#danielx

I let a shaky breath escape me.  I've done it.  I've gone and done something I had a hard time believing Dana—or the rest of the drang, for that matter—would ever forgive me for.  If I survive facing off against the two most powerful alien outlaws in the universe, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to survive my drang's wrath.

And as I thought about it, I didn't know which predicament was scarier.

The journey to the Quattican-Zeta-92 satellite space station was a quiet one.  There was nothing I could fill the space with.  I could no longer clap my drang, my family, into existence.  And there wasn't a radio on the space cruiser that would allow me to listen in on some intergalactic FM station.  There wasn't even a disc player of any kind.  If I wanted some form of entertainment, I would have to entertain myself.

As I passed by planet after planet, I noticed one thing they had in common: they were all very dark.  It was as if all life had been sucked out of them.  Even Luminus—a dwarf planet known for its glowing mountains—was covered in darkness.  It was eerie and I found myself wondering if The Prayer had anything to do with it.

"Or maybe Abaddon," I muttered as I scanned the planet and found no life on it.  "This seems like a kind of thing he would do...I think."

But even as I thought that, it was unfathomable how either of them could have done something of this magnitude.

Do they have a new weapon?  Or is this some kind of special ability Abaddon has?  Why would they do something like this?  What's the point of ruling if you leave nothing behind to rule?

The 'dead' planets continued on even as I crossed over to the Nebula-Strata galaxy, and to the galaxy after that.  I wanted, at that moment, to check the other galaxies surrounding the Galvarose.  I wanted to make sure my mind wasn't just being all pessimistic in saying that Galvarose was the only galaxy left that still had its planets teeming with life.  But I pushed that desire down and reminded myself that time was short.  My time was short.

Focus, Daniel, I told myself.  Stick to the plan.

Someone was shaking me, and I wanted to punch them in the face for it.  I had been awake late into the night and it felt like it has only been a few hours since I had fallen asleep.  Whoever was trying to wake me up must have a death wish of some sort.

When I cracked an eye open, I was surprised to see that I wasn't in my room.  I wasn't even in anywhere remotely familiar.  And as my eyes adjusted, I learned that the person shaking me awake was the one person I didn't really mind punching as hard as I could.

And I did just that.  Unfortunately, he managed to stop my fist from connecting with his face.

"That's not a proper way to greet someone 'good morning'," Khadagh's voice irritated me as much as his face did...which was strange considering the high probability that Daniel would share the same face as him in the future. 

I shook that thought away and glared at him.  That got him to take his hands off my shoulders.  "What do you want, Khadagh?"

"To talk," was his clipped answer.  "Besides, don't blame me for you ending up here while dreamwalking."

"I wasn't dreamwalking, and never in a million years will I choose to go anywhere where you are." I retorted, pushing him away as I stood up.

"Sure, you didn't," sarcasm oozed from his tone.  "I just suddenly obtained the ability that, for centuries, had only been available to your family's bloodline.  And since I know just how much you detest me, I decided to use it to annoy you.  Just for the heck of it."

 I realized he was right.  Dreamwalking, for him, was out of the question.  But just because he was right didn't mean that I would admit that to his face.  Nor would I let the confusion I was feeling at suddenly finding myself where he was, show itself.

"You want to talk?  Fine.  Talk." I crossed my arms and continued glaring at him.  I doubt he had something to say that would pique my interest.

"Daniel's going to do something extremely stupid, even for his standards," Khadagh didn't waste time in saying.  "Well, either he's still getting ready for it, or he's already on his way to accomplish what he had set out to accomplish."

"What are you talking about?" I narrowed my eyes at him as I asked, wondering what he was up to.

"Hiding that seemingly un-harmful information you decided to keep from him until recently?  That bit about Bhlaleen finally accepting you?  Learning that you kept that from him really did a number on him," Khadagh spoke as if he was talking about some boring information that he just happened to pick up.  It made my blood boil.

"Do you think I didn't notice that?" I spat.  "I can see what it did to him.  There hasn't been a day since then when he hadn't showed me how much hiding that angered him."

"Relax, princess."  I let another attack at him using my telepathic abilities.  I managed to push him down on the ground and keep him there.  He did not like it one bit, but I did.  "Damn it, Dana.  I don't have time for this.  I don't even know how long I have until this connection is severed too."

"What do you mean 'too'?" I asked, even though I had a sinking feeling that I already knew the answer to that question.

"I can't get through to Daniel.  Not anymore.  The space in his head that I had found myself stuck in is growing smaller and smaller by the day," Khadagh spoke quickly.  "He can't even use a sliver of his powers to create anything.  The only thing left he has going for him is his strength, speed, and heightened senses.  And that's not the worse of it."

When he saw that I wasn't going to interrupt him, Khadagh went on, still sprawled on the ground, my powers keeping him from getting up.

"He intends to take on The Prayer and Abaddon by himself, Dana." I had never heard Khadagh's voice shake with worry and panic until that moment.

"What?" I flipped my hand and pushed Khadagh up to his feet, slamming him on a nearby crumbling wall.  "You're lying!  He wouldn't do something so stupid."

"He would if he thinks it's the only way to end the war quickly," Khadagh answered back.  "Not only that, but he seems to believe that he is doing this for you.  Like throwing himself at the enemy would make you happy.  Like I've said, it's crazy.  And coming from me, that's something."

Hearing that from Khadagh shook my concentration.  He broke free from my telepathic grasp and quickly scrambled back to his feet.

"That's..." I couldn't think straight.  Khadagh was right.  It was stupid.  "I'm going to strangle him!"

"Calm down. Seriously, Dana." Khadagh had his hand up, as if he was trying to calm some rabid animal.  "Doing something like that to him, at the current state his in?  That won't help.  You have to understand.  You triggered something in him.  You made him feel like he needed to prove himself."

"So, this is my fault?" I was adamant.  I did not like what he was insinuating.  "Of course you would agree with him that I shouldn't have kept my status with Bhlaleen a secret.  You both are forgetting the big picture."

"I am not taking sides.  Believe me, getting between you and Daniel is worse than getting between the most powerful storm in the entire universe." he sighed.  "All I am saying is that you're the only one who can possibly get through to him now.  The only one who can fix whatever mess you two managed to pull yourselves in.  Put some sense into that abnormally thick skull of his.  And you don't have much time.  With his powers weakening more and more each day, he's going to go ahead with his plan soon."

"And if he doesn't listen to me?" I really felt the possibility of that happening was high.  "Daniel doesn't even want to talk to me, Khadagh."

"Then he's going to be heading straight to his death.  It would take a miracle for him to come out of a battle against The Prayer or Abaddon alive in the state he is in."

I had to leave the space cruiser a ways away from the actual satellite space station.  I couldn't afford it being spotted and shot down.  I still need it to get to where The Prayer and Abaddon are hiding, after all.

I also had to be doubly careful.  I may be searching for the two most dangerous aliens in the entire universe, but that didn't mean I would welcome skirmishes with their minions.  And who knows, with the rate their army is going, I wouldn't be surprised if they had taken over Quattican-Zeta-92.

Thankfully, my space cruiser was equipped with a G-Cycle.  It's a sort of anti-gravity, Azran motorbike.  The G-Cycle also has a built-in Chameleon Circuit which gives it (as well as its rider) invisibility for a small amount of time.  With it, I was able to get inside the satellite space station without raising alarms.

It became apparent, however, as I began exploring Quattican-Zeta-92, that I needn't have bothered.  The whole place was deserted.  Not a living soul roamed its halls and corridors.  No one was at the mission control room, or any other rooms at that.  The only thing that showed people had been there until recently were the open terminals, computers, and stations.

I didn't want to take in any chances, so I took my pistol out.  As I searched for the broadcast station, and as my footsteps echoed, I got the sense that I wasn't entirely alone.  There was still somebody in the space station.

I didn't know what I felt at that moment.  Worried.  Anxious.  Nervous.  It was all that and more.  I wanted to get things over with, but at the same time I didn't want to cross paths with whomever was in the satellite with me.

It was a relief when I finally found the broadcast room.  I quickly went to work, not wanting to spend a moment longer than I had to.

Before recording my transmission, I took a deep breath and tried to shake my nervousness away.  I needed to look confident, dauntless and unafraid.  I needed to look like I really meant the challenge I was going to issue to The Prayer and Abaddon.

Under my current circumstance, feeling so weak and helpless, it was a challenge to pull of.

As soon as I finished recording my message, I reviewed the footage.  It was passable.  And since I didn't want to overstay my welcome, I switched on the transmission and let my recording play on loop.  As soon as that was done, I hurriedly made my way back to where I had parked my G-Cycle.

I was almost there.  I could see my technologically advanced motorbike when a powerful blow knocked me off my feet.  The attack happened so fast, I was unable to do anything even as my back hit wall after wall, leaving a path of destruction.

When my back hit the farthest wall, I was back where the broadcast station.  I slumped on the ground.  As fast as the attack was, it didn't compensate in strength.  And I was groaning, squirming as I tried to get up.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered to myself.  My arms and legs were shaking even as I managed to pull myself up.  "This is just stupid.  I've just issued a challenge.  I can't suddenly find myself being beaten here."

As I was wiping the blood that was trickling down my chin, I heard the sound of footsteps.  I braced myself for battle.  I wasn't going to be downed by another surprise attack.

I was prepping myself for an attack from one of The Prayer's thugs or Abaddon's demonic minions.  It wasn't.

Khadagh, for the most part, didn't look worse for the wear.  Sure he looked as tired as I felt, and as worn down as the place he was living in, but he was still as sharp as he always had been.  His eyes still had that determined flare in them.  I should know, it was the look in my eyes that I was wearing as I faced him.

"Should I be worried that you're back here, talking to me?" was Khadagh's chosen greeting.

"You make it sound like I come here only when I'm up to something reckless." I answered him back.

He raised an eyebrow.  "Isn't that always how it goes?  I have yet to have you visit me to tell me something that doesn't involve some crazy plan or some trouble brewing.  You know, I would like to hear some inspiring stories or uplifting anecdotes once in a while."

"Sorry, I don't have something like that with me," I sighed as I sat down next to him.  "I need one myself, so if you happen to have something..."

I let my words trail off.  I had a lot on my mind, and I knew Khadagh could tell.  Unlike before, when he could easily read my thoughts, though, now there was something between us that kept him from doing so.

After a while of silence, Khadagh asked, "So, what is it?  What reckless plan do you have up your sleeves that you seem to want my approval of?"

"Am I really that easy to read?" I chuckled.  It was a stupid question to ask someone who is, basically, just another version of you.

Khadagh smirked at me, but didn't say anything else.  Which meant that he was waiting for me to continue.  I sighed.  I could already imagine what he was going to say afterwards.

"Blaleen's already approved Dana," I chose to start there.  "She...Dana...just told me.  She said she passed Blaleen's challenge while I was away in Korin."

"And why do you sound like you're unhappy?" Khadagh asked.  "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Everyone knew what had gone down between her and Blaleen.  But they chose to hide it from me.  My drang, even my own grandmother." I laughed bitterly.  I decided not to answer his question, or to affirm his observation.  "The only reason Dana decided to share it with me was because we had a fight.  A...misunderstanding."

"She must have a reason why she hid it from you," Khadagh spoke carefully.  "Dana is never one to act irrationally.  Even when I had her brainwashed and under my control, that part of her was always clear."

"She did have her reasons," I conceded.  "She said she didn't want me to lose focus on what was most important at the moment.  She implied that I wasn't just hers.  That I belong to the alliance.  I have my responsibilities with them and I needed to focus on that.  She decided, for both of us, that our Union should wait."

"You do realize that those are good arguments," Khadagh said.  "She is weighing everything out.  I'm amazed she had it in her to even put off what you have both wanted for so long."

"That's not the point," I almost growled.  I wasn't blind or stupid.  I could see that Dana really did have good reasons.

"Then tell me what is, because I am at a loss," Khadagh said with a sigh.  "I honestly thought you would have come to the same conclusion as her."

"She didn't talk to me about it.  She didn't trust me enough to make the right call.  It's like she didn't even believe I could balance it." I ran a frustrated hand over my head.  "Isn't communication supposed to be an important part of any relationship?  Blaleen accepting her is a big deal.  A very big deal.  She should have told me.  We should have come to a decision together.  It should be under our own terms, and not because of some war."

I didn't think Khadagh would have the gall to laugh at me at that moment, until he did.  I gave him a stink eye.  He apologized, yet chuckled for a while longer.

"You're telling me you didn't like the fact that she was hiding something from you.  That she chose to keep silent, instead of sharing these with you." I didn't see what was funny with that, but Khadagh thought it was.  When he had completely stopped laughing, he looked me dead in the eye with the most serious expression I have ever seen him wore and said, "You, Daniel X, are a hypocrite."

"I—What?"

"Tell me: who was it that had kept the problems with his power a secret until the he had no choice but to tell someone about it, but at the same time still keeps it a secret from everyone else?  Who is still keeping whatever happened at Korin, about Anieko, a secret?  Who is keeping his emotions, his thoughts, all bottled up instead of sharing it with people who can help him through it and be physically there for him?" I can tell Khadagh was on a roll, his voice rising with every addition to the list he was making.  "Everyone is entitled to their own secrets, Daniel.  Especially if they are keeping it a secret for the sake of the one they love.  You are doing the same thing.  And that little plan—which, by the way, I believe to be the most idiotic and reckless plan you ever came up with—in your head?  It's the most selfish and conceited thing ever."

I grit my teeth.  I knew what he was saying was true and I was being stubborn.

"You don't even know what I intend to do," I retorted.  "You can't read my mind.  Not anymore."

"I don't need to be able to read your mind," he said.  "I know what you're planning to do.  And I know that you're not going to let anyone dissuade you.  I am you.  And I would think of doing the same thing."

"Then why are you against it?" I shouted at him as I stood up.

"Because, as I have said, it is stupid and selfish.  You're not thinking straight.  Heck, I doubt you're even thinking at all." His tone was calm even if his words were not.  "You may think you're doing it for them.  You think it's for the right reasons.  But the truth is it's not.  The only thing you're going to accomplish is getting yourself killed.  If that happens, what then?"

"If I end up being killed," I said slowly.  "Then I will make sure I take The Prayer and Abaddon along with me."

As soon as I uttered those words, I severed the connection between Khadagh and myself.  My mind was already set.

It didn't take much to know that Daniel was still angry with me and my decision to keep the truth about Blaleen's acceptance from him.  Even the others knew that something was wrong between us, though they were respectful not to ask me about it.

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the least bit frustrated with him as well.  He doesn't talk to me unless it had something to do with strategies and battle plans, war resources, and the likes.  We needed to talk about everything, especially about us.  But he was doing his best to keep that from happening.  I have never wanted to strangle him so badly...until now.

Apart from keeping his feelings all to himself, he was also hiding something else.  I could tell.  I know Daniel.  It wasn't that hard not to figure that out.  Even though I wanted to ask him, to get him to open up, I found myself at a lost as to what to say.

Knowing that he was up to something frightened me.  It made me worried.  All I could do was silently watch over him, make sure he didn't do something reckless.  But I have a feeling—this strange, precognitive feeling—he was going to do something reckless, even on my watch.  No, maybe he was going to do something especially on my watch.

I could feel I was running out of time.  My powers are almost non-existent.  I haven't gotten them to work ever since I spoke with Khadagh.  I doubt the argument we had would have anything to do with it.  The only thing I have going for me are my superhuman strength and speed, as well as my heightened senses.  If I wanted to go through with my plan—which I do—I needed to put it into action soon.

I had made preparations, not just for myself but for those I would be leaving behind.  I have prepared everything: the battle plans, the resources, everything the Alliance would need for the battle they would be facing from here on out.  I've also held council meetings after council meetings, busying myself to the point where I feel like I'm living and breathing the war itself.  It was the least I could do.  After all, I don't know how long I would be gone...or if I would even be returning at all.

Everything I did—everything I was doing—wasn't easy.  Not being able to tell my drang, especially Dana, was painfully hard.  Even more so having to act cold towards her.  But I told myself I was doing it for them.  I was doing it to keep myself from being distracted from the task at hand.  Even when Khadagh's words were still echoing in my mind.  Even when, at the back of my mind, I was questioning myself.

I heard someone once say that sometimes, we have to make sacrifices.  That we can't always save everyone.  That there's a difference between a loss and a sacrifice.  A sacrifice is a choice we make.  A loss is a choice made for us.  And that was what I was doing: making a choice.  One I hope would pay off.

A month after speaking with Khadagh, I was ready.  Or, at least, as ready as I'll ever be.  As soon as night fell, I slipped out of my room, careful not to make any noise.  Every step I took, I half expected someone—Willy, Dana, or Pole—to suddenly leave their room and find me fully-armed with Azran pistols and with a large pack slung over my back.  I could only breathe a sigh of relief when I managed to get out of the house undetected.

I wasn't done yet.  I needed to get slip past every guard, every warrior, every single living soul still up at that hour, and get to the hangar where I had my very own space cruiser (which was something I had asked the Azrans to make for me) waiting.  It was a lot more challenging.  I had to remember everything I know about the aliens we had allied ourselves with, and remember the angle and positioning of the security cameras, using the knowledge to keep myself from getting caught.  By the time I got to the hangar, I had wasted a lot of time and I was already exhausted.

Thankfully, the hangar was empty.  I immediately made a beeline for the space cruiser.  Dumping my stuff near the entrance to the cockpit, I quickly placed a hand over the scanner to get the engine running.  Then, I remotely hacked the hangar's computer to grant me permission to take off.  It wasn't hard, and I was glad the cruiser's engines were quiet.

I gripped the cruiser's control column tightly, my knuckles turning white.  I couldn't let myself look back, because even if I had already made my choice, there's still a large part of me that does want to turn back.  And so, I kept my eyes trailed forward, checking the flight deck and the instrument panel one more time and making sure that all systems were a 'Go'.   Then I turned the communications and the tracking systems off.  Once that was done, I pushed the throttle forward and steered the space cruiser out of the hangar, the planet, and into space.