"Hello darkness, my old friend..." an impossibly deep voice crooned from the infinite dark of the forest behind us. Instantly, a hush fell over the battlefield, heads turning and murmured voices wondering with fear if what they heard was yet another trick. The Proditorus froze in their tracks, searching for where the sound had come from. Idonio's face was unreadable, but he himself was peering intently at the darkness of the densely wooded thicket.

"Tobes?" Jim asked, voice cracking halfway through the question. "Please tell me that was your stomach."
"No can do, Jimbo," he whisper-shouted, eyes trained on the spot the noise had come from. For a minute, nothing moved. I felt my core pulsing beneath my skin--the closest my Akiridion body could get to an accelerated heartbeat--and instinctively tightened my grip on my serrator.

Then, just as I began to think the voice was nothing but my own imagination, it spoke again. "I've come to talk with you again..." it sang. The voice was deep, commanding and powerful like an echo down a dark well. The sound reverberated around the clearing, and I could not tell if it was from the volume, or my own anxiety as I could hear the power within it. Then, as if on a stage, a single part of the clearing lit up to reveal a lone Ventil.

I didn't need an introduction to know I was looking upon the Alpha of Lunalis' den, even without Douxie and Archie's spellbound gasps. Blue magic was woven between the strands of his fur, making them look as if he were purely from magic; which, I suppose, wasn't too far from the truth.

His fur itself, thick and jet black, was illuminated in a blue light from his skin underneath that made him glow from where he was standing in front of us. His face was shaped like a wolf's; a long snout, lips peeled back in an almost-snarl as he sang to reveal glistening, white canines. His eyes, despite being nearly solid blue (minus the pupil) held a surprisingly intelligent, almost human spark to them.

"Because a vision softly creeping," he continued, gigantic wings that were previously hidden unfurling from his back as he stepped out of his crouch to walk forward out of the treeline. These, too, held the same magical glow the rest of him did, stretching out an incredible twelve feet on each side as he walked. "Left its seeds while I was sleeping..."

His feet, the agile paws of a wolf, looked too nimble and frail to support such a brawny and muscular creature. And yet he carried on, swaggering forward with a big, bushy tail behind him to balance his barrel-like chest pushed out with pride. "And the vision...that was planted in my brain," he lilted, tipping his head up to make direct eye contact with Idonio in his ship. "Still remains..." Reaching one arm back, he turned back to face the forest, as if expecting someone to join him. "Within the sound...of silence."

"In restless dreams I walked alone..." another Ventil walked out to join him, and I jolted when I recognized the shock of periwinkle hair and one pale eye. "Narrow streets of cobblestone~" Raven's voice was incredibly deep for a small child, vocal range far beyond that of an average human. She slid her own dainty hand into the larger's, their opposing porcelain skin and dark fur clashing against one another. Behind her, I noticed a great shifting and churning in the shadows of the woods, and a chorus of voices, quietly but surely, beginning to harmonize with the pair.

"'Neath the halo of the streetlamps," she called, their voices intertwining and creating a mellifluous and haunting harmony as the backing vocals grew stronger and more confident. "I turn my collar to the cold and damp~" The Arcadians all around us were in shock, gaping as they watched the two's separate melodies merging with more and more voices, each hitting their own separate notes and yet never seeming off or wrong.

"When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light," Raven sang, leveling her gaze at Idonio like the Alpha had, pointing a single finger towards him. "That split the night.........and touched the sound...of silence~" As she continued to sing, the shadows that had been watching and waiting in the dark emerged from the treeline, and I couldn't help my gasp in amazement as I saw them all. "Ventils," I could only whisper in disbelief.

Large Ventils, small Ventils. Young, old, adolescents, teenagers. Ones who slithered along the grass on their underbellies, or prowled forward on all fours, or skittered across the open clearing on insect-like limbs, or walked upright as humans did, or even floated ethereally above the group as to not disturb their earthbound brothers and sisters. The entire town had fallen silent watching them grow in numbers, pouring out of the woods like water from a broken dam.

"And in the naked light I saw," the Alpha continued, picking up the duet where Raven had left off. "In the light I saw," the Ventils echoed, taking up positions all around the Alpha, sometimes pushing past Arcadians to get closer. "Ten thousand people, maybe more..."
"Maybe more~~~"

It was hypnotic, watching them move into perfectly spaced positions, as if they all operated under the same hive mind. They intermixed amongst the humans, never reacting or responding to any of the gasps of surprise as they accidentally made direct contact with the Arcadians, nor the occasional fearful scream as some of the more gruesome ones gathered around.

"People talking without speaking~" The Alpha continued, voice reaching higher pitches, the rest of his pack racing to meet his melody without fail. "People hearing without listening, people writing SONGS~~~" The booming chord at the end seemed to shake the ground, sending all of us sprawling to our knees. "That voices never share~" I gasped in alarm, kneeling to look up at the sheer amounts of magic that radiated from the Ventils, washing over us all in thick waves so potent I could almost taste it.

"And no one dared..." the Alpha belted, wings fanning out as he stretched his limbs out wide, as if trying to take up as much physical space as possible. "Disturb the so–ound...of silence~"
"Of silence," the chorus echoed the sentiment, and I watched as Raven turned to the Alpha, placing her own small hands down in one of his own.

"'Fools' said I, 'You do not know'..." she began the next verse, and to my surprise, lit up like a spotlight in a beautiful shade of ebony black, as if all of the magic within her was rising to the surface. The Alpha glowed in return, a stunning cobalt blue, and perhaps it was a trick of my mind, but his own glow seemed to intensify the longer the two stayed connected.

"Silence like a cancer grows~~~" Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the Ventils reached out to one another, grasping hands or putting appendages on shoulders or hips, connecting in a web that spanned hundreds of yards across the clearing as they sang and also began to glow in their own respective colors. "Oh, it grows~"

"Hear my words that I might teach you!" Raven belted out the words, glowing brighter and brighter as the song swelled, the crescendo causing the Ventils within the web to glow brighter as well, all manner of colors flowing through their connected limbs and back to the Alpha like a feedback loop. "Take my arms and I might reach you!"

"But my words—"
"Words, words~"
"Like silent raindrops fell~" Raven lilted, each Ventil now glowing with every color imaginable in the world, a combination of each of their respective magic now flowing throughout their circulatory system; I could see it, glowing and pulsing under their skin as if it were blood. "And echoed in the wells...of silence."

Then, the earth Alpha gracefully dropped down to one knee. "And the people bowed and prayed~" As he sang, the magic collected underneath his skin grew brighter, pushing closer to the surface until it began to lift off of him in a stream of bright light. "To the neon god they made~" One by one, in a ripple effect like before, each Ventil's magic grew into a trail as they knelt that merged upwards into the Alpha's original stream, lighting up the clearing with a thousand colors in a thousand shades.

"And the sign flashed out its warning..." The song was hauntingly beautiful, a thousand voices and melodies merging into one cohesive harmony more beautiful than a host of angels. "...in the words that it was forming~~~" As the crescendo grew and swelled, so did the brightness of their color, almost blinding to look at now.

"A Ventil war song," Archie gasped in wonder. "The rarest phenomenon known to magic-kind; often sung to honor fallen comrades, or pray to their gods for victory in battle."
"It's beautiful," I breathed as I saw streams of magic merging into a rainbow of colors, each lifting up to the skies in an aurora so beautiful nature couldn't possibly dare to compete with it.

"And the sign said 'The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls...in tenement halls'~" The magic floated up and towards Idonio's army, wreathing the enemy in a rainbow of colors, dissipating as soon as it made contact with them. As the swell died down and the magic in the air evaporated into the breeze, the brightness of the Ventils had dimmed significantly, fading back to a level that I could bear looking at them for periods of time.

"And whispered in the sound....of silence~"

Each and every soul was still, not daring to even breathe as the Ventils paused, frozen in their places as if waiting for further instructions. "Lunalis did it," I said disbelievingly, voice barely above a whisper as my heart began to soar. "She did it...she did it!" However, I had no time to share the obvious good news before yet another incredible phenomenon overtook my senses.

A great ROAR from above split the sky open, actual cracks forming in the darkening sky. The fissures hissed, slowly growing as the atmosphere opened up to reveal a blinding vacuum of stars, perceivable even as the fractures showed blinding white skies; the Air Ventils' den, I had no time to assume. Then, my eyes fell to a single figure that dropped from the openings, gossamer butterfly wings spread to better catch her fall and the ethereal light from above, lighting up the sky in a dazzling array of colors once more.

Zephyr, I dared to think, before she was joined by another falling body, this one with skeletal wings that glowed like burning embers. And then another, and another, and another, until the sky was pouring Ventils from the breaks like the greatest flood on earth. The sky rumbled and boomed with thunder and lightning, and I could imagine the same wild and chaotic force inside Zephyr's eyes, leading the charge.

A very familiar voice singing a sharp and dissonant chord came from behind me, and my neck nearly snapped, whipping around to catch the source of it. Aquarius, in all of her glory, had emerged from the lake, sopping wet with water but absolutely glowing with power. She too led an army, with Scales standing dutifully by her side. Water Ventils came from the lake in droves, their bodies changing to adapt to land; fish tails splitting into two, jellyfish and octopus walking on their tentacles, and the ones who were unable to leave the water being carried out on the backs of the stronger ones.

And, just as I thought the clearing was fit to bursting with Ventils, even more of the Earthen variety melted out of the trees, emerging from the shadows to join their comrades. There were Ventils from the tropics such as Tigers and Monkey; arctic Ventils like Polar Bears with thick, shaggy coats and sly Foxes; reptilian Ventils and Tarantulas from dry desert climates; ones from the sahara, the rainforest, and even marshlands, all culminating in a cesspool of moving bodies that writhed with magic and nervous energy.

We all watched, immersed and boneless, as the Ventils intermixed, species from all different places recalling the peaceful times of their ancestors, when they too lived altogether. It was like seeing a family reunion, as there were joyous cries at seeing long-lost loves and relatives, and inquisitive noises at meeting new faces and family. Then, the sweet moment was shattered by Idonio's laughter.

"You utter fools," he cackled, eyes widened with delight. "You seek an allyship with these wild creatures, and yet you have neglected to see one quintessential detail...the Ventils are under my command! ATTACK!!!"

Not a single soul moved, from the enemy, Arcadians, or Ventils. Idonio lagged for a moment, stunned into shock momentarily by the lack of reaction. "Are you stupid?!" he barked, shouting at the crowd of magical beings below him. "I gave you a command!!! Now do as you're ordered to!!!!"

The Earthen Alpha stepped forward, eyes narrowed, and snarled, in a startling human tongue, "Be silent, worm."
"....What. Did you just call me..?" Idonio asked after a moment of stunned silence, voice terrifyingly quiet and soft for a man trembling with barely-contained rage.

"He said to be silent," an unfamiliar Ventil hissed, her skin dotted with hundreds of eyes across her body and yellow stripes of fur circling her wrists, ankles and accentuating the curves of her rotund body. Wings of a hummingbird kept her hovering slightly above the Earth Alpha as they buzzed, her nose elongated into a thin trumpet and her words carried a slight buzzing noise as well. She too, had magic intertwined with every fiber of her being and when she spoke, the Ventils that had emerged from the sky all snapped to attention, eagerly hanging off of every word she spoke. She was the Air Alpha, then.

"Our queens have called us to battle against an enemy of magic," a third Ventil spoke, his body filled with magic in the same fashion of the other two Alphas; a portly older gentleman with bright flaming colors and the likeliness of a sea slug, though with razor sharp teeth and the dorsal fins of a shark. "An invader from beyond the stars whose soul was blacker than night and his only goal to destroy and murder."

"My business with this planet is no concern of yours," Idonio hissed, clearly losing his temper quicker with every back-talking word from the Ventils. "Now, do as you're told, stupid mutts!"
"I do believe it is our business, seeing as we live on this planet, and we'd like to continue doing so," Cephas' familiar voice called from somewhere in the back.

The three sisters—Ela, Zephyr and Aquarius—all emerged from the crowd at that, their elemental Alphas and mates taking supportive positions on either side of them. "You have poisoned our lands, killed our people, and wish to destroy our ways of life." They all spoke in complete unison, three pairs of eyes turned to Idonio and refusing to back down. "You will bring no more harm to this world."

"Have you forgotten your places?!" Idonio screamed like a petulant child throwing a fit, banging his fists on the railing of his spaceship; it would have been quite hilarious under different circumstances, seeing this grown man throw a temper tantrum like a toddler. Then, he turned his crazed stare at the Earth Alpha, pointing and yelling at him. "We made a deal, you half-breed savage!!! You gave me your army, and in exchange, I would spare the miserable little lives of you people! Now, it's time for me to collect on my end of the bargain!!! ATTACK!!!"

"I am no longer bound by your commands," Ramos growled slowly. "I am now Renascitur; one of the Reborn. I do not serve you, traitorous snake. You want nothing but to poison our world for yourself!"
"I OWN you!!!" Idonio shrieked hysterically. "You are but a pawn in this game, savage beast!!! Ventils!!! You WILL!!!! OBEY!!!! ME!!!"
"We do not heel for man nor beast who dares to tame us," Raven snarled. "We yield loyalty to none...except for our goddess."

At those words, the sea of Ventils throughout the clearing and forest churned and shifted, voices joining in a terrifying chord as they parted to reveal the largest creature I had ever seen, emerging from the heavy layers of mist shrouding her before. She towered over even the tallest of Ventils, a massive giant whose head stood well above the trees, nearly the size of a skyscraper. She seemed to be built out of all kinds of animals, just like her subjects; multiple pairs of ears--wolf, feline, bear--grew from her head, along with various horns as well, such as a ram's curly ones or the sleek, slicked-back ones of a dragon.

Multiple pairs of wings sprouted from all over her body; feathery bird wings attached to the small of her back, some strange hybrid of bat and dragon spread wide from her shoulder blades, multiple pairs of insect-like ones sprouting from her back like spines. Her feet were some grotesque mixture of all kinds of animal limbs—spindly like an insect's with the build of a wolf's, and yet as flexible as an octopus tentacle—with too many toes and sharp claws protruding from each one, including a small one on the back of her ankle.

She had two-toned hair the colors of the sun and night sky, woven around her horns and ears together and twisted around to frame her face, which was as beautiful as it was horrific. Her lips were thin and purple, like a fresh bruise, and were peeled back to reveal several rows of teeth--too many teeth, sharper than knives--hidden behind them. Her skin was so pale it was almost blue and smattered with patches of scales and fur and feathers, as if she had been frozen and had just thawed out.

Her eyes were nothing more but gaping sockets, which held a depth of stars and galaxies that seemed to swallow me whole. From the empty holes, black tears flowed, staining her face with ebony tracks that showed prominently on her marble face. Idonio's face was horrified, whether in terror from her appearance or the thought that such a beast commanded his former army I could not say.

The Ventils around the field were seizing wildly, vibrating with an unknown frequency that made the ground shake, so low that I couldn't hear it. Even the Proditorus, the Ventils that had lost their connection to magic, bowed in respect and attempted to join the chorus with voices that were more animal noises than notes. As she moved, everything around her seemed to be drawn to her presence, like she was a cosmic vacuum that altered the physics of the earth; even the most rigid trees bowed deeply in the presence her majesty, bedrock rippled like water wherever she stepped, and even the sky itself stretched itself thin in order to allow the clouds to grace the top of her horns.

But, as Eclipse slowly shrank down to a somewhat normal size for a person, and the Ventils slowly stopped shaking and the earth returned to normal, I began to notice some very familiar features of Lunalis. The high and regal cheekbones. Her hair, the same length, still glistening with magic. Her sockets were the exact same size and shape as Lunalis' eyes, had she had them, and her body was exactly the same. Though it wasn't like the strange, Lunalis-Insanity hybrid we had seen the night she escaped; each of her features made perfect sense with the rest of her, pieces merging in a way that looked like they had belonged there all along. As if she had been sculpted to the goddess' likeliness by Eclipse herself.

"Pah," Idonio laughed, attempting to regain a small bit of the control he had lost. "You think a pathetic child will be able to stop me?! Ready the cannon!!!"
No! I tried to scream over the weapon powering up, but it was useless as the cries of terror from everyone in Arcadia and the Ventil packs overpowered me.

The weapon began to glow red with energy, whirring the way it had destroyed so many buildings already. With a high-pitch squeal, the red beam of destruction went flying right at Lunalis. Idonio cackled as the light hit her dead-on, enveloping her form entirely. I thought that she would be disintegrated; easily combusted, just like everything else before her. But, instead of the light gradually fading away, it seemed to be absorbed, sucked into something as it drained away.

When it had finally gone, Lunalis was still standing there, entirely unscathed. Everyone gaped at her, and Idonio's four eyes looked like they were about to pop right out of his head with shock. Turning her head to the weapon, Lunalis raised a single hand, palm up. Inside of her claw, the bright burn of the projectile had shrunken down to fit perfectly inside it. Then, without further ado, she faced the gigantic laser gun, brought her hand up to her face, puckered her lips, and blew.

Instantly, that same red beam of light came zipping out of her hand at twice the speed it had come to her, blasting the weapon right in the barrel. The poor Akiridion soldier barely had time to dive out of the gunner's seat by the time it made contact, sending pieces of metal, Akiridion tech and various Proditorus flying. Lunalis returned to her neutral position, and the Ventils looked more vicious than ever. Now, with the weapon gone, there was nothing that could stop them from tearing their enemies into pieces.

"Oh," Idonio squeaked.

The Earth Alpha stood up again. "Ventils!" he shouted, voice echoing around the clearing. "Our day to reclaim the surface has come! Eclipse has returned to lead us, and she shall guide our packs to victory! Let nothing stop us now! FOR ECLIPSE!!!" The huge crowd of Ventils repeated the war cry, and Idonio paled as he saw that the overwhelming numbers of new, fresh enemies facing him were not, nor ever would be, on his side.

We now outnumbered him one thousand to one, and he knew it.

The Alpha turned to Lunalis, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. Instantly, the magic inside him welled up like a tsunami, blinding blue so bright it hurt to look at. He pointed his snout at the nearly-full moon and howled loud enough to make my ears ring. Lunalis, in turn, released a roar that held the sounds of a thousand Ventils in a thousand different lifetimes within it that shook the very earth, washing over us all and instilling a new sense of justice and thirst for the battlefield. 

With varying kinds of wild cries in response, the Ventils charged into battle.