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Twenty-six days after Paradise rose from Uroboros, Zerrex and Cherry held a quiet meeting together in the back room, while Marina was off on her strange reconnaissance duty through the city and Cindy was in Uroboros... and Mahihko down in the kitchens, bouncing around in a mechanic's uniform and singing, annoying the other chefs as he peeled potatoes. None of them would kick him out, however... he was the only person willing to deal with the huge stacks of dishes that piled up in the back room, wash out all the trays, and still prepare the potato salad... all without asking for any money or food credits. So he was a necessary evil there... necessary to save the asses of the others, at least, from whichever circle of Hell forced eternal, unending labor.

Cherry and Zerrex, however, had a serious discussion for a change instead of the usual sex and screaming and beating on each other: Cherry, obviously, thought she had a good idea... but Zerrex was pessimistic about it. Finally, however, the older female was able to convince him, saying that they could hold trials, see who else they could draw out, and that at worst, it would just be... a 'family business.' Zerrex responded he didn't want to put his family through that... and Cherry had beaten him with the gentle reply: "But right now there's a war going on, Boss. So we either do this... or we sit on the sidelines and continue to play politics and twiddle our thumbs while Paradise floats out there... and by the way, I don't think it's going to run out of fuel anytime soon. I think you should at least suggest it to Albatross and Huck."

That had caused the Drakkaren to relent, sighing and nodding... and later that night, when Huck was back in the base after recalibrating the magnetic shields in Uroboros and putting his mechanics to work on the various military vehicles they could use, the reptile had asked them to meet him in one of the conference rooms.

Zerrex had carefully chosen his words for this, prepared almost a speech... but once Huck and Albatross were sitting at the desk, he promptly forgot everything he was supposed to do and basically said: "I'd like to reform the Goth Legion, under my command."

The two had stared at him in shock, and Zerrex had winced - never a good sign - before babbling away: "Well... you know, I think it'd be a good idea. Actually, I guess I don't, that's sorta a lie... Cherry convinced me, though. She wants a special unit, under its own command, takes its own orders, to work separately from Churchill's GA and the other rebel forces. It'd be composed mainly of my own family group... we're all freaks of nature, so, you know, classic Goth Legion stuff there... and um... we could hold test sessions to recruit some others, five others, I think... or six... something, whatever adds up to eleven of us, a platoon and commander..."

He broke off, then rubbed the back of his head as the two Dragokkaren stared at him. Huck was slowly rubbing at his cheek, leaving a long grease mark... and Albatross had taken off his hat, put it in his lap, and was carefully, quietly adjusting his eyepatch, staring at Zerrex with his single lavender eye lit with something like amazement at the reptile's behavior. Then the two Dragokkaren exchanged a look, and said simultaneously: "Only if you get Churchill to agree to it."

Zerrex groaned and slapped his forehead, then muttered: "Some Commanders you are." A pause as Albatross glowered at him and Huck looked thoughtful, then grinned and shrugged amiably. "So you don't have a problem with that?"

"Don't pillage, loot, or rape people in Uroboros, though." Albatross said mildly, then he paused and added: "And you'll have to use either on-site preparation or dig through the ruins of some of the military centers in the areas of the city that have been damaged by bombing runs. I'm afraid we can't afford to give up any of our armament... at least, not until Huck gets the weapons plants repaired."

The untidy Dragokkaren grunted in acknowledgement, then paused. "Well, you can take your basic equipment with you, I guess. I think all Albossatross is saying is that you can't snag an excess of something. I'm afraid you'll have to teach your unit how to procure weapons, ammo, and tools on site... I mean, we're doin' okay in terms of basic supplies right now, but I'm afraid I can't ration you guys more than two first-aid packs once you build up the teams." A pause, and then he asked curiously: "So you, Cherry, Marina... but what about that weird-ass wolf who runs the kitchens and Lady Cindy? She doesn't exactly seem the combat type, after all."

At this, Zerrex smiled slightly, then shook his head a bit. "I'm going to give Lone... I mean, Mahihko... a test run. He's skittish, but he used to be pretty good with guns... could outdraw me, once upon a time. If he passes my little test, I'll get Marina or Cherry to teach him how to snipe and give him some basic close-combat training.

"As for Cindy..." Zerrex laughed a bit and shook his head slowly, saying softly: "She was once kidnapped and held hostage for a week by my uncle, Requiem Narrius... a very, very different person from his brother, and my own mentor." He paused and added gently: "That's why she was so pissed off at that meeting we had to discuss the findings on the soldiers. It sounds weird, but he kidnapped her just to test me, and he never harmed her... they even became friends, I guess you could say. He also taught her a few things, some of the same rules about honor and warfare that he taught me... and I know she watched him train and that he helped her with a few things there, too. Hardened her up, taught her that we all have to do what's right, even when it hurts better than even I did.

"She's very girly, yeah. And she acts more like a high school geek sometimes than a trained fighter... but she's got a hell of a strong arm on her and I'd bet you a week's watch duty she could kick your ass."

"You're on." Huck said immediately, then he grinned widely and rested back in his chair as Zerrex looked at him blankly and Albatross shot him a glare. "I mean, I'm the last person to wanna pick on cute girls... but hey, you're that confident, then I'll gladly test her for you." He nodded, looking cheerful as he smiled serenely up at Zerrex, who was beginning to grin a bit now himself. "What?"

Zerrex shrugged, then said mildly: "So, Cindy should be getting back from her duties soon then, right? You want to see if she's up for this tonight?"

Huck looked perturbed at this, then he shrugged a bit and said as airily as he could manage: "Well, you know, normally I'd want some rest after a long, hard day... but sure, sure, no problem."

"If she beats you down, you still have to do your work in the city." Albatross said mildly. "No sucking your thumb and hiding in the infirmary for a week until you're all healed up. And you'll have to use your breaks during the day to take on watch duty for Paradise from one of the towers."

"I know, I know!" Huck looked ruffled at this, then he sniffed. "Thanks for showing such confidence in me, Cyclops."

"I hate you." Albatross rolled his eye, then he stood and glanced down at his watch. "Come on, let's see if Cindy's back with the rest of the medics and science staff, then. We have enough time to stop in for supper, too, if we hurry."

Huck grinned at this, hopping out of his chair and prancing towards the door. "Sweet ass! Food, fighting and sleep! My favorite combination." A pause as he pushed open the door, leaning backwards and tilting his head back with his spine arched, one leg raised high and sticking out the open door. "Hey, you guys coming, or what? And stop staring at me like I'm a frigging-"

"Fairy." Albatross finished, and Huck covered his face in mock pain before bouncing out of the room and jogging off towards the cafeteria. The blue-scaled Dragokkaren sighed, then looked at Zerrex mildly, who shrugged a bit and rubbed a hand over his head. "I hope your daughter kicks the stupid out of him, but I don't think even you could do that."

Half an hour later, Zerrex was gently murmuring encouraging words to Cindy after a small meal, as she made a face and stood inside the ring, looking worriedly over at Huck, who was prancing around in his torn jeans and filthy tank top, flexing here and there and winking at people as soldiers cheered and gathered around the boxing ring. Finally, she sighed a bit, then reached down and carefully took off the spiked bracelets she was wearing, handing them to her father before glancing down at her motorcycle boots.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Huck asked curiously, halting in his movement to peer over at Cindy. He had already worked up a light sweat just making an ass out of himself for the other soldiers, as Zerrex carried off her gear and combat boots. "Do I needa do that too?"

"No, I just don't want to hurt you too much." Cindy said apologetically, then she adjusted the spiked collar she wore, before brushing off her exercise top - drawing Huck's leer to her breasts for a moment as she swept at them idly - and then her tight jeans, before touching the large clasp on her belt; it was a Hez'Ranna Double Standard, and Zerrex would never understand why she chose to wear that, of all things. "Should I take this off too, Daddy?"

Huck cackled at this, clapping his hands and leaning forwards with a grin before Zerrex could answer. "Depantsing, depantsing! Yes, take it all off, babe!" Then he laughed raucously again and ran around in a short circle, and Cindy turned a flat glare on him, eyes narrowed in irritation: the larger, bare-chested male rubbed at his swastika tattoo and decided he didn't need to answer that question. He also paused to wonder mildly how Huck had ever survived as a soldier, but figured his bravado made a good mask for his real talent and abilities.

Albatross, standing at the side of the ring, glanced back and forth, then he cleared his throat and said mildly: "At position." Huck immediately stopped and took up a light streetfighting stance in his corner, and Cindy rubbed the back of her head, but Zerrex noted that she kept her body loose, and that her free hand tensed and curled into a claw. "Medical technician Cindy Narrius versus Commander Jim Huckleberry... this is a no-rules contest of strength. First to declare surrender or be forced into submission loses. Please don't kill or maim each other." Albatross added the last with a bit of a sigh, rolling his eyes as if he realized that both were likely too stubborn to admit defeat easily, despite Cindy's nervous demeanor. Then he rose a hand, and said curtly: "Begin."

Immediately, Huck straightened and beat on his chest with a cackle, saying loudly: "Hey, girl, I'm sorry, but I get to give all my watch duties to Zerrex for a week after I beat you down!" A pause, then he grinned and charged forwards, cocking a fist back and saying cheerfully: "So, I'm really sorry to-"

Cindy immediately stepped forwards with lightning precision, free hand snapping out before she turned and threw Huck past her, sending him staggering into the ropes at the edge of the ring... then he squealed when she snagged his neck, dropped onto her back and yanked him down with her, then kicked him in the back with both feet and sent him flying in a lazy arc through the air to crash down on his face. Before he could do anything, Cindy rolled backwards and pushed off the ground with her hands to land in a graceful straddle on top of his spine, grabbed his head and one arm, then shoved the first down into the ground and pulled the other up into the center of his back. Immediately, Huck flailed his other hand and began to squeal girlishly, and Cindy winced and said in an awkward, embarrassed voice: "Sorry, Mr. Huckleberry. I know this hurts..." A pause, and she yanked his arm a bit higher as she kept his head stuck on the floor, Huck's eyes bulging as he slammed his other fist against the ground and kicked his feet wildly. "So can you please give up?" Another pause, and an even higher pull that made Huck's bones crack as he squealed louder, tears coming to his eyes. "Pretty please?"

Then the Dragokkaren suddenly opened his wings, and Cindy grunted in surprise, immediately letting go and throwing herself backwards, her powerful legs propelling her in an arching flip with her arms held out at her sides, landing on her feet gracefully... but wincing. Huck's tail had slapped upwards at the last moment and managed to redden her cheek from the force of the strike... and she rubbed at this as soldiers murmured in amazement at the handless backwards flip the female had done. Then she blushed a bit when Zerrex smiled warmly at her and gave her a thumbs-up, as Huck rolled his shoulder and struggled up to his feet, before turning and glowering at her. "You suck!"

"You're the one who challenged me." Cindy responded mildly, looking almost hurt as she touched her face. "What, don't enjoy getting beaten up by girls?"

"No!" Huck's squawk was comically indignant, then he ran at her and threw himself forwards in a tackle... and Cindy winced as Zerrex grinned, watching her allow him to collide with her body.

Huck looked triumphant... until he felt the knee collide with his chest as Cindy arched her back, half-flipping backwards, and the Dragokkaren grunted in surprise, his wings spasming beneath him and one flopping out of place, slapping against the ground as he landed heavily on his back, the other crumpled painfully underneath his body. He whined loudly as she grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, looking down at him mildly as she leaned forwards, other leg out at the side as she said mildly: "You're way too direct. Straight movements like that are easy to counter... and you're not strong enough or agile enough to hold me down."

"Bitchtard!" He grumbled loudly, and then squealed when Cindy brought her knee up under his chin. "I apologize!"

"Good." She paused... then grinned a bit, leaning down and asking in a gentle voice: "So are you going to surrender now?"

Huck looked at her thoughtfully... then grinned stupidly in return and suddenly leaned up to kiss her mouth. Cindy immediately drew back with a little shriek of surprise, then she let out a grunt when Huck shoved her hard in the stomach with both hands before leaping forwards to try and pounce on her again: but as he sailed through the air, Cindy's powerful legs snapped up and around his neck, and he was jerked down with a grunt as she rolled her body and slammed him to the ground, head caught in a scissors as she snapped angrily: "That's a dirty trick, you perverted bastard!"

Huck, meanwhile, was gagging and grasping at her legs, mouthing wordlessly as his legs spasmed against the ground, and Zerrex winced a bit, rubbing the back of his head. Huck had just found the one way to piss her off... and then the Dragokkaren rasped, body jerking again as Cindy tightened her grip and added in a furious voice: "I'd bust your balls if I wasn't such a nice person, you asshole! Like, what the hell? This isn't supposed to be a sex-fest, just an even, no-bars fight... but even things without rules have some etiquette involved, you dumbass!" A pause, then she winced as she realized he was beginning to turn blue, and she quickly loosened her grip and rolled backwards to a crouch, adding embarrassedly: "Oops. Sorry, Mr. Huckleberry. I got carried away."

The Dragokkaren showed no signs of hearing; instead, he clawed at his throat, gasping for air before sprawling on his back, looking dazed and stupefied, his fingers giving a few twitches. Zerrex winced - he didn't think that Huck had been oxygen-deprived for that long... but seeing as his brain already seemed to have trouble functioning, it could very well be that little extra bit knocked him over the edge. Cindy looked at this blankly, then Albatross said mildly: "It looks like we have a definite winner here. Congratulations, Cindy Narrius... and Huck, looks like you're on watch duty for the next week or so."

The next day - twenty-seven days after Paradise rose - Zerrex travelled with Cindy and Marina to Uroboros by the private car system they had running in the tunnels, small, squat ugly things that nonetheless moved quite fast, driven by civilians who wanted to help out the military and the Rebel forces. Many other civilians had taken up residence in the barracks and the bottom areas of the facility with the soldiers, or had been evacuated into the safer outskirts of the city or the shielded districts for their protection. This had been something Huck had been insistent on... and now ninety percent of the civilians shared cramped but safe quarters, with only a few remaining in the other damaged buildings of the city: even here, however, they were protected to a degree by the variety of anti-air artillery and mobile cannons Huck had gotten up and running. They had turned weapons of destruction into tools of protection... but no one lied about the fact they wouldn't return to their original purpose when the time came for a full-out strike against the Patriach, who was still oddly silent, still seeming to gather his forces - even other cities reported no strikes or raids, and long-range broadcasts from the rest of the world also detailed only minimal patrols and operations that were actively allowing for them to push back in several key areas and form their own resistance factions.

While Cindy and Marina went to do their various duties, Zerrex met with Churchill in what had once been a major genetics facility, but Churchill had changed it to his base after getting his soldiers to clear out the corpses and clean up the wreckage, citing that it was a soldier's responsibility to rebuild from the mess wars had made as much as cause destruction. Zerrex personally thought it was only because the facility was full of bomb-proofed shutters and had its own explosive-resistant design, and there was a bomb shelter fifteen levels beneath the ground, more than a kilometer below the earth and secured from any kind of explosion.

Churchill, of course, was on the third floor, in the highest, cushiest office, wearing his combat armor and with not one, but two computer terminals on either side of him, and a massive In/Out box on the top corner of his neat - if somewhat bloody - desk. He also had a set of tropical plants, all manner of filing cabinets, and a veritable library of books stuffed into the selves around him, as he rested back in an expensive leather chair he had stolen from somewhere else. His office was also guarded by a line of six GA Elites that lined the hallway leading to his office in pairs... a thermal camera system and a manually-controlled turret with a heavy machine gun inside it over the door... and two more guards standing behind two metal squares. These were clear on the soldier's side, allowing them to observe enemy movements if they were ever attacked while remaining safely crouched behind the thick shields of metal: Zerrex disliked the construction, however. Sure, great against guns... but one frag grenade and they'd blow open the door, take out the cameras, destroy the turret and kill both guards.

Zerrex had passed through this obscenely-guarded hallway without much trouble, however, and had even explained his idea to Churchill clearly and concisely, using big words every now and then like 'tantamount' and fancy phrases like 'bypassing identified risk and vulnerability.' Churchill had eaten it up, of course... but Zerrex thought he'd only gotten permission because he'd also mentioned - just in passing - that it would mean he'd have to step down from being one of the commanding officers of the resistance movement to concentrate full time on his own team. He also forgot to mention the fact he'd be working apart from the rest of the military and wouldn't be reporting to anyone except the council they'd set up... most of which would be composed of members of his elite team, and the only voices other than Churchill Huck and Albatross.

After dealing with these politics - and feeling so dirty that he'd need an hour-long bath to get the moral filth off his body - the reptile had made an announcement to all interested personnel about the tryouts for an elite team that currently had six open positions. The tryouts would be held tonight, in the Great Hall above the barracks... it meant that people who wanted to join up would have to quickly find someone to cover for them if on duty.

Zerrex made the same announcement back in Headquarters... and then he'd radioed the others after confirming with Albatross they could take the night off: Huck, currently, was grumbling as he sat on top of the watchtower, but he'd be permitted to view the possible candidates with the other higher officers, so he couldn't bitch too much about losing the bet or that he was being excluded from everything.

That night, Zerrex stood with the others, hands behind his back, as he looked over the one-hundred and thirty-two applicants: a surprisingly-large turnout, despite the amount of soldiers Zerrex knew there were in the base. These were the elite of the elite... and even though he could see a lot of the replicated Dragokkaren soldiers - they preferred being called the Children of the Queen Mother over clones, so Zerrex was trying to avoid using that term - he noted that these all looked a bit more hardened than a lot of the others, or maybe just confused in some cases.

Behind him, in a line, stood Cherry, Cindy, Marina, and Mahihko. The first three were straight-backed and proud, muzzles tilted up, and hands locked behind their backs, legs slightly spread at shoulder width... and Mahihko was blushing with his head lowered, rubbing the back of his skull and shifting awkwardly back and forth. Zerrex had said they should all figure out what they were most comfortable in to serve as their standard wear - the Goth Legion had never taken a specific uniform except on very special occasion when they'd do something nice in public... they had been such a damn cult.

Therefore, they all stood in different, easy wear... and the soldiers before them were permitted to be in either plainclothes or uniforms that weren't as neat as would usually be expected, although most of them were so used to this discipline by now that their shirts were tucked, clothes were tight, and no straps were loose. They had all been forced to get rid of their armament however... and all manner of handgun, rifle, and ammunition were placed at the side of the area, along with an arsenal of kwaibars and combat knives. Zerrex was currently glancing over his applicants as he paced slowly back and forth... then he said clearly: "You will be placed through a number of trials, whatever I deem appropriate, until only six of you remain. You may be injured... you may even die during these tests." Zerrex's emerald eyes were cold, as he glanced slowly over the group, watching many of them shift uncomfortably: this was the first test, although he was sure many of them didn't they understand that yet. "When the first version of this group was formed and tested, there were only a hundred applicants from the army of Ire, which boasted both greater numbers and better training than all of you here." He let a bit of vanity creep into his voice, watching the different reactions in the group to his patronization: anger, frowns, uncertain shifting, worry, even fear. "Everyone I look at here could be worthless. Could be useless... and would never have survived the first rigorous set of tests." A pause as he let that sink in, then he added in a voice he made arrogant and disgusted: "But you're the best scraps we have to work with."

Playacting had its advantages: for example, the way some of the soldiers riled up, the way some of them slumped and winced, the way some of them grew angry and others shrank away. Zerrex wanted to get rid of the cowards first... the people who would be useless in a combat situation, and the moles he knew Churchill would likely have tried to slip in from his GA unit - these were easy to pick out, because they all looked pissed off, all were in tight uniforms, and they often stood in pairs that were scattered here and there through the lined up soldiers. He paused, then added idly: "The first test will chop your numbers in half."

This had the effect of horror he hoped it would, as he struggled to make himself seem distant and uninterested, letting a murmur roll through the crowd before explaining, as his four soldiers - Marina having to tug Mahihko away with her, surprising him out of his stupor - walked to stand at one side of the room. "You'll first be ordered to fight each other at random... to the death, if I deem it necessary." This wasn't true, but it was crucial they thought he was serious for this first small test. "Kill or be killed is the law in this test. But because I'm so generous, I'm going to first give you the chance to leave if you want." He paused and grinned coldly, idly glancing over the others before asking in a mild voice: "So, who wants to leave? Who would rather make sure they can have a pleasant sleep in their warm bunk tonight... instead of being forced to fight and perhaps even kill their friends, their comrades, their fellow soldiers? Who would rather go have a warm meal instead of perhaps getting to eat only someone else's fist?"

After ten minutes of waiting, more than half the soldiers had been dismissed, leaving only fifty-three soldiers. Then Zerrex had glanced through this group idly, noted that some trembled but no one else had left... and said mildly: "Good work. You group pass the first test."

This had sent a tremble through the crowd, and many of them had yelled questions... before Zerrex had risen a hand and shouted in a cold, carrying voice: "Shut up!" A pause as they stared at him with horror... then he'd grinned and waggled a finger slowly. "I still demand respect... but I can understand your surprise, so I'll let it pass.

"To answer the question most of you obviously have, it was a simple choice: easy path, or hard path. Take the mission or don't, in other words... even if you might run the risk of fighting one of your friends, or having to give up an ally to continue forwards. The worst kind of risk." He shook his head slowly, then added clearly: "But people who aren't willing to risk everything, are cowards that we don't need in this group; unfortunately, being part of this special unit does mean that we're going to have to face the worst of all odds... and I honestly don't expect all of you to survive to the end of the war. Some may be killed... some may be captured. But no matter what, we have to make the right choice, take the right path. Sometimes it means saving our friends instead of finishing the current mission... but in our final push, the sad truth is that we can't always stop to bring a dying comrade back to base. We may have to push on without our friends.

"It's the worst thing in the world... but it's something I have to prepare you for. That, and I notice many of you are members of the Children... don't you think you'll encounter your brothers and sisters, traitors maybe to the Queen, but still your siblings?" he shook his head slowly. "The worst part about this war... is that we are fighting our own. Our own soldiers who have been corrupted by the dark ideals of the Patriarch.

"But despite all this... do you have the right to say no, as a soldier? Do you have the right to deny a mission, simply because it's unpleasant, if you truly want to defend your country? No. No matter what else... we have to rise up, and we have to move forwards." Zerrex said firmly, nodding and crossing his arms. "Cowards unwilling to take on their duties simply because they find war unpleasant are not welcome in our unit."

Then he paused, and glanced over at Marina, who was smiling slightly, her arms crossed as she rested against the wall. Cherry was still grinning and looking proudly at Zerrex, giving him a thumbs-up... then he glanced back at his youngest daughter, and a moment later he felt a number enter his mind: Marina had been keeping track of the soldiers who had left. The Drakkaren nodded his thanks to her, then turned back to the soldiers, who were muttering amongst themselves now: fifty-three... nineteen female, thirty-four males. Not bad.

"We'll now begin the second test, which will be the one-on-one battles." The Drakkaren turned and headed towards the walls, then said idly as he saw Huck, Albatross and Churchill staring at him: "Commander Huck will serve as the combatant for the soldier at the end of the line. Everyone else, turn to the person next to you and pair yourselves up."

Huck glowered at him at this, as Albatross held back a snort and Churchill looked oddly relieved - Zerrex hadn't expected the last to show up - then, as the Dragokkaren stumped past him to a large, nervous-looking clone soldier, the grease-stained reptile muttered: "You're hardcore, aren't you?"

"Just a bit." Zerrex responded casually, then he turned once he reached the wall, commanding the first pairing to step forwards and the others to retreat. He knew they'd likely switch up their pairings... but it didn't matter. The only goal of this test was to halve the soldiers again based on their close-combat ability... after this, they'd be switching to another test the Drakkaren had devised.

The duels went fairly well, Zerrex halting the battle once one soldier proved their superiority by pinning or simply beating down the other, then dismissing the wounded soldier after Cindy took care of whatever minor or medium wounds they had - one or two sustained broken bones, but that was the worst of it. Huck, once more, managed to get his ass handed to him... and then the Drakkaren looked over the twenty-seven remaining soldiers and put forwards another test that seemed simple enough: they were to sprint across the hall, and Marina would time them. Any soldier that failed to complete the sprint in eight minutes would be dismissed immediately.

They all looked curious at this: the hall was wide, but it would be the work of two, maybe three minutes at the most for any of the soldiers to make their way across at a full run. Zerrex then grinned as Cherry walked into the middle of the room, explaining mildly: "Cherry will be delaying you by whatever means she deems appropriate." A pause and he added: "Good luck."

Cherry - dressed in her spiked greaves, stretchy leather pants, and a bikini top under a loose leather jacket - probably looked rather short of threatening... especially with the flexible metal slave collar she wore, and the way she was leering at people, despite the handgun hanging on one hip and the chain whip on the other. The first, a large Dragokkaren, stepped forwards, then grinned as he looked cockily at Cherry, saying clearly: "Sorry, but I'm the fastest here..."

"Good for you." Cherry said mildly... then, when Zerrex said start, she immediately grabbed him by the arm and neck, slamming him down into the concrete before he could so much as blink, and he lay groggily on the ground for a few moments as she stepped back and crossed her arms, adding cheerfully: "Oh gee. Looks like I'm still faster."

As he climbed to his feet, she kicked him in the gut and knocked him onto his back with a groan... then rolled her eyes when Zerrex cleared his throat, stepping away and holding up her hands with a sigh and mumbling as the other soldiers stared in horror: "Fine fine. After I knock you down... you get a ten count to get up and run."

The Dragokkaren, however, didn't make it even halfway across the room: Cherry successively slammed him into the ground time and time again, until he curled up in the fetal position and yelled his surrender through a bloody jaw, shivering in the middle of the floor. He refused medical attention, staggering out down the hall instead, flushed and humiliated, and from that point on, the rest of the group was decidedly polite to Cherry.

One brave, enterprising Drakkaren was taken down a quarter of the way across the room by a long tackle... and as he got up with a grunt, he complimented the female. Cherry didn't look flattered, but she did grin a bit... and then as he jogged lightly, he continued to babble to the female, who was watching him with amusement... and didn't realize until too late that they were almost at the other wall. She immediately lunged at him, but the Drakkaren put on a burst of speed and fled into the wall at the opposite side, then slumped down it, looking terrified as Cherry glowered at him and stomped over to him... then grudgingly offered a hand and growled that he'd done well. A turn on the cheering crowd, and she shouted angrily she wasn't going to fall for that trick again.

Seventeen soldiers made the long journey... several of these souls battered and bruised. Then Cherry wandered back over to the line and leaned in close to mutter to Zerrex: "None of these punks have much potential..."

"Now, now, we didn't start off very good either." Zerrex reminded her gently, patting her on the shoulder as she looked up at him with a bit of a disgusted frown: her way of showing concern about something. "We'll stop playing games with them when we actually have our six soldiers."

"These are games?" Huck stared, rubbing at his bandaged muzzle and wincing. "Holy shit. Why don't you just go and like, clone yourselves or something then, and we'll send a few of you to go... kill every bad dude in the world and the rest to sink Paradise tomorrow before lunch?"

"Huck, we are the bad dudes." Cherry said cheerfully, winking to him as she wrapped her arms around Zerrex's neck and ground her body forwards against him, licking at his throat and making the Drakkaren cough and blush a bit as he patted Cherry on the back... then slowly pried her off his body. She grinned up at him... then turned serious once more as she glanced down the line at Mahihko, who was looking a bit nervous. "Is he ready?"

Cindy was kneeling by the wolf, who was actually dressed in carefully-hemmed clothing for a female officer - not because it had the same stretchy properties, but because the wolf had blushingly admitted he liked 'looking pretty.' He also had dyed the end of his tail pink in some weird paint stuff he'd found in one of the city's ruined markets when Zerrex had taken him on a patrol through Uroboros a few days ago... and had a bright ribbon tied around his tail as well. He looked embarrassed, and was currently shaking his head as he adjusted his puffy pants... before Cindy looked up at Zerrex and shook her head quickly.

Zerrex nodded back, then glanced at Marina, who gave her own motion of consent. Even Cherry looked at Mahihko with concern she hid with an expression of contempt that didn't quite reach her eyes: after all, once she'd realized how hard Lone was fighting - so hard that he wasn't even Lone anymore, and still could only remember bits and pieces of his past - to not be his old self... she'd stopped her threats to rape him and had grudgingly begun referring to him as Mahihko, just like the white-haired reptile did.

Marina had stepped forwards now, and Zerrex relaxed back as she said mildly: "Everyone present, please go and pick up two weapons from the pile there. Handgun and assault rifle, please." She motioned to these, and Churchill frowned, looking distasteful. Zerrex had no doubt firing guns inside was prohibited by some lame code... and he grinned a bit at this. Wait until you see what she wants to do.

A pause, and she glanced over her shoulder at her father, who smiled back at her: sure, he felt some nervousness with what Marina had proposed... but Cherry had taken out a small, round rock she'd found earlier, rubbing it slowly as she closed her eyes and concentrated hard, muttering to him: "Just tell me when you need me to keep watch, Boss."

They had taken every precaution with this, as the soldiers were ordered to line up... and then Marina said in a firm, fearless voice: "You're going to be timed: in thirty seconds, you are to fire as many rounds as accurately as possible at me, and this will be used to judge your accuracy. Anyone who fires too widely will automatically be dismissed." A pause, and a smile at her father, who returned it encouragingly... and then her voice whispered in his mind: Don't be so scared, Daddy... it'll work out just fine.

Zerrex nodded minutely, then watched the events that unfolded from here: the soldier took aim, and Marina closed her eyes and lowered her head, creating a sticky mental wall in front of her that first slowed, then halted the bullets in midair to avoid them shattering or ricocheting from the repelling force of her mind. Cherry also kept close watch with her precog... then, after a thirty second count, Zerrex called a stop.

Only one soldier was dismissed in total after the first round of this, with Marina at fifty yards... and next, they did it at a hundred yards, with a twenty second count. This got rid of another three... the rest of the soldiers were smart enough to switch to burst or single-shot on their assault rifle, or just use the handguns, recognizing accuracy would be more important than simply how many bullets they could pump into the enemy. This left thirteen soldiers, who looked nervously back and forth at each other.

Mahihko, now, stepped carefully forwards and swallowed a bit, mumbling that he was ready, and Zerrex nodded a bit, patting him gently on the back and encouraging him forwards, and the wolf walked quietly out to the middle of the room. Zerrex looked at him gently, then nodded to Cindy, who walked forwards as well, and the reptile said clearly: "The next fight will be a test of ability: whoever can defeat or knock down their chosen enemy will be the winner. However, you get to choose your opponent... Cindy Delacroix Narrius or Mahihko." Ugh. I need to give him a last name...

Eleven soldiers chose Mahihko, and two Cindy: two males who obviously hadn't seen her show of strength against Huck, who was now cackling and pointing, saying gleefully: "Those assmooks are dead! And I bet those other losers think they got it easy... I've seen what your little pet there can do..."

Marina, meanwhile, walked back over to rest against the wall, wincing a bit... she muttered at Zerrex's concerned look that she just had a slight headache. Zerrex nodded, and glanced at Cherry, who sighed and took up duty of timer, taking the watch from Marina, who gave her a tired smile and slumped back against the wall to slide down to a sitting position with her knees against her chest. Zerrex glanced at the matchups, then asked leisurely: "I'm now confirming these positions... you may not back out of them after this final chance." A pause as everyone stood firm, then he shrugged. "Alright. But oh, one last thing..."

He paused and glanced at Marina, who grinned a bit as she picked up the plain steel pipe they'd brought up for this purpose, and tossed it over to Cindy, nudging it through the air with her mind so that it moved in a flopping arc that the female just caught. She smiled warmly, then turned and bowed, dressed in her usual spiked accessories, a pair of tight black uniform pants, and a comfortable top that was really just one strip of cloth wrapped around and around her body before being knotted easily at the back, covering most of her breasts but little else... then she easily held the pipe up in front of her and bent it in half, causing Huck to gape stupidly and Albatross to look at her with surprise in his lavender iris.

Mahihko, meanwhile, blushed a bit, then he said lamely: "Sorry, guys." A moment later, he closed his eyes, changed his stance, and locked his hands together... before growing ten feet in size and who knew how much in muscular bulk, ending at a rough, sixteen-foot tall, shaggy arctic wolf that vaguely reminded Zerrex of Mengele's larger form in some ways... and he wondered quietly again if the lupine hadn't added some of his own genetic components into the dream body. The wolf blushed a bit still, rubbing the back of his head, body taunt against the clothing that was supposed to be able to stretch with him to any size,' and many of the soldiers stared in horror at their chosen opponent.

"You have to be prepared for any circumstance, especially in a battle." Zerrex said mildly, then he paused and added: "By the way. Anyone who gets knocked off their feet will be dismissed, unless they can recover immediately from the fall to a standing position. This also includes movements that leave you laying vulnerable on the ground. And also note that this is a team-battle, not one-on-one as you may have expected... so please try not to get in each other's way."

"We'll begin with the combat against Cindy, first." Zerrex added, then waved at the others. "Please move to the side of the area for now, Mahihko and company."

The fights didn't last long... Cindy was able to throw the first soldier over her shoulder and slam him into the ground, and Zerrex actually thought the female was a bit nasty to the other soldier, shocking his body with an open palm strike before landing a series of hard blows against his chest, then finishing him with a two palm-push. Of course, this other soldier had spent most of the battle circling around her and trying to provoke her between attempts to hit on her... so that probably had something to do with it.

As he expected, Mahihko was obviously scared stiff at fighting eleven others at once... but even though they brought the defenseless, untalented lupine down, it wasn't without cost to their own number. Mahihko's size, for one, was an obstacle, since now he was as tall as the Children, and equally as strong... and the smaller soldiers - including two canines and a white tiger with those strange bone spikes, obviously from the northern lands - had to avoid being stepped on or knocked over at all times. Finally, they'd managed to simply jerk a flailing Mahihko onto his back, which crushed one of their teammates and accidently flattened him. The Dragokkaren groaned in pain, then crawled away when Mahihko shrank down, his clothes slowly shrinking down as well, but staying a bit puffy and stretched on his body.

Eight soldiers survived. Zerrex smiled slightly at this: in the final test, two would be sent away... and the other six bruised and beaten. He walked forwards now himself as Cindy and Mahihko bowed, idly fluffing the fur of the wolf between his ears as he ran past... and Mahihko blushed deeper, but suddenly looked happy instead of like he was about to cry from the apparently-traumatizing battle. He looked at the eight as they lined up proudly, all of them bruised and battered, grinning and obviously proud of themselves... then he said softly: "Good work... but now the time has come for this last test. As this will be a performance test, you are required to stay until the end, and once everyone has been judged by the other members and the Commanders-" A gesture at the line of others, who were all being handed clipboards with short lists on them, Churchill and Huck dumbly surprised that they had to actually do work, Albatross nodding approvingly... "On an out-of-ten basis... you may leave." A pause, and he rolled his head slowly, then grinned up at them. "You'll be doing one-on-one combat with me... although technically, it's two people."

And now he let Drake have his fun, bowing his head forwards as Drake theatrically stretched out of his back; to be entirely honest, he and the dark nephilim had spent almost an hour discussing how exactly they could do this during the first round of duels, while Marina stared at her father in disbelief at his childlike behavior. One arm... dark goo like blood rained down as a claw seemed to rip free of the darkness... the other soldiers staring in a mix of horror and amazement and Cherry grinning like an idiot, Cindy sighing and Marina rolling her eyes as Drake slowly emerged like a demon out of Hell from Zerrex's upper back as he remained slumped forwards, hiding his dumb grin as Drake crossed his arms, his suit flickering into existence on his body. Then the dark nephilim passed a cold, contemptible gaze over them and said clearly: "My name is Drake... and I'd like to hear your name when you come to face us. I'll do my best to avoid killing you... but I may not be able to withhold the urge, being strung together from darkness and violence as I am." Ooh. Nice. That'll rattle them. "So once you're ready... line up... and prepare to face us and whatever tricks we have prepared."

Then Drake withdrew in a glowing, roiling dark cyclone... and he muttered inside Zerrex's head: So, you think that spooked them?

Dude, that was great. Zerrex nodded mentally and grinned a bit, then he straightened and looked around at the soldiers, motioning for them to back off as he asked easily: "Now... who wants to step forwards first, huh?" A pause, and then he stretched slowly and rose his arms in a ready position. "Give me everything you've got."

As the reptile had expected, he was able to take down every one of the eight soldiers without trouble in a one-on-one confrontation, using his extra ability only for shock value for the most part, or to draw in an opponent and on rare occasion, deal out a finishing move after he'd judged they'd spent enough time fighting him for those judging this competition of sorts to get a good idea of their capabilities. Once he was finished, he walked over to confer with the others, giving his own input on what he'd seen and experienced while fighting them.

At least three of the soldiers had some kind of ability... and two more possible latent powers that would take some training to draw out, but likely existed. The clone soldiers - Children, they're called the Children. Zerrex reminded himself mentally - also all likely had the size-shifting ability... but the Drakkaren didn't want to outfit a team that all had the same ability; for the greatest effect, they needed some variety. Therefore, only the other odd powers were counted in... and they decided to take these five, although it automatically accepted one of the canines into play.

After a few more moments of discussing the last three possible candidates, Zerrex decided on the warrior white tiger; he shared a look with Cherry, and the two smiled at each other - they'd known someone like this youthful warrior before, after all. A few moments later, they announced their decisions, sending away a morbid-looking Dragokkaren and a wolf sidekick... then glanced over the remaining six and told them that they'd start training tomorrow... but their first duty would be to put away the weaponry that had piled up in the room.

And now it was the present, twenty-eight days after Paradise, and Zerrex was standing outside in his black uniform, arguing with Cherry and Cindy about what exactly they were going to call the group. Marina, wearing a uniform similar to her father's, but with the cuffs of her long t-shirt rolled up once to her biceps, and a plain rawhide harness that went over both arms, then formed a T down her back and locked into her belt, was also trying to argue about how they should all wear some kind of plain uniform.

Mahihko was sitting nearby, wearing a white girl's chemise that he'd knotted together in front of his skinny chest, and a plain schoolgirl-style kilt. He also had on a pair of sandals... and Zerrex halted in his argument to look at the wolf as he quietly played his hands through a cluster of wildflowers growing against the wall of the barracks with a small smile on his face. The others ceased to argue as well, for a moment focusing their attention instead on the lupine who had changed so drastically with his transformation.

Who would have been able to predict, after all, that the once homophobic, fag-bashing fatass would one day turn into a flaming little femboi, after all? It made the white-haired Drakkaren smile inwardly as he remembered his reaction to Mahihko approaching him and quietly asking if he could talk to Marina about something... and finding out later that the wolf had wanted to try and 'look prettier' and try on some skirts and other girl's clothing. It had been strangely cute... and Zerrex had encouraged it as best he could when Mahihko had shown him what he was trying out, finally settling on saying firmly he'd beat anyone who picked on the confused little lupine. This, however, was the first time that the wolf had actually attempted to wear something publically...

The reptile could admire the bravery of the wolf, even if he didn't share his taste in clothes... he knew that even though Mahihko didn't have all his memories of Lone, there were things picking at his mind still, bits of the past and angry, dark emotions he'd once used to seal up and repress his more feminine nature. But now Mahihko was doing everything he could to embrace that good, childish side of himself that... loved skirts and flowers and preferred 'cute guys' over hot, slutty girls and guns and muscle. That wanted to actually follow a good path and help other people instead of being a self-serving maggot... and although Zerrex was sure many people would have been disgusted, even horrified by this version of Mahihko... the reptile himself couldn't be happier to see such a change taking place. He'd much rather have this admittedly sometimes awkward to be around Mahihko... than a gun-toting, screaming and crying and falsely-masculine Lone.

Cindy, he thought, shared a special softness for the wolf... she truly respected what he was doing, probably far more than the others. She was the girly-girl of the bunch, after all, with Marina more a military chick than anything else... and Cherry could be termed at times 'a cruel, sadistic bitch.' But even the muscular female had to hide a smile with a sound of disgust when the wolf quietly picked a flower and tucked it behind his ear with a giggle; the sheer happy childishness of the wolf was strangely infectious, girly-boy or not.

"Oh, don't be such a bitch." Cindy reprimanded, and Cherry rolled her eyes, blowing a raspberry at her before Cindy looked back at Zerrex mildly, who was still watching the wolf with a strange bit of affection. "I still think we can't call ourselves the Goth Legion, or something else retarded and uncreative-"

"Hey, fuck you!" Cherry snapped irritably, glaring at the younger female. "What would you have us be, then? The girly-girl band and the bunch of girls?"

"You're a bitch." Marina responded flatly, then glanced up at her father and patted him on the arm gently. "I think we should design a uniform for us all to wear, give ourselves a better team feel, and so we aren't mistaken for enemies by anyone else..."

Cindy nodded at this, patting Marina on the shoulder. "And of course, we should put our own logo or at least something to indicate we're a special forces unit for the rebels on the backs and shoulders of our uniforms..."

"Screw that!" Cherry argued, rounding on the two and glaring back and forth so darkly that she made her younger sisters draw back in surprise. "Part of what we're all about is not following any rules, and that means no uniforms! Look, we do sorta have a dress code, too... everyone wears what they can comfortably bring into combat, what makes them feel best." A pause, and she gestured at herself, in her usual military dominatrix-style leathers and greaves. "See this? It isn't just because I like it and it looks sexy. It's an illustration of who I am: I'm not a pussy like you Cindy, I'm a real nasty cunt, and I'm not afraid to use whatever I have to to get what I want or distract the enemy."

"Bet you used to do a lot of that." Cindy muttered, then winced and drew away when Cherry growled at her. "Okay, okay, fine! We'll stop pushing that... right, Marina?"

The youngest daughter winced as Cherry glowered at her, swaying back a bit and nodding herself as she rose her hands and felt Cindy pat her on the back. "Yeah, yeah, sure. No uniforms." She sulked a bit, then added morosely: "But we really should have a new name."

The muscular, oldest female rolled her eyes and snorted, crossing her arms. "Okay, fine. How about the Stupendously Awesome Deathsquad?"

"The acronym for that is SAD. I don't want to be part of the SAD unit." Marina replied mildly, then squeaked when Cherry swung at her, both the youngest female and her sister Cindy staggering backwards out of the oldest's reach, as she glared at them furiously.

"Stop fighting, kids, or I'll separate you all." Zerrex said mildly, then he put his hands in his pockets, adding absently: "We'll be the Black Raven Elite Division... take the name of Narrius's own elite squadron and throw it back at him, but with a bit of a twist. Black RED." He paused, glancing around at the others curiously. "What?"

"When the hell did you think of this? And why Black Raven?" Cherry asked, frowning a bit and then softening, adding in a quieter voice: "Isn't that the name of..."

"Yeah. But I bet Narrius calls his most elite the Black Rogues, too." Zerrex responded gently, then he glanced around at the others, smiling a bit as Cindy and Marina looked up at him curiously. "When... my father... ran his own military unit, he called his own personal elite unit the Black Rogue Enforcers... soldiers he'd taken and trained himself, put through hell, forged into his personal guards and strongest weapons. And supporting the Black Rogues, were the Black Raven unit, which worked out of New Tears City at the time... the Black Rogues were the muscle, and the Black Raven were used mostly as spies and for assassination missions." A reflective pause. "My middle name and codename... Ravenlight... comes from that. Narrius always meant for me to join the Black Raven unit when I was older... it was his only twisted idea of a father and son working together."

His daughters nodded slowly... then Zerrex glanced up as Mahihko approached, his ears laid back a bit, and looking embarrassed as he murmured quietly: "Well, I think you turned out way better than he is." A pause and a blush as the wolf scraped a sandaled foot against the ground: much as the lupine preferred to walk around in his bare paws, the sand of this desert was probably too hot and certainly too full of shrapnel for him to toddle around safely in just his naked feet.

Zerrex looked down at him softly, then gave a nod and murmur of thanks before glancing up to see the six candidates they'd chosen yesterday coming towards them. Three of the Dragokkaren were in plain uniform combat boots, pants, and short-sleeved shirt, with one of them wearing an additional plain uniform cap... the canine was wearing combat boots, jeans, and a looser dress shirt... and the white tiger was in a uniform that Zerrex recognized from Ire. It had been modified with holes for his small bone spikes and the crests had been torn off... but otherwise it was the standard deep blue pants and long-sleeved blue shirt with the four pouches on the body. The reptile noted a combat knife in one of his military boots, however, although the holster at his waist was empty.

That left the one last Dragokkaren, who wasn't a clone soldier: he was in plain jeans, a plain white muscle shirt that was tight against his strong body, and a cloth military jacket with the GA logo on one shoulder. He also had sneakers on instead of combat boots, and he winced a bit as he looked around at the others, adjusting his belt... but apparently calmed by the fact that none of the Drakkaren or the girly wolf were wearing clothes exactly standard military. Even Zerrex's uniform was casual dress, after all... and he wore it more because the clothing was made of the weird fabric that stretched and shrank with his own body than anything else.

They automatically formed a line in front of him, and Zerrex looked them over slowly, as they saluted and stood at attention silently before him. Six new soldiers that he'd have to train and make sure were ready for duty within the week... six soldiers who, in private agreement with Cherry, he knew wouldn't have stood a chance against any of the original members of the Goth Legion. Sure, even the weakest of the Dragokkaren here were likely physically-stronger than even he had been back then... but they lacked finesse, grace, skill... and experience, most of all. They were all young faces... and they didn't have that hardness Zerrex had remembered seeing in all of his compatriots when the Goth Legion had first been formed, nor did they all possess any powers that were particularly strong.

The Drakkaren looked over them mildly, then said softly: "At ease, soldiers." A pause as they relaxed, and he looked over them all, before nodding a bit. "Last night, we didn't get much of a chance to chat... so let's start with the basics and introduce ourselves." A pause. "I'll go first to demonstrate... then you guys can go. The other members here you can get to know on your own time.

"My name is Zerrex Narrius, my callname will be Captain Ravenlight or simply the Boss," he said evenly, but in truth, he felt a tad bit awkward with the six sets of eyes focused so damn intently on him. "My specialty is close-range combat and I'm also an expert at tactical analysis and survival on and off the battlefield. I've been trained in all manner of melee combat, every ranged weapon from bows to rocket launchers... finally, my special skills are a form of size-shifting I'm sure you've all seen before and experienced to some degree with the amount of Children in this base, and my symbiotic link with the dark nephilim, Drake."

At this point, the reptile didn't exactly feel any particular desire to also mention his strength, agility, endurance, or regeneration ability: let them think that he was reliant on his odd powers instead of his nearly-supernatural physical abilities. If the Goth Legion had taught him one thing, after all, it was to always keep a backup weapon handy... and that meant not always sharing every bit of information you knew until trust had been earned through and through, and the soldiers had shown they would rather die than give up their teammates... and it took a little bit of time to develop that deep a loyalty for someone.

Then the Drakkaren stepped back towards the group of four clustered behind him - Mahihko blushing and adjusting his flower, touching his skirt idly and apparently torn between embarrassed and proud of himself - before making an easy gesture towards the six others, saying idly: "Now it's your turn."

They exchanged looks... then the casually-dressed Dragokkaren stepped forwards, rubbing at his head a bit and saying uncomfortably: "Hello, uh, sir. I'm Rayne Granger... ex-Hez'Ranna Special Military Investigations Division, ex-lieutenant." He paused for a moment, apparently gathering his thoughts. "I specialized in uncovering information and... I was a detective, I guess you could say. Dealt with internal conflicts, corruption in politics and dealing with defecting or criminal soldiers; I'm a good shot with any kind of gun, and I've also studied a lot of disarming techniques and I can take apart pretty much anything, from tanks to bombs, and put 'em back together. I guess that's my real knack." He smiled a bit, and then seemed to relax a bit more when the Drakkaren nodded to him with a soft laugh. Sounds a lot like Huck.

As the reptile stepped back, Zerrex brought back his memories of the battle. He didn't think the Dragokkaren realized it... but at a few times during the battle, he'd dodged things that he shouldn't have been able to move out of the way from, so fast he'd almost left afterimages behind himself. He didn't know if it was precognition, or some form of special perception... but it had been interesting enough that the white-haired lizard had decided to go with him over his other possible candidates. His emerald eyes studied the muscular Dragokkaren, his darker, more-purple scales, his intelligent but uncomfortable hazel eyes, and the way he stood back, resting with his hands in his pockets and looking like he had no idea why he was even here. He'd have to either get more of his story out of him later... or get Marina to read the Dragokkaren's mind and tell him some more of his background, even though that would be a rather nasty and unfair form of snooping. Better that I know then find out some horrible secret later on, though... maybe I'll put them all through some sort of scanning process, have Marina look for specific events or memories, or certain connected emotions or ideas...

The next to step forwards was a taller Dragokkaren: whereas Rayne was ten-one, this giant male easily pushed sixteen feet... and that was before he shifted upwards, as Zerrex knew this particular Child of Cherry could do. He was also gazing at that particular female with a fawning look, and Cherry winced: over the past week, she'd been attacked again and again by various Children, who hugged her, dry-humped her, begged for names... but all babbled how happy they were to see her okay. Cherry would usually attempt to fade into the walls and hide at some point during these particular talks... but she had remembered her promise, and had managed to name a surprising number of them, although, as expected, her names definitely weren't the most impressive.

This was demonstrated when the overly-happy-looking giant opened his mouth and said cheerfully: "I'm Big Brutus, but everyone just calls me Brute." He grinned at this, winking at Cherry and clasping his hands together, inadvertently almost tearing his uniform with the slight flex of muscles that were almost ridiculously huge, saying in a shy voice: "Hello, Mother Queen."

"Uh. Hi." Cherry winced a bit, rubbing the back of her head slowly, and Zerrex had to resist a grin. "It's uh. Great to see you and them others... here. And stuff. But why don't you talk some more, fill in those other questions, Brute?"

"Okay, Mother." Brutus nodded firmly and leisurely, his child-like eyes gleaming. He was massive and acted like a child - a classic antihero monster, some would say - but Zerrex knew it was only because Cherry was present. When the muscular female was around, all the Children somehow locked into her and realized who she was immediately, and then promptly began to act just like their namesake: children. When he went on, after all, he spoke in a clear, concise voice that obviously wasn't the expected retarded-giant at all: "I was in training to become an Enforcer unit, stage two... before then, I worked for six years as a GA soldier, and am one of the firstborn children." He was proud of this, as many of the others seemed to be - one of the prototype children, in other words, and those who had originally had other genetic qualities attached to them other than simply being a good, productive soldier. Narrius had cheapened his supply over the years after finding out that the more genetic qualities he gave to a soldier, the more often their bodies gave out - Brute had just been one of the lucky ones. "I was trained in all types of infantry combat, and I'm pretty good in close-range battles as well. My body is also hardened against all manner of physical attack, temperature change, poisons, and other damaging elements."

Then he stopped, grinned happily at Cherry and winked... and Cherry tried to hide her wince as she smiled painfully back and waved slowly to him, and he stepped cheerfully back into the group, almost tromping on the canine, who growled up at him irritably. The muscular female let out a sigh of relief as the mutt stepped forwards next, however: the other females were already staring at her, and trading whispers with their much-larger friend, as Zerrex gave his oldest - yet newest - daughter a look of sympathy. He knew she liked being the maternal, mothering type for all these Children as much as he enjoyed playing the role of savior.

The dog had shaggy golden fur... but pointy, small ears and beady eyes. His fingers were also white, as if he'd dipped them in paint: a strange little oddity, Zerrex thought. He glanced over them idly... then nodded and said in a voice that seemed somewhat distant: "I'm Sergeant First-Class Damien Aries... Irenic Special Forces, Hunter Division. We were sent in to deal with the advent of soldiers that seemed to possess 'supernatural' abilities, here meaning genetically-altered skills and strengths." A pause as his eyes focused a bit on Zerrex, then roved over to Cherry. "My skills aren't as impressive with conventional weaponry, but I am capable of accurately predicting and temporarily copying any form of attack used against me. I believe we kept an open dossier on you two as well... but you both fell off the government map after a few years, along with the rest of the Goth Legion. I must admit, I was impressed by your performance records... we always kept a special unit in reserve to deal with you and your gang, if they ever posed any threat to national security."

"So you're a patriot." Zerrex said softly, and his smile was slightly cold now, as he examined the canine, who was standing tall and rigid. He nodded once curtly, and then the dog stepped back into line, the Drakkaren's eyes flickering a bit. The canine might pose a problem in the future, but for now it was better that they trained and used his abilities... if he turned into an issue later, he could be dealt with then. It looked like his powers weren't as secreted away as he'd acted last night... and that the dog wasn't going to be nearly as pleasant as he'd earlier thought, although now he had to wonder why Marina hadn't been able to detect this in his mind when she'd scanned through the crowd for hostiles.

Another Dragokkaren stepped forwards now... one of the two females. She smiled at Cherry, nodding, then sketched a curtsy to Zerrex, who noted that she wasn't exactly the most attractive of the species... but she did indeed have a pleasant air of gracefulness around her, and when she spoke, it was in a soft, harmonious voice. "My name is Light Voice-" Zerrex glared at Cherry, who immediately found something interesting to look at up in the sky. "-And I'm a five-year GA soldier, now here to serve Lord Zerrex and the reborn Queen Mother. I was trained originally to serve as a long-range combatant and on-site medic, but my siblings and I have also been working hard to learn to control our size-shifting ability and be a better help in close combat."

She smiled and stepped back as the other female stepped forwards... this Dragokkaren about a foot taller than her 'sister,' who was roughly a good eleven feet tall... and with much larger breasts, and features and blue eyes that reminded Zerrex almost exactly of Cherry. She seemed a bit more haughty and righteous, though, and had the classic red scales and a much lither body, however. "My name is Little Sin, and I'm also a five-year GA soldier, except my specialty is infiltration and assassination." A pause and a grin, and her body seemed to flicker before fading out of existence... and a moment later, Zerrex felt an arm around his neck as the female reappeared beside him, the Drakkaren admittedly feeling impressed as a hand stroked slowly down his chest and she gazed up at him, murmuring softly: "And it's such a pleasure, Lord Zerrex, to meet you and get to work with you... I only hope my talents and abilities can be of service, especially since my shift ability is a bit different."

This was true... Zerrex certainly remembered her power, which allowed her to grow bulging muscle instead of increasing her height. Then she faded away again... and he realized that he could still watch her move, but she was only the faintest of outlines against the world as she skipped gracefully back over to take her place by her sister. Once she faded back in, however, the last stepped forwards, the Siberian warrior tiger, giving her a glance and wincing a bit, seeming a bit surprised at the variety of strange abilities these soldiers all bore.

"My name is Sergeant Benjamin Lancelot, and I served with the twenty-second division of the Northern Ire Special Air Service." A pause as he rubbed at his arm a bit, looking nervous, his voice distinctly accented. "I can fly almost any type of jet, even these new-model VTOL jets that are currently placed in place... and I apologize for my Hez'Rannan in advance, I know it's a bit messy." A bit of a smile. "I've been trained in the use of traditional swords like my brothers-in-arms from the great northern lands... and I'm also capable of using an assault rifle good as well. But I'm afraid I'm not so special as these others. Just these odd juts of bone." A bit of a laugh as he looked around at the others.

He was a bit more nervous than the white tiger Zerrex and Cherry had known... and he smiled a bit, wondering if Killer was still alive and fighting, and felt fairly sure that he'd be able to hold his own, even against the Patriarch's forces, with his tactical ability and strength. The only problem, he felt, would be if Narrius decided to play catch with a barrage of nuclear explosives...

The lizard mentally reprimanded himself, then refocused on the subject at hand, saying gently: "I'm sure you'll do fine." A pause, and then he nodded as the soldier stepped back with a smile, before glancing over these six new soldiers and saying clearly: "Well then, greetings aside... welcome to the Black Raven Elite Division... or Black RED. Over the next week, you'll be heavily, harshly trained in everything from survival techniques to weapons handling, and I'm going to assume you all already know and are confident in the basics of close-quarters combat, ranged combat, and simple rules of survival in hostile territory and during battle."

He stopped for a moment, then gazed over them again, taking in their expressions, their emotions, and saying softly: "From this point on, we are a team; as such, we need to earn each other's trust, to the point where we can die for one another, and fully trust each other with our lives. Even if we don't and never will like each other or even be friends in some cases... we need to understand that our lives are in each other's hands. We function as one team, as one unit... and teamwork will be particularly emphasized hereforth.

"Our first objective will be to sort out our equipment and what each team member will be doing: since we are a separate, elite unit and officially not part of the official Resistance Forces in any way, shape or form, we need to procure our own weapons, tools, and other necessary equipment and items from our own personal stores and any ruins in the city." A pause. "But before we even do that, we need to decide on what each of us will do as individuals inside the team frame. And on that note... I am now going to strip you of your official rankings. From here on out, there's only two: soldier, and Captain... and I will be the only person with the latter rank, serving as commanding officer in all missions and training." A firm look around at the other soldiers... but only Damien seemed to have a problem with the reptile's decision, although he kept his mouth shut and communicated this only with a disgusted glare. "Understood?"

"Sir!" the group chorused, and Zerrex nodded. Then he paused and stepped back, squatting with his arms resting on his knees, and the eleven members automatically huddled in a circular formation as the Drakkaren checked right and left. Now everyone was paying attention... and he nodded a bit at this, focusing his attention to the task at hand.

"My job is commanding officer... and I'll also be serving in most cases as a vanguard and front line infantry." Zerrex said easily, gesturing at himself, before jerking his head to his youngest daughter. "Marina will be operating as a sniper, staying back with Cindy, who will be serving as a medic and can also tote a rifle. Cherry will also snipe when necessary, but otherwise, she'll be on the front line of assault with me and she'll be used to take out problem soldiers at a distance that our other snipers can't hit.

"Mahihko is going to work as our driver when necessary, cover our movements forwards from the back of the group, or stick to the middle of the battlefield to act as a relay and medium-distance gunner." Zerrex continued mildly, then he glanced over at Rayne. "You'll work as our engineer and technical expert, staying at middle range with Mahihko. Memorize all your ranks now, people." The Drakkaren added firmly, making several of them wince, then he continued on. "Brute and Sin will be at the front lines with myself and Cherry, since they pack the heaviest punches and Sin can hide herself from enemy attack; they'll back us as forwards infantry. Damien, I want you in the middle, capable of observing everything and acting as reinforcement: you'll be able to respond the quickest to any attack from behind or the front. Finally, Light, I want you back with Cherry and Marina, acting as medic and support."

Zerrex paused, then looked back and forth before saying mildly: "You may notice that I didn't list someone as communications. That's because we aren't going to get any backup except in special situations: at these times, Marina and Mahihko will serve as our com-techs. Unless we're involved in a major battle, however, don't expect it: most of what we'll be doing will be special guerilla warfare or short battles during scouting missions if we happen to run into an enemy patrol.

"Everyone is going to have to learn to do multiple jobs and whatever's expected of them at the time, unfortunately... even though we'll all have to master one craft of war, we'll also need to learn a bit of every other art there as well to function best, and support each other's weaker points." He paused for a moment, then shared a look with Cherry before standing and looking around at the soldiers mildly. "Now, I'd like to test your endurance, so first we're going to start off with some basic exercises, then move into a short combat drill..."

The Drakkaren then proceeded to give commands, encouragement, and bits of provocation every so often as he directed the soldiers through various exercises, then on a series of twenty laps around the entire facility and barracks, each of which took a ridiculous amount of time to complete at the sheer size of the building. Mahihko in particular found this part of the exercises stressful, as he managed to lose his sandals - hell to run in, anyway - and hopped along in bare paws, whining in strain as he spent every few steps wondering if he'd just stepped on a piece of metal or glass hidden in the filthy desert sands.

After this - everyone panting and wheezing once the laps were done, Zerrex trying his best to act superior and not show how much it had strained him as well... note to self: study area before decreeing crazy run fest next time... - the reptile then ordered that everyone pair up, and he'd sit back and observe.

The 'pairings' didn't exactly form as Zerrex had expected: Cindy ended up walking over to comfort and pair with Mahihko, because no one apparently wanted to go with the wolf, leaving him looking downcast and lonely. Hell, even Damien had ignored him in favor of another opponent, instead setting himself against Marina with a contemptible sneer, earning a distasteful frown in return and a disgusted look from Cindy. Brute and Sin paired up as well... and so did Light and Lancelot, and finally Cherry and Rayne, the latter wincing at this. The Drakkaren chose to stand back on the sidelines... then, after he'd judged everyone had managed to catch their breath, he ordered a short combat drill to begin, focusing on attempting to pin the other in an area that had already been carefully cleared of shrapnel.

Cindy actively worked to help Mahihko as they tussled, giving him tips, smiling encouragingly, and showing him different moves... and Zerrex smiled a bit at this, deciding to let them be for now. Mahihko needed all the support he could get, after all... and as he glanced over at the other groups, he found himself pleased with how things were going. Brute and Sin were half-playing, but they were playing seriously, the female vanishing and reappearing, then attempting to attack the far-larger male's legs to knock him down as he snatched at her... then the process repeated, and every now and then Brute would shift his eyes to the ground to watch for her footprints and reach out, tagging her and making her grunt and flicker back into reality... but not forcing her down yet, instead giving her a chance to slip away. Even Cherry wasn't being too mean to Rayne - yes, she was still beating on him a bit excessively, but she was also letting him avoid attacks here and there, and even throw punches or attempt to grab her... although he never managed to lay so much as a finger on her.

Then he frowned as he looked at Damien and Marina: the canine was looking steadfast into his youngest daughter's eyes, and he could tell that the dog was provoking her mentally, from the way Marina was bristling angrily... and Zerrex had to wonder if already the team was going to have to be cut down to ten members. Then the canine suddenly brought his hands up... and the young female Drakkaren grunted, staggering backwards in surprise as she was hit by some invisible force, before Damien lunged forwards.

Zerrex wanted to run in and help his daughter... and then he wanted to step between the two when he saw the cold anger in Marina's eyes, almost felt her mental claws, before Damien's feet were knocked out from under him with little more than a flick of her wrist... and then he was being dragged backwards through the dirt as Marina snarled and raised a hand, the dog leaving a trench in the soft ground almost a foot deep as he spasmed and coughed, suffocating on sand as the others halted to watch, some with surprise, some with terror, as the canine left a ten foot trail, and Marina rumbled in a dark, furious voice: "Don't treat me like a child... and don't you ever... talk about my Daddy like that!"

Then she flicked a hand upwards, and Damien flew into the air as if kicked in the stomach, coughing sand as his eyes bulged... before Marina drew her hand back down in a graceful, swooping motion, and Damien smashed into the ground with enough force to ripple the sand around him like water, sending up a cloud of dust that slowly settled to the ground around the group. They stared as Marina stood in profile, a strange, dark purple aura fading from sight around her hand, and then she relaxed and snorted in disgust, saying softly: "Mind tricks is all you use... you don't replicate abilities. You just use stupid parlor tricks." A pause as Damien slowly crawled up to his feet, his dignity obviously shattered, his expression agonized and humiliated as Marina stretched out a hand, her eyes glowing dark lavender-

"Marina, enough." Zerrex said curtly, and the female Drakkaren twitched in surprise before looking at him with an expression of shame, and the white-haired lizard relaxed a bit, sighing softly and brushing his ivory locks back from his face. He was glad she'd listened to him... seeing the expression on her face, he'd known what she was likely about to do, from the focal gesture.

Marina didn't need to actually move her hands to do anything... but like he did with Drake, imagery helped her, and making certain gestures or familiar movements with her hands let her better concentrate her powers and turn them from something like a wide shotgun volley to a concentrated missile strike. If she wanted to, she could kill with only a look... and Zerrex was ashamed not of this, but of the fact that sometimes he thought of his daughter not only as the one thing he'd fought so long and hard for... but as his prized, ultimate weapon.

What made it harder was Marina's dedication to him... her knowledge of this... and yet, her unflinching love and loyalty, offering everything she had to give in return only for her father's company and love. On the outside, she hadn't been changed much by Narrius... but he was beginning to realize more and more that inside, his daughter had been warped and corrupted, turned into a strange Iuratus herself that had dedicated herself entirely to her father to avoid being killed or driven insane by the Patriarch's experiments and designs upon her. She was eternally his... and to her, he could do no wrong, no bad, no evil, and no matter how he apparently decided to treat her, or what evil thoughts slid into his mind from the deep recesses of his lizard brain, she would remain just as dedicated, just as loving... always, eternally obeying him.

They looked at each other quietly for a few moments... then Zerrex turned his gaze to Damien, who was slowly wiping dirt from his features. The Drakkaren looked over him mildly, then said coldly: "You're under my unit for better or worse, but that means my laws, my punishments. Since you just got your ass kicked, though, I'll be merciful... run a lap around the base in twenty minutes... Cherry, go with him, make sure he keeps pace."

"Got it, Boss." The female responded, grinning coldly and cracking her fists, then she barked at the canine: "Get your ass moving, dog! Left, right, left!"

Damien began to stagger step away... then let out a yell of indignation and pain when Cherry slapped his back hard, forcing him to either pick up his pace or fall over on his face. The canine began to run faster, Cherry run beside him and yelling at him the whole time - she really was a hell of a drill master when she wanted to be.

Zerrex shook his head a bit, then turned his attention to the others, who had halted their exercises to cluster up worriedly, and he glanced at Marina, watching as she pressed close to Cindy for comfort, her head bowed against her older sister's shoulder and eyes closed. Then he sighed a bit and said mildly, glancing over the group: "Arrogance and outright cruelty, whether mental or physical, will result in severe punishment from this point on: neither will be permitted." A pause, and a look over at Marina, saying quietly: "And as much as I hate to do this, Marina..."

"It's alright, Daddy." The female smiled faintly and bowed to him quietly, then she turned and headed back towards the rear entrance of the facility. It almost hurt him to see how she looked at him with that pure, unadulterated love... but the reptile tore his gaze away from his daughter and instead returned it to the group at large. At least he could attempt to push them through some other basic exercises today...

The Drakkaren ran the group through exercises until the sun began to set, then he said they were dismissed for the day, but that tomorrow they were to meet him at noon at the lower platform level of the tunnel. Then he'd gone inside with his two present daughters and Mahihko trailing behind them, rubbing at his sore back as Zerrex asked mildly: "So what do you think, Cherry?"

"Fucking losers." she said disgustedly, shaking her head slowly, then rubbing the back of her head and wincing a bit as they walked down the hall of the facility towards the main elevator. "Some mom I am, huh? But seriously... we've worked some crazy-ass miracles in the past, but I'm beginning to think that the clone soldiers are designed with a plateau, so they can't get any stronger than some certain level they're born at. Maybe some sorta genetic lock or shit?"

"Cindy, can you get Schindler and his cronies on that?" The male replied, glancing over at Cindy, who nodded a bit; she'd have no problem getting them to take a look at whatever research she wanted them to. "Thanks... and what about the others?"

"Damien's a piece of shit." Cherry said disgustedly, snorting and shaking her head. "There's no such thing as the Hunter Division, last time I checked. He's either a nutjob with actual mental powers or an ex-soldier trying to show off his magic tricks... I'm surprised he didn't declare himself tactician from the start."

Zerrex nodded and smiled a bit. "They all ate up that battle line crap pretty quick, didn't they? Impose a little order... even make-believe order on a military team, and suddenly everyone listens to you and trains as hard as they can for their 'position.'" He shook his head slowly. "Everyone really does follow the protocols too tightly around here. We'll have to wean them off obeying the rules and get them to recognize there's a time even to disobey your C.O."

"Whatever." Cherry said dismissively, waving a hand idly as they stepped into the elevator, Cindy frowning a bit at her and Mahihko cocking his head curiously as Zerrex looked at her curiously instead of irritably. "The first thing's first, Boss. The tiger dude's got strength, and he's got reflexes, but otherwise he's pretty flat-out normal. In the old Legion, our weakest dude was Ghost, and he had some pretty kick-ass powers."

Zerrex had a vague, unpleasant and strangely-recent memory relating to this, making a bit of a face, and Cherry grinned at him amusedly, crossing her arms and winking. "Oh, that's right, you were the one who killed his ass after you threatened to rape him." A pause, then she shook her head, surprising both Mahihko and Cindy as she actually returned to business instead of talking about sex. "Look, what we gotta do is this..."A pause as the elevator doors dinged open, and they slid out as several Dragokkaren soldiers stepped inside, heading for the cafeteria to sit down at one of the empty tables, before Cherry continued as if she'd never left off. "We gotta pair up and work on them individually. There's five of us, six of them... and yeah, even you're stronger than those no-brains, Mahihko, you just need some attitude and confidence."

"I don't want any attitude." Mahihko replied, wincing as Cherry ruffled the fur on his head, then he huffed a bit, blushing slightly and lowering his head. "And I don't know how good I'd be at teaching people..."

"Teachers are just students of a different kind." Cherry said breezily, then she paused and glanced up with a frown, turning her attention to another subject, at least for the moment. "And what are we going to do with that shit Damien? He's sorta like a more-retarded version of Vampire... because you know, even though Vamp had a bigger mouth on him, he was also sorta nearly invincible."

Zerrex made a face at this, wincing a bit. "Don't remind me..." he shook his head slowly, then sighed and rubbed a hand through his white hair. "And I really don't know..."

"Talking about Damien?" asked Marina, and Zerrex looked up in surprise as she sat down with a large tray, piled high with various foodstuffs and handing out utensils to everyone present. She smiled a bit as she pressed against her father's side, closing her eyes and kissing his cheek gently as she murmured softly: "I'm sorry I lost my temper with him earlier, Daddy."

"It's alright, Marina." Zerrex said softly, wrapping an arm gently around her as she rested against him, and Drake shifted a bit in his mind, as if he'd been nudged by something. A moment later, the Drakkaren felt his daughter's hand caressing gently through his mind, and flicking idly over different emotions and memories he had before the reptile added with a soft laugh: "I wish you wouldn't do that."

"We both know it's easier than tryin' to explain all your emotions and feelings to me." the female replied gently, and Zerrex did have to agree with this, turning his attention to Cherry with an amused look and watching her gobble potato salad and pieces of prepared meat: Cindy and Mahihko, meanwhile, were watching the male Drakkaren curiously. Meanwhile, he could feel Marina gently moving through his head, picking up signs and emotions and reasons why he felt the way he did, and then she nuzzled into his neck gently and said softly: "Silly Daddy. Stop blamin' yourself for all this... and I don't think we'll have a problem with Damien any more, at least. He's had some mental training, obviously, but I'm pretty sure he's not much of a threat... I think the real problem is everyone's basics are different and really messy."

Cherry looked up from the piece of chicken she was stuffing into her mouth, then said rudely, small bits of meat flying from her mouth: "You know, I never thought of that... she's right, though, Ire, Hez'Ranna and wherever else these douchebags have come from - hell, whatever unit these douchebags have come from, screw the country - has its own way of trainin' and teachin' the basics. I bet only half of 'em would understand the joke if you asked 'em the best way to cross a minefield... and th'other half probably would be able to tell you why we call our airplanes birds."

"Behind the rest of the team and 'cause an angry kid with a rock could take it down." Zerrex murmured, at Cindy's confused look. "One's a dark joke from the 13th Brigade, and the other's one of the lessons of the Ire SAS's creed, noting that any high-powered machine is also vulnerable for a lot of different reasons." He paused, then glanced at Cherry thoughtfully. "Remember the training session we did for those first two or three months when he first joined up with the Goth Legion? I think that's the sort of thing I'll do tomorrow then... think they'll let me requisition a dozen kwaibars?"

The muscular female nodded, chewing thoughtfully, then snagging a glass of cola from the tray Marina had carried over and cracking it open to drain half the can in one long guzzle. Then she paused, and added dryly: "But you'd better-" A pause and a frown as a strange beeping rose up. "What the fuck is that?"

"Sorry." Zerrex stood, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and flicking it open, gesturing at the others to continue with whatever they were doing as he wandered out of the cafeteria, saying mildly: "Yeah? Who is it?"