Baeris found her group of men back at the Healing Den, though this time they were muttering to one another in the main dragon hall. They'd appropriated one of the big tables, and two couches. This didn't make some of the other locals happy but Baeris shot the cooks and stone workers one of those looks and they stopped complaining.

"So, how goes it?" She asked, leaning on the back of one of the couches. Kalkin turned and planted a gentle kiss on her fingers.

"Not bad, but we're going to need to go out again. The weird thing about this all is that our normal timing-it doesn't seem to work the same as it used to," he said. Van and the Doc both looked a little guilty.

"That's probably our fault. If you open a portal and don't close it, you run the risk of damaging the surrounding realities if time isn't also fixed open." Said Van, fairly sure of himself. "If we were to close the portal to Talon, most likely we'd be able to more easily time again."

"I'm not saying to do that," Baeris said, "but what you're saying makes a big difference to the way that the Den works." She looked at the gentlemen seriously, "so get that fixed. I don't know how, I don't want to know how, just make it so that people can reach our place when they need to."

"It might be at the risk of another of us," Cynonix said.

"If it loses us to time," Baeris said, "you and I will probably grow old and die, sooner than we expected to."

The cheetah morph blinked and realized that she might have a point. Introducing time flow to the Nexus can't possibly be a good idea. Kalkin, Van and the Doc all chimed in at once with a "we'll fix that right away."

"Good," Baeris said. "And what did you find, exactly? I take it it wasn't something entirely bad, by the way you're not all sulking and angry."

"We found that sometimes fate does shine upon our sorry hides," said Izzy with half a grin. "We found a god."

"I'm ... going to just let that slide for a while." Baeris was about to leave, when Lucas snapped his long fingers to get her attention.

"Just remembered, are there sponsorships available? That god will be wanting dragons to remain on his world, but he can't leave his post." Lucas asked cheerily. "We thought that we'd be able to float him a couple now and again, would that be all right?"

"Of course it's all right, just ... give me the right locale, and..." Baeris took the half-folded starchart that Cynonix had kept from their trip, and looked it over. "Okay, then. I'll keep my eyes open for sponsored dragon eggs." She wandered away and the guys returned to their intense conversation.

***

Three days later, they had several destinations in mind. They'd first realized that they needed a plan for more than one locale at a time, since their first try resulted in Vaun. The next might need rescuing, might be dead, might be in the middle of something. But whether they needed to return to the Den or not, that was the question.

With the group of them working together, they determined they'd be able to handle most any situation. With a bit of research behind them, they gathered information about each world they planned on visiting and determined which of them would be best in the lead. Some were human worlds, some where dragons already dwelled, some where demons flew.

They had never quite forgotten what it would be like to see a dragon for the very first time. Or indeed a cheetah man, or Audeo. They wanted to blend in as well as they could, to avoid outright hostility. Van and the Doc worked out a camoflage device utilizing the portal wires, and Kalkin thought hard about how they could seal the portal back from Talon without actually destroying it.

Eventually they did come up with a solution to it, which would be implimented when Alabaster had finalized the building of the new Fire Station - but that was another story entirely. All that, within just a couple days. Not outrageous considering that each of these brilliant men was smarter than three or four normal people put together.

This time, when they left the Den, they were packed up with a little food, clothing and camping supplies that they might need. Each dragon carried a little pack - enchanted by Lucas to remain light and easily carried, even the men might hold on to it and move around, but the dragons would be best off for this duty.

Then they set off. The locale where they went was another Earth, another modern-day time, a place where Van and the Doc seemed most happy. They could almost say they recognized buildings or cities, people. They didn't of course, because this world like all others was just different enough that everything was as foreign as it was familiar.

"The smell is different," Lucas said, "it's clean, but... dark."

The others didn't comment. They did feel something, though. A certain kind of prickling and danger sense. When they realized that the field they'd landed in was busy with life, they all became wary.

When they realized that there was a gigantic Ryslen-born dark-bronze resting in the middle of it, and a whole pack of blue-eyed cheetahs surrounding the group, they almost started to relax.

"I know where we are," Cynonix said, extending his hand to one of the cheetahs, who nudged up against him and began purring. About the same time that Lucas and Van were seeming a bit surprised, the cheetah changed shape into a tall, very dark skinned half-cat half man.

"Ivo," Kalkin said. "Nice to see you again."

"I didn't think you'd ever visit," the popular fur-bearing rider said.

"But we're not here for you," Izzy said. "And I should warn you that there's another pair of your kin ready to pounce on you from behind."

The silliness of Ivo and his ... brothers? Cousins? Friends? Pets? let the whole group of men relax. However, they did have to return to seriousness soon enough. They didn't want to see Ivo. They wanted to see his great-great grandfather. Istvan.

"You knew he would be here this week?" Ivo said, surprised. He got up from the dusty ground, and shooed the cats away.

"No, but we knew vaguely where to find him. We would like to talk to him about something." the Doc said. "We want to let him know what we're doing."

"What would that be?" Istvan asked, having appeared rather out of nowhere behind Cynonix. He looked little different than expected, but he was slightly more lean, not as muscled as the riders would be. Wearing modern clothing didn't seem to suit him - he belonged in a waistcoat and fine silk suit, or at least that was how Ivo presented him in conversations. His skin was taut, and scarred - he had a trio of long marks running over his left eye, down his cheek. They didn't detract from his looks, they made him look more seasoned. However he still had a tired look on his face, halfway exasperated by Ivo and his antics. "Come along inside. Unless you're in a hurry?"

"Actually we are," Izzy said. "But ... we would like your opinion and your blessing on something."

Istvan turned, blinking at the black-eyed youth. "My blessing? I've never even met you lot and you want me to give you a blessing?"

"Well, not the priestly kind," said Kalkin. "And we know of you through Ivo, of course. He's met up with us, frequently. I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned us." Kalkin glared at the India-born shapeshifter, who was up to his eyeballs in cheetahs.

Istvan stood and tilted his head, "then please, what is it?" He remained polite, which Ivo would have said was completely different than the response that he'd have given anyone else. Istvan wasn't all that friendly these days, after all.

The group explained in as few words as they could muster, what it was they were planning, where they were headed next, and why they wanted Istvan to agree. Because while he was not truly immortal, he was what they could determine to be 'central' to their own existence. Though there were older (far older) versions, this Sanger seemed to be the one that was 'first' in their eyes. They viewed him with a sort of respect that he had clearly been missing out on while he was here in this modern time.

Ivo had told them of how Istvan had returned from an 'extended vacation' outside of that world. Trapped for just under one hundred years their time, but more than two hundred had passed for Istvan himself. His family, all dead save for the one or two that he really considered dangerous. Simon, and his sister Ilyana, while his only direct children - both often refused Istvan's company.

Simon, because he was a flake. Ilyana, because she'd spent the better part of 50 years trying to figure out how they would both be able to get home - and had to put up with his eternal whining.

Istvan raised himself up rather more proudly than he'd been before, and nodded. His eyes bore slitted pupils, though they were the same blue as all the rest. "I think it's a fine idea. I wish that this device, and those dragons, had been around when Ilyana was looking for me." He leaned in and glanced at the Doc's device - though nothing terribly important was showing, Istvan nodded again and grunted. "That's almost exactly what we were trying for - but you know some places physics just doesn't work right."

At that the others - except for the Doc - seemed to perk up. "He's right of course," Doc Sanger said, "I mean, I've lived on worlds where people fly and cause earthquakes by thinking too hard. But I think what you mean is that sometimes, cause and effect aren't the same as they are here?"

Istvan nodded. Grimly, he smiled. "Yes, and keep yourselves healthy. Some of us might not want to be helped, and some might be too far gone to bother with."

"They're all worth saving," Van said, "or trying anyway." They weren't about to let both men get into an argument, though, so with that, they accepted Istvan's wave and nod, and got back to work.

***

Baeris sat in the Healing Den wondering why she'd allowed the Sangers go carrouse around like that. Without her. Oh, sure, she claimed that she wasn't one of them, that it would surely interrupt her schedule of events and that she always had things to plan and stuff to work with.

It was a load of crap that they hadn't invited her. Kalkin knew just what it was doing to her. It was making her jealous. The absurdity of being made jealous of a batch of horny, scary, damaged old men was too much - and Baeris burst into laughter while sitting in her 'comfy'chair near the recreation room.

Dulath and other dragons perked up, because she'd startled Striker and the other flitters into scattering into the flight area. The greeny-gold tiny queen landed delicately near her rider, and pushed her muzzle into Baeris' long hair.

"What are they up to that you're laughing, my rider?" Dulath asked.

"They're just... men!" Baeris said. "And they're not even coming back with souvenirs for me. A tee-shirt or anything."

"You miss them," Dulath said.

"Immensely. For every world they visit, it's like a week goes by. They don't seem to realize that." Baeris sighed. "But time is idiotic to talk about here. I'm only worried, and jealous that I'm not on these big adventures."

"You do not want to come back with their kind of scars," Dulath warned. "And I would get tired of hearing you nag them about being late or picking the wrong world, or not getting there in time."

Baeris was just left sitting there with her mouth open, eyes wide, staring at her dragon. How dare she say that! Well - she dared, all right. And Baeris loved her for it.

***

They'd barely traveled, and all of them could sense it. This place was almost precisely the same as the one they'd just left, where Istvan lived. However, there was something else here, a much different presence. It was older, sadder, harder.

"He's gone from here," Doc Sanger said, almost immediately. He turned to look at the others, and they noticed that there was a group of what looked to be peasants standing near hovels. If they hadn't traveled much in space, they might have through time? It didn't look as though any technology was to be had.

Nor any dragons, it seemed. The dragons were uncomfortable with the looks that the locals gave them, but since they were large enough to protect themselves from any human born attack, they didn't use their camoflage device.

Lucas and Kalkin went calmly up to one of the nearest men. He had the defensive gaze of a village elder, one whose village wasn't all that well in its heart. "We are looking for a man, like us. Have you seen one?"

"Seen a few," the man replied with a heavy accent. Whatever they spoke, it was close enough to the Den's English. "Seen 'em all dead, too."

That made the others rather uncomfortable. "What's happened here?" Asked Cynonix, and the old man jolted backwards.

"Demon!" He hissed and made some kind of faithless gesture.

"No, no, he's one of us, too." Kalkin asserted. "We're not from here."

"I could tell that," the man replied. "The graves are there," he pointed up toward a bit of a rundown castle, "up there, where the boys would die."

"He's still up there?" Izzy said, "the man who killed him?"

"How did you know that?" Asked the elder, "aye, he's there. Your boy - Evander was his name - he hid out here till the Baron found out. Thought he'd run away one time too many, aye." He nodded to himself, "but we've had enough of him. One lad couldn't take him down, no matter how fiercely he fought." The elderly man looked at each one of the Sangers in turn, and narrowed his eyes with a strange sort of pride. "And he fought well, that boy did. He brought us the knowledge that the Baron had been killin' boys for years. We'd seen 'em too, come through on expensive carts, with the Baron's evil servants t'keep an eye on 'em." He looked downcast, "but we here, we're cowards the lot of us."

Those few people still left brave enough to watch the dragons and the oddly similar men did not take offense at that statement, though Izzy had seen others do so. They knew they were cowards.

"What happened?" Izzy asked.

"When the boys might try an' escape, they'd come through here first o'course. We were given gold or potions to keep us from sending 'em home, bribed out of the right thing to do." He sighed, "that weighs on all our souls, laddie. All of us. When Evander came, we knew him - his folks moved to the fringes nearby a few years before. Bright lad, sunshine in his eyes. Had a look like he wanted to take on the whole world. But he was only a wee lad when the Baron took 'im. The next time we saw him 'e was ... different."

"We know," Izzy said. "That has happened more often than you could imagine."

"Aye," the man said, examining Izzy and his dark eyes, "I believe ye'. But he tried escapin' more often than the others did. An' one time there were two more, up there with the Baron while Evander was hiding out. It was then that he told us what he'd found."

"The bodies, in the pit," Kalkin said, little more than a whisper. The others got the same shiver up their spines. The elderly man pulled in a breath, and nodded.

"And all of em just like him. Like you - black hair, blue eyes, fine boys. That Baron is a demon. A wicked, wicked man."

"A dead one," Izzy said, glaring at the castle on the hill. The others glanced at one another, and as one decided that this time, they weren't going to argue against that course of action.

"We will bring his body back, and I expect you will know what to do with it," Van said.

A strange grimness overtook the group - Audeo stayed with the dragons. She wanted no part of this, it was unnerving to her. Her fingers clutched around each other as she watched Lucas striding along side his duplicates. The elder of the village came to her, wary of the dragons, and cleared his throat.

"They're going to kill him," she said.

"Aye, and it's about time someone did." He paused, and added, "we should have done it years ago, when I was young. There are some people that just can't be helped, miss. Don't feel bad for 'im. If those men of yours have gone through half of what young Evander did, they know how to handle this. It's for their good." He looked behind him briefly, and added at last, "and if there were any other poor lads up there, they might stand a chance of being brought back alive to their homes. We've never been able to do that. Not even when their folks came looking for them." He sighed and turned away, muttering, "gold and potions..."

It wasn't more than an hour later, when the group of men returned. They needed no torches, though the hillside was bathed in darkness. They made little noise, as they dragged a carcass between them. Izzy walked a bit to the side, Van and the Doc had an arm each and it appeared that Kalkin had the head. Separately. Cynonix and Lucas both seemed to linger in the darkness beyond Izzy, but indeed - all six of them were covered in blood. None of it was theirs.

Silently, they dropped the body onto a midden heap. Though it was past nightfall, the sky was still faintly light and there were torches and lamps lit in the village. People arrived, silently. Some of them just stared at the body, a few came past it and spat on it. One of them had the anger in her to toss a torch on it.

"Burnin's the only way to purify it, no demon's gon't'a come back to that." She said. Lucas seemed to agree, silently, but still the group was hesitant to even speak to one another, let alone to anyone else.

Audeo gave a little yeep of surprise when she saw up close that her bonded partner had so much of the demon's blood upon his nice leather tunic. She waved her hands and incanted something - and the group was cleaned up. It wasn't as refreshing as a good cold shower or a long hot bath, but it would have to do. They were needed elsewhere.