Helena and Hugo also exited the guest bedroom, looking a lot more presentable than R.D. was. "You okay, R.D.?" Helena asked.

"Headache medicine doesn't work on me, it seems," he muttered, running a hand over his face.

"That's too bad," Helena said. "It wore off pretty quickly for me. I guess it's because of my dragon blood." She tapped the inside bend of her elbow. "Maybe I should give you a transfusion."

"I'm not sure that'd be safe," R.D. said, looking at the girl with a sideways glance, one eye still covered by his hand.

"I was just kidding. Maybe you should get Matt to try healing you."

Hugo strode towards the kitchen with a big gait. "He can heal bloody wounds, I don't think a headache should be a problem."

Holly must've heard the Mettaur, because she called from the kitchen. "We've got pancakes, eggs and bacon, so help yourself!" She finished pouring a big glass of bright orange juice for Ileyna, and handed it to her. "Here you go. Tell me what you want, and I'll make you a plate."

"No, it's fine. Besides, you say I regenerated anyway, right? Oh, and feel free to buy as much as you think we need. We'll just put it on Fass's tab" X said, snatching up an apple from a nearby vendor and taking a bite out of it.

R.D. dished up as Ileyna listed off what she wanted for breakfast to Holly. As he moved the plate to an empty space, he looked about.

"Where's Alasea at?" he asked.

===NationStates General===

Aram nodded absentmindedly. "So long as we can carry it," he said.

Edited by RisingDragon on September 9, 2009 at 20:26:54.

Helena glanced back over her shoulder towards the door, and settled her arms under her chest. "That's a good question. Want me to go look for her?"

The front door could be heard sliding open, then closed, and within moments, Alasea appeared in the kitchen.

"Where were you at?" R.D. asked, looking at her.

"Hmm? I was just outside checking on the wards I set," she said. "I... I'm not too sure how well they'll hold up here."

"Right," X said, tossing some dry rations into a bag, "so I won't bring the trebuchet."

As they went about purchasing their supplies, Aram decided to strike up conversation. "Tell me something, X," he said, as they were looking for the next vendor, "What was the names of the people you were traveling with, before you were captured?"

"We just need to stay on-guard, then," Helena said. "Come on, Holly made us breakfast."

"If you don't see anything here you want," Holly said, "I'll make you something else."

"This is fine," Alasea said, going to get a plate to dish up.

At the table, Matt and Joseph were shooting the breeze. Hugo must've been standing near them, because they kept looking down at the floor and talking to something. Fortunately, the table was big enough to seat them all, with some careful chair management.

"Heh, it feels like it's been forever since I've seen any of them. Uh... damn. Let me think." He paused for a moment, closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Uh... Matt, Helena, Hugo, and RisingDragon... I think."

"So, uh," R.D. began, loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "Alasea and Hugo told us last night that there's something you guys had to tell us about our quest."

===NationStates General===

Matt? The Rising Dragon?

Almost unwillingly, a foul memory clawed its way up from the recesses of Aram's mind.

Fire raged about the plane, burning through cracks in the stone floor, lava splashing against the shores like terrible waves. Spheres of fire erupted from the lava, blazing high into a crimson sky, falling and exploding from it. The unholy light given off by it made eerie patterns on the floor of the ruined cathedral, thanks to the destroyed windows of the Chaos Sanctuary. And he knelt in its deepest recesses, surrounded by the charred pentagram set into the floor, his cloak pooled about around his body. His black sword was held in front of him, the blade of it jammed into the floor.

Someone threw open the great doors to his inner sanctum, and soft footsteps could be heard, along with the sizzle of burning flesh as the intense heat burned the intruder's face. He did not look up at his visitor. He already knew who it was, anyway.

"Diablo," Re-Tuul said, causing him to finally look up at the grinning, eyeless monster. "We've been given orders."

He nodded and stood up, tearing his blade free from the floor with one hand, causing a shower of sparks to fly about everywhere.

"The Rising Dragon and his friends have returned. Bring them back here. Kill anyone except Willard, and bring the corpses here."

He nodded once to the Khaglessi, and with a crack of lightning, he was gone.

"I see then," Aram mused. "So, you traveled among a number of people responsible for my death."

"Oh! Yes." Joseph faced the group. "Well, you're not the only ones collecting the Essence after all. Jotaro and I are doing our part around here, and I'd wager that other people in other worlds were brought on to do the same."

"... excuse me?" R.D. said after a moment. Ileyna stared at the older man.

That thought did not make him feel better at all.

"How can they?" Ileyna spoke up, looking apprehensive and confused. "I'm the only one who can take the Essence from people. I'm the only one who can Purify them."

Now Jotaro glanced up. "You can do that?" he asked.

"Jotaro," Joseph said. "Go get the lantern. I want to show it to them."

As Jotaro got up and walked out of the dining room, Joseph continued, "I didn't know a person could have the ability to remove Essence from others. We weren't told that. We were just given this special lantern to use."

Helena looked at Matt. "...we never got anything like that."

"And we never told about a lantern in the first place," Matt added.

"Ileyna's different from normal people," Alasea said, looking over at the girl.

"Ileyna bonded with a piece of Omega Essence when her mother was pregnant with her," R.D. explained. "Because of how she grew up with the Essence inside of her, she's got power of the other pieces of Essence unlike any other person we've seen using it. She can detect it, extract it, manipulate it in ways, whereas I can't even touch a piece without risking death."

"... did the Chronomancer tell you guys about me?" Ileyna asked, looking nervous, pushing her hands down into her lap.

"... no, actually," R.D. said, looking troubled. "We met purely by coincidence, but the Chronomancer told us later that we were supposed to recruit you."

He looked over at Matt.

"Just how much is that weirdo hiding from us?"

Matt leaned back in his chair, resting on an elbow while resting his fingers around his stubble. "I dunno...but I don't like it."

"Next time we meet him, we get some answers," Hugo said. "He'd better not be playing games with us. Especially if the Multiverse is at risk."

"He's acting much too like the Principality for my tastes," R.D. grumbled. "What they don't tell you is almost as bad as what they do."

"Well, I hope this Chronomancer isn't trying to trick you!" Holly said. "You've already risked your life enough, Papa. After this is over, you should quit going on adventures and spend more time with Mom."

"Even if it is a trick, I don't want to risk the safety of this world," Joseph said. "What we're dealing here is beyond the likes of anything you've seen. And if Matt's group was personally hand-picked by the Chronomancer, then I have more the reason to believe that we're all in danger unless we do something."

Now Jotaro returned with a lantern in his hand. It was a bizarre lantern-black frame, glowing with a ethereal green light. "Here," he grunted, and slapped it in front of Joseph.

R.D. frowned, looking off to the side at Joseph's remark about they being hand-picked by the Chronomancer. They weren't picked for any noble reason or duty. They were picked because he and Matt were personally responsible for this entire mess.

Alasea caught R.D.'s expression, though he didn't notice. She looked a bit concerned, and was about to say something, anything to cheer him up a bit. Then she remembered: she didn't have the right to. Not after what had happened aboard the Ragnarok.

When the lantern was set down, though, they all looked at it like it was some sort of poisonous viper. This was what could be used to capture the Essence?

Ileyna was the one who moved first. She reached out a hand, then froze when she realized how dangerous it could be. She withdrew the hand slightly and closed her eyes, opening herself to her power. Immediately she became alight with the bright blue aura of power, with wings extending from her back and a halo appearing over her head. The symbol of Omega flickered to life on her forehead, and in the Ao-Gem slung about her neck. Hollow sounds could be heard from around the girl.

Opening her eyes, Ileyna reached out with her hand once more, and the lantern wobbled where it stood before lifting up into the air, floating over to her before stopping in midair. With it suspended by her power, Ileyna scrutinized the lantern closely, studying what secrets it had.

Edited by RisingDragon on September 11, 2009 at 2:13:31.

"Oh," said X, nervously backing away slowly, "well that's awkward."

"Relax," Aram said, sparing his companion a glance. "I'm grateful to them. They were able to slay my tormentor without going mad themselves."

Holly pushed herself out of her chair, accidentally scattering her plate to fall to the floor and break. Joseph immediately moved to his daughter's side to comfort her with a reassuring grip on her shoulder.

"...what is that power?" Jotaro asked.

"She can remove Essence too," Hugo said. "Find something out, Ileyna?"

"It feels like my own power," she replied softly. "But its different... I don't know how to describe it. And its weaker, too. But it can pull the Essence."

She looked troubled, and turned to Matt and Helena. "You need to stay away from this or you'll lose your pieces to it."

"Well, that makes me feel better," Matt said.

Alasea moved around the table to the broken plate, and used a single subtle flow of her power to repair the dish. Thankfully it worked, and she picked the repaired plate up off the floor and back onto the table as Ileyna set the lantern back down in front of Joseph before releasing her power.

"So... can that thing prevent the Essence from escaping?" R.D. asked, remembering what nearly happened with Prairie.

"I think so," Ileyna said, bringing a finger up to her lip as she looked up to the ceiling. "I mean, its similar to my power, and it'd be kind of dumb to make something that can take the Essence but not hold it... right?"