Penny has arrived on the scene.
She and Zip join us on Nyth's skull, and though I'm happy to see them again, I'm clueless as to why they're here. Hopping off Umbra's shoulders and landing on my feet, I hurry over for hugs and kisses.
Fuzzy as always, Penny hums with content in my arms. "Hi."
"Hey! What in the Hells are you doing here?" I kiss Zip too, then knock our horns together. "Umbra said to retreat, didn't she?"
"We did retreat, drac," Zip chuckles, waving around vaguely. "We were headed for the Hells when–believe it or not–Peps remembered something."
"Very funny," she pouts, tail flicking. "It's true. I did remember something."
"Good that you did," Umbra says behind me as her shadow darkens all three of us. "In that case, you know what we need. Please. We're prepared to go immediately."
"Mhm. Um…" Penny looks skyward, antennae vigorously rubbing together as she scans around up above. I'm about to ask what's happening but she sharply hushes me. A moment later, she points at a cloud. "That one, right there. Shaped like a whale. Or maybe a shark…"
"Definitely a shark," Zip nods.
"Excellent. Reliable as ever, Penelope. You again have my gratitude. It's time we ended this. We'll be departing right away. Now you should indeed return to the Hells. And await our triumphant victory. Crimsy, stay with them for the moment. I'm going to pass the word to Haunt."
"Okay, Umbsy." I turn to my friends. "What's happening? What did you just do, Penny? Hello?"
She points at the cloud again. "That's where the channel is. When you fly through it from below, you'll reach the passage that takes you from here to the higher Heavens."
"Oh! That makes sense. How in the Hells do you know that?"
"I read the schedule."
"There's a fucking schedule?"
"The passage moves to a different cloud every sunrise throughout the month, so of course there's a schedule. Otherwise nobody would know where to go. Obviously, it's kept very secret, but when I was working as an assistant to Master Scribe Shikou, I managed to catch a glimpse of her copy for… Mm. Seven seconds."
"Penny, you stopped working for Shikou thirty years ago."
"Thirty four, to be precise."
"And yet you still have it memorized…"
"Once I read something, I never forget it. You know that."
"Hells, Penny, you're a marvel. Truly. I love you."
As I'm kissing and nuzzling her, Zip chuckles to the side. "That's our little pink moth girl. Fucking genius. Love it. Love you, Peps. Saving the day. Day after day. And she's gorgeous too. How do you do it, drac? I gotta know. Intimately."
"Hm." Still in my arms, Penny leans over to kiss Zip too, grinning all the while. "Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime…"
"Heyyy, alright." Zip kisses me with her blue tongue out. "Go get 'em, speedster. Do our Goddess proud. I'll hold down the fort all by myself. And take care of Little Miss Fuzzy too, while I'm at it."
"Be careful," Penny pleads, then hugs me again. "Please, don't get hurt. I'll be sad. Don't make me sad…"
"I could never. Don't worry. I'm staying with Umbra. She'll keep me safe. Like she said, we'll be bringing home a triumphant victory. I'm sure of it. I love you both. So much. I'll see you both soon."
"Time to go," Umbra whispers as she creeps back over. "Penelope. Zip. Once more, you have my gratitude. You've done your parts, and done them very well. But this final stretch is not your fight. Just as I said when we were with Xikarius. Please, get to safety."
"Wings." Zip kisses me one more time. "Stay sharp."
"Love you." Penny does the same. "Come home safe…"
"We will." I tap Longevity at my side. "We're prepared for it all. Let's go, Umbsy. Wings up."
"Off we go, then. We're leading the way. Shift with me."
I change forms and take flight, circling around underneath Nyth's skull and back up the other side just as Umbra starts to fly as well. For good measure, I buzz Zip and Penny at full speed and laugh as I catch up to my Goddess and find my spot atop her head. As the two of us climb toward the clouds, the Wretched cry out with vigor and come after us in a swarm that quickly becomes a neatly filed line as they join their formations.
It doesn't take long for us to reach the cloud. Umbra folds her wings as we pass into it, soaring through an opaque cotton mist for a few seconds before coming out the other side. The channel itself is an extraordinarily long cylindrical passage, bordered on all sides by thick clouds. Far, far ahead is the eclipsed Solaris, gazing at us like one gaping eye looking down a tube.
Just as I'm about to ask Umbra what would happen to someone who strayed too close to the clouds, a sudden and piercing scream of white light stabs outward just below her left wing. I whip my head around and find that someone down the line just exploded into a plume of smoldering ashes, like embers kicked up from a dying fire. Not far behind us, Haunt bellows to stay in fucking formation.
Hells. Aurora is out for blood.
"Damn it," Umbra growls beneath me, keeping a swift and steady pace. "I warned them. Did I not? Did I not warn them very fucking clearly?"
"You–You absolutely did. Maybe… Maybe they stumbled?"
"Mmm." She doesn't say anything for a while. "Crimsy. There's something you must know. Something you're not going to like, nor do I like I, but it must be so."
I'm scared. "What? What's wrong? What's happening?"
"Nothing is wrong, my love. But I need to warn you. Staying close like this, atop my head or anywhere near me, is certain to be gravely disastrous. Aurora will be seizing any lapse in my guard, just as I will be doing to her, and I cannot risk you being hurt, injured, or worse. This is to say… You will need… No, no. I need you to stay far away from me during this altercation."
My heart drops and my chest hollows out. "O–Oh…"
"It means I cannot protect you, but Graves will, along with every other Blackthorn I have at my disposal. There isn't a Primarch alive who can withstand their onslaught. As for Aurora, you cannot fight her. You cannot do any harm to her. Not until I expose her vulnerabilities. It's simply too dangerous for you to be near before I've made that happen. For you, for me, for all of our people. There is no doubt in my mind that she knows how close we have become, and if given the opportunity, she will seize upon that advantage with abject brutality. If you are anywhere near me, she will attempt to take you, in one way or another, to force me into submission. That is not something we can allow to pass. Because if you are held for ransom, my beloved Crimsy… I don't believe that there is any price I'm unwilling to pay for your safe return. Even if that means abandoning our cause, our people, our home… I would surrender everything. Everything. To save you…"
I cling to her horns, already trembling a touch. "Hells. Hells. I don't… I don't want you to do that…"
"Then, please, I beg of you. Please, keep your distance until the proper time. Not a moment sooner. I need you to promise me that. Will you, Crimson? Please."
"I'm… I'm scared. I don't like it. But I will do it. For you, Umbra. For us. Hells. That changes things. I thought… Mm. Nevermind. It doesn't matter. I will do as you ask. I'll keep my distance. And I'll trust in Graves and the others to keep me safe in your stead. I promise."
"Thank you." She sighs with relief, flying us ever closer to the eye of the eclipse. "If it's any consolation, I know for certain that every one of the Blackthorns is just as displeased with the notion. All for the same reason. There is nothing that anyone can do to her besides me. And, soon enough, you. With Longevity. You know the plan?"
"Yes. I know the plan. I won't forget it. I'll be ready."
"Good. Thank you. I love you so very much, Crimsy."
"Well… I love you so very much too, Umbsy."
"It's hard to believe. This is it. After so long… This is it."
"Only a few months for me," I haughtily reply, inspecting my claws. "Fascinating how I showed up and everything changed in the blink of an eye. Perhaps I truly am that magnificent."
"You are that magnificent. Truly. No one can do this like you can. Nobody else is anything like you. My breathtakingly unique lover. My raptblood white-red serraspine wyvern. My Crimsy. Unlike any other. Unmatched. In talent, skill, and beauty too."
"Okay, okay, that's enough. You're making things up now."
"Nonsense. You truly are one of a kind. As am I. Perhaps that's why we're so synchronous. We make an excellent team, you and I."
"And I love every minute I get to spend with you."
"Ahh… As do I. How dearly I do so love you…"
"Mm. Say it again for me."
"I love you, Crimson."
"One more time."
"I love you, Crimson."
"And I love you, Umbra. Let's put Aurora in the fucking dirt."
"Yes. By all means. Let's."
Umbra accelerates, bringing us ever closer.
The time is nigh. It's almost upon us.
We're going to kill a god.