Author's Note: None of this is my property

Name: Potter, H

Location: Alliance Civilian Transport Bravery, The Great Sea (Warcraft Canon)

"Can. You. Fix. Him." Makale said through clenched teeth. "I don't know if you know, but we are kind of in the middle of something, and we can't do our jobs with my mage knocked out."

"Possibly." Verene started looking around the deck. "Did anyone see Master's helmet? I need to see what Nox has to say. Ahh, here it is." The Agent picked up the helmet in question and put it on. Immediately a male voice began speaking.

"Jax, I'm a Mark XII AI, not some toy to toss around...wait...Initiating biometric scan...Verene? What are you doing with Merrick's helmet? And why am I not getting a response from him?"

Verene let out a sigh. "Long story short, Master is locked in a recursive loop. I think he just Imperiused himself."

"You're kidding, right? One of those 'ha-ha' moments to mess with me?"

"I'm afraid not, Nox. Apparently he didn't tell me that he was assisting himself on a mission from his past. Tried to subdue a past version, got locked down."

"Typical. Let's see...Imperius...why would he use that spell anyway?" Verene shrugged out of habit. "No matter. Look inside Jax's armor. Left arm, should be a compartment holding what looks to be collars."

The woman began looking through the compartment in question when Diana cut in. "Verene was it? You mind sharing with the rest of the class?" she asked, having walked up to the group. Getting no answer, she looked at the aft deck and saw the crew rush to put out the fires on deck from the crashed transport. "Forget it. Mak, if you need me, I'll be assisting on fire control." The paladin nodded in acknowledgement, not taking his eyes off of Judas and the two Agents.

"Okay, I've got the collars, what do I do now?"

"Simple. One sec...okay. I'm now attached to your armor systems. Only be a few minutes. Just hold them next to your omni-sensor and wait for the light to turn green. Then, just slap them on our two drool-magnets over there." Verene smacked the side of the helmet. "Damnit! Alright! I'm sorry! Jeez-us, it's not every day my boss gets dropped. Guy can't have any fun..." The Agent put the collars next to a small device on her left arm. When the light turned green as she was told, Verene heard the voice again. "Hold it! You gotta do this simultaneously. Best chance this will work."

"One question. If Master's past self is frozen, won't we already be affecting the timeline? I'm sure there's a paradox in there, somehow. And what are we doing, exactly? These are those neural restraints Kramer wanted us to test out."

"Well, the way I can see it, you two aren't exactly solidified in time yet. Trancendence usually gives about a thirty minute window of opportunity before time and reality begins to realign. We never could figure out how to make it any less, or extend the gap in case of emergencies. As for the restraints, yes they are in trial phase. I have just reprogrammed them to take out the central nervous system for a few seconds. Think of them as a defibrillator for the brain. Short reset, then they're back in action. Now, tag 'em and let's get back to the mission.

"Right." Verene turned to the paladin and opened the visor to her master's helmet.. "Makale? I need you to do something. Take this," she handed Makale a restraint, "and put in around Judas' neck when I say so. We have to do this at the same time, or this might not work." The paladin nodded, snatching the restraint to stand next to the younger Harry. "Okay...ready?" Makale gave another curt nod. "Three, two, one, now!" Both the paladin and the Agent placed the neural collars on thier versions of Harry. At once both Harrys collapsed as if invisible string holding them were cut. Closing the visor, Verene said, "Okay, they both were tagged. How long until they recover?"

"They should be comin' 'round about...now." Sure enough, both Harry and Merrick jolted upright, breathing heavily. "Steady, Judas." Makale had wrapped his arm around the wizard. "You alright?" Harry took a few more breaths before nodding. "Alright, let's take care of this fire." Helping Harry to his feet, Makale turned to the Agents. "You might want to give us a hand."

Merrick stood, rubbing his head. "No problem." The Agent stuck his hand out at where his halberd landed. Immediately a burst of ice shot from the weapon, targeting the fire and snuffing out. With the fire quenched Merrick said, "Now...how about we run a check below-decks for hull damage? My head is splitting, and the sunlight isn't helping my case." Before anyone could reply the Agent had already took off downstairs, leaving the paladin, Kaedrin and Harry staring, confused.

"Well, this looks to be an interesting turn events," said the guardswoman. "Mak, you owe me double."

Makale could only nod in agreement.

"so, that's an A.I.?" asked Potter. "The muggles of my time were making breakthroughs on the technology."

That evening, a meeting was called between the Agents, Makale, Diana and Harry. he captain's spacious chambers allowed a fair bit of privacy. Merrick had placed his helmet on the table they were using. The helmet was now projecting an image of a nondescript human in a suit and tie, sitting in a virtual chair.

"Yes he is, and yes they were. Anyway, how about we start from the beginning, shall we?" asked Merrick. "For the time being you guys can call me Merrick, and the young lady is Verene. Yes I am a future version of your friend here," Merrick pointed at Harry, "And yes we are not from this world. Or Outland. Or any other world in this realm. We are members of the Infinite Canon Police Force, and we were sent here to get ahold of some unusual tech that made its way to Azeroth. It's compact form looks like a bracelet, and it contains -"

"A beam rifle when activated. Yes, we know. The one who has it is on his way to Tanaris right now, Merrick. And you may have put us behind in trying to find him. So unless you can get us to the Caverns of Time in the next few hours, we're in trouble, and we may not even know how or why." Harry was reaching the point where his patience was at its limits, and the talk was getting them nowhere.

Makale cut in. "Judas is right. By this time Mathers should be in the Caverns themselves. With that weapon, who knows how much damage he could be wreaking."

The holographic image stood up. "Caverns in Tanaris? Hey Jax, didn't you go there your first tour in Warcraft?"

"Yes I did, Nox. Funny though, I don't remember much of what happened." The Agent shrugged. "Then again, it was what, two, three centuries ago?" The AI cut in with, Over five, Jaxy. Merrick eyed the open stares from Harry, Makale and Diana. "What? Agents are long-lived. Anyway, I can get us there. Transport's the easy part."

"Okay...what's stopping us?" asked Kaedrin, hoping for a good answer as she stood up.

This time Verene answered, "How long can we get back on deck with our gear?"

Harry grabbed his pack from behind his chair. "Ready."

Merrick snapped his fingers. In the open area near the door appeared a green rune, with two halves of a purple stone frame coming up from the sides and connecting at the top. A reflective shimmer resolved in the frame as the portal was finished.

"What a coincidence, so am I."

"Oh come on, my portals aren't that bad," said Merrick as Kaedrin stumbled wearily out of the portal and into the Caverns of Time. "You haven't seen anything until you ride with Commander."

Makale started towards the main chamber of the Caverns, looking around. All around the quintet purple mists swirled around over head, both coming to and from the many branches of cave network. In the center of the main chamber was a great stone dias. One fact began to worry the paladin. "Uhh...guys, we have a small problem...where are the dragons? This place should be crawling with them. Hello?" Makale put his hand on the dias. "Anyone?"

Harry was next to Kaedrin, trying to help regain her composure. "Diana, are you going to be alright?"

"Alert! Jax, we've got massive temporal disturbance! Multiple reality shifts!"

At that moment the guardswoman fell to the ground in a seizure. "Mak, we have a problem!" Harry began casting healing spells at Kaedrin, to no avail. Verene dropped down and put her hand on the guardswoman's head, using her own magic to look into Kaedrin's mind.

"Master, something is shredding her memories! She can't take much more!"

Merrick turned to Makale. "Mak, your medallion, now!" As the paladin began fumbling inside his breastplate Merrick reached out. A purple-black stream of light engulfed the paladin, dragging him to the Agent. Merrick wasted no time in reaching into the paladin's armor and grasping the medallion in question with one hand and used the other hand to cast a spell at Diana. Gold light surrounded the guardswoman as the seizure began to subside.

Once she was calm, Merrick sat down next to the guardswoman. "Are you alright?" he asked. Kaedrin could only give out a half-hearted nod before passing out. "Great. Just damn great." Merrick got back to his feet and stood in front of Makale. Grabbing the paladin by his collar he yelled, "You knew we were heading into this kind of shit, and you still didn't protect her! You realise she could have ended up brain-dead because the time stream is shifting in too many directions! Damn it!" The Agent threw Makale to the ground.

Makale calmly stood back up and walked back to Merrick. "You do that again, and you're a corpse. Got it?"

The Agent let out a chuckle. "We shall see. In the meantime, how about we work on the problem at hand, no?" Merrick walked past the paladin over to the central dias and began sniffing the air. "We're not alone." Makale readied his sword as Merrick pointed to his right. "Single person." He sniffed again, then relaxed. "Some heavy armor. More than likely a dragon." The paladin sheathed his sword. "Whoever you are, you might want to show youself! We're here for your pest problem."

Harry stood perplexed. "How do you...how? Aren't dragons...bigger?"

A figure shifted into the visible spectrum about ten feet away from Merrick. The figure revealed itself to be a female gnome, clad in white and gold robes with golden metal pauldrons. "Makale?" she asked. The gnome ran towards the paladin. Makale embraced the gnome in a hug. "It's so good to see you! Nozdormu is missing, and the rest are in different time zones. How could one man get though and do this much damage?"

As the paladin and the gnome started talking, Harry waved Merrick over. "A moment?"

The Agent walked over to the wizard. "Something wrong?"

"Yes. What happened to us, that left a stick up your arse?"

The Agent snarled. "Come again?"

Harry shoved Merrick. "You heard me. You've got issues, and you're taking them out on our allies."

Merrick let out a chuckle. "Oh, that's rich. Listen boy, our old notions of and idealistic world doesn't mean SHIT to anyone out there. It may have carried us rather well in our first life, hell even a bit into our second. But the only thing our line of work has the patience for is cold-hearted pragmatism, plain and simple. We do what we have to to get the job done, and gods all help you if you do something to jeopardise that. Now, let's get back to work." The Agent turned and walked to Makale and the gnome. "Chromie, status report."

The gnome turned to face Merrick. "Ever the demanding one. The Bronze Dragonflight needs help realigning the timeline. The earliest known point of disturbance that we can access is approximately thirty years ago in the Black Morass."

Makale looked at the gnome. "Chromie, you've got to be kidding me. How are we not seeing any changes here?"

Merrick decided to speak up. "It's because the Caverns are outside of time. The only reason Ms. Kaedrin here was affected as she was is because her mind was trying to remember too many timelines at once, something normal humans can't really do well. Something your amulet was supposed to take care of. Now, let's go." The Agent picked the guardswoman up and threw her over his shoulder and started walking towards one of the small cavern branches. "If I recall, the Portal is in this direction."

Location: The Black Morass (Thirty Years Prior), Eastern Kingdoms (Warcraft Canon)

The group stepped through the portal to find themselves in a dense marshland. Potter, Makale and Verene drew their weapons, keeping on guard.

"Can't you do something about this woman? No offence, but who's bright idea was it to lug her around?" Merrick grumbled as he set the guardswoman on ground. A voice in his helmet could only respond with "That would be yours, boss." Merrick shrugged. "Fine, then. Potter, do something about Kaedrin. I'm moving up ahead. Verene?" With that, both of the Agents took off at a sprint eastbound, leaving Harry to take care of the still unconscious guard. A sharp, metal-on-metal sound was heard as Merrick engaged his own blade-rail system.

Ok...what turns me into a massive wanker? I don't care what part of my future Merrick is from, I seriously just want to throttle the guy. Harry began casting spells to wake Kaedrin. At that moment Makale walked up. "Perhaps I should be the one to do this. It was my medallion he used." The wizard nodded and stood up, eyeing the direction Merrick took off in. The paladin kneeled and cast healing spells himself. Immediately Kaedrin bolted upright, screaming. Makale caught her as she sat up. "Captain! Captain, focus! It's Mak, remember?" The guardswoman stopped, looking at the paladin. Wearily she asked, "Mak? Oh, thank the Light you're still here. My head feels like it's tearing in half."

"I expect it would be, Captain," Harry had said over his shoulder. Turning towards Kaedrin, he asked, "Are you okay aside from your headache?" Diana nodded slightly. "I think so, Judas." Harry reached his hand out to Kaedrin, helping her to her feet. Brushing her off, the wizard said, Merrick is scouting ahead. We're in the Black Morass, about thirty years ago, if that means anything to you."

The guardswoman pulled her sword out of her sheath. "Medivh, the Guardian of Tirisfal. He opened a massive Dark Portal in this area, allowing the orcs of the Horde to get through. It was a black spot in the history of Azeroth, but a necessary one. Without Medivh's actions, the Alliance and the Horde would never formed, and Azeroth would be an even greater mess than it is now. If the Bronze Dragonflight's magic took us here, we need to make sure that Medivh completes his task." Kaedrin looked around. "Where's the other two?"

Harry shrugged and pointed in their general direction. "Dunno. Merrick said he was moving up, and Verene went with him. I figure we should regroup with them and try to get to this Medivh." Makale and Kaedrin both nodded. The paladin drew his broadsword and started walking east through the brush, the guardswoman and wizard in tow.

Merrick fell to the ground after being slammed into a tree. Shoving himself up to his feet, the Agent readied his A.R.M. at his opponent.. The dragonkin who tossed him had stood seven feet tall, with a vaguely humanoid torso and the lower body of a beast of burden. Where a human would have skin, the creature would have steel grey scales. In its hand was Merrick's crimson halberd, having ripped it from the Agent. "Okay Scales, nice toss. Bet you can't do it again." The Agent spat as the dragonkin walked back up to him. The creature reared back with the stolen weapon, preparing to split Merrick's head.

Just as the dragonkin swung, a shield struck it in the head. Dazed, Merrick took this moment to cast a spell at his weapon. The halberd shrank into a small red orb, rendering it ineffective to the beast. The shield flew back into Makale's hand as the rest of the party came out of the brush to join the fray. The dragonkin swung at the paladin with his claws, having been disarmed. Makale blocked the swipe with his shield as Merrick cast another spell at the orb. Four-inch-long spikes shot out of the orb, shredding the dragonkin's right hand and making it flail the hand wildly. Once the dragonkin dropped the orb, Merrick summoned it to his hand, reforming it into his halberd.

The dragonkin charged Merrick in a fit of rage. Merrick held his weapon in an attempt to make the beast run into it. Before the dragonkin made contact, a large burst of ice engulfed it, freezing the warrior solid. A crack was heard as a steel bolt shot through the creature's head, shattering the frozen form. Merrick turned to see Harry, blade-rails extended and his wand in his flesh arm, and Kaedrin with her crossbow raised. "You done playing around?" asked the wizard. "We have a mission."

Merrick shrugged. "I was waiting for you all to get here. Well, until Scaly here showed up and put me through a tree. Nice save by the way." The agent turned and pointed north. "The Guardian is that way. There a couple of Bronze holding a defensive line around him and his portal. There's a shield surrounding both Medivh some of the dragonflight."

Makale chimed in. 'If Mathers would strike anywhere, it would be now, while the Portal is still being built. Let's go." The group took off towards the Portal.

Mathers pulled some of the brush out of the way of his rifle. Through the optics he saw the tall figure of Medivh. The Guardian was still casting his spell to open a portal to Draenor, now known to everyone as Outland. The mage knew nothing of what was happening , being so engulfed in the creation of the interdimensional Dark Portal. The urge to pull the trigger was overwhelming. So close...

A serpentine voice appeared in his mind. Wait. The Knight-Lord and the paladin have not yet arrived. Kill them all at once.

James nodded, agreeing as did whenever he heard the voice. He would wait and do as the voice told.

When the group made it to the Portal site, most of the Bronze Dragonflight lay fallen. Among the corpses of dragons and dragonkin were more of the grey dragonkin, all dead. Medivh was in the middle, still lost in his casting. True to Merrick's word, the golden shimmer of a defensive ward engulfed the mage.

Almost in the clear, Jaxy. The AI chirped in Merrick's helmet. Thaumaturgic scans show the portal is nearly completed. Medivh's shield is holding up rather well.

Merrick nodded out of instinct. 'Thank you, Nox." He then turned to the others. "Almost done, folks. Not much time left for Mathers to appear. now or never."

Harry locked in a fresh magazine into his armature. Kaedrin locked a bolt onto her crossbow, this one with a heavy poison on its tip. Merrick let his magic seep into his halberd, leaving runes glowing along its handle.

As the team readied itself, a roar sounded over the trees. As soon as the gourp looked up, a beam of light passed a hairsbreadth from Merricks visor, piercing the shield and striking Makale in the throat. With a growl, Merrick took chase after the source of the attack. Verene chased after Merrick. Harry immediately cast healing spells at the paladin as a giant dragon landed in front of the remaining warriors. The dragon was the same steel grey as the dragonkin from before, with cracked skin that shone a soft blue in the gaps.

The creature swiped at Harry, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Makale, having recovered from the beam, threw his shield at the dragon, getting its attention and turning it away from the portal. Kaedrin began firing shot after shot into the dragon's thick hide. The paladin dove in between the legs of the dragon, slicing at the tendons nearest him. The dragon roared again, yelling, "Let us see what fate lay in store, paladin!" The dragon reared up to stomp on Makale when twin blasts of ice splashed onto its hind legs.

As the dragon landed, Makale found himself pulled off to the side of it. Harry stood next to the paladin, his wand out and casting spell after spell at the dragon. Cuts, frost bolts and bursts of electricity appeared on all sides of the creature, sending it reeling backwards. Harry froze all four feet in place. "Mak, if you don't mind, we have a criminal to chase." With a nod, Makale leapt into the air. Blade drawn, the paladin readied himself for a spine-cleaving strike, just as he had done with Hogger.

At the apex of the paladin's augmented jump, a stream of purple light engulfed the head of the dragon, pulling it to its left. At the same time, Merrick came flying through the air, the stream having come from his left hand. When Merrick and the dragon were to meet, the Agent released his spell, flying underneath the head. He then launched his spell again, using it to swing himself onto the neck of the trapped dragon. Merrick then drove the spike of his halberd into the creatures neck, killing it instantly. Merrick then cast a spell at the paladin, slowing and redirecting his fall to the ground.

"Got bored. By the way, Mathers managed to disappear before I could track him very far. That weapon of his must have some serious tech in it."

Makale laid a hand on the fallen dragon. "This dragon has been corrupted. By what, I don't know. Would that weapon be a part of this?"

Merrick shrugged. "It could, but I know for a fact that it wasn't. It was-"

"No! We can't tell them. Master, Rivera would have our heads if they knew ahead of time." Verene had appeared from the bushes.

"Rivera would have our heads for a lot of things. I try to ignore most of what tedious rules he comes up with. Keeps things working properly."

Makale smacked Merrick with his shield. "Are you done arguing or what?"

The agent growled at Makale. "Watch yourself, paladin, before we make you eat that shield. Ask Chromie, Aeonus here," Merrick pointed at the dragon's corpse, "Is an Infinite. Fomorian tech had nothing to do with this. Now, we need to get going. Chromie should have the next available temporal distortion. Mathers couldn't get power from the Dark Portal, so he'll have to go elsewhere." With that, Merrick walked off in the direction of the portal back to the Caverns of time.

All Harry could think of is, We?

Location: Caverns of Time, Tanaris (Warcraft Canon, Present Time)

The group returned through the portal back into the Caverns. Chromie rushed to greet them. "Good news! Our strike team in Old Hillsbrad cleared up the disturbance there while you were gone! One main problem area left." The gnome hugged Makale as she spoke. "We have another team in Stratholme right now. You might be able to help them clear it up."

Merrick groaned. "Let me guess, Arthas' purge? Shame I forgot what happened."

Chromie looked shocked. "How did you...never mind. Yes, the Culling of Stratholme. Things are still uneasy there. We don't know if the prince makes it to Mal'Ganis."

Harry raised his hand. "Question: Merrick, if you've been through all of this...as me... how do you not remember when I did all this?"

"Good question. Don't know. Now, Mal'Ganis is one thing, but what would entice Mathers to jump through there? It's the last corrupted area." Merrick shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll figure it out the hard way. Onwards!" Merrick ran off in towards a new portal.

Harry noticed something as the rest of the group ran away. Something about Chromie was off. "Chromie, what happened to your shoulderpiece?"

Sure enough, a small piece of the pauldron appeared melted. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Harry kneeled down. "He got a lucky shot off at you, didn't he?"

Chromie blew a loose strand out of her face. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Yes he did, but I scared him off. That human ran into Stratholme, as if i was an afterthought. Whatever he's become, he's a menace to the timeways. He needs to be stopped."

The wizard smiled. "Don't worry, he will be."

Location: Stratholme (Several Years Ago), Lordaeron (Warcraft Canon)

The group appeared in a cavern entrance in front of a large, walled city. Merrick stopped just before the entrance to the city itself. He took out a small dark sphere and set it on the back of his A.R.M.'s hand. After a second, the Agent opened up his armature and fired the sphere into the air. Closing everything up, he said, "Just some business I had here."

"Merrick, you are a prick." Everyone turned to see Makale, who shrugged and said, "Well, he is."

The Agent let out a laugh. "Okay. Who is all for waiting at Mal'Ganis? I still know my way around here a little bit, and with any luck, we can sneak up behind anything that gives Arthas any trouble. Show of hands?" Merrick then raised his hand. Kaedrin shrugged and raised hers, and Verene did the same. Makale grumbled a small, "Piss off."

Harry cut in. "Are you sure you know where you're going? The last thing we need is to get lost in a strange city just in time for Mathers to get away with whatever he's here to do."

Merrick replied, "I may not remember all of what happened here, but I do know the layout of the city. Even your map should be accurate. The city still stands in Mak and Kaedrin's time...barely."

Makale stepped in. "True enough. Fine, let's get on with it."

Merrick turned to Verene. "You want to do this one? I'll help."

Verene nodded. She then cast her hand out towards an open area near the city gates. A stone ring grew out of the ground, with a purple ring inside it. Runes began to glow along the inner ring as the portal completed, a mirror image showing in the center. Verene let out a quiet, "All aboard." Harry, Makale and Kaedrin walked through.

As Merrick was about to step through, he tapped the outer ring of the portal. "Not bad, very durable. Helpful hint, don't end up with portals like mine. Your Commander would have my arse if you did." Before Verene could reply, Merrick had already stepped across.

Verene snorted. "As if the ICPF needed another knight like you in their ranks."

Up in the sky, a red dragon hovered over the entrance to Stratholme. Perched in a saddle was an armor-clad human. Gazing down to the people at the entrance below, he saw the one in front raise his arm in the air. Towards...him! Before he could turn, what looked like a stone bounced off of the rider's helm with an audible 'ping.'

The rider caught the stone as it bounce off of him. It was a perfect sphere. Strangely, the sphere began to glow, flashing a light in his eyes. When the stone was done glowing into his eyes, it displayed a sentence in midair, about a foot in front of him. The sentence left him puzzled:

"Don't ever change, Makale Draconiss."

Mal'Ganis stood in the center of the courtyard. The Dreadlord towered over most mortals. Cloven feet, clawed hands, two-foot-long horns, Mal'Ganis stretched his wings wide. The Dreadlord had waited for Arthas, Prince of the humans of Lordaeron, to attack him. The prince stood at his feet, having attacked him with a group of fellow humans. Now it is time to leave, and he will follow.

"Your journey has just begun, young prince. Gather your forces, and meet me in the arctic land of Northrend. It is there we shall settle the score between us. It is there that your true destiny will unfold."

The Dreadlord summoned a portal. He delivered a vicious backhand to the group in front of him, throwing them back towards the gate they came through. Mal'Ganis then walked through the portal, closing it behind him.

At the same time, Verene's portal opened up at the gate near the fallen team. Arthas, having recovered quickly, drew his blade, daring what demon may come.

At that point, Kaedrin, Makale and Harry fell through, collapsing on top of the wizard. Merrick and Verene sailed over the pile, landing gently next to the Prince. Verene jumped in front of Merrick, saying, "Wait, hold up! We're not here to attack you! We're just on the lookout for someone. We think he might be...after...Mal..." She turned and saw the scorch marks of Mal'Ganis' escape portal. "Damnit! Now what, Master?" Merrick whispered something into the young Agent's ear. Verene's eyes grew wide. "Are you sure?"

Merrick shrugged. "I did some research, but I don't remember exactly what happened. He should be here soon."

Harry, Makale and Kaedrin managed to get out of their tangle to see Arthas sheath his sword. As Verene's portal dissolved, he shoved his way through the trio. "If you would excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

Merrick ran past the trio as well. "This way! He should be this way!" Verene began chasing after him. The remaining trio then followed suit.

The Infinite dragon's task was almost complete. On the ground before him was a Bronze dragonkin, having fallen to the dragon's mighty attacks. The Infinite began casting a spell on the creature. The dragonkin's scales turned gun-metal grey, the effect spreading from the source of the spell. Glowing blue cracks started to form around the creatures body. Almost there...

A searing blast shot out and stuck the Infinite Corrupter in the head killing it. James Mathers walked up and placed his hand on the dragon. Energy began pouring from the fallen dragon into him. As the energy accumulated, the armband started to expand, engulfing his arm in a chitinous armor. As more and more power seeped into the former groundskeeper, more and more armor grew from what already had formed. When Mathers was done, the dragon crumbled into dust. Clad in green chitin armor, Jame Mathers now felt ready to obliterate the two ICPF Agents. All he had to do was wait...

"Hold up." The group stopped to see Merrick taking off his armor. "If I'm fighting anymore today, I'm doing it in my armor." Verene let out a groan.

Harry looked appalled. "Do we really have time for this?"

Merrick nodded. Having removed the green plates, he then reached into a small satchel and pulled out a series of small blue orbs. Tossing them out in front of him, the orbs stopped in midair and began to glow. Suddenly, the orbs shot back towards the Agent, taking the shape of various pieces of plate armor. Chestpiece, pauldrons, greaves, boots and various other pieces formed around him, locking into place. Reaching a hand out, his halberd flew into his hand and the green armor began to place itself into his pack.

"Okay, good to go." The Agent walked past the group towards a second courtyard.

"Well, well well. Aren't you an ugly looking S.O.B.?" Merrick walked in to see Mathers, fully cloaked in Fomorian armor. Not missing a beat, Mathers drew and fired at the Agent. The blast, augmented with energy from the Corrupter, slammed into Merrick's shields and threw him into the wall behind him at near bone-breaking speeds. Large chunks of the walls melted away at the force of the blast.

Harry and Makale rushed in, with Harry casting freezing spells and Makale throwing his shield to draw fire. Mathers put his left hand out, absorbing the spells and catching the shield. The rifleman fired another blast at the pair. Verene jumped in and cast a ward, absorbing the blast. Throwing a hand forward, she launched a massive ball of electricity at Mathers. The man let go of his weapon to block with both hands, using the energy provided to increase the size and power of the sphere and threw it back to the Agent.

Merrick jumped back into the fray, casting his A.R.M. out to absorb the energy and recharge his armature. Having charged the device fully, the Agent redirected the remaining to a nearby wall, blowing parts of it out. Merrick then closed the distance, halberd in hand. The Agent swept underneath Mathers' legs, tripping him. Using the momentum from the sweep, Merrick swung around and down at Mathers, who rolled away. Jumping to his feet, Mathers fired another burst at Merrick. One of the runes one Merrick's halberd began to glow as the Agent encased himself in ice, tanking the blast and allowing it to thaw him out.

Makale took up the offensive, infusing power into his sword and swinging straight into the groundskeeper's neck. For all the power behind the swing, the blade of the broadsword stopped and inch from the armor. Mathers reached out and placed his palm on Makale's chestpiece. With a twist of his wrist, Mathers sent a massive shockwave through the paladin, flinging him into the air. Mathers then fired a blast at Makale.

Harry cast an energy conversion at the blast, absorbing it until it was a harmless, miniscule flame. The wizard then cast the same spell at Mathers directly. The groundskeeper started to walk forward, but was slowed as the spell absorbed the kinetic energy of simple movement. At the same moment, Kaedrin tossed a small trap in front of Mathers. The guardswoman nodded at Harry, who released his spell just long enough for Mathers to stumble into the trap, causing ice to swarm up the man's legs.

As the man lay trapped, Makale landed, having grown golden wings from his armor that slowed his fall. Walking up to Mathers, the paladin infused his sword once again, swinging straight down onto the top of his head. The armor began to crack under the strain. Makale continued to swing again and again.

Merrick's halberd came into the arc of one of Makale's swings, stopping it dead. "I know you're pissed, but perhaps we can just get what we need and go, no?" Makale stepped aside as the Agent began to swing.

Just before the halberd connected, the groundskeeper's head exploded. Turning around, Kaedrin shrugged, her crossbow raised, having just fired. "Get your armband and let's go. Mak needs to take a day at the training yard to cool off, and I'd rather you two leave as soon as possible."

Merrick nodded as he summoned a portal. "This should take us to Stormwind, our time. Let's go." The Agent then chopped off the right arm of Mathers, leaving the body to rot in the courtyard. "Oh, what's this?" Next to one of the dead bodies lay a crimson halberd, much like his own. The Agent took it with him as he walked through the portal.

Location: The Blue Recluse (Present Time, later in evening), Stormwind (Warcraft Canon)

"So, Nox stands for Neural Operation eXperiment. He was a prototype Mk. XII." Merrick was standing in Harry's room. Surprisingly, all five of the group had fit rather well in the room. Verene had went downstairs to get drinks, and Merrick was hashing out some details about his current status.

"Huh, makes sense." Harry was eager to get a few answers about his future self. "how come you didn't remember about our time in the Caverns? That's been on my mind since you mentioned it."

Merrick shrugged. "Not quite sure. I've been in SpecWep for just over five centuries. Things tend to slip through the cracks after your first hundred years or so."

Makale sat impressed. "Well, you look good for a supercentenarian. And Verene?"

"Near the same, but none of it was Special Weapons." The Agent in question answered as she walked into the room, carrying three tankards of ale. "I figured we shouldn't be drinking and dimension-hopping." Merrick let out a chuckle. "We have to go soon. Jax's commander doesn't like it when he spends too much time post-mission in any canon."

Harry grabbed one of the tankards. "Just one more question: Jax?"

Merrick chuckled. "Judas Alexander Merrick. Long story."

Harry nodded, draining his mug. 'You two should best get a move on, then."

Makale and Kaedrin began drinking their ale as well. "Take care, Verene." Makale had raised his tankard in a salute.

Verene gave a curt nod. "Oh, I almost forgot." The Agent stepped outside the door and grabbed a crimson halberd out from the doorway. "Jax found it. Normally, only members of the House Wrynn and their guards can even think to use one, but I'm sure Makale and Diana can put in a good word for you."

Kaedrin nodded. "I have to write the report on this, as well as the payout to the freelance groups involved." Makale snorted into his mug. Harry let out a chuckle. "I'll make sure you get the right to wield a House Wrynn Halberd."

Merrick summoned a portal just outside the door. "Well, catch you all later, although I hope not. It usually means we screwed up somewhere." Merrick then walked through the portal.

Verene followed suit after saying, "Gods all bless."

Harry was still uneasy. They were remarkably quick to answer my questions. And I still don't belive that I would just happen to forget a critical point in my life like that, no matter my age. I was over halfway though my second century when... when I... died... dammit...

Harry, like Makale and Kaedrin before him, fell into a potion induced slumber. After a moment, A portal reappeared and Verene walked back through. Her A.R.M. communicator began to alert her. Answering the call, she saw Merrick on the other end of the line. "They're out, just as you predicted," she said.

"Good. Now, you know what you have to do, right?"

"Of course, Master. You two only reminded me about twelve times since we got back from Tanaris." Opening her A.R.M., she drew a wand of her own. "You know, I think I've really taken to the magic of your home canon." She eyed the wand. "Eleven inches even, oak and unicorn hair. As rigid as my old baton. I wonder if there's a metaphor in there?" Merrick let out a chuckle. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done here. I'll keep some of the details intact, though." Merrick nodded in the display. "Well, here goes."

"Obliviate..."

Author's Note:

Okay. First off, I'm sorry. I've got my laptop replaced and needed to get everything back on it, and we just got new internet service at my house. Both when my laptop died and the ISP got switched I was about halfway through this chapter. So this has been my third attempt at this chapter. (And it's longer! Yay!)

And no, this won't be the last time we see Verene. I've got plans to include her in future arcs, as well as show an arc of her own.

As always, don't be afraid to read, rate and review Tales. I'm probably biting off more than I can chew, but I'm actually looking into sister stories for Tales of the Infinite Canon. Who knows? There might be a TotIC: Verene somewhere down the road

Until next time,

Master Merrick

P.S. Check out DayzeJane's The Firefly Chronicles and Raven Studio's Forged in Darkness (especially FiD). They are both amazing, well written fics.