Nanbara says, "Since Rod isn't idle any more, we can resume the Jacqui missi
on if everyone's ready"



Beowulf OOCly nods.



Nanbara asks, "OOC Dan, Rod, you ready?"



Eddie OOCly says, "Yar."



Jacqueline says, "OOCly go"



Alright.  Everyone mangled (which is almost everyone), gets shoved into the 
TARDIS Beowulf brought along to use as an infirmary.



Which basically leaves Wu-Corey, Mutsumi, Hador, and a lightly mangled Edith
 to guard Jacqui while the others are fixed up inside in a faster time flow.



Beowulf OOCly nods, and we're fast-timed in there. How long is this gonna ta
ke?



DM will tell you when you're functional again. :)



Beowulf OOCly winces. CRAP.



Eddie OOCly says, "As soon as she recovers, Eddie will start dumping Unicorn
 Healing and more Healing spells on everyone, outside, and then work on tigh
tening down Corey's buttoyage into something more refined than 'Kill Shinji'
."



After the first few seconds of standing guard, Hador and Edith and Mutsumi a
ll get a bit of a bad feeling.



That prickly, some power is at work here feeling.



Eddie dumps one of the Heaven's Vantage sights that Motoko racked, and looks
 around to see what's going on.



There's little pricklies of Abyss power around Corey



As if, perhaps, something was using him as a conduit for something.

Eddie attempts to use Unicorn defense on him, and suggests Mutsumi use Trump
 Defense.



Mutsumi comes over and puts a hand on him and concentrates.



Hador stalks over and waits, holding Morkeleb and looking about nervously.



Eddie has Corey put his sword down out of immediate reach, so if she and Mut
sumi can't stop it, he'll be relatively defenseless while Hador dispatches h
im.



There is an OOOGA noise.  The TARDIS vanishes.



Blind Io announces, "Some sort of huge metal object has appeared in the sky 
over Ankh-Moorpork and is now approaching."



Mutsumi fumbles for a trump, and discovers frustratedly that her trumps can'
t reach across shadow boundaries in this universe.



Blind Io says, "Strangely, it seems to have a tomato as its emblem.  I'm not
 familiar with the writing system on it."



Mutsumi takes Blind Io's hand and studies the ship, then hastily scribbles a
 trump of it.  Then she concentrates.



The ship draws ever closer as Mutsumi slowly hacks through the massive defen
ses of the ship with Edith's help.



Portions of the castle begin to evaporate as the ship unleashes a hideous ra
in of fire upon the castle atop Cori Celesti, while the Gods and the remains
 of the air force desperately attack it.



Thankfully, the air force attack slows it down some.



Hador takes one of Jacqui's racks, and unleashes an Ice Dragon to attack the
 ship.



And then Mutsumi gestures, and a trump gate opens before her.  You gaze into
 the engine room, where massive crystal lattices sit with the Metal Jewel in
 their heart.



Mutsumi gestures with the hand which holds Benji.  The Fork rises off the fl
oor.



And then she gestures and it flies like a Javelin through the trump gate.  A
nd as it flies into the heart of it, Edith and Hador focus their powers and 
imbue the Fork with the power of the Unicorn itself.

And then Mutsumi dumps the trump gate so she won't get a face full of Backla
sh



There is a moment of terrible silence.



And then there is an explosion like a second sun in the sky of the Discworld
.



The entire fortress above you is sheered off



Mutsumi desperately activates her forcefield around herself and her companio
ns.



The four of you are nevertheless flung across the room into a wall.



Said wall ceases to exist



And the four of you go plummeting off Cori Celesti in a great arc.



The spell protecting Jacqui evaporates



The spell confining the Huggy Corrines evaporates



The Huggy Corrines evaporate



Jacqui doesn't evaporate, but boy is it a scary sight.



Mutsumi quickly whips out a trump.  A few rainbow shivers later, she and her
 company reappear on the Pattern Platform.



And then there is a shimmer.



And a huge ship rather like the one you just blew up appears in the air, hov
ering overhead.



Right down to the words 'Soyokaze' on the side.



You hear the booming voice of Tylor.   It is both cold and flippant.  "Fool 
me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me..."



Mutsumi pulls out a trump and prays the DM remembers his own rules this time
.  ^^;;;



Akemi pages, "Hmm, would Demetrius even take a trump while he's in Hel's Uni
verse?" to you.



You page, "He'd have his Aeris manifestation check it out." to Akemi.



You page, "the one Drake gave him." to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Good, take the call, baby." to you.



Mutsumi prays over the trump.  "Work, work, work..." she chants softly.



The Trump opens. "Yes?" says Demetrius. He's standing on his bridge; you can
 see the Cathedral of the Serpent falling away behind him on the viewscreen.



Mutsumi says, "Evil Bad Tylor is about to BLOW US TO TINY BITS!  Please, ple
ase bring your ship and stop him or he's going to blow Jacqui and us into it
ty, bitty bits!"



Demetrius blinks, and quicly shoves his Aeris Manifestation into the navigat
ion console. "Nelson, open a gate on these coordinates!"



Nelson does so.  The Radiant jumps through, just in time to get a full broad
side from the Soyokaze.  This is not fun, but it prevents Jacqui becoming a 
pile of ash.



You page, "If I let it, it'll casually blow Jacqui to bits, won't it?" to Ak
emi.



Akemi pages, "Basically, if Tylor gets even one shot at Jacqui, she's toast.
" to you.



DaR pages, "Hold up.  Use the main gun at least once.  Eddie and Hador will 
Unicorn Imbue it!" to you.



Mutsumi shouts to Demetrius, "Edith and Hador can amp up the power of two of
 your guns if you want them to!  They're blessed by the Unicorn!"



You page, "Right. I let EVERYTHING go at it. The Main Gun, the all the lesse
r Abyss guns, the solid-shot weapons, and the sepcial anti-Soyokaze shells M
otokjo made for me. I also launch all fighters to establish a protetive scre
en over Jacqui. I will pose this." to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "You might want to have Edith and Hador amp up the Main Gun for
 you, then :)" to you.



Demetrius says, "OMEGA FORMATION! ALL HANDS, BRACE FOR MAGNUM LAUNCH!" He tu
rns to Mutsumi. "Have them bless the special one of the special anti-Soyokaz
e shells Motoko made for me, and the Main Gun!"



Hador concentrates the powers granted him by the Unicorn.



Corey stands around slack-jawed, waiting for orders.



Eddie focuses with all her strength.



Mutsumi thinks for a second, then begins quickly drawing a trump.



Akemi pages, "Okay, pose a really big ass opening up wityh everything pose :
)" to you.



The front end of the Radiant glows, and it belches forth a long, shimmering 
spear of black energy at the Soyokaze. Four smaller turrets swivel around an
d fire similar, smaller beams at it while solid-shot cannons throw a wall of
 lead into the sky. And four massive shells that are covered with... paper? 
... leap out of a special side bay.



Fighters drop out of the Radiant and begin circling above Jacqui as well.



The Soyokaze spits out dozens of fighters and men in mech-combat suits as we
ll which engage the Radiant's fighters.  A half-dozen guns the size of the R
adiant's main gun open fire on the Radiant, although two of them evaporate a
long with a substantial chunk of the ship when the Radiant's main gun blast 
hits the Soyokaze.  Shells slam into the Soyokaze, and parts of it evaporate
.  Large chunks of the Radiant evaporate as well as massively ugly weapons s
lam into it.



The two ships continue to pound it each other, but it's obvious that the Rad
iant, potent as it is, is rather outclassed, though it's certainly blown som
e very large holes in the defenses of the Soyokaze.



You page, "Hey, can Haruna and T force Breath of the Dragon to start belchin
g forth magic indiscriminantly?" to Akemi.



You page, "Cause then we can put it in a shell and shoot it at Soyokaze." to
 Akemi.



You page, "Along with a whole bunch of her Item Destruction pearls." to Akem
i.



Eddie switches from praying to casting for a moment, then unleashes the seco
nd Ice Dragon, which leaps into the air with a mighty roar and a spray of ic
y breath at the Soyokaze.



Haruna says, "Captain, I need a good look at the Soyokaze's engines.  I can 
turn them off if I can see them."



She pulls another pearl off her necklace.



Demetrius blinks. "The engine rooms or just the engines?" He grabs onto his 
chari as decks five through seven boil away.



She says, "The engines themselves would be easier than the engine rooms."



Akemi pages, "They can try, but it's real dangerous fiddling with a Dragon S
pikard linked to Hel's corrupted Serpent" to you.



You page, "Best not, to then. hmm. i have -one- more shot with my Main Gun. 
Would putting Haruna's pearls inside that, and then shooting it at their eng
ines at the front of the massive spar of Abyss energy be cool?" to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Yep." to you.



Demetrius says, "Mister Barrington! Put the Soyokaze's engines on the target
ing viewscreen for Lady Haruna!" He turns to her. "You can load the Pearls i
nto one of our shells for the delivery. I suggest you use at least two."



Haruna nods and has them sent down.



Demetrius tries to manuever the Radiant to get a clean shot at the engines o
f the Soyokaze, while the Soyokaze tries to avoid having its engines shot ou
t.



Then a trump gate opens in front of Mutsumi showing the Bridge of the Soyoka
ze.



Mutsumi shouts, "Benji, release the Fleet-Crusher!"



As Mutsumi raises her hands, so does Edith, unleashing an Ice Cannon at the 
same time, through the gate.



Demetrius tries not to let more of his ship get carved away than is neccessa
ry.



A huge beam of ice slices through the bridge, wrecking the control systems. 
 The Soyokaze begins to wobble.  Hador focuses on the main gun of the Radian
t.  Then huge ropes of water erupt across the bridge of the Soyokaze, rippin
g it apart.  Tylor vanishes from admist the chaos of the bridge in a flash o
f light.  And the wobbling Soyokaze is now vulnerable as the main gun of the
 Radiant drains the last of the Radiant's reserves, unleashing a massive lan
ce of energy and two Exalted Twiddle Pearls into the Soyokaze's engines, whi
ch are heavily damaged and shut off, leaving the Soyokaze vulnerable to what
 remains of the Radiant's armnaments.



There is another flash of light, and Tylor appears a short distance away fro
m Jacqui's Pattern, armed with a laser rifle and a light sabre.



Eddie shouts, "Corey, stop him!'"



Demetrius slams his fist into his armrest in triumph. "Now we have them!" th
en he blinks at the viewscreen. 



Corey charges, "DIEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"



Mutsumi flicks another trump card into her hands.



Demetrius hurriedly fiddles with a targeting display. "Bogdozan, Thanatos! U
se your magic on him!"



Eddie waves her hands as fast as she can, casting a Refined Chain Lightning.



Tylor's first shot shears off Jacqui's right arm.  It falls to the ground, c
auterized so that it doesn't actually bleed.  She stumbles and almost falls,
 but keeps going.  Lightning erupts from Edith's hands, and slams into Tylor
 repeatedly.  Mutsumi then opens a trump gate and hurls her entire deck thro
ugh the gateway.  T casts Heavenly Spear Thrust off the rack Motoko prepared
 for him.  The spell slams down into Tylor, throwing off his second shot.  T
hen the trump gate opens next to Tylor, and dozens upon dozens of trump card
s charge out of the gate and begin slicing away at him, as Corey attacks him
 with his BIG ASS SWORD.   Bogdozan, observing all this from high above thro
ugh the scanners, for his own inscrutable reasons, casts Greater Potence on 
Mutsumi.



Corey rushes Tylor.  Tylor awaits the charge.  He awaits the charge.  The Tr
ump cards slice into him, but his armor seems to resist them fairly well.  E
dith begins casting another spell.  And then, right as Tylor is about to nim
bly get out of the way and let Corey throw himself onto Jacqui's partially d
raw new Primal and die horribly, Mutsumi leaps through her trump gate, onto 
Tylor and pins both of his arms with her strength (which is now on a par wit
h Ramon's).  And Bogdozan smiles.



Bogdozan then dumps Combat Mind on Mutsumi.



Corey rushes at Tylor, who struggles desperately.  And then Edith finishes d
umping Greater Potence on HIM.



Demetrius says, in quiet awe, "Fine work, Bogdozan."



Bogdozan says, "Thank you."



And then Corey demonstrates what happens when you put a sword into someone w
ith 150 points of Strength behind it.



Stab, cut, swish, hack, die.



Bits of Tylor rain to the floor.



Demetrius orders his men to finish off the Soyokaze.



You page, "Do my scans detect the Metal Jewel still within it?" to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Nope, it seems to be down with Tylor" to you.



Mutsumi picks up the laser, then turns a knob.



She looks upwards, then carefully swings it around to point at the Soyokaze.



And then she fires a beam.



And then a massive cone of silvery energy blows the Soyokaze in half.



The laser melts to slag, leaving the DJ of Metal to drop to the floor.



The Radiant fires volley after volley into what's left of the burning wrecka
ge of the Soyokaze, though it lists dangerously itself as small fires burn a
ll along the port side.



And then the two halves rain down and explode.



There goes a large chunk of the Ramtops



You page, "I think I'm going to scare them just a bit...." to Akemi.



And then the smoke clears.



Mutsumi stares at the Demi-Jewel of Metal and asks Edith, "Any idea how we c
an destroy this thing before someone yanks it again?"



Eddie thinks for a second.  "Do you still have your trump of the Fork?"



Mutsumi gestures to the hovering trump deck, which flies back into its case.
  She pulls a trump.  "Yes."



There's another series of shimmers across the moutaintop.



She trumps the Fork to herself, careful not to touch it.



And then Demetrius and half his command staff appear.



Akemi pages, "Which half? :)" to you.



Jacqueline . o O (Drawing pattern, drawing pattern, want to be elsewhere, wa
nt to protect everyone..... is my arm missing?   Keep on drawing....)



You page, "Thanatos, Vaprak, and Haruna." to Akemi.



Eddie asks, "If we were to gate it into space, then hit it with the fork thr
ough the gate, do you think that would destroy it?"



Mutsumi says, "We already hit it with the Fork once and it lived."



Eddie OOCly says, "Did the fork actually it it, or did it explode from the U
nicorn infusion?"



Eddie OOCly says, "Hit it."



Nanbara says, "OOC ACtually, you're not sure if it hit or not before it blew
."



Demetrius looks up at the Radiant, which slowly rights itself as Bogdozan ge
ts the fires under control. About a quarter of it is missing. "Well, -fuck-.
"



Mutsumi runs over and hugs Demetrius.  "You came and saved us!  Thank you!" 
 She gives him a kiss on the cheek.



Eddie says, "Uh.  Unless maybe the Alicorn could do something, that's the on
ly thing I can think of."



Mutsumi thinks a minute, then makes a whistle.



The Alicorn flies down.  Mutsumi says, "Can you find what happened to everyo
ne who was in the Tardis?"



Demetrius blinks, and reflixively squeezes Mutsumi back briefly as she hugs 
him. "Ah... it was what I was supposed to be doing, anyway."



Demetrius almost blushes a bit.



The Alicorn says, THEY HAVE FALLEN INTO THE ABYSS.



Mutsumi asks, "Can you get them out?"



The Alicorn says, IT'S A RATHER LONG TRIP TO THE ABYSS.



Demetrius blinks at Corey. "Is that an Amberite Wu?"



Eddie nods.  "We turned him into our puppet.  He's the one who made Tylor st
ew meat."



Mutsumi frowns.  "I suppose it is a pretty long trip."



Demetrius says, "You know Hel is probably watching us through him, right?" H
e pulls out a rather sturdy-looking leather facemask complete with earplugs.



Eddie blinks.  "She can?"



Mutsumi says, "That would explain a lot."



Mutsumi goes over to Corey and shouts, "Hel, you're fat and ugly and your mo
ther dresses you funny!!!!"



Eddie resists the urge to laugh hysterically.  "Corey, put on the mask."



Demetrius sighs. "Yes, she can." He walks up to Corey. "That's two, Hel." He
 puts the facemask on him. "Vaprak?"



She starts making faces at him.  "And I bet I've got bigger breasts than you
 AND get daily sex from people who AREN'T MIND CONTROLLED ZOMBIES!   Nannie 
nannie boo boo!"



Vaprak looks at Demetrius curiously.



Demetrius says, "Make Ser Corey here stop thinking conscious thoughts."



Vaprak tilts his head with an obvious 'Eh?' component to it.



Demetrius sighs. "Okay, the intelligence spell has obviously worn off."



Demetrius says, "Hit him in the head very, very hard."



Eddie sort of blushes, "Uh, please don't don't damage him too much.  I think
 I'd like to keep him, if we can free his soul from Hel.  I'll put him to sl
eep."  And she promptly does, using her link to his mind.



Demetrius says, ".... or that can work."



Hador says, "I couldn't figure out what you meant either, at first, Captain 
Demetrius."



Edith puts Corey to bed.



Demetrius ehhehs. "Sorry."



Demetrius says, "It's been a long, hard day. I had to come here straight fro
m storming the Cathedral of the Serpent."



Eddie asks, "Mutsumi, did you see the Fork hit the Jewel?  Or did it explode
 first, from the infusion of our Unicorn's Horn power?"



Mutsumi says, "I'm not sure, I had to concentrate on shutting the gate."



Eddie says, "Well, since I can't think of anything else we could do, lacking
 a jewel of our own to power anything, we might as well try."



Mutsumi nods.  "True."



Demetrius looks at Corey thoughtfully. "hmm. Now we have a matched set."



Mutsumi nods.  "Worth trying, anyway."



Eddie asks, "Captain, do you think your ship is capable of travelling to the
 Abyss, to rescue the others?"



Demetrius asks, "Miss....?"



Mutsumi says, "This is Edith. She's a priestess of the Unicorn and a real sw
eetie."



Eddie says, "Call me Eddie."



Demetrius bows a little. "Nice to meet you, Eddie."



Demetrius says, "The Radiant isn't going anywhere for at least an hour."



Demetrius says, "Longer if you want it to fight. I can open Portals to the A
byss without it, but they're limited in scope."



Eddie curtseys.  "A pleasure, though the circumstances could have been bette
r.  Do you think they'll survive an hour in the Abyss.  I don't like the ide
a of leaving them where Hel can get to them but we can't.  And the poor Alic
orn can't fly to the Abyss in that time."



Mutsumi says, "Can you make one big enough for the Alicorn to get through?"



Demetrius guestures. A black rip in the fabric of reality about the size of 
a castle gate opens. "You mean like that?"



The Alicorn dives through the gateway.



Mutsumi begins fretting intensely.



Demetrius blinks. "Well, there's something I never thought I'd see."



Eddie turns to Mutsumi, "Would dumping the Jewel in the Abyss keep it from b
eing retreived, you think?"



Vaprak eyes Corey with the look of a carnivore eying a deer.



Eddie glances over, and begins to sweat a little.  "And, uh, Captain, could 
you please have your crewman not eat him?"



Demetrius says, "Vaprak, no eating."



Demetrius says, "You already ate a Lord of Chaos today."



T points to all of the dead Corrine bits



Eddie says, "He can have the Tylor bits, if he's hungry.  I'm sure they're y
ummy.  And pre-cut."



Which Vaprak begins munching on bits of toasted Corrine



Vaprak looks thoughtful and goes and pokes T, who nods and calls Bogdozan to
 send down Vaprak's kettle.



Vaprak begins brewing himself up a nice pot of Tylor and Corrine stew.



Mutsumi says to Eddie, "I think that would work."



Mutsumi asks Demetrius, "If we throw this DJ in the Abyss, would it stay dow
n there?"



Demetrius says, "Until somebody found it and brought it out."



Demetrius says, "They'd have to actually go in and do that, though."



Eddie casts her other Heaven's Vantage and searches the shadow for the Fire 
DJ, just in case it hasn't been yanked yet.



She says, "They'd...right.  That works."  She hefts the Jewel, which then va
nishes out of her hands.



The Fire DJ is gone.  And the Fire Spikard.  But you find the Heart of Flame
 is imbedded in a dinner table of an annoyed looking witch.



Eddie lets Mutusmi pull the location from her head and trump it to them.



Mutsumi draws a trump and grabs the Heart of Flame.



Then, several things happen at once:



The Alicorn bursts out of the portal.  It is towing a large police box by a 
rope.  Unfortunately, there's a huge ass shimmering Serpent wrapped around t
he bottom half of the Police Box with Anthy riding on its back.



Eddie wakes up Corey.  "KILL IT!"



You page, "Wait, I didn't see them approach?" to Akemi.



Corey mumbles something incoherent through the mask.



You page, "Because if I had, I'd have snapped the portal shut on Daffyl." to
 Akemi.



Akemi pages, "You tried, and Daffyl somehow prevented you doing so." to you.



You page, "Does he look hurt?" to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Yep" to you.



The Tardis flashes a shimmery silver, and Daffyl howls and lets go of it, dr
opping to the ground.



Demetrius lets the portal snap shut. "He's hurt! I shot him several times wi
th the Radiant!"



Demetrius orders his fighter squadrons to attack Daffyl and Anthy, and the R
adiant to limp out of it's attack range.



Several more things happen at once.



Imagine, if you will, all the Logrus Tendrils in the Universe



Then imagine each and every one of them erupting out of Anthy and Daffyl at 
the people around Jacqui's Pattern



As this happens, Edith rips off Corey's mask and starts to cast a spell.  Te
ndrils grab her and fold her in half backwards.



Demetrius is clobbered unconcious while trying to figure out what is going o
n.



T starts to do something, then is grabbed by Tendrils which begin beating hi
m into the ground.



Vaprak looks up from his meal and is overrun by tendrils.



Hador is battered down to the ground and pinned, unable to move.



Mutsumi goes rainbow colored and vanishes right as the tendrils come for her
.



And then the Tardis doors slide open.



And then Beowulf, Shinobu, and Thoric charge out, thrusting Justice, Werewin
dle, and Greyswandir into Daffyl's side.



Then a voice shouts from inside the Tardis, the voice of Mikage.  "ROCHESTER
 RAIN OF GLASS!!!!!!!"  Thousands of pattern-charged razor sharp ice fragmen
ts erupt down from the skies onto Daffyl.



Logrus tendrils erupt out of the Tardis and start trying to prevent Edith dy
ing from being folded in half backwards.



Corey snaps the Logrus tendrils which grab him like twigs, then climbs up on
 top of the mass of them and looks confused.



Daffyl begins to scream in rage and thrash as the ice digs into him and the 
Logrus blades bite deep.



PATTERN blades.  Sigh.



Mutsumi blinks in, grabs Corey, and blinks out.



Various people, unfortunately, continue to be bent in interesting ways.



Thoric backs inside the Tardis and casts a spell.  Lily casts a healing spel
l on Edith to get her functional again.  Hador passes out.  Vaprak tries to 
eat the Logrus Tendrils grappling him.  Shinobu continues hacking with Werew
indle at Daffyl.  Beowulf takes a shot with his airgun at Anthy, who gets a 
nasty acid burn before more tendrils form a shield which defends her.  He al
so continues to hack at Daffyl with Justice.  Mikage begins another spell.  
Logrus tendrils rescue Captain Demetrius, pulling him inside the ship.  His 
spine is broken, as are all of his arms and legs and his ribcage.  As Abyss 
Anthy concentrates on blocking Beowulf's shots at her, Mutsumi winks in with
 Corey, and slams an Ofuda onto Anthy's forehead.  Anthy has a 3 second epil
eptic fit.  And then Corey drives his BIG ASS SWORD into her gut.





====================



You page, "i have my men dump me inside my Chamber where I can use my Abyssa
l Healing." to Akemi.



You page, "I'm probably out of this fight, but it'll get me back on my feet 
quickest." to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Correction, you're inside the TARDIS.  Lily and Sif pulled you
 out.  ^^;;;" to you.



You page, "Oh. Well, then I'm in no real condition to have anything of that 
sort done." to Akemi.



====================





Then the Alicorn does a bombing run on Daffyl and several things happen at o
nce.



Edith looks out the open Tardis doors and sees Corey impaling Abyss Anthy.  
She concentrates and his blade blazes with the Pattern.  Anthy's blood ignit
es as he rips her torso open.  Anthy screams in rage and dozens of tendrils 
erupt all over her, Corey, and Mutsumi.  The Alicorn slams into Daffyl, shov
ing him right off the limited space around Jacqui's Pattern, and he begins t
o topple off the side of Cori Celesti.  His tendrils lash about, trying to f
ind something to anchor to and wrap around the Tardis.



Beowulf releases a spell from his ring.  Mutsumi glimmers and reappears next
 to Beowulf.  Shinobu turns and hacks at the tendrils grabbing onto the Tard
is.  Corey hacks Abyss Anthy into pieces.  Logrus tendrils reach out of the 
Tardis and pull Vaprak into the ship.  And then the Alicorn bodyslams itself
 into the remaining tendrils holding onto the Tardis.  Daffyl, what's left o
f Abyss Anthy, and Corey fall off Cori Celesti and begin to plunge towards t
he RamTops



The Alicorn plunges after him.



Corey begins hacking at Daffyl as he falls with him and the Alicorn attacks 
Wu-Daffyl as well.



Thoric dumps a Pattern healing on Demetrius to get him conscious.



Demetrius becomes conscious. He immediatly regrets this as he's in MASSIVE P
AIN.



Those who are conscious begin healing everyone.



Daffyl crashes into the Ramtops, levelling the unfortunate town of Bad Ass.



Eddie just gets out of the way, turned inward as she boosts Corey's effectiv
eness.



The Alicorn attacks him as he thrashes in agony.



Blind Io announces, "And I see Corey climbing out of the wreckage of someone
's house."



Corey hacks away at Daffyl as best he can.



Demetrius shifts into his Abyssal Form.



T lies against a wall and would groan, except he never shows pain.



Vaprak, once healed, goes out and finishes making Tylor and Corrine stew.



Thoric comes over to Mutsumi and embraces her and waits nervously.



Beowulf scans the sky warily, looking for anything coming in next, and asks 
the mages to keep scanning the shadow for trouble.



Mikage says, "At this rate, we'll wipe out all of Hel's servants ourselves."



Demetrius staggers upright. Sort of upright. It's hard to tell. "i'lL bE bac
K." He pulls a card and trumps out.



You page, "I go to my ship and make with the Abyss Healing." to Akemi.



Beowulf spares Mikage a glance and a very... odd smile, like he's not quite 
sure what to do with himself. "Indeed. I'm just trying to figure who's next.
"



Mikage looks up at the Radiant and frowns.  "I am somewhat worried as to whe
ther the Radiant can survive the Shadow Storm this is going to create."



High above, the Radiant's engines indicate they need 20 more minutes to rege
nerate for a jump.



Jacqueline, looking worn out and in a daze, seems to blur and vibrate in pla
ce, and for a moment when you look at her it's like you're looking at her th
rough a prism.  "I... oh..."  she manages to say, before suddenly screaming 
in agony and exploding into a shower of glittering lights, and then she's go
ne.



Eddie almost looks up at the sound of that, then tries to wave Mutsumi over.



Mutsumi staggers over to Eddie.



Mikage's head comes up.  "What the."



Eddie says, "Can you--"  She's going to ask Mutsumi to pull Corey back, but 
her question stops dead as Jacqui explodes.



The Pattern begins to shine brightly, completed.



In fact, it seems to be drawing in all the light of the shadow to itself.



Mikage concentrates and the Jewel of Judgement appears in his hands.



Mikage shouts, "Everyone get close to me NOW!"



Beowulf herds people close to Mikage as quickly as he can.



Eddie goes towards him with Mutsumi.  "Mutsumi, can you grab Corey through m
y link to him?!"



Vaprak looks up, very annoyed that he's not going to get to finish his stew 
and runs over.



Mutsumi nods and YANKS Corey away from his attack.



Captain Demetrius' ship sensors indicate there's about to be the Mother of A
ll Shadow Storms.



The ship's exterior loudspeakers click on. "you'D better noT be leaving us h
ere to diE!" Demetrius' voice rings out of them, sounding curiously distorte
d.



Mutsumi's eyes widen, and she looks up at the ship with a moment of terror, 
then Trump Gates your entire group up onto the Bridge of the Radiant.



Mutsumi shouts, "Plug the Jewel into the Engine!  Plug the Jewel into the En
gine!"



Eddie puts Corey to sleep, so that he doesn't reveal anything further to Hel
, then uses Unicorn Warding to shield him so he can't be used as a conduit e
ither.



She starts running around like a headless chicken.  "Where's the engine?"



Beowulf does his best to exert his Leadership and calm Mutsumi down, so they
 can get someone to get them to the engine.



Demetrius staggers onto the bridge, looking pretty beat up but in better sha
pe than he was. Parts of his body keep turning insubstancial. "This way!" He
 points to a lift.



The Pattern begins to shine so brightly you can't look at it.



Demetrius leads them to the engine room.



You all sprint down to the Engine Room.



Beowulf looks very much out of his depth, and hopes to heck Mutsumi and Mika
ge know what they're doing.



As you run down, Mutsumi says to Beowulf, "You studied Annadil's Abyss engin
e plans, right?  Can you make something we can plug into the engine to put t
he Jewel in it?"



Beowulf nods. "Yes, I can," he says as they run. "What do you think that wil
l do? Let us Jump out of the way?"



Beowulf starts conjuring as they run.



Mutsumi says, "Yes, we can Jewel Teleport the entire ship!  And power it wit
h the Jewel too if we have to."



She sounds fairly hysterical.



Demetrius staggers and slides along with the group. "Will it get us bacK to 
the otheR universe?"



Beowulf nods and keeps conjuring as quickly as he can as they go, doing his 
best to keep Mutsumi calm with what attention he can spare.



Thoric works on trying to keep Mutsumi halfway calm.



Then you reach the engine.  Hastily, Beowulf melds his device to the engine.
  Mikage slams the Jewel into it.  Then Mikage concentrates.



Then an explosion powerful enough to level Galaxies erupts out of the new Pr
imal Pattern.



Eddie offers psychic power if necessary.



Demetrius clings to one side of the Void Engine. He seems to be sucking powe
r out of it. Or into it. Something like that. "Let's GO!"



And the Radiant glows brightly.  Blood pours out of Mikage's ears and nose. 
 Mutsumi wobbles.  Edith wobbles.  And then The Radiant vanishes just before
 the wall of energy strikes it.



And then it glows again.



Another annhilating wall of energy rushes through the shadow it was in a mom
ent ago.



This happens three more times.



And then there's another Pop, and you find yourself hovering over the Discwo
rld again.



All of the battle damage done to it seems to have vanished.



The castle atop Cori Celesti is restored.



Bad Ass is no longer Road Kill.



Demetrius remembers to breath. "Did we win?"



The sun shines brightly over the main continent.



Mikage collapses



Mutsumi collapses.



Eddie collapses.  Then rolls over and looks at the ceiling.  "That fucking *
HURT*."



Demetrius appears to be drawing sustenance from the Void Engine, as he's con
tiually looking more and more healthy and less beat up.



Thoric kneels by Mikage and thanks his prescience in getting six Pattern Hea
lings from Motoko.  He drops one on Mikage, who stops bleeding to death, and
 another on Mutsumi.



Eddie sits up, drops her last Pattern Healing from Motoko on herself, then l
ooks around for anyone else who needs Unicorn Healing.



Everyone else sits down hard and gives a sigh.



Demetrius orders the shadow scanned.



Mutsumi sits up and shouts, "Where is Jacqui?  Why'd she blow up?  What's go
ing on????"



Beowulf hugs Mutsumi and tries to calm her down. "I think that must have bee
n something to do with finishing the Pattern... as the Pattern is finished."



Scanning the shadow reveals it is now a Primal Shadow, although the Pattern,
 strangely, seems to be weaker than an Elemental Pattern, though it gives of
f a Primal Signature.



This is probably because it's competing with Hel's Primal now.



Demetrius frowns. "Perhaps somebody should try trumping Jacqueline...?"



Beowulf says, "Drake said she was going to be completely knocked out after d
rawing it."



Mutsumi says, "Trump...trump...yes, there's trumps."  She pulls out a trump 
and concentrates on it.  Given it shows a field of fluffy bunnies, it seems 
likely that this won't work very well.



Beowulf does his best and exerts his leadership to the utmost to keep Mutusm
i calmed down and thinking rationally.



Eddie says, "The Drawer of the Pattern becomes the Pattern themselves.  I th
ink that was her becoming the new embodiment of the Pattern."



Lily now comes over to Beowulf and leans against him, looking pretty tired h
erself.  "Please hold me up, honey."



Mutsumi says, "But Fuyutsuki isn't all blown up."



Demetrius asks, "Could we try asking... umm... the Turtle?"



Beowulf pulls Lily's arm over his shoulder, and does his best to cuddle and 
hold her up, while keeping a hand on Mutsumi's hsoulder. "We didn't see him 
right after he drew his Primal Pattern, either."



Demetrius sounds like he can't believe he just said that.



Mutsumi says, "Turtle...turtle..."  She pulls out a trump and a small flying
 turtle appears.  "Did you eat Jacqui, Tama-chan?" she asks hysterically.



Eddie says, "If so, he body should regenerate as would anyone who has drawn 
a Pattern."



Thoric says, "I'm sure Tama-chan didn't eat Jacqui, honey."



Eddie grabs Mutsumi's hands and pushes the image of Jacqui regenerating from
 the Pattern into her mind.



Shinobu nods to Demetrius.  "We're going to need to fly around to the Turtle
's head, I suppose."



Shinobu continues, "If we're going to ask him."



Demetrius sighs. "Right, right. Well, we can still make decent speed."



Mikage takes a nap smiling happily.  He seems to be murmering something abou
t shoving Taylors into Coffins.



Demetrius says, "just don't ask us to fight anything."



Mutsumi seems to calm down.



Demetrius calls up to the bridge and gives orders to bring the ship around i
nto orbit to Great A'Tuin's head.



Time passes.  You fly over to A'tuin's head.



A'tuin cocks his head and regards the Radiant with some interest.



Beowulf keeps an eye on things and out for attacks, looking somewhat paranoi
d and twitching a bit.



Y'all move back up to the bridge, as you can try to communicate from there b
etter than from the Engine Room.



Demetrius clicks on the exterior speakers, ramps up the volume, and then tur
ns to Mutsumi and Thoric. "He's your God," he says.



Mutsumi says, "Oh, Great A'tuin, please tell us Jacqui hasn't been blown to 
itty bitty bits forever!"



Beowulf keeps holding Lily up and trying to draw some calm from her as he su
pports her.



Great A'Tuin speaks, JACQUELINE MUST REST FROM HER LABORS.  HER BODY COULD N
OT SURVIVE THE STRAIN DUE TO TYLOR BLOWING HER ARM OFF.



He continues, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME COMPLICATIONS, BUT SHE WILL RECOVER.  UNF
ORTUNATELY, SHE WILL LIKELY RECOVER IN ABOUT A MONTH.





====================



You page, "John, the Radiant is in no shape to fight ANYTHING, right?" to Ak
emi.



Akemi pages, "The Radiant is in no shape to fight anything on the level of t
he Radiant." to you.



You page, "And if I wanted to Abyss Transfer back to TaMD, I'd have to, at t
he very least, sneak past the Abyss Monks, who might be able o take me out n
ow that I'm weak?" to Akemi.



You page, "And I _NEED_ to get back and tell Loewen we succeeded?" to Akemi.



====================





Demetrius clears his throat. "Excuse me?"



Thoric says, "Hmm, what, Captain?"



Demetrius says, "I hate to rain on everybody's parade, but there's another p
ressing matter."



Mikage asks, "What?"



Demetrius says, "I need to get back to the other universe." He looks at a ch
ronometer on the wall. "SOON."



Mikage blinks.  "Why?"



Demetrius says, "Loewen and Motoko are waiting for my word to move on the Ca
thedral of the Serpent."



Mikage says, "I'll just contact Tylor through the Jewel and tell him you suc
ceeded."



Demetrius says, ".... ah."



He continues, "As I expect if you jump the Radiant into the Abyss, Hel is li
kely to have something horrible waiting for you."



Demetrius nods. 



Demetrius says, "Although... the universes are almost in concordance now... 
so..." he taps the Aeris Manifestation he was given. "Hello?"



He goes downstairs and nervously contacts Tylor through it, passing on the m
essage.



Aeris crackles and sputters, but the transmission is not clear enough to und
erstand.



Demetrius frowns. "Blast. Not close enough yet."



Shinobu says, "Or she could be under attack."



Beowulf twitches. "Damn it..." He looks very worried. "And we've got our pla
te full here, and can't do anything about it."



Demetrius scowls. "I did not count on being trapped here."



Mikage returns and asks Demetrius, "Your entire ship is basically a shadow, 
correct?"



"Encased in a metal shell?"



Demetrius nods. "Specially made."





====================



DaR pages, "What do you suggest for Corey?" to you.



DaR pages, "As I'm willing to keep him blindfolded and on a leash until thin
gs need killing, if you don't have something better." to you.



You page, "I think I can pull out his Soul, re-tune it to me and not to Hel,
 and put it back in." to DaR.



You page, "Essentially making him -my- Wu. John has indicated this is feasab
le." to DaR.



====================





Mikage says, "Captain, I don't suppose you can speed the flow of time inside
 your ship?"



DaR pages, "I'd be fine with that, assuming you don't lose control of him in
 the middle of it." to you.



Demetrius pauses. "I don't know."



Demetrius says, "I've never tried."



Mikage says, "I suspect not if you don't know."



Demetrius asks, "Could you?"



Demetrius asks, "I mean, using the Jewel?"



He says, "I suggest we speed up time in the ship so we can all rest and reco
ver again, and we can then repair the ship in fast time.  We can also grow J
acqueline a new body if we so choose."



Demetrius says, "As long as we don't walk in our out through any of the phys
ical egress points, we'd be fine, I think."



He says, "Very good.  Also, I suggest we take Corey and start having him pum
p out large quantities of blood we can use to fill the Radiant's ammunition 
shells."



Eddie says, "He's incredibly tough.  If I keep pumping healing spells into h
im, we can probably hook a hose up to him."



Demetrius says, "I have an idea that may make Corey even more useful than th
at, although it's certainly a good idea."



Mikage says, "Pulling out his Wu-Soul and replacing it with one under your c
ontrol?"



Demetrius says, "I don't know if I can actually build another from scratch. 
I was thinking more of pulling it out, re-tuning it to me, and then re-inser
ting it."



Eddie again resists blushing.  She clears her throat, then says, "As long it
 leaves me in control of him.  He's been incredibly useful as a shock troope
r for me.  Err.  Us.  Us."



Eddie. o O (And he's cute)



Demetrius says, "Well, it would put him under my control."



Demetrius says, "Which more or less amounts to giving him free will, since I
 don't go in for puppetry."



Demetrius says, "And I doubt he'd be eager to continue aiding Hel given the 
choice."



Eddie nods, though she looks uncertain.



Demetrius walks over to Corey and begins studying him intently. Faint hisses
 and pops of Abyss surround them.



Eddie watches intently.



You page, "Let me know when I've ascertained if i can do this correctly. ^_^
" to Akemi.



Mikage goes to start speeding up time inside the Radiant, taking Mutsumi wit
h him for additional psychic strength.



Akemi pages, "You think after some work that you're going to need Edith's he
lp, because she has an emotional connection to Corey (as is pretty obvious)"
 to you.



Demetrius takes a deep breath and rubs his hands together. "Eddie?"



Eddie asks, "Yes?"



Demetrius says, "I will need your help. Both to extract his Soul, and then t
o keep the body alive while I re-tune it."



Demetrius holds out a hand.



Eddie reaches out one hand to Demetrius, and the other to Corey.



Demetrius asks, "Do you know much about Soul magic, Edith?"



Eddie says, "I am only barely competant as a magician, though I suppose as p
riestess of the Unicorn, I know more about souls than most."



Demetrius closes his eyes. "The Soul is not merely ephemera; it has real, ph
ysical existence."



Demetrius says, "Through dicipline and our understanding of Death, my Order 
has obtained the knowledge and power to grasp and manipulate them. It is one
 of the most advanced of our arts; few Masters have the ability." He concent
rates, and Eddie can feel a crackle of energy flow through her, and into Cor
ey.



Eddie nods.  "I will lend you my strength, that you may guide it in reattuni
ng Corey's."



A brilliant, glowing white ball of light coalesces on Corey's chest. A sword
 hilt pokes out of it.



Demetrius says, "Take it."



Hesitantly, Edith reaches out and grabs the sword, pulling it out of his che
st.



Demetrius gently seizes the sword from Eddie. "His body will start to decay 
almost immediatly; I reccomend you use your arts to keep it in good conditio
n."



The Sword is, in fact, a Big Ass Sword.



Eddie turns her full attention to Corey, maintaining his body with Unicorn h
ealing, keeping it living.



Windir falls asleep.



Demetrius works with the sword, re-attuning it.



This takes a very long time.  Thanks to Mikage, you have a very long time.



Demetrius carefully works with the blade, crafting it with skill and diligen
ce.



Hours and hours pass.  Finally, you have the blade very shiny and tuned the 
way you want, you hope.  Given you haven't tried this before, you're not sur
e how well it will work.



Maeve bounces about, observing the sword with interest.



Without even looking up, Eddie snaps, "Maeve, behave yourself."



Demetrius looks at the Soulsword with great satisfaction. "All right. we're 
ready."



Demetrius hands it to Edith. "Now, you must re-insert it." Pause. "-Gently-.
" He passes his hands over Corey, preparing the body to receive it.



Eddie turns halfway back to Demetrius, taking the blade, and then looks to C
orey.  With a deep breath, she slowly slides the blade into his chest, right
 back where it came from.



The blade slides into his chest.  His skin becomes somewhat more healthy loo
king than it used to be.  There's now a silver cormorant on his forehead, li
ke a tattoo, which replaces his previous sigil.



Demetrius exerts his will. "Wake up."



Corey does not, in fact, wake up.



However, he does now begin to snore.



Demetrius frowns. "Eddie?"



Demetrius asks, "Does he seem all right to you?"



Eddie slowly releases the sleep lock on his brain.



Demetrius tries to wake him up again.



Corey rolls onto his side and mumbles something about fine pieces of Kashfan
 ass.



Eddie frowns a little, then shakes his shoulder.  "Wake up, Corey."



Corey mumbles, "Five more minutes."



Eddie says, "No, time to get up now."



Demetrius says, casually, "Oh, hello, Hel."



Eddie spins in place, looking for Hel.  "Wh--"



Corey grumbles and sits up.  "Fuck, my brain hurts," he says, rubbing his ey
es.



Maeve looks at him in amusement.  He stares at her.



Eddie asks, "How do you feel?"



Eddie says, "Asides from your headache."



Corey says, "Fuck, tell me I didn't take you to bed with me," he says, looki
ng at Maeve, then starts, looks at the floor, then up at Edith and over at D
emetrius.  "Fuck, have I been pressganged again?"



Demetrius says, "Ah. Memory loss. I didn't expect that."



Demetrius asks, "What year is it, Corey?"



He says, "I have the hangover from hell."



Eddie resists the urge to laugh at the thought of Corey sleeping with Maeve.
  "You've missed some things."



Corey rubs his forehead.  "Uhh...954, I think.  Not that I can think much wi
th my head like this.  This isn't another one of Grandpa's damn time travel 
experiments gone bad again, is it?"



Eddie says, "You've been under the spell of an Abyss demon named Hel.  For a
lmost 400 years."



Eddie says, "I think.  We're not a hundred percent positive what year it is 
in this universe."



Corey says, "Helen?  I didn't know she was an Abyss Demon, but damn, that ma
kes sense."



Demetrius asks, "Did she have odd bi-colored hair?"



Eddie says, "No.  Hel.  Not an ex-girlfriend.  I hope."  She goes on to sket
ch the details of Hel, and what happend.



He continues, "No wonder she was so ugly."  He turns to Demetrius, "No, she 
was a bleach-blonde."



Demetrius says, "... no. Not her. Listen to Edith."



Eddie concludes, "... and so we're trying to stop her, free your siblings, a
nd restore life to this Universe."



Demetrius tries not to snicker at 'free your siblings.'



Corey listens to the whole spiel.  "So she killed Dad, huh?"



Eddie says, "So I understand."



Demetrius says, "And Nanami."



"Fucker had it coming," Corey pronounces.  "She whacked the baby too?"



Eddie says, "All of our information comes from Dios, the former king of Chao
s, who escaped to our universe.  It's understandably sketchy.  Nanami was sa
crificed by Sakura to allow Hel into this universe."



Demetrius says, "Well, actually, it's more complicated than that." He explai
ns about the Charlotte/Sakura connection.



Corey listens to the whole thing.  "Damn, I thought my Mom was fucked up."



You page, "John, is the amnesia thing suspicious at all?" to Akemi.



Eddie says, "Sakura was definitely qualified to wear the fucked-up badge."



Demetrius says, "It's important for you to understand that you aren't exactl
y free of her. She still has your soul."



Demetrius says, "The one me and Eddie put into your body is sort of a stopga
p."





====================



Akemi pages, "You'd guess that probably when you removed everything related 
to Hel controlling him, that erased all of the Wu-Soul's memories in the pro
cess" to you.



Eddie says, "The souls of everyone still 'alive' in this universe are in her
 Third Eye, which is this universe's Jewel of Judgement."



Akemi pages, "Given you barely understood what you were doing, you're probal
by somewhat lucky he isn't a drooling idiot on try one." to you.



You page, "Well, Horus should go easier now that I have some experience." to
 Akemi.



Akemi pages, "However, your Abyssal Senses aren't picking up any sort of lin
k between him and outside sources now." to you.



====================





He asks, "How come I ain't a zombie if my soul is gone?"



Demetrius says, "You are a zombie."



Demetrius says, "We just aren't controlling you actively."



He says, "But if I'm a zombie, and no one's controlling me, how come I can t
hink?"



Eddie looks at Demetrius, as she's got only the vaguest clue how the Wu phen
omenon works.





====================



You page, "It's because we choose to re-start his boides functins and aren't
 currently messing with his brain, right?" to Akemi.



You page, "I could re-zombify him pretty damn fastif I choose to?" to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Yep.  You're guessing he basically rebooted from the last stat
e stored in his brain instead of his Wu-Soul." to you.



====================





Maeve says, "If you call that thinking."



Demetrius says, "Because we're -letting- you, Corey. We re-started all your 
bodily functions like breathing and thinking."



He says, "But how can I think without a soul?"



Eddie sighs.  "Maeve, be nice."



Demetrius says, "You have an Abyssal Soul."



Demetrius says, "Hel inserted it into you when she took your real one."



Demetrius says, "It's what let her control you."



He frowns, then shrugs.  "Well, Metaphysics ain't my bag.  If I can move my 
body and talk and eat and screw, that's good enough for me."



He pauses, "I ain't gonna be impotent, am I?"



Eddie resists the urge to stop on Corey's foot.



You page, "Could I casually make Corey do something to demonstrate my point?
" to Akemi.



Akemi pages, "What do you want to make him do?" to you.



You page, "I want to briefly begin to zombify him and then immeidatly turn h
im back, letting him retain a full memory and experience of the process." to
 Akemi.



You page, "Like flipping a light switch on and off real fast." to Akemi.



Eddie says, "Prince Corey, if Hel wins, you'll probably go back to being her
 zombie.  She probably won't let you remain conscious, let alone... potent. 
 If she loses, we may be able to recover your real soul.  I do not know how 
long the Abyssal one will last if she dies."



Akemi pages, "Pose something to show you concentrating." to you.



Demetrius says, "Perhaps a demonstration." He concentrates.



Akemi pages, "You push at his will, and discover to your surprise that his w
ill is stronger than yours, and his brain locks you out." to you.



He rubs his forehead.  "Ugh, headache's getting worse."



Demetrius cocks his head. "Fascinating."



Corey says, "Well, yeah, I'd like my human soul back."



Demetrius says, "You resisted. That's a very good sign."



Corey says, "Was that you?"



Demetrius nods. "I constructed the soul currently keeping you alive." He hol
ds up a mirror so Corey can see his deathly but now pinker pallor and the si
gil on his forehead.



Eddie says, "Hel is a very potent mind, Captain Demetrius.  While I'd never 
wish to disparage you, perhaps yours does not match hers.  Prince Corey isn'
t her equal either, but he probably exceeds your skills."



Demetrius says, "My mind isn't the strongest cutting tool in the universe."



Corey blinks.  "Damn, I look dumb as fuck with that on my head."  He sighs. 
 "Well, then again, it's better than my other tattoo.  Don't EVER go anywher
e drinking with Drake."



Eddie asks, "Your... other tattoo?"



Corey says, "Well, if you ain't seen it, be glad."  He shudders.  "Drake is 
one mean fuck.  I'll just say that."



Eddie says, "He can be harsh, yes.  Especially to those he does not respect.
"



Demetrius says, "We'll probably need to get you checked out by someone who c
an properly ascertain if this isn't a sham, Corey." Pause. "No offence. But 
we're not really taking any risks, and you were a zombie for four centuries.
"



Eddie closes her eyes a moment.



Eddie says, "The only link I can detect is the one from his abyssal Soul to 
Captain Demetrius.  He's not being controlled from outside, I'm certain."



Demetrius says, "We'll probably want Mikage to check you out as well. Gil-Ga
lads son," he adds by way of explanation to Corey.



Demetrius says, "He's quite good with the Jewel, I understand."



Corey says, "What, Gil-Galad finally came back?"



Corey says, "We all assumed he'd fallen down a well or something."



Demetrius takes a deep breath. "This is going to take awhile. You might want
 to sit down; I'll send for some drinks."



Demetrius asks, "OOC: Thoric still hanging around?"



Eddie says, "Gil-Galad was captured by Hel as well, in your universe.  In ou
rs, he was taken over by a mad-man, who tried to destroy the universe, using
 5 of his own children."  She explains in detail, if Corey cares.



Nanbara says, "OOC Thoric is around if you need him.  You can get Mikage too
."



Corey listens to the whole story.  "Geez."



Demetrius basically sits Corey down and has Thoric give him the history of t
he universe, including the massive family tree.



Corey glazes over after a while of it.



Mikage eventually returns from getting the shadow sped up.  "How is the expe
riment coming?" he asks.



Demetrius says, "OOC: What, even the interesting bits where Drake gets naile
d to a cross? ^_^"



Eddie listens, interested in hearing it from an insider.



Nanbara says, "OOC 400 years of history in one sitting is a bit much for Cor
ey :)"



Demetrius guestures at corey. "Well, I'd say. Corey, this is Mikage."



Eddie says, "Prince Corey is awake.  He doesn't remember anything since he w
as taken by Hel.  His mind is his own, more or less, though Captain Demetriu
s controls the Abyssal Soul in him.  As far as I can tell, he's free of all 
taint or control by Hel."



Mikage says, "Let me study him."  He calls up the sign of the Pattern and be
gins to study Corey.



Mikage studies and works with him.



Corey sits and looks bored.



Mikage says, "It would be best to keep Corey out of Hel's sight, but I do no
t think she can easily reinstate her control now."



Eddie nods.  "Definite a wise decision."



Demetrius says, "She could destroy him very easily, though."



Mikage says, "So long as he has an Abyssal Soul, he will be quite vulnerable
 to her powers."



Eddie says, "We can recover his real soul, when Hel is defeated."



She turns to Corey.  "Will you help us?"



Demetrius nods. "I don't think she can seize control of him without doing wh
at we did, but she can rip his Abyssal Soul out and rend it to bits."



Mikage says, "Keeping his body from crumbling to dust when Hel's Primal is d
estroyed may be a tricky issue, however."



Corey twitches.  "Crumbling to dust?"



You page, "The Abyssal Soul will sustain him as long as I'm alive, right?" t
o Akemi.



Akemi pages, "Yes, you believe so." to you.



Demetrius speaks up. "As long as I'm alive, the Abyssal Soul will sustain hi
m."



Eddie says, "I think with the powers of the Unicorn I can sustain his body. 
 In theory, it should work.  However, for obvious reasons, I've never been a
ble to try it in practice."



Eddie says to Corey, "And with Mikage's help, we might also be able to allow
 you to draw enough reality from the Jewel to survive the actual destruction
 of the Pattern."



Demetrius says, "I understand you may be reluctant to participate in this so
rt of thing without more solid proof than our say-so, Corey. After all, from
 your perspective, you just went out drinking and fell asleep."



Corey says, "I dunno, it's weird.  Just got that gut feeling y'all are telli
ng the truth."



Demetrius says, "Well, we are."



Eddie appears to be deep in thought, trying to figure out possible ways to p
revent Corey's body from disintegrating.



Demetrius turns to Mikage. "Once the Radiant is in fighting trim again, I re
ccomend we leave a force behind to guard Jacquelines Pattern and then return
 to our own universe to join the battle."



Mikage says, "We'll have to ask Beowulf, as he's in command of our part of t
he mission."



Nanbara says, "OOC And basically, we stop here"



Nanbara says, "OOC As beyond this, y'all need Travis."