Meta looked over the three, down upon Anubis and Kerberos, up to Fenrir. She grinned. "I have called you here for one reason, and that is one question to ask, of which I will tolerate only one answer." Her grin grew broader. "If you will free you from this prison, will you follow me?"

The three divine hounds thought about this.
"What do you have to offer?" Anubis inquired.

Meta snickered. She had known this would come. "If you follow me, you will have a leader stronger and more fair than any other you could wish for. Also, I will not only grant you freedom, I will grant you the world."

"Hmmm..." Anubis thought about this. "Seems like a good deal to me."

Kerberos growled in agreement.

Fenrir did not move, as to not shake the earth, but one could sense his liking towards this idea.

"Then go forth!" Meta shouted. "Go forth, gather thine armies, and marcheth out of this hellhole!"

At that last word, Anubis chuckled, but they all went.

Edited by Morphman on December 17, 2006 at 14:07:23.

OOC: I'll let you do the time skip, R.D.

Matt set the powered down Hugo on the floor, and looked back at Helena. "Do you need a room?"

"No." She looked past Matt, not directly at him. "...I'd rather stay here."

"No problem." Flipping his legs on his bed, he laid there with the covers at his side.

But his mind still ran. He was overtaken by the desire to learn more about the sad ghost before him, and he couldn't even figure out why.

"Helena."

She turned slowly in mid-air to face him. "Yes?"

Matt sat up. "Tell me where you used to live."

Edited by The Helldragon on December 17, 2006 at 11:16:41.

Meta cried out again, even more confident than before. "Come! Surtr, King of Fire Giants! Come, Hrym, Chief of Frost and Rock Giants! Come, Leviathan of the Sea! Come, Fafner the Furious! Come, Nidhogg the Root-chewer! Come, Völundr, Ruler of the Dark Elves! Come, Mótsognir and Durinn, and Dvalinn, Kings of Dwarves! Come, Astaroth of the Fallen! Come, Serket, Scorpion King! Come, Kyuubi, Nine-Tailed Fox! Come, Dracula, Lord of Vampires! Come all and listen to what I wish to tell you all!"

A low rumbling could be heard from all directions, from far, far away. Meta grimaced a little. "Well, if you do not wish to come, listen anyway! Listen to what I have to say!" She spread her arms and shouted even louder. "Follow me and I shall grant you freedom, power, and revenge on those whom imprisoned thee! WHAT SAY YOU?!"


Edited by Morphman on December 17, 2006 at 18:32:13.

OOC: COME, ULTROS!

...PSYCHE!

(OOC: ONOES! NOT ULTROS! XD)

The soft, low rumbling noise that followed had a ring of agreeing with it, and Meta smirked in satisfaction. "Good." She spoke. "Escape then!" She shouted. "The gates have opened! Follow thine savior, and more is to come!" Upon those words, she turned, and made her way back towards the gates.

Edited by Morphman on December 17, 2006 at 18:34:27.

(OOC: As if we didn't have enough to deal with... >.>)

===The Next Day===

Aisha went about her house, waking up all its occupants. After a brief, comical interlude involving two of the guests, she went about making breakfast as everyone got themselves ready for whatever nightmares today threw at them.

Matt sat at the table, trying his best to wake up.

"Matt, did you get enough sleep?" Hsien-Ko asked.

"No," came the reply. "I usually sleep til ten."

"Sometimes I'd like to sleep," Hsien-Ko said. "But not having to sleep can be good, too."

"Well, I need it." Matt glanced at Aisha. "Do you have any Cokes or anything, Aisha?"

Aisha nodded and placed one in front of Matt on the small table.

R.D. and Alasea were already sitting at the table, and both were making a point of looking anywhere but each other.

Hugo arched an eyebrow, looking at R.D. and Alasea. "What's with you?"

R.D. remained silent, but Alasea went red. It would seem they had no intention of talking about what happened.

Unfortunately for them, Aisha had no such problems.

"It would seem that Alasea, after getting up to get some water," she explained as she set food down for them to eat, "she accidentally entered R.D.'s room instead of her own and laid down beside him, and I woke them both up."

Alasea gave Aisha a shocked and embarassed look at her audacity to repeat what had happened.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh." Matt grinned. "Oh ho ho. I see."

"Matt, I hardly think what you're thinking is the case," Mei-ling said, her tone chiding.

"Oh, I know," Matt answered, glancing at his fingernails. "But it's always so nice to have potential blackmail."

Glaring, Alasea threw her empty paper cup at Matt's face.

Meanwhile, R.D. looked over at Aisha. "So when do you plan on telling us about your plans for Alasea?" he asked.

"After we've eaten, if your friends are done fighting."

Edited by RisingDragon on December 17, 2006 at 13:20:23.

The paper cup suddenly stopped in midair, but Matt didn't recall using his power to stop it. Around the cup, pale white fingers formed, leading to the arm and then the phantasmic body of Helena.

"Please don't throw things at him," she asked, setting down the cup.

"...that's going to be very handy," Matt remarked, popping open his soda.

R.D. chuckled. "Looks like you've got yourself a girlfriend, Matt," he said as Alasea glared at the bespectacled teen.

Helena glanced away shyly as Matt shook a fist at R.D. "Looks like you've got yourself a date!" he snapped. "With my FIST!"

"Will you all shut up?" Hugo snapped. "We need to focus on more important things here."

"That's correct," Mei-ling said. "We must locate the Gateway before we are found by enemy forces."

Matt leaned back. "Agreed. Once we're done here we gotta roll."

R.D. nodded. They finished eating, and Aisha went to her own room and came back carrying her katana. "Well then, shall we go?"

"Go? Thought you'd be telling us something first," R.D. said, growing skeptical again.

"It would be easier for me to show you," Aisha replied. She then went out the door.

R.D. watched after her, then shrugged. He got up and followed after her, with Alasea following behind.

"All right, let's see what's goin' down," Matt remarked, standing up and stretching a bit. Coke in hand, he went the way the others went, Helena floating behind him and in front of the others.

They followed Aisha a short ways, heading towards the closed off valley. Aisha remained silent for the entire trip.

Aisha moved up over the hill, cutting her off from the group's sight. R.D. rushed up ahead to catch up, and stopped dead at the top.

"Oh my god..."

He stared in shock at the towering structure of the Pillar of Dawn that lay in the center of the valley. It pulsed with energy, energy that seemed to resonate with R.D.'s Lumiya and Matt's Omega Core.

"What in the name of ethnic diversity is that?" Matt exclaimed, pointing at the tower.

"You really need to stop making up those stupid catchphrases," Hugo muttered.

"That," Aisha said, "is the Pillar of Dawn, one of the five ancient structures created to stop the Destroyer of Worlds."

Alasea stared at the Pillar, seemingly transfixed.

"Each one is protected by a guardian known as a Daughter of Dawn. Each Daughter has power over a specific element, while one of them has control over all of the elements," the redheaded woman explained, "And they keep the Pillars safe until the day when they are to be used against the Destroyer."

Aisha turned to the group. "It is this structure that allowed me to aid you in your fight against Gouki's minions. I am a Daughter of Dawn, and so are you, Alasea."

"Me?" the teen girl said weakly.

"That's pretty damn convienent," Hugo remarked.

Mei-ling, however, was focused on something else. "What is the 'Destroyer of Worlds'?"

Aisha looked over at Mei-ling. "An ancient being that consumes worlds, growing stronger with each world is destroys. It has finally come here, making its home by destroying the continent of Australia. You know Him as... Ziatoch."

R.D. remained silent, but his fury grew at the mentioning of the name.

Matt made a confused face. "We do?"

"God, you're dumb!" Hugo snapped at the boy. "You don't remember him?"

"Shut the hell up!" Matt snapped back. "You know I got a bad memory!"

"So why can't you use them to destroy Ziatoch now?" Hsien-Ko asked.

(Hey Morph! Sailor Scouts! Assemble!)

"The time has not come," Aisha said sadly, "There are too many dangers in the world. Maya would have to be defeated, and the Seven Beasts destroyed before they can be used."

Aisha looked over at Alasea. "Your Pillar has not yet appeared, which further prevents our efforts."

"You don't even know for sure if I am this Daughter of Dawn!" Alasea exclaimed.

Are you so sure? Aisha said across a telepathic link. Alasea's eyes widened in shock. All of us Daughters can use this link to communicate. You would not be able to hear me if you were not the one.

Alasea looked at her weakly. "Why me?" she asked.

"We don't know," Aisha said soothingly, taking the girl's hands in her own. "We were chosen, all of us. When the time comes, your Pillar will appear and you must go to it. But now is not the time, and you have not grown strong enough. Go with your friends a little longer. I will help you when it's time for you to find the Pillar of Dawn."

Alasea nodded shakily, and Aisha turned her gaze back to the others. "Your goal is close by. Be careful, as while this area is protected, this land is in the grasp of Gouki and Maya. The other three Daughters will help you should you come across them," she said, "They are Colleen Young, of America, Ellie Mariannas, of Germany, and Tomoko Saeki, of Kattelox. They will recognize Alasea on sight and will help you."

"Kattelox?" R.D. said. "We were near one of these Daughters and didn't even know it?"

MAtt grew serious quickly. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to her. If Ziatoch tries any crap I'll deal with it."