An instant later the Salamander roared in agony as two wings pushed outward through his shoulders followed by an explosion of emerald flames that instantly turned to sand beneath their feet to glass.

Sinfaya collapsed to her knees, her teeth showing in a grimace. "What is wrong with his flames?"

Deidra gasped for air, her dark eyes showing the pleasure she felt. "Don't approach him!"

The salamander stood at the center of the triangle, its yellow eyes showing curiosity as it flicked from one person to the next. When the flames surrounding it died down, its red-orange feathered wings became visible.

"Phoenix wings... That shouldn't be possible." Tai'Qui took a deep breath and focused. She'd heard that Nix's emerald flames could be pleasant when used on another fire creature, but hearing it was completely different than the experience.

"It's calmer than it should be. Nix isn't raging at all." Deidra approached slowly, "I sense no recognition from him either, as long as we don't threaten him this should go well."

The other two dragons closed in, moving slowly. If the emerald salamander was bothered by their presence it didn't show any signs. They stopped a few meters away from him. Without warning an emerald fire strand appeared and wrapped around Sinfaya's waist, lifting her off the ground.

"It's fine! He isn't trying to hurt you." Deidra motioned for Tai to retreat slightly, they could both hear Sinfaya's quiet moan.

"NO! Don't change forms, Sinfaya!" Tai shouted a warning when she felt the sudden build-up of power.

"I... I can't help it!" Sinfaya's back arched and a moment later a white dragon appeared, instantly breaking the emerald strand.

Deidra muttered a curse and prepared a ward, Nix could easily be harmed by a dragon trying to escape. "We may have made a mistake."

The salamander's warm yellow eyes slowly changed to malevolence. It roared again, this time thick plated scales formed on its skin, while wickedly curved talons appeared on both shoulders and at the end of his tail.

"Leave now, Sinfaya. Deidra and I will handle the rest." Tai shuddered at the killing intent radiating off of the emerald fire creature. It showed no fear of dragons.

"I'll leave it to you two then." Sinfaya took one last look at Nix before flapping her wings and shooting into the air.

Before either of the other two dragons could move, the salamander appeared directly behind the white dragon, hundreds of emerald fire strands wrapped around the wings of the dragon, causing it to fall back toward the ground. Just before impact, the phoenix wings flapped once and Sinfaya landed lightly on the sand.

"Deidra..." Tai knew a moment of panic, it was strong. She had a distinct feeling that it could kill the white dragon if it wanted to. "We're going to need to change, or Nix will kill her."

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

"The f*ck is going on over there?" Pon leaned against the railing on the balcony of Nix's house. The entire horizon was bathed in emerald light, sometimes steady and other times pulsing with power. The roars of several dragons could be heard echoing through Haven.

Shae frown at the emerald light. Nix had told of her of the plan to help him undergo blood fusion, but she had reservations. He was a salamander hybrid, not like the dragon spawn that usually received the treatment. "As soon as the lights stop, I will investigate."

Pon nodded slightly. "Alpha team will accompany you."

It was nearly midnight before the flashing emerald lights finally stopped. The dragon roars that were heard throughout Haven stopped shortly before that. With Shae leading the way, Alpha team's archon group headed in.

/Alpha: Pon: Holy shit...

As soon as they cleared the mountains, Haven's desert came into view. As far as the eye could see, the brilliant sheen of emerald glass reflected the light of Haven's moon.

/Alpha: Shae: Superheated. /Alpha: Fajii: Dragon to the east of us.

A large black dragon lay unmoving on the smooth surface. It had several shallow wounds but nothing serious. It lifted its head when they landed nearby. "He's fine, we thought we could handle him."

Shae shared a glance with Fajii and approached. "Deidra?"

The dragon changed into human form and staggered to her feet.

/Alpha: Wind: Something kicked her ass sideways.

Deidra's body was covered with scrapes that slowly started to heal, her dark eyes were still filled with shock. "The others are close."

After several minutes of searching, they found Sinfaya and Tai'Qui. They were both completely entombed in several feet of emerald glass.

Pon shook his head slightly. He could melt sand if he tried, but not an entire desert of it. With the help of Shae, he managed to free both Tai and Sinfaya.

/Alpha: Semmi: Found Nix!

After searching for the Inferno Leader for several minutes, each of the team picked a direction to search from the sky. It was Semmi that located him. She landed next to Nix and placed a hand on his brow. To all appearances, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

/Alpha: Semmi: He's fine, sleeping like a baby. Almost looks like the sleep Morti does after using Rage.

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

[0900 hours Fishing Club, Haven]

Semmi flicked the tip of her rod slightly, sending her lure into the middle of the river. She flipped the gate on her reel and leaned back in her chair.

/Go Fish: Semmi: Yep. Naked Nix. That's your new name.

/Go Fish: Nix: I've been called worse.

After sleeping through the entire trip back from the desert, Nix woke early in the morning without any memory of the night before.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: More importantly, what is that you're wearing?

Nix flashed his two fishing buddies an innocent smile. "You mean this?"

Golden Vest: Legendary

[Non-combat: Nix only] magic

+100 Fishing

+100 Casting

+20 Lure Attraction

+20 Line strength

+20 Rod strength

Description: This custom made fishing vest is perfect for the Everspire Fisherman.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: A cheater! /Go Fish: Semmi: No wonder you seem so hot today. Make me one of those.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: Me too. Don't cheat the fishing club.

Nix laughed at the sour looks. "I'll consider it."

/Go Fish: Semmi: What happened last night, Nix?

/Go Fish: Nix: I honestly don't know the details. You'd have to ask one of the dragons.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: What do you remember?

/Go Fish: Nix: Drinking the blood essence and then waking up this morning.

/Go Fish: Semmi: That's a large gap of time.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: Why were you naked? What happened to your armor?

/Go Fish: Nix: Melted right off. Everything I was wearing was destroyed.

Semmi set her hook suddenly when her rod tip dipped, her pretty face showing disappointment when she missed the bite. "Dang it. Give me that vest now, Nix!"

/Go Fish: Jun Li: Your armor was melted? By what?

/Go Fish: Nix: My Emerald flames evolved into Emerald Fury flames.

/Go Fish: Jun Li: How did that happen?

/Go Fish: Nix: It's fine if you ask me that, but then who do I ask? The dragons probably know, but they haven't shown up.

/Inferno: Hyai: You guys catch enough for a group lunch?

/Inferno: Semmi: Yep. Have Pon and Wind help bring things down here.

Nix stood up and stretched his arms over his head. His stats had elevated quite a bit, but besides his emerald flame evolution, he hadn't noticed anything else.

[Summons: Mortimer]

An instant later the large titan cub appeared in front of him. It bulled his chest with his head, pausing slightly when Nix barely moved. "You've gotten stronger."

Nix nodded. "A bit. Caught you some fish."

Morti plopped down his on his large butt and picked up the largest with his teeth. "You're my best friend."

Nix scratched the black fur while the cub started eating. "I think so too."

It took only a few minutes for Morti to finish off his portion of lunch. The big bear pushed a wet nose into the side of Nix's face. "I made a song about us. Wanna hear?"

"Yep. Let's have it." Nix watched as the riverbank slowly filled up with Inferno members, the only ones absent from the core group were the three assigned to keep an eye on things in Belatora.

"Nix is my best friend, sometimes we swat things and have fun playing dragon pong." Morti's deep voice rumbled softly causing everyone to look over. His big head swung back towards Nix. "That's all I have right now, I'm still working on it."

Nix squeezed an arm around the bear's thick neck. "It's a fine piece. Keep up the good work."

The big head nodded up and down slowly. "Pinky helped me a little. Do you think she'll be okay?"

Nix nodded in reply. "Our dragon friends will help us some."

Morti huffed his black nose at Nix, causing the guild leader's hair to push backward. "You smell like dragon. Did you bath with them or something?"

"Um... I don't think so."