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Zerrex peered out the window, frowning... then he blinked and shouted: "Open the door!" watching as a rebel was blasted down by two huge Dragokkaren in black military uniforms, standing fearlessly on the stairs leading down, surrounded by cracked stone. Zerrex quickly leaned out the shuttle as he saw one of the shocked-looking rebels staring at him, calling: "Here, over here!"

"Get inside!" roared a female voice, and Zerrex quickly stepped out of the way as one of the Dragokkaren on the stairs snarled and jerked a grenade off his belt: before he could throw, however, one of the rebels tossed an explosive of their own, sending up a cloud of thick smoke that covered their retreat as the remaining five rebels leapt into the car, just as the computer beeped and an alarm went off, the doors slamming shut as the enemy grenade tinked off the wall of the shuttle before exploding.

Zerrex grunted as he shuttle rocked, the windows cracking slightly from the force... but nothing else happened: he grinned, then shouted: "Get moving! Next location, double-time."

"Roger." The computer responded crisply, and then the vehicle jerked with less grace than usual and they sped off down the tunnel, as Zerrex sighed and rested back against the wall, crossing his arms and feeling faint stirring of relief as he looked around at the rebels he'd saved. Then he paused, frowned a bit, and then stared at two in particular: they stared back, looked at each other with their mismatched eyes, then turned back to him and ran forwards, hugging him and making the Drakkaren wince.

He flailed a bit, coughing as the twins Mist and Shine embraced him tightly, holding his arms out to the side as the other rebels took seats on the benches with muttered thank-yous, then another of them did a double-take, his eyes going wide and the many necklaces he wore jingling. Then he pointed at him, mouthed wordlessly as one of the other Drakkai looked at Zerrex's tattoo with mistrust... and then Becca babbled: "You! You're Lord Zerrex!"

"Yes... it is." Mist said warmly, stepping back with her sister and flushing, both of them covered in blood and looking as exhausted as Zerrex felt... but both their eyes burned with a vitality that was almost frightening, as they stared up at him like he was their savior. And then Zerrex felt a twinge as Drake snorted laughter, and his stomach did a somersault as he realized what they were thinking, stumbling back against the wall, emerald eyes filling with panic as he shook his head quickly.

"I... it's good to see you three, the only guys I ever really got to know in Hez'Ranna... but... I'm..." Zerrex broke off as one of the twins rubbed at tears spilling down her cheeks, and he could feel his heart breaking for her. One of the other Drakkai grunted and winced, and Zerrex glanced over at him before walking over and kneeling in front of him, taking the chance to escape the looks of the others... but he was only greeted by a weak grin from this Dragokkaren he had never met.

"Thank... fuck..." he whispered, then coughed... but there was no blood at least, despite how high up on his body the bullet wounds were. Zerrex paused a moment, then he drew himself back to glance over their uniforms and smile a bit: dark gold, good for blending in with the stone around here. They'd been performing a sneak operation of some sort, undoubtedly... but they were also wearing tight black flak vests, which was likely what had given them away.

The reptile leaned down for a moment... then he reached forwards and lightly plucked up a shining metal bullet from where it had lodged into the Dragokkaren's vest. A study of the other two holes - likely, he'd gotten snapped by a burst from one of the soldiers - and he could see both. Shallow wounds that hurt like hell, and he paused for a moment before looking up at the soldier and asking softly: "You want that out?"

"Yessir... that I do... sir..." he mumbled in return, shaking his head a bit... and Zerrex laughed softly as he glanced over at Becca and held out his hand, nodding at the short knife on his belt. The Drakkaren blinked, stared down at this, then drew the narrow blade from its holster, looking queasy as he handed it over to the Drakkaren... and the reptile took it before turning and quickly plunging the blade into a wound and twisting upwards, causing one of the bullets to pop out but also making the Dragokkaren writhe in agony, his eyes clenching shut as he hissed through his teeth.

"Next one's gonna hurt a bit more 'cause now you're expecting it." The reptile said mildly, and the soldier nodded, breathing slowly in and out... and Zerrex glanced back down before quickly extracting the other bullet in the same way, thankful that he at least didn't have to be neat or careful: the round were still halfway stuck in the vest, and not long enough to leave any serious wounds.

Then the reptile handed the knife back over to the reptile who had once run a shop stall and blackmailed a pair of jeans from him, before he smiled faintly and glanced around at them all, standing up and hating how easy it was to fall into the flow of things. He turned, walking past the twins, then paused before turning back to them. Four Drakkai, and a tall Bengal tiger who had lost a good amount of teeth and had his mouth twisted in a permanent snarl.

He looked around at them all, dressed in their dusky gold uniforms, armed with rusted-looking weaponry, cleaver swords and knives... and then he closed his eyes and brushed his hair back with a sigh. "Well, I guess... I need to come with you to the rebel base, and we'll... help each other out."

"No... what you'll do for us... will never be something we can repay." Mist said softly, and Zerrex glanced up at her with disbelief, and she smiled as she caught the nervous expression on his face. "Don't doubt yourself, Lord Zerrex... we've heard your exploits, we've seen the power of the Narrius bloodline." A pause, and then the twins looked at each other before Mist blushed and looked down as Zerrex looked away. "I'm sorry."

Zerrex nodded... then paused and softened, tilting his head. "So where exactly is this... rebel base, anyway? I already made the mistake of walking into the Necropolis area and meeting up with Iago... I don't want to go through another battle like that." He made a face, rubbing at the etches on his wrists, and then blinked as the others stared at him in shock. "What?"

"Iago and his Thousand Angels? You... you killed them all?" whispered Shine, looking at him with awe: fear and reverence, in one neat package. Then she dropped to a kneel with Mist, and they bowed their heads towards him as Becca stared, the other Dragokkaren blinked stupidly and rubbed at his head, and the tiger looked at Zerrex with a strange thankfulness before bowing his head and rubbing at his eyes quietly.

"He's killed... so many of us." the tiger murmured softly, still looking down at his lap as he swallowed thickly. "Benjamin... Jerry... all my friends, I saw him drag them off after the Patriarch's cannons blew us out of the air, flying on a raid mission from Ire... we were supposed to bomb the rail lines and train he was using to haul... we don't know... something, something that he was interested in out from the jungle, but somehow we were detected, even though we were supposed to be completely undetectable...

"We survived the crash... but that bastard Iago came and found us... he was guarding the shipment that day, along with a bunch of his... fucking marionettes... he tore us apart, and I only escaped because some Resistance Movement members who were following the train showed up and got me out of there." He shook his head slowly, rubbing at his head and then laughing faintly. "I... heard he made puppets out of them, just like everyone else... and... I'm glad they aren't being used anymore, that they're at rest... and that the fucking bastard is dead."

Zerrex nodded, glancing down and deciding to spare the details of his battle there for now, instead saying again: "Yeah... but I have no idea where the rebel base is. I have some information there that I'll need to share with... whoever's running you guys, and..." A pause and a faint smile. "I only just escaped today, and I really need a bath and to lay down."

Mist nodded, and Shine asked: "Is there a map of the terminals?" she glanced to her sister when Zerrex pointed out the cabin, and Mist quickly walked over to check out the map as Shine shook her head and laughed faintly. "We heard you were still alive... but so few of us were willing to believe it, to think that... you were strong enough to survive a battle with Narrius, and then his experimentations and the science cells...

"I... I'm not sure if you know this, but it's been seven years, Zerrex... and we've spent most of those last few years fighting as hard as we could." Shine softened and reached up to touch his cheek quietly, eyes trailing over his blood-bathed chest that was lined with cuts and scars. "The... experiments they've done on you look just horrendous... and we even heard that... that they put a nephilim inside you, one of the Seven Fallen Seraphim developed by the long-past Lord Hellabos."

"Long rest Lord Hellabos." murmured Mist and Becca, as the female walked back towards him and the male bowed his head a bit, cleaning off his gun with a compulsive wiping gesture. Zerrex glanced at him for a moment, then turned his attention to Mist as she continued softly: "We knew we would never be strong enough to move against Narrius until after we had developed our power... and that we had the only time we'd ever get to gather our forces and maybe escape the city was those first few years. He had started a war, you know... within a week, the whole world was engulfed in fire and battle...

"Most of the jungle still stands... but there's a new desert to the north, among some ruined facilities in the changed landscape. That's our main headquarters, and we've got passages to it all throughout this city, all heavily guarded." Mist looked down thoughtfully, then nervously back up at Zerrex. "But... we... we all have military training, and we're joined by other soldiers every now and then... but the high military council is composed of myself and my sister, and three other Dragokkaren who claim to have past military experience."

"Leaders shouldn't be going out and fighting." Zerrex said softly, and the twins looked up at him, then glanced back down a blush as he met their eyes evenly, feeling them slowing as they approached the next stop. "It's hard, but sometimes the best thing the generals can do is stick back, until a mission comes along that requires some special trick only you have or you reach the final push forwards, then you join your soldiers." He paused, then glanced up as the doors opened.

"We have to go three stations down, to the Untouchable District." Mist murmured, rubbing at her face with the back of one hand... and Zerrex glanced up as the computer gave a beep, and nodded. Immediately, the doors slid closed and the shuttle began rolling smoothly once more, as she looked up at him and added with a blush: "We just... all our soldiers are injured veterans, outsiders who don't know any of the terrain or the way the streets work, and it was only supposed to be a quick in-out guerilla attack..."

Zerrex nodded sympathetically: he could understand, but that didn't make it right. He glanced up, and Becca slid quickly off the bench and pranced over to go sit by the injured Dragokkaren who had fallen asleep on the bench, mumbling and grabbing his side and twitching a bit, and the Drakkaren frowned slightly at this. The actual damage was nothing... but he knew that most of the time, the bullet wound didn't need to be fatal for a victim to die of a gunshot wound. More than eighty percent of the time, the bullet hits an arm, a leg, or plows happily through without missing any internals... and then the massive system shock of actually being shot kicks in and screws up the mind, screws up the body, even makes you forget how to breathe sometimes.

After it happened a few times in a row, though, the shock didn't kick in so much... just like most things, you could learn it with your body, even if this one you really didn't want to. You also learned that even though the body was fragile... if the will to live was strong enough, it didn't matter how many bullets got pumped into you: you went on, did your duty if you had to, and then died. And when you learned that, the term 'gunshot wound' almost became frivolous. Instead, there was 'I got shot,' and then you said how good or bad it felt compared to the other times you got shot... and you made your decision to live or die based more on that then where the bullet lodged or what kind of round it was.

The now-huger Drakkaren led the twins over to the bench... and when he sat down, they immediately both half-crawled into his lap and curled against him, swords clinking lightly against the bench and ground, and Zerrex couldn't help but smile faintly and wrap an arm around both their waist silently, heart thudding once as he remembered how Cherry and Cindy would vie for attention on his lap... but then he shook his head a bit before asking quietly: "What happened at the attack then... what was the location, target, enemy count?"

"Nothing major... a small power supply shed... we were going to use some pipe bombs to blow it and knock out power to the surrounding area, so we could screw with some of their anti-air cannons." The female paused, then sighed and shook her head slowly. "But everywhere's doubled-up with soldiers and Hez'Ranna General Military, with one or two of the Dragokkaren Enforcers placed at every base to act as a support for the commanders... Narrius's personal elite regiment, always the biggest, always the strongest.

"Anyway, we had to drop and run... they had thermal scanners, so they picked us up way faster than we thought they would... we botched the whole fucking thing." Shine pushed her head against Zerrex's chest, gritting her teeth and flushing angrily at herself, and Zerrex silently squeezed the twins closer as Mist looked down silently. "They killed five more of our soldiers..."

"If we'd disabled the power and the auto-targeting anti-air cannons, we could have left another portion of the sector open for attack." Shine said quietly, closing her eyes. "That's part of the reason why Necropolis looks the way it does now... we managed to disable six cannons in that district, out of the fifteen operating. Even though they look so huge and slow, they're a combination weapon... they can fire either simple lead projectiles, which rip through a target and usually set it off if it's a bomb or warhead, and I think up to a hundred of these rounds a minute, more if they don't have to retarget different things... or some type of mortar, usually a blue sun..."

"Blue sun?" Zerrex tilted his head, frowning a bit. Nothing he'd ever heard of... but he'd never heard of cannons with machine-guns apparently hidden inside them, either. Although now it sounded like if these had effective enough range, they could stop even a carpet-bombing attempt...

Mist nodded against him slowly. "Our scientists say they're heavy-duty flare bombs... they don't make much noise, but they go off in midair and cover an area in bright, white light for almost an hour before finally going out and falling to the ground. They're used to stop enemy aerial attacks, while the smaller antiaircraft cannons - usually medium-range mobile weaponry on the backs of heavy flatbed trucks, and there's a bunch hidden in the jungle and around the edges of town - target and fire."

Shine glanced at her sister, and then they both looked up at the reptile as she said softly: "We're out of our element... originally, all we wanted to do was avenge Lord Hellabos and you... but after four years of guerilla warfare, we might just not have the power. Even if we get in deep... it's impossible for us to escape with how fast his soldiers mobilize, the Enforcers, and the RED... we're down to-"

Becca interrupted at this, speaking up in a clear voice as he continued to polish his gun: "Five hundred and seventy two trained soldiers. Twenty-eight thousand dead... seven thousand AWOL... ten thousand MIA. Most of what we do is evacuation and what they call 'terrorism' here and there... you know, dropping grenades in trashcans outside enemy guard posts as we pass. We also have twenty thousand in reserve... if you include the injured, the children, the evacuated civilians and support staff, the rookies like the embarrassingly big loser here-"

"Fuck you." gave the Dragokkaren, but he flushed deeply as Zerrex blinked and glanced over him with a slight frown, but the question already forming in his mind was immediately cleared up when Becca looked up at him with reverence he tried to hide by acting offended.

"Hey, me talk, not mister clone soldier." He paused, smiled slightly as Zerrex's look of confusion, and finally put his assault rifle aside. "See, the reason we're so in the hole is that the Hez'Ranna General Military is now ninety-percent composed of Dragokkaren who all bear similar characteristics to this guy here. Extremely tall and muscular, all very strong, every one of them probably with balls bigger'n a pineapple, but none of them too smart, except for a rare few here and there.

"These are fabricated, cloned, genetically-enhanced-and-grown Dragokkaren." Becca made a bit of a face as he patted the other reptile on the shoulder, as he muttered and rolled away, looking embarrassed and wincing at the pain in his body. "We managed to sneak a few of our science techs inside once... they did a quick analysis, but only one made it out alive with the notes of the others, said they'd been caught at the escape route. But the information he got was scary... these guys come from a Breeding Queen, and entire handfuls of eggs are inseminated at once. Then the eggs are removed and placed into special incubation machines, and within a month, they have a Dragokkaren baby: after a year, a fully-grown adult that they've found a way... I dunno how, but somehow, after that, they just stop aging. We have no clue what any of the side-effects are, but... it's pretty scary.

"Over the year, they're given basic training, schooling, all that, and they learn fast. Way faster than they should... and finally, at the end of the year, they undergo another series of tests..." Becca glanced down at this... then he quietly took the hand of the Dragokkaren as the larger male closed his eyes and bowed his head. "If they don't pass, they get killed. Then they extract DNA from the corpse for some... other project, and I don't know what happens after that.

"Then they go through military training that's lethal most of the time... so only ten of a hundred, say, Dragokkaren actually pass and enter the Hez'Ranna General Military, and another sole one will go on to become an Enforcer. But since now our oh-so-high-and-mighty Patriarch is showing his true colors, that he only believes in Dragokkaren superiority, a lot of the Drakkai have lost faith." He softened, and nudged his friend gently. "And handfuls of these guys even show up at the base now and then, naked, beaten, unarmed and generally kicked-to-crap."

The Dragokkaren nodded, then said softly: "Queen Cherry sends us."

At this, Zerrex blinked and went rigid as the twins winced and Becca groaned, the tiger looking confused as Zerrex stared at the Dragokkaren... before snorting quietly and closing his eyes, bowing his head silently. Was he really that surprised? He'd read the files... and if there was one thing Cherry was good at, it was fucking. Her body was likely one of the few that could actually handle the strain of becoming a constant breeding ground for soldiers... but he clenched his hands into fists and looked down silently for a few moments in a burst of rage, trying to control himself before finally sighing and saying quietly: "When we get back to your base, we'll have to do a full run-down of everything... from weapons and known soldiers that Narrius has in his service, to tactics and other strategies that you want to run over. And I have some files I got from his head scientist, Mengele Tstegi..."

"Dude, you survived Mengele?" Becca blinked a few times, then grinned slightly and nudged the Dragokkaren beside him, saying teasingly: "And isn't that the guy they say is the father of all your clone-freaks?"

"I'm going to kill you later." muttered the Dragokkaren, rolling over, and Becca gave a snort before leaning back against the bench, putting his hands behind his head. Before he could start to relax, however, Zerrex cleared his throat, and the Drakkaren winced and opened one eye, looking sour but his eyes unveiling a greater nervousness.

There was a pause for a moment, then the Boss asked mildly: "Do you still have my pants? And how the hell did a street urchin like you survive all these years? Did you open a shop servicing lonely soldiers or something?"

Mist and Shine both snorted and grinned against him, as Becca looked at the Drakkaren dourly for a few moments, apparently biting back a retort as his eyes roved from the bloodstained reptile to the bloodstained cleaver sitting on the table. Then he coughed and mumbled something under his breath as he tried to relax backwards again... felt the eyes of the other reptile still on him... and finally straightened with a wince, raising his hands in surrender. "Okay okay, friggin' hell. I did business in Uroboros, yes, but I lived outside the city... and in the farming towns, we had the best chance of escaping the Inquisition, when Narrius sent out his soldiers to round us up, throw the 'dangerous' ones into the camps, give some people the 'opportunity' of joining the army, and let the others return home, for now.

"I uh... had no inclination to go to jail or a death camp, so I chose to run. 'Cept I also knew that if what the broadcast earlier had said was true... it didn't give a whole lot of options for places to run to. I mean, come on, piss off the entire world and its armies, and in a good few days, they'll be knocking down our doors, burning the jungle, and turning all of Hez'Ranna into a historical theme park for pelts." Becca made a face, jerking his head at the tiger, and Zerrex blinked for a moment before realizing stupidly that the Drakkaren had switched to speaking Hez'Rannan sometime in the past, and the reptile hadn't even noticed.

You're welcome. Drake muttered in his mind, and Zerrex rolled his eyes with a slight grin at how childish he sounded, before returning his attention to Becca, who had already continued on with his story in his quick, somewhat-clipped voice: "Bastards. So I did what most of the other people who are still here did... ran to the sewer system below, and most of us met up when we broke through one of the walls into an abandoned subway line. We took the line out of the city... lived in survival camps for a while until an enemy's plane eventually mistook us and dropped a fucking bomb on our heads. Killed a good lot of good people... so we broke camp, headed further north, thinking the farther away, the less chance the enemy will blow us to shit without checking with their base, first.

"Anyway, we found... a desert." Becca closed his eyes and bowed his head, silently touching the many necklaces that still jingled around his throat. "We found out later that Narrius had wanted to test a new experimental weapon, so he got one of his RED soldiers to leak information about a new weapon of mass-destruction he was going to be testing in the Snake Valley. They carpet-bombed it... but there was a single patch of burnt grass, where the bombs hadn't managed to touch. Small... too small for any of the huge anti-aircraft cannons there are sitting out there right now... but whatever the hell it was, there were also seven jets laying on the ground in broken pieces... and almost footprints."

Zerrex nodded slowly, tilting his head. "Is this the same valley where you said your headquarters now were?"

Shine and Becca both nodded, but the female beat the shopkeeper to continuing the story: "Two day's travel out by foot, probably only one for a trained army..." A glance down. "They had destroyed the... entire valley. It was terrible...

"But we knew that we had to cross it... because there had been an old factory out there. The problem was that it was unknown what they had been making out there... and when we went inside, we found out that it was an old genetics facility. Possibly one that Lord Hellabos used for running his experiments... but it was shut down, and we quickly cleaned up the... leftovers of other experiments, cleared the place out as best we could... and made camp inside. That first night though... was hard." She smiled faintly, and Zerrex nodded slowly. He'd had the same type of experience many a time before in the Goth Legion.

Then Mist took up the story: "But even though the building had been charred and burnt on the outside... all the towers still stood tall, and it was secure on the inside except for a little rumbling now and then when the big bombs fall nearby. It was meant to be a secure weapons laboratory for genetics experiments, after all... I guess that they wanted to make sure nothing ever broke loose.

"We also discovered there was a barracks behind us, and we did the best to fix this up so we could have a place for everyone to stay... the building is large enough to house most of us, though, but some other people live at the checkpoints, like one of the places we're going to now." Mist paused and glanced up at him with a faint laugh. "Our one advantage is a hidden subway system that Narrius most likely has no records of... they go to different areas of Hez'Ranna, and connect into checkpoints we've been extremely careful to keep secret and shut down. Right now, we're going to the safest one... but I'm not sure of the distance we'll have to make over land to get to it."

She paused and looked down, saying quietly: "There will be soldiers patrolling the roads... and even though this district is the least guarded in the area... we may still have to pass under turrets and near smart-cameras that will identify our faces. So I think we should send Becca out first to recon, then have him come back here."

Becca nodded, quickly stripping off his armor and then the military clothes, to reveal a plain white dress shirt beneath, and a pair of just-slightly-too-loose jeans the Drakkaren recognized. He smiled a bit, looking up at Becca with amusement, and the sly reptile looked back up with a quick grin in return, tossing his uniform jacket to Zerrex. "For those jeans you got stiffed out of all those years ago. You might wanna cut your hair, though... your scars'll screw up the face scanners, but any dumbass soldier can lock onto that.

Zerrex nodded, then he winced as Shine pulled back on it, causing his head to tilt back as he made a face and Shine said irritably to Becca: "You remember the last time we all saw him? It was down to his shoulders, not his- oh, sorry!" she quickly let go, blushing as her sister nudged her with a wince. Zerrex dropped his head forwards, blinking stupidly a few times and rubbing at his head gingerly, then he mumbled under his breath.

"We'll do what we have to, depending on the situation." He said finally, as everyone stared at him, then he glanced over at Becca with a slight smile. "So you're the one who gets to do all the fun shadowing, huh?"

"Not much different than ripping outsiders off, so whatever. Just stepping lightly literally this time... and I can look at someone and tell if they'll go for a bribe or not." He paused, then stood up and walked towards the front of the car, checking the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water, then asking: "Hey, any of you guys want some? There's like, ten bottles."

"We're good." Mist said, and Shine nodded. The Dragokkaren muttered something, and the tiger rose a hand, catching one, then two bottles: he leaned over, placing one across the table as the largest male of the group sat up with a grunt, grabbing the bottle and putting it in his mouth. Immediately, Becca rolled his eyes and headed over with a mutter, as one of the twins leaned up and said softly to him: "A lot of the soldiers we get don't understand certain concepts... opening things, basic problem solving, physics and momentum. They're not taught to coexist, but to fight..."

Zerrex nodded slowly, glancing over the Dragokkaren, before looking down from one twin to the other and then giving a bit of a smile. He had also heard something else earlier that had worried him... but he'd take it up once they were back to the base. And so, for now, he only cradled them close until the shuttle finally began to slow, and the computer beeped and said cheerfully: "Untouchable District: the only war-free zone. Please enjoy your stay!"

"Stand-by here, prepare to move again if necessary, close the doors once one of our group leaves." Zerrex responded calmly, and the computer switched back to its more authoritative tone with a click and a 'yes, sir.' Then he looked at Becca and smiled a bit. "You're up. Don't screw up."

"Bite me." Becca responded, but he grinned a bit nonetheless before hurrying out of the shuttle and onto the platform, the doors sliding closed behind him. The others looked around at each other, and then it was the waiting game for a few minutes, even Shine and Mist getting up from where they had seated themselves against Zerrex to pace nervously and chat quietly.

A few minutes later, however, Becca scurried back down the stairs, and the doors opened for him without Zerrex even giving the command, the computer apparently understanding the situation. He panted a bit, wincing and muttering something about pissy guards, before looking up and saying lamely: "I uh. Can see the hospital from here, but it's going to be tough going there. There are RED Minions patrolling... you know, the big scary guys in the combat suits, the ones who work for Black Requiem? At least five of them... but the good news is even the guards are trying to stay away from them too, so if we run, we have a good chance of making it. They're still on the other side of town... but they'll be here in ten minutes, tops."

Zerrex's eyes snapped up at this, then he shook his head slowly. It had to be a coincidence... it had to be. But if Narrius had done something like what he thought me might have done... they were in far bigger trouble than Becca realized. "What about this Black Requiem, then? Where's he?"

The Drakkaren shook his head quickly, as Zerrex stood and slid his cleaver to rest against his back, picking up the pack with his other hand: Becca's shirt was ridiculously tight against his enlarged, muscular body, and he felt like a bit of an idiot, but it did at least cover his form somewhat... until he flexed, of course, and then he figured the arms would at least go bye-bye. "No, Black Requiem is on permanent guard duty at the Narrius Estate."

Zerrex nodded, then he grit his teeth and jerked his head towards the doors. "Get out there, then and I'll send this thing on its way and join you guys in a moment." He paused, waiting for the other soldiers to head out, before looking up at the computer screen and saying mildly: "Head back to base, the initiate self-destruct sequence. Lock down the doors, activate both gatling turrets above the roof, and proceed to recognize all moving targets as hostile and take action against them. Override any remote commands, blow in fifteen."

"Validating voice... orders accepted. Inform Dr. Tstegi of this via private call line?" Zerrex paused, then grinned slightly to himself, imaging what his reaction would be. Either he'd freak out... or he'd start sending soldiers into the tunnel to get blown apart.

"Inform Mengele. And tell him thanks. Now get going." Zerrex quickly slid through the doors, and they slid closed with a beep before the shuttle started back towards the base. He smiled slightly, then turned to the waiting platoon, glancing over them and saying softly: "Becca, you lead, I'll follow behind. I want the twins to guard the rear, and can you support him?"

"Sure." The tiger nodded, switching places with Becca, and Zerrex took a moment to contemplate on how even the genetically-superior Dragokkaren they were lugging around was a real baby about being shot for the first time in his life. Likely it was also the shock of being shot by his own old comrades... so Zerrex shrugged it off, then ran up behind Becca, following him quickly out.

They checked in either direction before emerging from the simple hole in the ground into the darkening streets, and Becca nudged his arm lightly, muttering and pointing to a building several long blocks away that almost burned blue with light, before the Drakkaren glanced up and realized... the streets had been repaved with cold grey concrete, lights had been installed, and a short distance away... there was a Dragokkaren standing and smoking a cigarette in what looked like a small bamboo hut thirty feet above the ground... except this hut also looked fully rotational and had some sort of assault gun attached to it. There was also a camera on the bottom, scanning rapidly back and forth... and Zerrex snarled as he glanced to either side now, picking up black walls that been used to divide up the city into districts to either side of them, some unknowable distance away but tall enough to be easily visible even in the dusky light. "See that? Cathol's Hospital, and it's one of the few institutions Narrius can't touch... this is called the Untouchable segment of the city because it's protected from aerial attacks by some sort of... arched magnetic shield, like a force-field. Makes reception crap... but it literally bounces bombs right back up at the planes. Beneath us is most of the city's gas and apparently a nuclear power plant of some kind that generates all the electricity for Uroboros and northern Hez'Ranna."

Zerrex nodded as the others came up the stairs behind them, then he made a face as he realized there were now lamp posts dotting the streets, and what looked like searchlights on top of some of the buildings... likely, Narrius had modernized everything to keep support and so he could keep up the appearance of trying to prove that Drakkai were the ultimate species, when Zerrex knew all he really wanted was war. He shook his head, then followed Becca quickly across the street and into a short alley between two tall buildings.

Zerrex paused for a moment, then he rolled his eyes as the others didn't wait for a signal, instead just ran towards him. He reached out and snagged Becca as he attempted to run forwards, then he murmured as the others drew into the alley: "Wait for me to signal. And that means you, too. We have to move as a group if we're going to try and..." Pause. Next corner. Left. "...avoid contact."

The reptile shoved his backpack into Becca's arms, and the Drakkaren looked up at him sourly as he said mildly: "I'll take point, we'll go over the signals, just like a rookie class." Then he turned, knowing he was getting death glares and not caring at this point as he headed for the mouth of the alley, eyes focused on the soldier's shadow... before it twitched and a huge, black-scaled Dragokkaren leapt at him-

Zerrex's hands slammed into the throat and reaching arm, shoving him hard enough into the side of a building to crack the stone wall and rattle the windows, then he landed a swift headbutt, causing it to grunt, and finally a hard straight knee to the stomach. The crimson eyes of the black-armored, black-scaled soldier bulged horribly, and then the huge, muscular reptile slumped forwards. Zerrex immediately spun it around, taking its head in his hands and snapping it briskly, before he glanced at the others, who were all staring at him with shock. "RED Minions, huh? Looks like they're moving faster than expected. Come on, if he's hooked up to a life monitor or is supposed to report in regularly, we're going to have to move faster to make sure they don't pincer us."

"Y... yeah, sure." mumbled Becca, and he quickly toddled after the Drakkaren, staring up at him with disbelieving eyes before running out of the mouth of the alley and across the street to another. Zerrex glanced back as the others approached, then he ran across to where Becca was standing with the backpack cradled in his arms, looking quickly back and forth as he made a bit of a face... then pausing, waiting a moment and listening for any abnormalities, before nodding and beckoning the others to come over. This time they did it properly, moving in groups of two, as Becca scouted ahead, then came back and muttered that the route was clear.

They moved quickly forwards to the end of this alley, then down a side street that Zerrex didn't think he would have even noticed, before running up a sidewalk, exposed in the light of a few window front stores, but no one inside noticed, or if they did, pretended not to. The hospital was now only a block or so away... but it was a Hez'Ranna block, and that meant maybe a half-to-full kilometer to cover.

Zerrex winced as he noted most of this would have to be done in broad light, and there was another posted soldier in one of the guard huts rotating back and forth... but then Becca suddenly turned, opened a rusty metal door, and darted into another side alley, and they quickly made their way down this, the reptile waiting for the others; fortunately, at the least, the Dragokkaren was running without any support or more than the occasional wince now, and Zerrex followed the twins into the alley beyond.

He made his way back to the front as he noticed they were stopped... and rolled his eyes to see Becca attempting to scramble uselessly up a flat wooden fence. Zerrex cleared his throat... and when that failed, simply picked the Drakkaren up and lifted him aside, making him grumble irritably. Then he crossed his arms and watched as Zerrex easily and quietly tore the boards off, then shredded the chain length beneath like it was string instead of metal wiring, pushing his way through and looking relieved as he saw a straight passage that would take them right to the next road... and across that, was the hospital, a massive structure of steel and yellow stone. He started quickly ahead, then winced and stumbled backwards as another huge Dragokkaren dropped down in front of him... and then he heard one slam down behind him and felt it seize the handle of his sword.

Zerrex grunted as the cleaver was torn from his body and tossed to the side - useless in this close environment anyway - before a hard punch caught him in the muzzle and sent him stumbling backwards as Becca squeaked and fled back through the hole in the fencing, blocking it up as the others tried to run forwards. The reptile felt his arms seized with a snarl, held by a Dragokkaren even larger than he was in armor, and he saw a kick heading for his stomach from the other one in front of him... and he responded quickly by bringing his knee up, blocking the blow before spinning his body to the side and kicking the other foot up to knock the RED Minion in front of him into the wall, then landing quickly as the solider behind him tried to seize his arm again and reversing the hold, the Dragokkaren snarling, then hissing as he tore the arm from the socket as the other soldier staggered forwards.

Zerrex stepped back, then grunted and kicked the one in front of him hard in the ass, sending him and his partner sprawling as they fell over each other. They both spun with surprise, but Zerrex had already hefted the huge cleaver and slashed it in a straight downwards cut, cutting through both of the similar-looking giants and into the ground with a snort. Then he paused and snarled as he saw the bruising on one neck, his eyes widening... and both of the dead bodies twitched once, then grinned and melted into black ooze as Zerrex leapt backwards, the dark liquid flowing into the cracked stone walls on either side. He made a face at this as Becca flew through the air to crash to the ground behind him with a groan, the others pushing through, then Mist blinking. "Where'd the RED Minions go?"

"I have a bad feeling that they're not just soldiers. Come on, we have to move." Zerrex said softly, then he looked at the gunk remaining on the cleaver before tossing it aside with a snarl, picking up his backpack again instead as he charged into the street, covering his face, the shredded arms of his shirt - destroyed indeed by his muscular body flexing - flapping around him as he tried to avoid identification from the variety of people walking this much-busier street, and the rebels that followed him did the same before Zerrex pushed through both sets of glass doors and into the hospital foyer.

Before he could say anything, he felt himself grabbed by a guard and steered quickly towards the emergency room, and Zerrex's first instinct was to grab him and break his arm... but the he caught sight of the terrified expression on his face as he muttered: "Goddammit, if the Patriarch gets any evidence you're hiding here, he'll probably bomb us to shit. You rebels have too much faith in people..."

"Get your dirty hands off our savior, Marty!" Becca hissed, coming up to their side as they walked through a pair of dark-glass doors into a nearly empty waiting room save for a few nurses, and the soldier blinked before taking another look at Zerrex. Then he staggered backwards in shock, falling into one of the seats and looking stupidly up at him.

Thankfully, Zerrex was saved the whole embarrassing thing all over again when the twins came in next, followed by the tiger and Dragokkaren, and they quickly guided him towards an Employee's Only door. He followed Becca through as he ran ahead, then down towards a lounge where several doctors were chatting, before they stopped as the Drakkaren ran ahead, panting, and said mildly: "We got some really-stupid looking soldiers and a badass here. I think the badass is more a tired-ass though right now, so uh, if you guys would get us down to the checkpoint, that'd be real swell."

Then Zerrex rounded the corners with the others, and several doctors stared at him before one of them stood up, gaping stupidly and finally stuttering: "You're... you're Zerrex, you're Subject-0! I worked on you, did genetics tests on your body before we all got fired and that crazy bastard Mengele tried to kill us all!"

"That crazy bastard Mengele probably saved me a whole hell of a lot of work." Zerrex muttered, then rubbed at one of his shoulders with a wince. "But uh... I'm feeling kinda exposed here..."

"Right, right." The doctor quickly ran over to large-size elevator at the back of the lounge, likely for transporting materials up from storage, then he glanced over at them and they walked quickly over as the others just stared. Zerrex tried to avoid looking over his shoulder, as the Dragokkaren in the lab coat and plain clothes mumbled: "You know, it was nothing personal, either, with that whole... experimenting on you... thing... it was... orders, orders by Narrius, and sure, we were all interested, but you know, you were comatose and-"

"Shut up." Zerrex said tiredly, and he rolled his eyes as they apparent chill it sent through everyone present, as the doc's eyes went wide, then he made a face and glanced at him. "You're a geneticist, right? Then you can redeem yourself by looking at some of these files I got from Mengele. You should probably take a sick day or two though and come back with us to the base." He paused, glancing over at the other doctors. "Can you make that happen?"

The two nodded rapidly, and the one in front of him winced as the doors opened, rubbing the back of his head and saying carefully: "I'm... I'm not really liked-"

Zerrex grabbed him and threw him into the elevator, causing him to squeak loudly, and muttered: "Try spending seven years as a lab rat in a hostile laboratory facility, then tell me what it's like to be 'not liked' by people." He followed him in with the others, and Becca stepped in last, hitting the button for one of the subbasement levels as the tall, bloodied Drakkaren asked: "Where are we going?"

"Medical lab for treatment... converted from the other half of a sleep lab in the basement. After that, we take an old train car powered by a brand-new heavy-duty motor system we stole off one of Narrius's supply trains after a successful raid." Becca grinned a bit, peering up at the taller Drakkaren. "Just watch your ass, it's a lot faster and not quite as smooth as that shuttle car we were on earlier."

"Great..." Zerrex muttered, then he shook his head slowly as the elevator began to descend with a loud whirring noise. The group shifted uncomfortably for a few moments - Becca glaring at the Dragokkaren, the twins nudging closer to Zerrex, the scientist trying to shift away to one corner. Finally, the elevator came to a halt, and the group of soldiers quickly spilled out and the doctor quickly walked down the hall to a locked door, tapping in a short four-digit code to cause a heavy soundproofed metal shutter to slide open to the side.

He stepped forwards into a plain white room, then approached a small table as the others filed in after him, and Zerrex noted the four different beds, before wincing as the doctor grabbed his arm and nudged him to sit on one, taking on a more professional tone now. "Come on, you first... and then I'll take a look at the other injured."

"I'm fine." The Dragokkaren muttered, looking down and almost embarrassed, then he coughed and nudged Becca. "We'll go get the transport running and started up."

"Alright." Mist nodded, turning back and entering a code into the door to close and lock it, before she turned and leaned back against the heavy shutter. Shine, meanwhile sat down at the edge of one of the medical beds, as Zerrex threw his backpack down and shrugged the remains of his shirt off. Then the Drakkaren made a bit of a face as the scientist glanced over his body with a mutter.

"It's amazing you're not suffering from any infections or other serious injuries... but there are a lot of newer cuts on you... did they wake you up from surgery?" asked the scientist, glancing up at him as he stepped back to slip on a pair of plastic gloves, before picking up a packet of disinfecting wipes and slowly starting to clean off the Dragokkaren's bloodstained arms and chest in quick, effective wipes. Then he paused and added mildly: "It looks like you've undergone a lot of genetic modification..."

Zerrex looked back at him flatly. "No. Really?" Then he paused as the scientist rolled his eyes and added: "And no, no surgery lately that I know of. I did just finish killing an army, though."

"Somehow I'm not exactly that surprised." The scientist replied mildly, as he began to lightly poke and prod along the reptile's body and arms. Then he paused and glanced up at him with a slight smile, adding: "My name is Schindler, by the way. Josef Schindler."

The Drakkaren nodded, then winced a bit when he prodded one of the deep-etched wounds on his neck, making a face and then glaring at Schindler, who made a face in response. Then he pulled out a roll of cloth bandages from one pocket and began to apply them, wrapping them idly around the Drakkaren's wounds before asking mildly: "Tattoo from Mengele, huh? You want me to cover it up with bandages too?"

Zerrex began to nod... then he paused and shook his head, laughing quietly and thinking of what Mengele had said earlier, and smiled a bit as he said softly: "Nah, let it alone. Just bandage up the major wounds for now, and then we'd better get going... don't want to keep those two waiting long."

The doctor gave him an odd look, then shrugged and nodded as he instead went to work applying bandages to the major wounds. The reptile shifted a bit, wincing at how tight he was pulling on them, and Schindler muttered: "Oh, stay still. For a war machine, you sure are fidgety."

"Make another crack like that and I'll throw you across the room." Zerrex growled lightly, glaring up at him. Schindler blinked and backed off a bit, then he snorted and reached forwards, tugging one of the bandages and quickly sliding a clip on to hold it in place as he looked at the Drakkaren sourly.

"No you won't. You need me to decipher Mengele's findings." he retorted, then paused and glanced down at the Drakkaren's leg. "Take off your pants, you've got what looks like a stab wound on your thigh that I noticed earlier. I want to check it, apply bandages, and make sure it hasn't contused the muscle."

"Uh... no." Zerrex responded, then he snatched the roll of bandages out of Schindler's hand, deciding childishly that he could be grouchy if the scientist was going to poke him with... irritatingly-true facts. Then he walked towards the open back door, wincing a bit and rubbing at his leg as he grabbed his backpack from another table and threw the bandages inside with his other junk, muttering irritably: "I can probably stitch and bandage better than you, anyway."

Schindler rolled his eyes, snagging a small supply kit from the shelves and pausing to throw some other medical supplies in from the drawers as he called after the Drakkaren in an annoyed tone: "Yeah, I've had plenty of patients who thought the same thing and ended up dying of infection." A pause and a grumble. "Of course, none of them had a mutating immune system like you, but that's beside the point. I hope you get sepsis from a bad needle!" he added loudly, as he quickly trotted out after Zerrex and down the short hall.

The twins looked at each other, rolled their eyes in unison, then followed, one of them hitting the switch for the power and doors on the way out, quickly sliding through the door and closing it before an electronic shutter fell. Mist stopped long enough to tap in a security code, then she jogged down the hall and through a dented metal door into an old subway system that had long been abandoned. Dominating the tunnel was an old, rusting locomotive engine with several empty coal cars behind it, empty and stained but otherwise relatively clean. Zerrex, however, looked horrified at their moving arrangements and the black steel train engine that had massive cables, wires, and what looked like a huge, mechanical blue growth on one side of it, with a steel weight on the other side of the machine to act as a counterbalance so the train didn't tip over on any sharp corners. Oh dear Gods let there be no sharp corners... "I... uh... can I ride in the engine?"

"Nope, first come, first serve!" Becca called cheerfully, yanking his Dragokkaren friend down as he began to stand up. The soldier looked at him nervously, but Zerrex sighed and slumped his shoulders, morbidly walking over to one of the coal cars and jumping into the plain metal cart, which had... no protection from the wind or anything else, and was shaped more like a... butter holder or something than a serviceable vehicle.

The twins got in the cart ahead with the scarred orange-and-black-striped tiger... and Schindler climbed in with Zerrex, sitting on the other side and looking at him morbidly. The doctor paused to pat his pockets and then check a little case - likely for glasses - before sliding it back in the breast pocket of his science coat, also taking the time to remove his ID and tuck it away with a wince. "They're too cheap to invest in any kind of shielding, wooden or otherwise..."

"Slows us down!" called Becca, over the sound of the train gearing up - it sounded more like a high-tech plane than an aged train engine, which just made Zerrex wince all the more. The Drakkaren attempted to shrink deeper into the cart, mumbling under his breath before the train rocked forwards and then began to move, slowly at first, but rapidly accelerating down the long, dusky tunnel. Zerrex gritted his teeth, and the doctor made a face and lowered his head, paling a bit as he groaned and muttered something under his breath.

It only took half an hour of speeding along before the train began to slow... and then ten minutes after that, it rolled to a halt at a guarded platform, complete with cameras and sentry turrets, what looked like bulletproof glass walls, and soldiers standing ready behind these, quickly moving towards the open steel shutter that blocked access to the closed area that took up three quarters of the plain stone platform.

Becca immediately leapt off, looking cheerful despite the rocky train ride, and helped his injured Dragokkaren friend down: a moment later, the twins and the tiger also jumped out, and Zerrex and the doctor groggily followed, Zerrex staggering back and forth a bit as Schindler muttered and rubbed at his stomach. The soldiers guarding the platform both stood at attention as Mist and Shine walked in first, followed quickly by the others, before the steel shutter closed: then they too followed the group through a heavier steel door and into a narrow hallway, as one of the twins smiled quietly over her shoulder and said softly: "Welcome to Amaterasu, Lord Zerrex. The last bastion of hope for the people, and our base of operation... go ahead and follow Shine to one of the briefing rooms, and I'll go with the others to make our report and see how things are going, before I'll meet you and her there."

Zerrex nodded, then snagged the doctor's arm as he tried to follow Mist away, making him wince as Shine lead the tall reptile down a fork in the path and to an open cement room with an elevator for transporting oversized equipment and weaponry. A level up, and a few halls away - along with quite a few stares - and the Drakkai walked through a plain set of open metal doors and into a plain meeting room, with a single large oak table, some scattered miniatures and maps, and a few extra files here and there.

Zerrex half-tossed the Dragokkaren doctor into a seat, and then dropped his backpack in front of him, rummaging through it as Schindler rubbed at his arm with a mutter. Then he blinked when the Drakkaren dropped two sets of files in front of him, and Shine couldn't help but grin a bit as the taller reptile loomed threateningly over the smaller Dragokkaren, making him pale and lean back a bit. "Now I only need you alive and stable enough to be able to make out a few files. So I suggest you look through there double-quick and maybe give me an idea of just what the hell they did to me, huh? Save the file with the other information in it for later, but for this stuff, we can keep it between you, me, and maybe a few others on a need-to-know basis."

Schindler made a face, then he nodded quickly, glancing at the file on top, then tossing it aside for now and opening up the other file on Zerrex, looking over it with a few mutters here and there as Zerrex tapped his fingers on the desk. The Drakkaren watched as the good doctor's face went through a variety of stages, from amazement to horror to something like awe, and then he finally nudged lightly: "Why don't you tell me what the hell you're looking so excited about, huh?"

"These experiment logs..." The Dragokkaren flipped through them, pulling the papers out of the folder and spreading them out into separate piles, muttering as he flipped back and forth through them, then he laughed faintly and glanced up at Zerrex with wondering eyes, before looking back down. "See, when we were experimenting on you for the first few rounds, it was to test your deoxyribo... er... I mean, your DNA, and then the various oddities we found in your bloodstream, including some antiviral antibodies that were drastically abnormal. We also discovered that your genetic material carries a few perhaps-unique components to it, including several chemicals that seemed to naturally reduce and protect against all sorts of drug and toxic effects.

"Then we began steroid and basic genetic manipulation... manipulating certain protein makers here and there, expanding muscle growth, enhancing regeneration ability and stimulating certain sections of the brain to augment the nervous system and natural senses... increasing all of your already-improved physical attributes." Schindler murmured, flapping through the files. "But they've done far more than simply that here..." He paused, glanced up at Zerrex, and the winced as the Drakkaren simply glared back at him.

He swallowed thickly, then carefully went on to explain: "See, most people only have up to five percent of their DNA actually doing something... ninety-five percent of it is useless, or just fills up space. You, on the other hand, had ninety-percent of your genetic code filled in with active DNA... as in, it was all put towards some sort of use, some sort of function. But these experiments they list... they show experimentation done on your body to manipulate both existing genetic markers and fill up the 'blank space' in the rest of your genetic coding..."

Shine blinked, frowning a bit... but the tall male looked down and clenched a hand into a fist, pushing it against the table. He thought he got what this meant... and then Schindler went on in a strangely-excited - but at the same time, almost horrified - voice: "This is genetic manipulation beyond levels I thought possible... including chromosome and physical mutation on a molecular level, and regeneration abilities far beyond anything we'd thought possible, but again, on a very experimental level... but at the same time, they're removed what they refer to as 'age markers,' so your body won't tire as easily, and implanted a sort of 'immortality gene,' so you will no longer physically age... but the truly interesting things are noted here...

"You're immune to energy drain of any sort, including the soul-drain ability many of the rebels fear... you've been implanted with something called Vaccine-B-two-oh-five... and last but certainly not least, your body has been designed to respond to certain stimuli both chemical and electrically-based, and they've done extensive brain surgery to develop your synapses and mental functions. Apparently, with enough training and concentration..." Schindler stopped, then laughed faintly and shook his head slowly. "No... no, it's got to be impossible..."

"What's impossible?" Zerrex snapped, glowering down at the Dragokkaren doctor, and he blinked, almost falling out of the chair, before coughing and quickly straightening, looking embarrassed.

For a few moments, he shuffled through the papers, apparently attempting to confirm whatever oddities he'd found, before finally glancing up at Zerrex and mumbling: "It looks like you can change the size of your body at will, with enough concentration and training... that you can increase height, strength, individual parts of your body, and even right down to your muscle size, so to speak... you can shrink down at will, or grow larger, however you wish."

"That's impossible." Zerrex said flatly, then he paused and muttered: "I know one muscle that can do that, but I don't see how the rest of my body-"

"You're a perverted moron." Schindler snapped, and his met the emerald eyes of the Drakkaren, glaring at each other with electricity all but shooting between them before the doctor continued irritably: "The concept is interesting, the trick is just putting it into practice... it all revolves around mutation, regeneration, and genetic involvement and mapping, see, especially regarding the vascular, muscular and nervous systems... even though the skeleton also needs to change, they've redesigned yours to an extent so it's capable of 'folding,' per say, and-"

Shine cleared her throat loudly, and the two reptiles looked up, Schindler almost greedily covering up the files and coughing as three Dragokkaren and Mist entered the room. Zerrex stepped back, rubbing the back of his head and coughing a bit as the military council lined up on the other side of the desk and took their seats, with a twin on either side of the three newcoming Dragokkaren.

The middle one was clad in black fiberglass armor, with plain steel cups covering the shoulders and a plain white uniform worn underneath: on his belt was holstered a magnum handgun and a sidepack beside three clipped grenades. His face, however, was younger than he expected... and despite the gear, Zerrex somehow found himself doubting the experience and worthiness of the soldier... especially once he recognized the hint of fear in his eyes. Not fear of Zerrex's physical power or size... the red-scaled Dragokkaren was thirteen feet tall and muscular enough to almost put the enhanced Drakkaren to shame. No... it was fear of usurpation, of loss of power, and that was the most rookie and imprudent emotion to see in someone's eyes. A wise leader accepted the strong; it was the fools that destroyed themselves by trying to drive off those who seemed stronger than them in order to keep rule of the pack.

To the left, was a Dragokkaren with a mess of scars covering the right side of his face... definitely the handiwork of fragmentary grenade. He also bore an eyepatch, and was clad in a plain black uniform like many of the other soldiers Zerrex had seen, but with a plain gold circle stitched on the shoulder instead of the Hez'Ranna flag, and three red bars beneath it: likely a code of rank. He also had odd blue scales, and his single eye was a strange lavender, half-hidden beneath the brim of a plain uniform cap. At his waist was hung a collapsible nightstick and a plain General Army-issue handgun, one of Hez'Ranna's custom designed weapons that Zerrex remembered was built for medium-range takedown purposes. The Drakkaren also thought he looked more curious than anything else, as he sat down slowly at the table, removing his cap and rolling his shoulders idly. At the Drakkaren's best guess, he was an ex-MP for the General Army, or maybe a special branch division... but he wasn't sure, all-in-all, and didn't want to make any guesses: he was smaller than the others, but he also had his strong-looking wings furled out of his body instead of folded into his back, which the reptile had heard was usually painful for most Dragokkaren. Their wings were built differently from dragon wings or the wings that other species had, after all: leathery and thinner, and made more for gliding, but at the same time designed to fold flat against their backs, not closed behind them.

Finally, that left the last Dragokkaren: another larger-than-average one with the common red scales of the Hez'Ranna species, but wearing plain jeans and a grease-splattered white t-shirt with a military jacket thrown almost hastily overtop: needless to say, it was this Dragokkaren that Zerrex immediately warmed to. He smiled slightly, glancing him over and sizing him up from the details he took in: fingerless leather gloves for grip and mobility while keeping the palms protected, a handgun shoved untidily in a holster that hadn't been tightened properly, leaving it dangling a bit in front of the chest, and a wrench stuck in his belt. He also had his military hat on backwards and lopsided, and he grinned a bit, nodding a greeting to Zerrex, and the Drakkaren was pleased to see his smile reached his light-blue eyes. "Pleasure to meet you, Lord Zerrex."

"Yes. Good to finally meet... Lord Zerrex." murmured the Dragokkaren in the center, and other council leader in the plain black uniform rolled his one purple eye and mimed shooting the still-standing reptile with one hand, looking disgusted.

"It is our pleasure to welcome you, Lord Zerrex, truly. Especially from what we've heard of you from the twins." He spoke up mildly, then nodded politely and extended a hand over the table. "My name is Cole Albatross. Our distinguished leader and High Councilor is Pagan Churchill, and the... dirty-looking one is Jim Huckleberry."

"Just call me Huck. Everyone does." The Dragokkaren said good-naturedly, then he relaxed back a bit as Churchill grunted, but he merely coughed and rolled his eyes upwards, adding idly: "Boss Church here thinks it's undignified, like most of the others around here, to shorten names... old Hez'Ranna custom, remember? But I was born outside the country, only been here the last decade or so. So I'm not as neat and proper as they are, but they accept me here because I've got the experience some others are lacking."

This finally seemed to get through to Churchill, who sat down and muttered irritably: "I am not lacking in any areas. I've had plenty of combat experience myself as well... this armor isn't just for show." he muttered sulkily, but as Zerrex slid into a seat, he got the distinct impression that Churchill might be fabricating a bit of the story to suit his own ends, as his eyes flicked away to the side. "I achieved the rank of colonel before Narrius took over and I defected to the rebel army, after seeing how cruel and evil he was..."

"Time to show off our awards already?" Huck groaned and sat forwards, dropping his elbows on the table and face in his hands with a mumble, then he glanced up idly at Zerrex. "I transferred in here ten years ago from private military in Ire, joined the Hez'Ranna Aerial Defense Elite Squadron, or HADES - Shelpulkt in Hez'Rannan, but means the same thing... neat how that works both ways, huh? - and eventually worked my way up to Division Commander of the 24th Legion. I also spent seven of those years training as an aircraft mechanic as well, and I can service anything from a fighter jet to an anti-air cannon. My job's always been to go in with the first team and bust some heads, but I can fly most helicopters and jets as well, and I did the whole three-level training deal for close, ranged, and quick-switch combat."

Zerrex nodded slowly, then glanced at the Dragokkaren with the eyepatch as the blue-scaled reptile snorted and smiled slightly. "Huck's hiding his fancy awards and decorations, as usual, but I'll let him get away with that or he'll call out some of my own terrible secrets. Myself, I was in the General Army, Naval Division for seven years, worked as in Special Sea Services as a strategist and tactical weapons expert for five of those and then transferred from S3 to the Naval Military Investigation Service. Nowhere near as decorated, and I was also trained in some of the more illicit fields in S3, including torture and interrogation. Mostly I stay back as the master tactician, the guy who plays chess and comes up with the ideas of what to do next, what the next move is. I'm a pencil-pusher."

"I'm the most distinguished here." Churchill said dryly, as he glanced from one to the other: Zerrex was fine with the other two, but Churchill here was getting on his nerves, as he shifted position and openly grimaced. "I spent ten years in the General Army and served as part of the elite "Jungle Hunter" platoon, and was trained in combat in extreme situations. Afterwards, I was promoted to colonel, where I worked for five years, as well as receiving training from the esteemed General Fredrickson and the Grendel Academy for the Elite. I achieved top scores on all my examinations and field tests, and am trained in three styles of Hez'Rannan close combat and am a capable soldier with anything ranging from the General Army modified SB40 assault rifle to the Godhand 360 HSR, or heavy sniper rifle-"

"I'm sure he knows what it means." snapped Mist suddenly, glaring at Churchill from down the table, and the tall Dragokkaren winced before muttering something as the female said mildly: "This isn't a pissing contest."

"I just want to make sure everyone's qualified for the job. I, after all, have many years of loyalty and service to Hez'Ranna, as did my father, who was once a General of this noble land." Churchill replied icily, glaring from one twin to the other, as if unaware of who had snapped at him, and Zerrex sighed inwardly as Drake said irritably: Let's kill him. I don't like him. We can make up a reason later.

I agree, muttered Ravenlight in his head. Soldier-boy here is an elitist scumbag, a soldier-brat who probably just pisses everyone else off in a real combat situation. Make him explode or something.

This isn't in my head. Zerrex replied mildly, then he met Churchill's eyes as the tall Dragokkaren asked evenly: "And what about you, Lord Zerrex? What are your qualifications, other than your currently-unloved bloodline?"

Mist and Shine winced a bit at this, and Huck dropped his face into his hands, apparently figuring it wasn't the brightest way to start out... but Albatross was looking at Zerrex with a slight gleam in his eye, apparently knowing what would come next for Churchill and that he and the others were already on the safe side of things. He gave the Drakkaren the smallest of nods when his emerald eyes shifted to meet his lavender iris, and the reptile gave an almost imperceptible nod back before once more looking into Churchill's eyes mildly. "Well, let's see.

"I began training in martial arts at three, went on to non-competitive... that is to say, killing... techniques at five." Zerrex said casually, keeping eye contact and leaning back as he tried to get his body to relax, knowing how much more intimidating it was to be looking at a smiling psychopath than a tense soldier when you thought you were in a position of power: psychotics didn't adhere to the rules, after all. "Before I joined the military, I killed my father, the reincarnation of which you're currently locked in war with. Then, when I was sixteen, I went to work as a soldier for the Ire International Defense Division illegally, and I never got past being a grunt." He shrugged. "I wasn't interested in promotion. I just wanted to be a field soldier and participate in the bloodbath. Never had a weapon of choice back then... just used what they gave me, and my fists or a standard-issue combat knife when the enemy got close.

"After a few years, I was granted my own unit, the Goth Legion. We were classified a top-secret, elite 'national defense' unit. There were two ranks... Captain and not-captain, and I was the former, and everyone else the latter. I no longer remember how many years I spent running around, killing, raping, pillaging. We killed terrorists and pacifists, priests and prisoners, burned down cities, destroyed oil rigs, blew up terrorist training camps and I once set an orphanage on fire and ate cotton candy with who was then my bitch-girlfriend-slave, just because it was pretty and we liked the sounds of the kids screaming as they tried to get out.

"We were disbanded, and then I worked as a wandering mercenary. Sometimes I'd stop, do what I pleased, and then move on. Eventually I settled in one town, conquered it, ended up in battle between the poor and rich. So I simply crushed the police force and all the volunteer soldiers they had, killed a member of the former Legion, and the other two defected to my side.

"A few years later I met my uncle again, Markus 'Requiem' Narrius. We fought, and I killed him too, in hand-to-hand combat." Zerrex paused and looked down thoughtfully, than back up into Churchill's eyes, and he was glad to see understanding there, and the dawning realization that he played to no one's rules but his own, and he was only interested in doing what's right... not helping them because it was good, or because he felt any patriotism or link to his heritage, or gave a crap about the world: the world, after all, was a good part of the reason he was the way he was today... and the world had also given birth to the monster that was currently destroying it. So in Zerrex's opinion, the world could go screw itself. "My preferred weapons now are oversized swords for close combat or my fists, and I enjoy revolvers, bolt-action rifles, and magnum handguns for ranged." The reptile added, with the air of telling someone whether he preferred cake or ice cream.

He paused for a few more moments, tapping his fingers idly on the table as he glanced down thoughtfully, then back up, and Churchill shrank back under his gaze. "I've broken the hold of one of Narrius's prized nephilim, I've already killed one of the RED soldiers, Iago, who was imbued with another of the elemental freaks - and taken down his entire army too, by the way, with a rusty hack-cleaver - and I've spent seven years in a coma to escape in one night, plus I've gotten files with classified information in them on several pet projects of Narrius, one of which you should be particularly interested in." A pause. "That is, if we ever get around to seeing what's in the folder rather than measuring who has the biggest cock. But that I'm pretty sure I'd kick your ass in too, General Churchill."

The Dragokkaren shrank down in his seat, rubbing at his armor and mumbling something to himself as Albatross smiled slightly, and Huck merely snorted and leaned back, letting out a long whistle. "So basically... you're saying that you're no goody two-shoes yourself, huh? A cure that's just as bad as the disease?"

Zerrex paused again, looked down, then back up and met Huck's eyes with a slight smile. "No. I'm far worse... but that's perhaps the reason we can win this war."

"Good." Huck nodded firmly and then reached across the table to slap Zerrex on the arm lightly, grinning a bit. "Because pretending to be a bunch of goody-goodies has gotten us dick-shit so far in this war, and I'm pretty tired of fuckin' around and watching my people, my soldiers, get their asses canned by fucking dime-a-dozen genetic clones. Now, I think we can all agree you got some pretty impressive stats behind you... but I do gotta ask, what's this information you got for us, huh?"

"It's bad news." muttered Schindler, and Zerrex glanced to the side, unsurprised to see that he had stopped listening at some point and had instead picked up the file to browse through the information in the back, looking morbidly over the pages of calculations and genetics scales that had been written out by Mengele. "And I mean... end of the world bad. In this case, literally..."

"The hell are you talking about?" Huck asked, blinking, and Churchill mumbled something about impenetrable defenses, while Albatross leaned forwards with a frown. Mist and Shine exchanged a look behind the Dragokkaren, then leaned in slightly as well towards the doctor, as he sighed and rubbed at his eyes behind glasses perched near the end of his muzzle.

He looked back and forth, then shook his head slowly and finally said: "It's an airborne genetic virus they've got underway called Godsmite... originally, it looks like it was designed to target a chromosome that specifically exists only in pelts... the genetic blueprint for fur or hair, in other words. If the virus found this marker in the host body, it would activate and cause multiple system failures in the subject, starting with minor tissue death before accumulating in full cardiac, hepatic, and pulmonary failure: the deadly trio, in other words. And if it didn't find this, then the subject would only carry the virus for a limited period of time, until it died.

"But the virus apparently underwent a freak mutation, and began to target all skin types somehow... the vaccine they'd already developed stopped it in its tracks, however, and instead of shutting down the project, Narrius ordered another genetic modification to be made. Now it targets and infects everything... but apparently automatically shuts itself down if it recognizes a specific set of genes." Schindler paused, then looked down at the papers and bit his cheek with a wince. "And... the genetic and chemical coding here is so goddamned confusing that I can't yet determine exactly what those markers are and where they fit in yet. I'll need to analyze these for a few hours... these are only based on notes apparently made by the arctic wind of death, the mad doctor Mengele Tstegi."

The council members all traded looks at this, exchanging looks and mutters before Churchill finally said in a voice that attempted calm, but didn't quite make it: "I don't see how this would be effective... or how they could manage to infect our facility here, which is safely locked-down and was used to test biological weapons of war anyway, so it obviously has countermeasures to deal with such types of problem..."

Zerrex looked at the Dragokkaren mildly for a few moments as his voice tapered off, and then he asked casually: "What's the first rule of war?"

"Know thy enemy." Churchill responded immediately, blinking, and then he squawked as Zerrex reached up and grabbed his throat, jerking him forwards over the table and glaring into his eyes.

"So, have you been asleep for the last seven years, or what?" Zerrex continued to speak coldly, even as Churchill grabbed at his arm and wrist, wincing and shaking his head from side-to-side, yet at the same time attempting to avoid eye contact as he flushed deeply. "If Narrius can choose who this virus infects and kills, then he's going to soak the entire world into it. An airborne toxin will get into the clouds, the water supply, the forest, and the ground, and probably live there for a good twenty-four or so hours, and everything not in a sealed environment will die. The facility was made to hold in biological weapons and resist bombs... but it isn't airtight, is it? The virus will get in through the sewage system, the subway tunnels, the windows, and if just one soldier carries it into the overcrowded barracks in the back I hear you guys have, then you're all going to die if the only symptom at first is tissue death, because everyone's just going to mistake that for the usual bruises and bumps of war and living rough."

He threw him back, and Churchill skidded backwards a bit in his chair, wincing and rubbing at his neck, looking infuriated... but he remained silent, bowing his head and shaking a bit with rage at the chastisement. The other councilors looked uneasily back and forth, before Zerrex glanced at Schindler and asked mildly: "What's the infection ratio?"

"Communicable between... anything, pretty much, main method of infection is being absorbed through the skin, however." He winced a bit and shook his head slowly. "It resembles more a parasite than a virus because it's capable of burrowing through scale or skin... infection this way apparently takes longer, as would be expected, than if it was inhaled... but the mortality rate is a hundred percent. Subjects showed massive organ scarring on autopsy, although it's designed to go after the liver and heart first, eating the muscles and stopping them from functioning properly... but main people showed respiratory symptoms first. It seems to take up to a day to shut down the lungs, however, whereas hepatic and cardiac system failure occur in twelve hours."

He shuffled through a few papers, frowned a bit, then added mildly: "The fastest rate of infection, however, occurred through open wounds... and type of blood-to-infection contact, and it can be transmitted through blood, saliva, and sexual secretions. They noted, however, that although it causes massive pain, the brain is rarely damaged by the virus, which is strange... I think it must target and destroy certain proteins to halt cell division and any physical regeneration ability in the body; that would explain why brain cells aren't damaged, because they're fundamentally different from the cells that make up most of the rest of the body, have different building blocks, so to speak.

"I think that Sub... that Zerrex is right, however. If this stuff is released into the atmosphere, it'll only be a matter of time before this entire base is destroyed, as well as the rest of the world." Schindler said grimly, then he sighed and rubbed at a temple slowly. "But I can't make out half of the figures on here... like I said, I'll need to take a few hours to look all these files over.

"Zerrex has also presented information on himself and his compatriots, which I also need to analyze. I'm fairly confident, however, that we should be able to determine the location and vulnerable points of several key facilities and experiments-"

A moment later, the Dragokkaren was cut off as the Drakkaren cleared his throat, and the councilors looked at the Boss as he glanced around mildly, then said plainly: "I'd like to spend a few days here to rest, rejuvenate and prepare myself, as well as see what kind of arsenal and equipment you have... and then I'll go in on a solo mission to scout out these areas myself and see what I can do. I'd appreciate a team to provide a distraction or long-range support fire, depending on the location and the facility, but I don't expect it... otherwise, give me some basic equipment and I'll move in. I have a personal score to settle... and I'm also the best equipped to deal with this kind of solo operation and cause the maximum amount of damage in the short window of time that will be available."

"Narrius will be expecting you, however... you'll likely meet up with class two alert resistance." replied Albatross calmly, knitting his fingers together and sizing Zerrex up with his single lavender eye, then he smiled a bit. "I recognize that we have no authority over you and probably couldn't stop you if you wanted to just go and cause a ruckus in the city, but I think you should wait at least four days before attacking... force Narrius to at least lower the level of city-wide alert, since even his army can't stay on a ready-defend notice for any excessive length of time." A pause, and a glance across at the grease-streaked Dragokkaren, who was wincing and playing with his wrench. "But what do you think, Huck?"

He seemed hesitant to answer... but finally he said nervously, glancing up at Zerrex with a bit of embarrassment: "I recognize you want to go and save your family, but Narrius's experimentations have likely left nothing recognizable... we can't afford to lose you, though, within a week of you showing up here. It would be horribly demoralizing, especially with the stories we've heard about you... so I think we should wait until Dr. Schindler analyzes the available data before making any hard decisions."

"Only an idiot charges into a war." Churchill muttered, rubbing at his throat, then he winced and twitched back as Zerrex lowered his head and laughed softly, then he looked up at the fellow reptile through strings of fallen white hair.

"Maybe you haven't noticed... but we're already at war." Zerrex said softly, then he smiled ruefully. "And I've never been that smart... and I've never been willing to back down, either. Besides, I hate to disappoint people when they're expecting me, and that's precisely the tactic I want to play as well." He paused, then rested back and crossed his arms, closing his eyes and bowing his head. "Three days, and I'll take your subway system to the checkpoint in a military area. I'll attack just before they end the high-alert phase... if my timing is right, the soldiers will get confused because they may get the order to gear down at the same time as the alarms go off, and the on-duty soldiers will be tired and hopefully panicked. Most soldiers, after all, have a very bad habit, and it's assuming no one's going to attack when on full alert; in fact, I've found that an excellent time to lay siege to the enemy is when they're supposed to be expecting the attack, especially near the end of the alert phase. Soldiers relax, they make mistakes, they stop looking for the opponent... it's not like an air raid, where everyone's nervously watching the sky. They'll also underestimate me, because Narrius will underestimate me and what I'm capable of...

"What escapee, after all, runs back into a crowded military area? On high alert, Narrius will bring forwards reserve units to bolster his forces, but the only real difference between alert and no alert is that the entire army will be on-call and ready to move in predetermined platoons at a moment's notice, and they'll all be pissed off, tired, and itchy to fight because the Captains and Commanders likely will be on orders to keep everyone busy, awake and prepared. His soldiers will be scattered, watching the borders, a city-wide lockdown will likely be installed, and they'll be combing all of Uroboros in platoons." He paused and looked around the council with calm, cold eyes. "Narrius's weakness is that he will not recognize his soldiers as anything other than pawns for battle, to be sacrificed as needed, and he'll expect them to dance to his bidding even after spending seventy-two hours on full alert. He was the one who trained me in tactical warfare, so I can put forwards guesses as to how he thinks. To be honest, no, I don't know how he'll act with the advanced technology he has at his disposal... but what I just said is my best guess."

The others looked back and forth, then Shine said softly: "You told myself and Mist that a leader shouldn't be involved in an attack unless he or she is the only person capable for the job... are you sure that you're the only person who can do this, Lord Zerrex?"

Zerrex glanced over at her, then he nodded and said softly: "Yes. I am."

For a few moments there was silence... then Mist and Shine exchanged a look as Churchill shifted uncomfortably and Albatross looked at him thoughtfully. Huck was rubbing his head slowly, but before he could say anything, Churchill finally snorted and looked away, saying sulkily: "Idiotic... you sound like you just want to play hero. Attack the General Army while they're on full alert, ready to mobilize? Even if there is... maybe... a moment of vulnerability after several days of lockdown, you'll end up getting yourself killed in a flood of soldiers once the General Army moves in..."

"That's why my first target would be a barracks or military outpost inside the city." Zerrex replied mildly: "Use guerilla shock tactics, draw the attention to there, then make a quick escape, either through the sewers or over the rooftops, whichever is less guarded. The soldiers will swarm on their own base... and if I drop some timed or proximity bombs down, along with a buzzer or two, they may think they're still under attack. Mass hysteria being the best outcome, demoralized and terrified platoons that start doing area sweeps the worst."

"You're going to try and use the 'check it twice' rule to your advantage, huh?" Albatross nodded thoughtfully, rubbing at the scarred side of his face slowly. "It's been attempted in the past... and we've admittedly used it successfully as well. If there is one thing I'll say, Narrius's soldiers are bastards for protocol. Does make it pretty hard to get more than a few even if we set up a honeypot, though..."

Zerrex nodded, recognizing the term and smiling grimly: in this case, it likely meant scoring a gut shot against an enemy soldier with a sniper in an open area, and then picking off anyone who tried to rescue their fallen comrade, who was usually left screaming and moaning in agony. Cruel, not exactly moral or humane, but effective... and unsurprisingly, an old favorite of Cherry's, when they had been in the Goth Legion. Then again, the concept of morality had often been lost on her... "I figure it'll give me more than enough time to get away, and even if they chase after me right away, I have the feeling they won't break formation and they'll try to keep in squads or platoons to attempt to avoid ambush. That'll give me the advantage of speed, and once I'm inside a facility, I'll be at an advantage, even if it is enemy terrain. They'll likely have to radio for clearance, which will take time to process... and by then I can be inside and moving towards my target. Even if I encounter groups of enemies, I'll have a bit of an edge."

"Single versus group is a double-edged blade, though." Huck murmured, rubbing the back of his head slowly and looking down at the table, before he glanced up at Zerrex, then smiled a bit and looked over at Shine. "What do you think, flickereyes?"

"I think you can bite me." she retorted, then traded a look with her sister before becoming serious once more and turning her attention towards Zerrex. "But otherwise? I have faith in Lord Zerrex. I think we should trust his judgment and let him do this, and vote to give him full support over his own unit of handpicked soldiers."

"I'll second." Mist said, and the three Dragokkaren in the center looked at the females, then each other, before Churchill crossed his arms, looking surly as he glared at the table, voicing his opinion through childishness more than anything else.

Huck sighed and rubbed his head, then rose his hand and mumbled something that sounded like 'to hell with it,' and then Albatross rose his hand, but met Zerrex's eyes with his own lavender one, smiling a bit. "I'll lend my support, but only if you're willing to allow me to assist you in picking your support staff and you discuss your plans with myself and the rest of this council."

"Fair enough..." Zerrex nodded again after a moment, deciding it would be better not to argue... besides, Albatross seemed to know what he was doing, and he could use the help. He couldn't help a bit of a grin though as he added mildly: "Just don't slow me down, huh?"

The Dragokkaren snorted, then he laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table again, returning easily: "We'll see who slows who down yet, Lord Zerrex. You might have the advantage in close combat, but I could probably outshoot you any day of the week, with or without both of my eyes in my head."

"Maybe I'll give you the chance to prove that, then." Zerrex replied easily, then he paused and glanced mildly at Churchill as the Dragokkaren rumbled and shifted irritably, apparently disliking the fact that he was being ignored. The Drakkaren paused for a few moments before narrowing his eyes a bit as the so-called 'High Councilor' looked up at him with a defiant glare, asking mildly: "Is there a problem, Colonel Churchill?"

The larger reptile paused as he looked around the table, glowering, then he finally said plainly: "I don't like you. Nor do I believe a bully like you should be given the support of the council and the freedom to do whatever he wants, so I want you to give me some proof that you're who you say you are and not some nephilim-imbued or soulless spy from Narrius."

This earned snarls from both the twins, and Huck winced at this before sliding his wrench off the table. It clattered to the ground, and he blushed as Schindler sent him an ill look, but the Dragokkaren quickly ducked and picked up his wrench... and apparently only Zerrex noticed that he didn't bother returning to the table, instead sitting back against one of the concrete walls away from the table. Moving out of a dangerous situation... good call. A pause, and the Drakkaren noticed Albatross had put his head down on his arms and was looking disconsolately at the wall across from him. Or attempting to avoid getting caught in the crossfire by making one's self as small a target as possible... amazing how military tactics apply to every day real life situations, huh? "What do you have in mind, Colonel?"

The Drakkaren kept his voice calm and cool, but Churchill twitched and growled as if he'd yelled or said something far more provoking... but his glare never quite reached Zerrex's eyes. Meanwhile, the doctor sitting beside Zerrex had already gone back to work reading... and the reptile was feeling nervous: not for himself, but because both of the twins looked pissed-off enough to kill, and their hands were both straying towards the handles of the cleaver swords on their backs. Even though he's from Hez'Ranna... he doesn't recognize that a devoted Iuratus will kill anyone who so much as insults their Master, or even that Mist and Shine have recognized me as full Master now with Hellabos gone... "Well... Lord Zerrex, I was thinking that we could check your qualifications and credentials against those in the database, and maybe see if you can pass even the simplest of pre-military theory exams without using force to-"

There was a loud scraping of chairs, and a moment later Churchill found himself staring in horror at Zerrex as he dropped his head into a hand with a sigh, muttering under his breath as the Dragokkaren gulped... the simple action causing blood to flow down one cleaver blade from a shallow wound on his throat. Mist and Shine had both drawn their weapons on the Colonel and taken him by complete surprise, both of them snarling angrily, one blade on the back of his neck, positioned against the cervical vertebrae, and the other had already bitten lightly into his throat. Both twins were leaned towards the Dragokkaren, one bent low and the other stretched high, both apparently halted at the last moment from what would have otherwise been a decapitating slash.

Albatross had shoved himself away from the table, wincing a bit and his hands covering his head, the huge cleaver just having passed over him. He looked more morbid than surprised, however, and then Mist snarled angrily: "Don't take Lord Zerrex lightly, or we'll kill you!"

Shine simply glared, and then she glanced over at Zerrex when the Drakkaren rose a hand; for a moment, she and her sister hesitated... then they met the emerald eyes of the reptile and drew their swords slowly back, Zerrex noting the slight drag and the way Churchill twitched and winced with a quiet hiss of pain. A threat that was maybe not entirely unnecessary, as the Dragokkaren immediately slumped in his seat and panted quietly, eyes rolling with fear as he looked back and forth, trembling a bit and putting his hands flat against the tabletop.

Zerrex looked across at Churchill calmly for a few moments, then he said softly: "That's all the proof of my ability you need, Colonel. Two devoted Iuratus who believe in me, and who are willing to defend my name to the death; I've already demonstrated my military knowledge and my strength to you."

"Go to hell..." muttered Churchill, but his voice quaked and lacked conviction. Before he could say anything else, though, Huck stood quickly and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think we've covered everything we needed to for this meeting... let's break before anyone gets any more frustrated, how's that sound?" he suggested gently, then nodded towards Albatross. "Maybe you and the twins can show Zerrex around the base... he probably wants to get cleaned up, too, and get some rest." A pause, then a glance over at Schindler, who looked up with something like irritation. "And you can head over to one of the research labs if you want to run tests on any of that data... the other scientists here know your face."

"I figured." Schindler said dryly, then he stood as the others did as well, glancing over at Zerrex and muttering discreetly: "I'll come find you after I've analyzed everything."