Welcome to Gaia! ::

Edel groaned and turned back to the potion she was still working on. "And if I don't get this spell done as soon as I can for the wrath of God himself, I will equally be up the creek. And if I help any more of you, I'm at risk of loosing my home and ending up just like the rest of the heroes that are currently missing in action. Though I'm also supposed to be working on that little task as well. And helping a goddess to regain her full power. And..." she began, then sighed again. "As much as I'd like to, I can't be in dozens of places at once." she said, then looked back at Marvel. "Though....if I give you something that might help you to find it....would you be alright going out and looking for it yourselves?" she asked.

Billy frowned, and sighed. There were times when he wished that people would just be able to stop, take a deep breath, and try to be as friendly as possible.

"Miss Edel," he said gently, "I... would like to apologize again for asking this of you, it's just... Not even the Wizard could help me, and you were the only person I could turn to for finding Fate's helmet. Lucas' mother is too busy, 'Doctor Strange' is gone, I don't know where the Phantom Stranger is... But, yes, if there is something you can give us, we'll be out of your hair, I promise."

Billy blinked, looking around for the source of the noise.

"Who's that?" he asked, his tone very curious; he was always willing to make new acquaintances.

Billy looked to Xiao, and the Wisdom of Solomon told him something shocking.

"You..." he said softly. "You are the person who caused the Merge... It was you the Keeper of Space and Time sent Luke and Alex into Hell for..."


Meanwhile, in Luke's area of the house, he stepped outside and saw Blackstone.

"Uh, hello!" he said happily. "I'm Lucas, Lucas Ellison. What's your name, sir?" he asked politely. "Oh, um... Forgive me, for not having a shirt-- my last one was destroyed in a fight against a Black Lantern."

Billy frowned, and nodded. "I'm guessing your soul was split into two? This one, and the bad one?" he asked, moving over to the man.


Luke continued to smile, and held out a hand for Richard to shake. "It's nice to meet you!" he said, still with that sunny demeanor his parents had always told him to greet new people with.

"Now this is VERY interesting...", John smiled as he deposited his dwindling cigarette into a nearby (expensive looking) crystal bowl. He leaned against a bookshelf and drank in the scene and new information. "Here I thought we were about to be traipsing after a geezer and now we meet the Grand Master and all!"

Edel scowled as smoke began to billow out of the antique vase the man had just dumped his cigarette in. Thick, dark colored smoke that smelled strangely of sulfur. Edel waved her hand at the thing as she continued to work on her spell, and the vace became coated in a blue light. The smoke quickly vanished.

Honestly...


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


Xiao carefully walked down the hall and through a large oak door to the right. This led into a darker hall lit with hanging lamps and mirrors. He stopped halfway through the hall, then placed his hand on one of the mirrors on the left. His hand gently slid through the reflection, and soon the "mirror" melted away, revealing a large room filled with glowing red lights.

"I advise you to be careful in here. These are rather rare items, and the witch has rather tight security around them." Xiao said before stepping inside.

Within the room, was a wall of red light from the marble floor, to the stone ceiling above. Behind the light, were rows and stacks of relics, medalians, stone structures, gems, weapons, clothing, bones, and other items that had high magical properties and very old origins.


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

"I came here to speak with Edel." he replied, turning his attention back towards Lucas. "I haven't seen her for quite some time, and it's rather refreshing to see a friendly face or two in this world."