The Nemesis fortress was as busy as a bee hive as the personnel hurried to their stations. The divinus's chamber lay shut as the scientists hurriedly exited it around its thick metal doors. Soldiers left the room in droves to join the battle outside, but the lead scientist jumped out of his skin as he saw them.

"You can't leave us in the middle of an invasion!"

"Be calm, doctor. The invaders are as good as dead. However, my men and I must handle some weak spots!"

The lead soldier marched off with his men. But as they prepared to leave, the door opened, revealing Daisy, Everton, and Sarah. And Everton was shoving an unconscious nemesis soldier’s face on the DNA security scanner!

Shock covered the soldier's face, but before he could do anything, Everton punched him in it, unconscious! As he hurried into the chamber, another soldier drew his Tyloblade, attempting to stab Everton. However, Everton caught his arm, crushing it. And as the soldier screamed, Everton used him as a living flail, knocking more nemesis soldiers away!

As Everton tossed the soldier at his comrades, another aimed his plasma gun at him. But as he fired, Daisy got in the way with her shield. The blast bounced off it and struck the soldier’s arm. And Daisy rammed into him with her weapon, knocking him unconscious.

Daisy quickly spotted another nemesis soldier booking towards a big red button, the security alarm, and tossed her shield at him. As he was about to press the button, it hit the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

The remaining nemesis soldiers in the chamber charged at them! But Sarah grew to her giant size and smashed them into the floor with one punch, dead!

"Good work, girls. Now, we must make haste! We stopped them from calling reinforcements, but they'll learn something is amiss soon!” Everton ran to the metal doors, typing away on the security holophone panel. “Daisy, watch my back. And Gigantes girl, look after the scientists!"

"You got it, and my name is Sarah!"

"Irrelevant!"

Sarah looked at Everton, enraged, but still carried out his orders. As he worked with the holophone panel, Daisy stood guard over him.

On the battlefield, Gancelot lay on the ground surrounded by his soldiers, clutching his chest in pain as one helped him stand.

His communicator rang, and he answered it.

"Everton…incredible, but you need five minutes?"

Four minutes later, the nemesis scientists cowered in a corner. Daisy, Everton, and Sarah prepared for trouble as they worriedly stared at the barricaded door to the room with their weapons ready, awaiting nemesis soldiers to burst through.

"God, we're sitting ducks. Everton, can't we pry open the doors to the divinus and have Sarah haul it out of here?"

"I wish! It's bound to its shrine, so they go together or not at all!” Everton took his gaze off the door, looking at Daisy. “All we have to do is stay alive until the security procedure shuts down, and then we can activate the emergency evacuation!"

"Emergency-"

"The entire chamber is prepared for airlift for emergencies like this. When it's time, Fortis and the other pilots will get it and us out of here!" Sarah interrupted.

The doors to the room got blasted open in a flash of light! A sea of nemesis soldiers flooded in! Among them were ones wearing sinister-looking black armor with numerous jagged edges, cyber troopers. They were cyborg soldiers, Nemesis warriors that had their physical attributes artificially enhanced through technology.

One shot a massive blast at Daisy and the others. They barely dodged it, and Sarah retaliated by swatting him with her giant hand. But he shocked her away with an intense energy field, revealing no damage from her attack! As she got knocked back to regular size.

"E-Everton, what are those metal monsters?"

"Dr. Zola's work!"

A loud alarm went off, and Everton jumped to his feet. "The security system is down! To the divinus, hurry!"

Daisy, Everton, and Sarah booked for the divinus! But the nemesis soldiers unloaded a salvo at them. As they ran away, one of the shots hit Sarah in the leg, knocking her down. The soldiers aimed their weapons, preparing to kill her, but Daisy saw this and hurried back.

Daisy shoved Sarah out of harm's way and readied to die in her place. But Everton grabbed her, tossing her out of the way.

Daisy was helpless to do anything but watch as Everton was shot multiple times to his body before dropping to the ground a limp husk!

"No!" Daisy shouted.

The salvo continued with unrelenting murderous intent, but with her mind in ruins from shock and grief, Daisy ran over to Everton with suicidal abandon. However, as Sarah saw Daisy ignoring the plasma bolts flying by her head, she grew to a giant size and ripped out a portion of the floor to block them.

"Oh, gracious Heavenly Father, I beg you, don't take Everton away!"

"D-daisy, you must finish the mission!” Everton pointed his trembling hand to the door. “The emergency evacuation can only work by pressing a large green button on the top of a panel in the chamber!”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"But I can't just-"

Quickly, Daisy saw the nemesis soldiers break through Sarah’s defense.

"Do as he says, Daisy! I'll hold them back as long as possible. Just run and don't look back!"

Pain and frustration covered Daisy's face, but she reluctantly booked for the divinus. She quickly reached the doors, entering its chamber, but one of the armored soldiers flew past Sarah after her. However, brilliant heavenly light burst from it, knocking him away with a powerful shockwave!

The trooper quickly stood back up! But as he went to touch the doors, his hand was shocked away by an energy field. And even as he shot at it with his guns, they lay without a scratch! Was the Divinus behind this strange development? Could it be that it was never totally a prisoner? Was it waiting for the right time to play its trump card? But why now?

Inside the chamber, Daisy looked at the divinus in amazement. However, she quickly spotted the panel with the green button and ran over, hastily pressing it.

A minute passed, but nothing happened in the chamber. As Daisy noticed, she frantically pressed the button again, but nothing happened.

As she looked at the panel, she grew an expression of pure rage. Her heart pounded like a drum, her breathing got heavier, and she punched it in a mad tantrum! But as her knuckles became bloody and bruised, she dropped to the floor crying and curled up in a ball.

"Rise, human child. We have important matters to discuss!"

Daisy jumped to her feet and looked around the room for the source of the voice she heard. But as she found nobody else in the room, she turned her gaze to the divinus.

"D-Divinus, are you talking to me? What do you mean by important matters?"

"I know why you are here. Tell me, human child, why should I give you my power?"

"W-well, because we're here on a quest for justice. We need your power to conquer a monstrous evil!"

"You are not the first to say those words, you know. Countless people before you have demanded my power for weapons and battle strategies to commit murder and called it justice!”

“You have to believe me!”

“Why?”

Shock swept Daisy's face, and she got down, bowing to the divinus, touching her forehead on the floor.

"I understand how you feel about violence since I do, too. But I beg you to help the billions suffering under oppression. I will surrender my very life to convince you!"

A deafening silence washed over the chamber as Daisy made her ply, but the divinus finally answered.

"I have examined your words and heart, human child. And you have spoken no lies. You may have my power with two conditions!"

Daisy jumped to her feet."Thank you! But what are these conditions?"

"The first is only you will have access to my power. You will become my vessel, an agent of peace and justice. And take on a new name for your rebirth as my proxy. As for the second, you must promise to use my power only for noble ends. Do you agree to these terms?”

Daisy nodded in agreement, and the divinus shot into her body, breaking it apart as she became an amorphous blob of pure light. However, she regained a human form free from all the cuts and bruises her previous self sustained. And armor forged of light surrounded it, a metal dress of blue.

As she awakened from her rebirth, Daisy looked in amazement at her garments and shield, appearing newly made.

"I christen you, Damara, Damara the valiant. Now go forth and use my gifts wisely,” Divinus said in a dying whisper.

Daisy looked to the door where Everton and Sarah were with a determined expression.

Outside, Sarah dropped to the ground, bloody and barely clinging to life. Everton was in the same spot, slowly dying. And nemesis soldiers pointed their guns at them, waiting for the order to kill.

As the armored soldiers tried to enter the divinus's chamber, they were shocked away by an invisible force field.

"Doctor, what is the meaning of this?"

"I-It must be the divinus!"

"Yes, but how? I thought you took measures to ensure this doesn't happen!"

"We did! It seems even after all our research. We don't know the full extent of its power!” The scientist looked towards the soldier in fear. “But don't worry. With the emergency evacuation disabled, there's no escape!"

A nemesis soldier came to them, pointing to Everton and Sarah. "Sir, can we please put these animals down now?"

"I will allow them to speak their final words first!"

"We have nothing to say to you people! Get it over with," Sarah said.

The lead soldier gave the signal to kill Everton and Sarah. The nemesis soldiers prepared to shoot them dead, and Sarah took a deep breath, readying to meet her doom. But as they were about to pull their triggers, the doors to the divinus burst open with Daisy's giant shield, smashing through them!

The soldiers by the doors flew to the other side of the room, unconscious. As the remaining soldiers saw Daisy walk out, they turned their guns away from Everton and Sarah, unloading a salvo at her instead. But telekinetically directed by her index finger, Daisy's shield came in its path, blocking each strike!

The shots bounced off Daisy's shield, filling the room with dust. However, Daisy shrunk it back to size, guiding it toward its targets. It swiftly hit almost all the nemesis soldiers, unconscious, missing the leader. As he saw his comrades defeated, he charged at Daisy, setting up a punch. But she effortlessly caught it and punched him in the gut, unconscious!

Daisy gently placed her adversary on the floor, appearing before the lead scientist in the blink of an eye!"For the safety of you and your Colleagues. Please get back in your corner!"

The scientists in the room followed behind their leader back into the corner. As Daisy saw them, she hurried over to Everton and Sarah.

"Everton, Sarah, thank heaven you're alive!"

"Who are you? How do you know our names?"

"You don't recognize me?”

At that moment, Daisy realized she had a true rebirth. Her face was no longer the same in her current form.

”Listen, I don't have time to explain. But it's me, Daisy!"

"Truthfully?"

Daisy nodded yes to Sarah's question.

She tried to pick up Everton, but as she moved him, he screamed in pain!

"I'm such a fool! Everton, I'm so sorry! I should know better than to move you in this state!"

"D-daisy, my time is here. Come close so I may speak my final words!"

"You're delirious from the pain. Sarah, please watch him while I find help!"

Daisy tried to leave them, but Everton grabbed her arm. He refused to let her go, and she stopped trying. She knew Everton wasn’t delirious! Even if she could find a doctor, he likely wouldn’t have time to treat such dire wounds. So, she looked at Everton, crying and a piece of her dead inside as she accepted reality.

"Firstly, please tell Orion he was a good friend. It was an honor having him as a commander. The next thing is you are like my second daughter, Daisy. I was trying to tell you that on the ship!” Everton coughed violently.“Finally, please promise me you will redeem my greatest failure. My child, you will pursue your dreams and live a long and happy life, won't you?"

Everton initiated a pinky promise, and Daisy accepted it.

"I was so wrong. You are my Pa!"

As they finished the pinky promise, Everton's eyes closed, and his breathing stopped. Sarah checked his heartbeat, and her grim face at Daisy confirmed he was dead.

Daisy's screams of agony filled the room as she dropped on his corpse in a crying fit. But she quickly went silent. Her misery gave way to fiery rage that rivaled the heat of Prometheus, marching out of the room!

Outside, the United Planets soldiers and the Nemesis continued their war. However, all their attention went to the fortress as a massive explosion happened. Daisy stood on top of it, emitting a brilliant light, and it quickly swallowed the battlefield, signaling a victory for the United Planets!