Del poked her sleek black head into the backroom closet where Nix was going through his box of gear. "Something is going on outside."

"Huh?" Nix slammed the box shut and walked towards the back door just in time to see something flash by. "The hell? Was that one of Mina's Vilas?"

Nix pushed the door open and was quickly forced to dodge as he came face to face with a smiling jade figure. The quills on top of her head were standing up straight; it was obvious that she'd been playing in the turtle pond. "Playing with the Vilas?"

Soup's round face smiled as she made a chewing motion. "Nom, nom, nom."

"Going to eat Mina's Vilas?" When she nodded, Nix released the turtle. "Have at it; she has plenty of them."

Nix was still smiling when he resumed his seat in the kitchen. "What?"

Del's ice-blue eyes were watching him. "You're going to let Soup eat a Vilas?"

"Sounds bad when you say it like that." Nix placed three Emperor puppets on the counter in front of him.

"You made a white Orion?"

Nix shook his head slightly. "The Orion's were already white; I had to waste an enhancement slot to change them to black. Guess the jokes on me."

Del stared at the white Orion; it had been placed between a Dire Wolf puppet and a Ravager. "Can you strengthen it? I don't mind switching out."

Nix knew firsthand how effective shapeshifting during battle could be. While chasing Hulo, he had used the Basilisk and the Phoenix very effectively. His yellow eyes examined the Ravager for a moment; it was the one that Jun Li had removed from the rubble of the Bone Fortress. Sasi had been using it when the structure collapsed.

[Animator Interface Activated]

[Ravager: Emperor (Damaged)][Dire Wolf: Emperor]

[The resulting repair will decrease the quality of the end product. Do you wish to proceed?]

"No." Nix glanced up at Del, who was watching the process. "When I made Raine's Ravager Armor, I was able to apply miniaturization to avoid quality degradation."

"Bigger is better," Del put forth.

"Maybe," Nix added the Orion to the Animator Interface.

[Ravager: Emperor (Damaged)][Dire Wolf Emperor][Orion: Emperor]

[The resulting repair will decrease the quality of the end product. Do you wish to proceed?] "No," Nix muttered a curse. "I thought maybe the extra Emperor would raise the quality. "Guess I have to miniaturize it."

[Ravager: Emperor (Damaged)][Applied Miniaturization Text: .75][Dire Wolf Emperor][Orion: Emperor]

[The resulting repair will decrease the quality of the end product. Do you wish to proceed?]

"No. Shit... That should have been enough." Nix decreased the sizing from .75 to .5.

[Ravager: Emperor (Damaged)][Applied Miniaturization Text: .50][Dire Wolf: Emperor][Orion: Emperor]

[This repair will result in a mutation of the queued Animations. Do you wish to proceed?]

"Yes."

[Critical Crafting]

Arctic Stalker (S)

Del's loud purring was the only sound in the room for several seconds. "That's for me, right?"

Nix stared at the newly created puppet, his hand running over the soft white fur. "It doesn't have any of the base puppet skills; stealth, dominate and self-destruct are missing."

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah..." Nix pulled it closer; it had cost three emperor puppets to make, the cost of which was astronomical when you considered the component items. It was larger than both the Orion and Ravager had been, but smaller than the Dire Wolf. Its body bristled with muscle, especially the neck and shoulders. The four limbs seemed thicker than they should be; wickedly curved retractable claws tipped the feet. The muzzle was rounded and full of sharp teeth; large, wide-set eyes gave it an apex look. "Losing the base skills is shitty."

Del hadn't taken her eyes off it since it appeared. "The ears are funny and the tail is gone."

"Hmm?" Nix ran his hand over the rounded head, the ears were much smaller and facing forward. "Not gone, just smaller." He pointed to the tiny nub of a tail, only a few inches long. "Follow me."

Del padded after the Inferno Leader, who led her into the backroom closet where her egg was stored. She watched as he placed it on the floor next to the egg; it was too large to set on top. An uneasy feeling caused her to pause in the doorway. "For some reason, I'm really scared."

Nix turned toward Del and motioned for her to advance. The Ain'Dhassi ranger had been inhabiting the puppet for much longer than anyone else. She had adapted to many of the beastial instincts and was beginning to remember her ranger skills. "Up to you, Del."

Del pushed her soft muzzle into the kneeling Nix's face; her soft tongue licked his cheek once before it collapsed lifelessly to the floor. Within a few seconds, the large blue eyes of the Stalker blinked open. "Nix..." Her voice was full of wonder. An instant later, a hud appeared in front of Del, displaying her stats. magic

Del has cast [Blessings of the Hunter].

Del has cast [Ice Armor].

Nix watch while Del cycled through several castings. "You can use magic? I don't recognize any of those."

"You wouldn't; they are Ain'Dhassi Ranger buffs." Del locked her large blue eyes on him. "I have them all back, every skill I've ever used, although I doubt I could hold a sword without hands."

Nix whistled softly. "The (S) could have something to do with being able to access your real skillset. That was a critical crafting, though; it has only happened once with my animator interface." "Nix!" Del's eyes stared past him to the floor where the Orion puppet was.

"The hell is this." Nix picked up the puppet that Del had been using for several months; it had degraded to the point where it was no longer usable. "It's garbage... What does that mean?"

"Put me in this puppet, Nix." Del fixed her eyes on him. "For the first time since Everspire, I feel like myself."

Nix glanced from her to the dragon egg. Did long-term inhabitance lead to puppet degradation? What did that mean for the Titan animations that Nihlus and Sindi were using? He had no way of making more Titan animations unless he found another token to Khalam'Zur.

[Direct Contact: Tai'Qui]

A moment later, a surprised Tai smiled through her holo. "Good afternoon, Nix."

Tai's voice was filled with warmth and humor. "We were taking bets on whether or not you would sleep all day."

Nix made a sour face at the earth dragon. "Have Nihlus and Sindi return at once to the Nursery. I'll meet them in a few minutes."

Tai's warm smile faded slightly. "Is there an issue?"

Nix nodded. "Possible animation degradation associated with long-term inhabitance. I'll explain when I get there." The Inferno leader turned back toward Del. "I'll reverse my earlier decision to not place you into a puppet until after the Khione fight. However, if you can't bind to Haven, I won't let you leave until after we deal with her."

Del nodded. "I accept." She watched as Nix carried the dragon egg into the bedroom and placed it on the bed.

"Drop the puppet Del; it may mess with the process if you are already inhabiting it." Nix waited while she hopped onto the bed and then uninhabited the Stalker. The bed had creaked loudly beneath her weight; the puppet's mass was unexpectedly more than he would have guessed.

Nix set up a relatively easy queue.

[Arctic Stalker (S)][Soul Infused Dragon Egg: Del Tali]

The Animater Interface popped up in front of him.

[There are two enhancements slots available with this crafting.]

Nix nodded to himself, he hadn't been expecting that, but it was definitely a bonus.

[Arctic Stalker (S)][Infused Dragon Egg: Del Tali][Dragon Scale][Camoflauge Fabric V]

[Animate the Arctic Stalker according to these parameters?]

"Yes." Nix only had a moment to respond as he felt the sudden gathering of power; he dived off of the bed only to be blasted into the side of the wall. A moment later, he climbed back to his feet. "That sucked. You oka..." He stared at the creature on his bed. As an animator, he could tell the difference between the living and his creations. "Del?"

Del padded toward him, her shoulders swaying as she walked. "Thank you, Nix." She rubbed up against his side, causing Nix to brace himself. The stalker was larger and much stronger than the Orion had been. "You added something! The stats I looked at a few minutes ago have improved by quite a bit."

Nix nodded. "I didn't expect to be able to use two enhancement slots. So I added dragon scale and the enhanced camo fabric."

Del brought track up and highlighted the Elune, the Gemini Priestess. "Going to see if I can bind at the Temple."

Nix rubbed the soft white fur on Del's head. "The color is going to take some getting used to. Want me to breach you in?"

"No thanks, I want to test this form in the woods for a bit."

Nix watched as she padded for the Door. "Del... Do not leave Haven until you are bound here."

"I know, Nix." Del's blue eyes stared at him for a moment before she pushed the door open and left.