Chapter 17

I'm Good With Faces


North County: Pullen Park September 8th 9:22 PM


"Karen Mills. We used to go to school together when we were younger, remember?"

That was the last bit of semi-sober speech that left the girls mouth before she passed out.

"Do you really know her?"

"The name strikes a bell, but I can't place it. Let me get her to my car and see if I can find her address."

"Sion!"

Sion jumped as Nall's harsher voice entered his head, "Yes, Nall, what is it?"

"We think we found the girl that has the Star Dragon's soul. Her name's Karen Mills."

Sion froze; this was almost way too big of a coincidence.

"You're not going to believe this..."

"Try me."

"I was walking around the park thinking and I ran into her. She was just walking around drunk. And now she's passed out in my arms."

"Bring her here, quick."

"Are you kidding? That's got to be like kidnapping, or something."

"I'm sure the police will understand with all the crazy stuff you've pulled in the last 24 hours; just bring her."

Sion picked up Karen and carried her piggyback to his car. He wasn't half way there when he heard a group of people run up behind him.

"Where you going with our bitch, punk!"

"Yeah, we didn't get to have any personal time with her yet."

Sion turned around, not sparing the college students his pissed facial expression. "I'm afraid she's completely passed out right now, so there won't be any 'personal time' tonight."

One of the men smiled. "Rudy, did you put that stuff in her drink?"

"Yeah, man, looks like it worked like a charm."

The larger of the four men turned to Sion. "Alright, buddy, just leave her there and we'll take good care of her. You just get on your way."

"I'm afraid I'm a friend of hers, so I'll make sure she gets home safely."

The larger man stepped forward. "I don't think you understand what I'm telling you, kid. Do I need to show you?" The man cracked his knuckles so that Sion understood what the lesson plan would entail.

"Lucia, I'm too tired to use my heightened senses from the restaurant escape. What do I do?"

The men started to edge closer as Sion slowly crept backward. "Scare them off. Make sure to form the Mercy edge; we don't need to kill them."

Sion pushed Karen up on his back to make sure she was on tight. "I'm going to give you one demonstration, and that'll be your warning, alright?"

The men laughed raucously. "Ok, kid, go ahead: show us what you can do. I won't even move."

Sion concentrated on his hand and the blue energy started to form in his palm. Grasping it, the Mercy dragon soul edge formed. The men shuffled back a little, but the larger one held his ground.

"It's just some kid with his gadgets, you bunch of pussies. Come here, kid; I'm going to teach you a lesson."

The larger man ran at Sion. Sion drew back the edge and concentrated on an image of the larger man being flung into the air, landing in the pond. Energy started to resonate from the blade. When the man got close enough Sion swung and it made contact, throwing the man into the air and into the pond. His friends ran off, and as soon as the man swam to shore, he did the same.

Sion chuckled, glad that he was able to get rid of some of the night's stress, and said, "Well, Karen, let's get you to my place, shall we?"

Sion felt the girl smile on his shoulder, then she sprung up and screamed, "Whoopie!" passed out again.

"Wait a second: that guy mentioned a roofie…shit."

"Nall, someone spiked Karen's drink; it looks like Rohypnol."

"How's her pulse and eye dilation?"

"She's having trouble focusing, and her pulse is below normal."

"Is she responsive at all."

Sion gently shook Karen, "Hey, Karen you ok?"

"Jessh fine lets go!"

"She's responsive, and seems to be at least semi-aware of what's going on."

"Alright; we'll have a bed made up for her. She's going to freak in the morning."


North County: Sion's HouseSeptember 8th 9:47 PM


"That was a mess."

Kaname sighed. "You're telling me; there's no way we're going to be able to work like this."

Christy pulled her boyfriend aside. "I'm sorry, Kaname, but Jeff and I need to talk."

Kaname looked at Jeff, who had a nervous smile on his face. Kaname waved and walked into the living room where Amy, Nall, and Ruby were spread out on the living room floor, looking at the year book.

Nall was beaming. "Kaname, you're not going to believe our luck! I think I just solved our problem."

Kaname smiled sheepishly. "Well, I'm afraid we've made another one."

"What?"

Outside, a young blonde woman was crying in the back seat of Jeff's explorer. She didn't know exactly why, but she couldn't make it stop. It wasn't until a slight knocking on the window caught her attention did she attempt to dry her tears. Outside, a concerned Ruby gently opened the door and wrapped her arms around the nervous teen.

"What happened, hon?"

Jamie composed herself. "Kyle did. He must have gotten Caitlin to come with him and he followed me and Kaname to a restaurant."

"What happened to make you so upset?"

"Sion decided to meet me there secretly, because he saw how bent up I was getting with Caitlin hanging on his neck. Caitlin and Kyle sat close to us and overheard us discuss our relationship. She made a huge scene in the restaurant and made Kyle her new boyfriend."

Ruby held Jamie close. "And you think if Sion comes back to you now, it was forced?"

Ruby felt Jamie nod her head.

"Oh, hon, Sion wouldn't do that. In fact, Nall was just talking to him. He was out walking around the park, thinking really hard about his decision, and I've got good news."

Jamie looked up. "What?"

"We think Sion found the last girl. After we confirm it, we can go back to Japan and get this adventure started."

Jamie smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Ruby."

"Anything for my girl; now, let's get inside and get you cleaned up before Sion gets back."

The two hopped out of the car and went inside. A few seconds later, a pair of headlights appeared at the end of the driveway. Inside, a still shaken Sion Nickson drove the car with one hand and tried to balance his female passenger, Karen, with the other.

"This is going to be one heck of an introduction. Here she is, Nall, all boozed up and passed out."

A slight moan came from Sion's passenger seat with a muffled, "I resent that." Karen put her hand to her head as if she was having a migraine.

Sion stared at her, shocked. "Karen! You're alright?"

The girl turned her bleary gaze at Sion. "Huh? Who are you? I'm so sleepy…" Karen passed out again (thankfully for Sion, who didn't feel like dealing with a scared girl right now.)

Parking in the driveway, he was relieved when he saw Kyle's car was absent. Sion quickly got out and went to the passenger side, where he collected the sleeping Karen.

"Nall, could you come and open the door for me?"

"Sure."

Sion smiled, thankful for the ability to use telepathy for once. Carrying Karen bridal style, he walked to the now open door. Nall stood there with a frown on his face. "So, this is the holder of the Star Dragon's soul?"

"I guess; so, how to we know for sure?"

Nall held up the Lucian pendent. "She holds this, and we get all the girls together in one room. If it glows, she's the last one we need and then – bam! – we're off to Japan."

Sion gently placed Karen down on the couch, and said, "That might be a problem, Nall."

"Don't worry, Sion, I've already talked to your dad and he knows we have to do this; he's fine with it."

"Not that part. The deal with having all the girls in the same room is going to be the issue."

Nall's cheerful expression vanished. "Let me guess: Caitlin found out about you and Jamie?"

"Yeah."

"Shit." Nall kicked a pile of yearbooks they had stacked. "And I guess Kyle had something to do with it too."

Sion's voice developed a depressed tone. "Yeah."

After a moment's fuming, Nall calmed himself down. "Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's get Karen into a bed. I'll watch over her in case she wakes up and freaks out."

Sion nodded and carried Karen upstairs. He saw Ruby and Jamie in the playroom, and smiled when he made eye contact with Jamie. After placing Karen in his bed, he walked into the playroom.

Ruby glanced between the two of them, saying, "I'll leave you two alone, alright?" After Jamie nodded, Ruby excused herself.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Jamie."

Jamie shook her head. "It wasn't your fault; you handled it well."

Sion smiled. "I think you did much better than I did. I locked up, but you looked like you were ready to force your way out."

"I was ready to defend you if I had to. I know you wouldn't be able to do anything with Caitlin screaming at you."

That last statement filled the room with silence for a few minutes. Then Sion stood and offered Jamie his hand. "How about we go for a walk?"

"Ok." Jamie took Sion's hand and they headed outside.

The weather was a bit cold. Sion took off his red shirt and put it around Jamie as they walked through the field.

Jamie gripped the shirt and kept it around her. "Sion, where does this leave us?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't want to come back to you thinking it was forced because Caitlin was with Kyle."

Jamie stopped and grabbed Sion's hand. "I would never think you were doing that. If you made your decision to stay with me, I'd believe you did it because you wanted to, not because you had to."

Sion was speechless as Jamie continued. "I know we love each other, and I figured you just needed to make sure. Besides, even if you chose me now, Caitlin hasn't officially called Kyle her boyfriend, so it isn't really forced at this point."

Jamie pushed further. "I know we said we'd take a week apart, but seeing you with someone else killed me. I miss you. I missed you this morning, not feeling your arms around me. I missed you when I saw Jeff and his girlfriend together; even Aunt Ruby and Uncle Nall together made me miss you."

Jamie wrapped her arms around Sion. "I just want you back."

All doubt was erased from Sion's mind. He cared about Caitlin, true, but at this point, she was just a friend, and after the scene at the restaurant, he wasn't even sure about that anymore. Sion returned her embrace.

"You know we're going to have to face Caitlin again tomorrow, right?"

"Nall already told me about it."

Sion took his hand and used it to gently lift Jamie's chin. "I'd rather face her with you by my side."

Jamie allowed Sion to kiss her; after a few seconds, she broke it off. "So we're back together, I take it?"

Sion smiled. "You better believe it."

Returning to the house, Sion hadn't realized how long they had been out. It was already dark inside, and everyone had gone to sleep.

Cursing inwardly, Sion remembered Karen was in his bed. He stumped his toe on the stairs as they climbed them.

"What's wrong, hon?"

"Karen's in my bed; I don't have anywhere to sleep!"

When they got to the playroom, Kaname was still awake, sitting up on the loveseat, content on sleeping there. She smiled when she saw Jamie and Sion holding hands.

"Glad to see you made the right choice, Mr. Sion. I made up an aero bed for you two right here."

And sure enough, on the floor was an inflatable bed made up for two. Jamie quickly got in, but Sion hesitated; his parents were at home.

"Don't worry, silly I'm sure they understand." Jamie patted the bed next to her.

Sion shrugged. "Oh well; guess there's nothing I can do about it."

Climbing in, Sion wrapped his arms around Jamie as she snuggled closer to him, and they quickly feel asleep.


North County: Sion's HouseSeptember 9th 8:31 AM


"AHHH!!!!"

A resounding scream filled the house, instantly awaking its inhabitants. Sion quickly ran to its source with the dragon soul edge in his hand. Jeff met Sion at his room and freaked when he saw the glowing blade.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. "You never showed me that!"

"Not now," Sion hissed. Slowly opening the door, he kept the blade out of sight and noticed Nall struggling to keep Karen calm, who obviously didn't remember how she had gotten to her current whereabouts.

Jeff stared, confused. "Sion, what's Karen Mills doing here?"

"You remember her?"

Before Jeff could answer, Karen caught sight of Sion's face and yelped, "Sion! Where the hell am I!?"

Sion stepped into his room. "You recognize me?"

"'Course;" Karen huffed, "I'm good with faces, but where the heck am I?"

Karen's quizzical gaze drilling into him, Sion motioned for everyone present to sit down, and began to explain. "Karen, you're at my house. I found you last night near State. You were hanging around a rowdy crowd."

Taking a moment to think, Karen raised a hand to her forehead. "I remember going to visit one of my friends, and a party; the rest is a blur."

Sion's face became serious. "Karen, when I found you, you had been drugged with Rohypnol."

The girl looked at him, alarmed. "A roffie?"

Sion nodded. "After I found you, the guys who drugged you came to claim you. I had to fight them off and get you back here. I didn't have time to drive you to your house, and I didn't think you wanted your parents to find you like you were."

Hearing all this, Karen's expression became a little ashamed. "Do you think – they, um…?"

Sion smiled reassuringly. "No; the way they were talking, they hadn't had their way with you yet, and, I can assure you, no one did."

Karen sighed. "That's a relief." Then, in a more chipper tone, "Well, I better be going."

Here Nall stepped in. "Actually, there's something we'd like to talk with you about first."

"Look, buddy, I'm really thankful for the hospitality, and Sion, thanks for saving my butt, but I've got things to do."

Sion moved to block her path, much to her frustration. "Please, Karen, listen for a second: haven't you been keeping up with the news?"

"Sure," Karen snorted, "your face was everywhere couple days back; still is. That doesn't make me want to hang on your every word."

Sion's face became serious. "The thing is, Karen, this has to do with you, too. You're a very big part of this, and without you we're not going to be able to save the world."

Karen sighed. "Do you have any idea how corny that sounded?"

"I was working on the fly."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, A for effort. I'll listen to what you have to say, but consider us even for saving my life."

At this point, Jamie had entered the room, and Karen's personality was already starting to get on her nerves.

"Sion was nearly killed and you consider just taking him seriously enough to call it even?"

"What do you want me to do, sleep with him?"

Jamie's face looked like it was about to explode. "What did you say!?"

For a moment Karen was shocked at Jamie's reaction. Then realization dawned across her features, and she smirked; looking at Sion, she pointed at Jamie. "Ah; that must be the girlfriend."

Sion sighed. This was quickly getting out of control; however, Karen handled the situation.

"Don't worry, honey, you don't have to worry about me stealing this guy. I've known him for a long time, and long enough to know I wouldn't want him."

For some reason, that didn't appease Jamie's fury. But Karen wasn't finished. "Besides, yes, I do call listening to him enough to call it even. If he was able to be captured by some terrorists and then get his way out and make some magic happen and to not only get himself back here, but save the plane too, when he was plunging into the ocean over half a year ago, well, then taking care of a few drunk guys should be a walk in the park."

"I guess she does have a point...," Sion admitted reluctantly. "At least she'll listen. Nall, I think you're the best storyteller around here."

Nall nodded and sat down in front of Karen. He started with Sion's story, about his arrival, his purpose, and his training. He went further, telling her about Sion's missions in North Korea, and even the Titanic. In the end he spoke about the girls' purpose, the holders of the dragon souls. He then told her about finding out about a fifth dragon soul, the Star Dragon.

"Karen, that girl, we believe, is you."

There was a brief moment of silence.

Then Karen burst out laughing. "Ok, I've heard enough, and I'm convinced that you're all full of it." The others began to protest, but she cut over them. "Yeah, I saw some freaky stuff, but I was kidding when I said Sion could do magic and stuff. Maybe some sort of electrical storm caused that portal, maybe the pilots just weren't able to see his jet not hit the water, but what you just told me is way too out there!"

Nall looked up at the young Dragonmaster-to-be. "Sion, give the girl a demonstration."

Sion smiled and opened his palm. Karen gasped when blue swirls started to form around his palm into a blue glowing ball in his palm. After the ball formed, Sion grasped it, and a long blue sword formed.

"This is called the Dragon Mercy Edge. It's a non-lethal sword that can knock out anything, and, yes," he continued upon seeing Karen's dumbfounded expression, "this would fall under magic."

"But - that - huh?" she squeaked.

Sion grinned. "Karen, I know this is a lot to take in at once, but at least let us see if you really are the girl. There's always the chance we're wrong, right?"

"How?"

"Well, we have to get the other four girls to stand around you while you hold a special pendent. If it glows, you're the one."

Recovering quickly from her shock, Karen stood up, saying brusquely, "Well, let's get it over with then."

Here Sion cringed. "Well... you see, there's a small problem..."

Nall intervened. "I've got it covered, Sion. Ruby should be on the phone with Caitlin right now."

True to his word, Ruby was in the downstairs living room, talking to Caitlin at that very moment. Or, at least, she was trying to.

"Hon, you can't just walk away from this!"

"Why not?" Caitlin's voice snapped over the phone. "Sion did the exact same thing to me. Why should I hang around to help!?"

Ruby winced. This wasn't going as well as she had hoped... "Caitlin, this isn't just for Sion. If you give up on this, everyone in this world will die!"

"Sion can handle it," said the girl coldly.

"Hon," Ruby sighed heavily, "I'd love to say that was the case, but he needs everyone, including you. Think about it. This would mean you, your mom, everyone you know: dead."

There was a long pause. "...But... if I'm that girl... the one he has to kiss... I don't think I could take it."

"You're getting way ahead of yourself, hon. All I need is for you to come over here for a simple test. We think we found the last girl."

Caitlin's voice was still reluctant. "I'm not ready to face him, Ruby."

Ruby thought for a second. The solution was almost too simple. "Then he won't be present, and I'll keep your time around Jamie to a bare minimum. Please, Caitlin; this is something we really need."

Caitlin sighed heavily. "Fine." Ruby felt a swell of hope, but it was instantly squashed by Caitlin's next words. "But only if I can bring my boyfriend."

"...Boyfriend?"

"I, um..." Suddenly, Caitlin's voice was bashful. "Me and Kyle – we decided to become an official couple last night."

Ruby's stomach plummeted. Keeping her voice light, she said, "That's fine, hon; bring him along. I'll get Sion out of here and you head on your way."

"Ok, I'm leaving now."

"Honey, you talk to her yet?"

Ruby growled upon hearing her husband's impatience. "Yes, dear; perhaps you would you like to come down here so I can vent my frustration on you."

Not a second later, footsteps were heard charging down the stairway. A worried look was spread across Nall's face. "So, um, how did it go?"

Ruby stood from the couch and walked over to Nall. "Not well, but she's on her way. There was a stipulation though."

"And...?"

"Two, actually: One, Sion is out of the house."

"That's doable," Nall nodded. "The second?"

"She wants to bring her boyfriend Kyle here."

Nall paled dramatically, thinking about the consequences of those two clashing with Jamie after last nights events. "I guess we didn't have a choice?" he asked weakly

Ruby pushed Nall towards the stairway. "And since I had to talk to Caitlin, I know you are more than willing to get Sion and Jeff out and explain the situation to Jamie."

"I'd rather face a firing squad."

Ruby grinned wickedly as she gave him another shove. "Knowing Jamie, I wouldn't think there would be much of a difference."

Nall walked up the stairs to Sion's room, feeling like each step brought him closer to his own death, much like a man walking the steps to the gallows. Opening the door, the room's occupants were easily able to see Nall was scared of something.

"Sion, I need you to meet this guy who called me earlier from the department of defense." Nall scribbled down an address and phone number and handed it to Sion. "Don't worry; he promised me they weren't going to hold you against your will or anything. Not that they could with your powers, but just in case, Jeff, you go with him and let me know if something happens."

Sion's curiosity was piqued, but he decided to keep his concern between him and Nall. "You know I can always inform you telepathically why to involve Jeff."

"Please, Sion, just trust me this once."

Sighing inwardly, Sion said, "Come on, Jeff, let's get this over with."

"Right behind ya, buddy."

With Sion and Jeff out of the room, Nall turned to the source of his fear: A young blonde with a very concerned expression across her face. "So Uncle Nall, what's going on?"

"Jamie... I need you to understand, this is a very desperate situation."

"Yes, I know."

Inhaling deeply, Nall said, "Caitlin is coming, but she had a few, erm… requests."

"You mean demands?" said Jamie.

"I guess... Look, she wanted Sion to not be here."

"Well, you handled that easy enough. Anything else?"

Heart pounding, he said, quickly, "Well she wants her boyfriend Kyle to be here too during the test."

Nervously, Nall watched Jamie's face go from concerned to pissed in record time. "She WHAT!?"

"I'm sorry, Jamie, but that's how it is."

This was hardly reassuring to the blonde. "Then who's going to stop me from ripping the guy apart?"

Nall thought for a second. "Hmm… well, that wasn't stipulated, but can you wait until after the test?"

At those words, Jamie smiled. "Oh, Uncle, I wouldn't think of interrupting the test."

Karen blinked between the two, feeling very confused. "Anyone mind clueing me in on this bit of gossip? If I have to wait, I'd like some juicy details to cure my boredom."

At this point, Amy entered the room. "Hey I just heard about - oh…" Amy saw Jamie in the room and grew a little uncomfortable. "I, um…heard about what happened last night. Caitlin just called me."

Jamie was growing a little uncomfortable as well, thinking Amy would always be on Caitlin's side, but a surprise awaited her.

Kaname patted the piece of carpet between her and Jamie, motioning for Amy to take it. "We were just about to talk about what happened last night with Jamie. Want to get both sides of the story?"

"Sure." Amy sat between the two.


North County: ATF Field Office September 9th 11:15 AM


Sion and Jeff walked into the field office through the back door, where they were greeted by a receptionist who walked them upstairs to an older man's office. He greeted Sion as they both sat and Jeff waited outside.

"Mr. Nickson, my name is Colin McDaniel. I'm with the Department of Defense."

Sion immediately felt uneasy. McDaniel was easy to pick up on Sion's nervousness. "Don't worry Sion, I talked to Nall and assured him nothing's going to happen to you. We just want to know what's going on, and if their's a threat against the nation."

"Happy to help then, Mr. McDaniel."

"Please, call me Colin. Now, I don't want to make you any more uncomfortable, but I need to hook you up to this machine that measures your vitals to see if you're lying or telling the truth. It's nothing against you, just have to do this by the books."

"Um... sure."

The man waved in an aide that had been standing by the door, holding a suit case. He entered the room and quickly got to work putting Sion's arm in a pressure cuff and a pulse monitor on Sion's finger. Wires were strapped around him, and what looked like a camcorder was pointed at his eye. Sion watched on a nearby monitor as it measured his pupil size.

Mr. McDaniel, now satisfied with the setup, excused the aide. "Ok, Sion, just simple yes or no questions at first. I want you to lie on one of them intentionally, just to make sure this works."

"Sure."

"Is your name Sion Nickson?"

"Yes."

"Were you presumed dead up until a few days ago?"

"Yes."

"Were you born in North County?"

"Yes."

"Are you a virgin?"

"No."

Mr. McDaniel turned to the print out and smiled. "Good man; guess that last one was the lie, huh?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with, if you don't mind."

"Sure, sure. Let me just get by a few more yes or no questions to gauge your reactions first, ok?"

"Sure."

"Ok, are you still in high school?"

Sion had to think about that question for awhile. "Yes"

"Were you in North Korea or any other unfriendly nation at any time after your departure in March?"

"Yes."

"Were you in Iraq?"

"No."

"Iran?"

"No."

"North Korea?"

"Yes."

Mr. McDaniel sat back, looking more interested now. "Ok Sion, I've got enough to get the main deal started. I'm going to ask you to restate your name and then you can tell me your story as I ask questions."

"Ok."

"State your name, please."

"Sion Alexander Nickson," Sion recited.

"You mentioned you were in North Korea during your leave. How long?"

"Three separate occasions and no more than six hours each time."

"For what reason?"

"Two were rescue operations; the third I was captured and that's when that video was made."

McDaniel looked at the monitor and was astonished to see Sion was telling the truth.

"Sion, was it DPRK forces that captured you?"

"Not exactly. The DPRK was working with a rogue group called Virgo. Their leader Zech was the one who captured me."

"How were you able to escape?"

"With the help of friends and my own ability, I was able to escape."

"Where were you this whole time?"

"Near Hiroshima, Japan. I was staying at a complex that trained me."

"What were they training you to be?"

"The Dragonmaster."

"Can you explain, what is a Dragonmaster?"

"The Dragonmaster is the commander of the four dragons of Althena and the protector of all people. He commands the power of the four dragons and wields tremendous power."

McDaniel checked the read outs again, and was even more puzzled: it still showed Sion was telling the truth. "Have you been taught how to avoid lie detection?"

"Yes."

"Are you employing such techniques now?"

"No."

"Could you give me a demonstration of this power you talk of?"

Sion did so, wielding the blue dragon edge. The aide rushed back into the room with his gun drawn. Sion heightened his senses, broke out of the chair, grabbed the gun and broke it down and then took his seat again, letting go of the edge as it disappeared into thin air.

McDaniel stared. "Sion... that's amazing."

"Um... thanks?"

"I think we need to go through a few tests on this."

Alarm reared up within Sion. "Whoah! There'll be no tests; I don't have the time. That was the deal no tests."

"Sion, this is for your country."

"No; and being held against my will isn't, either."

McDaniel's face was hardening. "Sion, I don't want to, but you must comply."

McDaniel pushed a button under his desk, and soon five armed members of the ATF ran into the room and put their hands on their guns. Sion sighed and pushed his senses higher, quickly grabbing all the weapons and breaking them down. He then drew the destiny dragon soul edge and wielded it.

"Mr. McDaniel, notice how this one is a different color?"

McDaniel gulped. "Yes."

"Well, it works a little differently, too; wanna see?"

Caught off guard, McDaniel was surprised; was Sion actually cooperating? "Sure."

Sion drove the edge through the testing equipment McDaniel had in the office. It sliced through it like a hot knife through butter.

Everyone present stared uneasily at Sion and the weapon he held.

"Now; Mr. McDaniel." Sion turned back to the older man. "I would love to make an appointment for additional tests of my approval at a later time, but right now I have matters to attend to that are personal. Make no mistake, I will serve at the pleasure of the President, but when you come back from the dead, personal matters tend to pile up."

McDaniel laughed hollowly. "I guess you're right. Can you stop by tomorrow?"

"Of course, although this time I'll have to bring Nall."

"Sure…I…understand."

"Thanks. Oh yeah; would you mention the Virgo force in your report? It's really important you guys start looking into that."

"Sure."

"Alright then; I'll just be on my way."

Jeff had been looking into the office and was standing there with his mouth wide open. Sion tapped him on the shoulder, and it was similar to breaking down a dam.

"Dude, that was frickin awesome! How the hell you do that!?"

"It's – complicated, but we need to get out of here now."

"Yeah sure."

Sion felt a little dizzy after using his sense heightening. "And you drive."

Jeff grinned. "Sure, bud."


North County: Sion's HouseSeptember 9th 11:19 PM


Jamie was becoming very impatient. Luckily for the group, Amy had been a friend of Karen's from awhile back, and the two girls were busy catching up on each others lives.

"So you seem happier now." Jamie turned at the voice; Kaname had snuck up behind her.

The blonde smiled. "I guess... it's good to have things back to where they were."

"You owe that big idiot a lot."

Jamie frowned. "He's still an idiot, though, in a lot of ways. I hope he's alright dealing with that DOD guy."

"I'm sure he's fine."

A beep from downstairs indicated someone was coming up the drive way. Nall and Ruby quickly rushed downstairs, but Kaname blocked Jamie's path, smiling.

"Come on, Jamie, let them be for now."

Jamie waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, but after the test I reserve the right to trash that asshole. How are we going to do this anyways without telling him the whole story behind everything?"

Little did Jamie know that she was being answered downstairs...

"You what!?" Nall gaped at the news Caitlin had given him.

"I'm sorry, Nall, but Kyle had a right to know. He's my boyfriend and I plan on having him tag along."

Kyle smiled. "Won't tell a soul, promise; if anything, I've got more respect for the guy now."

Nall sighed, muttering to himself, "This isn't going to turn out well..."

Ruby tried to make light of the situation. "Let's just go upstairs and get this over with. Caitlin, Sion's with the Department of Defense right now, so he'll be out for awhile. Did you want him to see you when he gets back?"

"I may as well get it over with. Let's do this test first, though; I want to meet the last girl."

Leading Caitlin to Sion's room, Ruby noticed the teen hesitated slightly before stepping inside. Caitlin instantly noticed the new girl and then felt the hostile gaze of Jamie from across the room. Ruby quickly sent Jamie a telepathic message.

"Don't you dare mention you and Sion getting back together yet. He's got to face her when he gets back; don't make it any harder on him than you have to."

Jamie sighed, but she nodded her head when Ruby looked at her. Jamie went over to Karen and whispered in her ear. "That's Caitlin, the girl I was telling you about; please don't mention Sion and me to her."

Karen nodded as Caitlin approached her. "Hi; I'm Caitlin. We've been waiting to meet you."

"I'm Karen; nice to meet you."

Before any more words were said, Nall stepped into the little meet and greet party, holding the Lucian pendent. "Ok, everyone, we need to get this started."

Nall placed the four girls in a square-like pattern around the room with one girl at each corner. He then instructed Jamie to stand in the center.

Nall held out the pendent to Karen to hold. "Now, remember, no matter what happens, this is just a test. If it comes out negative, great; you can go about your life, but if it comes back positive, we'll all be here to help you."

"Yeah, yeah; you make it sound like I'm getting tested for AIDS."

Nall sighed and handed Karen the pendent. "Just wait for me to leave the circle so I don't interfere with this, and then hold it above your head."

Karen nodded and watched as Nall started to back out of their circle. Time seemed to slow down for Karen; as much as a front she put up, she was deathly nervous. She always wanted attention, but she was scared of this. She watched as Nall only had a few more steps until he was out. She didn't want this; she didn't want to risk her life. Even if it was for the world; what had the world done for her recently? Looking she noticed Nall had left the circle, and slowly she started to raise her arm. Fear started to take a grip on her as her arm felt heavier and heavier as she raised it. She felt the metal get a little warm and when she looked up, sure enough, the pendent was glowing a soft yellowish orange color.

Nall smiled. "Looks like we have a winner."

Karen looked around. The girls started to walk towards her to congratulate her. Karen did like attention, but this wasn't what she bargained for. She didn't want to risk her life. She didn't want to fight, and she definitely didn't want to be a part of this. Without another thought, Karen dashed out of Sion's room and out the main entry door of the house.

"Where do I go now?"

As if answering her own question, her legs pushed her to run, and she did. She ran down the driveway and onto the road. "It's a good five miles, but I can make it to my house." Karen pulled out a small portable GPS from her purse. It was supposed to be used in her car, but she was sure she could make it work on foot.

After a few seconds, the device booted up and locked onto enough satellites to acquire a lock on her position. She punched a few buttons to put it in pedestrian mode. It locked onto her house and pointed her in a straight direction through the woods. "Perfect."

Meanwhile, back at Sion's house, Nall was standing with his mouth open. "Did any one just get that?"

Caitlin sighed. "She's just scared. We did pull her into this rather quickly."

Jamie walked over to Nall. "We've got to go get her. She's bound to be heading home."

Caitlin didn't agree with Jamie. "We can't just hunt her down and bring her back here!"

Jamie's temper started to flair. "So what? We just let her go home and skip out on all this? Do you want everyone on this planet to die just because she's not willing to help out?"

"So we kidnap her!?"

"Yeah; if that's what it takes! You haven't been around war at all! We're trying to save people; we can't just think of living for ourselves! That's what Sion's fighting for, and it's what I'm fighting for! We've risked our lives countless times! Sion even got captured once so we could rescue Kaname! Now we risked everyone just to get over here and pick up you, Amy, and now that girl Karen!. So, yes, we are going to do whatever it takes to get her back here." Jamie turned to walk out the door, but Nall put a hand on her shoulder.

"She's been though enough since Sion got back." Nall looked at Caitlin. "I know you two have your differences, but we have to get this mission done."

Nall watched as both Jamie and Caitlin nodded in agreement. "Good. Jamie, you'll stay here with the rest of the group while I talk with Sion on what's going on."

"But Uncle Nall-"

"The only 'but' around here, Jamie, is going to be yours glued to that carpet. Now all of you, wait here for a few minutes."


North County: I-540 September 9th 11:54 PM


Sion's car ran down the interstate heading back towards his house. A smile spread across his face confident in the way he hand handled the situation back at the ATF.

"Dude I can't believe you blew up some DOD guy's equipment." Jeff was driving the window down blasting his hair around.

"Yea well I wasn't going to let them lock me up. Besides we've got-"

"Sion we've got a problem." Sion was cut off by Nall's telepathic message.

"Hold on Jeff; gotta talk in my head."

Jeff waved him off. "Yeah, yeah; get on with your freaky business."

"What is it?"

"Karen tested positive."

"That's great."

"Yeah, but she freaked and ran off. We think she's heading towards her house."

Sion slapped himself; he had forgotten to get her address off of her. "Shit! I have no idea where she lives."

"Don't worry Amy already handled it. She lives in some really expensive gated neighborhood. There aren't supposed to be a lot of houses in it, and you should be able to beat her there. I'll give you directions."

Sure enough, Nall's directions led them to a huge gate. Inside were a few houses, all of them huge as well.

Jeff whistled. "Damn; girl's got some money, that's for sure."

Sion looked at the gate's control box. "Yeah, but how to we get in?"

Jeff pointed down the road a little ways. "That construction entrance might work."

Sion took his SUV down the dirt path and, sure, enough it led them into the neighborhood.

"I wonder what the purpose of that gate was then?" said Jeff quizzically, half to himself.

"Jeff, I'm sure there going to block it off once all the houses are done. Wait – look!"

In the distance, a girl emerged from the tree line. She didn't see Sion's car and was obviously winded. She started to walk towards one of the houses closer to the gate. Sion slowly drove up the car next to her.

"Dude, how are we going to do this?" Jeff hissed.

Sion looked around; he couldn't spot anyone, but that didn't mean someone wasn't watching from a window. Stopping his car on the side of the road, he parked and got out.

Jeff gaped at him. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Just trust me."

Sion walked up towards Karen. She saw him and, much to his surprise, stopped. "What do you want?"

"I heard you're the girl were looking for."

Karen turned and faced Sion, glaring. "Yeah, well, you guys aren't the people I'm looking for. I don't want to be a part of your game."

Sion stepped towards her. "Game?"

Karen moved a foot back as if she was going to start walking towards her house again. Sion stopped. "I wish this was a game," he said softly.

"Well, what is it then?"

"This is reality. This is what we're facing now. I don't like it, and, trust me, as much as you might see me as some Hollywood icon with my disappearance and reappearance, it isn't fun."

"I'll bet," she drawled, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"It isn't," Sion insisted. "Just today I had to defend myself at the ATF office when the department of defense tried to lock me up so they could test me."

"And what part of you makes you think I want to go through that too!?" The fear on Karen's face was evident.

"I don't."

Karen faltered, confused, but Sion continued.

"I know you don't want to be a part of it. I don't want to, either, but look at the alternative. We're going to be a part of this one way or another. If we don't fight, we'll join everyone else as the Virgo move in and destroy this planet. We fight, and we give the world a chance."

"What if I'd rather take my chances?"

"There isn't any chance," said Sion simply. "You don't fight, we fail, and everyone dies."

There was a pause, and Karen's eyes became pleading. "Why me?" she asked. "What about those other four girls?"

"You each have a very specific power given to you. I'm not sure what yours is, because we didn't even know you existed up until a few days ago, but I do know we need you."

Karen looked down at the ground. "I didn't choose this."

Sion felt a little more confident and started to walk towards Karen again. When she didn't move, he put his hands on her shoulders. "I didn't either, but you should think it over. It's a lot of pressure. Maybe you should see the same thing I did."

"Can you show her Lucia?"

"Just keep your hands on her; I'll take care of the rest."

Sion watched as Karen's eyes grew hazy as Lucia played the images in her mind, and instantly regretted his decision when he saw tears fall down Karen's eyes. He remembered how gruesome it was when he witnessed the scenes that would take place if he had not accepted his fate as the Dragonmaster. He was sure it was just as bad, if not, worse for Karen.

After a few minutes, Karen regained focus. Sion held her tightly in a friendly embrace, trying to lend her some comfort. Even the strong-willed blonde was in shambles after witnessing the events.

"So... my mom, dad, everyone... They'll just kill them, just like that? When?"

"It'll start getting really bad in one year. That's when that Virgo thing I was telling you about will be revived."

Karen remained silent. Sion gently let go of her and let her compose herself. "Karen, take some time. Talk with your parents. We're having a large dinner tonight at my house. If you decide to join us, come by and eat with us. If not, well... that will be that."

Sion walked off, back to the car, and after watching him for a few steps, Karen turned to walk into her house.

Jeff was surprised when Sion returned without Karen. "Dude, I thought we had to bring her back?"

Sion smiled as he watched Karen enter her house. "She'll be back, Jeff; I just want her to come back on her own."


North County: Sion's HouseSeptember 9th 1:30 PM


"What!?" Nall didn't exactly agree with the way Sion had handled the situation.

"Don't worry, Nall. Besides, if she doesn't want to do this, it won't happen either way."

"Like hell it won't! Does she understand what will happen if she doesn't come along?"

"Yes. I had Lucia show her the same thing she showed me. She was pretty shook up seeing her family die."

Nall sighed and sat down in his chair. "Her dad's pretty powerful, you know. If she doesn't want to go, we'd have to break her out."

"Just let her talk to her parents and think about it. I'm sure she'll come along. She'll be much more helpful if she's doing it because she wants to, and not because she's forced to."

"I guess you've got a point...," Nall admitted reluctantly. Then he noticed Caitlin standing in the hallway, too nervous to enter the room. "Besides, you've got something else to take care of right now." Nall pointed in Caitlin's direction.

Sion followed Nall's finger until he made eye contact with Caitlin. She slowly walked into the living room, as if asking Sion to follow her. When he did, Caitlin asked Kyle to leave and he did. Sion felt his jealousy rise, but calmed himself, sitting across from Caitlin.

"So... how do you want to do this?" he asked.

For her part, Caitlin kept herself from lashing out at Sion. "I just want to understand. Can you help me?"

Sion leaned back in the chair, trying to get comfortable. "Do you remember what I asked you at the airport before I left? What you'd do if I died?"

"Yes; I remember telling you I'd move on."

"And I know you remember that dream from a week ago, and you promised me you'd move on then."

Caitlin was surprised. "You were really there?"

Sion nodded. "Yeah; I was."

Caitlin was silent.

"You didn't move on, Caitlin."

"I didn't want to!" she shouted. Sion jumped back in his chair at Caitlin's reaction.

"I wanted to believe you were alive. I wanted to believe you'd return. Why did you move on?"

Sion had to carefully think out his words. He didn't want to upset Caitlin any further. "Caitlin... I wasn't supposed to come back for two years. That's how long the training was supposed to take. I had just a little over six months. The first few days, you were all I could think of, you and my family and friends. It kept me from my training, my focus, and put me in grave danger."

"Well, I'm sorry I was such a hindrance," Caitlin spat. She stood to leave, but Sion gently grabbed her arm.

"You weren't, Caitlin, and you never will be. I'm not saying what we had wasn't special, but you have to remember, we were together for all of three or four days. Jamie was my instructor and teammate. We didn't really have feelings for each other until our first mission. We were sent to North Korea to rescue Kaname and her Mom. I was still homesick and my lack of attention and training nearly got us all killed, and it resulted in Kaname being captured. If I had been focused, then they wouldn't have gotten Kaname, and Virgo's revival wouldn't have been accelerated."

Caitlin returned to her seat. "What do you want from me?"

"Forgiveness; I know you expected me to be your boyfriend and all, and I do care about you, but... I'm in love with Jamie. We've faced so much together. I nearly lost her that night. It was a huge wakeup call for me, Caitlin, I had to get focused. With Jamie by my side, I was able to make it through Hell and back, and now I'm confident enough with my training to start this journey. But I need all of you to help me through this, or were not going to make it."

Caitlin sat in deep thought for awhile, staring at nothing. Then she took a deep breath, and said, "I forgive you, Sion, and I'll help."

Sion got up from his seat and gave Caitlin a hug. She returned it. "Just don't expect me to get along with Jamie all the time," she added.

Sion grinned. "You'll have to expect the same out of me towards Kyle."

Caitlin returned it. "Deal."


North County: Sion's HouseSeptember 9th 6:30 PM


The final arrangements for Sion's return party had finished. All of Sion's family, his friends' families, and so forth, were crowded into the house. Press were getting as close to the property as the North County Sherriff Deputy's would allow them.

"Are you sure she'll come, man?" Jeff scanned the crowd for any signs of Karen, but couldn't find her.

"It's her choice. We'll see soon enough."

A tan colored SUV pulled up to the driveway. After the driver briefly spoke to the deputy, he let them through and went up the drive way. Reporters had mobbed around the vehicle trying their best to get pictures of the cars occupants. Deputies pushed the reporters away and cleared a path for the car up the driveway.

Nall pushed through the partygoers to a more private room they had set up in Sion's father's study. Inside, Sion, the girls, Christy, and Kyle sat and relaxed, waiting for the announcement they were to join the party.

"You guys should come out now."

The group filed out of the room and was instantly swarmed by the families. Sion greeted and hugged everyone. Mothers stood next to their children. Nall ushered everyone into the living room and, somehow, everyone crammed into the room.

"Everyone, we're here today to discuss something very important. Tonight is not only a welcome home dinner for Sion, but also a dinner to say goodbye to your children. I had instructed everyone who would be involved and those who volunteered to involve themselves to contact their parents and explain the situation."

Nall walked to the center of the room, forced to step over countless people sitting on the carpet. "We're up against a very large force, and it will be very dangerous. However, we all know what we must do, and if we fail, well everyone, it's going to be trouble then.

"I want to take a few minutes to explain what's-"

A loud noise came from the front doorbell. Confused, Sion got up to answer the door. Opening it revealed a teen blonde girl holding a duffle bag packed, her parents flanking both sides.

"I brought two extra people with me to eat; is that alright?"

Sion grinned hugely. "Of course, Karen."

Entering, Karen's parents joined those already seated to see what their daughter would be going against.

"Thanks for coming," Sion added.

Karen smiled. "Well, it was either this or I die, so I didn't see much of a choice."

Sion smiled and walked Karen into the room. Nall saw her and smiled. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you the latest member of our team: Karen Mills, the holder of the Star Dragon's soul."

Everyone turned and clapped when they saw Karen. Karen bowed, and taking in all the attention, she could muster thinking to herself, Maybe this won't be so bad after all.


End Chapter 17

Ok so saying I'm on a roll might jinx it so we'll just say I'm on a pretty good run to keeping this thing updated regularly. I know I lost a lot of fans awhile back when I went for over a year with no updates. That was one bad rut to get out of. The story's quickly taking shape. The next chapter will still be in North County, but we'll be wrapping up there. Also a huge thanks to my BETA Calistar Heir, couldn't have gotten this up without ya.

REMEMBER! The message board is up and ready to take your questions. I'm encouraging everyone to post on it and also you'll find in the members only section info of the story, how I wrote it, spoilers, plot ideas and so forth. See how Dragon Heart came to be and the friends and family around me that inspired the story.