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Markus was sealed away in a private cell deep inside the Goldstone Detention Center, a facility built next to a Pit of Torment and designed for special offenders. Zerrex knew that throwing Markus into a Pit of Torment wouldn't be the smartest thing to do... it was too likely that he would be killed by some vengeful demon, and he was so young that it would probably only reinforce the wicked behaviors he'd apparently been developing. The GDC was a nice second choice... he would be put through different rehabilitation exercises and programs over the next few hundred years, while he served out his sentence... but Zerrex was nonetheless concerned about what growing up in a prison would do to him.

Not that it mattered, in the end: the Drakkaren knew that he hadn't had much of a choice between hiding what he'd done and bringing it out to the light. He wanted to be a hypocrite as little as possible, even if now Priest was being distant with him... but that was understandable. And once he'd handed Markus over to the Royal Guards, then Hell's clanky justice system had taken over... and he'd been given the maximum sentence for his crimes when he plead guilty to them, with a possibility of a few years off only if he properly behaved himself in prison.

A year had passed now, since their grisly discovery, and Zerrex was sitting quietly inside a square room with white, thick metal walls and a security camera in one corner, watching what was going on at the small metal table. Four officers were placed around the room, and sitting in the only other chair, across from his father, was Markus.

He was wearing a white prison uniform, his wrists and ankles in manacles, a heavy, runed collar around his neck, and several thick chains wrapped around his tail attached to the shackles on his body. He had grown even larger over the last year, making him almost as big as Priest now... but he had also grown edgier, breathing through his mouth, his old calm demeanor vanished... and his eyes were sad and empty, especially today. "What do you mean, Dad? What do you mean, she doesn't want to visit me?"

"Cherry's still angry at you... so angry, she wants to leave Hell." Zerrex said quietly and calmly. He was admittedly acting a bit distant from Markus, but... he knew a big part of it was not only because of what Markus had done, but the way he had acted afterwards. For the first few months, he'd rejected every attempt to visit him and tried to pretend that he didn't have parents... and then suddenly, he'd realized how alone he was and craved company, but it wasn't until today that Zerrex had really gone in on a visit. He didn't want to cut ties with Markus - at least, not yet - but on the other hand... maintaining them brought an ache into his heart. "So we're going to go away for a while, tend to some business on the mortal plane. When we come back, you'll be long out of prison... assuming you don't get into trouble again."

Markus shook his head quietly, offering a bit of a smile as he held his palms out and open towards his father. "Clean, I'll stay clean, Dad, I promise. But then... then where do I go when I get out? Who will take care of me... what about Mom, is she ever going to forgive me?"

Zerrex shook his head a little bit, laughing faintly as his eyes roved over a scar on Markus's muzzle: the mark left from Cherry's fist more than a year ago, and he could tell that those teeth had never grown back into place. "I don't know, Markus. And you're going to be an adult... but I guess Priest will set you up at the Ravenlight Estate or somewhere, until you can get back on your feet."

Markus nodded quietly a few times... and then Zerrex lowered his head for a moment as he mentally estimated the time, before he stood up and held a hand across the table, saying quietly: "Sorry, kid. Gotta go now... Cherry wants to leave sooner rather than later, and there's a few things I need to clean up at home."

"I'm sorry, Dad." Markus took his hand gently with both his own huge ones, looking at him with eyes that really were sorrowful... and Zerrex wondered if the child's foray into the darker arts of Hell had been a one-time thing, or if he still held an interest in them that needed to be cured. As his son squeezed his hand gently, however, the Drakkaren did realize one thing: Markus was sorry for himself and for hurting his family, but he still needed to learn to be sorry for killing those demons. "I'm... I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Markus. Take care." Zerrex said quietly, nodding to him as he pulled away... and then he turned and left the room, stepping out into a waiting room of sorts in the Detention Center, as a few officers and assistants ran by him. The whole place was busy, busy, busy... and the Drakkaren shook his head slowly as he headed through a pair of double doors and into a public hallway. As he walked past a few arguing demons, Mist and Shine appeared at his side, both of them dressed in Royal Guard gear... and Zerrex smiled faintly from one to the other, as he said quietly: "Been a long year."

They nodded silently... and Zerrex reflected that Markus hadn't been the only one to go bad, which was probably why he still felt so miserable down here and also why he agreed to go with Cherry to find Mercy. A daughter of his - I don't know if it's good or bad that my sons aren't the only ones who cause trouble - had been caught stealing artifacts, and it had caused a bit of a scandal... although in Hell, the media's power to influence the populace were greatly reduced. Being in the afterlife tended to kill one's interest in celebrities, after all... and even though Zerrex and the High Thrones ruled all of Hell, the monarchs and nobles still had enough control that people were much more interested in trying to suck up to them than to the big bosses.

There had also been another attack or two on his person, hence Mist and Shine... but it wasn't anything serious. Zerrex had easily handled the first attack by himself, even if he'd killed the assassin more through accident than skill when he'd swung a fist out and caught him in the side of the neck instead of the face, and the second attempt had been faulty from the beginning. Someone had tried to deliver a few bombs to the Estate... but because of the way radio waves were distorted in Hell, they hadn't been able to set them off, making it more of a malicious prank than anything else.

The lizard was glad for the company, though, and Mist created a portal for them when they exited the building, Zerrex smiling faintly at her... and then they stepped through and into the main hall of the Ravenlight Estate. Cherry was already waiting impatiently, dressed up in new mortal clothes, with several packed bags beside her... and she huffed when Zerrex tilted his head towards her with a dryly-amused look. "What the hell's this?"

"Shit." Cherry mumbled, kicking one of the bags. "You know. Some odds and ends and... shit. Hey, Priest, get your ass out here, I don't want this to take all fucking day!"

There was no response... and Cherry looked back and forth before she grumbled when Selena, Lily, and Amiglion appeared, glancing down at her wrist and tapping a foot impatiently. Sin appeared a moment later behind Zerrex, and Desire and Cypress from another portal... and soon enough, the whole room was full of people giving goodbyes and trading hugs and affections with Zerrex and Cherry both, even though Cherry tried her best to look tough and ignore them all, as she mumbled about Priest taking his sweet time.

Finally, the Dragokkaren appeared as Zerrex stood beside Sin... and the reptile looked up curiously to see his son holding a present, looking tired but smiling at him for the first time in the longest time. A hush fell as Zerrex looked at the golden-wrapped box, and then Priest finally said quietly: "I originally gave this to you way back at the party, but since you didn't want to open any of the gifts... I took it back, did some more work on it. It's a modified mortal machine we found on one of the battlefields... some experimental prototype. Now it's powered by magic and uses mortal nanotechnology, so... I figured you should take it with you before you go. You might find it useful."

The Drakkaren took the box, and he was surprised to find it so light, as he looked at Priest and asked two different questions, one with his voice and one with his eyes: "So should I open it?" And are we okay?

Priest looked at him meditatively, and then he smiled a bit and nodded, answering both positively. It lightened the load on Zerrex's heart, and he smiled in return before he shredded the wrapping and tore the lid off the box... and then he lifted out the object inside, taking it into both hands and tilting it back and forth curiously as he murmured: "Now that's something."

The device was gray and shaped like a manacle that would fit perfectly on his arm... his left arm, he assumed, since on the right it would be destroyed when it morphed. When Zerrex slid his arm inside after a moment of hesitation, the machine clicked, and he felt it almost clamp into place and seal against his scales, the reptile looking at it with surprise as he held his arm out... and a protruding, disc-like structure on the top of the shackle buzzed and spun a few times beside a flexible keyboard that was polished and clean. Zerrex stared, amazed by the level of technology... and then he carefully poked the disc-shaped structure, and it buzzed at him a bit as Priest reached up and squeezed his shoulder, saying softly: "Hope you like it, Dad. It's got a lot of different uses to it... but one of them is..."

Priest leaned carefully past his father, tapping a few buttons on the keypad... and the disc on Zerrex's arm buzzed before the Drakkaren stared, stumbling back a step in surprise as a darkness began to spread up his scales. He winced, but he didn't sense anything malevolent about it, or even that it was alive... and only seconds later, he was left gaping as the darkness became the perfect shape and texture of a tight leather shirt over his body, feeling perfect against his scales. As he looked over it, he thought about what Priest had said about nanotechnology... and then Cherry and Vampire both came in close, looked at each other, and then grinned at Zerrex. "Dude, imagine if we had that shit in the Legion!"

"Imagine what we can do with it now!" Vampire replied excitedly, clapping his hands together, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as Cherry brightened and nodded rapidly, looking at Zerrex with a lecherous expression in her eyes. "We could probably program any kind of thing into that... what else does it do, Priest? Lemme try it out, Cap'n!"

"It's formatted to Zerrex's body type... it won't listen very well to you." Priest replied mildly, and Vampire huffed and grumbled as Zerrex flexed against the shirt, feeling stupidly mesmerized as he glanced down at the armlet. "It's not really intelligent, but it recognizes repeated commands and it can display stuff and... things like that. But I made sure that if there was any AI at all, it would be low... the last thing we need is some nanotechnological nightmare on top of everything else."

There was a squeak... and then Sammy popped into existence on Zerrex's shoulder, looking moodily back and forth. The Drakkaren glanced up at him in surprise, and then he realized with a sting of guilt he hadn't decided on exactly what he was going to do with the poor little bastard... when Cherry said loudly: "Okay, we're going now, so scram, assholes! The Boss and I wanna get out of here quietly for once!"

Vampire whined loudly as Priest sighed and rolled his eyes, and then Lily came forwards and traded a tight hug with Zerrex, murmuring quietly up to him: "Take care of yourself, huh?"

"I will." Zerrex promised, and he traded hugs with Cypress and Desire next, before Selena approached him... and their eyes met before she kissed his cheek quietly, mumbling something to him embarrassedly. She, like Priest, had been surprised at how he'd handled the events with Markus... but unlike Priest, she treated him now with something more like fear than resentment, as if she was afraid what he was going to do to her one day. He thought what she was really scared of, however, was being left behind... even if it didn't make sense the way she was handling it. Then again, when do people ever make sense? Goddamn emotions.

Sin and Zerrex traded a firm hug as well... and then Sin walked over and hugged Cherry, making her squawk and flail as she blushed embarrassedly before she managed to pry her off, and Sin smiled despite her own blush and half-bowed to her before she retreated to the side of the room. Amiglion also tried to get a hug, giving her a grin... and Cherry huffed before she grabbed the Naganatine and kissed him firmly, and he looked giddy and stupid, falling on his ass as they gave their last goodbyes for the last time... and then Zerrex picked up some of Cherry's luggage, deciding to let Sammy ride it out with him since no one was making a big deal about the pseudodragon currently clinging to his master's shoulders.

Cherry grabbed the last two bags of stuff herself, then she glared at Zerrex and reached out to snag one of the bags he was carrying, the two pulling back and forth on it and almost tearing one of the handles off before she finally wrenched it free, and she immediately trotted through the dimensional portal Sin opened, cackling stupidly. Zerrex sighed, wondering if every goodbye was going to be as awkward as this... and he gave Sin a bit of a smile before he stepped into the portal himself.

It was like walking down a spinning tunnel of white and grey, and the Drakkaren kept his eyes forwards as Sammy clung to him with a terrified squeak... but the reptile only shook his head, murmuring: "Then close your eyes. It's hard at first but we're almost there... just a few more seconds of this and we're home free."

Sammy squeaked again... and then Zerrex emerged beside Cherry back inside the house's kitchen, and the two looked at each other dumbly as the rift behind them crackled close, releasing a soft boom that shook the walls of their home. For them, it had been almost eighteen years... and yet that space of time had been only minutes here in the mortal world, on the physical plane.

Cherry looked back and forth... and then she dropped her stuff on the floor and struck a pose, her fingers laced together by her cheeks as she said in a bright voice: "Gee, it's like it never happened at all! Maybe it really was all a dream... but maybe if I click my heels together three times, then-"

"Shut up and put our stuff away." Zerrex dropped the bags on the floor, and Cherry glared at him, but the reptile merely shrugged and wandered away as Sammy leapt off his shoulder, quickly bounding off to explore the house and squeaking excitedly at everything. "I'm going to figure this armlet thing out. And I need to talk to Cindy and check my schedule... I've got a lot going on these next few days, if I remember right."

"Asshole." Cherry muttered, but she didn't follow or argue, instead going about the simple task. As she worked, it soothed her... and Cherry sighed as she brought one of the bags up to Zerrex's room, sitting quietly on his bed as she opened it and took out his cane and a few other odds and ends, putting them anywhere that looked good to her... before she picked up Markus's baby book as she glanced back and forth, wiping at her face with one hand before she reached down to quietly grasp her stomach, murmuring as she looked at the face on the baby-blue cover: "How the hell do some things that are so right go so goddamn wrong?"

She hated it: she hated that her son had turned into a criminal, and she blamed her own goddamn genes for it happening. After all, what had she been at sixteen? A slut who loved a pounding from as many soldiers as could get in on her, while she stole money, food, and guns, following the military around and only accepted by them because she served as a good chew-toy for the rowdy soldiers and she was more than happy to kill someone if asked to. She clenched the book tightly, making it groan... and then she dropped it aside and reached down to pick up another object from the past that seemed both so far gone, and so near she could touch it... a red sweatband.

Markus had used to wear it to keep sweat out of his eyes... and Cherry vividly remembered the day he'd finally decided it was stupid, and how she privately had agreed with him. But she'd do anything to go back to those days, when he was young and strong and happy, when he was into all those things he probably thought was stupid now, when he gave a rat's ass about other people's lives instead of being so willing to kill no less than six demons to try and transplant their strength into his... and she brought the band up to her forehead, rubbing her skull slowly as she murmured: "Shit, shit, shit. Get it together, you're supposed to be a bitch, not a crybaby. Fuck off, Cherry, get back on the horse."

But it didn't work... and tears rolled down her cheeks as she threw the band aside and dug quickly through the bag, before she picked up a pacifier. She looked at this for a few moments, taking in the shape and size of it... and she remembered how Markus had once been tiny compared to the size he was today. Or at least, the size she heard he was... and she cursed herself as she flung the pacifier across the room, before she grabbed Zerrex's pillow and she rolled over, clutching it to her bosom and squeezing it close as she rested on his bed, his smell still faintly lingering on the sheets and the feeling of him all around her, even if he was somewhere downstairs... but she didn't want him seeing her like this.

Cherry cried quietly until she fell asleep... and Zerrex came up to find her holding the pillow, tears still drying on her cheeks, an hour or so later, after he'd put away the rest of their things. He'd noticed that there were more than a few reminders of Priest and Markus in the bags... and he sighed a bit as he crawled into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. And even asleep, she gladly relinquished the pillow and turned around to cling to his chest, whimpering a bit... but the Drakkaren held her close, still wearing his armlet but his chest bare, keeping her as close to his body as he could and protecting her with his form and presence.

Half-an-hour later, Cherry woke up, looking blearily up at him... and then she cleared her throat and sat quickly up, brushing herself off as she sat with her back to Zerrex, a blush in her cheeks as she reached up to quickly rub her face down. "Holy shit, Boss, you scared me a bit there. I uh... I... shut up."

She said the last more to herself than Zerrex, and she fell back with a sigh against his chest, the Drakkaren grunting a bit before he laced his arms around her as she closed her eyes and curled up on top of him, looking moody. "I don't think we should have any more kids. Kids suck and are a pain in the ass."

"You don't mean that." Zerrex said with soft amusement, but he felt a bit of worry as well... and Cherry shrugged, making a face as she shifted awkwardly on top of him. He stroked her cheek gently, and she closed her eyes as she dropped her head against his chest... before they both looked up as Sammy nervously edged his way into the room, squeaking quietly. "Besides... some kids turn out good. Just look at Priest... and even Sammy there."

"Sammy's a pet." Cherry said petulantly, and the pseudodragon huffed and bristled, which made her roll her eyes before she sat up and grabbed the nearest light object she could find to fling it at him. The little dragon yelped and ducked under the clock, and Zerrex rolled his eyes before he grabbed her when she made to find something else, making her huff. "You spoil the uppity little bastard. Ugh, fuck, I need to go do something, don't I?"

"As long as it takes your mind off things." Zerrex replied mildly, and Cherry grinned at him... and although the expression lacked most of its usual lust, it was still a step in the right direction, and the reptile laughed a bit as he shook his head and grasped her sides, squeezing his hands quietly into her. "I don't think so, you ass. You're not the only one who feels down."

"Fuck you, I can get your standing tall in ten seconds, tops." Cherry said pompously, and then she hopped out of the bed, strutting across the room as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, looking thoughtfully at Zerrex. "But hey, Boss, wait. When the fuck are the chicks coming back? I was thinking that... well... you know..."

She suddenly seemed embarrassed, shuffling and rubbing at her head... and when Sammy looked up at her and squeaked, she glared at him before looking back over at the Drakkaren and asking lamely: "Can we like, make a big family supper or some shit? 'Cause I think that would be... you know. Nice."

Zerrex only stared at her... and Cherry flailed her arms before she flipped him off with both hands, glaring at him. "Well fuck you too! I'm just trying to be thoughtful here, you know, and prove that like... I ain't all tits and muscles!" She paused, then flexed and grinned, kissing one of her massive biceps. "Just mostly tits and muscles."

"I think we have enough time." Zerrex said mildly, before he pointed at the broken clock laying near Cherry's feet. "Although I can't tell for sure because you broke that. So while you're out getting stuff for dinner, why don't you pick me up a new clock, too?"

"But I like your old cock." Cherry said, keeping her face straight and passive... and then she cackled and ran out the door, and the Drakkaren rolled his eyes with a sigh, feeling both morbid and encouraged. On the one hand, Cherry acting insane was a bit more like her old, happier self... but on the other... Cherry is Cherry.

Of course, part of the reason Zerrex thought he felt so nauseous at the moment was because that by now, literal decades had passed in Hell, and they had only been up on the mortal plane for a few hours. He'd often heard demons talk about how mortals moved both frivolously and quickly through their lives, never slowing down... but the Drakkaren also knew that mortals had far-shorter lives than demons, and before the Demon War, most of them hadn't acknowledged the existence of Heaven and Hell as anything more than a concept. He sighed as he got up, walking towards the doorway as Sammy leapt up onto his shoulder, whining worriedly in his throat, and the Drakkaren said mildly: "It's alright... we just have to not waste as much time up here as we got to in Hell."

"You, waste time. That's a funny one." Cherry's voice came from down the ladder, and Zerrex rolled his eyes before she jumped up, catching the edge of the hole and grunting as she hauled herself up with a grin, her legs dangling beside the ladder. "So Boss. Uh. I can't cook, so what's for supper?"

"Well gee, that puts a dent in your plans." Zerrex put a foot on her forehead, and Cherry blinked dumbly before he kicked her lightly down through the hole, the female squawking as she landed heavily on her feet and caught herself by the ladder, before giving him a sour look as the lizard leapt down and looked at her with dry amusement. "Okay, then, Cherry. Maybe we should organize ourselves a bit, and see what we can possibly make between us."

"Dude, I know you know how to make some simple eats. Back in Baskin's Grove, you had that nice kitchen setup and there was real food there." Cherry accused, pointing at him, but then she made a face as she poked herself in the breast a few times. "Me, I just ate fast food all the time, although thankfully most of it seemed to go to my tits and my ass and just made them all the better. Then again, I blame all the burritos I ate as the reason you beat me up that one time."

"I've beaten you up lots of times." Zerrex said absently, as he walked towards the kitchen, and Cherry huffed as she followed along behind him, easily dodging Sammy's tail as he flicked it at her and giving him the finger in return. Then Zerrex paused as he rested against the table, frowning a bit as he looked around at what they have... before he stood up and turned around, saying firmly: "Pancakes. The one thing Cindy taught me how to make was pancakes. And even you know how to make bacon."

"Don't eat it raw out of the package, cook it until its crispy and shit, and don't pour the grease on people, right?" Cherry counted off these things on her fingers as she spoke, looking at Zerrex expectantly, and the reptile nodded, remembering one fateful day a long time ago when she'd broken all three of those rules. "I hate this breakfast-for-dinner bullshit, though. I thought you did too. Wait, haven't we done this before? Dude, I don't wanna fuckin' repeat myself like a fucking... repeater. Of stuff."

Cherry looked lame, and the Drakkaren rolled his eyes, figuring that she was going to keep harassing him until he came up with a better idea. "Well, I can make a salad. And we can microwave some food, how about that?"

She frowned at this, rubbing at her head slowly before she asked dumbly: "When did we start eating salads, again? That's so fucking girly. I ain't girly, I'm a butch big badass bitch."

Zerrex slapped his forehead... and then a new idea dawned on him, and he headed over to a black jar on the countertop. He shook it and heard the jangling of change and the crumpling of bills, and then he held it out to Cherry, saying mildly: "Here. Take this, go to some... food place, wherever, and buy us... oriental food, or a pizza, or some goddamn hamburgers. Then come back here before everyone gets home, and take credit for making it."

"I like this idea." Cherry grinned and nodded firmly, before she paused and peered at the clock on the countertop, and then she looked disgusted as she said: "Dude, it's just past noon! Cindy doesn't expect us back until late tonight, and she's got all the losers with her... I'm totally going to bed."

With that, she stomped off, and Zerrex looked after her stupidly... before she suddenly reappeared in the doorway, asking in a hopeful voice: "Wanna play some one-on-one on the game thingy? I could do with some lighthearted massacring that doesn't make me look like a sadistic otherworldly monster."

"Yeah, what the hell." Zerrex put the jar down, rolling his eyes but feeling amused nonetheless, and he followed Cherry to the den as he fiddled with his armlet a bit more. He sat down in the couch as she turned on the game system, the Drakkaren still fiddling a bit with the device... and then she slipped in close on her knees, peering at it awkwardly and making the lizard wince back. "Can I help you?"

She grinned at him at this, and Zerrex looked at her sourly before she hopped up onto the couch beside him, swinging her feet up onto the table and resting in her favorite spot as Sammy ran around the room, sniffing at things and looking anxiously at the TV as it made noises from Cherry fiddling through the menus. "Totally. But did you figure that thing out yet?"

Zerrex shrugged absently as he tapped at it a few times, and a moment later the disc-shaped thing on top glowed and a holographic readout of Zerrex's body displayed, lit up in greens and slowly spinning around, noting various vital signs. Cherry gaped at this, then she looked down at the wireless remote in her hands and sulked. "And I thought this thing was cool... do you get cable?"

"I wish there was a mute button for your mouth." Zerrex said flatly, and Cherry huffed and crossed her arms, glowering at him, before the Drakkaren made the readout vanish. A moment later, he tapped another button, and a faint warmth spread over his body before it was followed by a rippling shade that covered him and became a thick grey-and-black bodysuit. He looked over himself, still feeling the clothes he was wearing tight beneath it... and then he pressed a button on the armlet, and in literally moments, the bodysuit was gone and he was left sitting in only his pants, looking at her mildly. "Priest is a genius."

"Sure as fuck he is!" Cherry said firmly, pumping a fist, and then she cleared her throat and suddenly picked up the controller, turning her attention back to the game system. Even though she and Zerrex both thought they were a bit ridiculous... the two also had developed a distinct taste for gaming, and enjoyed using it to not just kill time, but spend time together. After all, they weren't like any normal couple... and having a pastime between them that could almost be considered nerdy was actually something Zerrex thoroughly enjoyed. It feels nice to be normal. "Anyway, what game you wanna play? How about we shoot up some zombies?"

"Works for me." Zerrex said mildly, and then he glanced around before pointing at his controller, asking: "Can you get that for me?"

Cherry looked at him for a moment in confusion... before she huffed as Sammy curled his tail around the controller Zerrex was pointing at and proudly brought it over, chirping at him before giving the female a distinctly-nasty look. Cherry glared back at the pseudodragon, and then she rose a fist, saying darkly: "You want war, I'll give you war, you little bitch. We'll see who's the favorite soon enough."

"You two competing is stupid for so many reasons." Zerrex said flatly, as the game loaded and he toggled through the options. "Especially because if you two compete, it's just going to set off Marina. And then nobody wins."

Cherry and Sammy exchanged a look, the pseudodragon tilting his head, and then Cherry nodded after a moment as she reached down and grabbed him by the neck, making him gargle as she lifted him up and put him firmly down on the couch. He hissed at her, then tilted his head as she leaned in and muttered: "Dude's right, though. Bitch be a piece of work, much as I love her. If you think Hell was bad, wait until you see Marina on a bad day."

"Will you shut up and choose your character?" Zerrex asked plaintively, and Cherry blew a raspberry at him before she did so. For the next two hours, the pair played their game, Cherry whining every time she was attacked by something about her precognitive powers and how she totally would have done better in real life, and the Drakkaren telling her absently to be quiet whenever she started going off on a rant about something.

It was a good way to spend a few hours together though, and Sammy was intensely curious about it all, examining both their controllers and the screen, and how it exactly worked... and when they quit, both Cherry and Zerrex watched as Sammy tried tackling the game by himself on the easiest difficulty. At first it was grueling... the little pseudodragon, after all, had to coordinate his movements differently than the hands of the demons behind him. But he got it down soon enough, and they left him to cheerfully play through some of the game, after Zerrex explained how to turn the system off, confident the pseudodragon would understand.

Zerrex decided to do some reading, wondering absently what he was going to tell Cindy when she got back. For her, it would be hours... for him, years. He shook his head a bit as he climbed up to his room, sitting on the bed and fiddling with the armlet for a few moments more... and then he looked at his arm and frowned, something nudging at his memory...

It came back to him a moment later, and he nodded, making a face. He'd have to tell her what they discovered about that terrible arm they'd brought down to Hell with them in their luggage, and the discovery of the crystals... and of course, there was something he was supposed to have brought Cindy, but he'd forgotten about it, as he often did. The reptile rubbed slowly at his forehead, trying to think of it... but it eluded him, so he'd figure he'd just listen to Cindy's ranting later.

He'd almost forgotten about the arm, in fact... but since it had gone with them, Sin had quietly put it aside, as she always did, and studied it once she'd realized what it was. Neither she nor anyone else had been able to make any kind of sense of it, however, or tell him who or what it was from... but the Drakkaren wasn't surprised. All they knew about it was that the energy signature was abnormal, and that meant it had once belonged to some twisted godling... but other things happened that... kinda drove thoughts about that arm out of my mind.

Not that he even remembered all the details Sin had told him, it had been so long... but the one clear thing he did remember was that it had been placed into the Reliquary, and that was likely where it would remain. It might not exactly be an artifact, but it was still an ancient old thing that could hold tremendous powers... or was just really, really ugly and creepy.

Zerrex fiddled absently with his armlet for a few more moments, and it buzzed for a moment at him before the Drakkaren rolled his eyes and tried to take it off. He made a face at how tight it gripped into his arm, and then he paused for a moment before he dumbly tugged at it again, then he asked in a mutter: "Oh come on, how the hell do I get you off?"

It gave him no response... and Zerrex wrestled with the shackle for a few more moments before he gave up and threw his arms wide, looking sourly up at the ceiling. A few seconds ticked by... and then Zerrex was once more clawing at the manacle, trying to pry it off as he muttered irritably under his breath, not wanting to break it but not exactly keen on having to wear the device for the rest of his life, either.

After some six or seven minutes of fiddling with it, Zerrex finally found a small pressure pad on the bottom that he squeezed into... and the back of the shackle loosened almost immediately with a soft hiss, letting him easily remove the shackle. The reptile inspected it for a few moments... and then he paused, looking back and forth before slowly inserting his muzzle into the open cuff of the manacle, just to see what would happen...

It clamped down firmly on the end of his muzzle, making him squeak as his eyes bulged with the shock of pain, and he quickly felt for the button on the bottom, pulling it off the moment it began to loosen and letting out a sigh of relief. Then the reptile paused for a few long moments as he looked at the manacle again, tempted to try it out once more, just to see what would happen... and then he made a face and put the armlet aside, muttering: "I'm not only dumb, I must be masochistic."

He grumbled something under his breath, and then he flopped back down on his bed, suddenly not feeling like reading. He wanted to do something, but not... read... or watch a movie... or play a game... or hang out with Cherry, but something, and he wasn't too picky about what. Zerrex paused at this thought, realized how childish he was being, and then he sighed and continued to be childish as he rolled over in bed, kicking his feet absently at the covers before he cursed under his breath at the pain in his bad leg, sitting up and rubbing at it slowly as he looked down at himself and asked quietly: "Why can't you just behave, huh?"

No response... but it wasn't exactly like he'd expected one anyway, although it would have probably been helpful. The Drakkaren tapped his hands against his knees, looking back and forth for a moment, and then he flopped back down on the bed, closing his eyes and putting his hands behind his head... but he couldn't seem to get himself comfortable now, and a few moments later he was on his feet, slipping the manacle back on over his arm as he asked himself: "So what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"Stop talking to yourself!" Cherry shouted from somewhere downstairs, and Zerrex rolled his eyes, leaving his room to watch as Cherry bounced quickly up the ladder to look up at him suspiciously for a few moments, before she rose a finger and declared: "I am going to go get us some awesome food. You stay put."

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Zerrex dashed back into his room, grabbing his cane before he headed quickly downstairs to join Cherry, figuring that he could at least take a look around with her to kill some time.

When Cherry and Zerrex returned - loaded down with delicious, unhealthy fast food - they both sensed someone else's presence the moment they entered the house. The two traded looks, arguing with their eyes before Cherry took the lead, pasting her usual grin back on her face as she headed straight for the kitchen, Zerrex trudging behind her as she called: "You girls home? Or is it some other bitch?"

"I hate you." grumbled a resentful voice from somewhere, and Zerrex and Cherry exchanged a surprised look before they both hesitantly followed the voice, and then Zerrex managed to get a lock on where it was coming from as it called irritably: "What, weren't you the one who suggested I do this?"

"Driz?" Zerrex asked stupidly after a moment, as both he and Cherry entered the den, and then the reptile rubbed the back of his head slowly before he brightened, pointing at him and saying emphatically: "Hey, I remember, I sent you up here to look for Mercy!"

"And what have you guys been doing? Teaching the pet how to dance?" Driz asked waspishly, as he motioned to Sammy, who was still playing on the game system. At some point, however, the pseudodragon had figure out how to switch games, and he was now playing a slower-paced RPG that he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying, despite the black-energy reptile sitting nearly and looking hostile. "I hate this place."

Zerrex glanced over him, and then he realized Driz was almost-literally plugged into an outlet: his foot was resting on top of a power bar, which was sparking dark energy occasionally, and the dark mass that made up his body seemed translucent instead of opaque and thick. The Drakkaren tilted his head as he stepped a bit closer, but his son only held up a hand after a moment, looking at him with a faint, sour smile. "Don't bother, I'm okay. Just... travel-lag, I guess. My body feels sore and I need to keep juicing myself up to keep stable... although at least riding the power lines up here aren't nearly as bad as I thought it might be."

Zerrex nodded, then Cherry grinned as she leaned on the back of the couch, saying cheerfully: "Well, come on, punk, maybe you just gotta eat something! You do eat, right?" She looked at Driz for a few moments thoughtfully, and the male returned her gaze almost indignantly... except he seemed too tired to muster up much past grouchiness. "Hey, just asking. You're like. Made of space and stuff."

"He's not made of space, that's what you're made of." Zerrex prodded her in the side, and Cherry gave him an injured look before he returned his eyes to his son, saying quietly: "She might have a point though... eating a bit of food or maybe even just taking a nap or something might help you out a bit."

Driz grunted, and then Cherry vanished for a moment before she came back with a lava lamp, and Zerrex groaned and slapped his forehead as she held it up triumphantly. "Look, it's totally the perfect bed for you! I'll plug it in and it'll all be glowy and warm and shit, and you'll get a constant surge of the juice and you'll be uh... how do I put this... out of the way. It totally works for everyone."

"Fuck you." Driz finally said, and then he rubbed slowly at his forehead, looking pained before he pulled his foot away from the power bar and turned his eyes to Zerrex, saying pointedly: "Don't let her do anything unnatural with that, alright? And wake me up in an hour, tops. I want to do another scan for Mercy before she gets too far."

"I don't think she's here in Ire... but alright, Driz, maybe we can work out a way to extend your range, anyway." Zerrex said softly, and the male grunted and nodded before he lost his form, becoming a mix of dark lightning and mist as he twisted through the air before vanishing into the lava lamp. Cherry immediately grinned and leered at this, and Zerrex yanked it out of her hands, walking back to the outlet and plugging it in, and it began to glow moodily, the liquid inside tinged black as the muscular female nearby rubbed her hands together greedily. "He's not a djinni, Cherry, just because you stuffed him in a lamp. Now stop being a bitch."

"Fuck that, dude's in a lamp, he's gotta be a djinni. Now let's make him grant me three wishes." Cherry made for the lava lamp, and Zerrex stood and caught her before he pushed her firmly backwards, making her huff before the two began to grapple. After a few moments, she managed to get him in a headlock... and then Zerrex grabbed her pants and yanked them down, and Cherry squawked and covered her crotch before she stood up and boldly thrust her hips towards the male... and Zerrex drove a knee up between her legs, causing her to wheeze and fall slowly over.

The Drakkaren huffed before he left to set the table, and Cherry followed him out after a few minutes of writhing on the floor, the two continuing to childishly grunt at each other and bull into one-another's bodies. Finally, just as Zerrex thought they were going to end up in another fight that would wreck part of the house, they both looked up as they heard the door open, and a moment later Marina rushed into the kitchen and threw herself at her father, hugging him tightly as she said warmly: "Daddy!"

Cindy and Mahihko came in shortly after, and since Lone was nowhere in sight, Zerrex figured the wolves were combined at the moment... and they were greeted warmly by all of them, Cindy looking surprised at the meal before she looked flatly at Cherry as the muscular female tried to kick the bags they had brought the food home in under the table. The Drakkaren knew that for them it had only been a day, but for him it had been years, and he was happier than he could say to see all their faces... before, as Cindy sat down at the table, she asked quietly, likely suspecting that something had gone wrong: "So what happened?"

Cherry grinned for a moment longer, and then her face fell slowly as she looked at Zerrex, who shrugged a bit and looked back at her. A moment later, he felt Marina's fingers slipping through his mind, but he carefully pushed them back, letting her know he wanted to tell it himself... and her psychic tendrils retreated as she frowned deeper, asking quietly: "But Daddy... then I'll understand."

"Some things just need to be told the old-fashioned way, kid." Cherry said dryly, as she sat down at the table. She cleared her throat after a moment, as everyone's eyes settled on her... and then she looked down in surprise as little Mahihko reached over and gently squeezed her hand, gazing up at her with those big, emotional eyes of his. "Fuck off, I got... I ate something bad."

"It's okay, Cherry." Mahihko hugged her tightly around the waist, and Cherry flinched back, her arms wide as she gazed down at him with shock. "We're all here for you. Me and Lone like you very much, after all."

"I... thank you." Cherry said finally, and she hesitantly hugged Mahihko back for a moment, closing her eyes before she grabbed his sides and hefted him up into her lap, and she sat him firmly on one leg as she looked across at Zerrex, saying flatly and motioning at him with one hand: "Well, go the fuck on, what the fuck are you waiting for?"

Zerrex sighed and rolled his eyes, looking around the table at their expectant eyes... from Cindy, who was currently eating a buttered bun, to Cherry and Mahihko, both of them looking at him with childish eyes, even though Cherry herself was part of the story and she sure as hell knew it was a sad one. He looked down after a moment at his own empty plate... and then he finally said quietly: "It all started with the party... and there was one girl there, one daughter of mine, who I saw for the first time in a long time... and who made me easily as proud as any of the others there, but not because she had super-powers... because... she was special."

He spoke for what felt like hours, until the food went from hot to lukewarm at best... and then he cleared his throat, finished with the Mercy and Samson chapters of the story and ready to start on the final one about Markus. He looked at her, and Cherry only looked down, hesitating... so instead, he motioned at the food and made some silly little joke, and no one laughed but everyone served themselves. Mahihko, by now, was snuffling a bit, looking forlorn... but it didn't stop him from digging in heartily to anything near him that was edible.

Zerrex had expected him to take it harder... but on the other hand, he thought the little wolf was bottling up some of his feelings, and that he'd express them all in due time, when he was ready. Cindy, meanwhile, left the table for a moment... but came back to toss out a few different cans of Frost, before she asked: "So Driz is here?"

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to wake him up." Zerrex didn't know if he wanted to or not, however: letting him rest might be the best choice, before he paused as he exchanged a look with Cherry. She shrugged after a moment, then slowly, carefully nodded... and he smiled a bit to her before Zerrex said quietly: "Actually, maybe he can spend some time with us. He might be interested in the story too. Excuse me, I'll be right back."

Zerrex left the table to head back into the den, where Sammy was still playing games... and the Drakkaren patted the little pseudodragon on the head, making him squeak and look up at the reptile with dumb surprise. The lizard only gave him an amused look in return, however, motioning for him to keep playing as he unplugged the lamp. "You can come and meet everyone later, Sammy... don't worry, I have some other things I'm dealing with right now. Just get ready to be clung to, because I'm sure Mahihko's going to think you're the same as a puppy or something."

Sammy grumbled at this, as Zerrex jiggled the lava lamp a little bit... and a moment later, dark energy sparked around it before Driz's form reshaped in front of the reptile's eyes, the dark-energy being yawning and stretching as he asked tiredly: "So what time is it?"

"It's... only been eighty or so minutes." Zerrex was surprised at the time himself, and Driz opened his mouth - probably to bitch at him - but the Drakkaren shook his head, holding up a hand. "Come on, family's waiting in the kitchen?"

"Your mortal family?" Driz looked at him mildly, and then he frowned when Zerrex shot him a look over his shoulder, absently rubbing a hand through the white tendrils on his head. "What?"

"They're your family too." the Drakkaren replied with soft amusement, and Driz looked thoughtful at this sentiment, before he followed his father to the kitchen. The others were chatting a bit more now, and they all greeted Driz pleasantly enough, as Zerrex took back his usual seat.

The dark-energy being looked around at them all awkward, Mahihko temporarily distracted to gaze over him curiously: they had never really been introduced, whereas Driz knew every other member of the family, even if he hadn't seen most of them within the last million years or so. He leaned against a far wall, making it clear he didn't want any food or even to sit down with them, but he looked over them curiously nonetheless, as they ate a bit more... before Cindy asked, leaning forwards: "So about that arm... I wasn't sure if you remembered to take it or not, but I'm guessing you did. What about that artifact I asked for, the Golden Torch, did you get that for me?"

Zerrex coughed into his hand and leaned away from the table, and Cindy rolled her eyes, asking sourly: "So is that a 'yes I forgot it' to one thing or both?"

"Well, the arm Sin analyzed, but we... still don't know what it is." Zerrex said lamely, and Cindy shook her head, frowning as she poked at her rice with a fork. "As to the Torch... yeah, I guess I kinda forgot."

"I hate you sometimes, Daddy." Cindy said mildly, and there was a bit of a lull in chatter before she looked up again, her expression softer as she asked: "So are you going to continue the story now?"

Zerrex finished off the last of his meal, and once again, he and Cherry traded looks before he nodded, saying softly: "So long as Cherry helps me, yeah, I think I'll be able to."

Cherry grunted quietly in reply, shoving her plate away and dropping her head on her arms... but when Zerrex began to speak, she listened intently, and picked up in the spots where he left off or went on her own tangents to explain this or that or anything else. From Mahihko to Driz, everyone forgot about what they were doing to listen to the two talk... and then Zerrex took over for the last part of the story, as he explained what he'd found and what Markus had done.

At the end of it, Cherry was stony-faced, looking moodily at her plate as Mahihko rubbed at his eyes, sniffling a little, and even Driz seemed quiet and sympathetic. Marina and Cindy both exchanged awkward looks, and then the younger female glanced quietly down at her hands as Cindy looked over at her father, the angel saying softly: "So... that's it?"

"That's it." Zerrex nodded after a moment, rubbing slowly at his head as he glanced over at Cherry, and she grunted in response before sighing and throwing her head back to stare up at the ceiling despondently. Silence spun out for a few minutes, as Mahihko picked at his food and the others sat and waited for someone to say something, anything at all... and then finally the male said quietly: "So we've got to deal with this Lunis issue." He paused, then added quietly: "I'm sorry, Mahihko."

Mahihko looked over at him, and his eyes were teary now as he began to tremble, rubbing slowly at his face. "I... I know but... Daddy, Daddy, do we... do I have to go? Please Daddy... I don't wanna go to that scary place, with that scary person there..."

Zerrex softened a bit as Mahihko looked down, trembling violently, and then he finally shook his head and said quietly: "No, Mahihko. You don't have to come if you don't want to... but you have a little bit of time yet to decide. I still have to meet with the President of Ire... and I still have a few other odds and ends here to deal with, too, including making sure that Mercy isn't anywhere in Ire."

"I can't get out of the city, unless you've got some way to transmit electricity over long distances." Driz said mildly, and the others turned their attention to him for the moment as he shrugged a bit. "There are other signals... wireless signals, but I can't ride wavelengths, I need an actual physical link... and the wires around the edge of the city and around the outside world are all heavily deteriorated. These cities are... self-sufficient, but I don't mean in a good way. It's like they're all supposed to be their own little ugly kingdoms."

"That's a good way to think of it." Cindy shook her head slowly, then she frowned and lowered her head in thought. "Phone lines aren't all wireless, however... but they're deep under the ground now. They were redesigned with transmission accelerators to enhance communication efforts over the course of the war... I think if you could get into one of those, then you might be able to travel all the way around Ire."

"Phone cables. Phones are those sound things, right?" Driz tilted his head, and when she nodded, he sighed but shrugged. "Well, I guess it could be worse. I'll give it a try, anyway, and hope that things work out for the best. It shouldn't take me too long to get around all of Ire, and if I'm passing through those accelerators, they should give me a power boost."

Zerrex frowned a bit as Driz headed for the door, standing up and asking quickly: "What about your head, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Dad!" Driz called back as he rounded the corner, and a moment later, there was a crackle of dark energy in the air before the lights flickered... and then Zerrex had the sense that Driz was gone, as he sat back down in his chair and looked morbidly at Cindy, who only shrugged a bit in return.

Then, as Zerrex opened his mouth to try and organize things on the Lunis situation again, Mahihko looked up and asked meekly: "If Markus went bad, does that mean all your sons go bad?"

"Mahihko..." Zerrex looked at him with softness in his eyes as Cherry flinched, and then she grumbled something under her breath as the Drakkaren gazed at the little wolf, trying to figure out how to answer him and that scared, pleading look in his eyes. Sure, he and Mahihko weren't biologically father-and-son... but pointing that out would probably only make him even more upset... especially considering what it seems like Tobias Wulfe is up to these days... "No, Mahihko. Not all my sons go bad."

It was the standard grade-school level response... but Mahihko seemed soothed by it before he asked, still looking worried: "Has... has any of your other kids ever gone bad?"

"Markus wasn't bad!" Cherry slammed a fist down onto the table, and she glared at Mahihko, who quailed, trembling violently, under her angry gaze. "He wasn't bad, he just... he turned up... he ended up doing something stupid, okay? Now shut the fuck up!"

"Cherry!" Mahihko began to cry loudly, hugging himself as he shook his head violently back and forth, and Zerrex sighed as Cindy stood up and glared angrily from one to the other, but Cherry only shoved herself away from the table and stomped off. Cindy tried to cradle Mahihko, but he only pushed at her before falling on his back, bawling and kicking at the air before he began to yell for his father, and Zerrex sighed, rubbing at his forehead slowly as Marina joined in now, shouting at Mahihko not to be such a baby and not to drag their father into things.

Zerrex picked up a plate of chicken balls steeped in sweet and sour sauce, and then he grabbed an egg roll and left the room, making his way to the den. Sammy was still tapping away at his video games, and Zerrex chewed reflectively on the egg roll as he watched the little pseudodragon play. He enjoyed watching other people play videogames... it was neat to see what other people did and how they behaved, and it made it sort of like a semi-interactive movie. Then again, it got plenty annoying when the other person was an idiot, but little Sammy seemed to have picked up a knack for gaming, and he was doing more-than-acceptably.

The Drakkaren continued to eat, listening to the sounds dying down across the house and knowing that if he interfered, things would just get worse. Besides, he'd just dealt with twenty years worth of crap, with the good only getting better so it could eventually become worse. He shook his head after a few moments, then he glanced up as Cherry walked in and plucked a chicken ball out of the tray, popping it into her mouth as she said mildly: "You can't bring all of us to Lunis."

Zerrex looked over his shoulder at her with surprise, cocking his head curiously... and she shrugged after a moment, before she picked up another chicken ball and ate it, munching loudly before she said mildly: "We're clashing personalities. We're a family that should not be allowed to be a family, you dig? Me and you, we get along great, but dude, I'm a whore and you're my pimp. You even got a cane and everything... but then you throw in Cindy, and things go totally out of whack, 'cause she's like... well... you know. Totally different from us."

"We three get along fine... even most of us get along fine together. It's when all of us are together and doing something other than killing things that we end up getting in trouble." Zerrex said mildly, and then he leaned over to Sammy, muttering: "Use Tempest, its thunder, water, and wind."

Sammy squeaked at him irritably, as if to say he was just about to do that, and then the Drakkaren leaned back over to Cherry, who was still looking at him flatly. "But here's the thing, then, genius. How the hell do I leave any of you behind without offending you all?"

"Just bring Dumb and Dumber. He's the only one who's got a real stake in the whole thing." Cherry said plainly, and Zerrex looked at her suspiciously, making her glower at him in return. "What, it's totally true! I can totally be smart sometimes, don't look at me like that, you douchebag."

"Cherry, usually you're the first one who's begging to be taken along as an extra on a mission that will likely end in wanton bloodshed." Zerrex said mildly, and Cherry shrugged agreeably, but looked steadfast nonetheless. "What's with the sudden change of heart? It's a little bit creepy, that's all."

The female hesitated for a few moments, arguing with herself as Zerrex ate a few chicken balls, and then she finally said in an embarrassed voice: "Because I feel bad for the little bastard. I dunno. Mahihko's sort of like my spare kid... I know, I know, he's the little boy you pretend ain't yours when you take him to baseball practice, and he's more likely to end up in retard camp than sex camp, but still. I still love the little bastard and wanna see this done right. And a bunch of us otherworldly chicks coming along will set off so goddamn many sensors even Marina won't be able to deal with mind-fucking everyone who sees us."

Zerrex nodded after a moment, sitting back against the couch as he picked up the last chicken ball... but Cherry swiped it out of his grasp and gobbled it before she grabbed the tray they had been in, slurping up the sweet and sour sauce still on it as the Drakkaren licked the last of the tangy stuff from his hand, looking at her sourly. "Asshole. Well. I guess you kinda do have a good point there, Cherry. And yeah, he is... charismatic, despite the fact he'd probably look smarter if he was wearing diapers. I guess I'll just take him, then."

"And me." Marina said clearly, as she entered the room, before she paused and smiled radiantly at the pseudodragon, which looked up at her with surprise. She leaned down, staring at it, and it chirped at her after a moment, making her giggle and smile radiantly at her father. "He's so handsome! Sammy, the Knight Dove... he's got a strong name, too."

Sammy chirped at this, standing up on his back legs and looking proud of himself as Cherry huffed and mumbled something about suck-ups, and then Marina shoved her backwards before she sat herself primly down in her father's lap, Zerrex automatically wrapping his arms around her as she kissed his cheek, her voice whispering in his mind: It's not your fault, anything that happened... I love you, and always shall... and I shall always be your servant as well as your daughter, nothing like the others who betrayed you... bring me with you... "Bring me with you... I can find Mercy easily..."

"Babe, some things you just gotta do the old-fashioned way." Cherry said mildly, and Marina didn't take kindly to the echo of the words that had been used before to get her to back off, glaring at her sister-figure. Their eyes locked, and sparks seemed to fly between them for a few moments before Cherry finally grunted something... and then she grinned and brought the slick, still-sticky tray up and threw it into Marina's face.

It struck the end of her muzzle and splattered her with sweet and sour sauce before it fell slowly to the ground, and Marina looked horrified as Zerrex gaped... then he winced when his daughter leapt out of his lap and threw herself at Cherry, the two shouting things that made even the Drakkaren wince as he quickly evacuated the room, Sammy following him with a squeak of terror. He leapt up onto the male's shoulder as he made his way quickly back towards the kitchen, where Cindy was doing the dishes and Mahihko was sitting on a chair, trembling and sniffling... and she looked up as the Drakkaren entered, asking tiredly: "Are they at it again?"

"Yeah. Not much of a father-figure, am I?" Zerrex asked mildly, as he rubbed at his head slowly, but Cindy only shook her head with a bit of a smile, before she tilted her head towards the pseudodragon, which was looking at her suspiciously. "Oh, this is Sammy, or Knight Dove. He's my... friend. Sammy, this is Cindy, and that's Mahihko."

Sammy chirped at this, and Cindy smiled and half-curtseyed to him as Mahihko looked up as the little dragon jumped onto the table, padding curiously over towards him... and then his eyes went big and round as his face cleared, and he held his hands out hesitantly. The pseudodragon chirped at him, tilting his head curiously as he came in close... and then Mahihko giggled and grabbed him up, Sammy squawking in surprise before he was cuddled close in the tiny wolf's arms, the lupine giving him a firm squeeze as he began to stroke along the top of his head firmly. "You're so adorable! Hello Sammy, hello! Hello Sammy, I'm Mahihko!"

Sammy wheezed a bit, and Zerrex looked at the two before he leaned against the counter, letting Mahihko continue to molest the pseudodragon and figuring they could attune themselves to each other better if he stayed out of it. Like it works with Cherry and Marina... "So Cherry made an interesting suggestion. She said I should just take Mahihko... or Lone... or whatever he is... with me, and leave the rest of you behind."

"Sure it was Cherry and not a hallucination? Because that same Cherry made that little wolf cry like a baby." Cindy paused, then she looked at him sideways, asking in an amused voice: "You don't think she developed a conscience and feels bad about that now, do you?"

"Nah." Zerrex waved a hand airily, looking at his daughter with amusement before he continued amiably, as Mahihko rocked and cradled Sammy, burying his face against his back: "I think that she might be right, though. Lunis is bound to be crawling with Scanners of their own, and we won't be able to move effectively as a group. With just him around, people will pay less attention to me... and hopefully we'll be able to move directly against Wulfe Headquarters. I have a feeling that if we find out what Tobias Wulfe is up to... we'll find Mercy."

Cindy nodded slowly, and then she handed Zerrex a plate, and he automatically picked up a towel to dry it off with, as she asked softly: "And what about us? I mean, it's a good idea, and I even applaud Cherry for having it... but Cherry, myself, and Marina are still not exactly the best of buddies a lot of the time. We get along and all but... without you around things are..."

"Strained." Zerrex supplied, continuing to dry things whatever Cindy handed over to him. "I was thinking about that some, and well... I have no idea." He paused, opening a drawer to put away a few utensils, and then he said thoughtfully: "Maybe you three could do research for me, though... did I mention... oh, I'm sorry, Cindy, I've been rude, how did your work go today?"

"Yes, because what I do in one day is far more important than the traumas you endure in twenty years." Cindy said drolly, and then they both winced at a loud smacking sound before Mahihko began to cry again, holding onto his ear and rocking back and forth as Sammy scrabbled away, hissing at him and raising his tail threateningly. Immediately, Zerrex made a face and stepped forwards, stepping on the pseudodragon's tail gently but firmly, and Sammy squeaked before looking up at him embarrassedly, the Drakkaren pointing at Mahihko as he glared at the little reptile.

Sammy slumped his shoulders, then sighed and mumbled something as Zerrex rose his foot, the little pseudodragon hopping back onto the table... but now Mahihko would barely even look at him, pushing himself violently away as he sniffled and whimpered in his throat. It was admittedly a little bit pathetic... and Zerrex rolled his eyes, putting down the plate he was drying as he walked over and gently patted Mahihko on the skull... and he burst into tears again, clinging to his father as he asked in a stuttering voice: "Why is everyone being so mean to me today? Why, why, why?"

"I think the testing wore on him a little bit." Cindy said embarrassedly, and she walked over and gently patted Sammy on the shoulders, saying clearly to Mahihko: "Look, see, he doesn't want to hurt you anymore... you just scared him, that was all."

Sammy chirped and nodded, standing up on his hind legs as he craned his head forwards... and Mahihko mumbled and buried his face against Zerrex's leg, the Drakkaren rolling his eyes upwards with a wince as he gently patted Mahihko on the back a few times, before the wolf mumbled in a surly voice: "No, he should go away, he's bad and mean like Cherry. I hate her, stupid Cherry. She's a bitch."

From the mouths of babes. Despite how often he agreed with the sentiment, however, Zerrex felt that while physical conflict he could put up with between his family - Cherry and Marina, for instance, usually were able to repair everything they broke between them and their fighting rarely turned into anything serious - putting up with nastiness, especially behind the backs of others, wasn't something he'd allow. "Mahihko, stop that. And apologize, right now." Zerrex pushed him gently but firmly back to sit on the chair, kneeling and letting him meet his eyes so the wolf knew he was serious, as the tiny lupine began to tremble again. "And no more crying tonight, not about these things. You've already gotten away with plenty."

"That's not fair!" Mahihko burst out, and then he went quiet, sticking out his lower lip as a few tears ran down his cheeks. Zerrex looked at him steadily for a few moments, however, and Mahihko finally lowered his head in shame, mumbling: "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Good, see? Now go along to your room and calm down." Zerrex quietly patted Mahihko on the back, and the little wolf toddled quickly off, snuffling and wiping his face against his shirt as the Drakkaren sighed and walked over to the sink, beginning to dry dishes once more as he asked Cindy gloomily: "So what were we talking about again?"

"Our respective plans." Cindy replied, shaking her head slowly. She drained the sink, then rinsed it out as Zerrex finished drying the last few dishes, then she glanced up at him and said quietly: "To be honest, I think it's more than just the day... Mahihko and Lone, that thing where they split... it seems to have a big impact on his energy levels and his mood. It's sort of like... I dunno... glue." Cindy paused to bring her hands up, knitting her fingers together. "Pretend my fingers are energy. Now this is them together, my hands... they're one being. But when I pull them apart..."

She did so, and then waggled her fingers and thumbs, looking across at her father intently to see if he got it, and after a moment, the Drakkaren did, nodding thoughtfully. "So... they each get half the total amount of energy."

"Minus what they expend to split, which isn't much, that's right." Cindy smiled, then she pushed her hands back together... but this time, using only half her fingers. "The problem is, that when they combine again, it isn't like... four plus four equals eight. For Lone and Mahihko, four and four equals only four... maybe five if they're lucky."

"What, you're saying that... their energy stays halved? That's like one of them just vanishing completely, though." Zerrex frowned, tilting his head towards her, and Cindy nodded grimly. "But why would that happen?"

"They're obviously using up a much-larger amount of energy to combine... but I think it has something to do with not only the process they went through all those years ago with Mengele's experiments, but also because there was never meant to be Lone and Mahihko... there was only supposed to be Lone Wulfe." Cindy shook her head slowly, meeting Zerrex's eyes. "One single being... but because of everything we've gone through, he's become split, and more than just mentally. For Mahihko to have been born as Mahihko and not Lone Wulfe, for instance... that by itself was a miracle, because he was a repressed personality that... well... repressed his own dominant personality and somehow managed to get to the front. Ugh, I'm sorry, I can't... phrase it right..."

Cindy sat down at the table, rubbing at her head slowly, and Zerrex pulled up a chair beside her as he nodded a bit, saying quietly: "I think I get it nonetheless. Mahihko and Lone, as they are now, shouldn't exist... but Lone Wulfe should, yet he doesn't exist. So it's sort of like they're absorbing each other when they rejoin together, but that energy doesn't end up going anywhere..."

"It's just used up." Cindy shrugged a bit, sitting back in her chair and tapping her fingers on the table, as she looked at the boxes and plates of food still laying out on it. Then she sighed, climbing back to her feet to begin putting boxes away in the fridge. "I need to do more research, but I don't think I have the proper equipment..."

Zerrex was about to respond, when he was cut off suddenly as Cherry shouted: "Hey Boss, you're on TV! It's that thing that happened!"

"What?" Zerrex frowned, getting to his feet, and he and Cherry made their way to the den, where Marina and Cherry were sitting as far apart as possible, both a bit bruised but the room at least in good shape. Then he stared as a bus flew through the air, the image scratchy and blurry, to land on a figure that was probably him, and there were gasps and mutters as it caught it and threw it back at a very ugly demon, someone cheering and someone else muttering for the cheerer to shut the fuck up. "Oh great."

"The hell is this?" Cindy asked in a consternated voice, and Zerrex whistled a bit to himself as the 'Top Story' headline appeared and a news reporter in a red dress suit faded in, her expression serious. "Zerrex..."

"Our top story tonight is about a fight that broke out at the bus terminal. This, however, was no ordinary fight, but a battle of extraordinary powers that was captured by several brave young people who were passing the station at the time." The reporter said, her voice deep and serious, but her eyes glimmering like she thought she was about to win some local news award. "More than a dozen officers have been reported dead and others severely wounded, and-"

"Oh, there were like six who died, come on." Zerrex said disgustedly, and Cindy shushed him before she kicked him childishly in the leg, and the Drakkaren fell over with a grunt, wincing and grumbling under his breath."

"-demons are not among the listed casualties." A pause, and then a clip began to roll, with her reporter's voice overtop as they watched the bus get thrown at Zerrex again, and Zerrex throw it back. "The demons, as shown here, display supernatural strength... and while the cause of the fight is unknown, authorities said they suspected territory to be at the center of the dispute but urge-"

Cherry snorted in disgust, watching as the demon was hit by the bus before she pointed and said clearly: "I would've dodged that."

Someone told her to shut up, and Cherry huffed and crossed her arms as Zerrex sat up, making a face as the clip changed to another, this time of the demon's attempts to crush him under his spiked carapace. "-powers, and have been known to get into conflict from time-to-time. The battle was quickly halted, however, by the dedicated forces of the Supernatural Defense and Deterrence Squadron, better known as the 'Scanners.' One demon is known to have been taken into custody, while the other may still remain at large."

A moment later, a hand-drawn portrait of Zerrex's face came up on screen... and although he looked even eviler than usual and they'd gotten his scars wrong, it was still pretty clearly him, and the whole 'having-hair' thing didn't help as the reporter began to read out estimates. Zerrex cleared his throat a bit as Cindy looked down at him sourly, and then she kicked him again before she asked flatly: "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier?"

"I totally forgot. It's been two decades for me, remember?" Zerrex rose a hand, and Cindy paused before she sighed and grasped his wrist, hauling him to his feet as the lizard rubbed grudgingly at his rear. "You kick too hard."

Cindy didn't respond, only grumbling something in return before she turned and left, and Marina smiled up at her father before she followed her out, as Cherry looked up at the Drakkaren and asked curiously: "So what the fuck was that thing, anyway? I ain't ever seen a Wrath demon like that before."

"I have... somewhere." Zerrex said lamely, but he'd seen most of the different types of the wide varieties of demons that were in Hell. Not that he could place it any better now than he could twenty years ago... and he sighed as he sat down on the couch beside her, the two mostly-ignoring the news as she leaned into him. "So I think I'll take your suggestion and take Mahihko with me and leave the rest of you behind... but what are the three of you going to be able to do while I'm gone? It might be for days, or it might be for weeks."

Cherry shrugged, switching through a few channels on the television before she finally said mildly: "How about the usual? Cindy's got her research, Marina's got her art, and I can beat people up or some shit. I know it ain't exactly focused, but we'll survive... what, you worried about us?" She grinned at him, then snorted when Zerrex looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, you know. Cindy's worried herself." he said, and Cherry huffed as she crossed her muscular arms, glowering at him. This made him grin slightly as he tilted his head towards her, looking entertained. "What? You don't like that I listen to her concerns?"

"Fuck her concerns, she's just mad 'cause I actually came up with a good idea for once." Cherry replied grumpily, and then she grabbed Zerrex and shoved him down, grinning widely at him as the reptile stared up at her, their muzzles pressed end-to-end as she said teasingly: "And I got another good idea for you, too..."