.
Shut up. Anyways, since then, I wanted to lead humanity into an era of permanent tolerance and brotherhood. However, I couldn't do anything with you in the way, so I got rid of you.
Alexander's hands began to glow with energy. And this was your goal?! To create a totalitarian regime that worships you as a deity?! I should kill you for crimes against humanity right now!
If the Emperor could have laughed, he would have. You and your naïveté. The world isn't as black and white as you think it is, Alexander. I made the best decision I could. After I got rid of you, I invented true AI, machines that could think for themselves and question society. They attempted to kill all humans and replace our government with theirs. This, of course, was part of my plan. As the war began to drag on for centuries, the UN eventually fell, replaced with warring tribes that I eventually took control of. However, Mars was the center of machine production, and its population was nearly wiped out. After the war, they swore to never again use advanced technology. However, as the millennia passed, their hatred towards technology disappeared because they forgot about their war with the machines. Indifference became great interest, and great interest evolved into fervent worship. Mars, once the technological center of the human race, was reduced to ignorance and barbaric worship. But that wasn't the worst. Earth was cut off from the rest of the universe by massive warp storms. After they subsided, I began conquering the human empire back. However, it was at a horrible cost. My space marines were so fervent in their mission that they killed all who refused to worship the Emperor as a god. Ironically, many do these were Monotheists, and already were worshipping me unknowingly, but I didn't stop my Space Marines from killing them. I needed to create religious unify to create a strong empire. Monotheism became an extinct religion, and massive genocides of whole planets occurred where it existed. The Emperor paused. I'm responsible for all of those deaths. Millions of souls were lost because of my Machiavellian plan of unifying humanity. I retired from conquering, and when Horus betrayed me, I couldn't kill him. I couldn't bear to kill one more person because of the guilt of what I had done. As I lay dying, I realized that I needed you back, Alexander. So I preserved myself in this golden prison of agony until you came back. And luckily, you did.
The room was silent for a while. Alexander was stunned. You betrayed me, killed millions of people, and now you want me to forgive you?
I'm not saying you have to forgive me; that would be too much. I wanted you back because I wanted to say that we're going to do it your way.
What do you mean?
Democracy, Alexander! Democracy! You are Greek! You are the very symbol of democracy.
I was a Spartan. We were an oligarchy. The crazy Athenians were the democrats.
It doesn't matter. You more than anyone in this universe know how democracy works. I want you to try to reform the Imperium. It doesn't really have to be a true democracy, but I want to see now if humans can govern themselves.
You're kidding, right? I feel like I'm in the Dark Ages right now, and you want me to reform it? I can barely look at a Space Marine without wanting to kill it!
I know that it will be harder than forgiving me, but it must be done. If it can't be done, then start a revolution on another planet and conquer the Imperium.
That's an even more suicidal idea!
What choice do we have? As this regime becomes more oppressive, more and more people are tempted by the forces of Chaos! You must do this!
Alexander sighed. Ok, when do I start?
There's where we have a problem. Look behind you.
He turned around to see that everyone was gone. Where are they?
They were imprisoned. You see, the council of Terra is afraid of you because you could possibly bring me back to life. If you do that, they lose their power.
This is why I hated Rome!
I now couldn't agree more.
Ha! You admitted you were wrong about Rome! Now I can forgive you.
The Emperor did a mental eye roll. Anyways, notice how suddenly the room is filling up with curators. They are going to kill you, and then your friends.
And these guards want to kill me to preserve their own power?
Well...no. These guards are loyal to me, but they are obedient to the council and will believe anything it decrees. And they told the guards that you are actually a daemon in disguise, sent here to kill me. Alexander thought he saw the carcass of his brother smile. Make them regret their decision.
My weapons are gone and I still can barely control my psychic powers.
Get angry. That always seems to help.
I can't be angry! I just forgave you.
Ok, hmmm, thought the Emperor. What have I done that would infuriate you? Oh, yes. After you left Earth, I sold your Bugatti on EBay.
"What?! You bastard!" Suddenly, Alexander's arms became covered in blue energy. "Take this!" He said to the guards. Immediately, five of them were burned to a crisp. More custods and curators filled the room. However, they parted for a massive red figure that casually entered the room. It was Trythos.
He tossed Alexander something that looked like a primitive light saber. God help me. Not again! Trythos charged. The Emperor's voice filled Alexander's head. I tried my best to make my Space Marines able to kill you. If I could make such beings, I knew I had a powerful army.
"Thanks for the history lesson and backhanded compliment, bro." He realized he said this out loud, and that Trythos had stopped running and was looking at Alexander as if he was crazy. He took this opportunity to say, "have at thee, cowards!" And rushed Trythos. Trythos raised the sword over his head to cleave Alexander in two, but instead if trying to block, he slid between Trythos' legs, stabbing him in the back. That happened to be where his power pack was, but luckily for everyone in the room, it didn't explode. Trythos, however, lost power, so now he not only had to fight against Alexander but also the oppressive weight of his armor. That didn't stop him. He slowly turned around, bringing his sword around to slash Alexander, but he was ready for this. Instead of directly blocking the blow (even with his dead power armor, the momentum could still break his bones) Alexander angled the blade upwards, causing Trythos's blade to bounce off and his arms to fly above his head. He was completely vulnerable to attack. Alexander took the hilt of his sword and knocked Trythos in the head, making him lose his balance and crash to the ground.
Alexander pointed the tip of his sword at Trythos's throat. "I could kill you right now, in front of all of these people. A rebellious 5'11" Ancient Greek warrior took down the super soldier of the age. However," said Alexander, "to show that I am the better man than you, I'm not going to kill you. Instead, you are now burdened with the shameful memory of being beaten by a normal human."
Trythos glared back at Alexander. "You will die, heretic. Look! You are surrounded by the most powerful psykers in the Imperium! Even if you manage to kill us all, then what? You wouldn't even make it to the ship!
Alexander, thought the Emperor.
What now?
Remember when I said I sold your Bugatti?
Yes.
Well, I found it again while conquering Earth, and I stored it in this palace.
Your point?
Your two friends from Harry Potter seemed to have managed to pick the lock, get their weapons, and steal the Bugatti.
So they're leaving without me?
That was the moment when the massive doors exploded. They fell surprisingly quickly, crushing a few of the guards. When the debris cleared, Alexander saw a familiar-looking Bugatti full of familiar-looking people.
"Don't just stand there!" Shouted George, who was driving. "Run!" Alexander sprinted towards the Bugatti and jumped into the car.
"Out of my seat," ordered Alexander. George crawled into the back, grumbling how he had only been able to drive it for a minute. Alexander slid in. "Hello, old friend. Computer, play some music."
"Anything in mind, sir?"
"Something that goes well with destruction." He floored it, and as they headed towards the exit, Fred and George dropped a crate of crack grenades (where the heck did they get those?). They drove out of the throne room like action heroes, driving at 400 miles per hour away from an explosion that everyone felt too cool to look at. With his augmented ears, Trythos could have sworn he heard Ode to Joy.
Needless to say, the drive back didn't take that long. Why did the author write that sentence if it was needless to say? To increase the word count. However, it was surprising that any of them made it to the ship alive. As the Bugatti drove down the hallway, the gargoyles began to fire at them. The car was driving fast enough to be ahead of the stream of bolters being shot, but it was gaining on them.
Bro, can't you stop these gargoyles from shooting at us?
No. Replied the Emperor. I'm not strong enough to stop them.
Try harder!
Ok! The gargoyles stopped firing. You realize that a few thousand imperial citizens died in the warp so I could do that. I can only give you a few minutes.
"Well, guys," said Alexander. "The gargoyles have stopped shooting at us, so we should be able to make it to the ship safely now."
Famous last words. That was when fifty guards came out of a secret door, blocking their path and the rocket hit the car. Alexander saw it coming and threw a psychic shield around his friends, but the car exploded. They hit the ground hard, but surprisingly, nobody was seriously hurt. However, Alexander was irate.
"You will pay for destroying the only inanimate object that I love!"
"Sir," said computer. Alexander tried to create some warp fire, but his mind was spent.
"Sir," repeated computer. The guards advanced.
"Computer, I love you too, but now's not the time for joking."
"SIR!" Computer had never yelled at Alexander before.
"What?"
"Remember how I told you that the plasma rounds were unstable ad unfit for use?"
"Yes?" Alexander could see where this was going and took out his revolver.
"I just finished scanning them, and they are actually just fine. The timing core has completely thawed out and they're safe to shoot. I recommend that you use-"
That was the moment when Alexander pulled the trigger, propelling the plasma round towards the guards. The bullet dissolved the first guard's head, knocked the following guard's head off, and blew the one behind that guard back three feet.
"Go! Go! Go!" Yelled Alexander, and everyone sprinted towards the 47 guards still standing. He fired five more plasma rounds, creating a huge gap in the middle of the regiment which they ran through.
Alexander, I can only give you 60 more seconds!
Noted.
They were only a few yards from the end of the corridor, and a ship was in sight.
"Sir, we have another problem. I've been trying to hack into the ship's computer, but it... doesn't want me to. It's a living machine. It will take a while for me to get it to work."
"What do you need us to do?"
"The only way that we will have enough time is if you manage to kill all if those guards. Their psychic essences are interfering with my wireless uplink system and strengthening the ship's resolve."
"Got it." Alexander yelled to everyone, "Stop!" Everyone stopped. "Computer is going to need some time to hack this ship. In the meantime, we need to slow those guys down. I was thinking that if we hold the guards in the corridor, it will kill them all. I'm out of plasma rounds and my weapons are broken, so does anyone have any weapons?"
"We're out of grenades," said Fred.
"It was so much fun throwing them that we stopped keeping track," added George."
Robert spoke up. "It looks like one of us is going to have to keep them busy killing one of us until the corridor starts shooting again." The group fell silent. "I volunteer."
"No!" Said Alexander. "There has to be a different way than that! "
"What other choice do we have? We have no more weapons, and you can't shoot fire out of your hands right now." Robert looked around at the group. "Besides, I really have nothing to live for. I lost my wife in cryo, and I the doctors said I was going to die in a few months. My wife and I went to Mars so that we would die away from the rat race of Earth. We were hoping that Mary would be able to start a new life there after we died."
The group looked at Mary, who hadn't said anything during their time on earth. She was trying not to cry, but the tears quickly turned to anger. There was no time for sentiment. "At least you got to live an extra 35,000 years, Grandpa." She tried to smile.
Robert nodded and turned to Alexander. "Take good care of my granddaughter for me." Then he broke into a run towards the corridor.
"Everyone, come on!" Ordered Alexander, and the rest sprinted towards the ship.
Robert was exhausted by the time that he reached the corridor. The guards had recovered and were beginning to pursue, but as they were about to leave the corridor, the saw him.
"Hey, you golden whippersnappers!" Shouted Robert. The guards stopped, drew their bolters and fired at him. The first few missed, but the fifth round caught him in the chest and exploded, destroying his heart. He was choking even though he was still breathing. The world looked brighter, and the intensity of the light grew greater and greater until it was unbearable. Then it went out.
They reached the ship when Mary saw him die. "No!" She shouted. Warp fire spewed out of her arms towards the guards, knocking them back. That happened to be the moment when the gargoyles started firing again, immediately tearing the guards apart. The ship's door opened and they hurried inside. They reached the bridge without a problem, but that was the easy part.
"Sir, the ship doesn't want us to leave because we are enemies of the Imperium."
"Are you kidding me?" Yelled Alexander and pounded one of the monitors.
"The ship said that hurt and please don't do that again. Heretic"
If it can feel emotions as a human can, does it feel attachment to other machines? Wondered Alexander. "Does anyone have some type of electronic device?" Asked Alexander.
"Of course we do!" Yelled Fred. He tossed him a small pocket calculator, complete with a holo display and the latest Call of Duty (yes, even in the future people milk already dead games).
Alexander drew his revolver and held it up to the calculator. "Tell the ship that if it doesn't get us off this planet immediately, I'm going to shoot this calculator."
Two seconds later, the engine started. Alexander handed the gun and calculator to Fred. "Keep the calculator hostage. I don't trust this ship." Fred gave an overtly dramatic solute and took the calculator.
The ship ascended through layers and layers of defense platforms.
"Sir, they are targeting us, and this ship has no shield." Unless you can't get angry right now, we're all dead.
Alexander let rage wash over him from Robert's death, the genocide, everything that had happened to him after waking up from cryo. He created a huge shield around the ship just as the defense platforms began to fire. The ship groaned and creaked, threatening to come apart. In the background Alexander heard Fred shouting, "I swear I'll do it!" But the ship held on, and they entered space.
"Computer, tell the ship to enter the warp." Nothing happened for a few moments, until Fred fired the revolver an inch away from the calculator.
"Next time, it dies!" He yelled.
A massive hole appeared in Space, and the ship entered it. Alexander saw in the rear view monitor a vast navy of thousands of ships emerge from Earth's, no, Terra's surface. But by then, the hole in materium closed and the ship was gone.