Dark Gate Angels Complete Series Omnibus

by Ramy Vance

  The air was hot, brimming with energy and life. Small creatures drifted through the tentacles of the elder ones like plankton. Past the clouds, the sky was pale pink, strokes of blue looking as if they'd been painted on.

  The group floated directly below the unbelievably massive bodies of the elder ones.

  Anabelle humbly watched their swaying tentacles. "What now?"

  Rasputina flew past everyone else, heading straight toward the mass of tentacles. When she got closer, she let out a scream as one of the smaller tentacles touched her, shocking and flinging her back.

  Grok caught her. "Doesn't look like we're flying straight through them."

  Terra nodded. "Yeah, but I'll give you props for trying. Any ideas, Abs?"

  Abby pulled out her scanner and took readings on the elder ones. "They're made out of the Dark Melody, and there’s something in them—a network of some kind. It's hard to make out, but they're all connected to each other. Kinda like a Portuguese man-of-war."

  Everyone exchanged confused looks. "What do these things have in common with someone from Portugal?" Anabelle asked.

  Abby shook her head. "It's just a weird name. They're a kind of jellyfish that all hook up to each other to create a massive nervous system. That's kind of what it looks like the elder ones have done."

  Suddenly, Abby snapped her fingers. "Wait, remember what the Light One said about the Path of Pain being the only way to access the valves? Maybe that's how we get through. Those tentacles are filled with energy that would probably fry any of us if we get too close. But maybe Terra, Sarah, or Anabelle can."

  The two humans exchanged wary glances. "She did say that," Terra finally agreed.

  Sarah clenched her body, opening the nine gates until flames ripped from her body and fire poured from her eyes.

  Terra did the same, her body taking on the same hue and aura as Sarah's. She looked at the other woman. "Ready?"

  Sarah nodded, and the two of them rocketed toward the tangled mass.

  Lightning cracked from the elder ones’ tentacles and snapped at the two humans, who made no effort to dodge. They both screamed as they pushed past the initial burst of lightning and flew straight through the tentacles into the soft underbelly of one of the elder ones.

  As Terra and Sarah got closer to the elder one, something unexpected happened. The elder god rolled in the sky and pulled its tentacles up, exposing its underbelly to Terra and Sarah.

  There was a clear path now. The rest of the DGA raced to them before the elder one changed its mind.

  Abby got there before anyone else. "Can you touch it?" she asked, warily watching the tentacles that floated around her.

  Terra reached out to touch the elder one. As her fingers got closer, the elder one's skin rolled back, creating an opening large enough for her to walk through. "Oh, that's weird. Uh, are we going in?"

  Abby looked at her scanner. "That's where the network is, and we couldn't have gotten here without the Path of Pain. This might be our best chance to find the valves."

  Terra nodded and floated toward the hole. "All right. Into the giant, ancient jellyfish gods I go."

  She slipped into the opening. The skin remained open as she disappeared into the darkness.

  After a few seconds, her head poked through, covered in Dark Melody goo. "You guys have to check this out. It's fucking wild." She vanished again.

  Rasputina smiled as she stared at the hole. "Of all the things I've seen, I never would have thought this possible. Walking into the body of a living god..."

  Terra's head popped out again. "Okay, are you guys coming or not?"

  No one answered, but they all floated toward the open hole.

  Anabelle passed through, and everything went dark for a moment. A few seconds later, thousands of lights appeared, each shining brightly. The lights multiplied from thousands to millions, then billions within seconds.

  The sky was full of neon lights in the shapes of tentacles, waving as if caught in the slow ebb and flow of an ocean tide. As the tentacles touched the surface, electricity ran through them, brightening the entire world. Each flash came with another small bead of light.

  Terra floated past Abby, watching the electrical flashes above. "What do you think that is?"

  Abby scrunched her forehead. "Looks like a nervous system, which means that's probably information being relayed through electrical systems."

  She reached out and allowed thousands of nanobots to float to the thin red and purple tentacles above.

  The nanobots joined the lights, flashing along with the bright bursts of multicolored energy. Then they drifted back down into Abby's palm, glowing the color of the clouds above.

  Abby closed her eyes as her body hummed slightly. "They're so much more than neurons. It's their thoughts, their whole essence. This is where the valves are."

  Grok spun, obviously annoyed at not being able to track what Abby was saying. "What are you talking about? Where are they at?"

  Abby held her arms up, her eyes glowing with the light from above. "All of these are the valves. Each of them is a connection point to other universes and dimensions and timelines, an infinite number of entry points from the multiverse."

  Anabelle furrowed her brow as she scanned the floating lights. "And we're only supposed to find ours and open it up? How did the Dark One manage to pull this off?"

  Abby shrugged. "We don't know, but we better figure it out."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Abby marveled at the infinite number of valves before her. She wasn't sure where to look or even how to start, but she was excited. The brief connection she'd shared with the elder ones had shown her a snippet of their thoughts, their existence. It was still difficult to understand, but she knew it was the key to figuring this all out.

  Terra floated forward a little, spinning in the gravity-free place. "So, are we just going to kick each one of these or something?"

  Anabelle shook her head, deep in thought. "If these are part of the elder ones, it would be stupid as hell to go around kicking shit. Who knows what they could do? If I had to guess, probably not anything good. I say we split up and investigate whatever is directly in front of us. Maybe if we figure out how to interact with them, we can figure out how to turn ours on when we find it."

  The women split up and drifted over to a node near them.

  Abby reached out to a node, and its shining light condensed into a hand-sized orb. Her skin warmed as she got close to the orb. Suddenly, she was filled with an intense fear of what would happen if she touched it. She wished she could have done some experiments ahead of time and gotten a better idea of what to expect, but it wasn't a possibility right now. The only way to find anything out was direct experience.

  With that in mind, Abby touched the orb. It was smooth and cold despite the warmth coming from its surface. She wrapped her hand around it; it wasn't connected to anything. She could have walked away with it.

  Feelings flashed through Abby. It was like having a camera flash go off multiple times in front of her eyes. She felt like her brain had been blinded, and she searched for words to call to the rest of her group, but nothing came to her.

  Abby saw all of the orbs around her connecting to a grid she hadn't seen before. There was something in the middle of them, a nexus of sorts. That was what it felt like, at least. Abby didn't have the words to describe what she was seeing.

  It was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

  When Abby's awareness returned, she spun to watch what everyone else was doing.

  Terra had picked up two of the orbs and was weighing them in her hands. Anabelle was poking another one tentatively. Rasputina and Grok floated next to an orb as the lich held her dagger wand at it, muttering under her breath.

  Abby floated over to Terra. "Did you see anything?"

  Terra rolled the orbs in her hand and shrugged. "Nope. Didn't see anything strange. Well, stranger than this."

  Abby turned to Anabelle. "How about you?"

&nb
sp; Anabelle shook her head as she continued to poke the orb. "Were we supposed to?"

  "We saw something like a vision when we touched the orb. Confusing but kind of direct. If these are the elder ones’ thoughts, we think we might have interacted with them directly. These lead someplace. We have to follow them. That's probably the proper valve, or at least a control point."

  Anabelle called Sarah, Rasputina, and Grok over. She quickly explained what Abby had told her. "So, we're following Abby and hoping things don't get any weirder." Then she turned to Abby. "Lead the way."

  Abby touched another orb and closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself for the onslaught of information. The same vision flashed in front of her. Since she was prepared this time, she memorized the grid and direction it showed her. Before the vision faded, she saw something else. It was a quick, condensed history of the universe she was holding in her hand.

  Abby backed away from the orb and looked at her hand in shock. "Whoa. These are more than thoughts. These are entire universes. Complete."

  Rasputina picked up the orb Abby had let go of it. "Beautiful. I've always wondered what the purpose of the elder ones was. And the Dark Melody. Who would have thought all of reality was held in them? Floating in the Netherverse, full of all our lives."

  Terra scrunched her forehead. "Wait, are you saying our universe is in here? Like, it's floating inside a bunch of giant jellyfish?"

  Abby smiled as she looked around. "That's exactly what we said."

  Terra shook her head as she sighed. "How can we be in here and out there is actually in here? That doesn't make any sense."

  Terra was right, Abby thought. That was what made this all the more beautiful.

  "You know, we would never have thought we'd experience anything like this," Abby said. “Never. Not in our entire lives. This is beyond anything I have ever dreamed of."

  She pointed in the direction the vision had shown her. "This way. All we have to do is keep going this way. I’ll keep checking and see if we're on the right path."

  Abby floated ahead almost lazily, brushing her hand against an orb here and there to make sure she was still going the right way. That was only part of the reason, though. Every time she touched an orb, she caught a glimpse of another universe or dimension. Some of them were drastically different from her own.

  It would have been easy to spend an entire lifetime here, Abby thought. Peeking into every universe that would and could ever exist. It would never get old.

  Even though no one else was able to see what Abby did, it didn't diminish the wonder in their eyes.

  Reality was in flux in the bosom of the elder ones, much like the Netherverse had been, the difference being that there wasn't any violence or chaos. As reality shifted around them, it was hardly noticeable. It was difficult to put your finger on since the changes were so microscopic, but they could be felt.

  Abby could feel something creeping into her, almost like a voice, a whisper. On a basic level, she understood it was the Dark Melody, the fabric of the elder ones, making itself known. She didn’t know how much the elder ones were aware of.

  Persephone had told her the Dark Melody that existed within her was self-aware. It had desires and needs which were much different than those of a mortal. For a while, it had caused Persephone a large amount of discomfort. Abby assumed this place was similar.

  She wasn't sure if the Dark Melody was what the elder ones were made of or if it was the elder ones. Either way, whatever the DGA was floating through was aware of what was happening.

  The DGA continued to follow Abby as she floated along the grid imprinted in her mind.

  Terra wasn't far behind Abby. She was floating on her back, leisurely backstroking through the ethereal plane. "You know, this is much more relaxing than I thought it was going to be. Usually, there's the whole hanging sense of dread thing, you know?"

  Anabelle floated closer to her. "It's a pleasant change. I feel like we deserved a break, even if it's only going to last until something else tries to kill us."

  Terra casually picked up one of the universe orbs and tossed it at Anabelle. "So, Grimnir or the Dark One or whatever the fuck that thing was is finally gone. What are you going to do with all of this new freedom we're going to have?"

  Anabelle’s jaw tightened. "Bury Roy."

  Terra's smile disappeared as she rolled around and righted herself. "Fuck, Belle, I didn't—"

  Anabelle shook her head as she stared grimly ahead. "It's not your fault. You don't have to apologize, and now isn't the time to think about all of that. We'll do it when we get home."

  Silence descended over the group as they made their way through the infinite universes surrounding them. Finally, Anabelle spoke, her voice tight, as if she were trying to keep something in. "You know, I didn't think it could ever happen. I've known him for decades. Seen him pull through everything. I guess I didn't really believe he could die."

  Abby nodded, uncertain of what to say. Maybe it was better to let Anabelle talk. There probably wasn't anything to be said.

  Anabelle wistfully brushed one of the universe orbs. "You know he was worried about me being embarrassed about us dating? He used to talk about it all the time. Worried that I'd be embarrassed to date a human. Funny, right?"

  Terra shrugged as she floated ahead of Anabelle. "I don't know, you did seem like you had a pretty big problem with humans when we first met. I kinda thought it was an elf thing."

  Anabelle shook her head, her eyes sad and her lips tight with grief. "No, I was stupid, that's all. Roy and you two did a lot to change that." She clenched her jaws as she blinked back tears. "Sorry," she muttered. "We should pay attention to the mission. The Nine Realms are still depending on us."

  Abby wished she could think of something to say. She knew Anabelle would have had a comforting word for her if anything had happened to Persephone, but there was nothing she could think of that would ease her friend’s pain. Not now, not here.

  Terra, who was staring ahead at the path Abby was leading them all down, cleared her throat. "You know he loved you a lot, and he went out like a hero. There's no way he didn't."

  A few tears made their way out of Anabelle's eyes as she bit her lip and nodded quickly. "Yeah, I know. He probably took a lot of assholes with him."

  The orbs were beginning to appear with more frequency, and they bunched together as if they were being generated too rapidly to expand further.

  Abby touched another of the orbs and saw the grid in front of her. Their destination was getting closer. "Wherever we're heading toward, we're almost there."

  Rasputina drifted closer to Abby. "Do you feel that?"

  Abby looked at Rasputina quizzically. "What do you mean?"

  "The heart of it all. You were right when you said this was like a man-of-war jellyfish. There's a central point. Not a heart. Not a brain. Something else entirely. I can feel it. I know you can too."

  Abby let herself listen to her nanobots, which were linked with the elder ones through the sigils she'd carved.

  The nanobots were singing. Abby hadn't noticed it since she was used to ignoring the nanobot consciousness in her, but now she could hear it. They were singing a choral arrangement unlike anything she had ever heard. "That's the center, isn't it?" she asked.

  "Whatever we're heading is bigger than a valve to let souls in and out, just like this place. There's no telling what we're going to come across."

  Abby looked at the lich. "You sound excited."

  Rasputina smiled shyly. "It has been a long time since I've seen anything new, and you Dark Gate Angels keep surprising me." She hung her head and avoided Abby's eyes. "Thank you for believing in us and for giving us another chance."

  Abby stared ahead. A bright light was floating in the distance. "Who would have thought this was how things would end up?"

  Terra floated over to her and Rasputina. "You two having a heart to heart?"

  Rasputina looked away quickly.

  Terra lightly punche
d the lich in the arm. "Cut that shit out. You guys are honorary Dark Gate Angels, the both of you. What do you think, Anabelle?"

  Anabelle glanced at the lich and the orc. "They're here trying to save the Nine Realms with us, so I'd say full-on members. As long as you don't try to kill us again."

  Grok laughed. It sounded like she was choking. "Easily, if not for the simple fact that we might not live past the next few hours."

  Terra sighed as she stopped to admire the gleaming light ahead. "You know, you could have said, ‘Sure, no problem. We won't do evil shit anymore.’"

  Grok came to a halt beside Terra and rested her hand on her shoulder. "We'd be honored."

  Anabelle walked between Terra and Grok. "Cut out the cute shit." She turned to Abby. "What now?"

  Abby reached toward the light. "Now we see if we can make contact."

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  LA was burning. The sky was dark with smoke, and an eerie red cloud hung over the skyline.

  Most of downtown had been cleared of civilians, who’d escaped to Myrddin’s floating buildings.

  The few souls who were not able to escape were thought to be doomed. Since Roy had passed, there was not an immediate chain of command to follow. It probably would have fallen to Blackwell, but he was gone as well.

  Persephone watched zombies ambling out from behind a gated structure. She'd been picked up with Naota and the civilians they'd rescued and taken to another DZ. Across from the table she sat at were recordings of soldiers stranded in the field, hunkered down during their search for civilians who were left behind.

  There were still people out there, and these pitiful soldiers were too afraid to go get them.

  Persephone shook her head. She wasn't any different, though. There were people suffering outside the walls, and she was holed up in safety.

  Naota sat at the table with her. He was slouched over it, his head resting on his arms. He hadn't said anything since Blackwell died.

  Persephone wondered where Abby and the rest of the DGA were. Roy had sounded so certain that they were going to be able to fix what was going on, but the longer the day wore on, the less likely that seemed. There hadn't been any word from Myrddin, and communication from the other realms was sparse at best. The orc homeworld had gone silent.