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The Drakkaren nodded again, and then he looked over at Selena, raising a hand as he called and interrupted the bickering between the two: "Uh. I'm going to go and see Ixin. You two wanna come with or are you just going to continue bitching at each other?"

The females exchanged looks, then they both nodded, grumbling a truce with each other as Sin looked relieved and created a portal, and Zerrex led the small group through to step out into Ixin's lab, looking around with surprise as he saw that the centrifuge was missing... but as his eyes traced downwards, he noticed that there was some kind of trapdoor in the floor. Before he could muse on the modifications Ixin had done to his lab, however, the mage bounced towards him with a clipboard, peering at the Drakkaren as he jotted a few things onto it before saying cheerfully: "Good to see you're still amongst the living. I'm going to mark my experiments done on you down as successes, but you know, some field testing other than you facing off against some sort of psychotically-all-powerful Old God would have been nice. Generally it's better to... you know, start small with these things. Not, oh ho ho, let's go save the world and all that bullshit."

"I had faith in your abilities." Zerrex said candidly, and Ixin looked pleased with himself as he stood up taller, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now, I hear you have something interesting to show us?"

"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact, and it's not my dick." Ixin replied with a grin, and then he turned around and bounced towards one wall, pulling several levers to various positions. Zerrex wasn't sure what did what, but a moment later, the lights dimmed down as light shone down out of a crystal inset into the ceiling, and the small group walked forwards to surround the projection of the solar system that appeared with their paths clearly marked out.

"It's just like the rings of Hell... except whole worlds are rotating around them." Lily said softly, and Selena snorted in amusement, earning a sour look. "It's true."

"In a way, she's not wrong at all. But mostly she is." Ixin said mildly as he approached them, as he pulled his flute out of its holster and spun it around his fingers, and before anyone could protest or argue with him, he snapped it upwards and sent a crack like a gunshot through the air as he became serious, seeming like an entirely different person as he said dryly: "What I want to focus in is on this quadrant here, surrounding our planet.

"As you may or may not know, there are ten planets in our solar system as well as one solar constellation." Ixin explained, as the mostly-blue world third from the sun was zoomed in on, orbited by a single large moon. "Examination of these planets and the solar system led to the development of astronomy and astrology, and all sorts of hokey magical arts as well as divination that's way more science-based than a lot of people realize. There's an ancient saying... as above, so below. And by taking a few different snapshots of the space surrounding us and combining that with the information kindly provided to me by the Naganatine who would talk to me, I've projected the approximate location of where Heaven and Hell are going to appear in space in the mortal plane."

Zerrex nodded slowly, looking up at the projection as the others fell quiet, and Ixin pointed to two sections of space near the world, where there were almost-perfectly spherical spaces of emptiness that were bulging and twitching ominously. As they watched the projection, Ixin quietly lowered his flute and played a short few notes... and the projection simulated sparking and twisting as space tore itself apart and something forced itself into existence like a child fighting its way to be born out of a too-small body.

Then two gigantic planets tore their way free, one that was red and crackling and shrouded by a dark mist, and a planet that was made of whites and blues. Zerrex frowned as they began elliptical, long orbits that circled not only around the sun, but the physical world as well, as Ixin said quietly: "Because of the speed they'd be hurled out of their former dimensions at, because of the way that... entire dimensions, not just worlds unto themselves, are being forcibly compressed and spat out... and the sheer size of the planets makes the equation difficult. This is the predicted course, however strange it might look... not because of scientific law, but because of the laws long ago put in place by God Himself. While the sun has just enough of a magnetic pull to be able to move these supergiant planets around itself on one curve... the connection to the physical world is what really keeps the planet from simply becoming a giant ball of death hurtling through space. It's like a magnetic pole... and if that planet is completely destroyed, well. We can kiss our asses goodbye. As it is, we're in a load of very deep shit... it won't be more than a few years before one of the smaller worlds collides with our planet or Heaven mid-course and creates a new problem for us."

He paused, then smiled grimly as he flicked his flute at the projection, making it distort for a moment as the images faded and then a projection of the red planet marked 'Hell' appeared. "See this? After doing an analysis and gathering a crapload of information over the years from explorers, Naganatine - even the ones who don't like me - and the different big-bosses of both Heaven and Hell, I put this estimate together. This planet is literally eight times larger than the physical world, will have a gravity field three times as strong, and will exude tremendous electromagnetic force. And before I give you any other random statistics I put together on it, I want to take a moment to talk about corruption and magic."

The others nodded, giving him their full attention as Ixin tapped his flute against his palm for a few moments, and then he said finally: "The way God split these dimensions apart ain't like how you or me makes a pocket dimension, but at the same time, it sorta is. You take a static location, and you collapse it in on itself to make a literal pocket in time and space. It has a static entrance that you can't move around, but you can also portal to it, like we really take for granted down here in Hell, because it's technically part of Hell's realm. God did that, but on a whole different level... and we all know what happens to the main entrance location when a pocket dimension collapses, however big or small it was."

Sin nodded, saying quietly: "Discharge. Everything in the pocket dimension is violently expelled back into the original location, often causing damage on the molecular level. Irreparable, even by advanced magical means."

"Not if you can just pull it off and snap something better back on." Anathema pointed out, reaching up to rip her left arm off at the shoulder with a terrible tearing sound and making Lily and Selena stare in horror before she snapped it back into place. Then she smiled sweetly as she looked at Ixin, who was frozen in mid-gape. "Continue."

He cleared his throat after a moment, then he shook his head, grumbling: "Fucking undead showoff." A pause, then he winced as Anathema glared at him, quickly picking up where he'd left off. "So okay. Like I was saying. With discharge, however, also comes the form of a magical EMP... vibrations that disrupt the electrons and particles that we harness to fuse and form elements that are drawn up out of corruption and energy." He paused, looked at the expressions on the faces of everyone other than Sin, who nodded courteously as Anathema stuffed her muzzle into the popcorn bag, clearly ignoring him, and he rubbed the back of his head, sighing. "Too advanced, huh? Okay. Vibrations on a certain frequency disrupt magic, that's all you need to know.

"There's a specific name for it, but we'll just refer to it as an AMP, or Anti-Magic Pulse. Mortals have never been able to find the correct frequency and vibration rhythm that interrupts particle manipulation, but mages have been doing it for centuries to piss each other right the fuck off." Ixin looked faintly amused at this, which made Zerrex think he'd probably participated in plenty of these AMP attacks on other mages. "Normally the effects of the AMP last only as long as it resonates, but stronger AMPs can have lasting effects that also really, really hurt like fuck, I kid you not. Sort of like being hit full-on by a magnetic blast, you feel like the fucking iron's been torn out of your blood." He made a distasteful face. "Except sometimes AMP permanently shuffles a person's particles around. But let's not get too complicated, right.

"When the dimensions rejoin... the shit is going to hit the fan, to use a popular mortal expression. It will unleash an AMP so powerful that it's going to knock out all the magical power from Heaven and Hell... not permanently, but for a lot longer than a few seconds. Unfortunately, I need more time to calculate the strength of it, because right now this is bigger than any science mumbo-jumbo I've worked with in the past. I'm working with numbers I didn't even goddamn know existed."

Zerrex nodded, then he asked mildly questions he always thought shouldn't have a place in Hell or Heaven but somehow did: "How's your current budget? Do you need more funding?"

Ixin snorted and shook his head, grinning amusedly at Zerrex. "Fuck, you're starting to sound like one of those bureaucrats from those senate committees that delightful High Princess Lily is always chairing." He glanced over to her and batted his eyes, and she just gave him a sour, evil look. "No, I haven't used up half the money allotted to me yet, mostly because I've been doing so much of the work myself... and right now, I'd suggest your funding go towards fortifying cities and settlements and investing in non-magical things at the moment. But you know..."

He paused for a few long moments, then he looked at Zerrex, saying thoughtfully as he tapped the side of his own muzzle: "The Barred City might actually be in the biggest trouble... because it runs almost purely on magic. Now, just what do you think will happen to a city like that when all magic throughout Hell dissolves for anywhere from a few days to a few years?"

"Oh great. So now I need to..." Zerrex paused, looking at Ixin meditatively, and then he said slowly: "You know, they're never going to go for that excuse, not in like. A hundred million years. Because I've already done everything short of going to war with them and none of that ever persuaded the bastards."

"Yeah, well, believe me. This will unless they've all signed suicide pacts." Ixin tapped on his temple, looking dryly amused. "You ever been inside that place? Magic, magic everywhere. And there is no way in shit they'll be able to lock everything down and install safety wires and support beams under everything before that AMP hits... by my calculations, it could happen at almost any time, due to the time distortions... but my best guess says we've only got a few hundred thousand years at most."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he said quietly: "In that case, we have to work fast..." Crap, why does this have to happen just after I killed Animaxander? I need to get up to the mortal plane, too... "I'll stay down here and see what I can help organize for as long as I can, but I can't hang around here forever, unfortunately. I need to head back up top to find out what's happened with Animaxander's death, and help Balthazar with the Kafka situation."

Ixin grunted, and then Sin said quietly: "Your daughter, Marina, and the two wolf children are up in the physical world right now... try and put your confidence in them for the moment. Lady Cindy and Lady Cherry both have great expectations of the three of them... and you've always spoken so highly of Marina."

"Yeah... I hope she'll get the jobs done. The thing about Marina is that she... she has a little bit of tunnel-vision sometimes, though." Zerrex said carefully, feeling slightly morbid as he rubbed at his head slowly. But then he slowly nodded, saying finally: "But you're right. I'm sure they'll be able to take care of whatever problems come up... Ixin, now, what can you tell us about when Hell itself becomes a planet?"

"Not much. Estimates on size and density, composition and structure... but fuck, this could all be totally wrong." Ixin responded as he looked up at the projection, crossing his arms and making a face. "The issue is that the fucking thing doesn't exist yet, and it's not comparable to a planet like any other in the solar system. It's going to be like this corruption-oozing ball of gross floating through space, and we're all going to be living on the fucking thing."

Zerrex rolled his eyes with mild amusement at this sentiment, and then he frowned a bit as Ixin pointed at the planet, looking around at them slowly. "What I do know, however, is that Hell's geography is going to change, and in ways that aren't entirely pleasant. Furthermore, we're going to start having to deal with weather... and it's gonna get very hostile, very fast. You ever see those creation of the world movies? Well, neither have I, but I bet they're a lot like this."

The reptile rolled his eyes, but then he nodded, saying dryly: "So you're expecting floods, earthquakes, tornados and, since this is Hell, a ninety-percent chance of raining fire?"

"At the least." Ixin replied cheerily, and then he drew an A+ on Zerrex's chest with his flute, making the reptile glare at him sourly as the mage said kindly: "For showing such a good effort out there. But seriously, people. We need to batten down the hatches on this one, and someone needs to go up to Heaven and do the same. I volunteer your pal Cindy, she's still hanging somewhere around Hell, right?"

"She's my daughter, for one thing. And well... is she?" Zerrex glanced over his shoulder at Sin, who nodded a bit, and then the reptile hesitated before looked at Selena, saying mildly: "And maybe you could help me with talking to the Barred City. They utterly hate me and Lily, but you, at least, they seem to recognize as a real demon. It would mean a lot to me if you could try and negotiate with them into granting us access to the Barred City so we could start helping them retrofitting the city with... well... whatever needs to be changed out, upgraded, and all that nonsense."

"Hey, they aren't going to just let me waltz into Daemon Cuorue either, you know." Selena pointed out, making a face and nodding, although she did seem to brighten up when she was included in Zerrex's plans. "The place is damn near invincible, and the fuckers goddamn well know it. I'm going to need some heavy artillery with me if I want them to listen."

"Take Sin." Zerrex said mildly, and the Naganatine sighed as Anathema snorted in amusement, grinning at her sister as the female dropped her head in a hand. "Sin, the only thing scarier than you is Anathema. And that's only because Annie here is a member of the living dead."

"Don't call me that!" Anathema grabbed Zerrex by the shoulders and hauled him up above her head, glaring at him, and the Drakkaren coughed, staring down at her before she cleared her throat and put him down, patting him on the head lightly as she muttered: "My name is Anathema. I don't go for nicknames like you and Cherry does."

Zerrex looked at her mildly for a few moments, and then he tilted his head upwards as Sin leaned down and whispered to him behind a hand: "It's a sore spot for her from many years ago... an ex-lover of hers used to always call her by her nickname, and when he betrayed her... it wasn't pretty."

"Sin, everyone can hear you!" Anathema snapped in a frustrated voice, looking humiliated, and then she mumbled and crossed her arms, sulking a bit as Sin blushed and mumbled an apology. "Oh, fuck it. Come on, don't we have more important matters to attend to at the moment than my love life?"

There were awkward mumbles around the group, mixing with Ixin's cheerful 'no!' before Anathema rolled her eyes and walked away. Zerrex and Sin both looked after her for a moment, but she only dropped to her knees in front of a desk, starting to mix potions together before Ixin leaned over to Zerrex and asked: "So do I continue?"

"Yeah, keep going, talk about exactly what that AMP is going to do to a magical bazaar like the Gated City. I'll be right back." Zerrex said after a moment, and then he headed towards Anathema, before frowning as Sin reached up a hand to stop him. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then she finally nodded hesitantly, and he smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder before heading over to Anathema, as Ixin starting to speak again.

The reptile sat on the desk as Anathema mumbled and mixed potions, pointedly ignoring him, and before he could even open his mouth, she snapped: "So why the hell do you feel that you have to get involved with everyone else's business, huh? What is with this sick, stupid need of yours to always get involved with people, to always try and... talk with people and to be their friend and all this bullshit?"

"I like to help." Zerrex replied mildly, shrugging a bit as he sat and rested his knees across his legs, as Ixin lectured in the background about magnetic polarities and the way Hell and Heaven both attracted and repelled each other, keeping their movements in constant motion. Then he finally looked up and added quietly: "I wanted to say that I was sorry, Anathema, if I brought up any bad memories. I'm kinda sensitive to that myself. I don't like being rude or thoughtless, and well..."

"You're so goddamn polite it's rude all over again." Anathema said dryly, in a voice that was almost admiring, and then she shook her head after a few moments, laughing a bit as she waved a hand at him. "Don't even open your goddamn mouth. Why are you apologizing to me, though? You had no way of knowing, and besides... this would have all gone unmentioned forevermore if you'd just kept your trap shut."

"Maybe I'm fishing, because I'm curious about learning more about you, I dunno." Zerrex said embarrassedly, looking down and rubbing the back of his head, and Anathema frowned as she looked up at him, the Drakkaren smiling a bit. "I'm... no good in a lot of social situations that aren't casual talk or we-bang-now stuff. I mean, ten million years in Hell and look at me, I'm still hanging with the same crowd."

Anathema shook her head slowly, and then she stood up and finished mixing a potion, the liquid inside the vial turning a dark, inky black. "See this? This is liquid radiance, whatever else it might look like right now." She paused, then reached a finger up overtop it and pushed one of her short claws into her own thumb, and the reptile watched as a bead of blood dripped out and down into the liquid, and the dark stuff inside trembled before it took on all the colors of the rainbow. "And this... is purest black. Allow me to demonstrate..."

She strode towards Ixin, who frowned at her before he winced as he looked at the potion, and Zerrex frowned before Anathema swung her arm out, spraying the liquid into the air... and with a whooshing sound, the entire laboratory was suddenly blotted out, a darkness so thick it was almost solid filling the air around them before Ixin said irritably: "Ha ha, nice party trick, you bitch. Now will someone please mop up the spill in aisle seven?"

"Anathema, is this an illusion or something else?" Sin paused, then clunked loudly into something, and Selena yelled in pain before there was a rapid thudding, and Zerrex winced before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, letting himself focus on his senses other than sight. "Excuse me, I'm so sorry!"

Ixin cursed, and then quiet flute music played through the air for a few moments before there was a long, awkward note... and he cleared his throat as he said politely: "Anathema, this is the one and only time I will ever say this. The next time you mess with my flute, I'll turn you into a piano. Okay? Great, glad we cleared that up and I got that off my chest. Now, as much as it hurts for me to say this, please lift this spell."

"Prideful creature." Anathema said amusedly, and then Zerrex felt something clack against his body before he winced as he felt bony armor lock over him, and then her skull slammed over his face and left him seeing in different shades of crimson, as if through a visor. It did, however, let him see... and he looked slowly back and forth even as he muttered under his breath, before Anathema whispered in his head: Oh stop it. It's just a little harmless fun.

"Yeah, for you. Lily, stop, you're about to walk on top of Selena... Selena, get up, you aren't anywhere near the desk." Zerrex instructed, the two females looking both humiliated and almost goofy as they stumbled around, obviously not used to having their sight taken away from them. Then the Drakkaren felt something nudge him, and he winced but didn't resist as Anathema began not so much controlling as instructing his body; it felt like if he wanted to, he could resist, but as he walked over to the potions rack, he decided to let his trust in her decide for him.

Anathema went diligently and quickly about her work with Zerrex's hands, stirring up a vial of some kind of bleach-looking substance in only a few minutes... and then she guided him over to a stain on the floor and poured the substance over it. Immediately, the darkness lifted as the floor bubbled and rotted slightly, and then Anathema's skull retreated down to Zerrex's shoulder, resting there as she sighed in his mind and let him take control of his own body fully once more. What a delightful little game.

"You're twisted." he said mildly, then he winced and dodged away when Selena ran up and tried to punch his shoulder, wincing and reaching up to restrain her when she snarled and flailed at his body. "Stop it, hey, she's just a bitch!"

Yeah, and you'll never apologize to me for calling me names, now will you? Anathema asked sourly in his mind, and the reptile rolled his eyes, not replying as Selena growled: "Stop protecting her! She's a troublemaker and she needs to follow the same rules as everyone else has to, or else she'll just keep pushing for more and more slack until she's ruling all of Hell!"

Sin sighed, shaking her head as she gently patted Selena on the back, saying softly: "I'm afraid sister's always been a bit of a troublemaker... she likes it when things are... exciting."

"Oh, sure, and that's a great time to make things exciting. We're busy trying to save the universe, that's all." Lily said sardonically, and Zerrex could sense Anathema's emotions as the bones clenched tighter against him. He could feel her anger, her confusion, mixing with a false sense of smugness at how much attention she was getting... and he wondered for a moment how undead her heart really was. Huh. That's poetic. "I really think we'd be better off if-"

"Wait." Zerrex held up a hand, and there was quiet for a moment before he said slowly: "How undead is the heart of a being that hurts from the words of others?"

The others looked confused for a moment before Sin nodded and smiled faintly, and then Selena punched her other hand, saying grimly: "I'll make her undead heart hurt alright."

Anathema just seemed even more embarrassed now than before, however, and her presence faded even from the Drakkaren's mind as her bones clung against him, before Zerrex shook his head, saying quietly: "She feels like she's gone right now, so don't even bother trying. It's like... she tuned completely out for the moment."

"Sister has many talents... I'm sure for her, it would be a simple feat to let her spirit temporarily leave her body... or rather, her anchor." Sin explained softly, walking over to Zerrex and quietly stroking a finger along the skull, and then she smiled faintly as her eyes flicked over to the others, saying quietly: "Not that I'm encouraging her or even trying to explain what I don't understand... but maybe after so many years lost in the void, maybe we can try and show a bit of compassion for the fact that Anathema might not have the best-developed social skills."

"Neither does Zerrex, or even that rat bastard Ixin, but both of them somehow manage to not piss us off more than a few times a week." Selena argued, resting her hands on her hips, and Ixin and Zerrex exchanged a look before they both frowned at her, the former huffing and the latter crossing his arms. She only looked sourly from one to the other, however, then said flatly: "Hey, it's true."

"You're... true." Zerrex responded after a moment, and Selena slapped her forehead before the Drakkaren looked over to Ixin, asking him mildly: "So do you want to get back to the topic at hand?"

"I've said my bit, really. After all, I can't talk too much, I'm antisocial." The mage shrugged after a moment, twirling his flute moodily between his fingers as he looked at Selena, and then he finally sighed and said in a more-serious voice to Zerrex: "Listen. The best way to minimize the damage this is going to do is to try and figure out a way to get demons right the hell out of Hell so they aren't in danger... but I'm not saying there won't be unhappy effects on the closest mortal worlds, either. There's no record and no way to tell just how long ago this solar system formed, or even what it looked like before God started his little project. I've built a few little toys that are running around, investigating strange energy signatures that are cropping up all throughout Hell, but well... I really, really doubt they're going to be able to tell me anything useful until we get very close to zero hour."

"Great..." Zerrex muttered, shaking his head slowly, and then he paused and frowned at Ixin, asking him carefully: "If the mortal world itself was destroyed... would Heaven and Hell continue to exist if there were say, a large amount of souls still available in space, say in... floating cities?"

"Let me do some calculations." Ixin said after a moment, as the other demons only looked at Zerrex oddly, and then Ixin blew a short tune on his flute that made the projection of the Hell-planet vanish before one of the mortal world appeared, with the moon circling slowly around it at a slight angle. The mage rubbed slowly at his muzzle, and then he drew a small circle with his flute that turned into a solid, yellow sphere, floating between the moon and the world as he muttered: "Well... yes and no. It would be like a bandage on a severed limb, except Hell and Heaven wouldn't lose power as fast. I mean, as it is, the fact that all three worlds are going to be in the physical universe is going to heavily damage the cycle... I don't think a lot of us are going to survive this even if you do save the mortal world, if you want my full honest opinion."

Zerrex nodded with a slow sigh, rubbing at his forehead before he finally said: "Then we'd better get busy. Lily, start pulling all the gods and important demons throughout Hell you can into one big meeting... Ixin, you can summon all the mages, anyone and everyone you think might be of some help to us. Selena can barter with the Barred City, and Sin can start directing the fortification of settlements... talk to Feldstone, he'll know best what needs to be done where."

They all nodded, and then Zerrex made a face as he looked down at his hand, feeling a nudge at his mind. "I'm going to see if I can find someone who can go up to Heaven for me to talk with the big bosses, see if they can convince at least a few people up there to batten down the hatches... and Anathema, well. Do what you do best and call out some undead, work with Sin on fixing things up here and there."

"Because nothing makes a better slave than the undead." Anathema said pettishly as she snapped off his body and resumed her normal form, looking a little bit more than mildly offended, and the reptile groaned and slapped his forehead. She crossed her arms and huffed, but then finally looked at her sister and nodded, saying dryly: "Fine. But you owe me for this."

"Sure, if that's what it takes." Zerrex muttered under his breath, then he looked around at them all, opening a portal for himself as he said dryly: "Well, let's get moving, people."

It took two weeks to really get the project started... but once the gears started turning on things, things started to really move a lot faster. Zerrex wondered to himself for a few moments why that was as he finished getting his things together to return to the mortal plane, Cindy and Cherry waiting anxiously near the door leading out of his room as the angel said softly: "If you're really worried about things here, Daddy, you could stay another week or even a year... Cherry and I can handle things up top, at least for a little while."

"No, I've got... this bad feeling." Zerrex said finally, and he made a bit of a face even as he smiled in wry amusement. "And I mean for more than just... you know, the fact that Balthazar is being threatened by someone connected to Animaxander, or more than because the freaking worlds are all going to soon be under siege by gods in sci-fi spaceships." He paused, then shook his head with a look of distaste as he stood up and tossed a backpack to Cherry, who easily caught it and slung it over one shoulder. "Gods, every time I say it out loud it gets more and more retarded."

"The truth usually is pretty damn stupid." Cherry replied with a bit of a smile, and Zerrex looked at her for a few moments before he nodded a bit in agreement with a grunt. Then she headed out into the hallway, although Cindy lingered a moment longer to watch as her father picked up his cane and put Blackheart on his back. Then she left, and the reptile smiled a bit as he smoothed out his plain black clothes before he held a hand out, murmuring a command to his Nanotech Armlet and creating a matching ebony fedora that he placed on his head.

The reptile left the room, walking out as his daughters strode in front on him like an honor guard, and the Drakkaren smiled a bit despite himself as his cane tapped gently against the floor, his emerald eyes calm. He had done everything he'd could in Hell as it was, he felt... and now it was important that he headed back up to the mortal plane and see what he could set in motion there.

They stepped out into the main hall, and Zerrex glanced back and forth as something nudged at his mind, and Cherry was frowning as well... and then the reptile yelped as a pile of something fell on him from the ceiling, and both Cherry and Cindy spun around to see Anathema's bone-armor fused tightly onto the reptile, Zerrex making a face before he asked flatly: "And how long were you on the roof for?"

"Longer than you might expect. You dress like a girl." Anathema retorted as the armor slithered over his form and into his back, before she added wryly, the skull settling on his shoulder as golden fire burned in its sockets: "Now, before anyone tries to touch me, I want to make it clear I'm coming with you to that mortal plane. Because I want to know what the hell's been going on there since I've been sealed away and I think I can be of more help up there than down here."

Before anyone could argue, Sin said from the bottom of the stairs in an embarrassed, gentle voice: "I... I think my sister is right." A long, awkward pause, and then she said quietly, looking down and rubbing the back of her head slowly: "I would be... far too visible on the mortal plane, and my magic powers won't function properly... but Anathema's abilities will continue to work no matter what happens."

Zerrex remained quiet for a moment, and then he finally sighed and nodded, crossing his arms as he looked up at the ceiling and said firmly: "But you gotta listen to me, is that understood? Mortals are very easily frightened, and they don't take kindly to demons and angels... but if there's one thing they hate more than us, it's the living dead."

"Seriously?" Anathema sounded moody again, but the reptile ignored her this time as he headed down the stairs, Cherry poking at the skull on his shoulder as Cindy sighed and shook her head slowly, looking morbid. I don't understand that. Undead are no more unnatural than you or me... well... perhaps that's a bad example. You're a strange demon, after all... just as I'm not an ordinary member of the living dead.

Zerrex grunted a bit as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and Sin walked up to him and kissed his cheek, making the reptile smile a bit before he kissed her forehead softly in return. Then she turned around and held up a hand, a vortex forming in the middle of the room as she said quietly: "Please take care of yourself, Lord Zerrex... I truly don't know what we'd do without you around to aid us."

"Bah." Zerrex smiled a bit despite himself, and then he reached up and squeezed her shoulder gently, saying softly: "Keep Lily and Selena in line, and all the others, Sin. We've got a hell of a... thing coming at us, but I think we can make it if we just keep pushing forwards."

Sin nodded quietly, and then she bowed a bit as Cherry and Cindy both waved their goodbyes, following Zerrex as he strode forwards and into the vortex. For a few moments, they walked through a tunnel of swirling white, and then they emerged with a crackle of energy into the mortal world, stepping out into the kitchen of their small house before Zerrex was tackled by Marina, the reptile flailing his arms and almost falling over as she clung to him. "Daddy!"

The Drakkaren hugged her gently back after a moment, smiling quietly down at her, and then he winced as a small, furry thing collided with his lower back, cracking his spine loudly as he picked up Marina on reflex, but she only laughed and clung tighter around his neck as Mahihko squeaked and jumped up, wrapping his slender legs around the reptile's legs as he clung to his waist and dug his head against his lower back, yelling: "Daddy-Daddy-Daddy! I missed you, I was so scared!"

Zerrex swayed awkwardly on the spot, grunting a bit as he felt psychic static buzz in his mind at the same time before Marina's eyes flashed open, and she glared a bit at the skull on his shoulder before the reptile put her down gently, crossing her arms as she asked sourly: "Why's she here, and attached to you like that?"

Mahihko looked up curiously as he finally let go of Zerrex and toddled around to his front, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing into the lizard's large fingers for a moment before his eyes settled on the skull, and he reached up towards it to poke it. Then the sockets lit up with eldritch golden flame, and Anathema said darkly: "Back the hell off, both of you. I'm a necessary element in a world that's falling apart... and believe me, little girl, you might be strong, but you're still only a mortal."

"I really, really would not piss her off if I were you." Cherry said mildly, poking her index fingers together as she coughed a bit, looking at the skull pointedly as Marina fumed visibly. "See, like. I want you to imagine Zerrex at his worst. Well, that's Marina at her best."

"Fuck you, Cherry." Marina muttered finally, and then she stormed off, giving her father a gentle pat on the bicep as she passed but glowering at everyone else. The reptile slapped his forehead with a sigh, and then he looked down at Mahihko, who had huge round eyes and was staring with terror at the skull.

Finally, the reptile reached out and gently patted him on the head, and Mahihko loosened up a bit, as Zerrex said softly: "I'm glad to see you're okay too, kiddo... how long has it been?"

"Two weeks. You must've spent a really long time down in Hell." Mahihko nodded seriously, and then he frowned when Zerrex and his daughters exchanged nervous looks. "What is it, Daddy?"

"Nothing you need to worry about right now, kiddo, we'll get to talking about that later." Zerrex said gently, squeezing Mahihko's shoulder, and the wolf smiled hesitantly before the reptile asked curiously: "So where's Lone?"

"I got pretty badly beaten up..." Mahihko rubbed an oversized paw shyly against the ground, looking down awkwardly before he gazed back up with a bit of a smile. "So Lone had to recombine with me... we were unconscious for a little while, but now we're fine."

He nodded, and the reptile felt oddly creeped-out by the lupine referring to himself as 'we' before Cherry walked over and half-shoved Zerrex aside to pick the little wolf up under the armpits, making him giggle like a child as he kicked his big feet lightly and she said cheerfully: "Well, it's great to see you healed so fast, you rubbery little bastard! Come on, me and you, let's go and play in the den. Cindy and Zerrex got some business to take care of once they unpack, and I think Father's pretty damn anxious about that."

"Okay. Good luck, Daddy." Mahihko smiled up at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren nodded to him with a bit of a smile in return, poking his nose quietly to make the wolf giggle before he left with Cherry, toddling happily along beside her.

The two watched them lead, and then Cindy said with soft amusement: "She really is good with kids when she wants to be, isn't she?"

"She is." Zerrex agreed softly, and then he smiled a bit as he headed for the ladder, calling down to her as he climbed to the second floor: "Mind picking up the portable phone and bringing it up here?"

"Just let me put my stuff away!" Cindy responded clearly, and Zerrex nodded a bit despite the fact there was no way she could see the gesture. He grunted as he half-crawled to his feet and wobbled for a moment, wincing at the pain in his leg, and then Anathema asked softly in his mind, clearly curious: Why does your leg ache even now?

"History." Zerrex said after a moment, and he walked towards his room, stepping inside as he pulled Blackheart free from his back before he smiled a bit as the sword seemed to resonate in his hand, holding it up as he said softly: "Yeah, we're home, old friend."

He slipped Blackheart into the sword holder on his wall, and the weapon gleamed blue for a moment before it faded into the normal polished luster of the sword, and Anathema seemed to hesitate in his mind as the Drakkaren sat down on his bed with a sigh, putting his cane aside and just letting his eyes wander around the room full of mortal odds and ends. Then, finally, the Naganatine nudged again: Is it psychological or physiological?

"I wonder how the hell you 'gods' and ancients became so scientific. Here on the mortal plane, we tend to think of demons and angels and all those other supernatural beings as magical and fantastical, not as... advanced science nerds." He snorted in amusement and grinned at the ceiling as Anathema huffed in his mind. "Seriously. Usually the people who put forwards theories about gods coming down in UFOs to abduct us all to Heaven are treated like. Well. Complete nutjobs."

Well, that's because it sounds like they are. Anathema retorted, and then she took a moment to sort through his mind, obviously digging into his vocabulary to find out the term he'd used before she added flatly: And believe me. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that these god-monsters aren't coming in spaceships to bring any of us to any kind of Heaven.

"I guess I made sure of that." Zerrex said quietly, and he felt a strange guilt for a moment at the choice he'd made. After all, what was right and wrong? Good and evil, he knew were points of view, were bendable and corruptible... while right and wrong were supposed to be immovable and factual. He paused, looking down, and then he asked softly: "Did I do the right thing? Is it right for me to possibly be sacrificing myself and all my friends to save a decaying, destabilized world, Anathema?"

The undead Naganatine remained silent for a few moments, and then she finally replied quietly: Honor and loyalty supersede all. If you'd saved all your friends and yourselves... that would mean turning your back on the world... on not just the bad parts, the rotten parts... but the innocent ones, and the ones that have always strived to maintain the same morals and values that you do.

The Drakkaren nodded after a moment, and then he laughed faintly before he said finally: "I guess you do have a point there." He paused, then smiled a bit as Cindy stepped into the room, and he caught the headset she tossed to him easily, fitting it over his skull and adjusting the microphone to his mouth as he asked quietly: "Going to listen in?"

Cindy nodded, standing a short distance away with the phone hooked up to another headset already perched on her head, and then held up three fingers and lowered them one after the other, and the reptile closed his eyes as she hit the talk button and a number autodialed itself. They both sat quietly for a few moments as the phone rang... and then the ferret picked up, cutting off the fourth tone as he said breathlessly: "Hello, Zerrex?"

"Hi, Balthazar." Zerrex said softly, listening for a moment before he cleared his throat and spoke a bit clearer, asking quietly: "How are you holding up?"

"I'm good, considering Kafka's mad campaigning against me." Balthazar responded, and then he thanked someone in his cordial, gentle tones, and Cindy made a hand gesture towards him but Zerrex only waved his own. It wasn't­ like he distrusted Balthazar... what he was worried about was someone else cutting into the line. Cindy was a bit better than Cherry when it came to distinguishing whether or not there was a tap of some kind on the phone line, mostly because Cherry far-preferred situations that let her use her visual abilities... Cindy, on the other hand, had learned to harness all of her different senses.

There was an awkward quiet for a moment, and then the ferret sighed, saying softly: "It was very kind of you to let your too-kind daughters stay here with me, Lord Zerrex... Miss Annabelle and Ambassador Mercy treat me with a respect and deference that I likely can't achieve returning half of to them. Of course, Kafka calls me a pimp and other such slurs, but I think I'm far too old and far too tiresome for such activities. Can you imagine me attempting to even get a date at my age, much less trying to sell such benevolent girls as these on the street for pocket change?"

Zerrex laughed a bit, smiling into the phone as he replied: "Well, you're nothing but a child compared to my age, Balthazar... and it's better to find someone who is intrigued by your personality rather than by your body, anyway."

The ferret gave a quiet chuckle, then he asked softly: "By-the-by, Lord Zerrex, are you alright? I heard you took quite a beating out fighting Animaxander... before we talk on business, I'm rather concerned to know if you're alright. As it is, I feel terribly guilty about even letting you go out there alone without a full detachment of Scanners or military to assist in the endeavor."

"Now that would have just drawn more attention and made you look even more like a tyrant... don't worry, Balthazar, it's only been... what, two weeks, I heard? And I'm already back in top form." Zerrex paused and flexed a bicep, and then he smiled a bit as he realized it was true. Sure, he hadn't gotten nearly as much training in as he'd wanted to, but it still felt like it had helped with his recovery, made him limber again and gotten his energy up... and then the Drakkaren rubbed his hands together slowly, asking quietly: "If I can, Balthazar... how are my girls? I worry about them."

"Of course you do... you're a father." Balthazar said softly, and Zerrex smiled a bit, feeling touched at the way the ferret used the word, before he called: "Miss Annabelle? Would you care to talk to Zerrex for a moment? It would probably soothe him somewhat."

"Balthazar, really, I don't-" Zerrex rambled, and then there was a shuffling on the line before Cindy's eyes narrowed, and she made another hand gesture over to him, the reptile nodding coldly even as he heard Blueberry give a cheerful 'hello!' to him. In the middle of the phone exchange, someone had coughed or cleared their throat... and it meant there was a third party currently on the line.

"Oh Daddy, it's so nice here." Blueberry said warmly, and even through his anxieties, the reptile couldn't help but smile a bit: her exuberance for getting to learn so much about the mortal world showed clearly in her voice, and it was infectious even with the seriousness of his worries. "The libraries are so full of books and knowledge, and President Balthazar knows so much about so many cultures... he can tell the most wonderful stories, about Ire and his homeland, and he's shown us so many artifacts from his native country that are all so very beautiful... I've been able to learn so much, and I feel like I'm finally starting to really understand mortal culture and... and why you want to protect it."

She stopped, and Zerrex could almost feel her blush before he said softly: "I'm really glad to hear that, Blueberry... and what about Mercy, is she doing well?"

"Oh, yes!" Blueberry said brightly, perking up again after the moment of quiet, and Cindy held up two fingers, the reptile making a face. Two people listening in? How the hell did she figure that out? "Mercy is really doing well here... she's very well respected and I can tell she's happier than she's been in a long time. She's started wearing some of these neat mortal clothes, too... they're called... um..."

"Kashmiri shawls." Balthazar's voice spoke up from the background, and then he added softly: "And the scarf worn over the head is called a hijab. In parts of my country, this was actually enforced by... well, I can ramble after we finish business with your father."

"Of course. Did you hear that Daddy?" Blueberry asked shyly, and Zerrex smiled as he gave a sound of affirmation. There was a moment of quiet where he imagined her fidgeting, and then she finally said in a slight rush: "I'm going to give you back to the President now, okay? I love you, Father, as does Mercy!"

"And I you both." Zerrex replied quickly, and then he laughed a bit as he heard Balthazar come back on the line, saying with soft entertainment: "Thank you... but you know, you didn't have to do that."

"It was my pleasure, truly... but I'm afraid that now we should talk about more unpleasant happenings." the ferret said quietly, and Zerrex glanced at Cindy, who shook her head after a moment. "Unfortunately, Kafka poses a considerable burden and-"

"Perhaps we should talk about this in person." Zerrex interrupted pointedly, and Balthazar paused for a few long moments. Then the lizard smiled a bit at Cindy, saying carefully: "After all... there are other members of my family you have yet to meet. I'd be rude if I didn't introduce you."

Balthazar remained quiet for a long time, and then he finally replied: "Perhaps you have a point, old friend. Expect me in ten hours' time, then, to be knocking on your door. It would be good to get out of here and stretch my legs, admittedly... the place has been a bit of a mess."

"Then I'll see you then." the Drakkaren said softly, and Balthazar agreed in a voice that was nearly-silent before Zerrex clicked the off button on his headset. Cindy stayed on her line, however, holding up a finger... and then she balled her hand into a fist and smiled coldly as she hit the speakerphone button on the portable, holding it out towards Zerrex.

There was a clattering sound, and then a rusty voice said: "Fuehrer Kafka will appreciate this, eh Marty? More than enough evidence to show he's been hanging with demons."

"Fuck, hang up the fucking line, you asshole, someone could still be listening!" hissed another voice, and then the line went dead before Zerrex and Cindy looked grimly at each other. Then the female hit the 'off' button on the phone and pulled her headset down with a sigh as Anathema asked mildly: What's the big deal?

"The big deal is that now Kafka is going to slur Balthazar... mortal politics tend to involve throwing a lot of mud at each other, and before you ask, it's a metaphor, look it up." Zerrex replied mildly, tilting his head, and then he cleared his throat when Cindy looked at him awkwardly. "Sorry, Anathema was talking to me. I forget sometimes that she tends to do it mentally and uh... well... yes. So... suggestions?"

Cindy shook her head slowly, saying softly: "The problem I see is that they could be anywhere... sure, in all likelihood they're near Balthazar, but we know that Kafka sees us as a threat, too. We need to see for ourselves what he's saying and analyze it and him as best we can from a range... unless, of course, you want to try sneaking in, hard as that would be."

"I'm not so sure about that." Zerrex looked down at his bicep, saying slowly after a moment: "We've been approached on the streets before, remember... Cherry and me both. And Kafka's rallies are massive... if we stayed near the middle-back, there's little chance he'd be able to spot us, unless he's got some nasty tricks of his own up his sleeve."

"We can't discount anything." Cindy said softly, walking over to sit beside him on the bed, and then she put the phone and headset down before grabbing the remote and turning the television mounted in the wall on. It was set to a cartoon channel, and Cindy rolled her eyes, earning a sour look from Zerrex as he pulled his headphones off before she turned the channel... and then winced at the sight of an effigy of Balthazar being burned and angry Dragokkaren yelling and dancing around the barrel filled with flaming debris it was hanging over.

The shot widened, and Zerrex realized it was the capital city of the nation... and that the entire main street was filled with protestors, police here and there trying to subdue the more-violent people but having little luck. Fires burned here and there, and red flags with black swastikas and the profile of a saluting figure on them fluttered in the faint wind, hanging from poles both anchored into the ground and buildings, while several Irenic flags lay charred on the ground, shredded, burnt, and damaged in every other possible way.

"And to think, in the old days this never used to happen because everyone was terrified. But take the dictators out of power, and now they want to put Kafka in charge." Zerrex said ironically, motioning at the television as Cindy snorted in disgust, watching as a group of Dragokkaren charged by the camera, covered in painted-on swastikas and red paint as they laughed and ran away from several very angry riot-police in full armor that was splattered with both eggs and red paint. "This is exactly why I don't like people. And tomorrow half of them will be screaming about patriotism and their rights being violated when some angry old-Ire support burns a Nazi flag."

"I think lots of people feel they don't need much more reason to set Nazi flags on fire, even if Irenic National Socialism seems to be on a different strand than the genocidal one that started wiping out 'unfit races.'" Cindy replied mildly, leaning against her father, and then they both winced as Anathema's skull twisted off Zerrex's body and the undead Naganatine reformed between them, throwing an arm over the shoulder of both daughter and father. "Do you mind?"

"Shut up, something's happening." Anathema muttered, and the three looked at the television as a brigade of uniformed National Socialists marched down the street, led by a figure Zerrex recognized. His eyes narrowed as he saw Rasputin at the head of the column of quasi-soldiers, watching as the apparent unit calmed down their own riot, and then the Dragokkaren approached the camera with a smile and his hands held out in a gesture of peace.

He looked back and forth as supporters of Kafka's regime and ideal gathered slowly around, and then he said calmly and courteously: "My friends, my neighbors, please, peace to all of you. Are we all not one nation, and do we not stand better united rather than divided? Believe me when I say I wish with all my heart for the Fuehrer to be put in power, but for now, we must still maintain our virtues while accepting the fact that it is currently President Balthazar who is in power, whatever are his failings."

The Dragokkaren continued to speak, rambling more than anything else in his accented voice about freedom, friendship, and democracy, and Zerrex made a face as he leaned backwards, muttering: "No wonder Charon let the asshole go. I wouldn't be able to stand his babbling either."

"Wait, you know him?" Anathema and Cindy both looked at him, before the undead Naganatine frowned, glancing back at the screen. "Is he a demon of some sort? Or one of the Old Gods' cronies?"

Zerrex shook his head slowly. "Apparently his name is Rasputin... and he definitely works for the Old Gods. Sin, Amiglion and I encountered him trying to break into your tomb and steal your skull, and while he wasn't exactly threatening in his strength and skills, I couldn't kill him no matter what I did to him. He's invulnerable, at least to my usual physical attacks, just like another opponent I once fought... but that bastard I took down by giving him a plasma bath, and he drowned in it. Anyway, well... Ami summoned Charon to help us, and he dragged Rasputin off into the Forest of the Departed, and I have no clue how he managed to escape from either there or him."

Anathema snorted at this, grinning coldly as she said distastefully: "Once upon a time, Naganis used to tell us a legend about how some Gods created abominations they couldn't control, and guardians meant to serve them that were imbued with terrifying abilities. But I don't think anything's truly invulnerable, Zerrex... why don't you let me test his strength the next time we encounter him? I'd love a chance to prove how the Cycle reigns supreme over all."

"I don't know if that makes you bloodthirsty or just a true believer in your own faith." Cindy said mildly, and the undead Naganatine snorted in amusement, rolling her eyes. "Does that mean Kafka has a connection to the Old Gods?"

"Either that, or he's being used by him." Zerrex said slowly, and then he frowned, looking down as he muttered: "But I still can't figure out why the hell they'd want to use him when Athéos and the other gods we've deal with so far have been... so powerful... and when they clearly want to destroy the world, not... take it over."

"Don't you two know anything?" Anathema asked mildly, and Cindy and Zerrex both favored her with annoyed expressions. She glanced from one to the other, then she threw her head back and laughed, and they both frowned before Zerrex winced and Cindy pushed at her as she squeezed them around the shoulders. "Now I see the resemblance between you two, and in more than just your minds!

"No no, you see, you're looking at this from the wrong perspective." Anathema said mildly, glancing from one to the other before she stood up and turned around, crossing her arms and looking at them like they were children. "Destroying a planet with an advanced civilization is not a purely physical process. Sewing discord and chaos in the ranks is often a far more effective method... after all, if your physical planet used all its powers to repel the Old Gods, they might actually have some success, in an organized movement. But if Kafka is able to stir up confusion in Ire and create a power struggle, well... if there is one thing I am well aware of, it is that all things loathe being leaderless."

Zerrex made a bit of a face, beginning to understand, before he looked at Cindy and said quietly: "She is right... after all, as something I learned myself quite well, number always beat power."

Anathema looked down for a moment at this, and then she asked quietly: "Do they? I think that perhaps, even if your mortal friends did manage to coordinate their numbers and forces into one powerful strike against the Old Gods... you might be no more than a nuisance to Athéos. He will be the true test of strength... and as he has demonstrated, it will take more than simply skills with a sword and some nasty words to beat him."

Zerrex made a face at this as Cindy looked down quietly, and then the reptile finally said dryly: "You know, here we keep finding ourselves rambling on about how big and powerful Athéos probably is. But you know what? For all the 'power' the bastard claims to have, why hasn't he just wiped us off the map? Why haven't his ships... engaged the hyper-jump? Why the hell does he keep sending his minions to try and interfere with us, because he's been putting way more effort into squashing us than you do with a 'minor pest.'

"Have a little faith, huh?" Zerrex nudged Cindy firm with an elbow, then he grinned and rose an arm, flexing one bicep to make it bulge powerfully as he winked, and Cindy laughed and rolled her eyes as he kissed it. "Look at me, I'm a big hunk of dumb muscle that's too stubborn to give up without a fight, and now I've already had a good... sparring session with the asshole. He's not omniscient or omnipotent, and we're just making him seem that way the more we talk about him and get scared of him.

"I'm... I'm not scared of Athéos." Zerrex said finally, looking down as he crossed his arms and nodded firmly, a childish and yet serious expression on his muzzle. "I'm scared of what he might do, yeah, and I'm scared of the things that are going to happen, and even of him somehow reaching the mortal world in his big-ass spaceships with all his friends... but I'm not scared of him himself. He might be a god, maybe even the eldest of the Old Gods, and their leader... but he's not my god. I don't bow to any god, no one controls my destiny... that's something I shape myself."

The Drakkaren nodded slowly, and then he looked evenly across at Anathema as she smiled cryptically, her eyes half-closed in interest. "I am my own person. I was born of Celestial and Ifret Narrius, and I'm not particularly proud of my family history. My heritage traces back to Hez'Ranna, but I was born and raised in Ire. I'm a demon, now, and the High King of Hell, but I am not going to let mortals, demons, angels, or anything else fall to Athéos's will and whims, and I won't stop fighting until either I'm in the Unworld or he is."

"What a rousing speech." Anathema said mildly, and then she reached a hand out and rested it against Zerrex's cheek. "Nobility, honor, righteousness that is not of a holy sort... and yet is it false or true? I suppose there's no point in questioning that now, however... whether your reasons are selfish or altruistic, the end result is the same: you keep throwing yourself gladly forwards into battle. You've proven your mettle, Lord Zerrex... why don't you let other people tend to these problems?"

"Because right now, these things are everyone's problems. And I've got the power to stand up to them... so it's only right that I do so." Zerrex replied quietly but firmly, and Anathema laughed quietly as she nodded and Cindy reached up to squeeze his shoulder gently. "I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again... but it's true. I can't go against my beliefs."

"Oh, everyone goes against their own beliefs every fucking day. We can't fix the world, and there's nothing wrong with death, whether it's a single person or the whole universe." Anathema said carelessly, and her tone sent a chill through Zerrex's blood before she paused and said quietly: "Tyranny, however... is a different story. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking I'm helping you for your pathetic ideas of right and wrong, good and evil. I am beyond those ideas... I just feel that a fool like you could use a helping hand now and then."

"A fool is all I aspire to be." Zerrex replied with a slight smile, and Anathema rolled her eyes before she left the room, and the Drakkaren glanced over at Cindy, asking her mildly: "So what do you think we should do with her?"

Cindy made a face at him, saying flatly: "Throw her in a goddamn salt mine, to start with. Why the hell did you bring her along with you, anyway? She's bitchier than Cherry and more egotistical than you on a bad day."

Zerrex snorted in amusement at this, and then he shrugged absently, saying mildly: "Maybe that's exactly why. I guess I kinda... you know. The r-word, I forget what it is. Not... resonate, but sort of resonate, like... recognize."

The reptile coughed, rubbing at his head as if that would help it work, and then Cindy said flatly: "Relate."

"Yes, relate!" Zerrex nodded quickly at this, brightening a bit, and then he coughed and brushed a hand through his hair lightly. "Shut up, stop looking at me like that. But I relate to her, I really do... she's just sort of... like me, in some ways."

Cindy looked at him for a few moments, and then she smiled a bit and shook her head slowly, saying softly: "Then I'll do my best to trust her, hard as it is for me. She just seems so... strange, even with the usual company of angels and demons we've been keeping as of late."

Zerrex shrugged a bit, smiling faintly in return as he said quietly: "But she is Sin's sister, and one of the Naganatine. She's just trying to fit in and she's curious about the way things work up here... and I think she's muffled, but not entirely killed a lot of her emotions and memories, however she might act at times when her real personality shines through that mischievous façade."

The female nodded with a bit of a grunt, and then the two stood up and headed for the door, Cindy asking mildly as they walked towards the ladder: "So should we clean up the place for Balthazar's arrival? I mean, we're hosting a President here."

"I've always thought that it's far ruder to spend all day trying to make yourself look pretentiously clean and neat rather than just leaving things as they normally are. There's a certain level of comfort in just leaving things casual, you know?" Zerrex replied in the same tone, and then he jumped down the ladder and strode out into the kitchen, and he rolled his eyes as he found Anathema rooting through the fridge with a curious frown on her face. He shoved her aside with his hip, making her huff irritably, and then she eyed the three bottles of cola the reptile pulled out, offering one to Cindy, but she shook her head and he shrugged a bit. "Suit yourself. Here, try this."

"Is it a potion? I didn't think mortals knew how to mix elixirs with magical properties still." Anathema said with a frown, shaking it a bit, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as he put one of the bottles back before he kicked the fridge closed. Anathema jumped a bit at the hiss when he opened his bottle, looking distrustful even as Zerrex sipped from it, and then he let out a sigh and she frowned down at hers, muttering: "I don't know about this..."

"You know, if you'll eat food prepared by Cherry, then I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about me giving you a bottle of Frost." Zerrex retorted, looking offended. Anathema looked at him for a few moments, then down at the bottle, and finally she sighed and opened it, wincing at the hiss and the way it bubbled upwards as the reptile said in a more-cheerful voice: "Good, go ahead, try it."

Slowly, the undead Naganatine rose the bottle to her muzzle and drank, and Zerrex ignored the way her innards visibly moved as she did so... and then she lowered the bottle, paused, and visibly twitched before she stared at it and immediately began to guzzle the cola greedily, Zerrex laughing as Cindy sighed and stomped off towards the den. It took Anathema only seconds to guzzle down the drink, and then she reached towards Zerrex... but he halted her with only a deadly look, saying mildly: "Never. Ever. Try to take my caffeine away."

"Point taken." Anathema said finally, and then she peered at the cupboards and opened the nearest, before frowning as she pulled out a can of chili. She squeezed this between her hands, and then she sniffed at it, asking slowly: "This has a picture of some kind of stew on it... but how is it prepared? Is the can placed inside one of your strange machines?"

"You just open it, dump it in a bowl, and microwave it." Zerrex replied mildly, sipping slowly at his cola and looking at her distrustfully as he half-shielded his bottle of cola from her, and then he rolled his eyes as she reached up and pulled out a packet of instant noodles, crackling the plastic packaging lightly and staring at it. "That you have to boil in water. It makes a... a kind of... soup, I guess. Well, it's more than just soup, it's what you see on the packet."

Anathema grumbled something about 'not being an idiot,' and then she put the package down before reaching up to root through the cupboards, knocking a few small boxes and packets free, and then she paused, peered into the cupboard, and then removed a box of cookies, reading: "'Chocolate Crunch Creamers.' Well, that sounds just delightful. What are they?"

"Eat one. And please, put stuff back once you've got your grabby little claws on it." Zerrex said distastefully, and Anathema huffed. Then the reptile paused and tilted his head back, calling and sending a mental order at the same time: "Sammy!"

A moment later, the pseudodragon popped into existence on Zerrex's shoulder, and it hopped up on its hind legs to tangle its claws into his hair, nipping at the crown of his skull lightly before it chirped three times in a row. Zerrex nodded as Anathema frowned, and then the reptile glanced over to her, saying mildly: "I left Sammy down in Hell for a little while to try and guess what the time difference was. But he says it's been three days, and we've only been here... half an hour, forty minutes max? Anyway, come on into the den, I'll show you something you'll either love or hate. You can even bring the cookies with you."

Anathema nodded, putting the box down... but then she paused and quickly restacked the rest of the stuff into the cupboard, and Zerrex smiled inwardly; he thought that said more about her than all her bitchy behavior combined. Then she walked over to him and crossed her arms, and he tapped her skull playfully before heading out of the kitchen and down the corridor, making her grumble.

They stepped into the den, and Sammy leapt from Zerrex's shoulder onto Cindy, chirping cheerfully before Mahihko squeaked and leapt up, trying to grab at him. Sammy looked at him distrustfully, but then he finally relented and jumped down into the wolf's arms once he calmed a little and let himself be petted, Mahihko sitting down as Cherry squawked and fired madly at zombies on the television that were now gorging themselves on her no-longer-playing partner. "What the fuck, pick up the fucking controller!"

"Zombies are attacking people? Are those puppets you've created to try and fight them off?" Anathema asked seriously, and Zerrex coughed as Cindy covered her muzzle, giggling madly. The undead Naganatine looked back and forth in confusion, and then she frowned as Cherry died and yelled a long, horrible string of curses, and then she mumbled and sat back as the screen went black and red text faded in. "'You have died... press start to continue...' I don't understand. What's going on?"

"It's called a video game. It lets you get out your lust for violence and gore without actually hurting anyone. Granted, it's not like real combat... but that's also what makes it fun, because killing people is only so fun until you get killed yourself." Zerrex said mildly, and Anathema nodded slowly, before the reptile walked over to Cherry and gently took the controller away from her, the female continuing to snarl and huff and spit curses, looking more frustrated than Zerrex had seen her in a long time. "Most of my games involve fighting demons or zombies... but I'm sure I've got one here somewhere that's a bit more cooperative or nicer without uh... discriminating against the undead."

"No, show me the zombie game." Anathema said with a shake of her head, looking curious, and Zerrex nodded before he picked up the controller on the ground and tossed it to her. She frowned, tilting it back and forth, and then the reptile smiled a bit as she poked at the buttons and rolled the joysticks. "What strange magical devices..."

"They're not magical, they're electronic. They send wireless signals to the machine over there, the video game console." the Drakkaren explained, and Anathema looked absolutely enthralled, holding the technology in her hands almost reverently. "You hit the buttons in certain timings and combinations to make the characters do different things on screen... it might take a little while to get used to, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it sooner or later."

Anathema nodded slowly, and then she murmured softly: "It's like a form of magic, though... controlling electricity through what you call science... well, there is a science that governs even my so-called 'magical' abilities. Mortals are so quick to dismiss and mock ideas that don't immediately make logical sense... such a disgusting, foolish tendency, when all of us are illogical creations that bow to a cycle so very few initiates understand..."

The others looked at her for a few moments, and then Mahihko squeezed Sammy to his chest and mashed his face against the little reptile, making the pseudodragon squeal before he clawed at the wolf and shoved himself free with a slap of his tail to the little lupine's stomach, and Mahihko fell on his butt as his eyes filled with tears, sniffling loudly. Before he could start crying, however, Cherry walked over and sat on him, making him squeak as she pointed at the screen and said dryly: "You two can go nuts then. Me and the stupid butt here were almost at the end of the level on extreme, but assface certainly went and ruined that. Fuck."

"You get way too into these things for someone who used to do nothing but make fun of them." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry huffed before Zerrex hit the button to return to the main menu, deciding to start things off slow and see how the techno-fascinated undead Naganatine took to the concept of video games.

It amazed him that, despite the fact she was exceptionally-bad at the games, she seemed to adore playing them: perhaps it was the concept of the technology that went into them, but whatever it was, Anathema was laughing and smiling and suddenly asking all sorts of questions about not only how the games worked - most of which Zerrex couldn't explain - but also pointing out this and that in the game, asking if this really existed or just what that did. Zerrex was glad to tell her all he could, and he felt like as they talked, Anathema started to drop her façade little-by-little.

Some four hours later, she finally got bored of the game... but when Zerrex ejected the disc, she immediately wanted to see it and how it worked. The reptile rubbed at the back of his head, opening his mouth to explain that he didn't know... and then Cherry opened her big mouth and said flatly: "Bitch, just go on the internet and look it up. It ain't just for porn anymore, you know."

"What is... the internet?" Anathema asked, looking slowly over at Cherry, and the Drakkaren winced a bit before he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "And porn? Is that something of importance?"

Cherry and Mahihko looked at each other and giggled stupidly, and Marina rolled her eyes as Cindy smiled a bit from the couch, stroking a hand lightly down Sammy's back. Then Zerrex cleared his throat, winced at how everyone looked at him, and then he sighed and finally said flatly: "Oh, screw this. Cindy, can you go get your laptop?"

Now the angel winced, and then she snapped: "That's for work, Dad, and..." She stopped, then sighed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as she pouted a bit and muttered: "Fine, but I'm watching to make sure she doesn't download any viruses on me."

Cindy left the room as Anathema tilted her head, asking slowly: "So it's alive then? Or do viruses somehow affect these strange machinations that mortals seem to rely on?"

Zerrex coughed at this, clearing his throat before he let out a sigh of relief as Cindy returned, brushing imaginary dust off her pristine laptop, and then she put it down on the small table and sat on the couch. Immediately, Anathema walked towards the furnishing before her body literally slithered over it, bones seeming to disjoint and bend strangely before she sat primly beside Cindy, who stared at her for a moment before the undead watched with amazement as the laptop turned on and her desktop appeared, saying marvelingly: "It's like some kind of magical device... what does it do? It seems... fascinating..."

For the next two hours, Anathema was introduced to the internet as Cherry sat around and grinned, and Marina and Mahihko both left to draw or do some other task. Anathema was impressed to an almost childlike state as she was taught to navigate the internet, babbling about how it was an incredible feat. Zerrex smiled a bit, spending most of the time leaning on the couch and watching over the shoulders of a paranoid Cindy and an awed Anathema.

The Drakkaren thought that maybe the reason technology fascinated her so much was because it defied her treasured Cycle: technology and machinery did eventually rust and rot, but at the same time it could always be repaired, and yet it never had life to begin with. It also helped that Anathema was fascinated with learning everything she could about the mortal plane, the plane that Mephistopheles had escaped to and had apparently always spoken about.

Finally, Cindy took her laptop away and muttered about recharging it, and she stood up and left, looking a little frustrated: Anathema had insisted on seeing what porn was for herself, and Cindy somehow seemed offended because it had 'soiled' her work laptop. Anathema, of course, had also wanted to see the program she had on genetic primers and had been fascinated by the DNA schematics that had come up in the program. She was amazed by the way mortals had gone about classifying, naming, and even breaking down the standard mortal genome pattern... and Cindy had seemed almost impressed by her appreciation for science, which had been a nice change of pace.

Zerrex sat down on the couch beside her as she left, and Anathema looked at him for a few moments before she looked awkwardly at Cherry, who was peering at them. Then the lizard cleared his throat, looking flatly at her, and the female grumbled and leapt up to her feet, stomping out of the room and leaving them alone.

The undead Naganatine still looked hesitant for a few moments, and then she finally looked at the Drakkaren and said quietly: "I... would really like to go outside."

The reptile looked at her for a few moments, and then he nodded and said softly: "We can get you some mortal clothing if you want... or you can just latch onto me. But hey, I got time to kill, and I think it'd be good for you to get an idea of the kind of area we're in."

She smiled at this, obviously brightening up for a moment before she cleared her throat and glanced away, trying to look serious again as she nodded... but her golden eyes still glowed with a strange vibrancy. Then the undead Naganatine jumped to her feet and rolled her shoulders slowly, asking mildly: "So whose clothes do I wear?"

Zerrex judged her height and size, and then he called: "Cherry, get some clothes for Anathema! Try a muscle shirt and jeans!"

"Got it!" Cherry shouted back, and Anathema tilted her head before Cherry barged into the room, waving the clothing in either hand and whooping as she said gleefully: "Let's go pick up tacos! Or better yet, like... let's pick up something badass for Balthazar like... uh... do they even sell the kind of shit he likes around here?"

"I highly doubt it." Zerrex said mildly, and then he shook his head slowly, adding: "They might have in the past, but I'm sure some... overzealous Nazis have already broken into the shops and wrecked their stock. We can check the black market if you really want to, though... I think you've actually got a good idea, for a nice change of pace."

Cherry looked both insulted and pleased at this, nodding before she threw the clothing at Anathema, and the undead Naganatine caught it and then examined the clothes with a frown and a bit of distaste, and then she looked up as the muscular demoness waved at her excitedly, saying cheerfully: "Go ahead, go ahead, put 'em on, babe!"

"I am not a baby." Anathema frowned, and Cherry muttered and rolled her eyes before the two watched as she carefully put the clothing on, mumbling a bit to herself as she stood and looked strangely vulnerable, the clothing covering her body only a little bit tight against her gaunt body. She looked at them both quietly, and then she spread her arms, asking finally: "How do I look? I never used to like wearing clothes..."

"You look just like any normal demon, actually." Zerrex said softly, and Cherry nodded with a grin, crossing her muscular arms and nodding firmly. Anathema looked at them both, and then she finally smiled a bit herself, rubbing a hand slowly over the flat shirt that covered her front, gazing down at herself with a strange curiosity. Then Zerrex stood up and rolled his shoulders, glancing over at Cherry. "I'm going to go grab my cane. Why don't you take Anathema outside and show her what kinda city we're living in."

Cherry nodded, and then she walked over to Anathema and grinned, slapping her on the shoulder before she squeaked when the undead Naganatine glared at her and grabbed her wrist, the female jerking away with a huff and her scales slightly charred. "Touchy bitch."

"You're one to talk." Anathema shot back, but her voice was already faded as Zerrex walked down the hall, rolling his eyes at their behavior and yet somehow unsurprised. It took him only five minutes to get his cane and then walk outside... but Anathema and Cherry were already arguing loudly, although they weren't exactly drawing much attention from the quiet groups that were passing.

Zerrex walked over and poked them apart with his cane, making them both huff and grumble before the Drakkaren said flatly: "You know, I'll make you stay at home if you be a bitch, Cherry... and you, Anathema, I'll like. Do... something that you won't like."

Anathema rolled her eyes, but then she stared as a car rolled slowly by, tilting her head and leaning towards it as she asked immediately: "What is that? And why are these buildings all so ugly?"

Zerrex smiled a bit at her, and then he started walking down the street, talking in a soft voice about the Great War and the Demon War and the mortal world in general. She listened closely as they did so, looking fascinated by it all and even more that she wasn't getting any stares when they passed through even crowds, the reptile raising a hand here and there to demons that waved at him happily.

As they reached the downtown area, Zerrex halted in mid-speech to pause and glance around, leaning towards Cherry and asking mildly: "Is it just me, or does this place look just a little different than it did before?"

Cherry made a face and nodded slowly as Anathema frowned, tilting her head... but after a moment, she looked around and realization dawned on her own face: it didn't take a genius to tell that the bright red paint on many of the buildings were fresh, after all, and the Nazi flags that hung here and there from various buildings were also obviously new. The three walked slowly down the street together, and then Zerrex grunted as he jerked his head at a coffee shop that had two different Nazi flags hanging in the window, saying mildly: "We can get a good cup of coffee here and possibly some information... come on."

The demoness nodded with a grunt, and Zerrex pushed the door open, glancing around the interior at the round tables and the quieter benches along the walls. It was fairly-crowded despite the fact that outside, the sun had nearly set and it was a deep dusk, and the coffee shop itself had almost a moody lighting to it. A good few of the patrons were Dragokkaren huddled around the counter, where the likely owner of the business was talking away with them as a cashier stood awkwardly at a distance, counting out change with a sigh... and Zerrex motioned to an empty table, saying mildly: "I'll do the information gathering."

Zerrex rubbed at his bicep and slightly pushed up the sleeve of his t-shirt to leave the swastika tattooed on his arm clearly visible. Then he approached the counter as he dug his wallet out of his pocket, hooking his cane over his wrist as he pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet. "Hey, I'll take two double-double coffees and a uh... a vanilla cappuccino."

The cashier nodded, the canine glancing awkwardly at the tattoo on his bicep as one of the Dragokkaren looked over... and as expected, he immediately said something excitedly to one of his friends, and the whole group of four or five giant, half-pseudo-uniformed reptiles looked over before one of them called excitedly: "Hey, brother, are you in the party?"

"Sorry?" Zerrex looked over at them curiously as the whole group moved towards him, and he recognized quickly that these were all clone soldiers from the Great War: clone soldiers who would have no knowledge of what the Nazi party had done in the past, and who often still were naïve even after so many years and so much war... if only because war was what they were built to do. "Oh, you're with the National Socialists?"

"Yes sir, that we are! I just noticed your tattoo there... hey, you know, here, why don't you take this?" The manager behind the counter dug quickly through a drawer behind the counter, smiling with a warmth at the lizard that was almost unsettling before he pulled out several crumpled pamphlets, holding them out as he said cheerfully: "We're having a rally in a few days, information is all there, and you should really attend, brother, if you want to get officially involved with the party. We can use all the people we can get, and I hear they'll be handing out membership cards and that Fuehrer Kafka himself might make an appearance... but definitely some of the officers will be there."

"I'll... definitely have to attend, then. I've been waiting for a chance like this, to be honest." Zerrex replied, and the Dragokkaren all nodded encouragingly, making Zerrex almost pity them. It was almost like they were brainwashed... and as the reptile looked down at the pamphlets, he hoped silently that he would only have to deal with Kafka and not any of his devoted minions.

"That'll be nine fifty-two." the cashier droned as he approached with three coffees in a tray, and the Drakkaren held out his twenty, before he blinked as the manager reached out and grasped his hand in a surprisingly-firm grip, even though the reptile could tell by his features alone that he was no clone.

"It's on the house. The least I can do, really." the Dragokkaren said kindly, and Zerrex looked at him with surprise before he smiled warmly. "I might be a small business, but believe me, if the party gets into power I'll be giving out free coffee for a week! The Fuehrer has some wonderful ideas for boosting our economy and bringing Ire back into status as a superpower... but all without war, without imposing ourselves on others! I have to say, he's truly a genius... we can count on your vote when the time comes, can't we brother?"

"Believe me, I'll do everything I can in order to bring around a peaceful world." Zerrex said tactfully, and the Dragokkaren smiled warmly and nodded, as Zerrex put the twenty back into his wallet and slipped it into his pocket. He paused as the Dragokkaren and then his friends all saluted with one raised fist, and he awkwardly saluted them back before taking his coffee and making his way over to the table, sitting down as the Dragokkaren all started talking excitedly amongst themselves.

He passed out the two coffees to Anathema and Cherry before he sat down and opened the tab on his own cappuccino, and Cherry leaned towards Anathema, whispering loudly behind a hand: "Now look who's too good to have a regular coffee with the rest of us."

"Shut up, Cherry." Zerrex said absently, as Anathema picked her own drink up. She started to shake it, but the reptile winced and held a hand out, grasping her wrist as he said mildly: "That... might not be a good idea. It's pretty hot, so watch yourself."

"Don't bother me." Cherry said smugly, as she took the lid off her cup and guzzled the coffee, streams of it rolling down her chin before she let out a loud sigh and grinned across at Zerrex, winking at him. "Must suck for you, though, bein' vulnerable to a simple mortal beverage and all."

"Only if it's spilled on my crotch." Zerrex said flatly, and he took a sip of his cappuccino, enjoying the sweet taste before he picked up a pamphlet and read through some of it absently, muttering: "This stuff is crazy... like, seriously crazy. It's National Socialism, but some of the basic concepts have been modified to better suit-"

"Not killing people?" Cherry asked mildly, and Zerrex grunted in response before she sipped at her coffee, adding in a mutter as her eyes flicked back and forth to take in the propaganda and posters displayed proudly on the wall. "Never thought I'd see this day... but shit, it's the perfect climate for this to grow in, ain't it?"

Anathema looked back and forth, and then she asked curiously: "So... these Nazis. Exactly what did they do?"

Zerrex looked at her for a few moments, and then he explained gently: "Some several hundred years ago now, I think, before my time anyway, the nation of Frerica was put under several economic and social restraints by Ire and the countries that surrounded it. It was literally being crushed out of existence, and one day a canine named Rudolf Hitler took over a movement known as National Socialism. The goal of this, originally, was to give back to the middle and working class, to create jobs and to notably re-arm their forces. Hitler, however, let his own prejudices cloud his views, and because of their very distinct lack of popularity at the time, Semite groups were the ones attacked most often in first speeches and then physically. They were an easy scapegoat... and not to mention the fact that Hitler himself had been rejected by them often.

"Death camps were constructed, and a massive army was raised... not just from his country, either, but many allies he gathered to his side. He was very shrewd... and a tactical genius." Zerrex paused, then tapped his temple lightly. "The one problem is that he started going a little over the edge and he fell gradually into madness, and he clung too tightly to his own power. And despite everything, he made several very large mistakes... one of them being pissing off Ire, which proceeded to steamroller him with all the full power of the country.

"Frerica does not exist anymore. Remnants of it do around the world, but soldiers and families both were scattered." Zerrex smiled a bit, saying quietly as he looked down and tapped his fingers quietly against the tabletop: "See, Ire dropped an atomic bomb dead-center on the country. They didn't aim for an important military location... they aimed for the capital city. Hitler was erased from the face of the earth along with more than half the country... and it wasn't a small country, oh no. You see, after the initial bombing, they knew the explosion would drive people to certain 'safe' points around the country... and Ire carpet-bombed them into oblivion, and dropped several tons of white phosphorous for good measure. Lots of this stuff was 'borrowed' from other countries, but in the history books, it's all Ire.

"I don't approve of bombs. I never have: too much chance of killing innocent lives, too much destruction, too... impersonal." Zerrex paused for a few long moments, saying quietly: "I like to be sure I've taken down my target, and I like to make sure that I haven't killed anyone who didn't need killing in the process. You see, soldiers might have 'dying' in their job description, and I might seem really callous when it comes to my views on them going to war and returning home in a coffin. But even soldiers can be innocent... and when there are people like the Special Enforcement Unit always standing grimly somewhere near the big boss, and always ready to torture you in ways you could not believe if you disobey orders... well... even if you don't believe in the cause you're fighting for, you're going to fight anyway.

"It doesn't help people get patriotism mixed up with doing what you're told... I can be proud of my country without having to wave a flag every two minutes or yell that I'm from wherever." Zerrex shrugged a bit, then he sipped at his coffee meditatively. "Hell, I can hate my government but still love my country. Mortals, you'll find... are very vulnerable to catchphrases."

Anathema smiled a bit at this, saying quietly: "Believe me, Zerrex... so were the Naganatine. The ones that sided with Naganis, well... they always believed his words, and as I understand it, he's... not around anymore." She cleared her throat, looking away suddenly, and then she shook her head and glanced back at him as the reptile lowered his eyes to the table silently. "And as to Mephistopheles... he didn't find it hard to lure us in, believe me on that. His speeches... his rhetoric... let's just say I can understand how people could be swayed by the words of this... Hitler."

Cherry grunted, guzzling down more of her coffee before she added mildly: "It's one of those shockwave events, too... you know, it started somewhere and the effects of it were so powerful that it spread through the different worlds one way or the other. Either long-distance demons or evil spirits or just really nasty ideas whispering into the ears of people, over who knows how long a time... and well, everything gets fucked and history always repeats itself eventually, even if it has to go to another time zone to do so."

The two nodded, and then Zerrex looked down at the pamphlet, reading through it for a few moments before he said softly: "But this is different. Still a lot of the same core principles... they still hate communists, want to beef up the military, they want a single Fuehrer to lead things and to be able to censor and 'nationalize' different stuff... but well, they aren't anti-gay anymore-"

"Good news for you." Cherry interrupted cheerfully, and Zerrex glared at her before she winced and leaned away in the chair. "I mean, good news for Mahihko, for Mahihko!"

Zerrex muttered under his breath, looking ruffled as he smoothed out his t-shirt, and then he continued dryly: "They also aren't anti-Semitic anymore. In fact, it mentions that Kafka himself has a Jewish background... but... here's something weird. They apparently do have another big conspiracy theory, and it's that a certain group of demons have been behind both the Great War and the Demon War, and that they need to all band together and create a strong military presence equipped with the most advanced technology available in order to combat this threat. They're also... very openly Unitarian as the core religion of the group."

"Oh shit, that's never good. The Unity religion's caused enough death, hasn't it?" Cherry asked mildly, and then she drank the last of her coffee before she crushed the cardboard cup in her hand and squished it down into the tray. "You know, you think they'd learn from the fact that ninety percent of the Unity Crusaders and Templars are down in Hell that well. You know. Just because a dude in a dress says you can go ahead and kill everyone and God will forgive you, don't make it true."

Zerrex grunted, and then he watched as Anathema sipped carefully at her coffee... and then she looked at it with surprise before drinking another hesitant gulp, saying slowly: "It's... I like it, and yet I don't. And I heard you call it a... double-double?"

"Two cream, two sugar. Changes the taste, sweetens it." Zerrex said mildly, and Anathema nodded thoughtfully at this. Then she stood up as Zerrex and Cherry did so, the male tucking the pamphlet into his pocket and raising a hand to the Dragokkaren standing at the counter, and the manager smiled and waved back before the rest of the group imitated him as the reptile muttered aside to Cherry: "Definitely time to leave."

"Got it." Cherry picked up the tray and shoved it into a garbage can on their way to the door, and the three let themselves out as Zerrex sipped thoughtfully again at his cappuccino, looking back and forth. With the sun set and the streetlights on now, it made the red paint stand out all the more vibrantly... and Cherry made a distasteful face as her own eyes flicked back and forth. "Fuck, this is just creepy."

Zerrex nodded slowly in agreement as Anathema looked back and forth, and then he jerked his head at Cherry, who cheerfully bounced ahead and led them deeper downtown before she slipped into a side alley. The reptile followed her, and Anathema frowned, asking mildly: "Is this normal?"

"Nothing I ever do with Cherry is normal." Zerrex replied in a mutter as Cherry halted in front of a board that was apparently nailed into the wall. She knocked twice on it, paused, knocked twice again... and a moment later, the board slid back to reveal a large hole in the wall that two burly minotaurs stepped out of, one of them holding a submachine gun loosely in one hand and gazing over them all with a surly expression.

"Boris, I want to buy some shit from you." Cherry said mildly, and then she glanced over her shoulder as the minotaur grunted and jerked his head at Zerrex. "Yeah, you go ahead and threaten him if you want, but I wouldn't piss with either of them if I were you."

The minotaur hesitated for a few long moments, and then he grunted and waved at them, and Zerrex and Anathema followed Cherry into a large, well-lit room stuffed with all manner of valuable and antiquity. The Drakkaren looked curiously back and forth, and then one of the minotaurs slapped him hard on the shoulder, saying in a gravelly voice: "I'm gonna need your cane and that pretty armlet you're wearing, old lizard."

"I wouldn't take either if I were you." Zerrex said mildly, and the minotaur frowned before he reached down and seized the cane... and then he yelped and leapt backwards, slamming into a bookshelf filled with small knickknacks and knocking several off. He winced as they shattered on the floor, holding his burnt palm lightly as his partner snarled and started to bring the submachine gun up... and then Anathema reached a hand out and seized his throat, the minotaur convulsing in her grip as the life started to fade from his eyes, before the Drakkaren snapped: "Don't kill him, they're just stupid, not enemies!"

Anathema snorted, then she finally nodded grudgingly and instead sent a blast of purple lighting over him that made his body twitch before she dropped him to the floor. He lay prone, but he was unconscious, and not dead... and the reptile smiled dryly at her as Cherry rolled her eyes before wincing as a voice shouted angrily: "What the fuck is all this racket?"

A demon wearing an expensive suit stomped down a set of rickety stairs at the back of the room, and then he slapped his forehead as he saw one of his guards laying on the floor and the other still clutching his burnt hands, broken glass and ceramic around his hooves. He gestured angrily at this, and the minotaur lowered his head before the demon glared at the three in the room, snapping: "You better be paying for that!"

"Or what are you gonna do, Phil?" Cherry asked the demon sweetly, and he huffed before crossing his slender arms, grumbling under his breath. The reptile looked at him for a moment, examining his rat-like features, small build, and lack of distinct demonic characteristics except for a ridge of spikes that went from just above his eyes and over the slope his skull... and then he smiled dryly. Greed demons could always pass up here for mortals easily... and they always talked a big game, but rarely were able to bring much to the table when the chips were down. "Exactly as I thought. Now come on, motherfucker, we are looking to do business here. What you got in stock in like... hookers?"

The rat looked confused for a moment, and then Zerrex sighed, rolling his eyes as he said calmly: "We're looking for artifacts from the Lailland region... hey, I just realized that both Zane and Balthazar are from the same place."

"Lailland is a big-ass country. What the Boss means is the Eastern Lailland region, you know, with the deserts and turbans and shit?" Cherry added, and Phil grunted before he pulled a PDA out of his pocket, tapping a few buttons before the Drakkaren sidled over and snatched it from him, making the rat yell in protest as she easily held it high above his head and accessed the inventory logs. "Well, what do we have here? Looks like this little bastard's been adding wands and magical items to his inventory, there's a very hefty penalty for that."

"Fuck you, you bitch!" Phil spat, and then he squeaked when Cherry grabbed him by the throat and hefted him above her head with a glare. "I mean, I'm sorry and I'll never do it again!"

"Do me a favor and shut him up." Cherry tossed Phil to Anathema, who caught the rat in one hand by the neck with a sizzle of purple electricity, before she dropped his unconscious body to the ground. Zerrex sighed, rolling his eyes, and then he made a waving motion at the minotaur who was still on his feet and now looking terrified. At the go-ahead, he bolted gladly for the open doorway and out into the night, and the reptile muttered to himself as Cherry huffed. "Hey, dude might totally get reinforcements."

"I think he cares more about his life than his job." Zerrex countered, and then he brushed some mortal junk off a table before sitting down on it with a grunt, asking dryly: "So anything in there about the kind of stuff we're looking for?"

Cherry made a face, shaking her head slowly. "Yeah, but... seriously, Boss, this little place here is usually just a uh... 'off the radar' trading post that deals with shit from all over the world and both Heaven and Hell. Recently, though, Phil's been getting his hands on some nasty stuff... implements used in magic, crystals, stuff like that. Dunno where the fuck he's keeping it all or if he's sold it or not, but well... we should check into it."

The reptile nodded slowly, and then he said dryly: "I know this isn't exactly like me, but can we like... just find something nice for him and go? How about some herbs from Lailland? I dunno which ones are the good ones to smoke, but well... we can just grab a bunch."

Anathema rolled her eyes as Cherry gaped at Zerrex, and then the undead Naganatine began to pick through the shelves, looking with curiosity over the different mortal devices as Cherry mumbled something to herself before she said mildly: "The hookah pipes and nargile and shit are uh... apparently he does have them somewhere in here. Try hobbies, I think. I bet the herbs for 'em are kept nearby."

"Hobbies?" Zerrex looked flatly at her, then over the shelves before he realized they were in rough alphabetical order and all labeled in runes. He sighed, mumbling to himself about what a pain in the ass it was going to be as he found the section Cherry had guessed, and then he dug through it for several minutes before he finally pulled a large brass chessboard out of the way and found the pipes - and more importantly, several artistic wooden boxes stuffed with different herbs. Zerrex tossed these over to Cherry, who pocketed the PDA and shoved the boxes into a backpack she had picked up from... well, the reptile didn't really want to know where.

He paused to look at several of the pipes, and while some of them looked cheap or fake - and one of them was actually a bong, not a nargile - Zerrex's eyes settled finally on one that was smaller than the others, made of silver and gold with a motif the reptile didn't recognized etched into it. He picked this up and weighed it in his hands, then he finally shrugged, figuring it was pretty, anyway, and better yet authentic... and the lizard shrugged after a moment and decided to take it, before he rolled his eyes as Anathema flinched back from a flashlight after figuring out how to turn it on. "You two ready to go?"

"Just a second!" Cherry called, and the reptile rolled his eyes before he headed for the door anyway, even as the female babbled and tore through the collection of video discs and games on the shelf: "Come on, please, I know there's something badass in here!"

Zerrex grumbled as he headed for the door, and Anathema kicked at the flashlight on the ground before she followed, which made Cherry sigh and finally chase after them, taking the time only to close the sliding panel door on her way out. They emerged carefully from the alley after a few moments, and the demoness looked back and forth before she grumbled and said flatly: "So I guess we should head back, huh? Without all the cool shit that I just know is hiding in wait in there."

"Pretty much." the Drakkaren responded with a slight smile, and Cherry huffed and threw her arms up into the air, but the lizard only shrugged amiably. "What can I say? I can't always give you free reign to do whatever the hell you want. Besides, we're already stealing plenty as it is."

"Liberating, technically." Cherry retorted, holding up a finger as she grumbled: "You can't steal what's already been stolen. Anyway, like. Come on. It would've only taken me a few minutes, for serious."