As an Aquarion, Fajii was honest to a fault and was sometimes overly blunt. "He's nervous around you because of your lower half."

Sori looked down at her snake tail, surprized etched on her features. "He thinks of me like a snake?"

Fajii nodded. "I believe this to be the case, but you would have to talk directly to him to know for sure."

"I'm a Lamia, the highest-ranking of my kind." Sori's verticle Irises expanded and contracted several times, a sign that she was upset. "Could you arrange something Mistress?"

Fajii smiled at the t.i.tle. They had called her Queen for the first few days until the Aquarion decided that she didn't like the term. "I will make sure he comes to see you." Sori hadn't told her the nature of her business with Nix, only that it was imperative.

Wylie stood on the west wall an hour later, a fully armored Banzi was standing in front of her. She lay a gloved hand on his shoulder. "The men have transitioned to rifles, so if we are overrun, we'll be relying on you." The surrounding knights watched their captain with interest, it was no secret that she fancied the Inferno Tank.

Banzi nodded. "I won't let you down, Captain."

"Captain Wylie?" They both turned as a young pink-haired woman skidded to an abrupt stop in front of them. She wore white cleric's robes and was somewhat out of breath.

"Are you the cleric that Nix a.s.signed to me?" Wylie grabbed Banzi's arm. "See this guy? Your job is to keep him alive."

Pinkie nodded. "Keep him alive, got it, Captain!"

Banzi waited until Wylie moved away, then he lowered his voice. "If Wylie is killed, I need you to drop whatever it is you are doing and rez her right away."

"No matter what?" Pinkie understood the order. As an NPC, the time in which Wylie could be rezzed was limited. No one was sure what sort of calculation went into the time period, it varied from a few minutes all the way to a quarter of an hour.

Banzi nodded. "Nix agrees, we can always rebuild but we must protect our friends."

Pinkie smiled, "I'll keep you healed sir, and watch the Captain's back."

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

Captain Delphie moved the Phoenix into the small channel between Safarza and the rest of Broyan. She glanced up at the Arch-Winds that Nix had a.s.signed to them. All three of them were perched on the mainsail. The Aquarion a.s.sault team were standing by at the bow. "An entire city destroyed," she shuddered at the idea, her voice trailing off. What kind of monster would do that?

Mina and her team stood by the rail. They would enter the water the moment an enemy was spotted. She smiled at the Siren who waved at her from beneath the waves. Nix had a.s.signed Ducky and Soup to her. The ma.s.sive SeTurtle could sink anything smaller than a Dreadnought and the Siren was a powerful Charmer. "We mustn't allow any s.h.i.+ps to make it to sh.o.r.e."

Zhava frowned at the empty sea. "Why are we here? Our place is with the Cora'Zai."

Mina's eyes narrowed. "You aren't allowed to use that term! We will support Nix by making sure no one is able to approach them from the sea."

"He is the Battle Leader of our people. Yet, he continues to push us into support roles." Zhava sighed in frustration.

"You know his reasoning, our lives are valuable to him. This is as it should be." Mina understood that above all, her human friend valued his friends.

"I am a Spirit Companion now! This protection should enable me to stand with the Cor..." Zhava trailed off without finis.h.i.+ng the sentence. "Forgive my words Filamina. I say too much."

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

Semmi glanced at the Inferno Guild Leader. He was sitting comfortably on his Drake while two Nemesis traveled on either side of him. Her team would find a sixteen-year-old male name Nygil Rapti. According to Semmi's research, this was the person with the best claim to the Safarza Throne.

/Inferno: Semmi: We have to part here Nix, our mission is taking us west to Vrye Peak. Nygil should be there.

/Inferno: Nix: Okay Sem, do whatever you need to do. Secure his safety.

/Inferno: Tess: Be safe guys.

/Inferno: Sharl: Cya soon.

Semmi turned slightly west, a small gap appeared between the two groups. She could tell that none of her group was happy about leaving them. "It's fine guys. We have our own mission. Trust Shae and Nix to take care of this rogue Salamander."

Wind nodded, hiding a slight smile. Before they had parted he had given Lubo an order. It never hurt to have a hidden card when things started going badly.

[Command: Protect Nix]