For a second, Bryant swore he saw heaven...or hell. It was bright, but full of crushing pain. He felt himself airborne, slowly losing grip of reality and Earthquake. They rolled once and landed on the wheels. Bryant laid flat on the roof, groaning. His back was bruised, easily, but it wasn't broken. He could still feel his toes and his fingers were pinched and hurt. His head was probably bleeding, he felt his hair was wet.

"What the hell?" He asked, and coughed sitting up. He looked out to see nothing. Absolutely nothing. No horde, no brutes, no pouncers...nothing. It was gone, just all gone. Bryant banged on the roof again.

"You ok down there?" Bryant yelled down. Veronica's head was laying in her arms against the dashboard. Brandon was against the wall. His everything hurt. Veronica groaned and slowly pulled herself back into consciousness. He looked up at Bryant and waved. Brandon moved slightly. Bryant sighed.

"You alright?" He asked Alasea. He didn't look over, but assumed she was still there. After he spoke he looked, suddenly realizing she may not be.

Alasea slowly stood up, several meters away from the downed Earthquake. She couldn't hear, like cotton had been stuffed into her ears. Her head was pounding, screaming. Vision was foggy, but clearing... so was her hearing. As she gained more clarity, the pain she felt in her head only grew worse. God, what had she done?

She staggered as she got up from the ground, stifling an anguished cry as pain lanced through her left arm, her free hand shooting towards her elbow. They came into contact with a sticky, wet substance, and Alasea looked at it, seeing blood making the black jacket look even darker around her elbow. Shaking her head to ward off the clouding of her vision thanks to the pain, she looked around, hearing Bryant call for her.

"Can someone tell the little bastard in my skull to turn off his jackhammer?" she moaned, making her way over to the wrecked machine.

Edited by RisingDragon on January 17, 2009 at 1:08:41.

"Just be glad that's all that's wrong with you." Bryant said as he looked out to the vast nothingness. It was an overwhelming nothing. A nothing filled with fear. Such and oxymoron, it hurt his head. He looked down to Veronica and jumped down into the tank and opened the side door of Alasea wanted in. He sat down on one of the seats and Brandon was able to sit himself up as well.

"What the hell was that?" Brandon asked the same question Bryant had been for the last five minutes. It was like all of hell broke loose. No, something more terrifying then hell broke loose.

"... I don't know," Alasea said, pushing herself up backwards into the seat. "I think it was because I channeled darkness and light at the same time. I didn't mean to."

She slid the jacket off of her body gingerly, taking care not to aggravate her wound further. "I didn't know that would happen if I did." She examined the wound, and didn't like what she saw--the skin was broken open around the side of the elbow and the wound ran deep, encrusted with filth from the ground, and the skin was ragged and raw around it.

She felt revolted. "I'm gonna need help with this one," she whimpered quietly, tearing her eyes away from it.

Matt frowned. "Right. Let's do this quickly."

Veronica cringed slightly as well. She agreed instantly and quickly scooped up a medical kit. The box was dented, but the supplies were in good shape. Thank God for sturdy metal. She slowly pulled out some towelettes.

"This is going to sting," Veronica warned and tenderly began to apply the towelette, wiping the dirt and germs away. The cut was indeed deep and she didn't think stitches were in the case, and even if there were she didn't think her hands would be calm enough to do something like that. Nor would the boys'.

They clambered onto the platform while Samus used her Scan Visor on the console in front of it to gain access, and then Samus stepped into the hologram glowing in the middle of it, causing the elevator platform to activate and begin its descent into the Phazon Mines.

After several moments, the elevator came to a halt at the bottom, and they walked out through a small enclosed catwalk within the cavern, and to an Ice Beam blast door. Samus motioned for them to stay back.

"What's wrong?" R.D. asked, backing up.

"You'll see. Ileyna, you said you could stop the Phazon radiation?" Samus asked.

"Yes...?" she responded to the older woman, unsure.

"Good. Start doing that now."

"Um, okay," she said, spreading her arms slightly as she manifested her powers and spread out the bubble-like shield around the group. Samus armed her Ice Beam, and fired at the door. The white energy barrier faded and the door split open, revealing a very short platform behind it, and a mass of dark blue, crystalline growth covering the rock floor and walls. Stray ionization caused tines of energy to arc over the material, and vile, violet-black sparks floated up from it like embers.

R.D. cringed at the sight. "Is that...?"

"Yes," Samus confirmed. "This is the Phazon."

===Japan===

"I just need it cleaned," Alasea said, bracing herself. The towelettes that Veronica applied stung like hell, and the girl hissed at the sudden pain, her arm stiffening at the contact, but otherwise she held still while the older woman cleaned her wound.

Once that was done, she lowered herself out of the seat. Looking at the wound, she began to grasp the flows of power from the brilliant source of energy within herself and the Pillar of Dawn as it traveled back and forth between the two in a circuit.

And that's when she heard the cruel, mocking laughter of a woman's voice nearby.

"Well, that looks positive," Matt muttered.

"Come on," Helena said. "I don't want to stay here any more than we need to."

"I got the back covered," Hugo said, aiming his pickaxe. "Let's move."

Brandon was sitting up on a chair now across from Bryant when the laughter polluted the air. He sighed. What now? He wanted some sleep and to end this nightmare for the day. He wasn't angry just disappointing. More work and he wasn't up to it. Looking up, Brandon saw that Bryant's eyes were both of anger and the same sort of disappointment. Bryant stood however and walked to the door of the tank, looking around. Brandon just hoped Bryant's head wouldn't suddenly disappear.

"Who's out there?" Bryant yelled out into the beach and mountains, taking but one step out.

"Hold up," R.D. said, motioning for them to not get closer. "I need to get its signature first."

R.D. stepped forward, getting as near to the Phazon as he possibly dared. He reached out with his senses, letting it touch upon the radiation energy of the vile substance. After a moment or two, he had it--Lumiya safely filed the information away into... whatever it did. The Phazon energy was his to access. Now, to figure out how to utilize it safely.

After several long moments, he nodded. "Okay, I think I have it. Let me try it," he said, channeling the Phazon energy through the Dragon King Armor's plates. And with that, before Samus could do anything, he stepped off the platform into the substance.

Okay, no searing pain, no mutations, he mused, walking further out. "Okay, I'm good. I know how to shield myself from this stuff now."

"Good," Samus said, reaching out to help him back up onto the platform. "Don't ever let me catch you doing something that blatantly stupid ever again."

===Japan===

"My, my," the voice rang out from nowhere and everywhere. Alasea looked around wildly, gripping her wound. This wasn't good, they weren't in any condition to continue fighting.

Darkness sprang up in a black mist at the crest of a hill nearby, warping up and around into a sphere as something stepped out of it, allowing the dark portal to close up after. Standing up on the hill was a someone none of them expected.

Instead of some vicious, bloodthirsty monster, there was a woman of dark beauty. Long, flowing blond hair was tied up into a large, thick ponytail that reached well down her back, framing a stunning, beautiful face of creamy skin, pouting lips, and alluring and dangerous red eyes. A skimpy black dress hung loosely about a thin frame, black ribbons around the shoulder sleeves hanging down and attacked to bracelets around the woman's wrists, and the skirt of it having the sides slit open to reveal long legs. A white slip was held tight over an impressive bosom, and her exposed arms, legs, and midriff had numerous red, orange, violet, and green line markings on them, making simple but elegant designs on her skin.

She stared down at Alasea and the three Hartnetts haughtily, lifting a hand up to suppress a giggle. "They were right about you, dear," she said in a melodious voice. "You are quite special. I'm amazed at how easily you dispatched those creatures I unleashed."

Alasea sneered. "You're the one who released them!?" she spat.

"Yes, my dear, I did," she replied with a laugh. "I must thank you for how neatly you had them sealed away, just waiting for me to unleash them on your friends."

Matt sure didn't approve of that remark, no matter how well intentioned. "R.D. knows what he's doing," he said. "If there's anyone you'd have to stop from doing anything stupid, it'd be me."

"Don't tell me you're gonna walk out into that stuff," Hugo said.

"No. I do dumb things sometimes but I'm not THAT dumb."

"Just who the fuck are you?" Bryant asked, raising his voice to be as loud as possible. He began to cough however, he was tired and beaten to. Even the yelling hurt his chest. He probably had some bruised or broken ribs maybe. He wasn't coughing up blood though, so at least a lung wasn't punctured.

"I was unfortunate enough to be knocked into some Phazon by Space Pirates once," Samus said sternly, looking at Matt. "The damage I sustained was severe, even with my shielding, which R.D. doesn't have. If R.D. had been wrong about his capabilities, he would've been killed in an instant."

R.D. frowned. Samus was right, it was a stupid move, but he needed some way of figuring out if it worked or not. "Well, what's done is done. No use complaining about it now," he said.

"Right," Samus agreed, turning to look at the Grapple Points set into the ceiling. "Now, Helena, come over here. R.D.'s going to ferry you over to the other side. Ileyna, keep up with them to keep the radiation from affecting Helena."

"What about Matt and Hugo?" R.D. asked.

"Ileyna can carry Hugo if he wants, or he can use his Grapple Option on the grapple points himself," Samus said. "Matt can fly, so he can follow behind us with Ileyna.

"Now, I'm going up ahead to see what's in store for us. Be careful," she said, aiming her left arm at the grapple point. She used the Grapple Beam to latch on and swing over, then fired the Grapple Beam at the second point to swing herself onto the platform on the other side. As she landed, she aimed the Ice Beam and opened up the door and stepped through.

===Japan===

"My name is Kara Llewelyn," the woman identified herself as, making a mocking bow to him. "I am a servant of Lord Ziatoch."

Alasea felt her heart stop. Ziatoch!?

"I came here to see just how well this girl can take care of herself," Kara said. "She has done splendidly. Taking over this planet won't be a boring, trivial thing after all."

"Like hell," Alasea growled, glaring at the woman. "I'll never let scum like you win."

Kara gave the girl a predatory smile. "I was hoping you wouldn't," she said slyly. "It'd make defeating you so much more enjoyable."

Bryant was pissed, a pissed and tired man. This drove men like him to do stupidly old things. Very stupidly bold. Bryant jumped out of the tank, his chest and arms hurting. He took several bold steps toward Kara and pointed at her angrily.

"Listen you little bitch," Bryant began with a roar, his chest hurting even more, "I'm fucking tired of you people coming after making us go through hell and back. As soon as we're home free you close the fucking door! Well fine! I'll take the box, but leave me alone to sleep at least. I don't want you poking at me every second saying how much you planned this shit out just to throw me out! Well fuck you! FUCK YOU! Go back to your fucking pimp and let us rest for a day and then we'll kick your ass! I'm tired from your games and I want a goddamn nap!" Bryant finished with a coughing fit. As stupid as he was, he was brave. Veronica stared with her mouth gaped open and Brandon was laughing a bit, coughing in between.

"You can carry me," Hugo said to Ileyna.

Matt took in a deep breath. "Okay," he said, with a determined clench of the teeth. "Let's do this carefully."

R.D. slipped his arm around Helena's waist securely so he wouldn't drop her, and Ileyna picked up Hugo and began hovering in the air. Aiming his arm cannon at the grapple point, R.D. replicated Samus' grapple beam and swung his way over to the Phazon, then switched points and swung over onto the other platform while Ileyna and Matt flew behind him.

R.D. set Helena down next to him and fired a bolt of ice energy at the doorway, opening it up and allowing them to step through--immediately, the sounds of beam fire were echoing in the cavern. "Let's go!" R.D. said, running into the room.

They found themselves in a massive, deep cavern with numerous platforms and catwalks on it--at the edge of the top floor, Samus was exchanging beam fire with a yellow-armored Space Pirate, which was shooting Power Beams back at her. A charged shot smashed against the pirate, damaging it and knocking it off of the platform, and it bellowed as it plummeted down into a thick patch of Phazon way down below--when it touched, the creature screamed as it was disintegrated by the radiation.

Other troopers in similar, but different colored armor were also shooting at them. "We're here!" R.D. said, stopping at the edge. He fired a few beams at one in purple armor, but it didn't affect them at all.

"Electricity against the purple ones, ice against the white ones, fire against the red ones!" Samus commanded sharply to them. "Leave the yellow ones to me!"

===Japan===

The woman burst out laughing at Bryant's display. "Oh please, do you honestly think I care what you want?" she mocked, giving him an amused stare. "Luckily for you, I have no intention of continuing to harass you today. I've already seen what I wanted to see."

"Then why the hell are you still here?" Alasea snarled, glaring at the woman.

"Naturally, to let you know that we know about you, my dear," she said, smiling thinly. "Just because we're dealing with Gouki's little siege doesn't mean we haven't forgotten about you, my pet."

Darkness once again enveloped Kara, swallowing her. Her voice, however, continued, taking on the nowhere-yet-everywhere quality it had before.

"But don't worry, dears, you'll hear from us again... very shortly."

And with that, they were left alone, Kara's laugh fading from the air.

"Sounds good!" Matt shouted. He swiveled about to face a red-armored Space Pirate, and began whipping up some fire. "All right, jerk! Get ready for some-"

A spiralling burst of flame erupted on the ground, torching the red Pirate. Matt glanced backwards at Helena, her clawed hands thrust before her with focus. "What the..."

"...I've been practicing," she said, a bit offset.

Matt flashed a thumbs-up. "Nice one!"

"Less praise, more fighting!" Hugo said, launching blasts of cold at the blue Pirates.

"Fucking bitch." Bryant mumbled as the laughter faded off, he made his way back to the tank and sat on the side. He half turned his head back to everyone inside.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

R.D. dropped down to the lower platforms to fight them more easily, but was nearly distracted by the large window barrier set into the wall, revealing the deep Impact Crater and the massive structure hovering above it. He was brought back to reality, however, when a Wave Trooper tried to take his head off with the gigantic bayonet that made up its left arm.

His own arm shot up into the creature's chest, and he fired a powerful burst of lightning into its body, causing it to scream as he was flung off the platform. A Power Trooper landed onto the platform and raised its beam weapon, but a Super Missile streaked down from above and detonated violently, knocking it away. Samus landed on a platform above him, switching to the Plasma Beam and attacking another red-armored Plasma Trooper.

More Beam Troopers were attacking now, on lower platforms, forcing the group to proceed lower before they could be dispatched.

===Japan===

"We get out of here," Alasea said, turning back to them. "And we heal up. Let's go."

Edited by RisingDragon on January 17, 2009 at 20:18:03.

Matt raised his fist. Time for some crowd control. He smashed the earth, sending a wave of rock at the troopers, followed by another wide, uncontrolled burst of fire from Helena.

The Beam Troopers staggered at the seismic shockwave, as did the rest of the group. Luckily, the fire destroyed two of the Plasma Troopers, igniting them and causing them to stagger off the lower platforms and into the Phazon. With one remaining Wave Trooper, Samus leaped down onto... nothing; R.D. figured it was yet another invisible platform, and destroyed the Wave Trooper with a charged shot of her Wave Beam, electrocuting it to death.

She jumped down to a platform in the side of the wall and used the Morph Ball's Power Bomb to destroy a section of the wall, and collected a Missile Expansion behind it, then returned. "Good work," she said once she got up to the main catwalk, where an Ice Beam door was waiting.

"Shall we go?" R.D. said as Ileyna hovered down with Hugo in her arms. He aimed his arm cannon at the door and fired a burst of ice energy at it, opening it up and revealing... a small room with a tiny passageway in it.

"I'll go on ahead," Samus said, striding in. "Wait here."

"You did good back there, Helena," Hugo said. "What's the matter?"

Helena grasped her arms as the scales worked their way up her arms and neck. "It's still going." Her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Remember to breathe," Matt said. "You got this, right?"

"Shut up, Matt," she hissed. Maybe literally.

"Jeez. Sor-ry."

The bounty hunter entered her Morph Ball form and rolled into the pipe in the wall. Within, she found a rockslide, which was easily cleared with a Power Bomb. She came out on the other side and entered the next room, the Elite Control. She was quickly assaulted by Stealth Troopers, but she easily dispatched them. She could still detect other Space Pirates in the room, likely in the floors above her. Nevertheless, she signaled her new companions.

"Right, time to go," R.D. said as he got a lock on Samus in the Elite Control room. The Chaos Emerald he suddenly had swung up into the air before he grabbed it. "Chaos Control!"

Light flared in the room as they warped out and into the Elite Control. As the light cleared, they saw Samus next to a large pod towering over them, the front of it deactivated and its contents missing. There were other terminals and devices scattered in the room, and another, smaller room with a ramp going up off to their left.

"We've got company," Samus said, motioning to the ramp.

Bryant nodded as he made his way to the driver's seat. He turned on the engines as Veronica closed the door. Bryant kicked the gas and they drove back to the cabin, plowing straight up through the trees. Bryant killed the engine when they arrived. He stepped off.

"I need a fucking nap." He declared dozily, and while helping Brandon, left the tank to go do so once Brandon was down in his bed. Veronica sighed and turned to Alasea.

"So...that lady from before, do you know her?" She asked.

"No... I don't," Alasea replied. "Different skank this time."

She sat down on the stump where Veronica and her had been making supplies earlier, now holding her arm out while she healed it with her other hand. Soon, the wound was closed up, and the pain was gone.

"Alright, let's get started on healing the rest of you guys," she said, starting with Veronica.

Edited by RisingDragon on January 18, 2009 at 10:11:58.

Veronica had taken a seat on the stump next to her. It would only take a couple of minutes she guessed, so she sat still until the work was done.

Upstairs Bryant plopped Brandon onto his bed. Brandon was sighed at the nice embrace of the soft pillows and sheets. He gave Bryant a grateful smile and slowly went to sleep. Bryant sighed in relief of his shoulders and went to bed himself. Without much hesitation Bryant fell into bed, almost as if he just passed out and simply, with luck, collapsed onto the bed. He was asleep within seconds.

Luckily, Veronica's injuries were only minor, from the crash, and it only took a moment or two for her to be completely healed. Once that was accomplished, she used a quick channeling of power to repair the sleeve of her jacket, then put it back on.

Standing up, she told Veronica she'd be back in a moment, then entered the house and made her way to where Bryant and Brandon were. She carefully weaved the flows for healing into them, keeping a wary eye on them as she channeled--their injuries were much more severe, and it took several minutes to fully heal them. Once she had, though, she smiled to herself with satisfaction as she quietly left the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

"Helena!" Matt shouted. "Can you make a wall of flame?"

"What? Now?"

"Try it!"

Helena threw up her arms, and summoned a line of fire that leapt with life. Matt thrust his hand at it, sending out a twirling blast of wind that carried the fire up the ramp. "Spiral Inferno!"

The fires raged up the catwalk, up onto the level two deck above them as the two Stealth Troopers were racing down--caught by surprise, they never stood a chance, and were quickly incinerated.

R.D. made a sweeping motion with his arm while he channeled water energy through it, dampening the air while splashing the catwalk with water to douse the flames. "That was some pretty smart thinking, Matt," R.D. commented once it was done. "Guess that training of yours really is paying off."

Samus checked her map for a moment, then nodded to herself. "Let's head up," she said, making her way up the torched ramp, headed for the level three deck and the Ice Beam door set into the ceiling at that level.

"You're right, I AM very smart," Matt said with his trademark modesty. "But still, you're getting good at controlling fire, Helena."

"I just didn't want to be a burden," Helena said.

"You're not. But this is pretty good too."