As the Orca glanced about, their nerves shot with uncertainty and the urge to protect their pod, the creatures made themselves known. Their shadows were all the evidence the singers could see of them, until they simply materialized as if out of empty water.

Five of them in all. Bodies like singers, but with an extra pair of fins near the base of the flukes, equally as long as the front pair. The flukes themselves were barbed at the ends, like vicious spears. The heads weren't at all dolphin or whale...they resembled something like shark heads, with teeth more jagged in strange ways, and they seemed to communicate by grinding them to produce different sounds. The beasts were as large as the Orcas, but looked like a much stronger version. The eyes shifted different shades of purple and blue, and the bodies were pale green. Red stripes extended from their eyes all to the tall, bladed dorsal fins, making them look as if they've been cut.

They were hideous creatures, and they herded the mighty Orcas and dolphin in a circle like they were mere fish.

"Oh no, no..." Biransa and Seidrac uttered together. Scaroth clacked his jaws loudly, angered beyond belief at the creatures that had murdered his entire pod, and they gnashed back in a horrid mix of sounds.

Darcteis looked at all of them as they circled. "Maybe I can eat one of these..."

Ronon stuttered. "Uh...Scaroth? Just how many of these things were there when your pod was destroyed?"

Scaroth's eyes were dangerously bloodshot as he glanced back at Ronon. "There was only one that I could see...only one."

"That's impossible! These things must be fought against somehow!" Ecco exclaimed as he charged at the nearest one. The creature didn't even flinch as he hit it.

Ecco backed up from the recoil, wondering if his snout was broken...the creature's skin was that hard. All the reaction he received from the beast was a menacing grin.

"Ugh..." he groaned. "There's no way..."

Cariu growled as she witnessed the creatures, their malevolent actions betraying their intentions...as they circled, as if herding Ecco and the others, they moved closer in anticipation. The matriarch took a slow, deep breath at the surface, and suddenly a very low, long rumble of song erupted from her, which became much louder with distance and echoed from the floating icebergs.

Ronon glanced back. "Mother? What are you calling?"

Suddenly, more dark figures appeared from the shadows, this time in the form of Orca...many of them, of different ages, all of them strong and answering to the call of the matriarch. They were the pods that were governed under the various leaders. There was a growl and a gnashing of teeth from the strange green beasts as they themselves were now surrounded.

"Brilliant!" Seidrac exclaimed with a hint of glee.

The faces of the others were stern, though. "Diricha Cariu, there are five of those beasts...if our pods fought, they will all be destroyed," Scaroth said in a dark tone, though all knew he was trying to plead with the matriarch.

Cariu squinted her eyes. "There are still more of us. And with the great Ecco aiding, they will have a great force to reckon with. All of you, except for Seidrac and Biransa, will fight. Seidrac, you must tend to Biransa, she can't fight in her condition. Ecco, will you fight with us?"

"I will..." the dolphin confirmed.

Suddenly, the five creatures charged at the pod leaders, each one to their own. In response, the other Orca, counting up to more than thirty, joined in. Ecco backfinned, ready to choose a target, but his sight was already obscured with red.

The waves exploded with an impossible fury...over thirty Orcas making a giant pod, against only five of these beasts...and already they were starting to lose ground.

As the dolphin tried to get his bearings, suddenly all events seemed to freeze. His stars glowed brightly, and a familiar voice came to him. Ecco! My friend singer, can you hear me?

His eyes widened. "Asterite?"

Ah, there you are. Yes, it is I. I've no time to explain now, you must follow my instructions quickly. I will give you a powerful song, and you must use it as soon as I have taught it to you.

"Yes, immediately! But...what will..."

Do not question me, Ecco! Suddenly, as the Asterite's strange voice died down, it was replaced by a simple sequence of notes, powerful enough to embed itself within Ecco's skull. When his eyes opened to the red ocean, out erupted a song more powerful than that sung by the great whales.

It immediately silenced everything and froze the battle. Orcas stopped fighting, and ceased dying for the moment. The strange creatures even seemed entranced by the song.

Finally, the last beautiful, ethereal notes seemed to die down, and the ocean was left silent for many moments, neither side wishing to charge first.

Then, the creatures started moving in again.

"Asterite!" Ecco called in the air as they surrounded some of the fallen warriors. "Asterite! What was this song supposed to do?"

Biransa suddenly turned to Ecco. "What was that name you spoke?"

Before Ecco could answer, suddenly there was a screech that rang the inner ears of the singers. One of the green beasts had been stung straight in the back. As the red cleared from the sea, the spear sticking through its back retracted, leaving the animal to float away in the waves.

The spear was a neat, long spiral tusk, belonging to a large spotted cetacean, a narwhal. Behind him, a large pod of his kind. Beside, another large pod belonging to the beluga.

At the sight of their dead comrade, the other beasts stopped their attacks and fled, leaving the ocean a battered, battle-scarred wasteland. Many Orca lay dead, others were injured. Thankfully, some were still left conscious.

"What was...?" Ecco glanced up at the Orca pods and the pods of other singers that accompanied them. As the great hunters gathered their own, Cariu swam forward, glancing back and forth at the podmasters of the beluga and narwhals.

"Well, greetings, fellow singers. What brings you here to the aid of Orca-kind?"

The narwhal podmaster, a strong brute, raised his head so his tusk looked like a lance held in salute. "We came answering a call from the great Ecco himself. The north seas have become broiled with unrest lately. We come upon his behalf...NOT those of the Orca," he retorted with a snort.

"Bro-aht, let me speak," the beluga podmaster answered. His skin was as white as any of the glaciers, so in fact that was his name. He bowed his melon. "I am Glacier, and we come on behalf of all singers. To answer a call from the great Ecco is truly an honor."

Ecco swam forward, bowing his own head, the stars glaring brightly. "And I thank you for your help as well. You were tremendously brave to come at my call." Or the Asterite's call... Ecco thought. I remember that as the song he used to summon my brother singers at the battle of Lunar Bay...I'm glad it worked so far here...

When the pods left, and the Orcas were gathered in a safe place, they all counted their dead.

Only four leaders remained now...for Darcteis had succombed to his wounds, his pod leaderless. Cariu led the mourners in song, and Ecco sighed quietly. Ronon and Scaroth were injured...the two females were healthy enough to keep the males at the surface for their breaths.

Cariu smiled. "It is fortunate that many of us still survived. If it were not for the great Ecco, we surely would have perished." She turned to the dolphin and bowed. "I hope you can forgive us for doubting you."

Ecco nodded. "I can...but that song...it wasn't..."

"It was the Asterite, wasn't it?" Biransa cut in.

The other Orca stared at her and at Ecco with curiosity and questioning. Ecco nodded. "Yes...how did you know that?"

The female chuckled. "He sang to me in my sleep. He's only a legend to us...but he's real if the great Ecco sings his songs."

The vision then came back to Ecco once again, and this time it was heard by all the Orca as well. Well done, Ecco. All of you...