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Prologue: Aftermath

Times've changed. Things are different now, in this "depressed," post-apocalyptic world. The economy is in the negatives, and the technology on the market has hit both an all-time-low and an all-time-high at the very same time: the poor can't afford much and squat or buy ruined homes no longer sold on housing markets but instead bartered for at bars and auctions. The rich, on the other hand, live in their giant â€" and extremely secure â€" mansions guarded by soldiers and private military, with all kinds of fancy technologies once thought of as nothing more than products of "science fiction and fantasy" by the general scientific community.

Times've changed. The "Great Global Depression" that resulted from a catastrophic war between Hez'Ranna and the rest of the world has had its greatest effect on Ire: from repeated nuclear attacks â€" "cold bombs" that don't leave traces of radiation behind, and "hot" ones that leave the ground a burning, desolate toxic wasteland â€" the shape of the continent has literally been changed. Entire countries have been wiped out, but Ire has been turned into a lawless republic ruled by martial law, tyrant military, and a corrupt government made up of a "Special Republic Council." Even the other once major powers have suffered hugely, and the world has gone from being populated mainly by mammals to mainly by genetically-engineered Drakkai.

Times've changed. Everything's changed. Even Baskin's Grove is no longer watched over by its dark protector; ironically, they no longer need him to keep the peace. Poor and rich together have finally bonded and combined their strength: the cost of the war, the deaths, the chaos and earthquakes caused by the rumbling bombs that were dropped over the entire continent have finally made the two factions realize how much they need each other, and that all are mortal, living beings.

Now, instead, in this changed world, the being once known as the Boss is quiet and peaceful, his monsters vanquished â€" at least for the moment â€" and living quietly with his family, three daughters and a little slave wolf. Time has changed, and so has every society, every continent, every country, and every person since the time of the Great War.

Times have changed, for the worse, and for the better. Despite the "depression," everyone's gotten happier in some ways, because everyone's been forced to recognize the value of life and living, and are all fighting a different sort of fight than the old ass-kissing and crap-shoveling done in what people already call the "old world." And now even the Boss feels like he fits in somewhere other than just killing and hurting, and has found his place in the world.

But times have changed. And time will always continue to change. And that is the greatest tragedy of life, that nothing ever stays the same... and one day we all are forced to lose our happiness for sadness, and cycle forever forwards. Time always continues to change.

Book 1: The Darkest Pits Of Hell

Zerrex rested quietly back in his usual chair, an old recliner that they'd dug out of one of the "scrap barns" where people had taken to selling off old possessions from abandoned homes and other places. The meant-to-be-oversized chair fit the tall reptile's strong body snugly, and he obviously found the cushioned back comfortable despite the yellow fluff starting to come out of it. He yawned a bit, rolling his shoulder slowly and letting his head drop down a bit, eyes half-closed as he seemed to drift in and out of reality.

The Drakkaren's body was large, muscular, and powerful: standing at just a couple inches over eight feet, his bare chest revealed chiseled, tight abdominals, thick biceps, and muscle wherever muscle could be, held tight and somehow made to look lithe under a tight hide of scale. For the most part, these scales were emerald â€" a shade darker than his half closed eyes â€" but they became a deep navy blue over his strong chest and inner body. Unlike most reptiles, he also possessed natural ivory hair that hung down to shoulder length, kept neatly trimmed by one of his daughters. Several long bangs fell over his eyes and down his muzzle as well, and the lizard occasionally twitched a bit in his half-sleep as it tickled against the length of his maw with even the most minute shifts of his body.

His features were not handsome: one side of his face was marred, with a large, black burn scar around one eye that twisted down in a half-C that ran slightly down his muzzle, and his body was a mapwork of scars, testament to the long, hard life he had lived. Deep slashes that travelled through the rock-hard ravine of his abdominals; a network of scars like claw marks that radiated out over his masculine breast from the center of his body; every combination of long, deep, short and shallow gouges and tears along all of his limbs. Even his black jeans couldn't entirely hide the damage that had been done to him during the many wars he'd fought over his life: one leg, propped up on a stool, seemed oddly tight at the ankle, and a bit of a metal brace extended just past the bottom his pants: it was a metal brace, part of a medical exoskeleton that the Drakkaren usually wore during the longer days to give him extra support on a leg that had no kneecap.

A plain-looking black metal cane sat against the side of the chair beside him, as he stirred a bit and mumbled under his breath, his features twisting and revealing how old he really was, despite the youthful looks that seeped through his scars. As he twitched a bit, one hand knocked against the cane and it fell with a loud clatter against the hardwood floor, causing Zerrex to start and wince as he looked back and forth, making a face. He shook the hair from his eyes quickly, then rubbed at his forehead with the back of one wrist as he brought his leg off the stool with a grunt, mumbling something under his breath as he sighed and then rolled his shoulders a bit, glancing idly around the room.

A cracked ceiling above, and dirty-looking walls that were watermarked and damaged; a wall lined with old, warped dark wood bookshelves; an ancient computer monitor sitting on top of a desk messed with papers and all sorts, next to a dented laptop. On another smaller table next to the old wooden door leading in and out was a lamp and a dissembled handgun, and the Drakkaren looked at this mildly for a few moments, wondering if he really wanted to busy himself putting it back together at the moment with how tired he felt, before the door burst open, Cherry staggering inside and Marina following behind with a roll of her eyes.

The oldest and youngest daughters in the family both received a glare from Zerrex, and Cherry grinned stupidly and rubbed the back of her head, before making a face as she received the same look from Marina, as the youngest member of the family crossed her arms. Cherry wasn't always the best-behaved... not since they'd met, and that had been long before she'd become the big sister of the family.

It was a strange story, though, best saved for another time... and these days, no one would ever guess the wiser with how well Cynthia "Cherry" Blossom Narrius fit into the family. A wonderful mix of power and beauty, Cherry prided herself as much on her combat abilities as she did her almost-ridiculously-large set of breasts. Standing at no less than eight feet and five inches, her body somehow retained a strange feminine grace and charm â€" including a large, firm buttocks and all the right curves in all the right places â€" while also maintaining powerful musculature over her entire body. Abdominals that were tight and chiseled, and bulging biceps comparable to her father's.

Also notable were the tattoos the female had adorned herself with: a thick black swastika on one bicep that looked much the same as Zerrex's, a "II" on her tailbone with a swirling border curling outwards on either side of it, and a swirling vortex of flames that circles around one breast that slides down her front to loop around her waist like ink ivy. Tattoos that were almost more natural marking than anything else: because of one of her body's strange abilities, Cherry had been forced to kidnap a team of scientists and force them to modify her body so that the tattoos were written right into her genetic code: a feat once thought impossible, but one of the many modifications for the body made possible thanks to advancements made in genetic science.

It had been a joke for years between the little family group, the lengths Cherry had gone just to get a few simple tats... and that wasn't even counting the variety of piercings she had all over her body. A stud through her tailtip, a ring through her nose and one just above her eye, and a menagerie of more intimate ones that weren't usually visible to the naked eye... well, at least as long as she has her clothes on. And they aren't ridiculously tight...

But thankfully, today Cherry had on what was "conservative" clothing for her: a fairly-tight exercise top that revealed an impressive amount of cleavage and her strong abs, and a taunt set of leather pants that bulged oddly at the crotch: this, of course, was easy but yet awkward to explain â€" Cherry wasn't so much female but instead a hermaphrodite with a deep affection for her ‘special lower parts.' The only other affectation she wore was a tight, thick flexible black metal collar around her neck with a silver clasp that had the same "II" engraved upon it as above her tailbone: it noted that Cherry wasn't just his oldest daughter, but his second-in-command and in a way, not just his little girl but his favorite slave.

Their relationship... well, all his relationships with his children were twisted, to say the least. After all, in what he sometimes referred to as his past life, he and Cherry had been lovers, master and slave, soldiers and sexual partners in every way. And that hadn't really changed, despite the fact they were now father-and-daughter... but he'd never really had a problem with that, and it definitely didn't stop Cherry from crawling all over him and acting far more like a random slut than a close and beloved family member in person.

She grinned stupidly for a few moments, rubbing the back of her head, then coughed and finally mumbled: "What the fuck, Marina told me you were awake..." A pause, and then she looked irritably at the tall, lithe female behind her before looking forwards and speaking in a more serious voice: "But anyway, Zerrex. Cindy told me to tell you that Albatross left a message... he wants to video conference with you tonight sometime, said he'd be waiting after seven or whatever, and I know you like your frigging veggie naps or whatever-"

"Oh, leave Daddy alone." Marina said mildly, but at the same time Cherry swayed a bit, wincing as if slapped. Marina's arms stayed crossed, however, and Zerrex was barely able to repress a smile: the youngest of the family also possessed the most powerful abilities, to say the least... and in a way, she was the one who also tried the hardest to follow in her father's footsteps.

Her body was strong and lithe, her muscles toned but far more lithe than Cherry's bulging, almost-ridiculous sizes â€" and Cherry was big everywhere, to say the least... â€" and she stood at an impressive eight feet, with an extra six inches added to her height by the large, black segmented fin that came up from her forehead and went down to the back of her neck. She was beautiful, in a word... the shining, strange kind of beautiful that seemed almost angelic, with scales the same shade as her father's over her body that turned to a lighter green over her chest, and brilliant sky-blue eyes that shone with intelligence and almost religious reverence for her father... her father, who she saw as her personal savior, hero, and even master.

He had saved her... hell, he guessed in a way he'd played a good part in saving the world... but Marina seemed to think he'd done a good thing in doing that. Sometimes, when the reptile looked around, he thought the world would've been better off conquered... except he knew that his father, Narrius, had wanted to simply slaughter everything and restart with his own master race. But Zerrex hadn't killed Narrius for any reason as noble or heroic as wanting to save the world... he had killed his father for his own personal reasons, and taking down the massive floating fortress called ‘Paradise' had just been the bonus. He didn't want the world to suffer for his sins any longer, after all... so the reptile had let his daughters destroy the fortress while he killed his own father.

Zerrex had raised her... then she had been kidnapped, modified... and perhaps that was part of the reason she was so beautiful, but he thought she had started with enough of her mother's innocence to be striking without any genetic modification. Tall, strong, with feminine muscle and beautiful features... and with only a few scars on her body, mainly the result of overwork or too-hard-sparring, when she'd demanded they all-but-fight for real during the training session with him. The largest was a thick, diagonal scar that went from her left shoulder, over one breast, and down just past the center of her abdominals. She wore it almost proudly, despite it being the result of a training gone too far â€" but to her it wasn't a mistake, and instead like some strange reward.

She was wearing tight, plain jeans, and a black bikini top that left most of her upper body bare: just like Cherry, she preferred casual but serviceable clothing that wouldn't interfere with her movements or combat. Never anything fancy... but then again, Marina was one of the few people in the world who could probably wear a full dress to a warzone if she wanted and still come out unscathed, with her strange abilities.

Marina had a mix of psychic powers, ranging from high-powered telekinesis to mind reading, mind control and every other type of mental ability, making her an opponent to be truly feared. Of course, just because her mental powers were so fearsome didn't mean she was lacking physically... and the Drakkaren reflected that maybe that long scar she had she thought of as testament to her own physical toughness. She's more flexible than Cherry, after all... and maybe almost as strong as I am...

They were a strange little family: each possessed of their own abilities, the remnants of a nuclear-genetic war that had resulted in the death of a good ninety percent of the world. Despite that, Zerrex wanted to forget the past, wanted to move on and move forwards from the warrior he had once been. He wanted to give up his nightmare life in return not even for good, but just for normality: for coffees with Reia and the few other people he knew in town, and for snoozing on the off days and idly writing a first-hand account of the wars he'd seen, if just to have a record of his life and get the poison out, and most of all for working in the little bookstore a few days a week and living with his daughters.

Then again... he did know that no matter what else, he had a duty. So as Marina and Cherry looked at him, even the latter softening a bit, Zerrex mumbled under his breath and slowly brought his bad leg off the stool, wincing as it dropped heavily to the ground. A soft breath, and finally he pushed himself up out of the chair, standing and rubbing at his strong biceps slowly before he murmured: "Right. We still have a job to do."

"I wish you wouldn't blame yourself for the past, Daddy." Marina said softly, and Zerrex glanced up with a faint smile, feeling her mental hands soothingly stroking through his thoughts and emotions. She smiled back a bit, then stepped forwards, slipping past Cherry to embrace him tightly and pushing herself against his chest, breathing softly against his neck as their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

They swayed on the spot for a moment, and then she pulled back and gazed up at him lovingly before turning and leaving. Cherry made a face, looking nonplussed, then stepped forwards as Zerrex swayed a bit with a wince, immediately catching him by the shoulder and murmuring: "Fuck, I wish we could talk like you two do... and I still don't get how you can still hide things from her..."

"It takes a lot of practice, though." Zerrex responded with a mutter, but inwardly he thought Marina probably already knew, as he dragged his bad leg forwards a bit and steadied himself, half-shrugging Cherry off embarrassedly. The muscular female only tightened her grip on his shoulder, however, slipping her body closer to support him with one muscular side as he added in a grumble: "I'm not infirm..."

"Yeah, but I know you're in pain, too." Cherry said stubbornly, and they exchanged a glare before Cherry finally stepped back and picked up the Drakkaren's cane, holding it out to him with a bit of a smile. "Anyway, you need all the support you can get right now, since I know how much that diplomacy shit pains your sorry ass."

"Bite me." Zerrex rolled his eyes, but Cherry only grinned wider, making him sigh in exasperation before he shoved her firmly, causing her to squawk loudly and flail her arms to try and keep balance, the male walking past. "Yes, I know, how hard? Your standard comeback. You need to be more creative, bitch."

Cherry snorted, then grinned and followed after the reptile, reaching out to slap his back firmly. The lizard knew it wasn't as hard as she'd used to hit him in the past, however... and that made him want to both smile and grumble irritably. "Come on, Boss. You just had a nap, you shouldn't be so fuckin' cranky."

Zerrex rolled his eyes as they turned down the short, warped-but-spotless hallway and into what he called the library: it was really only a small room with wall-to-wall shelves filled with books, however, and with a large flatscreen television mounted on one wall. It was strange perhaps, seeing that piece of technology in the otherwise dilapidated, warped-wooden house... but Zerrex had ensured long ago that they not only had satellite but also basic electricity connections in the house â€" a luxury in this broken world, where a quarter of the population lived in homes without power and instead were forced to do most of their cooking, laundry, and everything else in the massive community centers that had been set up and connected by satellite from city-to-city.

The community centers were also the way that the government worked: officials formed a massive General Council that reported on their city's state to the secret Council of the Republic that was reputed to live in some hidden, bunkerized facility, safe from all types of explosive and biological weapons with their filtered air and walls of steel and titanium alloy many a kilometer beneath solid earth. That was how Ire was ruled now: and every city was its own state that reported to the big bosses of the kingdom, putting them all the way back in a medieval age where those in power got to step all over the backs of whoever they wanted.

"I'm not the Boss anymore, Cherry... that time has passed." Zerrex said finally, as he sat down at the plain oak table that took up most of the center of the room, glancing over at the books laid out on the table with a bit of a smile. Advanced Physics, Psychotherapy and Kinetic Therapy... Cindy must've been here reading just a little while ago. "You gonna refuse to sit down again?"

"Not proper for me to, Boss." Cherry said softly, and Zerrex turned to glance over her with a bit of a smile as she put her hands behind her back and squared her shoulders, standing tall and ready and keeping her head up. The female's expression was serious, almost solemn; but despite that, a hint of a smile played over her face as she added: "And you'll always be the Boss to me. You do a good job of keepin' us in line, after all, and stopping too much shit from happening around here."

"That's just a side effect of a giant lizard with a swastika hanging around the downtown area." Zerrex mumbled, then he cleared his throat as he reached up and grabbed a small black device sitting in the middle of the table, pulling it over to him and looking down at the keypad in the center of the device almost thoughtfully. The shape was just so weird to him... rounded keys sitting in a circle with three large, rounded triangle-feet bridging off from the little control machine. Then he shook his head a bit, recognized he was stalling, and then finally sighed and hit the large green "ON" button.

The monitor flickered on, displaying the symbols of Ire and Hez'Ranna side-by-side: the head of a Dragokkaren beside the steel-colored head of a wolf. The original flags had both been revamped over the war... and the Drakkaren couldn't help but smile ironically as the screen faded to plain dark blue, with "Connecting..." slowly blinking in and out on it in green. The lizard tapped his fingers with a sigh, glancing down for a few moments before the connection solidified and the small talk terminal dinged loudly, the Hez'Ranna flag fading in on the screen.

Zerrex looked at this for a few moments, the plain green flag with a crouched, featureless Dragokkaren on one side outlined in blacks and whites, then he turned his attention to the keypad and tapped in a short button combination, causing the screen to flicker to static for a few moments, before turning solid black. A moment later, a sidebar appeared on the enormous monitor, noting the strength of the connection to the satellite, and the current status of the link he was attempting to make.

A few moments later, the monitor dinged, and a surprisingly-clear image of a blue-scaled Dragokkaren sitting at a large desk appeared. He wore a casual suit, loose around the collar and without a tie but instead a silk dress shirt, and his features were handsome, despite the scars that covered half his face and the eyepatch he wore. His shoulders were squared, and his arms were crossed as he leaned on them, frowning for a moment before Cole Albatross said mildly: "Zerrex, your camera isn't on."

"Oh. Sorry. Can you hear me?" The Drakkaren blinked, watched as Albatross nodded, and then he mumbled: "Ugh. I can never remember... right. Just a minute." The lizard paused for a moment, hand hovering over the keypad on the control terminal before he quickly tapped in the code, and there was a clicking sound before a small green dot light came on, next to a nearly-invisible flat camera set into the top of the monitor. "There?"

"Thanks, Zerrex. It's good to see you after all this time... I could swear you've been avoiding me." Albatross said with mild amusement, and the white-haired Drakkaren rubbed at his head, glancing away with a cough before the male on screen became more serious. "Look, I know that you're not comfortable with this, but I do need your help on these things. And last time I sent you out as ambassador, we got very favorable results-"

The Drakkaren snorted at this, cutting off the other lizard as he looked up at him with mild entertainment. "Yeah, after the terrorist attack from the anti-Drakkai forces that Cherry and Marina had to put down, while Cindy and I attempted to talk turkey with the rest of the survivors from Lunis island." He shook his head slowly, then murmured: "Albatross, I'm getting old and beaten-up. You're still young, and you make a goddamn good Commander-in-Chief, and Churchill is doing great as the High King of Hez'Ranna... but all I want to do is work in my bookstore and pretend I'm normal like everyone else, even if my last name is ‘Narrius.'"

Albatross gazed quietly at him from the monitor, his hands folded on the desk in front of him as Zerrex slumped a bit, the silence spiraling out for a few moments before he said gently: "Lord Zerrex... you saved the entire world from destruction. You fought alongside us for that last important month of the war and stood up to your own father, killed him and brought down his Paradise and the machinations inside that deadly machine. I realize this isn't fair of me to ask you, but please. Ire refuses to permit more than one or two of our airships to pass through its borders every month, but since you're already there and a permanent resident, it shouldn't be any problem for you to move to the Northlands, and you mentioned you knew one of the kings who managed to hold out through the conflict..."

"But it's not diplomatic..." Zerrex sighed and shook his head, resting an elbow on the table and his muzzle on his fist, looking dryly amused. "It's a seek-and-destroy mission. You want me to see if I can find a sleeper cell, a group of disbanded or isolated soldiers, and tell them the war is over... tell them and disarm them with force, if necessary, and whatever force necessary."

Albatross sighed a bit at this, knitting his fingers together and shaking his head slowly. "I... yeah." He finally admitted, then he sat up and smiled faintly. "Zerrex, you don't need to repeat it back to me. I feel like crap. Even Churchill feels like crap after everything we've put you through... but you really are the only person who can do this. I mean, hell, even the Black Reds might have smarted up ever since the Great War into powerful troops, but you're the only person who can handle something like this.

"Lord Zerrex... you were trained for this. You know how to remain stealth even in a crowd, how to perform an assassination mission even in a locked-down old-style kingdom like those in the north, and how to keep your cool in any situation and improvise to deal with whatever soldiers, monsters, or supernatural freaks you walk into. And Zerrex..." Albatross hesitated, meeting Zerrex's eyes with his own brilliant purple one. "This isn't just because you have all those qualities, or because all of Hez'Ranna still admires you. This is because-"

"-I have to fix my mistakes." Zerrex said softly, and the once-Commander of the Resistance Forces that had helped crush Narrius blinked. He rubbed the back of his head, straightening a bit and laughing quietly. "I know. You're giving me a chance to redeem myself a bit more..."

"No, Zerrex." Albatross looked almost affronted at this, a faint blush rising in his features as the Drakkaren blinked and looked at him curiously. "It's not... none of us hold you responsible for what happened. But this isn't our job, and I recognize that: this is your job, and your business, more than it is any of ours: the war, even though we fought for seven years, we had no one to rely on. We had no figurehead, we had no guidance... and within a few months, you brought a seven year war to an end after coming out of a vegetative state induced by a biologically-engineered demon. This is personal for you... and I know that if I sent someone else, despite your misgivings..."

"Then I'd probably be even more upset." Zerrex mumbled under his breath, shaking his head slowly. Then he winced and finally straightened, rolling his shoulders a bit and sighing quietly, but he seemed more resolute and less grouchy than earlier now. "Alright... so what's the mission?"

Albatross looked at Zerrex for a few moments, then smiled faintly. "You're a strange creature, Lord Zerrex. Tell you to talk to people, and you get all bitchy. Tell you to go kill people, and you seem to perk right up."

"Just give me the job." Zerrex said morbidly, crossing his arms on the table and dropping his head on the table, but he had to turn his face away to hide a bit of a smile. The blue-scaled Dragokkaren on the screen snorted at the scarred lizard's behavior, but seemed to size him up for a moment consideringly.

Finally, he nodded, then became serious again, squaring his shoulders and straightening a bit. "It's not the exact same as the other missions we've sent you on before, Zerrex... the other missions were mainly stealth, after all, and around Ire. You still have Class-B status, right?"

Zerrex nodded a bit, sighing as he looked mildly at the large screen. "Yeah. I'm permitted into everything except locked-down areas and I can take the private jets and sea shuttles out of Ire if I want. I'm also registered in the NEWLAND database now... so they know I'm ex-military and I can carry pretty much any type of weapon anywhere I want."

"Excellent. I've got an aircraft already scheduled and waiting for you whenever you're ready to fly... Hez'Ranna Air Service Flight 101-1." Albatross paused, then continued in a calm voice: "We've managed to decrypt another few thousand lines of information in Narrius's military logs: apparently, in order to sustain his operations in the northern lands and Ire, he set up several large-scale cloning facilities."

"Just like the one you had me bomb a few months ago?" Zerrex asked drolly, and Albatross coughed, thrown off beat for the moment. "That was a bitch, by the way. Gutting a compound using C10 plastic explosive is not as easy as it seems. Nor is it fun to deal with automated motion-sensing cameras."

"In any case." Albatross overrode the lizard before he could continue, making Zerrex drop his head almost sulkily. "Most of these facilities have long been dismantled and destroyed. We have information, however, that one may still be functional in the arctic regions, and possibly active."

"What?" Zerrex immediately became serious at this, and even Cherry let out a grunt of surprise behind him: the implications of this revelation were horrifying, after all. "Anything visible on satellite, or have you attempted to send a transmission over the RED-coded frequency?"

Albatross shook his head slowly. "No visibility, but since we managed to get the old communications servers up and running, we sent one message, that the war was over... but they refused to respond. The fear is that they're operating under a ‘bad news' system... building and training a terrorist strike force to attempt to finish off Narrius's ambition, despite the fact he's long dead now."

"Not long enough." Zerrex muttered, but he nodded slowly. It wouldn't surprise him... but on the other hand... "Why are they still in existence? I thought Ire's Hunter teams would have long found and destroyed that facility?"

At this, Albatross smiled a bit, the Commander-in-Chief tilting his head. "Zerrex, they didn't even mange to find some of the foxhole facilities hidden in their own country. They're more obsessive crusaders than they are anything else." He paused, then added dryly: "Personally, I've had my fill of those bastards, anyway. They've done some serious damage here in Hez'Ranna to my military and several other peacekeeping forces.

"No, this definitely isn't a job for the Hunters. I'd prefer to send in you... and your girls." Albatross's tone softened, as Zerrex frowned a bit and tilted his head. In the other missions, I was requested to work alone as much as possible... "The main reason this facility is still operational is not that it's hidden... apparently, Narrius deployed a special team to this facility, codenamed Toxin. ‘Toxin' is made up of cybernetic and genetically-enhanced prototypes designed by Mengele Tstegi... so I shouldn't have to tell you how dangerous these beings must be, especially in combination with the Enforcer and special ops training they've all been through."

Zerrex nodded slowly, quietly touching the swastika tattoo on his arm and murmuring: "Yeah... Mengele made... modified me and my family members, after all." A pause and a shake of the head as he sensed Cherry looking at him with quiet concern, then he looked up at the screen and coughed, trying to shake his strange feelings from his body. "So you want to send in the full team to destroy Toxin, huh? See if we can outclass their powers, then stop them from producing soldiers and shut down the facility?"

"That's right." Albatross laughed softly and shook his head slowly. "Look, I'm loathe to put your girls into danger... but I know that all your daughters are talented beyond belief, and even the wolf that lives with you, Lone, has some amazing gun skills."

"Mahihko. I know, it took me years to get used to the name change, too." Zerrex responded with a bit of a smile, but he couldn't deny the burst of pride it filled him with to hear the Dragokkaren acknowledge his family. Even... maybe especially... little Mahihko. "But alright. That sounds simple enough... are you going to supply us with weaponry or will we use on-site procurement? I can also likely borrow some heavier weapons from my friend in the northlands..."

Albatross shook his head slowly at this. "Sorry, Zerrex, but I can't give you more than some funds... and I'd like to ask you to keep your silence in regards to this mission. Standard procedure... but also because we're still trying to compile and decrypt data on the soldiers and facility; who knows what spies might lurk about and have infiltrated over the seven years of warfare and the almost-nine since then?" The blue-scaled Dragokkaren paused, then added gently: "And this isn't exactly legal... and I know you want to avoid other people getting tangled up in this affair as much as I do. For the good of both Hez'Ranna and yourself... I mean, after all, you've spent all these last years running from reporters and biographers, haven't you?"

Zerrex nodded, looking almost grim as he crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. "Good point, yeah. I guess if anyone managed to get wind of this operation, Hez'Ranna would be hit by a whole new barrage of mudslinging from Ire's RC. The goddamn Council of the Republic has already screwed up this country enough, requiring special passes to move from city-to-city and in some place sector-to-sector... I can only imagine the havoc they'd cause if they found out we were cleaning up the mess Narrius left behind like this."

"I'm surprised they haven't forced you to change your last name." Albatross said with a slight smile, but his tone was only half-joking before he continued in a softer tone: "I do want to caution you though, Zerrex: it looks like codename Toxin are almost comparable to the RED in terms of their abilities. The facility itself is called T-905, and looks like it was designed for short-time, high-level training operations, meaning you'll probably encounter newer-model clone soldiers with up to Enforcer training levels.

"Since Paradise fell, all communications were completely shut-down and locked into what you call the RED frequency, that only the Royal Elite Division and Narrius could access by using their genetic data as a password. Since you terminated all of them, the RED frequency was locked as well, and it took years of hacking to finally break the code. By that time, the other facilities had all started their own doomsday operations, however..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, murmuring quietly: "Producing terrorists as well as soldiers. Even those kamikazes in that one facility... Suicide Drakkaren with explosives built into their bodies, among other things."

"Right. Narrius obviously didn't want the world to forget that he existed... or, like you prefer to say, he didn't want the world to exist if he didn't as well." Albatross said softly, nodding in return and then meeting Zerrex's eyes with his own single one: a feat made doubly as impressive by the fact he managed to do it straight through a television monitor. "So we have no idea what sort of operations are going on at the facility, and we haven't discovered the codeword to cancel the bad news ops. So you'll be going in half-blind: by tomorrow we'll have hacked the rest of the files on the Toxin team, and we'll put those in the plane with whatever funds we can spare and the other information we can dig up."

"So in short... destroy the facility, eliminate Toxin, and I'll gather the usual information if there's any extra to be garnered." Zerrex paused and smiled ironically. "Parameters include doing my best to keep silent about everything that's going on, not sharing any information, not being caught and discovered by civilian or enemy forces while attacking the facility. On the bright side, I don't need to hide from most of the forces in the northlands and civilians probably won't look at me so weirdly."

Albatross gave him a look of quiet amusement at that. "Everyone looks at you weirdly, Lord Zerrex. You're a size-shifting, always-tall crippled lizard with a burned-off face and more scars than you'll find in an army battalion."

"Dude, I hate you." Zerrex muttered, dropping his head in his hands, then he sighed, resting there for a few moments and rolling his fingers through his hair before finally looking up and saying mildly: "I want compensation for this trip, though, because I hate putting my family into trouble. I want a freaking vacation once this is all over and done with."

Albatross smiled slightly at this, raising his hands and nodding as he replied amiably: "Lord Zerrex, this is possibly the last major facility you'll have to take care of... and I can promise you at least three months before you'll even see my face again, if you don't want to put up with me, after this mission is over."

"That's what you said last time." The Drakkaren muttered, then he shook his head slowly. "Fine. I'll do it."

Usually, when Zerrex flew somewhere, things were less than pleasant. He hated to fly, hated being in the air, hated being stuck in the prim, padded cabins with the little kitchen in the corner and nice, red-cushioned seats and the little hardwood tables bolted to the walls and floor. He also hated how he was alone, except for the pilot who never came out of the cockpit... so that meant he'd played a lot of lonely games of solitaire while leaving his family behind for days or weeks at a time to work a job somewhere.

The flight to the northlands, however, had left Zerrex feeling good for a change: together there with his family, talking, relaxing, and even going over combat strategy as they flew towards their destination, Zerrex sitting at a table with Cindy and Marina while Mahihko and Cherry played cards at another, the wolf tossing Zerrex fawning looks every now and then.

Mahihko had changed a lot from the Lone Zerrex had first known: a fat, handsome but at the same time repugnant wolf who had first come to the town of Baskin's Grove to steal land and sell it at exorbitant prices to developers and real-estate moguls. He'd used to wear a corset just to keep in his fat and platform shoes to make himself look taller and tougher in his three-piece custom-tailored suits...

Now, the wolf was thin, with a girlish figure, little muscle â€" but what the little there was toned and fit â€" and all manner of piercings adorned his body. For the most part, his fur was white, except for the black tips of his ears, and the half diamond over his chest, but he also possessed all manner of tattoo; purple flames just under his armpits, snowflake-like swastikas on his shoulders, and the words ‘Property of Zerrex' in an arch over his lower back. Not to mention the more intimate tattoos he had â€" a wreath of fire that circled around his penis and down to his testicles, and on his large but firm buttocks, a crossed revolver and sword.

He was a rival for Cherry in terms of piercings, as well: without mentioning the dozens of intimate ones on the wolf's crotch area, he had almost twenty in his face: alternating stud-ring-stud down the underside of either side of his muzzle, two rings in his nose, two more in one ear and three in the other. The wolf's other accessories included a set of large gold bangles he wore around one wrist, a bow he tied around the end of his tail â€" which he also usually dipped in pink â€" and anything else he could get that made him look "pretty."

Mahihko was the definition of a girlyboi: he loved to wear girl's clothes, play dress-up, cook, clean and perform any role that was traditionally female. At the same time, however, he also liked to act like he was about the age of four or five, constantly trying to get a smile or some praise but at the same time terrified of any sort of admonishment. A few harsh words from Zerrex, and the wolf often looked like he was going to start crying; and unlike the old Lone, he'd never hide that or his other emotions, meaning it sometimes left Zerrex in an even more awkward state in public. On the other hand, Mahihko did deal with himself better... at least, so long as he was behaving properly.

The wolf wasn't the best behaved, sure... and he wasn't exactly mature in a lot of cases; after all, when someone acted like a five year old â€" albeit a well-behaved five year old â€" most of the time, it led to problems. Given some dolls, Mahihko would happily play dress-up with them for hours on end, for instance... but caught in the middle of a game or television show, he was hesitant to leave even for the most important events, and would whine unless it was made clear just how serious whatever event was to him. It also meant that he did much better if things were on simple terms and he was given either little or a lot of artistic freedom to deal with the situation as it came: any plans with blank spaces in them where he was expected to improvise, and things tended to get ugly very quickly.

Of course, he was a lot more serious and mature when it came to things like combat: the wolf, after countless hours of badgering Zerrex and noting again and again his performance in the great raid during the last part of the seven year war, had finally been permitted to do more than simple target shooting with Cherry and instead participate in military and combat drills. It took him several long sessions to get the hang of it, but finally Mahihko had adapted and become an excellent marksman: not to mention the fact he packed a surprising punch in close-range combat as well.

Cherry and Zerrex weren't the only people capable of changing the size of their bodies, after all: Mahihko could too, but the others referred to his ability as "spontaneous shifting," due to the speed it occurred at. One moment, after all, Mahihko could be pulling back his tiny little girly arms for a punch... and then next, a giant fist on the end of an arm with bigger muscles than Cherry could be smashing into the face of the unlucky adversary. Not to mention the fact the wolf was trained to go into combat "buffed-up" a bit, so his body could better handle the recoil from larger firearms... and he was also capable with not just a pole, but a pair of large metal hoops that looked almost laughable at first but hurt like hell to be smacked with.

It was ironic that the only person who was never irritated was also the most like him in many ways... although Zerrex thought Cindy always managed to be better behaved and somehow never got on his nerves in the same ways that Mahihko did. Then again, Cindy had also turned from a prancing little girl into a mature, strong adult over the last few years more than ever before. Sure, sometimes she still liked to dress up, go out, shop and play... but most of the time now she tended to wear more conservative, even military-style dress... despite still sticking with wearing the spiked bracelets and collar she had always favored. She'd always swear that they'd saved her life... and in a way, maybe they had when she'd dealt with Requiem. They had shown her great-uncle how resourceful she was and gained his respect for that, among other things... and Zerrex had thanked his once â€" and in his opinion, always â€" mentor many times for starting Cindy on the path to recognizing and respecting the code of warriors and the battles they had to fight, even when they didn't want to.

Cindy was so damn strong, in every way... her heart was huge, her compassion infinite, and her innocence unrivalled. Zerrex found it almost impossible to believe how truly beautiful she was, in every way, and just how she could be so pure even after all she had seen: the wars, the battle, fates of death and worse, losing Marina and finding out she was born of rape, and that her lover was also her father. Down to her heart of hearts, Cindy had always walked the true path of innocence, goodness, and simple rightness... and Zerrex almost envied her will and determination.

And by far, the female Drakkaren's mental and physical abilities outdid the rest of her little family: not only was she stronger than Zerrex â€" something that never failed to impress him, with the way she could beat him in a grapple or lifting anything â€" she was the smartest of them as well, working alongside the military as a doctor and specialist in both chemical and biological warfare agents. Ever since the great war, Cindy had realized her calling and how she could help people, how she could still serve the causes she believed in without having to hurt people.

Now she sat across from him, idly reading a book and sitting with her feet propped up on the table, in a pair of black jeans and an old Hez'Ranna military shirt with a plain rawhide harness overtop connecting into a double belt with all manner of sidepacks and a simple holster. She looked more the part of a mercenary or comic book special forces soldier than a doctor... but to each their own style, even if that included an empty pistol holster, a pair of spiked bracelets, and a matching spiked collar.

She paused in her reading, eyes flicking up, before she smiled a bit and put down the book â€" Advanced On-Site Medical Treatment â€" and crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat, saying mildly: "You're worried, Daddy. And it's not exactly normal for you to bring us along on a ‘vacation' or especially not an all-out mission."

Zerrex nodded reluctantly: even though Mahihko might be too dumb to realize that they weren't going on some sort of simple in-out mission, and Marina wouldn't care â€" and Gods, did that ever scare him sometimes, her willingness to charge into the jaws of death and slaughter for him â€" Cindy had likely figured out the entire situation already and wanted to know the through-and-through truth. "Alright...

"It's... not the standard mission." He felt awkward, rubbing at the burned half of his face before glancing over at Cherry and Mahihko, who had both put down their cards to listen in, as Marina simply hugged her father around the waist and slid herself a bit closer to him, closing her eyes peacefully. "It's supposed to be kept quiet and under wraps, first off, and in no way is this the standard mission we're all used to. It's a mishmash of stealth assassination and full-out attack..."

"Croatoan." Marina murmured against his neck, and Mahihko tilted his head curiously as Zerrex blinked, before smiling a bit and nodding slowly. Then his daughter continued to speak in a soft voice: "It's a word that appeared throughout several towns... ghost towns, that is. They vanished off the map, often with everyday stuff laid out... food, clothing, etcetera. No one knows what happened in any of these places. That's what we're going to do."

"To a town?" Mahihko looked worried now, and Zerrex could empathize with the wolf, if not sympathize: the lupine much preferred to take his targets down in as nonlethal a manner as possible, even if he didn't have a problem with blowing out kneecaps or off heads when the time called for it. "Zer... I dunno..."

But now the male Drakkaren took the reins back up, his voice gaining that old, authoritative tone he was both thankful for and miserable about. "No. An enemy military base. I went over the papers that Albatross had left here for us, but it's pretty sparse. Numbers could range from a hundred to a thousand strong in terms of soldiers, moderate training but minimum equipment and supplies. The only reason we know about the base at all is because they've been raiding minor settlements and small towns to get supplies and food, and because Narrius dispatched a special cell to aid in training and with the invasion forces.

"This cell is called ‘Toxin,' and it was originally made up of eight soldiers, but at least three of them have already been terminated." Zerrex paused at this, glancing around at the others before wincing and sitting back as a rumble went through the plane and an alert dinged, a red warning light flicking on above the cockpit door. "Crap. Of course, once we start getting into things, we're going to start the landing procedure..."

"It's never failed before, has it, Boss?" Cherry asked playfully, and he glanced over at her with badly-hidden entertainment as she looked back with a wide grin. Even as Cindy and Mahihko looked confused, he felt Marina paging his thoughts, looking for the memory, making it harder for him to concentrate as the hermaphrodite finished: "Anyway, we're breaking those protocols the higher-ups were always bitching on about. Faggot, Books, Bebop and me should be waiting until we're in a secure premise before we start bugging Boss for the debriefing."

"Real proud of those-" the plane gave a lurch, and Zerrex winced perceptively, his grip instinctively tightening around Marina as she looked up at him with amusement. "Of those nicknames, huh?'

"Shit yes." Cherry grinned and winked, seeming completely unperturbed by the tremors rolling through the plane as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. Then again, with the level her precog's at now, she could probably leap free of the plane and land completely unharmed. "But don't worry about it until we get in and proof a quarters for our own. We'll even ward the fuckin' walls if we have to."

Zerrex nodded as Mahihko simply continued to look dumbfounded, but agreeable: he'd have to explain later that it meant they'd not only check the walls for tapping and security equipment, they'd set up some of their own little devices and improvisations to interfere with both highly-advanced and extremely simple. The Drakkaren may have absolute trust in Killer and Alexis, but he couldn't afford any sensitive information falling into the wrong hands... and he had enough experience to know that even whispered words or a coded note could be overseen or broken. They had to be absolutely discreet in this affair, as much as he hated to be... but when global security was concerned, he had to do what he could to abide by the rules.

The plane gave another rumble as a faint whine rose in the air, and the Drakkaren made another face, shifting a bit and trying to sink back against the cushioned seat. Gods, how he hated planes... not as much as ships, but more than cars... ugh, I have a vehicle phobia.

It's not a phobia when they actually crash and burn a good percent of the time, another voice muttered in the back of the lizard's head, and then he winced as he felt something else nudge his mind, and he glanced over to Marina. The female gave him a dryly-amused look in return, and the reptile gave a bit of a dumb smile and rubbed the back of his head slowly with his free hand, the other arm staying tight around her as he mumbled: "I just don't like... stuff."

"You don't like much of anything, though, Boss." Cherry said airily, then the plane gave a lurch and even the butch psychic made a face as her teeth clicked together loudly, wincing in disgust before she muttered: "Although I guess I can sorta understand why you don't like planes..." A pause, then she leaned over the side of her seat and yelled angrily in the direction of the cockpit: "Slow, asshole, slow and easy descent! This isn't a fuckin' action movie!"

"Backseat driver." Cindy muttered, then she glanced over at Mahihko, who was fastidiously cleaning up the cards that had spilled off the table from the jolt. "Hey, do you mind coming back into the back with me to make sure everything's together?"

"Not at all." Mahihko glanced up at her warmly, nodding rapidly in agreement as a faint blush rose in his cheeks, and Zerrex glanced from one to the other with a bit of a smile before watching as Cindy stood gracefully up and strolled down the hall towards the small cargo bay at the back of the jet, the wolf following quickly after, half-sliding with every thrum of turbulence. As always, Cindy was being fastidious... and it brought back a now-faint memory of a time when Marina had been young, and how they'd gone all the way to Hez'Ranna just before the beginning of the Great War to save their kidnapped daughter...

The now grown-up female shifted against him, then dropped her head against his strong chest, closing her eyes and murmuring softly: "You've always been there for me, Daddy... ever since back then, and I've never forgotten that... I want to do whatever I can to make sure things go smoothly in the times and trials ahead."

Zerrex nodded a bit at this, then he rolled his eyes as Cherry laughed and added cheerfully: "And, you know, good sex too! Because sex is the best." A sage nod as both of the others glared at her, before she added in a more-solemn voice: "But in all seriousness, I don't feel good about this at all, Boss. It feels like something bad's up ahead and I don't want to see you or girly or anyone else here going through the same shit as what happened a decade ago."

Marina made a face at this, then, before her father could respond, said resolutely: "It doesn't matter what we run into, Cherry... Daddy can deal with it. And as long as we stick by to support him, it doesn't matter what comes along... we'll just fight our way through and things'll work out fine."

"Yeah, well, we aren't all obsessive little psycho bitches, you... bitch." Cherry muttered, and Zerrex rolled his eyes with a sigh as Marina glared daggers at Cherry, the hermaphrodite sitting back and putting her hands behind her head, looking up at the ceiling with distaste. "Besides. Your Daddy is getting old, and even I don't feel as up to slaughter as I used to in the old days. I think this whole "immortality gene" stuff has been a gyp."

"We aren't immortal, Cherry." Zerrex responded mildly, and this earned a glance of curiosity from the muscular female. "Not immortal, not invincible, not invulnerable. Narrius might've found a way to stop the aging process in one way, but our bodies and all the others modified like us stayed on a timer anyway... and since we've spent so much of our life fighting, we've used up most of our ability to heal and now our bodies are on the other side of the slope and starting to break down. We're going to end up like those science projects on ‘Above and Beyond.'"

"I hate that science show shit. You're a nerd." Cherry mumbled disgustedly, then she sighed and crossed her arms on the table, dropping her head on them and adding dejectedly: "But I guess the ride had to end sometime, huh? But seriously, stop watching those science shows. They're not cool and you always end up making me feel so depressed with all that crap. It's like when we had fancy hat night instead of sex night."

"Those weren't fancy hats! They were art projects that you destroyed!" Marina barked, and she and Cherry exchanged another glare before the plane rocked hard, and all three were distracted by a loud yelp from the cargo room. This was followed by several loud thuds as the sound of the plane's engines rose for a few moments, and then vibrations ran through the jet as it went into the final landing phase and rolled down the runway.

Finally, it ground to a halt as Zerrex grit his teeth, half-clinging to his smallest and youngest daughter as Marina held him tightly around the neck, and he only relaxed a moment later, when Cherry stood up and stretched with a loud yawn. Then she glanced down and cocked her head with a wide grin, saying cheerfully: "And now we only got to ride the helicopter the rest of the way up, huh?"

It didn't take them long to transfer to the waiting military helicopter: Cherry, Mahihko and Cindy quickly loaded their gear up while Marina and Zerrex met with an ambassador from Hez'Ranna. The jet had landed at an embassy that had been set up in the northern lands of Kesteven after the Great War to deal with diplomatic relations and offer sanctuary to outcast Drakkai, and Zerrex had been here a few times to receive information on post-war operations and as a starting point for missions in the empires north of Ire. Ten minutes later, and Zerrex and family were sitting in the helicopter as it took off into the squall, flakes of snow dancing around the vehicle as it flew towards the northern borders of even the northern lands.

It was a short forty minute trip in the military transport chopper, Cherry spending most of it obnoxiously singing songs that came to mind until Zerrex shoved her off the bench and delegated her to checking their equipment. Idle conversation was made difficult, if not impossible, by the sound of the blades and the radio at the front of the helicopter blaring music, and so they sat in mostly-quiet... until finally, they landed at the Arkston military base near the northern edge of Kesteven.

The doors slid open, and a tall, black-striped white tiger in full dress uniform glanced inside and offered a smile as he bowed respectfully, speaking in a courteous voice: "Welcome to Kesteven... the king is waiting outside to greet you, sir."

"I told him not to worry about meeting us here..." Zerrex mumbled, but he couldn't repress a smile as his emerald eyes flickered mischievously. He couldn't deny that he was looking forwards to seeing Killer after all these years... despite how many times he'd been up in the northlands, he'd never had the time to visit the tiger or even stop in and look around his empire.

"Oh, fuck yes." Cherry grinned widely, leering at the Drakkaren for a few moments as she reached down to squeeze her crotch. "I've got a great surprise for him right here... but hey... why..." A pause, then she shook her head and offered an embarrassed grin, rubbing the back of her head as Zerrex looked at her oddly. "Ugh, sorry. Shit's still all mixed up in my brain ever since I got my penis."

"You're the crudest creature on the face of the world." Cindy said mildly, as she picked up two duffel bags and easily strode out with them, and Mahihko nodded agreeably as he trotted after her, half-dragging a suitcase behind him and wincing at the breath of cold air that washed into the helicopter. Cherry huffed at this, but followed the others out nonetheless, grabbing the other two bags they had brought with them... and Zerrex traded a slight smile with his youngest daughter before striding out after them, leaning hard on his cane as Marina clung loosely to his other side. He winced at the cold air on his body as they stepped out onto the snowy helicopter pad, then he glanced towards the parking lot at the edge of the pad, and smiled slightly at the sight of the huge male striding towards him.

Killer was enormous: a white warrior tiger with black stripes covering his body, he stood at no less than twenty-one and was covered in rippling, bulging muscle, with biceps bigger than the tires fitted on monster trucks. He was the master of the northern lands, the greatest king of the greatest empire, and he had been one of the few countries to stand and survive during the Great War against the unending onslaught Narrius had poured on the world. When Zerrex had first met him, the tiger had been smaller, his mane tousled instead of shaped into the huge Mohawk it formed now, but he'd had the same alive, sharp blue eyes and he'd been well on his way to the huge amount of muscle that covered the feline's body... and of course, there had been those spikes of bone that jutted from the huge cat's shoulders, elbows and knees as well.

The huge tiger was clothed in black dress armor and a long black cloak with golden tassels hanging from the shoulders, along with a pair of black pants and polished combat boots. A plain handgun was slung on one side of his waist, but nothing else that the Drakkaren could see: it was a show of trust, and overrode the battery of troops currently standing at attention at the outside of the military base â€" something most people would take as hostile, but Zerrex recognized only as a sign of respect.

But apart from Killer, what drew his eyes was his beautiful wife, Alexis: she was tall, stunning, and covered in pure white fur with beautiful, flowing blonde hair that fell past her waist. Only a few feet shorter than the enormous plus twenty-some of Killer, she was far lither but still toned and imposing, her blue eyes and seductive smile immediately drawing Zerrex's gaze before she blew him a kiss, and Cherry looked over her shoulder with a look of disgust, the hermaphrodite visibly simmering. In many things, Alexis was Cherry's rival: and in her tight black pants and top, she was a vision of sensuality that rivaled Cherry even at her best.

As the Drakkaren started forwards, Killer's eyes roved over them, taking in them all with interest and slight surprise... before his eyes settled on Zerrex and he paused in his tracks at the sight of the reptile. It made the reptile blush a bit and offer a faint shrug, as he continued to stride carefully along the icy cement with Marina holding gently onto his arm, Cindy falling back to walk by his side with a supportive smile-

And then all hell broke loose as Cherry's head snapped up and to the right, and she dropped the bags, snarling and pointing as she shouted: "Ambush!"

A moment later, there was the distinct thump of some sort of explosive launcher being fired, followed by the howl of an RPG that Zerrex caught only a glimpse of before it slammed into the back of the helicopter, quickly followed by a double-boom as both the explosive and the gas tank of the chopper exploded in a roar of flame, the helicopter skidding forwards a few feet even as Marina snarled, half-turning and holding up a hand to halt the wreckage of the vehicle with her enormous psychic powers.

Zerrex covered his eyes as another blast went up from the helicopter's ruins, a cloud of smoke and debris rising into the air as he staggered forwards. A glance right and left, and he saw the platoon of soldiers scrambling as Killer roared a command and Alexis drew her own heavily-modified magnum handgun to open fire at the hilltop. At the same time, he noted Cindy, Cherry and Mahihko digging in the duffel bags for rifles as Marina clung to him, and he unsuccessfully tried to shake her off as he staggered forwards with a snarl. "Let me go, Marina! I can help out here too!"

"No, Daddy! They've got it under control, Toxin might be here to ambush us!" Marina shouted in return, stepping to his bad side to add more leverage to her pulls as Zerrex heard the sound of automatic fire start up... and then a single bullet whisked just past his arm, tearing a small gash along one strong bicep, and Marina's eyes widened as Zerrex's breath caught in his throat.

A pause... and then a snarl as Marina leapt past Zerrex towards the hills and tundra beside the base, shouting in a voice that rose even above the din of battle around them: "Don't you hurt my Daddy! I'll kill you all, every one of you!"

"Marina, stop!" The male stepped towards his daughter, then he winced and covered his face, glancing to the side as soldiers looked up in shock, the cement cracking with the force of Marina's psychic will as both Alexis and Cherry clutched their heads with shocked looks, Killer immediately sheltering his wife with a look of confusion. Zerrex could feel Marina's terrible power slam into his own mind, and he snarled as he stepped forwards to grasp her shoulders even as a purple haze rose up around her body, the female grinning sharkishly as she held her hands out at her sides. She's doing it again... she's like a supercharger that's gone out of control, massively amplifying all the psychic energy in one area...

But more terrifying, the ruins of the helicopter were starting to rise off the ground, along with jeeps, armored trucks, and even a massive flatbed and snowplow parked in the lot next to the helipad where they had landed, all of them surrounded with a transparent haze as the others looked on in shock. Even the ambushers in the distance â€" a mix of warrior tiger and Dragokkaren â€" ceased to fire for a moment... then one of them screamed before throwing his weapon down and turning to flee.

"No one escapes!" Marina snarled, and immediately the floating vehicles and debris began to spin, and the unfortunate soldier was swept up and dragged into the whirlwind with a scream a moment before his body simply seemed to explode, a rain of blood and gore spilling out of the sky. Other soldiers cried out in terror at this, and then the enormous vehicles shot down from the sky like a storm of meteors, blowing the hills nearby to rubble and disintegrating the soldiers in the distance that it hit.

Marina laughed, and the sound was cold and cruel, her eyes burning with rage, hatred and darkness, even as Zerrex grasped her, tried to shake her and shouted for Cindy... and again and again, like a hammer wielded by a furious god, armored vehicles rose and then crunched down on whatever unfortunate she could spot, her hands guiding the movements of the vehicles through the air. She seemed unstoppable, a terrible force of nature even as Cindy ran over to grasp her other side, but it was as if Marina didn't even see her... and then Zerrex wrapped his arms around his daughter's neck as Cindy drew her fist back, then she winced as she struck Marina soundly across the jaw.

There was a spark that resonated in the very soul of the Drakkaren as he winced, clenching his eyes shut in pain, before Marina slumped in his arms with a sigh, and the vehicles she had puppeted so easily fell lifelessly to the ground in burning wrecks, leaving the others staring in shock at Zerrex and his daughter. Cindy sighed quietly, slumping a bit herself for the moment... and then Cherry snarled and called: "Hey, Boss! We got more incoming... looks like a wave of twenty, and there's someone way in the distance not doin' too much to hide himself!"

"What the hell is going on?" Alexis asked sharply, as she strode quickly over to Zerrex as he gently set his daughter down to the cold ground, before he straightened and shifted his grip on his cane, choking up on the body a bit and resting the end of it against his shoulder. Her expression of a mix of surprise, fury, and something like embarrassment at what had happened: not just because they had been ambushed, but likely because they had been ambushed during a reception for their guests. "I mean, they were obviously after you... and that girl, her power..."

She broke off, then looked up in surprise as Cherry patted her on the shoulder, the hermaphroditic female grinning cockily as she shouldered a rifle she'd pulled from one of the duffel bags and quickly snapped together. "You just worry about yourself and the big hunk of male-meat over there, sweetheart. Some terrorists aren't any match for us... nice to see you again, by the way."

"Good to see you're still such a bitch, too." Alexis remarked mildly in return, and then she glanced up towards the hills, before nodding a bit and muttering: "They look like shock troops... close range strikers. But what the hell, their uniforms look like our own military's..."

"Probably a diversion tactic... make it look like we took out the helicopter, start some more trouble with Hez'Ranna." came the booming voice of Killer, and Zerrex looked over in surprise to the huge feline as he walked in from one side, smiling slightly and then reaching out to rest a hand gently on Zerrex's shoulder. "Looks like the years haven't been too easy on you, Zer. But it's good to see you again."

"I've got more than enough in me for a few more fights, at least." The Drakkaren responded mildly, then he paused as Cindy nudged him gently, giving him a curious look. "Oh, right. You and Mahihko do as you see fit. See if we can take one alive for questioning."

"Hey, fuck that. I'm going to play the game too." A pause, then a grin at Alexis, adding casually: "You know, just to show how superior a shot I am to pussy-puss, here." Another pause, and a leer at Killer. "I got somethin' real nice to show you later, by the way, big cat-"

Alexis rolled her eyes at this, then she grabbed Cherry's muscular arm and dragged her over to where Mahihko was currently laying with a rifle, the wolf nervously licking his lips before giving a faint smile as Cindy approached as well with a thumbs-up. It left Zerrex standing alone with Killer, and he glanced down at Marina, asking gently: "Is that your youngest daughter?"

"Yeah." Zerrex looked down at her for a few quiet moments, then he kneeled and checked her pulse, brushing a bit of snow off her. The snowfall was light here, and the wind had died down... but he didn't like the cold, nor the fact that this was the first way his friend should be introduced to his youngest. A pause, and then he grunted as he slowly stood up, wincing a bit and rubbing at his leg as he dropped his cane back down to rest against it lightly. "When... during the war, she was experimented on, and I saved her. She doesn't understand the term ‘overkill,' and she adores me... so... things get complicated, sometimes." He finished lamely.

Killer nodded a bit, then he offered up a smile of his own, quietly nudging the male as he said softly: "Well, neither do we, huh? But why don't we take her inside? It looks like most of the trouble out here is finished with... I can help, if you want me to. It looks like you're short a leg."

"It's alright." The Drakkaren nodded a bit, then he poked Marina gently in the side with his metal cane, clearing his throat as the sound of gunfire pattered to a halt, Cherry yelling something cheerfully as Zerrex's eyes roved to the hills, which were now devoid of enemy soldiers; instead, a set of heavily-armed military vehicles roared away from the base and into the dunes of snow littered with debris and death. "Looks like your troops are ready to clean up the rest of the mess, anyway."

Killer nodded, then he glanced down curiously as Marina stirred and sat up with a yawn, stretching slowly before she winced and hugged herself, then she looked up at Zerrex with a deep flush, a look of shame crossing her features as the liger felt faint surprise cross through his body at the fact he was being completely ignored: normally it would infuriate him, but at the look of dedication in Marina's eyes, what he felt most was something almost like admiration at her tunnel vision. "I'm so sorry, Daddy... I didn't mean to do that..."

"Don't worry about it, Marina." Zerrex said softly, then he extended a hand to her, and the female smiled before taking it and letting herself be helped up to her feet. Then she turned and politely sketched a curtsy to Killer before quietly clinging to her father's side, and he could feel some strange tickling at his mind and thoughts as Zerrex glanced over the liger with faint entertainment. "So, Killer, it looks like we're destined to always end up in some kind of fight when we meet, huh?"

"It's starting to seem that way." The huge feline nodded, then he glanced over to Alexis as she stepped sinuously over to him and slid lightly into his arms. "But I don't think either of us mind too much... things have been too quiet around here for too long, anyway. But please, Zerrex, you and your family should come inside..." A slight smile. "It's not like any of us are dressed for the weather this far north, and it'd be rude of me to keep you out here in the cold any longer."

"Hey, never cold around you, big boy!" Cherry responded cheerfully, shouldering her rifle with a grin and slipping under Killer's arm as he motioned to several of the soldiers that had stayed back to attend to the dropped luggage of the Drakkaren family. Alexis immediately glared across at her even as Cherry fit snugly against the giant liger's frame, but the muscular hermaphrodite only stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry in return.

Killer laughed, then he turned with a smile, an arm around each girl as he strode towards the doors of the military facility, Zerrex following with Marina as Cindy and Mahihko quickly caught up to them, both of the latter carrying duffel bags. Last in line came a few of Killer's soldiers, clad in their full combat armor that covered their entire bodies: bodies clad in special plating and heads safely covered by helmets and facemasks that were fitted with the best in HUD and networking technology. Killer never spared the expenses when it came to outfitting and equipping his troops, after all... and now, in this post-apocalyptic world, his prudence in the design of his army was showing its true benefits.

As they entered the facility, Marina glanced around with a distrustful look, earning a curious glance from Zerrex: as protective as his youngest daughter was, it wasn't often in her nature to be so uptight, even after a confrontation. And it wasn't like the expression on Marina's face was one of worry, either... it was more simple dislike, as she mumbled something under her breath before squeezing her father a bit tighter around the arm and pressed herself closer, and Cindy frowned a bit as she glanced over at them. It made Zerrex feel nervous himself, as he nudged Marina gently... but she didn't respond with more than a quick glance at him before her eyes skirted away.

Zerrex made a bit of a face at this, but before he could be any more insistent, he found himself striding into a large meeting hall, and Killer glanced over his shoulder, asking in a gentle but insistent voice: "I'd like to go over what just went on outside, if you don't mind, Zerrex... your girls can leave if they want, though, I don't want to hold anyone up from settling in."

"We'll stay, it's fine." Cindy interjected easily, casually glancing around the room and taking in the computer consoles and the large meeting table without a blink. Cherry, meanwhile, had cheerfully kicked an officer out of his seat in order to take a seat beside Killer, before she sulked when he tossed her a less-than-amused look and she strode down the table to sit in one of the empty chairs at the end. Zerrex grunted a bit as he sat down himself next to her, gently touching the wooden surface with a bit of a smile as Marina slid into a chair beside him: it was so strange to see plain wood instead of a holographic projector in this day and age in a high-tech military base... but out here past even the boondocks in the arctic north, there wasn't exactly a lot of reason to bother installing top-of-the-market technology.

Soldiers took up their positions at the doors as others manned the computers and worked at the transparent flat glass screens standing at the other side of the room, opposite the table. Some of them wore special visors over one eye and spoke quietly into headsets, while others typed away quickly at the computer in silence, exchanging only a few words here and there. As Killer leaned to the side a bit, another uniformed officer carrying a clipboard said something in his ear and he nodded, looking a bit grim before turning his attention to Zerrex and glancing over his family measuringly. "So I hear from my sources that you're here to perform some sort of private mission for Hez'Ranna, is that right? So more business than pleasure... I was wondering why you wanted to come to this remote base instead of stopping in at the palace."

"You know we want to help out however we can..." A pause, then a glance of irritation from Alexis towards Cherry as she put her boots up on the table and leaned back, looking remarkably uncaring. "But you should show some professionalism and trust."

The hermaphrodite snorted as soldiers shifted uncomfortably, before she grunted and her eyes widened, rocking backwards and falling towards the floor as Alexis's eyes flashed. Before Cherry hit the ground, however, her chair stopped, and then she slowly floated back up to a sitting position with a half-grin as Marina looked across at Alexis, speaking in a soft voice: "Please don't touch my big sister. She might be rude, but she is competent."

"It's alright, Marina." Cherry said in a gentle voice, reaching a hand over to quietly touch her shoulder, and the female closed her eyes, settling down a bit as both Killer and Alexis stared with obvious discomfort. A moment later, Alexis winced a bit, touching her head, and Killer looked at her with concern before glancing across the table with a frown, but then the smaller female feline shook her head a bit and instead simply pressed against the huge barrel-chest of the larger male, murmuring something to him.

For a few moments, there was an awkward silence, then Zerrex cleared his throat a bit and said calmly: "You've got some very good sources then, Killer... I won't guess how much you know, but that's all I can tell you. Yes, we're here to work... but even if this facility is secure, even if you're my friend, and even if I have absolute trust in you, Alexis and your troops, I can't talk about it. Maybe after everything is done we can sit down and discuss it if you still want... but I can't talk about it now."

Killer looked contemplatively across at Zerrex for a few moments, then he shook his head a bit and said softly: "I don't like it. I don't like you that you're coming here not to visit or help out, but on a mission to destroy some facility â€" I don't think it's too important to keep up appearances when they obviously know you're here. Furthermore, I'm capable of handling any problems here... you or Hez'Ranna should have informed me of what was going on here instead of sending up a strike team to take care of it themselves. Ever since the Great War, Narrius's forces have been our problem, the world's problem â€" not just yours, Zerrex."

The male Drakkaren frowned a bit at this now, and Cherry leaned forwards, dropping her arms onto the table with a look of distaste as she said evenly: "Sensitives are sensitives, Killer. We did want to tell you... but we couldn't take the risk of messaging you in any way, unless someone else found out. And seeing as you managed to figure everything out through your own networks, I think you could understand the risks we wanted to avoid..." A long pause as she glanced back and forth, over the officers and the computer stations, before she leaned back and sighed a bit. "But sure, now we have to deal with the fact that apparently everyone in a five hundred mile radius probably knows about what's going on."

Killer gave Cherry a look of irritation at this, and Zerrex added quickly, before the hermaphroditic female could cause any more problems: "It's nothing we weren't prepared for... I don't want to cause any more friction or problems on either end here, but it's a job I've been given to do... that I have to do." The Drakkaren paused, then he shook his head a bit, glancing downwards before looking over to Cindy, then over his shoulder to Mahihko. The wolf was looking down awkwardly as well, shuffling his big paws a bit as he stood near the door and away from everyone else, and then Zerrex looked back over to Killer with a quiet laugh. "It's been a bad start for everyone involved. I wouldn't mind if I could get some rest with my family. Could you have a soldier show us to the barracks?"

The liger looked at the group contemplatively for a few moments, then he nodded a bit and said quietly: "Alright. That'd probably be best for everyone involved... but I do want to talk to you later, Zerrex."