Overwhelmed and terrified, John assessed the battlefield.

Off in the distance, Icari screamed as molten gold splashed on them from Kyle’s balls. Pehton flew by gripping an Icarus, whispered in his ear like a lover, and watched him plummet to the ground, dead. The human-esque dwarfs of Pil charged past John in their mechsuits, grappling with similar Icarean mobile units. The Luks remained on the plateau to monitor their traps. The drones from Mon3 clutched enemy soldiers, carried them to the sky on their butterfly wings, and peeled their skin back layer by layer, lapping the blood. The Caprents spit stomachfuls of acid onto the Villam to no avail.

Pandemonium.

“Do you require assistance?” The Yun healer in their squad asked, salve ready for application.

John shook his head. “No. But thanks.”

The tall man with thin limbs nodded to the human before checking another soldier from their unit.

Two Reipon lamias rushed by, one on human legs, the other slivered on his tail. Herbivores. Super Zen folks. They wore thick old-timey spectacles to protect their sensitive reptilian eyes from over-exposure. Both carried alien stenography gear and recording equipment “to mark General Callahan’s great deeds and those of humanity.”

While John loved history, he suspected the lamia’s observations provided more than good record keeping. Tumu mentioned Enki examined the logs for nacre dispensation. In other words, if humans acted right during this war, they received alien tech. But only after Rayne killed Nox. Kinda fucked up logic there.

Nearby, Pehton climbed into a mechsuit with an enemy Icarus. In a single second, she sang a song to him so sweet it destroyed the nacre inside of him. Any louder and she risked shattering the entire glass vehicle.

Cypher tagged the Lyrik with a pat on the back and climbed into the machine. Colton rode up behind him, already inside one. Pehton went to assault the Villam with her voice, careful not to harm the nearby nacre bearers. Para, the Valkyrie, fought with several others to prevent Icari from dropping more victims inside.

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So. Overwhelmed.

The telltale clatter of a crawler sounded behind him. John turned slowly, prepared to face the end. He gripped his gold-dipped morning star. “All right, motherfuckers, I’m ready—”

Caedes climbed halfway out of the hatch, regarding John with a mixture of derision and respect.

“Uhm…”

“Get on.”

The bald Icarus slipped back inside and lowered the machine to a belly crawl. John climbed atop the smooth glass and gripped the hatch. Through the surface, Caedes called, “Hang tight!”

They took off at a jaunt further into the valley. The ride sucked. So disjointed and clunky. And fast. He swallowed vomit a few times. Some commotion erupted behind him near the Villam. He glanced in time to witness the return of the Mobilizer 5000 with her crew restored. It looked fun to pilot one. Not so much to ride passenger. Tumu followed close behind. He reached to lift the Villam from the ground when flames erupted from the machine and scorched him.

John shook his head and faced forward. Less likely to get sick this way. He refrained from asking for their heading. Alongside a swath of their forces, they headed for the Tantamount. This hero shit suited Caedes all right. No need to advertise it. The man wanted to save the worlds. Good on him. John wanted to help as much as possible. It was okay if he didn’t make it. He peered up to the sparking strikes in the sky where Rayne fought Nox.

Trying was all that mattered now.

A second crawler almost careened out of control into them. “Hey!” Caedes stepped aside to let them pull along before John recognized the crew. “Pablo?”

He gripped the crawler with one hand and waved with the other. “Sorry!” With a glance below, he offered an apologetic shrug.

Lynn waved from the inside and mouthed, “Sorry!”

John asked, “Tantamount?”

Pablo nodded. “We’ll destroy it.”

“Do you know how?”

The look Pablo gave Lynn while she focused on piloting took John’s breath away. He loved her and looked as if he already missed her. Or like he didn’t want to leave her alone. When he gazed back at John, his eyes darkened with sadness. “Yes. Keep Caedes away, John. Both of you.”

Before John shouted at him to stop and explain, Pablo patted the top of the crawler. Lynn waved goodbye as they picked up speed.

John cried while banging on the glass, “Caedes! Caedes, we have to stop them! They’ll get themselves killed.”

“They’ll have to get there first.” Caedes nodded ahead.

John stopped breathing. He thought the blockade was impressive. Not after this. A nacre glass cylinder surrounded the Tantamount beside the caldera. It rose high into the air. All around, millions of Icari, sabers, drakes, and hellkites reinforced the shell. Every remaining force in the Icarean army guarded the Tantamount.

“John.”

“Yes?”

“Do you believe in anything?”

“Well, I mean… I guess so.”

“Start praying.”