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The Drakkaren frowned as he realized there were two keycard readers, and he glanced down at Lone, saying quietly: "Go check that other body, will you? There should be another keycard."

Lone nodded, not arguing: it seemed like Mahihko's obvious gloom was diminishing his own cocky attitude greatly, and he quickly ran down the stairs to check the dead body as Zerrex examined the scanner system, and then he touched the huge doors for a moment before cursing and drawing his hand back, his fingers smoking slightly and a few charred scales falling off. Not only did they have a layering of iron through the, they were blazing hot... and when Lone came back up the stairs, the reptile just hoped the keycards worked.

Zerrex gave his keycard to Mahihko, who looked confused for a moment before the reptile said mildly: "You two have to use the keycards at once to unlock the doors."

The two nodded immediately, and Lone grinned as Mahihko rose his card, the masculine wolf's own raising automatically as he said: "We'll have it open in just a second, Boss. Don't you worry your pretty... head."

He turned around and stared as his arm seemed to work on its own, whatever strings connecting the two working their magic as they slid the keycards through the scanners in perfect synchronization, and the doors beeped before both slowly slid apart into the walls. And immediately, they were greeted by four armored wolves that charged out, their fur shaggy and pure white and hanging out of their armor, all of them equipped with submachine guns and stun rods as two of them made immediately for Zerrex.

The reptile leapt backwards with a wince: one of them had silver streaks in his fur, and the other an eye-patch; and the one who went for Mahihko had a cross tattooed upside down on his cheek while the one attacking Lone was lither and more-athletic than the others. Three of them, apart from Patch, were wearing scanners on their faces with the single visor over the eye, and Athletic had a stun rod in either hand and wasn't wearing the heavy vests and plates over the shoulders and upper arms, and instead he had suspenders on. All four of them, on the other hand, were wearing shin-guards and elbow-guards and oddly-shaped helmets, and when Zerrex's eyes roved over them again, as he slipped between the two trying to attack them to grab their heads from behind, he realized they were clones.

Patch and Silver, however, easily twisted around, each easily grabbing the Drakkaren's wrist before they jerked him through the air with surprising strength and slammed him back-down into the stairs to crunch them inwards with his body and pin him, the reptile's cane flying from his hand before they both stabbed him with the electrical rods in their hands, and the reptile cursed loudly, electricity flowing through his body before he grabbed the shins of the wolves and channeled it back into them. They both howled in pain, and then Zerrex stood up and dragged the two into the air, spinning violently around with them before he slammed them both face-first downwards... and they somehow both caught themselves on their hands before both of them slammed a foot into Zerrex's chest, and he tripped over the crater he'd already made in the stairs before falling backwards, and this time the stairs shattered completely beneath his body and he fell to the ground below with a grunt of pain.

Athletic, meanwhile, ducked under Lone's simple grab and slammed the stun rods one-two-one-two into his stomach, the masculine wolf gagging hard before Athletic spun around and leapt upwards, the stun rods windmilling under Lone's chin and knocking him flat on his back in a daze. He blinked and groaned, then winced when Athletic stabbed him in the gut with both rods... before he grinned as electricity flowed into him and restored his strength, and he slammed both paws hard upwards into Athletic's stomach, knocking him staggering backwards with a grunt of surprise before Lone jumped to his feet and slammed a fist forwards... then yelped and staggered backwards with Athletic blocked it by cross the stun rods in an X, snarling at him furiously.

Mahihko was down to only one hoop, the other on the ground below as he was backed to the edge of the balcony at the side of the stairs by Tattoo, who was snarling and leaning forwards, stun rod held with the point towards the ground before he blocked as Mahihko tried to slash inwards, and then he reached out and grabbed the hoop with a grin as he rose the stun rod like a dagger... and Mahihko immediately grunted and leapt forwards, swinging his lithe body on the ring like it was hanging from a rope instead of an arm, and Tattoo looked surprised as the wolf swung by him before Mahihko gracefully twisted his body as he reached the banister, kicking off it just as Tattoo let go and turned around and slamming bodily into the larger wolf, knocking him staggering backwards in surprise. The little wolf fell to the ground as Tattoo swiped viciously outwards, and then he swung a leg forwards in a hard sweep that knocked Tattoo over onto his ass, his head rapping painfully against the wall before Mahihko swung forwards... and Tattoo blocked the attack with his arm before he smashed Mahihko across the face, sending him down with a bloody nose as he screamed in pain.

Mahihko whimpered, trembling as Tattoo got up behind him... and then the little wolf snarled before he turned around, and his eyes blazed as his body grew larger, Tattoo's cocky grin slowly fading from his features as the once-tiny wolf became a lumbering, fifteen foot goliath of muscle that was towering over him, the stretchy Hez'Ranna uniform clinging tight to his body and making every chiseled muscle stand out in perfect definition as he snarled furiously down at Tattoo... and then he simply grabbed his shoulders and squeezed, and Tattoo screamed wordlessly, his head shaking back and forth before his collarbone snapped like a twig, and he trembled violently before going limp in Mahihko's hands, and the now-huge wolf roared as he hefted his body above his head before he threw him across the room to smack sickly against a wall and collapse dead to the ground below.

Lone and Athletic were both gaping in shock... and then Lone looked stupidly back and forth before he simply grabbed the back of Athletic's head and pumped as much voltage into him as he could, and Athletic screamed, dropping his stun rods before he slumped in the wolf's grip, his eyes sunken into his head and smoldering as his mouth and nostrils leaked smoke. Then he dropped him with a look of distaste as Mahihko slowly shrank back down to normal sizes, and the big wolf immediately ran over to his smaller companion, asking quickly: "Are you okay?"

Zerrex, meanwhile, had been pincered by the two beneath the stairs, the wolves standing on either side of him with dark grins on their faces... but then the Drakkaren swung his right fist out, and it shattered through the stun rod one of the wolves attempted to block with to smash in his cheek, Patch stumbling before Zerrex followed up with a hard uppercut from his left that literally lifted Patch into the air before smashing his skull against the ceiling, helmet shattering and knocking the wolf likely into coma as Silver staggered backwards in surprise, dropping his stun rod to go for his submachine gun. But Zerrex simply turned and lashed out his left hand, and a pair of bone-fanged tentacles shot out of his arm and wrapped tightly around Silver, constricting his arms to his sides as he howled in pain, and the Drakkaren lifted him into the air with a look of distaste before he snapped his left arm hard backwards, and Silver was flung literally through the stairs, smashing out of the hole Zerrex had made as the tentacles withdrew rapidly from around him, and he flailed wildly in the air for a moment before he fell to the ground with a sick crunch, and he twitched a few times before he stopped moving entirely.

Zerrex sighed as he retrieved his cane, and then he glanced up to see both Mahihko and Lone checking over submachine guns at the top of the broken stairs... but he wasn't about to complain. He made a face as he walked up the broken stairs, hopping the large gap in them and landing awkwardly on all fours, and then he crawled quickly forwards with a wince as another stair gave away with a groan. "Bastards were strong."

"No shit." Lone muttered in agreement, and then he frowned when Zerrex ducked and carefully removed the helmet from Athletic's skull, saying sourly: "What, you gonna make fun of me for a cheap kill?"

"Couldn't see either of you, I was busy getting my ass handed to me." Zerrex muttered, inspecting the dead wolf's features. Same kind of build as... Vampire, actually, similar rugged look to the fur, but pure-white in coloration... no way... "Goddammit... these aren't just clones. They're clones of Arctic Dire Wolves, a dead species."

"They're clones?" Lone said stupidly, and then he blinked when Mahihko whimpered a bit, looking at him dumbly now. "What?"

"Lone, that's what we're descended from!" Mahihko said quietly, and Lone blinked before he nodded with a slow frown, and the little wolf asked weakly: "Do you think...Tobias... is trying to make a better... better..."

Mahihko broke off, and Zerrex didn't blame him as he reached a hand down to squeeze his shoulder gently, soothing the small wolf's trembles as he murmured: "We'll find out. I promise." A pause, and then he said coldly: "Come on. We'd better move in."

The 91st floor, thankfully, was not all that complicated: there was the single hallway with doors on either side of it labeled things like: 'Meeting Hall A-1' or 'Primary Executive Boardroom,' and at the end of the hall, two massive wolf clones that were at least the same height as the gigantic Dragokkaren soldiers, both of them burly and covered in muscle, and grinning darkly as the others approached. They were wearing black suit jackets and dress pants with expensive shoes on their feet and gray silk shirts, and both also had scanning devices on their heads as the ragtag group of three stopped in front of them, and one of the massive wolves boomed: "Do you have an appointment?"

Zerrex exchanged a look with both Mahihko and Lone, and then the two wolves rose their submachine guns as the giants looked surprised: this obviously wasn't the way it was supposed to happen, they obviously weren't supposed to resort to such a crude means of violence... and then the two small wolves opened fire into the faces of the clones, and although the rounds were small and the giants survived quite a few shots with the sheer density of their mass, neither got their huge hands up to protect their faces in time, and by the time the clips were empty, both of the humongous lupines were laying in their corners, blood-soaked and dead, and the door to the President's Office was unprotected.

Mahihko and Lone tossed their guns down with looks of disgust as Zerrex pushed the door open, and they walked into a room with a forty-foot high ceiling, shaped like an enormous octagon. The walls were covered with shelves full of books, files, and reports, everything neatly organized chronologically and subdivided into alphabetical order, and the floor was white and black tile that was patterned to form the Wulfe Enterprises insignia. Curtains were drawn over a huge set of windows, and Zerrex heard thunder before lightning flashed outside, and he heard the sound of the rain pattering weakly against glass: no doubt in the city it was a hard rain, but up here they were so close to the clouds that there was little force for gravity to add to it.

A desk sat alone, cold and desolate, near the windows and a high-backed leather chair that was abandoned... and on the desk, there was nothing but a control panel and a golden trophy of some kind. Zerrex let Mahihko and Lone wander towards it as his own eyes checked out the huge row of monitors that dominated one wall, with a control panel beneath this... but all the monitors were displaying at the moment was static. Beside the rows upon rows of monitors was a glass elevator, the doors standing invitingly open... and Zerrex knew they were expected, and instinctively that Wulfe would not permit security forces into his home... but that a trap was laid nonetheless for them upstairs.

Lone sat down in the leather chair as Mahihko whimpered, but the masculine white wolf ignored him as he pilfered through the drawers, tossing stuff out onto the desk: files, charters, a calendar, a box of cigars... clutter, for the most part. Lone stuck one of the cigars in his muzzle, but when Zerrex looked at him darkly, the wolf spat it out and cleared his throat... and then he tapped a button on the control panel, and he smiled grimly when three monitors rose out of the desk, forming a semicircle before the desk in front of him flipped over to reveal a hidden keyboard. "Just give me a few seconds..."

Lone tapped a few commands into the keyboard, biting his lip... and then he grunted and muttered: "My old access codes still work... they must have never been deleted from the network. It's a back door into their security system, I think I can get into Father's..." Lone closed his eyes tightly, and then he murmured: "Tobias's... personal files if I try to go through the decayed encryptions... yeah, here it is."

Lone tapped a few commands in... and then he brightened as he found a file before he said quickly: "Dude, video footage of their demon experiments, and there's a lot of it... here's a clip, I'll see... yeah, here we go."

Zerrex began to walk around the desk, and then the monitors on the wall flickered before they all began playing the same movie, showing several scientists clustered around eight genetics capsules plugged into some kind of huge machine. It whirred, and the two rows of capsules half-lowered with a buzz, and the Drakkaren could see demons inside of them covered in wires as a cold voice said: "Experiment No. 5041-A. Docking procedure is completed and subjects have been anesthetized. Preparations are complete and we are beginning the experiment."

The three watched as the machine revved up... and then the demons all twitched and trembled before electricity shot over the machine, and the cables that were hooked up to it glowed and flooded towards another machine. It beeped, and several needles on meters began to rise quickly as a voice said gleefully: "It works, it works! Experiment is a success... we have marginalized the body instabilities created by bioelectrical gathering and we can now harvest demonic energy straight from their bodies... look! Look at how much power we've gathered, the generator works!"

Then the clip ended, and the screens became static again as Zerrex snarled, and Mahihko trembled in horror. They had gone now from harvesting demons to create crystals... to literally using them as batteries. The reptile looked at Lone, who shook his head in disgust, and then he asked coldly: "Can you transfer this to another network?"

"No... it's all in a closed server." Lone said quietly, and then he looked at the armlet on Zerrex's forearm, saying slowly: "But maybe... you wanna come over here?"

The reptile did so, ready to do anything to get the information to Balthazar, and he let Lone tap in a command... and then the Drakkaren stared when the disc on the nanotech armlet whirred before a small compartment near the top popped open and Lone drew a simple cable ending in a USB connector out, grinning a bit as he plugged this into the desk. Then the armlet began to whirr again loudly, Lone whistling as he tapped commands into the computer. "Fuck, this thing is sucking up files faster than Mahihko guzzles dick. You got yourself a hell of a toy there, Boss... all I had to do was ask it to do a file transfer and off to the races we went."

Zerrex grunted in agreement as Mahihko peered curiously at it, and then the little wolf looked down at his single hoop, saying embarrassedly: "Daddy, I left my other hoop behind."

"It's okay, Mahihko. We all lose things from time to time." Zerrex said softly, and Mahihko blushed a bit as he nodded, rubbing a paw against the ground. Then the Drakkaren turned his eyes back to Lone, asking mildly: "How long is this going to take?"

"Not long at all now... just wait a few more seconds. I'm putting a few of the server's protocols into infinite loops that will cause it to crash or blow up once we're finished... the server will heat up until it literally goes to hell in a handbasket." Lone muttered, tapping codes quickly into the computer before he nodded and unplugged the armlet, and the cable retracted immediately into the device and the compartment closed. For a few moments, the disc whirred loudly... and then it slowly halted, and Zerrex looked at it slowly for a few moments before Lone said quietly: "I'm ready to go, Zerrex."

"Me too, Daddy. Let's go... see father." Mahihko said finally, and the Drakkaren nodded before the three headed for the private elevator, as the desk sparked behind them before bursting into flames. As the elevator began to slowly ascend, they watched as the curtains caught, and then the files... and then it was out of sight as they reached the open main room of the Wulfe Penthouse.

It was much like the office below, except there was a spiraling staircase on one side of the room leading up to another floor, and there was no Wulfe insignia underfoot, but instead a carpet. The ceiling was ridiculously high, however, and there were bookshelves on either wall... except the sectioned, gigantic window-wall here was not covered by curtains, looking out onto the rainy skies of Lunis and the city below, low clouds like mist sweeping over the enormous skyscrapers that had no hopes of ever competing with the monstrous tower they stood in now, looking instead like rocks and crags standing tall out of a sea, not a city.

Standing behind a desk that had only a little more clutter on it than that below, was Tobias Wulfe. He was standing with his back to them, his gray-furred hands laced together above his tail, and then he slowly looked over his shoulder with disgust at Zerrex and the two lupines, turning slowly around. He wore a charcoal suit with broad shoulders, a crisp white shirt beneath the dress jacket and a crystal choker in the shape of the Wulfe insignia at his throat... and Zerrex snarled. It had a backing of platinum, but the crystal was undoubtedly demonic in origin.

His eyes were cold and gunmetal grey: they had no compassion, no love, no brightness in them. They were the eyes of a person too damned to fear anything and too monstrous to care if he was, too self-absorbed to see the world from any point of view but his own. His fur shared his age, ancient and grey now instead of pure white, and his features had become twisted with his sins over time, part of his face looking frozen... but when he smiled, there was a hideous command to it, and his teeth were perfect and bleached white, as metal and fake as the rest of him. And then he said, in a voice filled with contempt, his tone strong and cultured: "Lone. Look at you, all grown up, and hanging out with demons and... what is that... thing by your side?"

He gestured with distaste, silver cufflinks clinking, at Mahihko... and the little wolf trembled violently before he said in a weak voice: "Dad... it's me. I'm..." He reached up and touched his own lithe, little chest. "I'm Lone too, sort of. This is the body I was reborn in, when Zerrex saved my life... I tried to tell you, but they never would let me talk to you... Dad, tell me, what are you doing? Why are you doing all this?"

"Oh, really?" Tobias tilted his head, narrowing his eyes... and then a cold smile spread over his face. "Yes, I remember now, my secretary sent me a note about it. You left her a detailed story I thought was all make-believe lies... but no, I see the resemblance in your faces now, and the signature grey eyes of our species... my species, rather, since you two are nothing but failures."

"I am not a failure!" Lone shouted suddenly, stomping his paw down hard on the ground as he looked at Tobias with teary eyes. "Why do you always call me that? Why did you always treat my sister and me like shit? Why did you do what you did to Mom? Answer me, you bastard! And treat me with respect for a change!"

Tobias looked unruffled, but there was a slight tensing to his body as he stepped away from the window, walking over to sit down in his leather chair as he said in a calm voice: "Lone, your temper is flaring up again. Restrain yourself or I'll do it for you." He paused when Lone snarled, and then he snapped his fingers, and six panels opened in the ceiling to allow turrets with short barrels large enough to hold anti-tank shells to take aim at them, lowering quickly from the roof. "And you are a failure. You were such a failure I had to send you out doing door-to-door sales, and remove you from the company records and my own will. Of course, now that you've destroyed my six Facsimiles, I'll have to create more... the first batch only serve as supersoldiers, but are far too inadequate to rule a corporation.

"Do you see where you are? Trapped like vermin, after such a struggle to get to me." Tobias said coldly, and then he shook his head slowly, saying in a distasteful voice: "And you did a sloppy job of getting in here, too. You triggered a silent alarm at the low-level employee entrance and you never stopped to wonder whether or not my soldiers were equipped with pulse-rate monitors. One soldier's pulse acting up is likely a glitch, but two becoming erratic or dead is an event... and three is a security breach.

"You came in here like children, clamoring for attention and making noise, and at any time I could have dropped my entire security force upon you and have you all torn to shreds." Tobias said disgustedly, flicking his wrist, and a monitor descended from the ceiling in front of the bookshelf, showing security footage of the three in their fight with the wolf clones. "I expected my personal bodyguards to exterminate you... but... they showed a distinct lack of class and strategy. I am, of course, impressed by your abilities... but only to the point where I would prefer to take you prisoner than have you killed and dissected for further analysis and experimentation."

Zerrex shook his head slowly, but he didn't speak, as Mahihko and Lone looked at their father for a few long moments... and then Lone murmured finally, his lower lip trembling: "You're a coward. I hate you."

Tobias merely shrugged with a cold smile. "So what? You three are trapped. You can try to run, but my security forces are waiting for you... and you can try to hide, but these cannons will blast you to pieces long before you can fight back."

Lone and Mahihko both trembled violently... and then Lone drew his revolver and snarled, firing off five shots as Mahihko slung his rifle off his back and dropped to a crouch, blasting off three shots. The smaller wolf's rounds tore through the turrets, sending chunks of metal hailing down as one of them exploded and the other two whirred uselessly, and Lone's rounds slammed into sensors and ammo drums, a couple of rounds uselessly denting the steel of the turrets and hitting the wall, but most of them slamming home and turning the turrets into dented hulks.

The last turret hummed as it prepared to fire on them, left undamaged in the wolf's assault, and then Zerrex flung a sphere of energy into it and blew it to pieces, Tobias making a face as he watched the barrel of the turret fly past his head and then shatter the window behind him, rain and wind blowing into the large room as he said darkly: "You're trying my patience."

"This is your fight. I won't interfere, even if things get bad." Zerrex said quietly, and he patted both wolves on the shoulder as Lone's trembling hands fumbled to reload his revolver and Mahihko threw his rifle aside as tears ran down his cheeks, pulling his hoop off his hip. Then the two nodded in perfect timing as Tobias snarled in disgust... and then he stood up and pushed the chair away, stripping off his suit jacket.

There were strange, glowing lights in his limbs through his crisp shirt... and then Tobias rolled the sleeves of this up, and Zerrex snarled in disgust. They were made entirely out of twisting coils of steel surrounding servomechanisms and glowing orbs of crystal that obviously powered most of the machinery that now made up his limbs, and then Tobias slowly stripped off the fur of his hands like gloves to reveal complex, perfect metal replicas of hands beneath... and then they clenched and flexed, and a terrible greenish electricity zapped over both his hands as the wolf said in a dark, vicious voice: "You think I'm powerless? Then you're fools... I've not only been stocking up on demons and demonic crystal for the times ahead, I've been developing advanced technologies that I can comingle with the demon powers... to gain my own, everlasting strength. And like any good businessperson, I have allies who supply me with machineries that this world has never seen, and formulas like that which we use to turn demons into crystal...

"No, I'll kill you two... and at least you won't be a failure forever, son, because I'm draw out your essence and what little strength you have will feed mine." Tobias clenched a mechanical hand into a fist, and then he grasped his desk and easily tore it out of the ground, lifting it above his head as he shouted: "Power and wealth are everything, and you won't take it from me!"

He flung the desk hard forwards, and Mahihko and Lone leapt to either side, easily dodging it as Mahihko landed in a crouch and Lone slid to a halt against a bookshelf. Zerrex, meanwhile, simply caught the desk with a wince, stepping backwards before he shoved it down... and then he jackknifed it to sit back and watch the combat as Lone fired off three quick shots at Tobias's face with a wounded yell.

The rounds simply bounced off a green, semitransparent shield, however, and Lone snarled as Tobias snorted in distaste, shaking his head in disgust. "Everyone has a gun these days, idiot. So of course I designed a countermeasure against them. I'm invulnerable, Lone... and you, disgusting little midget. Just lay down and die now."

Mahihko trembled violently, and then he shook his head, even as he pleaded: "Please... don't you get it? It doesn't have to be this way, demons are people too, and-"

"It's hopeless, he's nothing but a sack of shit!" Lone shouted furiously, even as tears ran down his face, and he charged forwards as he threw the revolver aside, electricity crackling around his hands before he leapt at Tobias... and the elder Wulfe easily reached up and caught him by the throat, Lone choking and gargling as the metal hand closed like a vise around his neck.

"Demons are demons, and they can create a significant profit for me by being used as a naturally-occurring fuel resource." Tobias said patiently, as if explaining something to a child. Then green lighting crackled over Lone's skull, and he went limp, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he hung from Tobias's fist as the ancient wolf's other hand crackled with green lightning, and he slowly began to bring it up towards Lone's face as he continued with soft venom: "The formula created a demand, opened up untold opportunities on the black market, and let me build facilities where demon are literally crushed down and converted into crystals, and now we can harness the bioelectricity of organisms to turn them into batteries... and demons, of course, make the very best ones. I created that, Lone. I created jobs. I rebuilt Lunis. But that doesn't matter anymore, because you aren't going to exist anymore now."

Tobias brought his hand up... and then Mahihko shot a blast of lightning he'd been charging in his hand not at Tobias, but instead into Lone, who spasmed wildly before his eyes flickered open and he brought both paws up, slamming them into Tobias's face and sending him staggering backwards with a grunt, snarling as blood burst from his muzzle. He dropped Lone, who staggered away, coughing and grasping at his throat, and then Mahihko shot forwards, throwing his hoop hard at the staggered tyrant's features.

Tobias easily caught it with a snarl, and then he grunted in pain as Mahihko literally ran up his body, grabbing the high-held hoop before he kicked off his chest and flipped through the air, Tobias staggering again before Mahihko spun around as he landed in a crouch and threw his hoop hard at the male's shin. His leg snapped backwards, and Tobias grunted as he fell forwards onto all fours... and then Lone stepped forwards and punted him hard under the chin, knocking him straight up on his knees for Mahihko to charge forwards-

Tobias slammed an open palm out, and Mahihko was sent flying across the room before he turned and blasted Lone with green lightning, sending him some twenty feet away to smashed into a bookcase and shatter the shelving, falling to the ground in a heap of heavy tomes. Then Tobias snarled in fury as he straightened, wiping at his dirty, tattered shirt as his arms flexed... and then Zerrex's eyes narrowed as he watched one of the crystals in Tobias's arm blink once before it faded out completely. Whatever else, the two wolves were using up his power supply... and Tobias seemed to recognize this as he tapped something into a panel on his arm, and a moment later he twitched before both of his hands burst into green fire, saying viciously: "Fine, I'll kill you both quickly."

"It's pointless..." Lone said raggedly, as he climbed to his feet... and Mahihko grunted as he did the same, but he was grinning painfully even as he clutched his ribs. " Don't you get it, dear old dad? There will always be more of us... and if you kill us, our real father will blow you out like a fucking candle."

Lone looked over at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren smiled a bit... before Tobias turned his eyes to the reptile, looking infuriated. "That? That... disgusting old lizard sitting on the desk? He won't even help you in combat, and you call him father? I am your father, Lone, I am the father to both you and the miserable spawn you say is some ... other you, and looks every inch the same failure you are!" He snorted, then he snarled as a sphere of greenish, terrible glow consumed his hand before he threw the green fireball at Zerrex, shouting: "I hold all the power here!"

Zerrex made a face, and then he rose his right arm... and he winced when the fireball exploded, consuming the arm of his leather jacket and charring his shoulder and side and rapidly eating away at his scales... before he flexed the rocky, metallic substance beneath it, and a few chunks of rock fell away before the flames died out, and Tobias looked horrified as Zerrex said quietly: "Surrender, Tobias. There's no need for this cycle. They're your own offspring... he... is your own offspring. Stop now, and we'll treat you better than you ever treated any of the demons you lured in... I've got a lot of questions I want to ask you, after all."

"Never. I just need a bit more power, that's all." Tobias tapped at his arm controls again... and then he arched his back with a snarl, his bur bristling and his body flexing as his arms burst into green flame... but Zerrex saw another crystal flicker out as the wolf hissed before straightening, panting hard as he looked from Mahihko to Lone, who had both stepped back into the middle of the room, standing ready. "They promised me I had the strength to kill any demon..."

"People lie." Lone said quietly, and then he charged his own hands with electricity as Mahihko flexed before his size increased to match Lone's height, his muscles bulging against his uniform as more focused lightning glowed between his fingers. Tobias's arms continued to burn with eldritch flames, and then Mahihko and Lone traded a look, and Zerrex knew they had a plan before he watched as Tobias charged forwards with a roar.

He clawed viciously at Lone, still intent on the wolf that looked most like his son... and Mahihko took the chance to get behind him and slam a fist into his back, at the same time unleashing a powerful electrical charge. Tobias shrieked in agony, but then he spun around and smacked Mahihko across the face, leaving a deep black burn on his cheek as the wolf stumbled away with a howl of pain. Lone tried to run in, but Tobias threw a fireball at him with his other hand, and the wolf dodged back before the flames struck the ground and created a wall of green flames, Lone cursing and covering his face.

Mahihko staggered backwards as Tobias turned his full attention to him, and then he leapt and rolled to the side to avoid a savage claw, before Tobias grabbed a stone art piece off the wall. It burst into green flames when he touched it, and he hurled it at Mahihko... but the wolf lithely ducked despite his increased size, and it sailed over his shoulders and smashed out the window instead, becoming a green comet as it fell towards the ground. Ran and wind swept in, and static sparks burst off Mahihko's fur when the rain touched him, the wolf wincing before he picked up his hoop from the ground, and Tobias laughed before he reached forwards and seized it, then twisted and crushed it in his hand.

The little wolf staggered backwards into the wet water, trembling... and then Lone shouted something from behind the eldritch wall of flame, and Mahihko looked down before punching both hands into the ground when Tobias stepped into the puddle. The wolf screamed in pain as lighting blasted up his loafer-covered paw and ripped over his body, and then he was slammed onto his back as Mahihko was hit by electrical recoil, cursing as it zapped over his body and he staggered out of the rain.

Lone joined him, the eldritch flames gone, and Tobias groaned from where he lay on the ground, green flames licking the floor around him and spreading slowly before he stood up... and they flickered out as another of his crystals died. He looked down in shock at his arms to see only one crystal was left glowing... and he snarled, shaking his head in disbelief before he hammered the controls on his arms, and the green electricity faded completely away from them as he began to pant quietly and plain machinery kicked in, rasping: "Fine. We'll finish this like our ancestors did, with just our bare hands... I won't let you stand in my way, not after everything I was promised..."

Tobias straightened gamely, and Zerrex wondered what was powering the ancient wolf as he ran forwards... and this time Mahihko and Lone ran to meet him, and as he swung in hard, Lone ducked and slammed a fist into his gut as Mahihko grabbed his arm, and his hand settled on a rounded motor. Tobias tried to jerk free as he swung his other arm at Lone, but the machinery was no match for Mahihko's enhanced size and strength, and then he sent a jolt of electricity into the motor that fried it and caused Tobias's elbow to twist and buckle.

He let out a howl of rage and despair, and then Lone jumped up into the air and twisted on his side before he slammed both feet into Tobias's ribs, and the old wolf was sent to the ground, skidding violently over the floor to smash into the wall amidst burn marks and a few weak flames. He trembled hard, breathing violently in and out, his one arm useless at his side... and then he snarled as he whispered: "You're just failures... pathetic losers... miscreants. You aren't even real..."

"What?" Lone frowned as Mahihko stepped in close, and they both shivered at Tobias's grin, shouting at the same time: "Tell me!"

"You were supposed to be perfect... but instead you were pudgy and weak..." Tobias whispered, as he pointed at Lone. "Don't you get it? How I hate you... you're worthless... and you were my son... and my most crucial experiment. In your mother's womb, we injected you with the cells of the ancient Dire Wolves... and only now you look like you should have... but yet it seems there was a division.

"We used ancient genetic material recovered from the graves of their greatest heroes... heroes said to have supernatural powers. And I see now that there... it failed." Tobias spat to the side, looking disgusted as Mahihko shook his head back and forth and Lone fell to his knees, whimpering weakly. "You're both demons... which means you, Lone, died. It's pathetic I didn't see it before... the genes were recessive, but genetic memory is absorbed into the soul and restored piece-by-piece when a person becomes a demon. My experiment failed because I see the weakling, disgusting, loser part of you has split away from the pure body that is nonetheless a failure... because I forgot to take into account personality and mind."

Tobias looked at them both, and then he looked at his damaged arm and he popped a hatch open to pull out the remaining functional crystal, and he clenched it tight in his fist as he grinned cruelly as green lighting sparked down his arm: "But it doesn't matter anymore, because now... we're all going to die together. This crystal has just enough energy left in it for me to trigger a self-destruct in my mechanical parts, and-"

"Stop fucking talking!" Mahihko screamed suddenly, and his size doubled, then trebled as he tore his Hez'Rannan uniform past its limits, the gargantuan wolf almost reaching the ceiling as he stomped a paw down on Tobias before he grabbed his mechanical arm and easily tore it off, Tobias shrieking in agony as Mahihko turned towards the window, and he flung it hard outwards, the whole window shattering as the arm flew through the air... and then exploded in a blast of emerald flame and light, lighting hammering the spot as the rain began to fall even harder... but the flames quickly faded as the electrical storm began to already wear itself out, the blasts steadily weakening.

Zerrex climbed off the desk and walked slowly over to the wolves: the fight was undeniably over, as Tobias vomited blood and trembled weakly on the ground. His eyes rolled crazily in his head as his other mechanical arm hung loose and limp... and then Mahihko rose his arms with a roar to crush him, and the Drakkaren stared in shock before Lone shouted in a broken voice: "No!"

Mahihko hesitated, Tobias screaming on the ground and shaking his head in denial as he kicked a leg weakly... and Lone lowered his head, tears falling from his eyes as he whispered: "No... no more killing. No." He shivered, hugging himself tightly, and then he looked up at Mahihko and said weakly: "He's dying anyway... and... he might not be Dad, especially not anymore, but... but... can't we show mercy? Mahihko, don't become him... renounce him, denounce him, but don't become him..."

Mahihko breathed hard in and out, his muscles flexing, his massive body bulging with muscle and his eyes glowing with hate... and then slowly, bit-by-bit, he shrank down, until he was just a small wolf again standing in clothes that had been stretched and torn, looking down at Tobias quietly before he gritted his teeth, booted him hard in the side, and then he ran past Lone to cling to Zerrex, shoving his face against his side and beginning to cry loudly. Lone looked at him silently, and then he pulled the handgun out of the back of his waistband, gazing at it silently before he looked down at Tobias as he coughed blood and looked at them with both fear and unrelenting hate. "It's over, Tobias."

"If I die... this company dies." Tobias rasped, and then he snarled, adding viciously: "If I die, Lunis dies! And all the secrets go with me... it'll take years to reverse-engineer my machinery, and I'll die a martyr, a hero..."

"No, you won't. And some things should stay secret... I'm sorry..." Lone quietly took aim at Tobias's head, and the ancient wolf looked surprised for a moment before Lone whispered: "This isn't out of hate. It's to end your suffering."

A single gunshot.

Lone closed his eyes, and he dropped the gun on the dead body of his father. Then he looked at Zerrex, who was gazing down at him quietly, and he asked weakly: "Did we... did I do the right thing?"

Zerrex looked at Mahihko, who was crying harder now, and then at Lone... and he nodded slowly, murmuring: "He could never be helped or healed. He was dying... you didn't do it out of anger or resentment. And that's the right thing to do, because now he can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Was he my father?" Lone asked after a moment, and then he nodded slowly to himself, saying faintly: "Yeah, I guess he was... but... I guess that these days, that doesn't always count for a whole lot, huh?"

Zerrex opened his mouth to reply... and then a mechanical voice announced: "Tobias Wulfe has been registered as terminated. This facility will self destruct in five seconds."

The Drakkaren reacted immediately, wincing as he wrapped an arm around Lone and Mahihko, and he lifted them both easily into the air as he ran for the shattered window and leapt out into the air as the countdown reached two seconds... and exactly two seconds later, as Zerrex plummeted straight down the building, Mahihko clinging to him with clenched shut eyes and Lone's eyes wide as he howled in shock, there was a massive explosion above them before huge blasts rang out as both the top and the bottom of the building began to detonate at once, firebombs shattering windows and sending out enormous gouts of flame before the real explosions began in the subbasements, massive booms with little fire that turned even titanium into nothing more than dust.

As the fiery explosions tore up towards them and raced down the building after them, Zerrex grit his teeth before his wings exploded from his back, and they flapped once before he arched his body hard, the strain immense as water sent ripples through the white energy that made up his angelic wings and he shot down the street, almost smashing into a cipher before he flew high, high, high up into the air as Lone whooped and Mahihko squeaked, both clinging to him as the little wolf stared and the masculine wolf forgot his sorrow for a moment with a gape of amazement, Zerrex only wincing as they shot through the air above the towering city and trying to lock on to a good place to settle down so they could find the hotel again... before he circled slowly as electronic billboards throughout the area flickered and the face of Tobias Wulfe appeared on all of them, and Zerrex circled a radio tower that had four massive screens mounted on it in all directions... and the reptile had no doubt that this was being broadcast on every television across Lunis at the same time.

"People of Lunis, if you are watching this, then I have been assassinated by terrorists in my own building." Tobias said calmly and coldly. "I know that they have set charges, but I do not know how powerful they are... but there may be a significant loss of life. As a precaution, I have wired security footage from my cameras into this recording, so you may see exactly who has perpetrated these crimes: I want them to come to justice, and even beyond the grave I will not rest until I know that you are safe from them."

"Fucker." Lone snarled... and then the three watched as static tore the screen for a few moments before security footage began to play, but all that was visible was Tobias and a nondescript, shadowy head, the black and white footage not showing anything very clearly as Tobias said: "-nothing but failures."

The footage flickered to another camera, and they saw Tobias pick Lone up, but his image blurred when Tobias zapped him with electricity, and he started in on his monologue... and as they watched, they saw a miracle. Tobias's safety plan had failed, because of all his talking, because of his ego's need to make everything clear... and Zerrex smiled grimly as he looked down and saw a perfect spot behind an alley, even as Lone and Mahihko both closed their eyes as their ears rang with the sound of their dead father's voice... but they were comforted, at least, as the Father they had adopted slowly dropped towards the ground, until he landed and gently set them down, his wings vanishing. And when he looked from one to the other with concern and asked if they would be alright... Lone nodded quietly, saying finally: "Yeah... I think... we're going to be okay."

When they arrived at the hotel, it was in an uproar, people arguing in the lobby as the message from Tobias replayed again and again on television screens, and Zerrex and the two wolves were able to easily sneak to the elevator and ride it up to their room. Once there, Zerrex took out his satellite phone and looked over it curiously, wondering if he could somehow get a radio codec out on it... and then it rang in his hand, and the Drakkaren jumped before he looked at the screen for the caller ID, but it was blocked... and he hit the talk button as he extended the antennae, asking curiously: "Hello?"

"Are you secure?" asked a calm voice, and Zerrex sighed in relief: it was Albatross, the one person he really wanted to talk to at the moment. The Dragokkaren on the other end obviously recognized the sound, and the Drakkaren could almost see him relaxing at the other end of the line as Albatross said flatly: "You did a really stupid thing."

"Had to." Zerrex said mildly, and then he looked out the window: the streets below were in chaos, and ciphers labeled both 'Police' and 'News' were flying back and forth, taking pictures of the situation as they lynched an effigy of a wolf. "People seem a little bit upset. You got any news on the Wulfe warehouses and buildings? We seriously just got into the goddamn hotel room, took forever to get here through the mobs running around the streets."

"Lord Zerrex, one of the tallest structures ever built was just blown to pieces. The police forces are deployed all around ground zero, trying to keep people away..." He paused, and added quietly: "A lot of people died tonight."

Zerrex nodded slowly, looking down for a moment before he murmured: "I know, Albatross... believe me, much as I don't want to think about it, it just keeps coming to mind. But I need to know if they've found Mercy, I... I need to know she's okay."

"Lunis military forces were deployed to the warehouses... several were destroyed, but they've rescued a lot of demons. They're handcuffing them for safety reasons, but the military is..." Albatross paused as Zerrex walked towards the door. "You're about to do something stupid. I don't even have to be there, and I know you are."

"Mahihko, Lone, stay here. I'm going to go get Mercy." Zerrex said firmly, and the two wolves didn't even have a chance to argue as Zerrex left, reaching up to tear the left sleeve off his leather jacket so it now seemed more like a leather vest as he said darkly into the phone: "Albatross, that girl of mine is special to me. If anyone's laid a finger on her, I'm going to rip their spleen out and feed it to them."

Albatross sighed on the other end of the phone as Zerrex stepped into an elevator, and then he said mildly: "Listen to me, then. Lunis's military was able to move in cleanly because most of the footage that's replaying is talking about the main building, and that's what blew up. People are rioting there and in the streets in the surrounding quadrants... but they aren't near the industrial district. To get to the warehouses, you'll need a vehicle."

Zerrex nodded, making a face as the elevator doors opened and he shoved his way through the crowd for the main doors. "Yeah, about that. I uh. Kind of can't drive a car all that well. I mean, I guess I could if I really had to, but... I just never learned."

"There's a parking garage beneath the hotel, find what you can drive there." Albatross said dryly, and Zerrex nodded as he looked down, following the yellow arrows on the road around to a ramp that indeed was labeled 'Underground Garage.' "You'll have to pass through a district waypoint, but from what I've heard, a lot of them are abandoned at the moment. All police have been called away to help with keeping the crowds under control and from entering the building site, but there's so many people and the crowd's grown so thick and angry that even tear gas isn't working on them."

The Drakkaren grunted to show he was paying attention as he searched the garage, before his eyes settled on a motorcycle on the back of a pickup truck. Zerrex quickly yanked the gate down, then he climbed into the back and whistled as he inspected the motorcycle: red and white, a show-motorcycle with fortified parts and modified springs for big bumps and long jumps. He grinned as he turned it around, then he cradled the satellite phone between his neck and shoulder as he simply hefted the bike up, tearing it loose from the straps holding the tires in place on the back of the truck, and he walked out and hopped down to put it down and lean it against the vehicle. "Okay, got my ride, and got my instructions. Which way do I go from here?"

"You'll be able to figure it out. I'm getting a call from Lunis, I have to go." Albatross said mildly, then he added: "Good luck, Lord Zerrex. I hope you find your daughter there."

"I'm sure I will." Zerrex murmured as the line clicked dead, and he closed the phone and turned it off as he approached the front of the truck, punching the window easily in and unlocking it and ignoring the alarm as he opened the door to lean inside. It mixed with the cacophony coming from outside, anyway, and he quickly yanked open the glove compartment, ignoring the small caliber handgun and instead settling his eyes on the keys to what he hoped was the motorcycle. When he returned to the motorcycle, he was rewarded with being right... and he grinned as it thrummed into life before he climbed onto the slightly-too-small bike and roared out and up the ramp.

When he turned back onto the main street, he found Albatross was right: and forty minutes later, he passed through an empty checkpoint between city sectors. At first, he'd lost a lot of time because people were crazed and shoved at him and refused to get out of the way of the giant lizard on the motorcycle... but here, the city streets were dead and empty. He ignored the alarms that went off when he passed through the scanner system, knowing the cops and military both had bigger issues to worry about... and then he simply followed the bright light that burned in the night. The rain had settled long ago, but the skies were dark and the lights were dim instead of bright in the industrial distract, where the buildings were only slightly shorter but often much wider: either warehouses stacked upon warehouses, or blacksmiths and other skilled laborers that were forced to practice their craft in this darker section of the country-city that was Lunis.

He twisted down a side street, and then he halted as three military officers held up their hands and approached him, all of them wearing heavy battle armor and carrying rifles. The middle frowned as he reached up to tap a button on his visor, and then he asked slowly: "What are you doing here?" He paused, then snarled and added shortly: "We have enough demons to deal with, thank you very much."

"And my daughter might be one of them." Zerrex said coldly, deciding that he might as well be direct. He was in no mood for screwing around with rhetoric and lies, anyway. "She's supposed to be an ambassador, it's kind of a big deal that I get her back. Believe me, it'll go a long way between mortal and demon relations... and you help me here and I'll pay you back with whatever the hell you want, I just want to get in there and help, and see if I can find my daughter."

"Like I believe that for a second." the middle one said, and then he frowned when one of the soldiers reached up and muttered something to him, and the soldier looked undecided suddenly. Zerrex glanced at the soldier on the left, and then the other on the right, who looked far-more-concerned with the explosions going on behind them then the demon on the bike... and then he finally shook his head and said firmly: "No. Go back."

Zerrex sighed, and then his eyes glowed green when he looked directly at the soldier, who blinked before he closed his eyes and shouted a warning. But then Zerrex simply grabbed his shoulders and slammed his head into the soldier's own, cracking his helmet and knocking him senselessly to the ground before he looked at the other two. The soldier on the right now was aiming at him, looking horrified... while the one on the left looked hesitant to bring up his rifle, and the Drakkaren glanced at him, asking quietly: "What would you do for your kids?"

The soldier lowered his weapon, and then he nodded, pointing and saying curtly: "Captured demons are being corralled in warehouse six in the corner of this quadrant, near the stone wall. I'd hurry if I were you."

"Thanks." Zerrex nodded to him as he shot by on his motorcycle, and then he twisted the handlebars to the side and buzzed quickly down along a tall stone wall, his sharp eyes picking out a patrol standing at the corner of the back of a huge building. The reptile shot directly for him, knowing that there was no way the guard could miss seeing him coming... and then he skidded to a halt, the soldier looking stupefied before Zerrex shouted: "Where are the demons?"

"Inside the building!" the soldier squeaked, obviously terrified out of his mind. Zerrex nodded, and then he paused and frowned as he looked to the side at a nearby explosion.

"What the hell's happening over there?" he asked, and the soldier only shook his head before he tried to babble something, but the reptile simply reached down and plucked his rifle out of his hands, adding flatly: "Dude, don't even try. To me, you're just some nameless grunt, and I would rather not squish you, got that? So let's try this again... what's going on?"

The soldier shook his head again, saying weakly after a moment as he looked up with panicked eyes: "They have... their weapons are too powerful. We know they don't have a lot of ammo but they're devastating our troops and... the demons, fuck, the demons, just look at them!"

Zerrex frowned, and then he nodded slowly as he walked around the back of the building, glancing at a tall shutter before he bent down and grasped the edges of it... and with a mighty heave, he slowly forced it up several inches before lifting it slowly above his head, and when he let go, it slid down a few inches before locking into place, and the Drakkaren was left to look inside at all variety of shackled demons.

He looked back and forth through the crowd of minotaurs, succubi, incubi, and a variety of other demons, so many of them in such horrible shape, covered in ugly wounds... and then, as he felt his hopes diminishing, he shouted: "Mercy!"

He clenched his eyes shut... and then there was a rustling, and he looked up as his hopes flared before his eyes opened wide as Mercy staggered out of the crowd, wearing nothing but a ripped, patchwork dress, covered in bruises and new scars as well as old but smiling, she was smiling, and she threw herself at Zerrex, and he caught her and lifted her up and hugged her close, before he a tremble tore through him as he hugged her close and she clung to him tightly, and he whispered raggedly: "Don't you ever run away again, little girl... don't you ever run away again. I'm going to keep you safe now, though, I promise, I swear... and everything, everything is going to be okay..."

He squeezed her close, gazing at her quietly and rocking her slowly in his arms... and then he opened his eyes again as she touched his face quietly, and he gazed out over the other demons: now that his pain was soothed, he could see theirs. He could see their scars, their wounds, and in a few cases, limbs that had been entirely removed... he could see how they were worn down and hurt and damaged... and then Zerrex looked at Mercy and he said quietly: "Wait here. I'm through playing games, and I'm going to go and show these bastards that demons look out for each other."

Mercy nodded quietly, and Zerrex left through the shutter before he passed the soldier. He paused, and then he said quietly: "Yeah, I looked at those demons. Now you look at them, and tell me when I get back whether they're monsters or if they're victims."

With that, he once more plucked the soldier's rifle out of his hands, and then he flicked it to full-automatic fire as he stormed towards the explosions, walking between the massive warehouses and ignoring the other soldiers that yelled at him but obviously didn't know what to do, until he reached the end of an alley where a dozen or so soldiers were hiding behind a makeshift barricade, most of them with broken armor and bleeding from various wounds.

"Hey, who are you?" asked one of them, but Zerrex only grunted as he peered past the group towards the warehouse they were attacking. It was surrounded by a wall of flames, and Zerrex could see snipers in the windows with rocket launchers... and he made a face as he saw a multitude of dead Lunis scattered on the ground, many in pieces and most of the corpses on fire. He took a long breath as he looked at the building... and then he tossed it aside and created a sphere of energy, the platoon of soldiers staring before the reptile threw it hard at one of the roosted snipers.

It exploded, and then the sniper's rocket launcher went up, and the force of the blast knocked a hole in the firewall as a large chunk of the wall collapsed. Immediately, Zerrex leapt the barrier and ran forwards even as several minotaurs with robotic limbs and soldiers wearing Wulfe Enterprises uniforms stormed into the gap, and then he roared as his right arm warped and a blade exploded out of it, and the first minotaur in line staggered backwards in horror before the Drakkaren slashed him in half.

In seconds, the reptile tore his way through the group and into the facility... and Lunis soldiers stared awkwardly back and forth in shock before white light exploded out of the crack, and there was a terrible, echoing boom, chunks of rock and metal hailing down from the sides of the building... and then Zerrex slowly walked back out of the gap, his left arm crackling with blue energy as he said coldly: "You can deal with whatever dregs are left, but that should take care of it... and now I'm going to get my daughter and those demons and leave, is that understood?"

No one argued... and Zerrex hopped the barrier again and brushed past the soldiers, the reptile looking back and forth as he headed back to the demons, and more importantly, Mercy: the daughter he'd been waiting to save for so many years now, and now nothing was going to deny him making things as right as he could for everyone involved. Sure, he'd sort of given his word he wouldn't squash any Lunis soldiers to Albatross... but he'd still kick their asses if they got in his way.

When the reptile returned to the warehouse, he circled back around to the open shutter and walked inside, and was promptly hugged by Mercy again. He hugged her back once more, glad to feel her body against him, the thick stitches on her muzzle rubbing along his chest and the chains around her wrists grinding against his scales, before he looked up at the other demons, who were nervously shuffling back and forth. Then he gently pushed her away and reached down to grasp the thick chain between the shackles on her arms, and he snapped it easily as he looked across at the other demons and said curtly: "I'm going to get you all out of here. Mercy, how many of them are there?"

Mercy looked at the group thoughtfully, and then she gave him a few numbers with his hands, and Zerrex nodded after a moment. About forty. "Do you think there's any others?"

"Dead." murmured a voice, and Zerrex looked to the side, at a goatling who was hanging his head low. He was wearing a torn sack around his waist for pants, and there were bruises all over his pale-skinned chest and arms, while his furred goat-head was ragged and unkempt. He finally swallowed and looked up as he said: "Most demons they captured they just put in the compactors or injected with something and put in the big batteries... us, they put to work as slaves until we were too weak, and then they threw us into the compactors too. They were making these..."

The goat grasped at the bag around his waist, and then he slipped a hand through a ragged tear, the handcuffs around his wrists jingling before he pulled out a broken shard of crystal. Zerrex approached and took it, and demons murmured as he came in close, looking both nervous and exhausted as he examined the damaged crystal piece. He nodded slowly to the goatling, and then he said quietly: "I'll make sure these machines are destroyed, and anyone who's hiding is saved. But for now..."

Zerrex muttered a short spell as he grasped the crystal shard tight, holding his other hand out, and a moment later his cane appeared in midair and the reptile easily grabbed it. Then he lowered it forwards and pointed it outside, even as a few Lunis soldiers poked their heads nervously around the open shutter, obviously not sure whether Zerrex was friend or foe... and then the eyes of cane glowed as energy crackled just outside, and a moment later it expanded into a dimensional rift, the Drakkaren saying clearly: "Go home, demons..." He paused, then looked at Mercy, who was smiling sadly despite knowing clearly what she had to do. "And you too, Mercy... you have to tell everyone what you saw here... and you're the only one I can trust to lead this lost flock to safety."

Mercy nodded, and then she dropped to a kneel... and the other demons did the same, Zerrex looking away before he said firmly: "Let's move, people, I can't hold this open all day!"

Mercy stood, but she hesitated a moment longer before walking up and kissing her father on the cheek, the stitches on her lips rasping against his scales before she quickly headed towards the portal, and when she motioned to the others, they naturally followed. Zerrex held the portal open, feeling the strain growing on him by the moment even while using the staff, and he gritted his teeth, determined to hold on nonetheless until every demon was safely into the white vortex.

Then, finally, he relaxed as the last demon vanished into the rift... and he sighed, slumping a bit as the Lunis soldiers hesitantly came inside, his eyes closed and his head lowered forwards... but when one of them started to raise their rifle, another quickly pushed it back down and hissed something at his companion, before Zerrex stood up and cracked his back, making a face. "What do you guys want? And why are you looking at me like I'm supposed to be giving you orders or something?"

"We uh... how are we going to explain this to the boss?" asked one finally, and Zerrex smiled a bit at this as he leaned on his cane, glancing at him with entertainment. "What?"

"I don't think it'll be too much of a problem if you didn't see much of anything. Can't stop what you can't see." Zerrex replied mildly, and then he simply walked out of the shutter and mounted the motorcycle, sighing as he looked up towards the sky and listening to the sound of distant gunshots as he murmured softly: "Everyone's got a duty to do, at the end of the day... but I'll see you soon, Mercy."

With that, the Drakkaren started the motorcycle and shot off back the way he'd come, passing by a few soldiers and then tearing past the three on watch as he tore back out onto the road, his eyes half-closed as he drove through empty city streets. Since he highly doubt the police had managed to quash the rioters, he guessed that the mob was still centered around the collapsed Wulfe building... and he smiled grimly as he passed an electronic billboard that was torn with static instead of images of Tobias. They had managed to take that down, at least, and that would help some.

The reptile was surprised to find that the streets were bare almost all the way to the hotel, however, and he made a face as he slowed in order to watch as three automated vehicles rolled by, all clearly labeled 'Police.' The one in front had a huge, half-dome riot shield that was splattered with garbage and char marks, as well as three grenade launchers on arms on its back hooked up to a massive ammunition drum, and antennae and small radar dishes sticking out of the rear. The other two were smaller, about the size of the reptile's motorcycle, and balanced on three wheels instead of four: they both had some sort of large-barreled gun mounted on either side of their narrow front, which was shaped to withstand heavy blows or possibly to batter objects and people, slightly-rounded and flat as it was. They also both had intelligent eye systems instead of headlights, and these looked towards Zerrex and watched him for a moment as the reptile carefully turned off the road and headed back into the parking garage.

He put the motorcycle back on the truck and closed the hatchback, figuring he might as well be nice... and then he winced as he realized he'd left the keys in the ignition. He mumbled something about insurance, then awkwardly headed back to the streets... only to bump into one of the motorcycles, which asked in a robotic voice: "What are you doing?"

"I was just... parking my motorcycle, so I can go inside?" Zerrex said dumbly, looking down at the machine. If there was one thing he hated, it was machines... and then he winced and flailed a bit when the motorcycle shone a blue light over him, scanning him quickly. "Hey, what the hell!"

"Demon detected. Surrender peacefully or be terminated." The motorcycle advised, but before it could signal an alarm, Zerrex stepped forwards and booted its smooth front hard with enough force to send it up on its back wheels, the machinery beeping in protest before the Drakkaren slammed a hard kick into its underbelly that visibly bent it and sent it flying into the wall of the building opposite, chunks of broken metal hailing down before the motorcycle tore loose from the dent its impacted had made in the structure and it fell to the ground. Zerrex huffed, then he winced and ran quickly around the corner of the hotel and fled inside.

The lobby was stuffed with angry people, and Zerrex was jostled back and forth as he made for the elevator, the Drakkaren muttering under his breath about how he could kick the ass of a robotic motorcycle but he still got shoved around by a crowd of fat, rich, lazy people. He paused as he realized that wasn't entirely fair, and then he saw an opening that led towards the elevator and he quickly slipped through it, hammering the call button and slipping inside the moment the doors opened.

He was surprised to find the hallway leading to his room was empty... and then his satellite phone rang, and the reptile looked down at his jacket stupidly before he answered it as he headed for the room, making a face as he realized he didn't have his keycard but patting at his pockets as if it would make it appear. "Hello?"

"I heard you caused quite a stir." Balthazar said mildly, and Zerrex cleared his throat a bit before the ferret asked in a gentler voice: "Did you find your daughter?"

"Yeah..." Zerrex knocked at the door, looking back and forth, and then he leaned against it, adding quietly: "I helped her and... forty, I think we estimated, forty other demons get down to Hell. Not a lot, considering the expansiveness of the facility and the soldiers... but one of the demons said something about being compacted into crystal or used as batteries... and I've got a lot of stuff here both you and Albatross will want to see." He paused, then covered the phone as he shouted: "Mahihko, open the door!"

"Room troubles?" Balthazar asked mildly, and Zerrex made an awkward sound, sensing the ferret's slight smile over the phone. "Not to worry. I heard that Hez'Ranna will be picking up one of its... elderly ambassadors on the rooftop of that very same hotel shortly, as a security precaution with all the rioting. If I were you, I might want to get up there as soon as possible."

Zerrex nodded, and then Balthazar said in a softer voice: "But let me make one thing clear, Zerrex, just in case you haven't realized it yet. Lunis is a technological paradise, and Wulfe Enterprises made all the technology. Once those computers analyze that security footage, however damning it is of Wulfe..."

"Oh crap." the Drakkaren said stupidly, and Balthazar gave a sound of agreement. "Yeah, uh. I think I'll be on the rooftop. Hiding. Soon."

"Good. I'll meet you once you're outside of Lunis, Zerrex... good luck." Balthazar said softly, and then the line clicked dead, and the reptile made a face as he folded the antennae down and closed it, slipping it into his pocket. Then he looked at the door and sighed as he felt at his pockets, muttering to himself before looking at his nanotech armlet and asking flatly: "Do you have a hacking device on there, by any chance?"

The armlet beeped after a moment, then a soft mechanical voice murmured: "Voice command recognition activated. Initializing program... software found. Device manager detected and activated."

It started mumbling other things Zerrex didn't understand, and he sighed and muttered under his breath before the reptile brought a foot up and kicked the door hard, and the lock shattered as the door swung open and smashed into the wall, swinging back closed and hitting the reptile in the face when he stepped forwards and knocking him on his ass. He blinked stupidly, then mumbled under his breath as he got up and headed into the room, before he winced as he saw Lone laying unconscious on the ground.

He hurried over to him and checked his pulse, looking around for Mahihko... but he was nowhere in sight, and since Lone wasn't dying, the Drakkaren decided that meant they had reconnected. But it had obviously taken a toll on their energies... and since their memories and emotions combined when they rejoined, he guessed that all the stress had knocked Lone for a loop. Zerrex was just glad it hadn't been Mahihko... and he headed into the kitchen to dig out a cheap plastic cup from the cupboards, filling it with water before he walked over and dumped it on the wolf's face.

Lone leapt to his feet, looking back and forth in shock as his eyes bulged... and then he groaned and staggered, his legs trembling beneath him before he looked up at the reptile and mumbled: "Dad? Fucking shit. My head is pounding like... oh fuck."

"Come on, we need to get to the rooftops." Zerrex muttered, and Lone nodded dumbly after a moment as the Drakkaren wrapped a steadying arm around him and guided him out into the hallway. They headed quickly down it to the elevator, and the Drakkaren hammered the call button, thankful that once more it opened quickly and was empty: he guessed that it would be a while yet before the lobby emptied of angry people, especially now with the automated patrols on the streets.

They took the elevator to the highest floor they could, and then Zerrex led Lone through the plush hallways until they found a rooftop access: thankfully by now, at least, Lone had recovered somewhat, even if he looked mortified at being caught both unconscious and now without a weapon. They mounted the stairs quickly to a locked door, but Zerrex was able to easily snap the doorknob off, and when the locking mechanism fell out, the door opened on an empty helicopter pad.

A cipher flew by, scanning the area as it began to lightly rain again... and the Drakkaren wondered if the helicopter would be able to land in this weather, but he figured that if Mahihko could drive one of the advanced choppers, a skilled pilot should be able to work in these conditions. He and Lone looked back and forth, Zerrex expecting something to go horribly wrong... and then he caught sight of a helicopter only a few blocks away: it used the same dual-turbine system as the helicopter Mahihko had driven, but it had a longer body and much-larger thrusters.

It touched down, and the doors opened, Dragokkaren soldiers motioning to them and shouting for them to get on, and Zerrex and Lone were all too glad to do so, wincing as they climbed out of the rain and it began to pour harder down. The chopper's turbines rotated furiously as it slowly lifted off the ground, thrusters working to keep them steady as the wind rocked the machine back and forth, and then they flew forwards low over the roofs of the massive skyscrapers that made up Lunis, and both Lone and Zerrex finally relaxed as Dragokkaren soldiers checked both of them for wounds, the wolf fidgeting and looking nervous but the Drakkaren recognizing the procedure and letting them go about their business.

When they were done, they sat back on a bench at the wall opposite, looking a bit cramped as one of them said clearly: "Commander Albatross has instructed that we fly you directly to Los Paradiso, a resort town on the coast of Ire. There, you'll be meeting him and President Balthazar for debriefing."

Zerrex nodded, signaling an 'okay' to the soldiers: he wasn't exactly in the mood to shout over the sounds of rain and wind whipping against the helicopter. Meanwhile, the armlet on his wrist was buzzing and clicking every now and then, and Zerrex only hoped he hadn't broken the goddamn thing... but by the end of the trip, it quieted, and the Drakkaren had to wake Lone up, who had fallen into snoozing quietly sometime shortly after departure.

The helicopter landed in a place that was the opposite of Lunis: the pad they landed on was old, cracked cement that was layered with grass and beach sand, and when they stepped out, the only light was provided from the stars above. The soldiers offered flashlights when they jumped down, but Zerrex shook his head with a bit of a smile, although Lone took one if only so he could shine it over his face as he contorted it at Zerrex, and the reptile said flatly: "You're ugly enough as it is."

Lone huffed and muttered something, and then he shone the light ahead: they were near where grass become sandy beach, and the beach was long and obviously maintained, a few rakes standing out against the side of a shed marked: 'Surf Gear.' Zerrex hated the beach... but he admittedly liked this place from what he saw, noting a few old surfboards stuck into beach and a bonfire crackling some ways down the length of the sand, surrounded by a few youths. He smiled a bit, then turned his eyes up the grassy path that led through... not what he'd call a forest, but it certainly wasn't a field, either, and the reptile followed the two Dragokkaren soldiers along it, tossing a glance out at the ocean behind them, and then looking up at the stars, enthralled by their beauty and the mostly-full moon.

They passed a few large log structures, a few lights still on in some of the windows and the overall look out front untidy but homey: Zerrex guessed it was probably the staff quarters. As they walked down the well-trodden path through the grasses, he looked back and forth and wondered how Marina and Cindy would like this place... Cherry, he knew, would have a fit the moment she found out what she missed. Not because she was big on nature... but more because she was big on anything that had to do with swimming, sand, and a resort with lots of people to terrify.

They stepped out onto the road, and they looked up at the bright lights of a large resort, a bus parked out front and the massive, tall-standing tower of the resort shaped like a U, sitting on a base shaped more like a clover. Standing outside were Ire special agents and soldiers from Hez'Ranna, the special agents doing their best to not look intimidated by the gigantic reptiles and their huge rifles as the pair of soldiers leading Zerrex and Lone turned to them and said: "Commander Albatross and President Balthazar are waiting inside the dining area."

Zerrex nodded, and as the two approached the double doors, both Hez'Rannan troops and Irenic agents stepped out: immediately, they glared at each other, and then as the Ire agent rose a scanner, one of the Dragokkaren reached out and crushed the thick titanium device in his hand as if it was a paper cup, and the agent paled before he quickly retreated..

Then the Dragokkaren soldier quickly opened the door for Zerrex, smiling warmly at him as he bowed his head forwards at the same time, and Zerrex nodded to him as Lone grinned and waltzed into the lobby behind the Drakkaren. A few gawkers were standing around as Irenic soldiers patrolled the area ceaselessly, and huge Hez'Rannan Elite stood silent sentinel, ready to move only if the situation called for it as Zerrex approached the open doors to the dining room, passing between Irenic troopers with a dubious-looking Lone.

Albatross and Balthazar were seated together at a table, but they both rose as Zerrex and Lone approached, and they exchanged warm handshakes and friendly greetings before the Drakkaren introduced Lone to the two. The wolf, however, was already staring at the nargile on the table, and he asked dumbly: "Is that drugs?"

"He reminds me already of Miss Cherry." Balthazar said mildly, and Lone looked both proud and insulted before they all sat down at the table, and the ferret took a slow draw on the pipe before he blew out a smoke ring, and Albatross rolled his eyes with a smile. "Before we get down to business... there are some dozen snipers stationed above our heads, somewhere. They're absolutely terrified of the Hez'Rannan troops... but I think our good friend Commander Albatross has this covered."

"Dragokkaren Enforcers posted on the floor above with anti-material rifles and thermal goggles, listening in on their radio transmissions." Albatross said mildly, pointing upwards. "Those soldiers make one hostile gesture, and they're going to be dead before they know it."

"Sneaky old bastard." Zerrex smiled a bit nonetheless, looking with entertainment at Albatross as he settled back into his chair, putting his cane across his lap as he said in a softer voice: "I'm glad to see you both here. Gives me a little hope for the future."

"You're the one who first gave us that hope, back at Amaterasu." Albatross replied gently, and then he looked over at Balthazar, who was relaxing back with his nargile. "Besides, me and him get along well, and he's pretty goddamn smart. His Hez'Rannan could use some work, though."

"So could my politeness. Please, Zerrex, and Lone, go right ahead." Balthazar said kindly, motioning at the other pipes coming out of the base, and Lone immediately grinned as he looked at Zerrex, who nodded and smiled a bit as he watched the little wolf begin puffing away. Then he looked up as the ferret asked softly: "Can you give us a rundown of what happened? And don't mind me if I begin to nod off a bit... coffee's on the way from the kitchens, but for me this is all very exciting and very late."

He paused, then tilted his head towards Zerrex, adding quietly: "Before I forget... I heard what you did to those soldiers of mine at the seafood restaurant... but more importantly, I heard what they did. It only goes to fortify my belief in mortal cruelty, yet... I also saw kindness in demons, and a willingness to intervene in a situation where you had no qualms or quarrel to save another."

"But I did." Zerrex said quietly, looking across at Balthazar with a faint smile. "Someone was unjustly suffering... the weak under the hands of the strong, who should be protecting them so they can grow, develop, and give back what they can. That was wrong... so I did something that you could call bad to make things right again. I can honestly say I didn't mean to kill any of them... but I certainly couldn't talk to them, so I used brute force, which is... one of my shortcomings, perhaps, my reliance on violence."

Balthazar shrugged, looking philosophical for a few moments... but before he could start in on a ramble, Albatross leaned forwards and said easily: "You are who you are... and who you are saved a hell of a lot of lives a hell of a lot of times, even if you had to take some to do it. You don't go for that greater good crap, either, but you always talk about doing what's right... and that's you, Zerrex, and I wouldn't have it any other way. So come on, tell us about what happened with Wulfe Industries... and you said you had some information for us?"

Zerrex nodded, becoming more serious... and he recounted the events and told them about what Tobias Wulfe had been doing, and that they had downloaded the files onto the armlet. At some point, a waitress came and served them all coffee, but Lone only stared at his as he automatically took up the story at some point, the two melding so smoothly no one noticed when Drakkaren stopped speaking and wolf did instead.

It was emotional and grueling, but he made it through... and Zerrex took up the story again from there, talking about how he'd stolen the motorcycle - earning a sigh and roll of the eyes from Albatross - and then how he'd made his way to the warehouse area and found the demons, his daughter, and the chaos. He only mentioned briefly destroying the warehouse for the Lunis soldiers, but he did make sure to mention it: and he paused before talking about how he'd sent his daughter home and that he expected some demons were going to be very, very angry about what had happened.

"Just make sure Lunis destroys those machines... because worse than angry demons are demons who'll want to use them for their own gain." Zerrex said quietly, looking at Albatross squarely, and he nodded after a moment with a face of distaste. "I'll send you both copies of the data by special messenger once we get it decoded and off the armlet."

Balthazar nodded, and then he sipped quietly at his coffee before he said thoughtfully: "Machineries of death... why can't we seem to make more machineries of joy in this world? Lunis, too... for all its glorious and noble past, its pursuit of exploration and construction instead of destruction... it sounds like Wulfe infected it like a virus, and that the people have become so used to getting their own way that when the charade ended, they all became animals."

"Reports from there are bad." Albatross added quietly, shaking his head slowly. "Rioting, looting, vandalism, murder. The ground zero site has become completely swarmed by people and they're interfering with all rescue operations... not that there's much to be rescued. Some of the wreckage is so hot that its turned rock and metal into slag... we'll just have to wait things out and hope that they can get things back into order."

The others nodded, and the meeting ended shortly after, with promises to get in touch about other issues and to keep each other updated. Zerrex traded a handshake and quick hug with Albatross, then he patted Balthazar on the shoulder and smiled to him as he shook his hand as well, before they left and went their separate ways: Albatross headed for the helicopter pad, Balthazar got into an armored limo, and another armored car sat waiting for Zerrex and Lone.

It took them back home: by the time they reached Valise, however, the sun was rising, and Zerrex only hoped that things were okay here: they had their own operation to carry out, after all. When they pulled up in front of the doors, it was just in time to see Cindy emerge, looking tired and melancholy... but the moment Zerrex stepped out of the armored vehicle, she brightened and threw her arms around him in a hug, then she smiled faintly at Lone when he came out. The armored car waited only a moment before it drove off, and Cindy gave him a gentle hug too before she asked quietly: "Is it over? Did you find her?"

"Yeah." Zerrex said softly, and the three went inside, Cindy muttering that work could wait. Marina appeared moments later to fling herself at Zerrex with a squeal of 'Daddy!' and Cherry popped out of hiding with a grin, looking at the reptile with relief. Finally, Driz appeared, awakened by the commotion and seeming confused at first, and then Zerrex said quietly, as he looked around at them all: "Mercy's safe, along with some other demons that were with her, and she's taken them back to Hell to let everyone know what happened."

"Good." Driz said tiredly, and he hesitated before finally smiling a bit at his father, nodding quietly to him as he murmured: "Thanks, Dad. You did good there. I'm gonna go home and see her."

"Take care, Driz... do you need me to open a portal for you?" Zerrex asked, smiling at him, but the dark-made being only shook his head and smiled before he rose a hand and vanished in a burst of dark lightning and white sparks. The Drakkaren blinked, and then he rolled his eyes as the others looked at him, saying quietly: "He never was much one for long goodbyes. Now tell me how things went for you guys."

They all sat down at the kitchen table, and took turns telling their stories: the plan to lay in an attack against the warehouse facility had gone smoothly, and Zanbrick and Mary had both learned a few things about real combat situations and teamwork, among other things. Zanbrick, they all agreed, had been bitchy at first... but only Cherry thought he hadn't improved, and Cherry obviously did not get along very well with the snide little bastard.

The facility itself had contained some very interesting samples, which was why Cindy was leaving so early: she wanted to analyze them at work, and see just what secrets they held. The machinery they had destroyed, and they had set free some fifty demons from where they had been left to rot in moldy storage containers until they were to be used for experiments. The battle had gone smoothly, with minimal damage to their side, and they had saved a lot of lives... but they had killed a lot of both mortals and mechanically-enhanced demons, and they'd had to flee when Scanner forces had descended on the scene.

They had also discovered a lot of demonic crystals, which were now safely stored for the moment in the empty room upstairs. As expected, however, the biggest problem they'd had to face was in getting along with each other... which they'd managed, although not at all spectacularly. Then Marina finally stood up and hugged her father around the neck, murmuring softly to him: "I love you, Daddy. I'm going to make you something special... why don't you walk Cindy to work now? And you too, Cherry, go with them."

Cherry huffed and grumbled, but she nodded after a moment, looking moodily at Marina. Zerrex felt awkward tension in the air... so he simply nodded as well, looking at Cindy and asking softly as he extended a hand: "You mind the company?"

"Not at all." Cindy smiled and took it, and the three headed to the door as Lone looked stupidly around, but then she glanced over her shoulder at him and said warmly: "Get some sleep, Lone, you look like you could use it. Take my bed if you want, it's more comfortable than Mahihko's futon."

"Thanks." Lone said dumbly, and he headed gladly off with a smile to Zerrex as he nodded to him. Then the three Drakkaren headed outside, and Cherry yawned and stretched, scratching her rear as she rubbed at a breast with the other hand and made a face.

"Dude, it's been stressful." she said finally, not seeming to mind that she was walking along in her bare feet in jogging pants and a charred exercise top, neither of which looked exactly complimentary on her. On Zerrex's other side, Cindy nodded firmly, and there was quiet as Zerrex imagined the stress the three put on each other: an angel, a demon, a mortal, all his daughters, all loving and devoted... but who all had personalities that ground against one another's.

Then they rounded a corner on the now-familiar walk to Cindy's work, and she asked softly: "So should we wait until Lone's ready to talk about it, or..."

"Give him a bit of time. Besides, you'll see what happened on the news shortly or hear about it at work..." Zerrex said softly, shaking his head slowly, and the two frowned at him as Cherry put her hands behind her head and Cindy touched his forearm gently, looking at his torn now-vest-once-jacket for a few moments.

Finally, Cherry threw her head back and laughed, and the others stared at her as she grinned and slapped them on the back, saying firmly: "Dude, why the fuck are we so melancholy? We should be celebrating! The worst of this bullshit is over, Mercy's back, things are gonna go swell from here on out, you hear me? I mean, fuck, what else can happen?"

She grinned brightly, and then the three looked up as a Dragokkaren approached them, obviously once a clone soldier, his eyes locked on Zerrex's tattoo as he smiled warmly and barred their way - whether on accident or purpose - with his large body, and then he held the flyers out, asking in a voice that was just begging to be listened to: "So have you three heard about the New National Socialist revolution, my compatriots?"