Chapter 39: Destined Stars

Alone, Sayrah rose above the world to challenge the deadly Uroborus that had come to take revenge for its previous defeat so many years ago. She had not been born during that dark time, but she had heard from her elder Eternenenites (and from Marshal Withers) of how dangerous and powerful the serpent-creatures were. A single one had the force to subjugate an entire county; a group could blast an entire continent off the face of a world, and their kingpin could blow the entire planet apart just by the force of its own will. Sayrah, as the peaceful guardian of the Earth, was the only one who could fight the oncoming creature at that point in time--it was her destiny.

Her life was now forfeit to time and circumstance. She could only last twenty-four hours outside of the life-giving forest she lived in, so she had to fly and fight quickly. She did not anticipate any further years being added onto her life thereafter; this was a fight to the death, she knew, and no matter what the circumstances turned out to be, she faced her own demise with courage and bravery.

The sky flew past her, and somewhere between the dark regions of space and the blue shield of sky that circled the globe, she positioned herself in a defensive stance. Before her was the great king daddy of the alien force, the master over all the Uroborus, a creature so large and long and horrifying that it radiated chaos simply from its own presence, like a cloud of gas sifting out of its body. It sailed onward until it met Sayrah, who stared back at the creature with unblinking eyes, a noble face, and a calm demeanor. She would never back down, never cower, never retreat, even if her own body was destroyed.

“Monster,” she sang in a piercing voice, “I am the guardian of this planet, the oldest living sentient creature on its soils! My name is Sayrah, an Eternenenite entity descended from the noble creatures who slew your kind in the past! As the protector of this world, I am unable to let you pass any further! Return to the dusty regions of space and never come here again, or else I shall force you into oblivion myself!”

The Uroborus could speak, but its language was so foreign that Sayrah had an extremely difficult time picking it up. Even Marshal Withers, who had the technology to interpret 99% of the galaxy’s languages (and was fluent in seven herself), could barely pick up the harsh dialect. Roughly translated, the creature spoke as thus:

“I kill for past, I kill for self, kill all day, stop and start, end and begin, dine on flesh, listen to scream, want life, want death, kill all, create all, end all, then Nothing.“

“You shall accomplish nothing but your own destruction!” shouted Sayrah in a battle-cry. “Monster, I give you one last chance to retreat--then we shall see what is destroyed.”

“No--kill ALL!“

“You have sealed your fate,” murmured Sayrah darkly. She raised her hands, pointed her outstretched palms at the monster, and summoned up her dormant powers to defend the planet she had lived on for the past three-hundred and one-quarter centuries.

“It’s started,” observed Seraph Stone, who probably had the power to sense such things. Nearly everyone gathered in Sayrah’s forest had their eyes to the sky, where they could faintly make out the image of a very small sliver of dark-maroon. This was the Uroborus; Sayrah was too small and too far away to see with the naked eye. Tania could observe the battle easier with her eyes and her computer, and binoculars were passed around to those with poorer eyes so they could watch.

“This is just slightly aggravating,” muttered Zet as he peered up (his elfish eyes needed no enhancements to see). “Lady Sayrah is up there doing battle for this entire planet on her own, and aside from the Marshal and that accursed General, she has no other assistance. What are we supposed to do, just wait for her to win or lose?”

“I know what you mean,” agreed Dustin. “I am not used to just sitting still while a fight is going on. Blast! I have never felt more useless! We have no means of reaching up there, and I fear that our appearance might be but a burden to the poor woman in any case!” He gnashed his teeth and began spewing out curses, but nobody could disagree with his emotional outburst. Even those who did not know Sayrah were annoyed and impatient, and even the most untrusting among them felt the desire to contribute. Frost, usually one of cold patience, crossed his arms and sighed.

“What little we could do would be useless anyway. In order to destroy that abominable creature, I feel that we would need the skills and hearts of everyone here, including Eternenenite Sayrah and General Brokolov. If there was but a way that we could pool all our powers and wills together, I feel the battle would be over quickly and cleanly. But that is fantasy.”

“No, it’s not!” declared Cattia boldly. As everyone turned their attention to her, she boldly stood in the middle of the large group, clenching her fist proudly. “We can do it! We can help! We can combine our hearts and wills and help Sayrah out! Come on! What do we have to lose?”

“But, Cat...” Cattia turned her head and smiled.

“Even if it’s a useless gesture, the mere act of all of us joining forces will encourage her! C’mon, whaddya say? We could at least try!!” For awhile, the whole assembly paused and stared at her as if she was on some weird drug. It was usually Dana who had the screwy ideas; Cattia seemed content to act upon the ideas rather than suggest them. Fittingly, it was young Ms. Withers that supported her friend’s idea first. Dana walked over to Cattia, smiled, and gently clasped her hand.

“I trust you,” she said. Cattia smiled, and soon, her adopted sister was holding onto her other hand. Gregory joined the team, equally eager to support both his friend in the air and his friends in that forest. He took Dana’s hand, and the two partners shared a smile. Jerwon clasped onto Tania’s hand, and soon, Stone, Zet, and Diana had joined as well. Melena eagerly joined the group, gushing out fanatical fervor as usual, and Ketra followed her, with a skeptical Sean Gilliam and Cedro Fontano on her heels.

“This all sounds like some stupid movie,” muttered Gilliam. “It feels like a waste of time. Nothin’s gonna happen!”

“Still, do not release your grip, hermano. If we can even encourage that woman up there, then I will try.” Sean pursed his lips doubtfully, but heeded the words of his elder half-brother and kept in the circle. Soon, skeptics like Sahn, Dustin, Woolyford, Malecanthrite, Frost, and even Klarana joined in, until everybody was grasping onto some other person, their hearts and minds combined as one, in a single prime directive.

“I don’t know if this will work,” muttered Diana, “but ... Mother Sayrah, you have our support!”

“Lord Shadi, will you not be joining us?” asked Zet. The silver-furred Kitsune stared at them intently, all of its tails waving gently in the windless forest.

“I am already a part of your circle,” he replied mysteriously, “as are many more creatures whom you have never known about. All over this world, dozens of individuals like yourselves have gathered, willing to put aside all selfishness to preserve the life of this once-weary world. Though it is polluted and wasted, the Earth still lives, and has not earned the right to sleep forever just yet. This planet will not be wasted; thus, even the most insignificant person contributes greatly.” Shadi silenced himself, and aimed his pointed nose in the air, towards the fight between Sayrah and the Uroborus.

Take this gift of Stars, he whispered mentally. Take it, and bend it as you will, guardian.

Sayrah fell back far, her body scorched by the sting of the monster’s massive tail. A large welt was already on her delicate body, but though she felt great injury, the Eternenenite was stubborn to give up her fight. She came back with a determined vengeance, and stunned the creature with a wave of invisible power. All sixteen of her arms waved and danced, and sent small shocks of power speeding towards the gigantic serpent. Though weak individually, when combined, the shocks created a surge of power strong enough to disable a large spaceship, or even a Kingpin Uroborus.

But the monster was dreadfully powerful, and shot out a flaming missile of hot breath at the woman. She shielded her body with her arms, burning them all in order to preserve herself. Even her pale hair had been scorched a little, but the flames in her once-gentle eyes were hotter still. She shot out a weak wave--her most powerful form of defense had been degraded because of the last attack--and stood her ground as she prepared to die for her world.

Take this gift of Stars. Take it, and bend it as you will, guardian.

At once, Sayrah felt a surge of immense power strike her body, filling her nerves, fibers, and cells up with the strength of the Stars. She felt blood of heroes pump through her veins, and their courage ramming from her heart, and their strength in her body--and more. Every wound was healed and erased, and so great was the increase in power that the invading creature was thrown backwards a distance. Gasping in astonishment, Sayrah slowly smiled down upon the Earth, a few tears in her emerald eyes.

“Thank you ... one and all ... You have truly ... fulfilled a destiny...” The smile lasted only briefly, before the tree-like woman turned her focus back to the Uroborus. Without a shred of mercy for the wicked and complex invader, or even a word of warning, Sayrah Ancravienetta shot forth a blast of the power she had been given, completely consuming the unfortunate worm in a deluge of raw power and energy. Even the elements could not match up to this new force, the force of the combined Stars, which meant that the invader was now very much doomed.

Without stopping, Sayrah lunged towards the monster, ignorant of time or her own safety as she struck it again. Her own physical body had little power in it, but hidden within was the strength and will of the protector of the world--and now, the dozens (and perhaps even hundreds) of others who had united their own powers to aid the Earth in her darkest hour. She struck it again, initially surprised that it had lived through that first blast, and then again, and then again--harder and harder, relentlessly bathing it with torture and pain and agony and the most threatening thing it had ever known.

The creature borne of complexity and chaos was being subjected to ORDER.

It screamed out a wordless shriek, writhed itself back to its senses, and countered Sayrah’s blasts of power with dark, hot, ripping winds of Nothing. The evil blast, from its Birth-giving and Death-bringing mouth, nearly consumed the attack that Sayrah had launched. She screamed, and buckled under the sudden powerful pressure. Has this thing been going easy on me up until this point? she wondered. How much power does it really have? This is ... all the power I have! And still! It counters easily! It is ... it is ... not enough!!

“No!” shouted Shadi suddenly. “Not enough! It is not enough! The creature is even stronger than I thought it to be!” The circle of allies wheeled their heads around and stared at the raving Kitsune, and saw him masked in terror and disbelief. Shadi had always been calm and unwavering, even in times bleakest, but to see such a face contorted in dark amazement was a fear unlike any that the group had ever seen.

“Not enough?!” squealed Tania. “But we’re giving it all we have! Can’t you do something??”

“I am donating as much of my power as I possibly can!!” exclaimed the Kitsune. “Aravis is doing the same, elsewhere on this planet! Sayrah is donating everything, and I feel every single Star preordained in the cosmic prophecy is giving their entire spirit! Something is wrong! This cannot be!!!” Nobody said a word, or at least not aloud. The situation had become very grave in a short period of time, and even the most confident people remained grim.

“Theese ees only a leetle problem,” muttered Sahn shakily. “I am sure dat dere weel be a solution. We have faced more deefeecult problems, no?”

“No, you have not!” exclaimed Seraph Stone. “I can feel that Lord Shadi is right! There is ... little more we can do ... except hope that everything holds out...”

“Just stay confident, that’s all!” barked Cattia, who actually looked a little weak from all the strain. “This planet may not be mine, but I’ll fight for it! Besides, I owe Mother Sayrah my life! I’ll die before I let that woman sacrifice herself in vain!”

“Not without me!” shouted Dana, who squeezed her friend’s hand even harder.

“And not without me!” shouted Tania. “Prepellses stick together in death and life! I’d never face any apocalypse without my sister at my side!!”

“ ... Tania...” The young girl smiled enthusiastically at Cattia, winked, and concentrated even more. Zet actually laughed out loud.

“My, what courage! I just may be taught a lesson here! Well, my darling, I cannot afford to be upstaged by one so young! Do you not agree?” The demi-human smiled smugly and leaned over to give his cheek a brief kiss.

“We’re all too crazy and stubborn to quit anyway!”

“Speak for yourself!” shouted Sean Gilliam. “I don’t know how you all tricked me into doing this, but as soon as it’s all over, you’re dead!”

“Empty words,” said Ketra with a smile. She winked at Sean, and gave Melena a very rare grin. “There are so many good people here, and everywhere, fighting for a worthy cause ... Good people ... should not die... ! Trust everyone, and trust that woman up there! Agreed?”

“All the way, girl!” hollered the Brimwater. “Do or die! Live for the moment! If I have to go down, I ain’t going down unless the whole planet explodes underneath my feet! Nothing would ever stop the Mighty Melena unless it was something big!!!”

“What a bunch of bleeding hearts,” moaned Jerwon. “Makes you wish that you never got outta bed, huh? Boy, if I ever live through this, I swear--I’m gonna take one of you girls in my arms and just give you a big kiss!”

“I have a feeling you’d do that if the world was going to end anyway,” remarked Woolyford wryly. Jerwon blushed, moaning undiscernibly, and despite the situation, everything seemed a bit more lighthearted.

Sayrah trembled as the “true” power of the Uroborus revealed itself. Even with the addition of the gathered heroes on Earth--and even after their rallying cry--she still felt too weak to completely destroy the monster. It was just too powerful--it took the ethereal woman everything she had just to keep it from turning her into ashes. The beast was forcing her back with its Nothing-Breath, and since all her allies were too far away to help, Sayrah wondered just how far she would really have to go before her own destruction engulfed her...

But just as hope seemed lost again, a sudden explosion destroyed part of the Uroborus. Sayrah’s face widened in dumbstruck awe as a flash of reddish light blew the creature’s backside to pieces, and a scream and a shower of blasts filled the air with terrible music. The most surprising shock, however, came when Sayrah recognized the ship that had attacked the serpent while its back was turned. It was the Kuznetsov, General Brokolov’s ship!!

“Ilyich! You are saving me?” whispered a breathless woman. Her psychic powers enabled her to hear the words of the ruthless General.

“I have no interest in you, woman! I was not shooting at that thing for your gain. It is simply a case of business. If I allow that monster to destroy the Earth, it will be very bad business, da? I have many comrades and allies on that planet, and most of my riches and the riches of clients are entrusted in its banks. If it were destroyed, I and my associates would be ruined beyond repair. As a businessman, I cannot allow something so disastrous to happen!”

“ ... Ilyich...” Sayrah gently whispered out to her unlikely savior, and smiled warmly as the Kuznetsov came into full view. It was a medium-sized ship, easily concealed in a convoy, but it possessed awesome firepower--as the Uroborus experienced the hard way. The woman kept her smile, and whispered out a thanks.

“Do not get comfortable just yet,” grunted Brokolov across the void. “It still lives--but not for long. HA! You fool!!! Do you really think you could have stood up to my might?! Now I will show you the stupidity of your ways! Be condemned into Hell, you wretch! Commander! Prepare the Redwing Missiles!”

“Sir!” Sayrah’s psychic powers enabled her to hear everything going on in the bridge of the Kuznetsov: Ilyich was barking orders, his subordinates were scrambling around, and the Chief Gunner was preparing to fire something very BIG. She could even hear Ilyich laughing softly, a bit of perversion and pride in his chuckle as his ultimate weapon was activated.

“Can you hear me, woman?” asked the General. Sayrah could. “I am about to launch my Redwing Missile, a device which I personally hold great pride for. Their destructive capabilities are indeed much like a conflagration, but I must have perfect accuracy for them to operate. Since I am unable to keep that creature still and get a good lock on him, I would ask for you to perform that duty yourself, since you are within that region.” Sayrah silently nodded her head, and floated towards the wounded creature.

She wrapped all of her arms around it, and used every last ounce of her power to keep it from straying. Brokolov probably only had one shot, and if he missed, then the Earth would feel his wrath instead of the monster. Sayrah performed her duty, subtly though as it was, and held on fast to the creature, even as its poisonous skin began to deteriorate her body. Grunting, groaning, and glaring, the Eternenenite kept hold onto the monster until the bitter end, when she saw a brilliant explosion emit from the Russian ship.

“Fire!!!”

The missile traveled far and fast, and Sayrah kept holding the monster. Through her face of solid determination, she let out a brief smile, aimed specifically at the very unlikely hero of the battle. She thanked Brokolov for his role in the struggle, no matter what he claimed his true motives to be, and silently closed her eyes and began to sing as the blast engulfed her.

“Look!”

A large puff of smoke suddenly appeared in the sky, paired with a devastating explosion. The psychics in the group shuddered in horror as the eruption shook the heavens, and even those without extrasensory perception froze. That blast had been right around the area where Sayrah and the Uroborus were!

“Sayrah!!!” screamed Jerwon. He broke the chain, and scurried away to stare at a shooting star in horror. “SAYRAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!” Everyone soon saw the burning object fall from the sky, and stood in anticipation, helpless to do anything else.

“Shadi, help her!!” barked Gregory. The Kitsune seemed to struggle.

“I am doing everything within my power! The landing will not be a gentle one...”

“Sayrah!!!” screamed Jerwon again. “Sayraaaaaaah!!!”

“What happened?!” demanded Melena. “What was that explosion?! Don’t tell me that Sayrah was... “

“We can do little but watch,” snarled Ketra fiercely, her violet eyes locked on the same shooting star as everyone. Shadi’s powers slowed the descent, but it was still like watching a meteor fall to the ground. Everybody rushed out of the forest as quickly as they could, especially those who had been close to Sayrah, and witnessed her plummeting to the ground, the life seemingly gone from her. She was no longer the ethereal, mystical creature she had once been: her body was burnt horribly, and almost all of her arms had been blasted away. Her long white hair had been shorn short, and only the sturdiest pieces of clothing remained to cover her blackened body.

Shadi was able to get her to the surface with great effort, but she still fell with a thud. At once, nearly half of the gathered heroes surrounded her, screaming and begging for her to still be alive. Jerwon, Diana, and Cattia were almost completely insane, and Gregory looked more petrified than a statue as his friend, mentor, and caretaker laid there, dark and smoking and more dead than a corpse.

It had been a miracle that she was able to open her eyes and speak.

“I ... think I got him...” she whispered. Nearly everyone went hysterical with relief, and several loving arms hugged her. She hissed from the pain, and begged them not to touch her, lest the pain increase. Everyone backed away, and then, the tears began to fall.

“Oh, God ... God, no!” wailed Jerwon. His face was completely scarred with wet tears; he had been especially close to the tree-like woman. “Sayrah ... Mother Sayrah ... no ... NO!!!!”

“I ... am pretty sure ... that I destroyed him...” whispered Sayrah, her voice as weak as her body. Poor Jerwon wailed out, gently took one of her remaining hands into his, and bawled into it. Diana did the same, though not quite with as much mindless grief, and Cattia covered her mouth in horror as she knelt next to the destroyed woman. Gregory, however, knew better than to show such wild emotions. He knew Sayrah better than anyone there, save Shadi or Marshal Withers (who was absent anyway), and knew that what had happened had happened for a reason. Kneeling down gently, he stroked her beautiful charred face and smiled softly.

“You were great,” he managed. “That monster ... had no chance. You won, dear friend. You destroyed the monster and ... saved the Earth. You ... did your duty. You’re ... a hero, Sayrah...” The woman smiled fondly, and gently took his hands into one of her own. Her voice came out weaker this time, the singing tunes hardly recognizable.

“I ... was not ... alone ... out there...” she managed. “I had ... you all ... with me ... in body and soul. And even ... yes, even ... an unlikely ... ally...”

“ ... Sayrah...” The woman smiled with more love than any person could think possible, and took poor grieving Jerwon into her embrace gently, like he truly was a child of hers.

“Dear Leduadian, do not mourn my passing so. I ... willingly ... gave up my body to save this once-glorious planet. I have done what I have been born to do--no, what I wanted to do, and for that--for the entire sake of defending the world and the people I love, I am most happy. I wanted it this way, dear Jerwon ... wanted it this way...”

“But ... but ... Sayrah!”

“Ssshhh...” She held him closer, and began to stroke his dark-green hair with the love of a mother. Jerwon’s emotional condition was heartbreaking, but the loveable guy had grown terribly attached to the Eternenenite during his stay with her. He loved her deeply, probably more than he would ever love anyone else, even his life-mate, and to see her die was more than he could bear. She had been the only friend he had that would actually die in his presence, and for that alone, his grief was great.

“Do not cry, precious!” whispered Sayrah, smiling happily though she was in deep pain. “Do not cry! Oh, dear Jerwon, please do not cry. You look so beautiful when you are smiling...”

“Say ... rah...” Gently, the woman leaned forward and gave his forehead a comforting kiss, and stroked his face for the last time.

“Good-bye, Jerwon. I shall miss you deeply...” The Leduadian quivered, and slowly, was pried away from her. He buried his face in Stone’s shoulder, and the Seraph quietly comforted his friend. Diana, meekly stepping closer to the woman, suddenly broke down and began shedding tears of humans and dragons. She squeezed her eyes shut, and scowled in painful anger at losing another beloved friend. Sayrah softly took the demi-human in her arms, and held her close, and hissed softly. She placed her forehead against Diana’s, and gently spoke to her.

“Diana ... Diana ... Open your eyes, my child. Look at me. Look at me, and tell me what you see.” Diana continued to scowl and keep her eyes shut, but slowly, she opened them again, allowing her tears to fall freely. She was staring directly into Sayrah’s pale green eyes, and saw neither pain nor suffering nor regret, but a calming feeling, and peace, and fulfillment, and happiness. Diana’s heart softened, and she managed a smile.