For a few dumbstruck moments they all stared at the charred meat.

Then Helena bent over and howled in laughter. "Whoops!" she said, trying poorly to stifle her giggles.

"Hey, Helena," Matt said, "I didn't know you liked cajun!" He started laughing along with her.

After a few more moments, R.D., Alasea, and Ileyna hesitantly looked about one another, but slowly, giggles and chuckles began to break free from their lips, and then they too were laughing.

Just like that, their fears for what was in the world had been dispelled, at least for now.

After the laughter died down, the conversation switched to whatever random topics they could find. Like Helena's fire breath burned down a floodgate or something. Matt didn't understand it either, but now Helena was yammering about whatever came to mind, seemed like. Might as well follow along.

"Well, if you're looking for ultra fantasy violence, we've got a game like that where I come from," Matt said. "It's called Death Sunder and you're choppin' off heads left and right in that one."

"Maybe you can let me borrow it after this," Helena said.

"Sure! It's fun for the whole family, if you're into stabbing three guys like the meat on this kabob."

"Wasn't that the game you've been having problems with?" R.D. asked, arching an eyebrow at Matt. He had his Phase Blade out now, but only so he could poke at the fire to keep it burning without having anything catch on fire. "Because seriously, your tantrums were getting extremely annoying."

"What? No. That was a completely different game altogether. The one I have is Blazing Justice, where you run through cities while on fire. It's a sleeper hit."

"'Running through cities while on fire'?" R.D. deadpanned. "What, does it bring back memories or something? Sounds like something you'd do."

Matt jabbed with his finger. "Hey, when I did it, I got results, all right?"

"You burnt down an entire forest," Hugo shot back.

"I replanted all the trees, didn't I?" He shrugged. "Plus they all grew back instantly."

"Into Christmas trees," Hugo said.

"That sounds like Matt all right," Alasea said, giggling as she held a hand in front of her mouth. "Terror of the Multiverse."

Matt's smile faded a bit. "H-Hey," he suddenly said. "Let's do something fun together. We haven't had a break in a long while, so I figure now's a good time."

"Got any ideas?" Helena asked. "Did you pack anything like a board game for us to play?"

Matt pulled the sack towards him and dove his hand deep inside, fumbling around. "Well, I know there's a deck of cards in here, but other than that, I'm not sure..."

And so, the group played fairly well into the night, though they had insisted that Ileyna turn in early, due to the fact that the older people in the group would be able to last longer should they stay up for the full day come morning. Despite her protests, she had relented and turned in, forcing the others to remain quiet for the rest of the time they were up.

"Here, Helena," Alasea said, reaching over to hand the other girl her purse. "I can't give it a pocket dimension here, but I was able to enlarge the space in it. It'll have to do for now."

"Hey, thanks." Helena pulled open the folds of the purse and peered inside. "That should be good enough for me."

"If we end up in our world again, I can finish the job and make it like Matt and R.D.'s packs."

"Let's just hope we don't have to go back to our world before this is done," R.D. said, poking at the fire with his Phase Blade. "That place is enough of a mess without us having to look for Omega Essence."

"Yeah, they've got enough problems right now," Matt said. "They don't need any more."

He glanced over at Ileyna, curled up in her bedspread. Resting close to her was a powered down Hugo. Matt imagined that the Mettaur slept with one proverbial eye open, ready to leap him and put bulletholes in anything at a moment's notice.

Tomorrow would be long, irritating, and arduous. Might as well enjoy the peace while he could.

The first thing that he noticed upon waking in the morning that it was cold. Cracking open an eye, R.D. peered at the surroundings, then muttered a curse as he quickly got out of his sleeping bag. As he swore, his breath misted as the chill air struck it.

Fog had come with the morning, laying about a thick misty veil around them and obscuring their vision. They would have a much harder time finding their way through his mess. Ignoring his sleeping bag, R.D. moved over to Matt and started shaking his shoulders. "Come on, get up, Matt," he said, not bothering to lower his voice. "We could have trouble."

Matt's eyes flipped open, and he lurched up. Groggy, but already tense. R.D. was right - something was up. Casting a quick eye around the mist, Matt reached over to Helena and nudged her in the shoulder, flexing back when she instinctively lashed out with her arms.

"Calm down and wake up," Matt said. "Now."

"I don't really sense anything out there," R.D. muttered, looking about. They could see a fair distance, but the horizon was no longer to be seen. "But I don't want to take any chances."

By now, Alasea was up as well, and was rousing Ileyna awake. "Come on, Ileyna," she murmured as the girl started awakening. "We got to get out of here."

Hugo reactivated as soon as the hussle began. While Helena and Matt rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, he was already scanning for lifeforms.

"It's just fog, R.D.," Helena said, fighting to open her eyes all the way.

"I don't want to take chances either," Hugo said. "We don't know what it could be."

"We're on a world we know virtually nothing about," R.D. said, counting on his fingers. "Lost in the middle of nowhere. Possibly being watched by Magister and whatever goons he wants to send after us next. And we're in fog that limits our vision. The sooner we get moving, the better."

"Well, let's go!" Matt said. "What're we sittin' around talking Chinese history for?"

They cleaned up the camp and erased what traces of it there as quickly as they could, then departed. Alasea was once more clothed in her regular black leather and red tube-top, and had the Megami Tsurugi strapped to her hip.

"Will you be alright walking on your leg?" Ileyna asked, looking concerned as she questioned the older girl.

"I'll be fine. I finished healing it last night, but its still a little sore."

So now Matt had practically no idea where the hell they were going. Were they going in the direction he pointed yesterday? Good question.

Helena walked up to Matt's side, now dressed in jeans and shirt, which was more suitable for hiking. "Matt, can you clear the fog with your wind powers?"

"Good idea." Matt switched to the wind gem and raised his arm, expelling a spiralling gust of wind to surround the entire group.

The wind, however, did not do much to dispel it. The fog looked like it had blanketed itself across the entire region.

"Okay, let's turn it up a notch," R.D. muttered, seizing Lumiya's power and lashing out with more wind to add to Matt's own usage. The area around them dispersed more, but it wasn't much. Not enough to make the two hypervigilant boys feel any better about their surroundings.

As the swirling gusts died down, R.D. lowered his arms, cocking his head to the side a bit. "... does anyone else hear that?" he asked.

Helena inched closer to Hugo, who was already aiming his weapon with R.D.'s warning. "Hear what?" she asked.

There was something, something riding on the wind that R.D. couldn't identify. Was he imagining it, or--?

No, he wasn't imagining it. "There it is again. You sure you don't hear anything?"

"No, I don't hear--wait!" Ileyna said, perking up. "I hear it!"

It was now louder. A high whistling sound that kept changing pitch, going higher and lower--

"Guys," Alasea said, sounding worried. "That, uh... that sounds like a bomb!"

"Oh, shit, she's right!" R.D. shouted as it grew louder. "Everyone, get clea--"

Something struck the ground with such force that everyone was thrown off their feet. The ground shook violently at the impact, causing them all to scream in fear and shock, only for it to be drowned out by the crash of a second impact that threw them about and prevented them from getting up from the first.

The dull roar of debris falling about them made R.D.'s ears rings. "Ugh... everyone still alive?" he called out.

Matt shouted a ragged groan. "What the hell was that?!"

"Hell if I know," Alasea moaned, sitting up. Her leg was throbbing now.

R.D. stood up, helping himself using his Phase Blade like some sort of walking stick. "Let's get out of here," he said, pulling Ileyna up from the ground. The girl quickly jammed her beret back onto her head.

R.D. took one step, and froze. A deep, mechanical-sounding growl was cutting through the aftermath. Slowly, he turned around.

And stared at the two gigantic black silhouettes that were staring back, like a pair of gigantic faces with glowing eyes and teeth.

Matt was also standing back up when he heard the guttural noise. He carefully craned his neck back, took in the shadows that lorded over them, like demons.

"Oh, fuck," he whispered.

The nearest of the two... things... raised up a stumpy-looking leg, holding it out over them.

"RUN!" Alasea screamed. They all scattered as the gigantic foot came crashing down, shattering the cold, ground beneath it.

Matt skidded along the dirt, digging into the ground with his fingers. "Dragon Drive!" As the blazing aura exploded into life, Matt chambered his fists and drew power. "Megaton..."

"You idiot, don't SHOOT them!" Hugo snapped. "Get the hell out of there!"

Coming out of the mists, the second of the two things came into better view. It was a gigantic white and purple monster, like a bull's head with small, stumpy legs coming out of its underbelly, and thicker, apelike arms coming out of its sides. Complete with its curving horns and sharp teeth and perfectly round, crazy-looking eyes, the thing looked almost like some sort of cartoonish monster.

But there was nothing cartoonish about the huge club it lifted up in one clawed hand, intending to smash them all flat with. The weapon came hurtling down, and the only reason why Ileyna survived was because she took to the air, her body alight with the power of the Omega Essence bonded to her.

"GET BACK HERE!" the first monster bellowed, shocking them all. The first one was more boxy in shape, like some ill looking skull with arms and legs coming out of it, all colored in greens and grays. It reached up with one hand to grab at the younger girl.