Nix stepped into his command tent, his eyes glancing at the black Orion curled up on his bedroll. "Rule number one, if you're tagging along, keep off my bed."

Del moved to a nearby cushion and sat with her back toward him.

/Alpha: Chiba: Is that the Ain'Dhassi you saved in Ever Flame?

/Alpha: Nix: Yep.

/Alpha: Wind: You said Sinfaya's people are leading the rebellion? What was his name?

/Alpha: Nix: Cathor. We'll find him as soon as I get a report from Darsi.

Raine Xai has joined Inferno.

Pon's old face split into a wide grin when he read the message. "Looks like Fajii had that talk with Tura Raine."

"Shut up, bastard." Nix accessed his inventory and pulled out the Eidelgal armor. It was tinted green and had base stats superior to his Nether King Armor, but he hadn't bothered to mod it since he wasn't planning on using it.

"New armor boss?" Wind smiled slyly, "or is that a betrothal gift from the Xai Clan?"

"Very funny. My armor melted off... Damn it that still pisses me off." Nix sat on one of the cushions and applied a sound dampening, Camo-overlay onto his new armor. "Guess I should be happy I didn't lose my weapons too."

The black Orion slinked closer and sat next to him. Her crystal blue eyes watched while he worked. "Why would the Xai Clan give you a betrothal gift?"

Nix shrugged slightly and kept working. "Just a misunderstanding."

"Did you lose your puppet forms too?" Wind shook his head. "That basilisk form was bad-ass."

Pon nodded his head in agreement. "It was f*cking awesome. I loved seeing ass-hats turned into statues."

Nix let the scowl on his face slip into a grin. "Well... good thing I wasn't wearing these bad boys during the blood fusion!"

Ashobel Clawz [Faction Based]

Must be an ally of the Ashobel.

Description: A soft brown leather

glove that is both comfortable and

durable.

Activation: Upon activation the user's

primary path temporarily becomes melee

and the gloves become the hands of an Ashobel

warrior.

[Enhancement: Miniature Animation .25] Desert Basilisk

"I lost my Sea King [Turtle] and Orion [Feline] enhancements that I placed on my old armor, but that's it." Nix finished his work and then equipped the new armor. The beauty of the Nether King set was that it could resemble normal clothes, and had the Nether Walker ability. "I should talk to Leva; maybe she can find me the Nether Walker enhancement."

[Direct Contact: Darsi]

A holo image of Darsi lying prone on some rocks appeared in the middle of their tent. She held her sniper rifle in one hand while looking through the scope. She didn't bother to look up when she accepted the call. "Thought you forgot about me, Trip-7."

"How is that possible? I have a new team in place and am ready to proceed." Nix could tell from the scenery around her that she was on the edge of a cliff.

"Directly northeast of your position is a series of ravines that could offer coverage for a large force. I observed them traveling that way a few nights ago." Darsi mumbled something under her breath and turned slightly to look at Nix's holo. "Aledo is there, and so is someone called Raya, both of them are guarded by a force I don't recognize."

Wind's head turned toward the entrance as the gecko he'd been playing with disappeared. "Someone's here, boss."

A moment later, the tent flap was pulled to one side, and Cathor stepped through.

/Alpha: Pon: This is Sinfaya's champion, right? Her dragon spawn?

/Alpha: Nix: Yes. I'm not sure what his strength is like, but probably not as strong as Commander Mtui.

/Alpha: Wind: He a caster? Do we need to protect him?

/Alpha: Nix: No, he and his forces will have to protect themselves.

Del has joined Alpha.

/Alpha: Del: Thanks.

Nix stood and shook Cathor's hand when he offered it. "We're going to assist you by cutting off the head of the snake; however, you'll be responsible for clean-up."

Cathor nodded. "We received reinforcements from the forces you brought earlier."

/Alpha: Pon: He means Breach Commander Mtui?

/Alpha: Nix: Yeah. Cathor is incognito, Sinfaya's forces will remain here in Belatora after we leave.

/Alpha: Chiba: He's handsome. Ask if he wants to come to the Harvest Festival with me.

/Alpha: Nix: He's not your type.

/Alpha: Chiba: I see. Thank you for taking care of me, Apprentice.

Cathor glanced at the holo. "Is this your scout?"

"Yes, she's pinpointed the location of our target. We'll go in and deal with the heavies when that's done; I'll breach your people in." Nix closed comm and motioned for his group to get moving. "Five minutes, we'll head out."

A half-hour later, four stealthed Daiken circled over Darsi's position. It was obvious from the air that she was using her monocular to track them.

Darsi has joined Alpha.

/Alpha: Nix: Any change?

/Alpha: Darsi: Nothing important. Aledo is bunkered down in a small cave with only one entrance.

/Alpha: Pon: Lame and stupid. Let's leave the idiot for last.

/Alpha: Darsi: Raya is across the compound in her command tent. As I said, I don't recognize the elites protecting her.

/Alpha: Nix: Figured out a starting point for us?

/Alpha: Darsi: Yep. There's a small peak slightly east of the camp, the backside of it butts up against a river. You should be able to land easily and sneak into camp.

/Alpha: Chiba: Why not just land on top of them? Everyone here in is an Archon, let's put the mounts away and speed things along.

/Alpha: Nix: Let's land where Darsi recommended. Then we'll go in hard.

/Alpha: Chiba: Me and three hard men... It's like a party.

/Alpha: Nix: On me then.

Nix's Shadow Daiken dipped one wing and banked into a dive; it lasted only a few moments before leveling off and landing lightly. Without pausing, he activated his Archon ability and sprinted toward the edge of their tiny peak.

/Alpha: Pon: When did you become so fast!

The Archon trio chased after him, Nix stooped in the air, hovering for a moment to give his companions a chance to catch up; then, all four of them dived at the command tent.

/Alpha: Darsi: I provide cover. There are three inside the tent, including our main target, three more elites outside.

/Alpha: Chiba: I'll get the door!

/Alpha: Nix: You hold the three outside, old man.

/Alpha: Pon: Cake.

The swordmaster's silver wing's extended slightly as she banked and sliced opened the top of the tent with the tip of one wing.

Nix flashed through the top of the tent and dropped his winged form while casting [Black Ice: Sculpture]

Raya has been locked in Black Ice.

[Aura Ignition: Emerald Fury]

A bright green light flashed in the tent, illuminating two charging figures.

Chiba's silver sword flashed out in warning, causing the nearest to skid to a sudden stop. They crossed blades a dozen times in a few seconds, the old woman casually circling until she put herself in front of Nix.

/Alpha: Chiba: Careful, one expert for sure.

Wind already committed to attacking the second target; before he could react, the man targetted him. An instant later, a thunderous boom filled the tent. The Gemini thief took the shot at point-blank range, his body blown into the air and out of sight.

Pena has used [Scattergun]

Pena has landed a Significant Strike on Wind.

Nix extended one hand; an instant later, a dozen emerald fire strands darted outward and wrapped around the gunman.

Wind has cast [Spatial Shift][Backstab]

The Gemini thief reappeared inside the tent, directly behind his target.

Combination successful.

Wind has landed a critical attack on Pena.

Nix pulled back on his flame strands and slammed Pena onto the ground, once... twice... and then a third time.

Wind moved toward the fallen shooter.

Wind has attacked with [Killing Strike]

Wind has landed a significant strike on Pena.

[Unbalanced Chain: Execution]

Nix has followed up Wind's attack with a mortal strike.

Pena has been slain.

Yiri has used [Accelerant].

Yira has activated Evacuate.

Chiba cursed when her target disappeared in front of her. "She's gone, Nix, along with the Ice sculptor."

Nix grimaced and charged outside. Three headless corpses surrounded a pissed-off looking Fire Mage.

/Alpha: Nix: Lost our primary target, opening a breach to Darsi's position.

The group joined Darsi a moment later in her sniper nest, more than a mile away from the camp.

/Alpha: Pon: Damn you, Darsi!

Darsi smiled at the old man, the blonde sniper shrugged slightly and raised her hands. "Don't be mad. You were a good assist!"

Nix glanced from one to the other before noticing that Chiba was holding one arm. "You get hit, Master?"

The old woman nodded, her hand clenched around a deep cut on her forearm. "I put a blade in her side, but she had enough skill to make me pay." Chiba held up an engraved dagger with her wounded arm. "She dropped this."

"Bring it with us." Nix brought out his bandages and started dressing the wound. "I'll summon Shadai to fully heal you, but I need the practice."

Chiba nodded in understanding. "There was something familiar about her; I just can't place it."

/Alpha: Wind: Why are you staring daggers at our sniper, old man?

/Alpha: Pon: I cast Fire-Nado, and she stole all the kills.

Darsi stood up and stretched before stowing her rifle away. "Sorry, Pon, headshots for-the-win. How can I make it up to you?" The ponytailed blond winked at the fire mage, causing his wrinkled face to scowl.

"You could have left me one!" Pon turned his back on her, his old eyes scanning the distant camp. It was now alive with activity. "What happened inside the tent?"

"We killed one; the other two used some sort an evacuation skill." Nix exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "Let's figure out where they went, and postpone Aledo since he knows we are here."

Nix opened a breach back to their command tent and motioned for everyone to step through. "Round two will be in a few hours, let's figure out our next move."