"Matt, GET OVER HERE!" Hugo shouted, as the World Eater charged in.

Matt turned away from the cracked and blistered wall. "Hold on, I'm comin'!"

But he didn't have to-Helena was suddenly in front of the Mettaur, and with both hands, she caught the World Eater mid-tackle. The fear in her eyes had been replaced by angry slits-her arms strained to hold the giant demon at bay, as her upper body swelled with strength.

"Get BACK!" she hissed, and with titanic effort, shoved the World Eater backwards single-handedly.

Matt's eyes widened with the sudden brave effort committed by Helena. Holy crap...I didn't know she had that in her! A sudden realization came to him, and he smirked. Looks like she's not quite the timid girl I used to know anymore...

"Fucking... ow..." R.D. groaned as he got back up. He ignored the ache in his back and charged back into the fray just as Helena shoved the beast back.

Despite the fact the creature had no humanoid features, it seemed to look startled, and then angry, and shrieked as it struck again. Its other foreleg shot forward, its spiked end gleaming, at Helena, and R.D. was forced to tackle the dragon girl to the ground. The claw shot through the air that Helena was previously at, and impacted into the floor several yards away, shattering the cold floor. It hissed and turned, striking again at the two of them, forcing R.D. to pick the girl up and throw her out of the way, then roll out of the way before he was impaled on the ground.

R.D. leapt to his feet and dodged another strike from the World Eater, and retaliated by making a vicious slash at the offending leg. It did little, leaving only a small groove along the carapace of the leg. R.D. swore and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding having his head slammed off its shoulders.

"Dammit!" the amnesiac teen yelled, "We need to find a weakpoint on this thing!"

"SMAAAAAAAAASH!"

Matt was suddenly in the air, and brought down a tremendous baseball bat on the World Eater's head. The incredible blow shattered the bat to huge, splintered pieces, and Matt flew backwards as a result of the impact. Still, he managed to recover, flipping backwards and landing on his feet, one hand to the ground.

Despite the vigor that Matt displayed, his attack was useless, as the World Eater leapt back with uncanny speed, causing the bat to shatter against the floor, leaving a long and deep crater. It shrieked and leapt up on a pillar, scuttling up it, then leaped across the foyer to another, slamming it with incredible force and causing a large portion of it to break free. The spider and the pillar came crashing down, threatening to crush both Alasea and Helena.

"Damn it!" Matt ran toward the girls.

But Helena stood quickly, and, moving in front of Alasea, held her arms up. The floor gave in, huge cracks spreading quickly from Helena's feet as she caught the pillar, the weight of the thing pushing her slightly into the ground. She glanced at Alasea, fangs bared. "Go!"

"Suck on this, you ugly bastard!" Hugo shouted, pointing his weapon at the World Eater. Now fully charged, he let loose with a large bullet of electricity, crackling through the air at the demon.

The spider landed a couple yards away from the pillar as it fell, and made to attack the dragon girl while she was open. However, Hugo's lightning bullet struck it squarely in the side of the head, causing it to shriek as it was elecricuted. As it stumbled back, Alasea ran forward and aimed a short sword at it, firing her flame ray. However, the beam of concentrated fire merely glanced off its shell, and as it flailed, it struck the girl away.

"So, aim for the head, huh?" R.D. growled as he raised his glowing, electrified sword overhead. He brought it down with a cry of Shinkuujin, launching an electrified blade beam at it. It cut a deep groove along its back, slashing through the armor and into the body beneath.

Matt made a quick stop underneath the pillar. "Helena, you-"

His eyes widened. "...wow."

It was a strange blend indeed. Helena still possessed a semblance of her feminine shape and face, but the rest was quite disturbed-her body had grown too large for her shirt, and through the various rips across the fabric, the rows of scales and her flat, armored chest were readily apparent. Even as he looked, claws burst from her shoes as her draconic legs began to came in.

"Uh..."

She noticed him, and her angry gaze softened, as she realized the current state of her body, and what she must have looked like.

"...can I borrow that?" Matt suddenly asked, pointing at the pillar.

"...sure."

Without a word, he grabbed the large stone column.

"WHY DON'T YOU SUCK ON THIS?!" he promptly shouted, picking up the column easily and lobbing the whole thing right at the World Eater's head.

Edited by The Helldragon on February 26, 2007 at 1:33:56.

The World Eater shrieked as the pillar slammed into it, sending it flying backward and pinning it between the pillar and another one. Its body twitched for a few moments, then it shrieked as it slammed the pillar away as if it were nothing. It flew through the air, breaking apart, and R.D. cried out as one of the chunks struck him and sent him flying.

The demon leapt high into the air, turning mid-flight and latching onto the ceiling. Bending its head back, it stared right at the remaining fighters and screeched. It suddenly spat a spray of acid at them, then shoved itself off of the ceiling and hurtled through the air at them with unholy speed. The demon crashed into the ground in front of them, causing it to shatter and explode upwards beneath them.

Meta looked up from staring into the flames of the fire to see Kouken. You seem a bit young to be wielding blades the way you did earlier. She heard him ask. She smiled a little, as if embarrassed, turning her gaze back to the fire. "I've had a lot of training. At least an hour a day ever since I was seven." She said. "As well as a great teacher."

"Wa-TA!" Matt held out a hand, and an energy shield materialized before the group in the air, absorbing the acid spray. "Ha!" Matt laughed. "You think you're so-OOF!"

At that time, a large chunk of rock sent flying by the World Eater smashed into him, sending him across the room. Hugo rolled to avoid the rocks headed for him-landed back on his feet, he began charging another electric shot.

The World Eater shrieked and charged forward, bearing down on the downed Matt. However, before it could attack, a blast wave of plasma struck its side, followed by another one surrounded by spiraling fireballs. The two attacks didn't do much damage, but knocked it away.

R.D. readied another pair of energy blasts, charging them and getting ready to combine them. As he did, Alasea got up from where she was thrown and held her hands above her head, gathering flows of water into a large orb. It quickly froze into a sharp-spiked ball, and threw it as R.D. fired his combined plasma orb at the World Eater as it picked itself up.

Edited by RisingDragon on February 26, 2007 at 11:52:38.

Bryant and Brandon nodded in unison. "Then we'll show you that we are." Bryant said.

"Definately." Brandon said right after, both smirking.

Bryant and Brandon looked at eachother for a moment. They read eachother's eyes and then turned back to Gouki.

"Depends..." Brandon began.

"Who?" Bryant finished. Both were staring sternly at Gouki.

Veronica nodded as she shivered furiously. Through chattering teeth she responded: "I am." She moved to the cell door and would simply walk out.

"Take THIS!" Hugo shouted, releasing another supercharged electric bullet.

"Damn it," Matt said, as Helena helped him up. "That bitch is just shruggin' off everything we throw at him. There's gotta be a weakness."

"Maybe you should use the Core to find it," Helena suggested.

Matt's face dawned in realization. "Hey, yeah!" He pointed at Helena and clicked his tongue. "I owe you a gold star."

She smiled a little bit at the remark-her moderately fanged teeth seemed to add to the smile, actually. "You can give it to me later."

"Agreed. You go help them while I run a search engine."

Nodding, Helena ran toward the battle, her clawed feet taking her back into the fray with great speed. Meanwhile, Matt folded his arms. "All right, brain...help me out here." Furrowing his brow, he began to imagine that he was scouring empty books in a dusty library-an image that helped him kickstart the search.

The World Eater was struck by the plasma orb, ice ball, and lightning bullet, sending it reeling backwards. However, it hissed and charged forward, leaping slightly and slamming into the ground in front of R.D. and Alasea, sending them staggering backward. It nearly impaled R.D. there, but R.D. barely managed to escape by falling backwards into a roll.

Alasea slashed the air with one of her swords in the World Eater's direction, and somehow caused fire to ignite alongside the spider demon's side. It made a piercing cry, causing everyone near it to wince. Unfortunately, that wince allowed the demon to swat Alasea away from it, and went to strike down R.D..

Helena's burning beam smashed into the monster's side, cast by the half-dragon as she held her place a distance in front of Matt.

Meanwhile, Matt's brow furrowed-eventually information would come to him, but he needed it pronto, Tonto. "Come on...gimme somethin'!"

The spider demon shrieked and backed away as it was struck by Helena's beam, preventing R.D. from being injured. The beast swiped two of its forelegs to the side, slashing through a weakened pillar, and causing it to topple forward down at Helena.

===At Antarctica===

Bahamut swooped down into the icy drifts of the frozen continent, along with many of his people. The Dragon King peered with his golden eyes through the cold mists at Sheena's lair. The Dragons had been waging war with the Ice Dragons for some time now, and thankfully, the flaming breath of theirs was more than enough to stop an Ice Dragon.

"Now what do you plan, wyrm?" Bahamut growled softly.

Helena's slitted eyes widened as the pillar came tumbling down upon her in pieces. She had to act fast-and her primal instincts fulfilled that need. From her back, her wings withered into existence, growing into fully muscled structures in the span of a few seconds. Trying to ignore the pain, Helena leapt backwards, and her wings caught the air, taking her out of the path of the pillar as it fell.

She then remembered Matt. "Matt, watch out!" she shouted at him as the stones descended.

"I've got it!"

With that cry from Matt, the stones burst into smaller chunks as they collided with a sudden field that manifested itself about him. The teenager raised a fist, and knelt, slamming it into the ground, shouting, "Hit him in his underside!" Underneath the World Eater, the earth burst upwards, reforming into a giant fist of rock. "Fist of Gaia!"

Edited by The Helldragon on February 27, 2007 at 0:14:33.

The World Eater was sent high into the air, and it released a terrible hiss, but due to its arachnid agility, it landed easily on its feet. It backed away slowly, glaring horribly at the group while hissing. It then reared back and unleashed a warbling, undulating cry, and the air around it waver, like a heat mirage expanding in a ripple.

The cry seemed to pierce the skulls of each member of the group, all the while seeming to echo in the back of their minds. R.D. stopped attacking, almost freezing on the spot. His eyes widened, and he went pale. The amnesiac teen took a hesitant step back, his Phase Blade clattering to the ground. In his mind's eye, a silhouetted figure with a pair of swords looked over its shoulder and stared straight at him with cold eyes.

Alasea made a pained cry as she sank to the ground, clutching her head. Her mouth was agape in a silent scream, as for all she could see, the Dark Dragon towered above her, glaring hungrily.

The World Eater increased the power of the psychic emanations, and unleashed their fears upon the group.

"Well..." Meta thought for a moment. "My last birthday before Xastra came was my 20th, I think, but that's a long time ago. I could be 21 by now."

Edited by Morphman on February 27, 2007 at 10:13:33.

Meta laughed lightly. "Oh, no. Why, did you think I was much younger then?" She asked. "I don't look that young, right? I mean, I'm not a little girl anymore."

Veronica tilted her head to the side. "What?" She asked innocently, staring up at Cora.

"No! I will not kill my own wife!" Bryant outbursted. Brandon stared at Bryant surprised. He wasn't aware that Bryant and Veronica were married, friends yes, dating maybe, but married?

Edited by Blazen on February 27, 2007 at 15:40:21.

Kite woke up, he was never a hard sleeper so it was easy to,"So where to?"

Blane on the other hand required Kite to kick him in the shin...

Kalmar looked at the horizon, the faintest tinge of pink tinted the sky.

"That's Blazen's call, I am just here for.." he trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. What am I here for? he thought, confused by his loss of direction in life.

"Hmm?" Blazen asked as he sat up. He sloutched a bit, rubbing his left eye. He leaned forward a bit, seeming ready to fall forward. He then gave a loud yawn and looked at the three lazily. "What's my call?" He asked, an elbow on his knee and hand in his head.

"Where we're heading today," Kalmar said plainly, looking around as the sky slowly brightened. He rubbed his right arm absently, the corrupted limb pulsing at the touch.