FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The liger turned, heading down the eastern hall and shaking his head slowly as he rubbed his huge assault rifle slowly, pushing through another plain door and into a large mess area where they had already dropped a good dozen corpses... and no other soldiers were to be seen. The base was desolate now... and Killer made his way through the hall and down another short corridor, ignoring the doors along the way and instead pushing out into the valley once more.

A shot rang out and a bullet struck into the ground near his foot, and Killer cursed as he spun around and look up, spotting a sniper on the roof above: immediately, he rose his rifle and released a burst into the face of the enemy, and he fell back with a scream, blood raining down and splattering over the liger, making him wince and mutter under his breath as he rubbed at his eyes and face. The downside of having rounds that blow your enemy apart...

A mirthless smile, then he turned and headed quickly for the door leading into the warehouse, pushing inside and finding himself greeted by the same emptiness as Zerrex had. He slowly approached the shutter, giving himself a few moments to take it and the whole design in, and then he twisted the valve and murmured: "Zer didn't mention this... weird place..."

He ducked under the shutter as it rose up, then blinked as it slammed immediately down behind him, almost catching his tail as he spun around... before a clucking sound drew his attention, and he turned around to see a Drakkaren waggling a finger at him slowly, a cruel smile playing over features that were just a slightly-darker shade of emerald than his eyes, over which fell a pair of white bangs. "Foolish, foolish pelt. This isn't your home, this isn't your kingdom, and you are not welcome here..."

"What the fuck... who the fuck are you, and how dare you mimic Zerrex!" Killer shouted, stepping forwards and snarling as he leveled his assault rifle at the Drakkaren, his eyes flashing. "Are you that robot?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" The arrogant, disgusted tone was too vital, too alive for that monstrous creation... and then the not-Zerrex stepped forwards again, holding his hands out to the side, dressed in full black armor shaped to fit snugly over his body and accent his musculature, making him all the imposing and protecting him plates of metal and tempered fiberglass at the same time. He grinned, and the expression was callous, his eyes gleaming like the twin .52's holstered at his side, in front of a pair of katanas that he wore back on his hips. "I am flesh and blood, just like you... and my name is Ravenlight Narrius. Captain Ravenlight Narrius... the product of breeding, cloning, and artificial reproduction in an effort to cleanse the family name of the scum ‘false prince' first born to my father."

"You're not making any sense. Why don't you tell me just what the hell is going on around here?" Killer growled, but at the same time he realized that the Drakkaren was; after all, Narrius had already created an army of clone soldiers based around the Dragokkaren... it only made sense that his more-advanced experiments would deal with not only bringing back the dead, but creating alternate versions of a living being that would serve his purposes. This is too much... this isn't only a crime against nature, but an extortion of science...

"I can see it in your eyes... you know what I am, you understand what I am... and you can't hide from that understanding." Ravenlight spoke almost teasingly, his voice full of cruel ambition as he continued: "And just wait until I tell Zerrex I killed you, and then I'll kill him... his worst nightmare come to life in the flesh instead of only his mind."

"We'll see about that." Killer snorted, then he fired a quick burst at the Drakkaren's head before his breath caught in his throat, shock stunning him for a moment at the sight of one of the lizard's katana's suddenly unsheathed, afterimages playing through the air of an impossibly fast and fluid movement as he flicked his assault rifle to full automatic and opened fire with a roar.

Bullet after bullet was deflected, blocked, and avoided, Ravenlight dancing to the side as his sword moved with terrible speed and precision as his body swayed like a snake, the Drakkaren laughing cruelly the moment Killer's massive rifle clicked on empty, the tiger's eyes narrowing as Ravenlight said darkly: "You can't touch me."

"That's not what I see." Killer responded with soft venom, and Ravenlight snarled as he glanced down at himself, his hands bruised and bloody from the vibrations of the sword, his armor dented here and there before Killer leveled the rifle and pulled the second trigger, and a grenade fired at the shocked reptile.

Ravenlight sidestepped at the last moment, his movement quick as lightning, but Killer detonated the grenade in midair with the press of a button on his rifle and the Drakkaren was sent staggering backwards, covering his face with a cry of pain... but it still left the liger darkly impressed as he took the moment to reload his rifle, watching as Ravenlight screamed and rubbed at his eyes wildly, dropping his sword but never falling as his hand moved down...

And then suddenly Killer was being shot at, the Drakkaren glaring at him with hate burning in his eyes and his gun drawn and aimed in a moment, .52 bullets neatly smacking into the liger's armor and sending him staggering backwards before he leapt to the side, but Ravenlight's accuracy was precise, and this time he let out a gasp of pain as one of them connected with his shoulder and bit deep into his body, Ravenlight laughing and halting to clap his hands together as Killer fell to one knee. "See now, look at the big cat being so quickly tamed! It looks like you're all out of tricks, pussy-pelt... tell me, are you afraid yet?"

"Not as afraid as you should be." Killer rumbled, then he rose his gun and fired a quick burst at the reptile, but he danced away, returning fire immediately as he drew his other magnum, Killer immediately zigzagging along one wall and ducking as Ravenlight laughed and strafed a row of bullets at head level without bothering to aim properly. He's insane... he shoots wild, but he's too fast to hit, and I only have one grenade left...

The Drakkaren paused suddenly, then he grinned as he spread his legs, spinning his magnums on his fingers and standing straight across from Killer as the white tiger rose his assault rifle, before he blinked as Ravenlight holstered his guns and licked his muzzle slowly, saying playfully: "Come on then, bitch, let's play a game... my guns both have one bullet left in them. If you can dodge, I'll bow out... but if I hit you, I'm going to end you, got that motherfucker?"

"I don't give a shit about your games, Ravenlight, or whoever the hell you are..." Killer snarled, and the Drakkaren gave him a look of absolute rage before snapping both handguns up and out, firing both at his head... and Killer ducked low, even as Ravenlight threw his guns aside and drew both katanas, charging with preternatural speed and raising both of them to stab violently downwards...

And a moment before he could strike, Killer pulled the pressure-sensitive trigger down as hard as he could, sending full automatic streaming into the lizard's stomach and chest and knocking him stumbling backwards with a shriek of agony before he turned to try and flee... and Killer fired the last grenade as the Drakkaren leapt upwards, and the blast caught him in the back and sent him crashing through the cement wall, the entire side of the building collapsing on top of the reptile as Killer straightened and panted quietly, flexing his body and wincing as he muttered: "Good riddance to you, motherfucker."

A few more rocks pattered down from the hole Killer had knocked in the wall, and he shook his head slowly before turning and locating a steel security door, pushing through it and stepping into the next room, ignoring the pile of rubble in the corner and instead making straight for the ladder.

On the roof, he reloaded and checked his wounds, now feeling more secure about things, then he carefully stepped over the cracked ceiling to the satellite transceiver, brushing a bit of snow off the panel and tapping a few buttons on it to bring it into life before he pressed a button on the transceiver, asking clearly over the sound of the wind: "Is it working?"

Alexis's visor blinked, and then Killer's voice spoke to the room, and she looked over at Cindy, who gave her a thumbs up and a grin before going back to tapping away on the computer as Cherry leaned over her, muttering and pointing things out on the screen. "Sure is, lover... what's wrong, did you come across a mess we forgot to clean up?"

"You could say that." Killer said mildly, striding over to the edge of the building before leaping off and landing easily on the icy ground, making a bit of a face as he leaned back against the wall for a moment and adjusted Wyvern on his back. "It's been taken care of though, I'm making my way back to you."

"Good stuff." Zerrex said softly, and he stood up, rolling one of his shoulders as he strode around the center column in the room and stood in front of the doors leading into the northern quadrant. A few clicks, and then the door finally beeped and slid open, revealing an empty hallway guarded only by a camera at the end, swiveling slowly back and forth.

"I found something." Cindy said a few moments later, as Killer reemerged from the way he'd left, looking a bit beaten up but none the worse for wear: Zerrex glanced at him curiously, wanting to ask what had happened, but figuring it was best saved for afterwards. "Unfortunately, it's just what we thought... some kind of doomsday project, but here's the big problem. Whatever the hell it is, they've moved it to the north... there's another smaller facility through the mountains, even closer to the north pole... and whatever it is, it requires a hell of a lot of power to operate. That's why they've been stealing resources and why that mining town we passed through had been demolished... they apparently needed the mining and research gear for some kind of drilling operation."

"We'd better get going, then..." Zerrex frowned a bit, shaking his head slowly and glancing over the group behind him, trading a look with Killer. "Is there some sort of connecting area between the facilities?"

Cindy nodded as she stood from the computer, holding her assault rifle loosely in one hand. "Apparently there's some sort of special transport system inside the mountains... if we search through the research facility, we should be able to find something, at least."

"I think we should split into two teams, we'll find it faster that way." The huge liger said calmly, reaching up to tap his visor. "Using these, we can keep track of each other... I'll go and lead one team, and Alexis should go with you and Marina, Zerrex."

Marina looked at Killer distastefully as Zerrex nodded a bit, turning his over to Alexis, who gave a teasing smile to a sour-looking Cherry. "That sounds fine..." Both teams will have a sniper and a power specialist, at least... but I don't know how much deeper you two should get involved... it's not just that this is my job, it's that they're going to start accusing the Northlands of allying with terrorists... "Alright. We'll sweep the eastern wing. Keep in touch."

"Got it." Killer nodded in return, then he traded a quick kiss with Alexis before watching as they walked carefully down the hall, checking for traps and alarms, and he did his best to ignore a leering Cherry as he coughed and quickly motioned for the others to follow. "We should get moving ourselves."

Cindy nodded, but behind Killer's back Cherry just made a face as Mahihko stuck close to her, looking anxiously back and forth as they headed into the laboratory complex, wondering if there was some sort of hidden power struggle going on as they made their way into the interior of the facility.

Fortunately, it was a mostly-uneventful trip: Alexis was the one who discovered the hidden train as Zerrex dug through books on nuclear physics in the back office where the entrance was, feeling a rising tension in his body at the things he was finding. Worse still was the note in old runic Hez'Ranna: it was nothing like the new language it had evolved into, which is what confused Alexis, but Zerrex could read it without a problem â€" Requiem had taught it to him as a child, and it was the only literacy Narrius had ever achieved a few words in.

It was a hypothesis on some sort of extradimensional creation: not time travel, but the concept was scarily close to that level of science fiction. Whatever else, it gave Zerrex a chill... and he shook his head slowly before muttering under his breath: "Doomsday device it is... we should start moving faster."

When the group gathered together again, Zerrex automatically strode into the lead, heading down the concrete stairs they'd discovered behind a bookshelf and the rest of the group following automatically with no argument, Cherry exchanging a nervous look with Cindy. Killer too looked like he felt the gravity of the situation, as he automatically wrapped an arm around Alexis with a slow look over the reptile striding ahead of him down a steel and concrete passage... and then he pushed through a door and paused, looking stupefied as Killer followed, only to feel the same way.

They had both stepped into a massive, hollowed-out cavern, mining equipment parked at one end and soldiers walking around with hollow expressions on their faces, not noticing or caring about the small group that stepped into their ranks as one dirty Dragokkaren walked past them with a shovel, towards another group that was already busily laying tracks down on the other side of a cement barrier. The rails already extended into the dark in another direction, but the car was absent and there was no other means of transportation, Zerrex cursing quietly under his breath before glancing over at Marina as she pushed to the front of the line. "Can you?"

"I can." she nodded at the simple question, then glanced over at one of the soldiers who was loitering near the front tunnel, and he glanced up at them stupidly before looking back down and continuing to sway a bit with his gun. Then she shook her head slowly and murmured softly: "They're empty vessels. There's just a little bit of brain function left... someone's already turned them into drones with some kind of psychic power, but I don't even sense a residue of that anymore. It must've been one of the former members of Toxin you were talking about."

Zerrex nodded a bit, and then Marina turned her attention back to the soldiers, closing her eyes and concentrating for a few moments before saying quietly: "A brigade of elites and a leader, likely Ill, took a train forty minutes ago, and have undoubtedly reached the northern base by now. There's no other way there, so we'll have to run along the tracks."

"Wonderful. Haven't been electrocuted yet today." Zerrex muttered under his breath, but he patted Marina gently on the back and she gave a smile to him before he turned, glancing over the group. "Let's form up. Cherry, I want you up here with me just in case the train starts coming."

"No problem, Boss." Cherry effectively switched places with Marina, grinning toothily as she shoved the younger Drakkaren out of the way and causing her to glare before she stomped off to the back of the line with Cindy, and then the hermaphrodite glanced around longingly as she fell in step with Zerrex, before asking longingly: "Can't we kill some of them or something? Or you know, see if they'll still respond to ‘certain external stimuli,' in big fancy words?"

"You whore." Alexis said mildly, and Cherry looked over her shoulder with a glare.

"Shut the hell up, bitch!" she spouted back defensively, and then she snorted at the deathly look Alexis shot her, the hermaphrodite turning around huffily and muttering: "I'd like to bone her. Can I bone her?"

"No." Zerrex answered flatly, and Cherry crossed her arms and pouted before glancing up as Zerrex dropped into the long trench the tracks were in with a grunt and a wince, tottering for a moment before steadying himself and muttering: "I'm fine."

Cherry nodded a bit, making a face as she leapt down to land in the dirt beside him, then she glanced along the steel tracks and said softly, as they continued to lead the group forwards: "Someone went through a lot of trouble for some short-term shit..."

"So did Narrius." Zerrex replied quietly, and Cherry nodded with a disgusted look, glancing up and settling her eyes on the end of the tunnel. "Come on, save your energy. We've got a long march ahead of us."

It was a good hundred minutes before the hermaphroditic female held an arm out and shook her head quickly, her sharp eyes picking up on a glint of metal ahead. She turned around, then pointed at Alexis and Mahihko in the group, and the two nodded before following her quickly, the empty passage quiet but for the faintest sound of mining picks and blowing wind. Zerrex watched them move up the tunnel, waiting quietly for a sign... and then Killer's visor beeped and Alexis murmured quietly: "It's all clear. The train looks abandoned and there's no one on the platform."

Killer replied with a quick ‘Alright,' and then the group moved forwards, Zerrex reaching up to keep a hand lightly resting on the handle of his enormous sword before relaxing a bit as he saw Cherry lightly adjusting her jacket on Mahihko's slender body, the wolf looking both embarrassed and happy at the treatment. The three stood up on a flat plateau before a small slope that led to what looked like the mouth of a small cave, snow and wind dotting this area... and Zerrex frowned a bit as he slid forwards between the train before starting to pull himself up out of the trench... and letting out a grunt of protest, arms flailing as Cherry easily lifted him up and dropped him on the ground.

He glared at her as he stood up, but she only sniffed and stuck out her tongue, so instead he turned his attention the change, glancing over it but finding little interesting other than the fact there was a train down here: rectangular cabins, the caboose slightly extended, made of varnished red steel and with the Double Standard on both cars in black metal. The doors on both were closed, and the windows were dirty, but it was still easy enough to see that the entire train was vacant â€" there was simply no sense of life in the entire train, and it was creepy enough that he thought only the hardiest military group would want to set up an ambush around the train. Besides, it's probably one of their most valuable pieces of equipment... they wouldn't risk damaging it until the very end of their operation.

Zerrex shook his head slowly, then he glanced at Cherry, and she once more became serious, nodding a bit. "Yeah, don't even ask." A pause, then she started forwards quickly towards the mouth of the cave, sticking her head out... and then whistling loudly and muttering: "Sweet shit." A pause, then she ducked and called out: "You guys better come and see this."

With that, Cherry strode out of the cave, and the rest of the group followed quickly... and Zerrex's eyes widened at the sight that awaited him. After all, he'd thought the base had been impressive, even if unfinished... but this went far beyond what he had been expecting.

It was a massive crater, made by either a vast explosion or a comet's strike, made up of at least five levels of circling plateaus â€" some strange geological formation he didn't have the word for, but could still stand here amazed by the designs of nature: but perhaps not nature entirely, as machines toiled back and forth along some of these wide plateaus and soldiers turned laborers walked in and out of different caverns holding armloads of rock. As they watched, a blast went up from one of these caves, and something flickered around the perimeter of the crater... before Zerrex realized no snow was pouring down into it. And even with the snowfall so surprisingly lighter here, it still makes no sense.

Another strange flicker, and he recognized the buzz of not only machinery, but some kind of energy field... and a moment later, his eyes picked out four curved towers set up around the perimeter of the deep gouge in the earth. The nearest was only just down the hill of snow from here, and Zerrex's eyes settled on this for a moment before a voice shouted angrily at them: "What the fuck are you doing here?"

To their far left, Ill Weather was striding towards them furiously, waving a hand at the Super Enforcers that began to follow... and instead, they ran around the other side of the crater towards another one of the field towers. The Unseen has lost all traces of amusement now, his blindfold blowing back in the wind as he snarled furiously at them, and then he snapped his hand upwards, the long blade popping free of his wrist as he growled: "It doesn't matter, you're too late... the operation was a success and you're all going to die..."

Zerrex didn't bother asking: instead he pulled Blackheart off his back, setting himself as he said coldly: "Don't bother with the speeches, alright? Let's just finish things up here and now." A pause, then he glanced over his shoulder, saying curtly: "The rest of you, get down there and disable whatever they've built. Cindy, you should be able to deal with that tower."

"Understood." Cindy snapped off a salute, nodding to him, and then she turned and ran, leading the rest of the group as they took off after her. She glanced over her shoulder once at her father, though... and then turned her attention back to the job at hand, drawing her assault rifle as her expression became cold, her eyes settling on her objective as she skidded to a halt beside it and dropping to a kneel, even as her gaze slid for a moment to see the Enforcers running now down through a section of shield that was fizzing in and out on a short timer. They're heading inside to stop us...

But she could take a look afterwards: right now, she had a job to do while Killer and her father battled Ill, and it was better that everyone didn't go up in flames. So instead she pushed herself forwards against the cold body of the tower, snarling in effort as her hands seized the bottom of the tower, and it groaned loudly, shuddering as Cherry grinned and Alexis looked stunned, watching as Cindy's small muscles bulged, her body rocking as she let out a loud gasp of effort, slowly standing and yet pulling the fifty-foot tower into the air, the energy shield surrounding the facility warping and distorting as energy sparked from the other towers...

And then she roared, tossing it forwards into the crater, the edge of the deep bowl in the earth crumbling away as the energy shield surrounding the facilities turned to raw electricity sparking between the other three towers before they went up in flames, sending fireworks of red and yellow into the air. Cindy panted hard for a few moments as she looked over her shoulder at the others, then down the thirty foot drop into the crater, shouting: "Come on!"

A leap of faith... and the others followed, landing with different amounts of grace on the first sloped "ring" surrounding the deepest depths of the crater. Cindy grunted as she landed, and then she made a face at the sound of automatic fire coming from somewhere far across the frozen wound in the arctic earth before a shot from above silenced them, and she looked over her shoulder in surprise to see Mahihko with Cherry's bolt-action rifle still on the lip of the outside crater, covering them with a look of grim determination.

Cindy nodded to him with a grateful smile, then she glanced behind her at the others, nodding to Alexis. "I'd like you to stay back here and watch us... Mahihko won't be able to take the same shots that you can. Cherry, Marina, you're with me."

"Just like old times." Cherry grinned, then she produced her whip, snapping it once as her eyes burned with fire, licking her muzzle eagerly. "This is the kind of shit I live for."

"Just keep count of how many you kill... I'll be waiting with a bigger number." Alexis said drolly, and the two exchanged glares once more before Cherry immediately ran on ahead, leaping off the end of the tunnel and down to the next ring as Cindy muttered something under her breath before following with Marina, the last female rolling her eyes.

Above, Ill was still unmarked, but Killer was trying to shake frozen blood off his fingers and Zerrex's leather trench was in tatters, half the back and one arm hanging loose. Ill was fast; faster than the other Unseen Zerrex had fought against, and more random. There was no telling what he would do next... and then the huge Dragokkaren laughed, throwing his head back before shaking it slowly. "Don't you understand it's useless? Whether or not you kill me, that doesn't matter... the entire world is going to be destroyed in only a few minutes!"

"I've heard that one before." Zerrex muttered under his breath, but a chill ran through him anyway. "What are you going to do, flood the world?"

"No, idiot." Ill snorted, then he rose his robotic arm, the blade slipping inside his wrist before his hand lowered, the cannon extending. Zerrex blinked stupidly at this, then he winced and threw himself to the ground a moment before a blast of exploding pellets flew over his head, small explosions dotting the air a short distance away. "Fuck."

Without bothering to look back, Ill rose his arm to head level and blocked a hard swing from Killer aimed at his shoulder, his sword digging into the metal as Killer snarled, glaring down into the blindfold for a moment before he tried to bring up a knee into Ill's stomach... but the huge Dragokkaren shoved him hard backwards and then followed up with a hard punch to the muzzle that sent Killer down on his back, the Unseen turning around with a disgusted expression, saying in a soft voice: "You and all your kind are doomed, pelt... the Patriarch's death will not go unpunished. This crater is ground zero â€" we will bend the fabric of space and time using gravity with such force that a black hole will be born, and all things will be consumed by it."

Killer's eyes widened, and Zerrex snarled as he pushed himself up to his feet, abandoning his sword for the moment to throw himself at Ill with a hard punch... but the Dragokkaren spun around and caught it in both his hands, snarling and crushing the reptile's fist. Zerrex arched his back in pain... then finally managed to slam one booted foot down into Ill's knee.

The Unseen howled in pain, releasing the reptile for a moment, and Killer immediately kicked up and swung his sword down at the same time, the blade biting into Ill's back and sending him crashing to the ground in a heap. Before either Zerrex or Killer could land another blow, however, the Dragokkaren threw himself to the side, and Killer's sword sank into the snowy earth instead as Ill rolled to his feet, his blindfold falling from his eyes as he panted hard, snarling furiously.

In the face of the Unseen were nothing but hollow pits, cataracts surrounded by black scar tissue that twisted and extended in all directions... and then he grunted and covered his eyes with one arm as he began to feel along the ground for his blindfold, hissing in pain. "You fucking pathetic maggots..."

An explosion rose up from the crater site like a skybound flamethrower, and the earth rumbled loudly, both Killer and Zerrex almost overbalancing as Ill screamed in pain and fell onto his back, covering his sensitive yet dead eyes with both hands at the intense heat and light, but then quickly resuming the search for his blindfold without realizing that he had long tread over it: he knew that it wasn't the end of the world yet, after all, not from a blast like that. Instead, Cherry had demolished a truck filled with explosives using a handgun she'd stolen from some unfortunate who'd gotten in her way, as she and Cindy searched for a path down to the next ring, the last before the bottom.

Now the goal was in sight: a huge metal oval, the steel egg sitting in a large, ring-shaped base and supported by magnetized wires at least a foot thick. The thing itself had to be at least a hundred feet tall, and researchers in white coats were dashing to and from terminals and small metal huts set up around it.

Cherry and Cindy halted at a narrow stairway carved into the stone wall, the latter dropping to her knee and emptying rifle fire into two Dragokkaren waiting at the bottom before finally tossing her now-empty gun away and pulling out a handgun, then she turned around, watching as Marina caught up to them, the female lagging behind and tossing glances now and then up at the crater above before Cherry snapped her fingers in front of the female's muzzle, shouting: "Focus!"

Marina replied by throwing her backwards with a flick of her head, Cherry's eyes widening in shock before she snarled and kicked up to her feet, meeting Marina's sparking eyes. "Look, girl. I've kept you safe since you were a little girl, but don't fuck with me here and now, because if I have to, I will beat the shit out of you."

"I'd like to see you try." Marina said coldly, then she glanced down at the egg-thing before looking back up, saying mildly: "It's too late. They're starting the operation. We can't stop it."

"We can try." Cindy said quietly, then she ran down the stairs without looking at either of her sisters, both Cherry and Marina trading a look of confusion, their anger temporarily forgotten before both followed, the middle girl of the family wiping at her eyes before leaping the last of the stairs to land squarely on a soldier as he tried to raise his rifle, crushing him to the ground and then jumping from his body towards another soldier and coldcocking him with the butt of the handgun, the Dragokkaren falling into a slump against the wall before sliding slowly down. A glance over her shoulder at Cherry cutting her way through a group of soldiers in the opposite direction and Marina running over to her, and then Cindy continued her way down the path towards a metal bridge over a deep crack in the crater, her eyes locked on the stairway beyond that led to their ultimate goal.

Cherry had caught sight of the same staircase... but she had also noted the soldier climbing into one of three combat suits at the other side of the ring, and three more suits over here that soldiers were currently scrambling towards. Recognizing she couldn't kill all of them and stop the other combat suit, she instead went for a different option â€" running towards the nearest suit herself and leaping inside the cockpit, before hitting the big button marked ‘ENGAGE.'

The suit revved into life, and soldiers went running in the opposite direction as Cherry dropped her whip at her feet and cackled stupidly, grasping the control joysticks as the machine rose up on a pair of wide feet with long, ski-shaped heels, thin metal legs hooking into a cockpit shaped almost like the head of a plane, metal stalk-arms extending out to the sides as Cherry fiddled with the control sticks for a moment, before stepping on one of the three pedals at her feet and blinking stupidly as the machine's upper body spun to the right... and trying the one in the middle, which made the machine stride forwards.

"Not fun. What about this?" she muttered, then pressed a button on the joystick, before squeaking as a rocket shot from the mount on the side of the machine's body and head and crashed into one of the other inactive suits, blowing it to pieces before she grinned stupidly. "Now that is fun. Time to rock and roll."

It didn't take her long to get down the basics: one joystick controlled the left arm, one controlled the right, and the middle controlled where the legs went. The side pedals chose which way to rotate the body, and the middle made it go. Simple stuff. Boring stuff. The brightly-colored buttons, on the other hand, fired missiles, the machinegun on the end of one arm, or sent an electrical charge down the long spike on the other arm. Plus she could make the machine jump... which she did a moment later, landing on top of the other machine and crushing the controls in the cockpit to an unrecognizable mulch of metal, laughing stupidly before almost tipping over and quickly jumping off to circle around the plateau.

The other combat armor had already opened up fire on Marina and Cindy, who were halfway down the stairs... and Cherry, much as she wanted a confrontation involving fancy moves and exchange of fire, solved this problem by firing a missile into the other bipedal vehicle and blowing it to pieces. A moment later, however, the other battle suits were standing up, their fronts closing... and Cherry made a face before tapping away at the controls and muttering as her own cockpit closed slowly, holographic readouts and automated aiming systems flicking up over the dark glass of the cockpit. "Professional people kill fun. I think I'm going to kill them now, too, for that little transgress."

Ill staggered backwards, his blade out and his metal arm sparking slightly near the shoulder, where one of them had torn a deep wound at the weak point where flesh and metal connected; Zerrex couldn't even remember who had done it, now. Ill refused to go down, even as he held his arm... and then the Unseen grunted and fell to one knee as he held his arm out, and metal plates slid up and rose open, ejecting several empty cartridges.

Killer immediately ran forwards, and Ill leapt back as his arm closed back down into place in a moment, before swinging viciously outwards to meet Killer's sword with his own blade and parry the strike, spinning around to strike at the liger with his elbow. The huge feline slid quickly backwards, however, tearing his sword backwards at the same time and twisting it so Ill's elbow struck into the blade, and then Dragokkaren hissed in agony before leaping away, and this time Zerrex was the one who sprinted forwards, swinging hard downwards as Ill brought his sword up to block...

And the Drakkaren stepped backwards, swinging his sword down in a circle as his energy ran through the weapon, then he stomped forwards as he roared, putting all his strength into the downwards slash and cutting through the metal blade like glass, the force of the blow sending Ill skidding away on his back as Zerrex fell forwards, Blackheart biting deep into the snowy ground as blood dripped down from the silver blade.

The lizard slowly climbed to his feet, panting hard as Killer reached down to help him up, before both paused as Ill slowly stood, his metal hand spasming a few times as a loud grinding filled the air, before the Dragokkaren simply snarled and reached across to twist his metal hand viciously, snapping it off and tossing it aside. "You... scum..."

I can't think of any good quips. "Bite me." Zerrex muttered, then he reached down and slowly tore Blackheart free of the ground, bringing it up to rest on his shoulder as Ill rose his mechanical limb, the cannon sliding out. "Just give up and let's not draw this out any longer than we have to. I don't have to kill you, Ill... you can stay alive a little longer and go face charges of high treason with the other war criminals in Hez'Ranna."

"I've made my choice... only the weak surrender to empty threats." Ill's tone was terrible in its righteousness, his eyes burning as he straightened and took aim at the two. "I can still kill you both... you're ailing worse than I am, Lord Zerrex."

"Win by appearing to lose." Zerrex responded, and he gave a smile as he straightened a bit, readying himself as Killer did the same, asking softly: "You ready?"

"As always." Killer nodded, and then the two ran forwards... before the world shook and both staggered sideways as cracks ran through the arctic fields, even Ill stumbling as his arms pinwheeled wildly, chunks of rock and earth falling away as several massive explosions rose up in the air, the Unseen screaming and falling over as he covered his dead eyes.

Zerrex grunted and winced at the bright light himself, turning his head away as Killer's visor automatically blacked itself out, the feline's head still dropping instinctively as he stumbled his way backwards, feeling for solid ground. Another blast went up somewhere in the distance, and the force of this one not only knocked Zerrex sliding on his side over the icy ground, it seemed to blow away the very snowstorm itself, nature's meaning countered by science's accidents.

Deep in the crater, Cherry â€" a bit dirty from her battle with the other combat armors, but none the worse for wear even if her own suit had been destroyed in the conflict â€" Marina, and Cindy were standing at the main control panel, which was shielded by several high-powered forcefield units. Cherry and Cindy, working together, had rerouted the power generators hidden around the crater back into themselves, and overloaded them: the result of which being the massive blasts that had just gone up. On the other hand, the massive machine in them had already been activated, and they could hear the machinery deep beneath them continuing to gear up rapidly before both of them turned around and saw Marina already running for the stairs, and Cherry snarled as she glanced over at Cindy. "See what you can do about slowing the thing down... I'm going to go and see what the fuck she's doing."

"Alright." Cindy nodded quickly, but Cherry was already gone, barreling full-speed at Marina before skidding to a halt as she watched the psychic halt beside one of the steel huts and run inside, and a few moments later she ran out with a wince. Cherry paused, looked at the hut stupidly as one of her premonitions came into play, and then she dived in the opposite direction and covered her head as it simply exploded, shrapnel flying in all directions.

Cherry's body convulsed, but she felt warmth more than anything else... and then she slowly sat up and looked stupidly down at a chunk of metal piping buried through her side before releasing a yell of agony, her back arching as she felt the heat of the pipe and the pain of having it lodged through her stomach eating away at her flesh, reaching down to grab it before her hands were frozen in place. She grunted, trying to move, eyes bulging with agony... and then a strange, soothing sensation washed over her body, and the muscular herm slumped quietly, her breath going from gasps to soft pants as Cindy ran over with a loud curse, followed by Marina, as she murmured quietly: "Just relax, Cherry... just relax..."

"Come on, we have to get out of here..." A pause, and then the ground rumbled as another generator went up, before the sister looked up as part of the cavern wall collapsed in on itself, Cindy cursing under her breath as fire and ice rained down over the far half of the base of the crater. "Get up, you ass..."

"Ugh, forget me, my liver must be pierced." Cherry muttered under her breath, looking resigned as both of her sisters threw one of her muscular arms over their shoulders, her feet dragging against the ground. "It's not like I wanted to go, but hey, could be worse... at least with Bebop here, the pain seems to go away."

"Start fucking walking or I'm going to punch you in the kidney." Marina grumbled, and Cherry grunted before managing to force her feet to cooperate with the two, her breaths ragged as blood streamed out of her, the youngest sister permitting Cindy to take over carrying Cherry's weight at the narrow stairs as she slipped her handgun from her holster, covering the two as she added: "We're going to have to move as fast as we can... I broke one of the gears of the machinery under us, but even if it slows things down or alters the designs of the machine, we'll still die if we're at ground zero when it activates. They're trying to generate a black hole... it's a literal doomsday attempt."

Cherry mumbled something about sci-fi garbage, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she passed out as they reached the top of the stairs. Immediately, Cindy cursed under her breath, then she simply threw Cherry over her shoulder, nudging the metal pipe and causing Cherry's eyes to open wide with shock, the hermaphrodite yelping loudly and then coughing blood as Cindy began to run, wincing as Marina followed and her blood flowed down her sister's shoulder. "Try and be fucking gentle!"

"Yeah, well, you need to stop eating all those extra helpings at dinner." Cindy responded through gritted teeth, jogging towards the narrow stairs leading to the next ring. "We can't all size our bodies up like you and Mahihko... and I might be strong, but you're still a fatass."

"If I didn't have a fuckin' pipe in my gut, I'd be beating the shit out of you right now." Cherry muttered in return, wincing in pain as she added mildly: "No rush or anything, but I think I feel the contents of my stomach flowing into the rest of my body, doctor."

Cindy winced, knowing far too well that it was only a half-joke... but she didn't have any other choice right now than to be a bit rough. Between dying and narrowly-surviving... the latter was always a better choice. "Then stop talking, we're doing enough damage to you as it is."

They continued to run for the top, where above, Killer was stumbling around, trying to wipe oil and blood out of his eyes as Ill's weathered metal arm took strike after strike from Zerrex, the Unseen unable to do anything but back away from the hard slashes of the reptile. Finally, the Drakkaren staggered on a crack, and Ill leapt forwards, striking Zerrex hard in the stomach with a knee and causing him to double over before a hand tangled in his hair, and a second knee knocked him flat on his back, his mind reeling.

Ill brought up a foot, snarling... and then Killer's fist caught him in the head and knocked him over, the liger tossing away the remnants of his broken visor as well: whatever else, the Dragokkaren liked to get in cheap shots whenever he could. "Motherfucker..." he muttered, then he helped Zerrex to his feet before blinking as the Unseen aimed his cannon at them and fired.

Immediately, Zerrex stepped in front, and a white, strange energy sparked into existence in a strange curve around the reptile before it solidified into an angelic wing as the small steel bearings exploded uselessly against the mass of wavering energy. A moment later, it faded, and Zerrex fell to one knee, coughing a bit as a trickle of blood ran out of his mouth, before he looked up at Ill with a grin and he straightened slowly as the robotic arm opened up to discharge its spent ammo. "Killer, give me a boost."

The warrior tiger looked down at Zerrex with confusion as he stood up, but the moment he started to fall back, he got the idea, catching Zerrex with one huge hand before shoving him forwards as hard as he could, and the Drakkaren pushed himself into the air with his feet at the same time, hurtling forwards and crashing into Ill with a hard double-kick.

The Dragokkaren crashed to the ground, Zerrex standing on top of his body as he skidded backwards before he slashed hard down with his sword into the already weak shoulder-joint of his metal arm, and Ill convulsed under him with a scream of agony, dead eyes bulging as it was severed from his body, blood exploding out of the wound as wires sparked and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air, Zerrex jumping back off the Unseen's body as he clawed at him savagely before quickly sitting up, and both Drakkaren and liger advanced slowly forwards upon him as he panted hard, his eyes bulging, drool falling from his jaws as he stumbled up to his feet and backwards.

The two stopped as the ground shifted, the Unseen walking along a narrow chunk of ice that extended up over the facility... before another grumble went through the facility, and a keening filled the air as he began to laugh, steam erupting from several of the cracks in the ground and lighting sparking from the burnt-out towers that still surrounded the crater, and Zerrex and Killer both set themselves as Ill screamed: "It's here! You're too late and now you shall die here!"

Another crackle of raw energy in the air, Zerrex stumbling backwards and snarling again... and then the air itself began to darken as a great rumble swelled in the air: in the crater, Cindy panted hard as they reached Alexis, and the female feline immediately leapt out and back onto the tundra by Mahihko as Marina used her powers to boost Cindy's own jump, before leaping up to catch Alexis's hands to be pulled up herself.

Alexis and Marina exchanged a nod, then both ran over the dune of snow, followed by Mahihko, to where Zerrex and Killer stood, watching as the ground crumbled around the outcropping Ill stood upon before a massive explosion rose up behind him, an enormous pillar of fire rising into the air, electricity crackling all around it as the floor of the crater filled with fire, huge gears and pistons flying high into the air as the ice and tundra itself cracked apart... and then the pillar of fire was suddenly sucked downwards as a blast of pure force rocked the world, Ill staggering and grunting as his arms pinwheeled... and behind him an expanding dome of darkness and energy was growing, lightning flashing over it before the outcropping gave way beneath his feet, and Ill laughed as he threw his arm out, falling into the growing orb of nothingness.

Zerrex covered his face, snarling in disbelief, Killer staring in shock as he wrapped an arm around Alexis, holding her protectively against his body, and Marina grabbed her father, trying to pull him back and away before a crackle of electricity rolled over the dark orb, and it collapsed in on itself, pulling in fire, smoke, and all it had touched before it hissed like a living thing and another blast of force shot out of the darkness, this accompanied by a purple haze and strange, terrible energy that Zerrex felt wash over them all, the Drakkaren falling to his knees as his eyes bulged at the feeling of terrible weight that fell over his being.

He saw the tigers wince and clutch each other closer, Marina grasp her head, and Mahihko fall down and slide to the bottom of the hill in a daze... and on the other side of the hilltop, Cherry cried out in something like shock before leaping to her feet as if electrocuted, immediately staggering away as Cindy tried to shove the force away from her body, but barely able to crawl for a few moments, panting hard and watching in shock as Cherry strode resolutely over the ridge... and a moment later, she managed her own feet as well, as she gazed down into the crater with apprehension at the dark sphere of crackling black energy that had formed in the base of the bowl.

Cherry stumbled over the hill, then almost walked over Mahihko as Zerrex looked over at her stupidly... and a moment later, she rushed him and tackled him, kissing him hungrily. The Drakkaren grunted, for a moment replying on instinct, their tongues weaving... and then he managed to push her loose, staring at her as she grinned at him, a flush in her cheeks and... Dear Gods... "Cherry, that's..."

"It's okay... can't you hear them?" she asked quietly, and then she closed her eyes and slowly collapsed against him, and the Drakkaren shook her violently several times, his own eyes widening in terror before he rose his head dumbly, his emerald eyes flickering as Marina looked at him for a few moments strangely.

"I can hear them..." Bells? Wings? Beauty... "I can hear them." A shiver rolled through his body, and then he stood with Cherry in his arms, her body limp and heavy, her breathing slowing as he looked out into the crater, ignoring everyone even as Killer tried to say something... and then he shook his head slowly, his body paling as four figures tore out of the dark energy like it was liquid, large, leathery wings flapping hard and naked bodies twisting back and forth in a voluptuous dance around each other before they soared in perfect symphony upwards, all of them rolling in different directions before flying in a line towards him and landing easily side-by-side-by-side-by-side on the lip of crater.

Naked bodies, beautiful and voluptuous, thin bodies thick with toned muscles that stood out tight against their bared, red scales. They had bodies of Drakkaren, and were only a few inches shorter than he was... but the large, leathery wings and shining black bull horns were what gave their true nature away. Zerrex could only look over them for a few moments, at the different things they wore and then at their beautiful faces and their eyes so full of vitality that it almost hurt to gaze into them... and then he whispered, shaking his head slowly: "This... can't be real. I..."

"We met in your mind... an atmosphere that drew us in, Lord Zerrex." spoke the first in line, and she kneeled to him, bowing her head forwards as she touched the amulet at her neck.

"A world inside itself, made more real by the tormentor, Drake..." said the next, and she threw her large, gold-tasseled black cape open before kneeling to him.

"So we don't find your doubt and surprise insulting at all..." The next added playfully, and she grinned as she kneeled, pulling the massive, rusted red cleaver off her back, sinking it into the ground as she ducked her head forwards and knelt before him.

"But please, Lord Zerrex... give us the girl. Her life fades fast and she is seriously injured. We want to save her." The last in line spoke in barely a murmur, flushing as she kneeled and removed the rose-shaped tiara she wore.

His gaze travelled over the four, and then he shook his head, trembling and falling to his knees, Cherry held tight against his body as he felt frustration and sadness and pain and rage welling up in his being, whispering in a ragged voice: "What is happening to me? To this world?"

They only looked at him silently as behind him, the others watched... and then he stood and held Cherry out to them, closing his eyes and bowing his head, snarling and clenching his eyes shut. Immediately, two of the females took her in their arms and leapt off the cliff, flying away as Killer stepped forwards â€" but Marina halted him immediately with a hand on his arm, and both he and Alexis shot her a look before keeping silent at the seriousness on her face. Ahead of them, Zerrex trembled as he straightened, and the other two stood up... the shy one with the amulet, and the one with the rose. They both embraced him and kissed his cheek... and then the one wearing the rose tiara flew away as the shy sister stood with the Drakkaren, taking one of his hands quietly and looking into his eyes as a single tear fell, saying gently: "We'll make her better... and all your questions will be answered soon, Lord Zerrex. Changes have begun and something great and terrible has been set in motion that will change the world forever, perhaps more than even the Great War did... but please stay strong. Know that you have the support of the Sisters of the Judgment Cross."

She nodded again to him, then gave him a last chaste kiss on the lips before leaping backwards off the cliff and gliding down into the darkness of the sphere... and Zerrex could only stare after them, his shoulders slumped and a million questions ringing through his mind as Killer finally asked: "Who were they? What were they?"

"Hez'Rannan high-order demons, the Sisters of the Judgment Cross." Zerrex replied after a moment in a weak voice, and Killer and Alexis exchanged a look before he continued: "Earth and Material Temptation, Fire and Lust, Water and Wrath, Air and Greed. Demonic Elementals. Demons. Demons. Demons who punish the wicked and lend strength and wisdom to the righteous. Demons." He finished in a stupefied voice, and then he turned around and brushed past the others, striding out into the snowy blizzard.

"That's impossible." Killer said after a moment, exchanging a look with Alexis, but Marina shook her head slowly and he stopped, glancing down at her with a frown. "I'm not going to just let him wander off when Cherry's likely dead or dying in... in Hell, if what they were saying was true, which it can't be, and so instead probably in some strange asylum Gods know where..."

"Killer, I don't know if I like you that much or not." Marina interrupted mildly, and Killer halted, frowning deeper at her. "But either way, Daddy needs some alone time right now. You have a choice. You can either go and piss him off further, or you can let him work some thoughts out by himself."

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Marina, we need to get the hell out of here and figure out what just happened, not let him wonder off in shock into the snows!" Alexis snapped immediately, and Marina's eyes flashed. As the argument began, Cindy ran in to try and break things up... and Mahihko quietly wandered out into the snows, over a dune and down beside Zerrex, who was sitting by himself on a rock and holding his head in his hands, looking not only miserable but lost.

The little wolf sat down beside him quietly, and Zerrex tossed him a look before mumbling in a humiliated voice: "Go away."

"No, Zer." He shook his head quietly but resolutely, and Zerrex looked out at him from beneath his hands, as the lupine quietly put a hand on his arm and gazed up at him quietly. "Do you remember when I found out who I had been in the past?"

"Yeah..." The Drakkaren nodded slowly, rubbing at his muzzle as his mind brought him back there, to Baskin's Grove: walking through the mayor's house with Mahihko, and quietly doing his best to explain that once upon a time, the little gay Mahihko had been the fat, asinine Lone; someone who had first been responsible for pitting the rich against the poor in a whole new way in a town that was already elitist, and then who had tried to buy experimental combat systems from the military and ended up being betrayed by his fellows, who declared that he was nothing but an unfit wannabe.

Even after he'd finally made his peace with Zerrex, Lone had betrayed him to a mammal movement in Hez'Ranna that never took place... and then he'd died screaming, his personality and soul usurped by a terrible creation of Narrius known as a Hollow One, and he had become Alone and committed countless atrocities with a warped personality until Alone had fallen at Zerrex's hands and his soul once more torn free and given sanctuary for a short time, until he was finally brought back to life by Mengele. A story too long and complicated to get into... but Zerrex had gone through enough to bring all the memories back to Mahihko, even the time he'd fucked Cherry and then puked on himself in the car while drunk.

He had hated himself... no, it went beyond hate. And some days, he still did; essentially, after all, he had to live with the fact he was still Lone, and no name or body could change that simple fact. But at the same time, he strove to be different than Lone, he had unearthed a different part of his personality and now no longer was he always striving to cause conflict and be on top, but instead to find peace in a more passive way and follow the same morals as the purest of Zerrex's daughters did... a deep irony, but that too, was a story for another day.

They sat together quietly, and Mahihko looked down a bit, rubbing at Zerrex's arm slowly. "You taught me a lot, Zerrex. So much that I often think of you as my father... and over all these years, I've loved you, and felt loved and cared for as a son." A bit of a smile and a glance up at the Drakkaren, who was rubbing a hand slowly at his muzzle. "More than a son, too, sometimes, of course... but I..." he faltered and flushed, looking down and feeling embarrassed. Yeah. Mention the times you've sucked his dick. That'll make him happy. "Sorry. I'll just stop being a douche now."

"Keep talking." Zerrex shrugged a bit, nodding quietly and glancing down at him, and Mahihko nodded, almost instantly brightening a bit and smiling nervously at the reptile as he watched him with quiet curiosity. Wolf...

"You named me... you helped me move forwards through life... you even let me stay with you guys despite the fact I don't get along with Marina so well." An awkward shrug of his shoulders. "I... I want to do for you what you do for me, Zerrex. I want to help you, as much as you've helped me. And I know that Cherry wants you to be happy... you two love each other more than you love yourselves, and I think if you felt enough that you could trust in those weird-looking girls there, then they'll bring her back healthy, safe and sound..." He nodded firmly, then added quietly: "And even if you only met them in a dream, that's still enough for me. You'd never just give up on her... we all just know that. But most of all, she'd want you to take care of yourself."

"I know..." Zerrex said softly, looking away quietly... but a moment later he nodded a bit and stood up, striding back towards the campsite and then gently ruffling the fur on Mahihko's head as he bounced along beside him, beaming up at the Drakkaren. "You're a little asshole, you know that?"

"Yeah." He smiled again, then blushed a bit and half-hid behind Zerrex as Marina gave him an ugly look. Cindy, however, stepped in front of Marina, holding Blackheart almost reverently and smiling at the wolf before holding Blackheart out to her father, and the Drakkaren nodded to her as he placed the sword on his back before trading a tight hug with her.

A glance over to Killer, and then he blinked as he noted Alexis, kneeling near the edge of the chasm and muttering quietly to herself, her visor blinking and beeping every now and then. The liger looked over his shoulder at her, then to Zerrex, nodding a bit and speaking quietly as he leaned down. "She's talking with my intelligence bureau all the way down in Kesteven... the signal is shit but thankfully it's not entirely unreachable, so we're just trying to send along all the readings we can get out of the new generation of visor equipment..." A pause, and he made a face, shaking his head slowly and straightening. "Not that it was any use against Ill... and I thought I was ahead of everyone in technology. His arm made Ken's look like a children's toy."

"Ken, Ken, the uh..." Zerrex mumbled under his breath, recognizing the name from some time Killer had mentioned him before, but then he blanked completely and shook his head a bit under the liger's amused look. "Yeah, no clue who you're talking about."

Before the liger could reply, Alexis cursed loudly and then stood up, glancing over her shoulder with disgust. "There's too much interference here, Lion... I can't send the files. Everything's saved on the visor, at least... maybe we should retreat to the military base? At least if we can't get a better signal, we can still get some rest."

"Yeah..." Zerrex looked down into the crater, frowning a bit at the shifting and twisting mass, and that strange sound echoed in his head again, drawing him in, making him want to wildly leap for the edge... and Marina quietly grabbed his forehead, and Zerrex shook his head quickly and looked over to Killer, smiling a bit. "I think we could all use some relaxing. The train's still there so it won't take long, either, and there shouldn't be too many hostiles there after the sweeps we've done of the base."

"Alright." Killer said slowly, nodding his agreement, and then he stepped quietly up beside Zerrex, reaching a hand over to squeeze his shoulder gently as he said softly: "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Zerrex glanced down quietly, but they both knew the truth: it wasn't. Everything reminded him of Cherry, even his daughters, even Mahihko... and he remembered their last time having sex together before the mission, the grunts and her moans and taunts and growls... he remembered her smile... he remembered her eyes and her body and her laugh. He remembered the old times, the old fights and everything they'd been through... and he even remembered battling her and the taste of her blood...

He shook his head quickly to clear it, then looked up, watching as half the group walked on ahead... and he strode on to catch up with them, Marina and Mahihko following quietly behind.

When they stepped out onto the platform, it wasn't the reception they expected: instead of gunfire, one of the Dragokkaren approached and bowed, before saying in a toneless voice that he was glad to see they had arrived safely. When they stepped out, other Dragokkaren in uniforms walked over, and Marina grabbed at her head with one hand, whispering quietly: "Servant Dragokkaren... I tried to look in their minds, but it's empty, so empty... they're just like those poor bastards in Hez'Ranna... Narrius, that... that fucker, Narrius... Gods, I feel the pain of their very souls..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he quietly touched Killer's arm, stepping to the front and clearing his throat before saying in bad, accented Hez'Rannan: "We would like to rest, please. Guide us to a room, please."

The two bowed a bit, then turned around and lumbered towards the stairs, Marina rubbing at her skull slowly as Zerrex followed with the rest of the group, Killer leaning down and muttering: "What the hell is going on?"

"It's okay. These ones are domesticated, so to speak..." Zerrex shook his head, making a disgusted face. "Enforcers that failed their duties were either killed or had a chip implanted in their brains after a full memory wipe. They have no personality, no free will... they can only follow simple commands and take basic orders in their native language. I almost wish they would try and hurt us..."

The servants led the group to the upstairs suite of the northern wing, which was devoid of life except for a single mindless Dragokkaren scrubbing the hall floor. The rooms themselves were a fair size and all had four beds, with a bathroom attached to each... and the six sat quietly in one of these for a short half an hour, organizing both a watch and exactly how long they should rest for before starting on the trip back to base.

That brought up the issue of transport, and Killer left for another half hour before coming back and noting that the military transport they'd brought was still functioning fine, even if it was a bit frozen over. "So we should get going as soon as possible... we've already stayed too long." He said authoritatively, and then he paused, frowning a bit as he glanced around the room. "Where's Zerrex?"

"He stepped out." Marina said mildly, and the liger made a bit of a face as she shrugged. "Daddy can handle anything by himself... and this is still his mission, after all. Not yours."

"I know." Killer responded, looking stung and sounding genuinely injured... before he rubbed at his head slowly and traded a look with Alexis. "We're just helping out... after all, it's not like your father hasn't done the same for us on numerous occasions."

Marina simply made a noncommittal grunt, and Killer made a face, feeling a mix of anger at the mood swings of the young Drakkaren female and a bit of self-doubt, wondering if he'd pushed his own ideas too hard... then he shook his head slowly. "Look, where did Zerrex go then, Marina? I don't want to take over the whole operation, honestly. Let's just talk it over, okay?"

But Marina only glowered at him, and Killer pushed Alexis forwards gently with one hand, rubbing at his head as he muttered: "You try. I think she likes you better."

Zerrex, meanwhile, had wandered through the building and out to the eastern warehouse: at first, it had been nothing, but now he felt like something was drawing him here... and he frowned quietly as he strode through the main doors and towards the huge shutter, once more touching the valve and then drawing his hand back in surprise as electricity danced over it: not only that, it felt... warm to the touch. Not hot, but warm... alive.

He shook his head slowly, then he reached forwards and grasped the handle firmly, turning it several times and raising the shutter once more to step under it... and then it screamed behind him, something grinding internally as it dropped a notch or two and then halted with a loud crunching sound. The Drakkaren made a face, then he turned slowly around, once more surveying the room ahead of him.

Empty: a hole had been blown in the wall, though, and there was a pile of bloody rubble... but that was all. A pause as his boot brushed against something, and he noted the myriad of shells beneath him... before his eyes roved upwards as the security door gave a groan, and then simply fell off its internal hinge, bouncing against the floor like a giant coin as Zerrex found himself staring at another creature straight out of his mind.

Ravenlight gasped hard, panting and slowly stepping into the room, covered in blood and broken armor... and then he grinned widely, tilting his head, his burnt hair fluttering around him as he asked raggedly: "Do you feel it? Do you feel the energy? Gods, I felt it... and you'd feel it changing you, too, if you weren't so weak... the power, the raw power!"

Ravenlight laughed, raising his hands... and Zerrex's eyes widened at the sight of them, curled as they were into twisted, terrible claws, and when he grinned again, his teeth were bigger, pushing out of his jaw as his body gave a horrible jerk, one arm bloating up with muscle as if some cruel god had attached an air pump to the Drakkaren's body. "It's Hell, brother! Hell is coming to Earth, and I can feel their energy flowing through my veins!"

A roar, and the armor cracked as Ravenlight's arms spasmed outwards, the other one pulsating and growing now as his armor tore off his chest, blood bursting from the wounds over the lizard's body as his upper body bulged and expanded. It was like watching some experimental procedure gone insane, as Zerrex heard the creak and groan of changing bones before Ravenlight roared, his head falling back as his body continued to undergo its hideous transformation.

And a moment later, he lowered his head, his emerald eyes burning out of his head, his upper body hunched forwards and his hands twisted into wicked, gnarled claws, his body covered in blood and his wounds healed, the creature shrugging off torn clothing as he straightened and grinned with his crooked teeth. He stepped forwards in his ragged jeans and cracked his neck slowly, raising his hands in front of his face and gazing down at them for a few moments, before laughing and throwing his arms wide as he shouted to the skies: "Can't you feel the energy? Can't you feel what's been released into the world?"

It was true: he did feel different â€" stranger, and like there was something else inside him, something that was starting to move and grow... but he looked with disgust at the creature before him, pulling Blackheart off his back and snorting as he said darkly: "I don't know either who or what you are... and right now, I don't even care. Whether you're some science project or another... thing... from my mind made real from whatever the hell happened... but to me, you're just another monster in a long line of monsters."

The giant snarled, then it charged forwards, lashing out with a claw... and Zerrex stepped quickly towards the beast, slashing hard outwards and catching it in the chest with the sword, ripping a long swathe through its body and sending it flying backwards with a loud howl of shock to land heavily on its ass, grunting as it stared up at the Drakkaren with stupid confusion, Blackheart's gleaming blade slowly rising until the point was only inches away from the creature's muzzle as Zerrex said softly: "Big, stupid, and tough is a bad combination, especially when you haven't even gotten used to your new size yet. You're bulky and slow... not up to that old standard of the Ravenlight I saw in my head."

The giant looked at him for a few moments... then slowly grinned and threw its head back, laughing loudly as Zerrex drew back a bit, startled, before the giant's head dropped forwards and it slowly stood up, grinning widely as it rose a clawed hand... and then slowly tore a large, deep gash in its own chest, licking its own muzzle hungrily as drool dripped from its jaws, growling in what sounded horribly like growing pleasure... before Ravenlight's eyes gleamed as it flexed its enormous muscles, roaring like an animal before shouting gleefully: "Hurt me more, Zerrex! The pleasure in the pain has never felt so good before!"

Then once more it charged forwards, and Zerrex winced before he swung his sword in a hard rising cut, tearing a thin gash in the floor... but one of Ravenlight's massive hands reached out and easily slapped the blade down, blood flying from his hand but the giant still grinning his terrible, uneven grin as the reptile staggered forwards before a huge hand locked around his throat and yanked him up off the ground, and there was a moment of vertigo before the Drakkaren realized a moment too late he was flying through the air.

He crashed into the shutter, knocking a large dent in it as his head snapped back against the steel before he fell, stars dancing in front of his dazed eyes... and then the giant grabbed him again, yanking him up off the ground and slamming him once more into the shutter, blood flying from Zerrex's nostrils as he coughed and gagged. He tried to kick, to swing Blackheart in towards the creature's side... but Ravenlight easily grabbed the sword with his other hand by the blade and tore it free from his grip, tossing it aside as he laughed again and slammed Zerrex's body against the heavy shutter, making it groan and the Drakkaren cry out as he hissed: "Looks like the prodigal son is a failure after all... you can't do anything against me, little Lord Zerrex..." A pause, and the giant turned, flinging the Drakkaren easily away and sending him skidding over the floor, the lizard snarling as he rolled once before pushing himself shakily up onto all fours and halting his movement to the booming laughter of the giant. "You know what? I'm not only better than you, I'm your complete opposite! Sure, I was made in a lab, but look at me! Superior in every aspect, dead and come back to life and infected with the designs of Hell itself! Oh, how the energy speaks to me, empowers me..."

He hugged himself, arching his back as his claws dug into his own sides, letting out a gasp of what sounded like ecstasy as blood rolled over his form from wounds that were, for the most part, self-inflicted... and then he grinned again, turning his head towards Zerrex and saying teasingly, as he watched the Drakkaren stagger up to his feet. "I think I need a new name... after all, you can't touch me in close combat. Every wound, every scratch makes me feel stronger, better, tears another opening for that divine energy flowing over the world to flow in through...

"But you have no idea what's going on, do you?" The giant turned, licking its muzzle slowly before half-squatting, his tone almost playful. "No... you don't speak to energy the same way I do..."

"Speak to this." Zerrex muttered, and then Ravenlight blinked stupidly as Zerrex held out a hand, his fingers crackling with energy before a sphere of glowing blue light formed inside of it, and the creature looked stunned before Zerrex snorted and half-snarled. "What, you think I'm the only one who hasn't learned a new trick or two?"

Before the giant could respond, Zerrex hurled the ball of blue energy at the thing's face, and the ball exploded upon collision, the Drakkaren covering his eyes at the crackle of azure electricity and light. Ravenlight, meanwhile, screamed in agony, staggering backwards into the shutter and wiping at his eyes as his head shook wildly back and forth, and then he fell over, clawing at the ground and shrieking: "The pain! The pain is back, the pain! Why, I don't understand, why?"

He screamed again, then snarled at Zerrex, his eyes bulging as he charged, both claws reaching out as he raved: "It's your fault! You, the opposite, you're the real one, that's why-"

Both of Zerrex's palms collided with the giant's stomach, knocking the wind out of it before he reached up and grabbed it by the shoulder, yanking it down to his level and growling: "Don't know. Don't care." A pause, and then he drew his fist back, adding as the giant wheezed for breath: "Stay down."

He swung in hard, his fist smashing once, twice, thrice into the giant's face, letting go of Ravenlight with the last strike and sending him crashing backwards and rolling over onto his stomach in a crumpled heap. The Drakkaren panted quietly, shaking his head slowly and muttering under his breath as he brushed himself off... then he narrowed his eyes as Ravenlight slowly pushed himself up to his feet, laughing softly to himself before turning around and wiping at the broken side of his face, spitting out a few chips of teeth and blood.

"I already feel the pain vanishing... back into the euphoria, back into the pleasure..." The giant's tongue once more flicked out, tasting the blood on his face. "Should we go with the old cliché and rename me as Xerrez? I'm no longer a simple creature like yourself, after all... now I'm imbued with-"

"Don't even start with that crap again." Zerrex said disgustedly, and the giant gave him a look of irritation at his monologue being interrupted before the Drakkaren added mildly: "And you can call yourself whatever you what, for all I care... Xerrez or Ravenlight, it's not like you'll be getting a grave anyway."

"We'll see about that." The creature snarled, then he sprinted forwards again, swinging one claw viciously upwards, but Zerrex ducked under this and leaned to the side, swinging a leg out to catch one of the giant's. He staggered, arms clawing wildly at the air as he roared, and Zerrex ducked around the creature before leaping up onto his back, slamming both feet into his spine and knocking the giant forwards.

Xerrez straightened a moment later, and Zerrex kicked off the creature's back towards the nearby wall, his boots slamming into the cement and shoving off hard, body twisting in midair as he leapt back towards the giant's face as he turned around. But before either booted foot could collide with the monstrosity, one of Xerrez's claws slapped him out of the air, knocking him across the room and onto his side once more, the Drakkaren grunting in pain as he rolled a few times over the floor on his side before managing to shove a hand down into the ground, his body twisting up and around the axis it formed into a crouch.

He panted hard, glaring across the room as Xerrez cracked his neck slowly... and then the giant faltered strangely, looking back and forth before staggering on the spot and blinking stupidly... and Zerrex could only stare for a few moments before the giant fell to his knees, looking down at his own trembling hands... and a moment later, Zerrex's eyes travelled over the deep gashes covering the huge creature's body, and then he forced himself up to his feet, snarling: "What's wrong? You running out of gas, Ravenlight, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself?"

"You're lucky, Zerrex..." The giant's body shook again, and then he forced himself into a crouch, head bowed forwards... and then it snapped up Zerrex's sword with one claw and hurled it at the Drakkaren as hard as it could, Blackheart spinning violently as the Drakkaren winced and ducked low, covering his head as the huge sword flew over and then crashed into the wall behind him... before looking up and snarling as Xerrez leapt for the hole in the rooftop, landing on top of the warehouse with a loud crunch and sending down a hail of dust and grit before he was gone.

Zerrex looked up into the sky, breathing quietly, his heart thudding in his chest... then he shook his head slowly, limping over to where Blackheart had imbedded itself in the wall and yanking the huge blade free, murmuring to it quietly: "Great. Now we got something else to worry about."

A pause, and then he glanced towards the still-open shutter, feeling a chill through the air: the damage it had taken during the struggle had caused it to fall a bit, but the Drakkaren thought he could still pass under it with ease... but when he looked towards it, something pricked at his mind, made him feel uneasy. For a few moments, he hesitated, unsure of what to do... and then he shook his head slowly before walking resolutely over to the shutter and ducking beneath it and back into the first section of the warehouse.

He straightened to the sound of quiet clapping, and he glanced upwards before relaxing a bit as he caught sight of one of the demons from before... the quiet, shy one, with the silver amulet still hanging from her neck, but her body covered now by a full, long cloak, a bit of a smile on her face. He looked over her slowly, then he asked quietly: "You're Earth, aren't you? You were in my dreams... in that... strange place inside my head with your sisters, all those years ago."

"That's right. I'm the one you saved by breaking the seal at the sacrificial altar... by bringing back the memory of the rape of the mother of your first child." she blushed a bit, rubbing at her head slowly, and then shivering as she hugged herself. "I'd forgotten how cold the real world could be... and without my sisters around, I feel weak."

"I know the feeling..." Zerrex glanced away quietly, and there was silence for a few moments before he looked back towards her almost pleadingly. "Please... tell me what the hell is going on here."

"The Prophecy." Earth said softly, and before Zerrex could even say anything, she winced and shrank a bit. "Please don't yell, Lord Zerrex..."

"I didn't even say anything..." Zerrex frowned a bit... and as she looked at him oddly for a moment, he connected the touch to her head with something Marina had once told him about her powers. Intense emotions lashing out from the mind... a sensitive telepath can be injured in close proximity to a person who's suffering the extremes of one emotion... "I'm sorry." A pause, and then he took a slow breath, closing his eyes and focusing on staying calm, asking quietly instead: "Can you tell me about this... prophecy? And how's Cherry, is she alright?" And then, before he could stop himself, he blurted another question: "And are you really a demon? Does Hell â€" does Heaven â€" exist?"

Earth smiled a bit, and she rose her hands, saying quietly: "Everything in due time, Lord Zerrex. You are wise and strong... use your wisdom and strength to remain patient while we work through things piece-by-piece." She paused as Zerrex winced, the Drakkaren slowly placing Blackheart on his back before slumping and managing to nod as he crossed his arms, gazing at the floor and unable to stop from looking miserable. "First off...

"Yes... Hell, and Heaven, both exist. Not as many religions see it... not as nearly anyone sees it, in fact. Both are different planes with different realms and worlds, and they are as at war with each other as they are at peace." Earth stepped forwards, quietly pushing a hand under Zerrex's muzzle and gazing into his eyes softly. "Do not despair, Lord Zerrex. You shall see your beloved child again... but she is undergoing a metamorphosis, as are you and all others touched by the Prophecy and the energies released when a hole was torn between the planes.

"I am not supposed to be here..." Earth turned away, shaking her head a bit and crossing her arms as she closed her eyes, and Zerrex looked up in surprise. "My sisters are covering for me in Hell, but time moves much differently between here and there... and it won't be long until others discover the rips opening all throughout the fabric of our realities. Hell is not just a place of punishment, Lord Zerrex, but where many other entities exist... and many of them with their own agendas and possessing powers greater than even you have faced. After all, you've only met a few demons in your life..." A glance upwards towards the sky now, as she added in a whisper: "And only one great evil, whose name we do not speak even in the deepest pits of Hell."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he stepped forwards, his body almost touching Earth's... and she immediately pushed back, and the heat emanating from her body even from under the cloak seemed to fill him with energy, working into his scales as his arms automatically dropped around her, pulling her tight to him... and she let out a sigh, rolling her head and flexing against him as she spoke again: "That, too... was part of the Prophecy. Darkness brought forth from Darkness, to strike it down with Light after the world was consumed in fire... and now, from the ashes have come a spark, and Hell and Heaven and this planet have been linked together."

She turned around in his arms, pressing her hands against his chest and gazing up at him with pleading eyes. "You must trust in me, Lord Zerrex, and in the sisters... and recognize that we are not your enemy. We came to you in your mind to help you, and you gladly welcomed us then... and when we sensed your energy on the other side of the portal, we were elated... but too, we sensed the suffering and dying of one of our own kind, and it hurt us so greatly that we went against the laws of our own plane to push through and find out what had happened... and how the sisters and I were shocked to see her in your arms, the untamable somehow tamed by you..." A quiet smile, her gaze almost reverent as she looked up at him. "But yet we were unsurprised, in the same breath..."

"You still haven't told me much about what's going on..." Zerrex said quietly, and Earth nodded slowly, looking down at him as he reached up to squeeze her shoulders, his emerald eyes searching her slowly. "But why are you telling me all this? And why do you look at me the way you do when I should be nothing more than a crunchy snack to a demon, if what you're talking about is true... if these places do exist."

"You know they do..." A glance up, and a faintly-amused smile as her eyes met his, her own green eyes gleaming. "You know they do, Lord Zerrex... and I know you feel it, even with as much of a cynic as you are. If you didn't believe us or trust in us, you never would have let go of the girl, Cherry... but you're so very wrong about yourself and your own strength. You saw the corruption that the energies spawned forth from the portal did to that wastrel Ravenlight, how it consumed him and transformed him into a monstrous mockery of you... but you simply shrugged off the influence of Hell itself. Oh, the energy inside of you..." And she leaned up with this to quietly kiss his throat, and a shiver rolled through Zerrex's body at the raw heat that touched his neck.

She paused for a few moments... then stepped back, and Zerrex was loathe to let their bodies part, his hands sliding down quietly along her arms, and she took them for a moment in her own slender ones, her fingers giving him a gentle squeeze before she gazed into his eyes with a strange softness and affection. "Be careful, Lord Zerrex. I have to go now, but we shall speak further... but the sisters and I made you this." She let go of his hands, digging quietly in her cloak for a few moments before pulling out a large, silvery locket, then held it out to him. The Drakkaren tilted his head curiously as he took it from her, amazed at the heat it gave off and the weight of the fist-sized ornament, and then he looked up at her as she smiled and half-bowed to him, speaking softly: "Look at it when you have the time... I think it might help you out."

Zerrex looked down at it, taking it in both hands and then glancing up to thank her... but she was already gone, as if vanished into thin air. The Drakkaren blinked a few times, looking back and forth in surprise... and then he started as the door behind him thudded open and Killer's voice started mildly: "Zerrex, where the hell... what, Gods, Zer, what happened to you?"

The Drakkaren made a face as he turned around, rubbing the back of his head slowly with one hand as he slipped the locket into the pocket of his jeans and giving a bit of a grimace. "I don't think I could even explain it." A pause as he glanced over himself, wiping at his face and gazing at the specks of dried blood on his fingers. "I just had a run-in with... something else straight out of Hell." Or at least, my own personal one...

Killer nodded slowly, frowning a bit as he glanced over the Drakkaren, then he said softly: "Alright. But we've decided to head back to the military base... for some reason, Alexis still can't connect to the network properly, and I'm starting to wonder what's going on back home. Besides, we need to get a team up here and seal off that area in the far north so we can begin research... don't worry, we'll cooperate fully with Hez'Ranna."

"I think it's better if you let them send their own group up here, Killer." Zerrex shook his head slowly, and the liger tilted his head at this, as the Drakkaren glanced towards the wall â€" towards the north, where that strange wormhole was doing Gods knew what. "If Ire connects your name with this, they'll crucify you and you'll end up with the entire world at your doorstep, issuing threats and demands. If I can contact Albatross, he'll have the High King send all the scientific teams they can spare around the other side of the world and they'll keep things nice and quiet."

"Most people still don't recognize the northern kingdoms exist, Zer... besides, they attacked one of my bases." Killer shook his head slowly, stepping into the room and crossing his arms. "There's no way that I'll allow this information to become compromised... and if that really is some kind of portal to wherever, then it's my country that's in the most danger from a possible invasion."

Zerrex made a face at this, then he shook his head as well and said softly: "Killer, this has spiraled out of control. Whatever's going on here, Hez'Ranna is responsible... and you don't want to get between the world and that black portal... I know you can feel it, too, and it's put all of us on edge."

Killer glanced down for a few moments, then he finally nodded a bit and sighed softly. "Sorry, Zerrex. I am... maybe I shouldn't've gotten involved in this whole mess. I didn't mean to take the operation out of your hands, either. I know you're competent in this." The liger looked back up, then he smiled a bit and patted the Drakkaren on the shoulder gently. "Let's head back to the transport, everyone's waiting for us there. Maybe we can work something out that'll benefit everyone back home."

"Yeah. Maybe." Zerrex nodded slowly, and he slowly followed Killer out... yet he couldn't help but glance back into the empty room, unable to shake the feeling of foreboding that was making his heart feel heavier by the moment.