FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next morning, Cherry went back to work in Zerrex's room as the Drakkaren wandered downstairs to find with surprise not Lone, but instead Mahihko, who was looking curiously around as he plodded along in Zerrex's pants. The Drakkaren sighed in exasperation, slapping his forehead, but Mahihko only beamed at him, easily able to wear the waist all the way up to his feminine breast and still have enough pantleg left over for his oversized paws to trip and walk all over them. He threw his arms out, then said proudly: "Look at me, I'm an old person!"

"There aren't many old people these days." Cindy said mildly from where she stood by the coffeemaker, looking moodily at Zerrex. He looked back at her, then blushed deeply when she said accusingly: "Last night was supposed to be our night, you son of a bitch."

"For an angel, you sure do seem to want sex a lot." Zerrex mumbled, walking over to pick up a mug and pour himself some coffee, and Cindy huffed before leaning in and kissing his cheek despite herself, and Zerrex sighed in relief as Mahihko sat down at the table beside a groggy-looking Marina. The reptile opened his mouth to ask how she was, but then he caught her eyes on him and the slow grin spreading over her features, and he leaned away somewhat, looking carefully around instead. "So uh. What does everyone plan to do today?"

"Don't you and Cherry have to leave for Hell sometime?" Cindy asked curiously, tilting her head towards him, and Zerrex made a seemingly-random gesture as he sipped at his coffee cup, but Cindy only nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, tomorrow, right. Three days, and then you go to Hell, you don't need to stop in on the third day. In that case, I guess I'll just go to work as usual... although I'm going to bring Mahihko with me today, if you don't mind. Marina, myself, and Lone did some work together last night, and we think he's learned how to shift back and forth from wolf-to-wolf, and bring both personalities out. I'd like to do some research on it... and that's if you don't mind, Mahihko."

The little wolf nodded brightly, looking happily at her before he blushed and asked Zerrex hesitantly: "That's if you don't mind, Daddy, and... and... and... maybe tonight, we can spend some nice time together, huh?"

"Sure, wolf, that's fine with me... and I'd be glad to spend some more time with you." Zerrex said softly, and Mahihko smiled warmly across at him. Zerrex smiled back, then he turned his eyes to Marina. "And what about you?"

"I think I'll spend the day with you, Daddy... I've missed doing that, and it'd mean a lot to me." Marina said softly, then she stood up and walked around the table to lean on the counter as well, getting her own mug of coffee. The three reptiles leaned there as Mahihko happily bounced in his seat at the table, grabbing the large cup of milk he had and slurping at it. "You know, Daddy, maybe we could even go out and shop a bit. I have some more art supplies I need to pick up... and I know you like to mingle with the crowds, even if you don't like talking to people at the same time."

Zerrex grunted a bit, but he nodded as Marina rolled her eyes amusedly and Cindy did the same, mother and daughter unwittingly copying each other as Zerrex looked from one to the other. Then he laughed, and they both frowned at him, which only made Zerrex laugh harder as he walked over to the table and sat down in his chair, grinning a bit. "Nothing, nothing... just... you two, that's all. Much as you act like you hate each other sometimes and call each other sister, you really are mother and daughter, too."

Marina opened her mouth, and Zerrex winced as he hoped she wasn't going to say what he thought she was going to say... but then she closed it thoughtfully as she looked at Cindy. For a few long moments, she looked at her and Cindy looked back, as if they were really seeing each other for the first time... and then Marina said slowly: "You... are my mother. You are."

"Yeah... and I always have been, just like I've said." Cindy said softly, and she put her coffee mug down as she smiled softly at her daughter, standing with her arms loose at her sides so Marina could take a good look at her. There was a keen resemblance, and Marina had inherited Cindy's beauty, even if there was also a clear touch of her father's features in her face. For a few moments, Marina almost looked confused, and then Cindy stepped forwards and hugged her quietly to her body, and Marina frozen up before Cindy said softly: "And I have always loved you, even in the worst moments... even when we argued and acted like we hated each other."

Marina rested her head quietly against Cindy's neck, then she hugged her tightly back, and the two stood together as Zerrex looked quietly at them, wondering if finally, after so many years, the wounds separating mother and daughter were finally healing... and then Marina cleared her throat as she stepped away, mumbling something and sitting down in her father's lap. She hugged him tightly and clung to him, and Zerrex shrugged a bit as she looked at Cindy... but the female only smiled a bit and shook her head slowly, crossing her arms as she said ruefully: "She always has been your daughter, Zerrex... even when she was a baby, she clung to you just like that and loved you most of all of us." Cindy softened after a moment as the two looked at her, Mahihko awkwardly rubbing at his head and looking down. "But I'm okay with that, I think... you two bring a bright light to each other's eyes even in times there should only be darkness, and seeing that makes me happy."

"Thanks, mom." Marina said quietly, and Cindy smiled warmly as she met her daughter's eyes. Then the mortal female looked up at her father, asking curiously: "Should I spend some time with her today, too?"

"I think so, yeah. Cindy, why don't you take Marina into work with you today? She can help you out with some of your experiments and the Lone and Mahihko work, and we both know she's smart enough on her own even without leeching off you." Zerrex said thoughtfully, looking over at his angelic daughter. She made a bit of a face, probably about to bring up security concerns and the fact Marina didn't know any technical mumbo-jumbo, but the Drakkaren quickly preempted her. "You can say she's going to assist in your research with Mahihko today, and if you can get that little... person... in, then you can sure as Hell get Marina in. Besides, she'll be in close proximity to you the entire time, and I'm pretty sure it won't be too hard for her to leech off you what she has to, right?"

"That's right, Daddy. Although I prefer the term 'borrowing.'" Marina replied, poking his nose lightly as she gazed up at him, and Zerrex rolled his eyes in amusement. Whichever way you phrased it, Marina's telepathic talents allowed to her see and understand, on a basic level, everything someone else knew. As the mind retained almost all of the information it came across, even if a person didn't remember it, Marina was easily able to read through a person's memories like a book... except with a speed and precision that took literally only seconds for her when she was able to concentrate and was close to a person. It meant that any formulas or theories Cindy knew, Marina would instantly be able to know as well... even if within hours, if not minutes after she was finished using the information she needed to know, she forgot everything she had just 'borrowed' from her target, to use her turn of phrase.

Cindy sighed after a moment, realizing she was going to lose if she argued, so she finally nodded, rubbing at her face slowly. "Alright, but the hours are going to be long... and I know that sometimes your attention wanders. There's also a lot of sensitive experiments and a few rather dangerous demons, and I'd rather we not have to show off today... as it is, they like to pretend I'm a mortal just like everyone else, no matter how many times I set off their scanning equipment."

"Life is full of hypocrites." Zerrex remarked, and Marina nodded against him, curling up childishly as the Drakkaren looked down at her softly. Even with the lifespan of the average Drakkaren - a hundred and twenty long years, and up to two hundred for a Dragokkaren - Marina had become a mature adult at a very early age. He knew that there were still many scars on her mind that would likely never go away, though... and whereas Mahihko liked to act like a child, Marina, in many ways, still was a child. It was good in many ways, he thought... but in others, it worried him. Despite how much he loved having her all to himself, he sometimes wondered if she'd ever find a good boyfriend or lover... and then she looked up into his eyes with a soft smile, stroking his face as her voice whispered in his mind: I have, Daddy. You're all I ever will need, my father...

Zerrex only looked at her quietly, then he finally cleared his throat as he looked over at Cindy, asking curiously: "So when do you go, anyway? I think I'll walk with you guys, but I'd better let Cherry know we're leaving or she'll think I'm playing hide and seek and rip the entire house apart looking for me."

Cindy rolled her eyes, then she looked at the clock as she took a long drink of coffee, before making an awkward gesture over at Zerrex. The reptile nodded as if she'd spoken, then he rubbed at his muzzle absently. "An hour and a half from now, then, okay. I'll go see what she's up to."

"Carry me, Daddy?" Marina looked up at him hopefully, and Zerrex smiled a bit despite himself before he looked over at Mahihko, who looked at them jealously. Then he paused as he realized he had a good excuse, and now Marina pouted as her mental fingers tickled through his mind. "Oh, come on, you can climb that ladder with no hands if you wanted to."

"Yeah, but I'd rather not, 'cause I'd probably whack my head off the ceiling." Zerrex rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, and Marina grumbled before sliding out of her father's lap, looking sourly at Mahihko instead of Zerrex. The little wolf only smiled contritely back, however, and then he giggled and clapped as Zerrex ruffled his headfur as he walked past. "Go get some real clothes on, wolf."

Mahihko nodded, then bounded off past the Drakkaren, Zerrex leaping a bit to the side before he winced as he came down a bit heavy on his right leg, and he paused as he grasped at it, rubbing slowly at his knee. Cindy and Marina were both looking at him with concern, but the moment the Drakkaren opened his mouth, Marina shook her head vehemently. "Bullshit, Daddy, you can't lie to me and you know it. Cindy, it's his leg again... it's hurting, and he thinks its similar to how it used to when he was mortal."

"It's probably an effect of the mortal plane..." The female mused, starting forwards, but Zerrex immediately ran for the ladder and bounded up it, Cindy cursing under her breath as she charged after him, shouting: "This is pointless, Zerrex, I freaking live with you! Get back here to get checked out!"

Cherry immediately stuck her head out of her father's room to see what was going on, and Zerrex barreled into her, knocking them both sprawling as the demoness asked stupidly: "Are we playing naughty nurse? Or is the Boss trying to skip out on some medical shit again?"

"The latter, unfortunately." Cindy muttered, and as Zerrex tried to get up, Cherry grabbed him and flipped him over before seizing him in a full nelson on the ground, the Drakkaren cursing as he flailed a bit before the angel grabbed his bad leg, glaring at him. "I swear to God, if you kick me, I'll rip this leg off and examine in somewhere else."

The reptile calmed with a wince, and Cindy huffed before she carefully rolled up her father's pant leg past the knee. She examined the crescent-shaped scar there, mumbling to herself as she gently tapped over his leg, and then she finally said: "Well, it doesn't seem like there's anything physically wrong with you... but... I dunno, I can't place my finger on it, but it seems like there's something that isn't quite right..."

"Yeah, and it's the bulge in Cherry's pants. Were you masturbating while pretending to be a guy again?" Zerrex asked flatly, looking over his shoulder at Cherry, and she coughed and grinned stupidly. "And no, before you ask, I don't want to help you out with that."

"You totally did already, 'cause what I'm thinking of is if you'd taken me as a guy last night. Triple penetration by one big demon dude with tentacles is hot." Cherry grinned stupidly, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as Cindy muttered something under her breath. The demoness perked up however, peering at Cindy... and then her grin stretched wider. "Dude, you're totally jealous!"

Cindy blushed deep red, and Cherry cackled before Cindy punched Zerrex so hard in the guy that Cherry's breath wheezed out of her. The male, however, rolled off Cherry, not even breathing as his eyes bulged out stupidly, and then Cindy kicked the demoness in the crotch, where there was indeed an obvious bulge... but the bulge quickly deflated after a moment as Cherry's eyes bulged with agony. "And that's what you two get for being such assholes!"

She stomped away, and Cherry asked in a high-pitched voice: "So did you come up here for a reason?"

"I'll let you know when my insides finish rearranging themselves." Zerrex rasped in return, and Cherry nodded stupidly after a moment. For a little while the two lay together, mumbling as Zerrex hugged himself around the waist and Cherry held her crotch gingerly, and then the male finally said dumbly: "I wanted to let you know that we're going to walk Cindy to work. Even though now I'm too scared she just punched me in half to get up."

"At least your balls don't feel like they're up in your throat. Fuck, and I made my dick vanish and I can still feel pain in my testicles. Which are somewhere in my throat." Cherry finished raggedly, and she groaned in pain as she slowly sat up, wincing visibly. "Boss, I love Cindy and all, but why the hell is she such a cunt sometimes?"

"I dunno, obviously neither of us are chicks." Zerrex replied tiredly, and Cherry glowered, then paused and shrugged amiably. "But seriously, I think it's because she feels left out lately... or something like that, I dunno."

"I don't get it." Cherry said plainly, rubbing at her head slowly as she held her crotch with her other hand. "Dude, she's the strongest and smartest person like, ever. She don't got much battle experience, no, but like. She could punch a planet into another planet. And bounce them both into the sun or some shit like that."

"Awkwardly true. I still can't feel my insides. Or my abs in general." Zerrex mumbled, poking his own stomach lightly, and then he looked across at Cherry, who was sitting morbidly on her rear with both hands once more holding her groin. "Do you have to do that so obviously? It's like you're trying to draw attention to it."

Cherry opened her mouth, apparently trying to come up with a good comeback, and then she settled for huffing at the Drakkaren and mumbling something. Then Zerrex stood with a wince, reaching down and scooping Cherry up, and he walked over to the bed, settling her down on it between a scattering of wires and tools as he asked: "So how much more work you gotta do on that uplink?"

The demoness squirmed back and forth until she apparently found a comfortable enough position, and then she shrugged a bit, saying mildly: "I should be able to get it done before we have to go down to Hell today. You should have enough time for that walk with Cindy, too." Cherry said absently, then she tilted her head when Zerrex slapped his own. "What?"

"Crap, I thought that was tomorrow..." The Drakkaren shook his head, making a face as he muttered: "Time's still all screwed up for me. I'm not used to the way things work on the mortal plane, still. This is all too goddamn confusing."

"Don't hurt yourself, Boss." Cherry grinned a bit, nudging him lightly as she added playfully: "I think you're just scared of going back down to Hell and seeing all your family. It's been a long time since everyone's been in one place, hasn't it?"

Zerrex was quiet at this, and Cherry tilted her head, frowning slightly before the reptile finally smiled faintly, and he said quietly: "Yeah. You could say that."

"Oh, come on, Boss, everyone down there likes you!" Cherry grumbled and grabbed the lizard's face, and Zerrex was unable to stop himself from laughing as she shoved at him childishly, the Drakkaren pushing back as a hand settled on her muzzle and an enormous breast. Cherry squawked, then she finally huffed and relented, and the two looked across at each other before she said in a quieter voice: "Almost everyone, at least. I promise all the good apples'll show up, though, Zerrex, and I know that you have problems with some of your wonder-kids, but seriously, most of 'em love you and are awesome. Believe me, dude, I've worked my butt off to make sure that even Sparky shows up."

"I dunno. I think sometimes Driz hates me most of all." Zerrex said morbidly, and Cherry grunted at him but didn't know how to argue. Driz - or Sparky, as some people called him to the demon's disdain - was one of Zerrex's more-powerful and more-important sons, born of Sin and Zerrex. Some people called him a Terror, because his body was composed entirely of negative energy... other people called him a nuisance, because it was hard for most people to get close to him and he was never very positive when it came to much of anything.

Driz, however, maintained all of Hell's power systems by himself... and even though the job usually only required some fine-tuning every few hundred years, Driz preferred the company of himself over other people, and thus he spent most of his time inside the Central Spire and the various grid stations around Hell. And if there was one person in the world Driz disliked, it was his father, Zerrex... and he thought a lot of the reason for that was because he had never really found out about how much crap Driz was putting up with until it was too late.

Zerrex swore he would have done more, done everything in his power, to help his son if he'd known how much he'd been hurting... but he knew it was too late now. He also knew that he often spent unfair amounts of time with his daughters, especially his favored children, and he knew that he never should have allowed himself to play favorites... but if people thought it was an easy mistake to slide into when you only had two kids, they had no idea how easy it was when you had a hundred and twenty four. The Drakkaren rubbed at his face slowly as he realized how many of them would be at this so-called party of Cherry's, then, and he looked at her awkwardly, saying finally: "Cherry, a lot of my kids have family... and many more of 'em probably have children of their own and stuff like that now that it's... you know... been so long in Hell..."

"Bah, five thousand years ain't long at all in Hell and you and I both know it." Cherry said airily, waving a hand dismissively. "Besides, like... you were a slow breeder, Boss. It might seem like you had a lot of kids, but you had two Queens who wanted a shitload of kids and one bitch who might not have maternal instincts, but was competitive enough with the others you had to give her plenty of babies too. And only a hundred and twenty and change, over ten million, ten freakin' million years? Dude, that just ain't that impressive. Now stop your damn whining, lots of peeps down in Hell have to go to way bigger reunion things than you do, Boss."

Zerrex punched Cherry in the kidney, and she wheezed before falling over, mumbling something about abuse as the Drakkaren said flatly: "I'll be back in a while, anyway, Cherry. Please try to avoid breaking anything while I'm gone, alright? I've got some stops to make on the way back here, so you can probably take your time on that uplink, and then we'll leave and visit Hell, but only for a little while."

"I love how that translates to 'about a thousand years.'" Cherry relished, then she ducked when Zerrex picked a heavy book up and threw it at her. It missed, bouncing off the wall and falling open on the bed, and Cherry huffed as Zerrex opened his ugly wooden dresser to dig out some new clothes, before eying him as the Drakkaren quickly slipped out of his clothes. "Dude, you wanna do something nasty?"

"I think you're probably still too bruised down there to do much of anything." Zerrex replied dryly, and Cherry paused before mumbling as she slowly massaged her crotch, watching as the Drakkaren slid on a new pair of boxers and pants, before her eyes narrowed as the reptile winced at the pain of hopping around on his bad leg in order to get them on. "Oh, don't you start with that too now."

"You ass, you're a demon. You ain't supposed to feel pain like that." Cherry beat on her chest with a grin, nodding fervently. "We are supposed to be the invincible gods of unnatural origin, the-"

"Stop quoting comic books, or at least the ones I know. That's issue twenty-three of the Scarlet Avenger." Zerrex said flatly, but he was grinning widely at her nonetheless. It made Cherry grumble and pout, and the male paused before he added: "In any case, we so are not. You still cry like a little baby every time your piercings break or fall out and you need to get new ones."

"That is totally different." Cherry defended, shaking her head quickly as Zerrex sorted through his dresser, before he pulled out a shirt, looking at her mildly overtop it. "Like, seriously. My piercing holes frigging heal after the piercings are out of there for so damn long, and it is seriously not cool to have to get my pussy pierced again. You've seen all those rings in my lips and my clit! Can you imagine what that feels like?"

"I remember very well that one ill-fated night where you and my other stupidly-vindictive wife convinced me to get piercings down there." Zerrex said dryly, and Cherry grinned brightly. It had been one of the few times that she and Selena had gotten along... and even won an argument against Sin and Lily, although probably only because Carmen had been the one to do the piercings. "It did indeed hurt for a very long time. And personally, I feel it wasn't worth it. I don't like that much metal in me, especially my downstairs bits."

"That's 'cause your whole dam n arm is metal. Get over it." Cherry stuck her tongue out at him as Zerrex pulled his shirt on, and the reptile rolled his eyes before he pulled a leather vest out of the drawers, and Cherry paused at this. "Denim vests mean you're dumb and old. Leather vests mean you're gay."

Zerrex ignored her as he slid the vest on, patting the four pockets on the front, then he smiled slightly as he checked to ensure his tattoo was covered by the sleeve of his t-shirt: thankfully, only a bit of the green ivy was visible. "I think I can pull it off and still maintain my filthy ninety-ten bisexuality."

"Ha, more like seventy-thirty." Cherry snorted, flexing her muscles and grinning at the way Zerrex's eyes wandered over her body, much as he obviously tried to pull away. "When you check out chicks, you dig on their muscles first, much as you claim to love the boobies. And when a hot guy passes, the order we stare at him is me and you, then Mahihko, then Cindy, then Marina. You're gayer than you claim to be."

"You like to be a hermaphrodite. In that case, technically everything you do is gay." Zerrex shot back, and Cherry rubbed at her head thoughtfully. "Then again, I probably shouldn't talk, because I enjoy you most like that."

"Totally gay." Cherry said cheerfully, and Zerrex shrugged and shook his head, looking amused as the demoness hopped to her feet. She walked over to him and kissed his lips lightly for a moment, and Zerrex returned it gently before she pulled away, patting him on the shoulder. "Have a good time, Boss, pick yourself up a new video game or some shit so you can hide in a corner while we prepare for the party, and meet me back here by three at the latest. Four if you get into trouble, I guess, since you probably will."

The lizard rolled his eyes at this, then he paused for a moment before swiping up a small music player and a pair of headphones from the dresser, Cherry squawking and flailing her arms as she yelled after him: "Those are mine, you douchebag! Now what the hell am I gonna do... oh yeah, TV."

Zerrex sighed, then he checked the battery as he hopped down to the first floor, landing easily on both feet and thanking whatever would listen for the lack of pain. He looked curiously into the kitchen, but no one was there... so instead, the Drakkaren headed down the row of rooms, before he found Mahihko's door open and the wolf struggling to get a large sweater over his head.

The reptile walked in with a smile and tugged it gently on, and Mahihko's head popped through the hole as he smiled brightly up at his father, the ends of the large wool sweater concealing his hands as he clapped them together and said cheerfully: "Cindy said it was co' outside today, so I'm wearing this new sweater I bought! It's kinda ugly, but look."

Mahihko flailed his hands, the too-large sleeves of the sweater swinging back and forth, and Zerrex realized after a moment it was supposed to be that way, since the body fit snugly around Mahihko's own. The wolf was also wearing a tight pair of blue jeans and a pair of matching blue leg warmers, and it made Zerrex smile ruefully: for someone who was flamboyantly gay, Mahihko seemed to take great pleasure it throwing all assortments of clothes on instead of arranging them into any sort of style, as he beamed up at Zerrex lovingly. Zerrex handed him the music player after a moment, and he said softly: "Here, this is low. Can you charge it for me?"

Mahihko looked at it, then he nodded several times before he unplugged the headphones and handed them over to his father. Zerrex held them lightly as Mahihko wrapped both hands around the music player, and he concentrated for a moment before a bit of electricity fizzled around his body, puffing some of his fur out before it sizzled around his hands in an almost-perfect sphere of blue lightning. A moment later, a final discharge covered the wolf's body, and he blushed a bit as he held the music player up to Zerrex.

The Drakkaren took it, wincing a bit as a shock travelled over his body from touching the wolf's hand, and Mahihko blushed deep red as he mumbled an apology. Zerrex checked the battery, ignoring the lupine's unnecessary 'sorry,' then he smiled and reached out a hand to ruffle the wolf's headfur, saying softly: "Just perfect, Mahihko. Good work, kiddo, you're getting more and more control over your powers with every passing day."

Mahihko beamed quietly up at his father with this, and then he blushed a bit as Zerrex patted him on the shoulder before the wolf lunged suddenly forwards, hugging Zerrex tightly around the knees. Zerrex smiled despite himself, and he leaned down to hug the wolf back as best he could, feeling his face pressing uncomfortably close to his crotch as Mahihko said quietly: "I'm gonna miss you while you're gone, Daddy."

"It'll only be until tomorrow at most, since I'm leaving today after all. You'll see me soon enough." Zerrex said softly, patting the wolf on the head, and then he laughed a bit. "Besides, you've got Lone to deal with, too... you better bring some clothes for him, too, just in case."

"Okay." Mahihko nodded several times, then he headed back to his dresser as Zerrex turned and left, walking down the hallway before he paused as he opened Cindy's door quietly and leaned inside, gazing at her softly.

She was standing with her shirt off in front of the small, cracked mirror on her wall, examining her body... and then she smiled softly at her father as he stepped inside and closed the door, watching as the lizard slipped the headphones around his neck and the music player in his pocket. "You're nice to Mahihko, Zerrex... I'm really glad. Sometimes it's hard even for me to be nice to him, and I always wonder which of us has the worse history with him."

"Our bad history is with Lone, I think of it that way. Not his fault the poor kid has multiple personalities." Zerrex responded softly, and he smiled a bit as he walked over to Cindy, reaching up to massage her shoulders gently as he looked down into her eyes. She gazed back up, resting her hands on his chest, and he asked quietly: "So what's wrong with you? It seemed like you were looking for something specific."

Cindy shrugged a bit, looking embarrassed as she gazed back at the mirror, and then she grasped Zerrex's hand before guiding it slowly down her body... over a breast... then to her side, and then slowly over her stomach. At this point, she pressed both her hands over his, looking up into his eyes... and Zerrex gazed back as she murmured softly: "I don't know. Maybe I just want another baby with you... even if I know it's dangerous, an angel and a demon having a baby. But it feels like something else... these parts of my body are... so hot, and the rest of me..."

Zerrex frowned a bit as he reached a hand up to touch her cheek quietly... and then he stepped back, slipping his hands off her as he said softly: "Spread your wings for me, okay?"

Cindy nodded after a moment, then she closed her eyes as her wings pushed out of her back, wincing a bit as they stretched wide across the room, proud and powerful... and a moment later Zerrex spotted it, as her body pulsed with holy light for a moment as they reached their full size. He concentrated, and after a moment, he could almost see a marring over Cindy's body... blackness like spilled ink over the body of one wing, and which left blots over the places Cindy had gently guided his hands along. The reptile made a bit of a face, then he closed his eyes, letting his vision return to normal before he opened them and approached her wing.

She watched him nervously, biting at one of her claws as the reptile carefully massaged along the feathers, knowing how sensitive her wings could be... and then he finally pushed against a spot that made Cindy hiss in pain and draw back, her wings instinctively furling behind her back as she asked anxiously: "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I think some corruption leaked onto you, but I can't say for sure... you'll have to run some tests on yourself." Zerrex said quietly, looking over at her and not bothering to lie. She's the doctor here, after all... I just happen to have good eyes. "You got some special scanning equipment where you work, right? You'll have to calibrate it for microlevels and run it over either your wings or your body to find out more. It... might explain your uh..."

"Mood changes?" Cindy smiled a bit as she tilted her head, and Zerrex coughed, rubbing the back of his head but nodding nonetheless as the angel's wings retracted and vanished into her back. "It's okay, Daddy, I know I've been... a bit bitchy lately. And I've been having... cravings..." Cindy shook her head slowly, then she finally nodded and said quietly: "When you go down to Hell tomorrow-"

"Uh... today. I... screwed my scheduling up." Zerrex said lamely, rubbing the back of his head, but Cindy only laughed and smiled amusedly up at him. "But don't worry, I'm not going to forget about either the crystals or that ugly arm we found, believe me."

"Good. But do me a favor..." Cindy took one of Zerrex's hands, looking up into his eyes quietly. "I know it's irregular, but ask them if they can send up an artifact called the Golden Torch. It's said to be able to produce a resonance powerful enough to purify even lower-class demons over time. I'd like to use it in my research."

Zerrex made a bit of a face, but Cindy only looked up at him with quiet amusement. "What, do you think I'm going to turn evil on you and build some terrible holy doomsday device? Daddy, I'm serious here, and I'll keep it under lock and key and give it back right away when I'm done. But if I can find a way to reproduce that power, even minimally, by scientific means, or if I can even just study the way it changes the DNA or cell-structure with its 'purification-'"

"Ugh, shut up, you're taking all the magic out of being a demon. And magic itself, too." Zerrex said disgustedly, flailing his arms, but Cindy only grinned widely as she realized she had just won her father over. "Fine, fine, though. I'll see what I can do... just don't expect anything, it's not like I can just do anything I want."

"Thank you, Daddy, you're the best." Cindy hugged her father tightly, and Zerrex winced as she squeezed him tightly around his still-sore body before he finally hugged her back firmly. She kissed his cheek gently as she pulled away, then she smiled a bit as she picked up her shirt to put it on, adding softly: "Marina's probably in the living room. Thank you, too, Zerrex for... for having faith in us. For letting me... love her as a daughter again, not just as a sister."

"It's what I think we all wanted, Cindy." Zerrex said softly, stroking her face gently... and Cindy took his hand and kissed his three rings quietly before she looked at him softly. He gazed back at her quietly, a question rising in his throat but stalling at his lips, and he felt tongue-tied for a moment... and Cindy smiled quietly at him.

They were both silent, though... and finally, as Zerrex turned away, blushing a bit, as his handle settled on the doorknob, Cindy said softly: "I never stopped thinking of us that way, Zerrex. To me, you're still my husband, as well as my father. After hearing about how you... had so many other wives, and then Raze... well... I guess I was uncomfortable for a while thinking about that, about sharing you not just as a lover, but as... as a mate. But I know how much you hate the words wife and husband and life-partner and all that, how you hate that people try and... give it a value and a quantity, when it should be invaluable, when no word can describe that bond... and after seeing you with all those people, and after all you've done, all you've fought for... and after the way we... we all got along so well, even Cherry and Selena... I guess... I guess I just grew to accept it, and even feel comfortable with it."

Cindy looked at him quietly as Zerrex turned around slowly, and then she murmured softly: "I love you. I know you love them. I know they love you. You're right, you know... why must love be restricted to one person? Why do we feel... bad... when we don't follow these stupid cultural concepts? We feel bad, but not wrong... and how is it immoral to love a handful instead of one? You don't love everyone, you don't have sex with everyone, you don't lie about your feelings... and Zerrex, you're more than ten million years old and the demon High King of Hell. Yet... look at you. A shitty, battered M-Player you borrowed from Cherry, normal clothes and an old leather vest, your hair's all ragged and you talk like we talk, even after all your years of rulership... rulership that you grumble and bitch about, you never brag about.

"Zerrex... you aren't normal. You aren't." Cindy smiled faintly, walking over to him and taking his hands, gripping them both tightly as she looked up into his eyes. "You love order and familiarity, yet you're a wanderer. And somehow, you find the time for all of us... and I know that... even if you found... her... somewhere, you'd still find the time to love and care for all of us, too, and all of your many children. You're a lover to us all... but a father to us all, too. You protect us, but teach us to fight our own battles... and you're kind and gentle even if you're also ruthless and cruel. I love you for all these things... but especially because you always do what's right. And I know you still worry that you're taking advantage of us, but... I'm proud of you for what and who you are, Daddy, and I'll always be by your side, devoted to you... and even if everyone thinks you're a controlling, chauvinistic bastard because a picture of you would have you surrounded by all your wives serving you... what they never see is the way you let Cherry walk all over you, or the punches you take from me, or the way you built a stage in Hell just so Marina could practice her art recital in front of you... the way you read poetry to Lily, or the way you wrestle with Selena and don't cheat even when she does... or how your very first act was not to try and weasel out of your punishment or order everyone to serve you, but instead, to free Sin from her eons of pain and servitude... nor do they see the way you tuck Mahihko in at night, or how you made even Raze grudgingly accept his father into his life, much as you dislike Lord yourself."

There was quiet as Zerrex lowered his head, and then he looked up and whispered softly, his emerald eyes overbright. "But Cindy... I... I always want more. I'm not worthy of it, or any of you, because of my greed..."

"Sadness isn't greed, Zerrex." Cindy took the Drakkaren's face quietly between her hands, then the two slowly dropped to their knees and Cindy hugged Zerrex against her bosom as she whispered: "That fault isn't greed... it's because you're looking for Allie... and none of us can ever take her place. Even after all these years, I know that wound hasn't healed, and all of us combined can only take so much of the pain away... and I'm so sorry, Daddy... I can't imagine what it must have been like to lose her."

Zerrex clung to Cindy, fighting back the years as he thought of his long lost love, of how he'd scoured Heaven and Hell for any sign of her, but to no avail... and after ten minutes of clinging to Cindy, he finally murmured: "Maybe I just feel bad because I can only have sex with so many of you at once."

Cindy laughed quietly, shaking her head slowly as she stroked her father's cheek quietly, then she smiled a bit and said softly in return: "I don't think sex is that important to all of us... but hey, you've got... what... me, Cherry, Sin, Mahihko, Lily, Selena, Raze, and I guess we should include Marina, too... that's eight people, and when you're full demon you've got four tentacles downstairs and you can easily bring out six... that's still more than enough, Zer."

"I guess you're right." Zerrex sat back against the door with a sigh, looking up at her with faint amusement. "But then there's my concubines..."

"The point of a concubine is that they're there to please you however you want... I think sometimes you're too nice or too polite." Cindy said with soft amusement, holding a hand out to him. Zerrex took it, and then Cindy said quietly: "And there is someone in Heaven who you should go and see sometime, you know. I hear she's been waiting many years for you to come and visit... and you never have. For all your etiquette, you can be goddamn rude yourself sometimes."

"I... I don't deserve to." Zerrex said finally, and he looked down before glancing back up embarrassedly as Cindy just put her hands on her hips and gave him a flat look. "Look, Cindy, I know she's there... I just... I mean... everyone is still around, in some form or another..."

"So after your family reunion, call a friends reunion. Or better yet, call everyone who had a big influence on you all together. Bring everyone into one place, Daddy, and see what happens. You might be surprised." Cindy said quietly, and Zerrex made a face before she added darkly: "And if you don't, I'll punch a hole in you. And you know damn well I could, too."

Zerrex swallowed, wincing, and Cindy smiled primly before she spun her father around, opening the door with one hand before shoving him out with the other, saying politely as she leaned out: "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to clean up a little bit before we leave. Get the others together and make sure you're ready, will you?"

Cindy slammed the door before Zerrex could say anything, and he looked at it grudgingly before grumbling and walking down the hall. Half an hour later, everyone was ready to go, Marina carrying a large, flat case under one arm filled with art supplies and Mahihko bundled up in his sweater with a pink scarf around his neck and a purple hat with a large pom-pom on the end of it on his head. Cindy was dressed in her uniform as always, but she had a pair of gloves on today as well, and she made a face at her father, who was dressed the same as ever, tossing his metal cane absently from hand-to-hand. "You know, winter's coming in hard and fast. There's no snow predicted as yet, but it's two below the freezing point. And you're used to the comfortable heat of Hell."

"In the places where Hell is hot, believe me, it's not comfortable. Besides, one of the best hiding places I ever found was in the Circle of Tragedy, and that's all snow." Zerrex said mildly, as he checked his pocket for the fifteenth time to make sure he hadn't forgotten his wallet. "Anyway, let's just get going. Stop all your damn fretting."

"Yeah, get the Hell out of here!" Cherry's muffled shout came from somewhere above, and she stomped loudly on the floor a few times. Zerrex made a face at her, then he carefully thought about the floor plans before creating a sphere of energy in one hand. It flickered slowly, more transparent than his usual sphere as the others stared, then he threw it upwards, and it passed through the ceiling before there was a loud bang, and Cherry shrieked girlishly before she shouted furiously: "I'm gonna kick your ass, Zerrex!"

"You know what, I'll meet you guys outside." Zerrex quickly ran through the front door, and a moment later, Cherry landed on the first floor and barreled towards the group, looking back and forth suspiciously over them before she glared at the open door. Her clothes were tattered, and she had several large singe marks over her body... and as the others stared, she gave a bloodcurdling howl as she threw her arms in the air before she stomped off towards the ladder.

Cindy sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked outside, where Zerrex was hiding under the wreck of a broken car, before she crossed her arms and asked mildly: "Was that really necessary?"

"She was being annoying." Zerrex said dumbly, and the female sighed and rolled her eyes as Marina laughed and Mahihko covered his muzzle to hide a giggle. They ran up beside him, and all three of them looked at Cindy plaintively as the Drakkaren asked: "Forgive me?"

"Fine." Cindy muttered after a moment, then she took the lead on the walk. Thankfully, it was fairly pleasant, all of them content to be calm and quiet as Mahihko skipped along, his long sleeves swinging at his sides, and Marina held her father's hand and gazed at him lovingly, dressed to match him in tight black clothes and her own unzipped leather vest. Cindy walked at Zerrex's other side, and Zerrex was surprised at the looks they were getting: not nasty ones as they had so many years ago... but instead smiles and friendly nods, even 'hellos' here and there from mortals and demons alike. To them, Zerrex realized, they looked like a small and happy family: mother and father, benevolent daughter, happy-go-lucky adopted son who was probably a war orphan that had been fortunate enough to be taken in. Zerrex marveled at it, at the amiability in the air... and for him, the walk was far too short as they finally approached the back gates, Cindy turning to her father and giving him a kiss on the cheek as she said softly: "You'd better head off now, Zerrex... they'll want to scan us all, and you'll set off too many sensors for them to ignore. Marina and Mahihko should get by fine... Marina might have abilities, but she's still mortal... and I already talked to someone about bringing a demon in for research purposes this morning, and..." She paused to look at him for a few moments, the wolf smiling cheerfully as he swung his arms back and forth in time with the toque on his head, giggling. "Somehow I don't think they'll find him all that threatening."

"Alright, alright, I get the picture." Zerrex kissed her forehead gently as he grasped his shoulders, then he smiled down at her softly. "And I think I'll take your advice, too, about Hell and stuff. You just make sure you get done what you need to do... and I'll do the same, and I'll see you tonight or very early tomorrow morning, I promise. Take care... and... I love you. All of you."

"I love you too." Cindy said softly, and both Marina and Mahihko echoed it, the little wolf blushing a bit before he beamed as Zerrex patted him on the cheek gently, before the Drakkaren quietly nuzzled his youngest daughter. They traded hugs, then all three of them turned as Cindy gently took Mahihko's hand, the little wolf looking over his shoulder at Zerrex as the Drakkaren watched them go, hands in his pockets... and then he cleared his throat and turned around, heading towards the business district as he thought absently about finding Mary as well.

He let his feet guide him, and he slipped through a broken fence and into an overgrown lot that still had a large, long-defused missile sitting in it, sitting next to a broken swingset. He passed several other children's toys... rusted horses on springs, the skeletons of long-fallen cardboard figures, a slowly-spinning merry-go-round wheel with a jagged, broken section. He sighed softly as he stroked his hand quietly over this, bringing it to a stop... and then he looked up as a breeze brushed past him, rolling through his hair as a few dead leaves rolled by from the old, gnarled trees and rustling the tall weeds he was standing in.

But instead of musing on it, he was soon past, and he ducked through the trees to find himself facing a large hole in an ugly stone building that was likely long-condemned, and he walked slowly through the crumbling structure, looking back and forth as he sensed people above and behind the closed doors. He thought he saw a pair of eyes watching him, but he ignored them as he reached a broken, open door with a few loose pieces of wood hanging from it... but most of the things in this city that had been nailed shut had a tendency to come open again at any time.

He emerged onto the streets, then he smiled slightly as he saw Mary sitting on the stairs of the large manse she lived in with her brother... but she looked far different from the Mary he'd met yesterday. She wore a pair of heavy black leather chaps and a red skirt that only covered one thigh... not that it mattered with the chaps she wore, but it still had quite an effect on the Drakkaren. She also had a red belly-shirt on, exposing her smooth stomach... and black gloves that went all the way up past her elbows, also made of leather. Her more practical gear included the rawhide belt with a heavy clasp around her waist, holding several satchels on her waist... and the heavy battle boots on her feet, which probably offered better protection than the rest of her outfit. Her hair was also tied back, and she had a headband on to keep it out of her eyes... and Zerrex could swear it was almost like her features had changed overnight, and he looked at her thoughtfully as he approached and she stood nervously, spreading her arms a bit. "Do you like it?"

"Interesting. You look like a comic book hero. Or maybe an action her from a movie." Zerrex said mildly, and Mary looked both entertained but also downcast. The Drakkaren only smiled at her, however, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder gently. "I didn't say I didn't like it. It just looks like it was a lot of work... look at me, I'm the demon here and I just wear plain clothes most of the time."

"I'm sorry... it's because of the code." Mary said softly, and Zerrex tilted his head curiously. "I'm supposed to make myself... visible, yet invisible. Since I'm female, I'm supposed to use my... feminine assets to gain trust and get information. Zanbrick has it easy... he gets the name that's been passed down for generations from son-to-son, and all the gear and stuff... and... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be whining to my Patron like this, it's..."

"Oh stop that." Zerrex rolled his eyes, and Mary blushed and rubbed at the back of her head before he gently stroked under her muzzle, and she blushed deeper as he said softly: "I think you look very pretty, by the way. But tell me more about the code... at least that explains the difference between his name and yours."

"My mother named me... Zane is... Zanbrick the thirty-first, I think, I can never keep track of the generations." Mary muttered, and she turned around, pushing the doors open, and Zerrex followed her curiously into the manse as she added quietly: "Good timing, by the way. Zane just left... probably to try and find you so he could yell at you some more, now that I think about it."

"Wonderful." Zerrex rolled his eyes, and then he nudged Mary lightly as he fell into step with her, asking again: "But come on, tell me more about your customs and stuff. I guess I didn't pick that up in the mind meld. And bitch all you want, the least I can do is listen... and it tells me more about you. As your Patron, I should do what I can to aid you, after all."

Mary hesitated, then she nodded finally as they walked up the stairs at the back of the hall, and then she led him to the right. She didn't speak, but the reptile thought she had something to show him... and as they pushed through the door at the top of the short staircase, Zerrex saw he was right as they emerged into a massive, ornate hall that was nothing like the sterility of the entrance, the roof low and golden tables hanging on silver chains from it, the walls lined with painted portraits of the Clan's ancestors. "This is the Hall of Memory... all of these are our ancestors, going back to Zanbrick the First, founder of the Silver Wind Clan and who discovered the method of trapping demons into crystals. They say his Patron Demon was a Scholar of Hell... but no one knows for sure.

"All of our traditions are based upon his teachings and a book he wrote..." Mary walked over to one of the golden tables, reaching out and quietly stroking her fingers over a glass case containing a book bound with what Zerrex recognized as dragon scales. "The Chalice, it's called, and it can only be read once a member of our Clan gains their Patron and the Demon's Sight, the ability we use to locate demons and see hidden things that most people can't." Mary paused, looking at the book quietly, and Zerrex focused his eyes... and very faintly, he could see runes glowing on the cover of the book. "It's written in a common demonic script... I have no idea what you call it down there."

"Neither do I... I just call it common demon too." Zerrex muttered, and Mary smiled amusedly up at him as the Drakkaren shrugged, before he smiled back at her and said softly: "Continue. This is all really fascinating... I'd like to learn more."

She nodded, gathering her thoughts for a moment before she continued quietly: "I've only read a bit of it, so far... I have my own copy in my room upstairs. It's interesting... but some of the traditions I... I find outdated, even though Zane would scold me if he heard me say that. He thinks we should exterminate all demons from the mortal plane, though, and that we should even preemptively attack them in Hell if they ever plan to strike at us... and he talks about demons like... savage monsters. I know that some of them are but... you don't seem to be." She paused and smiled a bit. "Unless, of course, this is all some trick and you're just seducing me to your own ends."

"I wish." Zerrex said mildly, and they both laughed before he shook his head, adding with quiet amusement: "I really am not that smart... and I do have to admit that yeah, there are some savage demons... but a lot of us are... we don't really care one way or the other. And now that the war games and forcible enlistments have been halted in Hell, a lot of demons have really calmed down. Sure, there was a lot of freak-outs at first, but after a little while they realized everything they could do with their lives, and most of them went about that even if some still campaign to reinstitute the old laws. But you know, that's... just like how it is in the mortal world. Traditions should be important... but sometimes we forget that as we develop as a people, as we grow to better understand the world around us... we might outgrow the usefulness of certain traditions, especially ones that denigrate or ostracize other peoples."

Mary blinked slowly, and Zerrex cleared his throat, rubbing at his forehead as he muttered: "Don't you ever tell anyone how intelligent I sounded just now, or I'll stuff you in one of Hell's volcanoes."

"I can see why all the girls down in Hell like you." Mary said with soft amusement, then she shook her head as she poked his broad chest gently. "You shouldn't be so embarrassed of your mind and ideas, Zerrex... you're very intelligent. But okay, you don't have to give me that look of yours..." She smiled again, poking him once more. "I'll continue.

"I don't follow a lot of our traditions... then again, neither does Zanbrick. But I still haven't found a weapon I'm truly proficient in, and I'm no good at using thrown weapons... the females of the Clan are all supposed to use silent and small weaponry, after all." Mary nodded, and Zerrex snorted in amusement, earning a flat look from her. "What?"

"Why don't you try a rifle, then, and a pole or similar weapon?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Mary followed him curiously as the Drakkaren headed back into the main hall, walking down the steps before his eyes settled on the art piece still hanging on the wall, heading slowly over to it. "We just had a talk about traditions, after all... I think most of all, you need to figure out what you're good at and what really floats your boat. Do you mind if I uh. Examine this?"

Mary shook her head, looking thoughtful, and Zerrex picked up the sigil on the wall, looking at it for a few moments before he grunted and snapped it in half, causing Mary to yelp in surprise. Zerrex grinned stupidly, then he dropped it on the floor, saying childishly: "What a butterfingers I am!"

"Zanbrick is going to have a fit!" Mary gritted her teeth, looking horrified... then she stared when Zerrex reached down, brushing a few broken bits of the artwork aside to pick up a small piece of glowing crystal: it was only a shard, but it definitely explained the sense of corruption in the room - although he guessed that Mary and Zane were both immune to the usual chill mortals got from demonic artifacts, since they were around the supernatural so often from birth. "What... is that?"

"A demonic crystal... big enough to do some major magic work with before it ran out of juice. I'd keep it in a safe place... but make sure you keep it sealed away from sight and touch, and don't sleep with it near your bed." Zerrex said quietly, handing it over to Mary. She shuddered at the feeling of it, holding it at an arm's length but unable to take her eyes from the crystal until the Drakkaren gently grasped her chin and tilted it up to look into her eyes. "It's important, Mary. It leaks demonic corruption... you are your brother both have some natural resistance built up against it, but mortals who are exposed to demonic corruption for too long tend to feel some... nasty side effects after a little while."

Mary nodded slowly, looking up at him quietly, and then she asked as Zerrex turned for the doors: "Is... is that it for today? I was hoping..."

"I'm sorry, Mary, but... I have a reunion to go to in Hell." Zerrex said apologetically, and Mary smiled faintly at this as the Drakkaren reached up to tip his hat to her, before he remembered it had already been destroyed. So instead he bowed slightly, saying quietly: "Sorry. I'm no good at goodbyes. But I'll be back by tomorrow... see if you can come and visit me then, because I have some other things I'd like to go over with you. And see if you can find a rifle or something big and heavy to swing around. I think we've done a good leap forwards today anyway... just remember what I said about traditions, and don't limit yourself."

"Okay, Zerrex... good luck, then. And take care." Mary said quietly, raising a hand to him... and Zerrex smiled as he turned and let himself out, carefully closing the doors behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder, and he was unsurprised to see Mary in the window, watching him... and it made him smile a bit as he faced forwards again, once more following his feet. And now... a bit of wandering. I'll check out the business district, I guess... I need to make sure I take enough time for Cherry to forget about revenge before I get home... except either way she'll probably pelt me with fireballs...

He rolled his eyes a bit as he let his feet guide him, cane tapping lightly against the ground as he made his way through the crowd, pulling the headphones up and turning on the music player... and he winced at how loud the volume was turned up, dialing it down as he muttered to himself about Cherry. It was a good selection, at least, and he relaxed as he wandered absently towards the business district.

The reptile browsed a few bookstores, humming to himself as he found nothing of interest in any of them. Of course, it was interesting to see that all of them had sections on demonology and the supernatural, and one bookstore held a whole section on angels... but the most amusing thing, Zerrex thought, was that all the writers of these books seemed to be mortals. So he disregarded them as mostly garbage, just as he disregarded the books on the Great War and Demon War... he had no recollection of anyone asking him what the hell happened, after all, and he thought he'd contributed at least a little bit to both events.

The electronics store was far more fun: Zerrex had awkwardly wandered around while a gang of young kids zoomed all over the store, yelling and causing all sorts of problems for the poor bastard who was stuck working today. He had examined a few games, then decided on picking up two for the game system they had... and one for himself and his own little portable game player that he took with him everywhere in Hell... and yet had forgotten down there, in all the hubbub. Thankfully, Sin had proofed it with the same spell that was used on any other object brought back from the mortal plane to prevent them from deteriorating: it meant that it should still work once he got back downstairs, unless Ixin got his grubby little hands on it.

The reptile dared to think that today would be peaceful, as he left the store with the games in a bag, whistling the tune playing through the headphones as he walked down to a quieter street near the bus terminal, where several buses lay in abandoned ruin, the only two working buses idling at the station. Since the streets were more for pedestrians these days than anything else, he guessed the buses probably had different routes that went from one end of town to the other... but before he could muse any further on this, something huge, hard, and extremely painful smashed the Drakkaren into the face and sent him flying through the air, the reptile crashing through one side of an abandoned bus, then out the other through the windows, broken glass flying all around him before his body smashed through a wooden post and he rolled to a halt into another bus, blinking stupidly as one of the ancient bus shelters tumbled to the ground. People were screaming, and Zerrex reached up dumbly, his jaw dislocated and a large, ugly dent in his cheek... and then he snapped his jawbone back into place with a grunt of pain, moving it back and forth as the cut on his face slowly healed, the shattered headphones hanging around his neck by the cable, his cane nowhere in sight, and his games still held in the plastic bag... and Zerrex made a face before he balled these up, tossing them aside with a sigh as he realized they were likely going to get broken no matter what he did, ripping his headphones off and out of the music player to throw them to the other side as something he couldn't see barreled towards him, his vision blocked by the bus.

Then he saw it as it leapt up and landed on the bus Zerrex had smashed through, crushing in the roof under its weight as it roared and beat on its chest with its huge, stony hands. It was a hideous monstrosity with a white, scaled underbelly that was muscled and powerful... but its back, and the back of its limbs were covered in hard, bristling rocks and metal, and its entire face but for the underside of its jaw and the front of its neck was all the same substance, with two dead-black eyes burning out of the broken rock. It roared again in rage and battlelust, holding its arms out and spreading its long claws wide, then it howled: "You will die, Lord Zerrex!"

The creature leapt down and landed on top of the fallen shelter, crushing it to dust as it punched a hole in the pavement with one huge hand, and it grinned cruelly with teeth that were far too big for its mouth, sticking out of his maw in all directions and only adding to its deranged look. The monster straightened, and Zerrex looked up with distaste at the beast that was at least twice his current size, sexless but masculine... and Zerrex guessed it was some kind of mutated Wrath demon, obviously with an affinity in Earth, just like he was. "Look, I'll let the punch to my face go, just because I'm not in the mood for a fight today. But you are really going to attract a lot of attention, being butt-ugly and all, so you should probably retreat before the mean old Scanners come and shoot you to crap. Besides-"

The demon stomped forwards and swung a rocky claw out, and Zerrex was knocked flying like a rag doll, his shirt and vest shredded as blood burst from the long gouges it left in his body. He slammed into another abandoned bus some twenty feet away, blinking stupidly, and then he muttered under his breath as he stood up, pointing at the demon and shouting: "You are really trying my patience!"

At the same time, he quickly looked back and forth at the terrain: the environment was definitely not in his favor, as all the buses were parked in small lots placed inside the circular island he was standing on, painted white and raised just a few inches above the huge road that encircled them. There was a small building in the distance, but there were people hiding inside of it - yeah, 'cause everyone knows demons can't go through giant freaking glass windows - and the monster was between him and it anyway. He could run... but this thing would likely chase him through the city if he went any direction except to the right... but to the right was a train graveyard, and Zerrex felt he was going to have a hard enough time dealing with this thing without dealing with a catacombs likely filled with hiding demons and hobos as well.

It was laughing at him, and although in the past this would have made Zerrex brashly charge, at the moment, he wasn't really more than a little bit irked. The beast could laugh all it wanted... it just gave him time to figure out a better strategy to use against him. Then Zerrex made a face as it yanked one of the lampposts lining the bus station out of the ground, the reptile asking plainly: "Isn't that overkill?"

"Not yet." the demon growled, then it charged at him with a snarl and swung the post down hard. Zerrex immediately sidestepped, then he leapt up on top of the post, running forwards before he made as if to punch the creature... and when it grinned and leaned forwards, its stony hide automatically bristling with small rocky spikes in defense, Zerrex instead pushed himself off the end of the post and flipped over it, grunting as his legs scissored through the air before he landed behind the creature and quickly dropped down, shoving himself off the ground to slide through its legs as it looked over its shoulder in confusion.

Despite being so much taller than him, its legs were stocky and very short... meaning that Zerrex was able to bring both his legs up, then donkey-kick hard straight into its crotch, the beast shrieking in pain and staggering forwards as it dropped the lamppost, trying to turn around as its flat feet stomped against the ground, trying to crush Zerrex beneath them. The reptile had already slid backwards and managed a crouch, however, and he grit his teeth as he picked up the lamppost and cocked it back with a grunt of effort as the demon turned around... and its eyes widened a moment before the Drakkaren slammed it in a hard, wide smash as hard as he could with the lamppost, bending the huge metal cylinder like an old iron pipe and sending the demon flying in a high arc through the air before it crashed down into one of the old, unused buses with a gargling cry and a loud shriek of metal.

The reptile wiped at his forehead, tossing the broken lamppost away with a grimace as he rolled his shoulders slowly, and then he sighed and muttered to himself as he heard the sound of sirens approaching quickly. Now he'd have to deal with the Scanners... but before he could turn, a furious roar rose up from the wreckage of the bus... and then Zerrex's eyes widened as the Wrath demon tore its way out of the vehicle before it turned and hefted it up like it was a toy, snarling furiously before it stepped back, then lunged forwards as it hurled the bus at Zerrex.

It flew through the air, flipping slowly, and the Drakkaren cursed before he braced himself and reached up at the last second, catching the bus against his palms and wincing as sharp metal cut into them, skidding backwards over the earth as the demon lumbered quickly towards him, every stomp sending a shake through the earth... and then Zerrex stepped forwards, grunting and muscles flexing as he threw the bus at the demon, and it gave a strange squeak before the huge vehicle smashed into it, rolling a few times along the ground and dragging the beast along with it as it howled in pain before it came to a screeching halt. Zerrex wiped his hands slowly, making a face, then he cursed under his breath as the demon stood up and lifted the bus once more... but now, to add to the problems, several huge armored cars and a long black limousine burst into the bus terminal, two of the armored vehicles circling around the donut surrounding the island to halt near the demons and one staying by the limo, which parked itself at the far end of the terminal near Zerrex, the Drakkaren muttering under his breath. Their vehicles couldn't do them much good, here... with the six buses taking up so much space, it made it hard to even see the demons, much less flatten them. The only open area is behind me... but that's where that goddamn limo is now... "Hey, if you guys are-"

"Stay out of this!" roared the demon, and it stepped forwards before throwing the bus not at Zerrex, but past him, towards where the little girl was being helped out of her car by the chauffer... and the soldiers streaming out of the armored car screamed, some of them diving back into the vehicle and others trying to run out of the way before the bus smashed down on top of the troop transport, and Zerrex saw a single arm spasm against the pavement, a pool of blood spreading out around it from the owner, one of the unfortunate soldiers that had just been crushed under the huge vehicle. The Drakkaren snarled, then he glared at the beast as it howled: "Zerrex is mine! He will suffer, he will die by my hands, and mine alone!"

It charged towards the Drakkaren again, but this time Zerrex ran to meet it... before he winced as the beast threw itself forwards and rolled in a deadly, spike-lined disc towards him, the Drakkaren leaping out of the way at the last moment. It shot by, then smashed through the bus like a toy, and Zerrex saw half of the limousine fly into the air before it exploded, chunks of metal showering down around them. The lizard leapt backwards on instinct as a particularly large piece seemed to fall towards him... and then a moment later it struck the ground, and Zerrex stared as not a chunk of metal, but the demon landed in a crouch in front of him, grinning widely before it lashed out its cruel claws towards him.

The reptile brought his right arm up and blocked the blow, and the demon looked confused for a moment as his claws ripped away a wide swath of scale, but there was no blood, and no flesh beneath to rend... and then Zerrex's twisted arm burst into full existence as he stepped forwards and punched the demon across the face, and it staggered with a groan of pain before the reptile brought a foot up, aiming a high kick into its gut. Despite the apparent muscle lining its long stomach, its body was soft, and it grunted in pain, leaning forwards enough that Zerrex was able to stomp his foot down and swing a high knee into its face, and it howled in pain, body straightening like a board... and Zerrex ran up its chest before he slammed both feet into its masculine breast, and the monstrosity was knocked flat on its back limbs flailing uselessly at the air as it screamed in pain and terror, left vulnerable and unable to right itself with its stubby legs and unnaturally-thick arms.

The Drakkaren grinned darkly as a blade shot out of his rocky wrist, his eyes narrowed... and then he glanced over his shoulder, making a face as someone shouted: "Don't move! You are surrounded, surrender and get on the ground, get on the ground, now!"

There was a line of six Scanners behind him, all of them aiming their heavy rifles at him... and when Zerrex looked forwards again, there were two more Scanners with grenade launchers, likely filled with that goop he and Cherry had dealt with. He gritted his teeth, and then the demon on the ground laughed before it threw itself to the side, rolling onto its stomach and suddenly lunging forwards, crawling with disturbing speed on all fours as the Scanners fired grenades uselessly against its hard pelt, the goo splattering over the rocky substance covering its back but doing little to slow it.

The other Scanners took this as their cue to open fire as well, however, and Zerrex roared in pain as all six opened fire into his back, electrically-charged rounds smashing into him and sending him staggering forwards as lighting raced over his body, half-turning as his warped arm morphed into a large size shield as the other two Scanners continued to uselessly barrage the other demon... and then it suddenly turned around, feet scraping against the ground before it lunged forwards and went into a roll, the goo flying off it in all directions before it struck one of the Scanners, the speed of the sudden attack and the terrible spines covering its body ripping his armored form to shreds, not even giving him enough time to scream as it shot past. Zerrex narrowly avoided it - more by accident than anything else - as he fell sideways, and instead it smashed through three of the Scanners holding heavy rifles, exploding two of them into pieces but only ripping off the arm of the third, sending him down in a fit of hysterical screams as his arm fell in pieces all around him like a miserable, cruel snow.

The demon shot down the platform, then did a sharp U-turn as the surviving Scanners all fired uselessly into it, yelling and screaming... and Zerrex cursed under his breath as he righted himself, flexing with a wince to force the last electrified shells out of his body as his wounds healed but his mind still reeled from the wicked shocks, and then his eyes widened as he saw the creature shooting straight at him, creating a shield of energy in front of himself and holding up his rocky arm, but the demon plowed first through two more Scanners, then it easily shattered through Zerrex's wall of energy before smashing into his rocky arm enough force to crack it, bits and pieces of stony limb hailing down as it rammed into the lizard with enough force to hurl him high up into the air.

It came to a halt with a grin, watching Zerrex fall with its black eyes gleaming... and Zerrex crashed a moment later down into the ruins of the bus that had landed on top of the armored car, hitting a sharp corner with a strangled curse before he bounced off it and landed with a splat on the cement. Immediately, he had four guns aimed at his head... but then a voice tiredly said: "You idiots, he's on our side... and you may all have very well cost us this battle. Zerrex, I presume... are you alright?"

"I've felt better." the lizard mumbled, his ears ringing... and then he realized that it was just the laughter of the demon. He could feel heat, and when he looked up, he realized that the bus was crackling away, and part of the fence surrounding the bus terminal was on fire... and the Drakkaren rubbed slowly at his head as he looked stupidly around at the Scanners - one or two still nervously half-aiming at him - and then at the little girl and her chauffer, a tall, plain-faced otter who was standing as calmly as if he was waiting in a parking lot for his master to return.

Then the reptile's eyes settled on the calm, quiet voice that had addressed him, the little girl... a little panda in a white dress, a faint smile on her face, but her eyes old and wrinkled... and Zerrex knew immediately that this was no demon... and no angel, either. "That's right... I'm a mortal with a little genetic problem... the Forever Child, they used to call me. My name is Elenora, but we have no time for pleasantries, I'm afraid... that stony chap is about to try and kill us all. I can't be of much use to you, but I think I'm powerful enough to stop his rotation... if I do so, can you deal with him quickly?"

"Of course." Zerrex said mildly, flexing his rocky arm. He made a face at the large cracks that had spread through it, realizing it wouldn't be much use with how brittle it felt at the moment ... but he thought he had a better method for dealing with this type of nuisance, anyway. "Just make sure your soldiers don't shoot me anymore."

With that, Zerrex leapt upwards, kicking off the ruined bus and landing on the other side of it in a flexed crouch, and the Wrath demon's laughter halted, the surviving Scanners peeking their heads out from where they had hidden behind a bus. "I thought I'd finished you off... but it was too easy. After all, I expected a good workout from the legendary Lord Zerrex."

"Careful what you wish for." Zerrex said mildly, and the demon snarled before it lunged forwards, immediately going into a roll... but then a pinkish glow surrounded it, and the creature hissed as its rotation and movements began to slow. Immediately, the reptile ran forwards, taking the chance... before his eyes widened as the beast halted itself and threw itself forwards, upside-down with its back towards the lizard, and Zerrex barely managed to slide out of the way with a wince as it passed by, the aura vanishing from around it as it landed on its back... but with both the momentum and a convulsive twist of its body, it twisted around back onto its stomach, scuttling quickly forwards with a vicious grin.

Zerrex winced, creating a sphere of energy, and the beast laughed as it continued to charge on all fours at surprising speed, shouting: "Go ahead, my shell can take anything you-"

The reptile threw the sphere hard in front of it, and the ground exploded, knocking a crater in the earth that the demon charged straight into before it could stop itself, and it squealed as it landed headfirst at the bottom of the shallow hole, its arms pinned against its sides. It kicked wildly at the air, but its body was too heavy for it to easily back out, Zerrex walking over with his hands on his hips as its ass wriggled back and forth before it slowly managed to start walking backwards... but Zerrex only kicked it hard in the rear, knocking it back down into the crater, its heavy armored back and the anatomy of its body making it impossible for it to slide forwards up the other wall of the hole and its thick arms difficult to move anywhere but forwards as the Drakkaren said dryly: "You've got a few design flaws. Now tell me who the hell you are and who sent you, and I'll send you back to Hell quick and easy. Don't tell me, and I might kill you slowly... or worse, leave you here for the mortals to toy with."

"You don't scare me!" the creature roared, and then it tried to roll forwards into a ball... but instead it squeaked as it only worsened its plight, eyes bulging in horror as it ended up on its back in the narrow hole, soft underside exposed... but as it brought its arms up to smash itself free, Zerrex stepped on its stomach and shot the blade out of his arm, and the demon swallowed thickly at the sight of this before it finally stuttered: "They'll do worse things to me than you if I talk... I... I can't... go ahead, send me back to Hell! You and I both know the mortals can't hold me, and I'll never tell you anything here... here you are weak, since even I was almost able to-"

Zerrex snarled as he snapped his flesh-and-blood arm out, and four tentacles laced with deadly bone barbs shot out and wrapped around the limbs of the creature as his eyes glowed green, lifting the monster out of the hole and high into the air as it howled and flailed, Zerrex easily holding the beast above his head as blood dripped down from its limbs as the curved spikes of bone tore into the demon. "Do you really think I'd dare use my full power on this plane?" The reptile turned, smashing the demon down onto his back, and it howled in pain before the Drakkaren spun to the side to slam the armored demon hard into the side of a bus. "It attracts way too much attention... and unlike you, I'm not intent on killing. Now let me give you some incentive..."

Zerrex's eyes glowed brighter, and a powerful ability he had learned long ago in Hell lashed out of him, a power whose name described it perfectly: Dominate. It made the creature quake, its black eyes full of terror, its head shaking back and forth as it tried to break eye contact... and then it slumped and drooled stupidly, and Zerrex allowed the tentacles to loosen from around its limbs and retract back into his arm, flexing his hand slowly as he walked over to it and put a foot on its chest, asking again: "Who sent you?"

"The Miserable Ones... the organization of rogues... they wish to kill you and so they hired me..." the demon mumbled stupidly, staring vacantly up at Zerrex with a bit of drool falling from its jaws as the Scanners hesitantly approached. "They have a base set up somewhere in Ire... but I don't know where... only that they are supplied by greedy mortals who seek power and profit, content with the knowledge that even if they die, there is an afterlife in which they will survive..."

"Good. Now sleep and don't wake up for a few days." the Drakkaren said mildly, glancing up as Elenora approached. The demon meanwhile, nodded stupidly before it closed its eyes and fell into deep unconsciousness, and one of the Scanners carefully approached it and nudged it with the barrel of his rifle, before he bent and checked its pulse. "There, taken alive, even... and it should wake up in a few days. I recommend you make a custom cell for him, though... its some kind of Wrath mutation, not a common demon."

Elenora looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments, and then she snapped her fingers, and her otter chauffer accompanying her handed her a handheld computer. She tapped a few buttons on it, then finally looked up and asked calmly: "Would you happen to be the so-called High King we keep hearing so much about?"

Zerrex looked surprised, and Elenora smiled a bit at him, continuing quietly: "That answers that question then. My good fellow, I thought you were supposed to be ruling Hell... were you exiled and deposed from the throne, or have you simply fled Hell? I see your surprise, but you must realize that ten years on the mortal plane is a very long time, and we've grown very good at taking information from demons whenever necessary... and some people, on the other hand, seem to just like to talk and share with us everything they have to say, in return for a few trivialities here and there and the chance to live quietly among us silly mortals."

The reptile finally nodded after a moment, and Elenora nodded again, tapping a few more buttons before she said softly: "Then, sir, I have for you here an invitation to meet with the new leader of Ire... our good president is gravely interested in meeting with you. Would you, sir, have the time to attend this meeting of the minds and perhaps discuss things important for both Hell and our humble physical plane?"

Zerrex nodded thoughtfully after a moment, rubbing at his muzzle awkwardly. It was a strange proposition... partially because it didn't involve him getting roped, tied, muzzled, and dragged forcefully to this meeting with an armored guard. It also seemed like he was honestly being asked... and finally he said slowly: "I have some things I'd like to get off my chest myself... let me know where he wants to meet. It can be a bit... difficult for me to move around these days. Some of your Scanners are far too good at their jobs."

Elenora smiled a bit at this, but it was another tired smile... and Zerrex wondered for a moment just how little energy this poor girl must have. "Perhaps I can be of assistance then, High King Zerrex... if you should so like, I would be glad to requisition you your own private helicopter, but it may take a few days for the requisition to go through... but this, of course, will allow you all the time you need in order to get your priorities in order and prepare for the meeting ahead. Would you prefer this method?"

"Greatly." Zerrex said mildly, smiling a bit despite himself, and then he glanced back and forth before snatching his plastic bag of video games away from a Scanner carefully examining it and poking it with his rifle. The Scanner jumped, then looked guiltily at him from beneath his visor as the lizard asked mildly: "What, you don't think we demons enjoy mindless entertainment too?" A pause as he glanced around. "Hey, anyone see my damn cane? My leg hurts like Hell from that fight. And oh, right... hey, Ellie, thanks for the help."

"Elenora." the girl said quietly, pursing her lips a bit, but the Drakkaren only grinned at the panda before she nodded politely to him. "And it was the least I could do, sir. If I can ever be of assistance again, do let me know... and if my soldiers can ever make up to you the difficulties they have caused you, say the word and I'll put them at your disposal."

"I think they've already paid for that." Zerrex said quietly, glancing at the remains of the dead and the single wounded soldier who was panting hard, his visor off as he tried not to cry, clinging to the ragged stump that was all that was left of his arm. The Drakkaren approached him after a moment, and the Scanner looked up at him with terror for a moment... then Zerrex knelt and concentrated, carefully and slowly pushing his energies into the soldier as he healed the stump as best he could, at least closing off the wound and taking away some of the pain, even if he knew he could never take away the pain of a severed limb. Thankfully, the fight had left Zerrex with plenty of power to spare, and he smiled a bit at the wounded soldier as he looked up at him with shock, saying softly: "See, demon or mortal... I think we're all allies when it comes to death. Few of us truly want to experience that, or his cousin pain, even if they're both natural and beautiful in their own right."

"You're a philosopher, as the demons have told us... in words more vulgar than that, of course." Elenora said softly, but she looked impressed nonetheless as she handed her small computer back to the chauffer. "I must say, you've left me with a most curious first impression."

Zerrex shrugged and grunted, but he smiled a bit nonetheless as he looked back and forth before a Scanner hesitantly approached with his cane, and the Drakkaren took it with a nod before he leaned on it, asking curiously: "So am I free to go, or do you guys want to try and take me in for questioning and ruin this beautiful moment?"

"I believe we are indebted to you, and that we will have enough trouble handling this fetid creature as it is... perhaps instead, we should just part on these pleasant terms, and we shall see what the President has to say after you meet with him. You two should get along well, though, I do believe... he, like you, is a philosopher and a thinker." Elenora replied, and the Drakkaren smiled slightly before the panda added mildly: "But do try and keep better company than the one who calls herself Cherry in the future, will you? Although she appears to have powers quite impressive, I must say her demeanor is... unpleasant."

"You might be surprised if you got to know her. She certainly gave me the wrong impression of you, after all." Zerrex winked, then he reached up and tapped his forehead with the head of his cane before turning and striding away, leaving the panda in deep thought as the Scanners began to try and drag the humongous body of the Wrath demon away.

It had been a strange encounter, to say the least, as Zerrex made his way thoughtfully back towards his home. He glanced down at the games, wondering absently if they had actually survived the battle, and then he made a face as he realized his rocky arm was still out... but even then, he still wasn't attracting too much attention. It was mostly curiosity... and his clothes might be bloody and ripped, but even that wasn't all that uncommon these days. People wore what they could find, and even with the rips, his clothes still looked pretty new. They probably think I'm some punk-wannabe...

He smiled a bit at this thought, then concentrated, lowering his head a bit as he felt his scales slowly crawling back into place over his arm as the rocky substance shrank, bits and pieces of it falling away. He just felt lucky that the bastard hadn't cracked his warped arm... even if it would grow back into place, it still wasn't exactly anything pleasant or painless for him. Then again, when he thought about the soldier who had lost his arm, he knew how lucky he was to have an arm that grew back even when it was removed. Even many demons can't heal limbs without magic... but then again... this is no normal limb, either.

Zerrex shook his head a bit at this, looking faintly amused as he continued to move on autopilot, not really thinking about where he was going and once more simply letting his feet guide him, until ten minutes later, he found himself walking back towards his door. He pushed his way inside with a sigh, shaking his head slowly, and then he kicked his boots off and headed towards the kitchen, dropping his cane against a chair and tossing the games he'd picked up on the table as he headed for the fridge... and before he knew what was going on, he heard a loud cackle before staring as several fireballs flew at his face.

Still tense from the battle he'd had earlier, Zerrex rose a hand with a snarl, the fireballs slamming into them as the reptile winced at the feeling of flame sizzling up his arm... and then down the other, forming into a pulsing sphere of flame before the Drakkaren threw it hard at the attacker.

Cherry stared at this, then the fireball hit her and exploded, knocking her backwards into the wall. She let out a stupid whimper, then slid slowly down it before landing heavily on her rear, a bit of broken plaster falling down onto her head as Zerrex winced and rubbed at his forehead, saying dumbly: "Holy crap. I am um. Really, really sorry."

"Dude." Cherry grunted as she slowly got to her feet with a grunt, rubbing at her chest... and then she paused, peering closer at him before she grumbled: "Oh, great, you got into another fight, and this time without me, you rat-bastard. What the hell happened this time, some... crazy... demon asshole see you in the store and try to blow you up? Or did you get into a fight or a video game on the shelf or some shit like that? Either way, now I feel guilty for attacking you, and grumpy 'cause I can't take revenge on you right away for blasting me this morning 'cause you're all beat to shit."

Zerrex rubbed the back of his head with a cough, then he finally grinned stupidly and reached out to grab one of her breasts, squeezing it firmly. Cherry looked at him blankly, and the male said cheerfully: "I just sexually harassed you."

Cherry huffed, then slapped him back and forth, and Zerrex grit his teeth, whining in his throat before he rubbed slowly at his sore jaw. The demoness looked like she was in a better mood almost immediately, however, then she poked at the large rip in his shirt and the mostly-healed wounds beneath, asking again impatiently: "So what the fuck happened? Come on come on come on, tell me!"

Zerrex rolled his eyes, then he went back to the fridge, opening it to grab two cans of cola. He tossed one to Cherry before sitting down in the chair, and the female leaned against the counter, tilting her head towards him as the reptile sighed and said finally: "Some assassin hired by the rogue group... the Miserable Ones, he called them. I wasn't aware they'd finally organized themselves to have a name."

"They can't be the rogues forever. I think that name was taken about a billion movies ago." the female replied mildly, and when Zerrex only looked at her with that odd expression of his that mocked a cocked eyebrow, she sighed and looked at him like he was an idiot. "Oh come on, dude. Seriously? Okay, fine. The Rogue Squadron, the Rogue Warriors, the Law of the Rogue, the Rogue Combat Corps, the Rogue Squadron II... what? Dude, okay, do you know what I did without you around up here? I sat around all day watching movies when I wasn't out looking for tail with big cocks to fuck my insides until they became my outsides."

She looked defensive, but Zerrex only smiled a bit: to him, it was strangely sweet. After all, when he and Cherry were around together, they were usually either having sex, arguing about something, or they went off to get into trouble. So instead he let her dorkiness slide - especially since she could get undoubtedly make fun of my dorkiness in all sorts of ways in return - and continued mildly: "Anyway, I'm ninety-nine percent sure the Miserable Ones are the rogues. The name fits, and the methods fit, as well as the description of them... the rogue angels and demons who are supplied by mortals. The only thing that bothers me is that we've had more than one rogue group in the past attack us, and generally it was angels and demons working together." A pause, then he made a face. "Bastard was tough, though, tough as a goddamn megatank. And I'm not exaggerating, either... he threw a bus at me, he shattered my shield and nearly broke my fugly arm, and he did some serious damage to me. I have no idea where he came from, either... he came outta nowhere and slapped me into the bus terminal, and then I had to fight him off there. The Scanners came in and... well, let's just say they did not help at first."

"Did you beat their asses down afterwards?" Cherry asked curiously, then she paused at the look on Zerrex's face, tilting her head towards him and asking in a quieter voice: "Damn, the fucker killed them and dealt with you at the same time? How'd you take him down?"

"That little girl, uh... her name is Elenora. She showed up with the Scanners, and she is a powerful psychic. She tried to stop him so I could attack, but he seemed to expect to deal with her... he immediately changed his technique to break out of the psychic hold. It still stalled him long enough for me to analyze him and his body type, though, and I ended up getting him on his back in a hole in the ground. Bastard was built like atop-heavy armadillo, so he got stuck like a turtle." He paused for a few long moments, then he dropped his head in a hand as he played with his can, mumbling: "And... then I may have lost it a little bit."

Now Cherry was grinning, her sharp Zerrex-senses letting her know from his expression that it was serious enough he didn't want to talk about it, but not serious enough that he'd get seriously pissed if she made fun of him for it. "What'd you do? Did you rape him? I bet you raped him to death."

"I did not rape him to death. I used tentacles, but not for that purpose." Zerrex said pettishly, and Cherry huffed but grinned wider nonetheless, leaning down towards him eagerly. The male made a face, rubbing slowly at his face before he finally sighed and mumbled: "I used the Wrath tentacles on him, and slammed him around a little bit. Once I had him restrained, he couldn't curl up and he was left vulnerable. Then I finally used Dominate on him and broke his will. He'll wake up in Scanner custody sometime in the future."

"Aww, come on, that's just disappointing." Cherry snorted and shoved him lightly, and Zerrex rolled his eyes before he opened his can of Frost and took a deep gulp of it. "See, like, if you'd torn off all his limbs, that'd be hot. But the cruelest thing you did there was leave him with the damn Scanners. Personally, I would have at least beaten the shit out of him, but it sounds like you only bruised and scared the mofo. Nonetheless, you are pretty damn good at scaring the shit out of people when you want to... and that Dominate of yours is damn useful."

The Drakkaren shrugged a bit, taking another long drink of his cola before he sighed, saying mildly: "You know, Elenora called me a philosopher. But I don't think I'm a philosopher at all... I'm just a brute at heart. Look at how I like to treat you... how I treat all my close friends and family like property, how I-"

"Oh, shut up." Cherry groaned, and Zerrex looked up at her with surprise before she grabbed him in a headlock and ruffled his hair, the Drakkaren flailing before he shoved her off with a grunt, and she grinned widely at him. "If you were a brute, you wouldn't mope all the fucking time. I mean, for the love of shit, you just can't take a compliment... but when we leave for Hell soon, you're gonna damn well take a shitload of compliments, you assface." She paused, then glanced at the clock, rubbing at her head slowly. "Dude, just do me one favor, okay? Don't go making things too damn awkward when we're down in Hell, 'cause like. I've seen the way they look at me, and then look at you. And I know that I ain't welcome in some places and even though I set up this party thingamajig, some of them peeps ain't too fond of me-"

"Now who's being an assface, assface?" Zerrex asked mildly, looking up at her amusedly, and Cherry huffed before throwing a playful punch at him. The reptile dodged it with a grin, then he shook his head as he drank the last of his Frost, letting out a sigh of relief as he stood up and put the empty can next to the sink, adding: "Anyway, kids are kids, Cherry. I couldn't spend all my time raising them as I wish I could have, with how many I had, and how long in Hell a pure-born demon is considered a 'child,' so it's hard for some of them to consider a demoness like you as a parental figure, even if you are the great and mighty Fifth Sister of the Judgment Cross."

Cherry crossed her arms, blushing and looking away as she muttered: "I don't wanna talk about that, Boss. Even if it's true, it doesn't make me... you know. I mean... shut up." Cherry's blush deepened as Zerrex grinned at her, and then she burst out: "Well, how would you feel if you're just some slut all your life, and then suddenly these four crazy demons tell you they're your ancient sisters and you're some... crazy... capsule thingy for the powers of their... oldest-eldest sister and... I'm confused."

Zerrex sighed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn't really blame her. It confused him sometimes, and he didn't even have to suffer through the feelings that Cherry did. Then again, with the way he'd been treated in Hell, he could understand... and he thought that was why Cherry put up with him teasing her about it and even talked to him about it. The Sisters, after all, were demigods that had existed first as servants of the Goddess of the Drakkai... along their insolent and oldest sister, the Sister who governed Light, while all the other sisters were attributed with the Elements of Creation: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.

The Fifth Sister, however, had been slain by the Goddess for daring to stand up to her... and her spirit and her energies had not manifested in Hell, but had somehow found its way into the Blossom bloodline, and had been passed from one daughter to the next, until they had been inherited by the daughter of Beatrice Blossom, Cynthia 'Cherry' Blossom. With her damaged womb, however, Cherry had never born a child, and never passed on the powerful abilities of the Fifth Sister... and instead, they had fused completely with her. It meant in away, that she was the reincarnation of the Center of the Judgment Cross... but also left her as her own person, even if sometimes she would mutter strangely in her sleep, and she sometimes grudgingly told Zerrex about memories that weren't her own, but that had still crept their way into her mind.

The Drakkaren didn't mind, though... if anything, it made them an even better pairing, and Cherry finally walked over to him and sat down in his lap, making the reptile grunt as she tried to cuddle up to his chest despite the fact she was larger and bulkier than him, asking somehow both playfully and hesitantly: "So do you think I'd make a good demigoddess? Or do I need more practice at being wrathful and merciful and shit?"

"You're plenty wrathful. You might have to work on the merciful part, though." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry snorted and slapped his chest. The reptile smiled slightly at her, the two looking into each other's eyes... and then they both blinked as there was a crack, before the chair snapped under their combined weight and collapsed backwards, Zerrex landing with a grunt on his back and Cherry falling in a messy sprawl overtop him. She groaned, then put her hands against his body as she hefted herself up before peering down at him, and Zerrex looked up at her as he grumbled: "For someone who precognitive, you sure lack grace."

"Shut up. Being graceful is too much hard work. I prefer to have big balls, a big ass, big boobs, and big muscles. What the fuck do I need grace for with that combination?" Cherry grunted as he sat up and crossed her arms, sitting on Zerrex's chest and looking content. The male rolled his eyes as he poked her, but she didn't move, only sniffing disdainfully. "So anyway, butthead. I figure we'll probably get to hell a day or two early, but I got the time down that we should leave at pretty damn well. Do you think that you'll be able to amuse yourself for a little while without getting into trouble? 'Cause I really don't want no assassins showing up while we're having the party."

Zerrex snorted in amusement at this as he half-wrapped his arms around Cherry, looking up at her with entertainment. "Cherry, what assassin would be stupid enough to attack me in what could almost be a roomful of Marinas?"

Cherry paused for a few long moments, then she grinned widely. "Okay, scratch that. Dude, I want some fuckin' idiot to try and bash your brains in, because I wanna see if they can tear the dude into enough pieces we can serve a bit of him with the cake. Oh, fuck, you weren't supposed to hear that. Pretend you don't know there's going to be cake."

"I already assumed there was going to be cake. Likely presents, too." Zerrex replied mildly, and Cherry huffed before the Drakkaren rubbed the back of his head, unable to stop himself from asking: "So uh. What else is going to be at this party exactly, huh?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Cherry grinned, then she grabbed Zerrex as she stood up, jerking him to his feet as she looked cheerily at him with a wink. "We'll just have to go and see, you big beautiful brutish bastard."

"I have a bad feeling about this." the Drakkaren said morbidly, then he winced when Cherry gnashed her teeth at his face, the reptile flailing his arms a bit. "What the hell, you crazy... thing."

"I'm wild, too." Cherry said cheerfully, then she glanced over at the nearest clock, adding: "Come on, we should probably pick up you some sort of... little boy's bag and make sure you got whatever shit you need, then do the same for me. Fuck knows we'll probably be down there for a little while, after all."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, but figured she was right: it wouldn't hurt to double-check and make sure he had everything he needed. Then again, within ten minutes, the reptile was sitting in the living room in new, undamaged clothing, brushing down his boots on some newspaper, a small bag sitting beside him with his game, a few books, and a few recipes he'd scribbled down out of Cindy's cookbook for Lily to try out: he'd bring the entire thing, but if he lost or forgot it down in Hell, Cindy would probably kick the crap out of him, and he felt that was the last thing he needed at the moment.