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Driving the motorcycle calmed Zerrex, however, and he thought he felt Serenity relaxing a bit herself, and Sin was holding him tightly, but she seemed entranced, as if this was some rare, exotic treat... and he supposed for her, it was. It made the Drakkaren smile a bit as he rounded a corner and twisted onto another straight stretch, the road dusty and empty, the only visible building in the distance one of the many, massive manors along this otherwise empty road... before he winced and cursed in shock as a figure stepped out calmly into the road, and the reptile twisted the handlebars hard in surprise, and the motorcycle screamed as the handlebars jerked and the reptile lost control, the three figures on the bike yelling as they fell and tumbled along the road in a painful pile.

The motorcycle itself spun wildly through the dirt on its side before the figure brought up one elegantly-shoed foot and stopped it with ease, and Zerrex grunted as he rolled awkwardly to a halt, bouncing hard backwards on his chest at the end of his roll like he was a skipping stone and then clawing into the ground to glare forwards. Sin, meanwhile, came to a halt on her back, eyes rolling dizzily in her head, and Serenity managed to get her hands beneath her and shove herself into a backflip, landing heavily on her feet and staggering two feet backwards before she managed to anchor herself with a glare, drawing her sword off her back and shouting: "Identify yourself."

"My brother and I often play this game when it comes to certain worlds..." said the charismatic voice of the male, and he carefully adjusted the tie around his neck, several gold rings in the shapes of serpents eating their own tails glinting on his fingers. His suit was pristine, casual but also obviously expensive, left open at the front to reveal the wrinkleless, stainless white shirt beneath, sleeves ending just short enough of his wrists to show off the silver cufflinks decorated with roses upon them. At his neck was a bolo tie in the shape of a golden apple, and he had not fur, but dark crimson skin and pitch-black eyes, his features that of a goat with a scruff of black hair on his chin, and large horns that pointed up towards the reddening sky above shaped like lightning bolts, with smaller ears, each pierced with a single ring.

With an absent gesture, we waved at the motorcycle on the ground, and it flew off to the side as if struck by an angry giant, chunks of broken metal hailing down when it hit the ground as Zerrex winced and grabbed at his hair, and the goat-thing smiled, striding towards them a few more steps before he bowed deeply as Serenity protectively jumped in front of her father, sword clutched tightly in her hand as Sin quickly walked over to stand at Zerrex's side, her own body tense. "Allow me to introduce myself, Lord Zerrex... I have many names, but you can call me Satanus, or perhaps you'll prefer Legion. My brother, Athéos, you have already met... and he has told me much, much about you, so much so that I may have cheated a little in our contest and teleported ahead of any other Old Gods he could send this way."

"What contest is this?" Zerrex asked coldly, his eyes narrowed... and Legion smiled: it was a cold, empty smile, devoid of soul or self.

"When a world is particularly troublesome... my brother and I see who can destroy it first. In this case, however, there are three worlds to destroy... two of them divine worlds that will pose a great challenge to Athéos and I, and make excellent sport. You see, we have to purge the universe of all of the creations of Naganis... and we will not be stopped." Legion said calmly, and then he looked down at his black fingernails, adding thoughtfully: "It really is a pity, though... I hear you defeated my brother's illusion, and that itself is a great feat. That's why I chose this unspoiled world to land on... to see just how much effort I would have to exert to destroy it."

"Magic might not be functioning right now, Legion, but between you and me... Sin and I are more than a match for even Athéos." Zerrex said calmly, and Sin nodded grimly after a moment with a bit of a flush, as Serenity snarled and stepped forwards. "And believe me. You really don't want to piss off my Iuratus."

Legion laughed softly at this, looking down at the ground for a moment... and then he looked up, and shocks of pain shot through Zerrex's body as Sin clutched at her head and Serenity fell to a kneel, and he said gently: "You can't even withstand a portion of my power between you... believe me, demons, you are little more than toys to me. And so often... toys get broken and crushed."

Legion rose a hand, crimson flames appearing in it... and then his eyes widened as Serenity dropped her sword and it began to spin violently, glowing with purple energy before she launched herself forwards from the kneel with a roar, and Legion cursed as the sword lashed outwards and sliced back and forth through his chest, puppeted expertly by the combat psychic as Serenity drove violently forwards.

The flames vanished from Legion's hand as he staggered backwards, pieces of his shirt and suit flying up like confetti as Serenity ran forwards, dragging her palm forwards as she slid quickly past Legion, and the spinning sword followed her movements, cutting a swathe through his side before she spun around and slashed her hand upwards on an angle, cutting another slash through the goat's back as he snarled and spun around with a curse, swinging a fist towards her... but Serenity caught her sword by the handle and stabbed it forwards, making Legion howl as he was lifted into the air by the blade impaled through his stomach, Serenity grinning viciously... and then Legion exploded into black flames, Serenity staggering backwards with a scream of pain before Legion reappeared behind her as if he'd never been struck, smashing a fist into her temple and knocking her in a heap to the side, the demoness skidding along the ground on her face with a gargle before she slumped to the ground, blood dripping out of her mouth as Legion said softly: "And now that that minor annoyance has been dealt with... shall you show me whether or not you're a true, worthy adversary, Lord Zerrex? And will you not join in the dance, Lady Sin?"

The two looked at each other, and then they both took up ready positions, Sin snarling and Zerrex's eyes narrowing, and Legion smiled icily at them both as he spread his hands, saying in an almost gentle voice: "Well then, in that case... show me what you're made of."

Zerrex and Sin looked at each other, and then the Drakkaren sprinted forwards as the Naganatine shoved her hands against the ground, and Legion flexed as if preparing for a spell as he rose his hands at the same time... and then the lizard spun around and caught Sin as she threw herself towards him, then twisted around as she swung both feet out in a deadly that smashed into Legion's arms as he barely managed to bring them up in time to block.

The goat god staggered backwards with a snarl, and then Zerrex released one of Sin's hands to throw a straight palm outwards into Legion's chest, slipping between the goat's raised arms to knock him another step backwards with a wheeze as Sin landed neatly on her feet at his side. The goat recovered quickly from the strike, trying to step forwards as he swung a hand out towards the Naganatine and the Drakkaren, but both of them brought their hands up, catching him by either wrist before they leapt to the sides of the goat and pulled hard, restraining him and threatening to rip his arms out of his sockets as he hissed in pain before simply exploding into dark flames.

Both Zerrex and Sin staggered backwards, and then the Drakkaren snarled as Legion reformed behind the Naganatine... except the lizard sensed something behind himself as well, and the eyes of both he and Sin flashed before they both dodged to the side, and two different Legions lashed viciously outwards at what had a moment before been the backs of the demons, the goat and his copy meeting and merging back into one being, as Legion brushed at the lapels of his suit and said distastefully: "I'm not impressed."

Zerrex launched himself forwards, and Legion smiled as he easily blocked attack after attack, punches bouncing off forearms that felt like metal and kicks either missing or blocked by matching kicks. The Drakkaren couldn't understand how every movement was being interpreted so quickly and easily by the Old God, and then he cursed as Legion threw a palm towards his face, but the lizard ducked, then blocked a hard punt with crossed arms, the goat cursing as he turned it into an elegant twist-kick, but now Zerrex grinned as he stood up and anchored himself, easily swaying out of the way.

It went in the reverse now: Legion threw several hard punches at him, but Zerrex blocked each of these with his forearms before the goat tried to chop in from the side, and the reptile deflected this with his palm before grabbing Legion's fingers and jerking backwards. It was a childish move, but the goat let out a grunt of surprise and pain, and it let Zerrex slam a punch into his throat, making him grasp at his neck and gag as he staggered backwards before the Drakkaren dropped down to a kneel, throwing his arms out to either side and bowing low, and Sin ran up the ramp his back formed and threw both her feet forwards in a hard double-kick that smashed Legion in the face and sent him rocketing backwards.

He hit the ground and slid along his back, looking dazed as he came to a halt... and then he snarled as he kicked up to his feet, reaching up to undo his tie and toss it off to the side as he said darkly: "Fine. Let's play rough." He held his hands out, and they both burst into red flames as his eyes narrowed coldly. "Neither of you are invulnerable, and both of you are going to learn to bow before me before I rip you and this planet into pieces."

"You obviously aren't invincible either, Legion..." Zerrex replied coldly... but inwardly, he felt a chill, remembering the sheer force that the goat god had struck them with when he had glared at them... and worse, noting that there wasn't so much as a rip in the suit of the being. It wasn't so much like he was merely healing as he was reversing time around himself to restore his body again and again to its peak condition... well, either way, we'll figure out how to beat this bastard sooner or later.

Sin and Zerrex ran forwards again, and Legion snapped his hands out, the crimson flames covering both solidifying into deadly blades. The Drakkaren winced as he ducked under one of these as it swung at him and Sin caught Legion by his other arm, making him growl before she swung her knee up and snapped it backwards at the elbow, and the goat god roared in pain and frustration before he simply smashed her with a headbutt, knocking her to the ground. He slashed viciously again at Zerrex, but when the reptile easily slid in front of him, avoiding the blade while getting between him and Sin, Legion swung his head forwards again into Zerrex... and the Drakkaren grunted as Legion's eyes bulged, and then he promptly swung his own skull back into Legion's once, then twice, knocking him towards the ground before the reptile smashed his foot up into the goat god's face to send him sprawling on his back, the Drakkaren's head pulsing with both pain and victory. "My head... is hard!"

Legion rolled backwards, his arm snapping back into place as he threw both blades of crimson fire at the Drakkaren... and Zerrex winced before he created a shield of energy, the blades exploding uselessly against it before Legion ran through the cloud of smoke only seconds later and smashed his fist through the shield, not shattering it but instead making it ripple strangely as his hand settled around Zerrex's throat and began to choke him, and the reptile gagged before he shattered the shield on instinct. Chunks of blue energy hailed down through Legion's body... but they only passed uselessly through him as he hissed: "Energy wavelengths are one of the easiest things in the universe to mimic... die, scum!"

As Legion lifted him into the air, the Drakkaren swung both feet forwards and smashed them into his ribs, making him stagger and drop the lizard... and then Sin simply barreled into him, smashing the goat god backwards before she swung a hand out on a downwards arc, and an immense blast of psychic force smashed down into Legion and crushed him into the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs before he exploded into dark flames that quickly snaked backwards and reformed, the goat adjusting his collar as he rolled his shoulders with a look of disgust, once more whole and standing calmly as if he hadn't yet moved.

He didn't speak... and then he swung a hand out, and a cyclone of red energy erupted from the ground, both Zerrex and Sin leaping out of the way as it spiraled madly past them before it exploded into a rain of red flames. The Drakkaren cursed as he created a shield behind himself, before he winced as Legion seemed to appear in front of him out of nowhere, and then he took a hard punch to the face, collapsing to the ground before he was punted backwards into the rain of flames, cursing as the crimson fire collided with him with the force of bullets and ate greedily at his body.

He rolled back and forth, trying to extinguish them before Legion tried to stomp on him, then the goat god cursed under his breath as he missed before he simply swept a hand upwards, and a blast of steam launched him up into the air before the Drakkaren's eyes bulged as Legion's fist smashed into his abs with crushing force, sending him hurtling backwards before he crashed to the ground and rolled several feet. Legion grinned... and then he grunted in surprise as Sin grabbed him by the back of the neck before he shoved him firmly down into the ground, then she leapt onto his back and kicked the goat's face hard into the earth as he tried to straighten.

Legion exploded into dark flames, but they bent and twisted around Sin, fleeing to a short distance as she turned around... before her eyes widened as they snake of black fire twisted upwards and shot straight at her, crashing into her like a concentrated cyclone, knocking her flying backwards and then twisting around to crush him into the ground before it slid away from her and reformed into the goat god, leaving Sin laying in flames in a narrow crater in the ground as she groaned loudly in pain.

"Without magic, you are useless." Legion said distastefully down to her, and then he glanced over towards Zerrex as the Drakkaren staggered up to his feet, shaking his head slowly... and then he gargled as Legion vanished from the spot, floating into the air before Legion's fingers appeared around his throat, and the rest of the Old God's form slowly filtered into being as he smiled coldly, squeezing tighter into the Drakkaren's neck as he whispered: "What a worthless race demons are..."

He drew his other hand back, creating a sphere of bright red flames... and then his eyes widened as Sammy popped into existence above his face, the pseudodragon shrieking a war cry before he landed on the goat god's face, clawing and tearing madly. Immediately, the Old God staggered backwards, yelling in fury as he threw Zerrex straight down into the ground and made him gargle, his head twisted against the earth and his feet kicking weakly as Legion clawed at the pseudodragon on his face before he seized Sammy by the neck and held him up in the air above his head, shouting angrily: "Disgusting vermin!"

Sammy screamed, his back arching as red fire burst over his body, his scales beginning to char off as he twisted wildly in the goat god's hand and his blood literally boiled up through his wounds, and then Zerrex snarled as he kicked backwards and landed in a crouch, throwing a sphere of blue energy at the Old God... but Legion only held a hand up, the energy passing uselessly through his body as he snarled at the Drakkaren. It distracted him for a moment, however, and the flames died out around the pseudodragon as Sammy went limp in his grip before Legion threw him down into the ground and rose a foot to crush him.

His foot stomped down... and then he grunted in surprise as his dress shoe collided instead with the top of Zerrex's hand, the reptile leaning forwards in a crouch with his arm stretched out, his eyes cold and head lowered, looking at Sammy instead of Legion, even as the goat bore down as hard as he could, but the Drakkaren's hand only wavered ever so slightly.

Finally, Legion snarled as he tried to kick forwards, but the moment his foot started to swing towards the lizard's head, the Drakkaren twisted his arm around, blocking the sole of his foot with his forearm and catching the toe of his shoe. Legion looked surprised for a moment, and then the reptile twisted hard, as the goat god flipped violently through the air before he crashed down on his face, grunting before Zerrex stood and punted the Old God as hard as he could in the crotch.

Legion howled in pain as he was lifted into the air and he half-flipped to crash down onto his back, bouncing once with a grunt before he vanished into dark flames as the Drakkaren tried to crush his skull in, and the Old God reformed some twenty feet away, snarling in fury as his hands burst into red flames and he lashed out violently, sending terrible blades of crimson fire hurtling towards the Drakkaren. Zerrex cursed, readying himself... but then Sin stepped in front of him, blocking each of the blades with her hands and wincing at each minor explosion that went up before she dropped her hands forwards, breathing hard as blood dripped from the slashes and burns that had been torn into them. "We have... we have to finish him quickly."

"Yeah." Zerrex stepped back and turned around, gently picking up Sammy's broken, burned body, and the pseudodragon whimpered weakly in his hands. The lizard looked at him for a few moments, and then he gritted his teeth and glared at Legion. "But how do we kill the son of a bitch?"

"You can't." Legion said calmly and clearly, and then he rose a hand, saying coldly: "And I won't give you the time to try anything brash, either."

Before he could do anything, however, Serenity shot in from seemingly nowhere, slashing her sword down into his hand before she released the blade and twisted to the side, whipping her hand out towards his face as the sword spun violently and lashed through his neck, making Legion gargle as he staggered backwards before he vanished in a pillar of dark fire. Immediately, it turned into a snake of flames that twisted its way around Serenity, but she snarled and dropped to the ground, sending out a psychic shockwave around her body that made the flames waver before it snaked quickly off to the side to reform with a look of anger on his face, and then Zerrex and Sin exchanged a look before she said quickly: "Give me the time to charge!"

"Got it! Serenity, tag out!" Zerrex shouted, and Serenity nodded as Zerrex's twisted arm burst into existence, Legion looking unamused as the Drakkaren charged towards him, before the reptile was knocked flying backwards by a simple telekinetic blast. He crashed onto his back, skidding backwards before Legion stomped on his rocky wrist and brought both hands back, red flames bursting into life over them as the Drakkaren winced, then he held his other arm out, concentrating before he felt something shift inside of it, and then the same strange, terrible stuff that made up his other arm tore out of his palm in the shape of a spike, which he immediately stabbed into the thigh of the goat god.

Legion staggered backwards with a howl of pain, the flames vanishing around his hands as he clutched at his leg, black, ooze-like blood spurting out of it before the wound slowly clogged and healed, the demon staring in shock as Zerrex leapt up to his feet and grinned coldly, the spike vanishing back into his palm as the lizard rolled his arm slowly as it slowly became rocky and twisted, warped and ugly but slightly-smaller than his other claw as the Drakkaren said coldly: "If every bone in my body is made of this stuff..."

Zerrex clenched his eyes shut, rolling his head slowly to the side as he felt twisted, rocky plates pushing out along his legs, his body, even his tail, until he was literally covered in metal and stone plates, a few bits of debris crumbling off him as he stood in the little that remained of his pants, both shredded apart as his hair floated around his uncovered head, before a three-foot blade shot out of either wrist, the Drakkaren's rocky claws clenched. It hurt like hell, and moving made his heavy-feeling body ache... but when Legion threw a blade of crimson flames at him, he barely felt it as it exploded against his chest, the lizard shouting: "Come on, then! Let's see just how tough you are!"

The goat god snarled, and then he charged forwards before he ducked and slammed his hand forwards into Zerrex's chest as the reptile swung both his arms upwards, cursing at how slow he felt he was moving... but Legion's fist only uselessly bounced off his plated stomach, the goat god cursing before he leapt upwards and aimed at Zerrex's face with a hard kick... but this the lizard managed to block before he slashed his other hand out, the blade slashing through the goat god's stomach and knocking him backwards as Legion cursed in pain, falling to the ground and rolling quickly to a crouch before he threw several crimson fireballs at the Drakkaren... but the reptile covered his face as he charged forwards, the crimson flames knocking chunks of stone and metal off his form but the lizard feeling very little before he dropped his shoulder and simply rammed into Legion, knocking him flying through the air with a howl of anger.

Legion flipped over, shoving both hands down and skidding backwards before he leapt forwards as the Drakkaren slashed both blades down towards him... but the goat god caught his wrists, hands bursting from his hands even as he tried to fight against it, his feet digging trenches in the ground as strength fought against strength... and then the Old God suddenly drew his hands back, grabbing the base of both of the Drakkaren's warped blades before he snapped them both off at the base, and the reptile's eyes bulged in surprise before he cursed in pain as Legion slashed back and forth against him, knocking him staggering backwards as Zerrex covered his face, but the blades slashed easily through the armor made of the same, sending blood bursting from his body.

Zerrex finally managed to smash a hand out and catch Legion in the face, knocking him flying backwards as the blades slipped from his hands, and they both crumbled away to little more than gravel before they even hit the ground. Legion himself landed on his back, laying prone for a moment as Zerrex approached... and then the reptile grunted in shock as the goat god exploded again into dark flames before he reformed on the spot in a crouch, both hands shoved down into the ground before a tornado of red fire exploded around the lizard, Zerrex howling in agony as he felt chunks of metal and stone being torn off his body, his larger warped arm beginning to dissolve.

Then the red tornado exploded, sending up a burst like fireworks as the lizard staggered backwards, raw scale revealed beneath the broken chunks of plate that had been torn off his form before Legion stepped forwards and smashed a hand into his chest, knocking him flying backwards to sprawl uselessly on the ground. He gargled, spasming once... and then he stared in horror as Legion rose a hand, saying disgustedly: "Now... I'll just kill you all in one easy swoop."

As Zerrex stared at the stars above, still mostly visible even in the red light of Hell's apparent dawn... three of them twinkled visibly before a blast of lighting shot from one to the other, all three stars glowing bright orange as the blue lines connected them, before three terrible blasts of lighting shot from each and met in the center before firing down as a solid beam of brilliant white and blue plasma, energy sparking along the beam as it tore a trench through the earth, making the world around them tremble even as Zerrex jumped up, the rest of the twisted armor collapsing around his body as he snarled and then threw both hands up as the beam shot straight for him.

He felt the energy contact, the reptile howling in pain before his eyes widened as he felt the energy crackling over him even as Legion shouted: "Pure plasma, the power of the stars! You will be annihilated by it, you... what... what?"

Zerrex roared as he stood up, shoving both hands into the beam and absorbing the energy as blue arcs sparked over his body, and then he grinned darkly at Legion as the goat god snarled, before the reptile shouted: "I thought you were the one who explained how easy energy was to absorb!"

Legion looked horrified as the wound on Zerrex's body healed rapidly, his twisted arm bulging and pure light shining out of the cracks, his eyes glowing with energy before he drew one hand back, and the goat god snarled as Zerrex hurled a sphere towards him... and he snorted, looking disgusted before it turned to a look of shock as the sphere curved in midair and hit the ground beneath him, causing it to explode before shocks of energy rolled over his body and held the Old God in place, and then the reptile stepped forwards, feeling the beam of plasma being drawn with him like a magnet before he threw it at the goat.

It moved slowly, the beam of plasma ripping slowly through the ground before it seemed to lock on the Old God's energy, and Legion screamed as the plasma beam shot down over him, ripping apart his clothes as his back arched, howling in agony as shocks of energy ripped wounds in his body, Zerrex grinning and snarling at the same time as he felt supercharged, his muscles flexing and his eyes alive with power before he looked up in surprise as Sin patted him firmly on the shoulder, and she shouted over that roar of the energy and the howls of Legion: "We have to finish him now! I need to focus through you!"

Zerrex nodded immediately at this, and then the Drakkaren dropped to a kneel, shoving both of his hands out and holding his palms towards Legion as Sin clamped her hands down on his shoulders, grunting as sparks of energy travelled up her body before she pushed her abilities through the Drakkaren, and the reptile's eyes bulged before he grit his teeth, feeling his energy being forced forwards through his arms, acting as a conduit for the Naganatine as his body suddenly became icy cold with a strange terror that welled up from inside his soul.

Darkness and purple energy gathered in front of his palms in a sphere, the reptile clenching his eyes shut for a moment before he looked forwards as a terrible beam of plasma continued to hammer down into the Old God before it suddenly burst out of existence in a flash of light, but Legion's body continued to vibrate violently, his eyes rolling wildly in his head and his jaws gaping stupidly, frozen like a statue... and then Sin yelled and Zerrex's eyes only stared in horror as he felt something rush through his body, before a terrible beam blasted out of his hands, with a core of terrible purple light and wrapped in translucent darkness.

It struck through Legion, and then widened until it completely engulfed him, making the air vibrate as the terrible beam screamed as it cut through the air, the goat god vanishing inside the beam... and then it burst out of existence, and Sin collapsed against Zerrex's back as the reptile fell forwards, all the energy drained out of his body as he coughed hard and clawed at the ground, staring in shock as the last few motes and arcs of purple and black energy vanished, at first thinking Legion had survived... but then, slowly, his mind tried to get around what had actually happened to the Old God.

His profile was left in the air in a terrible dark profile that was painful to look at, as if where he had been, literally nothing no longer existed. It was darker than dark, like they had ripped a hole between the physical world and the Nothingness beyond, or worse, then Unworld... and then, slowly, the darkness began to fade out, as if the universe was rapidly trying to fill the vacuum that had been left and it so abhorred.

"What... what the hell happened? Is he gone?" Zerrex asked weakly, and Sin nodded, her eyes closed as she sat behind him, and then the Drakkaren groaned as he sat back and looked quietly over his shoulder at her, rubbing slowly at one shoulder. "What... was that?"

"A particle beam. Even his molecules were erased from existence... I'm sorry if it hurts, I had to scramble your energy signals." Sin said softly, and then she grunted as she climbed up to her feet, rubbing a hand slowly at her hip before she swallowed as she looked at Serenity, who was seated quietly with Sammy on her lap. Zerrex looked over his shoulder... and then he winced and crawled quickly over, his body aching before he slipped and fell forwards, reaching a trembling hand forwards.

Sammy squeaked softly... but he was weak. The Drakkaren looked at him quietly for a few moments, swallowing thickly himself... and then he grunted as he climbed up to his feet, saying weakly: "Come... come on, we..." He halted, looking at the wrecked motorcycle, and then he cursed quietly. "Goddammit, I guess we need to walk the rest of the way..."

The others nodded, not arguing, and Zerrex gently took Sammy from Serenity, trying to push his energy into the pseudodragon... but he had little energy left to spare, and it only created a spark of blue lightning that made Sammy whine loudly in pain. So instead, he hurried as best he could towards the Ravenlight Estate, and he smiled faintly when he saw it was within reach, looking down at the warm body of the pseudodragon and saying weakly: "Come on, we're going to make it..."

But Sin stopped, and Serenity halted after a moment herself, making Zerrex frown as he looked over his shoulder at them, snapping: "Come on, we... we have to go!" He looked down at Sammy, and then he trembled a bit, seeing his eyes half-closed and his features unmoving, but he refused to believe it as he babbled: "Just... just hold on, just hold on, we're almost there..."

"Zerrex..." Sin said softly, and she didn't have to say anything more as the reptile fell to his knees, looking over his shoulder weakly at the Estate before he gazed down at the dead, still-warm body of the pseudodragon clutched tightly against his breast, not knowing what to do or what to say, swallowing and then dropping his head down to press it into the scaled back of his pet... his friend.

Tears leaked out of his clenched-shut eyes, dripping down and rolling over the dirty, burnt scales of the pseudodragon as he took a long, hitching breath, hating himself, hating the world, only wishing for Sammy to be alive again, that he hadn't interfered and even that he hadn't saved his life... and then he squeezed him close, rubbing his face down against the broken corpse of the tiny dragon as he whispered: "Goddammit... you selfless little bastard... why... fuck, why do... I keep failing people..."

Sin and Serenity remained silent, watching as Zerrex's body shuddered, as he tried to keep in the hot tears spilling down his dirty cheeks, in far more pain now than he had been at any point during the battle they had just endured... and then both females hugged him quietly from either side, and he let the sobs out, crying as he clung to Sammy, clutching him tightly and feeling waves of terrible despair ripping through his form.

It was the worst omen the reptile could have seen: another of his closest friends, dead in combat with beings that should be busy creating life, not trying to destroy it. Never had he lost so many... always, they'd managed to stay at one step ahead, or to cling to life long enough for medical treatment or magic... but there was no way to use magic at the moment, Zerrex hadn't been able to share his energies, and now he had lost someone else, someone so little, so small and weak, who had taken great joy in just being around the Drakkaren... and here he lay dead in his arms, lost forever.

Sammy had stood up to Legion, an Old God far beyond the power of the other Old Gods they had fought so far... and saved Zerrex's life. Just like Anathema had saved his life from Helios and Hades... and the Drakkaren gritted his teeth as he clung to the small, lifeless body, whispering raggedly: "Not in vain... I won't let this be in vain, and I won't let you fall as just another pawn to their stupid, sick 'game...' I swear, Sammy, no matter what it costs, I'll stop these Old Gods... I won't let them take away the lives of any more of my friends and family, I won't let them destroy everything we've worked so fucking hard to achieve like... like it's nothing!"

Zerrex punched the ground, swallowing his sobs and shaking his head briskly before he wiped almost angrily at his flushed features, brushing away tears as he stood up and Sin and Serenity stood quietly back, gazing at him silently before the Drakkaren lowered his head and strode towards the Estate, not knowing how long it took to get there, and not aware of distance or even the seconds passing. He didn't acknowledge anyone, sweeping past even Selena and Lily as he clutched Sammy close to his body, and then he kicked open the doors of the mansion and walked over the patched and broken floorboards, striding quickly to the back stairs and heading not towards his room, but instead through the maze of halls and upwards, always upwards, ripping some tattered curtains down as he passed them and throwing them over his shoulder, the cloth flapping behind him like a cape.

Higher and higher he ran, until finally he kicked open a door and emerged onto a small platform on the rooftops, the rising sun in the distance reflecting off his tears as he spread the curtain out on the ground before quietly rolling Sammy's body up in it, and then he took a long, shuddering breath as he clung to the tiny dragon's dead, wrapped-up body for a few moments, and then he slumped as he sat cross-legged in front of it, laying it gently on the ground. Behind him, Sin, Selena, and Lily emerged... and for a few minutes, they only stood silently before Zerrex said quietly, as looked at the ground. "I don't have much to offer... and I know we can't bring him back to life again. I feel it, like a knife inside me... our severed pact. Selena, please... let's... let go. If... you could... if you would..."

"I get it, Zerrex." Selena stepped forwards and gently put her hand on his shoulder, and then she sighed softly as she reached out, holding her other hand over the curtain. It began to smolder, and then it burst into flames as she murmured a silent prayer under her breath, stepping back after a moment as the Drakkaren stared into the flames as they slowly consumed his lost friend.

Eventually, nothing was left but a small fire crackling silently away along the stone, even the bones and teeth and ashes reduced to dust, and the flames died out as Zerrex quietly put his hands forwards, pushing them down in the spot where Sammy's corpse had been and not caring about the burns he was giving himself. Behind him, the three females looked at each other silently: and although they did not always see eye-to-eye on things, at the moment they all felt for him and wanted to do everything they could for the lizard, as Sin reached out and squeezed his shoulder quietly. "Will you come with us so we can patch you up, Zerrex? The energy beam you absorbed restored a lot of your stamina, but didn't heal all of your wounds."

"Nothing can heal all of anyone's wounds..." Zerrex murmured, but then he nodded quietly with a sigh as he slowly climbed up to his feet, taking Sin's hand and bowing his head forwards like a child. Selena and Lily both gave the Drakkaren a quiet hug, and even when he didn't return the embrace, neither complained... and they followed silently as Sin slowly led Zerrex back down through the mansion until they reached his room.

It had been damaged heavily, the reptile's cane and sword laying in a jumble and the chest that contained his Nanotech Armlet underneath a fallen bookshelf, although thankfully only dented. Sin carefully removed the tatters of clothing that the reptile was left wearing, and then she looked over her shoulder, asking softly: "Lily, will you please check the storage room down the hall for medical cloth and any salvageable medicine, and bring them here? I need dragon silk, a size two tip or smaller silver needle, and at least five cotton patches."

Lily did so, while Sin carefully checked over Zerrex's body and Selena sat awkwardly around for a few minutes, obviously not knowing what to do as she rubbed at her face and mumbled things before finally starting to fix up the lizard's room, righting the dresser and the shelves and stacking things back out-of-order everywhere. It was a nice gesture, though, and Zerrex could feel himself slowly starting to come back to reality, much as he wanted to remain numb and despairing.

It hurt as much as Anathema's death did, if not more... but he remembered that Sin had gotten through that within days, and he wanted to show her that he, too, could be strong and compassionate. Then a nasty voice in his head said that he probably couldn't heal Sammy because his energies had been rearranged thanks to the particle beam focused through him... and he quickly, violently shook his head, gritting his teeth as he refused to blame Sin for what had happened. She would never, ever do something as malicious as that, not on purpose, not even by accident... I... I was out of energy, drained...

And that's her fault, isn't it? asked a voice that was darker and more treacherous than Ravenlight, and Zerrex covered his face with his hands, Sin looking at him softly for a few moments before simply moving to check over his back instead of his front. You know what she is, after all... and you killed her sister. She wanted revenge... everyone wants revenge when a loved one dies... she is no exception, and neither are you.

Zerrex trembled, and then he forced the voice away... but it slipped through his mental fingers, prodding and taunting: But you, you were the one too afraid to push hard, thinking of running to dump him on someone else instead of putting the energy out to try and save his life... too scared of 'hurting yourself:' well, the pet was dying, your friend, was dying... and now he's dead, because you didn't want to face a little pain.

Zerrex moaned weakly in his throat, trying to get away from the voices... and then his mind sparked and went blank for a moment as Sin pushed a finger into a wound in his side, only aware of white-hot pain as he gasped before lurching forwards, breathing hard and trying to hide the new tears in his eyes as Sin murmured softly: "I'm sorry, Lord Zerrex... but you looked like you were also suffering from... something much worse than a minor physical ache."

"Yeah... I was." Zerrex said weakly, and then he closed his eyes and rubbed slowly at his forehead, brushing his hair back with a bit of a tremble before he mumbled, as Sin went back to checking over his wounds and removing small fragments of rock or melted metal lodged in him here and there: "Fuck... why are the voices so strong..."

"The emotional depth of demons is both our grace and our bane... it gives us a great depth for empathy, but it also means that it gives us a great greed for pleasure and happiness." Sin said softly, as she brushed a hand gently through his hair and Selena paused in cleaning up the books scattered across the floor to look up at her curiously. "And just like mortals, our emotions can go out of control... and when we push them aside for too long, they can manifest in unpleasant ways."

"So what am I supposed to do, give in to them, to every one of my fucking negative urges?" Zerrex shouted as he looked up angrily, clenching his hands into fists... and then he swallowed and looked away shamefully from Sin's startled features, murmuring quietly as Lily hesitated in the doorway: "I... I'm sorry, I... I didn't..."

"It's okay." Sin said gently, and she touched his face quietly, making Zerrex flinch: but even in these darkest of moments, the depth of her compassion and empathy never ceased to amaze him. "Don't you worry about that. You have always afforded me endless kindness and understanding... allow me to show the same for you, when you've suffered so much pain."

Zerrex nodded silently, afraid to speak... and for the next twenty minutes, Sin worked in silence, carefully sewing up several large rips in his scales through which raw muscle could be seen and applying large cotton patches over several other bare parts of his body. Finally, she offered him his Nanotech Armlet... but the reptile looked down at his own naked body for a moment before he simply shook his head and laid back on his bed, and Sin instead quietly pulled a blanket up over him as she put it back aside, saying softly: "Have some rest, Lord Zerrex. Your scales will take some time to heal, as your body isn't used to being a conduit, and much less you calling upon the powers of Mephistopheles in such an advanced form. We have to get back to our other duties, but one of us will check on you at least every hours... and I'm more than happy to have someone stay here with you."

Zerrex only shook his head quietly, and then he rolled over in bed and covered his head with one of his pillows, and the three exchanged looks before leaving, Sin saying softly to someone on the way out: "I'll have a Royal Guard stationed at his door, just in case..."

For once, however, the Drakkaren was in no mood to try and sneak away: instead, he only wanted to sleep, but when sleep came, it was fitful and full of terrible nightmares and mad delusions, seeing the dragon dying again and again in his arms. He woke up with his pillow stained with tears, and the reptile sat up, breathing hard as he clutched at his aching chest, not knowing if it was because of the wounds or just more emotional pain... and then he laid back down, covering his eyes as he whispered: "I just want it to end..."

His room was silent and terribly lonely, and Zerrex wished childishly that everyone could drop what they were doing to comfort him... but he closed his eyes and breathed hard in and out, knowing that as it was, he was already getting far better treatment than he deserved. He swallowed thickly, then rubbed a hand slowly through his hair, but it hurt to move even that much... and so instead he laid back in bed, wondering silently if it was because he had just lost something... someone... he cared deeply about, or because Sin knew how much the aftereffects of the particle beam was going to hurt.

The lizard looked up morbidly as Selena walked into the room and sat down beside him, and she smiled a bit as she reached out and patted him on the shoulder, asking softly: "How're you doing, huh?"

Zerrex only shrugged a bit, and the demoness nodded with a sigh, looking at him for a few moments before she said quietly: "I remember what you were like when your pet hydra died... and I know this is far worse than that time. I know this is going to take you a while to get over because well... while people are great and all, we... we know that we can lose them, whether to arguments or death or... fucking... bullshit. Like when Feldspar died, I..." She stopped, then murmured: "Fuck, I hate myself for admitting this, but I was so goddamn upset. Yeah, I know you knew that, but I swore to myself I was just going to hate the bitch and dance on her grave, but well... she... died as my friend.

"Yet like... it didn't take me long to accept it. Because well... friends and family, you... see their mortality. Pets, I guess you sorta don't. And fuck, they love you, and you never have to worry about getting into an argument you can't win with them, and even if they bite the shit out of you, when they come back with those big eyes and whimpering for forgiveness..." Selena laughed a bit, realized it was out of place, and cleared her throat, looking down awkwardly before she murmured: "Pets are way better than friends or family. Fuck 'em both. I guess that's why I still think of you sometimes as my little pet Rex."

She reached out and quietly ruffled his hair, and Zerrex shook his head quickly, laughing faintly: but even if it sounded false and weak, it was still a laugh, and Selena smiled a bit. "That's the fuckin' spirit. Now anyway, like. Sin and Lily both told me not to tell you this, but since that goddess Yemaya was unable to manipulate the tides from such a great distance, and because we're having trouble spreading communications all throughout Hell, we're worried that they're going to launch a strike at us. Worse, we don't even know what's on the other side of Hell... I mean, no one's gone exploring yet, we just know that Hell is a really big planet. We also don't know what they think of Heaven, or even what's happening in Heaven, and Ixin's getting a little frustrated.

"We know that the military response is finally getting out there, but not much more than that. Scouts are coming every few hours to tell us what's going on from different corners of Hell, and they're all relaying the same message: stay calm, put people either to work fixing up the mess they've made or keep them quiet and out of the way. We... still don't know how to communicate that we're peaceful, though, and... who knows if they'll hold off for a day? We don't even know how long a day lasts on this planet, because we aren't just rotating around the sun... we're rotating around that little blue planet, too."

Zerrex nodded a bit, remembering Ixin's diagram... and then he sighed and murmured: "Then maybe that means Hell is on the other side of the sun right now, I don't know... but... fireworks, or rockets. If we can write a large enough message in smoke, or display a symbol that shows we're peaceful, or maybe if we can fire our own missile at the physical world, one that contains a message instead of a warhead, well... maybe that would work. I know it has to be something big, though... it just... doesn't make sense that they want to attack anymore. By now, their telescopes and space monitoring equipment must have figured out that this planet really is Hell, and I know at least a few very influential people are trying to explain what happened... but I guess it probably sounds like madness, anyway."

Selena nodded quietly, and then she said finally: "Maybe we can combine the ideas. Space, as it's been explained to me, is an icy vacuum that's dangerous even to demons... not as deadly as it is to mortals, but still nothing a demon could survive in for long. But we have mortal equipment that still works... rockets, those... combat armors, other things..."

Zerrex looked down for a moment, frowning a bit... and then he grunted as he sat up, before he grasped his head with a curse as a pulse of pain went through it. Selena grasped his shoulder, looking at him with concern, and then he mumbled: "I... think I have an idea."

"Then tell it to me." Selena said mildly. When Zerrex continued to try and sit up, she shoved him firmly down, and when the Drakkaren cursed and tried to struggle with her, she pinned him easily, saying curtly: "Look, I ain't as nice as Sin, so calm the fuck down. You can't get out of bed right now, your body has taken a hell of a beating and you're upset enough to lash out at the first person who does something stupid."

"And this isn't stupid?" Zerrex asked darkly, grabbing her wrist as she held him down, but when their eyes met, the Drakkaren finally sighed and looked away first from her irritated glare. "Okay, I... yeah. Then tell this to either Huck or Priest, they'll know what to do.

"A Combat Armor should still function even in the depths of space, at least some of the higher-tier models we've seized. Better yet, it won't burn up in the atmosphere I assume we have around the world, since the climate is pretty temperate. It might be crude, but if he's able to bring a Combat Armor to a high-enough platform, a few thrusters and rockets hooked up to it should be able to launch it into the atmosphere, and the right demon piloting it should be able to reach a satellite, or maybe even one of the few space stations orbiting Earth. But it has to be launched at the right moment, and the operator is going to have to survive long enough to get over there." Zerrex explained, and then he sighed, struggling against her and then snarling and falling back: not angry at her this time, but instead himself and his frailty. "Goddammit... I should be piloting it, I've already-"

"Done more than enough. I'll pass the message along to Priest and you'll be the first to know whether it's working or not. Loki's been getting pretty pissed off about serving as everyone's transport, but I think he'll cooperate for one last ride." Selena muttered, and then she stood up and squeezed Zerrex's shoulder, saying quietly: "Watch your ass, Zerrex. I love you."

"I..." Zerrex watched Selena go, thinking of the last time she had said those words to him... and then he closed his eyes and murmured softly: "I love you too, Selena."

For the next hour, Zerrex tried to be a bit more proactive: he managed to sit up and to even get his Nanotech Armlet out of the chest on the dresser beside his bed, but then he had problems opening the sleeve. His fingers had gone stupid on him, refusing to work properly and feeling so numb and weak that he couldn't even pry open the bottom section so he could slide it over his arm... and then he looked up with a frustrated grunt as Lily came in.

She walked over and gently took the armlet away from him, and Zerrex didn't know if he wanted to yell, cry, or do something else childish, before he stared as she opened his clothes drawer and threw his boxers at him. They bounced off his chest and fell in his lap, and she looked at him for a few moments before she said softly: "Put 'em on, Zer. And if you can manage that, I'll help you with your clothes manacle and we can head over to the temporary communications shelter outside."

Zerrex half-wanted to snap at her, but before he could even feel bad for it, Lily smiled dourly at him and said in a softly-amused voice: "Now stop that. You know we're just trying to help you out... but sometimes, I guess we get frustrated with you, or don't know what to do. A lot of the time it's like no matter how we help or hinder you, you'll snap at us, which... I guess I don't mind half as much as when you stay silent, as if you have to bear all this burden alone." She stopped, then quietly sat beside him and reached up to squeeze his shoulder, murmuring softly: "You don't have to repress and hide everything from us. It hurts me to see you so sad... but it damn near kills me to see you looking like a scared, shameful child after a bad remark slips out of your mouth, like what happened with Sin. We aren't going to blame you, Zerrex, and we are damn well not going to scold you... usually you're the one who has to keep us in line, after all."

Zerrex only nodded quietly, looking down... and then Lily closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder as the reptile fought to bring his legs up and try to get his boxers over his feet, breathing hard as pain wracked his form with each movement. "I know I don't always understand you... not just because you were once mortal, but... because of the life you lived. Because of the way you were raised... and how I was raised." She stopped and smiled a bit at the ground, saying quietly: "A spoiled little princess, always taught about how I had to find the strongest male to bear my children, always told to bide my time and wait and never told about love or happiness. Taught to be a black widow... and yet here we are. You taught me what love was, Zerrex... and no, you aren't the strongest demon in Hell, or the smartest, and you aren't the most handsome, either. But... I've come to love you. And that's what matters, I've learned, because I can be proud of every one of my children, whether they're strong or weak or worst of all, normal."

The Drakkaren nodded again, laughing faintly as he looked at her and finally managed to pull his boxers up... and Lily smiled a bit at him before she stood up and picked up the armlet, pulling the sleeve open with a grunt of effort and then helping Zerrex slip it onto his arm, where it clamped down and sealed itself against the limb. It beeped and whirred to life, and then the Drakkaren rose it in front of his muzzle and said clearly: "Casual outfit, color black. Jeans and t-shirt."

The machine buzzed, and a moment later, nanomachines spread up from it and over Zerrex's body, quickly forming into what he had requested. The Drakkaren let his arm drop, and then he looked up as Lily offered him his cane, saying softly: "I'm here too, if you need me, Zerrex. Never once have I blamed you for the death of anyone, from my father to poor Sammy. So don't blame yourself, either... because I know that you already died once to try and protect a world that's always tried to kill you."

The Drakkaren looked down quietly, trembling a bit... and then he cleared his throat and forced the tears back, taking his cane and standing up with a quiet grunt, pain running through his body and his bad leg pulsing... but after he stretched for a few moments, Lily took his other side, and he laughed rustily, murmuring: "Come on, let me keep my pride."

"Pride is a belt, Zerrex. It can hold up your pants, but also whip you, and eventually it's what you wrap around your neck to hang yourself with." Lily said quietly in return, and the reptile looked at her for a few moments before she looked back dryly. "It's true, sadly enough."

"It is." Zerrex said quietly, and then he leaned on her a bit more, and this made Lily smile faintly as they headed for the door, the Drakkaren's cane tapping quietly against the ground as they stepped out into the corridor and past a Royal Guard, who threw a sharp salute to them both. Zerrex didn't have the energy to even look at him, however, as they walked down the hall and towards the open door leading out to the entrance hall.

They took the stairs slowly, which Zerrex was thankful for even if it embarrassed him a bit, since there were a few people in the hall... and once he was at the bottom and his head stopped swimming, he was able to look around and then swallow thickly as he saw his five Iuratus standing in formation in deep kneels... and behind them, Felicity bowed deeply, saying clearly: "Captain Vampire sends his best regards and regrets, sir! We all wanted to express our... our deepest sorrows at your loss, but also our utmost faith in you during this trying time."

"Hail High King Zerrex!" Serenity shouted as she stood up, and it echoed not just from the Iuratus, but also around the hall: from his children, his concubines, and his soldiers... and most of all, his friends. Zerrex swallowed as he gazed around at the demons that had gathered here, many of them wounded or dusty, and he was only able to nod in response as tears threatened him again... and then Lily brought him quietly towards the doors, and the Iuratus fell in honor guard formation around him as they strode outside.

Zerrex felt so many emotions pulling at his heartstrings that he knew he was bound to crack sooner or later, if it kept up... and then he was thankfully distracted by the sight of a large, strangely-shaped tent outside the main gates, and a massive, ugly tower of girders had been erected beside this, with a large satellite on the top of it. Demons in coveralls were currently laying down shielded wires, and as they stepped through the gates, Zerrex saw Huck standing at a table beside the wide base of the tower, as more workers attached chains to stakes hammered into the ground and into the tower to keep it standing steady, even as a faint wind blew by.

Then Huck looked up and saw Zerrex, and he shoved past two workers, tears building in the Dragokkaren-demon's own eyes as he hugged the Drakkaren close and muttered: "I am so fucking sorry, Boss, fucking hell. We'll make 'em pay, I swear to you... but until then, you keep strong, huh? You killed fucking Narrius, after all, and I got full faith that you can take these motherfuckers down for the count too, and show them just what we're made of!"

Huck stepped back with a grin in his messy coveralls, holding out a fist... and Zerrex looked at it for a moment, then he nodded grimly, too afraid that if he spoke, he'd start sobbing, but more than glad to tap fists with the Dragokkaren, who looked relieved before he turned around, saying quickly: "Now listen here. Your genius kid, Priest - dude, is Cherry really his dad... er, I mean, mom, she's not a dad even though... well... you know what she's got, uh... continuing now - Priest, he like... a genius. Shit, sorry, I got sidetracked."

Huck grumbled as he walked over to the table, rapping a hand against his head a few times and visibly gathering his thoughts as Zerrex watched him with faint amusement, and he was more than glad to approach and rest on the table, Lily letting him go to gently rub a hand down his back. "Okay, so here it is. Because the electromagnetic energy in the air has been so drastically lowered due to the AMP, we've been able to build a short-range piggyback-style network. Information is passed along through hubs: the signal strength isn't enough to send it more than a moderate distance, and since we've been doing some crazy calculations, we've discovered that this world, this physical planet, is probably somewhere like... three hundred thousand, maybe three hundred and fifty thousand kilometers large, compared to our lovely little planet floating around up there in space, and if I remember my old geography lessons correctly, that planet is more like forty-five thousand kilometers at the most."

Zerrex stared at this, and Huck grinned sourly. "Amazing shit, isn't it? But anyway, the gravity on this planet is also much greater... but since we're mostly demons here, even the smallest of minotaurs have already adjusted to it. Furthermore - and this is some really crazy shit right here - the atmosphere of this planet is breathable, and even mortals could live here... but damn, is it thin. We need to planet some fucking trees, and I totally wish I was just saying that for a giggle, or build some air convertors.

"Okay, what else, uh... fuck me, that's right. Priest is out working on your pretty little idea about getting in contact with the planet so they don't blow us sky-high... well... bad metaphor... and I have to admit, I'm impressed." Huck grinned at him, reaching out and slapping Zerrex on the shoulder, which almost knocked him over. Immediately, the Dragokkaren winced and grabbed at his own skull, and then he leaned away as the Drakkaren gave him a sour look. "Uh, yeah. So I'm the one in charge of these little operations all throughout Hell, but even though certain land masses have literally vanished from where they're supposed to be - for example, a lot of the Wasteland has literally up and disappeared, along with Geryon's Crater and that pretty little tourist spot that was in there - you never quite realize how big Hell actually is until you can't portal around everywhere. Thankfully, Ixin put together this nifty little device that tells us the current amount of corruption in the air and what's been affected by the AMP, and we're already registering the frequencies beginning to return to normal. The moment the resonance from the merge has dispersed entirely, corruption should start creeping back throughout Hell, which could take a long time... but the big point is that once the AMP aftershocks are completely gone, we should be able to use magic again through demonic crystals."

"Good." Zerrex said quietly, and then he looked up towards the sky, which was a strange, fierce red, the sun burning vibrantly and oddly close. He realized it was very warm, too... and he finally looked back at Huck, asking him quietly: "Do you think the physical world can actually fire on us?"

Huck grew solemn at this, saying quietly: "Despite everything, I know that not all the nuclear missiles and rails were dismembered and disarmed... and I know that it probably won't be a world power firing on us first, if someone does fire on us. It'll come from a private facility, maybe even a military compound that goes rouge, and a magnetic cannon will be able to fire with enough force to get a shielded missile or rail or whatever up into space, and once it gets into space baby, then it's just going to keep coming.

"Plus there are far worse things than rail guns that could shoot at us... say, for instance, one of those super-missiles, the kind that go into space anyway so they can computer-target and then dive bomb at such a velocity no defense grid in the world could stop them." Huck made a face, shaking his head as he pointed with distaste at the sky. "We got no defenses against a nuke. And while radiation may be harmless to most middle-rank demons, I don't think we've got a very strong ecosystem here on Hell, and I really don't want to see a lot of low-order demons and other inhabitants of this place dying around me. Hell's become like a second home to me, seriously... and I'll be fucked if I'm going to watch it suffer.

"The fact we're close enough for them to hit us with shit if they shoot at us works to our advantage too, though... your plan, for instance, really plays off that, and I think it's going to work out real nicely. Priest could probably rig a fucking car to fly if he wanted to, and we've got some goddamn powerful rockets... it might literally take only a day or two to get there."

Zerrex looked sour at this, and Huck looked at him with a frown before the reptile said sourly: "So gee, I guess that like. Whoever's piloting the goddamn thing can at least try and stop the missile while it flies by on the way to hit us."

Huck rolled his eyes at this, and then he tapped the palm of his hand several times, looking at the reptile pointedly. "Dude, think about how things work over there on big blue. Parliamentary procedure, freaking out and arguing about stuff, getting every tiny little point down and then, and only then, do they ever get anything done. Even a private military corporation with their own nuclear stockpile would have, I dunno, board meetings and crazy shit like that before they did anything that could be seen as either heroic or downright stupid by their country and the sycophants that run around like jackasses in the senate, pretending they own the whole goddamn place. Even in Hez'Ranna, there were always meetings and shit like that... the only thing we have to really worry about is if a militaristic country or a high-tech military facility goes nuts and shoots at us. Otherwise, we'll be fine, 'cause only nutjob dictators fire first and ask questions later in this day and age."

"I hope that speech comforted you more than it did me." Zerrex muttered, and Huck shrugged before he paused to yell at a worker who was attaching wires to a control panel on the side of the vehicle, and the engineer winced and worked faster before the Drakkaren asked mildly: "Can't we send a signal to a satellite or something?"

Huck shook his head at this, however. "We have no satellites ourselves, and it'll take at least a week to build one, install the necessary components, and then launch it into space... and like I said, we can communicate moderate distances with our current technology, but after that it gets garbled up or just disperses. Unfortunately, these shielded systems just aren't designed for long-range transmissions."

Zerrex nodded at this, sighing and rubbing a hand slowly through his hair before he murmured: "And what if they don't believe the person we send to the planet? What if they don't call off the strike, or see it as an even better opportunity for a strike?"

The Dragokkaren snorted at this, and then he grinned a bit, nudging Zerrex much more gently than before. "Well, I know for one thing that Albatross would throw a fit, and we all know he's the real leader of Hez'Ranna. Plus I'm sure your friend Balthazar wouldn't be pleased about that, so I'm pretty confident that even if we die, someone else is going to kill the shit out of whoever attacked us."

"That's a fun way to think of things, Huck." Zerrex said dryly, and the Dragokkaren shrugged with a slight smile, looking entertained as he rubbed at the back of his head slowly. Then the lizard finally sighed and looked past the Dragokkaren to the tent, asking mildly: "So what's in there, more equipment?"

"Oh, right, hey, go on in!" Huck said cheerfully, and the reptile paused and looked at him for a few moments before he nodded slowly. At first, he resisted when Lily wrapped an arm around him... but then he let her support him, remembering her words on pride and quietly walking around the table, Huck opening a flap and holding it wide for them to pass inside before he let out a surprised breath at the sight of the computer terminals and demonic engineers setting up both communication devices and walking around, talking loudly on headsets. "This is Command Base Alpha. Since the Central Spire is... inaccessible at the moment with the damage done to the circles, we've decided that the Ravenlight Estate is the backup seat of power... and now that you're here, you can issue orders... or leave whom I assume is your successor to doing that."

And Zerrex smiled faintly at the sight of Firenze, who was standing with Driz nearby. The latter looked tired and strangely-physical compared to his usual form, but Firenze looked invigorated as he calmly listened and then gave orders on the headset, before he smiled when he saw his father, approaching and then bowing quietly to him. "Hey there, Dad."

"Hello Firenze... it looks like you're doing well." Zerrex said softly, looking around the tent before he paused as his eyes settled on Driz. "You look tired though, Driz... is it the change in the atmosphere?"

Driz grumbled and didn't say anything, and Firenze said carefully, holding his hands a slight distance from each other: "Brother is... well. He's not very talkative right now. I think that's probably it, though... but he's been running himself raw, too, travelling along a few cable lines that have been set up between encampments... listen to me babble on, though." Firenze laughed a bit, and then he shook his head, smiling at his father and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, before he paused and half-turned away, saying embarrassedly over his shoulder: "Just a second."

Firenze reached up and tapped a button on his headset, and Zerrex could almost hear someone yelling at him as he fought to get a word in edgewise here and there. Then Driz hesitated for a few moments before he sighed and walked over towards a table, waving a hand at him as he mumbled: "Come with me."

Zerrex nodded, leaning against Lily as they followed him across the tent towards a large swiveling chair at a rounded bank of computer terminals. The Drakkaren looked surprised as he felt himself being nudged into it, and he frowned from one to the other before Huck approached and snaked a hand down to one of the keyboards, skillfully entering a quick command that made the computer monitors blink and the system start. "Here, lemme get that for you, I know you hate that technical bullshit."

"What is this?" Zerrex asked, leaning back and tilting his head, and Lily shrugged a bit with a smile as Driz and Huck exchanged a look.

"It's a monitoring station." Huck said when Driz motioned at him to talk, and then the Dragokkaren grinned as he slipped around the crescent of terminals, entering another quick command as leaned over the keyboard next to the Drakkaren. "See, it lets you tell who is calling from what base, and it keeps track of all the incoming and outgoing signals." Huck paused, pointing at the first screen, where all this information was being displayed in a steady stream, before he pointed at the second, where a red and blue lines were spiking up and down. "This is our input-output meter, and you can adjust the signal strength manually or let it auto-adjust based on the amount of corruption and electromagnetic energy in the air, which is shown on the third monitor."

Zerrex nodded slowly, turning his eyes to this and making a face at the graphs and charts that were constantly updating themselves, before he said finally: "And what am I doing here?"

"It's a way for you to stay involved, without, you know, having to directly do stuff." Huck said finally, earning a sour look from Zerrex, but he only clapped him gently on the shoulder. "Dude, you push yourself too hard. At least here you'll be able to monitor several outgoing and incoming connections, and even break in on conversations to issue orders here and there. Firenze is a great leader-type dude, yeah, but he still needs lots of practice at it... he's having a little bit of trouble saying 'no' to some of the requests."

"So you want me to be a watchdog." Zerrex said finally, and Huck shrugged before he picked up a headset and offered it to the Drakkaren, who sighed and took it, glad that it would at least be a distraction as he settled it over his head and adjusted the volume control on the side carefully. "So how does it work, then?"

Huck spent the next twenty minutes going over the commands with him as Driz walked back over to Firenze, who was still arguing with someone on the headset. Lily, meanwhile, stayed near Zerrex, listening in raptly and looking with visible curiosity at the headsets and machinery: something she hadn't seen or experienced much of, with her life here in Hell.

When Huck left, Zerrex sat back in the chair, feeling moody and grouchy as he listened in on arguments and conversations, bad-temperedly ordering people making obvious social calls on the lines off of them as he monitored up and down the line of frequencies almost obsessively. Three hours later, Huck ran inside the tent, waving his arms for silence, and Zerrex watched as all the lines went dead before the Dragokkaren announced: "Sector Four has gone completely offline, I need some people to go and check it out."

Zerrex started to get up, but Lily shook her head, saying quietly: "Let's leave this one to me, Lord Zerrex. You stay here and... keep in communication. It's probably only a mechanical error, anyway."

The reptile didn't like it, but he nodded grudgingly, as Lily approached Huck and offered to escort a team of engineers out... and for a pleasant change of pace, as Zerrex sat in the chair, bored of his job and listening in on transmissions, Lily's familiar voice finally crackled through the static and announced that it had just been a faulty communications tower, and that they were heading to another, closer base. It was over eleven hours later, and the sky was starting to darken towards night, before Huck ran back into the tent, breathlessly announcing: "They're starting launch preparations everyone!"

Zerrex sat up, then winced at a roll of pain that went through his body, sitting back against the chair, and then Huck continued quickly: "I want as much power as possible diverted from our generators and batteries through the arterial lines and towards Base Beta, at the Staunch Cliffs."

Several mechanics nodded and ran out of the area as Driz came forwards, and Huck said to him firmly and clearly: "Ride over there and tell Priest we're ready whenever he is for launch, but by my calculations, I'd suggest that at about forty-five minutes we'll be at the perihelion of our orbit. With the other calculations I've done factoring in size and distance, tell him I hope he has some goddamn big-ass engines hooked up, because we're probably at least nine hundred thousand klicks away."

Driz nodded and left the tent after a moment with a grunt, and Huck watched him go before he glanced over his shoulder at Zerrex, saying calmly: "I need you to make sure no one sends out any transmissions for the next while, and if someone does contact you, it should be Priest. Hang up on anyone else, he might want us to send more electrical power his way."

Zerrex nodded, and then he watched as Huck bossed a few other people around, faintly amused despite everything at the way the Dragokkaren could still easily take control when it came to machinery and engineering. Thirty minutes later, a call beeped in, and Zerrex said curtly, as he clicked the button on his headset to answer it: "Speak."

"Yeah, I need to talk to Huck." Priest said clearly, and then he added: "This is-"

"I know who this is, I raised you." Zerrex said with dry amusement, and Priest fell into dumb silence as Zerrex turned and covered the microphone, shouting across the room: "Huck, Priest is on the line!"

Huck immediately scrambled for the nearest headset, tearing it off the head of another demon and putting it on his own as he walked over towards Zerrex, adjusting the frequency dial and then interrupting the rambling Priest had just started as he said: "What, did you screw up already?"

"Fuck, you're a pain in the ass. No, uh... everything's ready for launch, I juiced up these rocket thrusters more than a little, so the only issue will be knowing when to slow down, but I think that... the pilot should be able to manage it." Priest stopped, then said dryly: "I think you're wrong, too. I think we're at the perihelion of orbit now, so I'm launching the damn thing. Tell everyone to get ready and watch the skies."

Huck grumbled something, then he stared as Zerrex climbed to his feet with a grunt and slowly made his way towards the tent flap: thankfully, his body felt much less sore now, and it was helping with his mood, too, as he said with faint amusement over his shoulder: "Hey, I ain't missing this launch. Go get 'em, Priest."

"Thanks, Dad." Priest said warmly, and then the Drakkaren pushed his headset back as he walked outside to stand by Firenze, who smiled a bit at his father, his own headset dangling from his fingers. They stood beside each other and looked up at the darkened sky above, the earth a large, blue ball high in the sky, and five minutes later, they all watched with mixed murmurs as a bright white ball leaving a trail of smoke behind shot high into the air.

Zerrex watched it go with amazement, as it slowly vanished up into the stars above, and he shook his head with a quiet laugh before he pulled his headset up just in time to hear: "Launch successful, Dove-1 has been launched into space."

Dove... Zerrex looked down quietly, thinking of Sammy for a moment as Firenze gently put a hand on his back... and then the Drakkaren's eyes bulged and he looked up as Huck asked, walking out of the tent: "So what do you think Zerrex is going to do when he finds out the pilot was Selena?" A pause as Huck looked up, and then he stared at Zerrex, who glared back at him, one of his eyes twitching. "Priest, I am... going to... have to call you back."

Zerrex lunged at Huck, who squeaked and ran back into the tent, the Dragokkaren showing a surprising nimbleness as the Drakkaren shot after him, waving his cane and shouting: "What, you want to kill someone else I care about? Come back here, you asshole, I'm not done with you!"

Huck launched himself at a rip near the bottom of the tent, squirming quickly beneath it and yelping when Zerrex swung his cane down and hit him hard in the lower leg before he could pull all the way through, and then the Drakkaren snarled as he dropped to a kneel, half-pushing up the bottom of the tent to see Huck standing a wary distance away, rubbing at his leg with a wince as he babbled: "Dude, she's scarier than you and volunteered! What the hell was Priest supposed to do, say no? Better that you get pissed off now than she gets pissed off... she'd set us on fire or some shit and you're too sore to hurt us much!"

"I won't be sore forever, and when I'm feeling better, I'm gonna kick your ass, and then I'm gonna kick Priest's ass!" Zerrex threatened, and then he yelled into the microphone of his headset: "You hear that Priest?"

Feedback resonated through half the headsets, demons groaning and clutching at their heads as Huck squawked and ran around the tent, and the Drakkaren started to worm his way beneath it before Firenze gently patted him on the shoulder, and he turned around with a huff and a glower, asking sourly: "What?"

"While I know that... well... you probably really will want to kick their asses sometime in the near future, right now we need Huck and Priest to make sure that everything works properly here." Firenze said carefully, and when Zerrex stood up and looked at him acidly, he cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. "Selena's one of the best-equipped to survive out there, anyway... and once she's up in space, maybe demonic crystal will work."

"We thought of that, but it's too dangerous to portal in a vacuum... it might create a black-hole effect." piped up a mechanic, and when Zerrex looked at him, he immediately closed his mouth. The Drakkaren motioned for him to go on, however, and the coveralls-clad demon hesitated before he turned around and picked up a piece of paper, walking over to the Drakkaren and holding it out. "This is a list of supplies we sent her with, Priest had every communications base make a copy."

Zerrex snatched it up from the demon, then he scanned quickly over the supplies. Three large crystal orbs, a thermal suit, some odds and ends like coffee and food to help keep her energized, a short-ranged communications device, signal flares... "Alright. Well... if anything happens to her, I hope that you guys can take over for Huck, because I'll pull his head down through his ass and turn him inside out."

Huck apparently heard this, because there was a loud squeak outside before footsteps rapidly fled, and Zerrex sighed as he morbidly went back to the communications terminal, sitting down grouchily. Even when Sin came by several hours later, she couldn't do much to cheer him up out of his slump, but he enjoyed her company... and since Huck refused to enter the tent while Zerrex was still fuming visibly, the Drakkaren decided it was probably best for him to leave.

They headed back to the Ravenlight Estate, but took a headset with them: it was a bit garbled, but it was still able to pick up communications from other places, so the reptile just left it on his dresser with the volume jacked up. The Drakkaren himself wanted to do nothing more than sleep... but he was too anxious now about Selena to get much rest, and instead he allowed Sin to bring in a small basin and wash and trim his hair, wanting to do anything to kill time.

He received several unexpected visitors: Loki, for one, wanted to extend his condolences, a kindness he hadn't expected. Felicity also took up the post at his door, glad to both talk with him and to work as a barrier between him and the curious world, since the Drakkaren didn't really want much in the way of company at the moment. Anxiety over Selena was fighting with gloominess over the death of Sammy, and while he was touched they had named the probe after the proud little pseudodragon who had more than ever earned the title Knight Dove, the reptile still wanted to kick Priest's ass for letting Selena boss them into doing the mission herself. He also figured he'd probably kick her ass once she got back.

Sin, as always, however, found just the right way to relax him: a gentle back massage forced the lizard to lay still long enough that he fell into a doze without even realizing it, and when he opened his eyes and yawned and found himself alone, he realized dumbly that he must have ended up taking a long nap. The lizard climbed out of bed, then stretched and winced a little as his back cracked, but he was feeling better now... still somewhat sore, and more than a little tired... but better.

He walked out into the hallway, carrying his cane by the neck: his leg hurt, but not enough for him to bother using it for its actual purpose as he grunted to Felicity as he passed, and she immediately ran up beside him, the vixen shouldering her spear as she said softly: "Hey Boss, it's good that you're awake... it's been two days, after all."

"Two days? What?" Zerrex looked at her with shock, and then he grabbed her by the arms, making her wince and then flail free when his cane burned into her, the reptile drawing back with an embarrassed look on his face as he held the cane a safe distance away from the demoness. "Oh, goddammit, I am so sorry!"

"No, no, it's fine." Felicity shook her arm out as the minor wound healed quickly, and then she smiled up at him dryly, bopping him on the head with her spear. "Now listen here, Boss. We've all been worried sick about you, so take this shit slow. Nothing has really happened... the last of the AMP resonance is fading, and minor spells are working, meaning we've been able to do some short-range, quick portalling around Hell to check on things in areas where the AMP resonance has completely vanished. Stuff is pretty chaotic right now, but we're getting things gradually more and more in order, and we aren't sure just what's going on with Selena, but Priest says that Selena should probably be getting close to the planet by now, if she hasn't already landed. Something about... thousands of gigatons of thrust or some bullshit, I wasn't really paying attention."

Zerrex grunted, rubbing at his head slowly and not knowing what to say or ask, and then Felicity said softly: "The High Thrones Amiglion, Sin, and Lily have all been doing a wonderful job, if I can be so bold as to say so, even without you around. And that kid of yours, Firenze... well... he's a good kid, Boss, just like I'd expect to be raised by you." She smiled at him a bit, reaching up and stroking over his face as she murmured softly: "Fuck, I miss the good old days, when it was just... that little town, that was all anyone had to worry about. At first I figured Hell would just be Baskin's Grove on a macroscopic scale, but... it ain't. And you ain't the same as you were, all those years ago..."

She stopped, then laughed a bit and looked down for a moment, before smiling up at him and wrapping her arms around him slowly and gently, hugging him quietly and resting against his body as Zerrex wrapped one of his arms quietly around her. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Zerrex. I'm sorry for everything that's happened... for the way you've been forced to carry this burden, but I'm glad that you're coping with it and proud of what a good job you're doing, if you'll let me say so."

Zerrex nodded a bit, clearing his throat and looking down for a moment before he squeezed her tightly, and he murmured softly to her: "Thank you, Felicity... coming from you, that means a hell of a lot."

Felicity laughed a bit at this, and then she smiled and slipped to the side, keeping an arm around him as he kept his around her, and they walked down the corridor together, exiting into the entrance hall and heading down the steps as she asked softly: "So what are you going to do about these Old Gods? Do you think they're going to attack Hell and Heaven first?"

Zerrex thought about this for a few moments, then he finally shook his head, saying slowly as he frowned a bit at the ground: "I don't know why but... no. I don't think so. I think that even if it means exposing their back and flanks to us, they're going to go straight for big blue. It's... weird, but it's just what I feel. I think Athéos is probably well aware that the mortal world would be a far-easier attack point than Hell or even Heaven, and that if the physical world falls... well... we all fall down."

Felicity nodded slowly, and then she sighed, shaking her head a bit as she muttered: "Shit, I just hope that Selena gets the message out that we aren't enemies soon, then."

The Drakkaren nodded with a grunt, and then he made a face as something brushed against his mind. For a moment he hesitated, and Felicity looked at him oddly... and then he lizard cursed and clenched his eyes shut, staggering against her as she looked up at him with concern, shouting his name... but the reptile felt something pressing at his mind before a voice said softly: I'm sorry... I should be gentler...

"Marina?" Zerrex looked up stupidly, not seeing the people gathered around him despite his open eyes, and then he closed them tightly, concentrating on her voice as he pictured her in his mind, smiling at him softly... but maybe it wasn't just a picture. "Marina, are you there?"

Yes, Father... I'm sorry for the pauses, it's the distance. I need to both interpret your thoughts and anticipate them. Marina said softly, and then she laughed a bit, saying in a brighter voice: But I'm so glad to hear from you... and since you're probably worried sick, Selena did get a message out to the physical world, and she says she's going to wait another day or two on the space station that picked her up, and then she'll come home. Her appearance quelled any worries from the physical world because she was able to broadcast from the space station she collided with, and they recognized the combat armor she arrived in as an Irenic model.

Zerrex nodded with a grunt, and pain shot through his mind as he rubbed slowly at his head before he asked slowly: "What about... everyone there?"

We're okay... we're waiting for you to come back. Marina said gently... and then her voice suddenly cut off as the reptile's head gave a pulse of pain, and Zerrex opened his eyes as he looked back and forth stupidly, trying to reach out with his mind but unable to feel her any longer... and then he cursed quietly, looking down as he sat on the floor and put his hands in his lap.

Finally, Felicity gently squeezed his shoulder, looking down at him worriedly... and the reptile smiled a bit as he climbed up to his feet, feeling relieved that at least one thing had gone right in these days. "So okay. Sorry, that was... Marina, actually. She wanted to let me know that... Selena's okay."

"Could she really communicate over such a vast distance?" Felicity asked softly, looking surprised... and Zerrex hesitated, but then nodded slowly, and the vixen smiled a bit. "Well, I'll take your word for it then, Boss, if only because I really don't want to think that after all these years, you've finally cracked and gone nuts."

Zerrex rolled his eyes with a snort of amusement, and then he climbed to his feet with a grunt, saying dryly: "I guess I can't kick Huck and Priest's asses after all, now that I know she's fine... at least I know better than ever now how competent they are."