{Enki | Pantheon}

Bones was having a good day. The Shadow recovered Para, Karter, and Chris; Rayne reunited with their family; and baby Echo arrived early, but healthy. A truly beautiful day.

Then the lights went out in Enki.

Beside him, Kombuchi called into the inky abyss, “Is it everywhere?”

Kyle returned through the still open conduits—kick ass, Seamswalker!—and confirmed, “Yeah, I think it’s everywhere. Follow me.”

The leaders of the Twelve Worlds followed Story Taker into Cinder’s Shrine. All the armies had finished migrating a half hour ago, so they were alone with this terrifying view.

A dark Dyson’s Sphere.

No ancillary lights or ambient glow. Just the light from the star which barely reached out this far. On top of that, it was cold. Like vacuum cold and getting colder.

Into the dramatic silence, Bones followed his instincts and asked, “How much air have we got?”

X swatted him and groaned in a whisper, “You know we don’t need air like that. Nacres.”

Andrew smirked.

Kyle rolled his eyes.

Bones shrugged. “It’s what you’re supposed to say in the movies.”

Legir, the grown adult, who fathered the most famous brothers in the galaxy gently admonished, “We must focus on the advantages this affords our enemies.”

F8’s regal voice sliced through the darkness. “This is when I’d find it most advantageous to stage troops on the front. Under the guise of darkness.”

The pitch darkness yielded a certain kind of protection, for certain. A grand entrance. “No.” They all turned to Bones even though they could hardly see him. He finished his thought. “A grand entrance isn’t enough for Imminent.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kyle said, “He’s right. They’ll strike in the dark.”

“Get back to the Pantheon,” Andrew ordered.

The leaders rushed through the conduit into a din of confusion.

Icarean eyesight was sharp enough to make out thin lines of contrast—shapes—but not so much as to identify them. In the abyss, Bones could see silhouettes attacking the front line. L. Capra’s army.

“Bones.”

He knew what Kombuchi wanted, and he gladly circled his arms around—

“This is Andrew, dude.”

“Oh, sorry.” Attempt two. He shifted to the next person at about the right height. “Kombuchi?”

“Hurry.” Right.

Bones grabbed the Caprent in his toga and flew into the air with him. Over his troops, they made out the struggle of conflict and the puking gag of acid. Shrieks followed.

Kombuchi ordered, “Caprents, cease acid fire.”

Over the earpieces, Kyle announced on all channels, “Fighting has commenced on the Pantheon front. No visuals. Repeat, no visuals. Over.”

All around, generals and planetary leaders called for their soldiers to engage.

Flares shot in the air in blues, greens, and reds, illuminating the endless swarm below. Lamias, Drones, Caprents, winged-Icari, and jellyfish Luk wearing black and white gear assaulted the Vast Collective armies with a terrifying distribution of Weapons in the guise of Nox and Rayne.

Millions of them.

Still in his arms, high above the badly lit fray, Kombuchi convulsed and gulped. Bones turned his head away and squeezed his face tight. “C’mon, man. Do you really gotta—”

With a belching gag, green Caprent acid rained down from Bone’s passenger onto a pair of Weapons. Bones almost cheered, but Kombuchi watched carefully, apparently duly cautious.

The acid and skin melted off the amber shells of the copies, who turned hollowed eyes up toward the sky.

“Fuck!”

“Get us out of here, Bones!”

Kombuchi’s voice increased in pitch and volume as the two shells ascended. Cussing the entire way, Bones flew to find cover as the flares died in the sky.

“I thought Rayne said those things couldn’t fly.”

“They can’t. We just pissed them off that much.”

Kombuchi was right. Two Imminent Icarean soldiers launched the Weapons like people missiles, while Vast Collective soldiers fell to the superior opponents below. They needed help.

They needed—

Their pursuers plummeted out of the sky.

In fact, all the noise stopped. The fighting ceased on both sides.

Bones landed and released Kombuchi near the conduits. That’s when he realized what was happening. Andrew’s Atramentous eyes were black with a teal pupil. He took calm, even breaths, seemingly blind to everything around him. Sweat broke out on his brow.

Kyle explained on behalf of his brother-in-arms, “He can’t hold them for long.”

F8 asked, “What are we hoping for?”

Lamassau suggested with less irony than expected, “A miracle?”

Kyle shook his head, and the next word out of his mouth gave Bones goosebumps.

“Silence.”