FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The charity was a whopping success: in the end, they gave away some ninety-two percent of the total amount of blankets they had collected to families, and the last eight to various orphanage and child-care facilities around Hell. And the effect it had wasn't just positive for the lucky families who got the blankets... it created a huge surge of support for Zerrex and his family, although that had by far not been expected. After all, in demonic politics, it was almost always the strongest and the most-cold who got the highest amount of votes, instead of those who showed they were capable of performing good, kindhearted gestures for others.

Cherry, now at more than six-months' pregnant, had seemed to plateau off a bit more: her mood swings didn't abate much, but it seemed like having successfully made one of her strange little dreams become reality had done something for her that had at least made her much less of a bitch. Every night she'd read to her belly, these days, and she was walking around in clothes that were surprisingly-conservative, especially for her, keeping her belly warm and covered... and looking surly whenever Zerrex asked just why the hell she had turned into a mega-mom all of a sudden.

Their child's room had also been built and completed, although Zerrex knew that it would be a good while before Cherry actually let the child use it for anything other than short naps: Cherry wanted to spend most of her first few months, or up to a year, staying at the Palace instead of the Estate, since it provided higher security and had a gym, a pool, and a few other things she'd want to put to use the moment she was back up on her feet and ready to start exercising her belly fat away. Her belly still was strangely-muscular, but once the baby was born, those muscles would likely separate... and there was no magic in the world that could bring her stomach quickly back from being stretched out to the size it was at now and back to the old taut thickness that made her look like a tank instead of a weather balloon.

They were actually staying in the Palace at the moment while the Estate was being rebuilt and the security measures there upgraded, and while there was a full Hell-wide search for Loki, Zerrex knew there was little chance of actually discovering him. Admittedly, he wouldn't be surprised if Loki was still trying to nurse his wounds in some pocket dimension somewhere... Zerrex had done more than simply break his body, after all: he had severely injured the demigod's pride, which was often far-more-devastating. The others insisted that they at least order an in-depth scan of Hell to keep the demigod from showing his face for a while, however, and Cherry was more than happy to add her own two cents every now and then on how she thought Zerrex was retarded for letting him get away in the first place.

Cherry, of course, was getting almost as bad as their old friend Alastor, the King of the Circle of Wrath and a powerful demon who was also immensely paranoid. Although he'd gotten better and didn't live in his clean room anymore, it was still a pain in the ass getting him to do anything or go anywhere... but he'd certainly been plenty embarrassed when he hadn't gone to the charity drive and it had been attacked, and he'd promised to make up for skipping out on a party where he could have been a major help by coming up with a great gift for the baby. Zerrex only waved it off, however, saying it was no big deal... it wasn't like he'd really expected the recluse to pop up, in any case.

He hadn't expected Cherry to already start being a pain in the ass about going outside, however... and she was acting almost agoraphobic, refusing to do this or that and spending as much of her time as possible in the Drakkaren's quarters at the Palace. They had actually been forced to throw their impromptu little 'union rites' there, which was part of some ancient Hell tradition about ensuring that a child of Hell would be born under a good sign... and it was one thing Zerrex didn't exactly mind, since the focus was more around Cherry than him, and everyone brought gifts for either her or the baby. It was sort of like a baby shower for mortals... except a little bit more pompous and with a lot more tradition behind the whole thing.

Of course, that didn't mean the female liked it, although he let her choose who to invite. Surprisingly, she'd permitted Selena and Mary to show up... and of course, Lily, Sin, and the Four Sisters... and even Elliot and Vampire and Tinny. Ixin had tried to pop in unannounced, and Zerrex had been forced to drag him out of the room after Cherry threw a fit on the bed... although the reptile did agree with his sentiments on how the mage just did not understand females, especially pregnant ones. The last person she allowed in, albeit grudgingly, was Amiglion... but she muttered that mostly it was because he was a High Monarch and an old friend of Zerrex's more than anything else.

Zerrex spent most of the party sitting in a corner, Selena standing beside him and drinking something as she looked moody, while Lily and the Four Sisters all making a huge fuss over Cherry's belly as Sin quietly stood nearby with a smile on her face and Cherry looking somewhere between happy over the attention she was getting and horribly-paranoid about everyone crowding in around her. The male, at least, had brought his little video game player... and Selena told him he was an idiot, but it didn't stop her from trying to awkwardly peer over his shoulder as he hummed a bit and played one of his less-skill-testing games that he could stop quickly if necessary, asking him questions every now and then about it and mortal pastimes in general. Sammy, meanwhile, ran back and forth in circles around them, as if trying to decide whether Selena was a friend or foe, until he finally tired himself out and curled up at Zerrex's other side.

Cherry had been lavished in gifts, especially from the Four Sisters, who had all then gushed about how they wished Carmen was here: while Cherry was known as the Fifth Sister and treated as their eldest sibling - even though often Cherry just looked at them like they were odd and didn't visibly return a lot of the friendly affection - she and Carmen got along far-too-well for Zerrex's liking. He knew if she wished anyone was here, it would be Carmen... and probably Cindy, too, since she was the only person other than Sin that Cherry would have dared let treat her body even while she was pregnant.

The gifts, of course, would have probably horrified a normal Cherry... and even in her pregnancy-altered state of mind, she still looked a little bit sick to her stomach at some of them, and with others it was sort of like her mind visibly warred with her womb about what she should say or how she should react. Zerrex was glad that at least she liked his: a small magical orb that could project different images that Sin could help them program into it. Sometimes, magic was wonderful indeed... and not because of the important things it could do, but because of pleasant trivialities it could perform.

Other things she took less-well too, like the tiny suit of baby battle armor that Vampire gave her, cooing over how now they could bring the kid anywhere and it would always be safe... but then again, Vampire and Cherry had always had their distinct little... not rivalry, but antagonism between them, mostly on Cherry's side. Even Tinny's gift of a set of different metal toys she tried to find a problem with, however... but Zerrex thought it was probably on an upsurge of hormones. After all, he was amazed by the detail and the hard work the little badger had put into the toys... they were beautiful little figurines that he wouldn't mind a collection of himself.

Thankfully, the 'union' and the ceremonies they performed during it - a few blessings, a rite of acceptance, and a few other things - went smoothly, all-in-all. Sure, maybe Cherry was a little bit resistant towards things... but no worse than Zerrex had expected her to be and she certainly still seemed to stay in a good enough mood, even as day wore into night with people still nagging at her from where she lay on the bed with her head propped up by a bunch of pillows. Zerrex thought she might even be doing better than he was, since by the end of the night he was starting to feel a little bit more than bitchy, and he was trying to figure out a polite way to get them all to leave.

The ceremony ended some ten hours later, and everyone went home, leaving them in peace and quiet with the gifts piled up around the room... and Zerrex went through a few of these as Cherry shifted awkwardly back and forth, looking a bit relieved as she called: "Get your ass over here, Boss, Momma Cherry wants to cuddle up and ignore the rest of the world for a few days."

"So you were getting tired of them, too, huh? And here I thought you were enjoying Vampire giggling like a little girl and poking your tummy." Zerrex replied mildly, and Cherry huffed as she awkwardly rubbed at one massive, swollen breast. "I was amazed that he didn't even make a single comment about your tits tonight."

"And they totally are seriously the size of fucking mountains by now. Crispy crap, they're a little bit more than ridiculous, even for me." Cherry looked morbidly down at her bosom, poking at one absently and wincing a bit. "But maybe I'm only sayin' that 'cause I keep leaking everywhere and they're so fucking sensitive. Not even sexual sensitive anymore, painful-I'm-gonna-hurt-you sensitive. Fuckers."

"Maybe they're taking revenge for all the times you've let strange males and females and... other things fondle them up so roughly." Zerrex said absently, as he picked up a motherhood guide and popped it open, before making an ill face when he came across a cross-section about demonic menstruation and its journey through the body. He slapped it closed, then looked over his shoulder, asking hesitantly: "You like. Never bled downstairs, right?"

"You know I didn't. Thank fuck for it, too. Kinda ironic, when you consider that the whores are the one who are supposed to have the big bloody periods." Cherry replied with a serious nod, and then she rubbed at her face, peering up at the ceiling. "You know. I been thinking, and I realized I've been preparing myself a hell of a lot for a son. Like... a hell of a hell of a lot so. Do you really think I'd do okay with a son?"

"Cherry, you'd do okay if it was a Plasmid." Zerrex said with a slight smile, walking over to her and sliding into bed beside her, and Cherry laughed as she curled against him, tracing a finger slowly over his stomach as she gazed up at him softly. He gently stroked her face with the back of his hand, and then he said quietly: "Just get some rest now, Cherry. Sin said you're close... the child's been developing very fast, and its development slowing down means that it's almost ready to come out of you. I just need you to take care of yourself now... and you know, to stop being such a needy whore."

"Fuck you." Cherry rubbed her head against his chest, and then they both closed their eyes as they curled up... before she snorted as Sammy leapt up onto Zerrex's head and chewed at his hair, the Drakkaren barely even flinching as he only sighed. "And I'm supposed to be the needy whore."

The next few days were spent organizing the room and going through the gifts: some of it was taken to the Estate, and others stayed here, as they set up a crib next to the bed that would likely get very little use. The bed was more than large enough, after all, for them to sleep with the child... and Cherry would greatly prefer to have the child curled up protectively between their bodies then leave it in a crib where she thought it may very well choke itself to death. Zerrex, of course, rolled his eyes at her sentiments... but privately agreed that for at least the first while, he'd prefer to keep the baby with them in the bed. Like mortal babies, of course, it would need to feed regularly and it would sleep a lot... but depending on how much of it had developed in Cherry's womb, it might not have to worry about certain waste functions... although Zerrex knew they probably wouldn't be so lucky as to avoid diaper duty. Demon babies were complicated... and no two were alike, but he could be sure of one thing. It would still probably be hard as hell to take care of properly... but would be more than worth it even from the first few minutes of it coming into the world.

And, at seven and a half months, as Zerrex was helping Cherry wander the palace grounds carefully and leisurely, settling her mind about everything... she suddenly looked up, before there was a great gush of liquid from between her legs that easily soaked through the loincloth she was wearing... and her stomach gave a horrible rumble as her knees when weak and Zerrex grabbed her, supporting her as she mumbled: "Oh shit, this is gonna hurt like hell. Holy shit."

"Her water broke! Sin, Lily, Mary!" Zerrex shouted to the air, as Felicity and Vampire - the latter dropping a muffin he had been eating all over himself and looking stupid, the former wincing but there at his side in only a moment - both stared at Cherry. The Drakkaren glared at Vampire, and he yelped, but Felicity already had things covered as she closed her eyes and rose a hand, lifting Cherry into the air with her telekinetic powers to cause her the least discomfort possible as Zerrex created a portal, saying curtly: "Cherry's wish was to give birth back in my quarters, Sin and the others will meet us there. Vampire, go and put the Palace on lockdown and high alert... no one goes in and out for the duration that Cherry's giving birth, understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" Vampire saluted immediately before he ran off down the hall, and Zerrex sighed in relief: if there was one thing Vampire could do, it was follow orders, at least. I just hope nothing happens... Cherry giving birth will be ugly enough as it is.

Cherry, of course, was already rolling her eyes in her skull, looking disgusted as she kept her arms at her sides... and then she snapped at them, even as they walked through the portal and stepped out into the large, circular room: "What, does it look like I wanna float around all day? It might feel like a fucking... cannon is ready to come out of me, but don't think I can't still kick both your asses!"

"She's a pleasant one." Felicity muttered, and Zerrex grunted in agreement as the vixen carefully put the demoness down on the bed, easing her gently onto the mattress. Cherry immediately relaxed a bit, her expression becoming more grouchy than anything else even as her legs spread automatically as her stomach gave another loud sound, amniotic fluids still trickling out of her... and then Felicity looked up as Sin, Mary, Lily, and the Four Sisters paraded in through a single large portal, muttering quietly: "It looks like it's about to get very crowded in here... I should go."

"Find Priest Narrius and please bring him here." Zerrex said to her quietly, and she nodded and bowed a bit to him before quickly heading off to do this, and then the Drakkaren glanced to Sammy, who was sticking his head out curiously from under the bed. The reptile smiled a bit and dropped to a kneel, and he said quietly: "I know you and Kent still don't want to show me just what you've learned... but I know you've got a few very important skills you can put to use for me nonetheless, Sammy, and I could use 'em right now. So do me a favor, and patrol the hallways of the Palace... I need to know just who's wandering around inside here right now, and if there's anyone I should go and do something about."

Sammy chirped and leapt up on his hind legs, nodding quickly before he turned and ran off to do Zerrex's bidding... and the reptile shook his head a bit with a slight smile before he sighed and headed over to stand beside Cherry. One of the Sisters immediately brought him a chair to sit on - the reptile didn't even know from where - and Zerrex gladly sat as Cherry took his hand in one of hers, asking in a babble that was suddenly afraid: "What if I push too hard? What if I squeeze him with my vagina and kill the poor little bastard? What if I hurt him? What if he's dead?"

"He's fine, Miss Cherry." Sin said softly, from where she was setting up a portable pair of stirrups at the bottom of the bed for her to rest her legs in, as the Sisters busied themselves about the room and Lily and Mary looked dumbly back and forth, apparently not knowing what to do with themselves at the moment. Sin and the others were professionals at this, however... and Sin had delivered many an important child, both frail and strong, and she was giving Cherry her utmost attention as she said softly: "Lord Zerrex, please help slide her down here. You too, Miss Lily, she won't mind your touch."

"Just be gentle." Cherry rumbled, and although Lily winced as if she was about to try shoving an angry dragon off its hoard of gold, she nonetheless helped out. Cherry, thankfully, didn't bite, only looking moody, as they carefully maneuvered her body down the sheets until she was laying at the end of the bed... and then Zerrex carefully snagged a few of the pillows to help make her comfortable, before the demoness looked up at him and said mildly: "Take off my clothes, I wanna be naked."

The reptile rolled his eyes as he grabbed his chair to pull it closer, asking dryly: "Are you sure about that, Cherry? I don't think we all want to look at your breasts right now."

"Fuck you. And get that loincloth off me, too." Cherry huffed, and then she glared when Lily reached out and her hand brushed against the 'II' collar, her whole body bristling angrily. "Back the hell off, bitch! That stays on, no matter goddamn what!"

Zerrex sighed at Lily's horrified look, and then he did as Cherry requested, helping her take her clothes off, as Sin carefully laid down a sheet and slipped it beneath Cherry's thick, large rear, and then she adjusted a weighted clamp over Cherry's tail to keep it in place during the delivery, her expression serious and her glammer fading around her body. She had already gotten Cherry's legs up into the stirrups, and when Zerrex removed her loincloth, she leaned forwards: neither she nor any of the other demons had much use for modesty, although Zerrex admittedly wouldn't mind them throwing a sheet up over her legs like they did in all the mortal doctor shows, since the way her body and vagina were both throbbing was kinda scaring him... and of course, what scared him even more was how it was strangely erotic. "Alright, Miss Cherry... I don't need to remind you of this, I know, but I should at least inform the others that this will take quite a while."

"Mom!" Priest appeared in the room before Cherry could reply, and she smiled up at him, relief obviously flooding her features as he ran over to her side, kneeling by her and taking her free hand. He pressed it gently against his cheek, looking at her worriedly as he asked: "Is... is the pain okay? I never saw a birth before... I mean... especially... mom, are you okay?"

"Of course." Cherry said softly, and she gently stroked his face, showing off the maternal side she rarely revealed as she murmured quietly: "Momma's gonna be fine, Priest. You go over there with your father... and just listen and try to relax, huh? I'm probably gonna be a real bitch even for me every now and then over the next few days, but don't you worry about a thing, and you do everything Sin tells you to... she's a real good person." She paused, then added quietly: "Thanks for being here. That means a lot to me."

"It's the least I can do, Mom..." Priest squeezed her hand and hesitated, as if he was scared what would happen when he let go... but then he did, and he carefully made his way around to the other side of the room, Zerrex smiling at him and patting him on the back as one of the Sisters brought him a stool to sit on. He looked at Cherry's hand, but she had Zerrex's in a vice-grip already... and he laughed a bit as he looked at his father, asking quietly: "Is this what it was like when I was born?"

"Way worse." Zerrex said easily, and that got a few other laughs as they sat together. For the first hour, it was all set-up, Sin focusing very little on Cherry's bother even when she winced every now and then... instead putting down runes, sterilizing her equipment, and cleansing every inch of not only the room, but everyone in it... in short, doing everything she could to make sure that the birth of this new child would be a healthy one.

Then she went carefully over the breathing techniques she wanted Cherry to use, as Cherry continued to hold Zerrex's hand tightly, her other arm crossed protectively over her belly as it visibly twitched and moved every now and then. She nodded, breathing hard... but so far, her labor hadn't been hard. Yet Zerrex knew that it would start in earnest soon enough... right now, that new demonic child was probably just rolling around in Cherry's womb, getting ready to come out to see the world for the first time... but her muscles hadn't started working in earnest to push it out yet. Just the same way it had been with Priest... although of course, with Priest they'd also been forced to do a little bit of cutting work in order to get him all the way out, even if Cherry had laughed her way through most of the process in that scary, psychotic, pain-defying way of hers.

So the only way Zerrex could tell that the contractions had really started were through two things: one, the expression on her face, the way her eyes bulged and her mouth curled up... and two, her body began to sweat. Her legs didn't buck, however, and her stomach made noises and rumbled in strange ways... but it seemed no different than it had even before her water had broken. Yet Zerrex could tell it was different... and he immediately glanced over at Sin, who was across the room and chatting with Lily as they cleaned her devices, Mary sitting on Cherry's other side and reading quietly up on demonic anatomy. "Sin, she's started."

Sin looked at Cherry and walked in close as Cherry muttered something about him being a tattle-tail, and she nodded as she crouched between her legs, reaching forwards and doing things to her vagina the Drakkaren wasn't going to pretend to understand as Priest looked shocked, immediately looking up at his mother's face. "You're right... first thing Cherry, is not to push. Pushing will only drag out the process at this moment... as much as it hurts, you have to relax your body and let the baby enter the birth canal naturally. You'll obviously feel very stretched... but thankfully we have some resident healers who can help you with the pain if necessary."

"Fuck that, I know what I'm doing." Cherry grumbled, then she squeezed Zerrex's hand, making the reptile wince. "Anyway, it was this loser who got all you assholes worried about me when I'm perfectly goddamn fine. Fucking hell, I do gotta say though, that this little bastard already feels bigger than Priest... holy shit, Sin, and to think, sometimes after nine months on the mortal plane chicks give birth to anorexic babies with little... tiny... everything. This one feels like fucking Atlas."

"Be careful what you say, Lady Cherry... Atlas wasn't easy even for me to give birth to. I think you're just too competitive for your own good." Sin replied mildly, although there was a bit of a smile on her muzzle as she stood up and quietly touched Cherry's stomach, and after a moment its rumbling subsided. Cherry looked at Sin distrustfully, but she only shrugged, saying softly: "Sometimes all you really need to do is let the inside world know the outside one isn't hostile."

Cherry mumbled something, then she pointed at Sin and said flatly: "You're as fucked as him sometimes." She pointed at Zerrex as she spoke, then winced and squeezed his hand firmly, adding dumbly: "Hey, Priest, can you go get me something to drink?"

"No fluids, no food." Sin said immediately, shaking her head, and Cherry glowered at her. "I know it's difficult, Miss Cherry, but with the state of your body you'll likely just end up vomiting it all over the place. Besides, I'm fairly certain that soon enough, food and drink will be the furthest thing from your mind."

"Blah-blah-blah, I'm the baby mystic." Cherry huffed, and then she looked around the room, where the others were staring at her, and whined: "And why the hell are there so many people here? The Sisters, Mary, Lily... the fuck are you all doing here?"

They looked awkwardly around, none of them answering, before Earth stepped forwards and said in a meek voice: "Because, big sister, we all care about you... and if you end up needing help, we all want to be here to give it to you."

Cherry looked at her suspiciously for a moment... and then she grunted and nodded, saying finally: "Then... good, I guess. Yeah. Ugh, fuck, feels like your cock just rammed up into my lungs, Boss, 'cept there ain't the usual pleasure that goes with that."

Zerrex coughed and rubbed at his head as he glanced away at the looks that got him, but Cherry didn't seem to much care, as she looked back and forth before continuing flatly: "This little dude's a fighter, I tell you that much. 'Cept he probably has my brain, too, 'cause he feels like he's... ugh... trying to punch his way out of me..." She paused, gurgled loudly, and then her expression paled as she wheezed loudly, before it turned into a pained groan. "Holy shit, that one stung. Sin, can't you just reach up there and drag the little bastard out by the heels? He just punched me right in the sweet spot."

"You don't even know where the sweet spot is." Zerrex muttered, and Cherry didn't reply as she writhed a bit on the bed instead, breathing hard in and out. He felt compassion for her, though, and knew she was just dealing with this as she dealt with everything else... but all the same, he didn't like that all they could do was wait and listen to Cherry spout bad one-liners as she laid around in pain. Not that she'd ever accept more help than she needed... well, hell, not even that she'd accept the help that she did need. It's gonna be a long labor...

And it was indeed: the labor seemed to last forever, as Cherry's pain grew more and more intense until she was trying her best not to scream, even as Mary blocked out as much of her pain as she could using the magical abilities she'd developed in Heaven... and Lily assisted Sin, as Sin told Cherry firmly to keep pushing, after so many hours of Cherry doing nothing. Every push Cherry made seemed to cause her agony to treble, however, but she refused to cry out as she grunted and snarled like a beast, her eyes bulging in her head and her grip on Zerrex's hand painful and strong enough to bruise it. Priest was pacing back and forth, looking horribly-unnerved and rubbing at his head every now and then... and then he jumped backwards, almost knocking one of the Sisters over as she walked past with an armload of bloody sheets they had just traded out.

Cherry was bleeding heavily already from the vagina, too, and her body had taken on more of a stretched look... just as her abdominals had visibly torn apart from the inside, and her stomach was covered in bruises and her scales were cracked. Another of the Sisters was sponging off her body, keeping her clean and at the same time reporting to Sin the level of damage she was dealing with.

And so on it went, until Cherry finally tilted her head back and shrieked, before it turned to crazed, semi-hysterical laughter as she grinned at Zerrex, sweat beading down her face even as another of the Sisters carefully wiped it off with a cloth, and she flailed at whoever it was weakly before she rasped: "Hurts like shit... but I'll be damned if it's anything worse than you put me through, Boss, you big fucking bastard. I just want the kid outta there now... oh fuck, goddammit... that baby must be the size of a goddamn freight-train..."

"Hold in there, Cherry, you're doing wonderfully." Zerrex said quietly, leaning forwards. His hand hurt, his butt hurt, and concern for Cherry was making his mind feel strained... but he was damned if he was going to complain about any of those things with the pain he was watching her go through, as Priest, behind him, alternated between looking pale and looking ill. He was holding up well, all things considered, though... and he knew it didn't help that his mother was sweaty, her body looked like it had been run over by a tank, and she was naked and vulnerable in a way that was scary even for Zerrex. "I mean, we gotta be more than halfway through, right?"

"Yes, we're getting closer. I want to cut into Cherry's body, however, and... manually widen her vagina. It will cause some more severe rippage and it will hurt terribly... but it will also allow us to get the child out of her faster, and it might be the best course of action in the long run." Sin said quietly but firmly, before she motioned at Mary, who was seated and looking tired but game, done with whatever magic she'd been performing. "Mary can completely block Cherry's pain sensors for a short time, and the Sisters can help her-"

"Fuck that, just cut me up and be done with it." Cherry said, half-sitting up with a snarl of disgust and agony on her face, and the others looked at her in surprise as she pointed at Sin and said firmly: "Bitch, I ain't no china doll. You do what you gotta do and fuck the drugs and the magic and the bullshit, got that? I ain't about to subject my body to any more magical mayhem... let's do this the old fashioned way."

"Cherry, even for you, the pain will be unbearable..." Sin said in a confused voice, frowning a bit... but Zerrex only looked at her pointedly as Cherry let out a grunt and then glared angrily at Sin again, and the Naganatine looked helplessly around the room before she finally nodded hesitantly, saying quietly: "So help me, I will. But if I have to, I'm going to knock you out completely and remove the child in a full operation. Water, Fire, please hold down her arms..."

"Dad and I can do it." Priest said immediately, and Sin looked at him for a moment before she nodded, and the two Sisters nodded themselves in return, Fire patting Priest on the back as he walked by but staying close, just in case. Zerrex continued to hold Cherry's hand with one of his own as he grasped her arm with the other, and he smiled a bit across at Priest... who looked back at him with an ill look on his face, but his eyes told the Drakkaren that he at least felt he was ready to help out in this way, that he felt he had enough strength to handle this both physically and emotionally... and Zerrex only hoped he was right. Priest might be a demon, after all, and their son... but it's a whole different ballgame than the usual kinds of battle we're used to, to hold down someone you love so damn much as one of your friends cuts her goddamn vagina apart... "I... ready. We're ready, right Dad?"

"Right." Zerrex said quietly, nodding firmly as he swallowed a bit... and Sin hesitated for only a moment before she nodded as well, holding a hand out to Lily, who immediately handed her a long, thin blade that glinted dangerously in the light. Sin rested her hand against Cherry's huge, bulging stomach as she inspected her vagina closely and likely felt out where the baby was positioned... and then she took a long breath before she moved the tool forwards, the knife glinting in the light as Cherry's belly bounced and her hips bucked and heaved once before settling, the female groaning in pain...

And then Sin carefully made an incision up into Cherry's belly, and the demoness screamed in pain and anguish as she threw her head back, her teeth gritting and her eyes bulging horribly in her skull as blood gushed out of the wound in her vagina. Sin had been careful to avoid any major veins or arteries, but even despite her knowledge of anatomy, Mary immediately stepped forwards, muttering a spell that slowed the flow of blood from Cherry's waist even as the demoness snarled: "I said I'd fucking do this on my own!"

She flailed a bit in the bed, but husband and son held her down as the stirrup held her legs in place, and Mary said in a tired voice: "It's just stopping the flow of blood... or would you like your son to be born and for you to die of blood loss, of all things?"

"My son..." Cherry's eyes glistened with tears, and she grinned stupidly as she tilted her head towards Zerrex, saying in a triumphant voice: "See? I totally win."

"Oh fuck you, this can wait." Zerrex said flatly in return, and Cherry's hysterical laugh turned out a loud scream as she bucked her hips, and Sin took another instrument from Lily, doing something else to her vagina as she howled: "Holy shit, it's tearing me apart! Get that little bastard out of my cunt!"

"Mom!" Priest said in a shocked voice, and his grip on her arm weakened for a moment... and then he winced as she reached a hand up and grabbed his collar, glaring at him and dragging him down in front of her face.

"I am stressed and trying to deliver a baby that feels like a small car!" she howled in his face, and she shoved him backwards, two of the Sisters wincing and catching him as Fire leapt in and tackled her arm, holding it down as Cherry arched her back as her hips gave a mighty heave and buck, and something squelched and tore loudly at her vagina, the demoness shrieking loudly in pain. "What the fuck is coming out of me?"

Sin didn't answer as she threw her tools away, yelling at Lily... and immediately Lily handed her some sort of clamp, and Sin applied this to Cherry's ripped vagina, pulling it open wider and causing Cherry to pale as she screamed again in pain, blood spurting out of her and sweat coursing down her body as she looked at Zerrex, wheezing in and out... and then she turned her eyes downwards as Zerrex snarled, fighting to keep her arm pinned as her hand squeezed tight enough on his hand to make his fingers feel like breaking off. And instead of seconds, minutes passed... until finally, twenty minutes later, Sin shouted something, covered in Cherry's blood - as was Lily, who was looking pale herself as she came forwards with a pair of large scissors... and as Cherry's belly trembled and began to collapse like a circus tent, her hips bucking wildly as her screams turned into roars, as blood gushed all over the sheets and stained her red scales even deeper crimson, tears running down her pale face all the while... another sound finally entered the room, a sound of crying.

Cherry's breath caught in mid-scream, as something came out of her with a hideous ripping... but it was like the pain didn't matter, as her struggles ceased. Even as Mary and two of the Sisters came forwards to perform all manner of healing incantations, it was like time slowed as Zerrex saw Sin lift a child - it had to be a child, it was too big to be a baby - free of Cherry's body and cradle it in her arms, looking down at it with amazement and reverence as Lily's hands trembled, trembled, then steadied the scissors she was holding as she brought them forwards to cut the umbilical cord not around its belly, but instead that fed into a sort of 'mask' that was locked around its jaws, feeding it air and nutrients. Many demonic children were born with such strange 'masks,' which were neither parasite nor symbiote, and yet still some strange 'other' life-form that helped connected mother-to-child... and after the cord was cut, the strange tentacles wrapped around its jaws slowly withered and peeled back as Sin grasped it and pulled it off, two long tubes coming out of the baby's jaws as it coughed and flailed its arms, awakening as if from a deep sleep... and it breathed slowly as its eyes opened, Cherry's beautiful blue glowing out of its face.

It was a little reptile, like they were... Dragokkaren in nature, chubby, and with no demonic characteristics Zerrex could really see at the moment... and it didn't cry as it said something in gibberish, before Cherry grinned weakly and widely, tears running down her face as she half-sat up, finally releasing Zerrex's hand as Lily wrapped it in a blanket... and she looked over at Zerrex before she said happily: "Look, look, look at that big bad bastard, Zerrex! Look at the size of that fucker, holy hell, he's my baby alright... and your baby too! Wow, we have another... another son?"

It was almost hesitant... and then Sin nodded as she smiled softly and handed it down to Cherry. Her crotch looked like it had been destroyed, her belly was withered and her muscles damaged and gone, and her body was still somewhere between pale white and red... but Zerrex had never seen a happier expression on her face as she took the baby into arms that were still strong, pulling him close to her chest, and it looked up at her for a few long moments before it reached up and touched her face... and then closed its eyes and curled up in her arms, going to sleep as she whispered: "My little baby boy... my little baby... Markus."

Zerrex looked at her with surprise... and she smiled up at him, looking every bit a mother as she said softly: "What, Boss, you think I don't pay attention? That is... if you don't mind."

The Drakkaren swallowed and nodded after a moment... and then he slid into bed with her, wrapping an arm around her body as Priest got down on his knees beside the bed, and the others slowly began to clap as Zerrex lowered his head beside Cherry's, smelling her sweat, her blood, her frenzy-turned-joy... and seated here, he felt truly happy... and like he was ready to handle anything that came his way, with his wife-who-was-more-than-a-wife, and his new son, Markus Narrius.

After they got cleaned up and managed to get Cherry to at least pull the blankets up over his body, everyone, of course, wanted to see the baby. Cherry was presented with a short list of exactly who that she went over while Zerrex held onto the baby boy, who was calm and quiet in his arms, slowly moving his little limbs and surprisingly heavy. Sin had weighed him in at no less than 52.12 pounds... a weight that even for a demonic child was unsettlingly-large. It certainly explained why Cherry had gotten so gravid, though... and of course, why she had been so bitchy. I don't think I could take seven and some months with a giant like you in my belly... no offense, kiddo. And to think... the normal baby is what, eight pounds, a few ounces? But you developed in even less time... and you weigh more than five times more. No wonder we decided to go with Markus Angelus Narrius... and you're so damn quiet and calm, too.

"Okay, I don't want a lot of people today. Selena, well... I hate her, but sure. She can come in, she gave me that real nice blanket and that awesome little set of one-pieces for the baby." Cherry said seriously, looking more like a director setting up auditions than anything else. "Vampire and Tinny can come in together, but as long as Vampire doesn't get too close. He sheds like an unevolved longhaired dog in summer, or even worse, like one of Sin's stupid Seethe Hounds. No offense, Sin."

"None taken, Lady Cherry." Sin said mildly, from where she was folding out laundry. She had already done her examination of Cherry and the baby, and she had been profusely thanked by both... but ever the professional, she was still taking care of the little tasks here and there as the Sisters floated around the bed. Priest had gone home, looking stupefied and amazed at what he'd just witnessed - although also a little like he was going to vomit - andLily and Mary had retired to another room to rest as well. Mary had used up a lot of her energies... and Lily, meanwhile, had witnessed an impromptu caesarian section and assisted with it, and it was apparently more than the birth-streamlined female could take at the moment.

Zerrex still felt dreamy, as he held Markus in his arms... and then he looked up, saying mildly: "You'd better let Felicity come in and see too... she's not as big on babies or anything as the others arm, but I think she'd really like it. Plus, she's been the one watching out for us for all this time... I think she deserves to see the little treasure she's been protecting."

"You asshole, already attributing monetary value to our baby." Cherry huffed playfully, and then she grinned a bit as Zerrex looked at her with mild amusement. "Well hey, what do you know? I already feel good enough to make jokes. Fuck, I just hope these hormones are draining out of my system already... and you know, I feel big and empty, but like. I don't know what the other whiny mommies be bitching about. After getting that big bastard out of my guts, I feel like I could float right the hell away."

"I think other mothers deal with emotional emptiness more than physical emptiness, Cherry, in post-partum depression." Zerrex said mildly, as he walked over to her... and he traded her the list for the baby, glancing over it and seeing that she hadn't checked off many more names. "Cherry, we're letting Sabnock in here, it's rare for her to show any kind of mortal emotion at all and I wanna see how she reacts around a baby... and come on, Alastor isn't a risk, he's just neurotic."

"Fine, fuck, have it your way. Control freak." Cherry looked at him with cheerfulness in her eyes, however, grinning widely as if she was enjoying being chastised... which she probably was. "Just space the visits apart, huh? I don't wanna disturb our little boy too much..." She paused, then added softly, as she gazed down at Markus's clean face and his whitish-red scales, which would probably become a different color as time passed: "And you know, I don't see how any mother could be sad after giving birth... but maybe I'm just lucky to have so many people around me who actually give a rat's ass. This ain't nothing like the gypsy caravan where I grew up... they could be some wicked people, and more likely than anything else, they'd just cut the chick open, take out her baby, and if they survived, they survived... whichever didn't, they'd throw away like garbage."

"Gypsies?" Sin looked up curiously, tilting her head... and Cherry nodded quietly, glancing away. This was the first time, Zerrex realized, she'd spoken so openly about her past to people other than him... and he admired her strength of character for doing so. "What are gypsies? Are they a certain religion?"

"You could say that." Cherry said mildly, looking dryly amused despite herself as she sat up a bit with Markus in her arms, keeping him cradled close against her immense bosom. "Gypsies are nomads... lots of bands were pretty much glorified carnies, harmless even if they were a bit creepy, but the band my family was part of was still into the old bloody ways... thieves more than vagabonds, their own strict laws, and everything was based around magic and power and money. It was an ugly place..."

She stopped, then shook her head a bit, kissing Markus's forehead gently and gazing at him softly. "But those times are over now, thankfully, and instead I'm in a better place now. My psychotic mother is dead and gone, most of the rest of the Blossom clan never survived for very long in Hell, and I've got a hell of a good little family around me here, from the Boss to Priest, and you guys here looking after me too and givin' me some real nice fuckin' help. I couldn't ever ask for anything more than that..." She laughed a bit, gazing tenderly across at Zerrex now, her eyes warm before she glanced down at Sin and winked. "Anyway, what the fuck are you still doing here, anyway? Why aren't you somewhere else, getting some good rest after this crank shift you've pulled?"

"What?" Sin looked confused for a moment, and the male coughed a bit as he looked away as Cherry snorted in entertainment. Then the Naganatine sighed, looking at them with dry amusement. "Please, Miss Cherry, this is truly no problem for me... it's a pleasure to see you so calm and placid after how used I am to you being so... moody over this last little while."

Cherry rolled her eyes, looking entertained despite herself as she retorted: "And believe me, from my point of view, everything's been sunshine, lollipops, and big bouncy titties and dicks. You're such assholes, all of you." She paused, then looked down at Markus, saying in a baby-voice as she nuzzled him lovingly: "Except for you, except for you, my little baby boy."

"You know, it'd be really nice if you could maybe let someone else hold the baby, like one of the Sisters." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry huffed at him before the male frowned as he glanced back and forth. "Where the hell did you send them off to, anyway?"

"Oh, you know, just to uh. Do a few chores." Cherry gestured a hand absently in some vague direction, and Zerrex looked at her flatly as she grinned stupidly at him, keeping Markus held protectively close. "Hey, this first week or so be bonding time. Just feel fortunate I let you hold him, Boss... and by the way, you owe me twenty bucks and a coffee."

The Drakkaren looked away, ignoring the last part as Sin sighed and finished reorganizing the tools she'd brought in with her, looking over at them with faint amusement. "I don't know if you two are exactly being serious about this whole thing or not, but I suppose that I can overlook your outwards behavior, knowing you as I do. In any case, Lady Cherry, I am at least glad that you're already feeling so much better... and I think I will take your advice for the moment and leave you two alone. The Sisters, I'm sure, are ready to answer your every beck and call... and of course, if you need me at all, Lord Zerrex, you know what to do." She bowed deeply to them both, then said quietly as she straightened: "It's been an honor, Lady Cherry, Lord Zerrex."

"The honor's been all ours." Zerrex replied softly, and Cherry smiled a bit behind him and nodded. Sin gazed at them affectionately, and then she came forwards and gently kissed her fingers before pressing them against Markus's forehead... and the baby cooed a bit before Sin turned and left without another word, vanishing through a portal. A moment later, Sammy popped into existence on the Drakkaren's shoulder... and the reptile glanced down at him before his eyes went to Cherry as he noticed her fuming. "Now what?"

"Dude, the hell did she get a coo for? He ain't cooed for me yet and I'm the one who squirted him out my vagina." Cherry rumbled, before she paused and peered at Sammy, who chirped at her and then leaned down curiously towards the baby: an action that made Cherry lean away with distaste, half-protecting her child. "And hey, asshole, you better not be like no angry kitty or something. You lay one claw on this kid and I'll strangle the life out of you and Zerrex both."

"She's a little overprotective." Zerrex replied mildly, and Sammy grumbled something before he looked at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren saw a few simple images pass through his head: locked down hallways, patrolling Royal Guards, and Felicity standing just outside the doors, Vampire sitting on his ass nearby with a spear loosely held between his legs. He nodded after a moment, and then he murmured: "So we're under good guard... where else did you go?"

Sammy chirped again at him, and Zerrex got the basic meaning even without any imagery: the pseudodragon had taken a little nap, since he hadn't been allowed back into the room right away. Zerrex thought that was more than a fair compromise, all things considered... and he stretched and yawned a bit himself, looking with dry amusement at Cherry, who was now mumbling to her baby in a conspiratory voice as she tossed little glances outwards now and then. "So, you haven't gone totally bonkers yet, have you?"

"Not yet." Cherry admitted, looking up from Markus, before she half-thrust the baby out towards him, making Zerrex wince as she demanded: "Tell the kid a bedtime story. Now."

This was Cherry's parenting method: ninety percent of the time she'd be way too overprotective and she'd spoil the hell out of the kid... but ten percent of the time she'd be a bit too rough, or she wouldn't stop to consider that a baby by any other word was still a baby. Zerrex gingerly took Markus, who was shuffling a bit now - although still not crying, thankfully, since that would have likely set off Cherry into a lunatic fit of mothering - and cradling him close, as Sammy stuck his head curiously down towards the baby's face. Cherry growled as the pseudodragon's head craned in perhaps an inch or two too close, and Sammy squeaked before he looked up in surprise and fell backwards off Zerrex to thud to the floor, and Zerrex sighed before he paused, settled on a story, and began to speak in calm, measured tones, surprised by how easy it was to fall into old fables.

If there was one thing Cherry envied in him, he knew, it was the fact that he could always, for one reason or another, somehow easily remember just the right children's story and how to tell it. Even if he stumbled now and then, he didn't need picture books or anything else... while Cherry had problems reading Markus a story and balancing both him and a book at the same time. Not that he thought it was any spectacularly-stunning talent... here they were in Hell, after all, surrounded by creatures that could literally warp and bend reality to their likings with their minds.

But with Markus cradled in his arms, and the three of them together - four, counting Sammy, who was sitting at his feet and listening intently - he really did feel good... and he really did feel like a real family, and like the greatest power he ever had was the power that let him make this little baby gurgle and coo in apparent happiness. His eyes were so bright, and he was huge but so damn cute... and Zerrex smiled a bit as he rocked him slowly back and forth, leaning down to kiss his forehead gently near the end of the story and making Cherry huff as the baby reached up and grabbed at his muzzle loosely.

Not long after Zerrex finished the story, just after he handed the baby back to Cherry, the Four Sisters came back from whatever chores they'd be sent off to do... and when they stood at either side of the bed, looking expectantly down at her, Cherry seemed loathe to hand them Markus... but eventually she relented, and watched moodily, grasping the sheets in her hand and wringing them discontentedly as the Sisters inspected the baby and whispered soft words to him in their ancient language, holding him close for a few moments each before they passed him to the next Sister, until finally he was handed back to Cherry, and she snuggled his sleeping form close again.

"He's not a damn potato, you know. What's wrong with all you chicks, always wanting to hold them damn babies? I never wanted to hold no damn baby. Hell, I could let go of Markus any time I wanted and hand him over to Zerrex right now." Cherry said clearly, glowering around at the Sisters, and Zerrex coughed a bit before she said flatly, glaring at him: "You ain't getting to hold the baby right now, Mommy-Zerrex."

"Oh, go to hell." Zerrex said flatly, not really caring about how senseless the remark was. "You're just being a pain in the ass today, I think. But hey, why don't you get some sleep, Cherry? Even you should be tired after today's events... and I can put the baby in the crib or... okay, okay, you can just hold onto him then."

"Damn right I will." Cherry rumbled, looking darkly at Zerrex before she huffed and patted the bed beside her, saying mildly: "And you get in here, too. It might stink of blood and sweat and stuff you can't imagine, and I might not be the prettiest thing in the world right now, but you're gonna damn well lay beside me and help protect our baby and damn well like it. And your pseudodragon thing is not allowed on the bed until I say so, either. You hear me Sammy, wherever the fuck you're hiding? You pop up on here and I'm gonna boot you across the goddamn room."

Sammy huffed from under the bed, but he didn't argue: Zerrex wouldn't really be surprised if the dragon didn't know how to even argue with the post-pregnant female, and didn't blame him. The lizard himself certainly didn't, as he sighed and slipped into bed beside Cherry... and she gently placed Sammy between them as they looked at each other for a moment over Sammy with the Four Sisters around them, before one of them spoke up in a gentle, loving voice: "We'll finish cleaning up around here then, Big Sister... you should just rest your head, and let us deal with things at the moment."

"It really is our pleasure... the irony of the situation, after all, is in the fact that you can bear children, while barren in life... and we, as the eternal beings we have always been, cannot..." added another, whom Zerrex was pretty sure was Water, as she stroked a hand down Cherry's arm. And Zerrex thought it really was a strange irony... but so many things in Hell seemed to operate on strange ironies that he at least wasn't all that surprised to hear about it. "Please, get your rest now, though... and you too, Lord Zerrex... we'll take care of everything."

"Everything and anything." added Earth, blushing a bit as she nodded and smiled down at them, and another of the Sister's - Zerrex didn't see her, but figured it was Fire - grunted from behind him, as she adjusted the sheets over his body at the same time. And then there was quiet... and in only a few moments, the Drakkaren felt his eyes slipping closed, as he saw Cherry and Markus but didn't really hear anything else, as if his mind had been overloaded... and then his eyes were slipping closed, and in only moments more, he was down, down, down into darkness...

He found himself, moments later, standing in a quiet meadow inside his mind... and when he absently touched his chest, he realized he was wearing simple, plain clothes, although they felt strangely-thick. The Drakkaren glanced back and forth with a bit of a frown before he looked down at himself, and he realized that his clothes were made of animal hide... and then his eyes flicked up as he heard the sound of a flute playing: his first thought was that it was Ixin, but then he realized that the style was completely different: it was cruder and simpler, yet also happier... it lacked the melodrama and undercurrent of madness that Ixin's music tended to hold.

Zerrex walked through the meadow towards the sound, and he found a slope leading down into a valley... and the Drakkaren paused for a moment at this before he put his hands on his hips, smiling a bit as his eyes settled on a version of himself that was smiling and happily playing away at a simple wooden flute. Unevolved animals surrounded him, all of them looking curiously onwards as squirrels danced around his feet and birds fluttered in nearby, thin trees... but the moment Zerrex stepped down towards himself - or rather, the part of his mind he knew simply as 'Good' - it was all swept away into darkness, and instead Zerrex found himself standing in the throne room of bones owned by the Princess, her last little fortress in his mind.

Strangely, however, he didn't detect a vibe from her, and she looked tired, her mask on but the emerald light in her eyes faded. There was a strangely self-satisfied look about her all the same, though, as she rested her arms on the arms of her throne... and then she leaned forwards, saying in a quiet, clear voice: "While I realize this isn't the most opportune of times... I wanted to offer you my congratulations. It's not often a child is born with such high hopes in Hell... and something like Markus occurs every few millennia. But more importantly, it seems that your body and my abilities have become... shall we say... properly-mixed? In short, your body has adjusted to my tremendous powers... and now I'm ready to teach you just how to use those abilities. Of course..." She sat back, examining her claws as she said softly: "If you're uncomfortable learning how to use what gifts I've bestowed upon you at the moment... go ahead and say so, and we shall save them for another time. After all, I'm sure you think this is all some big trick, and that I'm just trying to lash out at your baby... but believe me. Some levels even I would never stoop to."

Strangely, the contempt in her voice told Zerrex she was likely being honest... but he also caught a different message in her tone as well, and he leaned his head forwards slightly as he said softly: "But there's something about Markus, isn't there, that... impresses you? Is it because Cherry's body is mixed with that of the Fifth Sister?"

"The Center of the Cross... my strongest Daughter..." The Princess looked down, tapping her fingers slowly against one arm of the throne and suddenly looking... strange. Zerrex couldn't quite put his finger on it... but was it jealously? Scorn? No... it was strange because it wasn't the usual hostile emotions he was used to sensing from her. It was more like bitterness... and maybe a bit of sadness as well. "Priest and Markus are genetic anomalies, aberrations even by Hell's standards... they're children of prophecy, assuming there was ever a prophecy written about them. No. I wouldn't hurt either of them... they are... they fascinate me. And their strength, in time, will grow until they make your powers look childish in comparison, which believe me, does grate on my nerves somewhat... I'd much prefer to have died at their hands rather than to have been captured by you and trapped in this melancholy world you call your soul."

She snorted and threw her arms wide, then made a disgusted face when as the throne room rumbled and a few shards of bone fell down from the ceiling. "What a mess this whole experiment has become... what a failure you turned out to be." She spoke in a voice that was more entertained than disgusted, however, as she leaned forwards, her eyes burning into his eyes as she said softly: "Delightful, isn't it, though... you and I share so much, Lord Zerrex Narrius, child of my traitor Warlord. It seems all things I support turn upon me... I have been betrayed over many centuries by many thousands of my disciples, until here I sit today... but believe me, I will not be forgotten... and I think that is something even you can sympathize with and understand."

"Maybe a bit." Zerrex said carefully, looking across at her as he crossed his arms and asked mildly: "So what do you want? Just to talk? To know that Markus Angelus Narrius is a beautiful bouncing baby boy? Or did you just want to feel like you had a bit of an ace in your sleeve, that now I'll hesitate to fight you if I have to if only because your powers have mixed into my body?"

"I am no lowly criminal scum, Lord Zerrex." the Princess said tersely, and then she rubbed slowly at her mask... before she flinched with a hiss as the golden surface of it cracked, leaving an ugly scar over one cheek as the Drakkaren's eyes narrowed. Then she sat back slowly in her throne, tenting her fingers as she said softly: "No. If anything, I fear that all your greatest foes... will fall and die in only the first act. Celestial, myself, and Loki... we were all no match for you. Not because of your 'talents,' but because of your goddamned incorrigible perseverance... and that endurance of yours is like a poison in my veins now, trapped as I am inside you. For all my knowledge, for all my wards and magic... I'm being crushed slowly out of existence simply by your enduring spirit, which wears away at my glorious hovel like water against rock."

Slowly, she stood, their eyes meeting... and then she held out a hand to him, saying mildly: "I know that if you could, Lord Zerrex, you would forget me, and gladly. You would make it so I never existed... and that would be far more humiliating than any defeat at your hands. So instead, I will teach you how to harness my powers properly... so that one day you will have to thank me, even if I am dead and gone, and that will be my ultimate victory over you. But leave me now... I am tired already, and I need to conserve what energy I have left. Just be warned... I will never let you forget me, or the effect I have had on your life."

She pointed at him, more grim and cold than any reaper of souls Zerrex had ever met... before darkness tore at his vision, and in another moment, he opened his eyes to find himself looking at Cherry, who was sitting up in bed and quietly breastfeeding Markus. The reptile sat up after a moment, rubbing slowly at his head... and without looking up, Cherry said softly: "Bad dreams, huh?"

"The Princess." Zerrex shook his head slowly, and Cherry's eyes looked over at him softly, as he rubbed at his skull and muttered: "She's playing mind games... but not her usual mind games. If you want the truth, I think she's running quickly out of steam... no other soul has ever lasted so long inside me, after all."

"You're like a fuckin' Venus Fly Trap of spiritual energy." Cherry remarked blithely, and Zerrex sighed, looking at her flatly before she grinned a bit, tilting her head towards him. "By the way, you know... don't think too much got by me, even when I was being a pregnant freak of nature. I know, for example, that you put off Desire and Cypress a lot these last few months... and that even if you and Sin did do a few impromptu Iuratus preparations with them, it wasn't a whole lot. So tell you what. I can hold down fort here for a few days... get lost, go out to Sin's Tower with them and Mist and Shine and whoever else, and do your thing with the Iuratus. Then we can trade off... and I'll let you take care of Markus here while I start getting this body of mine back into shape and do all the shit I put off these last seven and a half months. Then our kid really notices both of us and we... do that thing where we... leave a mark on him without beating him..."

"You mean, where we... dammit, now you made me forget the word." Zerrex said flatly, and Cherry shrugged amiably before the Drakkaren sighed and nodded, his eyes softening. "You sure though, Cherry? You know it can wait..."

"Yeah, but we've had enough shit happen because we waited too long this last while." Cherry said softly, and Zerrex nodded slowly after a moment, hating to agree but knowing it was true nonetheless. "I mean, it's already been a good long time here in Hell... and we still need to find Mercy, find out more about this Wulfe Pharmaceuticals bullshit, and deal with whatever else we haven't dealt with yet that I'm too tired-ass to remember at the moment. Sure, we gotta spend like, what, a century or so longer in Hell to make sure Markus grows up good and proper... but I tell you what, I sure as fuck am ready to get my dancing shoes on and take care of the shit I promised my other daughter. I ain't forgetting about Mercy, after all... just as I ain't forgetting any of my other promises. Plus you got some other crazy shit to take care of on the mortal plane, ain't that right?"

"Keep piling it on Cherry, that's real nice of you." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry rolled her eyes with a snort of amusement before he smiled a bit and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her cheek quietly. "But you know what? I think I will... and while I'm there, I think I'll get the Princess to talk to me and show me these abilities, whether she likes it or not."

"Just you be careful. Bitch be wily." Cherry paused as Markus shifted off her teat, and she picked up a soft cloth from nearby, Zerrex watching in amusement as she lovingly brushed down his muzzle before she held him up in front of Zerrex, ordering: "Kiss him goodbye."

Zerrex leaned forwards and gave Markus a gentle kiss on the forehead, and Markus made a childish sound at him as the reptile leaned back, gazing at the male's body. His scale colors were staring to fade in now, becoming more of a blue speckled with a darker, almost-black... and the Drakkaren stroked his son's face quietly as he murmured softly: "See you, Markus. I'll be back soon, though... but Cherry's right. We have lots of responsibilities to deal with at the moment... and not least of all is making sure I keep my word to my daughters."

"I love you." Cherry said suddenly, as Zerrex slipped out of bed... and the reptile looked over his shoulder in surprise before she smiled hesitantly and repeated quietly: "I love you, Boss. You take care of your ass, got it?"

Zerrex nodded, rubbing at his face slowly... and then he said softly in return: "I love you too, Cherry... and I promise that I will, so long as you do the same. Watch our son close, huh?"

"Baby ain't getting out of my sight." Cherry nodded firmly, watching as Sammy bounced out from under the bed to leap up onto Zerrex's shoulder, and the little dragon chirped at her, the demoness huffing. "Bitch, please. Don't you start, now, or I'll slap you into next week."

Sammy snorted in return, and then Zerrex created a portal, rolling his eyes and pausing only to raise a hand to his wife and child before he vanished through it... and a moment later, he emerged in the courtyard of Sin's Tower, looking up at the tall, imposing structure. He wondered for a moment if Sin was here... before the Naganatine appeared beside him, bowing her head politely as she said softly: "Excuse my impertinence, Lord Zerrex, but I felt your presence here... and I thought you might be looking for something."

"Cherry suggested that I bring Mist, Shine, Desire, and Cypress here... and that we go through the Iuratus process now." Zerrex said softly, and Sin smiled a bit, nodding thoughtfully after a moment. "How long has it been, though? My internal clock feels like it's slipped a notch."

"Two days." Sin replied gently, and Zerrex looked shocked, figuring he couldn't have slept for that long by himself, especially since Cherry had seemed tired enough to have just woken up herself. "Hell took a short pace forwards... barely enough to register, but a blip nonetheless. I think it has something to do with the fact that time is... slowly shortening for us, or perhaps lengthening on the mortal plane."

Zerrex remembered: so long ago, they'd spoken about that... how now it took a few less days of Hell time to equal one less year of mortal time. Nothing that seemed to big at first... but if it kept happening... "Then there's one more thing to look into, wonderful. But at least it doesn't seem too serious just yet. Do you think that you could get the others for me, though, Sin?"

Sin nodded, bowing politely to him with a smile... and she vanished after a moment through a portal, leaving Zerrex standing in the courtyard. He walked around in a slow circle, stretching out a bit and sighing as he wondered for a moment if this was the right decision, reflecting on the fact that just because Cherry said it was did definitely not necessarily mean it was... but then, when Sin appeared with the Twins and his two daughters who were officially Iuratus-in-training... he decided there was no time like the present, as he looked across at them all and said softly: "Hey girls."

"Congratulations, Lord Zerrex." Mist said warmly, stepping forwards and hugging him tightly... and she kissed one cheek, as Shine kissed the other, adding her own arms around his body.

"We're so proud to hear of what happened... truly, it's an incredible blessing." Shine added delightedly, before they both blushed and stepped backwards. "Not that we mean to be impertinent..."

"It's more than welcomed from you all..." Zerrex laughed and smiled, opening his arms as he looked at his daughters... and immediately, six pairs of arms wrapped tightly around him, Cypress and Desire curling in close with bright smiles. "And later, we can all go together to see Markus, my son. He's already quite a big boy, though... so you might be a little bit surprised."

They nodded, gazing at him lovingly as they all offered more congratulations and kind words... before Zerrex stepped back, and Sin cleared her throat, the four falling into line in front of the Drakkaren and looking rapt. For a moment, the reptile was without words... and then he cleared his throat and said quietly, letting himself just speak as he would: "I... in the bottom of this Tower, is a private secret of mine, that I'm sure a few of you have heard rumors of. A place for ultimate punishment... and a place where pain is treated as beauty and studied as well as enjoyed. It's sick and twisted and depraved but... the people here know no remorse, will never get better, and thus they are punished in the same way they would make others suffer, if they had the chance... although this is no true justification.

"But even further down, is a special room... where an ancient ritual can be used to create the ultimate bond between Iuratus and their master. Although I never felt it was necessary for Mist and Shine, with their pure devotion... they have been invited to participate anyway because I also don't want to make them feel as if they are any less of deserving of what awaits ahead. And you, Desire and Cypress... for you two, this will solidify your bond to me as Iuratus, and not just daughters. It's a hard life, where you will have to give things up... but a worthy life, too, I think." He gazed affectionately at the Twins, who both blushed and bowed their heads towards him. "Warrior slaves... something that isn't understood throughout most of the world, nor is the nobility in it, and the devotion. Mist and Shine are among the best and brightest Iuratus I have ever seen... and you're fortunate to have them with you to learn from, girls."

He paused, looking down a bit, before he finally nodded and smiled at Sin, meeting her eyes quietly. "I think it's time for us to lead us down, Sin... and just be ready for the things you all may see as we go deep into the catacombs beneath this tower."

Sin nodded... and their journey began a few moments later. Mist and Shine were calm and quiet, although Shine every so often reached up to squeeze the handle of her cleaver slowly, as if taking comfort in the weight of it when they passed the cells of some of the more violent patients... and Cypress was quieter than Desire, but Desire also seemed more unnerved, even as she tried to keep herself humble and calm. Sin and Zerrex, meanwhile, paid little attention to the surroundings, from the loading bay above to the deeper catacombs below... although they did pause for a moment in the room with the rusted, bloody hooks, and they smiled at each other in a strange, affectionate way that made Desire and Cypress exchange a confused look.

Then they left through a side door, and they took another elevator downwards, getting out at a long passage that spiraled even deeper, these cells full of demons that were mutated, monstrous, or so completely covered in restraints that they could barely be identified... and as they made their way slowly towards the bottom of this passage, Zerrex said quietly over his shoulder: "These demons are all from the Abyss... be careful not to approach too near the cells. If you think they're excited now, you haven't seen what happens when they get a whiff of fresh flesh... and the walls may be clear metal covered with protection runes, but that doesn't mean they're indestructible."

The others nodded slowly, and they continued downwards, walking in pairs: at the end of the passage, Sin and Zerrex both approached keypads on either side of the door, and they traded a look before the two entered a simple, three-digit code, then pulled the keypads open and pressed their hands against the square metal plates beneath. They glowed for a moment... and then the heavy-duty, armored door between the keypads clanked and opened slowly, and they stepped into another elevator that turned itself off, the others piling inside as Sin said softly: "The Well."

The elevator descended after a moment, making noises that were creaky and rusty... but Zerrex wouldn't've changed it for the world. It was all part of the strange, twisted ambience of this warped Hell-within-Hell where he was lord and master... and he smiled a bit to himself as he exchanged a look with Sin, who blushed and glanced awkwardly away, shifting a bit. He could almost feel the heat radiating off her body... and then he looked up as the elevator came to a halt and opened into a smooth metal hallway, and Zerrex and Sin took the lead again, the others following as they walked to a steel doorway at the end of the passage and they stepped out into a large, octagonal room, the rooftop domed and the floor slightly-sloped downwards, with a large, ugly hatch in the center of the room.

There were eight pairs of shackles on the wall... and from four of these, spaced equally-apart, hung four females. As the others stared in surprise, Sin stepped forwards, pointing at each in turn as she said softly: "A mortal virgin, not yet demon... yet vile and wicked enough to use her body to prey on the stupid and the vulnerable, promising them sexual favors, then killing and mangling them in horrible ways. A demonic virgin, who willingly sacrificed herself as part of an ancient ritual... her lust for power making her foolish. The last two are also virgins... but one is a pure of heart angel, who has been kept here as long as the others and bled for that time, but in her sleep she is given the sweetest of dreams instead of terrible nightmares... while the mortal opposite her, you see, is ugly on the outside... but she is good and innocent, and is treated to the same pleasures as the angel.

"I'm sure you've felt it already... but there is little corruption in this room, meaning magic doesn't function properly without those crystals." Sin now pointed at the eight crystals, each one resting like a plaque above the shackles that would hold their captives tight to the wall by the limbs and waist. "There are hidden vents in the floor that drain the corruption downwards, into the Well... the Well where Zerrex will be placed shortly, after you four are placed on the wall. The four places already taken up we refer to as the Feeders... while you will be in the Trade Winds positions. Lord Zerrex will be given your energy... and in return, you shall receive bits of his." She paused, then smiled a bit as she reached out to touch Sammy's nose, the little pseudodragon trying to hide in plain sight on Zerrex's shoulder. "You can't go in with him, I fear."

"So it creates a symbiotic effect..." Desire said slowly, and she smiled a bit at her father, gazing at him lovingly as the reptile nodded. "You feed off their corruption, their pain, their nightmares and innocence... and it enhances your demonic corruption. This is more than simply for us to become Iuratus... this is an antidote to the incompletion of the Lucifer's Eye."

"You're smart." Sin said softly, looking at her with soft entertainment, and Desire lowered her head with a blush. "Yes... it has a twofold effect. You four will aid in that process as well, but for the most part, you will each be connected with Lord Zerrex... and physiologically, it may change you. But more importantly, the exchange of energies will be experienced by each of you in a unique way... and you will all develop an intense connection to him. But you can never go back once this is completed, and you will always feel a compulsion to obey even the lightest of orders given to you by your master... our master, perhaps I should say."

Sin gazed quietly at Zerrex, and he laughed a bit as he shook his head slowly, reaching up to stroke the Nagantine's face gently as he murmured softly: "You're older, stronger, and far wiser than I am, Sin... if anyone's the boss around here, it should be you." He paused, then kissed her cheek gently, and she smiled as she bowed her head forwards respectfully, before his eyes travelled quietly around the room. "Last chance to back out now."

"We are ready." Mist said softly, and Shine nodded, as the twins pulled off their cleavers and laid them down on the ground as they knelt deeply in front of Zerrex. "Not only for our own selfish desires to be the best Iuratus we can be to you, to serve you in every way we can... but also because we both wish to help you..."

"To let you achieve that which has been denied you, and worries you so often..." Shine continued, gazing at him with tender affection. "The antidote to the mistakes made by the Lucifer's Eye."

Zerrex nodded with a faint smile... and then he glanced to the side as Cypress added firmly, clenching her hand into a fist: "I'm not backing out now either. Let's do this, Father... I'm as ready as they are to prove my loyalty to you... and my love for you."

"I've always wanted this... and I won't back out now." Desire finished softly, bowing her head deeply towards her father before she looked up at him, her eyes unwavering as she smiled faintly at him. "Now is the time to prove that, I think, more than ever before... now I'm ready to show you that I'm not just all talk."

"Then Sin will take care of you... and each of you will be put into a deep sleep for the next few days. It won't be dreamless... but don't panic at whatever comes to your mind." Zerrex said softly, gazing around at them all before he smiled a bit, glancing at the hatch on the floor. "And me, well... I get to go down deep in the well..." To... ferment in the pain, to sleep myself, as our energies join and I feed like a goddamn emotional vampire... not anything I'm exactly all that proud of, but... well... I trust Sin's judgment. "And I'll be there, until the process is over."

The others nodded... and things were strangely quiet as Sin went about the duty of hooking up the Twins and the soon-to-be-Iuratus, Zerrex wondering quietly as he stood beside the hatch whether or not this cheapened the whole experience. After all... it was sort of like he was almost giving them a handicap by forcing their bodies and minds to obey him, instead of the old-fashioned ways of Mist and Shine, who were psychologically-trained towards it but not actually under his total control... and yet the Twins looked enthralled. It was as if they viewed the entire experience as a chance to know their master all the better... and he wondered if he was just looking another gift horse in the mouth and complaining about things he really didn't need to complain about, as he rubbed at his muzzle slowly, watching as the four were hooked up to the walls.

When it was done, Sin came over to the hatch... and then she absently brushed Zerrex backwards when he reached down towards the valve handle, saying softly: "Allow me." A pause as he glared at her, but she only smiled a bit in return as she easily spun the valve handle and opened it, saying with quiet amusement: "No, Lord Zerrex... let me serve you... and Knight Dove, if you would, you'll have to wait outside."

Sammy squeaked in a melancholy voice on Zerrex's shoulder, looking at him sadly... but Zerrex nodded to the pseudodragon, and it chirped again before jumping off his shoulder and heading towards the door, before it turned around and sat to watch as Zerrex looked down into the well. There was a short ladder leading down into a bubbling, dark liquid... and the Drakkaren stared at this for a few moments before Sin said softly, as the others hanging on the wall watched: "We all wish you luck."

The others echoed this sentiment one way or another... and Zerrex smiled around at them all faintly before he turned around and descended the ladder, letting go of it as his feet touched the ooze, and he sank down into it. It didn't feel like he was getting wet, even as it coated his body... it was more like he was surrounded by warmth, a warmth that ignored his clothes and seeped through his scales like he was as permeable as air... and even as it flooded his muzzle and nose, even as he wrapped his arms automatically around himself and opened his eyes, it wasn't like liquid, as he stared into a darkness even his demonic vision couldn't penetrate.

And bit-by-bit... he felt a tiredness take over, as some strange glow he could better see with his eyes closed than open flooded the area around his body... until slowly, he descended into a deep slumber, as the corruption that was so thick he literally floated inside it flooded around his body, as energies of all different kinds twisted around his body, flowing down from the virgins on the wall as the four of them began to bleed slowly from between their legs and down through gratings beneath them, their virgin innocence and sin flooding into the well and adding to the energy in the chamber, as the four other females on the wall moaned and tilted their heads back and forth... before they all slumped as Sin closed the hatch and the crystals glowed dully above them, the Naganatine looking down at Sammy as she said softly: "And now we wait."