She was walking alone in a vast tundra, and all around her was blood and broken bodies. She could smell death everywhere, and it made her stomach churn. She raised her hands and concentrated as time began to lurch forwards ever faster, and the snow melted and the trees bloomed again. She saw ages pass in the blink of an eye, and saw a woman clad in black walking towards her. She lowered her hands and time resumed as she watched the woman drag a massive black scythe through the ground behind her.

"I've found her." Moondust said softly, kneeling inside Zavoyevatel's moonlit chamber. She was staring at the ceiling, her eyes a solid grey color, her arms limp by her sides, and panting furiously, even as sweat poured from her brow.
"Good, my child, good. What is she doing?" Zavoyevatel said, leaning forwards in his chair. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he did not fully understand this child's power. None of his children had ever exhibited this kind of ability. But now it was his, and he was going to use it to it's fullest extent.
"She's walking through a valley, dragging a scythe. I don't see anyone else with her." Moondust said, watching Matilda walk by her, unphased by her astral presence.
"And when is this?" Zavoyevatel asked.
"I don't know. There's no markers or anything like it for me to tell. I never learned to read stars." Moondust said.
"What phase are the second and eighth moon in?" Zavoyevatel asked.
"I don't even see them." Moondust said. Zavoyevatel sighed and rubbed his head.
"Is that enough for today?" Moondust asked, her shoulders aching and her heart pounding.
"Yes, child, you may relax." Zavoyevatel said.
"Thank God." Moondust said, falling forwards and holding herself up with her hands as she took several deep breaths.
"We will continue this in the morning." Zavoyevatel said, getting up from his chair and walking out of the room.
"Tomorrow? I can't do that." Moondust panted.
"What?" Zavoyevatel said, stopping midway out of the door.
"I can't keep this up for days on end. I need a rest. It's been a month. Please, I need a break." Moondust pleaded.
"You will continue this tomorrow. You may rest when we find her here." He said, walking out as the two guards hoisted Moondust off the floor and guided her back to her cell.

They opened the cell door for her and laid Moondust on her bed, one of them putting a pillow under her head, and the other placing a cold cloth on her forehead.
"Our father is strict, but he has our best interests at heart." The taller girl said, wiping sweat off of Moondust's brow.
"He's pushing me too hard. I can't keep this up." Moondust said, watching the ceiling vanish for a split second. It was getting harder and harder to tell when was now, and when she was using clairvoyance.
"I've told him, if I keep this up nothing good will happen, but he won't listen." Moondust said softly.
"He knows your limits, Moondust. He knows us all better than we know ourselves." The shorter Wolf said calmly, turning Moondust's light off.
"Rest tonight, we'll be back tomorrow." The taller one said. Moondust closed her eyes, and tried to sleep, but she could see flickering images of then and now all blending together when she closed her eyes. She tried to block them out, but nothing helped. She rolled on her side and watched the shadows dance on the wall, until she heard someone calling her name. She sat bolt upright, and listened intently, her fox ears turning this way and that. Her fur stood on end as she heard Siren's voice calling her softly.
"Siren?" She asked, slowly standing up. She saw Siren running through the woods gleefully, and smiled for a second, hoping this was now, and not then. But behind Siren, she saw Matilda, walking along slowly, a definitive purpose in her stride, keeping her eyes on Siren. She felt a tug on her energy, and was hurtled somewhere else. She saw Siren inside a horrific machine, screaming in pain as energy was drained from her. She saw another girl inside the machine as well, and saw Matilda standing before the machine, paralyzed in fear. She was pulled through the now and then once again, and was standing outside Zavoyevatel's facility, watching Matilda approach. But it was different now. She locked eyes with Matilda, and Matilda saw her. Moondust could see where tears had traced paths through the fur on Matilda's face, and she could see the imperceptible movements of Matilda's chest as she tried not to cry. Moondust was once more yanked through time, until she saw a brilliant white wolf going toe to toe with the God-King, and saw a small child fighting the most terrifying thing she had ever seen, and holding her own. Then everything decayed into madness, millions of years of visions, all flickering by in an instant.

Zavoyevatel felt a presence. A familiar one, but changed. Impure. Broken. He slowly stood out of his chair as he heard a sudden shout, and heard the door to his home forced open. He walked out of his chamber to see his personal guard disarmed and pinned to the floor by a dense mat of black tendrils. He drew his swords and walked towards the open door from which the tendrils extended, and saw a figure walking in slowly. He thought he recognized her, but he was unsure. She wasn't strutting in like she normally would. She wasn't grinning, she wasn't laughing at the misery of the guards. No, she was changed.

"Matilda." Zavoyevatel said softly, sheathing his swords as she walked in. She had been crying, and was badly beaten. He could sense she was in pain, and something was horribly wrong. She began to sob as she looked at him, and slowly walked towards him. Something inside of her was broken, he could sense it. Someone had horribly wounded his beautiful creation.

"My daughter, what happened to you?" He asked her.
"Father..." She sobbed, rushing to him with open arms. She slammed into his chest and embraced him, sobbing. Zavoyevatel was taken aback. Shocked even. He never thought she would embrace him, much less sobbing. He'd never given her the capability. Something was wrong. His creation was aberrant, broken.
"What happened to you?" Zavoyevatel said, holding her at arm's length and wiping her tears away. But more flowed in to replace them, and the God-King felt the slightest hint of pity for her. She was in pain, that much was true.
"Why?" She sobbed, sinking to her knees.
"Why am I so..." She stopped and covered her face as she sobbed.
"Why am I broken? What am I missing?" She cried, looking up to him as the tendrils that filled the room dissolved into a quickly vanishing mist.
"You are missing nothing, my child. What brought you to me?" He asked, kneeling in front of her.
"I-I feel nothing, father. I feel no hate, I feel no regret, I feel no... no love, father." She said softly, hanging her head.
"Why?" She asked softly, tears falling freely and covering her knees.
"You came all this way to ask me that?" Zavoyevatel asked.

He was already drawing power from his children around him as they scampered away, building it into a sudden burst of power should she try something rash. But she was truly, and completely broken.
"Answer me, father." She said, looking him in the eye as she choked on her tears.
"Why am I so empty?" She demanded.
"You are not empty child, you have been given a great purpose, one that no other could hold." The God-King said.
"I don't want this anymore, father. Take it from me." She said, holding her hands out to him. For a brief second, Zavoyevatel saw a small, innocent child sitting there, holding her small, fragile hands up to him, and was consumed with regret. He had brought this on her by his own hand. What had he done?

The regret soon vanished when he remembered what she had done to his facilities, and realized she was at her weakest, and was surrendering her power to him completely.
"You are surrendering this power?" He asked.
"Yes, father. I want this instinct cut from me." She sobbed, still holding her hands out to him.
"There will be nothing left, child." Zavoyevatel said, gently taking her hands in his.
"I don't want anything left, father. I want it gone." She sobbed, even as she felt the power begin to trickle through her.
"Tell me one thing, father." She said, looking up into his eyes.
"Anything, child." He said softly. For the first time in millennia, The God-King felt guilty for what he had done. And even more so for what he was about to do. The least he could do was answer her questions.
"What was my purpose? Why was I born like this?" She asked, fresh tears falling down her face.

"You were not born, my pride. You were created. There was a balance needed in our world. You were that balance, my child. To seek out the powerful, and bring them low. To maintain that balance." Zavoyevatel said softly as the spell began to seep into Matilda's mind.
"What of Reaper? What will become of him?" Matilda asked as she began to feel the spell carving away at her memories, watching each one silently shatter like glass.
"He was the other half of the balance, my pride. He was created to balance you. To keep you from becoming too powerful. I created a bond between both of you, to keep the balance from shifting too far in either one's favor." The God-King said softly, taking Matilda in his arms as the spell began to fully take ahold of her, and she began to fall over.
"I once thought that I needed such a check in place. To keep my rule from reaching too far. But now I see the folly of my ways. Our world needs their God-King. And you, alongside Reaper, must be removed from the field for my ascension to take place. Sleep now, my child. And awake a new being. A hollow being. At peace." Zavoyevatel said softly, his last words echoing in Matilda's empty mind as she faded away completely.

The guards opened Moondust's cell to see her kneeling on the floor, covered in sweat, staring at the ceiling, with bloodstains around her eyes and running down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes, her eyes wide open, and subtly glowing a dull grey.
"Moondust!" One of them yelled, rushing and shaking her out of her trance. Moondust fell to her side, unable to move as she gasped for air.
"Bring her." Zavoyevatel said from the door. They obeyed before they realized it, and dragged Moondust out of her cell towards The God-King's reading room. Moondust was able to open her eyes long enough to see Matilda standing near a wall, with a blank stare as they passed by her. She wasn't moving, and was barely breathing.
"What happened to her?" Moondust muttered softly.
"She is a shell of her former self." Zavoyevatel said as they set Moondust down in the reading room.
"She has surrendered her instinct, and thus her very soul. She is a husk, but she will be at peace." He said, sitting down in his throne.
"Now. Find me the child." He commanded.
"I can't." Moondust said softly, as the tears stung her eyes.
"Why not?" The God-King asked sternly, leaning forwards in his throne.
"If I go back in, I might not come out. I've seen things." Moondust said, watching his throne crumble before her eyes. She blinked, and it was back, as if it never happened.
"All of time is bleeding together for me. I don't know if I can go back." Moondust said.
"I have commanded it, and you Will go in. You will tell me where the child is." The God-King said, his eyes glowing subtly red as Moondust felt a strange power wash over her. Her back arched of it's own accord as threw her head back and screamed, her mind launched back into the Grey as her eyes began to bleed once more.

Moondust saw Matilda standing before her, bleeding and horribly beaten, holding a small child and sobbing. They were in a vast field, with no moons or stars in the sky, and a biting cold wind was rushing by.
"I'm sorry, my daughter." She sobbed, holding the child closer. She laid the child down and stepped back.
"Why!?" Matilda screamed into the sky, her voice creating a shockwave that ripped the plains around them into shreds, scattering them to the winds.
"WHY-Y-Y!?" She screamed again, dropping to her knees and sobbing.
"I would've loved you, my child." She sobbed quietly.
"What is happening?" Moondust asked softly. Suddenly, Matilda looked up at her, looking right in her eyes, as if she could see her.
"Moondust." She said softly, smiling through her tears as a single drop of blood poured from her left eye. Moondust took a step closer, and realized Matilda's left eye was solid grey, just like hers.

"You can see me?" Moondust said softly.
"I'm so sorry." Matilda said, beginning to sob again.
"For what?" Moondust said, stepping closer as the world around them began to shake and fall to pieces.
"You know what you have to do, child." Matilda said softly, reaching out to her. Moondust knelt and reached for her hand, and was shocked to see that she could place her fingers between Matilda's. She looked up to her, and saw a streak of bright silver fur, just like hers, in Matilda's hair. She looked at Matilda's right arm and saw a spiral of bright silver fur, just like hers, going from Matilda's hand to her shoulder.
"I see it now." Moondust said, smiling as the world around her fell apart.
"See what?" Zavoyevatel said as Moondust lowered her head and looked at him, with blood pouring from her eyes and nose.
"The machine. Siren. The end of all things. The Red Sky. I've seen it all. It's happening now. All of time, right now." Moondust said, still smiling blissfully. Zavoyevatel sighed and rubbed his head.
"Take her back to her cell. We will continue this tomorrow." He said softly, waving his children out of the room. Eight hours had passed, and she had said nothing until this. The whole room smelled like blood and sweat, and he had learned nothing.
"No... we won't." Moondust said softly, as the guards gently carried her out of the room towards her cell.

Redhand was a bastard, that much was true. He'd forced Moondust to do horrible things to pay her rent, and was always increasing the price. She slept with so many people, just to have money to eat. But he was good for one thing. As the guards carried her towards her cell, Moondust saw Matilda sitting against the wall numbly, with a blank stare on her face. Moondust focused what little power she had left and fired a psychic command into Matilda's empty mind, and prayed it would work. The guards laid her in her bed and cleaned the blood from her eyes gently, laying a cold cloth across her head and turning the lights off quietly. One of them turned to see Matilda walking down the hall slowly, and was concerned at first. Zavoyevatel watched her taking small, unsteady steps, and raised an eyebrow.
"Father?" One of the guards asked.
"Pay her no mind. She is a shell. Nothing can bring back what she's given away." He said, turning away and walking back to his elevator. Matilda walked by the guards silently, her eyes blank, and her expression even more so.
"It's almost sad, seeing her like this." The tall one said softly, watching the Witch Queen of Ak-Dovurak stumble by, bumping into her and then bumping into a wall.
"It's best this way." The other said, turning away and going back to her rounds.
"She's headed for Moondust's cell, Tabitha." The tall one said.
"She probably smells blood. I don't know if she's even got that left. Our Father said she was just a shell." Tabitha said, walking down the hall.
"It's sad, that's all." The tall one said, following Tabitha.

Moondust heard a faint, raspy breath outside of her door, and pushed herself to a sitting position, every movement causing her intense pain, and her muscles ached and twitched. She focused her power, and sent another psychic ping, which nearly drained her completely. She fell back onto her side as she heard the key click in the lock, and Matilda opened the door silently. She couldn't lift her body anymore, as Matilda walked over to her bed and looked down at her with lifeless eyes.
"With my dying breath, I give my soul and blood willingly to you, Matilda, Element of Darkness, Witch Queen of Ak-Dovurak, and Usurper of the Vampire Throne. Take your fill." Moondust said softly, as Matilda lifted her to a sitting position. Moondust had seen this coming, of course. She'd had countless nightmares as a child, of a vampire taking hold of her in her sleep. But as she grew older, the dreams became clearer, and she understood that she would offer herself to a vampire. She denied it of course, and spoke of it to no one. But she understood it now. Offering her soul and blood freely, meant her soul would be grafted to Matilda's, freeing Moondust from her madness, and giving Matilda the pieces she was missing. Moondust was suddenly and violently pulled out of this daydream as four ice cold teeth sank into both sides of her neck like needles of solid ice, piercing her veins and sucking the blood from her. She felt her energy, her lifeblood, and her very soul beginning to slip away. But she embraced it. She had a brief vision of a vast black door rushing towards her faster than she could comprehend, and then she was no more.

"Janet, what's happening?" Nathan asked through his radio, his mechanical suit clanking loudly as he rounded the corner. The whole facility was in a panic, but there were no alarms going off. Suddenly he heard screams and gunfire coming from somewhere in the facility. He picked up the pace and burst into the security office to see Lieutenant General David Cross standing there, with three guards in combat-ready exo-suits around him, and Janet behind him in handcuffs.
"What is the meaning of this?" Nathan said, inwardly cursing this suit of his for not articulating his fury correctly.
"You are all under arrest, Doctor. We told you all to contain this disaster, and instead, you've been hoarding them, and not even two hours ago, these... things, destroyed a whole city, slaughtering dozens of civilians." Cross said, watching on the security feed as his soldiers mercilessly slaughtered the wilderfolk in the base's holding area.
"Stop! What are you doing!? They're innocent!" Janet screamed, hot tears running down her face.
"We detected an energy surge, several of them, across the world, and all around those surges, these things went berserk. We've got reports of mass exterminations from Russia, Germany, China, Japan, and dozens of other countries. These things are unstable, and if we cannot control them, we must destroy them. You two are coming with me. You don't have the luxury of saying no. And yes, Nathan. We have a team tracking that plane you two sent from here. They won't get far." Cross said, turning away and walking out of the room as the men in suits guided Nathan and Janet towards another door.
"You'll pay for this, Cross." Nathan swore as the door slammed in their faces.

Steve was at his computer, furiously typing away. The portal was nearly done. He only had a few minor tests to run. He had to make sure it was going to work. He was snapped out of his concentration by a gentle tap on the shoulder.
"Doctor?" A sweet voice said. He turned to see a small cup of coffee being handed to him. Andromeda towered over him, handing him a small cup of hot coffee. She was a terrifying sight to behold, but she really was a sweet girl, all things considered.
"Thank you, dear." Steve said softly, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. He set the glasses on his keyboard and took the coffee from her gently, taking a long, deep breath of the hot vapors before gingerly taking a sip.

"You don't need to do all of these tests alone, doctor. We've got a full crew working on this." Andromeda said, sitting on the desk next to his and taking a sip of her own coffee. She'd grown accustomed quickly to this world, but