"Don't worry, that shard is sealed tight within a portable stasis chamber of my own design, and it's not getting out until I say so," Gadd said. "But you say you're here for that shard?"

"That shard is dangerous business," Matt said. "If the wrong hands get their hands on that shard, they'll become more trouble than they're worth. Trust me."

"But we need that shard!" Gadd said. "It's our best chance of saving the princess! May we at least use it until we save her?"

"The Omega Essence," R.D. said, referring to the shard, "Can't be controlled on its own. If someone touches it, they'll absorb it, but they don't get to choose how it benefits them."

"I'd say using it as a power source for a machine would be a safer bet," Alasea mused. "Or a machine that can direct its energy. But still, if it gets stolen..."

"I've got an idea," Ileyna spoke up, causing them to turn their gazes to her.

"What is it, Ileyna?" Helena asked, her lips close to her cup.

"If you can make a device that can harness to Omega Essence's power," she explained, looking somewhat nervous. "We can have Matt use his Genesis Arm to copy its power. And he already has the Essence to power it..."

Gadd looked at Matt. "Is this true? Can you copy a machine's function?"

Matt's face scrunched. "I...hope I can. So far I've only copied enemy powers, but a machine shouldn't be TOO hard."

Mario and Luigi confirmed that Matt definitely could make it happen, since the last time they met, he had special powers then. Gadd rubbed his chin. "Hmmmm. Well, what you say sounds a bit preposterous, I admit, but if Mario and Luigi say you have the ability to help, I believe you." His face swelled with a smile. "All right! Let's see what we can do. You can tell me everything you know about this 'Omega Essence' and I'll find a way to harness it!"

"That sounds like something worthy to drink to!" Matt said. He raised an imaginary glass - like mentioned before, he hated coffee. "Cheers!" Gadd, the Mario brothers, and Helena tipped their cups together.

Helena emptied her cup first. "This tastes fantastic," she said, looking inside the cardboard cup. "You said it was a Hoolumbian blend?"

"My my, you've already finished the whole thing?" Gadd asked. "That pitcher was still piping hot! You must have a stomach like a furnace!"

Helena smiled, with a little waggle of her head. "Well, hot drinks never really bother me."

Alasea had to stifle a giggle at Helena's boast.

"Hey, where'd our escort go?" R.D. asked, looking around. He hadn't seen the guards since they found Mario and Luigi.

"We got bored and left!" Grumpy Guard shouted from another table across the room, where the guards were enjoying their own coffee.

With that confirmed, R.D. blew them off with a wave of his hand.

"So I'm guessing you knew about the alien invasion because of historical texts, right?" Alasea asked. "Do they say anything about how the invasion was thwarted?"

"We didn't learn about it from a textbook," Gadd said. "Mario and Luigi have actually travelled to the past and seen the threat firsthand!"

"But you looked it up afterwards," Hugo said.

The professor shook his head. "I've combed the Mushroom Kingdom Archives and it says absolutely nothing about the invasion. Perhaps it says nothing because it was never due to happen UNTIL I created my time machine! Perplexing notion, to be sure."

"Time travel is ALWAYS perplexing," Matt remarked with a wave. "Trust me."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Alasea said, disappointed.

That doesn't make much sense, R.D. thought, frowning. He crossed his arms, in thought about the threat.

"It'd be so much easier if we could just use GaoGaiGar and KishouDoragon, or maybe Omega," he said. "Of course, we can't call upon GaoGaiGar anymore, we couldn't bring KishouDoragon, and I don't know if I have the strength to try summoning Omega."

"Eh?" Gadd said, arching an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Luigi emphasized that the strange names R.D. was saying were actually the names of the giant robots R.D. and Matt used to defeat Cackletta. "Really?" Gadd said. "Ha ha! Well, if you say so..." He finished his coffee and rose from his seat. "Right! Let's get to work. We'll go to my temporary laboratory." He swept the air with his hands like a broom. "Come on, now, let's hurry! We've got no time to lose!"

"Lab, huh?" Alasea said, grinning as she and the others got up. "I bet Hugo will feel right at home there."

"I'd like to take a look at some of your tech," Hugo said, as Helena lifted him off the table. "Technology is fairly advanced where I come from, and-"

Helena suddenly dropped Hugo, crying out in shock. Her knees buckled as the Mettaur crashed on the ground.

"What are you DOING?" Hugo snapped. His little feet waggled - he was trying to get back to his proper position like a turtle rolled on its back.

Helena bent over, burying her crossed arms between her thighs and stomach. "Owwwwww. Ow ow ow ow ow..."

"Helena??" Alasea rushed over to her friend, worried. "What's wrong, Helena?"

"Its probably the coffee she drank," R.D. commented. Beside him, Ileyna righted Hugo up onto his feet before picking him back up.

"Hoolumbian is a pretty strong brew for a first timer!" Gadd said, moving past a concerned Mario and Luigi and clasping Helena under her left arm. "You!" he said to Matt. "Matt, was it? Come on, help me bring her up. Never seen a coffee knock someone down before, but there's always a first time for everything, I suppose!"

Matt took Helena's other arm, and together with Gadd, he lifted her back to her feet. "There you go. Now you know why I don't drink coffee."

"It wasn't the coffee," Helena said. Her breathing seemed forced. "I don't like this, Matt."

"Yeah, I don't think that's the case either," Alasea said after a moment. "Could be because of her biology, Matt. I should take a look at her."

She slipped her arm under Helena's and around her shoulder to help her.

"Just what we need right now," R.D. said as an aside to Matt. "Heresy's legacy screwing her over once more."

"He was such a nice prick, wasn't he?" Matt muttered. He turned around to the others and said at normal volume, "Don't worry, we've got medical supplies. Alasea will take a look at her. But we've gotta get to work on that machine."

"You're right," Gadd said. "Time is of the essence." He clasped a hand over his mouth. "Oh my. I made a pun. This is neither the time nor the place for that, is it?"

R.D. groaned as Ileyna giggled at the pun. "Let's just get a move on," he said, waving them along.

"I'd better go with the professor," Matt said. "Mario, can you make sure Alasea gets Helena to a private room?"

Mario nodded. Luigi decided to accompany the professor. He seemed to be taking Helena's reappearance pretty well, considering how she turned into a fire-breathing death machine before his very eyes. Then again, with the suspicious looks Luigi gave Helena at the table, maybe he was just being paranoid? Justifable, mind you...but still.

"All right, let's do this quick," Matt said. Had to get on with the mission, and make sure Helena was all right, too.

"Thanks, Mario," Alasea said as they arrived in a private room elsewhere in the castle. She helped the girl down onto the bed, and started rummaging through the medical supplies in R.D.'s satchel, which he had handed over to her when they split ways.

"Can you wait outside for a moment?" she asked of the plumber. "I'll need some privacy to help with Helena."

Mario told Alasea that he'd be waiting outside of the room if she needed anything. When he had left, Helena rolled over onto her side. "I'm not sick," she said. "But this shouldn't be happening. I know how to control it now, but something's slipped..."

"Your mutation's trying to transform you again, isn't it?" Alasea said, sitting down on the bed behind Helena.

"Don't sit so close," Helena said. "I don't even-" she gasped, clawing at her shoulders as a wave of pain rushed through her- "I don't even know what'll happen," she managed. "I don't even know why it's acting up NOW. Is it because I burned off all my magic or whatever those dragons told me about? Or because I stayed a half-dragon for so long that my body is used to it?"

"I really can't say, Helena," Alasea said apologetically. "I never got to see the full extent of your passive transformation in your previous life. Let me try a delving and see if something's deliberately causing it."

"Make it quick. I don't think I can hold it back for long."

Alasea nodded as she helped Helena up into a sitting position, and she readied her power as she placed her hands, fingers splayed, on either side of her head. The weredragon felt a cold tingle run through her as Alasea began delving, searching for any inconsistencies in the girl's unusual genetic makeup.

There were tons. Genetic code fluctuated, something trying to overwrite it. Was this normal for Helena's transformations, or was something else forcing it to change like this?

"Hurry up," Helena said. Her fingers clenched, trembling.

After several minutes of delving, Alasea released Helena with a gasp, falling back onto the bed. Deep-scan delving without the Pillar of Dawn to replenish and maintain her power was always a draining task. Still, what she had learned... and the newfound revulsion she had for what Heresy had inflicted upon the girl...

"There's... a lot," she said finally, sitting up slightly. "Whatever that monster did to you, Helena, I'm not sure its done. Your DNA's still being overwritten, but I don't know if that's normal for you, or if something's forcing it."

She slid herself off the bed and backed up. "That's why I want you to try something for me," she continued. "And I'm not sure if you're going to like it."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to let go and let the transformation happen," she said, frowning. "And we'll see if it tries to stop at a medium, or try to go the whole way. I think if you go past the point balancing the two, we can conclude something's forcing it."

She thought for a moment, looking up with her head cocked to the side. "On second thought, we'd be better off trying this outside. We should get R.D., too."