Once inside the Astral Plane, the second expedition team, led by Darling, immediately sensed the disquieting presence of its alien geometry. The sharp contrasts of stark white and shifting black were familiar, yet something was undeniably wrong. The usual hum of the Plane—a frequency barely perceptible to human ears but omnipresent in their consciousness—now carried a dissonant undertone, like a faint, persistent growl.
Darling moved to the forefront, his Astral Suit glowing faintly as he gestured for his team to hold position. His voice, amplified through the tether comms, remained calm but resolute. "Keep formation. The Plane is… reactive. Let's not give it a reason to test us."
Agent Ashton, as expected, was the first to break the silence. Her voice carried a forced levity meant to mask her unease. "Doc, this place gives haunted houses a run for their money."
"Let's focus, Agent," Darling replied, his tone leaving no room for further quips. His eyes scanned the expanse ahead. The Convergence Nexus loomed in the distance, its intricate spires pulsating with an energy that seemed… sharper, more erratic than their last visit.
The ground beneath them shifted subtly, almost imperceptibly. Yet it was enough to send a ripple of unease through the team. Dr. Underhill's voice broke the tension, calm and clinical. "Environmental readings are stable, but the Plane's architecture is fluctuating at a faster rate than before. Proceed with caution."
Darling nodded, his gaze fixed on the Nexus. "Ashton, take point. Alexander, keep monitoring the tethers. Any deviation in stability, and you call it out immediately."
The team advanced cautiously, the Plane's geometry warping subtly with each step. Floating platforms appeared and disappeared at the edges of their vision, while unseen forces seemed to tug at their suits, testing the limits of their cognitive stability nodes. Darling found himself stealing a glance at his wrist-mounted scanner every few seconds, watching as its readings fluctuated wildly.
Meanwhile, Trench paced his office, his thoughts a maelstrom of doubt and concern. The second expedition was already taking longer than expected, and each passing minute felt like an eternity. He'd tried to distract himself with other Bureau matters—the mundane chaos of paperwork, personnel issues, and the ever-present anomalies within the Oldest House—but his mind kept circling back to Darling.
He lit another cigarette, the act more reflex than necessity. The memory of the Bergen Peak AWE investigation resurfaced unbidden, sharp and vivid. He could still hear the strained voice of Helen Marshall in the recordings she made in addition to the reports sent back to the Oldest House, reporting the loss of junior researcher Hayley Niedbala. It was a moment that had etched itself into his psyche, a reminder of how easily the Bureau could lose even its brightest. And now, Darling… Darling was out there in the Plane, facing threats they barely understood.
For the first time in years, Trench found himself confronting an emotion he seldom allowed: fear. Not just for the Bureau or the stability of reality itself, but for Darling as an individual. The scientist's relentless curiosity, his brilliance, his… eccentricity—all of it had made him indispensable to the Bureau. But it also made him vulnerable.
Trench stubbed out his cigarette with more force than necessary and reached for the intercom. "Marshall, report to my office."
There was a pause before her voice crackled through. "On my way, Director."
As he waited, Trench stared at the swirling smoke rising from the ashtray. He'd never admit it aloud, but part of him wished he'd gone with Darling. Not as a Director, but as… something else. Something unspoken: the boyfriend who wasn't ready to come out.
Back in the Astral Plane, the team reached the outskirts of the Convergence Nexus. Darling raised a hand, signaling the group to halt. His scanner was picking up something unusual: a concentrated energy signature that pulsed irregularly, almost like a heartbeat.
"Alexander," Darling said, his voice low, "what do you make of this?"
Dr. Alexander adjusted her visor and peered at the readings. "It's… localized. But the intensity is… off the charts. This could be the source of the Plane's instability."
Darling's mind raced. The entity they'd encountered during the first expedition had been powerful, but this… this felt different. More deliberate. He stepped closer to the Nexus, his every instinct screaming at him to stop, to turn back. But curiosity and duty pushed him forward.
Then, the ground beneath them shifted violently. The Plane's geometry twisted, collapsing and reforming in rapid succession. Ashton shouted a warning as a fissure opened mere feet from their position, a chasm of impossible depth.
"Tethers holding," Alexander reported, her voice strained. "But whatever's causing this, it's reacting to us."
"No," Darling said, his eyes fixed on the Nexus. "It's reacting to me."