A long table has been prep for six, Sin Sat on his throne tapping the armrest with his sharp fingers.

"Any minute now,"

after a few minutes, lightning struck near. Sin hastily rushed to the door swinging open two gigantic polished wooden doors.

The weather was rough, a storm brewed outside swaying the trees below the mountain. There was a heavy downpour almost creating a soothing sound hitting the mansion.

"Sir, you are here, come it is nice and toasty inside,"

a man in black with a female elf beside him sat in the rain but dry. The man and woman walk inside without a word, as soon as Sin closes the door a boom comes from the man in black,

"Sin, I am so glad to see you,"

the skeleton gets lifted off his feet from a hug from behind.

"Now honey, you don't want to kill him when you just got here,"

the man in black releases his grip, letting Sin go.

"Sir, I have been waiting for so long, how have you been,"

Sin had the happiest tone in his deep voice. The man's blindfold glowed yellow,

"I never been better, we only run into small problems like the gods watching us."

The elf relaxes, her body-altering magic wears off revealing her big belly,

"By the gods, your pregnant congratulations my lady."

The blindfolded man shows gratitude,

"Thank you Sin, and please call us by our names,"

he puts an arm around the elf pulling her close.

"Okay, Ash and Astrid, if that is the way you want me to address you then it is fine by me."

Sin suddenly over-encumbered with shame, "What was I thinking letting you stay on your feet, the dining room is this way, please come."

He leads the two to the dining room with an extensive table taking most of the room; Moon and Sun sat beside each other with the two chairs pulled out. Moon eeps out,

"You are the man and woman in the paintings,"

Ash points out,

"And you are the little girl I and Sin created."

Sin apologized on the behalf of his servant,

"I am very sorry, she will not be a problem."

Astrid laughs it off, clearly in a good mood, "It is fine, she is too adorable to be punished anyway."

Ash and Astrid find their seats,

"Where is that behemoth at, Phantom."

Sun serves the food while Moon pours the drinks,

"He is getting his armor shined down in the third level underground,"

An elegant fire spirit tells them while instantaneously cooking the food when she is holding the silver platter.

Hours go by,

"Ash, I had such a great time catching up with you,"

Sin enjoyed their company.

"Me too, how long has it been since we last talked, fifty years." Sin walked them to the door,

Ash gets an idea, "Hey, I know you set up the extra plates for the others but can you wait for a few more days. The group is scattered throughout the world and it might take me a few days to find them."

The problem had no effect on Sin, "Don't worry about it, I have nothing else to do anyway."

Astrid looks pleased, "I love it here, so quiet and calm, it is a great change of pace from the crazy city I have to deal with day in and day out."

As soon she said that a pounding on the door broke the calmness of the rain,

"Hurry into the dining room, I will make sure it is safe."

The two were guided back to the dining room by Moon and Sun. Sin puts on his scary face (even when his face can't move because it is all bone) and opens the door,

"WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER!"

He boomed his voice to be interrupted by a man on his knees holding a pint-sized girl in his arms,

"I have returned."

Once again the man was worse for wear, he had cuts all over his body and arms but the little girl remained unscathed. She was not hurt from the way here but her body was being taken over by crystals, it took half of her body already. Jack stands, his legs wobbled from fatigue,

"Come inside,"

Sin's big heart showed letting in Jack and putting Ash in jeopardy. He laid his sister down on the floor as gently as anyone could do before completely tipping over. Ash checks in on Sin having Astrid wait in the room,

"Is something wrong,"

Ash sees the two people on the floor and Sin stressing out. He enters the room fully instead of just peaking his head in,

"Who are these people Sin,"

All sin could do was stammer,

"They, they, are umm."

He forgets about lying to his mentor,

"They are people who seek my help in finding a cure to this unknown disease."

He lays it all out, hoping Ash doesn't mind,

"Don't worry about it Sin, plus I told you to have an open heart in the first place, so why would I be angry."

Ash stands over the two humans in question, he puts his right hand over Jack,

"You are lucky I came today, not many people can learn healing magic."

His posture is powerful, "Minor healing,"

the cuts and bruises Jack suffered are rapidly healing, leaving only a tired brother and his sickly sister. Jack rises from the ground, a little woozy but okay,

"Thank you kindly but I didn't come here for my well-being. Please help my sister,"

Ash examines the crystal forming around her legs,

"Have you ever heard of the crystalized dire wolfs?"

The name seemed familiar to Sin but went over Jack's head,

"No, well if you look closely you can see fang marks on her ankle, the dire wolves have an effect that causes the person to freeze into a solid crystal and suffocate from the lack of air. They usually don't hunt people but if you venture far enough in the forest, they might become more daring."

The crystals slowly take her hips,

"Please is there anything you can do,"

he thinks of one solution,

"Well one but this spell is taboo, the gods forbid it, not like I care anyways. The main problem is the chance of killing the person that the spell is used on, for a person to learn the spell the chances of survival is a twenty percent chance. I have managed to get to ninety but that was when I practiced every day. I'd give it a solid eighty percent, the risk is still there if you want to try for something else."

Looking for another option is out of the equation, "Sorry but this is your only chance, Jack. The crystal will take her body in less than a day,"

Sin speculated how long she will have. He agreed without saying anything but a nod, Ash's eyes glow bright,

"Dragon healing!"

Jack held his breath, the crystal slowly evaporated leaving her in a deep sleep. Jack shakes her,

"Sis, wake up, Maddy please,"

the little Maddy slowly opens her eyes, she was sensitive to the bright light. Maddy sat up straight, still groggy but perfectly healthy,

"Jack, is that you, why are you crying."

He wipes his tears, "It's nothing, I am just glad you are okay."

Astrid walks into the room with Sun and Moon beside her, "Is it all clear,"

Ash turns his head, "Yup."

Sun and Moon direct Jack and Maddy to the infirmary to check for other illnesses,

"Sin, I think it is our time to depart."

Sin opens the door to a new day,

"Huh, we stayed that long, well time well spent I guess,"

Ash walks down the steps to an open area,

"Gate,"

a portal opens,

"Are you coming, dear?"

Astrid fixes her hair before walking outside,

"Body illusion."

She walks to Ash with a flat stomach, Sin catches a glimpse of the other side of the portal, a classy room with a luxurious bed. The two wave goodbye and head through the portal having it collapse behind them. The experience leaves Sin longing for more reunions.