An unknown amount of time later, an irate woman's voice woke me.

“YOU!” A black cloaked figure yelled and her words shook the white space she stood in.

I sat up and looked around to see chunks of twisted metal and pieces of the ship spread all over the place. If I had to guess, I think I just rammed her with Opina at twice the speed of light. I thought with amusement. “Hi, there. How are you?” I asked as I stood up. I was about a hundred feet away from the figure and I examined myself. I seemed fine, except for some healing bruises, and my personal shield pendant was a smoking ruin, so I tossed it aside. Well, at least that worked here.

“You dare enter my personal realm without my permission!” The figure exclaimed and swiped her hand at me. I activated a black barrier for an instant and absorbed the attack.

“I dare more than that.” I said and looked around a bit more. Sama, where are you? I asked on a dedicated mental channel.

D-d-dad. Sama's weak mental signal came back to me.

I pinpointed her immediately and used Presence Run to go to her. She had apparently kept going when the ship crashed and had landed several hundred feet away. I found her still in her seat and she had two broken legs. Both her personal shield pendant and the backup were smoking ruins, so I tossed them aside and used Presence Heal on her. It healed her and also fed her ability, so I did it multiple times.

“No... Dad, you... need your Presence.” Sama said and took a deep breath, then another. She was fine.

“It's all right. I have this all planned out.” I said and broke the straps holding her in the chair and helped her stand.

“Planned it, have you?” The woman's voice cut through the air like a razor. “You enter my personal space and think that you can challenge me?”

“I already challenged you by slamming Opina right into your smug face.” I said and led Sama over to the black cloaked figure. “Sama, meet the source of the brown dwarf stars.”

“WHAT?!?” Sama yelled.

“So, you figured it out.” The cloaked figure said.

“It was actually pretty easy.” I said.

“Then please, enlighten me while I gather my strength to crush you.”

“Ha. You would have done it by now if you were going to do that.” I said. “I say it was easy, because I've been removing The Order from the universe and you didn't react at all. Millions and millions of followers snuffed out, and not even a peep from you. What a shame for a goddess to abandon her followers and not tell them that they weren't needed anymore.”

Chaiya pulled the hood down and almost growled at me.

“Wow, the power of stars really makes you look ugly.” I commented and she tried to push us away with her energy. I made an angled shield of Presence and it divided the energy and pushed it around us. “I assume you picked up the technique from that rogue goddess all those years ago.”

Chaiya glared at me, then her attention was caught by something. “Ah, I see. Excuse me for a moment.” She said and started to fade away.

I tossed a minuscule black barrier device at her and she screamed as it tore through her arm and shoulder and then it disappeared. “I don't think so.” I said and threw another.

Chaiya tried to deflect it with energy and the black barrier absorbed it and exploded before it could reach her. “Ah, I see. Your little trick can't handle my power any more than you can.” She said and the weight of a hundred planets fell on us.

“That's an old trick.” I said and used Levitation to counter the weight, then watched as her arm faded back into existence. I threw two more small black barriers at her and they exploded before they reached her.

“That won't work on me any-HURK!” Chaiya stopped talking when I shoved a Light sword in her throat.

“They are just distractions.” I said and shoved another through her heart, or where her heart would be if she had one. That was the funny thing about divine beings, there was no way to tell if the body you were fighting was actually them or just a manifestation of their power. I tore the one from her neck to the side to half-sever her head from her body, then swung back to finish the job.

Chaiya almost smiled as she grabbed the sword and pulled it from my hand, then she crushed the hilt. A black barrier expanded that consumed her hand and her forearm. She looked at it in shock and then at me.

“Surprise.” I said and jumped away as I activated the one in the hilt of the other Light sword.

Chaiya screamed as part of her chest and her arm disappeared. She dropped down to her knees and couldn't believe she could be hurt like that with such simple toys that were made by mortals. It wasn't possible. She was a goddess and she was above such concerns! No one could hurt her! She had eaten the Presence cores of stars! Power poured into her and her missing body parts faded back into existence.

“You insolent fool.” Chaiya said and stood up. “You will no longer get anywhere near me with your toys.” A barrier appeared around her. “They will explode before they pass through.” She chuckled and waved her hand, then something like a display appeared beside her and showed the Ark. “Now watch as I crush that pathetic little ship you call home and kill everyone in your family!”

“NOOOOOOO!” Sama yelled and activated her mother's ability.

Unlike her mother, it wasn't necessary for her to consume energy with her mouth. All she had to do was touch something and want to consume it. Her hands touched the impenetrable energy barrier and part of it dissolved as her body sucked it in. I quickly tossed in several black barrier devices hooked in a series and Chaiya tried to blow them up. She wasn't quite successful.

“AHHHH!” Chaiya yelled as the more power she added increased the size and strength of the black barriers. The last one finally exploded and left her physical body in a heap on the floor. All she had was her upper chest, stubs for shoulders, and her head left intact. Blood pooled on the floor.

“Oh, god.” Sama covered her mouth and turned away from the ghastly sight.

“Never turn your back on the enemy!” I said loudly and jumped in front of her as Chaiya let loose a bright beam of light from her eyes. It was a divine light with the power of hundreds of suns... and no one, not even me... could stand against such overwhelming power. My Presence Barrier, my replaced personal shield, my hands and then my arms were burned away under the onslaught, despite my self-healing and regeneration, then I felt small hands grip my waist and I was flung aside. I landed on the floor with a soft weight on top of me.

“D-d-dad! I'm sorry!” Sama exclaimed as she looked down at me. The black bodysuit had protected my chest and kept me alive; but, that was all. My face was a charred ruin with exposed bone everywhere and I was completely blind, because my eyes had melted. All my regrown hair was gone, as were my ears.

S-Sama. I thought to her and offered up my Presence center. Take... take it.

Dad! No! Sama said loudly into my mind as her tears poured down onto my burned flesh.

H-hurry... before she... reincorporates. I thought. I love you, sweetie.

“Dad!” Sama cried.

Do you know how many times we tried... to have a child? I asked her.

No! Now's not the time to talk about things like that! Sama thought frantically.

Come closer. I thought to her, then used Presence to pull her head down and touched my exposed skull to her forehead. I love you and I'm sorry I have to do this to you.

*

“DAD! NOOOO!” Sama yelled as her ability activated against her will. NOOOO! She yelled into her father's mind as he gave her everything that he was. His mind, his Presence, and even his wife Hailey's ability. He also gave her the knowledge of what to do with those abilities and all of the love he had felt for her and all of his children, grandchildren, and family.

Time seemed to stop as a black cloud formed in front of Sama and she felt chills go down her spine. She remembered this feeling and seeing it before, because she now had assess to all of her father's memories. They weren't integrated with hers; but, she could access them like they were in a database in a computer. She slowly stood up and looked into the cloud as it unfolded and Black Laura stepped out.

“Oh, my poor beloved.” Black Laura said and reached down and touched his shoulder. His body reformed with the black bodysuit and she picked him up to hug him. “You don't have to regret having to leave.”

Hunter gave her a smile. “I'm not going to see what happens next, though.”

Black Laura chuckled. “Do you really want to see it happen that badly?”

Hunter's body started to fade and became like smoke as he turned towards Sama. “Make her pay for taking away everything we held dear.” He said and held a smoky hand out to her.

Sama remembered the anguish her father still held within his heart over losing everything because of Chaiya, and she nodded as her fingers brushed the smoky hand.

“Thank you, Sama.” Hunter's ghost said and faded away.

“D-d-dad!” Sama cried out and wiped at her tears.

“You know what to do now.” Black Laura said to her. “Mourn your father as he deserves by killing the being that killed him.”

Sama's tears dissolved and she felt a resolve build inside of her that she hadn't felt before. She put a hand over her heart as a tiny little 'H' appeared there. She looked into the pitch blackness of Black Laura's eyes and she nodded.

“Good.” Black Laura said and reached out and touched her forehead. “I bless you in my name.”

Sama gasped as her eyes turned the same pitch black. “Th-th-thank you!”

Black Laura smiled. “Don't waste the protection it will give you.” She said and slid back into the black cloud and it folded away. Time started again and Sama heard a woman's laugh.

“Ha ha! I killed him!” Chaiya said happily as her body started to fade back into existence. “He has been a plague on the universe and I finally got rid of him!”

“Yes, you did.” Sama said and walked over to her.

“Oh? You're still here?” Chaiya asked and sat up. “No matter. I'll deal with you right after I...”

“Die.” Sama said and jumped on top of her and held her down.

“You dare touch me?!? I am a GODDESS!” Chaiya yelled and tried to use her abilities... and couldn't. “What... wait, what's going on?”

“Having trouble accessing your powers, oh great goddess?” Sama asked and used a combination of Hailey's ability and Hunter's Presence Blade to sever her limbs from her torso.

“AHHHHHH!” Chaiya yelled at the pain.

“Ooo, tasty morsels from a goddess!” Sama said and touched one of the severed arms and absorbed the energy that it was constructed from. “Mmm! Delicious!”

“N-no. NO!” Chaiya yelled and tried to struggle as the white area around then started to turn grey.

“Don't worry, it's all going to be over soon.” Sama said and touched her other severed arm and consumed it.

“STOP! I'll give you anything! Anything!”

“I want my father back.” Sama said. “Can you give me that? Can you give me the only parent who fed my monstrous ability since I was a baby and never once claimed he was too tired, or didn't want to, or even tried to pawn me off to let someone else do it for a while?” She asked. “Can you give me my loving father back? CAN YOU?!?”

Chaiya didn't say anything in response and Sama touched her severed legs and absorbed them.

“Oh... oh, god... the power...” Sama closed her eyes and shook her head. “Dad was right. You are an idiot for trying to gain more of it for no reason.”

Chaiya frowned at her and gathered her power again, then let loose with that devastating eye beam again. It lit up the now grey space for several moments, just like the last time, then the beam cut off. To her surprise, Sama was licking her lips.

“Dad's formulas for matter to energy conversion work really well, even on stellar ejections.” Sama said. “Do it again. I'm still hungry.”

“HELP!” Chaiya yelled. “Please, God! Help me!”

Maleketh slowly appeared in the now quite grey space beside them and looked down at Chaiya. “What do you want now?”

“This... thing... is going to eat me!” Chaiya said. “Get her off of me! I'll give you anything! Anything!”

“Will you give me my devoted follower back after killing him?” Maleketh asked.

Chaiya's mouth dropped open in surprise, because she had completely forgotten that Hunter was his.

Maleketh reached down and touched Sama's shoulder. “Hurry up and finish your meal. Your father asked me to take you back.”

Sama let a single tear out of her eye, dissolved it, and nodded.

“NOOOOOO!” Chaiya yelled as Sama put her hands on her face and used her ability.

*

Everyone on the colossal ship felt despair for several minutes, then suddenly there was another flash of light where the wormhole was.

“The collapsed anomaly has spit something out.” Zoe said, her voice full of surprise.

“Get a ship out there, now!” Sheph ordered and a Search and Rescue team was immediately dispatched. They flew over to the spot and retrieved whatever it was.

“You're not going to believe this.” Tessa's daughter Contessa said over the communications console. “It's a woman in a space suit and she's holding a computer core!”

“Hurry up and bring her back!” Noma exclaimed. “Main shaft by the medical bay entrance!”

All of the adults hopped on the closest transport pad and it zoomed them down to the main shaft where all the ships were docked. They met up with their children who were standing there, all pretty much stunned at the recent events and the appearance of their parents, then the SAR ship flew down the shaft and landed right beside them.

“What's going on?” Markus asked with Niaga still in his arms.

The ship opened the side hatch and the ramp deployed. The SAR crew carried a stretcher out with an unconscious Sama on it wearing a space suit and holding a computer core in her arms in a death grip.

“She didn't have that suit on when she left.” Kellan said as they ran by.

Noma ignored everyone else and followed the SAR team into the lift to go up to the medical bay.

“Ugh.” Niaga opened his eyes and looked up at Markus. “What the hell?”

“Hey, you're awake just in time.” Markus said and stood him up. “They just rushed Sama to the med-bay.”

“WHAT?!?” Niaga yelled and jumped out of his arms and ran for the lift.

“Wait! We're all going!” Sheph said and they all rode the lift up to the floor with the medical bay. When the blast doors opened, they were relieved to see Sama was sitting up and hugging her mother.

“I'm fine, Mom. Really.” Sama said and let her mother go. “In fact, I... just... wait, hold on.” She hugged her mother again and touched her forehead to hers. “Mom, do you want me to take it?”

“Wh-what?” Noma looked at her with surprise on her face.

“Do you want to be normal?” Sama asked and leaned back.

“I... well, I...”

“I'll take that as a yes.” Sama said and gripped her mother's head with one hand and stuck two of her fingers down her mother's throat.

“SAMA!” Nearly everyone yelled, then they felt the Presence in the room shift as Sama's eyes turned black for three seconds. Noma choked on her daughter's fingers for just as long, then she fell unconscious and Sama caught her before she fell.

“What did you do?” Hen asked as she took Noma and laid her down on the next bed and checked her over. She had been right beside them and couldn't understand what she had just seen and felt.

“I took her ability.” Sama said and touched her own face beside her eyes. “I was barely in time, too. Black Laura's blessing just ended.”

“What?” Several people asked, confused.

“She told me not to waste it and I wasn't sure what she meant. Now I do.” Sama said with a smile. “She wanted me to save my mom.”

Everyone exchanged concerned looks.

“Sama, what happened?” Simone asked and came over to her.

“I... don't really... remember.” Sama said. “I mean, I remember... but...”

“They don't want us to know.” Sheph said.

“I think so.” Sama said.

“Where's Hunter?” Lashina asked.

“He...” Sama let tears come to her eyes. “He's gone.” She said, then a thought popped into her head that hadn't been there before. “He's with Hailey.”

Everyone there had sad faces, because they all knew what that meant.

“No! I'm not sad!” Sama said and wiped at her tears. “These are happy tears. He's happy.”

Hen touched her shoulder. “It's okay. He would have wanted us to mourn...”

“He's exactly where he wants to be.” Sama said and pulled her top down just enough to show them the spot above her heart. “You see? He has his heart back.”

Hailey's mother Monica gasped and walked over to touch the small 'H' on Sama's skin. “He found her.”

“Yes, Grandma.” Sama said with a smile and took her hand. “Yes, he did.”

The end?