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The Seeker, Chapter 35

By William W. Kelso

"Mistress, I hissed, what's happening??" As I looked over her shoulder as she worked at the computer. "Miiiistress...?"

"I don't KNOW yet, Pet, stop asking me that every few seconds and SHUT up for about five minutes!" Vulva hissed in exasperation as she sorted through the hmails, at least half of which had red priority flags. But most of those were questions from other demonkind lords, ladies; and demi's, wanting to know if SHE knew what was going on! She just ignored those.

"Miiiistress...?" I started to ask again.

"PET, CORNER, NOW, AND STIFLE!" My Mistress snarled at me, and with a grunt I went over to my corner and lay down on my old ratty asbestos blanket, and sulked. I'm good at that.

"NO!! Vulva suddenly shrieked, I DO NOT WANT A SUBSCRIPTION TO DEPRAVED MAGAZINE, BY DIS, I ALREADY HAVE A LIFETIME ONE!! IDIOTS!! HISSSSSS!!

After My Mistress had calmed down a little bit I stuck my head around the edge of the door of the break room where I'd retreated in case she wanted a living target for her wrath. I'd learned a long time ago that when My Mistress is mad, it was best to scram and/or hide as she wasn't choosy about a target. Everybody did. Taking a chance I snuck up behind her; I can be pretty sneaky despite my size, and started rubbing her back between her shoulders on the large bundle of her flight muscles; she's always so tense there.

With a hissing sigh Vulva slumped forward in her very ornate; and very uncomfortable, chair, and with a moan of pleasure said,

"Oooh, hisssss, that feels so good Pet, mmmm, hissss, oh yesss, right there!."

I licked her ears and back of her neck, and hissed softly in concern, she was so tense! "I'm sorry I was bothering you Mistress, I'm just worried, Carl said it was big battle."

"Oh Pet, Vulva said, it's OK my little jelly bean, I just need to find out what the Hell is going on. The Hellnet is tied up with Spam and hmails from other demonkind trying to find out what's going on, and half of them seem to think I know what's going on, the idiots!.. You weren't really bothering me that much, I'm just all worked up right now."

"What about the HellHost site, I asked as I kept rubbing her shoulders, surely the military will know something?"

"Ssssss! Good idea, Pet! Vulva said, they'll have heard from the IFL by now for sure! I hope their site isn't flooded, or we'll never get through! We don't have the priority the more powerful Lords and Ladies have."

I kept massaging her back and shoulders, and then started on her wings while she tried the Hellnet site of the Host of Hell, which includes all demonic forces of any kind. We don't really have an army, air force, and navy, just The Host. Or if you don't need everybody, a Horde, or if you just need a few, a Hordlet. But even a small force of demonkind can be pretty damn powerful. My Mistress had opened her wings to give me better access as I rubbed her shoulders; so I couldn't see the screen, but she suddenly hissed, and said,

"This is bad! I haven't seen anything like this for over a thousand years! Not since Mars got in a pissing contest with Dis!"

"What, what is it Mistress!?" I hissed, craning my neck and trying to look over her wings.

"It's a general mobilization of all Hell's Legions! Vulva said, every Lord, Lady, or demi-demonkind is to raise their own forces and rendezvous at the given locations. It includes the IFL and ALL private bodyguards! The Host will soon march! It's War Pet, on a huge scale! My troops have been assigned to Great Lord Ba'al as their commander."

"Who are we fighting Mistress, I asked in amazement, is it Heaven? Is it the big one...Armageddon?" That was the one all demonkind fear, if we lost it meant oblivion for all of us. This is no afterlife for a demonkind.

Vulva was silent for a minute, and folded her wings so Pet could look over her shoulder. "It doesn't say, she hissed, just that all forces are to assemble at the locations given, ASAP!"

"What do we do, Mistress?" I asked; we really didn't have a private 'army' like some of the really powerful Princes, Dukes, Great Lords, and other higher ups in Hell's hierarchy. Duke Mars could field over 250,000 by himself, but of course he's an old God of War, so it was kind of his specialty. The whole Host of Hell would number in the millions.

"Well, we'll assemble the majority of the security demonkind and move out as soon as we can. We have at least two hundred well armed troops. It's not much, but the order says EVERYbody. I'll have to send a courier to the old domain and have Randy send the guards from there as well."

"What about Carl, I asked, will he lead them?"

"No Pet, Carl belongs to Lord Dracul, he's the commandant of Lord Dracul's armored battalion. He's already left to report for duty. I'll lead the detachment myself."

"But Mistress, I hissed in horror, it might be dangerous!"

Vulva leaned her head back and licked Pet's snout affectionately; he was such a dear to worry about her like that. It was nice to have someone care about a worn old demoness like her.

"Don't worry my little jelly bean, I'm a demi-demoness, and a 1st Rank magic user, Premier Class. I know how to take care of myself."

"Well, I'll make sure nothing gets close, Mistress." I snarled softly. NOTHING messes with My Mistress.

"Sorry Pet, Vulva said, don't you remember? You have a commission as a Tribune in Emperor Caligula's Praetorian Guard. In the event of a mobilization you're required to report to him for duty. You may be just a slave, but your commission comes first, it's the law under these circumstances. I'm sorry Pet; you need to fly to his domain as soon as you can and report for duty."

"S-ssssss! Nuh-uh! I hissed, I won't let you go alone Mistress, I'm supposed to protect you, it's my job!"

"Pet, you have to, Vulva said, otherwise its desertion! You do NOT want to know what they do to deserters! And you know how Caligula is."

I gulped, oh yeah, I knew what Emperor Caligula did to those that angered him, of if he was just in a bad mood. He has rather...interesting ideas of living sculptures and potted plants. He framed the last person who made him mad; alive. I rested my head on My Mistress's shoulder; licked her muzzle, and whined,

"But what if you need me, Ssssss, and I'm not there, Mistress??"

Vulva licked his snout again, and said "I'll be fine Pet; I've been in a few battles and know how to take care of myself. Besides, I doubt my small unit will be put in the front lines. We'll probably be put in charge of guarding supplies or something else boring."

Well, boring in Hell was good, so that made me feel just a little bit better, but just a little bit. I took my duty as My Mistress's familiar; and protector, very seriously, and couldn't help but worry about her if I wasn't around. It's one reason I got the crap beat out of me fairly often, I tend to attack anything that looks creepy, and usually they end up being an old friend of hers just dropping by to say Hi or do a little business. And then she beats the crap out of me too for attacking her friends. I've been doing better lately though, now they have to get through Carl's security troops first.

"Pet, Vulva said, why don't you go and make us some green sulfur tea while I check the rest of the hmails, maybe they'll tell us something else."

"OK Mistress", I said with some trepidation. We'd brought along the old samovar from her old domain, and I swear the thing hates me, even though Mistress insists it's an inanimate object. Of course in Hell that's not saying a lot, inanimate objects in Hell can be pretty lively sometimes. But when I did get it to work right the tea was first rate. I was pretty proud of my tea, when it didn't blow up in my face. Of course tea in Hell is NOT like that nasty stuff mortals drink, it's mainly sulfur based and can have all sorts of other stuff thrown in. One sip can kill a mortal.

Vulva looked at a few more hmails; and then had a sudden thought. Where in the Hell was Lisa, the little Bat demoness was supposed to screen the damn hmails for Vulva as part of her job, get rid of the SPAM, and flag the more important ones. After yelling for her a few times Vulva finally got mad and; with a hiss of exasperation, got up to go find her.

Lisa sucked the cock in her mouth automatically; it was a nice big one and she was pretty surprised she'd managed to swallow the whole thing, her lips rubbing the opening of the demon's penis sheath as she slurped. She'd forgotten how many demons she'd given blow jobs to over the last several hours, and they had returned the favor by keeping their tongues busy in her pussy, sometimes several at the same time, and it felt incredible. She shuddered and squealed as the long forked tongues in her pussy made her cum again; two wriggling deep inside her while another caressed her clitoris, and then swallowed as the cock in her mouth pumped and throbbed as the demon grunted in pleasure, a huge load of hot cum pouring down her throat and into her already overflowing stomach. As soon as the demon pulled his cock out another took its place as the next demon in line stepped up,his rigid phallus sliding past her lips and into her throat. "Mmmm", Lisa mumbled as she started sucking the fresh cock, this one was long and slender and the tip went deep down her throat, the demon's tongue sliding into her pussy to join the others already busy there. "Mmmm, slurp, ugghhh, sluuurrppp."

Vulva stood in the door and watched Lisa for a minute; unnoticed by the line of eager demons waiting their turn; their various sized and shaped cocks all rampant, tapping one of her hooves impatiently. Then she hissed loudly, and said,

"Lisa, stop playing around and get back to work! It's hit the fan, and I need you back at the desk! This is NO time for a gang-bang you silly little Bat; now get your furry little butt back to WORK! NOW!! HISSSS!"

Lisa almost choked on the cock in her mouth, and gave a muffled "Whuth fug?? Plying rond!??! IMPFFFF!! SQUEEEEEKK!! SLUURRPPP!"

As soon as the demon finished cumming he let Lisa down from her restraints; much to the disappointment of the other demons who had been waiting, and she staggered down the tunnels towards the Mistress's office. Her belly was sloshing from all the cum she'd swallowed, and her fur was drenched with her own, and many others, sexual fluids. She was NOT in a good mood. Playing around MY ASS! She fumed. It was the Mistress who had chained her up and left her vulnerable in the first place! It wasn't her fault she'd enjoyed being gang-raped, or banged, so much!! She knew she'd have to do it again sometime soon though, all those magnificent cocks!"

As Lisa entered the office Mistress Vulva wasn't there, so she sat down at the desk and started banging at the keyboard a lot harder than necessary, and when Pet stuck his head through the break room door to see what the noise was all about she bared her fangs, screeched at him, and heaved a large heavy paperweight in his general direction, and with a 'Yipe!' he disappeared. A second later there was loud 'BLAMMO', and she dived under the desk as a large ornate silver samovar flew out the break room door and started ricocheting off the walls, trailing a tail of steam. She heard the framed photo of Hitler; where his soul was trapped for eternity, say "Das, was der Teufel das war!? EIN V-2?"

Crap, I thought, as the samovar launched itself like a missile. I'd stuck my head out the door when I heard someone come in the office, and when Lisa yelled and threw stuff at me that had thrown off my concentration, and I'd gotten my fire plume too hot and overheated the stupid thing, and off it went like a rocket. I could hear it whistling around and banging off the walls, and Lisa was calling me mean things in a very loud voice. Geez, what a grouch, it wasn't my fault!

Vulva had gone to check on how the preparations by her security troops were coming; and satisfied, was returning to her office, and entered the door just in time to duck as the samovar whizzed by. Yep, she thought, Pet was making tea, and as usual screwing it up. She grabbed the samovar on the next pass, and walking over to the break room door handed it to him, the samovar still hissing steam.

"Thanks Mistress." I said, embarrassed, and went to try again. I usually got it right the second time, or the third for sure.

"You can come out now Lisa, its safe." Vulva said in amusement, she could see Lisa's tail and the bottom of her wings sticking out from under the desk. When Pet was making tea that was the safest place to be.

Lisa stuck her head out sheepishly; glad to see that at least the Mistress was in a better mood. She was still a little mad she'd been scolded for 'playing around', but knew better than to say anything.

"Lisa, Vulva said, you go through the hmails and see if you can find anything else relating to the battle to the west. Pet and I need to get ready to move out. We'll be in the armory if you need us for anything."

"Yes Mistress." Lisa replied, then added, "Mistress, you and Pet be careful."

Vulva smiled at Lisa affectionately; she had come to like and trust the little Bat demoness, and knew the domain would be in good hands. "I'm leaving the Slayer, Krissa, and the Carrion Crow to back you up; you're in charge while Carl and I are gone. If anything gives you a hard time, sic the Slayer on them."

Lisa nodded, and Vulva stuck her head in the break room. "Forget the tea for now Pet, we need to get ready. Come with me."

I had just finished making the tea; and gave a dismayed hiss. But orders were orders, My Mistress had spoken. As I followed her out of the office I said, "Lisa, there's a fresh pot of tea, if you want any."

"Thanks Pet, you take care of yourself, and the Mistress." Lisa replied, and watched as they left. She felt her throat tighten a little bit; she couldn't help but be worried, she had come to see Mistress Vulva and Pet as the closest thing she had to a family. Even though she hadn't been a demoness for very long she could still tell that something very...bad was happening. The whole domain was on edge. Finally she turned her attention back to the computer.

"Hold STILL!" Vulva hissed in frustration, Pet was wiggling like a snake.

"But I don't want to wear this stupid armor, Mistress!" I hissed, being as uncooperative as I could. "It's gay!"

"You have to Pet, you're a tribune! It goes with the rank. And it is NOT gay! Vulva said, good thing it was a little too large when you got it, it fits better now." She tried to fit a greave on one of his hind legs, and he shifted and stepped on her hoof. "PET, get OFF!" She hissed.

"Sorry Mistress, I hissed, and moved my foot again, I just feel stupid!"

"This is good armor, Pet, Vulva said, it's top quality stuff, it's almost impervious to anything; magic or mundane. You might need it. There, almost done! You look very impressive, a real war drake."

He did too, Vulva thought; he had on a full frontal breast plate, back and shoulder guards, vambraces, greaves, and segmented neck and tail lames. The armor was a bronze color, and ornate in the fashion of a Roman Tribune. She also added fighting blades to his wing claws, but his natural tail barb was nastier then anything she could have added. Now all he needed was his specially designed helmet and a lance. He wouldn't use a shield and wouldn't carry any other weapons; his natural ones were more than adequate for close up combat. The lance was just for long range.

"Really Mistress?" I asked, craning my head around to look at myself.

"Yes, very noble and warlike." Vulva said, and smiled when he started preening a little bit. He so loved even the smallest compliments, and could be so vain. "Now you wait here while I put on my own armor."

"Yes Mistress." I said, and took another look at my neat armor. Yeah, it does look kind of cool! I thought. And despite the weight I was hardly even aware of it.

Vulva looked at the various suits of full; and partial, armor she'd accumulated over the centuries, each one mounted on its own storage rack and kept in excellent condition by the armorer's. She didn't use it often, but when she did she wanted it bo be ready and waiting. They reflected the trends and styles from various periods of mortal and demonic history. The Host of Hell had no standard 'uniform', and its soldiers wore everything from little more than nothing to full plate panoply, not to mention modern ballistic and Kevlar type armor in some cases. First she considered a rather scanty combination leather and mail 'barbarian' outfit, but finally decided on her best suit of full body armor. If it was as bad as she thought she might need it, and style be damned. It was based loosely on a European knight's suit of armor, circa 1100. But the style was pure demonic, the obsidian black armor embossed and inlaid with runes and sigils of power in gold & silver. With the delighted help of an armorer demon she began to put on the suit, and didn't complain when the demon copped a feel or two.

My lower jaw dropped; and my tongue hung out, as My Mistress came out of the dressing stall; I'd seen her in some wild outfits, but nothing like this! For one thing she had on more then I'd ever seen her wear before, her usual was nude with maybe a belt and/or an "X" straps chest harness to show off her magnificent breasts. This was full body armor sculpted to fit her body perfectly, and despite it covering her it left little to the imagination. It was enameled black with silver trim around the edges, and was emblazoned with protective symbols in old demonic, and had a snout/muzzle plate on top of her head with holes for her horns and eyes, and a full neck shield. Her wings fit through slots in the backplate, and the leading edges of her wings were edged with metal fitted with blades and nasty spikes. Her burning eyes looked out through the eye holes, and she smiled and hissed,

"Well, what do you think, Pet?"

"Wow, you looked fantastic, Mistress!" I hissed softly, and she did! She looked downright...wicked, the epitome of a warrior demoness. I felt really sorry for anything that got in her way. I've seen her in action.

Vulva gave a pleased smile; she hadn't worn this outfit in over 600 years, and it still fit perfectly! Now to get her best wand; and a sword just in case it came down to hand-to-hand combat. Plus she needed to pick out a good lance or spear for Pet.

Vulva picked her favorite offensive wand, and a good quality sonic blade; when it was pulled from the sheath the blade vibrated at such a speed that is was virtually invisible; she'd heard it called a Vorpel blade before. It would cut through solid rock like soft cheese, and armor like butter. She chose a twenty five foot five decibel power light artillery grade lance for Pet, it was not only for discharging intense bolts of power, but was for physical combat as well, the three tines razor sharp Helliron. Finally she was satisfied, and turning to Pet, said,

"Come on Pet, it's time for us to go, and don't forget your spear and magic helmet."

I lowered my head so My Mistress could put on the last piece of my armor, the helmet. It sealed itself around my head, and became a perfect fit. It was made up of four main pieces, the top plate fitted to fit my head, two side pieces with holes for my eyes, and another plate that went under my jaw. It was hinged so I could use my fangs if I had to. It also overlapped my neck armor so nothing was vulnerable, and last, but not least, it had a neat red crest on top. The visor was just ornamental and had some weird looking guys face embossed on it, and he had a funny look on his face like he was constipated or something. I think he was supposed to be some old God of some kind, but I thought he was goofy looking. It was the only part of my armor I didn't like. I slung my spear/lance in a bracket on the side of my armor designed for that purpose, and followed My Mistress as we left the armory. We were loaded for bear. The other demonkind began to fall in behind us, also armored and armed.

As we headed for the main entrance we got some nice compliments, and most of the males got boners looking at My Mistress. The more you cover up a demoness, the sexier they look. Frankly I was having a hard time not jumping on her, ripping the armor off, and 'raping' her right in the middle of the tunnel. But I knew now was not the time, but just wait until later! I blew a puff of smoke; and smiled in anticipation, scaring the Hell out of some Imps.

Ba'al was feeling something he seldom did, genuine fear. As new demonic forces arrived on the field and added their own power to the assault on the creeping darkness of chaos it slowed it down, but didn't stop it. Several other Great Lords, and Great Duke Gusion, had arrived with almost 100,000 demonkind soldiers, adding their own wrath to the ongoing battle, but to varying degrees of success. And as he flew over the burning Hell of Hell's central desert he could see long lines of marching troops, columns of vehicles of various kinds, and the skies were filled with drakes and other flyers, all heading for the raging conflict. He passed over the Legions of Prince Astaroth and Prince Berith; as well as those of many lesser demonic powers, but he feared even they couldn't stop it through brute force alone, though that was what they were best at. So he had consulted with other Lords and Ladies, and they agreed he needed to consult with Prince Orobas. The strangely gentle and intellectual demon was probably on the march with his own Legions, but if anyone would have any idea of what needed to be done he would. He was also one of Hell's librarians and 'Keeper of Knowledge', and had read every one of the untold thousands of books, scrolls, and other references he guarded. Another reason Ba'al was so worried was he'd heard reports; fragmentary and incomplete, that chaos was breaking into the mortal AND Heavenly realms as well! He was alone, having left even his personal drake to do battle, and flapped his wings even faster as he continued towards Prince Orobas's domain.

Lt. Gen. Wesley Thomas Wayland; know as Wes to his close friends, but called General by everyone else if they knew what was good for them, watched as some fast movers passed over heading for that THING in the valley below. With heavy 'crumps' their loads of napalm exploded on target covering the thing in burning Hell. It writhed in apparent pain and retreated a little bit until the fire died down, then surged forward again. The constant bombardment from artillery, mortars, and MBT's didn't seem to be doing much good. It had started out as a small patch of darkness on a hillside in this remote valley in central Afghanistan, but now almost filled the whole valley, and was still growing! What the FUCK was this thing?? He wondered. He raised his binoculars again as another flight of fighter-bombers moved in on another run. It had been the Taliban; of all things, that had informed his command of the presence of the damn thing, asking them for help! But now that he'd seen it he didn't blame them.

Archangel Michael led his flight of angels in another pass at the writhing darkness marring the perfection of Heaven. Beams and bolts of Heavenly power blasted down, the darkness cringing and retreating, but as soon as the assault stopped it surged forward again, slowly, but steadily, growing larger. He watched as Gabriel led another assault, with the same results, or lack of them. The lesser non-winged angels and others of Heaven's Host surrounded the thing, their own attacks seemingly having even less effect. With a clap of his wings Michael stooped for another pass, followed by his contingent in perfect formation, they were the best, Heaven's elite.

Prince Orobas was expecting Great Lord Ba'al, he knew he would be coming. He knew the future, and the past, and such was his burden. His own Legions had already marched, and he would join them soon. But for now he would wait in his great fortress to give Ba'al the information he sought. He snorted sadly, and drank from a mug of green sulfur tea spiced with brimstone.

Vulva watched as her troops formed up into a loose, but sensible, formation. They were as ready as they'd ever be. She made a quick inspection, chastisinz a young demoness who had her harness on wrong; the others hissing in amusement, and then turned to Pet.

"Pet, you need to go now, Vulva said. Don't worry, I'll be alright. You be careful too."

"Mistress, I asked, do I have time to tell Lydia what's going on, before I meet Emperor Caligula's Legions?"

"Yes Pet", Vulva said, she knew his need to go to his life mate was strong and natural, so wouldn't say no. Even if she did he'd probably go anyway. Drakes were like that when it came to their mates.

"Thank you Mistress." I hissed, lowering my head and gently rubbing my snout against her muzzle, her lovely burnt cinnamon scent flooding my nostrils, and then spreading my wings I took flight.

Vulva watched the dragon take off and fly towards the volcano where she knew he had his lair. She had mixed feelings, but felt he'd be safer with Caligula then just about anywhere else. The former Roman Emperor commanded ten Legions of crack troops, not to mention his own Praetorian Guard. While many other of Hells Lords and Ladies commanded far more troops in number, few were as well armed and trained as Caligula's Legionaires. With a hiss she turned and started leading her own small 'army' down the road towards the distant battle, she had decided to stay with her ground forces instead of flying ahead. The sky ahead flashed and flared, distant rumbles washing over them as they marched, joining ranks of others heeding the call to arms.

I roared as I landed in front of the entrance to the lair to let Lydia know who it was. I noticed the other drake that should be helping guard the lair was gone, and gave an angry hiss. Then I gave a happy one as Lydia came walking out of the mouth of the lair, and we rubbed snouts affectionately.

"Pet, I didn't recognize you at first! Lydia hissed, what's with the armor?"

"I've been called up by Emperor Caligula, I said, Hell's going to war, the entire Host is being assembled. I have to go. Where's the guard drake??"

"He had to leave, Lydia hissed, another came to fetch him. The Great Drakes have called all the drakes to battle. Except those who have essential duties, such as guarding their clutches. Even the lesser drakes have all left; I saw huge flights of them filling the skies, it was magnificent, and terrible. But they're all gone now, I'm the only one left."

"I hate to leave you, I hissed worriedly, but I have to go too. I don't really know what's going on, but it's got to be bad if the whole Host is marching. Mistress Vulva is even taking most or her security troops."

"So is Master Vulkrebs, Lydia hissed, he sent a courier bat to tell me. He's joining up with Great Lord Ba'al's forces."

I rubbed my snout gently up and down Lydia's sleek neck, taking in her scent and taste with my tongue. How I wanted to mate with her, make her roar in ecstasy as I made love to her, but I couldn't in my armor, and didn't have the time to take it off and then put it back on again.

"Will you be OK?" I hissed.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Lydia said, you just be careful and come back to me as soon as you can. By the time you do maybe the eggs will have hatched."

"I want to see them again, before I go." I said, and we both moved into the entrance to the lair.

I stood and looked down at our eggs; each one carefully nestled on their raised mound ringed by a small flow of lava to keep them at the best temperature. I gently nosed each one of them, sensing the small new lives they contained, new drakes sired by a dragon and dragoness, and damned for eternity before they were even born. But they were my children, and they would at least know what love was, even in this place. I licked each egg, and they knew I was there, that they were protected and safe.

Lydia watched her mate as he tended to their eggs, her eyes glowing brightly with love. He looked so regal in his armor, so warlike, a real battle drake. Had she not had their clutch to guard she would have flown at his side into battle, but she knew her place was here. So she would stay, and wait. And if anything threatened their eggs she would die defending them if necessary.

It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done, to leave My Mistress and my life mate; all on the same day, for an uncertain future. If I fell, who would take care of them? It never occurred to me that Mistress Vulva was over 3000 years old, and more then capable of taking care of herself. So I worried. They were my family, the only one I'd ever had, and meant more to me than anything else. But duty called, and as a slave and Drake of Hell I had no choice but to obey. So with a farewell roar I took flight again, and winged my way towards Emperor Caligula's domain, Lydia's farewell roar echoing behind me.

With a weary grunt Ba'al landed in front of the portal to Prince Orobas's fortress. He had taken on his true three headed form for battle, but now he reverted back to a smaller single headed form he preferred. It would be easier to move about inside the confines of a fortress that way as his true form was about forty feet tall, and he got tired of bumping his heads against low roof's. The single Cachodemon on guard recognized Great Lord Ba'al, and bowed as he entered the fortress, then sealed the gate behind him.

"Where is Prince Orobas?" Ba'al asked.

The Cachodemon bowed respectfully, and replied, "He is in the main hall Great Lord, and awaits you there."

"Where is everything and everybody?" Ba'al asked, usually Prince Orobas's domain was fairly busy with demonkind, both coming and going.

"Gone to war Great Lord, the Cachodemon replied, I am the only one left except for the Imps and my Prince. He says he will join the Host as soon as you are through consulting with him. Great Lord, what is going on??"

Ba'al looked at the older Cachodemon, and decided to answer the question out of politeness, though he was under no obligation to answer a question from such a lowly slave. But still...what could it hurt?

"We are battling Chaos, Ba'al said, the whole Host is marching. Keep this place for your Master, and hopefully he will return, triumphant in battle."

"If it is Chaos then I will join my Master in battle, whether he calls for me or not!" The old demon said resolutely.

Ba'al reached out and clapped the old demon on the shoulder, and said, "Then he will be well served." And turning he walked on into the echoing empty halls of Prince Orobas's fortress.

The old Cachodemon watched for a minute, and then turned to go to the armory and don his old well used armor. When Prince Orobas left for war he would have one more demon by his side.

"Welcome Great Lord Ba'al", Orobas said morosely, not bothering to stand up to greet him. It wasn't necessary, and he was tired.

"My Prince." Ba'al said, bowing low.

"Please, no formalities, not now, not between old friends. Orobas said, and of course I know what you are here for, but I do not have much for you. Here, he said as he slid a heavy tome across the table, this contains what you need to know."

Ba'al squinted a little in the dim lighting; he wished he'd brought his reading glasses, but the ancient script was large and fairly easy to read. Prince Orobas had marked the pages containing the information he needed, and he went over them again, and then again, his despair growing. Three keys, long lost in time, were needed to open a great door no one knew the location of?? To find the source of the darkness, even though no one knew what it was for sure, let alone how to destroy it?? At least there was a drawing of the door, the keys, and the incantations and spells needed to activate the keys to unlock the door. But that was it.

"Is this ALL??" Ba'al blurted, forgetting to add the 'Prince' honorific. Orobas didn't care though, he wasn't long on protocol. Not in a private meeting anyway.

"Yes, Great Lord; that is all I can give to you. Take the book with you, show the illustrations to the oldest demonkind you can find, some of them will have seen this door, and/or have knowledge of the whereabouts of the keys. And ask Heaven as well as mortals. The keys may not be in Hell.

"Ask HEAVEN??" Ba'al said in shock, easier said than done! Since Hell's last 'envoy' to Heaven had bitten an Archangel on his ass relations had been less then cordial. He smiled as he remembered; the little dragon had not only bitten Michael's ass he'd beaten him in a fair fight. And under the current circumstances Pet having managed to set off a volcano or two was a trivial matter.

"Yes, Heaven, Orobas replied, and some of the more powerful mortal warlocks and Sorceress's as well. You might try Absalom Baldric, that Cambion is quite knowledgeable when it comes to things regarding chaos. He has been touched by it, and survived."

"My thanks Prince Orobas, Ba'al finally said, all I can say is wish me luck. This is not much to go on."

"I know, Orobas replied, but it is all I can give you. But you will find able allies, some of whom will surprise you. Now leave me, I must prepare to join my Legions."

"Yes Prince Orobas", Ba'al said as he bowed again, and then turned and left the great hall carrying the rather enigmatic book with him. He hoped he had time to find these 'allies' Orobas had mentioned, and that the Host could beat back the darkness long enough for them to find the heart of darkness and destroy it.

I came across into Emperor Caligula's army long before reaching his domain, he had been on the march for awhile already. The sight was awe inspiring, gleaming columns of armored demonkind snaked along the old main road like a bronze snake. Ten full Legions, over fifty thousand marching in perfect order to the sound of drums and shrill signal trumpets. Most were heavy infantry wearing armor almost 2000 years out of date, but still just as good as when it was new. But their weapons were state of the art; the best Hell had to offer. The majority were goat-lizard or Hell lizard demonkind, with a force of 5000 mounted on riding lizards as well as winged auxiliaries including battle drakes. As I landed nearby a small group of riders came out to greet me, and when I saw Emperor Caligula at the head I prostrated myself in respect, and roared out "HAIL CAESAR!" He had taken on his most human form, and was resplendent in gold armor. Guy might be a nutjob, but you had to admit he had style, and was a deadly serious soldier as even as a mortal he had marched with the Legions. Frankly I liked him.

"Hail Tribune, and well met!" Caligula called out happily as he rode his riding lizard up to the prostrate dragon. "The Army is complete now; we've been waiting for you. Rise, rise and attend me!"

I had done Caligula a favor before; and always rendered him the proper respect due an Emperor of Rome, and he'd rewarded me by making me a tribune in the Praetorian Guard, which I thought was awful nice of him. I hadn't realized just how great an honor that was until later. He was ruthless with his enemies, but quite generous to those he saw as friends. The poor guy was still pretty much a kid despite his age; a really messed up one, and he had very few he considered real friends. I was pretty proud; and flattered, to be one of those. I got to my feet, and said,

"I have come as ordered Caesar, what are your orders?"

"Ah, you see! Caligula said to his retainers, he is loyal, is he not? I have given how you may best serve your emperor and Hell great thought, tribune, and I think it is best we use you in your natural element, the air. You shall command a century of one hundred battle drakes of the 1st Auxiliary Aerial Cohort attached to the Tenth Legion."

That caught me a little by surprise, I'd figured I'd be a kind of mascot or 'hanger-on" member of his entourage, and I wasn't sure how I felt about commanding other drakes in battle, most of whom probably had more experience than me, a lot more. But I knew better then to complain; or try and get out of it, Caesar had spoken, one did NOT question his orders. I wasn't THAT stupid!

"Yes Caesar, I said, it shall be as you command."

"Excellent!! The little demon said, but accompany me for now, I want to hear about your visit to Heaven. Tell me, did you really bite an archangel on his ass?"

Caligula almost fell off his riding lizard he was laughing so hard when I told them how I had indeed; most definitely, bitten the Archangel Michael in the Maximus Gluteus. The rest of his entourage gave snarls, hisses, and other forms of genuine amusement as I told the story. Who says demonkind don't have a sense of humor? Especially if it involves something getting hurt. Plus it gave me a bit of prestige; it was seldom a demonkind got the best of an angelic foe. In all fairness though, had Michael been able to use his powers I would probably have been toast.

We rode a little ways, Caligula chatting like a Magpie; he's one of those guys that loves to hear the sound of his own voice, and who's going to tell him to shut the fuck up?? Not this little tribune, I ain't that dense! Besides, he was kind of interesting, talk about a history lesson! There are a lot of historians who would give their souls for a chance just to talk to one of the most famous; or infamous, of Rome's Emperor's. And when I mentioned that he suddenly got quiet, and a calculating look came into his eyes, forked tongue licking over his fangs. Uh-oh, I thought, I probably just got some poor history professor royally screwed.

"I like the way you think, tribune", Caligula said thoughtfully. It WAS an interesting idea, to get someone to sell him their soul merely for the chance to talk to him, and he loved to talk. It bore looking into.

Then Caligula pulled on his mounts reins, the large lizard hissing as it came to a stop, and looked up at the sounds of wings. "Ah, tribune, your command has arrived! They are a little early, anxious for the battle I would guess. I told them to be expecting you. Go and join your command, we will talk again later, and I will relay my commands by courier bat."

"Hail Caesar!" I bellowed, and took wing towards where my fellow drakes were landing nearby. Caligula returned my salute with a big smile.

I set down in front of the large group of drakes; dragons and dragoness's, all similarly armored. I recognized some of them from our effort to free Draxa from the volcano; I'd mated with a few of the females, and a few hissed in welcome. Most were 'lesser drakes'; like myself, which is based on age and size. There were a few smaller ones, and the rest were about my size, or a little larger to varying degrees. The century was broken up in flights of eight, based mostly on size, the rest being 'officers'. I made the total one hundred and one. After the greetings they all just pretty much looked at me expectantly, eyes glowing. I wasn't sure what to do, make a speech, or what?? Fortunately that little problem was taken care of. We were intelligent creatures, but still animals, and whenever a bunch of predators get together there is bound to be some friction until a 'pecking order' is established. With Drakes this is based partly on your accomplishments, intelligence, size, who your Master or Mistress is, and also on sheer meanness. So naturally one of the other drakes decided to take issue with my being put in command.

I watched as another male; a fire dragon like myself, pushed his way to the front of the formation, the others making way deferentially, though he snapped and hissed at a few to keep them in line and remind them who the boss was. And the thing about drakes is there really aren't any bullies, if you're tough you had to prove it; and any drake will fight if challenged, it's not in our nature to back down from anything. If you win most of those fights you get to be boss, but if you get too obnoxious about it you're likely to get jumped by several others at the same time. Respect works both ways. He was your fairly standard fire drake, red scaled with black horns and spines, a little larger then I was, and much older. From his scars and old gouges in his armor and hide he was a veteran fighter. He looked me over, and hissed,

"So this is the great 'Pet',Sssss, what a stupid name for a dragon, but I guess it beats 'little jelly bean'", which got some hisses of amusement from the other drakes. "He doesn't look like much, does he?? HISSsss!"

I narrowed my eyes and hisses softly, "And who might you be, ugly?" I hissed.

"I? I am Voth, the dragon hissed, surely you've heard of me? I have won the Drake Inter-Flight games for the last five hundred years almost continuously. Hisss."

I looked over to where Caligula was watching in amusement, so no help there. He probably knew better then to interfere; Drakes will tolerate being commanded to a certain degree, but he knew better then to push it. Besides, he was probably enjoying it, the little nimrod. Drake fights can be pretty spectacular and...brutal.

"Oh yeah, I've heard about you, I hissed, you've also won the Jerk of the Month and Asshole of the Year awards for the last thousand years. Most impressive, tell me, do have to work at it, or does it come naturally? HISSSS?"

When Voth lowered his head and hissed like a steam boiler; igniting his fire flux with a 'whoosh', I knew it was on. The challenge had been issued, and accepted, in true Drake tradition. Honor must be satisfied. And just because you lost didn't mean you lost any honor either, if you fought well your honor remained intact; or even went up based on the circumstances. It was more of a pissing contest than anything else, and the victor and vanquished usually have genuine respect for one another afterwards. Drakes love to fight, especially in a knock-down-drag-out match with an equally determined opponent.

Voth tried a classic first move, trying to blind me with a blast of his fire plume, which would also conceal him for a few vital seconds and let him maneuver for a good position. The object is to pin your opponent, keeping their wings folded or helpless, your fangs in their neck until they yield. If a dragon and dragoness fight the male will also try to mount the female, the 'rape' his reward for subduing her, but of course a dragoness's always enjoys being mounted by a dominant male even if she may not like him much. Sometimes it's hard to tell if Drakes are fighting, or mating, as both are pretty similar in most cases. Hey, we're animals.

Even though I wasn't as experienced as he was I was not a newbie. I'd been in more than a few rough-ups with other Drakes and quite a few other things. Just mating with some females is a pretty serious struggle, even if they are receptive. So I closed my eyes to keep from being temporarily blinded; fire won't hurt a fire drake, but it can dazzle your sight for a minute or two if you take a blast in the face, and dodged to one side. It turned out he'd made his move on the same side, and we slammed into one another with loud hissing roars, and grappled, rearing up and biting and clawing at one another's head and neck, our claws lashing out. The armor we were wearing was as functional as ornamental, and with our own natural armor included all we did was cause sparks to fly as fangs and claws skidded over invulnerable armor or scales. But it was spectacular, and the watching Drakes hissed and bellowed in approval, as did other demonkind who had arrived to watch the show. Soon we were in the center of a large circle of spectators who watched intently, and I had no doubt wagers were being made.

We circled, heads low and on all fours, tails lashing. Our armor was designed so our fighting spines poked through, and they were raised and rigid. We weren't playing around, this was deadly and serious. Drakes don't put on show matches or 'fake' fights. Even though such matches seldom result in one combatant being destroyed; they can, and do, sometimes result in serious injury, and there would definitely be some new scars on each of us in the near future. In this type of match it was understood the only flying would be to leap on an opponent in a short hop; an aerial battle would have been formally 'arranged' ahead of time. We reared and clawed and snapped at one another a few times, hissing and snarling, each of us backing off with no noticeable gain. The watching Drakes hissed in approval.

Slowly his experience began to tell though, and as we grappled he somehow got his tail between my legs, and I gave a bellow of surprise as he flipped me on my side, I hadn't seen that coming! He was on me in a second, but I was able to pummel him with a wing and managed to regain my footing before he could pin me, though he got in a nasty bite on one of my front legs. The crowd gave approving hisses and roars, for both of us. He narrowed his eyes, 'smiling' a little, realizing I wasn't a push-over, and I 'smiled' back; watching him closer and with more respect. He was good, very good; it would be stupid to underestimate him. And he wasn't over-confident either. We were both getting the measure of the other, and knew this wouldn't be a quick fight.

We came together again and again, slamming into one another with bone jarring force, roaring and hissing, both trying for advantage, stirring up clouds of dust and sand, and soon our nice shiny armor was gauged and dusty, the crest on my helmet a tattered ruin, and I'd managed to rip off one of his vambraces. Once I managed to leap over his guard and land on his back, but he immediately flipped over backwards in a kind of loop, and I had to disengage to keep from being pinned by his greater size and weight. I knew had I manifested any of my still untried powers as an Elemental I could have ended it quickly, but that wouldn't have been, well, fair. Even in Hell we follow certain rules when it comes to honorable ritual combat. Winning is NOT everything. Sure, if you cheat you might win, but that can hurt you more in the long run then a victory can help. And demonkind hold grudges like you wouldn't believe. It's one thing to beat another drake in fair combat, it's quite another to cheat or take unfair advantage.

Finally I got the break I needed. He tried the fire plume maneuver again, but instead of dodging out of the way I closed my eyes and charged into it, and balling up one of my paws I swung as hard as I could, and as luck would have it gave him a right hook across his lower jaw, and he went over backwards with a hiss of shock, and I leapt on top of him, my hind legs in front of his wildly kicking hind legs so he couldn't get at my belly with his razor sharp talons, and I clamped my fangs around his neck at the base of his skull, and bit hard, pinning his front legs with my own. If not for this neck armor I'd probably have drawn blood. He wasn't through yet though, and pummeled me with his tail, but it was a wasted effort, again due to our armor, and I eventually wrapped my tail around his. He heaved and bucked, so I bit harder and gave a deep rumbling hiss, and he finally went limp. Then a second later he gave an 'I yield' hiss.

I immediately let him go, and jumped off of him. He got up, shook himself, and then gave me a bow, acknowledging me as the victor. I in turn returned the bow, acknowledging him as a worthy opponent. Had I NOT returned the bow it would have been a horrible insult. The watching Drakes and demonkind bellowed, hissed, roared, and howled in approval, the Emperor Caligula clapping his hands. I had proven myself; there would be no other challenges to my right to lead the century in battle. Frankly I think it turned out pretty good overall, I suck at giving speeches. I also got some very interesting 'offers' from some of the dragoness's; some of whom I'd mated with before, but others as well, but that would have to wait until later.

Now that the entertainment was over the Army went back on the march, and the aerial forces; drakes included, were sent ahead. Some as scouts, but most as reinforcements to be used however the demonkind in command saw fit. As we approached the scene of the battle we were intercepted by a Hell Bat courier with orders from Mars, who commanded the contingent Emperor Caligula's forces had been assigned to. Since I was in the lead of the first flight of fire drakes he approached me, and flapping hard to keep up with me, he shrieked,

"Thank Dis you're here! Our drakes are exhausted and need to replenish their fire fluxes! Take your flights and make passes against the leading edges of the darkness! We're trying to slow its advance, and it doesn't like drake fire! Do NOT engage it in direct physical contact, it will just swallow you!! Remember that, NO physical contact! And avoid the grey bubbles; assign some drakes to keep them away from the flights making their passes! And don't get too low, it can extrude tentacles and drag you right out of the sky! A bat will show where to replenish your fuel when you run low!" Then he peeled away and dropped toward the forces on the ground below.

Well, I thought, here we go! I gave orders to Voth to command half the century, and the rest formed up on my command group. I found myself humming "Ride of the Valkyries' as we flew into battle.

Carl cursed in a mixture of German, English, and Demonic as he jumped from the turret of his command tank, and landing on the ground ran to the side of the disabled tank.

"Was ist JETZT das Problem?!" He hissed at the small group of demonkind gathered at one side of the huge vehicle.

"We have lost a bearing; it is the damned sand of course, and the transmission has jammed as well! We can only spin in circles! We need a repair vehicle!" The tank commander hissed back.

Carl gave an angry hiss, but it was not directed at the crew of the disabled tank. He knew it wasn't their fault; it was always the damn sand! It was hard on any kind of mechanized vehicle, Hell, it was hard on everything!! And there was an unending supply of the stuff no matter where you went.

"Nun, Ihr Bestes, rejoin the column as soon as is possible!" Carl hissed, and then turned and ran back to his own tank. He scampered up the side of the looming armored hulk with ease, his claws finding purchase on the various protrusions of rungs, equipment tie-downs, and other necessary fittings. At a glance the tank very much resembled the King Tiger of WWII vintage, and its design had in part been based on that famous tank. But it was much larger, and its main armament was a three tined power lance that looked like a pitchfork or trident. The secondary pintle mounted lances on the commander's cupola and the front hull were rapid fire secondary lances. The main lance punched a wallop similar to an offensive spell cast by a demon lord. They were the best Hell had to offer.

Despite his nictitating eye membranes Carl also wore goggles, as did most of the other armored crewdemonkind. The crews were all smaller reptilian demonkind, most Hell Lizards like Carl. Many others were too large to crew the vehicles, and ones with wings were a no-brainer. Wings and small enclosed spaces did not mix. It was different with the motorized grenadiers; they came in all shapes and sizes, as did the SP gun and artillery crews. Some were too large to ride in any of the vehicles, so they ran; or flew, on their own. The force under Carl's command was not exceptionally large; including only fifty tanks; and supporting motorized infantry and artillery, but it was an elite force. The best of the best, all members crack troops. It could; and had, kicked the crap out of forces many times its size with ease. They were moving up fast, and as a result had lost three tanks and several other vehicles to mechanical problems, but were otherwise intact. As they neared the battle they spread out into attack formation, and as Carl tried to see through the billowing clouds of dust the column was throwing up he was startled when a winged Hell Lizard suddenly landed on the turret,

"Commandant! The scout hissed, the enemy...thing is just the other size of the ridge to your immediate front! Prince Dis says we are to hold the ridge as long as we can, then fall back to the next one! He is sending up some onagers in support, they are equipped with gravity mortars! Lord Dracul will be providing aerial support!"

Carl nodded to show he'd understood the yelled message, and hissed back, "Good! Tell Prince Dis we have arrived on station, and will be engaging as soon as our weapons come to bear! Keep me informed of any new developments!" The scout nodded, and took off with rapid beats of his wings, disappearing into the dust.

Seconds later Carl's tank crested the top of the ridge, and came to a halt flanked by the other main battle tanks, the infantry deploying and setting up their crew-served lances. As the dust settled down Carl looked at the sight that was revealed, and hissed in horror. Several hundred yards away the ground writhed like a churning shadow, the leading edge ragged and torn looking, tendrils reaching and questing. As he watched a demon lord cast a powerful spell against it to the join the thousands of other more minor spells as wands, and lances pounding the thing, and when the spell detonated the darkness writhed in apparent pain as a great hole was torn in it, but then it flowed back together like fog, with apparently no damage. Overhead drakes, Hell bats, and other winged demonkind made passes, hosing the thing with fire flux and acid spit, spells, and dropping bombs and various other projectiles. Under that assault the thing should have ceased to exist instantly, but though it was being battered; and even driven back in places, in others it was advancing. Carl cursed as a tendril suddenly lashed out and grabbed a low flying winged behemoth, and dragging the desperately struggling demon to the ground, flowed over it, and it was gone without a trace.

"Luzifer hilft uns!", Carl hissed. Due to radios not working in Hell Carl had to give order via hand signals, a kind of semaphore, or couriers. Seeing all the tanks had moved into position, he gave the signal for 'all weapons to fire'. The tines of the lance on his tank hummed, there was a halo of power discharges between the tines, and a second later with a loud 'crack!' like an electrical discharge an intense bolt of pure concentrated power left the tip of the lance, and was a direct hit on the center of the heaving mass, and the bolt detonated in a flash too bright to stare at directly, but it seemed to have little effect, the same with the bolts from the other tanks. The gaps they blew in the thing were instantly filled in. "Verdammt!" Carl cursed.

Carl leapt down from the tank, and finding the artillery observer he made sure the demoness had the coordinates right, and soon the heavy artillery and SP guns were adding their firepower to the barrage. While the SP guns fired line-of-sight like the tanks, the artillery fired glowing balls of power that arched up deceptively slow, then came screaming down on target with an audible whistling sound, to detonate in huge explosions of pure Hell. Carl returned to the crest and used his binoculars to survey the effects of the new assault, and was glad to see the creeping darkness had been halted in their sector, and even seemed to be retreating a little. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to find a Rat Demon in rather archaic looking armor looking at him.

"I am Gizet, sergeant at arms to Lord Balfor, where to you want my onagers?" The Rat Demon yelled at Carl over the din of battle.

"Move them up between the tanks!! Carl hissed back, and as soon as you are in position, start firing! Try to hit as near the center of the mass as possible!"

The Rat Demon nodded, and ran back to where the lizard-drawn cart mounted onagers waited. Despite the motley appearance of the crews they were apparently well trained and organized; Carl noted in approval, and soon had unhitched the carts and wheeled them into position. Then the small catapult like onagers were winched back into firing position, and what looked like shiny black softball size orbs were tenderly and carefully removed from well padded containers, and lowered into the cups. Other demonkind edged back as soon as they saw what the projectiles were. They could not be fired by regular artillery; they were too unstable, but the onagers; though an ancient and largely obsolete weapon, were perfect. When all the onagers were ready, the sergeant looked around, and then chopped his hand down in a 'fire!' motion. The onagers were released with loud 'thunks!'; they bucked a little, and the black orbs were launched in lazy arcs toward the seething darkness.

The orbs, called 'gravity mortars', were a very specialized spell in which the power of gravity was concentrated in a very small area. When they detonated they created a split second gravity well several hundred times the norm in a twenty yard diameter that was so intense anything within the boundary was reduced to a, well, stain, and even a tank would end up resembling a can run over by a bulldozer. They left prefect circles several feet deep in solid rock, or deeper in other substances. Their effect was devastating; the very ground trembling every time one landed, and they tore huge gaps in the darkness, which were slow to fill in, and the darkness began to retreat from that horrible attack. The problem was the orbs were hard to create, and in very limited supply, and almost as dangerous to the users as they were as dangerous to handle as pure nitroglycerin, but the power they released was much more destructive. It would seem the darkness was not immune to their devastating effect.

Carl hissed in satisfaction, they could hold this position so long as the gravity mortars were in action.

Great Lord Ba'al flapped wearily through the burning sky of Hell. He had been on the move constantly, doing more flying then he'd done in quite some time, at least all at once. He kept having to pause to explain things to new units of Hell's Host as he came across them, or reply to messages courier bats brought him. It never ceased to amaze him how the bats; both demonic and 'natural' could always find their 'target' to deliver their messages, no matter where it might me. He showed the book Prince Orobas had given him to every demonkind Lord or Lady that he encountered, but none were able to be of any help. But finally he had a bit of luck. He began to pass over a vast army of marching demonkind, counting at least twenty-six full Legions, and then spotted the banner of Prince Vassago. Excellent, Ba'al thought, that Prince knew much about things lost or hidden. Usually his form was that of what appeared to be an old mortal, but for war he had taken on the form of a large red fire Drake. They were old friends and 'friendly' competitors, and Vassago roared a welcome as Ba'al landed nearby, the Prince's green eyes glowing brightly.

"Greetings Great Lord Ba'al, come to join me on this campaign??"

"Greetings Prince Vassago", Ba'al replied, bowing as the Prince outranked him in Hell's intricate hierarchy. "Regretfully not, but hope you can be of assistance with a task I have undertaken." He handed Vassago the book, and the dragon scrutinized it carefully.

"Ah, the mark of Prince Orobas's personal library! This is a tome I have not seen before. Let me see. This is old, very old. Hmmm, why yes, I know of these keys, but did not know their purpose. All three have been lost for ages; I know the whereabouts of one, but not the others. I do; however, believe them to be in the mortal realm. The square shaped key I can give you the location of, but not the other two. As much as I hate to say it, the Archangel Gabriel may know of the location of one others as it was once in his care. I hope this is of use."

"My profuse thanks Prince Vassago, Ba'al replied, your invaluable knowledge has just made my task feasible after all! Now I must take my leave, I still have much to do, but do not know if I even have the time. Farwell, and may victory be yours!"

As Ba'al took flight Vassago roared a farewell, and Ba'al continued to wing his way over the seemingly endless wastes of Hell's central desert.

Ba'al was elated that he had at least found out some very valuable information so quickly, but was dismayed at the known location of the one key. Of all places to be, its retrieval would be...difficult. And as far as contacting Gabriel went, only as a last resort! He hated trying to deal with that pompous self-righteous twit, but at least it wasn't Michael! What a mess, even by Hell's standards it was FUBAR'd big time.

As he entered the vicinity of Mistress Vulva's domain he narrowed his eyes as she saw a smaller unit marching down one of Hell's ancient paved roads. Well; he thought, this would save some time! He knew Mistress Vulva had more dealings with mortals then just about any other demonkind, and knew it would be well worth his time to show her the book and explain his mission. He also seemed to remember her saying something about finding a 'strange door' in her newest domain. Folding his wings he dropped towards Mistress Vulva's small army.

"Mistress!" One of the demons hissed, "Great Lord Ba'al approaches!"

Sweet merciful crap, Vulva thought, you'd think that in view of what was going on that the Great Lord would have forgotten about Pet's little 'accident' with the volcano, but no such luck. She should have known better. And he was in his true form, huge and three headed. He usually only took on that form when he was happy, or pissed. She was pretty sure which one it was this time. As the winged demon landed in a cloud of dust and sand Vulva and her followers prostrated themselves to render the homage due a Great Lord. Those who forgot seldom got a second chance. Other units filling the road also dropped to theirs knees or faces.

"Greeting Great Lord!" Vulva hissed, her muzzle eating sand.

"Oh, get up! Ba'al hissed, we must talk!' I have some grave news." He folded his wings and took on his most human form as it would be easier to talk to her that way. Three heads were great in combat; or if you were intimidating someone or holding court, but it was hard to have a decent conversation as they kept interrupting one another, which got really annoying. As Vulva rose Ba'al did a double take, by Dis she was beautiful! He felt himself become erect and rampant at the sight of the voluptuous demoness in full armor, it was downright indecent! She was more fully clothed then he had ever seen her! He had shed most of his own armor for speed, and his arousal was rather obvious.

As a matter of fact demonkind didn't HAVE to go around naked; they could wear clothes if they wanted to. It was more of an attitude; and practicality, then anything else. The 'climate' of Hell; which was always Hot as Hell with wind often blowing great clouds of sand and dust, was not conducive to wearing much. And since they mostly had scales, fur, and/or tough hide the heat and sand doesn't bother them much, so why bother? Plus, being partially animals their view of clothes was somewhat similar to the one a dog or cat might have. Some did of course, especially the more 'human' like ones, but usually it was fairly scanty and more of a 'fashion' statement, which isn't saying much as most demonkind don't have a clue as to what 'fashion' really is, much like Lady GaGa or Madonna. So when they did wear clothes it was from necessity; such as armor for battle, or to entice members of the opposite sex, or the same depending on which way you bent. Another reason was a naked demonkind was much more intimidating to a mortal trying to deal with them, then one in a three-piece suit or high heels. So seeing Vulva fully clothed had a more arousing effect on Great Lord Ba'al then if she had been her usual stark naked. But since half the other males also had hard-on's he wasn't embarrassed in the least. Of course Vulva noticed his 'condition', it was kind of hard not too as he had two cocks, one above another.

"My thanks for the compliment, Great Lord" Vulva said, bowing her head 'shyly'. Good, she thought, an aroused demon is easier to deal with under certain conditions. If he wanted to rip her armor off and ravish her it would at least calm him down, and it would be fun too.

But Ba'al was able to control his lust, at least partially. He did pull her into his embrace and kiss her with intense passion, grinding his muzzle against hers, their tongues entwined as they hissed and snarled in mutual lust. "By Dis you are a desirable female!" Ba'al growled as they broke their kiss. "But for now we must control our lusts. But later I will make you scream in ecstasy!"

"I will be looking forward to it, Great Lord!" She was too, he was a first rate lover, and never left her wanting. She hated to have to wait. The sight of such a well endowed; and aroused, male was making her wet, her scent making every male in range take notice.

"Indeed, it is a promise, Ba'al said, but for now I need to have you take a look at this book, and see if you recognize anything."

Vulva took the large heavy book and flipped through it to the marked pages. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the drawing of the door and keys, the drawing was nearly identical to the strange door they had found in her new domain, and she had seen; even held, one of the keys!

"Great Lord, Vulva hissed, I know this door! It is in the depths of my new domain. I believe I mentioned it to you before. We could not open it; it is warded too well, with both demonic and other spells. And this key, the round one, I have seen it as well! It is in the possession of one of my newer acolyte's, she and her mate were cursed by it, but she has begun to master its powers. It is not demonic, or heavenly in origin, it has a power I have never seen before! Any of the spells I cast on it were useless and had no effect, and I could not do anything with it myself. But for some reason mortals can wield it."

"This is great news, Ba'al replied, we know the location of two keys, and the portal they open! This gives me hope, if we can locate the third key then we can open the door and confront the origins of the darkness ravaging Hell, as well as the mortal and Heavenly realms." Seeing Vulva's dismayed look of shock, he added, "Yes, it is in Heaven as well as the mortal realm, and our combined armies cannot stop it. This may be our only hope. You will come with me, bringing as many of your troops as possible as they may be needed. The winged with come with us now, the rest as fast as they can. Where is your familiar? A fire drake could be most useful, especially a Seeker."

"Pet, Vulva said? He is serving with Emperor Caligula's Legions at the battle so far as I know (he'd BETTER be, she thought), but I can summon him via our mind link. And Great Lord, about the volcano, he's very sorry, he and the other Drakes did not know that would happen, they just wanted to help one of their own."

"What?? Ba'al said, oh, that! Do not worry about it for now, in view of current events it is a trivial matter. The fire demonkind are actually pretty happy about the whole mess, lots of lovely new volcanoes to play in. We will discuss it later, if we have a chance. But for now I need him here, I have a feeling he will have an important part to play."

"Yes, Great Lord." Vulva said, and closing her eyes she concentrated. 'Pet, are you there?'

I led another pass against the thing writhing on the ground below, keeping my eyes open for any of those mean nasty bubble thingy's, or a grabbing tentacle. We'd lost two drakes who'd flown too low to tentacles, and one to a bubble. I lowered my head and breathed my fire plume against the darkness in a wide swath, followed by my flight, or combined attack covering an area a hundred yards wide and over a hundred yards long, the effect devastating. The thing just kind of evaporated under the attack, turning into a smelly black greasy smoke, but then it just flowed forward to fill in the gap. It was like fighting fog! We peeled away followed by the flights following us as they finished their own passes. It was time to replenish our fire, so we headed for a nearby deposit of brimstone and sulfur, and as we crunched and pulverized new fuel with our fangs before swallowing it I heard My Mistress in my head.

'Mistress! I replied, what do you need Are you OK?'

'Pet, Vulva said via their mind link, what are you doing?'

'Everything I can Mistress, I replied, the Emperor put me in charge of a large flight of fire Drakes, and we're burning the Hell out of that thing, but it just doesn't seem to do any lasting good! As soon as we toast it, it reforms!'

'I'm proud of you Pet', Vulva said, meaning it. She wouldn't admit it, but she was worried too. 'But now I need you to come to me as fast as you can, so return to the domain.'

'Are you all right, Mistress??' I asked.

'I'm fine Pet, Vulva said, it's just that Great Lord Ba'al has a very important task, and he needs our help. He wants you here.'

'Really? I said; the Great Lord wants ME?? Um, he's still not mad, about, er, you know.'

'No Pet, Vulva hissed in amusement, he's not mad about that any more. It's about that weird door you found, we need to open it.'

'I hear and obey, Mistress, I'm on my way. I said, but I need to let the Emperor know what's going on. I can't just leave in the middle of a battle.'

'Of course not Pet, Vulva said, you just tell him Great Lord Ba'al called for you, he won't have any choice but to let you go.'

'OK, Mistress, I replied; see you soon!' I walked over to where Voth was gobbling brimstone, and said,

"Voth, take over! I've been called elsewhere, so you're back in command. Give that thing HELL!' He nodded his head, mouth full of brimstone. That taken care of I took wing and headed for Emperor Caligula's command post.

I landed in a swirl of dust next to a pavilion that had been set up for the Emperor. He was seated on an ornate folding chair watching the conflict. Guy travels in style. As I approached he said,

"Greetings Tribune, what news do have you, how goes the battle?"

"Hail Caesar! I said, banging a balled fist against my chest. "We are doing damage and slowing the thing down, but it still advances, though slowly. But the reason I have come is My Mistress has contacted me, Great Lord Ba'al has need of my services on a special mission. I request to be relieved of my command for now, so that I can answer his summons. Voth will take over for me."

Caligula chewed his lip for a second, and then said, "Very well Tribune, you are relieved of your duties for now, though we will miss your presence. But return when you can, we need every Drake we can field."

"Hail Caesar!" I said again, and he returned my salute. As I took flight I passed over the assembled Legions of Hell, it was an awe inspiring sight. But most were unable to actively engage the darkness as actual physical assault was suicide, non-power weapons and fangs & claws were useless. So for now it was up to the 'artillery', airborne, and bombardment demonkind to do their best. The sheer amount of energy, both magical, demonic, and other being expended against the darkness was staggering, but at the best it stopped it, or slowed it down, but couldn't destroy it.

The battles raging in Heaven and on Earth were not faring much better. The mortals hurled everything short of nuclear weapons against it, with the same effect of merely slowing it down. In Heaven the fight was going better, the darkness being contained to a limited area, but it was only a matter of time as even the Host of Heaven was becoming tired and fatigued. But for now the assaults never let up.

Ba'al took on his true form as they took flight, Vulva and her winged troops following close behind. It was not terribly far to her domain; and flying as fast as they could they would be there shortly. He could fly faster in his three headed form, and just hoped it was in time. Even the Host of Hell could not contain that creeping darkness for much longer.

As I flapped through the air as fast as I could go; helped by a good tailwind, I was scared. That THING was winning, slowly but surely. If it broke out from the area it had been contained in so far it would be impossible to stop, any direct physical assault would be a waste of time, the greatest and most fearsome of Hell's demonkind and beasts helpless. They would merely be absorbed into that horrible nothingness. None knew what happened to those it took. And there was nowhere to run, it would spread everywhere.

Vulva waited at the entrance to her domain as Ba'al selected a team to accompany them to the strange gate. She scanned the skies anxiously as she looked for Pet, but just when she thought she'd better go and find Ba'al she spotted a small speck in the distant sky, and as it rapidly neared she breathed a sigh of relief. As the drake set down she ran to meet him, and was worried when she saw how battered his armor was.

"Pet, what happened, Vulva asked? You look terrible!"

"Gee, thanks Mistress, I replied, a little miffed, you look beautiful as always."

"I'm sorry Pet, Vulva said; knowing he could be so sensitive about the way he looked, I meant your armor is all torn up! It was brand new!"

"Oh, that! I hissed, I had a little 'argument' with another drake who didn't like it when Emperor Caligula put me in me in charge of a flight of drakes."

"Oh? Vulva hissed, how did it turn out?"

"Kicked his butt, I hissed smugly, but he put one Hell of a fight."

"That's the best kind, Vulva replied, it's no fun when they give up too easily. Good boy Pet, I'm impressed. How goes the battle?"

I pranced a little as I followed My Mistress into the domain, she was impressed! I'm bad, uh-huh, I thought.

"Not so good, Mistress, I replied. We're holding it back, but nothing causes any permanent damage! We hit with everything we have, and it just keeps coming! And it...takes demonkind and Imps, just swallows them whole. What IS that thing, Mistress? They say it's chaos, but it's nothing like that Cha-zulu tentacly thing we toasted awhile back."

"It's nothing, Pet." Vulva replied.

"Hisssmmppphh, I snorted, sure doesn't look like 'nothing' to me! It's definitely SOMEthing!"

Vulva hissed angrily, "Shut up and let me finish, Pet! Like I said; before a certain little dragon so rudely interrupted his Mistress, it's nothing. It's anti-anything. Anti-life, anti-light, anti-ANYthing. It's the void come to life, even though it's not alive. It IS a part of chaos, but even the old Gods fear it; even Cthulhu, even though it is where they originated, but they could be drawn back into it forever if it gets out of hand. It just absorbs everything, leaving behind...nothing. If we don't stop it Hell, the mortal realm, even Heaven will become...nothing."

"Ewwww, I hissed, nasty! How DO we stop it, Mistress?"

"I have no idea Pet, Vulva said, that's why we're about to go on a very important quest, we need to find the three keys to that damn door you found deep in the domain. We can only stop it at the source, which is behind those doors!"

I came to a stop, and shook my head. "Wait a second, you mean we're going to just storm into this things home, say 'Hi', and hope for the best?"

"Yes, Pet." Vulva hissed.

"Oh, OK, just checking Mistress, I said as I scrambled to catch up with her, works for me!"

That was pretty much how I tackled problems anyway, just charge in headlong and hope for the best. Usually when I do that I get yelled at though. It had worked pretty well so far, though I did get the crap beat out of me a lot doing that.

Great Lord Ba'al looked at the team he had assembled. It wasn't much, the domain had been stripped of most of the demonkind and battle trained Imps. He was scrapping the bottom of the barrel. He grimaced, it wasn't much. But Vulva and her winged demonkind were a powerful force, and the Slayer and Carrion Crow were pretty powerful as well. The assorted other lesser demonkind and Imps were their weak link, they're just weren't enough of them. At least they seemed competent, and their moral was good. Had to hand it to Vulva, she kept her slaves in top form. He looked up with a growl of approval as Vulva and her dragon familiar entered the armory. It looked like the drake had already seen some action. He smiled as the drake threw himself on his face, wings over his head. So respectful!

"Mistress Vulva, Pet, welcome to our little expedition! Ba'al said, we've been waiting for you." He raised his eyebrows as a Bat Demoness followed them through the entrance and prostrated herself as well. "And who, pray tell, is this lovely beast?"

Lisa was scared, both from what she was doing, and even more by the presence of the Great Lord. But she was determined to help; Vulva and Pet were the closest thing she had to a family in Hell, and it they were going into battle she wanted to help.

"G-Great Lord, Lisa stuttered, if it pleases you I am Mistress Vulva's slave, Lisa. I-I would like to help."

"Well, Ba'al hissed in amused admiration, what does your Mistress have to say about this?"

"NO, Lisa! Vulva hissed; but was secretly pleased at the show of bravery, I need you to stay here and watch the domain. You need to give instructions to any reinforcements that show up, and monitor the Hellnet for important information."

"B-But Mistress, Lisa replied; almost in tears, you might need me, I can fight!"

Vulva walked over and pulled Lisa to her feet, and hissed in her face, "NO, Obey your Mistress, slave!"

Tears running down her muzzle, Lisa nodded, and turned to leave.

Vulva grabbed her arm, and when the surprised Bat demoness turned around Vulva gave her muzzle a quick lick. "Lisa, Vulva said, I treasure your devotion and bravery more then you can imagine, but you will be much more effective here, doing what you do best, coordinating and running things. Believe me when I say this. I do not doubt your ability to fight, you are after all a creature of Hell like the rest of us, but you can do the most good here."

Lisa nodded and smiled, then hugged her Mistress as hard as she could. "You and Pet be careful." She said softly. She felt a large wet tongue lick an ear, and looking up found Pet standing next to her as well. He looked so fierce in his armor, but his licks were gentle.

"Don't worry Lisa, I hissed, I won't let anything happen to our Mistress."

Lisa gave Pet's large had a quick hug, the drake hissing in pleasure, then turned and ran out of the chamber before she broke down.

Ba'al had remained quiet during their exchange, but was smiling, as were most of the other assembled demonkind and Imps, fangs bared. It was rare they saw such emotion publicly displayed, but there was a time for everything. They did not consider Mistress Vulva or her slaves weak in any way for showing such 'tender' emotions; they understood loyalty and devotion worked both ways. Fact was, most would be willing to die for Mistress Vulva and/or Great Lord Ba'al. Without hesitation. But on the other hand their Mistress and Master would not ask them to do anything they wouldn't do themselves. So they understood, and approved.

"I must say, Ba'al said, you certainly inspire loyalty in your slaves, Mistress Vulva."

"As do you, Great Lord." Vulva replied.

"Well, Ba'al said, come with me Mistress Vulva, and you too Pet, we need to have a little private talk. The rest of you motley crew find the best armor and all the weapons you can carry or drag, and when I get back you'd better be ready to march!"

"BA'AL, BA'AL, BA'AL!!!" Was the chant as Ba'al led his two minions into a nearby storeroom for their 'little talk'. He was still smiling.

"WHAT!?! Vulva hissed, you don't want me or Pet to come along?? This is an insult, Great Lord! This is MY domain, those are MY slaves, and this is MY fight!"

"All true, Ba'al said, but sit down and LISTEN to me! I have a very important mission for you and Pet! It is more important than you can imagine! In fact, I have TWO missions for you!! You; and Pet, need to retrieve two of the keys to the portal. The ones we know the locations of. One of your acolyte's has one, and we know the location of the other, but we need demonkind with certain powers to retrieve it as well, powers that you and Pet both have. You are all that is available as well, but I would choose you anyway. Your familiar is remarkably successfully in his endeavors, though I must admit I have no idea how he does it, and you are one of the most competent of all my slaves. If you two can't do it, NO demonkind can! So LISTEN to what I have to say before you get all bent out of shape over honor!"

'Mistress, I said via our mind like, did we just get complimented?"

'I think so, Pet, Vulva replied, now pay attention to what the Great Lord has to say."

'Oh, you bet I will, Mistress!' I replied.

The End

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