Astarte, Gilgamesh, and Zoe appeared in Egypt in the shadow of the pyramids. Astarte looked around, disappointed. "Well, I tried to teleport us straight into the underground cavern of the Chaos Gods. Apparently, they don’t approve of guests appearing directly into their lair. We’ll have to take the long way. Follow me." They headed in the direction of the secret entrance.

Laughter chilled the air. Nemesis. "Oh, now. Don’t run off. I just got here. You wouldn’t want people to say you were rude—an unpardonable sin. Another you must pay for." Her voice was cold like death. "I don’t know why you’re here. Frankly I don’t care. By splitting up, you just make it easier for me to destroy you all. Then, after all his protectors are gone, Anubis will feel my justice. And the world will know my pain."

"I don’t care what Mia says. I think you’re just plain insane. Astarte! You know the way! Go! We’ll keep her busy." Astarte didn’t want to leave them, but she knew Zoe was right and took off running across the hot desert sands.

"And what do you think you can do against me, girl? I remember you from the city—you have no power."

"Really? Then this must be your imagination!" Zoe drew on the power of the armor, feeling it form around her. Now that Zane was unconscious, Zoe had full access to the armor. It felt natural…as if she’d been born to wear it instead of her brother. She had nothing to hold her back. She threw an ice-storm spear at Nemesis with one hand. With the other, she jabbed a spear into the ground. Nemesis exhaled, her green fire melting the thrown spear. Zoe was counting on that. Nemesis didn’t notice that the spear Zoe had stuck into the sand was freezing the ground in a straight line towards her. The ice shot up around Nemesis, encasing her in a thick block.

Nemesis was already starting to melt the ice from within, but it would take her a few minutes. Gilgamesh shook his head. "It will take more than that to stop her."

"Well, duh. But stopping her isn’t the main objective right now. We just need to keep her occupied long enough for Astarte to finish up. You know, you are really too intense. You need to lighten up."

"I’m sorry. I have other things on my mind."

"Like fixing things with Trace…and Astarte?" Gilgamesh scowled at her. She only smiled back. "Look. You’re not alone here. Zane and I are going to have to work this out, too. Anubis isn’t doing so hot either. But we’ll be okay. All of us."

"I wish I shared your optimism." Gilgamesh pulled out his two battle-axes, ready for his attack. Nemesis was almost through. He needed to catch her in that moment right after she’d freed herself, the moment when she would be disoriented.

"Now, Sentinels. Feel my…"

"SONIC SHOUT! HHHHEEEAAAAAA!"

Nemesis’s muscles were still sluggish from being completely frozen. She couldn’t move fast enough to dodge his blast. She flew backwards through the air until she hit one of the pyramids, making a dent in its side.

Meanwhile, Astarte had found the entrance and been admitted. This time the Chaos Gods took her straight to their chamber instead of making her search for it. Perhaps they sensed her urgency. Kuk and Kauket waited there, two broiling masses of darkness and chaos. Astarte bowed respectfully. "Great Lord and Lady of Chaos. I have come once again to…"

Kauket interrupted her with an exasperated air. "Yes, yes. I’m sure you’d love to tell us all about it, but we already know why you’re here." A long shadowy tendril snapped out from the mass that was Kauket. It grabbed the orb from Astarte’s hand. "An Armor of Chaos. It won’t be the true fifth Sentinel armor, but it will make…an interesting substitute."

Kuk spoke, his voice like a whisper. "Move back. We are going to infuse it with our chaos energy." The two of them began to mingle their energy forms, swirling around the orb. Kuk and Kauket were slowly being pulled into the orb.

Astarte was horrified. "What’s wrong? You’re losing cohesion!"

Kauket answered, suddenly gentle. "Yes, child. This is the only way to infuse the orb with the right amount of power—by giving it our entire essence. Anything less would be insufficient to create such a special and powerful armor."

"But…why would you do this to help mortals? I thought you cared nothing for them. You said we were insignificant."

Kauket’s soft laugh was like a shadow falling on the desert. "You have misunderstood us. Your audience with us before was to test your commitment to the humans and your acceptance of your own place among them. We have always had a soft spot for mortals. They are so fleeting, but it is their ephemeral qualities that make them special. They understand change in a deeply personal way that ageless creatures such as we will never know."

"But you will die!"

"We are energy, child. Energy cannot be destroyed—only transformed. We will still exist…and we will not. If that is death, we accept it. We have come to realize at least one truth the humans know. All things must change sooner or later. All things ‘die’ eventually—even gods. Remember that." A dark beam shot up from the orb, blasting a hole through the ceiling. It seemed to scatter as it touched the sky, whipping clouds into frenzied whirlwinds. The bright blue afternoon turned to purple and black, seething like a great storm.

Nemesis huddled against a pyramid, unable to see her enemies in the strange darkness. The wind slammed against her as thunder pounded all around her. She could barely stand in the tornado-like gales. She couldn’t fight both the Sentinels and nature. In a cloud of smoke, she transported herself back to the Palace of Voids.

Zoe and Gilgamesh were blasted by dark sandstorms, stung from all sides. Zoe made an ice igloo to protect them, but she had to continuously reinforce it against the wind and rain and sand.

Time had seemed to stand still. Then suddenly, the sky was blue again as if nothing had happened. Astarte found herself kneeling in the desert sand, the orb pulsing with power in her hand. She got to her feet, unsteady at first, then ran back to join the others. By the time she got there, Nemesis was gone. Zoe was sitting against a tree, drained.

"What happened? Is she well?"

"She will be fine. She just needs to rest. She maintained cover for us during that strange storm and had to keep renewing her efforts. The strain wore her out. Were you successful?"

"Yes. Let’s get back to the others before something else happens."

Gilgamesh and Astarte helped Zoe up, supporting her as they teleported back to Mia’s house.