FSE

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Nearly three-thousand years later, not a lot had changed: despite the increasing tensions between Heaven and Hell, Zerrex was able to work with Raze and several other Angels to keep things to a minimum disturbance. Although normally as easy to detect in Hell as a demon was in Heaven, most of them wore long cloaks and cowls that created a shade of twisting shadows around the wearer, completely hiding their identity from view and suppressing their presence, making them all-but-undetectable. Selena made up her portion of the rent by portaling the Angels around Hell, and in return she was paid a sizeable sum every month by Francis for her continued support and work with the forces of Heaven, despite how obviously uncomfortable the whole situation made her.

Since Zerrex had also lost both homes â€" and the rising taxes on this house meant he couldn't afford to buy a bowl of stew every now and then, much less a new sword he'd been eyeing for the last decade or so â€" Sin had done him the favor of bringing half his things to the Marquee Sur Noir and hiding them in what she called ‘the Safehouse,' and the other half she brought to Zerrex's Wrath homestead, which had since been expanded to include a private bedroom for Selena. Of course, Selena being Selena, she had been offended by this sentiment and it had been instead converted into a workout room, where she and Zerrex spent far too much time to be healthy even for a demon.

Lunata was still getting him to mark papers for her, and Faulk was still mercilessly torturing him... but Zerrex had found that most of the raw physical torment didn't affect him as much anymore. After more than fifteen thousand years of torture, even pain was beginning to grow boring... and the reptile thought it also had something to do with the changes his own body was still undergoing. Thankfully, he didn't have to test his fortitude against the more-dangerous Bloody King, who had once more been deployed to the Northern Provinces, as Az'Iriel was beginning a long, hard push backwards against the Princess's forces.

Last of all, Ose had lightened up on the mind control and intensified the psychological tortures, which bothered Zerrex... but what bothered him more is that the otter was still acting as his trainer, despite how obvious it was all he did every week or two was drag Zerrex out someplace awkward and torment him further. It had almost come to blows again, but the Drakkaren had managed to restrain himself at the last moment, to the obvious disappointment of the otter... likely because they'd been sitting in a bar full of Inquisitors.

Feldspar had also been redeployed, meaning Zerrex hadn't had to put up with her for several thousand years except for a short visit or two, and Selena and Zerrex had gotten back to doing real training, often in Ixin's field while he leered at Selena and shouted commands at Zerrex, and begged both of them to free him... and although the demoness seemed to be warming up to him slightly, she still seemed very hesitant to actually aid the imprisoned mortal mage.

Now, he was sitting in his usual armchair, absently polishing up the Smiting Rod he'd taken from Prince Raithe too many years ago now and thinking quietly about Lily. He hadn't seen her in far too many years, and he was growing more and more concerned that the Princess had caught up to her somewhere and had begun some rigorous torture protocol before he glanced up at the sound of a knock on the door, and he approached with a grimace. This better not be another random search...

He opened the door, then stared as Mist and Shine smiled at him warmly, both of them bowing their heads respectfully. "Lord Zerrex, it's a pleasure to see you... may I come in?"

Zerrex opened his muzzle, before he paused and stepped backwards, frowning quietly at the two as they stood, Mist frowning and Shine looking away nervously... and a moment later, the reptile asked softly: "Who are you? The twins can enter my house at will... and I don't think I've ever heard either of them refer only to themselves when they talked."

The pair glanced at each other, before both turned and ran, and Zerrex glowered at them both as he slammed the door irritably. He shook his head slowly before returning to polishing the weapon at his armchair, feeling miserable. These cloak-and-dagger tactics are going to kill me... either Ose or the Royal Guards, and I'm just... too tired to care...

He sat back down in the chair with a grunt, before picking up the large weapon and going back to work manually polishing it. Once a shapeshifter had gotten into his house and caused a terrible ruckus before Selena had come home, and she'd kicked the crap out of the Dius that had been pretending to be her... and while it had admittedly been somewhat of a turn-on, it had also been horrifying. He'd felt something was off, but hadn't gone with his instincts... and he'd almost compromised the entire angel operation, the one thing that stopped Heaven from making a real attack on Hell with everything the Princess was doing to stir up chaos.

Zerrex shook his head slowly, before a portal appeared and Sin walked through, glancing back and forth before offering him a bit of a smile, and Zerrex smiled back, feeling relieved. "There you are! Shapeshifters keep knocking on the door, the unpleasant kind. I still don't know how to tell them apart or anything, so..."

"It's alright, Lord Zerrex. It takes practice." Sin said softly, and she sat down on the couch with a grimace, looking over at him softly. "I... I heard a rumor today, though, going between the handmaidens about Queen Lilith... she's apparently found a way around the powers of the Scholars, whom the Princess ordered to help her... but they think they're getting close to finding her in the Lust Circle. I was wondering if I could ask Selena, Mist and Shine to... to go and find her, and maybe Sir Raze could go with them if he's still here in Hell somewhere, since I'm sure he'd be a great asset..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he stood up and put the Smiting Rod aside, before pausing and concentrating instead, reducing it to the size of a pen. He slid it into a pocket of the tough Wyrmhide pants he was wearing, and then he said thoughtfully: "See if you can convince Bondage to help out, too... he's a jailor there, and Rose has always been a supporter of Lily, too. At the worst, she can run interference... but you'll have to tell them to move fast, because the Masters... if they get a hold of her..."

Sin nodded, creating a portal and bowing to him respectfully as she stood up, before pausing as Zerrex held up a hand. "Thank you, Sin. For everything."

"It's my pleasure, Lord Zerrex... take care of yourself at work." Sin replied with a quiet smile, stepping through the portal. The reptile watched as it vanished, direly wanting to help but knowing he'd be tracked if he left the Circle... and so he sighed and instead created his own, stepping through it and walking out into the stable.

Kent glanced up at him from where he was bandaging a wounded domestic hydra, and the creature hissed at him quietly with all four heads... but Zerrex approached it fearlessly and rubbed a hand slowly down the central head, and the other three curled downwards as it nuzzled towards him, relaxing immediately. "It's good to see you there, Zerrex... if you want to get started, I've already got two prisoners filling up the food and a guard making sure they don't get their heads bitten off, but there's a few other fellows like these outside I think you can handle on your own."

Zerrex nodded with a slight smile, glancing over the hydra and asking curiously: "Three or four tails tall? And for military use or businesses?"

"Military, and most of them are five, actually... real big bastards." Fifteen feet tall at the shoulder... "I think you better be careful, though, one of them has six heads and I can't tell which one's the controller... sure took a bite out of this fellow here, though."

The Drakkaren nodded, then he rose a hand to Kent before making his way quickly outside, rubbing his hands together absently as he drew his hands slowly over the tamed-but-untrained hydras in the field next to the base. For six hours he was undisturbed other then once, when Kent led the wounded hydra back outside, and the reptile quickly pulled it into line with the others. Thankfully, he had a trick or two when the huge beasts began to get too out of line, and a quick glance over the crowd and a use of Dominate worked wonders on the animals, getting them to fall immediately in line and do whatever he ordered.

Just like the beasts of the mortal plane, they responded well to treats â€" in this case, chunks of unidentifiable meat â€" and physical contact, and Zerrex had long ceased to have any worries about the creatures of this world. Whenever Kent was busy or away, Zerrex was the stablemaster now, ordering around the other prisoners and correcting their mistakes as he worked with the animals or did other chores around the enormous stables, and the reptile was more than capable of training any of the beasts that made their way through the stables, from Draybeasts to the massive Infernal Dragons that he'd only see a few of, forty foot tall behemoths used as ‘tanks' by the military.

He was always cheerful at work, and it gave him time to think to himself as he quietly hummed a tune, feeding the hydras out of his hand even though Kent had warned him again and again that one day he was going to get a nasty bite doing that, before he paused and glanced over his shoulder as he heard a laugh and a darkly-amused voice shouted: "Now make it run through a hoop!"

"Ose, get lost." Zerrex said sourly, before the otter jumped down and slid his hands in the pockets of his robes, his eyes burning as he looked over the Drakkaren with disgust. A monarch of Hell at heart, Ose thought physical labor was undignified by high-status demons... although torturing people seems to suit him just fine. If the son of a bitch wasn't a Baron and an Inquisitor... "I'm busy working. Shouldn't you be torturing someone right now, anyway?"

"They died. Oops, my bad." Ose said mildly, and by the smile and the shrug, Zerrex knew he wasn't kidding, the reptile snarling as he clenched his hands into fists and turned slowly around. Immediately, Ose rose a hand and pointed, saying condescendingly: "You shouldn't ever turn your back on a wild animal, Lord Zerrex. It'll bite."

"They've already learned not to bite their handlers." Zerrex responded acidly, crossing his arms and glowering at the otter. "And don't try spooking them, either, or I'll send the big fellow there right at you."

Ose looked disdainfully at the fifteen foot tall hydra, watching as it lumbered around and nudged one of the others roughly, hissing balefully and making the smaller hydra run away. "It doesn't look so bad... but hey, words are just words, right, Lord Zerrex? They don't hurt anyone..." He smiled darkly, raising a hand and snapping a fingers to create an echoing bang, the hydras all howling as their heads writhed and twisted like snakes. "Actions do."

Zerrex turned around and shouted: "Down!" firmly, raising his hands to the one directly behind himself, and it calmed almost immediately, but several of the others had charged off... and the enormous hydra was charging straight at him, hissing and screaming. Zerrex faced it fearlessly, however, and his eyes glowed green as he pointed at Ose and shouted: "Ha! Ra! Strike!"

"What kind of nonsensical words are..." Ose started, and then he stared as the giant hydra veered off course and shot towards him instead, before he snarled furiously, his fur turning dead black as his eyes glowed red, and he held out a hand, snarling: "Fuck off and die!"

A white sphere formed in his hand before it exploded outwards towards the hydra in a blast of raw force, and the Hydra's chest simply erupted in a matching explosion in the opposite direction, pieces of bone and one of its forelegs flying through the air as it whined loudly and collapsed to the side, blood leaking out of the controlling head's mouth before it slumped to the ground, a huge pool of blood spreading over the parched earth as the other hydras howled mournfully at the death of one of their own. Zerrex snarled furiously as he turned towards Ose, the otter's long, C shaped horns pushing out of his skull and twisting around either side of his head before a second, smaller pair of triangular horns pushed out above his eyes, the otter hissing softly: "Stupid lizards... I hate you all. Just wait until Prince Az'Iriel rules Hell and the Physical Plane, then all mortals and their scum pets will suffer and die..."

"Looks like you slipped up... yet somehow I'm not surprised." Zerrex said coldly, and the Drakkaren leaned forwards into a ready position before he smiled darkly as Ose held his hands out and two long, serrated swords of darkness formed, the handles wrapped in hide and the blades ending in long, curved hooks. "Don't do this, Ose. Go quietly."

"I've played with you long enough, watched you in combat... and now I know every single one of your abilities, you're just like any other lesser demon..." Ose hissed... and then he grunted as his body increased in size suddenly, his eyes glowing red as his body became twisted and ugly, his biceps enormous but his forearms and hands little more than thin sticks. His legs were similar, with thick, muscular upper legs but the lower portions of the limbs narrow and weak-looking, ending in small hooves instead of paws. His tail stayed sinewy, thick and muscular, however, and his chest was thick and strong... but his waist was narrow and small, and his features were gaunt. Small fins had pushed themselves out of his body here and there as well, ending in hooked spikes... and Ose ground his serrated blades together, the swords glowing for a moment as they expanded to match his almost thirty-foot tall body. "How can you hope to win against a greater demon like myself? Surrender, and perhaps Prince Az'Iriel will forgive your impertinence..."

Zerrex looked up at the demon, glancing over it before he simply laughed quietly, pulling out the pen-sized Smiting Rod from his pocket, before he pushed energy into it... and it glowed before expanding rapidly, the Drakkaren gripping the three-foot handle in both hands as the ten-foot mace-blade shone proudly, glistening in the light as he said quietly: "I don't even need to take on my demonic form to teach you a lesson, Ose... I've been waiting a long time for this day, believe me..."

"Arrogant scum, then die!" Ose roared, and his eyes gleamed as Zerrex felt his body stiffening up... and immediately he snarled and glared back, his own eyes glowing bright green as he fought back with his own powers. A moment later, Ose staggered backwards towards the fence, looking horrified and shaking his head quickly. "Not possible!"

The Drakkaren didn't bother responding, instead charging forwards and swinging the massive mace-blade outwards into Ose's leg... and the demon screamed in agony as he flailed his arms before toppling forwards. Zerrex winced, covering his head... but Ose vanished in thin air and the reptile's eyes flicked over his shoulder as the demon fell to a crouch some ten feet away, hissing: "You're only an Ascendant Mortal... I am a true demon of Hell... in my blood flows the same blood of the first demons of Hell!"

"You're delusional, Ose." Zerrex said softly, turning around as Ose stood slowly back up, and he watched as the demon's leg quickly repaired itself. The demon charged forwards before Zerrex could speak again, swinging both blades down, and the Drakkaren deflected one with the massive mace-sword before ducking under the other and swinging the huge weapon out at leg-level again, his strength and speed giving him an advantage over Ose's height.

The demon blocked the huge sword with a hoof, emitting a hiss of pain as he swung both blades down towards the Drakkaren's head. Zerrex immediately fell to a kneel, then he whistled loudly as Ose cursed and brought both swords back to attempt a finishing strike, but before he could lash out, the other hydras in the yard charged into him as Zerrex jerked his huge mace-sword backwards at the same time.

The demon vanished from sight again before reappering twenty feet away with his swords in the ground, and he rose both hands as he snarled an incantation before a cage of earth formed around Zerrex, barring him in place. The Drakkaren cursed, his sword lodged between two pillars of rock, and then he concentrated and stomped the ground once, muttering a counterspell that caused the rocks to crumble to dust around him.

He looked up a moment too late, and one of Ose's swords smashed into his chest, sending him flying backwards as the Smiting Rod flew out of his hand, the Drakkaren hitting the fence and falling flat to the earth before he shook his head quickly with a mutter, standing up quickly and brushing at the deep gash on his chest as Ose cackled loudly. Zerrex narrowed his eyes as he walked calmly forwards, picking up his fallen weapon... and a moment later, a protective barrier formed around Ose as he grinned widely despite the soldiers now flooding onto the field. "I just have to kill you at a distance then, Lord Zerrex!"

"Yeah, except you have a problem on your hands." Zerrex nodded to the soldiers charging towards the demon, and Ose glanced over his shoulder with a muttered curse. The Drakkaren grinned slightly... and then his eyes widened in horror as several of the soldier demons fell, grasping their heads and screaming in agony as terrible wounds ripped over their bodies, and the others turned and fled, yelling for the mage squad.

"Not anymore." Ose said softly, and he clasped his hands together tightly, muttering a quick incantation. A moment later, a massive portal formed under the field, and Zerrex steadied himself as he fell through it with the huge demon and several dead bodies.

His eyes widened as they landed on a war-torn battlefield, and Ose grinned widely, stretching out his hands as his swords reappeared from thin air in twin lines of darkness. This place was like the Hell people imagined when the topic was brought up: pools of magma, cracked, barren earth, and enormous rocks with dead soldier demons chained all over them... and Zerrex snarled furiously as Ose hissed: "You can't flee now, Lord Zerrex... welcome to the Northern Provinces. All I have to do is hold you here until Lieutenant Ezekial orders the next charge, and our soldiers will swarm over you like ants... there is no escape!"

"Why? Why, Ose?" Zerrex asked in a snarl, unable to help himself as he felt something waking up inside of his body... and slowly, his horns pushed out of his skull, both bull and ram's horns pushing forwards as his body increased slightly in size, and when Ose only laughed, he roared: "Have I just been a toy all this time?"

"The old gods will never give up their position..." Ose said softly, before he grinned widely and taunted: "What's wrong, Lord Zerrex? Are you too scared to become a demon? Are you too afraid to show me what you really look like? Embrace yourself, show me what a worthless Daius you are!"

"I am no Daius." Zerrex said furiously... and a moment later he flexed as his body underwent the transformation, snarling as his rage boiled over and that dark and evil thing inside himself fed off it, making itself stronger as his muscles bulged and his body increased in size, his eyes turning a terrible, glowing emerald as Ose staggered backwards in horror, dropping one of his swords at the waves of pure wrath floating off the Drakkaren as his clothes tore and fell away in shreds. And less than ten seconds later, the reptile stood in full demon form, thirty-feet six tall and covered in enormous muzzle, his bull-horns pointing forwards instead of up and his eyes glowing with wrath, his form sexless but masculine and his wings tearing out his back as he whispered in a dangerous, venomous voice: "What's wrong, Ose? Where's your confidence? Aren't you going to kill me?"

Ose snarled, twitching and swallowing... before he charged stupidly forwards, and Zerrex laughed before his eyes flashed, and Ose fell to the ground as a wave of weakness shot through his body. A sliver of drool fell from his muzzle, and then he vomited black bile as Zerrex slowly strode forwards as the Smiting Rod expanding to match his massive size. He smiled down at Ose as the otter looked up at him with horror, clutching his stomach with one hand... and then Zerrex simply flicked the demon with his enormous weapon and he was knocked through the air like a toy, crashing and skidding along on his back as he dropped his other sword.

A moment later, however, the demon scrambled to his feet and held out both hands, a mixture of terror and pride overcoming his common sense as his swords vanished from the ground and reappeared in his grip. Ose quickly snapped the handles together and twisted, and the blades glowed gold before the demon charged with the double-ended glaive, snarling furiously.

He swung in, the weapon held in both hands... and Zerrex easily blocked the blow with the Smiting Rod before hammering his palm into Ose's muzzle, sending him staggering backwards. Before the otter-demon could recover, Zerrex savagely smashed the mace-sword down into the creature's skull, and Ose crumpled under the blow to his knees... but vanished just as Zerrex slammed the Smiting Rod down in a finishing blow.

Ose reappeared a moment later behind Zerrex, and he rammed the glaive into his back, one of the glowing blades sinking deep into him as Zerrex howled in pain before he spun around and lashed out with a fist... but Ose vanished and reappeared in a crouch this time, slashing out one of Zerrex's knees and knocking him to a crouch before finally teleporting high in the air and falling straight down towards the Incarnation... but the reptile's head snapped up with a furious snarl and he swung out with his own huge weapon in an arc, and it caught Ose in midair before he was slammed down into the ground beneath the Smiting Rod, blood bursting over his already-wounded body as he let out a scream of agony.

He vanished almost instantly, reappearing a moment later, panting hard and leaning on the glaive a good forty feet away, blood running down his face... but just as he began an incantation, Zerrex snapped an arm out and four massive tentacles shot towards him, each thicker than a tree and tipped with a long hook. Ose reacted on instinct, windmilling his glaive into the thick tendrils and slicing several of them apart, Zerrex's eyes bulging in pain as he snarled furiously, before one of the tentacles Ose had sliced the head off of smashed into the demon's chest and knocked him staggering, and the others wrapped quickly around the glaive's handle as a hook sank into Ose's arm, the demon hissing as he tried to jerk back... before Zerrex roared angrily: "You're pissing me off!"

Energy sizzled down the tentacles, and Ose's body twisted back and forth in agony as the fur and skin on his limb began to flake off, the otter-demon jerking backwards as he whined loudly... and a moment later, the glaive was torn out of his hand and thrown to the side as the tentacles quickly retracted into Zerrex's body, and Ose clutched at his melted arm, panting hard and whispering: "No... no... you're not a demon... you can't be, you're a monster..."

A tremble went through Zerrex... and then he charged forwards with a roar, and his eyes flashed, and Ose froze in place as a slow smile spread over his face, opening his muzzle to speak... but the Smiting Rod crashed down into his skull again a moment later, and he crumpled to a heap on the ground as Zerrex snarled like an animal, striking the fallen body of the otter over and over and over again...

Finally, he staggered backwards, panting hard and staring in horror down at what he'd done: Ose had been reduced to nothing more than a crushed, bloody pulp a single eye staring from the crunched heap of bones and blood that was his face, his entire body twisted and burning quietly as Zerrex gripped one of his own horns with a long moan of shock, his eyes fading back to normal as he looked back and forth. His breath quickened as he tried to force his demonic characteristics to vanish, but they wouldn't... and so instead he quickly created a portal to the one place he knew wasn't protected by the shield in the Southern Province: his own home.

He barely fit in the room, even squeezed down on his back, and he clutched the mace-sword against his body as he shook his head in denial at what he'd become, shivering violently and not caring about what he was crushing. He heard a knock at the door, but he ignored it, even as it became more insistent... and a moment later, a portal opened beside his head and Sin stepped into the room, before taking a shocked breath at the sight of the reptile. "Lord Zerrex!"

"I'm a monster..." Zerrex whispered, and then he turned away, clenching his eyes shut: "Don't look at me, I... I can't control myself, I'm scared I..."

He broke off into silence, only trembling and trying to pretend that it was the blood in his eyes causing him to cry and not the feelings running through his body... but he could feel Sin's hands on his shoulder, and a calming feeling was flowing through him... and slowly, his body began to shrink back to his normal Drakkaren form, until he lay on the floor a few minutes later with Sin kneeling beside him, back to his usual size and with his horns just finishing disappearing into his skull as he murmured softly: "Why am I the way I am..."

"Because everyone has to bear their own burdens... but we always used to say that God never allowed us to carry more than we could handle..." Sin murmured softly, and then she quietly picked up the Smiting Rod and shrank it down, waving a hand over it to cleanse it of blood and filth before she put it on the weapons rack at the side of the room. She sighed a bit, then sat down beside him in the wreckage of the room and added softly: "There's a platoon of Royal Guards outside, along with Commander Boryn, who heads the unit here. But the Princess has also requested that she see you immediately... would you like to put some clothes on first, though?"

Zerrex grunted something, and Sin blushed a bit, only standing awkwardly... and a moment later Selena portaled into the room and threw a charm at Zerrex, the reptile blinking as she said roughly: "Put it on, no time to explain, and follow me, no questions!"

She leapt through the portal, and Zerrex blinked before quickly slipping the blue-and-gold choker around his neck as he stood up... and Sin pushed a plain black robe over his body, the reptile flailing a bit before he stumbled forwards and through the portal... and stared in horror as he saw Azazel and Astaroth grinning cruelly as they circled Lily slowly.

She was crying in her Drakkaren body, wrapped tightly in some sort of silk webbing and sunken into the ground, spikes of rock jutting around her body and trapping her tightly in place... and she stared as Zerrex stepped out beside Selena, screaming: "Zerrex! Get away from here! They're too powerful!"

The portal began to close... and then it stopped as Sin stepped through as well, blushing but looking defiant, and the Naganatine Twins paused in their slow circling. Azazel was dressed only in a loincloth, revealing a tattoo down the right side of his chest of his sister's name in demonic runes... and Astaroth had the same on the left side of her body. She was wearing a loincloth as well, with a plain white cloth wrap around her breasts... but whereas her brother held a large, golden scimitar, she had a short javelin in one hand and a quiver of the same strapped just above her tail, and a wicked-looking axe in the other, with an enormous, waved blade and a short oak handle.

On the other side, Raze, Mist and Shine were all standing with their swords out, Raze's armor torn to shreds and Mist and Shine both bleeding heavily... and Selena pulled a leather whip with runes that glowed red over the long, single tail off her belt, snapping it once and leaving a thin trail of flame behind as she said coldly: "Back off. We broke your portal block and now the strongest of all Naganatine is here, along with Lord Zerrex... release Lily and run away to the Warlord, and we won't give chase... at least, not this time."

The two laughed, and then they slowly began to circle Lily again as Astaroth said teasingly: "Now why would we do that? We have the advantage here... in Retaken Eden, we reign supreme above all!"

Zerrex frowned a bit, glancing back and forth... and he realized a moment later they were in a circular clearing, with nothing but massive apple trees around them... but unlike Hell, there seemed to be no sky, only darkness above and a multitude of small islands floating in the obsidian distance. Red and white light randomly shot up through the darkness, sometimes forming waves or an almost-solid wall in the distance, and the reptile realized they were in some sort of pocket dimension as he asked coldly: "What do you two want? If you're so powerful, why serve Az'Iriel?"

"All will be explained in time." Azazel replied calmly with a cold smile, before he paused and added softly: "By the way... I know what you're thinking, but don't think that separating us will work to your advantage, Lord Zerrex... no matter how you gang up on us, we'll cut our way through and kill every single one of you. This isn't a standoff... this is entertainment for us. You've already lost, as we've taken Lilith hostage... and if you make a single move against us, we will kill her."

The Drakkaren snarled... and then Sin bowed her head forwards and murmured softly: "Azazel. Astaroth. I'm sorry for having to do this... I honestly am."

She strode forwards, and the Naganatine Twins hesitated before Astaroth leapt back beside Lilith and Azazel strode forwards with his scimitar, raising it as the female twin shouted coldly: "Another step and-"

Sin rose a hand and simply shoved Azazel aside, and at the last moment there was a terrible pulse of force and Azazel was sent crashing through the apple trees with a howl, and Astaroth arched her back and clutched at her head as if pained herself, wincing away from Lilith... and immediately Sin held her hand out towards Astaroth, speaking a complex incantation faster than Zerrex could ever hope to match, and glowing silver bands locked around Astaroth's head, muzzle, and limbs.

She struggled and flailed, stumbling backwards... and a moment later, chains shot out of the ground and attached to the bindings, jerking her down to her knees before ripping through the earth and jerking her back flat against the ground as she gave a muffled scream of consternation. Immediately, Raze leapt forwards and slammed his sword through the Naganatine Twin's stomach, and Astaroth screamed in rage as a white circle of runes formed around her, Raze roaring an incantation as Sin hugged Lily tightly around the neck... and they vanished into motes of darkness together.

Zerrex ran forwards as Raze's sword began to tremble violently, Astaroth's body somehow rejecting it, forcing it upwards even as he pushed firmly downwards, his muscles bulging... and the Drakkaren grabbed the hilt, adding his own strength, wincing as he felt terrible vibrations ripping through the massive sword.

Mist, Shine and Selena, meanwhile, charged towards Azazel as he ran back into the clearing, the twins swinging their swords at the same time on either side of the Naganatine, Mist ducking to aim at his legs and Shine his upper chest... but Azazel only swung hard upwards with his sword and knocked both of the huge cleavers away before he slammed a foot into Mist, knocking her a good ten feet backwards with shriek of pain. A moment later, his same foot snapped across into Shine's side, and she staggered with a grunt before he smashed the hilt of his sword into her shoulder with a snarl, and she crumpled to his feet.

Selena leapt forwards with whip burning with white and red hellfire, snarling in fury as Azazel turned towards her... but the Naganatine threw his scimitar at her, and it tore through her stomach as her eyes bulged in shock, and she fell in the center of the clearing as Zerrex shouted in horror. Azazel strode calmly over to her, then stomped down on her breasts as he grasped the hilt of his blade and jerked it free from her body.

The demoness shivered violently on the ground, and Azazel kicked her mercilessly onto her back as he rose his sword, before his eyes flicked to the side as Zerrex charged towards him with a snarl. The Naganatine smiled cruelly... then he arced his sword from a downwards to a sideways thrust towards the reptile's stomach as he drew close, and Zerrex cursed as he leapt to the side, the blade cutting a narrow gash down his stomach before Azazel kicked him hard in the groin.

Zerrex grunted and his whole body jerked, then Azazel kicked him hard onto his back before running towards Raze and hammering him with a shoulder-charge, knocking the godling staggering before the male Naganatine Twin slashed two large gashes into his chest, leaving a large, bloody X on the Drakkaren as he snarled in fury... and then Azazel rose his hand and blew Raze backwards with a blast of flames, knocking the black-scaled divine being flat on his back and leaving him howling in pain.

The sword flew out of Astaroth's body and crashed to the ground beside her, and she quickly climbed to her feet, tearing free of the chains as they rotted away and ripping the other restraints from her body with a furious snarl, and Zerrex stared in horror as the wound on her stomach visibly began to heal. She exchanged a look with Azazel, who had only a few bruises and minor abrasions over his body, and the two nodded before they strode purposefully towards Zerrex.

The Drakkaren rose his hands, and Astaroth said coldly as she rose the axe she was still clutching: "Don't resist, Lord Zerrex... it'll be far faster and cleaner if you don't fight us. You might not even have the time to feel pain."

"It's pointless to fight." Azazel added softly, and then the Naganatine Twins glanced at each other in surprise as Selena rose to a kneel beside Zerrex and rose a hand with a snarl. "Your magic is-"

A moment later, Astaroth was blown off her feet with a shriek of pain, as Azazel stumbled as if wounded... and Zerrex took the chance, leaping forwards and grabbing his shoulder with one hand and his wrist with the other, and the Nagantine snarled at him before wincing as Zerrex forced the First Breed to slap himself in the face with his own scimitar, Azazel shaking his head as his fingers loosened before Zerrex twisted his wrist viciously, and the Naganatine let out a howl of pain as the bones snapped and his fingers spasmed, dropping his weapon. Zerrex kicked it away in midair, and then he staggered backwards as Azazel punched him hard in the face before Astaroth threw an orb of electricity at him, and lighting sparked over his body as he was knocked off his feet with a cry of pain.

The Naganatine Twins snarled... and then Mist and Shine both came down with twin slashes into Azazel's shoulders, and the Naganatine arched his back with a shriek of pain before the two hauled downwards with their enormous blades, and the creature's arms flew off his body, the Naganatine howling in agony as he staggered forwards with only the stumps of shoulders, his eyes bulging before he collapsed as Astaroth screamed in agony, grabbing her head and shaking it violently back and forth before Raze leapt forwards and simply cut her in half at the waist with a furious snarl, and her legs kicked and spasmed, stumbling forwards a few steps as her upper body hit the ground with a loud squelch.

A moment later, those fell as well, and the others picked themselves up off the ground, panting hard... before staring as the bodies of the twins faded out of existence. A moment later, laughter filled the air... and the two reappeared in full health, their arms crossed and both grinning cruelly as they stood side-by-side. Zerrex shook his head in disbelief as held Selena tight against his side, Raze stepping forwards with a snarl and his blade glowing with darkness, and the twin Iuratus slid in front of Zerrex, Shine saying quietly: "Get out of here. We'll hold them off as long as we can. We can't win this fight."

"We serve you even in death, Lord Zerrex." Mist nodded firmly, leveling her cleaver-sword in front of herself... before she blushed as Zerrex touched her shoulder quietly, adding gently: "It's... been an honor to know you and to serve under you."

"We aren't dead yet... and I'm not giving up until those two are." Zerrex responded coldly, picking up Azazel's fallen scimitar as Selena rested on the ground, panting quietly. "Selena, you should-"

"If you finish that sentence with anything other than ‘stop being a pussy,' I'm going to punch my fist so hard into your ass it'll come out your penis." Selena muttered, before she struggled to her feet with a snarl, clutching the wound in her chest with one hand and whip in the other. "I'm not letting you fuckers make me look bad."

The Naganatine Twins laughed at their defiance, and the two stepped forwards as the trees surrounding the field groaned and twisted slowly into a tight fence, the grass covering the circular field dying and revealing arid soil beneath filled with the flattened remains of demons and broken bones, Azazel saying coldly: "This is not only pointless.. its pathetic. Lord Zerrex, give yourself up, and we'll spare the others. We only need your head to win this war."

"You're the prize... you're the thing we need to capture." Astaroth said softly, licking her muzzle slowly and grinning widely as she added teasingly: "Come over here, and I'll let you have one hard fuck with me before we kill you... and don't you just want to feel yourself penetrating my little body, making me scream and squirm?"

"You're ugly." Zerrex responded irritably, and Astaroth snarled furiously, the eyes of both the twins glowing. "And if you're so powerful and so sure of victory... you'd kill all of us for the trouble we caused you. We'll just keep killing you until you stay dead, even in this world, so maybe you're the ones who should back off."

The Naganatine Twins looked at each other... then they smiled coldly before returning their gazes to Zerrex as they turned towards one another... and then they held their hands out towards each other, and a white, pulsing orb formed between them, glowing and sparking with terrible energy as Mist and Shine immediately began to chant and Raze joined them after a moment as the Naganatine shouted in one voice: "Die, Lord Zerrex!"

A shield of white energy tore out of the ground in front of them, and Zerrex quickly added his own layer of blue energy over it before the white orb launched at them as the Naganatine Twins staggered backwards from the magical recoil, and it exploded against the first shield, which immediately turned to glass and shattered before Zerrex's energy field cracked into pieces, but most of the blast was reflected backwards as Astaroth and Azazel let out screams of pain, buried in the white glow. The power of the blast still knocked the group off their feet... and then Zerrex stared at the flakes of green and amber crystals covering his body, before he brushed them quickly off and he looked up to see Mist and Shine tossing down weapons that had been completely turned to the substance as they rubbed the same stuff off their own body.

Selena muttered under her breath, and only Raze seemed unaffected, his eyes narrowed towards a pair of statues that now stood where the Naganatine Twins had... and Zerrex stared at the half of the battlefield where they had stood. It had been completely transformed into green and amber rock that glinted strangely in the light, and the Twins themselves seemed to have been consumed by it... before the statues trembled, and then chunks of crystal flew in all directions as the Twins staggered out of it, Astaroth snarling: "Nice trick."

"So instead of quick death, you again choose to draw this out... enough." Azazel said coldly, and he and his sister stepped back in front of the petrified trees, and the two took hands before both smiled coldly. They looked towards each other, then towards the group as they slid towards one another carefully, their fingers twining together... and as their shoulders touched, they melded together as if they were made of water, sliding their bodies effortlessly together as the form of the now-one Naganatine shifted and flowed like water.

A moment later, they were left staring at a single black-scaled Naganatine with burning golden eyes and a lithe body with taunt musculature, naked but completely androgynous with a hint of a bust and the tattoos of both demon's names on either side of its chest. It also possessed two long tails, both ending in a pair of thin, flexible whips. The Naganatine also had a double set of horns, two pushing straight backwards from its skull and the other set curving up and back, gnarled and twisted, giving it a strange crown... and then it said softly in the overlapping voices of the Naganatine Twins: "We are not amused. Allow us to demonstrate our displeasure."

It held out a hand, and a white orb formed in it before turning into a long, thin pole of crystal with a long, circular blade at one end of the staff. It smiled, then pointed the staff towards Raze, and a blast of lighting shot out of it and slammed the godling onto his back. The black-scaled Drakkaren snarled before he leapt up to his feet, and Zerrex shouted: "Charge him!"

Before they could, the combined creature waved the staff to create a wall of white flames in front of itself, then it rose its other hand, several daggers of that strange green crystal appearing in midair before they shot down towards Mist, but Zerrex shoved her out of the way and slapped his other hand out, knocking one of the daggers away, but the other two pounded into his chest and sent him staggering backwards. Agony tore through his body, and the Naganatine laughed as Zerrex ripped one of the daggers out of his chest, the creature taunting from behind the wall of flame: "What's wrong, Lord Zerrex? Can't you think of anything?"

"I can." Selena muttered, and she held up her hands, concentrating as the Naganatine turned its eyes to her, but before it could do anything, the wall of flames slid into it and set it alight, the creature covering its face with a snarl of pain.

It waved a hand a moment later, and the flames vanished a moment before Zerrex threw one of the crystal daggers he had torn out of his body at it, but the creature somehow managed to slide its staff into the way, and the dagger bounced pointlessly off before it spun the staff with both hands and thrusted it forwards as Mist and Shine leapt forwards with a new pair of cleavers they had drawn out of thin air.

The blades ground into the crystal, but failed to cut through it... and a moment later the Naganatine shoved them both backwards with a snarl of fury, the twins staggering before it swung out with the staff and slashed Shine's leg out from beneath her with the circular blade, then thrusted towards Mist with it as her sister fell. Mist managed to block it with the flat of her cleaver, but she was still knocked over, and the fused Naganatine prepared a finishing blow as the staff sparked with electricity; before it could spear Mist, however, Selena's whip snapped forwards and wrapped tight around the pole, and she jerked hard backwards, causing the creature to stagger instead of strike.

It snarled, looking towards Selena as Mist and Shine leapt backwards to safety... and then it cursed and twisted the pole to block a strike from Zerrex, the golden scimitar slashing into the end of the crystal staff with enough force to crack it before the Naganatine swung the head of the pole towards Zerrex's head, but the Drakkaren ducked and Selena jerked hard at the same time, and the creature staggered as the pole was nearly torn from its hand, Zerrex spinning gracefully before slashing the golden sword through the being's ankle.

It screamed in a mixture of rage, pain and shock, before the Drakkaren was snapped by one of its powerful tails and knocked to the ground with a grunt of surprise more then pain, before it managed to yank the pole free from Selena's whip and it rose a foot to stomp on him. Zerrex winced and covered his face, but before it could, Raze snapped a hand out and sent the Naganatine crashing backwards into the crystallized trees, and it howled in fury and pain as green-and-amber branches crashed around it.

It leapt back into the clearing a moment later like an animal, landing with a hiss of fury on all fours, its tails snapping around it and staff in one hand... and Zerrex leapt onto its back before stabbing downwards as he shouted: "Crush it!"

The Naganatine howled in agony as the sword tore into its back, beginning to straighten... but Shine and Raze both leapt forwards on either side of the creature, demonic cleaver and angelic blade slicing into either side of the beast and crisscrossing over its body, Raze's hard hammering swing sending Shine's blade ripping deep into the beast, causing it to scream before Mist leapt in behind it, chopping both its tails off before she slammed her own blade into its back as Zerrex gracefully leapt off the creature, and the Naganatine collapsed to the ground with a howl before Selena shouted: "Zerrex, it's made of energy! Rip it apart!"

The Drakkaren nodded and spun around, then grasped the creature's shoulders with a snarl... and it shuddered, screaming in rage, eyes glowing gold as it glared up at him... and Zerrex glared down, feeling his own demonic instincts rise. He trembled as he remembered Ose... and then he repressed them as he roared down into the Naganatine's face: "I'm better than you!"

His hands glowed blue as he seized something inside the creature, and a vision of scared little boy and girl clutching each other tight entered his head, his hands clawing into their backs... and then he tore them hard apart as he pulled the Naganatine's body in either direction at the same time, and a blast of force knocked the four surrounding the creature backwards as a massive pillar of dark energy shot into the air, filled with screams of agony from Azazel and Astaroth.

Zerrex covered his eyes as a white glow mixed with the darkness, and the trees around them shattered into pieces, chunks of wood and crystal flying in all directions and cracks spread out from the ground... before the enormous tornado of raw energy sparked out of existence, leaving arcs of white energy flickering back and forth through the air over the naked, mangled bodies of two Naganatine laying several feet apart.

Azazel slowly opened his eyes, his breathing harsh and labored... and he tried to push himself up to his feet, but his legs refused to work, and he collapsed onto his chest before twitching once. He stared at his sister's body... and Zerrex stood slowly up, watching as Azazel dragged himself forwards with a grunt of effort, leaving a long trail of blood and black bile behind him before he collapsed, staring at his sister's face, her eyes closed and her body unmoving. He reached out, his fingers tracing quietly over her side, before he looked over to Zerrex, and he said dully: "I... I just... wanted to live for her forever..."

His body trembled violently... and then he slumped over and let out a last long sigh, his eyes half-closing as the golden light faded out of them. Zerrex slowly walked over to the Naganatine, then checked first Azazel's pulse, then Astaroth's... but they were both dead, and he halted as he felt his eyes focusing.

Slowly, blue, flickering spirits rose up out of the bodies of the Naganatine Twins, almost-shapeless, almost-formless... and then they twisted together as they rose into the air, turning into a single blue shape that spun slowly, embracing itself... and then it shattered into motes of blue energy. Zerrex watched as they fell around him, swallowing thickly, and then Selena grasped his shoulder with a frown, asking quietly: "Are you okay? What are you watching?"

"Nothing..." Zerrex said after a moment... and then he shook his head slowly, looking up and watching as one of the islands in the distance cracked apart and slowly began to crumble away, adding quietly: "We'd better get out of here, though... if this pocket dimension was held together by their energies, then it's probably going to turn into nothing but wreckage very shortly."

"Yeah... good idea." Selena nodded slowly, creating a large portal, and Zerrex slid her arm around his shoulder as Raze aided Mist and Shine, the twins smiling faintly at him despite how uncomfortable he looked. Or perhaps in part... "Let's go, I don't want you babying me forever..."

"Shut up." Zerrex said dryly, and he helped her through the portal, stepping into his own home and setting her down in the chair... and a moment later, he was tackled to the ground by Lily, who hugged him tightly, crying hard and curling against him as Zerrex groaned and laid flat against the ground. "My spleen just exploded."

But a moment later, he hugged her tightly back, as she pressed down against him... and he closed his eyes, asking in a soft murmur: "Are you okay, Lily? I've been worried about you, ever since I heard the other Monarchs were trying to block you from taking the throne..."

"It's been hard... my entire Province is turning into nothing more than a barren warzone..." Lily murmured, then she sat up, quietly stroking along his face and gazing at him worriedly, looking around the group and adding: "I... I don't know who to trust or what to do, and I was with my Elite and my bodyguards but... even my own family has turned against me, out of fear or necessity. I was forced to flee all the way to Prince Memnon's province, but... even there they hounded me constantly. I don't know how the Inquisitors have been tracking me but... I'm just so glad I found you, and that you survived the Naganatine Twins..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, and then he looked around the room slowly, watching as Sin healed Selena and Mist healed Shine, Raze looking awkward as he sat on the couch beside the demon twins, and then the Drakkaren climbed to his feet with a sigh, before looking over at Sin and asking in a quiet voice: "Did you really have to repair all the furniture right away?"

"Miss Lily did most of it, actually..." Sin responded with a faint smile, before walking over to the Drakkaren and motioning for him to sit on the table, which he did after a glance down to Lily. She smiled embarrassedly as Sin added softly: "She was concerned but... I... I thought that... I knew you'd be able to... deal with them."

Sin glanced down... and Zerrex bowed his head, saying quietly: "I'm sorry, Sin... they... they weren't the same people you knew. We didn't have much of a choice in the matter... and I'm sorry I keep killing and ending up in conflict with people close to you."

"It's not your fault, Lord Zerrex..." Sin murmured softly, as set pressed her hands along his body, and the Drakkaren grunted as she touched a broken rib. "You've got a lot of damage to your body... you need rest."

"I'd like to point out that Ose trying to eat me is also not my fault." Zerrex said pettishly, and then he looked embarrassed as Selena grasped his hands, looking up at him worriedly. "It's alright, don't worry... he... I..."

Zerrex fell silent, before clearing his throat and glancing around his home, watching as Raze winced away from Mist every so often as she leaned close to heal him. "So uh... lots of people, lots of commotion, and I still need to go see the Princess, huh?"

"She's very upset with you right now, Lord Zerrex... and you'd best take that charm off from around your neck, too, if you're going to see her." Sin said quietly, and Zerrex tilted his head curiously as he touched the locket gently, before she smiled a bit and glanced over at Lily. "Why don't you tell him, though... it's your heirloom, not mine."

"Thank you, Lady Sin." Lily blushed and bowed her head respectfully as Sin murmured an incantation and began to heal the wounds the Drakkaren had accumulated over the battles he'd fought, before she glanced up at Zerrex and squeezed his hand, saying softly: "It's some sort of failsafe against the Scholars... like the bracelet I gave you, it allows you to ignore the control they have over Hell, but it also keeps you off their... their radar, that's the term, right?"

"That's right." Zerrex smiled a bit, squeezing her hand gently in return, and she blushed quietly, her rainbow eyes flickering... and the reptile let himself relax in her beauty for a few moments before Sin finished healing his major wounds and stepped away from him, and he carefully took the locket off and held it out to her, saying softly: "You better take this, then. We're safe here, but as much as I want to keep you here forever..."

Lily smiled faintly, standing up and quietly grasping his shoulders as she murmured softly: "I have somewhere else I need to go... a safe place, but also a place where my supporters and rebels against Az'Iriel and the Princess have gathered. I'll let you know when I'm there, but... for now..." She hesitated, then leaned down and slowly kissed him, and Zerrex closed his eyes as he kissed her back and gripped her sides tightly, before she pulled away and gazed into his eyes silently. "Take care of yourself, Lord Zerrex... and I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I've never forgotten what I did to you... and I swear that one day I'll repay you for everything you've done."

"Lily..." Zerrex began, but she winked and stepped quickly through a white portal as she slipped the locket on, and he reached after her for a moment... but then the portal closed, and he slumped back a bit before looking over at Raze with a faint smile as the godling looked down with a deep flush in his cheeks. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But I'm not going to let you get squeezed out of the picture, don't worry... and maybe we can have that threesome sometime in the future."

Raze coughed and looked away with a wince as Mist and Shine exchanged a grin, but a moment later he stood and became serious, looking across at Zerrex. "I have to head back to Heaven and report on what's happened, the state of Queen Lilith, and what's happened to you..." He paused... then stepped forwards, and the two traded a tight hug as he murmured: "Take care of yourself, Zerrex... you still need to show me all those things you promised."

"You do the same, Raze." Zerrex traded a chaste kiss with the godling as he stepped back, and then Raze created a vortex and picked up his sword, walking through it... before the Drakkaren glanced over to Mist and Shine, asking morbidly: "And now you two are going to leave, right?"

"We need to talk to Queen Carmen and Mistress Sunia..." Mist said softly, and Zerrex walked around the table to hug them both tightly, squeezing them against his strong chest as the two smiled up into his eyes tenderly. "But we'll be back."

"We are your loyal Iuratus forever." Shine said firmly, and she nuzzled his neck slowly before Mist kissed his cheek quietly, and a moment later they stepped away, picking up their cleavers before Mist created a portal, and the two tossed him a longing look before walking through.

Zerrex looked over at Sin and Selena, the latter of whom was snoozing dazedly in the chair, and he frowned a bit before Sin shook her head and murmured: "It's okay... she's... it's the wound. You might feel stunned yourself for a little while, Lord Zerrex... but I suggest you leave. By now... I... the Princess will likely be..." She broke off, then glanced down and hugged herself quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Zerrex said softly, and then he smiled faintly as he walked over and flicked under her muzzle gently, creating a portal beside himself at the same time. "Thank you for saving Lily today, Sin... I want to do whatever I can to return the favor and all the help you gave us today."

Sin nodded with a blush, mumbling something, and Zerrex grasped her cheek with one hand before he leaned down and kissed the other quietly, and she turned red as the Drakkaren turned and stepped through the portal with a faint smile out onto the balcony... and a moment later he was slammed forcefully down onto his back and dragged slowly by some invisible force towards the Princess over the stone floor, his feet raised in the air and arms out at either side as she asked coldly: "So what were you up to all the way in the Northern Province?"

Zerrex was thrown into the air a moment later like a puppet on a string, the Princess's eyes burning into him... and the Drakkaren struggled weakly as he felt her fingers probing into his mind, and he let her snatch a memory of Ose before he managed out: "Ose attacked me... we went from place-to-place... he was..."

The Drakkaren was dropped out of the air, and he landed in crouch in front of the Princess before a cage of silver metal formed around him, and the reptile grasped the bars immediately, staring out of this at the Princess as she stood and picked it up by some sort of handle on the top, holding him up to head level as she snarled: "Worthless! You should have been able to destroy Ose in half the time if you only gave in to your demonic abilities... well, if you refuse to become what you truly are, I'll just have to motivate you..."

She strode over to the edge of the balcony, and Zerrex felt himself floating a moment later through the air, staring in horror as he floated beneath the balcony before latching onto a hook, the Princess saying coldly: "Since I have to replace yet another Inquisitor for you, I'm going to give you some time to think about what you've done. Look over my kingdom, its size and glory, and watch how demons are supposed to act... maybe over the next century, you'll learn something, you worthless mortal dreg."

He heard her walking away as sand formed into smooth glass screens around him, and they began to rotate slowly as Zerrex's breath quickened, terror setting in at his position inside a tiny cage so far above Hell... and as the screens floated by, he saw images of torture, of demonic war, of powerful magic and raw strength... and the Drakkaren arched his back with a howl of panic and agony as he shook the bars, heedless of whether he'd fall or not. Yet he was hooked firmly to something, and no matter what he did, the bars refused to give.

For a century, all he saw was the images on the screens that continued to float around himself, and all he heard was the Princess's discussions with other monarchs and diplomats. For a century he hung there, talking only to himself, sometimes sensing the Princess above him and going into a fit of rage and raving, but unable to twist or move the bars. Soon, cramps and pain overtook his body from the position he was trapped in, and after that he felt his inner demons rampaging, begging to be let loose. He felt himself go insane... and then he felt himself slowly take control of himself again, as he sat naked in the cage, the monitors still floating around him but now worn and cracked, one of them spilling a steady stream of sand out of itself until it finally fell completely apart.

A hundred years and a day later, he was lifted back up to the balcony, and he sat in the silvery cage, trembling as he looked up at the Princess, who was looking down at him with disgust. He felt her probing his mind, but he kept himself blank: with a century of feeling her groping around in his brain, he had gained a lot of practice at keeping psychics out of his head. "Well, Lord Zerrex, are we ready to be obedient?"

"Yes, Princess... whatever you say..." He looked up at her with a tremble that was only half-forced, whispering: "Just please... please set me free..."

"Very well... and you'll be pleased to know that we have a new Inquisitor for you named Sabnock Crane Yeit'Zull, another older demon, and one of my favorite concubines... so please do not harm her past the point of repair, and ensure you treat her with proper respect." The Princess said softly, snapping her fingers and causing the cage to collapse, and Zerrex immediately fell flat, breathing hard and closing his eyes as his body pulsed with a mix of agony and long-needed relief. "You'll meet her in an hour... call her a gift to you, since you've not caused too much of a ruckus these hundred years. I'll call for you at the end of the week."

The Princess pointed at him, and Zerrex felt the world spin around himself before he blinked several times as he landed on the floor of his own home, and immediately his head was yanked up and Selena let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank fuck."

Zerrex snarled a bit, causing her to recoil, and then he blushed and looked down, murmuring: "I... I'm sorry... Selena?" He hesitated a moment, and then shook his head quietly as she looked at him with a frown, leaning carefully down and caressing a hand through his hair, and he trembled violently. "I... after a hundred years in that little cage, I feel..."

"It's okay... it's okay..." Selena pulled him forwards, at at first he resisted... but then he sank into her lap and relaxed, shivering and hugging himself as she played a hand slowly through his hair, looking down at him with a frown and then saying clearly: "Sin!"

Sin appeared only a moment later... and she smiled hesitantly upon seeing Zerrex, before pausing and approaching quietly at the Drakkaren's shakes. She knelt beside him, quietly touching his chest... and Zerrex felt a calming sensation despite the strange claustrophobia kicking in at the same time, and she murmured softly: "There's a lot of damage not just to his body, but there's a psychic residue here, too... Lord Zerrex, do you feel upset?"

Zerrex nodded quietly, and Sin gently took his head between her hands, murmuring a long incantation... and a few moments later, the Drakkaren felt his body slowly relaxing, as he whispered: "My legs are in pain, too..."

"We'll get to that in just a moment..." Sin said quietly, as Selena held him against her body... and the Drakkaren felt the pain fading rapidly into a pleasant, lulled sensation as she murmured: "I'll mend the damaged muscles in your legs and body now. You're going to slowly slip back into reality, but hopefully you'll have become accustomed to everyday life by then, Lord Zerrex but... I... I'll do whatever I can to help you."

That awoke a memory in the Drakkaren, and he reached up to grasp her arm firmly, looking at her as she glanced at him nervously, before blushing quietly as he murmured: "I remember making that promise to you, Sin... what's... what's happened while I've been gone?"

"Well, Lily came by to see how you were doing and to tell you she made it to the safehouse, but..." Selena halted, and instead cradled his head close as she played through his messy, long hair, adding quietly: "And Raze has been here a few times, along with some other angels. Lily met some of them here and they had a big discussion about what to do, but they're deciding to bide their time for the moment..."

"We also heard that the Sisters are finally back, and they're anxious to meet you. You should be honored." Sin added gently, and Zerrex looked up curiously before she smiled a bit, murmuring softly: "The Sisters of the Judgment Cross... they spoke of you a lot during Services to the Princess..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he winced and forced himself to sit up, but Sin shook her head and quietly pushed him back down, Selena grasping his shoulders tightly. "Please, stay still... just for a few minutes, okay? Selena... I... would you... would you please get Lord Zerrex some clothes and something to eat?"

Selena nodded, slipping away for a moment... and ten minutes later Zerrex was sitting on the couch with Selena braiding his hair back into a long ponytail, eating his second bowl of stew and loving the feel of the pants on his body after spending most of the last hundred years naked. "So things have still been spiraling downwards, huh?"

Sin shook her head slowly, hugging herself quietly as she paced in front of the table, then she glanced over at him anxiously. "I've never seen the Princess act the way she has lately... I... I... even if she... hasn't always been the most even-tempered... I... I don't know, it's like something terrible has possessed her. And Prince Az'Iriel has unleashed a massive army of undead, golems, and other constructs against our demons... they're pushing us further and further back..."

"And yet she won't send out any magicians to counterattack the magically-created monsters, she's only sending in more basic infantry troops with little magical training or ability." Selena added darkly, crossing her arms and leaning backwards... and Zerrex couldn't help but notice she'd gone back to wearing the corset and assorted leathers she always had when she'd been an Inquisitor, but now with the addition of fishnet stockings and elbow-length fingerless gloves. "I don't know what to say, Lord Zerrex. It's turning into a slaughterfest out there, and even I'm disgusted by the waste of life..."

She shook her head slowly, and then Sin added hesitantly: "And... I also heard a rumor that you have a new Inquisitor assigned to you, Lady Sabnock. She's a magistrate all the way from the Circle of Tragedy..."

"A very tough bitch at that..." Selena grunted, shaking her head slowly and cracking her knuckles as she made a face over at Zerrex. "She's not a shapeshifter, but she is capable of polymorphing herself for short periods of time into any form she wants, so you better watch yourself like... around anyone outside of the house. She's not known particularly for a love of battle or torture, but she gets her jobs done... and she often passes judgment on traitors and evil souls, and she's responsible for what the jailors do in Hell and shit.

"My one word of advice is don't try to fuck her. She probably won't take too kindly to that." Selena shook her head slowly, then she sighed as Zerrex put his bowl of stew down and jerked him into her lap, beginning to play through his hair as she murmured softly: "I missed you, by the way, you prick. Much as I've come to hate the bitch, stop pissing off the Princess. It's admirable, sure, but it's also retarded when you end up suspended off the balcony like a goddamn Year's End ornament."

Zerrex smiled faintly, nodding against her slowly, and then he sighed and crossed his arms over his waist, looking over at Sin as she paced apprehensively back and forth. "What is it? You've been on edge since you healed me."

"Just... another rumor..." Sin shook her head slowly, before she finally sat down and looked quietly over at him, and Selena tilted her own head curiously. "Several of the other handmaidens have gone missing, but the Princess hasn't said anything about it and refuses to bring it up during either service or session..." She halted, blushing and quietly lacing her fingers together as she murmured: "But... but they were supposed to be the... handmaidens on duty cleaning the servant's quarters... and... apparently, Kilotia was approached by one of them because they'd found a forbidden artifact in the Princess's possessions of some kind... all she said was that it was old and powerful. But after that, the two handmaidens vanished, and Kilotia apparently attempted to flee the Province, but was caught and executed..."

Zerrex didn't get it at first, and then Selena asked softly: "But what the hell would be so bad that the Princess herself would want to hide it? Do you think Feldspar had something to do with it, or that..."

She stopped, and Zerrex looked up at her before making a face as he finished mentally: Or that it has something to do with putting me under lock and key as her favorite weapon... "I... I don't want to speculate... I shouldn't be gossiping as it is about such matters."

Sin leaned to the side, biting her knuckle quietly, before glancing over to Zerrex and adding in a soft murmur: "I... I just want you to keep yourself safe and avoid the Princess as much as you can, Lord Zerrex. None of us is still any match for... for her strength, no matter if we teamed up on her or not... and..."

The female broke off, looking away... and Selena murmured quietly: "It's okay, Sin... I'm scared too."

They were quiet for a little while, Selena continuing to rub and stroke through the Drakkaren's hair quietly... and then she made a face and shook her head slowly, grunting: "Anyway, Zerrex. I want to get back to training as soon as possible. We still need to work more on your silent casting, and we should really get into more dispelling and protective magics... and you still haven't learned to use Intimidate or your other abilities to their full extent, yet. You're slow."

"You're... slow." Zerrex responded stupidly, and Selena rolled her eyes before there was a polite knock at the door, and Zerrex made a face before getting to his feet, waving for Sin to sit back down as the Drakkaren walked slowly over to the door and opened it hesitantly.

A wolverine glanced up at him mildly, and Zerrex looked back down curiously. She was moderately-tall, with black eyes and gold fur on the right side of her face and blue on the left, forming a pitchfork pattern across her head with the blonde seeming to push the blue back. Her muzzle was also mostly gold, as was her neck... but as he glanced over her, he noticed that her right hand was blue, but the left was gold.

She was wearing a business suit of some kind, with a white shirt underneath an open black dress jacket, and she also had formal black pants on going down into formal dress shoes. It was a male's sort of suit, but the Drakkaren wasn't going to say anything: she didn't look too tough physically, but he'd learned a long time ago that meant nothing in Hell. Her breasts were smallish, and the only demonic characteristics he could see was a pair of leathery blue wings furled on her back and two small, triangular horns on her forehead, before she glanced down at a gold pocketwatch in her hand and said mildly: "Thirty-two seconds have passed, Lord Zerrex. Am I invited in or not?"

"Only if you don't try to kill me... that's been happening a lot lately." Zerrex said mildly, but he bowed her inside, and she nodded to him before stalking into the room. She paused and stared at Sin, who blushed a bit, before she bowed deeply to her... but she only grimaced at Selena as she closed her pocketwatch and slipped it back in her pocket. "Selena. I had no idea you and Zerrex were partners."

Zerrex opened his mouth to correct this, but Selena smiled icily and responded: "Well, some males like a girl with breasts, what can I say? By the way, Magistrate Sabnock, how's your husband doing, if I may ask?"

"Curb your tongue." Sabnock said darkly, and the lights in the room flickered before she cleared her throat and looked over to Zerrex as the Drakkaren closed the door, sizing him up slowly. "Lord Zerrex, I'd like some privacy with you. Your boyfriend..." A pause and a glare over at Selena, who glared back angrily. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's so hard to tell sometimes with you shapeshifters. I meant, Miss Selena does not need to leave the house, but perhaps she could wait in the other room... if I may, Lady Sin, I would prefer that you also were not here, just for privacy concerns, but I would never dare to act as if I had authority over you."

"It's fine." Sin nodded and stood, then she created a portal and smiled a bit over to Selena, who was still glaring at Sabnock. "Miss Selena, would you like to help me with some shopping, now that Lord Zerrex is back?"

"Sure." Selena said stiffly, and she walked around the table before stepping through the portal with Sin, and it closed shortly after, leaving the two alone. The wolverine still didn't seem too keen on conversation as she glanced around the room, however, and Zerrex winced a bit at how differently she acted from everyone else he'd met.

She finally sat down on the couch and laced her fingers together, looking across at him and meeting his eyes fearlessly. "Lord Zerrex â€" just Zerrex, if I may, and please, allow me to be simply Sabnock to you â€" I work as a magistrate in the Circle of Tragedy, and I am also technically a concubine who performs administrative services for the Princess. I've read your file and admittedly been both horrified and impressed by your crimes, and your exploits. If I was ruling on you, I would have given you perhaps a hundred thousand years in Wrath instead of ten, and only a thousand years in Lust, since you undoubtedy had a joyride there.

"On the other hand, taking into consideration what you've done in the world, I can understand why there was such leniency given." She continued, tapping her fingers against her nose and looking at him mildly. "Furthermore, I'm well-aware of the problems you've already encountered in Hell, and I disapprove of the handling. I am also aware that you were being trained by Mistress Selena before she was removed from duty because of certain behaviors, and I can understand why she was stripped of her rank... but on the same level, I can also sympathize with you. She is a Lust demon, and from what I see, you are mostly a Lust demon as well: and from the rapport I understand you two established, it only makes sense what happened.

"Therefore, I'll offer you a deal. If you agree to behave yourself appropriately during our..." She made a slight face. "Torture sessions, and you aid me in some of my more... troublesome... duties, I will allow Mistress Selena to continue to train you... under my supervision, of course, and only in one of the regulated gyms or arenas." the wolverine finished, and then she extended a hand, looking at him squarely: "Do we have a deal?"

Zerrex made a face, rubbing the back of his head slowly before he nodded a bit and reached out his own hand, shaking hers firmly and saying mildly: "You're a lot different than the other Inquisitors I've met so far... but uh... what kind of troublesome duties are we talking about here? I mean... does this mean Hell has a courts system?"

"A very-rarely used one." Sabnock shook her head slowly, looking sour as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch. "I would much prefer seeing more cases of graver importance running through the courts than those dealing with aristocrats or the Marquis, but there you have it... not that I have any questions about the abilities of the jailors to properly assess and handle a situation, but that I dislike the way the other ‘special police' of the Circles often handle their duties.

"In any case, Lord Zerrex, I'd like to go over a few things with you..." She paused for a moment as she traced out a rune on the surface of the table, leaving a white glow behind that turned purple after a moment, and a smaller circle of runes appeared around this before a glassy sphere formed in the air. The Drakkaren stared at this as she held her hands out to either side of it, and a moment later images began to play over it as she said irritably: "Well, come here."

Zerrex did so, getting down on his knees at the other side of the table and staring into the sphere as she murmured: "Now, watch this. Your duties will involve things such as tasks like these, so it's important you pay attention."

The Drakkaren nodded a bit, glancing into the sphere and watching as slightly-distorted demons ran back and forth inside an office, before the scene skipped to a minotaur in a uniform walking up towards a demon's home, and it paused as Sabnock stated mildly: "You will be expected to wear the designated uniform worn by all officers in good standing of the Royal Court of Hell, and you will be expected to perform duties such as this in a timely and efficient manner."

She stopped, and Zerrex made a face as the ‘movie' resumed playing on the sphere, watching as the minotaur strolled up to the door. It flickered, then turned black as three different scrolls appeared side-by-side, and the Drakkaren couldn't help but snort in amusement, causing the Magistrate to look at him icily for a moment. "I never realized that Hell used almost the same things we do... a notice of appearance for civil and criminal courts, and a notice of eviction. It's funny, you'd never expect demons to sue one another..."

"It was more common many years back." Sabnock said absently, her appearance smoothing out once she realized the Drakkaren wasn't making fun of the court system, and Zerrex noted to ensure he continued to treat it with respect and dignity. "These days, most demons tend to just hack and slash at each other... a very nasty way to deal with things, I feel. I've been left very displeased by the way things have run lately, to be fully honest, but I must say that I'm glad to give a ruffian like you, if you'll excuse the term, a chance to see a different side of the justice system in Hell.

"Your other duties will include things such as seizing illegal objects..." A variety of nasty-looking artifacts and mortal technologies appeared over the screen. "Working as a security guard in the courts..." Zerrex got a quick view of a massive marble room. "And stocking, tagging, and filing away evidence and other notices."

The sphere faded to black, and she sat back, crossing her arms and looking at him mildly. "I've been told you're a fair worker, and I checked over your references. I was very surprised to get a stunning reference from a stablemaster named Kent at the Nile Barracks, and equally-surprised that the Slavers only spoke of you in mediocre terms at the mines, which likely means you did exceptionally-well there, too. I was also told you served as a bodyguard for Queen Lilith for a number of a years, is that correct?"

Zerrex nodded awkwardly, lacing his hands together as the sphere and runes beneath it vanished from existence, the Drakkaren feeling as if he was in some sort of job interview. "Uh... yeah. Lily and I... I mean, Queen Lilith..." he corrected quickly, wincing at the sharp look from the wolverine. "Queen Lilith and I got along very well. We developed... a very mutually-beneficial partnership, and I learned a lot about Hell while keeping her safe from harm."

"I've also heard that Queen Lilith was saved from Azazel and Astaroth by yourself and a group of five others, but this is only a rumor..." She paused, then met Zerrex's eyes as the Drakkaren blushed a bit. "Do you consider your jobs done when you're officially let go or do you continue to provide the services you can? Say, per se, if you were asked to help out with training a domestic hydra, would you do so?"

Zerrex looked back at her thoughtfully for a few moments... and then he said in a careful voice: "Only if it didn't interfere with my other jobs at the time, I gladly would, yes."

"That's the answer I was looking for." Sabnock nodded and gave a small, brisk smile before jotting something down in midair, leaving a white trail of runes behind before they flashed once and vanished from sight, leaving the Drakkaren staring. "Very well. I've set your processing date in three weeks, and after that you'll be starting work my personal assistant and a deputy-jailor of Hell. Congratulations."

"Thank... you?" Zerrex said stupidly, and then he paused as Sabnock jotted another note down, before she flicked her eyes up to him to show she was listening. "I... was just curious, however. Does that mean we won't be doing torture sessions, or will I be doing jobs for you as needed, or..."

He broke off, and Sabnock mused a bit before murmuring a quick incantation and looking to the right, and a calendar of glowing blue lines appeared in midair, with many of the dates already filled-in. She frowned and stroked under her chin absently, then marked an X down on the fourth day of every week. "During Lok, Kan, and Tipet, when you aren't at work in the stables, you are expected to be on-call. I'll leave you a Waning Star, a ring I'll use to summon you if I need you at the office. You'll also be given a schedule with appointments to hand out various court-date notices: I work in the criminal sector, not the civil sector, so you may want to carry a weapon just in case. You'll be paid reparations for any serious damages done to your body, if such a thing should happen."

The schedule vanished, and Sabnock wrote down a few more notes in midair before rubbing her hands together slowly and looking up at him mildly. "I believe we're done here for now, though. As today is Lok, I'll be back for you tomorrow to show you down to my office in the Circle of Tragedy and introduce you to your coworkers."

She stood, and Zerrex quickly did the same, before they shook hands and she paused, glancing at his tattoo. "By the way... is that a natural pattern on your body or does it have something to do with the reason you were sentenced here to Wrath?"

Zerrex touched it slowly, then he shook his head a bit and smiled faintly. "It was a tattoo I had while alive... I got it after spending some time in a bioexperimentation facility. But I guess now it's become part of my body."

"Interesting..." Sabnock paused, then she nodded to him again before creating a portal and stepping through it, and Zerrex watched as it closed, making a bit of a face. She's a hardcase. And that kinda scares me.

The reptile decided to take the rest of the day to himself, since he had no clue what he was supposed to be doing otherwise... but he decided to take a moment to stop in at his former place of employment and at least thank Kent for a good reference, especially after he'd gone and vanished for a century... but he figured all of Hell probably knew he'd been made into a hanging ornament countless miles above the ground.

He stepped into the stables from a portal, then stared around at the workers milling about and the smell of sawdust. The stables were being expanded the old fashioned way... and then Kent walked over to him with a slight smile, looking relieved. "There's my stablemaster!"

"Sorry about not showing up for the last while. I was um... hanging from sky." Zerrex replied with an embarrassed look, and then he shook Kent's hand firmly, glancing around and adding: "But goddamn, it looks like you're finally getting that size increase you wanted here..."

"Yeah, ‘cept the sons of bitches are going to be moving in at least a hundred more mounts, and God knows how many of the stalls we'll have rented out." Kent replied sourly, shaking his head slowly, and Zerrex nodded with a grunt before the bear smiled and nudged him towards the doors. "But you showed up at a great time... there's some Wyrms outside I need trained. I'll hire you back at thirty silver an hour if you show me you can still train one or two combat mounts properly."

Zerrex stared at this proposal... and soon enough he was outside, back in the rhythm of things and getting the mounts to fall in line with each other, and he felt himself readjusting to being around people and his old schedule with surprising rapidity. It was nice to work again, and it was nice to feel like he was doing something positive with himself, as he walked up to the mounts and stroked gently over the muzzle of the closest, which growled quietly before pressing against him in a nuzzle, causing the Drakkaren to laugh.

Between all the pain and the bullshit, Hell made him feel... good. He smiled slightly at this irony, before he getting back to work with the animals and letting his mind wander as he trained them until Kent came out. They chatted for a while, and Kent said he'd be glad to have him back on... and the Drakkaren nodded, explaining his other job-slash-punishment and the hours he might end up working there... but Kent replied that it was fine with a smile. He had more workers now, and a lot more funds to play with ever since the cavalry unit had started actually receiving money from the Princess and the other monarchs, so the Drakkaren wasn't needed constantly anymore to either keep an eye on the other stablehands or for any of the other chores.

For a little while, at least, Zerrex was glad; despite the pains and punishments he'd endured and still had to look forwards to and live through, his life had taken an upswing... and he only hoped that the upswing wouldn't go violently downwards once more.