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Ten years later, Zerrex cursed as a football bounced off his head, and he fell over as Selena ran over to him, blushing and saying embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I'm still getting the hang of the game... that's not a good pass, is it?"

"Throw it in an arc, not straight at me... Gods, I hate this game." Zerrex mumbled, as he picked up the football and squeezed it firmly between his hands â€" but this wasn't any cheap football like you found in the mortal plane, but one made of dragonscale. He still thought he could pop it... but Selena would throw a fit if he did, so he only motioned for her to go backwards and waited for her to get a good twenty feet away before throwing a short pass, trying to emphasize the arc. "See? Like that. Don't rocket it at my face, for the love of crap, please. You're going to kill me."

She nodded, running down the field as a faint breeze whisked through the short grass, Zerrex glancing over to where Lily and Sin were sitting and chatting amiably underneath an apple tree, Carmen lurking nearby and cracking her knuckles as she grinned menacingly. Whereas Selena loved the idea of team sports â€" back in her day, there hadn't exactly been much in the way of organized athletics â€" Carmen adored anything that gave her an excuse for some hard bodily contact... and so Zerrex had been stupid enough to explain to them the rules of Irenic football a few months ago.

He reflected that it could be worse... after all, he could have explained hockey to them. A pause as Selena threw a lopsided pass, and Zerrex ran out to try and catch it... but Carmen charged out of waiting and threw herself at him in a gleeful tackle, squishing Zerrex into the ground. The reptile flailed stupidly, and then Carmen pinned him and grinned widely, leaning down over him and saying tauntingly: "Hey, assface, where the hell are those nipple rings? I thought we had an agreement."

"You voided that agreement when you chained me to that succubus by them, because that was a real awkward week." Zerrex said sourly, rolling over and reversing the pin, and Carmen made a face and stuck her tongue out. "By the way, you're the entire reason I learned how to dispel permanency charms."

"Then next time I'll just weld them. Wanna get off me, sport? Selena looks like she's getting jealous. This is supposed to be our weekly fun-meet, after all, before we get down to business." Carmen said cheerfully, her tone telling Zerrex she wouldn't mind him making Selena even more jealous. The reptile rolled his eyes, however, then stood up and offered his hand to her... and she tried to yank him back down, then coughed and stared when Zerrex hauled her up to her feet instead. "Yeah, so. Totally forgot how strong you are there. Say, you have that scary expression on your face you usually get before you hit me, so let's not go down that road unless you promise to follow it up with hardcore sex. I mean, rape."

"You and Cherry are far too alike." Zerrex muttered, dropping her hand, and Carmen looked amiably nonplussed, apparently not able to understand if it was an insult with a bit of grudging compliment or a compliment with a bit of friendly insult. He glanced over at Selena and nodded to her, and Selena threw a short pass from where she'd picked up the ball... but Zerrex stepped out of the way, and the ball bonked off Carmen's head, knocking her sprawling as Zerrex called: "See, Selena, that's why you need to really work on that edge you have on your passes."

The male walked over to join Sin and Lily as Carmen jumped up to her feet and rocketed the ball at Selena, and the Dius dived out of the way before the ball tore through a tree and ripped it in half. Selena scrambled away as Carmen gave chase, and the Drakkaren watched this over his shoulder before he turned his eyes back to the two calmer girls in front of him, asking mildly: "Is it weird that I only hang out with chicks?"

"You're just the effeminate male friend of the popular girls, that's all." Lily said mildly, as she took a bite out of an apple, and then she smiled slightly and swayed as Zerrex shoved her, chewing reflectively and looking to Sin.

The female shrugged and blushed a bit, looking embarrassed as she glanced away for a moment, then she turned her eyes back to the Drakkaren, saying quietly: "You are who you are, Lord Zerrex... and I for one am glad for it. I like sitting around with you... you make me feel like I actually fit in somewhere."

Zerrex smiled at her, and then Lily laughed a bit, nudging Sin teasingly and saying playfully: "Oh come on, we all know about the chemistry between you two. Hell is full of trillions of people, though, so it only makes sense that everyone finds from one to five people they're able to get along with on such a deep level, you know... from soldier demons to gods, everyone needs love."

"And I take it you're a god in this scenario." Zerrex asked mildly, as he sat back and looked across at her amusedly, but Lily only rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. "I'd like to point out your original goal was pretty much to rape me and eat my head, which is... a very ironic reversal on how things usually worked, apart from the eating-of-heads part."

"We're all a bit damaged." Lily shrugged and smiled at him warmly, tilting her head towards him and looking quietly amused, and Zerrex nodded with a grunt, rubbing his hands together as he rested one arm on his knee. She paused, then said in a quieter voice: "But on a more serious note... we did all come here to discuss something serious after relaxing together a bit. I just wish that Sabnock, White, and Amiglion would hurry up and get here... I don't want to have to go over what we've discovered about Beatrice Blossom without them."

Zerrex nodded, frowning at the ground as he rubbed a hand slowly through his hair. With Heaven finally settling down a bit, Raze had been able to run them down some information on the kinds of operations Narrius had been running... and since Heaven didn't have a lot in terms of computers and technology, they had gotten their hands on a lot of notebooks and personal journals that Zerrex had been able to question Narrius about at home. Celestial had aided to a point: on the one hand, she wouldn't let Zerrex ‘work his father up,' but on the other, she was able to torture a clear answer or two out of him... and it had been far more than Zerrex had expected to get.

By now, Narrius had become a raving, warped shell of his former self, permanently trapped in his writhing-with-darkness body and emaciated form... and although Zerrex knew by now to never underestimate the powers of his father, he thought Narrius had become pathetic compared to the terrible majesty he'd once held. After all, the Dragokkaren hadn't even moved from his corner in ten years... and had become more and more withered, both from the Unworld energy both protecting and consuming his body, and the hungers of Celestial.

"Boss!" said a cheerful voice, and Zerrex looked up in surprise to see Tinman approaching with them, the badger blushing a bit and wearing a plain leather vest over his longsleeve shirt, looking every bit the Tinny Zerrex had known in life. The reptile smiled slightly as he nodded to the angel, raising a hand as Vampire trotted happily along behind him in only a pair of ripped jeans, grinning stupidly. Vampire really did care in his own weird way about Tinman, after all...

A pause, and he noted White walking at a distance and looking awkward, Amiglion walking beside him and chattering away, likely trying to be helpful... but he didn't see Sabnock anywhere. He frowned, then Lily cleared her throat and motioned with her head out towards the field, and Zerrex turned to see the wolverine lecturing Carmen and Selena about something in her Magistrate's robes, Carmen looking bored but Selena looking sheepishly back and forth, far less used to being on this end of the punishment stick.

The reptile rolled his eyes... but within five minutes they were assembled properly and quieting down, everyone looking to first Zerrex, then Lily... then back to Zerrex when she glared at him and he looked around miserably, mumbling: "Not fair. You're the stupid-ass... High Princess person who got all the info."

"Well, you're the one used to this whole thing, and you always tell me my long speeches are boring." Lily replied sourly, with a hint of bitter, ironic entertainment. She reached up her hands and waved them lightly at him, then said in a cheerier voice: "Go, go, go, do your thing, Captain Zerrex."

"Cap'n Ravenlight!" corrected Vampire in a half-howl, flailing his arms stupidly by Tinman, who winced and absently squeezed one of his ears in a nervous gesture. All eyes slowly turned to the demonic wolf, and he said lowered his head embarrassedly at the lethal glares of White and Sabnock. "Yeah, uh... go ahead, Boss, didn't mean to interrupt. Please don't send me to the Abyss."

"Thank you, Vampire." Zerrex said mildly, then he cleared his throat as everyone returned their gazes to him, Vampire grinning stupidly back and forth before he settled his eyes back on Zerrex. "But as everyone knows, Heaven suffered an attack from the person puppeting both the Princess and Az'Iriel: Ifret Narrius. Their movements were coordinated somehow across even space and time, likely by both mortal and demonic technologies, and they were able to wreak havoc across all three planes and almost succeeded in destroying all three in turn: over the last decade, we've closed more than three hundred rifts and Black Holes, and shut down several illegal Gates of Hell leading not just into the physical plane, but up into Heaven itself.

"But the information we've gained from both an imprisoned Narrius and the logbooks his soldiers left behind tells us that there's another last-ditch effort based on the physical plane, what we call a ‘doomsday device' back home." Zerrex continued calmly, looking back and forth as he crossed his arms, and now all eyes were focused on his grim expression. "When I was mortal, I dealt with several of these devices. It was my failure in the last search-and-destroy mission given to me by Hez'Ranna to shut down a facility in the Arctic that opened the first rift: but even now I don't know whether or not that was intended or if Narrius simply didn't realize what would happen and adjusted his plans to include the mortal realm as well: all we know is that he was incredibly patient and cunning to have devised these systems.

"From the notes we've found in the logbooks and the materials in the warehouses to be shipped, my best guess is some sort of biowarfare facility, or another demonic production line." Zerrex paused, shaking his head slowly. "Either way, we all know how invaluable the physical plane is to all involved. Without the energy produced there by mortals, both Heaven and Hell will begin to be choked off. Furthermore, we're all well-aware of how fast Narrius is capable of moving, and the complex level of plans he's capable of plotting out, meaning we can't afford to lose time with this and need to rally our forces together and attack as soon as possible."

He halted for a few moments, looking back and forth as he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair, then said quietly: "I think our best chance of ensuring we destroy the last of Narrius's supporters â€" angelic and demonic â€" is by moving as quickly as possible to strike this base on the physical plane. They may move at a much-slower pace than us... but on the other hand, if we wait too long, they may start moving at a momentum we simply won't be able to stop without opening a rift of some sort... and I'm sure we all know how unstable Hell and Heaven currently both are. It could incite more demons to rally to the cause of the soldiers that formerly were under Narrius, and are now working either for Beatrice or likely another high-ranking demon. I move that we take care of this not only quickly, but quietly, with a minimal force sent to the physical plane, while we send other teams on thorough sweeps through both Heaven and Hell to try and fnd any of the hidden supply areas, rifts, or soldiers we've missed."

He looked embarrassedly at Lily, but she only nodded thoughtfully before glancing over the group, saying quietly: "Lord Zerrex has said all that needs to be said. Although normally I'd request an impromptu council meeting, I think all of us here can represent Hell's best interests capabaly in an emergency situation such as this. Sir Tinman, I'd like you to report to Sir Francis and Lord Raze our decisions at the end of this meeting, and offer any advice or information Heaven has made it's clear its willing to part with, as well. Only open lines of communication can help us; closing them down will just result in more senseless war and chaos."

"Ma'am." Tinman nodded and blushed a bit, and then he hesitated for a moment before adding meekly: "I think the Boss has always done what's best in the end... he led us through plenty of terrible situations, and even I survived. He's right, though, we... we can't hesitate."

"The Boss... I like that." Vampire grinned slightly, rubbing his hands together slowly as he leered up at Zerrex, then he rested comfortably backwards as Sabnock glowered at him, before she stared as he added mildly: "But Boss does make a few good points, and I know what sort of use a small-crew task force can be against a heavy-duty large-scale operation. Fuckin' idiots, all you have to do is stroll in the back door like you belong there, half the time they'll believe you. But I don't like the idea of sending demons up to the mortal plane, most of ‘em don't do so hot. I vote we attack via Possession, possibly from the inside... even if you can't find a soldier to possess, there've gotta be mortal mechanics, soldier demons, and workers at whatever facility they're doin' up pretty." A pause, and then he glared around as several people stared incredulously at him. "What?"

"I agree with Sir Vampire, Possession would be the best form of movement... and perhaps coordination with an outside team of specially-trained or -imbued mortals." Sin added quietly, looking at Zerrex pointedly, before she blushed a bit as she said softly: "I nominate Lord Zerrex for the job. He can survive a long-term Possession and his family has a particular array of powers suitable for the job, including a demoness with the bloodline of both Beatrice Blossom and the Four Sisters running through her."

The others mumbled and then nodded, and then Sabnock looked sourly over at Zerrex and asked mildly, silencing everyone else: "You planned this out, didn't you, so you could escape from Hell for a second time?"

"I wouldn't say planned it out so much as hoped things worked out this way, although I'd by-far prefer to go up in my physical form." Zerrex said mildly, shrugging a bit and rubbing at one of his biceps lightly before he turned his eyes to Selena, who was looking miserable. "Selena, will you be my co-pilot and keep me on track?"

"No." Selena said sulkily, and then she glared at him, snapping: "I don't think it's a good idea, that's all! This is stupid, we should send a demon specializing in possessing demons, not mortals... or just forget about it and prepare our forces to counter whatever move they make in what, several thousand years? There's not a lot we can't stop, esepcailly with Heaven and Hell working together. Besides, either way, most demons can recognize when someone's Possessed off the spot."

Zerrex frowned a bit at her, but Carmen interceded, pointing to the side and asking mildly: "Come on, Selena, let's go have a little talk."

Selena winced, but followed as Carmen stood up, and the two vanished for a short time as there was an awkward quiet, before they returned with Selena hanging her head and sitting a noticeable distance away. "Yeah, Zerrex should go. I don't like all this talking bullshit, that's all. We're wasting time we should be taking for preparation."

Zerrex inwardly agreed as he rubbed the back of his head, looking over her slowly before he looked over to Lily, and she sighed and nodded, saying quietly: "Everyone has to be aware of what's going on... but there's a time when the talk has to end and the action has to begin. Let's move on, then, to the next order of business, which is on assigning each of you with a team and set of soldiers to guide through Hell on special protection, recovery, or extermination missions..."

It continued on for some two hours, by the end of which Zerrex was getting fidgety and Selena had silently apologized with her body language, coming over and sitting beside him to cling to his arm and quietly rest her head against his shoulder... and afterwards, the reptile walked quietly off with her, Tinman and Vampire following at a short distance as Selena murmured: "I don't want to lose you. I've lost everyone else."

"I know the feeling." Zerrex said quietly, glancing down at the dirt path they were striding along before looking over to her with a faint smile, saying quietly: "You won't, though. I'll always come back for you, Selena... and I... I might still want to return to the mortal realm, but I'd still come back and visit as often as I could. I can't forget you or Lily or Sin or any of the others."

"Or me!" Vampire said cheerfully, bounding up behind him and grabbing his shoulders, the reptile grunting and wincing as the wolf bounced back and forth from paw-to-paw, his crotch bumping against the Drakkaren's back with every movement audaciously. "Come on, pre-war party night, you got some nasty shit to return to in-"

"In like, a month." Zerrex said sourly, shoving Vampire off and looking sourly amused as Tinman wandered up behind them, rubbing the back of his head and looking embarrassed as Vampire only growled and waved his arms in frustration. "During the course of which I have to figure out how the hell to get my-"

A loud shot rang out, and a moment later Zerrex crashed down in a heap, looking dazed as blood leaked out of a large hole in his head. His skull was burning, and Selena shrieked before howling in rage, charging off with Vampire towards the trees as Tinman knelt by the Drakkaren. The badger winced, holding his hand over the wound, and a moment later several fragments of silver flew out of it and reformed in his hand, the Drakkaren mumbling dumbly: "Am I dead?"

"We're all dead here." Tinny said quietly, touching Zerrex's forehead, then his neck as he looked furtively back and forth, wincing a bit. "How much does it hurt, Mister Zerrex? Do you feel sick at all?"

"Just Zerrex, please..." The Drakkaren mumbled, sitting slowly up and rubbing at his forehead as he groaned, and black dots swam in front of his eyes. "Well, I feel like I should be dead, am currently wishing I was dead, and I have a wicked-ass headache for... obvious reasons... but otherwise I'm fine." A pause, and then he groaned and his eyes bulged, head twitching a bit as the wound began to heal itself, the process proving to be a whole new level of pain. "Yeah, okay, please kill me."

"Stop that, Boss." Tinman said gently, as he stood and then shook his head, then grasped one of Zerrex's shoulders as the Drakkaren tried to stand up himself. "And don't do that, either. Stay sitting up, that's good for now... just wait until you start feeling better, I don't want you to faint or anything."

Zerrex nodded a bit, and the action made him feel queasy, so he decided that laying down might be better for him, and the reptile lowered himself carefully to the ground as Tinman knelt beside him with a wince. The Drakkaren absently wondered how much of his brain had been diced to bits, and he was ridiculously glad for a lack thereof of nerves in that particular... Organ? Gland? Tissue clump? I've never been clear on what a brain is. It's always just been a brain. A brain is a brain is a brain. I think I'm gonna puke.

The reptile mumbled incoherently to himself as Tinman looked over him worriedly, then he put his hands on Zerrex's abdominals and his chest, taking a breath and murmuring an incantation. The wound in Zerrex's head slowly began to heal as the Drakkaren groaned in pain, spasming a bit and grasping at his skul with both hands, and Tinman winced and then halted, drawing his hands away as he mumbled: "Wonderful..."

Before the reptile could ask what the hell was going on with his head, Vampire skidded in with a spray of dirt before he winced away when Zerrex mumbled: "Move with anything less than butterfly steps, and I'll put a hole in your head and pour dirt in it."

"Why haven't you healed him?" asked Selena coldly, as she shoved Vampire aside and sent him sprawling on the other side of the dirt path, growling at Selena, then wincing away and half-sliding down the rest of the embankment when she glowered at him, her hands covered in blood. She returned her gaze to Tinny, who looked nervously from Zerrex to Vampire, and then Selena put her hands on her hips and snarled: "Well? You're an Angel in the medical division, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah... but the bullet was coated in something, probably crystal dust... it won't vanish with a cleasning spell and if I heal him, it just causes more pain. We need to do it the old fashioned way, medical evac and surgery." Tinny said meekly, and he swallowed a bit as Selena shook her head in disgust. "I'm scared that the more I heal him, the more the dust sets into his wound and brain, too... and if that happens, it really could kill him. Whoever shot him knew what they were doing."

"No, whoever prepared the bullet knew what they were doing. Whoever shot him was unable to run fast enough to avoid being ripped into fifteen different pieces by miss cranky-pants there." Vampire said helpfully, and then he leaned away with a terrified look at Selena, mumbling: "Don't hurt me."

"This is perfect." Zerrex said stupidly, and then the Drakakren grinned dumbly as he looked back and forth, adding dumbly: "We'll fake my death. Tinman, fake a healing incantation, and Selena, go set things on fire. Then Ire won't know what's coming at them when I emerge from the helicopter."

"He's delirious. Fine. Old fashioned it is." Selena muttered, then she cleared her throat and shouted: "Sin!"

Nothing happened... and Zerrex parroted the name a moment later as his eyes rolled stupidly in his head, and a portal opened, Sin stepping through and staring in shock at the Drakkaren. Less than a minute later, Zerrex had been teleported into his bed and Sin had knocked him out, and the Drakkaren was happy to get some sleep for the next little while.

"So, just so I'm sure, the attack was by someone who hadn't even become an Initiate yet, but was still demon enough to know about Narrius's ‘movement' and the whole idea. Wonderful, more assassins to look forwards to meeting when I get up top, I'm sure." Zerrex muttered, rubbing absently at the spot where he'd been shot in the head. "I still want to bring Blackheart with me, by the way."

"Well, it's not happening." Selena said bad-naturedly, crossing her arms and glaring at him, and Zerrex made a face as he touched the large sword sitting secured on the wall. "And I don't know why you have such a sick obsession with it."

The Drakkaren grunted in return as he stripped off his clothes, standing with Selena and Sin sitting on a small chair against the wall in the otherwise empty room, and then he rubbed the back of his head as he asked awkwardly: "You aren't going to molest me or anything, are you? I mean, I'm going to be gone a pretty long time, and I know how you get."

"Fuck off and die." Selena snapped, and Zerrex coughed, leaning away from her before she sighed and rubbed at her head, then grasped Zerrex's hands tightly, closing her eyes and murmuring: "I'm sorry. I don't want to part on bad terms. Just take care of yourself, Zerrex... this is the first time I've done something like this, and... I'm trusting you to return afterwards." She met his eyes, murmuring quietly: "Your deadline is ten-thousand years, so you'll have to move fast. You get to spend no more than three and some days up there."

Zerrex nodded, smiling a bit and saying quietly: "I shouldn't have much trouble finding the base, anyway... and-"

Carmen kicked the door in with a loud crunch, then she marched in with the Four Sisters all attempting to shove in behind her, yelling at the mostly-naked Amazonian Queen before she wheeled at them and roared: "I'm gonna do it! Now... hey, naked!"

The golden-scaled female glanced over her shoulder with a wide grin, and Fire attempted to tackle Carmen... but Goddess or not, the Dius merely struck headfirst against Carmen's chiseled abdominals and slid slowly off her, the Queen of the Lust Circle glancing down and saying mildly: "Eating me out is only so much of an apology, you know. If you really wanna make it up to me, you'll give me head."

"Carmen, put that down this instant!" Earth shouted angrily, putting her hands on her hips... but then she quailed when Carmen turned around and gave her a look, Fire rubbing her head stupidly and slowly climbing back up to her feet dazedly. Zerrex stared in horror, and Sin and Selena both looked absolutely shocked at the fact that of all people, Carmen was defying the Sisters on something. "That is a sacred weapon that was sealed away after-"

"Blah blah blah. Zerrex, I want Cherry to have this." Carmen wiggled the silk-sheet wrapped object she was holding above her head, out of the reach of the quadruplets. They were apparently unwilling to actively use their powers on the female in order to get it back... but it was very clear that they weren't all that trusting of Carmen's judgement on this matter. Although right now, I'd do anything to just... not be naked while a horde of females is surrounding me, or even just to get rid of Carmen. "Come here and touch my chest. And I don't have boobs right now, so no, it's not a sexual remark."

"Selena, don't let him!" Air said urgently, and Selena's face dropped into moodiness: Zerrex knew that even from the Goddesses she revered, Selena did not enjoy taking orders. "Selena, grab him, please!"

Selena sniffed and glowered... and when Water looked helplessly at Sin, she blushed deeply but averted her eyes as Zerrex walked hesitantly forwards... and then all four Sisters shot around Carmen and tackled Zerrex to the ground, the reptile groaning in pain and thumping his skull against the floor. He blinked dazedly, then stared when Selena grabbed Fire and threw her across the room, shouting: "Calm yourselves the fuck down, this ain't the Princess's Hell anymore!"

Everyone stared at her, and then she pointed at the wall and added an order as her eyes glowed black: "Line up against the wall, do it now, everyone!"

The Sisters hopped to their feet and jumped backwards, and Zerrex scrambled up to stand beside Carmen, who was still holding whatever it was high above her head. Selena glowered back and forth, crossing her arms before she looked at the Sisters and said disdainfully: "Honestly, I expect these kinds of antics from Zerrex and Carmen, but what about you four? You're Goddesses of Hell, you've always acted with far greater respect and dignity than this... and at any time, you could have stopped Carmen, but you've resorted to this... childish game! And please, do me a favor and select one person to speak for you."

Immediately, all the Sisters looked to Earth, who turned beet-red before mumbling and looking down: "I um. I disagree with the other Sisters and think Zerrex should be permitted to take Cherry the Great Diviner. But they think it's far too soon to give our Eldest Sister this weapon... but I have great faith in her, especially with the way she's been behaving as of late. But as long as I disagree, all of our divine powers are blocked from working because we function as one being... and normally we don't disagree about anything."

"Why do you call her that?" Zerrex asked curiously, leaning down the line, then wincing at Selena's evil look before braving: "I mean, Cherry is... Cherry. I've never known her to be mixed up with all of you."

"There used to be five of us..." Earth said softly, looking down quietly as Fire closed her eyes and Water gazed up at the sky, Air hugging herself tightly. "The Goddess slew her for insubordination and threw her spirit out to wander for eons, however, and we were sad, so sad... but her energy never faded, and she found a home in the wild and crazy bloodline of the Blossom family. She entered the body of a mother and rested inside of her, granting her great powers... and when her first daughter was born, she was passed down from the spirit of mother to her daughter, the cycle repeating again and again... until she came to Cherry.

"Cherry was born barren... she could not bear children, and so the essence of our Sister bound with her spirit, and her powers began to manifest after her reincarnation during what you call the Great War. Cherry herself was born with the abilities of precognition and emotional telepathy, letting her adjust to any situation as necessary... and she will become stronger with time. But granting her too much power may be dangerous: she requires guidance and a strong hand to keep her in line, or else she may fall and become much like her mother... the cursed Beatrice Blossom."

Selena nodded slowly, then she glanced over at Zerrex, then to Carmen, who looked almost pleading. Finally, she asked quietly: "What does the Baron have to say about this?"

Carmen's face lost its usual playfulness and became solemn, and she looked down, whispering: "He committed suicide a few months back. He was so ashamed of what he felt he'd caused, that he simply couldn't bear the guilt and the pain... we natural demons don't build up the thick skin that you guys do, after all, since we don't go through the whole punishment thing. He felt that giving into his urges had caused this whole mess in the first place..."

Zerrex murmured his condolences to Carmen, who grunted quietly as Selena looked down with a sigh, before saying finally: "I... then the rules of property apply. The Sisters forged the Diviner, but it was given to you to use... and you gave it willingly back to them to be sealed until the day it was needed again. If you feel it's necessary and agree with Earth that Cherry can handle the weapon, then so be it. We'll send it to the physical plane. And no, Zerrex, we are not sending Blackheart with it."

She glared at him, and Zerrex winced away before Carmen lowered the silk-wrapped weapon in front of her and nodded, saying quietly: "Zerrex, lay a hand on this and think of where your girls probably are, huh? I believe Cherry'll be a fuckin' natural beauty with this here blade... and if she really is the Fifth Sister, the Center of the Cross, she'll be able to put it to far better use than I ever would."

The Sisters mumbled to each other, and then Zerrex placed a hand on the silk sheets, concentrating on the safehouse where he guessed they'd be by now... and a moment later, a black box formed around it disintegrated and flowed up into the air, Carmen smiling slightly as she said softly: "Package delivered... and speaking of packages, let's all admire Zerrex for a moment."

"I hate you." Zerrex mumbled, and he half-covered himself embarrassedly before looking over at Selena, adding bluntly: "Can we get this over with, because I feel really awkward with all the females around."

"You're such a weirdo." Selena muttered, then she glanced over to the Sisters of the Judgment Cross as they murmured to each other, asking quietly: "Pardon me for interrupting, but would you like to help out with the ritual to save a bit of strain on Sin?"

"It would be our pleasure." Fire said softly, and the Sisters smiled a bit to each other before forming a square around Zerrex as he strode to the center of the room, feeling both relieved and anxious. Selena walked around to stand at one side of the square, and Sin stood up to stand at the opposite with a wince, rubbing at her stomach as Carmen sat curiously back.

"First we're going to perform an Encasement Ritual to protect Zerrex's physical body, and then we'll summon a symbiote to wrap around that and help him with exiting his mortal body. Zerrex, you're going to feel extremely claustrophobic for a few moments... will you be okay with concentrating enough to project your essence?"

Zerrex nodded, taking a deep breath. He'd practiced this with Lily several times over, and although the first time he'd actually had a panic attack, he thought by now he'd gotten used to it... or at least enough to survive for a few minutes while they performed the other rituals. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Do I cast at the three-minute mark?"

"Yeah, and Sin will pull your essence free at the same time, so you should be able to rocket out of there. Stay back a moment, though, so we can confirm your... ‘flight plan?'" Selena cocked her head, and when Zerrex smiled a bit at her mortal lingo, she blushed slightly and nodded. "Good. Everyone, start."

Zerrex crossed his arms over his chest, closing his eyes and bowing his head forwards as he let himself lean back a bit... and then he tried to stay still as he felt bits of rock slowly forming on his body, sticking to him and stretching over his form. He halted his breathing, reminding himself again and again that he didn't need to actually breathe, and he tried to close off his nostrils as stone slid over them, small spines of rock pushing into his nose uncomfortably. No more than a minute later, he was completely unable to move... and unable to even open his eyes, which made the panic rising through his body both better and worse.

Outside, Selena and Sin both murmured a form of Reshape spell as they stepped forwards to touch the ugly pillar of rock surrounding Zerrex... and much of the grey, concrete-looking stone shattered and fell away, leaving Zerrex in not a pillar of rock, but suspended inside a massive blue gemstone. Selena took a breath, closing her eyes and already feeling drained before she knelt down, and the others did the same as she murmured: "Alright, let's summon the plant. Three... two... one... go."

They began speaking in tandem, and white lines slowly traced out from each member of the group, locking together with the others and forming an outer circle around the gemstone with strange runes glowing over the interior. A moment later, the ground trembled, and vines pushed up out of the floorboards as the gemstone shifted and tilted slowly back as a massive plant bulb pushed up from the earth below, ripping through the floorboards as more long tendrils of ivy snapped around the stone.

The bulb opened and the ‘mouth' of the plant slowly engulfed the gemstone, sliding up over its sides as a strange liquid bubbled up out of the bulb, saturating the stone and causing it to glow weakly. Large roots pushed out of the earth around the plant, and thorned vines and flowers bloomed around the strange organic as the demonesses drew away from it and Sin stepped forwards, reaching out to touch the surface of the gemstone, Zerrex's face still visible through the blue crystal and the vines wrapped over it as she leaned forwards and counted down the few remaining seconds.

Zerrex was counting down as well, fighting panic as he felt the movements all around him, but remained hopelessly bound inside the stone... and then he released the incantation in a rush as Sin spoke above him in a muffled, distant voice, the reptile hearing her but unable to see her with his eyelids trapped shut. And then, suddenly, he was pushing up through the stone and the vines, his body a glowing blue light as he floated into the air and then halted, standing on top of the gemstone and looking around.

Everyone seemed to glow slightly, and Sin glanced up towards him as Selena looked back and forth with a frown... but the Sisters could also clearly see him, and Carmen said mildly: "Selena, look up. There's a distortion... but he doesn't have the safety smoke coating around him, that's all."

"Good, it means you'll be harder to see up-top." Selena said mildly, crossing her arms and making a face as she added in a mutter: "I hate always being the weak one of the group. But alright, Zerrex... do you remember the drill? And can you speak?"

"I think so." Zerrex said dumbly, but his voice can out weak and nearly inaudible, so he cleared his throat and concentrated, muttering in a much-clearer voice: "I hate Possession. It's stupid. It's cheap. And I'm no good at it."

He slowly faded into existence as a glowing-blue spirit, and then he attempted to crack his knuckles before looking down at Selena as she continued to look at him patiently. "Alright, I remember, yes. I go up, talk to my family, get them to move out, and then I grab the best suitable body inside the facility and start causing trouble. I have to avoid getting exorcised, trapped, or going through too many bodies, because I use up my energy by doing multiple Possessions. And headshots are bad, too, because then the body won't function right or I might lose my vision."

"Right. Now get out of here before you start to fade out of existence or break down." Selena grunted, and Carmen threw him a salute as the Sisters all bowed... and Zerrex decided that was all the push he needed, smiling and waving goodbye as he flew rapidly upwards towards the ceiling of Hell towards the closest Crack that would lead into Ire.

The world shot past him, along with several other spirits that he could now see in his ethereal form, looking back and forth before he burst through the twisting red-and-black ceiling of Hell and towards a white, glowing rip in the pulsing darkness beyond. He closed his eyes, covering his face as he shot through it, his wings crackling into existence as he murmured: "I won't fail the mission this time, Narrius..."

Cherry frowned a bit, looking back and forth from where she was sitting in a circle of runes, her concentration broken. She stood up and rubbed her hands together absently, clearing her mind of the negative thoughts she'd been having as Marina glanced up from where she was sketching nearby, asking quietly: "You felt it too, huh?"

Cindy glanced up in the other room,walking to the doorway and leaning in it as she asked slowly: "What are you two talking about? Is the place beginning to finally collapse?"

Cherry snorted, glancing around at the steel walls and the ugly, dusty wood floor of the ramshackle mining facility they were staying in. This section of the building was high on twenty-some-foot stilts, lit only by the bright morning light shining in from the windows, and above them there was a useless radio tower littered with broken transceivers and antennae... but it connected the the actually building where Cindy stood, that section standing off the uneven ground as well, but by much-smaller, thicker, and safer pillars of rock. "I think we're safe with that for now... no, somethin' else."

The demoness strode forwards, absently pushing past Cindy into the ugly, rusty kitchen where she was trying her best to prepare a meal on a small portable stove, but Marina only went back to her drawing with a grunt. She was wrapped in a blanket, still looking tired... but she was showing her father's vitality in recovering as quickly as she was, and Cindy had high hopes for her. Right now, her attention was more-focused on getting them fed and rested up... and she turned with a frown towards Cherry, murmuring quietly: "Please don't get too excited about things... it was probably nothing, I didn't sense anything..."

"You wouldn't." Cherry muttered, shaking her head a bit, and Cindy made a face even through the comment wasn't intended to be mean. Cherry gave her an apologetic grin, then instead turned and walked into the moderate-sized dining room beyond, littered with fallen plastic trays and damaged wooden tables where workers had once sat around and eaten... and Cherry snagged one of the .52s from the table, looking back and forth distastefully before halting as she muttered: "Wait... what's that?"

She rose the magnum, knowing it was useless against a spirit even as she looked back and forth, remembering the layout of the building in case they had to make a quick escape. Barracks below where they all awkwardly slept... but Reia was outside, tinkering with Zerrex's motorcycle and tuning it up, making her doubly-vulnerable to attack from a pissed-off demonic spirit. She cursed under her breath, then stared stupidly as the spirit slowly began to materialize in front of her, as Cindy walked up behind her and asked quickly, frowning and glancing back and forth: "What is it, Cherry? And where is it, I can't-"

"It's Daddy..." whispered Marina, as she walked up from behind Cindy, looking mesmerized at the glowing blue image of her father. Zerrex looked slowly over them all, smiling with faint sorrow and unmatched bliss as he gazed over his family... and then Marina fell to her knees, tears rolling down her eyes. "Daddy..."

"Hi, everyone." Zerrex said softly after a moment, sounding almost hesitant... and terribly ashamed of himself as he rubbed the back of his head, Cindy looking startled at the sound of his voice. "I'm... I'm so sorry I failed, and..."

Cherry shot a round through his head, and Zerrex grabbed his skull as the image distorted before she said firmly: "Don't you ever start fuckin' blamin' yourself, Boss, or next time I see you, I'm gonna pop a cap in your knee, you got that? I don't fucking care what happened... hell, if anything, it's our fault for failing you, my fault for failing you when you needed me most... and I wasn't there.

"No way, you died, you perservered, and fuck is it ever good to see you now, looking bigger and badder than ever." Cherry grinned widely, looking up into his eyes and swallowing hard, inwardly telling herself not to be a girl about this, not to dare be a girl about this. "Fuck, it's good to see your face... now come on, make romantic spiritual love to me on the table! Or at least, you know, talk some more, tell me how you got out of Hell and why they ain't tracking you right now... or at least some spoilers for the end of the movie, so I know why all the demons have gone so fucking haywire."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, amazed at how despite two hundred and sixty thousand years about, Cherry could still make him feel exasperated within a minute of seeing her. But inwardly he was burning with a happiness he hadn't felt in forever... but he cleared his throat, forcing some amount of professionalism as he said quietly: "Lots has happened in Hell. The Princess has fallen, and there's been chaos in Heaven... I... Narrius. Narrius was there, he took the place of God... and he was ruling and manipulating both Heaven and Hell for who knows how many years..."

"What?" Cherry snarled, shaking her head and asking coldly: "So did you ice the motherfucker, Zerrex? Shit... I can barely believe it, but after seeing what he did during the Great War?"

"How can that even be possible?" Cindy looked horrified, and Marina snarled at her, causing her to quiet and look away, hurt. Zerrex frowned at this display between his daughters, as Marina returned fawning eyes to him, apparently not caring about what he was talking about, and that too sent a chill down his spine. How many fractures have spread through my family in my absence?

He put this aside for now, though, looking at Cindy and reaching up to stroke her face gently... and she flinched before staring at him, feeling her father's hand rubbing quietly down her muzzle, then his palm on her cheek before he drew away, looking to Cherry and saying softly: "Narrius has started a second doomsday operation because he's been... incapacitated. It's too complicated to get into now... I... I don't want to talk about it like this." Zerrex glanced down, but Cherry nodded, only looking at her father and master with quiet respect and sympathy. "It only took me a few moments to find the place they're at, though... it's only a few hundred klicks to the southwest of here, in an abandond mining town pretty similar to this on the outside... but the facility is massive. There's enough concentration of demonic essence there to make me feel like I'm right back in Hell, though, so I'm guessing there's some very nasty things waiting for us there. You know... if you're up for business. I can always go do it myself..."

"Fuck that and double-fuck you. Someone hasn't lost their sense of humor or like of fairy-tales while in Hell." Cherry grinned widely, then she leered at him and winked. "Say, how many chicks you lay? I bet it was a lot. A fuck of a lot. And oh, dude, did you like, meet up with any of our old pals while there? And shit, what about the fuckin' Princess? I knew she was a douche, anyone with ‘Princess' as their name is a douche, ‘cept for Princess Power-Fist of course. That was a sweet-ass cartoon."

"I'm glad to see you too, Cherry." Zerrex said softly, and the demoness blushed red, then immediately turned her entire body red to try and cover up this fact, huffing and looking away with badly-feigned irritation as her eyes flicked back to the Drakkaren. Zerrex shook his head with a bit of a smile, but then he said softly: "Take Highway 83A, the turnoff to 54A-South, and force your way through the divider between 54A and 60C when you see a wide brick road with a giant black needle-obelisk on one side of it, a monument to the Great War. I'm sure you'll find your way there, though."

Cherry nodded, thinking over the roadmaps in her head and then mumbling: "Fuck that, if I'm goin' illegal, I'm gunning the engine and goin' illegal full throttle." She glanced up at Zerrex, then grinned brightly as Cindy paled and looked at Cherry nervously, the discorporate lizard suddenly feeling rather anxious about his family's safety. "Don't worry, Boss, I'll get ‘em there. What about you, you gonna infiltrate the place and start up some havoc?"

The reptile looked surprised, then Cherry winked and leaned forwards, reaching out to tickle under Zerrex's chin playfully. "Hey, I know the way you plan by now... and by the way, I know you don't got a lot of time, but someone here has something to admit to, about a person you may or may have not seen in Hell." Cherry glared down at Marina, who muttered some curse under her breath and glanced away, and Zerrex frowned as he recognized the faint scars of demonic runes that had literally been carved into her... and the reptile guessed likely by her own hand. "Say it, Marina!"

"Fuck off and die, Cherry, Daddy obviously knows and doesn't care. Mahihko isn't really a part of our family, anyway." Marina said dismissively, and Cherry looked ready to reach out and strangle Marina to death before Zerrex simply looked at his youngest daughter with quiet disappointment, shaking her head slowly, and Marina swallowed convulsively, her eyes widening as she scrambled upwards and reached out to hug the Drakkaren...

And as much as it hurt him to do so, Zerrex floated away from her grip and vanished from sight, not wanting to talk to her right now. Marina immediately howled, grabbing her head and falling forwards into a kneel, several tables flying around the room and crashing uselessly against the walls as Cherry dragged Cindy safely back into the kitche, looking back and forth with a snarl... and Marina continued to temper-tantrum, but this time Zerrex forced himself to turn away and fly off, even as Marina's psychic voice clawed at his mind and begged him to come back. But not this time, Marina... I've given you all the chances in the world and I see that you've lost your mind...

A moment later, Cherry emerged from a side window, leaping out and down to the rocky ground far below without hesitation, and Zerrex could see that she was still locked on to him somehow. He paused for a moment, and Cherry headed quickly over to him, skidding to a halt and panting quietly as they stood behind the facility, mumbling: "I can feel you somewhere close by... but I can't see you. Don't reappear, Marina'll lock on to your energy signature, just do something to let me know you're there..."

Zerrex reached out and gently grasped one of her breasts, and Cherry coughed before grinning a bit, looking up and saying softly: "There's the Boss I know. But... I dunno, I... I just... I don't know what to do. Cindy's breakin' down bit-by-bit, despite her strong façade, and Marina's just gone fucking nuts... and shit, Mahihko killed himself and I'm scared that like, Hell is going to do bad things to the poor little bastard... fuck, Boss, I... I need your help." She fell down on her knees, hanging her head and whispering: "I need your guidance... I feel so lost without you, Zerrex, you... I... I lost you, and I... I love you, much as we fight and bicker and shit... much as I've hurt you and denied you... I love you so fucking much. I want to be with you, I want to sit at your side again and take your orders... Zerrex, I'm scared that Hell has changed you, too, because I've seen what it does to strong and weak alike..."

Cherry shuddered a bit... and Zerrex knelt down as he realized she was crying, her hands buried in the gravel and dirt and ground as she whispered: "And you don't even gotta tell me, because I can feel her presence. It's my mom, isn't it... she's somewhere here, she's working for Narrius. Fuck, Zerrex, I... I can't fight her. I'm... I'm so scared of her..."

Zerrex quietly wiped her tears away, then he leaned in close and kissed her cheek gently, letting his ethereal, invisible form press close to hers... and Cherry reached out a hand hesitantly, but it only passed through his body before she sighed and punched the ground, sending up a spray of grey sand as she snarled: "Fuck, I'm so weak! Please, Boss, help me out here... what do I do?"

Zerrex remained silent, and then he sighed softly, looking down and murmuring quietly: "I don't have all the answers myself, Cherry... just... just keep them together. Cindy needs hugs and calm, and Marina needs attention and affection. I know you're scared of Beatrice: I am too, I ran into her twice and I was unable to do anything permanent to her either time... but there's something laying out front near the edge of the driveway that might help you. I'm... I'm going to go, though. Take care of yourself, Cherry... I love you too."

The reptile floated away as Marina bolted out the back door, charging towards her... but Zerrex floated in a careful arc around her, then he looked away as Marina tackled Cherry from behind and began to pound on her back uselessly, screaming angrily at her about hiding Zerrex from her. Cherry twisted after a few moments of shivering, snagging Marina by the neck and forcing her down to the ground, pinning her as she rose a fist, tears falling from her eyes... and then she dropped down and hugged Marina tightly against her body, and the younger, sniffling Drakkaren shivered before bursting back into sobs and clinging to Cherry.

Zerrex dropped back down, glancing up to see Cindy standing at a window, staring out in the sky as she held herself... and then he smiled faintly as he looked down and saw Reia working on his motorcycle, wearing a dark grey shirt and grease-covered, faded jeans. She had several books sitting out beside her, and Zerrex landed, striding silently behind her as she flipped through several pages of a manual in consternation, her tools laying scattered around her on an ugly tarp as he murmured: "You can't learn everything from a book, you know."

Reia jumped and stared around, her ivory scales seeming to glow as she stared back and forth with wide eyes... and then Zerrex grinned slightly as he slid around her, saying teasingly: "It's just me, your conscience speaking..."

"Zerrex, stop pulling crap on me!" Reia fumed, glaring back and forth... but she still looked uncertain, and the reptile wondered absently if she ever talked to him or heard his voice in her head as she picked up a rag and wiped her hands quickly, mumbling: "This isn't funny. I hate this, I hate this kind of stuff..."

"Say, do you know how to use an RPG?" Zerrex asked meditatively, and Reia blinked and frowned before the Drakkaren leaned in close to whisper in her ear, and the dragoness winced a bit as her eyes flicked back and forth, half-wondering whether or not she had gone insane.

The reptile floated slowly around the outside of the facility, making a disgusted face at the massive, whitewashed building and the mortal guards patrolling it. PMC soldiers for the most part, from the massive military transports and tanks with the white Aztec logo on them... and Zerrex faintly remembered the name, but couldn't place it after all these years.

He was trying to lock on to Beatrice's energy signature, which he could distinctly feel here... and in this hell-encased atmosphere, he not only recognized that she'd probably be at full strength, even the mortal guards seemed affected by it, some of the resting soldiers in a large mess tent set up next to the huge, sprawling facility absently rubbing at strange welts on their forms. Accelerated demonic corruption, wonderful... which means they probably won't die from the usual punch to the head, either. Shots to the chest and face should still work, though...

Zerrex floated into the facility, wandering along the hallways, invisible even to the demonic soldiers he saw standing side-by-side with many of the soldiers. He also noted several very pissed-off looking ghosts stalking through the halls, so he figured it wouldn't be too hard to infiltrate through the area... although he also saw runic circles every now and then inscribed into the roof or around a doorway to protect it from being opened or alert someone if a spirit tried to gain access.

The reptile tried to pass through a wall to his right, then he grunted and winced, making a disgusted face. The walls were made of iron lined with salt... an old but extremely-effective way to bar entrance to a room to an entity like himself, at least until he got into a body. Then things wouldn't be as difficult to get around with the tricks he had up his sleeve...

He floated upwards through the ceiling instead, making a face as a minotaur passed through his legs, then stared at none other than Beatrice, who was glowering at a jackal wearing a white suit with two enormous mindless Dragokkaren guards standing behind him, both in heavy plated armor and carrying gigantic assault rifles. The jackal brought back memories of several trains and the Aztec Corportion... and Zerrex placed the name he'd been having trouble with as he looked at him with disgust, deciding to take the opportunity to listen in.

"-understand my point, yes?" The jackal motioned at her, his features smiling but cold as he held an expensive silver walking stick in his other hand. "We're providing the cloning equipment, the DNA data, the weaponry for your troops, and I just want to negotiate a fair exchange, that's all, since I'm now head of the corporation. I agree, yes, that was part of the deal... but with the complications and the rush ahead in plans you've asked for, I'm going to have to charge several additional fees, Miss Blossom."

"We're providing the generators that power this whole charade and we've been in contact and very clear no additional costs would be incurred, Aztec. You're a spokesperson, a false-face... you only inherited the company everyone thought you owned because of the death of Jackson." Beatrice said coldly, then she rose a hand, blue fire sparking around it as Aztec's eyes widened, and he staggered backwards as she growled: "But keep arguing. You're no longer a necessary instrument at this point: we can always kill you and procure other materials from other interested investors. Or turn around and walk away, and you'll stay one of the few surviving parties in this little farce."

Aztec dropped his head, mumbling something as he turned away and stomped off, his Dragokkaren guards following... and Beatrice looked to the side, saying coldly to an angel wearing a long monk's robe: "Follow him and eliminate him. I'll send a doppelganger to take his shape after we finish production of the first wave."

She paused as the angel walked away, standing for a moment in the empty hall... and then she turned away, her eyes tracing over the seemingly-empty corridor before she rose a hand alight with blue flame, whispering: "I see you."

Zerrex's spirit burst into azure flames, and the Drakkaren cursed as he fell through the floor and the next below, but thankfully the fire whooshed out as he passed down into a long subbasement, halting his fall and mumbling under his breath as he straightened himself out. She had sensed him, but not enough to feel threatened by his presence... and then the Drakkaren froze as he looked back and forth, landing on the fifty-foot catwalk that stretched over a long metal valley below, the walls covered in glowing capsules. There was a massive control terminal in the center of the catwalk, and Zerrex watched as a scientist tapped away at several buttons on the computer, mumbling to himself before an enormous claw attached to the ceiling on a magnetic track rolled outwards, then reached down and picked up a capsule, removing it from its holder on the wall and carrying it to a well in the walkway.

It set it down, and the scientist approached the capsule with a notepad, glancing over it thoughtfully as Zerrex floated towards the pod... and he stared at a clone of Narrius that was rigged up to all manner of tubes and electrodes inside. He snarled as he stared over it, at the way the last layer of scales was still growing over raw flesh and muscle... and he realized it hadn't been so much born as built. Next-generation cloning technology... creating a solid, complex DNA structure that doesn't require development from an adolescent phase, but instead is grown layer-by-layer... skeleton, organs, muscle, flesh, scale...

Looks like you're remembering your mortal days pretty clearly despite the time loss... that's good and bad. Selena's voice said in his head, and Zerrex glanced up, smiling a bit. She hadn't wanted to copilot... but it seemed there she was, anyway, likely wearing a magical helmet that was connected to the plant by long vines, letting her view what was going on with him and send him clear thoughts and information every few minutes: a complete, distinct connection was almost impossible, after all, due to the time difference. Remember, Zerrex, focus on the objective. Find a suitable body first.

Zerrex nodded, focusing his mind and thinking clearly: Alright, Selena. I know by the time you get this thought of mine, roughly a year and some time will have passed in Hell, and then it'll be a ten minutes for me at best before you send something back... but thank you. Let me know if you find anything out.

The Drakkaren turned away from the capsule, going towards a door with a glowing runic circle on it... but the reptile simply made a face and floated over to the wall, looking distasteful as he passed through it. He emerged a few moments later into a small room with a single scientist inside, the male muttering calculations to himself as he stood in front of a capsule surrounded by computers and monitoring equipment, and the reptile stuck out his tongue at him childishly before he stared at the occupant of the capsule and grinned slowly.

A clone body of himself was floating inside the liquid, wearing an oxygen mask and covered in electrodes, with most of his body complete... and Zerrex carefully glanced around the room, looking at the huge flatscreen televisions on the walls and noting the positions of the cameras in the corner of the room before he turned his eyes back to the scientist... and he frowned a bit, looking at him distastefully. Two prime subjects for Possession are unstable people and people who are emotionally-vulnerable. Note-jotter here seems like an obsessive, and he's clinging to his work... but I want to know everything I can about that body before I take it over, so it looks like if I want to get into his head, I'll have to scare him a bit. But first thing's first...

The reptile floated over to the set of runed security doors leading in and out, and he noted that they seemed to have an automated locking system. So a code needs to be entered on that keypad in order for anyone to move in and out... excellent.

Zerrex floated mischeviously over to the small table-cart beside the scientist, upon which was a cold cup of coffee... and the Drakkaren concentrated, solidifying his hands before carefully picking the mug up and throwing it at the keypad. It shattered loudly and splattered coffee all over the keys, and the scientist jumped, looking back and forth in shock. His eyes settled on the keypad a moment later, staring as it sparked several times before he cursed under his breath and threw his clipboard across the room in frustration. "All this paranormal nonsense is giving me an ulcer... I'll have to call maintenance for the tenth time this week because of the goddamn ghosts..."

The scientist fumbled a radio out of his lab coat, and Zerrex swooped in and snatched it, throwing it firmly up into one of the corner cameras and shattering the lens, the scientist staggering before looking back and forth nervously, saying in a strangled voice: "E-Excuse me, but I had nothing to do with any of this facility... I'm a researcher, I do genetic splicing and coding... I was hired to do a job, not hurt anyone. Please... please stop, okay?"

"How do you separate those things out?" Zerrex asked mildly, as he floated up towards one of the other cameras... then yanked it firmly downwards, the scientist yelping and falling backwards, knocking the cart over as he stared at the hail of sparks that rained down before the camera fell heavily to the ground as well. "How do you separate ‘I was doing my job' from ‘I was part of a research project that eventually caused the destruction of the world?' But maybe I'm just an idealist."

Zerrex grabbed the top of the capsule, making himself visible in a glow of blue energy as he pulled himself up and landed neatly sitting with his legs primly crossed, his hands lacing together as he looked curiously down at the dog, and it scampered backwards with a yell of shock before Zerrex smiled and said coldly: "Boo."

He threw himself forwards off the capsule, diving for the canine even as he spun around, and the Drakkaren collided hard with his back before pushing his body into the dog, grunting and tearing viciously through the canine's energy as he screamed and spasmed, rolling around on the floor... and a moment later, Zerrex was staring at the ceiling through the eyes of the scientist, and he grinned viciously as he sat up, flexing his fingers and carefully looking over the body he'd just taken over as he made his way towards the capsule, putting his hands against it and leering in at the clone of his real body, ignoring the screams of the scientist in his head as he murmured: "Wonderful. Time to get things started... tell you what..."

Zerrex closed the dog's eyes, concentrating for a moment... and then he was standing in a police interrogation room, the dog curled up in a corner in an orange jumpsuit as the Drakkaren approached with a large, thick phonebook, saying softly: "You can tell me a quick summary about that clone of me in there... or you can make me find it myself in your mind. But believe me, the smart thing to do would be to tell me."

The canine quailed, looking back and forth in horror before babbling: "This... this is my mind, possession... by ghosts or demons is the same thing, it can be wrestled off, I... I'm not scared of you..."

Zerrex smiled coldly, beating the phonebook gently against his hand as he said softly: "You should be. The moment I jumped into your head, I got a big old list of your fears or worst memories... and I can make you relive every one of them." He paused, then slapped the dog across the face with the thick phonebook, shouting: "Now talk, or I'll make you squeal like the cops did ten years ago, Rick, when you were just some dumb young punk on the streets!"

Rick screamed, falling over and immediately crawling away, and Zerrex turned around, following him slowly as he added quietly: "Bit-by-bit, I'm tapping into your memories and emotions, even as we speak. How would you like me to throw you in lock-up with a sex-deprived brute who'd see a filly like you as just another fine ass to plow, or I can throw you in the pen and let it slip that you're a pedophile; whether you are or not, they'll still kick the crap out of you." He paused, tilting his head as he brushed at his naked chest, before looking at the phonebook and murmuring softly: "And there's hundreds of thousands of weapons I can hurt you with that won't leave a bruise, Rick..."

"Okay, okay! Enough, please!" The dog broke down into sobs from the other side of the room, shaking his head and covering his head as he began to tremble violently. "Look, I... I was assigned to the secondary research division, we were trying to build a perfect prototype of your body, structured around DNA obtained by the complex's leader, Beatrice... I... please, leave me alone, I'll help you, I... I don't wanna die, I don't wanna go through this pain again, I need to make the money to feed my family, and Aztec... Aztec employs me, I couldn't turn down a direct order to transfer from R&D..."

Zerrex tossed the phonebook aside as he walked forwards, then he grabbed Rick by the lab coat and jerked him up above his head, shoving him against the wall and making the dog squeal as he snarled: "Play me, Rick, and it's the last thing you'll ever do. What about the mental processes of the clones, have they been installed in place, or are they just blank slates?"

"The Dragokkaren clones, the A-Series we've been making have only enough intelligence to differentiate friend from foe and understand basic logical functions... not even complex enough to understand how to use a keypad if you showed them a hundred times over." Rick squealed, struggling weakly as he stared down in horror into Zerrex's eyes. "And the C-Series, the... the clones of you, they have no intelligence, artificial or otherwise... we were just beginning production on them, this is the first successful complete clone right here... there's zero brain development, it's just a clump of grey matter between the eyes to control the basic functions, we're supposed to see if it stays alive out in the air for five minutes before we perform an autotopsy to check that all the parts are in order... we were supposed to start mass-cloning of them in two weeks, but... I..."

The Drakkaren rose a finger to silence the babbling of the dog, and he cleared his throat after a moment, saying slowly: "Listen to me, Rick. That body doesn't look fully-developed, but I want to open that capsule up. The more you help me out, the better things go for you, okay? So I'm going to open your eyes, and you're going to help me move your hands to do all the right things while you tell me a bit about this base, understand? But if you screw with me, I'll rip you apart, limb-by-limb, inside and outside of your own head."

Rick trembled violently, but nodded... and Zerrex slowly opened the dog's eyes, letting the illusion fade out and Rick's consciousness flow forwards a bit to give him some control, but the Drakkaren ready to tear the dog's hands away if he did anything stupid. Instead, he leaned away, then made a face when a ghost of a soldier floated by, mumbling to itself. Is... is that what they look like?

The dog sounded terrified, and Zerrex nodded as he looked around for the central computer, entering Rick's login information and hitting the enter button to open up a complicated command system, the reptile making a distasteful face as he mumbled: "Yeah, that's what they look like. That and worse. These are some seriously-unhappy spirits, likely drawn here by the pull of Hell's energies... there's probably a poltergeist or two floating around too, eating up the negativity and waiting for the right time to start causing some serious trouble. How do I open the capsule? And what do I do about that raw flesh?"

I... you... you can hyperaccelerate the growth of the scales with a compound called ‘G144S5...' You can access it by typing this code... Rick entered the code himself on the keyboard without realizing it, and Zerrex simply let him do his thing as the dog mumbled: And... this bypasses the security system to prepare to open the capsule without setting off an alert... most of the capsules are rigged with alarm systems...

Another few sets of complex code, and the Drakkaren glanced over his shoulder, watching as several metallic arms clacked out from the floor of the glass capsule, one of them inserting a needle into the clone's leg while the other began to rub over the exposed areas of flesh. Scales began to form, then the speed of their growth enhanced as the reptile murmured through the dog's mouth: "It's like those stupid ‘watch-them-grow' plants, but faster... they look different, though."

They're softer and fibrous... it's why they grow so fast, but they'll harden when they contact with the air. Rick mumbled, and Zerrex made a bit of a face at the grey scales that didn't match his real green... but then again, finding a clone of himself here was far more than he'd asked for, so he'd take the bad with the good and smile. Then the Drakkaren blinked as the capsule hissed and the liquid inside drained rapidly, leaving the clone's body half-hanging against the supports it stood against as the metallic arms drew away, the freshly-grown scales over its stomach and part of his legs darkening as they visibly toughened.

Another hiss, and the glass walls of the capsule spun slowly down into the ground, leaving the roof hanging in midair, supported only by a pair of metal bars as the dog leaned forwards and pulled off the oxygen mask and breathing tube, then swept the electrodes and other devices quickly off before Zerrex forced the scientist to firmly grasp the shoulders of the eight-two clone of himself... and he closed his eyes, concentrating for a moment.

The dog's body slumped slowly to the ground, and the clone stood lifelessly for a moment longer before his eyes snapped open... and Zerrex grinned to himself as he flexed his powerful body, looking over himself and murmuring: "Incredible. This is the kind of edge I need to make sure I can actually be useful here... but now I'd better get around to doing my job, or no one's going to need me at the end of the day."

He paused to look down at Rick, but the dog was drooling stupidly on the ground, although Zerrex honestly hadn't thought the Possession had been enough to send him into shock like that. He shrugged absently, then looked back and forth before raising a hand towards the doors, channeling his powers forwards through this body.

A dent appeared in them as the Drakkaren swung out with his mind in the weak version of telekinesis he was capable of, and the reptile smiled slightly before pausing. He walked forwards after a moment, ignoring the damaged keypad, and set his hands between the doors as he channelled his physical strength through the clone body of his, and he grunted and tore to either side a moment later, tearing the sealed doors apart.

An alarm began to blare, and Zerrex slipped quickly through the opening he'd made between the doors before he cracked his knuckles as the doors at the other end of the long bridge he stepped out onto opened. A contingent of minotaurs and other demonic soldiers rushed him, and the reptile flexed a bit, rubbing at his wrists as he muttered: "Now, time to see how combat-worthy this body really is."

The Drakkaren attempted to create a sphere of energy, and it flickered into life in one hand, Zerrex grinning coldly before he threw it forwards and blew the closest two minotaurs off their feet, but the draconic soldier behind one of them simply smashed the limp body of the minotaur out of the way as he ran towards the reptile with an enormous metal hammer. It swung viciously downwards, and Zerrex slid out of the way, stepping quickly on the head of the maul before he punched the draconic demon across the face, knocking him staggering.

Zerrex leapt forwards and snagged the back of the demon's head, then he smashed it firmly down into the railing, leaving a dent as the the demon collapsed to the side with a bit of blood running from his mouth. A Nightmare tried to move in next, but Zerrex ducked low to the ground under a stab from its spear to snag the maul, flipping it around before he stabbed it forwards and upwards into the demon stallion's gut, and the soldier staggered backwards before Zerrex spun around and snapped the maul in a hard upwards swing over his shoulder, shattering the bottom of the soldier's jaw and sending him down in a heap.

Before Zerrex could turn back around, a hatchet collided with his back, and the reptile winced as he dropped the enormous hammer: the pain was dulled, but likely only because his spirit had only connected so much into this body. He was a bit slower than he remembered, and his powers weaker... and as he turned around and flailed his right arm, he realized he couldn't channel any of his real demonic abilities before he glared angrily at the three remaining soldiers, and all of them were blown off their feet. Then again, telekinesis is a bit enhanced on the physical plane... and I wonder...

He turned his eyes to the minotaur as it began to climb up to its feet... and it froze as Zerrex's eyes glowed solid green, before it turned around with a roar, raising its poleaxe and slashing viciously down into its partner, chopping over and over into him before turning with a snarl towards the Initiate wolf that had a throwing axe in either hand, more of these strung across his chest... and it quickly tossed two into the face of the minotaur, knocking it flat.

It threw another hatchet at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren caught it by the handle with a look of distaste before pausing and reaching over his shoulder to tear the other one out of his back... and the wolf with only the start of his horns stared before Zerrex threw one of the hatchets hard at his chest, and it tore deep into the lupine, sending him crashing onto his back. The Drakkaren grinned... and then his eyes narrowed as the wolf kicked up to his feet with a snarl and drew several knives out of a pouch at its side. Initiates shouldn't have enough strength to survive a direct hit like that...

The wolf threw the knives, but Zerrex stepped to the side as he hurled the other axe... and it barely clipped the lupine's arm as he slid gracefully out of the way before tossing another handful of knives at him, and these collided solidly with the lizard's chest, knocking him backwards. The Drakkaren snarled, then started forwards... but the Initiate jumped backwards with a grin, saying teasingly: "I've done enough for now, Zerrex Narrius... but keep this in mind the next time you try and fuck with me: you just aren't up to the challenge."

The wolf turned and jumped gracefully up onto the railing, then leapt off, and Zerrex stared before snarling as the wolf righted himself in midair with a twist and cold fire burst out of the boots on his feet, the lupine holding his hands out as he slowed his fall through midair. The lizard looked back and forth, then he picked up the maul from the ground beside him and threw it hard towards the lupine.

It struck the back of his head, and the wolf was sent spiraling downwards to crash into several capsules, and Zerrex grinned stupidly even as the alarms began to blare in tandem with a flashing blue light... but his eyes focused in and he frowned as the demon began to pull itself out of the wreckage of the capsules, rubbing at the back of his head dumbly. Then Zerrex looked up in surprise as several heavy shutters slammed down on either side of the bridge, and it slowly began to rise towards the ceiling.

Zerrex glanced back and forth before yanking the black pants off a minotaur and sliding them onto himself. He picked up a hatchet in one hand, then the Nightmare's spear in the other as the bridge halted only a few feet from the high roof... and the reptile carefully around before pausing as he noted a door in one of the walls the huge bridge was not currently facing. The Drakkaren walked cautiously towards the center terminal, then he made a face at the scientist curled up under the small control console, looking down at him sourly before ordering: "Turn the bridge."

"Just... I... okay..." The scientist wheezed, and he leapt up to his feet, turning around and hammering in a coded sequence. The bridge immediately groaned beneath them, then it spun slowly to the side to lock into what had a moment ago been the side walls, the doorway now easily accessible. The scientist winced as he looked over his shoulder at the Drakkaren, and Zerrex nodded a bit, deciding it wasn't worth his while to kill him when all these other alarms were blaring anyway.

He made it almost halfway towards the doorway... and then closed his eyes slowly when the bridge turned again, glaring over his shoulder at the scientist, who screeched and shook his head wildly, howling miserably: "It must be on a timer! I... I'm sorry!"

"Then wait for me to get to the other side and turn it again when I wave!" Zerrex shouted irritably back, and he stomped all the way down to the other end of the bridge before looking sourly at the male, who hammered in the code again. This time, when the bridge turned, Zerrex was left standing right in front of the door... and the reptile shoved it open and made his way through the double doors as he mumbled: "The price of compassion..."

He stepped into a badly-lit, short stairwell... and the Drakkaren made his way down this before halting and frowning as he emerged into a room filled with corpses and blood. A table was set up in the center of the room, over which a too-bright white light shone, and the snack machines on one side of the room suggested it had been some rest area for whatever had originally been here... but both soldiers and what looked like engineers â€" by the shreds of their uniforms, anyway â€" had been torn apart. All that remained of them was the half-played poker game scattered across the table and over the floor...

Zerrex could hear something crunching faintly in the background... and then the reptile snarled as a Glutton loomed slowly out of the shadows, growling hungrily at him as the yellow-skinned, corpulent monstrosity was followed by at least five others... and Zerrex slammed the hatchet down into the table as he took the spear in both hands, muttering: "The others better get here soon, because I'm sure the entire base is alive with demons by now..."