章 38: While I Was Sleeping
It was a boring day in Sick Bay for Katye with no one sick or injured, and with the monthly quality-control checks due in a few days, there was plenty of busy work to do. Even the Doctor was offline since he had nothing to do at the moment, but she did not mind. The work needed to get done and this gave her the chance to knock everything out while relaxing as music played in the background.
"... Mountains and valleys, and all that will come in between
Desert and ocean
You pulled me in and together we're lost in a dream
Always in motion
So I risk it all just to be with you
And I risk it all for this life we choose
"Hand in my hand
And you promised to never let go
We're walking a tightrope
High in the sky
We can see the whole world down below
We're walking a tightrope
Never sure, will you catch me if I should fall?"
Suddenly, 'Tightrope' by Michelle Williams stopped playing.
"Computer, why did you pause the music?" Katye asked then noticed that the diagnostic had also stopped.
"That would be my doing," a voice came from behind her.
Katye turned around and saw her Dusa form standing by the main medical console. She sighed, "Mimic."
"Dystina had a similar reaction when I appeared to her," Mimic chuckled.
"Rebecca; her name is Rebecca," Katye said firmly.
"For how long? If that seal breaks, do you truly think she will be the same?"
Instantly, her instincts flared, but unlike Becca who would grow angry and agitated, Katye disconnected to a cold, analytical mindset. Mimic had revealed that she had already spoken to Rebecca, and was now hinting at the breaking of Rebecca's seal.
"What did you do?" Katye asked coldly.
"My duty. Rebecca has stalled her own growth by rejecting her True Soul, which is why she needs the seal in the first place. Her Dusa form should have granted her a hundred years of peace from the Chaos within her, yet it granted her little more than ten. My seal is nothing more than a stopgap, and one that won't survive a real threat or loss," Mimic replied, unfazed by the fairy's anger.
"What... did you... do?" Katye growled, a second voice overlapping with her own.
"I gave her the chance at a true Demon Heart trial, one not weakened by Istar's limits for the universe. She agreed, of course, but she had two demands. Firstly, that I tell you, and second, this," she said before snapping her fingers.
A small, wood grain box appeared in front of Katye, and hovered there until she sighed and held out her hands. The box landed in her hands and opened on its own. Framed in blue velvet, a silver, unused Ouroboros Pendant was inside the box. Katye closed the box with annoyance and let out a long, drawn-out breath.
"As if these trinkets mean anything to Istar," Katye said, though the second voice was stronger now.
"The secondary effect of these amulets is to give Raven and Echo true freedom from Istar's control. Each of them contains pure Soul Power linked back to the Endless Firmament," Mimic explained.
While Katye did not fully understand what Mimic meant, Alkatyenia did. These pendants could grant Echo and Raven freedom from Istar's influence, allowing them to develop on their own. Were Echo's and Raven's affection real, or was it rooted in Istar's influence? That was the question that these pendants could answer, but did they want to know the answer?
"I guess overthinking things is natural for someone with two minds," Mimic chuckled. "Well, I have done as I was requested to and delivered you the 'trinket'. My guess is that you will have an hour, maybe two, before the seal breaks, so you should move her away from the ship and any planets. The Chaos Storm that birthed her, even reduced to the small scale that she is now, is something at the very peak of this universe and quite destructive. Not even the Fae Dragon would be able to survive inside that storm."
Mimic vanished without another word, leaving Katye and Alkatyenia fuming. At most times, Alkatyenia was dormant which allowed Katye to develop on her own without influence from her past life, but when something threatened Rebecca, she would awaken. It placed a heavy burden on Katye's mind, as she was still too young and weak to handle the ancient Fairy Queen's presence, but Alkatyenia knew better than to fully trust Istar and his Pantheon. It was not that he would act out of any malice or greed, but rather that the Time Lord had trouble 'seeing' the present as he preferred to look to the future or ancient past, which was why things had gotten so out of control in 'The 100' at the end. While Rebecca's rate of growth had been the main cause, there were numerous advantages that he gave her that, if he had been paying proper attention to that universe, he could have removed without damaging the 'story'.
{There is nothing that I can do. Mimic will only have come to us after starting Rebecca's trial. Listening to her warning is the best advice that I can give,} Alkatyenia said before returning to her dormant state.
A black blood tear dripped from Katye's eye while she clutched her head in pain. Just a few seconds had caused her so much mental damage, but that was the last thing that she cared about now. It was her own Demon Heart trial that had awoken Alkatyenia, and would have consumed her existence if the Fairy Queen had not separated herself from Katye. Would Dystina be able to do the same? Could Rebecca hold on through it?
"Well, it's all an adventure
That comes with a breathtaking view
Walking a tightrope
"With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you, ooh, ooh, ooh
With you."
The return of the music snapped Katye out of her spiraling thoughts. Worry could not help her, so she needed to focus on what she could do.
"Bridge to Sick Bay. Medical emergency," Janeway said through the intercom.
"Is it Rebecca, Captain?" Katye asked.
"Yes, she just collapsed and is unresponsive."
"I know what's happening. She needs to be moved to our ship, and we need to get away from the Voyager and any nearby planets. May I have Raven and Echo join me?"
"Of course," Janeway agreed.
"Thank you, Captain," Katye said then the channel closed. "Computer, activate the EMH."
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency," the Doctor recited as his program activated and he stood in front of Katye.
"I'm going to be the one handling the medical emergency this time. Rebecca's powers are acting up and I need to take her away from the ship for a time, but I didn't want to leave without telling you first," Katye replied, tucking the wooden box under her arm.
"Thank you; is there anything that I can do to help?" he offered.
"I was in the middle of a diagnostic of bio-bed three when Janeway called, so if you could finish it for me, I would appreciate it."
"Of course... I hope that Rebecca will be fine," he said as she headed for the door.
"Me too, Doc, me too," Katye sighed and walked into the corridor.
Katye took the turbo lift and paged Echo and Raven while she waited for the lift to take her down to Deck Ten. By the time that she reached the ship, Raven was already there and looked a little unsettled. Although she was not doing much better, Katye had far more practice at controlling her emotions.
"What happened?" Raven asked.
"Mimic did something; I'll explain once we are off the ship. For now, see if you can add anymore mana crystals to an exo-suit. I don't know exactly when the seal will break," Katye instructed as Janeway and two crewmen in blue walked into the Shuttle Bay, carrying Rebecca on a stretcher.
"You can place her down here; thank you," Katye sighed.
"You two are dismissed," Janeway said then waited for them to leave the Shuttle Bay before she asked, "Will Rebecca be okay?"
"I'm... not sure," Katye replied as she knelt down by Rebecca, noticing traces of black blood on her right palm. She opened Rebecca's hand and drew some water out of the air then wiped off the blood. "Stubborn Fool," she sighed, "I think this warning was meant for you, Captain. She wrote 'Don't enter pods' before she collapsed. I'm not sure what it means, but I'm fairly sure that it relates to a vision."
"Is that what happened?" Janeway asked.
"No, her seal is destabilizing. She sensed it and warned me before she put herself in a coma to delay it," Katye explained with a casual excuse as she stood up.
"I see," she replied with a note of concern in her voice. "Is there anything that we can do to help?"
Echo entered the Shuttle Bay while Katye shook her head and sighed, "Not even we can help her, only try to prevent anyone from being affected by the release of energy. This is a fight between Rebecca and Dystina, and I have no idea who will win."
Janeway looked down at Rebecca with worry but did not voice it. Although she was concerned for her friend and confidant, she knew that it was little in comparison to what Katye, Raven, and Echo were likely feeling.
"Contact me when you have any new information," Janeway said as Echo walked up.
"Of course. Echo, get the ship ready to fly, and then set a course for an empty region of space, a five light-year minimum," Katye said then used a form of telekinesis to pick up Rebecca.
Janeway gave her a nod before Katye took Rebecca inside alongside Echo. While Echo headed for the Bridge, Katye carefully placed Rebecca on an empty worktable near Raven. Although the bed was more appropriate, she wanted to keep a close eye on her, and she knew Raven would as well.
"Here… This is what Becca is risking her life for," Katye said, placing the wooden box on the workstation that Raven was at.
Raven placed her crystal shaper down and opened the box with a raised eyebrow, but her silent question was answered when she saw the Ouroboros Pendant. She sighed heavily as she shut the box and asked, "What happened?"
"Mimic drew her into a Demon Heart trial. We did one before, back in the labyrinth under Eden, but Becca's was meaningless because it was designed to awaken our Dusa forms, and she already had hers. Mine... awoke Alkatyenia, giving me all of her memories, experiences, emotions..." Katye sighed, placing a hand on Rebecca's arm.
" 'I' was nearly lost in the process, but 'she' knew this would happen and wove a number of protections into our Soul. My mind splintered into two parts, one 'me', one 'her'. Most of the time, she is dormant to lessen the mana and Soul Power drain, since even a few seconds of holding back her awakened mind can use over eighty percent of my mana. There is no way to know if Dystina did anything to protect the new 'her', so I don't know 'who' will wake up from this."
Gritting her teeth, Raven punched her workstation and growled, "We're trying, damnit, but it's impossible to keep up with you too! She keeps shielding us from everything and putting herself into danger."
"That's who she is, Raven, and why we love her. She is the type of person who would give every ounce of themselves to the people they care for; we all are, which is why this between us works so well. She's just a Stubborn Fool who would rather do things the hard way than place anyone else in distress."
Raven smirked, shaking her head, but there were tears building up in her eyes. "But I want to hate her at times."
"I know the feeling," Katye replied, wiping away one of Raven's tears, "but we're both in too deep for that to help."
Raven leaned into Katye's embrace for a few moments before she went back to modifying her exo-suit. Echo walked in a few minutes late, leaving Fae on autopilot, and Katye explained what was happening to Rebecca. Echo took the news better than Raven by just being annoyed, but she understood why Rebecca would agree to do something so dangerous.
There was only so much that Raven could add to her exo-suit's power cores in an hour, even if she was willing to compromise the suit's structural integrity and aesthetic. Raven also disabled every function but life support which meant that it could last an hour on its own. They put Rebecca into the suit when ninety percent of her runes had turned green and waited for the final moment to beam her out.
"This is so stupid. What if the cores run out of power before she is conscious? She can't even call us if she needs help," Raven complained.
"Unfortunately, we don't have any other choices. Mimic and Alkatyenia both warned me that the Fae Dragon would be destroyed by the eruption of Chaos Energy. This is what Mimic said to do, so we can only hope that she knows what she is talking about," Katye replied.
Suddenly, a blue glow covered Rebecca and her breathing stopped.
"Fae, beam Rebecca to the furthest reach of the transporter and prepare to jump to warp if needed," Katye instructed.
Raven sighed angrily as Rebecca was beamed away and walked off towards the Bridge. Katye watched her go without a word and sighed internally. Echo placed a hand on Katye's shoulder which made her lean into Echo's chest.
"Rebecca will be okay," Echo said as she hugged Katye.
"How can you be so sure?" Katye asked.
"I have faith," she replied softly.
Katye smirked, "Come on. Leaving Raven alone right now isn't wise."
The pair headed to Bridge together and found Raven staring at a monitor. The ship jumped to warp a moment after they walked in, and looking at the screen in front of Raven, it was obvious why. The space around Rebecca had been engulfed in silver cloud with crimson bolts of electricity coursing through it, and the clouds kept expanding. They had all seen Rebecca's Chaos Storm Clouds before, but never on a scale like this. In just a few minutes, it had swelled over a mile in diameter and, the larger it got, the faster it grew.
"How is this possible? There is no way Rebecca has that much mana," Echo said with disbelief.
"The Chaos Storm that gave birth to Dystina could consume any form of mana and matter that it touched and grow; that's what made it so dangerous. Becca suppresses that nature of it when she uses it, consciously or subconsciously, but that is why her Chaos Storm Clouds are so powerful and she isn't controlling them now. They are devouring the natural Space mana, and any other type of radiation that might be here, and growing. God... we have another two and a half hours before the trial should be completed; how big will her Domain get?" Katye explained, remembering vague details of Alkatyenia's past.
"Does that mean Rebecca is already gone?" Raven asked with concern.
"No, this is due to the breaking of the seal without her being conscious; nothing is holding back the Chaos," Katye sighed.
"Is she okay in there?" Raven asked.
"Yes, since it is an extension of her, but anyone else would be attacked while she is unconscious," Katye replied.
There was nothing that they could do, other than watch the Chaos Storm grow. The Voyager's sensors had likely picked up Rebecca's storm, but they never opened a channel with the Fae Dragon. By the time that the fourth hour hit, the Chaos Storm was a light-year wide at its two furthest points, but at that moment, it stopped growing. For a second, nothing happened and then all of the silver clouds of mana raced inwards. What they saw in the center of the storm, once it was revealed, made all of them worry...
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