Capítulo 122: Always Waiting...
When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at the familiar ceiling of our bedroom on the Fae Dragon. There was no pain in my body, just a bit of lethargy which was due to the damage to my Soul when I had melded with my Storm and the Borg ships attacked me. The familiar sound of a page turning made me turn my head to find Katye sitting in a chair, reading a book.
"Hey," I said softly.
"Hey yourself," Katye replied with a smile, putting her book aside. "You've only been out for about a day and a half before you ask."
I chuckled, "Stop acting like you know me so well."
Katye smirked as she stood up, then shifted to the bed, sitting at my side. Her hand ran up the back of my head gently and rubbed the spot between my horns. I could not help but purr like a smitten kitten, forgetting the world around me, until she chuckled. I shook her hand off my head, making her chuckle, though I gave an annoyed snort.
"I'll start cooking you a nice dinner now that you're awake. I expect you out in an hour and a half and, if not, I'll send someone to coax you out of bed," she said.
"I should be washed up by then," I replied with a sigh.
"Good. You still have over five days before she revives, but we've all agreed that you should be the one holding this," Katye said while putting something in my hand.
I did not even need to look at it to confirm what she handed me: I knew it by touch instantly. It was Raven's pendant. Memories of her death and then how I attacked Echo and L'Naan resurfaced in my mind; a cold, simmering self-hatred was reawakened. I let out an annoyed huff and slid off the other side of the bed.
"Becca," Katye said with a note of concern in her voice.
"I'm fine," I growled as I stood up. "Just another day in the life of the Embodiment of Chaos."
Before she could respond, I hurried into the bathroom. I did not want any words of comfort because I did not deserve them. I was moments away from killing Raven myself and, when Echo did it for me, I immediately lost control and attacked her then, when L'Naan tried to protect her, I still lashed out at both of them.
The pain and anger of Echo suddenly killing herself, at finding Raven in such a situation knowing the amount of suffering that she experienced under the Borg, then having to watch her brutally murdered in front of my eyes... I yelled in anger as my thoughts started to spiral, but then I took several calming breaths. Carefully, I placed Raven's pendant on the counter then started undressing while I asked Fae to start the shower.
I let the Yang-infused water splash against my body and gave a contented sigh. Yang-Water was the only way that I could have a hot shower these days, which was why it drained Fae's reserves if I indulged too much. For a few moments, at least to my perspective, I just enjoyed the feeling until my shower was cut off by someone else.
"Katye is nearly done with dinner, and I have shots poured for us," Echo called out after the water stopped.
There was a flash of anger and shame when I heard her voice, but I smothered my emotions and stepped out of the shower. I glanced at her, not bothering to hide my annoyance, and started drying myself off with a towel. She scoffed at me and leaned back against the doorframe.
"Since when did you bother with a towel?" Echo mocked.
"Maybe when I'm trying to keep my temper in check and not kill someone that I'm truly debating their life's worth," I growled.
"Please... if you were going to kill me, you would have hit me directly with that first attack. Even L'Naan walked away with minor injuries aside from her Soul Weapon, which will take a month to recover properly. While you think that you were out to kill us in your rage, the truth is that you were holding back, even if it was subconscious. You wanted me, and even L'Naan when she defended me, to get beat up a bit, but nothing serious... which is exactly what you did," Echo retorted.
"You do realize that if I had landed that first strike on you, you would have been dead?" I asked, fully trying to intimidate her.
"Yet, you didn't... We may not be directly connected anymore, but I still know you, Rebecca, just as you do me. You're pissed off that you attacked me, yet at the same time, with what I pulled, you were rightly angered to the point of lashing out at me. Honestly, you've hit me harder in our sparring matches; I just looked so bad because I was not used to using my Dusa form and was already at my limit after killing Raven."
I glared at her, my memories triggered by her words, yet she stared back at me with no sign of cowardice. For a few tense moments, we were locked in a staring contest, but I gave an annoyed snort and looked away as I hung up the towel. While I knew she was right, my temper was never known to be rational or easy to calm. I grabbed my discarded clothes and Raven's pendant then walked by her without another word.
Echo gave a huff, and I could practically feel her rolling her eyes, but she took the hint and left me to dress alone. By the time that I was fully dressed, my emotions were mostly under control, and I walked out to find everyone gathered around the table that was covered with food. She had my favorite, much to Echo's distaste as she liked simpler flavors, spicy garlic curry with rice, freshly made naan bread, and red lentil dahl... but even better than the food was the fact that the table was set for seven, a spot re-added for Raven.
The emotional weight on my shoulders eased by quite a bit in that moment. I sat down in my normal seat next to L'Naan, and across from Katye, and placed Raven's pendant in the empty spot next to me. Katye gave me a smile when I looked up, which I could not help but return, and she picked up her cup as Echo, L'Naan, and even Filigree did as well.
"To a successful mission and reuniting with Raven soon," Katye cheered once I picked up my own cup.
The five of us clinked our glasses together, though Filigree had to settle for Katye alone, a moment later, due to her short arms. The Spirit Wine turned out to be strawberry, which was Raven's favorite, then we started eating. Only Nyka had a different meal, likely replicated by Filigree as she was the first to pamper the fox, even before Echo, but no one complained since Katye's cooking was too good, even if you did not like what she made.
As I finished off the last of the food, Katye tucked Filigree into our bed tonight, instead of her usual fold out couch. It was not uncommon, as there were plenty of nights which we all wanted to use the Mental Plane for some kind of training, but no one was racing to their Mind Linker after finishing the meal. L'Naan carried off the dishes as I finished them, putting them into spots in the cabinet as the cabinets themselves had a "dishwasher" like enchantment that cleaned them for us in exchange for a bit of mana.
"So, still want to gut me?" Echo asked with a chuckle as she poured all of us more shots.
"A bit, but only in Fae's simulations currently," I retorted, taking my filled cup from her.
"I'm willing to try it out. I'm going to need another month of meditation before I can use my Dusa form again here, but she can let me re-experience it," she retorted.
"And how did you manage that?" I asked, truly curious.
"No fucking idea," she chuckled. "I just woke up and focused six minds on meditation, finally slipping into a deep meditation, then found a change in my Soul Realm, just like you and Katye had told me about. Unfortunately, unlike the two of you, I can't use it unless Nyka and I are fused."
"She's your Soul Beast and, based on everything I learned from my past life, it means she is either a portion of your Soul manifested, or more likely, the magical animal that most complimented your Soul by Tori's opinion; video games or web-novels, take your pick. Both could explain why you need her help to transform, but still... you don't have the Soul of an ancient Chaos Dragon, so it's impressive that you've come so far in such a short time," I replied.
"Says the woman who awakened hers in less than a year," Echo said dryly.
"Again, Soul of an ancient Chaos Dragon... if you would like all of the extra baggage that comes with it, be my guest," I retorted.
Echo smirked, "No thanks."
"You know a surprising amount of information about something that isn't too detailed in the databanks," L'Naan remarked as she sat down.
"I researched elemental creatures before the 'Thirty Days' in hopes that I could make a pact with some Water elemental. I was hoping to get another cute and fuzzy member to add to the group," I chuckled.
"Any elemental creature that you make a Pact with will undoubtedly be scaley, my fussy Dragon," Katye chimed in as she re-entered the room.
L'Naan and Echo chuckled while I simply rolled my eyes. Katye joined us at the table, and Echo poured another round of shots for all of us. We clinked our cups together then took our shots together.
"So, how many Borg ships do we have following us?" I asked as the green tunnel was visible through the window that doubled as the ceiling.
"Surprisingly, only three cubes," L'Naan replied.
"Believe it or not, Echo really did a number on the Borg with her traps," Katye replied. "So, they are being smart while preserving their pride. They must go after us, but Voyager can collapse the transwarp conduit once we exit which will crush the ships without much of a fight; sending more would only doom more, and the Queen knows this."
"So, a soft attack to hide that she's licking her wounds," I remarked.
"That would be my guess," Katye agreed.
"Too bad that we couldn't deal more damage to them while we were there," L'Naan remarked.
"Even if we destroyed all of Unimatrix One, the amount of significant damage that we could have dealt to the Borg isn't much greater than what we accomplished. We've removed Raven from their control, significantly destroyed the majority of the rune factory, and likely damaged the Anomaly Stone," Katye explained. "They still control hundreds of worlds, thousands of ships, and countless drones outside of this region."
"Still, we'll have a chance or two before the end to repay the Borg for all of their hospitality hosting Raven for the past few years," I chuckled darkly.
"And to clean up the damage that our presence had left on this universe," she reminded like a cold bucket of water.
"Kill joy," I grumbled, making her chuckle.
"Well, while we are on the topic of the Borg," Echo said as she refilled our glasses. "I want to be re-assimilated."
Both Katye and I gave her a deadpan look while L'Naan exclaimed, "What?!?"
"My connection to Becca is severed, and we have used that link on numerous occasions to make things work that wouldn't have without it," Echo stated.
"And your total dependency on them to work with computers has nothing to do with it, right?" I added dryly.
"Jok yu," Echo retorted, making me snicker.
"Do you have a 'real' reason why you want to be re-assimilated?" Katye asked.
"I've been trying for years to understand computers and, while I have some success compared to my past before you all, I'm barely at the standard of most people in this universe. While we remain here, my specialty can't shine without the aid of the technology," Echo replied honestly.
Katye looked at me questioningly, but I simply shrugged since I did not care, and was even missing her in the back of my mind. "Fine, but only after we return to Voyager," Katye agreed with a sigh.
"You're agreeing to her request?" L'Naan asked with exasperation.
"I don't like it because it's a variable, but Echo is also right that it gives her the ability to bridge the gap in her knowledge while strengthening her unique talents. She's using it as a crutch right now, but it won't work in the next universe, so she will need to learn a proper way to 'connect' to magic formations, or devices," Katye explained with a smirk as Echo grimaced, and I chuckled. "Her skill is above your own when it comes to bypassing defensives, Becca."
"And who expects me to cross enemy lines, quietly?" I retorted with no shame.
Echo and L'Naan laughed while even Katye could not smother her smirk. We chatted a bit more, but both Echo and L'Naan eventually split off to use the Mental Plane to train. Katye and I slowly finished off the bottle then handled the rest of the dishes.
"What are your plans for the rest of the night?" Katye asked.
"I'm not sure. General training doesn't sound too appealing, nor do your training modules," I replied.
"They can be helpful," she reminded.
"Which is why I run two a week, but it's a slow process for me to learn that way," I said, dismissively.
Katye chuckled lightly, but did not comment further.
"What about you?" I asked.
"I've got a few hundred petabytes worth of information to log into Fae's database that I gleamed during Echo's excursion through the Borg computer systems."
"Sounds terrible," I mocked with a shutter.
"Nothing but a few hours of effort, if I focus myself on the task," she taunted.
I rolled my eyes at the minor goad, as I was all too aware of her powerful mind. The work was simple to her while I could barely remember a quarter of the runes that I had seen through my connection to Echo, even when they were focused on finding traps which took five to ten minutes every time. In all honesty, it was likely great practice for her unique magic, no doubt, but it also reminded me that I should be focusing on my own.
"Meh, I guess boring training sounds better than computer work," I replied lazily, conjuring a few wisps of Chaos Storm Clouds.
"Poor Dragon has to practice her universe-altering powers, so sad," Katye teased with a smirk as she stood up.
I rolled my eyes and turned my focus to the silvery clouds while Katye headed downstairs after giving me a peck on the cheek. Instead of directly controlling the misty energy, I allowed it to move and expand while I watched it and kept it from growing too big. Whenever my mana would top out, I would craft a mana crystal then continue to observe the mini storm. It was not a strenuous task with how small I kept it, but it required the majority of my focus as I was attempting to understand the 'Chaos' that was the root of my power.
We spent the next thirty-eight hours either training, eating, or keeping the core topped off while we traveled through the transwarp conduit. When we finally exited, Voyager fired into the threshold perimeter and destabilized the matter stream, imploding the conduit for at least a light-year. The episode gag of debris of the ships pinging as Borg signals to Voyager's sensors was lost on us as I used the moment to re-assimilate Echo.
Katye was in charge of getting Echo into her alcove, so she could restore her 'new' implants while I met briefly with Janeway and Chakotay. I gave a general report of our adventure through the Borg space station, hiding several details that they did not need to know, and explained that most of our group would need a week to recover properly, with Raven needing an unknown amount of time. Janeway had no problem with my request, as I stated that we would still be able to defend Voyager in case of emergency; we had just pissed off the Borg, and if the Queen was truly petty, she could strike with enough force that our only option was death or abandoning Voyager completely. No one thought that the Queen would truly resort to such measures, but it was not something we could ignore either.
Again, our routine fell back into training, eating, and mana building, by way of the ship's core as we all waited for the special day. Thanks to Katye's deep understanding of Time, she had the exact moment that Raven should revive, so we all gathered in our bedroom. I carefully placed Raven's pendant on the edge of the pillow, using some information from Echo's experience.
In the next moment, the maroon crystal in the center of the necklace released a blinding light and, as the light faded, Raven's new form was revealed. Firstly, she was naked as all of the Borg implants were consumed during her rebirth/transformation, but that allowed us to see the maroon lines that elegantly accented her body and pale lilac skin. Her hair was metallic silver, even reflecting light, and a pair of pointed ears were poking out due to their length. When her eyes opened, they were both maroon, and her aura was released. Inquisitive, intelligent, cunning, calculating, but more surprising was her strength. Her mana reserves were higher than my own, though still trailing behind Katye, and I could sense that she was much more aligned with Order than she had been before.
Unfortunately for her, that moment of supreme strength was chased by a sudden emptiness, as both her mana and Soul Power were drained to ensure that her new body would not die. Echo had to go immediately into mediation with five of her minds when she woke up while Raven immediately underwent a Telo transformation, on top of the reviving costs. She immediately fell into a coma, but all of our experience, and technology, said that she would awaken after a few days of rest.
"Miohan Elf, natural affinities with Metal, Mental, and Order magics, and renowned for their Golem creation techniques throughout the Endless Firmament," Katye explained with a slight ripple in her own aura.
"Raven is going to be a golem master, I should have known," I sighed, the vague memories of Zahe, the gnome Lord God of Enchanting and Golems from my past life, who was also Raven's temporary master, resurfaced.
"Is it really so bad? Golem masters stay hidden in a conflict while able to deliver hard hits," Katye remarked. "They may be a drain on resources at the beginning, but depending on the strength of their mind, they could replace tens, hundreds, and possibly thousands of troops, if Raven focused fully on that path. No matter which world we choose, Raven's abilities could easily amount to a small army if she is given the time to build it."
"It might not be that bad in the sense of general safety, but Zahe was a trillion-year virgin that considered us friends and literally resisted a Succubus's teasing for billions of years... I'm not going to sit back and let Raven fall into the same pitfalls that he did; no matter the possible strength of her Eternal Guard," I retorted.
"Ha, that would be your concern," L'Naan laughed.
"What can I say?" I smirked.
"I wonder what her reaction will be to her new appearance?" Echo questioned with a light chuckle.
"I think she looks pretty," Filigree chimed.
"That she does," Katye agreed, placing a hand on the fairy's head. "It's good to finally be back together."
"I can't agree more," I replied with a smile.
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