[Verse 1]
The warp gate is in 280
280 belongs to the darkness now
The plan has not changed — the approach has
They would not warp to 279
They would take 280 first
And then 279 would be next
Solara called the formation
One by one — each crew stepped into line
[Formation roll call]
Solara’s crew — first
The point of the crescent
Castor at the tip — Herc on the left
Cygnus looked at the boots once
Then looked forward
The Ones — second
Fable already narrating the march
Pebble speaking to the ground ahead — the ground answering
Drift two steps behind himself — catching up
Chaos crew — third
Chaos in front — Havoc, Ruin, Mayhem, Disorder, Historia
Historia writing the march in real time
Disorder: “Agreed”
Asala — fourth. Silent. Present. That was enough.
Void crew — fifth
The shadows moved with them
Nobody counted how many shadows
Everyone decided not to
Madela crew — sixth
She had cleaned the camp before leaving — every surface
The last thing she cleaned was the door
She did not look back
[Pre-Chorus]
Crescent into 280 — hold the gate, do not stop
Push through to 279 — do not let them close the door behind you
[Chorus]
279 — we march
Through 280 first
279 — the formation holds
The crescent opens
No going back from the gate
No waiting for the word
We were given three days — we move in one
279
[Verse 2]
The warp gate was two hours out — they walked
Lorn looked at Fold 7
The Fold 7 version of this march was also marching
He said nothing — he walked
Thresh counted steps — parameters: arrive — he kept to them
Mira walked
She warned no one of anything
For once she was exactly in the present moment
She noticed this — she did not warn anyone about it
Rangor’s beasts flanked the column
They did not need to be told
They knew what this was
[Bridge]
One hour out — Cassie: “Tighten”
The column tightened
The gate was visible — barely holding
Void spoke — first time since the messenger
“There are things beyond that gate
That have not been named
Because what named them did not survive”
Silence
Herc: “Then we will name them”
Void looked at him
“After we win”
Void almost smiled — almost
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Ten minutes — five
The gate was right there
Solara stopped — turned once to face the full column
She did not give a speech
Chaos had given a speech — it had been a good speech
This was not that
She looked at all of them
Every pairing from Boots and Camps
Every soup and every stomp and every fold
Historia’s three notebooks — Cygnus in the boots
She turned back to the gate
[Final Chorus]
279 — we march
Through 280 first
279 — the crescent holds
The darkness knows our names now
The Gatekey is the prize
The alignment is beginning
We were given three days — we chose one
279
[Outro]
The gate hummed
Something on the other side already knew they were there
Pebble told the gate they were coming — in a whisper
The gate heard her
Cygnus stepped forward — boots on the threshold
Solara: “Here we go”
Castor: “Here we go”
Herc: “Here we go”
The column moved
Into 280 — into the dark — into the alignment
Here we go