(The next day...)

I woke up and thanked myself for an idea that had popped up in my mind while I was sleeping last night.

After I wiped the drowsiness from my mind, I decided to try my idea out: "Hello Kybris. Come in goddess of this fine realm."

"Fine?" Came the dry response, "I beg to differ."

I flinched in surprise and accidentally woke Sylvia and Luna up, much to their chagrin.

"Kybris?" I asked nervously.

"Yes? What do you need?" She snapped back

"My name is Helix. Soren and I, along with our two teams, will be breaking you out today."

"Soren?" She inquired, relief apparent in her voice, "I knew there was still hope for this realm. If you plan to break me out of my prison, please hurry, for I weaken as the days pass."

"Don't worry. We'll be there soon."

I heard her sigh, "Thank you. I'll send out an aural flare so you'll have better luck finding the outpost I'm currently incarcerated in."

"Oh, awesome. Thanks."

Luna looked at me in bewilderment, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Yes and no." I replied, kissing her on the cheek, "I've just found a lead that'll benefit us greatly today."

Luna rose an eyebrow, "And that is?"

"Kybris is still alive and kicking. Also, we now know where she is," I added as I sensed her aural flare. It was weak, but it was still there, "We're working on limited time, so we're going to have to hurry."

Sylvia looked at me quizzically, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

"Shit..." I mumbled. I grabbed Luna's hand and led her outside, "What do we do about Sylvia? There's no way in hell that we'll be bringing her with us. It'd be far too dangerous."

She nodded slowly, "I know...we'll talk to Soren at breakfast and see what we should do."

At breakfast, I cooked up a legendary triple threat of ham, bacon, and chicken. After I finished cooking, I watched humorously as everyone made their plates and dined down with much gusto.

Luna and I sat at Soren's table and voiced our concerns as he ate a piece of bacon. He chewed thoughtfully and put another piece of bacon in his mouth. After he ate both pieces, he was about to say something when Tanis walked over and asked: "What's wrong?"

We told her about how we can't bring Sylvia with us when we travel to the northern outpost to free Kybris today.

Tanis was silent for a few moments before she continued speaking again: "Oh. I can stay here so you don't have to worry about Sylvia."

Both Soren and I looked at her in surprise.

"Are-Are you sure Tanis?" Soren began nervously.

She nodded, "Aye. Sylvia's a joy to be around, so I don't mind keeping an eye on her." She smiled as Sylvia waved shyly at her.

"Alright. If you wish to stay here, then you can stay here." Soren conceded as he turned his attention my way, "You, Luna, Dorrian, Ana, Sasha, Simon, Nova, and Benjamin will all come with me to break Kybris out of her prison. We'll be using infiltration tactics to get in and out quietly, so silence is a necessity for this mission."

Everyone nodded, and Soren breathed deeply, "Should things go awry, Nova, Ben, and Dorrian will provide cover fire while everyone else bails and gets the hell out of the outpost. Any questions?"

Ben rose a hand, "So, explain to us who Kybris is?"

Soren chuckled and proceeded to tell them about the goddess of Mareth.

Ben grunted, "So we're saving a bloody deity, eh? Who knew?"

Dorrian laughed, "I know right? This day keeps on getting better and better."

"So we're going to be sneaking into this place, huh?" Analise mused, idly sharpening one of her knives.

Soren nodded, "Indeed we are. I can't stress this enough: do be careful during this mission. If anyone is alerted to our presence, we're all goners."

Everyone nodded once more. Soren walked off to find his wife, who didn't show up when he called out names. While he was gone, Luna and I talked to Sylvia.

"Hey lass," I began gently, "You mom and I have a job to do, so we'll be gone for a while. Don't worry, we'll be back in no time." I looked at Tanis and Stefan, who had also volunteered to stay here and keep an eye of her, "Tanis and Stefan will keep an eye on you."

She nodded, "When will y-you be back?"

I had to think hard for a few moments, "We'll be back in the evening. Quite possibly at midnight, by the latest."

Sylvia nodded again, then tried to hug me and Luna at the same time. We laughed, then hugged her back.

Soren appeared again a few moments later with Sasha by his side, "We leave in thirty minutes."

Luna and I nodded: "Very well." We breathed.

Thirty minutes wasn't enough time to say goodbye.