The briefing was quick, spat out from a disgruntled Dante.
The king of the monsters had retreated deep into the hive, a being capable of calling for reinforcement that would endanger all neighbouring planets. It was paramount they killed him if they wanted to end the infestation. But their army had dropped like flies the moment they'd stepped into the cave, Rampage creeping up so quickly that they were all forced to leave. The seven could withstand the pull much longer than the rest of their team, but they needed her guidance to venture deeper in to kill the beast.
It was a fucked-up situation. One that weighed on her and had her scowling in the darkness, still reeling from the feeling of the air in the hive, like a heavy weight on her shoulders, like something cold slithering up her spine. The seven flanked her, and already she could see the dart of tension in their necks, the pulse of wildness dancing in their eyes. The Rampage twisted up into their eyes. She was given a weapon, and she held it in her palm, fighting down the bite of fear.
But perhaps this would be her chance to prove her worth.
The darkness swallowed the space. And there was a soft scratching sound in the air, anxiety jerking up her spine at the little screeches like nails on rough walls. Seraphim's voice bubbled in her ears, he'd used his powers and cloaked their heads within a sphere that buried their sounds and filtered the air. The suit was also made of some kind of noise-absorption material, and her every step was silent, sinking into the leather of an unknown beast that made the velvet of her new armour. But it would be best if they tried their best to be quiet.
"Don't be afraid of the monster," Seraphim murmured, and she shook her head giving him a stern glare. It was the darkness that sparked her panic, filling her mind with its sluggish creep, not comforting like Levi's shadows, but cold like a foreign entity. Even Kieran had snuffed out his rays, providing Levi with full control of the shadows, emitting only the tiniest glow that allowed her to see the seven.
Dante barked out a hiss. "Status?"
Levi knelt, hands directed to the ground, gaze searching. "It's hiding itself somewhere. Can't sense it. The fucker's deep behind all these walls."
Valentino groaned, tails flickering incorporeal. He'd learnt to control them and now could switch between the two. "Somewhere? We're going to have to comb through the goddamn maze."
"Rue," Halcyon choked through his mask. "I'm sorry, I need you so bad." He reached for her hand in the darkness, her knuckles pressed to the cold wire that exposed his lips. He inhaled as if she were oxygen, lips tender on her knuckles. Her heart thundered to her throat as he mewled, the silky sound twisting through the darkness. His grip on her wrist loosened. "That's good," he groaned. "So much better than our guides."
Altair claimed her other hand and tugged it to his mouth, lips to the base of her wrist. He shook then, eyes rolling dramatically to the back of his head. "God," he exhaled, smacked his lips as if she were a delicious meal, feathers fluttering over her cheeks. She shivered, swatting them away. "I agree." Rue tried desperately to hide the blush that rushed up to her cheeks. "We should bring her along all the time."
"Only take what you need," she hissed. "And I'm not doing this shit again. I'm not a goddamn warrior."
"We'll protect you," Altair promised, with a pout. "There's no need to fear."
Seraphim called from the front then. "Rue, if you don't feel good, let us know." The worry was flecked in his voice. "There's no need to hold out."
"I'm fine," she answered. And she was, they'd mention that the guides had felt a burn of pressure forcing them into collapse, but Rue was oddly energised despite the heaviness of the air. Her steps were lighter than the boys, charged by what she assumed must be a byproduct of her anxiety.
Levi's voice was thin then, biting through the air. "Kieran."
"Rue," Kieran warned. "Prepare yourself."
Light flooded the space, and swept over the cave, revealing what she had not seen. The bodies. The cave was made of them, plastered over one another and stacked to the ceiling like a piece straight out of a horror film, hanging from sticky threads of dark ink. Each was freshly infected by the ink that swallowed the top half of their faces, lips parted into a silent scream, bloodied with wounds that showed signs of a stretched-out demise. Some were bloated and raw, body a mess of boils and crusted blood. But it was the twitching that disturbed her, uncanny and clicking as if controlled, dead and yet so alive.
The remains of their army.
Altair's tales of the monster's ink as a virus capable of control had not prepared her for this sight. Rue gasped, and Halcyon gripped her, holding her up as nausea churned in her belly. She was thankful for the mint now that plugged her nostrils, preventing the smell of rotting flesh and decay. But the infection was grotesque, and she noticed now that the crunch under her boots were bones, splattered messily in the darkness. There were monsters as well, lying dead on the floor and sliced open from battle with ink pouring from their chests.
Rue whispered, panic thundering through her. "What the fuck." They didn't talk about this in class. They didn't talk about anything. This was apocalyptic, this was fear condensed within a cave of destruction. How could the monsters be capable of this?
Halcyon hushed her, arms around her. And she was oddly thankful for the contact, for the steady heat of his body. "You've got us," he promised, clamped her close. "You'll be fine."
Rue gawked and bit down the urge to puke with a hand to her lips. "You knew?"
Levi grunted from the front. "This is the worst one we've seen. They're getting bold with their shit. Making all these corpses pump out a fuck ton of pheromones and some kind of drug that drives up our Rampage. Anyone who isn't at least an A-class Esper gets drawn immediately into the ink like it's the best meal they've ever seen. Once the virus is in their bloodstream, the monsters can control them, but these bodies are too rotten for that." Rue stared at the sticky darkness creeping, almost sentient-like over the faces of the corpses. Realisation dawned on her.
"They can infect colonies."
"Yes," Kieran answered with an angry smile. "A planet of this could wipe out our people. Everyone will die."
"Fuck," her eyes swept over the bodies. They seemed to breathe, bodies rattling with oxygen through decaying lungs. It made sense now the reasons for why the emperors were the ones on the frontlines. They were the only ones who could do this, and now she was the only one who could help them. "So, they're dead?"
Seraphim nodded. "Braindead for sure."
Dante cursed, pacing the space, skulls crunched under his feet. "We need to be faster. Levi, we don't know what the space could do to an Omega." Rue flinched at his words, spat out harshly and yet filled with concern for her she'd never heard from him.
Rue's voice wavered. "You don't know?"
Seraphim assured her quickly with raised hands. "I've checked the waters. You'll be fine."
"You said my future is murky."
Levi spoke then, interrupting their exchange. God, she wasn't going to kill them once she was out of here. "The path splits."
Altair snapped. "We can't split up; we've only got one guide."
"We might have to take the risk," Dante muttered.
Valentino cursed. "Altair and I are freshly guided, I can go without for a bit."
Levi snarled. "Don't be stupid, there are thousands of forked paths. It's a goddamn maze in a massive hell hole of the dead. You'll go on Rampage and then you'll be lost. Fuck." Levi cursed, boot kicking at the air. There was a pause then as the group seemed to ruminate on their options.
Rue frowned, speaking up, breaking out from Halcyon's arms. The ares almost seemed to whine. "Can't you hear the scratching?"
They turned to her then, eyes wide. Levi's question was cautious. "What scratching?"