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"Yeah, but we ain't all a hundred percent happy, either." said a familiar voice, and Zerrex looked up in surprise to see a green-scaled demoness sitting comfortably on the stairs, putting the finishing touches onto a wooden lute with her knife. She had a long, snake-like lower body instead of legs, a toned, smooth body, good-sized breasts, and four powerful arms that ended in delicate, dexterous fingers. She smiled slightly as Zerrex approached her, and then she rose up to her full height of ten feet, with much of her snake-like body trailing behind her, and the Lamia slid her way over to her father, wrapping her arms over his shoulders and curling her body tail around his legs as he felt her hugging him tight while dropping both the knife and the lute into the small packs on either side of her waist. "Desire told me you were hanging around, and I thought I'd see if I could find you."

"Hello, Cypress." Zerrex hugged her close, and she smiled brightly down at him, her green eyes meeting his as she revealed a mouth filled with fang teeth that was both disconcerting and strangely arousing. She was one of his rare daughters born not from one of his wives, but instead a succubus he'd had little more than a one night stand with. The succubus had left Cypress, only a baby, on his doorstep for him to raise and take care of... but of course, after Cypress had become an adult and a member of a political council, Cypress's mother had of course shown up and demanded to 'have her daughter back,' to use her words.

The confrontation had been ugly: Cypress had been taken in not just by Zerrex, after all, but Selena as well, and thus learned a very wide variety of curses and vulgarities. But the decision had been quick: she much preferred to stay with her father over going with her mother, and now here she was, clothed only in a loincloth and a cloth wrap around her breasts, golden bracelets on her wrists and a diamond chain around her neck. She was another one of his favored girls, just like her best friend and closest sister, Desire, and she, in her own way, reminded him greatly of Marina, even if he found it hard to put into words just why.

She quietly rested against him, her breathing soft and even, her eyes closed and a smile on her face before she finally pulled away, taking his face into her hands and looking down at him lovingly. He smiled back, then reached up and stroked gently along the diamond chain, and each gemstone glowed a different color, a rainbow of enchanted crystals. "Who were you sparring with?"

"Just a friend..." Cypress blushed a bit, hugging herself and swaying back and forth, and when Zerrex grinned a bit, she finally admitted: "Pallas. We've got a bit of a thing going, I guess... he makes me feel sort of like you do, you know?" She hesitated, stroking the Drakkaren's face gently as she murmured softly: "You're so patient with us, and so giving... you know, any other noble with so many daughters would enslave half of them and make the other half those Iuratus you were talking about."

"The Iuratus are still slaves, remember... just ones of a special breed." Zerrex replied quietly, taking her hand into both of his own, and then he smiled slightly as her three other hands folded over his. "You know, it's never going to stop freaking me out when you do that, four-arms."

Cypress snorted, then shoved at his abdominals gently with her lower arms as her upper hands stayed clasped with his, Zerrex swaying a bit but keeping their grip tight as she slowly uncurled her body from around him. Then she leaned in close, resting against his side and closing her eyes, wrapping one of her arms around his waist as she continued to hold tightly onto his hand as they walked quietly up the stairs together, Cypress's long body moving slowly, lazily, and yet with a sinuous grace only her snakelike body could attain. "Tell me, my father... do you have any plans for while you're down here in Hell? Desire told me you went to see some of your sons already, and I guess Cherry ruined the surprise about the big party tomorrow... but is there anything else I can help you set up? I've been getting really good at magic lately, from all my sparring with Pallas... and I'm keeping up my physical skills too, you'll be happy to know."

"I am, Cypress. They're good for you mentally as well as you physically." Zerrex replied softly, as they pushed through the door to the side hall leading towards Zerrex's quarters. "But well... I... someone suggested that I should visit some of my other friends who are down here. I mean..." He fumbled a bit, and then Cypress hugged him tightly around the waist and picked him up in her surprisingly-powerful arms, and the Drakkaren laughed despite himself, looking amusedly down at her as she cocked her head questioningly. "Fine, fine, fine. Don't be such a bitch. A reunion of sorts. I'm supposed to-"

"Desire!" Cypress shouted, and a moment later Desire threw the doors open from where she had been resting in Zerrex's room, skidding out on a heel and snapping to attention. "Do you want to take Heaven or Hell? Who all are we inviting, anyway?"

"Hey, what the crap!" Zerrex flailed a bit, then he grabbed Cypress's face and she winced before dropping him. She grabbed him around the arms and waist with her own four limbs, restraining him as Desire bounced forwards and hugged him and her Lamia sister both, the reptile not-unpleasantly trapped between their bodies but still looking moody. "This is totally supposed to be my thing, not your guys's thing, you totally have to let me deal with this on my own!"

"Isn't it amazing how with a little pressure, Daddy goes from talking to a monk to talking like a... what's the word the mortals use? A... a dork?" Cypress asked curiously, looking over at Desire, and Desire nodded back after a moment agreeably as Zerrex muttered unintelligibly between them, wincing as they squeezed him firmer between their forms. Ever since they had been children, this had been one of their favorite tactics when they were playing or arguing with him and trying to get their way. The sad thing is, it's because it works so well on me... ugh, bodily contact is my second-greatest weakness...

"Well, it makes sense if you stop and think about it. You know how Daddy talks when you get down on your knees and suck his cock." Desire said casually, and Zerrex turned beet red as they leaned in on either side of his head, both grinning at him before the golden-scaled daughter kissed his neck and his other daughter licked teasingly up his cheek with her long, forked tongue. "You know how Daddy treats us when we bow our heads to him in submission... when he's showing more of his true nature..."

"You should never be ashamed of yourself... never, ever, ever..." Cypress whispered, and Zerrex closed his eyes, trying to tilt his head away as he felt more embarrassed, but with nowhere to go to escape the two. "Darkness... can be beautiful. Even suffering. You know it... we all, the ones who truly love you, know it... just as we know that you will always protect and pleasure us, even when we don't deserve it... which is why we live to serve you, our highest of lords and loves above all the other silly crushes we might have over our lifetimes..."

Zerrex mumbled something, and Desire smiled slightly before she pulled away, looking into his eyes for a moment before she glanced at Cypress and gave a short nod. The Lamia released her father, sliding around him, and both of them gazed at him, Cypress sitting back on her long body tail and Desire half-kneeling, both taking his hands into theirs as Desire said softly: "Let us take the Iuratus test, Father, for you... as a gift for you, to show our loyalty to you, our High King, our Father, our Master... and then take us to Sin's Tower. Please. We want to be part of all of your life... we want to take care of you, as you've taken care of us for so many years."

The Drakkaren gazed from one to the other, feeling the seriousness of the situation roll through him and cause him almost fear and panic, everything suddenly too loud, the weight of the decision making him tremble... before he closed his eyes and forced himself to look at them not only as his daughters, but as powerful demons of Hell, and in mortal terms... adults capable of making their own decisions. As pure-blooded demons, demons born in Hell and taught all its traditions, this is how they had been raised... while he was still stuck in mortal traditions he knew he despised but felt bound to anyway, the social norms always screaming at him in his mind especially when he disobeyed them. It's like how I have wives and a husband... from a society where you usually married a person and acted like mated animals, it feels almost painful when I stop and think about it, much as people tell me around here calmly that I have far too few and should look into getting more.

It only took a moment to calm himself, and he reached his decision after a moment as he said quietly: "After the celebrations and the reunions... and after you let your other sisters know. You two are right: you're adults now, able to make your own decisions, even about things as serious as this... no, especially about things as serious as this. You can take the test... and we'll also visit Sin's Tower, and the catacombs beneath it."

Both of them smiled and nodded, but the looks were more businesslike than affectionate under the gravity of the situation. Zerrex smiled faintly in return, looking from one to the other, then he finally added quietly: "I'm lucky to have daughters like you, who understand the right time to speak up and... who give me so goddamn much. Thank you both." He paused, then smiled slightly as he looked past them, saying mildly: "What do you think, Sin?"

The two looked over their shoulders in surprise to see empty space... but a moment later, a portal appeared and Sin stepped through it, blushing a bit as she laced her fingers together quietly. "I'm sorry for listening in... I guess you felt my spiritual presence, Lord Zerrex. But I am proud of these two young girls for speaking their mind to you, and I think that they deserve the chance. If you remember correctly, our first meeting was not the most pleasant, and I was to act as more of a spy than a servant... yet we have bonded closer than even the most loyal of angels to their kin. I can only imagine what they must feel for you, Zerrex." She hesitated, then bowed quietly to them. "And I would be honored to share my shrine with two of your most lovely daughters... I'd like to say, two of our most lovely daughters."

They both smiled brightly at this and bowed deeply and respectfully, but Sin only waved her arms, looking embarrassed. "None of that now... you don't have to treat me like I'm some distant noble."

"Sin, now who's being an ass?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Sin snorted in amusement before she punched his arm lightly, looking almost embarrassed from the action, but it made the other three smile before the Drakkaren finally tilted his head as she twiddled her fingers, asking curiously: "What is it? Business crap?"

"No, no... Lily's taken over the meeting, as she often does, and Miss Selena and Lady Cherry are both working together with her to... help keep some of the monarchs in line. It was quite a sight, actually... it puts their... 'passion,' as Selena calls it, to good use. Lord Amiglion is also there, as are Judge Sabnock and Judge White." Sin paused for a few long moments, then she looked from Zerrex to Cypress to Desire quietly before finally giving a small smile, saying softly: "I've just been excused to tend to you and keep you busy, Lord Zerrex... you aren't to leave this Estate until the party plans are complete."

The reptile looked amused at this, crossing his arms and grinning slightly despite himself. "Gee, Sin, usually you're a bit more tactful than that... I guess they must be planning something big." A pause, and then he looked morbid as both Desire and Cypress clung to one of his arms and pushed against his sides playfully, grinning widely themselves. "Really big. Oh for the love of crap, please tell me you guys aren't going overboard with this whole shindig."

"My shin is digging into you?" Desire frowned a bit, and Zerrex coughed and looked awkwardly away, trying to hide the smile on his muzzle. Immediately, she pouted a bit as she shook his arm firmly. "What, is it a mortal expression? Tell me, Daddy!"

The reptile smiled at her with quiet entertainment, feeling a strange wave of affection roll over him as he gazed at her softly. "It's a mortal expression, yes. Pretty archaic by now, I guess... although not at all old in Hell terms, of course. It's just another word for party, pretty much..." He paused, then narrowed his eyes at Sin, asking suspiciously as she glanced away: "Wait. I can't leave the Estate at all? Sin, Hell is... Hell is Hell. It's huge. Why the hell couldn't I go wandering in say, the Northern Provinces of Hell? Or maybe the circles? What the hell are you guys up to out there?"

None of them replied, Sin rubbing her head as she looked up at the ceiling and neither Desire or Cypress meeting his eyes, and the Drakkaren took on a distinctively-grumpy look before the golden-scaled demoness finally said cheerfully: "Look, Daddy, all we can say is that it will be something you'll really enjoy, honestly. So we'll... leave Sin to take care of you, while we go and uh... help out and make sure it's all ready as soon as possible."

Zerrex huffed and crossed his arms, and then he tried his best to resist smiling when both Cypress and Desire leaned up at the same time to kiss his cheeks before Cypress opened a portal, and the two vanished through it with a last wave to their father. The reptile looked after them morbidly, then he peered over at Sin, asking mildly: "So how exactly are you planning to keep me busy? Because um. While I normally enjoy crazy sex, you make me go marathons that are a little bit too much even by my standards."

"You're such a pervert." Sin looked at him flatly, shaking her head, then she smiled a bit as Zerrex walked over and stroked a finger gently under her muzzle. "How about I make you some of that soup you like, Lord Zerrex? I'll prepare you a good meal, and then we can just sit and talk for a little while. And I think your pseudodragon has missed you."

"Alright Sin... that would be good." Zerrex nodded, loosening up a bit as he rubbed at his head, and when she bowed, a particular gleam sparkled in his eye as he walked towards his room, adding over his shoulder: "I'll make sure Sammy's doing good. Now. So take your time."

Sin looked at him curiously for a moment, but then she only shrugged a bit and headed for the stairs, even as a slight smile came over her own muzzle, knowing full well what Zerrex was likely to do. It was admittedly a bit of an underhanded trick, but it would still be more than enough to let them finish off the preparations.

Inside the room, Zerrex made a face at the stink coming out of the litterbox, and Sammy looked up at him curiously from the bed, squeaking at him. From what the reptile could see, he had actually grown a few inches, and his scales had taken on more of a red shade to them, even if they were still dark enough to look almost completely black. Its little body had thickened slightly, and it had already developed some small teeth, even if Zerrex thought they'd be next to useless for self-defense here in the depths of Hell.

He reached an arm out, and it automatically leapt onto the strong limb and scrambled up to Zerrex's shoulder, perching there and spreading out a large pair of wings that had developed somewhat, the leathery webbing between them looking firmer as it stood on its hind legs and released a little growl. The Drakkaren snorted at this, looking at it amusedly, and it glowered at him in return as the reptile said mildly: "You certainly aren't a grand dragon lord yet, Sammy. Just hold onto me while we uh... take a little look around Hell."

The draconic beast chirped at him like a bird as it curled around his shoulders, nipping at his hair, and Zerrex snorted amusedly as he created a portal, replying dryly: "Don't you start now. I don't like big get-togethers or parties, seriously. The last thing I need is some humongous celebrity party being broadcasted through all of Hell, or for today to be declared happy family friends day or something."

Sammy snorted at him, and the Drakkaren grumbled in return as he stepped through the portal to enter a shadier area of the Western Province. Zerrex glanced back and forth, then he put his hands into his pockets as he walked around the rotting stone hut he had appeared behind, walking out to a dirt path and looking ahead towards a massive pair of golden gates leading into the Barred City of Daemon Cuorue, a city the reptile loathed beyond all reason... which meant it was probably the place where they were planning the party.

The reptile paused behind a large outcropping along the deserted road to peer over it at the huge gates, the little pseudodragon quickly climbing up onto his head to mock his expression, and it rumbled a bit at what it saw. The Drakkaren smiled a bit as he glanced up at him, muttering under his breath: "Yeah, believe me, I noticed. Another reason I hate this place... the monarchs have really worked to keep it as their own."

The enormous gates were guarded by soldiers wearing the same golden armor the elite Royal Guards of Hell wore, but the reptile knew they weren't actually Royal Guards: at best, they were guards that had been dishonorably discharged, or other mercenaries for hire that kept the gates running and the populace of the city in check, so the nobles and monarchs could live their lavish lifestyles without needing to worry about anyone trying to rise up or interfere.

The reptile would have long ago quashed the city's laws and squished the nobles that lived inside it, except that the city was nigh-impenetrable. Many millions of years ago, Lily had challenged Zerrex to find a way inside, with or without help... and so many a time, he and Selena had tried to wiggle their way through all the magical defenses of the city, but they had never been able to find a way in without being foiled or caught by soldiers. Then again, Zerrex had always noted that most of these attempts to get in had been after the monarchs and soldiers had been warned ahead of time of a "training drill," to avoid "accidents" from occurring, so it was like he was trying to sneak into a city that was on full alert.

Zerrex mused a bit as he looked at the main gates again: they were massive, the bars thick as tree-trunks but twisted into various shapes so that the doors looked almost like a gigantic, golden butterfly... and then his eyes turned to the walls surrounding the city, which were made of red stone topped with an enormous, single golden bar that flattened out to become a walkway for soldiers, several of which were on patrol with both bows and modified mortal guns. The lizard noted this, since such technology was illegal for most people to possess in Hell... and although he didn't usually enforce it, any way to pick away at the city's standing was a way he was willing to use.

Then again, the other reason he hadn't been permitted to simply order the monarchs to stand down was because of the large collection of magical artifacts stored inside the Barred City. Long before the nobles had moved in, after all, it had been a site used for magical practitioners of all sort and level to experiment and design all manner of magical objects and weaponry. If the monarchs chose to resist the High King's order to stand down, things would get ugly, and there was no telling just what might happen if a full-scale battle broke out. Besides, the reptile was well aware that there was another far-easier way to bring the city under his control... and all he had to do was successfully sneak inside.

He paused as he knelt down behind the rock, looking at the pseudodragon as it ran down his arm and bounced in front of him, and the reptile asked curiously: "Tell me, Sammy, just what kind of abilities do you have yourself? I see your wings are at least strong enough for you to glide... and I know that when dragons bond with a specific rider, they often share certain abilities... what about you, you got anything special, or are you just a cute little pet?"

Sammy huffed and then snorted fire at him, and the reptile looked distastefully down at the little dragon as it winced and looked up at him almost pitiably. Zerrex rolled his eyes, then he paused before holding a hand out, concentrating to create a sphere of energy before he closed his fist, forcing it to shrink down until it was only roughly the size of a pebble, the tiny dragon staring at this curiously before Zerrex muttered: "Just bear with me, I wanna see how you deal with this."

Slowly and gently, Zerrex pushed the small sphere of energy against the pseudodragon's chest, and it shuddered and gave a low whimper as the energy pushed through its scales and spread visibly over its body. It shuddered after a moment, and then its eyes glowed as it looked up at the Drakkaren, flapping its wings a few times and then popping up on its hind legs to bounce back and forth as the reptile groaned and slapped his forehead, smiling despite himself. Oh for the love of god...

He sat back, watching as the draconic creature bounced around for a few more moments before it settled back on all fours and shook its head briskly, and the reptile tilted his own head, asking mildly: "So are you done now? At least it looks like my energy's able to mix with yours well enough."

The Drakkaren rested against the rock thoughtfully as he watched Sammy hop into the air, flapping his wings wildly but unable to stay up for more than a moment, and the lizard smiled a bit to himself before he paused, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as the pseudodragon squeaked and leapt high, trying to straighten his wings out but landing with a flump in the dust. He shook his head as he straightened, shaking dirt off his body, and then Zerrex said musingly: "I think that's it... or at least part of the solution. You're a genius, Sammy, we'll attack from the air!"

The pseudodragon stared up at him dumbly for a moment, then it shook its head firmly, squawking something in what sounded like denial. Zerrex snorted at this, then he replied mildly: "Don't get your horns in a knot, it ain't my favorite mode of transportation either, but I can fly goddamn well enough in the air, thank you very much. Just hold onto me and don't you dare chew and claw your way into me."

Sammy huffed at this, but he readily-enough hopped up on Zerrex's arm when the reptile offered it, the pseudodragon running up to curl around his shoulders as the Drakkaren turned to jog away from the Barred City. After all, if he decided to start flying around right here, then they'd obviously spot him and that would be game over... but if he got a fair distance away... I can get high enough into the sky and then descend fast enough even the sharpest of demon eyes won't be able to catch much of a glimpse of me.

The pseudodragon nipped at the side of his head, and Zerrex gave it a sour look before he rolled his eyes at the look it gave him, muttering: "I can't give you attention like, all the time, little ass. I really want into that damn city, and I really wanna know what the hell everyone is planning."

The pseudodragon growled at him, but it had an odd tone of concern to it, and the reptile shrugged a bit as he continued down the road, putting his hands behind his back and lowering his head thoughtfully as a few demons walked by. One of them glanced at him curiously, probably half-recognizing him... and the reptile knew that it was partially his own damn fault, since unlike the rest of the royals, he never wore his ceremonial mask. He was supposed to for reasons more than simply to keep himself anonymous - like that's even possible after all the mess I caused here that resulted in me becoming High King - but the Drakkaren simply didn't like stuff covering up his face. Even most helmets bothered him... it was just many of his many quirks.

"Besides, since when have I ever needed head protection?" Zerrex said mildly, glancing over at Sammy as the lizard rapped on his own skull lightly. "It's not like there's a whole lot of brains in there, after all."

Sammy squeaked at him huffily, and Zerrex snorted amusedly as he reached a hand to stroke lightly along its back. "Oh, you'll get used to me and my ramblings sooner or later, don't worry. I don't really mean half the things I say, I guess, when I stop and think about it... well, at least half the things about me. Or maybe I do, I just don't take myself seriously... and of course, it's always possible I just have no self-esteem." The reptile nodded musingly at this last notion, then he made a face as a black-cloaked figure seemed to fall from the sky to land next to him in a flexed crouch, a few motes of ashen dust floating down around it. "Oh great, and that, by the way, was serious sarcasm. What are you doing here?"

"I wished to report a disturbance, sir." replied the specter quietly, and the demon straightened, folding his arms into the long, wide sleeves of his cloak, shadows and ashes seeming to float around the being as it looked at Zerrex grimly with eyes that glowed bright red. The cloak kept the demon's features hidden as if by shadow as long as the cowl was up, but Zerrex thought he could almost make out a ridge of bone in the darkness. The reptile both loathed and loved these cloaks: loathed them because they made it a pain in the ass to know who you were talking to and they were a favorite of vagabonds of all kinds for obvious reasons, but loved them because they made for some really awkward and thus endlessly-entertaining party games.

Unfortunately, the specter before him was not a member of any party game he was aware of, but instead of a private and elite force the Drakkaren had chosen and put together himself. They served and reported only to him, and their entire design was to act as a task force capable of taking on any mission and successfully completing any objective. The reptile's preferred sort of military unit, in other words: a minimum amount of people and the maximum amount of power and skill. "So... what's up, then? You know, I'm kinda busy..."

"We discovered a secret manufacturing plant in the lower Eastern Province, requesting permission to engage." The specter kneeled in front of him, bowing his head, and Zerrex rapped the back of his skull firmly with his knuckles, making him wince as he looked up in confusion. The reptile only gave him a dry look in return, however, and then the demon sighed and let his arms slump, mumbling: "I think that the best course of action is a direct engagement."

"Then go ahead and order the attack, that's all you had to do." The Drakkaren shrugged a bit as he walked onwards, and the specter quickly jumped to its feet, following him hesitantly and earning a curious look from the reptile. "What, you got something more to report?"

"No, sir, I'd just... like to request your input on the situation..." The cloaked demon spread his arms as Zerrex sighed and turned around, rubbing at his muzzle as he looked thoughtfully at the specter. "The manufacturing plant is small on the outside, but it may yet be deep... I'm concerned that it may be a large-scale facility, and that a premature attack without further reconnaissance could be dangerous."

The Drakkaren nodded, then he motioned for the demon to go forwards as Sammy growled irritably. The cloaked demon stared across at Zerrex for a moment, looking lost, then he cleared his throat and said bluntly: "My high lordship, I recognize this is foolish of me, but why do you consistently order me to simply 'follow my instincts,' as you say?"

"Exactly!" Zerrex exclaimed, pointing at him, and the cloaked demon stumbled backwards, looking startled: it was a hell of a feat, considering everyone in the unit was a Reaper or similar demonic creature. The lizard cleared his throat and composed himself after a moment, and the cloaked demon - Zerrex was pretty sure by now it was Antipathas, he was the designated unit leader and the best thinker of the lot he'd picked out - straightened himself, shaking himself off and then acting as if nothing had happened as his red eyes fixated on the Drakkaren. "You see, like. Well, you have a soul, don't you?"

The Reaper didn't seem to realize it was an actual question, and after a few moments of awkward silence he patted himself over, then finally nodded hesitantly. Zerrex nodded back with a slight smile, then he said softly: "Have you ever looked at some units of soldiers, as in, really looked at them? They're almost like... almost like people in a prison. They don't think or function for themselves, they only follow the orders of the big boss of the place and they don't know how to react on their own, and often they don't even have causes or reasons to fight: no real true patriot love, no recognition of the meaning behind the concept.

"Anyway, before I get off on a tangent. Look what you just did there. You questioned me. You, a Reaper aligned with Hell, who for Gods know how many millions of years it takes to make you dudes, used to follow law and order and rules without number, just questioned my authority." Zerrex drew himself up to his full height, and Sammy reared up on his shoulder, raising his claws and spreading his wings wide with a growl as the reptile's eyes flashed emerald. "Do you have any idea what that means?"

The cloaked demon quickly knelt, visibly wincing as it shook its head mutely, body trembling with terror... and then Zerrex shrugged absently, putting his hands into his pockets as he asked mildly: "Why so serious? It means this whole little experiment of mine is actually working. You guys are thinking for yourselves, among other things... and that's what I've been after this whole time."

The Reaper looked up slowly, hesitantly, and the Drakkaren shrugged a bit, smiling slightly. "Well, one of the saddest things in the world are soldiers who have been turned into robots by their training... and are unable to react when the situation calls for doing something a little different from how they've been trained. It happens a lot more often than you think, especially on the mortal realm... and I know, I know, I bring up this a lot, but when I think about the Goth Legion and what happened to War Dog..."

"They're favorite stories of yours." The demon said seriously, looking up at Zerrex solemnly, and the Drakkaren had an awkward feeling like he was teaching again. He didn't know whether to make a face or just to roll with it as Sammy chattered at him on his shoulder, nipping lightly at his hair. "Sir, I still don't understand, though... all I did was ask twice for orders and disobey the standard protocol, and seek your opinion on the situation at hand..."

The reptile groaned, rolling his eyes a bit, but he had to admit that it was probably a good thing he was still being questioned - however hesitantly - by the Reaper. He looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments, and then he finally found the words for it, saying mildly: "I know I'm tough to work for. I don't give a lot of input and I still expect to see things happen as I'd like them to. The thing is, though, that if you can only follow my orders... you're of as much use to me as substandard lesser demons. The entire reason I created your unit was to act as my influence on the land, my law... without needing me to be there to actually give you the orders. If you're worried about responsibilities, though..."

"Not at all, sir. I knew very well what your expectations were when I began this job." the demon said firmly, nodding as his eyes burned out from under his hood. "And I appreciate every bit of input you give to me as well, my High King. I-"

"Blah, blah, blah." Zerrex waved a hand dismissively, and the demon made a bit of a flinch, the reptile grinning inwardly as he realized he'd probably knocked a whole bunch of fragile nerves at once. He covered his muzzle for a moment, and then he paused, saying slowly: "Wait. I never ordered the Shadow of Hell unit into action. Under whose orders did you enact a patrol?"

"Lady Sin, sir. We began the patrol of the province a week ago... I... I decided that she was respectable and trustworthy enough. You always seemed particularly close to her." The Reaper was fumbling a bit for words, his red eyes betraying nervousness again. "I know we're supposed to obey only you, but since she seems to follow the same rules... and... I'm sorry, my Lord, it was a misstep."

"No, not at all." Zerrex rubbed at his head thoughtfully, wondering for a moment what Sin was up to: usually she left the military matters to Selena, who was the most experienced when it came to matters of combat... although of course, if she wasn't tempered by one of the other rulers or advisors, then she tended to be a little bit too aggressive and she'd simply start yelling extermination orders. Sin hates the military, though, especially Hell's military... the forces still seem far too ingrained with the War Game mentality they still have, since our focus has been on rehabilitating the Inquisitors and fixing the damage the Princess did first... besides, thankfully, it's one of the few things we actually can postpone the healing process on... "Alright, in that case, return to your post and like I said, follow your instincts. If I didn't trust that you and your team could make it through any situation you might be presented with alive, I never would have hired you guys."

"Thank you, sir." The Reaper nodded and bowed deeply, then he seemed to turn to a dark smog that floated away through the air, the Drakkaren watching this with quiet amusement before he shook his head and muttered something about showoffs. Sammy chirped on his shoulder in agreement, and the reptile absently stroked the underside of the little dragon before he blinked and looked dumbly back and forth, turning around and making a face as he realized he could barely make out the golden gates or the massive circular wall that surrounded the Barred City anymore. Crap, I got walking and talking and forgot what I was doing...

The Drakkaren grumbled under his breath, then he finally took a long breath as he glanced around to make sure there was no one close by. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and a moment later his wings slowly spread out of his back, flickering and glowing, and Sammy growled softly up at him as the Drakkaren flexed his legs, saying quietly: "Hang on, little guy."

The pseudodragon dug his claws lightly into Zerrex's shoulders in response, and then it squeaked in surprise as Zerrex leapt upwards, flapping his wings hard to propel himself high into the air, the lizard looking straight up as he felt the wind tearing past him. And yet, despite the feeling of soaring into the air, of feeling free, of defying gravity... it was a feeling he never quite got used to or even liked all that much.

His wings flapped, propelling him powerfully as they glowed a brilliant white before Zerrex made a face and concentrated as he shot towards the ceiling of spiraling black-and-red, and with a lightning-like shock of energy down the wings, they suddenly became almost transparent to the point where they seemed only like a twisting and bending of the air, like a mirage caused by intense heat. The reptile smiled slightly at this, and then he looked down, his emerald eyes glowing as he narrowed them and concentrated, forcing his eyes to focus in on the Barred City, which was now almost directly below him.

The Drakkaren slowly arched his back, guiding his flight into a J as he let his momentum propel him upwards and bring him to a stop, and for a moment he seemed to float before he reached a hand up to securely grab hold of Sammy, his eyes closing before he fell backwards and immediately went into a steep dive, wings flapping hard once before curling inwards to launch him like a missile straight down towards the ground. His eyes snapped open as he shot down towards an empty, square rooftop on top of a squat building: the perfect landing space for him, and he grinned widely for a moment before his eyes bulged as he sensed something-

The reptile crashed straight down into some kind of energy shield, and a golden, evanescent dome sparkled over the top of the Barred City before vanishing, only a faint golden glow surrounding the area where Zerrex's face and upper body had awkwardly crashed into the dome, and beneath where Sammy was laying, the pseudodragon on all fours and looking confused and stupefied more than anything else. Zerrex, meanwhile, was groaning in pain, both his wings burning bright white and twisted behind his back, his legs stuck in the air and his upper body feeling like it had just been forcefully stomped into the surface of the dome... aerial shielding... of course... A pause and a groan as an eye twitched, and then it popped out of its socket from the pressure buildup in the reptile's head, Zerrex looking at this dumbly with his other eye as it rolled a bit down the side of the shield, causing him quite a nasty amount of pain as it dangled by the optic nerve. Well. This is awkward.

The lizard cleared his throat after a moment, making a bit of a face before he finally reached forwards, winced at the pain and sheer unpleasantness of grabbing his own eye, and then he carefully pushed it back into the socket, blinking stupidly a few times. The world looked ugly and dark for a few moments to the reptile as he let his legs carefully fall forwards... and he grunted as he laid splayed-out on the shield, taking a long breath as Sammy walked over to him and examined his face with a few chirps of concern.

Zerrex looked groggily back up, then he slowly pried his chest off the solid shield of energy, then he stared as he left behind not just a pool of blood, but a good amount of scale as well stuck to the dome of energy. The Drakkaren made a face as he rested back on his knees, groaning as he rubbed slowly at his head before looking down stupidly as a soldier appeared on the rooftway beneath him, looking curiously up before it holstered its weapon and waved at him with a loud: "Hello, Lord Zerrex! May I be of service?"

"Uh, I'm good, thanks." the reptile rasped and waved a hand absently, looking awkwardly down some hundred feet to where the soldier was. It continued to look up at him with interest, and the lizard sighed as he carefully forced himself up to his feet with a grunt, making a face and mumbling: "Teleport protected, portal protected, air defense, impenetrable ground defense... ugh I hate energy."

Zerrex kicked at the dome irritably as he felt his body healing bit-by-bit, rubbing at his bruised jaw and then over his damaged chest, trying to do an inventory of the various wounds he had over his body. After all, his legs felt shaky, it hurt to move, and he was pretty damn sure that some of his insides had turned to mush with the collision... and he hadn't even started on how retarded he felt at the moment. The Drakkaren swayed a bit on his feet, wincing as he steadied himself on the top of the dome protecting the city, and then he took a slow breath and held up a hand, creating a portal.

The reptile made his way through this, Sammy bouncing along at his feet after him with a whine, and the lizard looked down at the pseudodragon mildly before he mumbled: "You think it's possible to actually puke out your stomach? Because that's sort of what I feel like doing at the moment."

"Lord Zerrex!" Sin said in a horrified voice, and Zerrex winced as he stepped out into his room, where the demoness was sitting and reading a book. She stared at him, and the Drakkaren coughed embarrassedly before he spun around and made for the portal... and then winced when Sin snapped her fingers and it vanished, staggering through the air where it had been to collide lightly with his desk and fall heavily on his ass with a groan of pain. "What have you done to yourself?"

"Nothing, nothing... really, nothing... I just made a mistake trying to break into a certain city with an aerial maneuver..." the reptile mumbled in reply, and Sammy hopped up onto the desk in front of him with a bobbing of his head and a squeak. "I was not aware of their aerial defenses."

The Naganatine sighed as she walked over to him, gently grasping him by the armpit to heft him up as she put one of his arms around her shoulders, and she helped the lizard over to the bed despite his faint grumbling. She sat him down, then glanced over his body, touching the large red patches here and there where his scales had slathed off from the sheer force of striking and grinding against the shield. "I think we warned you about that a long time ago, but you weren't exactly listening to us... you shouldn't keep trying to slip into the Barred City, Lord Zerrex, it simply cannot be done. This isn't any mortal idea of impenetrability, after all... these are demons who have had millions and millions and millions of years to build up their defenses and ensure that from every angle, their city cannot be entered except by those they willingly choose to allow inside."

The Drakkaren grumbled something under his breath, and Sin rolled her eyes before she gently grasped his sides, the reptile's eyes bulging as his vision seemed to fizzle for a moment, whether because he was going in and out of consciousness or because his eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his sockets again, he didn't know. "Look at what you've done to yourself, here. This damage is terrible... you must have struck the shield going full speed. The design of it is that it pushes back with the same amount of force you strike it with, after all... and while I'm sure you put quite a strain on it, it likely did more damage to you than you did to it." She paused, then reached up and grasped his forehead, muttering: "And one of your eyes is full of blood. Like you don't have enough damage to your body, Lord Zerrex."

"Shut up." Zerrex mumbled, and Sin smiled a bit, shaking her head slowly as Zerrex tried to push her away before he jumped as something nipped him. The reptile looked down after a moment, and he was surprised to see Sammy sitting beside him and scowling up at him, as if to tell him off for something. He glared back after a moment, and the pseudodragon reared back in surprise before Zerrex rolled his eyes and ran a hand down its back, saying dryly: "This little guy seemed alright, at least. He's still being annoying as hell, anyway."

"The shield's quality, like I said... to you it was like striking cement, but to him it would have felt more like... thick water." Sin replied absently, as she concentrated and began a healing ritual, tracing runes slowly over Zerrex's chest that glowed a faint white. They tickled against his scales, and the reptile took a breath with a wince as he knew what was coming, Sin adding quietly: "I know it hurts you, but it's like you've been stampeded by a herd of Gigataurs. You need to let me do this."

The Drakkaren only mumbled in response, and Sin smiled slightly despite herself as he finally nodded and sat back a bit, Sammy watching curiously. He closed his eyes after a moment, taking a slow breath... and then he hissed as Sin completed the last rune and they all glowed brightly, white bolts surging over the lizard's body for almost half a moment as he grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, the pain and terrible feeling of something snapping itself back together inside of him ripping apart his body from the inside-out.

Then it was over, and Zerrex fell back on the bed with a groan as Sammy chirped in concern again, running up onto the lizard's chest and looking down into his face, tilting his head back and forth... and the reptile slowly opened one eye, looking back up at it as Sin laughed quietly and shook her head slowly, taking one of his hands gently as she said: "You've already bonded greatly with your pseudodragon, Lord Zerrex... I expect you two will be able to share quite a few abilities together. I just hope he doesn't inherit the less-pleasant parts of your personality."

"Screw you." Zerrex looked up at Sin mildly as he opened the other eye, his vision fuzzy for a moment before it returned to normal, and he sighed with relief as he squeezed her hand firmly, Sin looking entertained now by the reptile's lack of tact. "Anyway, though, on a serious note... thank you. It means a lot to me that you still take the time to fix me up even after how many times I've broken myself down here."

Sin nodded, then she leaned down quietly, squeezing his hand firmly in her own and putting her other hand on his chest as she kissed him, and Zerrex gladly kissed her back, his eyes sliding closed in pleasure before she drew away with a slight smile, eyes half-lidded. He gazed back up at her with entertainment, then coughed when she brushed Sammy off Zerrex's chest, knocking the pseudodragon rolling across the bed with an irritated squeak as Sin straddled the Drakkaren, grinning down at him widely. "Now, Sin..."

"You have no idea how much I've missed you, though... we barely worked the edge off my libido last time, after all..." Sin murmured, taking both of his hands into her own now and squeezing them firmly as she drew them back against her stomach, and she smiled in delight as his hands pressed through the cloth of her dress to run over the taut flesh beneath. "I love you, Zerrex. I truly do, more than I can say... and I'm glad to be what I am to you, to share with you and aid you and give you strength... because you healed me. You saved me, when you never had a reason to..."

"I never had a reason not to... and a hell of a lot of reason to make sure the first thing I did was help you, Sin." Zerrex replied quietly, looking into Sin's violet eyes with a slight smile, then he squeezed their fingers together tightly before looking amused as Sammy leapt up to scrabble over Sin's body, the demoness wincing as he disrupted her glammer for a moment by attempting to crawl up onto her head, the Naganatine blushing a bit before the illusionary shell she protected herself with returned. "I dunno why you still keep that up, either."

"I know you like it. And it helps me when I'm in public, especially... most demons don't recognize their own mothers anymore, after all." Sin replied with a slight smile, and they both watched as Sammy jumped off Sin to land near Zerrex, gnawing at his hair curiously. "I'm not like you, Lord Zerrex... I can't simply walk around, my face and heart bare for all to see."

The reptile shrugged awkwardly, looking lamely away for a moment, and then Sin gently took his face between her hands, gazing down at him softly as she smiled a bit and asked hesitantly: "Will you please... say that one word I like?"

"Mother." Zerrex said softly, and Sin smiled down at him quietly, laying herself down beside him to wrap her arms around him and hug him gently against her bosom. Zerrex willingly curled up with more, breathing softly and glad for the distraction, letting the feelings of this and that run through him so he could simply enjoy the comforts of being held and loved by a female he cared for both as a sexual partner and as a wonderful substitute for his own lost mother. I wonder just what would have happened some days, if she hadn't been killed... for all I know, I could have ended up seeing the Celestial side of her I see now... or worse... or better. Who knows for sure...

He rested quietly with her, and Sin held him close for a long, wonderful time in quiet, Sammy curling up on a pillow nearby and snoozing quietly. After maybe an hour, maybe longer - Zerrex didn't know or care at this point - he looked up in surprise to see Lily push through the doors, muttering: "-supposed to keep Zerrex... well, I see you've been busy."

She coughed and looked embarrassed and vulnerable, covering her mouth a bit as Zerrex peered at her, Sin sighing a bit and rolling her eyes. Lily, after all, had trouble keeping a secret... especially when it came to the Drakkaren. They had faced a problem in the past involving such a thing, after all, and Zerrex knew that with a few good questions, he could probably make her crack like an egg... but then Sin squeezed him firmly around the waist against her body, and he grumbled a bit. And Sin, of course, already knows what I'm going to try and ask... then again, I could always just order her to tell me, and she would, but... where's the fun in that? "I-"

"Did anyone tell you of the disturbance at the Barred City today?" Sin asked mildly, and Zerrex winced, the Drakkaren now quickly covering his face as he wriggled out of the Naganatine's arms, Sammy looking up and around at the three sleepily but warily. Lily, on the other hand, now looked serious instead of innocently-embarrassed, and then Sin smiled slightly as she pointed at Zerrex, who was now sitting up cautiously. "He tried to fly in at full speed, and from what I saw, must have hit the shield like... a bug on a... window?"

She looked curiously at Zerrex to confirm the saying, but then Lily glowered as she stomped over towards the male, the reptile half-falling off the bed to scurry under it, the female snapping: "You tried to sneak into Daemon Cuorue without giving proper notification again? Zer, you could have been blown to bits! And that shield is close to indestructible, it's based around the same protection we High Monarchs have!"

"It's so nice to have something cheap in my corner for a change. Well, other than my whores." Zerrex commented, and then he yelped as Lily aimed a lucky kick under the bed and struck him in the shoulder, the reptile quickly crawling out the other side to glare over it at her. "Besides, every time I give them notice they cheat and go into full alert, full lockdown! And you won't let me use soldiers to attack the city to give me the time to examine the place and sneak in some other way-"

"Because they'd blow the soldiers away in a flash, even if they used that ridiculous... false ammunition you're always talking about. Paint... guns or something. Paint something. Like painting has anything to do with it." Lily muttered, crossing her arms defiantly, and the Drakkaren shot her a sour look as he tried to think of a good counter to her counter. "When did he get back here, Sin? There was another little event that happened near Crystal Palisades that has his MO all over it."

Zerrex huffed at this, crossing his arms as he said grouchily: "I don't even go near that place anymore. It's fugly and I hate it." He paused, then asked in a less-childish voice: "So what happened, anyway? Because I'll feel like a real jackass if it was destroyed."

Lily shook her head, sighing a bit as she began to strip off her body armor, answering absently: "Nothing serious... someone just ran off with a few statuettes and blew up a few others. I guess someone else has a problem with the neo-Princess art museum... but that's no big surprise. Even the guy who runs the place said he could care less; he's a Greed demon, so it's all about the profit margins for him, and people have been flocking in to see what was stolen."

The reptile grumbled at this, making a face: he didn't have the best of relationships with the Greed Circle, after all. "I guess we should check it out then... we got time, don't we?"

"No." Lily said stoically, crossing her arms, and Zerrex paused to leer at her as he realized she had stripped all the way down to just her loincloth, her arms crossed under her bare breasts. She paused, glanced down, then huffed and covered her bosom, the male immediately sulking a bit before he looked hopefully over at Sin, who rolled her eyes but smiled in amusement. "Can you get your mind out of the gutter here? We aren't going anywhere or starting big fights. We're not private investigators, or special forces soldiers, or anything like that... you're High King Zerrex, and I'm High Princess Lily. Our job is to keep everything in order... and since I know you won't buy that, Cherry and everyone else here has been working goddamn hard to make the party in only a few hours' time the best celebration you could have, so you're staying right here in this damn room!"

"Hey, take off your clothes and I'll even do my best to entertain you during our stay here." Zerrex said mildly, and Lily rolled her eyes before turning and leaving. She paused at the doors, however, then smiled over her shoulder as she stripped her loincloth off, and Zerrex grinned and clapped a bit at the sight of her naked body before she vanished into the hallway, and the reptile huffed and made a bit of a face. "Oh sure, go into the halls patrolled by Ixin. Real genius move... I should be the one seeing her naked. And like, all the time."

"We all see each other naked plenty enough." Sin said, tilting her head with a slight frown, and the Drakkaren coughed as he realized he'd confused her. "In fact, you're the one who insists on such modesty in wearing your clothes and maintaining a curious dress code..."

"It's uh... well. You know. I don't really want her always naked around me." Zerrex paused to think about this for a few moments, rubbing at his head slowly before he finally decided it was true. If any of his girls were always naked, after all, it would cause way too much awkwardness... he just had to think about all the time he spent with Cherry to confirm that. "Besides, don't you find that... solving the mystery of what's beneath those clothes, even if it's for the hundredth time, adds a little bit more eroticism to it all?"

Sin looked down at herself curiously, rubbing slowly at her dress, and then she glanced up at Zerrex with a smile as he climbed onto the bed, sitting across from her and looking down as Sammy crawled into his lap with a content growl, nuzzling against his strong, naked abdominals. "But you always show off your upper body... and Lady Cherry rarely wears much of anything. What mystery is there to solve? We see the slope of her breasts and buttocks clearly, we sometimes even see the cleft of her vagina or shape of her penis if her clothes are tight enough... and nipples are nipples, and genitalia just genitalia..."

The Drakkaren snorted amusedly, rubbing at his head slowly before he smiled slightly and said softly: "Maybe it's a mortal thing... but did you ever wonder what the color of my penis was? How it was exactly shaped, if it had any scars, etcetera?"

Sin looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments, then she quietly rubbed along her stomach, saying softly: "Then it must have been quite a surprise for you when you discovered what I was hiding myself... I worry that I wasn't attractive to you at all, back then..."

"You know that's not true at all." Zerrex stroked under her chin gently, then he smiled a bit, adding quietly: "Besides... you know I take pleasure in things... sicker, darker, and more twisted than you ever were. You were the one who suggested modifying your tower, after all..."

The Naganatine nodded, smiling a bit herself now before she leaned in close, bowing her head and blushing a bit as she whispered: "I find I take such pleasure in those desires myself though, Lord Zerrex... and I wouldn't mind at all if we attended there sooner rather than later. I want to know if you're ready to build any expansions to it, yet... and show you some new... things I found."

The Drakkaren grinned a bit at this... and then they both looked up as Lily entered the room again, wearing plain jeans and a white t-shirt both imported from the mortal realm. She looked at the two with entertainment as she came in close, then she sat on Zerrex's other side, wrapping her arms around him and nestling with a sigh of pleasure against his chest, saying amusedly as the two both blushed a bit: "You two are sick. Sin, I can't believe you really did that conversion of your Tower for him... how the hell am I supposed to compete with that, after all?"

She looked up at him with entertainment, then kissed his cheek before gazing down at Sammy softly, stroking a finger beneath its chin. It growled lightly up at her, then looked at Zerrex and stood up on its hind legs, putting its claws against his front chest as it stretched its neck up to nip at his hair with another long growl. The reptile looked down at him curiously, and then he looked over at Sin, asking: "Did you ever put on that soup? I think he's probably hungry."

"I'll go and get some right away... Miss Lily, would you like anything?" She shook her head, and the Naganatine bowed a bit. "Then please keep an eye on Lord Zerrex and stop him from doing anything too silly. I'll return in a moment."

"Too silly... you're too silly." Zerrex muttered, and Sin rolled her eyes, looking amused as she pushed through the doors. He smiled after her warmly, and then Lily squeezed his bicep with a grin up at him, the Drakkaren looking down at her flatly: "What? Don't tell me you're going to give me that lecture on treating other people nicely; usually I only get that from Sabnock and the other grossly-parental figures in my life."

"You treat her so damn well." Lily said softly, and Zerrex looked confused for a moment before she smiled slightly, taking his hand quietly and squeezing their fingers together firmly as Sammy ran back and forth between them curiously, hopping from one lap to the next. It was enough to distract the two as they laughed for a moment, and then she gazed back up at Zerrex as the pseudodragon curled up comfortably in her lap with a soft purr. "You're one of the only people in Hell that acts that natural with her. Even Selena's afraid of offending her, and usually Selena's afraid of no one... I think only you and Cherry treat her as normally as you do everyone else. And she really does love you... adore you perhaps, is an even better word. I would never dare to cross Sin as it is, but I'm even more scared of what she'd do if I slandered you in front of her."

Lily paused for a few long moments, then she stroked Zerrex's face, murmuring softly: "I want to say you're lucky... but not because you have this loving family, or rather, not just 'cause of that. You never just... hoarded us all to yourself, after all. What you really did, was bring us all together and found the right knots to tie here and there, and the right strings to cut everywhere else. Selena and I get along like sisters, after all, and I sometimes think she only argues with me to keep up her tough front, even if she does try and jealously guard you from all of us. But all the family of yours... has become family of ours. Mortal, demon, or angel... and that makes me feel lucky, Zerrex. Lucky not only to have you, but this whole twisted web of a family we have. I never thought, after all, I could have something in my life even more important than the monarchy to me... or that I would find a family I could commit to closer than the family I had under my father."

She looked down quietly, then clung to him tightly, breathing softly in and out, and Zerrex held her close, rocking with her for a few moments and not knowing what to say. But he didn't have to say anything, and she seemed to appreciate the silence more than any words he might have been able to come up with, as she finally said quietly: "I want you to know, Zerrex... that although I'm... a bit spoiled by you and my lifestyle... I'll still bow to your wishes, because I know if I asked you to do anything, you'd do it in a heartbeat. I like the way you treat me, yeah, and I'd be... scared if you started treatin' me too differently, but you do what makes you happy too, huh? And don't start with that crap about how I already make you happy as it is... I know it's true, but... I want to make you even happier. I want to help out more than I already do."

He nodded and nuzzled gently into her, then he smiled slightly, saying quietly: "It's that weight of responsibility getting to you a bit, huh? You're just too nervous or prideful to ask me to make some of your decisions for you."

Lily blushed a bit, looking away with a grumble, and the Drakkaren snorted quietly before he kissed the side of her neck gently. "Oh Lily. So damn selfish until the end, hiding even your need for me to run your gears in some fake altruism."

"I hate you." Lily beat a fist against his chest lightly, looking up at him with entertainment and irritation, and then she snorted in amusement as Zerrex bit the end of her muzzle playfully and blew hard. "Don't be so damn weird, jerkoff."

"I'd like to jerk off right now." Zerrex said mildly, and Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. The reptile grinned widely, then he shrugged, saying cheerfully: "Hey, sometimes it's nice just to... sit back and appreciate the things you have in life. And sometimes it's nice to just feel that meat in your hand, how big and-"

Lily covered her head and made a few nonsense noises, blushing deep red as Zerrex grinned widely at her, and she huffed and looked away, her eyes flicking every so often despite herself towards Zerrex as he slowly pulled her into his lap. She shivered a bit, then they both looked up, Lily releasing a sigh of relief as the doors opened and Sin came inside carrying a large tray that included bowls, a steaming pot of stew, and a teapot with matching mugs. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"I was just making Lily fidget, that's all." Zerrex said mildly, and Sin shook her head with a look of entertainment as Lily slid to the side, taking the tray as her blush finally began to die down. Before the male could grab the ladle, Sin picked it up, carefully filling the bowls for them with one hand and showing a surprising amount of dexterity as she poured tea into the mugs with the other. "Sin, you really-"

"I like this, its fine, Lord Zerrex." Sin replied softly, and Zerrex gazed at her with a slight smile as she gave him an appreciative look. "Besides, haven't I always done this? You've never been a problem to do things for."

"I wish you would drop the 'lord' part from my name. I mean, it's hot in bed and all, but I've also heard you call me things that would make Selena blush." Zerrex said plainly, but Sin only gave him an amused glanced as she passed him both a bowl of stew and a cup of what smelled like the strong, sweet tea made from the apples in Hell's orchards. "By the way, Lily, since I remembered... what did you do about the mortal food laws and stuff?"

Lily brightened, taking a quick sip of her own mug of tea, and then she cheerfully rambled for the next half hour between small questions here and there from Zerrex on the economic status of Hell and the various taxes, laws, and amendments she had made. It was amazing the things she could retain and how hard she'd been working lately, and the reptile wondered absently why he didn't just hand the reins of Hell over to Lily. Most likely it was because despite her genius in handling the situations that came up, she still had that little problem with the monarchs... and then Sin cleared her throat, and Lily halted in the middle of a speech about her plans to reassess all major land deeds as the Naganatine said softly: "I think it's just about time."

Lily looked blank for a moment, and then she jumped suddenly to her feet, wincing as she spilled cold tea all over her shirt and cursing as Sammy hopped around her and leapt up onto Zerrex, glaring at her discontentedly. She looked embarrassedly over at Sin as she collected the bowls and mugs onto the tray before putting it aside onto the reptile's dresser, and the two females turned to look at Zerrex as he sat back on the bed, a short wave of anxiety passing over him as he held up his hands and said mildly: "Hey, I'm not going to any party big enough that all the provinces know about it."

"You douchebag, that was a trick because we knew you would eavesdrop or try to sneak off." Lily said flatly, and Zerrex gaped stupidly as Sin blushed and looked awkwardly away. "We knew if we said anything, you'd run around the provinces and waste time looking for us... what we didn't know was that you'd end up hurting yourself by running into a shield like a dumb bird into a window."

"Bird off a window is more correct than bug?" Sin looked at Zerrex querulously for a moment, and then she blushed when Zerrex simply looked at her sourly. "I... uh. Sorry, Lord Zerrex. But I do promise you will enjoy the party." She paused, then created a portal as she asked meekly, holding a hand out to the Drakkaren: "For me?"

Finally, the reptile sighed and nodded, looking morbidly from Lily to Sin as they both took an arm and led him towards the portal... and then Zerrex stared in shock as they entered into the Cuddle Room, and red and white confetti burst through the air as everyone assembled shouted: "SURPRISE!"

Zerrex laughed despite himself as the portal closed behind him, then he wheezed as a pair of huge, furry arms wrapped around him and hefted him up into the air, the reptile's eyes bulging as Vampire called cheerfully: "Boss, Boss, Boss, did we get you, did we get you? Total like... fuck yeah! Happy ten millionth birthday bash again, you old fuck!"

A moment later, the reptile fell heavily on his ass with a grunt as the wolf dropped him, grinning widely and clad only in a golden loin-plate that was part of his traditional Royal Guard armor... and Zerrex looked at him for a few moments before he said flatly: "You are so not a part of my family."

"I so am!" Vampire squawked indignantly, flailing his arms as Cypress and Lily came forwards with their arms around each other, laughing... and it seemed that every other child of his was here as well. He smiled warmly after a moment, then allowed Vampire to help him up to his feet, the wolf huffing at him bur grinning wide nonetheless to show off the fangs that had given him his codename. "Dude, like, I'm totally your favorite son."

"Yeah, say that around Mahihko and see what happens." Zerrex said mildly, and Vampire pouted as Zerrex turned his attention to the others, feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything as he found a swarm of daughters of all shape and size closing in on him, exchanging hugs, greetings, and everything else. Then another pair of strong arms seized him and turned him around, and the reptile found himself face-to-face with Raze, who was looking mildly back and forth at the others before his eyes settled on Zerrex, as the Drakkaren said dumbly: "I think I'm drowning in a sea of my kids."

"Back off!" Raze roared over the chatter, and a few squeaks went up as the Drakkaren half-dragged, half- led Zerrex over towards the wall, Zerrex leaning against it with a sigh of relief. Vampire had toddled along as well, and the black-scaled angel snorted, muttering: "This is why I just see all these sluts as sex-objects." A pause, then he added lamely, as Zerrex gave him a deadly look: "Sorry, Zerrex. I meant... females in general, not just... I should go."

Raze quickly slipped away, and the reptile rolled his eyes with a sigh, knowing that Raze would come back sooner or later. The white-haired lizard grunted as he stood up, and then he stared as Sammy ran through the crowd, looking terrified as he leapt high into the air to cling to Zerrex's shoulder, the pseudodragon whimpering a bit as Vampire immediately toddled in front of the lizard to stare at it with huge eyes. "Hey, Sammy, you okay?"

"It's so adorable! I wanna pet him!" Vampire bounced back and forth on his paws, and then he sulked when Zerrex shook his head and gave him a glare. The little dragon, meanwhile, had wound itself tight around the lizard's shoulders, and it was shivering a bit... and Vampire leaned in a bit closer, remarking after a moment: "Dude, he handles people about as well as you do."

"Nah, Boss don't piss on the floor when he's scared." Cherry's voice replied, and Vampire looked up with a grin as the female walked out of the crowd, followed by her son. Zerrex looked up with a slight smile, and Vampire licked his muzzle hungrily as he stared dumbly at Priest Narrius: a huge demon that most resembled a Dragokkaren, with a Mohawk of fins similar to Cherry's and gigantic, bulging musculature, a black, twisting dragon design tattooed across the front left side of his body over his huge breast and down his abdominals. His eyes were sea green, and his scales a brilliant hue of red that lightened over his chest... and he had that same look Cherry usually did on his face, the same kind of grin, and even the same kind of movements, his grace liquid but his body powerful, mighty, and huge, and then he traded a tight hug with Zerrex as Cherry sighed with pleasure and said: "Goddamn good to see my boy again."

"I hear you. How're you doing, Priest?" Zerrex smiled up at him as Priest drew back: he boasted a good three feet on Zerrex, and in his open black dragonscale jacket that showed off his chiseled chest and the matching black jeans and black boots he wore, he seemed a far more imposing figure... yet when he looked down at his father, it was almost like he was gazing up at him quietly at the same time.

"I'm doin' good, Boss, real good. I've missed you, Dad." Priest said softly, and then he smiled a bit as the pseudodragon looked at him apprehensively. "Hey, you got a fuckin' adorable pet there... I'll be damned, that's one of those pseudodragons! Shit, Desire's gonna show me up again!"

Priest huffed and crossed his arms, and Cherry snorted, slapping his bicep lightly. "Hey, she will not. Zerrex cares about you all." A pause as she caught the look Vampire was giving her, and she glared back at him. "Hey, fuck you, I'm a good mother!"

"Yes ma'am!" Vampire snapped a salute, and the others laughed before his eyes caught sight of a pair of twin Dragokkaren females clad only in traditional Hez'Ranna cloth wraps approaching: they were both beautiful and lithe, with strong, toned bodies and beautiful red scales... and the only difference between the two was that while one had a right green and a blue left eye, the other had them reversed. They both smiled slightly and nodded to Vampire as they passed, before both of them wrapped an arm around Zerrex to kiss his cheeks reverently, gazing up at him with adoration as Sammy awkwardly climbed up onto the reptile's head.

"Lord Zerrex." Mist said softly, and Shine, her sister, smiled warmly. Zerrex gazed from one to the other, wrapping his arms around their waists and looking with quiet entertainment at their only obvious demonic characteristic: the curling set of ram's horns they both had. "We've both missed you more than we can say... and we're both ready to serve you however and whenever we can."

Zerrex nodded, then he kissed first Mist, then Shine's forehead: admittedly, he sometimes got confused who was who, since they were literally perfect twins other than their eyes. "Thank you two, then... but I think I've got to circulate or something through this party." A pause as he looked awkwardly around the little group that had assembled, Raze now hovering around the edges of it. "You know, as long as you guys will keep me some company."

"Oh, fuck off, Boss, it's your own damn family. Besides, I think Lily and Sin are probably wondering where the hell you are." Cherry said mildly, jerking her thumb at the milling people as ambient music began to play somewhere, and she groaned and grabbed her head at this, Priest sighing and looking embarrassedly away. "Oh fuck, not that shit. I'm going to go and put some good shit on!"

"Mom, come on, you promised you wouldn't make much of a scene..." Priest followed Cherry off, trying to reason with her, but Cherry only spat a slew of vulgarities in return as Zerrex rolled his eyes before he winced as Mist and Shine dragged him forwards into the crowd, the two looking amused. The Drakkaren made a face, opening his mouth to give them a command, and then they were stopped almost immediately by a stern-looking demoness and a powerfully-built minotaur, who was looking awkwardly around before he winced at the sight of Zerrex.

"Shelly, it's good to see you." The Drakkaren extended a hand, then he coughed and let it drop when she didn't take it, her blue dress swirling around her as she brushed back the long white hair she had hanging in stylized bangs, her eyes irritable. The hair and the fact she seemed vaguely-reptilian - she had more colorful skin than scale, and her muzzle was short as was her tail - were about the only things she had inherited from her father... and for whatever reason, they never seemed to get along on anything. "Is that uh..."

"Rufus, introduce yourself." Shelly said mildly, then she looked at Zerrex and introduced the huge minotaur anyway just as he opened his mouth: "This is Rufus D'aeos Steri, my husband. My second husband. Unlike the rest of my sisters, I'm not interested in sleeping with you to get favors."

She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, and most of the females looked up and glared at her. Zerrex paused to examine the crowd behind her, and then he rose a finger, saying helpfully: "Actually, I think I've only had sex with a few of them."

Rufus laughed a bit into his hand, and then he paled when Shelly glowered at him before she looked back at Zerrex, saying flatly: "Anyway. I came by to wish you a happy ten millionth year in Hell or whatever, and I hope you have a pleasant stay, since obviously you're planning on up and abandoning us, just as I'd expect you to. I'll be by in a week to collect a few more things from my old room."

With that, Shelly huffed and turned, Rufus carefully walking along behind her as Zerrex groaned and slapped his forehead, then he looked back and forth at Mist and Shine, who both had deadly expressions on their faces. "See why I don't like these things?"

"Daddy!" called three voices, and then Zerrex stared as Lily came forwards, smiling slightly with her hand resting on the outer shoulders of the group of three beautiful, voluptuous maidens. They were all Dius, a high-class Lust demon that resembled Drakkaren with long bull horns, and these particular three were triplets that had still resembled children when Zerrex had left for his visit to the mortal plane... but now they all looked like beautiful young ladies clad in shortened togas, gazing at him with their sparkling blue eyes, their scales all a wonderful goldenrod... and then Zerrex stared as he realized that all three of them had angelic wings folded behind themselves, and that their horns had an odd second branch to them that paralleled their horns, then leaned slightly out away from their skulls as they thinned out to a sharp tip.

"My little girls have grown up so fast..." Zerrex said softly... and then he laughed as Mist and Shine stepped away to let the three tackle him, clinging to his body, their own forms strangely warm as the reptile wrapped his arms tightly around them all to hug them tight to his masculine form. The three daughters all giggled and smiled, cuddling gladly against him as Zerrex looked over them, then he gazed up at Lily as he asked curiously: "Are they..."

"A new species of demon, pure, untainted Lust. Andius... but we call them the Bloody Virgins." Lily grinned, and the three girls looked up at him with fawning expressions as Zerrex gazed curiously down at them. "I'll let you find out why yourself, Zerrex... but they're still shy as ever and they've been talking about you nonstop."

They were still quiet but for their giggles as they clung to him, the Drakkaren gazing amusedly down at the trio before he finally leaned down, kissing one forehead after another as he murmured their names, able to tell them apart not by any physical differences he could see, but out of both instinct and knowing that they always arranged themselves in the same order. "Lillian, Alexia, Xei... it's good to see you three. And I'm proud to see you growing up so strong and well, my little girls."

"Daddy." They said in unison, looking up at him adoringly... and then they giggled and kissed his neck before all three of them quickly took off, laughing as Zerrex shook his head and watched them go. He paused as Lily approached, and she shrugged a bit before the Drakkaren carefully leaned past her to see Selena sitting at the edge of one of the large pools of the cuddle room, her feet in the water, talking quietly with Driz.

Zerrex made his way towards them... and then he paused as Driz looked up. Selena looked up as well, and she smiled and rose a hand before elbowing the male firmly, and the demon winced, then rose his own hand tentatively. Zerrex smiled warmly, and he waved to them as he approached... before he was bowled over by a massive grey blur and knocked flat on his back, feeling stunned.

"Father!" shouted a booming voice happily, and a moment later Zerrex was picked up by a huge, grey-furred beast with gigantic arms, short, stubby legs, and a chubby stomach but gigantic, broad shoulders. The reptile gasped for breath as he was squeezed hard enough for his back to crack, and then he gazed down with a wince at Chuzkrow - or Chuck for short. Always so damned enthusiastic... "It's great to see you!"

"Good to see you too." Zerrex said weakly, looking down at his small head and huge black eyes, which were shining through a dragon skull he was wearing over his own. His features, after all, weren't very flattering even by Hell's standards... but Zerrex thought it didn't help all he ever wore was a little loincloth, and the pauldrons he'd made for himself from weaved-together bones that sat on his shoulders. "Listen... uh... can you put me down?"

"Whoops, sorry." Chuck did so after a moment of embarrassment, and then he patted Zerrex lightly on the head. The reptile winced as he glanced over to make sure Driz was still at the pool... and then he made a face as he saw the demon was laughing his ass off at him, but it was far better than him leaving because he felt offended. "Listen, I gotta go talk to Driz..."

"Driz is here? Wow, I didn't expect him to show up." Chuck turned, looking back and forth, and then he spotted the demon composed of dark energy sitting by Selena, and he laughed before charging over, shouting: "Driz! Momma! It's me!"

Zerrex slapped his forehead, then watched as Chuck inevitably ran into someone and tripped over her, the demoness - likely one of his daughters - squeaking as Chuck yelled and staggered, then fell into the pool, sending up a huge splash over the party guests. The reptile made a face, and then he walked over, standing on the other side of the pool as Driz sat up, looking discontent as water slid more through his body than over it, forming a puddle around him as it passed through the thick energy that made up his body before he suddenly vanished, becoming a dark bolt that arced over the demon sitting up stupidly in the pool that landed beside Zerrex, and Driz reformed, wiping at himself absently as he muttered: "I hate water."

"I hear you there." Chuck looked up with a grin at Selena, then winced when she rapped her fist hard against his skull, glowering at him. "You know how affectionate he is, though."

"Yeah." Driz nodded, glancing awkwardly at Zerrex, and then he smiled a bit as they walked away towards another pool together, people milling around them curiously. "I guess everyone's here there, huh?"

"Not everyone." Zerrex said after a moment, nodding and looking down thoughtfully, and then he smiled at his son, reaching up and awkwardly patting him on the shoulder, feeling the spark of the energies that made up his body roll down his arm. "It's good to see you are, though... I've missed talking to you and spending time with you, and it means a lot to me that you showed up here."

Driz only grunted and nodded, looking awkward, and then they both looked up curiously as Cherry bounced over with a grin through the crowd, poking Zerrex lightly as she slung an arm companionably around Driz, then winced when she was zapped by his dark energies and he said mildly: "I don't like to be touched."

"I don't like your penislessness, but hey, I accept and love you for who you are." Cherry retorted, fluttering her eyes at him, and Driz sighed and muttered something before she clung to Zerrex and grinned widely, pressing against him with a wink. "Dude, you see those three hotties over there, the triplets? Fuck, I wanna bang 'em all so damn hard, but apparently they like, have scary vaginas and turn into monsters if you break their virgin barriers or whatever the shit they're called. I dunno, I was probably born molested."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, then he rose a hand to Driz as the male walked away before looking down at Cherry and grabbing her by her shoulders, whispering irritably: "I am trying to get back on good terms with him and-"

"And freaking him out to shit with your touchy-feelyness ain't gonna be good for that." Cherry interrupted, poking his chest accusingly, and Zerrex blinked before she huffed and stood up, crossing her arms. "Dude's just like you. He'll come around, but he needs time and space. The only reason I could get away with being touchy feely on you 'cause I have tits and you needed someplace to bury that meatwagon you call a dick between your legs. Anyway, asstard, come on. You still got plenty more people to see before we start handing out gifts and really relaxing."

Zerrex made a face, but he found himself circulating again soon enough nonetheless. At some point, he realized waiters had also started circulating with drinks, but they were all very attractive males and females that he was familiar with himself on some level. He did manage to catch up with most of his family, however... or rather, all of the family that he could, but something still gnawed at him... and finally, Zerrex looked at Sin - she had joined the little group that was following him around at some point - and asked quietly: "The ambient energy in this room... it isn't too bad, right?"

Sin looked at him for a few long moments, probably realizing what he meant to do right off the bat... and then she said quietly, taking his hands: "If you feel it's right, do it, Lord Zerrex... no one here would stop you. I do have to advise that... only for a little while, though, and then I'll take him home."

Zerrex smiled faintly and nodded, and Cherry tilted her head before squawking as Zerrex created a portal, but Mist and Shine grabbed her before she could dive for it. She glared at them, and Zerrex grinned as she flailed uselessly, then he promised as she calmed a bit: "I'll be right back."

The reptile stepped through and into the clean room, leaving the portal open as Firenze looked up in surprise at him... and Zerrex extended a hand, saying quietly: "Come on. I have faith in you... and I wanna see just how strong you've gotten since the last time we tried something like this. It's all family and close friends... I think you're ready for this."

"Dad, no, I... I'm scared..." Firenze looked at Zerrex for a few moments with his eyes wide, his breath coming quickly in and out... but when Zerrex only looked back quietly, he finally bit his cheek, then nodded slowly with a wince, murmuring: "Only... only a little while. And not like this, I can change really quick..."

"Then we'd best be quick." The reptile smiled slightly as he walked over to the male, and Firenze blushed deeply as Zerrex carefully undid the gown before folding it up, leaving Firenze standing naked and covering himself embarrassedly as Zerrex walked over to his dresser, pulling out some plain clothes and offering them to the male as he said with soft entertainment: "Like I never see you naked."

"Still." Firenze turned away, blushing a bit, and Zerrex rolled his eyes with a slight smile as he turned his back on his son himself, crossing his arms and listening to the scratch of cloth against scale. A minute or so later, he glanced over his shoulder to see Firenze carefully doing up the buttons of his tucked-in shirt, and the reptile rolled his eyes before grabbing him by the arm, Firenze yelping as he said in a panicked voice: "Wait, wait, wait, I'm not ready, I feel-"

Then they were through the portal, and it closed as people stared in surprise at Firenze, the male looking around with something like amazement at the immense Cuddle Room and all the people packed into it... and then Sin came forwards and hugged him tightly, and Zerrex smiled as he patted him on the back and said quietly: "Welcome home."

Firenze looked surprised as he gazed around the room, and his fear had turned to wonderment and joy at seeing so many of his sisters and brothers... and many of them came up, hugging him, laughing and exchanging all sorts of affections as the male smiled warmly, looking truly happy as some of the pallor returned to his face and the life to his eyes, and Zerrex was glad to see it as he stood back and watched. Then Sin came up beside him and kissed him quietly on the cheek, murmuring softly: "You're far too kind, Lord Zerrex... to me, and to him."

"Nah." Zerrex waved a hand dismissively, looking softly at Firenze. "This is all selfishness. Hey, maybe I'm just being a pervert and hoping to have sex with him one day, like Shelly often claims."

"Shelly's a fucking tool." Selena said mildly, and Mist and Shine both coughed and hid smiles as Lily looked sour. The Dius grinned widely at this, Selena tapping one of her horns as she said cheerfully: "Oh, sorry, I forgot, she's your daughter. You and your defective womb, since it definitely wasn't the fault of Zerrex's seed with these other kids he's produced."

Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously, and then she took a long breath and calmed herself as Zerrex looked at Selena pointedly for a few moments. Then he shook his head a bit as he watched Driz and Firenze hug, then shake hands warmly, saying quietly: "I think all my kids are special in their own way... even the ones that didn't turn out right according to most demons."

Selena looked abashed at this, then Zerrex paused before pushing his way through the crowd towards another pool on instinct, joined by the others. Firenze glanced up after a moment curiously, but then he hesitated before looking back at Driz and continuing to talk animatedly, knowing his father would return to check on him in time.

Zerrex, meanwhile, had stopped at the pool, where eight of his kids were sitting. Three males, five females, most of them looking a bit dejected and ignored... and then they brightened as their father approached, climbing to their feet as a thickly-muscled, draconic demon came up and hugged Zerrex tightly, saying warmly: "Father... father, I'm so glad to see you... we thought you'd... you know..."

"It's good to see you guys too." Zerrex patted the Salamander quietly on the shoulder, and Selena shuffled awkwardly: she hated that she had given birth to a soldier... and hated herself more for having such a hard time treating him like she treated her other kids, even if there was nothing especially remarkable about his demonic type. "Sapphire, how are you holding up?"

The bright-blue scaled succubus looked up with a bit of a smile, rubbing slowly at her mechanical arm: her real one had been withered at birth and they'd been forced to remove it. "We're good... all of your little misfits are good, I think."

Zerrex sat down with a quiet laugh, grunting a bit as he rubbed at his leg: the bad one had become sore again, which he thought was probably a bad sign, but was going to damned well ignore for fear of Sin wanting to do some sort of horrible operation or cast some nasty-ass spell on him that would sting more than this did. "I'm a misfit too, remember, so... don't worry about yourselves. Don't let your nastier siblings call you runts and shove you aside, huh?"

"What can we do, tell?" asked another demon morbidly. He was huge and powerful, his body bulging with muscle and a large set of spikes down either side of his arms, his eyes a burning crimson but his head wolflike and covered in black fur on a body that was otherwise reptilian. More spikes went down the outside of a naked pair of legs that, like the end of his loincloth, were resting in the water... but despite his tremendous size and strength, Break was one of the rare demons born without the ability to learn any kind of magic... and it didn't help that he was blind in his right eye, which had been magically-seared when he had just been a child by a vengeful and angry brother he had made the mistake of picking on, who was not in attendance at the party.

"Sure. Tell me or Firenze. We'll deal with them." Driz spoke up, and Zerrex looked up with a slight smile as the male approached, Firenze smiling a bit as the others let out soft murmurs of surprise. "I get that it doesn't seem like the greatest thing in the word, but we freaks have to stick together."

The others talked between themselves nervously, and Zerrex gave a look of appreciation up at Driz, who gave him a bit of a smile in return as he sat down. Then Firenze laughed a bit, shaking his head slowly as he sat to rest with his back against his father's side, saying quietly as he gazed up at the ceiling: "Besides... they only taunt you because they're scared. Mellissa has a robotic arm that could crush a Crawler Tank, Break is stronger than a Gigataur, and Mercy can remember any kind of spell, even if she can't speak..." He paused to gaze over at the last, a plain-looking demoness who had her mouth sewn shut and a black, blossomed rose tattooed around one eye, the female looking away in embarrassment as she quietly tugged at the black dress with a silver clasp between her breasts that matched the black collar with a silver, heart-shaped clasp that held it tight around her neck. Her arms were also covered from wrist to shoulder in black cloth... but only to hide the crisscrossing scars underneath them. "And I envy all of you. I might be powerful... but I can't control it. And that makes me an even bigger freak than Driz."

Driz snorted and shoved Firenze lightly, and Firenze only laughed... and Zerrex realized that any contact with Driz should have been setting the male off. But no, they had hugged, shaken hands, talked, teased... and Firenze was still acting normally, dealing well with the energy in the air and looking cheerful... and the reptile smiled warmly, closing his eyes and relaxing before Cherry kicked him in the kidney and said loudly: "Hey, time to break up this lovey-dovey bullshit. Come on Boss, can't spend all your time with the misfits. Well... not these misfits, at least. You gotta come with this misfit now."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, but he did so, leaving the others talking as Mist and Shine fell into step with him, both smiling warmly up at him. For the next little while, Zerrex wandered through the crowd, greeting all kinds of demons and marveling at how much variety there was here, how many were from some specific breed of demon, while others were unique beings that defied any sort of categorization... and then he made a face as he finally ended up in front of the gigantic, ornate throne at the head of the room, and Cherry clapped twice, but each clap was like a firecracker going off as a bit of smoke floated up from between her hands. "Okay people, the ones who wanna leave can get their asses going! That means you, Shelly, you she-bitch!"

Zerrex groaned, slapping his forehead, and several portals opened up throughout the area, the reptile leaning back and forth to try and figure out who was leaving before he winced as Cherry walked over and slapped him on the back, turning him around and guiding him towards a pile of presents next to the throne, the reptile saying dumbly: "Hey, no, wow, wait, this is just way too much for any one person, especially me."

Cherry huffed at this, then she reached down and slapped his rear, making the reptile jump. "You aren't opening them yet, jerk. Now okay. The rest of you, time to better relax, right?" Cherry grinned, then pointed at Zerrex as he paused and peered awkwardly over his shoulder at the crowd. "Get him!"

The group surged forwards, and Zerrex yelped as he saw Desire, Cypress, and the triplets heading the line, before he was grabbed and dragged down into a pile of pillows, laughing a bit despite himself as he felt his daughters - and a few of his sons - crowding in to try and snuggle up with him. He laughed again, smiling warmly, and then he coughed as he realized several of the more overeager had already removed some articles of their clothing, saying dumbly: "Now wait. Whoa. That would be one giant incest-driven orgy."

"I think that's hot." Cherry said playfully, sitting nearby and leering, her shirt off and breasts exposed. Zerrex stared at her, and she winked as she grasped the large swells, showing off the rings pierced into her nipples. "I just got new ones, see! They're like. Striped black and silver."

"Cherry, no one's going to be able to tell that unless your nipples are right in their face." Zerrex said mildly, and then he coughed as he saw Priest taking off his pants about twenty feet away, a few demonesses cooing and teasing him. "Your son-"

"Our son." Cherry corrected absently, then she glanced up and cackled, baring her bosom as Priest stared at her. "Hey, come over here, let momma show you how it's done!"

Zerrex groaned, and Priest stared dumbly for a moment before he tripped over his pants and fell into one of the pools... but overall, once things settled a bit more, it was a wonderful experience. Despite his best efforts, there was indeed sex... but it was relaxed, and the Drakkaren had to admit... he'd never had so many people not simply voyeuring but instead participating or waiting anxiously to get closer, so many hands touching him, so many different sounds of pleasure all around him. It was a scene impossible to describe now, and only a blur in the reptile's mind... and he didn't know how much time he spent there with his family, and how many of them he'd ended up enjoying some sort of sexual pleasure with.

As time wore on, people left... although sometimes they came back, and Zerrex admittedly enjoyed being naked for a change, as he laid sprawled out on a pile of pillows, Desire cuddled up to his own side, Cypress on the other, and the triplets all around his waist, the head of one on his abs as she cooed softly every now and then, her warm body feeling delightful as it cuddled lightly against his huge penis, and her sisters looking jealously at her as they clung to the reptile's legs. Lily was naked as well, massaging his head gently as she gazed down at him softly, and then she asked quietly: "So did you like this, Zerrex? It took us a long time to work out... and I know if there's one thing you like... it's getting your way. The sex part just kind of worked itself in... Cherry said you'd act a bit huffy and prudish, but that the moment it started happening... you'd definitely go along with it. Which... you certainly did."

Zerrex smiled slightly despite himself, then he asked curiously: "So how many days has it been? I know it has to have been at least two... but I've been enjoying myself way too much to leave." He paused, then added reflectively: "Do you know how people would view an orgy like this on the mortal realm? An orgy centered particularly around incestuous demons, most of them daughters, focusing on pleasing their father?"

"You worry too much about what other people think of you." Lily said softly, then she smiled slightly as she stroked his hair gently out of his eyes, adding quietly: "Besides, it definitely isn't just about sex... it's about love, and expressing our appreciation to you in the best possible way. Besides, look at us... most of us here are Lust demons, and you're a split Incarnation. It only makes sense that sex is the medium we best use to express ourselves... and unlike mortals, we don't bind up all our passions to try and pretend we're something we're not. You taught me that it's best to be who you are... and admittedly, I got a thrill from... watching and listening to you once you started to really get into it."

Zerrex grinned a bit despite himself, looking lame as his daughters all giggled and gazed up at the two with soft amusement. "Oh, now that's a whole different speech... you know I-"

"Don't even start." Desire said amusedly, reaching up to touch her father's muzzle, and the triplets smiled from one to the other wryly. "You aren't a beast, and you aren't a big mean monster. You are who you are. And you love us... and you never, ever, ever mistreat us. You protect and take care of us... and the last thing you do is exploit us sexually."

"If anything..." Lillian sat up, the first triplet rubbing her hands slowly up his body and over his chiseled, powerful abdominals, her eyes half-lidded.

"We exploit..."Alexis arched her back slowly, pulling his enormous penis upwards with both hands to lick slowly along the flaccid length with a soft murr of pleasure, Zerrex grunting as his toeclaws twitched.

"You sexually..." Xei leaned over, kissing first the thick cockhead, slowly working her mouth against it before she kissed her sister slowly and passionately, both of them giving soft sounds of pleasure before Xei lowered her muzzle, licking it slowly as she gazed hungrily up at her father.

Zerrex's shaft twitched, but he fought against it stiffening as the triplets laughed softly and released him, all three sitting up at once and eyeing him as two of Cypress's hands tickled up over the male's rock-hard front, saying softly: "You took me in after my whore of a mother fucked you just to get pregnant... had sex with you without telling you about all the special fertility charms she had imbued and permanently scarred her own womb with, just to ensure your sperm would be potent. Most Lust demons, after all, can control the fertility of their seed and eggs... but she wanted me because I would be the perfect meal ticket.

"Yet when she dropped you on your doorstep, you gladly took me in, and rose me with the same love you showed Desire or any of your other daughters. Any of my other sisters." She gazed tenderly over them all, and they smiled warmly as Cypress's eyes looked up to Lily, who was still quietly playing with Zerrex's hair. "And I was treated so goddamn well. By you, by everyone. And you even agreed to let me stay, when my mother tried to fetch me... you saved me from a life I don't even want to begin to imagine. I love you, Father... and I would do anything for you, and gladly."

"Now stop ruining the moment." Lily said with quiet amusement, and Zerrex snorted before he met her lips in a slow, passionate kiss, the other females watching and gazing at each other with slight smiles before the two parted, looking into one-another's eyes before the male glanced down at his gathered daughters, and Lily grinned a bit as she leaned down, stroking a finger quietly along the underside of his muzzle. "Now see how popular you are? All your other girls want to have a kiss too."

"You're all evil. But who am I to deny them?" Zerrex snorted in amusement, then he coughed as Priest and Vampire looked up from where they were, Cherry grinning inverted across her son's lap at him as he saw a veritable ripple travel across the room, and the reptile made a face after a moment, mumbling: "Oh crap."