Note: ;) Ah, this is my favourite chapter! :D

Tia's POV

The door begins to open and my heart begins to pound as it opens and reveals...

Deamon, Robin and Ryan walk in, looking determined. I face palm. They took their time!

Note: Oh God I'm laughing xD I'M NOT SORRY

"You took your bloody time" I sigh. They are followed by Sips, looking weird in his suit, Sjin in normal clothes for once, not his farmer suit, Ryan in his usual batman cosplay, Tato in his Mitch look-alike red checkered hoodie and green glasses, and Ashley in her blue top and jeans. They march in like an army, and above them Anastatia, Ellis and Sepia float, looking determined. 

"Got caught up on the way" Deamon grunts. I look at Mexxy with a glare. 

Mexxy just raised his eyebrow and grinned mischeviously. 

"So..."

At the sound of that voice I freeze. I feel like my blood has stopped pumping through my body. The smallest hints of a smile raise onto my cheeks as I turn round.

That smug, cocky grin sat on his face like it had never been wiped off.

"Did you miss me?" he grinned.

That cheeky ba-

I ran towards him, bowling him over. He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, holding me so tight I could barely breath, and I returned the favour. "DAD!" Robin and Ryan both yelled at the same time, and I could hear their feet pattering across the tiles. But I didn't care. All I could think about was the person I was lying on, the person hugging me. Ridgedog, Ridge was here, I'd found him, I'd found him!

"Hey kids" he chuckled, reaching out an arm to pull them in. Finally. Finally the family was back together again...

Without realizing it, tears were falling down my face as I burrowed my face into his neck, letting a little sob escape. He leaned his head on mine, sighing with what sounded like relief.

"You could of sent me a post card" he sighs, and I can almost sense the grin on his face. "No post offices" I sniff, wiping my eyes and smiling at him. He grins back, pulling me in for a kiss. 

The world appeared to stop, and time appeared to freeze. I'd been waiting for this moment for a long time. And it was finally here. I smiled into this kiss, latching one arm around his neck and running one hand through his hair, making sure he was still here. He pulled me in by my waist, gently stroking my cheek with his hand. 

And for a moment I forgot about who was watching us.

And I forgot about all the bad things he had done.

And I forgot that I was supposed to be mad at him for betraying me.

A small, polite cough broke through the bubble, and we parted, panting a little. Leaning his head on my forehead, he sighs, content. "I've missed you" he whispers. "I've missed you too" I smile, wrapping my arms around him. 

"So adorable" Mexxy says sarcastically, but I don't bother to snap back. He was just trying to ruin this moment, this perfect-

"So. This deal then" he says impatiently. I sigh, gritting my teeth until Ridge softly whispers in my ear, "We've got all night to do this" before pulling away and winking at me. I roll my eyes. He had a one track mind.

"Do you know about the deal?" I ask, keeping my body and face close to his. "Yeah, he told me" he sighs, before looking at me with pleading eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks, begging me not to with his eyes. For a few seconds I stare at his eyes, the ones I've missed so much, the ones I'd taken for granted until they had gone, before I realize he had asked a question and was waiting for an answer. I blink a bit and open my mouth to reply, but Mexxy butts in. Rude.

"It's too late, she's already agreed to it, haven't you my dear?" his smug voice rings through the hall. I nod with a huff.

"You start tommorow. If you aren't here by midday, I will bring you up here myself and stick you back in that torture chamber" he orders, before marching away, followed by Cisco and a nervous Jerome. 

I can hear Deamon coming, he had distinctive heavy and slow footsteps. He sighs and kneels down next to us. "Hey Ridge, you OK?" he asks. "Stupid question" I mumble as I nuzzle Ridge's neck. Ridge chuckles, gently stroking my hair. "I am now" he answers, wrapping his arms around me and tugging me backwards so I'm on top of him.

Note: Mild dirtiness coming.

"Is that supposed to be a hint?" I smirk. "Should be. It's about time you did some work around here" he grins back. I scowl and slap him lightly. "Keep that up and I won't do anything for you tonight" I huff. He looks up at me with pleading puppy dog eyes, before leaning forward and beginning to whisper in my ear. My face goes red, and Deamon pulls a face, putting his hands over Ryan's ears, and Mitch puts them over Robin's ears, both of them raising their eyebrows at each other.

Note: Annd back to the actual story xD

"C'mon, let's get out of here" Sips whines. "Missing Sipsco?" I ask, pulling away from Ridge and he takes my hand as walk out together. "Yeah! That dirt isn't gonna ship itself, you know" he huffs. I roll my eyes and give the pale man a hug, who protests but gives in eventually. "Thanks for helping Sips. And you Sjin. And all of you" I smile. "What did we even do?" Tato laughs, followed by many others. "I don't know actually. At least you got some ores out of it" I laugh, pointing at their overflowing bags from the crater full of ores.

"So what's been happening whilst I've been away?" Ridge murmurs in my ear. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later" I sigh. "We're going to be busy later, tell me now" he demands. "You just don't give up do you?" I murmur, and he smirks. "You should know me by now" he points out. "You surprise me sometimes" I shrug. "I know I do" he beams and I raise my eyebrows. "That wasn't a compliment" I tell him. "What was it then?" he grins. "A statement of fact" I sigh. "A statement of fact that was a compliment" he smiles. "Fine, have it your way" I sigh. "Is that another hint?" he smirks.

For the love of-

"You have a one track mind!" I groan. "Is that a bad thing?" he smiles, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek as we leave the giant doors that lead outside. "...Sometimes" I mumble. He grins widely, before we take off into the air and down into the clouds.

Time to go home.

Note: FINALLY :D Been waiting soo long for this chapter! But it's far from over, don't worry!

Mexxy's POV

Leaving the hall and being flanked by Cisco and Jerome, I fall into deep thoughts. So. The chess pieces had been reunited, temporarily anyway. How boring. This was the worst part now. The game was over. I'd won, hurray. But this wasn't how it was supposed to be!

The game was made to entertain me forever, not for a month at best. Then again, I get the ultimate prize; an apprentice. I'd longed for an apprentice who I actually liked, and though Tia was sarcastic, annoying and had different opinion, I liked her. She reminded me of myself in my younger years. Arrogant. Secret. Different.

She would make a fine apprentice, I think with a small smile. Once I had got rid of her...more awful habits, she would be someone I would take pride in working with. 

"Thinking?" Cisco's voice interrupts my train of thoughts. I nod, not caring about the bacca behind me. He too was my son, but he didn't have the right...what was the word...

Personality.

He only wanted power over his friends. Tia didn't want power, as she had pointed out many times. She was just doing what was necessary. Something that I always do. Then again, I want power as well, not that I don't already have it.

We enter my room, and I lazily flick my hand. The fridge door opens and a wine bottle flies into my open hand. Going over to the glasses, I pour some out for us all. Jerome takes his and sips it, frowning. I guess that he's never had wine before and I raise my eyebrows before passing one to Cisco.

"What do we do now?" Cisco muses, swirling the liquid around in the glass. I shrug, sipping from my glass. "Wait for tomorrow" I sigh. "Boring" Jerome mumbles. "Jealous of your sister?" I note. "No" he mumbles. "Brother?" I guess. "Yeah" he sighs.

"If Tia had not done a deal with me, I would of provided something special for Liam. But that time has passed now." I sigh. This deal was so restrictive. I couldn't torture or hurt anyone anymore.

"Well, I'm off to my room. Come on Jerome" Cisco says, opening the door and leaving, letting the bacca follow him limply. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Holding my hands on my lap, I stare into space for a while. Even I didn't know what Tia was going to do. She wouldn't kill me, I knew that. I was her father, and though she loathed me she wasn't desperate enough to murder me. As long as I kept my distance from her family and friends, I stayed alive.

How boring.

I smirk, glancing out of the window at the pale expanse of clouds. Everyone knew what happened when I got bored. People die. But who...the choices were limited. No. I wouldn't kill anyone, not just yet. But...a little entertainment was in order.

Brushing the thoughts aside, I focus on some more important points. Firstly, what to do with Tia when she turned up? Give her a tour? Introduce her to the history? If she was anything like me, she wouldn't like that. No...she would want to see what I could do.

I would show her what I could do alright, I smile. 

Leaving the room, I stroll over to Elevn. "Your Majesty" he mutters, bowing. "Elevn, I need a favour" I smile, glancing at the project he was working on. "Anything, sir" he replies.

"I need you to build another survival game arena."