The Wheel of Time Begins to Turn1,240 words

This is our galaxy. Ours to corrupt. Ours to enslave. The Gods will not be denied their prize - Xereth, Sorcerer of the Black Legion

The Gal Vorbak, those Word Bearers blessed enough to be possessed by the servants of their Dark Gods, stood in the great chamber, all thirty of them using the senses their daemonic passengers allowed them. That whelp, the one without a face, had been here, the sorcerer Saren had said so, and he had been creating something on the wall. Lesser daemons of the Dark Gods possessed the Marines, and with their second sight, the Gal Vorbak saw what needed seeing. There, imbedded in the wall, was a doorway, as though someone had taken teleportariums used in the Dark Age of Technology and crossed them with the eldar Webway. The world on the other wide was pristine, untouched by the servants of the False Emperor. Hunger felt by the daemons was reflected in their hosts, and many of them assumed more knitted their flesh to their combat forms for when the gate would open, and spill whatever morsels were awaiting the order to deploy.

The lights went out, and while the Marines were perfectly capable of seeing in the darkness, the pale yellow lights in the ceiling provided enough light to prevent their their from adjusting while keeping it dark enough for only those still wearing their helmets to still have their sight. The air filled with the stench of ozone, the dry crackle of electricity as the nodes powered up. Khornate and Slaaneshi daemon-possessed were at the front of the pack, eager for the gate to open so they may bring ruination upon the innocent weak. At once, lightning arced between the gate's corners, and the darkness of another massive room filled what was once the wall, extending fast and far enough to give any mortal vertigo. Even their night vision could not penetrate the pervasive dark, and the howling monstrosities at the front saw no reason not to attack, charging in with battle cries screeching at the top of their mutated lungs.

The Tzeentchians and Nurglites stayed back, waiting until the most opportune moment to strike; as much as their patrons hated one another, even the most opposite of patrons acted so much alike. Beyond the veil, the sounds of slaughter filled the air, rending ceramite and shattering bone. Second sight allowed them no hint to the other side, no possible chance to advance. Hesitantly, the remaining Gal Vorbak approached the void. A pair of green eyes lit up, insect-like and unblinking. Another pair, and another, and another, until the entire veil was filled with green light. The Marines barely had time to realize they were not facing the Corpse-Emperor's pawns this day.

Queen Chrysalis was the first changeling to ever set foot on a world held by the Imperium of Mankind. She, and her hundreds of followers, would most certainly not be the last. With a snarl, she sent out a single command to her battle group.

Kill.

@#@#@# Amos's POV @#@#@#

The kill-team put on strange goggles as soon as the darkness hit, though I've never seen night vision equipment so bulky. Like practiced scouts, even the largest of them moved silently over the stone, now that sound would be what gave them away. Using hand signals, they led us through the maze-like tunnels. We didn't say anything, not wanting to give up what stealth we had, though we hadn't seen a heretic in half an hour. Unity was slung over Dirge's shoulder, unconscious since Taylor's signal had gone out, a sign none of them knew how to interpret. I've seen guardsmen who've lost a beloved leader, and they looked just as dead and angry as any of them, so I figured I knew what they would do if they got their hands on whoever did the Burned Man in.

Lyra, at the head of the group, stuck a fist in the air, and motioned to the side of the tunnel; we quickly pressed as closely as we could, using the darkness and our clothing to blend into the masonry. Cultists of Chaos, human as any of us, stumbled by, using crude torches to light their way. Tart and Velvet fell upon them just as they passed Lyra, too fast for them to even scream. Their deaths were quick, efficient, mechanical, the sort of killing most inquisitors approved of, but I was still a virgin in the eyes of the Ordos.

Lyra gave the a sign of safety, and we again stalked the capital’s underhive like vermin evading their doom. Bolter fire erupted from somewhere in the darkness, followed closely by the sound of chattering... something hitting the stone. A Chaos Marine slammed into the wall at the intersection, shoved by some terrible beast of condensed blackness that was too busy ripping into its target to notice us. Lyra gave the signal to hold our fire, though Cain and Vail seemed rather hesitant until they saw me follow the direction. They didn't like it, but they weren't about to offend the good graces of a pack of bloodthirsty mercs this far from the Inquisition.

As it flicked its green eyes up to us, I has to hold Cain’s hand down before he had a chance to fire. “That's a pack-beast from the world we picked up the Burned Man on; they're mean, but only hurt you if you hurt them.” With a snort, the changeling darted back into the blackness, covered in dark blood form its kill. Lyra put a las-bolt through the Marine's skull for good measure.

“Don't seem too friendly,” Vail said, jokingly. She was of the Ordo Xenos, so she had the most experience with aliens, making her the one to give her professional opinion on whatever manner of beast she thought changelings were. She could see rather plainly the bug didn't eat the Marine, but my description held true enough in that it didn’t attack. “Safe to say the tunnel ahead are safe?”

“As they ever are,” Lyra quipped, affixing her bayonet. She was smiling in a grim way, sure there was something serious up ahead if Taylor was willing to use changelings as cannon fodder. We hadn't heard from him even though the vox was back online; headquarters said he wasn't broadcasting in the first place, and since that hadn’t changed, they couldn't tell us anything of use.

@#@#@# Taylor's POV @#@#@#

I coughed up a wad of black blood, enough to cover a fair-sized dinner plate were I not still wearing my mask, and I collapsed. Saren was in a similar predicament, speared on a few wayward pipes that burst form the floor. I had deflected his killing blow and destroyed the walkway, plunging us into the abyss. The abyss, thankfully, was only a few meters deep, but I was more beaten up than a cheap whore at a frat party. I pried my mask off and let the accumulated blood flow away, leaving an inky stain on the dark stone, and ran a diagnostic procedure to see what my chances of crawling away from this alive were.

Insufficient data for meaningful answer...

That was about what I figured, you know? Stuck in some godforsaken hole in the ground while there was honest fighting to do elsewhere. Just like me to leave a party early.

“Saren Ortega, worm,” a sputtering voice said echoed form behind the sorcerer's skull-mask. “I was born Saren Ortega on Terra, and worked from the start of the Great Crusade alongside the Emperor. My Legion, the Imperial Heralds, now called the Word Bearers, were always his most devout followers, even from the start, you know?”

“I know precious little about the Imperium before Horus's corruption,” I replied, rolling onto my back. “That was your Legion's doing, if I am correct.” He laughed in response, a wet sucking noise that let me know we would both probably die here. “I recall, was it Erebus?, who stole the Interex sword and started the war, then whisper sweet nothings about Chaos into Horus's ear while he was in a coma.”

“The Emperor betrayed us, first,” he maintained, so sure of himself. He was right, in a way; the old Imperial Truth said there was no such things as gods, and yet I knew of at least four who resided in the warp. “He was a god, and refused us our worship.”

“You know, at the time, he was under the impression the Dark Gods were fueled by worship, rather than emotion,” I laughed out, which turned to coughing. Saren laughed as well, deep and hearty as his destroyed torso would allow, and we grew into an uneasy silence. His powers had left him, as had mine for the moment, so we were incapable of harming one another. “Shame he was wrong,” I added quickly. “So much bloodshed could have been avoided if he'd been right.”

We fell into an uneasy silence after that, sure we would both spend our last hours dying here, and I at east kept true to my word about not dying alone. Funny how I planned on that being something ominous to keep him from killing me. “The Dark Gods will live so long as mankind exists to feed it.”

“Which is why Horus should have won,” I replied, much to Saren's astonishment. If he'd kiled the Emperor, mankind would have died within two generations, but with Chaos feeding so much on mankind's emotions, the Eye of Terror would close, and the warp would become calm once more.”

“You would sacrifice all mankind for a chance at the rest of the galaxy to live?” he asked, as though the very idea was impossible to understand. He puzzled over my words for a short while, incredulous at what I had said, implied. It brought a smile to my face. “I never pegged a slave of the Emperor to be so self-sacrificing.”

“I'm just as likely to fight alongside the Imperium as I am to work towards its destruction.” I took a deep breath, and was pleased to see my armor accommodated my movement; I may yet walk away from this, and be able to heal. “Chaos disgusts me, but so does the Imperium, now that the Emperor is half-dead and rotting.” Saren's mask had fallen away now, and I could see he was looking at me with some degree of amusement, or was that amazement? “I am married to an alien, and we've spawned a daughter, and I head an institution that has planted spies in every kingdom on the planet, and do you know what drew my attention to the stars?”

“No, what?” he asked, as enraptured as any audience I'd had. I could see the light in his eyes was dulling, and he was not long for this life. Even as I strengthened, he grew weaker still.

“Chaos itself, agents of the Dark Gods, alerted me that this world, this alternate universe if you can believe it,” I explained, laughing. “When I get out of this mess, if I ever do, I'll be training a defense force to combat Chaos when I get back home.”

I looked up to the Marine, but found I was alone. Saren had died some moments before, listening to a bastard like me spin yarn. I pulled myself to my feet, and hobbled over to my sword. It has shattered after that final blow, but the hilt was still intact, and holding it gave me some comfort. Slipping my mask back on, I limped into the darkness, to connect with the hive mind and lead my changelings as I should.

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Nightmare Wolf

Nightmare Wolf #1 · Feb 6th, 2014 · · 2 ·

The best plot twist there could ever be, would be if Taylor (or Tia/Luna/Chrysi) somehow found a way to 'revive' The Emperah, for him to fix that cluster fuck of stupidity that the Imperium is now.

Dubious

Dubious #2 · Feb 6th, 2014 · · ·

3903848 It would be even better if it turned out a Equestria had a potion equivalent to a full revive potion and they used that on the emperor. Or if a human from a super advanced universe arrived with nanobots that could heal any wound. And a saiyan from dragonball Z showed up and put everyone's super weapons to shame.

BrassSpyglass

BrassSpyglass #3 · Feb 6th, 2014 · · ·

Use the Elements of Harmony on the Emperor. Their purity combined surely would bring him back 110%.

Deadinlight

Deadinlight #4 · Feb 6th, 2014 · · ·

3905159 or make him a pony, since you know..the elements are crazy like that. could go either way..

Rhodesm96

Rhodesm96 #5 · Feb 6th, 2014 · · ·

3905606 I get the feeling that if the Emperor turned into a pony he'd be murdered by his servants for being impure. The Imperium is like Daleks.

On another note,
DEATH TO THE FALSE EMPEROR!

Nightmare Wolf

Nightmare Wolf #6 · Feb 7th, 2014 · · ·

3904775 my comment wasn't serious, but not impossible, because weirder things happened in this story already. You, on the other hand, went for the overkill.