The three of us stood unsure for a moment as to what we should do over the unconscious marine until Null walked forward with his auspex. "This is where we need to be. While I cannot see specifically, there appears to be an elevator shaft here leading down to the upper layer of the Necron Tomb. I have to perform a few scans so that I may get a general map of what is below, but after that, we go. We should not spend that much time here."

"What about this guy?" I kneeled over the passed out Fallen. His breathing was shallow.

"I am not seeing any other life signs in here, so I would again suggest that we leave him to his fate."

"Are you kidding? No, absolutely not," I responded angrily while wringing the water out of my skirt on the floor. "Without helping him, we wouldn't be alive, nor would we have been able to get in here. We have to find a way to help him. He at least fought when you hid when things got dangerous." I saw Alberich nodding in agreement, his head feathers soaked and messy.

"Scion, you know of our universe, correct? And of the different factions? This astartes here, he is a traitor. He is a part of the Fallen Dark Angels, a legion of traitor marines, ones who opposed the will of the Emperor and worship Chaos. If you save him, you risk bringing the wrath of the loyalist Dark Angels to us, and I will tell you that this legion will cross endless gulfs of space to hunt their evil kin. I stress this again, leave him to his fate."

"You're not telling the whole story, Null," I said as I waived Alberich over to me. "Some Fallen don't associate with Chaos; they're just renegades, and I think I read something about how some of them got thrown into the future after Caliban fell. Some of these guys aren't corrupted and are just trying to live their lives."

"It doesn't matter what you think," the tech-priest said. "This is what the entirety of ten thousand year old legion of space marines thinks. They hunt these individuals. Relentlessly. Even being near one is dangerous! You will not be accepted by the Imperium if you help such a heretic!"

"Oh yeah?" I said offhandedly as I hastily began to check inside the bunker for any kind of medical bay. This place was a dirty grey metal, and banners with strange markings and numerous seals hung on the walls. Absent were the conspicuous marks of Chaos, and any sort of nasty feelings of Warp corruption. This looked like it could be any sort of hideout for any sort of space marine chapter. "Well, tell me, Null. What will the Imperium say when they find me, an unsanctioned psyker from some other universe, and Alberich, a Tzaangor mutant, and you, a rogue archmagos responsible for the death of his entire fleet when he was given orders by Mars that he deliberately disobeyed? Do you think the Imperium will be all that thrilled to hang out with us?"

"That thing with Levant was different! That was priceless archaeotech, and the judgement call by the Fabricator General was incorrect!"

"Oh, okay," I said, walking into a square room with what appeared to be some sort of food storage area. I ducked out and found what I was looking for when I discovered another room that held a medical table big enough to fit an astartes. I also recognized the room from my vision, so I knew we were in the right place.

"Null, tell 77-X to help bring Lian in here. We should at least try to help him. He helped us. It's just the right thing to do," I said. I caught a reflection of myself in a mirrorlike shine of a metal panel, and was spooked by own golden eyes again. My dark hair had come loose during the battle, and it made me look even scarier.

"Someone has to be logical here. What sort of wild hare are you following, Scion?" Null asked me, being difficult again.

I looked at my reflection again, and remembered how intimidated he had been when I had looked directly at the tech-priest. I closed my eyes and pulled into the same inner reservoir I had felt before outside, tapping into the frustration I had felt with Null hiding in the corner while the rest of us fought. I pushed that strength around me once again, and turned toward Null, who was currently right behind me.

I felt a small sensation of heat around my shoulders and head when I opened my eyes and glared at Null. "I have foreseen that this is the best course of action, and you. Will. Not. Argue. With. Me."

This had the desired effect, as I saw Null immediately back off and nearly topple backwards in fright. Even his eyes glitched in fear, and his mechadendrites seemed to shrivel. What surprised me is that the tech-priest began bowing at me while muttering something in High Gothic, and I heard him order 77-X to help me with whatever I needed as he skittered out of the room.

I took a deep breath and pulled the energy back in, as I saw Alberich enter the room with 77-X. "Drag him into this medical room here, and put him on the table. Null, if you have anymore of that antitoxin, give him another dose so I can ask him what to do," I instructed those present.

Null silently obliged and followed us. I could see that he was shivering.

With great effort, we placed the unconscious marine on the medical table, and automatically, metal tools came down from the ceiling to aid in the removal of his armor, which was pulled away and held above in spider-like metal limbs. A cut on his cheek had a greenish tint to it. From what I could tell, his armor had only suffered a few cosmetic dents, so I was assuming that his condition was resultant from the wound on his cheek, which was merely a graze.

Underneath his armor, the Fallen wore a thin black bodysuit that integrated with the ports of his black carapace. His strange musculature was fascinating from my artist's point of view. I had been taught human anatomy as an artist, and seeing this big quasi-man creature living and breathing on a metal table really set off a sort of strange uncomfortable fear in me. The body of a space marine was definitely not human, and reminded me more of a children's cartoon barbarian action figurine.

Next to me, the tech-priest began to place another ampule into his mechadendrites, and said "I have only one of these left. You must not get poisoned again until I can replenish my supplies."

"Use it on him so I can ask how to help," I said. The tech-priest injected him under the jaw with the antitoxin, and within a few moments, the marine was awake again. I leaned over his head as he wandered back into consciousness. Behind me, I noticed that Alberich had left the medical room, possibly exploring.

"Hi," I said to him. "I'm guessing your name is Lian?"

The Fallen nodded. He stared at me transfixed. "I am Brother Lian, and I am a Dark Angel. If you believe what others say, I am a Fallen Dark Angel, but I have never strayed from the light. Never. There are others who have, but I have not."

"We want to help you. Tell us how to help you."

The marine continued to stare, unfocused and clearly intoxicated. He took a deep breath, and summoned himself back to the present. Weakly, the marine pointed at a tall metal cabinet. "Brother Boq had been working on an antivenom to the Screamer's poison before his death. He got it to the point where it will neutralize the paralytic and neurotoxic effects, but not the sedative," he said. "Do not use it on yourselves, as it would be toxic for a non-astartes," he said with effort.

Null walked to a tall metal cabinet and asked, "This one here?"

"Yes. Topmost shelf. In there, there is a box labeled 'alpha'. Remove it. Within, there should be a collection of glass vials of a blue liquid encased in a refrigerated container," the marine paused, pulling himself back to consciousness again. "Take one vial, and place it within the injector supplied within the box. It must be placed within an artery to have good effect." The marine was once again having trouble staying awake. "After this, my body must clear the tranquilizing effects on its own. If you know how to set up an intravenous drip of nutrient water on an astartes, find one of the pouches, and place it within me."

The Fallen kept closing his eyes, and was soon drifting into incoherence again. He forced his eyes open again and looked at me, seemingly mesmerized. "Never thought I'd see one," the marine said, watching me.

"The Screamer? Good news, we killed it," I said.

"No. One of your kind."

Null had removed the box from the cabinet, and was now placing the antivenom in the specialized injector. "It is true, you know. The stories of the Travelers. I am surprised you know of them."

"I mean the sensei," Lian said, his eyes unfocused. "I heard stories. The eyes, the aura. You're a sensei, aren't you? The ones hunted by the Imperium. The living descendants of the Emperor."

"She is not a sensei," I heard Null answer behind me. The tech-priest gently motioned for me to step aside. "She is a Traveler, one who comes from beyond the realms of our universe, beyond even the deepest depths of the Immaterium." Null reached for the Fallen's face, turned his jaw slightly, and lightly pressed on his neck, assumingly searching for a suitable artery. Null's eyes changed to a featureless glowing soft purple, and he pointed at an area on the man's neck before injecting him with the antidote.

I was a bit flattered that this guy thought I was a sensei. Even I got scared looking at my own reflection now. I saw Null place the box back in its place in the cabinet, and begin searching for whatever those nutrient water pouches were, entering a storage closet in the corner.

"I shouldn't have left them. I shouldn't have," the Fallen said to himself, guilt edging his tone like a rusty knife.

I felt like I had to say something here as I stood over him, "I wouldn't blame yourself. That thing had some kind of supernatural scream. It even terrified Null, the tech-priest here."

"We are supposed to be without fear, us astartes. We are supposed to know no fear, but I was afraid. Even before the Screamer, I was afraid, which is why I was given the moniker Lian the Cowardly by my superiors. The three of us were hunting one of the great tiger beasts of the canyon, but then, the Screamer appeared, surprising us. We had only studied such a beast as a corpse discovered when we first came here. We knew that it held a virulent poison, but we did not know that it held a sonic Warp-based ability. It caught us before we could turn off our external hearing. The three of us scattered like mortals seeing their first daemon. I stood frozen as the beast tore Brother Mariz's torso in two before I felt something strike me and knock my helmet off, wounding me. It was chaos, pure chaos. The world became a blur, and in the chaos of it all, I forgot my brothers," Lian said miserably. There was deep sorrow in his words. "I forgot that even against the foulest of beasts, that I was to be fearless. There was no excuse. What I did was cowardly, and my life now shall forever be in penance of that." I stood over the Fallen, stripped of his armor and dignity. I didn't know what to say, but I did feel sorry for him, I knew that much. "Whatever I am now, I am still a Dark Angel, and I should still have my Lion's pride, even if I should repent for the rest of my days."

My vision in the Divine Retribution had been 100% correct, I thought back. I had seen this very marine say those very things while first plugged into the golden throne back on Levant. "They were brave men," I offered. "May their memory inspire you to great courage." What did one say to a delirious Fallen Dark Angel when he was obviously grieving?

My words had appeared to offer him some comfort, as he took a deep breath, and slowly nodded. He opened his eyes again, and looked at me. Each time his eyes caught mine, I could feel his breath catch a little bit.

Lian composed himself a little before speaking again. "I thank you friends, rogue traders, mercenaries, whoever you are. I don't know how you found us or this planet at all, but I am glad you did. I will need to rest in order to let my metabolism clear the tranquilizing effects of the poison, which should take a couple hours. While there is food here, much of what we have is not fit for consumption for a non-astartes. We do have some suitable fresh meat you can eat in our larder, but take care only to eat what is marked with a green tag. Brother Mariz had brought over a gourmet frozen grox steak given to him as a gift. If you wish to eat that, you are welcome to. He won't be needing it anymore. It is in the freezer."

The marine kept falling asleep, but then rallied once again to warn us with slurred words, "You are welcome to stay here and rest. Once night falls in the canyon, more great beasts will come out to hunt. Hunter's Repose is safe, but I warn you to avoid the lower levels. There are dangerous places here that should remain untouched."

With a heavy exhale, the marine passed out, and this time, his breathing was deep and regular. I heard Null return from the storage closet. The tech-priest was still trembling from my earlier psychic intimidation, and I was still angry with him. Hopefully, I could simply scare him into being a decent person if something like this happened again. "He needs hydration and nutrients, he says. You command me to help and therefore I do," he said while holding a wide lidded box in three hands. He placed it down on a nearby metal table. "Here we are," the tech-priest removed a soft plastic packet.

"I'm really glad you know about medicine, Null. Did you ever work with space marines? You seem to know a lot," I said, watching him hook a plastic tube to the packet, and pulling a flexible metal arm down from the ceiling with a mechadendrite.

"You pick up a lot of tricks when you live as long as I have," he said. "I was attached to a group of Iron Hands once, and it was most unpleasant. Stupid astartes, running bullheaded into combat and getting their only apothecary immediately killed. They did not appropriately respect the machine spirits they worked with either. I had to learn the basics of medicine on the field. On Levant, I was very happy when I discovered that auto-doc STC so I wouldn't be forced into a doctor role for any more fools," Null groused as he set the IV up, and placed the tube directly inside a port to the marine's black carapace on his shoulder. "Mmm, he should be fine. Perhaps a little weak when he wakes, but alright. He will wake in at most a couple hours, possibly earlier."

Null really was just filled with surprises, but it made sense that a two thousand year old genius would have a lot of skills. Behind me, I heard Alberich walk back into the room, and found that he had discovered a food packet from somewhere in the bunker. Null smacked the packet out of the Tzaangor's hands with his frighteningly quick whip mechadendrite, causing Alberich to cry out in surprise. The packet fell on the floor, spilling thick paste everywhere. "Don't eat that. Astartes grade rations are poison to non-astartes. Either take a packet from 77-X's bag or go to the bunker's larder for meat."

"You could've just told me not to eat it," Alberich said as he turned around, leaving the mess on the floor. I decided to follow him.

"Are you going to the larder?" I asked.

"I want something different than our rations," Alberich said, staying inside the doorway.

Our chat was interrupted when Null pushed past the beastman, holding his auspex out again and leaving the medical area.

"What are you doing?" I asked the tech-priest.

"I've been trying to understand precisely where the electromagnetic interference is coming from, and trying to map the area below from here. It is most unusual. The interference is hampering the range of my auspex. I cannot reach Jiminy from here, so I am concerned. I hope all is well."

I left Null puttering around aimlessly with his auspex. Alberich tapped my shoulder, and motioned for me to follow him. "Actually, here, I'll give you a tour. It is not a large bunker."

The bolt-hole was a depressing metal place, built out of utilitarian metals, and snaked through with some exposed wiring here and there. It wasn't very large, and we only found four single bedchambers, with one that appeared completely unused. Three of the rooms appeared somewhat lived in, with oversized thin beds made and possessions tidied. I was under the assumption that all space marines had serfs to do their menial work, but it appeared that there were no normal humans down here. Lian had only come here with two other marines, both of which were now Screamer food. How they had gotten all the way out here was another mystery.

Around some of the exposed metal walls, Alberich pointed out banners depicting the symbol of the Dark Angels as what he had seen in his psychic "viewing" earlier, and complimented elaborate tapestries that would be worth a fortune back home. The wall hangings depicted marines hunting beastly enemies, from giant insects, to alien monsters that looked like that porcupine-dinosaur thing we had fought. On a few walls, mounted alien skulls leered on plaques that described the hunt that killed them, and one treasured longsword had been framed under glass on the wall of a social area. This honestly looked like a modest but treasured hunting lodge, one that was very hidden and very secret from the rest of the galaxy. A perfect place to go on a hunting expedition for Fallen Dark Angels.

We found what appeared to be an elevator in a far corner of the bolt-hole. The area was roped off with a sign that forbade entry, but there was no explicit warning of the menace below. Beyond the rope barrier, there weren't any physical impediments to stop our passage. Thinking further, the location of this bunker was both very clever and very stupid. If the Tomb was what was causing the local electromagnetic interference, it would likely disrupt the scans and surveys of anyone trying to find the bunker, hiding it well from any unwelcome eyes. The distant location here also made this place very inaccessible, but at the same time, these Fallen were sitting on a ticking time bomb.

Only a few paces ahead beyond the rope boundary, featureless doors stood darkly immaculate and seemingly operational down a short hall. Unlike the familiar construction of the plated grey metal of this bunker, the elevator was much darker and seamless. It obviously and ominously stood out. Like a normal elevator back home, I saw "up" and "down" indicators, each lit from within by a softly luminescent green light. Knowing what the Necrons were, and knowing that we were sitting right on top of their sleeping place was a very spooky feeling. At the same time, seeing that these terrifying millennia-old sleeping xenos had what looked like a simple elevator to their Tomb was pretty entertaining.

"I think this leads to the Tomb we're looking for," I said to Alberich.

The Tzaangor leaned over the rope, investigating the doorway. "No one has actually told me what a Necron is yet. If I go by the name, and that the metal man says we are to raid their tombs, I assume they are some sort of dead thing, but I know little of this universe's history."

"The Necrons are an ancient race of metal skeleton aliens. Millions of years ago, they sold their souls for immortality and power to some other aliens that ate stars, and after the War in Heaven, they decided to go to sleep for millions of years until very recently. They're now slowly waking up all over the galaxy from their resting places called Tombs. We're sitting on top of one right now," I explained to the beastman, who raised an eyebrow in doubt. When I put it that way, I also thought that it sounded ridiculous.

Alberich cocked his head and said, "You joke."

"No, I'm serious. That's what they are. They have incredibly advanced technology, and they have something that can be used as an energy source for the Divine Retribution, so we need to go down there at some point and raid their resting place."

"And this is a lift that leads to them? Right beneath us?"

"I think so. I really have no idea how we're going to do this. From what I know about the Necrons, they're terrifying, but if we need a piece of their technology to fly the ship, we absolutely need to go down there," I said. I really didn't want to go into the heart of a spooky scary soulless skeleton Tomb.

I heard Null swearing somewhere behind me as he explored the bolt-hole, investigating with his auspex. I turned around and called out, "Null, what you're probably looking for is over here."

"On my way!" the tech-priest announced as he walked to us. Within a few moments, he had pushed past me, and had clipped the rope boundary with a mechadendrite. He walked directly in front of the elevator, holding his auspex out. Cautiously, Alberich and I followed him. The tech-priest's grey artificial eyes were furrowed in an expression of thought. I noticed that the auspex was nearly unusable at this point, its screen absolutely covered and static as it flickered in and out of viewability. Strangely, I noticed that Null's eyes also flickered and glimmered in the light along with his device.

"Yes, this must be it. Very convenient, I must say," the tech-priest remarked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this Tomb was partially awake, considering that this lift is operational. How peculiar."

"Are we going down there right now?" I asked. "Can't we just like, take a breather and dry off while we wait for Lian to wake up? Maybe he knows things about this place that we don't."

Null placed his auspex in a pocket within his red robe. "Not a question of 'we', really. I'm going down there alone with 77-X. Some Tombs are very perceptive to the intrusions of others, especially to life forms that still bear copious amounts of flesh. Since the location is closer to wakefulness than full slumber, I suggest that the two of you stay here. Not to be insulting, but you two would only get in the way."

"So, you're just going down there right now?" I watched Null scan the elevator with a couple appendages of unknown function.

"I'm currently gathering whatever information I can from the nature of the interference in this area. I'm trying to build a map image of the Tomb. Once I am satisfied, I will go down, retrieve the battery, and we will leave. Keep yourself busy in the meantime."

I felt a tap on my shoulder as Alberich led me away from the cantankerous tech-priest. "I will show you what else I have discovered," the beastman said, motioning for me to follow him.

Alberich led me to the food preparation area, and showed me a large walk in freezer, holding large frozen carcasses of strange animals, much like a slaughterhouse. In the corner of this room, we found a package simply marked "Tallarn Grox Steaks" with a note under it proclaiming that this was Brother Mariz's and that no one was to touch it without his permission. Alberich crouched down and picked up the box. "Lets see if we can find an oven," he said.

We discovered some kind of futuristic convection cooker, and placed the large frozen steak we had found inside. Not really knowing how it worked, I hit the button that said "defrost/cook" and let it run. A timer let us know that it would be done in a few minutes.

"So," I said to Alberich as he began to rifle through some of cabinets here. "What did you do for the Nazis, Alberich?"

The Tzaangor stopped searching, and turned around. His feathers were on edge.

"As I said before, I was a part of the German psychotronic division. We studied the limits of the mind, and the capacity of the human soul. My organization hunted for mystical artifacts, from the Holy Grail, to the Arc of the Covenant. We also worked to fight against other metaphysical agents of different nations that were searching for our secrets. National security, I suppose you could say. It was all very secret," he elaborated dryly. "But, my new insights into the universe do make me aware that we may come from alternate timelines of the same earth, so what you read in your history books may not be what I experienced."

"Mmm," I said, not really knowing how to respond. The Tzaangor crossed his arms, and appeared thoughtful. At least this guy didn't appear to be a mass murderer.

"You may doubt me, but all of what I told you before was true. I had been captured by the British, and to prevent the Allies from attempting to torture information out of me, I swallowed the cyanide capsule I had held in my tooth. I had made an oath that I would never betray my country, and that oath extended to my death. As I lost consciousness, I found myself briefly inside a cathedral of blue crystal, and I was told that I had a new purpose by an angel. When I woke again, I was in the body of a strange man as he was transforming into this form." The Tzaangor touched his falcon-like beak with two fingers. "And you, you said someone poisoned you?"

"Yeah. I was having a gallery opening. A strange man gave me a poisoned drink."

"Forgive me, but why would anyone want to assassinate you? You weren't involved in any sort of psychotronic program back in your reality, were you? Nothing with the American military? Are you certain of this?"

"I really have no idea why," I said, sitting down on one of the large stools that surrounded a square table as I waited for the grox to cook. It felt like it had happened so long ago now, and I suddenly remembered that suicide notes I had not written had appeared on my sites right before I was poisoned. Whatever had happened felt really malevolent, and very premeditated. It really did look like someone wanted me dead back home, I thought again, freaking myself out a little.

Alberich sat down next to me as we waited for the meat to defrost. "Back where I was from, our intelligence suggested that the Americans had their own clandestine program that researched psychic abilities in order to find a way to further weaponize them. Did you have any of these abilities back on Earth?"

"Oh, like setting things on fire and beating daemons to death? No, not really."

The Tzaangor looked at me thoughtfully again, searching for the words he would say. "I say this gently my friend, but it may be possible that you were someone the Americans deemed an inconvenient danger, and they sought to tie up any loose ends by liquidating you. You may not even remember working with them, but they remember you. They concentrated a lot of their programs on the manipulation of the mind. Much of what I was involved in was very secret. The Soviets also had their own program, and they eliminated their more troublesome psychic individuals by making it appear that they committed suicide, or had drug overdoses."

I sat listening to the convection oven hum, thinking this over. Distantly, I could hear Null and 77-X walking around the bunker as he talked to himself. I didn't like this rabbit hole of thinking. Tzeentch had said that I actually had these abilities in my home reality, and the crazy idea that someone wanted me dead because I was an irritating real life psyker that was a threat to national security didn't make me feel better. There had to be a more mundane solution, I thought as I heard the timer on the defroster go off.

"I know it sounds fishy," I said Alberich, who had stood up to examine the steak. "But for now, I'd rather not think about it. If someone back in my America tried to kill me like the daemon Am'Erika did just yesterday, I'll definitely be upset, but I can't do anything about it right now." A flush of bitter anger gripped me once again over the suspicious circumstances surrounding my poisoning, and with that, I felt a wave of heat push off my skin. I became happily distracted by the smell of cooking meat as the Tzaangor brought over the grox steak, which was now actually perfectly cooked.

After our delicious grox steak (which resembled a gamier bison), Alberich and I sat chatting about our respective realities for a short while before Null walked back in the room with 77-X. "I believe I have discovered the source of the electric interference in this bunker. These Fallen Dark Angels were utilizing the passive electro-magnetic scrambling signal emanating from this Tomb as a way to remain hidden from any potential Imperial forces hunting for them. This area is quite outside of Imperial space, and not easily discovered. Because of the interference, any rare ship in the area would not be able to get a good scan on life forms from above. The entrance of the cave lies under an overhang in the canyon, and there are many places that a small craft could land and be hidden here. Smart!" Null said. Hah, I was right!

"How is that Cowardly Lian man?" Alberich asked. I couldn't help but smile at the name. Cowardly Lion, haha.

"He sleeps. It is always quite remarkable the resilience of the astartes. The poison within him would've killed anyone else within minutes, but not him. He will be alright. We need to talk about what will we do tonight. My chronometer indicates that we are nearing sunset, and since the Fallen have used this place as a sort of hunting retreat, it is logical to assume that other dangerous predators may lurk outside at night. I have scanned the entirety of the bunker aside from the elevator, and everything appears safe. There are no other astartes that will come and interrupt our stay, it appears."

I yawned when he said that, and stood up from my seat. "So, we're going to spend the night here, and do something with the Necron elevator tomorrow?"

"If all goes as planned, yes," Null replied. "I recommend you both get some rest, the Scion especially. You're the one who powers our Gellar field analog onboard the Divine Retribution, and if you are not rested well enough, I fear daemons breaking into our ship," I saw Null "smile" with his animated eyes again. He had a habit of making very inappropriate jokes and minimizing very dangerous things.

I found myself one of the empty space marine beds after my steak dinner. It felt good to be in a bed that wasn't falling apart. After about a half an hour of practicing techniques on how to shield my mind from daemonic possession, I ended up passing out.

**Author's note: The following installment is the long-anticipated "Null" chapter.**