Haven''s mid-afternoon sun felt unexpectedly harsh to thebatants who were sparring near the Dragon me Temple on a windless day. The courtyards of both temples were filled with members taking advantage of the needed buffs.


    /Inferno: Semmi: To get the Temple buff, you must stay within the premises for three hours. Visit both temples, please. Every little bit helps.


    Although Inferno was on the brink of an epic battle, no one seemed willing or able to rx for the day. The courtyard was filled with the sounds of de strikes coupled with the brilliant shes of cast spells.


    The beautiful swordmaster nodded in approval, a movement that made her long, golden braid sway. "Quite lovely apprentice! Rely on your footwork while approaching and exiting."


    Nix picked up the practice de he had dropped and caught the cloth that Chiba tossed him. They''d been at it for more than an hour, his eyes stung from the sweat that seemed to pour into them. "Don''t overextend yourself in the uing battles, Master."


    Chiba managed a creepy grin, quite the feat considering how beautiful she was. "You are concerned about me?"


    Nix wiped the sweat from his face; the rag was damp since both of them had used it multiple times. "Of course. Where would I find another greased pig as good as you?"


    Chibaughed loudly, throwing an arm around his shoulders as they walked toward the edge of the courtyard. "Nowhere! No one does greasy pig like me!"


    The Inferno Leader nodded in agreement. "On that, we can agree." He shrugged her arm off after a few seconds. "Don''t be so clingy."


    They paused at the weapons table; Nix put his back while Chiba switched to a different, longer weapon.


    "Continuing Master?"


    Chiba nodded, "n Mtui wants to brush up on his sword work."


    Nix left withoutmenting; somehow, Chiba had managed to avoid creeping out the Breach Commander from the House of Dragons.


    "Apprentice!" Chiba called out his name; the golden-haired woman shed him a brilliant smile that waspletely devoid of her normal creepiness. "If you find yourself in trouble tomorrow, look to me, and the path will be cleared."


    Nix returned her smile and waved. "I know it''s true."


    The walk back to the Gemini Temple provided ample time to reflect on the uing fight. As with anything, there were a fewst-minute details that needed to be taken care of.


    A few minutester, his arrival at the Gemini Temple was noticed only by Elune, the Temple''s High Priestess. She bowed deeply, half of her face smiling pleasantly while the other remained locked in a frown. Nix used the tform to gate to the lower levels where he''d been keeping a number of Inferno''s enemies prisoner. Esta, the Chief Acolyte, would have normally insisted on apanying him, but this time he had a different escort. "Am Ite?"


    Sinfaya sighed unhappily. "I mentioned we were meeting, and they insisted oning."


    He spared the other two dragons a nce, both of them had obviously grown stronger after submerging in Dragon Marrow. "Looks like you both did well."


    Tai smiled despite her disappointment. Her me hadn''t been refined enough to develop into a Dread me. The strength gap between her and Deidra continued to grow. "Thank you again, Nix."


    Nix waved her off with one hand. "We ready? Let''s do this!"


    Sinfaya nodded. "All setup, but I''d rmend a distraction. The activation could be observed if someone were paying close attention."


    "Zeryn is a member of the Aquarion House in Solomon City; leave the distraction to me." Deidra wore her usual slim-fitting robe but had opted for red instead of her customary blues and greens.


    "Perfect." Nix brought up the Gemini Temple control hud and unlocked the entrance. He hadn''t known who Zeryn was when he tossed her in here, but she definitely wouldn''t cause trouble in front of Deidra.


    Bensic and Cyra Yune were the firsts to exit; next came Zerym, who was being closely watched by the two witches Nix had sent in with the group. There were signs of a fresh fight, but everyone was ounted for.


    "We''ve done as you asked, Nix." The Pdin bowed respectfully while the Shadow Ranger offered a wry smile. Alpha team had tricked them both during the Bone Fortress upation, but as a mercenary, she held no grudges after the battles were done.


    Nix waited until the group was clear of the door before holding up a hand to stop their progress. "That''s far enough." One by one, he stepped in front of the prisoners, casually removing the ck Hand''s he had ced on them months earlier.


    "ZERYN!" Deidra''s voice rose to a shout that startled the entire group. Her aura pushed at them until their knees copsed.


    "Dragon Master Deidra!" Zeryn bowed low from her knees.


    The pressure was released almost as quickly as it started, causing the group to look up. The cold beauty ignored them; leaning closer to Nix, she brushed her lips against the corner of his mouth.


    /Inferno: Tai''Qui: What are you doing?


    /Inferno: Deidra: Distracting.


    /Inferno: Sinfaya: All done, they can go back in.


    Zeryn''s mouth opened and closed several times as if trying to process what she had seen. Her knowledge of the Inferno Leader was limited since she''d been imprisoned for many months.


    "Good job, Bensic. You and your team may wait here. The rest of you will return to the lower level." Nix stepped in front of the kneeling Aquarion, his eyes staring for a long moment. "You will be released to your House after we deal with Khione."


    With the not-so-subtle threat of dragons watching, the group returned to the lower levels. Nix secured the entrance before stealing a nce at Sinfaya. "How''d it go?"


    "Seamless." Sinfaya opened a breach for herself and stepped through it without speaking further.


    "What about us?" Bensic''s deep voice echoed in the narrow corridor.


    "You will be provided with a ce to stay in the Sky Kingdom for the next week. Unfortunately, we must insist that you remain there until our fight with Khione isplete."


    Deidra opened a breach with a wave of her hand. "Please enter; you will be the guest of the House of Dragons in Solomon City."


    One by one, the former fighters from the Bone Fortress stepped through until only Shur''icon remained. "I''m looking forward to starting over."


    *************


    The Stalker moved through the deep snow easily, nearly invisible in the white-out conditions of Colonial.


    /Alpha: Del: I''m getting tired, Nix. Can''t we stop yet?


    /Alpha: Nix: Last one, don''t be such a baby.


    /Alpha: Del: Try carrying me through this snow.


    Nixughed, the sound lost in the howling wind. Del made the perfect transportation in any kind of blizzard. Herints were mostly out of habit; she had insisted oning. The Stalker stopped outside the city limits of Cyphix.


    /Alpha: Del: Close enough?


    Nix slipped off of her back and immediately morphed into the Rat-King.


    Nix has cast [Rat Army].


    33,287 Rats have answered your call. How many would you like to promote?


    "Promote three rats to Commander, designate them as; Pon the old Bastard, Pon the Miserable, and Pon the Lame. Promote one rat to General." Nix knelt on the ice-covered ground while holding the Rubicon in his hand.


    [Command: Enter the Rubicon]


    The howling wind and blowing snow covered what would have otherwise been a noisy approach. The rats scurried in; however, one stopped in front of Nix.


    "El General?" Nix grinned wide enough to let snow into his mouth. The General stood on his back legs and walked with a rambling gait. "Designate the General as Pon the Magnificent."


    [General Pon, the Magnificent]


    You may give your detailed battle ns to the Rat General; he will personally analyze the battle as it unfolds and will regrly update his Commanders. He is a nonbatant and will remain in y until his army is defeated.


    "Enter the Rubicon, prepare for an epic battle."


    The five-foot-tall rat saluted and vanished into the Rubicon, leaving Del and Nix alone in the storm.


    /Alpha: Del: All done now?


    /Alpha: Nix: Yep. Thanks for the help; let''s head home.


    *****************


    It waste when Nix arrived at the meeting ce. After ate dinner with Hyai, Shae, and Fajii, the Inferno Leader had been preparing to turn in earlier for once, but a message from Tai foiled his n.


    "Thanks foring." Tai stood up from the Pavilion''s stone bench. "I know you are spending time with your family but something important just arrived."


    "Hyai invited you to join us for dinner." Nixughed at the Earth Dragon''s serious expression; she was obviously miffed. "I didn''t know Deidra was going to do that, nor would I have gone along with it if I did."


    Tai pursed her lips slightly, stepping closer to hug him. "Iriset the Blue has sent me this."


    [Greater Restoration]


    Nix epted the encased scroll, turning it over for a moment before handing it back. It looked like the dragon healing spells he''d seen in the Bone Fortress. "What''s it do? I can''t even ess the description."


    Tai gestured toward the Inferno Healers that remained petrified. "This is Seti''s specialty. It should break the curse on your remaining healers."


    [Whisper: Nix to Semmi] Do you have contact info for Tess and Gypsy?


    [Whisper: Semmi to Nix] Yes. Why?


    [Whisper: Nix to Semmi] Might be able to break them out.


    [Whisper: Semmi to Nix] Give me five minutes!


    "Didn''t we look into this already? You said the curse was too strong."


    "It weakens as it ages. I believe it will work."


    Nix grabbed her hand, leading her back to the bench before sitting down. "Let''s spend a few minutes together. We might not get the chance again."


    Tai nodded, her expression easing closer to the semnce of her normal self. "Deidra mentioned that it wasn''t the first time that the two of you..."


    Nixughed aloud. "Fuck no... That''s what I would call a straight-up lie."


    Tai moved closer and slid a hand through his arm. "Are you worried about tomorrow?"


    Nix shook his head. "Worrying has never really been my thing. We have a lot of smart people in Inferno. I trust that we''ll able to adjust to whateveres our way."


    [Whisper: Semmi to Nix] Give it a try. They are super-excited!


    Nix pulled Tai to her feet. "Let''s do this!"


    Tai pointed to the stand of trees nearby. "You should retreat. Greater Restorations have been known to undo armor enhancements..."


    "Shit... I''m outta here!" Nix''s face was locked in a grin while trotting toward the trees. Inferno had gotten lucky when Morti broke the spell on Pinkie. She had been logged into her ount while reading the forums and was able to jump right into her character.


    Reflex caused him to duck behind one of the thicker trees when he felt the build-up of power around Tai. A swirling mass of light settled onto the pavilion while extending upward into Haven''s night sky.


    /Inferno: Deidra: What''s going on?


    /Inferno: Nix: Tai is attempting to use a [Greater Restoration] on Gypsy and Tess.


    The light brightened to the point where Nix used his hand to shield his eyes, it held there for a moment before retreating soundlessly back into the pavilion.


    /Inferno: Gypsy: Damn it... What''s wrong with my head?


    /Inferno: Tess: Hangover without the party! What''s up, folks?


    /Inferno: Semmi: YES!


    /Inferno: Wind: This makes me happy.


    /Inferno: Pon: Great fucking timing! Wee back!


    /Inferno: Sharl: More healer loving for me!


    /Inferno: Tess: You know it!


    /Inferno: Ronnie: The party girls are back!


    /Inferno: Semmi: You two meet me at the TOC. Your rooms are just like you left them.


    /Inferno: Tess: Serious? No one did myundry? Rude.


    /Inferno: Gypsy: I may have left some food out...