/Inferno: Jun Li: Looks like the boss is down, standby on the first level.

/Inferno: Sharl: We'll clean up the loose ends down here.

Nix followed Ducky, who seemed to be able to sense the cloud's movements through walls. They came to a final set of steps that went upward into a dark attic.

/Alpha Team: Ducky: Up the stairs, lots of puppets up here.

Nix held Wrath out in front of him, the white fire from the blade lit up the stairs as it creaked under their feet. The room was quite large, perhaps 20 meters across. Human puppets lay fully dressed in perfect rows.

/Alpha Team: Tess: This is high on the creepy scale. Things always this in Alpha?

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Pretty much.

/Alpha Team: Pon: At least it isn't a demon with his junk swinging around.

/Alpha Team: Wind: Looks like a morgue.

/Alpha Team: Nix: We'll burn them when we're done.

"Here, Nix." Ducky was standing next to an object that could only be described as an altar. It looked much like the one in the Gemini Temple, only this one was encased in glass. Two figures lay side-by-side on the altar.

Nix stared at the pair beneath the glass, they were male and female and their hands were joined together. "The cloud went in there?"

Ducky nodded and pointed to a crystal that was mounted on the end of the wooden staff that the man held.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Man and Wife maybe?

/Alpha Team: Tess: The man is dead.

/Alpha Team: Ducky: The woman is a puppet.

Nix studied the woman for a moment, there was something familiar about her. "She's not human. That's an air elemental puppet."

Tess moved beside him and bent closer. "How can you tell?"

Nix pointed to an object touching her shoulder. "She's laying on her wings."

/Inferno: Semmi: Aren't their wings black?"

/Inferno: Nix: No, that's just Rhy. They can be a couple of different colors.

Nix cautiously placed a hand on the glass, it shone brightly for a moment before disappearing, writing hovered in the air in large, bright letters.

This is the final resting place of the Puppetmaster Kellix Warden and a puppet made in the image of Arch-Nemesis Bria Chelonia. When the real Bria died suddenly, Kellix labored night and day to recreate a perfect image of her. A Demon named Jester promised Kellix that it would restore Bria's soul to his creation; if Kellix consented to create human puppets. After making several puppets, Kellix discovered that Jester was cheating him. The Puppetmaster used ancient magic to capture the demon and imprison him in a Chaos crystal. He then placed this crystal into one of the human puppets he had created. Unknown to Kellix, Jester's chaos magic transferred to the puppet also.

There are many options in front of you. You may choose what you wish.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: Hmm... That Jester demon is in the crystal?

Nix carefully extracted the crystal staff from the dead puppetmaster's hand.

Chaos Crystal

Description: Jester's

prison.

Type of Soul: Demon, Inherently Neutral/Evil

Primary Path: Chaos Magic.

Additional description: Will permanently fuse

with any puppet. It is bound to its master's will.

[Whisper Nix to Hyai] Could you tell Una to find me at once.

[Whisper Hyai to Una] She's on her way.

/Alpha Team: Jun Li: What are we going to do?

/Alpha Team: Nix: We'll put the puppet master with his human puppets and cremate everything.

/Alpha Team: Semmi: And the crystal?

/Alpha Team: Nix: We will destroy it.

/Alpha Team: Jun Li: What's an Arch-Nemesis Nix?

/Alpha Team: Nix: It means she reached the Nemesis level in two separate elements.

***********

A half-hour later, all the human puppets were stacked in a large pile in one of the crumbling fountains. Kellix had been carefully wrapped in cloth and placed on top of his creations.

Pon and Nix were standing off to one side, the old man frowning at all the bodies. "You and me Nix?"

Nix nodded. "Do it."

[Tides of Flame]

Pon targeted the fountain.

[Hades Field]

A multitude of flames swept over the puppet master and his creations, within a few moments, nothing was left but ashes.

"Hey old man, the hell was that 'Final Strike' spell? I never heard of that one."

Pon's old face creased in a grimace. "Used my trump card, can only be cast after you receive a mortal wound."

"It's kinda badass."

/Inferno: Pon: Hey Sharl, did you guys ever catch that damn Vintner?

/Inferno: Sharl: Nope. Slippery bastard for sure.

The two fire mages walked over to the old blacksmith shop where the rest of Inferno were waiting. Sharl was standing next to an anvil with a large hammer in her hands. "Now Nix?"

"So impatient." Nix sat the crystal on the anvil and stepped away. "Wait until I deal with the last puppet before you do it, Jester may get desperate and try to animate one of them."

Sharl hefted the hammer in one hand. "Give me the word and I'll crush this thing."

When Una arrived at the Keep, Nix escorted her to the attic where the Elemental puppet still lay undisturbed. "This puppet is better than anything I can make, I can't risk using enhancements other than the Dire Wolf you inhabit."

Una examined it carefully with her wolf senses. "She's an Air Elemental."

Nix nodded. "That was your Dragon Path also, she has another element but I can't discern it."

"You'll let me have this Nix?" Una's yellow wolf eyes stared at him.

"Yep."

Una turned back toward the Arch Nemesis puppet. "With this wolf puppet be destroyed in the process?"

"Yep."

Una bowed her wolf head. "I accept your generosity with the agreement that I'm in your debt."

Nix moved closer to the puppet and opened up his Taxidermy interface. Nix placed the Arch Nemesis puppet in the queue and used the Dire Wolf that Una inhabited as the enhancement.

[Closing Taxidermy interface, Opening Animator Interface.]

"Animator Interface?" Nix studied the options, the base and enhancement slots had many more options. He placed the puppet in the Receptor slot and the Dire Wolf in the Enhancement slot.

[Animate Arch Nemesis Bria Chelonia using Spirit Infused Dire Wolf?]

"Yes."

The Dire Wolf vanished as if it had never existed, an instant later the Elemental's chest rose, and she took her first breath.

[An Elemental Arch-Nemesis has been born.]

Nix whistled softly under his breath. Bria Chelonia was no longer a puppet. Nix lent her a hand as she swung her feet over the edge of the altar.

"It worked perfectly, Nix."

Nix nodded in agreement. "It was good work. Still going by Una?"

Una nodded, "I shall take the last name of Chelonia."

"What are you going to do now Una?"

"I'm going to travel somewhere a bit easier to survive until I master this form. Then perhaps I'll take the planar trials and live in one of the sky cities again."

"Do you need me to secure travel to Oasis?"

Una shook her head. "Brace yourself Nix."

Nix raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

Una smiled suddenly. "The second Element is Lightning." She placed a hand on Nix's shoulder causing him to grit his teeth as the current flowed into him.

Nix dropped to the floor, his body convulsing painfully for several moments before it subsided. He rolled onto his hands and knees, looking up just as an air tunnel opened up. "Air' Voilla?"

Una nodded. "Thank you Nix, I still owe you one." She entered the tunnel without speaking further and disappeared from sight.

You have received the Blessings of Lightning.

New Ability learned: Storm Rider

New Ability learned: Daisy Chains

New Ability learned: Thunderfist

Ability Upgraded: Chained Lightning II

New Title Earned: Arch Elemental

/Inferno: Nix: Destroy the Chaos Crystal, Sharl.

/Inferno: Sharl: Okay.

Even from the attic, Nix heard the booming sound of an explosion followed by the enraged scream of anger, it went on for a few moments and then faded into nothing.

/Inferno: Nix: Everything okay?

/Inferno: Sharl: Yep, a bit of a dust-up is all.

/Inferno: Nix: I'll be right there.

Nix opened his hud and checked out the new abilities while he headed down the stairs.

Storm Rider: Self Only

A lightning strike that

transports you anywhere

within your line of sight.

Daisy Chains: Area Effect

Disable up to five people

with a single lightning strike.

Duration: 20 secs. Cooldown 1 minute.

Thunderfist: Single Target

An unarmed strike that stuns

your target without doing damage.

Duration 10 seconds. Cooldown 1 minute.

Chained Lightning II

Your upgraded Chained Lightning

enables you to disperse two charges

consecutively.

[Arch Elemental: Four Elements]

Fire: Nemesis

Ice: Lord

Air: Spirit

Lightning: Spirit

Arch Elemental

All Elemental abilities and resistances are increased by .4 (.2+.1+.05+.05)