CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR The Prophecy Reunites
As the vessel travels in hyperspace, the lack of gravity is becoming annoying, their bodies been wanting to float for more then twelve hours. As Senna researches the ships consoles she finds a black button that reads: Regress, Senna does not know what this button means so she pushes it. A text comes back that says: Don't Press This Button Again! So Senna pushes it again, and the sign comes up again that says: REALLY, Don't Press This Button Again! Senna looks at Delenn, se is way to tired of this ships irony! "Why in the world would they put this in a vessel, it serves no purpose, it harasses me!"
Delenn laughs, she gets it. "It is a regress button, to regress is to do what you've done already until you become tired and digress away from the button."
Senna looks at Delenn then at the button. "That is stupid!"
As Kathren Mira looks at her watch, it says that it is Sunday, it does not give the month, but it feels like November. It does give the day...it is the 24th, Thanksgiving Day. Kathren Mira remembers when she was back on Earth at Children's, she would ask for the hospital pastor to come down to hold a Sunday worship every month. As Kathren Mira closes her eyes she quietly sings the first hymn that comes to her, it is called, Thine The Amen, Thine The Praise. Kathren Mira really does not know why she first thought of this one, she could have chosen The Spirit Song, or Awesome God, but the song, Thine The Amen, Thine The Praise seems to tie with her success at K'ha'dum. "Thine the amen, thine the praise, alleluia angels raise. Thine the everlasting head, thine the breaking of the bread. Thine the glory, thine the story, thine the harvest then the cup. Thine the vineyard; then the cup is lifted up, lifted up." Kathren Mira pauses to catch her breath and to remember the second verse. "Thine the life eternally, thine the promise let there be. Thine the vision, thine the tree; all the Earth on bended knee. Gone the nail, gone the railing, gone the pleading, gone the cry. Gone the sighing, gone the dying, what was loss lifted high." Kathren Mira pauses once again and begins again. "Thine the truly, thine the yes, thine the table we the guest. Thine the mercy all from thee, thine the glory yet to be. Then the ringing and the singing, then the end of all the war. Thine the living, thine the loving; evermore, evermore." Kathren Mira takes another breath, there are two more verses. "Thine the kingdom, thine the prize, thine the wonder full surprise. Thine the banquet; then the praise, then the justice of thy ways. Thine the glory, thine the story, then the welcome to the least. Then the wonder all increasing at the feast, at the feast." Kathren Mira is tiring. "Thine the glory in the night, no more dying only light. Thine the river, thine the tree, then the Lamb eternally. Then the holy, holy, holy celebration jubilee. Thine the splendor, thine the brightness, only thee, only thee." Kathren Mira falls asleep. As Kathren Mira sleeps she enters a dreaming state of mind as she walks down a hall it begins to fill with ice cold water, as Kathren Mira just stands there he hears a voice speaking in the hall.
The voice is speaking very harshly, it sounds like the voice of Asron. As Kathren Mira looks around, Kathren Mira sees him, he sees...Sméagol? As Sméagol holds the ring he looks at Kathren Mira then looks at the ring. As Sméagol opens his mouth, a black mist, Black Breath comes out. "Cold be hand and heart and bone." Says Sméagol. As Kathren Mira looks at her cold hands, they are covered with slimy scales, the fingers are webbed, the fingernails are curved claws. As Sméagol looks at Kathren Mira, Sméagol points to a grave stone. "And cold be sleep under stone; never more to wake on stony bed; never till the sun fails and the moon is dead." Kathren Mira looks at the grave stone and sees her name, but it is her once old name... 'Here lies Bri, 1994 - 2006; this is his old tombstone on Earth. Kathren Mira looks angrily at Sméagol, but she can't speak, her vocal box is not responding, Sméagol continues. "In the Black Wind the stars shale die, and still on gold here let them lie," Sméagol looks at Kathren Mira for a reaction, Kathren Mira gives none. Sméagol continues, "Till the Dark Lord lifts his hand over dead sea and withered land!" Sméagol holds the ring. Kathren Mira has had enough, she picks up the tombstone and throws it on Sméagol. The evil wheezy breathing of Sméagol dies away.
As Kathren Mira looks around she hears a phrase quietly being said over and over again in a deep, Iron like voice. "Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg threkatuluk agh burzum-ishi Krimpatul!"
Kathren Mira screams out loud. "Stop! Go back to the shadows!" The voice stops.
As Kathren Mira is alone, she hears a voice again...it's the voice of Delenn. As Kathren Mira looks at Delenn, she wonders why she is in her dreams, if she some evil trick? "Delenn?"
Delenn shakes her head. "I m afraid not, it's me...Kathren. I had to test you to see what you will be if I tried to frighten you, hurt you, hate you, and deceive you. You did very well Kathren Mira."
Kathren Mira smiles and laughs quietly and unsure. "You scared the hell out of me!"
Kathren nods, "I apologize, I needed to see if you are worthy of knowing your future."
Kathren Mira looks at Kathren with the look of interest. "What do you mean?"
"I decided to give you one gift for saving my soul, after I give it to you, I will be aloud to rest and go to Earth four. Do you wish to know?" Says Kathren.
Kathren Mira nods, "Sure, knowing the future will make no difference, the future is interchangeable!"
Kathren nods, "Very well. The ship you are on now is about to go through a time rift created by the lack of living beings, I t will age your crew to six years plus of their regular age, so when you awaken you will be 12 years old, you will also be pregnant too with your first child"
Kathren Mira quickly looks at Kathren shocked to hear her say this. "How is this possible?"
Kathren shakes her head. "I don't know Kathren Mira, it's hard to say, may I please go on?" Kathren Mira nods her head, Kathren Mira is disturbed by Kathren's predictions. "After you become pregnant you will go to the planet called Minbar, your friends are there, but there is a battle there. A new race has became the new reign of rulers, they have no true name, they have no soul, they are sent into the universe to eat it, eat it all."
Kathren Mira does not like the idea of another war on Minbar, she is sort of tired of wars. "How will we know them?" Says Kathren Mira nervously.
Kathren looks off in the distance to describe one of them. "They are anti-life themselves, there is no way to kill them, they are demons, ancients, sorcerers of the eternal fire and shadow. They are all telepathic and are well armored, they all do not have souls, they only exist when the universes creation has a major gap in it. You will know them when you see them, you've seen their children in the past, now you will meet then in one final confrontation, but the universe does not serve them, it hates them and will do anything to destroy them, you will not be the only one to further creation, all six of you will become fertile, and your abilities to be refurbish, the universe will see no popular up-rise with the demons, it will seem to you as unnatural...you will understand."
Kathren pauses feeling herself becoming tired. Kathren Mira also is becoming also tired. "I don't have long, I grow more tired by the minute...but I can tell you this...of this moment none of your people will die, even though they will want to. The universe you all are in is considerably young, only 3260 years old compared to the last universe you lived in that remained for 124 billion years, Earth is only 5.4 billion years old, so your planet is only about .04 percent of that universes history."
Kathren Mira begins to fall asleep. Kathren keeps her attention. "I need you to listen carefully! The race that hunts you speaks the language we call Kzadum, the language of shadows, the words they speak are this, and please don't forget it! Urus ni buzra. Arras talbabi filluma. Ugrud tashniki kurduma. Lu! Lu! Lu! Urkhas tanakhi. Don't forget it, this will save your life!" Kathren Mira is falling asleep, Kathren looks at Kathren Mira, "You are quite an amazing child, but don't fear the eater of darkness and light. Lay down your sweet and weary head. Night is falling, where no shadows fall."
Kathren Mira fall asleep in her dreams and as she sleeps Kathren smiles and disappears. As Kathren Mira sleeps the ship shakes and Kathren Mira awakens. As she looks around she has to warn Delenn. As Kathren Mira gets up she runs to the cockpit, as she runs past Delenn II, Delenn III, and Delenn David Mir, they look at Kathren Mira. As Kathren Mira opens the door she looks at a giant reddish pink rift. As Kathren Mira looks at Delenn, Kathren Mira rushes to Delenn's side, "We can't go through that!"
Delenn looks at Kathren Mira, "Why not?"
Kathren Mira looks at the rift, "That is a Spectral Rift Zone, if we go through we will be permanently changed, the consequences will be major!" Kathren Mira looks at Delenn. "If we go through we may die!"
Delenn looks at the rift. Delenn pulls the steering column to the left to steer away from the rift, but the steering column is not working. As they come closer the electricity goes out. As the light of the rift fills the cockpit, the ship begins to enter the rift. As the rift bounces the ship around there is a blinding light and the entire ship is frozen in time as the blinding light dims, the ship is filled with so much crud. As Delenn looks at the rift the clock on the ship dash board is moving forward quickly, time is speeding up, as Delenn's watch goes by year by year, Delenn does not feel its true affects, but with six years going by Senna, age 17, Delenn II, age 16, Delenn III, age 15, Delenn David Mir, age 12, and Kathren Mira age 6 begins to age, the mutation can't disappear and is interfused in the Prophecy's DNA.
Each change is different and because of the aging, out of the six prophecy, five of them are maturing, coming of age according to Minbari biology.
As Delenn watches, Senna is focused on first, she is the closes to the rifts time change. As Senna sits on the seat, the vibration of the ship begins to upset Senna's mutation, as the first year goes by, the mutation begins to fade away, but because of the energy in the rift, it does not aloud the mutation to go away. Now with Senna at age 18, Senna knows that Minbari females begin their maturity at age 20, including the beginning of the reproduction cycle. As Senna watches her hands grow and watch her legs grow it is painful to her. The growing bones make her robes short and the internal robe is stretched out of shape. As the crest bone grows, Senna's hair is becoming longer. Once shoulder length now down to her forearms. As she reaches age 20, the puberty of Minbar begins, but what got Senna's attention is that her gender is beginning to change back to male, the curse is leaving her. As the female gene, the Y-chromosome holds on to Senna's development, Senna notices that her hips are beginning to widen, but her muscles are coming back. As for her reproductive system, the exchange is not working there is to much female estrogen in this area.
As Delenn looks at her daughter, she sees that her daughter has her sons face, muscles, but has a female crest bone and a female chest form and still hips and breast. The sudden aging is hurting her, or is it him now?
As for Senna, she feels her male reproductive system beginning to develop, Senna is in-between, like a worm...he's asexual. As Senna makes it to age 21, Senna's crest bone is becoming more male like, three horns are growing, but Senna's breast are still fully matured, Senna's hips are also fully matured and the reproductive system has converted into a combination of male and female. Senna's mutation of scales and fins still remain, but his chest is becoming crusted over with thick calcium-rich scales, black in color.
By age 22, Senna's breast are shrinking, becoming smaller, Senna is beginning to look like David again.
By age 23, his breast are size 'A-Cup', more like a buff-male breast on steroids, but his reproductive system is still asexual, but David does not notice it, he also does not know he is also pregnant...self-impregnated.
Second is Delenn, Delenn is 30 years old, but at least her body is not going to grow out, but her mutation is beginning to fuse together. The scales are becoming flesh color and are fusing internally into her flesh, the fins on her arms, on her legs. The fins in-between her fingers and toes are becoming clear, Delenn is looking like her old self. Not much change occurs like what has happened to her new son, David.
Next is Kathren Mira, as the rift consumes her, the energy from her triluminaries manifest the mutation. As Kathren Mira becomes seven year old, his clothing begins to stretch and the triluminaries begin to make Kathren Mira in a Minbari-Human Hybrid. As the female gene is triggered it begins to wipe out Kathren Mira's male body.
Kathren Mira falls to the ground, she is in pain, as Kathren Mira's reproductive system becomes asexual due to the other soul, Kathren Mira becomes pregnant. When Kathren Mira finally makes it to 12 years old, Kathren Mira feels her belly growing, pushing out, the tentacles inside her are manifested. Kathren Mira's body really has not fully matured yet, so there is no breast, but the ability to reproduce is well developed. As Kathren Mira lays on the floor gasping for breath for the asthma has mutated to cystic fibrosis. That must been why Kathren said that her life would be short.
Next is Delenn David Mir. As the rift goes through her, she begins to age quickly, ripping through her already tight clothing. As the curse begins to wear away, the energy from the rift does not aloud a single mutation except for the tentacle fingers and toes to disappear. It turns the cursed male genetic material into part of Delenn David Mir's bodily organs. As Delenn David Mir ages from age 13 to age 14, Delenn David Mir begins to feel her tentacles growing internally. As she continues to age the robes she wear begin to become very tight. As her body bursts through the robes she feels her body moving, Minbari-Human puberty is taking control of her.
As the rift hits Delenn II, her 17 year old body begins to further her Minbari-Human puberty. As the scales become clear so does her fins on her ankles and wrist. As Delenn II ages to age 19, her body has grown quite long, her legs are twice the length they were at age 17. By age 20 there are growth of the exterior gills on the sides of her neck, they only appear as slits covered in flesh colored scales. Her digestive system is also changing, tentacles develop into breeding tools...Delenn II is becoming an Universal Breeder just like Delenn David Mir, David, and Kathren Mira.
As Delenn II's body finally makes it to age 22, she now appears to be a mature female Minbari-Human Hybrid. As the sudden transformation shocks her, she passes out.
The last to be affected was Delenn III. Delenn III is not like the others, she is a Numenorian in appearance, but the rift does not accept that...At age 16 her body ages to age 17, the curse leaves her and all her long appendages shrink back into regular size. By age 18, Delenn III's body begins to age but does not change species. As Delenn III's body mutates to age 20, Delenn III is maturing, but again no major species change, the only major change is that her crest bone is growing, consuming her skull. As Delenn III finally ages to 21 the rift passes through her and the Prophecy comes out of the rift.
As Delenn and David look at Minbar they see hundreds of Shadow-like vessels surrounding Minbar, firing at the planet. As the ship gets its power back, it goes to Minbar, missing fire from the Shadow-like vessels. As the vessel lands in Tuzanor, the Delenn, David, and Kathren Mira seen the city of fire. As Delenn, Delenn II, Delenn III, Delenn David Mir, Kathren Mira, and David look at Tuzanor they are grief-stricken then their world is becoming toast! Delenn shakes her head in disbelief.
END OF CHAPTER 24, NEXT CHAPTER 25