Phoenix Phire

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Nix checked his hud, Fey had reset. It must be soon. "They are starting to reset. I'm going to walk over to the gate okay? My companions were all in a terrible battle and might be disoriented."

Scarlett nodded. "I can wait a few more minutes."

"I'll wait here too, Nix." Mina moved off to one side while Nix walked back toward the gate.

[Summons: Fey]

An instant later, a beautiful Silver Drakon appeared in the grass. A loud collective gasp from the crowd could be heard.

"Nix?" Fey spread her wings about and morphed into her human form. The skinny white-haired girl burst into tears and threw herself at him.

Nix stroked her hair gently. "It's fine. Nothing to worry about."

Fey's head was buried in his shoulder. "We lost Nix. I let you down."

"Shhh... Let me down? Impossible." Nix gripped her arms and pushed her away. "I have a surprise for Morti, so we can talk later."

"Surprise?"

Nix pointed toward the huge group on the other side of the courtyard. "Morti's parents."

Fey stared at the group. Sometimes she was at odds with the Titan cub, but she loved him like a little brother. "He's going to be so happy."

Nix pointed to the side. "Stand over there please."

[Summons: Ducky]

Ducky appeared in front of him a moment later.

The Water Witch looked around, her eyes finally focused on Nix. "We lost?"

Nix nodded. "Fraid so. You did really well though."

Ducky hugged him close. "You were very brave Nix. Next time we'll teach her a lesson!"

"Can you join Fey over there? I have a lot going on right now." Nix pointed to where Fey was standing.

"Sure." Ducky glanced at the group before heading toward Fey.

Nix checked his hud, neither Morti nor Shae could be summoned yet. It made sense, as the two strongest, they would be the last to die. He could hear Fey talking excitedly with Ducky.

"The hell am I going to do if he can't be summoned?" Nix frowned at the crowd that was patiently waiting. Scarlett had told him that when Morti was snatched, they could no longer transform into their Titan form. He had assumed that this affected Mortimer also, but it hadn't. Scarlett assured him that Titans are born and raised as cubs until they reach the age of maturity, around four years old; none are allowed to learn human form until after that. Her explanation made sense to Nix, cubs are much more resilient than their human counterparts.

Nix checked the hud again and then sighed with relief.

[Summons: Mortimer]

Fifteen feet of angry bear appeared in front of him an instant later.

"RRRAAAWWWRRR" Morti let out a deafening roar, standing on his back legs with his claws extended.

He looked down at Nix a moment later and then plopped down on his huge butt. "Sorry Nix."

Nix had to brace himself when Morti's big head pushed into his chest. He scratched the big ears and hugged him. "No worries Morti. Win some, lose some."

Morti glanced around the area, noticing the large group. "Yep. Win some, lose some. Who are those guys?"

"Friends." Nix reached up and undid the strap that held his tiny metal helmet in place.

"Why are you taking my helmet?"

"Hmm? Oh, we are going swimming. Don't want it to rust."

Morti's big head nodded. "Good thinking Nix. I'll get it later."

The big bear noticed Fey and Ducky, without speaking he started waddling toward them. Halfway there he stopped and turned his head, his large nose sniffing the air. "What's that?"

The big black nosed huffed several times, Mortimer stood on his back legs. "Something smells good." He turned toward the crowd, his nose twitching. "Hey..." His sharp eyes noticed the auburn-haired woman.

Nix sighed heavily. He was just a few weeks old when he was snatched, he probably didn't remember much. Nix could hear the quiet sobs of Scarlett from where he stood. "Hey, Morti. You recognize someone?"

Morti's large head cocked to one side, his eyes burrowing into the crying woman while his black nose sniffed the air again. "Momma?" He waddled forward on his back legs a few more steps, before dropping down to all fours. "MOMMA!"

Morti's loud roar shook the courtyard, grass and stones were torn up under his feet as the big bear rambled towards her at full speed. "Momma! Momma! Momma!"

He skidded to a halt right in front of her, showering the woman with grass and dirt. He flopped on the ground in front of her and started bawling loudly. "MOOMMMAA"

Scarlett hugged her son's gigantic head close to her chest. She stroked his black fur while tears streamed down his face. "Mortimer... My little cub."

Mortimus stood frozen in place, watching his wife and cub reunited. Unable to speak, he threw his head back and started crying loudly.

Nix watched the reunion from the gate, as someone who lost there own mother, it was hard to watch. The combined bawling of Morti and his dad made speaking to anyone else nearly impossible.

Fey and Ducky joined Nix and the three of them talked quietly while Morti reunited with his family.

**********

After more than an hour, things finally started to settle down. Nix walked back toward the gate by himself. He'd been checking every few minutes. Finally, he could bring her. He placed his hand over his chest and pictured an image of her.

Shae was in Salamander's form when she appeared. Her iridescent form reflecting every color in the spectrum. A moment later she morphed into her human form and leaped into his arms.

Nix swept her up and whirled her around. "Finally. You are here."

Shae's long red hair hung in her face. Her sharp eyes examined him while her hands caressed his face. "I missed a lot. Didn't I?"

"Yep." Nix pulled her close and kissed her. An explosion of applause from the courtyard made him pull away. "Sorry... carried away."

Shae smiled sweetly. "Missed you too, Nix."

A few minutes later, Nix, Shae, Ducky, Fey, and Mina stood in a circle talking. Morti was being fawned over by every Titan in the area, although he looked like he was getting tired of it.

Shae smiled at him. "Go get them Nix."

"There's a waypoint for Free Trader City saved onto Deep Blue." Mina nodded in agreement. "Save this location and bring them here."

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

Pon cursed and lit the thief's pants on fire. The would-be pickpocket screamed loudly and ran off while desperately trying to put out the flames.

Semmi frowned at the Mage. "Might have overreacted a bit."

Wind watched the man run away. "Should put out the flames before you run, that's going to make it worse."

Pon shrugged. "He's the one stealing."

"The hell you doing old bastard?"

Pon turned at the familiar voice, he old face creasing into a smile. "Nix!" Without thinking he hugged his friend. "You punk bastard! You know how worried we were?"

"Yeah, I know." Nix patted the old mage on the back. "Round them up, time to go."

/Inferno: Pon: Everyone report back to the General Store.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Trouble?

/Inferno: Pon: Yep, best kind.