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Afterwards, he washed her over... and she attempted to coax him into sex, but he refused, only fondling her breasts gently from behind and making her flush and mutter about him being a stupid romantic. She hadn't exactly objected, though, and finally they'd ended up back out in the room, Cherry curled against him as they lay together on one of the beds, her naked and him in his pants as she asked with a slight smile: "So what the fuck's on your mind, Boss? You're never quiet for long before you ask me some mind-boggling philosophical treaty or some shit like that."

"Does it ever occur to you that sometimes you should just keep your mouth shut?" Zerrex asked dryly, and Cherry grunted something in response before he asked gently, deciding to go the direct route: "What do you remember about Hell, Cherry... and what exactly are you keeping from me?"

Cherry made a face at this, squirming against him before she looked lamely up into his eyes, and she finally mumbled: "I dun wanna talk about it... it's stupid." A pause at the frown on the Drakkaren's features, and she fidgeted a bit more before saying quietly: "I know I've changed... and I... I guess I'm scared of that, you know? I'm scared of what Hell can do to you, what those demons are capable of, especially the Scribes and Scholars... and worst of all, I understand why the fuck so many of them wanna get out of there, beautiful as parts of it are, and despite as... as well as I fit in there." She glanced up at him and smiled a bit, murmuring: "It's like the old days in the Legion. I hate that I care about you, Zerrex... and I hate myself for knowing I can't protect you from it."

"We reap what we sow, Cherry." The Drakkaren said quietly, glancing down and shaking his head a bit, before he smiled faintly as he rubbed a hand through his hair slowly. "Yeah, I'm... I'm pretty terrified myself, honestly, of what awaits, but I don't want to give up, and I've never known you to give up or be... you know..."

"So childish as I've been lately, yeah." Cherry admitted, nodding a bit against him and then making a disgusted face. "Believe me, I'm trying to control myself... but I guess I finally just get why Marina can be the same way with you. And because both me and her are struggling to show you we can do what's best for you, that we care about you, it's ended up becoming a war. A war that I'm pretty damn sure I'll lose, with Marina being telepathic and all that other shit. She's one scary little mofo, I'll tell you that."

Zerrex nodded a bit, then he sighed and sat up, rubbing a hand gently along the curves of Cherry's body as they traded a look, the female winking and sliding her legs apart slightly, but the Drakkaren only rolled his eyes and poked her stomach, before asking softly: "And why are you so scared to tell me about all these new abilities..." A pause, and he asked a better question after a moment of thought: "Why the hell do you have every superpower ever?"

"I am not a super-thing." Cherry said pettishly, sitting up and tilting her muzzle upwards arrogantly as she crossed her arms. "Except super-awesome and super-boobed, and super-good-in-bed, ad etcetera. But to answer your- yeah, please don't hurt me." The demoness shrank away with a wince, hopping off the bed to crouch on the ground as she covered her head. "I'm a Dius, it's in my nature, I swear."

Zerrex kicked her lightly in the kidney, and she grunted before quickly sitting on the bed across from him, settling herself before crossing her legs primly and knitting her fingers together, looking at him thoughtfully. "See, I honestly don't know. I mean, sure, I've had a mess of weird abilities ever since I was a kid... freaky shit's always happened around me, too, you know? And hell, you've seen my powers in action yourself before I went to Hell, and even then I was starting to learn how to kill things with my mind."

"Yeah, that's a fun way to phrase it." Zerrex said with a slight smile, and then he shook his head a bit at her odd-look. "Go on, flex the muscle you use best."

Cherry blinked and glanced down at her crotch stupidly for a moment before glaring at him. "Hey, you mean my ton..." She broke off, frowned thoughtfully, and then shrugged a bit. "Out of the context you meant it in, sure, I like to think I'm good at that. But er..." A pause as she looked embarrassed, rubbing at her head slowly. "I uh... I never paid much attention to shit that went on in Hell... my main goal was waiting for the Sisters to tell me I could leave after a while and I had my little period thinking I could do alright by myself in Hell without you or anyone else.

"Yeah, I think we all know what I got up to over those years. Same as before the Legion, same as after... wild sex, violence, partying, and feeling like shit and dragging my heels between the mind-numbing fucking with others and myself." Cherry shook her head slowly, then she looked over Zerrex and said quietly: "So I never really did a lot of work, and I regret not learning everything I could. What I do know though, is this...

"My grandfather was a Baron of one of Hell's northern provinces, I remember tellin' you that... but he was also the guy who destroyed Ezekiel's physical body and apparently he had some relationship with even the High Throne Monarchs." Cherry rubbed at her head slowly, then she laughed faintly. "You know, this thought never occurred to me over those millennia... but I really should've gone north and seen if he was still alive. I mean, sure, the rest of my family was shit... my father and my stepfather and all mom's many boyfriends beat and raped me, and Beatrice herself was a piece of work..." she shook her head slowly, murmuring quietly: "The one good thing she taught me was about my heritage... but the rest of it, all she craved was fucking and selling us, her own damn kids, for more fucking.

"I... to be honest, I think the reason I'm so strong is... do you remember what happened to my little sister, Sin?" Cherry glanced up quietly, and Zerrex did indeed remember... he had watched the very souls of the two sisters tangle together way back in the Hell of the Great War, and Sin had given herself up so Cherry could go on, combining her essence with her older sister's. Sin â€" known first to him as Cherubim, who had then served on the opposite side of the field as one of Narrius's feared RED officers â€" had originally been the one who had been able to shift her size and become a demonic, monstrous concubine, after all... and Sin too had been a succubus in her own way, looking for the same thing that Cherry had been searching for: not only a master who could tame her, but who had respect for her as well... even if that respect showed itself in strange ways.

"Yeah. How could I forget her?" Zerrex nodded, rubbing idly at his bad leg, and Cherry nodded back as she paused for a few moments, frowning and sorting out her thoughts. Zerrex gave her time: with almost three millennia of memories to go through, he could guess how that would be a bit difficult.

"Anyway... Sin was probably a Dius too. I know my mother... I think my mother was an only child, we never got much into heritage and shit... but I don't know what she would have been." A long pause, and then a mumble: "Fuck shit. I wonder if she's in Hell too, with all the rest of the brood... now I really wanna keep you the fuck out of there." A pause and she made a face. "My mom really would be your kind of MILF, except she might eat your head afterwards. If she'd turned into a demon, I don't doubt she's serving as some high-ranking demon's concubine-slave-whore-bitch."

Cherry's voice dripped with anger and disgust as she clenched her hands into fists... and then she closed her eyes, relaxing a bit before shaking her head and frowning slightly. "Shit. I'm sorry, Zerrex. I got no explanation because I never went sleuthing. I just... I just accepted it, I guess." A pause and then a bit of a smile as she said softly: "But fuck, I might know a few dozen spells and have some crazy powers... but Zerrex, imagine what would happen if you became a demon."

Zerrex made a face at the vision of him with demon wings and flapping around caverns like an idiot, and he quickly cleared that from his mind before remembering something else he'd meant to ask the female. "Speaking of other demons... what about Cleo? You said she was an Inquisitor?" A pause as Cherry's face tightened, and then he said hesitantly: "Does... she look like a Drakkaren?"

Cherry blinked at this, then grinned slightly, rubbing her hands together as she leaned forwards, looking suddenly eager to talk about a subject that only a day or so earlier she'd absolutely refused to breach on the plane. "Dude, so you could see her energy signature through the haze, couldn't you?" A pause, and then a snort at Zerrex's bewildered look. "Oh fuck, it's explanation time, then. This is like a really bad anime or something. Okay, listen up, retard."

"I hate you." Zerrex said sourly, but he leaned forwards, intent on listening in any case even as he sulked a bit inside his head. Besides, it's interesting... at least... well... I think it's interesting... so... there. Poo-head. I should call her that. "You poo-head."

Cherry's mouth was left gaping open for a moment as she stared at him, then she made a face and asked mildly: "What the fuck? What are you, like, four? Like, shut up and listen." A pause as Zerrex held up his hands, sulking a bit, and then she cleared her throat before continuing in a more amiable tone: "But like, in any case, so like... yeah. Cleo's an Inquisitor, that's right... and normally, those fuckers aren't permitted to leave Hell, and definitely not with their physical form and all that shit. I mean, the Inquisitors sorta have their batteries juiced-up regularly by the Scribes and Scholars, for instance, and they form a symbiotic circle: the Inquisitors protect the bookworms, and the bookworms use their abilities to ensure that ain't nobody gonna be able to resist their tortures.

"That's not to say an Inquisitor that's not currently charged-up is gonna be a pushover... and she might've called herself Cleo, but I remember her by another name that I can't speak." Cherry made a face, shaking her head a bit as Zerrex tilted his head curiously. "I dunno, it's like, I can think it, and I can say it in my head, but every time I try to say it ‘Cleo' comes out. I think it's got some shit to do with some of the rituals they do in Hell... you know, so you can't go and tell everyone the name of your punisher or who to avoid. Keeps a nice anonymity for the Inquisitors for a period of years, which makes, you know, avoiding or gossiping about them hard as shit.

"But Cleo is one of the higher-up Inquisitors... and whether I hate the bitch or not, she's tough, she's beautiful, and she is one cold bitch." Cherry looked distasteful, rubbing at her head slowly. "I guess you develop some thick scales though if you be torturin' people every day. So I was real surprised to see her as I guess you could've guessed, especially with how she was talking about you and the Sisters... but she's dangerous. More dangerous than I can say." Cherry fell quiet for a moment, then she coughed and straightened, glancing up at Zerrex as he looked over her slowly.

She gathered her thoughts as his eyes travelled up to meet hers, and then she offered a bit of a smile as she said softly: "Demons, yeah, they are definitely capable of possession, among a hundred other neat and nasty little tricks. They've got all sorts of ‘safe rooms' down in Hell for demons to sorta... store their physical bodies, I guess is the best way to put it, while their spiritual essence slides its way through a crack in the fabric between dimensions â€" and you'd be surprised just how many there are, too, apart from these portals. Nothing that no physical entity could pass through, maybe, but just perfect for the occasional lost soul and evil spirit to worm their way through into our world, along with any demon essence that's coming up here on a job or a hunt for some new flesh for Hell.

"See, demons have to abandon their bodies to pull this kinda shit... but on the other hand, it means their spirits and souls are roaming free to force their way into any person they can either dominate or find the weakness of... say, like, an addiction, a fear, or someone real upset. And you've heard about the kids who get possessed, right? They talk about some new imaginary friend or shit like that before they go all crazy and shit, that's another common method, bein' a voice and some shit before actually taking over the vic." Cherry nodded a bit, looking thoughtful as she leaned back on the opposite bed. "And some demons are like, completely invisible, as in you don't see or even feel them until the last moment... but other demons like Cleo there leave behind a haze as they move."

She paused for a moment, looking lame as she realized how long she'd been talking for... but Zerrex simply motioned for her to continue. "Well... okay, I guess... but uh... anyway then, yeah. So like, the haze isn't actually her spirit, but I guess you could call it something similar to ectoplasm. Spiritual goo, in other words... and it's nasty-ass stuff, leaves traces of sulfur and all sorts of other gunk behind on whatever it touches. It's sorta like a protective layer... her spirit itself, that's her energy signature that you saw." She frowned, trying to think of a way to explain it, then brightened. "The energy signature part is pretty much just like Ghost and his astral projection shit, though."

"Actually, it sounds like the entire thing is like Ghost and his astral projection ability." Zerrex said dryly, and Cherry stuck out her tongue and blew a loud raspberry at him. "Other than the haze, I mean... but if she's able to possess people when they're upset, basically, then couldn't she possess anyone during a battle?"

"Other demons are pretty much immune..." Cherry shrugged, smiling slightly and tapping the end of her nose lightly, looking quietly amused. "But on the other hand-"

She halted, her head snapping up before she made a quick opening gesture with her fist in front of her stomach, and Zerrex nodded before looking over his shoulder as there was a perfunctory knock before the door opened, Alexis stepping quietly inside and giving a bit of a smile as she said quietly: "Hey, Cherry... why don't you and I have a little... girl time?"

Zerrex glanced over to Cherry, but she nodded despite her grimace, saying dryly: "You know, when I came here first, babe, I had a hell of a dick on me. But sure, me and you can do some girly talking and maybe I'll braid your hair."

Alexis made a face at her simpering tone, responding dryly: "Gee, wouldn't that be nice? I guess later I could take file down those antlers for you if you wanted."

"They're horns." Cherry said moodily, then she patted Zerrex as the Drakkaren stood and walked by, glancing up to him and murmuring: "See you in a few, Boss. Go have a smoke or something outside."

The Drakkaren rolled his eyes as Alexis looked at him curiously, before he smiled and nodded as he passed and stepped out into the wall. A few soldiers were walking warily past, and he guessed that word had spread fast... and he wondered idly about Killer's troops, if anyone might do anything... rash. After all, no matter how disciplined your troops are... some are always bound to be a bit excitable and worse, vengeful.

He made a bit of a face as he opened the door to his room, and Marina glanced up at him quietly from where she was currently working on cleaning over the high-tech grenade launcher Cindy had discovered, the older female sitting on the bed closest and reading some large book on military ethics. Mahihko, meanwhile, was huddled in a corner, looking morbidly over some other art book.

Zerrex sighed as he closed the door, but he wasn't interested in ‘taking a smoke,' which was an old code for spying in on what was going on in the other room. Instead, he sat down by Cindy, who rested her head against his shoulder and asked quietly: "Do you think they'll want to hold a trial or tribunal? You know these people better than I do, Zerrex."

"I think it might be overlooked... but either way, we've got the information we need." Zerrex responded quietly, shaking his head slowly. "I really don't want to get in a fight with Killer... he's been one of our only true allies after all these years, after all, and nor do I want to have to hurt any of his soldiers or especially Alexis. She's talking right now with Cherry, though... so we may hear a fight erupt rather shortly."

"I have faith in Cherry." Marina said quietly, and then there was silence for a while as she continued to clean their weaponry and count their ammunition, jotting a number every so often on a scrap of paper nearby. It was almost eerie, sitting there and looking every so often at what Cindy was reading, but for the most part simply waiting for something to happen.

After more than an hour, Cherry entered the room, grumbling and looking irritably over at Zerrex before jerking her head with a grunt. "Come on, Boss. We're supposed to go to some fucking hearing or shit like that. On the bright side, they don't want to execute me and can try to understand a few millennia in Hell do things to a person's head: on the not-so-bright side, they want to hold a military hearing to make sure the soldiers don't riot over hearing that the demon is not only still alive, but peacefully living in their quarters. Plus they're kinda freaked out over the whole shapeshifting deal."

It was expected, but that didn't make it any better... but Zerrex nodded, and Cherry flushed at the indignity of being handcuffed when she stepped outside, Alexis murmuring it was just part and parcel of the standard procedure and that they weren't permitted to show any favoritism. As she spoke, she looked at the floor, her own arms crossed... and it went to show just how much it could suck to be a monarch instead of a simple soldier, free of the duties of punishing your own friends and cohorts.

The trial itself was a simple one: Killer had obviously tried to make things more familiar for them by shuffling the tables around in the dining room, leaving himself â€" and Alexis, when she moved up to sit beside him â€" as judge and a group of Predators and the two Drakkai â€" Great. Becca will be wonderfully glad of an opportunity to get back at us... â€" as what Zerrex guessed would be jury at two tables pushed to the side of the room. Cherry was led up to one of the last two tables to sit with a Predator beside her, and there was another soldier at a table placed opposite, both of these facing where Killer and Alexis sat.

A few other soldiers were positioned around the room, and Zerrex mumbled something under his breath discontentedly before he sat down in one of the plastic chairs obviously arranged for him and his family behind where Cherry sat as a few murmurs went through the room, and the Drakkaren leaned forwards to say quietly to the demoness: "Don't worry about it. If worst comes to worst, we can always fight our way out of here."

"Yeah." Cherry gave a bit of a smile, but still looked more uncomfortable than Zerrex had seen her... and it took him a moment to realize because she was vulnerable. Not because of the cuffs that were currently binding her wrists in front of her â€" those she could break with ease â€" but because she was there, in her naked demonic body in front of the world that was now judging her... and somehow Zerrex thought she would be less vulnerable if she'd left her sexual bits exposed instead of hiding them with her form-changing powers.

"Everyone, your attention, please." Killer said clearly, his features stony as he looked around the room, and the chatter stopped as Zerrex leaned back in his chair, both hands on the handle of his cane. "I'd like to commence this impromptu session of court at once so we may make a quick decision regarding the demonic attack at the Arctic Black Hole Research Facility."

The liger halted, and then he made a bit of a face: he, too, was obviously uncomfortable with what was going on, and Zerrex was beginning to get the idea some other nitwit had mentioned this and brought a group of soldier or some other silly shit forwards to force the King's hand: and in this empire, although no one would question Killer, Zerrex was beginning to get the idea that dissension had started in the ranks from fear of Hell itself... and even the mightiest empire in the northern regions can't control the terror that Hell will inspire in even the hardiest and well-disciplined of troops...

"Miss Cherry." Killer stopped, then he leaned to the side as Alexis leaned up to murmur something in his ear, covering her muzzle before he nodded a bit. "I take it you wish to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of temporary insanity?"

"Sure." Cherry said distastefully, then she grunted as the Predator elbowed her hard in the side and snarled something to her, and she sighed before standing up and saying in a toneless voice: "That is correct, sir."

Killer nodded with a grunt, then glanced over to the other table, saying mildly: "Prosecution, please make your opening statements, but keep it brief. This is not a trial or a tribunal, but an immediate judgment hearing. The decision of myself as judge and king will be final, but I will take into consideration the information provided and the feelings of the jury."

The tiger at the other table stood with a cold smile, and Zerrex's eyes paused on him, noting grey fur and a smaller, thinner stature. He's not originally from the North, even though that's an officer's uniform on him... "Prosecution calls for immediate retrial at a later date, your Excellency, due to the fact that a prior relationship exists with this person between your lordship and the accused."

Killer frowned at this, saying coldly: "Denied. I think I'm fit to judge the accused for whatever crime she committed: if anything, the past relationship myself and Alexis hold with her would only improve my judgment. Please do not question this matter again."

The tiger nodded, looking unfettered despite the glares he was receiving from around the room, and Zerrex frowned a bit before the prosecuting officer continued in his cool, slick voice: "In that case, we call for immediate execution of the-"

Protests and shouts broke out around the room, Zerrex's frown deepening as the liger looked back and forth with a glare. Something was wrong here... not only in the trial, but with the tiger and his grin, his calm demeanor and cruel eyes... and then the Drakkaren opened his mouth, not even realizing what he was saying before speaking it in a murmur: "Get thee back, daemon."

The tiger shuddered and turned, his eyes turning to a terrible ruby for a moment, and the Drakkaren stood slowly as the tiger turned to him, silence falling before Killer said irritably: "Zerrex, please seat yourself, you'll be called later for-"

The Drakkaren created a sphere of energy in his hand, then lashed out with it, firing it into the chest of the grey tiger and blasting him backwards through the table with enough force to shatter it into splinters, at the same time shouting: "Marina, bind! Cherry, exorcise it or something!"

The tiger, however, impossibly twisted his body in midair as he flew backwards, his crotch almost touching his face before he landed smoothly on his feet and batted away a chunk of wood that was still falling, everyone in the room staring in shock at the sudden combat that had erupted before he laughed, his eyes filling with red light again as he shouted: "You can't do anything against me, Lord Zerrex, not unless you can chop this host's body into bits and pieces!"

Cherry, meanwhile, had snapped her shackles and laced her fingers together, arms out at either side as she closed her eyes and began to chant something in the terrible, twisting language of the demons... and a moment later, the grey tiger stumbled with a grunt, and Zerrex caught a flicker of some terrible beast's energy before he leapt forwards. Killer and Alexis immediately jumped towards the possessed officer, both of them attempting to pin it down... but a moment later both of them were sent flying, the Drakkaren wincing as he ducked under Killer's massive body as it flew through the air, thrown by some wave of force emitted by the creature.

Alexis, meanwhile, was caught by Cherry... but the room was a mess of havoc, Predators, soldiers, and everything in between running around and yelling, unable to open doors that had sealed themselves and their comlinks jammed, and Marina shouted over the chaos: "Daddy, there's some strange design on the ceiling!"

Cherry glanced up as she threw Alexis unceremoniously to the side, but the agile feline easily gained her own balance before the demoness muttered: "Oh, this is beautiful. It's some sort of demonic trap rune." A pause as she grabbed Alexis by the arm to halt her from charging the tiger, shouting over to Zerrex: "Don't try to get close to him, Boss! The fucker's channeling his powers through that host's body, who knows who it is or what the hell it can do!"

"Screw that." Zerrex muttered, attempting to leap in towards the tiger anyway, the laughter driving him insane... and he saw a flash of red before something blasted him backwards into the wreckage of the table, the Drakkaren grunting and snarling before kicking up to his feet and clenching his hands into fists, glancing over to see Cindy and Marina doing their best to restrain Killer while Mahihko was trampled by soldiers. Come on... all of us here and none of us able to do anything? And that bastard's just laughing in the corner, as if he's waiting for something...

The lizard grit his teeth... then he created another sphere of energy and threw it hard at the creature, and again the tiger was blasted off his feet, bouncing off a wall and falling to the floor with a grunt of pain. The possessed being shook his head, his eyes flaring with red light before the settled on the Drakkaren, and he reached out a hand before the reptile felt himself beginning to choke, the tiger growling: "Fine. We'll do it the old-fashioned way."

It felt like a band of steel was tightening around his neck, as Zerrex staggered forwards towards the tiger, gagging and reeling... and then he half-fell and caught the lapels of the creature's jacket, two other soldiers who tried to approach blasted off to the side as the grey tiger leaned down towards the reptile, grinning into his face... and immediately Zerrex grunted and slammed his head into the tiger as hard as he could, knocking the possessed feline sprawling. The Drakkaren felt the band around his throat vanish as he winced, head reeling... and on instinct, he reached down and tried to grab the tiger, but his hand settled on something else instead, smoke rising up as pain burnt through his fingers... but at the same time he could hear something else screaming in an unnatural voice, felt something wiggling in his hand...

The lizard stared down to see the dark outline of some terrible creature in his grips, his hand settled on the edge of a skeletal ribcage that still had a few bands of skin between the bones, staring in shock at the shape of a monster that stared back... and a moment later it seized his arm, smoke rising up from there as well as Zerrex let out a cry, his back arching in pain even as smoke began to pour out of the tiger's mouth and eyes, forming a haze around the outline that gave it more depth and form as the demon squealed and tried to tear free of his grip.

But at the same time, Zerrex could feel energy burning down his arm, the pain halting as he snarled and tore backwards... and it felt almost like he was peeling an orange, as the transparent shape was bit-by-bit torn out of the creature, energy flashing around the reptile before he finally jerked the monstrosity upwards, holding it towards the ceiling as it howled and tried to flee... and the Drakkaren's eyes widened as Cherry shouted: "Pull!"

He didn't know what it meant... but somehow his body did, and he shook violently as dark energy laced up his arm, arching his back with a snarl as his eyes bulged, his muscles standing out in profile and his hair on end as he felt a terrible sensation filling up his body from his hand... and a few moments later, the demon let out a final shriek that echoed through the room before it sparked out of being, the haze slowly floating apart into harmless smoke and vanishing, the outline disappearing in a flicker of lightning that looked like a bad special effect from an old sci-fi movie.

A moment later, Zerrex's eyes rolled up in his head, and he fainted backwards with a grunt, his body thudding against the ground and the last thing echoing in his head Marina's shriek of dismay.

"Silly Zerrex. Don't do things like that." said a petulant voice... but it was the voice of a child, and the Drakkaren could tell there was a lot of drama in the tone instead of actual meanness. "Tsk-tsk, you get yourself all worked up and all stressed out, and look what happens!"

It took a few moments for the reptile's eyes to focus... before he blinked as he realized he was sitting at a small white table on the patio of some expensive resort, the ground made of stone tiles he bet cost more than his annual salary at the bookstore. White chairs matching white wooden tables, all of it hand-crafted and hand-painted with golden trim along the tops, a little umbrella to give shade, all the tables organized neatly... and...

Zerrex stared down at the table, and the tiny cup of tea and matching teapot, and the plate of cookies beside it... and then across at the little girl who was smiling warmly at him, looking at him tenderly. She had on a pretty white dress and one of those big helmet-hats with a red bow on it, and in her arms she cradled a worn-out teddy bear... and a shiver ran through the Drakkaren as he whispered: "I... I know you."

"My name is Arcy." She glanced down at herself, then laughed a bit and smiled warmly, waving a hand, and immediately her clothes changed to a cute little blue dress and her hat melted into a blue beret upon her head, set jauntily to the side of the kitten's head, her pretty, doll-like features setting off something deep inside himself as she added softly: "Maybe this will jog your memories. We've met twice now... once in a world like this, and once before in reality, but... we won't get into that, will we?"

She gave him a bright smile as she put her teddy bear aside, the one button eye on it seeming to stare into the reptile's soul as he struggled to breathe, watching as she reached down and pulled a heavy bookbag onto the table with a grunt and began to shuffle through it. The lizard felt another shudder roll through his body, and then he looked away, glancing to the side and watching people walking idly by on a street that ran in front of a long beach... and finally he asked, turning back to her: "Where the hell are we?"

"Hell's a bad word. At least in the context you're using it." Arcy â€" Little Arcy â€" said with a slight smile, glancing over him curiously. "But I guess you're a grown-up, and I'm not really a child anymore... so maybe I shouldn't be so fussy. Here we go."

She pulled a laptop free of her bag finally, and made a face as several papers and pens spilled out as well before sighing and taking a moment to put the excess back into the bag and put it back down beside the chair. A pause as she peered up at him, the reptile still pale and staring, and then she smiled slightly: "What, you don't think laptops are a perfectly-acceptable accessory for otherworldly beings?"

"You're an angel now." Zerrex said stupidly, and Little Arcy nodded, looking quietly entertained as she opened her laptop and turned it on, pushing it aside so they could still clearly see each other over the table. "I... I just..."

"I forgave you a long time ago, Zerrex." Little Arcy said softly, then she leaned forwards, a pair of feathered wings fading into existence on her back as she smiled a bit. "Who knows? Maybe I wouldn't have these if you didn't kill me back then, either... see, there's always a bright side to life, dark and satiric as it might seem to certain other people."

She nodded firmly, then sat back before brightening and spinning her laptop around as she hopped up onto the table â€" she was short enough that her head didn't even brush the top of the high, open umbrella that was offering them shade from the bright sun above, leaning over it with her hands together as she said cheerfully: "This might interest you, though!"

Zerrex glanced down at the screen of the laptop, squinting a bit to see before Little Arcy adjusted the slant of the monitor for him, and a moment later he found himself staring at a profile of himself, complete with pictures. He reached for the button, then glanced up with a wince at the little girl, but she nodded and reached out, patting the end of his muzzle gently: "If you touching it bothered me, I wouldn't've shoved it towards you, Zerrex. Go ahead, it won't bite... just watch your tea and cookies."

"Right..." Zerrex mumbled, carefully pushing the plates aside and pulling the laptop closer to him so he could get a better view, and Little Arcy put her hands behind her back, smiling benignly and studying him curiously... and Zerrex took another quick look over her, feeling awkward... but on the other hand, her behavior didn't make him feel patronized in the slightest, it was just... awkward. But how many other people can say they were helped out by the angel of a four year old they killed when they were in the military? Ugh.

The lizard tapped along the keys, eyes going through the long paragraphs of statistics beside pictures of him in every shape and form: there were even x-rays and muscle-structure images on here, along with ones he thought no four-year-old child should be looking at. It made him wince as he did his best to remember she was far older than he looked, before he muttered: "What the... heck is this? I... there's every single statistic I could imagine on here, from my resting pulse to my blood cell count to how often I brush my teeth a week..."

"And the sperm count caught your attention too, but you didn't want to mention it to me because I look like a little girl, right?" Little Arcy put her hands on her hips, and Zerrex coughed, leaning back in the chair and staring at her. "I know perfectly well about all that sex stuff and the pleasures a handsome male can provide, thank you very much."

This derailed any and all trains of thought Zerrex had, staring across at her as he asked stupidly: "You... you've had sex before?" A pause, and then he laughed a bit at her flat look, rubbing a hand through his hair as he babbled: "I just mean, not that you're not attractive, because you're not... not not attractive I mean! I mean, you're just... young... but not a little girl, I know, but you look really... er... you can have sex in Heaven? I didn't know that."

"I don't know if I want to smack you or pinch your cheek and call you cute." Little Arcy said after a moment, looking down at him with mild amusement, then she shook her head a bit and said matter-of-factly: "I've had many males come up to me in Heaven who have told me I'm very attractive, thank you very much, and they were very glad to have sexual relations with me. Intercourse indeed isn't banned in Heaven, since most of us can't become pregnant anyway... being a divine being supplies you with the ultimate form of birth control, in most cases.

"But enough of that." Little Arcy waved a hand dismissively, returning to the real subject at hand as she said firmly: "Zerrex... you have to be more careful with your energy abilities. Excellent as it is that you're learning more about yourself and how to properly use these powers that have opened up, on the other hand they present great dangers and risks, especially when you tamper in the realm of energy absorption."

Zerrex, however, was lost in his own thoughts before he mumbled: "So I guess priests in Heaven are just like the priests here. Wonderful." A pause as Little Arcy cleared her throat, and he looked up embarrassedly, asking dumbly: "What?"

The little girl sighed a bit, then hopped nimbly off the table before jumping up to sit in his lap, the Drakkaren grunting and swaying backwards as she crossed her little arms and glared up at him as he stared down at her. "Please listen, Zerrex. But basically, I'm telling you to watch what you pull into that big body of yours." She accented this by tapping his muscular chest firmly several times, continuing in a serious voice: "You have a high tolerance, but having too much in your body will strain it, and having too little will physically hurt you. And worst of all, absorbing a powerful negative essence will make you extremely sick."

The lizard frowned at this, tilting his head as he automatically wrapped his arms around her when she laid back against one of his strong biceps, asking curiously: "So... are you saying that I'm comatose right now because I basically ate a demon?"

Little Arcy giggled a bit at this, reaching up and patting his cheek gently with a warm smile. "Silly! See, this is why I like you, whatever the other Prophets and Watchers may think. You're smart, but you're very eccentric in your own way, and it's rather adorable. But no, you're only unconscious while we chat a little bit... to everyone else it'll seem like a few minutes, but we can spend as long as we want in here."

She smiled up at him again, then leaned up as far as she could and gave him a look, and he lowered his head so she could kiss his cheek with a delighted smile, reaching up to poke his nose firmly. "You're very good with people, Zerrex. You just have to trust more in yourself and not do that weird thing where your voice goes mute because you're nervous."

"That doesn't happen too often." Zerrex muttered, glancing away embarrassedly, and then he paused, turning his attention back to Little Arcy and unconsciously holding her a bit closer as she giggled, asking quietly: "Why is all this data on record? Why are Heaven and Hell at war... and why have I become a piece in that war?"

"You never stop dogging a line of questioning until you've exhausted every possible lead, huh?" Little Arcy shook her head slowly, laughing quietly and gazing at him softly. "Zerrex, you asked the same basic question to Francis, why is this happening to me. But I can't answer that..." she glanced down, adding softly: "I want to, believe me. And if I could, I would... but I'm only a Prophet. I can see the future, not like Cherry's precognition but in vast, broad strokes of ages to come and the paths people may take... and although there are many different paths, and although many prophecies fail to come true thanks to the interference of beings malevolent and benign... more and more signs are pointing down a path of darkness for you..."

She fell silent... and then suddenly she stood up, hugging him tightly around the neck and he hugged her back even as his breath caught in his throat at the cold vision of a little girl dying, choking on her own blood from a terrible strafe of automatic gunfire... but then it was gone, and this glowing, angelic girl took his face gently in his hands, gazing into his eyes softly as she said quietly: "Look at me, Zerrex... don't be ashamed of what you did. I forgave you for that... I did, honestly, I wouldn't lie about such a thing as this. I even forgave you for killing my father after a long period of years in Heaven... and now I have devoted my life to seeing your future, following your path and trail after I had gained the wisdom and clarity that only comes after training to grow into a mature, strong angel, with whatever body I may have here.

"I chose to follow you because I wanted to understand you... I wanted to understand why you did what you did, and once I did... all hatred that might have stayed with me left my heart, and soon after followed my resentments." Little Arcy said softly, her eyes holding his, his hands grapping into her hips as her little fingers trailed along his scarred and worn muzzle. "Gods, Zerrex... I don't feel anyone could hate you after what you've been through... after seeing what you have seen... yet I know that same rings true for everyone else in the planet as well, because what all creatures divine and mortal often lack is the power of understanding.

"Maybe the High Lord God has it... but I do not know." Little Arcy looked down for a moment, and Zerrex's eyes fell as well, his head lowering before she pressed her forehead gently to his, whispering quietly: "Even after I understood, I followed... because I saw into your future, and I saw that all destinies at the end of your trail led down to Hell. Even now, you spiral towards Hell, no matter how many of the divinities have sided with you... you are still on the dark side of the scales of balance."

Little Arcy paused, then she quietly stroked her hands down his chest, looking into his eyes for a few moments and murmuring softly: "But to explain to you things you already know and understand is not why I came, nor is it to reinforce the terror that all things feel, knowing their destiny at the end of the path is Hell. I came here to tell you, to urge you, not to go back into Ire and take on the Republic Council. For all the information we have here on you, from your background to your long, long life, we know that Ire must have compiled almost the same... and we know that they have been harnessing the Black Holes to their own purposes, despite whatever claims they've made. Live to fight another day, when the angels can assist you or after you've met more demons who are battling against the Warlord."

"But none of that answers the question I've still been asking every angel, every demon..." Zerrex reached up and grasped Little Arcy's shoulders, leaning over her and filled with desperation more than intimidation, as the doll-like girl gazed back up with him, her own eyes reflecting his sorrows. "Why? Why do I have to make these decisions? Why am I so important... give me some clue, some hint, please!"

Little Arcy gazed up at him, then she said softly: "Zerrex... the only clues I can give you are these two things... one is that the Warlord himself has ordered your execution on site after you destroyed the portal he was creating in Lunis... and the other is because of your family, your heritage, and what you yourself are becoming. Look at yourself in a mirror sometime, Zerrex..." A tear slid down her cheek as she reached up, and he breathed softly, basking in the aura of radiance that seemed to shine off her, struck by the divine mix of sadness and joy that was emanating from her. "You didn't have to go to Hell to become, in essence, a terrible, dark demon... but you have the wings of an angel that shine with a radiance not even the Heavens can match in their glory. You are darkness and light, Zerrex, you are the shadow that is between all things, and you have shown yourself time and again willing to take on whatever gets in your path in order to set things right in the world, be they monsters or gods or a terrible amalgamation of both... you have earned the title ‘Ravenlight.'"

The Drakkaren looked down quietly, closing his eyes... and when he looked back up, Little Arcy was staring to the left, her teeth grit and a look of almost fear on her face... and when Zerrex followed her gaze, he saw a tall figure clad in a white robe with a patterned blue trim standing silently beside them, a double set of angelic wings extending from his back and half a halo floating ominously above a golden bird-mask that covered his face. He made no sound, but he was fearsome... and Zerrex noticed after a moment that he cast no shadow, despite standing directly between them and a sun that was now setting. "Metatron Zeta..."

"You are hereby forbidden to make contact with this mortal, Arcy, until you complete a punishment detail to be decided later in Heaven. But rest assured, it will be at least a million years before you see him again." The voice of the creature was terrible, chilling Zerrex to the bone, and his only thought was: This is the angel who serves as the voice of God? This is the angel who-

His thought was cut off as the Metatron waved one arm, his hand not revealing itself from inside the long, wide sleeve of his rode, and Little Arcy let out a cry as she turned to face Zerrex before she seemed to simply slide apart and vanish, like many long, thin strips of a painting that had suddenly been pulled apart. After a moment, her personal items vanished too, and Zerrex narrowed his eyes, keeping his features calm and collected as he stood up and turned the strange angel.

"Zerrex Narrius." The Metatron's voice was tinged with the slightest hint of disgust, before he rose his other hand, and Zerrex saw golden claws before it ordered: "Get out of my sight."

Zerrex opened his mouth, and then suddenly the world was gone, agony ripping through his body before he started upwards, grunting and flailing at the air above him... and immediately his hands were seized as a familiar voice barked: "Zerrex, calm the hell down! It's us, you killed the fucking thing!"

The Drakkaren blinked a few times stupidly, and after a moment, Killer came into focus, looking down at him with concern. He coughed a bit, then sat up quickly and made a face, mumbling: "Yeah. Sorry about that. Wow, that sucked."

"What the hell happened?" Killer asked, frowning a bit and gripping the reptile's shoulder, before he glanced up and pointed to a Predator, adding: "Get a medic in here immediately. He should be looked over, along with the rest of the injured."

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just have a headache." Zerrex winced as he stood up, the room seeming to spin around him before he half-fell over, catching himself on his bad leg and sending a bolt of agony through him as his eyes rolled up towards the ceiling, adding under his breath: "Gods, why do you all hate me?"

He shook his head firmly again, then smoothed out his hair with one hand before sitting down in a nearby chair and breathing a sigh of relief, glancing around the room and noting Cherry sitting down beside him with her head cocked... but he ignored her for the moment as Killer walked over, blocking a good portion of the room from his view with his enormous bulk before the reptile closed his eyes, asking querulously to whoever was listening: "Where're the others?"

"Books is taking the tiger to the sick bay... his body's fine, but the demon did a number on his mind... it's the usual side effect of possession." Cherry said quietly, and he heard the creak of a chair as she leaned towards him, but the reptile was more comfortable with his eyes closed for now; it made him feel like he wasn't about to throw up due to the apparent complete loss of coordination he was currently suffering. "Bebop uh... we're just leaving the Hell alone, because she already sent some poor dick flying across the room for asking her what she was doing. She's in one of her art phases, copying the symbols down on the ceiling that even I can't see, although I haven't tried my spark trick yet... and uh... Alexis is... where the hell is Alexis?"

"Increasing area patrols and going over the soldier's logs for any unusual absences or adverse occurrences in their behavior." Killer answered, and Zerrex peeked one eye open to see the liger leaning back in a chair that was far too small for him, looking awkward as he asked after a moment: "Can you tell me how you figured out he was a demon? I'd like to make sure no one else in the base is possessed... who knows what kind of technical and security data has already been stolen by them..."

Zerrex nodded a bit, but didn't answer: Cherry, thankfully, supplied one for him, and he could hear the grin in her voice as she leaned back a bit. "It's pretty easy to spot most possessions, actually... behavior changes, there's weird movements and gestures, and they might become either very aggressive or just very... happy, depending on where they're coming out of Hell from. But Zerrex made the demon twitch by citing a line of scripture that invokes a strong emotional response: basically, he told the demon to fuck off. It won't always work, but if you catch a demon off guard with it, their eyes will often flare."

"Why their eyes?" Killer asked with a frown, and this time Zerrex did answer, opening his own emerald irises and leaning back, gazing up at the ceiling as he felt the pain in his head beginning to subside and his vertigo going with it.

"Because the eyes are the windows to the soul, as it has been said..." he murmured quietly, then cleared his throat and said in a more-lucid voice: "You've seen yourself, I'm sure, how many different emotions eyes alone can portray. So when a demon possesses someone, it's like the eyes become... uh... what's the word..." He muttered for a moment and looked down, embarrassed, then he brightened and looked back up. "Like they become curtains. The demon hides itself behind them, but you can jerk that curtain aside and reveal their true nature by invoking the right emotional response."

"Thank you for the explanation, mister scientist sir." Cherry said drolly, and Zerrex tossed her a glare before he stood up, the female immediately leaping to her feet as well and holding up her hands, saying mildly: "Not this time, Boss. On this subject, I actually agree with Spikes. You're getting checked the fuck out."

A pause, and then she coughed and looked pointedly at Killer, and the liger looked at her for a few moments before nodding a bit himself and looking embarrassed and quickly leaving, turning his attention to the Predators remaining in the room as Cherry leaned forwards and muttered: "Your eye's got that weird fleck in it again, and your body's changed a bit. It's subtle, but it's there: muscle swelling, shit like that." Another pause as Zerrex reached up for his right eye with surprise, and Cherry grinned a bit, nudging him lightly as she added in a brighter voice: "But hey, shit, I ain't saying it's all bad! And that eye thing is kinda cool."

Zerrex made a face at this: he knew she was referring to the fact that part of his iris had turned crimson, which usually only happened after he'd seriously overexerted himself or took a hard shot to the eye: there was some permanent damage in there, but Zerrex usually did his best to disregard it. On the one hand, people did find it rather neat, but on the other he utterly hated it due to the fact it reminded him of his father. Like I don't have enough problems already looking at myself in the mirror.

"Cherry, I don't want my eye to end up filling with blood and exploding. Cindy thinks it also could be from my brain swelling up, which I'd like to remind you is very bad, because without the upstairs brain, the downstairs brain will cease to function." He paused, then glared at Cherry when she opened her mouth. "Make a necrophilia joke or say anything about rigor, and I'll kick you in the nuts or the ovaries or the whatever the hell you have in there."

Cherry snapped her muzzle shut and decided to pout instead, sniffling a bit and crossing her arms before he added in a lower voice: "And what the hell do you mean, my muscles have changed? Couldn't it just be like... you know, unconscious shifting upwards? I mean, I know I haven't used my size-changing ability in a while, and I'm way rustier than you and Mahihko, but-"

The demoness shook her head, making a bit of a face as she poked his bicep, running a finger over it... and when the reptile looked down at it, he had to admit that there was something visibly different, even through his shirt. "Zerrex, you started working more on agility exercises and shit instead of muscle-engorging crap, because you wanted to build down and keep your body looser as you grew older and fuglier. And you did actually build down a bit, going for more a chiseled look than a bulging look... but now look at this shit!" She knocked on his chest, and the Drakkaren had to admit that it felt different somehow. "Dude, I cannot wait to get your shirt off, and I hope with all my evil little heart that this ain't some short-time effect due to you gobbling that demon up."

"By the way, how the hell did you figure I could do that?" Zerrex asked mildly, then he paused and glanced to his side as someone tapped him on the shoulder, turning to look curiously at a tiger in a white uniform. "Yes?"

"Would you please sit down and take off your shirt, sir? I'd like to quickly run some tests, it'll only take a few moments." The tall warrior tiger said courteously, and Cherry grinned brightly as the Drakkaren made a face before letting out a sigh and nodding once Killer turned around with a concerned frown.

He did as asked, resting back in the chair, and Cherry mumbled something under her breath as her eyes roved over the reptile, the Drakkaren crossing his arms and feeling ridiculously exposed as the medic ran through a few standard tests, everyone ignoring Cherry when she said cheerfully that Killer should check the reptile's prostate. A few moments later, and the medic told him his blood pressure was high and his heartbeat was a bit fast, but that it was likely just a side effect of the adrenaline and that he was fine.

"See?" Zerrex said mildly, reaching for his shirt... and immediately Cherry snagged it and tore it in half, earning a deathly glare from the Drakkaren before he leaned over to Killer and said mildly: "Do you still want to cut her head off? Because by all means, go right ahead, I won't mind too much."

"I think we can safely say that Cherry wasn't the cause of the attack on the enemy encampment, but instead the demon who everyone must have missed coming out of the hole after her, and who you just took care of here." Killer responded calmly, and Zerrex looked up at him with surprise before Cherry tackled him with a hug, and the huge liger nearly toppled, flailing his arms for balance as she cackled and crawled all over his massive form.

Zerrex took the opportunity to sneak away, knowing that Cherry would give the liger a more-than-adequate thank you from all of them, and instead he made his way over to Marina, kneeling beside her on the ground as she sketched and worked... and a few moments later, her furrow of concentration vanished from her face as she glanced up at her father, saying softly: "I memorized the symbols already... but they're so alien it's hard for me to draw them. We can leave here if you want, Daddy, I can continue working on these upstairs."

"Alright, Marina." Zerrex said gently, and he stood up before taking his youngest daughter's hand as she offered it childishly, beaming radiantly up at him. They left together like that, as Killer tried to pry Cherry off of himself, wincing as her horns poked into his chest every so often while the soldiers around their general stared at the demoness's way of showing appreciation and affection.

As the two strode out and down the hall, Cindy and Mahihko turned a corner ahead and both immediately shot towards Zerrex, hugging him tightly as Marina looked at them both sourly. The Drakkaren was glad of the affection however, before making a face and flailing a bit as Cindy began to probe along his chest and neck with two fingers. "I already got checked over in there! Get out of my way, I wanna go lay down!"

"Yeah, well, now I'm checking you over." Cindy muttered, as Mahihko stood back and beamed over them despite the bickering of father and daughter, before he winced as Zerrex finally managed to shove Cindy off... only for Cherry to burst out of the doors behind them a moment later, knocking over two warrior tigers as she winced and then leapt past them, running away with what looked like... "Daddy, are those Killer's pants?"

"I believe they are." Zerrex said mildly, as the liger's shouts of consternation echoed out of the room a moment later, and Killer leapt out of the room and gave chase to the female, running past Zerrex as he vainly attempted to cover his bulging boxers. "Yes, that they are indeed."

While Cherry was distracted in attempting to flee and hide from Killer, the rest of the little group made their way back to their rooms, Zerrex more than content to take as much of the night as he could to relax after the fiasco today and fallen into. After all... today we were just trying to rest. It's tomorrow that's supposed to be the difficult part...

For the most part, the night was quiet: even Cherry seemed content to head off to sleep after coming back from her unsuccessful romp with Killer around the yard: despite her best attempts, she still hadn't been screwed silly by the liger, even if she had managed to secure a promise to give him a ‘fun time he wouldn't forget' at some point. On the other hand, the Drakkaren pointed out that she couldn't exactly blame him for being less-than-thrilled with her right now â€" not only had she sewn chaos and dissension in the ranks of these far-north warriors, she'd also stolen his pants and led him on a wild chase around the yard that probably hadn't been quite nearly as fun for the liger as it had been for her. Cherry, however, refused to reflect on either of these things, instead grumbling something about how people were just no fun anymore.

The rest of the night was quiet and relaxed, Marina relaxing and sketching her father's profile as he sat back and read beside Cindy, the two pausing to read an interesting passage to the other from their text once in a while. Mahihko was doodling a bit himself in the corner, and Cherry was carefully cleaning her whip off and going over the metal links, here and there buffing out some invisible mark on the steel of the chain. On the other hand, the Drakkaren did notice that the old metal had finally begun to show signs of aging and wearing out... but he thought it would last a good while longer before Cherry needed to have the weapon reforged for her use.

Bedtime, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated, and the Drakkaren ended up once more sandwiched by Cherry and Marina in one of the beds, and this time both threatened Cindy with nasty amounts of bodily harm should she pull the same trick as she did last time. Zerrex ended up staying awake long into the night with both his oldest and youngest daughter snuggled against his strong chest, thinking quietly about these two who had completely dedicated their lives to him... but he did sleep that night, and peacefully.

When he awoke, on the other hand, Cindy had taken a loophole and was asleep with her back to him and her head resting against his firm abdominals, her arms primly crossed over her naked breasts even as she slept... and Cherry, even in her demonic form, was almost adorable with one hand on her own muzzle and the other tight around her father's neck, muzzle resting on his shoulder... and Marina with her head against his chest, as if listening to his heartbeat, one of her hands resting gently on the junction of his shoulder and neck beside Cherry's muzzle and the other wrapped around one of his arms, holding it tight against her body.

The bathroom light across the room was currently on, but something was blocking the way to it... and it took the reptile a moment to realize Mahihko was looking at him embarrassedly, ears folded back as he sketched the family group on paper, the three girls curled up with their father, naked but far more romantic and sensual than sexual or explicit... and a moment later Cindy opened an eye to look up at him invertedly, saying softly: "Good morning, Father. Why don't you let him finish up?"

"I was planning to, Cindy." Zerrex smiled a bit at her, looking quietly amused, and for a few more minutes there was only the sound of Mahihko's pencil scratching across paper, until he smiled awkwardly at the reptile and hopped off his chair to walk quietly over to Zerrex, holding it up for approval.

It wasn't half bad... but before Zerrex could say anything, Cherry woke up with a loud yawn, stretching and smacking her lips... and then she immediately grabbed the wolf and yanked him into bed with them, his papers scattering across the floor and Marina jerking awake with a start at Cherry's cheerful shout of: "Orgy time!"

Twenty minutes of flailing and kicking later, Cherry was on the floor with a sizeable bump on her head, looking dazed as she swayed a bit back and forth while Marina and Cindy climbed into their clothes, Zerrex yawning and stretching from the edge of the bed as Mahihko swayed a bit on the spot and filled in the details of the sketch, blushing as his eyes roved over the Drakkaren every so often. It was quiet and peaceful... at least, until Cherry regained her senses and Marina strode over to Mahihko, glancing down at his drawing and then saying dismissively: "Try again when you get talent, wolf. Adding a fancy angle is pointless if you can't draw the subject material."

The poor little lupine looked as if his heart had been broken, slumping a bit and hugging his drawing to his chest as Marina strutted into the bathroom, and Zerrex sighed before giving a bit of a shrug as Mahihko looked at him helplessly. After a few minutes, the wolf packed up his drawing stuff and slid it into the supplies bag, Cindy consoling him in a quiet voice as Cherry sat beside Zerrex, still naked but a bit more serious as she muttered: "What the fuck is her problem lately? She's not usually this snooty."

"I'm not sure." Zerrex shook his head slowly, and then he sighed before glancing at her mildly, asking softly: "Could it be an effect of the dark energy released from that Black Hole? It is apparently affecting all of us, isn't it?"

Cherry looked thoughtful at this, but she kept her opinions to herself as Marina walked back into the room, glaring at the demoness before smiling warmly to her father and bouncing past Cindy as she tossed her a disapproving glare, Mahihko shrinking towards the gentle female as Marina said cheerfully: "Don't worry about me, Daddy! Worry about yourself..." A pause as she searched his eyes with her own sapphire ones, and he felt her hands probing through his thoughts... but either because he was still muddled with sleep or she wasn't yet totally awake herself, she quickly withdrew her mental fingers, her pout betraying the fact her psychic search came up empty-handed.

They left for the cafeteria together, the Drakkaren figuring something was still probably being served even though it was already a few minutes past nine in the morning â€" late for a military's breakfast. But fortunately, a few patrols were still inside and the food counter hadn't yet shut down, and the Drakkaren managed to get a bottle of juice, Cherry grunting that she was fine and the others having a fairly-normal breakfast.

Afterwards, Zerrex wandered up to the briefing room as he told the others to get their gear ready: he appreciated the rest he'd gotten last night, but now he felt more nervous towards whether or not they would actually get a chance to head out today, and he wanted to talk to the liger as soon as possible. Fortunately for him, Killer was just heading out of the room, clad in his armor and royal cloak, and he smiled when he saw the Drakkaren, reaching out and slapping him gently on the shoulder as he adjusted the visor securely in place over one eye with his free hand.

"It's good to see you up and moving, Zerrex..." He paused, adding teasingly: "I thought for a moment you were going to be sleeping all day with your family, or perhaps doing something else."

"I still don't have your stamina there, Killer." the Drakkaren responded with a smile, nudging him gently with his shoulder as he gazed amusedly up over the huge liger male. "But I was just curious as to when we're moving out to check the Black Hole... I'd like to get moving as soon as possible, and I also was wondering if we could go over some of the technical data regarding demonic appearances throughout the northern empires that you know of. I'm sure your intelligence network must have some records of everything going on up here... after all, I well remember the impressive devices you had built and readied even before Narrius unleashed his own techno-terrors on the world."

"And yet they still weren't nearly enough..." Killer made a face, shaking his head slowly, and the two automatically fell in step as they strode down the hall together, the tiger frowning a bit as he locked his hands together in front of himself and his long black cloak flowing out behind him. "I've been pondering over that robotic arm the Unseen we fought had... multiple functions, hollow inside, and yet it still carried extra ammunition and had an automatic loading system... not to mention it worked perfectly. A friend of mine, a sniper named Ken... after he..." A pause and a bit of a grimace. "After he lost his arm during a battle, he had a new one put in place... but even that was nothing so advanced and powerful as this. I'd like to get my hands on that sort of technical data, not for military use but because we could upgrade all prosthetic replacements for soldiers who lose their limbs in duty... I've witnessed firsthand the troubles they go through, and I want to give back to my ‘second family' as much as I can, with how much they gladly give to me."

Zerrex nodded a bit as they turned the corner leading to the private rooms, and the Drakkaren knocked before opening the door and saying over his shoulder to the huge feline: "Albatross would probably be glad to see that sort of thing put in motion, so the next chance I get to talk to him-"

"Dirty, dirty, dirty." Cherry clucked from inside the room, and Zerrex blinked, turning around and then groaning at the sight of her waggling a finger at him, a porno mag she'd stolen from some poor soldier on base in her other hand... but on the bright side, at least she's wearing her clothes and already got her gear lined out. "You two shouldn't be talking shop like that! It's sick that you enjoy your work, helping people and all that shit."

"You're on crack." Zerrex said flatly, then he strode past her as Killer snorted and shook his head slowly, looking faintly amused. "In any case, I'm glad to see you've all assembled your stuff..." A pause, and then he glanced around the room, asking curiously: "Where's Marina?"

Cindy shrugged a bit, and Cherry frowned, tapping the end of her muzzle with the rolled-up magazine, saying thoughtfully: "Last I remember, she said she was going to go grab some more ammo for us and gave me this..." A pause, and then her eyes widened as Zerrex gaped at her in shock. "Oh shit! Oh no, she didn't..."

"You moron." Zerrex slapped his forehead as Cindy and Mahihko exchanged a confused look, and Cherry flushed deeply before he added over his shoulder to Killer, making a face. "I'm sorry, but Marina's probably stealing ammo from your reserves right now, possibly weapons... you should likely tell your soldiers there might be a surprise drill this morning or something in case she sets off any alarms..."

Killer looked a bit ruffled at this, but he sighed and nodded, reaching up to his visor and tapping a button on the side as he leaned away, talking quietly into it as Zerrex turned his attention to Cherry, saying distastefully: "Have you learned nothing over all these years, or what? I told you to keep an eye on her... don't you think it's suspicious that she suddenly gives you a skin mag when half the time she calls them trash and insults you for having such a prized collection of them back home?"

"Well... um... you smell." Cherry responded in a surly voice, and then she winced at the Drakkaren's deathly glare, shrinking back from him a bit as she added stupidly: "Smell good, I mean! Real powerful-like... in a good way, powerful good, powerful strong... but not... you know, bad-strong, good-strong. Not... smelly. Bad."

"I told the troops." Killer interrupted, stepping back out of the doorway and into the room as he made a bit of a face, adding to the Drakkaren: "It seems like your family is quite a handful to deal with."

"You can say that again." Cindy said from the corner, glancing up as she rubbed a hand lightly between Mahihko's ears, the wolf looking embarrassed but happy at the same time as his tail wagged slightly. "Marina and Cherry make things difficult sometimes... Marina will do whatever she thinks will help Zerrex out the most, and Cherry will be... Cherry. Which, as you probably noted again yesterday for the umpteenth time, can lead to all sorts of awkward situations."

"I did indeed." Killer nodded, glancing over at the demoness as she laughed dumbly and rubbed the back of her head slowly, before his eyes returned to Zerrex, adding: "You know, she seems to have a magnet in her head that always leads her to you... perhaps we should just go downstairs, since I've already made a request for a long-range helicopter to take us north into the Arctic. With the strange calm we've been having lately, it's the fastest way to the Black Hole Research Facility in the northern crater."

"Alright." Zerrex nodded a bit at this, rubbing a hand through his hair before adding after a moment in a lame voice: "Listen, Killer. I'm really sorry about this whole mess here: we've caused you nothing but problems during both our visits when you should be concerning yourself with your vast empire instead of us, and I just want to make it up to you, however I can."

But the huge tiger shook his head at this, laughing a bit and smiling slightly. "Zerrex, what can I say? They gave me the nickname ‘Bullet Magnet' for a few reasons, and one of them is because I attract a lot of trouble my way. Sure, things might have gone awry once or twice, but... since when do things ever work out as we've planned, huh?" He nudged the lizard gently, adding after a moment: "Besides. I can't say it hasn't been interesting lately... and there've been plenty of good times with the bad, too."

Zerrex smiled a bit in return to this, then he nodded a bit as Cherry grunted something nearby. "Fair enough then. But don't think I won't be buying you a drink later or whatever to help even things out, whatever the case may be."

Killer nodded, eyes twinkling with entertainment, then the two reached up and locked their hands together, squeezing firmly and large biceps flexing on either side before the liger laughed and let go, lightly pushing the reptile backwards. "I'm going to go and grab my gear... you'd better get into your own, too. I'll meet you at the helipad, and don't worry about whatever Marina grabs from the armory." A pause, and then he made a bit of a face, tilting his head. "You know, one question, though. Why didn't she just ask?"

"Because that's just the way Marina works. She's... very single-minded and goal-oriented." Zerrex responded carefully, not wanting to get into the details of what she'd gone through with Narrius... at least, not yet. That would just lead into another long conversation we don't have time for right now, mostly because I know Marina will flip out if she comes back here and sees me spilling everything about her to Killer. "I'll tell you another time, when we're alone and safe from ambush by less-than-stable people such as Cherry."

"Fuck that. You ain't never safe from me." Cherry responded pompously, and then she coughed and blushed as the two looked at her, the demoness currently laying on the bed with her legs spread and her head hanging off the edge of the side, the magazine turned sideways so she could leer over a centerfold picture with greater ease. "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Zerrex said dryly, then he exchanged a nod with Killer before the tiger left, giving a last wave at Cherry as she flailed an arm at him madly. "Are you going to put that away or am I going to have to take it from you?"

"Spoilsport." Cherry muttered, then her eyes widened as Zerrex approached and she quickly leapt up and off the bed, cackling as the magazine exploded into flames for a brief moment before crumbling away into ashes, declaring: "If you can't have it, then nobody can have it!"

"Don't you mean ‘if I can't have it?'" Cindy asked mildly as she checked over her grenade launcher, and Cherry muttered a string of vulgarities that amounted to a civilized person's ‘pardon me, but please be quiet, as you have offended me.' "Daddy, Marina didn't put this back together properly... the reload mechanism thingy seems to be jammed."

"Let me see it." Mahihko piped up, holding out his hands, and Cindy nodded before handing him the empty rifle, Cherry sliding slowly over by shuffling her feet rapidly to peer at the gun as the wolf examined it. "I uh... I don't think it was an accident. There's some damage here and there..." A pause and a blush as he shrank a bit, looking as if he expected to be hit, but Cindy only gave his back a gentle rub and he added meekly: "I think I can fix it with some tools..."

Zerrex nodded a bit, making a face, and then he sighed as he nodded to Cherry. "Are you just taking the .52s and your whip?"

"I was thinking of taking a rifle, but if I'm thinking what you're now thinking, then fuck that, I'll use Cindy's at worst since I gave that thing a nice once-over myself before bed, once Marina was done tinkering with it." Cherry grunted, and Mahihko glanced back and forth worriedly before the demoness added, looking at him with something like irritated affection. "Dipshit, stop freaking out. Nobody's blaming you for saying anything... in fact, I for one am damned glad you did, since otherwise I may have blown my face off while attempting one of my spectacular circus-style shots."

The Drakkaren rolled his eyes, and then wondered silently again where Marina was and how bad this ‘period' she was going through was getting: after all, it was rare that she purposefully endangered a mission or disobeyed a punishment detail just to get back at the others. She's looking for me to do something... I don't know what though... "Alright. Everyone arm up with simple guns and Mahihko can check them over in the helicopter. I don't expect to actually have to deal with any demons today, so just take what you need for self-defense over real combat."

The others nodded, Mahihko only taking a .45 and Cindy the huge rifle, while Zerrex armed himself with his enormous sword and slid his combat knife into the holster in his boot, more out of habit than anything else. They made their way down the now-familiar path out to the helipad, Cherry making a face at the looks she received from some of the soldiers before the little group halted outside the main doors, Zerrex making a face and as he stood back a short distance, watching as Killer attempted to talk with Marina, who had an assault rifle on her back and a cardboard box of what was probably loose ammo and clips at her side.

It didn't look like he was scolding her: on the contrary, as they approached â€" Zerrex pretending there was something wrong with his jacket and going to great lengths to adjust it so he didn't have to look directly at his youngest for the moment, since that always attracted her attention somehow â€" he could hear him trying to make idle conversation with her. Alexis, meanwhile, simply stood nearby with an apprehensive look on her muzzle, seeming to recognize that Marina was much like the ocean: calm and peaceful one moment, and raging and traitorous the next, willing to turn on all but her one true lord and master.

It was awkward that Zerrex was in that position of being her controller as much as her father and friend... but as they stood nearby, Killer finally gave up on trying to talk to her, instead coughing and turning to look over at the Drakkaren almost plaintively, saying in a relieved voice: "Oh look, there's your father... I suppose we should get going, we don't want to lose too much daylight or anything, do we?"

Yeah, she even freaks him out. But she seems to have that effect on pretty much everyone. Zerrex thought, a bit of faint amusement rolling over his features as he asked curiously: "Do you happen to have a small toolkit that we could use in the helicopter? You know, one kept for emergencies or whatever?"

"Most of my soldiers have their own little kit, actually, so they can do field repairs on their weapons." Killer nodded and then paused, reaching down to a small pack on his belt and smiling slightly. "I happen to have my own on me. I'm not going in armed, but it's force of habit."

"I know what you mean." Zerrex said with a slight grin, nodding at this and remembering the way he'd ended up taking his knife for the same reason. "But we should probably get going. We just need to do a few small repairs in the helicopter to our weapons, one or two of them seem to be a bit jammed."

"And what the hell do you mean, not going in armed, Lion?" Alexis added after a moment, nudging the liger and looking over him with slight amusement, one of her hands patting his massive bicep. "I saw you order one of the soldiers to pack your rifle in the helicopter, ‘for emergencies,' as you said."

Killer snorted at this, nudging Alexis back and retorting playfully: "And look at you, dressed in your uniform complete with the Blue Vixen on your back: you're the one who told me not to carry anything in today, as I remember."

Alexis shrugged, then turned and strode through the doors, glancing over her shoulder with a teasing smile. "Maybe I just didn't want you stealing all the fun in case we saw some action." A pause, and then she flicked her tail teasingly at the tiger, Killer snatching at it but missing by a hair's breadth as the tuft at the end of the long appendage brushed the back of his hand. "And besides, I wanted to look my best for our guests."

With that, she slipped out the door, and Killer followed, trading an entertained look with Zerrex before Marina mumbled: "Asshole."

"Marina, please try and be a little nice. Killer and I go back a good number of years now... the rest of the family likes him just fine." Zerrex said gently, then he walked towards the doors and they swung open for him, the Drakkaren pausing before adding softly over his shoulder. "And the next time I ask you to do a job, I expect you to do it properly... we're going to have a talk later about what you did with the weapons and about stealing from the base."

The doors shuddered a bit, as if Marina's powers had flickered, before she lowered her head as the others walked out ahead of them, Cherry of all people showing enough tact to half-drag Mahihko and Cindy out ahead of the father and troubled daughter. Marina watched them go, looking ashamed, and then she whispered: "Yes, Daddy."

Zerrex nodded and walked out, and Marina followed quickly a moment later, lowering her head and adding quietly: "Please don't hold back on me either, Father... you know I'm yours, and that you can deal with me any way you wish..." A pause, and she added in a voice that was almost scolding: "You really should hit me now and then to keep me in line."

The Drakkaren gave his daughter a flat look at this, responding dryly: "You know I don't want to do that, Marina. Sometimes I can't decide if you're a masochist or if you-" A pause as an image of her beaten and dressed in a slave's collar and leash went through his mind, and he reached up to touch his head, muttering: "You know, after everything you went through, I'd think that you'd want to be treated nicely, instead of having sick fantasies about things like that."

"I am your daughter." Marina replied haughtily, but Zerrex bit his tongue, holding back his usual snapped response of ‘what the hell is that supposed to mean?' as he recognized all too well that now Marina was doing whatever she could to purposefully piss him off. Instead, he scrunched up his muzzle as he concentrated hard and put Marina in a clown outfit in his mind instead of being all beaten and bondage-y, and a moment later he was rewarded with a stare as she asked stupidly: "What the fuck?"

He shrugged, looking back at her defiantly as they approached the helicopter, and then they both laughed... and from inside the transport, Cherry smiled a bit, looking both sour and amused at the same time as she muttered: "Fuck, but I wish I had the relationship those two had. I don't think they're capable of pissing one-another off."

"I just haven't found the right button to push yet." Marina said absently, glancing over at Cherry as she slid into a bench beside Mahihko, and she made a face at the wolf as he tinkered with his jammed handgun using a screwdriver, immediately blushing and shrinking away from her meekly as she muttered: "And yes, I'll be getting back at you later, wolf bitch."

"Marina, please." Zerrex said flatly, and he grunted, dropping onto the bench on the other side of the helicopter to sit beside Alexis, wincing a bit as he glanced around the plain interior of the vehicle and slinging his enormous blade aside to rest beside the female feline's own massive rifle in a set of clamps next to the bench. "So uh... this thing is safe, right?"

A Predator slid through a small space in the front wall to slide the transport's door closed and seal it into place by means of a tiny lever on the roof, and Zerrex made a face at the size of the little locking mechanism as Killer asked playfully: "What, you don't trust my designs?"

"Remember that time you tried to design a new transport system and it ended up being so heavy the brake system snapped just because of the momentum?" Alexis replied in an amused voice, and Killer coughed, glancing to the side and rubbing at his shoulder slowly. "But no, Zerrex, this is just your plain long-range transport helicopter. It runs off a purified version of the fuel cell we use to power most of our machines, and there's a backup battery system to ensure things don't go awry mid-flight."

"Besides, that was one time." Killer added, as Zerrex looked back and forth around the helicopter to check where the parachutes were kept, just in case. "The only reason it failed is because I forgot to take in the extra pressure on the gears and tires. Otherwise it worked fine."

Alexis simply smiled and rested against her husband, and much of the rest of the flight was silent, other than the occasional quiet click as Mahihko tinkered with a gun here and there, unscrewing this and readjusting that. Forty minutes later, however, and a green light flashed on the front wall, Killer straightening as he said quietly: "Looks like we made it. This should be the outside of the crater... we haven't finished construction yet, so we're going to have to rappel down, but I'm sure all of you know how to, right?"

The others nodded, even if Mahihko looked a bit nervous: it wasn't exactly anything he liked to do on a regular basis, since the lupine was apparently firmly-convinced his slight little girly body was just as heavy and bulky as Cherry's, and the rope would one day snap and send him plummeting to what would obviously be a terrible death. Personally, Zerrex was always more afraid the rope would break and he wouldn't die: going on all these great epic adventures he loathed was hard enough as it was with only one leg failing him, but being stuck in a wheelchair would make it impossible, due to the lack of handicap-accessible things he came across.