Warhammer 40,000: The Fall of Vigilus

Part 1: The Fates Meet

What lead to this confrontation was not relevant, many would say the first step was taken the day Horus betrayed the Emperor, some would say it was the day the 1st Black Crusade was launched, or the third or the 13th, it did not matter. Some others would say the day Trajaan Valoris resigned his place in the Hetaeron Guard to take a more active role within the ranks of the Ten Thousand or perhaps the day he accepted his place in the Indomitus Crusade. The Golden One studied his enemy from a distance, "Watcher's Axe" let a wild spark out, sharing some sort of non-existent excitement for the battle ahead.

The Captain General led his Allarus squad towards the Warmaster. The pathway to Abaddon would need to be paved in heretic blood. Valoris drove his axe through corrupted armor, the rotten blood staining his perfectly crafted golden armor, every swing was calculated, a thousand movements calculated in micro seconds, every swing, every muscle flex was followed by another one perfectly orchestrated, no energy was wasted. "Eagle Scream" let it's roar be heard the high rate of adamantium rounds piercing black armor the their explosive nature disintegrating the corrupted flesh and organs, filling the traitors with a last taste of despair, a last momentary pain. The Custodes made quick work of the horde that tried to overwhelm them. Since the Horus Heresy a large portion of the legion had mediated and hypothesized on the fact that the Emperor knew just how corruptible their cousins were and if the Ten Thousand was a fail safe, a way for the Emperor to exterminate the threat, but the though didn't linger on Valoris or his elite warriors, the cruder warriors through their large numbers kept the squad more than busy, a single slip and they could face being overwhelmed, in this time sensitive assignment that could decide the lives of thousands of imperial Astartes and hundreds of Custodes.

"Reloading!" Shouted the Captain General as he took a knee to reload "Eagle Scream" two Custodes took his place fighting side by side in complete harmony as they spread the blood of traitors all over the air.

"My lord, the Ultramarines are facing heavy casualties on the Northern sector against the Orks, they are requesting immediate help"

Valors gritted his teeth under his helmet, a too human gestures considering he did not feel any frustration, not the way humans did, he distrusted Astartes, just the way Valdor had after the Heresy but he did not feel base human emotions such as anger against them. "Send Valerian's squad, do not send Sisters, keep their forces concentrated against the Eldar" he voxed back, the order and reloading had taken just over 2 seconds, that was 1 second too much. He jumped back into the fight.

The horde of the Black Legion Astartes came to an abrupt end, suddenly the dark silhouettes that had taken so much of his attention were not there and in turn there was the sight of Abaddon aiming the bolters on "Talon of Horus" to the Captain General, the distance was under 80 meters away, Valors jumped, even before a flash appeared... and then it came, a large flash followed by craters on the ground where he had been standing and then the thunderous sound of bolder fired. All in less than a second. A Custode knew exactly what to do, he had charged Abaddon from a relatively blind sight and swung at the Warmaster, Abaddon blocked the strikes from the super human, the Pyrithite Spear let screams of energy as it clashed with "Drach'nyen". Valoris charged not wasting a single microsecond the Custode had bought him. In a fury of attacks and dodges the Custode had managed to damage the Warmaster's Tactical Dreadnought armor exactly twice, the extent of the damage, however, was minimal if even noticeable. The Custode felt the presence of his Captain General nearing, he fired the melta weapon attached to his spear drenching the war master with intense explosive gasses, in an instant the roar from the gun had traveled across the battlefield and through the smoke the Custode was met with massive claws as Abaddon ripped through his golden armor, the immense claws taking much of the Custode's flesh. Abaddon raised the daemon sword and swung it down, before he reached his target, Valors reached him, Abaddon tried to pull away, but even for the Despoiler the speed of the Custode was just too much. The Captain General swung "Watcher's Axe" sideways striking the armor. The melta shot was no enough to destroy Abaddon or his armor, however, it had weaken the cursed thing, in all of its damning it was still material and subject to its destructively. Valoris's power axe broke through the terminator armor, and with it, cut a devastating wound through Abaddon's ribcage, if he still had organs, Valoris allowed the massive momentum to carry him forwards. Abaddon roared, he was still able to feel pain, and with a movement finished his task, stabbing the fallen Custode with "Drach'nyen. There was no saving him, his sacrifice was eternal, "Solaris" Valoris though, a name he would achieve in the Imperial Palace's massive library forever. The sword eagerly drank the warrior's life, after all it was a Custode whom the Emperor had imprisoned it, Ra, it remembered the warriors name...Ra.

Abaddon let another roar, his anger was not specially directed towards Valoris, he though of him a simple mortal, a slave of the Corpse Emperor, a simple errand boy who he would kill. The wound would have been mortal to most beings demonic or not, but Abaddon was past such weak comparisons, Abaddon could not be killed by the Golden figure, there wasn't a single being in this battlefield, planet, system, or perhaps even galaxy that could exterminate the son of Horus.