[Katye is in place. Shut down the shields on my mark... Now!] I sent to Echo as I glided down to the mountain side with L'Naan in my arms.
As soon as I sensed her success, I dipped my wings and aimed myself directly at the main structure. Although she knew what I was doing, L'Naan could not help but tighten her grip on me as we sped towards the ground. Before we reached the ground, I flipped in the air so that I was going feet first towards the ground and conjured up a gale of Wind to slow our descent. I did not just slam heavily onto the roof of the structure, but crashed through it and two more floors, only negating the damage to myself with the shields built into my suit.
My entrance had caused damage to the structure, with tubes spewing smoke and conduits releasing sparks, while also stirring the hive. There was a green glow that illuminated the smoke hauntingly, but it was the red laser light, scanning the area, that truly brought out the atmosphere that I had imagined when I watched First Contact. I set L'Naan, who was in an exo-suit, carefully down before shifting back to my humanoid form, also in my exo-suit.
"Spatial scattering field deployed. I give it five minutes before they respond with a transport ship and ten before they adapt. Start raising hell, and I'll let you know if I need help," Katye stated through the intercom.
"Remember the plan, sword and bow only," I said to L'Naan.
She nodded, calling out a metal bow from her ring while I chose a pair of short swords from my own. The plan was simple, use the most basic techniques as long as possible until the Borg adapted. With Raven currently on their side, we had no doubt that they would be able to adapt to our mana with time, so we had to act conservatively.
The Borg closed in from four directions, but I charged into the group that was coming from the north as it was closer to the side of the building. I managed to cut through the first dozen with ease, with L'Naan taking down another six with the bow, but then the Borg shields remodulated to block physical attacks. After the first time my swords were blocked, I switched them out for a great hammer while activating my Soul Tattoo which allowed me to channel more Soul Power into my strength, magnifying it to ridiculous levels.
"Block this," I mocked as I swung the hammer with my full strength at the lead drone.
The shield collapsed, and its body was reduced to a bloody mist, while also stumbling back the next few due to the shockwave that my attack generated. L'Naan knew that her basic attacks could not work, but she had other tricks up her sleeve. She summoned metal rod after metal rod, to manipulate them to block off the corridor we took. I cleared the way forward while she secured our backs.
When we reached the outside wall, I broke through it with a single swing, then jumped out with L'Naan right behind me. Our suits had thrusters, so we flew towards the entrance to the mine. There were a few drones nearby, but we ignored them and raced into the cave.
I tried to flood the rock with my mana but found it resisting my efforts. I had seen this before when our group first found Eden, so I knew that there was some kind of formation protecting this area, but it was not as strong as that one had been. I could wrestle control of the rock with a bit of work and seal the entrance, but I knew that it would only last for so long.
"Area is protected by some kind of formation. The stone is still controllable, but the cost of Earth spells is nearly triple for me. Switching tactic to M-One," I said through the comms.
"Acknowledged," Katye replied.
L'Naan and I pulled out a stack of metal discs that were the size of a palm which were marked with Katye's trap spell; the Borg would probably be able to adapt quickly, but the mines could give us a few more minutes. We scattered them behind us as we moved deeper into the mine. Echo was already on Raven's trail and ten kilometers underground. Thanks to our connection, I had a perfect map to the lift to bring us down to the bottom level that was tied to 'Project V'.
There were a few drones that tried to block our path, but they had yet to adapt to my strength, so they were not a problem. Instead of using the lift, I ripped open the doors and fired myself down the shaft with the thrusters of my suit. When I saw the lift moving upwards, I activated my shield and increased my speed, breaking through it with ease. L'Naan followed behind me, and we landed heavily on the bottom level. I ripped open the doorway and stepped into the corridor.
What greeted us was something that Raven had created, as I had never seen the Borg use anything like that. Six black turrets popped out of the walls, ceiling, and floor. The sleek barrels began to spin at high speed and fire green phaser beams at us, charged with 'Order' mana. While my shields negated the damage, I was still sent stumbling back into the elevator shaft due to the impact. L'Naan pressed herself to the side of the shaft and I ducked behind the other side as more phaser beams rained into the hole.
"I don't remember those in Echo's briefing," L'Naan remarked.
"I've never heard of the Borg using turrets, so it's probably a Raven addition," I replied. "We're pinned down by turrets outside the chamber where Raven is. Without teleporting, I can't get close enough to them to destroy them with physical attacks."
"Go to Phase Two. The first transport ship is in sight, so I will be starting my assault momentarily," Katye said.
I pulled out a violet crystal from my storage ring and waited for the turrets to stop firing. Enhancing my speed to the maximum, I shifted in front of the opening and threw the crystal as hard as I could at one of the turrets. I barely had time to duck back behind cover before the crystal hit and shattered, erupting with a powerful and destructive amount of pure mana.
Poking my head out after the explosion died down, the corridor was left in wreckage, or so I thought. A pulse of energy was released from behind the rubble and sent the debris falling towards me. While the two turrets in the ground were still blocked by the rubble, the other four were not, and they opened fire at me. I dove out of the way, since I did not want to waste my suit's power reserves, and summoned a thick tower shield from my ring.
I manipulated the metal within the shield to make it cover me better as I stood up. The phaser beams pounded against my shield, but unlike the first volley, I was ready for them and braced myself for the impacts. It was slow going, and the phasers shaved off a tiny amount of my shield with each hit, but the distance was not too far.
Unfortunately, I realized how the turrets had survived the unstable mana crystal. A shield blocked the path to the turrets, six inches from the barrel of the guns, which was also keeping back the debris. The shield that I controlled became a semi-dome, blocking the turrets while I also made a small hole in my shield, so that I could touch the Borg shield.
I transformed just my hand into my Dusa form and stabbed my five talons into the energy barrier. Order was deeply infused with the shield's energy, likely why it had handled the unstable crystal so well, but that did not mean that it could stop me despite being my weakness. A green shimmer was constant where my talons touched the shield, but as I infused my talons with Chaos mana, a dark silver glow started to take over.
Once the silver overtook half of the shield, it collapsed instantly. I launched the remainder of my metal shield to cover three of the six with a thin, U-shaped wall. At the same time, I threw myself at one of the ceiling mounted turrets and ripped it down then threw it at a second turret, destroying it as well. The last one opened fire at me at point blank range, so I was forced to rely on the shields built into my suit. Thankfully, while I had it distracted, L'Naan popped out of the elevator shaft and fired an arrow that was topped with a small mana crystal which destroyed the last turret in a small violet explosion.
"Thanks," I said as L'Naan made her way over the debris.
Reaching out to the mana still in the metal, I closed my fist, and the U-shaped wall crushed the remaining turrets. Although I could not see her face due to the helmet, I could practically see the smirk as she shook her head at my casual destruction. We both turned and looked at the far end of the hallway where heavy doors sealed off the next room where Echo was hiding.
"You ready to get her back?" L'Naan asked, standing at my side.
"More than anything," I replied with a light smile.
She motioned towards the end of the hall and waited for me to go first. Both of us had been expecting another set of turrets to appear, either in front or behind us, but we reached the door without any more trouble. Whatever the door was made out of resisted my efforts to infuse my mana into it, but that did not stop me. I transformed into my Dusa form and channeled an incredible amount of Fire mana into my talons, then stabbed them into the strange metal. While a lightsaber would have done a better job, I managed to cut a hole in the door that was large enough for the two of us to pass through.
What we found on the other side of the door was not what I expected. Raven was there, of course, along with twenty Borg that looked like the beefed-up brothers of anything that I had ever seen in any of the shows, yet that was not what I was surprised by. Behind her, and the formation of drones, was a floating dark copper sphere. It was hollow, the outside was only six inches thick at its widest point, and the metal spiraled from one end to the other, with hundreds of runes covering the outside layer. The reason why I was so shocked by what I saw was simple, that was an Anomaly Stone, straight out of 'The 100', and it had far more abilities than what we had ever discovered during our time in that universe.
"Rebecca," Raven said, though hundreds of voices seemed to overlap with her own. "We knew that you would come for us eventually. We expected you to act much sooner, but it seems that Voyager was able to move much faster than expected if you are here."
Raven's appearance had undergone a fundamental change. Her hair was gone, replaced by numerous tubes coming out of her skull and attached to her body. Her caramel-colored skin was a pale gray white, and her body was covered in a thick layer of Borg plating and implants, so that not an inch of skin was shown below the neckline. Most surprising though was that her mana reserves were on par with Echo's, despite the three and a half years in Sancu's game. While Susanna had told us that the Queen needed her true body, I could not help but think that there was a chance that she was nothing more than a head and mechanical device from the neck down, as that was how the Borg Queen had shown herself in 'First Contact'.
"You know how it goes... special fuel, a few Vazukuru tricks, and here we are," I replied, trying to suppress my rising anger.
"We were surprised that you left Katye to defend your backs... It seems out of character for you to let her out of your sight."
"Yeah... well, after I let you replace me, the others haven't trusted my judgement much, hence why I'm here with an observer," I replied, non-chalantly.
"Echo, we are happy to see you here as well," Raven said. "Neither of you need to resist. Raven is here, apart of us, just like you can be."
"Transcendence or Death... If you really have Raven's memories, you know what we will choose," I stated, resummoning the twin swords from my ring.
"It doesn't have to be this way. Raven is a strong current in our Collective, and she wants nothing more than to be with the rest of you."
I chuckled darkly as I pointed a sword at 'Raven' and said, "Keep your bullshit. If she is a 'current' in the Collective, that means she's fighting you. Once I sever the connection, do you really think that she will still be your puppet? Don't act like you think I will come willingly; this will always be a fight while you control her."
Raven's head 'ticked' to the side as I finished my statement, and said, "Resistance is futile. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own."
"Thank you for making it easy on me, babe," I said while infusing my maximum amount of mana into my body to enhance my speed.
That was the signal for all hell to break loose. The twenty drones raised their arms in unison and fired phaser beams from their arms at me, ignoring L'Naan altogether. My instincts warned me to not trust the shields of my suit, so I dashed to the side, opposite of L'Naan's position to me. Before the drones could react, I raced up to the closest one and slashed out with both my swords.
Although I claimed his head, the others aimed and fired at me as well as the projected path to the next drone. Typically, I would have teleported myself out of this problem, but the spatial scattering field device that Katye activated covered over five hundred kilometers in every direction, including below ground.
Since I was not willing to use my Chaos Storm, and give the Borg more data on my powers, I could only retreat and block the one phaser beam by charging a sword with Weapon-Force. Any attack that I used would just give the Borg more data, so I had to keep reusing whatever worked before until it no longer worked. While I kept dodging and deflecting phaser beams, L'Naan fired several more of her mana crystal topped arrows, killing three of the drones while the fourth and fifth survived as their shields had adapted.
She managed to pull the focus of a few drones which allowed me to move in close. I slashed out with my sword, and, for a split second, it looked like the shimmering green shield would hold, but then, it collapsed, and my sword cut a deep gash across his chest and throat. I did not care that he was still alive, as he would die soon enough, and moved onto the next one.
Raven finally decided to make her move. Four, black metal arms erupted from her back, mirroring her Soul Construct, and two pointed at me while the other two at L'Naan. Immediately, I shifted into my Dusa form as L'Naan retreated out of the room at high speed, which proved to be a wise course of action.
Two maroon and two green phaser beams were fired, one of each aimed at both of us. L'Naan managed to dodge, but I tanked them by crossing my arms in front of my chest rather than give up my position. While the maroon beam stung, the green one was able burn through my scales.
I let out a roar of pain, but did not stop. Throwing my swords at the two furthest drones, they both found their targets and pierced their skulls. I called out a great sword that was designed for me to use in this form and dashed through the remaining drones, boosting my speed and strength to maximum with both my mana and Soul Power. Although I took a few more hits as Raven focused solely on me, I cut down every drone except Raven as she was someone else's target.
Just as I killed the last one, Raven prepared a large spell and nearly launched it, but a familiar burst of mana flashed behind her as Echo stepped out of the Yin Realm. She placed a silver device that snapped around her neck, which Katye had created to regulate the brain's signals, effectively putting Raven into a controlled comatose state. Echo caught her and eased Raven down to the ground.
"A... fifth?!?" Raven mumbled as she passed out.
"Raven is out, we've got her," Echo said through the intercom.
I sighed with relief as I put away my sword and transformed back into my normal appearance. L'Naan and I started to walk up, but then, we felt it. The Anomaly Stone released a burst of mana and Raven's body was dissolved in emerald flames. She was gone, teleported away by the 'stone', but the scroll that replaced her body was evidence enough of 'who' was responsible.
Echo plucked the note tied to the handle and read it out loud, "'I'm impressed. Your level of success only had a five percent chance of happening. Unfortunately, Raven needs more time as she is showing a ninety-two percent chance of success, so there is still much that she can gain. I made a Gamble and lost, so I promise her safety for two years and leave you the means to get her back. The same code that was used to pull Raven away is hidden within this scroll which is a grimoire of Raznar for a class of magic that you are not aware of, but Master believes you are very suited for; this is my debt paid to you. As a concession for your group, you each may call me once to ask a question outside of the 'Axis of Space-Time', but only once. Signed, Sancu."
"What happened?" Katye huffed.
"There is an Anomaly Stone... Raven was stolen like Luna was," I growled, gritting my teeth.
"I guess that explains the Q-like flash that removed any Borg within a ten-mile radius, but I can see more ships approaching from orbit. I'm sorry, but I can't handle that number alone," Katye replied.
"It's fine... We're done here," Echo said coldly, storing the scroll away in her ring and standing up.
I could feel her cold anger through our link, so she could sense my own fury. My eyes narrowed on the Anomaly Stone and, as much as I wanted to lash out at it, I also knew that it would be the key to getting Raven back.
"L'Naan, do you have enough room in your storage ring for that thing?" I asked as calmly as I could, pointing at the Anomaly Stone.
L'Naan took a moment to respond, still stunned by Raven's disappearance, and said, "I should."
"Grab it. We need to regroup with Katye and get out of here," I instructed as I walked over to Echo.
L'Naan nodded and did as I asked. I reached Echo's side and placed a hand on her shoulder. While she tried to suppress and hide it, I could feel the anger, hopelessness, and resignation in her.
"We know she's safe, and we have another chance to get her back... on our terms. It's not your fault; it's mine for needing her to correct my mistake," I sighed. "It's possible to do everything right and still not win."
"And what will stop them from taking her again?" Echo asked.
"We do. Katye has grown significantly since we left Eden, so she can study the Anomaly Stone while you figure out the code. You won against a God of Chance, Luck, and Fate today... something that I can't say. The final episode involves a direct strike against the Borg Queen, so we will get her back or die trying, one way or another; I'm not leaving without her," I replied.
Echo nodded her head and agreed, "We get her back, or die trying."