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From inside the facility, Zerrex glanced idly up as he heard a loud curse, still contently sitting in his throne. A few of the others who had originally been there had shown up, but he'd quickly and curtly had them shown out by the Dragokkaren brothers for not bothering to stay the moment Lone came inside with the revolver. Not that he really blamed them... but he knew that their cowardice would bother him, as he would their need to please. Cherry apologized every time one of these slaves was shown out, but Zerrex shrugged it off each and every time.

He felt strangely tired, though... a bit tense, despite the fact that Tanya was slowly massaging his shoulders, Lone happily rubbing his feet - the lizard was starting to wonder if the wolf had a foot fetish - and Cherry and Mark were both feeding him bits of food - it ranged from grapes to garlic bread, olives to chips - as he sat with a bottle of whisky in one hand. The twins had gone back to wrestling, and Zerrex found himself vaguely amused that Dray won eight out of ten fights, pinning Terrance with remarkable ease and agility, much to the taller twin's dismay.

It was almost four in the afternoon now, by the reptile's estimation... Lone, with his pocketwatch dangling around his neck, could have told him he was only ten minutes off. There had only been one more session of sex, where Zerrex had taken Tanya... a quickie, more to amuse himself than anything else, and the Dragokkaren had - as he'd guessed - been able to take him whole length in without screaming too loudly in pain. It had been enjoyable, to say the least... and admittedly, as he sat in his throne dressed in the crotchless chaps and bandolier, but sans shorts, he was wondering who would be more fun to gangbang with the huge twin Dragokkaren... Cherry or Tanya. He doubted he'd get around to that today, though... but they all seemed like they would want another lay with the Drakkaren in the future if they could manage it, and they all were clinging to him a bit more than really necessary, which made him wonder what they were thinking.

The reptile held up a hand, stopping both Cherry and Mark, then he glanced back at Tanya and patting one leg gently. "Come here. You too, Cherry, on my other side... Mark, I want you to give me a massage..." He looked around at them all, emerald eyes issuing the same commands with more power than his words, and the three nodded and smiled before switching their positions, the shorter Drakkaren wincing a bit as he carefully reached over the throne awkwardly, rubbing at the much-larger lizard's shoulders slowly as the two females sat side-by-side in his lap.

Zerrex smiled from one to the other as they rested half on the arms of the throne and half on his leg, the huge reptile wrapping an arm gently around them both and squeezing them lightly around the waist as he kissed Cherry gently. Their muzzles worked together for a few moments, Cherry wrapping an arm around his shoulders and rubbing slowly over his powerfully-muscled chest, then it broke and she smiled, murring as Zerrex turned his head and did the same to Tanya; the tall Dragokkaren gladly met his mouth with her own, her tongue sliding forwards to wrestle gently with the Drakkaren's as she moved one of her hands gently up and down his firm, chiseled abdominals.

For the next hour or so, Zerrex played idly with the two females as Lone watched with something like jealously: not of the reptile, but instead of the females, as he mumbled to himself and continued to gently massage the Drakkaren's feet, then he smiled as Zerrex said to move on to his legs, feeling a burst of strange joy as he moved forwards and began to rub over the muscular limbs up to his thigh. It was wonderful, to touch the smooth scales, feeling the power rippling beneath them, feeling his fingers dragging slowly over the reptile's strong form... it made him happier than he could have ever believed possible. That itself made the wolf nervous, too... but he did his best to instead stick with the good feelings rolling through his body, until finally blushing as Zerrex said idly for everyone to switch positions and called the twins up to rub his back and feet, Tanya and Cherry to wrestle... and Lone and Mark to come sit with him.

The wolf felt amazingly elated as he almost bounced into the reptile's lap, and Zerrex looked down at him meditatively before shifting him over a bit to easily cradle against his body in one arm, as the wolf wrapped his arms tight around the thick neck of the reptile. Mark blushed as he sat in the reptile's lap with much more grace and did his best to hide a throbbing erection, but Zerrex only grinned at this as he turned his attention from Lone to Mark. The Drakkaren was obviously amazed and excited to be given this chance, and Zerrex leaned his muzzle down to gently kiss him.

His eyes rolled shut in bliss as his hands moved over the powerful chest of the larger reptile, feeling one of his powerful arms easily holding him against his body and apparently not minding the large, stiff erection he had. Then the strong, dominating lizard pulled back and smiled into Mark's eyes as he asked softly: "Inexperienced, are you?"

"I... yeah." He admitted, blushing quietly and glancing down as he rubbed the back of his head. "A friend... dragged me out here today. This is my first time here and... I haven't really done much with either sex, but especially not guys."

Zerrex nodded thoughtfully, then he shifted him against his body as he looked down into Lone's eyes next, and the wolf looked back up with adoration instead of anything else... and both smiled a bit, a strange awkwardness in the air before Zerrex finally said: "And I know you haven't done much with guys, Lone. Although it looks like that might have been your secret fantasy all along."

The wolf blushed quietly and nodded, not knowing how to answer or respond... and then Zerrex leaned down and gently kissed him. Lone squeezed the lizard tight around the neck, kissing him slowly in return as he pushed eagerly back up against his maw, their tongues working together slowly before the reptile drew back and the wolf was left panting, a bit of his own member poking free as he stared up submissively at the reptile, whispering quietly: "I guess... I guess it has been. Mostly about one male in particular..."

Zerrex gave them an hour before switching again, holding the brothers in his arms as Cherry rubbed his back and Tanya massaged his feet, and Lone found himself being constantly pinned by Mark... but he laughed as they rolled together, playing almost like children but for the fact they were both hard and erect. They shared affections and Lone enjoyed the muscles of the Drakkaren, enjoyed touching him and feeling their shafts rub together occasionally as the male shoved him down and pinned him playfully... but it wasn't the same as Zerrex. It was enough, though, as the wolf felt amazed and enthralled by what he was doing, what had always been so damned forbidden as they cuddled as much as wrestled on the mattress... but the wolf's real smiles came every time he felt Zerrex's eyes watching them and knowing that the Drakkaren was taking some entertainment and pleasure from what they were doing.

Finally, the reptile - looking strangely magnificent with the two massive Dragokkaren cradled easily against his smaller form like oversized children, both of them looking at the reptile with adoration - kissed both of the huge males on the cheek, then slid them off his body and said mildly for them to go get supper. They nodded respectfully, then both of the twins hurried off for the door as Zerrex stood and clapped his hands, easily getting the attention of the four others in the room as he said mildly: "I want everyone seated in front of me, in two lines; Lone, Mark, Cherry in front, Tanya and the twins in back, once they return."

The others nodded and took up their positions, and about ten minutes later the two huge Dragokkaren reentered, pushing a small cart up and in front of the throne, then removing the sheet that covered to reveal a silver plate covered by a large dome on top, with a tall crystalline glass and silver utensils on the tabletop, as well as a large bottle of wine. Zerrex smiled slightly at this regal treatment, then he glanced at the twins and said mildly: "Serve yourselves and the others."

They both nodded, then kneeled: the bottom racks of the tray all held plain meals on plain plates, and a bottle of water for each. Bread, mush that vaguely resembled potato salad, and some meat substance: Zerrex had to compliment the designers on how far they'd taken the master-slave scenario. He waited for everyone to be served - they all also had crappy plastic forks and knives, which amused the reptile greatly, until Cherry glared at him and he rolled his eyes innocently to the side, coughing and muttering something about staying in character - then lifted the silver dome to reveal his own supper: steak, mashed potatoes, a salad, several pieces of garlic bread, and a few pieces of shrimp. The reptile smiled slightly at this, then he poured himself a glass of wine and rose it, saying calmly: "Eat with praise to your Master."

"Thank you, Master." came the murmured reply, and then all six watched - well, five, until Cherry elbowed Lone hard in the gut as he was about to shove his bread into his mouth and jerked her muzzle at Zerrex - as the powerful Drakkaren picked up his fork and scooped up a bit of the mashed potato. He looked around at them all, smiling slightly, then he shoveled it into his mouth and the others immediately began to eat as well.

Dinner lasted a good twenty minutes, leaving the others staring at Zerrex as he slowly ate the last of his steak, leaving the plate mostly empty. Then he paused and smiled slightly, picking up the one piece of shrimp left and asking idly: "Who here is the strongest?"

"Master Zerrex!" came the reply, but it was loudest - surprisingly - from Lone, who was looking at him with shining eyes. The reptile smiled slightly at this, then he held his hand down beside his throne and the wolf looked at the piece of shrimp in it before getting the idea and crawling forwards, nuzzling the reptile's hand as he ate the bit of food from him like a feral animal being given a treat. Zerrex smiled slightly at this, then he glanced slowly around the group of five again before standing and pushing the table to the side, stretching slowly.

The other five stood as well, but before Lone could, Zerrex reached down and gently stroked his head, and instead the wolf was content to simply sit and smile like a feral animal. Then the tall lizard settled his eyes on Mark and Tanya, smiling softly and nodding to them, saying softly: "I have business to attend to with these others, about... a personal problem. The game is over for now, but I'll remember each and every one of you..." He paused at the downcast look in Tanya's eyes as Mark merely smiled faintly, then he added: "Both of you are welcome to stop in at my house any time you wish, though. I'm busy for the next few days, but anytime next week will be fine."

"Thank you, sir!" Tanya said immediately, then she stood and bowed politely to him as Mark did as well. He blushed and mumbled his own thank you, looking deeply gratified, then left: the female Dragokkaren stood for a few moments however, staring at the tall male before her, before she smiled again and blushed suddenly. Then she followed the shorter male quickly out.

Zerrex watched the two leave with a quiet laugh, then he smiled a bit at the others before heading over to the mattress and sitting on it: the others automatically followed, Lone tilting his head curiously as they sat in a circle on the stained cloth. The Drakkaren glanced around at them all as he idly reached up to loosen his bandolier, then he finally shrugged it up over his head and threw it away with a mutter, rubbing at his scarred chest before glancing over at the twins and saying softly: "I believe I said I'd talk to you about something important. That I'd share something about myself with you, tell you what I could about the Narrius bloodline."

He paused for a moment, then rubbed the back of his head slowly before glancing at the twins and laughing quietly: "As you know, my name is Zerrex Ravenlight Narrius. What you aren't aware of is that my uncle is Requiem Narrius... and my father is Ifret Ark Narrius."

Both Dray and Terrance blinked, the older paling a bit as the younger stared and stuttered out: "That... that can't be possible... it was... eighty years ago... that would mean..."

"I'm not exactly that young myself." Zerrex responded with faint amusement, rubbing the back of his head quietly before he closed his eyes and quoted: "'Strength, vitality and endurance are the hallmarks of the Narrius family.' My uncle used to say that a lot... mainly because every Narrius has been blessed with amazing physical power, long-lasting youth, and incredible resistance to pretty much everything. I'm over forty, myself... I just look much younger." The reptile laughed quietly, shrugging idly as he shifted uncomfortably at the stares of the twins and Lone. "I... I don't know how old Narrius is, but Requiem himself is somewhere around a century old... but you know as well as I do that a lot of Dragokkaren live up to two hundred, although generally by a century they're winding down. Requiem, on the other hand, hasn't weakened at all. Age has had little effect on him... just like it seemed to have no effect on my... my father."

The two nodded slowly, then Dray smiled and said quietly: "And I'm betting this is the Dragokkaren in the sawmill on the edge of town, right? The one who's rumored to have taken your daughter from you?"

Zerrex paused at this, but he wasn't exactly surprised: news about him always travelled fast, even if no one opened their mouth... somehow, someone always managed to find out what was happening in his life, which got very irritating very quickly. "Yeah. Requiem is here, because I killed my father, and he... it's not so much that he wants revenge, but he does bear an odd grudge towards me, I suppose you could say. He has never forgotten what I've done... and in a way he wants me to clear my name. I don't bear any hate for him, but I am going to kill him in order to get my daughter back and to... clear my name, like he wants me to."

"I'm not going to pretend to understand that." Dray said softly, but he was smiling faintly nonetheless as he exchanged a look with Terrance, then the two Dragokkaren rose their fists as he added bravely: "And both myself and my brother would be honored to fight by your side against him. Our family holds a vendetta against the Narrius family for what they've done to us in the past, and although we bear you no hate, we certainly wouldn't mind taking a swing at your uncle."

But Zerrex shook his head and laughed quietly, smiling faintly to the two in return. "I appreciate it... truly. But this is my fight, and... well... he'd likely kick your ass, anyway. I don't want you two dead because of me."

Dray snorted, and Terrance looked sourly amused at Zerrex's tactless statement before he tilted his head and asked mildly: "Oh really? Legends are legends, Zerrex. And I'm sure his age has affected him somewhat... I'm sure the stories about his past exploits against the family are all crap, anyway, so don't let that scare you, if that's the problem."

Cherry bristled immediately at this, glaring across at the two, but then the large reptile merely shrugged and smiled slightly, standing up and then bowing to the two, but his emerald eyes betrayed a deep irritation. "I'm weaker than Requiem is in almost every way... but why don't you both try and take me down, then? All you have to do is either knock me off this mattress or pin me... and I'll let you fight with me against my uncle."

The two Dragokkaren looked at each other nervously for a few moments... but then Dray grinned and nodded, although he still seemed hesitant as he climbed to his feet. Terrance rose as well, then they looked at each other before the taller of the two asked slowly: "You're sure, Boss? Both of us together?"

Zerrex motioned Lone and Cherry off the mattress, and the two sat quickly to one side, both exchanging a grin and a viciously-entertained look as Zerrex rolled his head on his neck, then he reached down and idly undid the chaps, kicking them off to make sure that they wouldn't get damaged: now all three stood naked, which in the reptile's opinion was an extremely irritating way to fight. He smiled slightly, however, raising one hand and beckoning as he said softly: "I'm sure. You're both runts, after all, right?"

The two twitched, Dray snarling a bit and readying himself to charge, but then Terrance reached up a hand and squeezed his shoulder, instead shaking his head curtly, recognizing the provocation tactic and Zerrex's easy stance. Instead, he leaned down and murmured something to his brother, and then the two spread out a bit, both of them readying themselves as they reached up one hand to knit their fingers together, the other arm held out. The muscular Drakkaren frowned a bit at this, recognizing the technique: the issue, however, was that he'd never fought anyone who used a Hez'Ranna style before, except for Requiem. And Requiem had never, ever performed pair-fighting: after all, Narrius certainly would never deign himself needing a partner in order to fight most effectively.

Suddenly, Terrance yanked on Dray, and the other Dragokkaren launched himself to the side towards his brother before easily rolling over his back as their hands released: then he quickly fell to all fours in front of his larger brother, who kicked off his sibling's back. He leapt high into the air, flying towards Zerrex with a grin as the younger launched himself in a long, diving roll, then he rose his hands as Terrance twisted his body suddenly downwards.

Their hands met, and then Dray snarled and dragged down as Terrance snapped his leg down at the same time: in effect, the older brother became a living weapon that struck at the same time as the younger snapped him towards Zerrex. The Drakkaren, however, easily jumped to the side... but then Terrance landed in a crouch and flexed as Dray leapt into the air, and the older brother threw him heavily over his head by the arms, Terrance half-flipping to fly towards Zerrex like a javelin with his heel as spearhead, one leg fully outstretched, one arm out and the other raised defensively as he shot towards Zerrex with a slam kick.

The Drakkaren had to admit he was impressed... but, thinking as Requiem would, he didn't bother playing anymore with the two brothers, immediately lashing out a hand and catching Dray's leg: he caught the Dragokkaren's eyes widening in shock as he caught this movement, but the taller reptile couldn't react fast enough, only able to let out a cry of surprise as Zerrex spun in a circle and stepped forwards at the same time.

The younger twin was snapped around with the Drakkaren's movements, then he slammed into his big brother, who had started his charge the moment after he'd thrown the smaller Dragokkaren. The two grunted in pain as Zerrex released the reptile's leg, and they both flew to the side, Terrance falling heavily and rolling off the mattress as Dray flew through the air in the opposite direction before crashing to the ground and rolling heavily into one of the pillars with enough force to cause the large decoration to shudder and rock back and forth, but thankfully not toppling. He groaned in pain, reaching up to rub his head slowly as Terrance forced himself up from all fours, wiping at a bleeding muzzle before the two blushed deeply. They stood together, then the older rolled his shoulders, wincing - the force of the blow landed against him had popped his wings from where they usually rested, camouflaged against his back. Slowly, he spread the pair of large, almost draconic wings, then refurled them against his body and glanced over at his brother, who was patting at his head and looking disgusted with himself. "That was... humbling."

"Good." Zerrex said mildly, then he sat back on the mattress, trying to ignore the fact that Lone was cheering like a child and Cherry was snickering. He watched as the two Dragokkaren came forwards and sat down as well, then they both bowed their heads respectfully, looking a bit ashamed of themselves as the reptile continued in a voice that still had the traces of irritation in it: "I wasn't insulting you or your ability. You have an interesting and powerful style, if you're a bit brash with your straightforward attacks, and you both have good bodies and strength from what I saw. Requiem, however... is far stronger than you can imagine, and all the legends likely are true. I don't want either of you to die... that's why I was so blunt."

The two nodded silently in return to this, and Zerrex glanced from one to the other before he took a deep breath and visibly relaxed somewhat, rolling his shoulders and losing some of his tenseness before he continued to speak quietly: "I told you what I did because I wanted you to know that by tomorrow, both Requiem and Narrius will be laying in their graves. I recognize you as exiles from your family... but I figure you probably wouldn't mind knowing that your ancestors can rest in peace with their vendetta settled." He paused and smiled a bit as the two brothers looked uncomfortably back and forth, rubbing at their arms. "I know how Hez'Ranna culture works, yeah. Getting kicked out of the royal family doesn't mean exile, even if it does mean shame. But most people like to live with shame in a place where they still have power and privilege instead of moving across the seas..."

"We... well... yeah." Dray admitted, looking down and rubbing his head slowly. "Terrance and I..." He broke off, the large male apparently not knowing how to continue the story as he merely looked at the mattress quietly.

A few moments later, Terrance took up the reigns and continued the story, meeting Zerrex's eyes. "It wasn't the shame, or the fact we had been kicked out of the royal family once we were adults... I suppose you could say we were greedy. Being kicked out of the family was a two-edged sword... when we left the family, we were given a good bit of wealth, and we were also liberated from being tied to Hez'Ranna. Together, we decided to explore the world... and of course, since Hez'Ranna still uses the ancient gold-coin system... well... every cent of Hez'Ranna money was worth around a hundred dollars here.

"So... we live an easy life, off the wealth we were given from our family, and we chose this town because we followed the OPOS here... it's the closest thing to a worship center we could find." Terrance finished, laughing a bit as his eyes fell to stare at the mattress below. He frowned quietly and then smiled a bit, looking up at Zerrex again, but this time with more shame as he spoke in a lower voice: "I guess you could say that... this has been far more of a vacation than an exile."

The Drakkaren nodded slowly at this, then he quietly rose a hand and waved it slowly. "You two can leave now. Feel free to stop in at my place later in the week, however."

"Thank you... sir." Dray said quietly, as he and his brother stood, then they both bowed respectfully, before the two huge Dragokkaren turned and left. Zerrex watched them go, rubbing a hand slowly through his hair, then he turned to the two remaining and laughed faintly, straightening and looking idly over both Lone and Cherry, who were sitting at the edge of the mattress still and smiling at the powerful Drakkaren.

He shrugged uncomfortably, then stood and walked towards the throne, Lone immediately jumping up and following him quickly with a dumb grin. He walked to the side of the throne as Zerrex walked around behind it, then he stood and rubbed at his head as he watched the reptile pulling on his boxers, shuffling from paw-to-paw as he said shyly: "That... that was really great Zerrex... really really great... back there, when you grabbed that guy and threw him into the other guy..."

"Uh. Thanks. Go get dressed." The lizard said mildly, looking down at the lupine flatly. Lone grinned dumbly again, then nodded rapidly as he blushed and ran immediately back to where his clothes lay puddled near the mattress, sitting down and grunting as he struggled to get his boxers and pants on. Meanwhile, Zerrex walked around the other side of the throne, nodding to Cherry and saying mildly: "We're all going to drive back home together, but then I want you to just drop me off and pick up some weapons and whatever else you need or want. Then go get Tinny and go home with Lone."

"What the fuck?" Cherry glared up at the reptile, then opened her mouth to yell again as Lone's ears perked up and he glanced curiously at them... but then she merely held up a hand and instead gave a slightly-strained, somewhat-bitter smile as she looked up at Zerrex resentfully. "I know. I know. Lone will need the protection, especially if the Godkillers or anyone else decide to try and pull some shit... and furthermore, you probably want to be all macho and don't want us in danger if Requiem shows up at the house, or worse, an angry mob of some kind... especially since someone's likely going to spread a few more rumors about shit being up between you and Lone with him charging in here with that gun like an asshole."

"Hey!" Lone whined, but he blushed furiously nonetheless as he pulled on his shirt, standing up with the revolver-in-question stuck in the front of his pants: Zerrex winced at this as he strode towards them, then he snatched the gun out of the lupine's waistband and held it up as the wolf blinked stupidly at him.

"You should have the safety on, especially if it's in the front of your pants, kid. And funny thing about most revolvers, especially oversized ones like this. They don't have safeties." The reptile stated flatly, and Lone blushed deeply and mumbled an apology, but looked strangely happy all the same. Zerrex only looked at him mildly for a few moments, then he shook his head before turning his attention to Cherry, who was now grinning slightly instead of looking sour. "What the hell are you so happy about?"

"Nothing, nothing. But fine, I'll do what you want, you jerk." She paused, then stood up and walked over to Zerrex, embracing him firmly and pushing her head against his chest as she closed her eyes. The reptile blinked, his arms going out, then he quietly hugged her tightly in return, holding her firmly against his muscular body as she said softly: "I promise not to interfere... but you make me a promise, too. And that's to come back alive."

Zerrex looked down at her softly for a few moments as she rose her gaze to meet the reptile's... then he nodded and said quietly: "I promise."

It is the morning of the seventh day: it is the morning of a day that looks bright and cheerful, with clear skies above but a pleasant breeze in the air that rustles the grass. The entire town, however, seems on edge... too many people in Baskin's Grove all too aware that the calm comes before the storm, and that nature has perhaps not blessed them with this beautiful day, but instead paid honor to the two warriors who are to do battle in her fields near the outskirts of town. Rain, after all, would have been awkward... if perhaps more fitting, since the day also promises despair even if the best of outcomes occurs. The false peace lasts until noon... and then the day darkens slightly, the air becoming cooler as clouds float slowly over the sun. But before the present of noon comes the beginning and past of morning.

Zerrex sits silently on the couch, with a plate stacked with foods that defy his usual habits. Instead of the simple, elegant breakfast he usually prefers, he has a bowl of ramen noodles, a platter of bacon, a double-patty cheeseburger... and a homemade vanilla milkshake in a gallon-size beer mug. Today he's decided to treat himself... and although he isn't that hungry, he looks down at the meal and smiles faintly, thinking of the two people in his life who were most affecting him right now: Cindy would be proud of him, and Requiem would be staring in utter horror.

The night before, the Drakkaren had gone to bed the moment he'd been dropped off by the others, after saying goodnight to Cherry and Lone and giving his wife a quiet, gentle kiss. He hadn't been tired, and there had been anxiety running all through his body... but he was able to master his strange excitement and get what was a surprisingly-long sleep for him, until he'd woken up at five the next morning wide awake. Then he'd had a long, pleasant bath, checked out his wounds - amazingly, he was almost fully healed, except for a few thin lines along his body and what was now a red scar on his cheek - and then dressed in a pair of black pants that were made of a material that was thicker and more supple than cloth, but breathed just as easily. Some special fabric that the reptile no longer knew the name of... they had always used it in the Goth Legion.

Then he'd polished his combat boots before putting those down, and finally taken Blackheart down from where it had rested for quite a while now, only gathering dust as it sat on the plain wall mounts he'd installed a year or so ago in his bedroom in place of the old ones: these were made of some special metal Tinny had found, and were nearly invisible, making the sword seem to float. It was a massive, seven-foot sword with a double-edged blade six feet long and almost half a foot wide, the sheer weight alone giving it immense cutting power even without the razor-sharp edge it bore. It also had a hilt of purest obsidian, with a ruby pommel: hence the name the reptile had chosen for his unique sword.

For an hour or so, he had gone over every bit of the blade, carefully polishing it: in reality, all he really needed to do was wipe it down, and the metal alloy of the blade would shine and gleam as if he'd gone over it for days with polish, but the lizard enjoyed the simple task. After all, it helped to get his mind off things... just like cooking the ridiculous breakfast afterwards had.

He thought idly of the others... wondered what they were doing in turn, and smiled at what he guessed Requiem would be doing at this point. The reptile would have been surprised, however, to find out that the Dragokkaren wasn't at all doing his usual pre-battle workout routine.

Instead, the giant was pouring Cindy another cup of coffee, looking at her distastefully as she glared back: she'd insisted on cooking breakfast this morning, and thus cooked almost everything inside the Dragokkaren's cooler that could be... well... cooked, then served whatever else she could dig out or make from scratch with that. Hence, the giant had a huge platter of foods varying from sausages to scrambled eggs to a filleted pike - the giant kept looking at this with wonder, since he couldn't even fillet a fish that well - sitting on the metal table... but all he had bothered to take was a half of a grapefruit, which looked incredibly lonely on the small plate, separated from the veritable banquet Cindy had laid out. He had also refused anything to drink, instead only taking a bottle of water.

"Dude! This is your last day on this world, you should like... fucking enjoy your last meal!" Cindy said furiously, waving the spatula she held threateningly. Requiem glared at her, then he winced and covered his face as she began to slap at him with the spatula, hitting his head and muzzle with it as bits of grease flew everywhere. "Eat! Eat! Eat, you bastard!"

"Fine!" Requiem suddenly shouted, picking up the slice of grapefruit and throwing it at Cindy - who barely ducked in time to dodge the flung fruit - and then she stared in horror as the giant reached out and grabbed a slice of cooked fish, shoveling it into his mouth as he continued to yell at the same time: "I'm eating! Look! I'm eating!"

The usually-polite crimson-scaled behemoth continued to snag pieces of food, chewing viciously as he stuffed various items from around the table into his mouth, the female Drakkaren staring in horror as she sat down on the other side of the table and blinked slowly, wondering if he'd lost his sanity. Then the Dragokkaren stopped, bits of food splattered on the table before him - but amazingly, none on his body - and then he picked up a napkin and rubbed at his muzzle slowly, blushing faintly and looking embarrassed. "I... I apologize. I'm just a bit stressed with the upcoming battle and I overreacted. I know you're just trying to help me feel better, and... and the food really is good."

"Yeah... don't worry about it..." Cindy said slowly, then she coughed and rubbed the back of her head slowly before glancing idly around. "Um. So... just enjoy yourself, okay? Some people say that food really can be stress relieving, you know."

The Dragokkaren muttered something under his breath about eating disorders, but he did continue to eat, to the female Drakkaren's pleasure. She smiled at him as he cut into one of the sausages, then she helped herself to a salad she had prepared as well and drizzled it with the low-fat dressing the giant had bought, figuring it was better than nothing... but finding most of her thoughts floating to her family, even as she watched the giant across from her eat. But then she smiled a bit as she realized that now thoughts of her family encompassed even the powerful creature before her without hesitation... whereas she had been so sure just a week ago that she would never come to think of this behemoth as anyone who could ever be related to her. But she supposed that at first, she'd been the same way with Cherry, too...

That certain muscular female, of course, had found it extremely difficult at first to think of Cindy as her daughter... but now her thoughts were only on getting Cindy back, as she sat with Lone and Tinman in the wolf's gun room, carefully reassembling the bolt-action sniper rifle. She had a grim, serious expression on her face that made Lone nervous, and that Tinny recognized as the same kind of look she'd always had on before a particularly hard mission.

Last night, she had driven Zerrex home silently as Lone sat in the back... then, after dropping the reptile off and sharing a last kiss with him - Gods, she hated that idea, last kiss - she had quickly driven and picked up Tinny, who had just been putting the finishing touches on some project in his workshop. She'd told him to grab his combat gear, and he'd nodded without argument at the look in Cherry's eyes and the scary half-grin on her face. Ten minutes later, he'd emerged from his home and thrown a heavy duffel bag into the back with Lone, then climbed in shotgun and they'd rode in silence back to the wolf's mansion.

Then Cherry had gathered them in the den, setting down Tinny's bag of stuff and then pushing both the badger and the wolf down on the chair before she sat on the table, facing them both, leaning forwards and with her hands clasped. She'd glanced back and forth mildly, then finally said plainly: "We're going to rescue Cindy tomorrow."

The two males blinked at this, Lone paling and looking terrified as Tinman merely stared at the female with something like horror, then Cherry had quickly held up her hands as they both opened their mouths to protest. "Shut up!" she'd barked, and their mouths had immediately snapped back shut, the muscular female looking back and forth threateningly before she said continued firmly: "Unless Requiem's an idiot, he's not going to bring Cindy with him to the battleground, where Zerrex is. Mainly because Zerrex or Cindy could get a bit frenzied and either the Boss'll fight with a lot more viciousness than necessary and kick Requiem in the balls if he gets the chance, or Cindy will join in the fight... and she's a lot deadlier than most people give her credit for.

"So therefore, Requiem will likely simply leave her in the windmill, probably restrained or tied up to something... and since the Sanderson Mill is also a sawmill, there'll likely be quite a few things there he can tie her to or restrain her with, but probably some things that Tinman can use to his advantage, too, if it comes right down to that. I don't expect to run into combat with Requiem... but if the douchebags that are trying to stir shit up for us have any brains at all, they'll attempt to snag Cindy, as either a backup plan or to use as a ransom straight-off. So it's important for us to beat them to that.

"We have two advantages: one is that we know the terrain and layout. The other is that we know the approximate time that Requiem will go to meet Zerrex for the duel... and these are important advantages because it lets us maximize our time for setup and choose an area where we can see but not be seen by the enemy." She paused, looking mildly back and forth from Lone to Tinny, but both were listening intently now and showed no signs of interrupting, so she kept talking, her voice lowering a bit as she leaned forwards towards the two. "If they're not idiots, I'm sure they'll have some kind of plan and they'll be somewhat familiar with the area... but I doubt they'll be thinking on a wide scale, or think to cover anything more than simply the windmill or the road.

"There's a hill, roughly half a kilometer away from the windmill, where we can set up and watch with binoculars: we'll be able to see both of our enemies mobilizing and moving from there, but also be out of sight of possible opponents who are seeking to interrupt Requiem or make their own move for Cindy. The Godkillers are what I'm most worried about... especially since the last time we passed, they seemed to have a few guests at their place."

Then there was silence for a few moments, and Lone had looked nervously back and forth before finally blushing silently and looking down, whispering: "I don't... I don't think I can do this... I'm not a soldier, and... I know that..." He closed his eyes tight and bowed his head shamefully. "I'm a coward..."

Then he'd felt a friendly arm around his shoulders, and opened eyes that had been filling with tears to look at Tinman, who was smiling at him quietly. Then the badger had said one of the nicest things Lone had ever heard in his life to him: "I think you're braver than me, Mr. Lone. Bravery is about a lot more things than walking into a scary situation, you know... and we could use a lookout anyway, right, Cherry? Just in case something goes wrong... at the very worst, you might have to go and even tell Zerrex what's happening, since I doubt he'd want to fight Requiem just to come to a slaughterhouse."

Lone had brightened considerably... and the wolf smiled in the present at this memory, as he slowly cleaned a silver-plated .45 handgun: he planned to take this with him, along with the semi-automatic sniper rifle and a plain 15mm Cherry had allowed the gun-obsessed lupine. He was already dressed in his idea of combat clothing - cargo pants, uncomfortable shoes, fingerless gloves and the flak jacket that had already saved his life once. His leather jacket also hung nearby, many of the pockets already stuffed with spare clips and boxes of bullets.

Tinny, on the other hand, had on a bulletproof vest that was just a bit too big for him, and with his combat belt on around his waist: he also wore a pair of jeans and combat boots, but no shirt beneath the heavy vest that covered his upper body. He was helping to clean and reassemble the guns, doing so much quicker than the others as he used his powers to fill clips with spare bullets from various boxes and distributing the ammunition evenly.

Cherry, finally, was dressed in her usual heavy motorcycle boots, a pair of heavy black pants, and a black exercise top that showed off her cleavage. She also wore a leather belt that had been modified so it could hold both of her whips - as well as her usual steel one, she also had a plainer leather whip, which had a heavy wooden handle that ended in a blunt knob, modified from the past model of a whip she'd used in the past but had been accidently broken during training with Zerrex. They hung on either side of her, and she'd taken the wolf's huge revolver and placed that in a back holster, next to a side pack filled with two boxes of revolver rounds. Finally, she had a harness on her back where she could place her sniper rifle, with another rawhide pouch attached to one of the straps going diagonally across her back and then dropping down to around waist level to lock into another belt, forming a reverse bandolier - another pouch containing bullets for the ancient sniper rifle hung from this above-the-waist belt as well.

The female thought they were all prepared as best they could... they still had an hour or so before they needed to leave to set up at around noon, and she'd decided they could use the tactical equipment that Tinny had thankfully thrown into his duffel bag with the rest of his junk, so that left one less job to do. For now, all she could do was check over her weaponry and then rile at the others for being idiots for various pointless reasons. And, of course, wonder just what the hell was in store for them, as she bounced the scope for the sniper rifle in one hand, then finally slid it back onto the enormous weapon and adjusted it idly, screwing it into place as she reached into her pocket with her other hand and produced a small, round blue stone, rubbing at it in a nervous gesture as she closed her eyes and focused her powers. Something was whispering to her that there was going to be hell to pay, and that they were going to end up in a situation far worse than she had them prepared for... and she couldn't help but wonder exactly what the Godkillers had planned and were up to.

Little did she know, the Godkillers had really ceased to exist: instead, there was only Tank, and Tank's unwitting puppets, who were almost entirely under the large badger's control. Overnight, he had again fortified his position as leader of the army-cult that had formed, merely by giving his pretty, planned speech about the deaths of the three Godkillers who had tried to take down Requiem, detailing their struggle against the horrible, honorless, monstrous giant. This morning, he had ordered them all to rally outside the city, at an abandoned lot that the badger knew of, while he himself took the most dangerous job as vanguard. And of course, he'd forced one of his closest, oldest friends to keep him company.

The badger grins slightly to himself as he taps the barrel of his minigun gently against the driver's seat: the large weapon was nicknamed Blackbarrel, and Tank had long convinced himself it was because the revolving barrels of the gun were all deep ebony, and that it wasn't a take on Zerrex's legendary weapon. It also had a shoulder strap and a modified handle and stock system, so it could be held steady and fired without requiring a bipod: it also bore shortened barrels and a modified loading system that let Tank snap in ammo belts from the enormous steel boxes strapped on both hips without getting into any technical locking and loading.

In the front seat of the humvee, Mika closed his eyes at the tapping, his clothes hanging off his scrawny, weak body as he trembled violently. Tank had shown up earlier at his apartment, then dismissed the bikers to join the rest of the gathering army in the grassy lot outside the town. He'd then proceeded to bully the coyote into getting dressed before finally forcing him out to the humvee to act as his private chauffeur. The badger was obviously intent on torturing him - and all the more so once he'd seen the coyote cough blood up onto himself, realizing that the more stressed the canid was, the weaker he could become. It made Mika feel sick from something other than the horrible pain wracking his body... but he was determined not to give the badger what he wanted, instead gritting his teeth and forcing himself to ignore the steady tapping against the back of his seat, thinking instead about Felicity and wondering how she was doing.

The vixen in question was currently sitting propped against a wall, naked, her arms tied behind her back and her legs tightly bound together as well, blood leaking from a fresh cut between her breasts. She was still deeply unconscious, locked in a dark closet on the second floor and surrounded by various bits of junk, drugged and trapped in a nightmare world... and then suddenly her eyes snapped open she let out a scream, arching her back and staring up into a dark void as she spasmed. Bits and pieces of junk fell on her, brooms and boxes and cleaning supplies, and then she screamed again and lashed out with the only thing she could: her mind.

The doors of the closet blew off, and the cleaning junk flew out with it, as if pulled into a vacuum: a moment later, Felicity fell heavily out of the closet on her side, coughing and then starting to sob, feeling horrible pain ripping through her body and her head pulsing with her nightmares: visions of her father, visions of being raped and beaten and hurt, visions of Tank crushing her, crushing Mika, crushing her idol, the Boss. She struggled weakly, then broke down entirely, tears leaking down her face as she screamed and rolled back and forth on the floor, leaving smears of blood on the floor and down her breasts, neck and stomach as the deep cut over her heart bled freely. She spent a good ten minutes simply crying and almost convulsing, rocking back and forth and hitting her head off the wall and floor.

Finally, she slowed, sobbing hard still but gritting her teeth and straining at the ropes, before letting out a cry of fury and closing her eyes: without even realizing what she was doing, she saw an image of the scalpel her father had used so often on her in her mind, but this time wielded by her force... and then the ropes binding her legs and arms suddenly split into pieces as a blue glow surrounded them, and the fox opened her mouth with a gasp of surprise, crawling backwards and free from her destroyed bonds as she looked back and forth rapidly. Then she smiled uncertainly, before forcing herself up to her feet... but immediately falling back down to her knees with a groan of pain, clutching at the ache in her skull. The pain was amazing... she had no idea how long she'd been out for, or what she'd been injected with... but she did remember...

"Tank..." she mumbled in a guttural, rasping voice, then she forced herself up again, snarling and using the pain to drive her before finally realizing there was a deep cut on her chest. She looked down slowly as she touched her hand to the wound, then at the blood it left before growling quietly and trembling violently. So... so that fucker felt his own need to... to add his own scar to all the ones I already have... that fucking bastard...

Somehow, she knew that was the truth... but Felicity forced that thought aside as she staggered down the hall, trying to get her bearings and find her way to the medical cupboard in the storeroom. There was a certain medication there that was used to counteract migraines, depression and fatigue... even through her pain, she thought that would work best. It was the same stuff her father gave her if she had to go to school or some other social thing after he'd used a paralytic on her, since the side effects of those were the same as tranqs and the various other drugs that would cause all the nasty thing she was feeling right now. The problem, however, would be in reaching the cabinet... as it was, she was barely able to stumble down the hall, her entire body full of agony.

At the same time, though, she still had enough sense to wonder what was going on, where everyone was... and if they had already left to make the attack against Requiem. She winced as she rubbed at her head slowly, then looked up and whispered raggedly: "Come on God, you owe me one. Let it not be too late... let the Boss and his daughter still be okay..."

She would have been happy to know that Cindy was doing alright... if somewhat upset, as she watched Requiem tying a red and gold-trimmed sash around his waist so that both ends hung down, ending just above one knee. He had also changed into a pair of plain white pants, and had switched out of his loafers to put on a pair of what looked almost like black leather moccasins made of some strange hide. Then he glanced up as he finished knotting his sash, looking at Cindy and tilting his head quietly as he asked in a gentle voice: "Is there anything I can do for you, then? It's..." He paused, then checked the expensive watch that he'd taken off and put on the metal table. "It's about noon. I have to leave soon."

"Yeah..." Cindy rolled her shoulder slowly, and suddenly felt like time - which had seemed so strange that morning, stilted, distorted, and moving in some weird-ass modern-artsy way - had gone from being too slow to going too fast. She didn't want the giant to leave, just as much as she didn't want to sit here while he and Zerrex fought... and she ended up blurting out the first request that came to her mind: "Can you give me a hug?"

The giant looked surprised, then hesitant... then he finally gave a bit of a nervous smile before nodding and walking slowly forwards. He halted a few feet away from her, as Cindy gazed up at him quietly... then he opened his arms and the small Drakkaren all but threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his body and pushing her head against his bulky, thick-muscled chest, trembling violently as she whispered: "I'm so sorry..."

His arms encircled her, held her tight and close as he looked down at her, feeling her warmth and body against his: it caused a strange peace to fill his being, a serenity entering his body that he'd so rarely felt over all his years alive fighting, working and simply living. He gave a quiet smile at her words, deeply touched by the sentiment, then he reached a hand down and gently nudged her chin up, saying softly as their eyes locked: "Don't be sorry. It's a warrior's life... live by the sword, die by the sword. Living to old age is a rarity for our kind, and I accepted that even when I was a child. Dying in battle will be an honor for me... although I apologize myself that I have to stand against your father and fight with all I have."

"I know." Cindy looked down silently, her arms still tight around the Dragokkaren, then she stepped back and smiled up at him, rubbing at her eyes with her wrist before saying softly: "Let's go then, Requiem."

"No." The Dragokkaren replied gently, and the Drakkaren looked up at him with a frown as he continued in the same gentle but firm voice: "I go alone, and the winner of our duel will return here and pick you up. If you come with me, I don't know what could happen, but I am aware it could lead to unnecessary problems."

"Fuck you. I'm going with you." Cindy responded angrily, then she turned towards the open door: Requiem, however, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, frowning, and the female snarled before turning and throwing a hard punch at his chest, determined to force the Dragokkaren to take her with him no matter what the cost.

The reptile, however, apparently realized exactly how deep the Drakkaren's resolve was and what he'd have to do to stop her: so instead of simply letting her hit him, one of his hands moved up and caught the female's smaller one in a fist, squeezing it and causing Cindy to release a surprised cry of pain, twisting and trying to jerk her arm away. It left her open for a moment, and the giant took the second it gave him to slam an elbow down into the junction of shoulder and neck.

She gasped, eyes bulging... then they glazed over and rolled up in her head as her legs buckled, falling to her knees and hanging limply by her hand from the Dragokkaren's clenched fist. He looked down at her, face expressionless, but his eyes betrayed a quiet sorrow as he gently slipped a hand under her instead of simply letting her fall, carrying her back over to the damaged central pillar and sitting her gently against it. In only a few minutes, he had her easily restrained against it using a good amount of the remaining small-link chain from the wheel he'd bought, and carefully secured it using several small locks he kept in one pocket of his luggage to keep his bags closed during long flights. Useless for this kind of restraint, really... but it would do to at least keep the chains binding the female's body up for at least a little while.

Once that was done, the giant left and headed to his car after making sure the door to the sawmill was closed and locked, climbing in and pulling his keys out of his pocket to slide them into the ignition. He paused, then started the car and smiled faintly, bowing his head forwards as he whispered softly to himself: "A warrior lives to die. And I feel that today is the day I fulfill my destiny."

His smile stretched wider as he straightened, a strange relief rolling through his body as he rolled his shoulders, then he grasped the steering wheel of his car tight with one hand before carefully backing out onto the road and heading back towards the park where he'd first found his nephew.

On the other side of town, Zerrex was just finishing his own preparations, fastening the bandolier and shoulder armor that Tinny had made for him to his back and making sure that the straps were as tight as possible before attaching Blackheart to the heavy magnet that was resting on his back. He paused, hesitating a moment before he let go, then he blinked and smiled slightly to himself at the fact that the gigantic sword rested in an almost-perfect position, the weight distributing evenly and not interfering with either his movement or balance. He walked around for a few moments to test this, then walked outside, paused, then grunted and leapt into the air, flipping easily once before landing in a crouch, the sword tip just touching the grass but the huge blade shifting with his movements so it didn't dig into the ground at all or screw up his athletics.

He grinned slightly at the craftsmanship that was obviously placed into the design of the magnetic on his back... Tinman really wasn't one to be underestimated when it came to creating metal wonders, after all. He straightened, then headed to the garage and lifted it open, then heading inside to grab his black-armored motorcycle and wheeling it outside, figuring he could spend the last half-hour polishing it up. After all, it wouldn't hurt to show up with all his equipment in good condition... it would also prevent an embarrassing scolding from Requiem as well, should the giant see his bike or be waiting for him in the parking lot near the hills and picnic area where he had ambushed him a week ago. It would also help him get rid of the nagging feeling he had that Cherry was doing something stupid...

The female in question was watching Requiem pull over the bridge from a hilltop a good five hundred and some meters away from the windmill through a pair of computerized binoculars, tapping the zoom button on the top and ignoring the various measurements and automatic readings it was spitting up onto the glass screen she was looking through. They were always wrong, after all... and then she threw them to the side as she jumped up to a crouch and turned quickly around to the two, pointing at Tinny before making a fist and then beckoning with it. Then she looked at Lone, who was staring at her with confusion and worry in his eyes, before she rolled her eyes and instead said flatly: "Tinny and I are going in. Keep an eye on the area and keep us covered. If you see people or even sense some nasty danger, fire a banger into the air and cover your ears... it's already loaded into the flare gun. In a worst-case scenario, though, run for the Boss... he'll be at the park where Requiem first showed up."

"Okay." Lone said in a meek voice, trembling but looking resolved nonetheless as he clutched the enormous semi-auto sniper rifle in his hands, and then he nodded to the two as Tinny tossed him quick smile before both he and Cherry took off down the hill at a fast, low run. The wolf trembled a bit as they grew smaller and smaller in the distance, heading quickly towards the windmill as he dropped the sniper rifle and instead shakily picked up the binoculars, taking a quick look through them around the area before he dropped them and sat back, breathing hard and closing his eyes tightly, forcing himself to calm down as much as he could.

A few moments later, his periwinkle eyes opened as he turned around and quickly shuffled through the duffel bag full of junk that Cherry had insisted on bringing: everything from a flare gun that was already loaded with one of the weird-shaped flares the female had called 'bangers,' to flash grenades and various fancy military technologies. It calmed him, to shuffle through the variety of stuff that was available here... and so did the fact that there was a road only a hundred feet down the hill behind him, with his sports car parked on the dirt shoulder. Sure, the large ditch and short fence that blocked his path also posed a problem, since the lupine had taken quite some time to force his way over it - hating his flabby, fattened body as he'd done so - but the wolf was still quite sure that at worst, he could just barrel right through. And once he was in his car, he thought that he'd be able to run to safety...

"Running's what I do best, after all..." he muttered, and for a moment he felt a brief pang of self-loathing before remembering what he was supposed to be doing and bringing his binoculars up to his eyes, sighing. He didn't expect to see anything, however, so instead contented himself by playing with the auto-zoom function and watching as the binoculars automatically outlined Cherry and Tinman, then zoomed up to them so they were both in the frame as they ran towards the building. Then they were both heading around the side of the windmill, disappearing around one of the turning walls as the binoculars quickly zoomed back out. Lone sighed a bit, shifting and fidgeting on the spot as he lowered the fancy bit of technology from his face, then he checked the pocketwatch that dangled from the chain around his neck and winced a bit at the time before pausing and frowning as something caught his eye in the distance... not the distance towards the bridge, but instead the distance along the road...

The wolf rose the binoculars to his eyes... then he gasped and dropped them, immediately turning and diving for the duffel bag, fumbling out the flare gun as he whined through his teeth and tossed a terrified glance at the procession he saw coming down the road. Armed bikers, armed people in trucks and cars of all sorts, and all of them definitely heading for the windmill... and now he knew why Cherry had been so tense, what she'd meant by worst-case scenario, and Lone felt panic flooding his senses as he finally managed to get the gun out of the bag and pointed it skywards, pulling the trigger and realizing at the same time it was likely an act of idiocy that would give away his position, but wanting to live up to his duties all the same... at least, before the fear took over.

There was a puff of smoke from the gun and a dull ka-thunk as the strange, rounded flare launched from the gun, spiraling up into the air and leaving neither a trail of smoke or bright light behind it... and then the wolf was knocked flat with a loud yip of pain, covering his ears as the flare exploded, releasing what sounded like a sonic boom instead of a light or flash, scorched pieces of metal raining to the ground some hundred feet ahead. Then Lone spun around and simply ran, almost tripping over his own paws as he cursed his luck, somehow sure that the whole gang was coming as he charged towards the fence and tears fell from his eyes, his only thoughts on getting to the Boss before things turned too nasty... but before he could even make it down the hill, he tripped and fell heavily, smacking his head against a rock, and all the lights in the world went out.

Down the hill, however, Cherry and Tinman had managed not to panic: instead, the female Drakkaren merely cursed under her breath and looked quickly around before spotting a cloud of dust far down the road. She cursed under her breath, then jerked her head at Tinny to tell him that the immediate front was clear of enemies, then adding quickly: "Get that door open fast, Tinny... I think we're about to have a whole hell of a lot of company."

"Right!" the badger's voice was a bit higher and strained than normal, but his eyes were focused as he skirted around the female and ran to the door, Cherry covering him as she drew the massive revolver, one finger on the trigger and the palm of her other hand on the hammer as she looked back and forth quickly. Then Tinman let out a sigh of relief and snagged something from a nail hanging nearby, before the door clicked open and the badger ran inside, Cherry quickly backpedaling in afterwards and then kicking the heavy security door shut.

She opened her mouth to shout another command, but before the Drakkaren could speak the badger had already used his powers to re-lock the door, before he slumped against a nearby wooden table and sighed. He glanced back and forth, then blinked and ran past the luggage piled tables as the muscular female stared, before turning herself and inhaling sharply as she saw Cindy, unconscious and chained tight to a huge log in the center of the room. "Cindy!"

The younger female stirred, giving a low moan of pain and jingling the chains around her, then Tinny quickly rose one finger and made a curt drawing motion down the metal bindings, and the metal links snapped as if he'd taken a mighty swing with a heavy axe, the chain falling. Cindy grunted as she fell forwards as well, arms flailing and eyes snapping open, but Cherry caught her by the shoulders and looked down at her with concern, asking quickly: "Are you okay, girl?"

"Cherry..." Cindy smiled faintly, then automatically reached up and hugged her tightly around the neck. The muscular female winced a bit at this, patting the younger Drakkaren's shoulder a few times uncertainly before quickly pulling free, and Cindy blinked a few times as she looked back and forth at the two before asking slowly: "What's wrong?"

"We have company. And I don't think it's going to be long before they start knocking on the door and we end up having to deal with one or five dozen too many guests at this party." Cherry responded quickly, straightening and then glancing around, quickly sizing up the area as Tinny rubbed the back of his head, looking nervously at the metal door. Cindy winced at this, then she stood quickly as well, as the older female asked quickly: "Where's the best area for you to hide? It'll likely get very messy here, very fast."

At this, the daughter of Zerrex couldn't help but make a face, opening her mouth and snapping: "I can fight too, Cherry! I'm not a child, and I can defend myself perfectly fine... I just don't like killing."

"Well, there's going to be lots of killing, and I don't want you to dirty yourself." Cherry snarled in return, her darker nature getting the better of her for a moment. For a few seconds, the two females glared at each other, then Tinman stepped quickly between them, looking back and forth at them both with his teeth grit.

They both blinked as he held up his hands, then he said in a strained, spelling-out-the-obvious type of voice: "This is so not the time, girls. You can have your little stupid squabble later, but right now we really do have to act like a unit. Cindy, we know you can fight, but you don't have a lot of actual battle experience, and that's far different than just training. Cherry, don't be a moron. Even with your precog and my abilities, we probably won't stand a chance against even a dozen untrained gunmen in close quarters like this, especially if they get in a lucky shot or two. I say we get up to the second floor and resolve our differences later."

The larger, muscular female opened her mouth to argue angrily... but then she paused as the sound of engines now became far clearer than it had earlier, and she realized there were at least ten different vehicles approaching... and she had no doubt each and every one of them was stuffed to the max. So instead of bothering to fight, she merely nodded and said in a voice that still managed to be sulky: "Agreed."

Cindy nodded quickly herself, then she ran towards the skeleton-work of girders that she'd seen Requiem climb so many times and jumped quickly up it, as Cherry ran towards the broken section of railing and leapt up herself, catching the catwalk with one hand and jerking herself up, then twisting her body so she hit the floor with her shoulder and rolled quickly to her feet. Tinman followed last, wincing as he grabbed up two of the lengths of chain he had cut, using his powers to instantly forge them back together before snapping the chain upwards to catch the railing, then jumping off the ground as he forced the chain to reel quickly around the banister, pulling him up the second floor. He slid under the railing and onto the narrow walkway just as Cindy ran past, then trotted after them and stopped in the alcove where Requiem had been making his lodgings. The badger winced as he looked back and forth, not knowing if he should push to move to the third floor or agree with the fact that Cherry obviously wanted them to hold position here... then his eyes settled on a small iron bar, shaped almost like a handle and about eight inches long. It was laying on the floor as if waiting to be found, and the badger reached his hand out, causing it to float up to him as he idly beckoned with the fingers of his other hand and caused the chain that was still wrapped around the banister to slowly unravel, then slide over to him like a snake. The end of it slowly rose up, and Tinny closed one fist around it as the two Drakkaren watched, Cindy curious and Cherry frowning and wanting to scold the badger for playing his metalworks games while they had enemies all but knocking at the door.

Then there was a brief flash of light and electricity, before Tinny turned to Cindy and held out what had become a plain chain whip: the female blinked at this, then she smiled and took it, examining the sixteen-foot length of smooth-linking chain and the now-slightly-contoured handle, as the badger said softly: "Like I said. We believe you can fight... and you'll likely have to. You might as well be armed with something, right?"

"Thank you..." Cindy said softly, and Cherry made her a noncommittal grumble as she pulled out the bolt action rifle and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and shouldering it, ignoring the faint smiles traded between the two. It made her feel incredibly out of place, how they were still acting so light and cheery even when they could all hear at least two dozen motors coming towards them, and only a few of those sounding like they belonged to motorcycles... and idly, she couldn't help but wish for her husband. Zerrex, after all, would probably crack some lame line or some crap like that... but at least he'd never get her pissed off right before some nasty confrontation with the enemy...

Admittedly, of course, situations like this made her feel nervous... when you could hear the enemy, but didn't know what they were up to, and couldn't see them either, for whatever reason. Worst of all? They were trapped like rats in this windmill... even if there was a window higher up, or a way to the rooftop, they would be too exposed trying to climb down the goddamn walls of the windmill for the risk to be worth taking. So instead all they could do was wait for the enemy to break in and hold them off... and she sighed before looking back and forth and asking in an irritated voice: "Does anyone here have a fucking watch? I want to know when the Boss'll be back to break those shitheads outside up and we can all go home and fuck. I figure two, two-thirty at the latest, he'll be done with Requiem... why the fuck are you looking at me like that, it's a valid fucking theory!"

Zerrex slowly climbed on his motorcycle: shining, clean, and with many of the scratches buffed out or repaired with his handy little maintenance kit. Now, the reptile only had one thing to do before he faced off against Requiem, and he could do that on the road, as he drove to meet his uncle and put an end to everything that had happened over the course of the week. The reptile smiled faintly as he closed his eyes and revved the throttle once before taking off into the road, and then he let himself drive and guide the bike automatically as his mind descended into the past... and he prepared to face himself and what he had done: as he remembered and detailed to himself the story of how he had killed his father.

For a few moments, he is driving, the wind blowing his hair back and eyes on the road... and then suddenly, he is in the past. He knows where he really is... and what he is really doing even, which is good because he doesn't want to become a green paste on the road before he even gets to Requiem... but all the same, he is also in the past and reliving that fateful night he had decided to kill his father.

That night, he had seen his one and only chance to get even for what Narrius had done to his mother... for the pain he had seen the cruel Dragokkaren cause to everyone around him: both those who crossed him, and those who only had the bad luck to meet him on one of his nastier days. Narrius, after all, had fallen strangely ill, many nights sitting at the dinner table pale and trembling, spitting threats at the servants and smashing food to the floor as he yelled for meat instead of soup, demanded to know why everyone was treating him like a fucking infirm old fool, and swore again and again that he wasn't sick. But everyone knew he was, and Zerrex found himself taking a greater and crueler pleasure in his father's growing weakness every day... and the fact that now he could grin and Narrius could do nothing but yell at him. Only a month or so ago, the Dragokkaren could have easily simply shoved the table forwards hard enough that his son would have been sent flying across the room, chair and all... but now the pale-faced reptile could barely make the old oak furnishing shudder as he pounded on it with what seemed to be all of his strength.

Zerrex couldn't - and furthermore, didn't want to - deny that this made him happy beyond all measure... but at the same time, he also knew that he couldn't afford to allow his father to get healthy again, because of the wrath that would fall on the entire household, from him to the paid servants to the broken slaves that Narrius kept for entertainment... and that lately Zerrex too had been playing with to amuse himself more and more. The issue, of course, would be in making sure he didn't underestimate his father's strength, even in his weakened condition... and that he made sure that he killed him outright. After all, Narrius wasn't stupid... in his weakened condition, he'd likely have an alarm button ready in case of a worst case scenario, hooked up to some Requiem-sized guards... but never a dead man's switch, of course. After all, the sickly Dragokkaren would recognize that he was vulnerable... but likely was still too arrogant to even give any sort of the heed to the idea that he could die.

It meant that as long as Zerrex kept calm after he killed Narrius - a task he thought would be easy enough - he could likely stroll out of this Estate forever without anyone the wiser. Not that he likely couldn't do that at any time... but what made this day special was that Requiem was out of town on business for Narrius. The behemoth Dragokkaren, of course, was the main obstacle to Zerrex; he was strong enough to stop a tank, fast enough to outrun even the sleekest of sprinters, and smart enough to outthink any number of enemy generals. Not to mention his loyalty to his brother meant he was constantly at his side in his sickness... and the young-at-this-time Drakkaren thought it was likely that Narrius had kicked his younger sibling out just to get some time to himself.

Zerrex smiles to himself as he sits in his almost cell-like room, plain-furnished but almost sterile even with the few tapings of décor it has: it's entirely unlike the rest of the mansion, however, which is expensively-decorated, but rich without the usual ridiculousness afforded by the posh: instead, it only speaks of a form of power. The youth's room, however, speaks only of emptiness and coldness, a strange impartiality to the goings-on of his own family... and it's a distance that the reptile wishes to do more than simply maintaining, but increasing to the maximum if possible by cutting the bonds of father-and-son physically. And after only a few short hours, the reptile will stand and walk silently over to his desk, ready to put his plan into action.

He reaches down and pulls open the drawer to take out a razor-sharp dagger with a rubber-wrapped handle: the rubber covering can be removed, and it's the perfect weapon for assassination. After all, it even has the fingerprints of the private soldier Zerrex had taken it from on the actual handle, beneath the slip-on rubber grip... and with the double-edged, six-inch blade, Zerrex is fairly sure that he can move in fast enough to slit his father's throat without him ever knowing what was happening.

The reptile pulls up his pants leg, then places the dagger into a hidden sheath strapped to his shin. Then he drops the cloth of his pants and shakes his leg a few times, grinning a bit wider at the fact it leaves nary a bulge... before rolling his shoulders and making his face expressionless, leaving his room to stride down the hall and ignoring the Dragokkaren soldiers that patrol the huge mansion, keeping the servants in line through cruel tactics and abuse. Zerrex himself has done this before under his father's guidance and orders, but lately these lessons of sorts have come to a halt, with the once nearly-invincible monster so sickened and weak.

The reptile approaches the master bedroom where his father lays, attempting to sleep, and he merely snarls a bit at the two huge Dragokkaren guards that block his way: immediately, they part and bow respectfully, and Zerrex enters the double doors without a problem, then closes them silently behind himself and stands for a few moments, facing the enormous bed inside the gigantic, far oversized bedroom: it makes Zerrex feel tiny and almost insignificant, and he makes a face of disgust at the Narrius family crest mounted on the wall, made from gold and platinum: two animalistic Dragokkaren launching themselves at each other in front of a heavy shield.

He looks back and forth, then slowly approaches the figure shuddering on the bed before climbing slowly up onto the mattress, grinning violently as his eyes burn with hate and rage: there is indeed a call button, but Narrius has long since knocked it to the ground, and it sits uselessly on the floor as the Dragokkaren shudders and spasms, his breathing harsh gasps, the blankets curled up tight around his body as his eyes roll sightlessly in his head: they are open, but the giant isn't here. Zerrex slowly moves to straddle his father's thick waist on his knees as he rolls onto his back, and then Narrius's hands suddenly reach up to claw into his hips, making the young Drakkaren snarl - not in pain, but surprise: his father, however, is too weak to even manage a grip as he looks up at Zerrex and then whispers: "Celestial? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Ifret." Zerrex says softly, his instincts taking over immediately and guiding him as he reaches down to pull up his pants leg, then slowly drawing his dagger as Narrius looks up at him stupidly. The youth forces a smile as he settles one hand around the handle of the dagger, and then he feels Narrius's hands move up to his shoulders, squeezing into them slowly as his crimson eyes look at him with a strange, broken delirium.

"I've missed you, Celestial. You were always my favorite." Narrius confides in a whisper, then he bucks his hip against his son, who rides his father's movement with a strange burst of ecstasy: he realizes how far in control he is, and that he can do anything... be anyone he wants... with the Dragokkaren as far gone as he is into the illness. And his movements are so weak and pathetic that Zerrex realizes Narrius will soon die even without his help... but the Drakkaren sees no reason to take even the smallest of chances, as Narrius grins slowly and rasps: "Always the best fuck I ever had, too... and the only one who ever turned out a child for me. Come here, kiss me and tell me you love me..."

He pulls down on Zerrex's shoulders, and the Drakkaren lets himself descend, laying down atop his father's body and letting one hand move over a chest that is losing its muscle and becoming weak and thin, then he wraps an arm firmly around his neck as Narrius's hands move back down his sides, then loop tightly around his waist. He groans and breathes hotly onto his son's face, then their mouths meet in a kiss, and Zerrex kisses his father with more passion than he has ever kissed any male or female in his life, pushing their jaws down and working their tongues together as he feels his father buck his hips hard up against him, grinding his body against his son's... who is still so convinced in his mind is really his long-dead wife.

They continue to kiss as Narrius slides a hand down to grasp his buttock, and Zerrex can feel a thickness between his legs that's growing... and it makes him excited as he slowly draws his knife free, then flips it easily in his hand, continuing to work his mouth against his father's. They kiss, and then Zerrex brings the knife up and without thinking, bites hard into the kiss, tasting his father's blood as he slides back on his chest and then stabs viciously down into his father's throat.

The strike rips through his father's jugular, and blood sprays up in a fine gush, splattering all over the Drakkaren's widely-grinning face as drool leaks from his jaws, his hair floating around him like a living mist as Narrius chokes, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and mouth gaping open stupidly for a few moments, blood dripping from his jaws as he spasms, but Zerrex feels his father's cock beneath him only continuing to harden and thicken even in death, hears it ripping through the bare pair of boxers his father wears beneath the blankets, and the young reptile rolls himself against the enormous bulge, feeling his own shaft stiff in his pants, threatening to tear through his own clothing. Blood drips down his chest, over his body, and he pants hungrily before tearing to the side and almost cutting his father's head from his body, and he can taste Narrius's blood in his maw... the blood of the head of the family, the blood of the one who was worshipped as a devil but was put out of his misery like a sick feral animal.

After a few minutes, Zerrex slowly climbs off his dead father's chest and examines the dagger. Then he shrugs and begins to laugh as he simply turns and leaves, splattered with blood, his maw dripping with the crimson fluid, his eyes full of darkness, power and death as his crotch still bulges with a powerhouse erection. His body is filled with energy and strength, power and malice, as he throws open the double doors... and the enormous, three-times-his-size bodyguards of Narrius both cower as he looks back and forth hungrily before simply walking out of the mansion, never to set foot inside again. He heads back to live forevermore with his 'caretaker' at the home of his mother... and no one ever questions him or comes to see him about what has occurred. Requiem, after all, is forced to take Narrius's body back to Hez'Ranna for burial... and by the time he returns, Zerrex has left to join the military and then the Goth Legion.

But past the point where he leaves the building, everything becomes a swirl and time returns to normal... and then Zerrex is pulling slowly into the parking lot, feeling a strange shame run through him. He had behaved... like his father would have, and the thought disgusted him now, and especially the sense of malefic power he'd felt. No, it was... something different. After all, he'd felt dark power before, and bathed in it, but it had never felt like that again... although Zerrex did smile a bit to himself, thinking quietly that he missed a hell of a chance to manipulate Narrius for a whole lot of information and other fun stuffs and gone and killed him instead.