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Book I: The Fool

In a back alley of Valise City, the air shimmered before a dark portal in the shape of a fiery oval appeared, and a tall figure stepped out with the calmness of a person stepping off a plane. The portal glowed behind him, then the gaping wound in reality closed and vanished as if it never existed as the lizard - a Drakkaren, to be precise, by his build and shape - adjusted his black fedora and then his leather jacket, glancing back and forth. In one hand is a black metal cane, the grip shaped into a stylized, demonic-looking dragon head for the handle with the mouth opened to bear its sharp silver fangs and a pair of burning red eyes made of darkest ruby: in other words, a cane not exactly used for just walking around the park.

He was clothed in plain black jeans, a plainer black shirt that was tight against a large, muscular body, and heavy combat boots that were the same shade. His scales, at least, were a deep evergreen, and his shoulder length hair - a strange feature for a reptile - was white, a stark contrast to his choice of clothing. It was a bit ragged and unruly, and the lizard adjusted one of the bangs hanging over his emerald eyes as he sighed a bit before watching as a newspaper blew by, some dust swirling around his feet in a quiet breeze.

The reptile smiled to himself a bit at this as he looked down the alley and out towards the dusky streets, and the last rays of setting sunlight shine over several boarded-up buildings to illuminate the Drakkaren's scarred features. Although they were once perhaps almost handsome, now his muzzle is etched deep with several long cuts, and the right side of his face is covered by an ancient burn scar that encircles one eye, with a small J-shaped arm that stretches slightly down his muzzle. There are many other scars on his body, most of them over the navy blue scales that cover his chest but quite a few distributed over his appendages as well, but these are currently hidden under his clothes... other than the claw marks on his tail, of course.

He is worn, his features hard, his body muscular and imposing... but as he looks down at the three rings he wears on one hand, a faint smile crosses over his features, softening them. He looks younger, less-tired... and then he said softly to himself: "I'm actually here. It's actually time..."

The lizard glanced up, and then he walked cautiously out into the street, looking back and forth nervously. His nervousness, however, wasn't from anyone seeing him: he thought he'd be more than capable of dealing quickly with a security squad or two and making an escape, and the chances of him getting caught in the first place were slim to none... but after so many years, the thing he'd been looking forwards to most was finally in his grasp... and the cold-looking, eight feet and two-inch tall lizard covered in muscle and leather... was actually scared.

"Zerrex, stop being such a little girl." he reprimanded himself after a moment in a mumble, and then Zerrex Narrius took a long breath before stepping out onto the sidewalk and swallowing heavily as he retraced his steps home, a few pieces of garbage blowing by. He passed the front stop of an apartment building, and two children watched him curiously as he went by, one of them clutching a stuffed toy to her chest.

The reptile glanced at them, a few memories of his own family flickering through his mind, and he smiled a bit again as he turned his eyes forwards, following a path that was still so damn familiar to him, despite how long it had been since he was last here. He paused, then glanced up at the darkening sky overhead as a few lights flickered on around him in buildings that were for the most part dusty and in varying states of degradation, and then he murmured softly: "Ten years on the mortal plane... but that translates to ten million years when you're in Hell, with the time difference between the planes... and that's not counting the few months I spent there before the war ended..."

For years that had almost turned countless, Zerrex had been in Hell: both because he had been a pawn in a terrible plan set in motion eons ago, but because he had earned his place down there with the way he'd lived his life. As a mortal, he had been raised to fight and to kill mercilessly... and while only sixteen, had joined up with the military and he had been noticed for his cruelty both on and off the battlefield. He had raped, slaughtered, and destroyed for pleasure and business alike... and eventually he'd been put in charge of his own special unit, the Goth Legion, whose only goal was to destroy the enemy by whatever means necessary.

The unit had been disbanded and labeled as a failed experiment by the Irenic government, and they had been sent their separate ways... and Zerrex had continued his pitiless way of living until he'd reached a city called Baskin's Grove, which had been consumed in its own civil war between the rich and the poor. Zerrex had his first taste of redemption there, but in return, he had failed to save innocent lives... and lost someone very dear to him, but he had learned mercy. He had tortured - but saved - the life of a rich wolf named Lone... someone who would be both a friend and an enemy to the reptile in the future.

Zerrex had been forced to wage another personal war against a group that wanted him ejected from the town, while at the same time saving his daughter from his uncle when Requiem Narrius showed up and defeated Zerrex easily in combat... and in the space of a single week, the reptile had lost and gained more than he'd ever thought possible, until he met the one person he'd looked up to as a father in single combat... and killed him. He had buried Requiem himself and laid him to rest with honor, for everything he had taught him and done for him, and for his daughter. But he had lost friends and family in the battles: one of his closest and sweetest companions, a little badger named Tinman, had sacrificed his life to save Zerrex and his family from the tyrant Tank and his schemes to kill everyone associated with Zerrex.

His daughter had given birth to a little girl who was also Zerrex's daughter: an awkward thing to try and explain, but sometimes muscle and intimidation worked wonders. Marina had been a shining light in the Drakkaren's life, until she had been kidnapped... and then the Great War had occurred. The war that cost Zerrex his entire family... given it back... and then cost him more friends and loved ones and given his body all these scars. The war that had destroyed the world... and was followed all too soon by the Demon War that had killed Zerrex and sent him to Hell, and had set the ruins of the world on fire.

But those were all stories for other days: the important thing was that Zerrex had finally managed to get out of Hell, despite the friends and family he had made there... and of course, despite the fact that he had forced into serving as Hell's High King. That was a long story too, though, and power was something the Drakkaren both loved and feared... and he made a face as he walked around a crater before glancing up curiously to watch as a minotaur - a creature bred as a footsoldier in Hell - and a canine of some sort walked by, leaning against one another. The minotaur was wearing a cast and had a broken horn, and the canid was a younger girl who looked enthralled with the statuesque male that was even larger than Zerrex... but it made the reptile smile again as he nodded to them before slipping down a side alley. Over all his years fighting and warring and killing... he had finally begun to understand what true strength was and where true happiness lay.

He paused as he passed through the alley, then he glanced over his shoulder and frowned slightly as something peeked at him around the corner before dodging back into hiding. The reptile made a face, then he looked around before walking quickly behind a large dumpster, sitting down beside the bags of garbage piled next to it and doing his best to ignore the smell as he hid and waited. In only a few moments, his patience was rewarded as he heard someone quietly sneaking along the alley, before Zerrex cleared his throat loudly as it stepped in front of him, and the huge black wolf stared at him in shock, black eyes wide and frozen in mid-tip-toe as the Drakkaren said sourly: "Vampire, go back to Hell."

"No, I'm coming with you!" The wolf flailed his arms wildly, his voice a long whine that didn't much befit his enormous, muscular frame. He was wearing only a plain belt and a golden loin plate, and the small horns that jutted out of his skull behind his ears before curving slightly made it rather obvious that he was a demon... but Zerrex thought dryly that if anyone saw the temper tantrum Vampire was throwing and the way he was trying to hold in his tears... Well, they might just rethink how terrifying demons are. "Come on, come on, come on, lemme stay with you just one more night up here, Boss, please?"

Zerrex sighed and dropped his head in his free hand, then he grunted as he stood up, grasping his cane by the neck and using it to reach out and bonk Vampire lightly on the nose, seeming to glare down on him despite the foot or so height advantage he had to have on the reptile. Immediately, the demon wolf whimpered and rose one large paw in the air as he laced his fingers together and laid his ears back, his large black eyes almost seeming to sparkle, and the lizard finally rolled his eyes as he muttered: "Fine. One night."

Vampire brightened and bounced up and down before he hugged Zerrex tightly, and the Drakkaren grunted and awkwardly patted the large male on the side, feeling grateful for the distraction, at least. The wolf was another remnant of the Goth Legion, and he had actually suffered his death at Zerrex's hands in the past... but the Vampire of the past and the Vampire of the present were two very different people, as Zerrex added: "You know that they're going to be looking for you, though. Aren't you supposed to be doing a patrol of Hell?"

"Hey, my real job is keepin' you safe, Boss, since you're the Boss." Vampire responded stubbornly, still clinging to Zerrex, and then the Drakkaren pried him off and the male huffed a bit, crossing his arms and looking back and forth as he added in a quieter tone: "Cities up here seem a lot different than I remember, though. But I guess I never really saw what the wars did... just heard 'bout them from down below."

Zerrex nodded as he looked back and forth, then he motioned for the wolf to follow as he headed down the alley and out onto another street, and Vampire gladly toddled along behind him, not seeming to care how much he stood out. Then again, there weren't a lot of people out on the streets at this hour, and those few that were didn't stare at all; possibly because a lot of them looked like demons themselves. It reassured the Drakkaren at least a little bit, as they passed a dilapidated store... and then he swallowed a bit as he looked up ahead, forcing himself to keep at a steady pace as they walked towards his home... the home where his family was waiting for him.

He wanted to break into a run, and Vampire seemed to sense how both joyful and anxious the Drakkaren felt as the black wolf fell into pace beside him, leaning over to say softly: "You know, if I had some pretty girls like you do, Boss, I think I might drop the whole... solemn polite genteel thingy you do just for a minute and um. You know. Run for it."

Zerrex glowered at Vampire for a moment... and then he grinned and slapped him playfully across the stomach with his cane, saying firmly: "Then I'll race you to the front door, bitch, let's run!"

With that, the lizard broke into a sprint, and Vampire yelped before quickly following, his bare paws slapping against the concrete. In only seconds, Zerrex reached the door leading into his home, and he hesitated for a moment as his hand settled on the knob and slowly turned it before Vampire slammed into him from behind with a yelp, and Zerrex grunted as he knocked the door open and staggered inside, pinwheeling his arms before staring stupidly up at not the tiny little entrance hall, but a whole room filled with people, and a crowd of voices shouted: "Surprise!"

Streamers and confetti hailed down from the ceiling as Zerrex straightened dumbly, and then a Drakkaren hurled herself at him, grabbing him around the neck and pressing tight to his chest with a cry of "Daddy!" She was followed closely by three others, two of them reptiles and one a tiny little wolf, as people crowded forwards and clapped, Vampire laughing as he joined in after kicking the door closed with a wide grin. The reptile could only look dumbly back and forth at the gathering of people and the room that had been magically-enlarged so that it now resembled an immense hall... and then he finally gazed down at Marina, the only daughter of the Drakkaren who had survived the Demon War and remained a mortal... but she was no mere mortal to be trifled with.

She was eight feet tall, but another six inches was added onto this by the thing, segmented black fin that went from the back of her neck to her forehead, and her body was toned and strong, a fair amount of muscle over her attractive form. She was lithe, with a good-sized bust and rounded hips, and her athleticism showed in the way her body moved... when she was moving, that was. As it was, she was curled tightly up against her father, nestling against him and looking so small despite how tall she really was... and Zerrex gazed down at her softly as he wrapped his arms around as many of the people clinging to him at the moment as he could.

She gazed up at him after a moment with her sapphire eyes bright, smiling happily up at her father, at the one person whom she'd listen to, respected, and held her loyalties to... and she stepped slowly back after a moment, blushing and looking every bit the young schoolgirl as she rubbed one bare foot against the ground, hands going behind her back. Zerrex let his eyes rest on her, taking in her details: the similar color of her scales, but which lightened over her chest instead of turning to another color... the way she dressed in black jeans and a black exercise top that didn't leave much to the imagination, and the end of the thin scar he knew went from where it was visible over her abdominals and up over one breast. A training accident, but something Marina wore with strange pride... but he wouldn't change his daughters eccentricities for the world itself, no matter how awkward she could be at times.

"Daddy." Marina said softly, and hearing her voice here, on the mortal plane, meant so damn much to him. For so long, they had been separated, meeting only for a few hours in Hell every few mortal months... but if there was one thing Zerrex recognized, it was that Marina could not be allowed to be exposed to Hell's corruption to the point where she became a demon herself. He wouldn't change his daughter's obsessive and sometimes cruel ways... but he wouldn't make them worse, either; and he also knew that as it was, Marina's psychic abilities were on their own terrifying level, whether she was a mortal or not.

His family had always been special, and ever since the Goth Legion, Zerrex had been submerged in a lifestyle that readily embraced the supernatural: strange powers, even the concepts that Heaven and Hell brought with them had become nothing more than daily routine for the Drakkaren while he had still been alive. The reptile reflected on this for a moment as his gaze wandered, taking in the dome-shaped quality of the massive hall they stood in now where his little waiting room - Oh why pretend otherwise, this is bigger than my whole house... - should have been. He wondered for a moment what they had done here... and then Marina leaned up and kissed his cheek quietly, attracting his attention again as she took his face between her hands and said softly: "I've missed you, Daddy..."

"I've missed you too, Marina..." Zerrex replied quietly, and then he smiled as he looked back and forth at the other members of his family currently clinging to him. "All of you." A pause as he felt one particular hand reach down and give his buttocks a hearty squeeze, and he sighed and added dryly: "Except maybe you, Cherry."

This got a laugh from the other people in the room, and then Cherry squawked and shoved him roughly, causing the Drakkaren to fall on his ass as the little wolf clinging to his leg yelped and toppled with him, and his middle daughter stumbled away, flailing her arms for balance. It left Cherry grinning victoriously, standing with her legs slightly spread and her muscular arms crossed, her body huge and built like a tank: the only thing about her larger than her muscles were her enormous breasts. "Fuck you, Boss."

Zerrex only rolled his eyes as Cherry laughed loudly, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. A troublemaker and adopted into his family, they had met many years ago in the Goth Legion, where she had served as his second-in-command and his personal bitch. The only thing that had matched her seductive beauty back then had been her cruelty in combat and her stunning grace, enhanced further by the female's particular power to see a few seconds into the future... just enough back then to let her avoid things that should be unavoidable, and fire devastating shots from her rifle into the weak point of any target.

Over the years, she had changed, some of these rather large: apart from her personality becoming looser and far more playful, she had been killed and revived in a body a bit more suiting to her quirks, as a hermaphrodite... and then things had become even more complicated during the Demon War, when she had gone to Hell and returned as a Dius, a breed of demonic shapeshifter based around the aspect of Lust. It was too complicated and too goddamn sci-fi sounding for the reptile to think through seriously on most occasions, though, so Zerrex just took in her body, her green scales, her cocky grin and the set of five crescent-shaped fins that went from the back of her neck to her forehead... and then he asked sourly: "Shouldn't you be in Hell, too?"

"I was never officially killed or blacklisted, and you know that, Boss." Cherry said comfortably, polishing her hand against one mighty breast. With the only clothes on her body being a thick leather bra and a pair of tight leather pants, it didn't leave much up to the imagination... but on the other hands, many a male had been scared away by both the muscular physique of the female and the strange bulge in her crotch. Apart from these, Cherry also had a whole multitude of piercings throughout her body: two rings in one nostril, another just above her eye, and a stud through her tail... and that was without getting into the piercings in her special places. She also had a variety of tattoos: a thick black swastika on one bicep, a bold black "II" on her tailbone that had a curling ivy border on either side of it, and a tattoo of swirling flames that encircled her waist, then spread up one side of her body and circled around one breast.

She paused and softened a bit as she looked down at Zerrex, reaching up to finger a black leather collar that encircled her neck. It had a silver clasp on it, and etched into this was a distinct 'II,' much like on her tailbone: a gift from Zerrex that had a lot of meaning. "It's good to see you home, though, Zer. Come on, get your lazy ass up off that floor."

The Drakkaren rolled his eyes, then he glanced down at his legs, where a teary-eyed wolf was still clinging to one limb. The reptile smiled a bit: whereas the other members of his family were all around his height - Cherry actually taller by a few inches, a fact that never failed to make her cackle - this little wolf was five foot two at the most, and the reptiles he was usually around probably looked like giants to him. Yet Zerrex suspected that was the way little Mahihko liked it, as he reached down and scratched the arctic lupine quietly behind one black-tipped ear... and the wolf immediately brightened, his tail wagging wildly and the pink ribbon he wore around the pink-dyed end of it flapping wildly through the air.

The wolf bounced up to his feet after a moment, and he adjusted the miniskirt and knotted-blouse he wore with a deep blush: openly-gay, openly-crossdressing, and submissive to extreme degrees... but despite all this, no one made fun of the little Mahihko... or at least not in earnest, considering how much Cherry made fun of everyone. Mahihko was effeminate and cute, his arms a bit toned but his body too covered in fuzzy fur to be very noticeable, most of it white other than the diamond bib of black and the tips of his ears. His paws were oversized and clumsy, and he wore golden bangles around both arms. Silver piercings glinted everywhere from his ears to his nose to other parts of his body - he had taken a bit after Cherry in this respect - and he was also covered in tattoos: purple flames on his sides beneath his armpits, snowflake-shaped swastikas on his shoulders, and the words "Property of Zerrex" arched along his lower back, taking up the slender lupine's entire backside. On his plump rear, however, was another tattoo: a crossed sword and revolver, and Zerrex still couldn't imagine how the little wolf had sat through that one... literally and figuratively.

A single glance at the little girlyboi, and most people would dismiss him: Mahihko, however, had once been a business mastermind named Lone Wulfe. But he had changed so much and in so many ways... and eventually died to try and find the male he called affectionately his father. The suicide ritual had sent Mahihko down to Hell, not knowing about what he'd have to live through in the pit as punishment during the harsh civil war between the Princess and the Warlord... but he had still struggled in his free time to find Zerrex, until one day Zerrex had found him instead.

Years later, when Zerrex had taken the High Throne, he'd used his power to get Mahihko a pass out of Hell and send him back onto the mortal plane: the energies of Hell had done strange and peculiar things to the wolf's mind and body, and Zerrex couldn't keep an eye on him each and every day, much as he wanted to. So Marina had taken over that position, and he came and visited only when Marina was permitted to... and that had seemed to at least slow whatever strange changes had been coming over Mahihko, caused by the corruption of the lower plane.

And now here he was, looking like an adorable little girl, and Zerrex shook his head in amusement as he stood up before ruffling the wolf's headfur, making him giggle. He immediately clung to Zerrex's leg again, and the Drakkaren rolled his eyes before glancing over at Cindy, who was smiling at him softly, the innocent, beautiful little girl Zerrex had ever known stepping in close and giving him a gentle hug around the neck. "It's good to see you, Daddy."

"It's good to see you too, Cindy." Zerrex hugged her gently back around the waist with one arm, kissing her forehead softly. Then she drew back, her fingers lingering along his arm for a moment before she balled her hands together as she looked at him, and he looked back with a quiet laugh, over his daughter's beautiful, slender form and toned musculature. "I hope Heaven's been treating you well."

"Francis and I get along well. Lord is pleasant, even if Lucifer is still a bit cold after all these years." Cindy responded softly, looking almost embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her head. The gesture seemed to relax her in some ways, making her seem more like Zerrex and less formal, and then she added mildly: "Then again, after the whole spear issue, I thought they'd never trust me again."

Zerrex nodded ruefully, reminiscing for a moment before he shook his head and let his eyes draw over her again. She was wearing an old Irenic Military uniform that left little of her body uncovered, the pants tight but not taut, the sleeves of the shirt long enough to cover her arms to the wrist. But as well as these simpler clothes, she also had a set of accessories that had proven oddly useful for her in the past: a pair of spiked bracelets around her wrists, and a spiked collar around her neck. It wasn't exactly standard wear for an angel... but despite how shy and quiet Cindy seemed, she had her own stubborn ways that she wouldn't change for anything. The two looked at each other, at their similar scale colors, emerald eyes looking into sapphire... and then Zerrex stroked her face gently, saying softly: "You don't look a day over twenty... makes the rest of us all look bad."

"Bite me, I still look like a hot sixteen year old cheerleader." Cherry said immediately, then she grinned widely and flexed her enormous muscles as she curled both arms in a bodybuilder's pose, leaning forwards into it. "You know, assuming she was on steroids. And was hot. Did I say that already?"

Zerrex didn't bother with a response as he finally parted from his little family to gaze over the crowd of people there, still barely able to believe his eyes. He could see demons and angels, all people he had known, befriended, helped, and fought beside... and the reptile rubbed the three rings on his one hand together, making them clink as he smiled slightly, spotting several people in the crowd that he had... very special relationships with. Monogamy is a lot less common in Hell, after all...

"So who planned this whole thing?" The Drakkaren glanced back and forth, tapping the bottom of his cane lightly against the ground. He spotted a few guilty faces in the crowd, and then one in particular stepped forwards with a shy smile, and Zerrex met her violet eyes as she bowed politely to him, her long black dress flowing around her body. "Well, from the fact we're in a pocket dimension, I guessed you were involved."

"It's always a pleasure, Lord Zerrex." the female said softly, a quiet smile crossing her face. Her scales were a strange purple and black that seemed to shift slowly back and forth, but otherwise she looked exactly like mother, apart from the fact she was an inch taller than him and had a much-smaller bosom than he remembered on Celestial. He knew from the long time they'd spent together, however, that anyone who looked at Sin would see their mother, due to the glammer that surrounded her: but Zerrex honestly felt that her true form of a Naganatine, one of the First Breed created by God, was no less beautiful.

Despite her shy demeanor, Sin was one of the most powerful beings of Hell: her strength was legendary, and she had given birth to some of the strongest of creatures in the Underworld. And she's one of my closest friends, too... "Don't be so shy, Sin... I think everyone here knows about that very awkward few weeks we spent together."

Sin smiled at this, half-lidding her eyes before she traded a tight hug with him, and then she slid back, taking his hands gently as she added quietly: "This party is all for you, Zerrex... we wanted to... give you a good welcome back to the mortal plane, and miss Marina said that we should also take the moment to celebrate your anniversary... most of us can't stay long, with the time difference in Hell, but we figured that it would manage fine with the Scholars in charge for a few mortal hours."

Zerrex tried to do the math in his head, then failed at this before nodding, and then Sin laughed as she watched his eyes trace around the marble and ironwood walls and ceiling of the huge room. "The pocket dimension is only temporary, don't worry... I'll take it with me when I leave. But I wanted to make sure there was room for everyone."

"Now, let's put on the music and party!" shouted a cheerful voice, and Zerrex rolled his eyes, wondering how the hell that person had managed his way out of Hell. Before he could spot the voice, however, there was a loud yell of affirmation from the crowd before gift-wrapepd boxes arced up through the air and fell on top of Zerrex's head, knocking him to the ground as Sin winced and covered her muzzle.

The Drakkaren sat stupidly up, one of the boxes broken over his head to spill some sort of cloth cape over his face, and he brushed this carefully off his head before picking up his hat, grumbling a bit as he stood up, figuring he knew who the offender was. Then Cherry picked up another box from somewhere and shouted: "Present fight!" and whipped it at the Drakkaren's head, knocking him sprawling on his stomach as it bounced off his skull.

There were a few laughs, but Cherry only winced under the glares of Cindy, Marina, and Sin, as Mahihko toddled nervously over to squat by Zerrex's head, looking at him curiously. The reptile groaned after a moment, then he carefully pushed himself up to a sitting position, his head spinning as he rubbed at his aching skull slowly. He shook his head after a moment, then gave Cherry a flat look before he let Sin help him up to his feet, the Drakkaren brushing himself off with a grumble. "See, this is why I don't like people buying me gifts for my birthday. Besides, you guys really didn't have to buy me anything..."

"Well, most of us didn't. I think these are mostly gifts from close family." Sin responded softly, then she smiled and waved at the crowd, and before Zerrex could respond, the group of people came forwards, and the reptile found himself trying to thank people for their congratulations and return hugs, handshakes, and everything in between.

Soon enough, he found himself wandering through a crowd of people as soft music played in the background, talking here and there with people before he spotted two figures near the back of the room. He smiled slightly to himself, then carefully wended his way towards them, Marina and little Mahihko toddling along behind him. Cindy and Cherry, on the other hand, had stayed back at the front of the room, where the former was tapping her fingers impatiently against her crossed arms as Cherry grumbled and stacked presents at the side of the room.

"I didn't see you come up and congratulate me." Zerrex said softly as he approached Selena, and the demoness looked up at him sourly. She was a Drakkaren like him, with a pair of large bull horns, with a black fin like Marina's between them, except hers was larger and longer. Her eyes were black and moody, her body covered in red scales that turned pink over her body, and her breasts were large and muscles quite a fair size as well. The Dius was dressed in a black leather corset and a pair of leather pants - something Cherry had gotten her into wearing - and a pair of fingerless leather gloves with long sleeves that went all the way to her elbows, and the Drakkaren sighed before he leaned beside her as she examined her silver ring. "You knew this day was coming, Selena. And you know you're welcome to stay up here with me, too, if you wanted to."

"You're a romantic." Selena muttered, but there was no venom in her voice. He knew it was just part of her personality, and that she was jealous, and upset, and wanted things her way... even if she'd always support him in what he did at the end of the day. He knew she'd adjust... it just meant that he'd have to put up with her bitchiness while she did. "Besides, I'm not like little miss perfect over there, and I don't like sharing you with all these... goddamn creeps."

Marina and Mahihko both looked offended at this, and Lily sighed and rolled her eyes: the golden-scaled Drakkaren was far more pleasant than Selena, but she sometimes had trouble putting up with the bitterness the Dius could display. "You know, as it is, you hogged him eighty percent of the time anyway... and then did what, spent most the last few centuries bitching and whining about him moving back up here, to live the mortal life he deserves with his family?"

"Shut up. You're fat." Selena said morbidly, and Lily slapped her own forehead, groaning even as Zerrex caught her tossing an awkward peek down over her body. It was slender as always, with ample breasts covered by a chaste plain dress and blouse, but ever since her first child, Lily had been worrying more and more about her form... which didn't even make sense, when the female was a shapeshifter who spent most of her time in this Drakkaren body than her real, more felid form, because she said it made her feel more comfortable around the reptile. "Anyway, like, come on. You only got close to him in the first place 'cause you're a whore."

This originally was a soft spot for Lily, which would often get Selena into a nasty fight: and nice as Lily often was, it didn't change the fact she was an original demon and far more powerful than Selena, even if Selena had once served as an Inquisitor of Hell and was now a High Princess on the same monarchal level as the other demoness. Now, however, Selena had used it so often in fights that it had become a mediocre insult at best, so Lily only mumbled to herself and then she grinned as she walked over to Zerrex, pinned his shoulders against the wall, and then kissed his lips teasingly but chastely, causing the reptile to stare dumbly as Selena glared sourly at them. Then Lily drew away and stroked a finger under Selena's chin playfully. "What, do you want one too?"

"Oh fuck off." Selena grumbled, then she threw her arms out and stormed off, trying to shove her way into the crowd of people, but she only bounced off the first person she ran into. She glanced up dumbly at him, and the huge, black-scaled Drakkaren glared down at her with his baleful, slitted amber eyes, and Selena winced before mumbling an apology and stomping off towards a group of people she could better shove around.

Lily laughed, and Zerrex just sighed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and smiling as Raze walked over, still looking sourly after Selena. The male was huge and strong, as tall as Zerrex and easily as muscular, his best distinguishing feature a pair of golden stripes that went from the end of his muzzle to the end of his tail, and the way his scales turned to the same bright color over his chest. Plain mortal clothes covered his body, and he nodded to Zerrex and grunted before wincing as the Drakkaren hugged him tight against his body, saying amusedly: "Come on, don't be such a douche."

"Shut up." the male muttered, looking awkwardly back and forth before he quietly kissed the side of Zerrex's neck, and the Drakkaren smiled slightly before Raze stepped back and looked skywards, embarrassed. "Look, I only just wanted to stop in... Francis is around here somewhere, probably talking with some of the demons with how fascinated he is with Hell... but I guess that... Lord... says hello and I wanted to say hello too and-"

Zerrex quieted the male with a quiet kiss, and Raze's blush deepened even as he kissed the reptile back for a few moments, before their mouths parted and the reptile smiled a bit, patting the fellow Drakkaren's chest quietly. "Thank you for that, Raze. I appreciate it a lot... I never expected you all to go through so much trouble for me, though. I don't deserve all this."

"You deserve this and more, Lord Zerrex." Sin said softly, and Zerrex glanced over his shoulder at her curiously before Sin smiled a bit and motioned around at the crowd. "Besides, look at them all... all of us people who haven't had a chance to relax together like this since the days of the rebellion against the Princess. We're all glad to see you home safe and give you what we can... but it would be a lie to say we aren't also glad to see each other, too."

"Probably more glad, in some ways." said a voice meditatively, and Zerrex jumped as he saw Ixin standing nearby, stirring some strange potion in a little jar. The reptile glowered at him, and then Ixin coughed as he straightened, the tall, powerfully-built lizard putting his hands behind his back before he peered back and forth, adding seriously: "Also, I would just like to go on record saying that there is a high degree of lizard in this place. Why can't you make nice with things other than lizards, you speciesist? You disgust me."

Zerrex groaned and rolled his eyes, then he glared flatly across at the fellow lizard, saying mildly: "You're a reptile too, you know."

Ixin sniffed disdainfully as he adjusted the triple belt around his waist, which held all variety of pouches and attached into a plain rawhide strap that held a single cusp tight over one of the mage's shoulders. "I am not a lizard, thank you. I am a ferret." He paused, then grinned over at Lily, leaning towards her and asking teasingly: "Wanna see how flexible ferrets are, babe?"

The female put a hand on his face and shoved him away, and Ixin staggered backwards, flailing his arms comically before he huffed and straightened, kicking one leg out a few times. "Fine, be that way." A pause as he leaned down to tuck one of his pantlegs back into his heavy moccasins, and then he produced his plain-looking flute from his belt, causing Zerrex to wince. It was a magical instrument Ixin used to cause all sorts of mischief... but to the reptile's relief, Ixin only played a short tune on it, and a moment later he vanished in a puff of smoke. That could have been way worse... but now I'm worried about where he's gone. Last time he did that, we found him sitting in Lily's underwear drawer, wearing her panties on his head... and over his arms... and everywhere else he could pull them on...

Raze grumbled something to himself about idiots, and then he smiled a bit at Zerrex: it took away the harshness from his features, making him look almost like an awkward child. "I'm going to go myself, Zerrex. I have business in Heaven to attend to. I... I was glad to see you."

"Hearts to you too." Zerrex said mildly, and then he flailed a bit as Raze glowered and reached a hand out to mess up the Drakkaren's hair. After a moment, it devolved into childish pushing at one another, and Lily and Sin glanced at each other as Marina and Mahihko stared raptly. Finally, Zerrex threw himself at Raze, but the other reptile caught him easily and squeezed him firmly, and he squawked before pushing at Raze's face as the black-scaled lizard grunted and winced.

"Orgy?" Cherry bounced over to one side of them, the female grinning widely and looking hopefully from one male to the next, and Raze and Zerrex exchanged a glance before both of them swung at her, but she only cackled and easily slid out of the way of both attacks, batting her eyes at them. "Aww, you two are so cute together!"

"I have to go now." Raze said moodily, and with that he stalked off into the crowd, easily parting his way through it. Zerrex half-wanted to go after him, but then he finally settled for giving Cherry a sour look, and she blushed deeply and dropped her head. Some people never change...

Zerrex sighed and shook his head, then he winced as Cherry sprang up to throw an arm around his shoulders, squeezing him against her as she waved the other and said cheerfully: "Come on, Boss, don't be frowning just yet! We still got plenty us mugs can do together, and there's plenty of other people to hang out with and talk and have wild sex parties with! Let your damn socks off or whatever and let's go!"

With that, Cherry pulled the Drakkaren towards the throng of people, the reptile clawing at the arm around his throat helplessly as he winced and reminded himself to tell Marina to ban Cherry from any other parties they might have together.

After only about an hour of mortal time, the hall had begun to empty: not because anyone wanted to part ways, but because the time difference between the planes. It took only two for everyone to return down into the pit, but Zerrex did manage to catch up with old friends like Amiglion and Carmen - the former a Grim Reaper who was not all that grim, the latter a former Queen of the Circle of Lust and concubine to Zerrex. With her wild spirit and crazy ways, Carmen had temporarily given up her monarchal position to one of her trusted colleagues, however, so she could explore the mortal realm and possibly some of Heaven... but she had been more than glad to make a stop-in at the party before she continued wandering through Ire.

Now, Zerrex sat with his family inside his little house, the pocket dimension removed by Sin before she'd given Zerrex a quiet kiss on the cheek and left. The reptile glanced down quietly at a locket of black stone Sin had given him, which, if he concentrated on a person before opening it, would give him a snapshot from one of his fondest memories of them. He squeezed it quietly, feeling the strange warmth of the stone, and then he put it aside onto the dented, ugly table in front of the couch before glancing awkwardly at the large stack of gifts at the other side of the room. "I really don't deserve all these..."

"Shut up, Daddy." Marina said stoically, clinging to his arm for a moment, and then she smiled and hopped to her feet, tugging at the collar of the Drakkaren's jacket. "And take this off. Here, let me help you."

Zerrex mumbled to himself, looking embarrassed - either because he was enjoying all the attention far too much, but also because he didn't like Marina going through such troubles for him. Marina, however, was more than a little obsessed with her father, as she lovingly pulled the jacket off his arms and then left the room to hang it up, and he sighed a bit as he watched her go, asking Cindy quietly without needing to glance at her: "She hasn't gotten better, has she?"

"I know that was part of what you hoped the little separation would do... would show her it's not the end of the world without you around. But to her, it is." Cindy replied quietly, shaking her head slowly from where she sat in an armchair across the room. Mahihko, meanwhile, nodded solemnly - for all his childishness, he was still plenty intelligent, and more importantly, he had a keen eye for certain things. "We watched her as best we could, Mahihko and I, but... you know Marina."

"She's impossible to watch all the time." Zerrex said softly, watching as Marina came back in through the archway. It was pointless to try and hide that they'd been talking about her: even without her psychic powers, she wasn't stupid. But her eyes were still filled only with love and tender adoration for her father as she walked over and sat beside him, and she quietly touched his bare chest with one hand, looking deep into his eyes. Sexualized and twisted all those years ago... and because I never stopped fighting, because I saved her, even with all my failures... she thinks of me more like some omnipotent god than the... loser I am...

"You're not a loser, Daddy." Marina reprimanded absently, then she glanced over at Mahihko, adding: "You, go get that present on top of the pile for Daddy to open."

Mahihko immediately brightened and nodded, jumping out of his seat and bounding over to the pile of presents, glad to be of service. Despite the fact Marina treated him like a slave, that was part of the way the submissive lupine liked to be treated: he hated to make decisions, and as long as it wasn't anything too arduous or painful, he was glad to do what he could for the family, where he sometimes felt like a misfit among misfits. So he gladly wrapped his arms around the rectangular box on top of the pile and carried it over to the table, putting it down before clambering back onto the enormous couch and curling up against Zerrex's side, closing his eyes with a little whine of pleasure.

Zerrex gently patted the little wolf on the head, then he glanced over at Cherry, who was sitting on the floor and enrapt with a pile of building blocks and some toy cars, making rumbling noises to herself as she piled them into some crazed shape she was likely using her precog to build. The reptile rolled his eyed at her, then instead tore the wrapping off the box and balled the paper up before tossing it at her little building.

It knocked the clumsy construction over, and Cherry flailed her arms manically before she picked up one of the little blocks of wood and threw it at the Drakkaren, bouncing it off his head and making him wince. Cherry sulked for a few moments, then she suddenly brightened and hopped to her feet, crunching a car underfoot but obviously not caring. "Hey, that's my gift, dude, open the box, open it open it open it!"

"Only to shut you up." Zerrex rolled his eyes at the way she was dancing around as Cindy laughed and Marina gave her oldest sister a death glare, and then the Drakkaren stared as he popped the box open to find a pair of leather chaps. A pause, and then the reptile picked them up. Make that crotchless leather chaps. How... delightful. "Uh. Thank you. Cherry. Really, this is uh. Well, gr-" The Drakkaren halted suddenly, then he looked back and forth between Cindy and Marina, asking in a hurried voice: "Hey, wait, how's my motorcycle?"

"We had to put her down." Cindy said mildly, and Zerrex looked at her with a horrified expression that caused the angelic female to snort laughter. "Oh, come on, Zer, if your motorcycle survived the Demon War, I think it can survive ten years without you around. We've been keeping your precious bike fine, you can take it out for a spin later."

"Good." Zerrex huffed, rolling his shoulders before he winced as Marina and Mahihko both clung to either side of him. "Uh. Maybe someone could get me the next gift, then?"

Cherry immediately took the chance to bring him the next one, grinning toothily at the two clinging to the Drakkaren and earning glowers from them both as she dropped a square box in front of the reptile, then she paused and picked up the chaps. "Hey, if you won't wear these, I'll wear 'em. Of course, I'll have to make my ass about ten sizes smaller to fit into them, and thin up my powerful thighs of doom, but hey, they should fit great otherwise, girly-legs."

The reptile bit back a response as Marina and Mahihko glared daggers at Cherry, and Cindy only sighed and rested back in her chair, already feeling used to their family's little squabbles again. It didn't take long for Zerrex to open all his gifts - which included sword holders from Mahihko, a sketchbook and opera tickets from Marina, a large chest full of chocolates from Cindy... a deviously-clever gift, seeing as there was little chocolate to be found in Hell, that made all three of the other members of the family glare at her... and a random assortment of other items from other people. Zerrex examined two of these last: a pen made of dragon bone from Selena, and a book on the Demon War from Lily. Well, they're both well-thought-out... "Thanks, all of you, for your gifts. I really don't deserve them. And I'll have to thank the others, too, next time I see them."

"Like they expect it. Probably forgot by now just what they gave you." Cherry said mildly as she leaned against the wall, most of her attention on a full-page spread in a porno mag. Mahihko padded over to her curiously, and Cherry put a hand over his face, saying sourly: "Hey, no way, kiddo. Last time I leant you some of my porn, it came back all sticky, and I don't like no sticky but my sticky on my porn, got that?"

"Cherry, learn to share. Mahihko, treat other people's stuff better than you treat your own." Zerrex said absently, then he yawned and stretched before absently rubbing at his right bicep. He paused after a moment, then glanced down at it as he tapped his fingers meditatively against the tattoo there: a bold black swastika in the middle of a circle, with twisting ivy forming a band around his muscular arm. He flexed his hand slowly, then he shook his head a bit as he saw the ivy writhe, murmuring to himself: "Never going to feel right again, are you?"

A pause as he realized Cindy was looking at him with concern, and he smiled as he shook his head, looking over at where Cherry and Mahihko were now sitting beside each other, ogling the porno mag between themselves. "I think I'm going to take a little walk around the house... would you mind putting on some coffee? I'd do it myself, but I've uh. Kinda forgotten entirely how it works."

"You never really were good at making coffee, anyway." Cindy said meditatively, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as Marina jumped up, apparently intent on following him. Mahihko looked up curiously as well, but the youngest, mortal daughter of Zerrex only shook her head, and the little wolf half-quailed and nodded. Zerrex noted the reaction, wondering if Marina had done something else to him... but then he stepped out of the little living room and into the hallway.

He paused and frowned for a moment, then he turned to Marina, asking her curiously: "Wait. I remember now... that room used to be the communications room, didn't it? I've just... been away from here so long, and I noticed you did some reconstruction..."

Marina shook her head as she took her father's hand, smiling up at him as she pulled him quietly into the next room: from the plush toys, books and the wide variety of trinkets sitting on the shelves that lined one wall, and the guns and hoops hanging from the other, Zerrex felt he could safely guess this was Mahihko's room. "I moved the house around, when I got... restless... but the roof and some of the second floor was repaired by the Irenic Reconstruction Effort." She paused, then smiled again as she gave Zerrex the moment he needed to look around the room, from the rounded, plump bed to the desk covered in scattered drawings, some good, some bad, some childishly in-between. "I think they're very proud of that pun."

"I think you're probably right." The male smiled slightly as he nodded, then he let Marina lead him out of the room and to the next. For the most part they were quiet, as Zerrex took in Cindy's neatness and her love of clothes and medicine, Cherry's disorganized pile of porn and weapons, and Marina's own room, which had her drawings scattered everywhere and a bed covered messily in thick blankets... and a wall that had been crudely but effectively mortared back together from mismatched pieces of other walls, and then left bare instead of painted over. It had a strange artistry about it, with hundreds of splattered white cracks and the different colors of stone here and there... and Marina gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she looked at him softly, not needing words to thank him for the compliment.

Zerrex realized his room wasn't here anymore... and Marina blushed as they entered his old office, gazing up at him as she said softly: "Well, Daddy, I thought that we'd move that upstairs... every floor of this house is so big, and this house seems so large, with the second floor repaired... even with all us here, without you, it seemed... so empty."

She paused in her words, then shook her head slowly as Zerrex released her hand to quietly touch his desk, which was covered in a layer of dirt... and he could still see the coffee rings on the table. "I hope you don't mind that I moved your things... but I know how precious this office is to you... was... to you... so I left it here, didn't touch it, kept people out of it. All your ponderings... any writing you did... anything you left in here, is still here."

"Thank you, Marina. That means a lot to me." Zerrex said quietly, then he paused and smiled a bit as he turned around, testing the creaky floorboards beneath one clawed foot. "So what is IRE doing? How are they funded?"

"They're actually on the level... I was surprised myself, don't worry." Marina said mildly, shaking her head a bit and frowning. Zerrex nodded after a moment, crossing his arms. Wonders never ceased. And to think, Ire was one of the countries who made the most profit off the Demon War with their PMCs... and one of the countries who was investigating using demons as power sources. "So far both Ire and IRE have contributed a lot to the reconstruction effort... we're using bartering more than anything else up here now, but often they aren't asking much in return. IRE pays their workers with lodging and food, and the International Council appointed a male named Travis Balthazar to the position of President. He seems to be doing good things..."

"But you're worried." Zerrex nodded slowly again, rubbing at his muzzle. "Well, I'll have some people ask around in Hell and see what I can find out. Do you know anything about what he was doing before?"

"Professor or something, some high-paid educator at a university. Little political experience, but he is apparently very intelligent." Marina snorted, looking up at her father amusedly. "Funny, since usually they don't elect smart people."

"But this guy wasn't elected, he was chosen by the Council." Zerrex pointed out, and Marina laughed quietly before taking her father's arm and guiding him out, the reptile already starting to worry that there was going to be yet another global or interplane war. Before his anxieties could start piling up too high, however, he felt Marina's mental fingers stroke gently through his thoughts, calming him and brushing away his worries as her voice entered his mind. Stop that now, father... you can worry about these problems later.

The female guided him down the hall to the kitchen, and Zerrex smiled as Cindy offered him a cup of black coffee, the Drakkaren gladly taking the mug and drinking it greedily. He let out a sigh after a moment, licking at his muzzle, and then he stuck his tongue out at Cindy as she stared. "Bite me, I haven't had coffee for millennia. There's a lot of common mortal stuff even I couldn't get my greedy little claws on down in Hell."

Cindy only sighed, taking his empty mug and heading back to the coffeemaker to refill it, and Zerrex sat down at the kitchen table as Marina guided him to a seat before she began to lightly massage his shoulders. "You rest now for a few minutes, Daddy, and then we can continue the tour... you still haven't seen the upstairs, after all. This must seem so tiny to you compared to the Ravenlight Estate, though."

"I hated that place." Zerrex and Cherry said simultaneously, and the two looked at each other before laughing. Cherry was the first to recover, grinning widely as she leaned back in her chair and cocking her head. "Look, okay, the gallery full of pictures of all the people you killed, that was a nice touch. And dude, the training rooms were epic. But otherwise, I'd get so fucking lost wandering around that goddamn place, and I hated how if you wanted to get to the top floor, the best way to do it was to portal so you didn't spend half an hour walking up the damn stairs."

The Drakkaren nodded, resting his muzzle in his hand as Cindy pushed another mug of coffee over to him, and this time the reptile took the moment to grab the cream and the sugar from where it sat in the middle of the table, adding a helping dollop of both to his coffee as he said: "And let's not forget that everything the Naganatine Twins owned was still in the place. The spooky moving pictures of them, their clothes by the roomful, and that catacombs we explored one day beneath the building... it was cool at first until we realized that the walls themselves were moving back and forth so we couldn't get out."

"Yeah, least 'till Sin showed up." Cherry said mildly, and then, calmly but coolly: "Speaking of which, why didn't I see any of your kids at the party deal?"

Zerrex winced at this, then he cleared his throat and awkwardly straightened, but now everyone was looking at him, Mahihko turning around from where he had been washing dishes and Cindy doing her best not to look at Cherry. Cherry, however, was still looking at Zerrex with both embarrassment but a strange kind of eagerness, like a predator about to pounce on its prey, and then she slowly turned her eyes to Marina, who had frozen in place with her hands gripping tightly into Zerrex's shoulders. "Then again, it was someone else who planned the party, saying she had a great idea for a surprise... 'cept I think she might've purposefully had some names erased from the guest list."

"We're Daddy's kids. His real kids, not..." Marina struggled to find the right word, a rare situation for her, as she stepped backwards. She looked back and forth, thoroughly humiliated already as Zerrex realized that it was true: not one of the children he'd had in Hell had been at the party... and he closed his eyes and sighed as Marina snapped: "You just want to cause trouble, as always, you whore! Here we go again with this bullshit, you trying to prove to Daddy that I'm nothing more than a worthless little slut!"

Cherry looked both wounded and insulted at this as she jumped up, pointing a finger accusingly at Marina, but in a surprising feat, she took a long breath, then said in a slow, careful voice: "Marina, I have never felt that about you, and you fuckin' well know it. In any case, we all know Zerrex has to go down to Hell for a little while soon enough, since there's still some unfinished business he has to tend to, since he is still the High King." A pause, and then she grinned and crossed her arms, saying sweetly: "And I did already arrange a farewell party for all his kids then, anyway."

"Oh, my kids." Zerrex groaned, resting his face in his hands, and everyone looked at him, the argument forgotten for the moment as the reptile winced and looked back and forth. "I do have family in Hell, and... what if someone attacks some of them while I'm gone, or something goes wrong and they need me, or-"

"Fuck, you are the only demon lord ever to have anxiety issues like this." Cherry said flatly, and she rapped the Drakkaren hard between the eyes, making him wince but also bringing him back to his senses somewhat. "Dude, even I had to let go of my little boy, so don't you worry about that shit. Besides, look here." Cherry jumped out of her chair and picked Mahihko up under the armpits, thrusting him towards Zerrex over the table and causing the tiny wolf to yelp as he curled up into a ball, tail between his legs. "You got this little boytoy for now until we can get you a better dolly that doesn't stink up the bed so much."

Mahihko whined loudly at this and flailed his arms, and then he accidentally kicked Zerrex's coffee off the table and into the Drakkaren's lap. Zerrex yelped and leapt up, patting at his wet crotch as Marina tried to tackle Cherry from across the table, and the wolf landed on her back as she sent napkins, the sugar bowl, and the box of cream flying. Cindy sighed as she watched the chaos for a few moments, then she decided it might be better to step in, working to pry Cherry off Marina, whom she had in a headlock, while Zerrex tried to pull Mahihko off where the wolf was clinging to his head and whining in terror. What a family we are...

Zerrex lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. His bedroom had been nicely redone by Marina, and the second floor now comprised three rooms, connected to the bottom floor by a ladder, and with a door at the end of a short, unfinished hallway leading out onto the roof. Evening had faded rapidly into late night, and Marina was snoozing quietly away in her room downstairs, and he suspected Mahihko was, too, even if demons and angels alike didn't really need to sleep other than when wounded and during the strange periods of hibernation that sometimes crept over them.

The Drakkaren stretched slowly, listening to the crack of his bones, and then he let his hands rest on his bare chest as he wondered quietly what the others were up to. Cindy was cleaning up the place, he suspected, and Cherry was... probably wandering around somewhere, getting into trouble... but he was glad to be alone for the moment, listening to the sounds of the wind outside and enjoying the feel of the fluffy blanket under his body. He never really got to spend time by himself in Hell... he was almost always with one of his wives or concubines or worse, politicians... and pleasant as his family was, he liked to have little periods here and there where he could just... stare at the ceiling, close his eyes, and let his mind wander.

He was glad for a hundred reasons to be up here on the mortal plane, wonderful as Hell could be: he could fulfill every fantasy of his that he wished down there on a whim, after all, while up here he had to behave like a normal mortal and live not in a palace but a dusty home in a ruined city. There was just something inherently right about this place, though, a feeling that made him feel like he fit in best here, being as normal as he could... even if to him normal meant regularly sleeping with his own children.

Zerrex snorted in amusement at this, and then he glanced up curiously as the door opened, and Cherry stepped into the room. They smiled at each other in the faint starlight that came in through the window, and then she said quietly: "I missed you, Boss. I'm sorry I've already been such a fuckup... but... you know. Just the damn glee of havin' you up here again..."

"Come here." Zerrex motioned to her, and Cherry walked over to him, and the two kissed slowly, softly, as she leaned down. Their mouths worked together, and then her hands stroked over his bare chest... and within minutes, they were both naked, and Cherry was beneath him, moaning in pleasure as he took her not savagely or viciously, but made love to her, slowly, sweetly, blissfully.

They lay in the aftermath a few minutes later, Cherry's strong form curled up against him, her head on his chest as she clung to him, whispering secret words to each other... and then Cherry smiled softly as she trailed her fingers along the Drakkaren's chest, murmuring: "I remember the night we did this and... our son was conceived. The kid I never thought I'd have... the son you never thought you'd have with me. Priest. We named him Priest... the name we chose after you said I couldn't name him Bubblegum."

Zerrex laughed quietly at this, squeezing Cherry gently around the shoulders, and the female's body underwent a strange change: she became taller and lither, losing much of her musculature to become toned but effeminate, her bare breasts swelling even larger as her toned, flat stomach pressed quietly down against Zerrex's bare abdominals and waist, and antler-like horns pushed from her head, her scales turning a soft crimson as she murmured: "You loved me, even with the way my body had changed in Hell into this freakish ugly thing..." She made a face at herself, then she smiled when Zerrex took her head between her hands to gaze up at her softly. "Don't even say it."

"But I want to. You're beautiful, Cherry, in any body you're stuck in..." The reptile laughed softly, then a tingle went through his hands as her form shifted slowly back to the body she'd had when still mortal, her muscles bulging back out, her breasts shrinking a bit in size. "Of course, that's not to say you weren't a bit ugly when you got pregnant. Not 'cause of your belly, but because you kept eating everything in sight... very messily."

"Hey, the kid was huge, he needed lots of shit to live off of." Cherry said defensively, skipping past the fact most demons ate only for pleasure. "Besides, you were no damn help at all."

"Not my fault you wouldn't let me help." Zerrex retorted, and the two wrestled playfully for a moment before Cherry snuggled firmly up against him, and the reptile's eyes slipped closed as they lay together in comfortable silence. Normally, by this time, Cherry would be pestering him for another round of sex... but it seemed that they were both happy as it was, with just being together for the moment... and it made him glad.

After a few minutes, Cherry nuzzled the lizard's neck gently, then she asked curiously: "So what the hell are you going to do up here in the mortal realm now, huh, Boss? It ain't like you won't be detected by the Scanners at some point, which is really kinda awkward 'cause like. They lecture you and shit, and then they write you a ticket, and you gotta go declare yourself and stuff." Cherry paused. "Not that I know this for personal experience, 'cause if I did, I definitely would have paid my ticket and uh. Gone to the registry. But like. You're a scary demon. I like to think I'm a scary demon, but dude, in terms of power, you're the crazy scary one."

"Thanks, Cherry." Zerrex said drolly, and he rolled his eyes and sighed, shaking his head slowly. "I forgot they had technology to detect supernatural beings now... but I'll deal with them when the time comes for it. For now, I just want to experience this whole normal life thing everyone's always going on about, test it out for myself... and I really am sick of being in charge of everything in Hell." The Drakkaren shook his head morbidly, and Cherry made a face at him. "What? It really isn't any damn fun."

"And you're still worried for some stupid reason that you're going to turn out like Narrius. Zerrex, Boss, you ain't him, just like I ain't my mother." Cherry said firmly, but a blush rose in her cheeks nonetheless, and the Drakkaren admired how hard it must have been for her to say. "But hey, whatever floats your boat. I'm your bitch more than a wife, after all, and that's the way I damn well like it. I don't want to be like Selena, after all, dragging you around and all that shit. Although, you know, it is pretty funny to watch."

Zerrex mumbled something under his breath, and Cherry grinned widely before yelping as the reptile shoved her off the bed and pulled the blanket up over his body. After a moment, Cherry clambered back into the bed with him, and she slid under the blanket and pressed up against her father, lover, and master's back, wrapping her arms around him and whispering quietly: "I'm glad you're home."

The rest of the night was uneventful: Zerrex didn't get much sleep, but the comfort of having some quiet intimacy with Cherry was wonderful, and when they were joined later by Cindy, he certainly didn't mind being sandwiched between his two daughters. As light began to shine through the window, Cindy had finally gotten up, and Zerrex had shoved a snoring Cherry off the bed to startle her awake so he could climb out himself... but before he could take more than a step over her, Cherry reached a hand up and grabbed the end of his dangling shaft, jerking firmly down on it to cause Zerrex's eyes to bulge with what was most definitely pain as he grabbed his crotch and fell slowly forwards.

Cherry cackled and kicked him in the rear, and then she scampered out of the room as the Drakkaren scrambled to his feet, glaring after her and then sighing. She might not have a problem with being naked everywhere, but I prefer pants myself... A pause, and then a bit of a grin. I was never treated this way in Hell. Kind of a relief, really, to be back in this mess.

A few minutes later, Zerrex walked into the kitchen to find Mahihko already awake and working with Cindy, dressed in a cute little checkered kilt and wearing a pink shirt that was too big for him. Cindy was in her plain uniform herself, and she glanced over her shoulder at Zerrex with a smile as she made pancakes. "Hey, Daddy. Would you mind walking me to work today? I have a job at the general hospital, working in the new biogenetics wing. We're analyzing the DNA patterns of demons to isolate genes responsible for large-scale regeneration, and we plan to synthesize technology capable of rebuilding organics on a massive level by combining this gene with the DNA of unevolved lizards to create a-"

"Hey, Zerrex, let's go to the hardware store and buy shit so we can break that shit with other shit!" Cherry interrupted cheerfully, and Zerrex grinned stupidly before he looked lamely at Cindy, rubbing the back of his head. She gave him an exasperated look, but looked embarrassed nonetheless as Cherry said mildly: "Books tends to ramble on about her work these days. I don't understand a single fucking word she says, but whatever. Helping people seems to be what gets her tits hard, so I ain't gonna say nothin' bad about that."

"Cherry's gotten more vulgar than ever, as you can see. You should have let her stay in Hell longer than for weeks at a time, and that one year where she gave birth to Priest. Then again, when she came back after that, all she would do was talk about him and show off her baby book and his little onesie and-" Cindy was interrupted by a loud, incoherent yell from Cherry, who flapped her arms wildly, her eyes bulging as she looked horrified. This only made the angelic female grin wider, however, as Zerrex stared across at Cherry as she was steadily emasculated by her sister. "Oh, Daddy, you should have just seen how motherly and loving she was-"

"I am going to fill your bed with peanut butter." Cherry threatened, shaking a fist, and Mahihko giggled behind a hand before he went back to mixing more batter to make more pancakes with, then she looked huffily over as Marina walked into the room, yawning tiredly. "Bebop, tell your mother she's a bitch."

"Cindy, don't be a bitch." Marina said tiredly, then she sat herself down in Zerrex's lap and wrapped her arms around him, still in the same outfit from yesterday. She snuggled up against his body, and Zerrex held her close as she murmured softly: "I want to work on something for you, Daddy, so why don't you go out today with my sisters?"

This earned a look of surprise from Cindy and Cherry, who were far more used to Marina exploiting every chance she could to force Zerrex to spend time with her instead of the opposite, and even the reptile looked surprised, although Marina smiled when she gazed up at him tenderly. "It's a very special surprise, Daddy... it's something I've been working on for a long time, and I don't want to spoil the surprise yet. Don't worry, I plan to have a lot of days in the future that we can spend alone together... but just not yet."

"Okay, Marina..." Zerrex nodded after a moment, and then he smiled at Cindy as she served him a plate of pancakes. Cherry looked hungrily over at the stove, and then she pouted when Mahihko walked over and gave her a plate with only two small pancakes on it, compared to the four large ones Zerrex was already spreading butter all over.

She grumbled something, and then Mahihko gave her a hurt look, his eyes round as plates as he picked up the top pancake to show her the one on the bottom, which had several odd juts and spikes on it. "But... I shaped this one just like your head, with the leftover!"

Cherry stared stupidly down at the pancake, and then she patted Mahihko on the head, her features softening a bit. "Yeah, I see the resemblance just fine, little guy. Thank you very much, Mahihko."

The wolf positively beamed at her, then he bounced back to the kitchen counter beside Cindy. Cherry awkwardly glanced over to make sure he wasn't looking, and then she reached across the table to try and swipe one of Zerrex's pancakes, but the Drakkaren slapped her hand easily away with his knife, looking at her distastefully. Cherry glared back, then she mumbled and picked up her own pancakes in either hand before stuffing both into her muzzle, chewing a few times, and swallowing. Then she grinned widely as Zerrex stared in horror, bits of pancake still stuck in her teeth and a few crumbs falling out of her muzzle before she yelped as Cindy slapped the back of her head with a spatula.

Breakfast didn't last too long: Zerrex and Marina both ate a plate of pancakes, and Mahihko giggled and more played with his food than anything else, since he'd spent most of his time making smaller pancakes shaped like different things. Cindy, meanwhile, skipped breakfast, and Cherry gobbled up whatever Mahihko was too slow in eating. Afterwards, Zerrex went up to his room to check his drawers... but most of his clothes had become tattered or moldy, and the Drakkaren was tempted to burn the entire dresser right there and then.

He came back down wearing the same shirt as yesterday and carrying his metal cane, and he found Cindy at the door, waiting for him with an amused expression on her face and both his hat and leather jacket in her hands. She herself was obviously already prepared, with her uniform clean and her spiked bracelets and collar in place, and now a small backpack cinched tight against her back and a holster holding a handgun in a belt at her side. She also had an ID badge pinned just above her right breast, and Zerrex peered at this as he put on his jacket and she pushed his hat onto his head, asking curiously: "So you're not with the military anymore?"

"Not after what happened during the Demon War... apparently there were entire units of the military reclassified as 'Government-Operated PMCs,' just so they could loot without worrying about any political backlash." Cindy replied softly, shaking her head slowly, and then Zerrex grumbled as she adjusted his jacket and hat on him. "It wouldn't kill you to try and look a little bit neat, you know."

"Hey, I'm your father, you're not my mother." Zerrex said sourly, but Cindy only rolled her eyes before looping one of her arms with his and pulling him out onto the street. Before she could close the door, however, Cherry scrambled into view and dashed outside past them, skidding to a stop near the road and almost bowling over a couple of people out for a walk. She grinned stupidly at them as they glared at her, and the reptile asked mildly: "Joining us, I take it?"

"Dude, I was totally serious about the hardware store thing." Cherry replied amiably, then she yawned and stretched, rubbing absently at the tight black top she had on. "Cindy, I think this didn't shrink enough in the wash. You still can't make out the kind of piercings I have in my tits, it just looks like my nipples are hard."

Cindy only rolled her eyes and led Zerrex out onto the street, and the reptile looked curiously back and forth as he realized most of the cars he'd seen had either been stripped down or were just junkheaps on the side of the road. More questions formed in his mind as he realized lots of people were walking along the streets instead of the sidewalks, but before he could ask anything, Cherry continued with her ramble in a serious voice: "You know, some species of lizard, they don't got no nipples. Hell, they still lay eggs. We guys are lucky, we're like... more mammal despite our scaly outsides, even though we still got some reptile characteristics... I mean, seriously, though, like, we've all evolved over countless years into similar life forms, and I get that, but what I don't get is why lots of species still kept some of their weird little characteristics, like... not having nipples, for instance."

"Do you ever shut up?" Cindy asked over her shoulder, and Cherry only shrugged with a peaceful look. The angelic female rolled her eyes, and then she finally responded despite herself: "Evolution is a quirky issue. A lot of the characteristics you're talking about work to the betterment of the species... mammaries..." A flat look at Cherry's dumb expression. "Boobies... help a mother feed her baby. But as we've developed technologically, we no longer really need them, because we can make formula or other products that are synthetic but will still benefit a child, even if we haven't developed them to a point where they'll do as good as a mother's milk will. If say, people stopped breastfeeding altogether, though, then we'd no longer have a use for them, and breasts could vanish completely."

Cherry looked horrified at this, covering her enormous bust immediately. "No freaking way! Boobs give way too much to the world to be allowed to go extinct!"

"I'm sure plenty of people agree with you." Cindy replied acridly, and Zerrex coughed as he looked awkwardly skywards, before he blinked and stared at the sky as they walked along, Cherry and Cindy continuing their weird dialogue. The beauty of the sky really had caught him now, however, and he barely noticed their banter as he stared at the blue speckled with fluffy white clouds, and felt, really felt the sunshine on his scales ,warming his body even through the leather coat... and he let out a sigh of relaxation as Cindy looked over at her father with surprise.

Cherry only shook her head slowly, however, looking quietly entertained as she said softly: "Leave him be for a minute or two, Books. Because there is one thing that I do gotta say for this world... and it's that Hell has no sky. And when you get back up here after spendin' so long way down south where it's hot-hot-hot, and you look up at that big beautiful blue yonder... dude, you feel free."

Cindy nodded slowly after a moment, and they walked along in quiet, surrounded by the chatter of people. When Zerrex shook himself out of his stupor, he found himself looking back and forth in surprise at just how many people, mortal and demon alike, had flooded the streets... It's like I remember Hez'Ranna... I can see a few vehicles here and there, but they look like worn-out trucks for the most part with heavy loads, and everywhere there's people... but they're of all shapes and sizes, and they all seem to be actually getting along...

"It really is quite something... I never thought I'd see this myself." Cindy said softly, and Cherry grunted in agreement behind them. "Supernatural beings might be prohibited from entering the mortal plane by international law, but I think most people could care less. Here in Valise, the fact that my last name is Narrius draws more suspicion than the fact that I'm an angel..."

"Yeah, well, that's 'cause you're an angel, not a demon like me or the Boss. Dudes still don't trust us, while you're all... legendarily goody-two-shoes and shit. We demons are legendarily badasses." The muscular female replied, and Zerrex rolled his eyes. He could just imagine what would happen if they found out he was both from the Narrius family and a demon... and it was bad enough people knew that Ifret Narrius had been the one to lead Hez'Ranna in the Great War against the entire world and almost won. If they found out half the other things he'd done after his death, it would lead to trouble on a whole new scale... what a pain in the ass this is all becoming. "Anyway, like... I'm getting tired. Okay, I'm not, I'm just getting bored. Where's your damn hospital?"

The other female ignored Cherry for the time being as she looked at Zerrex, continuing easily: "People seem to get along better these days, though, whatever else people might think of each other. I don't know if it's because there's no such thing as a plea bargain anymore at the prisons, or if it's because pissing off a minotaur will get ninety percent of mortals turned into a cream pastry... but either way, whatever it is, it seems to be working.

"And ever since they've been upgrading the city generators to run off power cells instead of fossil fuels, the city's really started to blossom, even if it looks like crap." Cindy added, smiling slightly as she pressed herself tighter to Zerrex's side. "The hospital has its own power system, too, so we don't have to worry about the lines going down and the advanced equipment we've moved in frying our emergency batteries. In fact, with how easy it is to get power cells or chemical fuel these days, especially out of the wrecks of old vehicles, lots of houses run off the grid on their own power sources, even if they can't run a lot of appliances off one generator."

"Oh, and don't forget the rumors about some good people of Ire using demonic crystals." Cherry added darkly, and Cindy frowned a bit at this, but she nodded slowly nonetheless after a moment, and Cherry continued as Zerrex frowned a bit over his shoulder at her. "See, apparently the story about how mages used to use crystallized demon essence to cast spells got out into the mortal world again somehow, and so some people have been buying and smuggling crystallized demon essence to try and sell on the black market. A lot of people have been using these crystals in place of power cells somehow... must be through converters or some shit... to power like, mansions the size of fuckin' hotels. But the unnerving part is that apparently some mad scientists are intent on trying to replicate the old, lost methods of turning us supernatural beings into crystal... you know, while we're still alive."

"See, this is why I like being on the mortal realm. When you're ruler of all Hell, you spend most of your time dealing with tariffs and whiny aristocrats, especially with all the reforms we started making to the system." Zerrex grumbled, adjusting his hat and shaking his head slowly. "But I guess if news like this hasn't trickled down to Hell yet, it must still mostly be rumor... either that, or no one's been able to come back alive from trying to verify whether it's true or not."

"You guys are so morbid." Cindy said dryly, and she gave her father a look as he grunted. "Well, it's true. I get that neither of you has that high an opinion of people, but I'm pretty sure most people aren't willing, ready, or able to not only trap a supernatural being, but then kill it and crystallize it."

Cherry grinned as she walked up on Cindy's other side, slapping her rear firmly to make her jump before she said in a voice that was oddly kind: "And I believe you, girl, but here's the thing. Most people I hate just 'cause they suck... but the people who got the brains and brawn to do that are the ones that really scare the shit out of me, and that's why I'm willing to believe these rumors if just so I can make sure myself they ain't true."

Cindy looked at the muscular female measuringly for a few moments, and then she sighed and nodded a bit as they turned at an intersection down a smaller side road, and Zerrex frowned a bit as they passed what looked like a crude recruiting station of some sort, little more than a few crates and a couple of large homemade signs. But not for the military... politics? "I thought you said that the new leader of Ire had been appointed, not elected."

Both females glanced at the station on the other side of the room curiously, and then the angelic, younger female smiled ruefully and said dryly: "The irony is that despite having a leader appointed for us, freedom of speech is at an all-time high, and lots of political parties that never used to get any attention are all of a sudden very popular with people. District leaders are still elected as usual, to take part in both local and federal councils."

"I guess that must mean the Great Senate is pretty damn noisy." Zerrex said mildly, as his eyes roved down the street to spot another booth less than a block away. The angelic female nodded as she followed his gaze, and for a few moments they walked in quiet, as Zerrex processed all these new things he was learning about his old home.

Finally, he looked up, gazing thoughtfully at a large building in the distance as they approached an open steel gate guarded by two soldiers, and Cindy turned to smile and kiss her father's cheek gently, resting her hands against his shoulders as she said softly: "This is where we part ways for now, Daddy... this is the rear entrance to the hospital, employees and ambulances only. Go, enjoy yourself with Cherry... from what I hear, it's been a long time since you've had the chance to do something stupid, with all the people you hang around down in Hell all day with."

Zerrex smiled and kissed her forehead gently in return, and they exchanged a quick hug as he said softly: "Thanks Cindy. Take care today and I'll see you when you get home." They drew apart, and he watched as she turned away and walked through the gates, nodding to the guards, before wincing as Cherry danced in front of him with a wide grin on her face. "So where's the hardware store, then?"

Cherry glanced back and forth owlishly, then she grabbed Zerrex's hand and yanked him along down the road, the reptile stumbling and wincing as he was dragged along for a moment before he managed to fall into pace with her, the demoness saying cheerfully: "Well, let's see... it ain't anywhere near the porno shop, which kinda sucks, 'cause you know how I like my porn and one-stop shoppin', but the new place they set up in town is goddamn huge, like... a fuckin' warehouse. 'Course, the only warehouses left in town are somewhere near the warehouse district... that's about a twenty minute walk from here, I guess, but I think it's worth every damn step. And you like to walk, ain't that right, Boss?"

"With every day that passes, your ability to use proper grammar vanishes more and more." Zerrex said dryly, and Cherry huffed and grumbled about something before she yelped as Zerrex smacked her lightly in the back of the head with his cane, wincing at the strange tingle the light tap left as she let go of the Drakkaren to rub the back of her head. "So tell me more about this city."

Cherry sighed, looking grouchily at the Drakkaren, but almost from the moment they fell into pace again she began to talk like an overexcited child, pointing out landmarks here and there. At first, she rambled on about the new strip joints, bars run by demons, and the brothels that had been established in the city - they had legalized and begun regulation of prostitution once again throughout Ire, and it was a very profitable business even with the world in the state it was - but soon after she started talking more seriously about not only Valise, but Ire in general.

Valise itself, even a decade after the Demon War, was still in a constant state of repair, which Zerrex saw for himself here and there when they stepped onto a crowded street in the downtown district, from the menagerie of workers attempting to clear rubble and fix up buildings of all sizes. They were like ants, people in red and orange vests covering most of a block as they nailed boards into place and mortared bricks, and Cherry grumbled that they had spent the last month here in the business district. "But money still talks, I guess. At least, when you have enough of it and a few sweet luxuries to throw in, like double-ruffle toilet paper. Dude, am I ever glad we demons don't gotta run to the crapper anymore."

The hermaphroditic female had an entire rant on the construction industry, which Zerrex just listened calmly to as he glanced around, moving to the sidewalks with most of the crowd due to the high volume of vehicular traffic passing back and forth along the street. It was easily the most profitable business these days, especially due to all the corruption and how glad the higher-ups were glad to take payoffs in both trade and good old cash to have their workers spend weeks at a time on businesses or mansions, not only doing repairs, but also touch-up work and any other sort of menial labor that needed to be done. Zerrex had noticed that most houses did look ugly, but they were still obviously serviceable: he guessed that if people wanted a clean or painted house these days, they'd have to do it all themselves.

The city's construction crews were also directed first towards not just the highest-paying customer, but the most powerful people in town, so that the politicians who had been elected could stay elected, with their help funding the campaigns, of course. It wasn't exactly anything new, but the level of power implicit in it was disgusting: if a politician sent a construction crew to work on a company's fence for a few days, it was almost on the same greasy payoff level as a law being passed that allowed the company to dump sludge in a children's playground, but with far fewer nasty side effects.

Of course, on the other hand, Cherry was able to note three different politicians who had already been ousted from office and replaced by people from much-smaller parties. What the political maneuverers failed to realize was that a lot of the dumb people who went along with whatever seemed easiest had been killed off during the two terrible wars that had ravaged the world, and now the people who were left behind were for the most part, scarred, angry, and ready to stand up for themselves. Even the clone soldiers that had been left over from the Great War and who had survived the Demon War were no longer stupid or easily-manipulated, at least for the most part: they had been given plenty of years to grow used to the classic Ire politician's game and to see through to their selfish way of thought.

The most important information Cherry could give him, however, was the location of a known hideout for lost demons, and the names of several important people throughout Ire who could be linked to either the Aztec Corporation or the fallen Council of the Republic that had once ruled Ire from a hidden bunker. Both of these groups had been both extremely dangerous and involved in the destruction of not only Ire, but much of the world, and directly involved with not only demons and angels intent on universal dominion, but also the PMCs that had killed ally and enemy alike in a never-ending quest for profit.

As they walked along, the demoness finally clearing her throat and quieting as she awkwardly waited for Zerrex to say something, the Drakkaren wondered what this all meant and what he should do. He thought about all his years in Hell, how they'd finally managed to start changing the system from one of unending punishment to passing on teachings and most importantly, understanding, from one person to the next. He thought about how the war games in Hell had finally stopped, how they'd started dividing up power more evenly between everyone, how he'd done his best to rule so that everyone would receive the same fair treatment, all while knowing he'd fail at it no matter his best attempts.

It was almost a shock to come to the mortal world and find it in such turmoil and disrepair, even after ten long years... and with all these problems already cropping up, the reptile wondered if he should do something about it himself with his family, like old times, or if he was supposed to use the terrible power he still had to order other demons to do it for him. The reptile mumbled under his breath, gripping his cane tightly in one hand before he blinked and looked up at Cherry as she slapped him on the shoulder, and the reptile smiled slightly at her, feeling a strange tiredness settling into his mind. After all these years... back in the same old grind I tried to escape... "Sorry, just... got lost in my own head."

"It's a big place in there, I hear." Cherry responded with a strange degree of softness, and then she clapped her hands together and straightened before leaning against Zerrex and throwing an arm around his shoulders, grinning as she winked and gestured with the other hand towards the massive building ahead of them. "But no worries now, Boss, 'cause we're here and it's time to shop! Come on, let's take your mind off shit and take a look around!"

Zerrex winced as Cherry half-pulled him towards the doors of the enormous but plain-looking building, and he gave an awkward little wave to an angry-looking squirrel bundled up in a fur coat and hat, who had her son's ears covered. Cherry caught the look, and she threw her head back and cackled before shoving her way through the heavy glass doors and into the store, and immediately both she and Zerrex stared around, both looking like oversized children as their hands found each other and fingers laced together, the two walking away from the expansive entrance to stare at the shelves upon shelves of tools, trinkets, wood, and metal.

They looked at each other, then down at their hands, and both of them coughed and quickly let go, turning away before Cherry giggled stupidly and shot off to the right, and Zerrex peered back and forth before he pranced off to the left, the two vanishing into aisles and earning disgruntled looks from various patrons. A security guard standing near the row of registers sighed and muttered something into his radio about a moving security hazard, and the other guards stationed around the store started their patrols early, one of them nervously fingering his low-grade taser. They had all had problems with Cherry at one time or another, even if she was more a nuisance than anything else, and they were all also well-aware attempting to eject her from the store was suicidal, but they still all had jobs to do.

Zerrex, meanwhile, had found where they kept their gardening tools and was currently examining some sort of weed puller, drawn more by the metal spikes than anything else. He mused as he navigated the shelves easily, walking around customers and attendants alike and finding the spaces in the maze of lightweight metal shelves easily enough, admiring how they'd managed to do so much with such low-cost equipment. The store really was just a giant empty warehouse they had filled with low-budget shelves, and there were both new and used items on display, some of them at bargain-basement prices the reptile still couldn't afford. He only hoped that Cherry had some money on her and she wasn't planning to try and steal whatever she found, as the reptile picked up a spade with a bladed tip and examined it curiously in one hand. The last thing I need is for the cops to show up, since they'll likely have some sort of scanning equipment with them... and two demons trying to run off with a bunch of tools isn't going to look good... ugh, Cherry's a tool.

"I'm going to tell her that when I next see her." Zerrex mumbled to himself, then he glanced to the side to see one of the attendants looking at him with a frown, and he coughed and put the spade back before hurrying away and into the next aisle, where he found several large wheels with different sizes of chain wrapped around this, and a pair of metal cutters nearby, chained to a pole that was cemented into the ground. He paused, then peered at the sign, reading: "'Please wait for attendant.' Yeah, right. I've used swords bigger than those." A pause, and then the reptile rubbed his chin, adding meditatively: "Actually, those clippers are pretty small, so... I guess even a dagger would be bigger... how big does a sword need to be to be a sword, again?"

The reptile looked back and forth, realized he was alone, and then he let out a sigh both of relief and exasperation. He had gotten too used to someone always being around him... and the Drakkaren grumbled under his breath, then he turned around to examine the shelf behind him, which was filled with boxes of nails and screws. The reptile stepped forwards to pick one of the larger boxes up, shaking it to listen to the sound of the nails inside, then he glanced down at the box to check the sizes before some instinctive part of him howled a warning as he heard a terrible creaking noise.

The reptile looked stupidly up just in time to see several television-sized steel boxes spill off the top of the shelves towards him, and the Drakkaren leapt out of the way, wincing before cursing as the metal shelves bent back and forth, like they were alive and agonized. A moment later, the shelves snapped and collapsed forwards, and Zerrex cursed as he covered his head, boxes of nails, screws, and heavy boards of metal collapsing on top of the lizard.

A bit of dust rose up as people yelled and screamed, staring at the pile of rubble... and then Zerrex shoved one of his arms out of it before he stood up, the broken shelving and boxes of nails shifting and spilling around him. He cursed under his breath as he brushed himself off, picking a few stray nails out of his jacket, then he took his crushed hat off his head and stared at it, before looking up and shouting: "Hey, whatever the hell you are, you ripped my favorite hat!"

There was no reply... and Zerrex looked back and forth with a curse, seeing people here and there before he spotted a figure in a brown robe stride quickly past the aisle. The reptile made a face, then he picked up his cane and tossed his ruined hat away as he strode through the hole in the shelves made by the section collapsing on top of him, ignoring questions from people and the security guard who ran over towards him, huffing and puffing. Great. So the assassination attempts have already started.

The moment the reptile stepped into the next row, a sawblade whizzed past his face... and Zerrex winced before turning towards the figure to see it holding five more of the large, serrated discs in one strangely-glinting hand. Zerrex dropped his cane and held up his hands, a dumb grin on his face, and then the figure rasped: "Surrender yourself, or be destroyed."

"Why is it always the same taglines with you guys? Come on, I'm in no mood to play catch today... why don't you just fork over the money so I can buy a new hat, and then we can both be on our way and we'll just think of this as a practical joke?" Zerrex asked mildly, but he still felt a thrum inside his body, knowing that people were watching from all sides and already beginning to whisper. He knew that in all likelihood, he was going to end up getting hurt unless he put some of his abilities to use... but using anything flashy like the strange powers he had over energy could cause the people watching to panic. They've learned to associate magic and anything like it with terror... even though magic can't be used in the mortal plane, unless there's a lot of corruption in the air or someone's using crystal...

The figure didn't answer, instead only snarling before it threw one sawblade after another at the Drakkaren, and while the reptile was relieved at the lack of whiny banter, on the other hand it almost caught him unprepared. Immediately, he rose his right arm, and winced as the first sawblade sank into it, ripping through his leather jacket, his scale beneath... and halting with a chink as it hit not flesh, but something else far harder.

"One..." The reptile muttered, then he grinned and continued as he twisted his arm back and forth, the sawblades whizzing into it and then sticking as they got caught in the not-flesh of the reptile's right arm. "Two, three, four..."

The reptile twisted as the last sawblade shot towards him, and then his eyes widened as the fifth blade sank into his left arm instead of the right, and he yelped in pain, blood splattering through the ragged cut through his leather jacket as he bent over his arm and grasped the sawblade with his right hand, shouting: "Son of a bitch, wrong arm! Damn, that hurts!" A pause, and then Zerrex suddenly straightened, his emerald eyes cold as he tore the sawblade out of his arm and flung it at the demon, and the other five blades shot forwards out of the limb as well as the not-flesh beneath his scale twisted like gears, launching the sawblades back at the creature.

It stumbled on the hem of its own robe as it tried to escape, and then the five blades slammed into its gut and knocked it flying backwards, crashing into the floor and skidding along the plain cement until it hit the wall. Then it laid still, and Zerrex rubbed slowly at the already-healing wound in his left arm, another crowd of people already forming around the figure laying hopefully dead on the floor. But when is it ever that easy...

The Drakkaren walked slowly in front of the robed being, then he knelt and carefully pushed the hood back, causing the artificial darkness that covered its face and hands to vanish. The figure looked like a grey wolf of some sort, a handsome male with a single white earring that looked almost like a button, and Zerrex frowned as he reached up and pulled this loose. The figure didn't stir, and the reptile wondered for a moment if it was a mortal... before the wolf reached suddenly up and grabbed Zerrex's wrist in an icy, vise-like grip, his eyes snapping open and completely white as he hissed: "We cannot be stopped, not even by you! Even if you kill me, others will come, and we shall prevail!"

Zerrex cursed, then he winced backwards as the wolf's maw opened and he vomited a terrible black smoke that shot into the air and twisted back and forth. The reptile cursed as he looked up, his emerald eyes locking onto a semitransparent figure hiding in the smog and then the smoke twisted one way as the figure shot down through the ground, and the reptile shook his head slowly as the wolf's body jittered before dying. Possessed... and by someone who's a professional at the whole thing. Using the coating like that to draw attention one way while the actual spirit vanishes into the ground... nice trick.

He sighed, then reached a hand out and closed the wolf's eyes, then he looked down at the earring he'd taken off the body. He didn't recognize the sigil on it... and a moment later, Cherry skidded to a halt near him, asking urgently: "Boss, you alright? What the fuck happened?"

"I was attacked by this guy... he's wearing one of those special robes, but he was actually possessed." Zerrex paused, then flicked the earring over to Cherry, and she caught it easily in one hand without a glance at it. "Do you recognize the symbol on that thing? It seemed... I dunno... out of place. Important."

Cherry looked down at it, then she frowned and opened her mouth before closing it slowly after a moment. "Fuck. Yeah, yeah, I've seen this somewhere before, but I need to think on it..." She tucked the earring away in her pocket, then she winced as the rest of the security staff appeared, one of them already on a cell phone and likely calling the police. "Boss, uh... I think we should get out of here, ninja-style."

Zerrex sighed as he stood up, looking around at the crowd that was listening to their every word... and then he frowned as he caught sight of a youth through the smoke wearing a heavy trenchcoat and a black skull cap holding his cane and examining it, like he was looking for something. The reptile nodded with a grunt, and then Cherry grinned widely before pulling a capsule out of a pouch on her rear, calling cheerfully: "So long, suckers!"

She threw it down at the ground, and it exploded in a blast of acrid black smoke that quickly filled the entire building, sending people into fits of coughing and gagging as fire alarms went off. The two Drakkaren quickly made their way through the smoke, Cherry following Zerrex as she forced her eyes to stay open and recognizing the profile of her father and master even through the smog, and she wondered for a moment what he was doing before she heard the reptile snatch something away and a voice shout: "I know what you are!"

Zerrex didn't reply to the youth as he flailed at him through the smoke, then he ran to the side on instinct, squinting through the smog as he concentrated at the same time, more sensing than seeing living people as he felt out the environment around himself with a sense that seemed nearly preternatural. In less than a minute, the two made themselves part of a crowd at the entrance and they escaped through the open doors, before Cherry shot to the side and the lizard quickly followed, rubbing at one eye with the back of his wrist as he winced. The two slipped around the side of the building, and Cherry held a finger up to her muzzle as they exchanged a glance, and from that single look Zerrex knew there must be Scanners in the area.

The female snuck silently over to a ladder, and the reptile followed her carefully, looking back and forth nervously. The Scanners were often not just mortals, but also angels and demons who were more than willing to help find their own kind among the huddled masses and turn them over to the proper authorities. After all, in return they were not only permitted to stay on the mortal plane, but they were also paid handsomely and given all the mortal luxuries they could ask for. Greed, after all, existed on all the planes... And many people never change even after they die...

Cherry was already kneeling at the edge of the building as Zerrex pulled himself up, and he quickly joined her, making a face as he saw no less than four blue-armored vehicles pull up. They were large trucks, with huge rectangular backs, and even their tires were protected from being shot by special domed metal housings... and the front of each vehicle was equipped with a large, deadly spiked shovel, used both for clearing debris and knocking holes in even the rowdiest of crowds. "They look like they're based on Death Hearses..."

"Good call." Cherry muttered and nodded, making a face as several police cars showed up, and then a black limousine pulled in, a little girl in a white dress getting out of the back. "And here we go. That little chick there is a psychic. Rumor is it's either a demon possessing a dead girl's body, or that the girl is actually fifty years old, but she's got some genetic problem that doesn't let her body age."

Zerrex nodded slowly, making a face as he watched soldiers in heavy blue combat armor pile out of the trucks, many of them carrying strange-looking pieces of equipment and attaching small, square devices onto their guns; likely scanning devices used to read a person's energy signature, or DNA structure if a blood sample was obtained. Either way, Hell's corruption and Heaven's purity left a mark on both, making it easy to tell who was mortal and who wasn't. "I'm going to punch whoever developed this technology in the face one day. But is that why there's no psychic repressors set up anywhere?"

Cherry nodded, then the two stared as the little girl walked over to the nearest soldier, tugged on his pants, and pointed right up at them, and immediately the soldier gave a loud shout and at least two dozen guns were aimed at them. Two more soldiers carrying grenade launchers dropped to one knee, and each fired a round high into the air as all kinds of things were shouted at the two, and the two reptiles threw themselves out of the way as the grenades exploded and rained down a viscous tar that splattered over the rooftop.

Zerrex made a face as some of the stuff splattered over his right hand, and it immediately hardened, trying to glue him to the roof... but the reptile tore free with a grunt, tearing some of the stone off the warehouse roof as Cherry whistled at him and motioned for him to follow, already sprinting off down the rooftop. The Drakkaren grunted and quickly did so, muttering to himself as he tore the hardened goop off his hand at the same time.

He caught up with the female a moment later, grenades exploding behind them as soldiers tried to trap them with the goop, and others fired electrified rounds at the pair. Zerrex winced one of the round lodged into his right arm, but with a flex it popped free, even as a bit of electricity danced between his fingertips for a moment. "Dude, do they always give demons this warm a welcome?"

"I think they may be a little pissed off at all the times I escaped. Sorry Boss." Cherry replied in a strangled voice, and Zerrex grunted at her before following as she made a sudden turn to leap onto the roof of a small house, before they both jumped off and into the backyard. Voices clamored and shouted as the two ran for the fence and easily leapt it to land in a dusty back alley, and Cherry immediately leapt into an open dumpster, and Zerrex followed after a moment to land on her with a squeak, the reek of weeks-old garbage filling his muzzle and making him want to gag, his eyes watering as he felt some terrible juicy substance covering his hands, Cherry wheezing for breath before she bit her tongue and literally turned green, the yellow fins shrinking from her head as she camouflaged herself against the torn bags as Zerrex curled up in the corner opposite her, underneath the closed half of the lid.

The two stayed silent as several soldiers ran by, their armor clanking loudly and detectors beeping, and then someone asked as slower footsteps walked by: "Can you get a heat reading with the thermal detector?"

"Yeah, but everything's hot. That garbage dumpster, that house, us, the ground... damn thing needs to be recalibrated again. My energy sensor is out of whack, too... it goes off every time I point it at a house, much less a person. Look, it's even getting a reading from that stupid dumpster!"

There was a pause in one set of footsteps, and then they slowly approached the dumpster before someone glanced inside... but Cherry was almost invisible against the garbage bags, and the soldier wasn't willing to lean in enough to see Zerrex, as he made a gagging sound and stepped away. "Holy shit, I bet you're getting a reading 'cause something must have fucking died in there... ugh, I have never smelled anything that horrifying in all my life."

The voices moved on... and then there was silence. The two lasted to a count of ten before they both leapt out of the dumpster, coughing and gagging, and then Cherry clawed at her pockets before she pulled out a ring with a strange gemstone set into it... and as she set it on her finger, the reptile pointed at her accusingly. "Wait, that's a demonic crystal!"

"You wanna smell like this all day?" Cherry shot back, and Zerrex didn't even have to answer as he felt his stomach curdle. The female snorted and nodded, winced and shuddered in disgust as the smell flowed into her nose, and then she concentrated before murmuring a cleansing spell, the ring on her hand glowing with demonic power.

The smell and the ooze that had been clinging to them vanished, and Zerrex sighed in relief before he looked morbidly at his torn-up jacket. He'd have to fix it himself when they got home, but for now he didn't want to test their luck against the chance that the Scanners were using some other type of detection equipment to home in on any magic use... and he looked across at Cherry mildly as she took off the ring, the female saying dryly: "Hey, I wasn't about to let this shit go to waste. I mean, if its available, I might as well use it... although I ain't about to mourn it once it's all used up, either."

She pulled the ring off, then stuck it back in her pocket, crossing her arms as her fins pushed back out of her head and her scales glimmered and returned to their normal color. "But we got ourselves a real problem here, Boss... those bastards don't like to give up easy, and they'll probably be patrolling the city for another hour or two." She paused, looking musingly at the ground. "Fuck, it ain't like it's a short walk to home, either."

"Since when did you become scared of a fight?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Cherry looked insulted before the reptile rolled his eyes and tapped a finger against his temple, looking entertained. "Besides, we've gotten through worse before without a scratch, and you damn well know it. Don't tell me all these years have turned you into a wimp."

Cherry glared at him, then she huffed and mumbled under her breath: "Fucking... fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck. Okay, so what, I don't want to put our family in danger, and like... okay. Maybe I don't wanna hurt no innocents, either. I guess I just get worried every now and then and shit and... stop looking at me like that, you... jerkface!"

"Cherry, that's called a conscience, and it's how I feel these days myself." Zerrex said mildly, and the female blew a loud raspberry at him. "Stop being an ass. Now come on, whether they're innocent or not, we still need to get home... and if we have to, we'll just have to push our way through them, but that doesn't mean we'll kill them, either."

"Conscience, bah. I don't got no conscience. I'm a rock. I'm a fucking island!" Cherry said loudly, striking a pose and pointing at the sky as Zerrex walked away, and then she winced and flailed her arms, following the reptile quickly. "Boss, Boss, Boss, wait up, this island wants to come with you!"

"You're more like a boat than an island." Zerrex said dryly, then he winced as Cherry leapt up onto his back, stumbling back and forth with a grunt before sighing as she clung to him, arms around his neck and legs around his waist, a dumb grin on her muzzle. He mumbled to himself, then continued onwards, exiting the alley and trying to ignore the looks they were getting as Cherry sinuously clambered up to sit on his shoulders, reaching a hand down to snatch his cane away from him and hold it imperiously above her head. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind. I was thinking, you know, more low-profile, blending with the crowd sort of thing..."

"Behold, I am your queen!" Cherry shook the cane back and forth, then she paused to examine it, poking at the eyes of the cane lightly. "Dude, this thing is epic. I didn't even know you had one like this... when'd you get it, what does it do?"

The reptile ignored her, but Cherry seemed content nonetheless as they walked onwards, Zerrex looking morbid as a few people laughed and others just gave them looks that were more often than not disapproving. He wondered absently if people were being too serious these days, even if they had good reason to have lost some of their humor... but then again, a good sense of humor will take you through any troubles, as I learned a bit late in life. If you just... go with the flow, sometimes you might enjoy yourself even in the hardest of times...

Zerrex looked down thoughtfully, then he nodded slowly to himself as he felt one of Cherry's hands playing through his hair, before he glanced up at her and smiled a bit despite himself. She smiled back, then winked and pointed the cane down a side street, saying easily: "Go that way, it's the fastest route back home." A pause, and then she easily hopped down off his shoulders, tossing his cane back to the Drakkaren as they turned off the main road, and Zerrex made a face as he noted it would take them through a tunnel beneath a large bridge that was currently under construction, across a deep, ugly gouge in the earth.

Cherry saw the look, then she nudged him lightly, looking entertained. "What, are you claustrophobic now? Come on Boss, I heard you been through way worse than this silly shit... it'll only take us a minute or two, either way."

The reptile nodded with a grunt as they entered the narrow tunnel, noting there were only a few people here... and then he glanced over his shoulder as he felt a strange tickle run up his spine. Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see the youth from the hardware store in the crowd, standing with his trenchcoat open and loose. Zerrex could see black dress clothes with gold buttons beneath this, and a heavy belt with several menacing-looking objects on it... but when Zerrex paused and turned to face him, the youth adjusted his skull cap and the deer quickly vanished.

The female frowned as she turned around as well, crossing her muscular arms, before she tilted her head and asked dryly: "Do you think that dude is like... stalking you? I mean, the jerk looks kinda freaky. We could chase his ass down if you want."

"No, let's ignore him for now." the Drakkaren said slowly, nodding a bit to himself before he turned back to the tunnel. He must be a mortal with either special powers... or someone really versed in demonology. I hear it's becoming a more popular topic these days even with the "normal" people... "Come on, I'd like to get home before we have to deal with any more problems."

Cherry nodded, then followed the reptile into the tunnel, rubbing the back of her head slowly as she wrestled with her own misgivings. But she pushed them aside after a moment, and instead crossed her arms, muttering under her breath: "This shit is already getting complicated. It's amazing how you show up and then everything starts going crazy, Boss."

"I know, you don't have to remind me." Zerrex grumbled, then he sighed and tilted his head as he looked over his shoulder at Cherry. "So how long until we get back home?"

The female shrugged, grunting in reply as she awkwardly tried to look away, and Zerrex looked forwards again with a mutter, figuring this was probably going to end up being a longer trip than he had anticipated.