The Last Dainv

Gale didn't move his head, only briefly turning his eyes to Erin. Her brows were furrowed and her breathing was shallow. A sign of something amiss, as even his Presence Between didn't even catch the being in front of them. Only when she appeared did he notice her.

"Melith Cross," Erin said. "I believe we can converse away from the children."

"I only see two children. Can I eat the rest?" Mel said.

"In relation to our lifespans, are they all not children?"

"You sound like the smelly guys that told me not to eat food," Mel said, grabbing Xinyi by the neck from where she was as space compressed between them.

Xinyi tried to resist to no avail. The small fragile pale looking hands that held her by the neck didn't budge at an Early-Mystic's strength.

"Release me," she tried to utter.

"Do you know Yufei?" Mel asked.

"Who?"

"A boy that has cancer. The orphanage said that it took him away." Mel's grip tightened, causing Xinyi to not be able to talk.

"I can help you if you release her." Ollie stepped forward, hands and shoulders trembling while forcing his best smile.

"You need not interfere, short one," Erin said, then turned back to Mel. "The one you speak of, Yufei. Does his existence hold any significance to you, Melith?"

"Oh, yeah. He does," Mel said, slightly giggling as she released her grip on Xinyi's neck. The space between them once again decompressed, causing everyone to wince.

"His sound was undisturbed and pretty. Why is that, Researcher?" Mel said.

"I do not know. Perhaps when I can get hold of him and you allow me to examine his body, I shall find a clue to your question," Erin said.

"What does examining the body mean?"

"It means to look deeply into his biology. To study his physical form and core to utmost scrutiny."

"So you're going to touch him?"

"That would be part of the process."

"What if I don't let you? Can you still find why his sound is pretty?"

"That would be an impossibility due to not having direct access to the object that needs examination, do you not agree, Melith?"

Mel scowled as her essence rumbled the whole area around the stone tower. "Can't you do that swish swoosh thing with your eye thing?!"

Ollie spoke up. "But it looks like you're looking for Yufei, am I right, Mel?"

"You're right," Mel said as the rumbling essence calmed. "Do you know where he is?"

"But you said something funny. It took him away, right?"

"Right. It took him away."

"Can you elaborate what took him away?"

"A stupid electricity sphere thing. I dunno. That's her job to figure out." Mel pointed to Erin.

"Are you sure that happened? Like, were you there?"

Mel stared at Ollie for a bit before answering. "I saw it on the video cameras. But you're right. This is a pickle... now I want a pickle. Does anyone have a pickle?"

"I have a pickle," Gale said, raising his hand.

"Give me a pickle, child. Respect your elders."

Gale materialized a pickle jar and unscrewed its lid. "You want the whole jar or just a pickle?"

The space between Gale and Mel disappeared for a split second as she picked out a single pickle from the jar. "Thank you, pickle child."

"Are you sure he disappeared?" Gale asked, dematerializing the pickle jar back into his space storage after screwing the lid back on.

"I saw it took him away in the video," Mel said.

"Gale, I don't think that's a great line of questioning," Ollie said.

"Let the child talk, squishy blond," Mel said, glaring at Ollie. "Now what do you mean if I'm sure he disappeared?!"

"He could be just somewhere else. What else did you do to find him?"

Mel took a bite of the pickle and crunched loudly. "The old man told me that he could find Yufei for me. Now he's dead."

"So it looks like he never found Yufei for you. Sounds like a liar."

"You're right! He was a liar! He should've found Yufei for me before dying!"

Gale pointed at both Ollie and Erin. "Look at them, Mel. They're the smartest people I know. Smarter than anyone else here. I think even smarter than you."

Ollie and everyone winced at Gale's blunt words, but somehow Mel's eyes widened with a smile on her face.

"I know Erin is smart. Is the blond one smarter than her?"

"In other ways."

"Silence, young lamb. The short one-"

Mel glared at Erin, stopping her from speaking, then turning back to Gale. "What kind of ways?"

"Like the kind of ways you'd like. Finding people. Doing stuff for you. Better than that old man ever did. Who was that old man anyway?"

"His human name, I think, was Alexei? I call him Ponty, though, since it sounded cuter."

"Ollie's so smart, though. Like much smarter than that old man. Look at him, he looks so smart."

Mel stared at Ollie for a second before shaking her head. "I don't get it. They all look the same except you, Erin, and that red hair."

"But Yufei looks different to you?" Gale asked.

"Yeah! How'd you know!"

Gale honestly didn't know where he was going with this. "Because you like him!"

"I do?!" Mel gasped. "Erin, do you have a flawless blank origin?"

"Mel, I assure you, the process which you speak of is nigh impossible," Erin said.

"So what!? Do you or you don't?!"

"We do not have such an object within our person," Erin calmly said.

"Then why are you here?" Mel asked.

"Why are you here?" Gale asked.

"I asked first!"

"But you showed up randomly!"

"Fine!" Mel took a large bite of the moon beside her, chewing and crunching angrily while pouting. "It's because of this thing."

"Why that thing?" Gale asked. "Look at it. It's pitiful."

Mel looked down at it. "But it's food. Why would it be pitiful?"

"Hunters always kill first before eating. Didn't your parents teach you that?"

"I had no parents. Did you?"

"Oh. I'm an orphan too."

"No wonder Arcuid told me to take care of you." Mel narrowed her eyes at Gale.

"I'm watching you too," Gale narrowed his eyes at her.

"Stop that!"

"Mel, may I know what Arcuid told you?" Erin asked.

"I dunno. He just told me, 'Take care of the Hathies' child'."

"You know me?" Gale asked.

"Everyone knows you, stupid."

"How come I don't know everyone knows me?" Gale asked.

"Because you're stupid as a rock. You even ate rocks."

"That's not true..." Gale glanced beside him at Rachel, who gave him a forced smile.

"So why are you here?"

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"We were here for the ship. Now we're done," Erin said. "If our business is done, then we shall return to where we came from."

"But they told me to keep you here," Mel said.

"Who's they?" Ollie asked.

"The leader of the Mohrusy tribe here."

"Mel, why do you speak of the corruption as if you've negotiated with them?" Erin asked.

"I didn't negotiate. Why would I negotiate? Who negotiates? The Cross sisters never negotiate!"

"Then how come they told you to keep us here?" Ollie asked.

"I asked them to find the closest sound of Yufei. And they told me to look after your group."

"Did they say how?" Ollie asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out and keep you here. Hmm."

"Do you mind we group up and talk to each other without you listening?" Gale asked.

"Give me the rest of the pickles, and I'll let you," Mel said.

Gale materialized the pickle jar again. Before he could speak, space compressed between them, and the pickle jar was now in Mel's hand. Turning back to his friends, he joined them as they all huddled up. Lily cast a silencing bubble around them before they began 'conversing'.

"Gale, how did you do that?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know. I think she just likes more direct responses."

"Those were definitely NOT direct words," Kyle said.

"It's like talking to an alien," Clyde said.

"The one called Melith Cross is an alien, even in our species," Erin said.

"What species is that?" Rachel asked.

"Who cares what species! We're fucked if we anger her!" Ollie yelled.

"I think we should just let Gale handle her," Lily said.

Xinyi rubbed her throat. "It feels as though Gale operates on the same wavelength as her."

"No, he doesn't," Rachel said.

"Rachel, fine, he doesn't, but that's beside the point. He's our ticket out of this fucking encounter," Ollie said.

"Gale, you really think you could get us out of here?" Rachel asked.

Gale wanted to say no, he didn't think so. Whatever came out of his mouth was just things he would naturally say, and it had absolutely no thought to it. "I'm trying my best, but none of anything she says even makes sense to me."

"Who's Arcuid, though?" Rachel asked Erin.

"A traitor."

"Are you going to say more than that?"

"A traitor does not need an explanation for his very existence."

"But how does Arcuid know Gale!?"

"I mean, Mel already told us Arcuid told her to 'take care of' Gale," Kyle ran his finger across his neck.

"Looks like she doesn't know," Clyde said.

"Then how do we get her to take care of us so we can go back to our world?" Rachel asked.

Everyone turned to Gale.

"Don't look at me. I don't know," Gale sighed. He didn't even know how to steer the conversation away. Honestly, he was just replying to what she said in the moment.

Suddenly, Lily's silence bubble popped, and the ambient sound of the dark forest returned. The wind rustled the trees, and a slight groan could be heard from the beaten blue moon beside the stone tower.

"Times up!! Young lamb, what's it gonna be, huh, PUNK?!" Mel shouted.

Gale's lips twitched. The girl in front of them really did act like a child, and somehow that putsput him off guard even as her presence weighed down on his shoulders.

Rachel softly nudged him. "Say what you can. We believe in you."

Nodding and turning back to Mel, Gale said, "So you're telling me those Mohrusy guys lied to you?"

"Huh?! What do you mean?!"

"Do you see Yufei's sound anywhere?"

"No, but I hear a different sound, and you taste funny. Did you meet an Ancient One?"

"He has not. Perhaps you mistake the taste from me?" Erin asked.

"Huh. You're right."

"Isn't it weird Arcuid, or whoever, told you to take care of me and then these Mohrusy people told you to look after our group?"

"That is weird... but not too bad. I just have to figure out how to do both at the same time."

"Then you agree. It sounds like they're trying to control you?"

"They just asked me to do things for them. That's not controlling."

"Sounds a lot like adults trying to trick you into doing stuff for them."

"WHAT!"

"Think about it. Arcuid told you to take care of me but didn't tell you how. By definition, he just doesn't want you to feel you're doing stuff for him. He made it sound more like a suggestion than something he asked you to do. Right?"

"Right... he didn't really tell me how to take care of you. Then do you know what 'take care of you' means?"

"Have you taken care of someone before?"

"No."

"It means you care for them in a way that protects them safely."

"Huh? But why wouldn't it be about making you stronger?"

Gale put a hand on his chin. She was making a right statement. Mom and dad always put him in dangerous situations to take care of him, but it was always safe since they were around. But he couldn't say that. The others probably had a different childhood from him.

"Yufei was taken care of in the hospital for his cancer, wasn't he?" Ollie asked. "They put him in a safe place and took care of his health. Didn't you see?"

"So what are you saying?" Mel asked.

"I'm saying, this place that we're in is dangerous. You're kinda going against your first command if you keep us here and not go back to where we came from."

"But I'm eating this thing. It's safe now."

"Would you let Yufei stay in this place?"

"This isn't about Yufei. It's about him." Mel pointed to Gale.

"Imagine him as Yufei. Would you let him stay here in this dangerous place?"

"But he's not Yufei."

"But this place is still dangerous. Would you let someone you're taking care of stay in a dangerous place?" Gale asked.

"No, but the Mohrusy-"

"Which one is more important to you, Arcuid's words or theirs?"

The world rumbled around them as Mel thought about the question Gale just asked. A pressure unlike any other pressed in on all their chests like they were deep underwater. Her eyes grew blank as she continued to stare at him.

"The Mohrusy lied to you. So they are automatically bad people," Gale managed to say.

The pressure suddenly disappeared. Mel scowled. Her eyes grew red and thousands of different shaped mouths manifested around the shadows behind her. Crunching noises and screams came from nowhere but everywhere.

"Those bastards..." Mel said. Half of her body melded with the shadows that deepened, covered by billions of mouths and sharp teeth. Above her, an orb of darkness dripped down from the sky, stopping just above her head until it grew to the size of a small truck.

"Melith, you must control yourself around children," Erin said.

"But they lied to me," Mel said as her body melted into a darkness of mouths, opening and closing.

"Then release us from your prison."

"Earth, right?" Mel asked.

Erin nodded.

A familiar growl echoed from everywhere at once, shaking Gale's inner core. It was the same growl he heard from the orphanage before he was sent to the Eclipsed. Looking at Mel, a distorted form of an inhuman smile twisted into a rage that had formed in the shadows of her silhouette.

When the growl reached its climax, the world became dyed in red. Crimson roots spread out across the entire world, devouring the sky. And then the world turned dark.

* * *

Esther sifted through the papers at her desk as she looked at the progress of Oliver's facility down at Oshawa. Erin had actually managed to complete the Rift Aperture System, but at what cost? The origins of their own race, all to fight a meaningless war.

On her screen, an unopened email about Sombra. It wasn't like the corrupted tried invading before. All of it would pass as long as she left hints here and there to the three major factions.

As long as the veil was still intact, then all would be well, and they'd be able to survive on this edge planet for thousands more years.

A teacup clinked together as Gerard poured her lavender tea. It was her favourite during times of calm and at night before going to sleep. Without Erin and her granddaughter around, the house felt sombre without the livelihood they radiated, constantly bickering against each other.

"Thanks, Gerard."

"Always," Gerard nodded and stood back.

Slowly, Esther took the teacup and sipped on it. It was the perfect temperature for tea, 90C (194F).

"When is Rachel scheduled to be back?" she asked.

"According to Researcher Erin's briefing notes, she shall be back within 30 days."

"That's quite a long time in a rift."

"The rift is quite dilated, apparently."

Esther took another sip. With Erin and the Cev Dainv beside her, there was no way she'd get hurt, yet there was still a thorn in her side.

The Crazy One, Melith.

The Red Death Incident was already a big glaring sign that the anomaly was here. Still, it was well within the possibility of either an Awakening rampage or the death of a Late-Mystic that would've caused an issue. What that didn't explain was the spatial transportation of Rachel to the world she called 'the Eclipsed'.

Esther dreaded the day this anomaly would eventually give away their location. Though, she was a double edged sword. The Cesnv faction wanted nothing to do with the Rogue Dainvs. If the two sisters were here, they'd even be more inclined to stay away from this quadrant.

A boon yet also a nightmare for the Ann Family's survival.

"Gerard, what's the likelihood of Erin, you, and I defending against Mel and letting Rachel escape alone? Would my granddaughter escape?"

"A difficult predicament, Lady Esther. But the chances are nil."

An absolute number by Gerard. Esther smiled. Running away from the quadrant would most likely incur a chase from either of the sisters. Nor did she know what Mel's prerogative was, if she even had one, but it most likely had something to do with Gale.

"What if we use Gale as bait?"

"The chances of escape would most likely would increase, however, the sister would also pose a problem."

That was the truth. The sister had an inclination to chase like a dog after those that ran away, and both of their logic were alien even by Dainv standards. There would be no reason to chase, yet Izalith would, and Mel would just be confused and go with the flow, causing both to chase.

The only option was to stay until they grew tired of this world. Documents from Alexei already told of their history on Earth, dating all the way back to the 1950s.

A flash in the pan in their lifespans.

Suddenly, both Gerard and Esther's phones blared a loud siren sound that grated on the ears. Quickly picking up her vibrating phone on the desk, she saw the notification message.

[INVASION IMMINENT. INVASION IMMINENT.]

[INVASION IMMINENT. INVASION IMMINENT.]

Esther shook her head. This was mostly used for war between mundane countries. How childish, but it was odd. There weren't any countries that were in current conflict with each other, let alone Canada declaring war.

Swiping her phone up, she looked up the most recent news, and her eyes widened immediately. In the middle of New York's Central Park was a giant rhombus shaped rift hovering above and corrupting the ground beneath it. Red roots littered the whole ground of the park.

Google News Feed continued updating. Headlines of the rapture, the end of the world, and other insanity popped up on her feed, too fast for Aur to block. Tapping on the FB Reels, she swiped up a couple of times only to see the same thing, a glowing giant rhombus rift in the sky above Central Park.

"Lady Esther, if you'll excuse me." Gerard took the remote from her desk and turned on the TV for the live feed of news. A woman in a helicopter hovered over the city.

[Everyone, this might be the end of the world. We are live at what looks like a portal to another world of eternal night. Is this the rapture or is this something else? As you all can see, the foliage around the portal has decayed and twisted into abominations of what they were once—wait, everyone, do you see that?]

The camera panned to the ground coverage. Monsters poured out from the rift everywhere, grotesque, muscular, dog-like things with fur, scales, and leathery skin, with mouths wider than their heads. Some had multiple limbs, covered in fur. The civilians on the ground had their phones pulled out, taking videos and photos of the monsters.

Screams echoed across the whole streets around Central Park. Blood dripped into the gutters as urban apathy failed to save those that didn't run.

Gunshots echoed and flashed across the night sky. Path agents arrived, all peeling off oncoming monsters against the horde. But they too were outnumbered, and none seemed to be actively organized by squad leaders.

When the camera zoomed in closer to the rift, Esther recognized the squad of 7 Aurians. Rachel, Gale, Oliver, Xinyi, Lily, the Path twins, and Erin fought off hordes and hordes of grotesque beasts.

She sighed as she looked at the documents. None of the plans mattered now. The red roots said it all. The Crazy One made her move, or something forced her to.

It was the day the veil disappeared.