Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen: The Light

A beeping filled the terrible darkness. I tried to ignore it, but it remained, each beep stabbing deeper into me, trying to wake me up. When I couldn’t ignore it any longer, a feeling filled my entire body. When I couldn’t feel anything, I now felt my fingers and toes. Each digit curled, or moved to my thoughts. A small relief washed over me as I attempted to open my eyes.

Eyelids slowly fluttered opened. I blinked away the dark abyss to the sounds of beeping in my head, and alerts filling the edge of my vision. For a tiny moment, I ignored the alerts. I stared past them, the yellow gas giant filling almost my entire gaze.

Despite everything that had happened, from gaining powers, to floating in space after a hard battle, I felt small in an infinite universe. I didn’t blink as I looked at the swirling horizontal bands of clouds, metal debris floating around me. They were soothing to my senses, and I marveled at them for a short span of time.

Alerts continued to blink as the beeping continued with its relentless dirge. I mentally pulled back from the majestic sight and refocused on the alerts.

Body Regeneration: 92%

Water Aura increased to 80%!

Water Weapon and Armor, increased to 60%!

Water Energy Bolts increased to 60%!

Energy filled my body as I was feeling better. Every few seconds, my regeneration went up another 1%. It seemed that putting my powers through the paces also increased with higher percentages. Training and actual battle were the key indicators and I wasn’t complaining. It reminded me that everything improved with training and actual combat, and that I had to stay to the path if I wanted to be strong enough to protect everyone.

Protect everyone…was that my decision? Yes, it felt right, natural.

“Quinn.”

I lifted my head a little and saw a roundish battle suit floating closer to me. I could see Hope’s wide eyes through the visor as she approached, maneuvering thrusters blasting out small spikes to control her flight path.

I righted my body as my suit began continued to repair itself.

“Hope, is Nora and Davin okay?” I asked with a hint of urgency.

Hope smiled behind the visor.

“They’re both okay. Hope only received a few bruises. She is directing the repair drones along the ship. Davin is fine and awake. He is already on the ship and his wounds had healed.

“They are both waiting for us. I came up to get you, but there was some interference and I had a difficult time locating you. You signal pinged louder just a few moments ago and I made my way over. Do you need me to carry you back?”

I grinned.

“Thanks, but I’m feeling much better. Let’s fly back to the others.”

Hope nodded from within the battle suit.

The pair of us turned and flew down to the desolate moon. I spied the Blue Leaf, and made a beeline for it, Hope next to me. When we reached the ground, I looked over the ship. It had some scratches, and several black blast marks, but it looked mostly intact. It was a tough little ship and I was happy to know everyone was okay.

A thought cut through my mind and I looked at Hope.

“Omega?” I asked with small alarm.

Hope spoke as we both stepped into the side airlock of the ship. The doors closed as the airlock was flooded with oxygen.

“I scanned the area while I was scanning for you. The entire research station was obliterated from falling debris. If she remained with the station, she wouldn’t have survived.”

A ding filled the air and the inner doors opened to the airlock.

The upper part of the battle suit bloomed open. Hope climbed out in a skintight, black body suit, slid down and landed feet first on the deck. She pulled her hair back as she still seemed to be in business mode.

I was very happy to see she was okay. My hand twitched, wanting to give her a hug. But I held back. We were still getting to know each other and we had other pressing matters.

“I doubt very much Omega died in that explosion. She is designed to survive and find ways to fight cosmic threats. She wouldn’t have even let me near the station if that was her only means of survival,” I mentioned as we walked into a corridor.

“Let’s get to the others so,” I was cut off by Hope hugging me.

My hands hovered, unsure what to do. Hope pressed the side of her face to my chest as her arms were around me, under my arms.

“I was really worried about you,” she said without looking up.

The sudden warmth melted away everything around us into a haze. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to me as we stood in the corridor.

“Hey, I’m tougher than I look,” I joked.

Hope squeezed me a little harder with her arms as she snuggled to my chest. “You’re important, not because of your powers, because you’ve become important to me.”

“The science of attraction,” I said with a small grin.

Hope pulled her head back and looked up at me with bright, gray eyes. “The magic of connection. I knew it when I saw it. You were ready to give up your life to save everyone. You didn’t make any grandiose announcement. You didn’t even think about it. You just did it, for not just us, but for everyone else.”

The wolf woman glanced away. “On Xull Prime, everyone is so caught in their lives, they never look beyond it. They never look to the stars, and how they can help each other. Xull has given them freedom, but they make prisons of comfort for themselves.”

Hope pulled back and let go of me. One hand wrapped fingers around her arm in slight discomfort and sudden shyness. She looked me in the eyes with a sliver of divine understanding.

“I always wanted to do more, and be a part of something larger than my little life. I trained for years, and dreamed of finding my destiny, find someone who understands what it means to put others before themselves. It’s a rare thing on Xull Prime, but with you, I see it as clear as the stars in the sky.”

I stepped closer to Hope. I looked into her eyes, the haze between us remaining.

“Your life was never little. I always wished to do more, be more. I never expected any of this, but it didn’t stop me from trying. I understand how you feel, wanting to help, but never sure how to exactly do it. I think, we needed to find each other, but that may be just a romantic thought.”

“It’s not just a thought,” Hope said with a warm smile. “It’s real and I feel it. I know with your power, we can never be intimate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together. I have to see how far this will go. I have to know, what it will all mean in the end.”

Before I could say anything, Hope stepped in close and kissed me on the lips. There was no shock, or strangeness. I gently touched her hips as our kiss lingered for eternity, and a small space of time. When she pulled back, we both looked into each other’s eyes, into each other’s souls.

A silence filled the small space between us. We didn’t have to say a word, our feelings laid bare for each other to see. It was the first time I ever felt someone was truly honest with me, and I had to admit, it was the first time I really let my guard down. Society, and maybe across many worlds, can be difficult to navigate. I remembered many people in my life, afraid to truly be themselves because it could be seen as weakness, or different enough to shun. I never wanted to live like that, but I fell into social norms, just to fit in. Now, Hope was here, telling me her feelings. I wasn’t some overpowered being with cosmic powers. I was a man and she liked what she saw. It was enough to make my heart pound harder in my chest, because I loved what I saw in her, a defiant spirit with enough power to become a supernova.

   “We should get to the bridge,” Hope whispered but didn’t move away. Instead, she bit my bottom lip and sucked on it.

The heat in the corridor grew by a few degrees. Hope then pulled away with a wicked smirk. She turned and started walking away from me, her tail and rather ample ass swaying behind her.

Soul Splinter is activated.

The alert faded away, but the new ability glowed along my standard abilities. I know Xull mentioned it before, but I had forgotten about it until this moment. I did wonder if Xull was listening and knew it was time to show me that ability.

I followed Hope and we soon walked onto the bridge. Davin was sitting in my chair, head upper body forward with his elbows on his knees. His hair was slightly disheveled, and long shadows covered his eyes.

I glanced to the side to see Nora tapping away at her terminal. She lifted her gaze and her eyes widened. She stepped around her console, rushed to me and hugged me around the waist. I looked down at her with wide eyes, wondering where all this affection was coming from.

Nora pulled back with a smile, but then it vanished and turned into a stern brow and angry eyes.

“You had us worried!” she shouted.

“Um, sorry,” I laughed.

Fists shook at her sides and she stamped her foot. “It’s not funny! You could have been killed!”

“I doubt he would have died,” came a voice from my seat.

The three of us turned to Davin as he slowly stood up. He kept his head tilted forward, darkness covering his features. He stepped toward me, his arms hanging limp at his sides. When he stood before me, he lifted his head into the light.

Davin had a small smile and half-closed eyes. A look of relief filled those eyes as he lifted his hand to me.

“Thank you,” he said simply.

I took his hand and shook it. “No need for thanks. I made a promise, to Xull and Jaskur.”

Davin’s eyes widened a hair, but it still looked like he was half-asleep. “Jaskur. I didn’t want her to hear my screams, but I couldn’t help myself. Xull Omega used her dark matter claws on me, bringing me to the edge of death, many times.”

Davin looked down in sorrow. “I thought I was tougher than I actually am. It’s humbling to be brought down several pegs, and I have you to thank for. Even as Omega controlled me, I saw and felt everything. I couldn’t communicate because Omega didn’t allow it.

“I heard your words, asking me to not fight. I heard you say, you wanted to cooperate to help fight the grand darkness. I knew then, you are a storm of honor. Thank you for helping me break free from Omega’s control.”

“It’s okay. We all have bad times. Sometimes, we just have to help each other out of bad times,” I smiled.

Nora smiled as she watched Davin and I talk. Hope moved to the controls and took over with directing repairs.

“I will never forget what you did,” Davin said and gave me a nod.

The viewscreen flashed on. We all turned to see Xull on the screen. Golden eyes stared at us for a breath before her own mechanical features shifted into a warm smile.

“You succeeded,” she said with an odd, upbeat tone.

“It was a hell of a fight, but we’re all here,” I said and clamped my hand on Davin’s shoulder.

Xull nodded. “Pleased to hear it. Quinn, Nora, and Hope, we can never thank you enough for your bravery.”

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“We didn’t get Omega,” I mentioned as I pulled my hand back from Davin’s shoulder.

Xull nodded again, “We can discuss it further when you return. ETA?”

“We should be up and running in a few minutes. We’ll be home in an hour,” Hope said as she tapped away at the counsel.

“Excellent. We will see you shortly,” Xull said and the screen blinked out.

I felt the engine of the Blue Leaf hum to life. Controls lit up as full power was restored. Hope moved from the counsel panel and walked over to the pilot’s seat. Nora walked back to her panel and sat down.

The floor opened up to the side, and another seat rose up. Davin looked at me and gave me a nod. He walked over to the new seat and sat down. I sat down in the captain’s chair.

“Systems are nominal, and ready for takeoff,” Nora said with a strangely upbeat attitude.

Hope nodded. “Activating launch thrusters.”

The entire ship shifted. The viewscreen blinked back on, showing us the surface of the now barren moon. The ship shifted again, and we could see on screen that we were lifting off.

The Blue Leaf lifted higher and higher in the weak gravity. It soon reached a few miles above the surface and turned.

“Let’s get home,” I said, trying to sound like a starship captain in Star Quest.

“Punching it,” Hope grinned as she laid in a course, lifted her hand, and slammed down the meaty part of her fist on the activation button on the smooth counsel.

The Blue Leaf’s engines powered up and the entire ship shot into hyper warp space, on a direct course to Xull Prime.

***

The Blue Leaf slowly descended toward a marked landing pad. Arrows glowed and pointed in a rhythmic fashion. We had a bird’s eye view of the landing pad, but that wasn’t what was weirding me out. It was the amount of people gathered in the streets surrounding it.

Thousands of Dream City citizens packed the streets. They cheered loud enough for me to hear them not just on the viewscreen, but through the hull of the ship. Some of them held up holographic signs, saying “Welcome Back!”, and “Our heroes have returned!” I didn’t know we had this much of an impact. While true, many did come out to see me train in the arena, I didn’t know they cared this much to welcome us back with a storm of cheers.

Landing gear slid out from under the ship. The Blue Leaf landed gently. The engines cooled down before I heard the ramp extend to the landing pad outside.

I was about to gather everyone up so we could walk out together, but Davin flew to the corridor and was gone without saying a word. I glanced to Hope and Nora, the pair glancing to each other, but didn’t say anything.

“Did we offend him?” I asked.

“No,” Nora began with an understanding tone. “Davin was a celebrity before everyone thought he died. His death crushed the spirits of a lot of citizens. That was why, when you arrived, most people didn’t give you a second look. They thought you were trying to replace him.”

“Oh,” I said as I scratched my head. “Glad no one told me,” I chuckled.

Hope barked out a laugh before she hopped up from her seat. She rushed over to my side and curled her arm around mine.

“Let’s get out of here,” the wolf woman said and gently pulled me with her.

We walked down the corridor, side by side. Nora followed. The three of us made out way to the ramp and down it. When we emerged, our senses were assaulted with the sounds of cheers.

Davin floated a foot above the crowd. He had his hands out at his sides as citizens lifted their hands up to touch his feet. People with animal features, and those with cybernetics, were elated as he floated above them, like some messiah from an ancient world.

We stayed at the bottom of the ramp, no one giving the three of us a second glance, except for Xull as she walked over.

“Welcome to your celebration,” she said with an uplifting tone.

“I think everyone is happy to have Davin back,” I said.

Xull moved to our side, turned and looked out to the massive crowds.

“Davin was always a larger-than-life character. Now resurrected from the dead, the people are enjoying his return. But don’t take it personally, this celebration is for all of you.

“You did what most could not, and with no further loss of life. This was a supreme victory, for Xull Prime, and its people.”

“Even though we didn’t get Omega,” I mentioned.

Xull watched Davin float above the people as she talked to me, “She would have had plan within plan, design within design. I didn’t expect her capture, or her termination.”

Xull turned her gaze to me. “If you don’t mind, may I download your recorded files from your implant so I may understand what happened?”

“It will be easier than trying to explain it. Go for it.”

I felt a small tickle from my implant, and then it was gone.

Xull nodded. “Omega did fall for our trap. She knew I could not dispatch any of my warships to the moon, knowing I would not risk a chance of her taking over the fleet.”

“She also didn’t know that I wanted to fight Davin so I could force the fight away from the research station,” I smiled.

“She thought we weren’t a threat, unable to aid in the conflict between them. She didn’t expect us to come down with the only dark matter we had under our control, and use it to shred Davin’s implant,” Hope said as she leaned against my arm.

“The implant was his weak point, and the only way Omega could control him. Without that, she lost her only edge,” Nora said.

Xull nodded at us. “Omega didn’t calculate that I would take such a risky chance. It’s true, I can no longer connect to Davin because his implant is gone and a new one cannot be surgically added.

“The plan was complicated, but it did have a high degree of success, as long as everyone played their part. You all did very well, and I am happy for everyone’s safe return.”

“I scanned the moon for the dark matter claws, but they were gone before I reached Quinn in space,” Hope added.

“We still have the piece with the suit. Quinn, from your experience, I now know that it is possible to fabricate more physical dark matter. I many not know the process, but with time, I may be able re-create the process, and give us an edge in the future, should we need it if Omega takes control of any other mana storms.”

I scratched the back of my head and smiled. “All in a day’s work.” I pulled my hand down and gave Xull a serious look. “Omega did tell us what you already told us when we were formulating the plan. It was difficult to feign shock at her revelations, but that doesn’t change the fact that we still have a very big threat coming to our galaxy.”

“One thing at a time. We may still have years, but it is coming. At this time, you all should enjoy the celebration.”

I nodded before turning my gaze back to Davin floating over the cheering crowd.

“Beautiful citizens of Dream City, Xull Prime, and beyond, thank you for welcoming me back with open arms!” Davin shouted.

The crowd roared louder.

Davin floated up a little higher and slowly turned and smiling. “The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t suffer without all of you. As I remained in the clutches of an enemy to all of us, I often dreamed of coming back to defend Xull Prime from all enemies.”

The mana storm turned and pointed an open hand in our direction. The crowd followed his hand as me, Hope, and Nora looked up in surprise.

“My new friends came to my rescue, when I could not rescue myself. This celebration is not about me coming home. This celebration is for my new friends and all of us on Xull Prime!

“Quinn, please fly up here and take a bow!”

The crowd screamed cheers in our direction.

Heat touched my face as I never felt such a grand outpouring of excitement.

“We can step back,” Nora began, but stopped when I wrapped my arm around her waist.

Nora yelped as I lifted her up, while wrapping my arm around Hope’s waist. Hope leaned into me and giggled as I floated up, the two of them holding onto me as I held onto them.

“This is for all of us,” I smiled as I floated above the crowd and toward Davin.

“Please, let us acknowledge Xull Prime’s true heroes, Hope, Nora, and Quinn!” Davin shouted.

I couldn’t hide my grin as we floated over the massive and cheering crowd. It was nice, really nice.

“Let’s get the party started!” Davin shouted, his powerful voice bouncing off buildings and blending with the white noise of elated people of Dream City.

***

A black sphere hovered high above the dark side of the moon. It watched like an unblinking sentinel, peering down on a barren and desolate lunar landscape.

On the surface of the moon, an ancient black pyramid stood. It was covered in odd, alien runes. It matched the darkness, never seeing the light of the solar system’s sun, cold and still as a tomb in a cemetery.

A faint, greenish line appeared close to the base of the ancient pyramid, and quickly vanished.

The black sphere remained unmoved as it floated high above the dark lunar surface.

Another faint line appeared, and this time, it triggered the sphere’s sensors. A Xull iteration continued to scan the pyramid from the sphere. Background radiation, and odd signals interfered with the scans, the first time in nearly a millennia. Information was gathered and compiled, each scan trying to penetrate the odd waves of radiation.

Deep below the surface of the dead moon, a dark green light glowed, and a power core began to waken from its long slumber.

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