The stars fascinated Horus.
They were not visible often on Cthonia, not with the ash and smoke that polluted the planet's skies. But when they were, they were beautiful.
Like gemstones set in the sky, impossible and beautiful, hinting at the splendour and wonders that lay beyond Cthonia.
Horus wanted that. More than anything, he wanted to see the stars for himself, to reach out and take them in his grasp, to see all that lay beyond Cthonia's grey skies, and lay his eyes on the impossible marvels that the people of his world could only dream of. And he wanted to show them to his gang too, as he had already shown them all how they didn't need to be bound by what the old men and women of Cthonia said. He had already shared his dream with them, and though all of them had thought he was crazy at first, they had come around.
Everyone said it was impossible, of course. There were stories of ancient heroes and gods voyaging across the stars, but they were just legends. Nobody knew how to recreate their feats, though many had tried.
Nobody except the Tech-Priests of Mars, who jealously guarded their secrets and their starships. People had tried to bargain with them, to steal from them...it had never worked.
Not until Horus and his friends. The memory still brought a smile to his lips. Stealing one of their cogitators had been difficult, and it had very nearly cost his life, or at least his freedom, but he had stolen it, even if trying to sort the information within to find the secrets of how to travel the stars had proven more difficult than he had imagined.
Still, he had been making progress, until they had come. The Terrans. Those white armoured giants that called themselves the Star Hunters, who had completely upset the order of things and come in search of Horus himself, for some strange reason.
More importantly, they had come in ships that could traverse the stars just like the Martian ships, yet so different.
They had to steal one of those ships, Horus knew. No matter what it cost. He refused to stay on Cthonia, trapped on this broken wreck of a world, unable to rise higher than any of the petty gang lords.
Horus was sure that he was meant for something more. They all were: Abbadon, Arrec, Alyssa, all the others...they all deserved better than this. Cthonia was just a prison they had to escape from. All his dreams would come true once he reached the stars, he was sure of it.
All Horus had to do was get there.
"So, boss, what's the plan?"
Horus was shaken from his thoughts and looked up to stare at Ezekyle, Arrec and Alyssa, all three of whom were looking at him concernedly from in front of his desk, a large, ornate thing made of metal, painted black with silver designs, stolen from the boss of the Raion gang, along with the silver throne-like chair that Horus was sitting on.
It was Ezekyle who had spoken, but Horus could see the question in all of their eyes, along with a hidden fear of what would happen if the giants found them.
Honestly, Horus was a little offended. Didn't they trust him? He had told them he had a plan.
Still, he should explain it to them.
"The plan is simple, my friends," Horus said, smiling slightly as he saw their fear lessen. "We just have to steal one of the Terran ships, and then escape this planet."
"Steal the ship?" Alyssa repeated. "How?"
It was only a question, there was no actual doubt in her voice, Horus was pleased to note.
"We have to distract them, of course," Horus said, his grin widening. "And the bait will be me. I'll keep them running in circles, while you guys steal a ship. Then we'll regroup, and leave the planet."
"Won't the ships be guarded?" Arrec asked. "How are you going to get the guards away?"
"I'll go to the ships first myself," Horus explained. "The guards will chase after me, and then you guys can sneak in. I've taught Alyssa a lot of the stuff from the Martian cogitator, I'm sure she can figure out how to fly the ship."
All three of them nodded now, buoyed by his confidence and his plan. "Then let's do it," Ezekyle said eagerly. "I want to get off this planet."
Horus grinned at his eagerness. "We will, tomorrow. But you and Arrec need to rest up first."
Ezekyle scowled at that, but nodded reluctantly. Horus appreciated his enthusiasm, though.
Opening his mouth to dismiss them, Horus was interrupted by Erik hurrying up to them. Horus regarded him, puzzled, wondering why Erik had left his shift on guard, and why he looked so pale.
"Uh, boss," The red haired boy said, his blue eyes darting nervously. "There's someone who wants to talk to you."
A little while earlier…
The Emperor guided the ship down to the top of a skyscraper, not too far from where his son was. Part of him wanted to land closer, but it would do no good to scare the boy.
At last, the ship settled on its destination, and the Emperor rose to his feet, telekinetically deactivating the ship's engines as he hurried out of the cockpit.
"Stay here," He commanded swiftly as he rushed past Isha and Juno. He wanted to meet his son alone, and bringing other people along would complicate things. "I will be back soon, do not go far from the ship."
Juno nodded her head, though Isha looked irritated. The Emperor knew she would not risk testing his patience, however, so he hurried out of the ship without waiting for her response.
Emerging out into the polluted air of Cthonia, atop a grey skyscraper, the Emperor took a moment to cast a simple but powerful ward around the ship to deter Chaos, just in case. Then, he wrapped a veil of concealment around himself. He was not in the mood to attract attention, and the veil would quietly redirect the mind of anyone who saw him.
Once that was done, the Emperor took off at a sprint, vaulting over the edge of the building and landing on the roof of the smaller one ahead, using his powers to ensure that landing was smooth and silent, causing no sound nor any damage to the building. It was more 'undignified' than anything he had done in some time, but it wasn't as if anyone was there to see it.
Continuing his run, the Emperor jumped across several more buildings, until finally arriving at his destination. His son was below, he could feel it.
He briefly paused to consider how best to approach his son, and the other, smaller souls he could feel below. The melodramatic part of him suggested phasing through the building or simply teleporting down below to appear in front of them, but he dismissed that after a moment's thought. Frightening children would do no good.
The simple approach, then.
Jumping off the building, the Emperor landed in the alleyway down below, his inhumanely sharp eyes easily locating the hidden entrance on the left. It was the remnant of some old, broken down security system, but it was cleverly concealed enough to have fooled most. A good hiding place for his son, the Emperor thought approvingly.
Still, it was no challenge to him. Opening the entrance, the Emperor strode into the basement, psychically sliding it shut behind him as he made his way down the stairs. Extending his senses for a moment, the Emperor listened to his son's conversation, feeling increasingly amused at the boy's plan.
He had to admire the sheer audacity of it. It wasn't a bad strategy either, though the boy was overconfident. The actual tactics were overly simplistic, and he didn't have nearly enough information on the abilities of the Astartes or the ship systems.
Well, there would be enough time to correct that later.
Reaching the steel door, the Emperor causally expanded the veil of concealment to cover the entire area. It would no longer conceal him from his son or the boy's followers, but it would prevent anyone from interrupting.
Raising a hand, the Lord of Terra knocked sharply on the door.
Behind the slit, a nervous voice spoke. "Oh, um, hello, sir. Wh-who are you?"
The Emperor favoured the child behind the door with an indulgent smile, making sure to modulate his psychic aura so as not to scare the boy too much. "I have some business with your leader. Would you mind letting me in so I can speak to him?"
Horus hurried to the door. Erik's tale sounded unbelievable, some great golden giant coming to speak to Horus? It sounded ridiculous, but Erik was smart and brave, and he wouldn't have been easily deceived like that. Whoever had found them and scared him like that would have to be good.
"Aim your weapons," Horus ordered as everyone watched the door carefully, those with guns aiming them at the entrance while the others clutched their knives or donned their knuckle dusters.
Whoever had come would have no chance against all of them and especially not him, Horus was sure of it. Capturing him would be simple and once they'd interrogated him on how he'd found them, they'd kill him.
They'd have to abandon this base though, which was irritating. The stranger was due some pain for that.
"Open the door," Horus growled at Arrec, settling into a stance, ready to rush forward and knock the bastard out.
But as soon as Arrec pulled the door open, all thoughts of fighting abandoned him.
The Emperor swallowed as he laid eyes on his son. His son, who was strong and healthy, untainted and pure. His soul shone so brightly, and even though he had crafted it himself, to see its light once more took the Emperor's breath away.
He could hardly think of what to say. He had been a father before, and a mother too, in those eras where he had preferred the form of a woman, but he was so very different from the person he had been back then. Those younger, more innocent versions of himself would hardly have recognized the Emperor of Mankind. They certainly wouldn't have liked him.
And this boy was so different from his other children too. Children who had died, or simply left, because they could no longer bear his presence, could no longer follow him and his vision. He did not blame them, not anymore, but the memory still hurt.
And most of all, there were the children he had killed with his own hands. Those who had begged for it as a mercy, and those who had fallen so far that he had had no choice but to destroy them for being a danger to humanity.
And if he said the wrong thing, he could drive away this boy too.
Do not be sentimental, his pragmatic side said. The boy is a tool, a weapon, nothing more. To grow attached to him is folly. We must wield him as effectively as we can to ensure that humanity survives and thrives. Gaining his loyalty and affection is important, but he is not our child. He is not a child at all.
And yet, the Emperor could not bring himself to fully believe that as he looked into the boy's eyes. His son's eyes. This beautiful child whose mind, body and soul he had slowly, painstakingly created over the course of several decades, who had been torn from him by those wretched creatures in the Warp that thought of themselves as gods.
Instincts he had thought long dead howled at him to wrap his son in every layer of protection he could, to shield him from every horror and danger in this dark and terrible universe.
But that was not a viable solution. The Emperor needed this boy and his brothers to help him, to save humanity and restore them to their rightful place. And even he, for all his power, could not keep the boy safe forever.
So he hardened his heart even as he smiled at the boy.
"Hello, son. It has been a very long time."
Erik had been telling the truth, Horus thought, stunned.
Standing in front of them really was a golden giant. He was taller than even the Terran Space Marines, clad in an ornate black and gold military uniform. Horus had seen some warlords and their soldiers style themselves as such, but this uniform put them all to shame.
It consisted of a tunic, trousers and gloves, all black, though the tunic was trimmed in gold, with the buttons, collar and the bird-like symbol upon the man's chest also in gold. The giant seemed very fond of gold, for his gilded belt, armoured thigh-length boots, strange thick necklace and the crown of leaves upon his head were the same colour.
And he literally shone, with impossible golden eyes peering out of stern, severe but handsome features and into Horus's very soul. The golden light pressed down on Horus, leaving him utterly speechless.
He could hardly tear his eyes away from the man, let alone fight him. And his friends all around him were the same, staring at the golden man, utterly dumbstruck.
This was the warlord that Horus had always dreamed of being, the perfect soldier and general, the greatest warrior of them all, unstoppable and invincible.
And then the man spoke, and Horus choked on his own breath.
"Son?!
The Emperor nodded, having expected this reaction.
"Yes," He said calmly. "I am the Emperor of Terra, and you are my son, Horus. You have met some of my men, I believe, the Space Marines."
The boy looked dumbfounded at the revelation, as did all his companions around him.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" The boy said finally. "And if those were your men, why were they after me?" Good, the boy wasn't taking him at face value.
"My men were after you because I sent them," The Emperor replied calmly. "As for your other question…you are faster, stronger, more intelligent than ordinary men and women. Superhuman, one might say. You grow faster too. How old are you, boy? Ah, yes, three years old. Your growth and abilities are extraordinary, impossible for any human being. That is because of me. My blood runs through your veins. Here, let me show you."
Moving just fast enough to be completely beyond the realm of mortal man, but slow enough for Horus and his gang to perceive him, the Emperor swiftly disarmed each and every one of them in less than a minute, before returning to where he had been standing and letting all his arms clatter to the ground.
They all regarded him and the pile of weapons, stupefied.
"Convinced?" The Emperor asked. "Well, if not, let me give you another demonstration."
Employing his inhumane speed once more, he plucked all the weapons from the ground, this time re-arming each of the children swiftly, before once more moving back to stand in front of the door.
"You are the only person here capable of such things, Horus," The Emperor continued. "Not quite at this level, I imagine, but you will be soon."
Horus swallowed, looking nervous, before a spark of anger surfaced in his eyes. "If I'm your son, where were you? Why did you abandon me?"
The accusation stung, but the Emperor pushed it down. "If? You are my son, Horus. You can feel it, I know you can. And I did not abandon you. You were stolen from me, by my enemies. They broke into the heart of my palace and cast you into the stars, and you came here, to this world. And now, I have found you, at last."
"...what do you want?" Horus asked finally, visibly shaken.
"What I want is simple," The Emperor said quietly, stepping forward to place a hand on his son's shoulder. "To take you home. Come with me, Horus, let us leave Cthonia behind. I will show you the stars, I will show our homeworld, Terra. And eventually, the whole galaxy."
Isha waited impatiently outside the ship, leaning against it and tapping her foot.
She could feel the Emperor and his son some miles away, finally together, and while she was pleased for the Emperor and understood why he had gone to meet the boy alone, it was still tedious to just wait here with nothing to do.
The fact that she could feel the forces of Chaos focused on her through the Warp certainly didn't help. They didn't dare attack, even in her weakened state, they would need more time and preparation to summon a force into the Immaterium capable of challenging her, and, of course, the Emperor was only a short distance away, but it was a distinctly unpleasant feeling. On Terra, the Emperor's homeworld, his domain and where he had used his power for millennia, leaving traces of it everywhere, and especially in his own heavily warded palace, the presence of Chaos was much easier to ignore, but here…
Grimacing, Isha tried to redirect her thoughts to other matters. Casting a look at the grey skies, even worse than Terra's had been before she had begun her work, Isha was sorely tempted to clear the planet's atmosphere as much as she could, and perhaps restore some non-human life, but after her loss of control on the ship, it wouldn't do to antagonize the Emperor. She would wait until he was back and she could ask permission.
Sighing, she cast a glance at Shield-Captain Juno, who was standing beside her, immovable and silent as always.
Isha was sorely tempted to try to make some conversation, but she knew it would be useless. The girl's conditioning was too strong, designed to make her the perfect and obedient soldier. Isha could remove it, but that would anger the Emperor too much.
The Custodians in general were people Isha pitied. The Emperor had taken them as infants, molded them into living weapons...it was difficult not to feel sorry for them. They did not live, not truly. They were organic machines, designed for one purpose by their master.
If she was being honest with herself, the Custodians reminded her of the same conditioning that the Old Ones had imposed upon her children, upon the Krork, upon their weapon-races who had died during the War in Heaven such as the Seraphon…
It awakened bitter memories for her, and Isha was glad that the Emperor had let her modify the process for the Astartes, instead of employing the original process he had created. They were still subject to indoctrination, but at least now the process was for adults who chose that life, not inflicted on children who understood nothing of what they were to be subjected to.
Shaking her head, Isha returned her attention to the Emperor and his son and was pleased to note that they were making their way back, along with a number of mortal souls, young and child-like, presumably the boy's friends. The Emperor was having to make his way back more slowly to accommodate the children, but at least he was on his way back.
Settling down on the floor, Isha closed her eyes, deciding to meditate for the time being.
For almost an hour, Isha concentrated, doing her best to ignore Chaos's attention as she examined the planet as best as she could from her limited avatar. There were eight million, two hundred and thirty four thousand humans Souls within the city. There were twenty-seven million nine-hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred seventy five forms of animal life, mostly rats, insects and other small lifeforms. An even greater number of microbes and fungi. And finally, there were exactly twenty eight plants within the city, each and every one of them carefully preserved in various forms of stasis.
Further out, far from the city, she could sense some farms churning out artificial crops, but the farms were old, and the crops were not nearly as good as the actual thing. Perhaps she could convince the Emperor to let her do something about that.
Closer by, there was the Mechanicum Expedition, most of it made up of cyborgs who had replaced much of their bodies with machines, but whose souls were no less bright for that. There were also a large number of slaves, Isha noted with disapproval, who had been lobotomized and turned into machines used for labour. Disgusting, but she supposed she couldn't expect better, given where these particular humans were from.
And so, Isha continued, observing the planet and the people from various angles as she waited, until, at last...
"Isha."
Isha opened her eyes to look at the Emperor, standing in front of her, a small army of children behind him, and his son at his side.
And as soon as she had laid eyes upon the boy, Isha's suspicions were confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.
But that would have to wait.
Rising to her feet, Isha bowed briefly. "Welcome back, Your Majesty. I am glad you found your son, and his friends," She added, smiling at the children.
The Emperor nodded. "Horus insisted that we bring them along," He said, a slight undercurrent of amusement to his voice. "I have called down several more shuttles from the Epona to fetch them. We will be returning to the ship soon."
"Hello child," Isha said to the boy. She could sense that mingled joy, astonishment and uncertainty he felt, wanting to believe the Emperor was his father, but not yet entirely convinced. Well, hopefully, the Emperor would handle that properly, and assuage the boy's doubts. Isha would offer advice, but she doubted the advice would be appreciated, much less accepted.
But she could hardly wait to be back on the ship and speak to the Emperor about the boy in private. They had a lot to talk about.
Author's Note: The Emperor is not, uh, great at dealing with children.
Sorry for the long wait, I got distracted by Supergiant's Hades game, which I finally purchased for myself instead of just watching clips on Youtube. It's an excellent game, btw, you should all play it. Hades sounds exactly as I imagine the Emperor does.