Lightning Champion

Posted on Fri Jul 20th, 2018 @ 3:50pm by Aewia Larani & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi

Mission: Holographic Horrors
Location: Granweh - Danu's Gardens

Nexi sighed as she leaned back into the steamy mineral water; she wasn't normally a fan of 'soaking' or 'relaxing', but after what she had been through recently, she was willing to give this stuff a try. She was starting to remember some things, but most of her past was still a vague blank, and then the other day Danu had dropped the massive news that Nexi was effectively immortal; she could be killed with great effort, but as long as she didn't take fatal damage she would always heal and she would barely age. It was a lot to take in, more than any person should ever have to bear; and to think, some people actually wanted eternal life...

A nearby splash caught Nexi's attention, and she looked over to see Aewia splashing around in the waterfall. Apparently, Danu's idea of a 'bathing' was a waterfall and a hotspring, although now that Nexi was in here she could kind of see the merit in it. But now that her attention was on Aewia, Nexi wondered what they were going to do; Aewia had been reduced to a child-like state, which Danu informed Nexi was how she had been before the Black Blood, and Aewia was still having flashbacks from the Master being in her head. At the moment, she was joyous and carefree, but that could shatter at any moment if a bad memory decided to resurface, and Nexi worried about both of their futures.

As Aewia splashed a bit more, the silky hot water soothed her and eventually she calmed down and let herself drift off a bit, relaxing into the water. This hot spring waterfall was definitely one of her favorite things about this place. Then a somewhat mature thought struck her. "Sis, if we get better, we'll have to leave here, right? Do you think we'll get better?"

"Do you wanna stay?" Nexi asked curiously. Of course, she wanted them both to get better, but what was better for either of them?

Aewia furrowed her brow as she thought it over. "I don't know. I want to see our other friends but it's nice here. What do you want?"

"I don't know either," Nexi replied, leaning against the stones lining the spring so she could reach out to take Aewia's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "And I want us to get better, I just don't know what 'better' is anymore..."

"Better is not hurting anymore," replied Aewia, squeezing Nexi's hand back and giving her a smile. "Or at least not as much as yesterday."

"Speaking of, how's your head?" Nexi asked. "I know you still have night terrors, but has the pain gone away?" Nexi's own hurt was much deeper because she didn't know who she was anymore; she could remember bits and pieces here and there, but not enough to reconstruct her identity. Even reading about her past hadn't been enough, she still felt so aimless, not to mention that sometimes she still had that primal urge to attack her own sister for reasons she still had trouble comprehending, but with their bond growing stronger every day, this urge was getting easier and easier to dismiss.

"It still feels like I have two brains inside of me sometimes... But it's getting better." Nodding Aewia moved closer to Nexi. "And the voices are fading too. I only hear my own most of the time now."

"That's good," Nexi said, sliding even closer so she could loop her arm around Aewia's shoulder. "I know I'm supposed to be helping you, but I feel so lost myself that when you hurt, I don't know how to help you." Nexi was never this open about her feelings before the Black Blood, so maybe all these changes in her weren't all bad.

"Just let your instincts be your guide for now," Danu said, smiling at them from the edge of the hot springs bath. "How are the two of you doing today so far? A bit better, I hope?"

"Fuck, how do you do that?" Nexi said with frustration. Danu didn't look all that stealthy, and it set Nexi on edge with how easily the woman could sneak up on her. Nexi ran a hand over her face to help wipe away the surprise, then contemplated the question. "We're okay, I guess; maybe a little restless, but it does feel kinda nice taking the time to get my head right. and I think I'm done cooking over here..."

Nexi pulled herself out of the steamy water to sit atop the edge of the bath to let her skin cool off and air dry for a moment. Physically, she was in excellent shape, the residual effects of the Black Blood seemed to be keeping her in good condition despite the somewhat sedentary convalescence, her damp skin glistening over well-toned muscle. The only sign of any damage was the scar on her shoulder where she had been run through by the Amazon blade; the Black Blood had accelerated the healing to leave black scar tissue behind, although now it was smooth and soft like the rest of her skin, and she was considering getting some ink done so that the scar actually looked like something cool.

Aewia waved happily to Danu and hopped up on the edge of the bath as well. "I knew she was there. She feels like lavender and cotton."

The old goddess just chuckled before motioning towards another open part of the gardens. "Your last tests gave some interesting results. If you don't mind, I'd like you to try something. Something that only one of my kind has been able to pull of, to my knowledge."

Lavender and cotton? Nexi had no idea what the hell that even meant, but she had the sense that she had long since given up on trying to make sense of Aewia's unusual perspectives. Since... Sense?

"Yeah, sure," Nexi finally replied to Danu, then rose to her feet and grabbed a robe. She put the robe on as she followed Danu, peeking behind to make sure that Aewia was following them. "So these results, are they interesting good or interesting bad?"

"Just interesting so far," replied Danu as they headed towards a wooden sparring dummy that had been set up with iron nails in it. Pulling Aewia and herself to the side, she motioned to it. "Ok, stand back... And shock it."

"Shock it? From here?" Nexi asked dubiously. She didn't remember using her abilities, but she could feel it in her bones, she knew she shouldn't be able to shock things from a distance, that she required direct contact. But Danu wouldn't ask for this demonstration if she didn't have some hunch she was working off of, so Nexi raised a hand and gave it a try. She felt the current welling up to a bright and violent display. It was strange, despite the lack of memory, it felt like it shouldn't be this vivid or blue; wasn't it gold? Whatever Danu had discovered, she was definitely onto something! With intent and purpose, Nexi launched the sparking blue energy at the dummy, missing with the first try, but then she got both hands into it and was able to direct the violent current with more accuracy. Striking the dummy, it jumped and sparked, and the wood would be forever marred by a web of electrical burns.

"Whoa!" Nexi said with awe, staring at her hands as they continued to hum with their electrical current.

Danu and Aewia both clapped excitedly at the display. Danu stepped forward, pulling a blue and silver shortsword from under her robes and handing it to Nexi. "Try again with this. It might help you to control it." She then stepped back again.

Nexi breathed heavily as she took the sword; maybe she was capable of greater electrical feats now, but she wasn't used to expending so much energy! But she felt she was good for one more try; directing her current through the sword as a conduit felt strange and unfamiliar, but it did the trick, allowing the charge to remain as one cohesive jolt that split the dummy into splinters, the force so great that it sent a few of the nails shooting out.

"Fuck, I didn't catch you with that, did I?" Nexi asked, more for Aewia's sake than Danu's, but she also didn't want to end up on Danu's bad side either.

Aewia was holding a still smoking iron nail that had been flying towards Danu's head. Danu just chuckled the same way she always did and patted Aewia on the back. "Excellent reflexes, my dear! And Nexi, I think that was marvelous! Why, with a little practice I think the two of you could be my champions!"

"Champions?" Nexi asked, but then the sword slipped from her hand and fell to the grass; with the adrenaline fading, Nexi suddenly realized how weak she felt, and it occurred to her that she might have to recondition herself to using her abilities like this. "Ohoooh, this... oh, my head..." Nexi said incoherently as her vision began to blur.

It only took a moment for Danu to be at her side and for the green healing glow to start to come from her hand in an attempt to recharge Nexi. "Sorry, I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. I should explain... Your people naturally generate electricity but it's normally just small shocks. Sometimes enough to knock someone out with contact. Your experiences have reconfigured that ability into a similar organ to that of Apollo and Thor, who can throw lightning. This was your first time so naturally you strained yourself. I'm sorry, my child."

"Yeah... I kind of remember something like that, but it's still fuzzy," Nexi said as she let Danu tend to her. "I know it's never been like this before, and that really took it out of me," she added, still breathing a little hard, but her vision was starting to clear up thanks to whatever Danu was doing to her. "Okay seriously, what did you mean by 'champions'?"

As Danu continued her healing, she explained. "Well in the past, various gods have chosen mortals to go on heroic quests for them. Sometimes they were made demigods or were born that way or some such... Anyway, the point is, we don't do our own dirty work just like most people. Hence the need for contracted champions. Once you feel up to it, if you and your sister want the job it's yours. You might even get contracts from the others from time to time as well, but you shouldn't feel too inclined to accept them."

"Great, is this some form of indenture for you healing us?" Nexi couldn't remember why the idea of that bothered her so much; she fully expected to have to offer something up as payment to show her gratitude, but if this amounted to slavery then she wasn't sure the payoff was worth it.

"No, but I would be appreciative. The missions I would offer you would be to help and save others so in a way you would be paying it forward. You could also turn those missions down as well." After a few more moments, Danu finished up and let Nexi go. "It's completely up to you, but if you do, I'll do my best to guide and train you. I'll also call in a few favors and have your ship upgraded. THAT would be a favor you would owe me. Nothing more."

"I won't be a slave... Again?" Nexi winced as a memory tried to bubble forth, something she clearly didn't want to remember. "I was a slave to a.... Ferengi..." Then she uttered a curse in Ferengi and shook her head. "I don't want to remember this..."

"Those memories may serve you well in the future, but no, you will never be a slave again. I forbid it. You are the master of your own destiny from now on." Danu folded her hands resolutely, having made a statement of fact. "As are you, my child," she added, turning to look at Aewia who was still looking at the iron nail she had caught by reflex, turning it over in her fingers.

Looking up as if it had just dawned on her where they were, Aewia's eyes went wide with realization. "Oh. I... I caught this. I'm like a superhero now or something. Like the old holo-comics. That was..." Her eyes narrowed as memories also started to flood her mind of her younger days. "My parents..."

Nexi recognized the look in Aewia's eyes, and suddenly her own troubles were forgotten as Nexi moved to embrace her sister. "It's okay, kiddo," Nexi said as she ran her hand over Aewia's hair; the gesture felt awkward, like she wasn't used to doing it, but it still came from the heart. While Aewia worked through her memories, Nexi looked back at Danu. "We may not be slaves, but we won't be pawns either; whatever jobs you have for us, you be straight up with us about the details, no subterfuge. So if you want to send us out on a potential suicide mission, we have the right to know, and the right to turn it down if we want to."

Danu bowed slightly. "I strive for honestly and besides, if you were lost the universe would feel a great loss at your passing. I would rather avoid that."

Aewia was working through the memories slowly as she hugged her sister back. "Our parents are dead, aren't they? You told me that. I... I think I need some ice cream..."

Nexi nodded to Danu, a sort of informal acceptance. "I'll need to learn to use these new skills of mine before I try to go out, but... your terms seem fair enough." Although that did bring to mind that group she had traveled with before, those 'Starfleet' people she couldn't quite remember, and she wondered how this whole 'champion' thing would affect their plans to reunite with those people. But it was an issue she could tackle later, right now Aewia needed her attention.

"Let's go, kiddo, I think I hear a bowl of double fudge brownie ice cream calling your name," Nexi said to her sister. "And let's get you something to wear," she added with a chuckle when it finally dawned on her that Aewia was still naked from the bath.