The Crocodile God

Conclusion.

And the gods give as good as they get.

Mayari starts first, running headlong into the crowd of ICE officers with only two swords and a club at her back.

She is the goddess of revolution, Mirasol remembers, huddling by Haik, and she used to be a sun before she lost her eye.

Mayari rages like the sun, too, clearly holding to the idea that the best defense is a good offense: Long blades snaking around her in fits and bursts, ICE cannot use their guns without hitting each other or the civilians--and more gods would surely pitch in once civilian blood is spilled.

"Oy, mates, she's only got one eye left!" Haik heckles them, though his crocodile-arm wraps around Mirasol's shoulders. "You lot sure hate it when adults fight back, do you?"

"God, shut up!" One of them breaks ranks to deal with Haik's insolence. "You only got back here because your pals came around!"

He aims his gun for Haik's forehead, but then Banog pounces, kicking it into the water.

"Did you guys just forget about me?" he wonders. "Or did you think we'd quit fighting once our cousin came back?"

"You're Haik's cousin?" Hadassah asks. "But you didn't even know him before!"

"Girl, he's Lumawig's cousin and that means he's our cousin!" Banog laughs. "We got too many to keep them all straight! This happens all the time at our family meetups!" He tackles a second officer. "'Hey Banog, you remember my son? He used to babysit you!' 'Nah, Auntie, I was five. What's your name, Kuya?'"

A fresh squad of ICE officers comes up from below deck, heading straight for Haik--they must have gotten word about him. But Apolaki, covered in gold, throws Itak and Banog an eskrima stick each. Now they can hold the line instead of constantly pushing against ICE.

"But how did you go years without--" Hadassah punches a newly-arrived officer. "Without even seeing each other?"

"We're undocumented, and our parents told everyone not to talk about us too much," Itak explains, "and he's also undocumented, so his parents must have done that, too."

"The same magnets pushing each other away, man," Banog says.

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah, but it all sorts itself out in the end," Banog chuckles. "Almost got deported, but we found one of our cousins!"

It's so strange to have help fighting back, Mirasol thinks, for if it was just the kids and Hadassah, they would have been long on the way to deportation by now.

Gunshots. A few gods have to dodge, though they let the bullets graze them instead of avoiding it completely--and it is very telling that the bullets all conveniently hit walls and rails and windows, instead of the people clustered up against them.

"Stop fighting! Now!" One of the officers moves towards one of the undocumented immigrants (the boy who saw Turtle Island), ripping him away from his despairing father.

"Lovely," Haik drawls into Mirasol's ear, though his grip tightens on her as the boy's parents plead through the tense air. "They're afraid of troublemaking young folks, they needed ten people to throw one mouthy guy overboard, and now they're using a kid as a human shield."

"Bro, can you at least take an adult hostage right now?!" Lumawig demands. "Because you are not helping your case with--"

"Stop," the North Wind grabs him and shakes his head. "Stop, Totoy, you have to stop--"

"Everyone!" ICE commands. "Drop your weapons."

The clacks and clangs of orders being followed.

"Ina," the whale-goddess whispers, leaning over the edge of the rail. She stretches one hand out to the dragon-headed ship, as the devilfish and sharks froth and snap below her. "We need help."