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That night found Zerrex standing on the balcony, looking over the few glimmering lights in the city below: mostly glowing lamps filled with a neon-blue gas that gave them a strange luminescence. Tek'Kanna looked haunted with beauty, the place a supernatural beacon to the stars above, which gleamed quietly in the black night sky... and as Zerrex looked up, he almost thought he could see a strange ripple in reality here and there, and he murmured softly, as he sensed more than heard someone behind him: "See that? One day, we'll be looking at this sky together... and we'll be watching as Heaven or Hell floats slowly by."

"I hope to shit portalling still works." Cherry muttered, leaning with her forearms against the rail of the balcony beside the Drakkaren, and then the muscular female smiled at him slightly. "It'd really suck ass to have to take some... inter... world... space cruiser just to go back and forth. Those things take what, fuckin' years just to get to the moon?"

"The last time the world sent a ship on a moon mission was many years ago... and it only took a week to get there, and another to get back." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry looked at him with surprise before the Drakkaren smiled a bit. "I did a little bit of research on Cindy's laptop one night when I got bored. It was something like... I dunno... fifty, sixty years ago? We stopped putting effort into lunar exploration, though, so the government could better fund us killing the crap out of each other."

"Yeah, that makes a lot of sense." Cherry snorted in amusement, then she shook her head slowly before sighing and looking out into the distance, asking quietly: "So do you think we accidentally stepped in some more shit here? I mean... fuck. We were trying to get away from the problems, not... find more of them."

The Drakkaren shook his head a bit, smiling faintly as he glanced over at her, and then he sidled closer, letting their sides rub together as he leaned on the railing and said quietly: "Yeah, I think we found some troublemaking godlings. But it's the same all over right now, Cherry... when I was chatting with Albatross at dinner, he mentioned that Lailland actually managed to take one down... some sort of fire beast, didn't bear any semblance to known demons or angels. They hosed it down and exposed a kind of... I dunno, exoskeleton, he described it as, and then they pounded a few rockets into it. These gods aren't invincible... but they sure as hell are troublesome."

Cherry nodded with a grunt, making a disgusted face. "Fuckers. Like, why the hell would you wanna go and ruin a place so pretty as this one right here, seriously?" She halted for a moment, and there was just the sound of the animals rustling in the jungle and the quiet talk of patrols around the area, before she finally murmured: "Is it impossible to run away from fate, do you think?"

"I don't know if I believe in Fate or not, even now." Zerrex replied, shaking his head a bit with a faint smile. "Destiny, that some things must happen, that some things are meant to be... sure, maybe I can buy that. But Fate? I think I control my final Fate... I think that... well... why the hell are you asking me this, since when the hell do you care about the metaphysical?"

"I don't!" Cherry said defensively, standing up and huffing as she pushed her chest out, and Zerrex rolled his eyes before he stumbled with a snort of laughter when she boldly smacked him with just her large breasts. "Like, fuck you solid. And hey, where's that Anathema bitch?"

Zerrex shrugged, looking at the skull on his shoulder that was obviously vacant at the moment. "She's exploring right now. Astral projection or something, I guess... makes sense, since she sort of is an undead spirit. Either way, I have to admit I'm glad to have her tagging along... she's pretty damn handy in a combat situation."

"I am kinda getting used to her company myself." Cherry admitted with a nod, smiling slightly before she grasped Zerrex's biceps, and then she leaned up and kissed him softly, and the reptile gladly met her lips and kissed her firmly back, sliding his arms around her body. Their jaws worked together for a few long, delicious moments... and then their lips parted and Cherry dropped her head against his neck, murmuring softly: "But I still like yours way more. Then again, I get why she likes you. You accept people for who they are... just like you accept the fact I like to walk around bein' a bitch, with a big old dick in my pants and my balls aching for some sweet slutty pussy now and then."

The reptile rolled his eyes and squeezed her sides firmly, and she cackled before kissing along his shoulder as the Drakkaren muttered: "I really wish you'd just be romantic for once and not go and ruin the goddamn mood, seriously."

"Bah, you know me, I ain't no girly-chick. I'm a fucking... fucking machine." Cherry finished lamely, then she pulled away from the Drakkaren and flexed, making her enormous biceps bulge with powerful muscle as she grinned widely at him, then winked. "Anyway, you douchebag, like. So what the hell are we going to do about this bullshit? 'Cause if there are gods over there, I want to come down on them with extreme force."

The Drakkaren nodded a bit, and then he said mildly: "Believe me, I agree with you. But we'll just wait and see... maybe we'll get lucky and it really is just some kind of crazed weather pattern."

"When has that ever happened?" Cindy asked quietly as she joined them, and Cherry huffed and crossed her arms, pouting a bit. This only made the angel smile slightly, however, looking over at her almost patronizingly. "Oh sorry, Cherry, were you having alone time with Daddy?"

"Oh, you bitch. I hate you, 'cause you totally fucking know what I was trying to do." Cherry said grouchily, and then she huffed and walked over to Zerrex, wrapping an arm around him almost territorially and holding him against her thick side, a breast pressing not-unwelcomingly into the Drakkaren's back. "But fine, since you're here and now I ain't going to be able to get my brains fucked out on the balcony, uh. What the hell do you think?"

Cindy mused for a moment, lowering her head thoughtfully before she looked at them and shrugged, saying quietly: "We're too far away from Uroboros for me to be able to feel anything... what about you, Father, don't your abilities let you sense energy signatures?"

"The distance is way too huge for me, I can sense like. I dunno, fifty, maybe a hundred feet if I'm lucky, and that's the diameter." Zerrex said flatly, and then he winced as Cherry shoved him and huffed.

"Well, if you don't try, then like, what's even the point of having your weird-ass stupid powers?" Cherry said moodily, and then she pointed at herself, poking her own chest just above her cleavage several times firmly. "Take me, for instance. Remember how I learned to teleport, and shit? Well, I worked and worked and worked on that, and used all the discipline a certain someone taught me, and now I can totally teleport like. Fifty feet. Now I know that ain't jack shit compared to most people but fuck you. Furthermore, it's fifty times better than my original ability, so double-fuck you." Cherry rose her middle finger, sweeping it back and forth from Cindy to Zerrex, and then she grabbed her crotch with her other hand and rolled her hips with a huff. "So just try it."

Zerrex muttered irritably, but then he nodded, glancing over Tek'Kanna before he turned towards Cindy, and he took a long, slow breath as he closed his eyes and dropped to a kneel. Cindy and Cherry both stepped back, their expression serious and their sibling rivalry forgotten for the moment as the Drakkaren pressed his hands together and lowered his head almost as if he was praying, reaching out with his abilities...

He ignored the nearby energy signatures, and instead focused on the edge of his powers... and then he winced as he felt something strange tap at his mind, before he opened his eyes in shock and saw Anathema standing in front of him... except her body was both transparent and whole, as if she were alive instead of the undead being she had become. Purple lighting sparked through her translucent, faintly-blue form, and then she said clearly in his mind, as Cindy and Cherry only looked confused: I find it strange how when you focus, your vision becomes able to detect even the most ethereal things.

She paused, and Zerrex could only stare as more wraithlike beings floated or strode slowly by, some of them mutilated but many only looking confused and lost, and Anathema glanced over her shoulder at them before she said quietly: Ignorant souls... not quite ghosts, so faded that they are little more than echoes. The souls of those who could not figure out where they belong in the afterlife... they cannot see or interact with the living, except for those few whom still stand out in their memory... and around them, the world grows more and more faded, into a darker wasteland every day. Even the most mischievous and sadistic of spirits avoid them... only Reapers bother to try and harvest them, but even to the soul-collectors, they have little value.

She stopped, and then made a face as Cherry asked in a slow, careful voice: "Boss, are you okay? Is there something there, are you... is something wrong?"

"Just... gimme a second, Cherry." Zerrex muttered, glancing over his shoulder... and he winced at the golden light he saw, looking quickly down at the ground. He has also caught some of Cherry's demonic characteristics clearly visible in that short glance... and then he looked at Anathema, but she only smiled coldly, spreading her arms. You are only seeing things... as they truly are. I understand now... the powers of the nameless goddess Naganis once battled have fused with you and enhanced your abilities, but you don't know how to control them. I knew you were interesting...

And with that, Anathema's spirit lost its solidity and became almost smoky, twisting and turning down to rejoin with her skull as Zerrex winced and grabbed at it, closing his eyes tightly... and then the pressure he'd been barely aware of on them faded away quickly as the reptile sat back on his haunches and rubbed slowly at his eyes, and he didn't need to look up as he felt the skull twist off his body and heard the distinct clink-clank and hiss of Anathema's body forming in front of him, before she said shortly: "You two. Leave for the moment. Lord Zerrex's eyes need to adjust back to their usual frequency, and having a demon and an angel around won't exactly help the process."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Cherry asked in a frustrated voice, but then Cindy said something, and the demoness grumbled, muttering: "Fine. Hey, Boss, we'll be just inside. Just call if you want me to relocate no-tits to somewhere more suitable for her fine state of being, like a coffin six feet under the goddamn dirt."

"Real original. You come up with that all by yourself, testosterone queen?" Anathema asked sardonically, and Cherry huffed and then stomped off, cursing loudly. Zerrex grumbled, but he didn't dare open his eyes yet with how they were tingling... and then he felt a hand awkwardly settle on his shoulder, Anathema asking mildly: "So are you alright? Abilities like that are often difficult for even demons to use properly... you could have damaged your vision permanently. Or worse, your mind, if one of those echoes caught you looking. Some of the react very violently when they sense someone looking at them."

"I thought you said they couldn't see anyone but like... important people to them?" Zerrex asked dumbly, as he rubbed the back of his wrist against his eyes, and he sensed the undead Naganatine smiling a bit as she stood up. Then, slowly, the Drakkaren opened his eyes... and he winced at how bright everything seemed for a moment and the way even the darkness seemed to pulse with black light, before things finally seemed to return to normal and that tingling feeling left his eyes. "Crap, that hurt like a bitch."

Anathema grasped him lightly under the muzzle and tilted his head upwards, and for a moment, Zerrex thought she was going to kiss him... but instead, she only looked into his eyes thoughtfully, glancing from one to the other and tilting his head back and forth before he finally grumbled and shook free. "You're fine. And well... when someone's hiding from you, do you know how sometimes you feel their eyes, and you're able to turn and look right at them, no matter how well they're hidden? It's the same kind of idea."

The Drakkaren nodded with a mumble, and then he slowly sat up before Anathema asked curiously: "So what were you attempting to do? And how did you come into possession of such powers?"

"Trying to feel out energy signatures in Uroboros... Cherry's idea, so obviously I shouldn't've done it, and I'm regretting not following my instincts now." Zerrex said dryly, and the female snorted in entertainment. "But I absorbed the Princess's energies... her soul, I guess... after I killed her. Total mistake, but... well... I guess it paid off. The last of whatever made her 'her' died trying to take me over and I ended up absorbing her abilities... but you're right, I have no idea how to use them. Sometimes that strange vision just activates, although usually it just lets me see... hidden things, not things like echoes."

Anathema nodded slowly, then she stood up and said thoughtfully, tapping at her chin: "Interesting... then let me delve into your mind and... find out what I can. A sort of reverse-Possession, if you will... instead of forcing my way in, you can let me in and guide me through your memories of her and let me experiment with her abilities... and I'll teach you as I can about my own abilities."

Zerrex looked at her for a few moments, and then he said mildly: "That sounds an awful lot like you just want to filter through my memories. For someone who acts all aloof and 'I don't like anyone,' you seem to be trying pretty goddamn hard to get into my head and pick my brain over."

The female snorted at this, and then she finally rolled her eyes when Zerrex only continued to look at her placidly. "Fine, think of it however you will. Will you let me or not?"

The reptile looked down for a few moments thoughtfully... and then he said finally: "Maybe after the trip. This is supposed to be my vacation, after all... and I really would prefer to get to know you better first, too." He smiled slightly at the frustration he saw cross over her features, and then he added quietly: "What can I say? I'm a curious person myself. Normally I'm not so pushy, but well... you're different."

"Far different than you know or realize." the undead Naganatine replied stiffly, and then she strode off the balcony and into the main room, and Zerrex watched her curiously for a few moments before he turned back to face out over Tek'Kanna. He looked down at his hand after a moment, thinking about these abilities he had, about his physical strength and his seemingly ever-growing well of 'powers' that he was able to call upon... and then he balled his hand into a fist and closed his eyes, sighing a bit to himself.

He didn't know what to do sometimes, or who to call on... or hell, even what to believe in. After all, here he was, a demon with supernatural abilities that went far beyond what he had used to deal with in the Goth Legion, fighting for the cause of rightness... or so he liked to think, anyway. It bothered him that some things weren't nearly as simple as they seemed, that the world wasn't black and white, and worst of all, that a hell of a lot of things people overcomplicated and then expected him to overcomplicate and understand... and he made a face before he shook his head slowly, muttering: "What a goddamn mess this all is. See, this is why I feel almost suicidal at times. This isn't the world envisioned by Naganis... this isn't even a world with people envisioned by logic."

"And to think, they blame you demons for being the ones who ruined it all." Anathema said quietly, and the reptile looked over his shoulder in surprise to see her leaning against one of the pillars between the row of arches leading into the den room, the undead Naganatine looking at him with dry amusement. "You know, I've seen strange things. But few things stranger than how people aggressively react with violent behavior when they feel themselves threatened by something... and how so much of your 'free media' is controlled by bias and money. No one ever stops to think about the long term in this world anymore, and no one ever seems to be able to think for themselves, even after so much war and strife. They all search for someone else to give them all the answers and fall so easily to catchphrases and the loudest, rudest statements."

"I thought you were off being complicated or something." Zerrex said with a bit of a smile, and Anathema rolled her eyes. Then the lizard nodded slowly, sighing as he looked out over the city. "So much technology, wasted... falling right back into the cycle of consumption, even after suffering through... two terrifying wars, and learning that there is life beyond death. Or something like that, I don't want to offend your omnipotent cycle."

The Drakkaren looked over at her with quiet entertainment, and Anathema simply shook her head, before she said dryly: "This world often makes me think Mephistopheles was right... except then I think of everything he did, and I look at the way even the so-called 'righteous' Naganatine treated me. How only my sister came for me after all those years..." She spat to the side in disgust. "Fuck. It's like without Naganis around, we've all lost our way..."

Zerrex didn't know what to say to that: he'd never believed a god or any kind of higher power was truly necessary, nice as it must admittedly be. Everything just required discipline to get through, and a will to endure... and, of course, a little bit of luck never hurt either. After all, he had managed to turn himself around at least a little before he'd fallen down to Hell... and he smiled at this, shaking his own head. But maybe that's not exactly the best argument to make.

"I don't like when you're quiet. Means you're thinking about something or holding something back." Anathema said mildly, glancing over at him, and then she sighed and rolled her eyes as the Drakkaren only grunted. "You and your family are like nothing I've ever met. Are all mortal families like this?"

"No, most make a big deal out of incest. Well... fewer now that the world's gone to hell, but there's still laws against it back in Ire." Zerrex said mildly, and Anathema sighed and rolled her eyes, looking at him distastefully. Zerrex only looked back for a few moments, and then he faced forwards again with a snort of amusement. "Blame the Drakkai in me. They have almost a tradition of incest."

Anathema looked at him with mild amusement, rolling her eyes. "That's not what I was about to complain about. More the fact that you seem to feel you just must make some kind of bad joke once the pressure's on."

"It's called a one-liner." Zerrex replied, then he just shrugged a bit, saying softly: "It's just my way of relieving stress, I guess. But... come on, I'll play a few rounds of pool against you, teach you how the game works. I'm sure by now Marina's getting ready to barge out here, anyway."

"She's a strange little girl." Anathema said thoughtfully, then she smiled a bit at Zerrex as he turned around and leaned against the railing. "Not as strange as Mahihko and Lone, mind you... but strange nonetheless. A talented artist, a powerful psychic... yet a child no matter how serious and discipline she acts, and with a child's devotion to you... and that, I'm learning very quickly, can be a dangerous thing indeed. Don't think I've missed what happens when one of the others gets between you and her... and to think, usually it's the father that's overprotective of the daughter."

"I am overprotective." Zerrex said mildly, not knowing if he was defending himself or just arguing with her for the hell of it. Then he paused and frowned, rubbing slowly at his muzzle as he headed for the room, and Anathema followed after a moment. "But I understand what you mean and... I don't know if it's ever been put in better words."

The undead Naganatine only grunted at this... and he didn't know whether it was purposeful or not, but for the rest of the night, she almost carefully refrained from saying anything philosophical or even poetic, except for the many strange combinations of curses that came out of her mouth. She had a bad habit of trying to combine vulgar words together that didn't belong, and thus Cherry often went into giggling fits on the couch whenever Anathema scratched the cue ball and ended up shouting something like: "Darn hole of shit!"

Zerrex traded out with Cherry at some point, and the Drakkaren expected Anathema to end up choking the muscular female on the pool table once she started showing off... but instead, Cherry did a much-better job of explaining the game than Zerrex had done, and she showed Anathema several different ways to take shots, displaying a patience and a kindness rarely seen in the demoness. It had been a pleasure to watch... and now, as the sun was slowly rising, the reptile left the two vapidly watching television on the couch to retreat to the room Cindy was in, sitting down on the bed beside her as she looked up from the book she was reading with a soft smile. "Hey, Daddy."

"Hey, Cindy." Zerrex smiled at her, then he asked gently: "So what are we going to do with Mahihko and Lone while we go out hunting? I mean... we can't leave them here alone but we can't take them with us, either. They'll end up getting either arrested or shot at by Dragokkaren Enforcers... they aren't particularly fond of mammals holding guns in this section of the world, after all."

"That I remember well." Cindy murmured with a nod, and then she sighed and rubbed at her head slowly, saying quietly: "I guess I could watch them... or maybe Marina will. As much as she loves to always be at your side and to protect you... well... I think she's really relaxing in this atmosphere, and I haven't seen her drawing so much in one day in years... and better yet, they aren't just portraits of you."

The reptile rolled his eyes, but he nodded with a bit of a smile. "Then I'll ask her... it's probably for the best, anyway. While I can put up with the rest of us being in dangers, Marina's still a mortal... and as it is, these gods and their minions have been able to do a lot of damage to any and all of us who have stood up against them. I'm really... concerned about her these days. I... I don't know if I could stand watching our little girl die."

"I know the feeling." Cindy said softly, looking down and nodding a bit herself, and then she finally shook her head with a faint smile. "Well, anyway. She'll probably be up in a few hours... you know how she likes to spend as much time with you as possible. Mahihko's napping somewhere with one of the plush toys he brought along - not in any of the bedrooms, I think he might be snoozing behind the mini-bar - and Lone was out there with you guys, the last time I checked..."

"Oh great, he must have wandered off somewhere." Zerrex muttered, and he stood up and leaned out the doorway... and then he stared as the bathroom door opened and Lone walked out, adjusting his pants and with a bit of a flushed, pleased look on his face. Then Zerrex cleared his throat and turned back around towards Cindy, saying mildly: "He... he was just taking care of some personal business."

"So have we decided yet whether or not it's masturbation when he has sex with what's essentially himself?" Cindy asked morbidly, and Zerrex snorted and slapped his forehead, before he paused and considered this seriously... but also imagined what he would do if he could have sex with himself. His daughter allowed him to think on this for a few moments, and then she sighed and snapped her fingers a few time, bringing Zerrex back to reality as she said mildly: "So anyway, Daddy. Do you really think there's something threatening down at Uroboros?"

The Drakkaren sighed at this, slumping his shoulder as he replied in a morbid voice: "When hasn't there been? Cindy, it's like something is trying to prosecute me. Or worse, all of us. I mean, when can any of us go anywhere without running into some terrible ancient evil or something?"

Cindy mused on this, then she pointed at him and said flatly: "When you were in Hell, it was pretty damn quiet around here, actually. So this is probably your fault somehow."

"Oh, bite me." Zerrex huffed, crossing his arms, and then he paused before muttering: "But see, well. Paradise... was a serious threat. If a floating fortress like Paradise had existed during the Demon War, well... I think we could have just ridden cheerfully around in it, cackling and blasting apart enemies like it was a pot-shoot. Even today, with the new war technologies available, it would be a formidable opponent... and remember, Paradise was launched before it was fully-operational."

The female nodded slowly, and then she said quietly: "And more-importantly, Uroboros is no longer a city, exactly, but one of the largest manufacturing plants in the world. Since they couldn't fix the damage done by Paradise leaving its 'hangar,' if you'll let me use the word loosely, Churchill talked at some length about how they ended up just revamping the area so they could continue to produce technologies at level with the rest of the world... and since all their manufacturing core was located there, the rest of Hez'Ranna has been able to relax in comfort in the traditional bartering lifestyle." She stopped, then looked down with a quiet laugh. "It really is beautiful here. Low crime, and well... I was going to say little prejudice, but then I remembered how they treat mammals. Still though, for that one negative... there's a lot of positives. And it's not like they strictly treat all of them like crap... it's just part of their ancient, traditional lifestyle."

"You don't have to defend Hez'Ranna from me." Zerrex smiled a bit at her, and then he glanced down at the book she was reading, noting the title before he asked softly: "A war history?"

"The Hez'Rannan War, the Great Holocaust, yeah." Cindy looked at him softly, smiling slightly. "I was curious what they had to say about you... and you know, I'm pleased to see that it's almost all good things. Stuff you deserve, Daddy."

"I deserve crap." Zerrex mumbled, and then he shook his head a bit before saying finally: "I think I'm going to go relax in a hot bath or something for a little while. You wanna join me?"

"Nah, I want to finish this book first, before our vacation gets ruined." Cindy said with teasing accusation, and the reptile laughed a bit despite himself before he left the room, heading across to the bathroom and careful to try and avoid attracting Cherry's eye.

Twenty minutes later, Zerrex had placed his boxers and the Nanotech Armlet neatly aside on the closed lid of the toilet, and he was resting against the back of the large bowl-shaped tub, his eyes closed as he relaxed in the bubbles... and then he frowned as he felt something brush against him before he opened one eye, then yelped and splashed at the water, trying to scramble away from Anathema as she rested in the water across from him. Then he slowly slid down the edge of the bowl, teeth grit, and she only continued to look curiously at the bubbles and foam, her visible insides slimy with soap and water now as well as whatever coated them as she said thoughtfully: "It tickles a little bit. There are strange mortal chemicals mixed into this water, too... and perhaps a little bit of salt, just enough that it isn't painful..."

She mused on this, and then Zerrex paused before he frowned as he slipped a bit lower in the bubbles, asking her dryly: "Shouldn't salt be like, killing you? I thought you undead hated it even more than us demons."

"There are tiers and ranks to the undead, just as there are demons, Lord Zerrex... this salt content is nowhere near hazardous to my health." Anathema responded in an amused voice, and then she took a deep breath before letting out a sigh of relaxation, slipping lower in the water as she murmured: "What a delightful thing... the water's more than hot enough to relax me."

"Ooh, ooh, me too!" Cherry called as she stumbled into the room, pulling her shirt off and half-running into a wall while it was stuck on her head, and then she grunted and managed to jerk it free before she ripped off her bra with one hand as the other started to shove down her pants. As she staggered towards the tub, both Zerrex and Anathema leaned away, both wincing and half-turning to climb out... and then Cherry cackled before she tipped forwards and fell in with a loud splash, water sloshing over both the Drakkaren and the undead, and they both slowly sank back down into the tub as Cherry surfaced after a moment with a wide grin on her face, her pants and boxers floating slowly up to the top of the water. "It's a pool party now!"

Zerrex swung a foot out under the water, and he felt the familiar feeling of his foot smacking into Cherry's abs, making her wheeze before she sank back below the surface. Then the Drakkaren slowly wiped wet hair out of his eyes as he looked across at Anathema, who had her teeth grit as she wiped at her eyes, muttering: "These chemicals sting..."

Finally, the demoness resurfaced with a huff, and she leered from Zerrex to Anathema as both favored her with sour looks. "What? Come on, you guys know you both love me. But hey, wanna love me in a physical way?"

"Well, you know that's what I live for." Anathema replied in a falsely-sweet voice, and Zerrex coughed before he gave her a thumbs-up as she looked at him for a moment. Then she smiled grimly across at Cherry as the demoness sidled closer, saying mildly as she held up a hand that glowed with purple flames: "I can make parts of your body rot and fall away if I want to. And they'll never grow back."

Cherry paused, then sidled carefully towards Zerrex instead... but when she looked at him hopefully, he only gave her a curdling glare, and she cleared her throat before slipping away from him, mumbling as she sat somewhere between the two. "You guys are no goddamn fun. So like. What the hell's a bath for if you ain't gonna fuck in it?"

"Relaxing." Zerrex and Anathema said at the same time, and then they both began to rattle off different points, including 'cleaning,' 'scrubbing,' 'hygiene,' and 'detoxification' at the top of the list. This made Cherry grumble and turn around, scrambling out of the tub and giving both of them a very clear view of her large rear, and then she shook herself violently off before a burst of steam emanated off her body as she dried herself instantly with her pyrokinetic abilities, and then she huffed and bounced out of the room, leaving her scattered clothes behind before Anathema winced as she picked up her boxers and tossed them at Zerrex.

They hit him in the muzzle, and he gargled, flailing his arms before tearing them off his face and throwing them back at her, but Anathema ducked with a wince, muttering: "Things were never like this when I was stuck wandering the Nothingness. I think I almost want to go back there."

"Good. Take these with you." Zerrex huffed and threw Cherry's jeans at her, and this time they landed with a splat on her muzzle, making her curse before she tore them off her face and glared at him. The Drakkaren only sulked as he looked sourly back at her, however, and then they both grumbled and sank slowly into the water at either end of the bowl-shaped tub, only the tops of their heads visible.

The awkward bath lasted for another half-an-hour, then Zerrex climbed out and toweled himself off carefully: a process that fascinated Anathema for some reason, and what made the Drakkaren want to awkwardly cover himself up was that it wasn't because of his body. Instead, she muttered something about 'odd mortal habits,' and Zerrex jumped into his boxers as fast as he could... another thing that made her watch curiously, and not in a good way.

Finally, the reptile put his Nanotech Armlet on and created a pair of pants as well as a black shirt with two murmured voice commands, and Anathema almost literally slithered out of the tub and up to her feet at this, making Zerrex stare before she leaned in and asked him curiously. "You never explained to me how that machine works... how does it make fabric?"

"Nanites." Zerrex said dumbly, and when she obviously didn't understand this, he took the moment to hit the button that opened the drain in the tub, and then he said carefully: "Think... artificial... cells? Something like that. Anyway, they can replicate any shape, any form... although the texture is always a little bit off."

"Like how shapeshifting works." Anathema nodded slowly, rubbing at her chin thoughtfully. "What a delightful little technology... and you fools say science is nothing like magic. If that's not magical, I don't know what is."

"A lot of people say science is a substitute for magic these days, or vice versa." Zerrex replied mildly, as he headed for the door, and Anathema followed him with a quiet laugh, shaking her head slowly. "What?"

"What's the difference, when the end result is the same?" she asked him plainly in return, and the reptile began to snort... and then he paused and thought about the context she meant it in, as she added softly: "Mortals make far too many distinctions, draw far too many borders and lines and pretend all too many concepts make sense when they really don't... it's not even childishness, only immaturity and an unwillingness to accept that some things just are as they are, and you can't do anything about it."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Zerrex asked her flatly, but Anathema only smiled at him before she walked over towards the pool table, where Lone was trying to coax Cherry into playing another game... but the naked female - or rather, mostly-female, except for the three very large things hanging between her legs that Lone kept staring at between bits of staring at her breasts - looked bored as she laid on the couch, idly watching television and waving at him dismissively. Then Lone looked up as Anathema bowed him towards the pool table, and he grinned... which lasted roughly five seconds before the undead Naganatine pulled one of her own rib bones off, and it lengthened into a long stick suitably-shaped like the cue, making him pale slightly.

As dawn rolled around and the sun began to rise beautifully in the sky, Marina exited her room with a yawn, dressed in boxers and a baggy t-shirt. She looked sleepily at her father, and then she smiled at him before heading over to the mini-bar, almost stepping on Mahihko, who was curled up behind the counter on a bed made of pillows and with a blanket thrown over his snoozing body, a Zerrex-plush held tight to his chest.

Marina opened the fridge door - not bashing Mahihko in the head with it, which he appreciated - and she pulled out some kind of nutrition bar before closing it and reaching down to jerk the plush free of Mahihko's arms. Immediately, the little wolf woke up with a whimper, and he staggered groggily to his feet, chasing after her as she walked down to sit on the couch, clutching the plush against her as Zerrex himself looked at her dumbly from the other couch, and then he winced when Mahihko, almost crying by now, came over to her and tried to take his toy back... and she promptly shoved him over, which sent him into a fit of bawling.

Zerrex sighed and walked over with a mumble as the others stared, and he held a hand out to Marina... and she winced and looked down as she handed over the plush toy before Zerrex gave this back to Mahihko, but the wolf only continued to cry loudly even as he squeezed the toy tight to his chest. So the Drakkaren sighed and leaned down, picking the little wolf up and mumbling as he carried him to an unused bedroom... but the wolf only cried louder at this, and the reptile felt a bolt of frustration snap through his head as he felt an incredible urge to just lash out at him... but then he closed his eyes firmly and controlled himself, taking a long, deep breath before he asked in as calm a voice as he could manage: "What do you want, Mahihko? You can't carry on like this, you aren't a baby."

Mahihko's crying died down to sniffles, and then he finally looked up at his father with teary eyes, holding his arms out: "Hug."

"Talk like a grown-up, Mahihko." Zerrex said quietly, and when Mahihko started to sniffle again, the reptile snapped, throwing his arms out in frustration: "Fine, just... goddammit!"

He turned and stomped out, closing the door tightly behind himself, and Mahihko began bawling again inside as Lone looked down shamefully, and then the reptile muttered as he walked into the room furthest from the one Mahihko was in, sitting inside and brooding, but already feeling ashamed of himself. Then he glanced up as Marina stepped into the doorway, and she lowered her head as she murmured: "I'll be glad to look after him and Lone. It'll be a good punishment, anyway."

Then she turned and left, and Anathema came in a moment later, looking at him curiously for a few moments. He looked back at her, and then she said softly: "Why are you so melancholy? And why do you treat the wolves so nicely, when they're obviously inferior creatures?"

"Because the strong should protect the weak, and help them to improve themselves... and the weak should look up to the strong and aid them however they can." Zerrex said quietly after a few moments, and Anathema nodded slowly after a moment, before the reptile smiled faintly and sat back. "What kind of father am I if I can't put up with a young-in-mind wolf's tantrums?"

"Not a bad one." Anathema smiled a bit, saying softly: "That little wolf would try the patience of even Naganis. In every respect and form, he is a deviant... he acts like a baby, he's gay and will produce no offspring, his purpose in life seems to be childishness." She stopped, then said quietly: "But you know, Mephistopheles would have crushed him out of existence... while Naganis would have frustrated us, the traitors, by saying we must accept him and that he had an ultimate purpose, even if it didn't seem like it at the time.

"Anger is not a sin, whatever the old bibles say." Anathema nodded, looking at him squarely: "Fueling one's anger, meaningless anger, that is a sin. And an even worse one is self-pity and meaningless despair."

"You're despair and I hate you." Zerrex muttered, and Anathema looked at him for a few moments, then threw her head back and laughed. This made the Drakkaren stare, and then he sighed and rolled his eyes, saying finally: "Fine. But anyway, it's..." He paused, pressing a button on the Nanotech Armlet and checking the time. "It's definitely time to get going. Are you going to stay here or come along with me, Cindy, and Cherry?"

Anathema only smiled dryly as she stepped forwards, becoming skeletal before she broke apart as she reached towards Zerrex, and the bone armor snapped smoothly onto his body... but this time remained covering his form in a sturdy exoskeleton-like armor, with her skull settling over his shoulder instead of his head. Like you even have to ask, High King Zerrex.

The reptile nodded a bit, then, when the armor refused to retract, he finally rolled his eyes before he left, saying mildly as he entered the spacious relaxation room: "Cindy, Cherry, suit up. We'll head out to meet Albatross and Churchill, then go to Uroboros."

The two nodded, and Zerrex joined them in the middle room, where they had left most of their gear. They dug out their equipment in silence, the reptile producing Blackheart and placing it on his back, and a thin circle of bone appeared around the blade to hold it in place against the heavy armor covering the reptile's body. He decided against taking anything else, remembering how the last confrontations had gone, and instead let the others work in quiet.

Cherry dug out a pair of boxers and a bra first, and then she simply pulled her battle armor on over this. Then she attached the manacle of the Great Diviner to her forearm and sheathed the sword, pulling the magical chain out so there was a little extra slack, and in his mind, Anathema whispered: How many would say that's impossible through magic... but then simply nod and smile as if they understood if you said 'advanced nanotechnology?'

Zerrex didn't reply, surprised as always by how well she grasped scientific concepts... and then he smiled a bit as Cherry hung her whip at her other hip, knowing it was more for luck and old time's sake than much else. She also slid the silver .45 revolver into her boot and the speed-loader into a pouch on the belt around her waist, and she smiled grimly at Zerrex, but didn't speak.

Cindy, meanwhile, took a short-barreled gun that almost resembled a sawed-off rifle... but the reptile knew it was actually a grenade launcher, as she strapped a belt of cylindrical grenades around her waist. She carefully holstered this on her hip, ensuring that it was strapped properly so it didn't interfere with her movement... and then she smiled at her father, saying softly: "And I think I'll just take a cleaver from the armory here."

"Alright, fair enough." Zerrex nodded a bit, and then he turned and headed out into the main room with the other two following. Mahihko, Lone, and Marina were already lined up, looking awkward as Mahihko kept his eyes on the floor... and then the Drakkaren rose a hand to the three as he said calmly: "We should be back by tonight. I'll send you a message once we're done cleaning up, either way."

"Thanks, father." murmured the three in almost perfect synchronization, and then Zerrex turned and headed for the door, Cherry and Cindy both following after a moment. They stepped out into the hallway and looked at each other, and then the reptile finally pointed hesitantly down the corridor, thinking back to when they'd gone for dinner yesterday.

After twenty minutes of wandering around and Cherry and Zerrex refusing to ask directions from anyone they passed, Cindy finally sighed and asked a servant where Commander Albatross and High King Churchill were. The servant quickly guided them to the throne room, and Zerrex paused as he saw Churchill sitting in a beautiful oak and metal throne, deep in conversation with two Dragokkaren in robes... but Cherry barged cheerfully forwards from the side entrance, ignoring the Dragokkaren Enforcers on either side of the hall that immediately took aim at her as she waltzed in front of the two robed males, and then she asked mildly: "So when do we leave?"

"Stand down, everyone." Churchill said tiredly, and he looked back and forth, before wincing visibly and rubbing at his face. "Commander Albatross already dispatched another team of soldiers earlier this morning, and he's monitoring them through static-proofed transmissions... can't you wait at least until this afternoon."

"Uh... no." Cherry crossed her arms and glowered, and then she yelped as Zerrex walked over and shoved her aside, making her huff. "Fuck you too, Boss."

"Where's Albatross, then? I'd at least like to see what's happening with this team he dispatched." Zerrex said calmly, despite feeling a little slighted. He knew it was probably because Albatross was trying to save his vacation, but it nonetheless irked him that they had been excluded... and then he made a face as Churchill hesitated, glowering at him.

Finally, the Dragokkaren nodded and leaned towards a Dragokkaren guard, muttering something, and the Enforcer nodded before he bowed towards the three. "Here, this soldier will take you to him, in one of the monitoring stations. And since I already know what's going to happen and I'd prefer you didn't cause a ruckus, I'll have a transport prepped for you."

"Thanks, Churchill. I'm glad to see you still remember the old times as clearly as I do." Zerrex said mildly, and Churchill grunted a bit in response, looking faintly amused despite himself. Then the Drakkaren turned to the soldier and motioned for him to lead the way, and the three followed the trooper back out the side entrance and into the maze of expansive palace corridors.

They found Albatross in a room completely unlike the rest of the palace: it was covered in advanced technology, some kind of war table showing a holographic display of Uroboros with several different dots in red around the city, and monitors lining the walls, each displaying the vital statistics of a single soldier. Other monitors displayed both satellite and camera feeds, and slender, smaller Drakkai in slate-colored uniforms and wearing headsets were busily working at the different terminals around the room. Albatross was standing at the table himself, dressed in his usual suit and his cane put aside for the moment as he leaned over the hologram, not looking up at Zerrex even as he said mildly: "Already causing trouble at this hour of the morning, huh?"

"Did you lose contact with the other team?" Zerrex asked quietly, and the Dragokkaren looked up for a moment with his single violet eye, hesitating before he sighed and instead clicked a button on the table, and a sector of the hologram zoomed in on several red dots. The Drakkaren stood back as slightly-curved text appeared, and he frowned at what it said. "How can they be listed as both dead but still have a slowed heartbeat? And... yet they haven't moved in seventeen hours?"

"I'm hoping its interference... but either it means they were killed at some point, or they're in a state of paralysis. Yet despite not moving of their own volition, their bodies have changed location, which means someone's carted them off somewhere." Albatross shook his head, making a face. "The other team we inserted by air, straight into the fog, with much better armor and gear... but I see you want to go in yourselves, and I'm sure you already scared Churchill into making him prepare a transport for you."

"It didn't take much." Zerrex admitted, and then he watched as Albatross clicked the hologram back to give a wider view of the city as he stood up and sighed, shaking his head slowly. "So where's the hangar bay?"

Albatross paused, then he muttered: "Give me a minute." He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket, turning away as Cherry peered at the holograph before she started waving her hand back and forth through it until Cindy slapped her arm, and then the Dragokkaren turned back around, saying quietly: "Since you seem anxious to go, the same soldier that brought you here will take you to hangar bay six. There's a Jungle Eater there, a modified transport that should get you there in three hours' time. It'll have the usual amenities: short-range communicators, some weaponry, and a few soldiers."

"I don't need extra troops..." Zerrex started, but at the look the Dragokkaren gave him, he rose his hands and nodded, looking dryly amused. "Alright, alright, if you insist. But alright. Thanks, I owe you one."

"You owe me nothing. This is another favor you're doing for me, and don't think I've lost count." Albatross called, as Zerrex left with Cindy and Cherry, and they followed their guide to a sublevel of the building, this time, where a tram system awaited them. Cherry looked curiously at Zerrex, but the Drakkaren only shrugged as he boarded it... and ten minutes later, the tram halted at a station under heavy guard.

They passed through it with ease, looking back and forth curiously at the Dragokkaren Enforcers and demons both, their only pause a security door that had to be opened by two spaced-apart Dragokkaren with keycards. Then they made their way up the stairs and into a sterile corridor, and it was that more than anything else that made Zerrex realize they had arrived at a military base, and he smiled a bit: he hadn't expected the hangar to be in a separate area from the palace, with the way Churchill had used to surround himself with soldiers and military.

When they stepped out of the corridor and into the hangar, the lizard was further surprised at the machine that awaited them. It had massive, triangular tracks on a rectangular, large body, while the front possessed several large spikes and an angled, curved blade for slicing through undergrowth. Small turrets were on both the top and the sides of the machine, likely automated... and Zerrex smiled a bit as he walked towards the goliath machine.

Three Dragokkaren soldiers were waiting for them, one with his rifle thrown across his shoulders and his arms resting on the barrel and stock, another with her weapon resting against the treads as she sat on the floor with her legs crossed, and the last mumbling to himself as he tapped away at his palm pilot. None of them were clones, and Zerrex could tell they were all hardened troops, whatever else they might look like as the female kicked up to her feet easily, grinning as she held a hand out, her armor torn around the shoulder plates and the arms of her uniform completely missing, a Y-shaped scar down her face and muzzle as she asked: "How the hell are you guys? I'm Sergeant Monique Ivory, your guide. Espionage and Countersurveillance Division. The big guy is Rellis Krath, and the nerd is Edward Lange, but we just call him Lanky."

Zerrex reached out and shook her hand: her grip was firm, and her body was well-toned, with the tattoo of the Dragokkaren Enforcers on her left arm. She was two feet taller than him, while Krath was at least fifteen feet tall and an almost-perfect Dragokkaren specimen, and Lanky was a little shorter than Ivory, with glasses on features that were a little gaunt and fingerless gloves on his hands, as he quickly slipped the palm pilot into a pouch and mumbled something with a salute before he ran for the ladder leading into the cockpit. Then the Drakkaren focused back on Ivory as their hands parted, saying mildly: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ivory. I have a feeling we should get along just fine."

"I do hope so." Ivory smiled warmly and nodded, then she headed for the back of the transport, yanking on the handles at the bottom of the door to open them before she pulled a set of fold-out steps down, running inside as she called: "Krath, lock and load!"

Krath favored them with a frown before he shouldered his rifle and walked over to a crate, picking his helmet up and shoving it over his head. Then he stomped towards the back of the vehicle as Zerrex and his daughters exchanged looks, and Cherry finally shrugged, saying positively: "I like them."

"You would." Zerrex muttered, and then he let Cindy go ahead and jump into the back o the vehicle before following himself. It was fairly spacious, a bench on either side of the transport and several racks at the front containing rifles, ammunition, and melee weaponry, and the Drakkaren let Cherry fold the stairs up and slam the doors closed as he sat beside Cindy, on the bench opposite the one Krath and Ivory were seated at.

She was still looking at them cheerfully, while Krath seemed moody, beginning to disassemble his weapon as Lanky's voice came in hesitantly over the loudspeaker: "I... I'm starting out now, just... just let me know if we should stop anywhere..."

"He's a bit of a chicken, but he's a good guy, good soldier, and I'd trust him with my life." Ivory said warmly, and then she began to babble away cheerily, as Zerrex sat back and nodded now and then, not listening too much. She was pretty, and there was a familiarity in her features... but she also seemed to enjoy the sound of her own voice.

Perhaps an hour later, Zerrex finally perked up when she said almost shyly, tacking it on to the end of some meaningless sentence: "-and you know I'm actually the daughter of Light Voice, who I hear served with you in the Great War."

"Really? Shit, I guess you're technically my granddaughter, then."Cherry said cheerfully, crossing her arms with a grin before she nudged Zerrex firmly, saying cockily: "Now who has more kids, you asshole. I'm like... a tree. That had lots of little trees. Who are all having their own little trees now."

"Cherry, I... that's not even a part of your life you should be joking about." the reptile said flatly, but Cherry only grinned brightly at him, and the reptile slapped his forehead. Some people become lunatic murderers after being used as a breeding tool. Some people write bestselling novels. Some people become bitter and hateful. And Cherry uses it as more material for bragging and bad jokes.

Ivory began to babble on about her mother and father now, and how the wedding had gone, and all these things... and Zerrex really did his best to pay attention, but it didn't change the fact she was a little more than mildly annoying, even when she showed off the stealth ability she'd inherited from her mother, letting her turn parts of her body almost invisible as light bent and twisted around it. Krath, meanwhile, was still looking at them distrustfully, his gun laying in an organized pile of pieces in his lap as he started to put it back together, apparently unhindered by the bounces and lurches of the vehicle they were in.

Two hours later, as Ivory finally seemed like she was running out of things to babble about, Lanky whispered shakily through the microphone: "Guys, guys, the city's... it's covered in this blue mist, and I'm starting to feel real cold right about now... I don't know if we should go any further, I..."

Ivory suddenly became professional, taking a radio off her belt and saying clearly into it: "Proceed to the drop point, Lanky, don't you spaz out on me now. Krath, you ready to lock and load?"

The Dragokkaren nodded without saying anything as he polished his rifle slowly... by now, Zerrex was actually wondering if he could speak at all. Ivory nodded herself, and then she looked over at Zerrex, asking him calmly: "What are your orders?"

At first Zerrex wanted to tell them to just wait at the transport... but then he hesitated before asking finally: "Can you get me the status of the other troops who were recently sent in and their location?"

"Lanky should be able to bring that up. Do you want to go after them?" Ivory asked, and the Drakkaren nodded. The female smiled grimly at this, and then she looked towards the front of the vehicle. "That sounds like a plan to me... in that case, we should probably split into two teams to try and find the source of this mist faster. Lanky will want to stay back here at the transport, and it's probably a good idea that he does. We'll get him to upload the GPS information we need to my PDA, and then we should be able to follow the tracking beacon on the other troops."

"Alright. Two teams of three, then." Zerrex said quietly, and Ivory frowned, tilting her head before the reptile glanced at the skull on his armor, saying mildly: "Do you mind going with Cherry and Cindy while I assist these two?"

"I suppose not." Anathema sighed, then she split off his body, the bone armor rapidly turning into her skeletal form before she leaned on Zerrex as Krath took aim at her skull with his rifle. She only smiled coldly, however, meeting the Dragokkaren's eyes as what flesh she had appeared on her form, and she said softly: "Go ahead... I dare you."

Krath snarled as his finger began to squeeze down on the trigger... and then Cherry reached out and snatched the rifle away from him like she was taking a toy away from a disobedient child, and the Dragokkaren looked shocked as he held only thin air for a moment, and the demoness said darkly: "This is no time for fucking around, do I make myself clear? You neither, Anathema, I don't like games while we're trying to do a job."

The undead Naganatine rolled her eyes in distaste at this, and then Cindy said carefully: "Perhaps it would be better, Daddy, if Anathema and I went with Ivory... and you and Cherry go with Krath. Things would be more balanced, as well."

Zerrex nodded after a moment at this suggestion, and then he looked over at Ivory, who shrugged after a moment. "Works for me, whatever you guys go with... fuck, that thing is spooky, though."

"Thank you." Anathema said with a mild smile, but Zerrex thought she looked irritated, if anything. Then the transport slowly halted, and Krath stood and threw the doors open before he jumped out. Then he turned around, and Cherry tossed him his rifle before she hopped down from the transport herself and cursed softly.

Anathema, Ivory and Zerrex came next, and Cindy joined them last after she took a cleaver from the back of the transport, the six standing in a cold, thick blue mist that seemed to sparkle here and there. It was thick enough to shroud everything, thicker near the ground but even the tops of the tall buildings on either side of them nothing but dark, faded profiles... and Zerrex made a face as Lanky came towards them, a tiny figure in the mist as he tapped away at his palm computer before he mumbled: "Shit, no signal... I'm sorry, guys, my stuff is useless here. We'll have to just do this the old way."

"What's your frequency? I'll be able to communicate with you through this." Zerrex held up the Nanotech Armlet as Ivory checked her headset, and then she read off the number and Zerrex muttered as he carefully entered it, then tested it as he walked a few feet away and asked quietly into the armlet: "Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." There was a distinct buzz to Ivory's voice as it filtered up through the device, and Zerrex only hoped it would work at long distances as well. Then Lanky ran past and into the transport's armored cab before Zerrex walked back to the group, rolling his eyes as Ivory crossed her arms with a disgruntled look. "I don't like this either... fucking cold... but I ain't running. So what's the plan?"

"We're going to have to find somewhere where we can communicate with Albatross... or better yet, someone who knows what's going on. We'll sweep in either direction around the hangar bay." Zerrex said calmly, looking around at the others. "Notify immediately if you encounter hostiles and hope to hell that the signal gets through this fog and distortion."

The others nodded, and then Anathema said quietly: "Watch yourself closely... there's worse things than this mist here."

"I figured." Zerrex muttered, and then Krath and Cherry joined him before he led them off through the mist. Ivory, Anathema, and Cindy watched them go, and then Anathema shook her head before she glanced at Cindy, and Ivory did the same.

The angelic female nodded after a moment, resting her cleaver on her shoulder as she said quietly: "Come on, then. Stay close... and Anathema, please let us know if anything's coming."

The undead Naganatine nodded as Ivory pulled her rifle off her back, flicking the safety off as she looked back and forth with a grimace, then she automatically fell in line as they walked along the desolate city streets, the stone seeming almost blue under the pavement with the strange mist that muffled their footsteps and their breath. Cindy thought about ordering them to start doing random checks of the buildings, but she somehow knew that they would be empty... so instead, she only shook her head slowly, continuing to walk forwards.

For twenty minutes, they moved through the mist, until Ivory finally said in a low voice: "Let's check this house, okay? We haven't checked anything so far..."

"There's nothing in there." Anathema replied calmly, and despite the muffling of the mist, her normal voice sounded terribly loud in the stillness. Then the fog seemed to thicken for a moment, and Cindy winced as it almost obscured the others from view before Anathema swept her hand out, and the female winced as she felt a wave of force pass over her, Ivory almost stumbling as the fog thinned immediately. "We should keep moving."

"No, let's check here. I'm not leaving anyone behind." Ivory replied stoically, and then she turned and headed for the open entrance leading into the stone building, and Cindy cursed under her breath, following quickly. Anathema tailed them last, looking back and forth as her luminescent eyes shone visibly through even the encroaching barrier of fog.

There was no mist inside, but the building was terribly dark... and Cindy followed Ivory down a corridor, watching her dart into a room before the angel could get close enough to stop her, and then Ivory gasped. Cindy winced, expecting the worst... but instead she found Ivory standing in a den that looked like it had been ransacked, and there were two dead bodies on the floor, both pale and bloodless.

Before either of them could do anything, Anathema snarled and grabbed them both, throwing them out into the hallway and knocking both Ivory and Cindy down into a heap as they tangled with each other, and then the two stared in horror as the bloodless bodies rose up and rushed towards Anathema... but with little more than a gesture from the undead Naganatine, they both halted in mid-lurch and instead fell backwards, releasing twin sighs as a strange, blue essence floated out of their forms and dissipated in the air. Then the female looked coldly down at Ivory, who was still staring stupidly at the bodies on the floor, before the Naganatine snarled: "Don't disobey Cindy's orders! If your mother served in this Great War everyone keeps talking about, and they were apparently heroes of it, then why would you dare go against them?"

"I... my blood... was boiling." Ivory said finally, looking chastened, and Anathema snorted in distaste before the two females climbed to their feet, and she asked shakily: "But... what the hell were those things?"

"Bound souls. Contact Zerrex, warn him. These are very dangerous creatures." Anathema said coldly, and Ivory nodded, reaching up to tap her headset... and then she frowned, but the undead Naganatine only smiled grimly. "Of course. Then we'll go on foot."

Cindy nodded, not wanting to argue with the undead Naganatine so visibly riled-up, and they hurried out of the building... and then the angel winced as a pale Dragokkaren lurched at her from out of the mist, its jaws open wide, and she kicked it hard backwards before she grabbed the handle of her sword and neatly decapitated it. It staggered, then fell over... and then slowly began to crawl towards its severed head as a strange blue essence leaked slowly out of its neck and floated up into the air, stilling just before it managed to reach its fallen skull.

"Great. And unless one of you wants to offer up your body, I can't perform a sacrifice to purge these things." Anathema said darkly, then she paused and looked upwards as more of the creatures slowly emerged from the mist, of all shape and size, and she smiled grimly. "But maybe..."

As Ivory and Cindy looked back and forth desperately, Anathema crossed her arms over her chest, taking a deep breath... and then she threw her arms outwards, and a blast of tremendous psychic force emanated from her body, staggering Cindy and knocking Ivory forwards to skid along her front with a curse... but the mist itself was torn asunder in a wide radius along the street, letting the risen sun above shine down on the pale beings. Immediately, the crowd of creatures began to scream and convulse as a blue steam rose up from their bodies, and then they slowly collapsed to the ground, Anathema walking distastefully out to the center of the street as she said coldly: "We should move quickly... these things flourish in conditions like this, and we all know that our friend Zerrex has a penchant for getting into trouble."

Cindy nodded, then she extended a hand to Ivory as she began to pick herself up... and the Dragokkaren female smiled a bit, reaching up and letting the angel heft her to her feet as she rubbed at a bloody forearm. The angel examined this, and then she glanced at her, asking quietly: "Are you okay?"

"Fine, yeah. Just... shaken up. I feel better in the sun, though..." Ivory looked up, and then she sighed and reached down to pick her gun off the ground as the mist slowly began to fill in the safe bubble Anathema had made, the undead Naganatine crossing her arms and looking impatient. "Yeah, just gimme a second, I think you might have dented my rifle."

"Bullets won't be of much use against these beings anyway, unless you can sever limbs... don't let them bite or scratch you, mortal, or you'll become one of them." Anathema added after a moment, and Ivory cursed under her breath as she pulled her rifle a bit closer, her eyes flicking nervously back and forth as she and Cindy walked quickly over to rejoin Anathema. "You, Cindy, they can't make join their ranks... but believe me, the pain will be incredible if they do touch you."

Cindy nodded, making a disgusted face... and then she followed as Anathema began to lead them back the way they'd come in a quick jog. Her violet eyes burned through the mist like bright candles, and the angel winced as they passed shambling creatures here and there... but so long as they were moving quickly, the soulless beings didn't seem very interested in trying to grab them, but she thought it might also have something to do with the malevolence coming off the undead Naganatine in waves. "So what's got you so worked up?"

"Nothing." Anathema said shortly, and then she looked coldly at Cindy, asking her icily: "Would you prefer I just left you two to die? You and the mortal would make excellent bait while I go and let Zerrex know what we're dealing with."

Cindy decided it was probably better to not question Anathema's motives, for good or ill, at this point... and then Ivory suddenly winced, and she frowned, lowering her head as Cindy faintly heard static ripping at the headset she was wearing before screams filled the air, and the soldier's eyes widened as Lanky howled: "Help me, oh god, help me, what the fuck, just what the fuck are- no, no, help me, help!"

There was a sound of something shattering, and then metal groaning and bending before Ivory went into a sprint, shooting past Anathema as the undead Naganatine hissed before giving chase, Cindy dropping into a fast run herself but resisting the urge to charge stupidly after Ivory: not because she was afraid of Anathema abandoning them, but instead because it seemed far too much like bait for a trap. As they headed back towards the van, however, they passed fewer and fewer of the soulless beings, the mist thinning... and then both came to a halt beside a door that had been twisted off the vehicle.

"Where the hell did it go? Where's Ivory, or Lanky?" asked Cindy, and Anathema only looked at her for a moment, before both their heads snapped up at the sound of someone's voice... and the two carefully made their way straight ahead.

They found Ivory sitting with her knees up against her chest, her eyes glassy and resting with her back against the bottom of the broken transport, which lay in a tangled mess on its side. One of the tracks had been torn entirely off, and some kind of terrible, mangled mess was hanging out of the shattered cab of the machine... and Cindy looked away with a curse as Anathema approached the dead body.

The angel knelt beside Ivory, opening her mouth to ask if she was okay as Anathema gently cupped the underside of a Drakkaren's mangled head and breathed softly over it... and the one eye remaining in the socket that wasn't crushed opened and the jaws screamed in horror, before Lanky rasped: "Where... where am I?"

"Oh god, no, stop... stop..." Ivory moaned, scrambling backwards in terror: Lanky's crushed head was hanging at the end of a spine half-torn out of his body, which had been ripped apart to the point it was unrecognizable. Lanky started to look down at himself, and then he gasped as Anathema grabbed the underside of his muzzle and tilted his head towards him, looking into that single bloody eye.

"What killed you?" she asked coldly, and Lanky's form convulsed once or twice, Ivory looking horrified and ill as she turned away and Cindy gritting her teeth, not knowing whether to tell Anathema to stop or Ivory that this was unfortunately necessary... and then Lanky took a long, rattling breath, before he looked slowly ahead.

"He's still here... coming..." Lanky whispered... and Anathema nodded before she gently closed his eye, and the breath sighed out of the mangled corpse, the spark of life going with it. The undead Naganatine glanced towards Cindy and Ivory, who was crying and shaking her head in denial in terror, and for a moment, something like sympathy appeared on her face before it turned into a mask of contempt.

"Neither of you can handle this. Cindy, take Ivory, find Zerrex. If the soulless beings attack, your angelic radiance should be more than enough to drive them back. Do you know how to focus it?" Anathema asked coldly, and Cindy nodded as she stood up, rolling her shoulders slowly. "Then you should have few problems. Move quickly, and stop for nothing. No matter what you see or hear... if it does not feel alive, then it isn't, is that understood?"

"Yes." Cindy nodded, and then she looked down at Ivory, offering her hand. The female looked up at her, breathing shakily, and the angel said encouragingly: "Come on. We can do this together... I need you to listen for the others, Zerrex might be trying to contact us."

She nodded finally, and then got to her feet, taking Cindy's hand as it was offered and letting herself be pulled along to vanish into the mist, as Anathema only crossed her arms... and even when Cindy looked back, she only looked impassive. Then, finally, as they vanished into the rolling fog, Anathema glanced at Lanky's corpse before reaching out and grabbing the visible spine as it twitched, ripping his head off and most of his spine with it in a sick blast of gore, but the mist itself seemed to greedily gorge itself on the blood, and not a speck of the red liquid touched the ground as Anathema stroked over the face, the skull reshaping itself and the wound vanishing from the severed head, before both eyes snapped open, one of them dead white and the other glazed and lost-looking. The soul had already fled from the body, but the mind would still contain some key information... and Anathema turned the head around, gripping it by the back and leaving the spinal cord to dangle downwards as she pointed the gaze outwards, ordering calmly: "Show me the last moments of your life."

Lanky's eyes blinked, and then, like a projector, they released streams of light that formed an image on the wall of fog ahead of Anathema. First, she saw him typing some message into his little strange machine... and then he looked back and forth, something obviously having startled him as he said in an empty voice: "Noises... just my head playing tricks on me... the others can't have returned yet."

The image turned to the side window of the cab, and then the front... and then some noise spooked him as the projection jerked violently before twisting to the side, and pale hands silently clawed at the window before the features of a soulless Dragokkaren appeared, mashing its head into the window and cracking it, and Lanky's head gave a monotonous scream before he muttered in the same empty voice: "Can't do anything, must run... help me, oh god, help me. What the fuck, just what the fuck are... no. No. Help me. Help."

As he spoke the last, something else, something darker appeared at the side window, and Lanky's vision looked forwards, catching the door being torn off even as he stomped down on the gas pedal... and then everything went white. Anathema smiled grimly at this, and then she glanced up and tossed the now-useless head away, saying softly: "Do you think I'll be so easy?"

There was only silence for a little while, as icy mist rolled by and Anathema stood, looking calmly through the terrible, thick fog almost as if it wasn't there, before she finally strode slowly forwards, shaking her head slowly as she said softly: "Don't you realize that this is futile? You can't hide forever... nor will your minions do you much good."

She paused, then only smiled, crossing her arms as a faint wind seemed to blow through the fog, separating a narrow corridor through the mist, seeming to whisper strangely to her before a quiet tapping filled the otherwise-silent air. Her golden eyes watched, alight with eldritch flame as a figure slowly appeared in the distance, large and strange and hunched over a cane as it strode towards her, little more than a dark profile at first, even as the mist seemed to sweep itself away from the figure.

It was shrouded in a black cloak that was open at the front, but all that revealed was a black robe beneath the heavy cloth that was cinched tight with a belt made from some sort of woven grass. The heavy hood of the cloak fell completely over its face, ragged and hanging down all the way to its breast to cover whatever features it had, as a staff made of a long, thick dead branch of wood and topped with a bleached skull continued to tap a quiet but clear tattoo against the pavement as it strode towards Anathema before halting some twenty feet away, only standing silently as the mist swirled back and forth, twisting above the head of the cloaked figure into a terrible, low disc that was so thick it cast it in a shadow as dark as midnight.

Then the figure reached up and pushed the hood of its cloak back with both hands, revealing a gaunt, terrible skull instead of a face, the features long and warped, the sockets filled with terrible red light. Terrible, thick teeth curved in a sick grin as the very bones that made up the being's face bent and twisted, and for a few moments in regarded Anathema before it asked in a raspy voice: "What is your name, necromancer? And just what makes you think you are so powerful that you can defy me?"

"It's only polite that you tell me your name first... you seem to be the aggressor in this situation, after all." Anathema replied coldly, and the being across from her laughed before she stepped forwards, one of her hands bursting into purple flames as she held it up in front of her face. "Or should we skip these meaningless formalities, and I hurriedly return you to a state of death?"

"I am Hades, Lord of the Netherworld: an indestructible ship that houses a vast army of dead and cursed souls in the fleet of the eldest of the Elder Gods." Hades responded with a half-bow, and then he held his staff out towards Anathema, and the ground beneath her shattered before a terrible torrent of black flames shot up in a solid pillar, the undead Naganatine covering her face as the god intoned darkly: "And you, nameless Reaper, are already nameless and lost in eternity..."

"Death holds no power over me..." Anathema crossed her arms in front of her face, and the pillar of black flame twisted into a spiral that rolled along her crossed arms before she flung them apart, and the dark fire was flung to either side, tracing a long line up either side of the street, crackling as it ate slowly away at the pavement. Hades staggered backwards in surprise, and then he snarled, holding up his skull-topped staff, the eyes in the skull glowing before a terrible ray of cold blue light shot from the sockets... but Anathema only made a beckoning gesture, and the ground in front of her shattered as a wall of bone and flesh shot up, the icy ray tracing a thin scar uselessly across the thick wall and sending up a few chunks of gore and bloody debris. "I am Anathema... and the Cycle bows only to me!"

Hades snarled as he created a sphere of dark energy in his free hand, and the moment the ray from his staff halted, he threw it hard forwards into the wall, blowing it apart into chunks of bone and blood that flew to either side of Anathema, who only smiled contemptibly as she rose a hand and pointed at him... and in the middle of their flight, the broken bits of bone halted before they shot with terrible speed at Hades, the god half-hiding behind his staff and staggering backwards as a wall of fog shrouded him for a moment, spears of bone plunging through this to smash into the ground with the force of bullets before the undead Naganatine glanced over her shoulder as a pillar of thick mist shot up some twenty feet behind her before it split apart and revealed Hades, the God's cloak further tattered now as he held up his staff... but she only laughed and blew a kiss to him, and for a moment he looked confused before the dead branch twisted around his arm and the skull's jaws opened as it turned on him, hissing like a snake as Anathema whispered: "My power is absolute."

Hades shook his arm back and forth, and then he howled in agony as the skull lunged and bit deeply into his neck, the staff crushing down on his arm before the god swept his other hand into the top of the staff as it burnt with dark flames, shattering the skull and tearing off the top of the long, dead branch. As glowing bits of bone and splintering wood hailed to the ground, he tore the last of the twisted pole free from his arm, before he snarled and threw a black fireball at the female... but Anathema easily caught it and threw it back with another cold laugh.

It exploded when it struck him, dark flames washing greedily over Hades for a moment as he staggered backwards, howling in pain and clutching at his charred robes, his sockets wide with fury and growing fear visible in the red light before he snapped both hands out, and the fog grew thicker, shrouding everything. Anathema made a disgusted face, looking back and forth... and then she snarled and swept a hand out as it burst into purple flames, but instead of striking Hades, she beheaded a soulless Dragokkaren with the neat chop.

The undead Naganatine made a disgusted face as the being fell to the ground... and then a hand shot out of the mist and clutched her throat, squeezing like a vise as she choked for a moment as Hades emerged from the fog, snarling... and then Anathema grinned chillingly as she grabbed his wrist, and purple flames immediately began to eat through the cloak and the bones below, Hades looking confused for a moment before he let out a snarl of pain, his head twisting back and forth as Anathema reached her other hand up and slowly tore her own head off.

The god's sockets widened in terror as Anathema drew her head back, trying desperately to pull away from her as his other hand clawed at her wrist, and then Anathema swung her own head hard forwards into his, knocking his skull backwards with a grunt before she simply tossed her own skull away into the fog as she laughed... and her headless body seized the front of his robes, jerking him forwards as the purple flames of her hand finally tore their way through his wrist, and Hades howled in shock as he pushed madly at her body.

He finally tore away, spinning around... and then he stared at Anathema's head, which was now attached to the soulless, pale body of the Dragokkaren she had beheaded earlier. The hands of this body reached up and seized him by the shoulders, holding him in place for a moment... and then a hand shot forwards through the god's back and tore out his chest, Hades howling as red light shone out of the wound and he asked weakly: "What... what are you?"

"Better." Anathema said softly, and then she snorted as Hades winced and turned to mist in her grip, her headless body and the decapitated one she had taken over both staggering. Then her real body reached up and pulled her head off the pale Dragokkaren form, and it slumped uselessly to the ground as she fitted her skull back in place on her actual body, looking back and forth coldly as she asked: "You can't hurt me with your feeble powers, Hades... you might strike fear in the living, but I'm not among their ranks."

Hades solidified after a moment a distance away, and she looked coldly at him before he said darkly, as the wound in his body closed: "But you cannot kill me, either, Anathema... whatever the extent of your powers, I know that sooner or later, you'll start to run out of energy... and then I shall destroy you..."

Anathema glanced up at the disc of fog that had settled over the area, shrouding everything in darkness... and then she smiled slowly before she swung a hand up and outwards, and a telekinetic ripped through the tightly-knit mist and left Hades standing in a clear patch, sunlight shining down on him in almost a concentrated beam from above. Immediately, he screamed as he fell to his knees, pulling his hood down over his skull as steam rose up from his body, and Anathema approached him with a laugh, shaking her head slowly. "You come from a place without sunlight... you believe yourself to be a master of death because you crawl in the darkness... but don't you know that without light, there can be no shadow?"

She reached down and into his hood, grasping the top of his skull as purple flames alit on her hand, and Hades howled as he shook back and forth violently, grabbing at her forearm before he finally created a sphere of darkness in one hand and threw it straight up into Anathema's face, and she cursed and staggered backwards, Hades tearing free of her and retreating back into the fog as he whispered: "You're making a dire mistake..."

Shambling, bound souls controlled by Hades staggered out of the fog towards her as the mist filled the empty patch that had formed, and Anathema shook her slowly... then frowned when the corpses stopped in place, beginning to convulse violently. Then she snarled and dropped low to the ground with a wince, a dome of bones tearing out of the ground around her as the three bound souls exploded in great bursts of black flames.

The dome of bones was torn apart, and Anathema was knocked to the ground with a grunt, chunks of gore hailing around her before she leapt to her feet... and the earth beneath her rumbled as pillars of bone shot up, lifting the street here and there higher into the air on the long stalks of mixed flesh and white bone. Terrible screams filled the air, and in some of the gaping, red-light-filled cracks that appeared in the street and in the holes left by the street lifting up, Anathema could see chained-up, long-lost souls, crying out for justice and mercy... and her eyes narrowed as she turned slowly to see Hades floating in front of a building, the sky darkening as clouds passed in front of the sun and he rasped: "There's no way you can win..."

The undead Naganatine readied herself as Hades swept his arms out, trying to stagger her with psychic force before he shoved a hand towards the ground, and a crack shot through the stone towards her before the street shattered beneath her feet and terrible, long fangs of bone ripped up from the ground as she leapt backwards, missing her by inches before the Naganatine threw her head back and laughed as Hades shoved his hands forwards, a cage of bone ripping into existence around her as red light shone up through the cracked streets, and then he grinned before shoving both hands down, black flames consuming the bony cage before it was yanked downwards into the earth, a burst of red light shining through the streets.

Anathema was gone... and Hades threw his head back and laughed, but his victory lasted only a moment before twisting, skeletal cords made of vertebrae ripped out of the earth beneath him, wrapping around his body and arms and dragging him violently downwards, the god striking the ground with a loud, surprised grunt before Anathema floated slowly out of the hole in the earth, hovering in the air for a moment before she touched down with a cold smile as she rose a hand above her head. Hades could only stare with shock at her as the undead Naganatine looked down at him coldly, and then she said softly: "Your hubris is your own undoing, Hades. You are not Death, whatever you think you are... not even the Reapers are truly Death. Only death... is Death." She stopped, then smiled at him, spreading her arms, and the mist parted, the sun shining down on the blanched skull of the god and making the red light in his eyes burn brighter as he shook violently, trying to rip free of the bones that restrained him. "Experience the beauty of the sun one last time... and experience the beauty of your own death, and learn what the cycle truly means."

Hades screamed and convulsed on the spot, catching aflame as he twisted and bucked, his skull slowly charring and beginning to crack apart like clay as Anathema smiled icily down at him... and then a thick beam of focused sunlight shot down from the sky and struck the undead Naganatine, knocking her flying backwards with a scream of agony as a figure slowly descended from the skies, crossing its arms as it floated above Hades.

"Beneath the sun, there must always be darkness!" the figure proclaimed, and Hades tore free of his bonds with a grunt as he straightened, standing in a wide, perfect circle of pitch-blackness underneath the floating god. Hades smiled darkly as his wounds healed, and then he rolled his shoulders as the newcomer asked jovially: "How could you allow such a petty thing to knock you around so much, my friend?"

Hades didn't respond, and Anathema snarled as the mist slowly cleared, almost blinded by the radiance of the golden-furred bull, who was clad in beautiful, ornate red armor edged in gold. The plates had overlapping, squareish designs on the shoulders, upper arms, and even over the body, going down to several large plates that fell over the groin and hips, and thin gold chainmail covered the limbs to red gloves and red boots with beautiful golden bird designs going up either shin. He had no wings, and yet he floated, and in one hand he held a golden longbow that was even larger than the perhaps seven-foot tall bull. Upon his head was a beautiful red helm designed carefully so that his tall, proud white horns wouldn't interfere with it, and a golden crescent was at the front of this helm, while a large golden disc was attached to the back of it. Finally, at one side of his body hung a quiver, and Anathema cursed as she felt the light emanating off his body sending aches through her form.

"I am Helios, foul creature... and I am afraid that it is my duty to purge you from this world." The bull drew a golden arrow from the quiver, and as he nocked it, it turned into a radiant bolt of pure light, arcs of golden electricity shooting up and down as it barely kept its form, growing larger and longer the further Helios drew the bowstring back. His aim was steady, and Anathema snarled as she readied herself, glad that Hades, at least, was still recovering in the shadows beneath this sun god. "Be still only a moment longer, and then you'll never feel pain again for the rest of eternity!"

He released the arrow, and it fired like a laser, cutting through one of Anathema's ribs as she threw herself to the side and cursed at the agony it shot through her, before she released a blast of purple energy in response towards Helios... but Hades snapped a hand upwards as the bull winced back, and a chunk of the street flew into the air, the blast colliding with it and sending a spray of gravel harmlessly over the sun god, making him flinch before he wiped himself off and said calmly down to Hades: "I could have deal with that myself, but thank you for the assistance nonetheless."

Hades didn't respond as he shoved his hands down into the ground, and darkness streamed out of the circle, lashing towards Anathema... but the undead Naganatine simply slid to the side, then she screamed and staggered as Helios shot her in the leg with an arrow of light, ripping a clean, perfectly round three-inch hole through her thigh and knocking her to a crouch before Hades hit her in the chest with a blast of dark flames, and the undead Naganatine lay for a moment, staring up at the sun. It... is beautiful.

Helios rose his bow with a loud shout, and small motes of light visibly gathered in the sky before a terrible pillar of light fired straight down into the Naganatine's chest, and Anathema screamed in agony, shaking her head back and forth as blood burst up from her organs and her body rapidly began to char, her bones cracking and breaking as Hades laughed coldly and swept his hands out, dark flames encircling the rest of her form as the pillar of light slowly died out to a thin beam, and then it vanished from existence, leaving her charred and mangled. Helios laughed as he threw his head back, and Hades shook his head in contempt as the sun god shouted: "Victory, my brother! We are victorious again and... and..."

Slowly, Anathema sat up, breathing hard, and then she snarled as she staggered up to her feet, rasping: "Now... you're starting... to piss me off..."

"What manner of foolishness is this? Hide your head, wench, and at least feign your death in shame and defeat!" Helios frowned, and then he snorted as Anathema straightened, her back cracking loudly as she held both hands out to the side and purple flames burst into being on both. "Fine, then... while I admire your tenacity, I fear that you only now face further suffering and humiliation..."

Helios nocked another arrow in his bow, and then Anathema lashed both hands forwards, a terrible blast of malevolent energy shooting towards Helios. His eyes widened in surprise as he rose his bow with a wince, and Hades immediately rose his arms... but Anathema stomped on the ground, and twisting, dead roots lashed out of the street and wrapped tightly around him, restraining and surprising the god.

Helios fired his arrow straight into the purple mass, and the arrow tore through Anathema's stomach, knocking her backwards with a gasp... but then the violet energy collided with the sun god and sent him several feet backwards, and the dark shadow moved with him, Hade wincing as he found himself closer to the grey border instead of the pitch-black center before he tore himself free from the dead plants that had ensnared him and stepped quickly backwards... and then his eyes widened as he saw Anathema standing and grasping at her oozing gut, looking vulnerable and stupefied, and the god held a hand out, a spear of bone appearing in it before he threw it hard towards the undead Naganatine.

A figure swept in from the side and caught the spear of bone as angelic wings flapped powerfully, dexterous fingers quickly spinning the bone javelin around before Cindy grunted as she threw it hard at Helios as he finally freed himself from the purple flames, and he winced before trying to block it with his bow... and the golden weapon was snapped like a twig, the hovering god flailing his arms for balance as pieces of it rained down around Hades before bursting into flames. Then he stared at the newcomer as Hades hissed, and Cindy stepped calmly in front of Anathema, spreading her arms to either side as she said coldly: "Zerrex is on his way. Just step back for now, Anathema... you've had a hard fight, it looks like. I'll take it from here."

"Cocky fool. Allow me to clip your wings!" Helios rose an arm, and Cindy simply snorted, her body becoming transparent before a laser of light shot from the sky, Anathema cursing and covering her face with her arms as she staggered helplessly backwards, the radiance shining off the pillar of light burning into her like knives before it faded out... and Helios snorted, a crater ripped in the ground and Cindy no longer visible as he said softly: "And again, we face only the resistance of this bitter undead relic."

Hades snorted... and then Cindy rose up out of the ground behind him and solidified, her wings flapping to either side and casting a white, bright light over him that made the god stagger forwards with a howl of pain, Helios looking down in surprise before Cindy grabbed the god of darkness and hurled him straight up into the god of the sun, and the two flipped wildly through the air together, screaming in agony as light and shadow played violently over the area before Helios snarled and threw Hades back down at Cindy, but she drew a fist back, prepared to strike him... except then the god vanished into a burst of mist before he reformed behind her and grabbed one of her wings, and Cindy screamed as it burst into dark flames before he spun her around and started to throttle her.

Black fire twisted over her body, the angel choking as she clawed at him, her eyes widening in horror as her life was sapped out of her and burned away by the darkness, and Anathema snarled as she started forwards... but Helios immediately lashed a hand out, and several thin beams of radiant sunlight hailed down on the undead Naganatine, knocking her to the ground as she screamed in pain, one of the beams cracking her skull as she fell to the street, breathing hard... and Helios laughed and put his hands on his hips as Hades hissed and leaned forwards, his jaws gaping wide as he inhaled, energy floating off Cindy's body and into his hungry jaws. "You see? No matter what, you can't stand against us, there's no way that-"

Anathema roared as she slammed her hands into the ground, and the darkness beneath Hades erupted like a solid thing, knocking him loose from Cindy. She gargled and grasped at her throat for a moment, and then she snarled as Hades flailed his arms, trying to maintain his balance... and then she stepped forwards and punched him as hard as she could, knocking him flying into a building before he exploded into mist as he struck the wall.

Cindy snorted... and then she screamed when Helios dropped down from the air and punched her hard in the back before he kicked her across the street, and she skidded on her chest over to Anathema, one of her wings charred and broken and her back covered in scorch marks now as she climbed quickly up to her feet, cursing under her breath... and then Helios leapt back into the air, hovering high and expanding the shadow beneath him as Hades reformed from the fog, breathing hard and resting in a crouch.

They regarded each other, and then Helios said coldly: "We have obviously gravely underestimated you, at our expense... but know that no longer will we hold back. Prepare to face the full might of our awesome powers!" The bull god drew himself up, spreading his arms... and then he snarled as Zerrex ran in from a nearby alley, cursing under his breath as he asked sharply: "And just who are you?"

"Your mother." Zerrex replied rudely, and Helios looked both insulted and confused before he simply snorted and swung a hand forwards, releasing a narrow beam of light... but Zerrex swung Blackheart out and deflected the attack with a wince and grunt, the laser tracing a long scar along the road before the sun god snarled and relented, and the Drakkaren snorted as he turned his back on him for a moment, looking at Cindy and Anathema with concern. "What's going on? Can you still move?"

"I... Zerrex, goddammit!" Anathema shouted, as Helios rose his arms with a roar and Hades slammed his hands down into the ground, and terrible, bony hands ripped out of the street as shadows swarmed over the Drakkaren, bones clawing into him and imprisoning the Drakkaren on the spot as his head rocked backwards with a wince. Cindy grabbed him, uselessly trying to yank him free, and then a terrible beam of light blasted down from the sun and struck the sun god, a sphere of golden radiance forming around him and thinning the shadows around Hades before it focused into a deadly laser of light.

Anathema stepped in front of the two as Cindy and Zerrex could only gape... and then she screamed, back arching as the full power of the sun god's focused ray shot into her with full force, ripping apart her ribcage and exploding her organs in her chest as the beam burst into scattering rays of light upon striking her, the radiance so deadly that it made the two Drakkaren feel like they were on fire as Anathema convulsed and rocked... and then she screamed in rage, in hate, in agony as she shoved her hand forwards, and the beam was redirected, bouncing off her body like a mirror as Hades had a moment to gape before the sun beam struck him, and he howled in agony as he was consumed by it in mere moments before his body exploded in a blast of dark fire.

The pillar of ice-cold black flame shot upwards and ripped through the sphere surrounding the sun god, Helios twisting back and forth as he shot up into the air like a rocket with a howl of agony before plummeting towards the ground in a low arc, the beam of sunlight reflecting off him twisting a crazy zigzag that melted trenches through the street and buildings surrounding them before it died out as he fell towards the ground, and then he hit the earth with a loud thud and crackle, the black flames charring and eating off his armor. At the same time, Anathema slowly fell herself with a gargle, the outer skull of her face broken and her body cracked and wrecked, and Zerrex could only stare in horror before Cindy howled in fury and frustration as she grabbed the sword on his back, yanking Blackheart free and charging across the street as Helios looked up stupidly.

Cindy smashed the sword into him, knocking him flying in an arc through the air before she ran forwards and swung out as he fell, catching him just before he hit the ground and slamming him to the side before she twisted and smashed into the ground, and then the angel screamed as she brought Blackheart up and smashed it over and over and over again down into his body, Helios convulsing and howling in agony before Cindy spun the sword above her head and tore it downwards, slicing the god's head off before she swung it in a long arc and reversed the weapon at the same time to stab it down through Helio's chest, annihilating whatever remained of his heart.

The sun god didn't breathe, didn't move, his body laying in bloody pieces that were slowly burning away to nothingness as the black fire scoured his form, an expression of stupid horror on what remained of his face before Cindy kicked his head hard into the wall of a building, reducing it to mush. And then she turned around and fell to her knees at the sight of Zerrex cradling what remained of Anathema's body close, the undead Naganatine breathing raggedly in and out as bones and flesh slowly rotted away and fell off her form.

"Anathema..." Zerrex whispered, hating himself for being too late, for leaving himself open, for creating the vulnerability in the first place... and he clenched his eyes shut as he pulled her close, saying stumblingly: "Don't die, you can't die... you're... you're invincible, I thought, you..."

"Annie... call... me Annie..." Anathema rasped, reaching a hand up... but before she could stroke the Drakkaren's cheek, her fingers rotted and fell away as she smiled at him, bloody tears leaking out of her eyes as his own irises opened and he stared down at her pleadingly. "Friend... Zerrex. So much... I never learned... but I learned... why sister loves you. My heart... was not as dead as I thought."

Slowly, she reached up with her remaining hand, then she pulled her shattered skull off her head, revealing her beautiful features untouched by age, her golden eyes flickering as she dropped the skull down and the cracks in it healed and solidified. She closed her eyes, then opened them and smiled at Zerrex, saying in a weak voice: "You... were my friend. My ally. My confidante. I... miss my sister..."

She closed her eyes, then opened them with a quiet moan as her lower body dissolved, and then her head fell back as her eyes glazed over, whispering: "All things... energy... Naganis... beyond is... Naganis..."

"Annie..." Zerrex whispered, pulling her up towards his chest... and then she dissolved away into dust and ashes in his hands that slipped through his fingers to the ground below, dissolving as the reptile hugged himself instead and lowered his head, clenching his eyes shut... and then he threw his head back and yelled wordlessly at the sky in rage and pain, holding his hands out before he snarled and punched the ground in front of him hard enough to crack the cement once, twice, thrice... and then he rested on his fists, breathing hard, tears threatening his eyes as he whispered: "Not again... I've failed again..."

His eyes looked silently up at Anathema's skull, which remained... and hesitantly, fearfully, he reached out and picked it up... and it was warm in his hands. He lifted it slowly to his features, staring into it... and he could almost sense her there before he hugged it close, and Cindy walked over and quietly put a hand on his back as Cherry ran down the streets towards them. She opened her mouth and rose a hand... and then seemed to sense what happened, and instead broke into a sprint and dropped to her knees, sliding the last few feet almost into Zerrex and wrapping her arms tightly around him in a fierce embrace from the side. "Boss..."

"We lost Anathema... I don't know if... forever or for now... but... she died. She died protecting us." Zerrex murmured, looking silently at the skull... and then he closed his eyes as he stood slowly up, and his daughters quietly backed up a step and stood themselves. They gave him space, let the silence roll out for the moment... and then the Drakkaren turned to Cindy, holding the skull reverently out to her as he said quietly: "Guard this with your life. Find Ivory and Krath down the street in a fortified building. Krath is pretty badly injured, but he's alive. Cherry and I are going down to the construction site, we picked up some strange signals there."

Cindy nodded without argument, and then she looked at her father quietly, saying softly as she reached out and gently touched his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."

"I came into battle unprepared, I turned my back on the enemies. It was." Zerrex said quietly, looking down for a moment as he clenched his eyes shut, and then he shook his head slowly and pushed Anathema's skull quietly into Cindy's hands. "Keep this safe."

She opened her mouth to argue, but at a look from Cherry, she finally nodded and turned around, heading quickly down the street as the Drakkaren walked over and drew his sword out of the charred, broken armor of Helios. He looked at this for a moment, then kicked it quietly apart before he shook his head and turned around, Blackheart pulsing quietly in his hand before he placed it on his back as Cherry murmured: "Let's get going."