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A month after Selena moved in with them, Zerrex was out in the tiny orchard of a dozen or so trees, ignoring the ones that were currently stretching out their limbs at him and instead inspecting the others for Apple Crabs and other nasty little parasites. He was munching on a tangy, sour-tasting apple as he poked at the trees with a long stick, both thankful and irritated at the fact there was no strict growing season in Hell: everything blossomed when it did, and grew when it did, which meant he had to check every few days for apples if he wanted something to sell at the market or just to eat.

He paused and turned to look at Selena as she approached him, then coughed and glanced over the conservative blue robe she was wearing. She glowered at him, and the reptile held up his hands as she adjusted it over her body, mumbling: "This might sound weird, but I feel horribly naked without my leathers."

"Why is there a bandanna tied around your head?" Zerrex asked curiously, and Selena sulked a bit as she reached up and touched the long strap of cloth that went around her head, matching the color of her robes with a golden rune that denoted whatever rank she was on the front. "And how's your job going, anyway?"

"Fuck off and die, that's why." she said moodily, then crossed her arms and looked away sourly. "And being a Priestess again sucks mortal ass. I can't join the motherfucking military, though, and they won't even let a female try out for most of the Royal Guard positions because I was fired as an Inquisitor and I'm a chick, so my choice was either this or move to the Circle of Lust. I guess I could've squatted in your old house-"

"It wouldn't be squatting, I would've given it to you." Zerrex interrupted irritably, and then he winced away when she glared at him, stepping backwards and poking at her with the stick. "Continue, continue, sorry I interrupted."

She waved the stick away, then said in a grating voice: "Anyway. I would have stayed there, but then I probably would've ended up in a permanent position. And much as I like Queen Carmen and the rest of the Lust Circle, I don't think I'd do very good there either. I mean, Dius are a silver a handful there, so it's not like there would've been many jobs in high demand... and I don't really want to be a prostitute or anything like that and get banged twenty four times a day by at least twenty four different people. I mean, come on. My last job was so perfect it's gone and ruined all the other possible jobs out there for me."

She sulked at this, looking back and forth sourly before asking dryly: "By the way, where's Sin? I haven't seen her all day."

"Checking over the house in the Lust Circle..." Zerrex responded mildly, turning to a nearby tree and poking at it. It rumbled loudly in return, and then one of the apples unfurled into one of the crab creatures Zerrex so detested and fell from the tree, and the reptile immediately squashed it with a savage downward swing of the pole. Selena stared at this, and the Drakkaren muttered something under his breath before looking at her and asking calmly: "So how was your day? What did you do at work and stuff?"

Selena looked at him apprehensively for a few moments, as the reptile began to poke at the various apples on the tree again, and then she said slowly: "It went fine, thank you... and well, mostly I was helping out the other Priestesses and studying up on my healing runes, but they usually only bring me in when I need to exorcise something or-"

"By the way, what kind of Priestess can't heal? And my head still hurts from when you decided to ‘heal' my headache last night too, by the way." Zerrex added mildly, tapping at a temple which still bore a large singe mark, and whatever nasty response Selena had was lost in a cough as she blushed and turned away. The Drakkaren then paused, before cursing loudly as two Apple Crabs fell out of the tree, and he smashed them both into gooey chunks of orange and red on the ground. "I hate those things!"

"I noticed. But well, some demons like to possess others for kicks... and evil spirits are floating around the world too, from lost souls to dead demons who don't have the strength to physically reincarnate themselves." She paused, then patted the tree gently, which swayed and grumbled loudly. "And not all trees are like these ones here... there's some real nasty ones, in the Deep Forest, for example, that could give a well-trained demon a run for their money in a fight. By the way, you do know that if you can catch the crabs, they don't make a half-bad snack if you boil them up."

"I beat these trees regularly. It's what keeps them so well-behaved." Zerrex said casually, before he glanced over the trees he hadn't checked and shivered. "And like hell I'm going to stick even a piece of one of those things in my mouth. Creepy little sons of bitches... I much prefer just to put them out of their misery instead."

Selena rolled her eyes, then sighed and adjusted the cloth on her head, before finally grumbling and tearing it off. "Screw this! If they want me to wear a coif, then every other Priestess should need to as well."

"What rank are you in the sisterhood, though?" Zerrex asked, tilting his head towards her, and when she looked away and refrained from answering, he snorted and rolled his eyes. "Gee, maybe that's why, so the poor bastard knows he's being treated by a chick whose only healing characteristic is hidden under a formal robe."

The female growled at him, then grabbed her breasts and squeezed them through the cloth, looking morbid. "Now that I'll agree with you on. I mean, fuck. What's the point of having tits like this if I can't show them off? Besides, I'm a frigging Dius... I'm supposed to be naked, not like these prim, prissy bitches who have never opened their legs for a dick in their whole lives... I really hate most of the people I work with already, if you can't tell."

"It came through somehow. Gods, you remind me more of Cherry with every day that passes." Zerrex said amusedly, as he moved to another tree and touched it, then began to carefully poke at the few apples hanging from the branches. "Lunata keeps asking about you, by the way... you know, how you're doing, if you want to get together and talk, etcetera, etcetera..."

The demoness grumbled something under her breath as she leaned against the tree, shaking her head slowly. "Half of me wants to let that skank down easy, and the other half wants to take up her offer and rape her, except I bet she's secretly into that whole thing... why don't you just rape her, Zerrex? See how she reacts?"

"I had that conversation with her already, actually, and determined she's not my type even for that." Zerrex made a face as he poked at an apple with the stick, and Selena laughed, shaking her head in amusement. A moment later, it unfurled into another crab, which quickly attempted to crawl up into the safety of the tree, but Zerrex quickly smashed it against the branch, Selena covering her face with a wince as chunks of crab flew in all directions and the reptile muttered: "Take that, you little bastard. No more pinching Zerrex now."

"These things and centipedes. I will never understand why those are the only things that bother you in Hell." Selena shook her head slowly, then she rolled her eyes and put her hands up as the Drakkaren looked at her sourly. "Oh, sorry, and of course, the Claw Spiders, because they're so violent and harmful."

"I don't like stupid bug things that eat people." Zerrex muttered, before moving over to the next tree. It reached down to grab him with a branch, and the Drakkaren immediately whacked it firmly with the pole, the tree leaning back as he said loudly: "No! Bad! That's no, we do not grab, how many times do I have to tell you, Jake?"

Selena stared at him, then asked slowly: "You... named the trees?" When Zerrex continued to look acerbic, she immediately grinned widely and walked over to the tree, poking it and saying teasingly: "So, does Jake do any tricks?"

Zerrex glared at her... then the tree leaned a branch over her and an Apple Crab dropped down onto her head, the female blinking before Zerrex let out a loud ‘ha!' and smashed it automatically with the pole. Selena crumpled to the ground, and he stared in horror before she slowly picked herself up, glaring at him as her eyes turned dead black, chunks of dead crab sliding down her face. "You prick! Give me that!"

The Drakkaren turned and bolted hastily away, and Selena chased him onto the road, shouting various curses and throwing fireballs at his back. The reptile yelped as one of them collided with his back and exploded, and he staggered forwards before half turning with a wince, creating a circular shield of energy that another fireball blew up uselessly against as several others shot past him altogether.

The lizard looked back and forth desperately as Selena went back to simply yelling at him furiously, and then he glanced up at a high branch on an enormous ironwood tree and he lashed his arm out, a long, black tentacle immediately shooting out from his shoulder and wrapping several times around his arm before it flew up to latch tightly around the thick limb.

He leapt into the air as the energy shield vanished from behind him as it pulled him towards safety at the same time, quickly grabbing the branch with his other hand as it came into range and hauling himself up to sit on it as Selena danced around furiously beneath him, the reptile letting out a sigh of relief as she uselessly threw a few fireballs at him, but they arced back towards the ground or hit the tree uselessly. The Drakkaren opened his muzzle... and then he paused, his eyes narrowing and Selena halting her dance of rage beneath him as she wiped goo from her muzzle, before he snapped his other arm out and another tentacle launched down towards her, the reptile saying sharply: "Grab it and get up here!"

Selena nodded immediately, grabbing the thicker body of the tentacle, and it wrapped quickly around her arm before Zerrex grunted and winced, hauling her upwards with surprising speed and force as the tentacle rapidly slid back into his shoulder at the same time. She grabbed the branch and jackknifed onto the limb herself, frowning... and then she paled a bit, her black eyes narrowing as she gazed out past the Central Spire to the other side of the Circle of Wrath. "Is... is that smoke?"

Zerrex nodded as he focused his eyesight on the area, before he murmured: "I think I can almost make out a fire, too... a huge one. The Drakkaren paused, then uncoiled his other tentacle from around the branch it was anchoring him to so he could reach up and grasp Selena's shoulder quietly. "Whatever else, it looks like a lot of trouble... should we check it ou?"

"I want to... but..." She glanced up at him, making a face and creating a portal a moment later in the air beside her, sighing softly and shaking her head a bit. "Lemme see what it is first. It doesn't look like it's in the Southern Province, and I don't want to run into yet another confrontation with you following behind me... go wait back at your house, I'll meet you there after I consult the Princess or at least one of her handmaidens."

She glowered a bit at the thought, but stepped through the portal anyway, and Zerrex admired her strength of resolve before glancing back and forth and jumping down off the tree, deciding to do some sleuthing on his own before he went anywhere. It was always at least an hour's wait for an audience with the Princess, so he figured he had time to at least see if there was any information on what the hell was going on in the village nearby, at least.

He skidded to a halt at the edge of the town, however, feeling a roll of shock roll through him as he realized that the houses had all been damaged by some terrible battle... and as he strode deeper into the village, he saw more signs of fighting and a few fallen bodies before he quickly approached a wounded Royal Guard near the town square, kneeling by him and checking terrible wounds that were bleeding heavily from what looked like... claw marks... like the soldiers at Ixin's field... "Can you hear me?"

The goat demon looked up at him slowly, then it nodded once and rasped: "Be... be careful... Az'Iriel's troops... save the Angel..."

Zerrex frowned a bit, tilting his head as he shook the goat demon gently. "What do you mean, there's an Angel in Hell? But I thought Heaven and Hell were..." He paused, then sighed as the demon slumped, and he felt the Royal Guard's life leave his body beneath his hands as he murmured: "Were at war..."

He shook his head, climbing to his feet as he turned to stride deeper into the village... and an angel shot by in midair, its huge wings flapping as a massive sword smashed repeatedly against a deadly, vicious scythe wielded by some terrible cloaked entity. The Drakkaren stared, then he snarled and kicked the Royal Guard unceremoniously over to tear the sword that was still sheathed on his belt off, figuring the demon would prefer that to him wasting time as he tore the silver longsword free and charged after the pair that were currently circling the block a few feet off the ground.

The Angel was almost the exact same size as him and another Drakkaren, but he was moving so fast it was hard to get a clear look at him... but the creature he was battling was undoubtedly a reaper, from not only the straight scythe it was using by the skull-mask it wore over its own face and the long robe, and Zerrex wondered for a moment what the hell a Reaper of Souls was doing battling an Angel before he created a sphere of energy, timed it carefully, then threw it in a hard curveball that snapped through the air and crashed into its side, exploding and sending it flying into a nearby building with a squall of pain.

The Angel threw itself backwards from the blast, turning towards the Drakkaren as it hovered above the ground, and Zerrex met animal eyes that were like an unevolved reptile's, filled with yellow with large, slitted pupils... and Zerrex took a quick glance over its body, taking in the thick muscle and black scales, and the strange, badger like stripes of pure gold that went from the Angel's muzzle to the tip of his tail, before it said in a cold, angry voice: "This isn't your fight!"

"It's my territory, not yours." Zerrex responded evenly, and then he ran up beside the Angel as it dropped to the ground and faced towards the Reaper again as it floated back towards him, holding up a blade that looked almost like Blackheart's older brother: the only real difference was that this one had a blade at least a foot longer than his old sword. "Let's save the bickering for later, huh?"

"Fuck off and die." The Angel responded in that same icy voice, and Zerrex snorted and grinned slightly as the Angel's wings vanished from sight, the two Drakkaren standing side-by-side. Zerrex glanced to the side, noting the silver breastplate it was wearing and figuring it was likely some sort of warrior from the Vanguard unit... and it looked back over him for a moment as Zerrex automatically turned his eyes towards the Reaper.

It reached up and threw off its skull-mask, leaving the two staring at a tall, ancient-looking hyena with grey fur... and its head twisted back and forth as it said darkly: "All who oppose Prince Az'Iriel will be destroyed, be they godling or demon."

It rose its scythe, closing its eyes as its hands burned purple, before slowly releasing it and shoving both clawed hands out towards the two, and the scythe immediately spun around in a vicious arc towards them, glowing purple with power... but Raze glanced almost absently to the side, and Zerrex felt the tremendous psychic power released before the scythe shot to the side, spinning violently out of control to crash into a nearby home as the Drakkaren-Angel leapt forwards with a snarl, slashing down as the blade of his sword glowed deep black.

The sword ripped deep gashes back and forth through the Reaper's body as the Angel forced his path forwards, the Reaper shrieking in agony and stumbling backwards before the Angel cocked the blade back and slammed the flat into the soul-collector hard enough to send it crashing through a small house with a scream of agony. It snorted and turned, immediately beginning to walk back towards Zerrex and looking just as hostile... and the Reaper tore out of the wreckage of the home and dived towards the Angel's back with a howl of rage, its eyes burning with fury.

The Drakkaren-demon immediately threw himself forwards, and the longsword in his hand glowed white before he spun his body as he passed uner the Reaper, ripping the sword forwards at the same time to cut directly through its waist and chop it cleanly into two halves. It let out a howl of pain... but vanished into smoke and ashes before Zerrex even landed in a crouch, and the reptile smiled slightly as he glanced over to Raze, saying quietly: "Very impressive... but dark energy isn't very effective against them compared to how it works against other entities."

Raze looked over him coldly, but Zerrex could tell behind the mask of indifference the Angel-Drakkaren was a bit shaken... and it snorted before placing its huge sword on its back, crossing its arms over its scarred breastplate as he asked rudely: "How do I get to the Central Spire? And I was seperated from my partner, we were sent down here on a peacekeeping mission, and I want to ensure he's alright."

"Such concern." said a dry voice, and Zerrex glanced in surprise at Francis, who patted him firmly on the bicep as he strode up beside him, smiling and bowing his head respectfully. "Lord Zerrex. It's good to see you again... and since he won't do it himself, I'd like you to meet Raze Drake Atrox. He's one of the Elite of Heaven, and he's not technically an Angel, but a young god... although he rarely acts like one."

"Shut up." Raze said in a chilly voice, and Francis made a face and sighed. Zerrex, however, was admittedly impressed nonetheless... but at the same time, he was almost disappointed. He's... he's acting just like how I used to. "Let's go, I want to finish the job here."

Zerrex shook his head a bit... then he extended a hand and said in a gentle, pleasant voice: "It's nice to meet you, Raze. My name is Zerrex Narrius... and if I can say so, you're quite a handsome fellow."

Raze looked completely disarmed by this comment as Francis groaned and slapped his forehead... before the mouse stared as Raze hesitated a long moment before slowly bringing up his own hand, and the two shook. The black-scaled god's grip was careful, and Zerrex squeezed firmly to show he wasn't fragile... and Raze squeezed back a bit before they simply stood, holding hands for a few long moments until the godling pulled back with a slight blush, mumbling something under his breath. He turned away, his arms crossed... and then his eyes widened as Zerrex walked over and wrapped an arm around the ten-foot entity's shoulders, hanging off him as he leaned around his strong body to grin up into his face playfully. "You should stop by my house sometimes, Raze... I'd be glad to show you around Hell. But I don't want to keep you two up... it was good to see you, Francis, and I'll look forwards to seeing you again, Raze."

The reptile accented this with a firm slap to the black-scaled Drakkaren's buttocks, and then he sauntered away, leaveing Raze staring after him and Francis laughing loudly. But by the time the reptile glanced over his shoulder, Raze was already glaring at Francis, who was still chuckling but pointing out the path they were to take, and Zerrex created a portal leading back to his home before stepping through this and then coughing as he stared at Selena. "Well... you didn't take long."

"The Princess saw me right away the moment I mentioned a disturbance in the Wrath Circle... let me guess, you went and found trouble." She glowered as the reptile coughed and looked away embarrassedly. "You better have a good fucking story."

"I met the godling Raze and Francis in the village... it was apparently attacked by Az'Iriel's troops, but by the time I got there, Raze had cleaned things up and was just finishing his battle with a Reaper of Souls, of all things. I killed that for him, though." The reptile paused to reflect for a moment, rubbing absently at his shoulder as Selena stared at him, and then he added absently: "He doesn't seem like the most pleasant person in the world, but I'd certainly hit it, if you get what I'm saying."

"You wish. Raze is the son of his High Honor, Archangel Lord Atrox. Lord and Lucifer are God's Hands, or the two highest-ranking Angels in Heaven." Selena said dryly, and Zerrex stared before rubbing the back of his head slowly, wondering whether or not he should've behaved at least a small bit better around the deity now. "Lord is actually another god, as well, and a very-powerful one... but Raze is developing very quickly into a mighty warrior himself, it sounds like.

"But I guess it's no coincidence you ran into them... the fires were started in another province by Az'Iriel's troops burning down several cities." Selena shook her head slowly, murmuring softly: "It sounds like they wanted to cause a large enough distraction to sneak troops hiding in the other Circles quickly into Wrath, and move them to attack the Angels and halt any chance of peacekeeping between Heaven and Hell. If Francis and Raze had been killed in the Southern Provinces, Heaven likely would have entered into another full-scale conflict with Hell, and we'd all be in serious trouble right about now." Selena shook her head slowly, murmuring quietly: "Things are getting very nasty indeed, Lord Zerrex... I don't know what to tell you. Az'Iriel's apparently found a way around the Portal Shield, and if the Reapers are starting to divide up sides now, it means they think either the Princess or the Warlord will be crowned High King or High Queen of all Hell... and I don't want to think of what kinds of conflicts that would lead to."

She stopped, then looked down and shook her head slowly, adding quietly as she looked across at him softly: "Let's do some training right now, Zerrex, right here in the house. I think both of us need to relax and... it'll get our minds off things. Besides, you don't need to increase your size anymore to bring out your demonic characteristics, right?"

Zerrex shook his head slowly, smiling faintly as he tilted his head forwards, feeling his tail lengthening and a spike pushing out of the tip to thicken into a narrow, knife-like blade, before a row of spikes pushed out on either side of his spine, and he turned around, jerking his thumb at his back as he said softly: "I gained full control sometime last week, while I was ‘training' with Ose." He made a bit of a face, glancing over his shoulder and muttering: "If only we could do this outside, but Feldspar keeps tattling on us..."

Selena nodded, and from her grimace he knew she was remembering the same thing he had in mind. Three weeks ago, soon after Selena had gotten her job as a Priestess, the two had been walking slowly around the Cathedral together and had stopped outside in a large cement square, standing by a beautiful stone fountain. The Cathedral was a beautiful place, full of flowers, serenity, and gentility, with Priestesses and Acolytes running back and forth, doing everything from old-fashioned bandaging-up of minor wounds to reviving demons and breathing life into golems and other constructs... and he and Selena had decided to screw around and train a little, since there were so many people around to heal them if they messed up.

Five minutes into a light sparring match that was little more than them flailing and shoving at each other, Feldspar showed up with the Princess's Wentaku bodyguards, and they had been ordered to halt what they were doing immediately, or be punished for it. They had argued until Ose showed up and forcefully dragged Zerrex off with a wide grin on his muzzle, and the otter had dumped him out in the desert near a nest of Death Worms and quickly fled the scene, leaving Zerrex running away in terror as a Death Worm the size of a train with a huge dragon's skull instead of a rat's chased him back and forth through the sand.

Since then, Ose had also dumped him in a swamp, in a volcano, and his personal favorite, inside a nest full of centipedes twice the size of him. After the last he had punched Ose in the face, and the otter had fallen over with a bloody nose and a look of horror, before the two had gotten into a quick fight that was almost immediately broken up by several Royal Guards.

But now Selena cleared her throat, and Zerrex looked up from the unpleasant reverie as she paused, then looked at him moodily before saying carefully: "Dominate me and force me to pick up that book over there on the table, but don't make me do anything else."

Zerrex grinned slightly, and Selena looked at him sourly before he leaned forwards and concentrated, his eyes glowing bright green. Selena gritted her teeth, resisting for a moment... and then her expression changed entirely, and she bounced happily over to the table to pick up the book before approaching him with a lustful expression... and the reptile took the book with a slight smile before saying softly: "Good... now kneel."

Selena nodded quickly and blushed as she licked her lips slowly, whispering: "Yes, Master Zerrex... anything you want, anything at all... I'll give the whole world to you... I... wait... hey, what the hell were you going to make me do?"

The female glared at him as she woke up from the trance she had fallen under, currently in a kneel before the reptile, but she was swaying dizzily on the spot, as if trying to fight off falling back under his spell. Zerrex recognized that it was only the aftereffects of his strange ability, however, and so instead he cleared his throat and tapped first one shoulder, and then the other with a single finger, saying clearly: "I knight thee, Sir Selena of Camelot."

Selena punched him in the crotch, and the reptile fell backwards with a groan of pain, clutching himself more out of habit than anything else now as he looked at her morbidly from his awkward sitting position, mumbling: "I think my balls are becoming immune to physical pain from all the crap you've done to them. Can't you punch me somewhere else, for once?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Selena asked in a mutter, and then she paused before standing up and walking behind the armchair, half-ducking behind it as she said clearly: "Now I want you to do that other thing we've been practicing, and-"

"Whoa, I don't think so!" Zerrex held up his hands, shaking them quickly and paling a bit: "Selena, first of all, that is not an ability for use inside the house. Dominate is an indoor ability. Dark energy is not. Second of all, Sin will yell at us if she has to put the furnishings all back together. Third, I don't want to die by blowing half my body apart, okay?"

"You won't blow yourself up." Selena scoffed, then she muttered: "Anyway, I know some minor healing spells, I could keep you alive until Sin got here... look, stop arguing with me and just try and make a sphere of that stuff while... I watch from here so as not to distract you. Just... hold it for a few seconds, too."

Zerrex mumbled a slew of childish obscenities under his breath before holding out a hand with a wince, and dark lightning crackled above his hand before energy began to gather into a sphere in black droplets, writhing and twisting like an animal in a cage that was far too small for it as it crackled spasmodically. The reptile breathed slowly in and out, concentrating as he rose his tightened his other hand into a fist, watching as it grew to the size of a basketball... and then he gritted his teeth as he forced the energy to dissipate. Now for the hard part...

"Come on..." he muttered, and Selena winced and ducked as far as she could behind the chair while still keeping an eye on the reptile... and slowly, the sphere of dark energy began to twist and shudder, streamers of the terrible energy rising into the air and vanishing as it decreased in size. It helped Zerrex to visualize himself peeling an onion or pulling apart a piece of lettuce, like he was removing layer after layer until nothing would be left... and then he stared as it shrank down to the size of a marble before that flickered out of existence, and the reptile opened his hand as he said cheerfully: "Hey, I think I actually got-"

Dark lightning crackled through the air in front of him, and then a small explosion rattled the house, sending Zerrex flying backwards to safely crash on the futon and digging small welts over the surface of his favorite armchair as Selena leaned against it with a grunt. The Drakkaren groaned as he grasped his skull dumbly, before he curled up on the soft futon and mumbled: "I am now in much pain."

"Well, you didn't even crack the table, though!" Selena said helpfully, and she quickly repaired the damaged plates and glassware sitting on it, before walking quickly over to the Drakkaren... and she sighed, crossing her arms instead of kicking him as she said gently: "Come on, Zerrex. Just roll over onto your back for me so I can heal those energy abrasions... you know they'll burn for hours if we just leave them as is."

The reptile mumbled a bit under his breath... but then he finally sighed and rolled onto his back, and Selena leaned over him, noting that most of the wounds were around his scars, as if they had been cut open once again. She murmured an incantation carefully under her breath, concentrating as she pushed her hands down into his chest, and the reptile winced as her hands pulsed with gentle light, mumbling: "You're putting too much power into the spell... it feels more like it's being pushed into my insides than over my scales."

"Now look who's a magic expert." Selena muttered irritably... before she softened as Zerrex quietly reached up and stroked her muzzle with one hand, glancing down and adding quietly: "I'm still getting used to passive magic... I've forgotten a lot of my former training and healing arts over the years. Even the archmages can't remember every spell, you know..."

"And you're right on the same level as they are." Zerrex smiled a bit, looking up at her with faint amusement, but Selena only rolled her eyes and hid a small smile as she moved her hands over his body. They were quiet for a few moments, only the hum of the spell in the air, before the reptile asked softly: "Would you like to try working on anything else? I mean... every time a seal breaks on my body, I seem to gain more and more abilities... and to be honest, I don't know whether it's good or bad, whether I even deserve them or not."

He paused... then laughed a bit as he realized he still had the row of spikes down his back and the blade on his tail, and the Drakkaren closed his eyes and concentrated to once more hide all the demonic characteristics of his body, looking up at the ceiling as Selena looked down at him with a faint smile. "I always feel so stupid and weak at times like this, though. I mean, I'm this big, terrible monster... and here I am, questioning myself and whining about my abilities..."

"There's such a thing as too much power... it goes from being a blessing to a burden. Only a fool wants to be able to destroy the world... he might find out he's lonely once that's been done." Selena said quietly, and when Zerrex looked up at her in surprise, she shrugged and looked back with ironic amusement. "What? I read books too. It's from uh... Essays on God. I forget who the author is, though..."

Zerrex nodded a bit, trying to think of the author himself, but then he pushed it aside and added in a grumble: "Well, I'm a fool, then, because sometimes I wouldn't mind seeing the world burning, much as I know it'd be a stupid thing to do. Are you done yet?"

"Shut up, I'm trying." Selena responded sourly, and then she halted a few moments later, rubbing her hands together and making a face. "Fuck, I feel sore. There, though, at least the bleeding's stopped... clean yourself up and fix my damn bed, you put holes in it."

The Drakkaren grumbled and did both as Selena stood and paced restlessly around the small home, before she shook her head quickly and glanced over at Zerrex curiously. "There's a Wrath power known as Intimidate... think you could do that to me?"

The reptile began to get up... then he paused and sat back down on the futon, and when she gave him a look, he said plainly: "I could loom over you and crack my knuckles and be scary and stuff, but then you'll probably knee me twice in the balls and I'll cry like a little bitch. Why don't you explain that in more detail?"

"Just look at me and try to scare me, moron. It's like Dominate, it pops out of your eyes." Selena illustrated this by flicking two fingers in front of her eyes, and Zerrex coughed, looking away and covering his muzzle before she crossed her arms and glared at him, adding in a growl: "And if you keep laughing at me, I'm going to cut out your spleen and eat it."

"Fine, fine." Zerrex sighed and turned towards her again, frowning a bit as he tried to focus on her... but he felt nothing. He glared, he narrowed his eyes, he peered at her stupidly... but unlike Dominate, the ability didn't seem to be there. He crossed his arms and sulked a bit as Selena tapped a foot and waited, and the Drakkaren took a deep breath before closing his eyes, delving deep into himself and hesitantly poking around his innards for abilities he hadn't yet discovered in this strange body he possessed... and then he winced and opened his eyes, and he felt something strange flow into his mind...

And a moment later he leaned with a grunt and wince, and the room darkened, the lights flickering before darkening as Selena looked back and forth, before running over him him and grabbing the Drakkaren as he coughed several times, asking in a concerned voice: "Zerrex? Lord Zerrex! I... Zer, snap out of it, what the fuck did you do?"

The Drakkaren shook his head rapidly back and forth, and then he opened his eyes as the room turned pitch-black and stared dumbly at Selena. He could see objects in the dark outlined in faint white, things seeming to glow slightly as he realized his demonic eyes had adjusted even to the complete darkness as Selena mumbled: "Shit... Zerrex, I can barely see you. You must have either swallowed us both in an illusion or accidently cast some sort of darkness spell. Give me a minute, I'm going to try and dispel the effect... you're lucky this is the one thing I can still remember from being a Priestess, you asshole."

She stepped away from him as the lizard looked groggily back and forth, and after almost a minute Selena cursed, sounding more concerned this time. "Zerrex, I can't dispel whatever you did... like... say something, anything..."

"I'm here. I have a wicked headache, though..." The lizard made a face and rubbed a hand slowly over his skull before pausing as he traced over his horns... and he snorted quietly as he realized that not only had his ram's horns twisted out of his skull, the other pair had grown thicker and were now pointing forwards towards the ends of his muzzle, more like traditional bull or minotaur horns. Wonderful. I did a fashion change. "Crap, some of my demonic characteristics have popped out, too... I guess I must have accidently strained myself."

He concentrated, pulling them back in... and as he did so, the darkness slowly receded around them, and the two stared, the Drakkaren halting before letting out a curse as his ram's horns popped into his skull, and the bull horns did the same a moment later. They were still sitting in deep shadow, on the other hand, and Zerrex couldn't feel anything else different about his body, but Selena murmured softly: "Just keep doing what you were doing."

Zerrex made a face, but did so, breathing softly and this time concentrating as if he was pulling energy into his body... and the room began to lighten almost immediately, reaching its normal brightness after just a few seconds. He groaned and slumped back immediately against the futon, and Selena looked down at him with faint amusement, shaking her head slowly as she murmured: "You did absorb the abilities of Orphus and a few other demons... because I've never seen a Lust demon throw down a veil of shadows like that before. Some Wrath demons have it, but I'm guessing you're way more a physical Wrath demon then one who relies on fear and cunning and guile and all that nonsense..."

"Can you stop talking about that stuff for five minutes please, while I rest my poor strained little brain? There's not a lot upstairs and I'd like to keep what is there in order." Zerrex mumbled, and Selena rolled her eyes but sat down beside him, gently stroking a hand through his hair. "But... that's how many things I can do now?"

"Many." Selena said simply, looking at the reptile with a mixture of tender affection and wry entertainment. "But you're an Incarnation... and you haven't even reached your full strength yet, so we'll see what's to come. Now if only I could get you to actually explore your demonic form more..."

"I'll have sex with you in it." Zerrex said mildly, and Selena groaned, rolling her eyes as the Drakkaren grinned up at her, leering and leaning forwards. "Hey, come on! You know you want to try out all those fantasies you never dared have ‘cause they were so weird. We could get up to some remarkably kinky things, after all..."

Selena only glowered at him, however, and the Drakkaren decided to sulk instead, crossing his arms with a huff. Before she could start harassing him again, however â€" and before he could say something to irritate her â€" a portal opened, and Sin stepped through it, looking at the Drakkaren with quiet concern as she said softly: "You're being called for, Lord Zerrex... the Princess wants you to come see her at the Central Spire..."

"Well, it had to happen sometime soon..." Zerrex sat up and made a face, brushing himself off and then looking over to Selena, who was frowning deeply. "You better get back to work, on that note... I'll fill you in on all the details later. What about you, Sin, are you coming too?"

Sin nodded, and the two stepped through the portal as Selena sighed and watched them leave... and then she grumbled and tore off the robe, rubbing at the conservative, longsleeved blouse beneath this and the long blue skirt that went down past her knees, and she finally created her own portal, muttering: "I hate my life."

Zerrex, meanwhile, had stepped not into the balcony as he'd expected, but instead into a massive, circular room with a huge square pillar in the center going up to a ceiling hundreds of feet above... and as the Drakkaren looked slowly around, he realized it must be the Throne Room of the Central Spire, considering the three massive gold-and-red thrones he could see surrounding the center pillar from this angle... and he was willing to bet there was another throne behind it... the Northern Throne, in fact... where the Warlord sits...

"Lord Zerrex... so good of you to come." The Princess said softly, from where she was seated on the Southern Throne... and the Drakkaren glanced over the massive architecture, at the patterns woven over it and the servants surrounding her. She tilted her masked face towards him, her green eyes seeming to smile as she motioned towards Francis and Raze, who also had half a score of other, less-impressive angels in plain armor standing behind them in a rectangular formation. "I trust you recognize these two... the envoys from Heaven."

Zerrex nodded a bit, and then he frowned slightly at the sight of the demonic cleaver a Dius nearby was holding on a large cushion, and the Princess said softly: "Sir Francis and I were discussing a peace treaty that I feel leans too hard on Hell... and I was thinking that a demonstration of our strength was in order. If you would, Lord Zerrex, I'd like you to spar with Sir Raze, to show the power possessed by those in Hell..."

Zerrex snarled a bit, then he half-bowed to her as Sin walked by him with a wince to take her place at the Princess's side, before he looked up and said clearly: "I'm not a toy, and I'm not a soldier of your army, Princess. I'm a prisoner in Hell, and I have no desire to match my strength against an angel, much less a god. So why don't you go and shove that sword up your ass?"

The Princess's eyes slowly narrowed as the succubi and Dius all whispered to one another in horror, the Amazon guards around the hall clutching their weapons tight and looking nervously at one another... and then the Princess laughed quietly and said softly: "I expected such impudence from you, Lord Zerrex... so why don't I make myself clear? Either you fight... or you run away like a coward, and spend the next one hundred thousand years chained in the Abyss with your father... who, I assure you, is still locked away in his prison, despite what you may have heard otherwise."

She paused, her eyes flashing as Zerrex tried to fight her out of his mind... and then she tilted her head slowly, adding quietly: "You and your family... you disgust me, Lord Zerrex. What's wrong now, scared I'll hurt your poor mommy? Believe me, I will, unless you do as I command... and you know that I can."

Zerrex shuddered and snarled... and then he tightened his hands into fists, saying softly: "Alright... but I want it to be on the record that you're a bitch."

"No, I'm just a cruel mistress." the Princess responded coldly, before snapping her fingers at the Dius holding the huge blade, and she quickly approached Zerrex with it, kneeling in front of him and offering him the massive sword. "I trust this is to your liking?"

It was an ugly weapon, with a long handle of gnarled, red metal, and a huge rectangular blade of silver steel that was burning slowly with dark fire... but the moment Zerrex gripped the handle, the broken topaz inside the large, fist-sized spherical pommel of red metal pulsed, and the flames vanished as the reptile hefted the enormous sword onto his shoulder, resting the red, rusted flat against his shoulder as he said softly: "It'll do, anyway. I suppose it's a cursed sword?"

"I'm sure our other combatant would have it no other way... as his sword carries a forbidden, dark blessing, yours shall carry a forbidden curse as well." The Princess said easily, and Francis frowned at Raze, who looked evenly back for a moment before looking at the High Monarch as she said idly: "Here is the opponent you requested, Sir Raze... as you can kill him, remember that he can kill you as well."

"I didn't request him... I believe you forced him into this." Raze said in his chilly voice, before he glanced over Zerrex measuringly, a good thirty feet of distance between them as the angels filtered to the side, Francis staying beside the god as he added coldly: "I don't want to fight this idiot, I've seen him in combat and he's pathetic... far too messy. I'll kill him by mistake when he throws himself onto my sword. Give me three Gigataurs or some other expendable platoon of soldier demons if you're so convinced Hell has such power."

"You don't make the rules here. I do." the Princess said softly, and Raze snarled at her before she shook her head slowly, adding in a gentle but venomous voice: "Francis, curb your war animal before I do it for you."

Francis muttered something to Raze, and the black-scaled Drakkaren snarled before finally nodding and looking resentful, pulling his sword off his back. He reached up with his other hand and undid his breastplate as well, and it fell to the ground in two pieces before he kicked the front half bad-naturedly across the room, flexing his naked chest and showing off not only his powerful musculature but the gleaming golden scales that covered it, going well with the luxiorious black on his outer body. Zerrex couldn't help a smile as he strode forwards slowly, and Raze walked towards him as Francis reteated to the center of the throne room by the Princess, the Drakkaren muttering: "You really do have a great body. I'd do all sorts of nasty things to you, Raze."

"Shut up and listen, faggot. Francis says you're not just a showoff, so work with me and block my attacks." Raze said irritably, his eyes burning into Zerrex's even as a faint flush rose in his cheeks. "Swing, swing, counterswing, do you understand what that means?"

Zerrex rolled his eyes at this, then he muttered: "Depends on the context. I'm not a mind-reader, Raze, but the Princess is." He paused as they halted a few feet away from each other, and then both brought their swords up to a ready position, as the Drakkaren said mildly: "How about this, stud... you see if you can keep up with me, and the first to take a serious blow loses."

"Define serious blow." The two pressed their swords together, grinding steel against steel as they tested each other's strength, muscles flexing powerfully as they leaned towards one-another, eyes still locked.

"Any deep slash. Try to avoid thrusts... if you want to sink into something, we can talk later about hanging out and doing that, but I warn you I like to be on top." Zerrex said glibly, and he grinned widely... and Raze twitched before slowly grinning back, leaning towards one another through their grinding swords, their muscles flexing powerfully as first Zerrex was pressed back... and then Raze found himself slowly losing ground, his feet slipping against the floor.

The black-scaled Drakkaren didn't respond... and then they shoved their weapons forwards at the same time in hard pushes against each other and both leapt backwards. Immediately, Raze snarled and ran in with a vicious sideways slash, leaning his entire body into the blow, and Zerrex blocked it with flat of his own blade, pressing his forearm to the other side and feeling his body go rigid as he slid more than ten feet backwards over the tiled floor, a cloud of golden flakes rising up through the air around his boots before Raze charged again... and then staggered backwards with a grunt as Zerrex peformed a hard rising slash that interrupted his own attempted attack, and the demon stepped into a hard, simple downwards slash that Raze blocked with his own blade held in one hand, wincing as the force of the blow knocked the sword down towards his own skull, his muscles bulging and his tight hide of scales almost tearing before he slammed his other hand in a hard punch into the other lizard's pectorals.

Zerrex twitched backwards, but Raze stared in shock, the blow causing the Drakkaren to wince and flex a bit before he countered with a simple forwards thrust kick into Raze's stomach... and then blow knocked him over onto his back before he rolled once with a snarl of fury and shock, and the demon grinned widely as he shouted: "You fight with your emotions and your passions! It leaves you vulnerable!"

"Fuck you!" Raze responded furiously, and he thrusted his hand forwards as it glowed purple, and Zerrex was knocked off his feet and into one of the pillars around the edge of the hall as an incredible blast of psychic force hit him, the marble pillar cracking behind him before Raze climbed to his feet and seized Zerrex in a psychic grip again before he tore his arm backwards.

Zerrex hurtled through the air over the other Drakkaren's head as Raze slashed at him with his sword, but he only managed to strike him with the tip of his blade in the leg, ripping his pants and digging a minor gash. It caused Zerrex to wince, but not much else as he fell towards the floor... and then he caught himself with one hand before shoving off the ground and landing neatly on his feet.

He lowered his head, keeping his own passions as low as he could despite the excitement at fighting an opponent this powerful... before he spun around at the last moment and slapped his blade out, catching Raze in the stomach and knocking him skidding over the floor with a shallow gash over his chiseled abdominals, the reptile grunting and staring in shock as his sword skidded out of his hands. Zerrex's eyes lit up at this, and he slashed his own cleaver down into the ground as he walked slowly towards the godling, saying coldly: "Let's try something a little different, then..."

Raze kicked up to his feet, then charged and threw himself at Zerrex in a tackle, but Zerrex caught the godling's hands and spun around, throwing him hard back in the direction he'd come from and sending Raze once more crashing to the ground, rolling backwards a few times. The black-scaled Drakkaren snarled, picking himself quickly up... and Zerrex admired his perseverance as he charged once more towards him.

This time, Zerrex charged as well... and the two met with hard hooks, Zerrex's catching Raze in the nose and Raze's smashing into the reptile's cheek before they continued to punch and smash into each other, neither bothering to block before Zerrex managed to land a hard upwards swing into Raze's solar plexus, and his fist smashed once, twice into Raze's face as he gasped for breath, blood splattering out of his muzzle before the Drakkaren leapt forwards and smashed his elbow down into Raze's neck, and the godling fell to his knees at Zerrex's feet before looking up at Zerrex with eyes that were almost burning with hunger... and Zerrex dropped his body into a last hard strike into Raze's face, knocking him into a flat sprawl on the ground.

"Thank you..." The god murmured softly... and he quietly slid a hand out to touch Zerrex's boot as the Drakkaren panted hard, his own face and chest splattered with blood and bruises, before he stumbled backwards and fell to one knee with a grunt, reaching down to check Raze's pulse as his eyes slid closed.

His heartbeat was fast, but it was there... and his breathing was quickly evening out. The Drakkaren let out a sigh of relief as he fell back onto his butt, and then he made a face as he heard a slow clapping begin, glowering at the Princess as she stood up and applauded leisurely... and after a moment, the rest of the crowd joined in, as the angels looked at each other with winces... but Francis shook his head and smiled faintly after a moment as Zerrex mumbled softly: "Goddamn, but you have to be almost a perfect match for my strength... the only reason I won is because it feels like you don't have the same battle experience I do..."

Raze grunted something from the ground, then shoved himself up to a kneel... and immediately fell forwards, Zerrex catching him as the black-scaled Drakkaren gripped his shoulders tightly. The two breathed quietly as Raze pushed his muzzle against his chest... and a moment later he said in a hesitant, quiet voice: "Lord... my father... and my mother, Sephire... they... let a mortal family raise me, to avoid me becoming arrogant..." He sounded furious for a moment, and then he clenched his teeth together as he sat up across from Zerrex, the applause dying down as Raze murmured: "Sorry. I mean... yeah. I only recently joined the knights, and I'm only a few million years old..."

Zerrex watched in fascination as Raze's wounds healed before his eyes... and Raze glanced slowly over the Drakkaren, watching as bruises faded and how he still seemed more than capable of continuing to fight if he wanted to... and then they helped each other to their feet before the Princess said coldly: "Sir Raze. Sir Francis. I believe I've made my point. Amend the treaty: Heaven will only attack Prince Az'Iriel, and only his forces will be forced to disband and all that other nonsense after the war is over. Now leave."

"Fine. Sir Raze, if you would, our welcome is worn out here... but please keep in mind, Princess, that the Archangels of Heaven will not take kindly to being ordered around." Francis said evenly, but the Princess only snorted and sat down in her throne, waving at him irritably. The mouse warrior made a face, but he bowed nonetheless, keeping his cold eyes locked on the Princess and her concubines before he turned and strode towards Raze, adding without looking at her: "We'll be back to inspect Hell and we expect to receive the same freedoms as we give your demons in return, Princess."

"Then take Lord Zerrex with you to Heaven." the Princess said softly, and Francis turned, Raze and Zerrex both looking surprised as she added coolly: "He'll be more than glad to escort you to the Bright Plane, I'm sure. Perhaps you can introduce him to God and give him a short tour... and then, immediately afterwards, ensure you return him to me so he can tell me just how much freedom demons have in the Holy World."

"Of course, Princess. We'd be honored to." Francis said stiffly, before he strode quickly over to the Drakkaren, the group of angels following and murmuring to each other as Raze held out his hand and used his psychic abilities to bring his sword and armor safely over to his body, before he grunted and blushed as Zerrex helped him fit on the breastplate, Francis muttering: "This is insane... Zerrex, I don't like this, you might be put in serious danger..."

"Yeah, because that's different from any other day of my life... stop squirming!" Zerrex grumbled, and then he snapped the armor back together and rapped on it firmly as Raze set his sword against the rune inscribed in the back, a sheath of transparent energy appearing over it. "Let's just go... and afterwards I'll come back and give some stunning review."

Francis grunted something, then he motioned for them to move, and Zerrex automatically fell in step beside him as they headed for an enormous pair of double doors that swung slowly open as they approached, revealing the balcony outside. Raze followed a step behind the reptile, looking at him curiously as the Drakkaren asked in murmur: "So what exactly were you looking for here in Hell, anyway?"

"That's none of your business!" said an angel behind him angrily, and all three halted and turned to stare at the raccoon, who immediately shrank back into the ranks of the other angels as they fell all over each other at the sudden stop in the march. Zerrex made a face at this, and Francis sighed as Raze merely glared over the angels, causing all of them to shrink backwards in fear.

"Do all soldiers go to Hell when they die or something?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Francis grunted something before motioning for them to resume marching, and the reptile put his hands in his pockets as they stepped out onto the balcony, where an angel in a long robe and a silver mask was waiting patiently beside a massive, swirling vortex of greys and whites. "And do I seriously get to go to Heaven?"

"You seriously get to go to Heaven." Francis said dryly, as they approached the portal, before he paused and glanced at Raze, then over at Zerrex, and he smiled slightly. Zerrex frowned a bit, but then the mouse asked gently: "So, have you ever travelled between planes before?"

"Only to pocket dimensions and the Marquee Sur Noir." Zerrex shook his head a bit, and the angels immediately started babbling behind them before Francis rose a hand, and they fell silent as the Drakkaren made a face. "It's going to hurt, isn't it?"

Francis snorted, then he shook his head. "No, but you and Raze might want to hold hands." This remark caused both of the Drakkaren to glance at each other and blush a bit, before Zerrex stepped over to the other male and wrapped an arm firmly around his, and Raze mumbled something unintelligible before locking his own arm with Zerrex's. "I... well, whatever. Let's go, and don't fall over, whatever you do."

They approached, the masked angel kneeling and bowing his head respectfully as the three stepped into the portal... and Zerrex felt himself emerging into bright light, closing his eyes tightly and covering them with his other hand as Raze guided him forwards step-by-step, the ground feeling uneven as a pulsing and vibration filled his mind... before he blinked slowly as they stepped out into a large cement square, and the Drakkaren glanced back and forth in amazement at not fluffy clouds and singing angels, but at a massive, bubbling metropolis of beautiful marble and grey architecture, the streets wide and expansive, and large patches of green here and there that were obviously parks of some sort...

And a moment later, four golden spears were being pointed at his face as guards in golden armor and silver helms stepped forwards, all of them looking uneasy before Raze shouted furiously: "Back off!"

The guards leapt back to their positions, all of them looking terrified, and Francis sighed, looking morbidly at the snarling godling as he muttered: "Eloquent as ever. Darius, please go and inform the Archangels that we've returned, and that we've brought a demon named Zerrex Narrius back with us to explore Heaven under the wishes of the Princess."

"So they can sense I'm a demon, huh?" Zerrex said mildly, as one of the angel guards flew off, before he looked down into the city from the high cliffs they were on, pressing his booted feet down against the cement before he glanced at Raze, and the godling looked at him for a moment. They both blushed, and then quickly pulled apart from each other as they realized their arms were still linked, and the Drakkaren rubbed the back of his head slowly as he mumbled: "So um... this looks like a real nice place, a real nice city to live in..."

"This is Iliad, one of the largest cities in Heaven and home to some of our finest artifacts." Francis said softly, walking to the edge of the cliffs as he absently waved a hand to dismiss the other angels, and Zerrex watched as they leapt into the air and all flew off, most of them immediately beginning to chatter to each other like birds. The Drakkaren couldn't help but notice the silver-masked angel stayed behind, however, standing in front of what looked like an enormous golden ring that was secured to the ground by several large supports. I guess creating a long-term portal to Hell requires a boost or two... "Like that thing, yes. It's what we call a Portal Shrine... there were even a few in Hell, once upon a time, but they were destroyed a long time ago during the Great War to stop demons from invading Heaven or the mortal plane... but that didn't exactly work out as well as we'd hoped."

Zerrex nodded, making a bit of a face as he looked slowly over the city beneath him... and he had to admit, now he felt a bit of a chill running through his body. The atmosphere was happy and vibrant and beautiful, completely different from Hell... and the sudden change in everything around him was a bit intimidating. He glanced at Raze embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his head slowly before he muttered: "So... so what do we do in Heaven for kicks, huh?"

"Not a whole lot..." Raze shook his head and glowered out at the city, and the Drakkaren tilted his head curiously as the fellow lizard continued in an irritable voice: "Heaven isn't like Hell... there's rules, etiquette, laws, all sorts of nonsense like that... everything is ordered and structured to the point where you just want to kill yourself..."

Francis looked over at Raze, making a face and saying sternly: "You're still young, Raze, and a godling at that... even I was upset at first by the structure of Heaven, but you'll grow used to it in time." He paused, then glanced over at Zerrex, adding sourly: "Raze is a bit of a misfit here in this world... he thinks we should be free to cause chaos here simply because we have the power to. Unlike his father, his blood also runs hot with his passions... he takes after his mother, who could give your Miss Cherry a run for her money."

The Drakkaren nodded and glanced over at Raze as he spat to the side, crossing his arms and looking acidly at Francis, before the reptile said quietly: "People always used to tell me that I have my mother's eyes, and that I take after her... but you know, it's not a bad thing to want a bit of chaos every now and then. Even I get bored in order."

"But you're a demon." Francis said sourly, before he glanced down and added quietly: "By the way... I recently got back from earth, and during one of my days there, I attended your funeral, Lord Zerrex, and... your girls are handling themselves remarkably-well. Do you still think about your family, if I may impose?"

Zerrex hesitated, then he looked down and nodded slowly, murmuring softly: "Every day, Francis... I think about them every day, and how I'm going to escape Hell... and the more I learn, the less impossible it seems."

"I'd help you." Raze said quietly, looking across at him with a strange gentility, and Zerrex smiled at him before the black-scaled Drakkaren glared at Francis's dumbfounded look. "What?"

The mouse only held up his hands, however, before he paused and glanced out over the city. "Listen, Raze... why don't you show Lord Zerrex around a little bit and give him some information on Heaven's layout and structure? Meet me back here in... two hours, and then we'll reopen the portal. We don't want to draw suspicion from the Princess."

Francis paused, then became serious as he looked over at Zerrex, adding in a low voice: "To answer a question you had earlier... we were inspecting Hell for dimensional tears and attempts to open new rips in the fabric of reality... as well as exactly what the Princess is doing with her soldiers and if there was any sign of Prince Az'Iriel. Unfortunately, the Prince seems to be building up a base on the mortal realm, but we don't know much about what he's doing, except that his soldiers are continuing to flood and devastate the mortal province of Lailland. Before I came to Heaven to receive my mission to go to Hell with Raze and look around, I stopped in there to see the state of things... and it's turning into one giant warzone very quickly. Ire is also in great danger... not from Az'Iriel, but from within, since I heard Majesty, his favorite concubine, is infiltrating the Senate to become the new ruler of Ire."

"Wonderful." Zerrex murmured, then he nodded slowly and said quietly: "Listen, Francis. My homes in Wrath and the Southern Province are both shielded from the eyes of the Princess and the Scholars, and no one can enter other than those I allow. I've heard of special rites to create dimensional portals-"

"Raze and I can both make wormholes to anywhere in any dimension we want." Francis said mildly, and he glanced over at the godling with a slight smile. "Tell you what. You two get going, and I'll talk to your father about letting you run a covert mission with Lord Zerrex... but please, go and explore the city. You'll have an easier time passing the Princess's telepathy if you actually have memories of the exploration."

With that, Francis flew off... and the two Drakkaren exchanged awkward glances before Raze grumbled something, and his angel wings appeared behind himself. Zerrex made a face before extending his own, and Raze stared at this before grinning slightly... and the two took to the air.

Normally, Zerrex loathed flying more than anything else: it was uncomfortable, the wind made his eyes sting, and his big body made him feel like a giant moving target in a duck hunt game. But with Raze, the two flew back and forth, playing through the air as the black-scaled godling revealed a childlike playfulness beneath his icy exterior that Zerrex hadn't expected.

Raze gave him a tour not just of Iliad, but of the area surrounding the metropolis: fields filled with pleasant-looking animals â€" far different from the Wyrms of Hell, anyway â€" and orchards full of every kind of fruit-bearing tree imaginable... and Raze laughed as Zerrex gorged himself on oranges when they touched down to explore it in greater detail, along with a nearby farm area, and the reptile was amazed by the size of the vegetation and the lush foods it produced. Food still wasn't necessary in Heaven, but it was far more common to eat here than it was in Hell... and they spent perhaps an hour wandering through the farming district before they reentered the city, and Raze muttered they didn't have a lot of time... but then challenged Zerrex to a race flying through the metropolis instead of safely above the buildings.

They shot past other flying angels and over the heads of started onlookers, Zerrex reaching speeds he didn't think were possible but still easily outmaneuvered by Raze, who raced on ahead... until they ended up landing sixteen minutes late on the cliffs, both panting a bit before Zerrex stared at the over twenty foot tall, pleasant-looking Drakkaren who had muscles larger than Requiem's, covered in a tight hide of purple scales and with the same eyes that Raze had... and Raze's expression went flat as the huge Drakkaren extended a hand to Zerrex and said warmly: "Zerrex, right? It's a pleasure to meet you... I'm Lord, one of the Archangels of Heaven."

Zerrex took the giant's hand, shaking it numbly as he stared in shock at the huge being before noting his wings were white on the outside but black on the inside, an odd characteristic in an angel, of all creatures. He also noted that Lord's chest was bare other than a plain X-shaped bandolier with a golden ring through the center, and that he was dressed in the same pants and sash Requiem had been wearing as an angel; it was strange, but it brought back memories he had long thought he'd gotten over. But he's amazingly ripped... and he looks so gentle and cheerful, but... I don't think I'd ever get in his way.

Lord glanced over to Raze after inspecting Zerrex curiously for a few moments, and he smiled as he said softly: "On a business note, though, I just wanted to say I'm fine with you doing this... so long as you promise not to run off on Zerrex or anything. I don't want you ending up in some demon-trap, Raze."

"I'll be fine, father." Raze said stiffly, and Lord offered a wry look before the black-scaled Drakkaren strode over to Zerrex, adding: "I think we're ready to leave, anyway."

The Drakkaren glanced from son to father, and Lord nodded again before raising a hand towards the golden ring, and white energy sparked along it before it slowly filled with a white and grey vortex. He gave one last longing look at his son, and then nodded to Zerrex as he followed Raze towards the dimensional rift... before Lord said quickly: "Wait a moment!"

The two turned, Raze half-frowning before his eyes widened, and the angels gathered around the vortex dropped to a kneel before Raze jerked Zerrex down as well, and he watched as a strange being in a golden bird mask similar to the one Az'Iriel wore stepped through a portal opposite, followed by two Angels... one of whom the Drakkaren recognized as a Metatron he'd seen in his mind a lifetime ago when Little Arcy had first come to him. The other one he assumed was a Metaron as well, dressed in a similar outfit but with a canine mask covering his features... and Zerrex realized he must be kneeling in front of God Himself.

He bowed his head respectfully as God strode forwards with his Metatrons stepping out on either side of him, and Zerrex felt a chill run through his body as he looked at the tall, statuesque figure. He wasn't as tall as Lord, but an aura of raw power emanated off a body that was hidden completely by a long white robe with a golden trim. No part of his body was left visible by some means Zerrex guessed was magical, his hands and neck covered in moving shadows, and the golden mask completed fitted over his head, with six long horns twisting out from the sides of the mask and the eyes covered by black, tinted glass... and the Metatron in the silver mask Zerrex recognized stepped forwards and said coldly: "Our Master God is glad that he caught you before you left... he wanted to extend his personal interest in you, Lord Zerrex..."

"For God loves all his servants, soldiers and children as equals." added the other Metatron, this one talking in a female voice that was just as mechanical and chilly as the male. "And He wishes to let you know that he has faith in you continuing to grow strong in Hell, and wish you the best of luck in your further endeavors in His name, for in the end, all things serve Him, including the Princess and the Warlord."

"Then I am honored..." Zerrex murmured, although he felt a chill roll down his spine even as he bowed his head forwards, only mouthing the appropriate words and feeling somehow more terrified than anything else. Is this truly the understanding, loving God Sin spoke of? "I am glad to be a part of the great plan that you are putting together, sir."

The two Metatrons bowed, and God nodded slightly before motioning absently for them to leave... and Zerrex stood and all-but-fled into the portal, running through the white haze beyond and staggering out onto the southern balcony with his arms flailing, and then he fell to his knees, shoving his hands into the stone floor and panting hard as he shuddered violently. A moment later, Raze stepped out of the vortex and knelt beside him, grasping his shoulders and looking at him with concern, before Zerrex turned to face him and asked shakily: "So does... He have that effect on everyone?"

"It's unpleasant, I know... but I think you got it worse because you're a demonic entity." Raze murmured quietly, then he shook his head slowly and helped Zerrex to his feet, the Drakkaren brushing his hair out of his eyes with a wince. "Some of the Naganatine say that God has changed over his years in solitude in the Palace of Heaven, and that he's grown sick of Hell and the way it's become, which has made him vengeful and angry... I wouldn't know, but... at the same time..."

"It feels off." Zerrex shook his head and shuddered a bit, then he stood up, and a wisp of a thought â€" absolute power corrupts absolutely â€" whispered through his mind before he forced it away, and he made a face as he muttered: "Let's go and talk to the Princess, anyway. I want to get dealing with the bitch over with, anyway."

Raze nodded, and the two strode towards the double doors leading into the Central Spire before a pair of Amazon guards stepped in front of them, holding up their hands and saying coldly: "No one is admitted at this time. Lord Zerrex, you are to inform Lady Sin of what you witnessed in Heaven, and she will forward the important details of your report to the Princess, after she is finished in session."

Zerrex nodded and gave a sigh of relief, then created a portal and smiled a bit as Raze looked at him with a frown. "Don't worry about it... it works out well for us. Come on, let's just stop in at my place for now."

"Angels aren't allowed in Hell. He is not to be permitted out of the Central Spire." one of the Amazon guards said testily, and Zerrex paused before smiling slightly at her as Raze looked angrily from one to the other. Before Raze could open his mouth, the other Drakkaren's eyes glowed green, and not one, but both Amazons that were glaring at him went rigid before blinking and dropping their weapons, stepping towards the reptile and then staring in horror at each other for a moment.

They fought aggressively, but in the end gave in, one of them falling to her knees and grasping his waist as the other stepped up beside him, the giant, muscular female in full battle gear stroking his face as she cooed: "But for you, Lord Zerrex... I suppose exceptions can be made..."

"No one would ever know..." murmured the other one, staring up at him affectionately... and Raze stared in shock before looking up at the reptile, who grinned slightly and winked at him. "It only matters what you want, after all..."

"Good... but return to your posts so you don't arouse suspicion, and perhaps... stop in later, once you get off shift." Zerrex said easily, and the two Amazons nodded quickly, immediately doing so with girlish giggles despite their huge frames, and Zerrex bowed Raze towards the portal. "After you, sir."

The godling snorted, then he stepped through the portal, and Zerrex followed him a moment later into his own home, noting that Selena had vanished. The godling, meanwhile, was looking curiously around the small, one-room house, and then he glanced at Zerrex, asking: "It's magically-enlarged, isn't it?"

"The room, yes... but me, no." Zerrex said absently, and Raze gave the reptile a look of dry entertainment for a moment before the Drakkaren sat down with a grunt on the futon. "Make yourself at home, though... I don't have much, but you're free to stay however long you like."

The other male nodded almost nervously... and after a moment, he carefully took off his sword and put it down, then pulled off his armor with a sigh and dropped it to the ground, rolling his shoulders slowly. He hesitantly walked over to sit beside Zerrex, and balled his hands in his lap before looking up and murmuring: "That was quite an incredible trick you did back there."

Zerrex merely shrugged... and he glanced over at Raze for a few moments, letting his eyes linger over his strong body and form, noting the way the godling always made his wings vanish the moment he could... and then he smiled as Raze looked towards him, and he reached up to grasp his shoulders firmly as he said casually: "Screw this."

Zerrex leaned forwards and kissed Raze quietly, working his mouth slowly against the godling's... and Raze stiffened, grabbing at his biceps for a moment and half-pushing back... before both his hands slid up along his arms and he grabbed the back of Zerrex's head, pulling closer and working hungrily, roughly back against the lizard's muzzle. His fingers laced into his hair as one of Zerrex's arms wrapped around his neck, their eyes closed tight as Raze fought him for a moment for dominance in the battle between their mouths... but a moment later, Zerrex won as they moved together in the kiss, Raze laying down on his back and Zerrex leaning over him before the kiss broke, and Raze moved his hands down to grasp his shoulders as the other reptile rubbed a hand slowly over his chest, saying softly: "You're a very handsome male..."

"I want you to treat me the same way you did in that fight we had..." Raze growled up at him, and then he dug his claws into Zerrex's shoulders, drawing blood as the Drakkaren arched his back with a grunt of surprise... and then he grinned slowly and grabbed Raze by the throat, squeezing firmly and pushing him down into the futon and Raze rasped: "Prove you're worth me giving up my ass to you..."

"Shut up, bitch." Zerrex drew his hand back and slapped the fellow reptile firmly across the face, and Raze grunted as a bit of blood splattered over his maw, before Zerrex sat back and grabbed Raze's pants, the Drakkaren immediately reaching down to try and pull Zerrex's away, but he shook him off with a growl before ripping his lower clothing off roughly, tearing apart the material and jerking them off his legs to toss them aside as he grinned wider at the sight of the reptile's penis. "Well, what do we have here..."

Raze was huge even flaccid, and already rapidly growing towards erection... and the male began to sit up with a growl, but Zerrex swung a hand out and his hand slammed into Raze's head, jarring him before he grasped the lizard's skull and forced him down. The black-scaled reptile grabbed the dominant lizard's wrist, kicking his legs out... but Zerrex caught one of his ankles and instead forced his leg to wrap around his body, thrusting his clothed crotch down against Raze and grinding them together as he began to thicken inside his pants, the fabric tightly trapping his own enormous member as he growled: "I bet you like that, don't you, bitch? Say you like it..." A pause, and then he grabbed Raze's muzzle and shook his head viciously back and forth, before grabbing his neck and squeezing threateningly, snarling: "Say you like it, you weak little bitch!"

"I like it!" Raze almost moaned, and his shaft was already throbbing at full erection: it was at least forty-five inches long, thick and obsidian like the reptile's... and Zerrex growled quietly, licking his muzzle slowly as he felt Raze submit completely to him, whispering: "Please... let me see yours, come on..."

"Tell me you're a faggot, first... tell me all you crave is cock... tell me you're going to cry like a little girl if you don't get to put my dick in your mouth like your favorite lollipop." Zerrex said teasingly, as he slowly sat up behind the black-scaled lizard, giving him a view of the bulge forming in his pants, and Raze nodded hungrily as Zerrex gripped the godling's hips, growling: "Tell me, goddammit!"

"I'm a faggot! I need your cock, I need cock all over me... please, please let me suck your cock because if I don't get it I... I'm gonna cry like a girl, I'm going to... have to suck my own dick again and pretend it's a strong male instead... and it doesn't taste anything like I know yours will..." Raze almost whimpered, panting hard as he stared hungrily up at the Drakkaren... and Zerrex grinned slowly as his eyes burned with dominance, the demon looming over the angelic godling as Raze's muscles flex and bulged against his tight hide of scale, his enormous shaft twitching against his member as he reached slowly for Zerrex's pants...

And Zerrex let him grasp his waistband, let him undo his fly, grinning widely... and then Raze pushed down his pants, and his half-erect obsidian member sprung out at him, the black-scaled Drakkaren looking surprised as Zerrex tilted his head back with a growl. Raze touched it hesitantly, and his breath quickened as he began to slowly stroke Zerrex's shaft, and it responded to his touch like electricity, growing rapidly to full size as the dominant lizard shuffled out of his pants and tossed them aside, leaning down and then pushing their huge, bulging members together, Zerrex's fully-erect shaft only a scant few inches shorter than Raze's.

They ground together slowly as Raze looked up at him with inexperience and passion, panting quietly and hungrily... and Zerrex slowly slid his member forwards, growling lightly as he straddled Raze's chest and guided the head of his cock towards his muzzle, his body flexing as the black-and-gold lizard stared up into his eyes with a tremble as the other reptile's gigantic cock ground slowly along his muzzle, pushing into his face before Zerrex pulled slowly back, then thrust gently against the other side of the reptile's features as he murmured softly: "Oh yes... you love it, don't you?"

"Yes..." Raze breathed, his eyes submissive as Zerrex drew slowly back again, before he opened his eyes and his eyes slid closed in ecstasy as the huge head of the Drakkaren's shaft pressed slowly into his jaws, his mouth opening wide... and as he watched his member vanish into Raze's jaws, as he felt his muzzle close slowly around his massive cock, Zerrex grinned and growled quietly in pleasure as he reached forwards with one hand to grasp Raze's skull. I don't think he was kidding about those self-sucking sessions... he knows his way around a big cock...

"Lube it up, bitch..." Zerrex said softly, and Raze nodded as his long tongue snaked out, cradling and massaging the reptile's enormous length as it buried slowly forwards into the black-scaled lizard's muzzle. The dominant Drakkaren growled quitly in pleasure as he felt the head of his shaft press into the back of Raze's throat, but the other lizard barely choked, only giving a quiet grunt and swallowing hard against his cock, the tight muscles of his throat squeezing firmly around his huge cock before Zerrex drew back bit-by-bit, inch-after-inch of his huge member sliding out until the head of his shaft came free of Raze's muzzle with a gentle pop, the lizard looking up at him hungrily before moaning quietly as Zerrex ground his shaft slowly up his muzzle as he ordered in a growl: "Lick my cock."

Raze nodded and went to work, dragging his thick tongue slowly along the large obsidian member, trailing it slowly along the girthy cock as Zerrex gripped the base of his own huge shaft, feeling Raze's own member throbbing against his tail. His other hand stayed tight on the male's skull, and he could feel the submissive lizard's hands tightly gripping his hips, before one of them slid down to slowly play with his testicles... and Zerrex asked teasingly: "You like those, huh? They're filled with a real male's seed... not the sort of stunted crap that comes out of yours..."

"I can't wait to taste it... to feel it on me..." Raze said hungrily, before he licked slowly down the huge shaft and twisted his head to the side, quietly dragging his tongue along one testicle, and then the other as his hand fondled the enormous balls of the Drakkaren slowly, and Zerrex let out a growl of pleasure as he felt the male's mouth slowly suckling at one of his large navy-blue orbs, before Raze dragged his tongue back to his shaft, working his tongue over the reptile's fingers as he murred deeply. "You're so big... so powerful..."

"Wait until you feel my power..." Zerrex growled playfully, and he slowly drew away, teasingly slapping the reptile's face with his huge, now-slick shaft, and he began to hit Raze harder with his stiff penis as Raze grunted but flushed deeply in pleasure, but Zerrex drew back further, and the godling stared as the demon slid slowly back between his legs, already panting a bit harder as Zerrex lowered his slick cockhead to the lizard's tailhole, probing against it delicately as he grinned at him hungrily: "Now, see... I can't waste all this good lube... and I know you must like it up the ass, especially since it gives you a chance to still suck your own cock..."

Raze swallowed hungrily and nodded... and then he groaned in pleasure as Zerrex probed forwards with a growl, one of his hands tightly gripping Raze's hip. The lizard's rosebud was incredibly tight, though, and Zerrex wondered for a moment if this would be his first experience with anal sex, as he slowly ground the tip of his huge shaft forwards again between those taunt, strong buttocks... and then he moved both hands to his hips as he looked at Raze and growled quietly: "You'll never forget this... and from this day forwards, you'll never forget who your new Master is."

Zerrex jerked hard back on the reptile as he thrusted firmly forwards at the same time, and Raze arched his back with a moan of pleasure-pain as the thick head of the reptile's cock tore into his body, before he let out a masculine cry as Zerrex forced forwards again with his own snarl of ecstasy, amazed by the heat, the tightness, the feel of penetrating the godling's anus... and an animal need to take him as hard and fast as he could overcame his body. His muscles flexed as he leaned forwards, shoving Raze down like a rag doll as Raze clawed into the futon and shook his head from side to side in throes of agony and bliss, his huge shaft throbbing and slapping against his chest with every hard thrust of the Drakkaren as his legs sought to wrap tightly around his waist as inch after inch plowed into his body.

Zerrex managed half of his shaft into the reptile's anus, then he drew back and thrusted forwards, blood running down around his claws as his massive cock tore forwards into Raze's body, and Raze released a scream as his eyes bulged and rolled back in his head. Blood was gushing out around the Drakkaren's shaft, coating it and lubricating his passage further, and Zerrex's huge muscles flexed before he reached up and grabbed Raze's shoulders, spreading his legs a bit as Raze clawed into his sides, and he shoved hard downwards as he thrusted forwards once, twice, thrice...

And then he finally slammed forwards with a final arch of his back, and Raze felt as if he'd been torn in half by the massive cock now buried all the way to the hilt inside his body, Zerrex's testicles smacking loudly against the base of his tail and splattering blood down his thighs before the reptile rested for a moment overtop him, Raze's own huge cock sandwiched between them and leaking a steady stream of pre before Zerrex grabbed the godling's muzzle and looked down into his eyes, and he grinned widely as his own glowed, saying hungrily: "Now the fun really starts, bitch... so get that cock in your mouth and start sucking!"

Zerrex slid his hand around to the back of Raze's head as he forced his own hips forwards, bending Raze in a V-shape and causing Zerrex's huge penis to grind against the walls of his anus, the male letting out another cry of bliss that was quickly muffled as his own cock was shoved int his muzzle, and Zerrex began a violent, hard thrusting almost immediately, not waiting for Raze to get used to him at all as he kept one hand tight on the back of Raze's head and the other on his side, feeling the male clawing into his shoulders as he snarled like an animal in raw sexual bliss.

Raze was choking against his own shaft as agony like he'd never felt coursed through his whole body, starting at his destroyed tailhole and ending somewhere impossibly-deep inside his guts... but overshadowing that was the ecstasty he felt as he suckled hungrily back on his own member, not even needing to thrust as his hips bucked automatically with every piston of the Drakkaren in and out of his anus. Zerrex's cock jackhammered in and out of him, and it was all Raze could do to breathe around himself, but he worked his maw against his own thick, leaking meat as best he could, letting out muffled cries around the penis buried down his maw as his eyes stayed clenched shut in bliss.

The feelings coursing through Zerrex's body were amazing, as he thrusted over and over down into the thickly-muscled male's body, watching hungrily as his own shaft rammed over and over again down into his throat. He could already feel the ecstasy building to unbearable amounts through his body, but Zerrex knew that no matter how fast he came, he would likely outlast Raze... but the inexperience of the male was part of what fed his passions, as his huge, girthy penis thrusted violently in and out, his testicles smashing over and over into Raze's tail as the male's own huge black balls bounced up and down between his legs, occasionally striking against Zerrex's abs.

Raze tried to last longer, but he could no longer hold back... and he cried out around his gigantic shaft as his hips began to buck a bit faster, slightly out of sync with Zerrex's thrusts as his eyes widened, and he stared up at Zerrex as his massive shaft stiffened fully and almost immediately unloaded enough seed in the first volley to make him feel as if he was drowning, splattering back out of his muzzle and all over his own face and chest as shot after shot after successive shot fired into his own maw, and Zerrex gave a loud, hungry growl of pleasure as he watched, which only fuelled Raze's passions more. As he felt his orgasm ending, he slid his head backwards and pushed against the Drakkaren with his hips, and then he let out a loud cry of bliss as his huge cock slid out of his own muzzle and blasted its last few shots of seed down his muzzle and face, and Zerrex laughed and ground him forwards against his cock with a wide grin.

"Lick at it, bitch!" He ordered, and Raze cried out something he meant to be a ‘yes, master!' before immediately putting his tongue to work against his own sensitive penis, even as his face was battered by the head of his huge cock from the position they were in and the Drakkaren's member continuing to ravage and plow his body. The black-scaled lizard loved every second of it, as the last of his own masculine juices flowed free of his cock, coughing even as he licked and feeling seed leaking from his muzzle, even his nostrils from how much had flooded his mouth and how hard it was to swallow while throating his own member, but the pain and every single other feeling was only flooding him with greater and greater pleasure.

Zerrex growled hungrily, watching as Raze did as best he could, watching as the reptile was pummeled by his own cock... and he felt his pleasure growing higher, felt his entire body reacting to what had happened as he began to thrust even faster and harder, drawing more than a foot of his huge shaft out before slamming it back home and causing Raze to cry out with every thrust, blood coating the thighs of both lizards and Zerrex causing a thick squelch with movement of his enormous penis, his testicles slapping loudly against Raze's body and adding to the sound of their sex as the Drakkaren drew it out as best he could, leaning further and further over Raze's body as he pounded him harder and harder with his penis.

Finally, he stiffened up inside the godling, the pleasure growing to be too intense, too much... and then he arched his back and roared, making jerky but incredibly-powerful thrusts that caused Raze to arch his back and scream, his claws ripping long lines down Zerrex's back as he clung to him, pulling up as high as he could against the Drakkaren, his legs squeezing tightly around his waist before the reptile's first volley blasted into Raze's body, and the godling's eyes bulged at the feeling. With every hard, fast thrust, the demon launched another powerful volley of seed that caused Raze to howl in greater and greater pleasure, every nerve in his body pulsing with the pleasure-pain it caused him. It seemed to last forever, and Raze wanted it to never end before Zerrex finally began to slow, panting hard and slowly drawing back, and the godling slowly slumped on his back, his penis throbbing against his chest as he trembled in shocked bliss. Then he paused, staring as Zerrex pulled slowly out and letting out a groan, feeling suddenly... empty, a stream of blood and seed leaving his stretched, torn anus before he stared as Zerrex slowly stood and held out his cock, stained with blood and seed, more of the same splattered over his legs, testicles, and even his chest... and he beckoned with one finger as his eyes looked dominatingly down into Raze's, saying softy: "Come here, slut."

Raze shakily got to his knees and slid over... and Zerrex lowered the head of his shaft to the Drakkaren's lips, and Raze let out a soft moan as pushed against his muzzle, before taking it slowly into his mouth and gladly sucking back, tasting the powerful seed of the other male mixed with his own blood and insides. He closed his eyes in bliss as Zerrex slowly pushed forwards, and then they bulged open as the demon gripped the back of his head with both hands and groaned hungrily, feeling more, and more, and more sliding down his throat, choking a bit and feeling his neck bulging and stretching as Zerrex forced forwards with a hungry growl, his body trembling violently until he let out a sharp moan as his nose pressed into the dominant lizard's waist and his testicles against his chin, and he swallowed several times, suckling back as best he could before the Drakkaren slowly pulled backwards.

He coughed and retched once as the huge shaft came free of his throat, and then his tongue slowly slid out, cradling the head of the Drakkaren's shaft on it as long as possible as he pulled free, leaving only a few last streamers of saliva and watery seed clinging from cockhead to Raze's mouth. Zerrex growled quietly at the godling's blissful expression, and then he licked his own muzzle slowly as he stroked his still-hard shaft once gently, asking curiously: "Was that your first time with anal sex?"

"It was my first time with a male." Raze said after a moment, and he blushed deeply as Zerrex looked surprised, muttering: "A male other than myself... I... I thought about it, but I never... did anything..."

"You did exceptionally well in that case... but I get the feeling that unlike a certain little slut I know, you'd like to experience the top once in a while too." Zerrex said softly, and he smiled slightly as Raze licked his muzzle slowly at the thought. "And you just might get that chance sometime soon..."

The two grinned at each other, and then a portal appeared and Sin stepped through, looking dismayed... before she stared at the sight of the two, both of the lizards blushing deeply before she turned away and covered her eyes as the portal closed, saying awkwardly: "Lord Zerrex, I... I didn't realize you had company, I... excuse me, I'll come back in a few minutes!"

Sin created another portal and ran through it, and the two looked at each other embarrassedly for a moment before Zerrex muttered: "But not right now, because I don't want to scar Sin anymore than I already have. Uh... crap, give me a moment to clear my head so I can do some repair and cleansing spells and deal with my penis."

Five minutes later, Sin reappeared to a far more gentle scene of Raze and Zerrex exchanging a slow kiss, and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms but looking relieved at the same time as it broke, and Zerrex grinned stupidly and looked lame, rubbing the back of his head slowly. "Sorry, but like... he's like, you know... one of those things you just can't put down or keep your hands off of, much as you know you really, really should."

"Sir Raze, it's a pleasure to meet you." Sin bowed politely to him, ignoring Zerrex as Raze looked embarrassed but defiant at the same time, sitting close to the Drakkaren. "My name is Sin, and I'm one of the handmaidens of the Princess... I extend you greetings on her behalf, since I'm sure Lord Zerrex didn't bother getting the proper permissions to permit an Angel to explore Hell, as he often seems very bad with properly following rules."

"I will smite thee." Zerrex said threateningly, but Sin ignored this and instead gave him a serious look, causing the reptile to frown. "Oh wonderful. Now what's the problem? Don't tell me there's been another attack or a movement from the Wrath troops?"

"No... but your house in the Southern Provinces is being placed up for auction." Sin said meekly, causing Zerrex to blanch and stare, and she flushed deeply before half-bowing and adding despondently: "And soon your home in the Lust Circle will be, too. The Princess is passing a measure permitting prisoners to only own one home or residence."

"Brilliant." Zerrex muttered, and he sighed, leaning against Raze, who rubbed a hand down his back quietly and glanced over at him with concern that the godling tried hard to hide. Sin noted it, though, and smiled faintly, wondering whether it was the natural kinship between them or Zerrex's harassment that had broken through the cold shell of the divine being. "So is she doing this just to piss me off, or is there some logic behind this move? Because, you know, I don't see a whole lot of prisoners who even manage to get homes like I have here. Most of them end up becoming soldier demons or give up and die, especially in this Circle... and the rest of them enlist in the military and turn faster into a soldier demon or get killed during training."

Sin nodded, walking over to sit on the couch as she said softly: "All good points, and all points I brought up. It's also obvious you don't want to live forever in the Wrath Circle, and you have enough money to pay the taxes on all three houses, especially now that you're a capable trainer as well. But the Princess is angry about something you did, likely because you didn't kill Sir Raze here during your sparring match."

Raze frowned at this, tilting his head and asking coldly: "What do I have to do with anything? The Princess has been patching together a net of power and obviously doesn't like it when her minions stand up to her. She's probably only doing this because Zerrex stood up to her when she ordered him to fight me."

Zerrex nudged him gently, and Raze mumbled an embarrassed apology for his tone, but Sin shook her head and glanced down, saying quietly: "No, Sir Raze. You're the son of an Archangel, and a godling... if you were slain in Hell, you would become trapped here. I... I... as much as I don't like to say it... the Princess would... she probably saw it as an opportunity to gain a... what she may have seen as a valuable bargaining chip... and... a new weapon."

Sin looked down, turning dark red and looking ashamed of herself... and Raze clenched a hand into a fist, glaring at the floor as Zerrex looked from one to the other with concern, before he paused and looked slowly over to Zerrex, asking him quietly: "Does that mean... you're the other weapon she has?"

The Drakkaren nodded and glanced away, letting out a quiet sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. I don't know what she plans to do with me, but I'm..." He paused and glanced at Sin, but she only shrugged quietly, and he glanced over at Raze for a moment. He felt like he could trust him, as the godling looked at him with a frown... but I've been wrong before. But... all the same... "I'm an Incarnation of Wrath and Lust, a monster even in Hell."

Raze stared at him and leaned away... then he halted and looked down for a moment before sliding quietly back and resting his head against the Drakkaren's shoulder, closing his eyes and murmuring: "No wonder I felt I could submit myself to you..."

Zerrex snorted quietly, and they rested quietly together before the demon glanced over at Sin, who was looking at them with sorrow in her eyes. "There's more, isn't there?"

"Any angelic being we find in Hell is now to be destroyed on sight... the Princess is claiming that Heaven has made an attack on Prince Memnon's province... and Queen Lilith is also to be captured if possible, and killed if not, should we see her." Sin said quietly, and Raze snarled as Zerrex shook his head silently in horror and disbelief. "She's been accused of taking the throne by force by plotting the murder of her own father... and they're searching high and low for her and for the bracelet you have hidden under your bed, Lord Zerrex. Things have gone from moving slow to very fast... and Sir Raze, you are in grave danger if you stay here any longer. The jailors may begin conducting random searches of homes, and I know the Royal Guards will stop in here under orders from the Princess to ‘ensure your safety,' Lord Zerrex..."

The Drakkaren nodded, then he quietly took one of Raze's hands and squeezed it firmly, Raze immediately going from furious to giving the Drakkaren his full attention. "You need to leave and tell Francis this... I trust him, but I don't know if I trust anyone else there just yet, with... all due respect to you angels."

"It's alright. I noticed the Guards tailing us throughout Heaven too." Raze said dryly, and Zerrex smiled slightly before Raze reached out, his sword floating across the room. He caught it, then paused and glanced at his breastplate, before looking back at Zerrex and saying quietly: "Keep that as a memento, if you want. I don't like body armor... it just gets in my way during a fight and slows me down. It's enchanted with some sort of protective magic... and whether you wear it or not, I'm sure you'll find some good use for it."

"Raze..." Zerrex said softly, but Raze grunted and shrugged, before raising a hand and closing his eyes... and the Drakkaren felt the room shudder before a vortex of whites and greys slowly formed beside him... and Zerrex gently grasped his shoulder, looking into his animal eyes as he asked softly: "Is there anything I can do for you, though, before you leave?"

Raze hesitated, then nodded and murmured: "One last kiss." With that said, he leaned forwards... and Zerrex leaned into it, the two kissing for a slow, delicious moment, Zerrex still faintly tasting the seed of both their bodies before the male drew away and smiled a bit, saying quietly: "Thank you, Zerrex, for everything. I feel good around you, and I haven't felt good in more than a million years... and it may be cruel... but I think it's because we're both fucked-up, and I like that."

"It sounds fine to me." Zerrex responded with a slight smile, and he rose a hand to the godling as he smiled awkwardly back before striding into the portal with a deep flush, and the reptile shook his head slowly as the vortex slowly swirled closed with a faint hum, glancing over to Sin and asking quietly: "Is it bad that I'm always attracted to the things I can never be with?"

Sin gazed at him softly, then patted the couch beside her gently, and Zerrex came over and sat down with a sigh, turning a bit as Sin began to slowly massage along his back and looking utterly miserable. "You know, I was thinking about storming into the Throne Room and punching the Princess in the face, but that wouldn't work, would it?"

Surprisingly, the female laughed faintly, and Zerrex looked at her curiously over his shoulder; it had been a long, long time since he'd heard Sin laugh. "That's admittedly a wonderful image, Lord Zerrex... but... no, no it wouldn't. Even apart from the Divine Protection she has as a High Monarch, she... that seal around you was made by the Scribes, and so she'd have total control over how tight that seal goes and what it closes off..."

"So she has the power to either break it or make it even more powerful... wonderful..." Zerrex muttered, before he gritted his teeth and hammered his knee in frustration. "Then what the hell am I supposed to do if I ever want to get free of her? Her power seems unfair... it's nothing like Az'Iriel when I fought him outside of Hell, even though he's supposed to be the strongest of all the High Monarchs, I thought..."

"He is... he's supposed to be, anyway, like you said..." Sin murmured, looking down and shaking her head quietly. "I... Lord Zerrex, I honestly don't understand it either. The Princess has always been a very powerful sorceress, but... but she now seems to have all of Hell under her control. I... I don't... I don't feel comfortable saying this, but the fight in the Northern Province seems almost... almost fake... almost like a waste of soldiers and lives while Prince Az'Iriel conquers the mortal realm..."

Zerrex looked up at this, the color draining from his face as Sin's hands rested on his shoulders, and then he whispered: "Could it be? A plot millions of years in the making... two High Monarchs, one to rule the physical world, and one with complete dominion over Hell?" Zerrex dropped his head into his hands, cursing angrily under his breath as Sin shook him quietly. "It's so... Gods, with the way information is suppressed and the rumors flying around, and the way the Princess has been ten steps ahead of me this entire time... I don't know what to do or what to think anymore. I'm paranoid enough to begin with, Sin..."

"Hell's hell." she murmured quietly, blushing a bit... and Zerrex nodded silently as they rested together quietly, before Sin added embarrassedly: "I... I'm sorry I walked in, by the way... but you know, I never realized you were... I mean, just... you're... it was..."

She turned beet red as Zerrex looked over his shoulder at her, and then he smiled slightly and reached back to pat her leg gently, saying quietly: "You're very pretty, Sin. And you know, if I could put it in you without having my penis eaten off, I would."

He winced a moment later at what he'd just blurted out, but Sin only turned brighter red and half-turned away almost shyly. They sat together in mixed embarrassment for a while, and then Sin quietly kissed his cheek and mumbled: "I... I... I miss sex."

"Sin, if I were in your position, I'd have died from my testicles exploding long ago." Zerrex responded calmly, and Sin smiled a bit as he reached up and stroked her face gently, looking meek but also happy as he added softly: "You're a strong person to be able to put up with so much, honestly. But... what... what do you miss most?"

"Feeling it inside me... being naked... kissing..." Sin nodded slowly and leaned forwards, and Zerrex hugged her against his body, slowly massaging one hand gently along her back and feeling her hot face pressing against his chest. "There's so much that I miss... I miss big males, I miss small males, I miss thick males, and I even miss thin males... I miss both the experienced and the inexperienced ones who... play with your boobs until they hurt and... and treat sex like they hear the... buff big males talking about it, like... it's a game or some erotic story or... a porn, as you always say..."

"Porno, when you're talking about that." Zerrex corrected gently, and she nodded a bit against his chest as he held her close, gazing down at her softly and feeling embarrassed. Although he was used to talking about sex â€" living with Cherry had gotten him used to talking about it like it was the weather, and living with Marina had gotten him used to talking about it like it was the weather in explicit detail... and even Selena didn't talk about it as much as those two did, over all his years with her â€" this was the first time he'd ever really spoken about it to Sin. It had been a taboo subject, likely because of what Mephistopheles had done to her... but even those boundaries we're crossing now... she... she reminds me so much of my mother... the Celestial I knew when I was just a little kid wanting to be Leapin' Lizard when I grew up...

The two sat in quiet for a few moments, and then Sin quietly kissed his shoulder and asked meekly: "Lord Zerrex... what... what was your favorite thing about sex? I mean... I... you know... what... what's your favorite thing to do, sexually, I mean? I... if I can ask, of course." She blushed slightly, looking down with embarrassment as she tried to phrase the right words, and Zerrex smiled faintly as he squeezed her tight against his muscular chest, taking a few moments to think as Sin slid a hand slowly along his chest.

"It's weird but... I've always been fond of group things." Zerrex said finally, nodding thoughtfully, and the female looked up at him curiously as he shrugged a bit, looking down in return with a faint smile. "I dunno why... maybe there's just something comforting about numbers, and sharing such a level of physical affection with more than one person. Then again, I'm also as much a whore as any other Lust demon, so that might have something to do with it."

"Like that's a bad thing." Sin said softly, and she offered a small smile up to him as Zerrex laughed quietly and shrugged a bit. "But I would've thought the first thing you would have said would've been something about rape or violence, with how often you visited those meal clubs and wandered the circle."

Zerrex looked amused at this, poking her side gently. "And here you are, judging me. But no... even then it was more for the fact there were a bunch of other fellow freaks there... you know, I felt... accepted, like there was some true companionship going on, and it felt... really good." He paused, adding thoughtfully: "Sure, I like to be dominant... and even in a group of males or females, I like to have attention and maybe even control... but I don't always need it. I am perfectly capable of being gentle every now and then."

"I know you are, Lord Zerrex... I meant..." Sin looked up at him with embarrassment, and then she lowered her voice, mumbling: "I meant... you know. That's... whatever makes you, you should do... you... I mean, unbroken, untamed males are... are in demand in the Lust Circle, so..."

Zerrex looked at her oddly, wondering if she was edging at the fact she may be attracted to power, and that lead to a different question: did he force you, or did you let him force you, Sin? Or are you really as gentle as you seem, and has time just warped you?

She was still blushing deeply... but before he could ask anything, a portal opened and Selena staggered through, and Zerrex stared in horror at the fact her clothes were charred and burnt, smoke rising off her as she looked haggardly around before saying stupidly: "So I think I might've just gotten myself fired."

"What the hell did you do?" Zerrex asked incredulously, and Sin slid off the couch to quickly guide Selena off to the armchair and begin to heal her, even as the demoness squirmed. "And stay still and let Sin heal you."

"I mixed up a cauterization spell with another c-word fire spell and burnt out part of the medical building and incinerated some patients." Selena mumbled, and Zerrex groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "Mother Superior told me to get the hell out and I'm probably going to be removed from the Wrath Sisterhood, which is pretty fucking ironic if you think about it for a minute or two."

The Drakkaren didn't bother saying anything, only looking at her sourly as Sin let out a sigh, and the Selena clapped her hands together and asked stupidly: "So what did I miss?"