The frown on Meta's forehead only deepened as Awai continued to speak, furrowing her brow at the mention of the person whom had given him her name. "I do not recall ever meeting or even hearing of that person." She said to the Light Balance. She grinned a little. "I suppose that doesn't mean much, though. After all the number of people in all the realms is nearly endless, isn't it?" She gave a move with her chin at Awai. "So, I suppose you will take me to her then?"

Edited by Morphman on March 22, 2009 at 4:01:28.

Matt snapped his fingers and the wave crystallized mid-rise. A shot from one of the stationary fire flowers smashed it before Matt could break it himself. It came too fast-almost caught the kids. They had to clean house, now.

"Take him down!" Matt shouted, and leapt at the Machine King with a wide punch.

Sometime passed as Bryant looked out the window of the Great White sped through the water. The blue sky went by with the clouds like momentary dots in his vision that filled up some hole that would expose heaven or space. The world suddenly seemed larger, wider, emptier. The sound of the motor puttering away gave Bryant a rather obnoxious yet quiet feeling. It was almost like he was some snot nosed kid from Yale riding on a Yacht. Then again, he never did go to college.

Turning silently ahead he watched as Brandon steered the beast to the island. Veronica was sitting by some machine and she was simply exploring it seemed. She'd flick a switch here and there and something magical would happen. At one point they felt a small jerk as she accidentally let loose a couple of mines. No problem, at least they wouldn't explode on them. Then they slowed down by the shore.

"Ok...we're here." Brandon informed. Bryant stood up, gathered his gear and left the ship. Once they'd exit the ship would glow brightly and fit neatly in Bryant's back pocket along with Earthquake.

The punch did little damage to Pinchernone, but did help drive the Zonderian back. R.D. opened up his palms and let loose with a torrent of laser fire, pelting the Zonderian repeatedly and driving him back further.

Panic was settling into the Machine King. Now, it did not seem possible to beat these kids. Retreat would be the wisest course of action, but then he'd have to deal with the wrath of Lord Pasder.

===Kattelox Island===

Back in the city, Tomoko Saeki came to a start as she felt a certain ward she had set go off, alerting her to the presence of someone arriving at the docks to the island. This warding had been attuned to the auras of three certain people, which had been provided to her by Alasea earlier.

Smiling, she grabbed her bag and the item the Hartnetts were looking for, placing it within the bag. With a quick, rushed goodbye to her parents, the girl ran out of the house and into the city.

Helena frantically directed the spiralling fires, attacking Pinchernone from all sides. She was a bizarre half-monster now, but all of her mind was paying attention to keeping the Machine King busy.

This guy's armor was too tough, they'd have to find a weak spot. And if it was a ship...

"R.D.!" Matt shouted, grabbing onto Pinchernone's huge mass as best as he could. "Expose his bottom!"

Bluish-white energy exploded around R.D.'s hands as he ran through the swamp-like water. "Right!" he shouted, grabbing onto the enraged Zonderian. Using all of the strength he could muster, the two of them began to lift the front end of the Machine King up.

"What?! Let go!" Pinchernone demanded furiously.

"Woah!" Lance said, raising his voice slightly in his surprise of the oncoming blow. Immediately he stood three feet behind where he had originally been, light enveloping and moving him at a near instant speed. "I know you're probably angry, and you've every right to be," he said, panting slightly now from the continued hold of the time field draining the little energy he had left from the fight before. "But that's really not going to help you at all."

Meta sighed, seeing how she would not be able to get her out of this one so easily. "Alright, I'll spit." She muttered, slightly annoyed. "From what I know, I'm from the future--relatively speaking to this period of course--sent here by the Hydro of my time through the use of a time-controlling sword." She said. Her red eyes locked with Awai's own. "It's a very long story to explain everything; that is the short version, it is pretty much all that I know of how this all happened."

That didn't really stop her. Audrey once again took another swing at Lance's head, fully intent on taking her frustrations out on him. "Why the hell did you break into my house!?" she demanded.

===Kattelox Island===

Instead of transforming into her natural form via her magic, Seril opted instead to ride on Gatz's back, much like Mistress Yuna had in the past. She did this because of her natural form. While the humans living here were no less fond of Reaverbots, they'd be more at ease with Gatz's form than they would of her own: the people had been absolutely terrified when Bahamut had been forced into battle with Sheena over the island more than a month ago.

"Helena!" Matt shouted. His knees threatened to buckle-Pinchernone was massive. "When I give the word, fire everything you've got into one concentrated blast at the underbelly, got it?"

"Okay!" The auras of heat surrounding Helena's claws spiked in strength.

Pinchernone continued to shriek at them as the two tipped him upwards, unable to get a good look at them to target. Suddenly, torpedoes blasted out of the water at them, hitting at random angles and exploding as the Machine King tried desperately to him them.

He wouldn't allow them to leave him open for the mutant girl to defeat him. Not like this.

"Victor? You mean Hydro right?" Meta inquired with a raised eyebrow in her own confusion. "I have no clue why he did so. He just seemed a little angry with me. Like I said, it's a really long story; frankly, I don't plan to stay here all that long, or at least I don't plan on wasting any time."

Meta gave Awai a nod, relieved that they would get a move on with it and she would meet this Serenade chick. When Awai turned around, he seemed to be more grave in his expression and tone of voice, like a man who had experienced a lot of sorrow and with a large burden on his shoulders waiting to have it relieved. She took a look around at the shattered landscape, the mad winds and raging firestorms. It was different, yet in a way similar. The acclaimed daughter of Xastra looked back at Awai and managed to work up her first real smile in a long time. "Don't worry, Kuro is no more like he is in this time from what I gathered in my age. There are some other troubles, but I haven't come across a sight like this at any rate." She said reassuringly. Not that I don't still plan on disposing of my father and finding out more about that Ziatoch fellow Malvettix told me about.

"I'm aware of that," Seril said shortly, entering the Main Gate along with Gatz. "Will there be enough room inside for me to transform?"

Meta nodded at Awai when he smiled back at her and thanked her for telling him what she had. When he asked her whether she could fly, she let out a groan of frustration however. "Dammit, no. I can't fly, though I've tried to help it using magic, but it is rather draining on me." She looked at Awai somewhat uncomfortably. "Does that mean you're going to pick me up again to get where you plan on taking me? To this Serenade figure?"

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Seril lifted up her hands to her hair. She pulled it back and began tying it with a ribbon, putting it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. "Very well then. I suppose I will have to use the barbaric way of fighting used by humans," she said as she did. Once her hair was tied, she held out one of her hands and concentrated.

Flows of brilliant magic swirled down her arm and across her hand, then out in a bar perpendicular to her outstretched arm. As the magic condensed along it, Seril molded the magic into shape, combining Earth and Fire to forge. It took form, becoming a long sword with a gunmetal gray blade in the shape of a fang, etching marks appearing along the flat of the blade, going out from its single edge.

Despite the slim frame she sported, the dragon hefted the blade up onto her shoulder with ease. "I don't particularly use this method of fighting often," she said, looking distastefully at the Dragonblade she held. "But it seems necessary at times."

Meta let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, alright, let's get this over with." She said to Awai. "If you can carry me somehow, that would be grand, as I don't feel like walking for days." She mirrored Awai's movement with both hands as she put them on her hips for a moment before she walked closer to Awai. "At least we will be flying through the sky and not through narrow tunnels underground." She muttered under her breath, nigh unhearably. I have no idea where that thought came from...

"NOW!" Matt shouted, struggling to keep Pinchernone in place.

Helena opened her mouth, brandishing her fangs. A concentrated beam of searing heat erupted from her jaws, splashing across Pinchernone's vulnerable underbelly.

The heat beam tore through the air and crashed into the Machine King, causing him to let out a shrill scream of pain. The force of the attack ripped the Zonderian out of R.D. and Matt's hands, propelling him far down the tunnel, into the blackness, even as his armor melted and buckled.

After a few moments, R.D. tried to peer down the tunnel, trying to spot the Machine King. "I... don't think he's coming back from that," he said finally. "Let's get out of here before he decides to prove me wrong."

===The Main Gate, Kattelox===

Frowning, Seril swung her weapon down, the tip of the dark blade cutting into the fireball and dispersing it. The flames washed out over her a bit as they did, but left no mark on her skin or clothing.

In a single smooth motion, she brought the blade back up as she started to run at the machine. Heat energy burst up around the edge of the sword, causing the etching in the blade to light up, glowing hot. Down it went, and the blade cut through the wide-brimmed metal hat of the Reaverbot, cutting through and into the robotic brain. It came to a dead stop as Seril pulled the weapon out and moved past it, trotting towards Gatz.

Grasping her throat, Helena sank to her knees, and slumped against the sewer wall.

"Are you okay?" Mamoru shouted, running over to the weredragon.

Helena nodded. "Yeah," she managed-her voice was faint, rough.

"Does your throat hurt?" Matt asked, and when Helena nodded, he approached, switching to the nature gem. "Lemme heal that." His fingers became outlined in a warm emerald glow, and he laid them across Helena's throat, infusing it with energy.

"What's he doing?" Ileyna asked, looking at R.D. as he made his way over to them.

"Healing her... I think," R.D. said quietly, then raised his voice to a more conversational level. "I didn't know you could do that."

Bryant looked up as the city came into view. Huh, he thought distantly. He didn't expect a city, he expected a hut or something he'd meet this daughter in. Oh well, of to find her then. Bryant turned to Brandon who was wearing the satchel that contained the other items. Bryant looked at the bag then to Brandon. He nodded, Brandon nodded back. They walked further in.

Veronica craned her neck as well, slightly. She watched as things happened casually. It wasn't like New York, by any means. No, it was quieter but still rushing it felt. She looked to Bryant and smiled.

"Like home?" Veronica asked. Bryant laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Nah, we'd be hit with a car by now." Bryant said simply and laughed again.

"The things you pick up," Matt remarked. "There you go. How you feelin'?"

"I'm feeling better," Helena said, still a bit hoarse. "But I don't think I can come along either. I drained a lot of my energy into that beam."

"We can't just leave you here," Matt said. "Who knows if that asshole's dead or not."

She waved him on. "I'll be fine. The exit's not too far from here. I'll go on and meet back up with Hugo."

Matt gave R.D. a look. He'd hate to leave her, but...they really had to rush. "...all right. Be careful."

"Here, hold still," R.D. said, raising his hand up. He concentrated and used an old weave of fire energy he had picked up back when he first unlocked a Cipher on Lumiya. A burst of fire dried the girl off in an instant. "Hopefully you don't catch sick this way."

"We should keep moving," Ileyna said, opening herself to her powers once more. She began to glow as she felt where the Omega Essence was located at.

"Right," R.D. said, retrieving his dropped Phase Blade and the Light Crystal. "We better hurry."

===Kattelox Island===

"Man, where the heck are these guys?" Tomoko muttered as she looked about, searching. She held her pack a bit tightly as she searched. She was a bit more apprehensive of it, now that she knew what it was. Who'd have thought her family had picked up a piece of the Chronoscepter, one of the Seven Perfect Weapons?

"Ah, there you are," she said, spying three people, two men and a woman, walking down one particular street. They were pretty far off, though, she'd have to move to catch up to them.

Helena smiled a little. "Thanks, R.D.."

Matt looked down the corridor, into the darkness. Hopefully this would end soon. They were already down two people, and he didn't like how the situation was ending up. "Stay close, you two." Mamoru gave a curt nod.