"Deflectors!" I roar, the command tearing through the water.
On cue, the Spider-Crabs scuttle across the hull, their cold, metallic bodies clustering around the glowing exhaust port, masking the thermal signature.
A sleek sentinel turret swivels on a distant ridge, its beam of red scanning light sweeping the open water. It washes over our formation, and for a terrifying second, I hold my breath. The light registers a mass of falling debris, a clump of cold trash rising on a natural thermal current.
It dismisses the threat.
We continue.
The ambient pressure drops, my ears popping in the sudden change.
I glance at Vaelis. He grips a rusted strut of the porch, his knuckles white, but his golden eyes are fixed on the glittering lights above. Fear and exhilaration war across his beautiful features.
"We plan to crash the mourning party," he says, a wild grin claiming his face.
"We are the party," I correct, my voice a low growl of absolute certainty.
His grin doesn't fade. Instead, it softens, curving into something more intimate, a secret meant only for me. He looks back, letting the wild energy of our ascent hum between us.
Without breaking eye contact, he releases his grip on the rusty strut and pushes off, letting the momentum carry him directly into me. He fits himself against the solid wall of my chest,his arms wrapping around my neck, his cheek pressing against my chest. I catch him instantly, my arms an unbreakable band around his waist, pulling him in even tighter until there is no space left between us.
I scan the army surrounding our flanks.
Ugly. Broken. Magnificent.
We pass the glittering residential spires, the water filled with the nervous light of a thousand frightened homes. Behind the distortion-proof glass, I see them: tanned faces, wide with disbelief, their finery and carefully coiffed hair a stark contrast to their raw fear. The pampered citizens of the Reef watch a mountain of living garbage rise from the abyss they cast their own refuse into. They see Spider-Crabs, a scavenger mer, and a fearsome shark, all welded to a rusted shell, a monster born of their neglect.
Let them watch. Let them stare into the reeking, glorious truth of their world rising up to meet them.
This is the shadow they have created, and it has come to collect its due. The Plaza foundation clears the murk.
The low thrum of the Tidal Bore vibrates through the water. A sickening, mechanical pulse aching in my jagged teeth. It charges for the strike.
"Target acquired!" Bolt yells, his light blinding. "The main stage sits dead ahead! Ramming speed!"
"Do it!" I roar.
The shell accelerates.
The protective army peels away at the final second, flaring outward like a blooming flower of deadly shrapnel.
We become a missile. A heavy projectile of rust and righteous rage.
Grabbing Vaelis around the waist, I drag him into the safety of the interior doorway.
"Hold tight!" I roar over the screaming engine.
We strike the perimeter wall.
CRASH.
Solid stone shatters. White dust explodes into the water.
The House of Drift retains its momentum. It plows through the heavy marble railing. It tears through delicate, decorative coral gardens. It slides with unstoppable force, bright sparks flying as it grinds across the polished floor of the High Plaza.
We halt with an earth-shaking thud in the center of the open amphitheater.
Silence falls.
