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Cindy made a plain breakfast, which Zerrex and Cherry gobbled down - still naked - before both of them took a bath - again, together, and inviting Cindy along if she wanted to. The smaller female had blushed but said she was okay, and so then Zerrex and Cherry had sat in a hot bath and splashed each other like children for about half an hour before Cherry had washed, shampooed and carefully cut Zerrex's hair to perfect shoulder length, and then they'd dried each other off, re-stitched and bandaged their wounds, and finally they'd both gotten dressed, Cherry borrowing one of Zerrex's black shirts as the reptile donned his own plain black clothing. Then they'd both simply relaxed until one that afternoon, and then Zerrex had turned to Cindy, who sat beside him on the couch, taken her hands, kissed her forehead quietly and said: "I love you, daughter. Be well."

Then he and Cherry had both stood, slipped on their boots, and Zerrex had picked up the bag of weaponry and headed out to put it in the van as Cherry held the door open, and Cindy watched the two warriors go before quietly clasping her hands below her breasts and closing her eyes, only hoping that they would come back alive.

Inside the back of the borrowed van - which Zerrex was very glad Cherry had convinced him they should keep, at least until they were done dealing with this shit - the reptile was sorting through his various arsenal, attaching the holsters of his twin .52 magnum handguns to his belt and the ancient, put-holes-in-everything revolver into the small holster modification he had in one combat boot, rolling his ankle to make sure it sat tight and wouldn't fall out. He then loaded spare bullets into one pocket and clips into the other before placing the odachi sword onto his back once more and sitting back with Blackheart on one side, the flat of the sword pressed between his leg and the wall as he made room for Cherry to get in and stock up herself, taking the .45 magnum handguns and slipping them into her waistband, as well as taking one of the shotguns and a bit of the twine the reptile had brought so she could sling it around her shoulders, then throwing her whip into the passenger seat as she nodded at the other things the reptile had brought. "Guns I bet you're going to leave for backup arsenal. What about that stuff?"

"They'll be used first. Really mess them up." Zerrex replied vaguely, as he attached the side-pack he'd had on last night to his belt, after seeing that Cherry didn't want it. That was alright with him: it was probably better for him to be carrying the grenades anyway. Cherry could see what was going to happen with her precognitive abilities, so he could stick to worrying about throwing them where they would do the most damage instead of throwing them where they would hurt and not hit his partner.

Then they were driving down towards the Camelot bridge, both unaware that Lone had ordered at noon for all traffic to be completely stopped, while he did his best to talk Tinman into leveling the bridge for him, so they could simply cut Comfort Town out like a diseased part of the body: Lone, after all, didn't understand the dynamics of Baskin's Grove, but neither did most of its citizens, so no one was really concerned about the fact that there weren't a lot of people at work today and that most of the police and AVIPF were at the Camelot Bridge: in fact, many would applaud.

After stopping for gas and learning about this, however, Cherry nervously glanced at Zerrex... but the large reptile in the back merely smiled coldly and said quietly: "This is war, Cherry. And you know as well as I do war is not clean, and it doesn't always go the way you want it to. We're still heading for the bridge, and we're still going to break through. We'll kill all of them if we have to, but you win wars with guts as much as strategy. So let's show them we've got balls."

"You give such inspiring speeches, Boss, really." Cherry responded with a snort, but she was grinning as the worker at the pumps gave her a thumbs-up and a nervous smile - he'd seen the Boss in the back of the van, and he really didn't want to even ask for payment when the Boss was in what looked like full battle gear. The female Drakkaren returned the gesture, then she tore away from the gas station and headed towards the bridge as she went over the basic idea of the plan once more in her mind: get to the bridge, defend the van and act as backup for Zerrex while he raged through the guardians of the place, blow a hole in their defensive line and finally break through to the Mayor's house to take Lone. It was the symbolism, she figured, that would win the day here... even killing Lone, that wouldn't kill the core rot in Apple Villa. But if they set up Zerrex in place as the true ruler and some other puppet as Mayor-in-name... then perhaps he had a plan to knit the two sides of Baskin's Grove back together.

Ten minutes later, they halted on one side of the bridge: stationed on the other were four parked police transports, all dark navy steel armor plating, with a line of police in front, standing stiffly at attention in full riot gear - body armor, bulletproof glass facemasks, and rifles at the ready, while glass shields rested on their backs for easy access and collapsible nightsticks were just a flick away on their hips - as a rough-looking black bear paced in front of them, in the same body armor except for the fact he had a black chief's cap on his head instead of a facemask, and he had the typical sidearm and nightstick, but no rifle. The Chief of police, Reinhold's brother, obviously giving some sort of pep speech to the maybe twenty soldiers assembled in a double line. As if they were storm troopers about to invade an enemy town while AVIPF paced restlessly back and forth, and cops in normal blue uniform stood near their cruisers, most of them looking relaxed or nervous, or merely irritable at the pacing groups of AVIPF, with their fancy uniforms and oversized guns.

Three cruisers with partnered cops, two teams of four or five AVIPF each, and twenty riot officers with the chief of police giving some speech in front of them, all on the open metal and concrete field of the bridge. All of them long-distance fighters, when Zerrex was a close-combat specialist... very extreme odds, especially when there were quite possibly at least one or two police patrols rolling through Comfort Town. But when Cherry looked back at Zerrex, as he opened the back doors and slipped out, resting Blackheart on his shoulder, she just grinned and felt a spark of excitement at the calm expression on his face but the cruel glow in his emerald eyes. There's a reason that he was the Captain of the Goth Legion... and you boys, you're about to find out.

Then she faced forwards, watching as Zerrex slipped his hand into his side-pack, then pulled out a stun grenade and walked casually onto the bridge. At first, no one really noticed the Boss, unable to process him properly with him being so out-of-place... but then one of the police officers paled, let out a babbling cry, and jumped over the railing onto the civilian walkway and then into the water below, and Zerrex flicked the pin out of the explosive device and lobbed it in an easy underhanded arc forwards, as voices yelled... and then all hell broke loose, as Zerrex stopped, turned his head away, closed his eyes and put the crook of his arm over his face while most of the others made the mistake of trying to take aim at the reptile.

The grenade hit the ground with a quiet tap, then exploded in a burst of blinding white light and a sound that seemed to bury into the gut of those closest to it, making them want to kneel over as it was joined by a cacophony of screaming voices: the moment Zerrex felt the light fading, he lowered his arm and charged forwards, not bothering with anything fancy as the nearest group of AVIPF shot rounds wildly into the air - and in the case of two unfortunates, each other - before the reptile brought the massive sword forwards and straight-through in a cleaving sweep.

The giant blade literally halved the three remaining soldiers, and then he spun quickly around, feet dancing against the ground as he noticed the nearby position of a pair of police before slamming his sword straight down after his quick spin to adjust his momentum, turning the spinning slash into an overhead rend that nearly cut one of the officers in half and turned the one closer to Zerrex into a broken pile of flesh on the ground. Then Zerrex drew his sword back and charged forwards towards the next cruiser in line as he heard the double-boom of a handgun, not needing to check to know that Cherry had already targeted and taken out another pair of police officers before he heard the rapid sound of her feet, and the cracking of her chain whip - met with the sound of screams and rent flesh.

The reptile glanced up to see that the riot police were already recovering, and that the chief had managed to stumble to the front of the one of the transports and was screaming into a radio, then he quickly changed his attention to the last set of cops in plain uniform and he stabbed his sword through the first, then followed up with a second, hard thrust kick that knocked the other over the railing, his foot colliding with enough force to shatter his ribs before Zerrex ducked behind the nearest police cruiser, then he pulled out the second - and last - flash grenade and tossed it over the car, closing his eyes and putting his arm over them again as he heard it explode, and then more screaming as at least some of the riot officers were blinded further.

Moving quickly, he dropped Blackheart, then drew his .52 handguns and rolled out behind the police cruiser, raising them as he took up a crouch and targeted the police as he heard Cherry charging forwards towards them again. He shot off two rounds, and was pleased to see that despite the tough, fancy look of their armor, they still didn't withstand the rounds from his guns very well - the first one fell with two blasted holes in his armor, collapsing back onto another who shoved him away with a panicked yell and then turned and fired wildly in the direction of the Drakkaren, who, unfazed, merely began to pound rounds into their numbers, thinning them considerably and drawing their fire as Cherry charged in, dodging the errant round that went her way without trouble until she was close enough to lash out with her whip, wrapping it around the throat of one before she grabbed the handle with both hands, twisted, and jerked, decapitating him and sending up a spray of blood as she sidestepped the whip's backlash before snapping it forwards again, knocking off the mask of another with an upwards strike of the whip, then lashing it back down to crack his skull.

Zerrex felt his handguns click on empty, then he quickly holstered them and slipped back behind the squad car, grabbing the side of it and pushing it up onto its side, muscles bulging before he flipped it onto its back: another phase of the plan as he checked to see Cherry's progress. She had cleared out the last of the riot soldiers, her whip easily biting through her armor... but she was now hiding behind another squad car and had the GL magnum out, her back pressed against one of the doors as Zerrex looked up to see two squad cars pull up beside the van, then take on a V-shape around it, barring it as cops piled out on one side and set up a shooting line.

The reptile muttered to himself, then he glanced up to see three other cars pull in on the other side: two cruisers and a large van that he thought must house AVIPF members. The Drakkaren snarled, not liking the crossfire it set up... and then he grinned as he produced the last grenade and stood up, exposing himself for a moment as he drew his arm back, then he grunted and whipped it as hard as he could in a straight throw, as if it were a baseball.

It shattered through the window of the van, and then Zerrex dropped after he felt a bullet tear by his shoulder, reaching into the almost-empty side-pack to pull out a remote detonator and pound the small red button. It clicked... and then the van went up in a gout of flame, and the reptile snarled as he saw the chief of police fly out from behind one of the transports, his armor on fire as he screamed and hit the ground, rolling back and forth as one of the squad cars slowly rocked back and forth from the force of the explosion, one of the police inside dead from shrapnel and the other reduced to a crying, screaming mess.

Zerrex charged forwards mindlessly, making himself a target as the cops on the other side of the bridge took aim and shot: but it only resulted in three of them going down from Cherry's immediate fire upon them, her precognitive abilities letting her immediately lock on to three of the four. The last saw his teammates fall, and, panicking, he crawled into his squad car - Cherry snarled, then she stood, holding the gun with both hands as her eyes narrowed to slits, ghost images once more dancing in her vision before she pounded three bullets into the door, the first stopped by the semi-armor plating that was on all the cruisers of the BGPD... the second hitting exactly where the first was, hitting the bullet buried in the door, and blowing a hole into the interior of the car as both bullets disintegrated... and the final one going down through the ripped passageway and into the spine of the driver, sending him into screaming agony as he fell over and lost control of his legs, losing any will to fight and only crying "officer down, officer down!" into the radio again and again.

On the other side of the bridge, the male Drakkaren had gone between two of the police transports, dropping his sword and letting it bite a trench through the ground before lashing it forwards and upwards, digging a long cut into the pavement before it cleanly chopped off the head of the chief of police, his body spasming and jerking before falling still as his head flew through the air, bouncing into the flaming wreckage of the van as the remaining police - and more AVIPF backup that had now appeared on the scene, one group in a plain but expensive car and the other in another large van - stared for a moment before opening fire. Zerrex immediately spun around behind the transport, then he growled and turned to make a 'go-back' motion at Cherry as she started forwards towards him.

She nodded, then turned and quickly headed for the van, then she ran around it and threw open the back doors to grab the sniper rifle that was still in the duffle bag - she'd insisted, knowing something like this would happen... it always did with Zerrex - and the box of shells that he'd packed before she jumped up onto the roof of the van, laying down flat and loading the weapon with a full five shells, then taking aim with it and concentrating her abilities to increase her accuracy once more, forcing herself to calm down as she saw Zerrex heading back towards her.

The reptile had seen the advantage in retreat, especially with the one decoy he had already set up... so he'd done so, switching back and forth as he ran towards the van, reloading one magnum handgun while on the go: a trick that was made difficult with the fact that he had a giant sword in one hand, but was accomplished by jamming a clip into his muzzle, then drawing the gun, flicking the clip out with a twist of his wrist so it fell to the side and not in front of him so he'd step and slip on it while he sprinted, then he brought the empty handle up to his muzzle and shoved it forwards as he jerked his head to the side, then finished by slapping the loose bottom of the clip against his shoulder and jamming it into place. Before he could turn to fire and set off his trap however - as from the bullets hailing around him, he knew there was at least four people on the bridge and thankfully, all of them dumb rich people who were more show than actual shot - Cherry had figured out his trap and set it off with a single precise shot to the gas tank of the flipped car.

It detonated, sending chunks of metal, concrete and steel whirring through the air as about five of the group of about a dozen were killed or knocked unconscious in the explosion. Zerrex holstered his gun, feeling a strange, floating resentment that was disconnected and childish, but it wasn't important as he continued to run back towards the van, pausing only to use his great strength to shove the two police cruisers that had blocked the van off to the side, as he heard Cherry firing and reloading rapidly, able to see through the thick smoke that was going up as she managed to even jeer: "I thought you said you were going to use those other things first!"

"Shut up and do your job!" Zerrex replied, panting hard... but then, when Cherry stopped firing and instead looked down at him with a grin, he stopped before turning slowly towards the other side of the bridge. "Wait... did you?"

"Got six." Cherry confirmed, then she nodded at Zerrex's arm: it was bleeding again, although not as heavily as before. "They were unprepared and definitely not trained. I think we got them all... or enough that they broke rank and fled."

The reptile stared at her, then he laughed faintly and sighed, collapsing against the side of the van and closing his eyes before nodding slowly. "Alright. Then... is it time?"

"It's time." The female Drakkaren replied quietly, then she slipped off the roof and jumped into the driver's seat as the larger male walked around to the back and climbed in, slamming the doors as they drove forwards and around the smoking debris of the police car, then stopped in front of the line of transport vans. Here, they both climbed out and looked carefully around for any sign of anyone else - there was none, just smoke filling the air and the moans of those too wounded to walk, let alone put up any kind of resistance - and then Cherry put one of the vans in neutral, being unable to find the keys, before she helped Zerrex roll it slowly out of the way.

Then they drove onwards, heading for the Mayor's House in the depths of Apple Villa, invading enemy territory without hesitation, as Zerrex sat in the back of the van and closed his eyes, breathing slowly and only hoping for an end.

"Attack... it's... massacre, attack!" The chief's voice was distorted by static and yelling, cracked with panic as Lone sat, trembling hard, holding the portable phone up against his ear as Tinman stared at him, pale and ill-looking. "It... not possible, bombs... help... Zerrex! The Boss! The Boss!"

The wolf dropped the receiver, and then he slowly stumbled across the room as a loud "Shit!" came from the portable phone before someone on the other side clicked off amidst a burst of static. The lupine walked to a corner of the room, turned to look at Tinman with eyes that were full of fear, held a hand out to him... then he swiveled around again, putting the hand against the wall as he bent forwards and vomited, sending out a spew of thick, disgusting liquids as the badger looked at him with a mix of sympathy, concern, and fear.

"We... God... oh fuck..." Lone managed, wiping at his muzzle as he turned back around, sweat breaking out on his body as he reached for his bottle of pills, then he whimpered and threw them across the room as he found the vial was empty, staring up at the badger again before walking forwards, a slow, hopeful smile spreading over his features as he grabbed his hands with his own, body quaking as he looked into his terrified eyes and leaned close, speaking rapidly and fearfully: "I... you're from the Goth Legion! You can take him, right, right? This is all just an act of yours, you're really a scary tough guy, better than Vampire, I bet! You can take him, right... right? Right? Right?" the last came out as a scream, and Tinman jerked away, falling backwards onto the couch as he whimpered and shook his head.

He swallowed thickly as Lone stared at him with slowly dying hope, speaking in a frightened voice: "Mister... Mr. Wulfe... I'm not like them, I can't... I can't bear to kill people and I'm just a coward... I always held everyone back in battle and... I spent most of my life in the hospital, sick and... and frightened, I've always been afraid of everything." At this, he began to cry, shoving his fists into his eyes like a child as he bawled: "I can't do anything! Captain Ravenlight is going to kill us! Captain Ravenlight is gonna kill us!"

Lone reached down and grabbed the badger's shoulders, shaking him roughly as his eyes filled with renewed terror. "Shut up, don't say that!" he barked, as if not talking about it would change the fact... and then he looked back and forth before rushing over to the phone, nearly tripping in his eagerness as he grabbed it up and pounded the autodial, looking for a number for the police force, then, after he managed to get a hold on someone, yelling: "Help me! Help, the... the Boss is after me! He's broken through the bridge and the Boss-"

"May God have mercy on your soul," the dispatch intoned quietly, and then hung up on him. Lone merely stared at the receiver... then he looked back and forth, trembling furiously before he kicked over a table, shaking his head rapidly before letting out a yell and flinging the portable phone across the room and falling to his knees, grabbing his head and simply screaming as he curled up on his knees... then he stared up at the badger again, as Tinman stared at him, crazed hope springing back into his eyes as he walked forwards on his knees and grabbed one of Tinman's hands, his eyes growing wide.

"Listen... money! Money is the answer! I'll... I'll just offer him money and he'll go away, right? That's got to be it, right? I mean... he's got to let me live, I'm Lone Wulfe! I'm Lone Wulfe!" the lupine shrieked, staring up at the badger with horror... and then he slumped at the pity in Tinman's eyes as he quietly reached out a hand and stroked the top of Lone's head.

"And he's Zerrex Narrius," Tinman whispered in reply, looking at Lone with a pain and sorrow so deep it could only be described by the most base synonym of itself: sadness. "He won't stop. He doesn't care about money. He just wants you to die, Mr. Wulfe. But first he'll make you beg for your life, and he'll hurt you in all sorts of ways that I can't even bear to think about, and then he'll kill you, but he'll draw that out too. I'm sorry, Mr. Wulfe. I'll do what I can, but there's no way a weakling coward like me can stop him..." Tinny swallowed thickly, then he stood up and looked down at the now-silent wolf, reaching down to gently pat him on the head. "Don't try to fight... you'll just make him even more angry. I'll hold the door for you to the next life, Mr. Wulfe, if he kills me. I'm sorry I can't promise more."

Then Tinny turned away and left Lone alone in the den, and the wolf immediately jumped to his feet and began to pace, trembling furiously as he twitched and looked back and forth, misery in his eyes before his eyes turned to the revolver sitting on the mantle, and he nodded rapidly to himself, eyes round as he took the scratched-up gun into his hands and grinned slowly, licking his muzzle as he began to pant harshly and cracked open the cylinder... only to spill the five remaining bullets onto the floor and send them scattering as Lone yelped and immediately dropped down, trying to grab them but only succeeding in knocking them around with his trembling hands as he moaned in fear and metal agony, trying to pick them up... and then his ears twitched and he stared upwards as he heard the slam of a door and the shriek of Tinman.

The van slowly pulled into and down the driveway of the Mayor's house, and Zerrex quietly snorted as he saw only one police car sitting out front, with two officers standing at the doorway to the mansion, one of them smoking a cigarette and the other sitting on the steps, looking miserable. Zerrex traded a look with Cherry, then he picked up the four items he'd meant to use all along and left Blackheart in the van - the odachi sword on his back would be more than enough - as he slipped out the back. Well, that and the ancient revolver he had.

Cherry joined him, and then they sauntered up the steps as the two police officers looked at him without surprise... but the canine smoking the cigarette dropped his pack of smokes, which was soon followed by the smoke itself as he gaped at the sight of Zerrex in person, and the tiger seated on the steps shrank down a bit, coughing as he stared in what could be described as either terror or piss-your-pants-fear. Especially since he was in the company of a dangerous-looking female who looked equally deadly... although she wasn't as scarred up as the bigger male... but that could just mean she was even worse.

Zerrex stopped, then he put his hands behind his back as he tilted his head and asked in a calm voice: "What are you doing here, and do you plan to get in my way?"

"We're the two who got landed with the shit-duty to protect mayor dickhead here." The canine who had been smoking said, as he bent and picked up his pack of cigarettes, biting another free and then slipping the pack into his pocket as he brought out a lighter. He paused to light up, then took a deep drag and exhaled a plume of smoke before sneering slightly, tilting his head. "Chief asshole said that he was doing 'great things' for the town, but personally, I live over on the Comfort Town side of things, and I ain't never seen much of a problem with the way you've run shit, Boss. Besides which, the Chief isn't exactly the least corrupt or best person for his position."

"Agreed..." said the tiger morbidly, but it was in a meek voice, as he rubbed his hands together and then dropped his head, staring at the ground. "Me, I wanted to be a cop to be a hero... well, at least respected, you know? Do the right thing... and I don't know what the right thing is anymore. After all... all we did anymore was bust kids vandalizing public property and... be a muscle for the politicians to throw around at their enemies, ignoring corruption here and there but picking on the people who wouldn't sell this product or fund this campaign." He stopped, then laughed in that same scared voice. "Then again, me and Vance here did just hear that you butchered about half the police force and sent those fuckhead vigilantes running for the hills. So we ain't too keen on messing with you, Boss, sir."

Vance laughed sourly, looking at the ground as he scuffed one boot against the stairs. "I guess we ain't really interested in trying to stop you, Boss. I do dislike the idea that you probably killed some of my buddies, but... well, it wasn't nothing personal, was it?" he glanced up at the Drakkaren's cool eyes, then smiled faintly as he looked down again. "I guess not then. You have your own ways, we have ours. We made the mistake of messing with you... or rather, mayor dickhead did... and you're just setting it right... right?"

"Actually, this time I plan on doing a bit more." Zerrex said softly, then he smiled a bit as Vance glanced up at him again. "Bet your kid was at the park today. You have the same kind of eyes."

Then he walked forwards and past the curious tiger and the surprised canine before glancing over his shoulder at Cherry, saying softly: "Let me handle Tinman and Lone. Between us, it is personal."

"You got it, Captain." Cherry replied quietly, but then she stood straight, taking on a rigid salute as she rose her head proudly, eyes flashing as she held her right hand in front of her heart. Their eyes met, and Zerrex smiled faintly before he turned and returned the strict salute.

Then he relaxed, and he said softly: "At ease, soldier. You know your duty: make me proud and forget the Legion." With that, the reptile turned as Cherry relaxed, putting her hands on her hips and smiling faintly after him as he opened one of the wooden doors, and walked inside, into a wide corridor that was lined with wooden furnishings and expensive artwork, standing on a plain red carpet. He glanced back and forth, taking in his surroundings, then his eyes set on a heavy door ahead as it slowly opened, in about the middle of the long corridor and maybe fifteen, twenty feet away... and then Tinman stepped through, staring at Zerrex and leaving his hand in the doorway as it swung closed and then snapped on his fingers, making the badger cry out and yank his hand free, a bit of blood dripping from his knuckles as he stuck his hand in his muzzle, eyes already over-bright with tears of pain before he swallowed thickly and laughed faintly around his hand, blushing as the Drakkaren said mildly: "Still haven't changed, huh, Tinny?"

"No, sir." Tinman responded, then he blushed deeper, looking embarrassed before he lowered his hand from his muzzle and quietly laced his fingers together, looking at the objects in the reptile's hand and twiddling his thumbs slowly before he murmured a question: "Did you... really..."

Zerrex shook his head, and the badger glanced up before smiling faintly. "You mean... she's really alive?"

"I'll tell you what, Tinny." Zerrex said softly, and he held up the four sawblades he held in one hand, once more drawing Tinman's gaze to them. "Let's play a game. If you live through it, you can go see Cherry. Just don't expect her to be well... anything but herself." Zerrex smiled slightly now, and Tinman nodded obediently, laughing faintly.

Then he looked down again, hands still laced together before he looked up again, meekly tilting his head as he asked hesitantly: "Can... can I ask another question?"

"You just did." Zerrex responded, his own smile slightly broadening as the badger blushed deeply, and then he spoke in a soft, soothing voice: "Sure. One of us could die in the next few minutes, so... I'll be as nice and generous as I can. Ask away, Tinny."

"I can't kill you." Tinman responded in a mumble, and then he was silent for a moment before looking up into the emerald eyes of the Drakkaren. "What about Vampire then... did you... torture him or..."

The reptile shook his head slowly. "No. We fought, and I... decapitated him." Sorta. "That probably killed him but... his body kept going. So I dumped magma on it to cremate him and... stop his pain." It wasn't a phrase the reptile would use normally, but it made Tinman smile and wipe at his eyes quietly before he nodded and firmed his stance, putting his hands out to his sides as he took a slow breath and visibly calmed his shaking, eyes closed as he took long breath after long breath: something no enemy would usually allow, but Zerrex did as he placed one hand on the hilt of his sword. Then Tinman opened his eyes and nodded.

"I'm ready to do my best." He said quietly, then he smiled faintly again as he held his arms out and in front of him, looking so... small and meek in his plain dress shirt and slightly loose pants. "I'll play the game, Captain Ravenlight-"

"Zerrex." the reptile corrected gently, and Tinman's smile broadened as his eyes brightened quietly, looking at the reptile with surprise and then nodding, seeming to silently taste the word before speaking again.

"Zerrex." He said finally, then he nodded one last time before stepping back and raising his hands. "Let's play."

The reptile laughed softly, then he drew his hand back before throwing the four sawblades at once in a wide, diagonal arc, letting them fan out as he brought his arm out in a full swing from one side of his body to the other. Instead of continuing forwards, however, then hovered in midair as Tinman pushed his hands out, then he gritted his teeth and made a violent shoving motion, sending them back at the Drakkaren - not flying at him, but spinning rapidly enough to cause the air to whirr.

Zerrex, however, had drawn his sword in the pause, and he immediately slashed outwards as he rose one foot and swayed to the side slightly: two of the spinning sawblades whirled past him, smashing halfway through the wooden exit and lodging themselves in the thick oak doors, while the other two were knocked back from the hard slash from the reptile, flying once more towards Tinman: the badger rose one hand, however, stopping them as his tongue appeared between his teeth, concentrating as he lowered his other hand and made a grabbing motion at about his waist before shoving upwards.

The Drakkaren felt some force grab his sword, and then he jerked his head to the side with a grunt as he felt the blade almost yanked out of his hands as it thrusted upwards; it barely missed his head, but then Tinny's other hand waved and the sawblades were coming at him again, spinning violently as the sword swept down towards his neck.

Zerrex snorted and let the blade collide, and Tinman's hand faltered as he gasped and stared, inadvertently releasing his grip on the sword and focusing more power into the sawblades... but then Zerrex sidestepped, and both discs slammed past him and buried deep into the door, the wood frame trembling from the force of impact before Zerrex turned to the badger with a wince, rolling his head on his shoulders as he held the long katana out and said in a mild voice: "It's a single-edged sword, Tinman. Nice trick, though."

"Oh..." Tinny said meekly, then he flushed and looked down. "Thanks... but what about this?" Then he held up a hand, making it into a gun, and cocked his thumb back.

The reptile stared as he felt one of his .52 handguns push against the back of his skull... and then he laughed softly as he looked at Tinman with a faint smile. "That... is a very good trick. But it must be hard for you, huh?"

The badger nodded, not needing much else to reply: the huge magnum was a hard object to manipulate because he couldn't see it, and, as a mechanical object, it required more force to move around, being made of all different types of materials instead of just light metals. Then the badger whispered: "Sorry," and he clenched his eyes shut, turning his head away as he mimed pulling a trigger.

Zerrex jerked his head away, wincing and knowing it wouldn't be enough... but the dry click of the trigger told him that he was safe. He blinked, then the gun fell to the ground as Tinman opened his eyes meekly, and the reptile shook his head before looking at the badger with vague amusement. "Well, that would be the gun I didn't reload, then..."

Tinman flushed, then he rose both hands as Zerrex began to step forwards, and the reptile felt the metal sheath rise up behind him and the metal grind as it tried to curl around his throat... but the alloy was too much for the badger, and so he only stood, struggling uselessly for a few moments as sweat poured down his body... then he fell backwards on his rear and panted, hands flat against the ground as he stared at Zerrex as the reptile sheathed his sword, somewhat pleased by the fact that the metal was barely bent - it meant he wouldn't have to work so hard to straighten it out again. "Good game, Tinny. You've definitely gotten better."

"I'm so dead." Tinman mumbled, curling up with a wince as he looked up at Zerrex. "Please just... make it quick?"

The Drakkaren looked down at him, then he snorted and nudged him with one boot, making him uncurl and sit up before he jerked his head behind him and said softly: "Nah. Your prize is your life, Tinny. You did pretty good there... I won by a fluke. Now go and see Cherry." He smiled slightly. "You wanted to do that, didn't you?"

Tinman stared up at Zerrex for a few moments, disbelieving exactly what he'd heard... then he lunged forwards and hugged the reptile's legs tightly, shoving his head against his knee as tears rolled down his cheeks and he looked up at him warmly before he began to force himself to his feet... then stared as the reptile offered his hand, and let him help him up before he swayed in front of him, then threw himself against the lizard in another tight embrace, Zerrex's arms going wide as he made a face and then slowly patted him on the back with one hand as Tinman wept against his chest, saying in a muffled voice: "Thank you, Zerrex! Thank you, Mr. Zerrex!"

"Zerrex is good, thanks..." The reptile responded mildly, then the badger looked up at him with shining eyes and he laughed faintly. Well... I guess you were always kind of the innocent one of all of us, too... so... I'm glad I didn't kill you. Hopefully Cherry doesn't, either. But I doubt she'll do too much. "Go see Cherry."

Tinny nodded, then he quickly ran past the reptile - almost braining-slash-impaling himself on the door - before throwing it open and yelling in a loud, happy voice: "Cherry! You really are alive! You really are!" Then, as Zerrex tilted his head back and the door closed behind him, he heard the distinctive sound of Tinny running towards her... then a loud smack and a shriek as Tinny rolled down the steps after being hit by something hard.

"Roundhouse kick." Zerrex said softly, then he flexed his hands before walking slowly forwards, heading through the doorway Tinny had come through, and then down the hall, hearing sounds - namely frightened panting - coming only from behind one doorway. He stopped, then kicked the door open and sent Lone - who had been trying to hold it shut - flying with a shriek into a couch, then flipping over the furnishing to land first on the cushions, then roll off and crash onto the floor, the revolver skittering across the room.

The lupine only knew that Tinman had been defeated, if not killed... and that he was alone. And now, he tried to crawl for the gun, crying quietly as Zerrex walked in behind him, then grabbed the couch and shoved it into the corner of the room, clearing a straight path for him as Lone looked over his shoulder, crying harder before turning for the gun again and lunging, reaching out...

Zerrex stomped down on his ankle, and the wolf fell flat on the ground, smacking the bottom of his muzzle against the floor with a squawk of pain as he clawed for the revolver, his fingers glancing off it and only knocking it further away before Zerrex stepped beside him and slammed a foot into his already damaged kidneys, rolling him over as the reptile drew his odachi, and the wolf screamed, holding his hands up in front of his face as he clenched his eyes shut: "No, no, no! Don't, no!"

The sword stabbed down, and Lone's body convulsed, his arms flying out and his arms spasming out to his sides before he slowly turned his head to the right, where the blade had buried beside his head, cutting through his fur but not so much as scratching his skin. He whimpered deeply... then he tried to roll around the sword and lunged for the gun, grabbing it and fumbling with the hammer as Zerrex leisurely drew the ancient revolver from his boot, then took aim as Lone rolled over, shrieking: "Die! Die! Die you motherfucker, you die! You-"

The boom of the gun was massive in the room: it filled everything, took away Lone's senses, and then he was left laying on the ground, twitching, his hands bloody... and then he slowly rolled his head back with a groan of pain before tilting his head up and raising his hands in front of his face, looking at the burns and blood on them as he gazed up at Zerrex, who was snarling, a deep gash down his shoulder, and a massive, rusted revolver aimed at him but tilted backwards, arm bent as if the recoil had been too much even for him to handle repeatedly... and then Lone, trembling, slowly looked up into the corner of the room, at his congealing mess of vomit that had been further splattered by what looked like a broken, curled piece of burnt steel before traveling back to Zerrex.

The reptile lowered the gun again towards the lupine, snorting in disgust at the fact that he'd allowed the wolf to get a shot in against him out sheer carelessness. He must have fired a split second before the reptile had... but still. That wasn't what mattered. Now Zerrex took aim at the wolf as Lone rose his bloody hands, shaking his head in frantic denial as he pleaded: "Please... please, sir... I'll... I'll do anything, oh please... I'll buy you whatever you want, give you however much money you want..."

The reptile snorted, then he took aim and fired once. Twice. Thrice. Then he merely stood there, the gun smoking and his arm aching, the deep wound on his right forearm dripping blood through the bandages again as Lone lay on the ground in front of him... and then the wolf curled up and screamed, barely able to hear even his own voice as his body shook furiously, hands behind his head, covering his aching ears as he shrieked: "Stop it, stop it! Stop, oh God, stop!"

The reptile fired off two more rounds, and the wolf's paws curled up now, tears rolling down his muzzle as his body quaked, five bullet holes in the ground, the dots forming a pentagon around the lupine as Zerrex snorted, then he pulled the hammer of the massive revolver back and shoved the gun against the lupine's head, searing into his forehead with the barrel as he dropped a knee of his chest, forcing him to uncurl and holding his head against the ground as he shrieked, eyes going wide again and piss once more running down his leg as he shook rapidly, trying to force himself free before Zerrex whispered quietly: "Listen to me, Lone. Listen well. How many shots have I fired? I bet you don't know. Nor do you know how many bullets this gun loads."

Lone cried harder at this, eyes staring at the reptile's cold emerald irises with terror as he felt the gun bearing down into his skull, as he felt tears leaking down his face and his body trembling violently, his hands gripping his arm uselessly as he kneeled on his chest, one leg out to the side before he felt Zerrex twist the barrel and he shrieked in agony, babbling incoherent nonsense before he felt the barrel draw back... then slam him across the muscle, burning his lips and breaking his teeth as he screamed, dropping his hands down to grab his agonized mouth as the reptile shoved the gun back down against his head, snarling: "Listen to me, goddamn you!"

Lone quailed, and the hysteria was replaced by total, broken fear as he stared up into the Boss's eyes, trembling in total defeat... and then he whispered: "Yes, sir..."

Zerrex nodded, then he continued to speak quietly: "All my life has been about violence. My mother died young, my father did too. He killed the former and I killed the latter, I stabbed him while he slept. I don't talk about my past, Lone, but I'll talk about it before I blow your useless head off, just so you get my point.

"My father's name was Ifret. But we all just called him Narrius. He trained me, raised me to be a cruel, sadistic bastard. He taught me about rape, slavery, killing for fun and all those nice family things. From the way you act, you probably were taught about money... but when I look in your eyes, I see you at least recognize some part of what I'm saying. Tell me."

Lone swallowed thickly, then whispered: "My dad... had me rape... my sister. Once. Then... whenever I wanted, he said I could do it... and he gave me the family business when he passed... Mom... wasn't much, I dunno, I guess she was average... she did drugs but... they both did and they kept it to themselves... my sister went on, she lives... somewhere, I don't know where... so I started rape... there... but... I swear I never meant to kill anyone..."

Zerrex laughed faintly, nodding slowly, then he smiled coldly. "I hurt people because I realize they're people, Lone. Not toys. You, on the other hand, seem to think money can fix anything. Can bring Mary back." Zerrex twisted the barrel viciously with these words, and Lone let out a whimper as he clenched his eyes shut in pain. "Can change this situation, Lone. But I've been thinking.

"I lived my whole life through violence. My father was not the first person I've killed. I tried to be good, but the world always laughed at me, so I decided to go along with what it wanted and treat everyone like crap. Hate everyone. Hurt them for my pleasure..." he gave a disgusted snort as he looked at the wolf, his eyes full of contempt. "You do it because you want to, on the other hand. I bet you were never hated without reason... beaten until you were almost dead... trained violently and forced to work every day of your life just so you could sleep in a broken bed under a damaged roof. Until I joined the military, I fought every day of my life. Ironically, when I was with the military, it was only fighting most days of my life... and it was a battlefield more physical than mental. So it was... fun." The reptile licked his muzzle slowly at this, then he brought the gun back and slammed the handle down on Lone's head, cracking his skull back against the floor and making him groan with the pain, seeing stars flash in front of his vision as he slumped against the ground... but he was quickly brought back to consciousness as Zerrex stood and gave him a hard boot to the crotch, agony exploding in his already-damaged testicles as he gave a choked gasp and stared at the reptile in horror as he pointed the revolver at him.

Then he continued, and it was with a strange, dark smile... and as he spoke, Lone realized with a strange horror the complications it meant for him. "But I've decided to at least try and do things the right way, now. I'm no creature of good. I'm a monster. Pure and simple, this is what I live for: carnage. So I'm going to set things right here, Lone, starting with all the chaos that's been caused in this town." He stopped, then said in a strangely soft voice: "Say goodbye to your old life, Lone. You're parting ways with it now."

"No!" Lone screamed, spasming against the ground, eyes widening as he rose his hands... and then the reptile pulled the trigger.

There was a dry click, and Zerrex smiled down at the wolf as he panted harshly, pale with terror, his arms falling back against the ground and half-levering him up as he stared at the reptile with horror before whispering: "What?"

"Looks like it only has six shots." Zerrex responded quietly, then he pulled out his .52 magnum and fired twice, blowing out the shins of the wolf and causing him to scream in newfound agony, clutching at his legs as his voice howled and shrieked. It was a beautiful music to the reptile, and he closed his eyes before forcing himself to holster the gun and tilting his head upwards, smiling faintly at the ceiling as Lone spasmed and shrieked in agony. "I hear you. Even over his hollering, I hear you."

Then the reptile stepped forwards and stomped down on the wolf's chest, shoving him against the ground as he stared up at Zerrex, fear seeping through the total agony as he spasmed against the ground and continued to sob, pain burning through his body... but the reptile's orders were clear even through the burning that felt like it was eating him up, and his body was firm and steady in his vision despite the fact everything else seemed to be turning to an unimportant haze as he convulsed, hand clenching and unclenching as the Boss said quietly: "Listen to me, and you may yet live."

Zerrex only knew one thing: he was going to do what was right... and he was going to try and follow the path of so-called good. What always came back to mind for him was simple: do what his angels, his innocents, would tell him to do... which meant listen to the voices of Cindy... Sarah... and Mary. Cindy had never asked for Lone to be raped... Sarah had never asked for Lone to burn... and somehow he knew, Mary would never ask for Lone to die.

So he wouldn't. But he knew exactly what he could do... and so he made Lone stand up, made him walk as he screamed, his eyes bulging, unimaginable agony filling his body as Zerrex kept him standing with a hand to the back of his collar and awake with a hard fist to his stomach whenever he started to fall into a daze... before allowing him to sit on the couch, and then Zerrex had dug out a blank piece of paper and a pen, and they'd written up a contract for the wolf to sign... before Zerrex had gathered all the important papers and left Lone sitting, alive but breathing harshly, half-mad with pain and sorrow and fear and terror, and to be plagued for the rest of his life by nightmares of not only that night, but the realization of all the pain he'd caused...

In the end, Zerrex had simply walked out, and he, Cherry, and Tinman had gone back to his house after the police phoned for an ambulance: Lone was once more bandaged up, put on meds... but this time, when he awoke, the first thing he croaked was that all his assets were to be liquefied around the world and placed into various funds, that he was quitting his job and taking position of Mayor full time, that all border patrols were to be removed and that he was going to be making major changes in the economy.

Vance was elected police chief; he found he got along with Zerrex, and the reptile was able to smile at the toddler he met in the park the next time he saw him, saying he was perhaps a good person after all. Then the reptile had gone to Elliot's, met with the members of the weird sexual club he'd ran into before, and produced a land deed for an unused townhouse in Comfort Town and said that the arrangements had been taken care of. Needless to say, the OPOS representatives had been exceedingly happy, and gladly accepted Zerrex into their flock as an occasional participant.

Cherry and Cindy stayed with Zerrex: Elliot was somewhat downcast at this, but he was happy that she was staying with her father now, and that she even had a kind of mother figure there was well... although he found himself slightly disillusioned to this when Cherry had gotten into a drinking contest with the boys at the bar and ended up yelling lustily along to the jukebox.

Tinman took up residence in Apple Villa as prices on the huge mansions began to drop as people left in a huff, trying to find some other rich fool's utopia: he reduced the size of the home greatly, then built his own little art center, where he worked at using his own unique powers to create statuettes and vanity figures, and to entertain and marvel the children with, making them laugh and bringing a certain happiness to the quiet badger's life.

Zerrex checked in periodically on Lone to make sure he was doing his duty, and to offer advice on how to better knit Baskin's Grove together: Lone found himself exceedingly frightened of the Drakkaren... but at the least, he wasn't being kicked around anymore, and much of his worry was slowly turning to more awe and quiet respect. The wolf was going through his own changes now, as he watched Zerrex trying to live a productive life that was at least free of unjust violence... it was a strange and amazing thing to watch.

There were a million more stories, endings and beginnings: there was the realism that all ended in death, but there was the romance of the happily-ever-after, on the day of Zerrex and Cherry's wedding that came a long time before. There was the comedy of Reinhold being chased from the town by his former constituents, and there was the near-fantasy as Lone changed under Zerrex's watchful guidance. In the end, it was life as life had always been in the town... but at the sight of Zerrex standing hand-in-hand with his wife and daughter, and Lone sitting on the hilltop while he flushed as they ragged on him about the past and Tinman stood nearby, looking at the setting sun... it became obvious that life had changed for the better.