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Tarot Chronicles: A Story of Behemel and Zerrex

By Behemel Fatereaver and Zerrex Narrius

Fifth Reading: The Moon--Feelings of uncertainty have settled into our heroes' midst as emotions fluctuate between Behemel and Zerrex. As the night comes, danger creeps upon them with the promise of destruction. Under the moon, it awakens the darker parts of the heart. While enemies draw near, a nightmare long buried away shall resurface in the dusk.

The tavern was filled with the voices of many patrons. The town of Bulvaria was a cultural mixing pot of many races, from humans to anthros of many kinds. Several humans sat around at a table after a long day's work drinking, while in the corner a were-lion was hitting on a female mouse. Many groups socialized in the early afternoon hour as Syeena and Behemel sat at a table themselves. After having finished a late lunch, Behemel brooded over an ale while Syeena had her Tarot cards spread out to read them.

It had been two days since Zerrex had disappeared the night they arrived in Bulvaria. Confused about the fate of their friend after Sabnock-- a high ranked devil took him away, it left Behemel and Syeena in a state of turmoil. Behemel most of all. His fury for demons and the atrocity they committed upon him and his people raged within his blood. His ally and friend, while with a dark past of his own, still cooperated with demons and those who could of caused the genocide of his people. The new knowledge had put Behemel in a foul mood, and left Syeena to try and keep his spirits up.

"Come on. Try to relax. Brooding over this won't change anything," Syeena tried to sooth her friend and lover as she shuffled her cards upon the table, doing it several times like a nervous habit.

Behemel growled in regard to the concept. "He deceived us. He worked with demons the whole time, and never told us," he snorted, looking into his ale with little interest to enjoy it.

Syeena stopped cutting the deck. and looked to Behemel with concerned eyes. "You know," Syeena said, her tone more serious , "Even though you didn't share your past easily, not everyone might want to even share their dramas as openly as you did. You admit your flaws and hardships and that is commendable. But I am sure Zerrex had his own reasons to conceal his own. " She spread out the cards across the table to five piles, forming a pentagram before her. "Just maybe let's consider his side of the story when he comes back. "

"If he comes back," Behemel retorted sourly, and finally took a sip of his ale.

The green dragoness leered at Behemel crossly as she picked up a card at random from one of the piles. Reading the fortune before her, she drew the Three of Cups, representing the reunion of old friends. "I'm sure he will come back. See? " She turned the card to show Behemel the card of 3 dragons under three chalices upon a island, all frolicking with one another. "The cards never lie. I am sure in due time he will return. "

Behemel glanced at her in mild distaste as she held up the card. " Syeena, " he breathed in a deep sigh, "I have no reason to doubt your intuitive powers and magic of fortune telling, but I am well aware to never take the card's words at face value. I suspect Zerrex won't return that swiftly with that demon bitch of his."

"Well, if I had ears, I'm sure they'd be burning right about now." A voice said mildly, and the eyes of the two looked up in surprise as none other than the Drakkaren himself ambled towards their table, the reptile's hands in his pockets and a slight smile on his face. He looked strangely-relaxed, in his simple clothes with Blackheart gleaming over his back and his mala around his neck.

The reptile walked towards them... and then he groaned a bit as a female figure shoved through the crowd, knocking a tall male over and making him snarl, then only wince when she shot him a deadly look. Like Zerrex, she appeared to be a Drakkaren; her build was athletic and toned and covered not by clothing, but by strange armor. Her scales were vibrant green that lightened to a sunlight-yellow color over her chest, and her irises the color of green gemstone coldly and quickly surveyed Behemel and Syeena, then glanced back and forth as she said dryly: "Not strategically sound."

"Oh stop it, Serenity." Zerrex muttered, and he dropped into his seat... then winced when Serenity reached out and slapped the back of his head, grumbling and half-covering his face before he glared at her. The golden armor that partly-covered her body gleamed in the light of the bar, large, leaf-shaped plates falling around her hips and protecting her groin and a thicker, wide rectangular plate covered her flat chest, all of it held on by heavy, thick chains. It was enough to offer her some small protection... not enough to hide the scars that crisscrossed her body, just as the checkerboard, savage slash-marks that covered her features were bare to the world.

She had only one strange weapon with her: a silver sword ensnared in the chains over her back, cut from only a single piece of alloy metal. It glinted as she straightened and crossed her arms, body flexing a bit as she turned around, apparently not interested in the conversation as Zerrex gestured towards her and said mildly: "Just ignore her, she's here to babysit me. So. What'd I miss?"

He clapped his hands together, looking innocently across at the two with a faint grin on his features, eyes expectant as they roved from Syeena to Behemel.

Syeena and Behemel looked at him dumbly as Zerrex just sat himself down. They both shared glances as they observed his entrance and as he sat there as if nothing happened whatsoever. After a moment, Behemel put down his jug and with both arms pushed himself up from the table and leered at Zerrex crossly. "Zerrex..."

Zerrex only continued to look curiously from one to the other, before he spread his arms and leaned back a bit, looking complacent. "What? I'm here. Even if I also brought company." He tossed a sour look at Serenity, but she didn't even bother looking around at him, the female pointedly ignoring him as she glared distrustfully around. "Anyway. So. Uh. Get up to anything fun while I was gone?"

At that moment, Zerrex was struck by a mean impact as Behemel delivered a fast punch to the Drakkaren's jaw. Syeena gasped in surprise as Behemel's sudden reaction, the cards on the table scattering with the attack. The black lion's eyes blazed with anger as he knocked Zerrex off his chair and sent him tumbling onto the floor. He quickly followed the Drakkaren, and before he could get up, Behemel had his claws digging into the hem of his shirt. "You rotten son of a bitch!!" he growled, his tone furious.

The Drakkaren blinked dazedly as he found himself on his back, and then he only looked thoughtfully up at the lion, reaching up and absently rubbing the underside of his muzzle. "Huh. That hurt a little more than I thought it would. You been working out?" He grinned cheerfully up at him, tilting his head almost playfully as he rested his hands behind his head as Serenity only glanced over her shoulder, then sighed and rolled her eyes even as she turned around to watch with sharpened eyes, her arms crossed. "So you're a little mad, huh?"

"A LITTLE mad?!" Behemel fumed, his voice well above the tone of the restaurant. "You were doing the biddings of a devil all this time! Did that bitch have you on a leash or you sleeping around with her, huh? What else did they have you do? Slaughter children on the weekend?" Not waiting for an answer, he lifted up Zerrex, and on another table and threw him across it. Patrons scattered as Zerrex skidded across the table, knocking over plates and jugs of ale as he fell over onto the floor.

The Drakkaren rolled off the other side of the table, knocking over another patron... and then he only threw his head back and laughed, grabbing at his forehead. "Oh my Gods, me and Sabnock. Wow. That image is priceless." The Drakkaren grinned slightly as he stood up, absently brushing at his broad chest and making the onyx beads around his neck jingle quietly as he looked with entertainment over at the lion, before absently half-raising a hand in a gentle gesture towards the golden-armored female, and she grunted before simply sitting down at the table, resting on one arm moodily. "Anyway, Behemel. I'm back now. That's that. They just needed my help with... a little problem, that's all." He smiled slightly, tilting his head towards the lion with an entertained look. "Now, you get three free strikes. That was your second. I'd really prefer you didn't try to bash me again but go ahead if it'll make you feel better. After that, however, if you don't calm down, I'll have to calm you down myself."

"This IS my restraint! " Behemel growled as he rounded the table after him. As he spoke, his eyes glowed an eerie shimmer of red. " If I had wished, you'd be a blood splatter on the wall by now!" He grabbed Zerrex by the shirt again, and his eyes stared straight into his. His fury was clear and frightful. "So help me, if I find out you are working for demons I promise you no force on this world will find your shadow"

The Drakkaren held up his hands, smiling slightly as he said softly: "Now come on. I'm supposed to be the irrational one here, no? Besides. Let's not test that theory. I'm not interested in seeing who splatters who." He reached down, gently prying the lion's hand off his shirt, brushing it gently off before he met his eyes again, saying mildly: "And like I said before. I was just doing a friend a favor. That's all." He paused, then reached up and patted the lion lightly on the cheek, unfazed by his menacing presence. "Anyway, we should probably move on. We're getting stared at."

Behemel gave Zerrex a threatening growl, his mood dangerously agitated and could set off.

The Drakkaren only smiled slightly, tilting his head forwards before he added mildly: "Anyway, come on. This is no good first impression for Serenity. Well, maybe it is." He paused, then leaned to the side to look dourly at the female. "Some Iuratus you are."

"I'm here to protect you. Sometimes that means not getting in the way of you learning a lesson or two, Zerrex." the golden-armored female replied calmly, her arms still crossed as she leaned back and surveyed the room distastefully. "But we should move on. And if your 'friends' are so opposed to our company I suggest we move on separately."

"Try and be nice, Serenity. You know. For once in your life." Zerrex replied mildly, and the female only snorted and shrugged, looking irritably at him as he returned his eyes to Behemel. "I came back, didn't I?"

Behemel became aware of the stares of the crowd and the approaching of a nearby tavern keeper. With a heavy sigh, Behemel reined his anger. "Let's discuss this outside," he said. With that, he grabbed Zerrex by the back of his shirt and tugged him out of the tavern. Syeena soon followed, a bit flustered by the confusion and new acquaintance and followed them all outside.

Zerrex grumbled a bit to himself but allowed himself to be pulled along, glancing over at Serenity, and the female nodded curtly to him before she stood up and fell in at the rear of the group, following behind Syeena and pacing herself slowly as her eyes flicked back and forth. Zerrex smiled a bit at this as he was pulled outside, before glancing over at Behemel and adding mildly: "So seriously, what has been going on? Did I miss anything good? And Syeena, I haven't even gotten to talk to you yet, either! Although this has been quite a warm welcome so far, all things considered."

As the stopped outside in the dusty street of the town, Behemel tossed Zerrex away and turned abruptly. "Zerrex, I don't care what sort of past you might have had to bare, but the fact you work with demons and devils alike does not sit well with me!" he explained carefully. "Now what is your relationship with Pandemonium?"

With a sigh, Syeena too crossed her arms against her chest. "I have to agree there. That is a big thing to just let slip your mind Zerrex. You know demons razed Behemel's village and the atrocities they committed. How can you work with them?" she argued, equally concerned but not wishing for the two of them to get into a lethal fight over it.

Zerrex glanced back and forth from one to the other, and then he shook his head as he smiled a little - a sad, strained expression as he glanced up at the sky above before pointing towards it, saying quietly: "Across the universe, there's a thousand stars. Who knows how many worlds or dimensions? And what's important today won't be important tomorrow, and things are always going to keep spinning. I understand that you're upset still about what happened. But a grudge will kill you. Saying that every member of a race is evil is... well. It's a little childish, especially for someone who's supposed to be wise." He paused, laughing a little as he rubbed at his face slowly, murmuring quietly as his eyes roved over the lion: "But you're young yet. You can learn. I learned a lot before I died."

He stopped for a moment, then glanced to the side as Serenity approached, crossing her arms and standing silent guard. "I've spent a long time way down south. More years than you can imagine. I really don't want to talk about it, but I'm not going to pretend that I don't have connections down there. That in a way, there are places there that were more a home to me than this world ever was. I don't expect you to understand that, though. It's not something I can explain in so many words. How can you explain family, and friends? How can you explain beauty, or emotion?" He smiled a bit, absently brushing a hand through his hair. "Anyway, I'm not a demon. Not... anymore. Is that suitable enough for now?"

"And yet you did not answer my question, Zerrex," Behemel asked with a restraint growl. "What are your intentions ? What have you done as of now to serve Pandemonium? Cause if you are causing tragedies like the ones that befell my home, that is what I worry about." He expressed his words very clearly, even though he struggled to not let his anger reach boiling strength.

"I believe you do owe me that much to tell me what are you doing with this Sabnock ?"

Zerrex shook his head a bit, saying dryly: "Do you know me at all? I'm far more interested in laying back with a coffee than I am with destroying entire races." He paused, then added meditatively, crossing his arms: "And well, sure. I guess I can share that much. Sabnock is a Magistrate and Judge of Death. She's in charge of placement of souls that fall to Hell and keeping things in as much order as possible. Tending to treaties, working between monarchs, jailing, Pits of Torment, lots of stuff. She was one of my mentors... very wise, and I was lucky to train under her, even if I spent a lot of time being the courtroom bitch, running errands, delivering notices, and all that stuff." The reptile looked morbid for a moment at this, crossing his arms and muttering: "Better working for her than being punished by Lunata, though."

Behemel glared at Zerrex. "So while I was being tortured and surviving the arena's, what was she doing? Enjoying the show? Maybe you were sitting in on some of the events as well huh?!"

"Behemel please!" Syeena this time stepped in. With a firm hand she got in front of him and held him back. "Calm down. I am sure Zerrex had nothing to do with what happened to you. "

"Sabnock does not enjoy 'barbarianism,' as she terms it. Not that I'd ever piss her off, mind you, but she prefers order over fighting." Zerrex rose his hands, looking mildly across at the lion. "And if I had something to do with what happened to you, why would I have ridden along this long with things? Why wouldn't I have simply killed you when I had the chance? And I've kind of had a lot of chances by now."

"But you still kept this from us!" Behemel said clearly, "You worked with Pandemonium as a agent and you didn't tell us. Legion bitches I don't mind, but you invoked the wrath of a SIN! I was forward about my past, but you were not. The stunt you pulled put all of us in jeopardy!"

"Well, you didn't have to stick around, you could have just walked away." Zerrex replied reasonably, shrugging amiably and putting his hands in his pockets. "Tell you what. Next time something big comes and tries to eat me, I'll deal with it and catch up to you two in the next town. Or I'll die. Horribly. One or the other. Either way I'll probably meet up with you again sooner or later."

At this, Serenity closed her eyes and reached up as if to touch her forehead as if pained, saying moodily: "This is exactly why you get beaten up so often, you realize that, right?"

"And her?" Behemel gestured to the lovely lizard in armor. To which Behemel regarded with a nod. "It's nice to see someone understands what I am talking about within your social circle for once. "

"Oh, I plan to lose Serenity as soon as possible. She's crankier than you are and twice as less fun." Zerrex replied mildly, and the female only scowled across at him, the reptile glowering moodily back. "Well, it's true." He paused, then reached up and grabbed her face, but the golden-armored female grumbled and only shoved the male away.

Syeena smirked at Serenity . "I don't know, I think she is just your type Zerrex " Syeena teased, walking over to her. "Syeena, nice to meet you." She extended her claw in greeting.

Zerrex grabbed his muzzle and snorted in amusement as if this was a joke, Serenity giving him a sour look before she glanced towards the dragoness, then grunted and took her hand, shaking it briskly once. "Serenity of Lord Zerrex's Iuratus."

"Iuratus?"

Zerrex glanced at Serenity and nodded, and she nodded firmly back before saluting sharply, saying clearly: "An Iuratus lives to serve their master's needs and desires. They are both sword and shield, warrior and servant. They are trained to provide physical pleasure and comfort as well as in the art of war and combat."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, and then he said mildly: "She's a fighting stipper."

He paused, then winced when Serenity turned and punched him hard in the arm, rubbing slowly as his left limb and mumbling: "Ouch. I hate you. But yeah. Bodyguard with a jazz of servant thrown in. Except she's mean. Meanie."

"Haha!" Syeena chuckled, enjoying seeing her put Zerrex in place. "I like her. Hope to have you around a bit." The dragoness gave her a wink of mischief as she gestured to Zerrex. " He does need someone to keep him in line beside Behemel."

Behemel's growl caught Syeena's attention as he was still upset. "Pardon my intrusion, however I still wish to know what was Sabnock's orders to you this time then?" he asked, his gaze piercing at Behemel. "I think you should share with us that."

Zerrex looked amusedly at the dragoness for a moment, and then he glanced over at the lion and said mildly: "Sabnock's orders? Again. Favor. It was a favor for an old friend. She just wanted me to help kill something with some other people downstairs. We have... pest control problems sometimes."

A strained sigh came from his lips ."I will never get a straight answer from you will i?" Behemel sighed, wanted to rub his own head at the frustration. Syeena turned, sensing the pain in his voice. "You still serve her. You won't tell us what her favors are? Why do you owe her so much anyway?"

"Probably not." He paused, then looked surprised at this, tilting his head. "But I thought I was pretty clear about that. She was my mentor. She's a close friend. And she asked me to help her with something. Is that really so hard to believe?" He smiled a little, saying quietly: "It's what friends do, right?"

"Something, huh?" He repeated bitterly. With that he turned his back to them, his patience now thin. "As I said, you will never give me a straight answer."

"Well, don't feel bad about it. I never give anyone a straight answer." Zerrex glanced up as he absently played his fingers through his mala, the beads clicking quietly, and then he shook his head a bit. "Why don't we go back inside? Sit down. Have something to eat together, like old times? Or... perhaps Serenity and I can go for a meal, and catch up with you two later. Give you both... a little time."

Behemel didn't answer. He stared off into the distance, his heart heavy. "There is no need. ... I think our partnership can't stand against one who withholds information from the other, don't you?" The response Zerrex surprised. "I hope our paths don't cross again." With that Behemel began to walk off away from them all.

At that moment, Syeena ran up to Behemel and grabbed the sleeve of his robe, stopping him. "Behemel!" Her shout stopped him in his tracks. "He may not of been forthcoming but there is no reason for this behavior."

"I have no issue if you want to stay with him Syeena. " Behemel said, his tone sounding betrayed. "But I cant ... I can't put my trust in someone who would lie about working for the forces of hell... " His fist clenched so hard his claws nearly drew blood in him. "I need time alone." With that he left, tugging out of Syeena's grip. He slowly walked away, wounded in his heart into the town.

"Well, this is going well." Zerrex muttered, and Serenity gave him a dry look as he glanced back at her, shrugging a bit. "What? You know how I am. Better than most, I think. Anyway, let's... not jump to conclusions yet. Let's give him time to calm down."

"And if he doesn't? What then?" Serenity asked quietly, and Zerrex glanced awkwardly away as he rubbed the back of his head slowly. "I don't want to follow you around on wild quests that lead to nowhere, Zerrex. You put yourself too often in danger... for too little reason. Can't we just return to safety for once? Can't you just let go of... of all this?"

But the Drakkaren only smiled wanly in response, and she sighed a little, glancing down and muttering: "Fine. I'll... stay by your side then, Lord Zerrex. As always."

Syeena watched as Behemel disappeared behind some of the crowd on the other streets and already she felt a bit empty without him around. With a heavy sigh, she turned around and walked back to Zerrex and Serenity. "For the record that was a cruel think leaving us in the dark Zerrex..." She said, looking at him sharply, and awaiting his reply.

"I figured you'd understand, Syeena." Zerrex shrugged a bit, looking across at her evenly. "I can't go around telling people... what I am. Otherwise I'll end up with pointy sticks stuck out of me at every angle. Furthermore, what if I had told Behemel right away where I'm from? He probably would have cut my head off then and there." He paused, glancing down at his right hand quietly. "Besides. It doesn't define who I am. What I am... shouldn't matter. I'm a person first... that's all. And I don't want this. I don't want this life but gods above it follows me. It's so much easier to pretend to be normal, though... pretend I'm just like everyone else, and that's where I get the little bit of comfort I can find in life." He looked up at her quietly. "I just am what I am. That's all."

"Truth of the matter is, if you told him up front what you were before in confidence, he wouldn't of felt so hurt."

"And again, I might be dead." Zerrex crossed his arms, looking dryly amused. "Besides, what am I? A big ugly lizard. That's all." He glanced away. "That's all I want to be, so that's all I say I am, and it's true, isn't it?"

At that moment, Syeena gave Zerrex a loud slap across the face. Despite his surprised reaction, Syeena smirked at him, amused. "Good to have you back, Zerrex. Still isn't a party without you. "

The reptile snorted in entertainment, reaching up and absently rubbing at his cheek. "I think you hit harder than he does, you know."

"He has more restraint than I," She said, " I highly wouldn't underestimate him if I were you. Now let's go somewhere of better comfort. We do got stuff to talk about."

The reptile smiled amusedly at this, rubbing absently at his chest. "I know, I know. Alright, where do you suggest then? You probably have a better feel for this place than I do." He glanced over at Serenity, who hesitated, but then nodded and crossed her arms with a grumble of agreement.

Syeena had took Zerrex and Serenity to park region of the town. Now the descending hour of twilight, the park was rather quiet and deserted. The trees and grass made her feel comfy as she sat at the base of a tree . Her tail swished freely as she observed her friends before her. "So do tell me, what was this favor you had to do, Zerrex?"

"I killed something. A big, annoying something." Zerrex replied mildly, his hands in his pockets as he gazed up towards the sky overhead, smiling at the darkening, ephemeral roof of the world, then he paused and cleared his throat as he glanced downwards lamely. "Oh. You mean specifically, right?"

Serenity rolled her eyes at this from where she sat in the cool grasses nearby, her strange, silvery sword in hand as she polished it in slow, easy movements, looking calmly and seriously at the blade as she said quietly: "Zerrex was requested by Judge Sabnock to aid in bringing down a Simulacrum that had made an appearance in Hell, that resembled an opponent from his past. He and several others fought and neutralized it."

Syeena smiled at Serenity for her bluntness. "Why thank you. You paint a much better picture than your block headed boyfriend here" she teased innocently, then returned to the matter at hand. "So this Simulacrum .... again did you find out who made it? Like the Sin of Envy who we fought before you ditched us?" At that time her voice deliberately showed bitterness to state a point.

Serenity didn't look up from continuing to polish her sword as she said mildly: "He's not my boyfriend, he's my father."

"Yes, and you obviously got your sense of humor from your mother." Zerrex muttered, and Serenity glared at him before the reptile rolled his eyes, then he returned his eyes to the dragoness, saying lamely: "What? I. I'm old. Anyway, no, we did not. But a lot of things can put them together. But obviously, it's someone who dislikes 'mortal-lovers' like myself and Sabnock, although that... doesn't exactly narrow the list much. A lot of people in Hell hate my guts. A lot a lot."

"Your Father?!" she asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, Serenity's my daughter." Zerrex walked over to her and absently kicked the female in the side, and then he squawked when she only glared at him, eyes glowing for a moment and a telekinetic surge knocking him flat on his back in the grasses before he absently held a finger up. "She's also a trained combat psychic. Combined with her crankiness it makes her someone you don't want to piss off."

"I am very sure. " Syeena said and smiled at Serenity. "I am liking her already."

The Drakkaren absently sat up, brushing himself off as he glanced over at her and smiled a little. "Well, I'm glad to hear that at least, then." He paused, eyes travelling to linger on his daughter's frame for a moment before he returned his gaze to the dragoness. "What have you two been up to up here, though? I know you're both good at finding things out and following a trail."

Syeena took a moment to think, followed by a deep breath. "Needless to say we were in a state of shock to learn your dirty little secret." she explained. "Of course I know now that it wasn't of any malicious nature, but still we were upset to see you disappear into the night without so much as a goodbye."

"Well, yeah. But I didn't expect for Sabnock to show up and get me. Normally she wouldn't." He paused and rubbed at the back of his head absently. "I have to balance my duties, much as I'm loathe to ever be responsible. But at least now you two know. And that means we can use my connections downstairs when it's necessary."

"Is that safe?" Syeena says crossing her legs as she twiddled a Tarot card between her fingers. "Not that I'm racist to your ... origins, but you are aware of the horrors hell provide that come up to raise hell on the world, don't you? I worry if your resources are trustworthy. As I am sure Behemel doubts."

Zerrex shook his head a little at this, laughing quietly. "I get that neither of you like demons, I do. But I've met better people down there than I have in my life here... than even in... other places." Zerrex smiled a little, glancing up towards the skies. "Paradise has taxes, after all."

Syeena gave Zerrex a narrow glare. "And what do you call the demons that run amok topside? Slaying innocents, women and children for kicks? Are you familiar with them?" She sighed, knowing full well what they were capable by experience herself. "I don't say all those down stairs are bad, but don't try to convince me a good handful down there are locked in for a reason"

"Oh, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you can't judge them all by the actions of their kind." Zerrex smiled slightly over at her. "Do you know who the very worst demons are? The most dangerous, the most deadly, the most treacherous? It's the ones who used to be mortal. How many mortals have slaughtered how many other creeds and races for no real reason, after all..." He paused meditatively, looking down and absently brushing his fingers through the grass as Serenity only grunted. "But it's not like I can stop admiring them, either. The way that despite how many of them are inherently 'bad,' there's still much good to be found in their kind, too. They just... need a little guidance. We all do."

"You mean redemption? Like you?" she pried.

"Among other things. And me, redeemed?" He laughed a little, looking down and shaking his head slowly. "No, no, oh no. I'm not redeemed, far from it, Syeena. And nor will I ever be redeemed for some of the things I've done. All I can do is use what I've been given... and push forwards to work for a better future. Not for me... but for everyone else." He reached up, squeezing Serenity's shoulder slowly, and his daughter smiled at him faintly as her eyes turned to his, gazing quietly at him.

At that point Syeena smiled. "You know... I think you and Behemel have more in common than you think." She enjoyed the puzzled look he had on his face with her comment.

The reptile shrugged a little after a moment, and then he looked up at the sky overhead as he absently rested back a bit, saying quietly: "Who knows? I just hope he comes around sooner or later, one way or the other. And you know. We don't end up beating the crap out of each other. I prefer to do that out of joy, not anger."

"It's reassuring to know now that hell isn't as bleak as us surface dwellers know, " Syeena said hesitant. "But you need to realize, what Behemel endured was truly a cruel act..." Zerrex looked to her , seeing the seriousness in her eyes. "Remember before we met that copy of the Seven Sin. He told me what happened to him. He told me. What the demons did to his village, to him for several years. They did all they could to rid him of compassion and turn him into a true demon."

"Believe me, Syeena, I understand. I do. And I sympathize, I do." Zerrex glanced down at his right hand, flexing it slowly as he said softly: "But if you hang onto the past for too long, it'll kill you or warp you more effectively than any Inquisitor's tools, than any dark magic or brutal torment. But I am willing to cut him plenty of slack... but at the same time, he needs to remember who I am. To look past what I was."

Syeena shook her head, him missing the point entirely. "That's not what I am worried about. I agree with you its closure he needs. But it wasn't his imprisonment that traumatized him. It was his escape!" she made her words stick home. "He was nearly in the throes of being converted. By divine intervention or luck in my opinion, he obtained the power to escape. He slew thousands upon thousands to escape. He feels guilty for why he is called the Beast of Pandemonium. That is what truly haunts him."

Zerrex nodded after a moment, looking across at her before he asked quietly: "So then what exactly do you want me to do, Syeena? What would make this situation better, or at least easier for him, do you think?"

"When he told me all this, I didn't have the heart to tell him what I thought .... " She hesitated., "I didn't have the heart to ask him why? Cause I had a hunch to why this all occurred."

The male exchanged a look with his daughter, then returned his eyes to Syeena, asking softly: "And what's that hunch, then? Because so far, your instincts have proved pretty damn accurate."

"Zerrex," Syeena said, her tone grave. "Behemel is a Spiritualist. Spiritualists are warriors with direct links between the mortal world and the world of the divine. Now really think about this. " The implications of what she was about to say even made her gulp with nervousness. "Do you think it is a simple coincidence, that demons razed a village where the art was originated?"

The reptile nodded slowly after a moment, starting to understand as he looked down and muttered: "Yeah. I think I'm beginning to see what you're getting at." He paused, glancing over at Serenity with a grimace. "Maybe it's a good thing after all I've been hanging around upstairs, then."

Syeena nodded as she continued. " Demons are chaotic in nature," she said her fingers twiddling at her cards more, now out of nervousness for her lion friend. "No random band of demons could wipe out a whole tribe of Spiritualists. It's obvious when you think about it. It was tactical."

"And they took him for a purpose." Zerrex murmured quietly, rubbing at his face slowly as he looked down, and Serenity made a face beside him before he glanced across at her. "We could talk to Ixin, he knows... pretty much everything about magic..."

"And he's the world's biggest asshole." Serenity muttered, before she shook her head slowly, adding quietly: "Besides. He's already working on your problem. To me, you come first, Zerrex. You have to: I am your Iuratus, protecting you is my job. Although I agree that... perhaps there is some relevance to helping out... Syeena and Behemel now as well."

A sigh escaped Syeena, as a chill ran up her back, and she batted her wings in attempt to relax. "The big question is that you need to ask... is who in Hell would be ambitious enough to want to wipe out Spiritualists from the world. And even more ambitious to turn one into a weapon of Hell as well...."

The reptile looked down thoughtfully, rubbing at the underside of his muzzle before he glanced up at her with a bit of a wry smile. "Well, while we try and figure that out, we should make sure we keep an eye out for anything interested in... trying to dig their claws into him again, then. We gotta keep pressing forwards and helping him out. Seems like he's got a plan of some sort, after all."

Syeena nodded gravely. After a moment, she sighed and rested her head against Zerrex's shoulder. "I worry for him, I do"

"I know you do." He reached up, rubbing a hand quietly along her back before squeezing her shoulder slowly. "But you're always there for him, too. And I know your presence alone does a lot for him, Syeena."

She nodded as she looked up and turned to the setting sun in the distance. Storm clouds had begun to form on the outskirts as she wondered what Behemel was doing at that moment. "I just hope it is enough... The ghosts he deals with I fear might be as bad or worse than yours."

***

The silence of the evening surrounded him despite the murmurs of the crowd below him on the streets. In the bathing of the setting sun sat Behemel. He was cross legged on a rooftop, his eyes closed in serene meditation. Despite the beauty of the sunset before him, his mind was not at ease. His attempts to calm his mind, to clear out the paths that allowed him to reach into the world beyond was cluttered by his fears and mistrust. He couldn't get out of his mind that Zerrex worked with demons. Devils. Demons. They were all the same to him. They lived for malevolence and drew power from suffering, mostly at the expense from innocent victims. That was his vision and his understanding of the underworld.

Now he was in conflict with what he thought he knew and experienced, and the news that Zerrex and his allies had brought to his attention. His eyes shut tighter at the memory of his past. His village's destruction, his abduction , the training in the arenas of Pandemonium, and the torture he endured. Carnage and cruelty was common place there, and worked against everything he was ever taught from his life before. If he had succumbed to the demons' will , he would of become them.

Aw don't pout now, mate. We only just begun.

Behemel's eyes snapped open as the thought entered his mind. At the thought of one of the demons who he knew back in Pandemonium, his voice seemed to jump right out from Behemel's mind. It came so clearly and out of the blue, he knew it wasn't his own imagination. Fading sunlight peered off the horizon as the sun set, greeting his eyes as he stared out into the outskirts of the town. Beyond it, the outskirts were of dried wasteland. Despite tranquil setting around him, Behemel felt a chill run through his body.

"Something is coming..." Behemel growled, his paw clenched into a fist. Rising to his feet, the black lion stood before the setting sun, just as it began its final decent into twilight. With fierce determination, he took a decisive step forward off the rooftop to land with ease on the streets below. Upon the empty street, he proceeded out of the city, sensing a danger looming closer.

***

Zerrex sat back a bit, looking absently towards the sky and studying it slowly, and then he allowed his eyes to slip closed as he breathed softly in and out, before finally glancing over to Serenity. The female was sitting calmly as well, continuing to slowly polish her sword... but every so often her eyes would rove upwards towards the sky as well, taking it in, the beauty of that ephemeral curtain so high and deep and boundless above their heads...

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Zerrex asked her softly, and she smiled a little, nodding after a moment and losing her businesslike demeanor for a second before she returned her attentions to her sword, and the Drakkaren laughed a little as he looked down, then across at Syeena, saying softly: "Sorry. Guess we get distracted. The sky is... special."

Syeena gave Zerrex a crossed look. "Please tell me anything I just said got through that thick skull of yours?" she growled a bit, seeing the whimsical look the lizard had.

Zerrex only smiled a bit, however, shrugging slowly and glancing down as he absently traced a finger through the grass. "Of course. But what would you like me to say, Syeena? That I feel pity for him, or that I can sympathize? Besides, I need to say these things to him, not to you. And all the words I can choose, I know I have to prove that I'm not here just to thrive off his torment, not just say 'I'm here to help' and then run away and hope he gets over it himself one way or another."

"Doesn't it disturb you that someone was trying to organize a means to rid the world of people like Behemel?" she stated, " It's practically genocide. And I may not have the knowledge of the underworld as you do, but I am confident to say that no legion level demon is capable to orchestrate a plan like that"

"And we have to roll with the punches on that one. Yes, it's disturbing. It's terrible, in fact." He paused, sitting up a bit and glancing over at Serenity, who grunted. "But I've been around the block once or twice. We can't panic over it, and we can't dwell on it. We need a clue, a hint: but until we get that, we have to basically roll with the punches and wait, hard as waiting is. Sure, it bothers me. But I'm not going to let it dig under my scales. My goal is not to figure out the grand master scheme or save the world. I just want to help Behemel and keep an eye on him before he does anything stupid or anything terrible happens." The reptile shrugged a bit. "Keeping him safe is a big part of the solution to the mystery, right? I'd rather focus on that than anything else. Answers can and will come in time."

Syeena took a moment to let Zerrex's words sink in and then she grinned. "Why you sneaky devil... you do have a heart." She was glad that in the end Zerrex did indeed care about Behemel, as much as Behemel had cared about him. "I agree with you. Well to that end then, we need to find Behemel, and YOU need to say to him what you just said to me."

"Well, I wouldn't go quite that far." The reptile looked up with mild amusement before he grunted as he stood up, absently putting his hands in the center of his back and cracking it loudly. "But we should, and probably sooner rather than later, even if he probably wants to dismember me by now. Do you have any idea how to track him down?"

She sighed at his dismissive behavior and got onto her feet. As she did, a thin veil of misty smoke cascaded over her body. Her dragonoid form slowly dissolved into her human one, revealing creamy skin, a smaller figure and black hair that ran down her back. Her black outfit fitted automatically to accustom her new form.

"Behemel is still in the city. He wouldn't leave. Let's just split up and look for him." she suggested.

The reptile nodded after a moment, glancing over at Serenity, and the female nodded before she stood up and slipped her silver sword back into the chains over her back, stomping and saluting sharply. "Alright. Sounds good. Send a signal if you manage to find him, in that case, we'll do the same." He paused meditatively, reaching back and squeezing the handle of his heavy sword slowly as a spark of azure energy shocked along the enormous blade. "I just hope this goes better than I expect it to. Every time I try to help someone I usually end up getting some body part chopped off."

"Or getting a punch in the face?" Syeena giggled remembering how Behemel greeted Zerrex. "By the way what would you of done if Behemel passed the three time rule?"

"Well, that happens more often than you might expect." The reptile shrugged a bit, looking amusedly over at her as he crossed his arms. "I would have fought back, though. Why?"

Syeena in her human form, gave him a charming smirk and a wink "Maybe someday I get to see who wins in a real fight between you two," she commented, and started heading to the south side. "We will meet up later. "

The lizard smiled amusedly at this and rolled his eyes in entertainment, watching as she began to leave and raising a hand as he called easily: "You know, for once I'm trying to be nice and not get in fights with everyone I meet." He paused, then glanced towards Serenity, nodding to her and saying quietly: "Anyway, you and I should head the other way, then. Try and get a lock on him if you can, hopefully we can find him before anything happens. If demons really do have such an interest in him and these events with Simulacrum are somehow connected, we'll have to be real goddamn careful."

***

Behemel had wandered into the wasteland outskirts of the town. The sun had set a hour ago as the city was a small distance behind him. The gloom of dusk had settled as he slowly strode forward. Dark clouds had patched above the town and land, perking Behemel's nerve in unease. It was not a good omen. His fur was almost on end as he felt the subtle presence of malice around him.

Having paced out a good distance away, Behemel observed the empty landscape before him. Despite the emptiness, his senses were on high alert, feeling the presence of demons. The telepathic greeting he received before refused to leave his mind. "Enough with these childish games!" Behemel growled aloud into the desert. "I know you are out there, cockroaches! Show yourself!!"

A long silence answered him. It toyed with him, keeping him on edge. Then a cloud of black smoke cascaded out from the ground. His senses flared at the stench from the cloud. Miasma. Copious amounts of it. It encircled around him, boxing him in. As the black smoke began to settle, the sounds of growls and snarls sounded from within. Behemel glared as he was greeted by a mob of demons of several kinds. Most of them were legion or brutes, varying from color and size. Many were armed with clubs, sharp claws and fangs. Despite their otherwise primal features, they would be easy prey to Behemel.

The problem was the sheer number of them.

In the blink of an eye, Behemel observed as near a hundred of them now surrounded him out of nowhere. He turned slowly, observing them all. Despite the alarming ambush, his expression remained calm and collected. In addition, the demons held their spot. They did not advance despite their feral greetings.

"I see the puppets..." Behemel growled, as if to dismiss the other demons in disgust. "...Now where is the puppeteer?"

"My, aren't you rude," a almost arrogantly proud voice spoke from the crowd of demons. "and after I came all the way out here."

The voice was almost like an Australian accent. Upbeat and prideful as the sound of a metallic click came to Behemel's ears. From the crowd of demons before him, a large figure stepped forth. From the mob stood a large orange were-tiger. He wore black jeans and was marked by many black stripes, along with scars on his arms and left side of his chest. His most distinguishing features however were series of bony spikes that grew out of his body. They punctured through his kneecaps, lower arm, back and the temples of his head like horns. He was a muscular cat, his posture putting the demons around him too to shame. The large tiger sported a large hand gun in each of his paws. The makings of the fire arms looked like a mix of western human technology (twice their size to accommodate the cat) and demonic enhancements.

"Well?" The orange tiger boasted, holding his guns aloof as he looked at the black lion. "Don't I even get a hello?"

Behemel growled at the arrogant tiger. "Alister..." he replied with venomous recognition.

Alister grunted in amusement. "Ahh.. you do remember me. I'd hope so. We were so close down under. " He then raised a barrel of one of his guns and used it to scratch the side of his mussel. "Come on, we had some fun times, didn't we?"

"I want nothing more to do with you," Behemel snarled, trying to keep his cool.

The tiger gave a toothy grin at his comment. "Hmm... aren't we all high and mighty now. Think you are such a big shot that you are a Spiritualist eh?" Behemel leered at the tiger at his comment. "I remember that day you escaped. You tore those bastards a few new ones. It's a shame I missed out. I'd wanted to put you in your place. "

"You were all talk before, Alister, and I see no change," Behemel spoke sharply, wanting to avoid mention of that day. "Why have you come here!"

Alister grinned as raised a gun in Behemel's direction. "Ahh straight to the point, I see. " he quipped. Behemel did not flinch even as the tiger aimed his gun. " To put it simply. You pissed off many demons topside and downstairs. I am here to see their will done. Getting to fight you however, well ... I was thrilled the job fell to me. "

Behemel grunted as he clenched a fist. "Ah so finally the arrogant warrior becomes a bitch to demons. I hope it was worth it for you,"

Alister at that moment cast an angry glare at him. The tiger clearly had succumbed to the powers of hell. His body with both the spikes and his larger size, showed that he was a hybrid of tiger and demon now. "And you are so better? You ran away while I embraced what they offered. Strength. Power. I put all warriors in this pitiful world to shame now. "

"No Alister..." Behemel answered, "I left because I refused to forget who I was. I refused to give in to the malice you are so steeped in now. " The tiger however let out a exhausted chuckle, taking Behemel's words for a joke. "It is because of this I will give you one and only one warning now. Take your demonic dogs and leave or I will make you disappear."

Alister grunted as he continued to aim the barrel of the gun forward. At that instant, he pulled the trigger and fired. A powerful flash of fire erupted from the gun as the bullet shot forth. Behemel didn't move, his composure calm. Despite first perception, the bullet passed right over Behemel's right shoulder. Its target struck the head of a demon behind Behemel, causing the poor monster's head to tear in half as its body fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

"Heh, what a laugh, " Alister grunted. "Why you waist time on weaklings is beyond me. You should be more worried about yourself." The tiger had shot the demon on purpose, proving the point he didn't give a care if they did die. Behemel glared at Alister, his patience running thin.

"I had a feeling you would be like this," the horned tiger went on, holding the gun loosely. "What you call compassion, your will to defend, is ultimately your greatest weakness. I will prove to you how weak it makes you. " Then with serious determination, Alister slowly raised his gun up and aimed for the sky. With a long pause, he released a single shot skyward.

The gunshot echoed across the wasteland like thunder. Behemel gave a confused glance as the tiger held his gun out, a grin on his face as if waiting for something. All of a sudden, black smoke began to appear from the cracked ground of the wasteland. Behemel looked quickly as the passing of black smoke dropped more and more demons like the ones around him. However, they were leaving a wide radius around the town. From a sky view, the black smoke was surrounding it, dropping hordes of demons like an army on all sides.

Behemel's eyes widen in horror as the demons appeared in seconds, becoming an overwhelming force for the sleepy town. The total number of demons easily appeared to be well over a thousand.

The sound of Alister's laugh caught Behemel's attention. "Ahahaha! You're attitude sure changes when a little anthill is about to be stepped on," he growled in feral amusement. Behemel's jaw clenched at the taunt. "You gladly waste your time on puny insects, not worth the effort. Now THAT is pathetic."

Slowly Behemel turned back to Alister. The calm demeanor of the black lion was now gone. Fury now burned in his eyes as he glared at the demonic tiger. "You son of a bitch.... I am going to ..."

"So Behemel," Alister sneered, pointing a gun back to his foe. "Let's have some fun, shall we? If we finish in time you might be able to save the village. Well, some of it. "

On an instinct, Behemel flexed his paw and with a flash of light, Chronos appeared in his hands. The moment the glimmering silver scythe appeared, the demons roared in challenge. Like a queue, they all charged and attacked. Behemel let out a feral roar as he readied his scythe, letting lose a mighty swing to the first ones who dared to get in his way.

***

Zerrex glanced up as he felt more than saw it: the feeling was distinct, crawling over his scales, making his blood heat in his veins as he came to a halt in a narrow street as rumbles travelled through the air. Beside him, Serenity already had her silver sword, and with a flick of her free hand a second blade appeared beside her , the female catching it by the hilt and squeezing into it with a snarl as Zerrex said mildly: "You know, I think I really might be a trouble magnet."

"They're coming from all sides... orders?" Serenity asked calmly, her features cold, her stance professional as she dropped both her swords... and instead of falling, they floated eerily beside her palms before they both began to revolve rapidly, becoming circular blurs. Zerrex smiled slightly across at her as he reached up and absently cracked the knuckles of his left hand, and Serenity couldn't help but smile slightly in return before her eyes flicked upwards as the demons began to pour into the street, crashing through alleys and leaping over homes, seeming to spring from the air itself as the darkness hissed and flowed like black flames and dark curtains.

Pale-faced, gnarl-clawed Legion and almost-feral Swamp Spines with crude swords and axes, furious, hulking Salamanders wielding massive stone-headed mauls and goatlings with polearm and spear... and without bothering to look, Zerrex ordered calmly: "Break their ranks and break their backs. Then we find Syeena and Behemel."

"Understood." Serenity said coldly, and then she lunged backwards and spun suddenly, swinging her hands out: the spinning blades followed her movements, puppeted with ease by the combat psychic and ripping twin swathes up the chest of a Salamander that had been attempting to sneak up on them, sending the hulking, vaguely-draconic beast crashing backwards with a howl of agony onto his back before the female ruthlessly stomped down on the demon's chest with enough force to shatter his ribs and crack the dusty street beneath him.

Zerrex couldn't help but smile slightly over his shoulder as Serenity fearlessly met the wave of enemies striking from behind... and then his eyes flicked ahead as a demon charged towards him, battle-axe raised, and the reptile's eyes glowed solid green for a moment as they locked with the gaze of the snarling, warped creature, and he ordered coldly: "Sit down."

The demon's eyes widened as it fought to resist, staggering weakly... and then it flopped suddenly backwards on its haunches, will shattered by the Drakkaren's old demonic trick: Dominate. Its axe began to tumble forwards as Zerrex walked calmly ahead, glancing up at the other demons narrowing the gap, and without looking he reached out and snagged the axe by the neck before hefting it up and throwing it hard in an easy, overhand motion, the blade whickering through the air to sink into the face of another demon and send it flying backwards, scattering the group behind it as it crashed to the ground before the Drakkaren swung his right fist out without looking, smashing another demon that attempted to lunge in from the side in the face and crushing in most of its skull as he said calmly: "Surrender and leave. You will not be given another chance."

A goatling responded to this by lunging forwards, halberd raised... and Zerrex smoothly rose a foot and kicked hard outwards, striking the body of the weapon instead of the demon, and the polearm snapped backwards to send the spike on the opposite end of the blade tearing into the creature's eye, the goatling howling in agony as it staggered away before the Drakkaren's fist slammed outwards and crashed into the side of its face, snapping its jaw and sending it crashing to the ground even as other demons continued to eagerly surge forwards.

Serenity, meanwhile, snarled as she lashed her hands outwards, guiding her spinning swords on deadly paths that tore through armor and hide and flesh like nothing but thin paper, sprays of blood and chunks of bone flying in all directions as the female lunged forwards and almost slashed a Legion in half, the demon howling as it crashed to the ground, clutching at its stomach as its insides spilled from the eviscerated gap in its body. Without hesitation, Serenity moved like liquid to the next opponent, swinging her other hand outwards to send her sword whickering through the body of another demon before she twisted elegantly at the waist and brought both legs up in a graceful double butterfly kick to the face of a Salamander that had begun to raise its maul.

The heavy demon was knocked staggering with a gargle, eyes bulging as it fumbled its weapon, and then Serenity simply glared at it as psychic static shocked over her body before the heavy demon was launched backwards like a toy, crashing through the front of a building. At the same time, a blade descended, ripping a thin slash through the female's arm... but she barely paid it any heed, only flicking her wrist backwards to send one of her twin swords spinning outwards on a deadly path that sawed suddenly upwards and tore through a demon's chin and skull, cutting its features almost in half before the weapon spun quickly back to its puppeted place beneath her hand.

Demons desperately lunged at the combat psychic from either side, but Serenity only tensed herself before she leapt upwards and flipped her athletic body neatly, the brutish creatures slamming into each other before Serenity let her body arch slightly as she snapped her legs out as she fell past a Swamp Spine, and the ugly, lizard-like beast that had a back covered in thick spikes and quills squalled before the Drakkaren twisted her body rapidly at the waist as her swords spun protectively around her, driving back the other demons in the bare second it took for the momentum to carry down into her legs, and a moment later the Swamp Spine's neck violently snapped, drool flying from its muzzle as Serenity's legs tore free from around its head and she twisted her body through the air, not letting up for a single moment as she deftly revolved her body to swing one leg out into a crashing strike into the face of another demon.

It was sent crashing onto its back, dazed from the blow as Serenity landed in a neat crouch, her arms out to either side and her eyes cold: small scratches were over her scales, but little more damage had been done to her. She was a whirling, unstoppable dervish amidst the demons, her eyes glowing with psychic wrath, her features cold and cruel, her movements precise and practiced as her eyes flicked back and forth, never losing her professionalism for a moment even as she allowed herself to pause for a moment before launching herself back into the fray.

Blackheart gleamed over Zerrex's back as the Drakkaren smashed his way through the demons that surged towards him, his right arm gleaming steel, a cold grin over his face as he moved like a force of nature through the ranks of enemies. He ducked beneath a wild swing from a Salamander, its heavy sledgehammer crashing into the face of another demonic soldier as the Drakkaren leaned forwards and slammed his fist into the stomach of the hulking demon, blood spurting around his steel knuckles as its eyes bulged and it gasped for breath before the lizard stepped forwards and smashed into it with his shoulder, knocking the heavy enemy flat before he leapt over the fallen demon and spun around as the group surged at him again, as rhythmic as the tides.

Axes, rusty swords, tooth and claw gleamed as they charged towards him... and Zerrex flexed as a blade sprung suddenly from the wrist of his silvery arm before he lashed out with it, slicing through the throat of a demon and making it gargle as it clutched weakly its throat before it was crushed beneath the stampede. Weapons hailed down, but the reptile leapt backwards, his sharp eyes watching the way their ranks moved, unevenly, greedily... and the lizard shook his head in disdain even as a wildly-thrown sword shot past him before he cut elegantly back and forth with the right blade, again driving back the thinned group of demons.

One of them became bold, lunging forwards as it brought its weapon back... and Zerrex reached up and seized the goatling by the throat, making it gargle as it dropped its bardiche before the reptile rose it above his head, then slammed it face-first down into the ground with a hideous crumple... and the Drakkaren glanced up as his left hand glowed blue, tracing several Enochian runes over his metallic arm. They shimmered in azure, pulsing over the heavy plated alloy, and a moment later, the short blade retracted as the reptile said quietly: "Run away."

A Legion snarled, too lost in bloodlust before it leapt from the crowd, pouncing forwards... and Zerrex slammed his fist into its face, sending it crashing down in a heap with a flash of white. It lay prone and broken, pale steam rising up from it as it twitched and gargled weakly before rotting rapidly away... and now the demons looked uncertain as Zerrex said quietly: "I don't have any more time to play with children. I'm not going to maim and send you back to Hell anymore. I'm going to outright kill you all if you keep fighting."

Several of the demons took the hint and fled, the rest of the group looking uncertain... and then one of them looked to the side before falling over as Serenity slashed the head from a Salamander's body and sent it crashing to the ground, the female breathing hard, surrounded by corpses. There were more demons in the alleys and atop the ramshackle homes, but their message had been made as they hesitated in the attack, Zerrex looking back and forth as the holy runes glowed over his metallic arm before he shook his head and smiled mirthlessly. Power and fear. These are only animals. "Get out of my way. Preferably, through the door you came in by."

"It's only a mortal, we can-" A goatling began, pointing wildly towards the Drakkaren... and with only a gesture, Serenity sent one of her swords spinning forwards and ripping through the creature's chest, knocking it crashing backwards with a gargle as it shuddered, blood spilling out over the pavement as the silvery, blessed weapon twisted its way back towards the combat psychic before she caught it easily, both swords hanging from her hands.

The two stood side-by-side, and Zerrex smiled slightly as he shook his head slowly, saying quietly: "Run away, small children, if you don't want to end up in Sin's Tower."

The effect this had on several of the demons was startling: their eyes widened before they turned and bolted, although many were too young to know the legends... but all the same, the very air seemed to push against them, the malevolence no longer coming from the demons but the weight of terror pressing down onto them as the Drakkaren's eyes glowed green as he ordered coldly: "Run."

Many of them scattered as if struck by Dominate: others only tried to hide themselves, and the Drakkaren shook his head slowly before Serenity glanced at him, asking coldly in demonic: "Do we exterminate them?"

"It doesn't matter. Killing them is a pointless delay. I doubt even you feel much pride in victory over them." Zerrex said distastefully, glancing up at the sky overhead for a moment before he shook his head quickly. "They're only a distraction, sowing chaos. We need to find the others... there's something that reeks of more corruption here than tin soldiers."

Serenity nodded, saying quietly: "Understood. So we move to intercept and destroy the source?"

Zerrex grunted as he began to run through the streets, Serenity keeping easy pace with him as he replied calmly: "And only hope that cutting the head off this snake stops things before they get too out of hand."

***

The cries of victims filled the streets as fire and bloodshed spread. In the blink of an eye, demons had swept the streets, tearing through all in their path and roared with their bloodlust. They rampaged through the town square and in the market district, sending citizens wailing in fear as they were chased. Those that did stand and fight did their share, but the overwhelming numbers proved difficult. The demons' thirst for blood was horrifying to watch. They were brutal, cruel, and sadistic.

From above, Syeena stood upon the perch of a rooftop out of sight from them. She watched as the demons swept the street as her eyes widen at the size of the invasion. They came so suddenly, despite her acute senses, she nearly felt sick to her stomach how the scene so quickly changed. Death hung on the air as several people already lost their lives. In her human form, her black hair wafted in the breeze. She watched unsure how to proceed with all the chaos below.

Moonlight shined between the clouds in the sky , illuminating all below. The cry of a small child rang through the air. Not far was a small human girl, appearing no more than five or six years old in her night gown. She was cowering at the end of a street, no sign of parents anywhere around. A swarm of demons were heading for her, smelling her as a fresh kill. "Fresh meat!" one of the ugly brutes roared charging for her with claws poised to kill.

The little girl eyes widen with terror as the beast approached. She let lose a horrible scream of fear as the demon overshadowed her.

Just then, a black blur sliced through the spot between them. Before the demon could notice what happened, someone delivered a fierce kick into his face. The kick was so strong, it launched the demon upward through the air, having him tumble into his comrades with a massive thud. After a moment, the little girl opened her eyes. Standing before her was Syeena. Clad in her black and green robes, she stood strong between the girl and the demons. With her leg still upward, she swiftly brought it down, a hand at her hip. Her eyes cold and furious, she gazed at the demons with the utmost disgust.

"Kitchen's closed, gruesome," Syeena growled, her dragon nature just behind the surface in her human form.

The demons growled in confusion, seeing the lone figure before them as they gathered themselves back to their feet. The demons varied in color but looked like a band of ogres. Bulk, massive, strong, sporting clubs. Some were hybrids of other species having horns and claws. Upon closer look, many even resembled anthros , but clearly mixed by the dark powers of hell. There were so many kinds now roaming the city it made her mind boggle. What disgusted her even more now was that some were staring at her with lust.

She sensed the anxiety of the little girl behind her. Still aware , she turned around and looked down to the girl beside her. As the girl looked at Syeena with confusion, she gave her a small pat on the head and smiled. "Do not fear, sweetie," Syeena cooed, trying to ease her fear. "You are safe with me."

The little girl after a moment looked up at Syeena with a smile and nodded, standing right next to her and wrapping a arm around her leg.

"Why that bitch! " The growl of the demon she kicked caused her to turn back. " I'm gonna have a piece of that ass once I'm done beating the life out of it!"

Syeena's protective instincts kicked in. She became painfully aware of the small life that now clung to her and she planned to fight tooth and nail to keep that life safe. "I'll make you regret you ever came here, you filth." she growled, drawing her Tarot Cards into her hands.

She peered at the demons on the other end of the street, their attack immanent as she formulated a plan. Her mind rushed with concern. This is tough. I can't fight all of them AND protect this child at the same time. A single opening for them can make her easy prey, she thought, looking through her cards like a hand during a game.

At that time the light of the moon shined down upon her. She glanced at it for a brief moment, then turned back to her cards. The Moon card suddenly stood out to her in her hand, beckoning at her mind to put it to use. With her options slim, she sighed and realized she had no choice but to use a trump card.

Looks like I have to call on some reinforcements, she thought as she drew out The Moon Tarot card and held it up in her hand. At that moment, she closed her eyes in a state of focus. The card glowed in her hand with a strange magic. "I call upon you, sisters three," Syeena chanted, feeling a foreign power course through her veins. "Power of the Fates, grant your might to me."

As she finished her spell, the card of The Moon changed. The dragon beneath the full moon at a fountain dissolved away, revealing a new image in the card. Glowing, the card changed into the picture of a elegant woman resting in the cradle of a crescent moon. Her long dark hair draped over her shoulders while she held a staff with a blade tip at one end and a crystal at the other. A leg dangled from the edge of the moon as she appeared peaceful in the picture.

The magic took hold as it transformed her Tarot Card, feeling the presence of another being flow through her veins. She opened her eyes with fierce determination and swiped the card through the air. "I summon you!" she cried out, and flung the card onto the ground at her feet. "Fortune Lady-- Yue!"

At her words, a massive blast of water erupted from the ground where the card was. The demons jumped back in confusion as the massive water works came out of nowhere like a powerful geyser. As the tower of water shot skyward, a figure could be seen from behind the curtain of water. As the water sparkled in the moonlight, the figure moved and the curtain of water dispersed in a dazzle of water droplets.

The air sparkled as before Syeena was a young female. She resembled an elf, pointy ears and beautiful features. She wore violet flowing robes that both marked her as a spellcaster but was cut in a sensual fashion. Her thighs, arms, and midsection were exposed freely as she also wore black boots that rode up to her knees. More curious, her skin tone was violet, a tattoo marking the right side of her face like a tear drop. Violet hair fell down her back and bangs over her shoulders. Finally she wielded a wooden staff in her hand that she used to slice through the water. On one end was a sickle and on another was a violet crystal in the shape of a moon suspended by the wooden base.

Syeena smirked at the appearance of her conjured creature. The mystical women in violet levitated above the ground, her staff held aloof as she looked ahead at the demons before her. Despite her lovely face, her expression was cold and her eyes radiated a grim gaze at her foes. The demons looked on for a moment then some cracked a smile at the two woman now before them.

"This must be a joke!" one of them gloated, " I'd break both of them like a twig!"

"Speak for yourself, " a hairy demon with saber tooth fangs spoke with a lewd chuckle. "I personally want to play around with them first before that."

The little girl tightened her grip on Syeena's leg and it only strengthened her resolve as she listened to them. She grinned, the foolish demons having no clue who now stood before them. "For all your talk, you deserve to be beaten by a couple of girls," she scoffed raising a finger at the demons and willed her thoughts to the violet lady before her. "Show em your stuff, Yue!"

At Syeena's request, Yue erected herself to full height and raised her staff up overhead. She began to twirl the staff, it spinning fast between her hands. After a few seconds, she brought the crystal end of it back, raising it like a hammer.

"Tides of Fate!" Syeena shouted, her magic channeling into Yue's.

With a cry of her own, Yue brought down the crystal moon part of her staff upon the ground. Upon contact, the moon crystal glowed and from out of nowhere another gush of water erupted into the street. This time, the water poured into the street like a dam had burst. A wall of water rose up high, reaching near the height of the buildings and quickly overshadowing the demons before it. Their faced turned from mockery to horror as they observed the massive wave consume the street they stood on.

The demons barely got out a gasp before the wall of water crashed into them, the force as strong as a tidal wave. As the wave traveled down the street, it began snaking across corners, sweeping up any demons that got in its path. As Syeena watched as the massive wave swept forth, she drew another card from her hand and tossed it to the ground. The card, The Chariot , flashed with light and in its place was a flying carpet levitating off the ground.

At that time, Syeena gently knelt down before the little girl beside her. "Come on," Syeena encouraged kindly, "Just hold on tight." After a minute, the little girl smiled a little and nodded. As Syeena stepped upon the carpet, she lifted the girl onto the carpet as they knelt onto it. With a thought from Syeena, the carpet took off, joining the rushing wave of water.

Throughout the city, the flood of water Fortune Lady Yue had conjured rushed through the streets. Like a snake, the water moved on its own accord. The demons that crossed its path never had time to run as the wave engulfed them, having them all toss and turn under the crushing wave.

On one street, Zerrex and Serenity were running down it , about to run into another cluster of enraged demons. Before the two could confront them, the massive flood suddenly swept in. The demons just turned their heads and were consumed by the water. The two looked on dumbstruck as the wave passed through the nearby street. Riding on top of it was Syeena, riding the wave on a carpet like a surfer.

As Syeena surfed past them down the street, Zerrex looked on confused. "What was that?" Serenity asked perplexed looking up to her father. Zerrex blinked a few times, before shaking off the surprise and ran after Syeena, leaving Serenity to follow him.

The flood snaked its way through town, cleaving through street by street and sweeping up as many demons as it could. After several minutes of navigating the streets, the flood reached the end of the village. It poured out of the city into the outskirts, where the wave rose and collapsed against the barren ground. In that quick amount of time, the wave had captured and spat out half the demons that were raiding the town. The demons all tumbled onto the ground, tangled in one another's limbs and soaking wet from the guided flood. All of them grumbling and snarling, they pushed one another off themselves, many confused and pissed having been knocked off their feet by the flash flood.

"What in hell!!" The demon that was badmouthing Syeena before snarled, standing up in a massive puddle that soaked most of the area. "That bitch!" he snarled, the other demons growling in agreement.

"I actually prefer the term 'witch', if you must resort to name-calling," Syeena voice sang in answer. The demons turned looked to find Syeena standing proudly before them. The magic carpet she had rode on had vanished, leaving her and the little girl beside her standing just at the edge of the pool of water around the demons. "Though bothering to call you something would be a waste of my time." she retorted, smiling at them.

"You'll pay for that!" the demon snarled, and the others soon locked their eyes on her too. All their focus was on her, and their bloodlust. However she just smiled.

"No," Syeena replied, raising up a hand leisurely. "Tonight, fate is on my side." With that she snapped her fingers. A final drop of water struck the pool before her, rippling. Under the moonlight, the water rose up, levitating with life of its own. At that moment, the violet woman from before, Yue, emerged from the living water like a curtain. She moved with elegance, as if she was one with the water itself. Yue levitated, her eyes closed with serene peace under the light of the moon.

"Yue is one of the three Fates; the three sisters who rule over the power of Fate itself! Embodying the power of the moon, she controls the tides of the world. Your fate is sealed!" Syeena lectured, her tone stern. At that moment, the mysterious woman in violet leapt high into the air dramatically. They looked up at her as she hovered in the moonlight, her body glowing with an eerie light. She then opened her eyes, staring coldly at her foes below. Her staff in hand, Yue swished it through the air and brought it back behind her. The crystal on it glowed with the light of the moon.

"Oh, and I forgot..." Syeena spoke, her voice casual but prideful. "The fate Yue rules over... is Death."

Yue then brought forth her staff, twirling it fast before her. With the motion of the staff, a chilling wind emitted from it, cascading out towards where the demons stood. The gust of wind swept forth, the snapping of ice crystals chilled the air as it made contact with the water. At that moment, the very water became frozen solid, quickly spreading outward. The demons had little time to react as terror took their faces. Soaking wet with their feet in the water, the ice quickly encased their legs and grew upward. The blast of arctic wind cascaded over them, soon turning each doused demon into a frozen ice sculpture.

The whole mob of demons now stood motionless, now solid blocks of ice identical to the pose and facial expressions they had before they froze. Soundlessly, Fortune Lady Yue gracefully landed to the ground. Observing the ice statues before her, she brought up two fingers to her lips. With a soft spin around like a dancer, the violet woman blew a kiss out towards the frozen fiends. The statues then shattered with the sound of smashed glass. They shattered into millions of pieces, becoming shards of ice and snow that were carried off by the wind, vanishing from existence.

Watching from the safety behind Syeena's thigh, the little girl had watched as the magical violet woman blew her kiss of death, reducing the demons to nothing. "Wow..." she said in genuine wonderment, her fear loss in the magic show she just witnessed. Syeena couldn't help but chuckle a bit to see the girl's reaction as she pat her blond curly head.

"Maria!" A woman's voice cried out. Syeena turned around to find a human woman in a maid's dress running towards her. The woman appeared to be on the verge of tears. Not from sadness, but relief.

The girl's face lit up. "Mommy!" the girl cried out, letting go of Syeena and sprinted to the woman. She fell to her knees as the little girl ran right into her mother's arms, the two hugging each other tightly. The mother sobbed into the child's hair, true love for her daughter visible as Syeena looked on. The sight even made her want to cry a little.

Syeena approached the mother and her daughter, catching the woman's attention. Slowly she rose up, holding on tightly to her daughter, Maria. "Thank you! Thank you! " She repeated, bowing her head. "You saved my daughter... I- I am forever in your dept, sorceress. "

Syeena just shook her head, her black hair swishing. "No thanks necessary. I was happy to help," she replied, smiling to the young girl who looked back at her. "Now please, you must make your way to safety. "

The woman nodded and took her daughter with her. Before they left, the young girl turned around despite her mom's pulling at her arm. "Miss! Thank you!" she called out, innocent and grateful. "When I grow up, I want to be a sorceress just like you!" Her final words warmed Syeena's heart as she watched the mother and child hurry back to the village.

"Looks like you have a talent with kids." Zerrex called easily as he walked forwards, hands in his pockets as Serenity looked coldly back and forth. The male seemed strangely relaxed even as the female continued to glance sharply back and forth her eyes and body sparking with psychic energies as the two approached.

Syeena looked to find Zerrex and Serenity approach from nearby, having witnessed the show Yue had put on. "Zerrex, how long were you here?" she asked slightly puzzled to find the lizard there.

"Long enough to see you have some friends in high places." Zerrex glanced over the battleground, then he grimaced a bit, eyes becoming more serious as his eyes flicked back and forth before he muttered something aside to Serenity, and she nodded curtly before almost seeming to vanish from the spot as she left to scout through the area. "Except I thought Behemel would be with you... have you seen him at all?"

With the humans gone, Syeena's form shifted back into her anthro dragon form as she gave Zerrex a scowl. "What do you think? While I was out searching for him, the town erupted into chaos! I think they took the immediate priority." she crossed her arms, looking irritated.

Zerrex's eyes roved back and forth, shaking his head a bit as he murmured softly: "Yeah, believe me. I ran into a little welcoming party myself... but kind of funny that a horde of demons shows up out of nowhere. I think they must be here after Behemel... and gods know that dregs like this don't show up for no reason." He paused, then glanced curiously over at her. "We need to track down the lion sooner rather than later, I think. I got a bad feeling about things. What about that scary lady, there, though, the one who blew away the demons? Can she help hold things down here?"

At that moment, Syeena turned back to Yue levitating behind her. The violet woman waited patiently, her scythe-staff held at her side as she looked Zerrex over and then Syeena. Silently, Yue shook her head in denial.

"Fraid not," Syeena answered on her behalf, " And I'd watch your mouth around her. She does control when people meet their end, you know." Syeena gestured with a swipe of her finger at her neck.

Zerrex looked meditatively at the female, smiling slightly to her as he allowed his eyes to travel over her thoughtfully. "Then I'm just glad she's helping us out. Although, considering how many times I've played the role of Humpty Dumpty, well. Most Reapers hate me anyway." He paused, then rubbed absently at his right arm before he said quietly.

At that moment, Yue made a gesture towards Syeena and Zerrex, forming a curtsy before them. With equal grace, prismatic light washed over the Fate and she softly fade away, back into the cosmic void from which she was called from.

"Thank you Yue," Syeena said in farewell, into the night. "I owe you one."

Zerrex rubbed at his arm again with a grimace, flexing his fingers absently before he glanced up at a faint howl through the air. For a moment, his gaze lingered on the skies above, and then he asked, as his emerald eyes roved back and forth through the shadows that wafted over ground and ephemeral curtains high above: "How did you learn to call on something that powerful, then? Don't tell me she's an old friend from your gambling days?"

Syeena rose an eye at Zerrex in amusement. "A long time ago, I stumbled upon the means to commune with the Fates. A ancient temple meant to divine destiny. Upon meeting them and earning their favor, I was able to enter a covenant with the three of them. Mostly for foresight and advice." she explained, looking at the card from which Syeena summoned Yue from. As she spoke, the picture of Yue on the card soon faded away, and the image of the dragon under the full moon returned in her hand. "And it wasn't easy. They are not ones to enter into contracts with mortals lightly, you know?"

"But you managed to do it all the same, it sounds like." Zerrex glanced over at her, tilting his head a bit as he crossed his arms. "How did you do that? I can't imagine it was easy... or without cost."

Putting the card away, Syeena winked at Zerrex. "Let's just say the Fates and I are of the same mind. And that understanding the interworking of destiny is a price in itself." she answered, scrolling through her Tarot cards leisurely. "As a wielder of Tarot Cards, one must understand that above anything else."

Zerrex smiled a bit over at her, and then he shrugged a bit as he returned his eyes to the stars above, letting his feet begin to carry him forwards as he murmured: "Interesting. Well, I hope that they decide to help us a little on the road, then... gods know that I could use Fate at my back for once instead of in front of me." He halted, then brought his eyes down, emerald irises glowing faintly as he muttered: "Soldiers, toys, all around. Gods above, Sabnock's not going to be happy about this."

"Where did Serenity go?" Syeena asked, realizing how abruptly she left.

"Scouting ahead." Zerrex knelt down, absently brushing his hand over the ground before he grimaced a little as he ran some of the sand through his fingers, and a faint blue glow rippled over his scales before it became tinged with black before his eyes flicked upwards as there was a sharp call from ahead, murmuring: "Good girl. Found us a path forwards."

"Really?" Syeena responded anxiously, happy to hear Serenity found him. "Where is he?"

Zerrex gestured to her as he began a short jog down the street, glancing up as a faint spark of purple shot into the air, flaring up brighter for a moment before whirling back downwards. "That should answer your question. Serenity's waiting for us up ahead, probably not far away from where Behemel is."

Serenity was waiting for them past several corpses and where the broken bones of the earth had jarringly formed an unnatural barricade with a collapsed shack before a shattered expanse, her swords hanging from her hands as she looked immediately towards her father and said curtly: "We have a situation up ahead. I'm sure you can tell that for yourselves, though."

The mass of the demons, a larger portion of the invasion were massing beyond the town on the other end. They were in the far distance but the sounds of battle could be heard from afar. Despite the overwhelming amount of demons there, they seemed to be having a hard time with whoever they were trying to gang up on.

"Anyone want to guess who is out there?" Syeena said with bitter sarcasm.

"You got a trick up your sleeve to get him out of there or shall we just wade in and do this the old fashioned way?" Zerrex asked mildly, reaching up and playing his fingers slowly through the beads of his mala, gazing out towards the mass of demons, feeling his breath quickening slightly as his mouth hung slightly open, eyes faintly glowing as Serenity grimaced, her body tensed and flexed, her eyes darkening as she followed her father's gaze.

Syeena grimaced at the sight. "Let's just see what's going on once we get up there!" she snapped back at the lizard. The fighting took place a good mile out from the town, with no time to spare Syeena encouraged Zerrex and Serenity to follow as they head out to the battlefield ahead.

***

The roar of Behemel's fury echoed across the battlefield as he tore his way through wave after wave of demons. His scythe cleaved through them like a sickle through wheat. They came from all sides, trying to get at a single blind spot in his combat stance. Each attempt was met with the swift edge of Chronos' blade.

The black lion held his scythe tightly, observing the overwhelming number of demons around him. He had already lost count of how many he had slain. Despite it, no matter what he did, more came in their place. He had tried to run back towards the village, to help fight off the demons that were attacking. However, his path was always blocked by the mobs of demons around him. Time seemed to blur to him as he slew one after the other. He soon forgot about the village, as his focus was consumed by the overwhelming number of foes around him.

Three tried to attack him at a time. One he blocked with the base of his weapon, the others he ducked and weaved out of their cornering attacks as they tried to ambush him. Once he was at their backs, he delivered a powerful slash of his scythe. The swipe created a massive wind like a hurricane. While two were cleaved cleanly by the attack, the lucky one was sent blown away into the air with the remains.

With a venomous snarl, one of the brutish beasts with a club leapt overhead. In both hands he rose it high in attempt to deliver a crushing blow to Behemel from above. With ease, Behemel rose his scythe up towards the airborne demon. A metallic click came from the scythe as the blade shot out with a chain. It quickly snaked around the brute, wrapped up in the chain and locked in place by the blade. Before the demon could even recognize the pain, Behemel yanked the weapon's base and snagged the demon out of the sky. In a dizzying display, Behemel used the chain weapon and swung the ensnared demon around like a wrecking ball. The poor bastard was sent smashing into his own comrades, sending nearly a dozen demons from all around Behemel into the air in bloody heaps.

The chain around the now dead demon unfurled and retracted with the scythe's blade back into the base, reuniting Behemel's weapon. His attack gave him some breathing room but was soon short lived as several more demons came for a turn to sink their claws into him.

Rushed by panic, Behemel unleashed several strikes without rest, each one tearing into a few demons at a time. Between the gleaming silver blade of Chronos and the powerful crescent wind blades it conjured, Behemel had become a force of nature. It was as if his battle dance had conjured a tornado of sand and blood as the demons met their end by his hand.

In a massive attempt to subdue the black lion, many demons charged in all at once in a single wave. His senses shot up in alarm, knowing full well he couldn't repel all of them at once. "Damn them all..." he snarled. With a decisive motion, he raised Chronos high, channeling the power of the same god that empowered his scythe. The jeweled eye of the blade lit up with power as Behemel brought the blade back , ready to strike. He waited till they were almost upon him.

"Devil's Nightmare!!" he roared, the gem of the scythe releasing a bright light.

The demons converged right as the blinding flash erupted from the center. Several slices echoed through the air in that brief second. Before they knew it, Behemel knelt well outside the circle of demons that had just tried to converge on him. His stance showed as if he already delivered his attack.

The demons didn't speak or move from where they were. Then all at once, all of them collapsed on the ground. Behemel had froze time, and in a quick display of his scythe, cleaved through each and every one of them as if it took one single stroke. His foes lied there in a bloody heap over one another. The air was thick with the haze of blood and miasma from their corpses.

As Behemel slowly stood up, the sound of a gunshot greeted his ears. Instantly, he brought his scythe's blade up towards the left side of his face. The blade of the scythe jolted in his paws at the impact. A single bullet hit the floor near Behemel's furry feet, smoking hot from being fired. With a growl of irritation, Behemel looked in the direction of the shot to see Alister in the distance, his guns aimed.

"Not bad..." Alister commented, his aim still at Behemel. "Now I know why you developed such a fierce rep, buddy."

Alister was immediately shut up as Behemel waited no time and delivered a wide slash of his scythe. The air boomed like thunder as a blade of air raced after the tiger. Quick to react himself, Alister lunged out of the way as the crescent blade collided with the ground, exploding where he once stood. Still lunging through the air, the orange tiger continued to fire his guns with a trigger-happy sneer.

Fast on his feet, Behemel quickly dodged the incoming bullets, one almost grazing his whiskers. Alister was accurate with his shots, even while moving fast. Not allowing Alister a chance to counter attack, Behemel launched another wind blade. The two soon became locked in a lethal chase, with Behemel launching his long range attacks to throw off Alister's aim as Alister attempted to shoot him.

With a feral growl, Behemel then launched a powerful slash. The air blade he unleashed ripped through the air and impacted the ground right where Alister suddenly stepped towards. The blade exploded with a bang, spreading debris and dust up everywhere. Alister halted in the surrounding dust, his visibility zero inside the cloud. He clicked his tongue with amusement. "Clever, clever," he thought aloud.

However at that moment, the cloud parted by a force rushing toward him. Before Alister knew it, Behemel had launched himself at high speed, using the power of Chronos to make him one with the wind itself. He plowed through the distance between them and slammed right into Alister with crushing force. The orange tiger was greeted by the impact of Behemel's elbow into his abdomen.

"You never know when to shut up, Alister!" Behemel growled in his face as he delivered the blow.

Alister was sent skidding several yards away, the blow to him bone-shattering to any mortal being. With his foot claws digging into the dry earth, Alister stopped skidding, his body unmoving from the shock. Slowly, the orange tiger rose back to his full height. His guns shook in his grip slightly as his body seemed to shift in shape.

Behemel's eyes widened as he witnessed his orange tiger adversary shift like a television on the fritz. His color and shape became jagged and energy flickered on his body lightly like a discharge before it reverted back to normal. The tiger gripped his guns again, his body now solid.

"You're a Simulacrum!?" Behemel snarled in shock.

Alister only reply was a feral grin. He raised his guns up once again at his new distance. With his gesture, a magic circle appeared before him. The engraving and design of the circle radiated yellow with demonic symbols, conjured by the demonic guns Alister wielded. Behemel gritted his jaw as he remembered that being Alister's signature attack.

The demonic tiger began firing a barrage of bullets like auto fire. As each bullet passed through the magic circle, the bullets instantly multiplied. A single shot from Alister created a whole barrage of bullets like a gun turret. With no time to hesitate, Behemel quickly brought up Chronos before him and began spinning the scythe before him. Like a windmill, the momentum and power of the scythe created a shield of wind, redirecting Alister's assault.

The impact of the bullets against the shield was powerful, causing Behemel to skid back as he knelt down to hold his ground. The barrage was relentless . While the majority of the bullets were successfully blocked, some passed through his shield. Bullets shot close to his body, some brushing past his clothes and arms. One came painfully close to his face, grazing him just near his cheek followed by a tiny trickle of blood.

As Behemel struggled desperately to divert away the bullets, little did he know the demons were coming up upon him. Taking advantage of his focus, the demons quickly crept up around Behemel. Just as Behemel deflected the last of Alister's bullets, they jumped on him. His focus was broken as he felt one leap upon him and grabbed his right arm. The lion roared in fury as he used all his strength to slash another demon with his scythe. His defiance was short lived as another demon successfully pinned his other arm, followed by another lunging onto the lion's back.

Behemel hit the dusty earth with a snarl as each demon piled one on top the other to keep the powerful were-lion pinned. Despite his struggling, Behemel was soon incapable to move against the several demons now holding him down. Only his head was left uncovered. Before long he was greeted to the sight of Alister above him. The orange tiger had a cocky grin as he now shoved the barrel of the gun against Behemel's cheek.

"Well, haven't you learned a few new tricks now, " he mused, pressing his gun against the lion's face for emphasis. "You sure have changed, Behemel."

"And you haven't changed at all!" Behemel spat, his head squirming to find a means to free himself. "Still using the same disgusting tactics! You have a Simulacrum to fight your battles for you?!"

Alister laughed, his voice echoing amusement. "Ah, don't be too mad. It's the real me your talking to," he explained as he knelt down . With his gun still to his cheek, the orange tiger took on a more leisure attitude. "Certain restrictions prevent me from going topside myself. However, was able to kill two birds with one stone with this little trinket. My body is back down under while my mind is connected to this form. It has one or two drawbacks, but pretty handy all the same," he explained.

Behemel snarled at Alister as he talked. The tiger loved the sound of his own voice. "You know," Alister said, tapping the temple of his own head with his other gun as if in thought. "I'd much rather have been here in person. This victory just tastes so bitter sweet. Do you know why?" The lion remained silent, not wanting to give Alister the satisfaction.

"It's the same limitation with this Simulacrum," he explained, leaning towards Behemel, a couple inches away from his own face. "I can't feel anything in this body. The feel of the guns going off in my hands, the smell of your misery and anguish. Though behind a puppet or no, the look on your face is priceless." Alister laughed, encouraging the laughs and snarls of the demons around and on top of Behemel.

Behemel tried in vain to lift the arm that held Chronos tight, it too kept close to the ground from the weight upon him. "You better hope I never find your real self, Alister. I promise what I do to that puppet will be nothing compared to what I do to you!" he swore angrily.

Alister laughed softly, his tone amused as he slowly rose back to his feet. "You just might get that wish, my friend," he replied, spinning the gun aimed at Behemel between his finger for a moment. "As I said, I rather fight you in person. I just want the feeling to kill you myself... to smell the blood drain from you along with your life." Alister's smile took a sickening curl upon his face as he looked upon the town in the distance. "It is such a shame. So much despair and fear, and the only ones who are enjoying it are the pawns..." he stated, referring to the demons around Behemel. They laughed in response, feeling the presence of miasma even from their distance from the town.

"You sick fuck! I'll kill you I swear!!" Behemel roared, his fury echoing on the winds. His threat however, did nothing but make Alister chuckle.

"Don't worry," the orange tiger hummed as he removed his gun from Behemel's mussel. "I'm sure we will be seeing more of each other real soon. I am personally delivering you back down under. Just like old times."

His last words struck Behemel hard in his mind. Something in his mind set off as if he suddenly was in a dream. Visions of his past flew before his eyes. His thoughts went to Alister, to the village behind him, then to the village of his homeland that he had lost. The villagers, children, all lost at the hands of demonic carnage.

Alister's face became obscured as more demons piled around him, slowly masking the tiger as he slowly began to walk away laughing. "No... no..." Behemel murmured, his mind returning to Pandemonium. The torture he was endured, sliced up, healed and sliced up again. The foes he was forced to fight, half injured against combatants. Whether or not they were guilty or innocent. As his tortured endured, so did his rage. With each passing second under the increasing number of demons, his rage grew and grew beyond his own soul would allow.

"Damn you....! DAMN YOU ALL!!!" his roar erupted from the thick pile of demons, his vision soon eclipsed by pure blackness.

There was an eerie silence as Behemel was now lost in the darkness. Both physically and in his mind, as if he had lost consciousness all of a sudden. Then from the darkness, the glow of red eyes sliced through.

All of a sudden, a chilling , unnatural howl rang through the air. Alister, froze in mid-step as he walked away from the demonic dog pile. A look of surprise crossed his face as he slowly turned around. He watched carefully as he looked towards where Behemel was now trapped under the demons.

Black smoke began to waft through the air. Miasma; the lifeblood of demons that held the negative emotions they fed upon. Condensed, it filled the air and soon was absorbed into the pile of demons that held their captive down. The black smoke was sucked in through the cracks of their bodies, the pile grew as something inside was expanding. The demons grew quiet on and around Behemel, curious to what was happening.

As the last of the smoke vanished, the same howl erupted from the pile. The demons on top trembled something shoved against them. All of a sudden, the demons were sent flying as the person they had pressed down shoved them all away into the air.

However, it was no longer Behemel.

Freed from the bodies on top of it, the figure was clad in the black smoke, it enveloped his body like a shroud. Slowly, the smoke began to solidify, becoming shiny and sharp upon the body it clung to. His stature was slumped over, like that of a feral being as his size was now larger than it had previously been. As the last of the miasma formed, it now coated the black lion's body with spiky, black plate armor. The armor formed around his hands like razor claws, and traveled up his arms and back. His feet and shins were soon solid with the same armor covering most of his body. He wore a bony breastplate, that reached up to his neckline. Standing fully erect, the black were lion was silent. The moment however he opened his eyes, they were red with rage and malice. The true Beast of Pandemonium had been unleashed.

Behemel released a powerful roar, it shaking the very air around him that startled the demons. Before any of them could reach, Behemel had charged forth and punched one right through its body. His arm bored right through the demon, making it go limp. The black lion threw his arm out, tossing away the dead body and looked for its next target.

Black miasma once again formed in his hand. It stretched and took shape, and in its place became a scythe. Unlike Chronos, this one seemed to be a twisted version of it. In place of metal, it was bone-- twisted and disfigured, inspiring horror at the sight of it. Formed in his claws, Behemel charged once again at the demons. This time, with a single stroke of his scythe, all those that had once held him down were reduced to shreds. Blood sprayed across the wasteland with his strike, tearing the demons apart. Tactics and discipline that made Behemel a skilled warrior had turned into sheer power and frightening brutality. Despite how easily he slaughtered several demons before him, his wrath and fury still craved more.

The bloodthirsty cry of this creature had reduced the once noble warrior into a beast of chaos.

Alister staggered back at the ferocity Behemel displayed. It was much worse than he had witnessed before. For a brief moment the orange tiger-demon had a moment of fear to see Behemel transform into such a monster. No longer did demons attack in fear but they were repelled to get away from him now.

At this time as the bloodshed commenced, Syeena, Serenity and Zerrex finally reached the ridge and looked towards the battle. They witnessed the terrible sight unfold as Behemel with brute force laid siege to the demons, like lambs to the slaughter.

The reptile grimaced as they came into sight of battle, gritting his teeth at the sight that awaited them: slaughtered demons, the air reeking of corruption and bloodshed, thrumming with unspent violence... and in the midst of it all, Behemel, transmogrified into something corrupt and terrible. Beside him, Serenity shook her head quickly, her eyes narrowing, and the reptile gritted his teeth as he quickly surveyed the battleground, grimacing at the sight of the other figure present: a demon of some sort, undoubtedly, but it wasn't this being that drew his attention. It was Behemel, in his wretched state. "Poor bastard... what could have done this?"

Syeena now grimaced at the sight, both amazed and horrified. "It's as I told you. This is what he feared, " she explained, her heart aching as he saw Behemel full of rage and fury. "Losing himself in the lusts of wrath. ... But I never thought it would be like this. " At this point, her gaze came over to Alister, her face furious.

"You!" she boomed, "What did you do to him!!"

Alister looked up to the new comers, and sneered. " What? Who the hell are you?" he then aimed one of his guns at them, a bit startled himself. However his threat was short lived as a impact from Behemel swinging his scythe caused several demons to scatter outward. One of which collided with Alister and sent him skidding across the wastes.

Behemel's strength made the very ground tremble as he stomped and crunched on the bodies below him. The air became like a red mist with the blood he spilt, mixing with his black armor making him look like a demon possessed. His red eyes glowed with malice, lost in inner pain.

Zerrex grimaced at this, shaking his head slowly and surveying the sight as he glanced aside to Serenity, muttering: "This isn't good. This isn't good at all..." He stopped, then looked ahead towards the lion, gritting his teeth and leaning forwards to ready himself slightly as his eyes roved towards Syeena. "What do you think we should do here with him like... this?"

Syeena looked at Behemel, seeing him slash away at what remained of the demonic army against him. The number he was reducing them to nothing was staggering. However, her gaze came focused to Alister, her anger particularly focused on him. "Well first things first, we might want to see to the ring leader behind tonight's terror. Don't you think?" she gestured as the orange tiger slowly stood up observing the carnage.

"True enough." Zerrex glanced towards the male, then he cocked his head towards the dragoness, asking mildly: "Do you want to go get him or shall one of us go? And Serenity, I want you back here, away from Behemel. Someone of your... stature... is bound to set him off, considering how he's going after those demons down there."

Serenity nodded curtly in response to this even as she stepped back, swords at her sides as she glanced towards Alistair and said quietly: "Perhaps I can be of service in a different matter, then."

Syeena smirked at Serenity. "Alright then. If that is the case, Serenity? Maybe you should handle 'trigger-happy' over there. We will take care of Behemel... hopefully," She said mildly worried.

Serenity looked towards Zerrex, and the Drakkaren nodded calmly, the female Iuratus bowing her head for a moment before she released both swords and allowed them to go into a whirl of destruction, dropping into a sharp sprint immediately towards Alister and flicking a wrist forwards almost absently when a demon attempted to get in her way, slicing it almost in half and sending it down in a brutal rain of blood as she launched herself towards the tiger.

The war cry from the female perked his interest. He quickly leapt back, avoiding her first attack, and drew both his guns. "Well, Well, what is a pretty thing like you doing here?" he greeted her, his guns aimed at her head. "Such a shame I am here on business, or we could of had some fun." His gaze was obviously lustful at the younger Drakkaren, but only disgusted her.

Serenity was silent and cold, professional to the bitter end as she leapt forwards and began a whirling dance of death that sent both her swords spinning in vicious arcs towards the male's face, guided by her expert puppeteering as her scarred body tensed and flexed, feet moving to an invisible, flawless rhythm as psychic static tingled coldly along her frame.

Alister wasted no time as she wasted none. He fired his guns in quick succession, aiming for her body as he held his ground.

Serenity flicked her wrist downwards as she slid to the side, bullets pinging off a wall of telekinetic force and the whirling blades as a wild ricochet barely managed to scrape itself across her body, the other sword guided forwards in a wide, high sweep towards Alister's chest as she continued to force savagely forwards.

The orange tiger dodged just in time, the blade just scratching his chest as he kept his distance. "The silent type? Damn girl, your no fun." he mocked, as he kept jumping away from her, soon leading into the chaos near where Behemel was rampaging. His auto fire continued to collide with her swords. "Come on girl, you got nothing to say?"

Serenity replied by spinning her arms rapidly, her swords gyrating strangely in front of her and deflecting many of the rounds upwards as she closed her eyes, the bullets caught in a telekinetic net that shimmered eerily above her head, filled with deadly points of bullet-starlight before she caught both blades and swung them both savagely upwards, a wall of psychic force rippling through the air in front of her and sending a shockwave rumbling through the air as spikes of earth ripped out of the ground, blades and chunks of earth lifting up around her as she said coldly: "Suffer."

A moment later, her eyes flashed as the floating chunks of bullet and broken rock and earth shot forwards, launching themselves in a savage torrent towards the male: not with enough force to kill, but with more than enough force to get her point across as her body rippled with psychic energy, her eyes glowing as she watched him like a hawk.

The barrage of earth and bullets bombarded Alister. He dodged what he could but was soon struck by shock as one of the stone spikes sundered through his left arm. He swore loudly as his arm was disintegrated in a static haze. His gun dropped to the ground and dissolving into nothing. "AAARUGH!" he roared, grasping at his energy constructed stub of an arm. "Damn slut! If that was permanent I'd be very upset!!"

Before Alister could aim his other gun at Serenity, a dark shadow soon cast over Alister. The look of Serenity's widened eyes caught Alister's attention as he looked dumbly puzzled. "Wha--??"

A clean slice ripped through Alister from head to toe. The ivory scythe of the dark juggernaut had struck from behind the tiger, slicing him clean in half as his body began to break apart in static discharges.

"Damn it..... " Alister gurgled through the fading transmission as his Simulacrum started to disintegrate. "H-He was right... ak--" The orange tiger's body suddenly shattered into pieces of energy like glass. Body parts soon became sparks as his illusionary form disappeared. All that was left was Behemel behind him. He was eerily still, his scythe still in the same place where it slew the demon's shadow.

"Serenity! Get away from there! Now!" Syeena cried out, both her and Zerrex finishing off some demons that gotten in their way.

Serenity's eyes coldly flicked over Behemel, sizing him up before she grimaced a bit at a second short order from Zerrex, closing her eyes and then swiftly leaping backwards and beating a swift retreat as her body flexed and her blades spun defensively around her body.

Luckily Behemel didn't notice Serenity as he had just finished off Alister as if he was but a rodent. Syeena and Zerrex now stood behind Behemel, his size much larger and formidable looking than it had before.

Zerrex grimaced a bit and shook his head slowly, leaning forwards as he reached up and squeezed the handle of the heavy sword on his back. Then he smiled a little, glancing down and saying quietly: "Now come on, Behemel. This is supposed to be the other way around, isn't it? When did we get lost along the way?"

The soft growl of Behemel answered as he slowly stood up to his full height, hearing Zerrex. His tone was still feral-- furious . The demons around him had ether fled or were dead, now leaving the battlefield layered with death.

Syeena took a step forward, standing at Zerrex's side in concern. "Behemel... It's us. Syeena and Zerrex. It's over! You've won. The town is safe."

Behemel slowly turned around. Though unrushed, his eyes gleamed red. The fury still burned in his eyes and in his veins, thirsty for more. Each step he took crunched bones underneath him, his scythe dragging behind him like a zombie as he approached the two with deadly intention.

Zerrex straightened, closing his eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath before he leaned his head forwards and said quietly: "The choice is pretty simple, you know. Either he calms down... or we knock him down and keep him down until he snaps out of this." The Drakkaren looked up, his emerald eyes cold, his features hardening as he said softly: "Come on, Behemel. Don't do this. Especially since you're already at three strikes... I might just have to start fighting back at this rate."

Zerrex warning came on deaf ears as Behemel raised his scythe with one hand, the blade already seeped in blood.

"BEHEMEL! NO!" Syeena roared desperately, unwilling to fight him.

With a roar, Behemel threw his scythe forward into the ground before them. The impact of his attack sent a massive shockwave outward that sent both Zerrex and Syeena skidding back. The ground upon he struck had been cracked open by his sheer strength.

Zerrex grimaced a bit as he skidded backwards, flexing his body and straightening before he glanced towards Syeena, saying quietly: "We might have to do this the hard way if he's not going to listen to reason. Because if we don't, gods know what could happen. Are you ready for that, Syeena?"

Syeena looked hesitantly to Zerrex, concern on her features. "... We will do what we must. I know Behemel by now and THIS isn't him. " she reassured. "But I won't stop trying to snap him to his senses. " She growled determined, and with it her cards came to her hands at the flick of her wrists.

A loud snarl ripped from Behemel as he arched his back for a moment , preparing for attack. The moment he threw forward, he lunged at them with incredible speed that tore the earth below him with sheer power. He attempted to sling his scythe forward to behead them both at once.

Zerrex's eyes narrowed as energy sparked through the air around him before he swung his right arm up, catching the neck of the scythe against his wrist as the blade cut a thin wisp through his hair, the Drakkaren leaning his head forwards slightly as time seemed to slow for a moment, blue energy sparking along his form before he grunted as he slammed his arm out to the side to knock the scythe back as the sapphire glow along the reptile's frame intensified before his scales became silvery, armory alloy, the Drakkaren leaning forwards and saying quietly as his eyes glowed cold emerald: "If things get too rough, just lock me and him inside a nice cozy barrier and I'll have a friendly chat with our friend here. Masks off."

"That won't be necessary! I'm not gonna back away and leave him like this!" Syeena roared, as she leapt back from the attack. She looked to Behemel, into his red eyes. They were pulsing with rage, anguish, and pain. It made her heart ache. "Behemel! Stop this! We are your friends! Snap out of it!!" she pleaded, readying her cards for an attack.

With his blade blocked, Behemel growled as he brought a spiked gauntlet back. Before Zerrex could react, the massive black lion gave him a painful uppercut that even made his metallic bones shake like tuning forks. The Drakkaren flew through the air and tumbled onto the blood soaked ground with a thud. In the haze of his bloodlust, his eyes then came to Syeena, her being his next target. He lunged for her, his scythe ready once again to cleave.

At that moment, Syeena gritted her teeth and her eyes narrowed with determination. The moment Behemel made his strike, Syeena jumped upward, evading the attack. Before Behemel comprehended, Syeena had landed like an acrobat onto his scythe, perfectly balanced on the handle.

With a smirk, she leapt upward, flipping through the air and landed behind him. Grinning, she drew a card and slapped him on the back with it. As Behemel attempted to slash and claw at her, she dodged and ducked through his frenzied motions, almost like a child throwing a fit. As she did, she slapped out card after card upon his armor, sticking to him like stickers.

Zerrex grimaced and shook his head a bit, then he climbed to his feet and looked up with distaste, shaking his head again as he surveyed the scene, watching Syeena's swift movements as he flexed his fingers slowly and waited for an opening.

As Behemel swung his scythe again, Syeena leapt back, her back just missing the sharp edge of the blade as she skidded a safe distance away from him. "Forgive me Behemel... this is for your own good!" she said solemnly as she drew out a card and held it out. "Suite of Cups! Ice!" The card she held, Ace of Cups -- the water element, glowed with light as the other cards that she slapped upon Behemel's body glowed in response. Blue energy coursed across Behemel's armor and in a powerful flash, a cloud of ice obscured the scene. In a matter of seconds Behemel's body was trapped neck deep in a block of ice. His arms and legs barely stuck out as he tossed and turned his head like a madman, snarling in rage.

Even chilled by Syeena's magic, Behemel's fury still grew. As he fought his bindings, the ice began to hiss and crack, small fissures starting to form in the ice around his limbs.

"Damn..." Syeena said disappointingly, "That ice block isn't going to hold him long!"

The Drakkaren grimaced to himself as he rolled his shoulders, rubbing absently at the underside of his jaw as his mala jangled quietly around his neck, the beads rolling against his armory metallic scales before he held a hand out towards where Behemel was trapped. Energy sparked through the air with a sapphire gleam, and a moment later formed into immense, solid bands that snapped tightly shut, around him, reinforcing the grip of the heavy ice that covered the male's body as he began to walk forwards, flexing his right arm as the Enochian runes written over its length gleamed and blue fire sparked along the length of the limb. "Then for his sake I hope it holds him for long enough."

His eyes then suddenly glowed with renewed rage. For a brief moment, his whole form seemed to spark with clashing power, shining through the ice. Behemel released a mighty roar, the ice snapping more and more even against the energy cage that held him. With a violent burst, the restraints around Behemel exploded. The massive blast sent energy and ice outward, as if a bomb had gone off and threw both Syeena and Zerrex back.

Skidding to a stop, Syeena looked at Behemel with disbelief. "Believe me now when I told you he had held back before?" Syeena quipped, trying to lighten the dire mood.

Zerrex's feet dug thin trenches against the ground, his eyes narrowed as he held his hand up and swatted a large chunk of ice away before it could collide with him, flexing his other hand as he said quietly: "We all hide things, Syeena. Often dire things." He stopped, then faced the lion, flexing his fingers before he drew Blackheart off his back and tossed it to the side with only a flick of his head, and in the distance, Serenity rose a hand, the massive sword revolving violently once as it shot towards her before she caught it and easily snapped the weapon onto her own back, her swords back in her hand a moment later. A moment later, the male Drakkaren rose his hand, beckoning towards Behemel. "Come on, let's see what you can do."

Whether it was the chance to strike him without a weapon or the non verbal mock, Behemel charged forward at full speed. He tackled Zerrex hard, the sheer force causing the ground below them to form a crater. Growls rolled freely from Behemel, as if exhaustion was lost to him.

The Drakkaren's eyes sharpened and darkened as the male charged and threw himself forwards, his elbow immediately snapping upwards to crash beneath the male's chin in midair before he swung his fist down in a savage hammer blow to the skull of the lion as he sidestepped smoothly, aiming to send him crashing down on his front, the reptile metallic body glinting as he said quietly: "Get up."

The impact shakes the ground, as Behemel was struck. However almost instantly , Behemel quickly jumped back to his feet. At close range, he swung a heavy leg at Zerrex. Possessing some of his skill as a warrior, he was able to successfully counter attack. The heavy plate of his shin struck Zerrex at the side of the head.

The reptile's head snapped slightly to the side, but his expression barely changed even as he stumbled slightly to the side before slamming his knee immediately upwards into the exposed, vulnerable crotch of the lion, letting the sway of his body caused by the very strike of the male aid in directing the vicious return counter as almost mockingly shoved the lion backwards and grinned, his eyes glowing with dark delight.

Syeena gasped at the move that Zerrex made, almost dropping her cards in surprise. "Oh... that is gonna hurt," she winced.

Behemel backed off a moment, furious at the blow. Despite the moral shattering blow that would make most cry like a baby, Behemel grunted at the pain and quickly brushed it off. Having gained distance, he readied his bone scythe once again. With full intent, he leapt high into the air. The space around the scythe started to shimmer with energy, sparking off its deadly edge.

With a mighty roar, he threw the blade forth. Channeled by sheer power, lightning ripped from the scythe and struck where Zerrex stood.

The reptile only shrugged a bit, standing with his arms spread and body ready, watching the male's movements before he rose his right arm as the electricity surged towards him, the lightning striking into him... and the lizard hissing as he leaned forwards, shocks travelling along his frame as he snapped his left arm back... then roared as he tore it forwards, the electricity surging through him like a conductor as he flung the blast of lightning back at the black lion in the form of a glowing razor of electricity that was further amplified by the Drakkaren's own energies as his left hand smoldered from the power of the return fire. "Try again!"

A growl of pain tore from Behemel as the spark struck, exploding right in mid air with him. The large body of the lion fell back to the ground. Dust and earth kicked up at the impact, cloaking the whole area in smoke.

Silence crept into the battlefield as Zerrex waited for a response. Then out of the silence, a growl answered at last as the shadow of Behemel emerged. He had a look while in his berserk state, showed he was now officially pissed. At that moment, he raised his scythe high and roared out with rage. Surprisingly, he then struck the blade and base of the mighty weapon right into the ground itself.

Syeena looked shock, feeling the change under her very feet. "Zerrex get back!" she warned.

Before Zerrex knew it, with his roar, massive bony spikes started to erupt across the field in a wave. Conjured from the wicked weapon, Behemel had drove it into the ground, causing a wide range attack of bony spikes to shoot up to impale any in its way. Realizing the danger, the two quickly leapt clear as the erupting spikes shot outward.

Zerrex's jump carried him straight up some twenty feet into the air, a platform of energy forming beneath his feet before he could fall, and the Drakkaren landed on this in a runner's crouch with a cold grin before he shot forwards, seeming to charge over thin air as beneath him, sapphire energy formed into a floor, lengthening in front of him and vanishing from behind him with every step he took, the lizard's frame flexing as his eyes focused in on his target and he drew his metallic arm back, preparing to attack.

At that moment, Behemel did something Zerrex didn't expect. Watching him closely like a hunter, Behemel quickly sidestepped Zerrex. Leaving the weapon in the ground, he allowed Zerrex to run past him. Before he got too far, Behemel grabbed Zerrex with his large claw and threw him in the opposite direction. The force of the grasp threw him off as Behemel slammed him right into the ground, hard.

The reptile grunted in surprise, suddenly caught by the gesture and thrown savagely down, skidding backwards like a stone and wincing as his metallic body shrieked in protest as he passed over several rocks before quickly twisting his body, spinning around to carry himself to a crouch as he slammed both hands into the ground. "Oh good, are we finally done getting warmed up?"

Behemel then gripped his scythe and removed it out of the earth with a savage tug. As he was about to peruse Zerrex, a flash of electricity struck his face. The black beast grunted in discomfort at the gesture as his gaze came to the dragoness now nearby. Syeena dodged between stone spike to spike, tossing Tarot cards to explode and draw his attention away from Zerrex. The lion's grunt of distaste proved her action effective.

Once his attention was one, Syeena landed upon the ground. "This should soften you up!" Syeena called out drawing one of her favorite cards. In her claws, she held out the card of the dragon with the full moon and pillars in the picture. "The Moon!" With her shout, the card lit up with blinding light. Upon the light's disappearance, the air shimmered with light as now around the large behemoth was several copies of Syeena. Each one had a teasing smirk and cards in hand, being identical illusions around him.

The duplicates stunned Behemel in his rage, the several voices and motions of the illusions causing him even more frustration.

At that moment, they all started to attack. Moving in patterns, the illusions would dash around him between the spikes, tossing cards here and there around Behemel. As he would try to advance in one direction, another card would explode a small charge at his back. He moved around as if flies were swarming him, while in truth the real Syeena was using the cover between illusions to launch several attacks at once in hopes to tire him out.

After a few moments of senseless struggling, Behemel came to enough sense to realize the annoyance of the tactics. With a roar, he jumped into the air, drawing his scythe back. At that moment, he swung the vicious blade in a 360 spin, causing a massive shockwave.

The sharp edge of the blade, was felt even at a great distance as the mirages of Syeena soon shattered one after the other under the force of the air blade. The copies shouts dissolved in specks of light as each one popped out of existence as fast as they had been conjured. Caught in the blast too, the real Syeena was sent flying out the field of spikes, falling on her back and skidding backwards

She growled in aggravation of her own. Before she could curse creatively, the black shadow of Behemel against the moon caught her breath. The mighty beast was quickly upon her, his landing impacting the ground hard. He grabbed her neck with his massive claws, keeping her viciously pinned to the ground. His red eyes seethed as he slowly raised his scythe up.

"Behemel!! " She roared, her voice raised as high as a real dragon despite her disguised form. "Stop it! Don't you remember us! I am your friend! This isn't you!" At that very moment, his scythe froze in the air. His grip still absolute, his motion did in fact stop.

His muscles remained tense, as he glared down at the dragoness, her breath labored. " Behemel, think of what you're doing! Do you really want to kill me, Behemel!? Is this what you want!!?"

Then, she gasped at she looked up. Inside Behemel's gleaming red eyes, he saw them shudder. She could see the conflict in him, the real him fighting through the haze of rage that had consumed him. For a brief moment, he backed away, his grip away as he used that hand to grab his head.

A growl of pain ripped from Behemel, his paw against his head in anguish with the scythe held in the other. His rage was surging out of control, the single shred of compassion, the real Behemel enduring agony within. In the throes of pain and conflict, he went mad. He raised the scythe up once more, prepared to strike down, uncaring who or what was below.

A sapphire sphere tinged with crawling lines of malignant darkness smacked into the side of the lion's head, sizzling for a moment as it compressed slightly... and then erupted in a massive gout of flame and crackling, ruthless energy, the blast small but devastating as it sent the male crashing away from Syeena... and Zerrex grinned coldly as he walked forwards, absently wiping his wrist across his muzzle and ignoring the flecks of blood on the back of his head as he asked mildly: "Mind if I cut in?"

Syeena quickly jumped up to her feet, brushing off the fright from Behemel's mad state. "T- Thank you, Zerrex. " she said as she looked towards Behemel .

The black lion in armor gripped his head from the plasma blast, dizzying him. Through the crooks of his fingers, he glared at Zerrex furiously, his red gaze now steady in feral hatred. All his energy now surged into his muscles, the fury fueling him for one massive confrontation. Streams of the black smoke; miasma drifted off his armor. Energy crackled around him, all his strength getting ready for one massive attack upon them.

The Drakkaren glanced towards Syeena, and then he stepped forwards, spreading his arms and letting his stance fall loose, making himself an easy, large target as his eyes locked on the lion, shouting clearly: "I'm right here, come and get me! Hit me with all you got!"

Despite Zerrex's ploy, Syeena too readied herself, drawing a card to work to Zerrex's advantage. "When he comes, shield your eyes," she grunted to him.

The lizard nodded slightly to show he understood, even as he leaned forwards and shouted: "I'm waiting; come on, let's get past the foreplay already!"

The mocking tone of Zerrex set off the fuse inside Behemel like a bomb. With a furious roar, he launched himself forward. He was tearing through the air like a bullet, his scythe raised back to lop off Zerrex's head .

"I'm sorry, Behemel... " she growled in distaste. She held up a card and flung it right towards Behemel. The light of the card glowed as it was just an inch away from him. "The Sun!"

The card with a lion surrounded by a sun and dragon exploded with a powerful burst of light. IT was as if dawn had exploded right in the battlefield, searing the darkness away instantly.

Even as a powerful juggernaut, Behemel's eyes were still sensitive. He roared in aggravation, disoriented by the massive flash right in his red eyes. He fell off course, leaving himself painfully open for a brief moment.

The Drakkaren flexed and leaned backwards slightly, his features cold as he covered his eyes with his forearm as he turned head away slightly the moment he sensed more than saw Syeena moving... and even covered, he felt a blinding light bite at his closed lids. And already, even as the lion roared, his body began to move of its own accord, eyes still closed as he lunged forwards with a straight, savage blow with his left hand that struck the male squarely in the solar plexus, metal fist cracking armor like dry skin before his right hand shot upwards like a viper, spearing his first knuckles forwards into the lion's larynx and cutting off his oxygen supply.

The reptile moved like lightning as his eyes opened: his right claw had already seized the male's neck, yanking him forwards as he swung his head savagely like a weapon, crashing his skull against Behemel's before his hand swept up as the lion's head rocked backwards, seizing it and yanking it forwards again as Zerrex slammed a second savage headbutt into his skull, and then he let the male begin to stumble away before he stepped forwards into a third vicious smash of his metal skull into the lion's sensitive muzzle, almost shattering his jaw and forcing his head to snap downwards - only to be met a moment later by the reptile's knee, sending it crashing back upwards... and then both the Drakkaren's elbows descended into either side of his collarbone, nearly snapping it like a twig as the metal elbows dug like claw hammers into his body. Without hesitation, Zerrex swung his right arm around as the holy runes glowed over his arm, smashing a vicious hook across the lion's face with a sick crackle and spark of light as his left hand rose up, seizing him by the front of his armor, holding him on his knees as again and again, his fist crashed down mercilessly... and then he stood back, still half-supporting the lion by the neck of his armor, his right arm held out as the three-foot blade sprung from his wrist, his features cold and tense as he looked calmly down into his corruption-laced eyes with his own emerald irises... and then he simply shook his head before almost gently releasing him and letting him fall to the ground, letting his arms fall to his side as he breathed slowly in and out.

Syeena watched as Behemel fell to the ground motionless, and beaten up hard . She was more speechless at Zerrex's power, never seeing him so brutal in his tactics before. "I... think you got him..." she said sarcastic, restraining from shouting at him from overdoing it.

"Just making sure." Zerrex glanced absently down at his wristblade, then he flexed his arm and it retracted, slowly rolling his shoulders as he looked down at the lion and his metallic scales rippled, several popping off to tinker to the ground as the rest returned to flesh-and-blood, a slight grimace of distaste on the lizard's face and his eyes cold and serious as they looked down at the fallen lion.

The bloodied up lion was flat on his back knocked out. Blood trickled slowly from his mussel and nose. Despite the reinforced strength in his form, Zerrex had completely smashed him up, making a regular person crippled.

As he lied there, a wind began to sweep the area from the east. It eased Syeena and Zerrex as if to lift the tension. Zerrex watched in interest as the scene unfolded before him. As the breeze swept in, the blackness that had formed Behemel's armor began to dissolve. It crumbled and drifted away like smoke, slowly vaporizing off the enlarged lion. His armor and scythe slowly dissolved, fading into the wind.

As Zerrex and Syeena watched, the miasma that fueled Behemel's berserk state drifted away. In its place remained the old Behemel. His size had returned to normal, his white robes present upon him. The danger had now past as the last of the miasma disappeared into the breeze.

"Behemel..." Syeena breathed, seeing him in that state. He was as still as the dead. Worried, she quickly ran forth towards where the old Behemel lied.

The reptile glanced down over him, looking over him before his eyes roved towards were Serenity was still standing at the edge of the battleground, with barely a glance in her direction, the female quickly joined them, sheathing her swords in the chains over his back before she gently lifted Blackheart from where it was coiled in the links and held it out reverently to her father, the reptile grunting and nodding to her before his eyes roved downwards to the lion, studying him for a few moments as he spoke to Syeena: "We should probably get out of the open before we attract any undue attention, and get him taken care of. Hopefully he won't remember what happened."

"IF he is still alive..." she said in mild jest. She was afraid if Behemel died from the attack. She leaned over him, listening for any sign of life. She soon felt relief to hear the soft sounds of his heartbeat and breath through his damaged mussel.

"Don't worry, I wasn't trying to kill him." Zerrex said softly, giving a slight smile: for the first time it was clear how rarely his smiles ever reached his emerald eyes, as he glanced to Serenity and said gently: "Scout around for us, find me when you're done. If you see any demons that are alone... give them a reason to leave."

"Sir." Serenity said crisply, saluting for a moment, and she gave Syeena glance and a short nod before turning and heading quickly on her way, professional and calm as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, Syeena drew out one of her cards. The card was The Star, a image of a blue dragon at a lake with a urn of water pouring into the lake, as it gazed upon a starry sky above. With the card in hand, it glowed gently as she held it upon Behemel's smashed face. Under the glow, the minor injuries slowly healed, easing his pain as he slept.

"We need to get him inside... Your gonna have to carry him to the Inn," she insisted, gesturing to Zerrex.

The Drakkaren nodded after a moment, sliding Blackheart into place on his back as it gave a crackle of blue energy before he knelt and carefully slid his arms beneath the lion's form, hefting him with a grunt as he glanced towards Syeena and nodded to her. "Lead the way."

As Zerrex lifted Behemel easily in his arms, Syeena quickly led them back towards the town, now with men recovering from the massive demon attack and regaining a sense of order in the otherwise quiet town.

***

His mind drifted back and forth between darkness and chaos. Screams, pain and memories from his past blurred as he growled in fitful sleep. His mind for a brief moment returned to his village, the plains and huts all in flames as he heard the shouts and pleas of his people. In his present state, he wanted nothing more than to charge in and defend them, instead of being paralyzed in the subconscious state. He tried in vain, his limbs numb in his dream. Soon the village blended to the underworld, the same screams still echoing as he observed through the flames. The image that greeted him, cleaving through demons in a frenzied rage was himself, the black lion with eyes as red as balefire.

Terror gripped Behemel as he shot up from his sleep with a shout. He instantly conjured Chronos upon instinct, tight in his grip as he sat up in fright. He froze the moment he could as he was greeted to the sight of a surprised Syeena. The green dragoness sat on the side of the bed, surprised by his sudden emergence from his sleep. The scythe was a few inches away from her neck, halted just in time. Behemel's limbs froze, seeing the dragoness at his side, realizing he almost attacked his dear friend.

After a little moment of silence, Syeena gave him a small smile. " Now, now, " she whispered softly, a hand calmly coming to rest on his own clenched paw. "You don't want to kill me twice in one night, do you?" Her voice shared more jest than truth as she eased the lion's anxiety.

Behemel's eyes blinked, realize the nightmare was only that. Guilt stung his heart as he slowly moved the scythe away from Syeena, it dissolving in his grasp soon after. As it vanished, Syeena gently placed her other hand upon his chest, insisting him back to lie down on the bed. They were inside the room of the inn Syeena and Behemel had been at since they arrived in the village. Lying in the bed, Behemel released an exhausted sigh, finally feeling a physical ache in his body.

"Syeena..." he huffed, his body aching all over. "I-I am so sorry... "

"Shhh," she hissed, scooting over further up the bed so she sat closer to where Behemel rested. "It's alright. I know. Rest now... you are safe."

"How long... was I asleep?" Behemel asked, resting his head on the pillow.

"Not long. Its nearly morning now."

"And...the village?"

Syeena smiled. "The damage was kept to a minimum. Few casualties-- thanks to Zerrex, and me."

A brief smile curled on Behemel's mussel as he looked up to Syeena. "I am grateful then... thank you," he said.

"Don't pay mind to it. Right now, you need to rest. You had your share, trust me. You did a better job scaring those demons than we did.," Syeena said, trying to coax the lion into a more cheerful mood. However his expression of sadness remained on his face.

Behemel was quiet for a moment, his gaze sad as he was in deep thought. "It happened again, didn't it?" he asked plainly, causing Syeena to react just a bit.

"Um... what?" She played dumb, patting Behemel's arm. "What are you talking about?"

The lion gave Syeena a piercing glance, seeing the truth in her eyes. "Syeena, I know what happened. I lost control, didn't I?" he asked, his voice pained with regret. "You had to fight me, didn't you?"

Syeena fell silent for a bit, unable to answer. Unable to lie, Syeena turned to Behemel. "Yeah... We did," she answered.

Behemel closed his eyes, a heavy sigh escaping him. "You should of killed me when you had the chance," he spoke, despising himself. "I became what I feared... I am so sorry..."

"No, Behemel!" Syeena insisted, leaning over him insistently. "You aren't at fault here. You weren't yourself."

"But it is a part of me," he stated, knowing what became of him. "All I remember, was the seething rage. My anguish that my tribe's fate was to be repeated. I felt nothing but fury. Just like before..."

At that moment, Syeena scooted up right beside where Behemel's head rested. She softly held the lion's head and gently leaned him against her breast, her head resting over his. "It were reliving your past, weren't you? When you blacked out?" she asked, petting his fur as her heart felt for him. "Please, tell me Behemel. Don't bottle it in any longer."

The lion growled softly in detest at the thought. "I dreamt of the day I became the Beast of Pandemonium. I was lost in the pain and anguish that came from fighting demonic gladiators without end. With what ounce of will I had left, I prayed to the gods to spare me from that horrid fate. And they answered. When the Spirit Arm Chronos came to me, I was moments from becoming a demon. At that moment, I lost myself to rage. With Chronos, I slew hundreds in a single stroke, while under the influence of demonic bloodlust. " A tear dripped down his eye, his pain sinking in his heart. "I didn't stop... I couldn't stop. When I finally came to, I had emerged to the surface. Though I finally saw sunlight again after all those years, I knew well of the death and destruction I left behind me. The Beast of Pandemonium is the brand of a monster... one I never wished to bare. It was exactly what they wanted to turn me into. "

Syeena held him close, listening intently as she felt his breathing against her chest. He too could hear Syeena's heartbeat, and it oddly soothed him. "Don't you dare think of it, Behemel..." Syeena assured him, her heart aching for him. "I know you long enough to know you are anything but a monster. I never met a male so selfless and that never hesitate to do good. I truly doubt the gods would bestow you with their powers as a Spiritualist if you were anything but a good person."

As Syeena shifted a bit to hug Behemel closer,, he let out a pained growl as she hugged a bit too tight, agitating his wounds. She quickly let go as she realized her error. "Oh! Sorry..." she said, slowly resting Behemel back onto his pillow.

Behemel looked up at her, smiling softly at her. "You're touch is worth the pain," he teased lightly, chuckling at her. She responded with a coy smile, happy to see him in mildly better spirits.

At that time, a knock came at the door. Before Syeena could answer, the door of the room open to reveal Zerrex and Serenity at his side.

The male leaned into the room, glancing towards the two and then raising a hand with a bit of a smile, stepping inside and saying quietly: "Thought I heard voices... figured I'd stop in and see how you were holding up, Behemel." He paused as Serenity stepped in after him, the female quietly closing the door and silently leaning back against it as the male stepped forwards, glancing towards the dragoness. "Syeena's been taking good care of you while you were out, you'll be happy to know."

Behemel sat up a bit, suspended on a sore elbow to face Zerrex. "Syeena said you helped save the village," he said, more in a asking tone than a statement

"I beat stuff up, that's kind of what I do." Zerrex shrugged and laughed quietly, reaching back and squeezing the handle of his heavy sword. "This thing just ain't for show, after all. Syeena and Serenity did more than me, though, really."

Behemel could tell the air of modesty in his tone. He gave a reluctant sigh. " Thank you."

As Behemel tried to sit up more, pain immediately answered his efforts to his neck and sides. In response, Syeena quickly held her claw upon his chest and gently pushed him back to bed. "Oh no you don't!" the dragoness ordered, "You are not getting out of this bed for a while there, hon. You still have some recovering to do."

"Yeah, don't rush it now. We've got time on our side... at least I hope we do for once." Zerrex nodded after a moment as he stepped forwards, glancing down over the lion with a soft laugh. "Just concentrate on getting better for now, and recovering your strength."

As Zerrex talked, Syeena took out the Star Card again, using the delicate light to slowly mend Behemel's wounded mussel and abdomen, surprising Behemel to see Syeena with that kind of power.

"You can use healing magic?" Behemel asked with amusement and surprise. "You have good bedside manner."

Syeena at that point resisted the urge to elbow Behemel, afraid she might actually reopen a wound even with the joking intent of the act.

"Well, I'm only glad she's full of good surprises like that myself." Zerrex smiled slightly at the female, then he glanced towards Serenity, asking mildly: "Why can't you be full of good surprises?"

Serenity only favored him with a dour look in return for a moment before she said calmly: "The situation seems to have normalized for the moment, but we shouldn't relax too much yet, Zerrex. I doubt this will be the end of it. Other, possibly worse confrontations may loom."

"Such a ray of sunshine." Zerrex said dryly, and then he winced away from her when she favored him with a sour look. "Okay okay, point taken."

"I'll have to agree with Zerrex there," Syeena teased as she finished her healing and stood up from the bed. "I think we all need a little time to recover before we think about threats that loom out of site. Fate will reveal that in due time. "

At that time she slowly strode over towards Zerrex and Serenity. "You know, Serenity, I'd very much like to talk to you more. Now that we have the time to breathe. Care to share a drink downstairs?"

Serenity shrugged and glanced at Zerrex, and when the Drakkaren nodded and smiled to her, she grunted after a moment, saying mildly: "Very well. Are you coming, Zerrex?"

The reptile glanced towards the lion, and then he nodded after a moment, saying softly: "Sounds good. Get some rest, Behemel, you look like you could use the sleep."

Syeena then stepped in between Serenity, and Zerrex. "Actually, I hoped maybe Serenity and I can spend the time... you know just us girls. " She had a sly grin as she slapped Zerrex on the shoulder hard, obviously hinting something. "Why don't you stay and keep an eye on Behemel. You know, try to mend some bridges, sort of speak" she whispered the last part to him, as he eyed her with a leer of his own.

With a mischievous wink, Syeena said her goodbyes to Behemel and Zerrex with Serenity by her side. As the two girls left, Syeena closed the door behind them, leaving the two males in the room in a long silence.

The Drakkaren leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms and looking down at the lion, studying him for a few moments before offering a bit of an awkward smile. "Well, I'm glad you're still in one piece, Behemel. Soon enough I'm sure you'll be up walking around again, and we'll be back to arguing and pestering each other."

Behemel mustered up the strength for a soft growl of irritation. "Your bedside manner sucks, you know that? " he said in mild jest.

"Well, yes." Zerrex stepped forwards, reaching down to squeeze the lion's shoulder lightly. "But that's why I'm not a doctor. Just the guy who beats on things."

Behemel let a chuckle escape him as he though. Now finally thinking in a calm state, he could sense the lizard's friendly nature. He hesitated for a moment, before he finally spoke. "So you want to say it first or should I?"

The reptile shrugged a bit, saying quietly: "Well, only if you gotta. What's to say? The past is the past, let it lay where it will, rest as it does." He paused meditatively, glancing down musingly. "Might throw everything off for you to admit you were wrong and I was right, too."

Behemel stabbed a sarcastic gaze at Zerrex. "You got a point there. Though..." He paused, not wanting to bottle up being true to his friend. "I am sorry for how I reacted to you... I didn't know what to think of your relationship with the underworld. I misjudged you. "

"It's alright. We've both made mistakes." The reptile nodded and laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his head. "I probably should have mentioned Sabnock at some point myself, after all. Or at least that I've been around the block or once or twice." He paused, then added meditatively: "Not that. You know. I'm going to suddenly become a wellspring of helpful information. I've never exactly been good at being forthcoming. But... I will at least try from now on, at least to answer one or two questions a day or something. Small steps."

Behemel chuckled, seeing this was indeed a challenge for Zerrex. "Don't strain yourself, buddy. You are not used to so much confession," he laughed, but thankful for his honesty. "You're a good soul, Zerrex. "

"I just am what I am, that's all." Zerrex laughed softly again, leaning back a bit and shrugging. "Besides, if anyone seems to be the good soul around here, I suppose you're the one that falls most into that category of all of us."

The smile on Behemel's mussel was now clearly visible, his soul now feeling more at peace since when he first awoke. Slowly he raised his paw out, despite his aching limbs. "Zerrex... one more thing."

The reptile glanced down at him, cocking his head curiously. "Yeah?"

"Thank you... " Behemel answered, his paw raised for his, "for saving me from my darkness."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The reptile smiled and reached forwards, taking it and shaking slowly. "The only person who can save us from the shadows within, is ourselves, even if other people... lend a hand."

His grip tightened as they shook hands, their friendship strong between them with their grip.

****

The chaos ended with the rising dawn as citizens began to rebuild the town. Men were fixing buildings and pushing debris out from the streets, cleaning up the damage caused by the demons the night before. In the sleepy Tavern, with hardly any patrons about, Syeena and Serenity sat at a table sharing a few steins of mulled cider, and chatting to get to know each other better. Yawning, Zerrex entered, stretching his arms as he greeted the ladies.

"Did you check in on Behemel this morning?" the Drakkaren asked Syeena curiously as he sat down, and he paused as he glanced towards Serenity as she calmly polished her silver sword, focused and businesslike as always. "You see anything on the patrol I'm somehow sure you did this morning?"

"Nothing to report, as I was just mentioning to Syeena." Serenity replied quietly, shaking her head quickly. "The residue is fading, any surviving demons have long scattered or returned to Hell. It could have been much worse."

Syeena sipped at her drink. "I healed the last of Behemel's wounds, so now he just needs to get his energy back. He should be as good as new in a day or so." she mentioned, putting down the drink as she thought. "It could of been much worse, but they were mostly keen to try and take Behemel down. I still don't know why though..."

"Everything in due time. I'm just glad to hear he's alright, then." Zerrex nodded after a moment, reaching up and absently pulling his mala out from beneath his shirt, playing through the beads meditatively with his fingers. "We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open though... last thing we need is to run into another ambush like this. I'm sick of always being ambushed, I want to ambush someone else for a change of pace."

"How do you ambush someone when you don't know who that someone is?" Syeena quipped, leaning her chair back and putting her boots on the table. "And I doubt that demonic tiger we saw was the real ring leader. What was his name...?"

"Alister..." a voice growled from the back of the room. They turned to find Behemel coming down the stairwell slowly, supporting himself by his left arm.

"Up on your feet already, huh? You're almost as bad as me." Zerrex smiled a little, kicking out a chair for the lion as he leaned forwards, resting on his arms. "You look like you should still be in bed, though, sleeping in for once. We've got the time. At least, I think we do."

Syeena immediately got out of her chair and grabbed hold of Behemel, in truth he was still recovering. Behemel growled in frustration. "You're right Syeena... Alister is by far a mastermind. Best way to view him is a mercenary. "

"So you know who he is?" The reptile asked curiously, tilting his head towards him as Serenity glanced up, her eyes studying the lion.

Reluctant, Syeena dragged Behemel over to a chair, and sat him down. "Hey!" she said strongly, shaking him a bit. "Take it easy!"

Behemel sighed as he thought. "Alister was one of the few mortal warriors who trained and fought in Pandemonium's Coliseum with me. While I was there against my will, he embraced the taint of demonic corruption. He is shameless, and without honor, " he explained as he glanced at the floor in thought. "And that was just a copy of him. No... someone was supporting him."

The reptile nodded a bit, making a bit of a face. "Wunderbar. But..." He paused, then absently squeezed his mala as Serenity looked up, nodding to her. She stepped calmly away, and the reptile glanced to the side, bowing his head with a slight smile as a familiar face calmly rounded the corner towards their table, striding past Serenity as they gave only a hint of acknowledgement towards each other before the wolverine sat herself silently down at the table. Zerrex's daughter stood quiet sentinel as Sabnock looked back and forth over them, serious and calm, her pocket watch in one hand as she glanced down at this as Zerrex said mildly: "Not like you to be so direct."

"Difficult times call for different approaches, Zerrex, as you know well yourself. Besides, they obviously know of my presence, there is no need to conceal myself, and my being here will go mostly unnoticed except by the recklessly observant." Sabnock replied quietly, and then she glanced towards Syeena and Behemel, studying them both before turning her full gaze on the lion. "It would seem that you are in danger."

Behemel did his best to keep his growl as quiet as possible from the wolverine devil. "How long have you been here?" he asked, in a calm but cold tone.

"Rest assured, I have only just arrived." Sabnock replied calmly, nodding towards him as she closed her watch and slid it back into her pocket, glancing quietly towards Zerrex as the reptile smiled a little. "I was requested to ensure on the safety and status of yourself by your family, but as these events here and in Hell worsen, I must also further concern myself with your well being as well. I am relieved to see that you are recovering from your ordeal." She paused, her features almost expressionless in their seriousness, her tone and eyes betraying nothing as they returned towards Zerrex. "Perhaps you should think about increasing your security detail."

"Perhaps you should remember that bringing someone like say, Cherry, up here, will result in utter disaster." Zerrex retorted, then he pointed childishly at Serenity. "She already ruins all my goddamn fun."

"Considering your sense of amusement, I believe this is for the best." Sabnock replied calmly, and Zerrex grumbled at her back, crossing his arms sourly.

A sigh escaped Behemel as he looked to Sobnock. "Excuse me, I need to ask you something. Forgive my lack of courtesy, but do you have any idea who is responsible for the attack on this town." he growled, his blood heated a little in sorrow for those who did lose their lives in the attack.

"If I did, I would not be here. We would have already moved to deal with the difficulties in Hell." Sabnock replied calmly, unfettered as she nodded, and Zerrex glanced up curiously, the wolverine seeming to sense this and speaking to him as well as Behemel as she laced her fingers together on the table, even as her eyes remained on the lion's. "There are factions of Hell that do not understand our purpose, nor do they understand the balance of the world. We are in the process of gathering information now, and I will share with you everything I can on this process as it becomes available. Even simple analysis dictates that there is a greater agenda here than simple chaos, however... and perhaps it is you who can help me by telling me more of what you recall about this Alistair, in order for me to better aid you."

"It's like I told Zerrex," Behemel explained again, "Alister was a mortal warrior who gave in and became drunk by demonic power. He willfully became what he is now to become stronger and more ruthless. He and I were forced into the same torture, training and contests in the coliseum where I been prisoner for nearly 8 years!"

Sabnock nodded after a moment, then she simply flicked her wrist, and a black notebook appeared in it before she produced a fountain pen from her pocket, opening it and flicking quickly through to a blank page. As she penned notes, Zerrex glanced over at her and asked quietly: "And the simulacrum and other problems? Sabnock, I'm not exactly at... one hundred percent right now, and gods forbid if they piece together a simulacrum of something like Jupiter..."

"We will not permit it to happen. Have faith in that, Zerrex. Besides, Jupiter was a Broken, creation of such a simulacrum would require the abilities of a particular god." Sabnock glacned towards the male, then she closed the notebook and returned her eyes to Behemel, asking calmly: "Do you wish to requisition anything? I can offer bodyguards, armament, magical implements, other tools. On not only my behalf, but other vested interests in Hell."

"Remind me again why hell would give a rat's ass about the welfare of our world?" Behemel said with a bit of a sharp tongue.

"Behemel!" Syeena spoke up, her tone offended by his rude reply.

Sabnock only gave a small, dry smile in return, and then she said quietly: "The Reapers have a saying. 'All are Different, until they are the Same.' Hell, Heaven, and this world all require energy to survive, and a constant passage of souls. We are all in balance: souls, spiritual energy, and much else moves back and forth. Darkness and light move and sway in balance, and at the end of the day, we are not so different. Just like you, one day my physical body will deteriorate into dust, my soul will leave this physical, ancient shell." Sabnock glanced down, saying softly: "The Reapers will take back their own. The soul itself, one day, will break down into energy... energy that will feed the universe, the worlds we live in. If one of us destroys the other, Behemel, the balance between our trinity of physical and metaphysical will collapse. Without Hell, without demons, evil and tainted souls will populate and flood your world, choking it of the light that you serve and desire, flooding to Heaven. Without a physical world, there will be no more souls coming to Hell. There will be no more sinners or saviors, there will be no more energy flow. The circuit will be broken, and the world will become as ashes in the wind.

Behemel thought long about her words, realizing there was truth to what she said. "Then I apologize for my rashness to you... Lady Sabnock... but you understand, why I am angry about these tragedies done by demons' hands. I want justice served for the crimes done by them, by your hands or mine and preventing them from befalling others. I hope you can understand that."

The wolverine nodded, saying quietly: "And this task will be accomplished so long as we work together. Lord Zerrex, I would suggest increasing your personal guard."

"Sabnock, I would suggest learning to... make facial expressions." Zerrex retorted after a moment, and Sabnock sighed and gave him a tired look, the reptile crossing his arms and grimacing a bit. "honestly though, it's not that bad. At least... not yet. What makes you so worried, though?"

"Apart from your current condition?" Sabnock asked calmly, and Zerrex loudly cleared his throat and kicked her chair under the table, but the Ice Devil only continued to look at him pointedly for a moment before she shook her head. "These aggressors are not moving with raw passion and power. They are planning, mobilizing for something. It is concerning."

At that point, Behemel spoke up again. "With all due respect, Lady Sabnock, but with the threat of attacks on my head as well as Zerrex, isn't it more perilous to travel with larger groups of security? If we want to evade these attempts, it make more sense to be small and fast moving in terms of numbers. More security, even with your best intentions can hinder us more."

Behemel then grinned a bit at Zerrex. "Besides, I think we both know how he feels about stiff security. Not applying to you Serenity." he added.

Sabnock nodded, and Zerrex took the opportunity to lean over and say clearly to Serenity where she stood: "You hear that? That means you should go. Go far away."

The female only grumbled under her breath, glaring over her shoulder at him and saying irritably: "Everyone else lets you do whatever you please, Zerrex. I'm not going anywhere until I'm recalled to the Estate, and even then I'll have another Iuratus replace me. A responsible Iuratus, not someone who will aid you in making mischief."

"Anyway," Behemel said, slowly standing up from his chair. "We don't plan to stay here much longer than necessary."

"When he is ready to leave, he means, "Syeena spoke up, patting Behemel's arm.

Sabnock nodded, then she stood up and said calmly: "Then I shall take my own leave and return to Hell. Oh, Lord Zerrex." She glanced over at him, and the Drakkaren winced a little, shrinking back in his chair even as she only looked at him mildly. "I was told to deliver a very threatening message to you from council, but I see this is unnecessary. But please, try and take care of yourself and do

not strain your body. If we reach a critical juncture, it would be preferable that you do not die."

"Thanks Sabnock, poetic as ever." Zerrex said softly, and then he straightened and smiled at her, and she nodded, giving the smallest of smiles in return before simply turning and heading past Serenity, slipping quietly away through the bar without another word.

"Wait Sabnock!" Behemel insisted, hoping for one more word.

The Ice Devil paused before she reached the door, glancing over her shoulder calmly as her hand rested on the knob, unfettered by the stares from the few others present in the tavern.

"Thank you... for your help," he admitted. bowing his head towards the devil sincerely. "If you may, is there a way we can contact you in the future?"

Sabnock nodded, then said quietly: "Zerrex can contact me when he wishes, as well as many other contacts. Zerrex, I would recommend you actually share your wealth of information for once."

"I'll try." Zerrex said finally, and then he rose a hand to her, and she nodded courteously one last time before pushing out and vanishing through the door. Then the reptile paused and leaned back, rubbing at his head and muttering: "Well, at least they didn't drag me off to fight another Broken."

"And for you," Syeena chimed in. At that moment, she pulled hard on Behemel's arm, forcing him to get up with a growl of mild exhaustion. "You are going back to bed or so help me, I will weigh you down with sandbags. "

"Got to love her bedside manner, don't cha Zerrex?" Behemel grumbled a bit as he slowly got to his feet.

"Better than mine, at least." Zerrex shrugged amiably as he smiled a little at him, adding quietly: "Besides, she's right. You need your rest for now, to recuperate after everything that's happened, and to settle your mind."

Syeena smirked at Zerrex. "You have any aches?" she asked coyly, "I'll see what I can do later then."

The reptile leaned back and crossed his arms, winking at her. "I'll be looking forwards to it, then. Serenity, go get us some coffee, then we can sit-rep while Syeena takes care of Behemel."

Serenity nodded at this, saluting sharply as if it was an official order before approaching the counter, and Zerrex rolled his eyes and shook his head a bit as he said in a softly-amused voice: "Kids."

With a roll of his eyes, Behemel made his way back upstairs to rest. As the day went on, a sense of ease came to the four adventurers as they survived the attack that befell upon them that night. However, one thing was for certain. They won the battle, but a new war was soon to come.