Chapter 3 – Long Live the King

"Oh, that stinkin' Ignitus! Won't be able to slap myself for weeks!" Nixai whined angrily as his face was tender with all the fire that was blasted at him but the said Infernite king.

It was in the middle of the night and the moon was high in the sky when Nixai and Ned were hiding out in their land amongst their small metal homes.

But while Nixai was complaining, Ned was trying to hold back of laugh of him being a baby.

"It's not funny, Ned," Nixai growled, but just as he said that, Ned let out the biggest laugh so far, and Nixai really didn't like that, so he bared his teeth as he growled and suddenly pounced Ned.

And the two stayed wrestling like that until their female leader Nixei came in with disappointment over the dumb boys.

"Will you two knock it off?!"

Ned and Nixai immediately let go with the sound of their harsh female leader's voice, but since Ned was still the stupidest, he started chewing on his own arm, thinking it was Nixai's.

"He started it!" Nixai angrily protested as he pointed at his dimwitted friend.

"Look at you guys! No WONDER we're danglin' at the bottom of the food chain!" Nixei pointed out while rolling her eyes and approached her comrades.

"Man, I hate danglin'," Nixai grumbled as he started to drool.

"It's all those Mixels' fault," Nixei growled.

"Yeah, no kiddin'," Nixai agreed, "they're so stinky."

"So pushy," Nixei added with a grin.

"And man are they UUUUGLYYY!" Nixai began and Nixei soon joined him, and they also started laughing at their rude comments.

"Oh, but surely, Mixels aren't all as bad as you say."

That sudden voice really surprised the three, thinking it was an enemy Mixel, but when he emerged from the darkness, they discovered it was just their friend Nyx who was staring down at them from atop a house.

"Oh, Nyx, it's just you," Nixei sighed as she and the boys were relieved.

"Man, we thought it was someone important," Nixai added while chuckling, but that made Nyx sneer.

"Yeah…like, like King Ignitus," Nixei pointed out.

"Yeah, now THAT'S power," Nixai added while recalling their recent too close-encounter with Ignitus.

"Jus' the name gives me the chills," Nixei said with a slight shudder.

"Ignitus," Nixai mocked, and Nixei shuddered harshly like she said she would.

"Do it again," Nixai softly begged.

"Ignitus. Ignitus, Ignitus, IGNITUUUS!" Nixai repeated, and it came to the point where Nixei's shaking became laughing and the boys joined her.

But while they were being idiots, Nyx was rubbing his temples.

"I'm surrounded by nimrods."

"Oh, oh, oh! But Nyx, ya didn't happen ta bring anything for us? Ol' buddy! Ol' pal! Did ya? Did ya? Did ya?" Nixai asked rapidly as he and Nixei and Ned became overly excited.

"Oh…but I'm just not sure if you really deserve this. I mean, I gave you one job, and that was to take care of the young prince…" Nyx sighed dramatically as he pulled out a box of Cookironies and taunted the now panting Nixels above them.

But Nyx couldn't be that cruel to his cronies and only true friends, so he just dropped the box of the popular treat in the land of the Mixels, but the Nixels were just so hungry, they didn't care and just tore the box to shreds and wolfed them down.

"Well, since my first plan never worked, I suppose we should put my newest one into action," Nyx wondered aloud.

"Yeah? So what's this new plan a' yours?" Nixai asked as he gulped down a mountain of Cookironies down his throat, and Nyx grinned at his cronies' curiosity.

"Well, first off, let me just say this…" Nyx began darkly.

"Be Prepared" from The Lion King begins to play.

"I never thought Nixels as essential—they're crude and UNSPEAKABLY plain. But maybe they've a glimmer of potential—allied with my vision and brain."

The trio of Nixels were confused as to where Nyx was going with this, but then their dinner was suddenly interrupted when Nyx bounded down from the top and crushed their Cookironies, and Nyx then broke into song, explaining the great consequences of his plan.

While explaining the advantages in song, he somewhat chased his Nixels around the place. But they soon came to the bridge of the song to take a break after Nyx tossed the three into a pile of metal bones.

"Yeah! Be prepared! We'll be prepared! …For what?" Nixai laughed with confusion.

"For the death of the king!" Nyx replied firmly.

"Why? He's sick or somethin'?" Nixai questioned, but his ignorance got him viciously grabbed and pulled directly in front of his boss' face.

"No, Fool, we're gonna kill him—and Flain too," Nyx replied with an evil grin as he dropped Nixai back down into the bones with Ned and Nixei.

"Great idea! Who needs a king?! No king! No king! La, la-la, la, la-laaa!" Nixei and Nixai sang as Ned danced around with them, but that infuriated Nyx.

"IDIOTS! THERE WILL BE A KING!"

"But you just said-!" Nixai tried to protest, but Nyx interrupted him.

"I will be king! Stick with me, and you'll NEVER go hungry again!"

"Yaaayy! Alright! Long live the king!" Nixei cheered.

"Long live the king! LONG LIVE THE KING!" Nixai cheered as he rounded up the rest of the Nixels that were close by, and they were cheering too.

But Nyx was going to start explaining his plan in song again, so the Nixels started back up singing and marched with pride around him.

"It's great that we'll soon be connected—with a king who'll be all-time adored!" the marching Nixels shouted, making Nyx feel even prouder.

But then it was Nyx's turn to sing, as he was sitting atop a high podium and looked down at his loyal Nixels. But then he recalled their ignorance, so his smile turned to a glare as he hopped down and raised his voice to scare his cronies.

"The point that I must emphasize is—YOU WON'T GET A SCRAP WITHOUT ME!"

Despite being fearful of him, the Nixels continued to happily sing with who their boss, as they used the metal bones as xylophones and sticks to make the music, and they continued being his back-up singers.

And as the song was ending, Nyx was soon climbing his way up to the top of the tallest building.

"Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared!" Nixei, Nixai, Ned and the rest of the dancing and singing Nixels sang along.

"BE PREPAAAAARED! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Nyx laughed maniacally alongside his Nixels as he ended his triumphant song.

The bright morning sun rose high over the dead volcanoes of home of the freezing Frosticons. But today, Nyx was taking his nephew to this land, for he had a little 'surprise' for Flain.

Nyx had lead Flain about halfway up a heavily snow-covered mountain, and Flain was confused when they stopped their.

"What are we doing here, Uncle Nyx?"

"Oh, it's a surprise for you and your daddy. So, you wait right here—and don't move—while I go get him," Nyx said grimly while turning to leave, but Flain went after him with joy.

"Well, I'll go with you."

"No!" Nyx accidentally snapped, making the young prince quiver for a second there, but then Nyx smile and chuckled, as he pushed Flain back to where ho told him to wait, "no…just…stay right here. This surprise is just for you and your daddy; a father-son sort of…thing. And try not to get into anymore trouble—like yesterday's incident."

"Oh…you heard about that?" Flain asked with shame.

"Oh, Flain, EVERYBODY'S heard about it," Nyx sadly replied.

"Oh…"

"Lucky Daddy was there to save you, hmm? Oh! And just between us—you might want to work on that little fireball of yours," Nyx whispered to his nephew, and he grinned evilly when he turned and finally left.

And a sudden frigid breeze kicked up, nearly blowing out the small flame on Flain's head, and he shivered at the cold feeling since he was an Infernite, and Infernites prefer the intense heat over the intense cold.

But while Flain was waiting at the mid-point, Nixei, Nixai and Ned were all waiting at the very top of the same mountain, and they were cautious to not cause an avalanche. But Nixai was growing more impatient by the minute.

"Oh, I'm so bored. Can't I just go for one sled ride?" Nixai whined.

"No! And shut up, or you'll ruin the plan! We need to wait for Nyx's signal," Nixei whispered harshly.

But the trio of Nixels didn't have to wait much longer when they soon spotted their boss high up on a ledge.

"There's the signal. Let's do this," Nixei snarled, and they began playing their part.

Back down with Flain, the young prince was sitting in the snow with his arms crossed and he had a pouty face.

"LITTLE fireball…puh," Flain sneered while feeling insulted by his uncle's thoughts about his powers, and he got an idea to prove his uncle wrong.

Flain stood up and grinned when he started grunting while focusing on his hand, but he was soon able to create a small flame in his palm; the young prince then curled his hand into a fist, and he started shouting while spinning around with his flame growing slightly bigger. And soon, Flain's trajectory aimed towards the top of the mountain, and he just let his fire ball fly.

Flain smiled brightly as he watched his successful flame fly through the air...but as Flain continued to pout, he suddenly heard an on-coming noise that made him wary. And it only worried him more when the ground started to shake, so Flain looked around, and it wasn't until he looked behind him that he saw the fast-approaching avalanche of deadly ice and snow.

Flain didn't know what to do at first, but after merely a few seconds of absolute terror, Flain turned and sprinted like his life was on the line…because it actually was.

This much cold could actually kill an Infernite, and Flain was just so little; he'd never be strong enough to survive this if he were buried.

King Ignitus was quite unaware of the danger he was currently in, as he was taking a nice stroll with Globert through Mixel Park. But their peaceful stroll wasn't to last long when a huffing and worried Nyx came running up to them.

"Nyx, what's wrong?" Ignitus asked with concern.

"Ignitus…in the Frosticon lands…mountain avalanche…Flain is up there!"

"Flain?!"

Speaking of Flain, the young prince was continuing to run while somehow staying just a few miraculous yards in front of the raging snow.

And while Flain was continuing to sprint, Nyx had just arrived with Globert and Ignitus on a closer mountain for them to find Flain at a safe distance.

Meanwhile, Nixei, Nixai and Ned had been safely watching from the tip-top where the snow couldn't catch them, and they were evilly laughing at Flain and hopefully also Ignitus' on-coming demises.

And despite being the one who thought of this plan, Nyx wasn't laughing, as he still had to keep up the act, but Globert and Ignitus were just as worried.

"There he is!" Globert shouted at he found little Flain running at the head of the snow, and while Globert suddenly went to go fly after Flain, Ignitus left Nyx and searched for a quick way around.

It wasn't long before Globert was able to catch up with Flain.

"Globert, help me!" Flain cried.

"Just keep running; your father is on the way!"

"HURRY!"

Globert could only fly away, as he didn't have the strength to carry Flain to safety, so the Glowkie only flew back to Nyx with worry.

"Oh, what will we do?! What will we do?!"

Globert's rants were making Nyx annoyed.

"Oh! I know! I'll go get the Frosticons for help! That's what I'll-OW!" But just when Globert was going to put his plan into action, Nyx whacked him hard enough to knock him unconscious, and to shut him up as he plopped into the snow.

Meanwhile, the distance between Flain and the snow was becoming smaller and smaller by the second, as poor little Flain was quickly running out of energy to keep running. That, and the snow was gaining more speed the further is slid.

But just when it seemed all hope was lost for the young prince, the snow on the edges was suddenly melted away in the blink of an eye a literal beam of fire was fired at it, and it turns out, it was Ignitus who had finally reached Flain, and he scooped up his son in his arms and continued running forward.

And every few times, Ignitus would turn and blast fire to melt the snow away as much as he could, but it simply wasn't enough, so Ignitus only had one last option for his son when he suddenly spotted a safer ledge that lead off the mountain and that the avalanche couldn't reach.

So Ignitus bounded up to the ledge with Flain still tight in his arms, and he hang off the edge while placing his son safely on top, but that was also when the snow stared to become higher. And so just before Ignitus could pull himself up, the snow suddenly swept him away and engulfed him.

"DAAAD!" Flain cried for his father, as he searched the raging snow for his father.

Things become intense by the second for little Flain, but his worry soon decreased when he suddenly saw that Ignitus had once again leaped out and out of the snow, but his flames were out and he was many yards away from Flain's ledge, so right after Flain was sure his dad was safely climbing up the far off snow slope, he then turned and was planning to find a way around to get to his dad.

Meanwhile, Ignitus had become weaker with his flames out, and he was only getting weaker from all the cold, but he found hope when he not only finally reached the edge but Nyx was there too.

"Nyx…Brother…help me!" Ignitus pleaded for his brother, and as Ignitus struggled to stay up and not fall, Nyx only stared down with a straight face at his younger brother.

But Nyx's straight face soon turned to a blood-lust glare, as he suddenly leaned down and dug his claws into Ignitus' hands, causing the king to cry out in pain…and he looked up at his older brother with mere tears of pain in his eyes.

And Ignitus would never forget those dark words his own brother mocked him with that evil grin.

"Long live the king."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ignitus' blood-curdling screams soon filled the air, as well as Flain's disbelieving cries, as the young Infernite didn't see the part where Nyx killed his dad and ran off, but he got there just in time to watch his father's demise.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Flain unfortunately had to wait until the avalanche had finished its sliding rage until he could finally climb down over the snow that wasn't there before, and he aimlessly searched for his father…but he was no where to be found since he was likely to be deeply buried in the snow.

But innocent little Flain wanted to keep hope.

"DAD! HEEEEELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY?!"

More and more tears started to fill and spill from the young prince's eyes, as his calls went ignored while they echoed over the snowy mountains.

"Help," Flain sniffled, as he just gave up and fell back down into the snow, but he soon curled up and cried.

But as Flain was distracted with his grief, he didn't notice his uncle approaching from behind him.

"Flain?"

His uncle's voice surprised Flain, as he jumped back up onto his feet with a start and tried to wipe his tears away.

"What did you do?" Nyx asked while keeping up the act and getting down on his knees next to his nephew.

"I-I…t-there was this avalanche…b-but I didn't know about it…and he…h-he tried to save me…i-it was an accident, I swear," Flain whimpered while trying not to sob uncontrollably, so Nyx continued to lie while pulling Flain into him with comforting arms.

"Oh, of course, I understand that it was only an accident; no one ever MEANS for these things to happen…but the king is dead, and if it weren't for you, he'd still be alive," Nyx softly explained.

"W-what…what am I gonna do?"

"Run."

"Huh?" Flain questioned with fear as he backed away from his uncle as he stood back up.

"Run away, Flain—and NEVER return."

With that eerie statement, could only turn and run like his uncle told him, but when he was far away enough, Nixei, Nixai and Ned all appeared from behind Nyx, who only had one more job for them.

"Kill him."

The three Nixels then went chasing after Flain with loud snarls, as they were ready to get their revenge for their last meeting with the annoying prince.

And Flain didn't know it was Nyx who sent them, but he was soon aware of the Nixels chasing him out of the freezing Frosticon lands, and out into the forest home of the Fang Gangers.

And Flain had to navigate through the twisting forests with the numerous trees, bushes and thick leaf canopies. But that didn't stop the three Nixels from pursuing Flain.

They even chased him for about another mile or so through the woods before Flain was finally chased to a hilltop that over looked a huge brook of nothing but thick, scary, thorny brambles.

But Flain couldn't stop in time, so he was unlucky enough to accidentally roll down the hill and into the thorny plants. But he somehow landed safely without getting killed pr too injured, but he didn't stop from trying to get away from those Nixels; he continued to get away by carefully snaking through the brambles.

Meanwhile, the Nixels were fast approaching the same hilltop, and they too thought they wouldn't be able to stop in time. But they somehow did when Nixai was the one in the lead and he skidded to a stop just in time; Nixei was right behind him and she was stopped by Nixai's body, but it was just when Ned came in too hard when he was stopped by Nixei, and poor Nixai was knocked out into the thorny plants, and unlike Flain, Nixai was painfully covered in thorns.

And being the jerks they were, Nixei and Ned only laughed at Nixai's painful howls as he slowly pulled himself back up the hill to reach them.

But that was also when Nixei noticed the little dot that was Flain when he got out of the brambles on the other side, and he was leaving the forest.

"Look it! There he goes! There he goes!"

Nixai was a little too busy pulling thorns out of him to reply at first, but he pinned thorns into Ned's face when the retarded Nixel was smiling at his pain.

"So, go get him," Nixai growled.

"There ain't no way I'm goin' in there! What? You want me ta come out lookin' like YOU, Cactus-butt?!" Nixei asked with a grin.

"But we gotta finish the job."

"So what? He's as good as dead out there, anyway. And IF he ever comes back, we'll just kill him then," Nixei explained as Nixai and Ned came to the edge with Nixei to watch the coward run off.

"YEAH! DID YA HEAR THAT?! IF YA EVER COME BACK, WE'LL KILL YA!" Nixai called out thinking that Flain would somehow hear him, and the words 'kill ya' carried out the most.

And the Nixels only laughed as they left to return to their boss, and they agreed to lie to Nyx that they killed Flain.

Later that day, Nyx had decided to inform the Infernite subjects of the death of King Ignitus and Prince Flain.

"To think that we not only lost our proud king, but also our beloved prince, who was so young—for me, this is truly a huge loss," Nyx announced sadly to the other Infernites; Globert was even their to try and comfort Pyp since she lost her best friend.

"So, it is with a heavy heart, that I suit the throne—and thus I introduce the dawn of a new era, in which Mixel and Nixel come together!"

With Nyx's announcement, fear was struck into the fire Mixel's hearts as his Nixels emerged from the darkness, and surrounded them with evil grins and soft evil laughs.

What was to become of the land of Mixels now?

Flain and Ignitus may be thought to be dead, but Flain is still out there, and he's going to save the day...man, that sounded cheesy.

Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!