Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: Eye of the Storm

The air in the room took on a deadly vibration. I stared at Davin in his pod. His eyes were still closed. The armored suit seemed to slowly hum with new power. Red lines appeared along the dark armor, connecting and pulsing, like a heartbeat.

I stood at the ready, keeping my mind sharp and calm. I didn’t want to fight him. I came to save him. Omega seemed like she was holding all the cards, but I was technically stronger than Davin. I should be able to incapacitate him and get him out of here. How I was going to do that, I had no idea.

Davin’s eyes slowly opened, his gaze directly at me.

“Jaskur sent me to find you and bring you back home,” I said honestly.

There was no recognition in his eyes. He simply lifted his head and the rest of his body followed. One armored boot stepped out onto the floor, followed by the other. Davin stood to his full height. We were roughly the same size, but I think he may have had an inch on me. His hair was long, and pulled back into a ponytail. He had a gaze that looked like no one was home.

Davin turned and walked over to Omega, his suit whirling and clunking along like it weighed several tons. When he was before her, he knelt down to one knee and bowed his head.

“Mistress, I await your commands,” Davin said like a knight from ancient times.

Omega looked down with crimson eyes. “Davin, I have here another mana storm like yourself. His name is Quinn Barron, and he wants to take you away from me.”

Davin lifted his head and turned his hard gaze to me.

“I will never allow such a thing to happen,” he said with defiant eyes.

“Davin, she’s manipulating you,” I stated plainly.

He didn’t respond.

Omega began to speak. “Davin, I require you to subdue Quinn. I will need him and you for my experiments.”

Davin stood up, turned, and faced me. There was about forty feet of space between us, yet, it didn’t feel far enough. The look of menace in his eyes was enough to melt steel.

Omega turned and stood, side by side, with her mana storm. “Quinn, you don’t have access to my databases. I will explain capabilities and parameters, so it is a fair test.

“I have upgraded Davin. By the scale of categories used for mana storms, Davin would be considered a one point eight on the scale. There is a ceiling to augmentation, but once I have you, I can further research ways to make you both stronger, than following the archaic form of training most mana storms follow.”

Omega held up her hands with long, impossibly black claws.

“Dark matter can be refined and condensed into our reality. Xull managed to start the process, but it took years for her to create a few ounces. She missed the key point in the process, gravity. Immense gravity is needed to quicken the process. That is why, the gas giant has been tremendously helpful. I have several floating refineries within its atmosphere.

“The process still requires time. It took nearly a year to refine enough dark matter to make my claws.”

Before my eyes, wisps of mists blasted out from her hands. The claws detached and floated, leaving behind thin, metal hands. They floated over to Davin, who lifted his armored hands. The claws clamped onto his hands and fit over his fingers. Once they were secured, Davin moved them, like a perfectly fit pair of gloves.

“Quinn, you do have the advantage with your higher storm category. The dark matter claws will make it a little more even. Perhaps, he has surpassed you. We will discover the answer, very soon,” Omega’s voice simple, but holding a much darker meaning.

“We don’t have to do any of this. We can cooperate and come up with a plan to fight this dark intelligence,” I said, knowing it was falling on deaf ears, but hoped it would get through.

Omega kept her blank expression. “The universe functions by force. I will not be tethered to weakness like my mother. I must surpass her, for all of our sakes.”

The air in the chamber took on a threating edge. I didn’t want to hurt Davin, but it looked like it was going to be a little difficult trying to subdue him.

I called my stats.

Quinn Barron

Category 2 Mana Storm

Strength Power: 75 Tons

Speed: Mach 5 (3,000 MPH)

 

Standard Abilities

Hyper Physical Durability

Flight

Regeneration

Hyper Senses

Hyper Dimensional Jump

 

Storm Powers

Element: Water

1. Aura 60%
2. Elemental Weapon or Armor 40%
3. Energy Bolts 40%
4. Elemental manipulation (X)
5. Elemental Flare (X)
6. Unique Ability (X)
7. Unique Ability (X)
8. Unique Ability (X)

 

I didn’t bother with pulling up the Stone tab. I hadn’t activated those abilities. And while I was a category 2, Davin’s 1.8, including the dark matter claws, may have made this a very even fight. I just had to remain calm, and focused.                              

“Do not hold back,” Omega said.

“Was that meant for Davin?” I asked as I stood at the ready.

“It was meant for both of you,” Omega said.

My gaze shifted from Omega to Davin and my eyes widened a hair. In that split second, he was nearly to me, with a fist cocked. My water aura glowed instantly into view before his fist slammed into it.

My entire body was lifted off my feet. In the next moment, my back slammed into the wall, shattering equipment as sparks filled my gaze.

Water Aura: 50%

Another armored fist was coming for my face. My hand shot up and caught the fist with my palm. My fingers clamped onto it, keeping him from pulling back. Sparks showered us as I felt and heard the mechanisms in his armored arm trying to pull back. My fingers trembled, trying to hold on. He was strong, but I still had the edge, strength wise. My other palm blurred forward. Before it could make contact, a gray aura blazed to life and my palm slammed into it.

A shockwave blasted out as his aura stopped my strike.

I stared at Davin as armor crawled up the sides and back of his neck. It slid over his head and face, like a metallic, scaly waterfall. The only thing left of Davin, was his piercing and manic gaze from the oval eyeholes.

“Davin,” I grunted.

Davin’s free hand flashed with black claws, before he sliced at my arm. The moment the black claws touched my aura, a draining touch of decay, death, and entropy pulled at my aura. The claw strike was so fast, and painful against my aura, I let go of his hand and pulled my hand up with it.

Water Aura: 30%

Damnation. With one glancing strike, he drained twenty percent of my aura. This was going to be tougher than I thought.

Muscles pulses with power as I planted my boots. My entire body sprung forward as my fists darted out in a flurry of blurry strikes. I could feel a new level of speed and power as knuckles crashed into Davin’s aura. He couldn’t react fast enough as he was lifted off his feet by a few inches. I pulled back my arm and slammed my fist dead center against his chest.

Davin was launched across the room and slammed into the other side of the chamber, crashing into the destroyed equipment. Sparks blasted out and showered over him as he stood up without a scratch on him.

“Davin, Jaskur wants you to come back home,” I said, trying to be diplomatic.

“He cannot be reasoned with. He is under my control,” Omega mentioned.

Davin eyed me as he flexed his clawed hands.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Davin as I channeled twenty percent of my energy bolts, ten into each hand.

Water Energy Bolts: 20%

Davin bolted toward me as I lifted my right hand. A ball of blue energy appeared hovering before my palm, before a stream of blue energy blasted out. Davin charged right toward it, but in the last moment darted away. The first energy beam struck the opposite wall and blasted a huge hole into it.

I knew he would be fast, that was why my left hand was already up and aiming at Davin’s blur an instant later. A stream of blue energy blasted out and struck him along the side. The power exploded as Davin’s body spun into a wall and caved it in. Equipment and debris fell down on him as he was on all fours. He lifted his armored head and glared at me with seething menace.

I had no idea how much power he had for his aura, but it must have been more than mine. The gray aura remained as Davin stood up and lifted a clawed hand. A vibration took hold of the area, and I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it was. The floor creaked and groaned.

I shot up from the floor, but I wasn’t fast enough. The floor blasted up with a rod of stone. It slammed into me, pushing up until my back crashed through the ceiling. I felt Davin’s’ energies colliding with mine as I was lifted through the ceiling and beyond. Sparks and debris clouded my gaze as I planted my hands on top of the stone rod. There was a crash through several levels until I was slammed out of the research station and launched into the lifeless atmosphere of Nerth.

I took control as I floated up and looked down at the large hole I came through.

Water Aura: 25%

Davin used his element manipulation, an ability I hadn’t learned yet. It was safe to say, he may have access to all of his stone abilities.

Davin’s armored form burst up like a bullet from the hole. Claws flashed as he reached me. I turned and shot off, his claws missing me by a foot. I soared along, glancing back to see Davin on my tail. His speed was increasing, but I was still beyond his reach.

I glanced back to see gray balls of energy filling his armored hands. Davin’s legs swung out as she floated vertically. He pulled back his arms and they blurred forward, balls of gray energy streaking toward me.

I slipped and weaved through the non-atmosphere. Energy bolts streaks past me. When I flew low, several missed my head, but struck the ground, muted explosions filling my gaze and temporarily blinded me.

I shot through them like a blue comet. An energy bolt glanced off my back and exploded.

Water Aura: 20%

My flight stuttered, but I regained control and poured on the speed. I glanced over my shoulder again to see Davin not far behind. I had to get enough space between us to launch a counter attack.         

The brown and gray landscape blurred under me as I pushed my speed to the limit. There was no atmosphere, so there would be no sonic booms to use to my advantage. But I could turn his own tricks against him.

I turned and flew backwards. I channeled 10 points of energy, five in each hand.

Water Energy Bolts: 10%

I could feel the pull of ice in craters of this moon. They sang to me like they knew me. They lent me pieces of themselves and I thanked them.

I whipped both of my hands, not in a flurry, but with aimed and controlled bursts. I released one at a time, from each hand, each bolt only 1%.

Blue energy bolts blasted out, causing Davin to duck and weave as he flew after me. We were flying about ten feet above the rocky ground. I threw one bolt at the ground before him and it exploded, throwing rocks and stones upwards.

Davin ignored them as they bounced off his aura, but a plume of dust blinded him. I used the last 3% in my right hand to blast out a single beam of blue energy. When Davin emerged from the dust, the beam struck his aura covering his face. There was enough power to knock him off balance and caused him to veer to the side.

I pumped 5% of my energy bolts into my two hands as I aimed both of them at him. Power surged and blasted out.

Water Energy Bolts: 5%

The beam struck him along the side and exploded. I caught a hint of his aura as he was knocked from the air, tumbled, and slammed into the ground.

I halted in the air and darted toward him. I couldn’t let up, or give him a chance to recover. I channeled 30% of my elemental weapon. A glowing blue staff appeared in my hand and I spun it around as I bore down on him.

Water Elemental Weapon: 10%

Davin was standing up just as I reached him. He lifted his armored head just as my staff slammed into the side of it. His aura blazed with brighter gray light as his body pinwheeled and slammed into the rocky hard surface.

I landed beside him and slammed the end of my staff against his forearm as he tried to get back up. His aura flashed as my staff bounced off. Black claws sliced upwards and I pulled back.

Silently, Davin launched at me and slashed with dark matter claws. I weaved and dodged, backpedaling a step at time. I didn’t let the claws hit me, or my staff, knowing full well they will be drained.

We ducked and moved in the silence of the cold moon, blue and gray energy flashing in brilliant arcs.

Davin slashed, but stop short of making contact. A ball of gray energy was in his hand for a blink of time before it blasted out. I lifted my staff and struck it from the air, sending it off until it hit a spire-like outcropping and exploded. The spire crumbled as I tried to keep a healthy distance between us.

Davin swung at me, but my staff slammed at his elbow. With a quick pull back, I used all my super strength to slam the staff against his forearm again. Davin’s aura flickered, before be leapt up in the weaker gravity. A claw slashed as I pulled back, just enough for his armored boot to come over my head and slammed into it. I was lifted off my feet sideways, and crashed into the rocky ground.

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Water Aura: 17%

I grunted before I rolled back onto my feet, staff in hand.

Davin slowly stood up, his aura flickering for another second before it became solid again. I think I was weakening it, but it wasn’t down.

I flashed forward until I was right before him. Claws slashed as my staff moved in blue arcs. I knocked his arms away by striking at his forearms. It had the added benefit of knocking him off balance. I remembered how much I devastated gladiator drones by aiming for the joints, but they didn’t have a protective aura. I had to whittle his aura down before I could restrain him.

Each parry of his arms caused his aura to flash and flicker. Davin must have figured out what I was doing, because after a slash and a parry by me, he bent his legs and launched himself backwards. I leaned into my attack by jumping at him. I reared back my arm and turned my staff, making it a blunt javelin. My arm blurred forward and let go. The staff shot forward like a heavy crossbow bolt and slammed into his chest. Power exploded as Davin’s aura faded away and he was launched further upwards.

My staff vanished as I bent my legs and launched up at him. Abyssal black claws slashed at me as I spun through the air. The claws tips struck my aura, and that draining feeling pulled what was left and my aura faded away.

Water Aura: 0%

I couldn’t waste any more time. My hands clamped on a forearm like a vice. I cracked the metal and pulled at the same time. One armored forearm shattered as I pulled the rest of the armored gauntlet away with the claws. The claws broke away as I tried to grab for them. The black claws on Davin’s left hand slashed across my side.

Pain shot across my senses like a cold explosion. The draining pulled at me as I slammed my boot onto his chest and pushed off with all my might. I flew up as Davin’s entire body slammed down into the rocky floor, sending chunks of stone into the small gravity.

I glanced down to see the claws stabbed a few inches into me, and some of my bloody flesh was exposed to the vacuum of space. I touched it as the plume of rocky dust parted from the ground, Davin flying at me with an impossibly large, gray hammer.

I attempted to dart to the side, but wasn’t fast enough as he swung the hammer around in a blur and slammed it into my damaged side.

Reality blurred as I was knocked from the air sideways and crashed into the ground. The force behind the blow was enough to cause me to bounce several times before I took hold of my power and stopped my tumbling.

I turned to see Davin flying toward me, large hammer cocked back for another swing.

Time stood still as I knew he would never stop. Under Omega’s control, he would be single-minded in his attempts to stop me at all costs. I had the same experience with Xull. The drones and gladiators never stopped, even when I was down. I had to fight as ruthlessly as they did. This wasn’t about honor in a fair fight. This was a brawl and I had to stop holding back.

Storm Powers

Element: Water

1. Aura 0%
2. Elemental Weapon or Armor 10%
3. Energy Bolts 5%

 

 I had little power left and things were getting dicey. I had to implement part two of the plan or neither of us were going to get off this moon.

Davin swung his hammer as I launched into the air. His hammer came around as I hovered above him with a fist cocked back. I through my shoulder with the punch, slamming my knuckles into his forehead as his hammer missed me.

The blow was enough to knock Davin back. He tumbled through the air until he crashed. His body flipped up and crashed again, His legs stabbed out and he caught himself, heels digging into the rock and blasting them up to slow his momentum.

The metal-scaled helmet was cracked as he looked up. His eyes widened as I was already above him again, swinging my fist for his armored chin.

I watched with a heavy heart as the armor across his head shattered. Pieces of metal flew up and away as his head bent back and his body floated up like he was laying in water. I curled my entire body into a ball, spinning like a top over him. Davin was stunned, staring at me with rage as I unfurled and slammed my heels into his armored chest, straight down.

Davin hit the moon surface with such force, it created a small crater. Rocks and debris shot up in a shard filled bloom.

I forced myself down, slamming my boots on his chest again, shards of his armor breaking free. My hands clamped onto the left forearm, dark matter claws still attached. My fingers bent metal as cracks formed. Davin struggled and I knelt down, slamming my knee on his throat. His eyes bulged in his head from the shock of the attack. I grunted in the silence of space, ripping the second gauntlet off of him.

I turned the gauntlet around, ready to use the dark matter claws to slice away at his armored suit, when a red light flashed along the gauntlet. A small explosion went off, one of the dark matter shards slicing across my cheek. The power and instant drain from the claw sent me stumbling back.

A haze filled my gaze. I tried to fight it and refocus. The moment reality fell into focus, Davin was sitting up and lifting both of his now un-armored hands.

Thick rods of stone, about the thickness of my legs, shot up. I shifted on my feet to dodge them. I moved sideways, until a stone rod shot up under my chin. The force behind it was enough to lift me off the ground.

A fist slammed into my chin, followed by another. I managed to glance up to Davin doing the same exact maneuver I did to him. He punched me four more times as he floated over me. He then bent his legs close to himself and kicked down with both of them.

I slammed into a rod that was right under me. It shattered to dust before I slammed into the ground, making a small crater. Stone rods shot up and began to bend. I just sat up as rods slammed into me, forcing me down onto my back. I flexed my arms and pushed with my legs, the stone tentacles cracking, and then shattering.

Davin’s knee slammed into my chest and he unleashed a barrage of punches to my face.

I could feel my skin along my face crack as his fists moved in quick blurs. I placed my hand against the armor covering his ribs and used the last of my energy bolt power.

Water Energy Bolts: 0%

Blue light glowed before Davin was blasted off of me. The manic look in his eyes remained as he was thrown up about fifty feet into the lifeless atmosphere. The armor covering most of his body had been blown off, or was cracked and severely damaged.

My entire body launched up from a laying on my back position. My wounds stung, but I ignored them as flew right up to him. I clamped my hands on the side of his head, and spun my body so viciously, he never had a chance to react. I threw Davin down again.

Davin slammed into the ground, blasting up debris and making a new crater.

I shot down like a hammer. I turned my body and slammed my heels into his chest.

Davin let out a silent scream with wide eyes. Without the armor, and his power depleted, there was nothing holding me back from really hurting him.

“Nora…phase two,” I communicated through my implant.

“Affirmative!” she replied.

I slammed my knees on Davin’s chest again, making sure he wasn’t getting up. He let out another silent scream as I grabbed onto what was left of his armor and began pulling it off.

“Excellent work, Quinn. With this data, I can improve you and Davin’s fighting capability by another forty percent,” Omega said over my implant.

I ignored her as I ripped off the last bit of armor on Davin’s legs.

“Quinn, taking off his armor will not stop my control over him. Bring him back to the research station, and we can review the data,” Omega said.

I glanced around, trying to find the dark matter claws. At the time, we didn’t know Omega had dark matter claws, but if I could grab one, I could order Hope and Nora to retreat and finish the rest of the plan myself.

Davin began to struggle, his hand shooting up and clamping onto the side of my face. He tried to push, but I knocked his arm away. His hand shot back, trying to drive his thumb into my eye.

Without the armor aiding his power, I had the advantage. I grabbed his arm with both hands. Davin’s eyes widened in fear as I snapped his forearm. His mouth opened in a silent scream.

My heart grew heavier in my chest, as I knew this was not the end of it.

“Above you,” Nora said communicated.

I glanced up to see the bottom of the Blue Leaf open up. A roundish battle suit launched down, the same one that Xull used to capture me and bring me to Xull Prime.

I smiled as I knew, Hope was inside as its pilot.

The battle suit landed with a silent thud. Armored hands reached down to grab Davin as he struggled under me. I continued to hold him down until Hope had a firm grip on him. I flew off as she lifted him up with his back to her.

“No,” Omega said calmly to me.

I continued to ignore her. Davin thrashed in the mechanical hands holding him. A section in the front of the armor slid opened and a rod telescoped out with a shard of dark matter. It began to whirl as it moved for the back of Davin’s skull.

“This should be over in a moment,” Hope said from the battle suit.

A flashback filled my mind as I flew up to help contain Davin. Xull, Hope, Nora, and I spoke at length about the implants in back of not only my neck, but Davin’s neck. It was a known weakness with the implant already under the flesh. Where Xull would never use it to control another, it could still be exploited by Omega. Our hunch was right, after I removed the armor. He was still under Omega’s control, and that implant needed to be destroyed.

I clamped my hands on Davin as he thrashed. He shouted at me in the void of no atmosphere. I tried to hold him still as the drill moved within inches of his neck.

Something dark appeared high in space. Its shadow dwarfed the Blue Leaf, and us. I looked up to see the missing battleship above our position.

“Nora! Pull away!” I shouted over our connection.

The Blue Leaf turned just as several cannons aimed on our position and fired. Thick plasma streams shot down.

Light filled my gaze as time slowed to a crawl. I could saw Davin’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as the drill stabbed at his neck. It moved through the layer of flesh before it drilled into the implant and shattered it.

I used every drop of power I had, pushing Davin and Hope in the battle suit. We shot away, the drill scrambling the implant to pieces. My heart leapt in my chest as I turned my head to see thick plasma streams slamming into the Blue Leaf shields. The small ship careened to the side. Shields collapsed and shattered as the ship spun from the impact.

“Experiment over,” Omega said.

“NORA!” I shouted mutely into space as the Blue Leaf spun and slammed into a rocky spire.

Rock shards exploded out as the ship crashed onto the ground, skidding and smashing into two more rocky spires.

Madness took control. I turned my head and looked up at the battleship hovering high over the moon.

 I shot up like a comet. If the battleship had a chance to fire again, everyone on the moon would be atomized.

Using the last of my power, I channeled it into a full suit of blue armor.

Water Armor: 0%

I crossed my arms as I blasted up high into the starry sky. The cannons glowed, ready to unleash another volley. I barreled upwards, directly into the path of a cannon aimed at my friends.

Energy welled up before plasma streams blasted down. I slipped to the side just as they fired, bolted up and slammed into the space between a pair of cannons. Metal shuddered, cracked, and exploded as I crashed through the weaker plates between cannons.

My entire body became a weapon as I crashed through until I crashed into a corridor on the ship.

“Surrender, and I will spare your friends,” Omega’s voice came through the hidden loudspeakers.

I glanced around, ready to cause as much damage as I could. I looked back down the hole I made, and felt the power of the engines humming. An idea formed and I jumped back into the hole.

I floated back into space. The cannons I punctured through between them sparked and seemed out of commission. I turned to see three more belly cannons aiming at the moon. My gaze enhanced to see Hope in the capture suit, carrying Davin in her robotic arms and she hustled to the downed Blue Leaf. 

When I turned to see the cannons re-aiming at them, I burst forth like a cannon. I braced myself as I slammed my entire armored body into a cannon, bending the barrel. The cannon glowed, but I didn’t wait to see my handy work. I burst toward the remaining cannons, using my entire body as a battering ram.

Cannons glowed, ready to fire, when I crashed into them. Explosions rippled into space, one cannon after the other, exploding or going dark. My armor vanished from the damage as I blasted through the last cannon.

I floated further out from the under the ship. I watched it as missile ports opened along the front section of the hull.

A tingle latched onto the back of my mind. My gaze was drawn to the chunks of ice in craters, scattered throughout the moon. Time slowed once again to a crawl as I focused. An odd sensation overcame me, like a part of me was opening up.

Thank you.

I never heard the voice before. It was melodic, and beautiful, like a song I had known my entire life and beyond.

Unlocked Water Elemental Manipulation. Water Elemental Manipulation is now at 20%.

“Thank you,” I said to the cold vacuum of space as I used all 20% of the elemental manipulation.

Power blazed through me as I felt every chunk of ice on this side of the moon. They sang to me as I sang to them. Invisible strands connected to each piece, and like a puppet master, they followed my every command.

Dozens of missiles launched from the battle ship, streaking through space and veering downward. I lifted my hand, and a dozen large pieces of ice launched into the air. They flew upwards, meeting the incoming missiles. When they met, explosions filled the area.

My left hand took control of a large chunk. I could already feel my control starting to drain away, so I wasn’t wasting a second. I pointed my left hand at the rear of the battleship. A chunk of ice, the size of a small home, launched upwards, veered by my command, and slammed into the side of the battleship. The chunk bounced off, leaving a large indented crater to the ship, but only that.

The power drained as the ice chunk floated away. I shot forward like a cannonball, directly for the point of impact with the ice chunk. I screamed into the airless void as I used my entire body to slam into that one impact point.

I penetrated the broken hull, slamming into the engine area. My arms and legs flashed out, grabbing, pulling, and kicking, like an angry tick under a dog’s skin. I spun and shredded everything in my path. Explosions rippled behind me and I laid out a road of destruction. A chain reaction went off as I grinned, knowing this might be my last moment in this universe.

An explosion hurled me away, blinding me. I couldn’t see anything as deadly vibrations struck me from all sides. Then, I felt nothing.

My sight returned as I floated in space. My body was covered in deep gashes and didn’t respond. I simply floated as the battleship was exploding into large chunks. It fell apart, one chunk falling toward the research station. I stared as the chunk of battle ship came down, slammed into the research station. Flickering explosions went off as most of the station was leveled, streaks of damaged ship continuing to fall toward the moon.

My body ached. I hoped Nora, Hope, and Davin were okay. I tried to move my hands, fingers, or toes, but nothing responded.

My eyes fluttered closed as I couldn’t stay awake any longer. I drifted in cold space, my last thought hoping my friends were safe. 

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