Keke punched the wall, but despite all her strength the volcanic rock wasn't even scratched. Distraught, she sat on her haunches, head down and sullen.

After digging her out of the rubble, the Asura 'rescuers' kicked her about before tossing her into the prison. A cell made out of Shadowland stone and Carceri iron, strong enough to hold the ancient Titans despite their considerable magical and physical power.

It didn't matter though, Keke was defeated, her will and spirt was broken, first by Pasurendra's accusation and then by her own unraveling dreams. Were they real? Did they really happen? Since being released from the pits of Abaddon, various shards of her memory resurfaced, however could she trust them? What if it was all some elaborate ploy by her jailors to torment her some more, even after being granted a reprieve to serve in Taraksun's army.

Keke did not know the answer, however all she did know was the anguish. That felt real. That was real. It hurt her more than any arrow or spear that was ever thrust into her body. Regardless of her perceptions on reality and if her memory was altered, it was real enough to reduce the mighty Kalikekeztra to a timid prisoner, softly weeping to herself in the corner of her prison.

"Are you alright?" asked a soft voice from an adjacent cell.

Keke ignored her.

"Are you alright?" repeated the voice.

Keke ignored her again, but when she heard a breath being drawn to the ask the question yet again, she reluctantly replied.

"No, I'm not alright. I'm a captive just like you, awaiting what I can only guess is our eventual torture and deaths," Keke said plainly.

"Well now, it sounds really bad the way you put it," laughed the voice lightly.

She focused her vision on her cell mate and saw a young girl sitting on the floor with blue hair in a formal lacy black dress. She might have passed for a human or perhaps tiefling, but Keke saw through her guise and noticed the bumps of horns hidden under her hair, and the outline of wings folded under her dress. Though pretty, she did not possess that brazen lewd beauty of the Abyss. She was not beautiful or erotic enough to be a Succubus or an Alu demon, but she did have the markings of a half fiend without the usual fearsome appearance such as dark scaly skin, over sized teeth, giant claws, but Keke have met some that could retract or suppress these traits.

"From the look of you, I guess Pasurendra gave you the same deal he offered me," guessed Keke. "You are lovely enough to become his consort in his new demonic order , or the alternative of death."

The girl's interest appeared piqued but she shook her head. "No, nothing that sensational. I was kidnapped to be used as a bargaining chip against Jimmy, a man I haven't seen in almost ten years. When they dragged you in, I overheard that the person arranging the deal was slain, a big mage knight named Ulfgar, so I guessed that deal fell through."

"Aye, I slew him. Sorry to ruin your avenue of escape. As for this Jimmy, was he your lover," asked Keke. She wasn't sure why she would delve into such matters, since they never interested her before, but perhaps her recent revelations made her sympathetic to this girl's plight.

"No, no. Heavens no. Jimmy is more…Jimmy is more like my son," replied the blue haired girl. Keke thought it odd that one that appeared so young could have a son since half fiends were usually a short lived race, five to twenty years as the norm, but spells and magical items could extend a mortal's lifespan by decades or even centuries if sufficiently powerful enough. Also the consumption of souls could expand their longevity, but Keke didn't get that feeling from this girl.

"…actually…that is a regret I have. I practically raised him, treated him like one of my real sons, but I never said it out loud," sighed the blue haired girl. "I hope he knows that I love him and am proud of him, no matter where life takes him. I always thought that was unspoken between us, but now as I wait in this cell, I guess I will never get a chance to tell him that. Perhaps I'll scribble a note and pray to the gods that he'll one day find it," she added with a wry smile.

"For a person about to die, you are taking this rather well," said Keke even though she had been weeping not so long ago. "I would think you'd be a bit more emotional given our impending doom."

Blue hair simply shrugged. "I grew up in squalor, rescued from the streets by a kind priestess. When I was adopted, my parents didn't tell me directly, but I overheard I only had five years to live, the standard lifespan of my particular species. Well, I've outlived my husband, children, and some of my grandchildren. I've seen my parents separate, and more friends perish than I would like to. I currently spend my time in self-exile at the university, a living death of sorts, so death really doesn't scare me. I've been ready for it for a long time."

Keke raised a dubious eyebrow. She didn't believe this girl's bold claim. She had heard many heroes and warriors make the exact same claim before, but they were all bawling or mewling when their time came. Some even begged, which Keke particularly disliked, she dispatched those in a most painful manner. In fact, Keke hoped when her own time came she would be in a battle of some sort. She hoped the bloodlust would distract her from her impending doom so she wouldn't embarrass herself in her final moments.

"By the way my name is Stille," interrupted Blue hair as Keke contemplated her own death. "Or you can call my Hush, Sharliss, or Baroness if you like. Though Baroness does sound a bit too high and mighty for my tastes, but people like to call me that regardless. "

"Keke," grunted Kalikekeztra. She was under no obligation to reply, but thought it proper to at least exchange introductions before their impending deaths. Besides, Blue Hair was proving to be an interesting person.

"Keke? That's a pretty name. Forgive me for asking, but do you have any regrets? Besides being a researcher at the university, I am a priestess by trade and I help people with troubled thoughts. I find it helps soothe the spirit if you vocalize your regrets before …well…our imminent deaths."

Keke shrugged. Once again she was under no obligation to reply to Stille's questions, but she found just talking to her had eased some of the anguish that filled her before. "I regret losing Eliaos. I had other lovers before him, but he was the only one I loved, and the only one that truly loved me back."

"How did you lose him?"

"I killed him," shrugged Keke. Stille's calm countenance was briefly shattered at Keke's statement, but she quickly recovered. " Actually, I only held his blade as he plunged his chest onto it, but it still felt like killing him. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. To make matters worse, was I kept that blade as a grisly memento, but I lost that as well."

"Oh I see, " nodded Stille, though Keke doubted she fully understood. "Is that why they placed you here, for killing this Eliaos?"

"Nah. I'm here mainly because of a labour dispute. They cast me out after framing me as a scapegoat for some greater failed ploy. After that I went to help an old friend, but she left me when things got tough. That's fine though, since I found a new friend, and eventually a new life, or at least I thought I did until they wanted me back. Long story short, I said no, got in a fight with my replacement who offered me a glorified concubine position, lost the fight, and ended up here."

Stille looked confused, but Keke couldn't blame her. She had taken a long convoluted journey from the battlefield of the Western Holy Temple to this prison cell, and she could hardly believe all the things that happened to her since. Capturing holy Sampada, the great sea battle, her torture at the hands of the foppish prince, being rescued by Whelp, getting stuck on that mist island, fighting a giant slimy fish, defeating that demon hunter, before being bested by Pasurendra. She was fine with everything except the last event. She had beaten her Asurendra rival before, and it gnawed at her that she was defeated so handily in their last encounter.

"Actually I do have a regret," admitted Keke as she lifted her manacled wrists. "I regret having these damn chains, I could have won my last fight if I didn't have them on."

Stille's eyes narrowed on them. "I can't tell for sure, but they look like Dragon Shackles, minor artifacts from the land of the Emerald throne. Wait, are you a dragon?"

"Me a dragon? Hells no, but I'm stuck with them just the same," laughed Keke. She started with a giggle at that ridiculous statement, but ended up with braying hysterically when she realized that Stille probably suspected her to be just a plain tiefling or perhaps even a human. Stille was confused, but ended up joining her when she realized what a silly statement that was, and the paired ended up laughing long and hard, which to Keke's surprise, washed away the sorrow and anguish she had recently unearthed.

"Now my turn. Do you have any regrets, besides not telling this Jimmy person that he's your son, or he should be your son, or whatever it was you wanted to tell him," asked a much happier Keke when she finally recovered her breath.

Stille considered her statement and closed her eyes. "I regret the whole incident between two of my dear friends. I loved them both, but I couldn't choose one."

Keke's eyes widened. Selexia had graced her with lurid tales of love triangles before, but the Succubus was always emotionally detached from them. The fact Stille seemed still hurt her by her failed tryst heightened her curiosity, in a more morbid than empathetic way though. "Oh, please tell me more."

Stille sighed sadly. "After my husband died, I lived a life of loneliness. In retrospect it was a self-imposed punishment, since I idealized him in such a way that no suitor could compete. Well to my surprise, I found two men that somehow thawed my frozen heart. A hunter of the supernatural, dashing, unpredictable, honest, but supremely arrogant, and a knight, strong, handsome, staunch, but a bit of a raging drunk. They were friends but they fought over me of course, and to my shame I enjoyed every minute of it. "

"I should have put an end to their quarrel since it was destroying their friendship, but I let it linger. Linger too long. In the end, the knight thrashed the hunter within an inch of his life. I couldn't bear the violence, so I turned him away, breaking his heart. He left on some fool crusade a thousand miles away, to be anywhere as long as he was away from me. The hunter on the other hand was too shamed at his defeat, and fell to drink. He was already a heavy drinker, but he found a new low to sink to, and eventually vanished into the gutters."

Keke grinned at the story, even though it wasn't Stille's intent. She once had a Nalfeshnee and a Glabrezu demon fight for her attention before, so she knew the thrill of it all. However, in her case Keke simply slew the both of them when the tempo of their fight faded. Stille's suitors on the other hand, seemed to had a much more interesting and decisive battle.

As the two talked, Keke could hear something shifting in the darkness. Her eyes narrowed in on a humanoid figure slinking in the shadows. At first she thought it was a drow, but it was too clumsy in its movements. Perhaps a tiefling, a Babau, or a Rutterkin demon?

Regardless of her imprisonment, her eyes were as sharp as ever as she discerened their identity. It was a human, female. A plain ordinary human in moderately heavy armour, though for a second Keke thought she saw a tiny spark of divinity in her. Something like the spirit of a cleric or a priest, but much brighter and smaller at the same time. It was like if a huge fire burned within this human, but only the flickering embers remained. Stille had not spotted this person, but Keke had, what was more important was that this interloper didn't realize it.

Keke feigned ignorance as the figure made its way through the room. Then when the figure drew near, Keke lunged at the stranger despite the cell's bars and her own shackles. She caught the figure by surprise as she grabbed her shoulder with her great strength and slammed what appeared to be a short stocky woman against the bars.

Keke wasted no time as she wrapped her arms around the woman's neck, even as her prisoner produced a dagger and began stabbing her in the bicep.

Keke ignored the injury and simply lifted her prey higher, strangling her before grasping her dagger hand. The pair struggled silently with the blade, though Keke was gaining the upper hand before Stille interrupted.

"Stop this! This woman might have been in the shadows but she isn't with our captors," cried the Baroness. "If she wanted to, she could easily have raised the alarm."

Keke considered her statement and grudgingly released her.

The woman fell to her knees, but quickly recovered as she hopped out of Keke's range.

"I'm sorry my friend acted so rashly," explained Stille. "But, I assumed she thought you were a jailor and was simply attempting to extradite your key so as to release us."

The woman appraised Stille even as she glared at Keke. "I am simply seeking my …companion. I would free the pair of you, but I have no skill with locks nor do I know where the key is."

Keke doubt even if she had any appreciable lock picking skills, this woman could aid them. This was a cell made from Carceri bars, made to hold titans and other elder evils. She had doubts that anyone could open this cage without a key. Also her manacles had resisted all previous attempts to open them, and she doubt anyone could release her now.

"If I find this key I will return for you two, but I make no promises," said the armoured girl. "This place is crawling with demons and I can't guarantee your safety let alone my own."

Stille frowned. "You're probably right. If its any consulation, I assume Ulfgar's friend, that golden armoured youth has the key. I've seen him in his true form, and I doubt any of us could fight him. He imprisoned the both of us, and I assume he has the key or access to it."

"Golden armoured youth? Hmm...I've heard an Asura, known as a golden destroyer is in this area. That will make things difficult," said the armoured girl.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…." Said a thin slovenly man who stepped out of the darkness. While Keke's senses were great, she wasn't sure how this man who stunk of alcohol could evade her detection.

"Martinez? Martinez!" cried Stille as she reached through the bars to hug him.

"Aye, I'm here love," said the half drunk man before he turned to the surprised armoured woman. "Oh and hi Rina, I didn't think you'd try to follow me."

Rina looked crossed. "The fate of the world depends on you, and you're wandering around these passages. Nevermind, help me find the key to let these poor girls out. We'll get that paladin and his lackey to escort them while we…."

*click*

"Done, " said the man named Martinez as he stepped away from first Stille's cell than Keke's. Both doors creaked open.

Keke stared at the man. She didn't detect any magic being used, and he barely touched the locking mechanism before they opened.

*clang clang*

Keke stared open mouthed as her Dragon Shackles fell to the ground.

"Those look heavy," said Martinez before he walked back and hugged Stille again.