"Also, we might have trouble," Kabbah said, nervously glancing around. "We are not alone here."
"Ugh, great. What now?" I sighed, following his stilled gaze. About fifty yards to our left, standing atop a stony ridge, were four Hermessi figures. It didn't take a specialist to identify them as Strava's elementals—Aya included among them.
The Reapers swiftly moved into a defensive position, while we clustered together, ready to teleport out of there at a moment's notice.
"How'd they find us?" Taeral asked.
"As we are so close to the ritual's completion, communication among the Hermessi, even across the galaxies, has been significantly improved," the Fire Hermessi replied. "We can talk to one another now, almost in real time."
"Brendel has put out a warning for you," the Air Hermessi added. My skin crawled just from hearing her name. "We were all advised to stay close to our planets' pink waters."
"So here we are," the Earth Hermessi said. "Staying close to our pink waters. Just like she asked."
Instinctively, I moved closer to Varga and Taeral, ready to link hands if needed. Yet something told me to wait it out. Something felt… off.
"Are you here to fight us, then, Aya?" Taeral asked the Water Hermessi.
She'd been an ally before. Could she have given in to Brendel's demands, along with the others? Would she really sell us out to that flaming chunk of evil? My mind operated at fast speeds, but I couldn't be sure of the answer. The Hermessi didn't have faces of their own. I couldn't analyze their expressions or their heartbeats to figure out whether they were being deceptive or not.
Aya stepped forward, her blue flames flickering vivaciously. "Your federation saved our children from Brendel. Whatever allegiance we owed her, it disappeared the moment you took our heirs from her grasp."
"We are here to protect you," the Fire Hermessi said. "It is known that Brendel will personally check every planet with GASP affiliations first. She will scour them until she finds you, and Strava is no exception. But she doesn't know where you're going, so it might be a while before she gets here."
"Told ya," Phantom chimed in, wearing a most satisfied grin.
"There is not much we can do against her. She has killed many of our brethren during your fight on the Fire Star. Some of those planets will die out, for their vanquished Hermessi did not have children of their own to take over. But those who can save the worlds that remain… they are in your care, and I hope GASP will help them get back home to do their parts, when this is all over," Aya added.
"Cerix was doomed to die in about three days," Eira gasped. "Time is already running out for those planets!" She looked at Taeral with a pleading frown. "We didn't even consider that after the Fire Star. You need to do something!"
"You're running out of time, as well. I suspect this will all be over, one way or another, in the next twenty-four hours," the Air Hermessi replied. "Whether you win or not, the Hermessi children who need to replace their makers will still answer the call. They will find their own way back home if your people are not around to help them."
"The only way our people will not be around to help them is if they all die," Taeral said. "In which case, I assume the ritual will be completed and the Hermessi will have all the power they need to get the children wherever they need to be. So, technically speaking, and like Soul already said, we have bigger fish to fry. Am I getting that right?"
Aya nodded. "Yes. We are only here to inform you of our support. Whatever happens, the planets will find a way to survive, in the grand scheme of things. I suppose what really matters now is that you survive, as well."
"Thank you, Aya," Taeral replied. "We need all the help we can get."
"Your friends from GASP will be thrilled to see you," she said. "For what it's worth, we never wanted the ritual to happen. I'm afraid Brendel's influence and dangerous schemes put us all in very difficult positions."
"Even so, and despite all the lies and deceit, you pointed us in the right direction before it was too late," Lumi interjected. "It matters more than you might think, and for that, we will be forever grateful."
Taeral looked at us. "We should get to the GASP base," he said. "We need to sit down and think things through."
"You go. We'll stand by the pink water," the Air Hermessi replied. "Should you need our assistance, I'm sure Eira here will be able to summon us."
Eira frowned. "So, Kabbah is not the only Hermessi I can talk to. I can reach out to any of you, whether you’re known to me or not?"
"You're a Hermessi child, and our powers have grown substantially with the ritual's advancement, as you know. So, yes," the Air Hermessi said. "You must only think of us, specifically."
"I don't have your names," she murmured.
"You will know them when it's time to call us," Aya replied. "Now, go. Whatever you need to do, get it done fast and leave. Brendel is unhinged."
We didn't need to be told twice. Linking hands, we were teleported across dozens of islands and straight into the Stravian GASP base. Our sudden apparition in Amal and Amane's lab startled them. Vials dropped and crashed against the diamond floor tiles—a distant reminder of the structures that had once been dominant on this planet under Ta'Zan's tutelage. Ridan damn near burst into full dragon mode before he realized it was us.
"Whoa there, Flamey!" Raphael blurted, putting his hands out in a defensive gesture. "This room ain't big enough for you to go all out on us, buddy!"
Ridan breathed a sigh of relief, clearly thankful that he didn't need to rip out of his GASP leather suit to fight unexpected intruders of the hostile kind.
"Also, dude! What kind of reaction was that?!" Varga said, struggling not to laugh. "It's just us!"
"Well, just you and four Reapers. Oh, and a friggin' Hermessi riding for free in Fallon's body," Ridan responded with a serious face, then burst into laughter and darted across the room to catch Herakles in a bear hug. "Ah, I missed you!"
"Buy me dinner first," Herakles replied.
Ridan moved to hug Raphael, who politely pushed him away. "You're not my type, sorry."
"Jeez, you're still a grade-A jerk," Ridan grumbled.
Amal and Amane came forward, both of them silently staring at the Reapers. They'd only seen the one who represented the Reapers from the Stravian sanctuary, and none of them were First Tenners like our eerie friends. I could honestly understand their fascination with these creatures. Had it not been for our urgent Hermessi situation, I was sure we would've spent most of our days gawking at Reapers who revealed themselves to us like this.
"It's a pleasant surprise," Amane eventually said. "Welcome, all."
Seeley nodded. "Thank you for keeping a dragon around. I don't often come across one in my line of business," he replied, giving Ridan a broad smile. "You fellas are hard to kill, I'll give you that."
"But not impossible," Soul added, his galaxy eyes narrowed, as if he were contemplating the challenge.
"I swear, if you weren't dead already, I would kill you just for the fun of it," Herakles replied, crossing his arms, making Ridan chuckle.
