FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Drakkaren's fast pace and long legs brought him quickly down the tunnel, and soon enough he was walking alone, with no one around him: he was thankful, however, that he could still hear the faint echoes of voices. After all, until they managed to clear all the civilians out of the passage, they wouldn't be able to use the train to pursue him. And Zerrex planned to be long gone by then, as he picked up his pace to a light jog, then smiled a bit as he reached a fork in the path, turning quickly down to the left instead of the right and murmuring quietly: "And it looks like they'll have to break up the search parties, too... which means they'll have to use a lot of soldiers. And that means they'll be moving slow... it's a small favor, but it's still a good blessing."

He nodded a bit to himself, trying to clear his mind of what had just happened: the fact he'd just assaulted both of the remaining commanders on the council and gone AWOL. He didn't like it... but what he liked even less had been their sudden hostility. Sure, maybe it had all just been the tension of battle, but somehow the reptile had sensed something a bit more malevolent, a bit more sinister in sudden plans for him... and then he snorted and shook his head, muttering angrily: "It's not like I asked for this... demon to be placed inside me."

You aren't exactly mister sunshine yourself. Drake shot back, sounding offended. Then he paused, and added thoughtfully: But you know... maybe it's not just me for once. Maybe the fact the twins also turned into a freakish... I mean, what they saw as a freakish demon, which saved you from falling to your death... and then sacrificed its life for you... maybe that had something to do with it, too.

"What, they thought I had something to do with the death of Mist and Shine?" Zerrex asked incredulously, not even realizing he was talking aloud to Drake. "That's ridiculous, insulting, and-"

In their minds, completely plausible. Drake responded stubbornly, then he sighed. Think about it. I mean, really think about it, and uh... don't get pissed at me for what I'm about to say, 'cause I'm just saying it theoretically, from their point of view. You're the son of Narrius. You're the only person ever to come back alive and sane from his scientists. You ride in on Mengele's personal shuttle and say how you made buddy-buddy with him-

"Friend's a friend, pal's a pal, but a buddy is someone you sleep with." Zerrex muttered, but he didn't like where Drake was going; what he liked even less, however, was that the dark nephilim was making complete sense.

And the twins were originally your Iuratus, who would have done anything for you after the death of their former master. He stopped, then sighed and Zerrex could picture the pinstripe-suited being shaking his head and shrugging. Oh, and then add in all that other stuff from before. Especially the stuff about the RED Commanders, how they all seem to be nephilim-imbued and have their own personal minions to do shit for them. So when it comes right down to it... yeah. If I hadn't been stuck dealing with your sorry ass for seven years, I would start getting suspicious, too.

"And now I've gone and punched them both out and 'fled' into the tunnels that will lead me right back into Uroboros." Zerrex muttered, slapping his forehead and sighing. "Think it's too late to turn back and apologize?"

Uh. Yeah. You do that. And then you can go end the war by giving your daddy a hug and going fishing off the coast, and the world will return to being a happy and joyful place. Drake said drolly, and Zerrex gave a sour grin; at least the bastard was developing a sense of humor instead of bitching all the time about this and that. Then the dark creature paused oddly. Stop here for a minute.

Zerrex did so, more out of curiosity than anything else as he reminded the thing in his head: "Fine... but you better not be wanting to rest or something stupid like that. Two reasons; one, I'm the guy doing all the work, since I'm the one with the body... and two, they're going to be after me once Hans finds the unconscious bodies of two Dragokkaren soldiers."

Drake muttered some unintelligible curses, then said mildly: I get it. But one thing I can do for you is keep track of your location, especially relevant to where you're coming from. I've memorized every detailed map of Hez'Ranna, had them all written into my brain... and since you've been jogging for a good twenty minutes at a good pace, I think we're near the end of the valley, near where the artillery was originally set up; the tribes that lived out here used to live in caves, and so I think you should start paying attention to the walls, look for cracks and water damage. We might be able to break through into a cavern and get to the surface outside the city.

"Great." Zerrex muttered quietly. "Become mortar targets." He slowed his pace, however, now looking back and forth, but the only light came from old, broken bulbs set into the ceiling above. The Drakkaren didn't know how much longer this light would last, either... if Huck and Albatross were anywhere near as smart as they seemed and they had spook equipment available, they might put him at an even worse disadvantage and shut down the lights.

After a few minutes of searching and looking back and forth, Zerrex's sharp eyes settled on a strange indent in the wall, and he walked over to it, frowning a bit. The bricks were slumped and mossy... and when the reptile touched them, they gave way slightly. Without further ado, the Drakkaren rose a leg and kicked the wall as hard as he could, opening a narrow gap into a cavern beyond, and the Drakkaren grinned slightly, murmuring softly: "Looks like you're useful after all, Drake. Thanks."

If I don't save your ass, we both end up dead. Drake responded dryly, as Zerrex yanked away stones and chunks of brick and concrete to open up a plain hollow between the tunnel and what looked like a glistening cavern beyond. There was some rotted wooden boards in between here too, and some other kind of foaming and cobwebs that the reptile swept away quickly, before forcing himself through the reeking detritus with a grunt and a chuckle of amusement at the dark nephilim's comment.

"Modesty of a true hero." he murmured to himself, then he paused for a moment in the cave to let his eyes adjust. Oddly enough, however, it wasn't that dark in here... and a few glances around showed the reptile why, as his eyes settled on bits and pieces of gleaming crystal here and there, which glowed with a strange phosphorescence. He reached out to touch one, and Drake immediately barked: Don't!

Zerrex blinked, straightening with one arm still outstretched, feeling like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar, and the dark nephilim sighed in relief before explaining: They're glowing because they've absorbed radioactive energy... they seal it inside themselves, but if you touch it, there's likely enough stored in these crystals that even you'll become sick.

"Oh. Great." Zerrex said faintly, drawing slowly back, then he coughed and snorted laughter. He almost felt Drake staring at him, then he said plainly: "So I can't kill you with chemotherapy, huh?"

Fuck you. Drake said disgustedly, then receded into his head as Zerrex laughed again; his merriment had a slightly-crazed edge to it, but it did help him feel better somehow, more in control of himself as he turned and made his way down a narrow passage, bending over with a wince and carefully avoiding the sharp bits of crystal here and there, doing what he could to avoid any sort of physical contact, but still giggling stupidly to himself as he wandered slowly forwards down the natural hall of stone.

Then he made a bit of a face, once more hating his new size as he came to an even shorter crevice, looking down it... and cursing quietly under his breath as he saw several large clumps of crystal stuck on the walls and floor. He also realized that his body was nowhere near small enough to get through there... and then he glanced up and murmured quietly: "At least... not like this."

He paused, then closed his eyes and concentrated... and once more that image of blue and gold mixing came to his mind before he began to shrink; after only a few minutes this time, he felt his body stop and lock into place, and the tingling that had covered his scales and rolled through his muscles vanished. Then he sighed, slumping a bit and feeling somewhat dizzy, then he grunted and straightened, murmuring: "At least my control's getting better..." Or maybe it's because of Mercury's parting gift...

Before he could wonder too much on what it was, however, he managed to cut his thoughts short, stripping down to his boxers... then sighing and taking those off too, at how loose they were. He shuffled awkwardly around in the dark before finally managing to tie his pants tight around his waist in a sort of makeshift sash, and decided to discard his shirt entirely. He then reattached the side kit and gun holster to his naked leg and waist, before sighing a bit and looking over himself morbidly. "Well, won't this be fun..."

Then he shook his head and slid into the low crack in the wall: at least now, however, it was a comfortable size for him to move through. He just had to be careful at the patches of green crystal, attempting to give it a wide berth as he crawled under it on his belly, or over it with his back pressed against the ceiling.

The passage didn't stretch on for very long, at least... the narrow, small tunnel widened into a much brighter cavern full of mosses and lichen, with only a few patches of glowing crystal here and there: more common were large stalactites hanging from the ceiling, dripping water into a crystalline pool below that was glowing with the terrible radioactive patches. Zerrex made a bit of a face at this... then he shook his head slowly, walking along the rough stone floor and glancing up at the cracks in the ceiling through which shed the last dying rays of daylight... and then he turned a corner and stepped into the mouth of the cave with a grunt of surprise, covering his eyes and peering back and forth as he wandered slowly out and into the sacred jungles of Hez'Ranna.

He knew that even out here, though, he'd be in danger... Narrius would have no issue with launching mortars or firebombs in order to either kill him or drive him out, after all. He sighed a bit as he wandered slowly into a grove of trees, feeling lost, alone, and hating the fact he was on the enemy battlefield again, likely in full view... so the first thing he needed to find was cover. Or rather, cover where there weren't any radioactive materials.

The Drakkaren's bare feet crunched over the ground as he walked forwards, wincing a bit at the sharp sticks that poked into his callused soles every now and then, but knowing it wouldn't be long before he got used to the feeling again. He didn't bother shifting upwards: his makeshift loincloth was working fine, and why make himself a bigger target? The reptile shook his head a bit, before pausing as he heard a rustling... then stopping for a moment to actually listen.

All around were the sounds of life... birds chirping, insects whirring, animals making their own calls and grunts. In a moment, he realized that he wouldn't be caught so long as he stayed on his own... the thermal readings would just pick up another shape in the crowd, and Narrius might not expect him to be able to use the strange ability he'd had installed into his body... and he couldn't help but smile faintly as he looked at the ground and watched a feral snake slowly begin to slither by. Before he could stop himself, he snapped out a foot with a wince and stepped on its neck, then twisted his heel to snap it, sending it spasming over onto its back with a hiss and uselessly baring its fangs for a few moments before falling still. Then he sighed a bit, picking it up and murmuring: "Well, whatever..."

He slung the dead body of the good-sized creature over his shoulder, wondering distastefully if this counted as eating his own kind, as he walked further into the brush and did his best to orient himself, looking up at the fading light in the sky. He needed to set up a place to rest... and then he paused, tilting his head to the side as he heard the telltale sound of water, quickly turning and jogging through the vines, undergrowth and twisting, massive trees that made up the jungle of the Cradle of Life.

The reptile slowed as he reached a small brook, sighing a bit in relief... then he paused and looked up with a frown at another shape in the distance. He took the time to take a few drinks of water, however, before moving on and still carrying his dead snake with him, sloshing through the narrow stream that sent icy water over his ankles, then forcing his way through a dense grove of trees to place a foot on cold, ivy-covered stone. The Drakkaren blinked... then looked up curiously and realized he'd found the ruins of an old temple.

It had long ago collapsed in on itself, leaving on a few pillars standing and the lower section of a set of stairs, along with some yellow brick here and there... but when the Drakkaren kneeled to scrape lightly at the stone he'd stepped on, he realized he could still make out some of the markings on it and gave the faintest of smiles, scraping a bit of ivy off so he could look at the designs for a few moments. Then he straightened and walked slowly around the area to look in at the side of the temple, noting a gaping hole through the stones that apparently led down into the earth.

Zerrex carefully walked over to this, keeping himself ready in case it was the burrow of some large animal... but even though it smelled a bit musty, he couldn't make anything out in the darkness, nor did he hear any snarls or growls from within. He still paused for a few moments as he bent down to examine the dirt, frowning at the tracks he'd never seen before and the way the stones had been scraped and lacerated near the burrow... and for whatever reason, he just didn't like the look of the...

"Eww." Zerrex made a disgusted face as a ridiculously-large spider scuttled out of a large crack in the rocks and ran towards his foot: the goddamn thing had to have a body the size of a baseball. He immediately stomped it, cursed at the sharp body hairs that stabbed into his foot when he did, and then drew his foot back to see the legs of the thing still spasming and twitching, and green goop leaking out from its crushed form as it flailed weakly. He looked at the thing with horror... then cursed loudly as another large spider barreled out of the ruins and scuttled towards him, this one just a bit smaller but with the same purple body and black legs.

The Drakkaren made a face and kicked at it, and it went running off in another direction instead of at him, before stopping a short distance away and turning around. The lizard had never heard of creatures like this before, though... and then his eyes widened in horror as what looked like a dozen more of the large spiders made their way out of the ruins. The Drakkaren was seriously tempted to go for his gun, as they came towards him en masse... and then suddenly halted and scattered, and Zerrex blinked stupidly before tilting his head towards the burrow as a bit of dirt rustled down from it... and then a massive form all but exploded from it, leaping outwards and then landing on all eight legs as it seemed to look back and forth, before turning slowly towards him.

Zerrex was staring in utter disgust, repulsion and almost terror at the largest spider he had ever seen: it was at least as big as he was at this size, and had somehow folded itself down to fit into the tunnel in the ground. It looked at him with eight terrible, stupid black domes that bulged out of its purple, barbed hide, and it had massive, pincer-like mandibles... and the body was disgusting and bloated. There was also a huge white sac on the back of the creature... and Zerrex realized a moment later that it was an egg sac, as the thing slowly took a step towards him.

Its jaws clicked as it stepped forwards, legs seeming to shudder, and a glance down noted the huge hooks on the end of its limbs... definitely big enough and sharp enough to cut him apart if it got close. He also didn't want to think of what kind of poisons it had in its maw, or of how it would feel to be eaten alive by this thing and its apparent babies, as he stepped slowly backwards... and it took two quick steps forwards, closing the distance between them and then halting again as it began to shiver and tense itself.

Then, without further warning, it suddenly leapt towards the Drakkaren, and Zerrex did the only thing he could: horrified, he leapt backwards and threw the snake at it, and the large, bulbous creature caught it in its mandibles, fell to the ground, and began to busily chew it up as the other baby spiders flocked over to it. While temporarily distracted devouring its prey, Zerrex turned and fled into the jungle, sprinting as fast as he dared to go, leaping over rotten logs, past trees, fallen monoliths, and ripping through vines and underbrush before skidding to a halt and grabbing his knees, panting hard as he slumped forwards and murmured in a strangled voice: "That was fucked up."

No shit. Drake agreed in a strained voice. Never thought I'd see something that was naturally uglier than you. I don't even know what that thing was... but that means it wasn't bred in the labs, so...

"Dude, I have to get out of this jungle." Zerrex muttered to himself, brushing his hair back with a wince and looking nervously over his shoulder... then his eyes bulged as he saw the massive spider from earlier leaping from tree to tree, looking at him with those dull eyes. The reptile snarled, and then he looked down at the tall grasses of the small, muddy field he'd halted in, realizing he was at an even greater disadvantage here... the smaller bugs could sneak up on him without him ever knowing until too late. He cursed and turned to run... and almost ran into a draybeast, which roared stupidly at him and reared back in either shock or warning.

It was one of the few creatures that had never evolved: more than ten feet tall standing on its stubby back legs, with a plump belly, greasy fur that shined after being cleaned and tanned, long, draconic tails and muscular forelegs that ended in huge paws with short claws, its body was matched only by its head. The thing had a long muzzle full of ugly, flat teeth, small, beady eyes, a white-furred face instead of the dark brown hair that covered its body, and huge, floppy ears that made it look a bit ridiculous. Zerrex, however, could deal with freakish; it wasn't the fact he was dealing with a huge mutant spider that was bothering him, but the fact that there were a dozen or so baby spiders chasing him, and the goddamn giant purple one just had to be pregnant and lugging around an egg sac, which for whatever reason, tripled the creepiness.

Zerrex took the only option he thought he could: he leapt forwards, snagged the neck of the standing draybeast, and spun around it to land neatly on its back like it was a mount, making it squeal stupidly and fall to all fours as the Drakkaren wrapped both of his hands into the thick mane of the beast... but before it bucked, the massive spider dropped to the floor of the jungle, and the creature stiffened up beneath Zerrex, half-rising again with a loud snarl. It seemed the reptile had lucked out... the two beasts seemed to be natural enemies, as the spider slung itself lower to the ground and the draybeast stepped backwards a few paces, growling and attempting to shrug the reptile off its back.

The Drakkaren winced... then he paused and glanced to the side before reaching out and snagging a long bamboo chute, snapping it off at the ground and sending out a spill of water as he leveled it like a spear, jagged point facing out as he kept the other hand locked in the draybeast's neck. It grunted and bucked a few more times... but then stilled and instead faced its other nemesis. Zerrex smiled a bit as he tightened his grip on the creature with his legs, keeping the long spear of bamboo leveled like a lance and straightening his back as he murmured quietly: "You help me, and I'll help you."

He knew it wouldn't understand, but he'd always heard that the draybeasts were at least quasi-intelligent... they had their own system of communication, and banded together to fight off bigger enemies. The spider, on the other hand, likely only saw them as food... its eyes didn't exactly gleam with intellect, but quite the contrary. Before Zerrex could think too hard on the subject, however, the monstrous arachnid leapt forwards, mandibles clicking, and the draybeast reared up with a loud roar, swatting at it with its oversized forearms and knocking the spider down.

The bug slung itself forwards, however, biting and ripping at the draybeast's stomach and making it give a wounded cry, and Zerrex snarled as he launched himself forwards and stabbed the spear down through the midsection of the spider, the sharp bamboo sprig tearing through its body and slamming into the ground below, propelled by the reptile's powerful muscles. The spider was instantly slammed downwards, hissing and trying to draw back... and the draybeast dropped both paws down onto its head, squishing it and causing it to spasm as the animal drew back with a wounded whine, its innards spilling out from the massive rip in its stomach before it keeled over.

Zerrex stood at the side of the spider, then he made a disgusted face and kicked the bug... which caused one of its legs to lash out and snap hard across his body, knocking him onto his back with a grunt. Immediately, one of the smaller bugs that had apparently followed their mother jumped up onto his face, and Zerrex screeched loudly, grabbing at it and throwing it away with enough force to splatter it against a tree before scrambling to his feet and staggering backwards. Before he could do anything, however, the sac on the mother's back burst open... and hundreds of tarantula-sized 'babies' spilled out into the ground and began to flock forwards, many of them immediately converging on the dying draybeast. It rolled its eyes in horror, giving a too-intelligent moan of anguish... and all Zerrex could do was turn and run before the spiders overcame him as well.

After another short but vicious sprint, he came to a stop, panting hard and leaning against a tree... then wincing as he looked up at the sky. The canopy above absorbed much of the light, but now it didn't even matter: the jungle was darkening rapidly now, leaving him at a horrible disadvantage and still without any place to rest. He'd be easy prey for any of the other giant spiders or other jungle creatures... before he paused and glanced up at the tree he was leaning against. Even in the twilight, he could make out the shape... and then he reached up, grabbing a few firm vines that hung from the branches and slowly beginning to pull himself up, using his feet to 'walk' up the tree and murmuring quietly to himself: "Please don't let there be anything too nasty up here..."

The reptile reached the lowest branches after a few moments more of work, hauling himself up... then climbing slowly and carefully higher. At one point, he found himself face-to-face with another snake, which stared at him for a few moments... then slithered away with its body already engorged, apparently already having eaten. Zerrex made a bit of a face at this... then he climbed a bit higher, the branches creaking faintly under his weight before he found a space where the trunk forked, sliding his body into it and laying back, the rough bark of the tree digging into his skin and vines hanging all around him, creating almost a curtain. The branches up here wouldn't support much weight, either - he'd had to move extremely carefully to get up here - and he hoped that would work to his advantage, as he lay back and sighed a bit. A few moments later, he closed his eyes, then murmured under his breath: "I'll just try and get some good sleep, then..."

He closed his eyes, laying back and realizing he hadn't eaten anything... again... but then he just shrugged and muttered. He was used to doing missions without much to ration out, anyway... the snake would have been nice to take a few bites out of, but it had made a much better decoy. It wasn't like his stamina ever suffered... his body had been hardened to run on minimum fuel with maximum efficiency.

Still... it had been a while since the Legion, and he'd admittedly gotten used to being able to have food when he wanted it... so hunger wasn't the main problem, but boredom, nervousness, and lust were. Not lust for sex - after the giant spider, he'd never been less horny in his life - but for some good old junk food. He promised himself that he'd raid a food supply the moment he got the chance, and that seemed to content his stomach a bit as he rested quietly back, relaxing a bit and crossing his arms over his abdominals, lowering his head and trying to relax so he could sleep.

It was a long night, though... and it took the lizard a long time to get to sleep. He'd never been used to sleeping much, after all, so it was uncomfortable to stay in one position for too long... but once he finally managed to settle down, he snored quietly away, relaxed and finally resting as best he could. Over the night, animals, bugs, and other things came and went... until he opened his eye in the morning to find a snake sunbathing on the warm scales of his naked chest. An exceedingly-large snake with three eyes, which made him start when he woke up, and in turn, caused the snake to jump a bit and stare at him for a few moments.

They looked at each other stupidly... and then the snake opened its mouth and hissed, revealing a double set of fangs. More pressing than this was the sheer length of the snake, as Zerrex slowly leaned to the side and peered down to see that half its body was still wrapped around the trunk below, whereas the other half was laying all curled up along his body, and its head had been on his shoulder and chest... and then Zerrex rose his hands in surrender, coughing, and the thing slowly lay back down as the Drakkaren muttered to himself, looking up and noting the blue sky above through a hole in the canopy he'd managed to position himself below. I'm an idiot.

He sighed a bit, causing the snake to stir and glare at him angrily again with the creepy eye in the center of its forehead... before Zerrex peered around once more, then blinked as he saw several large fruits dangling from the tree nearby. He reached out and plucked one - it looked like a soccer-ball sized apple - then peered at it. The snake, however, had had enough of the constant disturbances, rearing back with a hiss before snapping its head forwards to bite, and Zerrex stared in horror at it as he did the only thing he could: he shoved the huge fruit forwards.

The snake's fangs sank into it, then lodged in the fruit as it shook its head back and forth before staring dumbly at Zerrex and the Drakkaren coughed before gently pushing it off his body, the creature rendered harmless now. It fell with a loud crash off the tree into the branches below, then gurgled at him and slowly began to slither away, the fruit still trapped in its jaws. Zerrex shrugged a bit, then he picked another and relaxed again, feeling vaguely proud of himself as he took a bite and smiled, relaxing against the tree with one hand behind his head. It had a strange, almost meaty texture, but the taste was distinctly sweet... and he bounced the large fruit in his hand before taking another bite and relishing the taste.

Heartfruit. In Hez'Rannan, Mekaglosa. Drake explained idly, then he paused before continuing: It's a delicacy in Hez'Ranna, usually served after being cooked, because a common parasite that often causes severe diarrhea makes its home in them. Zerrex immediately spat out the chunk of fruit in his mouth and made several loud gagging noises, wiping at his tongue with the back of his hand before Drake continued in the same amiable voice: Which you're immune to, by the way.

"I hate you." Zerrex said blandly, then he looked at the fruit distrustfully before sighing and giving in to his need for food, for both nourishment and just the sheer pleasure of eating something. He munched it down to the core, then decided to pocket this with a shrug: a golf-ball sized stone was good to hurt people with.

He ate a few more Mekaglosa fruit, then carefully made his way down to the floor of the jungle, idly checking his gear and then glancing up and murmuring: "Hey, Drake. Direct me to Uroboros, fastest route. And you got any info about how I can get in?"

Good luck. Thermal scanners will pick up any and everything, and the closer you draw to Uroboros, the better they're able to detect. Drake said mildly, then he paused and shrugged. But you've pulled off some pretty crazy stunts in the past, so what the hell. Twenty-two klicks to your right, and you'll reach the main wall of the city. You can't use the classic 'get in through the sewers' ruse because Narrius had laser shutters installed at every entrance and exit... so I think your best bet is to find a way to scale the walls or find and break through a weaker section, which'll set off alerts, but...

"I'm going there to start a party anyway." Zerrex murmured, then he paused and smiled slightly. "Hey, uh, Drake? Has thermal imaging gotten any better, or just wider range?"

Just like radar... why? Drake asked slowly, and the Drakkaren merely shrugged as he checked over his equipment before starting to jog lightly in the direction that Drake had pointed out. He'd have to move fast if he wanted to make Uroboros by nightfall... and he knew he'd have to make a stop along the way, too.

Thankfully, the journey wasn't as eventful this time around... although the Drakkaren did have to venture through a swamp and carefully sneak past three of the large purple spiders that had taken up residence at one end of it, and also carefully wind his way through several herds of draybeast. He paused at the end of the swamp, however, taking off all his gear and clothing and wrapping everything up in his pants... and then he took a deep breath before dropping in the mud and rolling back and forth, covering his entire body in the disgusting, filthy muck. When he straightened, he was covered head-to-toeclaws, even his hair streaked with brown gunk... and Drake wordlessly left in horror and disgust as Zerrex picked up his gear with one hand and began to jog once more towards Uroboros. Now, however, he had to be more careful to avoid wiping too much gunk off himself, or moving so much that he began to sweat: the latter would not only raise his body temperature, but clear off the masking of goo he'd slopped all over his body.

By nightfall, however, the Drakkaren had at least made the main road and was carefully making his way down the dirt path... before dropping to a crouch and pretending to be a rock when a military transport slowly rolled by. The tactic worked surprisingly well... and then he continued towards the capitol before slowing and wincing at a pain in his side, moving instead at a walk. The trek through the jungle had taken a lot longer than he'd thought... normally, he'd be able to do from fifty to a hundred klicks in a day, no problem... but he'd forgotten to take in both his reduced size and the cruelty of the terrain.

So instead, the Drakkaren staggered his way down the road... then paused as he reached a small farming homestead, looking at it longingly and the lights shining inside. He realized, however, that if he continued to follow the main road and move through these communities, he at least wouldn't be found out by the scanning technology, mud mask or no mud mask... and so he wiped some of the gunk from his features and staggered quietly into the yard and around the small home, glancing idly back and forth before settling his eyes on a gunk-filled, stinking pond that looked like it was used to water the small crops and gardens planted in the open fields around the house.

Zerrex grunted as he threw his equipment aside and waded into the water, splashing it quietly over himself and wiping off the muck as best he could... before wincing and straightening as he heard the familiar click of what could only be a double-barrel shotgun. No other weapon, after all, inspired that kind of 'aww crap' feeling at close range without even being visible, as a rough voice ordered: "Turn around."

The Drakkaren rose his hands and did so, wincing at the fact he was naked and splattered with mud, before recognizing that both probably wouldn't really matter... and looking up at a Dragokkaren in a rawhide tunic, the shotgun Zerrex had expected to see aimed squarely at his face, but the other reptile still a prudent distance away. By his feet was a lit lantern, and Zerrex cursed himself for neither hearing the... well, defender of his farmland, he guessed, or noting the light. "The hell are you doin' here, and all covered in shit? And hey, get the fuck outta the waterin' hole, you're gonna sour it up."

Zerrex made a face and did as he was commanded, walking forwards with his hands raised and using that to close the distance a few feet between himself and the farmer, then halting and sighing, still too far away to do anything and dripping water. He thought for a moment, glancing back and forth, then replied mildly: "I just spent all day trekking through the jungle... I had to slather myself in mud so that I didn't set off the thermal scanners once I came in close enough that they could start detailing me. I'm trying to sneak into the city, and I was just stopping to clean the crap off my body..."

The farmer looked at him for a few moments thoughtfully... then he nodded a bit and slowly lowered his gun, carefully pushing back the hammers, and Zerrex sighed in relief, relaxing as the Dragokkaren smiled a bit. "Sorry there for that entrance, then. Though you mighta been a raider or here to steal some of my water or crops... hard times have fallen on this here place. But say, what do you mean, sneak into the city? Only an idiot would try to break into Uroboros... it's a fortress."

He shook his head slowly, then paused and searched the Drakkaren with another measuring gaze. "You ain't a rebel, are you? I admire what they're doin', sure, but they're troublemakers for the rest of us when they fuck up, which is a bit too often for my likings."

Zerrex recognized that the value of saying something stupid like, 'well, they're trying their best,' would be lost here, so he simply shook his head and laughed a bit. "I ended up getting into a bit of a disagreement with them at their base, which is why I had to make my way through the jungle." He stopped, recognized that the Dragokkaren might not exactly be the most sympathetic to his aim, and added: "I just want to get into the city to see if I can sneak my family out... we ended up getting separated..."

He'd hit the right note this time, as the farmer nodded sympathetically. "I know what that's like. When the lockdown first happened, I lost my boys and Helga for a few months. They was trapped at their sisters in sector five, and it took me forever to get a worker's permit so I could get them back out... but tell you what, son. There's a bathhouse 'round at the back, and you look 'bout the same size as my youngest boy. I'll have him bring you out some fresh clothes to change into, and then you can come on in. 'Salmost dinnertime, so you might as well sit down and stay the night if you like... the gates'll be locked down until tomorrow, anyhow."

"Thanks... I'd really appreciate that." Zerrex smiled and nodded, then he politely introduced himself and held out a hand, earning a strange look from the farmer.

He frowned a bit, then shrugged and shook the relatively-clean hand of the reptile with a bit of a smile. "I swear I've heard that name o' yours somewhere before. Zerrex, huh? But I'm Jericho Defoe. Me and my lady were born out o' country, just like you... but you speak pretty good Hez'Rannan. Anyhow, come on in once you're cleaned up"

"It took me a good few years to get it down." The Drakkaren replied as Defoe walked away, smiling a bit to himself as he realized with some surprise that... yes, indeed, of course he'd been speaking Hez'Rannan all this time. But everything sounded like it was coming across in his own native tongue, and that was all he was speaking... and he heard Drake snort in his head before rolling his eyes and grudgingly offering the dark nephilim a thank you for his translation work, from regular words to names, turning them from things like Sylkamis to Bob.

Drake didn't reply, and Zerrex shrugged as he grabbed his stuff and wandered idly towards the only other building he could find, a small, squat tan building with no windows and no door, just a plain archway from which shone a faint light. The reptile stepped through this... then blinked as he found himself in a large room with a plain cement floor and a single shelf stacked with towels.

The Drakkaren tossed his stuff onto this as he turned his eyes on the thing that dominated the room: a covered tub so enormous - and likely so deep - it could almost be a pool. It was certainly bigger than a hot tub... and there were also four showerheads set on tall steel poles all set an equal distance from each other in a square formation. When Zerrex rolled back the lid - it was almost a plastic shutter - he found the tub was already filled with heated water, and the Drakkaren noted vents in the sides of the concrete walls that likely led to some kind of old fashioned purification system.

He shrugged a bit, then slid into the water and sighed, relaxing a bit as something clicked on, glancing up at the small, hanging lamp on the ceiling as he felt the water faintly pulling at him. He wondered idly on how Hez'Ranna functioned in a mix of tradition and technology... then paused and looked over his shoulder as he heard a faint noise from behind him, determined not to be caught off guard again.

A young Dragokkaren - he had to be no more than sixteen, and likely younger - stepped into the bathhouse with a blush and a bit of a smile, holding up some clothes and placing them onto an empty rack by the towels, saying shyly: "Hi, sir... my dad just said I should put these clothes out for you, and um... it's nice to meet you, sir, my name is Daniel..."

"The pleasure's mine." Zerrex nodded to him, then smiled slightly as the lithe, slender male blushed and nodded quickly back before retreating. Then the reptile turned and sighed a bit, relaxing as he slid down into the water and sloshed some of it over his features and body, before scrubbing at himself with his hands to work out as much of the muck as he could manage.

Finally, he straightened, sopping wet, still-braided hair limp and clinging to his back, then he brushed his white locks from his eyes and climbed carefully out of the tub, sliding the lid back closed over the water as whatever system below busily cleaned the muck from it, before grabbing a towel from the shelves and drying himself quickly off. Once that was done, he carefully slid himself into the kid's clothing, feeling dryly amused at the fact the frigging sixteen year old was taller than him... and in this body, maybe even a bit bulkier despite how skinny he'd looked in the weak light.

The Drakkaren glanced over himself once finished: a plain hide shirt, a pair of rawhide pants, and a set of old sandals that fit comfortably over his feet. The Drakkaren decided to discard his muck-covered pants, keeping only his sidepacks and placing them on once more as he carried the pants outside, then shrugged and tossed them into the woods.

He turned towards the homestead, walking around to the front and wondering if he should knock or let himself in, as he approached the screen door... but he was spared the trouble as a female Dragokkaren smiled and opened the door for him, bowing politely. "Hello, sir, it's a pleasure to have a visitor here... it's been a long time since we've had anyone to spend some time with."

"I'm just lucky to have come across such hospitable people." Zerrex returned, as he stepped into the homestead and looked... up... at her with a smile. She had at least two feet on him... and he wondered again if all the advantages of being small really made this whole thing worth it. Then he coughed when she leaned down and kissed his cheek before putting an arm around him and easily guiding him inside to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was gathered around a large table in the small, crowded room full of old-fashioned equipment.

She sat primly at the table beside her husband, as Zerrex took the open spot between two males, making mental notes to himself about the family as he kept his look curious and genial. Five Dragokkaren... four males, one female...

There was Jericho, who was a bit rough-looking but seemed pleasant enough... his son Daniel, who really was quite slender and shy, a blush already rising in his cheeks just from sitting next to Zerrex, and who seemed... incredibly feminine, from the way he was sitting and even to his features... then the other two brothers, one of whom looked almost exactly like a slightly-smaller, more-serious version of his father... and one who looked pissed-off and irritable.

The last wasn't clad in the same kind of homemade clothing as the others... but instead jeans and a black leather jacket that was open to reveal a bare, thin chest. He was also about ten feet tall... just a foot shorter than his father, and maybe only a few inches under his older brother. He wore on inverted cross on a necklace that had several bones dangling from it, as well, and his features were unnaturally pale, as he looked back and forth coldly, seeming disgusted with the whole family event. Zerrex was sure that if he saw his feet, he'd be wearing dirty combat boots, too... and the reptile self-consciously tugged down the sleeve of his shirt to make sure that the swastika tattooed on his arm was hidden from view. He didn't want the Goth member of the family getting any ideas, after all.

"Say grace, Paul." Jericho said, and then the Dragokkaren all laced their fingers together and bowed their heads onto their hands, and Zerrex winced and quickly mimicked them: here was one thing he was never comfortable with. Then he realized that no, not everyone had done so, as his emerald eyes flicked to the side: the middle brother had just snorted and leaned back in his chair, making a disgusted face and muttering something under his breath.

Paul, the oldest, recited in a clear, faithful voice: "We thank thee, God, for your blessing and this bounty with which you have rewarded us for our hard work, and for keeping us alive and together as a family even through these hard times. In love and servitude we stay, and gladly we shall feast tonight with your name for ever and ever in our minds and hearts, amen."

"Amen." echoed around the table, and the middle brother muttered something like 'fuck-nuggets.'

Zerrex straightened as the Dragokkaren did the same, then Jericho smiled across at him as he grabbed a pitcher of milk from the table and poured himself a glass, saying warmly: "Well, just help yourself, and welcome to our little family, Zerrex. I guess you've already met Danny, my youngest, and my wife, Helga... but these other two males are my sons, Paul and Luke."

"Pleasure to meet you." Paul said amiably, and extended a hand across the table, which Zerrex smiled and shook. "Zerrex, right?"

"Right." The Drakkaren nodded, then he glanced sideways at Luke when the Dragokkaren grunted, leaning over his plate and shoving vegetables into his mouth. Zerrex noted that whereas every other plate was stocked with a bit of salad, some small pieces of bread, potatoes and what he thought was meatloaf, Luke only had some plain salad and a large hunk of meat, which he was currently mutilating with his knife as he continued to shovel salad into his maw. There's something fucking wrong with him. A pause, and Drake added mildly: Watch your back. He might be a spy for the Patriarch.

He's an emo punk, not a traitor. Zerrex replied mentally, as he smiled around at the other Dragokkaren and began to gladly eat... and after a morning spent munching on Mekaglosa, it was especially delicious indeed.

The family asked the usual nosy questions, and Zerrex did his best to reply to everything in turn: where he was from, what kind of work he did, etcetera. Then, ruining the mood, Luke piped up in a flat baritone: "Ex-military and carrying a gun. Bet he'll kill us all in our sleep like all the little whiny bitches soldiers are."

"Luke!" Helga said sharply, and Zerrex gave the pale Dragokkaren an irritable look, halting with a forkful of meatloaf halfway to his muzzle. Then the female Dragokkaren looked at him with a bit of a blush, saying quickly: "I'm sorry for his behavior... he's just been going through a phase lately..."

"I don't need you to apologize for me." Luke grumbled crossly, then he looked down at Zerrex with a sneer. "Or maybe she's just doing it because she knows that a bitch like you wouldn't ever have the guts to stick up for yourself."

"That's enough, Luke!" Jericho said sharply, and then his middle son snorted and shoved away from the table, turning and leaving the room as Paul and Jericho watched with distaste, and Helga and Daniel with worry and sadness. Then the father of the family looked over at Zerrex and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry for his behavior... like his mother said, we've been able to do... nothing with him. He went from being such a kind lad to... such a deviant just a few months ago..."

The Dragokkaren shook his head slowly, then he added mildly: "So please don't take his comments to heart."

"It's alright." Zerrex said softly and nodded with a smile, but the rest of the dinner was continued in an uncomfortable silence, the only sound the shuffling of forks and knives. Afterwards, Daniel and Helga took the dishes to the sink, and the other three reptiles stood and followed Jericho out into the den - a cozy, fair-sized room with a draybeast-fur rug, a coffeetable, and some other odds and ends; television, a phone, a radio being the most technology present. Even the lamps looked like they ran off oil or some other chemical substance.

"Oh, so you know, Zerrex, just down the hall is the bathroom and the boys' rooms. I hope you don't mind staying rooming with Daniel for the night." Jericho said apologetically. "But whenever you like, you can just head on off. Danny-boy's agreed to sleep on the cot if you want the bed."

"I appreciate it, thanks." Zerrex smiled and nodded, then glanced at the television as Jericho clicked it on, his eyes narrowing a bit at the smiling newscaster on the screen: in the background, was a picture of Narrius in the top corner, beside the Hez'Ranna Double Standard. The news story was about some takeover, and current population and size estimates were being tallied up at the bottom of the screen in percentages and fractions. Propaganda. Some art of war techniques never change...

"What bullshit is this?" asked Jericho disgustedly, and Paul crossed his arms and nodded firmly with a grunt. "I can't believe they're still spewing this crap twenty-four seven, I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of the Patriarch. He demands more and more production from all of us here, but now we have to grow our fields not outside in the Royal Common Grounds, but instead in the fuckin' greenhouses in sector two! They might grow faster, sure, but it sure as hell cuts down on how much I can turn out and how often I can tend to 'em."

Zerrex opened his mouth to reply, before pausing and glancing up as there was a loud double-knock at the door, and Jericho cursed under his breath, sounding disgusted. "Fucking patrols. I better go see what's going on."

Before Zerrex could do or say anything, Jericho stood up and approached the door, opening it and revealing two large, black-uniformed Dragokkaren. They looked coldly down at him - both were massive clone-soldiers, the Drakkaren recognized - and then one of them held up a poster of... aww, crap. "Have you-"

He broke off as he glanced upwards... then shoved Jericho out of the way, immediately beginning to raise his assault rifle with a snarl. Zerrex, however, was faster, leaping forwards quickly with a snarl and smashing his elbow down into the barrel, then slamming a palm into both soldiers before they could react, knocking them sprawling out the door as he walked quickly outside. Immediately, both soldiers dropped the heavy assault guns and went for their kwaibars, and Zerrex grinned a bit: they were well trained, they followed protocol to the letter... and that, ironically, would be their undoing.

Before the first could jerk his kwaibar free of the sheath on his back, Zerrex stepped forwards and briskly snapped his neck: then, as the second soldier stood and leapt at him with a snarl and the short sword drawn back, the Drakkaren rose his own hand in reply, slapping the flat side of the blade and knocking the soldier's arm wide before sinking his other fist into the uniformed stomach of the Dragokkaren. The soldier collapsed overtop him, eyes bulging, one hand clawing weakly, uselessly at the reptile's arm, and then Zerrex snaked the hand he'd used to block the Dragokkaren's initial attack across his body, snagged the junction of shoulder and neck, and popped the top vertebrae out of his spine with little more than a twist and jerk.

The soldier collapsed lifelessly, eyes rolling up in his head, and then the reptile sighed a bit and brushed his hair back slowly, pausing long enough to pick up the fallen paper and glancing down at it. His picture... size, weight, and height stats... and the label of 'do not attempt to engage; extremely dangerous.' He sighed, then tossed it to the wind before glancing at the clustered Dragokkaren family, all of them looking at him with horror, before smiling a bit. "Sorry about-"

"Get the hell off my property!" Jericho shouted at him, and Zerrex could tell his anger was masking his fear... but nonetheless, it frustrated him. Instead of responding, however, the Drakkaren stepped forwards once... and immediately, the door was slammed on his face. A few moments later, Zerrex could see faces peeking around curtains in the windows, and he sighed before shaking his head slowly and taking his time in gathering up the belongings of the soldiers, salvaging what he could in preparation for his attempt in getting over the enemy walls.

He had the revolver and a few rounds, a few spare shells... he took one of the massive assault rifles, glancing over the rectangular design with the huge barrel drum before setting it to single-fire mode... he had six clips, which he tucked in another sidepack he liberated and attached to his belt... a handful of grenades that he stashed on his belt... and finally, a kwaibar that currently rested easily on his other hip. The assault rifle he decided to carry... it would likely be the first thing he discarded. He loathed using automatic weapons... he could respect their efficiency, design and use in combat, sure, but that didn't mean he actually liked using them.

The Drakkaren thought idly about dragging one of the bodies off... shifting his own form upwards... and then wearing one of the uniforms and attempting to sneak in that way... but even though it was a tactic that worked in the movies and in general platoons, the reptile was aware of two minor problems: one, the clone soldiers were ingrained with specific protocols and signs he was sure he had no clue of... and two, they were frigging clones. They weren't perfect replicas of each other... but he sure as hell didn't look like a pureblood Dragokkaren of Hez'Ranna.

The reptile made a bit of a face, then he started off down the side of the road at a light jog, sighing a bit. With his luck, the soldiers he'd just taken out were part of a patrol convoy or special platoon... meaning that very soon, a pissed-off group of soldiers was going to be chasing him down or sound an alert back to the already-on-alert city. Making a successful attack was starting to look more and more impossible... and the reptile made a face as he jogged down the road before pausing and peering through the darkness ahead to the too-familiar shape of a military transport sitting on the edge of the road. A light was on in the back, and soldiers were sitting around, looking bored and chatting... and likely waiting for their friends.

Zerrex recognized that he had a choice: the first option was to charge in, screaming and roaring, and blast and hack them all apart like a psychotic action movie star. As the reptile kneeled at the side of the road, thankful for the darkness and once more utterly loathing his white hair, he decided this option would get him killed because they all had the same huge assault rifles. Worse, for them, they were normal-sized assault rifles, plus, on top of the six soldiers he could see, there was at least the driver to contend with, and whatever other patrols were currently out... so for all he knew, he could be dealing with double the number that he saw.

Next option: he had the rifle on single shot, and even though he was a crappy shot, he could lay up and probably pick them all off at a safe distance in the darkness. A pause, and then he tossed this aside with disgust, too... it sounded great, but he was at a few serious disadvantages. Such as the fact his 'safe distance' was about forty feet away... and they wouldn't scatter, screaming, into the night at the first gunshot or comrade to fall. Likely, they'd turn out the lights and leave him in complete darkness... form a firing line... and just strafe the road with firepower. The muzzle flashes would reveal their position... but his would do the same. And even in the darkness, they'd have the advantage of a defensive position... plus then they could still sound an alert or the truck could drive away. Worst of all? They could get pissed off and just lob grenades, and he'd have to run away screaming and hope that none of them were smart enough to toss a flashbang, which would illuminate the whole area long enough for one of them to put a few caps in his ass.

Moving on: he could throw a grenade into their truck. Now, even though this sounded pretty pathetically easy... it was a lot hard to toss an impact-detonating grenade into the exact area you wanted it to than it seemed. For one thing, he wasn't exactly a star pitcher... Cherry used to yell at him about how terrible his aim was and how often she had to duck things when he threw them at her playing catch or whatever. For another, this wasn't a baseball... it was a small metal cylinder with a button on top, set with a counterweight on the bottom to ensure that it landed on the pressure sensitive pad that would set it off.

The Drakkaren mused as he pulled this out, rolling it back and forth between his fingers. The goddamn thing was small, too... and following the laws of physics, he couldn't just... chuck it forwards with all his strength. Just like lobbing a ball of paper, it had to be done more with grace than raw muscle power... and he made a face, then sighed. It was, however, his best bet... after all-

"Don't move." said a cold voice, and the barrel of an assault rifle pressed against the side of his head, making the Drakkaren blink, then curse under his breath at being snuck up on for the second freaking time this day. Except this time, he didn't think he could use some half-lies to get the rifle away from him... and he could sense at least two others, also with their guns trained on him, standing a prudent distance away. So even if he took out this guy... he got riddled with bullets. "Drop the weapon."

"Like, what the hell? Drop it?" Zerrex held up the grenade and hit the button, then he grinned stupidly up at the Dragokkaren, who suddenly paled and looked horrified. "You still want me to drop it, rookie?"

"Sir, please put down the explosive device!" the Dragokkaren said in a strained voice, and another reptile went running by towards the transport, shouting some code. The other Dragokkaren inside the transport immediately tensed and grabbed their weapons, beginning to file out... so Zerrex did the only thing he could at this point.

He shrugged and said mildly: "Okay." And with that, flicked the grenade over his shoulder and jumped to a squat, covering his head as the soldiers around him yelled in terror and ran: clones or not, protocol-ingrained or not, they seemed to recognize the meaning of a tossed explosive device.

The moment Zerrex heard the click of the grenade hitting the ground, he leapt into the air, and then the explosion ripped the earth behind him, sending him literally flying as he yelped loudly, arms flailing and assault rifle flying by, turned to a ruined hunk of shrapnel to hit some unfortunate soldier in the face. He crumpled as the others covered their faces and staggered away from the blast on instinct, as Zerrex's smoking body hit the ground, and the Drakkaren snarled before rolling off the road and into the underbrush, then drawing the only other blast grenade he had, cackling to himself before tossing it into the group of soldiers. It bounced once, and they dived to the floor, screaming... before Zerrex cursed as he realized he hadn't armed the goddamn thing.

The scattered soldiers were still on the dirt, however, heads covered, probably wondering why they hadn't all just been obliterated... and the reptile charged forwards, drawing his kwaibar and leaping onto the back of the nearest, stabbing down through his spine and causing him to shriek in agony. But then soldiers were rolling up to their feet, and the others hit by the explosion behind him were climbing to their feet as well, snarling and taking aim... and Zerrex searched his sidepack for the familiar, larger shape of a flashbang even as he jumped forwards and slashed through the throat of another with the kwaibar. As he fell in a bloody mess, gargling and dropping his rifle, the Drakkaren threw the grenade straight down and then covered his eyes with his arm, grinning coldly as the explosive went off and blinded everyone in the vicinity, sending up a mass of screams and gunfire that only came through as faint, weak pops.

Zerrex opened half-blinded eyes, everything seeming to pulse with whiteness, feeling bullets tear by his body and a few of the low-caliber slugs pound into one arm, causing him to stagger with a snarl, before he went to work. He ran towards the nearest soldier, the world full of soundless pulses and echoes, his eyes aching as he slammed the kwaibar into the stomach of one, then ripped it free as he turned at the same time, slashing through the arm of another before finishing him with a hard downwards chop. Two others had already gone down to friendly fire, and three Dragokkaren were unwittingly firing madly at each other, before two more of them went down in screams that were barely filtering through to the reptile's aching head.

He turned to kill another... but then saw the truck was starting to move, and threw himself forwards, slamming the Dragokkaren who barred his path aside as he drew two grenades out of his pouch and tore the ring off one of them with his teeth, figuring it would set off the other as he tossed them over his shoulder, then leapt into the transport, the sound of him landing on the floor of the vehicle covered by the double explosion of two incendiary grenades that splattered fire over the remaining soldiers, sending them down in screaming heaps. Zerrex covered his muzzle as he groaned, his stomach heaving as he forced himself to crawl forwards, away from the heat and the chemical fires that were now burning at the mouth of the transport and along the green, flame-retardant canopy... then he slumped forwards and closed his eyes, as sound slowly came back to the world in bursts and weird, thudding noises, his head aching and body pounding, blood dripping down one arm and his almost-new clothes singed and charred.

He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing at the rocking of the transport as he forced himself up onto the seat... and the driver was shouting into a radio, yelling: "Code 32-16-71! I repeat patrol platoon 32 is 16-71, and the hostile is making his way towards Uroboros! Reinforce the alert, set all gates to aggressive defense mode after I get back into the capitol!"

"It is not your place to command, but your advice will be taken into consideration." came the cold voice of dispatch on the other end of the line: Zerrex recognized that voice... the creator and keeper of the sacred church of protocol, the soldiers who had either never done or seen too much battle on the front line... but either way, didn't care about the living, dead, or dying, just about reinforcing their command and control. "Return to base for debriefing and prepare to make your report directly to the division commander. Over and out."

"Fucking bastard!" the driver spat on the other side of the thin wall between the cab of the truck and the soldier's compartment, then he muttered: "At least the fucking gates are open... like hell I'd stop..." A pause, and the sound of a radio being slammed back into its holder. "I can't believe this crap, though. I go from being a Colonel in the GA to a driver-bitch, just because... what, I'm not sixteen feet tall, but thirteen and a half?"

He muttered in disgust to himself some more, as Zerrex silently prowled around the benches... but the inside of the compartment was clean. On the bright side, the fires were going out... and then the truck began to slow before the reptile grunted as they went over several large bumps. The driver blinked and looked in the rearview mirror, halting the truck and calling: "Hey, is anyone back there?"

Then the Dragokkaren drew his gun and turned around, pulling the glass window back to peer into the compartment... but it was entirely empty. He shook his head slowly... muttered something about needing a drink... then turned around and drove off, deeper into the capital city. And Zerrex watched him from the nearby shadows of a darkened house, smiling slightly to himself as he stood behind a long-dead lamppost: once more he'd managed to infiltrate Hez'Ranna. Now he just needed to find a base of operations to lay up for the night and where he could spend the next day preparing... and then it would be time for him to make his move and strike back against the Dragokkaren who had tried to take everything away from him.

Zerrex turned and walked slowly down the alleyway between the two houses, then he paused, glanced up at a ladder hanging conspicuously low, and hefted himself up on it, grunting as he ascended by just his hands before managing to get one foot on the rusted metal. He paused, then groaned as he realized he was only wearing one sandal... I must've lost the other in the explosion... ugh.

The reptile made a face, then kicked off the other and turned back to climbing the ladder, reaching the rooftops easily and sitting back on the ledge to gaze out over the city... a surprisingly good view it was, too. He had thought the building was squat and small compared to the others, but now he realized that he'd entered the city through a hilly area, and they were actually above most of the other stone buildings. Here and there Zerrex could see metal walls, and buildings lit up like fire... and over one particular area, a strange, glowing haze. The Drakkaren guessed that was the bomb shield... and he looked at it thoughtfully for a few moments, wondering idly how much collateral damage the city would suffer if he blew up one of the thingies that looked like it was generating or maintaining it.

No... even one, even the losses of innocent life I know will occur... they're all too much, the reptile thought grimly, looking silently out over the city. I want to kill Narrius. But I can't just mow down everyone I want to get to him... good or bad, savior or monster, loved or hated... I can't kill more than necessary. Because that's the old dark ways... and it'd be a dishonor both to Marina and Cindy.

He nodded a bit to himself, then paused and tilted his head curiously as saw a strange flicker in what looked like the folds of reality itself, an area of the roof warping and twisting... before Cynterra appeared, smiling at him softly. She raised a hand, then motioned for him to follow... and the Drakkaren did so curiously, watching as she floated backwards at the same speed he moved. He hesitated a moment... but she smiled and beckoned again as she turned and levitated in the air, before floating quietly off in another direction, and Zerrex smiled faintly to himself before shrugging a bit and following despite his misgivings.

He leapt from rooftop-to-rooftop, slid down to run along ledges he never would have noticed otherwise, and walked silently beyond patrol guards, almost brushing them but never alerting them as they wandered the streets. Soon enough, he found himself nearing the more densely-populated area of the city, with larger buildings and more spots to hide, more lights to be found by... but a massive steel wall blocked his progress, and for some reason, he didn't think the soldiers standing at the gates, armed with shotguns, would be letting him through anytime soon.

Then Cynterra tapped - or would have, if she wasn't just a ghost in his mind - a half-hidden, broken window behind a dumpster in the alley below... and Zerrex jumped quietly down from the rooftop he was standing on to land beside it. He paused, then carefully slid through as Cherubim Sin floated through the wall with a smile.

He grunted as he almost slipped on a discarded newspaper... then steadied himself and slowly walked across the ruins of what looked like a fire. He also noted a pair of double doors that Cherubim was standing by... and then she slid through them, and Zerrex followed, forcing one of the doors open with a hard nudge of his shoulder, and blinked as he stepped into a long ballroom. He slowly made his way down this, towards Cynterra at the other end... and he could swear that real phantasms, not just memory-ghosts from his mind, brushed around him, whispered to him, and danced eternally in his haunted place... before Drake murmured: They must have shut down this place when they set up the Curtains... it looks like this hall travels right through the wall separating the sectors.

Zerrex laughed quietly as he nodded slowly, approaching the other end of the hall... and then blinked when Cynterra floated upwards to sit neatly on the edge of a hole in the roof. The Drakkaren made a bit of a face at this, but the wall here was broken and uneven, so it wasn't too difficult for him to climb up and slip out, before he leapt to the next roof and landed in a roll with a grunt. He straightened, then brushed himself slowly off before Cherubim beckoned for him to move. The Drakkaren was about to, before blinking and ducking behind a crate as he heard loud footsteps.

He couldn't see anyone, however, and he frowned as he peered around... before slowly looking up and realizing there was a large, raised wooden patio above this roof, and a guard was slowly patrolling along it. The lizard winced, then bolted for Cynterra, who quickly dropped out of the air and into an alleyway, and Zerrex skidded over the edge before snagging a metal drainage pole and sliding down it with a loud squeaking sound.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to attract any extra attention, and then the Drakkaren turned and followed the female's ghost through a short series of alleyways, then pausing as they reached a main road. The female flittered across it - going right through a guard and causing herself to faze in and out of reality for a few moments, making Zerrex wince at the static distortion it caused - before motioning quickly for him to follow. The reptile hesitated, made a face, then sighed and sprinted across the wide main road, hating the fact it was fully lit and the guard patrolling slowly down it. These guards were wearing mesh vests, too, which would be a bitch to deal with in close combat because the metal rings hurt like crap to punch... before he glanced up to catch a smile from Cynterra. Then she blew him a kiss as she pointed a plain steel door... and vanished.

He blinked... then shook his head slowly and carefully went through the camouflaged, rusted door in the stone wall... and descended a set of narrow stairs, wincing at the water dripping from the ceiling. He touched the banister, and found it was mossy, drawing his hand quickly back... and even the stone under his feet felt moist.

He stepped out into what could have been a sewage passage... except it was long abandoned. And Drake laughed quietly before murmuring in his head: It's an old aqueduct... except this one was used for transportation. During the Great War between Hez'Ranna and the civilized world... I guess that'd be the first, this would be the second War on the World... Hez'Ranna soldiers used to transport their supplies to and from secret military bases and stage attacks on enemies inside and outside the city by using these... there's only a few access points left, and I'm sure the water's stagnant or gone by now...

Drake was right about that, at least. When Zerrex walked forwards along the narrow cement pathway along the edge of the rectangular trench through which water flowed in a Z-shape, he saw there was only a puddle of murky water left... and a glance down the one arm of the trench showed that the sluice-gate was firmly shut. He had no idea what was on the other side... but the reptile thought he'd keep it in mind, asking quietly: "You have the maps for this area memorized? The aqueducts, I mean." I should... give me a few minutes. I got a lot of shit to sort through.

Zerrex nodded a bit, then he turned and walked deeper into the aqueduct, rounding a corner to find... another short branch, then a dead end with another closed steel shutter. A peer into the murky water, and the reptile made a face at the strange crabs he saw lurking in the trench, walking threatening back and forth and clacking their claws at him. He leaned away, then turned around and blinked as he saw a rusted metal door... before shrugging a bit and letting himself through.

He stepped into some sort of management office... that had been completely redesigned into a private one-room soldier's bachelor pad. Or rather, bachelorette pad, as Zerrex recognized who this place had to belong to, especially after catching sight of a few worn pictures of Cherry on the wall. He smiled a bit to himself, walking over to these and looking at them silently as the door swung shut behind him on the pneumatic hinge... then he sighed softly and lowered his gaze, putting his hands out to rest on the table in front of himself and looking quietly down at the candles on the table, before glancing up at the faintly-flickering light. There was no switch on the wall... but that was okay. He liked the light... he had spent too much of his life in darkness, anyway.

The reptile took another glance around the room, sizing up what there was: a desk with drawers he'd have to search, pressed against the wall with all the half-melted candles... a few shelves stocked with odds and ends, everything from toilet paper to a few guns and ammo... a shotgun sat in the corner... there was a plain mattress and some sheets and pillows thrown haphazardly into one corner, slumped and broken, but still comfortable-looking... and a plain dresser that had a top stacked with all manner of crap, including what looked like a satanic altar. Zerrex stared at this mildly for a few moments, then coughed and shook his head. "Whatever."

He turned and inspected the drawers next. Paper, matches, some files, some more boxes of ammo, and... unsurprisingly... a good bit of porn, some of it extremely sadistic and kinky. The reptile paused, then took out one of the magazines to browse later for his own personal amusement... then frowning a bit as he realized there was something beneath the stack of porno mags.

He picked them up... and then blinked and pulled out a heavy steel lockbox. Not that it was any problem for him... he looked back and forth, then raised it above his head and was about to slam it into the ground when Drake said drolly: Hey, idiot. What if it's either booby-trapped or there's something fragile in there?

Zerrex's lame mental response was: I like boobies. Then, while Drake was likely staring in horror, he threw the box down into the floor as hard as he could, causing it to pop open as the metal front dented inwards before it fell on its bottom. Zerrex looked down at it... looked back and forth to make sure he wasn't dead... then bent down and carefully opened it... before laughing faintly and slowly withdrawing one of Cherry's prized weapons, murmuring quietly: "Wow... now how the hell did she get a hold of you?"

It was a deadly whip of sharpened chain links and a fitted metal grip that felt... almost perfect and right in Zerrex's hand right now, with the size he had shrunk down to. It also ended in a vicious hook that would tear huge gouges out of pretty much anything it was snapped against... and Zerrex gently put this aside for now, smiling faintly. He wasn't so good with that style of weapon... but Cherry had taught him enough that he thought it would more than suffice. I'll have to take care of it, though... Cherry will want it back.

He laughed a bit to himself, closing his eyes... and hating the fact he was starting to accept, starting to know that he may be deluding himself. He hated how... Marina and Cindy and Cherry were all... almost fading from his mind, as he was focusing more and more on revenge to fill the black hole in his heart was trying so goddamn hard to pretend wasn't there... before he sighed and shook his head, murmuring quietly: "They'll be fine... Cherubim said herself, Cherry's alive. Maybe messed up, but still alive, and that's the first step."

He nodded a bit to himself, then glanced up when Drake spoke up in his head. I figured out the map of the waterworks, too, and where we must be... one of the residential districts, probably sector twenty. I also think I know how we can get into the military sector where all the facilities are located... specifically, I think we can break in through a training facility for the clone soldiers. The only use of the aqueducts these days is for waste and water dumping, so a few of them still connect to say, oversized pools or fountains...

"So we'll go in through the maintenance area. Pretty classic." Zerrex murmured, nodding a bit to himself as he picked up the shotgun in the corner of the room, then walked over and sat on the bed, idly looking it over and sizing it up as a modified twelve gauge, pump-action riot control shotgun for blasting down mobs. "How far am I going to have to wade through... crabs and crap?"

Three klicks northwest... the tunnels don't make a straight line to the place I'm thinking of, though, so we'll say... four and a half? I'd bet the water is nice and low the whole way, though, so it shouldn't take more than an hour, maybe an hour and a half to there. Drake replied, then paused. I don't know much about the layouts of the facilities themselves, though. I've only got general Hez'Ranna information in me. All my time spent in any facility was in that fucking air-sealed sphere, which was inside that fucking armored briefcase... which spent most of its time in a safe.

"Pleasant. Sounds like you really were the favorite of the bunch." Zerrex muttered, checking to see if the shotgun was empty or not and electing a snort of amusement from Drake. "Just guide me in the general direction, and I'll do the rest." A pause, then he added quietly: "And if we come across it, we'll get your physical half back tomorrow while we lay waste to Narrius's facilities, before I attack the Estate."

Drake seemed almost stunned... before he smiled in Zerrex's mind and nodded in return. He seemed to struggle for a moment - Zerrex could almost feel the mental war going on inside his head... which was... technically in his own head as well - before saying finally: Thank you... Boss. Just make sure we get through alive... and that your family doesn't slow us down when you free them.

Zerrex grinned to himself as he put down the shotgun, standing up and walking over the shelf to snag one of the handguns: insulting as it might sound at first, it was really the first time Drake had admitted in a real chance that his family may still be alive... and for that, the reptile was grateful.