Alasea nodded, then looked back at the cadaver for a brief moment. Re-Tuul, one of the most dangerous creatures in existence... no longer the last of his kind? The thought was almost terrifying. She tore her gaze away from the body and, with a brief tug on Ileyna's hand to get her moving, followed Matt out of the room.

Matt found R.D. sulking outside. "Come on, let's get somethng to eat," he told him, tossing a thumb over his shoulder.

R.D.'s only response was to grunt noncommittally. He turned and began to follow Matt down the hallway.

While watching him, Alasea felt the urge to try and talk to him, to find out what was wrong. But really, what could she possibly say to him?

They went to the cafeteria and picked up something to eat. Since R.D. was too busy being a downer, Matt decided to stir up some conversation with Alasea. "I just hope those dragons aren't putting Helena through the ringer right now."

"She'll be fine," R.D. said before tearing off a piece of his sandwich. He swallowed before continuing. "We've never been given a reason to doubt their intentions."

Unlike our friggin' race, he thought sourly.

===Level 10-B Hanger Bay, Aube===

After some time, the spell cast by the dragons began to fade, and the magic circle dimmed before disappearing completely. All magical energies lingering in Helena's senses disappeared, and the three dragons began to converse among themselves about their findings.

"They'd better not screw around." Matt held his soda by the top of the can, real lazy-like. "Otherwise I'm likely to get agitated."

***

Helena certainly felt charged by all the magical energy, but what did it mean? She didn't dare raise her voice, though, settling with crossing her arms under her chest.

After several moments, the red dragon turned back to Helena and regarded her with an expressionless gaze.

"Are you ready to hear about our findings?" it asked in a deep rumble.

"...yes," Helena said.

The blue and black dragons turned to face Helena, alongside the red dragon.

"It seems that with the reawakening of the power left by Heresy, your body is now trying to find an acceptable medium between both forms," the black dragon spoke. "This is why your skin is toughening, and your teeth are sharpening. Other traits of our kind may yet appear."

"With your genetic changes, you have gained access to the magicks that empower our kind," said the red dragon. "This is the origin of your control of heat and flame. With practice, you may access other elements of nature to wield as you see fit."

"Be warned, though," the blue dragon spoke. "Your power draws on the life of the world, from nature itself. Should the world you exist in succumb to death, or diminish in life, so will your power. You will become aware of the balance within nature as you mature. Attune yourself to it, and you shall find the control you ultimately seek."

"How do I attune myself to nature?" Helena asked. "Do I just...do what I've been doing before with fire?" She raised her hands, curling her fingers. "I'm not even sure how I've been doing that."

"You have already begun to attune yourself. The knowledge is instinctual, and occurs naturally. The more your body acclimates to your power, the more you will become aware," the blue dragon replied. "If you so wish, we will help teach you how to better access your power, and tame the beast that lies dormant within you."

"I'd be grateful," Helena said. "I want to control the changes before they get too noticable."

"Keep in mind, that when you have mastered your transformational capabilities, you will be able to return your form to that of a full human," the black dragon informed Helena. "But you will not be able to remain in it indefinitely. Learn to accept your natural appearance when the process is complete, child, for that form is the one that will truly be you."

Helena looked at the black dragon. "Wait. Why can't I remain in my human form indefinitely? I mean, it would be great to have the abilities of a dragon, but can't I control them so I don't have to change whenever I use them?"

"Your transformation requires great concentration, child," it replied. "While, with practice, you can use the abilities without reverting back to your natural form, your mental exhaustion will eventually overcome you."

"That is why you must accept who you are, Helena Hiroshi," grumbled the red dragon. "Come to terms with what you will become."

"Then I won't let myself get exhausted! You have to understand!" Now she was pleading with the blue dragon. "If I go home with scales all over my body, the people in my world would hate me for being different! Maybe my father would learn to accept it, but if anyone else knew, they would hunt me down!"

The blue dragon simply shook its head. "The greater you fight against yourself, the more difficult it shall be to control your power. Accept who you are. Only then can you control the power within you."

"The more you learn about your power, the greater your control over it will be," said the red dragon. "If you wish to remain in your human form for long periods of time, then you must avoid combat. Avoid using that power, and maintain your concentration on your human form."

"The rest of your kind will not have to see who and what you are," the black dragon intoned. "Relinquish your human form at times when it is not necessary to keep. Rest will allow you to better control your form at times where your humanity is needed."

Helena groaned, dragging her hands through her hair. It was a bit before she finally spoke again, having calmed down. "All right, then I want to learn how to control my power and use it better."

The eyes of the dragons seemed to smile--at least the girl was acknowledging what they were saying now. "Return to your friends, eat, and wait for the work crews outside to finish their duties," said the red dragon. "Then, return here. We shall begin your training then."

"All right," Helena said. "Thank you."

Resting by the doorway, Hugo snapped out of standby mode when Helena passed him, triggering the automatic doors. "Hey," he said, catching up. "How did it go?"

"It went good," Helena said, uninterested.

As the two of them made their way down towards the first intersection, voices from an adjacent hall could be heard.

"--you see what we did back there?" came the voice of Rodeo. "Seriously, the way we--"
"We know, dammit," Maria's voice said, sounding quite exasperated. "We were there, you moron!"
"Oh, don't be like that, Maria!" Rodeo replied to his teammate. "You shouldn't be jealous because I got--OW!"
Laughter followed, along with the sound of uneven pace--apparently, Maria had kicked him in the leg in response to Rodeo's cocky attitude.

Sounded like Maria and the others made it all right. Helena kept walking. She didn't feel like talking to them much right now.

Helena's wishes seemed to be ignored--as the Nine-Breaker pilots filed out into the hallway, lead by Adrian in the forefront, and Rodeo immediately spotted the girl and the Mettaur as he hobbled out of the corner.

"Hey, kids!" he greeted, shaking the pain out of his leg. He flagged the two of them on over. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Hugo tipped his pickaxe in greeting. "Ahoy there. How did it go?"

Helena also smiled, politely.

"Crappily," Chico muttered. "Some Devil Dragons snuck up on the Dylandy brothers."

The two men seemed to glower at the mention, and Chico continued. "Tore the sides out of their machines."

"That's a shame," Helena said. "I'm sorry it happened."

"Hah. Not as sorry as the Twinheads," Rodeo chuckled. Adrian reached over, and smacked him upside the head with a light slap, causing the man to wince.

"Knock it off, Rodeo. We've got places to be. Let's go," he said. He nodded to Helena. "Good day, ma'am."

And with that, he turned to leave, with the rest of his team following.

"Take care of yourselves," Helena said, with a small wave.

Hugo watched them leave until he finally said, "Come on. Let's get something to eat."

"Okay."

Many minutes later, Helena and Hugo arrived at the mess hall. Looking up from her meal, Alasea spotted the two of them as they came in, and flagged them over.

"Hey there," Matt said as the two approached. "How'd it go?"

"It went fine," Helena said, sitting in the empty seat across from R.D..

Matt took another swig. "Well, get some food while you can."

"I'm not really hungry."