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They made it home in half an hour, with only one narrow scrape with the Scanners: thankfully, however, they had avoided them by slipping through an abandoned house. Zerrex sighed as he slipped in through the door and pulled off his jacket, carry it into the kitchen and hanging it on the back of a chair before he sat down with a grunt. He rubbed absently at his right arm, and Cherry followed him in, opening the fridge and tossing the reptile a can of cola.

The reptile smiled a bit to her as he caught it and opened it, taking a long, refreshing gulp. Almost immediately, he felt restored instead of tired, even his mood feeling lighter, and Cherry shook her head in amusement as she opened her own can and kicked the fridge door close, saying dryly: "You're a caffeine addict, dude."

Zerrex snorted and shrugged a bit at this , before he glanced up as Marina appeared in the doorway, looking at him with soft concern. She ignored Cherry completely as she strode over to him, the older female looking at her sourly as Marina grasped her father's left arm and rubbed it slowly, saying quietly: "Poor Daddy... it's not that you're off your game, it's just that you aren't perfect... and that's why we love you."

"Exactly!" Cherry said firmly, and Marina immediately gave her a glare. Cherry ignored this, however, adding easily: "Come on Boss, if anyone screwed up, it was me for not getting there fast enough to help you out."

"Exactly." Marina said sweetly, and this time Cherry glared at her, and the mortal female ignored this, smiling serenely with features that were still-beautiful and young after all these years. She looked up at her father, then squeezed his hand quietly before she said softly: "Mahihko and I have been working on something for you upstairs. Come and look: he should be done by now." A pause, and then she said disdainfully: "You can come too, if you like, Cherry."

"Well, la-di-da, what an honor." The muscular female glowered after Marina, but she followed Zerrex anyway as Marina pulled him to his feet and out into the hallway, muttering: "Your kid or not, I'm going to twist her titties off one day."

Zerrex only rolled his eyes, far too used to their sibling rivalry by now to bother arguing as he emerged onto the second floor. Marina took his hand again and pulled him quickly towards the open door of one of the empty rooms, and Zerrex stared as he entered, Mahihko sitting on the floor and blushing, splattered in pain... but even Cherry whistled and smiled a bit as she stepped into the room, looking evenly over at her little sister before finally nodding slowly. "Nice job, kiddo. Real nice job."

Marina had drawn a mural over all the walls, ceiling, and even on the floor, and the picture was so lifelike that Zerrex could swear he could feel the grass and sand beneath his feet. The ceiling was a beautiful sky in which painted clouds seemed to move, and Zerrex could see himself almost reflected in the wall, shirtless and smiling, Marina on one side and Mahihko on the other, Cherry grinning behind them with her arms thrown out and calm Cindy laying on the ground in a blouse and jeans, her eyes looking overtop her sunglasses and a book with pages that seemed to ruffle in a painted wind open on the ground beneath one hand. And when Zerrex turned slowly around, he saw himself again, standing with his arms around Sin and Lily, Selena's arms wrapped around his neck and her pressed up to his chest, and yet they all stood together under a blue sky... and Marina murmured softly, as she pointed quietly at the walls to the side which were only plain backgrounds: "One day, Daddy, perhaps I'll paint your two families mixed together on those walls... when demons are free to live on the mortal plane, or once all of us are together in Hell, as one big family... I feel it in your very soul, this tearing, Father... and your desires are my desires. I want to be a family... I want our family to be whole..." She reached down and quietly squeezed the fingers of the reptile that each bore a ring. "I want you to have everything you deserve and have earned..."

"Thank you, Marina... this means a lot to me..." Zerrex murmured softly, looking back and forth quietly before he gazed down at Mahihko, and then he smiled and gently stroked the wolf's cheek. "And thank you too, Mahihko. I can see that you had something to do with this yourself."

Mahihko blushed and looked down, quietly wringing a paintbrush between his hands. "I just washed the brushes and laid down the newspapers and helped with the big coloring parts... Marina showed me how to paint things nice and smooth, so I could paint the big parts while she did all the hard stuff and the details."

Marina smiled as Mahihko nodded fervently, and Zerrex reflected that at least the two could get along when they were trying to do something nice for him. And then Marina leaned down and said softly: "Please go wash the last of the brushes and clean up a bit, Mahihko. Thank you for all the help."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and Mahihko smiled brightly before he nodded quickly again, even as Marina led Zerrex out of the room. Cherry followed them ,making a face as Mahihko almost ran into her back with an armload full of painting supplies, then she glanced up as the youngest daughter of Zerrex pulled him into the abandoned room next to his. Before she could reach the door, however, Marina slammed it in her face, and Cherry grumbled and stalked away, figuring she'd find out later what was up. She's a little pain in the ass sometimes...

Zerrex frowned slightly at her, but Marina only smiled as she looked at her father adoringly, hugging his chest tightly and clinging to him as he looked around the room. It seemed like while he was gone, Marina had started work on making this into a bedroom of some sort... but for now there was only a futon and some shelving all along one wall. Before he could take in any other details, however, she pushed herself against him and knocked him back onto the futon, the reptile letting out a grunt before she straddled him with a grin, whispering softly down to him: "I can give you all sorts of pleasures, Daddy... I can do all kinds of things to you..."

Images of Marina in shackles, in chains, flashed through his mind, and Zerrex closed his eyes and pushed them away, and she looked almost disappointed, making a face as she pushed her hands down against his broad chest, rubbing his masculine front slowly through his t-shirt. "What's wrong, Father? After so many years in Hell, you've seen far worse... done far worse in both your lifetimes... you know how I feel about you, how much I love you, need you, want you... and how I want you to treat me just as I am, a dirty, useless little slave..."

"Marina, no." Zerrex gently but firmly pushed her off and sat up, shaking his head slowly as he brought a knee up and rested his arm on it with a sigh. "You aren't any of those things to me... you're my daughter, and you were the brightest star in my mortal life and still are... my favorite, even if I shouldn't play favorites with my family, but I think everyone already knows that." He smiled a bit, looking across at her quietly, sapphire and emerald gazing into one-another. "Can't that be enough for you? I mean... you're worth far more than a slave to me... than some... slut to me. I love you... more than words can express."

But Marina only shook her head, sliding close to him and wrapping an arm around his neck as she pulled herself close and whispered: "That's not enough for me... I need you in ways I can't describe, I can only see... I need you to love me... and yet I need you to know how expendable I am. Love should have one person above the other, a leader and a follower... and you are so powerful, and so strong that you should never fear to leave me behind, and I should always be ingratiated to you, a servant, a whore, an unnecessary cog..."

Marina pushed herself against him, kissing up his neck, and Zerrex gripped her hips as he winced, as her hot breath panted over his face, her eyes needy and hungry as he felt her breasts push to his masculine chest. "I feel your strength in your every movement, in the flex of your body, hidden behind the surprise in your emerald eyes even as you look at me... I worship your power, Father, the power that saved my life, that saved this world... and that could destroy it..."

She closed her eyes as if savoring this thought, and Zerrex tried to pull away, but she clung tight to him, half-growling as she pushed aggressively forwards again and shoved him down onto the futon, once more straddling him as she whispered: "I hear the conundrum in your head... you know if you use this power against me, I will worship you all the more... and yet if you do nothing, I will worship you nonetheless. I see in your mind the way you've treated your concubines, your wives, your lovers in the past... and you know you can hide nothing from me for very long at all...

"No, Zerrex, my father, my master, my lover... I see in the deepest and darkest corners of your mind the things you truly wish, that give you the utmost pleasure, much as you fear them... I see many things indeed, things you want to hide, don't want to admit..." Marina slowly licked up the side of Zerrex's neck, and the reptile winced as he shuddered in pleasure before he grunted as Marina grabbed his shirt and simply ripped it down the middle, her blue eyes burning up into his as she grinned widely, almost viciously. "Let me give myself to you in every way, let me love your body and fuck you senseless... and take me until I scream and beg for mercy, until I am bloody and broken, and even more useless to you than I already am..."

The reptile pushed at Marina, but it was useless: she was like a rock on top of him... a hot, filthy rock burning with sexual need and lusts Zerrex hadn't seen even in the Circle of Lust. He winced and tried to lean away at the least, but Marina only shredded the rest of his shirt before digging her claws into the navy scales of his muscular breast, and the reptile grunted and arched his back, unwittingly grinding himself up against her. Immediately, she let out a cry of bliss, throwing her head back as if she had just experienced the most intense of orgasms instead of an accidental graze of crotch-to-crotch... and Zerrex hated that he was losing control over himself despite his best efforts. "M-Marina... stop it..."

"You don't want me to stop... you want more... you want to hurt me, you want to take me, you want to bring all my fantasies to life and all of yours, too..." Marina slowly stroked over Zerrex's right arm, and the Drakkaren felt the scales on it shift, the ivy of his tattoo writhing like a living entity with its own mind and needs. "Don't lie to me, Father... you know I see into your mind... into your very soul... you are an Incarnation split between Wrath and Lust, one of the most powerful species of demon... and nothing turns you on like rough, violent sex... especially when that sex is with your own youngest, mortal daughter... does my blood, already stained with sin, smell sweet to you, Father?"

Zerrex shuddered as Marina leaned in close, exposed her throat in a primal, fearless gesture of trust and submission, and then he tried to push her away again... but the strength had left his muscles and he felt himself falling bit-by-bit into his own lusts, hard as he fought to control himself. He could feel Marina's powers working their way through his mind, infecting his thoughts with images both beautiful and horrifying, thoughts of blood and sex and lust... and then his eyes widened as Marina reached down and pulled her shirt off, whispering lustfully: "Let me do all the work then, Daddy... if you won't give in to your own lusts, then I'll delight you in a way we can both enjoy..."

She smiled teasingly down at him, then she leaned down and kissed him slowly, passionately, their mouths working together, their tongues twisting and dancing lustfully... and then slowly, the kiss parted and she stroked her fingers lightly down his chiseled abdominals as her kisses traced lightly along the front of his masculine body, Zerrex unable to resist a grunt as he put a hand on the back of her head. She grinned at this, licking her own muzzle slowly as she tilted her head up to gaze at him hungrily, then she easily pulled her black-lace bra off and tossed it aside, revealing her sumptuous bosom and hard, perked nipples, whispering softly: "I'll show you what I can do for you, my best use for you, Daddy... if I am not your best soldier, then I shall be your most beloved whore..."

Slowly, Marina slid lower, kissing and nuzzling into his abdominals at the same time, her bare breasts scraping against his crotch and pants... and Zerrex grunted softly, a hand squeezing lightly into the back of her head as he felt himself beginning to harden despite himself. He swallowed thickly, but there was no containing himself, the reptile unable to even find the strength make the words needed to argue as Marina grasped the fly of his pants and tore his jeans open, her breath heaving in and out as her eyes burned with a strange and almost terrifying lust.

She grabbed the waistband of both his pants and his boxers, then jerked these forcefully down, Zerrex wincing and fidgeting as a blush rose to his cheeks, and Marina murred hungrily as she gazed at his thick, black-fleshed penis, her sapphire eyes adoring and hungry as she touched the trembling flesh almost reverently. Even flaccid, the Drakkaren's penis was immense and girthy, larger by far than the average penis of the average person, and his navy-blue testicles were enormous and hot, full of the seed of her father that she so craved. Bit-by-bit, he was already growing erect, his cock steadily thickening and hardening... and Marina murred softly as she grasped it and began to stroke it lovingly, whispering: "Even here you hide your might... but even at this size, I can still clearly feel your immensity and your strength..."

"Marina..." Zerrex grunted quietly in bliss as he felt his penis hardening far faster under her ministrations, as her other hand grasped his testicles and rolled them lightly back and forth, playing teasingly with the larger-than-grapefruit orbs. She only murred in response however, as she gave his shaft a light squeeze before she leaned down and suckled teasingly for a moment on the throbbing head of his cock, and the Drakkaren grunted in pleasure, his eyes half-closing as he automatically squeezed the back of her skull with one hand, the other grasping into the futon. "Damn..."

"My Father... my God... you are just so big..." Marina whispered lustfully up to him, as he felt his penis thicken fully, feeling it pulsing lightly as the female gripped it with one hand and stroked slowly up and down the thick black flesh of his cock. The penis was huge at thirty-two inches of black flesh that was thick as a wine bottle, the dark-fleshed cock already as hard as iron and burning hot under Marina's hand. She gave a growl of pleasure that was almost animal as she leaned forwards, pulling the Drakkaren's cock upwards towards her muzzle as she leaned down and gave one long, slow lick from the base of his shaft all the way to the tip of his length, and Zerrex arched his back in pleasure before he groaned quietly as Marina continued hungrily: "At any time, Daddy... at any time you want to... just take me. Take me in this form, or as a demon, any size, any way you want to... and I will scream your name and your praises so loudly that everyone in Heaven and Hell will hear you and envy you. Or sit back and relax... and I'll suck on your delicious cock for the rest of my life if you give me the chance..."

Marina murred as she pushed her face forwards against the male's thick shaft, rubbing her muzzle and features against the obsidian tower of flesh, and then she leaned down and ground her muzzle along his testicles, moaning softly as they rubbed along her features and she inhaled the powerful scent of her father, trembles of ecstasy running through her body as both her hands wrapped around his thick shaft and massaged lovingly up and down it, squeezing and stroking at the same time as her fingers worked the hard, hot flesh. All of it was enough to send Zerrex's head reeling with pleasure, the Drakkaren groaning quietly, his lust-filled mind unable to fight off images drawn up out of the darkest corners of his mind: Marina chained to the ceiling and left to dangle by her tied-up arms and tail, bloody and bruised as he raped her savagely in every hole... and yet when she screamed, it was in pleasure, and whenever he struck her, the expression on her face was one of bliss... and then, thankfully, the Drakkaren's mind was cleared by the very pleasure Marina was giving him, as she took one of his testicles into her mouth and suckled slowly back on it, as one of her hands squeezed the head of his hard shaft loosely.

Marina closed her eyes in bliss, her scales beginning to shine with sweat, and Zerrex managed the lucidity to wonder for a moment just how much pleasure she was taking out of this herself before his mind was lost in a haze of bliss again as the female suddenly began to stroke his shaft hard and fast with one hand, as the other continued to loosely massage and squeeze against the head of the large penis, the female growling softly as she continued to lap and work the Drakkaren's large testicle with her mouth. She released it after a moment with a long, hungry pant, but she only moved to the reptile's other testicle, engulfing it into her maw to give it the same luscious treatment as Zerrex did his best to keep himself under control, both hands gripping Marina's head, the reptile trying to ride with her as he grit his teeth and closed his eyes. God damn... I forgot how good she was...

Marina's movements slowed to a crawl, her hand only loosely cupping the head of his shaft as a bit of pre leaked from the tip of his enormous cock, her hard strokes becoming soft and gentle as her hand moved with tender slowness along his thick penis, and a moment later she released his testicle from her mouth to whisper lovingly: "Thank you, Father... but I've improved, too, since the last time I was honored and blessed to do this to you..." She paused, then leaned slowly forwards as she stroked a single finger over the bulging head of his cock, smearing his pre all along the top of his member as Zerrex grunted quietly in bliss. "There's no need to hold back... I am your bitch, your whore, your slut... love me, fuck me, rape me, make me yours in every way... I want to belong to you... I want to feel your love... in even the pain you cause me..."

Marina brought her finger to her mouth, then she sucked on it quietly for a moment, tasting the reptile's bittersweet pre before her tongue twisted slowly out along the digit, her eyes half lidded as the other hand rubbed for a moment up the Drakkaren's chiseled abdominals... and then she murred softly as she lowered her head and slowly, gently began to lick up the reptile's penis, her hands grasping into his sides as her tongue ran along the thick ebony cock in short, teasing movements, the male's hands squeezing into her head as he grunted quietly and flexed his powerful body, muscles bulging against his tight hide of scale as he gazed down at his daughter lustfully, as she lovingly and hungrily applied her oral talents to her father, her master, her lover, her god.

Her tongue dragged slowly up around the head of the reptile's shaft, then swirled around it once before she pulled the thick tip of his member into her muzzle using only her talented tongue, the girthy, rounded tip of the ebony penis vanishing into her maw as she leaned back, both hands rubbing slowly up along the Drakkaren's muscular front as the reptile groaned in pleasure, looking surprised as she grinned at him around his cock, only the head buried so far into her muzzle. Slowly, her hands stroked down to grasp his shaft, and she gently slid backwards as she pulled his huge member down, tilting it until the base of his cock rested against the male's own testicles, Zerrex feeling a distinct stretching feeling in his penis that was outweighed by the bliss running through his body as Marina's tongue twisted and danced around the head of his cock in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine, causing him untold ecstasy as he fought the urge to thrust down against her.

Her eyes closed after a moment as she began to slowly move forwards, the Drakkaren's cock sliding into her throat and causing it to bulge as he likely cut off her air... but either she didn't notice or simply didn't care, as she continued to move at her deliberate pace her hands sliding slowly up to squeeze into the reptile's hips and use them almost as an anchor as she gave a muffled murr of bliss around the lizard's thick penis. After what seemed like an eternity, her chin finally pushed against his testicles and her mouth finally kissed the base of the reptile's shaft, only a little bit of his cock left outside of her maw as she gave another sound of both pleasure and victory.

Marina drew back after a moment, Zerrex looking down at her hungrily as he half sat up, one elbow beneath him as his free hand rested on her head, and he licked his own muzzle slowly at the sight of her moving back just enough to get a gasp of air in through her nostrils before she pushed herself back down the hot ebony member, the Drakkaren feeling intensely aroused as she easily deepthroated the entirety of his cock again, starting to move at a powerful pace and making each movement long but also hard. All the while, her tongue cradled his member as she suckled and swallowed against the massive cock, the muscles of her stretched throat massaging every inch of the reptile's bulging cock that pushed down it as she gave little muffled grunts of pleasure, and soon enough Zerrex couldn't help but thrust lightly himself at the same time, his body filled with heat and lust as sexual bliss burned through him.

The female's pace began to increase, and her bobbing movements along his shaft to shorten as she worked every part of herself that she could against the Drakkaren, one of her hand sliding up and down to massage along his abdominals as the other hand slid back to grasp into one of the lizard's firm buttocks, pulling herself up against his body with every strong shove of her head forwards to add even more power to her movements. The ecstasy was immense for both as Zerrex fought hard to restrain himself, thrusting against her movements and grinding his full nearly-three-feet of cock down past her throat and into her insides, but always trying to match her pace, even as his fingers dug lightly into her skull.

He groaned hungrily, then grinned down at her as Marina worked her muzzle harder up and down his shaft, taking one single, long stroke back to get a breath of air before she dove upwards, and the reptile grunted hungrily as his body flexed, his muscles standing out in powerful profile as he ground his hips down against her as she pushed herself up against him. A moment later, she began to bob her head fiercely up and down, her movements short but powerful and her tongue twisting and throat squeezing against the reptile's shaft and making the pleasure intense and almost unbearable.

The reptile groaned hotly, throwing his head back as he sat forwards and automatically grasped her head with both of his hands, and for a moment the lust took over as her spread his legs slightly and jerked her forwards, growling like an animal as he rocked his hips against her features, his eyes flashing as he smashed her face forwards again and again. He gyrated his hips as he jerked her head in close, Marina choking a bit around his thick, pulsing cock as it ground against the sides of her throat, and then Zerrex regained his senses through the pleasure and he drew back, shaking his head despite the bliss as he released her skull.

Marina only shoved her head viciously forwards, however, the force of the end of her muzzle striking his abdominals almost enough to knock Zerrex over before slowly, bit-by-bit, she drew herself free from his ebony member, until she could grasp his thick shaft and was left only suckling slowly, teasing on the head for a moment, drinking down the delicious pre of the Drakkaren before she drew her head slowly back with her jaws wide open and tongue hanging out, several long ropes of saliva still attached between her maw and the head of the reptile's cock as she gazed up at him tenderly, hungrily, worshipfully. Then she slowly grinned as her tongue slid back into her muzzle, her eyes half-lidding as she rolled her head on her shoulders, and then she whispered: "Why didn't you facefuck me harder, Daddy? I guess I'll have to do even better... if I want to get the animal out of you... the demon part, the monster part that I adore as much as the part of you that is so generous and kind to let me suck your cock... now let me do something else that I know you really like..."

Before the panting male could argue, his shaft already hard as rock and his testicles feeling swollen with seed ready to burst, Marina slid forwards and arched her back as she grasped her naked breasts, gazing up at the reptile before she pulled the slick, hot cock between her sumptuous bosom and squeezed his large penis with them, Zerrex grunting quietly as Marina dropped her head and moaned at the hot, wet feeling of her father's malehood. She grinned up at him after a moment, then she slowly began to move her breasts up and down, unable to completely engulf his penis with her bosom and murring every time his shaft slid up through her breasts for the head to bump against the underside of her muzzle.

Zerrex was in a state of blissful ecstasy as he reached down to grasp her shoulders, massaging them slowly as his breath raced in and out, feeling her hot swells around his hotter cock, her perked nipples scratching up and down his scales, the wonderful malleable firmness surrounding his ebony member, squeezing it, massaging along it as moved at a playful, easy rate to toy with him and test him... and she whispered: "Yes, Father... oh... I feel it, so hot, so wonderful, between my breasts... so big that I know I can't pleasure you properly with these little tits of mine... go on, Daddy, let loose, just relax and let your body do to me whatever it wants... let me pleasure you however I can..."

"Faster... harder..." Zerrex said finally, his voice almost a rasp from the pleasure that was rocketing through his form, and Marina grinned widely as she nodded and licked her own muzzle, readily obeying. She immediately started moving up and down with much greater power and speed, her sumptuous bosom squeezing and rubbing against both sides of the girthy rod of flesh as Zerrex's hands squeezed into her shoulders, the male letting out a long groan of bliss as he began to thrust lightly in time with her movements, grinding his cock forwards against form form as Marina tilted her head down to feel the thick member pushing up against her face, leaving a trail of pre as she moaned in her own slavish ecstasy.

The Drakkaren began to thrust faster and harder up into her bosom, Marina keeping pace easily with his movements as her breath washed over his shaft, as her tongue licked greedily against the side of it as it rubbed up along her muzzle after pushing through her breasts, and Zerrex growled in bliss, his body flexing, his muscles standing out powerfully as he gripped into his daughter's lithe shoulders. He leaned forwards a bit over her, his movements becoming rougher, more feral as he half-grinned in bliss, his eyes closing tightly... but the moment he did, his mind was full of those images again, and they worked both to increase the reptile's pleasure and to push him closer and closer to the edge of giving his daughter exactly what she was begging for.

"Yes... oh yes, Daddy!" Marina moaned, her body shuddering as she began to move herself up and down the shaft rapidly, her breasts massaging and rubbing every inch they pressed over before she opened her maw as the reptile thrusted hard upwards, and his cock immediately slammed into the back of her throat, the female's eyes bulging before they shut in bliss as she sucked hungrily back on his member, while at the same time continuing to use her breasts to massage, cradle, and squeeze the thick, slick cock of her father. She could taste his pre spurting out, could feel him hardening even further, and she knew his orgasm was close now... and it made her own loins tingle and burn, her panties wet and her pants soaked through from the relentless orgasms she'd experienced from the sheer pleasure of pleasuring and teasing her father, her sweet nectar coating her thighs, her crotch, and dripping down through her pants to the futon below.

Zerrex groaned hungrily as he squeezed harder into Marina's shoulders, his thrusts becoming more powerful and more quick as Marina worked herself furiously up and down his cock, and he growled as he felt his testicles burning, his shaft stiffening, his entire body pulsing with pleasure and anticipation as his orgasm rose quickly to the surface. He felt animal and powerful and in ecstasy, as he gazed down hungrily at Marina as she worked herself to pleasure him in the best ways she could, and a feeling of both love and possession ran through him as he grasped the side of her face almost tenderly even as he rammed his thick cock in and out of her hungry muzzle through the wondrous valley of her breasts. Mine. All mine. And no one else's.

And finally, the Drakkaren's eyes shut as he leaned forwards, his form bulging with power and flexing as his cock stiffened up to the hardness of diamond, his testicles boiling with pleasure before he roared in ecstasy as his massive member released its first gout of seed as his thrusts only increased in power, pistoning himself up between Marina's breasts over and over as she flung her head back with a scream of bliss, most of the volley going down her throat but the rest flying into the air and then splattering down over her features. And then her hands moved up from her breasts to grasp his cock as Zerrex's hands slammed like vises onto either side of her head, the reptile looking down at her with a hungry grin as he watched her stroking his huge shaft rapidly, guiding the spray of his seed over her face and over her breasts as volley after volley of his hot white load blasted out of his member, the reptile quickly losing track of time or count as his seed covered Marina's face, sprayed into her open jaws, and over her sumptuous breasts with burst after burst of his semen, gallons of it seeming to release from the burning hot, massive cock of the Drakkaren.

Finally, he began to slow as he loosened his grip on Marina's head, and she moaned softly, coated with his seed, her features blissful and dazed as some of it dripped down to the futon, before her hips bucked once, then twice as a quiet hiss of pleasure escaped her. Zerrex looked down at her, unaware that Marina had just experienced yet another release of her own... and then she smiled up at him, whispering: "I am not worthy, Father... but please... let me clean you up... let me take care of you, Daddy..."

"Yes... go ahead..." Zerrex said softly, and he brought both hands down in front of Marina's face. He was splattered with seed himself, and his cock was steel-stiff still but covered in his own load... and Marina shivered in ecstasy before nodding hungrily, leaning forwards to begin slowly lapping the reptile's sperm off his hands off his hands with long, slow draws of her tongue.

She was careful and slow, not letting any seed escape as her tongue trailed over his digits, between his fingers, and in long, hungry draws over his palms... and then she gently pushed Zerrex onto his back, and the reptile laid with an expression of bliss on his features as Marina rested one hand on his shoulder and the other on his leg, her tongue dragging slowly over his masculine breast, tracing over ridges and valleys of muscle as it rolled over his abs, ignoring his pulsing cock for now even as her face ground slowly, deliciously against it. His smell infatuated her, and the taste of his seed was like the most delicious of delicacies... and when she finally moved to his cock after cleaning up any drips from her own stained and coated features and body, she grasped his still-hard member with delight, looking to her father for permission.

He nodded with a slight smile, then added softly: "Lick up every drop, bitch. Lick it completely clean... don't disappoint your Master, now."

"Yes, Master..." Marina looked entranced, and somehow Zerrex knew that the fantasy images playing in his own mind were from Marina's, not his, as he saw himself in a throne as King, and Marina as his Queen, his secret weapon, and his slut all balled together, kneeling beside him in chains. Chains, one of Marina's favorite symbols of bondage... but then he had no other time to think on this as pleasure flooded his body, Marina's tongue carefully and gently lapping along his solid ebony shaft to drink in every droplet of his viscous seed.

After several long minutes of ecstasy, she finished, drawing away from Zerrex and rubbing at her own features, where much of his seed had started to harden. She blushed quietly through the layer of seed, gazing lovingly up at her father as his shaft finally began to go flaccid, and she murmured softly: "I'm sorry, Daddy. I love you... I just... don't know why I want these things. But I do. And maybe one day... you will help me understand why..."

"Marina..." Zerrex gazed at her quietly, reaching a hand up to stroke her face... but she caught his wrist and shook her head with an embarrassed smile, so Zerrex only rolled his eyes with soft entertainment before he patted her shoulder gently, then he gave it an affectionate squeeze, saying quietly: "One day, I promise... I'll let you experience what you want, if only to show you it might not be what you think it is."

"Thank you, Daddy." Marina said warmly, and she blushed as she rubbed at her face, then at her pants slowly, murmuring: "I should go wash up and change, though... I..." She flushed deeper, then quietly stood up and grasped Zerrex's head, guiding his muzzle towards her crotch. He tilted his head curiously, but the moment he came close to her lower regions, he understood very well from the distinct, sweetish smell, before he smiled slightly and leaned close, nuzzling teasingly into her crotch to send a thrill through her and cause her to moan loudly. "Oh Daddy!"

"You're so strange." Zerrex murmured softly, then he smiled a bit as she finally stepped back, her knees quavering a bit before she steadied and straightened, covering her naked breasts chastely. Then she smiled back before turning, her tail flicking and hips switching from side-to-side as she left the room, looking content and not caring about the looks Mahihko gave her or the stares she got from Cherry once she came down the ladder to find the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Zerrex had fitted himself back into his pants, glancing at the useless shirt and then wondering morbidly if he had any serviceable clothes left. He put his hands in his pockets as he left the room, and he immediately bumped into Mahihko, who was shyly trying to cover up a bulge in his kilt as he gazed up at Zerrex with the same slave-like love and affection Marina often had in her eyes. "Daddy, Daddy, did you um... did you and Marina... do stuff together?" A pause, and then his periwinkle eyes gleamed hopefully as he asked: "Can I do stuff with you now?"

"Daddy's a bit tired." Zerrex said carefully, and Mahihko's face fell before the Drakkaren reached out and gently ruffled the fur between his ears. "Maybe later, little gay wolf. Why don't you run along and play, though?"

"But I did already and I'm bored." Mahihko said petulantly, and Zerrex rolled his eyes. The little wolf's childishness wasn't always cute, after all, especially since he looked sulky because he obviously wasn't going to be getting sex at the moment. Then the little wolf brightened and grabbed the reptile's hand, bouncing the spot as he asked: "Can we play a game together then, can we, can we?"

The Drakkaren looked at him for a few moments, and then he smiled despite himself and nodded, saying finally: "Sure, wolf. We can play a game together... what did you have in mind?"

Mahihko beamed at him, then he leapt up and clung to the Drakkaren, scrabbling up his body like a tree to wrap his arms around his neck and purr almost like a kitten as he pressed tightly to his body. Zerrex rolled his eyes, but he hugged the little wolf back all the same, smiling a bit wider as he cradled Mahihko against his chest. The lupine was admittedly adorable, and it was hard not to enjoy his slender little form being pressed up against him... but then Zerrex finally pried him off and gently set him down, and Mahihko hopped from paw-to-paw before pointing at the ladder, saying shyly: "Cherry bought me some game systems while you were gone... let's play one of the new games I bought. I waited and waited for you, so we could play them together, 'cause they look like fun two-player games."

"Alright Mahihko." Zerrex said softly, and he followed the little wolf down the ladder and towards the living room. He sensed Cherry lurking behind him, but he didn't bother turning, his attention instead drawn by the sound of the shower running and Marina singing something to herself, but he couldn't place the song.

Then Cherry grabbed him from behind and hauled him up into the air as she continued to walk forwards, and Zerrex winced and kicked a bit as he felt his feet leave the ground before he sighed and relaxed his body as they continued to move forwards, and Cherry mumbled up to him as Mahihko looked at the two curiously: "I see you crowned the little princess."

"Shut up." Zerrex grumbled, struggling a bit, but Cherry was as strong as she looked and he really didn't feel like wrestling with her at the moment. She snorted in amusement, then Mahihko tripped over his own paws and fell into the living room, and Cherry paused in mid-step to peer around the reptile as Zerrex asked gently: "You okay there, Mahihko?"

"Yes, Daddy." Mahihko jumped up to his paws, looking embarrassed before he ran around the couch and nearly fell over again when he bumped against the table, but this time he recovered before dropping to all fours to crawl over to the game systems. Zerrex moved to follow him, but Cherry grabbed his shoulder, looking deadly serious as she met his eyes.

The reptile frowned at the female's almost-frightening lack of playfulness, and then she murmured in a quiet voice: "Be careful, Zer. Those two get along better than ever... but they squabble worse than ever, too. Something's wrong with Mahihko... he's been acting weird as shit and it ain't just 'cause he's been goin' without you for the better part of a decade, but I'm sure that's a part of it too. I'm... worried about the little bastard, and I don't need Marina walking around the house all covered-up in your goo to make him go even more loopy."

Zerrex nodded slowly, glancing over his shoulder and feeling almost ashamed. All too often, he paid far more attention to his girls and ignored the little wolf, but Mahihko really was part of his family, too. He missed him when the wolf was gone, at least as much as he missed any of his daughters... and he knew he didn't express it enough, but the little lupine really had become like a son to him after all these years of being a family together. Sure, they'd started out as terrible enemies... but the past was the past, and it had been many, many years since those days, and there had been many changes from fat and greedy Lone to little and lustful Mahihko.

He turned his attention back towards Cherry, then he nodded, and the female looked relieved, a great amount of anxiety leaving her features as she rubbed at her head, looking embarrassed. He guessed that it had probably taken a lot of courage for Cherry to get the balls to talk to him like that... and then she impulsively hugged him, and Zerrex flailed his arms as she squeezed him hard enough to make his ribs groan in protest, the reptile gagging and kicking as she bawled: "I love you, Boss!"

"Cherry, leave Daddy alone!" Mahihko whined, and Zerrex tried to cough an agreement before Cherry let him go and the lizard fell to the ground, feeling dazed and staring at the ceiling. A moment later, Mahihko appeared in his field of vision, and he looked down at the reptile he called 'father' as he held up several game cases for him to see, asking meekly: "Which one do you like most, Zer?"

For the next two hours, Zerrex, Mahihko, and Cherry entertained themselves with video games: admittedly, although the reptile had first thought of them as stupid and useless, as he'd started playing them he'd found himself drawn in, and felt horrendously nerdy with how good he'd gotten at them and how well he understood the dynamics of many of them. Video games had also been one of his few luxuries in Hell; the reptile had bought a portable game player on the black market for mortal items, and he'd spent countless hours playing on it in some dank corner of Hell where it usually took Sin an hour or two to find him.

Cherry, of course, just loved to kill things, whether in real life or games... and Mahihko was childish enough that even the simplest of games would entertain him for hours on end, the wolf giggling and flailing as the three of them played some shooting game together. Marina came in and watched after a little while, smelling faintly of lavender soap, wearing clean jeans and a plain white shirt... but she didn't want to play. She liked to claim that she didn't like them... but the truth was that she only felt comfortable playing the games alone with her father, since they were one of the few things her psychic abilities wouldn't let her control completely, and things she couldn't control made her feel vulnerable and frustrated.

Then, finally, Cherry got up, stretched, and said something about going out to make sure the Scanners weren't on patrol anymore... and the three watched as she got up, scratched herself, then left with a wave to Zerrex. The Drakkaren watched her leave, then he looked at Mahihko, asking the little wolf gently: "So what else would you like to do, kid?"

"Um..." Mahihko glanced at the TV, then he shook his head quickly and crawled over to Zerrex, nestling into his lap and curling up as his tail wagged a bit, his head on the wolf's chest and his compact little form fitting easily against the reptile's. "I dunno."

Marina made a sour face at the wolf, but with a look, Zerrex quelled her before she could speak. Then he paused for a moment before looking down at Mahihko and asking gently: "Why don't we just watch a movie for a little while, then? Marina, could you go and pick something out for us?"

Mahihko smiled brightly at this idea, and Marina looked placated once she was included. And for the next two hours, they sat and watched one of Zerrex's old favorites, some comedy-horror movie involving zombies and chainsaws, and Mahihko clung the entire time to his beloved father-figure. It was pleasant and comfortable, Zerrex loosening up in the presence of his adoring children and laughing far too often at the movie. He was away from the pressures of responsibility for the moment, and it felt good to relax... and Marina rested against his side as Mahihko curled up in his lap, and for a little while, all was well.

The movie ended, and Cherry came in as the credits rolled, looking at the television for a few moments with a frown on her face as she obviously tried her hardest to figure out what they'd been watching, then she grunted and blew a raspberry at Zerrex. "Sure, once I leave, then you have the orgy. But it looks like the Scanners are gone, at least for the moment. Their little psychic girl will probably try and figure out where we are, but with Marina around here..."

"No psychic would dare risk touching this house." Marina said softly, and her voice and calmness was chilling as she smiled at Zerrex, stroking his cheek lovingly. "I can always sense psychic intrusion... and I already showed one psychic just what happens if you try and tell on us. Daddy is all the family I need... but I'll protect all the family I have, in his example."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he stood up and stretched, looking over at Cherry awkwardly. "I need to go clothes shopping... most of my shirts up there have become tatters, and these are my only pair of pants left. Do you wanna come with me?"

Cherry mused a bit as she weighed the options, and then she shook her head, looking resigned. "Fuck, wish I could, but us two walkin' around together could set off some alarms. Listen, though, take some of these... I started carryin' 'em after the Scanners started their little pretty patrolsies, and they've come in damn fuckin' useful, like you saw at the shop place."

Cherry dug in her pocket for a moment, then she held out her hand, several of the smoke capsules she had used earlier in her palm. Zerrex took one between two fingers and glanced at it curiously, and the female said cheerfully: "Brimstone capsules, they make a hell of a mess. They're just like the ones we used down in Hell during the shock attack missions on the bases of the rogue demons and angels, so you should be pretty familiar with them."

"You've got all kinds of illegal gear up here, don't you?" Zerrex asked mildly, but Cherry only grinned widely and winked, looking cheerful. It wasn't exactly a reprimand, either... I'm impressed. "They do seem to work especially well on mortals, though... thanks. I just hope I don't have to use them."

Zerrex took the rest of the capsules Cherry was offering, and he slipped them into his pocket before he carefully hoisted Mahihko out of his lap and put him gently aside. The wolf whimpered as he looked up at him, and the lizard patted him lightly on the head, saying softly: "Next time, kiddo. For now, you stay here. Maybe you and Marina can work on a picture together... or maybe you and Cherry can go clean my guns."

Marina stood as Zerrex did, then she walked over and hugged her father tightly, saying lovingly: "We'll be good, Daddy, I promise. And before you forget..." She held up a hand, and Zerrex tilted his head before a wallet whizzed past Cherry's head and into the palm of the youngest daughter of Zerrex, Marina catching it easily before she held it out to her father, Cherry gaping openly and Mahihko staring, as Zerrex tried stupidly to think of something to say. "Here, Daddy. There's no need to say anything... what's mine is yours. All yours..."

She half-lidded her eyes as she pushed her other hand quietly along Zerrex's bare chest, then she smiled softly as she pushed the wallet into Zerrex's grip. The reptile took it and glanced down at it, and Marina's voice whispered through his head. I haven't changed the code for my card... I should have more than enough in my bank account to afford some clothes and more for you. Buy yourself whatever you like... my money belongs to you, just like I do... "Go ahead, now, Daddy. Get on your way before things get too busy... and oh." A pause, and Zerrex was unsurprised as a moment later, his leather jacket and cane floated into the room, and the reptile numbly allowed the jacket itself to guide him into slipping onto his body before it zipped up enough to hide the scars covering his masculine chest. Then he caught his cane, and Marina smiled warmly before giving him a final peck on the nose. "Take care, father."

With that, Marina left the room, and Mahihko looked gloomily at the floor as Cherry rubbed the back of her head slowly, looking awkwardly over her shoulder before she muttered: "Holy shit. She's getting more and more powerful every day... dude, Boss, like... what the fuck are we supposed to do? I swear to shit, if she gets a good case of PMS, she could wipe out half the world."

"I know, but... she's Marina." Zerrex said quietly, tapping the head of his cane against his own skull as he made a face. He knew that yes, his daughter could be dangerous, and that her powers were incredible enough to put her on par with some of the strongest demons he'd ever faced... but she's still my daughter, and she's still Marina. She doesn't act out of spite or evil, or even real hatred... she only becomes dangerous when she acts out of overprotective love... "We need to give her a chance. We both know what the only real trigger for her is, after all."

Cherry nodded slowly as Mahihko glanced up nervously, and Zerrex quietly petted the little wolf before he sighed and smiled at him, then he walked over to Cherry, patting her on the bicep. "You've always treated her well, even when she was a baby. She's always loved you... maybe even more than she loves her own mother in some ways. I have faith in you, Cherry... you made a fine mother yourself down in Hell."

"I did not, shut up, I have something in my eye! Both of them, and it's big!" Cherry flailed her arms, then she covered her face and bounced quickly past Zerrex before rubbing convulsively at her eyes and clearing her throat. Mahihko looked at her oddly over the back of the couch, and then Cherry looked down at him before turning a glare on Zerrex, grumbling: "Fine. I'll hang out with Bebop and bubble-butt here, and try to make them both act good and shit. You just make sure you get your own shit in order and don't set off no Scanners, 'cause I ain't comin' to rescue you."

"Good." Zerrex smiled at her, then he turned and left as Cherry rumbled something and Mahihko waved sporadically. He let himself out the front door as he checked to make sure he'd placed Marina's wallet in his pocket, and he let out a sigh of relief before walking down the street, his cane tapping lightly against the pavement as he kept his head down, unkempt hair floating around his face as the lizard brushed at it absently every now and then.

Ten minutes later, the reptile found himself standing with a crowd of people at a busy intersection, a convoy of large trailer trucks rumbling along the road and through dead lights which no longer worked. He waited patiently with the others for the convoy to pass, enjoying the fact he wasn't getting more than the occasional odd look: those were reserved for the towering minotaurs and the rough-looking Dragokkaren clone soldiers.

A physically larger and stronger sibling to the Drakkaren species, Dragokkaren could range in height from less than ten to more than twenty feet tall, and once upon a time they had been a rare species to find outside of Hez'Ranna, the Cradle of Life for all Drakkai - a family of reptiles that included both Drakkaren and Dragokkaren. Dragokkaren clone soldiers had been mass-produced during the first Great War, however, and they had been developed to mature quickly into enormous adults with the best genetic structures available, and underwent fierce combat training... but many of them were childlike even all these years later, and had problems learning the most basic and simple tasks in life, such as unscrewing the top from a plastic bottle: they had been trained as expendable killing machines that followed a regimented lifestyle where they literally had very little control over anything they did themselves, after all. To them, a free life, a life without war, had been alien: so when they had been told to disarm, most of them had no idea what it was like to taste freedom. Some of them had even been terrified of it, but they had set up different programs to rehabilitate the clones and introduce them to normal life in some countries... while others had just let them do as they would or began killing them for sport, or worse, enslaving them for cheap labor or security.

After the Great War, Dragokkaren had become one of the most prominent species on the face of the world, following canids, equines, and felids. But most of them had become beggars or low-class workers, although some of the clones showed surprising amounts of intelligence here and there, and ingenuity that genetics itself couldn't account for. And now, although the Demon War had thinned their numbers greatly, they still weren't that uncommon a sight even in places like Ire, a country that centuries ago had first 'discovered' Hez'Ranna and attempted to enslave the Drakkai natives they found there, only to be viciously fought off.

One of the Dragokkaren - this one wearing a ragged shirt and patched suspenders, but then again, most of the people in the crowd were wearing dirty clothes - caught Zerrex looking and then paused, seeming to recognize him. Zerrex nodded and smiled a bit at him, and the Dragokkaren - who had the same hard features as many of his brethren - smiled childishly in return before nodding, murmuring a rough 'hello' before looking ahead as the convoy finally passed.

The Drakkaren walked onwards with the rest of the crowd, and then he felt a strange tremor roll up through his feet, as if he had stepped on a giant and it had stirred beneath him. He frowned a bit, and then the crowd parted and a few people stared as the deer youth Zerrex had seen before seemed to appear out of nowhere in the crowd, standing a few feet from the Drakkaren and shouting: "Caught you, demon!"

The reptile frowned, looking back and forth as some of the crowd stopped and other people murmured curiously to one another, and then the lizard looked at his feet. He paused, then realized with a shock that he had stepped into a kind of Devil's Trap, a circle of runes glowing around him... and then he smiled indulgently at the youth as he looked up, feigning amusement as a chill passed through him. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Do I look like one of those minnow-thingies to you?"

"You're no minotaur, no... you are a true demon of Hell, and one that's caused plenty of trouble up here already, I'm sure." the deer said coldly, still pointing at him as his trenchcoat flapped lightly in the wind. "But I have you trapped in the Eye of Mordrec, one of the more powerful versions of a demon snare... not even your magical abilities can help you escape."

"So if I'm a demon, I can't walk out of this... magic circle you claim to have drawn on the ground?" Zerrex glanced down around his feet, pretending to look for the circle as he set his cane deliberately on a rune. He realized that the youth had drawn the circle using some type of special ink or tool - likely mixed with demon's blood - and that was why it was invisible to the mortal eye, but glared out at him.

The deer looked frustrated as he gestured angrily at him, a few more people walking by and several of those watching curiously now murmuring and pointing at the kid in his peculiar black clothes, not at him. "Don't play your stupid games with me! Surrender peacefully, make this easy for the both of us."

Zerrex twisted his cane against one of the runes on the ground, and the entire circle ceased to glow, the runes fading out of existence. The youth didn't notice, however, his anger getting the better of him as he stepped forwards to where the edge of the circle once was, shouting up at the reptile: "My family has hunted demons like you for generations, and I'm not about to let-"

"This has been fun, but I need to go shopping now, kid." Zerrex said mildly, and he reached out and patted the youth's head through his cap, the deer looking stupefied as Zerrex walked by, his brown eyes dumb with confusion as they followed after the reptile. The lizard looked over his shoulder to toss him a wink and a wave, and the youth was left standing in the street, looking humiliated before his eyes glanced down at the circle... and he snarled furiously, stomping his feet as he realized the circle had vanished.

Zerrex had already vanished into the crowd again, however, but he was sure that this time, the youth would waste no time in tracking him down, and he didn't want to be caught off guard again... so instead of heading into the shopping district, the reptile broke from the crowd down a side alley stacked full of wooden crates. He smiled a bit as he squeezed the dragon-shaped handle of his cane lightly, and holy runes flickered over the steel body of the cane before fading back out. Luckily I can use angelic devices too... thank crap for this thing, it's gotten me out of more messes than I can count, now.

The reptile paused as he reached an intersection, a narrow dirt path between two buildings leading to a street, and the other way leading behind the stores, along an old wooden fence. The reptile paused as he stood on his toes to look overtop the wooden slats, and then he smiled slightly as he noticed an abandoned construction site beyond this, a rusted-out crane standing silent sentinel over an empty dirt lot, which was guarded from view from two sides by crumbling buildings, one side by the wooden fence, and the last by an ugly makeshift barricade that had probably been built to keep people from sneaking in or out of the site after it had been abandoned. Good. Couldn't ask for a better spot.

Zerrex tore off two of the wooden slats, tossing them aside so he could step through the fence, and he glanced back and forth as he entered the construction site, eyeing a few fallen girders and one metal post that was sticking up out of the ground like a grave marker. He walked over to this and touched it lightly, then he smiled slightly to himself, glancing over his shoulder as the deer youth stepped into the construction area with a longsword in one hand and a spherical black crystal in the other... or is that a dodecahedron? Did I just make that word up or did I actually give the right term for it? "Couldn't resist, could you? I've heard a lot about demon hunters, but I never thought I'd meet one... I thought your clans had died out."

The youth shook his head slowly, pointing the dark gem at Zerrex, and it glowed as a red mist swirled inside of it. "No, we only went into seclusion, but the traditions have been passed on from father to son and mother to daughter for generations. This sword is a holy runeblade forged with a lost art by my peoples... and with me I have a cadre of no less than five demons, all who have pledged their services to me, all earned by me. I've been a full-fledged hunter since I was ten... and I have more than enough skill to take on any demon that's crawled their way up out of the netherworlds!"

Zerrex looked thoughtfully at the young male as he thrust the sword at him, hearing the rage in his voice and seeing the hatred burning in his eyes... and then he asked softly, as he leaned on his cane: "What's your name, kid? And why do you hate demons so much?"

"That's no business of yours! And to you, my name will be Master Zanbrick soon enough... now prepare yourself, demon! Ka'l Vrah, rise from your sleep!" the deer shouted, then he leaned forwards as he threw the black gemstone, and it glowed red as it spun through the air before it turned to flesh-and-blood, limbs ripping out of it as it expanded... and moments later, a demon that was half-spider, half-vixen stood before him on her eight long legs. Her spider's body bristled with short, sharp black hairs and her legs all ended in ugly hooks, while her abdomen connected into the beautiful upper body of a female fox, her fur albino white and her eyes burning red gems visible even through the long, silken hair that fell all the way to her waist, covering her breasts... and she giggled as she brought a hand to her mouth to chew on a nail teasingly: unlike her body, her forearms and hands had black fur, as if she was wearing gloves. "My, you've summoned me against quite a lovely demon, Master... are we to kill this one or will he be added to our collection?"

"I really just came out here to buy a shirt, come on." Zerrex said plaintively, but Zanbrick only snarled at him as he wrestled his trenchcoat off, switching his blade from hand-to-hand before standing in a ready position. The reptile could now see that he had nearly a dozen other gemstones on him, the four of them hanging from his belt of various colors and the five of them on a strap over his chest clear and as harmless-looking as plastic... and he realized as he looked up at the female's black eyes what their colors corresponded to. He smiled at the Widow, bowing to her politely as he shed his own ripped leather jacket and tossed it aside, and she cooed at him and blew him a kiss, looking delighted. "Zane - can I call you Zane? - must be powerful indeed to have someone like you in his service."

"Don't underestimate him, darling. And that goes for you, too." Ka'l Vrah said tenderly, but Zerrex knew from the look on her face as she glanced at the deer it was probably a cover for real murderous intent. Demons like her often made amiable acquaintances... but they would turn on their friends and enemies in a heartbeat without mercy. Putting one into bondage like this was a little less than a good idea, and Zerrex didn't want to think about what she'd do to Zane if she got loose.

From what the reptile could see, however, Zane also wore a metal armlet with a circle of red, glowing runes on it. He guessed this was probably the connection point to the demons, and what let him both control them and protected him from their attacks or the possibility of them turning on him in battle... and the reptile made a face as the deer pointed towards him and said coldly: "Rip him to pieces, Ka'l Vrah, and we'll do our best to sweep up whatever's left behind."

Ka'l Vrah grinned coldly, then she leaned back before lunging forwards, her eight powerful legs propelling her violently towards Zerrex... but the Drakkaren only raised his right arm with a wince as she lashed her hands out to try and seize him as she bit towards him with her terrible fangs. The moment her teeth pierced the scales of his arm, however, one of them snapped off, and she howled in dejection and misery before Zerrex kicked her hard in the underbelly of her spider-half, and she leaned forwards before she was slammed onto her back by a hard left hook into her stomach from the Drakkaren, writhing on her back as her spider legs flailed and kicked at the air, screaming in a voice more bug than person.

Zerrex flexed his right arm, and the fang fell out as Zane readied himself, staring in shock as the reptile's tattoo squirmed and writhed before the reptile's scales began to peel away from his right limb. His arm thickened and lost proportion to his body, growing outwards as his fingers and thumb turned into cruel claws, and plates of metal and rock protruded from the ugly limb as the lizard winced and slowly flexed his fingers. Blue light shone out of several cracks in the terrible arm, pulsing as if it was being emanated by something not quite liquid but not solid, either, and the Drakkaren smiled slightly across at Zane as he held up his warped claw, leaning on the cane in his left hand casually as both Zanbrick and his demon stared at him with something like horror. "You still want to fight me? Or do you want to walk away?"

Zane snarled at him, trembling with rage as Ka'l Vrah slowly climbed up to her eight feet... and then she hissed as Zane charged forwards, vomiting a terrible, toxic bile at the reptile. Zerrex dodged this with disgust, then he grabbed his cane by the neck, holding it like a sword and blocking a surprisingly-hard blow from Zane... but the reptile guessed that whatever special abilities he had were probably augmented further by the gear he was wearing.

Zane threw a kick into the Drakkaren's side, and the reptile grunted before looking at Zane flatly across their crossed weapons, then he slammed a hard headbutt down into him, knocking the deer senseless on the ground. A more serious threat skittered towards his side, however, then the Widow lunged at him, screaming as threw herself at him and tried to bite her single fang down into his neck. The reptile winced as he brought his cane up to stop her, the female biting uselessly down onto the steel before smoke poured up out of her maw as the holy runes on it glowed, and she shook her head wildly back and forth before slamming both hands down into Zerrex's face, sending him staggering as he cursed, blood splattering out of one nostril.

He snarled, then looked in time to see the Widow vomit poison at him again, and he ducked under the spray before he slammed his holy cane hard into her stomach. Ka'l Vrah screamed in torment, grabbing her gut, and then Zerrex threw his warped fist hard up under her chin, smashing her head back, and she scuttled senselessly back and forth, drool and green foam dripping out of her maw as her eyes rolled up in the back of her head before she collapsed, unconscious. The reptile glared at her with distaste, but he only brushed himself off ; he didn't want to kill her, after all, just stop her.

Zane, meanwhile, had climbed to his feet... and he cursed at the sight of the collapsed demoness before he held up the arm with the armlet over it, and the runes glowed before Ka'l Vrah's body collapsed in on itself, rapidly turning back into the crystal. It only glowed feebly now, as it floated back to the deer's hand... but before Zerrex could open his mouth, the deer threw out a blue crystal, and it rapidly transformed into a twenty-foot tall, fish-headed beast with four glowing-blue eyes, the body of the creature gangly and far too thin. It had no arms, but instead four long tentacles, each covered in suckers and ending in large, spade-shaped growths... and instead of legs, it possessed only a short body tail that ended in a fin. It looked moodily back and forth, its blue, scaly skin oily and moist... and then Zane said darkly: "Locke, aid me in killing this demon."

Locke only continued to sway slowly on the spot, and Zerrex looked at it mildly before the creature said in a slow voice: "No. His arm is made of a terrible energy... it will spill my guts should I touch him, and I need to touch him to hurt him."

"Stop being a coward, and do as I command!" Zane snarled as he charged forwards again, this time aiming for the reptile's warped side, and the Drakkaren made a face as Locke sighed before dropping his body to the ground and slithering forwards with surprising speed, moving through the sand as gracefully as water. Zerrex cursed, then he glanced to the side as Zane charged in, and he clenched the fist of his warped arm as a three-foot-long blade suddenly shot out of the top of his wrist.

Zane's eyes went wide even as he swung in, but the attack was clumsy in his surprise, and the Drakkaren immediately took the advantage to swing his arm out hard, knocking the longsword to the side and sending the deer stumbling. He continued to spin as he threw his weight to the side, slashing viciously outwards as Locke attempted to tackle him with his jaws wide and tentacles outspread, and then the fish demon was knocked away with a howl of agony as the blade tore easily through his thin skin, water and pus bursting out of the deep wound in his chest in place of blood as he landed on his back, writhing in agony. The deer cursed as he ran to the side, the hunter raising his hand as his armlet glowed, and only moments later the demon transformed back into a gemstone and returned to him. Zane put this in his belt, then he looked at Zerrex with both disgust and fear now, holding up his longsword and trembling as he asked in a whisper: "Just what are you? An earth devil? A Dius? Some kind of demon lord?"

"I'm just me." Zerrex replied with a shrug, loosening his battle stance as the deer looked at the ground, shivers running over his body. The lizard sighed softly as the blade vanished back into his arm, and he flexed the claw of his warped limb gently as he said quietly: "It's over, Zanbrick. I've got more experience in swordplay than you may ever have, and no matter what demon you summon to aid you, I'll either defeat it or outright kill it. Lay down your weapon and give up. You can't win against me, and you can't weaken me enough to trap me in a crystalline shell, either. And you know it."

"Maybe not if I play by the rules..." Zane murmured... and then he looked down at his belt, his eyes maddened, and he grinned coldly as he pulled out another crystal, this one a bright red. "But I still have a chance if I use a demon's methods against it!"

Zerrex winced as Zane threw out the first crystal... then a second, and a third, and in a moment, there were three demons standing across from Zerrex. One of them was a horse with glowing red eyes that was carrying its own head in one hand, a sword in the other, and the collar a gaping black hole. Its body was covered in heavy battle armor, and a terrible, ghostly blue aura buzzed around the thing as it drew a thick broadsword from its scabbard as the horse's head grinned widely, fiery-red mane falling around half of its light-furred face. A Dullahan.

The second demon had black eyes, and the upper body of a beautiful wolf maiden, with a tiara in her long chestnut hair and four long, lithe arms. She wore a golden armor of sorts that covered her shoulders, her breasts, and part of her stomach, and several more golden bracelets hung around her limbs, with a belt of matching color around her waist, with a long, white loincloth hanging from this covering the front of not legs, but a black-scaled, snakelike body that was thick and sinuous, perhaps twenty feet long. In each hand she gripped a scimitar: and while the handles were gold and beautiful, the blades were sharp and stained with blood. A Lamia.

The last demon had a single, enormous purple eye, above a huge, ugly mouth full of fangs. It floated above the ground with an ominous hum, its body little more than a sphere that supported the mouth and the eye, and its back was covered in small spiked, as were its sides. These metallic spikes poked up through the ugly red plating that covered its body, it looked back and forth with fury burning in its eye as it babbled unintelligibly away. A Beholder Grunt? Where the hell did he find one of those... they're supposed to be an extinct species...

The three demons all looked at him, and then Zane laughed almost hysterically from behind the wall of creatures, shouting: "Go, go and strike him down! Rip him to shreds!"

There was a pause, and then, with what looked like an enormous effort, the Dullahan slowly turned around and said in a quiet, serious voice: "I would much rather kill you... Zanbrick of Lailland."

The deer shook his head, stepping slowly backwards as the other two turned on him, and then he grunted and winced, grabbing his arm before letting out a cry of pain as the armlet he wore exploded into pieces, and then the two colored crystals at his side cracked before shattering as well, exploding with enough force to knock Zane stumbling sideways. Immediately, the Lamia swept out two of her blades, catching the deer's longsword between them before she tossed it over her shoulder, and it landed at Zerrex's feet as the reptile made a disgusted face, watching as the defenseless deer stumbled backwards, looking in terror from one to the other as he began to beg for his life.

The Drakkaren sighed, realizing he was probably going to regret this choice of action, and then he ran quickly forwards, the blade shooting out of his claw before he slammed it through the back of the Beholder, and the creature screamed as its eyes glowed violet before the reptile slung the orb-like demon to the side, sending it rolling lifelessly along the ground. In the same moment, he brought his cane down towards the Lamia's head, but she rose her top pair of Scimitars above her head to block the lizard's strike before spinning around, parrying the cane as she slung her two swords towards his side with a wide grin, hissing: "I'll deal with this mortal-lover... you kill the child."

"Help me!" Zane scurried quickly away as Zerrex blocked the first attack of the Lamia, and then he cursed as she swung in her four swords one after the other, the reptile bringing his cane up as his warped forearm morphed into a rounded shield, the blade vanishing into this. She laughed as her swords clanged against the rocky matter of the reptile's limb, then she tried to stab her upper pair of swords forwards as her lower pair sought to pincer the Drakkaren's sides.

Zerrex performed a full splits instead, however, wincing as he felt his groin touch the ground, and the Lamia cursed in surprise as her attack missed, her four swords clanging together. Then the Drakkaren slammed his cane forwards, striking not at her but at her swords, and the cane knocked three of them back into the Lamia's own body, one bouncing uselessly off her armor but one striking the soft meat of a breast as the other dug into her side.

She screamed in fury as she slashed a sword crosswise at Zerrex, trying to cut off his head, but the reptile fell backwards, letting the blade pass over him before he brought his legs back and kicked her hard in the stomach with both feet, knocking her on a high arc through the air to land with a flump on her back a good twenty feet away. The Drakkaren grinned as he kicked up to his feet, watching her snake tail writhe as she recovered her senses, but before he could move forwards, a beam of purple energy struck him and knocked him across the square, the reptile bounce off a building to send up a hail of dust before several loose bricks tumbled out of the wall, one or two bouncing off his body as he groaned in pain.

The Beholder was floating raggedly through the air, hissing and bleeding as it slid back and forth on its way towards Zerrex, and the Drakkaren made a face before he rolled his eyes as he saw Zane fall over, giving the Dullahan time to catch up: he was slow not because of his armor, but because he was carefully cradling his head in one hand as he held his sword in the other. Zane was now trying to crawl away, but he was moving much too slowly... and the reptile grumbled as he saw the Lamia had recovered her senses, too. Great. Well. One way to solve this problem.

Zerrex got to a kneel as he held a hand out, and a sphere of iridescent blue energy formed in it: his ability to control energy was a power he still hadn't totally mastered, but he certainly had the hang of it down enough to take on a few demonic rejects. He grunted as he threw the sphere hard forwards, sending it whizzing through the air before it contacted with the leaning metal pillar, and immediately the sphere rapidly expanded before exploding, and the force of the blast knocked the Beholder flying as the pillar collapsed backwards and landed on top of the Dullahan, his head rolling away as the horse gave a strangled cry.

Zane yelped and hopped to his feet, but Zerrex didn't have the time to deal with him as the Lamia shot towards him with terrifying speed. He reached for his cane, but found it wasn't there beside him, and he cursed before he leaping straight up as she sliced two of her blades down towards him. The Lamia blinked as she looked skywards for her quarry, and then Zerrex's foot smashed down into her face with enough force to bend her body backwards before he kicked off her and landed next to her tail. He grinned widely... and then he cursed with a wince of pain as her body tail immediately wrapped around him, crushing his legs and his waist as the reptile pounded his fists against her, and then the Lamia's upper body appeared in front of him, holding all four swords out as she said in a voice that was almost tender: "Checkmate."

"Exactly." Before she could react, Zerrex rose his twisted arm, and it morphed into a massive executioner's axe that he swung down, cutting her upper wolf body from her lower snakelike tail-body. She screamed in anguish as she fell to the ground, dropping her swords as her snake body flailed wildly around the reptile, squeezing him tighter for a moment before her grip loosened, and Zerrex made a face as he pushed free of it. He looked down at her for a moment, as she panted her breaths in and out, her face contorted with agony as she clung into the dirt... and then he kicked one of her dropped golden swords up to a hand before he slammed it down through her heart, and she gave one final gasp before dying.

The reptile sensed a flicker to his left, felt more than heard the charge of energy... and immediately he ripped the golden sword free and flung it sideways, and it buried into the eye of the Beholder, sending it into a screaming fit as it shook its head violently back and forth before turning into nothing but ashes and dust. The Drakkaren made a face, then he looked down to see that the Lamia's body had already done the same... and finally, he walked slowly over to pick up his cane as he watched the Dullahan, in armor that was bruised and broken, carrying his head in one hand and almost dragging his sword in the other, face off against Zane.

The deer held his longsword in both hands, looking unsteady, tired, and wounded... and Zerrex didn't know if he felt sorry for him or if this was a fitting punishment for disobeying his own rules of conduct in battle. His clan of demon hunters, after all, had a strict code of honor that was there for many reasons, not only as protocol. By summoning too many demons into battle, he had not only violated that protocol, but he had made it too hard to concentrate on keeping them in check, and he had thus freed or killed all of the demons he'd hunted down and placed into servitude... at least, all the demons on him were affected by that armlet shattering. I wonder if he's got more demons at home in those gemstones, though, and what happened to them...

"Die!" The Dullahan moved forwards, swinging in with a hard, underhand blow, but Zane blocked it before he swung his blade in a firm sideways strike into the demon's chest, and it staggered backwards with a grunt before Zane landed several more hard blows against its body. Then the Dullahan suddenly lunged forwards, ramming a shoulder into Zane before slicing viciously upwards with the sword, and this time it knocked the longsword from the deer's hand as the tip of his blade slashed through his chest and then up over his face.

Zane cried out in agony, clutching at his face as he stumbled and turned away, and the Dullahan slammed the hilt of his sword down into the deer's tailbone, knocking him flat and likely putting him into a brand-new state of agony. The reptile thought for a moment about interfering, but instinct told him not to, even as the Dullahan laughed and spun his sword around to prepare a death strike... but as he stabbed viciously downwards with it, Zane rolled out of the way onto his back, the blade sinking deep into the sand and the demon stumbling with a surprised grunt before Zane brought a foot up and kicked the Dullahan hard in the face.

His head flew out of his hands, and the creature staggered backwards with a howl of pain and confusion as the horse's head landed a good distance away with a fair black eye, and Zane leapt to his feet, yelling wordlessly as he tore his sword free from the ground before he spun it around and charged forwards, and he rammed it through the armor covering the Dullahan's stomach all the way to the hilt, the blade ripping out his back, and the Dullahan froze in place for a moment before he collapsed slowly onto his back. Then Zane walked over to the head, which was trying to run away as the fingers and feet of his body twitched weakly, and the horse yelped as Zane picked it up by his long hair before he began to violently whip the head back and forth, smacking his face painfully into the ground as Zerrex covered his muzzle to hide a grin. He suspected it was rather cruel of him, but he couldn't help finding the sight of the deer waving the Dullahan's head back and forth through the air like a toy hilarious nonetheless.

Finally, Zane booted the Dullahan's head hard into the nearest wall, and it hit with a loud splat before falling to the ground. Then Zane walked over to the groaning head and dropped it on top of its beaten body, before he pulled one of the colorless gemstones off his chest, saying darkly: "That's what you get for betraying me, Lance! Next time it happens, I'll feed you to Sebastian, got it?"

"I hate you." the horse said tiredly, and Zane kicked some sand up into its eyes before he threw the white crystal down into his head. The moment it touched the Dullahan's skull, the horse's form began to melt away, and moments later, the demon was pulled up into the crystal as it turned a glowing, brilliant ruby. After only a few moments, however, the glow faded rapidly down to a dwindling light, and Zanbrick sighed as he tucked this in his belt before grasping at his bleeding face, looking over at Zerrex with an expression of shame.

He stumbled over to his sword, then he picked it up as Zerrex clapped a few times, his arm slowly returning to normal as bits of metal plate and rocky crust fell off as it shrank down, scale twisting slowly over the limb, knitting itself back together as his tattoo came slowly back into being, and Zane stared at this before he shook his head and murmured softly: "I think I owe you an apology. So... here it is. I'm sorry for what happened. I honestly assumed all demons were evil beasts, despite what I read about in the scrolls... but demons were the ones who mutilated and killed my parents, and I felt... such rage. Yet now, that rage has turned into sadness, because I've betrayed my own teachings... I was the monster here, not you."

"That sounds like it came out of an after-school special." Zerrex said mildly, and Zane glared at him before the reptile extended a hand. "I'm Zerrex Narrius. Since you seem familiar with demons, I'm an Incarnation. Split-Incarnation, really."

Zane looked up at him in shock as he took his hand, shaking it slowly, and then he murmured: "Then it's no wonder I couldn't win against you... and it explains that terrible arm of yours as well. Incarnation of sin itself... yet... you don't act like any sin I'm aware of."

Zerrex grunted and shrugged, then he wandered over to pick up his leather jacket, throwing it on. He glanced at Zane's face, then he shook his head slowly, walking over to him and muttering: "Hold still for a minute. I'm not sure how well this'll work, but Sin and I got this working down in Hell. It just took a lot of practice."

The deer looked nervous, but he held still nonetheless as Zerrex passed his hand slowly over his face as it glowed a quiet blue, and a moment later he took a sharp breath as he felt first pain... then his skin stitching itself together, his eyes widening as he felt the wound on his face healing. Slowly, Zerrex traced his hand down the line the Dullahan had drawn with his sword, the reptile's muscles flexing as he winced at the concentration it required, feeling his own energy leaving his body in surprising quantities... and then he let out a sigh of relief, as he drew his hand back, shaking it out and flexing his fingers slowly. "There. Sorry, I can only do so much... you've still got a bit of a scratch on your stomach, and it's going to leave a scar on your face that might be permanent... but you're healed."

"That's another one I owe you, then." Zane said quietly, looking up at him with a small smile. For a moment, the deer and the Drakkaren stood there awkwardly, and then the youth cleared his throat and said hesitantly: "Perhaps I can repay part of this debt by showing you my home... I have a lot of demonic artifacts there that you might be interested in, being a demon and all... and a few things that I've been working on over the past while, from other demon attacks that have been cropping up similar to the ambush you faced in the store this morning. Maybe we can just help each other out... I've had problems with Scanners myself, after all, and I could use an ally who could tell me more about Hell."

"I'm sure we can work a good deal out." Zerrex grinned toothily, and Zanbrick winced before the reptile laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, almost knocking him over. "Kidding, kidding, I don't do the whole 'make a deal and I'll steal your soul' thing. But I've been hearing about some nasty things lately that I could use help with... and I can introduce you to some other people I know, too."

"Thank you." Zane muttered, then he walked over to pick up his trenchcoat, carefully putting it on and brushing excess sand off of it. He checked himself over, then nodded and cleared his throat as he headed for the hole in the fencing, adding: "You know, this is the first time I've ever actually spoken to a demon. I... never thought..."

"That demons have brains and feelings and junk? We don't, we just fake it really well." Zerrex nodded seriously, but this time Zane only ignored him, as the Drakkaren squeezed through the hole in the fence and into the back alley, following the youth onto the street. "Okay, okay, Mister Serious. We are - or were, in some cases - once people too, after all. Few of us really turn into monsters, and I'm proud to say that even fewer have been since Hell's Great Reform." Zerrex paused, rubbing the back of his head as Zane looked up at him curiously. "I shouldn't talk about that, though. Maybe we can get onto the subject later."

For a few moments, the reptile stopped to think as they walked along, moving for the most part against the crowd until they turned down a narrow street, and Zerrex looked curiously at a tall church as they passed it. It was made of marble and granite, and the cross was undoubtedly built of platinum and made a fortune... and the reptile closed his eyes as he murmured softly: "Serenity is my grace."

He opened them, and found Zane looking surprised, the deer asking curiously: "So demons aren't afraid or affected by the holy powers?"

At this, the Drakkaren smiled faintly, shaking his head slowly. "Light and Dark, Holy and Unholy are... words we use to describe the corruption of Hell and the purity of Heaven. They're concept words. Holy powers do affect most demons very badly... but for some reason, I can still touch, wield, and interact with holy elements without pain." Zerrex looked down as he squeezed the handle of his cane gently, then he continued softly: "Angels and demons aren't really so different. Angels can be far crueler than many demons, after all... and Heaven is beautiful, but not a real unending paradise. It's like... a vacation spot. You love it when you're first there, and you enjoy it for a good while... but then you... lose a little bit of interest in it. It can get... boring. Just as Hell seems terrifying and pain-riddled at first... but after a while, it becomes a place of learning and understanding. That's always what I thought Hell should be... a place of learning. A place where people are punished for what they did wrong, but where they then... are given the chance to learn, and understand, and redeem themselves, as we strip off layers of egoism and meanness to evaluate and treat the core problem, the core reason a person is so nasty... and that way, even a demon can be given a heart of gold, so to speak."

Zerrex halted as he realized he'd rambled on, looking lame for a moment... and then he paused in mid-step and glanced back and forth for the deer. He wasn't there, though... and Zerrex mused for a moment before he turned slowly around to see the youth staring at him. The Drakkaren looked back mildly... then he winced as Zanbrick pointed and blurted: "You're the Emperor of Hell?"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" There was no one around, but Zerrex winced and covered the deer's mouth anyway, looking nervously back and forth before he muttered: "The formal term is 'High King of Hell, Master of the Four Thrones,' but I much prefer people just calling me by my old nickname, the Boss. Or you know, an informal 'Zer' or 'Zerrex' or anything is fine, just as long as you don't cal l me by last name alone. In any case, it isn't important, and we're going to find a new High King and put him on the throne, because I served for ten million long goddamn years and I am very tired of monarchy, being in charge, and worrying every day I'll go power-mad and turn the universe into another big old mess."

With that, the reptile let go of the deer, and he looked at him moodily for a few moments before continuing onwards, cane tapping lightly against the ground. Zane followed him quickly, muttering apologies before he looked up at him and asked hesitantly: "What's Hell like?"

"You wanna go there? I bet there's someone around here you could rape and murder." Zerrex said mildly, looking back and forth, but Zane only gave him a flat look before the Drakkaren shrugged, saying quietly: "I loved it. For me, it was far more comfortable than Heaven... there were places that catered to my every enjoyment and I had many friends there. I think... even when I was enduring all my punishments in the different Circles, I still enjoyed things... but my experiences were tainted a lot of the time by the Demon War. That's when I died... ten years ago. Or ten million years ago, in Hell's time."

"So there is a time difference..." Zane murmured, looking down thoughtfully for a moment before he glanced up at the Drakkaren, and he added dryly: "And with every moment that passes, I think less and less you're who you say you are."

"Good. I don't think I am who I say I am either." Zerrex said blandly, and the deer rolled his eyes before motioning for Zerrex to follow him down another narrow alley. The reptile made a face, disliking how cramped it was, before he stared as Zane unlocked the chains holding a wooden trapdoor at the end of the alley shut with a rusted, ancient key, and he pulled these free before opening the trapdoor. "Hey, whoa, wait, that looks tiny."

"Manage." Zanbrick said sourly, but the male - much smaller and thinner than Zerrex - still had to duck to manage his way down what looked like a long, spiraling stairway. The reptile muttered something under his breath, and then the deer called over his shoulder: "The doors and chains are enchanted, so you know, so you've only got a few seconds left to make up your mind."

The Drakkaren grumbled under his breath, then he winced as he realized he'd have to literally crawl down the passage. He sighed, then dropped down and carefully crawled onto the stairs, his body grinding uncomfortably against the rough-hewn stone walls as he complained: "Why the hell is this place made for gnomes?"

"It's not my fault you're twice the size of a normal person, demon." Zanbrick shot back, and Zerrex grumbled something before the doors slammed shut behind him. He winced as he found himself in almost total darkness, and then a faint blue light filled the stairway as strange gemstones imbedded in the walls began to glow. Zerrex looked back and forth at these curiously, then he crawled quickly down the ugly stone steps, muttering as the cavern seemed to get even more cramped and cursing when his leather jacket got caught on a stone outcropping here and there.

Finally, he emerged through a small, open doorway into a large, square room. The reptile stood up and stretched, cracking his back loudly before he closed the heavy wood-and-iron door behind himself, and he paused as he looked at the runes, realizing he wouldn't be able to open it again. The handle was set deep into the wood, and there were iron bars across a narrow window... but the runes on the wood were a charm that made it impossible for a demon to cross. He had to admit, he was impressed with the magical objects he'd seen so far, and as he looked around the room, he guessed that it must be at least five hundred years old.

Bookshelves line the walls, and there was a small wooden table with several chairs around it, and books were scattered over all of these, a pile of them on one chair almost reaching the Drakkaren's head level. Zerrex walked curiously around this, then he ducked through the archway to see Zanbrick standing in front of several rows of bookshelves, muttering to himself as he searched through them before he pulled a dusty tome out with a sound of triumph. "Here we go! I have a question to ask you, just to see who you really are, if you don't mind..."

"Go right ahead..." Zerrex said absently, as he turned around to see an enormous aquarium. Gemstones of all colors, shapes, and sizes floated through the water... but so did several massive electric eels, the water around them boiling and sizzling every so often, their maws fanged, their eyes full of strange intelligence. Zerrex looked down at the faceplate on the aquarium, and then he realized there was an open box sitting in front of it, with four polished, rounded stones sitting in a velvet box. Beautiful... and... 'the mind conquers all.' I like that motto, even if I don't have much of a mind.

"Let's see... here we are. Zerrex, how do you properly address a regent lord of Hell?" asked Zanbrick imperiously, and the reptile looked dryly over his shoulder at him, but the deer quickly added, before the lizard could open his mouth and spew some vulgarity forth: "As if you were a peasant, not of high rank?"

"I dunno." The Drakkaren shrugged, but when Zane didn't look satisfied with that answer, Zerrex sighed and muttered: "'Mighty King, forgive my rudeness as I ask for an audience with you, oh generous lord whom I am not worthy enough to cast my shadow in front of.' Dude, this proves nothing."

"A dude is a pimple on an unevolved donkey's ass. Don't call me that." the deer said stiffly, and Zerrex stared at him before laughing loudly. Immediately, Zane winced, waving his arms wildly and hissing: "Shut up, keep your goddamn voice down, you'll-"

"Zanbrick, you've returned!" shouted a cheerful voice from somewhere in the catacombs of books past another archway, and the deer immediately charged towards Zerrex, uselessly trying to push him towards a hiding place, his feet skidding against the ground as the reptile merely stood in place. A moment later, a beautiful young doe appeared, and she halted nervously, blushing and quietly brushing some wrinkles out of the white, old-fashioned dress she wore that was bordered with green cloth, murmuring: "I... I'm sorry, I didn't know we had company..."

Zerrex smiled, then he bowed deeply towards her, knocking Zane stumbling away by accident as he said softly: "My apologies to you, miss, I didn't mean to start you. My name is Zerrex Narrius. May I have the honor of learning yours?" A pause, then he looked over at Zane and added calmly: "See, I can be perfectly polite. Dude."

Zanbrick glowered at him, but the doe giggled as she stepped forwards and covered her mouth, smiling much more openly now. "My name is Mary."

The reptile was struck by the name, remembering the Mary he'd known all those years ago... and for a moment he stood there before he smiled softly as she looked at him curiously. "I knew another Mary a long time ago... and when I look at you, you remind me of her. I take it you're Zane's younger sister?"

"That's right, although I'm the one who does all the work around here." Mary looked mildly over at Zanbrick, and the deer sulked as he went back to paging through his book. She looked at him for a few moments, then turned her eyes calmly on Zerrex and asked in the same casual voice: "So are you a demon, Zerrex?"

The Drakkaren looked at her with surprise, and then he crossed his arms as he held back a grin, saying amusedly despite Zane wildly shaking his head: "Yes, I am. I guess you're familiar with your brother's work, then, and demons in general?"

"No... Zanbrick does his best to protect me from it... or maybe I should say... hide..." She paused, then peered at Zanbrick as he turned his face away, before stomping over to him and grabbing his head, looking at him with concern. "You were in another fight, and this time it looks like they really wounded you! Why do you have to keep picking fights with demons?"

"I picked a fight with him!" Zanbrick pointed at Zerrex, wincing, but Mary only rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, glaring at her brother. The lizard felt content just to watch things progress as they would, instantly liking Mary more for not turning on him and berating him. This girl's quite something. "Okay, okay... I... I summoned three demons at once, and I couldn't control them, so they turned on me." A heavy sigh, and he added in a mumble: "I... attacked him, but he saved my life from my own demons. Four of them are dead but I recaptured one."

Mary sighed and shook her own head, then she scolded: "Brother, you know better than that. There are traditions and protocols for exactly that reason! You know that you aren't supposed to attempt multiple summonings until your Patron has come before you and granted you your Element..."

The reptile looked dumbly at them as Zanbrick mumbled to himself and stared at his feet, and then he asked curiously: "Patron? And Element?"

The doe turned to him, then she smiled slightly as Zane rubbed awkwardly at his small antlers. "Normally they're kept secret... but since you saved my brother's life, I guess it's okay. Right, Zanbrick?" A glare at her older brother, and the deer sighed and nodded glumly after a moment. "Our Clan, the Silver Wind, has a tradition of asking a powerful godling of either Heaven or Hell to be our Patron. We serve them and do favors for them, but maintain our own independence at the same time: oftentimes, we ask the same being as our ancestors did to be our Patron, as there are many who already have secret contracts worked out with the Clans that demon hunter clans that remain alive today.

"Zanbrick's Patron is Melody, the Queen of Songs. She's a minor deity said to live somewhere in Heaven." A pause, and Mary added, to the astonishment of Zanbrick: "I have just come of age, so I don't have a Patron yet. Maybe I'll ask you one day."

Zerrex laughed at this, then he smiled and nodded as Zane muttered to himself. "I don't think I'd mind that one bit myself... so this Melody is who gave Zanbrick his armlet?"

"She also taught him the runes and granted him the ability to see as some demons do, so he can sense energy forms and see those who are Possessed." Mary continued, smiling warmly and stepping a bit closer to the Drakkaren. "And she's the one who will assess his abilities in a trial after he's spent ten years in training... meaning that my brother is perhaps so tense and disagreeable because he's nervous about his upcoming trial. And only if he passes the trial will he be allowed to call himself a true demon hunter and will he receive his Elemental, which determines both what element of nature and personality he'll be able to best get along with."

"That explains a lot." Zerrex said mildly, as he glanced over at Zane, the deer youth grumbling away. "Not that I understand it all, but I think I get at least some of it. I guess I know why your brother tends t be so aggressive now... or well, more of the reasons he is, anyway."

Zanbrick didn't respond, instead looking grouchily over at his sister, but she only smiled wryly at him before she turned her eyes back up towards Zerrex, asking curiously: "But tell me, Zerrex, tell me more about yourself, if you don't mind. I've seen very few demons, and my brother never lets me aid him on hunts of any kind, whether he's looking for demons, undead, or any other kind of supernatural entity. All I know about Hell comes from books, and I don't have the special sight my brother does... do you have an elemental affinity? What kind of demon are you? How did you escape Hell and take on mortal form? Why do you have so many scars?"

"Slow down, my brain can only process so fast." Zerrex said mildly, holding up his hands, and Mary blushed and curtsied in apology before Zanbrick threw up his hands and stomped away, leaving the way Mary had entered. The Drakkaren watched him go for a moment before he returned his eyes to the doe's curious ones, and he thought about her questions for a few moments and the best order to answer them in. "Let's just say... I served my time in Hell, and because of services I've done in the past, they've let me return to a normal sort of mortal life. My main element is Earth... and I'm a Wrath-Lust Split Incarnation. It's a bit of a mouthful, but..."

"I know what that means." Mary didn't look afraid of him, however, instead frowning as she leaned up curiously towards him, her eyes roving over his body and the scars visible on his chest through his open leather jacket. "You're a powerful demon indeed, Lord Narrius. Very rare too, I believe."

"Zerrex, please." The Drakkaren shook his head quickly, and the female smiled up to him before he added softly: "And power is all a manner of perception. I think there's more strength and beauty in innocence and courage to push forwards despite weakness, than there is in my entire body. Besides, I just am what you see... I don't like to take on my full demon form for a lot of different reasons, except maybe to play around now and then."

Mary looked fascinated at this, before she asked shyly: "I've always wanted to see a demon in full form, though... they call that the extension of the soul, do they not? I'm sure it would tell me a lot about you."

"And that's exactly why I don't like takin' it on. I'm ugly." Zerrex paused, then added plainly: "And I feel vulnerable, despite being like... huge and stuff." He made a face as she looked downcast, and then he sighed and rolled his eyes, saying mildly: "Oh, well, I guess we can negotiate... I'll show you some of my demonic characteristics. But there's no way in Hell I'm taking on full form, since your brother would likely try to kill me."

"Thank you, Zerrex!" The doe clapped her hands together, brightening immediately. "Then I'll do my best to repay the favor however I can... you've really made my day."

Zerrex smiled at this despite his best efforts not to, feeling a little tinge of pleasure before he slid off his coat, then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, two pairs of horns curled out of his head: a tall pair of bovine horns that pushed straight up out of his skull towards the thankfully-high ceiling, and a curled set of ram's horns that pushed from the side of his skull. As the top set of horns reached their full height, they both bent forwards to become more bull-like, the black bone of both pairs gleaming in the light.

At the same time, the scales on the Drakkaren's right arm peeled off as his warped arm came into being, and the reptile's eyes lost both their pupil and iris as they glowed solid green once he opened them, before they returned to normal. Zerrex paused, then he smiled slightly as Mary stepped forwards wonderingly, running her fingers gently over the twisted limb of metal and rock as the reptile flexed his clawed hand slowly. "There's a good start for you... and I can also do this, whenever I please..."

The reptile brought his other limb up, and a fleshy tentacle shot out of his upper arm, wrapping around it once before it stretched through the air until it wrapped around a book on the shelf. A moment later, it quickly retracted into the reptile's arm, placing the book firmly into the Drakkaren's hand before vanishing, and Zerrex smiled slightly at Mary before he glanced down at the title of the book, saying curiously: "'Demonic Physiology, volume four?' You and your brother must do some pretty intense reading."

The doe was too amazed by the Drakkaren to reply, however, as she gingerly touched his muscular chest, tracing her fingers quietly over his scars before she asked in a soft murmur: "Did you get these when you were mortal, Zerrex? Is that why they haven't healed?"

The reptile softened at this, then he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment... and slowly, his scars vanished from sight, as did the burn around his eyes. Mary looked up with wonderment, as the demon smiled down at her... and a moment later, his scars slowly took shape on his body again, like blood slowly soaking through a cloth, and he said quietly: "I can make them vanish if I really want to... but they are reminders of the life I lived as a mortal, yes. I've gotten used to them by now, too, so... I figure why bother expending the energy? I don't mind them so much anymore... I was ugly to start with, after all."

Mary only shook her head at this, and then she gently took the reptile's clawed hand into both of hers, asking impulsively but quietly: "Will you be my Patron, Zerrex? I... I don't want my brother to have to fight alone, and... I feel this isn't just a coincidence that we've met like this. For hundreds of generations, my family has fought and controlled demons... but now the world has changed, and I feel somehow that in order to change with it, I need to work with a demon like you at my side."

"I don't know, it sounds like a big thing..." Zerrex rubbed the back of his head, looking down for a moment in embarrassment... and then he made a face as he looked up, adding: "And what about all this hunter lore, and that whole armlet deal? You need that to control any demons you call to your aid, right?"

Mary only smiled at this, however, saying quietly: "Maybe I'll be a different hunter then, and I'll try a different tactic... instead of imprisoning demons and forcing them to bend to my will, perhaps I should stand on my own two feet against the supernatural, as my ancestors did in the past... and I should befriend the supernatural agents that I can, to summon them the old fashioned way. I'm sure you must know how that works, at least..."

"Maybe I do." Zerrex said softly, looking quietly amused. "But I'm not a good teacher... I might have an idea as to how we could prepare you, though." He paused, then hesitated before finally asking: "How does it work? Is there a binding ritual of some sort?"

The doe only shook her head, however, then she reached down, feeling at the side of her dress before she reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a small knife. Zerrex tilted his head, watching curiously as she made a small cut in her left arm... and then a moment later she blushed, saying softly: "Now you do the same."

The reptile shook his head when she offered a knife, instead carefully holding out one warped finger, and the claw became a narrower, sharper blade. He used this to make a thin wound in his left arm... and then he held his hand out, and Mary shook for a moment before she reached her own hand out, lining up their cuts before grasping his arm, and he automatically squeezed hers. For a moment, nothing happened, and the reptile wondered what else they'd have to do to complete the ritual... and before he knew what was going on, he and Mary were suddenly standing in a blue void, still holding each other's arms, but when he looked down he could see the spikes sticking out of his forearm and he winced as he realized she could see at least most, if not all, of his demonic body.

Her breath halted for a moment as she looked over him and at his unhidden form: his flesh-and-blood arm had a row of small spikes going all the way up to the shoulder, where a larger spike had sprouted, curving up in a tall crescent. His body was lither but still covered in muscle, yet his ribs showed through the scale as well, and his legs had bent backwards at the knee and become unguligrade, his toeclaws now huge, vicious talons upon which he rested his wait, a curving spike coming out of his heel, and smaller spikes lined his shins up to a larger, again crescent-shaped spike that came out of his knee. Spines had pushed out along his back, forming a path from the back of his neck all the way to a harpoon at the tip of his lengthened tail... but strangest of all, perhaps, was the double-set of angel wings on his back, feathers floating off them occasionally, but these flickered out of existence before they touched the ground, turning back into the motes of white energy which they were composed of. The wings themselves were unsolid, and their shape reminded Mary almost of a butterfly, as she quietly let go of his hand to touch his scarred, lither chest.

Zerrex looked over her, and realized that she was clothed the same way as he was: her small breasts bare, a loincloth around her waist... and a set of strange scars over her stomach. The two looked at each other, and then Mary blushed and looked down, covering not her bosom, but instead the twisted X of scars on her belly as she murmured: "I'm sorry, Zerrex... I should have told you about this beforehand, but I became excited. We are in a mind-meld, and both of us shall share memories with the other, fortifying our bond... and as our memories pass into each other, some of your powers will pass into me... while in return, I shall become obligated to serve you, although you can't force me to do anything I don't want to... but I will feel your emotions clearly, and your feelings towards me."

"Awkward." Zerrex said mildly, as he glanced at the doe's bare breasts, and she blushed and turned slightly away. He smiled a bit, and then he paused and watched as the world around them solidified, and suddenly they were standing in a large, mostly-empty room, a little boy and a littler girl deer sitting and playing together with blocks and toy cars. A moment later, a tall male deer entered the room, and he was wearing the same outfit that Zanbrick wore... and I just know somehow that's their father, Alexander. "This is... your first time in the house above here."

"Yes." Mary murmured softly, looking down quietly. Zerrex felt sadness and happiness both warring in her, and in the memory... and as Alexander laughed and hugged both his children against his chest, the reptile realized why as he saw the glowing crystals hanging at Alexander's belt. "Father was loving and wonderful to us, and he captured many powerful demons and subjugated them as slaves... but he treated them with disrespect and aloofness. He underestimated them... and how far they would go for freedom."

The memory flickered, and Zerrex winced as he touched his forehead, feeling more distinct and indistinct memories of the girl flowing into him... and a moment later, he frowned a bit as he saw a cold hospital room. Plain-faced doctors and nurses were gathered around a little girl on the table - little Mary - and she was unconscious and burnt. They were operating on her side... and Zerrex knew it was because the X from Alexander's name had been thrown so hard and become so hot it had buried deep inside her stomach. He winced at this, and Mary touched her side quietly as she looked down, murmuring: "The wound has never healed..."

Before Zerrex could ask a question, however, they were suddenly looking at an image that was cold and terribly familiar... and Zerrex fought the instinctive fear that rose in his body as he realized they were standing in the training room in the Narrius mansion. A huge Dragokkaren, red even through the blue of everything else, was mocking a runty little Drakkaren, who was bleeding and broken... and then he slapped him across the face with enough force to send him sprawling. The reptile looked at this for a few long moments, then he murmured: "Ifret Narrius... my father... has never been satisfied with me. I've always been too weak... too soft... too merciful..."

The memory faded, and Mary murmured quietly, electing a chill of both surprise and strange fear in the reptile: "And yet you killed him... and your Uncle... and you have done terrible things that earned your place in Hell... and yet..."

Another memory... and Zerrex saw himself roaring as he charged forwards into combat with his old sword, Blackheart, held tight in both hands. He saw old faces of old enemies dance through the air like lost and evil souls, he saw the terrible floating fortress known as Paradise, he saw the son he had unknowingly sired, Crow, screaming in his ruthless torment... and Mary let out a groan of pain as she grasped her skull, murmuring: "So much pain... so much struggle. And yet you've come so far, Zerrex... and... I feel..."

Mary looked down at her own hands quietly, and then she groaned and grasped her stomach, the Drakkaren immediately turning to her to see if she was alright... and the scar on her belly glowed red for a moment before it faded slowly from sight, and a shiver passed through the doe before she looked up with admiration in her eyes, whispering softly: "Thank you..."

Then, the two were staring at each other, Zerrex's body back in his mortal form with only his horns out and his arm exposed, and the two took each other's hands as they gazed into one another's eyes, and Mary smiled as she said softly: "I can see differently now, Zerrex... and for one thing, I can still see those shining white wings of yours. Thank you... thank you for giving me strength that... courses like fire through my body, and thank you for sharing your memories with me, my Patron... my... High King of Hell."

"Oh crap, you weren't supposed to hear about that." Zerrex said morbidly, but Mary only laughed and smiled up at him, as if she understood how he'd always felt about the job, and how it had been a punishment, not a gift... and after a moment, he realized she probably did, if she had enough of his memories. I can certainly see all kinds of things about her myself... and understand her all the better. "So-"

"Mary, what did you do?" Zanbrick exclaimed in a strangled voice, and the two looked to the side to see him staring with horror at the pair. Immediately, Zerrex coughed and released her hands, rubbing the back of his head as he made his horns retract back into his skull and his arm return to normal, but Mary only lowered her arms slowly as she smiled challengingly at her brother. "Tell me you didn't seriously ask this... this idiot to serve as your Patron Lord!"

"If you knew half as much about Zerrex as I now know, you'd be eating those words, brother." Mary reprimanded Zane, and the deer looked mortified, before he snarled at Zerrex. Before he could say anything, however, Mary added sweetly: "And remember, Zanbrick, he's my Patron now... and I'll just have to defend his honor if you start making too many accusations against him."

Zane stood there for a moment, looking dumb, and then he cursed under his breath before he pointed at Zerrex and said darkly: "We're even, Zerrex. Don't even look at me, much less dare ask me for anything else! Get... get the hell out of here, and... I'm going up to my room!"

The deer stomped off, and Zerrex embarrassedly waved goodbye to his back before Mary shook her head, saying in a quietly-amused voice: "It's alright, Zerrex... he's just always been protective. He'll calm down soon enough..." She paused, then looked up at the Drakkaren, asking softly: "Now, is there anything I can do for you?"

The reptile paused, not wanting to press his luck... but as his eyes roved over the library, he couldn't help but ask slowly: "Is there anything in this library on crystallizing demons, or even angels for that matter?"

Mary paused and frowned a bit as she looked down. For a few moments she thought to herself, arms crossed and foot tapping quietly against the ground, and then she finally looked up musingly. "Maybe. The books aren't in any order anymore... and there are a lot of them in the main library. I can look around for you, if you want."

"Thanks, Mary. I need to go for now, though... I have to get back home, although it's certainly been a pleasure to meet you." He paused, then smiled at her as he patted her shoulder. "Don't push yourself for me, either... you look like you could use some good rest at the moment, and I know I'll probably lay down myself once I get home."

The doe blushed a bit and nodded, watching as the Drakkaren slipped back into his leather jacket, then she gently grasped his arm as he picked up his cane, saying softly: "Then let me show you to the main entrance, so you don't have to worry about using that silly staircase again. Know that you're always welcome here, Zerrex... I'm sure even Zanbrick will come around eventually."

The reptile nodded as she pulled him gently through the archway, then he looked ahead and stared in amazement at the sight of the library they had passed into. The roof above was many feet above his head, but the heavy bookshelves still reached all the way to the ceiling, an enormous sliding ladder attached on rails to each wall of shelves. As Mary guided him through a narrow space between the shelves, Zerrex realized dumbly that the library doubled as a catacombs, and that he had no clue where the hell they were going... which meant, at least, that not all their memories were traded... although I am curious what other abilities she inherited, if she has some of my powers now. "This is... incredible."

"I thought you'd like this." the doe smiled, gazing at him with soft entertainment before they halted at a dead end, and Zerrex looked curiously back and forth before Mary reached up and pulled on a red book. It tilted forwards, then snapped back into place with a groan, and a moment later a large section of the bookshelf rolled backwards and then upwards on some hidden rail system, vanishing into the ceiling and revealing a damp wine cellar beyond. "It's a bit clichéd, but it works very well. You may feel a bit of a tingle, the walls here are lined with iron."

Zerrex did feel a bit of a shock as he stepped into the wine cellar, and a heavy cement wall descended behind him, giving the reptile a trapped feeling: not because of the faintly-lit, musky darkness of the cellar, but because he could sense sanctified iron in all the walls surrounding them. It was a metal that didn't agree very well with demons in particular... and he Drakkaren followed Mary towards a set of stairs as he rolled his shoulders slowly, impressed with how secure the entire underground area must be... and I bet there's all sorts of secret passages down there, especially in that library labyrinth... "Do you have any memories about where I live, Mary?"

She shook her head, then smiled as they stepped up into an empty cement hallway, saying softly: "No, but I can... sense your presence, so to speak, and I'll be able to home in on you that way. As long as you don't live outside of Valise, that is... I think at greater distances or across dimensions, I lose track of you."

"Well, it's only a few blocks away, so don't worry about that." Zerrex responded with a bit of a smile, and a moment later they emerged into a mostly-empty entrance hall through a set of sterile steel doors. He glanced back and forth curiously at the lack of decoration, but he didn't think much about it: although it had likely once been lavishly ornamented, he was sure for some reason it had probably been traded off for food and other necessities, and that wasn't because of the mind-meld. "Thank you for your kindness... I won't forget this."

"No Zerrex, thank you." Mary said emphatically, and the two smiled at each other before Zerrex paused as his eyes settled on a decoration still hanging on the wall. Mary tilted her head curiously, then the doe followed his gaze to the large white circle with the strange rune engraved on it, and she asked curiously: "What is it?"

"I've seen that before... do you know what it means?" the Drakkaren asked quietly, tilting his head towards her. Mary looked at him oddly for a moment, but when he gave her an imploring look, she finally nodded and carefully lifted the ceramic decoration off the wall, turning it around.

"'1974, Dawn of the New Gods.' It's one of my father's old art pieces... then again, my brother said that he saw similar artworks to this around town, laced with supernatural energy." Mary looked up at him with a frown, tilting her head. "Why, have you come across something like this?"

Zerrex nodded slowly as he took the ceramic plate from her, looking at the gold sticker on the back beneath a small certificate of authenticity that had been taped onto it. "Yeah, I have... there was a Possessed wearing an earring with this symbol on it. It bothered me... I don't know why." But maybe I'll pay this artist a visit... or just the distributor of these art pieces. "Thank you, Mary, you've done tons for me now, and I really owe you one."

She only shook her head, however, blushing a bit and smiling up at him gladly as she clasped her hands. "Just take care of yourself, Zerrex, and I'll come and visit you as soon as I can. I'm the one who owes you."

Zerrex smiled as he handed the ceramic back to her, then he headed for the double doors that undoubtedly led back onto the street, pausing for a moment to wave at her and call a goodbye before he vanished through them. He frowned a bit as he stepped out onto the busy sidewalk, however, looking back over his shoulder at the tall, square manse, and then he shook his head slowly as he murmured: "I'd better get home and see if this is enough to jog Cherry's memory. I don't know why, but this whole thing just feels like it got a whole lot more complex, all of a sudden."