The jungle stretched endlessly east.
Castiel moved through it without speaking.
The collapsed clearing was far behind them now, hidden somewhere beyond miles of dense vegetation, towering trees, and rolling terrain.
Leaving it had not been easy.
For Castiel, it had been nearly impossible.
They had searched the collapse for every opening they could reach.
They had climbed across broken earth, severed roots, and slabs of stone that had fallen into the enormous cavity beneath the Verdant Maneater.
They had called for David.
For June.
They had tried their comms until static became the only answer they expected.
But there had been no safe way down.
No visible bottom.
No passage large enough to follow.
Eventually, staying there had stopped being a search.
It had become waiting.
Lucian had been the first to say what none of them wanted to hear.
If David and June had survived the fall, they wouldn't remain beneath the clearing.
They would move.
They would search for another way out.
So Gamma had done the same.
They had turned east.
Back toward their original route.
But their mission was no longer the only reason they were moving.
Every depression in the ground became something to investigate.
Every rocky formation became a possible cavern entrance.
Every stream disappearing beneath stone made them stop.
Anything that might connect to the underground system beneath the valley was worth checking.
So far—
Nothing.
Castiel stepped over a thick root and pushed through a wall of hanging vines.
Nyra followed several yards behind him.
Lucian and Mira moved farther back.
They had been traveling like that for most of the morning.
Castiel in front.
Too far in front.
Again.
"Castiel."
Nyra's voice carried through the vegetation.
He slowed.
Barely.
Nyra pushed through the vines after him.
"You're getting too far ahead."
"I'm checking the terrain."
"We're all checking the terrain."
Castiel looked toward a dark opening between two enormous tree roots.
He changed direction.
Nyra sighed and followed.
The opening ended after only a few feet.
Solid rock.
Castiel stared at it.
Nyra stood behind him.
"Nothing?"
"No."
He turned away.
Nyra watched him.
His grey-white hair was damp from the jungle heat. Dirt streaked his uniform. Several shallow scratches marked his arms from branches he had stopped bothering to avoid.
He looked exhausted.
They all were.
But Castiel's exhaustion was different.
He hadn't stopped.
Not since the ground had disappeared beneath David and June.
Nyra still saw it every time she closed her eyes.
David grabbing June.
The earth collapsing.
David jumping toward the ledge.
His hand catching it.
June hanging below him.
Then the edge breaking apart.
Castiel disappearing into Shadow Veil.
Reappearing at the opening.
Reaching.
Missing David's hand by inches.
And then—
Castiel trying to jump after them.
Nyra remembered hitting him from the side.
Wrapping both arms around him.
Dragging him backward while the ground continued collapsing.
Let me go!
Let me go!
D!
She remembered the tears in his eyes.
She remembered David's voice coming from somewhere below.
Cass!
Then nothing.
Nyra looked away.
She had heard that last scream in her sleep.
More than once.
Castiel started walking.
"Castiel."
He stopped.
Nyra approached.
"We're going to find them."
Castiel didn't answer.
"I mean it."
He looked at her.
"You don't know that."
"No."
Nyra refused to look away.
"But I know David."
Something shifted in Castiel's expression.
Nyra continued.
"If he survived that fall, he's moving."
Castiel looked east.
"And June is with him."
"Exactly."
A faint smile touched Nyra's face.
"Which means David is probably trying to find a way out while June complains about everything."
Castiel almost smiled.
Almost.
"June probably complained before they hit the bottom."
"There."
Castiel looked at her.
"What?"
"That."
"What?"
"You almost smiled."
"I didn't."
"You did."
"No."
Nyra smiled.
"I saw it."
Castiel walked away.
Nyra followed.
"Definitely saw it."
Behind them, Lucian pushed through the vegetation.
"Are we moving?"
Castiel didn't look back.
"We never stopped."
Lucian glanced at Nyra.
She shook her head.
They continued.
Mira remained quiet.
She had been quiet since the collapse.
More than usual.
She walked with one hand near her folded Twin Blades and the other occasionally touching the comm attached to her uniform.
Lucian noticed every time.
He didn't say anything.
Not until she checked it again.
"Mira."
She looked at him.
"You'll know if something comes through."
"I know."
Her hand stayed on the comm.
Lucian waited.
Mira finally lowered it.
They walked several more yards.
Then she spoke.
"What if they're too deep?"
Lucian looked at her.
"For the comms?"
She nodded.
"Possible."
Mira's expression tightened.
"But that doesn't mean anything else."
"I know."
Lucian stepped over a fallen trunk.
"If they're moving upward, eventually they'll come back into range."
Mira looked east.
"If they found a way upward."
Lucian stopped.
Mira took another step before realizing.
She turned.
Lucian looked directly at her.
"They did."
Mira stared at him.
"You don't know that."
"No."
Lucian's voice remained calm.
"But right now, believing anything else doesn't help us find them."
Mira looked down.
Lucian softened his voice.
"David doesn't stop."
Mira nodded.
"And June?"
A small smile touched Lucian's face.
"June talks too much to die quietly."
Mira stared at him.
Then, unexpectedly—
She smiled.
Barely.
"That's true."
Lucian started walking again.
Mira followed.
Ahead, Castiel had stopped beside another rocky depression.
He crouched.
Nyra joined him.
A narrow opening disappeared beneath a shelf of stone.
Castiel drew his Shadow Sword.
"Could widen."
Lucian approached.
"Maybe."
Castiel looked at him.
"I'm checking."
This time Lucian didn't stop him.
Castiel lowered himself beside the opening and directed a small light into it.
The beam traveled perhaps fifteen feet.
Then hit stone.
Castiel's jaw tightened.
"Dead end."
He pulled himself back up.
Another possibility gone.
They kept moving.
East.
Always east.
The jungle swallowed them again.
Hours seemed to pass beneath the enormous canopy.
No David.
No June.
No signal.
But Gamma kept moving.
Because stopping meant accepting something none of them were ready to accept.
And Castiel refused to accept it at all.
Farther east—
David slapped another broad leaf away from his face.
It swung back.
And hit June.
June stopped.
He slowly turned toward David.
David looked back.
"What?"
June stared at him.
"You did that on purpose."
"I didn't."
"The jungle has attacked me enough without you helping."
David continued walking.
June pushed the leaf aside.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
"You looked directly at it."
"I looked at you."
"Exactly."
David smiled.
June pointed.
"See? Guilty."
They continued through the dense vegetation.
The rocky ledge where they'd emerged from beneath the ground had disappeared behind them some time ago.
David had tried to keep track of their direction, but the passage I AM had guided them through had twisted so many times underground that he had no idea where they had surfaced relative to the collapsed clearing.
They could have emerged a mile away.
Five.
More.
The jungle offered no answers.
Only trees.
Roots.
Vines.
More trees.
And June.
Lots of June.
June ducked beneath a hanging branch.
"So."
David already knew what was coming.
"No."
June frowned.
"I haven't asked anything yet."
"You were going to."
"That's usually how conversations work."
David stepped over a root.
June followed.
"So."
David sighed.
"Go ahead."
June walked beside him.
"Anointed."
David glanced at him.
June spread his hands.
"What does that mean?"
"You heard the same answer I did."
"In time."
June changed his voice, attempting a deep imitation of I AM.
David stared at him.
June cleared his throat.
"That sounded better in my head."
"Don't do that again."
"Probably wise."
They walked several more steps.
June wasn't finished.
David knew that too.
"What do you think it means?"
"I don't know."
"You're the one who's been talking to him."
"That doesn't mean he explains anything."
June nodded thoughtfully.
"True."
He looked upward.
"I AM?"
Silence.
June waited.
Nothing.
Then he looked at David.
"See, this is annoying now."
David smiled.
"Welcome to my life."
June pointed upward.
"I know you're there."
David heard the response immediately.
I AM:
He is persistent.
David laughed.
June's head snapped toward him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"He said something."
David kept walking.
"What did he say?"
David looked at him.
"He said you're persistent."
June stared upward.
"That's rich coming from someone who refuses to answer questions."
I AM:
Persistence and patience are not the same virtue.
David laughed again.
June looked increasingly offended.
"What?"
"He said persistence and patience aren't the same thing."
June thought about it.
"Tell him I'm very patient."
David waited.
I AM:
Do not lie for him.
David burst out laughing.
June stopped walking.
"What did he say?"
David continued several steps before turning around.
June stood with both hands on his hips.
David shook his head.
"You don't want to know."
"That means I absolutely want to know."
"He told me not to lie for you."
June stared upward.
"You know, I liked you better when you saved our lives."
I AM did not answer.
June waited.
"Nothing?"
David shook his head.
June started walking again.
"Typical."
David smiled.
For several minutes, they moved through the jungle in silence.
Then June spoke again.
His voice was different this time.
Less playful.
"Do you think he meant it?"
David looked at him.
"Which part?"
"My descendants."
David's smile faded.
June stepped over a fallen branch.
"One of them doing mighty things."
David remembered the white light.
The circle slowly shrinking around them.
I know those who will come after.
One who carries your blood will one day stand where others cannot.
When many falter, your descendant will remain.
And mighty things shall be accomplished through them.
"He meant it."
June looked toward him.
"You sound pretty sure."
"I AM doesn't joke about things like that."
June raised an eyebrow.
"He made a joke about my mother being responsible for my unnecessary commentary."
"That's different."
"How?"
"I don't know."
June nodded.
"Very convincing."
David smiled.
June looked ahead again.
The humor faded.
"I'll never meet them."
David knew exactly who he meant.
"No."
"That's weird."
"Yeah."
June was quiet for a moment.
"Someone who doesn't exist yet."
He pushed aside a vine.
"Maybe won't exist for hundreds of years."
David didn't answer.
June glanced toward him.
"And he already knows them."
David looked inward.
"I AM."
I AM:
Yes.
David slowed.
June noticed.
"What?"
David hesitated.
Then repeated the answer.
"He said yes."
June looked into the jungle.
"That's..."
He shook his head.
"I don't even know what that is."
David understood.
June had grown up fixing engines.
Machines.
Circuits.
Problems that had reasons.
Causes.
Solutions.
I AM didn't fit any of those things.
June looked upward again even though he knew he couldn't hear him.
"Do you know their name?"
David waited.
Silence.
June looked at him.
"Well?"
"He didn't answer."
"Of course he didn't."
They continued.
Then I AM spoke.
I AM:
Some names should not be carried backward through time.
David stopped.
June walked several steps before noticing.
He turned.
"What now?"
David repeated the words.
"Some names should not be carried backward through time."
June stared at him.
"That's somehow more unsettling than him not answering."
"Yeah."
June looked down.
Then laughed quietly.
"What?"
June shook his head.
"Nothing."
"June."
He looked toward David.
"I was just thinking."
"About?"
"If this descendant of mine does something important someday..."
He paused.
"Some part of me makes it there."
David studied him.
June tapped his chest.
"Not me. Obviously."
His smile was smaller now.
"But something."
David understood.
"Yeah."
June nodded.
"I like that."
They started walking again.
After several moments June glanced toward David.
"And if they're anything like me, the future is in serious trouble."
David smiled.
"There he is."
June grinned.
"Thought you lost me?"
"Almost."
"Never."
The moment settled between them.
Then David touched his comm.
They had tried several times since emerging.
Nothing.
But they had been moving steadily through the jungle.
Maybe they'd finally gotten close enough.
June noticed.
"Again?"
"Again."
David switched channels.
Static.
He adjusted the receiver.
"Gamma, do you copy?"
Nothing.
June waited.
David tried again.
"Gamma, this is David. Do you copy?"
Static rolled through the speaker.
Then—
A faint crack.
David stopped walking.
June did too.
"What?"
David raised one finger.
Static.
Then something beneath it.
Too faint to understand.
David's heart accelerated.
"Gamma, do you copy?"
Farther west—
Castiel stopped so suddenly Nyra nearly walked into him.
Static burst from his comm.
Then—
"Gamma..."
Castiel's eyes widened.
Nyra froze.
Lucian and Mira turned.
The comm crackled again.
"...this is David. Do you copy?"
Nobody moved.
For one heartbeat—
The jungle disappeared.
The exhaustion disappeared.
The hours of searching disappeared.
There was only that voice.
Mira's hand flew to her mouth.
Nyra's eyes filled immediately.
Lucian stared at his receiver.
Castiel looked down at his comm as if he didn't trust what he'd heard.
Then David's voice came again.
"Gamma, do you copy?"
Castiel grabbed the transmitter.
"D?!"
Static.
Then—
"Cass?"
Castiel closed his eyes.
David.
Alive.
His voice.
Real.
Castiel opened his eyes.
"Yeah."
His voice almost failed him.
He swallowed.
"Yeah, D. We hear you."
June's voice came through behind David.
"All of us, hopefully."
Mira laughed.
A small, broken sound escaped her before she could stop it.
June continued.
"Because I'd like it officially recorded that I also survived."
Mira wiped quickly at her eyes.
Lucian smiled.
Nyra covered her mouth.
Castiel was already checking the signal.
Weak.
But close.
Much closer than it should have been.
He turned.
East.
The signal strengthened.
His head lifted.
"They're ahead."
Lucian checked his own comm.
"Castiel—"
Shadow energy was already gathering around him.
Nyra's eyes widened.
"Castiel!"
Too late.
Shadow Veil swallowed him.
He disappeared.
Nyra stared at the empty space.
Then she ran.
"Come on!"
Lucian and Mira followed.
Branches snapped beneath their boots as the three raced east.
Ahead of them—
Darkness folded between the trees.
Castiel emerged at a full sprint.
He didn't slow.
He checked the signal again.
Stronger.
Shadow energy gathered.
He disappeared.
Reappeared farther ahead.
Ran.
Shadow Veil.
Again.
Every use ate distance.
Every step carried him closer.
David's voice crackled through his comm.
"Cass?"
Castiel didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Not yet.
He needed to see him.
Needed to know.
Behind him, Nyra forced her way through the vegetation as fast as she could.
Lucian stayed close.
Mira ran beside him.
None of them called for Castiel to slow down again.
They understood.
Ahead—
David lowered his comm.
June looked at him.
"They heard us."
David nodded.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
"Yeah."
June released a long breath.
"Finally."
David looked through the jungle.
"They said they're close."
June turned in a circle.
"How close?"
"I don't know."
A branch snapped.
Both men turned.
June's hand dropped toward his baton.
David's Claw Gauntlets shifted.
Another branch broke.
Closer.
Fast.
Something was coming through the jungle.
June drew his baton.
"Please be Gamma."
David stared between the trees.
Movement.
A figure burst through the vegetation.
Grey-white hair.
Shadow Sword.
David's breath caught.
Castiel saw him.
Stopped.
For less than a heartbeat—
Neither moved.
Castiel stared at David.
David stared back.
Then Castiel's face broke.
"D!"
Shadow energy erupted around him.
David's eyes widened.
He had seen Castiel use Shadow Veil more times than he could count.
In training.
In fights.
Against creatures.
During the arena.
But David had never seen him move this fast.
Not even close.
"Cass—"
Castiel vanished.
Shadow folded across the space between them.
He reappeared directly in front of David at full speed.
The impact nearly took David off his feet.
"Cass!"
Castiel wrapped both arms around him.
Hard.
David stumbled backward.
Then caught himself.
For one stunned second, his arms remained at his sides.
Castiel held him tighter.
David felt his hands gripping the back of his uniform.
Felt them trembling.
Everything inside David changed.
He wrapped his arms around his best friend.
Castiel buried his face against David's shoulder.
"Don't ever scare me like that again."
David closed his eyes.
"Wasn't exactly planning on it."
Castiel didn't laugh.
His grip tightened.
"I thought I lost you."
The words were barely above a whisper.
David remembered the fall.
June hanging beneath him.
The ledge breaking.
Castiel appearing above.
That hand reaching down.
Their fingers separated by inches.
Then darkness.
And Castiel's voice following him into it.
D!
David tightened his arms around him.
"I'm here, Cass."
Castiel nodded.
Neither moved.
Then—
"I'm alive too, by the way."
David opened his eyes.
June stood several feet away with his arms spread.
Castiel didn't release David.
"Unfortunately."
June's arms dropped.
"There he is."
David laughed.
Castiel finally pulled back enough to look at him.
His eyes were wet.
He didn't hide it.
He looked David over from head to toe.
"You hurt?"
"Bruised."
"Anything broken?"
"No."
Castiel looked toward June.
June immediately stood straighter.
"Before you ask, I remain devastatingly handsome."
Castiel stared at him.
June waited.
"That's not what I asked."
"You were going to."
Movement crashed through the jungle behind Castiel.
David turned.
Nyra appeared first.
She broke through the vegetation—
And stopped.
Her eyes found David.
Everything else disappeared from her face.
Relief.
Pain.
Disbelief.
Then tears.
"David."
He smiled.
"Hey."
Nyra ran.
Castiel barely stepped aside in time.
Nyra reached David and threw both arms around him.
David caught her.
Her momentum pushed him backward a step.
She held him tightly.
David felt her body shaking.
"Nyra..."
"Don't."
Her voice broke.
David went still.
Nyra buried her face against his shoulder.
"Don't ever leave me like that again."
David's expression softened.
His arms tightened around her.
"I didn't mean to."
"I know."
She held him tighter.
"I watched you fall."
David closed his eyes.
"I know."
"I couldn't..."
Her voice caught.
David waited.
Nyra drew a shaky breath.
"I couldn't do anything."
David rested one hand gently against the back of her head.
"You kept Cass from following us."
Nyra laughed once through the tears.
"He wasn't very happy about it."
Castiel stood beside them.
"I still have complaints."
Nyra didn't release David.
"You were trying to jump into a bottomless hole."
"D was down there."
"I know."
The simple answer silenced him.
Nyra finally pulled back.
Tears ran freely down her cheeks.
She looked at David as though making sure he was really standing there.
"Just don't do that again."
David gave her a small smile.
"I'll try."
Nyra frowned.
"That's not reassuring."
"It's the best I can promise."
She shook her head.
Then hugged him again.
David didn't resist.
Behind her, Mira emerged with Lucian.
Mira saw June.
She stopped.
June smiled.
"Hey."
Mira stared at him.
June spread his arms slightly.
"See? Still here."
Mira walked toward him.
June's smile became uncertain.
"Mira?"
She kept coming.
"Before you say anything, technically the ground collapsing wasn't—"
Mira wrapped her arms around him.
June stopped speaking.
His hands remained suspended at his sides.
Mira held him tightly.
June blinked.
"Mira?"
Her voice was quiet.
"I thought you were gone."
June's expression changed.
Mira's fingers tightened against the back of his uniform.
"I kept checking my comm."
June slowly lowered his arms.
"I know."
"No."
She shook her head against him.
"You don't."
June went still.
Mira swallowed.
"Every time it made a sound, I thought it was you."
June's humor disappeared completely.
"I kept waiting to hear your voice."
She tightened her arms.
"And I thought I never would again."
June stared over her shoulder.
For a moment—
He saw another face.
Aria.
His little sister following him through the repair station.
Then he remembered I AM's words.
I know the brother who wishes to return home.
And the young man who fears that one day he may not.
June closed his eyes.
Then wrapped both arms around Mira.
"I'm here."
Mira didn't move.
June rested his chin lightly against the top of her head.
"You don't have to say goodbye."
Mira's answer came immediately.
"Good."
June held her.
No joke.
No sarcasm.
Just his arms around someone who had become more like family than he'd realized.
Several seconds passed.
Then—
June shifted slightly.
"Although..."
Mira didn't move.
"If you keep squeezing me this hard, surviving the fall might have been pointless."
"Be quiet."
June smiled.
"There she is."
Lucian approached last.
He looked at David.
Then June.
Then the rest of Gamma gathered around them.
Something in his face relaxed.
He stepped toward David and extended his forearm.
David clasped it.
Lucian pulled him closer and gripped his shoulder.
"Good to have you back."
David nodded.
"Good to be back."
Lucian released him and turned toward June.
June clasped his arm.
Lucian gave him the same firm grip.
"Both of you."
June nodded.
"You have no idea."
Lucian looked around at Castiel, Nyra, and Mira.
"I think we do."
June's smile faded.
He looked at Mira.
Then Castiel.
Nyra.
Lucian.
"Yeah."
His voice softened.
"I guess you do."
For a while, nobody moved.
Six people stood beneath the enormous jungle canopy.
Dirty.
Exhausted.
Bruised.
Alive.
Together.
Castiel remained beside David.
Closer than usual.
Mira remained beside June.
Nobody mentioned either one.
Eventually Lucian looked between David and June.
"What happened?"
June looked at David.
David looked back.
They had already talked about this.
They knew what could be said.
And what belonged only to them.
David took a breath.
"The Maneater broke our fall."
Castiel frowned.
"The dead one?"
"Yeah."
June nodded.
"Never thought I'd be grateful for landing on a giant carnivorous plant."
David continued.
"It fell with us. The body and most of the root crown went into the cavern."
Nyra looked him over again.
"That's how you survived?"
"Mostly."
David rubbed one shoulder.
"The roots hit first. They tangled against the cavern walls and broke part of the fall. We landed on top of the Maneater and the root mass."
June raised one hand.
"I still strongly recommend against trying it."
Lucian ignored him.
"How far did you fall?"
David shook his head.
"Don't know."
"Far," June said.
Castiel looked at him.
"Helpful."
"You're welcome."
David continued.
"We were unconscious for a while. When we woke up, we were inside a huge cavern."
"Any way back up?" Nyra asked.
"Not where we landed."
June shook his head.
"The ceiling was way above us. Most of the collapse had sealed itself behind the Maneater."
Mira looked at June.
"So you moved."
"Didn't have much choice."
David nodded.
"We started looking for another way out."
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
"What was down there?"
David glanced toward June.
Then back.
"Mostly open cavern."
He gestured broadly.
"Stone. Underground growth. A lot of empty space."
June nodded.
"And ruins."
Castiel looked at him.
"Ruins?"
"Old ones."
David continued before the word could become more important than it needed to be.
"Collapsed buildings. Broken pillars. Walls. Most of it was barely standing."
Lucian frowned.
"Underground?"
"Yeah."
"Any idea who built them?"
David shook his head.
"No."
That much was technically true.
Not completely.
But enough.
"We couldn't read anything that was left. Most of the structures were destroyed."
June looked toward the trees.
"It was mostly a giant dark space full of broken stone."
Nyra studied David.
"Anything living down there?"
David hesitated.
"Not that we saw."
June looked at him.
David continued.
"There was mist."
Castiel's expression changed.
"What kind?"
"Purple."
June rubbed his forehead.
"And extremely unpleasant."
David nodded.
"It caused hallucinations. Disorientation. We lost track of time for a while."
Nyra's concern returned.
"Did it hurt you?"
"We're okay."
June added, "Now."
Castiel's eyes narrowed.
David caught it.
"It passed."
June looked toward him.
"Eventually."
David gave him a look.
June raised both hands.
"What? It did."
Lucian looked back toward the direction they'd come from.
"Could you find the ruins again?"
David shook his head immediately.
"No."
June agreed.
"Not a chance."
David gestured toward the jungle.
"We walked underground for a long time. The route twisted constantly. We found a passage that climbed, followed it, and eventually came out on that rocky slope."
"We don't even know how far we traveled," June added.
Lucian considered that.
"So the cavern could be beneath us now."
"Or five miles behind us," David said.
"Or sideways," June added.
Everyone looked at him.
June shrugged.
"Underground directions got confusing."
Castiel looked at David.
"Anything worth going back for?"
David thought of the enormous doors.
The monument.
The twelve.
Hem'el.
The black-haired figure turning inside the purple mist.
Two red eyes.
Veyra Bloodryn.
I AM.
Then he looked at his best friend.
"No."
June immediately nodded.
"Absolutely not."
Castiel accepted it.
No suspicion.
No interrogation.
David said there was nothing worth returning for.
That was enough.
June looked at him briefly.
Only the two of them understood the weight behind the answer.
Then Castiel seemed to remember something.
"Wait."
He reached toward his pack.
June watched him.
"What?"
Castiel opened a secured compartment.
His hand disappeared inside.
When it emerged—
Purple light reflected across his fingers.
David stared.
June's eyes widened.
"No way."
Castiel held up the core.
Purple.
Dense.
Faceted.
An Epic core.
June stepped closer.
"Where did you get that?"
"After the collapse."
Castiel turned it in his hand.
"It was near the edge of the crater. Must've torn loose when the Maneater fell."
David smiled.
June stared at the core.
Then looked at David.
David understood.
He reached into his own pack.
Two more purple cores came out.
Nyra's eyes widened.
"You kept them?"
June looked offended.
"We worked very hard for those."
David held them beside Castiel's.
Three purple Epic cores.
For a moment, all six stared.
Lucian smiled.
"Three."
David nodded.
"Three."
June folded his arms.
"Three Epic cores, an underground cavern, ruined buildings, murderous purple fog, and I fell through the ground."
He considered it.
"I'm calling this mission successful."
David looked at him.
"You left out the part where we almost died."
"That's included under falling through the ground."
Castiel shook his head.
"There he is."
June pointed at him.
"See? You missed me."
"Already reconsidering."
June smiled.
Gamma secured the three cores.
Then Lucian pulled out their navigation display.
The mood changed.
Not completely.
But enough.
They were together again.
Now they had to remember why they were here.
Lucian studied the route.
"We've drifted north."
David stepped closer.
"How far?"
"Not much."
Lucian rotated the display.
"Our original route is southeast from here."
Nyra looked toward the jungle.
"How long to get back on it?"
"Couple hours if the terrain stays manageable."
June looked around at the enormous roots, hanging vines, and vegetation thick enough to hide creatures twice his size.
"So four hours."
Lucian smiled.
"Probably."
Castiel adjusted his pack.
David noticed him glance over.
Again.
Checking.
David smiled faintly.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Castiel looked away.
"Didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to."
June stepped between them.
"This is touching, but could we have the reunion somewhere without insects trying to eat me?"
Mira walked past him.
"They don't like you either."
June stared after her.
David smiled.
June pointed.
"She's getting funnier."
Mira didn't turn around.
"I've had a bad influence."
Lucian started southeast.
Nyra followed.
Mira moved beside June.
Castiel waited.
David looked at him.
Cass nodded toward the others.
"After you, D."
David smiled.
They started walking.
The jungle closed around Gamma once more.
But this time, the silence felt different.
Castiel stayed near David.
Mira remained beside June.
Nyra looked back more than once, as though reassuring herself that both of them were still there.
Lucian led them toward their original route.
Six sets of footsteps moved through the jungle.
Six members.
Together.
For the first time since the earth had opened beneath the Verdant Maneater—
Gamma was whole again.