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Roughly seven seconds after he'd closed his eyes, Zerrex rocked hard on the spot and grunted in surprise, his eyes widening as grabbed his chest with one hand, the other reaching back to steady himself as lowered his muzzle and snarled a bit to himself. Then he let out a long, slow breath, as he tilted his head back and gazed up at the ceiling, emerald eyes flickering.

Drake was observing him curiously... and the Drakkaren made a bit of a face before he sighed and shook his head a bit, brushing his ivory hair back carefully as he grabbed his cola and took a deep drink that finished the contents in the can. Then he sighed again and tossed this onto his tray, muttering under his breath: "That's certainly one story behind Narrius."

Don't tell me you believe it. Drake said mildly, sounding somewhat surprised. It's only a story. A... philosophical journey into the mindset of our beloved, devoted, bastard Patriarch, likely written by politicians and cultural experts more than some creative digging from a bunch of dorky clones.

"Narrius's age is unknown. Even when... back in the past, when I was a kid, I never knew how old he was, and Celestial... my mom... never - I mean, likely didn't either..." Zerrex muttered, shaking his head quickly again before straightening and rubbing at his skull: it was aching pretty bad, both with stress from... everything and also from Drake's little bit of visual storytime. He sighed and shook his head slowly, then sat back a bit and glanced down at his empty tray thoughtfully.

"So do you have any other little bits or pieces of information for me? How many legends are there about... my family?" Zerrex finished after a moment. He felt confused and tired... and the fact that here, the Narrius family name was still considered royalty after seven and some years of mindless war under the leadership of Patriarch Narrius himself... it was almost lunacy to him. In any other government, he would have been overthrown long ago... but he'd managed to use not only the monarchial style of government to his advantage, but the very culture of Hez'Ranna: the good, right ideals of not backing out, never giving up, not betraying the leader... they had all turned against them. That, and likely the fear that Narrius inspired just by walking into a room in all of his inner circle...

Zerrex snorted quietly at this, shaking his head in disgust. Any world ruled through fear and terror crumbled from within too fast for his liking... but Narrius wasn't interested in holding any pieces together, which was likely why he was so difficult to deal with as an opponent. Narrius didn't want to rule a happy, prosperous kingdom... he wanted to prove that he was the king of the hill in a game of destruction, that he would and could kill anyone and everyone that got in his way... and that the world, to him, was little more than a material playground, with people as his toys. Narrius wanted destruction and death, and didn't even understand topics like the economy, or politics, or religion; he only knew them as tools to move and motivate people with.

The reptile sighed and looked down quietly, feeling a faint bit of shame worm its way into him. After all... it wasn't like he understood those things either, and he knew in some ways he was just as bad, as dark, as cruel, as his biological father; and in other ways, he was worse. He hated himself for it... for the tricks of manipulation he'd picked up, for the dark, violent core of his being, for the way he bathed in blood and lust. The latter, of course, was his own personal hell and private playground... Narrius's interests didn't lay in such mundane things as rape and sex and murder, but in far broader ideas like the current apocalypse he was successfully bestowing upon the world.

Worst of all, the Drakkaren didn't want to admit to himself, and especially not to the others, the deep truth of the matter... that the war might in fact be completely and utterly hopeless. That there might not be a way to destroy Narrius's ambitions... that he might still not have played his full hand, and was hiding some secret weapon of mass destruction up his sleeve. No, that was too pathetic, too vulgar and gross a term for a trump card of Narrius's... and not enough to cover the destruction it would likely be able to lay waste to the world with. Zerrex knew that with the technology, researchers and power currently in the Patriarch's hands, he could very well build a new Pandora's Box, or summon up the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse... or perhaps just drag a meteor into the earth or drop a nuclear bomb into the world's core.

"No, those are all too theatrical for him." Zerrex muttered. "He prefers something with guaranteed success... like this Godsmite thing..."

Godsmite... that, of course, wasn't the source of a lot of good thoughts in Zerrex's head either. After all, even with Mengele dead, he'd probably only delayed the development of the virus or gas or whatever the hell the genetic agent was that was apparently programmed to kill them all... despite Mengele's cocky attitude, the Drakkaren knew that he wasn't the only person capable of developing the formula, especially with most of the genetic coding for the virus already written... he just would've been the one who could have finished it off fastest.

Which meant that the war had to be ended soon... but in order to do that, first they'd need to locate and kill Narrius, since he knew they didn't have the military strength to push back his forces. The Drakkaren reached down and touched the cell phone, sitting on the little holster that had formed for it... then he sighed and drew his hand away. As much as he'd like to, it would be pointless and probably just irritating for him to call up Huck and Albatross and ask if they had any news on Narrius or his whereabouts...

So instead, Zerrex decided to do the next best thing... and that would be to get some sleep. He sighed, shaking his head slowly and picking up his tray to dump the crap off it in the nearest garbage can... and a few minutes later, he was walking back down the halls towards his private quarters.

Again, he found himself taking ridiculously long to get past camped-out soldiers, most of them clones... and when he finally got to his room, he realized how utterly exhausted he was. Without even realizing what was happening, Drake's energy withdrew into his own body, leaving him naked and the cell phone falling with a quiet, missed muffled thud against the ground.

He yawned as he crawled into bed beside Marina - curled up and quietly snoring away - then he dropped his head on the pillow and, within a few moments, found himself drifting off into sleep.

His sleep, however, was not dreamless... and once more, he found himself stepping into the world of his mind. He frowned a bit as he looked slowly back and forth... before a voice murmured softly: "Well, well, here we are again."

The Drakkaren turned, finding himself facing Drake... the dark nephilim standing with his arms crossed, white, glowing hair floating around his head as he tilted his muzzle upwards with a bit of an arrogant glare, his eyes dark and focused as he looked across at Zerrex. Zerrex looked back with his frown deepening, and then Drake snorted and grinned a bit, spreading his arms as the world changed around them to become a cold, desolate desert of cement, the dark nephilm saying mildly: "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Zerrex. But I guess we're going to keep going on that negative foot, because I'm afraid I've got to ask you to meet me again in a little duel."

"What the hell are you talking about? Didn't I kick your ass enough the first time?" The Drakkaren asked, looking irritated as he narrowed his eyes and flexed his fingers. "By the way, Drake... if you try and take over my mind again... I will wipe you out of existence once I wake up..."

"No, you misunderstand." The dark nephilim rose his hands, wincing, and Zerrex paused for a moment, glancing over the creature curiously. Drake was apparently trying to find the proper words for whatever he was trying to ask, then he finally managed out slowly, with a wince of distaste: "I need... you to help me."

Zerrex relaxed a bit, but he stayed on guard, keeping an eye on Drake's shadow, which was twitching back and forth strangely. "What the hell are you talking about? Just say it..." He paused and added with a slight grin. "Dirty as it sounds, you've been inside me for seven and some years now... I guess that means you got some pretty good endurance, too, huh?"

"I hate you." Drake said morbidly, rolling his eyes and sighing as his face twitched a bit, then he crossed his arms and finally said mildly, averting his eyes from the lizard's: "I've absorbed a lot of energy recently. Aftermath, overload from the souls you took into your body, energy from all the death you've left in your path and of course, from all the violent acts you've been committing and the fighting in general. However, in order for me to better utilize this energy, I need to visualize it and what I want to do with it... and that's easier to do in this world."

"You're almost stuttering." Zerrex's grin spread a bit wider though, to Drake's obvious distaste as the Drakkaren rested back against a small hut that came into being, and the Drakkaren felt proud of himself for having mastered the ability to control the terrain in his own mind. "So basically what you're asking... is you want to have a sparring and training session with me, and you want to develop combat techniques at the same time and better learn to focus your energies. And you're half implying you want me to teach you them. I'm touched Drake, really... so when are you gonna send me the bouquet of roses and chocolates, or is this just a soon-to-pass crush-on-teacher kinda phase?"

"I hate you. So very, very much." Drake repeated stubbornly, his eye twitching, but Zerrex laughed when the dark nephilim adjusted the collar of his suit with a disgusted look, displaying a flicker of discomfort before he asked sharply: "So are you going to help me or not, you... fuck?"

"Out of names to call me already?" Zerrex asked, looking entertained, and Drake flipped him off before he snorted. "I think you picked up too much from Lone. But alright..." He paused and mused a bit, before tilting his head and asking idly: "So how exactly do you want to work this? Are we going to practice your current known techniques with you against me, since in this realm you can stay in... well..." he paused and rubbed his head. "I guess it's not physical... and technically not tangible, either, but we'll go with that... er, anyway, so are we going to do that first, and then move into developing techniques, maybe sparring or helping each other out, and then you combining with me in this world and doin' stuff like that? Or what do you have in mind?"

Drake looked at him with surprise, blinking a few times, then he rubbed his head slowly. "Alright. That was a bit easier than I thought it would be..." He paused before meeting Zerrex's eyes with his own and asking in a suspicious voice: "Why are you doing this for me, though?"

The Drakkaren looked across at Drake curiously... then he smiled a bit and glanced down, putting his hands in the pockets of a pair of uniform pants that appeared on his lower body. "We might not like it... but we're partners, for better or worse. And yeah, I don't like trusting you, because you've lied to me in the past and I know that you're going to continue to lie to me, if it suits your ends." He halted for a few moments, then rubbed the back of his head slowly. "But for as long as we work together... we might as well act our roles and deal with this whole creepy symbiosis bullshit. Gay as it is." He paused and grinned a bit, winking across at Drake. "Literally, I mean."

"You're a bastard." Drake responded, but he was smiling a bit in return, and even looked a bit more relaxed, nodding slowly as he polished his claws against his suit jacket, then reached down and undid the cuffs. "But I appreciate that... I do appreciate that..." He stopped, and added quietly: "Thank you."

"My pleasure." Zerrex replied, toning his grin down to a slight smile, before he straightened and flicked his hands up to a ready position, sliding one leg back as he narrowed his eyes and added mildly: "So are we going to get down to business, or just keep chatting?"

"Fine, fine." The dark nephilim grinned a bit, straightening as his suit vanished and dark energy wreathed over his body. "But I won't be holding back, Lord Zerrex. So don't take it personally."

"I'd only be insulted if you didn't go your best." The Drakkaren replied easily, before he grinned and jumped backwards from a hand reaching out of Drake's shadow, which had rolled towards him while the dark nephilim had been speaking.

The dark creature grinned, then nodded and charged forwards, his shadow rolling along the ground as his feet slapped against the ground, before he snapped a hand forwards, a string of black energy wrapping tightly around the Drakkaren and binding him, arms squeezed against his body as his eyes widened and Drake transformed his other hand into a long, deadly lance, stabbing it viciously forwards and through Zerrex's chest.

The Drakkaren winced in pain, but the shock to his body was still startling, to say the least; he struggled a bit against the tight bind, then said irritably as Drake glared at him: "You know, this is great and all... but pretty simple."

"Bite me." Drake snorted and drew the lance back, while at the same time shifting his limb back to the form of a normal hand, and allowing the energy coil to vanish from around Zerrex. "If you're not going to fight, this is going to be pointless."

"I was just letting you boost up your morale, that's all." Zerrex said lamely, then he coughed and rubbed the back of his head, half turning as Drake groaned and rolled his eyes... then let out a grunt as the Drakkaren suddenly spun, slamming an elbow into the dark nephilim's gut before slamming him under the chin with a rising palm from his other hand, adding triumphantly: "Never let down your guard in a battle!"

Drake's body, however, refused to lift into the air: instead, he sprawled backwards, all manner of dark strings and energy connecting from his body to the shadow, before he splashed down and splattered against the ground, sending up a geyser of dark energy before it suddenly twisted into a cyclone and reformed into Drake, who glared at the reptile with a cold grin. "That's more like the feared Boss... let's play, then."

He paused, then leapt forwards suddenly, bringing his other arm up and reaching forwards as his limb stretched outwards ridiculously, thickening at the same time as his hand expanded as well and attempted to seize the Drakkaren. Zerrex easily leapt to the side, avoiding this without much of a flinch... before the fingers suddenly bent backwards and clawed towards the lizard again, attempting to seize him tightly in their grips.

Immediately, Zerrex dropped, wincing as his legs spread completely in a split and he pressed his chest flat against the ground. The hand passed only inches above him... and then Zerrex pushed his own against the ground, rolling forwards and shoving off the flat ground, performing a front flip and landing easily on his feet.

He leapt forwards... and then grinned as Drake's arm continued to curl around towards him, before exploding from the elbow into dark tentacles, tendrils of energy snapping forwards eagerly towards the reptile as his forearm dissolved. Immediately, Zerrex tensed himself against the ground, concentrating and holding out a hand... and Blackheart appeared in it before the reptile stepped forwards, snapping his sword hard forwards in a vicious double slash, cutting apart the reaching tendrils and forcing them backwards as Drake snarled furiously.

A moment later, his arm reformed as the tentacles of darkness vanished... then the dark nephilim slammed a foot down, and spikes of dark energy shot up out of the ground around the Drakkaren, Zerrex covering his face with his arms and staggering backwards as several of the long spikes of energy ripped through his body, stunning him for a moment, before he felt himself thrown into the air as Drake dropped to the ground and slammed a fist into the earth, sending up a dark geyser that hurtled the reptile high.

He felt his body spasm, his eyes clenching shut as he flipped several times, before spinning to regain his moment as Drake lashed a chain of dark energy up towards him... and the reptile responded by hurtling the sword at the dark nephilim. To Drake's shock, the blade slashed easily through his chain, splattering dark energy in every direction before it sliced through the creature's body and splashed bits of him against the floor.

The dark nephilim fell backwards... but before he even hit the ground, he dissolved and reformed on his feet, cracking his neck as he reached out behind him to grasp the handle of the blade: the sword had buried halfway into the ground... but the moment Zerrex landed from his fall through the air, Drake immediately hurled the giant sword back at him with a snarl.

The Drakkaren snorted and leapt upwards immediately to avoid the simple, straightforward attack... but another string of Drake's energy shot up from the ground and snagged the handle of the giant sword, spinning it violently in a windmill as he sent it hurtling upwards; Zerrex's eyes widened, and he reacted instinctively, bending his body forwards and managing to throw himself in an arc over his spinning blade. He winced as it managed to dig a thin cut in his chest before Drake threw it straight up into the air, growling: "Come on, stop with these pathetic games!"

The reptile landed on his hands, then immediately dropped and rolled into a crouch, skidding forwards a bit as he looked across at the dark creature with a slight smile. Before he could give any quips or lame one-liners in return, however, he realized a moment too late he had slid into Drake's shadow and it had circled him. Before he could throw himself free, black teeth snapped out of the edges of the shadow, and it became a living maw that quickly snapped closed and began to crush the life from the Drakkaren.

Zerrex winced, struggling back and forth in the grips of the shadowy jaws... before he forcefully punched a hand through the fabric of darkness, sending out a burst of black motes as Drake twitched backwards, his body rocking and bringing his arms up as if to defend himself from invisible blows; he attempted to regain his balance, but then was knocked heavily on his ass when Zerrex suddenly tore his way through the hole he'd made in the wall of the maw.

The lizard leapt backwards as Drake sent up a line of black fire in his direction, and the two glared at each other, the reptile's emerald eyes flashing and Drake's black ones burned. They faced each other, Zerrex flexing and panting a bit, the dark nephilim's body rippling and solidifying before he stretched and snorted, stepping back a bit and raising his fists as he asked coldly: "So how confident are you in melee, Lord Zerrex?"

"Come and find out." The Drakkaren straightened... and then he lowered his muzzle, hands resting at his sides for a few moments, letting his body tense, then slowly begin to relax as he focused his mind, then finally rose his head, arms still relaxed at his sides as he looked across at Drake, who was looking at him with some confusion, before the lizard grinned and repeated: "Come. Unless you're afraid."

Drake twitched at this... then he snarled and charged forwards, shadow twisting out behind him as he sprinted towards the reptile, his body solidifying before he threw a simple, straight punch at the reptile's face... and without so much as a twitch, Zerrex's own hand shot up, catching the punch and easily halting it. Drake's eyes widened as he immediately staggered backwards in horror; Zerrex didn't bother to pursue the dark nephilim however... then he grinned when Drake immediately snapped his shadow forwards and seized his feet.

A moment later, he stepped forwards and attempted to throw a hard punch into the Drakkaren's gut... but Zerrex easily knocked the fist away with an elbow, causing Drake to reel forwards in surprise, instead, but attempting to recover by throwing a palm towards the reptile's face. Instead of contacting, however, the lizard swayed easily to the side and snapped his shoulder forwards into Drake's muzzle, causing him to reel back and the shadow to loosen from around his feet... and immediately, Zerrex slid a foot free before stomping down hard on it.

The effect was amazing, causing Drake to let out a screech of surprise and arch his back, suddenly standing tall and stiff, as if he'd been hit by an electrical shock: then the reptile spun and followed up with a hard back roundhouse kick to the dark nephilim's gut.

Instead of knocking him over, however, the creature's body caved in, Drake slumping and his body becoming wax-like... before Zerrex smashed his two fists into the creature's chest and face, and Drake's physical body shattered into dark energy, dissolving in a burst of black liquid into the shadow below.

This quickly slithered away and free from the lizard's feet, and Drake reformed in a crouch, panting and looking up at Zerrex in surprise, and the reptile smiled slightly as he nodded to the dark nephilim, saying mildly: "Nice try. But you use attacks that are far too direct... I guess when you have a liquid body, you don't really need to use base physical strikes, huh?"

"You cheated. You used a prediction trick." Drake winced as he slowly staggered to his feet, glaring across at the reptile and rolling his shoulders as his suit reformed on his body, looking grouchy and embarrassed. Zerrex paused, tilted his head back and forth thoughtfully, then he shrugged a bit at the nephilim's accusation, causing him to look disgusted. "Well, it's true!"

"Well, y'know, you're the only person stupid enough to wait twenty seconds or so while I focus myself." Zerrex replied blandly, and Drake rolled his eyes again in distaste before the Drakkaren crossed his arms and rested back a bit, looking at the creature with mischief dancing in his eyes. "So am I going to keep kicking your ass for the next while... or do you want to actually get around to technique development now?"

Drake muttered something under his breath, crossing his arms before finally giving a sigh and a hesitant nod of agreement. "Alright... but I don't want you screwing with me too much, Zerrex." The two paused as they looked at each other, then Drake snorted and his suit dissolved once more, his body twisting and rippling as he straightened and rose his fists, then blinked when the Drakkaren rose a hand. "What?"

The lizard looked back at him thoughtfully, then said mildly: "Let's work on your combat skills first, Drake. Try coming at me and performing a more basic attack-"

"Don't underestimate me, Lord Zerrex." The dark nephilim snorted, raising his hands before he closed his eyes, and the lizard paused and frowned a bit, watching the black energy that composed Drake's body swirl faster for a moment before it solidified again, and then Drake grinned and charged forwards. This time, however, he went down into a slide... but when Zerrex stepped to the side and snapped a hard low kick at the creature's head, Drake's body disappeared, and the reptile snarled as he sensed the creature behind him, raising an arm and barely managing to block a hard punch aimed at his muzzle.

The dark creature threw another hand forwards at Zerrex's spine, but the reptile managed to get his hand behind his back, catching it to the dark nephilim's shock: the creature, however, immediately attempted to slam a foot up into the back of the lizard's leg... but Zerrex rose a foot, Drake's shin striking the bottom of his combat boot with a wince before the nephilim grunted as Zerrex stepped forwards and slid his hand from the creature's hand to wrist, jerking him forwards... then dropping to a crouch and a spinning a leg around in a forwards sweep.

Drake fell forwards over his leg instead of flipping, and Zerrex cursed under his breath as Drake's body dissolved... then reformed with the lizard's leg held in a tight bind as dark energy spilled over it, then turned into the creature's upper limbs. Now he was kneeling, grinning coldly his black hands tightly holding Zerrex's ankle and shin... before Drake rose an elbow, and Zerrex's eyes widened - the dark nephilim meant to smash in his knee.

Before that could happen, Zerrex slammed his hands into the ground, twisted and lifted his body off the earth, and slammed his other foot into Drake's face, sending him crashing backwards with a grunt of pain. His body rolled several times, strands of dark energy running from the creature's shadow to whatever part of his body was currently in contact with it, before Drake managed to get his limbs under him and skidded to a halt in a half squat with his fingers clawing into the ground.

Zerrex looked across at the creature with mild entertainment as he straightened... and Drake grinned a bit as he stood up, raising his hands and saying idly: "I thought you'd enjoy that."

"It was entertaining, yes. I enjoy watching you get ass-kicked." Zerrex responded easily, and the dark nephilim snorted, looking disgusted, but also grudgingly-amused. "I realize you aren't capable of separating from your shadow, so that roll was just extreme exaggeration, wasn't it?"

"I didn't just imply that, after all." The dark nephilim cocked his head, looking dryly amused. "This is strange. Knowing all your techniques or not... for whatever reason, I'm still having a serious problem dealing with your strange style of movement."

"The best technique I wish to learn, is to have no technique." Zerrex said sagely, and Drake stared at him before the Drakkaren paused and added mildly: "You know, I always sound like such a loser saying stuff like that. I mean, it's not like I'm this wise old dude in... any way or fashion. Well, I guess now I'm sorta old..." A pause and he crossed his arms, asking Drake mildly: "You know, you got seven years of birthday gifts you owe me."

Drake stared at him blankly for a few moments... then the dark creature twitched a bit before growling and starting to sprint towards the lizard, feinting left and right before he slid suddenly to the left and snapped towards Zerrex with a hard, straight sweep at shin level, his shadow propelling him forwards as Zerrex winced and dived forwards over the outstretched limb.

When he hit the ground, however, instead of going into a roll, he twisted his body from one hand and onto his forearm, using that as an axis and feeling his scales grind against the ground before kicking hard into Drake's face, sending him backwards with most of his muzzle dissolved and missing, the dark nephilim hitting the ground heavily and half-melting as Zerrex easily landed in a crouch... then coughed and grinned over his shoulder at the creature. "You look much prettier like that."

Drake twitched, dissolved... then reformed, standing straight and glaring furiously at the Drakkaren. "Will you take this seriously?" he raged, then began to pace back and forth as the lizard stared at him, wondering if the dark nephilim had snapped as he continued to rant angrily: "Sex this, sex that, always babbling on and on about fucking something or raping something, doing this to people and that to people! Babble-babble-babble, and then hitting on everything you come across, including me... which is like... degrading, do you not get that? I don't want to be propositioned every frigging time I do... like... anything!

"I demand... respect, and... and stuff like that!" the dark nephilim rose a hand as Zerrex winced back. "I demand that, being trapped in your body, you start behaving better, as a proper and respectful warrior should instead of a horny ass who would probably molest a child if it had a pair of breasts-" A death glare as Zerrex opened his muzzle. "Don't say anything!"

"Okay." The Drakkaren said meekly, twitching away and deciding it was better to just let Drake have this out: but he also noted something else... the more Drake moved and talked, the more his body was solidifying... and the more emotion he displayed, the more... real he acted, he guessed. It was like by introducing the nephilim to awkward situations he wasn't used to... he was forcing Drake to take on the characteristics of something other than a living weapon, which was apparently something the dark nephilim was not exactly comfortable with, from his current violent reaction.

Before Zerrex had much chance to muse further on this, however, the dark nephilim had begun to rant again, continuing to pace as his suit reformed on his body, saying clearly: "The three rules of a warrior are strength, wisdom, and honor, that has never changed over all the years of warfare throughout Hez'Ranna... and that will continue to serve as a motto and a tradition, as... as something to be proud of, to aspire to! You, however, seem to take pride in... lacking humility!" That uh. Would just be pride. But I better not talk or Drake might stab me in the face. "You... have to whip your penis out at every chance you get, you have... no clue how many people you might have... hell, even I might have been a spy, or Marina might have been replaced by a clone, but no, let's have sex with her on the bed in enemy territory! Let's... make gay inferences to the dark nephilim - and, by the way, I am asexual, therefore I cannot be gay, so... go... fuck yourself - and let's just... like..." Drake spluttered out finally, seeming to simply dissolve into inarticulate anger as he flailed his arms a bit, and then he glared when Zerrex carefully rose a single finger. "What?"

"Does that mean you have a vagina and a penis? And boobs?" Zerrex asked blandly, and Drake stared at him, stupefied. The Drakkaren coughed... then he screeched and leapt out of the way when Drake attempted to tackle him.

The Drakkaren ran away, cackling, as Drake yelled curses after him and chased him through the reptile's own mind, the lizard easily keeping ahead of the dark nephilim and his racing shadow, and easily stepping out of the way of Drake's lashing energy. He paused, then created a door in front of him and stepped through it, before slamming it shut on the dark nephilim's face, knocking the creature over before he peered around the frame of the steel door. "I borrowed this idea from that dumb kid."

"I hate you." Drake muttered from the ground, then he climbed to his feet instead of reforming, rubbing at his face and glaring angrily at the lizard as the door faded out of existence, and Zerrex rubbed the back of his head with a lame grin. "Why the hell are you pushing me like this?"

"Because it's fun." Zerrex said simply, then he coughed and rubbed the back of his head, peering at Drake. "So if you're a herm..."

"I said asexual. I didn't say hermaphrodite specifically." Drake said sourly, then he tilted his head at the Drakkaren's look, before rolling his eyes in disgust. "You're supposed to be helping me. Not... harassing me by making me turn into things for your enjoyment."

"It could be considered training." Zerrex wheedled, grinning a bit as he clapped his hands and swayed a bit on the spot... then wincing when Drake rose a fist threateningly. "Alright, alright! I'll negotiate... show me your real body, and I'll um... I'll stop harassing you for the rest of this session."

Drake looked at him dourly. "This is my real form, you moron." A pause as he glanced down at his suited self, then he smiled a bit as he glanced up at Zerrex, who looked surprised. "Sure, I added a few things here and there... but essentially, once we bound together, my form took on one that was similar to yours; call it 'genetic respect.'"

The lizard paused... looked at Drake pleadingly... and the dark nephilim finally sighed and said morbidly: "I'm going to regret this." A pause, and a moment later he reached up, sliding his hands into his hair and arching his back as his body suddenly lost its masculinity, becoming thinner as the suit squeezed tighter around the now-her body, a large pair of breasts pushing out from her chest, and a female Drake stood in front of Zerrex in a haughty, come-hither pose.

For a little while, Zerrex stared, which made Drake visibly wince... then he said stupidly: "Dude. I have a chick inside me. That's so dirty and yet so frigging awesome." A pause, a giggle, a leer, and then the reptile rose his hands and waggled his fingers as he leaned towards the dark nephilim. "So, uh, can you do this in reality, too-"

"Fuck off and get your ass laid somewhere else." Drake snorted, and immediately her form turned back to a he, as he crossed his arms and glared at the lizard. Zerrex twitched back, looking absurdly disappointed, and the dark nephilim asked disgustedly: "Is sex the only thing you ever think about?"

"Have you ever had it?" Zerrex shot back, and Drake looked stunned before the reptile looked pleased with himself. "Exactly... bitch. So don't judge something until you've had it for yourself and... stuff." He paused, and added mildly: "That also explains why you're so damn uptight all the time. Maybe you just need to get laid."

"Maybe you need a grenade shoved up your ass." The dark nephilim muttered, then he looked distastefully at the reptile as Zerrex rolled his eyes. "And yes, I can understand that it's an... enjoyable act. Just as rape would be. But why are you... obsessed with it?"

Zerrex paused... then he looked down thoughtfully, realizing Drake was asking him a serious question. He thought he knew the answer, but not the best way to phrase it... and then he finally glanced up and off into the distance, at a pair of figures that stood in what looked like the living room of a comfortably-sized home; a child and a mother, holding hands... "My mother and I... we were... my first experience was with her. And then... when Narrius found out... he introduced me into... the darker realm of sex, bondage, gangbangs, rape... snuff." He paused and smiled a bit as he turned his eyes to Drake, who was watching him thoughtfully. "Then he killed her in front of me after I refused to rape her... and I guess... that screwed me up a bit.

"It's not like... well... it's not like I always think about it. And... a lot of the time, it's not even the sex I'm interested in." Zerrex said softly, rubbing the back of his head and letting his eyes rove downwards a bit now. "It's... the act itself. During rape, it's... such power, you know?" He laughed quietly. "And during lovemaking... it's... so wonderful. The contact, giving yourself to each other...

"I'm a dominant male... so much I tend to dominate other dominant males." Zerrex looked faintly amused at this, shrugging a bit. "And I guess I just always learned to express that not through being a jerk or whatever, but... getting laid and showing off my power that way, flaunting my size, my strength, my... ability in bed." He mused a bit as he crossed his arms. "And sure, I like sharing that power, too, sometimes... hell, I'll admit that I've been on bottom a few times, too, for other males, done sixty-nines and even dropped to my knees for a few... but... you can retain such power even acting the role of submissive. You can still control the person 'on top,' so to speak..." A pause and a grin. "Cherry, actually, used to be the best at that. She could kill people by suckin' them off, and not the cheap way Cherubim tried to kill me, but by just torturing them with pleasure until they popped."

Drake looked at Zerrex mildly for a few moments... then he asked him slowly: "So you're trying to tell me the fact you're a perverted freak... is just a friendly personality quirk?"

"I didn't say friendly." Zerrex shrugged and looked slightly entertained at this, then he crossed his arms and added in a gentler voice: "I'm not like, a sexaholic. I don't need it... I'm used to having it way more often 'cause Cherry's a frigging nymphomaniac... and I like to seduce people, play with people, stuff like that... but during the first few months of Marina's life, when Cindy was too tired to do much and Cherry was running errands for me to other towns, I went months without getting much of anything." A pause and a shrug, then he blushed a bit as he admitted: "But I did curl up with Cindy every night, Marina between us... and that's what I really like. That's what I'm addicted to... not the sex. The snuggling... the touching... the physical contact. I'm a whore for that, and I love that, because it's... not something I ever got a whole lot of, except from my mother... and then she was..."

Drake nodded and turned away, looking up into the sky quietly for a few moments, and Zerrex looked at his back curiously before the dark nephilim spoke as if they hadn't just had this long conversation... but Zerrex thought from his voice that the strange creature might actually be struggling to hold in his emotions. "So what do you want to do in terms of developing and harnessing my powers? I've never done this before." He stopped, and whispered to himself... but it carried to the lizard as if on an unfelt wind: "With anyone..."

The Drakkaren looked at the creature with a bit of a smile, watching those long tendrils of white energy that made up Drake's hair flick and shiver back and forth, joining each other, then splitting off into pointed lengths... and finally, he suggested easily: "Why don't you combine into my body in this world, to mimic the powers we'd have together in the real world... and then we'll just see what we can use comfortably and how well our abilities have locked together?"

"It'll be easier for me to see what you want to happen in this world, since you're also technically running this entire place with your mind... but it'll still help, you're right." Drake responded, then he turned and nodded a bit. "I also need to learn to interpret your signals better... so the more we do this, the better our minds and bodies will learn to synchronize, until we have complete access to each other's form."

Zerrex paused... then he grinned a bit, crossing his arms as Drake began to dissolve and asking amusedly: "So you can actually control my body, too."

Drake paused for a moment from his dissolution, then he said plainly: "Well, I brought you here, to a world that you control, correct? I could probably also make your body move around if I wanted to... but there's no point in puppeting your form when you seem to hold up well enough on your own."

The dark nephilim dissolved into his shadow, which slid forwards and curled around Zerrex, covering him and cloaking him in darkness, the reptile arching his back and tilting his head upwards with a sigh as he felt the creature's energy rolling over his form, sliding into him between his scales, leak down his jaws, his nostrils... and, awkwardly, he suddenly found himself... enjoying this smooth combination, the way that he felt Drake slide into him, fill up his body with his strange, dark power. He looked down at his hands, then he paused and smiled a bit as he realized another thing... for perhaps the first time ever, the creature had complimented him almost outright. Sure, it was grudging, but compared to before?

"Thanks, Drake..." he murmured, then he grinned a bit as he flexed his hands... and a pair of gloves formed around them. A pause and a simple flick of his mind... and Drake's energy formed several large spikes on his combat boots, which made the reptile grin a bit wider. Then he paused and concentrated... and Drake seemed inwardly surprised, but took on the form that Zerrex wished him to, anyway.

The Drakkaren rolled his shoulders slowly as he stood in his full combat armor from the old days, which shone a gleaming, metallic black... and then he laughed quietly and grinned a bit, looking down at himself and murmuring: "Good and bad memories alike... it still looks good on me." He paused, then winced as Drake shifted into a three-piece suit. "What the hell?"

You have no taste. Drake muttered in his head, and Zerrex snorted, before the dark nephilim asked mildly: So are you going to do something a bit more difficult, or what?

Zerrex mused to himself as he formed a pair of dark sunglasses in one hand, and created a tie of dark energy around his hair, holding it in a ponytail. A moment later, however, it slid from the back of his head and downwards, twisting at the same time to turn his loose tail into a tight braid, and locking into place at the bottom of this. Then the Drakkaren placed the shades over his eyes, the glasses locking into place against his muzzle, before he reached into his suit and drew out a black handgun, looking back and forth as he gripped it in both hands and said mysteriously: "My name? I'm the secret agent dude."

Immediately, everything on the Drakkaren melted back into his body as Drake gave a groan of disgust, and Zerrex winced before shaking the handgun rapidly and forcing the dark nephilim to solidify it. The rest of the energy, however, vanished into Zerrex's body, and the reptile said morbidly: "I was having fun."

We aren't supposed to be having fun right now. Drake said mildly. Right now, we're supposed to be working on combat techniques.

Zerrex rolled his eyes and made fuh-fuhing noises, then winced when he felt a sharp pain in his head and muttered: "Fine, fine. I get it. I'll be a bit more serious, then..." He paused, then aimed the gun and said mildly: "I guess this is more for show than much else though, huh?"

Drake paused in his head, then nodded and said mildly: Sure, you could tap off a few shots, and my energy will deal more damage at range than bullets. But the range wouldn't be great, since the stuff that makes up my body automatically dissolves after a short time... and as I've told you before, if I lose parts of me... then I use up far more energy.

"You really need to work on your stamina there, then." Zerrex said plainly, then winced a bit at the dark nephilim's mental glare. "Okay, okay, fine, Serious. I remember the deal." He paused, then mumbled under his breath: "But we do really need to work on your sense of humor, too."

Bite me. Drake said plainly in the reptile's head... inside his head. A pause as Zerrex winced about how confusing that was to think about, before he avoided confronting the terrors of metaphysics by changing his train of thought quickly to concentrating instead on exactly what the dark nephilim wanted.

He snapped a hand out, and a long rope of dark energy appeared in it, then this mutated into a solid chain of large, thick links of the black stuff that made up Drake. Zerrex grinned a bit, before snapping the chain once forwards, and a handle formed where the reptile was gripping it and a set of large, curved claws sprouted from the top, taking on the form of a grappling hook. Zerrex looked down at this thoughtfully for a few moments, grasping the long chain body in his other hand near the neck of the set of hooks... then he began to spin that end rapidly, before slinging it forwards with a grunt.

It flew through the air, the chain lengthening itself rapidly... then a large spike popped out of the end of the large grappling hook the moment before Zerrex jerked the weapon back. The chain snapped, then the head of the weapon flew sailed backwards in a high arc, the chain automatically curling itself up at his feet like a thin dark-metal snake... and a moment before the head of the weapon struck the ground, it dissolved into a black mass of energy that quickly slid its way back up the Drakkaren's leg and curled over his body, transforming into a half-snake that wrapped its lower, coiling body tight around Zerrex's legs, a pair of arms idly locking around his neck as Drake's head peered over his shoulder and asked mildly: "Is this some other sexual fetish of yours?"

"I'm testing you." Now the lizard sounded pettish, instead of the other way around, before he shrugged the dark nephilim off his shoulders, the creature quickly rebinding with his body and flowing into his scales as he muttered: "Gee. Now who's trying to make jokes? The moment I can't, you start getting mouthy." A pause, then he made a quick flicking motion with both hands, and a moment later he was grasping a pair of twin, black, smooth-handle katanas with long, arching blades. "Can you actually leave my body as an object, or do I always have to be in contact with you in some way for you to remain solid? And why exactly does your energy turn to muddy goo every time it disconnects from you?"

Drake paused and hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in the reptile's head as Zerrex easily swung the swords idly back and forth, then he finally sighed and said awkwardly: It's because of the design of my body... even though I'm supposed to be darkness, all the nephilim are really just representatives of their elements, more than actively imbued with the element itself. All of us are - or rather, were - formless, shifting, intelligent masses that can assume whatever physical body we desire within a certain predetermined set of dimensions.

The thing is, we all are also controlled by some sort of focal point, which is where our energies are contained and that acts as our mind... my mind, I suppose. He paused, then added uneasily: It's a small, machine-produced crystal, in most cases, which regulates nanomachines - nanites - that busily run through my body and regulate my form. These things are microscopic, built to the same size as bacteria, roughly... but the machine that controls all of me is a bit bigger, roughly the size of a... say... a large pill, or a small coin.

That's my brain, my heart, all my inner organs... my control center. Hellabos designed us this way so we could resemble as closely as possible the Seven Nephilim of Hez'Ranna legend: the elementals and the divines. It moves constantly through my body, but always stays in a place safe from attack, and it's protected from all forms of discharge or elemental, mental attack as well. He paused, then preempted Zerrex's question. I know what you're about to ask. About how I can split, right?

Since my physical essence can be given orders and form into anything, or become 'formless,' the nanites that are all throughout me and regulating my physical presence can memorize certain commands and traits. They automatically die if I'm split off from too long, or if they are cut off violently from the source of command, my control center... my mind... but so long as they're regulated, they can divide from my mind and into an airtight chamber, or even someone else's body if that person has the ability to regulate my energy, through either some sort of mechanized system or a natural power.

A bit confusing, yeah? Yeah. But you get the idea, roughly... otherwise, I can only survive for about five seconds at most, split from your body. He paused again, then added mildly: And admittedly, in an open environment, I'm unprotected from other energy signatures and the negative effects of even the air itself. But if I keep myself connected to you somehow... then I can protect myself from that by borrowing some of your energy and forming a shield around myself with that. Sort of like skin, I suppose.

"You're so screwed up." Zerrex said dumbly, but he glanced down at the blades with newfound questions in his mind, wondering just what the hell Hellabos had been experimenting with and how the hell he'd come up with all this crap in the first place. Then he shook his head slowly and sighed a bit, murmuring under his breath: "Actually, this is all so screwed up... but I guess that means so long as your core is inside me..."

Then yes, my 'mental half' is inside of you, which is sort of a misnomer. Drake answered mildly, and the swords in Zerrex's hands slid back into his body, easily sifting through his scales. And I can use that to attempt to take over and control anyone I come across or encounter, then puppet their body... and if connected to their physical half, most people I can explode or implode when it suits me to. He paused and seemed to grin as Zerrex winced and touched his stomach a bit, as several large spikes of dark energy suddenly jutted from the scales of his stomach, sides, and back. Sorta looks like that. A pause, and then the spikes withdrew as Zerrex made a face and rolled his shoulders slowly. But I suppose you'll be happy to know that I have trouble even wending my way through your body. And that I've gotten too used to letting you regulate and use my energy for something like that to be anywhere near as effective on you.

"Gee. Thanks." Zerrex said mildly, then he rolled his eyes before spreading his arms, and darkness leaked out from his body again, this time knitting itself into a black trenchcoat as he added: "And if this is you having trouble passing through my body, I have to wonder exactly how you move if something's 'easy' for you... and hey, wait a minute." He frowned a bit, crossing his arms. "Mercury was the same as you, and she could split into two... and Black Requiem was also made of that gooey stuff, but I fought... Gods know how many seemingly-invincible clones of him before you finally told me to aim for the jaw and I killed one of the bastards. How'd that work?"

Mercury also had two regulation cores... and Black Requiem had twenty or so in his body. Drake responded, sounding distasteful: Zerrex was beginning to understand that he only really sounded like this when talking about something that was, in all likelihood, stronger than him somehow. Black Requiem also had shielded cores... so he could survive indefinitely. Adding that to the fact his genetic coding somehow seemed like it was mixed with actual Dragokkaren DNA instead of synthetic... and you have yourself an incredibly-advanced version of a nephilim. It did, however, seem to be lacking in the mental department... and admittedly, I was as surprised as you that it followed the same rules as the other nephilim did.

Zerrex paused and nodded slowly, tapping his arms against the leather coat... then he paused, took it off, and tossed it away... but kept a string of dark energy attached from this to his hand. He grinned slightly, then flicked his wrist and the long leather trench transformed instead into a shadowy copy of himself - a bit smaller than Drake, and without the glowing white tendrils of hair.

Then the lizard brought up his other arm and flicked it, tossing a blob of dark energy outwards with a long string attached to it... and this formed into another clone of the reptile, this one resting in a kneel with a grin on its features, another long string going from the center of the clone's back and into Zerrex's hand. The reptile paused, placed his fingertips together... then flicked them open, creating five long strings of dark energy as he muttered under his breath: "Just how much can you turn into?"

Drake immediately rose his upper half out of Zerrex's back, then easily crossed his arms over the Drakkaren's head and rested forwards on it, peering down at him with mild amusement as he said idly: "Probably not much more than this... but admittedly, this is more than I used to be able to do, by far, definitely."

The lizard dropped his arms by his sides, then he asked blandly: "Hey, uh, Drake? You wanna get off my head? Or am I going to have to bash you again?" He paused, and then questioned: "And exactly why the hell do you feel this urge to always pull half out of me?"

"I like to tease." Drake snapped back, and looked proud of himself as Zerrex tilted his head up to stare at him stupidly for a few moments. The dark nephilim looked back, then he shrugged and let his body fall back limply, muttering as he withdrew into the Drakkaren's back: "Well, at least I tried."

"Jerk." Zerrex rolled his eyes, then he paused as he drew both of his hands up, causing the clones to stand tall, and he wondered mildly about what exactly he could do with them and how he could control them... before shrugging and deciding it was enough of an experiment for now with just bringing them out. He drew his hands back, and both the clones dissolved into darkness that quickly flowed back into the lizard's body, and Zerrex reached up to crack his neck as a last few strings and tendrils of energy arced and rolled around his limbs before settling into his scales.

He reached up, brushing a hand through his hair and trying to keep his thoughts on other things as he snapped the other hand out to the side... but a pole of dark energy wavered into existence, as the reptile grinned a bit; a glance at the simple, six-foot pole, and large blades sprung into existence on either end of it, with vicious barbs sticking out of either flat as the Drakkaren said mildly: "There's a nice weapon... I don't really know what we can practice, either, anymore, Drake... you seem to have everything down pretty well."

Drake nodded mentally, then he seemed to pause before asking in a hesitant voice: Well... what about development, then? We have synchronized fairly well - although I guess we'll better see just how well in the real world - and although my specialty is seat-of-the-pants creation-

Zerrex snorted laughter, interrupting the dark nephilim as he brushed his hair back and grinned a bit. "Seat-of-the-pants? Gee. Them darn pants is torned again, lawd, lawd." A pause and a cough as he felt a bolt of pain in his head, rocking forwards on his heels when Drake hit him mentally. "But okay, okay. You mean, you have no problem with... er, making it up as you go-"

Improvisation. Drake said acidly, and Zerrex nodded again, looking lame. "Yes, that's the word. Improv, but you want to have a repertoire of moves at your disposal, huh?" Zerrex paused, then laughed a bit again as he shook his head slowly. "Damn, I feel like such an anime geek or a video game nerd. Techniques, moves? Sure, I got names for everything I do... and it's good to practice everything regularly... but... you know, it's so weird to talk about it in this context..."

I think I get it, the dark nephilim said dryly, and Zerrex felt the strange blackness of the creature roll through his body, pulse inside of him as Drake shifted, apparently feeling awkward still with their strange relationship and how things were developing between them. But that's it, yes. I... I'd like to know what would be... preferable... in... various situations that we're likely to encounter...

"You're so damn stiff. You need to relax, seriously." The lizard said, but his voice was gentle as he smiled a bit, before he closed his eyes and put his hands together, concentrating. Immediately Drake bristled inside of him... but instead of once more attempting to focus, instead Zerrex created the best combat ground he could think of in this, his mental world.

Beneath them, a cracked city street rose up... and beside this on one side was a steep slope guarded by a broken wooden fence strung together by barbed wire; beyond this was grassy and slick halfway down the high hill, then it suddenly became a muddy, barren wasteland, a thick, cratered valley full of swampy earth that sprawled all along the bottom of the ragged wall, leading into what had once been a field, but instead was now a warzone, with several parked, broken tanks, barbed wire strung between damaged wooden slats, and thick hillocks made from mud, corpses and sandbags.

On the other side of the Drakkaren rose up several tall, damaged office buildings and smaller stores - many with the front windows shattered, then boarded up shutters dropped over the doors, and many others idly burning with fires that seemed as despairing as the rest of the scenery, charred and damaged. Trash littered the alleys, half-covering splatters of blood and in some places, corpses of fallen soldiers, many still clutching their third-world assault weapons.

When Zerrex opened his eyes, he frowned and winced a bit at how well this place had been recreated... the scene of the Ridgetown Massacre. It had been one of the Goth Legion's first gigs, and they had been sent in to stir up as much mayhem as possible in the area in order to draw public attention: the government of his 'beloved' country, Ire, would then use footage from this to curse out the tiny, war-torn country and put pressure on its own government to sign a one-sided alliance treaty that would basically place Ire in charge of Lekvados, or whatever the place had been called.

They had snuck in undercover, dressed up in fake uniforms of the local militia, a translator doing all the talking for them and saying they were some special group sent in to help fight off the raids on the city of Ridgetown from enemy forces. Since it was a tiny country on a string of islands that no one really cared about - except the business tycoons who wanted to dig for fuel and chop down the forests, and the greedy politicians who wanted to own just a little bit more of the world - their military, especially in this sector, was disorganized and made up more of civilians wielding century-old rifles and machetes than modernized military equipment.

The group had waited for a raid to begin on the city... and had then simply begun the killing spree, annihilating everyone they came across, 'friend' or 'foe.' The soldiers, used to hard battles, fighting in the dirt, and dealing with weaponry that didn't work half the time, had put up a fairly good battle... better than a lot of soldiers from countries that boasted 'powerful military sectors,' definitely. But that wasn't much of a surprise... when you lived in a broken world, ate the dead because you had no other food and drank the tears of your family for sustenance, and talked idly about being shot in the leg that morning because a bullet wound was nothing special in that world... then yeah. You tended not to cry at the first sign of impending attack.

Zerrex rolled his shoulders slowly as he glanced around this reconstructed memory, murmuring quietly: "And it didn't help that the battleground was so twisted like this... farmland transformed into a ruined warzone on one side, and a shattered city on the other, with most of the battle squeezed between on the road and the invaders using all manner of machine and tool to climb the slopes." He paused, then glanced up at the top of a nearby home, grinning slightly as he called out loudly despite Drake being able to hear his very thoughts: "I want you to make a rope and a hook! Memorize that design, because we're going to use it a lot at first here!"

Drake winced and made a loud noise... but before Zerrex could bring his hand up, the world shook, and the Drakkaren stumbled with a grunt as reality around him began to fizz in and out. He staggered back and forth, snarling as blackness overwhelmed everything, and he felt his body become heavy, his eyes become tired, and his head spun with vertigo and dizziness... before everything flickered again, and blackness descended completely.

A moment later, Zerrex sat up in bed, letting out a surprised grunt as he straightened and grabbed at the sheets of the bed, then he blinked dumbly as he looked over at Marina, who was grasping his shoulder and shaking him violently. The reptile blinked stupidly a few times as she said something, before he tilted his muzzle and asked dumbly: "What?"

Marina looked at him mildly, then she rattled him again, and Zerrex fidgeted out of her grip as she yawned and replied tiredly: "Your fucking phone woke me up. You dropped it in the hall and the damn thing wouldn't sto... stop..." A pause as she yawned again, stretching this time and flexing, before she fell against the pillows and smacked her muzzle loudly, closing her eyes and continuing in a sleepy voice: "Stop ringing until I picked it up and answered it... it was Huck, he wants to talk to you in the tower, but says to take your time getting there, for some reason..."

Zerrex blinked a few times at this... frowned a bit... then he sighed and nodded, stretching slowly himself and resisting the urge to yawn as he winced, feeling his back crackle as he slid out of bed. He rocked on his feet for a few moments, then reached up and grabbed his head, wincing as pain shot through his body... and Marina opened one eye with a frown, looking at him curiously as she asked: "What's wrong, Daddy?"

"I thought you were all up in my head and stuff." Zerrex mumbled, swaying on his feet again as he glanced down at himself, then sighed and decided to put on a pair of real pants, despite the monumental effort he felt this would take. He staggered over to the drawers, then fought with them and finally won, managing to drag out a pair of boxers and pants as he answered her blandly: "Drake and I were fighting in my head. Well, sorta fighting. Play-fighting? Sparring, that's the word."

Marina blinked a few times, and then Zerrex felt her mentally nudge and poke at his brain, before she frowned a bit as the larger male almost overbalanced in attempting to stand on one foot to pull his boxers on. He grumbled, then finally sighed and walked over to sit on the bed as his daughter said slowly: "I'm not picking up on him in your mind or anything..."

Zerrex gave her a confused look... then he paused and held out a hand, but no darkness seeped out of his scales. He frowned at this, flexing his fingers slowly... then murmured quietly: "Shock... it must have been the shock of being startled out of the mental world..." A pause and a wince as he stretched again, his muscles suddenly deciding to take that moment to forward their complaints about his vicious mistreatment of them to the Drakkaren, and his brain decided to toss in some whining about how it had been abused lately, too.

The reptile closed his eyes as pain washed through his body... then he took a slow breath and touched his forehead gently, Marina now sitting up and reaching out to touch his shoulder gently, asking in a more concerned voice: "Hey, Daddy, are you okay? Look, if you're not up to it, you shouldn't go... I can even go for you, get them to spill whatever to me..."

"I've felt worse." Zerrex responded stubbornly, then he wrestled his pants on before straightening and doing up the fly, then winced when he realized he had no combat boots. He cursed his luck at this, before sighing and rolling his shoulders slowly with another face, then giving a bit of a smile to Marina over his shoulder, adding softly: "Rest, okay darling? You've been the one trapped in hell for seven years... I got to sleep through most of it."

"It was only hell because I wasn't with you." Marina responded gently, standing up and stepping over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and closing her eyes as she leaned into his body, nuzzling into his neck quietly through his long hair. Zerrex softened at this, reaching down to take one of her hands, the other stroking gently and lovingly over his chiseled abdominals. "Come on, Daddy. Let me go with you."

"No, stay here... sleep." Zerrex turned to her, but smiled a bit more honestly this time, taking one of her hands in both his own and squeezing it gently as he looked into her sapphire eyes lovingly. "I really do appreciate it... but you do need sleep, or you're going to wear yourself down, and I... I need you to be well." The Drakkaren paused, and then he stroked her face slowly with the back of his hand, meeting her eyes quietly. "That's important to me... and I might need your powers for any upcoming raids, too."

Marina smiled a bit at him, then added quietly: "But you hope you don't. Because you want to take care of everything yourself... and you want to me to be safe, and secure, and not live in a world of destruction... just like you want to end the war before the others wake up, to bring even Cherry back to a place of peace, where you choose your own battles, your own wars, and end them as you like: where the innocent aren't butchered and the guilty are laid to eternal unrest, the damned can't break free of their cages in hell, and none of your loved ones suffer." Marina paused, then reached up and quietly took her father's face in her hands, leaning up as if to kiss him but instead only murmuring gently, as she drew close and their eyes stayed locked: "But we do, suffer, Daddy. As long as you do... we do. Please don't make yourself a martyr... because if you bring us all back, just to lose you... we may as well have never lived at all."

"Don't say that, Marina..." Zerrex said quietly, reaching up to squeeze her shoulders slowly and meeting her eyes. "Don't say that. I do... really truly want what's best. And I'm sorry if my thoughts aren't so positive right now." He smiled a bit as his daughter looked up at him uncomfortably, seeming to measure his behavior. "I'll feel better once I wake up some more."

"Alright..." Marina said slowly, then she nodded and leaned up to kiss his cheek gently, her hands sliding down his face to patter quietly against his chest, before she withdrew from him and tossed him another thoughtful look over her shoulder, adding in a soft murmur: "Take care of yourself, Daddy... and I'm going to stay up until you get back, but I'll at least stay in bed."

"Okay." Zerrex nodded, then he smiled a bit as he remembered back to when Marina was still a young child; she'd been just as damn stubborn then as now, too. He remembered her defiant eyes as she looked up at him with her hands on her hips, not more than... gods, five, six?

I'm gonna stay up! I'm a big girl and I'm not gonna go to bed until Daddy comes home! Marina had said proudly... her little hands on her hips, splattered in paint and wearing a homemade cloth apron that was supposed to protect her clothes but never really did. She had glared up at him because he had been going to the movies that night, one of the later shows with Cindy, and Cherry had agreed to watch Marina until they got back and to put her to bed at her usual time, at nine-thirty: just like her father, she never slept for too long unless she wasn't feeling well.

Zerrex had laughed a bit at this, then smiled and kneeled down, tickling gently under her chin before telling her gently that he'd be waiting to see her when they got home, then... and of course, when he and Cindy had gotten up, Marina and Cherry were both curled up and snoring away on the couch. Cindy had grinned a bit at this, murmuring about getting the camera... but the male had snorted and muttered back about how Cherry might think it was a gun and throw Marina at them or something in her scramble for cover.

He'd ended up carrying Marina to her bed... and then Cherry to his, and the muscular female had been surprised but pleased when she'd woken up to find herself curled comfortably with Zerrex and Cindy. For once, however, she'd been too tired to even make too many obtuse sexual comments, and had promptly gone back to sleep with the others.

As the Drakkaren looked at his daughter softly, who smiled a bit across at him and returned the gentle gaze, he also realized how fortunate he was: not a lot of people got the pleasure of being able to sleep comfortably together, after all. But he and his little family... his three daughters, he supposed he could call them now - and do so with pride - had always been able to curl up together without any complaint. And he knew that he was looking forwards to that more than ever now... just laying in bed with the others, comfortable and secure...

Finally, he shook his head a bit, then nodded to Marina before beginning to turn... and his daughter cleared her throat. He paused, glancing over his shoulder at her... and she said casually, her eyes sparkling with entertainment: "Daddy, your fly's undone."

The reptile blinked stupidly, looked down at his pants... then muttered and rolled his eyes as he zipped his pants closed, earning a snicker from Marina. The Drakkaren looked over his shoulder at her with mild amusement, before he rolled his eyes and walked out of the room, tossing her a wave and an easy: "Yeah, yeah. See you soon, daughter."

He gently closed the door, laughing a bit to himself now... then he walked down the hallway, putting one hand in his pocket and using the other to nudge open the door leading out of his quarters. He once more winced as he looked around at the milling and camped-out Dragokkaren, who all stared up at him in awe... before making a face as a child ran up to him and almost bumped into him, holding up his arms and babbling: "You're Lord Zerrex, huh, huh?"

"Uh. Hi." Zerrex said carefully, looking down at the child distrustfully: he could still remember all too well the little brat he had encountered in the hospital, and he didn't want a repeat of that experience anytime soon. "Yes, I am..."

"Wow!" Except the kid drew out the 'ow' sound for roughly ten seconds, which made the Drakkaren wince back a bit... except now he could feel others crowding in around him curiously, increasing his sense of claustrophobia, as the kid bounced back and forth in front of him and made it impossible to pass as he prattled: "You're so awesome! You saved all of us, and, and, and I hear you took on a bunch of giants and beat them up good! And... and I hear, I hear you're even going to fight the Patriarch! You're so cool, that's so awesome!"

"Er. Thanks." Zerrex winced again, attempting to sidestep around the child that was apparently enthralled with his presence: it made him wonder exactly what kind of stories were circulating about him... and furthermore, how the hell the stories got out so fast. But he knew that military bases were notorious for their gossip as much as anything else... soldiers liked to share rumors - especially about commanding officers - more often than they polished their combat boots. "I uh, have to go now..."

The kid, however, apparently didn't hear this, instead reaching up to poke his arm several times... and Zerrex's eyes widened in horror as he realized it was the bicep with the swastika tattooed on it, and now the entire group of people in the room were being drawn towards this, as the kid asked innocently: "What's this symbol mean, mister? I think I sawed it before, I think I did..."

"It's um... just... a tattoo that I was... tattooed with." Zerrex said lamely, giving a bit of a strained laugh and rubbing the back of his head as he saw some of the Dragokkaren now gazing at him with flickering distrust, a few soldiers even resting their hands on their weapons and beginning to look a mite bit pissed off. The Drakkaren winced, then added quickly: "A... bad person named... Mengele Tstegi put it on me when I was locked up in one of their facilities."

The kid's eyes grew wide... and the lizard felt the tension in the air depart, giving an inward sigh of relief. Sure, he felt bad using the doc like that... especially since he was, well, dead... but he didn't think any amount of explaining he did would get them to follow his view that maybe Mengele hadn't been such a bad guy after all; generally, they lost their sense of humor or understanding once someone started butchering their families and experimenting on their friends for profit and personal amusement. "Wow! Does that mean you were like... tortured and stuff? Was it like... gruesome and did they stab you and-"

"That's enough out of you, son." said another Dragokkaren in a kind voice, the soldier stepping forwards and gently dragging the young kid backwards. There was a semblance between their faces that made Zerrex think they were brothers for a moment... but then the Dragokkaren looked up at Zerrex, smiled, and said: "Sorry for 43212's behavior. He's a new-line kid... didn't even begin his basic training yet. He's from what we call the political family..." The larger male grinned and rubbed the kid's head in a ruffling motion, making him grumble and cross his arms. "The Patriarch decided to market a different series of clones to the world, see. Children who mature much slower than we do, the military clones... almost at the same rate as fleshborns." Zerrex guessed this was a clone term for those who didn't come out of a test-tube. "Kids here like 43212 got to act like normal children, attend normal military schooling, all that stuff, and it was broadcasted on the television all the time. Something about world welfare and keeping up appearances with the rest of our nation."

The Drakkaren nodded slowly, then he looked at the kid with a new softness, kneeling down and asking gently: "Hey, kid. How about a name instead of that crappy serial ID number you've gone by, huh? Call it a welcome present to the real world."

The kid's eyes widened, and then he nodded rapidly, smiling and beginning to babble stupidly: "Yeah, yeah! Yeah, that sounds great! I'd love a name, gimme a name, please, Lord Zerrex, I'd really like that!"

"I think I'm going to call you Chatterbox." Zerrex said mildly, and this earned a laugh from some of the members of the crowd... but the kid looked like he was about to explode with happiness. The Drakkaren blinked... then decided to go with it, instead of calling it a joke and coughing a bit, attempting to hide his grin as he said as calmly as he could: "Yeah, Chatterbox. It uh. Really suits you."

"Thanks, Lord Zerrex! Thanks so much!" The kid beamed up at him happily, bouncing a bit from foot-to-foot. "That's really great, I love my name, thanks a lot! You're the best ever, Lord Zerrex!"

"Uh. Thanks, kid. Now I have to go and meet with the other Commanders." Zerrex said, standing and rubbing the back of his head, then he turned and headed for the door, tossing a wave over his shoulder. The other soldiers called their goodbyes and their gratitude after him, and Zerrex couldn't help but smile a bit to himself; at least it seemed like things here had turned up somewhat.

Of course, what he didn't realize was that these fun side-trips issues would continue as he attempted to make his way towards the facility beyond the barracks, wincing as he stepped out into the Ring and was immediately almost swallowed up by the crowd milling there. Many of them looked at him with curiosity... and too many others with a fawning gaze, as if he was truly the savior they had all been waiting for.

He attempted to sneak along against the wall, hoping blindly that perhaps no one would lock onto him somehow... but a group of three females somehow managed to immediately corner him, grabbing his arms and one of them pushing against his chest, looking up at him seductively as she asked in a half-murr: "Tell me, stranger. Would you happen to be Lord Zerrex?"

Zerrex wanted to say something smart and impressive in return to this; maybe something like, 'why ask a question when you already know the answer?' or some other bit of badassery. Instead, of course, all he managed was a stupid look as he felt her large breasts push against him, the other females pinning his arms lightly back against the wall, then he said finally: "Uh. Yeah. That's me."

"Good. Here's a little token on behalf of us." The female leaned up now, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hungrily, passionately, and Zerrex kissed her back, feeling his arms curling around the waists of the other two as they nuzzled at his neck and kissed at his face, to the laughter and cheers of the crowd around him. Their tongues danced, and then Zerrex felt the kiss break... and another took up the place of the first, just as passionate, just as sloppy; finally, this was followed by the third... and as she stroked his face, the reptile grunted quietly as he felt one of the girls sliding up and down along his lower abs, licking at them, as they last rubbed his legs and nuzzled at his crotch.

Finally, the kiss broke, and he could barely resist their touches, their moving hands and talented mouths as they teased at his neck, his stomach and crotch... then he blushed a bit as he felt the eyes of the crowd around him gazing with entertainment at the show he was unwittingly putting on with the females, before he reached down and gently nudged one of the three to their feet and then the other, and they all faced him with teasing smiles, hands playing over his chest, grasping his shoulders, stroking his face as one asked with a playful murr: "Oh my. Are we not good enough for Lord Zerrex?"

"Oh hell no, you definitely are." The Drakkaren almost babbled, looking over them with a grin, then he wondered idly how the hell he was going to get out of this situation while still seeming polite, the three honestly looking almost upset that he seemed to want to leave. He paused, then forced a sigh and wrapped his arms around two of the Dragokkaren - both taller than his current size - and nuzzled the third, deciding to go with blaming someone else again; he seemed to be doing that way too often lately. "But I have to go and see the Commanders... some... important... strategy thing... meeting..."

The three looked up at him curiously, then one of them - Zerrex recognized her as the female who had ground up against him earlier, actually - asked with a teasing smile: "Well, maybe later you can show us your room, then, Lord Zerrex. We'd love to spend some extra time with you..."

"I'll show you all my quarters." Zerrex replied dumbly, grinning at her, then trading a light kiss with her... the next... and the last Dragokkaren, before he pulled carefully away, not having to fake his regret as he slipped back into the crowd and left the three females to be propositioned by all manner of male. He let out a sigh of relief as he made his way quickly through the crowd down the Ring... then winced when a tall Dragokkaren stepped out in front of him, clad in what looked like a military uniform at first glance and almost glaring at him. Oh crap. Is it an assassin? Or worse, just someone who's bitchy and doesn't enjoy my particular charm and grace?

Charm and grace my ass. Drake muttered from the depths of his head, and Zerrex perked up a bit slightly at his voice; it had been a while since he'd heard from the creature last. Before he could ask, however, Drake seemed to give the mental equivalent of a drunken groan. My head is splitting...

Before the lizard could sympathize or even taunt the dark being, however, he was interrupted by the large Dragokkaren in front of him asking stonily: "Do you have any idea what you and your rebel friends are doing to our country? To our economy?"

A pause... and another glance over the Dragokkaren, and Zerrex realized he was wearing tattered overalls and a thick rawhide shirt. Not your standard military or casual wear... and a glance down at muddy boots made Zerrex figure this guy was a farmer of some sort who'd been caught up in the chaos. Not that he couldn't pass as a soldier if he didn't want to... he looked angry enough to be a pissed-off vet who hadn't been given his dues. The lizard made a bit of a face... then he rolled his shoulders and said mildly: "I uh... don't know."

The Dragokkaren didn't look surprised, but of course it just gave him another reason to be ticked off... then again, the lizard figured he didn't need any extra nudges to find reasons to get angrier at the Drakkaren. He glared at him, then said angrily: "You little prick..." A pause as soldiers grabbed his arms warningly, but then he shoved them to the side and snarled back and forth: "What, all your fucking lackeys helping protect your ass instead of-"

"Let him go. Let him have his say." Zerrex said evenly, and he hated how easily he slipped into the old tone of command, his voice quiet but powerful, and the soldiers didn't hesitate as they stepped back and away from the two, their eyes locking as the reptile continued softly: "We're not like the Patriarch, after all. We believe in giving everyone their freedoms, and that includes giving their opinion on things... even if we don't agree with it."

"Fuckin' Nazi bastard." The Dragokkaren said disgustedly, tilting his head with a snort. "Is that how you justify that fuckin' offensive tattoo you're wearing? Rebels, great. When has there ever been a rebellion that's done good things for the country?"

Zerrex shrugged, crossing his arms and saying mildly: "So what? You saying we should all sit and take the Patriarch's reign of terror, until he kills us all because he's bored? Do you honestly believe that he's a better devil and a ruler of a smoother hell than we are?"

The Dragokkaren snorted again, tilting his head upwards and saying rudely: "Fucking right, I do. But the Patriarch won't be in power forever... once he takes over the world, I'm sure there'll be someone else, somewhere else, that will take that power back... take the world over instead or something..."

"Like the leader of a rebellion?" Zerrex said drolly, tilting his head, and the Dragokkaren snarled as the lizard sighed and shook his head. "And Narrius isn't playing war games with the usual rules, but a definite lack thereof: who knows how much of the world has been reduced to ashes and wastelands by nuclear bombardments and death troops." He rested back a bit, adding darkly: "Not to mention the fact he seems particularly interested in here, in Hez'Ranna. Who knows what kind of mess and destruction he'll bring here in his search for greater power? He doesn't understand limited resources, or money issues, or any crap like that..."

"At least he doesn't butcher innocent wives and children in his raids!" The Dragokkaren shot back angrily. "How many people have suffered... been killed, tortured, mutilated, because of your fucking attacks on the city? How many people have... have been taken to death camps and genetic facilities for experimentation, because of alleged rebel connections? That's not his fault! That's because you-"

"Because we what? Exist?" Zerrex snapped off, snarling slightly and looking disgusted. "Bastards like you are the worst kind of scum..." He paused and snorted. "You just want to start trouble, find someone else to blame for your problems, since you can't deal with the fact the real world has gone to hell.

"You're filth..." The Drakkaren shook his head slowly, and the Dragokkaren snarled angrily at him, clenching his hands into tight fists. "You need to wake up from your own fantasy world and face reality... stop fence-sitting and recognize that it's too damn late for dodging back and forth, and take a side. In war, you get to be one side or the other, and it's insulting when you cry about the pain you suffer from our battles... when we're the ones fighting so hard to change the world, not just for us, but for you. To save all of Hez'Ranna from the Patriarch's infection... the Patriarch's reign of death... while all you do is blindly follow your bastard-master's orders."

Zerrex snorted, then didn't so much as flinch when the Dragokkaren grabbed his shoulders tightly, squeezing into them as the larger male leaned own threateningly... but Zerrex met his furious eyes evenly. "What the hell do you know, little scum lizard?" A pause, and he shook him violently, and the reptile rocked on his heels, but didn't go off balance, keeping his arms crossed as he said darkly: "You don't know what it's like... you don't have any clue what it's like for us, not soldiers, just farmers and trade workers forced to fuel your war, take care of your people, clean up your messes and your bodies!"

"And we protect your asses and save your lives!" Zerrex shot back, then he slid his arms up and snapped the tall Dragokkaren's hands off his shoulders, before forcefully yanking him down onto his knees, the tall reptile grunting in surprise before he stared at him in surprise, Zerrex's hands grasping the straps of his suspenders as he glared at him coldly. "What, you want to talk with force? That's the language I speak best... but I prefer negotiating in a more civilized manner, at least to begin with."

The Drakkaren paused, then shook the Dragokkaren violently and added coldly: "Like I said, it's time to choose a side. If you want to join us here, then we'll welcome you... troublemaking bastard or not. But if you want to join up with the Patriarch and help him, go on your way and we won't make any problems for you." A pause, and a cold look as he stepped away and past the reptile, halting only a moment to say over his shoulder darkly: "So get up or get out. We can use your help... but keep in mind we don't need it."

With that, he turned and pushed his way through the crowd, carefully moving back through the group of soldiers and wending his way through the ranks of reptiles that dominated the area. Deep inside him, he felt the old darkness churning and rolling, the old hatred twisting in his heart and soul and mind... the hatred for the people who sat on the sidelines, who played the lines between, who refused to take a side and bitched-bitched-bitched about the war, but constantly made their own ridiculous profits from it, gorging themselves on blood and filth. War, after all, was as much an economic process as it was physical: what no one seemed to realize, however, was that the Patriarch wasn't spending money on producing his military forces - everything he got, he paid for with terror and intimidation.