Raging Fire

Brewing Beast

What if Queen Channary recovered from regolith poisoning? What if the fire happened but they arrested Levana and found Selene still alive? She was kept in a tank for several years until she was strong enough to have the surgery. Channary teaches her how to use her powers and starts hiding her cyborg parts. She learns of all Channary wants her to learn for when she is queen.

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Hello, everybody, here is chapter six on time! I know, crazy. From here on out, I will (hopefully) have an easier time staying on schedule and posting every Monday.

-aCrazeLunarFan027

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Chapter Six: Brewing Beast

Watching young Selene over the last eight years has saddened me greatly. This young girl's childhood was taken away, and now her own mother looks at her like she's this monster.

After ten long and agonizing hours under operation, Selene is now whole again. Her chest rises and falls as she rests, her body still fragile and weak.

On the wall, I have her vitals pulled up, analyzing the difference between them before the fire, them during the years spent in the suspension tank, and the new ones now that she is able to breathe and operate on her own without assistance.

There is something most intriguing about her data. Something that I definitely should have noticed years prior.

I am an old, worn out man after all.

Inside Selene, there is this hunger festering in her biological glamour abilities. Usually when we monitor a newborn after they are born, we look at the energy that rolls off them in waves. It's how we can tell if they're going to be powerful with their gift or not.

And Selene's energy is most interesting.

I tap a few buttons, pulling up a graph of her energy's data from the time she was born. Deep inside, almost invisible, is a dark swirl, twisting around the normal electric waves that help the user's ability of glamour grow.

Now sliding the image off to the side, I pull up a similar diagram of her right after we got her into the suspension tank. The dark swirl glows a subtle gray, snaking its way around the other waves. It's moving at a steadier place, blinking against the harsh contrast of her brain activity.

Now, placing that image next to the one of her newborn brain, I pull up a new image, one just taken. Her brain activity has taken an unexpected turn.

I stand frozen in place, panic rising into my stomach. My breathing comes up short, and I turn to look at the peaceful sleeping girl.

Oh, great stars above.

Once a dark swirl, calm and serene, her energy has turned a burning red, fierce, impatient, and angry. It penetrates the electric glamour waves, turning them a dark gray.

The average Blackburn glamour energy is a light blue, pulsing with fierce, powerful energy. The average Lunar energy is a darker blue, not as strong as royalty.

But Selene's. . .

I look over at her brain activity from the time she was an infant. The glamour electric waves are a vibrant white-blue, telling us that she'll already be the most powerful Blackburn. I zoom in on the image, noticing blots of gray and black coming together to form one line. It's hardly noticeable, so it was easy to overlook when I originally looked at these, but now. . . I wish I had noticed them earlier.

Zooming in on the second image of just after the fire, the blots of gray and black have solidified, now a dark gray wrapping around the vibrant white-blue lines, puncturing them. The edges where they have been impaled are tinted a light gray, losing their bright colors.

Oh, stars.

Moving on to the most recent picture, the swirls of dark gray have completely taken over the electric glamour waves, transforming them from their vibrant white-blue to a dark red, tinted dark and gray.

My breath halts, eyes unbelieving. This can only mean one thing.

But it can't be true, simply can't. If it is. . . then we are all doomed. Young, helpless Selene is doomed to be consumed. If only I noticed it sooner. I could have saved her from the inevitable.

It's too late now. What was once a forgotten myth, The Tales of the Brewing Beast, is now a reality. It started out as quiet, serene, wrapping its way around Selene's already powerful electric waves before puncturing them, turning them sour and deadly.

There's no saving her.

"Doctor Darnel." I startle, switching off the monitor to see my partner, Christine enter the room with her clipboard. I fiddle with my hands, trying to calm myself. I glance over at the sleeping princess knowing that her fate is inevitable and I could have stopped it.

If only I could have caught it sooner.

I'm only Lunar after all. An old man getting too old to be working.

"Yes, Christine?" She moves over to peer at Selene, checking her vitals before speaking again.

"Her Majesty is asking for an update on the princess's recovery."

I sigh, taking a deep breath. I must warn Her Majesty of my findings. The only way Selene could possibly be saved at this point is to silence her glamour. Her Majesty won't like that.

Oh, stars.

"Of course." I stall, looking at young Selene's peaceful face. She looks so much like her mother that it's almost frightening. And she will be ten times worse.

If only I had caught the fire before it truly burned out of control.

"Doctor, sir?" Christine is waiting for an answer of what to tell Her Majesty but I can't quite figure out if I should break the news or not. It could mean life or death for both me and Selene.

I would choose Selene any day over myself, but Her Majesty won't. Selene is only another pawn in her own game. She won't listen if I advise Her Majesty against developing Selene's powers.

Oh, great stars above.

"Christine, tell Her Majesty that Selene is resting and recovering. She should be waking up soon." She nods, setting her clipboard down and changing out the fluids going into Selene's fragile body.

Christine leaves, silence engulfing the room, suffocating me. I sigh, looking around the room before my eyes land back on the sleeping girl.

Poor, helpless thing. She doesn't deserve the life laid out before her.

I exit the room, the hallway outside bustling with doctor's and other scientists hard at work. "Doctor Darnel! Doctor Darnel!"

I turn to see a young apprentice speed-walking towards me. She's carrying an overflowing clipboard, and her glasses are askew. I smile warmly at her, stopping in the middle of the hall. Some doctors send a glare, having to walk around me, but I simply ignore them.

"Yes?"

She stops in front of me, pausing to try and gather more oxygen to fill her lungs. "You are needed in the science lab. We are having problems with the procedure. A young male, age twelve, has shown some bizarre side effects."

"Oh dear, lead the way!"

While my mind should be focused on young Selene and her terrible future, my brain can't help but stray, leaving any panicked thoughts behind. I'm not as young as I used to, and my brain certainly can't handle all the knowledge thrust at me. Not like it used to.