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Cherry stood with her back pressed against the wall, controlling her breathing as a lizard demon walked slowly towards them. The others were all waiting apprehensively... and then Cherry nodded to Cindy and ducked as she cocked her enormous sword back, before Cherry whistled. The lizard demon immediately ran around the corner... and a moment later its body toppled forwards as its head fell in another direction, and Cindy sheathed her enormous blade as Cherry wiped a bit of blood off her muzzle. "Fucker. That's a five point penalty for me."

"You'll get them back." Cindy said absently, and then she followed quietly as Cherry slipped down the hall, one .52 in one hand as she glanced back and forth, her eyes burning. "This isn't exactly going according to plan, Cherry..."

"Your mom doesn't go according to plan." Cherry retorted in a grumble, then she winced at the shocked look on Cindy's face, holding up her hands. "Sorry, sorry. Just shut the hell up and let me think, okay?"

She knelt at the end of the hallway, peering out a dirty window as she made a bit of a face. They had covered roughly half the distance, but the street outside was littered with not only metal golems of all variety and size, but also crawling monstrosities made up of whatever debris they came across, and tamed Plasmids crawled all over the buildings, sometimes checking the windows curiously. Thankfully, their screeches were mostly ignored by the demons that patrolled amidst the golems below... and as Cherry had predicted, the buildings only had a light security force actually inside them: most of the demons had been positioned outside and the rest on the rooftops with mortal weaponry and demonic crossbows.

Cherry paused as an explosion went up somewhere, but none of the demons or creatures outside looked much fazed... and Cherry slowly turned towards Cindy before grinning slowly, and the female made a disgusted face. "I hate doing that."

"I know, but it's for a good cause." Cherry said cheerfully, and she turned to shove open the double doors behind her of the hotel they were currently travelling through. A few moments later, they stepped into a large ballroom, and Cherry shivered as a feeling of déjà vu washed over her... Sin... this is like something Cynterra went through, my little sister... with Zerrex, so many years ago...

She walked slowly down the empty ballroom, and ghosts seemed to dance around her before she shook her head and quickly approached one of the stained-glass windows. They were only on the second floor â€" the ground floor had been too heavily-guarded to make it through safely â€" but she thought they were a bit high up already, with the retardedly-high ceilings of every floor... and she made a face as she looked at what would undoubtedly be a long jump through an alley to a thankfully-lower window below... except great, I'm going to be the fucking wrecking ball. "We'll save your powers of physical persuasion for later, Cindy, I got this one."

Cherry cleared her throat as Cindy made a face and watched the muscular female back up a few feet, then she winced as she looked at the painted glass again and realized it wasn't glass at all, but clear metal. "Cherry, wait, I-"

Cherry charged and threw herself at the window, and she crashed into it with a loud bang before falling over and gripping her head, and the others stared as Leo wondered what the hell he'd just gotten himself into as the demoness rolled back and forth with a loud groan of pain, staring dumbly at the large black dent she'd made in the painted metal. "What the fuck? Who the fuck uses clear fucking metal for... that? I fucking... what the fuck!"

"Shh, shh, shh... it's okay." Cindy said gently as she walked over and dragged Cherry to the side, and the demoness sat quickly up, rubbing at her head and glowering, but otherwise unhurt as Cindy walked over to the clear metal. Leo was about to suggest finding a different route, and then she punched hard into the side of the metal, causing it to creak and bend before she grabbed the side of the painted metal ‘window,' growling and jerking hard as her muscles flexed, before the entire section of clear metal tore out of place and toppled to the ground, the feline left gaping by the strength that she possessed as she smiled a bit and glanced over at the other window. "That one's glass, though. It doesn't have that plasticky look clear metal does."

"I hate you." Cherry said morbidly, and before anyone could say anything, she ran forwards and dived through the open section of wall to crash through the window below, neatly rolling to her feet inside a bedroom. She made a bit of a face, then turned around and grabbed the frame of the damaged window, her muscles flexing before she tore it out of place and tossed it aside, absently brushing at some shards of broken glass with one of her combat boots. "It might be a bit hard without precog, but try and just throw yourself forwards."

Cindy nodded, then she looked up as Leo cursed and drew his single edged, shining blade off his back, narrowing his eyes as a pair of minotaurs in ceremonial armor carrying massive halberds stomped inside. They were followed quickly by several undead with the upper body composed of some demonic skeleton, and the lower bones of horse, skeletal legs balancing on claws instead of hooves, however. The centaur-skeletons strode slowly around the minotaurs as they made their way forwards, and Leo looked over at Cindy with a grin as she pulled her sword off her back. "Hope you can use that thing."

"You'd be surprised." Cindy replied mildly, and then an echoing bang rang out before one of the minotaurs crashed backwards in a bloody heap, and Mahihko winced from where he was laying flat, loading another round into his rifle as Marina instead dived through the window to land beside Cherry with a disgusted look at the others. "Let's make this fast before reinforcements come."

Leo nodded and charged forwards, and he slid effortlessly to the side as the minotaur charged at him, before bringing his sword in a hard upwards arc and slicing the pole of the demon's weapon in half with a single clean cut, the huge bull-demon staggering backwards in surprise before the cat slashed hard downwards through the minotaur's chest, cleaving through flesh and armor like butter as the creature snarled in pain. It lashed out with a fist, but Leo ducked under this before spinning elegantly and cutting one of its legs out from beneath it, and then stabbing forwards straight into the demon's gut.

Cindy, meanwhile, charged one of the undead centaurs fearlessly and slashed viciously through its waist, cutting the demon skeleton from the horse skeleton, and its lower body reared before collapsing into dust as Cindy stomped hard down on the skull of the undead creature. She spun the sword around in an arcing cut as another undead centaur lunged at her, and the huge blade tore through the bones like they were paper, the skeleton collapsing into pieces around her body as Leo shoved the rotting minotaur backwards with a look of disgust.

They both looked up as the last centaur ran in from the side towards the feline... but a single shot from Mahihko blew its skull into pieces, and the rest of the skeleton collapsed into dust and bone fragments, a femur sliding into Leo's foot as he made a face and wiped at himself, muttering: "The demons are just getting worse and worse... I've never seen those before."

"Are you done yet? Fuck, I've been waiting forever!" Cherry's voice whined from the gap, and then Mahihko leapt through the opening and the muscular demoness caught him in her arms, gazing down at him as he half-curled against her embarrassedly and mumbling: "You're like a fucking... retarded... pet... thing. Go away."

Cherry dropped him, and the wolf scampered over to Marina, putting his rifle on his back as he instead pulled out his .457 revolver. Marina looked over to him, but for now she was professional and quiet instead of mocking, nodding to the door... and Mahihko nodded in return to her and carefully pushed it open as the female stepped in front of it, holding up her massive assault weapon and cycling the barrels for a moment before relaxing her finger as it opened on an empty hallway.

Marina motioned for Mahihko to move forwards, and the wolf hesitantly did so, looking back and forth before he relaxed a bit and said quietly: "It looks clear... there's lots of webs, though... Plasmids, do you think?"

"There's too many life forms present... I can't lock on to anything, but I'm feeling a lot of animal instinct, so I'd say so." Marina said quietly, walking over to the wolf and pushing her enormous weapon behind her back before drawing her own handgun, glancing back and forth slowly. A few moments later, Cherry walked out and nodded to the two of them, followed by Leo and Cindy. "Where are we?"

"On the road to Perdition." Cherry muttered, then she shook her head a bit, glancing over to Cindy. "Books, I want to move in a straight line from here, since we're parallel to the original route I wanted to take to the Black Hole, by the look and feel of things. Can you handle doing the wall-breaking thing?"

"I guess." Cindy looked displeased, but she nodded a bit nonetheless, curling her hands into fists and squeezing lightly as she looked down at them sourly. "You're the one who should have monster strength, not me."

Cherry only grunted, and they reformed their line, moving through the door straight ahead and into a small apartment. Cherry and Cindy both kicked in the thin wall leading to the next apartment, then cursed when Plasmids tore through the plaster on the other side and ripped a sizeable tunnel for them, before retreating with screams and chitters at the hail of gunfire they were greeted by.

They continued to move forwards, but only met with the occasional demon, all of whom were easily dispatched. Leo showed the effectiveness of what he referred to as his ‘Black Energy' by killing a demon with a single movement of his hands while they glowed a terrible black and purple. The grey-skinned creature, standing a fair ten feet away, had spasmed and then simply fallen over, and Cherry had to admit she was amused... perhaps not yet impressed, but curious nonetheless about the extent of the cat's powers.

As they slipped through a narrow alley, Cherry felt the presence of the strange energy growing thicker... and she motioned for the others to continue into the next building as she stepped carefully forwards and leaned slowly out, avoiding the gazes of the golems and Eye Constructs patrolling the streets to stare at the Black Hole in the distance, beyond the fallen buildings and cracked road... and she knew they were near the goal now. If we can just get a little further, we'll be able to reach it and seal it... and then find that fucker Ezekiel...

"I'll teach him a thing or two." Cherry muttered, and she carefully slipped backwards to slide through the door the others had gone through and into a kitchen. The floor was slick and wet underfoot from an overflowing sink, the tap still pouring more water into this... and Mahihko turned it off after a moment, earning a look from Cherry as he blushed and shrugged a bit. "Gay."

Mahihko mumbled something, looking embarrassed, and then Cherry motioned for them to move through the double doors ahead before pausing. She held up a hand, but Cindy didn't notice as she reached out to touch the curved handle, and Cherry shouted a moment too late: "Don't!"

Cindy looked up in surprise as she grasped the doorhandle, and an orange rune on the wall glowed and began to blare an alarm. Immediatley, someone tried to shove the doors open from the other side, but Cindy shoved back with a snarl, holding them closed before wincing back as an axe chopped into the wood, followed by a sword that a demon stabbed through the thin wood, and the female leapt backwards and drew her grenade-shotgun off her hip, firing it straight ahead of her as the doors were kicked open. It struck a Swamp Spine on the other side, and both it and the armored demon beside it were sent crashing backwards with screams of pain before Cindy fired another grenade into the group of demons charging forwards, and Cherry concentrated and then winced as she felt something snap in her head, but the grenade exploded in midair in a massive conflagration that quickly began to spread over the walls.

"Cherry, Cherry, there's a broken gas valve in here!" Mahihko shouted, and the wolf cursed before running for one of the swinging doors in the wall, and Cherry's eyes bulged before she and the rest of the group shot for the doors marked ‘In' and ‘Out.' The demoness had enough time to think dumbly that she was going in the Out door before wincing and covering her face automatically as they ran into the dining room... and then she slowed as nothing happened, the doors continuing to swing slowly.

"What the hell, wolf." She glared at him flatly, looking back and forth around the dining room before pulling her whip off her belt and noting the enormous sliding wall with several doors in it, apparently leading to another dining area... but what concerned her more were both the reddish-orange Plasmids walking towards them on one side and the demon soldiers and golems on the other, walking in through a large gap in the hotel wall that led out to the street. "This is wonderful, and now-"

Something rumbled beneath the hotel, and the Plasmids squealed and quickly began to flee before the wall beside them erupted, and the Plasmids themselves went up in their own massive explosions, chunks of plaster and pieces of wooden frame hailing down from the ceiling as Cherry let out a loud curse and ran for the divider as the golems staggered and fires crawled hungrily over the building, the demoness snarling as she smashed her way through a pair of thin doors and shouted: "Let's move!"

The others followed quickly, Cindy and Leo first, followed by Mahihko and Marina as the last female in line panted, her body aching from carrying the massive assault weapon. Mahihko glanced over his shoulder, then rose his revolver as golem suddenly broke into a shambling run, raising a blade to strike her, and he fired a single shot that dragged a thin cut over Marina's shoulder.

She cursed, but then the round crashed into the power crystal of the golem, and it toppled backwards in a hail of auto parts that knocked over the demon behind it, and the female repressed a smile as she jumped through the divider. Cindy was already working with Cherry to try and force open a pair of doors near the back of the dining room as another explosion went up somewhere in the hotel, Marina's head ringing with the sound as she turned around and began to cycle the gun, turning back towards the divider and backstepping as the golems simply began to tear through it.

Marina squeezed the other trigger, and bullets pounded into demons and golems with enough force to stagger even the metal creatures as they bounced uselessly off their silver and rust-colored bodies, the stray bullet here and there shattering the crystals of the giants... but then Mahihko was beside her, firing rounds into the vulnerable points of the golems and the Eye Constructs that followed, and the two snarled as they fought together. The mix of rage and precision held the demons and their entities at bay for now, but as Mahihko rapidly reloaded his revolver with a speed loader, he knew they didn't have the ammo or the strength to keep them at bay forever, as a massive golem with a huge claw arm tore another hole in the crumbling divider.

Leo cursed as he blocked two hard swings from an emaciated demon with terribly long arms that were holding a pair of hooked blades, and then he leapt forwards and attempted to cut it in half with his own sword... but it kicked off the table it was standing on to land on another, the demon chittering with its upside-down face before leaning forwards and vomiting bile at the cat. Leo's eyes widened in shock, but he managed to duck under the atrocious substance anyway as it splattered all over the table behind him, before the creature leapt forwards with a hard double-swing.

The golden feline snarled as one of the hooks snapped around his forearm and tore into it, but he made a quick, vicious slice as the creature leaned forwards howled at him, and a moment later the monstrosity's head toppled to the floor, green blood pouring out of its neck. The cat stood up and shook his wounded arm several times as white energy glowed faintly around the nasty cut, and it began to rapidly heal as four more of the strange monstrosities dropped down from the high ceiling around him, landing on their large, froglike legs as two of them hopped up to the tables and the others swayed back and forth with their double swords, all of them laughing and chittering. Leo smiled coldly himself, his eyes flicking back and forth as he drew his combat knife from his waistband, and then he said softly: "Let's do this."

One of the creatures leapt at his back, and Leo half-spun immediately, raising his hand and sending two thin needles of darkness into its face, sending the monstrosity spilling backwards before he leapt forwards and quickly sank his sword through its chest, but even as it died, another pair of the devils dropped from the sky. They laughed, their grey, wrinkled skin lackluster even in the light of flames slowly crawling along the walls, and the feline snarled as he leapt towards the closest. Gotta keep this short or the whole building's going to come down...

Cherry, meanwhile, had managed to cut through the demonic bindings on the wall, and she was now firing shots into more of the little devils as they leapt in through a hole in the ceiling. Fucking Gore Devils... I didn't expect to see them here... "Hurry the hell up, Cindy! I can't hold these motherfuckers off forever, and there's no way to tell if there's just a shitload of them or if there's a portal spawning them!"

"You lift a fucking two hundred ton gate and see what it feels like!" Cindy yelled back angrily, as her muscles flexed powerfully, snarling and leaning forwards as she slowly forced the security gate up into the wall, fighting against the magnetic locks that were trying to force it back down. A moment later, however, something gave, and the machines on either side of the doors cracked with a loud bang, a spark of electricity travelling over the device before Cindy threw the heavy shutter all the way up above the doors with a grunt of relief, turning and shouting: "Come on, we still have the fight ahead!"

Marina nodded as she glanced over her shoulder, then she released the trigger on the hybrid gatling-rifle and instead rose her hands. She snarled, and the ceiling above cracked before she made a deep bowing motion, swinging her hands down at the same time.

The ceiling rumbled... and then it shattered, collapsing in front of the divider and crushing several golems and demons, and a moment later the divider itself fell backwards as a gout of flame shot up. Marina's eyes widened as the ceiling continued to crack, and she quickly spun and grabbed Mahihko's wrist, jerking him backwards and half-dragging him behind her as he tried to keep up with her sprinting, watching as tables flew back and forth and Leo turned to run after them with a look of surprise, before he let out a grunt as a Gore Devil threw its hook sword, and the blade sent him staggering forwards before the entire roof began to collapse.

He was crushed under the debris as the others ran out, Mahihko and Cindy looking back in shock, but Marina's features showing only concern for herself and her family as her grip tightened on Mahihko's hand, and she all-but-threw him through the open doors. He crashed on his back with a grunt near Cherry's heels, the demoness swinging her whip violently back and forth as flames erupted from it in twisting arcs on either side of her body, sending the armored minotaurs around them staggering backwards.

A moment later, she leapt forwards and spun in a circle as the chain links glowed orange, and several of the minotaurs were halved, sending the last armored minotaur running in terror. Immediately, Cherry drew her .52 and shot him twice in the back, and the rounds penetratred the thinner armor covering his spine and he collapsed forwards, spasming once on the ground as she muttered: "Servants of Az'Iriel get no remorse."

"We have to..." Cindy began, then she stopped, looking slowly over at the golems and other soldiers, who remained motionless, as if they were behind some invisible divider. Even as the hotel behind them burned and continued to collapse, they only stood, as if waiting for something... and slowly, Cindy walked away from the building to stand in the center of the broken road... and it was almost as if she could see the border between the invaded mortal realm... and the bits of the mortal world that had been claimed and corrupted by the demon army.

The others walked slowly out to the center of the road as the hotel collapsed in on itself, sending out a blast of smoke and dirt that somehow seemed muted, flowed more around them then over them, and Cindy murmured quietly as she looked towards it with stinging eyes: "We need to save him."

"He'll be fine." Marina said quietly, and Cindy looked down at her with surprise as she shook her head slowly, adding softly: "What do you think he'd prefer? That we waste our time digging him out of the rubble and fighting off the demons that dare to step back into a place that reeks of Hell, or that we continue forwards?"

"You're right." Cindy nodded quietly, and she glanced up, watching as Cherry and Mahihko walked quietly down the road together... and after a moment, she followed with Marina, quickly catching up to them as the very world around them seemed to warp and distort.

A few minutes later, a hand shimmering with white energy shoved itself out of the wreckage inside the shell of the hotel, and it was followed by Leo's head as he coughed several times, most of his outer clothes torn apart, but the wounds on his body already miraculously healing. He made a bit of a face as he pulled himself out of a hill of ashes, stone and rock, rolling down it awkward and with his sword in his other hand, and then he looked up and snarled as several Gore Devils dropped down in front of him with a snarl near a crumbled wall, shrugging off the ruins of his jacket and sweater to stand in his t-shirt, one of the sleeves torn off from a particularly-sharp piece of stone as a wound healed that had cut through a tattoo on his shoulder healed quickly. The marking was of a sword pointing down towards the number '88,' a tattoo from his days in the Dremony Military that he had never gotten rid of... and he rose his sword with a cold smile, spinning it to either side of him as he said darkly: "I think you little bastards and me have a personal fight now."

They lunged towards each other... and Marina shook her head a bit in the far distance as the feelings of rage vanished. They had dispatched only a handful of elite demons... but she focused not on Leo, but on the present now. It felt like they were expected... and that familiar presence was growing stronger and stronger, before she suddenly trembled and fell to her knees on what was no longer pavement but dirt and chunks of rock as she whispered: "Daddy?"

A voice laughed as a figure with long white hair staggered out of the shadows and in front of the swollen black orb in the distance... and Cherry and Cindy both snarled as Mahihko stepped backwards in terror, staring in horror at the creature that stepped out and rasped: "Only if you want me to be, little girl..."

Xerrez laughed again and arched his back, his enormous, black claws dyed with blood and covered in deep cracks, his face mostly gone and replaced by rotten black flesh, his eyes burning in sockets and his massive, muscular body now emaciated and covered in terrible wounds... and he staggered slowly forwards, dragging a leg behind him that was literally beginning to rot off, his foot missing and ending instead in a bony, sharp stump as his tail flicked back and forth, the end of it black and distorted. He grinned, and he was missing most of his teeth, his gums black and yellow as he hissed, dirty yellowed hair hanging over his face: "Why do you all look so upset... don't you know of the euphoria this world has to offer?"

"You're that creature Zerrex was talking about..." Cherry snarled and stepped forwards, then she blinked as Cindy held out an arm. Her features were cold and stony... and Cherry watched in shock as the female slowly shrugged off her sword and dropped it, then undid her belt and tossed that aside, her grenade launcher clanking against the ground as the demoness asked slowly: "Cynthia?"

"I'll take care of him. Don't interfere, any of you." Cindy said coldly, and even Marina nodded and looked surprised at the change that had come over her, as she walked slowly forwards... and then bowed quietly, not taking her eyes off the monstrosity. A moment later, she slid into a battle stance... and Cherry didn't recognize it as her usual one. That's not for defensive purposes... fuck, she's... what's happened to her? "Xerrez, or Ravenlight, right? This is for my father."

"Your father is weak..." Xerrez hissed, and then he shuddered and let out a sigh of rapture as he dragged his claws slowly over his chest, ripping deep, jagged gashes through old, infected wounds and sending down a sludgy flow of blood and yellow pus. He grinned again, and then he spread his arms and laughed, and his voice jarred in their minds, held a terrible power as he roared: "I am to become a god among demons! I will destroy you all, and Ezekiel will feast on your souls, and Az'Iriel will reward me with godhood... and you will forever be tomented as a part of the demon you all so detest!"

"We'll see about that." Cindy said quietly, and she flexed her body, leaning forwards and saying clearly: "Come."

Xerrez cackled, and then he charged forwards, his body moving in a stumbling, awkward motion before he clawed viciously at her... but Cindy sidestepped, ducking under his arm before she smashed a flat palm into his kidney.

The monstrosity grunted and staggered backwards before simply slapping her away, and Cindy cursed as she ran around to Xerrez's back before leaping forwards and slamming two hard fists into his spine. The creature staggered forwards with a curse, and then he spun around, his bone-stump sending up sparks as it dragged over a rock and his hand coming up in a vicious claw that ripped a deep slash through Cindy's stomach and over one breast, sending her onto her back with a scream of pain as Xerrez laughed and arched his back, looking skywards and howling: "Yes, give me more pain! Feed me, make me stronger, Cindy Narrius!"

Cindy slowly forced herself up, then snarled at Cherry as she began to step forwards... and the oldest sister of the trio made a face before stepping slowly back. Cindy staggered a bit as she got to her feet, bleeding from the long lines Xerrez had torn over her body but using the pain to anchor herself to the reality of the fight, as the monster grinned insanely and staggered forwards... and she narrowed her eyes, sizing him up and deciding to try a new tactic.

She ran towards him, and Xerrez swung both claws down at her in a rending slash, but Cindy slipped to the side as he stumbled forwards from the momentum of the blow and quickly kicked his only ankle out from beneath him, and the creature flailed in midair almost comically before crashing down onto his stomach. Immediately, Cindy stomped down onto the back of his good knee, and she twisted her heel violently as Xerrez snarled and slashed out at her like an animal, but she slid quickly backwards... and then the monster slipped and fell over again as he tried to move his leg but failed, letting out a grunt of surprise.

Cindy smiled coldly, then ran forwards as Xerrez was distracted by his twitching leg before snapping her foot out into his muzzle, and Xerrez let out something between a laugh and a howl as he was knocked onto his back, skidding backwards before Cindy dropped her leg across his own and grabbed his working ankle, and then her muscles flexed as she snarled and jerked as hard upwards as she could, as if snapping a piece of wood.

Xerrez's leg snapped in the other direction, and the creature arched his back with a grunt of pleasure that was almost sexual before he swung his stump leg at her... but Cindy caught the end of it and leapt backwards, dragging him firmly around in a circle. The creature let out a grunt of surprise, and then he flailed uselessly with his arms as he was lifted into the air, his eyes widening in shock as his other leg twitched uselessly. Cindy's muscles bulged with the effort of moving the goliath's body, and then she roared and twisted hard to the side, hurling him towards the nearest structure.

The monster flew through the air and crashed headfirst into a lamp post, and it bent forwards with the force of his impact before toppling backwards out of its base, and Xerrez cursed as he slowly forced himself up to his knees. He grasped his skull with both hands, and then he snarled and managed to get his stump-leg beneath him, forcing himself to balance and stand on it as he hissed: "You're pissing me off, little girl!"

He slowly put his weight down on his other leg, and then Cindy charged forwards and smashed her fists into his massive body, the giant twitching a few times as she hammered blows into his chest before clawing down at her with a snarl as he began to sway backwards, but she reached up and knocked both his arms backwards. He cursed and almost fell over, flailing his arms as she struck his chest once, twice, thrice... and then he lashed viciously downwards with one arm, but Cindy caught it before spinning and throwing him over her shoulder to slam him back-down into the ground.

He bounced with the force of impact, letting out a howl of humiliation, but his body felt strange, no pain, no pleasure... and then Cindy slammed a final fist down into his chest, and his back arched before he slashed out a claw at her, and she was knocked backwards with a snarl as it ripped through her face, landing heavily on her stomach... but she was grinning coldly, her eyes glowing like shards of ice lit from within. Slowly, Xerrez forced himself to his feet... and he touched his chest, which felt... broken, awkward... and he whispered: "What... what did you do to me..."

Cindy slowly stood, flicking the blood off her face, and then she said quietly: "I broke every last one of your ribs... and right about now, they should be digging through all your internal organs, heart included. Goodnight, Xerrez. I wish you mercy in the next life."

Cindy laced her fingers together and bowed quietly... and a bit of blood trickled out of Xerrez's muzzle as his hand slowly fell away from his chest. He began to fall backwards as his eyes rolled up in his head... and then Cherry tackled Cindy with a snarl as a spike of bone shot through Xerrez's chest and the creature was lifted into the air with a scream of what was very-obviously agony, clawing at the white, massive spike as the others stared, Mahihko and Marina running forwards as two enormous claws of bone lashed down into the ground on either side of the creature, and the long, enormous spinal cord the bone spike was attached to slowly twisted and bent, pulling him backwards and into the grip of the spinal cage of a massive monstrosity made of bones and skulls as it rose slowly up into the air, six long arms extending from the shoulders and each ending in a single, crescent-shaped claw larger than a car.

Standing on top of a platform made of skulls of demons and mortals where the head should be was Ezekiel... but by now, the dragon's face had rotted away entirely, and only a terrible darkness inside the skull beneth as he adjusted the plates of armor he was wearing over his robes, the undead creature saying mildly: "Thank you for the acquisition... it's a perfect power source for the Necropolis here."

Xerrez screamed as thin spears of bone shot out of the ribs and the back of the spinal cord and into his body, and then the huge bone spike at the end of it tore free, leaving Xerrez suspended in midair with his arms held wide, and the light faded out of his eyes as he dropped his head forwards, a bit of blood and drool falling from his muzzle as the massive, spiderine construct fidgeted on the spot, beginning to pulse faintly as a circle of red runes came to life around Ezekiel, and he bowed forwards as he said softly in his detached voice: "I've never possessed a female before... and I have no desire to possess the wolf. I think I'll have fun with you before I possess whoever lasts longest against the Necropolis here..."

"Ezekiel! Don't fuck with us!" Cherry snarled, and then she pulled her whip off her belt, snapping it once as it glowed red, shouting furiously: "We're going to kill you, close the goddamn Black Hole, and kill that motherfucker Az'Iriel!"

"I'd like to see you try that from here... Prince Az'Iriel is a continent away, and you're all too weak to stand against me." Ezekiel said in a disgusted voice, and Mahihko twitched at the disdain, at the conviction in that tone. The words rang in his head, too weak, too weak, and one of the lupine's eyes twitched as he began to growl, his body flexing and twitching before Ezekiel added in a soft, contemptuous tone: "Besides, even Lord Zerrex was swatted by the Warlord like a pathetic fly... and none of you even had the strength to do anything but cry about it until now."

Mahihko felt something snap inside him, and the wolf roared like a wild thing and flexed, charging forwards as his body shifted upwards, his eyes flashing as he tore the rifle off his back in one hand and the hoop off his belt in the other a moment before his clothes tore and the straps on his body snapped off. He roared, froth flying from his muzzle as Ezekiel laughed coldly and said irritably: "Oh look, an angry mortal! How I twitch in my boots!"

Mahihko, now a twenty-five foot tall, rampaging giant, leapt with surprising nimbleness past one of the crescent claws of the Necropolis Construct before he caught the smooth bone spike as it stabbed down towards him, and the fifty-foot tall undead machine rocked with a whispering hiss as the wolf's gargantuan muscles bulged before he tossed the spike off to the side, and he ran beneath the device with a cruel grin before raising the rifle and firing several shots into the back of the spine, holding the rifle like a handgun before he spun and smashed one of the arms away with his hoop as it clawed at him with enough force that it cracked the crescent blade of bone.

Ezekiel cursed, then shouted an order in demonic as Cherry ran forwards and nimbly leapt up onto the curved spinal cord, charging towards where Xerrez's corpse had become a prison for his own soul... a soul that was being eaten away by Ezekiel's terrible machination. Spikes of bone shot out of the spinal cord in front of her and behind her, but Cherry kicked off and snapped her whip into one of the rib bones, the hooked claw on the end of the chain digging into it as she swung herself in an arc towards the front arm of the terrible creature.

Marina and Cindy, meanwhile, peppered the other side of the machine with gunfire, and one of the ribs snapped under the strain of the grenades and the heavy assault weapon's bullets, and it slowly fell away, Xerrez's corpse twitching and the entire machine squealing. On the other side, Mahihko had charged like a maniac into the wrist of one of the rear limbs, and he was now slowly dragging it backwards despite the protests of the crescent blade, his muscles bulging with raw power as he laughed, his head shaking back and forth.

The thing swung in a middle arm at him, and it caught the wolf in the middle of the crescent... but Mahihko's eyes burned with rage at the pain that shot through him, and he howled as he wrapped his arms around the blade and hugged it against his body before twisting, and the Necropolis gave another howling whisper as the blade simply snapped off. The wolf snarled, then spun around, his rage propelling him to new heights of power as he hurled the crescent blade into the creature's upper-middle spine, and it tore through, sending down flakes of bone as the entire entity spasmed.

The construct slashed uselessly at Cherry with one of its other arms as she clung to its shoulder, but she ducked and slid her body around to sit just beside the platform that Ezekiel stood on, the skeleton walking over to her but snarling as his own energy shield repelled him, then staring in horror as Cherry swung her whip down and looped it around the shoulder joint, catching the hook in her other hand and beginning to jerk firmly backwards as it glowed red, and the entire side of the creature spasmed as the metal links began to slowly tear through the bone. "We'll both fall if you do that!"

"Yeah, but I have precognition, and you... do not." Cherry replied in a cheerful, insane voice, and Ezekiel stared in horror before the construct listed hard to the side... and then Cherry's eyes flashed before she kicked off the shoulder of the machine, blowing Ezekiel a kiss as she shouted while she fell: "Or maybe I don't have to after all!"

Ezekiel grunted, and then he turned just in time to see Marina jerk her hand hard backwards, a purple glow obscuring her limb before Xerrez was torn from the construct's chest, and the entire machine howled, trembling violently as Mahihko regained his senses long enough to back away from the creature, and Cindy shoved hard back against the crescent blade she had been struggling against with her sword before leaping away as cracks burst through the Necropolis Construct's entire frame.

It wobbled violently, and Ezekiel swayed from side to side as the red runes flickered before fading out, and then he toppled with a scream of rage as the entire, bone-made creation collapsed beneath him, sending up a cloud of white dust and chunks of ivory bones that pattered against the others like shrapnel, Cherry keeping her head low and her eyes closed as she did her best to sense out Ezekiel's presence. The fucker ain't done yet, after all...

And a moment later, the cloud of dust was forcefully cleared by a blast of force, large chunks of bone and several stones flying in all directions as Ezekiel stood up straight, one arm held out to the side as he snarled viciously. He looked back and forth, panting hard... and then Cherry stood straight and spread her arms, asking mockingly: "What's got you all... up in arms, Ezekiel?"

"I always knew you were a bitch." Ezekiel said coldly, and then he held up a hand and sent Cherry crashing backwards with a blast of force, before he pointed at Marina and Cindy, and spikes of earth shot up around them both, Marina gasping as one of the spines pushed against her stomach dangerously, and Cindy cursing as another jutting rock pierced through her arm and held her in place. "You whores can stay there, too, and-"

Mahihko tackled Ezekiel from behind, and the skeleton collapsed under his weight before his skull was crushed into the ground by the lupine as he snarled and shoved his head again and again into the earth, until it crumbled to dust... and the wolf paused, looking confused for a moment before he was thrown backwards by a blast of force, and the headless, broken skeleton rose up as a discorporal voice said darkly: "I think I'll possess you after all..."

He stepped towards Mahihko... and then his body shuddered violently as the wolf slid backwards, before the robes and armor collapsed away as the skeleton's form turned to dust, and instead the transparent form of a strange, four-eyed demon with a warthog's head was left standing in its place. The creature looked down at its short-clawed hands with surprise... and then it turned in shock to Cherry as she held a hand out towards him and sketched a single rune in the air before snarling: "Goodbye."

Ezekiel screamed... and then he simply burst into ashes that faded quickly out of existence, and Cherry let out a sigh, slumping forwards a bit and mumbling: "Fuck, I was scared that wasn't going to work for a minute... dude has got to be one of the most fucked-up Jumpers in all of history." A pause as she glanced over to Mahihko, who stared dumbly up at her. "Are you okay?"

"What the fuck do you think?" Mahihko snarled, and he leapt up to his feet, towering over her as he added coldly: "I can take care of myself, thank you... even if all I have is this fucking stupid hoop!"

Mahihko reached down and picked it up, and Cherry stared at the wolf before he turned and whispered: "There's more here, more to do, more to destroy... come on, let's go." A pause as he glanced around at the others, watching as Cindy and Marina pushed themselves free of their rock prisons, and then he reached out and grabbed Cherry, shouting angrily: "I said, let's go, you stupid bitch!"

"Get the fuck off me." Cherry shoved Mahihko violently backwards, and then she stared even as she swayed out of the way of a hard backhand from the lupine, before she snarled: "What's your fucking problem, wolf? You've gone fucking bananas!"

"Fuck off. Let's just go." Mahihko muttered sulkily, and then he turned around and stomped away by himself, not waiting for the others as he was drawn towards the Black Hole. He paused about twenty feet away, before looking angrily over his shoulder... then he paused and slowly looked up at the Gore Devils lining the rooftops on either side of him.

A shiver went through his body as he stepped backwards, and then Nightmares carrying long spears stepped out of the alleyways and buildings as he looked over his shoulder, and when he faced forwards again, three Gigataurs slowly strode out from where they'd been crouched behind a fallen building. The wolf trembled like a child, staring at these last in terror and staggering backwards even as the three girls ran up behind him, and then he fell back on his ass as that same darkness that had driven him to strike out now began to scream in fear, panic, quail... and then the wolf covered his head and whimpered as his form automatically shrank down in dread and humiliation as the demons surrounding him laughed, and laughed, and laughed...

The Gigataur in the front line slammed the butt of its enormous battle axe three times into the ground, and Cherry immediately halted and gripped the shoulders of her sisters, looking oddly relieved as the other demons halted their screeching and jibes. Mahihko looked up meekly, perhaps thinking he was dead, and the Gigataur looked at his two companions â€" one covered in thick red fur, and the other black... while most the leader Gigataur's own body was hidden from view by thick plates of splinted steel, and a helm with a mohawk of sharp metal blades. "You want to make a deal with us?"

"Only because either way, I'm pretty sure I'm going to win." The Gigataur grunted, standing tall and slamming the butt of his battle axe against the ground again. The pole itself had to be thicker than Cherry was, and it was taller than the Gigataur... but then again, the double-headed, butterfly-shaped axe blade was perhaps a quarter of the goliath bull-demon's at least thirty-some feet as well... and he was slouched forwards. "I want to see the wolf mortal shift up again... and I want to fight him in one-on-one. If he can make me surrender or kill me, my boys here won't fight you. And if I kill him, I'll even be polite and give you a chance to run before we give you all chase."

Cherry looked around at the mass of demons surrounding them, and recognized that either way, it would be a rough fight... and after a moment, she reached down and quietly dragged Mahihko to his feet, the wolf's torn pants hanging loose around him as she muttered: "We don't have a choice... but it shouldn't be too hard. Avoid his attacks and don't shift up all the way... use your electricity."

"I can't fight that." Mahihko whimpered and then he in pain as Cherry shouted something at him angrily... but his eyes looked over her shoulder towards Marina, who was smiling coldly at him. He blinked slowly, and then he heard in his mind a teasing voice, whispering: Daddy doesn't love you... Daddy doesn't love you... you're just a failure... you're just Lone Wulfe all over again... you're worthless... you're useless...

Mahihko felt agony rip at him, sorrow filling his heart... and then everyone was laughing at him, and he saw images of his former life flash in front of his eyes, of lust and sex and need and want, of his father dragging him along on business trips like a suit of luggage, of being cut out of the company, and even of Zerrex standing over him and calling him pathetic. The last hurt worst of all... and it knocked open that gate inside himself, and rage began to leak into his form before he saw Marina dancing around with the others in a circle, all of them singing: Mahihko's worthless... Mahihko's useless... we don't need him, we don't love him, we just use him because he's such a good cook and cleaner...

Mahihko shoved Cherry away violently as his body grew in size, as the pain tormented him, drove him backwards, his form bulging and changing... and then he remembered. He saw Zerrex die, in his mind... and he saw the Gigataurs doing it. He saw a hammer fall... and his eyes blazed with fury as he turned towards the laughing Gigataur, his body becoming muscular, bulky and massive once more, his eyes alight as he shoved Cherry backwards when she stepped forwards, and he asked in a whisper: "You... were you there? Did you kill my father? Did you help kill him?"

"I wish I had. But no, I was deployed out here, under Ezekiel... but we heard that one of my friends got a piece of his ass before they killed him, if you know what I mean." The Gigataur replied with a grin... and then he laughed and stood ready, the other Gigataurs stepping back with matching expressions of entertainment as the lead Gigataur teased: "What's wrong, little bitch? Are you upset? I guess the fight's on then, isn't-"

Mahihko picked up his hoop and charged it with electricity before hurling it at the Gigataur's face, and it bounced off the end of his muzzle, sending him staggering back a step with a howl of surprise as he grabbed at his muzzle with one hand, the enormous battle axe held loosely, stupidly in the other as Mahihko charged forwards and snapped his hand out, a stream of electricity shooting out of his hand and colliding with the steel hoop before drawing it quickly back down to his hand.

The wolf charged forwards with a snarl of fury as he cocked his arm back, but the Gigataur snorted before stomping hard down towards him. Mahihko leapt to the side and then smashed the hoop into the back of its ankle, and the Gigataur's leg twisted under it before it clawed at him with a snarl... and Mahihko ducked under the attack before smashing his fist into the metal plate covering the Gigataur's shin.

It cracked, and electricity sparked over it and up the Gigataur's body, the creature howling and dropping his enormous axe as he clawed at his metal armor, Mahihko clinging to the creature's ankle and snarling as he dragged it backwards while pumping it with electricity... and the Gigataur squealed in agony as his flesh began to smoke and boil, his fur burning and charring off before the other two Gigataurs leapt forwards, one of them bringing up a massive hammer... but Cindy shot a grenade into its face and it felt backwards a moment later.

The other demons immediately stormed forwards, and Mahihko leapt away from the Gigataur he had charred, twisting the hoop to break it into two thinner circles of metal. He charged these both with electricity that was simply pouring out of his body, fuelled by the insane rage pumping out of his form as threw both randomly into the crowd of demons. Nightmares screamed in agony as lightning shot over them, several of them falling over with broken bones from the hoops before the wolf snagged one of their spears and tore it free from the hands of the demon as others stabbed and swung at him wildly.

Cindy ran forwards as she shot grenades into the crowd, before firing her last one into the face of the other Gigataur that was chasing furiously after Mahihko without the wolf even realizing it, and it staggered backwards with a howl of anguish as the round exploded against his chest in a blast of flesh and blood, and he collapsed backwards on top of his friend, before Cindy turned with a look of shock at a Gore Devil that dived at her... but a moment later it was blown away by a mess of black needles, both of its hooked blades flying out of its hands as she turned with surprise to see Leo charging in with a cold smile, slicing his way through the crowd of Nightmares and the long-armed, upside-down-faced creatures.

Marina, meanwhile, had abandoned her massive assault gun and instead kicked up a pair of hooked swords to her hands, spinning and slashing her way through the crowd with surprising grace. A Nightmare lunged at her, and she caught the neck of his spear in a hook and guided it instead into a Gore Devil behind her before spinning as she cut off his head, her other blade lashing out and ripping through the face of another emaciated devil to cut off the top of its jaw, sending the monster staggering away with a scream of agony.

Cherry spun her whip around her body before leaping forwards and landing on the chest of the fried Gigataur, charging forwards as it began to get up and then snapping her whip down to crack its skull open with a single hard attack, and it spasmed violently before falling onto its back and beginning to immediately rock. The surviving Gigataur howled in anguish for a moment before Cherry snarled and rose a hand, and its face burst into flames, sending it staggering backwards with a scream of pain as she snarled: "I don't play games with traitors!"

Cindy unsheathed her sword and swung hard upwards at a Nightmare that charged her, and she cut it in half from crotch to forehead in the single swing, before slashing viciously downwards and cutting it into uneven quarters. Immediately, the Nightmares and Gore Devils retreated in terror from her as she held her sword up, blood still leaing down her face as she thought clearly: I am my father's daughter.

Marina spun her way over to Mahihko, the wolf covered in minor cuts and abrasions, before she caught the pole of the weapon he was wielding violently in both hook swords, and with a single look into his eyes, his sanity locked back into place and he staggered, dropping the weapon and wincing as he pushed away a Gore Devil almost like a child. In a lightning movement, Marina caught it in midair by the waist with the hook of her sword, and then she flung it hard into the wall of a building, where it splattered and fell slowly down to the ground, twitching.

Leo cut off the head of a Nightmare that attempted to charge him with its spear, then he spun and kicked a Gore Devil in the chest, knocking it flat before he dropped over it with both hands on his sword and sank it through the chest of the demon. He panted hard as he straightened, looking back and forth at the corpses strewn around him as the rest of the demons scattered in terror, chattering to each other as Cherry jumped forwards and said sharply: "We have to go and close the Black Hole. They're demoralized, but Gore Devils will always return to try and kill their enemies by whatever means possible. So before they grab mortal weaponry, I suggest we charge. Good to see you back, Leo."

She turned and broke into a sprint, and Mahihko whimpered as he looked around for his hoops before Marina grabbed his hand and dragged him along with her, muttering under her breath as they quickly caught up with the others. Leo looked back and forth at the others, wondering for a moment whether or not he'd gotten the sharp end of the stick from the hotel falling on him, and then he glanced over his shoulder and shouted: "Hey, we've got company!"

Cherry glanced over her shoulder, then snorted and slowed her pace with a cruel grin as she spun her whip around her arm, then let it slide down to her hand to slap it back on her belt, ignoring the small cuts along her forearm as she said darkly to the others: "This one's mine. Get up there, and hold back the enemies around the Black Hole. I'll catch up."

The others nodded, and they ran forwards as Cherry drew her .52s, breathing softly as she closed her eyes... and suddenly, she was looking at her own face and over her own shoulders at the massive monstrosity chasing them. It had two massive sets of jaws made from rock, wood, and other building materials, and these were half-connected together by long, steel girders to each other, but one fed down into a shoulder that ended in a long made up of steel, spiked tubes, and the other connected down into the body itself by means of a long, flexible neck. The body of the creature looked almost like a barrel with ribs of girders and metal sticking out of it, and five legs stuck out of the thing's distorted body, all of them ending in spikes of wood or metal, and much shorter and thinner than the huge arm it was using to pull itself hungrily along.

Eyes covered the beast... and Cherry counted at least seven as she looked at her own body before grinning widely... and she watched herself grin as she slowed down a bit further, the thing's massive claw almost touching her back as it lunged before she dived forwards and spun around, at the same time raising both of the .52 handguns as time seemed to slow.

She saw the ghost images of where every shot would go as she continued to stare at herself for a moment, watching as she half-rolled through the air onto her back... and then she locked back into her own body and she was staring out her own eyes as she opened fire, using the recoil from the guns to reposition her weapons, and the thing screamed as the eyeballs that were spread out over the monster's body exploded in bursts of red and white. Five were gone... then six as she pulled the trigger of her right handgun, and it clacked into the left gun from the recoil that was positioned sideways just above it, pushing it upwards just a touch... and Cherry fired the last round into the seventh eye as the creature lunged towards her...

It exploded, and its jaws rose in a scream of agony as Cherry crashed onto her back, before she rolled to the side and pushed one hand into the ground to shove herself back the other way as she spun sideways into the air, and she narrowly slid between two of its hind ‘legs' as it continued to charge stupidly forwards. The demoness grinned coldly, then sprinted forwards as she aimed at the eyes she could see on the Construct's back, firing three times in rapid succession.

Eyeballs exploded, and the creature staggered, swaying back and forth as chunks of plaster and metal fell from its body... and Cherry leapt upwards, kicking off one of the lamer legs of the beast as it spasmed and landing on its back, moving in a graceful spin despite the spikes of metal and wood that tore out of its back in an attempt to spear her... and then she slid forwards on her knees and tilted her head to the slide as a spear shot out of its shoulder towards her face, and it narrowly missed her head as she stretched both arms out and fired two bullets into the last two eyes she could see.

It screamed and arched its back, and then one of its jaws fell off as the creature insisted on dragging itself forwards by its massive arm still, even as it crumbled. Cherry admired the perserverance... but it's time to say goodnight, motherfucker.

She ran forwards, then leapt off the front of the beast as it opened its remaining jaw, and she saw two eyes left as she slowly flipped forwards: one in the jaw, and one in the neck. Her guns snapped out, and she fired a last two rounds into the eyes... and the monstrosity screamed as gunk splattered all over itself, blood raining down from the eyeballs before the construct fell forwards and crashed into a pile of useless debris as Cherry landed smoothly on her feet and ran down the road with a snort, holstering her .52s at the same time and saying coldly to herself: "No challenge anymore... you think that a dozen Eye Constructs fused together would at least give me a workout, huh?"

She skidded to a halt a moment later as she looked up at the Black Hole, her worn boots resting at the edge of the crater the thing had formed in the ground. It was much larger than she'd anticipated, and she cursed under her breath before looking up at a draconic demon in full armor charged her with a maul... and she smiled as her eyes glowed for a moment.

It stumbled to a halt, and drool fell from its muzzle as it stared at her stupidly before she leaned over and whispered in its ear in demonic: "A real male fights for a cause he believes in... and for a beautiful female..." She paused to step up beside him, stroking over his chest, and she could swear she heard a ding under the metal plate covering the creature's groin as she gently removed its helm, before kissing his cheek and whispering softly: "Help out your beautiful lady... and she'll return the favor."

The draconic demon nodded stupidly and then charged towards a Wentaku mage that was fighting Leo with a crystal pole... and then Cherry cackled as it crushed in the mage's skull with its maul before charging towards the next enemy, Leo looking almost horrified as the demoness grinned widely. Fuck, but that never gets old...

She then turned serious, looking quickly around the area. Whatever other garrison there was hadn't arrived yet, and the others were distracting the demons very well... but she'd need a lot of concentration and a long time to close the Black Hole, and there were several Wentaku around... which is bad fucking news. I bet they're trained in necromancy as well, because I can see some of those Necrotaurs around... where the fuck's Marina...

A glance to the right, and she confirmed that Marina and Mahihko were fighting side-by-side against an entire unit of minotaurs and draconic demons... and she cursed before running to the side of a collapsed building. She hated hiding in the shadows... but if she didn't close the Black Hole... then we're all screwed.

She closed her eyes, then focused her powers towards the massive globe of dark energy, feeling it out, its patterns, the way the lightning travelled over it and the essence of Hell pushing through it... and Cherry opened her sapphire irises and concentrated, gritting her teeth and reaching up to visualize it between her hands before she began to slowly squeeze it down and compress it.

The Black Hole itself jittered... and then it slowly began to crackle closed, before several of the Wentaku broke off from the fight, shouting orders to minotaurs as others reached their hands out and poured their energies towards the Black Hole... and Cherry snarled, wincing in agony as she tried to force it shut, fighting the will of mages far-superior, far-better trained...

Two draconic demons spotted her and charged towards her, and Cherry cursed before Cindy leapt forwards, cutting one of them in half with enough force to send his body parts flying into the other soldier, bowling him over as she snapped: "If you need help, then ask for it, don't try and pull it all on your own!"

"Shut up, Books!" Cherry managed in a strangled voice, but her hands were being slowly forced apart... and she snarled, remembering what Francis had taught her and the locket she always kept in her pocket had said... don't just compress it... bleed the energy out of it...

She twisted her claws inwards, and the Black Hole developed a strange indentation before dark energy hissed out of this, purple lightning flickering around it for a few moments before one of the Wentaku reached up a hand and the cut sealed itself, the mage ordering more soldiers to attack a moment before Mahihko leapt forwards and simply crushed the demon into the ground under one enormous hand. The armored demons that had been about to charge Cherry instead turned and charged the huge wolf, but he swung violently outwards with the wooden mallet he'd picked up from another demon and knocked them flying like bowling pins, snarling like a wild beast as he glared back and forth.

And then, suddenly, there was no pressure... and Cherry clapped her hands together, and the rift exploded into a burst of a dark energy that knocked Mahihko and Marina over, Cindy cursing and Leo staggering backwards as demons flew in all directions... and a moment later, there was a massive crackle in the sky above them, and the dark haze began to slowly fade as screams and howls filled the air, sunlight ripping through the darkness to shine on the ground below and light up the ruins of the city.

Cherry slumped, her body reverting to her demonic form as she let out a sigh, too tired to even fight anymore... but at the sound of Cindy's own relieved sigh, she knew that for now, the battle was over, and the cries of demons turned to that of thuds, explosions and crashing debris as constructs crumbled for miles around... and it was like music to the demoness as she smiled and relaxed, lacing her fingers together. We did it, Boss. We did it for you... and we did it right.

Throughout the area, soldiers were throwing down their weapons, some of them removing their helms and others falling to their knees. A Gigataur looked back and forth in something like horror, stepping backwards several times before whining in his throat and simply sitting on his haunches, miserably realizing that in this ruined city, there was nowhere for a giant like him to flee... and a Wentaku was running back and forth, yelling for them to rally in demonic, waving his arms and screaming orders that no one was listening to... and then a demon picked up a hammer and slammed it into the face of the three-eyed mage as he walked by, and he collapsed in a heap at the feet of soldier demon.

"What the hell is going on?" Leo asked sharply, not relaxing... and then he frowned a bit as Cindy motioned for him to lower his weapon, the feline slowly dropping out of a battle stance as he kept his sword at the ready beside him, eyes flicking back and forth as he muttered: "This is insane. One moment we're fighting, but the next... they all look..."

"Their will to fight is gone." Cindy shrugged quietly, and then she glanced up at sick thud behind her, and she slowly turned towards the road they had entered by. That thudding continued once, twice... and then Xerrez staggered into the alleyway, his eyes dull and blood running from his body, shambling along as he looked back and forth hungrily before growling and hissing as he lunged towards Marina's back with his claws raised. "Marina!"

The youngest daughter of Zerrex turned around, looking surprised at first... and then she snapped a hand up, and Xerrez froze in place as she asked in a soft, dangerous voice: "Do you want to play with me?"

Xerrez struggled against her mental bonds, but his tortured, tattered body was weak and damaged. He let out a howl of frustration, his eyes rolling in their sockets like an animal's... and then he was standing alone in the middle of a dark field. Animals chirped and danced around the edge of the meadow, and stars sparkled above... and he touched over his body, then shuffled his once-more complete feet back and forth. "Where... what..."

Then Marina was standing in front of him, and she reached up with a smile to flick the end of his muzzle, giving a tinkling, pretty laugh... but it reminded Xerrez of breaking glass as he fell backwards on his rear, a chill of terror running down the monster's spine. "Silly giant... I couldn't have my Daddy looking like that... you are my Daddy, isn't that right?"

Her eyes burned with insanity as her head twisted to the side, a cruel grin sliding across her face... and Xerrez made the mistake of snarling: "I'm nothing like your father! I am Ravenlight... I am the true son of my father, and Zerrex is simply a dead corpse, rotting in Hell!"

"Oh my..." Marina slipped backwards, her eyes glowing in the darkness that seemed to thicken around them as the animal sounds halted... and a shiver wrenched Xerrez's gut as he wondered if he had just made a serious error. "Sounds like you don't want to play after all..."

Xerrez snarled and lunged forwards, staggering into a vicious downwards claw... but it struck nothing, and he looked back and forth in surprise and frustration before a shadow loomed over him in the darkness, and he turned around to stare up in horror at a Marina perhaps sixty feet tall looming over him in the darkness, her breasts and crotch covered by vines of twisting ivy as she reached down and picked Xerrez easily up in one hand, lifting him towards the sky as her eyes glowed with her power, whispering: "If you want to misbehave... then I'll just pull you apart, bit-by-bit, like I would any other bug..."

Back in reality, Xerrez's body shuddered as Marina turned away, and then the giant screamed in agony and grapped his head as blood spilled out of his eyes and mouth, before he slumped backwards a moment later as dark energy crackled over his form, his body wilting and rotting away to nothingness. A small smile flickered over Marina's face as she turned away from the beast, and she began to toss orders to the demons in their native tongue as Cherry slowly emerged from the ruins she'd been hiding in, making a face and muttering: "Only five seconds passed... that could have been five fucking years in her mind. What do you think happened, Books?"

"Something bad." Cindy replied quietly, looking measuringly over Marina as Mahihko began to quietly help demons pull off their heavier armors, Leo looking over at the enormous wolf and staring at him dumbly for a few moments before he finally sighed and sheathed his blade, walking over to Cherry and Cindy as she shook her head a bit, before she turned her head to him and smiled a bit. "Thank you, by the way. I hope you don't think too badly of us for leaving you back there, but Marina said you were fine, and we've learned it's best to trust her judgment in situations like that. We figured that once we closed the Black Hole, the rest of the demons would disarm, anyway."

"It's fine... I was able to take care of some pests behind us, anyway." Leo paused, then he nudged her gently as she began to reach for her medical kit. "Hey, let me take care of that for you, it's gonna leave a nasty set of scars otherwise. I'm surprised you're still moving around with that damage on your body."

"It's nothing..." Cindy said embarrassedly, but she allowed Leo to guide her over to a small rock, where she sat down as the feline touched her face, concentrating as he leaned in and slowly drew his fingers along the cuts. Cindy felt a strange, picking warmth on her face, and she closed one eye as she tilted her head to the side a bit as her face began to heal bit-by-bit, murmuring quietly: "Thank you."

"Stay still... it's no problem, though..." Leo replied softly, and he smiled gently to her, patting her shoulder with his other hand. A few seconds later, he moved to the slashes along her body, but they took a bit longer to heal, the cat murmuring: "These are deeper than I thought... you've got some guts, Cindy."

She only shrugged a bit, looking away in embarrassment as Leo's fingers traced gently along the gouges on her breast before he straightened with a cough, and he rubbed the back of his head and offered a smile as he said awkwardly: "That should take care of it... sorry I have to be so close but... I think I'll go and take care of Mahihko, now, he looks pretty battered himself."

The cat quickly strode over to the lupine, Mahihko looking up at the sound of his name, and Cherry leaned over towards Cindy, asking mildly as she sat up: "So you know, if he felt you up, I can always go and punch him in the face for you. I'm an overprotective person like that. But in more serious news, we're only half done... we still need to rendezvous with Cyllos and Meyer, then make our way back to the Lucille with as many efficient troops as we can handle."

"Does that include the Gigataur? Because he probably counts as about twenty, thirty troops." Cindy pointed out, and Cherry looked over at the miserable-looking giant mildly for a few moments. "Maybe we could leave him here with Leo to guard the safehouse, just in case some of the smarter demons start turning into roving gangs."

"Or worse, some of the citizens take to looting and rampaging." Cherry muttered, but she nodded after a moment, before whistling loudly and waving at the Gigataur when it looked up. It stood and walked carefully forwards through the knots of people, twiddling its fingers together, then frowned a bit and peered down at Cherry as she asked in demonic: "What's your name, soldier? And what the hell are you doing here so far from home?"

"Captain Tensen, of... formerly of Prince Az'Iriel's army, now that we've been trapped on the mortal realm." He sighed, slumping a bit and looking miserably back and forth at the other soldiers, motioning at them and mumbling: "I was one of thirty Gigataurs dispatched to guard the Black Holes, but I know that several of my brethren have already fallen and at least five of them were sent as reinforcements to the other cities. We were given strict orders to fight until either the Black Hole was destroyed or we were by Prince Az'Iriel himself..."

Cherry frowned a bit at this, tilting her head and asking slowly: "Wait... so you were told that if the Black Hole was destroyed..."

"That we should consider it a victory for the Princess and that we were to take orders from her emissaries." The Gigataur looked confused, glancing around at them and asking curiously: "Aren't you all demons? We were told to expect a band of demons, polymorphed into mortals. We were told it was part of the war game."

"War... game?" Cherry stared in disbelief, and then she snarled, the Gigataur stepping backwards and looking nervous as he rose his hands. "That son of a bitch... no... not just the son, but the bitch herself, too..." She paused and looked at Cindy, muttering to her: "I think things just got more complicated. They're under the impression this is a war game of Hell... basically, a staged civil war with set rules designed to decide who gets what territory. I think we're being used as pawns to capture territory for the Princess... and that maybe this huge war between them might be a lot more complex than simply ‘you stole my fucking taco.'"

Cindy nodded, frowning in disgust as she asked coldly: "Can you portal us all the way back to the Lucille? I know how much it strains you, but..."

"Yeah, I guess I can." Cherry said miserably, slumping a bit on the spot before looking up at the Gigataur, and she said clearly: "Listen, pal. We are mortals... well... at least they are. This territory has been captured in the name of mortals, not of the Princess, or some shit like that... and I'm assuming you know where there's a shelter of people, right?" She paused as the Gigataur nodded, and then she pointed at him, her eyes narrowing. "You are going to forget all your stupid orders, all your training, all the shit that you learned in Hell, and learn mortal-rules. As in, you're going to protect those self-obsessed snobs just because it's the right thing to do, and the nice thing to do, and you're going to forget about the Princess and the Warlord, and all that other crap."

The Gigataur looked horrified, tilting his head and asking stupidly: "But... but what about when one of them takes over the world?"

Cherry smiled sourly, cracking her knuckles and saying contritely: "If that happens, you can deal with that then. But whether they do or not, if you keep arguing with me, I'm going to rip your balls off. And I hear a life without testicles gives the word so much less meaning."

Tensen looked down at her for a few moments with his jaws gaping, and then the Gigataur saluted in his armor and mumbled: "I'll gather up as many of the demons as I can that are willing, and... I'll try to keep all this in mind." He paused, then asked hesitantly, looking nervous: "Is... is it... nice to not have to worry about the Four Thrones of Hell? Is this a nicer world than Hell is?"

"Being a mortal sucks." Cherry paused reflectively, crossing her arms and softening a bit as she compared her life here to life in Hell. "And to be honest, my mortal life was pretty shitty. But I do know that either way, I found some people who were damned important to me... and without the constant restraints of the crown or the controls of the Scholars, you're... you're free." She paused and smiled a bit, waggling a finger. "Just keep in mind you can die up here and that mortals are fragile, big boy. Or you might end up doing something you regret."

"Of course." The Gigataur nodded and blushed a bit, then turned away and stomped his hoof twice, shouting for attention as he walked away, and demons immediately lined up in front of him. One of the draconic demons, however, padded quickly over to Cherry with a servile look in his eyes, and Cindy rolled her eyes a bit at this sight.

"We're bringing him with us. No arguing with me, bitch, it's my energy." Cherry snapped, and then she poked the chest of the demon, leaning in and smiling teasingly. "Someone did a good job out there... and now he gets to follow his lady to a brand new place. And I promise you, it'll be fun indeed..."

The demon didn't respond, just nodded stupidly and grinned dumbly as Marina grabbed Mahihko and jerked him over towards the group, Leo following for a few moments before Cindy stepped around the two and said gently to him: "Thank you for the help, but a new problem's just come up, so we have to leave immediately. If you could keep an eye on the Big Refuge for a few days before you leave, though, that'd be great... and the demons will take care of it after that."

"Demons giving shelter to mortals from demons... what a concept." Leo said mildly, and then he nodded and smiled, and the two shook hands firmly. "I'm glad I got to meet you guys, then. Maybe I'll catch up to you in Ire... I can't imagine you'll be too hard to find, with the trail of demon bodies you leave behind."

"Perhaps we'll see you there, then." Cindy nodded and gave a small smile in return, and then she patted Leo's bicep lightly and said softly: "I'll see you around, Leo. Thank you for everything."

She turned away and strode back towards the group, noting that Mahihko had shrunk back down and was now holding his pants up, looking nervous as Cherry explained the situation. "So that's that. And no, Mahihko, before you ask, you can't get your hoop... and Marina, I know it's important to you, but we can't stop in and get your sketchbook, either..."

"I put it in the backpack you're still wearing." Marina said mildly, and Cherry blinked slowly before looking at her sourly, and she shrugged a bit. "What? There was enough room, so I decided to put it in as well. I don't like to be parted with my drawings."

"Fine." Cherry muttered, not feeling up to an argument with the other female right now. She stretched a bit instead, flexing her fingers slowly and calming her nerves despite how tired she already felt, before looking at Marina evenly and asking quietly: "Can you boost my abilities for a short time? I need to get us as close to the docks as possible."

Marina searched Cherry's eyes for a moment, then she became solemn herself, nodding slowly as Mahihko and Cindy stepped a bit closer. "Fine. I'll take us all the way to Ire if we have to."

"Let's not get too ambitious." Cherry muttered, and then she grimaced at the feeling of Marina's mental hands digging into her skull, before her eyes glowed blue, her body flexing as Marina cursed under her breath in pain, a tear of blood leaking from one of her eyes as she narrowed them at the muscular demoness. It felt like power cables had just been attached into her skull, and were jazzing her up with energy that seemed limitless... and she grinned before dropping to a kneel, quickly reciting the incantation and pushing her hands into the ground.

A circle of darkness spread over the ground beneath the three girls and the two males, the draconic demon looking back and forth in shock as Mahihko merely winced... and they sank into it, energy sparking around them and a dark haze blurring the vision of all present... and a moment later, they rose slowly back up out of the earth in front of a chainlink fence that had been torn through by the soldiers. The darkness faded from beneath their feet to leave most of them standing on the grassy knoll between fence and an enormous road... and a moment later, Cherry and Marina both fell over with matching groans of pain.

A bit of blood trickled out of Cherry's mouth as her eyes flickered open and closed, and then she slowly sat up, rubbing at her skull and mumbling: "This was a lot easier in Hell... but then again... we aren't in Hell, are we?"

"Fuck, my head is killing me..." Marina groaned, grabbing her skull as a small stream of blood ran from her nose, and she rolled over onto her side a moment later, before her eyes opened in shock as she looked back and forth. "Where's... where's Mahihko?"

Cindy looked back and forth in horror, and the draconic demon blinked stupidly at them before she heard a muffled scream... and she looked down to stare in horror at Mahihko's hand waving wildly back and forth, attached to an arm that was buried beneath the earth. Cherry cursed and sat up, looking horrified as Cindy reached down and snagged the wolf's wrist... and with a mighty heave, she jerked the lupine hard upwards and tore him free from the ground, holding the soggy, mud-covered wolf in the air by his arm as he curled up in a ball and began to wail loudly, rubbing at his face with his other fist.

"Oh my sweet fuck, Mahihko, wolf, kiddo, I am so sorry!" Cherry said raggedly, jumping up and grabbing the wolf, hugging him tight against her body before blushing deeply at the looks she received, and then she turned away, carrying him in her arms towards the metal gate they'd broken open so long ago now and towards the docks and burnt-out buildings on the water as she mumbled: "Everyone can go fuck themselves. I have feelings too."

Cindy shook her head, then she helped Marina to her feet before wrapping her arm around her shoulders, and as they walked along, she murmured: "I'm proud of you, girl... and I know your father would be, too."

Marina lowered her head quietly... then she trembled and began to cry, the stress of the events too much for her mind as she pressed her side close to her mother and sister, doing her best to keep herself under control as she stumbled forwards and whispered through her tears: "Thank you..."

At the end of the line, the draconic demon followed awkwardly, looking back and forth and pulling a dagger out of the belt it was still wearing as a chill ran down his spine. He thought for a moment about telling his new mistress... but after a moment, he pushed it aside. She would notice the danger, if the danger was present, he was sure of it... but he kept himself ready, nonetheless, as he followed closely behind the two mortal girls.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Lucille, which was thankfully still floating... but that was possibly due in part to the two Combat Support Suits standing nearby. While not as fully-developed or heavy-duty as the combat armors, they were nonetheless far-lighter and superior in terms of speed... and the firepower they packed was more than enough to take down any demon that charged them. With a gatling gun for one hand, a grappling hook that doubled as a claw for close-combat on the other, and a missile pod on one shoulder, the armament wasn't exactly something to laugh at.

The extra bonus was that the machines were capable of hovering for short periods of time with their stubby, jetpack-equipped wings and the additional ABAD-style cold-jets on their feet... and they could also generate dome-shaped frontal forcefields for additional protection. The major downside to the devices, however, was that it only covered the operator's limbs and back, leaving them vulnerable... but they could run circles around one of the slower models of full-body combat armor, and they were much-faster to get in and out of.

"Miss Cherry? What are you doing here? Is Mahihko wounded, were you forced to retreat?" asked one of the soldiers, the Doberman stepping forwards in the Lunis-marked armor and looking concerned. "Should I sound the alert to scramble the crew remaining aboard the Lucille?"

"Dude, do you ever look up?" Cherry asked sourly, and she kicked the CSS in the shin, causing it to whirr angrily as she left a dent in the metal, and the demoness winced a bit before shaking her head and looking down at Mahihko for a moment with compassion she didn't really want to feel. Fuck, and once upon a time you were just a stupid fatty. Now you're a little faggot who still cries and freaks out every time someone jumps out and yells ‘boo,' but I gotta admit... you are a lot better than you used to be. "No, we completed the mission... but some complications have just arisen, parameters we didn't know about."

"We need to get in contact with the Ogre and Commander Cyllos, they may be in trouble." Cindy said briskly, as she approached with Marina, before looking over at the other CSS and the fox inside, who was wearing both his regulation helmet and one of the Lunis-style combat visors. "Does that have a radio relay system?"

The todd shook his head quickly, looking embarrassed. "No ma'am, it's only a receiver. And if the Ogre is in Masterton by now, one of our radios won't go far enough... you'll have to use the long-range interface inside the Lucille."

Cherry grunted, then she turned and looked at the draconic demon she had enslaved, who was looking nervously back and forth. She paused at his look, then tilted her head forwards as Cindy and Marina made their way towards the ramp leading onto the Juggernaut... and she felt the chill in the air, too. She tilted her head towards him, then asked quietly: "Gore Devils? Or... no. That's something from a different Circle, isn't it?"

"I don't know what it is... but it's growing stronger..." The draconic demon murmured... and then it pointed out into the water and said sharply: "Mermaids!"

Three of the sea creatures were sitting in the waters near the end of the dock, and Cherry cursed as she ran past the soldiers, sliding to a halt on the wood as the two CSS commandos turned around and stared in shock at the sea creatures. They were nothing like the mermaids out of new, popular legend: instead of being beautiful, they were the opposite, twisted and horrific to behold, their hair like green, slimy seaweed, and their faces gnarled and warped, mouths filled with dozens of sharp teeth.

They laughed at Cherry, then twisted and danced around one another as they floated backwards, propelled by long fish tails as they hugged their double-pairs of shrunken, ugly breasts with large green hands that ended in vicious talons. One of them pointed towards the demoness, and it rasped: "Are you the demoness that closed the rift? Are you the demoness Prince Az'Iriel has put a bounty upon the horns of?"

"You see, if I answer ‘yes' to either of those questions, I got this bad fuckin' feelin' you guys are gonna do something nasty to me." Cherry said meditatively, crossing her arms before adding darkly: "And by the way, even if you've got the advantage here, three mermaids against a pissed-off Dius? No contest. Especially since the Dius has fucking artillery, dig?"

"Mortal weapons can't strike us in the water..." The mermaid chided, and the three dived under the surface of the ocean, swimming in a widening circle before they rose from the water again, their bodies swaying back and forth tantalizingly... but their repulsive forms only making the movement horrifying. "You're drained of power... we'll let you pass only if you sarcrifice that ship to us... then we'll let you live..."

"Uh... how about I sacrifice some cosmetics so you don't look like you got three holes in your ass for a face?" Cherry asked rudely, and the mermaids hissed and whispered to each other as they swam in close, before she drew a gun and muttered: "Fuck chivalry."

Before they could react, Cherry blasted a hole in the skull of one, then shot another in the stomach as it dived beneath the water. A moment later, it slowly rose to the surface, floating on its stomach as blood pooled around it and its form became that of a dying, deformed shark, and the last mermaid shrieked in fury and anger as Cherry cackled and shouted: "You ever hear about the game ‘shooting fish in a barrel?' This is just like that, except a bigger barrel and way fuckin' uglier fish!"

"I'll kill you, maggot!" The mermaid screamed, and a moment later a massive gout of water shot up from the ocean and twisted down towards the docks, Cherry cursing and leaping backwards. The arcing stream of pressurized liquid smashed through the docks and knocked both of the CSS into the water, and electricity and explosions sparked up as the female cursed under her breath. Bitch is serious... maybe I fucked up here...

A moment later, the waters seemed to settle as Cherry looked back and forth... and then she snapped up her gun and fired a single round at the mermaid as it popped its head up from the water, but then it quickly dropped back down, and the .52 only grazed through its seaweed hair, the female cursing under her breath. With her energy so low, her concentration was hammered and her precog was only going a few seconds in advance... more than enough for her to toss herself out of the way of any oncoming attacks, but not enough to shoot the mermaid at such a distance. My reflexes are all fucked to shit... I should've nailed that whore in the head...

"Die, Cynthia, die!" The mermaid screamed, and a powerful wave of water shot forwards as Cherry snarled furiously... but even as the wave collided with the dock, even as chunks of wood shot into the air from the force of the water, Cherry charged forwards and threw herself bodily through it, smashing through the rolling current of water as she rose a .52 and leapt along the remaining chunks of dock still in place.

"My name is Cherry!" she shouted, as she shoved off a wooden beam and threw herself into a dive, aiming at the head of the mermaid that had foolishly come in close, and the demon stared in shock at the gun aimed at her skull... and then it dry-fired, and the mermaid looked confused before Cherry fell towards and her smashed the mermaid between the eyes with the butt of the handgun as she bellyflopped into the water.

They both splashed under the surface of the ocean, Cherry's eyes burning before the mermaid grabbed her and bit into her shoulder viciously even as blood flowed from the cracked skull she had sustained, and Cherry snarled and tried to punch her, but the water seemed thicker than it should be, and her blow was slowed even further as they rolled and tumbled under the surface of the ocean.

The mermaid lunged at her again, and Cherry managed to shove it backwards before wrapping one of her arms tightly around its throat, and it gargled as the demoness winced at the feeling of those weird gills twisting and pushing against her. The long fish tail snapped into her, and she could feel spines pressing against her abdomen as talons clawed into her forearm, ripping long gashes... but she only continued to squeeze hard, snarling as she clung to it and knowing that to let go would mean her own death.

And then, slowly, the water seemed to loosen... and Cherry kicked hard several times to break through the surface of the ocean, gargling as she held tight onto the unconscious mermaid... and then a red-and-white safety buoy on a rope flew down and bounced off her head, and she debated whether or not she really wanted to let these people live as Cindy called apologetically: "Sorry, I couldn't find anything else... grab on and we'll pull you up."

"Cindy, I'm thirty fucking feet from the shoreline, I think I can manage that distance!" Cherry shouted, waving her other fist angrily before pausing at the sight of the water rippling in the distance, and she added in a rush: "But you know what, you went through all that trouble for me, so that works great! Fucking A, Cindy!"

Cherry grabbed onto the rope, kicking madly as Cindy and several of the crew pulled it rapidly in, and the moment her feet hit the edge of the ship she began to power-walk up the metal, dragging the mermaid's body behind her as she winced down at the water and the sight of several unnatural beasts moving in to feast on the corpses. They must have escaped from the Undersea, too...

She shook her head quickly, then hauled herself up over the edge of the ship with a grunt, landing just past Cindy and tossing the asphyxiated mermaid to the ground with a splat. Cindy covered her eyes and winced when Cherry finished it off with a stomp to the face, and then she coughed as she threw it overboard, rubbing her hands together and checking to make sure her gear was still all attached, before throwing off the backpack and mumbling: "Oh shit. Marina's sketchbook and our tactical gear. I don't think this pack was too water-resistent."

"It'll be fine." Marina said tiredly from a short distance away, where a medical officer was carefully checking over her body. "You can dry it out later. What was that creature, though?"

"A mermaid, believe it or not." Cherry glanced around the deck of the massive warship, making a bit of a face at the sight of all the unmanned CSS, before she turned to a Dragokkaren in the blue uniform of the Hez'Ranna Navy. "You know, next time... give me a hand? And oh, arm-up the depth charges and torpedoes or whatever, just in case we run into more of those sea-bitches. It'll at least send ‘em runnin' long enough for us to escape into deeper waters. They won't pursue us if we put up a fight."

"Yes, sir!" The Dragokkaren saluted, then turned and headed quickly down the side of the warship, as Cherry sighed and shook her head slowly, glancing back and forth before giving a look of relief to the soggy draconic demon that was being helped up a rope ladder onto the ship by several Lunis soldiers. Well, at least that's good.

"I already got them to radio ahead... Cyllos wants to stay in the area, so they're scrambling about half the remaining crew on board the ship to go and meet him." Cindy said softly, and Cherry tilted her head curiously at the female as she smiled tiredly. "We're going to be taking this ship ourselves back to Ire, and we'll dock at the New Tears Reclamation Project Site, the only place where the demons are avoiding."

"Oh wonderfull, nuclear debris. Doesn't that sound great?" Cherry asked sourly, but she nodded nonetheless, making a bit of a face as she tapped her foot against the wooden deck of the massive ship. "This thing ain't no Ophelia, but it's still pretty fucking ridiculously-ginormous, Cindy. We'll at least have to make one stopover to get some munchies, even with our crew dropping even further... and that worries me too. I mean, we sure as shit can't pilot this on our own..."

Cindy shrugged a bit, reaching up to squeeze Cherry's shoulder gently as she said softly: "One way or the other we'll make it, Cherry. Now stop being such a pessimist, huh?" She hesitated, then added quietly as she stepped a bit closer to the demoness: "We can't just stupidly attack Ire or the council. We'll have to strike at them, but our first priority is our father and the Sisters, since I don't think they know what's going on, either, and you seem to trust them."

Cherry nodded in return, her features softening a bit as she rubbed at the underside of her muzzle slowly, adding in a quiet mutter: "The problem is that I just don't have the control to maintain a dimensional tear, Cindy... I can create a Black Hole now, but we've seen the kind of shit that comes out of there when I do..." She paused, making a disgusted face at the memory of the Plasmids that had swarmed out after her first successful attempt to create a rift between Hell and the mortal plane. "I mean, even creating portals like I did there take almost all of my energy... it's completely different from the portals in Hell, that are like... second-nature for almost all demons with any magical ability, just because of the way things work in Hell..."

"Stop bitching and do it... or admit that you've failed." Cindy smiled slightly, leaning towards her sister challengingly, and then she added teasingly: "And after Daddy comes back, we'll all tell him what a big dumb loser you are."

"Oh, it is on now, bitch." Cherry glared across at Cindy and poked the end of her muzzle several times, her other hand clenched into a fist. "I will bet you five hundred fucking dollars and my fucking leather pants... that I can create a portal before you can fucking... um..."

Cindy rolled her eyes as Cherry tried to think of a suitable gambit, and then the younger Drakkaren crossed her arms and said mildly: "How about this? If you can create a portal within a month, I'll do anything you want."

"Anything?" Now the demoness leaned forwards, leering... and when Cindy sighed and nodded, Cherry clapped her hands together and giggled stupidly. "Oh fuck yes. And if I lose, um... I'll do anything you want in return!"

At the female's slow grin in return, Cherry realized she might have just said something rather foolish as Cindy leaned forwards and extended a hand. "Deal."

"Awesome." Cherry grabbed the back of Cindy's head with one hand and pulled her roughly into a hard kiss, and Cindy flailed and pushed against Cherry's bulky body before she fell backwards and stared up at the other female, several of the crew members halting to stare as Marina rolled her eyes from the crate she was sitting on, and the demoness rubbed the back of her head slowly and said dumbly: "Um... that's how we seal deals in Hell. Really."

The female only glowered at her, then jumped up to her feet and walked away in a huff as Cherry followed and shrugged, saying cheerfully: "Hey, feel glad I didn't thank you afterwards in the way we say that in Lust! Then things really might be awkward!"

As they walked away, Mahihko uncurled from where he was mostly-hidden beside the crate Marina was sitting on, and the Drakkaren's cold eyes followed her sisters as they walked through one of the doors leading into the bridge, saying softly: "Did you hear that, little wolf? Cherry doesn't think she can create a portal." She paused and glanced down at him, the lupine quietly sucking on his thumb as he looked down into his naked lap, still mostly-covered in muck. "What do you think, Mahihko?"

The wolf shrugged a bit, and then he finally looked up at her embarrassedly and mumbled: "I... I think that Cherry can... especially if she uses your abilities and... and stuff..."

"Good wolf." Marina reached out and gently scratched between his ears, and the wolf looked up at her with a meek smile before blushing as she took his hand, saying softly: "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."

The wolf nodded, and he toddled along beside the older female as she led him towards one of the side cabins that housed one of several ways down into the bowels of the ship. And twenty minutes later, a deeply-blushing, still-naked and dirty Mahihko was being gently pushed into an empty shower area by a naked Marina, who was gazing down at him softly.

She turned on one of the faucets near the back, and hot water spilled out, steam immediately rising in the air as she pushed the wolf under the stream. It was surprisingly-hot, but from the wet towels on the floor and the lukewarm puddles they had stepped through in the small locker room outside, soldiers had just left... meaning they would likely be left alone. Mahihko didn't know what Marina wanted, and he hoped that she didn't want to have sex with him... but part of him was hungry and lustful for it. With Marina, it was never like it was with Cindy... she always wanted it rough and hard instead of soft and gentle, and she was half-mistress, half-slut, sometimes doing things for him that filled up the dark parts inside his form... and sometimes doing things to him that made him wish she would never touch him again.

But he felt a quiet calm descend as she slowly massaged along his shoulders, water running through his fur and washing away the mud and earth, and he lowered his head quietly into the stream, breathing softly. He felt... almost serene, even as Marina pressed forwards, her breasts rubbing gently against the back of his head as she quietly slid her arms around to massage quietly along his naked, thin chest... and then she slowly hugged him back against her, and they stood together in the spray as tears slid down Marina's face... but at the same time, her eyes were terribly cold as she whispered over the sound of water striking the tiles: "We may have to get Daddy back ourselves, Mahihko..."

The wolf looked up at her in surprise, and then he slowly turned around as she let go of him, looking down at him with that terrible dominance he had only ever seen in Zerrex's eyes... and the sheer force of her will made him stumble backwards against the wall. He swallowed, wanting to say no to whatever she had planned, wanting to argue, or offer some other reason... but instead he whispered: "How... how could we do that?"

Marina always drew out his darkest, deepest desires, the things he bashfully or shamefully tried to hide, with just a twitch of her abilities and a single look... and she smiled gently down at him, stroking his face almost lovingly as she said softly: "You leave that to me. I've copied out plenty of runes... I know all Cherry's incantations by heart. But I need a partner to help me... and that's going to be you, isn't it?"

"Anything to get Zerrex back..." Mahihko murmured... and Marina reached up to squeeze his shoulders, then she leaned down and kissed his forehead before she pulled him close for a moment, and he rested his head against the cushions of her breasts as he trembled violently. Everything felt so wrong, and he was scared... but at the same time he felt exhilarated, exalted. Marina, who had once been his worst enemy, had chosen him... and he looked up into her face, mistaking her tears for water from the shower as he said quietly: "I love you, Marina. You're my big sister... and you take care of Daddy..."

"I will always take care of Father..." Marina stroked his face gently with the back of her hand, and then she smiled faintly, resting her hand against the side of his head and whispering gently: "I love you too, Mahihko. Because unlike the others, you at least always try... and now you have the chance to find and be with Zerrex." Listen to me, Mahihko...

The wolf perked up, and then his eyes slowly slid closed as his jaw feel open, and he nodded slowly at the thoughts, the images that slid into his mind before Marina realized she wouldn't even have to control or force his movements... and she shook her head slowly, murmuring quietly to herself: "Your dedication rivals mine... but you're a coward... I can fix that, however..."

A flick of a switch in the wolf's mind, and he trembled... before he was once more left looking up at her with an expression almost fawning and servile. She smiled down at him, and then guided one of his hands slowly to her breast... and Mahihko squeezed it quietly, no look of fear or anxiety on his face. Marina smiled slightly at this... and then she brushed his hand away and picked up a bar of soap, whispering softly: "Let's get you all cleaned up, little wolf... we have some big plans to tend to."