Phoenix Phire

Wind frowned at the notification that popped up on his screen. Unlike other Deep Stay players, he often had to arrange for short absences from the guild.

/Inferno: Wind: Back in a bit. Sorry.

/Inferno: Nix: Take your time.

/Logging Off Colonial

The capsule opened slowly; the young man inside stretched his lean body before swinging his legs over the edge. His capsule was a second-hand stasis rig that had been modded into a deep stay.

"Adamu?" A knock sounded at his door; she must have been monitoring his capsule. "Really sorry to bother you." His young sister's thick accent carried from the hallway. Unlike him, she hadn't gone to University in the United States but had stayed home in Mombassa instead.

"A moment, Mary." He stretched again, his capsule suit unable to hide the lean muscles that rippled under his dark skin. He opened the door a moment later; his sister leaned against his doorway with one hand on her belly.

"Jambo." Her face was slightly darker than his, but the resemblance was there. Her chocolate brown eyes and full dark lips smiled cheerfully. "Want the good news? Or the bad news?"

Adamu stooped slightly so that she could lean on his shoulder. The lights in the hall were dim and fluttering slightly. A sure sign that the building was operating on back-up power again. "Another earthquake?"

Mary leaned against him as he walked her to a nearby chair. "Micah is at work, and I need a ride."

Adamu nodded went into the kitchen in search of his keys. "Just a second."

"Shouldn't you upgrade to a better capsule? This thing isn't meant for long-term use." Mary's voice carried from the dining room. It was a modest one-room apartment in a middle-class area. He continued to stay because three of his family members lived here.

Adamu frowned at the question; his handsome face broke into an uncharacteristic smile. "Don't talk bad about my girl."

"If it were a girl, I'd tell you to trade her in!" Mary paused for a moment. "Speaking of girls. Shouldn't my handsome brother have a girlfriend?"

Adamu pulled the keys from the bottom of his junk drawer. "Found them! Give me a moment to change clothes."

"Sure. Take your time."

Mary's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, something she barely used. Adamu changed into a pair of loose-fitting pants and a blue buttoned shirt. "Where am I taking you?"

"The hospital."

Adamu froze in place. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope. Just having a baby."

"WHAT?" Adamu tripped over the chair next to his bed, stubbing his toe painfully. He hopped into the entryway while biting down on a curse word. "Why didn't you start with that?"

Mary shook her head slightly. "Pregnant woman in your doorway, holding her belly in pain... Do you need a sign?"

"My sister is crazy!" Adamu lent her his shoulder and opened the door to the hall. "Is this your bag?"

Mary nodded, kissing him on the cheek. "Let's go back to this girlfriend business. I know a few nice girls."

"Pass. I have a girlfriend." His glance fell to her distended stomach. "God...Please don't make me deliver this child!"

Mary groaned in pain. "I'm fine..."

They took the elevator down to the first level, and Mary waited in the lobby while he brought the car around. By the time he returned, his sister was grimacing in pain.

"Best if we hurry, Adamu."

The young man laughed, despite the seriousness of the situation. His sister was as unflappable a person as there ever was. A constant source of positive energy in his life. "Mary! Do not have that baby in my car," he ordered as he helped her into the backseat.

Adamu activated the car hud and keyed his brother-in-law's ID. A moment later, a rail-thin young man with a shaved head popped into view. "Micah, you idiot! Your wife is having a baby!"

"I know! I'm waiting for you at Aga Khan!"

Adamu cursed his handsome in-law. "We're going to Mombassa General! She's having a baby; Aga Khan isn't set up for that."

"Oh shit." Micah's face showed the panic he felt; he groaned loudly, holding his bald head with both hands.

"Honey." Mary's calm voice spoke from the backseat. "Meet us at Mombassa General; Dr. Whitehurst will be delivering our baby." The pregnant woman let out a long breath. "Now close the vehicle hud before we get into an accident."

Adamu winced visibly every time his sister groaned from the backseat, weaving in and out of traffic as he drove through the crowded streets of Mombassa.

"Don't honk your horn so much, Adamu, it's rude. Tell me about this girlfriend of yours. Are you dating a white woman?"

Adamu frowned into the rearview mirror. "Does that matter?"

Mary smiled teasingly at him. "So she is white."

"Would you consider an albino woman white?"

Mary's throaty laugh was interrupted by a painful groan. "Don't make me laugh, Adamu."

"Sorry... please don't have the baby." Adamu drove through a mostly yellow light, tossing up his middle finger at the pedestrian who was shaking his fist at him.

"Is this an albino black woman? Or an albino white woman?"

The young man turned sharply into Mombassa General's parking lot, instead of pulling in, he bypassed it and headed toward the emergency entrance. "Neither, she's a Drahk'Dhassi."

Micah was waiting when they pulled up to the entrance, next to him were two nurses and a wheelchair.

Adamu nodded in approval, his fairly unreliable brother-in-law actually did something right. "Good job, Micah!"

Forty minutes after Mary's arrival at Mombassa General, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy that she named Noah. Adamu spent a few hours with his family as his relatives started arriving in small groups. Before long, half of the waiting area was filled with his extended family.

"Adamu!" His father's voice drew his attention to the area where no one else was sitting.

"Papa." Adamu hugged the white-haired man, ignoring the disapproving glance from his other family members. His father had left his mother three years earlier for another woman. It had created a rift in his family that at times seemed insurmountable. Adamu was the only one who still spoke to him.

"He's a beautiful boy. Of course, he takes after me." His father's lean face split into a wide grin. Even though he was fifty, there was no hint of wrinkles on his dark face.

Adamu nodded in agreement. His father was a handsome man, his grandchild definitely resembled him. "Did you get to hold him?"

The older man shook his head slightly. "From the way they looked at me, I didn't want to ask."

"Papa..." Adamu grabbed his father's hand and pulled him toward Mary's room. He ignored the older man's protests as well as the angry looks from some of his other family members. When he arrived at the doorway a few moments later, his sister was breastfeeding her newborn.

Mary looked up from the baby, even though she was normally a very pretty woman, today she was beautiful. The joyful look on her face slipped slightly when she spotted his companion.

"Mary." Adamu pulled his father into the room. "I'm asking you to let Papa hold him."

Mary stared at her brother for a long moment before covering herself up and swaddling her son in his blue wrap. "Come closer, Papa."

The older man smiled suddenly. "Are you feeling okay, Mary?"

Mary nodded and waited as he pulled up a chair next to the bed. "Just tired and sore, Papa." She carefully handed him the baby before leaning back on her pillows. "Don't drop him."

The old man was too busy grinning at his grandson to be offended at her words. "Like I would drop this little fella."

"It's common knowledge that you dropped Adamu when he was born."

Her brother laughed at the old joke. Whenever he did something growing up, she would claim it was because he was dropped on his head. "That never happened."

The old man looked up from the baby with a guilty look on his face. "Actually it did."

Adamu grinned the entire drive back to his apartment. His sister was happy, his mom was happy; it was a good day for his family. After parking in the underground garage, he took the elevator back to the lobby. Perhaps it was time to move to something nicer. He'd always been careful with his money, making sure to invest so that he could help the younger generation when they wanted to attend university. However, since he joined Inferno, the funds in his account had grown by several times. Colonial was like every other game, those who raided high-end content oftentimes sold their acquisitions for real-world money.

"I suppose I should move my family into a building that isn't so crowded."

*************

Although it seemed like a lengthy visit, from start to finish his excursion into real-life only took about four hours.

/Logging in Colonial.

/Inferno: Wind: I'm back.

/Inferno: Nix: Did everything go okay?

/Inferno: Wind: Sure.

*************Author's Note******

Unfortunately, I misfiled chapter 579 and it ended up here. I'm not sure exactly how that happened. So in an effort to fix my mistake, I wrote an additional chapter that could be inserted here. (Since you can't erase premium chapters.)

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