A/N: Yay! I'm back, I'm back, I'm back! And while I've been gone it seems that ff.net has changed my pen name to "shadow40" instead of "shadow"...humph...how rude...Since I've been out so long let's get straight back to business, shall we?

***Numair's View***

The mage was fiddling with the hems of his robes when he felt a slight wave flowing through his magic. He whipped his head up and stared at the door, after making sure that his entire body was behind the crates, watching anxiously as a man emerged from the wall. It was the man from before, Trycos! Numair held his breath as the kidnapper walked by storming down the street, and could have sworn that his heart had stopped for a moment when the young man turned in his direction and glared.

He let out a small sigh as Trycos turned the corner and stepped back up to the wall. Now that he was sure Trycos wasn't in the room or in the alleyway, this would be a perfect time to go in there and get his friends out. Numair took another quick glance around the alley, found it to be deserted, and stepped in through the wall.

***Trycos's View***

He scowled and walked sullenly down the middle of the darkened street. The sun was just about to come out and the world was covered in a hazy morning mist, the freshly fallen snow beginning to glisten in the dawning light. Trycos's scowl deepened, it was all so disgusting. If he had his way, night would be continuous and there wouldn't be such a thing as an early morning. And how dare those brats that he had taken used his own weapon against him like that?! His temper began to rise and he stopped himself and sat down on a bench outside a storefront to think. His head had begun to hurt and a dull, pounding headache was beginning to surface. Never in all his years of living had anyone ever killed themselves purposefully like that when they were completely sane, it didn't make sense why this group in particular wasn't responding the way everyone else had always done. He wanted to see pain and suffering, not just death!

He was about to continue to silently rant to himself when he felt a tingle run through his body. Someone had just passed through his doorway. A grin replaced his scowl and his brain began to whir and return back to it's normal self. It must be that idiot mage that had been waiting outside in his alley for the last ten hours or so. If he could get there on time, none of them would ever have a chance. The room that they were in was connected directly into his mind and his Gift and he knew what everyone was thinking and doing. It was actually a very useful place. Not only could he drive people insane in it, but the time differences that he was able to control had allowed him to stay young and grant him a sort of immortality. Unlike what that retired old thief thought, Trycos was actually around much longer than just when he was the King of Thieves...In fact, about a week ago he had just celebrated his 102 birthday.

Trycos stood up and began to saunter happily back to his hideout...this was going to be fun...

***Back in the room***

The large group inside the room jumped about a foot in the air when the door sung open and Numair stuck his head through, "Thank the gods you are all all right! I was starting to worry after midnight passed..."

Alanna tired to regain her composure, "Well it is about time Numair! We were beginning to think that you were never going to get here!"

George rolled his eyes and walked over to the mage, "What a warm person she is...let's get out of here before that lunatic gets back..."

Esmond, Kel, and Owen nodded and followed Tom, Devic, George, and Alanna out through the door. Alex gave Phi a hand up and the two quickly followed the rest of their friends.

***

Numair turned around and peered through the cracked doorway into to alley...it looked clear. He motioned for the others to follow him and slowly creaked the door the rest of the way open and top-toed out. He looked back and watched as George, Alanna, Tom, Devic, Esmond, Owen, Kel, Phi, and Alex walked carefully back into the real world after him, and wasn't able to turn around until it was too late. Trycos emerged triumphantly from around the corner of the street, "Ha! You may have allowed them to escape, but you shall fall in their place!"

A ripple of magic flew threw the air and hit Numair square in the chest, throwing him back against the wall. George, who was standing right next to him, stumbled back, then turned to glare at Trycos, "You @#$@%$! What did you do to him?!"

"I'm actually not sure, but what ever it was, I hope it hurt..." The man turned on his heels and speed away down the alley before Alanna could tear him apart.

Tom ran over to the mage, who was gasping for breath, "Oh my god Numair? What happened?"

The mage struggled to a sitting position and leaned his body against the wall, "...not...sure..." He winced and grabbed at his side, "get...back...to...palace..."

Kel and Esmond lifted him up and between them began to carry him back to the Palace, "Not without you...besides, it looked like Trycos is finished with us..."

Numair grimaced and gasped again, "For now..."

The group slowly made there way out of the alley and onto the main road. The color was beginning to drain out of the mages face and they were forced to set him down again. Phi turned to her brother, "Tom! There's no way he'll make it back there like this!"

"I know!" Tom began to pace around the room. He had to know something from working in the hospital with his dad that would help them...but he didn't know how to treat or even deal with magical injuries!

Kel wiped a few drops of sweat of her brow, "Maybe if we had an easier way to carry him, we wouldn't be having so much trouble..."

Alanna leapt to her feet and ran over to a shop front. She stopped and banged on the door. George winced as a large man in his sleeping clothes opened the door and glared down at the Lioness, "What do you want?"

Alanna stared right back and said in a straight and determined voice, "I wanted to know if you had a spare bed sheet that we could borrow..."

The man narrowed his eyes, then turned back into the house. A few moments later, he trudged back holding a small sheet, "There, no be gone with you all before I call the guards on you..."

Alanna nodded politely and walked back over to the group, "All right, now all we need is two long sticks..."

Devic looked around and saw two brooms sitting outside of another shop window, "Will these do?"

"They will do fine..." With that, Alanna went about making a sort of stretcher by tying the sheet onto the two sticks after breaking the broom parts off of them. "There you go..." She handed it to Kel and Esmond, "That should help a little."

They nodded appreciatively and pulled Numair onto the stretcher and lifted him up. Surprisingly, the contraption held and in about fifteen more minutes they were all sitting around a bed inside the castle, watching as Daine bustled nervously around the room, making sure that Numair was all right.

The mage looked at Daine and smiled weakly, "Stop fussing, I will be all right..."

"How can you say that?! You don't even know what that...that man did to you! Don't even think about getting up! You're not moving until Duke Baird says you've healed, and he has yet to even to discover why you're injured!" Daine took a deep breath and paused at the look Numair gave her, "I don't want you hurting yourself again Numair!"

The mage sighed, "...Fine, I will not move..."

She nodded happily and turned to the rest of the group, "Thank you for taking him back...I'm glad to see that you are all all right too...we were getting worried about you. Oh, that reminds me. Kel, Dom was asking for you and asked me to tell you when you got back that he had to go on a short trip that should only take a few days...And you must all be exhausted! Why don't you freshen up and get something to eat...Jonathan will also want to know you're back. He sounded quite frustrated last night after the meeting..."

Alanna sighed, "You mean they still have not reached an agreement?"

The wild mage shook her head, "You know, I'm starting to wonder if they ever will? The yelling is even starting to get worse...the birds are refusing to land anywhere near the conference room because of the noise..."

She waved them good-night and Alanna turned down the hallway back towards the conference room, "I had better be getting back..."

George shrugged and followed his wife, his hands stuck deep in his pockets, "I'll come to... It sounds like things are finally getting interesting..."

They waved the two good-bye then Kel, Esmond, Owen, Devic, Alex, Tom, and Phi began to stroll back down the hallway towards their rooms. Alex grinned, "It sure feels good to be back..."

Tom sighed, "That's good, because we might be here for a while..."

Phi turned to Tom, "What do you mean? It's obvious that Trycos was the one who sent the Immortal into our world, there's no reason why we should stay anymore!"

Alex nodded, "Besides, our parents are probably gonna get worried again..."

Devic turned to Tom, "Is there something else that needs to be fixed?"

"Yes..."

Kel stopped walking and folded her arms over her chest, "Well, what is it?"

Tom exhaled slowly, "There is only one person who can open the portal to our world, and he is stuck in a bed for who knows how long..."

There was a long period of silence before Esmond broke in. His voice was troubled, but there was a thoughtful expression on his face, "That is where you are wrong Tom. There is someone else who can both open the portal and cure Numair..."

"Who?"

"...Trycos..."

A/N: Ooooo...what to do, what to do...what does one do when the only one that can help you is your greatest enemy?