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The Drakkaren didn't say anything as he stepped through the portal, and a moment later he emerged into the Ravenlight Estate, letting out a long sigh as he stepped into his private quarters... and a moment later Selena burst into the room and tackled him, knocking him to the floor and sending the spear flying across the room as she hugged him tightly and kissed him hungrily.

Zerrex kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her tightly... and her hands played up into his hair, rubbing through it as she ground down against him in her leather pants, breathing hard before she pulled away and stradded him, her hands still buried in his hair as she whispered: "I missed you so damn much..."

"I missed you too, and it was only hours for me." Zerrex replied quietly, and he squeezed into her hips as their eyes locked for a few moments, before the Drakkaren stood slowly up and picked her up in his arms, carrying her to the bed and leaving Blackheart laying on the floor as he dropped her down on the blankets. He slid on top of her, and they kissed slowly again before the Drakkaren murmured: "I hope you've gotten your fill of sex, because I'm not in the mood right now..."

"Fuck that, stick your cock in me and I'll milk you until I'm happy, bitch." Selena growled, and Zerrex snorted in amusement. But less than a minute later, the Drakkaren was thrusting firmly in and out of her, both of them naked as the reptile ground deep into her over and over again, Selena crying out beneath him and then biting at the reptile's nipple rings, causing him to blush and grunt in surprised pleasure as her eyes half-lidded at his almost-virginal expression.

Twenty minutes later, the two were laying on the bed, curled up tight and holding each other close as Selena stroked her fingers along his masculine chest, the other buried in his hair as she whispered: "See, I knew I could get something out of you... not in the mood my ass, you're always in the fuckin' mood and I know it, asshole..."

"Shut up or I'll start tentacle-raping you." Zerrex mumbled, and then the two exchanged smiles before both looked up in shock as Lily kicked the door open and leapt onto the bed, tackling Zerrex and electing a loud yelp from him as he flailed a bit before hugging her tight against his chest as she clung to his body. "Lily!"

"I missed you!" Lily wailed, and then she simply held onto his body and refused to let go, until eventually they lay with her held between Selena and the male, the group laying quietly before Sin stuck her head inside with a faint smile, Zerrex looking back at her with soft amusement.

Zerrex decided to get dressed, and Selena slipped on a black bikini and a black-lace bra. Lily, at least, was in plain mortal jeans and a white blouse as she clung to one of Zerrex's arms, and Sin was dressed as she always was, although her body was almost scorching hot to the Drakkaren's touch when he stroked her cheek and down her muzzle. The reptile walked out to the lobby of the Ravenlight Estate... and he stared as they stepped onto the landing and the front of the stairs, Sin murmuring apologetically: "Sorry, but... they wanted to see you."

Vampire, Blake and Bondage were waving ecstatically, the demonic wolf bouncing up and down with his black collar on... and the Sisters were standing on the other side of the room, all of them bowing deeply to the Drakkaren as they gazed up at him lovingly. Rose raised a hand to him, her collar in place and her body scantily clad to show off the many scars she had gained over the years and through the war... and Frank the Gigataur stood in the far corner, looking embarrassed and leaving Zerrex to wonder how the hell the thirty foot giant had fit through the door. Alastor, Ixin and Carmen were in the center of the room, the canid demon looking up from his television to offer a small smile as Carmen grinned and blew a kiss to him and Ixin waggled his fingers while leering at the large breasts currently on Carmen's chest, and a whole slew of other demons had filled the lobby... and then Zerrex's eyes widened as he remembered one who wasn't there. "Mahihko!"

"He's currently in the Circle of Wrath, but-" Sin began, and then Zerrex created a portal and leapt through it, a chill running down his spine as Sin followed him through the portal, chasing after him and calling: "The Princess specifically seperated him off from the others, he's at the diamond mines, working under a Taskmaster! You'll get in trouble again if-"

"Thanks, Sin!" Zerrex replied over his shouler, giving her a thumbs-up as he ran towards the mines... and he glanced down, making a face as he realized he'd tossed the armlet off with his other stuff. The necklace was still in place, though... and it was like Lily's dauntless courage was flowing through him, telling him to challenge the Princess already despite his pain as he ran down the dirt road... before skidding to a halt as several white-armored soldiers leapt into his path, silver swords drawn.

They were accompanied by a pair of Wendigos with restraining collars on... and Zerrex narrowed his eyes, grasping his arm by the wrist as it twisted into its rocky, corrupt form as one of them said coldly: "Lord Zerrex, you killed our Master... and so we'll kill you in revenge!"

One of the Wendigos charged forwards, and Zerrex extended a blade out of his wrist in response before stepping forwards and slashing firmly through the monstrosity, knocking it flat before he dropped to a kneel and stabbed it through the chest... and when the other Wendigo dived forwards at his side, the reptile rose his hand and unleashed a beam of blue energy, sending it crashing backwards before he traced the beam over the armored demons as they looked at each other in shock, knocking them sprawling before the Drakkaren bounced on the leader and stabbed the blade down into his throat.

He gargled and clutched at his neck, then slumped as the other white-armored soldiers ran away... but the surviving Wendigo charged towards him again, roaring despite the energy burns covering its form, and the reptile spun as the blade retracted, his fingers enlarging into thick claws as he grabbed the Wendigo by the head.

It screeched and grabbed at his arm, clawing uselessly at the metal before howling in agony as Zerrex snarled and shoved energy down into its skull, and dark lighting cracked over its form before its head crunched in under the force of the claws and the powerful energy flowing down the reptile's arm, and the Drakkaren staggered backwards after a moment, staring in shock at his handiwork as the headless beast collapsed, the Wendigo's skull laying in pieces scattered around the corpse from the force the reptile had used, and he looked down at his bloody, corrupt palm as it slowly absorbed the crimson life fluid of the demon he had just slain.

He shook his head, then continued to run down the path, looking back and forth before halting at a small cabin, running up to the door and knocking several times. A slot opened in the door, and a Cyclops peered out, asking gruffly: "What is it?"

"Do you know where the diamond mines are?" The Drakkaren asked quickly, and the Cyclops grunted and looked to the right, and Zerrex let out a sigh of relief as he nodded and said a jumbled ‘thank you.' He turned, then jogged quickly up the dirt road to the right of the cabin before making a face as a pair of minotaur guards halted him. "What?"

"No one is permitted inside here without... wait..." The minotaur stopped, then gaped and said to his partner: "Look, that's Lord Zerrex! Lord Zerrex, I'm sorry, please go right ahead!"

"Uh... thanks." The Drakkaren muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he walked quickly into the encampment and looked back and forth. He hated the favoritism... but on the other hand, it beat cracking their skulls together, and then fighting off most of this encampment. All around the open, square area they had flattened out were huts filled with soldiers and prisoners running back and forth in rags... and Zerrex made his way through the maze of buildings that ranged from lean-tos to cabins, and he frowned to himself as he headed for one of the ramps littered with prisoners, ignoring the Slavers that gawked at him and the Masters that either stared or ran away.

The Drakkaren walked alongside the line, examining the prisoners in turn before slipping around a minotaur that was staring stupidly at him, and then he stepped up onto the metal square where several Masters were marking down prisoners on clipboards, the reptile approaching one of them and asking quickly: "I'm looking for a Mahihko Wolf or Lone Wulfe..."

The canine glanced up at him irritably, then thought better of that and looked quickly back down at his clipboard, flipping through it before mumbling: "Try Platform 3, Tunnel 12. He's got a personal Taskmaster, though..."

Zerrex looked up and noted they were on Platform 2, and he nodded before heading quickly back down the ramp, dodging around a minotaur before leaping backwards as a silver arrow shot into the ground at his feet, and several demons and prisoners looked up to see the cloaked figure that had shot it from a golden bow turn and sprint away. Zerrex snarled, but decided to ignore it for now as he turned and instead headed for the next ramp.

He checked the platform he was on, then looked around at the available paths leading up into the mountains, choosing one at random... but it took three tries before he ended up on the secondary platform where Tunnel 12 branched off of.

The Drakkaren ignored the giraffe Master that shouted at him to stop as he ran into the tunnel, and he sprinted down it, shoving aside Slavers until he halted as he heard a loud scream and saw Mahihko begin whipped by none other than Inquisitor Faulk, the crocodilian Slaver laughing cruelly as the thin, gaunt wolf cried on the ground, trembling violently and dressed in a ragged, ugly wool skirt, clutching several shiny rocks in his arms as Faulk snapped the whip down back and forth over the ‘Property of Zerrex' tattoo on Mahihko's back, the Inquisitor roaring: "You're mine now, little bitch... and I think I'm gonna fuck that tight little ass of your again tonight, because I love it when you squeal..."

"He's mine, actually." Zerrex said calmly, and Faulk looked over in surprise as Zerrex stepped into the tunnel... and Mahihko stared up in shock as the Drakkaren flexed his stony arm slowly, watching as Faulk narrowed his eyes at him, the chain links of the silver, blessed whip dragging along the ground. "Good to see you again, Inquisitor. Now if you don't mind, I'll be taking him off your hands."

"You're no Inquisitor... and I still have Inquisitorial protection." Faulk said coldly, and then he grinned widely as he looked over at Mahihko, who was staring over the reptile with disbelief as tears flowed down his cheeks. "You can't hurt me."

"Want to try?" Zerrex snarled and leaned forwards, his eyes burning... and Faulk trembled, looking back and forth before he finally roared and snapped the whip forwards, but Zerrex caught it easily in his stony hand. It dug across his hard, armored palm, and Faulk stared in shock as the reptile jerked the whip easily out of his hands, saying coldly: "It's not just the tools, Inquisitor. It's the carpenter that wields them..."

The Drakkaren stepped forwards, and when Faulk leapt at him, Zerrex simply slapped him across the face, knocking Faulk to the ground before he stepped down on his crotch, grinding his heel into the Slaver's groin as he screamed in agony, spasming violently as Zerrex added darkly: "And by the way. If you ever rape Mahihko again, I'll rip your dick off and make you eat it... am I clear on that, you weak little piece of shit maggot?"

Faulk nodded several times, staring up at him and trembling violently... and the Drakkaren reached down, picking Mahihko up and curling him in his arms as he created a portal, and Mahihko continued to stare at him in shock as the reptile stepped through the portal and into the Ravenlight Estate's lobby, where most of the group was still gathered, and they all stared as the reptile gently put the little wolf down and squeezed his shoulders, the tiny little lupine curling his hands together as he looked back and forth shyly as Zerrex murmured: "These are our friends, Mahihko... everyone, this is Mahihko... my son."

It was the first time Zerrex had ever really unabashedly introduced the wolf to a group as his child without some resentment or embarrassment... and the wolf began to cry quietly as he looked up and whispered: "I love you, Daddy..."

"I love you too, little wolf." Zerrex said gently, and then he smiled around at the others as they came forwards to introduce themselves. Ixin offered to play a song to help dance the tears away, but Zerrex glared at him and the mage relented with a meek grin, holding his hands up and mumbling it was just a suggestion, and Carmen patted the wolf's shoulder and admired the wolf's tattoos, which caused Mahihko to blush quietly.

It was a good gathering... and Zerrex invited everyone who wished to stay to stay as long as they like and help themselves to whatever was available, before he wandered over the four Sisters of the Judgment Cross as they motioned to him from a corner, Mahihko toddling along behind him. The wolf had become far more childlike... and far more blatantly sexual, rubbing awkwardly at certain parts of the Drakkaren's body and not seeming to mind touching or being touched by others like Carmen or Selena, his short, ragged skirt too small to hide his testicles completely, but otherwise he seemed...

It was hard to describe, and Mahihko stared over the Sisters before Earth knelt in front of him and gently grasped his shoulders, kissing his lips chastely. He blushed a bit, and she smiled and said softly: "The blessing of the Sisters, for good luck. Now scamper off, I think Sin wants to talk to you."

The wolf nodded a few times, remaining quiet and looking up at Zerrex for confirmation, and he patted the little wolf on the head before nudging him towards Sin, who was holding a hand out towards the lupine. Mahihko toddled off after a moment towards her, looking back once at Zerrex as he gazed softly at him and offered a supportive smile, and then the wolf clung to Sin's hand with one of his own, the thumb of his other hand finding his mouth. He had automatically clung to the Naganatine... and Zerrex wondered what the wolf saw when he looked up at Sin, with her automatic shell of becoming the image of a person's mother.

He shook his head slowly and sighed, looking over at the Sisters, and Fire murmured quietly: "What happened with the battle? And is it something the others should be informed of, too? Because if so, we can hold a meeting later..."

"I think that's a better idea." Zerrex nodded a bit, glancing over towards Mahihko and watching as he stared stupidly up at Frank, who knelt down and smiled comfortingly at him. Then he returned his gaze to the Sisters, and he asked slowly: "Can you tell me what's gone on with him? I don't even see any signs of demonic corruption."

"Some people corrupt in different ways... and because of the ritual, Mahihko's corruption is... different." Water said softly, crossing her arms and glancing over at the wolf quietly. "He's a Lust demon, like you and Cherry... but he's got a bit of Wrath, as well. There are two parts to him... there's Lone Wulfe, and there's Mahihko Narrius. Both parts of him have separate and distinct personalities and traits... and Hell has acted like a strainer on him, purifying the two personalities and separating them from one-another."

Air nodded, then she rubbed at her muzzle and sighed softly, looking at Zerrex with sympathy. "Lone Wulfe is a coward at heart, but he strives to be the best in everything, and he is aggressive. However, he solely cares about himself and will flee in the situation calls for it. Mahihko Narrius, on the other hand, sees himself as a child and solely your property... and like a child, he doesn't always understand the difference between right and wrong, and has a tendency to lash out at things that upset him or hurt his Father... can you imagine which one is more dangerous?"

"Mahihko... is far more dangerous than Lone, then." Zerrex said slowly, frowning a bit as the little wolf giggled at something Frank said, and then he reached up and shook the Gigataur's hand. "Children can be scary."

Earth laughed quietly and nodded slowly at this, saying softly: "He'll obey your every command... and as a Lust demon combined with the charisma of Lone Wulfe, he's capable of immense seduction. But he's become... much like your daughter Marina in some ways. Should he see you wounded, he will become a raging monster only you can stop... and only until he is taught discipline â€" until Mahihko grows up, in other words â€" will he be able to merge his personalities and gain the strength to control both his Lust and his Wrath characteristics."

"For now, though, he's an Incubus variant... you'll have to be very careful with him. You yourself he'll never turn on... but he may turn on others around you." Fire finished, then she made a bit of a face and looked around the room, adding quietly: "So many of us... yet so few. All of us want to stand against the Princess... yet they have no idea of what they're getting into, and honestly... neither do we."

She looked down, and Zerrex rubbed a hand through his hair before closing his eyes and grunting quietly as something thudded inside his body. Immediately, the Sisters looked at him... and then Earth's eyes widened as she whispered: "You haven't taken on your full demon form yet, despite everything you've been through... Lord Zerrex, you may have made a very serious mistake..."

"Why?" The reptile frowned a bit, then he grunted in pain and grasped his chest as another thud went through his body, a minute tremble rolling through his form. He straightened a moment later, but he could feel energy burning inside him... and he could almost hear dark laughter as he looked over the sisters, making a face. "What's happened?"

"It's called recoil... your body hasn't been given a chance to adjust itself to your new abilities, who knows..." Water paused, then glanced over as Selena walked up behind Zerrex and put her hand on his shoulder, frowning at him. "Miss Selena, would you please take Zerrex out to a training area? I believe he's in need of a little bit of exercise."

Zerrex nodded a bit and smiled supportively to Selena, who created a portal and rolled her eyes before calling over her shoulder. "Zerrex and I will be back later, make yourselves at home, losers!" A pause as she received several glares, and then she looked at him sourly and said mildly: "This better not be because of why I think it is."

"Take care of yourselves. We'll be waiting here with the others when you return." Air said softly, and the others nodded as Zerrex made a face and then grunted, wincing again as pain rolled through his body. He stepped through the portal after Selena into a large field, and he stumbled forwards before falling over, groaning as his body twisted and bulged before beginning to grow as Selena stared and stumbled backwards, watching as the Drakkaren's expanded and his arm morphed beside him, his eyes glowing green as he groaned in pain and disorientation.

Twenty feet... thirty feet... forty feet... and finally he halted at more than fifty feet tall, and his body felt like it was full of power. His muscles bulged out, his limbs massive and strong, his chest chiseled but emaciated and giving him an almost hourglass shape as his ribs pressed visibly out against his scales. Long spikes pushed out of his back, and his form was enormous and powerful, terrifying and-

godlike

-awe-inspiring as he stood slowly up to his full height. His twisted, morphic arm was a bit too large for his body, ending in deadly, sharp talons and covered in terrible, black armor that was cracked and through which burned blue light. His other arm was a bit too large as well, and ended in long, crescent-shaped talons that flexed and moved like fingers, and he stared down at these for a moment before he opened his mouth and a long, forked tongue twisted out, then withdrew. His hair twisted and waved around his head like tendrils that he could control, and spikes and twisted branches of rock jutted out of his corrupted shoulder, while a large, crescent-shaped spike curved up out of his other... and the massive double set of angel wings flapped slowly behind him, both flickering and with overlaying layers of thin, semitransparent bands that twisted back and forth before vanishing from sight into the wings.

He looked back and forth, and the thick, gargantuan tentacles between his legs twisted together to form his enormous, ridged penis, hanging flaccid all the way down past even the large crescent blades sticking out of his knees... and then these twisted upside down as the reptile's legs snapped backwards into a different stance, standing on the enormous, curved talons coming out of his feet as a hook pushed out of his ankle. He growled under his breath, and a bit of drool fell from his huge jaws as his eyes settled on Selena... and he grinned slowly at her, a hunger rising in his chest as he reached out towards her, and a tentacle slid out of his forearm.

It moved almost leisurely through the air as Selena stared in shock, beginning to back away... and then it shot suddenly forwards and wrapped around her, lifting her into the air as she cursed and struggled uselessly, shouting: "Zerrex, Zerrex, put me down!"

"Come on, you know that I can do whatever I please to you... and you like that." Zerrex rose his corrupted hand, pushing one enormous digit against her mouth... but she trembled and tilted her head away, and the reptile snarled and squeezed her firmly in his grip, Selena coughing before he roughly shovedhis finger against her muzzle again, hissing: "Suck it, I know how much you like doing that..."

"S-Stop it..." Selena whispered, watching in terror as spikes pushed out along the backs of Zerrex's forearms, a matching set pushing out of the backs of his lower legs. They were curved downwards, towards his palms... and if he rakes me with those, he could kill me... in fact, no matter what, he could kill me... "Z-Zerrex, please, fight it, you aren't being yourself..."

"But I'm so hungry... I have such... where am I?" Zerrex dropped her, and Selena grunted as she hit the ground before she could think of producing her wings, and she quickly chose to scramble away as the reptile grasped his skull as both sets of his horns pushed out, the giant falling to his knees as he cursed under his breath. "Goddammit, I... I can't control... I want to rape, destroy... I... please..."

Everything was getting blurry, so Zerrex clenched his eyes shut... but the sound changed, the world changed... and a moment later, he was standing high up on the rooftop of a damaged office building, and across from him stood the Dark One. The energy that covered its body seemed to have become more solid now, making it look more it was a sexless beast that possessed black and white scales instead of energy... and its white eyes burned ever brighter as it flapped its massive double set of angel wings, saying softly: "One day, the entire world will look like this..."

"That day doesn't have to come just yet." Zerrex replied, looking down at himself... but he was plain, not demonic in any way. He looked over towards the Dark Beast, but it shrugged and smiled coldly, and the reptile asked quietly: "So what exactly are you, anyway? Corruption given form? My inner suppressed feelings? Passion incarnate? Or just another goddamn parasite trying to eat its way into my mind?"

The Dark Beast looked at him for a few long moments... and then it stepped forwards and it shrank down a bit, retaining Zerrex's features as black irises appeared in the glowing white of its eyes and a suit appeared over its body... and the nephilim Drake said distastefully: "I'm what remains of the Dark Nephilim, actually. All that remains... and this time I won't let you beat me in some mental battle for your body."

"What a surprise... how'd you get into my head again, though?" Zerrex asked coldly, readying himself as a light rain began to fall, and the Drakkaren grinned slightly, adding: "Nice touch, by the way. Who doesn't like to fight in the rain?"

"I thought you'd appreciate that." Drake said mildly, as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and put it in his muzzle, then covered the end of it as he produced a lighter and lit up. He paused, then offered one to Zerrex, but the Drakkaren shook his head, staying on guard. The nephilim snorted, then took a long drag and blew out a stream of smoke, looking up towards the dusky sky as he shrugged a bit. "I guess I left part of myself behind in you on a hunch... and that part was awakened by the Hell Energy. Maybe my spirit and my soul fused back together, if there are such things... either way, now I'm here and I'm going to do everything in my power to fuck you over, oh legendary Boss. So maybe you should be begging for mercy instead of trying to piss me off, because I got this."

Drake opened his palm, and Zerrex stared at the Heartstone of Mephistopheles before he snorted... and then Drake stared as Zerrex opened his own hand and the same Heartstone shone in his hand. "Nice trick, Drake, but I'm the one who took it, not you... and Mephistopheles fused with me, not with you."

"Want to bet?" Drake grinned coldly, then he stepped backwards, his form fading out of existence at the same time. Zerrex looked back and forth, and then Drake's disembodied voice said: "Wander for eternity, Zerrex, while I take care of your body... don't worry, after I get tired of fucking Selena I'll give pretty Lily her-"

The Drakkaren turned and concentrated, a door appearing in midair, and the reptile tore this open, Drake staring from where he stood at a computer panel on the other side, and he leaned down to say mildly into a microphone: "Pay no attention to the person on the other side of that door, they're of no importance."

Zerrex stepped into the room and kicked Drake hard backwards, and he skidded across the room on the stool he was sitting on with a strangled curse. He snarled across at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren said darkly: "I'm sick of mindgames, Drake... you're dead, so I recommend you evict my mind before I forcefully pull you out of here myself."

"Just try it!" Drake's eyes glowed white, and a moment later his body bulged and expanded, the wings tearing out of his back as the room around them vanished, leaving the two standing in the midst of space and nothingness as stars shot by in the distance, Zerrex once more left staring at the Dark Beast as it snarled: "As I remember, you quailed in terror and were helpless against this body, when you saw it!"

"Well, the same trick won't work on me twice..." Zerrex said, and then he grinned coldly as his head twitched and his own body changed, his horns pushing out of his head as his arm trembled and warped, small, curved spikes pushing out of his forearms and the backs of his legs as narrow, thin spines pushed out in two rows down his back, and to the spiked end of his tail. "Besides... if you haven't noticed... the years have changed me too..."

Drake snorted, then shot towards him... and Zerrex swung out with the clawed hand and seized him by the head, and as Drake roared and ground forwards, Zerrex shouted the first thing that came to mind: an exorcism ritual.

The world went white... and a moment later, Zerrex was back in reality, and he vomited a mass of black bile out onto the ground as Selena leapt backwards in shock, before screeching as she saw a dark, misshapen, suit-wearing Zerrex begin to flail out from the slime, and Zerrex rasped: "Don't touch him! He'll try to take over your body!"

Drake flailed and attempted to crawl forwards as Selena leapt backwards and held her hands out, creating a wall of fire in front of herself... and Drake squealed and drew away before Zerrex simply slammed a fist down into the creature, and Drake exploded into motes of dark energy, splattering in every direction. A moment later, it sank into the ground, and Zerrex shook his head slowly in disgust as he stood up, muttering: "I'm getting sick and tired of all these blasts from the past... and hopefully that takes care of Drake for good now. Caused way more trouble than he's worth..."

"Zerrex, you're a freak." Selena said plaintively, and she looked up at him with a bit of a wince as the Drakkaren looked back down at her, the demoness asking slowly: "You're not going to try and rape me now, are you?"

"Only if you want me to." Zerrex said mildly, crossing his arms with a grin, and Selena rolled her eyes and threw a rock at him, the stone bouncing uselessly off his chest before the reptile asked slowly: "But I didn't hurt you, did I? And like... is... this me now?"

Selena softened a bit at this, then made a motion for Zerrex to shrink down... and the reptile did so, popping his knees back forwards as he looked down at his hands, not losing any of his demonic characteristics. He blushed a bit as she stepped forwards and hugged him tightly around the neck, and he hugged her back, holding her against his body as she murmured quietly: "Zerrex... you can be whatever you want to be, okay? Name, labels... fuck it all. You are who you are... and I am who I am. You taught me that..."

She drew back and gently took his face between her hands, before leaning up to kiss him softly... and Zerrex kissed her slowly back before she said tenderly: "Zer, you're a demon... but you're also one of the best and strongest people I know. I love you for you... and this body..." She traced a finger slowly over his chest, gazing down at it for a moment, before looking back into his emerald eyes. "It still looks damn good. You make me feel like I shouldn't be ashamed of my own real body... and I know I sure as Hell don't want you to be ashamed of your own new form, either."

Zerrex laughed a bit and looked away, blushing slightly... and then Selena said firmly: "Now, I think it's time to test your abilities and your strengths, since you've already obviously had a hell of a field test with what happened with Az'Iriel... but who knows what other abilities you've unlocked that could've really helped you out if you'd had even a splinter of patience..."

"I hate you." Zerrex said mildly, and then he rolled his eyes as she grinned brightly at him, shoving him away as she strutted slowly backwards â€" and that was a feat he didn't know if even Cherry could pull off. "So what did you want me to do?"

The reptile was indeed much stronger... there was no telling how much, and Selena mumbled something about how she didn't think there was enough weight in Hell to check for sure... but whatever else, it was impressive. His telekinesis hadn't improved, which was no shocker â€" Selena, as always, was cheerful to inform him that he simply didn't have the right sort of mind for anything from really advanced magics to psychic abilities â€" but on the other hand, his Dominate, Intimidate, and Wrath abilities had all increased... which explained a lot, when the Drakkaren thought back to the effects they'd had.

Lily had portalled in after a short time, and she'd been mesmerized with Zerrex's new body for a little while, touching over him and examining the arm she hadn't had a chance to take a good look at back at the fortress with Carmen pestering them... and as Zerrex argued with Selena about how useful magic was in combat, Lily mumbled a spell and tapped his arm, and a moment later the Drakkaren's chaotic, stony arm shifted and turned into thickly-layered, silver plates of overlayed metal, ending in a clawed gauntlet. Zerrex gaped, and Lilith looked pleased at the reaction.

After only a few minutes, however, the Reshape spell wore off and Zerrex's arm once more went back to looking like a mess of metal plates and stone chunks, and the reptile flexed his hand slowly, looking thoughtfully at this. Lily had taught him a good few spells not known to the public for whatever reason, most of them only quasi-useful, such as Marble; the spell was only of any real use when Zerrex combined it with a charge spell or used a Reshape and Permancy spell to create a silvery bullet or arrow out of the bauble.

It was strange that a Monarch spell would have such an effect on his arm, though, which made Selena want to look up more information on the Abomination's Claw or whatever his arm actually was, since she was wondering whether or not they'd made a mistake in guessing so quickly at the first thing that they'd come across. Zerrex looked at her sourly, then replied irritably: "How many arms like this can even exist in all of Hell? Maybe it's just because I'm a freak of nature half-created by alchemy."

The reptile dropped his head morbidly at this, and Lily gently rubbed a hand down his back, gazing at him softly, but Selena said dryly: "Gee, well, in that case, can I return you for a full refund? Because you've got a lot of broken parts."

"Yeah, well, you've got a broken... face. If you don't shut up, that is." Zerrex said threateningly, but most of the actual threat was diluted by the awkward, nonsensical delivery, so Selena only rolled her eyes before staring as Zerrex popped a blade out of the top of his wrist, and he said triumphantly: "I finally think I mastered it. And this blade doesn't look all rickety like the other ones did."

"I really wish you'd stop doing that. You're not a freaking spring-blade, you moron." Selena slapped the back of Zerrex's head lightly, and he immediately glowered at her, the female raising her hands and swaying away with a look of distaste. "Sorry, sorry. But seriously, don't waste your energies."

"I dunno, it doesn't really feel like it's taking up any of my strength at all." Zerrex said thoughtfully, withdrawing the blade into his arm and flexing his clawed hand slowly, before wincing as the metal plates and rocky bits slowly locked together and shrank down, excess falling off here and there as it retook the form of his normal arm. "On the other hand, after I do that... it hurts like Hell."

"That's because it's not supposed to do that..." Lily murmured, rubbing along the now normal-looking arm gently and brushing off a few remaining bits of rocky plate, Selena tilting her head a bit. "You're a powerful demon, Zerrex, but you're not that talented of a shapeshifter... and all you're really doing is thinning that arm out and shoving a layer of scales over it to hide it from the world."

The reptile shrugged, but he realized it made sense: after all, when Gape had cut into his arm, he had sliced through a thin layer of flesh and then hit something hard and terrible beneath it... but he shook his head after a moment with a sigh, looking morbidly at his normal-looking hand, concentrating again as he closed his eyes and forcing his other demonic characteristics to slowly vanish, until he was finally left sitting in his normal Drakkaren body. "Well, it makes me feel better when I do this. And people don't look at me like I'm a circus freak or a monster, either."

"What's a circus freak?" Lily asked with a frown, and Selena coughed, looking away with a grin as the golden-scaled demoness glared over at her. "What? I'm a pureblood demon, I spent my childhood learning about demonic history, not silly mortal terms... the only time I ever was finally exposed to mortal beings was when I found Lord Zerrex and the few other prisoners or ascendant demons who would talk to me."

Selena smiled slightly and spread her arms, bowing her head slightly in submission, and then Lily added sourly: "Besides, I'd know more about the mortal world if someone didn't hog Lord Zerrex all to herself."

"Well, we're all living under the same roof now, so fuck off and live with it. The past is the past, after all." Selena replied irritably, and the two females glared at each other, Zerrex feeling faintly amused and admittedly a bit fluffy inside over the fact that two people were actually fighting over him as a partner, not as a weapon or asset. He rubbed absently at his muzzle, then looked back and forth before wincing as Selena added darkly: "And by the way, don't think that every night is going to be a threesome now. And I still expect you to pay attention to me and do things with me despite having lovey-dovey there."

"You're... so possessive." Zerrex said mildly, and then he sighed, shaking his head a bit as she narrowed her eyes at him, the reptile looking at each female and appealing: "How about this? We put off the marital bickering until after we deal with the Princess, because..." He halted, then stood up and created a portal, murmuring quietly: "Actually, we should go. Things are getting out of hand."

Selena nodded, looking embarrassed as she helped Lily up to her feet, and the two females traded a nod before Zerrex smiled over his shoulder at them, adding softly: "We have to spend not eternity, but forever together. We might as well put aside our differences and figure out a way to get along, right?"

"Right." Selena mumbled, as she followed the Drakkaren through the portal, and Lily gazed after him fawningly before following through and taking a breath, resuming her usual professional air as the Dius walked out into the now mostly-empty hall, announcing: "Hey, all you who've stayed here... meeting time for the resistence movement. Let's go down to the briefing room."

The others nodded, and Zerrex tilted his head curiously before following the others along, glancing over the group as Mahihko ran up to him and clung to his tail childishly with one arm, his other thumb still firmly in his mouth. The reptile half-ignored him, only tossing the wolf a smile before turning his eyes to the others. Amiglion showed up, late as always... Carmen, Vampire, Blake, Ixin, Rose, Sin, the four Sisters, even Alastor... that's everyone... or almost everyone, anyway...

Selena stepped aside courteously to allow Lily to take over, the demoness pushing open the door to a large room and bowing aside to permit Zerrex to step inside first, the Drakkaren staring back and forth in shock at the enormous room beyond. Not only did it have a table more than big enough for all of them to sit around, but a series of glass monitors at the back covered in all sorts of runes and information... and Zerrex walked slowly down to these as everyone filed in behind him, taking their seats as the Drakkaren â€" and little Mahihko â€" inspected the glowing crystals powering the monitors and the information displayed on them, which contained everything from guard shifts to the Princess's schedule... which looks extremely busy for the next while, a good advantage for us... but how the hell did they set all this stuff up?

"Lord Zerrex... would you mind heading this meeting, since you're the one with all the information?" asked Lily courteously, and the Drakkaren turned around to stare over the enormous table and the group, feeling a bit of stage fright before Lily grasped his arm gently and pulled him towards the empty seat at the head of the table, saying quietly: "Please?"

"Alright..." Zerrex said after a moment, making a bit of a face as he looked down at Mahihko... and then he patted the wolf gently on the head, saying softly: "You can come back to me right after we talk things through, okay? Why don't you go sit in that spot right there, between Carmen and Sin?"

Mahihko looked up at him quietly, then he smiled a bit and reached up to grab at his muzzle, saying childishly: "Nose." A pause, and then he nodded just as Zerrex was beginning to wonder if the wolf had become brain-damaged. "Yes, Daddy."

"Good kid." Zerrex watched as the wolf toddled off, gazing at him sadly before he shook his head and walked over to sit down at the head of the table with Lily to his right and Sin to his left, Selena sitting a bit further down beside Vampire, who grinned at her before wincing as she glared back at him. The reptile gave them all a moment to settle in, and then he said calmly: "Everyone, if I could have your attention, I'll start things up."

He expected jeers, at least from Ixin, but everyone quieted and looked up at him with unexpected professionalism... and Zerrex had to remind himself that time passed differently between Hell and the mortal realm, the Drakkaren taking a deep breath before saying bluntly: "I didn't kill Prince Az'Iriel, but an imposter who told me the real Az'Iriel has been dead for a long time now."

"Okay, what the fuck." Carmen said stupidly, frowning and looking around the table as other people muttered nervously, Alastor looking particularly-horrified. "So... what did you kill then, I guess would be the most important question if everyone would shut up."

She slapped a palm down onto the table, and even Ixin closed his mouth in terror, possibly also due to the fact that Carmen was in her masculine, breastless form now. Zerrex gave her a look of both amusement and exasperation, and then he said quietly: "I have reason to believe that the creature I killed was a being from the Unworld that was given powers by an unknown source... but quite possibly the Princess. But before I or it could do anything, it seemed to find the air of the mortal plane too volatile, for some reason..."

"A different type of essence pervades the mortal plane... Az'Iriel's armor probably protected it." Sin murmured quietly, and the others glanced towards her, Zerrex tilting his head curiously as she blushed deeply before lowering her head, continuing in a mumble: "Unless an Unworld being was in a heavily-populated area and able to feed constantly off mortals and living things, it would have quickly been destroyed... but to not only pull a being out of the Unworld, but to grant it powers... that takes abilities that the Princess herself may not even have..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, and the Drakkaren glanced around the room before asking quietly: "Ixin, what about you? Do you have any idea what sort of magic could enhance a being like that?"

Ixin looked thoughtfully upwards, putting his hands behind his head before saying mildly: "Fucked if I know. Then again, from what I heard, most of these Unworld beings are just lost creatures, but there are... certain strong monstrosities that pull strength from that place, like the... I forget the name." Ixin looked at Zerrex pointedly, and the Drakkaren felt a chill as he thought of Celestial. "But maybe all an Unworld creature needs is an intelligence boost, and that's enough for it to learn to control whatever abilities might be locked away in it... plenty of them have been known to chuck chunks of Unworld energy at their victims to slow ‘em down, after all."

The others nodded and murmured to each other, and then Selena stood up and said darkly: "Either way, it doesn't matter, because when the High Monarchs are in negotiations, they take off their masks. The Princess would have known about Az'Iriel being replaced... the fucking bitch has been playing us, just like we had guessed! Even if she isn't the source of the Unworld being, she'll know who is... I move that we prepare and lay an all-out-attack against the Central Spire."

Alastor laughed at this with a hint of hysteria in his voice, looking down the table at Selena and asking her mildly: "Are you stupid? She has control over all of Hell! There's a dozen of us sitting here around the table, plus the Eastern Freedom Movement, and a handful of willing Dius here and there and mistreated soldiers. She's always had complete dominion over the Circles of Minor Sin, Lust, and Tragedy, and now the Circles of Greed and Pride are openly siding with her ideas... and believe me, Wrath is heading that way too. Even if we rounded up the loyalist remnants of Az'Iriel's army, it wouldn't be enough... even if we could infiltrate the tower and attack, even if we had all of Heaven on our side... it wouldn't be enough. And on top of that, you're forgetting three major things: the Scholars, the Scribes, and the Divine Protection the Princess has."

Zerrex frowned and leaned forwards, asking slowly: "But if we declared war on her, wouldn't the Scribes and Scholars stay out of it? The Eastern Provinces accepted Lily as their leader, and-"

"A lot has changed over the last thousand years." Lily said quietly, glancing down and sighing softly as she rested her arms on the table. "Mostly, we've been living out of the Northern Fortress we claimed, picking through Az'Iriel's soldiers and converting them to our cause while trying to maintain the mortal and demonic machinery he has. But since the Princess took over Hell, the Scholars and Scribes now work directly under her... and we don't even know where Prince Memnon is. He's vanished completely... we don't think he's dead, but... we do think he's severely injured somewhere. And I've lost control of the Eastern Province due to the Princess's meddling... our bases have been tracked down and ruthlessly destroyed, and my people butchered into believing that I'm just a troublemaker and murderer."

"Like it matters... we've tackled worse, right, Boss?" asked Vampire cheerfully, and he hammered his fists against the table, grinning widely as he added: "I got a solution for all three of those problems, and it's that badass sitting at the head of the table. Like, fuck. Obviously this imposter was strong enough to seem like the real Az'Iriel-"

"He wasn't that strong..." Zerrex mumbled, rubbing the back of his head slowly and interrupting Vampire's flow, the demon wolf sitting with his jaws agape and a glare in the Drakkaren's direction, one finger raised. "He didn't even use mortal magic or anything... he fought with dark energy, for the most part."

"And even you can't control dark energy properly, meaning, duh, he was pretty fuckin' strong." Vampire countered, and Zerrex slapped a hand to his forehead before the demon wolf continued easily, spreading his arms: "So let's see. You let me round up a decent-sized grunt militia, and I'll get them working all the mortal technology we can dig out of Az'Iriel's bases and get running. Secondly, if we run a diversionary attack against the Southern Palace, we can draw the soldiers away from the Central Spire and keep them busy while the rest of the force attacks another... wait, I got a better idea. Get me some chemicals and I'll mix you some bombs to blow the shit out of the staircase leading up to Hell from the Circle of Minor Sin."

"They'll just portal then, idiot." Blake said mildly, and when Vampire grinned, he frowned a bit and then said slowly: "No, they all won't... because not all of them will be able to use magic. But they'll just get mages to portal them to whatever new location, then..."

Vampire nodded, saying mildly: "But things will become congested... catapults and war machines kept in the Circle of Wrath might end up in the Circle of Minor Sin before they find out that the staircase has gone bust, and then no one will know what to do with them... and portalling a few people is one thing, but a war machine like that? That takes power... so they'll likely have to set up runic portals to a single location for the soldiers to pass through."

"I don't like it." Alastor said mildly, and the two looked up as the dog glanced from them to his television, mumbling: "This isn't like mortal warfare... just because you cut off the supply routes doesn't meant they won't be supplied anyway. If the Princess controls all of Hell, then she'll just use the Eastern or Western Province's battalions in. Even if you destroyed every regiment in Hell, she'd just have the Scholars bind you..."

The demon wolf leaned forwards, tenting his fingers and asking humbly: "Then what do you suggest, oh great war leader?"

Alastor blinked and looked up at this, glancing nervously back and forth before Selena offered him a small, awkward smile, and Carmen tilted her head towards the king... and he sighed a bit before turning off his television, putting it aside and looking morbidly up at Zerrex, resting his head on one hand. "Vampire is right though, you know. You're the only chance we have at destroying the Princess's defenses... but the problem I'm seeing is that in order to do that, you'll have to kill both the Scribes and the Scholars, and that includes Master Scribe Vine. Besides which, you wouldn't be able to take a large team into the Central Spire... everyone would get confused and the Scholars would find it far easier to track you down and bind you... and besides, we simply don't have enough artifacts to go around. By the way, you do realize you're naked, right?"

Zerrex looked down at himself, then he blushed deeply and covered his crotch embarrassedly as the Four Sisters laughed quietly with varying expressions of amusement, and then Sin created a small portal and reached through it, pulling a loincloth and half-robe combination out of it. Zerrex took this from her with an embarrassed mumble, and then he stood up and away from the table as he slid it on, fighting to get his tail through the small slot in the back as Alastor tried to draw the attention away from the reptile as he said clearly: "Our best chance is to get Lord Zerrex and a small cluster of people into the Central Spire, and then build up a perimeter defense around the building after sealing it off. Sabnock and White should also be willing to help us, and that might make the Circle of Tragedy our best place to stage the battle...

"Of course, I'm sure several of you are wondering why we shouldn't just permit Lord Zerrex and his handpicked team to go in on the attack." Alastor glanced around at the others, and a few of them nodded. The canid smiled a bit, and he said quietly: "We need to lure out the Princess's officers and kill them to ensure our victory. By staging an ‘attack' against the Central Spire, we'll also confuse the Scholars, and they may miss Zerrex and his group inside the area."

The others nodded, and then Earth said softly, drawing their attention: "But this cannot be done hastily... although we see the necessity in these actions, we must first stand back and prepare our forces, then bide our times until the right moment comes."

"Only then will the attack be successful." Air added, although Fire looked grudgingly back and forth before shrugging and nodding. "I know you prefer to rush ahead, Lord Zerrex... but this will take time, unlike the other battles. The defenses surrounding the Princess are nearly insurmountable right now... we have to wait until the Scholars are vulnerable. They must be destroyed first, before the Princess can be dealt with."

"And... and the Scholars have pretty much sealed themselves off." Amiglion added in an embarrassed mumble, rubbing the back of his head slowly as he looked stupidly over at Zerrex. "After I stole your name for them, they um... they weren't happy about that. So I think you might have to break through a reinforced forcefield..."

Fire raised her head, then she grinned slightly and said easily: "I have a trick that you'll be able to learn to deal with that, Lord Zerrex... it's an old skill from the First Hell that the Goddess ruled. If you wouldn't mind, we'd like to train you at the Monastery..."

"You're strong physically... but you still have much to learn about yourself and your demonic characteristics." added Water gently, and Zerrex rubbed the back of his head, looking almost embarrassed before she finished softly: "We'd be honored to work with you."

After a few moments, the reptile relented and nodded slowly, and the Sisters smiled and straightened, all of them bowing to him as they murmured in time: "Thank you, Lord Zerrex... we shall put all our strength and effort into helping you and training you..."

"Thank you, Sisters, for the kindness..." Zerrex said quietly in return, and then he glanced around the group, rubbing at the back of his head slowly. "But I guess if there's nothing else... we should all probably return to our own positions, before the Princess gets wind of us. Everyone is welcome to stay as long as they feel is safe... but don't stay so long that you'll arouse suspicions, huh? That affects all of us, not just you, after all."

"Tightass." Carmen grinned up at him slightly nonetheless, and Zerrex had a faint memory of Cherry saying that same to him many a time in the past, earning a small smile from the reptile before she looked around the room as several others stood, and she added mildly: "Well, I guess everyone's a tightass here."

"And you're just a bitch." Alastor said from across the table, and then he bowed a bit to Zerrex and Lily before stepping through a portal and vanishing. Amiglion waved and almost hit Ixin in the head, then embarrassedly escaped quickly through a portal himself, and the others approached Zerrex in a line, trading handshakes and hugs before they left, until Zerrex stood in the room with Lily, Carmen, Selena, Mahihko, Sin, and the four Sisters. This is awkward. Everyone here has some weird sexual interest in me.

Zerrex snorted in amusement at his own thoughts, and then he stared as Carmen produced a small golden box. Zerrex leered at this awkwardly, and then the female said cheerfully: "Since I see a lot of empty holes in the wolf for piercings, these are for him..." A pause and a leer at the Drakkaren. "And then we're going to try a few more on you."

"You know, funny thing, I think I should be getting to the monastery." Zerrex babbled, quickly walking down the aisle as Mahihko stared in fascination at the small golden box Carmen was holding, and then wolf leapt out of his chair and grabbed Zerrex's leg tightly, almost tripping him up as the lizard winced and mumbled: "It's... good to see you too, Mahihko. But... you're gonna have to be strong for me, huh?"

He extracted himself and turned slowly around, then knelt and took Mahihko's hands, ignoring the others for a moment as he looked into the wolf's eyes and said softly: "I wish, honestly, that I could keep you around here forever. But we can't take that chance right now... and you have to be a big boy. I'll visit you when I can, though... and I'll make sure that no one does anything too bad to you... but this is Hell, and we did earn our punishments here, do you understand?"

Mahihko whined a bit, his ears laying back... but he nodded with a tremble, gazing up at him quietly. "All I wanted to do was to come down here and make sure you were okay... that... that you hadn't forgotten about us..."

"I could never forget about you." Zerrex stroked the wolf's face gently with the back of his hand, and then he shook his head slowly before smiling faintly down at him, and he finally kissed his forehead, the lupine blushing deeply as the Drakkaren drew away. He stood, then patted Mahihko gently between the ears, saying softly: "Take care of yourself... and..." A glance around the room, but he only saw compassion before he murmured: "I do love you, little wolf child. I do."

"I love you too, Daddy." Mahihko said tenderly, and then he laced his fingers together, watching as Zerrex walked slowly over to the Sisters and whispering: "I miss you already, Father..."

Ten years later, Zerrex sat in the master bedroom of the Ravenlight Estate, slowly polishing Blackheart with a rag like old times, dressed in plain black mortal clothes and heavy black metal greaves... before he looked up as Selena threw open the doors and staggered into the room, saying clearly: "We got the green light to start moving our soldiers into place, Zer!"

"I know. Sin already told me." Zerrex said calmly, as he slowly moved the rag along Blackheart's already polished surface, and Selena frowned a bit as the Drakkaren looked over at her with a slight smile. "I've waited ten years for this, Selena. Ten long, grueling years where absolutely nothing has happened other than training, training, training, and Carmen forcing all sorts of different piercings and tattoos on me that I later had to have Sin remove with a cleansing spell on a level that most of my scales came off with it. I'm going to stay calm and finish this job, and just do my best to wait and retain my dignity until it's time for the attack."

Selena grinned slightly and shook her head slowly, and then she replied mildly: "You know, in the seven years you spent at the Monastery, it's like you learned more there than you ever did here."

Zerrex shrugged a bit, looking lame and not really wanting to talk about it or reveal to her that he'd always wanted to live in a Monastery... not like the one in Hell he'd just lived at, that he'd never dreamed or imagined... but it had certainly been an experience nonetheless. It had been peaceful and quiet, and his duties had ranged from sweeping the floors to picking apples and gathering other foods to be prepared for their weekly meal. He'd loved every moment of it... and moreover, the Sisters and the other priestesses there had taught him so much... and that was besides the fact that Zerrex had been one of three males of the forty or fifty people in the enormous, private Monastery.

The Sisters had taught him several skills, and despite the Princess showing up several times to interfere with his lessons, they had successfully taught the Drakkaren everything he could learn in a short period of time he'd been there... short by Hell's standards, anyway. Thankfully, they'd stayed away from magic, and focused on his natural talents and abilities... hence the reason Zerrex had learned so much in so little a time.

He had also picked up a lot more on demonic history, since between the sex, work, and training, he was left to rest however he pleased in his room... and the lizard would read through page after page of work thoughtfully, mumbling here and there about how Hell was too damned complicated and had far too much history. He wondered absently how much of Hell had floated up into the mortal world and how much of the physical world had flowed down and tainted Hell... and even as he sat here now, he hadn't figured out how everything worked. After all, once exposed to Hell energy on a long-term basis, the body changes and begins working in a far different, far superior way... but if a demon from Hell stays on the mortal plane for too long, its body ‘rusts' if it doesn't start regularly restore its energy or expose itself to Hell essence from someplace every few years or so.

Zerrex looked slowly over Selena from where she stood in the doorway, and then he put Blackheart aside as she slid into the room and sat beside him, dressed in her new bondage outfit: amazingly, this one actually covered her breasts with a black lace bra that was part of the corset instead of leaving them mostly exposed and barely covered in straps like the last one had. She had leather straps that wrapped around both of her strong biceps, and her legs and forearms were both covered, her upper limbs by fingerless leather gloves that stretched back to her elbows, and her lower limbs by long black stockings that latched onto a black-lace thong that barely covered her crotch. Finally, she had a black, spiked collar around her neck and matching tight bracelets and anklets, leaving her taloned feet exposed. The best part of her outfit was that it had been charmed to stretch or shrink with her body if she changed her size... likely the reason she was wearing it.

On one of her sides was the runed whip, and on the other hung the revolver: Zerrex had taught her to use it, and after a short argument, he had decided that she was better suited for the weapon. She wasn't exactly the best shot in the world, but with her pyrokinetic abilities, she could cause the bullets to explode in midair or the moment they struck a target. The Drakkaren also thought it made her look a bit more like Cherry, which gave him a nice at-home feeling... although he knew that if he ever mentioned that to her, she'd probably kick his ass. "You look like you're suited up already."

"You bet." Selena grinned slightly as she slipped over to sit beside him, reaching down to touch the large blade of his weapon as she asked teasingly: "By the way... is everything you own massive, or is it just me?"

"I like big things." Zerrex said defensively, and then he poked one of her breasts. "Feel fortunate that I do, or I might find these repugnant or whatever."

"These? These are only moderate by Hell's standards." Selena squeezed her enormous bust, looking down at herself disdainfully, which earned a look of entertainment from Zerrex. "Carmen's the lucky one... she can have either giant bazongas or none at all depending on her fuckin' mood. Me, I try and increase the size of my breasts, and I can't hold it for longer than a few hours."

"And here I thought you were some big-time shapeshifter." Zerrex said mildly, earning a glare and a light shove from Selena, and he rocked to the side with a slight grin and a wink before looking back over her with amusement. "So tell me, how'd you hear about the attack?"

"You're lucky you had a subject to change to." Selena muttered, and then she shook her head slowly. "But I heard about it from Sin while I was working out in one of the weight rooms... and by the way, I hate you for getting me hooked on this exercise bullshit. I think some days you're trying to turn me into that Cherry bitch."

"I'm just trying to figure out what her reaction'll be when she finds out about us... and furthermore, sees that you're just her, pretty much." Zerrex said softly, taking one of her hands gently and earning a smile and blush from Selena, who leaned towards him and closed her eyes as she rested her muzzle on his shoulder. "She'll probably be pissed as hell, if you want my honest opinion. Not because I remarried, more because she missed her chance to screw it up and the free food most mortal weddings offer."

Selena grunted and shrugged a bit, pushing her muzzle through his hair before leaning away and squeezing his hand lightly. "Well, she can take it up the left nostril for all I fuckin' care, no offense to you, Zer. I just like spending time with you... and I still don't like you, you know."

The reptile shrugged amiably, nudging her with his elbow as he tried to let go of her hand, but she clung on tight to his fingers. "Well, I don't like you much either, if it's any consolation. But I really... do dream of the day when I can introduce you all to each other... you, Lily, Sin, and everyone else..."

"Mahihko doesn't like me too much." Selena said absently, tugging him to his feet... and Zerrex managed to slide his hand free of her grip as he walked over to pick up the old-style magnetic holster he used to carry Blackheart around, to avoid wasting too much energy binding the blade to his body. He tilted his head curiously towards her as he strapped this on, and she looked embarrassed as she rubbed the back of his head. "But hey, he didn't seem to mind at all when I popped a cock out... the bitch is talented with that tongue piercing he has, I tell you that much."

"He is an Incubus..." Zerrex murmured, not wanting to get much into Mahihko's lusts. The wolf would be helping them today rallying prisoners and such... but only because the strange little lupine had abilities that they couldn't do without right now. He can seduce on such a massive level, after all... and that's better than my ability to dominate by power or by the old fashioned way in many a way... "But he isn't fond of anyone being added to our little family. I'm sure he's glad and all that I didn't have to go through Hell alone... but only Sin provides a real appropriate mother figure for him."

"Outside of sexual fantasies, anyway." Selena mumbled, and Zerrex did his best to ignore her. It had been awkward enough when he'd discovered Selena had pulled up a full record of everything he'd done in the Circle of Lust... but even more awkward had been the dossiers of information on Mahihko, which included several particularly-disturbing sexual fantasies he'd never really mentioned, such as being Zerrex's child by blood from his mother being raped.

She cleared her throat after a moment, taking the hint and looking embarrassed as she looked back and forth, and finally she said clearly: "Anyway, uh... are you gonna hurry up there? We should at least move down and meet in the lobby, where everyone else probably is by now... all the team leaders, anyway, I mean. Fuck, I know I've been pretty gung-ho about this whole thing, but even I'm starting to think I might've jumped the gun a little bit looking at our puny army compared to the several billion soldiers the Princess has... plus I hear you still haven't picked your team of four troops going in with you."

"It's better to leave stuff like that to the last minute anyway, stops arguments... and it's not like we're going in fancy or with special preparations or equipment... we're just going in to kill some morons that get in our way." Zerrex said mildly, as he finished fastening the magnetic holder onto his back. He slipped a large sidepack onto his belt as well, checking inside it to make sure it was magically-enlarged, and he smiled a bit to himself before turning and grasping Blackheart, locking the enormous sword onto his back as he flexed his fingers slowly. He paused at a thoughtful look from Selena, however, and he leaned away, saying mildly: "Whenever you look at me like that, I always feel this dull worry that I'm about to get punched in the face."

Selena rolled her eyes, then she asked curiously: "So, like... why are you even taking a team in? I've seen you take on your full demonic form... I was there with the Sisters when we did that ‘release' exercise in the Plains of Despair, after all, where you're supposed to just go nuts or whatever and give in to your demonic urges to just let them flow out of you and reveal your full, true form... and I gotta say, I wasn't exactly impressed by your little temper tantrum in the sand, but the giant form you had sure made up for it."

Zerrex glowered at her. "I'm Wrath and Lust. I had nothing to molest or destroy, what the hell was I supposed to do? And since I remember blowing something up, I think it was a bit more than a temper tantrum... next time I could always rape you, after all." A pause as Selena looked contemplative at this, and the Drakkaren covered his face with one hand. "Don't even reply to that, please.

"But well... no matter how strong I am, I can't split into two. While I go after the Scholars, someone else has to tackle the Scribes, then secure the ground floor." Zerrex said mildly, and Selena frowned a bit at this as Zerrex shrugged slowly and headed for the open door, Selena falling in step with him. "See, I figure that the Scribes and Scholars both have enough roles in common they probably work to protect each other, as well... and I figure if we attack them both at the same time, it'll be far easier than attacking one group while the other moves to try and responded to the threat and we end up pincered. The Scribes have a hive mind, after all... who knows how they'd respond to their bosses getting chopped up?"

"I think you just want some privacy to do what you do best." Selena said amiably, and Zerrex shrugged again as she patted him on the back, looking amused. "Well, you might want to let out some of your demonic form, at least... to be honest, I can't believe you're still being all stubborn about this crap and wandering around in that mortal Drakkaren form of yours."

"That's what I am." Zerrex replied obstinately, and Selena snorted and grinned slightly as the lizard looked across at her sourly, crossing his arms as they strode through the Estate. "Hey, it works for me, okay?"

"Right... you know what, this place is too damn big." Selena created a portal and walked through it, and Zerrex groaned before following morbidly, wondering how long it would be now before he started portalling himself everywhere throughout the Estate. I don't get what's wrong with a little exercise... "Well, what do you know, only half of them are here so far."

Zerrex looked up at the sound of Selena's voice, stepping out of the darkness of the portal to see a cluster of people standing around near the walls, and he nodded at the group in general before wincing as Ixin leapt in and wrapped an amr around him tightly, asking him in a serious voice: "So, Zerrex, do you remember that thing I told you all those years ago now?"

"What?" The Drakkaren looked at Ixin dumbly for a few moments, who groaned and rolled his eyes... and then the reptile blinked a few times before a light turned on in his brain and he replied curiously: "You mean, before I left Hell ten years ago?"

"It wasn't just a decade for all of us." Ixin said sourly, raising the glass in his other hand and jingling it to make the ice cubes ring against the glass. The liquid inside fizzed a bit, and Zerrex wondered what the hell it was Ixin was drinking before the mage inquired in a solemn voice: "And what exactly was it that I told you all those years ago now for some of us, and but a mere ten years ago for you?"

The reptile looked at him sourly, then he sighed and said mildly: "Since I doubt you want me to repeat the serious part, the not-so-serious part was something about not putting my penis into a cheese grater, because then I would end up with a stump that smelled like cheese."

"Ha, you remembered!" Ixin said cheerfully, as Selena stared at him with horror, and the eccentric reptile slapped the fellow Drakkaren on the back, Zerrex letting out a sigh as he looked towards the ceiling before adding absently: "But the other thing I said still applies too, by the way, so... yeah. Keep that in mind."

With that, Ixin wandered back towards Rose... but now the Dius was staring over at Zerrex with adoration, so he threw up his hands in disgust and instead went to sulk in a corner and sip at his drink as he mumbled possible spells under his breath in the Drakkaren's direction. Thankfully, nothing more serious occurred then a paper ball appearing out of nowhere to bounce off of Zerrex's head, since he was likely far too worried about incurring Selena's wrath as she walked over to her husband and asked mildly: "What exactly did he tell you ten years ago?"

"Don't die out there, and don't underestimate the involvement of the Princess in anything." Zerrex said quietly, rubbing slowly at his right arm. He could feel the stone and metal concealed beneath his layer of scales flexing and bulging, already wanting to get free as both his anxiety and excitement increased.

Selena looked over him thoughtfully, then she nodded slowly and grunted, watching as Mist and Shine approached Zerrex with fawning smiles. "Do you think..."

"I try not to." Zerrex responded mildly, looking over at her with a bit of a smile, and Selena rolled her eyes as the twins approached, both of them grasping one of Zerrex's arms and leaning up to kiss either cheek gently. The reptile smiled a bit at them, and then he glanced over Selena, adding quietly: "We just have to be prepared for anything when we make the attack, that's all it means. And everyone on the outside is not only going to have to cooperate, but take on full form."

"I don't disagree, but that's still asking a lot." Selena replied hesitantly, trading a frown with the twins before returning her eyes to Zerrex's own firm emerald, sighing a bit as she rubbed the back of her head slowly. "I really want to take the moment to point out that you're a freak, by the way. Because ninety percent of demons in Hell don't actually enjoy the demonic concept of beauty, which is size, spikes, and real ugly by mortal standards."

"Well, we all knew that I was a freak to begin with. So I dunno why this continues to surprise you so much." Zerrex shrugged amiably, and the female muttered something under her breath as she glowered at him, but the reptile ignored her as he looked from Mist to Shine, asking curiously: "What about you two? Did you manage to convince Chief Succubus Sunia to join our cause, or is she still firmly sided with the Princess?"

Mist sighed and shook her head slowly, and Shine muttered under her breath: "She believes it's a lost cause, but that the Princess will be kind enough to take you down with minimal damage... so she's stayed on the side of the Princess. We can only hope she and the succubi who are members of the Lust Guild will come around to our way of thinking before the fight is through... so perhaps she should be considered a non-target, like the Princess's concubines."

"Except her concubines are all terrified of her, and Sunia sounds at least semi-loyal... I don't want to cause any excess bloodshed any more than you do, but we can't exclude people just because..." He broke off at the faces Mist and Shine were making, and he finally sighed and nodded, mumbling: "Fine. I'll ask Lily to put her on the exclusion list, but you'll take the heat if she starts beating on us seriously, understood?"

The twins beamed up at him and both nodded, and Zerrex kissed both their foreheads, murmuring: "Good luck and grace to you both. Take care of yourselves throughout this battle."

"And tenfold to you, Master Zerrex." Mist and Shine spoke in unison, then both bowed deeply to him as they slid away to either side as another familiar face approached... and the Drakkaren grinned slightly and crossed his arms, the twins giggling behind him as they tossed amused looks over their shoulders.

Magistrate Sabnock approached in a silver breastplate with golden plates that cupped both her shoulders, and matching golden vambraces on both forearms. A long silver loincloth with white edging hung from her waist, along with a dark-tan battle dress hung down to her ankles, open at the front to reveal the shine of silver chain leggings that attached down into heavy golden greaves. She was carrying a golden helm in one hand, and a war hammer hung loosely from the other, despite the longbow that stuck out past one shoulder and the quiver of arrows hanging behind her waist. "Aren't you a little overequipped?"

"You're the one with the giant sword on his back. If you used that while you were mortal, I wonder how you managed to carry it around without breaking your back or cutting off your tail. It's certainly not a phallus reference or anything, right?" Sabnock asked dryly, and Zerrex looked away with a cough before she sighed and snapped the war hammer back on her belt, looking sourly over the Drakkaren. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe, furthermore, that of all the available personnel in Hell, it's you who's leading the operation."

"If you don't like it, go on the internet and complain." Zerrex said mildly, and when Sabnock only frowned at this, the Drakkaren slapped his forehead and mumbled: "Right. No internet in Hell. Um... you know, I probably can't count how many megabytes I've missed of worthwhile porn while trapped down here..."

"Focus, Lord Zerrex, please." Sabnock gestured at him with both hands in a cutting motion, looking frustrated, and the lizard swayed backwards and made a face before she continued slowly: "We have no impartial military advisement team. We have no real headquarters that's been assessed by a military council or designed with the specific needs of our group in mind. We have roughly a thousand soldiers per unit, up against the billions, if not trillions, of souls and soldiers in Hell that the Princess has under her control. And you plan on leaving one as-yet-unnamed person in charge of what you keep referring to as the ‘alpha force' in charge of combating the Princess's forces and holding them in place outside of the Spire... not to mention the fact that this ‘alpha force' is also apparently being charged with killing off any important officers working under the Princess, just in case the Pawn system of Hell is still in place or under the assumption that many of the soldiers of each unit will automatically cease fighting if their commanding officer is slain.

"And this is all without even getting into the many problems facing ‘delta force,' the team you plan to lead yourself into the Spire..." Sabnock finished, looking exasperated as the Drakkaren nodded slowly to show he was following. "Lord Zerrex, how do you expect to triumph with a group of four as-yet-unknowns attempting to kill the Scribes, while you yourself try and handle the remaining Scholars? The Princess isn't going to just be a pushover, you realize... and with all the years she's ruled and lived in Hell, she's learned the conventions and covenants of this plane inside-out... and now that she's sole ruler, I expect she'll break every war law placed into existence."

"I know. That's why I'm putting my faith in you, Sabnock." Zerrex said mildly, and the wolverine did a double-take, her blue wings flapping a bit behind her as he shrugged and glanced over her slowly. "You're an architect... a magistrate... and an original demon, one of the elders, I've been told. And I've also been told not to underestimate your powers... and even Selena respects you, despite whatever attitude she gives you."

Sabnock grimaced, then blinked when Zerrex gripped her shoulders and looked down at her pointedly, saying softly: "You're my War Chief. We need your experience and knowledge... and besides, you're the one who convinced most of the Judges and other Magistrates to help us out here... and hey, rebellions are always long shots but... how often do they work, huh?"

"Not often at all, if you look at history... most of them are just forgotten about because they die out so fast." The wolverine muttered, the demoness shifting awkwardly on the spot and looking back and forth before glancing back up at Zerrex, pointing at White as he portalled in, saying clearly: "Why not the Judge of Death? He's far more combat-oriented than I am, and-"

Zerrex looked up curiously as a second figure stepped through the portal afterwards, and the Drakkaren smiled slightly at a miserable-looking Anubis, the jackal dressed in his plain white suit but carrying an enormous armload of papers with him, and White half-bowed to the canid, motioning for him to do something. The jackal looked flustered and said loudly: "You know, I'm not your servant, and I don't have to listen to you-"

Before he could finish, White drew his massive revolver and fired a round into the ground by Anubis's paw, and the jackal jumped, several papers falling to the ground as people stared, before he blushed deeply and mumbled: "Yeah, I'll be right back. Excuse me, sir."

The jackal wandered off towards another group, and Zerrex looked mildly back at Sabnock. "You really want White in charge of everyone now?" A pause as she mumbled something under her breath in reply, and then he said softly: "I believe in your abilities, Sabnock. You can appoint whoever you want to advise you... but it looks like everyone's here, and it's time to get things moving."

"Zerrex... wait." Sabnock winced and half-rose a hand as the Drakkaren turned away, and he looked over his shoulder curiously as she rubbed the back of her head, before finally saying: "Good luck. I'll look for you when this is all over."

"You better." Zerrex replied, and he smiled at her before turning and heading for the stairs. He paused just in front of them as Anubis staggered by with his stack of papers, however, and he asked teasingly: "Enjoying your new job?"

Anubis glanced over his shoulder with a frown, and then he glowered at the reptile, saying spitefully: "You! You son of a bitch!" A pause, and then he narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards, adding darkly: "You're lucky I don't have any of my old powers, or I'd be ripping you apart right now... I'm a god, not a lackey!"

"Yeah, I hear you're White's secretary." Zerrex covered his muzzle with a fist and cleared his throat, and Anubis muttered something under his breath before the Drakkaren added cheerfully: "Hey, don't worry about it. There's a big fight coming up and I'm sure you'll be able to direct some of that rage into pretending other people are me and killing them. It's not my fault you're a psychotic ass."

"You spend the time I did in the Marquee Sur Noir." Anubis muttered, and then he turned quickly away, several papers flying through the air as the jackal headed over to another group to continue handing out forms. Zerrex shook his head in slow amusement, then rolled his eyes when Amiglion leaned forwards with a teasing grin and the jackal went off into a fit of yelling. I better get this group under control...

Zerrex strode halfway up the stairs, then he turned around and absently flexed a hand, before looking down at it curiously. After more than a quarter of a million years... had he just been wishing for his cane to lean on? He shook his head quickly after a moment, though, and instead looked up over the hall, saying clearly: "If I could have everyone's attention, we'll get ready to start moving things out."

Sin portalled in a moment later beside him, sitting down on the stairs with a sigh and glancing up at the Drakkaren as he looked back down at her curiously, the voices going quiet and people turning towards them, and she gave him a supportive smile before quietly rubbing a hand down his lower leg. Zerrex turned his eyes back over the wide entrance hall of the Ravenlight Estate, taking in the group of people gathered beneath him, before he swallowed nervously. So many people gathered here, all of them armed and ready for battle... and here he was, about to give another dumb preparation speech for war... but this time he wasn't supposed to be guiding soldiers, but fully-fledged demons. Irony... it never really stops punching you in the balls.

"We all know why we're here... we're united by one ideal, one need, one dream... and that's a Hell where there's peace, and the people who are punished are actually rehabilitated instead of destroyed or turned into demonic soldiers and slaves to continue to fight the endless wars." Zerrex started, and the reptile paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before continuing in a slower voice: "And the first great obstacle in our way is the Princess. We now know about the war games and the false Az'Iriel, and we know about the disappearance of Prince Memnon and Lily being barred from entering office... and we can attributes hundreds of other events to her that have caused devastation while ensuring her rule. And of course, we know about me.

"I was supposed to be her greatest weapon... designed to do Gods-know-what." Zerrex shook his head slowly, not even wanting to guess at the plans the Princess had in store for him. "But now we're all gathered here, each of us with their own waiting unit of mortal technologies and the soldiers we've managed to acquire, all of us ready to stand and fight the Princess to destroy her and her tattered regime. Although we've discussed this many times, the Scholars and Scribes will need to be slain as well, and a new system of control will need to be put in place: in essence, Hell will need to begin anew from scratch. I know many of you have expressed concerns about this, but we have no other choice: the Scholars and Scribes have been corrupted to follow the orders of the Princess, and while they live, we'll all be in great peril.

"As you know, I'll be taking four people into the Central Spire with me." Zerrex paused for a long moment, then said quietly: "I've chosen Lily, Vampire, Sin, and Blake."

Mumbles rose up, Selena looking slightly-downcast, and then Sabnock said clearly: "Lord Zerrex, wait, we'll need Lady Sin with us... she's our strongest mage-"

"Which is exactly why I need her with me, first. She'll be returned in one piece, don't worry about that." Zerrex smiled down to Sin, who blushed a bit before the Drakkaren returned his eyes to the group, saying clearly: "Sin is the only one capable of shrugging off the wards and binds that Master Scribe Vine may unleash, and also the only one who can take my place if the Scholars incapacitate me. I have great faith in her abilities... and afterwards, she'll be able to assist you in the attack with the others while I make my way up the Central Spire to the Princess."

There were mutteres through the group, and then Zerrex said mildly: "We don't have the time or energy to waste on dissent now. We have a huge task ahead of us, that will require the full cooperation of every member of the team and group... and if we fail, it's not only us who will suffer the punishments, but all of Hell... and perhaps even the mortal plane and Heaven too. We still have the energy signatures of Black Holes visible in several different parts of Hell, in case some of you didn't know about this... and others have warped into full-fledged Cracks that the Princess has already grouped soldiers around and taken possession of. I know none of us want a repeat experience of the useless war with the mortal realm... and unless we move against the Princess, more lives will be lost uselessly, and more of us will be hunted down and exterminated.

"Besides, we have a more pressing issue... and that's figuring out if there was a third party involved in the conspiracy between the false Az'Iriel and the Princess." Zerrex said firmly, and there were several grunts of agreement. "The only way we'll get to the root of that is if we corner the Princess-"

"My son is right... and the time to move is now." said a soft voice, and Zerrex looked over his shoulder in surprise, quailing a bit despite himself at the sight of Celestial standing at the top of the stairs, trailing her fingers down the banister. She smiled to him softly, but one of her emerald eyes was stained by cracks of crimson, as if a terrible living sun was staring through a broken stained glass window of a church. "I'll aid you in the battle, until the Lady Sin can take my place... but the puzzle is more complex than any of you understand."

There was a shudder that ran through the group, and Zerrex looked slowly over Celestial before she stepped down beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leaning forwards and whispering: "I found him... I tasted his essence... and yet he fled from me again, Light... I don't know what to do, my darling child... but why didn't you ask for my help? I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, after all, my powerful... beloved son..."

Celestial kissed his neck, and Zerrex closed his eyes tightly before she drew back with a teasing smile, laughing quietly. "Delicious... so much stronger, you're so much better than the almost-virginal child I met in the Circle of Wrath... but go ahead, run your little meeting here, show me how you handle your soldiers..."

Zerrex made a bit of a face, and then he glanced back out over the group, trying to shrug away the mix of embarrassment, confusion, and anger he felt at Celestial, even if part of him recognized what a valuable asset she would be... but he knew that either way, this would stick in his mind for a long time. "I... er... all of you were formerly assigned a position around the Central Spire, and to manage your tactics and concerns, I've made Magistrate Sabnock the War Chief for the group. She and whoever she appoints will serve as the commanding officers, but each of you will be responsible for your own battalion of troops, however large or small, however well-equipped or not. Keep an eye on your troops and... fight with them, not just beside them."

He coughed after his lame finish, then said dumbly: "I'll now take any questions you might have, before we each break off to assemble and wait for the signal..." He paused, looking back and forth as people murmured and talked to each other, and then made a face when Ixin rose a hand, bouncing from foot-to-foot. "What is it, Ixin?"

"You're not going to yell at me for using my flute, are you?" The mage asked pessimistically, and then he let out a long sigh of relief and grinned stupidly when Zerrex rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Awesome shit then. Just so you know, by the way, Zer-burrito, I really think we need to work on your people skills. Other than that, uh... yeah, my other question is why the fuck am I not going into the Central Spire with you?"

"Because you piss me off." Zerrex responded acidly, and Ixin shrank backwards, covering his head as Carmen snorted laughter beside the ageless Drakkaren. "And, more importantly, because I was counting on you using your musical aptitudes to ensnare groups of enemies. Although I recognize you'd be able to stand against the Scribes with your magical abilities, I think it's better that I don't take away too many of the group's few mages."

"Then why don't I go in place of Sin?" Selena asked, half-glaring at him as she rested her hand on the butt of her revolver, and Zerrex winced back as Sin flushed and looked down. "She's our most powerful mage, and-"

"I'm the most powerful mage here now. I think the discussion time is over." Celestial said quietly, her eyes flashing red for a moment and silencing Selena before she looked at Zerrex, touching his bicep gently as her robes twisted around her body despite the lack of wind inside the room. "Don't you think so, my child?"

Zerrex nodded silently, and then he cleared his throat and looked over the group of officers... almost all of them people he knew. "Everyone, unless there's a pressing issue, you should all head to your posts. Vampire, Lily, and Blake, if you could all head up here... and... Celestial, if you would please talk to Magistrate Sabnock, she'll inform you of where to go."

Celestial looked at him coldly for a moment... and then a slow smile spread over her face as she said softly: "Professionalism... always appreciated. You're growing up, my longtime child..." She paused, opening her mouth again... and then she simply smiled and strode down to Sabnock instead, who shivered visibly as she looked over the not-demon, not-mortal female.