Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Clearing Between Stars
The ancient pine forest stood frozen in midnight silence. Not a needle trembled in the breathless air. No vole scurried through fallen leaves, no owl called from gnarled branches overhead. Only moonlight, silver-blue and merciless, spilled like water across the frost-rimmed clearing where four dark feline shapes lay motionless as stones.
A raven, glossy-feathered and yellow-eyed, croaked once in alarm, wings beating frantically as it fled into the impenetrable darkness beyond the trees.
One of the cats began to stir.
A black tom cat uncurled onto four paws with unnatural precision, each movement calculated. Moonlight caught his midnight coat, giving it an oily sheen. His ice-blue eyes opened, reflecting pinpricks of starlight as his muzzle contorted in confusion.
"...Claws?" The sound emerged guttural, primal, human speech filtered through a feline throat. His tail lashed once, adjusting his center of gravity. Around him, three forms lay breathing in the darkness.
This wasn't the Nightfall's command deck. Not Nostramo's perpetual twilight. Everything here pulsed with life. Overwhelmingly so. Above, the night sky seemed to breathe. Stars flickered like watchful eyes.
"Either I've descended to hell," he growled, "or my mind has finally fractured."
The answer came as a rumble from deep in a throat.
Next rose a red tom, his scarred bulk bristling as he uncoiled, every sinew tensed for violence. Amber eyes flashed wild and unfocused, as if he might challenge the stars themselves.
Saliva dripped as he snarled, "Blood-scent, but wrong. Watered down. Powerless."
He stared at his extended claws, watching them quiver.
"Is this some cruel trick? Some twisted punishment?" The ginger tom growled, before his eyes locked on the other cat awake within the clearing. His eyes narrowed, however, as he began to approach the black cat spoke.
"Kharn? That you?"
That voice…that voice! He recognized that voice! From Istvaan.
"Sevatar?" The two former first captains stood, rather sit, dumbfounded. Questions ran through their minds, like the rounds of a bolter. The silence left an uncomfortable moment between the two war brothers.
"Death claimed you too, didn't it?" Sevatar asked, breaking the silence after a few moments. An understanding look crossed his face as he gazed upon his scarred alley.
Kharn went still, his clear mind almost becoming numb due to the lack of the Butchers Nails interference.
"...It did," he whispered, then after a moment a look of contentment, which looked so foreign for one of the sons of the Red Angel, bloomed as Kharn whispered "I'm glad I'm not alone in this."
The two converted Astartes turned as a third cat rose more slowly. Silver fur shining impossibly in the moonlight, Bright emerald eyes half-open as though dreaming. He looked between the two warriors, fear and recognition flickering in his gaze.
"Sevatar… Kharn…" His voice was soft, almost a purr, though it carried the weight of memory. "I remember your faces. I remember fire, and wings."
Kharn's eyes widened as he heard that voice…it couldn't be.
"Argel Tal." Kharn whispered, his voice showing weakness and emotion. Unwilling to believe this was real. His friend, his brother in all but blood was alive. Tears threatened to spill forth, but a smile of pure joy cracked across the Betrayer's face, and it was returned by the Crimson Lord.
For a heartbeat, the clearing breathed. Some deep, old thing stirred in the air, like the echo of a daemon's laughter buried in the wind.
"It's good to see you again, Kharn." Argel slowly stood, his new body being a bit odd to get used to. He slowly stumbled over to his war brothers while keeping his balance.
Sevatar gave a smirk. "Well, despite our current situation, at least the company is bearable. More so that Kharn isn't a raving lunatic anymore." The dry tone held no malice, but Kharn couldn't help but scoff at the Prince of Crows.
"Piss off Sevatar…"
A round of chuckles pierced the night, the three war brothers allowing themselves a moment before the final cat began to stir. A gaunt pale tomcat, patch-furred and thin, his yellow eyes immediately sharp, analytical. He flexed each paw, inspecting the claws with unsettling curiosity.
"Fascinating," he purred. "Quadruped musculature simplified… fine motor control diminished… yet sensory acuity enhanced."
Sevatar immediately sneered, the voice sounding all too familiar. "Of all the bastards we could've been stuck with…"
The tom's gaze turned over to the three, his head tilting in curiosity. "Sevatar? Is that you?" The cat questioned as he scampered over.
"Yes, it's me…I would say it's nice to see you Bile…but we know that's a lie."
Fabius Bile couldn't help but allow a snake-like smile to cross his muzzle. "Oh, I wouldn't worry so much my dear cousin. However, I must admit the afterlife isn't what I was expecting, is this what the warp looks like after we die?"
"This isn't the Immaterium Fabius…it's something else." Argel states as his eyes begin to scan their surroundings.
Bile did a double take to make sure he wasn't hearing things. "Argel Tal? I must admit I wasn't expecting to see you…and I assume that the big oaf is…?"
Kharn rolled his eyes with a growl. "Your voice already annoys me more than it should…"
"Kharn? You too?" Bile's eyes began to sparkle as they danced between his war brothers. "This is simply fascinating…"
Sevatar scoffed. "Already planning, are you Fabius?"
The pale cat's gaze flicked to him. "Always. Death doesn't dull curiosity."
"Which begs the question as to how we're here…" Argel Tal questioned, as he gazed up at the stars. "This world… it hums with something old. Clean, like life before the Imperium's shadow." He added, his voice tinged with awe.
Kharn let out a low growl, tail lashing. "I can still feel the rage, the nails are gone but the anger still simmers…why?'
"Because," Sevatar said dryly, "You were born with it, or cursed with it. Depends on the poet." Kharn's eyes twitched at the jest.
The four of them stood in silence. The forest breathed around them, strange, living, peaceful.
And yet, above, the stars shimmered brighter. Watching. Whispering.
Argel Tal looked up again, a familiar feeling budding in his chest. However, this one was…calmer, loving even, compared to the Ruinous powers. "They see us. Spirits in the sky…"
"Is that a good thing?" Fabius asked cautiously. "I may not speak for all of us, but I think most of us would rather avoid the ire of any beings or deities…I've had enough of it personally to last a thousand crusades."
"You only say that because you were wanted dead by almost everyone in the galaxy and for good reason." Sevatar replied, his dry tone accompanied by a smirk at Bile's expense.
"Regardless, we should find shelter. I have no desire to die again, especially after such a gifted reunion." Kharn's sharp tongue brought all the attention to him. "Despite the fact we died, despite all that happened up to this point. We're here for one reason or another, and frankly I'd rather live to fight another day then die before we get any answers."
The other three war brothers stared at Kharn before looking amongst each other. Kharn was right, while this may not be the Warp, that didn't mean it was completely safe.
No where in the Grimdark of the forty first millennium is ever truly safe.
Argel Tal sighed. "Very well, I suppose we should begin our journey. With any luck we may find our answers…but as it stands survival is more important than anything else."
His war brothers didn't argue and followed behind Argel Tal as they left the large clearing. Not knowing their appearance in this world would change so many events, for good and for worse.