FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Five days later, Zerrex woke up in a hospital bed, most of his body bandaged and, upon realizing where he was, becoming incredibly grouchy and irritable. He fidgeted back and forth in bed, then winced as he realized he had electrodes hooked up to his head and the few bare parts of his body before he tore these off and then ripped out the IV in his arm, taking off all the wires he could find and causing a flock of nurses to storm into his room as he accidently triggered a code blue.

They managed to get him settled in bed, the reptile only relenting because he could barely move with how stiff and sore his body was... then he shook his head slowly as he glanced around the sparse room and up at the television, which was currently playing some weird series of cartoons. He muttered under his breath, then answered the questions a nurse asked him as he shuffled back and forth uncomfortably, then finally blinked and looked down, checking under the sheets before asking loudly where the hell his clothes were.

The nurse blushed, told him they had no hospital gowns in stock that would fit him... and Zerrex had muttered before wrapping the sheet around himself and climbing out of bed, bad-naturedly pushing her aside as he walked out of the private care room and into what looked like the intensive care unit. The reptile muttered again at this as several doctors assailed him, but he ignored them as he walked out of the room and down the hall towards the nurse's station, easily plowing down the raccoon and horse who thought they could stop him by stepping into his path and then tilting his head back as he asked loudly: "Why the hell was I in intensive care, anyway?"

"You're kidding, right?" asked a familiar voice, and Zerrex paused, then turned and cocked his head as he saw Cherry, smiling faintly and holding a bouquet of flowers, dressed in a motorcycle jacket, leather pants and her usual heavy boots as she wandered slowly forwards. The taller male smiled slightly as she gazed up at him with affection and something that seemed a bit off, then she reached up and gently flicked him under the chin. "You got a spear through you, for one thing. For another, you got the shit kicked out of you." A pause, then another smile. "I suppose you want to get out of here, huh? Cindy will be happy to see you... it took until yesterday to drag her out of your room."

The Drakkaren smiled at this and nodded, then he glanced down at himself and gestured at the sheet he was still holding up with one hand. "Well, first I need my clothes..."

"You heard him! Get him his clothes!" Cherry barked, sending the hospital staff scattering as several other visitors stared, then the female blushed a bit as she returned her attention to Zerrex and held out the flowers, saying lamely: "I uh. Got these for your room, but I guess I'll just give them to you."

"Thank you, Cherry." Zerrex said softly, taking the bouquet with his free hand and gazing down at it for a few moments: from the few weeds he saw amidst the flowers, he knew that she'd picked it herself. It only made him smile softly, though, then he returned his gaze to hers and bent down, quietly kissing her as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up, their mouths working slowly together for a few delicious moments before the female pulled back and coughed, rubbing at her face and looking down with a deep flush as she turned away.

Zerrex only looked at her with soft silence, knowing how hard it was for the femme fatale to deal with her feelings and emotions - especially in these situations - and instead simply letting her be... then finally getting his tattered pants back in a plain cardboard box that one of the nurses gave him over the counter. He took them, looked down, then shrugged and dropped the sheet, causing Cherry to laugh and grin as she turned back to him, watching with amusement as the rest of the hospital staff stared at the naked Drakkaren before he quickly climbed into his boxers and pants, coughing a bit. "What?"

"You're awesome, that's what." The female replied with a grin, then jerked her head towards the elevator down the hall. "Come on. I've been riding your motorcycle everywhere, it's parked outside."

Zerrex nodded, then followed: he expected Cherry to want to do something nasty in the elevator, but for once the female seemed content to just have a normal elevator ride... it was odd, but the Drakkaren shrugged it off as they walked through the lobby of the hospital and out the door. Cherry waved him onto the bike first, then she settled herself comfortably in his lap before grinning up at him. "Drive on home, Boss. And don't wiggle too much or you'll get me all excited. I promised Cherry I wouldn't drive you into any crazy sexual situations until you were more healed up."

"Like you can keep that promise." Zerrex snorted amusedly, then he started the motorcycle and headed home, feeling a deep anxiety building in his chest as they drove out of the Apple Villa district and over Camelot Bridge, back into Comfort Town. He weaved in and out of traffic as people stared, watching the legendary Boss once more at the reigns of his massive motorcycle and driving through their ranks as if he'd never left, injured and aching but obviously the victor of whatever secret war he'd participated in. Then, slowly, he pulled into his driveway and alongside a familiar blue car, feeling a quiet pang as he looked at it silently for a few moments.

Cherry glanced up at him, then slid off the bike and quietly patted the huge vehicle. "Requiem left it to us, along with some account numbers and a bunch of property in an official will that I found in the car... some of it's even in Hez'Ranna, although I doubt you want to actually go there." A pause, then a smile as she leaned against the car, Zerrex nodding quietly and climbing off his motorcycle as he turned the bike off and pocketed the keys. "But hey... enough of that. Go and see your daughter, Boss... I'll... I'll give you two some time alone."

"Thanks..." The Drakkaren laughed quietly, looking at Cherry with deep gratitude before heading to the door and pausing a moment, feeling strangely nervous; then he opened the door and walked inside, letting it swing shut behind him. Slowly, he took off his combat boots, then approached the archway and reached up to gently lean against it as he gave a faint smile, heart thudding in his chest as his emerald eyes settled on his daughter.

Cindy was dressed in a black exercise top and an almost-too-short miniskirt that was cut at her upper thigh. Her spiked collar and bracelets glimmered as if they'd been recently polished, and she wore what looked almost like a chain leash around her waist, with thick steel links and an oversized clip. For a moment, she only stared back at her father, then she suddenly ran forwards and grabbed his shoulders, pushing her muzzle hard up against his as Zerrex immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her firmly against his chest and not caring about how much it hurt him, their jaws working together passionately and powerfully.

Their tongues danced as Cindy pushed her body hard against her father's, moaning quietly into his muzzle, then she drew back and moved her hands slowly over his bandaged chest, staring up at him, her eyes meeting his, questioning, begging... and he reached his own hands up to squeeze her shoulders and gently push her backwards, the female letting out a surprised grunt as she collided with the table and sat on it heavily. Then Zerrex pushed her down, knocking the plate and scattering of junk on it to the floor as he ground his body down against hers, Cindy automatically bucking up against him and spreading her legs as he pushed her against the table.

One of his hands moved down to squeeze a breast through the fabric of her top, and Cindy moaned at the touch, feeling herself growing hot, her needs growing strong as she bucked up against him hungrily. She moved her hands down his chest, feeling her father's breath hot against her face as she reached down to fumble at the waist of his pants before staring up at him in surprise as Zerrex simply slid his hand into the open V of her top and snagged both it and her bra before twisting once, then ripping off both pieces of clothing and tossing them aside, leaving her breasts exposed as she blushed deeply and trembled beneath him, then moaned again, loving the sensations that the powerful male was causing as he leaned down to lap at her neck slowly, his hands gently squeezing her firm bust, rolling the swells slowly against his palms as Cindy finally popped open the fly of the Drakkaren's pants.

Zerrex murred hungrily as he felt himself beginning to stiffen inside of his boxers, then he stood as he drew his hands down over his daughter's firm abs and to her legs, tracing over her hips before pushing her a bit further along the table, then reaching up to quickly push down his boxers and step free of his pants, heat and need surging through his body. He could feel a bit of blood leaking out of several of the deep wounds on his body that had been stitched up, but at this point the reptile didn't care: his hungers needed to be fed, and all the pain only added to the erotic tension in the room as Cindy quickly undid the belt around her waist and threw her miniskirt aside, then quickly kicking off her panties below before her father dropped back onto her, bringing one leg up to rest on the table as he kissed her hungrily again.

She felt his huge, girthy cock growing as it lay on her stomach, stiffening as it was sandwiched between their bodies, the reptile laying on her with one leg out beside the table, his hands rubbing up and down her sides as she pushed her breasts up against him, feeling a bit of his blood leaking down onto her body but that only making her feel more aroused as their mouths worked hungrily, tongues dancing as they worked towards each other's throats. He pushed down against her, causing the table to groan as Cindy squeezed his waist with her hips, then the Drakkaren drew back as he felt his massive cock reach its full thirty-two inch size, throbbing with heat as the Drakkaren broke the kiss and drew back to grasp himself with one hand, positioning himself at her entrance as Cindy gazed up at him hungrily, letting him reposition her as he pulled one of her legs up to rest on his shoulder, rolling onto her side and murring quietly as he moved his other hand up to rub at her taunt, strong abdominals... and then she arched her back and released a loud cry of bliss as Zerrex thrusted forwards, stretching her wide as he tore into her passage, a short burst of blood spilling out down her thigh as she arched her back and shrieked in pleasure again as the powerful male grunted and slammed forwards once more, burying to the hilt into her, large testicles smacking against her thigh and splattering her spilled blood and the bit of her juices that had already flowed down from her growing erotic bliss.

The tall Drakkaren drew slowly back, looking down at his daughter with both love and lust burning in his eyes, squeezing her leg tight against his body as he reached down his other hand to grasp a breast roughly, leaning forwards a bit as he began to thrust in and out of her tight, stretched vagina. Cindy worked herself back against his movements as best she could, moaning and rocking her head from side to side in ecstasy at the feeling of her father shoving his enormous length into her over and over again, waves of pleasure and erotic pain rolling through her as she grit her teeth and clenched her eyes shut. One of her hands squeezed the breast not currently worked by her father's strong fingers, the other grabbing the side of the table and holding tightly onto it as her vagina clenched against the giant cock that was already thrusting in and out of her at a good pace.

Heat and bliss rose through her body as she felt an orgasm already rising in her form, the pleasure amazing, overcome with her own raw emotion as she worked herself hard back against her father, feeling his testicles slapping her inner thigh like wrecking balls as she tilted her head back and began to let out a short, excited cry with every deep penetration into her body. Her body rocked on the table as the tower of obsidian flesh buried deep into her again and again, Zerrex grunting hungrily, sweat and a bit of blood rolling down his from as his fingers squeezed one of her nipples teasingly, other hand rubbing up and down her upper leg as he rocked his body with his thrusts, bending his daughter a bit more with every shove forwards, the pleasure tremendous: for both of them, this was more than simply an act of forbidden love, however; it was a physical outpouring, a temporary reprieve from everything they'd been through.

The two rocked their bodies together, moved in harmony as Cindy's cries grew rougher and louder, her vagina clenching harder against the black-fleshed shaft that was ripping deep into her passage over and over with growing power. She moaned lustily, then bowed her head forwards before arching her back as she felt the heat in her loins intensify to a burning fire, an inferno, and her vagina squeezed her father's thick shaft tightly before beginning to contract over and over against him as her juices flowed down, squirting out alongside the massive shaft that was ramming in and out of her with even greater firmness as she gave another cry of pleasure, lubricating the way for her father's enormous member and coating both his crotch and her thighs in her juices, mixing with the blood as that too flowed out of her torn sex.

Zerrex groaned hungrily, arching his back a bit as he began to thrust even faster in and out of his daughter's tight passage, rocking forwards against her again and again as he growled hungrily in his throat, his fingers digging into her breast and leg as he began to shove his thick meat harder and harder into his daughter's body. His navy-blue orbs slapped painfully against her thigh as he pistoned his enormous length in and out, his muscles flexing powerfully as he used both weight and strength to his advantage, his slick penis easily working in and out of the female as he felt his own orgasm beginning to rise now.

Cindy was still crying out loudly and blissfully with every hard shove of the male's shaft into her, her body rocking with every movement as she bucked her hips back against the reptile's thick member as hard as she could, feeling her breasts being squeezed almost painfully by both her own hand and one of her father's, her other hand cracking the wood of the table as she squeezed the edge tightly. She could feel his huge member starting to stiffen inside of her, exciting her all the more as she began to call her father's name over and over, arching her back as she felt him thrusting rapidly in and out of her and bucking her hips back as fast as she could in return, trying to keep up to his fast and powerful pace. "Daddy! Daddy! Zerrex! Daddy!"

"Oh... Cindy!" Zerrex groaned, arching his back as he felt himself stiffening up, then he roared, his claws digging into the female's leg as Cindy cried out in utter ecstasy, her father pummeling her with his girthy penis as he slammed into her again and again, squelching in and out of her tight vagina as he threw his head back and released blast after blast of his thick load into her vagina, filling her with his load as the female rocked hard back against him, no longer trying to keep time as he thrusted into her again and again, large testicles smacking wetly against her thigh as they poured their thick payload into her body. Then, finally, the reptile began to slow, murring hungrily as he released his daughter's leg and let it slide down his body, leaning down over her as he moved his hands to press on either side of the table and continuing to easily, almost idly thrust in and out of her tight vagina, black, white-streaked cock sinking into her bruised vagina again and again as his seed leaked out onto the table.

He slowly began to pull back, then the Cindy reached up and grabbed his shoulders, meeting his eyes, and she whispered in a needy, lust-filled voice as her eyes locked passionately with his: "Again."

And her father felt his own desires rise at that look... and so he shoved her down against the table, pinning her beneath him this time and ramming her over and over, cracking the table beneath them as she screamed and clawed at him, tearing some of his bandages, causing his blood to drip down onto her... and it continued again and again, the two eventually moving to the couch as the table broke and then working their bodies together there, until finally both of their crotches were coated with blood, Zerrex's chest smeared with the stuff as well and some of it dripping from Cindy's breasts... the rough groping of the male had eventually turned almost violent at some points, but the female only looked in the deepest of ecstasies, panting hard as they rested together, her on top, his huge tower of flesh buried up inside of her as blood leaked over their bodies, both of them staring at each other hungrily. They'd gone again and again, trying all the positions they could think of, Cindy's body trembling and aching from the countless orgasms she'd had and Zerrex with his teeth grit and eyes squinting in pain... by his count, he'd just finished his tenth climax as Cindy rocked her hips slowly up and down, both of them in a burning, sore pain but the daughter of Zerrex finally putting her hands on his chest and looking down at him passionately, saying softly: "Just... one more..."

"Cindy, I don't know it I can..." Zerrex replied with the faintest of grins, but he groaned quietly, his sensitive, aching penis twitching inside of the female as she dropped her weight against him, and he automatically bucked up against her, his body trembling, his form aching, but he could feel that final orgasm Cindy lusted for just waiting to be coaxed out... and with how sensitive their bodies were, it wouldn't take much coaxing.

So instead of correcting himself, the reptile grasped his daughter's waist, then he shoved up into her and gyrated his hips, revolving his huge member inside of her: Cindy's stretched passage and all that lay beyond had been scraped raw by the movements of the reptile, and it caused her incredible pain as she arched her back and screamed... but there was also an intense pleasure there as well, and she grunted before reaching up and beginning to slowly play with her sore breasts, teasing them and massaging the swells in her hands: that too, ached... but it caused her father to look up at her hungrily, and so she continued as he began to thrust up into her again and again, the couch soaked in their blood and other fluids as his aching, burning testicles bounced slowly up and down on the cushions of the couch.

They worked together powerfully, Cindy sliding up and down the reptile's friction-burned shaft that was also bleeding in places, steel-stiff still but aching horribly... the two Drakkaren moved their bodies together, the agony intense but amazing, the sexual pleasure and power they held over each other filling them both with a deep erotic joy as they moaned and rocked together, Zerrex rotating his hips with every shove up into his daughter, tears of pain and happiness leaking down the female's face.

She already felt almost bloated with the load he'd pumped into her, and they were both splattered with the reptile's thick seed... but she still wanted more, felt she had to have more... and she moaned hungrily as she rocked up and down the huge cock. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone for them both and there was only deep pleasure as they worked together in harmony, groaning and staring into each other's eyes as Cindy continued to play with her breasts slowly, squeezing her nipples as Zerrex moved a hand to rub her stomach slowly and rub gently at her clit, pushing against the nub of flesh with every shove into her, stroking down and around it as she moaned hotly and felt her orgasm rising.

Zerrex felt his own growing, as he pistoned into his daughter again and again, sitting up slightly against the arm of the couch and grunting, heart pounding in his chest as he rocked his huge member into her again and again... and then he felt himself beginning to stiffen as Cindy fell forwards against him, gripping his shoulders, their muzzles side by side as he grasped her waist tightly, his thick cock slamming up into her over and over as she bucked back against him, and then they both arched their backs as her passage clenched down at the same moment as his huge penis stiffened, both releasing twin cries of ecstasy as the powerful Drakkaren sprayed a final, thick burst of semen into her and her juices flowed down the huge, steely shaft, coating his cock with her fluids as they rocked and bucked together, bodies spasming weakly and hungrily as his seed poured up into the female, then leaked out with her juices and their mixed blood.

Finally, Cindy collapsed on his chest and the two fell against the couch, panting hard, and she whispered: "I love you, Daddy..."

"I love you too, Cindy..." Zerrex responded quietly, and he closed his eyes, breathing hard, remaining buried inside of her as they both slowly began to relax... then he gently pulled out, with a slosh of their juices and blood following after as Cindy bucked against him and gave a sharp moan of pain... but the cool air felt good on her torn sex as they trembled together, both of their bodies strained to the very edge, bleeding on each other... but that only added to their togetherness.

Outside, Cherry stood with her back against the wall and her eyes closed, head bowed forwards as she crossed her arms, then she sighed softly and looked up at the sky, eyes lost and expression sorrowful. She had stayed... heard everything... and gods, they had been at it for hours now. Hours! He... never pushed so hard with me... sure... we had times when it would take us hours, but there was always a lot more playing around and... I think the most I ever coaxed out of him was... six, maybe eight orgasms... she thought bitterly, then she looked down at the ring on her hand and smiled faintly as she felt something inside of her and realized just what she wanted... and how she could make everything okay.

She waited half an hour, then went inside, passing through the living room and carefully stepping around the puddles of blood and fluids, then writing a note on the memo pad on the fridge before tearing it off and walking back out. She quietly tucked this into Zerrex's pocket, then turned and left, heading for her destination and deciding she'd wait there for as long as it took. She figured it wouldn't be too long...

Zerrex opened an eye slowly as Cherry left, then he frowned a bit and gently shifted Cindy off his chest with a wince, before tearing off his bandages to check his wounds as he stood shakily. He was pretty bloody... most of his stitches were torn... but as always, his body had healed the severe damage pretty quickly. Even the once-gaping hole in his chest had mostly healed, and although it hurt like hell, there was some kind of fancy suturing surgery that had been done that had already reduced it to what could be a minor bullet wound instead of a major there-was-a-frigging-big-sharp-stick-through-you wound.

He shook his head a bit, then he rubbed a hand slowly through his hair before staggering towards the bathroom... but already he could feel his energy returning, although his body hurt like hell. He'd take a bath... then look at the note and... follow Cherry wherever she went. He had an idea where it would be though, and he couldn't help but grimace as he quietly played at the ring on his finger... he truly hoped she wasn't going to do anything stupid. He loved her... she just didn't seem to get that love meant more than sex and violence every day.

An hour later, the reptile was slowly pulling up the ruins of the windmill on his motorcycle: most of the area here had been cordoned off with police tape, but he ignored it - and the posted officers who simply stared at the tall Drakkaren, currently dressed in a new pair of pants and a longsleeve dress shirt, with the buttons done up to hide his damaged body - as he walked his motorcycle towards the ruins, ducking under another row of tape and then heading silently into the windmill, then halting and crossing his arms as he saw Cherry sitting on a broken wooden table nearby.

She smiled faintly at him, then nodded and quietly stood, walking over and looking up at him. Then she looked down before glancing back up and taking one of his hands, and Zerrex felt his heart sink as she gently pushed a small, round object down into his palm. "I'm sorry, Zerrex... I can't be your wife."

"Cynthia..." The Drakkaren said softly, looking down at her with eyes full of sorrow and pain, but the female quickly shook her head and closed her eyes tightly as she stepped back, her arms hanging limp as she slumped quietly.

"My name is Cherry... Cherry Blossom, not... Cynthia." she said in the same quiet voice, then she opened her eyes and looked up at him with the same deep agony burning in her eyes as she continued to speak: "I want to be... don't get me wrong, I... I love you. I always want to be around you, and will never abandon your side... if we were capable of bearing kids, I'd be glad to pop out a dozen for you, and if you ever got tired of them, I'd gladly kill them all just... to see you smile for a moment. But... I can't be your wife. Wives are... kind and loyal, and they only have sex with their hubbies - unless they're cheating or porn stars or, you know, polygamists or whatever the hell the female version of that word is - and... they're normal. They're part of the light...

"We're not normal... and I've seen that... you're a unique being, B... Zerrex. You're a creature of darkness... and that's not a bad thing at all, necessarily... and yet, you have this burning light inside of you too, so bright that it's almost scary. But I don't... I just want to hurt people and..." she gave a cracked laugh at this point and turned away, walking a few steps off before throwing out her arms and staring up at the ceiling. "Fuck, I want the Legion back sometimes! When I didn't have to give a shit about anything or anyone, got paid to do a job and bust some people up, and we went around killing and raping and hurting as we pleased... when... we didn't have to have responsibilities, and right or wrong didn't matter. Sure... we were puppets. And we were prisoners too, and slaves who had to bend to money-paying masters and pissy general bitches and shitheads who hadn't ever seen a single day of combat in their lives and just took desk jobs... to cowards... but... we were free of choice. Of responsibility..."

She looked down silently, then turned around and looked up at him with a faint smile, but wiping at one eye as she saw the disappointment in Zerrex's own emerald irises. "I know... but... I don't understand what drives you or compels you. But I do know that I've caused trouble for you, and hurt you, and I'm hurting you now... and that's why I can't be your wife..." She stopped, then looked down silently. "But... Zerrex... if you'll let me, I'll be glad to go back to the old ways, and then... I feel everything will work out fine. Let me be your finest soldier... your most loyal bodyguard... your most willing bitch... I want to be your slave, Zerrex. To do with you as please, at your whim... let me take up a permanent residence not with your light side, but within your dark side... be my Master, my god, my Boss and the old Captain Ravenlight to me once more. Let me serve you as your secret weapon..."

"Why would you want that..." Zerrex asked in a voice that was nearly broken, and Cherry looked at him with anger brought on by agony, but then she merely flushed as the taller male snorted and looked away. "No, you're right. You explained yourself fine... you're making yourself out to be a coward, Cherry. Someone who can't face the idea of right and wrong because-"

"Because it scares me." she finished, her face burning with shame as she looked down silently, then she glanced back up quietly. "I am, Zerrex. I am a coward. I am afraid of the light. And I will stand by you no matter what... but I'm selfish. Own me... use me... hurt me, even. I will glorify in it all, so long as I'm yours... I want to dominate and kill and hurt everyone else, sometimes even my friends and even Cindy... but you, I've always loved. I've always been submissive towards, and always served, because being controlled by you takes away all the fear. If I'm your wife, though, I'm your equal and expected to just... work with you. I don't want to work with you... I want to work for you... so please. If you love me... then let me take up the old role, and give that ring to... to Cindy... she's the person who makes your light shine. Stop trying to drag me into that light, because I'll blotch and ruin it... but I can promise you that I'll make your darkness drown out even the sun..."

Zerrex clenched his eyes shut in pain, clutching the ring tight in his hand, then he slowly pocketed it before looking at Cherry silently for a few moments... then he glanced down, feeling heartbroken but at the same time, coldly happy. This was something he'd dreamed of happening years ago, after all, in the Goth Legion, when they'd first met and been testing each other, fighting as often as fucking. To have Cherry bow and submit herself to his greater power, to have her broken... ironically, he'd done it by accident, and at a time when he didn't want to, as he held out a hand and whispered: "Then kneel and promise me you'll serve as all the things you just promised..."

Cherry immediately dropped to a low kneel, her head bowed respectfully as she said in a firm, clear voice: "I vow to always serve you, as my master, my superior, my owner and the only person who will ever control me... I will love you, and only you, as I will serve you and only you... if I ever betray you, I will offer myself to you for death... if I displease you even in the smallest fashion, then I offer my body to you for punishment..." Then she stopped, and quietly - but humbly, and for Zerrex, that humility proved two things: that this is what Cherry truly wanted, and that she would never renege on her promise - rose her eyes to meet his. "May I stand, Captain?"

"I..." Zerrex stopped however, then he simply nodded quietly. He was back to being her captain, her commanding officer, and he guessed that would be that... she wanted to be the one draped in his darkness, after all. It caused a spur of power to well inside of him, but it almost sickened him that he took such pleasure in the female's obvious need to please him. "Stand."

She did so immediately, then she looked down quietly before whispering: "Sir, if I may speak... I know I've hurt you. And I should be punished severely for this..." She closed her eyes slowly, then stood with her hands behind her back, and Zerrex knew what she thought was appropriate, what she even may want... and the reptile felt a shudder roll through his body, before he felt the old him rise up for a moment in a spark of sudden anger, and he stepped forwards before smashing his fist into her muzzle.

Cherry flew backwards with a cry of agony, skidding a good ten feet across the floor, then she coughed and spat out a tooth and blood before slowly forcing herself to her feet, trembling, then she smiled faintly over at the reptile as he looked quietly down at his hand. "It... felt good, Boss. I... you... I missed this. You might not understand, but I missed this."

"I did too." Zerrex said softly, as he looked down at his hand and flexed it slowly, then he looked up at her as he felt a dark power rolling through his body, and he couldn't help but smile, feeling disgusted with himself but still furious with the female as he added quietly: "But I was glad it was gone too. I'm not going to hit you any more today, Cherry. I need time to think. I need... there's still other things to do before I... punish you."

The female nodded silently, then she straightened and put her hands behind her back again, looking down before glancing back up quietly. "With your permission... I'd like to take leave for a few days. You can specify any rules you want... but... I think we need some time apart. Only three to five days, and I'll come back immediately so... we can start our new life afterwards..."

"You're going to miss Tinman's funeral..." Zerrex said quietly, looking down... he didn't know why he said this, or how he even knew, but it seemed right somehow. And then he glanced back up quietly before nodding. "You'll pay your respects to our lost friend in private... bring back something to offer to his grave when you return. And... before you leave, come here."

Cherry did so quietly, and then Zerrex wrapped his arms around her and she wrapped her arms tight around his neck, and then kissed slowly, tongues dancing quietly as he held her tight to his body, swaying silently. He could taste her blood... and she could taste his sorrow, and then it broke and their eyes met before she said softly: "I'm sorry... I love you, but this is right for us. We're not... normal, happy people. And I've always felt I was meant to be yours... but more your property than your equal. I'm yours now... and anything you ever want to do to me or want me to do... don't hesitate."

"I'll just tell you to." Zerrex nodded silently, then the two stepped quietly away from each other before the tall Drakkaren grit his teeth, then he straightened and saluted, right arm laying across his chest. Cherry immediately returned the salute proudly, then she bowed deeply to the reptile before turning and walking out of the windmill without looking back, heading towards the huge blue car that had once belonged to Requiem.

Zerrex watched her go, then he turned quietly and went back to his motorcycle, climbing on and heading home... and also not bothering to look back. Once he pulled into his driveway, he climbed out, fingering the ring out of his pocket and then walking into the house to find Cindy rubbing at her face with a towel, still naked and apparently just out of the shower. She blinked quietly, then Zerrex took one of her hands and quietly slid the ring onto her finger, whispering quietly down to her: "This is yours now. We have a new life to start over... Cherry's decided to stay with us, but... take a different path."

"But... Daddy... I can't..." Cindy stuttered, looking down at the ring silently, before she gazed back up at the Drakkaren, and a few tears of mixed joy and sorrow leaked out of her eyes before she wrapped her arms tight around him and he squeezed her firmly against his chest, holding her close as he clenched his eyes shut and rocked her slowly in his arms.

The next day, as the small congregation of people stood silently at a cluster of three graves, Zerrex reflected that there was no such thing as the 'hollywood ending.' There was no... eternal happiness, and in reality, bad things happened... just as bad people continued to live on and prosper.

Mika and Tinman had been buried beside Mary... their headstones also crudely carved pieces of stone made by the Boss himself, who was currently dress in his usual clothes, except that today he also had his old military jacket draped over his shoulder: it was too small for him now, but he wanted to honor poor Tinny as a good soldier as well as one of the closest friends he had ever had... he deserved that much.

Lone stood nearby, bandages wrapped tightly around his head and a bit of gauze sticking out of one ear, crying quietly as he looked at the graves... he always cried out here, but today the agony was almost unbearable. He'd failed miserably in his job, and Tinman had been the one who had faith in him... and he'd just ended up crashing his goddamn car after tripping like an idiot... a few minutes earlier, he might have saved everyone... including the poor Godkiller who had also fallen.

He shook his head slowly, swallowing hard and rubbing at his plain, respectful suit... he had been worried about it, but Zerrex had said it was fine, that it wasn't flaunting at all and reassured him that he had brought enough. The wolf had lain flowers at each grave, Mary's included... hence the petals currently stuck to his suit jacket. Around his neck dangled the pocketwatch, but he'd thrown away the stupid anklet... and today he'd decided not to be an idiot and put on a pair of shoes instead of tromping around in his bare paws like a moron who thought he was just so cool and "one with nature..." he wanted Tinny to know that the old Lone Wulfe was gone, and he had proper respect for the badger now.

Cindy was also there, in a long black dress, surrounded by children and holding the hands of two of the youngest, one of them the panther girl named Miranda. She was wiping at her eyes almost convulsively, sobbing as she looked at the grave of Tinman... which was dotted with flowers and offerings of small metal toys, in return for all the gifts he had once given to the children. The female Drakkaren had silently lain the whip he'd forged for her that one fateful day that was almost a week ago now at the grave, but with it she'd given a silent promise that if the day ever came again, she wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't be afraid... and she would stand and fight once more to protect anyone who needed it, just as he had done, just as her father did.

Felicity was also there, standing quietly nearby, wearing a pair of dress pants and a black blouse, her face pale and coughing every now and then. She was sick, but in a way, she was happy... soon, she'd be joining Mika, and until then she would be able to stand side-by-side with the Boss. She also wore a sidepack with needles filled with a substance slightly weaker than what Mika had been taking... but she didn't doubt she'd be on morphine soon enough for the pain. And she smiled faintly at his grave as she whispered: "Looks like you made it to the end... hiding your pain like an idiot and making all of the others think you were just a dumb junkie..."

Zerrex glanced down at her, then back up at the graves silently: now that he knew the story, he could understand why Mika had let him mow him down with the minigun and why he had been so serene in death. The coyote had been taking morphine to deal with the pain caused by a blood infection... an incurable, mutating freak-virus that had been steadily eating up all the nutrients in his system and causing his internal organs to shut down and his brain to go haywire. Better to die fast than go slow, until his brain became so infected that painkillers would have no affect on anymore and he would eventually succumb into death caused by pure agony.

And now Felicity was riding out the same fate... she'd won a lottery run by death, when she'd been stabbed with one of the morphine needles Mika had used earlier by Tank. The near-impossible had happened, and the infection on the end of the needle had passed into her body... and now it was slowly rampaging its way through her system. But at least she'd gotten her life's wish... she would die with her hero, her beloved Boss, spending as much time as he could with her as she lived out the last of her days in the mayor's enormous mansion. After all, she'd burned the place formerly known as Exile Village to the ground... too many ghosts haunted those ruins for her to feel safe there anymore.

One of the living remnants of her past, however, sat sulking nearby, apparently unmoved by the funeral service going on as he sat in a wheelchair. Tank had already lost a considerable amount of weight and muscle, however, as he rested one elbow on the arm of the wheelchair and the other in his lap, his hands tapping against his features... his pink, furless features. After almost a full twenty hours of agony, he'd finally been picked up by a medical team and brought back to the hospital... and the only thing they had been able to do was set his shattered spine and give him painkillers... and humiliatingly, diapers. The first night, he had spent in the hospital... then been rudely awoken by the feeling of being moved.

When he'd opened his eyes, he'd seen a snarling, infuriated Cherry looking down at him with raw hate, and he'd screamed for help... but no one had come, as she'd shoved his bed down the hallway and then into one of the cosmetic surgery rooms before she'd thrown him onto the bed and threatened to rip off his balls if he didn't shut up. The fact that Tank could no longer feel his balls was moot: he got the point, and immediately quieted... then gone through hours of agony as Cherry had yelled at him for being a maggot, a coward, and a weakling, promising again and again that he was going to suffer for the rest of his life being looked at as a disgusting freak, as the filth he really was, so he could suffer through all the shit that Mika had been forced to... except the coyote had been goddamn noble, and Tank, on the other hand, was a piece of worthless shit.

As she'd ranted, she had used the laser surgery device to remove all the hair from his face... his head... his ears... his neck. Burned out even the roots, and left several nasty-looking scars on him before she'd wheeled him to the stairs and thrown his bed down the stairwell, leaving him laying broken and crying on one of the landings, unable to crawl to safety and only hoarsely calling for help. And when someone had finally found him, they'd looked at him with utter disgust before finally calling for a nurse to come and get the paralyzed meathead they'd found.

With his face shaved... everyone thought he was a species extremist of the lowest kind: someone who thought that to have fur or scale was only a weakness, that any trait that connected them with the "lower order" animals should be forcefully removed. A skinhead, a meathead with a broken back who wore diapers and had to go around in a wheelchair... someone who had become reliant on other people for everything, from giving his medications to changing him. Even his internal organs had been messed up by the vicious attack on his body, or possibly before that from the pipe that had cracked his skull open... he was brain damaged, his dignity stolen, and now he was being forced to pay respects to people he felt no respect for as his girl stood next to the Boss... and then he grit his teeth and snarled as his eyes welled with angry tears, watching as Felicity wrapped her arm silently around Zerrex and the reptile gently laced his own around her shoulders. It wasn't fair... it wasn't fair...

Half an hour later, Cindy finally turned and said to her lover-father that she would take the children home, and meet him there... Zerrex had nodded quietly, then turned back towards the graves as Felicity had looked up at him, and he'd gently asked... or rather, more told her to go with Cindy, so they could have supper together tonight when he got home. She'd smiled faintly and nodded, then turned to leave as well... but then she'd paused next to Tank, who looked up at her with a faint grin, opening his arms. Felicity had looked at him with disgust... then she'd risen a hand and clenched her fist, and Tank had let out a squeal of pain as his teeth suddenly drove together with incredible force and shattered in his jaws, blood spraying out of his muzzle before he'd arched his back and released a miserable wail, clutching at his bloody jaws as the vixen said quietly: "That's for Mika. Today, you offer him your blood and your teeth... now you can't even eat without any help. Now come on, Tank, I'll take you to the hospital... because I'm better than you, and killing you really would be pointless... but I wouldn't mind watching you suffer for a few more minutes."

Then she turned and walked silently down the path, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them as she used her powers to gently pull Tank's wheelchair along behind herself. The badger sunk forwards, sobbing violently, his spirit broken as he clutched at his mouth and only able to moan in agony as he rocked back and forth, and Zerrex sighed softly as he looked over his shoulder before turning back to look at the graves quietly.

"She's pretty amazing, huh?" Lone finally ventured, and then he smiled faintly, wiping at his own tear-streaked face before looking back at the graves quietly. "I was wondering if I could find a cure for her... I have some friends... back in the pharmaceutical company that I used to work for, and enough money to fund the project... but I know she doesn't like me all that much. But maybe when you bring her back to my home tonight, we could sit down and... and talk to her together, and I'll suggest the idea... I don't want you to have to do my dirty work for me."

Zerrex looked at the wolf with quiet respect, then he nodded silently before giving the faintest of smiles. "That sounds like a good idea, wolf..." he paused, then turned quietly and bent, picking up a bouquet of black roses before hesitating and glancing over his shoulder quietly. "I'm... going to go see Requiem's grave. Would you like to come with me?"

Lone smiled faintly, but he didn't brighten childishly as he might have done in the past... now he understood the gravity of the request, and instead of beaming foolishly with the happiness of an idiot, he instead treated it with deep respect, feeling amazingly touched. "I'd... love to. But..." He stopped and glanced down quietly. "I don't have anything to offer the grave."

"You have your respect." Zerrex said softly, then he turned and headed down the path, and Lone frowned thoughtfully at the ground for a moment before nodding slowly and following quickly, jogging a bit, then matching the Drakkaren's pace, but always staying slightly behind him. Then they turned off the path and headed into the forest, and Lone glanced around quietly before looking down to see that they were walking along a narrow dirt path... the wolf wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Zerrex had made it himself, mostly hidden in the underbrush so that the grave wouldn't be disturbed.

After a few minutes, they came out to the clearing where the two had fought what Lone imagined must have been a legendary battle... and he smiled faintly at the beautiful view it gave of the valley below, the sun slowly beginning to descend, a cloud passing slowly before it casting a long shadow over the earth as Zerrex kneeled and gently put down the bouquet of black roses upon the funeral mound he'd left. The Dragokkaren's grave was encircled with small stones, and in place of a headstone the Drakkaren had placed the bamboo spear of the reptile, shoved deep into the earth... and on the stone face where he'd nearly died - much of his blood still soaked into the stone, leaving a permanent dark red stain - the reptile had carved this:

MARKUS REQUIEM NARRIUS

SLEEP IN PEACE, WARRIOR

"It must have been amazing." Lone said softly, and Zerrex glanced over at him quietly, tilting his head as the wolf looked back at him with a faint smile. "I mean... he was like a father to you, wasn't he? He must have been so happy to... have been able to have you prove yourself to him."

Zerrex swallowed a bit, then he nodded quietly and put his hands in his pockets, looking down at the grave... but then smiling a bit as well at the peace this thought gave him... especially since he thought it was likely true. "Yeah."

A month later found Zerrex still alive and well, despite the fact he'd risked sleeping with Felicity more than several times... he was well aware that anything passed through blood could be transmitted through sex and saliva, but he had been willing to bet his nigh-indestructible immune system against her infection, and had been fortunate enough to come out on top every time. It also helped that the disease moved more slowly in the vixen than it did in the coyote... and that after a week of arguing, she had finally allowed Lone to make some calls and get several specialists to investigate her condition and start working on a cure. So far, they had managed to slow the illness even further... and Felicity had to admit she was developing a grudging friendship with the wolf who had once been the epitome of all her hatred of Apple Villa.

Lone recovered most of his memories... but stayed the changed person he had become, infinitely kinder and smarter than his past self. As well, he began to honestly work out and take care of himself, working down his body fat and exercising daily, now no longer breathing hard after running up the stairs but instead able to jog a good few kilometers without losing his smile. He also found his blushing admiration of Zerrex turning into something like a crush on the reptile, working to get closer to the Drakkaren who he had once struggled so hard to destroy.

Cherry returned from her vacation and to Zerrex's side... ironically, however, it wasn't Zerrex who first greeted her, but Cindy, throwing objects at the muscular female and scolding her, chasing her out into the yard and around and around the huge steel sign that decorated the front lawn, the heavy iron displaying Cherry, Zerrex, Cindy and Tinman all clustered happily together: the last artwork the badger had completed before his death. Eventually, Cherry had resorted to trying to tackle Cindy, and received a shockingly hard punch to the face that had caused her to immediately start throwing punches herself: Zerrex had been forced to intervene and tear the two apart as they'd clawed and kicked at each other, both bloody and bruised.

Once the two had slowly started to settle in with each other though, Cherry's idea had proven right, although definitely uncomfortable... but she was happy to wait on them, act as Zerrex's servant as much as anything else, and to otherwise be her usual sadistic, sarcastic self... without the added resentment or jealousy she had shown as his wife. Cindy still glared at her every now and then for the first while, but eventually she too settled, quietly examining the golden ring she wore. She and her father loved each other in so many ways that she guessed it was really all okay... no, they weren't husband and wife in the traditional sense - technically, not in any sense - but there was still a strange sensation there that only grew over time, that it was okay that they were starting to treat each other like... perhaps something more than boyfriend and girlfriend as well as father and daughter. They even went on little dates, although neither would ever admit to the other that was what it was... it was really just father and daughter going out on the town, that was all.

Of course, things became more complicated when Cindy approached her father one day and said simply: "I'm pregnant." And since then, the farce that they were just father and daughter had started to wear off, and they'd been steadily developing a different sort of relationship, sleeping together more often, Zerrex treating his daughter with a different kind of love and respect, and both of them glaring at Cherry when she'd gaped, then laughed her ass off at the news.

"Explain that one to the neighbors!" she snorted, and then had been forced to duck when Zerrex had thrown his combat boot at her.

Tank, of course, also continued to live on... festering in the permanent care ward of the hospital, eating soft foods as he waited for the metal casts that would replace his teeth to be fitted into his mouth. He sulked, plotted uselessly, and raged... but mostly he was broken, his dignity gone, eventually demanding a hood so he could hide his furless face and avoid the glares and hateful eyes of others. But even in his pain and darkness, he found his own band of friends and conspirators, and thrived on the hatred of the Boss he shared with many others who lived in Baskin's Grove.

And as there was joy for him, there was sorrow and darkness for the others: Cherry's self-destructive decisions, Zerrex's feelings of emptiness and loss as he talked with Cindy about Tinman, his uncle, the past... Cindy's pain at losing Cherry as a mother, thinly disguised as anger... Lone's nightmares of what had happened, recurring dreams where he failed again and again to save Tinman, and the way he still tended to forget about others every now and then and would buy himself a new sports car with the municipal budget, or grow jealous and try to make a law against Cherry being inside city limits, or how he would hit on Felicity... not really because he was interested in her, but because he wanted to be near Zerrex. Felicity, of course, was still growing sicker... still dying, and likely would pass away before they could find a cure... and so the wolf's passes at her only filled her with hate, reminding her of the past, Tank, and her father.

But there was also new life, growing in Cindy's belly... and happiness as well as sadness. In the morning, sometimes the children would find their metal toys had moved from where they'd left them the night before, and Zerrex would frown and look at the sign as he realized Tinman was in a different position than before, or that the engraving of himself had shifted subtly towards Cindy. As much as reality demanded that the ending of a story be one of simple fact and death, sometimes reality also didn't make sense... and became something it wanted to deny.

In the end, the sun sets in the sky, the last rays causing the metal image of Zerrex, Cindy, Cherry, and Tinman standing in the front lawn to gleam... and when all the lights go out and only the stars shine above, the engraving moves soundlessly and Tinman smiles as he tilts his muzzle up ever so much to look at the slight bulge now present in Cindy's stomach... and Zerrex seems to hold his daughter a bit closer to his body as Cherry gazes at her new and old master with something like deepest respect... and once more the heavy decoration grows still, ready to face a new day and continue to stand as it always has, not letting even the rules of reality or cruel life and bitch fate bend its own intentions.