As with most days, the weather was beautiful in Honolulu. Until the mid-day sun became immediately obscured. All eyes on the Hawaiian Islands drifted up to see the source of the obstruction to find a massive, black object with a distinctive, otherworldly feel hovering above.

  The Obsidian Dreadnought had arrived. And located within the chamber containing the Nexus Shard, Lord Xerath was the first of the trio to get back to his feet. The teleportation from the Spire into Earth had thrown everyone for a loop, and even now, both Tom and Rachel were regaining their bearings.

  Xerath touched a hand to his gauntlet and brought up a holographic display right before his eyes. The interface was in an alien language, but he understood it without issue. He waved the screen away, then turned to his enemies.

  “You’ve accelerated my timetable,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on destroying your world quite so soon, but perhaps there is no time like the present.”

  Tom stood, raising up his sword. He rushed toward Xerath and thrust the blade forward. But he made contact with empty air—Xerath vanished in a flash of light.

  “—nyone read?”

  A familiar voice crackled in Tom’s helmet. “Cal?” he asked.

  “Oh, thank Christ,” said Caleb. “We’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour.”

  “So we’re back on Earth,” said Rachel.

  “More than that,” came Orion’s voice. “We’ve picked up a massive incursion over Hawaii. Don’t suppose that’s you?”

  “I’m guessing yeah, but the big bad just teleported away,” said Tom. “Think you can locate him?”

  “We’ll work on it,” said Caleb. “You all together?”

  “Just me and Blue right now,” said Tom.

  “Purple and Yellow here, too,” Alexa’s voice broke into their conversation. “Green’s run off after his girlfriend.”

  “Whatever crap you’re all dealing with, you have to stow it for now,” said Caleb. “Regroup, and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

  Ethan felt disoriented after the teleport. As soon as he could stand straight, he continued in the direction Sylva had gone. He still wasn’t sure what he would do with her, but he felt that he could reach her if only given the opportunity.

  He found her through the adjoining room, which led to an empty hold that featured large, bay windows looking out. Ethan was surprised to see the sudden rush of sunlight, and then he noticed Sylva’s silhouetted form standing in front of the windows.

  “You can’t keep running,” he said.

  “Neither can you, Ethan Jackson,” said Sylva, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, she just stared out at the sight below.

  Ethan moved closer, though still kept some distance. He could see they were hovering over pristine waters with islands below. And then, his communications kicked in, and he could hear the others talking. He disabled his comms, at least for the moment.

  “We’re back on my world,” he said. “This is where it all ends, Sylva.”

  “On that, we are agreed,” she said. “Lord Xerath is about to cleanse your world of the Quantum Group’s influence.”

  “And how’s he going to do that?” asked Ethan.

  “By enticing your planet to do it for him,” said Sylva. “I believe the term is a ‘supervolcano.’”

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  “You can’t be serious,” said Ethan. “You’re all here now, too. You think you’ll be spared something like that? All those refugees you’ve gathered on this ship?”

  Sylva’s eyes drifted. Her resolve appeared faltering.

  “You’re now becoming just as bad as the people who destroyed your world,” said Ethan.

  “That is for me to bear,” said Sylva.

  “Ethan!”

  He didn’t turn as he heard Olivia’s voice. He knew Alexa would be there, too. But he kept his gaze on Sylva.

  “You can stay and fight me, Knights, or you can try to save your pitiful excuse for a world,” said Sylva.

  “What’s she talking about?” asked Alexa.

  Ethan finally turned to the others. As he did, they were joined by Tom and Rachel. Once Rachel saw Sylva, she summoned her Thunderbow and prepared to launch an electric arrow, but Ethan held up his hand. Rachel hesitated, but chose to give the benefit of the doubt.

  “I’ll leave you to deal with Lord Xerath. Until the next time we meet, Ethan Jackson—should we survive.” Sylva’s form seemed to separate into afterimages and she soon vanished from sight completely.

  “What the hell was that?” asked Alexa.

  “She said something about Xerath and a supervolcano,” said Ethan.

  “We just had the unfortunate experience of meeting him. What’s this about a supervolcano?” asked Tom.

  “I don’t know, I think he’s going to trigger one somehow,” said Ethan.

  “Shit…” Tom turned his attention to his comms. “Control, did you hear that?”

  “Yeah, we’re up to speed, and it looks like we’ve located the bastard,” said Caleb. “He just appeared over Mauna Loa.”

  “Could he do that?” asked Olivia. “How would he turn it into a supervolcano? Is it even possible?”

  “I’d rather not find out,” said Tom. “Summon the Titans, it’s time to end this.”

  Lord Xerath hovered over Mauna Loa’s caldera, staring in satisfaction at the steam rising from the rocky formation. He stretched his arms toward the volcano, auras forming around his hands and the runes on his skin glowing. As the auras grew in size, beams of energy stretched from his hands into the caldera.

  Bright, orange light started to illuminate the inner walls of the volcano. Lord Xerath smiled as he could sense the pressure beneath the volcano accelerate and build.

  A loud, mechanical screech echoed through the air, and drew Xerath’s attention. He saw a red shape in the distance, cutting through the clouds. It was an aircraft of some sort, styled in the shape of a giant, red bird.

  The Phoenix Titan opened her mouth, unleashing a beam of crimson energy that slammed right into Xerath and knocked him from the sky.

  Xerath broke his fall by throwing his arms out to the sides, and his powers of flight hefted him back in the air. He spun around and glared at the Phoenix, beams of energy firing from his eyes. The Phoenix swerved to avoid the beams, and Xerath flew after her.

  But she wasn’t alone. A sudden onslaught of wind buffeted Xerath, forming an invisible barrier for him to fight against. And then, his body was struck by bolts of lightning. Xerath was thrown down to the base of the volcano, crashing into the rocks below.

  Just as Xerath began to stand, the ground shook violently. He struggled to stand, and then from the water emerged a large, crablike machine. Another rumble hit the ground, and Xerath soon saw the Karkinos Titan joined by both the Unicorn and Raiju. In the air, the Phoenix had been joined by the Wyvern.

  “We’ll give you one chance to surrender now, or else this will get ugly,” came a voice over speakers from the Phoenix.

  Xerath smiled and charged right for the Unicorn. He grabbed one of the Titan’s mechanical legs, and with strength far exceeding his appearance, caused the Titan to topple. He coiled his legs, and sprung into the air, driving his fist into the Raiju’s head, and knocking him over. Xerath sprung off the Raiju’s fallen form and flew toward the Karkinos next.

  But the Wyvern swooped in, one of his talons reaching out and snatching Xerath from the sky. Xerath struggled against the beast’s grip and then heard the pilot’s voice over the speaker.

  “You like volcanos so much, huh? How about you get up close and personal with one?”

  The Wyvern flew over the caldera, where the magma had begun bubbling up. At his pilot’s command, the Wyvern threw Lord Xerath into the caldera, and the lava inside.

  Xerath fell into the molten rock, but he wasn’t afraid. He concentrated, the runes on his skin glowing even brighter. The magma gathered around him, solidifying over his body. He drew strength from the volcano’s power, merging it with his own. His own body began to reforge itself with this newfound power.

  A massive hand reached out and gripped the edge of the caldera. Lord Xerath pulled himself out of the lava, his figure growing larger as excess magma dripped from his newly formed body. He stood at the caldera’s opening, then jumped to the land below.

  Xerath’s feet struck the ground, and a tremor shook the land. He was no longer a small, yet powerful man facing off against giant robots. Now, he had both the combination of size and strength to engage the Titans on their own terrain, towering even over them. The runes forged on his new, rocky skin, burning like the magma that had energized him. And his eyes had the same glow as the volcano.

  “You thought your mechanical monsters gave you the edge,” said Xerath, his voice like the sound of thunder. “Consider that advantage officially eliminated. First, I’ll destroy you five, then finish what I started. Humanity’s last days have now arrived!”