ATTENTION READER!

This is PART 2 of a TWO PART chapter. It has been broken up for your viewing pleasure. If you are reading this without having read Part 1, STOP! You WILL be confused! Otherwise, ENJOY! :D

When the recess ended, Michael marched back into the throne room with his head held high and his resolve as solid as stone. He took his position at the table, and he waited. The minutes passed by, and the varied guests of the summit took their seats. He saw the cupid enter the room, and go straight to Eros to whisper in her ear. A chair scraped to his left, and he turned to find Bacchus sitting next to him. The cupid paused on her way around the table, her chair taken by the god of alcohol.

"Oi, hey there lad. About that whiskey you shared earli..." Bacchus paused.

She paused, and looked closely in his eyes.

"You have a glint in your eye lad. A steely eyed resolve." Bacchus observed.

"When this summit is over, I'll send you a case of that rye whiskey." Michael said calmly.

Bacchus's face lit up.

"Please do! I quite enjoyed it ya know!" Bacchus said cheerfully.

...

"Well at least I made one friend." Michael thought.

...

"Attention please. I call this summit into session!" Lilith called.

Everyone sat down in unison.

"The first order of business we must resolve is the matter of my daughter's protest. Her protest has been resolved in private." Lilith said.

"And where is she now?" The fallen god asked.

"She has left the Royal Makai, and will no longer be participating in this summit. The matter is settled." Lilith said.

It was obvious to everyone present exactly what happened to Druella. But to hear her own mother say such a thing was rather unpleasant. It angered Michael especially.

"Now... when we last met, Eros had given her demands regarding her alliance with my demon realms. One, her rule is to remain untouched by my power. Two, full lordship over Michael Collins." Lilith reminded.

Michael put his hands on the arms of his chair in preparation of standing. But before he could, another voice beat him to the punch.

"I object to the second demand." The fallen god said.

Michael looked up at her in surprise. She bore a devilish smirk as she rose up out of her chair.

"And on what basis do you object?" Lilith asked.

"Michael Collins is my subject. He has been sanctified by one of my priests, and contains my divine blessing within his body. By all rights, he belongs to me." The fallen god explained.

Sherry shot Michael a look, and he shrugged back to her.

"Is this true Lord Collins?" Lilith asked.

"I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about. I never had anything to do with her priests." Michael said.

"It happened when you had first arrived in the city of Lescatie. My priest discovered a weakness about you, brought on by hunger. So she administered my sacrament to strengthen your body. In that moment, you became my subject." The fallen god explained.

Michael thought about it a moment. He remembered arriving at Lescatie half dead from hunger. The guards arrested him, and then... blackness. He didn't remember a large swath of time between being arrested on the wall above the Lescatie gate, and waking up in the Lescatie guard house.

"She also fucked you a lot." The fallen god added, grinning lewdly.

Sherry shot Michael a horrified look, and his heart sank. He had no recollection whatsoever of doing it with anyone other than Sherry, which meant the fallen god's priest raped him in his sleep.

...

"I refute your claim on him. He was my subject before he was your subject. You claim that your priest performed the sacrament when he first arrived in the city of Lescatie. Well my claim on him began before a portal existed between our worlds. My claim precedes yours. You didn't even know he existed while my magic touched his mortal soul." Eros argued.

A chill shot up Michael's spine.

"She... before the portal was even opened? How much before? Was it right around the same time the doppelganger appeared? Was she the one who sent him?" Michael thought.

...

"Satrina, go determine the validity of Eros's claim." Lilith instructed.

So Satrina stood up and rounded the table. She placed a hand on Michael's forehead, and closed her eyes. Seconds ticked by.

...

She opened her eyes again, and they looked mournful. She mouthed an apology.

"Well?" Lilith asked.

"Eros's claim precedes the claim of the fallen god." Satrina said reluctantly.

"Oh well. At least I tried. I'll admit, I only have passing interest in him." The fallen god said casually.

...

A few silent moments passed.

...

"Well? If there are no other protests, then I will declare the second demand fulfilled." Lilith said.

"Except for the fact that I still haven't accepted." Michael said.

Michael noticed that Lilith's reaction wasn't nearly as angry as it was the first time. It seemed as if she had collected herself, and was choosing to work through the problem calmly.

"Your visit has been quite pleasant so far, and you seem like a reasonable human. Perhaps I could offer some compensation for this small boon?" Lilith suggested.

"You don't have anything I need. My presence here at this summit is purely a result of my friendship with your daughter. Who I might add... is no longer here. I'm awfully tempted to leave on my own, and let you sort out your own problems." Michael said dangerously.

"That is not necessary Lord Collins. I ask that you willingly offer yourself over to Eros in the name of cooperation. Surely you understand the gravity of this situation." Lilith said.

"I do. And I'm not refusing because I have a problem with you. I'm refusing because I have a problem with Eros, and I don't want anything to do with her." Michael said bluntly.

"WHAT?! WHY?! How have I offended you?!" Eros exclaimed.

Michael ignored Eros, and kept his focus on Lilith.

"Our personal problems are not a concern of this summit, and I do not want to get the people here involved." Michael said.

"If my demands are not met as stated, I will not sign the treaty." Eros insisted.

"For goodness sake, just say yes already! This back and forth is tiresome!" The queen of hearts exclaimed.

"I agree, this is quite boring." The fallen god said.

"Perhaps if I killed him, his attitude would improve." Hel suggested.

And just like that, the crowd turned against him. Where he was once the favorite of the room, he was quickly relegated to the roll of stupid human who was holding up progress. He slowly surveyed the room, looking at all the glaring sets of eyes.

*Sigh

"Then I guess this summit is over for me. I hope I was able to answer all your questions about my world to your satisfaction." Michael said dejectedly.

He stood up, and Sherry stood up with him.

"Wait! Oh for goodness sake!" Satrina exclaimed.

She jumped to her feet, making everyone turn towards her.

"He wants to stay away from Eros because he suspects her of attempted murder!" Satrina blurted.

It took the crowd a moment before the words truly sank in. Their first reaction, to their credit, was to glare at Eros. It felt so good for Michael to not be glared at for a moment.

"That's ridiculous! Who does he think I tried to murder?" Eros asked.

"Michael himself. You tried to murder my husband." Sherry accused.

"His soul was nearly thrown into the void." Satrina added.

Michael sank into his chair. The cat was out of the bag. There was no stopping it anymore.

...

..

.

"Well Lord Collins? Do you have anything to say?" Lilith asked.

"I never wanted to say anything. Satrina should have kept quiet." Michael said.

"What's the point in that? It's better to be honest!" Satrina insisted.

"Quiet child. You clearly have learned nothing of politics from your tutors." Lilith shot.

"You should have let him leave. It's too late now." The queen of hearts interjected.

...

"That said, honesty is a solid policy. Tell us the honest truth, in your own words." Lilith insisted.

"The truth is... the Order tried to murder me. They tried to cast my soul into the void, and take over my body. Druella and my wife stopped them." Michael explained.

"And?" Lilith asked.

"And Eros was there." Michael said.

The table erupted into laughter.

"That's it? That's all you can muster? She was there? What a joke!" The queen of hearts jeered.

"You have wasted all our time with nothing! You foolish human!" The fallen god shot.

"That's pretty pitiful lad." Bacchus said.

"What do you expect? He's basically a child, so he has a child's argument." Lilith said.

"Yeah... that's what I thought you would say." Michael said quietly.

*HAHAHA

*HEHE

*HAHAHA!

"ENOUGH!" Eros exclaimed.

...

The laughter died down. Eros rose up out of her chair, her eyes raking across the people at the table.

"How would you like it if YOUR soul were nearly cast into the void? Of course he's upset about it, I would be too!" Eros exclaimed.

"You argue for him? Why?" Lilith asked.

"He is speaking the truth. I was there! It's clear now that the way I appeared before him was easily mistaken. It's not much of a stretch to think I was involved in the murder attempt." Eros explained.

Lilith sat forward in her chair.

"And were you involved?" Lilith asked pointedly.

"Of course not! I am the goddess of love, not the goddess of dastardly plots!" Eros rebuked.

Michael scoffed.

"So your argument is... you were there for some hereby unknown reason, yet you weren't involved with the murder attempt. Does that sound about right?" Lilith asked.

"So far... yes. And I had a very good reason to be there." Eros said.

"Pray tell." Lilith said.

Eros sighed.

"I've told you all that the chief god has begun attacking my cute little angels. She didn't do it without provocation. My hand was forced... by Michael Collins himself." Eros said.

"Bull!" Michael exclaimed.

She ignored him, and continued speaking.

"I only had a passing interest in Michael, similar to the fallen god. On occasion I would use my power to scry him. During one of these occasions, I made the most miraculous discovery. Michael has a great musical power." Eros said.

She closed her eyes and slowly swayed side to side, as if recalling the most beautiful of melodies. It was the identical sort of swaying that Sherry and all the other inma would do whenever Michael played his ocarina.

"Musical power?" Lilith asked dryly.

"Oh yes! It was marvelous! Breathtaking! Powerful and moving beyond what a mortal should be capable of doing! The music echoed across all of heaven, and graced the ears of all my angels~" Eros recalled.

She smiled and focused her eyes on Michael.

"They're beings full of passion, my angels. They've formed fan clubs, created paintings, distributed samples of your music, and even made full Michael Collins body pillows~" Eros explained.

Eros raised her hand, and a glowing sphere of white/pink energy appeared over her palm. When it disappeared, an array of fan merchandise was arrayed on the table. It was just as she promised. There were paintings, body pillows, and record cylinders.

"We commissioned the gremlins to make these new records. It's your music, etched into a cylinder of shellac. They're quite popular amongst my followers~" Eros said happily.

"What in the world is this insanity?" Lilith murmured.

She turned her eyes back to Lilith.

"All of this was done before Michael and Searraigh ever opened the portal to our world." Eros added.

*SNAP!

She snapped her fingers, and a huge pile of envelopes appeared on the table in front of Michael. The mound was so large, a lot of them slid right off the table and into his lap.

"And here is his fanmail." Eros said, winking.

Michael reached out with a shaking hand, and lightly touched one of the letters.

"Besides letters, there are sheets of music the angels wrote for you to play. And they authored several pieces of romance fanfiction. My favorite was 'The Heart Shaped Ocarina'." Eros said.

Sherry picked up one of the letters and opened it. When she did, a pink glowing magical heart sprite flew upwards into the ceiling. She followed it with her eyes for a moment, before focusing on the letter in her hands.

...

"My beloved Michael Collins,

Long have I awaited your arrival to our world, to see your beautiful face like the sun rising over the glistening sea. Your voice is akin to the cooing of the morning doves, and the whisper of the breeze through the forest..." Sherry read aloud.

"That's the most stereotypical love letter I've ever heard." The fallen god said dryly.

"...I worship the ground on which you trod. It is a sacred ground, which must be worshiped by all who pass. I worship the lips I so adore, which gracefully brush against the mouthpiece of your most sacred of instruments..." Sherry continued.

"Would you skip to the end? It's already so bad!" Bacchus blurted.

"Very well. The letter continues on... for twelve pages. And it ends with...'Will you give me a baby?'." Sherry finished.

"Well! Talk about beating around the bush! This is why we don't get along Eros. My priests wouldn't waste time with all this nonsense, she'd just push him over and rape him!" The fallen god exclaimed.

"That completely skips over the best part! You are obviously missing the point!" Eros exclaimed.

"Please! We seem to have gotten off topic! Eros, you were still explaining yourself!" Lilith exclaimed.

"Ah yes, ahem, where was I?" Eros asked.

"Murder accusation?" Lilith reminded dryly.

"Yes of course. My angels begged me to open a portal between our world and Michael's, but I refused. When he opened one of his own, they begged me to send an envoy down to escort him to heaven. I denied them again. As he lay dying of hunger on the side of the road, they wailed and gnashed their teeth, but still I refused to get involved." Eros explained.

Sherry shot Michael a concerned sideways glance. He didn't return it. His eyes were straight forward, and he showed no emotion on his face.

"As he fought the Order at Lescatie, my angels armed themselves and prepared to rush down to his aid. I commanded them to stay in heaven. They turned their anger towards me, towards their own god. But finally, at long last, I discovered the plot to destroy his soul. Either I helped him, or all of heaven would have revolted against me." Eros explained.

...

"I tried to make them understand the danger, but they refused to listen. They couldn't understand that a war would start if I helped him in direct opposition to the chief god. They forced my hand, and I used my power to touch his heart and give him the nudge to fight the ACTUAL murderer. It was his own strength, but I helped him tap into it." Eros explained.

She sighed and looked back to Michael.

"I had hoped my assistance would go unnoticed. But then... your spirit injury put you in a coma. My cute little angels demanded I help you once again. By then, it was too late. The chief god noticed. Even as I touched your spirit and showed my divine visage, the first attacks began against my angels. Many died. Some of them were the ones who wrote those letters." Eros explained at length.

Michael's eyes slowly sank downward towards the stack of letters. The thought of someone writing him a fan letter and then dying pulled at his heart strings.

"So now you know why I called this meeting, and why I have so suddenly asked for an alliance with Lilith. The world is changing, new forces have come into play. We must ally ourselves if we are to survive. Separate we are weak, and together we are strong. Like a bundle of arrows." Eros finished.

Michael's eyes shot upwards towards Eros. She had a knowing smile on her face.

"I said that once. She was listening." Michael thought.

...

..

.

"I formally retract my accusations." Michael said quietly.

Standing up, he pushed his chair back under the table and walked out. The gods, lilim, and Lilith all tracked him with their eyes as he and Sherry left.

.

..

...

~Later~

...

..

.

Some time passed. Sherry and Michael were standing on a balcony, overlooking the castle town far below. Sherry gently kissed him on the cheek and snuggled up against his arm. He needed all the reassurance he could get, and she had plenty to give.

"So what shall you do now?" Sherry asked.

"I have no idea. I've never been so wrong about something before. This is the worst possible outcome." Michael said softly.

"You now doubt yourself?" Sherry asked.

"Yeah. I saw her there, but... she never attacked me directly. Did I just accuse a person of attempted murder just because they happened to be there? Isn't that guilt by association?" Michael wondered.

He face palmed.

"Oh shit... I'm so stupid. I just want to die." Michael said, muffled.

Sherry rubbed his shoulder reassuringly.

"I've pissed off Lilith, I've pissed off Eros, and I even betrayed you." Michael said softly.

"Betrayed me? How?" Sherry asked.

Michael opened his mouth, but then he closed it again.

"You mean the fallen god's priestess?" Sherry asked.

"Yes..." Michael whispered.

She caught his chin and forced him to look her in the eye.

"I had no idea. She must have raped me when I was unconscious." Michael said softly.

"I know. I sensed as much when I found you in Lescatie. I could taste her mana. It came as no surprise that a man entering alone into a city of inma would quickly end up raped. That's just normal." Sherry said softly.

They wrapped their arms around each other and hugged lovingly. Sherry pressed her face against his chest.

"What will WE do now?" Sherry asked, muffled.

"I don't know. I suppose... we'll head on back home to Arizona. There's still a lot of work to do there. Maybe we'll come back after all the dust has settled, if we're even welcome back." Michael said softly.

"It shall be done." Sherry said, muffled.

...

"So you still don't intend to accept the terms?" A voice said.

Michael's head whirled around. Standing behind him was the cupid Miranda.

"First you tailgate us, and now you're eavesdropping?" Michael asked.

"Eros sent me to bring you back to the summit. But... why won't you accept the terms? You retracted your accusation, so what's stopping you? Do you still hate Eros?" Miranda asked.

"Do you really think I can just march in there and agree to the terms after what just happened? Even if I wanted to, and I sure don't." Michael said.

"But why? Eros is a kind god who has already forgiven your accusations." Miranda insisted.

"Because I have my own god, and he's a jealous god." Michael said.

Several emotions crossed Miranda's face. She slowly nodded in understanding. Suddenly everything Michael had done made sense.

...

"As a cupid, I could no more worship another god than he could. I thought that his argument was a little weak, but if he were actually afraid of committing a sin against his own god..." Miranda thought.

...

"I know how you must feel right now, but we must move past this issue. Please. Let us just be friends. This is how Eros feels." Miranda pleaded.

...

..

.

Shortly later, Michael and party re entered the summit. The table was still occupied, and all eyes turned towards him as he walked in the door. Without saying a word, he sat back down in his designated seat, and waited for the end.

"Welcome back Lord Collins. Now... we may finish our official business. As a reminder, Eros has made two demands that must be met before she will sign a treaty with the demon realms. Are there any others who wish to object to Eros's demands?" Lilith asked.

There was complete silence. No one spoke up. Michael's eyes looked downwards, as if he were in a courtroom. He felt worse sitting in that room than he did in an actual courtroom with an actual trial going on.

"I have decided that Michael Collins is not my subject. He is not the subject of Druella, despite his title as Earl Marshal. He is an independent man who has no master. I cannot command him to be anyone's subject. However, I do recognize Eros's claim to him. Does this satisfy the second requirement?" Lilith said.

Eros glanced at Michael, and formed a knowing glint in her eye.

"Yes it does. So long as you nor anyone else attempts to make him your subject, then I consider my second demand satisfied. However, there is the matter of one Searraigh Fontaine, who is most certainly your subject." Eros said.

Sherry stiffened.

"You believe that Searraigh's servitude shall influence Michael Collins?" Lilith asked.

"I do." Eros said.

"Searraigh, you are a knight under my daughter Druella. But you are powerful in your own right. I hereby declare you mistress of Michael's world, and no longer a knight under Druella." Lilith said.

Sherry gasped.

"Butbut..." Sherry started to protest.

"Do you approve of this solution Eros?" Lilith asked.

"I approve. I suggest we adjourn this summit for the rest of the day while the treaty is drafted, and then return tomorrow for the signing. You and I may discuss the finer details in private." Eros said.

"Summit adjourned until tomorrow morning." Lilith declared.

...

..

.

Michael waited outside the throne room for Sherry to catch up. People filed by, giving him sideways glances as they walked past. Sherry was still in the throne room because she wanted to ask Lilith about being removed as a knight, something that she took exception with. She didn't want to so easily give up being the only thing she knew how to be. So Michael waited, and stood aside as the people of the summit passed him.

"Ahem~"

Michael turned, and found Bacchus standing next to him with her usual drunken smile.

"Heyyyy~" Bacchus slurred.

"Um... hey." Michael said, uncomfortable.

*SMACK

She smacked him on the shoulder while laughing heartily.

"Loosen up lad! Yer as stiff as a board!" Bacchus exclaimed cheerfully.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just all of this that's been going on..." Michael trailed off.

"You need a stiff drink!" Bacchus interrupted.

"Yeah... I do." Michael agreed.

Just then, Sherry came out of the throne room and found Michael speaking with Bacchus.

"How'd it go?" Michael asked.

"Poorly. Might I borrow a phrase from your world... she told me to take a hike." Sherry said.

"I'm sorry. I know you must feel disappointed right now." Michael said softly.

"More than you could comprehend." Sherry said, dejected.

"Looks like yeh could use a drink too." Bacchus said.

...

So just like that, Michael and Sherry wound up somewhere new in the castle. They sat at a table, in a quiet room below ground level. There were countless barrels of ale and wine on racks all around them. It was a wine cellar, complete with tasting room and on call maids at every hour. Whenever Bacchus would come visit Lilith, the maids would always set up a wine and ale tasting area, which was essentially her living space during her stay.

*Clink!

They clunked three stoneware mugs together.

"To the end of war!" Bacchus exclaimed.

"To the end of war." Michael and Sherry said, nodding in agreement.

They all took a drink, and Michael sighed happily.

"Damn this is good. This has to be the best beer I've ever had." Michael remarked.

"Aye it's decent enough, but it's nothin' like the brew I've got in my realm." Bacchus slurred.

She took another drink from her mug.

"Darned Eros, runnin' off to go fight in some fool war. Promised me she did, and she went back on her promise!" Bacchus muttered.

She muttered to herself a while, interrupting herself with occasional gulps of her frothy brew.

...

"Would you be upset if I asked you a couple of questions?" Michael asked.

"That's one! Yeh have one left! Hehe *hic... I'sh just kidding." Bacchus slurred.

She leaned forward and stuck her entire face into the mug, getting beer foam all over her nose.

"I like you Collins! Michael! Erm... Mikey! Yeah. You'resh a good fella, bringin food and BOOZE for people. Yer just my kind! So ASK AWAY!" Bacchus said cheerfully.

"Why don't you throw in with Lilith and help with the war?" Michael asked.

She paused mid drink, and gave Michael a funny look.

"Who the fuck would wanna drunk on a battlefield?" Bacchus asked.

"That's exactly my point. Who would want a drunk on a battlefield?" Michael said.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Yeh... ain't insulting me now are ya?" Bacchus asked dangerously.

"No ma'am. I'd never do that. I just thought... you're the god of alcohol. You like people to be intoxicated. By your own words, drunks are no good on a battlefield. So why don't you make the Order knights drunk? I'm sure you could use your power to spread alcoholism across the human lands." Michael explained.

...

"Spread... alcoholism?" Bacchus questioned.

"Wouldn't it be better if everyone was sitting around drinking instead of marching and shouting and killing?" Michael suggested.

As she sat there and listened to Michael's words, a moment of absolute crystal clarity crossed her face.

"That's... something." Bacchus said evenly.

She took another drink, and the moment of clarity passed.

"Looks like yer succubus is plastered!" Bacchus remarked cheerfully.

Michael turned and looked at Sherry. Sure enough, she was completely wasted.

"How much did you drink?!" Michael asked.

"Hehehehe~ One schip!" Sherry slurred.

"I mighta blessed that mug when you weren't looking~" Bacchus chuckled.

Sherry slid out of her chair and crawled under the table.

...

"Yer face is gettin red, and it ain't the booze~" Bacchus noted.

Michael's head collapsed against the table as a very drunk Sherry fished his pecker out of his pants and started sucking it.

"Ahhh... damn..." Michael moaned.

While Michael wasn't looking, Bacchus reached over and flicked her finger against Michael's mug of ale.

"Drink up lad, before it goes flat. It's a sin to let it go flat." Bacchus said, grinning.

It was a struggle, but Michael managed to take another drink of his ale while Sherry toyed with his lower half. As expected, he instantly became drunk.

...

It was all a blur after that. Somehow Michael and Sherry wound up in a bedroom, where the very intoxicated succubus sloppily tried to mount him. She kept sliding off, so the very intoxicated Michael had to help her. But all he managed to do was grope her ass and tits thoroughly.

"Hehe, it's like Las Vegas all over again~" Sherry slurred cheerfully.

"Vegas...yeah." Michael murmured.

Sherry kept trying to mount him, oblivious to his hesitation. It just so happened that the alcohol had messed with his head just enough that he could recall something wasn't quite right about their trip to Las Vegas. But what it was, he couldn't quite grasp.

...

..

.

~The Next Morning~

.

..

...

"Sweetie~"

*Lick

*Schlip

*Nibble

"Wakey wakey, or I'm going to nibble your ear until your brain melts~" Sherry said seductively.

Michael's eyes slowly opened, awoken by her endless pestering. As soon as he woke up, Sherry jammed her tongue in his mouth.

"MMPH!" Michael cried, muffled.

There was none of her usual delicateness in her kiss. It was more like the kiss of an animal in heat. He could smell the alcohol on her, taste it on her tongue, and feel the sloppiness of her actions. Sherry was still completely plastered.

"Hey hey, whoa... have you been drinking all night?" Michael asked, pushing her away.

"Yeah~ Want some?" Sherry asked.

He looked in the direction she was looking. There were wine bottles everywhere. A huge wine goblet the size of a fish bowl sat on the nightstand next to the bed. The thing must have been able to hold an entire bottle of wine in one pour.

"You're taking losing your knighthood pretty hard, aren't you?" Michael asked.

The smile on her face faded, and her eyes turned sorrowful.

"You had to remind me..." Sherry choked.

She leaned over and grabbed the goblet, and started chugging wine.

"Great. The depressed woman who drinks a crapload of wine. Nope. Not stereotypical at all." Michael thought.

He wiped her messy raven black hair out of her eyes, which prompted her to try to suck on one of his fingers.

"Maybe you'd better stay here while I finish that summit. When it's all over, I'll come get you and we can go home." Michael said.

"Then we can fuck?" Sherry asked, hopeful.

"Yeah." Michael said.

"Yay! I love you!" Sherry exclaimed.

She threw her arms around him, empty goblet included. Sherry had just drank an entire bottle of wine in one gulp.

..

.

~Later~

.

..

Michael arrived at the summit alone that morning, with Sherry being in no shape to attend. It only highlighted how alone he was at that moment. Druella was missing, Sherry was drunk, Satrina had no power whatsoever, and Lilith was only concerned with her alliance. That Alan Shepard's prayer kept rolling around in his brain.

"Welcome sir! Will you be sitting in the same place today?" A maid asked.

"Might as well." Michael said, shrugging.

So the maid escorted him towards the same chair he had been sitting at during the entire summit. When he got there, he found Eros sitting to the left of his seat, and Miranda sitting in what would have been Sherry's seat. A quick scan of the table showed that no extra seats were open anywhere. Even the ones which should have been open were taken up. The fallen god had her legs on an extra chair, some books filled another, and some chairs were outright removed. Satrina was missing entirely. He was forced to sit next to Eros.

"And now you're right where you belong... at my side." Eros said warmly.

"Hmmp." Michael grunted.

"You needn't be so afraid of me." Eros said softly.

"It occurs to me you could have faked the merch." Michael said quietly.

"And why would I do that?" Eros asked.

Michael said nothing.

"You can just forget that silly little notion, because all those things were real. I'm telling you the truth." Eros insisted.

People were looking at him from all around the table, which made him even more self conscious.

"Feeling a little ashamed of your pitiful minute of fame yesterday?" The queen of hearts mocked.

"That's uncalled for dear. He was only voicing legitimate concerns, and I have long since forgiven him. Can we not let this issue be forgotten?" Eros suggested.

"I agree. It's not fair to expect a mortal to submit to a person who he legitimately thought was his attempted murderer. We cannot blame Lord Collins for any of the drama yesterday. This issue is hereby stricken from the records." Lilith said.

And with that, the issue was resolved. At least officially.

...

Lilith unrolled a large parchment treaty, and uncorked an ink bottle.

"Eros and I have already discussed the minor details of this treaty in private. The only thing left to do is to sign it." Lilith said.

"I protesht!" Bacchus slurred.

The whole table groaned audibly.

"Yes Bacchus? What is your protest?" Lilith asked through a fake smile.

Bacchus slammed her fists on the table and rattled everyone's drinks.

"I want ta make a treaty... eh... alliance with ya too! Mikey talked meh inta it!" Bacchus declared drunkenly.

The whole table went wide eyed. It was one thing to hear Eros joining Lilith, but it was an entirely different thing to hear Bacchus want the same thing. And to hear Michael was responsible shocked them to the core.

"How the blazes did that silly mortal talk you into something we've been trying to get you to do for CENTURIES!" The fallen god exclaimed.

*Hic

"I wantch the schame thing as Erass... with the freedum and stchuff." Bacchus slurred.

"Is it just me, or is she drunker than usual?" Eros asked.

"She is, and I don't care. Of course Bacchus! Anything you want!" Lilith said cheerfully.

"But WHY though? Why is she suddenly joining us?" The fallen god asked.

"I like drinking!" Bacchus cheered.

...

..

.

"Good enough. Here's your pen." Lilith said.

So just like that, Eros and Bacchus signed the treaty. Lilith raised it up into the air for everyone to see the signatures. Oddly enough, Bacchus had the best handwriting of the three, despite being falling down drunk. And just like that, public opinion of Michael shifted right back towards the favorable side of the spectrum. Despite everything that had happened, it was his doing that caused two major neutral parties to join Lilith, he had brought life saving medicines, and he had brought starvation ending seeds. His accusations against Eros were quickly forgotten.

...

The summit continued on, but not much was talked about which was relevant to Michael. It seemed to him that the people at the summit realized that after the Eros drama, there really wasn't much point in discussing Earth further. Deep down everyone realized that perhaps they shouldn't have laughed at or mocked the ambassador from another world. So the summit turned into a discussion of the demon realms, battles won and lost, and some strategy as Eros planned how her angels would work with the dark knights. Nobody asked how Michael's infantry could contribute, and he sure wasn't anxious to volunteer them. Hours passed, and the summit ended with Bacchus passing out in a drunken stupor on the table. Lilith thanked everyone for attending, and they were excused for the last time.

...

The summit chamber emptied, but Michael remained seated. The maids helped the drunken Bacchus leave, who ended up being one of the last people to walk out the crimson doors. Eventually it was just Lilith and Michael, and a few servants.

"You wish to speak to me?" Lilith asked.

"Yeah. I do." Michael said.

"Then speak." Lilith said.

"I realize that you have a lot on your plate. You're trying to win a war, overthrow the chief god, and wrangle a herd of cats at the same time. And I still support what you're trying to do. You can expect friendship from my world. We're not your enemy." Michael said.

"I appreciate that. I truly do." Lilith said.

"That said, what you tried to do to me was complete bullshit, and you've hurt any small amount of friendship you and I had." Michael said.

She leaned forward in her seat, and gave Michael a hard look.

"I have so many things that press upon me, I do not have time to deal with such minor annoyances. It's much quicker to just command you to do what's in your own best interest." Lilith argued.

"Those minor annoyances are part of what it is to be a leader." Michael argued.

"They are never ending. It wears upon me." Lilith argued.

"Yeah, that's right. That's what happens when you set yourself up as ruler for life. Lead, follow, or get the hell off the road!" Michael said angrily.

He rose up out of the chair.

"Wait Michael." Lilith blurted.

...

"What?" Michael asked.

"I'm... sorry. I do wish to be friends with you. I'm sorry I commanded you to be Eros's subject. You're right. In my desire to end this war, I have forgotten why I'm fighting it in the first place." Lilith said softly.

"Apologies don't mean much to the little people you crush on your path of glory." Michael said bluntly.

...

..

.

Michael walked out of the throne room for the last time, and the door shut behind him. It made him feel sad that the summit with Lilith had ended so badly. He had wanted so much to have a pleasant trip, and grow closer to Lilith. In the end, they were only driven further apart, and he could only think about leaving the Royal Makai as quickly as possible. In the back of Michael's mind, the thought of returning to the castle disgusted him.

"That's it. I'm done. It's time to go home." Michael thought.

He made his way down the hallways of the castle, heading for the room they had slept in the previous night. The thought of a warm bed, a clingy succubus, and a few hours of sleep really appealed to Michael in that moment. But as he walked, he soon got turned around. The castle was massive and sprawling, and he didn't know his way around yet.

"Ah, here it is. I'm pretty sure this is the door." Michael thought.

He opened the door, and peeked inside. Some unknown succubus looked up from a book, smiled, and immediately hopped off the bed.

"Oh! A man! Come in handsome! Don't be shy..." The succubus said.

"Sorry wrong room!" Michael blurted.

*SLAM

...

So he walked onwards. Shortly later, after wandering around for a long time, he decided that he found the correct door. He opened it, and ANOTHER strange succubus was inside. That time, Michael was graced with the sight of full frontal nudity.

"Sorry!" Michael exclaimed.

*SLAM!

...

This went on a few more times, each door leading to a progressively more lustful inma. He was convinced it was the right door, until it wasn't. The last door he opened lead to a chamber with a manticore and a hellhound blowing each other sixty nine style.

"Okay that's it. One more door, and I'm giving up. If I open this door and find anything other than Sherry, I'm leaving without her." Michael thought.

...

He opened the door and looked inside. There was Sherry, sleeping on the bed.

"Whew~" Michael sighed.

Michael took a step into the room... and the illusion was broken. Instead of his wife, it was Eros laying gracefully on the bed.

"Welcome precious one. Finally I get to speak to you in private." Eros said sweetly.

*CLACK

The door shut behind him, and refused to budge. A certain cupid was standing guard outside with her hand firmly clenched around the door knob.

"I forgive you for the very painful things you said earlier. I know you didn't realize what you were saying." Eros said kindly.

"What do you want?" Michael asked.

"Oh I want many things, most of which you won't be able to help with. Some, but not most." Eros said.

She gracefully sat upright, curling her leg over the side of the bed.

"Do you appreciate the gift I have bestowed upon you? Because of me, your world will remain free to grow in any way it wishes. You and I both know that Searraigh will eventually conquer your whole world, but now she is independent. She is free, and not under the control of Lilith or Druella." Eros said.

"You also broke her heart because of that. Being a knight was everything to her." Michael countered.

"Her heart will heal. I should know, I'm the goddess of love and all matters of the heart." Eros reassured.

"Stay away from my wife. If you hurt her..." Michael started.

"You worry too much. I'm not going to hurt your wife, or anyone else. I'll remind you that we just signed a treaty." Eros said.

"Yeah and part of that treaty is an attempt to subjugate me." Michael countered.

"My angels insisted. After refusing their requests so many times, they demanded I bring you under my direct protection." Eros explained.

"That again. What do you want from me?" Michael asked pointedly.

"It's exactly as I said. I want your music." Eros said.

She leaned forward.

"Do you not understand the gift you possess?" Eros asked.

"I play some music which makes monster girls horny... which honestly isn't saying much. They'll get horny at the drop of a hat. Any hat." Michael said dryly.

Eros giggled.

"Amusing! But alas, that description is but a pale shadow of your true gift." Eros argued.

"There are plenty of beings that can do what I do. What about the sirens, or those big titty harpies with the banjo?" Michael argued.

"You mean the Gandharva? Yes, they have a power similar to yours. But their power is but a mere shadow of what your power could be." Eros said.

"Okay?" Michael said, confused.

"Once in a hundred generations, someone will be born with an amazing gift. They're great artists, writers, musicians, and composers that move the souls of all with their works. But in all the time I have existed on this world, I have only ever seen one man who played music like you." Eros said.

"What happened to him?" Michael asked.

"For daring to create something beautiful, his punishment was to burn for all eternity in the chief god's infernal fires. There was no saving him before the man... and his gift... were lost forever. We tried, oh how we tried." Eros recounted.

She rose up off the bed, and gracefully walked closer to Michael.

"That is why I call you precious one. Because you are precious. I insisted you become my subject because that ensures your soul will come to my heaven should you die. And my angels would have rioted if I didn't." Eros said.

Michael took a nervous step backwards, plastering his back against the door.

"Somehow, by some twist of fate, by some strange combination of magical powers, or perhaps by sheer luck... you've been granted this gift. I won't let you slip through my fiingers like the last one." Eros said.

His eyes flicked around nervously, looking for an escape route.

"Don't be afraid. I do not require your worship if you don't want to give it. Those who worship me are rewarded, but I do not punish those who don't. All I want is for you to play your music every day. Multiple times a day if it's possible." Eros said.

"And if I refuse?" Michael asked.

"Then not only would you be doing yourself a disservice, but my angels will probably come down from heaven and ask you why you stopped." Eros said.

An extra warm smile formed on her lips.

"And since you're now my subject, I can let them do whatever they want." Eros suggested.

She reached out and gently patted Michael's head. He melted under her touch, his expression softening to one of pure bliss.

"That's it... good boy. Do you feel that warmth filling your heart? That's my power flowing into you." Eros said softly.

"No... please... I don't... want this..." Michael panted.

"Because of your own god? As I said, I do not require your worship. I just require your music." Eros said kindly.

A familiar sensation filled Michael's senses. His inner ear went out of whack, and he found himself slowly leaning towards Eros. There wasn't anyone to save him that time.

*Pomf~

He landed in her arms, his cheek pressed against her breast. His eyes drooped as his brain was consumed with a powerful fluffy pink energy. She kissed him on the forehead, and tingles wafted across his body like ripples in a pond. His eyes closed, and he was blessed with a vision of a beautiful paradise city on the clouds.

"Behold, my kingdom!" Eros announced.

He could see the people inside, and they could see him. They smiled and beckoned to him, calling to him with musical voices. A great golden gate opened wide before him, indicating that he was welcome inside. The whole city radiated with a calming warmth, and he was distinctly aware of every thud of his pounding heart. In that moment, as he beheld the city, Michael was at his happiest.

*CRACK!

*SHATTER!

Bits and pieces of ethereal chain fell from his chest, and dissolved into nothingness. In that moment, Michael learned everything he needed to know about Eros. She was one of the good guys. No agent of evil could possibly fake what he was seeing. She had no reason to remove the chains that bind other than to help him. An evil god would have kept him shackled.

...

..

.

In the last moments before the vision faded, an intense heat overcame Michael. A flood of mana, the likes of which he had never encountered before, flooded into his body and became a permanent part of his aura. His legs buckled, and he slowly sank to the floor.

*Whoooooooshhhhhhh

The vision was gone, and Michael opened his eyes. What he saw was dark and dreary, and lacking in any color or warmth. His eyes were looking at the mortal realm once again. Eros stood over him, in stark contrast to her surroundings. She was colorful and warm looking, like a beacon in the darkness.

"I have given you a small amount of my divine power. It's not much, perhaps ten times what your wife has given you in demonic energy. You may wield it as you wish, as long as you honor my name as the goddess of love." Eros said.

Michael placed a shaking hand on his chest, which was still burning like lava from the chain removal and the flood of mana.

"So that essentially makes you a hero. No worries, I won't ask you to run around swinging a sword like a fool. Your magical potential is far greater than that. Once you dispose of all your shackles, that potential shall be fully unlocked. Until then, I've done what I can." Eros explained.

She patted him on the head again, but it was only a normal head pat.

"And as your god, it is my choice to grant you a guardian angel. Henceforth, Miranda shall accompany you. She shall teach you what it means to be my subject." Eros said.

*WHOOSH!

...

..

.

Michael blacked out for a few moments. When he came to, he was flat on his face on the floor. Eros was gone, and he could see a pair of pink boots standing in her place. His eyes trailed upwards, and he saw the gentle eyes of Miranda looking down at him.

"Are you well? I've been told it can be a little overwhelming the first time, but the strange feeling shall pass." Miranda reassured.

She reached down and offered him a hand up. He simply stared at her palm.

"Take it. I'm here to help you." Miranda said kindly.

...

"Hup! There we go! Now... are you well?" Miranda asked again.

"I'm... okay. I think." Michael said shakily.

"I'm glad~" Miranda said happily.

...

Several awkward silent moments passed.

...

Miranda reached out with her arms, and gently hugged him.

"Wha... what are you...?" Michael started to ask.

"You looked like you needed a hug." Miranda said gently.

Michael started to tremble.

"It... was so beautiful..." Michael choked.

"She showed you heaven? You'll go there someday. I'll take you there, I promise." Miranda reassured.

Her arms fell away, and she gently took his hand.

"Come now, let us go find your wife. Then we can go to your world! I'd like to see it~" Miranda said cheerfully.

...

They walked together down the various hallways of the castle. Miranda plodded along silently in her cupid boots, making none of the noise Michael had come to expect being around Sherry so long. It actually took Michael a few moments to remember that high heels were very impractical footwear, so it would make sense for a cupid not to wear them. He had gotten so used to Sherry wearing heels virtually every waking moment. That observation made the wheels of curiosity start spinning in Michael's brain.

"So... cupids." Michael started.

"Yes?" Miranda asked quickly.

"You're like Valkyrie, right? You're Eros's soldiers?" Michael asked.

"...yes." Miranda said hesitantly.

...

"And no." Miranda added.

"What does that mean?" Michael asked.

"Eros has Valkyrie, though they are not great in number. We are closely related to the Valkyrie, more than we are to the Houri. We're the archers." Miranda explained.

"Okay, so you're a soldier with a different MO. Fair enough." Michael said.

"I don't think of myself as a soldier. I've never fought in a battle before. I was... a representative... before today." Miranda explained.

"Representative? " Michael questioned.

"Yes. To the demon realms. Specifically, I stayed here in the Royal Makai as Eros's ambassador to Lilith." Miranda explained.

"So you've been around inma a long time." Michael reasoned.

"Longer than you have been alive." Miranda said.

Michael nodded.

...

"Note to self. She's older than she looks." Michael thought.

...

"So Cupids are similar to Valkyrie, and Houri are similar to angels. Got it." Michael said.

"Have you ever met a Valkyrie before?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah, I tangled with an Order Valkyrie during the second battle of Lescatie." Michael recalled.

...

When he glanced back at Miranda, she had a worried look on her face.

"Something wrong?" Michael asked.

"I understand why you had to fight, but please... don't die." Miranda said softly.

"I refuse to die before Star Citizen comes out." Michael said jokingly.

...

They walked a little further, and found themselves standing in front of a door. It was the REAL room Sherry was resting in, not a trick like the previous one. Opening the door, Michael found Sherry sprawled out on the bed with a blanket covering to just under her breasts.

"Hey, Sherry, wake up. It's time to go." Michael said.

He sat on the bed and gently shook her, and her eyes fluttered open.

"How you feeling?" Michael asked.

A smile formed on Sherry's lips.

"Horny~" Sherry giggled.

"Are you STILL drunk? Gees, how much did you drink?" Michael asked.

"Yes~" Sherry giggled.

...

"Ugh, fine. Can you walk?" Michael asked.

"Nope~" Sherry said, grinning.

"Unbelievable." Miranda muttered, shaking her head.

Michael began scooping Sherry up so he could carry her down to the Duster. She wound up slung over his shoulder like a bag of feed grain.

"She's uh... showing." Miranda warned.

Michael glanced up, and noticed Sherry's bare butt was sticking out of under her skirt.

"Dang it Sherry, where's your panties?" Michael asked

"Who said I ever wore any?" Sherry giggled drunkenly.

*SMACK

Michael reached up and smacked her bare bottom, making her moan.

"Spank me harder daddy~" Sherry purred.

"You're a dirty girl." Michael teased.

"Yay! Sweetie praised me!" Sherry cheered drunkenly.

She flailed her arms around behind Michael, trying to grab a bottle of wine off the table next to the bed.

"I think you've had enough. Let's go." Michael said.

So he carried her out the door. Just as they were about to leave, Sherry cast a teleportation spell, and the bottle of wine appeared in her hand. She began chugging it.

"Hey Miranda, I suppose you probably have a lot of personal effects here at the castle. You should probably go pack." Michael said.

"You're right. Shall I meet you in Lescatie?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah. We have a house, and we'll stay there until Sherry sobers up. Just ask any of the people there, they know where it is." Michael said.

...

..

.

Michael managed to carry Sherry all the way to the front doors of the castle, where one of the maids was nice enough to give him back his jacket and her sword. He threw the jacket over his wife's exposed ass, so people didn't have to see her holes anymore. Then he readjusted her on his shoulder.

"Damn you're heavy." Michael grumbled.

"I'm curvy~" Sherry slurred.

"You're twice the weight of what a normal woman should weigh." Michael argued.

"Noooo~ Sweetie called me fat~" Sherry wailed drunkenly.

While this was going on, the maids of the castle were doing their best to keep from giggling too much.

"Did you enjoy your stay Lord Collins?" A maid asked.

"I think my wife partied a little harder than I did." Michael said.

*Tehehehe~

"We're glad to hear you were pleased during your stay, even if you didn't get to partake in our services fully." The maid said.

"I'm sorry, but this trip was pretty busy." Michael said.

"Of course sire. We await your return with bated breath. Please send a servant with your favorite recipes so that we might prepare them for you next time." The maid said.

"Sure, if I get the chance." Michael said evasively.

"He loves prisoner fruits!" Sherry interjected.

"Shush you, just play with your bottle." Michael chastised.

"Okay~" Sherry said.

*Chugchugchug

...

So just as Michael was about to leave the castle, the doors to the Royal Makai burst open on their own. Druella had returned... and she was soaked from the tips of her horns to the heels of her shoes.

"Am I too late?!" Druella exclaimed.

She grabbed Michael and shook him. He had to struggle to keep from dropping Sherry.

"Am I too late!?" Druella demanded.

"Whoawhoawhoa! You're going to make me drop..." Michael exclaimed.

*THUNK!

A very drunk Sherry dropped head first to the ground, and her horns managed to get wedged between a pair of floor tiles. She flailed around as she tried to wrench her head free. And of course, being that she was upside down, her skirt rode down and bared everything to the world.

"Dang it Sherry, stay still! Stop wiggling, and let me get your horn..." Michael tried to say.

"Would someone please fuck me already!" Sherry slurred.

"She's drunk?! What in the blazes happened?!" Druella exclaimed.

"GAAAAH! Too much at ONCE!" Michael exclaimed.

...

..

.

Michael eventually managed to wrench Sherry's head free, and he threw her increasingly drunk body over his shoulder again. With a jacket covering her privates, he carried her down towards the Duster. Druella followed closely, and he caught her up to speed on everything that happened.

"Oh no. Of all the disastrous outcomes. It gladdens me to hear we were wrong about Eros, but it's also bad that we had to go through all of this." Druella said.

"How are you holding up? Are you okay?" Michael asked, worried.

"Yes yes, I'm fine. Mother was extra angry at me, so I wound up a hundred miles out to sea. I had to swim to a rock to launch myself off from, and then fly all the way back. But I'm uninjured." Druella said.

"That's a relief." Michael said.

"What of you two? I haven't seen Searraigh get this drunk in a long time." Druella said.

"Well... she's taking losing her knighthood very hard." Michael said.

"Hah! As if I would allow that. Mother might say what she wants, but I'm not giving up my favorite knight." Druella said defiantly.

"Can you do that?" Michael asked.

"Whether I can or not, I don't care. It's what I shall do." Druella said.

"Really?" Sherry asked slowly.

"Yes really. You're not losing your knighthood. You may rest knowing that." Druella reassured.

...

"Still though, for shame Searraigh. Getting drunk and leaving your husband vulnerable at a time like this! Perhaps you aren't a very good knight after all!" Druella suggested.

*Sniffsniff

"I don't care." Sherry muttered drunkenly.

"What do you mean you don't care?" Druella demanded.

Sherry clammed up, and refused to answer.

...

..

.

"Hopefully the next time you visit the Royal Makai, mother will not be under so much stress." Druella said.

"If I come back." Michael corrected.

Druella shot him a concerned look, but said nothing. They walked a little further.

"Hah... it's a good thing I'm used to carrying this much weight..." Michael panted.

"Do you need help?" Druella asked.

"No, not from the person who just flew a hundred miles from the ocean. And besides, we're almost there." Michael said, grunting.

Sure enough, the Duster was just around the corner. They walked up, and found a crowd of people gathered around it. The citizens of the castle town were very interested in the Duster, to the point where someone had a painting easel set up. Michael worked his way through the people, got to the passenger side, and plunked Sherry onto her unsteady feet.

"Now crawl into the back seat so Druella can get in." Michael instructed.

Sherry crawled into the back of the Duster, laid down on the seat, and immediately passed out. Druella sat gracefully in the passenger seat, and Michael got in the driver side. Michael made no moves to start the car.

...

"Letting the painter finish?" Druella asked.

"Yup." Michael said.

"Good man." Druella said.

...

~Several Minutes Later~

...

"Okay, the painter is done. We may leave." Druella said.

*Whirrrwhirrrwhirrr

*BRAAAAA!

The crowd around the Duster stepped backwards when the 440 Mopar roared to life. He backed the car up, turned it around, and began heading towards the nexus.

"I'll be glad to get out of here." Michael said.

"You haven't enjoyed your stay? What of the maids?" Druella asked.

"I didn't see much of them. They just did the same sort of stuff your maids do in Lescatie." Michael said.

"What about the castle itself?" Druella asked.

"It's really impressive, but I'm a little soured on it over what happened inside." Michael said.

"And what of my mother and sisters?" Druella asked.

"Satrina was nice, but the queen of hearts rubbed me the wrong way. Your mother pissed me off. Frankly the whole meeting disappointed me." Michael said.

"And the gods?" Druella asked.

"I liked Bacchus the most. Poseidon, Bastet, and Hel didn't bother me too much. The fallen god was freaky, and you already know what happened with Eros." Michael said.

"So this whole trip was quite miserable for you." Druella concluded.

"Yeah. Sorry, but that's how it is." Michael admitted reluctantly.

Druella pursed her lips.

"You can keep silent about it if you want. I know you're caught in the middle. You're the fourth princess of the demon realms, so you're obligated to support your family. But... when you stood up for me at that conference, that meant a lot to me. So for that, thanks." Michael said.

"You kept your promise. You spoke to mother about Lescatie on my behalf. Of course I stood up for you." Druella said.

"And you probably wouldn't think much of me if you saw the shit show that happened after you left. They laughed at me." Michael said.

"Oh dear... what a disaster." Druella murmured.

...

..

.

The Duster arrived at the Lescatie side of the nexus, and Druella disembarked. She bade him farewell, and made her way back to the castle. He drove onwards, navigating the Duster slowly through the narrow European style streets of Lescatie, where he finally arrived at the house. He had to carry Sherry inside, past the ghost maid's inquisitive gaze.

"She had a little too much to drink. We'll be staying here for a day or two while she sleeps it off." Michael explained.

"Oui monsieur." The ghost maid said.

So Michael carefully carried Sherry up the stairs, and into the master bedroom. At long last he was able to lay her down on the master bed, and tuck her in. He closed the door behind him, and rubbed his aching neck muscles.

"Gees, that wasn't fun. These inma must be made of depleted uranium... they're super dense." Michael thought.

*ClickWhirrrrr

*Niiiiirrrrow~

Michael jumped in fright, and whirled around. Akia was standing behind him with her healing device aimed at his neck.

"Gah! Gees, don't scare me like that!" Michael exclaimed.

"I'm sorry master. I saw you wincing in pain, and my programming dictates I must attempt to repair you." Akia said.

"Niiiiirrrrrrrrrroooowwww~

"Repair completed. Now, I would like to inform you that your previous orders have been completed. I have disposed of entity Christine." Akia said.

He caught her arm and shushed her. Leading her away from the master bedroom door, he spoke in hushed tones.

"You dumped her on the other side of the planet, didn't you?" Michael asked quietly.

"Yes master. You told me to do so." Akia whispered.

"I didn't know you would take it literally! I thought you would dump her somewhere down the street! Is she okay? You didn't hurt her or anything, right?" Michael asked quietly.

"She is unharmed." Akia said quietly.

"Good. Look, that woman is absolutely nuts, but that doesn't mean I want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt anyone unless they're actively trying to hurt me." Michael whispered.

"I understand master. Lethal force is de-authorized until otherwise noted." Akia said softly

"Thank you. Now... don't tell a soul about what we did to Christine. Nobody. Nada." Michael said softly.

"Yes master." Akia said quietly.

...

They walked down the hallway together, completely unaware of the tipsy succubus listening from the door to the master bedroom.

..

.

~Later~

.

..

*Knockknockknock

"Master, I am detecting a foreign entity at the front door." Akia warned.

"I'm expecting someone. Her name is Miranda, and she's a cupid." Michael explained.

There was an audible pause before Akia spoke again.

...

"Will I have to deposit this one on the other side of the world too?" Akia asked.

"Are you trying to imply something?" Michael asked.

"No master. I retract my query." Akia said.

...

By the time Michael and Akia got to the front door, the ghost maid had already greeted Miranda. She was dressed in slightly different but very similar clothes to what she had worn before. It seemed like a more casual version of her cupid 'uniform'. The rest of her luggage consisted of a pink cloth bag slung from her shoulder.

"Monsieur Collins, you have a guest." The ghost maid said.

"Let her in. Make her comfortable. She'll be staying for a while." Michael said.

Miranda came inside, and immediately locked eyes on Akia. Much to Michael's surprise, Miranda seemed completely blindsided by Akia's presence.

"Who... what... when..." Miranda stammered.

"This is Akia, she lives with us. We're friends." Michael explained.

"A...friend. Ah yes, I see. I was confused for a moment. Eros didn't mention anyone else living here." Miranda said.

She smiled and bowed her head slightly.

"I am Miranda, a cupid of Eros. It is a pleasure to meet you." Miranda said politely.

Akia remained silent.

"If I have offended you, I apologize." Miranda said.

"Akia, register entity Miranda as friendly." Michael instructed.

"Registering... registration complete. It is good to meet you." Akia said, monotone.

Miranda seemed very off put over Akia's very mechanical greeting.

"Pick whatever room you want to sleep in. We'll stay here a day or two until Sherry's back to normal, and then we'll head back to my world." Michael said.

"Okay! Thank you very much!" Miranda said cheerfully.

...

..

.

Later that night, Sherry finally woke up and came staggering down the stairs and into the living room. Her hair was a rats nest, her tail and wings hung limply behind her, and she looked about ready to keel over.

"Well you look like shit. How do you feel?" Michael asked.

"Like shit." Sherry muttered.

She collapsed into a chair, and proceeded to steal a cup of water from Michael. She tried drinking it, but it mostly ran down her chin and between her tits.

"Careful, you're getting some in your mouth." Michael said jokingly.

Sherry gave up and dumped the rest over her head.

"I thought inma couldn't feel pain." Michael noted.

"Are we unfeeling? I wonder." Sherry murmured.

"Is there anything we can do Searraigh?" Miranda asked.

Sherry said nothing.

...

"I'm going to get naked now." Michael said casually.

Sherry's head snapped up, with an expectant look on her face.

"Yup, you're just fine. Quit playing around." Michael said dryly.

"Fuuuuuuu..." Sherry pouted.

"A succubus will always be a succubus I suppose." Miranda said.

*Knockknockknock

"Now who could that be?" Michael wondered aloud.

The ghost maid answered the door and greeted the visitor. Before long, a dark knight was escorted into the sitting room. She bowed at the knee.

"Lord Collins, mistress Druella has summoned you." The dark knight said.

"Just me?" Michael asked.

"Just you sire. She said that Knight Searraigh needs to rest." The dark knight said.

"Alright, you can head out and I'll be along shortly." Michael said.

"I was commanded to escort you." The dark knight said.

"Then you're going to have to wait a few minutes while I find my boots. I don't want any more misunderstandings." Michael said.

"That is wise Lord Collins." The dark knight said, chuckling.

...

..

.

So in that fashion, Michael was called away for mysterious reasons, leaving Miranda, Sherry, and Akia behind.

"I suppose Druella wishes to discuss the summit in greater detail." Miranda reasoned.

"I agree." Sherry said quietly.

The maid appeared and placed a serving tray with coffee right in front of Sherry and Miranda.

"The master said this would help with the hangover, right as he walked out." The ghost maid said.

Sherry took the offered cup, and swallowed the strong brew down. It immediately cleared out a lot of the brain fog. Miranda slid forward and took a sip from one of the other cups, and immediately made a disgusted face.

"You do not like it?" Sherry asked.

"I'm sorry, but it's too strong for me." Miranda said apologetically.

"Oh, tis a shame. My husband loves the stuff." Sherry said.

Miranda looked closely at the coffee for a moment, and then went in for a second taste.

"Gak!" Miranda exclaimed, wincing.

"Don't force yourself dear." Sherry said.

...

So a few minutes passed, and the maid brought tea for Miranda.

...

"What do you think of my husband?" Sherry asked.

"I disliked the accusations he made against Eros, but I realized that he tried his absolute best to avoid stating them in public. For that... I respect him." Miranda explained.

Sherry carefully watched Miranda's face as she spoke.

"Hmm... she's lived around inma a long time, and she knows how to hide the clues. But, I think she's hiding something." Sherry thought.

She took another sip of her coffee.

"Anything else?" Sherry asked.

"He's not what I expected. I thought he was a scholar and a musician... a soft and gentle man. But he's anything but soft and gentle." Miranda said.

"He can be a hard man sometimes, but his heart is as soft as can be. Become his friend, and you will see what I mean. It should be easy, he likes cupids." Sherry said.

Her eyes briefly flicked up to Sherry's. Most of that conversation had been spent with Miranda's eyes averted, but when Sherry saw her look up in such a way, she knew she hit a chord.

...

..

~Meanwhile~

..

...

It was nighttime in Lescatie. Michael walked towards the castle with his dark knight companion as his symbolic guardian. Symbolic because Lescatie was a safe town, other than the lewd demons running around. It took all of five minutes before he ran into his first group of prostitutes on the street, vying to be the one he picked for a booty call. They swarmed him, and trapped him in a ring of lovely feminine bodies.

"Good evening ladies! I'm on my way to see Druella, and I can't be late. So if you'd let me past..." Michael called.

"Why do you always turn us down Lord Collins? Isn't it your duty as the Earl Marshal to care for us?"

"It's not proper for a lord in Druella's court to be so... prudish."

"That's right! You should act more like the mistress herself!"

"She plays with us all the time!"

"I'm not a prude! If you think I'm a prude, then you haven't seen a real one yet. I really just need to get to the mansion!" Michael insisted.

The crowd pressed in even closer, and it was obvious they weren't taking no for an answer. The dark knight wasn't doing a dang thing to stop it.

"Business as usual. Keep it short. He really does have a meeting with the mistress." The dark knight said casually.

At the forefront of the crowd was a blue skinned dark angel with black feathered wings. She was carrying a large sack of gold and jewels in her slender fingers. She licked her lips and pressed her huge whore tits against his chest.

"I see you looking at me. I'm looking at you too. Let's get to ~know~ each other a little better. I feel those brown eyes of yours boring into my tits~" The dark angel said seductively.

"I'm married..." Michael tried to say.

"Are you? I don't see a ring on your finger. Where is she now?" The dark angel asked.

"Back home." Michael said.

"Back home you say? Why is that? Is she being selfish? She should be here, hanging off your arm like a good wife." The dark angel suggested.

She kissed his cheek, her lewd perverted tongue sliding up his jaw line.

"It's against the law for men to be lonely. One might argue that includes walking around outside." The dark angel argued.

"That's just silly." Michael said.

"Yes it is. But we're thirsty, and we can smell all the cum you've built up in those heavy balls of yours. How long has it been? Five? Six hours? More?" The dark angel countered.

Her tongue found his ear, and filled his hearing with a lewd wet sound.

"Fuck us..." The dark angel breathed in his ear.

"I need..." Michael started.

"To stick your cock in my holes." The dark angel interrupted.

"That's not right, I need to..." Michael tried to say.

"Rut every single female here." The dark angel interrupted.

"Stop..." Michael tried to say.

"Resisting." The dark angel interrupted.

He shook his head, and squeezed his way through the crowd of inma. They all pouted and protested, but that was the end of that. Or at least, Michael hoped it was.

...

He arrived at the Lescatie family mansion, hugged the guard at the door, and made his way inside. Before he even arrived at the doors to Druella's throne room, he already knew something unusual was happening. The first clue was there were no maids in the hallways, no cabinet members walking around, no aids or other servants, and no guards. The second clue was the music echoing through the halls. It was clearly coming from the throne room.

"Now what are you up to this time cupcake?" Michael muttered.

*CLANK

*CREEEEEAK

Michael pushed the doors open, and was immediately blasted in the face with the scent of food and tobacco. The whole room was covered in the bodies of people actively fucking. Michael had to navigate his way through the horde of undulating bodies, just so he could get to the throne. Druella sat upon the throne, her left leg crossed over her right, and without a stitch of clothing to be found. She flashed him a pearly white smile.

"I see you're throwing quite the shin dig." Michael noted.

"Indeed! I see you're taking this all in stride." Druella noted.

"Well I got used to it after the first few orgies. So what's the special occasion?" Michael asked.

"This party is being thrown in your honor." Druella said.

"My honor?! What for?" Michael asked.

"I found it distasteful that you left the Royal Makai with such a bad impression. I wanted to show you what SHOULD have happened. This... what you see before you... was my childhood." Druella said.

Michael did a survey of the room. He noticed the vast majority of the people screwing were all female. It was a female on female fingerfest. Nearly everyone in attendance was unmarried, which was most certainly on purpose. Those that were married had brought their husbands along, and were in the corners out of the way of the main party. The musicians were naked, and a couple of them were being eaten out as they sang or played instruments. The maids were dressed, but it could hardly be considered clothing. Absolutely nothing was covered.

"Yup, that seems legit." Michael said casually.

Druella laughed.

"I was certain you would react like a human once you laid eyes on this feast of the flesh. But your cheeks aren't even getting red from embarrassment! You've completely adapted to our way of life." Druella observed.

"Not all of it, but a lot of it." Michael said.

"Hmm... of course. I notice you're not stripping off your clothes and joining in." Druella observed.

"I'd be happy to have a drink and a snack, and listen to some of that trippy music of yours, but I still have a wife back home who's getting over a hangover." Michael said politely.

"I hate that word." Druella grumbled.

"Which one?" Michael asked.

"But. Humans always add 'but something' to their arguments. Why can't humans just have fun, and do things that feel good?" Druella asked.

Michael simply shrugged.

*CLANK

*CREEEEEAK

Michael turned towards the doors to the throne room, and saw a sizable group of inma enter. At the head of the group was a certain familiar looking dark angel.

"It looks like the red light district wants to join your party." Michael observed.

"They may enter, so long as they aren't party poopers." Druella said.

"And on that note, I guess I'll peace out." Michael said.

He turned to leave, but he didn't even have a chance to take a single step before Druella cast a spell on him.

*CrackleWHOOSH!

He disappeared in a flash of crimson, and exchanged places with Druella. He was sitting where she had been sitting moments before, and she was sitting in his lap. As expected, his clothes were missing. They fluttered to the ground where he had just been standing a moment before.

"Yup, saw that coming." Michael said dryly.

"If you saw it coming, then you shouldn't have bothered trying to leave. Again, this party is in your honor." Druella said.

She draped her slender arms loosely around his neck.

"You're not going anywhere, so you might as well get comfortable." Druella said seductively.

And to emphasize what she just said, she wiggled her butt deeper into his lap.

"Careful, or you're going to end up going somewhere you shouldn't go." Michael whispered.

"Oh we'll see about that. Searraigh can't keep you all for herself forever. You're too popular." Druella said softly.

Michael opened his mouth to say something, but she put a finger over his lips. Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear.

"I remind you... Searraigh and I are the same person." Druella whispered seductively.

She nibbled on his ear while she spoke.

"I don't believe that. You two are very similar, but you're not the same." Michael whispered.

"Then you believe incorrectly." Druella whispered.

*Nibblenibble

"When you first came here, you spoke so bluntly and honestly. I ask you to speak from the heart once again. What do you feel right now?" Druella whispered.

"I don't love you." Michael whispered.

"Oh, that hurts. I did ask you to be blunt, so I am not angry. But I wonder, is that truly ALL you're thinking right now?" Druella whispered.

"I just want to be friends." Michael whispered.

"We could be more than friends. It would be so easy for you to love me. You're already half way there, being in love with Searraigh." Druella whispered.

She casually twirled her fingers on his bare chest.

"Of course... I should let you go on this note. You should enjoy the party." Druella said.

"I might as well go home. I don't know any of these people. This is all very awkward." Michael said.

"The only way you'll ever come to know these people is if you speak with them. Or better yet, stick your dick in them. But that can come later." Druella said.

*CLAP CLAP

Druella clapped her hands, and several maids appeared in front of her.

"Bring the snacks and exotic treats." Druella said.

"Yes mistress!" The maids said in unison.

They hurried off, and soon returned with a long table and countless trays of goodies.

"Exotic treats and snacks huh? I wonder where you got that idea?" Michael said, smiling.

"Since you brought exotics from your world, is it not fair to sample some exotics from this world?" Druella suggested.

"That seems fair." Michael said.

...

"Well? Are you going to go partake?" Druella asked.

"I'm being held down." Michael said.

"Oh! Pardon me~" Druella exclaimed.

She slid off his lap, and the two of them went to the table. It was filled with goods that mirrored the things Michael had brought to the Royal Makai. There were wines, cheeses, chocolates, caviar, and various other exotic food items. Druella even had a bolt of silk from the Mist Continent. And laying on the table was a variety of musical instruments.

...

..

.

Somehow Michael wound up becoming the center of attention in the party. He strummed on a lute while telling stories. People gathered all around, sitting on the floor in groups while the maids went about and refilled wine goblets. Somewhere along the line Michael had recovered his clothes, but the party was still mostly in a state of undress.

"...so there I was, half starved to death, trying to find some animal I could shoot and eat. I thought maybe I could find a deer, but I ended up finding a hog. And when I say a hog... I mean a full blown demon realm boar! I've never seen anything like it!" Michael said.

He strummed a little, drawing out the story a little.

"That pig was as close to me as you lovely ladies. I froze like a STATUE. If it decided to get mad at me, I'd have been turned into pink goo for sure." Michael explained.

The crowd gasped.

"What'd you do?" An inma asked.

"I stayed reaaaaaaaaly still, and waited for it to move on. Turned out it was just being protective of its baby. As long as I didn't make any moves, it couldn't care less about me." Michael recalled.

*Strumstrum

"A while later, I got the chance to eat demon realm boar for the first time in my life. Now I know why you ladies go to so much trouble to hunt those things. It was so goooooood!" Michael exclaimed.

Everyone laughed, and many of them nodded in agreement. Several silent moments passed as Michael strummed the guitar.

...

"Lord Collins, how are you so good at playing music?"

"I don't know. I've always loved listening to music, but I never thought I was particularly good at playing or singing it. I recorded myself singing once, and I thought I sounded awful." Michael said.

"Your music is wonderful." Druella remarked.

"Thanks~" Michael said, smiling.

"How do you remember all the lyrics to the music?" Another person asked.

"I don't know that either. Maybe I've just heard the songs so many times, they stuck in my head." Michael said.

...

He changed the tune he was strumming on his lute, and played Simon and Garfunkel's 'Baby Driver'.

~My daddy was the family bassman
My mamma was an engineer
And I was born one dark gray morn
With music coming in my ears
In my ears

They call me baby driver
And once upon a pair of wheels
Hit the road and I'm gone
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines feel
Ba ba ba ba
Scoot down the road
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines feel
Shine the light

My daddy was a prominent frogman
My mamma's in the Naval Reserve
When I was young, I carried a gun
But I never got the chance to serve
I did not serve

They call me baby driver
And once upon a pair of wheels
Hit the road and I'm gone
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines feel
Ba ba ba ba
Scoot down the road
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines feel

My daddy got a big promotion
My mama got a raise in pay
There's no one home, we're all alone
Oh come into my room and play
Yes, we can play

I'm not talking about your pigtails
But I'm talking about your sex appeal
Hit the road and I'm gone
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines
Ba ba ba ba
Scoot down the road
What's my number?
I wonder how your engines feel~

The whole crowd giggled and chuckled at the lyrics. When the lute fell silent, everyone clapped.

"Bravo! Well done Lord Collins!" Druella exclaimed.

"Really? You think so? I appreciate it." Michael said.

...

"I only seriously played the guitar when I was thirteen, and I'm twenty five now. I'm rusty as hell." Michael added.

"Why did you stop?" Druella asked.

"My old man got annoyed by the sound, so he smashed it." Michael said casually.

"That's terrible! What an awful father!" Druella exclaimed.

Michael shrugged.

"He was what he was." Michael said.

...

"I'm way better with an ocarina than I am with a guitar." Michael added.

"You can make that lute do things I've never heard before! And your voice is angelic! Don't belittle your own skills!" Druella insisted.

"I'm an angel, and even my voice isn't that good." The dark angel interjected.

"Sherry really encouraged me to play music. It's nice to be encouraged, it makes me want to do my best." Michael said.

"Oh how I can relate to that statement." Druella murmured.

...

Druella gracefully stood up out of her seat.

"Excuse me a moment please." Druella said.

She left the room while the party continued. The orgy more or less resumed as it was, the musicians resumed playing, and Michael wound up chatting with four lovely ladies, one of which was that slutty dark angel with the big tits.

...

..

It wasn't more than a minute or two later when Sherry and Druella both came back in through the throne room door. Sherry went straight for Michael with a warm smile on her face.

"Hey! You're looking a lot better! Get over that hangover?" Michael asked.

"Yes sweetie, I'm much better now. I do hope you weren't worried." Sherry said lovingly.

"I was a little, but I guess I shouldn't have. I'm glad you made it to the party." Michael said.

"Druella felt it was time I joined, so here I am." Sherry said.

Sherry plopped into Michael's lap, and draped her slender arms loosely around Michael's neck.

*Smoooooooch~

She kissed him lewdly, the same way she always loved to do. The inma that Michael had been talking to all cooed in delight.

"That's it! Someone needs to kiss that man! Now fuck him!" The dark angel exclaimed.

Sherry worked her lips against his, and pulled away slightly. A line of saliva linked their mouths.

"I'm more than happy to oblige. We're going to have some fun~" Sherry breathed.

Michael's eyes raked across the room, but Druella was a ways away chatting with some party goers. A few maids appeared, and deposited a pile of pillows on the floor. Sherry pulled him off the chair, and onto the pillows. He resisted a little on the way down to the floor.

"I asked you to fuck me..." Sherry reminded.

His resistance faded, and she pulled him down to the floor.

"I did promise... but here?" Michael said softly.

"Look around. Everyone else is doing it." Sherry said softly.

Sherry unbuttoned her blouse and bared her breasts for the world to see. Then she began pulling off his clothes.

"These are not welcome here. You should have stayed naked." Sherry said softly.

*CrackleWHOOSH!

The clothes disappeared again, permanently that time.

"Isn't this hot? We're doing it in public again!" Sherry cooed.

Michael immediately tensed up. He could feel other people's eyes on him. Many people were busy twining their bodies together, but many people were lewdly staring at Michael and Sherry. He could hear the people murmuring amongst themselves, pleased that the Earl Marshal was finally loosening up. She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled reassuringly.

"It's fine, don't worry. Shhh...shhhh..." Sherry reassured.

*Squiiiiiiiish

She forced herself on him very slowly, drawing out a long low moan out of Michael.

"That's it. Thaaaaats it. You're where you belong. Good boy." Sherry cooed.

"Sherry... why does... it..." Michael shuddered.

"Why does it feel so good? Because you're pent up, and you need it. And I want to give it to you~" Sherry said seductively.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Michael cried.

Within fifteen seconds of entering her, he climaxed like he had never climaxed before. It was the quickest he had ever achieved orgasm in his life. And it wasn't over, not by a long shot. She hadn't even started moving yet.

"All I did was put it in and you coated my insides~ What a wonderful treat~ Your spirit energy tastes good~ Now I'm jealous~" Sherry said.

Michael's eyes went wide.

"Wait what? Say that again?!" Michael blurted.

She answered by beginning to move. He climaxed instantly a few moments later. And then again, and again, and again, and again.

...

~A Half Hour Later~

...

He never really knew when it happened. He never really knew when she revealed herself. Her words made him suspicious, but he wasn't sure until she dropped the disguise. It wasn't Sherry that was riding him for all he was worth. It never was.

"Does that feel good sweetie?" Druella asked.

She expertly coaxed climax after climax out of Michael, wringing him of semen like someone wringing a wet towel. Her white wings helped her keep her balance as she bounced up and down on his diamond hard cock. He never stood a chance against the sexual power of a lilim.

"You tricked me..." Michael forced.

"Yes I did! Don't you see? Don't you see your foolishness? You couldn't tell the difference! Despite what you said, you couldn't tell! You were wrong!" Druella exclaimed, panting.

She leaned forward and jammed her long succubus tongue into his mouth. Her two pronged attack of his lower and upper half was just the thing needed to completely crush all his resistance. That wasn't all she wanted to do though. She also wanted to crush his human morals as well. So after eeking out one last cream pie from his aching body, she dismounted.

"Angel dear, come here please." Druella said.

The dark angel came closer, a lewd grin on her face.

"Yes mistress?" The dark angel asked.

"Take him to my chambers. Oh, and you may have your fun with him along the way." Druella said.

"All I want is for him to fall to our level." The dark angel said.

"He will fall, just as soon as I show him around my bed chambers. I have plans for him." Druella said, grinning lewdly.

...

..

.

It was one o'clock in the morning. The dark angel had spent some time preaching the tenants of the fallen god while groping and fondling him, but he didn't crack. So she took him to Druella's chambers. He had survived the tenderizing, and it was time to get dropped straight in the frying pan.

"Welcome to my private chambers... sweetie~" Druella purred.

Druella was waiting for him on a huge four poster bed, wearing the naughtiest lingerie he had ever seen. It covered absolutely nothing, while also somehow accentuating everything. She had a glass of wine, which she elegantly sipped from while making 'come hither' eyes to him. He wound up on the bed next to her, and she gave him a sweet wine flavored kiss.

"We had a little quick fun during the party, but now we're going make love properly. You will not be going home any time soon. I sent a dark knight to inform Searraigh that you will be staying here the night." Druella said.

Michael's eyes down turned. Druella caught his chin, and made him look up at her.

"Is that shame I see in your eyes? That simply will not do. As my Earl Marshal, you're not allowed to feel shame about lovemaking." Druella said.

"It's wrong." Michael insisted.

*Poof

Druella disappeared, and her Sherry disguise returned.

"I don't mind if you have some fun with others, as long as you never stop loving me sweetie~" Sherry said.

"Quit pretending to be Sherry. You're not her." Michael said, annoyed.

*Poof

Druella's true visage returned, and she sipped from her wine glass.

"Is it that you prefer me instead of your wife? Should I become the new mistress of your household? I'm sure Searraigh would not object." Druella said.

It took a second for Druella's words to click in his head.

"Wait... did you just..." Michael trailed off.

Druella smiled, and put her goblet of wine on the table by the bed.

"Lilim are no different than any other inma. We just want to find that special someone to spend our lives with. I've been with many men over the decades, but you're the first one I wanted to fuck within a day of meeting." Druella said.

*Smooch

"You are no braggart, you're no nonsense, and you treat me like an equal. I don't want to be treated like a princess, I want to be treated as a woman." Druella said.

"And you are a woman. A very beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful woman. But I..." Michael tried to say.

She placed a finger over his lips.

"Just stop at the compliments, and leave that awful word out of it. Women love compliments. Avoid saying things like 'I don't love you' and 'I just want to be friends'. Those are the worst things to say to a woman." Druella said softly.

She slid closer, and cuddled up next to him.

"I know you Michael. I understand your feelings, even if I disagree with them. My mother and father have always dedicated themselves to only each other. My father has no harem, no concubines, not even a heartthrob." Druella said.

As she spoke, she began sensually groping his body.

"If you mean that, then why are you going against them?" Michael asked.

"Inma are well on our way to conquering not one, but two worlds of humans. The humans are split, half male and half female. All inma are female. Do you see the problem?" Druella asked.

"There's more women than men." Michael reasoned.

"And it will only get worse as more inma give birth. More and more inma will come into the world, and they will find themselves unable to find someone to love. We can preserve the men indefinitely, but shall we let millions of inma be alone forever simply because one man and one woman is the rule? The old ways must end, or our society will be filled with sadness." Druella argued.

She slid her body on top of Michael, straddling him with her soft thighs.

"Give my offer some thought. Take a decade or two, whatever you need. But I'm convinced that after you feel what I'm about to do, you'll never be able to say no to me again~" Druella said.

She draped a blanket over their bodies, so Michael would focus more on the sensation and less on the visuals of what was happening to his body.

"Here it comes sweetie~ It's going in~" Druella whispered seductively.

He felt her soaking wet place press against the tip of his member. It slid in effortlessly, but was accompanied by a sensation of pleasure more powerful than anything he had experience in his life. There really was a difference between a quick fuck like out in the throne room, and true lovemaking on a bed. The only problem... Druella at her worst was better than Sherry at her best. No man, not even Michael, could withstand the full power of a lilim. It would be very easy to crack, to get addicted, to cry out YES to her offer. After all, if he did that, then he could feel that good forever. Sherry was skilled, but she was amateur hour in comparison. There was no contest, Druella had a lot more experience and age to rely on. And she didn't flaunt it either, she simply used her skills to guide him down the road to pleasure. She knew he couldn't match her, he wasn't even in the same universe as her in skill. But that didn't matter, she took him by the hand and taught him what felt good and what didn't. Then she very carefully paid attention to the cues that Michael was giving about what felt good for him.

"You're almost there, just a little more! Paint my insides white! Cum! Cuuum!" Druella called passionately.

Michael didn't come once, or even twice. He came three times in a row.

*Bambambam!

He sagged against the mattress, his whole world reeling and spinning.

"I thought I knew... what sex was like... haha... yeah right..." Michael thought.

Druella had won. She knew what he was thinking without him even having to say it. Sliding off his heaving body, she cuddled up next to him and tucked her head in against his shoulder. Much to his surprise, Druella was NOT going to milk him half to death. She knew better than that. Her tactic was to make him feel amazing, and then go straight to the pillow talk. It ensured that Michael was riding a dopamine high and in a good mood while she made her suggestions. Her first act was to press her soft lips against his ear.

"Imagine what a wonderful world we could create. With your world and mine coming together, we could usher in a new golden age. However, we must protect the men. I need your help, to buy the time my mother needs to alter the spell that made us." Druella whispered.

"What do you need?" Michael asked softly.

"I just need your continued cooperation sweetie. We're so good together. I want everyone to feel just like we feel right now. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Druella asked.

"Yeah. It would." Michael admitted.

And so the night slowly marched on as Druella, the radical monster who wanted to pervert the world into uncontrolled lust, whispered her radical agenda into Michael's receptive ear. Michael's eyes drooped as Druella painted images of her ideal world, where there was no more war, no more hatred, and everyone had a husband or wife. Every time his dopamine high started wearing off, she'd casually slide her body on top of him and work out another orgasm. She kept him in that state of perpetual giddiness, then whispered lewd ideas into his ear.

"I think at least two women for every man would be a good start. As the population grows, we can move it up to at least three." Druella whispered.

Michael simply nodded along.

"You'll need to be a figurehead for this push sweetie. If people look up to you and see you surrounded by your loving wives, perhaps seven or eight in total, then having two or three wives would seem easy." Druella whispered.

Again, Michael simply nodded along. His eyelids began drooping even further. She kept suggesting how wonderful it would be if he had a harem, which was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.

...

..

.

~The Next Morning~

.

..

...

Michael awoke after a short but deep sleep, rather refreshed and ready to go. The first thing he heard was a gentle ~good morning~ whispered in his ear.

"Good morning Sherry." Michael said, half asleep.

"Hehe, you mixed us up again." Druella whispered.

The pit of his stomach fell out. He really had forgotten, and he really had thought he heard Sherry whisper in his ear. The tone and vocal inflections were the same.

"Oh now, don't make that face. You could hurt a woman's feelings that way. All I said was good morning. Now... would you like breakfast? Perhaps pheasant under glass?" Druella asked.

Michael yawned and rubbed his eyes before answering.

"Pheasant under glass? Is that the kind of food you usually eat?" Michael asked.

"Indeed! Do you not eat such quality meals?" Druella asked.

"Nuh uh. That's WAY over budget for me." Michael said.

"What do you consider a good breakfast then?" Druella asked.

"Hmmm... scrambled eggs with corned beef hash on the side, and a whole mess of pancakes." Michael hummed.

If you tell my personal chef how to make it, she'll try her best." Druella said.

...

So they wound up in some sort of dining hall, where they were served breakfast. The chef did her best to provide the menu Michael asked for, but it wasn't quite right. It was very... French. Michael couldn't quite place his finger on it, but the chef obviously took liberties with the seasonings. It was still perfectly edible, and Michael dutifully ate every single bite without complaint.

"You're awfully quiet." Druella said.

"Am I?" Michael asked.

"Indeed. Are you uncomfortable?" Druella asked.

"A little, yeah. I'm not used to sitting at a table and eating breakfast. The closest I usually get is sitting at a little bar thing in my apartment that I call the island." Michael explained.

"Didn't you sit at a table with your family when you were a child?" Druella asked.

"I'd always take my food and run off to my room to eat it." Michael explained.

"Aww, that's sad." Druella pouted.

...

"What of when you visited your childhood friends? Were you not invited to stay for a meal?" Druella asked.

"I didn't have childhood friends." Michael said.

Druella's eyebrows furrowed.

"And what of school?" Druella asked.

"I was homeschooled." Michael said.

"So your parents taught you everything you know?" Druella asked.

"Not really. I mostly just taught myself. My parents weren't very good teachers. They'd just come in and plop text books in my hand, and tell me to do every single question from cover to cover." Michael explained.

"Well! Goodness, that's awful!" Druella exclaimed.

"And what I'm not going to tell her... is my old man would beat my ass if I didn't do my work." Michael thought.

...

"Just like how Sherry is going to beat my ass when I get home." Michael thought.

...

"You suddenly look very sad. Did speaking of this remind you of bad memories?" Druella asked.

"No. Well... no. I just remembered that I have to go home right after breakfast." Michael said.

"And you don't wish to return home?" Druella asked.

"Not when I have to face Sherry about last night." Michael said softly.

"You worry too much." Druella dismissed.

"...maybe you're right." Michael said, hopeful.

...

..

.

So after breakfast was over, Michael was free to go home. Druella had one of her dark knights escort him back to his Lescatie house. When he walked in the front door, he caught Sherry on her way out, dressed in her classic dark knight attire. She looked like she was leaving to go somewhere.

"There you are! I was just coming to look for you! What in the world have you been do..." Sherry started to say.

She furrowed her eyebrows. Leaning closer, her nose twitched.

"You fucked." Sherry murmured.

"I'm sorry Sherry. It was Druella. She tricked me." Michael said sorrowfully.

Sherry's face went through a range of emotions.

"You... fucked mistress Druella? While I was here sick in bed?" Sherry asked quietly.

The dark knight that had escorted Michael began backing away. She saw the storm incoming.

"And you blame her? You... you..." Sherry stammered, face turning red.

"I'm not lying! I'm faithful! She freaking raped me! If you'd just let me explain..." Michael tried to say.

"Don't you DARE soil the mistress's name, you fool! No! You FUCKING IDIOT! All you do is make EXCUSES! Do you think I give TWO SHITS about your faith!?" Sherry shouted.

"..but..." Michael tried to say.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I HATE THAT WORD!" Sherry barked.

*CRACK

Sherry smacked Michael hard enough to knock him to the ground. He moaned in severe pain as he clutched his own head.

"You going to cry now? Fucking whining child! Disgusting!" Sherry shot angrily.

She raised her hand, and Michael covered his face while shying away in fright. There was no second blow forthcoming, she stomped away in a huff.

...

When it was all over, Miranda and Akia came hurrying out of a side room. They had seen the whole thing. The dark knight, who had also witnessed the whole sordid ordeal, turned and hurried back to the mansion to tell Druella. And Michael was shaking on the ground, trying not to pass out from shock.

"Are you alright? Let me see!" Miranda exclaimed.

She inspected his cheek, at the clear outline of Sherry's palm. A trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth, and from his left nostril. He spat out a tooth into his palm.

"Oh shit..." Michael slurred.

His words were mumbled a little, like his mouth was full.

"Master's jaw is dislocated, and he has a concussion." Akia noted.

Miranda gently touched it, and Michael winced in pain.

"Please reinsert the tooth master." Akia instructed.

Michael shoved the tooth back in its socket, and Akia repaired the damage with her arm mounted healing device. It was able to mend the root of the tooth, as well as the dislocation, thus returning his jaw to normal. Miranda helped him to his feet.

"How can I help Michael? What can I do?" Miranda asked.

"I need to lay down a while. I don't... I... I need to lay down. My head is throbbing." Michael shuddered.

So he took a few careful steps down the hallway. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard the distinctive sound of heels clacking around above, so he redirected and went to the room with the gateway in it.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

"She WHAT?!" Druella exclaimed.

The dark knight recoiled as Druella's voice took on a volume not normally obtainable with just ordinary shouting. Her words were laced with powerful magic. Every window in the throne room rattled.

"Knight Searraigh struck Lord Collins. She left a handprint upon his cheek, and he fell to the floor. There was blood, and possibly other injuries." The dark knight explained again.

The whole mansion began vibrating as Druella's anger grew. The city became dark, as ominous clouds formed overhead.

"Send an entire brigade to the house of Lord Collins, and arrest Searraigh! Five years in the punishment pit, one for every finger mark she left upon his face!" Druella boomed.

"Yes mistress!" The dark knight exclaimed.

"And bring me Lord Collins! NOW!" Druella shouted.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

*Glorp

*Shuffleshuffle

Michael shuffled into the Quonset hut of Fort Chell, past the radio operator in the radio shack. She turned in her seat, and took one look at Michael.

"Did you get some bad chow somewhere sir? You look green at the gills." The radio operator asked, concerned.

He went for the water cooler, and gulped down some water.

"Is there anything I can do sir?" The radio operator asked, concerned.

"I want to go home. Can I get a ride?" Michael asked quietly.

"Sure thing sir. I'll take care of it." The radio operator said.

So the next thing Michael knew, the radio operator was doing a net call on VHF, calling for someone to take White Rook home. Within a minute or so, Stavish and Sakia walked into the Quonset hut. They found Michael sitting on the edge of the small bed inside the hut.

"Hey I was passing by, and I heard... holy shit! What happened to you sir!?" Stavish asked.

"Food poisoning." Michael lied.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" Sakia asked.

"No, I just want to go home. Please take me home." Michael begged.

"Okay sir. I've got a hmmwv parked outside. I'll take you straight to the apartment. No sweat." Stavish reassured.

Within a couple of minutes, Michael was safe and secure in a hmmwv, and on his way home. Sakia rode along, just out of sheer curiosity. She didn't say anything, but she could see the quickly fading outline of a handprint on his cheek.

...

The hmmwv pulled up to the apartment, and Michael half slid and half fell out of the hmmwv.

"Thank... you..." Michael rasped.

"Can you even make it up the steps?" Stavish asked.

He nodded, and closed the door to the hmmwv. Stavish didn't leave until she saw him make it all the way up the stairs, and through the front door. Just as she was pulling away, she saw Akia run past at speeds that rivaled a cheetah.

"What the fuck is going on?" Stavish wondered aloud.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

A dark knight dropped to her knee before Druella, who was steaming with anger.

"Well? Speak!" Druella snapped.

"We have apprehended knight Searraigh, however Lord Collins has eluded us. We questioned the cupid Miranda, and she said Lord Collins returned to his homeland." The dark knight explained.

"Go to his world and retrieve him. It is of the utmost importance that he is brought here swiftly. Tread lightly. His going to the other world has turned this into an international issue. Do not anger our allies." Druella said.

"Yes mistress, I will be the utmost soul of caution." The dark knight said.

"And take my second in command with you. He knows her, it will help ease the situation." Druella added.

"Yes mistress." The dark knight said.

As the dark knight left, Druella lightly bit the knuckle of her right hand.

"Why has this happened? I would never strike an innocent male. That is one of the highest crimes in all the demon realms! Was Michael right? Are Searraigh and I really that different? How is that possible? She was quite literally an empty shell before I built her in my image." Druella thought.

She rose up from the throne, and gracefully walked towards the windows. Peering downwards, Druella had a good view of the punishment pit down below. They were just getting ready to throw Searraigh inside, and the dark knights were in the process of removing all her accessories. She was relieved of her blade, and she was also relieved of her pocket dimension. Then the dark knight Sparta kicked Searraigh into the pit of tentacle plants, to serve out her five year sentence.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

*Jingleclick

*Creeeeak

Akia entered the apartment, and found Michael curled up on the couch with a warm blanket draped over his body. The remote to his beloved Zenith was held limply in his hand.

"Master?" Akia questioned.

Michael neither moved nor acknowledged Akia was even there. His eyes looked completely dead and lifeless.

*Click

She closed and locked the door behind her.

"Do you feel safer with the door locked master?" Akia asked.

*Silence

She settled down on the couch next to him, and pulled half the blanket over herself. She never said anything, never asked any further questions, she just kept him company. They watched TV for a while, and that was it.

...

A half hour passed. As the clock ticked away, the urge to say something grew and grew in Michael, until he just couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry Akia." Michael said softly.

"For what?" Akia asked.

"Wasting your time. I never should have gotten you involved with Christine. Everything I did to stay faithful to Sherry was a waste of time. She doesn't even care. I ended up getting raped, despite everything I did. Twice." Michael said softly.

Akia stiffened. She took the TV remote, and lowered the volume to nothing.

"Master, my programming dictates that I must be absolutely loyal and faithful to you. It is the entire purpose for my existence. Everything I do is for you. If you told me that my loyalty was worthless, then my existence would be worthless." Akia said.

"Are you... trying to tell me you know how I feel?" Michael asked softly.

"Yes master, that is exactly what I'm trying to tell you." Akia said.

Michael sank backwards into the couch.

"This is it. I'm defeated. I feel so empty inside. I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. What's wrong with me? Why do I ruin everything I touch?" Michael said softly.

...

"Why is master blaming himself? Clearly entity Searraigh struck him, not the other way around. Clearly she is at fault. Right?" Akia thought.

...

"What happened with entity Druella?" Akia asked.

"She used a spell to make herself look like Sherry, and then she jumped my bones. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. Now Sherry... she... said..." Michael choked.

...

"Did entity Searraigh really mean for her words to carry such intent? Or did she say one thing, and mean another?" Akia thought.

...

"Even if she said one thing and meant another, that doesn't mean she should have harmed master. Such an action was unjustified." Akia thought.

...

"Entity Searraigh is dangerous and should be removed from Master's vicinity. However, master has forbidden aggressive actions against entity Searraigh." Akia thought.

...

"Perhaps it is time to remove entity Searraigh from your vicinity master." Akia suggested.

"What? You mean dump her? Are you kidding? I could never do that, I love her too much!" Michael exclaimed.

"Entity Searraigh has harmed you." Akia said.

"So what? Maybe it was an accident! Maybe she didn't mean it! How could I leave her when she's literally the only person who's ever loved me?" Michael insisted.

"Does she love you? She hit you. It was not an accident." Akia argued.

Michael shook his head defiantly. He took the TV remote from Akia, and turned the volume back up.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

"Stand aside knight, we did not come here to fight with you." Opal said.

A detachment of dark knights stood in Fort Chell, facing off against a platoon of the U.S. Army's finest. Stavish had taken exception to a large armed force stepping foot on US soil for sketchy reasons.

"I told you once and I'm going to tell you again. Fuck off." Stavish said.

"Hand over Lord Collins, and we will happily fuck off. We don't want to be here anymore than you want us here." Opal said.

"He's sick. I'm not going to let you or anyone else bother him." Stavish insisted.

"If Lord Collins is ill, then it's even more important we see him. We brought a white mage with us, who could easily care for any of his health needs." Opal insisted.

"I already sent a medic and one of my grunts to check on him. So your medieval witch doctor isn't needed. You can just do an about face, and march right back to that city of yours." Stavish countered.

"Mistress Druella commanded us to return with Lord Collins. We cannot leave until we obey her command." Opal said.

"Then you'd better get damn comfortable, because we're not letting you through. That's what WE were told to do." Stavish insisted.

Opal took a few steps forward, going toe to toe with the much taller Stavish.

"Why do you mistrust us knight? Our nations have a peace treaty. We could do no harm, even if we wanted to do so." Opal asked.

"I haven't heard jack shit about any treaties. As far as I'm concerned, you people are nothing but a pain in my ass. Which brings me back to my original statement. Fuck off." Stavish said.

"You're very loyal to Lord Collins." Opal noted.

"I'm an American. I believe in loyalty." Stavish countered.

"So do I. He saved my life during the second battle of Lescatie. He saved all our lives. Mistress Druella loves him for it. So please... at least let the white mage see him." Opal pleaded.

"No. Take your leeches and scram, before I shove this M4 up your ass." Stavish said flatly.

"What kind of barbarian uses leeches?!" Opal shot.

And with that, she pulled her dark knights away from the portal to earth, and retreated back through the gateway to Lescatie. As soon as the last dark knight disappeared, Stavish placed a guard detail in the Quonset hut.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

Miranda found herself trapped in Lescatie, unable to go through the gateway thanks to the guards on the other side. With no other options, Miranda was forced to go in another direction. Entering a spare bedroom of the Lescatie house, she created a small temporary gateway that lead straight to Eros's heaven. When she arrived, heaven was already turned on its head. Angels were running every which way, like an ant hill someone stirred with a stick. Miranda made her way past the golden gates at the entrance to heaven, and into a great white/gold palace where Eros resided. It wasn't long before Miranda crossed a grand throne room, and found herself before Eros herself.

"What is happening?" Miranda asked.

"We received word that Michael was hurt. The angels are in an uproar, and rumors are spreading like wildfire. Do you know what actually happened?" Eros asked.

"Searraigh struck Michael with her hand in the heat of an argument." Miranda explained.

*DUNDUN

All of heaven fell silent. All motion stopped. Eros's usual warm smile faded.

"I came to ask for your guidance. What must I do?" Miranda asked.

"Where is Searraigh right now? Is she still near him?" Eros asked calmly.

It was obvious that Eros was trying to restrain the anger in her voice.

"No, he returned to his home in the new world. Druella became very angry, and punished Searraigh with the punishment pit." Miranda explained.

"Good. I am pleased that Druella did the right thing, and that he is no longer in danger." Eros said.

"It disturbs me that this happened in the first place. I thought inma treated men better than that!" Miranda said.

"They do. It makes me wonder why Searraigh is different. Is it possible this has happened before?" Eros wondered.

"I do not know." Miranda said.

"Find out. I want you to investigate Searraigh. Learn if she has ever harmed him in the past. Use whatever means you deem fit. Ask for help from those you feel are trustworthy. I will also investigate his past on my own." Eros instructed.

"Thy will be done." Miranda said.

"In the meantime, I will send a company of angels down to retrieve Michael, and bring him back here to heaven. Then we can be sure he's well and truly safe." Eros said.

"So it has come to this. Druella will not be pleased." Miranda said.

"That is my problem to solve. Go. Now." Eros commanded.

Miranda straightened, turned, and hurried out of the palace.

"Until we determine what is truly happening with Searraigh, the best place for him is right here at my side." Eros said quietly.

...

Miranda headed back out of heaven again, and already the angels were talking about the news she had brought.

"That succubus struck him?!"

"That's what I heard. Supposedly he bled from his mouth."

"That's horrible! I swear, if that succubus has hurt his ability to play the ocarina... I'll go down there and give her a piece of my mind!"

"You and a hundred others. I just... I wish the representative had been the one to travel to his world instead of the succubus."

"Yeah. If she had gone, none of this would be happening right now. She would have been a way better wife. And by all rights, she should have gone."

"Maybe Eros will take him away from the succubus, and the representative will marry him?"

"I doubt it. Eros would never break up a marriage like that. Not unless there were no other choice."

Miranda passed the two gossiping angels, pretending to have heard nothing.

...

~Shortly Later~

...

*Kscchhhhrt!

"Net call, we've got unidentified people heading our way. They're coming from above!" The radio hissed.

"What the fuck? What now?" Stavish cussed.

She and a hundred other soldiers at Fort Chell all ran outside and looked upwards. Riding on a beam of light, seventy two houri were descending from the heavens above. The leader of the group lightly landed on her bare feet in front of Stavish, who had her M4 trained on the new possible threat.

"I am an angel of Eros, and we have been sent to retrieve Michael Collins." The houri explained sweetly.

She smiled warmly, and showed no signs of hostility. Stavish slowly lowered her rifle cautiously.

"Did Druella send you? We already said we're not handing him over." Stavish said.

"No, I am of Eros, not of Druella. Michael is a subject of Eros, and must be taken to heaven. Eros has decreed it." The houri explained nicely.

"Does that mean you're here to kill him!?" Stavish asked, shocked.

"His mortal body is not important to us. We are only concerned with his immortal soul." The houri explained calmly.

*FWIP

Stavish and all the other nearby soldiers immediately whipped up the muzzles of their rifles again. The houri all skittered backwards in surprise.

"Nuh uh! Not a chance! You're not getting him!" Stavish declared.

So the angels retreated, not wishing to start a fight. They clustered together, and conversed quietly amongst themselves while they tried to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, Druella herself was arriving through the gateway in the Quonset hut.

*Schrrrt!

"Headless horseman, we've got an arrival through the gateway. You'd better come check this out." The radio hissed.

Stavish acknowledged the radio transmission, and stared walking towards the Quonset hut. Druella came sashaying out of the hut, holding a scroll tightly in her hands.

"Greetings knight. My dark knights have told me you're not allowing anyone to visit Lord Collins." Druella said.

"That's right. Until I know exactly what's going on, I'm not letting anyone through. Not you, and not those weirdos over there." Stavish said.

"I shall tell you exactly what is 'going on', as you say. Knight Searraigh struck Michael in the heat of an argument, and caused him great physical harm. He fled here in fear, and I've come to retrieve him. Searraigh is already serving out a five year sentence for her crime." Druella explained.

...

"What the fuck?" Stavish sputtered.

"As you well know, inma are far stronger than humans. A casual blow from an inma is capable of crippling, maiming, and even killing a human. From what I'm told, she far exceeded a casual blow." Druella explained.

"I thought it was food poisoning!" Stavish exclaimed.

...

..

Druella gestured towards the angels, who were coming closer. Druella smiled when she saw them, and let them come up close before she spoke again.

"Dear angels of Eros, is Miranda amongst you?" Druella asked.

"I'm right here!" Miranda called.

She worked her way through the crowd, and stood next to Druella.

"Good. Now... I have this treaty here, that specifically states I have the right to travel freely to and from your world." Druella said.

She unrolled the treaty, and the letters glowed crimson. Stavish stared at them intently.

"You must allow us to pass. You cannot break the treaty. It must be honored." Druella said.

"...the treaty..." Stavish said quietly.

"Come Miranda dear, let us go visit Michael." Druella said.

"Should my sisters come?" Miranda asked.

"Hmm... perhaps they should wait here. We don't want to distress the people on the other side too much, nor do we wish to distress Michael." Druella said.

...

~Later~

...

*Knockknockknock

A knock came to the door of Michael's apartment. Michael was sitting on the couch, alone with a blanket and TV remote. Akia had stepped out to get food.

"Sweetie? Could you open the door please?" Druella called.

Michael's heart immediately began pounding as soon as he heard the word 'sweetie'. He hurried out of the living room.

*Knockknockknock

Druella waited, but she quickly grew impatient. She knew he was in the apartment somewhere, she could sense his aura. So she simply waved her hand, and effortlessly dispelled all of Sherry's wards on the door.

*Creeeeak

The door opened, and Druella stepped inside. Miranda was close behind. The first thing they noticed was the TV was still on. Michael had forgotten to turn it off.

"Is this truly where he lives? It's so tiny!" Druella thought.

She walked around, peeking into the various rooms in search of Michael. When she peeked into the electronics lab, it reminded her of a wizard's tower. When she peeked into the master bedroom, she instantly recognized the decor as something a succubus would make.

"It's the best room in the whole house. Now where in the world is that man?" Druella thought.

She used a spell of clairvoyance to locate Michael, which lead her to the closet door in the master bedroom.

*Clickcreeeeeak

"Oh my goodness..." Druella muttered under her breath.

...

..

.

Michael found himself sitting on the couch a little while later, with Druella, Miranda, and the newly returned Akia standing in front of him.

"Why were you hiding in the closet?" Druella asked softly.

"I wasn't hiding. I was doing laundry." Michael lied.

Miranda shook her head.

"Why are you lying to me? Were you hiding because you thought I was Searraigh?" Druella interrogated.

"Why would I hide from my own wife?" Michael argued.

"You're evading the question. You were clearly hiding in the closet, with a blanket over your head and everything. Is it because I said sweetie when I first arrived?" Druella asked.

"I told you I wasn't hiding." Michael lied again.

"And I'm telling you I can read you like a book. But if you insist, then I shall ask something else. Is it true that Searraigh hit you?" Druella asked.

"No, she didn't hit me." Michael lied.

"Yes she did. My knight saw the whole thing." Druella argued.

"I tripped and hit the edge of a table." Michael lied.

"That's a lie Michael. I was there. I watched her hit you." Miranda insisted.

While all of this back and forth was going on, Akia stood silently in the background. She knew Michael was lying, but she also knew it wasn't her place to contradict her master. It confused her. She didn't understand why Michael was protecting Searraigh.

"You know that you can be honest with me. I'm your friend. I threw Searraigh in the punishment pit, so she can't hit you again." Druella said softly.

"You're safe now." Miranda said.

"What?! No! I.. we.. please let her go!" Michael exclaimed.

"Why should I? You're not being honest. Now for the last time... did she hit you?" Druella asked.

Michael's face twisted up in agony.

"...yes... "Michael relented.

"Why were you trying to protect her?! Don't you know inma are far stronger than humans?! She could seriously hurt you, or even kill you! It's a major CRIME in the demon realms!" Druella exclaimed.

Michael's eyes got watery.

"I was afraid she would leave me." Michael whispered.

Druella cursed under her breath. Miranda's eyes filled with tears, and she covered her face.

"Fool. Don't you know anything?" Druella asked.

"I knew this would happen! You said she's just like you, but she isn't! She had every right to hit me! I cheated on her!" Michael exclaimed.

"No no no! You didn't cheat on anyone! You did nothing wrong!" Druella insisted.

...

"That's right, I did nothing wrong. Druella tricked me. She caused this." Michael thought.

...

"I just want to be left alone right now. Please... leave me be. And please send Sherry home." Michael pleaded softly.

Miranda lashed out and took his hands, and looked deep into his eyes.

"You... really love her, don't you? You just want to protect her. It's beautiful!" Miranda exclaimed with tear filled eyes.

"Is that the kind of unconditional love Eros promotes? The kind held by vulnerable people who don't know what real love is, who are being taken advantage of because they're desperate?" Druella asked.

"Of course not. Michael, just because you love someone..." Miranda started to preach.

"I don't need a lecture, thank you very much." Michael said dryly.

...

"Miranda, I think you're uniquely capable of fixing this mess." Druella said.

"What can I do? I'll do anything I can to help." Miranda asked gently.

"Shoot a golden arrow into his heart." Druella said.

Michael and Miranda both gave Druella a surprised look.

"It's your duty to help people find love, especially when it's love held back by outside circumstances." Druella explained.

"I know my duties. But who exactly is he secretly in love with?" Miranda asked.

"Me of course. After he has offered himself up to me, I will take him back to Lescatie permanently. And he won't care about Searraigh, because he'll be too busy railing me in the same square in which we did donuts." Druella said.

"What?" Miranda asked, confused.

"Oh never mind. Just shoot the arrow in him so he won't say no to me anymore. I detest that word." Druella said.

...

"Well?" Druella asked.

"No." Miranda said.

"I JUST said I hate that word!" Druella exclaimed.

"I know. Most inma hate that word. Yet... the answer is still no. I will not abuse my divine power at your whim." Miranda said.

"Fine then, I'll do it myself!" Druella exclaimed.

She lashed out and swiped a golden arrow from Miranda's quiver. Just as Druella went to stab it into Michael, it turned to dust in her hand.

"What in the world?" Druella asked meekly.

"You are not a subject of Eros, so you cannot wield her power." Miranda said, matter of fact.

...

*Tch

"I'm only trying to help him!" Druella insisted.

"You can help me by giving me back my wife!" Michael insisted.

...

Several silent moments passed.

...

"It is the husband's right to choose the punishment of the wife for crimes like these. I suppose... there is nothing else to do." Druella relented.

She turned and went for the door. As she grabbed the doorknob, she spoke again.

"I will not be so forgiving of Searraigh the next time." Druella said.

*Click

*Creeeak

*Thunk

And with that, Druella was gone.

...

Akia stepped forward and offered Michael a grocery bag she had been holding the entire time.

"Your sandwich master." Akia said.

"Thanks. I really appreciate you going out to get it." Michael said.

"I must serve, it is my programming." Akia said, matter of fact.

"Whether it is or not, thanks anyways." Michael said.

So he ripped apart the bag and pulled out a plastic container with a cheap walmart sandwich. It was full of low quality meat, plastic tasting cheese, and crappy bread, but it was also large and cheap. So that was Michael's dinner that night. Miranda made a face.

"That's what you're eating? Why can't you use that kitchen right over there?" Miranda asked.

"I can't. Sherry cursed it." Michael said between bites.

"She... she cursed it? What does that mean?" Miranda asked.

"It means if I try to cook anything, it'll end badly. Last time I tried, I got whacked in the head by a cupboard door." Michael said.

"Why would Searraigh cast a curse that makes his life harder?" Miranda thought.

...

"Wait... was Druella right? Did I just make a mistake by not helping her?" Miranda thought

...

"Has Searraigh ever hurt you before?" Miranda asked.

"No." Michael said, mouth full.

Miranda watched his reaction closely, but couldn't detect any deceit. Neither could Akia.

"Yet you got hit in the head because of one of her spells?" Miranda questioned.

"It was an accident. I'm sure she didn't mean it that way." Michael answered.

...

She gently placed her hands on Michael's arm and forced him to put down the cheap sandwich.

"Eros has asked that I bring you back to heaven. There's lots of good food there, and my sisters would love to meet you. Won't you come with me?" Miranda suggested nicely.

Michael immediately lit up.

"Really? You mean it?" Michael asked.

"Absolutely! Why don't we go right now?" Miranda suggested.

"Heck yeah, I just..." Michael hesitated.

He noticed Akia standing just behind Miranda, with an expectant look on her face.

"Master?" Akia questioned.

...

"Can Akia come too? She really needs to see it at least once in her life." Michael asked.

"No. It's only for those with souls." Miranda said bluntly.

"Hey! Be nice! Now I definitely don't want to go!" Michael exclaimed.

Miranda recoiled in surprise.

"I'm sorry, I meant no offense. It's just that I don't think non living creatures can exist in heaven. Golems and other such magical items tend to just fall over and stop working. Only living creatures with a soul can go to heaven." Miranda explained.

Akia placed a hand on her own chest.

"I'm... not alive?" Akia wondered quietly.

Michael jumped off the couch and grabbed Akia by the wrist.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be in the lab playing games with my VERY alive and VERY soulful friend!" Michael exclaimed angrily.

They headed for the hallway to the lab. Just before ducking through the door, Michael shot one last jab at Miranda.

"Machines have never hurt me! Not my Duster, not my television, and not Akia! None of them have ever slapped me! They do what they're told! And they don't say nasty things like that!" Michael shot.

He grumbled under his breath as he lumbered into the lab, and he locked the door.

"Oh Michael. Not everyone's like Searraigh..." Miranda trailed off.

...

..

.

Michael immediately came right back out of the lab, his hands on his hips. He had forgotten that technically Miranda was a guest, and he had to take care of her.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Michael asked.

"I would like to, if that's okay. Those knights at the portal were... scary." Miranda said.

"Okay come with me." Michael said.

He lead Miranda down the hallway, to the far end door on the right. Opening it showed an empty room.

"Here's where you're staying. I'll figure out some sort of mattress or bed a little later. I need to make a phone call first." Michael said.

"Thank you." Miranda said happily.

Michael was already moving down the hallway, and he gave her a dismissive wave over his shoulder.

"He still doesn't like me too much. Why? What am I doing wrong?" Miranda thought.

...

...

"I shouldn't have insulted the machine. That was my mistake." Miranda thought.

...

She followed Michael down the hallway, watching as he disappeared into the master bedroom. Then she noticed Akia sitting in the lab, patiently waiting for Michael to return.

"Greetings." Miranda said.

Akia remained silent.

"I know you and I are not friends, and will likely never be friends. But I wanted to apologize for what I said. I don't make the rules in heaven, I just follow them." Miranda said.

Akia remained silent.

"I have one question for you, and it's in your best interest. Has Searraigh ever hurt your master before?" Miranda asked.

"Not that I have recorded." Akia said evenly.

"Good. If you ever see Searraigh do something questionable, please tell me. I'll help you help him." Miranda said.

...

"Very well." Akia said.

...

"Why are you concerned with master?" Akia asked.

"I'm his guardian angel. It is my holy duty, nothing more." Miranda lied.

She left the doorway, leaving Akia alone to her own devices.

...

When Miranda found Michael again, he was on his phone in the master bedroom, talking to Mackenzie the radio operator.

"So that's what happened. And the specialist just stepped aside? Wow, so that treaty really is something huh? Yeah, tell her good job. No seriously, I mean it. Good job. She didn't know who they were, and she kept them out as best she could. Kudos. Yeah. Uh huh. Yep. See ya." Michael said.

*beep

He hung up, and slid his phone in his pocket. Turning, he headed into the closet, and came out with his old futon. It was fluffed and well aired out, so he wasn't worried about a guest using it. That's when he noticed Miranda standing at the doorway to the bedroom.

"Oh, perfect timing. Here you go." Michael said.

He haphazardly handed her the bulky futon, which she struggled to hold properly.

"Thank you, this will be..." Miranda tried to say.

*ClickCreeeeak

"Was that the front door?" Michael wondered.

Before Miranda could answer, was shoved out of the way by a flying blur of succubus.

"Sherry!" Michael exclaimed.

She was a complete mess. Her clothes were torn, her hair was stuck to her head in slimy strands, and she looked just about ready to go insane. Grabbing Michael, she threw him violently onto the bed. Then she started ripping his clothes off.

"Wait! I don't want this! I...MMPH!" Michael tried to say.

She jammed her tongue in his mouth, and immediately he was inundated with a strange earthy taste he had never tasted before. The tentacles in the punishment pit had done quite a job on Sherry, and he had the disgusting pleasure of tasting the remains. It was like trying to give a woman oral after she screwed another man. It immediately turned Michael's stomach.

"MMMMMPPPHPPPPHHHH!" Michael cried, muffled.

He smacked her on the rump a few times, but it did nothing. She was on a mission. Hours of sexual torment and separation from Michael had driven her out of her mind, and she was GOING to get some relief. Since she was covered in slippery tentacle slime, he couldn't get a good grip on her.

"That's disgusting!" Miranda thought.

She gagged and turned away, and hurried off so she wouldn't have to see what was happening to Michael.

"Doesn't she care that Michael doesn't want to do it? Couldn't she have bathed first?" Miranda thought.

...

~Much Later~

...

Sherry came out of the bedroom alone, with a satisfied smile on her face. Waiting for her was Miranda and Akia, and they didn't look happy.

"Greetings! Sorry I didn't say hello when I first got here..." Sherry started.

"Why did you do it?" Miranda demanded.

Sherry's satisfied smile faded some.

"I was in a hurry. I missed sweetie terribly." Sherry said.

"You know what I meant! That in of itself was appalling, but I want to know why you hit him!" Miranda insisted.

Sherry's smile faded completely.

"It is none of your concern. Our issues are private." Sherry rebuked.

"You struck him in front of us! It isn't private anymore!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Well if you must know, I plan on baking him a prisoner fruit cake as an apology. He'll forget all about it after the first bite." Sherry said, annoyed.

And just like that, the oblivious succubus marched straight into the kitchen and started the cake. Miranda grabbed Akia and hurried down the hallway. They ducked into Miranda's mostly empty bedroom, and shut the door.

"Is it just me, or does that woman have no remorse over what she did?" Miranda asked quietly.

"I observed the same." Akia noted.

"And do your databases tell you that this is right? Even a machine should know better." Miranda asked quietly.

"Correct." Akia said softly.

Before they could talk any further, they were interrupted.

*Knockknockknock

Sherry knocked on the door. Miranda and Akia clammed up, for the nosy succubus had arrived.

"Enter." Miranda said.

Sherry walked in, a smile on her face.

"I was just thinking, perhaps we should get you some furniture for your room." Sherry said kindly.

...

"Oh that's just what Akia and I were talking about." Miranda lied.

Sherry eyed the futon laid out on the floor.

"I presume I should start with a bed?" Sherry suggested.

"That and a shelf to put my books on would be very appreciated. Oh and a writing desk would be nice." Miranda said.

"Then you shall have it dear." Sherry purred.

She smiled and went on her merry way, leaving a very perturbed Miranda and Akia behind.

"That has to have been the most awkward conversation I've ever had." Miranda murmured.

"It's obvious entity Searraigh is attempting to please us so we will not disturb her regarding master." Akia said quietly.

...

..

.

Not long afterwards, Michael came staggering out of the master bedroom. Akia just so happened to spot him as he walked out. He rushed straight across the hallway, into the bathroom. She followed him, and found him leaning over the sink.

"Master?" Akia questioned.

*Coughcough

*Spit

Michael wiped his mouth with his wrist.

"Ugh... that's the first time I've ever been grossed out by Sherry. Good lord, that woman is disgusting." Michael said between spits.

"She's baking you a cake right now." Akia said.

"Did she take a shower first?" Michael asked.

"No." Akia said.

Michael visibly wilted.

"Then let's hope that inma self cleaning spell did its best." Michael said quietly.

He ran his hands through his hair, and made a disgusted sound.

"I think I'd better take a shower at least. I got slimed." Michael said.

"Yes master." Akia said.

"Yes I got slimed, or yes you think I should take a shower?" Michael asked.

"Yes." Akia said.

Michael chuckled.

"Okay okay, I get it. Thanks, I needed a chuckle." Michael said, smiling.

...

~One Shower Later~

...

A little while later, a freshly showered Michael came out into the living room. He was wearing his bdu pants, but no shirt. Miranda took one look at him, her face turned red, and she looked away while covering her face.

"EEP! So shameful!" Miranda exclaimed.

She ran off to her room, and slammed the door. Sherry was practically dying laughing in the kitchen.

"What'd I do?" Michael asked.

"It seems our resident cupid can't handle the sight of your bare chest~" Sherry laughed.

"Oh... SORRY MIRANDA!" Michael called.

He turned to go back into the bedroom to get a shirt, and noticed Akia sitting on the couch. She didn't even bat an eyelash over the whole ordeal. Michael figured Akia would probably go around completely naked if people didn't tell her to wear clothes.

...

So after Michael had acquired a shirt, Miranda peeked out the crack of her partially opened bedroom door. Michael saw her, and waved.

"It's safe now, you can come out." Michael said.

Miranda reluctantly came out, her face still red from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I've never seen a naked man before." Miranda said quietly.

"I wasn't even naked. It's normal for men to go around without shirts." Michael said.

"Really?! But women always cover their upper half!" Miranda said.

"That's because women have breasts. Go to any beach, and all the men will be topless." Michael explained.

Miranda's face turned even redder.

"You're going to make her blow steam out her ears sweetie." Sherry warned from the kitchen.

"For someone who's spent years around inma, you have practically zero tolerance for lewdness." Michael chuckled.

"I'm sorry! There weren't very men around during my stay!" Miranda blurted.

"So you're only used to women being lewd, not men." Michael reasoned.

She nodded.

...

A little while later, and Sherry's dinner was complete. It was fantastic, with a huge assortment of all of Michael's absolute favorite dishes. And center in the display was that prisoner fruit cake, which Sherry had pulled all the stops out to make. It was three layers, took up an entire silver turkey platter, and looked exquisite enough to serve at the Royal Makai.

"Eat up sweetie~" Sherry said cheerfully.

Miranda and Akia stayed out of sight in the hallway, watching as Michael cheerfully dug into the food. A few minutes passed, and he happily stuffed his face. Then they noticed something strange. His movements started getting uncoordinated, as if he were drunk. He reached for a cup, and accidentally knocked it over. Then he swayed, and his fork clattered onto the plate.

"Ishlourd..." Michael slurred.

*THUD!

His head collided with the kitchen island, and foam started coming out of his mouth.

"Hmmp. Too easy." Sherry scoffed.

She rounded the island, grabbed a fist full of his hair, and lifted his head up. Michael was completely wasted from inma drugs. Waving her magic filled hands, she passed her fingers over the spot that she had slapped. Seemingly satisfied with what she found, she used her magic to teleport the two of them away somewhere.

"By Eros!" Miranda muttered.

"My sensors have determined entity Searraigh has taken master to the bedroom." Akia said.

"Why though? What point was there in drugging him?" Miranda asked.

"Maybe there wasn't a point. She might have done it purely because she felt like it." Akia said.

...

"My sensors no longer show master and entity Searraigh in the apartment." Akia said.

Miranda cursed under her breath, and immediately hurried out of the apartment.

...

..

.

~Later~

.

..

...

When Michael woke up, he found himself in Lescatie. He was laying on the ground, in the square that they had done donuts in not too long ago. He could hear voices all around him, people murmuring in the native Lescatian tongue. A breeze told him that his clothes were missing. Glancing around, he saw countless dark knights. Sherry was standing over him, facing the people.

"... and I brought him here with only a small amount of sleeping potion. He is completely unharmed!" Sherry proclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Michael asked groggily.

Sherry looked down with her crimson succubus eyes, and smiled lewdly.

"Don't worry sweetie, everything's just fine. Let me handle everything." Sherry reassured nicely.

"Searraigh! What is the meaning of this? We were told you were in the punishment pit! You struck your husband! You shouldn't be here with him!" A dark knight shouted.

"I was released at the request of my husband, who knows all too well that it was an accident! Now... beautiful people of Lescatie... my fellow knights... I present for your judgement, the depth of my love!" Sherry declared.

She dropped her skirt on the ground, and revealed her lack of panties. Kneeling down, she straddled Michael with her soft hips.

"I know you still love me. You got hard and came in the bedroom." Sherry whispered.

"What?" Michael whispered.

"I had to make sure you would, so I did a practice run. Now... just cum the same amount here." Sherry whispered.

*Squiiiish!

"GAH!" Michael cried.

"Ohhhhh, you're so deep inside sweetie! Feel how tight I am? I always wanted to do it in public! It's driving me wild~" Sherry exclaimed.

...

Miranda and Akia appeared in the crowd, and watched as Searraigh raped Michael in public. There wasn't much to it, just the usual bouncing up and down on his hard cock. However, it had the effect Searraigh was looking for. The dark knights were pleased, the civilians were pleased, and eventually Druella would be pleased when she heard about it. Miranda sighed and shook her head.

"This has to be the most heavy handed, uncaring, blunt, and brutal way to do this. And... this is just normal inma culture." Miranda muttered.

"Master is not in danger?" Akia asked quietly.

"At the moment, no. Still though, the way she did this is... appalling. Even for an inma. I wonder what else she's capable of doing, considering her complete disregard for his feelings." Miranda muttered.

So she turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of inma watching the show.

...

~Hours Later~

...

*Click

*Creeeeak

"Miss maid, we have returned!" Sherry called.

She stepped through the front door of the Lescatie house, towing a very ragged and very tired Michael behind her. The ghost maid appeared, drifting down through the ceiling from the floor above.

"How may I serve you madame?" The ghost maid asked.

"Please draw a hot bath for my husband, and bathe his body. Then prepare his dinner. Make it a large one." Sherry instructed.

"Where shall you be madame?" The ghost maid asked.

"I must visit the mansion, and present myself to mistress Druella. I hope she is pleased with my first act of penance." Sherry said.

"That's what that was? So it's like community service?" Michael asked.

"Is that what it's called on your world? Community service doesn't sound right, because it wasn't the community I was servicing. It was you." Sherry said.

She took his hand and guided him over to the spot in the hallway where he had been standing during the slapping incident. She stood him in the exact same spot, and then dropped to her knee.

"I know not what evil overcame me, but I beg your forgiveness." Sherry said, bowing her head.

"Why?" Michael asked.

She glanced up at him, confused at first over what he was asking. At first she thought he was asking why he should forgive her, but in reality he was asking why she slapped him.

"I don't know why. You made those excuses about the mistress tricking you, and it angered me. It was as if I were watching a complete stranger raise her hand and strike you down. I wanted to cut that stranger to ribbons, but I could not. For that stranger was myself." Sherry explained.

Michael's eyebrows furrowed.

"I went upstairs, and I looked at myself in the mirror. In that moment, I realized what I had done. I rushed down here to apologize and heal your wound, but you were already gone. The dark knights came, and took me away. I kicked and screamed, begging them to let me find you. It was too late. My punishment was to be five years in the pit, one year for every finger mark I left upon you." Sherry recalled.

She looked legitimately distressed over what she had done, and she seemed to be speaking in earnest. So Michael reached down and patted her on the head, between her horns.

"I forgave you even as you did it." Michael said.

*GASP

She jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh sweetie! I love you so much! You're wonderful!" Sherry cried joyously.

*Smooch!

*SMOOCHSMOOCH!

"I'll do anything you ask! Anything at all! Please, just don't ever stop loving me!" Sherry cried.

She smooched him a few more times, and then ran out the front door. Michael took a moment to recover mentally, and then wiped the kiss remnants off his face. The ghost maid had a warm smile on her face.

"So... about that bath." Michael started.

"Of course monsieur! I'll prepare it immediately!" The ghost maid said cheerfully.

...

~Later~

...

Sherry found herself in the Lescatie family mansion once again, inside Druella's throneroom. She bowed deeply once she arrived at the throne.

"Rise. Why do you disturb me Searraigh?" Druella asked, slightly annoyed.

"I have come to relay the completion of my first penance. My husband and I made love under the public eye." Sherry recounted.

"I already know all about it. Do you expect that to be a sufficient first penance?" Druella asked.

"My husband got off, and came many times. I made sure he felt very good. Also, it pleased those who were affected by my crime." Sherry argued.

"Hmmm... very well. I shall accept it. You have two acts of penance left. What do you propose to be your second?" Druella asked.

"I thought to ask my husband." Sherry said.

"Good. Do as he commands, and return once you've done something noteworthy. Now go." Druella commanded.

"Yes mistress. Thank you mistress." Sherry said humbly.

...

~Later~

...

"I'm so sorry monsieur! I didn't know the pantry was so bare!" The ghost maid wailed apologetically.

"It's okay, you're a ghost. You don't eat food anyways. How were you supposed to know?" Michael said kindly.

He jingled his keys and ran his fingers through his freshly washed hair.

"I promised to have a barbecue with Stavish and the gang, so I guess we're having it right now. Tell Sherry I went to Fort Chell." Michael said.

"Oui monsieur." The ghost maid said.

So with that, Michael headed through the gateway into Fort Chell. As it so happened, Akia and Miranda were there waiting for him.

"Heya, waiting for me?" Michael asked.

"Are you well master? Did entity Searraigh harm you?" Akia asked.

"Oh no, not in the slightest. I am really hungry though, so let's go scrounge up some grub!" Michael said cheerfully.

So they left the Quonset hut, and walked together towards the chow hall and PX.

"Hey it looks like they already set up a nice grill! We could throw some steaks on that and have a damn fine dinner!" Michael said cheerfully.

"Steaks?" Miranda questioned.

"Yeah! You'll love them! I know a few tricks to make them come out extra good! How do you like yours? Medium? Medium rare?" Michael asked.

"Eh... medium?" Miranda said, uncertain.

"I like mine extra rare. Though I'm cool with medium. Hey Akia, why don't you..." Michael started to say.

*Kabwhooosh!

Michael, Miranda, and Akia were all hit with a wall of pressure, which knocked them on their asses. A blast of sand, rocks, and twisted bits of metal flew past them. When the smoke cleared, the PX and chow hall were completely evaporated. Michael's ears were ringing, so he couldn't hear the base's sirens going off for several long seconds. He also could barely hear Miranda's frightened screaming.

"We're under attack! Get to the shelter! Go go go!" Michael shouted.

*Kabwhooosh!

Another detonation happened to their left, and debris rained down on them. A piece of shredded tin sliced across Michael's face, making him pour blood down his cheek. He dragged the two disorientated women by the wrist to the bomb shelters, and ducked inside before any more flying debris could get them.

*Kabwooosh!

*Kabwooosh!

The ground rumbled as Fort Chell was struck by magical blast after magical blast. The alarm was raised everywhere. In Lescatie, dark knights and mages scrambled to assemble themselves into a cohesive fighting unit. In Eros's heaven, angels formed ranks with swords and bows in hand. On earth, soldiers frantically grabbed their rifles and readied themselves to run through the portal and fight back. Phone calls rang out across southeast Arizona, the modern day equivalent to summoning the Minute Men. And Sherry... she knew what was happening the instant Michael knew. She rushed through the gateway, and right into the line of fire.

...

..

~Twenty Minutes Later~

..

...

The blasts stopped. Michael carefully peeked up out of the shelter, and looked around. Fort Chell looked like the surface of the moon with all the impact craters. Several soldiers who had been sheltering with Michael and the others all jumped to action. They ran outside, rushing to man their defenses.

"Akia, lethal force is authorized. Kill all Order." Michael instructed.

"Yes master." Akia said.

"Alright... now let's go find me a rifle." Michael said.

"Wait! You can't seriously be considering going out there!" Miranda exclaimed.

"I sure am." Michael said.

"No! War is not for you! Let the warriors fight! Your purpose in this world is for peaceful things!" Miranda exclaimed.

"Well I'm going to peacefully blow someone's fracking head off for ruining my damn fort!" Michael exclaimed.

She tried to grab the tail of his shirt, but he was out of there like a jackrabbit. Akia was close behind. With no other options, Miranda summoned her bow from thin air, and chased after them.

...

They got to the armory, which was still mostly standing. The windows were blown out, and a huge steel beam had crashed down across the front of the building, but otherwise everything was intact. Michael stepped over the ruined doorway, and found a mound of rubble blocking his path. On the other side of the rubble was the supply sergeant, frantically throwing belts of 308 out the window for some machine gunners. The sounds of fighting echoed from the south western side of the fort.

"Sergeant! Toss me something!" Michael called.

The sergeant turned towards the racks of rifles, grabbed the first thing that was easy, and tossed it to Michael along with a bandolier. Of course it ended up being an M4, since that was the most common rifle in the armory. Michael made a disgusted face, but he didn't voice any complaints. An M4 was better than nothing.

...

..

.

The attack on Fort Chell was being conducted by a small raiding party of Order knights and mages. They had been sent there specifically to conduct hit and run raids against the demon realms, arriving by ship along the nearly impossible to guard coast. They numbered no more than five hundred, but they were some of the finest mages and knights the Order had. Their party was lead by a holy ordained hero, a man with a mane of golden blonde hair and armor of the highest quality. He was followed closely by a small army of porters, which carried his kit. A flag bearer followed him, holding up the banner of his particular country. It was a variant of the typical Order cross, with extra livery added on.

...

Inside the Fort, Specialist Stavish hurried to get her troops into some sort of calm and efficient fighting shape. Many of the soldiers were not experienced in combat, only a few had ever served in the sand box. Many of them were similar to Sakia, having MOs that didn't involve line duty. So many of them had freaked out when the shelling started, and they weren't cooperating much after it ended. Sporatic magical blasts served to renew the panic every thirty seconds or so. Even with that roadblock, Stavish managed to get her more experienced troops to man a pair of machine guns and an Abrams tank.

...

Sherry was one of the first people to arrive at Fort Chell from Lescatie. Soon a sparse handful of mages and dark knights made it through before an Order spell shut down the gateway for the duration of the battle. She quickly rallied the mages, and set them to work trying to protect the soldiers of Fort Chell from the worst of the magical attacks. And of course she also used what little time she had left over to frantically search for Michael. She knew he was there, she could smell him. And he knew she was there, for the same reason. Unfortunately, Druella had not seen fit to return Sherry's sword or pocket dimension, so she was limited to destruction spells.

...

The Order hero had very specific commands from the church. He was not to get into a prolonged battle with the monsters. The Order had suffered far too many casualties recently, and they couldn't afford to lose their finest mages. The problem with those commands... was the hero himself. He was newly anoited as a hero, and he lusted after glory. His family was rich, and they had seen him admitted into some of the finest church controlled schools available. Of course that involved copious amounts of coin ending up in the compulsatory donation basket. Having been shielded his whole life, that hero had no true comprehension of what real war was like. So with his lust for fame driving him, he commanded his small army into a full blown assault against Fort Chell. He lead the attack, just like the heroes in the books he had read while in school. As far as he was concerned, Fort Chell should have been an easy win.

...

As soon as the Order got within range, the machine guns opened up. They unleashed a bullet hell onto the sword weilding primitives, cutting down a third of their force within minutes. The Order retaliated with several concentrated magical attacks, incinerating and blowing apart the machine gun nests with extreme prejudice. The Abrams soon followed, with a fireball hitting the turret in just the right spot to instantly destroy the gun and weld the turret to the main body of the tank. The crew was forced to abandon the burning hulk before the ordnance inside detonated. The remaining Order knights swarmed across the defensive perimeter. The fight devolved into small clusters of fire balls going one way, and lead going the other.

...

During the fighting, Stavish was doing her best to control the situation. Michael stayed out of her way, letting her do what her training taught her to do. He wouldn't have interrupted at all, except he noticed Stavish doing something unusual. She was giving rapid fire orders, pointing this way and that. Go here, do this, go there, move this. And each time she raised her arm and pointed, Michael winced inside.

"Stavish! You cut that shit out! You're making yourself a targ..." Michael tried to say.

*CRACK!

*BOOM!

A puff of white smoke billowed into the air behind Stavish, and blood splattered all over a crate she was standing beside. She sank to the ground.

"Stavish!" Michael shouted.

He raised his rifle, and fired at the puff of smoke. An Order musketeer fell over dead. Seconds later, he dropped to his knees beside Stavish's body.

"Wha the fahk hit m..e..." Stavish slurred.

She passed out moments later. The bullet had gone in her left flank, and exited her right, leaving a massive hole in it's wake. Akia deployed her healing device and immediately healed the dullahan infantryman, but the blood loss was too much. She was out of the fight for the forseeable future.

*SKID

Mackenzie dropped to a knee next to Stavish.

"Is she dead?!" Mackenzie asked.

"No, but she's done for a while. Get her legs, I'll get the arms." Michael said.

"Wait! Look, boss. Behind you!" Mackenzie warned.

Michael whipped his rifle up and whirled around, but he didn't find a threat. It was Druella, Sherry, and a few mages.

"Sweetie!" Sherry cried.

She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him, making him grunt from the impact. Druella knelt down next to Stavish, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Where the heck did you come from? Wait wait, nevermind. We don't have time for this. Someone help me drag Stavish under cover!" Michael exclaimed.

They picked her up, full battle rattle included, and dragged her into Michael's quonset hut. They laid her on the bed, and tucked her M4 into her arms like a sort of adult teddy bear. Just before Michael was about to leave, he noticed Stavish's dog tags tangled up around her throat. He straightened them out so she could breathe, and took a glance at the tag.

"Katariina." Michael murmured.

"What was that?" Druella asked.

"Her name... it's Katariina Stavish. Spelled with two letter I's." Michael said.

"I never knew her full name. How odd." Sherry said.

"She's Finnish American. That's why she's got the funny name. I'm sure she'll tell you all about it when she wakes up." Mackenzie said.

Michael tucked her tags back under her collar. Just then, Akia came into the room with a large musket in her hands.

"Master, I retrieved the enemy's weapon." Akia said.

Michael raked his eyes over the musket. He knew exactly what it was, having spent a lot of time studying weaponry from ages past. It was a 72 caliber matchlock. The burning match cord was still attached, and still smoldering. It was a massive thing, with a gaping maw for a muzzle, primitive sights, and decorated with a huge curving buttstock. The round ball that would have come out of that musket was massive, right around the same size as a twelve gauge slug. Stavish was unlucky with the way she had been hit, since she was wearing her standard issue body armor. The roundball had gone in her flank, passed through her torso, and came out the other side. Such a wound would have certainly killed any ordinary person in any ordinary circumstances. That 72 caliber ball was like getting hit by a twenty mule team freight wagon, turning everything it touched into hamburger. In moments like that, Michael deeply appreciated Akia's healing device.

"Destroy it." Michael said.

"Yes master." Akia said.

She bent the musket in two with her hands.

"I wonder if they got the idea from us." Mackenzie mused.

"No, they didn't. The Order has been developing these weapons long before you ever came to this world." Sherry said.

...

..

.

Just as Michael was about to leave the Quonset hut, he noticed someone taking cover inside the radio room. He walked inside, and saw Sakia under a table. Without saying a word, he grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and dragged her to her feet. He pulled her outside, shoved her down behind a sandbag barrier with other soldiers, and threw a blood covered AK into her hands.

"I'm not a combat officer!" Sakia exclaimed.

"You are today!" Michael exclaimed.

Just then, a shout came from a similar defensive line twenty five yards ahead.

"Here they come!" A soldier shouted.

"PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES!" Michael barked.

...

Meanwhile, Sherry was quietly pleading with Druella.

"Mistress PLEASE! Give me back my blade! I need it!" Sherry begged.

"No. Ask again, and I shall curse you forever." Druella spat.

...

..

.

~Two Hours Later~

.

..

...

The battle raged back and forth across Fort Chell. The Order was committed, and unwilling to admit defeat. The defenders were tired and bloodied, and running out of ammo. Technically the Order outnumbered the soldiers at the beginning, but by the time the two hour mark rolled around, the numbers were more even. Nobody had ever predicted that such a small Order force would do so much damage, at least nobody other than Druella. While the soldiers were capable of killing Order quickly, they were vulnerable to magical attacks. And when those magical attacks wiped out any attempts at setting up a machine gun nest, it made it very hard for the Earth soldiers to bring the full might of their weapons to bear. The fighting eventually devolved into 4-6 man skirmishes scattered all across the fort. Michael was in one of those skirmishes.

*Kabwooosh!

A magical blast detonated near him, and sent him flying into the ruins of a barracks. Rubble collapsed all around him, and he got knocked on the head.

...

When he came to his senses, he found Sherry frantically digging at the rubble with her bare fingers.

"Hold on sweetie, I'll get you out!" Sherry cried.

It was then that Michael saw someone new appear at the doorway to the ruined building. It was a man with golden hair, fine armor, and holding a holy sword. Michael recognized the sword immediately, due to it's striking similarity to Sherry's old sword from when she was a hero.

"Look out!" Michael shouted.

Sherry whirled around, and threw a quick bolt of lightning. The hero dodged it, and swung his blade in an overhead strike. He wasn't aiming for Sherry, he was aiming for Michael. In a feat of blinding speed and complete disregard for her own safety, Sherry lashes out and grabbed the holy sword... with her hands.

*TSSSSSSS

Her hands began to burn. The holy sword seared her flesh. The tip of the sword was hovering a few inches away from Michael's neck. If it so much as lightly touched him anywhere on his body, he would instantly die and be sent to the fiery pits that were the chief god's version of hell.

"Sweetie flee!" Sherry cried.

Michael struggled, but there was too much rubble. He was pinned. Looking around, he found a large chunk of wood within arms reach. He picked it up and threw it at the hero, but it bounced off his head without so much as making him flinch. Slowly the sword crept closer. Evidently a male hero was slightly stronger than a female hero, at least in upper body strength. He couldn't draw his sidearm, because his right arm was trapped. His rifle had gone bye bye in the explosion. So he was completely out of options, other than to awkwardly scrabble for his beretta with his left hand.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street on the roof of a building, Miranda could see everything that was happening. She could see Michael pinned under rubble, she could see the blade creeping closer to his body, and she could see Searraigh trying desperately to hold it at bay. What she couldn't see was the Order hero, her line of sight was blocked by the remains of the building wall. She couldn't run to their aid, because a group of Order knights were blocking the way in the street below her. There wasn't enough time for that anyways. She couldn't fly there, because she would immediately get shot down. So she did the next best thing.

*Thunk!

Michael's head whirled around, and he saw a lead arrow protruding from the ground a couple inches from his left hand. He immediately knew what Miranda was trying to do.

"Druella couldn't use them... but maybe I can!" Michael thought.

He snagged the arrow, and aimed the tip towards the hero.

"The chief god doesn't love you!" Michael exclaimed.

He stabbed the hero in a crack between two of the armor plates on his leg. The lead arrow dissolved into his body, and instantly destroyed the false indoctrinated love he held for his cruel god. And when that love went away, so did the source of his unlimited divine power.

"YAAAAH!" Sherry cried.

She shoved the blade away, and it flew out of the hero's hands. It hit the ground, and dissolved into nothing.

"You think you have defeated me? Think again monster!" The hero proclaimed.

He cast a spell of wind, which sent Sherry flying into the next building. Sherry countered by throwing lightning and fire at the hero. Their battle soon disappeared into another part of Fort Chell, leaving Michael alone to dig himself out of the wreckage.

...

Once he got most of the rubble out of the way, he found the most incredible thing. His injuries should have been far worse, but instead he was saved by a certain automaton who had ended up buried under the rubble near his legs. She was holding up a massive steel beam with her arms. If it had fallen on his legs, he probably would have ended up a double amputee.

"Master, please remove your legs. My arm units can no longer maintain this stress level. Failure in fifteen seconds." Akia warned.

He yanked as hard as he could, and just barely managed to get his legs out before Akia was forced to drop the beam.

"Catastrophic failure averted. My arm units are in need of repair. ETA for repair, three days." Akia said.

She casually shrugged off the rubble that was keeping her pinned.

"Can you still use your blasters?" Michael asked.

"Yes master, however accuracy is reduced twenty three percent." Akia warned.

"Then you'd better get working, because here they come!" Michael warned, pointing.

A small group of ordinary Order knights came running into the area, with their weapons held high. Akia spun around and started shooting while Michael frantically looked around for his wayward rifle. Eventually he found it under a heavy wooden table. The sling was broken, which is why he lost it in the first place. Otherwise it seemed serviceable, so he put it to use to back up his favorite automaton.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

The battle between Sherry and the Order Hero had taken them to the northern part of the fort. Their magical blasts tore through everything they happened to touch, building or armored vehicle alike. There was a lull in the fight, and they faced off against each other like a pair of duelists.

"So we meet again Knight Long!" Sherry spat.

"Searraigh Fontaine. It has been a long time. It's my pleasure to rid the world of the great traitor whore." Knight Long spat.

"Is your mommy still bribing your way up the church ladder, you little cuss? The table Hurtgen has no honor!" Sherry spat.

"Says the mass murderer!" Knight Long retorted.

...

They didn't know it, but a certain JSDF soldier was taking cover behind some crates nearby. She was listening to every single word they said.

...

"How many villages did you raze to the ground? How many innocent thousands did you slaughter? Maybe my mother bribes the church, but at least I'm not a blood thirsty maniac!" Knight Long countered.

"Enough! Leave this place, or it shall be you who is slaughtered next! Insect!" Sherry warned.

*Shiiiiiing

Knight Long found a sword on a dead Order knight, which he drew and held at the ready. That immediately put Sherry at a disadvantage. She could use spells, but AOE destruction magic could easily kill her just as it could kill him. If he got too close...

*CrackleWHOOSH!

A sheathed sword appeared in Sherry's burned hands. It was immediately recognizable as her own sword, in the sheath that Michael made for her. A hundred yards away stood Druella, who had used magic to teleport the sword back to its rightful owner.

"Kill!" Druella commanded.

Sherry lunged forward and drew the blade in one smooth motion. It was everything Knight Long could do to parry the blow. A huge sword shaped gash formed in the ground, and fire spat from the depths of the world. She was no longer playing around. Her mistress had given her a command, and she would follow it.

*CLANG

*SWISH

*CLANGCLANG

"You dare try to murder my husband!? I'll make you suffer!" Sherry bellowed angrily.

"For consorting with demons, his punishment is to burn for eternity!" Knight Long retorted.

...

Meanwhile, Michael was in a similar battle of his own on the other side of Fort Chell. He let out a war cry, and broke his M4 over the head of an Order lancer. The high grade aluminum shattered from the force of the impact. Not that it mattered much, the rifle had jammed horrifically moments before, thus rendering the rifle inoperable anyways.

"I hate M16s!" Michael shouted.

He took the knight's lance, and fought his way towards his next rifle, whatever it may be. Akia was with him every step of the way, blasting holes through people big enough to throw a soup can through.

...

..

.

~The Next Day~

.

..

...

Stavish slowly woke up the next morning, and found herself in quite the unusual predicament. Somehow she had ended up shoved under a bed. The box spring was just above her head. Her rifle was uncomfortably shoved under her arm.

"What... the hell happened?" Stavish thought.

She thought about it for a while, and remembered when she got shot. Nobody had ever told her the Order had guns, she found out the hard way. So she peeked out of under a quilt that was blocking her view of the rest of the room, looking for any enemies that might be lingering. She saw nothing, so she crawled out of under the bed.

*Scraaaape

*Shuffle

She crawled out, and turned to look at the bed. It was then she realized how close she came to getting killed. A huge wooden beam had fallen on the bed, right where someone would have been laying.

"That was close. Thanks for whoever decided to hide me under the bed." Stavish thought.

Looking herself over, she found blood splattered all over her web gear. All her ammo was gone, other than the magazine in her rifle. Her grenades were missing as well. So with nothing else to do, she got up and wandered outside the Quonset hut.

...

Fort Chell was a complete disaster. There were dead bodies everywhere, and blood ran in the street. Stavish wondered who won for a while, until she saw some of her own infantry picking through what was left of a machine gun nest. She walked over.

"Sir." One of the soldiers said tiredly.

The machine gun was toast. The barrel had a huge bulge in it. Whoever had been firing it, had fired it until it melted down. A broken water drum sat next to the gun, with a half dozen barrels sticking out of what appeared to be blood colored water. Walking onwards, she passed a few of Druella's dark knights that were trying to heal the wounded, and tend to the dead. A few necromancers had already arrived, and were reviving Stavish's buddies.

*CRACK!

A gunshot echoed from the direction of the portal, so Stavish turned and started heading that way. That was where she found Michael.

*CRACK!

*CRACK!

He was covered in soot from head to toe, to the point where his skin couldn't be seen anymore. The only thing that wasn't covered in soot was his eyes, which stood in stark contrast to the rest of his face. He was defending a fountain that an ambitious construction worker had installed on top of a natural water spring they found just in front of the portal itself.

*CRACK!

He had his Beretta in his right hand, and an RPG slung on his left shoulder. It turned out that the battle wasn't quite over yet, it just had petered out to levels matching the extreme fatigue both sides felt. Nobody else was around, it was just Michael and a half dozen very tired looking Order.

*CRACK!

He fired his pistol, and the head of one of the Order snapped back. One of the knights stabbed at him with a lance, but it just bounced off Michael's steel ballistic chest plate. He was the next to get shot.

*CRACK!

*CRACK!

*CRACKCRACKCRACK!

And that was that. Michael slowly sank to the ground next to the fountain, and the pistol limply lay in his lap.

"Sir, are you okay?" Stavish asked.

...

..

.

It took him a long time to even hear what Stavish asked. He slowly looked up at her, and recognition slowly etched in his tired features. He looked at himself, checking for wounds.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Michael said quietly.

"Where is everyone?" Stavish asked.

...

..

.

"I dunno." Michael said quietly.

Stavish rolled a body out of the way, and sank to the ground next to Michael.

"Akia was here for a while, but we got separated. Haven't seen Sherry since yesterday." Michael recounted.

"Did you hold this position by yourself?" Stavish asked.

Michael slowly surveyed the scene from left to right.

"Guess so." Michael said, shrugging.

...

..

.

Michael stuck his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a fist full of empty M9 magazines. He threw them in Stavish's lap.

"Thanks for the ammo." Michael said.

"Uh... you're welcome. Where are the M4 magazines I had?" Stavish asked.

He casually twirled his finger around in a circle.

"Somewhere. Some GI has them. I broke my M4 over the head of some asshole, so I handed them off." Michael said tiredly.

"Damn." Stavish remarked.

...

..

.

Off to their left, the familiar pink of Miranda's cupid uniform caught their attention. She hurried across their line of sight, and stopped when she spotted them sitting by the fountain.

"Michael! Come quick, Searraigh's in trouble!" Miranda warned.

"... it never ends." Michael griped.

"It never does sir. Welcome to my life." Stavish quipped.

She jumped up and caught his hand, and helped him to his feet.

.

..

...

Michael and Stavish followed Miranda to the north side of Fort Chell, where they discovered that section of the fort was truly flattened.

"It looks like god came down and smited this place." Michael marveled.

"No kidding. That's fire and brimstone if I've ever seen it." Stavish marveled.

"They were holding back."

Michael turned, and saw Druella heading his way. Akia was right behind her. Michael felt a deep sense of relief seeing that Druella and Akia were okay.

"They were holding back, because they didn't want to kill their own armies. Once they got away from the fort, they truly began to fight." Druella explained.

"So where are they now?" Michael asked.

"Several miles in that direction. We must use one of your vehicles if we are to get there in time." Druella said.

On that note, they all started piling into a nearby hmmwv that survived the battle. Stavish drove, Druella took the front passenger seat, Michael crawled into the back, and Akia stole the last seat just before Miranda took it. Of course the cupid made a face.

"You stay here." Michael said.

"Why though? I'm your guardian angel!" Miranda asked.

"You also said you're not a soldier. Just stay here and let us deal with it. It'll be fine." Michael reassured.

And the hmmwv pulled away, leaving Miranda behind. She flapped her pixie wings, and took off after them the old fashioned way.

...

~Several Minutes Later~

...

Michael and party piled out of their hmmwv, and hurried over to an open field where Sherry and Knight Long were. They both looked like hell, and they were surrounded by fire and huge gashes in the ground. Sherry was panting, and her hands were visibly shaking. Knight Long didn't look to be in as bad a shape.

"Sweetie no! Stay back!" Sherry warned.

Long took her instant of distraction to lunge forward and slash at her, forcing her to parry the blow.

"Don't get too close! The aura of their power will instantly kill a mortal!" Druella warned.

"Stavish, shoot that mother fracker!" Michael barked.

"With pleasure!" Stavish exclaimed.

She raised her rifle, and squeezed off a burst. All three rounds impacted knight Long, but he didn't even flinch. The holes closed instantly.

"What the hell?!" Michael and Stavish both exclaimed.

Akia raised her blaster, and fired a superheated plasma bolt. It went in one side, and out the other, with similar effect as the 62 grain green tips. Miranda fired an arrow, but it was deflected into the dirt by a ward.

"That is it then. I shall join the fight in aid of my knight!" Druella said, pulling her sleeves up.

Just then, Michael appeared with an RPG cradled in his arms.

"Stand aside, I've got a better idea." Michael said.

"Your letter to the BATF master?" Akia asked.

"Damn straight." Michael said.

He unthreaded the safety cap on the rocket, hefted the tube up onto his shoulder, gripped the firing mechanism with his right hand, and crossed his left arm across his chest to grab the secondary grip.

"Don't drop that thing on the rocket tip, or it'll blow up and kill us." Stavish warned.

"I know. Check my back blast." Michael said.

"Yes sir." Stavish said.

He went towards the dueling knights, and stopped right at the edge of the dangerous aura. His thumb cocked the hammer of the launcher. Stavish herded everyone out of the way of the backblast.

"Backblast area clear!" Stavish announced.

"Hey Hero! I got a present for ya!" Michael shouted.

Sherry saw what was coming, and quickly dodged out of the way.

*PopWHOOOOOOOSH!

*KABOOM!

Knight Long evaporated into a fine pink mist.

...

..

.

Michael was the first to reach Sherry. He dropped the empty RPG tube on the ground and wrapped his arms around her dirty body.

"Sorry I took so long. I got hung up." Michael said.

"Don't trouble yourself. I was toying with him." Sherry said.

"For real?!" Michael asked.

"Yes. He wasn't much of a hero. I could have crushed him left handed." Sherry said, smiling evilly.

She was quite proud of herself for a moment there, and she waited for Michael to come back with some sort of praise. Instead, Michael's eyes sort of glazed over.

"Sweetie?" Sherry questioned.

*NiiirrrowPOMF

Michael leaned over and passed out. He had finally reached the limit of his endurance.

"Sweetie!" Sherry exclaimed.

She reached towards him with her hands, and then she remembered her hands were burned and gross.

"Akia! Get over here and tend to your master!" Sherry cried.

...

..

.

At some point or another, Michael woke up to find Druella kneeling down and looking him over. Then he faded out again, and woke up to find himself being carried somewhere. Fading out a third time, he woke up in the Lescatie family mansion, laying in Druella's bedchamber. Someone had changed his clothes, and cleaned all the dirt and disgusting signs of battle from his body.

*Chu~

Michael felt a warm kiss on his right cheek. When he turned his eyes in that direction, he found Druella.

*Chu~

Another kiss, that time from the left. He found Sherry clinging to his left arm, with her tits smushed up against his shoulder.

*Chu~

Druella pecked him again as soon as he wasn't looking. The two women were tag teaming him, hitting his vulnerabilities in a coordinated sensual attack.

"Hehe, he doesn't even know what's happening." Sherry giggled.

Michael tried to get up, but they held him down.

"I have to... go help..." Michael said groggily.

"Your work is done Lord Collins. My necromancers are reviving your soldiers as we speak, and my dark knights are assisting in clearing out any stragglers. The battle is over." Druella said.

Sherry waved a hand over Michael's face, and his whole body relaxed against his will. Once again, the kisses resumed. They squeezed their bodies against him, sandwiching him between two beings of pure unadulterated lust. Their combined heat quickly had Michael panting, his eyes half lidded.

"Now, do it now. He wants it so bad." Druella said softly.

The next thing Michael knew, he was face first in Druella's tits while Sherry mounted him.

"Show me how much you love him. Prove to me that you're worthy to be his wife!" Druella said seductively.

"I am! I love him so much! Oh his dick feels so good! Fuck fuck fuck fuck..." Sherry cried as she hopped up and down.

...

..

.

~The Next Morning~

.

..

...

Early the next morning, right as the sun was beginning to rise, Sherry and Druella both snuck out of the bed chambers, leaving Michael to get some much needed rest. They ended up in Druella's study, where they sipped tea and had breakfast together.

"It has been a long time since we last sat together in this study. We used to do it all the time." Sherry noted.

"Much of my attention has been focused on your husband as of late. Perhaps the two of you could come next time, instead of just one." Druella suggested.

"I would like that very much, mistress." Sherry said.

Druella took a sip of her tea.

"How fares your injuries?" Druella asked.

Sherry looked at her hands, and clenched them experiementally. A white mage had taken good care of her after the battle.

"They are as they were. I am whole again. Thank you mistress." Sherry said.

"Very good." Druella said.

She took another sip of her tea.

"You haven't changed much. You're still as polite as ever. It escapes me how you could ever strike your husband." Druella observed.

Sherry's eyes downturned.

"It escapes me as well." Sherry said softly.

...

"You should know that I did trick him. I disguised myself as you, because I wanted him to loosen up and enjoy the party." Druella recounted.

"He is very against laying his hands on anyone other than me. I think... it's because he feels insecure. He believes that he has very few good qualities, so he clings to the one quality he believes he has." Sherry reasoned.

"That... makes a lot of sense. Humans are fickle and disloyal. Having a loyal mate is indeed a good quality... in the human world." Druella said.

"This isn't a human world. His world... is no longer a human world. His home is no longer controlled by humans." Sherry said emphatically.

...

"Why did you have to trick that fool? Why can't he just shut up and spread his legs like a good man?!" Sherry exclaimed.

"I understand your frustration. Humans must be guided gently towards our way of life. You can't expect them to just go along with everything we want right away. Even an agreeable human like Michael." Druella said.

"Agreeable? I had forgotten..." Sherry murmured.

Druella looked closely at Sherry's face, and saw nothing but genuine sorrow.

...

"You fought valiantly yesterday. Your bravery brought honor to your sullied name." Druella said.

...

"I am counting your actions as your second act of penance. You have merely one penance left, and you will be absolved of your crime." Druella said.

"Then I suppose I shall do what I originally planned before this sudden attack. I shall ask him what he desires." Sherry said.

Druella placed a hand on Sherry's forearm.

"Perhaps... we shouldn't be so hasty. What's to say that Michael even knows what he wants?" Druella suggested.

"What do you mean mistress?" Sherry asked.

"Well... wouldn't it be a great gift if Michael were to suddenly wake up one day and realize that he's been worrying about nothing? Of course he has qualities beyond loyalty, and we just need to make him see it." Druella suggested.

"And what exactly did you have in mind?" Sherry asked.

"I believe it's time for Michael to start his harem. Surely you agree?" Druella asked.

"Of course." Sherry said.

...

"Perhaps Searraigh and I are more alike than I thought." Druella thought.

...

"I have always planned on forming a harem. I have a list of all his favorite types of inma." Sherry said.

"Heh, I guessed as much when you started listing off such a random assortment of inma to that white mage friend of mine in the Royal Makai." Druella noted.

*Siiiiiip

"So what are they?" Druella asked.

"Succubus of course. Who wouldn't want one of us?" Sherry said.

"Indeed." Druella said, nodding.

"Automatons are on the list, as are cupids." Sherry said.

"Interesting. Fate must be at work." Druella said.

"He also likes krakens, inari, and bunyips." Sherry finished.

...

*Siiiiiip

"What a perverse man. How delightful!" Druella remarked.

...

"If Lord Collins were to marry again, then he would certainly be safe. It's a fluke when a single inma harms a man, but it's statistically impossible for him to marry two Searraighs." Druella thought.

...

"I've thought about making his harem all succubii, but that might be boring for him. So then I decided I would start with the ones he likes the most, then add onto it as we go. Eventually I want to get up to a dozen. Oh how fun that would be~" Sherry hummed.

"Just a dozen?" Druella asked.

"Hmm? Well at first of course. Maybe someday he could be like those stories that surround the Nurarihyon... the night parade of a hundred demons." Sherry said.

"Ooohhh, that would be an impressive sight. Michael would be unstoppable at that point. And the orgies would be inhuman~" Druella cooed.

...

"Is there anyone on his world that he likes? Perhaps someone he is friends with, who would be a good wife?" Druella asked.

"None that I know of. He is good friends with Stavish, but she is taken. I know of one who might like him, but he actually hates her like an enemy." Sherry mused.

...

"Of course, I would rather he not have any inma from his world at first. The inma there are... well... they don't know how to act like women. They're distracted by material things, which makes them ignore their husbands. They must be taught how to treat men." Sherry said.

"Material things? Such as?" Druella asked.

"They have this mekanism called a smart phone, and I have observed many inma fiddling with it while ignoring a man who is standing right next to them. It was quite... unnerving." Sherry recalled.

"How odd. What could be on that mekanism that's more interesting than a delicious man standing a few feet away?" Druella asked.

"That's what I thought as well. So I would prefer if his harem begin with inma from our world, who actually know how to act like women." Sherry said.

"Surely he could relate to an inma from his homeland better than he could with us. Often times just his manner of speech confuses me." Druella said.

"Perhaps in time, but only after I've established a strong harem that could teach the newcomer how to act properly." Sherry clarified.

Several thoughtful moments passed.

...

"If he is to form a harem of inma from this world, then it will be necessary for him to spend more time here." Druella said.

"I've tried to keep him here, but he always wants to run off back to that silly home of his in Arizona." Sherry explained.

...

"The obvious first thought would be to simply tie him up and throw him to the thirsty ones in the red light district. But I think a more tactful approach is in order. Perhaps a long quest is what he needs. Something to focus his energy on so he doesn't realize what's happening." Druella suggested.

"What of his duties as Earl Marshal?" Sherry asked.

"His duty as Earl Marshal is to do whatever I tell him to do. Until now he has fought valiantly. But at what cost? Also, Eros has voiced her displeasure over the events of the other day." Druella said.

Sherry paused, sipping her tea as she thought back to the recent battle of Fort Chell. Other than Miranda, there had been no cupids or other angels at the battle.

"She did not join us during the fight." Sherry noted.

"Her angels wanted to do so, but she held them back. Why I do not know." Druella said.

"Perhaps she was afraid of her angels performing poorly. They do not have much experience." Sherry mused.

"Or perhaps she was afraid Michael's knights would fire their weapons upon her angels. After all, that Stavish person treated them in a very hostile manner." Druella mused.

"That's likely it. She was under no obligation to protect people who did not welcome her subjects." Sherry reasoned.

"Of course on the other hand... Miranda was there to protect Michael." Druella added.

...

"No matter what, we cannot anger Eros. Her alliance with Lilith is desperately needed. So that just strengthens our argument that he SHOULD go on a quest. But where should he go?" Sherry questioned.

"Where could we send him that seems somewhat legitimate?" Druella added.

Again they fell silent, considering the situation.

...

"I have a friend who lives on the Mist Continent. She works closely with the Marune Sabbath." Druella started.

"The agriculture Sabbath? Now why would... oh, I get it!" Sherry said, nodding.

"His seeds. And I don't mean the male kind, I mean the gardening kind. Perhaps it's a weak excuse to send an Earl Marshal to share such a simple thing, but it's an excuse I think I could work with." Druella said.

Sherry nodded in agreement.

"There is one question that concerns me. Will Michael be convinced?" Druella asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Sherry said.

...

~Later~

...

Sherry waited for Michael to wake up in Druella's bed chambers. As soon as he showed any signs of life, she quickly ramrodded him into some clothes and into the throne room. Druella was waiting for them upon her throne. On either side of the walkway leading up to the throne was rows of dark knights standing at attention. Specialist Stavish was already there, waiting at the foot of the throne for Michael and Sherry to show up. Michael could barely comprehend what was going on, everything was suddenly moving so fast.

*SNAP

The entire room echoed as the dark knights snapped to attention. It was the first time Michael could remember them ever showing so much as an inkling of military discipline. They walked past the knights, who were smiling at him. Strangely enough, Sherry seemed to be mirroring their smile. She dropped to a knee.

"By your command, mistress Druella." Sherry said.

"Rise. Lord Collins, come forward." Druella said.

Michael took a few steps closer to the throne. Stavish slid in next to him, and gave him a silent nod.

"I would like to commend you on your extreme efforts on the battlefield. You are an exemplary leader." Druella said.

"Thank you." Michael said politely.

"You have destroyed a dangerous Order raiding party, which would have certainly gone on and harmed countless innocent inma should they have continued deeper into our lands." Druella said.

"They underestimated us, and we underestimated them. It was not a good fight." Michael reminded.

"You speak the truth. Still, you are to be commended. Come, stand before me." Druella said.

So Michael mounted the steps leading up to the throne. Druella rose up, and indicated she wanted him to bow his head. He did, and she planted a kiss on his forehead.

"We do not have medals or other such rewards like the humans do. However, you have once again earned my favor. Anything your heart desires, it shall be yours." Druella declared.

"Thank you." Michael said.

He walked back down the steps and stood next to Stavish.

...

"And you, Katariina Stavish, shall be granted a sum of gold for your heroism." Druella declared.

Stavish leaned into Michael and whispered in his ear.

"Does she mean that?" Stavish asked.

"Yup." Michael said.

"Nice!" Stavish exclaimed.

"What about Sherry, Mackenzie, Akia, Miranda, and Opal? They were all there too." Michael asked.

"Those that you have named will also be rewarded appropriately, except for Searraigh. She has already received her reward." Druella said.

"She has? What did she get?" Michael asked.

"In exchange for her bravery against a holy ordained hero, I have returned her blade." Druella said.

"Thanks. How kind of you." Michael said dryly.

"You're welcome. Now, I have need of your assistance once again, for a task of the utmost importance." Druella said.

"Oh no. Don't tell me the Order is up to something new." Michael groaned.

"No, not quite. This quest is not military in nature, but it is still of the utmost importance. You must travel to the Mist Continent, and offer your skills up to a dear friend of mine." Druella said formally.

...

"The Mist Continent? For real?" Michael asked, dumbfounded.

"I speak truthfully. You must travel to a port city to the east, where you will sail to the Mist Continent. You shall make landfall in the land of the Four Fiends, and travel to the land of the Four Gods where my friend resides. Once there, you will provide her all the seeds and agricultural knowledge you have to offer, as my mother has commanded." Druella instructed.

Michael was silent for several long moments as the wheels turned in his head. Druella and Sherry were anxious to see how he would react to Druella's commanding language. Would he argue against it? Would he not want to go? Druella watched the intelligent twinkle in his eyes as he thought about all the angles.

"Okay, when do I leave?" Michael asked.

It was very difficult for Druella to hide her surprise.

"Immediately, if at all possible." Druella said.

"Alright, then I'd better go pack. If that's all..." Michael said.

"You may go." Druella said.

So Michael turned to leave. Sherry waited until he passed her, then flashed a devilish grin to Druella.

...

~Later, in Fort Chell~

...

As soon as Stavish returned to Fort Chell, she yanked loose the tie she had on her dress uniform. She sighed in disgust, and looked around at the ruins of the fort.

"All that hard work we did, and it got trashed in twenty four hours. And here I am pandering to the locals in my dress blues." Stavish thought.

Already the construction crews were hard at work rebuilding the fort. The PX building had been the first thing destroyed, and it was one of the first things rebuilt. The living quarters were also quickly erected. People like Sakia didn't go long without a home.

*ClickCreeeeak

Stavish went through the front door of Sakia's hut, and found her sitting at a desk writing a report.

"Lieutenant Sakia, may I speak with you a moment?" Stavish asked.

Sakia spun in her seat and faced Stavish with a warm smile. It was then that Stavish noticed an AK leaning against her desk. It was the same AK that Michael had tossed into her hands that fateful day, and she wasn't about to give it up.

"Yes Specialist?" Sakia asked.

"So... about what we talked about earlier. About what you heard Knight Long say to mistress Searraigh." Stavish said.

"Yes sir. Um... should I call you sir? Technically I outrank you." Sakia hesitated, unsure.

"Just drop the formalities. What did you find out about Searraigh's past?" Stavish asked pointedly.

"The yokai in Lescatie were very talkative, and they told me a lot. I wrote up a report." Sakia said.

She handed Stavish a wad of papers.

"What a nice little spy you are." Stavish complimented.

"Arigatou." Sakia said.

Stavish sat down in a nearby chair and started reading the papers. She seemed casual about it at first, then she adjusted her seat as she read the paper intently. Before long she was flicking through the papers as her eyes darted left and right.

"Is this for real? What the fuck?" Stavish exclaimed.

"It's what I learned. It seems knight-san was telling the truth. Searraigh... was a mass murderer. She was turned into a yokai, and everyone believes the mass murder is gone..." Sakia said.

...

..

.

"Do you believe someone can change?" Sakia asked.

"I do, but holy shit!" Stavish blurted.

She wiped her face, and ran her fingers through her short regulation haircut.

"What are we going to do Specialist?" Sakia asked.

"I need to think about this. Don't tell a soul." Stavish said.

"Yes sir... I mean yes specialist." Sakia said.

...

Stavish made her way out of the Quonset hut, lost in thought. She stepped out the door, and came face to face with none other than Miranda the cupid.

"Hey, you need something?" Stavish asked.

"Yes I do. You." Miranda said darkly.

"Wha?" Stavish started to say.

*SNAG!

A pair of houri appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed Stavish so she couldn't run away. A golden doorway appeared, through which the houri shoved Stavish. They all disappeared along with the doorway in a flash of pink and gold light.

...

Within minutes, Stavish found herself standing before a huge golden gateway guarded by an angel wearing white.

"Welcome to heaven Katariina. We have been waiting for you." The angel in white said kindly.

"Am I dead? What the heck just happened?" Stavish asked.

"You're not dead. You've been brought here for a higher purpose. We have looked at your past, and deemed you worthy to enter heaven. Welcome~" The angel in white said, smiling warmly.

The gates opened smoothly, and Stavish was escorted inside. She found herself taken to the grand palace, where Eros sat upon a huge throne. Inside the throne hall were rows and rows of tables, which hosted hundreds of angels drinking wine and playing music. It met and exceeded every image of heaven that Stavish had ever held in her mind.

*CLAP CLAP

Eros clapped her hands, and the hall fell silent. All eyes turned towards Stavish, who suddenly felt very out of place.

"Come before me child. Do not be frightened, you are safe here." Eros called.

So Stavish walked amongst the angels, working her way through the crowd to get to Eros. She was very acutely aware how different she looked, with her dark and dusty ACUs contrasting against the very clean divine creatures surrounding her. It almost felt like blasphemy to trod her muddy combat boots through that special place.

...

She arrived at the foot of Eros's throne, craning her neck to look upwards. Eros was at least twenty feet tall, looming over everyone. It reminded Stavish of the time she visited the Abraham Lincoln memorial as a child.

"Greetings Katariina. I am Eros, the goddess of love and all matters of the heart. Do you know why you are here today?" Eros asked.

"I have no idea." Stavish said.

"I have not told her yet." Miranda interjected.

"Hmm, then I shall explain. You are here for the benefit of Michael Collins. We overheard your conversation with the one named Sakia. We know suspicion grows in your heart, and you wish to help your friend. We too wish to help him, and we wish to work together." Eros said.

"Why should I..." Stavish started to say.

"Trust us? Why should we trust you? We know of what you did the night when Michael returned from the city of Las Vegas." Eros said.

Stavish turned pale.

"How do you know about that!?" Stavish asked, deathly quiet.

"I am a god. The streams of time are open for my viewing pleasure. Behold!" Eros said.

She raised her hand, and an orb of pink and gold appeared, at the center of which was an image. It was a glimpse of the past, of the moment when Specialist Stavish stood in the office of the property manager to Michael's apartment. The mindflayer's office. Stavish stood there, speaking with the mindflayer, trying to learn whether Searraigh was a sociopath or not. Eros looked at Stavish expectantly.

"He was acting weird, and he was saying things about the mistress. So one thing lead to another, and he ended up getting caught by a mindflayer. It turned out he was only acting the way he was because the enemy was screwing with his head. But he's alright now." Stavish said.

"So you think you were justified in handing your friend over to a mindflayer?" Eros asked.

"No. If I had my way, I would have just talked with the man. Screwing with his head like that... it's wrong. But what could I do about it?" Stavish asked.

Eros remained silent for a few moments, looking closely at Stavish.

"Nothing child. Not a thing. I only wished to hear what you had to say for yourself. Your soul is clean of this." Eros said.

The image changed, shimmering like flowing water.

"I spent much time watching Michael's past, My patience is endless. What I discovered... is that not everyone's soul is as clean as yours." Eros said.

The image stabilized, to show Searraigh pinning a woman to a wall with her hand around her throat. She was choking, her eyes pleading to someone out of view.

"Baby... save me..." The woman choked.

*SNAP

Searraigh snapped her neck, and she slid to the floor. Stavish couldn't watch, she looked away.

"Watch child. See the woman whom you follow. See her for who she truly is." Eros said.

Stavish forced herself to look back at the image, which had shifted to a spiraling stairwell. It showed Michael running for his life.

"He looks frightened to death! He never looked that frightened when he was fighting the Order! What's chasing him?" Stavish thought.

The video continued. Searraigh came out of nowhere and collided with him, making him tumble and crack his head against concrete. Then she twisted his arm to the point where it looked ready to dislocate his shoulder, and she started choking him while violently shaking him.

"This happened when Michael and Searraigh were visiting the city known as Las Vegas. What was supposed to be a happy vacation for the newlywed couple turned into a living nightmare for Michael. We see him trying to flee Searraigh, only to be violently beaten and forced to return." Eros described.

...

The image shifted to Michael trying to open the front door of his apartment, only to be zapped repeatedly by Searraigh's wards, each shock slightly more dangerous than the last.

"Searraigh won't even grant him the freedom of stepping outside without her presence. He's a virtual prisoner in his own home. You should know all about it, you two only met because of her paranoia." Eros explained.

...

Again and again, Stavish was forced to watch all the things Searraigh had done to Michael over the time they had been together. From the huge fight which involved Michael's M14, to when she took him to a mindflayer friend of hers in Lescatie, to the most recent slap, multiple druggings, multiple rapings, verbal abuse, and ending with Michael hiding in his closet when he mistook Druella for Searraigh.

...

..

.

When it was all over, Stavish looked like she was going to be ill.

"I had no idea it was that bad. I had... no idea at all." Stavish whispered.

Suddenly Eros appeared before her, at the same height as a normal person. She caressed Stavish on the cheek, and smiled warmly at her. It was a very reassuring smile.

"Do you understand now why I brought you here?" Eros asked.

"We have to get Mike away from her. Somehow..." Stavish said.

"That's right. The last time I sent angels to remove Michael from Searraigh's presence, you and your warriors stopped us. I need to know you won't do that again." Eros said.

...

"I... have to look out for the people on my world, not just Mike. What if this is all a trick? What if that's just a recording, and you're faking me out?" Stavish asked.

"If doubt still lingers in your mind, then let me remove it. The one whom you call Sakia will nearly meet her fate in front of the theater, but will be saved by Michael Collins. It will happen in thirty minutes. That is my proof that what I say is true." Eros said.

"How do you know that?" Stavish asked.

"I am a god. Just as I can behold the past, I can also behold the future." Eros said.

...

~Later~

...

Stavish was returned to Fort Chell unharmed, without anyone knowing what happened. Miranda arrived at the same time, and gave her a look before walking off towards the portal. Stavish hesitated a few moments, and then decided to follow.

...

They arrived shortly thereafter in the theater on 5th and B. Stavish caught one of the other soldiers, who informed her that Michael was up at street level.

"He's getting ready for some big trip, last I heard. He's on the street." The soldier said.

"And where's Sakia?" Stavish asked.

"She's up there too somewhere." The soldier said.

Miranda gave Stavish a knowing look. With that knowledge in hand, they made their way up the long ramp, up to street level. They found Michael with his head jammed in the engine compartment of the Duster, turning wrenches and adjusting something. Sherry and Akia stood nearby, watching him work. The Duster was parked on the side of the two lane street, not in the parking lot. An unusual spot to park. Miranda waved her two fingers through the air, and with a POP they could hear everything happening by the Duster.

"We sure didn't make it very far, now did we?" Sherry noted.

"Nope." Michael said, muffled.

"Can you fix it master?" Akia asked.

"Sure, it's just a fuel issue. Just need a few minutes here... I think it's a plugged fuel filter." Michael said.

"You mean like what happened in Vegas?" Sherry questioned.

...

There was an audible pause.

"Yeah, something like that." Michael said.

...

Just then, Lieutenant Sakia happened to cross the street and walk by the Duster. She was carrying a bag, having just visited the nearby gas station to get snacks and drinks. When she noticed what was going on, she paused.

"Ohayou! Do you need any help?" Sakia asked nicely.

"Oh no, it's okay. Just a little fuel delivery problem, no worries. I'll get this fixed in a minute." Michael said, muffled.

Sakia leaned in and looked around in the engine compartment.

"Ehhhhh? Wow, it's so nice." Sakia exclaimed, marveling.

"Thanks. I've put a lot of work into her." Michael said cheerfully.

"You work on it yourself? When did you learn?" Sakia asked.

"Well I've sort of always been good at mechanical things. I'm one of the kids who would disassemble toys and put them back together again. I didn't get any formal automotive training." Michael said.

Sakia nodded to herself.

"So no one taught you?" Sakia asked.

"Not exactly. Actually, it all started when I was down at this little eighth mile drag strip called Barona Drags. Sort of podunk, but very cool." Michael recounted.

"Drag strip? So... racing?" Sakia guessed.

"Yeah. They had cash prizes too. I got really good at fixing things to fake out the tech inspectors so they would let me race. It was all really stupid, but I was young and dumb." Michael recalled.

*CLANK

He dropped a wrench, and he crawled under the car to retrieve it.

"How was it stupid?" Akia asked.

"Young and dumb?" Sherry questioned.

Michael sighed.

"I was racing using old junkyard parts, and whatever random leftover stuff people wanted to throw away. I'm talking everything, all the way down to used coolant. Yeah, I was penny pinching that much." Michael recalled.

*Clickclackclick

"I got really good at doing the craigslist rebuilds. That's the one where you hose down a part with cheap paint, and say it's new. Then when anyone asks, you just say 'gosh darnit, I lost all those recipts in the boating accident', or something to that effect." Michael recalled.

"Oh my goodness." Sherry murmured.

"So I was able to fake out the tech inspectors by pretending my clapped out junk was new. It should have, and would have gotten me killed. Except... well..." Michael trailed off.

...

"What?" Sakia, Sherry, and Akia all asked.

...

"I broke down. I chucked a dry rotted V belt, and ruined my radiator. It forced me to miss a race." Michael recalled.

He reached in and gave the fan on the front of the 440 mopar a rap with his knuckles.

"Some kid around my age took my bracket, and raced against my opponent. He had a similar sort of car, similar horsepower, and he was pulling times similar to mine. So they shoved him in there at the last minute." Michael recalled.

"And then what?" Sherry asked.

...

..

.

"He... died. The other driver lost control, and swerved into his lane. It was the biggest fireball I had ever seen." Michael recalled reluctantly.

Sakia and Sherry gasped. Even Akia looked distressed.

"It should have been me who died that day. And It would have been, if it weren't for that v belt." Michael recalled.

Sherry had flashbacks of the time when she watched Michael drag racing in Vegas. She remembered that obnoxious man with his Dodge Demon, how he swerved and crashed just behind Michael's Duster. She suddenly understood the feelings Michael must have had in that moment.

"I walked away from drag racing that day, and I didn't go back until we went to Vegas. So... years later. I worked odd jobs here and there, and scraped together enough cash to move to Arizona and start college." Michael explained.

...

~Meanwhile, in the Theater~

...

"Okay, so when's Michael supposed to do this thing Eros said he was going to do?" Stavish asked.

"Watch. It's about to happen." Miranda said.

While Michael had been telling his story, Sakia had gravitated to standing by the driver side fender of the Duster. She looked on, watching Michael work. Shortly after finishing his story, the distinctive sound of a turbo charged diesel roared onto the street. Stavish spotted a lifted pickup truck barreling down the street, rolling coal the whole way. Sakia was from Japan, which meant she was used to the traffic going the opposite way from the United States. She looked down the road, instead of up the road where the truck was coming from. But Michael... he looked the correct way, spotting the incoming truck through the gap between the Duster hood and cowling.

*Grab!

*YANK!

Michael grabbed the rather light weight Japanese woman, and violently yanked her off the street and into the engine compartment of the Duster. The truck roared by, missing the Duster by inches.

YOU SON OF A BITCH! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OFF THE FRACKING ROAD!" Michael bellowed like a drill sergeant.

*Ahem

"You okay Lieutenant?" Michael asked calmly.

...

"Sakia?" Michael questioned.

"Yayayayaya! Yaya! I'm okay!" Sakia blurted, wide eyed.

"The vehicle is returning." Akia warned.

Sure enough, that truck was coming back. Michael scowled and straightened to his full height.

"Son of a cock whore, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE SHITHEAD!" Michael bellowed.

"Wait Collins-san! Don't confront him! He might be violent!" Sakia cried.

Sherry caught Sakia's shoulder and kept her from stopping Michael.

"Not as violent as my husband." Sherry said quietly.

Michael marched to confront the driver of the truck. Of course, just as Michael expected, the guy driving the truck wasn't much to worry about. He knew the people who drove those kinds of trucks were usually compensating for something. And in that case, the guy who slid out of the truck was barely tall enough to come up to Michael's chest. That didn't stop Michael from unleashing the full might of hell upon him, with a voice that would make any drill sergeant proud.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ALMOST RUNNING OVER MY DAMN LIEUTENANT!? LEARN HOW TO DRIVE PECKERWOOD!" Michael boomed.

...

Meanwhile, inside the theater, Stavish stood watching the encounter with a hard look on her face. A crowd of onlookers began forming to her left and right, so she retreated along with Miranda to a quiet unoccupied room. Miranda shut the door behind them.

"Do you believe us now?" Miranda asked.

Stavish paced back and forth a few times, repeatedly running her hand through her regulation haircut.

"Okay fine. I know Sakia well enough, you didn't stage it. So what do we do?" Stavish asked.

...

"I just need your cooperation. Promise that, and we can work together to get Michael away from Searraigh." Miranda said.

"Why can't I just go out there, grab him, and haul him off somewhere? He could stay at my place if he needed. I'd do that for a brother." Stavish suggested.

"And how will you keep Searraigh away? She can teleport anywhere in the world, walk through walls, throw fireballs, and other feats of magic. Your armies couldn't stop her, how could you?" Miranda asked.

"I'll hide him somewhere." Stavish said.

"She can find him. There is nowhere on this world or the other world you could hide him forever. Her inma senses would always tell her where he's hiding. She would show up one day, sword in hand, and she would not accept no as an answer. Inma never accept the word NO." Miranda said.

"Then what? Quit making me play twenty questions!" Stavish exclaimed.

"The only option is to take him to the same place we took you. Heaven. She could never force her way in, even if she knew he were there. It's in a whole separate plane of existence. He would be safe from her, permanently." Miranda said.

"And then what?" Stavish asked.

"We'd keep him there until we could break whatever spell is on his mind. He would be free to go anywhere inside heaven that he wished, and even leave if we're careful." Miranda explained.

Stavish thought about it, taking into account her brief but life changing experience in Eros's heaven.

"Tell me what I need to do." Stavish said.

"At this moment, you don't need to do anything other than stay out of the way. I want to make sure that if I come running through that portal with Michael in tow, you don't try to stop me. All I need to do is sneak him away from Searraigh when she isn't looking." Miranda explained.

"That's the tough part. When is Searraigh ever NOT looking?" Stavish asked.

"True." Miranda said.

"Okay... so you try to get him away from her, and I'll focus on repairing all the damage to Fort Chell. I've got to go give a lecture to all my now undead soldiers as to why they suck, and how they shouldn't die next time." Stavish said.

"You do that." Miranda said, chuckling.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

Michael was driving the newly repaired Duster back home to the apartment. Sherry rode in the front passenger seat, while Akia rode in the back.

"So what can you tell me about the Mist Continent?" Michael asked.

"Ah~ It was a wondrous place. There were mountains so tall you can't see the tops, massive rivers flow across the land, and grand breathtaking scenes were around the corner on every bend in the road. I can't wait for you to see it!" Sherry said excitedly.

"I can't wait either. I'm going to have to make sure I bring a camera." Michael said, smiling.

...

"What about the land of the four whitchamacallits? What can you tell me about that?" Michael asked.

"The land of the Four Gods? It's a bright green demon realm, ruled by four inma who are worshipped like gods. It is a neutral land which does not actively wage war against the neighboring territories. They prefer to live alongside humans, and they make the majority of their money selling spices and luxury goods to neighboring nation states." Sherry explained.

"So it's like the silk road. Okay, that jives. What else can you tell me?" Michael asked.

"There's the land of the Four Souls, which is controlled by a faction of humans who wish to subjugate inma." Sherry started.

"Subjugate? Not kill?" Michael asked.

"Correct. They are quite militant, but their mission isn't explicitly to kill inma like it is with the Order. They believe the world belongs to humans, and often attempt to conquer the two other lands to spread their domain. I recommend we stay clear of them." Sherry said.

"Noted. Continue." Michael said.

"The land of the Four Fiends is the last of the three territories in the Mist. It is a dark demon realm, which occasionally attacks the other two territories in search of men. Otherwise they are perfectly safe to travel through, just like Lescatie or the Royal Makai." Sherry explained.

"Just lewder. That's why they're called fiends. Makes sense." Michael said.

...

Shortly later, and the trio arrived at the apartment. Michael parked the Duster, and they all went inside. Miranda was already waiting for them to arrive.

"Oh hey Miranda, I've been wondering when I'd run into you again. Thanks for the assist at Fort Chell." Michael said.

"Huh?" Miranda asked.

"The lead arrow?" Michael reminded.

...

"OH! Oh yes! You're welcome!" Miranda blurted.

Michael walked past, heading for his bedroom.

"That was odd. It was like she forgot or something." Michael thought.

"Focus Miranda, don't make mistakes now. Try to act normal!" Miranda thought.

...

~A Little While Later~

...

Miranda stayed in her room, with the door mostly closed other than the tiniest crack from which she could use to peek out. She waited for Michael to act like he was heading for his lab, and then she struck.

"Michael! Can I speak with you for a moment?" Miranda asked, heading out her door.

Michael paused just outside the door to his lab.

"What's up?" Michael asked.

Miranda caught his hand and started guiding him towards her room.

"It'll just take a moment." Miranda said evasively.

She smiled warmly, her plan seemed to be working. Inside the bedroom was a golden doorway, identical to the one which Stavish had traveled through earlier that day. If Michael stepped through it, there would be NO way Searraigh could ever retrieve him. He would be a permanent resident of Eros's heaven. At least... until Michael came to his senses. There was no telling how long that would take. Then of course, there was always the danger posed by Searraigh as long as she still trod upon the earth.

...

As they drew closer to the door, Michael started to get a little off put by what Miranda was doing. He started resisting slightly, which turned into a greater resistance, which turned into him digging his heels in just shy of the door. Miranda started to tug, and Michael wrenched his wrist free.

"What the hell was that?!" Michael demanded.

"I uh... just wanted to show you something." Miranda said meekly.

Michael was confused and a little surprised, so he turned and quickly walked away. Miranda sagged against the wall and closed her eyes. Round one... failure.

*ClickNirrrrrrooowwwww

Miranda's eyes flicked open, and she found Akia's blaster in her face.

"Suspicious activity detected. You must be detained." Akia said.

"What? Why? What did I do?" Miranda asked.

"Sensors detected an unexplained energy spike in your room, and you tried to lure master in there. Conclusion: you are attempting to harm master." Akia said.

Miranda flicked her eyes over Akia's shoulder, and back down to the angry automaton. Nobody in the house had noticed yet. Michael was somewhere else, and Searraigh was busy packing their bags to leave. So there was only one hope left, she had to get Akia on her side.

"Nono, please. I don't want to harm him! Give me a chance to explain!" Miranda begged quietly.

.

.

.

Exactly three seconds passed before Akia lowered her blaster. The two of them went into the lab and closed the door behind them.

"Explain." Akia said.

Her single word was both a request and a command, all in one.

"I wasn't trying to harm him, I was trying to help him get away from Searraigh. There is a gateway to heaven hidden in my room, and I was planning on taking him through it." Miranda explained, rapid fire.

Akia remained silent, and she didn't move to shoot her, so Miranda continued talking. She explained all the specific details of what was going on. She described the times Searraigh had harmed Michael, all the physical damage, and abuse. Akia remained absolutely silent as Miranda poured out all the facts.

"Please help me. Even if you hate me, at least help your master!" Miranda pleaded.

...

"You have not provided proof of your claims." Akia observed.

Miranda wilted.

"However, I directly observed entity Searraigh strike master. I shall assist you... for now." Akia said.

"What?! Really?! You mean that?!" Miranda asked, perking up.

"I stated it." Akia said, matter of fact.

"Th...thank you!" Miranda blurted.

...

"Your current lack of motion is inefficient. Please proceed with removing master from entity Searraigh's presence." Akia said flatly.

"I might need your help getting him into my room." Miranda said.

Akia nodded.

...

~Shortly Later~

...

So Michael went around the apartment, preparing for the journey to the Mist Continent. He was packing supplies, ordnance, clothes, and other camping and survival gear. As he hurried about, both Akia and Miranda approached him individually.

"Master, I require your assistance in the lab." Akia lied.

"Not right now Akia. I don't have time to play games. We're going on a trip, and I need to pack. So if you'll excuse me..." Michael said.

...

A few minutes later...

"Michael? About earlier... can you help fix my bed mattress now?" Miranda lied.

"That's what that was about? Sorry, but maybe a little later. I'm trying to pack." Michael said.

...

A few minutes later...

"Master, my arm units are malfunctioning." Akia lied.

"Oh? What's gone wrong?" Michael asked, spinning around in his seat.

"They... are malfunctioning." Akia hesitated.

"Well I guess I had better see what's..." Michael started to say.

Right around then is when Sherry showed up.

"Now you scat, you silly machine! Sweetie is very excited about this trip, and I won't have you slowing him down!" Sherry exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

Akia's eyes downturned slightly.

"It's okay Akia, I promise to check you out once we're on the road. And with Sherry's gateway ring, we can pop back in here any time to get parts or tools." Michael reassured.

"Yes master. Thank you master." Akia said, perking up.

.

..

...

~Later~

...

..

.

"Oh no! Nuh uh! Not a chance in hell!" Michael exclaimed.

Michael was standing in the living room, hands on his hips, looking towards the kitchen as Sherry was pulling all his pots and pans out of the cabinets.

"You are NOT taking my Revereware to China!" Michael exclaimed.

"Um... China?" Sherry asked.

Michael shook his head.

"I meant the Mist Continent. You're not taking my Revereware to the Mist Continent! Put it back!" Michael insisted.

"But how am I supposed to cook our meals?" Sherry asked.

"With literally anything BUT my Revereware! It took me a LONG time to assemble a complete set, and I'd be PISSED if it got wrecked up! Go to Walmart and buy some random pans there!" Michael exclaimed.

"But... these copper bottomed pans work so well..." Sherry pouted.

"That's the point! Those are my prized vintage copper bottomed Revereware! They don't make them anymore!" Michael exclaimed.

It was Sherry's turn to put her hands on her hips and act defiant.

...

"Your prized pans? You mean my prized pans." Sherry argued.

"Wh...what?" Michael stammered.

"This is my kitchen, this is my apartment. The meals are mine to do with as I please." Sherry said defiantly.

Michael was taken aback by her words. It took him a few moments to actually think up some sort of response. Meanwhile, Miranda and Akia were eavesdropping from the hallway. The glanced at each other, shocked over what they had just heard.

"You're just going to take my stuff now?" Michael asked, shocked.

"Are you suggesting I'm being unfair?" Sherry argued.

As she said that, she gestured around herself at the apartment. She gestured to the living room, the bedroom, the hallway with all the new rooms, and all the nice new furniture.

...

Michael started to wilt. Everyone could see it. Miranda couldn't help herself. She had to get involved.

"Are you just going to let her steal your things Michael? Aren't you going to stand up for yourself?" Miranda exclaimed.

"Miranda! How dare you!" Sherry exclaimed.

"No... don't fight please. Sherry's the one with all the money, and she owns the apartment complex too. She's the one who got all this furniture, and she remodeled. So I guess I can't really complain if she wants to take anything that belongs to me." Michael reasoned.

"So you're saying you don't own anything anymore? Is that it? You own nothing?" Miranda asked pointedly.

Michael sighed dejectedly.

"Yeah. I guess so." Michael said quietly.

"Hey wait a moment..." Sherry said.

"Do whatever you want. Forget I said anything." Michael relented.

They watched as Michael slowly left the room.

...

"How could you say such a thing to him?!" Sherry demanded.

"I said nothing, I asked a question." Miranda said calmly.

...

In the end, Sherry packed up his pots and pans anyways.

...

~Much Later~

...

Michael bade his apartment farewell, looking at it longingly before sliding into the Duster. He knew it was going to be a while again before he saw his home, unless they purposefully came by to get something. But that was unlikely, they had packed for a LONG trip.

"This is the first time all four of us have been in the Duster, and the first time Miranda has ever gone for a drive. Maybe I should try to impress her before we get to the portal?" Michael thought.

His eyes flicked up to the rear view mirror, where he saw Akia and Miranda sitting in the back seat. Miranda looked very nervous, so Michael decided not to do anything flashy. He'd just calmly drive straight to the portal, and then they'd haul the Duster through the gateway via the shrinking spell. Then they'd be on their way to the Mist.

*Whirrwhirrwhirr

*BRAAA!

The engine roared to life, and Miranda immediately screamed.

"EEEEEK!" Miranda squealed in fright.

She flailed around, completely panicking over the loud 440 mopar noise.

*Kick!

*Flail!

*SCHRIP!

"No! My headliner!" Michael wailed.

"Miranda! Calm thyself! You are not a child!" Sherry exclaimed.

Akia had to grab her and keep her pinned before her panic attack finally ended.

...

*Sobsob

"I'm sorry~" Miranda choked.

"It's okay. Sherry can fix that headliner with magic. Right?" Michael asked.

"Right. No worries." Sherry reassured.

"I'm sorry, I didn't warn you about how loud cars can be. It's my fault." Michael said sorrowfully.

He reached back and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. The look in his eyes showed he really did forgive her.

"Oh sugar plum~" Miranda said happily.

...

"Sugar... plum?" Sherry asked slowly.

Miranda's face turned beet red.

"I'm sorry! I don't know where that came from!" Miranda lied.

Michael said nothing. He simply shifted the Duster into gear, and got them rolling. He said nothing, because he had no idea how to respond to something like that without coming off as a complete jackass.

"What is she? My grandmother?" Michael thought.

...

..

.

Michael and party found themselves walking into the theater on 5th and B, heading for the portal to the other world. As they passed the danuki trader, she called out to them.

"Mr. Collins sir! I just got in a shipment of prisoner fruit wine, would you like a bottle?" The danuki trader asked nicely.

"Sure, how much?" Michael asked, stopping at her booth.

"For you, nothing. Take it with my compliments." The danuki trader said cheerfully.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Sherry?" Michael asked.

She took the bottle and tucked it away safely between her tits.

"We'll try it out later. Right now we're on our way for a little business trip." Michael said.

"I wish you well on your ventures." The danuki trader said cheerfully.

"Back at ya." Michael said.

And they walked onwards. The danuki banker murmured 'back at ya' to herself, as it took her a moment to realize what it meant.

...

The party of four made their way down the long slope to the stage, past the music pit, and up to the portal. The portal made glorp and gloop sounds as they stepped through, and arrived in Fort Chell. The moment they arrived, they were spotted by Sakia. She got on a radio, and put out a warning call.

"Headless horseman, white rook just arrived. The mistress is with him." Sakia said into the radio.

...

*SLAM!

Elsewhere in the fort, a screen door slammed as Stavish burst out of her newly reconstructed office. She marched straight towards Michael, at double quick time.

"Sir! I need to talk to you asap!" Stavish bellowed.

"Hello to you too." Michael said, chuckling.

Sherry slid in between the dullahan and Michael.

"I'm afraid we don't have the time dear. We're on our way on a very important quest." Sherry said.

Miranda stood silently behind them, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Did Searraigh catch wind of something? Why would she deny Stavish a chance to speak to Michael?" Miranda thought.

Sherry caught Michael's arm, and dragged him towards their Quonset hut which contained the gateway. Stavish fingered the safety of the M4 hanging at her side, which prompted Akia to discreetly place a hand on Stavish's forearm.

"You would not win." Akia warned quietly.

"I have to try." Stavish whispered.

"You would not win." Akia repeated quietly.

...

Sherry and Michael went through the gateway, and found themselves in Lescatie. Miranda and Akia were right behind. They were helpless as they followed Michael out of the Lescatie home, and into the streets. As they walked towards the nexus, they walked though the red light district of Lescatie. As usual, the sultry and seductive ladies were hard at work, offering money to every man who walked by in exchange for sex. For anyone other than Michael, it was a man's wet dream. Not only could a guy get some money, and get laid, but he could also pick up a total babe who would fawn all over him for the rest of his life. And there were so many types to choose from, all the different species of inma were represented there. It gave Miranda an idea.

"There has to be some way I can salvage this situation." Miranda thought.

She fell back, and disappeared into the crowd. Taking a side street, she hurried along until she found a species that would suit her needs. Drawing her bow, she readied a golden arrow...

...

..

.

Michael heard a commotion off to his right. A pack of orcs charged straight towards him, with a high orc in the lead.

"There him is! Get him! *oink"

They surrounded Michael, and football tackled him to the ground. The high orc gave rapid fire orders.

"Get the uman! Put bag on him head! Bonk him!"

*WHAM!

Michael got clobbered over the head by an oversized demon realm silver club, and they threw the bag over his head. Meanwhile a group of orcs were running defense, keeping Akia and Sherry from interfering. They gathered Michael's body up, and carried him off. The high orc was the last to leave.

"Him mine now! I love uman! You want back, you join tribe!" The high orc said.

And she disappeared, running after her tribe of orcs. Sherry's jaw was firmly planted on the ground.

...

~A Few Minutes Later~

...

When Sherry and Akia caught up with the orc kidnappers, they expected to find Michael raped into oblivion. But that couldn't be further from the truth. They found the entire orc tribe picking themselves up off the ground, with various knots on their heads or broken noses. Michael wasted every last one of them in his anger, plowing through them like crap through a goose. He used their own demon realm silver encrusted weapons against them. Sherry picked her way through the crowd of defeated orcs, until she found Michael interrogating the high orc while holding a massive club over her head.

"I asked you a question! Why did you attack me!" Michael demanded.

"I want uman! You big and handsome! I fall in love! I always love you!" The high orc insisted.

"I've never met you in my entire life, damn it! So tell me the truth!" Michael barked.

Instead of instilling fear into the high orc, Michael's anger seemed to turn her on. She crawled on all fours, her face turning slovenly like a bitch in heat.

"You stronger than whole tribe. You fikky fikky everyone. I want see big burly co..." The high orc tried to say.

*WHACK!

Michael clobbered her, and knocked her out cold.

"Go fikky fikky yourself!" Michael spat.

Michael turned, and found his companions standing behind him.

"Perfect timing. Where's Miranda? I need a lead arrow." Michael said.

"That's a good question. Where IS Miranda?" Sherry asked, suspicious.

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, and Miranda appeared sitting on the ground at her feet. She was rubbing a knot on her head.

"What happened to you?" Michael asked.

"I got knocked in the head by those..." Miranda said, gesturing towards the orcs.

Akia quietly produced her healing device and healed Miranda's head.

"Feeling better?" Michael asked.

"Yes, thank you." Miranda said.

"Good. Now, could you please shoot a lead arrow into little miss fikky fikky here?" Michael asked.

"But Michael, I can't just..." Miranda tried to say.

"Shoot a lead arrow into her or I'll shove this club so far up her snatch, she'll taste the leather handle!" Michael warned.

Miranda wordlessly summoned her bow from thin air, nocked a lead arrow, and let it fly into the high orc's unconscious body.

"And I just got done shooting a golden arrow into her too. Poor woman. I'm so sorry." Miranda thought.

Michael cast the club aside, and straightened out his jacket. Looking around at all the orcs laying in heaps on the ground, Michael took a deep breath and summoned his most commanding voice.

"The next person who gets in my way of going to the Mist Continent is getting SHOT!" Michael barked.

And he marched away with Sherry in tow. In the end, it wasn't Sherry who stopped Miranda and Akia, it was Michael himself.

...

"What went wrong?" Akia asked quietly.

"I went to grab Michael away from the orcs, but one of them saw me and conked me on the head." Miranda explained quietly.

...

~Later~

...

Michael, Sherry, Miranda, and Akia all stepped through the nexus, and found themselves in a room that was identical to the one they had just left. And just like every other hub for the nexus, there was a gatekeeper running the show.

"Welcome to the city of Valenvin, population... thirsty." The gatekeeper said seductively.

They worked their way through the people waiting to go through the nexus, and found themselves in the streets of a lovely mountain city. It was quite cold, and snow drifted down into their faces.

"Okay... so why are we here? I've never heard of Valenvin before." Michael asked.

"Valenvin is one of the farthest eastern cities under Lilith's direct control. It's almost directly east of Lescatie, and north east of The Great Sandlands. It's the closest the nexus can possibly bring us to the Mist." Sherry explained.

"Is the Order in this area?" Michael asked.

"Oh no, not very much. The sandlands serve as a barrier to their armies. The only Order you'll find here is the occasional town that's loyal, and sporatic raiding parties. You know all about them." Sherry said.

"Yeah I do." Michael grumbled.

"Don't expect to see many raiders though. Most of the Order navy is concentrated in the west, in the stretch of sea between Order territory and Lescatie. They don't control the eastern sea near the Mist Continent and Zipangu." Sherry explained.

Michael nodded slowly.

"So let me get this straight. We're on an entirely new continent?" Michael asked.

"Correct. I think we need to get a map of the world. Perhaps there is a cartographer here in town?" Sherry suggested.

*Tugtugtug

Sherry looked down to where someone was tugging on her shirt sleeve.

"Well hello there little Ratatoskr! Aren't you an adorable thing~ Do you need something?" Sherry asked.

"I overheard your conversation. There's a cartographer two blocks down that street." The Ratatoskr said.

Sherry's eyes followed the direction her little finger pointed.

"Down that way? Thank you very much. Would you like a coin?" Sherry asked.

"Don't bother. Have a good day." The Ratatoskr said casually.

...

"Well that was odd." Michael said.

"Not so. The Ratatoskir girls are dealers of information. It's only natural that one is standing around the nexus, giving directions to visitors. The city is probably paying her." Sherry said.

"Oooooh... that's right. I remember them from the encyclopedia." Michael said, nodding.

So the quartet walked down the indicated street, and quickly found the cartographer. The building had a beautiful painted sign that looked like a compass, with CARTOGRAPHER and SCRIBE written elegantly just below. They went through the door, which jingled cheerfully.

"Hellooooooo there! Welcome! How might I help you?" The cartographer asked cheerfully.

Michael immediately smiled in return. The cartographer was a Hakutaku. It was only the second one he had ever met, but she brought back good memories of the previous year. And it made him excited over what new inma he would get to see during his journey.

"We're seeking a map of the world, but we have little time to spare to have one made. Do you have one already prepared by chance?" Sherry asked.

"A map of the known world? Let me check." The cartographer said.

So the cartographer turned towards a large rack that resembled the kind of rack someone might keep wine bottles on. Each pocket had countless scrolls and rolls of unmarked parchment. Running her finger along the organized rows, she came to a halt at a pocket at the end. Pulling it out, she unrolled it slightly so she could peek inside.

"I'm afraid all I have is an incomplete map. All the terrain is drawn in, but most of the cities are missing." The cartographer said.

"Can I see it?" Michael asked.

She nodded and rolled out the map on the drafting table...

The Map can be found on Imgur. Please use the search term "Map for Michael Collins and the Magic Coin V1"

The map was roughly the same size as a typical road map of Arizona. Just like the cartographer said, most of the detail was missing. Lescatie was listed, as was the Royal Makai. To the west was marked Bloodwood Swamp, and to the south was the Order. As Sherry had already described, the Sandlands lay to the east of the Order. Several other places were marked, such as Zipangu and The Mist Continent. Valenvin was also marked on the map.

"What's this here in the middle of the ocean, south west of Lescatie?" Michael asked.

"That's Court Alf." The cartographer said, matter of fact.

"Alf? You mean like the TV show?" Michael asked, confused.

Sherry squeezed up against his arm.

"You mean... you've never heard of Court Alf?" Sherry asked, shocked.

"It's only the most amazing place in the world, tied with the Royal Makai! It even beat out Dragonia as the most popular tourist destination!" The cartographer exclaimed.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Maybe we'll go there someday. Now... about this map..." Michael said.

The cartographer seemed a little taken aback by how nonchalantly Michael reacted about Court Alf, but how could anyone blame Michael considering he hadn't ever heard about it before.

"So I see here that the Mist Continent doesn't have much terrain detail drawn in. Did you not have a chance to finish that part?" Michael asked.

"It's not drawn in because we don't know what lies there. Some scouts have mapped the north western tip, but the rest is shrouded in mystery. No complete map exists for that place." The cartographer explained.

"I see. Now down here in this area marked Order territory, where are the lines that indicate their boundaries?" Michael asked.

"There would be no point in drawing that in, because it changes daily. The rule of thumb right now is that their southern branch ends at the Great Sandland, and at the Badlands. For their western branch, it ends at the Badlands and that line of mountains which lead to the demon realms." The cartographer explained.

"Those mountains are what belong to the table Hurtgen. You know all about them. That hero was from there." Sherry said.

Michael grumbled.

"Hero?" The cartographer asked, confused.

"Oh yes. His name was Knight Long, and my husband destroyed him with a powerful weapon. He was quite the awful little cuss, leading a band of Order raiders." Sherry recounted.

"Do us all a favor and don't go bragging about wasting Order to everyone we meet please. It's a security issue, and this poor woman couldn't care less what we've been doing." Michael said dryly.

"As you wish." Sherry said.

...

"Would you like me to add any other locations to the map before you leave? Of course I'll give you a discount since it's an incomplete map." The cartographer offered.

"How very kind of you. Yes... I can think of a few places." Sherry said.

"And we'll fill in the rest as we travel. It'll be like a record of all the places we've been. It'll be fun!" Michael said cheerfully.

...

..

.

They left the cartographer's store with their brand new map in hand.

"Okay, drop the Duster out here and let's get going. We've got a lot of road to cover." Michael said.

"Sure thing sweetie!" Sherry said cheerfully.

So she used her free hand to pull the Duster out of her pocket dimension, and made it big again. Miranda groaned internally at the sight of her nemesis.

"Be strong Miranda. Don't complain. Now is the worst time for that." Miranda thought.

Michael slid behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition.

*Whirrwhirrwhirr

The iconic mopar 'laughing dolphin' starter faithfully cranked that big 440 v8 over until...

*BRAAAAAAA!

"EEP!" Miranda squeaked.

She couldn't help but recoil away from that loud car. Nobody seemed to notice, as Sherry busied herself with opening the passenger side and assisting Akia with crawling inside. Once Akia was safely seated, she turned to Miranda.

"Come Miranda, it is your turn!" Sherry said.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, and forced herself to get in the car.

...

They soon left the city of Valenvin, and headed down a well maintained road in the direction of a town named Osaport. Since the road was so well maintained, Michael was able to get the Duster up to speed, and actually make good time. As Michael drove, Sherry had the map laid out in her lap.

"How far is it from Valenvin to Osaport?" Michael asked.

"Hmm... I would say between a thousand, to a thousand five hundred miles." Sherry said.

Michael glanced between the map and the road several times.

"Hmm..." Michael said.

"What are you thinking my love?" Sherry asked.

"Just trying to get a scale of your world. How large it is compared to mine." Michael said.

...

After staring at the map for a while, Michael suddenly burst into laughter.

"What? What?" Sherry asked.

"Is that Zipangu down there? For real?" Michael asked.

"Indeed it is. What a lovely country, I so enjoyed my stay there." Sherry said.

"Hehehehehehe..." Michael continued laughing.

"What's so funny?" Sherry asked.

"Oh nothing~ Nothing at all~ The shape looks familiar~" Michael chuckled.

...

..

.

"So that's your whole world?" Michael asked.

"It sure is!" Sherry said cheerfully.

"What happens if you sail a ship east past the Mist or west past Bloodwood Swamp?" Michael asked.

"You would sail off the edge of the world of course." Sherry said casually.

Michael groaned internally. That wasn't the question he was asking.

"We discussed this Sherry. The world isn't flat. It's round." Michael said.

"When did we... oh no." Sherry suddenly remembered.

"You see, first there was the big bang..." Michael started.

...

~One Very Long Nerdy Explanation Later~

...

"And that's why planets are round, and not flat." Michael finished.

By the time he finished, Sherry was already half way through Michael's bottle of prisoner fruit wine. Miranda looked about ready to begin her ascent to heaven, and Akia wore no expressions at all.

"Were you guys listening?" Michael asked.

"Yes master. It was very educational. Thank you." Akia said honestly.

"Hmm? Ehr... yeah. I was listening." Sherry said drunkenly.

"You lost me at big bang." Miranda said.

Michael sighed deeply.

"At least Akia listened. This is going to be a looooong trip ." Michael thought.

...

~Later That Night~

...

Michael parked the Duster a ways off the side of the road, tucking it out of sight behind a small hill. The sun was going down, and they needed to make camp. Michael was too tired to keep driving.

"I think this is a good spot to make camp. Akia, gather firewood please. Miranda, gather water from that stream over there. I'll start dinner." Sherry said.

"And what about me?" Michael asked.

"You don't do anything of course." Sherry said.

"Um..." Miranda started.

"And no complaints either. If not for sweetie, we wouldn't have traveled this far today. He's done plenty." Sherry said.

"Driving isn't real work though." Michael said quietly.

"It matters not. I've been sitting here for hours, and if I don't do something constructive soon, I'm going to lose my mind!" Sherry insisted.

So with that, they crawled out of the car and started setting up camp. The first thing Michael did was pull a canvas sack out of the trunk of the Duster.

"I'm going to go pitch a tent." Michael said.

"OOOOHHH! I like the sound of that!" Sherry exclaimed excitedly.

So a few minutes passed, and Sherry watched Michael closely for when he was going to 'pitch his tent'. When she realized he meant LITERALLY pitching a tent to SLEEP in, she was very disappointed.

"I prefer the other kind of tent pitching." Sherry pouted.

"I'm sure you do." Michael said dryly.

The tent itself was a French military surplus tent in desert tan, which had served Michael very well over the years. He threw a wool blanket and a repurposed yoga mat in the tent for a bed, and he had his jacket for a pillow. He sat at the entrance of the tent and watched as Sherry prepared ingredients for dinner.

"This is nice. It feels like a camping trip." Michael said, smiling.

"Do you enjoy camping?" Sherry asked.

"Well I've never done it for fun before. Most of the time it was just a way of life. So... I guess this is my first time, if that makes any sense." Michael said.

"I have spent much time on the road, so this is all second nature for me. Although usually I wouldn't have a tent. They're usually far too heavy." Sherry said.

"Now you have a pocket dimension, so you can carry anything you want without being encumbered." Michael said.

"Indeed! I could carry a whole house with me if I so desired~" Sherry said.

Michael started chuckling.

"What?" Sherry asked.

"Oh hey, so what's your mailing address? It's 00001 Cleavage Avenue. Titsville USA." Michael joked.

Sherry snickered.

"That's not far from the truth. It wouldn't be hard to slot your mail in here either." Sherry said, fondling her own breasts.

"Hehe~" Michael chuckled.

...

"Tell me sweetie, why did you accept Druella's commands to go to the Mist so easily?" Sherry asked.

"Well that's simple. I've been looking for an excuse to spend more time on this side of the portal. I want to go on more adventures, like that time we visited the sky island. Although, it seems like this happened so fast." Michael said.

"Such is life. It takes us such a long time to get anywhere, and then everyone's in a hurry to send us knights off in another direction." Sherry said.

...

Right around then, Miranda and Akia came back with the water and firewood. Michael slid over and straightened out the wood into the shape of a campfire.

"Hey you guys, want to learn a neat trick?" Michael asked.

Miranda and Akia perked up, and nodded.

"Okay, so this is how you make a really good fire starter. First you take some of this tree bark and make a bird's nest..." Michael tried to say.

*Fwoosh!

Sherry simply tossed a fireball into the camp fire and lit it instantly.

"Hey! I was doing something!" Michael protested.

"Enough! I've heard too many lessons for one day! Sometimes you're too intelligent for your own good!" Sherry retorted.

"That's just cruel Searraigh. If you don't like his intelligence, then why did you construct a workplace for him?" Miranda asked.

"I did it because his tinkerings were cluttering my living room." Sherry said bluntly.

Several emotions flashed across Michael's face all at once.

"I thought you did it to be nice." Michael murmured, dejected.

...

"Master? Maybe you could teach me the fire starting trick after dinner?" Akia asked.

A faint smile formed on his lips. Akia always knew the perfect time to speak up and help her master out.

"Sure. No problem." Michael said.

"At least Akia cares." Michael thought.

...

"I almost forgot, there's tents in the trunk of the Duster for you two. Just pitch them the same way as mine." Michael said.

"And give yourself plenty of distance from ours. We're noisy." Sherry interjected.

"Ours? Each of us have our own tent. Including you." Michael said.

Sherry shot him a glare.

"No?" Michael asked.

"Not a chance." Sherry said flatly.

"It'll be cramped." Michael said.

"It'll be cozy." Sherry countered.

"I'm a big guy. I'll take up most of the tent." Michael said.

"And most of you will be between my legs, so quit trying to get out of it." Sherry argued.

Sherry shot Miranda a glare.

"And don't you dare complain about lovemaking, little miss angel of love." Sherry said.

"Angels of Eros and inma have two very different definitions of what constitutes love. You think love and lust are the same thing." Miranda argued.

"I dare you to try to lust after someone you don't love. I've got more love between my legs than you do in your whole body." Sherry countered.

"Now that just sounds arrogant." Michael thought.

"Yet there you are, warping his favorite pans in a campfire." Miranda countered.

Sherry looked down... and then squeaked.

"Now look what you've done! You made me scorch dinner!" Sherry exclaimed.

"I said nothing, you spoke first." Miranda said, matter of fact.

.

..

...

Michael watched as Miranda and Akia pitched their tents, and he offered a couple words of advice along the way. The tents were simple, so they got the knack of it very quickly. Meanwhile, Sherry quickly cooked up a wonderful campfire meal, and served it to everyone. Michael got a double serving, with extra meat.

"When you're done with that fire, put it out please." Michael said.

"What for? It's cold out here, we could use the extra heat." Sherry countered.

"Because it produces light, and it reveals our location. I want to fly under the radar while on this trip." Michael said.

"Nobody's going to be bothering us sweetie. I've already cast multiple protection spells to ward off visitors." Sherry said.

Michael glanced around the campsite. It didn't look like anything had changed. There were no funny looking force fields or cute portal turrets. He couldn't even hear anything odd.

"Do you trust those wards to actually keep people out?" Michael asked.

"I certainly do, just like I trust them to keep people out of our apartment. If someone wanted to come in here, they would have to first dispel the wards, which would instantly awaken me." Sherry said confidently.

"Master, I will be conducting continual scans during the night. If a foreign entity approaches, I will alert the camp." Akia said.

"That helps. Thanks." Michael said, smiling.

"Oh you'll trust her, but not me?" Sherry asked, offended.

"She's a machine. You're not." Michael said.

"Hmmp." Sherry huffed.

...

..

.

A little while later, after finishing dinner, Michael crawled into his tent to go to bed. He shed his clothes and curled up under the warm blanket. Normally he would have probably kept his clothes on, but he knew a certain succubus would insist it all come off anyways. Sherry knelt down by the flap and peered inside.

"Yes, this is far nicer than I ever had while traveling." Sherry said, nodding in approval.

"Careful you don't snag your wings on the walls." Michael warned.

"Oh my! You're right! I almost crawled in there without thinking! I have to be careful with my horns too!" Sherry exclaimed.

*WhoooooooooshPOP

Michael's eyebrows raised when Sherry used magic to hide her succubus features. Kneeling before the tent was no longer a succubus, but what appeared to be a human woman with green eyes.

"Well... I haven't seen your human disguise in a while." Michael said.

"Thankfully it isn't needed back home. I wouldn't use it at all, but I insist on sharing a tent with you." Sherry said.

So she crawled into the tent, and squeezed in next to Michael on the repurposed yoga mat. Just as Michael had predicted, the two man tent wasn't really suited for two. Not when one of them was Michael's size. And the yoga mat wasn't winning awards either.

...

"It's hard." Sherry complained.

"Well... if you're not comfortable, you could always go sleep in the car." Michael suggested.

"No! I sleep where you sleep! Why are we having this discussion? Just because we're in the woods doesn't mean anything changes from how it is back home!" Sherry insisted.

"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable." Michael said.

Sherry hesitated a moment.

"It's not me. I'm worried you're uncomfortable." Sherry said softly.

"I'm fine. This isn't any big deal." Michael said.

...

Sherry grabbed Michael and rolled him over on top of her soft and squishy body.

"How about now?" Sherry asked.

"You're too small. I feel like I'm laying on a pool noodle for a mattress." Michael said.

"Even with my soft titties and wide hips?" Sherry asked, pouting.

"Sorry." Michael said.

Michael slid off of her, and back onto his pitifully thin sleeping mat.

"Hmm... then perhaps this will work." Sherry said.

She planted her hand palm downward on the nylon floor of the tent, and a pool of demonic energy bubbled forth. It oozed under their bodies, and welled up until it formed a gel like cushion between their bodies and the ground.

"And as an extra perk, it will help keep you warm. Demonic energy always turns up the heat~" Sherry said cheerfully.

"I'm sure it will. It already feels hot in here." Michael said dryly.

"Good! Then I'll bring even more heat~ Let's get started~" Sherry purred.

...

..

.

~The Next Morning~

.

..

...

*Ruffle

Michael pushed aside the tent flap and crawled out into the sunlight. Sherry was already hard at work making breakfast for everyone, again using his beloved Revereware. He winced when he saw all the campfire soot on the sides of his pans, and how uneven the bottoms were.

"Good morning my love~ Did you sleep well?" Sherry asked.

"Not really. The demonic energy sleeping pad was a bad idea. I had weird dreams all night, and my head feels fluffy." Michael murmured.

"That's just your body slowly transforming into an incubus. It's nothing to be concerned with." Sherry said casually.

He sank down onto a patch of lush grass next to the campfire. Sherry handed him a cup of coffee and went back to making breakfast. Michael sipped on his brew while he tried to ignore all the odd tingles, hot flashes, and lewd thoughts he was experiencing. Such things were normal after extended direct exposure to concentrated demonic energy.

...

A while passed, and Michael was elbow deep in a hearty breakfast of corned beef hash, corn bread, and eggs. Miranda watched quietly from her side of the fire as Sherry fawned all over Michael.

"I don't understand how someone can be so completely pleasant one moment, snarling the next moment, and then pleasant again. What is wrong with Searraigh?" Miranda thought.

...

"She doesn't leave him alone for even a moment. I wonder if she's on guard, or if this is just how things are between them. Did she do this before?" Miranda thought.

...

After breakfast, Michael went digging around in the back of the Duster for an olive drab pouch with a bunch of goodies. He laid it out on the hood.

"What is that master?" Akia asked.

"This... is a little five watt ham radio. While we're traveling, I want to run some radio propagation tests with Fort Chell, to see how reliable the ionosphere is on certain bands." Michael said.

"That sounds exceedingly boring. I can think of other kinds of propagation we could test." Sherry suggested.

"Harty har har har." Michael said dryly.

So he pulled out a homebrew antenna made out of cheap speaker wire, and threw it over the nearest tree. Then he plugged it directly into the radio without coax cable. The radio itself was right around the same size as a red house brick, with a screen on one side and a whirly knob for tuning the frequency, along with countless buttons for changing modes and settings. It was right up the alley of a nerd like Michael.

*Beep

*SSSSSSSsssss

Faint static came from the speaker, and Michael started tuning around on the twenty meter band, between 14.150 and 14.350 Megacycles.

"This little random wire antenna will do sixty through ten meters, but twenty is a good old reliable workhorse of a band. So we should get something. At least... if the ionosphere on this planet is anything like it is on earth." Michael said.

"Do you think it is master?" Akia asked.

"I have no idea. Even if this planet is identical to Earth, the sun also plays a part in band conditions. It depends on if we're in a sun spot cycle right now." Michael said.

Sherry's eyes glazed over.

"That's very interesting master. Please conduct the experiment." Akia said.

He pushed the PTT button on the hand microphone.

"Fort Chell, white rook checking in." Michael said into the radio.

...

"White rook, this is Fort Chell station bravo. You're coming in at a 47, that's four seven. Over?"The radio hissed.

"Roger station bravo. You're five nine plus plus. I have no traffic." Michael said into the radio.

"Confirmed your negative traffic." The radio hissed.

"Moving down to forty meters." Michael said over the radio.

"Roger. Fort Chell clear. Seven three." The radio hissed.

Michael wrote some things down on a notepad, then tuned the radio down to the 40 meter band. Then he did the same test all over again. Sherry wandered around, her patience growing increasingly thin.

"What's the matter Searraigh? Once he finishes, we're just going to be sitting and doing nothing while he drives us to Osaport." Miranda said quietly.

Sherry shot Miranda a withering glare that could have curdled milk.

...

~Later~

...

After Michael got done with his little radio experiment, they started packing up camp. Michael pulled down his tent, while Sherry doused the fire and put the cooking gear in the trunk.

*Rattle!

*Clang!

*THUNK

She haphazardly threw Michael's Revereware into the trunk, and then slammed it shut.

"Okay let's go!" Sherry said.

"What's your hurry? You know Akia and Miranda still need to put their tents in there, right?" Michael reminded.

He reached past her and unlocked the trunk, so the duo could deposit their sleeping gear. Then Michael did one last sweep of the camp, looking for anything forgotten, or any trash they might have accidentally left.

"Okay, NOW we can go." Michael said.

"You're so slow." Sherry grumbled.

"Again, what's your hurry?" Michael asked.

Both Miranda and Akia turned to Searraigh, waiting for her answer. She simply batted her eyelashes and played dumb.

"I just want you to see the Mist sweetie~" Sherry said nicely.

"I also want to see everything along the way. So relax. We're going to be driving for a long time, so let's not stress out along the way. Okay?" Michael asked.

"Okay." Sherry said.

"Good, now let's go to the Mist." Michael said, smiling.

Michael turned and slid into the driver seat of the Duster. Sherry let the others crawl into the back seat, then she took her place in the front passenger seat.

.

..

...

While Michael was driving, Sherry secretly used her magic to teleport Michael's ham radio from the trunk to her pocket dimension. In that fashion, she could keep Michael from chatting with Fort Chell unless she permitted it. There would be no chatting with Stavish, or Mackenzie, or Sakia, or anyone else who would interfere. Miranda sensed what happened.

...

"Hehe, oh sweetie~" Sherry said sinisterly.

"Yeah?" Michael asked.

He didn't pull his eyes from the road when he answered her.

*Sliiiide

*Zip

*Fondle

"What is Searraigh doing up there?" Miranda asked.

"She uh... dropped her ring. Yeah, that's it. She's looking for it. In my lap." Michael said evasively.

*Slurpslurpslurp

*Suuuuuuck

Miranda shook her head, and rolled her eyes. It turned out that out of everyone riding in the Duster that day, Searraigh would NOT be sitting and doing nothing.

...

"I'm getting impatient with sweetie. Time is running out. If I get any more annoyed, I'm going to break his legs and throw him in the path of a hell hound and be done with it. I will not let these two cretins interfere with my lewd plans." Sherry thought.

...

~Later That Night~

...

Once again, just like the previous night, Michael found a good spot to park the Duster and set up camp. He jammed it behind a tree line, and let the faithful 440 mopar sputter silent. Then he stretched his whole body, and groaned.

"Grrrraaaaahhhh~ Damn, I haven't spent this much time behind a wheel in a while." Michael said.

"You have done so well sweetie! We've covered hundreds of miles now!" Sherry remarked, pleased.

"It's because the roads are pretty decent out here. I can make good time. Although... my suspension is going to be beat to hell and back when we're done. I'm going to have to upgrade it..." Michael trailed off.

He groaned and popped open the driver door, speaking as he got out.

"...Yay spinal compression~" Michael grumbled.

*Thunk

The car door closed, leaving the three women alone in the car.

"You shouldn't have told him to drive so fast." Miranda said.

"Shush. He's tougher than he lets on, and going fast makes me wet." Sherry shot.

...

So camp was put together in a similar fashion to the previous night. Akia and Miranda gathered firewood and water, while Sherry cooked dinner. Michael pitched his tent, just like the previous night, and pitched tents for Miranda and Akia as well. He wanted to help out more than what was asked of him. In his free time, he inspected the Duster and refueled it.

*Rustle

Akia walked out of the woods, and dumped a huge arm full of firewood onto the ground.

"Hey Akia, could you help me with something?" Michael called.

Both Akia and Sherry snapped their heads up at the same time.

"If you need help with something, surely I could..." Sherry started.

Akia was already at Michael's side before Sherry could finish. He completely ignored her.

"Do you suppose you could use your blaster to weld these two metal pieces together? The shock mount broke going over these nasty bumps and potholes on the road." Michael asked.

"Yes master." Akia said.

She deployed her blaster, and aimed it at the cracked metal. Michael looked away so his eyes wouldn't be exposed to the intense light.

*Pew!

*PewPew!

When Michael looked back, the metal was glowing red and perfectly welded together. He grabbed a hammer and used the opportunity to shape the metal into something more resembling a normal shock mount on a Mopar A-body.

...

As Michael hammered away at the Duster, Akia's eyes turned downwards towards her blaster. Her internal sensors indicated a change in blaster settings from a lethal superheated plasma mode, to a non lethal stun mode. Then her eyes turned towards Michael, and the muzzle of her blaster slightly twitched in his direction. Her processor was working at one hundred percent, calculating countless simulations, crunching numbers, comparing odds, and analyzing known tactical data regarding Michael and Searraigh. Her options were as follows.

#1. Retreat. Request Miranda disable Searraigh. Miranda complies.
Result. Michael draws low power projectile weapon and deactivates either Miranda, Akia, or both.

#2. Disarm Michael immediately. Miranda does nothing.
Result. Searraigh deactivates Akia.

#3. Stun Michael. Grab Michael, throw him over her shoulder, and flee at maximum sustainable velocity. Miranda does nothing.
Result. Searraigh catches Akia a few miles down the road. Searraigh deactivates Akia.

#4 Stun Michael. Shout to Miranda to disable Searraigh.
Result. Unlikely, 27% chance organic Miranda reacts quickly enough to disable Searraigh. Searraigh deactivates either Miranda, Akia, or both. Likely 93% chance of Michael siding with Searraigh.

#5 Quietly whisper to Michael that Searraigh intends him harm.
Result. Likely 93% chance Michael denies the information is legitimate.

#6 Evasively request clarification from Michael to use non lethal force against those who are attempting to harm him. Once clarification received, use non lethal force against Searraigh.
Result. Most likely option to succeed.

...

Akia's blaster muzzle moved away from Michael. Leaning in, she was about to whisper. That's when she noticed Sherry coming closer. Sherry also leaned in, with a suspicious look in her eyes.

#1 Error. Unable to continue.

#2 Error. Proximity too close.

#3 Error. Probability of success too low. Abort.

...

"I believe this repair is sufficient." Akia noted.

*Click

Akia's blaster withdrew into her arm, and she stepped back. And just like that, the poor automaton was shut down from any chance of helping her master. Searraigh never gave Michael so much as a moment alone.

...

So a little time passed, and everyone sat around the fire while Sherry put the finishing touches on dinner. They ate more or less peacefully, other than one horrific accident which happened to his frying pan.

*Tink!

"Oh dear." Sherry muttered.

She had the frying pan in one hand, and the handle in the other.

"Oh well. I guess that's ruined." Sherry said.

And she casually threw the frying pan pieces into the nearby trunk of the Duster. Michael felt his soul wilt a little that night. He felt like playing taps on the ocarina.

...

..

.

Sherry was cleaning up after dinner, and Michael was sitting in front of his tent pulling his boots off. He was just about to crawl into the tent, when Akia showed up with his frying pan in hand.

"Master?" Akia asked.

Michael looked up, and his eyes went wide. The frying pan was completely repaired. She handed it to him, and he looked closely at the weld between the pan and the handle. It seemed flawless, the weld was machine level quality. She had used her blaster to spot weld the handle back on, just like she had done with the Duster a little while earlier.

"This object has been repaired." Akia said.

"You... this... I..." Michael stammered.

He hugged the pan, a huge smile covering his face.

"Thank you!" Michael exclaimed.

"Oh good, you fixed it! Good work Akia! I'll just take that..." Sherry said.

*Snatch~

She took the pan and returned it back to the Duster with all the pans, tossing it in without a care. Everyone in camp could hear the CLANG of pans hitting other pans. And Michael... looked about ready to wilt again.

"Master..." Akia said softly.

"I'm going to bed before I go completely mental." Michael muttered.

So he crawled into the tent.

"~They're coming to take me away, hehe, hoho, haha, to the funny farm! Where life is beautiful all the time~" Michael sang.

...

Akia turned, and marched straight over to Sherry, who was looking around in the trunk of the Duster. Sherry straightened, and the two of them wound up toe to toe like a couple of boxers.

"What do you want?" Sherry asked.

Akai said nothing. While staring Sherry right in the eye, she reached over and grabbed the trunk lid... and shut it. Even with her emotionless face, her action was filled with emotion. She conveyed her feelings perfectly, so even a ditz like Sherry could figure it out. She was ~closing off~ the contents of the trunk from Searraigh. Then without saying a peep, she walked away.

...

~Later~

...

*Ruffle

*Sliiiiide

Sherry slid into Michael's tent, and crawled next to him. Once again she was in her human disguise, so that her wings and bits wouldn't rip up the tent.

"It took you a while to get here. I figured you'd be in here within thirty seconds after I took off my clothes." Michael said.

"Well I couldn't leave the chores undone. I'm here now~" Sherry purred.

She slid under the blanket. Within seconds, she was already groping him.

"You simply must do something about that automaton. She's very disrespectful of my authority." Sherry whispered.

"What did she... *gasp... do this time?" Michael asked, squirming.

Sherry's hand bobbed up and down as she stroked his length.

"She was very threatening and confrontational." Sherry claimed.

The pace of her hand quickened, and Michael moaned.

"I want you to order her to obey me." Sherry whispered.

"She probably... *moan... didn't mean anything." Michael struggled to say.

Sherry's hand suddenly slowed down, leaving Michael hanging.

"She did. She hates me, ever since you turned her on. You need to do something." Sherry insisted quietly.

"Sherry please... I'll do it... just..." Michael pleaded, panting.

Her pace quickened again, and Michael let out a louder than normal moan.

"Why don't you be a good boy and spray your cum all over me~" Sherry purred.

"GAH! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrgghhhhhh..." Michael cringed.

Sherry raised her hand and lewdly licked the cum off her fingers.

"Delicious~ Good job~ Now give me more~" Sherry said seductively.

...

Meanwhile, outside Michael and Sherry's tent, Miranda and Akia were eavesdropping on every word the duo said. They knew Sherry was using sex as a persuasive tool to manipulate Michael into doing what she wanted. It was a tactic that a human woman might use, and it surprised them. No inma would normally do that, at least not on a serious level. An inma might use sex to persuade a man to become their husband, with more sex being the final goal. But typically inma didn't use sex in such a bad manipulative way. Lust was a very important thing to inma, and associating bad feelings with it was distasteful. As Searraigh had argued, inma associated lust with love.

"Just think sweetie, in a few days we'll be able to do this all the time. No distractions, no interruptions, no Miranda or Akia, nothing to get in the way. We'll be aboard the ship, sailing to the Mist." Sherry breathed hotly.

Miranda and Akia shot each other worried looks.

"We'll be sailing for at least a month. I can't wait for our month long unending feast of flesh~" Sherry breathed hotly.

...

The two women retreated from the tent, and crouched down behind the Duster so they wouldn't be overheard.

"We have to get him away from her, right now! She plans on just the two of them taking the ship to the Mist!" Miranda whispered.

"You disable Searraigh, I will handle master." Akia whispered.

"Right. As soon as we get him away, I'll summon a gateway we can all escape through." Miranda whispered.

They raised up from behind the Duster. Miranda's bow appeared in a puff of pink smoke, and Akia deployed her blaster. Marching towards the tent, Miranda reached out to unzip the flap.

*ZAP!

Miranda landed on her ass, clutching her arm. The rhythmic sound of sex ceased inside the tent.

"What?" Michael asked, muffled.

"A fly just tried to enter the tent." Sherry said, muffled.

...

*Plapplapplap

And they went right back to what they were doing, without a care in the world. Miranda and Akia retreated behind the Duster again.

...

"I can't feel my hand." Miranda whispered.

Akia deployed her healing device, and aimed the gentle healing beam towards Miranda's ailing arm. She flexed her fingers experimentally.

"You received a large electric discharge, and your nerves have been disrupted. Full functionality should return within thirty minutes." Akia whispered.

"That means I can't use my bow. Just how dangerous was that?" Miranda whispered.

...

"Death would have occurred had the discharge passed through your heart." Akia said quietly.

Miranda's eyebrows furrowed.

"I've had enough of this. I'm going to contact Eros right now, and she'll send a thousand angels. Searraigh cannot stop us all." Miranda whispered.

*Shiiiiiing

The two of them whirled around, and found Sherry standing behind them with her sword drawn. Her clothes were missing, and she was very angry over being interrupted in the middle of sex.

"Perhaps not, but I certainly can crush you two!" Sherry said angrily.

...

..

.

~The Next Morning~

.

..

...

Michael woke up late the next morning, and languished in his tent for an hour before his protesting stomach forced him to crawl into the daylight. Sherry was by the campfire, scrambling up some eggs and bacon.

"Good morning my love~ Did you sleep well?" Sherry said cheerfully.

Michael stretched before he answered.

"Grrrrrraaah! Yeah, I slept pretty well. I think I had a dream, but I don't... remember..." Michael trailed off.

"Hopefully a good one?" Sherry asked.

Michael shrugged.

...

He wiped the sleep from his eyes, and slowly looked around camp. Something seemed... off. The trees were different than he remembered, the hills and terrain was alien, and the air smelled different. If he didn't know better, he would think that he was somewhere else than where he had been when he went to sleep the previous night. Furthermore, he had a slight headache, as if he had slept too long.

"Here's some coffee sweetie." Sherry said.

She handed him a cup, and he thanked her. Settling down onto the grass, he took a long sip and raked his eyes across camp again. Everything else seemed right. Akia's tent and Miranda's tent seemed where they should have been. The Duster was still parked where it should have been. But still... he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. And for some strange reason, the coffee wasn't shaking the foggy feeling he had in his brain. If it weren't for that foggy feeling, he would have realized immediately that he wasn't where he had fallen asleep the previous night. He would have realized the tents weren't in the same spots, the Duster was parked facing the wrong way, and Sherry wasn't even wearing the same clothes. He would have also immediately put two and two together if he had only looked at his watch and noticed it was actually several days later...

"And here's your breakfast sweetie." Sherry said.

She handed him a plate of food, which he immediately wolfed down. The brain fog increased.

"Now sweetie, when we go into Osaport to charter a ship, we cannot take the Duster. It stands out too much. You can't wear those clothes either. I prepared something for you to wear." Sherry said.

She produced a bundle of clothes, which she laid on the grass next to him.

"I'll put it on when we get closer." Michael said.

"Osaport is just down this valley, no more than a paltry few miles away." Sherry said.

Michael paused his breakfast.

"What? How did we..." Michael started.

"Don't you remember driving us here? You did such a wonderful job sweetie~" Sherry lied.

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"I drove us... all the way..." Michael said hesitantly.

"Of course you did silly. How else would we get here?" Sherry lied.

"He doesn't need to know that I was driving. And I only wrecked it a few times. I'm sure he'll never notice all the dings with all these drugs I put in his food." Sherry thought.

*Smooch

*Smoochsmooch

Each time Sherry kissed him, he fell under her spell a little more. It didn't take long before he was nodding along with everything she said.

"Where's Akia and Miranda?" Michael asked slowly.

"They went home." Sherry said casually.

"Oh." Michael said distantly.

*Smooch

*Nibble

*Lick

She started working on his ear, filling his hearing with the sound of her lewd mouth.

"We'd have to leave them behind anyhow. Those merchant sailors in Osaport would be quite suspicious of a man with three women in his party." Sherry said.

He nodded along. The worst part of her manipulation... it contained a sliver of truth. It would be strange for a man to enter a town with three women following him. It would be strange to think anything happened other than Michael drove the whole way. Everything was abnormal, but it was easy for his manipulated brain to accept what she was claiming. He WANTED to accept what she was claiming. She leaned in for a kiss, and his thoughts whizzed away like a kid's marble going down a bathtub drain. The next thing he knew, he was finishing his drugged breakfast while Sherry was using magic to shrink the Duster down to miniature size.

...

~Meanwhile~

...

"Hey! Hey wake up!" Stavish exclaimed.

*Shakeshake

Miranda's eyes shot open, and she jerked upright. Looking around, she discovered that she was sleeping not in her tent, but in Michael's and Sherry's Quonset hut back in Fort Chell. The sounds of construction were quite clear outside as all the battle damage was repaired. She was laying on the narrow twin bed, and the dull shimmering gateway loomed tall to her left. Stavish and Akia were standing along the edge of the bed.

"Wh...what in Eros's name happened?" Miranda asked.

"Entity Searraigh discovered us. She left us here and took master to an unknown location." Akia said.

Miranda rubbed her forehead.

"That's right. I was just about to contact Eros for help." Miranda recalled.

"You've been out for several days. Akia told me everything, and I told her everything I knew." Stavish recounted.

"Your claim has been confirmed. Searraigh is harming master." Akia said.

Miranda scoffed.

"A little too late for that, not that it ever mattered." Miranda said.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and Stavish handed her a bottle of water.

"It turns out she's not a dumb bimbo after all. She figured out what we were trying to do, right from the beginning." Stavish said.

"How do you know?" Miranda asked.

"After she disabled you, she stated as much. Then she deposited you through the gateway, and threatened to keep master away from me forever if I didn't willingly follow." Akia recounted.

"I fear... we may never see him again anyways. I should have put a lead arrow into Searraigh the second I got a chance." Miranda murmured.

...

Her hand went down to a pouch hanging from her intricate cupid belt, and she withdrew Michael's ocarina from within.

"Hey what are you doing with that?!" Stavish exclaimed.

"He forgot it at the apartment when they were packing. I think... Searraigh left it behind on purpose." Miranda explained.

"That makes sense. It's the one thing he has that can overpower her. She must have left it behind so he couldn't use it." Stavish reasoned.

"It's so much more than that. When Michael plays this, it's a thing of pure beauty. Searraigh is anything but pure, so it's likely she doesn't want to hear it anymore." Miranda reasoned.

She looked at it for a few moments, marveling at the beauty of the green ceramic glaze. Then she clutched it to her heart and wept.

...

Her tear filled eyes turned to the gateway, which shimmered faintly in one corner of the room.

"It's closed. Searraigh can control it with the gateway ring. She will not allow anyone through it unless she wants it." Stavish said.

Stavish sank into a nearby chair.

"What will she do to master?" Akia asked.

"I don't know. Probably nothing... until he pisses her off again." Stavish said softly.

Miranda wiped her tears away, and slowly rose up from the bed. The ocarina remained behind on the sheets.

"I... have failed. My one purpose was to be Michael's guardian. I must return to heaven." Miranda choked.

"Will you ever come back?" Stavish asked.

Miranda didn't answer, because she didn't have an answer. She paused a moment, looked at her two unlikely allies, and then slowly walked out. As she left, Mackenzie walked in the Quonset hut.

"What the hell happened? And why did she look like death walking?" Mackenzie asked.

Stavish took a few moments to get Mackenzie up to speed. She sank down onto the bed, in the same spot Miranda had been sitting a few moments before. To keep from sitting on the ocarina, she held it in her lap.

"I feel sorry for her. She looks really beat up over it." Mackenzie said softly.

...

..

Stavish closed her eyes and leaned against the back of her chair.

"There was once a man who had been through hell, and had become as hard as rock. There was no happiness in his life. Then he met a young woman, who forced him to see the beauty and joy in the world. They were happy, and the man smiled again. She reminded him why life was worth living." Stavish recounted.

...

"Then one day, the woman was gone. All the happiness was ripped from his life. He was crushed. The beautiful illusion was broken, and he found himself in a world of pain once again." Stavish recounted.

"The Little Carousel." Mackenzie murmured.

Akia's eyes darted between Stavish and Mackenzie.

"I wonder... was the man better off before or after the woman came and went? Was that moment of joy in his life worth the agony he felt later?" Stavish wondered.

"Would any of us be here if it weren't for him?" Mackenzie asked.

"Who are we talking about? Michael Collins, or the man in the story?" Akia asked.

There was an audible pause.

...

"We're talking about White Rook." Stavish said.

...

..

.

~Hours Later~

.

..

...

Michael and Sherry found themselves laying down on a grassy hill overlooking a coastal town. They traded Michael's pair of world war two binoculars so they could get a close look.

"That's it. That's Osaport. The next stop on our journey." Sherry said.

"I don't see any Order banners flying." Michael noted.

"Neither do I. It seems nothing has changed dramatically since I was last here." Sherry said.

She scanned the town, and handed him back the binoculars.

"See that row of ships? Those are the merchant ships we would barter passage with. We must be cautious what we say or do, lest we reveal ourselves as loyal to the demon realms. We shall pretend you are a cartographer, who is planning on mapping the Mist. I shall be your guardian assigned by the church." Sherry said.

"Okay, I think I could play that sort of game." Michael said.

"Come, let us prepare." Sherry said, gesturing back.

So they crawled back from the peak of the hill, and went to the base of the hill where they could stand upright. Sherry looked Michael over from head to toe, looking for anything that stood out as abnormal on his disguise. She patted his pockets, and found his Victorinox pocket knife.

"Let me hold onto this. If someone sees this, it might raise questions. It's made of plastic and this strange steel that never rusts." Sherry said.

"Stainless steel. Yeah, I suppose that hasn't been invented on this world yet." Michael reasoned.

She patted some more, and discovered his leather wallet, which she took. She relieved him of a lighter, lip balm, and his keys. By the time she was done, all he had was a handkerchief and a few local coins.

...

His clothes were designed to fit in with the locals. They were linen, of middling quality. It didn't seem like something a peasant would wear, but it wasn't something a rich person would wear either. Besides a pair of brown linen pants, there was an off white linen tunic with leather tunic belt, and a cloth cap. A pair of simple leather traveling boots completed the disguise.

"What do you think of my outfit?" Sherry asked.

She wore slightly better clothes than Michael, with a linen skirt and blouse, traveling boots, and no hat. A cape adorned her shoulders, reaching down to behind her knees and joining together with a clasp at the neck. A headband kept her raven black hair out of her green eyes. It was the first time Michael recalled Sherry EVER wearing anything other than very tall 'Fuck Me' pumps and lewd prostitute clothes.

"You look cute." Michael said.

"Aww, thank you sweetie~" Sherry said happily.

...

So the duo hefted a pair of wooden framed packs, and made their way onto the road leading down from the hills into Osaport. As they walked, they would occasionally come across someone heading the opposite direction on the road. They seemed nice enough, greeting Michael and Sherry as they walked by.

"Hail fellow traveler!" The other travels said cheerfully.

"Howdy." Michael said politely.

As soon as the people were out of sight, Sherry turned and grabbed his arm painfully tight.

"Are you trying to get us caught!?" Sherry demanded.

"What did I do?" Michael asked, surprised.

"Howdy? What the blazes does that even mean?" Sherry demanded

"Uh... hello?" Michael said, confused.

...

"Nobody says howdy here. That's something from your world. Stop it, I command you!" Sherry said angrily.

"Okay okay! You're hurting my arm!" Michael said through gritted teeth.

Sherry released her death grip on his arm.

"Do not speak unless spoken to either. You have a strange accent." Sherry added.

"I do?" Michael asked.

"Yes, you do." Sherry said.

...

So they made their way down the road, and entered the town. It was a lovely port town, with cobblestones for a road, and rows of quaint ships. The fish market down by the docks was quite lively, with people coming to get their daily fish from the fish mongers. A bakery churned out delicious smelling bread, children played in the streets, and various stores echoed with the sound of bells as people entered and exited the doors. It was obviously a town that was doing well financially, just like Lescatie. Unlike Lescatie, there were far more men walking around. As expected in a human population, there seemed to be a 50-50 spread between men and women. Michael didn't see a single inma for quite a while, until he finally spotted one down by the docks.

"Heeeeeeello, it's a mermaid! Wow! A real, honest to goodness, living mermaid!" Michael thought.

She was sitting on the edge of the dock, with an array of fresh fish on display for sale. Just from the brief glance Michael got at her wares, the fish seemed much higher quality than the fish the humans were selling. Oddly enough, nobody was buying. All the locals were swarming towards the human fish mongers. In addition to the fish, there was a small hand drawn sign which stated...

*~*Mermaid blood for sale! Fresh! Will accept fair offers!*~*

Reading that sign made Michael hesitate. He knew all too well what mermaid blood was used for. It's not every day that a person walks by a merchant selling the key to eternal youth. There wouldn't be a single person ever to have lived that wouldn't seriously consider turning around and emptying their pockets of every penny they owned just for one drop. Considering the circumstances they were in, Michael knew it was wiser to not risk making a scene. Being the only customer to visit the mermaid would have surely drawn attention. And Sherry... she knew what he was thinking. The look on her face said it all. He'd get another chance to meet a mermaid someday. He just had to be patient.

...

~Shortly Later~

...

They arrived at a building with a line of people waiting to get inside.

"This is where a person might purchase a ticket from the trading company running the merchant fleet." Sherry explained quietly.

So they got in line and waited. It took time, but eventually Sherry and Michael got close enough to the door to hear what most people were asking for as a destination.

"One ticket to the Order please."

"Two tickets, straight to the Order."

"I'd like to go to the Order."

"One way ticket to the Order."

And so on. When Michael and Sherry finally got to the ticket master, they immediately turned heads.

"One way upper class tickets to the Mist please." Sherry said.

The teller had already pulled out two tickets for the Order, purely by habit.

"Excuse me? Where did you say?" The ticket master asked.

"The Mist Continent. We have been commissioned by the church to map the unknown lands, to further the spread of the holy word." Sherry lied.

The ticket master put the tickets away, and produced two for the Mist Continent. He punched them, and handed them over. Sherry paid gold for the passage, and they walked out with tickets in hand. People gave them funny looks, but nobody said anything.

"We have raised suspicion, so we must go to our ship immediately and get out of the public eye." Sherry whispered.

Michael nodded in agreement.

...

~Later~

...

Michael and Sherry managed to find their designated ship without much fuss. It was a large merchant ship named the Lasalle, captained by a former Lescatian and former Order naval officer. He had been away on a voyage when the city was captured by inma. His crew were a mish mash of locals, and former Order soldiers who had been punished and thrown out of the Order for various infractions, ranging from drinking on duty to assaulting a superior officer. They were scum, they were villains, and they were their ONLY choice if they wanted to get to the Mist. Once they walked up the gangplank, they were quickly escorted to their room by a smelly little sallow man with stringy hair, that reminded Michael a lot of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. They closed the door to their cabin, and both sighed at the same time.

"That was nerve wracking." Michael and Sherry both said.

Michael's eyes scanned the room. It was very primitive, with a simple rough hewn wooden table, wobbly chairs, and a small porthole. Their beds were nothing more than a bunk bed with very sad looking straw mattresses.

"And to think I paid extra for better accommodations." Sherry grumbled.

"It's fine. I've been in worse places. I stayed at a hotel in Gila Bend that looked like a scene from a triple homicide." Michael said.

Michael went to sit on the bed, but Sherry caught his arm and redirected him to a simple wooden chair.

"Sit here for a moment, and let me check around first." Sherry said.

So she tore the place apart, flipped over every mattress, crawled under the table, and even inspected along the baseboards.

"What'cha looking for?" Michael asked.

"Spiders and other nasty things. I'm not seeing much, but it's clear these sailors are not good cleaners." Sherry said.

"Want to bail?" Michael asked.

"Not so hasty. As soon as we leave port, I can use magic to clean the room. I can also ward against sound, so nobody can hear us." Sherry said.

"Why can't you do it right now?" Michael asked.

"If I were to cast spells right now, the mages who live in the city would certainly discover me." Sherry said.

"How?" Michael asked.

"...it's too complicated to explain. You're not a mage, you wouldn't understand." Sherry said hesitantly.

The room creaked. A large wave made the ship sway gently.

"Ooohhh, it's nice to be at the ocean again. I can smell the salt air~" Michael cooed.

Sherry poked her head out the porthole, the sea breeze making her raven hair flutter wildly.

"They're pulling up the anchor. We'll be leaving momentarily." Sherry said.

Michael stood up and went to the porthole, and peeked out just like Sherry had done. The hole was facing the sea, so he couldn't see the town. To his left, brief glimpses of sailors could be seen as they hurried around up on deck. Michael could just about make out the tops of their heads.

*Plunk!

Michael looked down towards the water, but he saw nothing.

"I could have sworn I heard something. Maybe a fish jumped?" Michael thought.

He furrowed his eyebrows, and watched the spot for a while, but the sound never returned.

...

..

.

Later, the two of them sat at the rough table in their room, playing blackjack with a deck of Rio casino cards while the ship slowly left the dock and headed for open water. Of course Sherry was winning nearly every game.

"You're really good at this." Michael said.

"I should hope so. I did win us a fortune by doing this." Sherry said.

"Wasn't it poker?" Michael asked.

"It was. I meant playing cards in general." Sherry said.

"Oh." Michael said.

...

"You're going to lose. It's hopeless." Sherry said.

"Probably." Michael said casually.

"You might as well give up." Sherry said.

"If I did, what would we do to pass the time?" Michael countered.

"Screw of course." Sherry said.

Michael glanced over to the bunk bed.

"On that?" Michael asked.

...

"True." Sherry admitted.

...

"I forgot, we're waiting for when we get a few miles out to sea. Then I'll clean it." Sherry recalled.

"You forgot that quickly?" Michael asked.

Sherry shrugged.

.

..

...

A little more time passed. Sherry stuck her head out the porthole, and looked back towards land.

"We're far enough away, it's time to clean up this horridly dusty and dirty place." Sherry said.

She raised her hands, and readied herself to cast spells.

*Whooooooshhhhhh

A gentle wave of crimson flowed from her hands and through the room, collecting up every single last speck of dirt and filth, which was deposited right out the porthole. Once Sherry's magic was done, the room was cleaner than a laboratory clean room.

"I guess it was less dirty than I thought. Oh well." Sherry said, shrugging.

*WHOOSH!

She cast another spell, and the walls and ceiling shimmered in crimson.

"There, now the walls have been warded against sound. We could scream our heads off and nobody outside would hear." Sherry said.

"Cool." Michael said.

...

..

"When's chow time on this tub?" Michael asked.

"Who knows. I do know that I don't want you eating anything I haven't personally inspected. The galleys on these ships are not known for being clean. As this room has proven." Sherry said.

"Yeah, I guessed that." Michael said dryly.

"No worries, I can purify it. I wouldn't dare let my beloved husband get sick~" Sherry said sweetly.

*Knockknockknock

"Speaking of..." Sherry said.

Michael went to the door and opened it. It was the same Gollum-like sailor as before.

"Grub." The sailor grunted.

And then he walked away.

"I'll get it sweetie. You stay here in the cabin." Sherry said.

"You sure? Those guys out there are..." Michael tried to say.

"I'm sure. Fear not, I know very well how to handle men~" Sherry purred.

And with that, she walked out and closed the door behind her. Michael shivered.

"Okay, I really didn't want that mental image." Michael muttered.

...

..

.

*Clickcreeeak

She walked back into the cabin with two bowls of food. Setting them on the table, she pulled up the chair and settled down across from Michael.

"Anyone bother you along the way?" Michael asked.

"Not a soul." Sherry said.

"Alright, that's good. Now let's see what we have here." Michael said.

He caught the edge of one of the bowls with the tip of his finger, and slid it closer. The contents weren't anything fancy. Just a simple steaming hot beef stew with hard tack on the side. Michael would have been just fine with it, but Sherry had other ideas.

"Watch this sweetie..." Sherry said.

First she produced one of the esbit stoves Michael had included with their camping gear. Laying it out on the table, she discarded the esbit fuel inside, and used her magic to create a little ball of fire. Then she poured both bowls into one of Michael's revereware pots. She cast all sorts of spells over the pot, none of which Michael understood. Once the food got boiling again (which didn't take long), she produced a spoon.

"Take a small taste. It's safe to eat." Sherry said.

So Michael took the spoon, and tasted the beef stew as it was.

"Okay, it's beef stew." Michael said casually.

"Uh huh... now watch me work my magic." Sherry said.

She produced little containers of seasonings from her pocket dimension, along with a few ingredients such as a mysterious type of cured pork, an unmarked wine or liquor bottle, garlic, and a tomato. She smashed the tomato until it was a paste, minced the garlic finely, carved a few thin slices of the cured pork, and threw everything in the pot with a dash of whatever was in the bottle.

"Mind if I see that?" Michael asked.

Sherry handed over the bottle, and Michael took a sniff.

"Brandy?" Michael asked.

"Close. It's Lescastian Cognac. I like to use it to liven up stews and broths. You must like it, you've been eating food made with it for months." Sherry said.

She stirred the pot for a few minutes, and then handed him the spoon.

"Now~... try it~" Sherry said, grinning.

Michael took a taste, and his eyes lit up.

"WHOA! That's damn good!" Michael exclaimed.

"And now you may eat it." Sherry said, smiling.

She used her magic to cleanse the original bowl, and then poured her new and improved beef stew in it. Michael dug in. While he ate, she took the hard tack and worked her magic on that as well.

"I'm not sure how you can save that." Michael said.

"Well... I'll have to cheat a little." Sherry said.

*Whoosh!

The hard tack puffed up in her hand, and became a fully raised and baked biscuit.

"When all else fails, magic." Sherry said.

She split it apart and slathered some honey between the two pieces, then handed it over to Michael. Propping her chin up on the table with her arm, she watched as Michael ate his meal.

"You're not having any? You really did make it good." Michael said.

"You're having both servings, and then I'm eating you~" Sherry purred.

Michael hesitated a moment...

"Yeah... of course. Duh." Michael said.

...

Several awkward moments passed.

...

"So maybe... now we should..." Michael and Sherry said at the same time.

"You first." Michael said.

"No no, I interrupted you." Sherry said.

...

"So maybe I could play the ocarina a little after dinner, if you don't mind waiting a bit for your... erm... meal." Michael suggested.

"Certainly sweetie, let me get it for you." Sherry said.

She slid her hand between her breasts, and fished around in her pocket dimension. After a few long moments of fishing around, she formed a worried expression.

"Is something wrong?" Michael asked.

"Oh dear, please don't be angry, but I think I left it at home." Sherry said.

"Aww, really? Man that sucks. I was really in the mood to play it. Could you open up a gateway right here, so we can pop back and get it real quick?" Michael asked.

Sherry's spine stiffened slightly.

"I uh... don't think..." Sherry stammered.

She saw his warm smile, and she sighed.

"I shall retrieve it for you." Sherry said.

"Great! And when you come back, be sure to bring Miranda and Akia with you. I'm sure we could hide them from the crew." Michael said cheerfully.

Backed into a corner from which there was no escape, Sherry raised her hand and activated the gateway ring.

*Niiiiirrrroooowww!

...

*CRACK!

*CRUNCH!

The gateway formed in the middle of the room, and then slid backwards until it hit the back wall of the cabin. Then it took a gateway sized bite out of the wood, and carved a hole out the back of the ship. Sunlight streamed in as the ship slowly sailed away from the stationary gateway.

"Frackfrackfrack! Fix it quick!" Michael exclaimed.

Sherry lashed her hand through the air, making the gateway disappear. Then she used magic to patch the hole in the wall.

*Knockknockknock!

"Oi! Hey in there! What was that sound?!" A sailor cried through the door.

"The gateway broke my sound wards!" Sherry exclaimed in hushed tones.

"Block the sound again!" Michael exclaimed in hushed tones.

Sherry raised a second hand, and blocked sound in the room while still repairing the wall. Bits of wood flew out of the water and melded together. Michael ran over to the bunk and kicked his foot through the lower bed. The bed planks broke with a loud CRACK. Meanwhile, Sherry was hoping that none of the sailors were looking towards the aft end of the ship.

...

Everything came together just as Michael opened the door. The sailors found Michael standing there with an arm full of broken bed slats.

"Sorry about the noise gentlemen, but the bed planks let go when I laid down." Michael lied.

They glanced towards Sherry, who was sitting down at the table had her hands clasped together as she tried to look as innocent as possible. The hole in the back wall was completely repaired. Michael showed the sailors the broken spot in the bed. They took the slats and left. A little while later, they knocked on the door and gave Michael new boards and a bill. Michael handed over a few coppers, and that was the end of that. It was better than explaining a six foot tall hole in the aft end of the ship.

"Whew, that was close." Michael said.

"In more ways than you know." Sherry said evasively.

...

..

.

He sank down into the chair at the table, and touched the side of his bowl.

"Well damn, the stew got cold." Michael said.

*Whoosh!

Sherry cast a fire spell, and the stew got hot again in no time. He took a bite, and it was delicious. As Michael ate, he looked out the porthole. A fluffy white cloud slowly drifted by.

"Well... we're on our way to the Mist." Michael said softly.

"Indeed." Sherry said.

...

"It's beautiful." Sherry said.

"The sea?" Michael asked.

Sherry nodded.

"The ocean smells better here than it does back home." Michael said, smiling faintly.

"Have you thought about living in this world permanently? Lescatie is very close to the sea, it wouldn't be difficult to visit it every day." Sherry suggested.

"Not really. I don't want to miss out on the Star Citizen release." Michael said.

"I see..." Sherry said, uncertain.

...

"As soon as I've formed his harem, he'll be too busy to do anything else but lay on his back and cum. So it won't matter where we live. He won't even notice when I drag him permanently to our home in Lescatie." Sherry thought.

...

*Scrapescrape

"All done with your stew?" Sherry asked.

"Yeah. Scraped clean." Michael said.

"Wonderful! Now go lay on the bed, take off your clothes, and spread your legs." Sherry instructed.

Michael formed a salacious grin.

"Okay, I can do that." Michael said, grinning.

So Michael crawled into bed without his clothes, and Sherry slid in next to him.

"Hmm, the bed is a little small for two of us." Michael said.

"I don't care. As long as I'm here with you, then nothing else matters. Nothing beyond the edge of this bed." Sherry said.

*Whooosh

A wall of blackness formed around the edge of the bed, rising up to the underside of the upper bunk. It entombed them together, blocking out everything outside, including the majority of light. When Michael reached out and probed the wall with his fingers, they sank into the gooey blackness with little effort. His fingers reappeared a few inches higher, coming right back out of the ink. They were effectively trapped inside until Sherry decided to end the spell.

"Oh my, you're trapped in a small space with a lewd succubus~ Whatever shall happen to you~?" Sherry teased.

"I'd better hold on, because this is going to be a hell of a ride." Michael said.

"Yes, it is." Sherry said, grinning devilishly.

...

..

.

.

.

.

~Meanwhile~

.

.

.

.

..

...

Akia found a nice grassy hill to stand on, somewhere near Fort Chell. She looked off into the distance, as the sun slowly set. Her crystal blue eyes trailed downwards, towards the Ocarina in her hands. Her fingers found the correct holes, and she slowly brought it up to her lips. And from the Ocarina came the most beautiful rendition of ~Kimi wo Nosete~ from Laputa Castle in the Sky. The tune echoed across the hills and valleys, fading into the night as the sun set. The last note to come from the ocarina was slightly off key, a slightly sour note. An imperfect note.