It's been a while. Sorry for the absence.

I'm so happy to be back and I think this update is much overdue. But yes I am here for the meantime so this is a little something I had proofread and is now posting for all of you. ^-^

I think it's rusty, but what do you guys think? 0-0


It was the next day.

Riki, who now rested in recovery after some much needed intensive care, has not stirred even once from his sleep, his body in a deep state of coma, his wings carefully laid out, the affected area, where Raoul's operations had been thankfully successful, securely bandaged up and being injected with some type of ingenious serum that the other Blondie has created.

As the Biochemist meanwhile pondered where he was in his own office, quietly monitoring what's happening to the Pet. Not to mention, to Iason who'd asked to be left alone and in peace at his penthouse.

Raoul greatly questioned the idea.

If anything, today was everything but peaceful in the retrospect...

It was not that any additional procedures were in order - they had passed that stage and Riki was already stable. Besides, they have processed to successfully intubate him to facilitate what was necessary, considering how he hadn't roused from this stupor just yet.

Everything was done automatically and systematically as is the norm in Tanagura. The slight fever likewise which Riki developed while under sedation was being seen to by the Furniture, Katron, the only presence in the room where the Exclusive was being kept.

Iason insisted. He trusts no other hands save for his and the other Blondie to care for his Exclusive...

So all right, perhaps he had other intentions in mind, Raoul. He actually has questions about this predicament they've just overcome, a first of its kind in essence that admittedly made the Biochemist uncharacteristically doubtful whether or not he could find worthy solutions to the newest problem he hadn't imagined - not in the wildest! - should they occur.

This was the first time the Pet was ever directly in harm's way since Dana. Which made Raoul somehow double back into his considerations; their Prince's body was strong and it could renew itself when called for. But definitely not indestructible. Continually putting it in danger, or subjecting it to trauma, could suspend this capacity although temporarily it seemed.

Such as during that time of the incident, when Riki was in a lot of strain. That, and the need to survive that was pushing him onward, caused his stress levels to soar. Not to mention the very incident itself and the physical trauma of it.

There was also the issue of composition, Riki's anatomical and biological difference from being the entire human that he was then, incomparable to Raoul's most priced Pet, definitely never comparable to his worst concoction that made up his War Weapons.

It was difficult to pinpoint which remedies would work! Switching medical procedures in between the hours to save his life was a mad struggle. Should he have failed, the repercussions could have been dire, not only detrimental for him, but for the entire Capital.

He triumphed thankfully.

However, to have come up with such a hodge-podge, entirely and inexcusably unrefined remedy was not something Raoul appreciated.

He could have done it better, faster.

But it took a good eighteen hours to even get that wing patched up decently. Followed by more hours deliberating and operating even, hoping the instant heal Riki was capable of kicked up to at least aid them.

It had not.

Only now was it seen to have begun its course, but it was slow. It was taking its own time. All these factors impeding his waking that all that's left was to wait. And now that was another issue.

Neu-Jupiter had been more or less irritated, disturbed, angered. Yet he'd been exceptional with keeping the System in order, although the manifestations were persistent, and with the way Tanagura has been blinking on and off, it was unnerving everyone. Like he was doing now.

Raoul could only sit monitoring what's happening, pondering. There was nothing one could do if it was Neu-Jupiter that was flying off the handle. According to his charts, all power to the System was redirected temporarily as one of the Couple was severely injured. The Biochemist was certain that besides balancing the domain, his friend was also still coming into grips with his personal, bottled hostilities over what's happened.

That made Raoul curious though, and he had questions...if the case was reversed, if Iason was the one who had come to be in Riki's condition, would the System be routed to the Pet entirely as it had done now to Iason? An amusing and efficient concept, for each side to be able to carry on the entire load.

To test that however...ah, Science cannot do such a thing, not to the Pivot that holds Tanagura's well-being in its hands. This was simply an inimical coincidence that he was able to find this out. That alone was something he should be content with at the moment.

A few hours passing of this appearing mayhem and on cue Gideon and the rest of the Council approached.

"What's happening? I can't do any work in Parthea since yesterday; the sub-systems there are all malfunctioning..."

The Blondies were basically almost ready to throw up their hands in exasperation. This fluctuation has been running down the entire line and affecting even the most minuscule of functions.

Raoul only had one explanation, "It's Neu-Jupiter. He's seething."

"Iason? Is it because of what happened?" Aisha paced, taking a gander at what the Biochemist was looking at only to raise a brow. The lines were off, far from the harmonious run that the System's been when Riki was up and able.

The Blondies knew, the Pet needed to awake soon.

"The transport carrying Riki in from Cerberus, is it true that the attack to it came from Kryon's floating fleet?"

Raoul strung his fingers together, resting them on the space before him, in some manner relaxing despite seeing a few nodes that grappled Tanagura's complex processes falling loose. The System fixed those after a few seconds. It has been happening often the last hours.

"That remains to be seen, but the Pet's nurse swears by it.

"I don't think that Furniture is capable of fabricating lies."

"Fortunately enough," Gideon waved dismissively, more concerned however about Riki's situation. He was just concealing it under the same surface of calm. "But his wing broke. He took to flight just when the ship exploded; had to fly from Ocean to the Aerospace Port. Only he and the Furniture survived.

"Iason is clearly furious."

Apparently, and if this wasn't a blatant display of just how horrifying his destructiveness was when enraged, they all didn't know what was. But despite not admitting it themselves, the Council too had felt insulted. For a small and insignificant player as Kryon, they had the nerve to attack something that belonged to Tanagura.

They only proved that they must never be ignored, and similar to what Iason wanted, they must be dealt with the soonest possible.

"Tch. Hadn't he developed a temper?" one of their Brothers sighed.

"Love makes a being impulsive," said Raoul simply; a matter-of-fact to him as it should be although he did not understand it as deeply. He has never experienced the emotion himself. But one aspect stands out. "Love has made him rather dangerous." Enough that he was willing to perhaps see through his revenge until the end?

Of course, the Biochemist knew of the errand Iason ordered of Katze, and the repercussions that would certainly be brought forth by it.

But was Neu-Jupiter really all for this? Well, he has a feeling that they would find out soon.


There was no rest for Tanagura.

In the next days following the wait for the Exclusive to awaken, the Blondies have found themselves completely overworked, trying to compensate for the lack of Neu-Jupiter's other half. As tensions stirred from among the populace, the intellectuals noting the strange fluctuations that seemed to resound all over the Capital, nearly depleting almost all their workforce resources to balance over Iason's unsteady beat of control.

The Lord had not been denying his impulses, the anger ever brewing, growing stronger beneath the surface. Raoul likewise noted alteration patterns, that his best friend was somewhat falling into some form of depression, or deprivation from not having Riki by his side. Understandable but frustrating at the same time.

The Biochemist does not know of a way to go around this trouble, watching as helplessly as the rest while Iason pines for his beloved, always at the Recovery Bay, awaiting his return.

"He'll destroy us all!" believed some of the other Blondies who were watching this enfold on the daily, whispering this in the silence however. It would do well not to invoke the wrath of their liege at this stage.

Raoul in fact had but one counsel and it was most wise, "He is the god of Tanagura. He can be rid of us all if he so chose."

But this suffering was not meant to last.

Not for the Lord of the Realm nor those beneath him.

It was that just when Riki woke up, it had been nearly three months after the mishap.


There was gloom running across the Capital. Rain heavy from clouds that hung low over Tanagura, thunder and lightning etching their course as if the heavens could not keep still.

And in this room, a remade space in one of Jupiter Tower's lower chambers, now housing the Prince still deep in his sleep, the top Blondie was none better than the weather. As again he found himself walking into the usual scene that had been common these past weeks.

His beloved in a coma. He had not at all woken up.

"Riki…" he called his Lover's name over and over, having approached, now seated one side of this quite decorated bed suitable for whomever lay in its midst.

They finally removed those tedious tubes as his beloved could well function on his own now. Except he had not entirely healed, that wing still without its feathers and, that form, still unable to return his affections.

How Iason missed the challenge. How he longed for the equal return of kisses. This was just like how it was when they first came to after the old god's death and they were born anew. Iason could not stand the anticipation, the worry just as much.

"Will you leave me and Tanagura, beloved?"

There was this old fear as he run his knuckles against Riki's cheek. The sickening feeling that ate within him slowly. Neu-Jupiter admits that he was losing his grip on reality. This situation...it made his newfound heart ache. The very same that had him bowing his head against that hand from where he sought the signs -anything really!- that Riki would eventually find his way home into his arms.

Finally, the Man just could not stand it. That thought of slowly losing him whom he adored the most.

"Come back to me. Please…"

It was not for a god to beg. But Iason accepted it in himself that, at this point, he'd have uncharacteristically crawled upon his knees in supplication to whatever powers there be, if only it meant that the reason for his being opened those eyes once again and bore upon him his questions.

His pride as a Blondie did not matter. He has aged well away from that, learned of his lessons about being and keeping a relationship.

At this very moment, he was simply a Man in love. Likewise crumbling piece by piece because of it...

It was time to leave once more.

The Capital has a need for him far greater during these times when he was shouldering all the System's wants without Riki's aid.

Yet, as he stood, as he was about to turn away, he felt it, this squeeze coming from the hand he was loathe to let go, at first grimacing, before it happened once more that Iason immediately halted, stuck to that bedside as he glanced down at his Exclusive.

Riki moved!

And it was by no means a trickery as that head tossed, the Pet inhaling, brows knitted. Whatever intimate prayer it was Iason uttered had been undoubtedly heard.

"Ia...son…"

Of all the faces, the first that Riki sees upon waking was him. It seemed like eternity but here he was, his Neu-Jupiter, his Lover, the Man he wanted to be with the most.

But why did he have that look upon his splendid features? Why does sadness pervade it? Even now as Riki weakly raised that hand and Iason moved it for him, resting his cheek there before kissing that palm many times, the Blondie calling out his name in apparent relief.

The Pet could remember nothing. Not of the incident that befell the luxury ship or what had become of him as they managed a near-impossible escape.

Until…

Until he felt the weight of his damaged wing and it all came crashing in.

Tears immediately. Riki was plastered to the bed, raising an arm to shield his eyes as he gritted his teeth and cried in the silence. Iason would not have that. He immediately pulled his beloved into his arms, easing his burdens with a comforting hand down that back gently.

"You are home. You are with me," as if he stole the very words Riki could not say, the Pet clinging so desperately against him, more than just relieved to be sobbing against such a warm and familiar embrace.

As outside, the skies significantly brightened up, in the same manner conveying its own form of rejoicing, clearing to let through its first rays of sunshine in days.


News of the Exclusive rousing from his coma spread like fire among the Blondie elites, giving everyone the chance to sigh or to collapse in utter relief, the System notably relaxing with an immediate calm that's infected every node, nook and end point on the Planet enough that a harmony was once more present, a synchrony that moved Tanagura forward.

"That's great news!" Gideon's upheaval had almost betrayed him, if not for his other Brethren expressing a similar gratefulness.

They were being exhausted down to the smallest cell of their inorganic beings in what had been similar to those days after the old Jupiter had died. Except it was not as dire. Thankfully. Everyone expected that Riki would wake up this time, as fervently as Iason hoped.

Iason who stayed holding his beloved in his arms, even as Raoul and the other specialists were called in, they were told.

"Things should revert back to normal now," said Orphe, this incident testing the mettle of everyone present. They had to keep all details of it from the public for one, and the said public had some discerning members in it that tested the Blondies' capacities like they did the last time when the old god was absent. The scrutiny they attracted when people were noticing that Riki has not been seen in public for a month.

For Neu-Jupiter's sake this time. Radio silence if one could call it that as there were plans that certainly would come into fruition next, seeing as the Pet has risen. There was no telling what was on Iason's mind during this whole time, but his Brothers agreed that vengeance was a major possibility.

Would that cease to be surprising? Not to Katze when his emissaries came with word about the Pet's revival. A most welcome news though he himself never doubted the possibility. He has not told Norris about it. Why would he? He was never in the appetite to incur his Blondie Master's wrath.

That's why, when he was tasked with that important mission back then, weeks ago, he has once again moved heaven and hell to accomplish what was asked of him. Going out of the way and collaborating with Zico to pinpoint locations and determine the best possible way of abduction.

Of course it was a success. And once again he proved just how much of an obedient dog to the throne of Jupiter he was. Cold, calculative, devious for whatever the top Blondie whims and fancies.

Schemes notwithstanding.

"Have you fed the prisoners in Cell Block D?"

He asked one of his more trusted handlers.

The young man, named Marty, was an ambitious yet deeply loyal twat, nodding his head and almost always in approval of everything.

"When have I not done what you've asked, boss?" And he showed his superior the slate with the surveillance in it, of a group of some five people being kept under restriction in Katze's lair.

Needless to say this imprisonment was illegal. But under the Capital's blessings, authority is usually bent. This part of the Kingdom had always been under such power that all the redhead does was beyond questions...

"Gas the room and put them to sleep. I have a feeling they'll be needed by the end of this week," Katze with his usual freeze and signature cigarette, the handler offering to light it which was accepted.

"Will they be used in some experiment?" Katze side-eyed Marty and this was enough to quiet him down, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Sorry boss."

"Didn't I tell you not to ask questions?

"Just do as you are told."

The very same principles the Subarctic Scarface abided by. Hence he rules this underbelly as he should.

And from the looks of it, he was correct to assume once again as his phone beeped.

It was Iason Mink.


The next days after his waking.

Riki was forbidden from leaving the Tower just yet, on account of Raoul still needing to run a few last-minute tests.

Annoying, however, Iason did promise that they'll finally go home to Eos Palace tonight once everything was set in order...whatever everything was to a Blondie's definition.

"Are you still feeling pain here, Master?" One of the masked specialists asked as they inspected his wing, bare-boned for now, as the feathers appeared to still be in the process of regrowth. The Healing was finally working full capacity, well, supposedly.

Riki still flinched, his body still in the state of fixing itself that some areas remained strained.

"That part," he groaned out. "It hurts right there."

They applied the medication and bandaged it properly, careful to take notes as well as avoiding to make any other injuries worse.

This situation remained delicate.

The Exclusive was out of danger definitely, but they had to be careful about his continuing recovery.

"Have any of you seen Iason?" After the checks, the Pet was asking the staff. A question the men were unable to respond to.

Instead, someone else came with the answer, "He's at the basement level directly below" which was Raoul, the medical team members he's hand-selected for Riki's care providing a bow as they left them both there.

The Pet tucked his damaged wing close, a movement that took some effort as the anaesthetics were yet to take effect. Blame his body's unnatural qualities. It was self-healing but, in turn, was immune to most common treatments, Raoul not having qualms about informing him how daunting a feat it was to make the necessary adjustments to everything while in a race to save his life.

Riki's body was basically fighting off the Biochemist's intrusive measures, attacking all substances introduced into it as foreign threats.

With a sheer amount of effort however, Raoul refusing the possibility of luck ever being influential in the equation, the Pet was saved.

"Did he say what he was doing?" And he has resumed to being both the bane and the focal point of the other Blondie's scientific interests.

The Biochemist sighed. "Who knows with your Master?" which was not a lie in entirety. He has not been underground as of late. He was told to stay here and cater to Neu-Jupiter's significant other throughout his whole healing process.

The stubborn mongrel as Riki always would be, now sliding off the bed to drape a robe over his shoulders, maneuvering his injured wing downward to cover it as well.

"What are you doing?" Raoul questioned. "You are not supposed to walk about yet."

"I've been confined to this bed for three months, is that not enough?" Riki scowled. Besides, although his Mastersaid not to leave the Tower, "Going to the Basement is not leaving the Tower." Right?

There was a wobble at his first step, but Riki figured it was just his strength not fully restored just yet. He did overcome it immediately before the Biochemist could notice and react, or stop him for that matter, pulling at the robes by the collar and walking out on him.

Gods, how good this simple act felt. Just being sick, a sensation he has not been in ages since dying, was a downer for him. He missed many things. His body was positively craving any form of activity...even if it was just the simple act of finding his way downstairs.

If only he wasn't so eager to.


On the way down to Basement B of the Tower.

Riki had discovered a few concerning things, mainly dealing with the System when he tried to access it to find his Lover. He was shut out to some degree, unable to get all too far. Farther than the top elites, sure, but the inner workings of the System lay closed on him at the moment.

Well, he figured out it was Iason's doing from some schematic logs, where it showed his Beloved actually taking off many a portion of burden from him while he was still in slumber.

It was to prevent the System's collapse. Rather easy to understand, but, that was not his concern. How Iason manages it-now that was the question!

Riki figured he'd better retrieve his share of Jupiter before his Master faltered. This was certainly taxing work even for a top Blondie, after all, didn't the old god design the current framework to be utilized and managed by them both?

He promised to do his best.

He just had to find him now.

"Iason…?"

No. Definitely not his Beloved yet, but, someone that shared his uncanny colour of hair. It was Orphe Zavi standing at the closed threshold of the Basement sterile area, waiting for him.

"Pet?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

The Blondie did not respond, instead, gestured over a censor to open the doors for him.

"Come. Your Master is waiting," he stepped aside, bidding the Exclusive to go on ahead.

Seemed suspect, but if Iason was within, then all Riki had to do was take that step.

What met him was darkness however, until his sights adjusted through the dim and things came to view...

A wide room. Actually massive with the ceilings high enough for flight if he could muster it. He could see beyond him a lower floor, over a balcony with its metallic rails, and a pool of glass, icy almost.

Wasn't this...familiar? He's been in a location like this before, Riki's mind in speed to find that memory.

He remembered suddenly.

He followed Iason into one of these similar areas before he became a Pet. In fact, it was in somewhere like here where he was first abducted to become Iason's.

He recalls the ghastly mermaid, a creature borne from the deviousness of the Blondies. This appeared to certainly be one of their tanks.

"Iason?"

He found his Master there, rising from his seat nearest the edge, extending a hand out to beckon for him in this void.

Riki breathed out. His exhale had become misty. And only after a few more minutes in that space that he realized it was actually freezing.

"Beloved…" that was such a greeting, a loving smile on that face as he had to approach but..behind the Man's expression seemed something utterly sinister and frozen. As cold as the temperature of the very room.

Riki was hesitant, a slight thump in his chest, although he did take that hand.

"What are you doing, brooding in the dark?"

Orphe had come in, and stood closely aside, as Iason settled him upon his lap, facing forward.

He felt the kiss, a light settling touch on his shoulder as the top Blondie eased the robes he'd wrapped about himself off.

His Master was uncovering his wing, which Iason was careful to avoid the injuries of. Riki felt embarrassed. Does his beloved have no idea how this close distance was making him feel?

"Better?" A question of concern that Riki all but simply nodded to.

But what was this all about? Iason, to him, was acting a little strange. He appeared to be seething, enraged but containing it within his frozen demeanor, closer to the persona of the Ice Noble everyone knew of him. Even as he caressed Riki gently, he was the Emperor. This was his Kingdom, his dearest one.

"Raoul has done magnificently, but how is it?"

From behind, Iason slowly lifted the damaged wing to inspect it.

Riki flinched, but found it bearable, seeing his Neu-Jupiter with that signature adoration, kissing over the bandaged portion, those knowing eyes in a deep concentration upon him. "My apologies."

Why was he the one apologizing?

Iason did him no wrong. Actually, the Pet thought he was more to blame, doing something behind his lover's back, like, that stunt that's led to all this just because he thought bypassing the protocols that kept him safe would just be fine.

They clearly weren't.

It was just a stupid assumption that had everyone paying the the price.

Riki with an admonition then, "It still hurts. I can't even flex nor retract it."

His voice held that regret now, a frustration that was brought about by all this. He had gotten himself in trouble, and damaged himself so badly that all the Blondies, Iason most importantly, had to pay the price.

Imagine how the Exclusive felt.

Well Neu-Jupiter knew.

And for that, he gave Riki a gentle kiss on those lips this time, to assure him as he eased the would-be tears and all that worry away.

"It isn't your fault," the top Blondie said when the gesture parted, leaving Riki to reel slightly as most of these things do to him.

For a moment, the Exclusive was in a daze it appeared. Up until he heard something move from the confines of the area and there was some manner of screaming that ensued.

It was from the ceiling. A trapdoor had opened, revealing a cage that was being lowered with what were definitely people in it, dangling on thin support.

Riki was confused.

Orphe who'd been quiet to the side supplied for his benefit: "They're spies. All of them. Caught from all across the grid."

He stood there pitiless, that undeniable tilt of his chin showing ample defiance and pride and cruelty. As was reflected in his Master's face.

"This is Kryon's doing…

"They hurt you."

Neu-Jupiter's tone was chilly, an arm protectively, possessively tightening around his Exclusive.

When Riki turned to look at him, the expression he saw was that of a dangerous Man, an Alpha threatened.

"Orpheus…"

No other words after. But Riki felt the entire area shook as something was happening just below them, beneath the cage.

It was the glassy pool. Its surface was slowly parting in half, revealing what was beneath the surface.

Water in a certain depth. Dark and appearing to swim with something that confirmed Riki's suspicions.

War Mermaids. Pets that were converted for the purpose of the guerres, as security, as attack machines, as military weapons-

The Pet swallowed.

This was why it was so dark. These creatures shunned the light. But the greater question was why they were here to begin with. And his Master. Why that screaming cage of people was where they are- what was Iason planning?

"Ia-"

"No flying for now, my lovely," smiled Neu-Jupiter, but even that was devious under this light. He was all eyes upon their captives as well, even as he was instructing his Pet. "It will heal eventually, sooner than you think. Just listen to Raoul…"

"Help us, please-"

"-help us! We'll do anything!"

Riki heard them finally, the many chorused pleading, but as he turned to where they were, Neu-Jupiter eased his head by the chin back to look at him.

"Don't…" he cautioned his Exclusive. "You have no business with them.

"We, however, do."

That hand moved up the spine of his back sensuously, though there was an agitation in the way Iason seemed to work, especially palpable when he sighed in disgust of the prospect that he could have lost his Exclusive's presence again.

"How unfortunate. Losing your precious feathers. Almost losing you again…"

Riki did not know what to say. But that didn't matter. He survived, and that was enough to embolden the top Blondie. He bares his Pet from the robes completely, if only so he could wrap the other uninjured wing around him, taking comfort in that.

He takes the time before pronouncing a verdict, enough that he seemed to have slept, closing his eyes in relaxation.

"Feed them to the mermaids."