Chapter 30

Haledon stepped through the grassy veil and was once again falling through the nutrient line. As though he had been pulled back into the vacuum of space, he tumbled end over end in the direction of the Hypogeal Nexus in an erratic wobble.

"Birchbark," He sighed.

"You are being transported—"

"I observed that. Can I stop spinning?" Haledon's body quickly righted itself, and he felt like he was flying towards his exit. "Thank you."

"I sense...anxiety." Birchbark's voice resonated around him.

"Fear." He said after a moment of pause. "The Mecharrion are coming."

"I am aware."

"Then you know why I'm upset."

"No."

Haledon's momentum shifted as he found himself walking through the grass screen of the Hypogeal Nexus.

"Because they'll kill us all." He explained as he stepped into the room and noticed his Guild turning to look at him. Witch-Hazel rested against the central trunk with a curious look trained on the Druid. Meanwhile, Spark was posted against a corner with Mek-Tek on her shoulder in the middle of a conversation.

"Tell us how you really feel," Witch-Hazel remarked with a smirk. "Missed you at the inquisition."

"Everyone, the—wait, where's Gazeas?" Haledon glanced around the room.

"I'm here," Gazeas shouted, emerging from the tree. "Sorry, Birchbark just got me. The thing's really cool! What's it called again?"

"Gaz—everyone, listen. The Mecharrion are coming."

Haledon watched as Witch-Hazel's relaxed posture became rigid. Vines began to crawl from their back to their chest, pushing forth thick thorns like hairs standing on end. Spark quickly jumped from the wall on the outskirts and approached the group, with Mek-Tek continuing his whispering in her ear. Gazeas' face became pale before vines crawled up her neck, and her body again relaxed.

"How long?" Witch-Hazel asked, their voice stern.

"Sixty-eight hours," Sparrow answered as she slowly walked through the grass. "That's all you have to figure out how to save this fleet."

"Sparrow, when did you find out?" Haledon asked.

"I found out while you were taking a spacewalk."

"Was it..." He stopped to take a breath. "Was it our fault?"

"Potentially. But also maybe not—three days means they were already close. They would have found us eventually."

Sparrow approached and placed a shaky hand on a nearby branch. Grabbing hold, she stabilized herself and straightened her posture. Haledon inspected her in a way not dissimilar from what she had done to him all too many times. He observed the weakness in her grip and the frailness in her face.

"What's the matter with you? You look like a wilting flower." Haledon asked as he took a step forward.

Sparrow raised her hand to stop him, and he saw a knot of roots bound to her wrists like bracelets.

"Root inhibitors." She groaned, glancing at him with a tired look. "I am no longer connected to Nature, and, as such, many of my capabilities have been severely hampered."

"What? That's not right!" Haledon protested and looked to Witch-Hazel. "They can't do that."

"They can, and they did," Sparrow replied as she continued into the Nexus. "But we must work with the ecosystem we are given—"

"There has got to be some way to remove it."

"Not easily in three days in space—"

"But—"

"Enough of this!" She yelled out with a burst of energy. Her body stiffened and then became weak once more. "We are wasting valuable time. What is the plan to evade the Mecharrion?"

"Why are you asking us?" Gazeas asked. "You're the one who is used to all of this."

"Because you are the Asteraceae Guild. I brought you together for precisely this moment. And with my current...inability—"

"I don't remember learning Mecharrion evasion from the Shaman Tree." Haledon's eyes widened as a thought came to his mind. "Though I may have something that can help us. The Astralaceae has developed a way for us to connect with it. I believe we can use it to—I don't know—put together the whole ecosystem to solve this problem. It’s this way."

Placing a hand on the room's central trunk, the bark began to fold in on itself, revealing the Nucleus passage.

"Gazeas, could you run them through the process?" He asked.

"Sure," She said with a smile and touched his arm. "We should talk later."

Haledon nodded in reply, watching as she led the Guild through the tree and disappeared. Waiting for Sparrow, Haledon turned to see her standing at the Nexus's edge, observing the Druids as they stepped through the tree.

"Are you coming?" Haledon asked.

"Not this time," Sparrow replied solemnly, holding her wrist. "I can't use anything other than the grass screens."

"I'm sorry—" Haledon started forward.

"Don't be sorry." She stopped him with a stern chirp. "I need you to adapt to this situation like the pioneer species you are."

He nodded and stepped closer, only to stop again at her extended hand.

"Haledon, you and your Guild were not just wholly chosen by me, but by the chaos of Nature. I felt the shift in the balance of Nature’s order, like a seasonal transition. Creating a Guild, your Guild, was what I believed to be the proper response to this. I believe you and the Asteraceae were meant to grow together for this moment."

"But you are as much a part of this Guild as anyone else. We need your guidance."

"I merely planted the seed and tended the garden long enough for Nature to take hold. But Haledon, it was not the shifting season I thought it to be…it is a wildfire approaching your delicate ecosystem. You must begin designing from pattern to detail, so go to your Guild. You'll need each other to figure this one out."

"Okay," Haledon nodded and turned to leave before pausing. "Oh, by the way, I found the wolf, I think. It has some form of sensory void camouflage, and I will find out who it is."

"I look forward to being proven wrong." Sparrow chuckled in a way Haledon had never heard. It was soft, almost as though her hardened shell had broken away for a moment.

"First time for everything." He laughed back as he touched the tree and fell through the opening.

Emerging into the Nucleus, he watched as the last Druids stepped through the tree onto the raised platform. From the outside, he could see Witch-Hazel march into view, their bark now covered in a familiar thin vine exterior. The tightly woven suit hugged their body, but where the visor should have been, there was none.

Witch-Hazel looked over to Haledon and gave him a wave while mouthing, "What the forswyn" in his direction. Haledon chuckled in reply and stepped toward the tree, allowing himself to be pulled inward. Emerging onto the upper platform, he immediately bumped into one of the Druids.

"Hey," Spark announced as she caught her footing again. "This is poor design."

"I don't know. I think it looks nice." Witch-Hazel laughed.

"Well, you don't have a blinder over your face."

"Just step over here, Spark." He heard Gazeas' voice chime in.

Already familiar with how integration worked, Haledon carefully walked to the nearest nutrient spring. He dipped his fingers into the fluid and felt the fog rush over his mind.

One by one, he could sense the Guild beginning their integration with the Astralaceaes in his wake. Haledon envisioned the group standing together in their den, and the world spun before the familiar hammocks appeared.

"Interesting," Mek-Tek mused as he appeared beside the Druid and looked around. "This appears to be an organo-augmented reality built around sensory manipulation."

"So, the Astralaceaes made a Shaman Tree, cool." Witch-Hazel sarcastically replied. "How long did it take them to make that?"

"It was the culmination of seventy-one thousand five hundred eighty-three earth years of evolutionary decisions."

A collective gasp in surprise came from the Guild that had not yet been introduced to Birchbark.

"I'm sorry, what—?" Witch-Hazel replied with their own shock.

"This is Birchbark, and she is the consciousness of this Astralaceae." Gazeas introduced.

"Cool," Spark approached and looked at Birchbark. "It's nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot and like your spooky vibe. Tell me, can you grow any defences on the exterior of the ship?"

"Before that," Haledon interrupted and waved his hand. "We should get back to explaining how to use this."

"Yeah, I have questions," Mek-Tek spoke as he rushed up to his tree and examined the nook he called home. "Is this a replica of our den, or is this actual information being fed concurrently from our room?"

"This is your den as it currently is," Birchbark answered. "You are integrated with the Astralaceae through a complex mycelial network that has evolved over generations. In this state, you may gather instantaneous information within the confines of any of my seeds."

"Interesting, I didn't know that." Haledon mused. "Okay, but before we get too overgrown with information, we need to cover some basics—"

Haledon felt a chill run over his body as a familiar presence entered the room. He looked around the den in a panicked scan, catching the eerie calm of the void making its way between the beds of leaves.

"What is that?" Mek-Tek asked.

"Birchbark... " Haledon whispered. "So current means—?"

"Yes, the void is in the Asteraceae den," She replied. "I could sense it as it passed through the screen."

"That's on the other side of the ship. How did it move so fast?"

"I can take you there now."

"We can come with you," Gazeas spoke up.

"No," Haledon glanced at the group with a wild look. "I need you to get everyone obtaining a yield from the Nucleus with Birchbark. There has to be something here to help us grow our way out of this one. I'll figure out who the void is and return immediately."

Gazeas grumbled to herself as she nodded in agreement while the rest of the Guild looked to Haledon with confused expressions.

"I'll explain when I get back."

Withdrawing his hand from the nutrient fluid, Haledon didn't waste a moment before he found the exit. Stepping through the tree again, he fell momentarily and emerged into his dimly lit den. With a hasty inspection of the space, he expected to see a Druid standing over his bed or a wolf stalking in the corner, but the room was empty.

"Birchbark, is it here?" He asked softly.

"Near the grass."

Haledon slowly edged closer, ducking his head under a hoisted hammock. As he passed the first bed of leaves, he looked intently over the area, finding nothing. With careful steps, he continued to the second bed to see a scattering of mattress leaves thrown to the floor. Stopping, the Druid knelt to feel at the ground. He touched the leaves, noticing they had yet to decompose.

A rustling before him drew his gaze back up, where he stared at the last row of beds. Against the foliage of the wall, a pair of pale amber eyes stared back at him. The wolf's coat had transformed to mirror the wall's foliage, perfectly camouflaging it against the leaves. But as soon as their eyes had locked, the figure began to move, breaking the illusion.

Haledon stumbled back in surprise as it rushed through the grass veil into the hall. But the shock wouldn't stop him. He didn't hesitate as he pushed himself back up to give chase. Racing from the den into the hallway, he was quickly overwhelmed by flashes of bright colours.

"Ah, Birchbark, what is this?" He panicked and shielded his eyes.

"Your integration into the Astralaceaes. Your eyes are adapting to seeing the subtleties of your ecosystem."

"Why so much colour?"

"The white light you usually experience is actually thousands of multicoloured bands. These subconsciously lead you to where you need to be. It was determined to be the best way to guarantee that children never lost their way."

"Interesting. Can I turn it off?"

The hall's light began to return to normal, and Haledon blinked his eyes in response. Stumbling forward, he tried to stare through the white blur of his vision.

"Where is the void going?"

"It is two laterals down, heading towards the Megacolides."

"Can you block them?"

"I can try."

Haledon began running in the direction of the Megacolides. Pushing through groups of Druids, he was met with huffs and shouts as he sprinted blindly. His eyesight slowly regained focus as he neared a blockage of people in his path.

"Birchbark—?"

"I briefly disabled bioluminescence in the glade."

Haledon observed the group of Druids while searching for the wolf. Between a pair of figures expressing concern for the sudden lack of light, he caught another glimpse of the wolf disappearing from his sight down the lateral root. Beginning to run again, his body still sore from earlier that day, but he pushed through the pain. As he rounded the next corner, he saw the wolf taking one more turn down a newly grown passage.

Turning the corner, Haledon stopped to see the wolf waiting at the end of the corridor, where a thick bramble had overgrown its escape path.

"Who are you?" Haledon asked.

The wolf turned its head around and looked at Haledon. The dark fur of its pointed face blew gently in a nonexistent gust. The beast's amber eyes narrowed as it focused on the Druid before turning itself around.

He approached cautiously, his hands out, and asked again. "Who are you? How are you hiding in plain sight?"

The wolf did not reply to him. Instead, it released heavy breaths as its mouth opened slightly with each exhale. Haledon stepped closer, his heart beating faster with every footfall.

"Who are you?" He asked once more, now within several feet.

Slowly, the beastly form raised its back, neck, and head, towering over the Druid. Haledon felt a chill race down his spine as the wolf stood as it had been in his dream.

The beast trudged forward with heavy footfalls. And as the first paw hit the rooted floor, it began to twist and turn like millions of ants crawling over themselves. It crept up the leg as the second paw made contact with the ground, and the process began anew. Haledon could hear them, the small clicks like grains of sand flowing up the creature.

His heart felt ready to leap from his chest as he stared at the chitinous, obsidian armour that reformed before his eyes. A sense of awe crept into his mind as the darkness consumed the light around the metallic exoskeleton.

Haledon opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped him. He tried to step back but stumbled over his feet, falling to the ground. Looking up in terror, he saw the elongated claws flexing as the Mecharrion stretched its limbs.

As it looked down on Haledon, he observed the sleek oval head which came to a point at its back. Across its face, a red strip appeared scarred and filled with tiny metal filaments. And as the head twitched to the side, the long claws reached toward Haledon's chest. The sharp blades sank into his SOIL, sending searing pain through his body. 

He opened his mouth to cry out, but his world went black.