Phoenix Phire

"Who is Atilla?" Wind had his blade sunk up to the hilt in Galen's shoulder. He pinned him to the floor, twisting slightly whenever he didn't like the Warlock's answer. "He the boss down here? Of course, he is. There's always a boss."

Galen groaned in pain. His tattooed face appeared chalk-white in the torchlit room. His right arm had been cut off at the elbow. "My ring opens his door. I've told you everything; release me."

"Sure." Wind withdrew his blade before plunging it into the elder's eye. "Any luck?"

[Quest: Black Harvest has been Updated]

[Quest: Destroy the Coven has been Updated]

His newly minuted demon companion had a severed arm in one hand and was trying to pull the rings off of the fingers. "Rabi is trying; his fingers are so fat."

"Just cut them off." Wind stared down the only hallway they hadn't explored. He wasn't interested in taking on a boss without a bit more back-up.

"You're smart like Sasi." Rabi sliced off all of the fingers and plucked the rings off without flinching. He handed them over without comment. The dark demon wore black leather gear and carried two daggers. It hadn't occurred to him that his daggers would have been better for skinning rats than the belt buckle he had been trying to sharpen.

Black Harvest Ring: Unique

Description: Opens the Black Iron door.

Ring of Graves: Legendary

Description: Summon up to three enemies you've slain, to fight on your behalf. Enemy identities may be locked in. The Ring of Graves will permanently store any three of your fallen foes.

Spirits: 0/3

"Damn... I should have put that ring on before getting rid of this guy." Wind stole a quick glance at Rabi, who was busy playing with the Great Demon King Lubo. The tiny red gecko was sitting calmly on the demons bald head; his tiny arms wrapped comfortably around Rabi's small, black horn.

"Sasi is going to be so mad when she sees the Great Demon King." Rabi flashed the Gemini Thief a smile. "Should I try and bring her in again?"

"Bring her in?" Wind had been considering their chances of dealing with a boss mob. "You can bring her in?"

Rabi nodded and held out a small token.

Qi Family Token

Description: Summon one of the fighters from the Qi Family.

Fighter: Anasasi Qi

Wind found that it was impossible to frown at the smiling demon. "Why didn't you bring her in right away?"

Rabi shrugged slightly. "It wouldn't work when I was in the circle; I thought maybe it was broken."

"Probably due to the summoning circle. Any other things like this? I need to know since there's a boss down here. If I call in Nix and Pon..."

Sasi grinned knowingly. "Then, we have to shares!"

"We're going to get along great." Wind watched as Rabi pulled out a second token. "I have this one too, only..."

Wind examined the heart-shaped token. "What's up with the shape?"

Demon Heart: Special

Description: Given to a loved one, this summons the owner to defend

you in times of need.

Owner: Mimicry Zul

Rabi chewed on a sharp fingernail while considering the question. "I stoles it from my rival."

Wind kept his face expressionless. "You have a love rival?"

Rabi moaned miserably. "Dozens... Everyone likes Mimi."

"The name is familiar. Can she heal?"

Rabi nodded. "She is a Black Water Mage, but she can heal demons too."

"Guess my horns will come in handy. Let's bring them both in."

Rabi leaped forward and grabbed both of his hands before he could activate either token. "NO! Sasi doesn't like Mimi, and if she finds out I stole the token she will be very angry with Rabi."

"I see." Wind tossed the Qi family token back to Rabi. "So just Mimicry then."

Rabi sighed in relief. "Yes."

Wind shrugged and activated the Demon Heart token.

[Summons: Mimicry]

A demon hybrid appeared in front of him a moment later; instantly, Wind recalled where he'd seen her. The revealing black leather outfit and sinuous grace was all the reminder he needed. She had sparred with Pon at the House of Tempest.

The beautiful demon's dark eyes stared at Wind for a moment. "Inferno fighter?"

"I'm Wind; picked up your token from a friend." The Gemini Thief pointed at Rabi, deciding that he'd leave it up to the little demon to explain things. Without another word, he handed the heart token back to Mimi.

"Rabi..." Mimi's face remained passive when she spied the Qi family thief. "I didn't give this token to you. In fact, I haven't given it to anyone yet."

Rabi grinned widely. "Yes! Rabi stole it from Zexi, who stole it from Lugly, who stole it from Bano... I don't remember who Bano stole it from."

"Bano stole it from me." Mimi pulled loose the whip that was coiled onto her belt. "I assume we are going to fight something?"

Wind pointed down the hall. "Atilla is the boss of the Coven that summoned Rabi. We've dealt with the members; now we are after the boss."

Mimi smiled sexily at Rabi, causing him to freeze in place. "You were summoned by a Coven?"

Rabi nodded and puffed his chest out. "I'm now a minion of the Great Demon King."

The demon woman's dark eyes stared at the tiny red gecko who was still sitting comfortably on Rabi's head. "You're a notorious liar; that's what I like about you, Rabi."

Rabi flashed his fanged smile. "Time to fight."

Rabi has joined Gemini.

Mimicry has joined Gemini.

The red gecko darted toward Wind, scurrying up the Gemini thief to hide in the pocket of his cloak. The trio walked down the short hallway to a set of double iron doors. A small indentation was visible over twin bone handles.

/Gemini: Wind: We'll try the boss, let me and Rabi do the damage. Focus on heals.

/Gemini: Mimi: I can CC also.

/Gemini: Wind: Really? Perfect.

Wind inserted the ring; the action was immediately rewarded with the sound of a mechanic click; the Gemini thief pushed the doors open and stepped inside.

*********************

Free Trader City, 1100 hours Mayor's Mansion

Nix landed his Shadow Daiken on top of the mansion's roof and then opened a gate for Semmi and Del.

/Alpha: Semmi: That was quick, that mount of yours fast.

/Alpha: Nix: He is. Get track up, Del; since you have it, we might as well use it.

/Alpha: Semmi: Want the news?

/Alpha: Nix: News?

/Alpha: Semmi: All six of them passed the trial. The Thieves Guild has some new apprentices.

/Alpha: Nix: That was fast. What did LuAnne say?

/Alpha: Semmi: She was shocked, but also satisfied.

A tracking hud popped up in front of the Orion. Nix had been expecting it, but he still found it amazing. Was it because of the length of time Del had been using the puppet? Or maybe it was the dragon egg?

[Track] Fifty meter radius, -20 meter elevation.

Tiga Hu: 15 meters, -10 meters

Hani Emmon: 12 meters, -20 meters

Chael: 3 meters, -15 meters

Shini Govoni: 3 meters, -15 meters

/Alpha: Nix: Fuck... Seriously? Fuck...

/Alpha: Semmi: What?

/Alpha: Nix: Look who is here... although on a separate level.

/Alpha: Semmi: Chael? Why would he be here?

/Alpha: Nix: Maybe he works for the Mayor? Regroup at the R & B Pawnshop.

/Alpha: Semmi: Agreed. I'm a bit curious.

[Whisper: Del to Semmi] Why are we stopping?

[Whisper: Semmi to Del] Chael is ex-Inferno. He has great gear, and he's a sniper.

/Inferno: Nix: Ronnie? You at your shop?

/Inferno: Ronnie: Yep, been waiting for you. I have that information regarding the symbol Semmi sent me.

[Create Breach: Free Trader City, Mayor's Mansion: Free Trader City, R & B Pawnshop]

Nix gestured for his group to step through the breach, then he followed.

Ronnie has joined Alpha.

/Alpha: Nix: You on good terms with Chael?

/Alpha: Ronnie: Sure, we used to hunt together quite a bit.

/Alpha: Nix: Our mission has brought us to the Mayor's Mansion; I want to know what he's doing there before we go in.

/Alpha: Ronnie: Could be a quest or something simple. I'll send him a message.

Ronnie left the shop, leaving Alpha alone with the co-owner of the store. The Ain'Dhassi ranger was busy writing in a ledger and hadn't looked at them since they walked in.

"This is a nice shop, Bali." Del's voice made the petite ranger lookup.

"Hey, Del!" Bali favored the Orion with a bright smile. Del was one of the few people she refused to prank. The practical joker was close to her fellow ranger but had never said why. "Feel free to look around; you guys get the Inferno discount."

/Alpha: Del: Why did Chael leave Inferno?

/Alpha: Semmi: An impossible chain of events caused the break-up of someone he was romantically involved with. They attempted to make amends, but the bridge of trust...

/Alpha: Nix: It was a crapy deal all around. I should never have brought Chael on that mission.

When Ronnie returned half an hour later, Bali was chatting happily with Alpha team.

/Alpha: Ronnie: Chael upgraded from Sniper to Urban Ranger... Have you heard of such a thing?

/Alpha: Nix: Urban Ranger? Does that mean he has track?

/Alpha: Ronnie: It does. He is working for the Mayor as security.

/Alpha: Semmi: From Inferno Elite to a security job? Why would he do that?

/Alpha: Ronnie: You ever see those huge compounds on the Northside of the city?

/Alpha: Nix: Sure. Where all the social bigwigs live.

/Alpha: Ronnie: He was given one of those. A lot of other stuff too. He has his own security team.

/Alpha: Semmi: Damn. Any other bad news?

/Alpha: Ronnie: Yep. He's on high alert.