Origin Seeker

Dream saw a blip in his vision indicating the building the girls were in. 

His heart suddenly started beating harder.

'Can I go in?'

[Raoul's aura is being released, though I don't think he's using it. Slowly enter it, but be ready to run. I've already got the railguns locked on to your location.]

'Ok.'

Nodding, Dream began slowly flying into the range of the aura. But after entering it, nothing changed with the aura nor on the outside. He went all the way to the top of the building that the girls were in before stopping.

'Huuhh...So I think we're good.'

[I think so too. Looks like you being able to sneak up on Riddick and Idona wasn't for nothing. Though the fact that this aura is here makes things a bit more difficult. Raoul is ever sensitive to the connections between him and his daughter and once that connection shows dramatic movement, he'll act.]

'So we need to get out in that time window of confusion. Luckily my stealth is good, so he may see them moving, but not me.'

[Before you decide to reunite, I think we should plot our escape route and set things up so we can easily exit. And after getting information from Selene, I have another plan.]

'What's that?'

[She said that they aren't actually holed up in the castle all the time. They frequently go out and fight in a nearby dungeon under the guard of many class 3's. They also wander the castle quite a bit. Though since Luna and Iris have tried on very many occasions to escape, they've always been caught.]

'They've tried to escape? That's ballsy.'

[Indeed. Iris has also frequently attacked those guarding them. Anyway, I'm thinking we can get them to go on another walk or at least get them within the line of sight of our ship. Though this would put them under the watch of Raoul as he's usually been the one to catch them in their attempts to escape, so it may not be better.]

'...Probably not. We need that time of confusion. Though talking about that has given me another idea. What if we create a diversion?'

[What kind of diversion?]

'I don't know, maybe some preemptive attacks with certain weapons we have stationed. Those railguns are extremely powerful and only 10 miles away. Plus, Raoul is located at the top of this castle. I say we weaken the walls around him and launch a volley. If they hit and injure him, then we can escape during that time while he's in shock.'

[That's not really a diversion, but I like the idea. I already have the projectile paths plotted to where he is now. We just need to weaken the barriers in their way for maximum effect.]

'Let's do that now then.'

Saying so, Dream flew off to the outer walls of the castle. He could see the projectile paths in his vision which were like a straight line and could see the walls between them and the target. It was these walls that he went over to and did his work.

As nearly everything in the city was enchanted for structural stability, Dream had to go in and destroy that enchantment, making the material weak. He also broke the material whether it was stone or wood on a molecular level, so while it would look the same on the outside, it was actually on the brink of collapsing by itself. This made it so the projectile had absolutely no hindrance on their paths.

Usually on Earth, railguns would be used in a very inaccurate manner to bombard a large target from many miles away. But what they were trying to do was hit a person, and they couldn't mess up. Well, they could, but it would be most undesirable.

So for the next two days, Dream filled everyone in on the new plan and went around to every barrier between the railguns and Raoul. 

And on the third day, Dream had everyone in an alert state, ready to begin the mission,

"At this point, we can begin the escape whenever we want."

Currently, Dream, the girls, and Riddick were all in a call. Dream explained the situation.

"I'm ready at any time."

Riddick was also prepared. Currently, he was in one of the 5 ships Dream had prepared just outside the city. Selene heard this, but was still nervous.

"Are you sure? Raoul is fast and tough. Those guns of yours may not do anything."

"If they really can't, then Raoul is the strongest creature on this planet and nobody will ever have any hope to injure him. Trust in my weapons and devices, but know that there are no guarantees. You've all seen every part of the plan and we're going to stick to it, only improvising if necessary."

"..."

Everyone nodded. Dream had not only shared the plan, but they could also see the simulated railguns and Raoul's approximate position within his chambers in their vision. 

"...Fine. You just need to make sure that we're all ready before we go."

"I will. In fact, let's do this within the next hour. I want to make sure nothing changes. Selene, you're up first."

"*sigh* Alright."

After taking a deep breath, Selene got up and exited her villa. 

"Hm? Lady Selene?"

"I'm going to see my daughters."

"V-very well..."

The fox outside her villa just nodded and cowered a bit at the forceful statement. This wasn't the first time, and none of her 'guards' wanted to be the focus of her displeasure.

Without being stopped and suspected, Selene made her way to the girl's villa. This was the first part of the plan. Getting them together.

"Good. Now, we'll wait for about half an hour. My railguns are prepping for fire and aircraft are currently in the skies. Just wait in there and make any last mental preparations."

"..."

Everyone nodded silently. They all became tense and nervous, but also excited. It was finally time.

.............

45 minutes later...

"The time is now."

Hearing that, everyone perked up. Though they did their best to keep their calm for fear of alerting Raoul. 

"Sophia, begin the operation."

[Understood. Railguns armed. Firing sequence initiated. 20...19...18...17...]

Sophia began the countdown and everyone could see the simulated railguns in their vision. All of them were charging up and powerful arcs of electricity bounced across the rails. The sheer amount of power going through them was enough to make Dream's blood boil.

[5...4...3...2...1...Firing.]

*DSH*

...

*BOOM!*

"Target hit! Move now!"

With an intense explosion that shook the entire castle, all three girls immediately activated stealth and flight, flying straight through the wall of the villa and towards the ship with Riddick inside.

Dream was also right behind them in stealth keeping tabs on Raoul.

"Who dares?!"

*Boom*

All of a sudden, an explosion of mana and aura washed over the area. Everyone felt their hearts tighten.

"He hasn't noticed. Just get to the ship!"

"You!"

"Ok, he's noticed. Just keep going!"

They all nodded and put their most into flying. At the same time, Dream could see a body rising out of the rubble and turn towards them. But before that man could do anything, the girls were actually able to reach the ship. 

The girls in their suits flew straight into the ship that had its thrusters just waiting to explode with power. Once they were inside, their suits activated automatically and anchored them to the floor. 

"Trying to escape! I don't think so!"

The next moment, a body shot out from Raoul's chambers. It was the man himself, and he was heading straight for them. 

"Boy-"

"I got it!"

Before Riddick could act, Dream took out one of the few weapons he made just for this occasion. It looked similar to a launcher, and he aimed it directly at the quickly approaching Raoul.

*Bang!*

With an explosion, a projectile was launched from the weapon and blasted straight to the approaching man. Thinking nothing of it, Raoul batted the projectile away. But when his hand made contact, it exploded.

*Woosh!*

An extremely dense mana wave exploded from the projectile and enveloped Raoul's entire body. The mana was black and it disrupted all other mana in the vicinity. 

This was one of the contingency weapons Dream made for this occasion. It was a bomb that was loaded with Riddick's highly destructive liquid mana. And using the enchantments, the mana was instructed to attack the target and constantly bombard them, disrupting even the magic within their bodies. 

The unlucky target would have to fight head on with this destructive mana, and during that time, they wouldn't be able to use so much as a single spell. Or at least, that was the theory. 

"Let's go!"

Immediately after launching, Dream boarded the ship and anchored down. Once he did, all four thrusters of the ship blasted off and began carrying them away.

"Ahhh!!!"

A frustrated scream shook the earth as they flew into the sky. Raoul could be seen not long after trying to chase after them, but his speed wasn't fast and there was still that black mana swirling around him. 

Not only that, but Raoul was heavily injured. He was missing an entire leg, part of his stomach, and half an arm. He looked to be very miserable. But only wanting to add fuel to the fire, Dream ordered the attack of every aircraft in the sky to fire on him when he exited the castle. Soon, he was under the concentrated fire of dozens of very powerful weapons.

With everything against him, Raoul actually wasn't able to chase and could only defend himself from the projectiles, hoping not to make a mistake and die. And since that was the case, Dream and the family quickly pulled farther and farther away in their rocket boosted ship.

In only a few minutes, the ship pulled into orbit. All the aircraft fighting Raoul began pulling away. The railguns also collapsed and returned as they were no longer effective.

When the ship pulled into orbit, their speed only increased even more dramatically. Dream wanted to absolutely make sure that Raoul couldn't chase them. And sure enough, none of them could even sense the man anymore.

Dream looked to everyone, who looked back at him expectantly. He released the anchors for the suits and they were allowed to move freely.

"...Congratulations."

"...We...really did it? We escaped?"

"Yup. You sense anything Old Man?"

"No. Nothing."

"Then I say mission accomplished."

"...sniff."

When he said that, Luna and Iris began crying, processing what happened. Selene also looked over to Riddick, emotion in both of their eyes.

"I've finally got you."

"I've missed you...so much."

Not able to resist, Selene jumped into Riddick's arms. Luna and Iris also looked at Dream, who was smiling brightly at them.

"Have you guys gotten even prettier?"

"sniff...Yea..." (Iris)

"Huhu, Iris isn't so shy anymore."

"Shut...sniff...up! Hug me you idiot!"

"Alright. Come get some vitamin Dream."

Saying that, he wrapped Iris up in a bear hug. He also waved Luna over, letting her in on the hug as well. And when they all came together, the connections between them were renewed and strengthened after having been apart for so long.

"...I'm never letting you two go again."

.............

........

....

"Dammit! That piece of shit! How did he get to 4th class?!"

Back at the United Empire, 8 class 4's had gathered at the site of the explosion. All of them were of different animal species like a lion, tiger, bear, eagle, and even lizard. When they had arrived, they saw Raoul and the sorry state he was in.

"Raoul? What happened here?"

"That damned human, Riddick! He came and stole Selene!"

"I didn't sense any class 4's though. So how did he injure you like this?"

"He didn't. There was another. Someone else. Those...things! They were shooting me and injured me. Riddick can't make golems like those. He must've been helped by someone."

"Golems did this to you?"

"Yes! That explosion was caused by some pieces of metal. They were extremely fast and powerful, and I couldn't hardly get my head out of the way! And it came from nowhere!"

"Where are these pieces of metal?"

"How should know?! They just tore me to pieces before continuing on their path like an arrow! I've never seen anything so powerful..."

Raoul noticeably shivered when he remembered that skull numbing sensation right before the projectiles hit. As a class 4, he had never felt so threatened for his life. 

"Well, either way, it looks like we aren't under attack. And although I pity you, you should've seen this coming sooner or later. That Riddick has a blessing and it was only a matter of time before he came back. If you had just let your daughter be-"

"I didn't ask for your advice, did I?!"

"...Whatever. I'll be off."

"As will I."

After seeing how agitated he was, the other class 4's just left. Raoul was left alone, slowly recovering his injuries within his destroyed portion of the castle.

...........

.......

After Dream verified Raoul's state with a drone still over the Empire, he finally decided that they were 100% safe.

"*sigh* Raoul is recovering within the castle. Those railguns did lots of damage. I'm rather proud."

"I still can't believe you were able to make something like that. How could they be so powerful?"

Selene spoke up. She was the biggest skeptic of Dream's exotic weapons. But Riddick just shook his head.

"I don't think you should ask about the Boy's technology. It's...complicated."

"Is that right? Explain it to me."

"Here we go."

Selene wasn't convinced and turned to Dream, who smiled.

"Well, if I'm going to explain it to you then you'll need to know about kinetic energy, electromagnetism, fusion energy, electrical current, direct energy conversion, different magnetic manipulation concepts, superconductor material, and motors. Plus there's the enchantment side of things like heat dissipation, projectile guidance, material strengthening, force guidance, plasma containme-"

"Alright, alright. I get it. No need to continue."

"See this is why we don't ask too many questions. Or at least tell him to dumb it down. He's too smart." (Iris)

"He's a madman. At least with his experiments." (Riddick)

"Passionate Intellectual. Anyway, we're going to be coming up on our destination soon."

"Your factory?"

"No. You'll find out soon."

Dream smiled mysteriously, letting them wait. 

Soon, the ship was plunging through the atmosphere. Not long after, they were landing themselves inside a forest. 

When the hatch opened, everyone walked out to the lush, green scenery. And wouldn't you know it, in front of them was the same cabin they had always known and loved.

"Since we have time, I thought we could spend some time relaxing. And what better place to do it than somewhere familiar."

"Haha! We're home! Come on Luna!"

Grabbing her sisters hand, Iris and Luna ran into the cabin like kids. Selene walked over with Riddick, hand in hand, and looked at the small cabin.

"Home?"

"It's where I disappeared to with them after we separated. For nearly 20 years we stayed here."

"...I still can't believe I made you raise them alone."

"But it's okay now. We're together. We can finally be a family. Unfortunately there's the Boy who's stealing my girls."

"Unfortunately?! Hey, I gave you guys modern plumbing and lights, something that was apparently foreign to you cavemen. And don't forget my premium mattresses."

"Hmph. All just a ploy to woo them."

"Well, I can't deny that entirely. But it's not my fault. they stole my heart first."

"When?!"

"When you guys kidnapped me and so graciously brought me to your house, taking me in. It moved me emotionally, very much so."

"Kidnapped? You were dying! And what do you mean 'moved you emotionally'? Since when were you such a girl?"

"Oh well. I had to repay such kindness somehow. What better way than to give your daughters love and affection."

"...Whatever."

"Well aren't you two awfully close."

Selene chuckled at their exchange. Dream just smiled and looked toward the cabin, seeing the excited girls jumping around as foxes.

"I'm just really glad they're safe..."

Dream sighed, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. 

Although it hadn't been that long, only a few months, he always had that worry. Not only that, but he felt a certain hate for that Raoul. He's the one who took them and threatened them. So even though they were at that Empire, he was scared. Scared for their safety, their wellbeing, everything. This had only gotten worse when the demons began making their appearance. Things were too unpredictable and he wasn't able to watch them with his own eyes. 

All this had built up over the months, eating away at him. And he hated not being able to get them sooner. He hated not being able to keep them safe. But now, they were fine. He was able to take them back, and now he could continue worrying about them, just personally this time. 

'I'll love them, and worry about their life and death.'

Dream repeated that phrase Sophia told him. That represented his commitment. He wasn't going to push them away just because he was scared.

Selene looked over to Dream, scanning him with those mysterious eyes. And she saw what he was feeling, totally uninhibited by any barriers he had.

"...I see."