Once they were back in the base, they met up with Professor Leo and Hugo. "Ah!" Leo said as they entered his lab. "There you are." He stepped back and allowed them a good look at Hugo. "Well, there you are. He's ready to go."

"Thanks for the help, Professor," Hugo said, as Helena set him down on the floor.

"No problem," Leo said. "Just be sure to use that wisely, eh?"

"I'm sure we can keep him in check," R.D. replied.

"All right, we've got to get going." Matt held out his hands, and Leo shook it. "It was a real pleasure working with y'all, but I'm afraid we gotta boogie."

"Very well," Leo said. "Good luck."

R.D. also shook the scientist's hand. "Hope your research on that Zonder Metal pays off," he said. It was one of the things they had discussed during their time working on Hugo.

"Bye!" Ileyna waved, as she followed the others back to the armory hanger.

After travelling back to the city, they said goodbye to Volfogg, and in a hidden spot, Matt whipped out the Firebird again. Time to find a nice, quiet spot for them to jump to the next place.

"Matt?" Helena said.

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you lie back there earlier?"

"About what?"

"About your powers. You never did tell me." She didn't say it all too pleasantly.

"Can't talk," Matt said. "Driving."

Helena sighed in annoynance. "R.D., can you tell me why?"

Edited by The Helldragon on April 7, 2009 at 21:33:36.

R.D. sighed. He had hoped that they wouldn't ask them about this, but he should have known.

"Do you three remember how we told you about how Matt spent three months recovering from the events at the Eternal Sanctuary?" R.D. asked, looking into the rear view mirror at the three of them.

"Uh-huh," Ileyna said, nodding her head and causing her beret to slip.

R.D. began his explanation while the girl corrected her attire. "Well, it turns out that the dimension he wound up in was this dimension."

"Why would he have to lie about that?" the young girl asked, cocking her head slightly. The beret, mercifully, did not slip this time.

"The future of this dimension."

"The future?" Helena said. "How?"

"Hell if I know," Matt said. They rumbled over a short bridge over a thin trickle of water that some would count as a river, with sewer pipes standing by on the sides. "Chalk it up to the strangeness of portals, I guess. In any case, I spent time working to help them out. They were...well, in a pickle."

"So they didn't know about the Omega Essence in the future," Helena said.

"Yeah. I intended to keep it that way."

"And that meant lying through our teeth about the Omega Core," R.D. concluded. "We were lucky that Matt was able to tell me back on my world."

"Are we going to have to lie again later?" Ileyna asked.

"If we do, you'll live," was Matt's simple reply.

Driving out into sparser streets, they travelled down a road flanked by trees, leading into guarded suburbs. When they found a dusty area choked with tall weeds, Matt pulled in. "Hurry up before someone drives by!"

"As long as GGG doesn't show up, don't worry about it," R.D. snapped back as he fumbled to open his satchel. Despite his statement, he too didn't want anyone else to see.

He soon got the Great Serpent's Scale out of the satchel. Stepping forward, he held the crimson scale aloft, allowing it to charge up with bright energy after a moment or two. As sudden as always, the beam tore through the air and slammed into an invisible point and turned, the red spiral ripping open the jade-colored Gateway. As the dust cleared away from the upheaval caused by the occurrence, R.D. stowed the Scale back in his pack.

With a deafening roar that rocked the room they were in, Seril threw her entire weight against the Divinity Unit, intending to smash it into the wall. And then, she'd be able to attack with her jaws. If it can't be turned off, she'll simply tear it apart.

Meta's eyes wandered around as Serenade pointed out where everything was. The cieling was high and the bed looked rather nice, and... There's a bathroom and a KITCHEN? Holy Balancing crap. Meta thought to herself, warily eyeing Serenade. Hope she can't read my thoughts, too. That'd make a stabbing worth everything. Her brow raised high as she got a look into a deep abyss that was a simple closet when Serenade pressed a button. This place is NUTS. I like it. She had to admit it, she really did. What she didn't like however, was Serenade telling her not to go wondering around. She absolutely hated having her freedom be restricted, and Meta fought with herself not to send a killer glare at the Supreme Light Balance, so she kept it at a silent "yes mom" to herself.

The Dark Balance of the Nightmare Realm pursed her lips before taking in a breath and turning to Serenade. "Why are you showing me all this if I won't be here for long anyway?" She asked her ponderingly.

"And here we go again!" Matt said as soon as R.D. got back in the car.

He hit the gas-felt like doing this full force today-and the Firebird charged through the rift.

The car plowed through the corridor of colors that denoted the rip between time and space, hurtling through it and out the other side. The Firebird landed hard on the ground, R.D.'s hands barely caught the dashboard in time to prevent his head from being split open on it; too many times had he felt the stinging pain of the car's sudden stop.

As the car rumbled to a stop, and R.D. looked about the location. Around them there were hills bathed in dying sunlight, as the sun began to set over the mountains to the west. Around them, however, the ground was cracked, dead, and dusty for miles, with sparse grass. It looked as if there had once been a fire here, and the shrubbery was still recovering from it.

To Matt Willard and R.D., it looked all too familiar.

"Oh for the love of little green apples," R.D. muttered under his breath, his head being held up by one gloved hand. "Not here. Not again."

"What?" Ileyna asked, reaching over the seat while looking through the windshield. "Where are we?"

"Lift me up!" Hugo snapped, and Helena complied, allowing him a peek out of the window. "...oh, man."

"So we're in agreement, then," Matt said. He rolled down the window and leaned out, glancing about the dead ground that surrounded his side of the car. "It's where we fought Diablo."

"Who's that?" Helena asked.

"Long story."

"You guys have been here before?" Ileyna asked, ever curious about the situation.

"Yeah, Ileyna. We came from this world," R.D. replied, looking out at the landscape. Too many memories were in this place, and something stirred uncomfortably in his chest. He supposed that the other soul residing within him wasn't all that comfortable here, either.

Oblivious to this, the young girl's eyes lit up. "Oh!"

"Uh-huh. Well, guess we better check in with Alasea," he said, looking over at Matt. "Just... make sure you stop the car before we actually get there. I should... probably fill her in first."

A light swarm of dust passed over the hood. "Duly noted," Matt said, and they were off.

As it was, the plan was quickly forgotten. As they crested one hill that would put them in view of the cabin Alasea had made her new home at, the Firebird came to an abrupt stop as they saw the house, and its gaping wound and the ominous black smoke pouring out of it and the shattered windows.

"Oh, shit," R.D. breathed. "Matt, hit the gas!"

"What the HELL?" Matt snapped, and he hit that gas hard, barelling toward the house. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

"Dammit," R.D. growled as the Firebird came to a stop; he was already getting out of the car before it had completely halted. "Alli!? Alli!"

As he approached the house, he heard noises, and from one side of the house, on the outside, Alasea appeared, her familiar black jacket missing, and a bit of soot staining her cheeks and bare shoulders. With her hair a bit messy and matted, and the wide look in her eyes, R.D. found her to look rather shell-shocked.

"R.D.?" the girl said in an unsteady voice, blinking once.

"Alli!"

He ran over, grabbing the girl by the shoulders. "Jesus, Alasea, are you okay? What in the hell happened?"

After a moment, the girl snapped out out of her surprised reverie and grabbed the boy, pulling him into an unexpected hug for a brief moment before pulling away. The girl needed reassurance that they were here, that it wasn't just some stupid and mean trick. Despite the reassurance she gained, she still looked a bit distraught over whatever had happened.

Next Matt came out, practically kicking the car door aside. "What the FUCK happened?" he shouted, forgetting completely about his earlier agreement.

After Hugo hopped out onto the grass, Helena pushed herself out, standing up and glancing over the roof of the car toward the reunion.

Alasea only took one, downcast look at the house, looking particularly at the gaping hole in the wall. As a result, she completely missed Helena's getting out of the car. Her voice was bitter when she spoke the single word.

"Malvettix."

R.D. felt his blood go cold.

"Huh?" Matt shouted again, stomping over. "Who did this? Tell me."

"Malvettix did this," Alasea said again, her tone still low and bitter. "He attacked me, saying he wanted to have some fun. And because there's someone after the two of you."

"The two of us?" R.D. said, shaking his head. "How specific of him."

Alasea laughed derisively and turned back, leaning against the wall of her house while looking up at the fading light. "That sick bastard always was immune to the Pillar of Dawn. I probably wouldn't have survived if Riul hadn't shown up."

Her head turned to the side, and the light caught her eyes, and R.D. noticed the unshed tears beginning to well up. She blinked, and they were gone. R.D. doubted he just imagined it. "I had to put the fire out in the kitchen after I was rescued. Been waiting for him to come... back..."

Alasea trailed off as she finally noticed the other woman among them, with both that girl Ileyna, and Hugo, standing near her. Whatever words she had planned to say died on her lips as the two women stared at one another. R.D. looked back, seeing Helena, and quietly swore.

Alasea, on the other hand, had yet another memory come to mind.

""Helena saved my life that day," R.D.'s words came back to haunt her. "She saved my life. And as retribution, Core Genesis killed her."

"Helena?" she said, her voice trembling.

Confusion crossed Helena's face. "Yes?"

Hugo just walked toward Matt with a cross look. Matt had no choice but to return it.

It was just about all Alasea could handle. The warning given to her by Llewelyn, Malvettix's attack, the attempted mind-rape by his hands, and now this. Her face mirroring the confusion on Helena's, she looked about wildly between R.D. and Matt.

"How? You... you told me that... how is this even possible?" she sputtered, looking increasingly wide-eyed.

R.D. simply put a hand on the girl's shoulder and shook his head. Alasea only grew more confused. Noticing this, R.D. looked up. "Matt, fill Helena in. I'll take care of this."

Stunned by the return of a friend she had been under the impression that she was dead, Alasea allowed R.D. to guide her back around the house, out of earshot of Helena--R.D. made sure to go around to the back, so as Helena wouldn't hear them talk with the increasingly acute hearing she was developing.

"Helena is alive?" Alasea asked weakly.

"Yes. But we don't even know how," R.D. began in hushed tones, nodding in confirmation. "We found her in the second world we came to. She had no idea about who we were, or our past life. But we know its the same Helena. She can transform, but like before, she can't control it. Not yet."

"Does she know?"

R.D. nodded again. "We told her. She knows that she died once before. We didn't tell her what happened to her body, even though she asked. We wanted to tell you before you saw her, but... well, seeing your house in this condition kinda ruined all of that."

Alasea only nodded. She felt numb. They remained silent for several more moments, and then Alasea turned, slowly returning to the front of the house. R.D. quickly followed behind her.

"Who is that?" Helena asked. "Someone else you never told me about?"

"Now, calm down," Matt said, defending himself from her sharp tone. "Alasea is a friend. She went the rounds with us the first time we went on this crazy journey. You two hit it off pretty well."

Helena sighed and leaned against the Firebird, looking toward the ruined house.

"She didn't know this happened, all right?" Matt said. "R.D.'s gonna explain things to her and then everything'll get figured out and fine and dandy, all right?"

"All right." Helena tossed a strand of hair back towards her ears. "I just..."

"Yeah, I know, it's awkward. Come on. Let's go meet 'em and get intros out of the way."

When Alasea and R.D. returned, Alasea approached Helena, her mask blank of emotion. After a moment, she slowly smiled and held out her hand. "Hi," she said. "I'm Alasea. Alasea Dagenais."

It hurt, really. This shouldn't be happening. They were... had been best friends, after all.