"Well..you haven't introduced me, but I have met him recently. I would love to hear about some of your adventures though", Lucas said.

"Ah, good! I'll have to tell you about them sometime. It was quite some time ago. We didn't have any of these fancy costumes, but we helped people," Oswald said with a wistful smile.

Lucas chuckled.

"Well...the costumes were not always asked for. It sort of came with the job. But I do have to admit, they do make a statement. Is there any special preparations that I should undertake before we meet Konnish?"

Oswald thought for a moment, before replying, "Get a will down, and spend lots of time with the people you love. Other than that, I can't think of a thing off the top of my head."

"Thanks for filling me in, Oswald," Lucas replied to the elder Gysbourne. He looked back to Mirage. "I should probably fill her in...otherwise, she'll probably kill me if I don't."

Lucas then chuckled at that. He knew how Mirage was, and he also knew that she had an uncanny way of finding out what was on his mind.

Oswald smiled knowingly, then said, "All right. If you think she'll have questions that I'll need to answer, I'll remain here for a moment. Otherwise, I must be going. There's a lot of organizing to be done, if we hope to see victory."

"Go ahead....I have things covered here," Lucas replied. "Thanks again for stopping by, Oswald. And don't worry....we'll get through this like we always have. We have to...after all, our entire reality depends on it."

*Catch up post*

Katy broke the embrace after Lucas walked in. "There's time for that later, if you want..." She quipped just as playfully as Mirage. And then the phone rang. Not long after, what looked to be a fairly old friend of Lucas' came in. Katy watched as they disappeared into the other room. Normally, Katy didn't mind giving people privacy, but it did seem serious...And she couldn't help herself. Her mind 'tuned' into the other room, listening in.

Getting just the gist of the conversation, Katy cast a sidelong look at Mirage. She knew Helena was in a relationship with Lucas, or something like it. But even though Katy resented her for it, on account of Friday, she couldn't help but empathize towards her mentor. Katy would probably feel the same way if it were Aaron. It wasn't everyday an almost godlike being decided to destroy the world. Or was it?

"Helena?" She asked. No other words were needed. As an afterthought, she put a hand on her mentor's shoulder.

Oswald nodded. He'd felt the slightest twinge on the edge of his mind, as if someone were listening in, but he decided to ignore it. The more people who knew that Konnish was coming, the better. Mostly, anyway. Some nihilists, or greedy thieves, might try to take advantage of the situation. When the cat is away, the mice will play, after all.

"Indeed. And it's not a problem, my friend. I just thought I should deliver the news in person. It's not every day we face something of this magnitude, after all," he said with a small chuckle before he headed out the door.

"Take care, Oswald," Lucas said with a wave as Oswald exited the dojo. He then turned and looked towards the room where Mirage and Katy were at and sighed.

"No doubt that they probably have an inkling of what's going on anyway," he muttered to himself before heading back to the two women.

Mirage was stil getting the hang of her expanded abilities and couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation.  It sounded preposterous at first but she could sense how serious Lucas was taking the news.  There was a lot about the conversation that she didn't like.

Make a Will.

Spend time with your loved ones.

Likely to be casualties.

End of life as it was known.

Mirage glanced at Katy when her friend touched her shoulder.  From the look in Katy's face, she had been listening in as well.  "It seems like someone has been keeping some important secrets from us." she said softly.

Turning back to wait for Lucas to walk back to the two of them, Mirage crossed her arms, ready to admonish Lucas for keeping all of this from them.  Did he think that he was trying to protect them for whatever this Konnish thing was?  Were they weak women who didn't have to know about some big fight for all of the marbles?  Maybe this whole Champion of Light role had gone to Lucas' head.

Mirage waited for Lucas with a hard look in her eyes, one normally reserved for villains.

Lucas soon entered the room where Mirage and Katy were. As he looked inside, he saw the hard gaze from Mirage.

He had seen that look before. But it was usually directed at those who were of the criminal persuasion, not at him.

He sighed for a moment.

"I guess I have some explaining to do, don't I?"

"Hey!" a voice called, sounding muffled as if behind a wall. "Dragon Fist, this a bad time? I'd like to talk, but I can wait if I must."

OOC:  Like Dragon Fist is going to get off so easily.  :)

Mirage pursed her lips and glared at Lucas.

Mirage's silence spoke volumes.

As he was about to address her, he heard a voice.

"I'm afraid this is a bad time. I'm in the middle of something but we can talk soon."

He then looked at Mirage and Katy.

"Look...a lot has happened, and things are moving quickly. But...its time for me to tell you about...Konnish."

"Got it." The voice disappeared immediately afterward.

Turning his attention to Katy and Mirage, Lucas began.

"There is an ancient being known as Konnish...he has been imprisoned for some time, and is now believed to have broken free, or is in the process of breaking free. We have only recently been made aware of this by a former protege of his, a Mr. Leo Black. Now Oswald is gathering a force together to oppose if and when he comes, because when he comes, that will be a terrible day indeed. And some, if not all of us, are expecting to stop him, but we are also prepared to count the cost in doing so.."

Lucas sighed for a moment, and turned away from the two women.

"You both know my story. I've been living on borrowed time ever since I became Dragon Fist. Look...I'm sorry for keeping this from you. And yes...I know that we've been through quite a bit, all of us. Something about this feels...different. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to go down fighting. As for what I've been through recently..."

Lucas opened his mind to both of them, starting at the time that he "disappeared", up until the time he came back to the dojo.

OOC: If you guys would to see what happened to DF in between the time he disappeared, and the time he returned to the dojo, check out the "Quest of the Champions" thread. I've requested Honesty to open that thread so you guys can see it and peruse it at your leisure. It should give Mirage and Katy some insight as to what Lucas has gone through :)

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, a long serpent began to uncoil and manifested itself behind Lucas. A playful chuckle soon came from the creature, as if somehow it had seen the "stew" that Lucas was in.

"Greetings my dears.....I am Kimeran, and I have been the caretaker of various Champions throughout the ages. I know Lucas very well, and believe me when I say that he cares for you....both of you, immensely. But the time for battle is coming. Konnish is trying to break through into your world, and the Champion has been chosen to stand against him. You have also been chosen, whether you are aware or not, because Konnish threatens the entire world, not to mention this dimension."

Mirage ignored the long serpent as it chattered on.  She had taken a look into what Lucas had gone through in that other place and, as fantastical as it was, she didn't like the effect that it was having on Lucas.

And Friday, she thought.  As much as she loved both Friday and Lucas, when the evil Lucas wanted to torment Lucas he brought up Friday.  Why did it always come back to Friday?  Mirage missed her of course and would have done anything to keep her alive but compared to Friday's memory, she felt like an inadequate stand-in.  It was as if Friday was the perfect example of a woman, held up on a pedestal and sporting the pre-requisite halo.  Mirage couldn't compete with a memory, especially not one that seemed to grow more saintly the more she was mentioned, so where did that leave her?

Finding herself not measuring up to Fridays memory was only the start.

"So you thought that you'd keep this end of the world scenario secret from us?  Were you afraid that the womenfolk couldn't handle it?" Mirage said icily.  "And you expect that you'll go off and die in some glorious battle to save the world?"

The whole thing was so damned insulting that it was really starting to piss Mirage off.  She stepped forward and forcibly turned Lucas around to face her.  "To hell with this borrowed time nonsense.  Do you think that you're the only one who's been through something terrible?  Who've suffered?  Some of us don't give up so easily, expecting to die and counting off our remaining days like some sort of macabre bank balance.  You grow a pair and you fight through it and you make damed well sure that no one else has to go through what you did, or else those who's hurt you have won."

When Mirage turned Lucas forcibly towards her, his first instinct was to get angry. Angry at Mirage for questioning his situation: he did speak the truth..the mystic forces that powered his heart were ebbing away slowly. But surely. And it was because of that fact that he never knew how much time he had left. Only that he had to make the most of it.

But the teachings of his mentor Flip, not to mention the dragon known as Kimeran, won out in his head. Instead, he looked at Mirage with an expression of determination in his face. It wasn't necessarily directed at the femme fatale, but it was directed at the battle he was going to face. A battle that, quite possibly, he may not walk away from.

"On the contrary, Mirage. I do intend to fight with every fiber of my soul. I intend to win. There is a future beyond this for all of us. As to what that future holds, that is up to us to seize it."

He soon looked up for a moment, as if he had a heard a call directed at him. In a fraction of a second, his armor was summoned in a bright azure light

"Konnish comes....our Forces are being gathered. I want you....both of you...by my side when the battle begins."

Dragon Fist looked towards the outside of the dojo.

"We're out of time....Konnish has come. He's at the Gysbourne residence."

He soon exited out the back door quickly.

"You ladies can follow my mental signature. Hell, you might beat me there. Good luck to us all.."

He then soared into the air, spreading out his draconic wings, and flew towards the Gysbourne residence.

>>>>>>>>>>To Gysbourne Manor>>>>>>>>>>>

Katy had watched silently, unable to add anything relevant to the conversation. Once again, one of her closest companions was going to throw themselves selflessly into the fray. Not even 3 hours ago, Katy was on a mission, given by a dead man, to  destroy everything she loved. And now that some semblance of normality had resumed, a world-killing being decides to show up. Not only was it incredibly frustrating, but it was incredibly frustrating to a potent psychic. Not only that, but a potent psychic who was still recovering from the aftereffects of a power-enhancing drug.

Katy cast a glance at Helena, her eyes portraying her feelings almost perfectly. Without any cause at all, the circular tribal mark over her heart began to pulsate slightly, the markings spreading ever slightly. "What say we show your beloved that we womenfolk aren't as fragile as he would believe?" Katy said, eyes hard as she held an outstretch hand, palm up, towards Mirage. A deep violet mist began to play down her shoulder, tendrils reaching out.

Mirage wanted to reply but Dragon Fist had left before she could put her thoughts into words.  He was angry and she was angry and neither wanted to say something that they'd regret.  Actions spoke volumes however.  Before anything could be resolved between them, Lucas had taken off knowing full well that Katy and her could get where they needed to go faster.  Maybe he didn't want to go with them because he was upset with her.

Mirage couldn't fault him for that.  She had done the same in the past but not to someone that she cared about.

"...some men really do need..." she muttered to herself, watching Dragon Fist fly away.  She turned to Katy and took the outstretched hand.  "Dragon Fist is sorely mistaken if he thinks that either one of us is going to sit this one out.  We'd better go and make sure that he doesn't do anything foolish and get himself killed."

As Mirage took Katy's hand, the mist enveloped both of them. "That we had better," Katy replied, before both of them disappeared within the mist, moving to wherever it was Dragon Fist had went.

To Oswald's Residence.

>>>>>>>>>Timeskip>>>>>>>>>

The effort to defeat Konnish had been thoroughly exhausting. Lucas had never used that technique before. He was always told that it was a failsafe...a last resort....to call upon it only when needed, but that it would also be potentially detrimental to him.

He had recovered in the dojo, which took him a week (with a little help from Lin, Kimeran, and Meg). In that time, Flip had told Lucas that he was going to have to go away on some personal business, and didn't know when he would be back. So he sold his half of the dojo to one Grace Wei, who was a renowned sifu who had just moved to Weston. Grace was a middle-aged woman but being Asian, she looked much younger than her years, and possessing the wisdom of one who had learned a lot. So Lucas came to a decision: he would still teach the Goju-Ryu portion of his classes and Grace would sit in on those classes, and he would then take part in her Tai Chi classes as well as the Northern Shaolin Kung Fu classes. He had always been told to never limit himself to one style, and to always keep an open mind.

Mirage, during this time, was at times happy and jovial with Lucas. Others, she seemed to distance herself, being somewhat melancholy and solitary. Lucas knew that he would continue to work on their relationship, but the ordeal with Konnish drove a small rift between them, one that he hoped didn't grow any more. After all, with Friday being dead, Mirage was the next most likely to understand Lucas for who he was, not what he could do or how much power he had.

After getting the school started on its new curriculum, Lucas had renewed his friendship/rivalry with Aaron Tanaka. But Aaron seemed overly intense at different moments, as if occupied by other things. It was understandable as Lucas was also preoccupied with different things himself.