Valentine was glaring at the Bello daring her to touch Lazarus.

"I'm warning you Bello, don't poke him with your fingernails yet! It's too soon. I'll tell you when."

"Myutt, myutt!" she argued. "Bel-lo?"

"How should I know?" came Valentine's agitated reply. He was anxious and unsure of what to do. Inject Laz with the Annazzosh now or wait? What if the antidote was not ready? What if Sharak had screwed up and it didn't work? Laz would be dead. The Thief grimaced, Laz would still be doomed if he didn't do anything.

The Bello nudged Lazarus' body experimentally but his eyes stayed shut. "Bello," she persuaded the motionless human in a soft cajoling voice and continued to elaborate. "Bel-looo, bel-lo, bello!"

"Laz? What did she say?"

But only silence greeted him in the group link. Lazarus was too busy using all his Energies to endure his torture. Anya was supporting her Chosen by supplementing some of her own wolfy Energies to him, something never done before by a NPC. A familiar's potent strength and energy was exactly what he needed right now. Tania stayed respectfully silent. Her already grief stricken sister was barely keeping herself together. The only thing keeping her grounded was what little help she was able to provide her Chosen. If Lazarus died now whilst they were all mind-linked, Anya might just snap losing her mind and go rabid.

Valentine sighed. Poor me. He was on his own.

"I bet you are making a really good argument. Too bad I can't understand you," the Thief said.

"Myutt."

The Bello bent over the Assassin's body sniffing delicately. Her pert human nose wrinkled up as she moved her head slowly over his still form. Suddenly she stopped, shook her head and snorted, sneezing cutely. "Myutt, myutt."

"What?"

The Bello pointed to Lazarus' chest. "Myutt," she said solemnly. Using three tentacles she tried to open his shirt but the complicated leather ties, buckles and buttons defeated her. Pausing a moment, she ripped apart the cloth and leather, exposing the Assassin's bare chest.

"Whoa!! Don't do that!" yelled Valentine in fright. "He's just recovering from some issues. You're gonna freak him out!!"

"Myutt," replied the Bello triumphant ignoring the anxious Thief. She did not care about human issues. The Witch said that she must give the cold lifeless one the Annazzosh for him to overcome the nasty nauk dzi vras. It was risky but it was the only way to save him and she was going to do just that. He was hers to save. She trusted the Witch. When the human was saved and whole, he would keep her fed. She would never go hungry again.

The horrible stench permeating from the cold one was the strongest at the ugly spot just below his heart. She studied the ragged scar on his fair skin. That must be where the nauk dzi vras had entered his body, so that is where she should inject her Annazzosh for best results. She hated the stink of the Vogeruks! She would get rid of it.

"Hang on. We should wait, the potion isn't ready yet. What if ..."

The Bello pouted exasperatedly at the fussing human but continued rearranging her limbs strategically on Lazarus. She had more than enough tentacles to hold him down when her poison took effect.

"Myutt."

"But ..."

"Myutt, myutt," she cut him off.

A wave of relief washed over him when Valentine saw the Witch approaching.

"You talk to her. She wants to poison him now," complained the Thief. "Stubborn squid," he muttered.

"Myuu-uuuutt," countered the Bello, human hands on her shapely purple hips. She was not a squid! Stubborn human, she had a few choice words for him. "Myutt, myutt, MYUTT!"

The high level gate keeper did not understand the Bello but her impolite tone made him bristle.

"Pleasse! Both of you, calm down," The Witch interrupted the two who were glaring openly at each other. "Bello, that wasss not a nice thing to say about him ..." she admonished the pouting monster but her eyes flickered to the Thief and the corners of her mouth twitched. Valentine crossed his hands over his chest in response and narrowed his eyes. The Witch tried again.

"My Lord Valentine, the potion isss brewing and isss almosst done. The Warlord will cool it and bring it over when it isss ready."

"It's ready?"

"Myutt, myutt," said the Bello in an I-told-you-so tone to the worried gate keeper.

"So we proceed?"

The Witch studied Lazarus or rather the thick swirling dark mist which had gathered around him. She waved her hand dissipating the dark cloud temporarily. It allowed her to see the pale Assassin before more of the sinister inky miasma leaked from his old Illaru scar to cover him again.

"Yesss, we proceed. It isss time." The Witch turned her attention to Valentine. "You musst be sstrong, fair one."

"Me? You mean Laz, right?"

"No, I mean you, my Lord. It will not be a pretty ssight when the Annazzzzosh encountersss the nauk dzzi vrasss in the dark one'sss body."

"Oh ..."

"But he will be alright, right?"

"We sshall ssee if he can endure the sstronger poisson."

"Not helping," Valentine muttered but steeled himself.

"Bello, pleasse proceed. The dark one hasss no more time."

"Bel-lo," the Boss replied.

The Bello tightened her grip on the frozen limp human. Strong purple tentacles lashed his body securely at his chest, arms and legs. He was not going anywhere. Then she reached out, her human hand hovering over Lazarus' ugly cicatrix. She tilted her head focusing on her hand. Her fingernails elongated hardening into ebony sharpened spikes.

"Myutt," she said softly before she plunged her claw into Lazarus' flesh, the five tips pierced his skin making a neat circle around the ragged scar. Blood beaded immediately and pooled from the wounds. The gatekeeper's eyes flew open in shock but squeezed shut again almost immediately. He did not make a sound. He could not.

The purple Boss flexed her fingers slightly, injecting the blackish purple fluid from her nails. The Annazzosh mixed with red blood before entering the human flesh. Black spots oozed from her fingernails, spreading on the Assassin's skin to converge into an irregular palm size smudge before spreading to cover his entire chest. His body jerked arching awkwardly but he was held down by the alert Bello.

"Oh Gods!"

"Laz?"

"Shit!! Aarrrgghhh!"

Anya and Tania whined in the background.

"Hang in there. The antidote is almost ready."

Lazarus whimpered in pain but managed to pull himself together for a half-hearted attempt at assurance, "H-hanging ..."

"Idiot," Valentine choked and clenched his jaw. He felt so useless.

The Bello kept the flow of Annazzosh going for a few more minutes before retracting her hand. The light layer of frost on Lazarus started melting away. It was a good sign, Valentine hoped. Unfortunately the Assassin's fair skin was turning an ugly mottled grey, just like the Vogeruk stallion earlier. Lazarus' hands and face took on the unsightly splotchy mark of the Annazzosh. Bluish veins stood out on his exposed chest and hands. It also streaked up from his neck, the thicker arteries branching out into finer blood capillaries to snake randomly all over the Assassin's handsome face. His body started to decay whilst he was still 'alive' inside.

Lazarus freaked out.

"Oh Gods!! Get me out of here!"

"Laz ..."

"Shit! This is too much! Simtrixx has gone too far," Lazarus shouted mentally. He couldn't help himself. "This is disgusting. I'M ROTTING IN HERE! I'm done. I'm so freaking doneeee!!"

"Hold him down! Bello!! He's losing it!" Valentine yelled out loud.

"Aaarrrggghhh! Dammit! Log me out! Log me out! Logmeouutt!!"

The Assassin lost his paralysis as the Annazzosh battled the nauk dzi vras. The blackish purple poison encountered the milky white substance almost instantly upon entering the gate keeper as the nauk dzi vras had thoroughly saturated the Assassin's body. Lazarus bucked and spasm violently reacting to the toxic substances inside him. He tried to wiggle out of the Bello's hold, squirming and flipping over only to have more tentacles reach for him. He kicked wildly, smacking away the purple limbs as fast as they came at him.

"Don't hurt him!" yelled Valentine.

"Myutt!" the Bello raised her sweet voice in alarm. "Myutt, myutt!"

"No! Hold him down. He might hurt himsself if you let him go," replied the Witch urgently.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Valentine cursed in frustration.

"Resstrain the dark one until he calmsss down or ..."

"Or what Witch?" Valentine asked anxiously. "Or what ...?"

"Or until he diesss," she answered solemnly.

Valentine clenched his jaw. That was not what he wanted to hear. Laz couldn't die now, not when they were so close. Fight it Idiot, stay alive or else I'll kill you myself in real life for wasting my time and making me cry like a freaking baby, he thought vehemently.

Tears were streaming unchecked down his face. He hated feeling useless like this. There were no monsters to kill in order to save Laz. He couldn't come to his friend's rescue swinging his long sword to lend support like he usually did in the other MMORPGs they played together. There was only the horrible helpless waiting and hoping Laz would somehow pull through what seems like his personal quest.

At that moment Valentine hated Orc Wars, but even more he hated Simtrixx.

Lazarus' verbal cry jolted Valentine from his thoughts. The Assassin had regained his voice and could move again. The frost had melted off his skin and he guessed that the internal cold was receding because the gate keeper had started shivering violently. The Annazzosh was breaking down the nauk dzi vras' hold on the Hero.

However, it was not all good. The Annazzosh's effects were just as terrifying.

Lazarus' appearance was now zombie-like. His skin had turned a sickly shade of grey. Ugly bruises were forming, marking him randomly with splotchy bluish spots. The dark blood which had been trickling from his orifices dried up smearing his face and staining his clothes. His teeth started yellowing, his tongue turned black. An irritating constant tinny ringing had started up in his ears, giving him an instant headache. It was driving him crazy. He lost partial control of his limbs which made his movements jerky and awkward. A stink wafted from him, the unmistakable stench of decaying flesh.

The Assassin started shuddering, horrified at what he had become. He had become a monster, just like the doomed Vogeruks. He could actually feel his body failing, sharp pains and aches indicating organ failure. He moaned mortified of rotting from within.

"Oh Gods." This was not what he had signed up for. Abruptly, Lazarus stilled. He lay panting on his side. All the fight had left him.

It was not pretty just as the Witch had promised.

"I think you can let the dark one be," the Witch addressed the Bello. "The fight isss internal now. No one elsse can help him."

The thinning black miasma around the dark one was swirling around agitatedly. Gaps appeared and disappeared showing glimpses of the stricken Ghost Lord as he lay helplessly on the ground. He looked bewildered, horrified but most of all, he looked scared. The Witch felt pity for the dark one. His mind had been trapped in his unresponsive body and now he had to endure being trapped in a rotting one.

The Bello backed away but stayed alert in case her human went ballistic again.

"Ughh ..."

"Laz?"

"Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse."

"Umm, you don't look so good ..."

"Ugh, I don't feel so good either," Lazarus said miserably and closed his eyes. His insides felt weird. There was a new constant uncomfortable wiggling and nibbling, an irritating chewing from within. Owww! The annoying feeling crystallised into random pinpricks. NO!! Were there maggots eating at him from inside? Surely not! True or not, it was too late for Lazarus. He shuddered and moaned in dread as his vivid imagination took over making the sensations worse. "Oh Gods ..." he pleaded.

The Assassin swallowed convulsively, tears of fear and panic rolled down his hollow cheeks as he tried to pull himself together. He had never been into zombies. The concept of the living dead had always been repulsive to him. For the most part zombies were mindless and aggressive creatures, animated rotting corpses existing listlessly until something edible came into range. He didn't blame them for being angry and revengeful; he would be too if he had been cheated of a full life.

Zombies were pitiful beings, always hungry and starving, doomed to forever crave for something unattainable; their lost lives. And now, it seems that he had become one. It was inconceivable! He needed some time to wrap his head around what had just happened.

"G-give me a minute. This is too much to take in all at once."

"Will do ... take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

The Thief settled down next to the rapidly deteriorating Assassin. He could not help it; he averted his eyes from the decaying Hero, trying not to breathe in too deeply. Although Lazarus is and will always be his best friend, the gate keeper's avatar was truly revolting now and getting worse by the second. Valentine switched to breathing through his mouth ... and immediately gagged. Involuntarily his blue eyes strayed back to Lazarus and he gave a small cry of dismay.

"Damn it."

Bits of the Assassin's flesh had split open oozing brown blood and pus. Parts of his exposed grey flesh had turned black and sticky clumps of his once long luxurious black hair had started falling off.

Lazarus stank of the dead.

"T-tell me this is not happening ..." Lazarus voice was faint and disbelieving.

Lazarus, Health 4 per cent (Maximum 4 per cent)

Valentine gulped and stayed silent, his heart heavy. All he could do now was to stay by Lazarus' side and wait for the Annazzosh to overcome the nauk dzi vras. Hopefully the Assassin will survive the process and the Annazzosh's antidote would be ready by then or it will be game over.