Star Trek: Voyager and the Descendants of Q

I was beamed onboard the Fae Dragon where my group had gathered by the transporter pad. Their happy faces almost instantly turned to concern when I looked at them, making me confused... then it dawned on me.

"What changed this time?" I asked with a sigh.

"Your hair... there is a streak of seafoam green," Katye said. 

"That isn't so bad," I replied as I tried to pull some of my hair forward to see it. 

"What happened? You don't really 'feel' any different," Raven asked.

"Oh?" I retorted with a smirk. "How about now?"

I drew the Chaos Shard dagger, and my aura swelled like an approaching hurricane. Filigree and Nyka were the most effected, noticeably drooping like a heavy weight was on their shoulders, and L'Naan was forced to take a step back. I sheathed it in the next moment which removed the pressure.

"The Shard is a bit rambunctious, so it will take some time before I can use it properly and safely, but you aren't the only one with a Soul Weapon now, L'Naan," I chuckled.

"Congratulations, you are the firssst to succeed," Sancu said, appearing behind my group.

"Sancu," I greeted dryly.

He chuckled with a light hiss and said, "Master has instructed me to tell you that you should only use your weapon in Holo-Deck Two until you have true control over it. Chaos Shards are known to carry corruption, so until you can control that aspect, using it on anything outside of there can have some dangerous consequences… though you seemed to understand that fact already."

"I'm understanding my Chaos more and more, even if I'm pissed at my situation," I replied. 

"Good. Then until our next meeting, adieu," Sancu said with a tip of his hat and vanished with a flash of white light. 

"So, will you tell us about your trial over a nice meal?" Katye asked.

"Sure, I just need to make new fingers and I'll be up," I agreed to everyone's surprise. I chuckled, "It wasn't traumatic, just… chaotic, and this is only the first one that I'll need."

With that, they all relaxed. Katye, Echo, with Nyka on her shoulders, and Filigree headed upstairs while Raven and L'Naan stayed behind. I stepped off the transporter pad and slid an arm around Raven's waist. L'Naan walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bar of mage-steel, and then tossed it over to me. 

"Thanks," I said, catching it in the air.

"What happened to your usual ones? I don't think I've ever seen you take them off," L'Naan asked. 

"I fused them with the Shard, particularly the sheath, which is why my aura explodes when I draw it," I answered as I formed a new set of metallic fingers. "It keeps the mana in check until I want to use it."

"Nice," she replied.

She joined us at the foot of the stairs, and I gave her a quick kiss before the three of us headed upstairs. Katye was in the kitchen with Echo sitting at the counter with several cups of Spirit Wine already poured. Filigree and Nyka were playing catch on the couch where the little pixie would toss a ball towards the three-tailed fox and the fox would smack it back with one of her tails. The three of us joined Echo around the counter, and I picked up my cup right away.

"So...?" Katye asked as she started dropping slices of bacon onto the skillet.

"So," I said then swallowed my shot. "Sancu took me to an isolated plane as the Chaotic Space approached me. It was a space of white, much like where I woke up after my first death, except that there was a gray, smoky mist that was held back by multiple barriers of green runes. Istar greeted me and said that the Novas in the Endless Firmament have agreed to combat the Chaos Faction, so he needed me to fuse with the Shard to ensure that no one could sense it within his Inner Realms. It was not the first time that he brought 'me' in front of it, but I was the first that Dystina allowed to attempt it, so yay me."

Echo and L'Naan chuckled, but both Katye and Raven gave me deeper looks.

"What would have happened if you failed?" Katye asked, getting right to the heart of the matter, as usual.

I sighed, pouring myself another drink, and replied, "Tori and his Pantheon would have sacrificed their True Souls to reinforce Dystina's seal, resulting in my Soul going back to the Cycle of Rebirth and all of you being ejected from Tori's Inner Realm wherever he is."

That was a sobering note that even Echo and L'Naan understood. The unrestrained auras' of the two Q, who were only at the Demi-God rank, knocked out Raven, Echo, and Filigree just by boarding Voyager. Where Tori was, even if it was his faction's stronghold, would have all types of Gods that could accidentally kill them just by being near and, with Katye's bloodline awakened, there was a good chance that she would be enslaved, especially if anyone recognized her aura. Unless those around him were saints, death was likely the best outcome for them.

"If it helps, I had planned on killing myself if I thought I was truly losing control," I added then chugged my next drink.

"No," L'Naan immediately snapped, causing the other three to give her looks. "What?"

"At our current level, anywhere that Istar would be, unless he is intentionally isolating himself, would be instant death if we are lucky. With my bloodline, and even Raven's, we are prime targets for slavery and anyone with Divinity would be able to force us into it, even if we wanted to kill ourselves. We might be strong here, but we are ants in the Endless Firmament, and even with Divinity, we are just low dogs on the food chain," Katye explained with a somber tone.

L'Naan was quiet for a few moments before she erupted, "Then why are we trying to get there?!?"

I could not help but laugh while Katye just shook her head. "It's not that we want to get to the Endless Firmament, but rather that we don't have a choice. Tori can only suppress my True Soul for so long. The hope is that we can get as strong as possible while still within his Inner Realm and then he would release us somewhere safe-ish... but now there is no telling how things will play out with him being pulled into the war against the Chaos Faction."

My tone turned grim at the end, realizing that our situation was getting more complicated. True, with Tori's specialty, he could stretch out our entire time within his Inner Realms to mere moments within the Endless Firmament, but I knew that whatever was waiting for us outside would not be a simple matter. Still, I had a long time to worry about that, and many more trials ahead.

"What was the trial like?" Raven asked, changing the subject.

"A bit overwhelming, but that was mostly because of the rush of power. The hard part was resisting the Chaos corruption. It kept trying to twist my memories, my feelings... it was trying to rewrite who 'I' am," I replied. "I split my mind in two, one managing the Chaos while the other built-up mental shields to keep me 'me'. That's how I was able to recognize the changes it caused."

"What haven't you told us yet?" Echo asked with a smirk.

I chuckled while shaking my head and replied, "Dystina is gone, and likely, her Seal with her. Only I can hold back my Chaos, but she trusted me, and my reason to fight... you all."

Katye smiled while Raven leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Well, if Istar and his band of koken gonakru (crazy warriors) allowed you back, then you must be doing something right," Echo taunted.

"Your concerns ease my heart, ai hompla," I retorted.

She just chuckled, but it helped ease L'Naan's worry. She was still the newest member of our group and did not fully understand everything that went along with our power... not that we did either. We could only keep moving on the path ahead of us and fearing it would only make the journey harder as I had learned the hard way.

We finished our meal by the time that the ship returned to Voyager. Janeway checked to make sure that I was fine, which I assured her that I was, and our lives returned to normal with the whole event being barely a blip on the crew's radar. Of course, I used the situation to secure my group some extra holo-deck time for training purposes... which was how I ended up in my current situation.

Blood was dripping from my mouth, and I had numerous cuts across my arms and legs. Although my Shard of Chaos could not be caught up in Hisoka's Bungee Gum, the rest of my body did not have that luck since my Dusa form and Chaos Storm Clouds were restricted during this spar. There were three strands holding each of my arms and four on my legs, almost completely restricting my movements. Thankfully, I quickly learned that I could control my Shard telepathically which was the only reason why I was still holding on.

Hisoka was not doing much better. I had crushed his left hand in our initial exchange, and there were several cuts on his body that I delivered later on. Around each of the cuts, a sickly seafoam green color was creeping across his skin as the Chaos corruption slowly wreaked havoc in his body. He was able to resist the corruption to a point, but it was slowly growing within him... and I could sense it, I realized over time.

"You've put up a good fight, for the first time," Hisoka mocked, raising his claw-like hand in a familiar gesture that typically ended our spar in the next few moments.

"Don't count me out yet," I growled, activating the Soul Tattoos which allowed me to increase my strength incredibly by channeling my Soul Power through them.

Hisoka immediately dashed at me, ready to deliver his claw into my throat. My Chaos Shard activated faster, slicing through the Bungee Gum holding my right arm, which allowed me to deflect his blow. I checked him with a shoulder blow, flowing up my deflection, yet he grinned and stabbed his other hand into my gut. Despite the pain, I laughed and fully awakened the Chaos corruption in his body, egging it to rip through his body as the close contact made it easier for me.

Fully activating the Chaos corruption, I blasted him away with a gale of Wind mana to separate us. I placed a hand on my newest wound and channeled my healing spell into it while I watched him. He tried to move his body, but below anywhere that I had cut, would not answer him. His right arm, below his elbow, was unresponsive; his left arm was useless due to the cut being near his shoulder. His right leg could still move, but it was clear that he was hindered by the corruption.

His eyes narrowed with subtle anger as I manipulated my Shard, in the shape of a chakram, to saw away the strands of Bungee Gum that were holding me. I rolled my shoulders with a smirk, readying myself for the final showdown. The Shard returned to my hand, taking the form of a long sword, which I pointed at him, egging him into confronting me.

For a moment, I thought that he would rush me, but he gave an annoyed huff and said, "I concede."

The generic empty room that we had been fighting in was replaced with the cantina ship with the rest of my group. Hisoka was returned to full health while I was still bearing the blows that he had delivered. Clicking my tongue with annoyance, my Shard returned to a dagger shape, and I tucked it back into its sheath.

"It's not like you to give up," I remarked, looking at Hisoka.

"Without a way to combat your corruption, I had already lost, but it's just my first time against it. We'll see if you'll be as lucky next time," he replied with his usual smirk.