Xander Harris Rogue Trader of the Multiverse

By: Bubbajack

Beta: Grammarly, Self-proofread

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS, Warhammer 40k, or anything else in this fic.

Ch.6: Praetor of Mars pt. II

Xander laughed as he caved in a Lesser Daemon of Khorne's skull with a single punch, as Finger Eleven's Paralyzer played in the background through the headset embedded into his new helmet's speakers. He turned to face the oncoming swarm of Bloodletters and unloaded his sequestered auto-cannon, turning the first dozen or so into a crimson paste before his ammo ran dry. Once they drew too close, he swung the weapon like a baseball bat, slugging three of them for the fences before sticking a warp-energy infused krak-grenade onto the hunk of metal and tossing it into the horde, where it exploded into a beautiful display of death. The explosion causing it to rain blood, guts, and gore from a dozen daemons taking their monstrous forms back to the warp.

Using the space, he called forth Excalibur from its sheath within him and swung it in a wide, rising arc, cutting off limbs, through torsos, and beheading an unlucky few. Turning he beheaded another as it attempted to stab him in the back, only to be stabbed through its lower jaw and into its brain. He looked around the room to see Hyperion finishing off his own Bloodthirster via sticking his power-stave through its skull. "Hey Hype-train you good?"

"I am milord." The psyker affirmed, before pointing to a door at the far side of the room, not quite fully closed, "I believe the way to continue on is through that door, yet it appears blocked. It seems we will need to find a way around."

Disagreeing with his bodyguard, the Rogue retorted, "Stand back Hype-train, I wanna see what this suit can do."

Before the Astartes could protest, the Californian made his way forward and wiggled his fingers the gap between the doors he then heaved. For a moment, nothing happened, then, the groan of reluctant metal giving way to a superior force could be heard. Soon enough, he had forced a large gap, one big enough for him to fit through, open. Pushing several thousand tons of metal apart through strength alone.

"Most impressive milord."

"Thanks, but if you want to fit through here, we're going to have to widen this hole a little bit." He replied with a bit of strain in his tone as he continued to hold the door ajar.

In response, the Astartes used his psychic might combined with his physical strength to force one of the doors further ajar. Once it was wide enough for him to fit through, he slid through and allowed his charge to do the same letting the wall of steel clang shut behind them.

"Well, we're not going back that way. C'mon, we've got a C'tan to slay and a planet to save."

The two walked in silence for a time, their footfalls echoing down the metallic hallowed halls of the Mechanicum. After a moment of tense silence, Hyperion asked, "Milord, a question if I may?"

"Go ahead Hype-train," Xander replied distractedly as he shoved his bolter into an open door, before peeking into the room proper.

It was a fabrication room for various weaponry, half-finished bolters, a power sword, even a suit of Space Marine Power Armor lay abandoned in the chamber. Several corpses of dead servants of the Omnissiah lay strewn about the place, blood mixing with various mechanical fluids painting a macabre scene.

As they two looked for any survivors knowing it was futile, the Grey Knight inquired, "Why did you don the armor? It is clearly touched by the Ruinous Powers."

Letting out a mirthless chuckle, his charge replied, "I was wondering how long you would hold your tongue about that. To give you the short version, I'm immune to demonic influence. Much like the Emperor and his illegitimate children, the Sensei."

This threw the Pyrokine for a loop. "How?"

Xander pointed to his eyepatch, the Phoenix Gate and then thumped his chest while saying, "The Eye of Odin, Phoenix Gate, and Avalon. Three very powerful artifacts that were created in a holy place known as Avalon. Crafted by spirits known as Fae before the Warp became the messed up shithole it is now. Together, they protect my mind, body, and soul from the threat of daemonic incursion."

"Amazing…" Hyperion said after a moment of awed silence.

The Rogue Trader nodded in agreement as he made his way over to Cogitator and began skimming the entries. Halfway down, his jaw clenched within his helm.

"Hyperion, patch me through to Samuel Hayden…now."

Hearing the anger in his lord's tone, he did as ordered establishing a psychic link between the two and listened in as he proceeded to berate the man with cold fury in his tone. "Hayden, you were doing more than just trying to harness the warp as a form of energy weren't you?"

"Ah, I presume you've stumbled onto the files of our experiments?" Hayden inquired his tone cold and composed.

"Experiments? You've been trying to create Daemon Engines you fool! A Mancubus, a Cyber-Mancubus, something called a Pinky that looks to be created by infusing warp energy with reptile DNA? And what the hell is a Cyber-Daemon?"

"I did what any member of the Mechanicus would do, I followed the Quest for Knowledge, and I went further than anyone before me, and I did it all for the sake of protecting the Imperium."

It was at this point, that the Emperor himself interjected, [Alexander, it is evident this fool has deluded himself into thinking he can do no wrong. Ignore him and focus on eliminating the threats to the Imperium.]

"Fine. I'll deal with you later Hayden. I need to clean up your mess."

Severing the mental link, the Rogue left the room in a huff, his Astartes bodyguard following close behind. Turing a corner, he ran right into a group of fifty possessed Tech-Thralls. Releasing an annoyed roar, Xander charged into the fray not even bothering to use any weapons as he proceeded to slaughter the group with his bare hands. Ripping off limbs, shattering kneecaps with a single well-placed kick, stomping holes in chests, and crushing skulls in between his palms, Xander made short work of the large group.

As Hyperion stood back and watched, he silently wondered if his leader was as free from the tainted touch of the Empyrean as he thought.

Within the protected confines provided by Avalon in the depths of the Warp, the Emperor, and the Once and Future King watched with concern as their charge fought like a Khornate Berserker. Looking over at her old friend in concern Altria inquired, "Is he correct in his assumption that he is unaffected by the whisperings of Daemons?"

Adamus nodded slowly lost in contemplation, "His reasoning is sound. I'm not sure which item protects what aspect of his being, but it does make sense."

"Then why is he acting like this now?" she demanded haughtily like the king she once was as she gazed down at the scene before them that shown upon the roundtable.

"To answer that, we will need to speak to the Beast. Come."

Adamus led his former king away from the table and into a copse of nearby trees. After a few moments, they neared a clearing. As they came closer, Altria could make out the sound of animalistic cackling.

Coming into the clearing proper, they found a small pond, which Xanders emoti-clones had made a simplistic encampment by the bank. They were all sitting on overturned logs around a campfire. As one, they turned and acknowledged the approach of the two kings.

The Knight stood and saluted while the others merely nodded in greeting. The only ones to ignore them entirely were the Pervert who was kept in a kennel and the Hyena, the very being they had come to see.

Locking eyes with the Hyena the Emperor spoke coolly, "You know why I've come. What are you doing to Alexander's psyche?"

Giving a wolfish grin, the Hyena replied, "Me? I'm not doing a damn thing. This is all him really."

Stepping forward, the King of Knights brandished Excalibur with anger flashing in her eyes. "Liar! He's fighting like a savage Pict. And it is known to us that you have taken refuge in his baser emotions. Now cease your tampering with his mind at once or feel the sting of my blade!"

This display earned her naught but a hyenic cackle, and a smirk, "My, my, aren't you the ferocious mother lion, out to protect her cub? But your anger is misplaced. For you see, I'm really not doing anything. The Alpha really is quite furious and is subconsciously drawing on my strength and more…primal aspects. Hehehehehe…he's really letting his inner animal out."

Xander and Hyperion had entered a control room of some sort in hopes of finding a map and had come across some of Hayden's abominations. A Mancubus was a disgusting marriage of bloated daemon flesh and blasphemous machinery. The rotund creatures hobbled around on stubby legs, crude stitching keeping its bloated stomach from bursting at the seams. Its upper body was armored, and its arms were replaced by las-cannons. Xander took one look at the disgusting fiends and loosened a primal roar before charging them. The only thought running through his head, 'I don't have time to mess with them. I need to stop Pierce, need to kill the Void Dragon.'

Launching himself at them like an animal, Xander shoved his fist into the stomach of one Mancubus, tearing out its innards, before ripping off its lower jaw and then tearing off its arm and using his appropriated weapon to kill three more of the daemons, fellows, before the Las-cannon ran out of juice. With the remaining two he tore open another's stomach and pulled out what looked to be some kind of energy device similar to a las-cartridge before finishing it off by impaling it with his Nano-ceramic blades and shoving the oversized las-cartridge down the other's throat shattering its teeth with his fist as he did so. Seconds later, the last Mancubus exploded into a red paste, its head hanging on by a thread to its adamantium reinforced spine.

Breathing heavily after his little massacre, Xander said, "Ok, I feel slightly better now. Who knew killing daemons could feel so cathartic?"

Holding up a hand for silence, Hyperion asked, "Wait, do you hear that? It sounds like chanting?"

"KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILL! MAIM! BURN!"

"Chaos Marines!" Xander and Hyperion said at the same time, though the California's tone came out more like a bestial growl. As the canopy of voices drew closer, reaching a feverous pitch before they quite literally cut their way through the door, too impatient for it to open of its own accord.

They scrambled in all clad in blood red power armor with bronze trim, most bearing the mark of Khorne on their shoulder plates. Most bore chain axes but some had visible mutations like a mass of crimson eyeballs sprouting all over his armor, and another had a Skull Breaker, a reality warping demonic hammer for a right hand, the weapon been fused to his form via demonic gift. When they laid eyes on them, the horde was whipped up into a frenzy and began to run full tilt towards them from across the spacious room. Some were killing those ahead of them to be the first to have their blades taste the flesh of Khorne's foes.

'Cut the head off the snake.' With that thought in mind, Xander stabbed his legendary blade into the ground and shouted, "Halt! Halt if you have any honor!"

It took them a moment, and quite a bit of bumping into one another, but the warband eventually came to a stop no less than fifty feet from the two of them. Once he was sure he had their attention, the Rogue spoke, "I challenge the leader if this warband to single combat! If he is a true warrior of the Blood God, he will accept this challenge!"

A few riled at the insinuation of their leader's cowardice, and charged him, screaming praises to their dark god, intent on claiming his skull…

The one in the lead never made it five feet. A revving was heard moments before a whooshing caused by a mass of metal flying through the air before a large chain axe buried itself in the back of the skull of the Chaos Marine at the fore of the charging men. As the Kaos Astartes fell over dead, the teeth of the chain axe came to a stop…

'Organic fangs…mica-dragon fangs,' Xander realized as a figure began to stalk its way through the crowd of Chaos Worshippers, 'Only two people have ever wielded such weapons. The first is Angron himself. And the second…'

Khârn the Betrayer, Champion of Khorne had made his way to the front of his group of blood crazed killers, the Butcherhoarde. He was seven and a half feet tall, eight foot if one counted the length of the beetle-like horns on his bronze helm, and covered in bloody red and bronze trimmed power armor, the sigil of the Lord of War emblazoned on his chestplate. Skulls of defeated foes adorned his spiked carapace, and from the lensed sockets of his helm, crimson light shown from the orbs that oozed hatred of Khorne gazed over him even as he reached down and picked up Gorechild, his chain axe.

The two warriors silently sized each other up for a moment before Khârn spoke, his voice full of barely restrained anger. "So, you are Corpse-Emperors Champion! Khorne has promised Daemonhood to the one that delivers your skull to him!"

"Shrugging, from within the confines of his own armor, Xander replied, "I suppose if that's how you want to look at it."

"Oh, you do not consider yourself his champion? Then who do you serve, warrior? What do you fight for? Honor, Pride, Duty? Warriors of Khorne fight only to feel the rush of battle and feel the blood of our enemies slicken our weapons, to hear their death rattles make an unholy symphony in Khorne's name!"

Xander considered it for a moment, then he replied, "I fight not for the Emperor or even the Imperium. I fight because when I see something inherently wrong, I can't turn my back on it, pretending it doesn't exist like so many other people do and refuse to just stand by and watch. For reasons I can't really explain myself, if I see something wrong, I can't help but want to make it right to the best of my abilities."

The Rogue Trader paused allowing his words time to possibly sink through the berserker's thick haze of rage before he finished, "And there is no way in hell I'm going to let Chaos fuck the galaxy up any more than they already have! Now have you come to talk, or did you come to fight?"

In response, Khârn hefted Gorechild in one hand and proceeded swung it at him with reckless abandon. He ducked the first blow, rolled to the left to avoid the next, and held Excalibur about his head to block the third incoming downward strike. The sound of the revved chain axe teeth grinding against his holy blade was like the snarling of a blood-hungry beast to his ears.

As he held him off, Xander went over what he knew of Khorne's champion, 'He's immune to direct psychic attack thanks to receiving the Blood God's Blessing. He possesses the Butcher's Nails, increasing his aggression and hostility, but lowering his mental capacity and giving him tunnel-vision. He has Gorechild one of the chain axes of Angron, along with a las-pistol. So basically I'm fighting a weaker version of Anz'Kar'Nox with access to a ranged attack and without the ability to fly…I can do this.' He thought to himself.

Utilizing Prana Burst, the Alpha-plus level psyker forced Khorne's Champion to stumble backward. He then unleashed an unending torrent of slashes at his opponent. Up, down, left, right, horizontal, stabs, and wicked fast parries, all of them were chained together in an unending loop as he pushed the Khornate Berserker ever back, in a ceaseless assault.

Khârn was forced to backpedal and hold Gorechild with two hands, the blade of his opponent was a golden blur as it spun deftly in his hands, with every strike it made against the mica dragon teeth, sparks flew every which way. With every step he was forced to retreat, Khârn's rage mounted ever further. Finally, he could stand it no longer, unleashing an inhuman roar, he wound up and swung at the Rogues head.

Xander dove to the side but still felt searing pain as the dragon teeth sheared through his helmet and the side of his face. Even though his face healed over immediately thanks to Avalon's magic, it still hurt to be carved into like a turkey on Thanksgiving. A crimson haze overtook his vision as he swung at Khorne's Champion. Tendrils of psychic lightning flashed from Excalibur everytime it clashed with Gorechild, burning holes in the floor, destroying the catwalk above them or completely obliterating an unlucky Chaos Marine a time or two.

As his frustration and desire to end the fight quickly grew by the second, Xander's tenuous hold on his psychic might lessened. Soon enough, the two found themselves shifting in-between real-space and the Empyrean as they continued their clash. One moment they were standing in front of Khârn's warband, the next they were walking across the Bloodfield's of Khorne, as an endless army of Orks and Bloodthirster's met in ceaseless slaughter within the shadow of the Brass Citadel. The two warriors paid the two groups no mind, so intent were they on killing each other.

Ducking under an axe swing, the Rogue never saw Gorechild cleave a Mek Boy in twain before he unknowingly stabbed a Bloodletter in the throat, and struck again at his hated foe. But his hatred had dulled his senses, making his swings wild, Khârn, however, had lived with his anger for so long, it was as natural to him as breathing. Thus, he was easily able to deflect the wide strike with the flat of Gorechild before using the beard of the axe to sweep the teen off of his feet.

Now standing over him, Khârn swung his chain axe down intent on impaling his foe through the chest. Yet to his shock, Gorechild phased right through the olive drab colored armor. Deciding not to question his luck, Xander quickly sheathed Excalibur in Invisible Air and dispelled it just as quickly, using the gale force to propel himself towards the Chaos Warlord at sudden breakneck speed. He swung the crystallized miracle known as Glory with the strength of a hurricane behind it. Thus it was no surprise when the blade clove clean through the Chaos Astartes arm and bit deep into his side as he went flying past him coming to a stop several feet behind the now disarmed Champion of Khorne.

Even though he was now short a limb, Khârn the Betrayer refused to go down. Turning on his heel and releasing a bloodcurdling scream of rage, he pulled his las-pistol out and kept firing while attempting to rush him down. His anger now honed to a razor's edge, made everything move at a snail's pace. The Las bolts and even Khârn himself seemed to move in slow motion, perhaps it had something to do with that Terrorsight Anz'Kar'Nox mentioned in their duel.

Whatever the case, Xander swatted the las-bolts out the air with contemptuous ease spinning and twisting his holy blade around his form like a bonafide Jedi, he quickly closed in on the wounded Chaos Warlord. With a quick pivot and flick of his wrist, he sliced the las-pistol in two before spinning on his heel and stabbing his blade behind him, straight through Khârn's power pack on the back of his armor. Twisting the blade caused the Betrayer to jerk before he fell to his knees.

"Ex-"Xander began, causing the blade to collect golden motes of light.

"May my skull please you Khorne! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" Khârn howled to the bloodied heavens.

"-Calibur!" A golden beam of holy light pierced clean through Khârn's chest, eviscerating the Traitor Astartes and cutting a wide swath through the dueling armies of Orks and Daemons.

As the last of the light died down, Xander felt the last of his anger slowly bleed away with it, and he finally took stock of his surroundings. 'When the hell did I end up in the warp?'

Seeing the Brass Citadel of Khorne surrounded by a moat of boiling blood off in the distance, Xander used his warp-given powers to amplify his voice before he shouted an ultimatum to the Blood God.

"KHORNE! YOUR FAVORED MORTAL CHAMPION HAS FALLEN BY MY HAND! YOU AND YOUR FELLOW CHAOS GODS ARE NEXT! ENJOY THE REMAINING BLOODSHED WHILE YOU CAN, FOR IT WILL BE YOU'RE LAST!"

Changing his voice back to normal levels, he chanted, "Deslegrate muri tempi et intervalia!" in a flash of fire he was gone.

But in his haste to save Mars, Xander had overlooked one thing…The only Ork Horde in the Blood God's realm was that of Tuska Daemon-Killa, whose Waaagh rose from the dead every day only to fight once again, as well as all those in the service of the Blood God who happen to die on the battlefield…

Xander quickly oriented himself, finding he was standing on a long stretch of metal with the beam of warp energy staring him right in the face. A few feet in front of him was a highly mechanized woman dragging some kind of cylinder behind her. Putting two and two together, that he was just a few feet from Olivia Peirce who was about to drop the equivalent of a nuke in a wormhole, Xander called upon his warp given powers and yanked the device out of her gasp, sending the madwoman spinning.

"It ends here Pierce!" He said, hefting Excalibur.

"No, no! I was promised so much! Immortality, infinite knowledge, and power, Mars was going to become a paradise of endless technological discovery with nothing off limits!" the madwoman raved, while slowly backing up towards the beam.

"Well, they say the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry." The Rogue quipped.

Olivia screamed her rage at the sky. Then, whether by chance or the design of the chaos god whom she failed, a stream of warp energy lashed out and struck her form. When it passed Olivia Pierce was gone, and in her place stood a massive Chaos Spawn. It took the form of an enormous exposed brain with a maw of teeth and beady yellow eyes mounted atop a large arachnid-like set of steel legs, complete with a turret and missile system.

Now able to think clearly unlike in his previous fight with Khârn, Xander promptly flooded his body with Red and Green Mana causing his mechanical muscles to bulge unnaturally underneath his armor before bull-rushing the Chaos Spawn. It had unleashed an unearthly screech before it fired a salvo of missiles in his direction.

The air was filled with a high-pitched keening as the missiles made their descent. Running forwards and sliding on his knees, Xander managed to avoid most of the incoming fire. A couple of rockets, however, exploded just behind him, propelling him towards his adversary and incoming Las-Gatling fire. Spinning his blade around himself defensively he deflected the incoming fire, sending warp-infused plasma flying every which way, but he was still pushed back by the sheer force in the volleys of laser fire.

'I need a distraction. I need…' If he could've face-palmed himself at that moment, he would've 'What the hell am I doing? I can summon creatures duh!'

Keeping Excalibur spinning in an unbreakable defense, Xander reached out redirecting the mana in his false limbs into the Warp and then beyond it. He knew what he needed, and he needed a lot of them. Expending primarily Red Mana, along with Black, and a bit of Green, to put the finishing touch on his plan, he 'pulled.'

In flashes of light, hundreds of goblins appeared on the plinth between him and the Daemon Spawn. They came in all shapes and sizes. Most were short; about three and a half feet, with green skin, rat-like faces, beady yellow eyes, and maws full of razor-sharp fangs, wearing patchwork armor and crude weapons.

But some were larger, about the size of an average human wearing piecemeal armor. All were looking sickly and disoriented. 'Yeah, we don't have time for travel sickness.'

Giving a shrill whistle getting all of their attention he pointed at the Daemon Spawn behind them and yelled, "Charge!"

Seeing the horrific creature, the Goblin horde hesitated. That is until it started shooting them. Then they charged like the mob of savages they were. The dumb ones crawled over each other, while the smarter ones used others as meat shields to deflect fire as they closed in. Xander just stood back and smirked at the dumb beast, as it continued to kill the cannon fodder. Never seeing the actual threat closing in until it was too late.

The Chaos Spawn shifted its gaze upward when it felt a dark shadow fall over its form. Looking up, it beheld its demise. A Hellkite Overlord. It was a Dragon of massive size, its scales the color of blood that stretched all the way down its mile long body all the way down to its serpentine tail. Its wings were the same shade as the setting sun, were twice the length of its body, and spikes like the bloodied teeth of some forgotten god jutted from its back.

It opened its mouth and revealed a teeth full of saber sharp fangs before releasing a keening roar which was quickly followed by a gout of red-orange flame that would put even a master-crafted multi-meta to shame. The Chaos Spawn fired another salvo of missiles in a vain attempt to ward off its incoming demise. But it was a fruitless endeavor, they like the Chaos Spawn were consumed in a vortex of fire, along with several goblins that got too close. The remaining Goblins cowered behind their summoner as he calmly approached the Hellkite, which had landed on the precipice and had begun feasting on the fleshy remains of the Chaos Spawn. The fire-breathing lord of the skies looked up and growled warningly at Xander as he approached, but he paid it no mind calmly holding out a hand towards the apex predator of what was once the plane of Jund. The dragon leaned in and sniffed the hand of the curious creature who held no fear of its presence, picking up the scent of a fellow dragon, it nudged his hand in greeting.

"Good boy." He said, rubbing its snout before tapping it on the nose and pointing below saying, "If you like the way that one tasted, more of that kind lie below. Hunt as you will."

He then pulled the creature down to his eye level through the use of his psychic abilities, and said, "But leave the humans be. They are mine."

The Hellkite reassessed the small creature before it. Clearly, it was Dragon, but Not-Dragon for it did not seek to prove its supremacy to the flightless ones below by roasting them alive and showing its dominance. Perhaps those below saw this Not-Dragon as some form of deity? It seemed likely, for they were but flightless worms, who cannot help but follow one who has the majesty of a Dragon.

Nodding, the Hellkite took flight while releasing a roar, intent on finding its next meal on the fields of battle. Turning to the hoard of goblins, he said, "As for the rest of you, I want you to go forth and raise hell. Same rules apply, kill anything that isn't human and you can keep what you take off their corpses."

Releasing a cheer, the rabble took off, causing Xander to chuckle a bit despite the grim situation before him. Turning to face the warp portal before him, he reached out and attempted to force it shut. The beam wriggled in his grasp like an enraged snake, wriggling and striking out with strands of Empyrean energy. As he struggled, he looked down at the place where the gaping hole was coming from. Seeing it so far below gave him an idea.

While still wrestling with the boundless amount warp energy, he called out, "Avalon!"

The effect was a splendid to behold as it was a relief to the Rogue. Golden light engulfed the beam in its entirety before it was abruptly cut off at the source. Knowing he only had a few moments reprieve, Xander began closing the rift between the immaterial and material planes. It was a monumental mental struggle, like a mortal trying to hold up the sky, it should've been an impossible task. But Alexander Lavelle Harris was no longer human, not fully. He was of the Transcendent Kind, a Dragon in human form, one who enacted miracles just by breathing. So though it took a significant mental toll on his part, with sweat beading his brow and huffing as if he'd just sprinted a marathon, he managed to close the rift between the planes.

Though he felt strained, he knew he couldn't rest. He could feel his troops out there dying for him and the Imperium due to his connection to Black Mana, Red too, was prevalent in the air from the sheer amount of Chaos forces present on the planet. 'No more. NO more…NO MORE!'

He expended considerable amounts of mana from his Dragon Core then all the colors blending together in a maelstrom of power, and he reached out and called for reinforcements of the highest caliber. Dragons. Hundreds of them surrounded the air around him, but none were more impressive than the five that teleported in directly in front of him.

First was a molten reddish-brown with curving horns around his head like a ram, enormous chiropteran wings, and a tail covered in sharp barbs. Second among the quartet had scales that were brown like tree bark with a blue membrane between its wing bones, as well as its facial scales, which also consisted of a root-like beard. The third was covered in completely bone white scales and had wings like an angel sprouting from its black. Fourth in line was a sky-blue dragon with an ear-like membrane around its head, two horns jutting up from the back of its skull with a webbed fish tail, it lacked forelegs, instead of having a set of bat wings like the first of its fellows. The last was black and emaciated with ragged and worn purple wings and a wormlike neck which ended in nothing but a gaping mouth and two beady purple eyes.

Xander could feel distinct colors of mana flowing off of each of these Dragons. Red, Green, White, Blue, and Black in order of their appearance. He could immediately tell they were special. So he whistled to get their attention.

The white one floated down to his eye level, and Xander felt a presence worm its way into his mind. When he attempted to force it out, he felt the probe recede, only to more gently move forward as if waiting for an invitation from him. 'Who are you he asked?'

The invading force replied, 'This one is known as Treva. Her compatriots are Rhammidarigaaz, Rith, Dromar, and Crosis. Who are you little one? You smell like a dragon and give off the energy of one, but you are clearly human.'

'I'm just special like that. My names Alexander, I'm a Planeswalker, I summoned you, and I need your help.'

The white dragon along with its fellows widened their eyes upon hearing this, 'A Planeswalker, like the Great Nico Bolas?'

Deciding discretion would be the better part of valor in this instance, he just nodded and replied, 'Yeah.'

'Most impressive. We did not know humans were capable of such a feat.' Then Treva and its fellows turned and surveyed the land before them, 'A Planeswalker, yes, that explains much. We see this land is in turmoil. Much chaos has been wrought upon this place, it requires…cleansing. Is that why you called us forth?'

'More or less, but I think I have a special job for you five. I need to kill something called a C'tan. It's a sentient machine in a liquid metal body that eats souls. This one, in particular, is known as the Void Dragon.'

An angered hiss was shared between the quintet. 'A machine dares mascaraed as a Dragon? Lead us to it little one, it dies today!' Treva hissed.

'Right, uh, can do. Just hang one second.' He replied, feeling a little nervous at having an angry dragon this close to him.

He then addressed the remaining Dragons, "Alright listen up! You can gorge yourselves on all the Daemons you want. Burn them, rip them to pieces, consume them whole, but leave the humans alone! They are under my protection, understood?!"

The flight of Dragons roared in affirmative before taking off across the horizon in different directions. Turning back to Treva, he said, "Hang on, this might feel a little weird."

He proceeded to stretch out his consciousness, he felt the fear and determination of his troops, the bloodlust of Khorne's daemons, and the pride and will to dominate from the flight of Dragons he had summoned. He kept going until his mind touched something incomprehensible and foreign. Locking onto the feeling, he called Avalon back to him, before activating the Phoenix Gate, taking himself and the five Dragons along for the ride.

Back with Hyperion, the Grey Knight was fighting a losing battle against the Butcherhoarde. For every one he cut down with his Power-stave or Pyrokenetic flame, another two would take their place, all the angrier for the fact he dared use Psyker powers against them. Burning down yet another who dared get too close, he was prepared to be overrun when a sudden disturbance engulfed the backmost line of the Butcherhoarde. Gaining a slight reprieve from releasing a gout of flame, the Pyrokine took a moment to see what was causing them trouble. What he saw amazed him.

'Are we being invaded by Orks now too?' he wondered.

He thought this because a veritable tidal wave of green-skinned Grots had swept over the Butcherhoarde's back line, where they proceeded to tear them apart using pilfered Mechanicus technology. He watched as two Grot's swung around a power sword meant for a battle brother, hacking through a Khornate Berserker. Not too far away, a trio worked a heavy flamer cooking even more alive, while more of the chaotic band were toting human-sized imperial weaponry, such as bolters, and las-weapons. Some of the motely crew were using crude but effective weapons such as bombs and spears, what truly got his attention, however, was the fact that some were capable Pyrokines like himself. They spewed forth torrents of flame and chucked fireballs like they were rocks.

Though they were dying by the hundreds to the Butcherhoarde, they just kept coming, using every dirty underhanded tactic one could expect from a Xenos race. Such as jumping on their armor and stabbing them in their shins with crude axes and pikes. Others had jumped onto the backs of the Traitors and scaling their power packs, proceeded to stab them in the back of their necks.

'Rather vicious and smart for Grots.' Hyperion mused.

Deciding to reenter the fray with a bang, he condensed a ball of flame in his offhand before chucking it into a large group of Berserkers who were fighting off the Xenos. The moment it touched the ground, it engulfed them in a brief swirling inferno. He then waded into the Butcherhoarde swinging his Power-stave which was topped with a mixture of fire and lightning, and he began smashing in the skulls of any Traitor Marines within his reach. As he made his way through the brawl, he felt a tapping on his legs. Glancing down, he found a hunchbacked, old, and white-bearded Grot wearing a singed soot covered robe holding a stave upon which was topped a lantern.

Giving him a toothy grin, the Grot spoke, "'Ello there lad, fine day for a bit a 'ah torchin' innit?"

"What do you want Xeno?" Hyperion asked, leveling his twin-linked bolter at the creature.

"Want?" The Goblin asked, "Nuttin' I just couldn't help but notice, you wield the flame well…for a human anyway."

"You claim you could do better?"

Hearing the challenge in his tone, the Goblin smirked before he began swinging his staff around, "Ah, lad you have a lot to learn. Lesson one, Respect the flame but do not fear it. See, if ya fearin' gettin' burned, you'll never master the fire."

A Giant flame rose from the staff, before taking the shape of a dragon's head which proceeded to spew forth massive balls of fire from its maw. Explosions ruptured all over the room, making chunks of Khornate Berserkers, rain down from the heavens, and sending the remaining Berserkers fleeing in total disarray.

Taking a moment to admire his work the Goblin continued, "Lesson two. Ya need to realize that the flame is more than destruction. It is also creation, transition from one state to another, and rebirth. Heat can burn, just as quickly as it can provide warmth and thus, sustain life."

Swinging his stave around again it release a sprawling red-orange aura across the battlefield, and as it passed over the dead Grots, their wounds were healed, and they rose to fight again. Looking up to the Grey Knight, the Goblin said, "You got some skill youngin, but it could use some spit an' polish."

"Are you offering to help me?" the Pyrokine asked not lowering his weapon.

Raising an eyebrow of spikes, the Goblin retorted "Depends, you willing to learn?"

The Battle-Brother paused for a moment before asking, "You're not a Grot are you?"

Cocking his head to the side, the elder goblin asked, "What in the flamin' loogie is a Grot? I'm a Goblin. A fire shaman. Names Adoy. We were summoned by a big lug in green armor along with a dragon."

'Xander.' Hyperion realized. Offering his hand to the creature, he said, "Hop on, we've a job to do."

"That's the ticket lad!" Adoy said gripping his hand and hauling himself up to his shoulder where he situated himself on his pauldron.

"Now, let's go blow some more of these ugly fuggers to bits eh?" Adoy said, pointing his staff

"Emperor protect my sanity." Hyperion prayed as he led the group of goblins further into the compound.

The battle wasn't going too well in Titus opinion, the Chaos Spawn though not particularly powerful were an endless swarm. Possessed Servitors died by the thousands for every battle brother lost, yet there was no end in sight of the Daemonic flood. Turning to his Gene-father, he asked, "Milord, what do we do?"

"Emperor grants us a miracle," Guilliman replied as he continued to fire his bolter into the oncoming throng.

It came out of nowhere. Searing pillars of fire descended from the heavens and annihilated the swarms of chaos spawn. Then, thunderous roars were heard, and moments later, winged, scaled beasts, akin to organic Heldrakes, fell from the skies and began consuming the charred flesh of their now deceased enemies.

Casting his gaze to the heavens both Primarch and Astartes saw legions of the creatures dominating the air above them as far as they eye could see.

"Emperor preserve us," Titus muttered, with the Primarch echoing him in his thoughts.

Elysia and her drop-troops were doing their best to harass the Khornate Berserkers on the far side of Mars keeping them away from the Titan Manufactorums. They were holding their objective for now through the gratuitous use of grenade launchers, mortar, demolition charges, and of course, the good old-fashioned precision shooting the Elysian Drop Troopers were known for. But the enemy was being backed up by no less than twelve Kytan, the greatest and most vicious Daemon Engines of the Blood God. Each was a ten meters tall, bipedal humanoid, covered in blood, gore, and blasphemous sigils wielding a giant Great Cleaver of Khorne in their left hand, and their right was in the form of a Kytan Gatling Cannon.

The Sororitas knew that if they didn't receive aerial fire support soon, they would be overrun. So, turning to her Vox commander, she barked out, "Any word on that carpet bombing?!"

"No ma'am! None of our troops have been able to get close enough to the Daemon Engines to fire their payloads!" he shouted over the din of weapons fire.

Elysia grit her teeth, for she knew she was running out of options. 'If we can't stop destroy them, then we can at least deny them their spoils.'

"Tell the demolitions crews to set the charges in and around the Manufactorum." She ordered her Commandant.

"Ma'am?" he inquired.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she snapped, "You heard me! If we can't stop them, we can at least prevent them from attaining the Titans for the forces of the Adversary! Now relay that order solider!"

"Ma'am!" the Vox commander said snapping to attention before reaching for the device on his back.

Right before he was about to speak, cones of ice, fire, and lighting fell from the skies, crisscrossing through the advancing enemy, and causing the Drop Troopers to duck for cover and a multitude of explosions took place all at once, sending debris flying every which way. Peeking over the makeshift battlements that consisted of overturned Rhinos Elysia asked, "Was that our fire support, did they finally manage to make it through?"

Some voices came through the vox at her soldier's side, and he replied, "Unknown ma'am, no one could get visual. Wait, I think I see something moving through the smoke."

A roar like a clap of thunder was heard moments before an honest to goodness dragon was thrown through the acrid black smoke, crashing to the ground and digging a sizable trench, before coming to a stop in front of them. The massive reptile didn't even look in their direction, instead, roaring in a challenge before releasing a cone of flame from the Kytan that dared strike it. The heat from the tongue of fire turned its Great Cleaver into nothing more than slag. Then, the dragon reared back its neck like a striking serpent before lashing out with its jaws and tearing out the 'throat' of the Kytan before releasing more eldritch flame down its gaping hole, turning it cherry-red before the blasphemous machine collapsed under its own weight.

Seeing such a majestic, powerful creature dispose of a Daemon Engine like it was a child's plaything, Elysia found herself, enthralled by the sight. Looking to the skies, she found them clouded over by the sheer number of the creatures. Elysia knew there was only one person capable of calling such a majestic beast to their aid… 'Xander.'

Seeing the enemy in disarray due to the sudden blitzkrieg assault she shouted, "They are routed, charge!"

The Adepta Sororitas led the charge as her fellow Elysians swarmed over the barricades in droves shooting down any still living Chaos Spawn or Worshipper they came across. Suddenly a great black dragon fell from the Aether and started consuming the scorched dead. Upon trying to advance past it, it swiveled its head to face them releasing a low growl that sounded like the beginnings of a volcanic eruption. It blew two streams of black smoke at them in warning before it continued gorging itself on the dead. Elysia called a hasty retreat, deciding in this case, that discretion was the better part of valor.

Xander and his Dragon allies arrived in what appeared to be a massive underground cavern which was easily big enough to house the five dragons ten times over, and covered with implements of silver and foreign construction. Lightning crackled in the air overhead coming from devices, which provided sufficient illumination to clearly see the gold and adamantine casket big enough to hold two Emperor-class Titans stacked on top of each other, laid into the floor of the cave.

Xander and his companions made their way towards the coffin when a feminine voice called, "Halt!"

Turning, the Rogue found a female Mechanicus making her way towards him. She was old and wizened wearing a faded red robe, her skin the color of translucent parchment. Her eyes were sunken and clouded over, and what hair remained on her head was wispy, thin, and gray, like tendrils of smoke.

"The Keeper of the Dragon, I presume?" Xander inquired.

The Keeper nodded, "I, Dalia Cythera have been the Keeper of the Dragon since the time of the Horus Heresy. For ten millennia, I have guarded this place in solitude, and none have dared venture here, into this, the Dragon of Mars sacred prison…till today. Tell me warrior, who are you to come here so brazenly? To not only ignore the Nikita Accord, and teleport into this place with Dragons made of flesh, but trespass on forbidden grounds."

Taking off his damaged helmet he replied, "I am Alexander Lavelle Harris, the lost son of Malcador the Hero, and last Scion of the House of the Sigilate."

"Malcador had a child? But it has been ten millennia since the Heresy. How could you have survived this long and where have you been all this time?"

Deciding it would be best to get it out of the way now, he showed her his heraldry, replying, "I was one of the very first Rogue Traders if not the first. On my maiden voyage, I was trapped in a warp storm and only just recently was able to make it back into realspace."

Her misted over eyes were filled with sympathy, "I see, I'm sorry to hear that. But that does not explain what you're doing here with these dragons."

"Oh, well I thought that was obvious," He replied putting his helmet back on, he finished jovially, "I'm here to kill the Void Dragon."

The Keeper of the Dragon made her best goldfish impression, before finally stating, "Has your time in the Immaterium driven you mad? You cannot possibly think you can destroy the Dragon of Mars!"

"Watch me, it's under here yeah?" he inquired stomping on the sarcophagus for emphasis.

"Yes, in the cavern below but-"

That was all the Rogue trader needed to know. Giving a shrill whistle to his reptilian backup he said, "It's under there. Let's not be rude, we should knock."

The Protector of Man proceeded to hammer on the gold coated adamantine with powerful telekinetic blows. The first five dented and warped the ornate metal, the sixth caused it to finally give and cave in revealing the cavern below. Turing to the female dragons he bowed while motioning towards the pit, "Ladies first."

Both Rith and Treva snorted smoke before leaping into the hole, with Xander, Darigaaz, Dromar, and Crosis following quickly behind. Bouncing off Treva's feathery wing, he landed at the fore of the group and beheld his foe, Mag'ladroth the Void Dragon at long last.

He was a kilometer long from head to tail and was large enough to dwarf all four of dragons. His body was in the shape of a four-legged western dragon, forged solely of quicksilver colored Necrodermis that glinted in the darkness yet flowed and rippled like water. His legs were as thick as red oak trees, which terminated in scythe-like talons, all long his body were rips and tears from which eldritch green lightning poured forth so great was his power that his form could barely contain it, arching from its wings like a thunderhead. His head was a strong jaw full of fangs like a cave endowed with a mass of stalagmites and stalactites if each was honed to a razor's edge. Its sunken eyes glowed green with countless souls its pupil a single drop of Necrodermis in each endless void. A beard full of spearheads decorating his chin.

Then it spoke, its voice like that of a thunderclap, the tolling of a death bell, and the death rattle of hundreds of trillions of souls all at once, "Visitors, welcome to my former prison…and your grave!"

With that, the final battle for Mars commenced.

Treva lashed out first, firing a beam of holy light from her jaws. The bolt hit the C'tan dead in the chest blowing a hole clean through him and right out of his back. But the Destroyer from Eldar mythology just snarled before his liquid metal form flowed around the wound, sealing it up.

"Foolish little wyrm I am Mag'ladroth! I am death!" Then, he unleashed a blast of lethal power from his own jaws.

The death beam was momentarily halted by the sudden sprouting of a massive tree, courtesy of Rith. Dromar then retaliated by releasing his own misty breath. The moment it connected with the C'tan, it caused his metal body to spark and for him to stumble backward, grunting in discomfort. Seeing an opportunity, Xander unsealed Excalibur and, taking two steps forwards, unleashed a holy beam of light while calling out its name.

"Excalibur!"

The drill of golden light plowed straight through the false dragon's chest, and he rolled in pain, only lash out with his wings, sending a flurry of green bolts their way. Xander, with Altria's Instinct and Excalibur unveiled, was able to deflect the arcane shots with relative ease having only. His dragon compatriots were not so fortunate. Scale and flesh were burned away in equal measure by the hail of laser fire.

The Primordial Dragons retaliated with blasts of their own. Dromar released a stream of mist, Darigaaz a potent flame that put promethium flamers to shame, Crosis a miasma of black corroding death, Rith a green haze that caused plant life to blossom in its wake, and Treva her beam of holy light.

The torrent of power slammed into the Dragon of Mars dragging it across the ground and slamming it into a far wall. For a fleeting moment, Xander thought that might have been enough to do the beast in. It died as quickly as it came when a roar of fury, followed by an explosion of eldritch lightning pushed back the combined might of the Primordial Dragons. In the aftermath, Mag'ladroth stood tall, proud, and ferocious, his eyes glowing with malicious intent.

"Playtime is over! Now, I will stop playing with my food and feast upon your souls!" The C'tan then dimmed slightly as he channeled the bulk of his power towards his mouth. Lightning and the screaming of trillions of voices increased as what looked to be the light of a dying star gathered in the Star God's maw.

The Primordial Dragons again unleashed their breath as one, but this time, it was met by the destructive raw power of the Eater of Stars. The two opposing forces pushed against each other before briefly stalemating only for the power of Mag'ladroth to inch towards the dragons, ever so slowly…

'Little one,' Treva hailed him getting his attention, 'We shall hold him as long as we can, you must find something anything that will allow you to fight on equal terms with this false usurper.'

"Treva are you-"

'GO! Go little one, you haven't much time.' Treva beseeched, as the breath of the Void Dragon pressed ever closer now a foot at a time.

"Right, hang in there, I'll be right back." He said with an encouraging nod before disappearing in a flash of flame.

Xander looked around hectically once he reappeared in realspace. He found himself on a catwalk in a massive storage room filled with all manner of Titans, the huge mecha worshiped as gods by the Cult Mechanicus. Looking around he failed to see anything that could give him an edge against the C'tan. But his instincts were pushing him towards the back of the storage area and, not having failed him yet, he followed them. They lead him to the Black Titan.

It was primarily the color of wrought iron, as tall as an Emperor-class Titan, with two massive armored arms which had pneumatic plungers on each elbow, from its torso all the way to its thick neck were adorned with four golden stripes and on the middle of its chest was a circular golden grill. It had a very human-like face. One which was stuck in a stoic pose with two trails like dried tear streaks, trailing down from each eye. Upon its head was a pointed golden crown from which two bolts protruded from each temple as well as from either side of its neck.

Seeing the Black Behemoth caused Xander to smirk and say, "Showtime."

Suddenly, the Titan's eyes flashed, and its cockpit opened up as if inviting him inside. Not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth, Xander leaped from the catwalk and into the chair above. The hatch closed behind him as he sat down and he took in his surroundings. The cockpit was filled with all manner of switches and buttons. When it took his seat a semi-circular rail system with two mounted joysticks descended. His feet naturally settled into the pedals and pressing them experimentally caused the machine to move. One cumbersome step at a time.

A screen appeared before him upon which the following was displayed.

"Cast in the name of God…Ye, Not Guilty. MDB- MK. I "Big O"…Dominus Accepted. Showtime."

Giving a smirk under his helm, Xander said, "Big O huh, is that your name? Alright partner, let's kick a little ass!"

("Xander, come in lad can you hear me?")

Xander heard the familiar voice and found it coming from the nearby vox in the cockpit. Picking up the radio he said, "What the hell do you want Zelretch? I'm a little busy right now in case you haven't noticed."

("Yeah about that, I think I've got something from my travels that can help you. Here, use this.")

A small portal, no bigger than an orange opened in front of Xander's hand. After he had held out his open palm, he stared at it in utter astonishment for a moment.

"Zelretch, is this what I think it is?"

("It's exactly what you think it is. Considering you recognize it, I'm assuming you know how to use it?")

Tone still filled with disbelief Xander nodded even though the vampire couldn't see it and said, "Yeah."

("Alright then, good luck kid.")

Sighing Xander pocketed the small device knowing it would likely come in handy later before speaking the magic words to work the Phoenix Gate. The next moment, both pilot and machine disappeared in a flash of flame.

When Xander and Big O returned to the center of the Noctis Labyrinth, the Tomb of the Dragon of Mars, he found a grisly scene. The Primordial Dragons were strewn about the cavern. Crosis, the black dragon of death, was missing a hind leg, Dromar had several slash marks around his face, Rith had her blue wings torn off leaving only bleeding stumps, and Darigaaz looked to have been slammed into a wall repeatedly. Currently, Mag'ladroth loomed over Treva pressing down on her skull with one paw, his claws digging into her scalp. With malicious glee in his eyes the C'tan passed his judgment, "You, I eat first and slowly. One should savor the first meal they've had in a while after all."

Seeing the Void Dragon slowly lowering his neck as he opened his jaws, Xander released a righteous battle cry rushing Big O onwards and pulling one of the joysticks forwards, punched the C'tan full on in the face, sending him sprawling. Digging his claws into the earth that was his prison, Mag'ladroth turned his now dented face to his new challenger.

Seeing the Machina he growled, "Is that you boy? I thought you had a spark of sanity and run away when confronted with my true brilliance. It appears I was mistaken."

"You're going down you egotistical snake."

Mag'ladroth reared on his hindquarters and began flapping his wings, "No, I am Mag'ladroth! My wings herald doom! My claws reap souls by the score! My breath is the demise of worlds! The Great Gestalt Soul could not defeat me, and neither can you!"

"We'll see about that," Xander said before charging in, leading with another punch.

This time, the Destroyer was ready. Slipping under the strike like a snake, the C'tan prepared to snap at the skull of the machine with his mighty jaws. Only for a great steel anchor attached to a chain connected to the hip of the Dues Machina to fire out and impale a far wall before reeling itself in, pulling Big O with it, causing it to slide at an angle along the ground. As it slid, las-cannons built into the eyes fired burning off a wing from the Bringer of Oblivion.

Releasing a growl, the Necrodermis that made up the wing liquefied before taking on a new shape. That of several giant spiked warriors, with lances for one hand, and clawed gauntlets on the other. Great bolts of electricity poured forth from the knightly automata as they charged both man and machine. Slamming a fist into a bunch of buttons on a gut feeling, a salvo of eighteen missiles fired from the chest of Big O.

Much to Xander's surprise, they did not explode on contact with the knights, but ripped open holes within the very fabric of reality itself, and sucked them in. Proving the munitions loading into were not ordinary Apocalypse missiles, but Vortex rockets. But the Dragon of Mars was undeterred and took a deep breath preparing to unleash his godly might against this human who dares stand against him. Yet Mag'ladroth in his hubris had forgotten about his other enemies. The five leaped from various places each digging their fangs deep into his false flesh.

'Oh shit.' Xander thought upon seeing the built up power of the Void Dragon about to be unleashed straight down into the core of the very planet he was trying so hard to save.

Rushing forwards, he dogpiled onto the C'tan before speaking the words to activate the Phoenix Gate and sending the entire group hurdling away through the multiverse.

When the mass of scale and metal reappeared, it was on a tree-covered island in the middle of nowhere. Mag'ladroth threw them off, the dragons tearing chunks out of his flesh as he prepared to finally unleash his wrath, only for Big O's fist to strike it on the nose, causing the beam to fire straight down. The island was promptly torn asunder forming an archipelago, as ash filled the air. But the Void Dragon was not finished yet. Flapping its remaining wing, it shot forth electrically charged liquid metal spikes, and both impaled and electrocuted Crosis to death, but not before he unleashed his miasmic breath, corroding left foreclaw off. Dromar, upon seeing Crosis fall prepared his misty breath, but the C'tan lashed out with his tail knocking the blue dragon off of his feet before leaping atop Dromar and tearing his throat out.

Again, Big O blindsided the Star God, this time Xander used the pneumatic hammer in his machines elbows to blast him backward tearing off his remaining wing in the process. Rith attempted to end it by impaling the Destroyer with many thorny vines. But alas, all that did was enrage him as he arose like a spring thunderstorm and with but a swipe from his remaining foreclaw, sliced off the life bringers head.

Using the momentary distraction, Big O raised both his arms and a corona of energy gathered at his crown. He then slammed his fists together, releasing a wide ray of energy slamming into the soul eater's side. The moment he was down, Treva leaped upon the Necrodermis Dragon and began clawing and biting at him like a savage animal.

Xander rushed forward, past the corpses of the fallen, intent on helping his friend. Never sparing the dead a glance, he never noticed how their flesh burned like parchment the moment he approached leaving behind only Necrodermis and bone. Xander attributed the sudden burst of energy he felt to the adrenaline he had rushing through his veins. Spear tackling them both he activated the Phoenix Gate once more.

After they had gone, the indigenous people of the island would speak of this battle for centuries to come. Eventually, only a small group would remember the tale of the great metal dragons who cast down their evil brother, for they consumed the metal flesh of the fallen and a blade from the bones of the dead. In more modern times, they would have yellow-green eyes and name themselves after Falcons...

It was down to him, and Treva and the two found themselves in a tundra that was filled with the bones of long-dead dragons. Wasting no time, Xander flipped a switch, revealing a set of machine guns which proceeded to fire relentlessly into the C'tans hide before the bullet's exploded blowing out great swaths of metallic flesh.

While it was distracted, Xander attempted to talk some sense into the white dragon. "Treva, Treva, stop! If you keep up like this, he'll kill us both!"

The White Dragon stopped her thrashing, and inquired mournfully, 'What would you recommend little one?'

'I'll get his attention you take him down from behind.' He ordered.

Nodding, the holy dragon took to the skies while Big O charged down the C'tan. One punch followed another and then another after that. Xander then picked up the beast before tossing it through the air and striking a pose, fired his eye lasers once again. An explosion rang through the air and shook snow from the mountaintops as the Void Dragon fell back to the earth, his metallic hide scorched and burned, but utter loathing burned like a hot fire in his eyes.

"I will not die to you! I was old before you were even a thought! I am power incarnate! I. Am. Mag'ladr-"A shaft of holy light went straight through the C'tans midsection causing him to roar in agony.

"You talk too much, False-Dragon!" Treva finished.

Even though he had lost both of his wings, his right foreleg, and had a gaping hole in his chest along with several minor wounds, Mag'ladroth the Void Dragon of the C'tan refused to fall. Making his way unsteadily to his feet, the Destroyer charged his death beam once more. Lumbering in, Big O grabbed Mag'ladroth by the throat, forcing his head and his green ray upwards into the heavens. Xander stepped out of the cockpit then, Excalibur held high.

"Ex-"As motes of golden light gathered along the blade the C'tan lashed out with a single talon, intending to impale his hated enemy.

"Calibur!" A shaft of golden tore through the approaching claw and shot through the skull of Mag'ladroth, cutting clean through his lower jaw and blowing a hole through his cranium.

Feeling a sudden pressure in his chest, Xander looked down to see a shard of Necrodermis had impaled him in the chest and was slowly wriggling its way towards his heart.

"Shit he got me." 'But I get the last laugh.' He thought.

Reaching into the pocket of his jacket turned cloak, Xander pulled out Zelretch's gift from earlier. Pressing the singular button on it caused it to expand to the size of an orange. The sphere in his hands was pink on either side of the top and blue in the middle with a capital 'M' in the center, and the bottom was entirely white. Kissing it for good luck, he thought, 'I hope this works.'

He then threw the Master Ball at the C'tan. It pinged against its slumped form before opening and releasing a beam of crimson light which enveloped the Star God before being absorbed into the sphere. Flying back to his hand, it wriggled slightly before releasing another 'ping' and laying still.

'Well, you're no Arceus, but you'll do.' He had thought with a chuckle before the Necrodermis shard pierced his heart causing him to fall forwards.

He closed his eyes preparing for impact with the ground, only to feel a strong pair of slender arms wrap themselves around his frame and gently slow his descent. Yet he still released a groan, as the shard dug itself ever deeper into his flesh. Then he heard a voice, gentle and wise calling to him.

"Open your eyes." He felt someone shake him.

"Open your eyes, warrior. You have come too far to die, now open your eyes!" the voice demanded sterner this time.

Forcing his eyes open, he found himself looking into the face of a woman with ethereal beauty. She had long flowing crimson fiery red hair, tanned skin, long pointed ears, and unless his eyes were deceiving him, she had two sets of horns on her head one smaller and shorter than the other. Her eyes were golden pools, yet he could still discern concern in them for his wellbeing.

Looking into her face, he asked, "Did I get him?"

"The silver dragon? You did." She affirmed with a nod.

"Am I dead?"

That earned a chuckle, "No you're alive."

"Good for a minute there, I thought I was looking into the face of an angel…or a Daemonette."

Cocking her head to the side, the unknown woman asked, "What's a Daemonette?"

"I'll tell you when I wake up. Promise." He had told her before he allowed himself to drift off into a dreamless slumber.

Chapter Length: 11,044 words Number of Pages: 21 Date Completed: 4/23/17

AN: IT. IS. DONE! It took me a good long while, but I'm finally here with the next chap of Rogue Trader for you wonderful people! Now maybe you'll stop posting on my other stories asking me to update this? I hope so, because I find that just a tad annoying. Anyway the reason this took so long is this is the longest fight scene I've ever written bar none. The whole damn chapter is basically just one long fight, so I hope you all enjoy the action. Now that I've given myself mild case of carpel tunnel, and slight insomnia from worry about whether this was going to be 'good enough' or not, I hope to hell this gets a lot of reviews. Because damn it after several months of struggling with this chapter, I feel like I've earned…something. Forgive me if I sound petty, but this chapter fought me for good long time, till I was like "No, I'ma finish this damn thing!"

Anyway, forgive my ranting I've been going through some shit lately. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and till the next one, Bubbajack out! Peace!