Three, towering metal figures knelt with backs to the cliffs behind them and the roaring sea below. They faced the fields rolling to a sprawling city.

Two small units of soldiers waited beneath the metal giants. Their leaders stood on an elevated rocky place next to them. One of the leaders paced while the other watched the city below, wrapped with a green and gray cloud of smog. Farmland, a mining opperation, and a forest created a natural wall between them and the city.

"They aren't getting here faster if you keep pacing," teased the leader with rose gold, long hair curled back into a warrior's braids. She grinned through her beard, which was groomed and sported two braids down the sides of her mouth. The glitter in her hair sparkled in the sunlight.

The leader with pink and purple locks and sides shaven, continued to pace, clenching their necklace in a fist. Their embroidered robes flowed, revealing glimpses of their skin-tight battle suit beneath. "Balthazar should be here by now."

"Malichior, hey," Gaspar said. Malichior didn't stop. When they came close, Gaspar put a firm hand on their shoulder. "Hey. It's getting late. I don't think we should stay any longer."

"You think I don't KNOW that?" Malichior snapped, flinching away. "We can't just -"

"Hey, hey, Mal," Gaspar came closer and wrapped her muscled arms around the lithe person and hugged them close into her barrel chest. Malichior relaxed and leaned against her, enjoying the warmth and grounded feel of her body.

"We'll wait a little longer. I just mean we should send out a few flying scouts on the outskirts so we aren't caught by surprise."

There were two quick vibrations from the pendant on both of their necks and they let go of each other to lift their glowing necklaces. The peach pits were glowing, waiting for a response. They both sent out a single charge of magic in the charms and scanned the line of trees.

Dots on the rolling hills raced towards the trio of colossi.

"Balthazar!" Malichior gasped, but Gaspar held them fast.

"We don't know." Gaspar raised their arm and summoned a bident with obsidian blades before raising it to shoot a spark of brilliant rainbow into the sky.

A matching spark from a leading dot below responded.

"Why aren't they on their brooms?" asked Malichior as they whipped out thier wand of lapis lazuli.

"I don't know." Then to the soldiers. "Witches! Ready!"

The soldiers in makeshift armor summoned thier bows, wands, shields, swords, and halbards.

Five dots streaked in the sky, lowering as they approached the fields. "Airstrike! Raise shields," Gaspar ordered and she raised both her arms to start the spell. The militia raised hands and wands to begin weaving a massive dome of protective magic. The incoming Balthazar did the same as the planes screamed overhead.

The planes left a trail of red clouds behind, which rained down as scarlet ashes and smoke. The shields started to deteriorate like burning paper.

"Layer the shields, hurry!" Malichior ordered.

"We have to push the ash away!" Gaspar added.

The Colossi gave a long, pained wail as red tears ran from their eyes. The duo grimaced and cried out in pain as blood poured from their eyes. Malichior grabbed Gaspar's hand and said, "We can take it." Gaspar nodded.

Malchior stepped forward and called out, "Wands, forward!"

Those carrying wands stepped up, still holding the shields in place.

"We have to push the ash away!"

They led the chant to summon a huge, dark cloud. It built up and roared with heavy rain that poured into the field. The ash was washed out of the air and the magic-sapping nulled with the flooding waters. When the incoming group approached, the hills and Colossi were clear of the scarlet ash.

Balthazar's group of refugees limped up to the other two, which met them with an embrace. Gaspar leapt down, nearly landing on top of Balthazar, to knock zir down onto the sopping wet ground in a hug. Malichior levitated down to join them in an embrace. The three witches sobbed and squeezed tightly in relief and fear.

The three groups merged and the leaders took them to their respective Colossi. A trio of rainbows graced the sky. The Colossi stood and shot off into the atmosphere. Once far enough, they shot into hyperspace.

The colossi landed on the second moon in the earth sky. It blinked out of existance shortly after.

Witches continue to live among the stars, some settling on planets. More Colossi were born - some able to house a city, others built for a family. The symbiotic relationship between witch and Colossus allowed both beings to flourish. The two creatures evolved indepenently of the humans and witches still bound to earth.