"But if she gets up, she won't get far." Matt tapped a finger to his head. "You gotta use this, son. It'll keep you ahead."

As Matt followed R.D. he glanced at the swords. "Where the hell did she get these, anyway?"

"I hope you remember that I have amnesia, nitwit," R.D. said," This fighting stuff is kinda new for me. Just like everything else in this messed up world."

R.D. shook his head. "As for the swords, I have no clue. All I know is that she's very good with them," he said as they exited the building and walked back over to Hugo, Hsien-Ko, and Mei-ling.

Hugo chuckled as he saw Matt and R.D. with their prisoner. "Got yourself a prize, huh?"

"Shut up," Matt snapped.

"Who's that?" Mei-ling asked, grabbing the scabbard of her sword in caution.

"Random crazy woman," Matt explained. "She jumped R.D. but we took her down. Still, she's a survivor."

"Maybe the only one," Hsien-Ko said, downcast. "We couldn't find anyone else."

R.D. decided to ignore Hugo's comment, and set the girl down on the sidewalk. He looked over her to check for any serious injuries, and nodded to himself when he found none that were obvious. He turned back to the group.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'd like to get the hell out of here. Who's up to grab some supplies and head for the nearest port?" he asked, before realizing he shouldn't have said 'port.'

Matt folded his arms. Now that he thought about it, things had gotten more complicated...he had hoped to get in and out of this world, but with Rugal running around and Hsien-Ko and Mei-ling trapped in this world, he couldn't just up and leave things alone...

Well, he'd figure out a plan later. "I'm up for it, but what about the girl?"

R.D. relaxed when no one questioned his unusual choice for a destination.

"We'll take her with us," he said, "It's not like she can stay here. She'd be safer with us."

Though she DID nearly kill me... he thought wryly.

"Do you know if she had any family members that got killed in the attack?" Hsien-Ko asked.

R.D. stared at Hsien-Ko.

"I forgot to ask," he said dryly, "I was kinda occupied with avoiding having my head cut off."

R.D. looked over at the girl. "Guess we'll just have to ask her when she wakes up, huh?"

"Yeah. Until then..." Matt looked at Hugo. "Hugo, stay here. I'm gonna run around and see if there's a store."

"Yes, Sahib."

Matt made a curt salute with his pointer and middle finger. "I'll be back." With that, he lurched foward, and with a burst of energy, shot down the street at high speeds.

Hsien-Ko's eyes widened. "Wow!"

R.D. shook his head and muttered, "Showoff."

He looked down at Hugo. "Why do you follow around this nutcase, anyway?" he asked the Mettaur.

Within the darkness of the Nightmare Realm, it was hard to see very far. The compass was a major help, however, and Morph had little trouble finding the temple the green arrow was pointing towards. He found himself looking up at a kind of Aztec styled pyramid, covered by strange plants.
"Phih-yew." He whistled. "Nice place."

Slowly, Morph walked up the long stairs that led up to the temple's entrance. A sturdy stone door blocked his way when he had arrived at the top, but when Morph touched the door, it opened.

"Oi." He uttered with a smile. "I like that."

He walked inside and found himself in an eight-sided room, with the cieling held up by thick stone pillars. There was no light in the room, so it was just expected when Morph fell into a large hole in the middle of the room. It appeared to be some kind of sliding track, and a minute or so of sliding and shouting later, he finally got off the slide, being launched into the air.

"Ugh." He landed rather uncomfortably on a stone surface. It felt cold against his cheek. He lay there for a moment to recover before he got up.

"Well..." Morph said, as he brushed off imaginary dust. "that surely was a fun ride." His tone was half-sarcastically. "I only hated the landing."

Not wanted to stay too long in the darkness of the temple - even though it was also dark outside of it - Morph started to search for the piece, and he opened the first door - a wooden one - he stumbled into.

"I didn't want to hang around with the guy that built me and his crazy family." Hugo's hard expression softened. "Matt acts weird but he's a good kid."

"I don't doubt that," R.D. agreed, "He was the only one who didn't suggest violence when you guys found me."

R.D. threw the Mettaur a pointed stare that was ignored.

The amnesiac teen sat down on a piece of rubble next to their unconscious prisoner, sparing the girl a brief look. He wasn't concerned about her at the moment; indeed, he held no animosity for the girl despite their previous battle. Instead, his mind was occupied with what had transpired before the battle: Ondal, Re-Tuul, Lumiya, the island. He wondered how he was going to convince the others to go to the island with him. Or at least get him there.

"By the way..." Mei-ling approached R.D. "Is there a particular reason you want to head to a port?"

R.D. sighed as he looked up at Mei-ling.

Women.

"Yes. No. Kinda. I don't know right now," R.D. admitted, "I just have a feeling that we have to go somewhere that isn't on the mainland."

He felt that he shouldn't discuss Ondal with them just yet. Maybe Matt would know more, maybe he didn't. He'd have to wait and see.

Morph closed the wooden door behind him. The room he was now in was lit, albeit dimly, but still lit more than the former room, because that one had not seen any light at all.

He found himself in a long chamber-like hallway, pillars at the sides. He could not see the cieling, it was way up high there. How far below the ground have I gone? Morph wondered. He quickly shook it off as an importance, and started walking through the hallway. After several dozens of yards, he saw he was getting to the end of the hallway, a small alcove being at the end, with an...

"ALTAR!" Morph exclaimed in happiness. His voice echoed throughout the temple, and something rumbled in the distance...

"Well, that can't be good..." He muttered.

Naze jumped to side useing his speed that was increaseing at a constant and fast speed. He turned and quickly held out his left hand makeing the same orb again, but hesitated to fire.
"Tell, me...Virus was it? What role do you play in this story?" He asked friendly.

Dark Wolf bowed to Maya as she went to turn around. “So you wish, so it shall be done.” He said and then road off to carry out his mission just as she entered the castle.

~Moments later~

Dark Wolf had ridden into a nearby city, one that had been nearly destroyed by Gouki and his minions. “Hm.” He let out as he looked around. Almost everything in sight had been crushed, set on fire, turned to rubble, etc. He kicked his horse’s side with his right heel, and they started going forward slowly. Dark Wolf continued to examine the city, seeing no evidence of survivors.

A little girl, no older than 5, was hiding under some concrete that had fallen from a building. She looked up from under her little hiding place and saw hoofs of a horse. She cocked her head a little to the left in confusion as she watched the hoofs come closer. She peeked her head up a bit more, seeing that the horse had no flesh, meat, only bone. Her eyes widened in fear, and unknowingly she stood up thus revealing herself. She saw the huge horse’s red eyes, and then she saw its rider. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the cloaked figure.

Dark Wolf looked at the girl and pulled on the reins, stopping the horse. “Who are you, girl?” He asked the little girl.
The girl gulped and then replied. “I am Lin.” She said with a shaky voice.
“I am here to give you a choice, Lin. You can serve my master, the one who made the beings that have brought havoc to this land, or you can die.” Dark Wolf said sternly.
“Who are you?” She asked with tears running down her face.
“I am The Night Rider of The Dark Apocalypse.” Dark Wolf replied. “Now choose,” he then formed a Gouka Blade in his left hand and pointed the tip at the girl, “or I shall choose for you.”

After a bit, Matt zoomed into place in front of the group. In his hands were plastic bags filled with goods, and he wore a backpack that was probably filled as well.

"I hope no one cares that I stole this stuff," Matt said. "I would've paid the guy but he's dead."

"I don't care," Hugo said. "Just as long as you got that replacement oil."

"Yeah, I did." He looked to Hsien-Ko. "You and Mei-ling don't eat, right?"

"No."

"Good. This'll last me and R.D. a while, then."

"Don't forget the girl," R.D. said, patting her on the ankle, "We might need it to get her to shut up once she wakes."

R.D. stood up and stretched, then bent over and threw the unconscious girl over his shoulder. "You three'll have to carry the food," R.D. said to Matt, Hsien-Ko, and Mei-ling, "Seeing how I get to lug around the princess here. So, shall we go?"

As the voyage continued, logic began to clutter HighMaxΩ's brain.

Boats can't talk. That plumber's bum wasn't showing. How is any of this possible!?

Then, a storm kicks up, and HMΩ is blasted by lightning.

-=In the sky=-
And our hero wakes up again, still in the sky, where he was in the beginning. And, now knowing the logic of how much pain a human would sustain from falling from such altitudes, he proportionalized it to how much pain a hot dog would take - aspects didn't look too good. But then he got thinking again:

But how did I get up here? Was that dream a sort of... twisted vision?

But he had to stop to brace himself once gravity got a good hold of him.

-=Sky, falling=-
HMΩ: Aaaaaaaaaahh, help, someone!

Then the soon-to-be hero saw some bushes and tres over a lake. A good, soft landing. But seeing as the lake was small and surrounded by sharp rocks, aspects still didn't look to good.

-=To spoil the suspense=-
He landed in the lake.

-=Lake=-
HMΩ: Man, that was odd... I feel all dizzy... Well, if I'm gonna get anywhere, I'll need shelter. That tree looks pretty good on its own. Maybe there's a town near here.

-2 hours later-

HMΩ: That looks good, for now, at least. Well, 'night.

-=Lake, next Day=-
HMΩ: Time to look for some sort of civilization.

He treads along the river, and encounters an odd creature. Not to his surprise, it attacks!

HMΩ: Ahh, little pest! *squishes with foot*

About a mile down, he finds a town!

HMΩ: Good deal!

"By the way..." Matt handed the bags to Hsien-Ko and Mei-ling. "Why do you want to go to a port, R.D.? Is there like a super special awesome secret place you need to go to or something?"

R.D. sighed. "I don't know," he explained, "I just know we have to go offland."

He looked over his free shoulder at the bespectacled boy.

"Besides, would YOU rather be here when long, tall, and ugly gets back?" he asked.

Matt folded his arms. "Well...I don't know if I want to let Rugal run around unopposed..."

"Hold on!" Hsien-Ko interjected, grabbing Matt's arm roughly. "Did you say Rugal?"

Matt blinked. "Yeah. What, did you run into him or something?"

"Rugal's the one that attacked us," Hsien-Ko said.

"Seriously?"

"And he created the portal that brought us here," Mei-ling added.

"He can do that?" Matt exclaimed.

"I think it was apparent when we first saw him," Hugo muttered.

Matt grasped his chin, his brow furrowed. "But why did he bring you here...?"

R.D. blinked at Hsien-Ko's exclamation, but really wasn't surprised by the news, considering what he had heard so far.

"Can we discuss this while we leave? Princess here isn't exactly the lightest person in the world," he interjected, motioning with his head to the girl thrown over his shoulder.

"Fine, let's go," Matt said. "I'm not sure where the nearest port is-OW!"

At that time Hugo had kicked Matt in the foot. "What the hell was that for?" Matt snapped.

"Come here." Hugo beckoned with his pickaxe as he moved a distance from the group.

Matt sighed, and followed, hunching to Hugo's level. "All right, what is it?"

"Did you forget what we're supposed to be doing here?" Hugo hissed at a low volume, his angry eyes firmly in place. "We need to find the next Gate and move on!"

"I can't leave Felicia's friends stuck here!" Matt whispered back. "And if Rugal's around-"

"That's not your problem!" Hugo interrupted. "If you don't get the Omega Core back to where it belongs, the whole damn Multiverse is screwed!"

"If I can bend the laws of reality I might as well use to help other people! Why do you have to be such a dick about this crap?"

Hsien-Ko folded her bare arms, looking at Matt and Hugo speak in angry whispers. "They look mad...wonder what they're saying?"

R.D. looked at the arguing pair curiously. They spoke in whispers, but he was able to hear a couple of the words said. And judging by Hugo's scowl, it must not be pleasant.

Oh well. It's not like this world is pleasant anymore, he thought, then frowned.

Wait a minute. Anymore?

"Look." Matt's brow eased, and he sighed. "The Chronomancer said I would keep the Multiverse in order or bring it to ruin...I'll be damned if it's gonna be ruined by my hands. Rugal ain't supposed to be here, Hsien-Ko and Mei-ling ain't supposed to be here...I gotta set things right. It's my job."

Hugo seemed to be debating within the confines of his robotic brain, judging by his expression.

After a bit he sighed. "Fine..."

"Thanks, Hugo." He stood. "Let's get this show on the road."