Galactic Empire

by Krocken

Summary:

Emperor Krocken is an all-powerful ruler of numerous worlds, along with his wife Schala, his daughter Sajah, and sisters Tina and Eilonwy. Though he can be dictator-like, he and his fellow leaders do try to lead properly, and can be reward to those of good faith. The futures involve ruling, warring, and defending from galactic monsters.

A series of loosely connected snippers and collabs showcasing the lives of the people

Chapter 1: Casting

Leader Class:
Krocken, Sajah (My OC's)
Schala (Chrono Trigger)
Tina (Borderlands)
Eilonwy (Black Cauldron)
Bowser, Bowser Jr., King Boo, Koopalings (Mario)
Settra, Mazdamundi, Alarielle, Vlad, Isabella, Thorgrim, Greasus (Warhammer Fantasy)
Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)
Elsa, Anna (Frozen)
Rachel Alucard (BlazBlue)
Ky, Dizzy (Guilty Gear)
Asgore, Toriel, Asriel, Female Frisk, Male Chara (Undertale)
Jon Snow, Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)
Raanu (Bioncle)
Paarthurnax (Skyrim)
Chel (El Dorado)
Kida (Atlantis)
Queen La (Tarzan)
Astaroth (Ghosts 'n Goblins)
Overlord (Monster Girl Encyclopedia)
Ty, Sly, Shazza (Ty the Tasmanian Tiger)
Ailish, Tal (Sudeki)
Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
Legendaries (Pokemon)

Inquistion:
Tsubaki (Blazblue)
Meta Knight (Kirby)
Adrastia (Warhammer 40k)
Axonn, Brutaka, Botar, Hydraxon, Jerbraz, Johmak, Tobduk, Trinuma (Bionicle)
The Penitent One (Blasphemous)
Mutos Reploids (Megaman Zero)
Pseudoroids (Megaman ZX)
Alexander Anderson (Hellsing)

Rogue Traders:
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, Robin, Franky, Brooks, Jinbe, Vivi, Hancock, Carrot, Pudding (One Piece)
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider
Tarduk (Boinicle)
Johnny, May (Guilty Gear)
Luthor Harkon (Warhammer Fantasy)

Mechanicus:
Samuel Hayden (Doom)
Belisarius Cawl (Warhammer 40K)
Sahmad, Telluris (Bionicle)
EVO (Space Station Silicon Valley)
Dr. Nefarious (Ratchet and Clank)
Elco (Sudeki)

Elite Members:
Rattlesnake Jake (Rango)
Zero, Ciel (Megaman Zero)
Billy, Rolly, Chick, Bantam (Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg)
Hornet, Grimm (Hollow Knight)
Ragna, Noel, Kokonoe, Jin, Makoto, Iron Tager, Bullet, Bang, Litchi, Valkenhayn, Nu-13, Mai (BlazBlue)
Sol, Faust, Millia, Zato-1, Jam, Potemkin, Chipp, Testamen, Baiken, Venom, Slayer, Jack-O (Guilty Gear)
Drifter (Hyper Light Drifter)
Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Xion, Namine, Lea, Ventus, Aqua, Terra (Kingdom Hearts)
Kirby, Dedede, Ribbon, Adeleine, Daroach, Magolor, Susie, Taranza, Francisca, Flamberge, Zan Partizanne (Kirby)
Thel 'Vadam, Tartarus (Halo)
Momo Hinamori (Bleach)
Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Gaster (Undertale)
Berix, Ackar, Kiina, Gresh, Gelu, Vastus, Tarix (Bionicle)
Link, Zelda, Revali, Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa (Breath of the Wild)
Beheaded (Dead Cells)
Spyro, Sparx, Hunter, Elora, Bianca, The Professor, Shelia, Sgt. Byrd, Bentley, Agent 9 (Spyro)
Crash, Coco, Crunch, Aku Aku, Polar, Purah (Crash Bandicoot)
Rayman, Globox, Ly, Teensies (Rayman)
Doomguy (Doom)
Johanna, Li-Ming, Kharazim, Nazeebo, Sonya, Valla, The Chosen (Diablo)
Fulgore, Riptor, Orchid, Glacius, Spinal, Sabrewulf (Killer Instinct)
Yooka, Laylee, Trowzer, Dr. Puzz (Yooka-Laylee)
Alucard, Seras (Hellsing)
Samus (Metroid)
Banjo, Kazooie, Mumbo, Humba (Banjo-Kazooie)
Kuroko, Hinako (Murcielago)
Gex
Charlie, Itchy (All Dogs go to Heaven)
San (Mononoke)
Firebrand (Demon's Crest)
Ecco (Ecco the Dolphin)
Crysta, Batty (Ferngully)
Kisuke, Momohime (Muramasa)
Maurie, Julius, Dennis, Duke, Rex, Ken (Ty the Tasmanian Tiger)
Bayonetta
Geralt (Witcher)
Holli Would (Cool World)
Esdeath (Akame ga Kill)
Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Krystal, Wolf, Leon, Panther (Star Fox)
Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo (Earthbound)
Jaina Proudmoore (WoW)
Robert Baratheon, Arya Stark, Bran Stark (Game of Thrones)
Tal'Set (Turok)
Regina (Dino Crisis)
Buki (Sudeki)
Ori (Ori and the Blind Forest)
Fighter, Dwarf, Elf, Amazon, Sorceress, Wizard (Dragon's Crown)
Arbiter (Foregone)
Kyhra (ScourgeBringer)
Bendy, Boris, Alice (Bendy)
Floor Guardians, Area Guardians, Pleiades (Overlord)

Harem:
Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan)
Constance (Sanjushi)
Kameo
The Handler (Monster Hunter)
Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Syrup, Mona, Merelda (Mario)
Lucy, Erza (Fairy Tail)
Jill Valentine (RE)
Badral (Aladdin 1982 anime)
Various Pokemon girls.
Yuffie, Tifa (FF7)
Astrid (How to Train your Dragon)
Mia, Jenna, Sheba (Golden Sun)
Charlotte, Sypha (Castlevania)
Foxy Roxy (Paws of Fury)
Kagome (Inuyasha)
Odette (Swan Lake anime)
Ramona, Knives (Scott Pilgrim)

Minions:
Kremlings, Gnawtys, Neckys, Zingers (Donkey Kong)
Sangheili, Jiralhanae (Halo)
Arachnids (Star Troopers)
Koopa Troop, Yoshis (Mario)
Tomb Kings, Lizardmen, High Elves, Vampire Counts, Dwarfs, Ogres (Warhammer Fantasy)
Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Adeptus Mechanicus, Officio Assassinorum, Inquisition, Eldar, Tau, Necrons (Warhammer 40K)
Monster Girls (Monster Girl Encyclopedia)
Monsters (Dragon Quest)
Dream Eaters (Kingdom Hearts)
Terminators
Pikmin
Gruntz
Pokemon
Rabbids (Rayman)
Bandits, Psychos (Borderlands)
Guardians (Breath of the Wild)
Gorn Warriors
D-Bee's, Aliens (Rifts)

Chapter 2: Info

Info
The Galactic Empire is a massive monarchy body spreading throughout the Galaxy, occupying a great number of worlds of all kinds. It is this organization that repels the threats of the people, as well as create order, make for entertainment, and prepare of wars.
Origins of how the Empire started are sketchy and mysterious, but it no longer matters. All the matters is the power it represents…

Society
Citizens of the Empire lead typically good lives, for as long they don’t do anything to that jeopardize the Empire, such as worshipping Dark Gods and Entities, people can live their lives as they wish. The various worlds and leaders also means cultures will be quite different from planet to planet.

One thing that many planets share is how clean they are. The Family does like the environments and ecology, and work in various ways to make sure clean energy sources are used, notably magic and the CIEL system. This allows for healthy lands and living.

Religion is a free thing (again, as long as one does not worship their enemies) and people follow a variety of Gods, each tailored to their own beliefs. Clashes can occur at times, but they are rare. Outright forcefulness and zealotry, however, is not tolerated by the authorities, and the punishment can be severe.

Traveling among planets is done in a variety of ways. Some do use a variety of ships in terms of battle and war, but these are usually in reserve. Most people tend to use rifts: wormholes that can get from one planet to another. Ships use fold space for FTL travel. Warp travel is considered obsolete.

The wide variety of worlds means a large variety of goods. Marketplaces are common around the Empire, selling almost anything that can be sold. These are neutral grounds, and violence is frowned upon.

Magic, psiconics, and technology all have a place in the Empire. They allow for wondrous and powerful abilities and machines. Without such wonders, the Empire could not function.

Snakes are a sacred animal in Empire culture. A symbol of power, renewal, wisdom, and deadliness. Sanke pets are all the rage.

A huge variety of species make up the Empire. Some planets hold a mix, others lean towards a specific type with a few others among them. Hybrids can and will occur.

Demons and Devils are a mixed bag. Those of darker dimensions (Warp, Hell, etc…) are considered enemies of all. However, those of the material realm are generally more stable, and can be allowed to join the Empire.

Entertainment is varied in the Empire. Some include 3-D chess games, jousting, racing in various forms, rollerball, hunting, fishing, gambling, an online game CrossCode, and much more. Not to mention pleasure houses…

Chromatic Dragons occupy an odd place in the Empire realms. Technically not part of the main body, they do operate either as merchants of mercenaries…for the right price.

 

Hierarchy
At the very top of the Empire leadership is the ‘Family’, a group of five individuals: The Emperor and the Empress, their daughter, and their sisters. These people are the supreme power of the Empire. All doors, research, weapons, entertainments, and worlds are open to them. People live and die by their words, and they are all highly intelligent, powerful, and skilled in the arts of ruling and warfare.

Many planets are governed by Leaders, powerful people who have complete control over their worlds. They vary in species and personality, but as long as they pay their dues and keep out the worship of the dark entities.

‘Elites’ is a catch-all term for those in high-ranking stations and/or power. While not leaders, they still enjoy positions and comfort, and many are also skilled warriors. Do not cross casually.

Merchants are those in charge of selling goods across the stars. They are often quite wealthy, owning their own fleets and stations.

Space Marines are various Chapters of genetically enhanced supersoldiers. They serve the Empire, but otherwise are independent of the system. Each Chapter have their own beliefs and tactics.

The Inquisition is another semi-independent force. These individuals act as a secret police force, slaying Evil Demons and heretics with extreme prejudice. Usually not working with each other, they each tend to have small private armies.

The Mechanicus is an odd cult of scientists. Once regressive, they have since managed regain their roots and learn to innovate. Tend to be very secretive.

Rogue Traders are explorers/conquerors who travel the stars to seek new worlds, find exotic beasts, and explore old ruins. Very wealth for the most part, and also own private armies.

Chapter 3: Family Profile

The Family, as they are called, are the 5 most powerful individuals of the Galactic Empire. All individuals-citizens, soldiers, Traders, Inquisitors, Elites, and Leaders-are beholden to them. Setting up the capital on the oceanic planet of Caladan, they rule coldly, yet fairly, not ones to give into petty emotions.

It should be noted that besides their skills in politics, military, and more leadership qualities, each member is a powerful fighter in their own right, and are never to be taken lightly. In addition, they appear to be ageless. And for all their ferocity, the people love and admire them.

 

Krocken: Emperor and sole male member of the Family. He appears as a large, featherless, indigo velociraptor, though his exact species in unknown. In fact, much of his history is shrouded in mystery. All that can be said is that he ‘appeared’ one day with an army of superhumans and inhuman creatures, and began a unification campaign across the Galaxy. It was quite fearsome, and many people, seeing opportunity, joined him and added to his ranks. Along the way, he took in Tina and Eilonwy, his sisters to be, and Schala, his future wife. Once the campaign was complete and the Empire established, they settled in Caladan, where Schala would later give birth to their daughter.

Krocken is a dry and severe individual, showing no mercy for his foes and no tolerance for traitors. He rarely leaves the planet, only going to other places during great emergencies or public events. He has even allowed the eating of criminals in his domain. Yet he is also fair, and makes sure all runs well in his Empire…not to mention he has little patience for corrupt nobles and bishops pestering him for more money and status. He also has a large sexual drive and a taste for the arts, and cares for his family.

He is a skilled swordsman, the katana Tasogare at his side nearly all the time. Tremendously strong and possessing a frigid ice breath, he uses all fo these to overwhelm his foes. And when the situation calls for it, he can unleash his powerful psychic abilities, of which he can bend and warp reality and minds to his will.

 

Schala: Empress of the Empire, Schala is a blue-haired human female. Her story is one of darkness: She was the daughter and eldest child of the line of Zeal, her mother being her only parent figure after her father died while both she and Janus were young. From there, Queen Zeal, seemingly losing her mind, took to raping her own daughter on a regular basis. Schala, traumatized, took to her studies on magic, learning much…and gaining much, adding by her growing rage. Then, as a young adult, Krocken came to her world in his conquests…and the two felt an attraction. An alliance was formed, and Schala felt her full potential be unlocked. Overthrowing and converting her mother, she and Krocken soon took their place at the top of the new society.

Schala is even more severe and harsh than her husband, resulting from a childhood of trauma and pain. A moody person to anyone outside her family, she dwells mostly on the capital planet just like her husband, leaving when needed. She spends her time, when not ruling, honing her skills, spending time with her husband and daughter, listen/watch performing arts, and engaging in sexual acts. Despite her cold personality, she can be incredibly rewarding to those who come through for her.

Schala is the most powerful archmage in the Empire. Her skill is magic can allow her to do practically anything, from controlling elements, shapeshift, summon monsters, bed reality, and much more. She can even increase her power by absorbing spell books and cards to add to her list.

 

Sajah: Daughter of Krocken and Schala, Sajah is the crown Princess of the Empire. Born after the main founding of the Empire, she grew up in the Palace itself. As she grew, she showed a natural talent for multiple fields of science and mathematics. This trait was allowed to grow and nurture, and Sajah founded many institutions to aid in the development of the Empire.

Far from a ‘royal brat’, Sajah is actually a cold, dour, humorless, logical individual. Very work focused, she spends much of her time in her fortress-lab, experimenting and creating projects. Unlike her family, she does engage in sexual activates often, and usually keeps intelligent people around her. Yet beneath her cool demeanor likes a raging beast, boiling within. Usual kept under control, if pushed too far, she could go on a berserk rampage. It should also be noted that she needs reasons-good reasons- to do cruel acts of sciences…and she enjoys rock music.

Sajah is extremely intelligent, gifted in multiple fields of knowledge, notably biology, mathematics, engineering, chemistry, zoology, archeology, paleontology, physics, and more. She is capable of crating and modifying various machines and lifeforms to fit with the Empire. Though very strong physically and have the powers of magic and psionics, she prefers to uses guns and tech for her battles.

 

Eilonwy: One of the two sisters of the Emperor/Empress and a High General of the Empire, Eilonwy’s origins are that of a fall, then rise. She was originally a princess of a small regional kingdom on a simple planet…and then came the forces of Chaos, wiping out her home and family. She, along with others, was to be a sacrifice to the Ruinous Powers…and she was to be the main course, the last to be sacrificed. But before her time was up, Krocken came in and he and his army slaughtered the cultists. She was found and taken in by the raptor as a sister and leader of the armed forces, a task she does with her sister/lover, Tina.

Eilonwy has a rather ethereal personality. Sly, sing-song, calm, graceful, and composed at all times. At least, this is what she puts up. While it is true, she is also bloodthirsty, sadistic, clever, and lecherous towards other females. A devious streak runs through her, and she always has some cruelty reserved for her enemies. She, along with her sister, founded the harem program to indulge in their (and the Emperor’s and Empress’) sexual needs.

While not on Schala’s level, Eilonwy is a powerful mage with powers over shapeshifting, light, darkness, poison, and death. A necromancer to the extreme, she can control armies of corpses, and can summons scythes to wield in battle, as well as melt into shadow.

 

Tina: ‘Tiny’ Tina is the other High General and sister of the Emperor. Growing up with her original family in a shantytown, she tinkered with techs and bombs to pass the time…which allowed her to survive a Skaven attack that killed everyone she knew. Mentally shocked and traumatized, she wandered the wastes, managing to survive…and was found by Krocken. Impressed by her durability, he took her in as a sister. Over the years, she grew into a rather…buxom form, and began a relationship with her sister Eilonwy.

Loud, crass, and boisterous, Tina is a fearsome individual who is far smarter than she looks/acts. Able to seduce many to lure them in for the kill, she is utterly unashamed of her sexual nature. Willing to do anything (short of killing her own people) to achieve her goals, she shows the madness and cunning don’t have to interfere with each other.

Tina lacks true magic, but is enormously strong, able to smash right through machines with ease. Her skill with explosives and close-combat weaponry is top-notch. And while lacking true magic, she can use the Hamon/Ripple arts to enhance her attacks and weapons.

Chapter 4: Planets of Note

Crown Worlds

Caladan: This is the capital planet of the Empire, and home of the Family. This is a oceanic world, mostly water, with the largest landmass being the location of the Imperial Palace, the colossal castle that serves as the headquarters and home of the rulers. A clean, rich planet, it is here where the high-rankers gather for major events. As expected of the capital planet, it is heavily defended, and brooks no invasion.
The oceans of the world are filled with sea monsters and various fish, allowing for widespread fishing to occur for food and profit. It’s a dangerous occupation in the open sea area, and only the toughest are able to go out to fish.
The capital landmass also boasts a vast marketplace. While larger ones exist, this market still boasts impressive goods and services, if one knows where to look. Always busy around the clock.

Arrakis: Commonly known as Dune, this is a planet that is covered by deserts and canyons. Home to the Fremen, a hardy folk known for their fearsome fighting skills, even among children.
The planet is beset by electrical storms that are hazardous enough. But the true dangers are the native sandworms, massive worms that dig through the sands, producing a special type of spice that functions as a specialized energy sources for certain seers and navigators. As such, casually killing them in forbidden by law.

Phase World: A temperate world, dominated by small towns and farmlands. It would have been considered a typical planet if not for one thing: Center.
Center is a massive artificial mountain, said to be built by the ancient Kaiju. True or not, it is a wonder of architecture and engineering. A massive indoor city, it hosts shipyards, shopping centers, residence, entertainment, sports, and more. It is said anything can be bought and experienced here, if one knows where to look.

Gielinor: A multi-biome world in a medieval state, this planet, commonly called Runescape, is known for its wide variety of tasks and skills, as well as goods to trade and work with. Entertainment and dueling grounds can also be found here in this wide world.
Dangerous monsters also populate the world, yet brave warriors keep them at bay. However, it is recommended casual citizens do not travel too far north or east of the planet.

Gourmet World: A massive planet known for both high-quality food and very dangerous animals. Food is a key part of the culture, and the best (and hardest to get, due to the dangers of hunting) of such meals cost quite a fortune.
The world is divided into two main zones. The ‘Safe Zone’ covers 30 percent of the planet. Citizens can inhabit this zone in relative safety, though many dangerous places still fill the area.
The other 70 percent in the ‘Gourmet Zone’. A exceedingly dangerous area with powerful animals and extreme weather, it is also home to delicious foodstuff. Only the strong and adaptable can travel here.

Pandora: A tough, rugged world, this mostly arid world, pocketed with other environments, is not a casual place. In fact, some people see it as a deathtrap. However, it’s a vital planet for several reasons.
Resources are oddly plentiful here, and weapon manufacturing is a prime occupation here. In addition, the various beasts can be tamed for war animals, while local bandit populations, toughened by their lives here, make for good soldiers.
And above all, the mysterious substance, Eridium. It is still being studied.

Wyveria: A slightly underdeveloped world, this planet is well-known for the population of powerful and wild monsters, notably the wyverns. The power of such monsters makes them ideal for war beasts, as well as fighting/hunting them to train warriors.
The hunted monsters, aside from food, are able to be carved up into special weapons and armor, used in both hunts and war. A guild is made to prevent overhunting, and poaching is strictly illegal.

Black Mesa: This arid world is home to the Black Mesa Research Facility. This massive underground complex, owned by High Princess Sajah, is dedicated to the various fields of science, always learning and adapting technology and ideas.
Scientists live in the complex. To make up for this, they have comfortable dorms and plenty of entertainment during down time. Food courts are also scattered about the area.

Cadia: A rather vital world, this planet stands as the threshold of Chaos territory. As such, it is heavily fortified, and almost all people here are soldiers, ready to defend against Demon invasions.
For obvious reasons, casual travel here in not allowed. Only officials and military forces can visit the planet.

4546B: Also known as Subnautica, this oceanic planet boasts a wide diversity of life, and is also being used as a research world. Several small sea bases dot the planet, relying on clean energy to avoid pollution.
Fish are harvested here for food, pets, exhibit, or study. In addition, the plant life can be used for food and medicine. New tech from an extinct alien race are also being found and studied here.

Ark: A feral planet, this is a planet of several islands, each a dangerous ecosystems of animals, chief among them dinosaurs and their kin. A dangerous world, yet excellent for mounts, warbeasts, and companions, as well as certain livestock.
In addition, it serves a place various groups of potential fighters/elites can train and develop skills in the wilderness. Naturally, the Family is not responsible for injury or death.

Gungeon: Most of this planet is mountainous, except for a single structure that gives the world its name. The Gungeon is a vast and always shifting dungeon, notably for the sheer diversity of firearms. Melee weapons are frowned upon here.
Many fighters and elites go here to collect weapons, then leave via teleports. Though some would claim a great treasure lies at the bottom of the dungeon.

Space City: A technological world, this is where the finest spaceships are built. While it is true many other planets build spaceships, it here the best are made, for the family and other leaders.
Ships come in a variety of sizes and designs, even exotic, based on the tastes of the requesters.

Jumanji: A jungle world, no civilization livers here as it is extremely dangerous. The vast jungles holds host to deadly flora and fauna, all designed to kill intruders. A good place for hunting if one has permission, though.
The planet is also used as training ground for units fighting in hostile jungle environments. Death rate is high, but results show quite well.

Noteworthy Planets

Mars: The homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a group of scientists, technicians, and engineers. Originally somewhat backwards and regressed, a change in leadership, via Samuel Hayden, has allowed it to developed much faster and learn new things. They are responsible for weapons of war, Servitors, and other mechanical soldiers.

Manus Dira: Also known as the Fell Realm, this is a dreaded planet to all who know of it. The main landmasses are Lodran, Drangleic, Lothric, Yharnam, Sengoku Japan, Cvstodia, the Hamlet, and the Island of Salt. A hellish realm of death, pain, and darkness, full of monsters and odd mutations. The planet is never truly day, only either night or a dusk twilight.
Casual travel is strictly forbidden. In fact, it is not even of most maps, data only able to be purchased by officials and high-rankers, looking for weapons, treasure, or potential recruits.

Hyrule: A wolrd of nature and towns, Hyrule is a beautiful place. Named after the main landmass, Hyrule is a beautiful world, mostly nature with scattered settlements. Despite the population of monsters, the people work hard to live their lvies.
Aside from Hyrule itself, the other regions include Termina, Koholint Island, Holodrum, Labrynna, and Hytopia.

Unterzee: Also called the Sunless Sea, this world is somewhat barren on the surface, with the actual importance beneath: A vast underground ocean, with many islands. The capital is known as London, and here is where voyages to the islands are made.
The citizens, living underground for so long, do not like the sunlight, wearing cloaks when they need to travel out. The sea is full of wonders…and nightmares.

Vanwa: A mystical, beautiful, yet deadly world of magic and adventures. The three main regions are Hydeland, Erion, and Honshu. The treasures and monsters here draw many to seek glory and adventures.

Gorn: A desert world, full of arenas, the Gorn people are vat-grown men, dumb, yet fearless and tough. When not fighting wars, they are fighting in arenas, killing each other, with more always being created. A place where many go to have bloody fun.

Dragon Realms: Home of the Somnic Dragons, this is a highly magical world of various races, living in peace with each other. They are cultivators in arts and gems, and form a solid trade base.
One of the major regions is known as Avalar, a place of mighty castles and deep magic. A group of Empire heroes are known to live here.

Rogue Streets: A hive city, Rogue Streets was a corrupt mess, and could not seem to be fixed. So the Leaders came up with a idea: Found a revolution, covertly organize and fund them, and then secretly film the resulting anarchy. Survivors are taken to be soldiers, and the process repeats. A huge source of entertainment.

Sabbath: Home Planet of the Monster Girls, this multi-biomed world is rich with magic and lust. The Monsters Girls are powerful magic users, and are a staple in the army of the Empire. When not fighting, they are indulging in sexual acts with partners and each other.

Mushroom Kingdom: A vast, multi-biome world, named for the main region. Currently controlled by Bowser, this planet offers many regions and services, from food, training grounds, entertainment, and more. A popular place for leisure.

Sudeki: A beautiful world of technology and magic mixed together, with biomes of forest, caves, mountains, beaches, plains, and more. Here are the techmages of the Empire, also providing with weapons and stones of power.

Glade of Dreams: A beautiful, lush world, pulling with magic and wonders. A wide variety of fey live here, always practicing their craft, living in grand temples. Notably, dreams and nightmares are studied here.

Sea of Thieves: A oceanic planet with no continents, only islands. Full of sailors and adventurers, the shifting nature of islands and magic treasure draws many. Major islands include Sartosa, Monkey Island, and Mêlée Island, Beware the sea monsters and dark voodoo.

Wonderland: A foul planet where law and order are nearly nonexistent, and logic is an afterthought. The people are known to be crazy and violent, yet the planet holds a wealth of minerals. Prisoners are taken here to mine them...assuming they survive.

Poke: The homeland of the Pokemon. A very natural and diverse world, the various regions here are headed by the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, with Arceus at the to. Able to fulfill a diversity of roles, Poke has many resources at the disposal.

Jurassic: A feral world that never left the stone age, it is populated by savage tribes and aggressive, monstrous animals. The planet is harsh and unforgiving, and only the tough thrive.

Abzu: A oceanic world, teeming with life of all sorts. Used a site of study and mediation, pollution and hunting is illegal here.

Ferngully: A massive jungle/rainforest covers the planet, a world of nature and life. Inhabited by fairies that can control and feel nature, it is not allowed to log here...notably in the place where a foul god is said to be sealed.

Ghoul Realm: A dread place filled with monsters loyal to the Empire. The sun does not shine here, yet life thrives in a dark way. The fiends and such that live here are cruel in nature, yet loyal to the Empire as a whole.

Rain World: A planet of a ruined civilization, it is now inhabited by various wild creatures. Of note is that for most of the time, crushing rain falls, and each season lies a brief dry spell for life to hunt for food.

Spherus Manga: A planet of multiple ecosystems and biomes. The intelligent techno-organic inhabitants work to create mystics tools for trade.

Chapter 5: Chaos in the Realms

The Empire, as it was called, was a massive force to be reckoned with. Spreading out of many planets over several systems, it formed a powerful entity of trade, battle, entertainment, and more.

The capital, Caladan, was an ocean world, with a nice environment and rich foundations, home to many schools, libraries, marketplaces of the bizarre, stadiums, and more...

...and the Palace. Headquarters of the Empire.

Caladan City was the seat of power on the planet. And it was also the home of the deadly sport known as Rollerball. Lethal and bloody, it was still civilized enough to stand apart from the various gladiator games that Emperor Krocken had outlawed.

It was a big game tonight, season finale. That meant that the Emperor and his Empress would be stepping out for the pre-game ceremonies.

The people of Caladan City were abuzz with excitement.

Many had gathered here today...and ready to watch the teams do some crazy things. Next best thing after loss of gladiator games...and although those were done for, some beast fights were still allowed, notably for executions.

In the local watering hole, the bartender, Moe, was having a fight with one of the patrons. "I told ya, Robert, I don't want yer sorry ass in my bar!" Moe shouted at the man in armor.

"And you can eat a mountain of dicks, Moe!" shouted Robert Baratheon, Death Knight of Krocken, "My money is good! So bring me ale and have one for my friend!"

Once a healthy noble man, Robert had fallen in hard times in the past, and almost died...but Eilonwy, a sister of the Emperor and Empress, had revived him and turned him into what he was know...though, while powerful, was not even close to her own dark/death/light powers.

"It ain't your money," Moe snapped, "You smashed the fuck outta my bar, I want you out."

Robert snapped and slapped the back of the woman next to him. "Take some of my money and stick it up your yellow ass. I want ale and my friend Mikasa will have the same or stronger!"

She glared at the man. Mikasa had the nice rank of Harem Mistress, second to the sisters Tina and Eilonwy. This man was uncouth...but could be good in a fight.

"Enough!" Tartarus strode over, the Brute Chieftain ready to make sure things did not get ugly. "The Leaders do not like this behavior." The hulking, grey furred creature clenched the gravity hammer in his vast paws. "Moe, serve the Death Knight and the Harem Master." He growled, "Please."

instantly, Moe went pale. Knowing full well Tartarus's reputation for extreme violence at the drop of a hat.

"Yes, right away. And I'll even get a goat roasted for you and your people," Moe stuttered.

Tartarus nodded as he sat down on a chair of his own. He needed a drink to soothe himself as well.

Simply last week, he had to find some heretics trying to work with Abyss Demons. Slew every one of them, then went hunting on Fenris to keep himself ready again.

Tartarus' rage was a carefully tended fire. He was angry all the time, but he needed to lower the heat sometimes. The giant jug of spirits was a welcome relaxant. He took a pull from liquor that could knock out a horse and closed his eyes with satisfaction.

The games would be starting soon. Good. While deaths had been toned down from the past, blood was always shed. Good, he liked it.

Deaths in Rollerball were mostly accidental. Mostly. What Tartarus really enjoyed about it was the level of skill involved and teamwork.

Brutes lived as pack. They hunted in packs, while their females defended their homes and worked heavy industry as packs. While their culture had plenty of reverence for heroism, there was a special place in hell for a fool who let his pride get in the way of the pack's glory.

Let's see how many fools were here today...

Team Fortress were the favorites. Known informally as RED Team, they were pros at the game of rollerball. And experts at smashing faces in when the referee wasn't looking.

And sometimes even that was overlooked for the hell of it.

The other team?

The other team was the Springfield Isotopes. The owner, Monty Burns, had padded out the team with war criminals to get them to the finals,

Mikasa smiled, “This will be bloody.”

And people drawn from all over the stars also meant good business. The market place here had...almost everything. Goods, arts, tattoos, music, exotic animals, paints, odd foods, books, and more.

One thing the empire had going for it was entertainment.

There was never a shortage.

People began to gather into the stands, most going into general seats, others going into their special balconies.

A team of fighters, Drifter, Hornet, and the Beheaded were among those with their own box, the Beheaded petting his War Owl pet.

The rules were mostly simple for Rollerball. Teams ran around a track on rollerskates, using motorcycles to gain some speed. They would then try to grab a metal ball and throw it into a goal, which was periodically fired out of a cannon.

Several players had died this season when they failed to catch the ball and it crushed their chest.

Drifter proudly wore the colors of the Team Fortress, while the Beheaded dressed for the Isotopes.

Both were allies, yet rivals at times.

Hornet wore neither, the stoic insectoid simply watching.

The games served a purpose. Most of the teams came from the poorest members of society. Even those who were crippled would have a pension and a place of honor. Krocken saw to it that men and women who risked their lives were rewarded. Same with soldiers, fishermen and police.

Service and risk brought reward. Cowardice was punished.

And outright treason? Death...or worse.

But now it was getting exciting, as the royal family (and perhaps the some of the sisters 'little girls') would be showing up soon.

The dancing girls were customary for this kind of thing. Nearly nude, dressed like belly dancers, they were a huge improvement over previous cheerleaders. The grace and beauty of the dance was almost as wonderful as the bloody violence.

This selection, who would be coming with the family, were Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, and Lillie.

They were all trained in the arts of sex. With men, women and wild Pokémon. Each of them had more mileage on them than Space Marines had kills. But it made them more desired.

A virgin would weep or giggle, but a whore could fuck for years and years with the right training.

And to mistake them for brainless bitches was a...bad mistake.

The royal sex workers had many talents. Some were spies and assassins. Some were fully trained doctors. Some held PHD's and performed research into sex and gender.

They were all held in the highest regard.

Ah, the crowd heard the horns of the royal approach.

And soon, the crowd went silent as the family came into the main box.

Emperor Krocken was not a nice man, by any stretch. His wife less so. But they were loved.

Clad in black, he was a perfect mirror to his wife, dressed in scarlet with fur and feathers.

They were severe, brutal even. But in the midst of violence chaos and murder, they were gods, they were heroes.

And they DID care about their realm, and family. Krocken wore his black proudly, carved from scales and fur of dreaded beasts, the same with Schala.

Krocken's title was Emperor. After that he was First Citizen. Beyond that he was nothing. People could turn their back on him if they so desired. He had no illusions of his own divinity, and asked no one else call him divine.

Same went for his wife Schala. A woman raped by her mother since she was a child.

It was that honesty, which cultivated a sense of loyalty that most dictators and tyrants could only dream of.

And behind them caught their beloved grown daughter, Sajah...though one could easily mistake her parents as her older siblings.

Sajah was a genius of the highest level, mastering is practically every scientific field, creating wondrous advancements...and nightmarish creations as well. Sajah, in fact, could be stone cold at times.

She was one of the leading scientific minds of this Empire, and also the Mastermind behind the game of Rollerball. It was she who stopped the fighting pits of Meereen, and the gladiatorial games of old.

Ruthless a she was, sadism was not in her DNA. As some madmen with pointless acts of 'science' discovered the hard way.

Next were the sisters...

Eilonwy and Tiny Tina were legends unto themselves. Tiny Tina was tiny in name only. With JJ cup augmented breasts and an ass as wide as two women, she was the ideal hourglass shaped beauty.

Eilonwy herself was a willowy female of smoldering and terrifying beauty.

Both were known for sexuality and bravery. Eilonwy known for magic, and Tina known for explosives.

And had several titles, notably being Generals in the Empire's armies.

While Schala was the great magic user (one of the best in the known Galaxy) in fact, Eilonwy was skilled herself, also being able to shapeshift, as well as power of darkness, light, posion, and necromancy. Tina was destruction personified, willing to crush her foes under explosives.

Both sisters were crazed and bloodthirsty on the battlefield.

And at home, were the owners of the harem.

They spearheaded the harem programs.

They changed the culture so almost every girl wanted to grow up to be a harem girl.

Devious...

And Eilonwy had another great claim to fame: She was a leading expert in the study of Evil Demons.

She bore the scars of a Chaos cult.

She dedicated her life to eradication of the Demon menace.

Going so far as to enlist the aid of slightly less malevolent entities.

She smiled as the selected harem girls came forward with them, as well as some elite Lamia guards.

Place was crowded today.

Eilonwy had no interest in the games, unlike her sister/lover, Tina.
But she did like the idea behind it. It was...somewhat peaceful...

Ah, but soon, the games were starting. People were still getting settled in, seeing the dogs and casino owners Charlie and Itchy for bettings.

The crowd jumped as Red Spy got smashed into the boards by Drederick Tatum. The odds on the Isotopes jumped five points.

Suddenly, Scout snatched the ball from him, speeding like lightning.

He needed no motorcycle. He had his feet and-

Snake Jailbird, on his own motorcycle, sped by and snatched the ball away. "Thanks, lil' man!"

Snake sped towards the goal as his teammates Corporal Punishment and Groundskeeper Willie smashed aside Soldier and Engineer on roller skates.

It was bloody, but compared to the gladiator games, it was civilized.

And many were screaming for blood.

The Emperor and Empress watched on, wondering which team would be victorious.

Despite what some thought, such games did...fascinate them.

There was one final point to this.

Only the Emperor had supreme power over life and death.

It was for nobody else but his trusted agents to dole out.

All eyes watched the game go by fast, with blood and teeth everywhere in the arena.

The game was civilized, but not easy.

The janitors worked hard to remove bloodstains after each game.

And soon, after 30 minutes, it was down to the final point of the game! This was it! Time to be blessed...or die.

This was the season finale, so the stakes were unspeakably high, with the medics on either side working furiously and neigher giving an inch.

In battle of wills they were even, skill would be the deciding factor.

Sweat, blood, and more were all throughout the arena. Time to do or die. Scout had the ball once more, and he was speeding to the goal...

There was ten seconds on the clock and each team was tied. If this went on, they would go into overtime and starving bears would be released onto the ring.

Or worse, Owlbears!

Snake tried to keep up with Scout, but the quickstep's desire to be promoted (and live) fueled him. He dodged the blows, all the shouts and…

SCORE!

In the luxury booth, Krocken's people saw Monty Burns try to flip over his serving tray. Hilariously failing and having his manservant Smithers do it for him.

The man had spent years, even before his old age, trying to use money to compensate for all his shortcomings. He also never forgave Emperor Krocken for forcing him under paid of death to bring his Nuclear Plants up to code.

Really it would just cut short the old man's humiliation by ending his life.

As Red Team were escorted to the winner's podium, Owlbears were set upon Blue Team and as part of the tradition, they'd have to fight their way out.

Nothing illegal about fighting animals. As this happened, the five leaders looked down and spoke.

“All have done well today,” Krocken announced. “But it is Team Fortress who earn glory and prestige today! Team Fortress, I bestow upon you the Champions Crown,” his voice was austere and solemn “Enjoy the pleasures of my Empire!”

They would get many privileges, from their own small fleet to war beasts, some created by Sajah. Adulation and hero worship would follow them. A stack of new mothers would name their babies Scout.

Even in prisons, people got to see the game.

But alas, all things came to an end...and all began file out, with the five leaders heading back to the main castle.

Guards saluted the royals, for they were masters of the realm. Supreme overlords over every soul in it and the bulwark against Demonic forces.

The castle itself was a massive structure...more inside due to ability to control space, making the place bigger on the inside...and be able to be altered to like anything, form exotic rooms, to jungle, grottos, and more.

It houses the Council of Lords and the council of the commons. It also held meeting rooms for the Small Council and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

But nowadays, things were calm...and the five were alone at the moment, aside from the large amount of snakes that lived in the place as well.

The serpent was the totemic animal of Empire dynasty. A symbol of power as well as renewal and resurrection

And now, the family gathered to talk on events.

"So...another game, another unit," Sajah mused. "I liked it. Mathematically speaking the teams were evenly matched. It was only chance that saw victory for one or the other."

"Well you can do everything right and still lose," laughed her father.

Schala stoked a large python draped over her shoulder. "Still, it adds to our power, however little. The more people we have, the more we can monitor."

"True," Krocken nodded. "Never know when things could come up… We've a hunting trip," he said suddenly, "But first you, Sajah, have a meeting with the Council of Commons. You are to present and defend your new research in the name of medical research and military defense."

She bowed, "Yes, father,"

"Good," he smiled, "Don't want you slacking off on royal duties."

Sajah would bring her team of scientists with her. Hopefully Winry and Berix wouldn't get bored again and sneak off to fuck in some corner.

Docked a day's pay for that.

Being a leader meant doing paperwork and talking to the mayors and Council Leaders of the smaller outposts and elected townships as well as the nomad chiefs and tribal leaders. They were not always scientifically literate. But that was why her father pushed out of her comfort zone, to be a better communicator, to read a crowd and communicate complex topics in easy to understand ways.

Sure, she rather be in her lab, either here or in Black Mesa...but still, it was good.

She looked over to her aunts, on royal cushions with some of their concubines.

She wasn't nearly as sexual as them, but a good hard fuck at the end of the day let her know what it was all for.

Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina were the ones here right now, spoils of a victory, with the world given to a skilled, if hot-headed, warlord by the name of Bowser.

Peach would not bend the knee, neither would her kin. So Krocken moved to destroy them. Such was the natural order of things.

For all his faults, Bowser did bend the knee.

And now, here they were, fully into their role.

No sense blowing up an entire planet. The world was full of life, love, nature, entertainment, and more. Blowing it up would be a waste of it all.

There were some times where the whole population of a planet had to be sacrificed. Only if there was no other way.

But there were times when Exterminatus was called for. Like the world of the Land Before Time was destroyed by the so-called Hunger Virus, a disease which raised up zombies that were fully sentient and possessing all the former person's skills and powers. Worse yet, the virus was intelligent and manipulated its hosts to infect super powered beings to spread itself and gather more food and more victims.

A few proved immune, thought, and mechanical soldiers managed to get them off the planet. But a cure for the infected could not be found. It was sad, as it was natural, grand world...but no other choice remained.

Krocken personally appeared for the execution of a whole world and the billions who could not be evacuated.

Many close friends of his were infected. He himself dealt the killing blows, blasting them apart with psychic energy and releasing their soul from the rotting flesh prison they’d been confined to.

His personal guard of Terminators watched with unflinching, unfeeling red eyes.

And though he had a stoic expression...he felt the pains of millions run through him. Such was the price of being lord of the Galaxy...

This Galaxy was a . . . raw place. If it had been designed intelligently by some god, then it was designed in anger. Its formation and seeding of life was an act of spite for those who had to suffer.

Unlike other would-be tyrants, he had no illusions he was good. His work had value, his family had value.

But for now, the order his armies and laws brought were better than the grinding chaos of the raw, unfinished Galaxy.

And some would say they were products of the environment.

Schala was no exception. Being tied down her bed almost every night every since she was young, her mouth gagged, and her mother grinning almost like a deranged hyena as she had her way with her little girl.

It was part of what drove her to lobotomize her mother. Leave her a shambling Servitor unable to feel. In that sense, it was the most fitting punishment.

It fit with Schala's sense of justice. Or lack of a sense of justice. More often than not she egged her husband to greater fits of anger, to protect his Empire and family.

And ironically, she also bound and gagged the harem girls...though she made it a point to show them care and affection as well.

Schala's sex appetite was boundless, notorious even. She often rode her husband raw until he was tempted to beg her to stop.

But there was vulnerability in her too. And he was the only man she ever showed it too.

Right now, it was time to rest before going to the world of Dauntless to hunt and-

"MY LORD AND LADIES!" Yooka, with Laylee on his head, burst into the room. "Bad news!"

Krocken exhaled, suddenly and selfishly mourning his lost hunt. "What is it, you two? Please don't be dramatic."

Laylee flutterd. "Jon Snow has contacted us for aid. A Chaos Incursion is forming!"

"Oh, gods..." Krocken groaned. "Just what I need right now. If it's not Devils, its Demons!"

"Does my husband shy from his duty?" Schala's sharp voice cut through the air, "Does my husband feel tired?"

Krocken didn't take it personally, "Does any other man please you better than I do?"

A smart remark was on her lips, but she stopped.

"Convene the war council," Krocken ordered, "Mobilize the militia units and get Special Forces on the go."

"Well, something to blow up!" Tina snickered. "That'll get us worked up for later fucking!"

"Yes, how joyful," Sajah muttered dryly.

"I do so love my sister," Eilonwy smiled, "And I would hate for her to get all the fun, we can make a good game of it."

"You can fuck afterwards," Krocken muttered, "If I'm feeling generous, you may get in bed with my wife."

Schala smiled as all began the summons, calling both leaders and warriors in the area...and so...

Among the leaders was Sylvanas Windrunner, a high-ranking general and undead Elf. A cold, pragmatic being, her high track record had given her numerous resources and some planets of her own.

"Looks like the upcoming committee about replacing coal firing plants with the Ciel Engine will be postponed," Sylvanas smirked.

"Yes," said a deflated voice, as Ciel herself looked besides herself, "Curse the Chaos Demons. While we dally with them, those coal plants will harm the hunting grounds around them."

"So help us kill them, my dear," Sylvanas cooed to the young scientist.

She even stroked her cheek, to which the scientist blushed, while her Ciel's lover, Zero, sighed. He knew it was good to share, and it was all agreed on, but still...

Another person brought in was Doomguy, a...man who was a top slayer of many Hostile Demons. Funny enough, he did get along well with the Allied Demons, and they often worked together...

Still, he was a man of actions, not words. Hell, no one knew if he could even speak...but his actions were all that were needed.

By the swagger in his step and the clenching of his fist, his rage showed. And that was before you looked into his visor and saw the seething psychotic hate he held for anything demonic.

"House Stark stands with you," uttered a growling voice, like a man who'd had his throat slit but survived. A tall man in an iron wolf mask stood tall. John Snow of the North. A far cry from the idealistic youth he once was.

Some said the death of his love Daenerys drove him mad. Turning him from Ned's bastard to the Mad Wolf, as he was known now.

But hey, what could one do?

Other would meet them en route...the Keybladers, Hyrule Champions, the Nephalems...all designed to kill demons...

And across the room were Alucard and Seras, two obscenely powerful fighters of the Empire.

Alucard was one of the last master vampires. Twisted and insane, highly evil. The only check on his bloodlust was a magic seal and his own desire for a challenge before he truly died.

His once fledgling Seras was his master now, the owner of his seal. Powerful in her own right, she was brutal, ruthless, but cruel with purpose.

And her giant titties were a fabulous asset in smothering play in the bed.

Seras was regular in the harem game, often taking some for herself.

Alucard...did not have such things. He just liked killing. That said, he WAS loyal to his leaders...just snarked about.

More or less he gave lip to anything or anyone who gave him orders. He was childish that way. All he needed was a powerful woman to stomp on him like a disobedient dog.

"Got a new bunny, Doom Slayer?" he smirked at the silent figure in power armor. "I may have to spit roast the rabbit when I'm done drinking its blood."

The Doomguy's hand shot out and pulled the eyeglasses off Alucard's face, without scratching them.

Amused, Alucard smiled wider, flashing shark like teeth. "I honestly hate that we're on the same side."

"Enough," Krocken voice caught their attention. "You will all have enough to rip things apart later. As we know, mages are holding the incursion back, and we have to be there when the Demons break through. Warp ones, this time...and which God?"

"This is a host of Nurgle," Laylee whimpered with fear. "They're corrupting the local villages and small market towns and they're using water and air currents to spread pestilence and disease."

"Ah, biological warfare," Alucard laughed, "Not to my taste but I admire its efficiency."

"And I admire the power of fire to cleanse the infection," Jon Snow clenched an armored fist.
Armor and magic would help shield the warriors from diseases, which was good.

"Oh, my...having fun?"

It was Kuroko Koumori who spoke, just entering the room. A tall, pale, black haired woman with a nice rack.

Now SHE had a history. A serial killer, with 715 kills at the LEAST, she was a deadly warrior and gunwoman. She was caught in a sting...but the leaders, impressed by her skills, actually offered her a place in the army, which she accepted.

Fighter and lover of women, a regular to the harem.

Seras scowled at the woman, her red eyes glowing. Her fangs peaked out as an anger reflex. For her blood drinking nature, she was fairly protective of the girls and men she fucked.

"Just think of all those poor victims of the Plague God," the former serial killer giggled. "If only we could somehow end their suffering." At that, her head spun around like an owl. Earning a wince from Ciel.

Odd, but good at her job. One such task was to track down some...rabble rouser, calming to be a holy man, saying that all gays deserved to be killed, and anyone who disagreed with him would be labeled as gay themselves.

Such horrid attitudes would only attract Hostile Demons, so she was sent to kill him. Lesbian herself, she was happy to do so. Him and his dumb flock were reduced to bloody messes.

Demons fed off of zealotry. The intense hostility, hatred and fear that rose from bigotry in the long term fed demons. In the short term, such firebrand preachers could temporarily banish demons, but their presence made everything worse for everyone.

And Krocken had no use for bigots with puritanical attitudes about sex and gambling.

Yeah, the cult..what was it called again? Eh, didn’t matter. It had to go...

The cult itself was decimated by an army of Pumpkin monsters who ate the flesh of bigots.

Definitely one of Sajah's finer creations.

But now, back to business.

"We shall summon the Bugs to lead the front line, being immune to corruption," Schala stated. "The Arachnids are without souls, but their hive mind can be reasoned with. They're not so different from robots; just hungrier."

"And organic," Sajah noted.

"Well, yes," Jon said. "Not to mention unmoved by the cheer of Nurgle's minions."

Funny thing about Nurgle...he was actually a cheery, friendly God, as were his forced. The issue was that he spread his love via disease.

Nurgle was known for trying to keep his followers alive. In his own way, he granted his followers immortality, or close enough.

But like a good businessman, he created the problem and provided the solution. His plagues created suffering, which led people to worship him out of sheer desperation.

So it was time to fight them back, forcing them back into the Warp.

"Usual rules apply," said Krocken, "Let the Arachnids take first shot at the enemy. Strike when the enemy are weakened and disoriented. Show no mercy and above all be effecient and maximize their losses and keep ours down."

"Speed is a weapon of war, and so is far," giggled Koroku, her boobs wobbling, "I shall use both, Lord Krocken-who-is-so-well-hung."

Damn it.

Well, enough of that. Already in barracks, soldiers of all species and kinds were preparing for war. Kremlings made the main bulk of the army, while the Skitarii formed a more precise gunning force.

The emergency Militia formed up, a mostly volunteer force of beings who were only part time soldiers. They served as either reserves or a front line force. Those who survived the front line were given the option of advancing their careers in the army or retiring after a set time.

IF they lived...

Ships soon blasted into orbit, forcing through space to get to the planet of Jon. Hopefully the wards were still holding.

The Wolf King palmed his Valaryan steel sword. The last thing in this world he truly loved.

Krocken's sword was a special katana, fused by two beetle spirits, forming light and dark. His living blade. It was a living extension of his will and his greatest treasure other than his own daughter.

The beetles only listened to him...and him alone.

And soon, they had arrived. Once a place where the Seven Gods were worshipped, now Ulric was the god here.

Faiths and churches went to war every so often

Jon himself threw his weight behind the wolf god Ulric. A god known for strength as well as compassion.

And they needed his aid, for they could see the vortex, various mages trying to hold back the tide.

The mages were from many different faiths . Priests of the Seven, battle wizards of Ulric, psionics and Psykers, even a few grey Jedi tried to hold back the cancer of Chaos.

And the royal family were some powerful people of their own, Krocken himself being a psychic of great power.

He looked to the skies and could see giant . . . not ships. But giant insects…huge bugs the size of cargo ships.

They were the first wave of the counterattack. From the side of the transport bugs, vast tanker bugs fired bioorganic plasma down on the areas most corrupted.

The Arachnids had arrived.

Ah, good...time to bring the fight to them.

"My Emperor!" Namine, a member of the Keyblade unit, decked in white and light blue armor, approached him. "Thank goodness you came. The mages cannot hold much longer. Shall we risk dropping the barrier and let them come to us?"

Krocken looked around as a cybernetic eyepiece fed him battlefield data. "Open a path that's closest to the nearest large city."

She gasped, "My Emperor!"

He looked at her, "The chosen of Nurgle have no strategic thoughts, and they will go after the nearest source of victims. And we will stand between them and the good people of my realm."

She nodded and bowed, "As you command!"

The Keybladers were moving out. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roaxs, Namine, Xion, Lea, Ventus, Aqua, Terra...all ready to fight.

The order was given and mages began retreating. They were some of the first to be cut down.

Long range attacks, infected bullets and arrows rained upon them. Most of them deflected or evaded the attacks, but some were struck and began to scream as the infinite plagues of Papa Nurgle took them

And yet, many held fast in the face of doom, spurred on by the Emperor and his family.

Krocken watched as the Hyrule Champions fortify their positions. Link held the Master Sword in his hands, a weapon perfect for slaying any kind of Demons and Devils.

The chosen of Nurgle shambled forth, like an implacable wall of cancer. A frontline of zombies aided them, while more powerful Plague Marines made up the rear guard and carried the heavy weapons that took down so many mages.

The royal family held, just as a tidal wave of giant warrior Bugs came charging over the hill and collided with the Nurgle army.

The Bugs worked fast, mowing down the horde, ripping them to pieces, melting them, whatever they could to thin out the numbers...

Warrior Bugs used giant mandibles to shred through dozens with each bite. Tiger Bugs fired plasma darts in addition to mandibles and nearly indestructible scorpion Tank Bugs uses pincers, plasma tails and spiked legs to raise hell among the enemy.

Nurgle militia attacked with whatever rusty, diseases weapons they could scavenge.

That was when the Doomguy jumped into their midst.

This is what he lived for. To rip and tear the fiends wherever they came from.

Small demons howled as they were blasted, shredded, crushed, vaporized, and more without any mercy.

Cultists were flat out turned into clouds of fine red mist. Demonic Nurglings turned and ran from the ball of rage that was the doom slayer. Even Greater Demons of Khorne had nothing on the man.

The Nephalem were coming up next. Demon/Angel hybrids, these powerful people were gifted with abilities seen by very few...and were quite good at slaying Demons.

They were terrifying in their own right. Orphan beings of an unwanted union. Their wrath for Demonmkind was well know.

Eldritch powers and abilities flowed through them, wiping of Demons by the score.

Inquisitor Tsubaki Yayoi was there as well, using Izayoi to smite the Demons, her zeal for the Empire and the Family showing.

The militias charged in behind the heavy hitters, providing covering fire. The tanks rolled in with infantry support; powerful Leman Russ pattern tanks.

And the leaders themselves were doing quite well.

Empress Schala struck terror even into the hardened Chaos Marines with powerful summoning cards. Things of horror, fire and shadow that could even give the Greater Demons of Chaos pause.

The forces of Nurgle had fallen into the trap and thrown themselves into the meat grinder.

The Emperor himself oversaw the death of their mightiest champion.

Not just his psychic powers beyond compare, but his sheer physical power, icy breath, and sharp sword which spouted light and dark energy in the form of beetle heads cut down his foe.

Eilonwy, dressed like a necromancer, with dark robes and goat skull helm, summoned her powers, rising up the fallen and directing their empty shells (their souls already allowed to move on) to fight their foes.

Lady Tina the Not Very Tiny Anymore charged in with chainsword and personal flamethrower. With her army of Psychos, she was more than ready to deal with the foul forces of Demonkind.

"Rip and tear!" she screamed, mimicking the fabled Doomguy who was very much an inspiration to her.

He was happy for her to do so.

Sajah, expression cold, watched as some of her war machines and created beasts went into battle. One such creation was called the 'Behemoth', a large, somewhat mammalian beast with magical powers and intense ferocity.

The Behemoth crashed into the corpulent body of a Great Unclean One, driving the monster back as it was already dealing with a dozen smaller enemies and powerful mages who were now returning to gather revenge.

The Greater Demon was a beast of great power...but even now its might was being challenged. Disallowing it from spreading the love of Nurgle,

The mages it had sought to corrupt were now throttling its supply of Warp energy, the dark magic from which it drew form. The beast bellowed and jiggled, its rotting mass throwing poison everywhere. Troops with flamethrowers kept in check the mutated, strange beasts that spontaneously sprung from its blood and ichor.

Even then, it would not go down easy.

"My children! I come with love and gifts from the Father Nurgle! Come and embrace them!"

The creatures of Nurgle seldom ran. The Greater Demons especially were nigh unbreakable in terms of morale. Even as its power faded, the Demon still strove to serve its dark master of decay and disease.

But it was not to be today. Jon Snow was leading the front this time.

The Wolf King charged and thrust his sword into the Demon's gut. Forged of dragonfire, the blade cut through the monster like a hot blade through butter. At the same time, cauterizing the wound and preventing the spread of more fungal monsters from its entrails

He did not care the fiend was far larger than him...only that it needed to die! Or at least go back where it came from.

Jon drove his sword up and pulled it out, driving the sword into the thing's open mouth.

The Great Unclean One cried out in anguish as dragonfire burned it from within.

It would be destroyed here, and forced to reform in the Warp. Jon watched as the thing fell the ground, disintegrating into ashes.

The rift had been closed, and others routed.

Jon wiped his sword on the shirt of a dead man and sheathed it. The battle was won and he needed to return to his throne.

Already, machines and beasts specialized for cleanup without corruption were deployed as others began to breath and head back to the ships.

Flame crews began patrolling the battle ground, burning bodies and throwing out napalm like farmers throw water on their crops.

Repair and construction crews would arrive when corruption had been totally cleansed.

And the Family oversaw all this for a bit.

"Yeesh, nasty fuckers," Tina muttered.

"Try to be act like you're interested," Eilonwy sighed.

"I don't build, I destroyalate!" she retorted back.

"Quiet," said Schala, that shut the two up.

"Well, we're done here, “Krocken noted. "Let's just go home, take our respective lovers, some concubines, and fuck each other's brains out."

"To each their own," Jon muttered bitterly, seeing procreation as something only good for producing heirs.

Schala put a hand on her husband's junk, "Thank you for proving you are the biggest man among them."

Sajah rolled her eyes, yet smiled at the same time.

And soon, they were on their way, another city saved from the clutches of Chaos.

The Family protects...

Chapter 6: Quashing Rebellion

The Empire was a vast organization, spreading across multiple planets across the stars, each with their own purposes and way of life. Though if one did not directly oppose the leaders, people could live in peace and comfort.

Some petty people disagreed.

One such individual was Gaston Legume, an ambitious military captain who'd found his career stalled by a few... inconvenient complaints about how he treated his female peers.

Why should that matter? They didn't matter! Even more annoying was the fact that many females were far above him in the pecking order.

It was enough to make his blood boil. Sure, he was a war hero, and nearly all the girls in his hometown threw themselves at his feet, but somehow even that wasn't enough to soothe his ego. Why should he take orders from the so-called weaker sex?

Hell, the 'heir' to the throne was a girl herself! And the Emperor and Empress were happy with her and her skills. No boy would be born, it would seem.

Perhaps he could change that... after all, regime change was hardly a new concept, and the Emperor himself had unseated plenty of tyrants in his day.

First, he needed to gather a unit to do so...

First to jump at the chance to join was Drake the Penguin, a powerful fighter, if a bit dim and blustery. He and Gaston went back in service together as soldiers.

Then LeFou, a constant companion of Gaston, short and stumpy yet loyal to the man.

Frank Tenpenny was less concerned with overthrowing anyone and more so with keeping his extortion racket going, but he came on board for a generous signup fee.

Lastly, Meryn Trant, a detestable man who thought highly of himself despite his lack of skill.

And soon enough, he had gathered them in some old warehouse to discuss his scheme.

"This is a lofty venture," Tenpenny remarked.

Gaston nodded. "Yes, but it could pay off well. We could live like kings for the rest of our days!"

"Unchallenged and unreproached," Trant added, nodding in approval.

"And bitches for days!" Drake gloated.

Like Tina's and Eilonwy's vast harem of girls they both took care of and toyed with.

"We've got one big advantage," LeFou announced, activating a holographic map of the palace grounds.

"Yes, as officers, LeFou and myself have intimate knowledge of the various ins and outs of the Royal rounds," Gaston boasted. "Not to mention our mastery of the military's tactical practices."

Caladan, an oceanic planet and capital world of the Empire, was a lush paradise...which hide the dark side of those in charge. The Emperor and Empress did not always leave, mainly keeping to the planet unless an emergency battle or a ceremony.

It was the design of the rebels, then, to strike while the two were occupied in off-world affairs. Once the palace had been seized, they could fortify themselves and declare their intentions to the Empire.

And rumors of a Zerg invasion, bad enough to draw them off, was the perfect chance.

This was it. Gaston and his retinue made a quiet entrance on the planet just minutes after Krocken and Schala had departed.

Even then, they place was still heavily guarded...and if rebellion was sensed...consequences would be deadly.

Gaston and LeFou could enter easily enough, leveraging their status as war heroes, and engaging the guards in conversation could allow their less savory allies, such as Tenpenny and Trant, to slip in undetected. Drake was a trickier proposition, as he'd actually been kicked out of the Royal Guard some time ago, but he had ways of infiltrating places by aquatic means.

So far, so good...at least, they assumed as much.

Before long, they'd made it to the palace's inner sanctum. It appeared the princess was still on the grounds, which further expedited their plans, as taking her hostage would prove invaluable to enforcing their demands.

The tricky thing was actually capturing her.

She was a brilliant scientist, and skilled mage at times as well. Alway watching for enemy forces...and those who crossed her in the wrong way could end up as an experiment in her private fortress-lab.

Not helped by the design of the castle: It was known, and it showed, to be decorated by the skulls, bones, and skeletons of great and savage beasts from across the stars, giving the place and eerie atmosphere.

Even Gaston, chauvinist that he was, advised caution.

"We'll need every advantage we can get if we're going to take the royal brat," he muttered to his co-conspirators. "LeFou, scout ahead."

Thing would get dangerous from here on out...in fact...

A Slime Girl, melted into puddle form, observed this unseen...before slinking off.

She made her way directly to her princess. This was a serious breach of security, and there was no time to waste!

Meanwhile, LeFou was scouting ahead to see what he could find.

While he'd been in the palace before, somehow the halls seemed twisted and convoluted, and the unsettling atmosphere given off by the decorations was starting to get to him.

Not just the bones, but various other statues from cultures all over the stars. All...gazing upon him.

Just then...

"Where the fuck am I?!" a gravely voice snapped, catching LeFou off guard. Apprehensively, he turned to see a green-haired man in traveling clothes gazing around the hall. From the three swords he wore on his hip, this was unmistakably Zoro, the galaxy's strongest swordsman and second-in-command of the legendary Strawhat Crew.

A crew that had been given massive rights and power by the Emperor and Empress, and tasked with traveling, exploring, and conquering in their names.

If Zoro was here, that meant one of two things: either the rest of the crew was nearby, or they were on the other side of the galaxy somewhere. His sense of direction (or lack thereof) was notoriously terrible. LeFou realized that either way, getting spotted by Zoro was a potential disaster, so he made up his mind to sneak away...

"Hey you!"

Crap...

"Uh, y-yeah?" LeFou stammered, looking over his shoulder.

"Which way to the fight?"

"What fight?"

"Heard some rebels are trying to overthrow the Emperor and Empress and...and..." Zoro glared at LeFou as he realized something.

"Wait... where's the big guy?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. LeFou started backing up, chuckling nervously.

"Oh, uh, y-you mean Gaston... he's, uh..."

A sword was being drawn. Time to run.

Meanwhile, Gaston and the others weren't having such a good time either.

Somehow...the guards and animals knew why they were here.

Trant was already down, laid out by Sanji of the Strawhat Crew. The chef was known for his chivalrous personality and utter contempt for men who hurt women, and Trant had been on his shitlist for a long time.

Drake, meanwhile, had a run in with Boa Hancock, another crew member...and she had turned the lecherous penguin to stone easily, planning to turn him in for dark fate.

Tenpenny had been more alert, not falling for Nami's wiles, but her lightning storm cloud conjuration took him down anyway.

As for Gaston...

He'd been capable enough to avoid Luffy's punches and Chopper's charge, but Jinbe stopped him cold with his Fishman karate. All the military conditioning in the world was no match for a discipline of martial arts that could literally manipulate the water in one's body.

All were gathered up and readied for Sajah to arrive, the cold princess having been alerted.

They were all shackled in place, dazed and mostly injured; Zoro had held back when striking LeFou, only cutting the back of his coat. The little man had been astonished to find himself not wounded in the slightest, but the intimidation factor was immediate. Sajah surveyed the failed rebels, regarding them with a stoic expression as she paced before them. The Strawhats and a division of Monster Girls stood at her back.

The crimson reptilian eyes of the girl scanned them, then she spoke.

“Detain them. Once my parents and aunts get back, we shall discuss their fate.”

"At once, Princess!" Sanji barked before anyone else could speak. The loyal ones dragged the captured would-be rebels off to the dungeon.

The Emperor and Empress were not going to be happy…

That was an understatement, of course. They were furious.

Two weeks had passed since the incident, and the family had returned, with weapons and trophies.

The accused now stood in the throne room, with Krocken and Schala on the chairs, glaring down with icy looks. The sisters and generals, Tina and Eilonwy, sat to the side, as did Sajah.

Tina, once 'tiny' had gown in a well-endowed woman (very much), while Eilonwy was more graceful...yet both owned the harem of girls, and took good (if bizarre) care of them.

"So, these guys tried to take over the palace, grab Sajah, and set up their own jerk-jock paradise, huh?" Tina remarked, cocking her head to the side. "Figures. They always seemed like creeps."

"We didn't manage to grab her!" Lefou insisted, digging himself deeper.

"But you made an attempt," Krocken inferred, his voice icy cold.

A grinding sound filled the air, as the Beheaded happily rubbed two sharp knives together.

"You all know this constitutes high treason," Schala said, her voice calm but her eyes bright with rage. "And there is only one punishment for such a thing."

3 days later...

The Arena was bustling today, with citizens and traveling elites coming to see the broadcasted execution of some dumb rebels. The event was hosted by media personalities Gex and Mettaton, with gambling aspects overseen by the dogs Charlie and Itchy.

"Good afternoon, all you gorgeous, sparkly people out there!" Mettaton announced over the speakers. "What a wonderful day for an execution! Gex, who are the lucky participants?"

The gecko grinned. “Well, today we have some former warriors turned traitors ready to fight some of the most savage beasts we have!”

"Indeed!" Mettaton declared. "And we know how much you all hate nasty little traitors, so why not add insult to their injury by placing wagers on who will die first, or last the longest?"

"For more information, please visit Charlie and Itchy!" Gex announced.

Over at the betting booth, a number of intrigued gamblers had gathered, checking the odds for each condemned man. Charlie was drawing them in with a flashy pitch: "Step right up and try your luck! Check the odds and make your bet! Who's gonna drop dead first? Who's gonna knuckle down? Gaston, the ringleader of the bunch? F. Tenpenny, the corrupt inspector? Saaaaay, that penguin fella's a real piece of work, eh?"

Itchy, meanwhile, was logging the gamblers' wagers.

Nothing like rubbing salt in the wounds of the condemned.

Meanwhile, the would-be rebels were force-marched by Kremlings through the catacombs of the dungeon beneath the arena, heading outside. All the way, the Kremling guards taunted the captives.

"Yahaaaa, fresh meat!"

"I got my money on YOU biting it first, shorty!"

Gaston gritted his teeth. He had such grand plans...and now he was going to die at the claws and jaws of vicious animals.

Best laid plans of mice and men indeed.

And soon, they would be facing doom...

Soon, they were paraded out into the open, to the cheers and jeers of the crowd, and made to stand shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the arena, facing the Emperor and Empress's private box. The two royals rose from their seats to deliver their opening speeches.

With them was their child, along with Tina and Eilonwy, and some of the sisters’ harem girls, Constance, Kameo, Yuffie, and Tifa. The harem girls were clad in belly dancer outfits, and gagged with cloth under their veils. Yet they were not unhappy, and loved to be by their mistresses.

Krocken looked out at the assembled crowd and spoke: "Welcome, loyal citizens of all species, all stripes, all occupations. It is with both relief and disgust that we present these would-be kidnappers and dethroners, who have betrayed not only your royal family, but also the covenant of trust between ruler and subject!"

Gaston felt the boos and jeers fall upon him and his crew as he looked around the vast arena. Doors containing some nasties were closed, waiting to be opened.

Schala was the next to speak, elegant as ever in her regal gown and cape.

"The punishment for treason is death, but rather than line up these oathbreakers for the headsman," she explained, "we shall leave them all at the mercy of some of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy!"

"RIP AND TEAR!!" Tina laughed like a maniac.

"Before we start, however," Schala continued, "it is customary to allow the condemned a moment to explain themselves."

Gaston gritted his teeth. "HAH! I could have been a better ruler than some inhuman beasts and some women!"

Again, the crowd booed, some of them throwing rotten vegetables at the condemned men, before Krocken silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Let us begin," he announced in that icy and detached tone. The doors slowly opened...

One by one...

The first beast to come out was large, powerful lion from the jungle world of Jumanji, snarling.

The prisoners scattered, trying to evade the beast, but LeFou's small stature and portly form hindered his escape attempt, and the lion fell upon him.

"And surprising no one, LeFou is down first!" Gex announced, cheerful as ever even as LeFou screamed in agony.

Naturally, people had bet on him being the first to fall. But Charlie was cool with that. Gambling WAS a two way street. He would lose and win as well.

But then the other doors opened. First came large wolf-like beast, cracking with electricity. A Zinogre.

Drake, being a beastkin, had a degree of animal savagery to him that allowed him to go toe-to-toe with the lion, but just then another door started to open.

A Galala Gator, a massive, red, eight-legged crocodilian came stalking out.

The gigantic reptile hissed as it made a beeline for the distracted penguin, still engaged in fighting off the lion. Drake never stood a chance as the Galala Gator bit down on one of his muscular arms.

And considering the reptile's massive size, it went clean through.

"GYYAAEERRGH!!!"

The Zinogre watched the battle carefully, making sure to keep ready.

As Drake was bleeding out and getting eaten alive, the next door opened, and Trant was determined not to be the next to go down. He'd throw anyone in the path of the next beast if it meant extending his life by just that much.

An Owlbear faced him down, the hybrid beast bristling with fury and hate.

It charged forward, and Trant pushed the first person he could find into its path: Tenpenny.

“TRANT YOU ASSHOLE!” Tenpenny roared.

The Owlbear swiped at Tenpenny, knocking him several feet into the air, as the Zinogre also decided to join the fray.

Around them all, the crowd howled for blood.

With four furious beasts in the arena, things didn’t look good for the remaining prisoners.

Gaston looked about, hair loose and body tense.

He noticed Drake's severed arm, the bone poking out sharp and jagged. Morbid, but as good a weapon as any. Gaston snatched up the arm and pulled out the sharpened bone. Not like Drake would need it anytime soon.

He looked about, seeing which was the first to come close.

The Zinogre was busy making mincemeat of Trant, while the Owlbear had trampled over Tenpenny's broken body. It was now making a beeline straight for Gaston!

Gaston was the only one left alive now of the rebels!

As the Owlbear was nearly upon him, Gaston let his soldier training take over and dodged to the side, stabbing the beast in the side with the sharpened bone fragment. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable, but at least he'd die fighting.

He heard the crowd booing him as the beast screeched. They wanted to see the bastard die.

But soon, they’d get what they wanted, as the Owlbear turned to face Gaston, and lashed out with its paw.

It carved into his chest, knocking him onto he ground, breathing heavily. The beast was upon him, glaring down on him.

Gaston let out one last defiant scream before his end.

The claws came down... and Gaston was no more.

Cheers sounded on through the arena as the five royal family members watched with cold satisfaction.

Once again, they’d made an example of those who would throw their empire into disarray for selfish reasons.

People around them were either getting their wins or bemoaning their losses.

The remains of the rebels would be left for the beasts to devour. No one would mourn them.

Another day, another rebellion put down.

Such was life.

Chapter 7: Seras' Political Honeymoon

“This is idiotic!” Seras Victoria barked at her master

“It’s Emperors orders, police girl,” her master chortled, “Besides, think of the lands and titles you could reap by marrying her.”

Seras growled as she leaned against a table, musing to herself. It was all so...lame!

“I hate weddings, especially royal weddings,” she moped. “The idea of being stuck with some strange woman forever. It’s horrible.”

“Well technically a stake to the heart can free you,” her master laughed, “or I can set up Sylvanas to have a nasty accident.”

Sylvanas Windrunner...powerful Empire General and soon to be Seras' wife. The Elf did not seem to mind the arrangement, and even stated that Seras could indulge in the harem girls when she wanted.

She still would, after all.

“I like my freedom, seeing whomever I want,” she pouted.

“Well you can do what all unhappy wives do and find a man on the side. Like that girly boy from Hyrule.” Alucard smirked.

“His name is Link,” Seras narrowed her eyes.

In a married relationship with Zelda and Mipha. Lucky guy.

But the event between her and such a high official was going to be big. A festive atmosphere, with fishing and hunting to prove strength as well. Not to mention the open market.

“Think of the splendid party planned for you,” he patted her on the shoulder “You always tell me how you love parties and love hunting.”

“True,” she muttered, “Will there be any paparazzi there?”

"You know the Family will be there, and tend to shoot them on sight."

“Like that strange fat man who claimed Rayman was running a child sacrifice pedo ring out of a pizza parlor?“ Seras laughed.

“Slander is a serous offense” Alucard pointed out.

Rayman would never do such a thing.

Ah well, wonder how the lucky Elf was doing...
--
Sylvanas looked at herself in a mirror, holding a suit up. “I’m feeling a suit, Mikasa. Dresses feel so last century. What do you think?”

By her, Mikasa catalogued a number of sex toys for the wedding night.

"And some armor would work as well, my lady," Mikasa stated as Kameo and Constance, other harem girls, worked with her. "We must show our power for the Family."

“I’ll need something tasteful but bold,” Sylvanas held up a gold embossed gorget. “Powerful but subtle,” she grabbed a giant codpiece with the symbol of a fertility god on it.

"It suits you well," Kameo noted.

"Yes, it does," Sylvanas mused, also eyeing her bow and arrow. She would need to be ready. Hunting in this event was going ot be big.

Equally important were the flowers. These were special black roses from the lands of High Garden. Symbolizing unity and growth. And of course, serpent related jewels and markings..

“Do you think she’ll like me?” Windrunner lacked her usual confidence for a moment.

“You’ve never cared before,” Kameo pointed out, “What’s changed?”

"This whole thing."

"Oh...right..."

“My bride is ageless like I am,” went on Windrunner, “WE should at least be polite to each other.”

"I'm sure it will be fine," Constance looked over a chest...full of rope, clothes, panties, vet wrap, and more...

Windrunner had plans for the wedding night...

The wedding ceremony was lavish, but also restrained. There was music and dancing, but nothing too salacious…initially. A priest of Talos had come to bless the couple.

That was the whole plan...and then would come the more intense events...

Which the Family was planning now, along with some other leaders; Bowser, Elsa, Anna, and Paarthurnax.

Seras was getting some salacious stuff from her new maid, Sasha Braus. “They say Paarthurnax loves human women. It takes at least three women to please his dragon meat.”

“Just stick to talking about potato’s,” Seras muttered as Sasha fixed the buttons on her suit jacket.

She wondered just what they were planning, those selected leaders...

Well...

"So, what have we so far?" Sajah asked dryly in the meeting room, looking at her parents, aunts, and the other four leaders gathered.

"Well," Bowser looked over the papers. "For the big events after the marriage, we have some deep sea fishing," he began.

“The bride can’t swim,” Sajah rolled her eyes, “She can’t cross moving water without the soil of her homelands.”

“But the elf lady has no such limitations,” Bowser countered, “The fishing is for her reputation.“

"Well, keep it for the others," Schala noted. "These events are for all. The brides will have their own private event after it's all done. So what else we got?"

“There’s jousting as well as fencing” Sajah brightened a bit. “And I do enjoy the pageantry of ritual combat.”

“And the winner gets to crown a lucky lady the queen of love and beauty,” Bowser laughed.

“Is it legal for the bride to challenge the groom?” Asked Schala.

"Which is which?" Tina asked.

"Never mind, we'll get to that later," Schala muttered as she wrote things down.

"And we have hunting great beasts as well," Krocken noted. "Even using portals to get to such worlds."

“And it has to be at night,” said Schala, “but both bride and groom are comfortable in low light. A nocturnal hunt adds more spor.t”

"And for more...calmer pursuits," Paarthurnax spoke up. "Merchants from all over will gather, to form a bazaar for all to buy and sell."

"Chromatics included?" Elsa asked dryly.

"I assure you, in terms of alliances, they will behave."

“They bring exotic meats and spices as well as strange drugs that will even affect the undead.” Schala explained, “and if they look at me the wrong way I’ll them into fancy purses and boots.”

"And sell them again," Eilonwy beamed. "Now, we also have the...Jumping Jews of Jerusalem?" She frowned, "Did Globox get to this list again?"

“Hey, Globox got cleared of manslaughter charges,” Tina protested, “He should be allowed to help.”

“I sincerely question that,” Eilonwy said in a droll tone.

"Well, keep it in, as a sideshow," Krocken muttered. "And make sure robot fights are included as well," He wrote something down on a scroll. "And I also need to message people to get us some other sideshows," He opened the door to see allied Demon Firebrand, handed him the scroll to deliver and his payment, and sent him on his way. "And some dancers as well. And make sure the Eldar Harlequins get here in time,” He took a goblet of wine from a maid. “Last time they stopped to kill Chaos Cultists without even inviting me. I lost out on the fun.”

And thanks to the Empire, the Eldar's souls were served from Slaanesh's grip. They had much to be thankful for.

They were loyal citizens who won tax-exempt status for supplying Krocken with elite troops.

And they managed to get along somewhat well with the High Elves.

"And," Schala began. "We cannot forget food from the Gourmet World."

“There will also be gourmet blood,” Sajah supplied “One, of the happy couple is a vampire after all.”

Not to mention that other vampires, like Vlad and his wife, would be attending as well.

Yes, quite an event it would be. First the wedding, then the games and feasts...then the new couple would seal their marriage.
-
The ceremonies were starting to wind up, with Robert Baratheon showing the restraint he was known for.

“I’ve been standing here for days!” He shouted from the open bar ,“Start the wedding before I piss myself!”

Other leaders and elites would be showing up, like the married leaders Chel and Kida.

Now there was an event to remember. A night of primal celebration, to the point Krocken and Schala woke up with hangover...sharing a bed with a Swampert.

The Emperor was known for his virility and open relationship. To be chosen in his sexcapacdes was a great honor.

Even if it was a bit confusing.

Ah, Ky Kiske and his wife Dizzy would be coming as well. Typically kind and fair rulers and with great intelligence. On the battlefield...one better watch out.

The guests came bearing gifts, most of them expensive and meant very much to show off their wealth and influence in the imperial court.

Especially some of the Rogue Traders. The Straw Hats, Lara Croft and her aide Tarduk, and Johnny and May.

Johnny tried upstaging everyone, “I bring you a suit of armour worn by Leman Russ himself!”

Luffy had something more humble, “Here’s something I made myself!”

Seras eyes lit up, “Did you paint this for me?”

“Yeah! I painted Tywin Lannister eating something really sour.” Luffy grinned, “It’s for you, Seras.”

Ah yes...the old man from ages past. His legacy obsession was a bit too much swallow.

His very drive for legacy destroyed his Noble house.

Few now outside of elite scholars even knew the Lannister name.

“And I bring the vibrating gold hand of Jamie Lannister,” Lara smirked

"Er..."

"Very nice," Krocken said from nearby. "Now the ceremony will begin shortly. We can all have fun afterwards."

Guests took seats and the orchestra began playing.

Seras felt incredibly nervous as this marriage could last centuries or more.

Sylvanas stood tall and proud in her gilded armor as Crysta, Elora, and Ly used magic to make flowers grow about.

Sylvanas tried to look reassuring for her new bride, but then she realized she didn’t know how to convey that expression.

Instead she noticed that a masculine suit could not hide any of Seras curves.

Oh yes...the night was going to be a good one.

Alucard and the Family were among those with a front seat.

Alucard was, well, a repellent scumbag for all his pretense of aristocratic allure ,“You’d like my friend, the Colonel,” he told Tiny Tina “There was one time he killed a panther and wore its face like a mask. If killing people at random is your thing, I can connect you.”

“Shut up and behave,” Eilonwy was chilly to him.

“Well I do love women without pity or remorse,” Alucard smirked back.

But alas, it was time to be quiet as the two women stood side by side, as the Talos priest began.

The priest stood before the assembly and raised his arms.

“We ask that Talos grant his blessing. We ask that Emperor Krocken bless this union as the divine agent of Talos in real space.”

Both the Emperor and Empress stood up and approached the two. He had psychic energy glowing around him, while she had magic pulsing.

Seras’ eyes widened at the display, even the jaded and cynical Sylvanas looked enchanted.

And Tina was drooling over both of them.

Thankfully, none of the Family were jerks enough to invoke first right on wedding nights.

Soon, energy flowed over the two as Krocken and Schala blessed the soon-to-be wives.

Both brides shuddered from the feeling. From the crowd, Alucard gave Seras the thumbs up because she hadn’t burst into flames.

She truly was pure of heart.

Sylvanas, while not 'pure', was someone of honor and integrity, so she was cool too.

"In the name of the Empire and the Gods we follow," Krocken began.

"We shield this marriage from the foul forces of our foes," Schala finished.

“And grant you love, happiness and fertility,” Krocken added, “As one you join, as one you fall.

Both Seras and Sylvanas bowed to their monarchs.

"Now let the union proceed!" Krocken stated as the priest readied himself.

Seras leaned in to kiss the bride, but froze.

She just couldn’t, so Sylvanas kissed her.

And the crowd went wild.

Well...maybe this would not be so bad at all. But it was still early in the day, so before they get into bed...many events and celebrations would be held.

“If it’s alright with you, wife,” Seras said to her new mate, “I’d like to challenge you in the melee. But not the joust, I don’t know how to ride.”

“Anything you wish, my wife,” Sylvanas smiled.
-
The field was soon crowded, with merchants and food vendors all over as people began to watch the battle about to come into display.

Charlie and Itchy were with the Family, ready to show the bets they got.

“What are the odds on Terrible Tom?” Tina asked Charlie.

“Terrible,” Charlie said flatly, “Better off betting on Mikasa.”

“Shit, that’s no fun.” Tina pouted.

"And now we have the lovely couple," Schala said.

"Those are pretty even," Itchy noted.

"Of course," Eilonwy noted as she held Dawn and Marina close to her, stroking her harem girls.

“Word on the street says the lovely couple are set to fight each other,” Charlie grinned.

“A cat fight?” Tina virtually drooled. “Put me down for five thousand on Elf lady!”

Krocken rolled his eyes at his sister's behavior.

He took stock of some of the markets.

“I don’t know about any of you, but no number of years as emperor can kill my love of pretzels,” Krocken said as he eyed Marge Simpsons Fancy Pretzel truck.

A Shuckle was showing off some of the berry juice it made, some fermented, while a group of Yoshi's sold the finest fruit that could be grown.

Marcus Kinclaid was also in the area, selling guns.

“No refunds, or I’ll have to kill you,” Marcus announced cheerfully.

“I’ll take your largest gun,” said Sylvanas to the gun merchant. “and because it’s a wedding present I’d like a discount.”

Well...hard to argue with that...and with her.

"Just remember to take good care of it...and don't miss your own fight now."

“Don’t worry, I have no interest in returning a wedding gift,” she smiled “but if the gift is faulty, I will kill you.”

“Sounds fair.”

All over the place were merchants selling snake relating items, be they actual animals, arts, clothing, jewels, and more. Being the symbolic animal of the Empire, it was a competitive market.

Merchants hawked snakes venom at various concentrations either as an anti-venom or an extreme drug for sex and torture.

The caveat was that nobody in the tournament could partake until after the events had concluded.

Sex could wait till later. Hopefully the visiting Frisk, Chara, And Asriel would do any...spitroasting at the moment.

Those kids really had no sense of restraint.

And their uncle figure, Sans, only encouraged them.

Damn it...

But for the moment, the newlyweds were facing off, while Eilonwy, clad in a stunning dress made from the scales of the most savage reptiles, began to speak.

“In the first round of melee we have Seras Victoria and Sylvanas Windrunner. Rules are first blood wins, lets have a clean fight.”

Seras raises her sword and shield, “I will claim the title for my wife!”

Sylvanas did the same, “I do this to honor my wife.”

“You each other’s wives!” Tina shouted.

“Yes, Tina. Shut up,” Eilonwy growled.

“Good, police girl will show her who has the dick in this relationship,” Alucard muttered to himself.

Both wives faced off, silent at first, their predatory nature showing. Served them well in many battles and hunts.

The swords weren’t sharp, but they’d deal seriously bad damage in the hands of the undead brides to be.

It was unheard of for a fighter to challenge their own spouse, but it wasn’t against the rules.

And it wasn't like they could actually DIE from mere sword fights. This was going to be juicy!

Ever aggressive, Seras charged with her shield and knocked Sylvanas back.

But the elf was swift, and she stuck out with swift force of her own, ready to defend her own pride.

She zoomed around Seras and gave a series of slashes at her.

Seras fell back and realized her bow tie had been sliced off.

"BARE YOUR TITTIES FOR US!" Tina howled. "STRIP AWAY ALL SHAME AND BE GLORIOUS!! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

"Nice, auntie," Sajah muttered dryly.

Seras wanted it, but didn’t want it. She jumped and swung her sword, taking off a lock of hair.

She pushed her chest out under her tight suit, “I’ll give you this one for free.”

"Oh, with pleasure!" Sylvanas smirked like a beast.

All around, the crowd began to bay for violence.

The sword clash threw off a sonic boom.

Seras grinned, “Sorry. I changed my mind.” As she blocked a strike aimed for her chest, “Let me try.”

She swept the undead elf’s legs from under her.

And she used her own supernatural strength to pin her down, trying to subdue her.

Swords were thrown aside as it turned into a wrestling match.

“First to be pinned for ten seconds is the winner!” Eilonwy announced.

"Ah, you serious?" Seras grumbled, knowing that was easier said than done.

Sylvanas punched like a bullet striking. She kicked like a mule. She moved so fast Seras could barely follow.

Before Seras knew it. she lost the buttons on her shirt.

And she ripped off Sylvanas necktie.

And it was not long before both were topless.

"Wonderful," Sajah muttered dryly. "You all got topless. Next step is to strip completely and make out like minks before us all. Huzzah..."

Seras suddenly looked feral, “You may beat me in the ring! But I beat you in the chest category!”

Sylvanas jumped behind Seras and put her in a full Nelson, “Let me use your sweet udders when this is over and I’ll let you eat my wet undead snatch!”

It was a tough battle. Like so many other leaders and elites, both women were fucking STRONG.

But then Sylvanas shoved Seras down, hands around neck.

While the blows hurt, this was more or less a gentleman’s match.

Seras punched Sylvanas good up the ribs, but it was in its own way alright.

It felt right when Sylvanas bent her arm back and pinned her to the ground.

Before kissing her.

Seras melted into it.

And the seconds went by and...

"Sylvanas wins!"

“What!?” Seras shouted.

“Sorry love,” Sylvanas laughed, “I knew ahead of time you like willowy women. But I bought you a dress to wear as a consolation prize.”

"Dooooo..."

"Now, let us celebrate with grand events!" Schala announced, the powerful mage raising her hands.

Fireworks began flying as the crowd went wild.

Beings of light and energy soared above.

Now...how shall they begin?

The joust began in earnest.

But Sylvanas declined, invoking the right of the first night.

She led Seras to a quiet balcony overlooking a courtyard where an orgy was happening

The events would last several days, and they hunt and fish later.

Ignoring the Dreemurr siblings in their spitroasting, the newlyweds look out to sea.

“Promise me I can still have friends,” Seras could not look the elf in the eye, “Promise I won’t be kept like some trophy”

“Word are cheap,” said Sylvanas, stroking Seras hair affectionately. “I won’t make promises I can’t keep. But know you are enough and you are my equal in this house.”

Sylvanas felt a hand on the small of her back.

And Seras knew...Sylvanas would honor her wishes to the max.

“If we divorce, I don’t want any of your land or money,” Seras breathed, “And when we’re together, I want you whole as you are.”

“So claim me, my bride,” Sylvanas moaned.

Who was going to claim who? Hard to say.

“You won the melee, beguiling me with your curves,” Seras purred “So it’s only fair you compensate me with your ass and pussy.”

"Let's see what you've got," Sylvanas purred as she pulled Seras over to a bed, with dark blue colors.

Seras reached into her vast cleavage and produced fine silk ties of passionate red.

And then, Constance and Kameo, as summoned by Sylvanas and sent by Tina, came in with the boxes of toys.

"We have what you wanted, my lady," Constance bowed.

"And you may both stay with us," The elf purred.

“Just watch,” Seras’ voice took a hard edge, “Touch yourselves or whatever but I’m a deeply jealous lover.”

Seras felt her hands being pulled behind her back, "Ah, loosen up a bit...Your skin is so soft,” Sylvanas purred.

One of her sharp nails traced over Seras breast and stayed over the nipple.

Seras felt her hands get tied behind her back-tight. Ah, so that how it was going to be, eh?

Well, her wife better give her a big, thick, multilayer gag.

Playfully she stuck out her inhumanly long tongue before sucking it back in.

Sylvanas servants looked on with love and awe.

Technically the servants of the Family...but they were happy to help here.

The gag went on and Seras made a show of muffled speech.

Her back arched and her big titties stood up, probably the best and perkiest on the planet.

When she took a bra off, everything stayed up.

The gag was...something else. Several pars of panties, followed by a large ballgag, several strips of tape, vet wrap, four OTM gags, then three OTN gags. Keeping Seras nice and silent.

Ropes followed.

You didn’t just have a shapely curvy body like this without showing it off.

The ropes flowed easily, going not only around the arms and legs (and toes), but around the torso, framing the breasts and making them swell up hard.

Finer ropes wrapped around her plump pussy and caused it to drop strings of arousal on her thighs.

And with that, Seras was shoved onto the bed, and her new wife crawled on top of her. Sylvanas went in with her mouth, sucking on a swollen nipples.

They were fine, pink and durable.

She had the body of a fertility goddess.

And Sylvanas wanted to mark these tits for herself.

And the goddess idea was an apt metaphor, knowing how strong she was, just like most others.

Though few could compare to Schala. How else would one see someone that could, as just one of her many, MANY spells, sprout a forest of brambles that could shoot their thorns, with said thorns changing into flying, amphibious piranhas?

Sylvanas bit hard, harder than she had in centuries.

Seras moaned with pleasure and pain.

She pushed her boob into it.

It felt so good, what her wife was doing to her. She could not fight back here...and she was fine.

Seras had learned much about blood magic, and part of that magic was about pleasure and sensuality. It was about making the blood hot and riding the adrenal wave.

Sylvanas was worthy of that magic.

So much pleasure!

"Mmmm, mmmgg!"

"Doing good, Windrunner!" Chara grinned as he rammed into his sister's ass.

“Time it with me,” Sylvanas purred to the royal child before pulling on a strap on to make horses cry.

Frisk would have said something...but her mouth was full of Asriel's cock.

The sibling love was real.

And they were only too happy to get freaky.

And Frisk loved to swallow.

Sylvanas, meanwhile, began to pound right into her wife...fast!

Her plump puffy pussy spread like butter.

Her clit was as hard as a rock and so were her nipples.

Seras grunted into her massive gag, bucking about, her large breasts bouncing in their bondage.

A lovely sight for the elf.

Her giant hooters jiggled and her wonderful ass bounced and shook like feminine magic.

Her groomed bush was elegant and she was thinking of a tramp stamp in the future.

A snake slithered nearby, as they did in the castle. Perfect. Sylvanas picked it up gently, letting her influence course though it, and placed it in the cleavage of Seras.

The snake was surrounded by soft boob flesh.

Its smooth scales were like silk and pleasured her chest flesh like a second dick.

Seras eyes were lidded as this happened, but it was too brief as Sylvanas pulled it off and flipped Seras over. The round ass was now on full display.

"Now then...time to make sure you know your place."

Seras giggled behind all the gags.

Truth was she loved back door action.

All her holes needed claiming.

But first...

'TWHACK'

"MMM!" Seras yelped as she felt the hand of her wife smack a butt cheek. Hard.

She had become too enthusiastic.

She needed to earn the pleasure with the pain.

Sylvanas was not making it easy.

A series of blows came down, the spanks making that lovely ass bounce and jiggle.

The strikes were hard and unyielding.

The thing about an immortal vampire was she could take more punishment than anything weaker than a Space Marine

Sylvanas looked about the room, styled like a deep jungle. A pool of water, enchanted to be harmless to the undead, lay in the corner.

“The waters won’t harm you,” Sylvanas promised, “If you want out at any time, I will respect it”

Seras nodded happily as she was picked up bridal style and carried over to the steamy jungle pool.

The jungle, a favorite environment of the empire, for the mystery and wilderness it represented.

It was one of Seras favorite places, too.

Ever since her father read her Tarzan books in what seemed an eternity ago.

The jungle was where one could pit their wits against the environment, flora, and fauna, with Dinosaurs being a favorite game of many.

Also, it made a great place for passion.

It was mating season from all the calls.

And Sylvanas hoped to add to the chorus.

Both naked girls went into the water, Seras feeling it soothe her bound and gagged body. Nice...really nice! Her wife gave her a shoulder rub.

The tension of centuries left her.

The aftercare of bondage was as critical as the pain and discipline.

"Mmmm, efff..." Seras mumbled.

She began to purr like a kitten.

Sylvanas found knots and tight spots in the toned muscles.

Yes, yes, time to make this more...interesting.

She dove in, pulling her wife with under.

The water was full of lillies, their large pads blocked all light.

Both women loved darkness.

The darkness overtook them as they made love in the waters, hair flowing the the deep. So...sexy.

The water was the right temperature to cool their super heated pussies

Sylvanas ate Seras out for nearly an hour

And then they went back on the surface and back on the bed, and Sylvanas decided to take her wife now.

Women could normally orgasm multiple times.

As a vampire, Seras best record was an orgasm that lasted four hours.

Sylvanas was making her mewl like a kitty.

Her strap-on slid in and out so fast, as the elf held her wife down, the gag on the vampire muffling her cries into cute little sounds that aroused Sylvanas further.

The way her slick labia pushed aside for the giant strap-on was incredible.

That something so tight could take something so big.

The massive breasts bounced up and down with each powerful thrust, and Sylvanas relished every second of this.

Seras looked like a fertility goddess.

Aphrodite herself couldn’t match these tits and hips.

Or this bouncy ass that clenched with each thrust.

And now, they were getting close to the big finish.

So caught up in lust, they failed to notice Eilonwy, in the form of a small gecko, peeking on them.

Truth be told ,Eilonwy was blown away by the sexual energy of the two older women.

Seras’ little pussy could milk a horse no problem.

And Sylvanas could suck a grenade through a garden hose.

Her little gecko form just watched, and learned.

And soon, the climax was reached.

"HHHHHMMMMMMGGHHHHH!!!!!"

Birds fled their roosts.

Even the orgy in the courtyard stopped dead it was so loud.

Damn...The undead sure knew how to do it, despite what some people thought.

Sylvanas collapsed next to her wife, not wanting to untie her yet...which was just fine with Seras.

Sylvanas stroked Seras’ hair, “You were great, my dear, you were better than great.”

"Mmm..." The two snuggled together in bliss, ready to call it a day.

The festivals could wait for the next few days.

Vampire or not, Seras wasn’t going to sit or walk right for a few days

They lay in the embrace as Eilonwy watched, satisfied that the marriage went though perfectly.

Fairy servers brought a chalice of hot fresh virgin blood.

Sylvanas would feed it to her lady as an act of love.

Where they got the blood...well, always heretics and traitors the Chromatics supplied.

Also made great flesh for the inhuman members of the Empire.

The Emperor was a harsh man.

He had no problem letting his followers kill and eat certain criminals.

Alucard was a gluttonous blood drinker who took his enemies souls when he did.

Still, they did try peaceful measures at time.

Sajah, for example, was working on bringing in the Planet of Caen into the fold, trying to unite the factions together while weeding out the truly corrupt.

Emperor Krocken believed dark impulses must be met head on.

Shining a light might reveal some needs to be false. Like the need for superiority or dominance.

It was slow, but it would be done, and the miracles of the warcasters and warlocks would be the Empires.

But for now, the wives let this all drift away in bliss.

Some nocturnal bird sang.

Bats fluttered.

Seras never wanted to let go of her new wife.

The titles and lands be damned.

And such was life of the Empire agents.

Chapter 8: Uprising

The Empire was a mighty force in a hostile Galaxy, ready to defend the people from the threat of hideous eldritch monsters that would slay them.

That said, a lot of the leaders could be cold-hearted bastards.

Elsa often found herself in the position of being one such leader. Though she ruled wisely, the Queen of Arendelle was no stranger to making difficult decisions.

A high-ranking member, she ruled over her subjects with firm but fair nature...but if the situation called for it, would not shy away from torture or killing. Especially if Chaos lurked...

As such, she had her fair share of detractors, but Elsa was lucky to have one person who was always on her side through thick and thin: Anna.

Both her sister and and her lover. The Leaders knew this. They did not care.

The two sisters had been through too much together for either of them to love another so intimately. This, sadly, would prove to be Elsa's Achilles heel.

And it all started one day, just like any other...

Anna was on her way to the throne room, taking the time to enjoy the view of the rising sun.

All around, ice-based Monster Girls were about the area, making sure things were in order.

The princess consort hugged herself, looking forward to the proceedings ahead, and hopefully another night of chilly passion with Elsa.

Tied down and silenced as the Queen had her way with her.

As she approached the throne room, however, Anna noticed something amiss. The guards weren't present at the door. Curious...

She looked around, wondering if she was arriving too early. As far as she knew, there were no scheduling changes recently. That was when she felt a gloved hand clamp over her mouth.

“Hmmm?!”

“Quiet, you little bitch!”

But it was not in Anna's nature to shut up and accept her fate. She struggled, trying to shake off her captor's grip and screaming bloody murder through the hand that gagged her mouth.

She used her elbow to try and hit something. Sounded like a nose just got smashed.

"AAARGH! YOU LITTLE HELLCAT!" her captor yelled, but just then another interloper came over and seized Anna's wrists, pinning them together behind her back and snapping a pair of shackles around them.

"Hurry up and gag her already!" the newcomer barked.

A kidnapping with bondage! Not the way she wanted it!

The hand came away from her mouth long enough for something small and hard to be forced into it, stifling her screams. Next, a wide white cloth went over her lips and pulled taut. As she felt the ends tie off behind her head, Anna couldn't help but shed a tear.

No, not like this! A leader of the Empire!

"HMMW DRR YNN!" she screamed through the gag as she struggled, but the shackles were holding firm. Her captors picked her up, one by the arms and the other by the ankles, and carried her flailing form away.

Her ankles were also clamped together. That wasn't good!

“Smile for the camera, Princess Slut!” someone leered as a device pointed at the bound and gagged girl’s face.

“HMMMMMMMP!” Anna cried out.

What was this all about! This was heresy in the making!

Meanwhile in the throne room, Elsa was getting nervous. She'd expected Anna some time ago, and while her sister-lover could be flaky at times, she was usually punctual.

Something was not quite right here, and her guards took notice.

"Bring up the video feeds," she ordered them. They hurried to fulfill this, and soon Elsa had access to the many security camera feeds all over the palace. She studied each one, looking for some sign on her beloved.

Something had to be seen around here...and she was going to get to the bottom of this crap.

Just then, she noticed an unfamiliar feed and maximized it. What she saw made Elsa's blood run even colder. There was Anna, bound and gagged, shaking her head as she glared into the camera and screamed muffled threats.

She'd been kidnapped!

Before she could even give the command, her soldiers were already rushing out, weapons at hand. She herself stood tall, her expression ice cold. The lucky ones would be killed. The unlucky ones would be converted into mindless Servitors.

It was time to show these kidnappers the cost of crossing a Leader. She glided from her throne, calling upon her ice magic.

Cold icy death today...

Together with her loyal guards, she faced the miscreants.

A mixture of men and woman, most of them human. Now what was this all about?

“Explain yourselves,” she boomed, “while you still have tongues!”

“A change in government!” One snapped. “And removing our planet from the Empire’s rule!”

"You know that is impossible," Elsa sneered. "Release my sister, and I shall forget this outburst."

"Your sister-whore is lost if you deny us!" another conspirator yelled.

Elsa gritted her teeth at this grave insult.

With that, the insurrectionists brought Anna forward. She was still shackled and gagged, though her ire was considerably diminished by now as she'd realized she had no hope of freeing herself without help.

"LLLSMM!" she cried out to her sister-lover.

A flinch, as Elsa took in the whole thing.

"Abdicate now and call off your minions, or your little slut gets it!"

Elsa paused...then noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a small Monster Girl slip away unnoticed, likely to send out a distress signal.

Might as well play along.

“Stand down,” she told her guards as she dispelled her magic.

With a sad look, they all did so.

Elsa, head down, made her way through the crowd toward the insurrectionists holding Anna hostage. As she came close to the tearful redhead, the soon-to-be deposed queen smiled at her and said, "Everything is going to be all right, my love."

She was still smiling even as she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head.

All went dark...

...head was kinda fuzzy when she came too.

The first thing she heard was Anna's muffled voice crying out to her.

"Hnn," the captured queen groaned, trying to lift her hand up to her head, but her arms wouldn't budge. The realization that she was bound and gagged woke her completely.

In the same manner as her sister, and they were locked in the dungeon with many other the female guards.

Elsa worked her jaw, finding her mouth covered with the same kind of face-conforming cloth that gagged Anna and the other girls. Her wrists were shackled together behind her back, and something in the alloy was suppressing her ice magic.

Well, this was just nice! The traitors would freeze for this!

For the moment, Elsa turned her attention toward Anna, whose spirit had been broken by the events of the day. The kidnapped princess had tears running down her cheeks as her eyes met Elsa's, and the bound and gagged queen inched herself closer to her beloved sister-lover.

"Lllsmm," Anna whimpered, laying her head on Elsa's shoulder.

Even trapped, Elsa always made sure to keep Anna in good spirits.

She laid her head on top of her darling's own and hummed an old melody from their childhood, cuddling Anna as best she could. Though a single tear ran down Elsa's cheek as she did, her efforts had the desired effect, and Anna moaned gently through her gag.

The sisters, now, could only wait for help to arrive.

At least they had each other.

Tied up and with the other bored guards as well.

The sister-lovers lost track of how long they were bound and gagged down in the dungeon, lost in their affection for each other. If not for the other women down there with them, they might have tried to find a way to fuck despite their bondage.

Really, they might be incestuous, but they had standards.

Meanwhile, back up in the main hall...

The conspirators were about to reveal their coup to the public, believing they had the majority's support.

As well as withhold their...true god.

"People of Arendelle," the ringleader announced to the assembled crowd, "The Ice Queen's reign of terror is at an end! Now we shall know true freedom!"

It was...not as impressive as he hoped, as many people began to mutter among themselves.

He tried to recapture their attention.

"A new era begins today, my friends!" he insisted. "No more false gods in material palaces!"

True...because his god was Tzeetch, the Chaos God representing ambition. Worship of this god was considered a major crime.

As he was trying to sell the public on this "new era," however, Elsa's patience was about to be rewarded. The loyal Monster Girl had successfully sent out a distress signal after all.

And it so happens the Keybladers were patrolling the sector of space...

Kairi was the first to notice.

"A distress signal!" she cried. "From Arendelle! It's... coming from the palace?"

"Really?" mused Riku. "Elsa's not the type to go down easily."

Namine shook her head. “Something is up, though. Better check it out.”

"Got it!" Sora declared, nodding. He got in the pilot's seat and, deactivating the ship's patrol autopilot and steering it towards Arendelle.

Time to help out some allies...and maybe they could get backup.

Only who could they rely on to get there in time?

Ah, fuck it, just get down there start fighting!

Wouldn't be the first time they went in against unclear odds. They broke into the atmosphere and streaked across the sky, gunning for the palace site.

And already, they knew they could been seen.

The insurrection leader was still trying to engage the crowd when all turned to see something coming down from space. Mixed with the serpent symbol of the Empire.

 

"Ah, shit," he grumbled as he recognized the Keybladers' sigil.

As the ship stabilized and made its landing, the Keybladers suited up to depart for the surface. They would get to the bottom of this.

Full armor. Who knew what could happen?

Keyblades in hand, they nodded to each other and opened the bay doors, ready to rock.

A few mooks of the rebels rushed at them...and were quickly knocked away.

The Keybladers were experienced and relentless warriors despite their youthful looks, and right away they could tell there must be a coup in process.

And Kairi in particular could sense some darker intent within...

Demons...and not the allied kind.

Aqua picked up on Kairi's apprehensiveness.

"Chaos?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so," was Kairi's reply.

"Then Elsa and Anna are likely still alive," Riku said with a nod.

Aqua, as always, took charge. "Then no mercy will be given! In the name of the Emperor and Empress, the heretics will perish!"

"Hear hear!" Terra shouted. With that, they charged the podium, facing more waves of rebels.

Best make it quick before they could summon Demons from the Warp.

In battle, the Keybladers were known, like any other Empire force, to be brutal, cruel, and violent. One must be to take down the numerous threats of the Empire.

Thus they did not hesitate to strike down the rebels. No mercy or quarter would be shown this day. Heads, limbs, and viscera flew as their keyblades sliced through their foes, cleaving through armor like a knife through butter.

The ringmaster, watching this from a distance, pulled out a book in haste. He could perhaps open a tear to the Warp, allowing Demons to come loose and kill them all...but he had to act fast. Lea was burning several heretics with his flames.

Sora saw what the leader was doing and lunged at him, Keyblade raised to strike off his head before the blasphemer could open the Warp.

If that foul place opened...it would be hard. Sure, the Keyblades were good at killing Demons, but still.

Things seemed to slow down as Sora leaped at the summoner. He held his keyblade aloft with both hands, bearing down on the ringleader. Just as the summoner was about to speak the final words of the incantation, Sora brought down his weapon with vengeful fury, slicing through the flesh, tendons, and spine of the rebel leader's neck. The air that escaped the dead man's mouth before his head toppled from his shoulders came out as a half-finished word.

It was the last word of the incantation. As a geyser of blood spurted from his foe's severed neck, Sora waited in apprehension. Did that last dying breath count as a finished sentence?

A ripple in space...then nothing, except for faint howl of rage.

Sora was grateful his helmet's visor obscured the look of relief on his face.

Elsewhere, Riku and Xion battled their way toward the castle interior, intent on raiding the dungeon. Seeing the mighty Keybladers making their push, the Monster Girls came out of hiding to aid them, striking the rebels within from behind.

The rebels fell quickly, and some were taken for darker fates later on.

And soon, the dungeon...

Elsa was startled awake from her fitful slumber by a chorus of muffled cries from the various bound and gagged female guards. She sat up straight, nudging Anna awake as well. Someone was coming!

Riku and Xion soon arrived, unlocking cages to free the others.

"The uprising is no more," Xion said.

"And justice will be done," Riku promised as he cut through the women's shackles. They soon came to the queen and her consort, both of whom were amusingly sitting up as rigidly and regally as they could under the circumstances. Neither of them struggled or cried out, but it was clear they wished to be freed.

And so they were, with them pulling their own gags out.

"Ugh, that was disgusting," Anna groaned. "Please tell me you made those heretics suffer!"

"Most are dead," Riku confirmed. "Others will repent via being made Servitors."

"That is most excellent," Elsa said with a nod. "I should like to oversee the process personally."

A nasty process, but one done for traitors.

Elsa had nerves of steel, having even administered it herself once or twice.

But for now, time to recover and make sure all was well.

First order, addressing the people and laying this whole episode to rest.

Easier to do once evidence of the rebel Chaos affiliation was known.

Sora had helpfully recovered the tome used by the rebel leader in an attempt to open the Warp.

Demon encyclopedias, used to learn about Demon types and how to fight them, were fine.

Summon tomes were to be destroyed.

With this evidence on hand, the rebellion could be safely condemned.

Empire leaders and agents were cruel, but kept the people safe from worse.

"People of Arendelle," she boomed, addressing the crowd, "you have all come within a hairsbreadth of annihilation! Those who would have seen your leaders overthrown and the Empire repudiated were pawns of Chaos!"

Cries of corn and worry went through the crowds. Good thing it was stopped. Otherwise, their souls would be in eternal torment.

With that done, Elsa and Anna could comfort each other properly... far from the attention of the public.

Just as they liked it.

Just another day in the lives of the Galactic elite.

Chapter 9: Rivarly

The Galactic Empire, while unified, was also comprised of many factions. Each of which had their own goals and agenda. Sometimes they tended to get on each others nerves.

Especially those who valued their autonomy. The Straw Hat Crew were one such group of spirited individuals: given free reign to explore the galaxy by the Crown, they were used to working at their own pace. And setting their own rules.

They were among the type known as the Rogue Traders, various individuals given immense power for the task of exploration and discovering new places and and wonders for their masters, the Family. Other such traders included Lara Croft and her aide Tarduk, and the Jellyfish Pirates.

All Traders also had their own private army as well, with the Straw Hats drawing from aquatic-based species.

And some would also call their leader, Monkey D. Luffy, quite lucky, as he had FOUR women in love with him.

He wasn't sure why, but at least he didn't worry about sleeping alone.

Nami, Robin, Vivi, and Hancock, on the other hand, saw the pleasure in it...

Every night with him was an adventure for them, especially given his Devil Fruit abilities, although Vivi got into the habit of restraining herself with Sea Prism handcuffs to suppress her Logia powers. She was still mastering the Sand Sand Fruit, which she'd obtained after the death of her one-time nemesis, Sir Crocodile. While having her hands cuffed behind her back made for some interesting sexual positions, it also left her vulnerable to having her mouth taped shut by a jealous Hancock.

Not that Hancock HATED her. She soon grew to be friends with them all...but what was wrong with some reasonable rivalry?

Of course, it wasn't all kinky sex aboard the Thousand Sunny. Sometimes they had to put their fighting skills to good use. Such was the case one time when they ventured into Westeros space.

The massive ship held the Hats and the crew, consisting of Zora, Aquatic Monsters, Water Pokémon, aquatic Monster Girls, and Blue Pikmin.

Although Luffy was captain, he was more of a big-picture guy than a tactician, leaving much of the battle-planning minutia to Nami and Sanji. This worked out for the best, as Luffy's main concern in any fight was to single out and defeat the strongest opponent in any group of foes.

Right now...just flying through space, going through to search for any lost worlds to adventure on.

Just then, Carrot rang the bell from the observation chamber, indicating an emergency situation.

"Dogfight, dead ahead!" the rabbit mink yelped.

Chopper was already examining the scene. "Geh! Hell Demons ships!"

"I like a challenge," grinned Roronoa Zoro, the vice-captain, as he prepared himself for battle. Zoro wielded three legendary blades, one of which was supposedly cursed.

Demons were among the greatest of challengers, and they all were ready for it.

They pulled up to the site of the battle, with Usopp firing several chain shots from the Sunny's guns. He was aiming to do as much damage as possible, not only to make things easier for his crewmates, but also to alleviate the pressure on whoever else was battling the demons.

The hellish machines soon turned their attention to the new attacks, ready to get close enough for the demonic warriors to teleport into the ship.

"Here they come," Jinbei the helmsman warned.

"Defense formations!" Nami barked, and the various sea creatures lined up to confront their soon-to-be invaders.

They came in flashes of fire, staring with Imps, Hell Razers, and Lost Souls. Weaker Demons, but still tough.

Franky, the Sunny's cyborg shipwright, clenched his robotic fists and leaped into the fray along with the Straw Hats' footsoldiers, shouting, "LET'S PROTECT MY SHIP!"

His massive metal hands pounded most of the Demons into paste, with them screeching and trying to clamber/ram into him. Others were ripped apart by claws and tentacles.

Zoro clashed with a few Hell Razers, biding his time until he could face a real challenge, while Usopp and Nami used their ranged attacks to pick off as many Lost Souls as they could.

Demons of all types had a lot of numbers under their commands, and it seemed no end was coming. But still the pirates fought on, with some Blue Pikmin dragging Demons into water pools to drown and beat, while several marine predators of various worlds were unleashed.

A mighty Gyarados, capable of speech, came roaring forth, summoning a tidal wave and booming in a commanding bass baritone, "Once more unto the breach!"

The wave, of course, was nowhere near Luffy, Vivi, Robin, or Chopper. Seawater had... draining effects on Devil Fruit users.

Sure, certain magic could be used on water to make sure it would not harm them...but only for small bodies, like baths. Allowed them to enjoy such luxuries, but not great in survival.

"Time we did a little boarding of our own!" Luffy declared as they wiped out the last of the wave of low-level demons.

Others were already working on the teleportation device to get them on the Demon ships.

Chopper and Carrot went through one of them, with Chopper taking one of his Rumble Balls to take on his Monster Point transformation. Sure, it only lasted three minutes, but he could do a lot of damage with it. As for Carrot, her command of Electro, or weaponized static electricity, more than made up for her tiny size. She'd made a Cyber Demon's head explode with it once.

More than likely one such Demon on here, as well as a bunch of others.

Sanji and Zoro, gritting their teeth, went through another one. They were crewmates, sure, but their rivalry was the stuff of legends. Luffy, meanwhile, ignored the teleporters entirely, strapped on a jetpack, and threw himself through the airlock, fully intending to seek out and fight the strongest demon in the enemy fleet.

Vivi and Hancock watched him go. "Sheesh, so reckless," Vivi muttered, sand trailing her form.

"And yet, so dashing," Hancock gushed, sighing romantically. The rest of the crew would remain aboard the Sunny, taking on any other demons that managed to get through.

However, on the Demon ship...

Jon Snow growled under his helm as he sliced up Demons by the score.

Once, he was an idealistic man, full of hopes and dreams...but life was harsh in the Galaxy, and many factors, notably the death of his love, Daenerys, turned him into a bitter man, embracing the dark ideologies of the Empire.

Yes, he'd grown world-weary long ago, and these Demon attacks didn't help his state of mind at all. Jon cut a swath through the Demon hordes, growing closer to the aberration at the center of it all, when something caught his attention... a voice?

It sounded like someone was shouting, not a Demon, but a mortal man, and likely a young one from the vocal timbre. And he was getting closer.

Someone was here, giving him and his soldiers some...unwanted assistance.

He ducked just in time as Luffy went sailing over his head in Snakeman mode, howling like a madman. Jon groaned. The Straw Hats were even more annoying than those fanatical Space Marines, and that was saying something.

The boy crashed into a Baron of Hell, sending the tough Demon toppling to the ground.

Luffy wound up his vulcanized rubber fist and let loose with a rapid-fire barrage, pummeling the Baron into a fine paste. Elsewhere, Zoro and Sanji competed with each other to kill as many Demons as possible. Sanji was a man of honor, who had sworn never to strike a woman. The Demons of Hell, being masculine in their otherwise sexless appearance, were fair game.

All of them fell to pieces at their might.

Chopper and Carrot, two of the weaker Straw Hats, were simultaneously wreaking havoc on another Demon ship.

Together, the two could pack quite a punch, smacking around smaller Demons across the rooms, splattering them against walls.

Chopper was saving his Rumble Ball for the stronger beasties, and the wave of Barons coming their way seemed to fit the bill. He had to be careful not to destroy the ship, though. At least not before Franky could get a teleportation lock on him and Carrot.

Time to dance! He quickly bulked up and charged at the Demons, smashing them up.

Carrot, not one to be left out, took on her Sulong form and joined him, tearing off a Baron’s arm and impaling him with it before using his corpse like a club.

This was a massive boost in power for her, and the Demons seemed to pause...

How could something so soft-looking suddenly become so strong?

But violent urges overtook them, and they went back into the fray.

Direwolves were all about, shredding the Demons with their fangs.

Luffy, meanwhile, shifted between his various power forms as he tore through waves of high-level Demons, his superhuman strength and speed allowing him to drastically outpace Jon Snow in the race to the Demon commander.

It was a Cyberdemon, yet further augmented with weapons to put up a tricky fight, even for Luffy and Jon.

Saving his rage for the Cyberdemon, Jon joined the fight. Luffy shifted into Tankman form, increasing his defensive capabilities, but losing his speed. After all the blows he'd doled out, the structural integrity of the ship was weakening, and even Luffy wasn't stupid enough to risk the vacuum of space.

He stared down the massive Demon, which glared at him hatefully.

It unleashed a barrage of attacks, but Luffy used his Colour of Armaments to withstand it before throwing a double-whammy of vulcanized punches.

It broke some of the armor, but did not outright kill it. Tougher than that.

That was more than anything it managed to do to him. Luffy had reinforced his Tank form by devouring the corpses of slain Demons, which would probably kill a normal man. It would help him withstand the Cyberdemon's attacks, but once his freakish metabolism kicked in, he'd digest all that Demon flesh and have to shift to either Boundman or Snakeman.

In the meantime, Jon looked for an opening to use his Valyrien sword.

Jon did not want or need this brat's help. He was going to make this Demon a trophy.

As Luffy was taking more head-on attacks from the Cyberdemon, Jon attacked the weak point in the beast's armor, piercing its body. The Cyberdemon roared in agony.

But still, it managed to aim its energy cannon and fire away to blast these fleas.

Although Luffy took the brunt of the blast, it was enough to knock him away, wearing down his defense and leaving Jon to face the thing alone. Good, just as he wanted it.

His wolf helm hid all emotions as he stared the wounded Demon down. A weak spot had to be somewhere...

Having already discharged a massive blast, the Cyberdemon seemed to favor melee combat for the moment, advancing on the gloomy swordsman…and snarled in pain as the metal blade sunk into its gut.

Apparently when that fool was striking it, he knocked out some of its intelligence; so much the better for Jon. He pulled his sword upward, filleting the Demon and further decimating its armor. But before he could strike the killing blow, a familiar fist smashed the Cyberdemon's face in from across the ship...

Luffy's rubber limbs served him well, per usual.

Jon grit his teeth in frustration as he pulled he sword free before severing what was left of the Cyberdemon's head with it. He didn't need that pissant's help!

All around him, the horde soon began to fall, until none remained.

Luffy exhaled, returning to his base form.

"How's everyone doing?" he asked over his com link.

"The Sunny is safe," Robin replied. "Although several of our footsoldiers were unfortunately reduced to a bloody mess."

Damn. That was always a blow to them.

Sure, there were always more aquatic beings willing to fight for them, but it always hurt to lose good people. Zoro and Sanji chimed in next.

"We took down the starboard vessel," the green-haired swordsman announced.

"No quarter," Sanji added.

In short, the battle had been won, the last of the Demons retreating back to Hell.

"VICTORY!" cheered Carrot as she and Chopper beamed back aboard the Sunny.

But Jon was not happy about the whole thing. His pride as a Leader and warrior was smudged.

With that, he stormed over to Luffy, interrupting him from summoning a transport beam back to his ship.

"Oh, hey Wolf Guy," Luffy greeted him. "So you were fighting those Demons too, huh?"

"Your help was not needed..." Jon growled.

"Whaddya mean?"

"This is MY domain," the man in the wolf helm snapped. "Your interference in this matter tramples on my sovereign duties!"

"Your sov-what now?" Luffy repeated quizzically. Were he not a Rogue Trader, possessing the approval of the Empire, he might have eaten steel for his ignorance right then and there, but the other man wisely stayed his hand.

"Look, this is my domain, and it is mine to protect, and show the people I am capable of doing so!" Jon snapped.

Luffy was about to reply, when Vivi spoke up on the comm.

"Inquisitor ship incoming!"

The Inquisition...a semi-independent organization of individuals charged with keeping the peace, mostly by dealing with heretics and Demons...and they would do whatever it took, no matter how harsh and ruthless, to destroy the enemies.

This ship belonged to Inquisitor Tsubaki Yayoi.

She sighed as she looked out at the scene before her. It wasn't her first time encountering the Straw Hats. Hopefully this time that rubberman would mind his manners.

She and her crew closed in on the wrecks before teleporting on. Several Kremlings, Dream Eaters, High Elves, and Sisters of Battle were with her, as were exotic battle beasts. A falcon familiar was perched on her shoulder.

“It seems the Wolf and the fool beat us to the punch,” Tsubaki remarked as she observed the carnage.

She had come to help fight the Demons, as was her job...but now it seemed it would be to help with the cleanup.

Luffy waved to her, cheerfully oblivious as ever.

She sighed as she turned to Jon. “Hell Demons?”

"Aren't they always," he grumbled.

“No, various realms, actually,” Tsubaki replied.

"Then those others have yet to find their way here," the wolf lord retorted.

"Alright, more hunting for me," Luffy piped up, undeterred by the prospect of even more demons out there to battle. Tsubaki caught sight of a few demon corpses that appeared to be partially or mostly eaten. Did that idiot pirate's appetite know no bounds?!

Good thing his will was too strong for corruption...and the fact Demons and Devils often fought each more than they did the Empire.

“Why are you even here?” Jon asked.

"We saw a fight going on, so we came to help," Luffy replied, jaunty as ever.

"Yes, but why?!"

"...Because we like fighting?"

"As for you...?" Jon looked at Tsubaki.

"It's my JOB to seek out the Foul Demons," Tsubaki noted as another familiar, an adder, trailed along her arm. "But seeing as you already took care of things...you leave me with cleanup."

Jon growled, but didn't snap at Tsubaki the way he had at Luffy.

This whole thing was a mess...and now it would have to be dealt with...

"Is there a problem, Lord Jon?" Tsubaki asked in a voice half-teasing, half-scolding.

"None..." Jon said as he stalked off, with the others doing so as well, to do their duty to the Empire.

For the Family.

Chapter 10: Harem Hijinks

Caladan...an oceanic planet and crown world of the Galactic Empire. A beautiful planet, the CIEL system was used well here, as it was on many other worlds, as a clean, infinite energy source, also allowing nature to thrive.

A beautiful world...and like the Empire itself, had darkness within.

This planet was home to the Royal Harem, a group of beautiful women with various skills, both practical and erotic. Despite the usual connotations of a harem, these women were no mere sexual playthings; many of them were intellectuals or specialists.

Not to mention, at times, spies and assassins. In fact, when they DID act like mindless bimbos, it was to marks to make them drop their guards...and wind up either stabbed with a dagger or strangled with scarves.

Yes, they were women of many, many talents... so much the better for their clientele.

Notably the sisters/lovers, Eilonwy and Tina, the owners of the Harem, as well as high-ranking generals and two of the five most powerful people in the Empire.

Krocken and Schala were also there to...fuck them.

Sajah did so every now and then, but was more focused on her work than sex.

Many had... kinky preferences.

And due to powerful magic, the girls could be put into...situations for months on end without food, water, or hygiene.

The water tank was a particular favorite in this regard. Several of the girls were especially fond of being shackled, gagged, and immersed in it.

It was...a nice life. When not being toyed with, they had many perks: Advisors, researchers, and they had fully access to libraries, museums, aquariums, markets...all of that.

And yet...

Some of them were not satisfied. One such woman was Peach, the former ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. When she refused to bend the knee to the Empire, the former princess had found herself deposed in a coup, chained, gagged with tape, and handed over along with Daisy of Sarasaland and Rosalina as tribute. Sure, she still had power and influence, but not nearly the kind that came with being a sovereign leader.

And later, Mona, Syrup, and Merelda were also handed over to the Sisters.

And to add insult to injury, her homeworld was given to Bowser...who did a good job in running the planet, actually making sure all people were happy and had better lives than before.

It did make her wonder where all that wisdom and nuance was when he was still just a blustering warlord.

But it no longer mattered. Here she was, in a place of power, her default clothes now desert-styled bedlah.

She sighed as she looked out at the planet’s surface, trying not to think about her old home. Peach and the other “Mushroom” maidens we’re preparing for a visit from the royal sisters.

As part of this, they had gags applied to themselves already...a common thing for harem girls to do.

Peach...had to admit, that was not such a bad feeling.

Sure, she couldn't speak while she wore it, but there was something comforting about how it hugged her face, pressing her lips against her teeth.

And the stuffing her mouth...nice fit.

Yes, any minute now, the doors would open, and in would come Eilonwy and not-so-tiny Tina.

Tina was once small...but age had been kind to her...

...to a ridiculous degree.

Peach remembered a time when her face was stuck between the wild woman’s massive breasts. Even if her hands hadn’t been tied behind her back at the time, the former princess wouldn’t have tried to get away. The pressure was actually quite exciting.

And her manic nature hid a sharp and cunning mind for politics and battle.

Eilonwy was more graceful, yet darker. A mage who, while not on the Archmage-level of Schala, was still extremely powerful. A necromancer with powers over death, light, darkness, poison, and time.

And sure enough, the harem madams came in with a bang.

"Hello THERE, my little girls!" Tina announced gleefully, notable for referring the harem girls as her 'daughters'. She was decked up in dominatrix gear, her mask at ready and her large chest heaving.

Eilonwy followed her, prim and proper by comparison, but she had a similarly dominant glint in her eyes.

Oh yes...this was going to be an intense session today.

First of all, Daisy was put into a light strappado position.

Her rear end stuck up, as Tina licked her lips, holding a paddle in her hands.

Rosalina was laid on the table, hogtied, with her bare feet on display.

Eilonwy summoned an ethereal feather, which flirted ominously over the whimpering Rosalina’s naked feet.

Just a little cantrip compared to her skills.

As for Mona, Syrup, and Merelda...

They were kneeling in a semicircle, frogtied with their arms bound in reverse prayer and blindfolds tied over their eyes.

Ears were plugged as well, and they mumbled sensually into their gags, underwear filling their mouths. Layers of sticky tape sealed their lips, keeping their mouths shut.

And then came Peach, her large gag looking like a bandit. It covered her lower face from the top of her upper lip to the underside of her chin, tapering into a point and hot pink in color. Her hands were tied together overhead to a ring in the ceiling, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes, while her ankles were bound together.

Her bedlah, just like the others, showed her best curves and slim belly.

Her midriff was perspiring from the strain of her position, and she whined softly through the fabric of her gag.

And Eilonwy was looking lustfully right at her. "That's right...let me see you..."

Peach looked at her with dreamy eyes, gyrating slowly as she moaned through her gag.

“Mmmnnnh...”

Eilonwy smirked, as she called upon her powers of shapeshifting ( a spell among the Family that only Tina lacked) to change into a large serpent, trailing around Peach.

Peach let out a squeal of alarm and delight as she was encircled.

The snake...holy animal of the Empire! Symbol of power, regrowth, and wisdom.

The former princess felt doubly bound on account of Eilonwy’s coils. And yet... a sense of melancholy lingered in the back of her mind.

She hid it well....she hoped...but still something nagged her.

Once upon a time, no one would dare do this to her. They wouldn’t even look her in the eye unless she told them to. Harem or not, she had royal blood in her veins...

And now, here she was, being coiled on...she heard the squeaks of Daisy as Tina spanked her butt.

The former Sarasaland princess had been slow to adjust to harem life, but once she found her passion for martial arts, she learned to love being a bratty submissive.

And Rosalina could only laugh under her gag at the feather. She too found herself into the life.

Peach didn't realize she was shedding tears until she felt Eilonwy's serpentine tongue caressing her cheeks.

An effort to both torment and sedate her. Pain and pleasure here often went hand and hand.

"Mmmnnh," Peach moaned, her eyes rolling upward as she felt her nether regions tingle.

How much longer could she hold out!?

Eilonwy pulled her coils tighter around the former princess' body, eliciting further muffled squeals from her.

That's right...make her squeal and break free of her dignity!

All around her, the other girls were happily giving in to their orgasms, but something at the back of Peach’s mind told her to resist.

But Eilonwy knew better, and sent a pulse of magic to drive Peach into a tizzy.

No use holding back...

"HHMMMMMPPPHHH!!"

Pleasure shot through her slender body like an infection, overwhelming her senses.

And afterwards, she hung limply in her bonds as Eilonwy revered back to human form with a sensual smile.

"Good girl..."

Peach looked to her with weary but loving eyes as the other woman caressed her.

So much...pleasure...made her head swim...almost...submissive...

Later...

Peach and the others were soon released from their bonds and gags and now wandered the halls and grounds in all directions

She still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, despite the lingering euphoria of her sexual encounter. What was up with that?

The grounds of the castle were beautiful...allowing her to get her mind off things for a bit.

Sure, a great number of snakes populated the area, but nothing was perfect.

Heading out into the courtyard, she sat on a stone bench and looked out at the gardens, enjoying the view. For a moment, she let go of her worries.

“Troubled?” Another harem girl, Constance, had approached and spoken.

Peach looked up to see the other blonde harem girl and smiled. "It's nothing, just a bit of melancholy."

"Oh? What about?" asked Constance, sitting beside Peach. "Er, unless you'd rather not say..."

Peach looked up at Constance, taking in her features...

They were remarkably similar in appearance, although Constance came from a very different social class than Peach. Even so, Peach was no snob, and she could use a sympathetic ear at the moment.

Constance’s bedlah was blue and pink in color, and her hair flowed well over her shoulders.

Her eyes were kind and innocent even in light of her harem life. It felt so right to confess to her.

Even if Constance was quite loyal to the Family and the harem chieftess, Mikasa

"My life was a ruler once...and because of my pride, here I am...with Mario and Luigi dead as well."

Ah yes, the heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom. They fought in the rebellion, but lost their lives to Hornet, Drifter, and The Beheaded.

Despite their resistance, the Family recognized the fallen brothers as heroes and displayed their caps in a museum dedicated to the galaxy's finest warriors. It was a small comfort to Peach that their legacy was not tarnished.

And the three who slew them spoke highly of them.

...

“You...wanna go shopping in the market?” Constance asked, hoping to help out.

Peach nodded and smiled.

"I would like that very much, Constance," she replied. Though she wasn't certain it would conquer her sorrow, Peach appreciated the other woman's company.

The market place here was quite large, and just one of many across the Empire. Here, one could see both the dreams and nightmares of the Empire.

All sorts of vendors lined the streets, hawking everything from the edible to the intangible.

Some were traditional, like food, clothes, books, games, pets of all kinds and dangers, arts...

...and others sold shadier. Chromatics, allies to the Empire, were about, selling magic scrolls of power, or traitors for more inhuman Empire members to feast on.

Constance and Peach, being tender-hearted despite the brutality of the world around them, stayed far from the Chromatic merchants when they could.

Chromatics were a major source of income and tribute as part of the alliance.

One Blue was the reason Badral was part of the Harem.

The girls pressed on, beckoned by the scent of incense that wafted through the marketplace. Incense could possess healing qualities when burned, and Peach was a qualified healer.

They passed wine, drugs, bones, sex toys, exotic monsters, and more...

... and soon they found the source of the intoxicating scent. It was a small shop, understated in its presence, but its goods were unmistakable.

The Gardevoir running it looked up at them, an odd smile on her face. "Ah, the royal harem comes, please come in..."

The girls smiled to the elegant Pokémon as they entered. Upon doing so, they were amazed to find the interior far more spacious than the humble exterior had suggested.

They saw it mostly at the castle. Space manipulation, making the castle bigger on the inside...as well as changing how it looked. Desert, jungle, ruins, modern, stone, aquatic...whatever the Family wanted.

The Gardevoir stood behind a counter and addressed the two harem girls.

“How may our shop be of service to you?”

So many herbs and scents...hard to decide.

"Do you have anything for ailments of the mind?" asked Peach, though she wasn't sure exactly why.

"Ah...do one of have audience with the Emperor and Empress tonight?"

"Er, I do," Constance admitted.

"Well then, let us see what we have..."

Constance nodded, hoping she could get something herself for tonight's event. Being summoned to the supreme leader's bedchambers meant the night would be...intense.

Peach figured she could also pick up something for her lingering depression.

Some scents grounds from exotic plants, made to dampen the thoughts and mind.

It was all so... intoxicating...

And it could make them horny and needy.

"See anything you like?" asked the Gardevoir. "There's always more."

Maybe some of those made of snake blood and flytrap fluid...

It looked good enough to Peach.

“I’ll take this one!” she announced, picking it up.

And so the purchase was made, and both girls were soon on their way.

They'd been walking for a little while before Constance suddenly felt drowsy, so they took a seat in a quiet corner of the market to rest for a bit. Peach let her friend lay her head in her lap and caressed Constance's hair and face, not minding if the other girl drifted off.

Before long, drift off she did, and Peach was left to her own thoughts. It was then that she noticed the whispering.

"You sure this'll work?"

"Trust me, if we can get her on our side, we'll have a path straight to the throne."

“So long as the Family don’t vaporize us with their mystic powers...”

Peach choked back a gasp. She was overhearing a plot against the Family!

And...she was the key to this? Madness! Those who stood against the Family were destroyed!

She half-clutched, half-embraced the slumbering Constance as the speakers drew closer, trying to look as though she hadn't overheard them.

Who were they, and what species?

There were two of them, humanoid in shape, but with bulky torsos. To her surprise, they revealed themselves to be Koopas as they stepped into the light!

"You sure that boss knows what he's doing?" One asked.

"Jackal? Feh? Gives himself way too much credit...but still, this could work."

Peach went stiff with fear. They were working for Jackal, a notorious gang leader with severe delusions of grandeur. She'd heard tales of his brutality.

He and his gang of rogues were natives to a rugged world, using motorbikes to travel and pick on those weaker than them.

The Empire, having a dark code of honor, hated them.

It seemed like a no-brainer to report this, but just then the melancholy voice at the back of Peach's mind reminded her of her fallen stature. What if... what if she helped? Could she regain the Mushroom Kingdom?

She needed to make sure Constance was not too involved...and if she remembered...

"Constance," she shook her pal. "Don't forget your appointment with the Emperor and Empress."

"Huh?" Constance muttered as she awoke. "Oh! Yes, of course!"

Off she went.

To get tied up, gagged, and pounded by the leaders...

...leaving Peach to do this...

She made her way over to the traitorous Koopa Troopas, gently clearing her throat.

"E-excuse me..."

“Ah, just who we wanted to see!” One smiled.

“Did you say you... wanted to take over-” she started to say, only for one of them to put a hand over her mouth, “-mmmph?”

“Not here,” one of them whispered. “C’mon, we’ll show you.”

She nodded numbly as she followed.

Her better judgement flared up just then. What was she doing?!

She was a loyal servant to the Empire! She just could not...

Could she?

The Koopas led her to a quiet building. Peach’s heart was pounding. Not that she was afraid for her life; if necessary, she could use her hidden throwing knives to defend herself.

But for now...she waited...

...and inside this small place was Jackal and his gang.

Jackal himself was a big man, bearded, greasy, and decked out in furs, a cigar clenched in his teeth. He grinned as the Koopas came in with Peach trailing behind them.

"Well, that wasn't so hard!" he boomed.

"She's troubled..." One Koopa grinned.

"She want's her lands back," The other said.

Peach hesitated. Did she really want this? To go against the Empire and lose everything all over again?

"Ah, don't worry. We pull this off, we'll give it all back," Jackal smirked.

Oh, this was a mistake. A huge, terrible mistake.

But she was too far into it now...

"What do you need me to do?"

..

And that was how Peach found herself walking back to the palace.

She'd been tasked with something unthinkable. Peach knew it was a long shot, and regaining the Mushroom Kingdom didn't seem worth it.

The palace was vast on the outside, and even bigger on the inside. Same with Sajah’s fortress-lab, a side building on the palace grounds.

Every step Peach took set her nerves on edge. There was no way she could go through with this, she had to warn the Family! She looked around for the way to Sajah's lab.

Well, the door was there. She, as a harem girl, could go right in.

Still, the lab was a dark place, developing weapons and monsters just as much as entertainment and wonders. Sajah herself was a cold scientist...who could fly into berserker rages in battle when especially irritated.

Peach took a deep breath and headed in. Would Sajah understand? Sure, she was turning in the plot instead of going through with it, but would it save Peach's neck to admit she'd been sent to assassinate the princess?

The labs insides were full of machines, working cleanly due to the CIEL system. Vats with growing creations filled the area, and diagrams and robots were in some areas as well. Blood was in the air.

It took all of her self control for Peach not to retch as she made her way through the lab, searching for the princess.

"Hello?" she called out. "Your highness?"

No real response...except for, "Peach?"

Winry and Berix, two accomplished scientists, approached her. Peach took note of the intricate tattoos on Winry's arms.

Alchemy marks, which enabled her to perform transmutation by hand. But there was work to do.

“Where is the princess?” Peach asked. “Something is happening, I must speak with her!”

The lovers looked at each other, then back at her, as if judging her words.

“There’s a new plot against the Crown!” Peach insisted, tears forming in her eyes. “Please, I need to warn her!”

Well, that got their attention.

Nothing new, but always needed to be done.

Even if Sajah was busy.

Without a word, they led her down.

Sajah was working a bit, as she usually was. Sometimes it was updating the massive virtual reality MMORPG, Crosscode. Other times, working on smoothing things over with other planets for magitek. And sometimes it was making monsters.

Today, she was looking though the database of techno-organic machines known as the 'Zoids' and how to remake them.

This was how her fellow scientists found her as they led Peach to her.

"Your highness?" asked Winry, keeping her voice down. Sajah looked up, her expression stoic.

The red reptilian eyes bored right into Peach, as if probing her, analyzing her, in a scientific manner.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"Your highness," Peach explained, "Jackal is plotting to overthrow the Royal Family, and he thinks I've come to assassinate you."

To her surprise, the princess showed no sign of anger or even dismay, but simply nodded and said, "Then he's an even bigger fool than we thought."

Sajah was not one to be fazed by much. A cold, calculating mind always worked within her. She saw many things as equations and studies to be solved.

“Er, your highness?” Peach muttered.

“You’re still here?” Sajah observed. “Is there something else on your mind?”

Peach paused. This was the crossing point of no return. Should she lie to Sajah about how the plot worked and possibly get her lands back...or tell her the plans and have her ready...

...Too much has changed to go back, mostly for the better. She...she NEEDED Tina and Eilonwy. She needed the Emperor and Empress.

Not to mention Jackal was known to be utterly untrustworthy, backstabbing anyone if it meant living a little longer.

Though it troubled her, Peach made her decision and told Sajah everything. Every gory detail and brutal contingency, right down to Jackal’s hideaway.

Sajah stared...then smirked. "So, guess I picked the right Koopas to weed them out."

"The Koopas are...?" Peach whimpered.

"Undercover agents, yes," Sajah confirmed.

This was all just a plot, then. Sajah had this all planned.

In a way, it felt comforting to Peach...

“And now, you may take your leave,” Sajah said as she returned to her work. “Things will be taken care of.”

"O-of course, your highness," Peach stammered as she bowed. The harem girl turned to leave, looking over her shoulder at the princess as she did.

Sajah was not one to share her mind so easily. An enigma to almost everyone.

Peach reflected as she made her way back to the harem. The voice of doubt was quiet now, but although the thought of regaining her lands still lingered, the former princess knew that the state of things at present were for the best. Her mind cleared, allowing her to return to her normal stately self.

The room of the girls was luxurious. A dimly lit area full of bed, cushions, hot baths, and more.

Peach felt she could do with a good bath, so she made her way to the hot spring and started to undress. Wash her sins away, so to speak.

Constance was not here at the moment, as she was...servicing the Emperor and Empress.

Peach stepped into the hot bath, completely naked, and ruminated on the events of the day. She wondered whether the Koopa agents had intuited she'd be ultimately loyal, or if they'd gambled in singling her out. Not that she believed she'd have stood a chance against Sajah; the princess was hardly helpless at the worst of times.

The steam soothed her senses, making so light-headed and relaxed. Make her an easy taker for other harem girls looking to practice the bondage art...

But she welcomed that.

As a matter of fact, a few of her compatriots were lying in wait for her once she finished her bath...

Along with some toys to pleasure her deeply.

The moment came when she finished the bath and rose from the water, slipping on a sleek bathrobe.

It showed off her curves really nicely...but it may have to go.

Indeed, no sooner did she leave the baths, they struck.

A hand slapped over her mouth, while more pinned her arms behind her back.

“Mmph?” Peach mumbled, not really too worried about who was grabbing her. Really, she and Daisy did this to each other all the time.

Her robe was soon pulled off to reveal her nice form, and the binding began.

"Welcome back," Daisy's mischievous voice greeted her as Peach felt her wrists tied together behind her back.

"Hope it was fun, whatever it was you were doing!" Yuffie grinned as she tied the ankles together.

They pulled Peach into a kneeling position as Astrid approached, holding a wadded up cloth and a roll of black tape.

“Open up, your pinkness,” she teased.

Panties were considered to be stuffing...but it seemed cool for now.

Peach simply obeyed.

In they went, and soon Astrid was wrapping black tape over Peach's mouth and around her head, efficiently and effectively gagging her.

The girl was soon felt up all over the place, body being squeezed in sensitive areas.

She moaned and whimpered in pleasure, enjoying every moment of it.

Such was her life now...and she enjoyed it all.

No regrets anymore.

Chapter 11: Captain's Privilege

The grand starship Thousand Sunny was a marvel of engineering. It housed a massive crew, a plantation of real orange trees, a fitness center, a galactic-class kitchen, a fleet's worth of laser cannons, and enough beds to open a motel. Sanji, the crew's cook, treated the kitchen like a kingdom, forbidding the use of food replicators, which he called "devil's work." He saw to it that all ingredients he put into his crewmates' meals came from real soil, real animals, real trees.

Not that Luffy would know. The captain would eat anything if it didn't kill him or smell like ass.

And if one suggested Sanji to try the replicator...he would dryly state he would rather have a Great Unclean One shove a sword up his ass.

Considering Great Unclean Ones were Greater Demons carrying every disease known to the Empire (and then some), that was saying something.

Roronoa Zoro, Luffy's trusted right-hand man, usually dominated the gym, lifting weights exponentially larger than himself. As the strongest swordsman in the galaxy, he stuck to a training regimen that would kill an ordinary man. Such a mighty fellow had more than his fair share of admirers, but Zoro only had eyes for Kozuki Hiyori, the princess of Wano. Both his real eye, and his cybernetic one, installed by Sajah herself after a brutal fight with a Beholder. He was...happy for it.

There was also a top-of-the-line medical bay, where Chopper near-singlehoofedly treated any and all illness and injury among the crew. And in the depths of the ship, the legendary scholar Nico Robin maintained a library of rare and priceless books. Some even detailing Demons...not how to summon, of course, just how to smash them, and their powers. Along with some famous ones.

Steering the ship through more dangerous sectors was the whale shark fishman Jinbei, a mighty martial artist who worked in perfect harmony with the navigator and the lookout, Nami and Carrot respectively. With the three of them on board, the Thousand Sunny was nigh-impossible to catch.

And those who tried were often fired upon by Usopp, the gunner. A skilled man at arms...and a less-skilled but flashy liar.

He and Franky, the chief engineer, handled the heavy firepower capably. As for Franky himself, he'd built the starship near-singlehandedly, which was no small feat for him given his cyborg body. And with a few drops of simple cola, he could use himself as a literal weapon of mass destruction.

Entertaining the massive crew was Brooks, an undead member, always ready to play a tune for all gathered.

He did have some... perverted tendencies, but Brooks was a reliable side man in a fight, especially with his ice powers. Resplendent beyond words, however, was Boa Hancock, the crew's dancer and resident sorceress. Known to the galaxy as the Snake Princess, Hancock had the gorgon-like power to turn lustful beings to stone. But upon meeting Captain Monkey D. Luffy, she met her match and fell hopelessly in love with him.

And she found the Empire to her liking, as the snake was the holy animal, due to the wisdom, power of youth (thanks to magic and technology), and hidden power.

This was the Straw Hat crew. And leading them was none other than Monkey D. Luffy, the man who had defeated the galaxy's most powerful pirates before he was even twenty years old. He was at the height of his masculine allure...

...powerful fighter, big eater, Rogue Trader...so much.

As well as husband to Hancock... and Nami... and Robin... and Vivi, the Sand Princess.

Nami, it should be noted, was the cartographer of the crew, mapping out both star systems and their planets, also reeling copies to other agents of the Empire...for a good price, increasing the Hats' already massive wealth.

Robin, meanwhile, had the power of the Hana Hana fruit, which enabled her to sprout copies of her limbs from almost any surface. It was a handy power to have during her career as an assassin... but now she used it mostly for mundane tasks and... pleasurable bedroom activities.

Vivi, once the princess of Alabasta, ran away with the Straw Hats to live as a pirate after consuming the Suna Suna fruit, freshly taken from the corpse of the villainous Sir Crocodile. Along with Hancock, she danced beautifully to Brooks's music.

All four girls were also found of wearing the desert harem dancer outfit to show off their curves and bodies well...and to seduce a certain husband of theirs.

As such, one day as the ship was docked at the space station Loguetown, the birthplace of the legendary pirate Gold Roger, Luffy's predecessor in the fabled role of "king of the pirates." This was the anniversary of the crew's formation, and they'd just come from their celebration of this event. Now, Luffy was headed back to his quarters for a roll in the hay with the four women.

Most of the army they had disembarked earlier, to enjoy life for a bit while unloading cargo.

As Luffy headed for his room, his four wives quickly arranged it for the oncoming orgy. Vivi, still learning how to control her Logia powers, had fastened Devil fruit-suppressing shackles around her wrists.

Bondage was popular sex practice among the Empire...the Family would know. Yes, Krocken and Schala were devoted to each other, but even they fucked their sisters and the various harem girls.

The same could be said of the Dreemurr children. Frisk, for all her regal stoicism and strong will, delighted in being bound and gagged at the mercy of her brothers and fucked for hours on end.

For now, all four girls waited for their doofus of a husband.

Nami and Vivi stood by the door, bot of them anxious to kiss him before Hancock went to town on their mouths with duct tape. It wasn't that she hated them, she just didn't like competition when it came to orally pleasuring Luffy.

Sure enough, the door flung open to reveal the man of the hour himself... picking his nose. How nice...but what could you do?

Not that the girls minded. Vivi and Nami each smooched Luffy's cheeks, getting his attention.

Finger came speeding out in a flash. "Er, we all ready?"

"We are always ready to please you, husband," Robin cooed, using sprouted hands to guide the rubber man over to the bed.

The desert outfits showed off their figures nicely. From the large breasts to the slim bellies.

Hancock lay there waiting, her eyes full of longing and jealousy. Sure, she saw the other wives as her friends most of the time, but that didn't mean she wouldn't compete with them.

Which was why she was waiting to spring a tape gag attack on Vivi once the handcuffed girl let her guard down.

Maybe stuff her mouth. Panties or sponge today? She wanted that rubber cock to herself today as well...she knew it to be even better than the Emperor's supposed prehensile dick.

Regardless, Luffy was soon on the bed next to her... but before she could do anything, Robin pushed past Hancock and straddled the prone captain.

Crap! Clever little sneak!

Robin had her usual smile on. Mysterious and...sensual...

Noticing Vivi lurking nearby, Hancock pulled a soft sponge out of her cleavage and decided to take out her frustration on the bluenette. With Luffy looking on, Hancock grabbed Vivi from behind and started cramming the sponge into the startled girl's mouth. Vivi squealed in alarm at first, but as Hancock pressed the familiar sticky tape over her captive's lips, the smaller woman started moaning sensually.

Not just a small strip, but a wraparound, as Hancock avoided her blue hair, which she stroked gently.

Luffy grinned as he watched this. Just then, Robin sprouted a hand to steer his face back toward her. She leaned over him, letting her breasts dangle before his eyes, while Nami undid the front of his shorts and pulled out his erect member. She massaged it lovingly.

Both girls pulled down their tops, letting their large bosoms dangle free, nipples erect with lust.

Hancock pushed the bound and gagged Vivi forward, sending the petite girl onto Luffy so that her taped mouth connected with his lips in a teasing one-sided kiss. The great Amazonian beauty then gently swung a muscular leg at Robin and Nami, making them duck.

This gave her the opportunity to take Luffy’s cock in her mouth.

Oh yes, she had it now! Taking that stretching organ right into her mouth, and she quickly began to lick and suck at the same time.

Luffy's eyes shot wide open as he felt this, all while Vivi nuzzled her taped mouth against his neck and shoulder.

So soft and pleasant to the feel...

Nami, determined to get some satisfaction out of this night, slipped off her pants and sat on Luffy’s face, letting him use his stretchy tongue to perform cunnilingus.

She panted, eyes lidded and face flushed, as she allowed this.

It was a good thing the private army had time off here. She and the others did not like it for them to bother the lovers with problems at times like this.

Robin, meanwhile, guided one of Luffy's hands to feel her up and finger her own snatch, moaning as he went to town on her as well.

All breasts were soon exposed, free to shake and bounce in the actions.

This was the captain's privilege, to lay with all his concubines.

Sweat was on their bodies, already getting hot. A tub lay in the corner, enchanted to be safe for fruit users.

This was where the next part of the orgy would take place. Nothing like a little dunking to spice things up a few degrees.

And so, as the group worked themselves up to a screaming collective orgasm, the tub seemed to beckon to them. To get cleaned up and have fun at the same time.

Vivi, still shackled and gagged, seemed eager to try.

And Hancock, pulling back from Luffy, grinned as she scooped her up in her arms.

"Shall we?"

"You have to ask?!" Luffy chuckled as Vivi blushed.

Hancock cradled Vivi, hand cupping her butt as she carried her, before submerging themselves in the water.

Vivi squealed through her gag in a mix of delight and trepidation, for although the sensation was pleasurable, there was still the ever-present anxiety that came with the sea's curse. Even if it was safe.

But Hancock groping her large chest soon put her mind at ease and bliss.

Nami and Robin, meanwhile, shared a tongue-swapping kiss in front of Luffy.

Married to him, and each other. How nice was that?

He put his arms around them both. Then around them a little more. He could stretch, after all, so why not?

Winding around their bodies like snakes, causing them to moan further.

Man, it felt good to be king of the pirates.

All five were soon in the pool, letting the waters work on their forms as they fucked.

Nami had been cuffed and gagged the same as Vivi, and she and the bluenette nuzzled Luffy together.

Breasts floated in the water, like some cute and perverse pool toys.

Ah, yes, they were found of this, even during major weddings...though such things were expected anyways. The wedding between Kida and Chel was an event to behold, for example.

Even the Empress and Emperor got drunk enough to wind up in bed with a Swampert.

Rayman and Ly were getting hitched soon as well, and the possibilities there seemed endless.

Marriages...grand events among elites and leaders.

Luffy didn't like them at first, but when he realized how much food was at them, he had several!

Ah, he was getting distracted...Back to the orgy!

First he slipped it into Robin, who ground on his dick with fearsome energy even as Hancock cupped her hands around the brunette's breasts.

Making sure everyone got some sort of pleasure around here, one way or another.

Robin wrapped her arms, her real ones, around Hancock's waist in a reverse hug as she grunted and whimpered with each of Luffy's thrusts.

Luffy panted, more so when Nami and Vivi brought their breasts into view for his tasting.

Out came his tongue, stretched as long a a chameleon's as he went to town on them.

Taking their nipples and showing them loves, as if suckling milk...

...and notably, Tina and Eilonwy knew the art of milking their girls, and were known to sell said milk at times.

If Luffy had the head for business, or Nami didn't care about her dignity, the Straw Hats might have jumped on this idea themselves, but it was silly to try to one-up the harem mistresses.

Especially when said girls were part of the Family, and high-ranking generals as well.

The instant Robin came, Hancock switched places with her, taking her turn to ride the rubber cock.

Yes, yes...all so good and frantic, rubbing and kissing and sucking...

And then all came with howls.

Even gagged as they were, Nami and Vivi's ecstatic cries could be heard for miles.

Thankfully, everyone else was too busy or having fun to notice this.

Yes... another night of revelry aboard the Thousand Sunny had come and gone.

Such was life for the Captain and his lovers...

Chapter 12: Dragon at Battle

Planet Celtland, Melorde Village...

Celtland was a peaceful planet (relatively) among the Empire worlds, here was palace of magic based of the elements of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Savage monsters did dwell in the wilderness, but warriors were always making sure the population was controlled.

...for now, Spyro and his pals were hanging out at the inn.

This was one of the warrior dragon's favorite haunts. It always had something for everyone, and as he was one of their best customers, they always had seasoned lamb chops and Midnight Mountain pale ale in stock.

A place to unwind...and to prepare for the future...

"So what happened next?" asked Bianca, listening eagerly to one of Hunter's old cubhood stories.

"I had to start eating the coconuts," Hunter deadpanned, eliciting laughter from the entire friend group.

"Ah, that one never gets old," Elora sighed.

It was peaceful for now, but things could change fast in the Empire. Reports of the infamous pirates, Euron Greyjoy, had surfaced, and many were on alert.

Spyro had looked forward to someday crushing that madman. The dragon had a penchant for collecting trophies from his slain foes. In one such case, he inflicted a bit of poetic justice on Jinmen by binding the turtle demon's soul to one of his dragon scales, specifically one near his anus.

Jinmen...a Hostile Demon of unknown location, appearing as a turtle. A sadist to the core, he ate his victims...them kept them 'alive' as faces on his shell.

Spyro received a lot of rewards for his killing from the Family.

Also a time he faced down a Bloodthirster, Greater Demon of Khorne. That one was a bit...tricky. Namely, they fought for 3 days and nights before Spyro banished it back to the Warp.

When he woke up a week later, Elora was both screaming at him for being an idiot and crying her eyes out in relief.

Spyro looked around at all his friends. Elora was beside him, her head snuggled on his shoulder. Sparx the dragonfly, his best friend from childhood, flitted about with Zoe the fairy. Hunter and Bianca were seated together, and Agent 9 was at the karaoke machine, belting out a rendition of "What's New, Pussycat" for a table of swooning catgirls.

And then he found himself looking over a portrait of the Family.

Emperor Krocken, Empress Schala, Princess Sajah, and High Generals Tina and Eilonwy. He began to review each of them in his head.

He quite admired Emperor Krocken. Although they used very different breath weapons (never mind the fact that Spyro was quite adept with ice himself), the fire-breather always felt at ease in the raptor's presence. Spyro wasn't one to throw around the term "inspiration" willy nilly, but the Emperor was definitely one in his book.

 

You know, despite the Emperor’s severe edge and powerful psychic abilities.

Empress Schala was also a forced to be reckoned with, as THE most powerful known archmage in the Galaxy...and possibly more ruthless than her husband.

Princess Sajah he knew more by reputation, but he was aware through what the Professor had told him that she was notoriously cold and calculating, but prone to fits of destructive rage when pushed too far.

Tina and Eilonwy...were a bit off. One cold and calm, one crazed and loud, but both cunning, intelligent, and bloodthirsty.

And he served them all faithfully. Just then, Spyro felt a heavy but familiar paw on his shoulder and looked up to see Bentley the yeti, who had a look of alarm on his face.

"Might I be so bold as to inform you of an oncoming calamity in private?" he muttered. Spyro didn't hesitate to nod. For Bentley to be so quiet and intimate in his communication was a sign of dire times.

Euron was a dangerous man, managing to recruit several...unwholesome species under his fold.

The two walked out of the inn, taking the time to move up the Spirit Tamer Monastery.

Once he was sure no one was listening in, Spyro asked in a subdued voice, "What's going on, Bentley?"

"I'm afraid our intelligence gatherers were mistaken in their estimate of Euron's current voyage," Bentley replied. "It appears he is not presently bound for Corneria, but rather this very planet!"

"WHAT?" Euron was coming this place? Why?! What was he after?

"Perhaps this planetary domain is steward to an artifact of great power?" Bentley suggested. "Our man does have a predilection for accumulating magical armor and weapons."

It was then Spyro remember something was here in the Monastery: Eletale's Book, an ancient tome that allowed the practice of the spirits here.

"Holy shit," he muttered. "How close are they?!"

"Within one hour of entering Celtland's atmosphere," Bentley answered.

Damn! Not enough time to call for others help! He would have to hold them off!

"We gotta get the others!" Spyro exclaimed.

"It seems we must," Bentley agreed. "Despite our orders to remain sedentary."

They could follow the orders from higher-ups...but things changed, and they had to react.

Quickly, they returned to the bar to gather everyone. Sheila had been returning from a quickie behind the tavern with a handsome dingo barman, but she was apt to fall in line. Agent 9 was disappointed to have to put his latest conquest on hold, but he bade the catgirls goodbye after collecting their contact numbers. Sparx had downed a few thimbles of Romulan ale and had to be fed some butterflies to regain sobriety, and Zoe gave him a zap with her healing wand for good measure.

Sgt. Byrd was alert as always, of course, being a professional solder and all. Hunter and Bianca were still sitting together when Spyro came.

Elora was the first voice her concern when the dragon spoke. "Already coming?"

"Yeah," Spyro nodded. "Here. Probably for Eletale's Book."

As a scholar, Elora was well-versed in magical artifacts. She needed no convincing now that the situation was dire.

"How long do we have?" she asked.

"Less than sixty minutes."

"Oh, seriously?!" Hunter groaned. "Not enough time for others to get to this planet!"

"That's why we're taking the fight to that psycho," Spyro declared.

"By ourselves?" Bianca asked. "He has a whole army with him!"

"Never stopped us before!" Agent 9 chortled, waving his blaster.

Elora bit her lip. This was a reckless move...but if they did nothing, this whole planet would be razed. Euron's madness knew no bounds. Even death did not scare him.

"If we're gonna take on someone that crazy, we'll need every advantage we can get," Sheila added, "and the longer we all stand here arguing, the less chance we have!"

Right...No choice but to use their personal fighter and take the fight to Euron.

"Right then, not a moment to lose," Sergeant Byrd said as they boarded together. "When one is disregarding standard military protocol, it's all or nothing!"

"Easy for you to say," Hunter remarked as he took the pilot seat, "you're not the one who has to fly this thing."

Normally Elora would have chided them for their boyish banter, but this oncoming confrontation was bothering her. She'd seen Spyro do many reckless things over the years, but his foes were usually expecting him to have some sort of plan or strategy they could exploit. Not only were they going in hot, they were doing so against someone just as unpredictable as the dragon.

Even in a straight fight, she wasn't sure she could see Spyro win.

The image of the Bloodthirster came to mind. She was nearly beside herself with horror when she saw his battered body come to her.

That fight pushed Spyro to his limits... it truly was a miracle he didn't go into shock and die after such an ordeal. Elora let her mind drift back to the present as she saw Spyro settle into his seat and give her a wink. She didn't have to hear him speak to get what he meant: "Never say die."

Everyone was strapped in and ready for takeoff.

And soon it went shooting off into space. Time for some fun!

Agent 9's whoop of joy broke the tension as they escaped Celtland's atmosphere, drawing ever closer to the encroaching space pirates.

They could see the massive fleet before long, the mothership decorated with a kraken figurehead.

"Contact in T-minus thirty seconds!" Elora cried, watching the radar.

"Ramming speed! Target the mothership!" Spyro ordered. Hunter's eye twitched.

Agent 9 and Sergeant Byrd made for the gunner turrets and opened fire.

Several smaller pirate ships, sensing the dangers, broke off formation and sped right to the enemies.

Bianca had already engaged the shields, which were augmented with her own magic, while Hunter overcame his trepidation and sped straight for the flagship at ramming speed. Soon, Spyro, Sheila, and Bentley would board the ship.

Byrd and 9 would help by providing suppression fire as well.

Now...what kind of monsters did Euron bring this time?

Skaven were often present as his footsoldiers. They were unpleasant in the extreme, but a decent bit of crowd control could keep them at bay.

Devils of the Nine Hells of Baator were present as well. These fiends, coming in a variety of kinds, operating under the strongest...and Euron proved himself well.

There was still more... Deep Ones had apparently joined his ranks as well. Silent beings of ages old...mysterious and cold...

Spyro wasn’t deterred in the least. He made for the teleporter.

Time to get on the mothership and take some fuckers down!

He and the other heavy hitters, Bentley and Sheila, manifested aboard the flagship and immediately started trading blows with a mob of Skaven and Devils. Bentley swung a massive crystal club, reducing all he struck to a fine paste, while Sheila's powerful kicks and stomps shattered bones and crushed heads.

"Empire-Dogs!" A Skaven chittered. "Must rend!"

"Try it, ugly!" Spyro smirked before letting out a stream of flames that cooked the Skaven alive. Back aboard the ship, Hunter maneuvered through an onslaught of enemy ships while the two gunners returned fire.

But Devils were magical beings, and could teleport places...

...as an Ice Devil, insectoid in appearance, was happy to demonstrate.

"Man, I could REALLY use that psychic trick that Luffy does," Agent 9 grumbled, referring to the pirate captain's Colour of Observation.

"Observe, adapt, improve, soldier," Sergeant Byrd replied. "That's all the tricks a fighting man requires."

He then concentrated, aimed, and let out a string of blasts that tore the Ice Devil apart as he reappeared somewhere else.

Devils were hardy, especially those of higher rank like this one...and killing it here would simply kick it back to its home realm for some time.

Killing Euron, however, would unmoor them from their service to him. Back on the ship, the warrior trio was squaring off against four Deep Ones, twisted fish-like humanoids that individually had the strength of a small army. Spyro had cut his teeth on creatures quadruple his size, however, and he darted around them, changing up his breath weapons and harassing them with flanking attacks.

Elites, like him and his team, tended to be extremely strong as well. It was how they got such good positions.

Indeed, while he was flanking the Deep Ones, his teammates Bentley and Sheila struck them with head-on attacks. They worked together in harmony, and the gargantuan beasts fell before them. Spyro charged ahead, deeper into the ship, when a laser wall activated between him and the other two.

They couldn't reach him, and he couldn't retreat.

Damn.

"Keep going, mate!" Shelia cried. "We'll clean up around here!"

"I'll find a way back after I kill Euron," Spyro called back with a nod. He then charged off down the corridor. Euron was close, he could feel it. And likely waiting to kill him as well.

It was nothing he wasn't used to. Jinmen had gotten the jump on him once. Now his soul lived on in a scale on Spyro's ass, getting a full view of every dookie that came out of it.

Such as it was, Spyro proceeded to a corridor with clear walls, offering a glimpse of the space battle outside. It must have been a spectacular sight, but all Spyro noticed was the man at the other end of the hall.

"Never say die," the stranger boomed in a sarcastic voice, mocking the dragon's favorite phrase. "Rather defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

"Euron Greyjoy," Spyro fired back. "I always heard you dressed like crap, but this is ridiculous."

Euron, dressed in a gaudy pirate outfit, simply smirked at he turned, allowing Spyro to look into his eyes.

Eyes that spoke both of madness and clarity. A method to the insanity he spread. Eyes with no fear, even in the face of possible death.

When he spoke again, his voice was calm and cold as the vacuum of space.

"Shall we?" A sword, decorated and sharp, was drawn.

Spyro knew full well that Euron was likely using an enchanted sword, and that his ridiculous outfit likely had chain mail of Mithril under it. But he wasn't the type to hesitate, and he threw himself into the fight.

His strong horns clanged against the blade, and they stood deadlocked for a moment as they pushed on each other, trying to get an upper hand.

Euron prevailed, knocking Spyro back. The dragon staggered, vulnerable to a strike of opportunity, but he saw the flash of the blade and managed to duck under it. Had he but recovered only a split second late, he'd be much shorter and a lot less snarky.

"A purple hide will look good among my trophies!" Euron jeered.

"Funny, I was thinking the same about your tongue!"" Spyro snapped back.

That struck a nerve. Euron's eye twitched as he recalled his old practice of cutting out the tongues of his original crew. Spyro lashed out with the tip of his tail, forcing Euron to parry with his blade.

The two clashed on, still trying to carve each other up.

"So, still licking the boots of the Family, eh?" Euron sneered.

"Don't mock it till you try it," Spyro taunted. "Who knows, maybe they could do something about your halitosis."

"That the best you got?" Euron scoffed at the insult.

"Yeah, that was a low blow," Spyro grinned. "But who's the one who doesn't need fancy toys to fight?"

He backed up this insult to Euron's skill by dodging under another sword swing and tackling the pirate, slamming his fists into his foe's abdomen. And a dragon's punch was nothing to scoff at. But Euron was powerful himself.

He coughed and staggered, but managed to evade Spyro's next attack and grab one of the dragon's horns in mid-charge. And with a mighty hurl, flung Spyro halfway across the command deck.

Spyro's more feline qualities kicked in, and he managed to land on his feet, skidding across the floor. That throw disoriented him, and he realized a close-quarters battle would only tire him out. Euron barely looked winded by comparison. Time to change up his tactics.

Fire churned within him, leaking form his jaws.

Euron, seeing this...grinned. "Ah, now we're having fun."

He advanced, right into the cone of fire that Spyro launched at him.

He seemed...unfazed by it, even at some of the decorations of his suit were singed off.

"A little fire won't cut it, boy!" he leered, but Spyro was undaunted as his breath turned cold.

"Then I'll just have to keep trying," he said with a smirk.

The cold was slowing Euron down...

But he just. Kept. Coming.

Spyro ran the gamut. Wind, lightning, essence of earth. Euron trudged through it all like it was nothing. But he couldn't fool the dragon.

Spyro thought he saw some slowing of the movement...

That was it. He knew how to beat Euron. The man was resilient, but not invincible.

Just needed the perfect moment to strike.

He beat a tactical retreat, continuing to change up his breath weapons as he used them on Euron. The pirate didn't seem to notice what Spyro was doing and laughed, storming after him.

"Is that all you've got?" he jeered.

Yes...bait him along until ready.

Spyro concentrated, letting his mouth fill with his strongest flames. Even the strongest Mithril had a melting point, and he was primed and ready to overwhelm whatever magic armor was protecting Euron's body.

"It seems you're out of tricks," Euron taunted as Spyro backed up against a wall, sword held aloft. But Spyro offered no witty comeback this time.

He just spewed a blistering fireball.

Enough to blast down the defenses.

Euron’s response to the deadly blow?

“Ah...so that was the game.”

It was amazing he could still stand, let alone talk. The fireball had scorched him from shoulders to waist, fusing whatever was left of his coat and armor with his charred flesh. Most men would have gone into shock immediately.

Him? He just gave a dry chuckle.

The sword fell from his grasp and clattered on the floor, his arm no longer possessing the strength to use it. Spyro didn't waste any time. He lunged horns-first at the disfigured pirate, skewering him through the heart and one of his lungs. Euron didn't protest or plead, fearless as ever.

Even Jinmen had pleaded for his life when Spyro cornered him.

A cold laugh...then silence as he slumped forwards and down.

Spyro had won, and he reached into the mouth and tore out the tongue.

Yes, this would do nicely once he could get it into some embalming liquid.

"Time to jet," he muttered, setting out to find a way back.

As well as dragging the rest of the body to eat later.

He could always save the bones as proof of death. Spyro ran through the corridors, searching for anything akin to an escape pod or off-world shuttle. Little did he know...

"Something's wrong!" Bianca cried as she watched the flagship. "There's an energy reading coming from the flagship that's off the charts!"

"A self-destruct sequence?" Sparx suggested. There was no time for contemplation. They HAD to get the warrior trio off that vessel, and fast!

Euron would always make sure that if he went down, so would everyone else.

"I got a lock on Sheila and Bentley, but there's no sign of Spyro!" said Hunter.

"Beam them aboard!" Elora commanded. "And scan the ship again!"

Elora had to fight down the urge to panic and scream at the thought of him dying in a blast.

Sure, he'd come through under pressure before, but... there were so many times where he barely made it out in one piece. When he fought that Bloodthirster, it almost tore his wings off.

Meanwhile, Spyro had realized there was a countdown in progress and raced ahead, trying to get within range of his own ship's scanner.

The ship began to spark and fizz, flares incinerating several pirates, their screeches ringing in his ears.

What a way to go. He hefted Euron's remains over his shoulders, trudging onward and hoping Hunter found him soon.

A Chain Devil, avoiding the falling ship pieces, saw him, and made for him, swinging the bladed chains.

"I. Don't. Have," Spyro growled through gritted teeth, "TIME FOR THIS!"

As he screamed the last part, he lashed out with his tail, creating a blade of air that vertically bisected the Chain Devil.

"I got Spyro's heat signal!" Hunter shouted. "He's moving around a lot!"

"Bring him home," Elora pleaded.

Both Spyro and his trophies were enveloped in light and vanished...

...just as the ships core went critical and whole thing blasted apart.

Back aboard the team's ship, everyone waited with baited breath as the transportation aura flickered... before giving way to a very on-edge Spyro, still clutching what was left of Euron's charred and mutilated corpse. At least he was conscious this time.

"All right! He's good!" Hunter grinned.

Elora, disregarding the corpse, threw her arms around Spyro and kissed him.

She was so happy to be with him! And when they got back and thing settled, they were going to fuck.

She LOVED it when she was at his mercy like that.

Of course, they could also expect a ceremonial chewing-out for their insubordination, but that was just standard military protocol.

Except...who would be the one doing the yelling this time?

Upon returning to base, they soon found out when General Eilonwy came storming up, fists clenched. The High-General's face was obscured by a stylized deer skull, but her annoyance was clear in her posture as Dawn and May, two harem girls, stood at her side.

The first thing she did once she was close enough was to press her finger against Spyro's chest and snarl, "You just had to rush in again, idiot."

Even Spyro knew to choose his next words carefully. As a member of the Family, Eilonwy was one of the five highest ranking members of the Empire.

"We believed we would save more lives if we struck preemptively rather than wait for backup," he explained, keeping eye contact with the general.

A long pause as Eilonwy stared him down, the death aura radiating off her.

"Had you simply alerted Control of Euron's new trajectory, we would not be having this conversation," she muttered. "But... you all returned alive, and gave his fleet no quarter. Any punishment beyond a verbal reprimand would be... inefficient."

"And I got his tongue!" Spyro could not help but grin as he held it up.

"Well, yeah...you did that as well."

Elora sighed while Hunter and Bianca face-palmed. Sure, he was their leader, but his trophy-claiming obsession was embarrassing.

Not that it dulled Elora's libido any. Just as long as he kept that thing far away from her.

With that, Eilonwy turned and stalked off, her selected girls following.

Really, this was nothing they hadn't been through before. At least Eilonwy didn't slap all of them at once like Tina did.

Well, time for some R&R! They earned it again.

Off they went to their various haunts. Sergeant Byrd returned home to his beloved wife Isabelle, while Agent 9 set about contacting the catgirls from the bar for a booty call. Shelia went to stream the new season of 'Streets of Rogue', while Bentley traveled to a library station. Hunter and Bianca felt like going for a shuttle ride together. Sparx went to find Zoe and continue their escapades. As for Spyro and Elora, well...

"Ya like that?" Spyro smirked in a friendly, yet dark manner as he rammed into Elora with his cock.

"Mmm-hmm," Elora whined. She would have said yes, but for the stuffed OTM gag that smothered her mouth and muffled her voice.

Bondage...a popular sex act among the Empire. Could be because of the constricting ropes and chains were like that of the snake.

She was wet and wanting...

Her hands were clenched into fists behind her back, shackled firmly together. Elora was helpless, her legs played out as Spyro thrust into her snatch.

Fur was damp was sweat, but it did not matter as the two made passionate love.

Another successful mission, indeed. Not a bad reward.

Chapter 13: Book of the Raven King

Empress Schala was a hard woman to pin down. Beautiful and intelligent, she was a skilled leader in political, personal, and military matters, just like her husband, and did look out for the welfare of her kingdom. She was also the most powerful archmage of the Empire, able to learn all magic, even absorbing books and 'cards' to bolster her power.

Schala was also a bitter, severe person, not exactly 'nice' by any means. Regular childhood rape by her mother did that to her.

Zeal had received her punishment, thankfully, and Schala had long since surpassed her. Yet there remained one legendary tome of magic that remained beyond the reach of the empress: the Book of the Raven King.

A mysterious figure, the Raven King had emerged from parts unknown a millennium ago and taken half the galaxy as his kingdom. He brought the power of magic with him, a previously rare and near-forbidden resource before the spread of his influence. There were few contemporary mages in the galaxy who could say they didn’t owe their knowledge of the craft to him.

All of this before he was eighteen.

And yet... five centuries ago, he disappeared, abandoning his throne. There were a few scattered accounts of seeing him walk into a mirror as easily as a doorway, but no one could say where it took him.

And the book...was said to be lost...

...until rumors resurfaced about its supposed whereabouts on a distant planet.

She would go for it herself, but these days work kept her occupied, and she would need to destress by fucking either her husband or the harem, thanks to her large sexual appetite.

Thus, she put out a call to fortune seekers, treasure hunters, and adventurers across the galaxy, offering a handsome reward for anyone who could bring her the book.

And it was no long before several factions came to the capital to discuss details.

There was Nico Robin, representing the Straw Hat crew. Rattlesnake Jake, the serpent gunslinger. Treasure hunting duo Yooka and Laylee. Hornet, part of the 'musketeer' trio, including her, Drifter, and the Beheaded. Roxas of the Keybearer Unit. Lara Croft and her assistant, Tarduk. And Spyro, representing his allies.

All had gathered today to see what they would be competing for.

Schala entered the room, flanked by two of her favorite harem girls, and took a seat at the head of the table. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a screen descended from the ceiling depicting a tableau of a king holding court. On the throne was a tall, pale man in ragged robes, his face partially obscured by long black hair. A beautiful maiden in a red dress sat at his feet, while a baby manticore played with a unicorn. Standing off to the side was a pasty, thin-faced gentleman with thistle-down hair.

Anyone who knew even the slightest bit about galactic history would know this was a painting of the Raven King holding court.

"I assume you all know why we are here," Schala stated with her usual icy tone, as Mia and Constance stood at her side.

"The Raven King of old," Robin observed. "Of all the artifacts ascribed to his hand, only one remains lost to us."

"The Book," Lara and Tarduk said together.

"Exactly," said Schala. "And now it seems to have resurfaced..."

“Reckon that thing’s gotta be mighty well preserved, bein’ five hundred years old,” Jake muttered. “So where are we lookin’?”

"Exact location unknown," Schala stated as she pulled up a Galactic map. "All we know that it's somewhere along the wilderness zone."

That place...where planets had not yet been colonized, and was said be populated by the most savage of both planets and monsters.

"Nothing we can't handle," said Spyro, brimming with confidence.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Yooka added.

Roxas nodded silently, eager, like the other Keybladers, to explore new realms.

Schala looked abut, expression even. "I should mention that while only one unit can get paid for the book, all others can obtain other forms of payment."

"Namely, samples," It was Sajah, just coming it, who answered, dressed in her lab coat. "It's unknown territory, full of specimens to be studied and catalogued."

"A journey into the unknown bears many fruits indeed," said Hornet. "Perhaps a greater treasure may await those who fall short of the grand relic."

Hornet...always the mysterious one...reflected in her ethereal way of speaking.

"If there are any questions, now is the time to ask them," Schala announced. Spyro raised his paw. "Questions that do not involve whether the Raven King is trapped in the book."

Spyro put his paw back down and shrugged.

Worth a shot.

"So...good chance of horrible death?" Tarduk had to ask in an amused tone.

"Now, now," Schala smiled, the kind of smile a cobra might give when sizing down prey. "You all have been in deadly situations before. Won't be anything new."

"It feels strange that a vestige of civilization would be lost in a savage world," Roxas remarked. "How can we be certain the Book is really there?"

“Perhaps a slow magic spell, meant to hide it safe from prying eyes...”
Spyro opened his mouth to ask another hair-brained question, only for Schala to interrupt him: "No, you do NOT need to read the book. In fact, you are all forbidden from opening it."

"Oh, come on," Spyro groused. "I'm not illiterate! I just wanted to know how we're supposed to know it when we see it."

"Oh, do trust me; you'll know."

All knew better than to argue further. Getting into a fight with Schala was...a good way to wind up dead.

"Yeah..." Spyro grumbled to himself. It seemed that was the end of the questioning session. It was time for everyone to head out.

As people filed out of the palace, they knew it would be time to meet up their units to discuss the plans.

Robin made her way back to the Thousand Sunny, where her crewmates were waiting for her.

"So what're we finding this time?" asked Luffy between bites of roast goat leg.

"We are to venture into the wilderness zone and retrieve the Book of the Raven King," the enchanting archaeologist explained. Nami's eyes lit up.

"That's one of the legendary grimoires!" she cried.

"We need to get stocked for that..." Vivi noted. "To Center!"

--

Center...a large indoor city on the Crowned-owned planet of Phase World. The structure itself predated the Empire and Raven King, said to have been built by the Kaiju, the first sentients...and this Krocken, said to be related to these beings, knew its secrets.

The city itself was a trade zone, living area, and entertainment value...and one could almost do and buy ANYTHING there.

And for an excursion into unexplored wilderness, the commissioned mercenaries would need plenty of supplies. Self-preserving foods, vaccines, water condensers, weapons, armor, maps, familiars if needed.

Center had it all, and then some. Just had to be careful in the city.

The Keybladers arrived, touching down to begin their shopping trip.

Aqua, as usual, took charge, taking in the massive place, several levels (with the top being the home of the wealthy elites), and countless species.

Rattlesnake Jake, being cold-blooded, had need for equipment that would keep his body warm in case he went into chilly temperatures. He slithered along.

Lara Croft looked over a store selling all types of ammo, from piercing, freezing, and toxic.

Tarduk held the definite purchases for her, though he eyed a few whetstones for his claws to add to the pile. Sanji perused the food markets. The Straw Hats went through bento boxes like mad even without the outlier that was Luffy, and he needed to be well-stocked. Who could say how much of the flora and fauna they'd come across would be toxic?

The food market held food from all over the Galaxy, chief among them from the Gourmet World, a massive planet filled with fast food...and insanely strong animals. Go at your own risk.

Buying them was not cheap...but Elites were often quite wealthy.

Yooka and Laylee in particular had no issue affording all the crazy gadgets they thought they'd need for the trip. Spyro seemed to be a treasure magnet himself, buying out an entire survival gear shop's inventory.

Always making sure to get his pals things as well. Missiles, arrows, books, scrolls, wands, you named it.

Soon, all the factions found themselves at the massive FTL Express, a large bar/restaurant catering to all types of races.

After all that shopping, they were sure to be hungry.

And being elites, even got discounts! And respect from patrons.

There were all sorts of dishes available, something to satisfy every palate: seasoned meats, delicious confectionery, fresh fruit, vegan alternatives for those who chose not to eat animals, all from the many different planets in the galaxy.

Aqua was with her team in one large table, overlooking the map. "Gods...such a big sector. It could be anywhere..."

"Maybe we could split up and cover more area?" Sora suggested. On an individual level, the Keybladers were still quite powerful.

But the Zone was filled with Orks, Dark Eldar, Demons, Devils, Skaven, Xenomorphs...and worse.

"That's... really not a good idea," Xion muttered.

"Perhaps we start from the west and work our way across," Riku suggested.

Lea leaned back in his chair. “Sounds like a plan to me. A little fun is always welcome.

Spyro and company were looking at another map. Everyone closed their eyes per Sparx's suggestion and pointed to a random spot.

Agent 9 held his Gungeon guns close, ready for anything.

Spyro opened his eyes and saw where most of his teammates' fingers were congregated on the map.

"Alright, guys," he said, "looks like we're going in from the top and working our way straight down the middle."

"A suitable strategy," Byrd noted. "A clean sweep through the sector while gathering what we can."

Lara, meanwhile, calculated the likelihood of each verminous alien encounter based on the known planetary climates.

Orks could be anywhere, hardy as they were. Skaven and Xenomorphs kept to the shadows. She could handle Orks easy enough if she and Tarduk could get the drop on them. Others were bit more dangerous, especially the Fiends. But they would press on.

Jake and the Straw Hats flourished in dangerous areas, so they could enter from just about anywhere.

And right now...

"So, yer all looking for more way to die, eh?" Jake hissed, his lips curled into a deadly smirk. Being both a snake (holy animal of the Empire) and utterly ruthless (an encouraged trait to have), Jake was himself comfortable in the hierarchy.

“We won’t die!” Luffy said in his usual carefree manner. “This is a nice little field trip for us!”

“Yeah, field trip,” Usopp mumbled. “Why do my knees hurt all of a sudden?”

Jake checked under the table. “Ah, knees knocking together, eh? Mighty bad,” His resulting chuckle was dry and cold.

Salome, Hancock's snake companion, hissed at Jake, speaking the language of beasts to him. Only they and Chopper understood what was said: "Without fear, there can be no courage. Look to your own lot."

Jake just grinned. "Amen to that! Only morons know no fear."

Elsewhere, the three "musketeers" prepared their own exploration plans.

Hornet and Drifter sat together, as the Beheaded went to gather some 'dogs' from a store.

They managed to catch a glimpse of him being carried soundlessly along by a hyperactive Chain Chomp. Eh, he'll be fine.

Yes, everyone had a plan of attack. Wherever the Book was hidden, it wouldn't stay that way much longer.

And soon...time to move out into the danger zone.

--

Spyro's team touched down on a jungle world.

All disembarked, taking note of the vast green, and the sounds of many animals, all likely designed to kill them in horrible ways.

Hunter and Spyro were quick to engage their tracking capabilities, scouting ahead for the rest of the party.

The smell of blood hung in the air. Funny. Jungles were usually a favored environment of the Empire.

So why the unease?

As they made their way deeper in, a series of distinctive yells gave them their answer: Orks.

"Oi! I smell sum runty gits 'round here! Wot sez we stomp 'em, boyz?!"

"Oh, brother," Elora sighed. She wasn't TOO worried, but Orks were like ants in a fight: easy to squish on their own, but obnoxious in large numbers.

"WAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!" came the all-too-familiar call of the Orks.

Armed with tech that only worked because they believed it did, the Orks came swarming.

Agent 9 whipped out his Gungeon guns and let loose.

Special guns from a crown planet, they could be made to fire almost anything: Bullets, lasers, flames, water, oil, poisons, sharks, explosive teddy bears...

He had both of them set on random, so all sorts of things came flying out to rend Orks to pieces. Byrd was quick to deploy his shoulder-mounted missiles.

Elora and Bianca used all sorts of magic to choke down the machines, causing them to break apart into (more) piles of scrap.

Hunter's explosive arrows also came in handy, and Bentley's great strength and unbreakable crystal club easily crushed even the Orks that thought they were indestructible. Then again, few things could stand up to an angry yeti. Even Krogan berserkers respected Bentley's power.

As Shelia kicked and shattered bones and Spyro torched both Ork and Gretchin...he wondered how the other parties were doing...

On a world of caves and mountains...

"PIGFUCKER! PIGFUCKER! PIGFUCKER!!" Namine snarled, stabbing at the Shoggoth that had gripped her.

Aqua stepped in, slashing at the protoplasmic appendage that held her teammate captive, while Sora and Riku fought off two other nasties.

Tindalos Hounds snarled and barked as they faced down the Keybladers.

"I'll take the one on the left," Sora remarked.

Kairi took on a rather nasty Shantak, trying to slice off the head of the loathsome creature.

Great, so many planets, and they get stuck with Old One servants.

It couldn't be helped, they needed to get through this.

Well, at least no Dholes were about and-

A rumble in the ground.

"Ah, shit," Ven muttered.

Roxas gripped his Keyblade as the thing came into view...

The massive worm-like beast burst from the ground, slime dripping down its form.

“Of all the crawling uglies, it had to be worms,” Lea grumbled.

Damn...hopefully they would get exotic rocks to sell back at least...

Meanwhile...

The Straw Hats were on an oceanic world, having converted the Thousand Sunny from starship mode to a nautical form. While they were no strangers to life at sea, the absence of friendly merfolk felt a bit alienating.

And the Deep Ones just annoyed them.

Vivi glared as she absorbed the moisture out of one, before dropping it down as a mummified corpse.

Jinbei, meanwhile, put his fishman karate to good use, punching three of them at once without his fist actually connecting with any of them. The three Deep Ones hemorrhaged all at once as the shockwave from the punch pulverized their insides, reducing them to lifeless chunks of scales and flesh.

The Deep Ones had also been followed by sea serpents, eager for flesh.

Luffy and Zoro were quick to fight them off, fists and swords flying.

Like so many others, they were used to fighting horrors that were meant to shred sanity. To them, just another day.

Usopp, expert sniper that he was, used his Colour of Observation to track any aggressors that might try to flank his more active friends, shooting the beasts down before they could cause harm. Nami rode on her cloud summon Zeus, feeding him lightning pellets to increase his size and power.

Blood soaked the area, but that could be cleaned off later.

Robin sprouted giant limbs to crush and impede the attackers, while Franky finished them off with his cybernetic armaments. Really, there was no need to break out the General Franky mech for a simple job like this.

While Pudding wasn't exactly a trained combatant, she was handy with a laser pistol, backing up her husband's powerful kicks where she could. Her memory powers also proved surprisingly effective against the Deep Ones, disorienting them long enough to make them easier targets.

And yet...still no book...

The Musketeers were having little luck themselves on the desert canyon they arrived at, with Drifter scanning the area...

...while a pile of butchered Rhynocs sat behind him and his companions.

There were no markings of civilization to be found anywhere, save for the so-called Nameless City in the distance... a place even the most hardened elites avoided on principle.

But...this could be important...

So, taking a chance, the three of them set off for the quiet place, that city that only they of mortal beings dared to enter. The ground around it was cracked and hardened, with no sign of vegetation anywhere.

Stoic as always, Hornet took charge. Her needle still dripped with Rhynoc blood. The Beheaded held the leashes of a pack of tracking dogs that whined as they approached the Nameless City. A variety of breeds, all sensing the danger already.

Drifter kept a hand on his gun, ready for anything. What little intel they did have on this place said it used to be a bustling metropolis in the days of the Kaiju, but who peopled it and why they vanished had been lost to time.

Now...only ruin and memories lay.

A sense of unease swept over the Musketeers, despite their hardened sensibilities, as they entered the city. Immediately they noticed that many of the buildings seemed to be scaled to exceedingly small beings, and nothing resembled the ancient Kaiju architecture.

Something was off about this place...weapons were drawn.

One of the dogs started barking frantically just then, as if someone or something suspicious was approaching.

All were on alert. Something was here! But what?

A strange creature came charging at them from between two of the low-ceilinged buildings, sprinting at superhuman speed!

Hornet lashed out, hurling her needle as it pierced the flesh of the creature.

Acid began to drip, though her needle was sturdy against it.

Xenomorph.

It kept coming, prompting Drifter to draw his gun and fire off a blast at it. He took chunks out of it, but it was hardy!

Some of the braver dogs slipped from their leashes and charged the Xenomorph, latching onto it with sharp teeth. The Beheaded drew his own sword and slashed at the thing as it came within reach, taking off part of its head.

It staggered and snarled, acid getting at the dogs! Great, some money down the drain.

Hornet pulled her needle free, jabbing it again into the Xenomorph in an effort to take it down before more dogs could be burned to death.

Right through the head...and into the heart.

And the Beheaded took a sledgehammer and pounded it into paste.

Well, that was over. But the Musketeers had lost some valuable resources, and the city still loomed around them. If there was one Xenomorph out here, a hive had to be nearby.

None of them felt like being used as incubators.

And sure enough, they could hear the claws...

Yooka and Laylee had their own troubles, having landed on a forest realm, same as Jake...

...and getting into an encounter with Beastmen.

Unlike Beastkin, Beastmen were savage Chaos creatures, despising all forms of civilization...and had really short tempers.

The three of them were duking it out, the duo with their quirky maneuvers and arsenal of gadgets, and Jake with his trusty six-gun.

And the Beastmen were savage and relentless as ever, cursing in their foul tongue.

“Just had to be Beastmen!" Laylee grumbled as she lifted Yooka over the crowd, letting him throw grenades into it.

The smell...oh GODS! It was putrid!

Jake was having the time of his life, laughing madly as he gunned them down.

"HAH! A GOR RIGHT THERE! RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES!"

"Well, at least one of us is having a good time," Yooka sighed. There seemed to be no end in sight.

And still no dumb book!

--

This went on for everyone for some time...

...until, by chance, all arrived at the same planet.

"Well... fancy that," Lara remarked.

Tarduk looked about the gathered group, recalling how he and Lara just got away from swarms of Dark Eldar, looking to torture them.

Spyro was still absent-mindedly chewing on some Ork fat like it was gum as he too surveyed the scene.

"So... who wants to go halfsies?" he asked.

Luffy was silent as he took in this planet. It didn't seem to be any one ecosystem, but an odd fusion of desert, forest, and beach all at once. The air felt strangely warm and pleasant.

And yet...something was in the air. A sort of force that defied explanation.

Something was off in the distance. Looking through his binocu-goggles, Usopp remarked, “That’s odd. What’s a storefront doing out here in the boondocks?”

“You gotta be seein’ things, Pinocchio!” Agent 9 taunted, but he quickly ate his words when his genetically-enhanced eyes showed him the very same thing. “Huh. That IS weird.”

An illusion? Or something more?

...

All hands were on weapons.

Though the group approached as slowly as possible, the anomalous shop seemed to move closer to them itself. Soon they were at the doors, and sure enough, it was quite real.

The scent of incense came faintly from within.

...

A lure? Maybe a foul demon?

Chopper put his keen sense of smell to use, trying to discern what else was in there.

“Well?” asked Zoro.

“I’m picking up hints of smoke,” said the reindeer. “Not from a fire, but something with tobacco... a cigar or a pipe. There’s also perfume, ectoplasm, and… alcohol? Yes, lots of alcohol!”

It was Lara who opened the door at last to rush things along.

Chuckling, Zoro made to follow her along with Drifter and Spyro. Sanji was about to do so as well when Pudding grabbed his arm and snuggled up to him jealously.

Something was not right here. Could this be the work of the Demons of Slaanesh?

Before anyone else could follow the four adventurers inside, the door slammed shut again, leaving the larger group locked out. Luffy tugged at the handle, only for a sing-song feminine voice to call out, "Ah, ah, aaaah! You didn't say the magic wooord!"

Damn it.

The four stuck in turned to see the place...and it was...

...exotic. A wutai kind of setting.

"Okay, now I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming," Spyro deadpanned.

"Dreams and reality often go hand and hand...." A female voice said within the fog and incense.

All turned toward the source of the voice. They didn't draw their weapons, but the four remained on guard.

"Ah, why the apprehension?" the stranger inquired in a playful tone, advancing through the gloom in silhouette. "Is it common practice these days for customers to come to a wishing shop bearing arms?"

A wishing shop? What kind of crap what that?

"Show yourself," Drifter deadpanned.

"We don't intend to harm you," Lara added.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," giggled the strange woman, finally stepping into view... and what a stunner she was.

An Asiatic woman with long black hair, dressed in the finest robe one could think of. She moved with an ethereal sort of grace...and her face spoke of mischief. In one of her hands, she held a glass of wine, which she swirled casually while tilting her head, sizing up the four adventurers.

"My my, such variety," she cooed. "I must admit, it is rare to have so many customers at once."

"And you are?" Lara inquired.

"You may call me Yūko," The woman said, "And I know what you seek."

"How?" asked Zoro in a curt voice.

"Ah, I have my ways," came the teasing reply. "The real question is can you afford to find it?"

“What do you mean by that?” Lara asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Is it so difficult to locate?”

Yūko took a sip of her wine and coyly answered, “Perhaps. Though it may be closer than you realize.”

“What, you want a finder’s fee?” asked Spyro, only for Yūko to giggle loudly.

“Better not be our souls,” Zoro hissed. “Demons go after them enough.”

The enigmatic shopkeeper shrugged.

“I’d have no use for them,” she said. “Now then...”

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly she and the four hunters were seated around a circular table. The hunters realized they each had their respective preferred beverages in front of them.

For Spyro, a large glass of pale ale. Zoro, a bottle of saké. Lara, a shot of absinthe. Drifter, a simple cup of coffee.

"Shall we talk?" The witch said. "About the Book?"

"...So you really do know..." Lara grumbled.

Zoro, like his captain, was immune to all toxins, so he had no reservations about grabbing the bottle in front of him and chugging away. Spyro eyed his beer with suspicion and asked, “So first of all, you do have the Book, right?”

Letting out another girlish giggle, Yūko replied, “I didn’t say that. But if you were to wish for it, I would need something in return.”

“Equivalent exchange,” Drifter muttered. “How very alchemical.”

All were wary, though. What would she ask of them?

“Spyro, you value beauty,” Yūko said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Keeping your fortune in precious stones, collecting works of art, lavishing your lovely girlfriend with pretty little gifts. Ah, but it’s only natural, is it not, being a maker of glasswork?”

The dragon’s jaw hit the floor. He let only a few people in on his passion for glass-blowing.

“How did you-?!”

"I simply know..." Yūko smiled. "Just like Zoro here likes his swords."

Zoro held his swords.

"And Professor Croft covets knowledge."

Lara felt a shudder down her spine.

"But you, Drifter...what do you seek...? It is cloudy to see..."

"I am a warrior," Drifter replied. "I seek only to protect."

"Fitting," Yūko said with a smile. "After all, the lot of you are simply couriers. The real client is the Empress."

"And you should she, along with the rest of the Family, are not to be crossed," Drifter replied.

"Indeed..."

"How do we know you even have the book?" asked Spyro. "For all we know, you could be bluffing."

"How uncharacteristically astute of you," Yūko teased. "Very well, I'll allow you a little peek at the merchandise."

With that, she stood from her seat and proceeded to... disrobe? The hunters looked on in shock as the eccentric witch dropped her kimono to the floor, revealing strange lettering all over her naked body. She spread her arms and twirled like an exotic dancer. It certainly looked like there was enough script on her to fill a tome.

"...You've got to be kidding me," Spyro muttered. "Who are you, exactly?"

“I’m the book,” Yūko replied in the same mischievous tone. The dragon stared for a moment, as if processing this, then grabbed the oversized glass in front of him and started guzzling the contents.

Ah...that would make this job harder. How were they going to explain this to the Empress without the threat of an icicle up the ass?

“What would it cost us to bring you to the Empress in person?” Drifter dared to ask as Lara pushed away her absinthe. Yūko picked up the abandoned shot glass and casually downed its contents before giving her response.

“Actually, meeting the Empress would be enough for me!”

Well, that was interesting. Question was, who would present her? There were only four hunter groups represented in that shop, and-

SNAP!

Suddenly the table was gone, Yūko was clothed, and they were all standing at the front door, which opened before them back outside. Sanji almost went gaga at the sight of the gorgeous witch.

Pudding puffed her cheeks at that as Elora looked the girl up and down...

"We found the book. It's her," Lara gestured.

"I...see..." Kairi muttered.

A collective silence passed over the crowd of hunters, broken by a fit of hysterical laughter from Laylee.

"Alright, where's the real book?" she asked once her mirth subsided. "...Seriously?!"

...

...

...

"...Damn it."

"Uh...what say we all just take her to the Empress and split the payment?" Roxas sighed.
--

A little while later, in the Imperial Court...

Krocken and Schala sat together on their thrones, taking in the sight before them.

“I would recommend the explanation you going to give us...exceptionally good,” Schala deadpanned.

"This woman," Lara explained, "is Yūko. She claims to be the Book of the Raven King in biological form."

"With your permission, your majesties," purred Yūko, "I should like to show you my credentials."

"I do wish to see, of course," Schala stated. "But where-"

Yūko disrobed.

There she stood, hands on her hips, her naked figure once again on display. Yūko turned around slowly, showing the ancient lettering seemingly tattooed all over her pale skin. Schala was taken aback, having never seen such script before, and wondered if this was the language of Faerie. The very same language that all magic under the Raven King had used before his disappearance, forcing mages and scholars to start from scratch.

And then Tina had to ruin the moment by coming in and saying, "Damn, new recruit?! She's got some figure! Just show her to my room!"

It only took a single mocking glance from the witch to shoot down that line of thought.

"Pray tell, how did you come to carry this... manuscript upon your skin?" Schala dared to ask.

"I have longevity," Yūko said with a shrug. "Mr. Uskglass wanted to be sure his testament would last, and he knew his words would be twisted if they fell into the wrong hands. And with my shop being what it is, I could easily avoid sectarians and kidnappers."

Krocken tapped his claw. "And you've been hiding out for some time, it seemed...yet nothing can stay hidden forever."

Yūko manifested a pipe and puffed on it, exhaling a stream of smoke.

"I've been waiting for just the right moment to emerge," she said. "And now that you have found me, I'll share some of my knowledge, straight from the Raven's beak."

"And is there some sort of catch?" Schala asked, eyes narrowed.

"That is the nature of wish-granting, your eminence," Yūko chuckled. "However, as you are royalty, I'll offer you a special deal: the prophecy, in John Uskglass's own words, in exchange for hosting my shop within the palace."

This was a bold negotiation to put before the likes of Empress Schala; she was known to punish blackmailers and extortionists in disproportionate ways, even by Krocken's standards. But to the crowd's surprise...

"Done."

Krocken nodded. Perhaps some sort of profit and secrets could flow into them this way.

Good for some cleaning staff as well. Always a hassle to clean up blood after someone was skinned alive or tossed to the beasts.

“Splendid!” Yūko chirped. “Now then, let me see, how did that prophecy go again?”

She muttered to herself for a moment, looking down at her naked body as if looking for the right passage.

While the adventurers stood by...

...wondering when they would get paid.

At last, Yūko found the text and cleared her throat.

"Through a polished glass I walked and sealed the way. I saw the Galaxy, beautiful and imperfect, and knew it was forever mine. Yet I could not stay, and in my place generations of mages shall rise. They shall ascend ever higher until two stand above the rest. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me. The first shall bury her fears beneath decadence, yet still feel their sting; the second shall see those dearest to him forget his existence. The first shall seek impossible control; the second shall seek impossible vengeance. Both shall fail. The gilded girl shall wear a cloak of light, and be queen of a strange land."

A long, awkward silence, with eyes darting from one person to another.

"And this means...?" Krocken prompted.

"My lord, books do not interpret themselves," Yūko laughed. "This prophecy is five hundred years in the making, and whether or not it is to come true in this era is not for me to say."

"Yeah..." The Emperor sighed. "Well, never mind. Set up your shop. And the rest you...did well. You will be rewarded, all of you."

A few of them grumbled, having hoped to reap the bounty themselves. Schala, meanwhile, contemplated the prophecy she'd just heard. Two mages were to lead the Galaxy, one of them fearful of the Raven King's reputation. Although she believed she would never admit this to anyone, the Empress always looked upon that period of galactic history with a sense of creeping dread, for he had a connection to an ancient and terrible world beyond the Galactic Empire: Faerie.

Krocken, a psychic, was also lost in thought. He was tempted to probe the mind of the witch...but he sensed this would be...difficult, even for him.

And now, for better or for worse, she had become the resident wish-peddler.

Hmmm... this would require a close watch on her as well...

And thus, the Book of the Raven King came to Empress Schala.

Chapter 14: Frisky Frisk

The Dreemurr family was among the most prestigious Rulers of the Empire. Headed by King Asgore and Queen Toriel, this group ruled their planets well, and made sure all went well. Sure, it involved being quite ruthless as well, but that was par for course in the Empire.

The heir to the Dreemurr family was Asriel, one of three children, but the only biological one. His siblings, Chara and Frisk, were both human adoptees.

Chara was the male of the two humans. Known for his dark sense of humor...and causally murdering anyone he saw as an enemy, using blood and dark magic.

This stood in stark contrast to the female human, Frisk. She was a peaceful sort, preferring to charm people rather than hurt them.

Quirky, stoic, and grown into a beauty with long flowing hair and well-developed curves.

She was beloved among the Dreemurrs' subjects.

And feared by enemies, who always seemed to be distracted and confused in her presence...

...allowing her unit of Succubus Family Monster Girls to tear them apart.

It was an open secret, however, that Frisk had a... special relationship with her two brothers, one that went beyond simple familial love.

And sure, the parents were confused at first, but got over it fast, loving their kids very much and supporting them...

...and certainly better than going to Slaanesh.

Asriel, for all the princely airs he put on, seemed to go weak in the knees whenever Frisk spoke to him.

Chara...kept cool...best he could. He was rather beautiful himself, in an ambiguously masculine manner.

And lately...they needed her...and she needed them...

All that was to be done...was to take the first step.

And Frisk would do it.

It all began one night...their parents were gone on a trip on another world.

She made her way to her bedchamber and opened her closet, combing through it for a suitable getup. Her eyes fell on a harem girl outfit.

Blue in color, with white trimmings. A bra top, silky panties, transparent puffy pants, and facial veil.

Perfect.

She began to disrobe her usual clothes, slowly and carefully.

She let her long brown hair fall loose down her back like a mahogany curtain, shaking her hips ever so slightly as she slid out of her skirts.

Her shirt, bra, and panties came next, her full nude form behold to only herself.

Her nipples were already stiff as she eyed her reflection, caressing her soft skin.

Yes...she had grown. Now, time to get dressed. And so, quickly but carefully, she put on the costume.

Feeling the silky feel of the outfit smooth on her skin. And as an extra touch, she inserted a small sapphire into her navel, and put on a feathered cap.

She remained barefoot, taking in her painted toes.

All she needed now was to get the boys in here.

Or maybe...go to them?

Yes... perhaps she could entice them with a dance. She had learned a few things from the harem girls.

And others things too, like Constance of all people told her of blowjobs (from personal experience with the Emperor).

Frisk also saw the 'drowning' tank for safe dunking.

It turned her on.

Surely, her brothers would reciprocate. Thus she left her room, setting off in search of the two princes.

She moved with silent, ethereal grace, keeping to the shadows during the evening time.

Asriel and Chara, meanwhile, were engaged in a game of skill. Always good to keep one ready for the various Eldritch threats in the Galaxy.

Frisk made her way over to them just as Chara won the round.

“Oh, come on!” Asriel yelled. “You were obviously cheating that time!”

“A real foe wouldn’t go easy on you, brother,” Chara countered, smiling his usual enigmatic smile.

Frisk kept to the shadows, playing up her role...then spoke in low, stoic tone.

“Hello.”

The boys looked up... and the looks on their faces were priceless.

Her veil hid the lower half of her face...though her outfit hid little otherwise.

"Uuuuuuhh..." Asriel gaped.

Good start...now to draw them in.

"So...busy?" She asked in a cool tone, stepping forwards almost silently, only the shaking of her coins making noise.

Before Asriel could choke out a response, Chara pushed him aside, remarking, "Quite the ensemble, Frisk. Have you come to put on a show for us?"

"Perhaps...but do you deserve it?" Her tone was stoic.

"Would you be here if we didn't?" Chara teased.

"I-I say we do!" Asriel piped up, finally finding his voice.

Frisk kept her stoic face...but began to sway sensually. Her brothers watched as she began to slowly dance, moving her arms in the same graceful, snake-like fashion as the harem girls she'd shadowed. Her hips moved side to side, nice supple ass with them. Dooooo...

Asriel felt his pants suddenly grow a little tighter.

Chara grinned and nodded as he felt his own bulge rise, stroking his own shaft through the confines of his leather trousers. Frisk began to back away, beckoning the boys to follow her.

The shadows seemed to flow around her, her eyes, lidded, shining. Little by little, she led them back to her bedroom, quietly savoring the moment.

But kept up the front. Best play the game.

All the while, Asriel was barely keeping it together. Chara, on the other hand, moved with purpose. He was going to FUCK his sister hard! Break that ice!

Soon, they were in the bedroom...

Frisky swayed then lay on her bed, sticking her butt up.

Asriel was at his breaking point, charging for the bed.

"Hold up, bro!" Chara gripped his shoulder. "You can go for the mouth."

Frisk opened her mouth ever so slightly, running her tongue along her top lip in a teasing gesture as the brothers approached together. The veil hid it, but they knew she was taunting them.

Asriel knelt at Frisk’s head, Chara at her ass. It was time for a bit of fun.

Frisk felt both her veil get lowered, and her pants and panties being pulled down.

The fact that she could only see Asriel excited her intensely, as Chara was by far the more dominant of her brothers.

Let’s see what they they could offer.

Asriel lowered his pants, revealing his stiff, swollen member. It looked ready to thrust into Frisk's mouth. Hopefully he wouldn't cum too early; he had a habit of climaxing before things could get interesting.

Frisk kept up her stony face...able to hide her beating heart and excitement...

...even when it was shoved right into her mouth.

This was closely followed by Chara slipping his erect phallus into Frisk's moist pussy, making her a human spitroast.

Oh yes. Nice and wet already. Her face could be ice, but her body still betrayed her.

The two brothers began thrusting aggressively, challenging Frisk's stoic demeanor as she felt the intense sexual pleasure build up within her.

Chara managed to reach down and grip the bra top, pulling it down to show the nice melons.

Frisk's eyes rolled back in her head as this happened and moaned, though Asriel's thrusting member stifled it somewhat.

Good. She wanted to draw this out. The more time she spent denying them a reaction, the harder they'd thrust. Just like she'd always done.

And like always, and like everybody else, proceed a magic field around them to prevent both unplanned pregnancy and sexual disease.

As the sex went on, Frisk was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain her calm demeanor; it was all too exciting!

And she had...supplies under the bed once round 1 was done.

Sure enough, the emissions came from both ends, and Frisk felt a rush of ecstasy run through her. Yes, this was a good screw.

Asriel's hand tangled in her long brown hair as he fucked her mouth, while Chara gripped her ass hard. Another moan came from Frisk as Asriel's seed filled her mouth, shortly before Chara came in her snatch.

Good...that was...satisfactory enough as both pulled out...and Chara, knowing his sister's...habits, checked under the bed.

"Ah, a box."

At a nod from Frisk, he retrieved and opened it.

"Ohoho!" he laughed. "Sister, you know us so well!"

A lot of rope, tape, panties, and cloth.

So she wanted them to bind her, eh? Finally!

And then she spoke. "Would it be hard for you to bind me very tight, and stuff my panties in my mouth...is that beyond your abilities?"

Chara scoffed, while Asriel grabbed a length of rope and said, "We'll do more than that Frisk! You just lie still and we'll do the rest!"

Frisk was pushed down further onto her stomach and her arms were wrenched behind her back. Ropes looped around her wrists and elbows and pulled tight, binding her arms behind her and rendering them useless.

She bit her lip, savoring the sense of helplessness this gave her. Next, her waving legs felt further ropes around the ankles and knees. Her big toes were held tight and tied together as well.

"Hmmm, like I said...amaTRRGG!" Frisk's taunting was cut off when a pair of her purple silk panties were crammed into her mouth.

This was followed by a strap of silver tape going over her lips, smoothed down nice and tight to form an airtight seal on her mouth. But that wasn't the end of it, as Chara then picked up a crisp white scarf from the box and pulled that over Frisk's taped lips.

This was a...major thing for Frisk. She LOVED being shut up forcefully, be it cock or gag.

"Hnnnff," she moaned, testing the gag's confines. She could barely make a sound through it... perfect! It was knotted tight behind her head, and dangled past her chin, desert-bandit-styled.

The boys pulled her to her knees, now that she was all bundled up and muffled. It was time for the second part of their threesome.

Both went to her perky breasts with their lusting mouths.

Frisk leaned her head back, shaking her long brown hair and moaning through her gag.

She kept up her facade, even as her nipples were suckled and nibbled on.

Then Chara grabbed a fistful of Frisk's hair and pulled vigorously.

“NNG!” Frisk grunted as her head was yanked back.

“Hmmm...don’t think the gag is good enough...” Saying this, Chara picked up the roll of tape and proceeded to wrap more of the sticky stuff around Frisk's already gagged mouth.

This time all around her head, missing her hair by design.

Another cloth was grabbed, light blue in color. This one went over her heavily-taped mouth, covering everything from the top of her upper lip to the underside of her chin. It looked like a comical exaggeration of her first OTM layer.

"Now we need to test it," Chara noted.

"Ah, hand her over here," Asriel spoke up.

Chara did so...and grinned when Asriel laid his sister over his lap.

The young monster raised his hand and... smacked Frisk’s bottom!

“Mmmph,” Frisk squeaked, her voice barely making it through the gag layers.

She felt her ass ripple and bounce from the blow...and it was exciting! Getting harder and harder to maintain herself.

"Let me have a go," Chara purred. Asriel laid Frisk across his brother's lap, and the bound and gagged woman tensed herself for an even harder spanking, as Chara was a true sexual sadist.

And they came down HARD!

"Man, look at you! Trying so hard to act so proud! But we know better!"

Asriel, meanwhile, had moved to Frisk's bare feet. Frisk was extremely ticklish, and her naked soles were incredibly vulnerable. And not to mention they looked...tasty...

Asriel clamped down, sucking away at Frisk's toes.

Oh yes. So sweet and delectable...and the smacks were music to his ears.

Frisk screwed her eyes shut, trying her hardest not to give in, but between the heavy gag, the tightness of her bonds, the spanking, and the foot worship, she was having a rough time. The boys were really putting their work in.

Her fingers flexed about, trying to move to distract herself...

...and Chara ceased his spanking for a moment to grab them. "Now, now...for that, extra hard spanks...but first..." He grabbed the tape once more and encased Frisk's fingers in them, reducing them to useless paddles.

Now she was well and truly helpless. Oh, this was too much..
.
Back to the whacks to her ass. It was...stressful! Yet fun! And Asriel was still going to town on her feet! She couldn't hold it in much longer.

Her facade shattered, eyes rolling up and moaning past her gag.

"Mmm! Hmmff unggg!"

"Giving in already?" Chara teased, though he knew Frisk had made him and Asriel try hard to get this reaction.

Oh, he was getting hard again! Made him want to ram right into his sisters backside!

Asriel too was getting excited by Frisk's submission. Feet were good to suckle and bite, but he needed more.

He got up, climbing back onto the bed as Chara laid Frisk on her back.

Right...time to fuck her hard, both between the legs and chest.

The ropes around her legs split under Chara's knife, and soon he was caressing her trembling thighs while Asriel liberated her ample bosom from her top. What was left on it at least, her chest still covered in saliva.

Asriel presses his fuzzy member into Frisk’s cleavage, but Chara took his sweet time probing the lips of her cunt with his cock, keeping her guessing as to when he’d plunge it in. This was a different sort of sadism, messing with her head rather than her body.

She loved every second of it.

Her head WAS fuzzy, messy, and gone-for now. It would come back at the end and-

Something was shoved in each of her ears, and then her vision went black. She couldn’t even hear her own muffled whimpers. She could only feel...and feel she did, more so blind and deaf.

That's when the thrusting started. From both of them.

Frisk felt the pleasure surge right through her entire body, and she howled in bliss past her gag.

Yes... this was going to make her cum! And yet she tried to make it go as long as possible!

She arched her back, clenching her fists behind her back so hard that her fingernails pierced her palms, trying her hardest to stave off that intense sensation of pleasure for as long as possible. The boys, meanwhile, were intensifying their thrusts, intent on making her react.

The tape around her hands limited her finger movements...but STILL!

"Hnng, ungg!"

This was it... she was at her limit.

“HHHHHHMMMMMNNNN!”

She felt the wetness flood her body and chest.

Her submission complete, Frisk went still, her chest heaving.

Yes...that was...good...

It would soon be time for the aftercare... and that was where Asriel shined.

A massage to all her sore parts of her body, still tied.

Frisk moaned gratefully through her gag. Getting untied could wait; she needed to come down from her high first.

So...nice. It would be ok be like this for the night.

Yes... another night in paradise. She wouldn't have it any other way.

Chapter 15: Dark Captive

The Galactic Empire had enemies all about the outskirts of their territory, not just from Demons, Devils, and their lackeys, but others as well. Pirates, like the dreaded Terumi, or warlords like M. Bison.

Then there were the jacks of all nefarious trades: assassination, grand larceny, racketeering, and of course, kidnapping. Few in this regard were as versatile and ruthless as the woman known as Dark Queen.

A woman of dark magic and power, she was known to kidnap cute girls who caught her fancy and turn them into her bondage toys to pleasure and break.

And now, another had caught her ear.

For a long time, the Dark Queen has heard of a mysterious witch who could grant wishes. This ordinarily wouldn’t tickle her fancy, as most of the witches the Dark Queen knew of weren’t so easy on the eyes. She was also said to be extremely elusive, with most of her clientele stumbling upon her rather than seeking her out.

But when word reached Dark Queen about the new wishing shop on the palace grounds, she had to investigate. One look at the shopkeeper, and Dark Queen had to have her.

Thing is, the Palace, and the planet itself, was heavily guarded, and they did not take kindly to intruders...notably as one as infamous as her.

But the Dark Queen was resourceful, and she had her methods for bypassing security.

Namely, the power to melt into shadows.

She would have to do this alone. Bringing a group of nimrods would only bring attention.

It wouldn't be the first time she slipped under someone's radar. And really, the temptation of stealing the Empress' pet witch was too great to resist.

Soon....she had reached the palace itself, the massive structure towering over all as a testament to the might of the Family...

She kept to the shadows, especially as she noticed a vehicle, running on the clean and renewable CIEL System (Standard power source) arrive at the grounds. It opened up...

...and Jenna, a Mars Adapt and harem girl, stepped out with a smug grin, while a Hellhound Monster Girl smirked from within the vehicle.

"Thanks for the fun time, hottie!" The Hellhound chuckled.

As tempting as it was to snatch Jenna away, Dark Queen was a woman on a mission. She remained where she was, watching where the harem girl would go...

"Yeah, I know, but don't be blabbing this to every yahoo you can," Jenna replied to the Hellhound. "It was just a quick fling for practice, ya got it?"

"Sure, sure," The Hellhound smirked again.

From her place in the shadows, Dark Queen grinned from ear to ear, watching Jenna walk away. She followed the girl like a dark mist, never quite close enough to catch her attention.

The girl had adjusted her facial veil as she entered the Palace...

A place of magic and darkness, the interior always changing at the whims of the masters. What was the theme this time?

The wicked woman stole up to the palace grounds. It seemed this time the Family had gone with a wutai theme. Incense braziers surrounded the place, the sickly-sweet scent almost throwing off Dark Queen's concentration.

And still the sounds of snakes all over the place.

It was... maddening... oh, there was the shop.

But...no one was there. Out for lunch or something? Damn it! Had to keep looking.

She kept to the shadows and blended...more so when she heard voices.

Around the corner came the beast keepers Billy Hatcher, Rolly Roll, Chick Poacher, and Bantam Scrambled, with Chick holding an egg.

"So, she called in the egg of an 'Indoraptor', related to that I-Rex we keep," He muttered. "This the princesses next pet project?"

Rolly looked it over, cocking her head to the side.

"Kinda big for a raptor egg," she observed. "It looks almost like one of eggs from a dragon clutch."

"Chromatic or Somnic?" asked Bantam. Somnic dragons, unlike Chromatics, were bipedal and largely peaceful beings who had more diverse interests than accumulating treasure.

And the other race was Metallics...but they shunned the Empire since said Empire allied with the Chromatics.

"Well...let's see what comes up," Billy said as they walked on, missing the Dark Queen.

She cocked an eyebrow. Well, that was... something.

She moved on...and the talk of raptors made her reflect on the Emperor.

His exact origins were a complete mystery save to him and the rest of the Family. The rumors said that he just...appeared one day, and began a bloody and powerful unification campaign.

He and his bitch of a Queen were made for each other. You had to be made of unbreakable stuff to dare overthrow your own rapist mother, then turn her into a mindless Servitor.

And his sisters...one said to be a former gutter rat, another was just meant to be another Chaos sacrifice...

...and now look where they were.

Well, no time for dawdling, she had a shopkeeper to kidnap.

She kept on going, trying to make sense of this place. It was...hard to follow at times.

Turning a corner, she had a close call with pirate scholar Nico Robin. While the Dark Queen was safely hidden away in the shadows, she knew Robin was too experienced in subterfuge to risk trying to grab her.

Sheesh, how many people were here today?

It seemed she was finding everyone BUT Yūko. Then, as luck would have it...

The castle was not only bigger on the inside, but some kind of maze as well...filled with bedrooms, washrooms, museums, aquariums, libraries, courtyards, kitchens, dining rooms...and more.

Trying to get a sense of her self, the Dark Queen slipped into a set of doors nearby, the room dimly lit.

Immediately she noticed that the room was full of smoke. Were it not for an enchantment she'd cast on herself, the Dark Queen would have started coughing from it. She peered ahead, looking for the source of the smoke, and found it coming from a long-stem pipe in a pale, slender hand.

Ah...so at last, the woman was here and-

"You should know, I know why you are here, and I am afraid I must disappoint you," Yūko said. "But don't worry, your night, as well as many others, will be quite...entertaining..."

Before the Dark Queen could process that odd statement, a sound from another corner of the room...and something metal latched over her neck and sent a surge of energy through her, negating all her magic powers.

Taken by surprise, she cried out in alarm.

"WHA-?!"

"Now, now, let them have the fun," The witch cooed...

Dark Queen turned her head to see who had caught her...

Kameo, an elf and one of the Harem girls, grinned as she and Foxy Roxy grabbed the intruder.

Before Dark Queen could protest, they forced her to the floor, pinning her arms behind her back. Kameo shoved a ball of cloth into the Dark Queen's gasping mouth, following that up with a thick white scarf that went over the wicked woman's lips.

"HHHMMM!? MMMGGHHH!"

No time to fight back, especially drained as she was by the damn collar. Foxy, with her impressive power, began trussing the bitch up with tight rope.

Dark Queen clenched her fists as the ropes pulled tight around her wrists, binding them together behind her back. The gag tightened as well, squeezing her cheeks as Kameo tied it off behind her head. Ropes encircled her ankles as well, pinning them together. Foxy Roxy was hogtying her.

And before that happened, her boots had been pulled off as well.

Regaining a bit of her strength, the would-be kidnapper started struggling. Kameo tugged a bit at the Dark Queen's hair.

"Now now," she chided, "there'll be time to get frisky later."

Oh yes...a big orgy was planned tonight, just the group of girls. Sisters might join them later

So, the two harem girls proceeded to pick up and carry their hogtied and gagged captive, waving goodbye to an amused Yūko as they did.

The bedlah clad girls carried the captive out, with the Dark Queen whining.

"Ah, quiet. Otherwise the next rope goes right between the legs," Kameo smirked darkly.

Well, she didn't like the sound of THAT. Even if she had done it before to plenty of girls herself. A pleasure rope to drive them to distraction.

"And if you're...lucky," Foxy gave a predatory grin, "We may have a visit from Kuroko."

Kuroko Koumori. A former serial killer of a ridiculous scale. She was caught in a sting operation, but her skills impressed the brass, and she was given a place among the ranks as a hitwoman. Her skill in battle was top-notch...as was her ability of giving the girls a good time.

That was a lot for Dark Queen to think about as they entered the harem... and there was even more stimulation on display there.

The room had its own theme, kind of a fantasy ancient Arabic setting, with pools, baths, pillows, beds, lamps, and more.

All around were other girls of the harem, partaking in various activities.

Almost all of it kinky.

Erza, for example, had bound and gagged Lucy (her gag also being a large bandit OTM gag), stripped her top off, and was groping her while sucking her neck.

And in a nearby boxing ring, Jill Valentine and Tifa were going at it with boxing gloves tightly strapped to their hands and duct tape wrapped around their mouths. Dressed, in this case, a sports bra top and panties.

All for the amusement of the chieftess, Mikasa Ackerman. A tough, stoic, yet loving woman, she was both skilled in lovemaking and warfare...especially the darker ways, which she taught to the others.

Case in point, during the take over the planet Pangaea, it was important to remove corrupt mogul B.P. Richfield.

Richfield would later be found somehow drowned in a bowl of punch, with death written off a suicide.

On the subject of immersion in liquid, the dunking tank looked to be in use as well...

A favorite of the Queen as well...but who was in here now?

Peach and Daisy looked out from within the tank, hands chained behind their backs, ankles shackled to iron weights, and big bandit-point OTM gags smothering their lips. Peach's was yellow, and Daisy's pink. How cute, they were wearing each others' favorite colors. Their bedlah flowed well in the water, face veils included. Euphoric bliss at the finest...and they wanted more to join them in the detailed tank, filled with rocks, plants, and gems.

Kameo and Foxy Roxy set the Dark Queen down, proceeding to undo her hogtie and bind her to a chair. Something sexy about a girl leaning forward in strain.

She looked around her, eyes wide. It was almost too much sexy even for her to process all at once.

So much she initially failed to notice Kameo reach out and grab her top.

"And down we go!" she announced, pulling it down to expose Dark Queen's massive breasts.

"HHMMMMMGGH!?" NO ONE would DARE do that to her! And make it it public!

"Oh, someone want the nipple clamps?" Foxy taunted.

Dark Queen's face flushed. No one did THAT to her either!

She began to thrash around in her bondage, grunting and screaming in her gag.

"RRRRRGGHH! UNNGHHH!"

“Oh, settle down,” Kameo teased. “You wouldn’t get far even if you weren’t tied down.”

This was no idle boast. All of the harem girls were well trained in hand-to-hand combat.

And intelligent as well.

In fast, if someone saw them being dumb and ditzy...they were doomed, lull into a false sense of security.

“GRRMMMPH!” Dark Queen growled, trying to lunge against the ropes that bound her. All she accomplished was looking cute and further exciting her captors.

"Ah, she's quite feisty," Jenna noted from nearby as she worked her magic on Mia.

"Can you blame her?" Mia remarked. "She's used to being the one whommrrffgh..."

She trailed off as a gag was pulled over her mouth.

"Now, now..." Jenna cooed as she flipped over the blue-haired girl and pulled down her pants to show her panty-clad butt. "Let's show her how it's done here."

With that, she proceeded to spank Mia repeatedly. Grinning like a hyena as she watched that plush rear wobble about.

"Hnnngh," Dark Queen grunted as she watched this. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was actually feeling rather turned on by her enforced helplessness.

It was then Mikasa herself stood up, and strode over to the captive, her eyes icy and stoic over her veil. Her bedlah outfit showed all her curves and muscle, showing the incredible strength within.

Dark Queen looked up at her, any remaining bravado evaporating as she realized how helpless she really was before Mikasa. As if sensing the captive's feelings of vulnerability, Mikasa said, "Painful to live in fear, isn't it."

"Mmmm..."

"You should now, from here on out, you will be living in humiliation for our amusement...so shall we get started?" Mikasa looked up and barked out. "Constance!"

The blonde stood up, her hair and breasts bouncing from how quickly she did it.

"Here!" she chirped.

Mikasa smiled darkly. "Fetch the milker..."

Constance let out a malicious giggle. "At once!"

Off she cantered to fulfill this request as Mikasa raised the Dark Queen's gagged face by the chin and muttered, "I wonder, is your lactate sour, or bitter?"

It was sometimes easy to forget, the harem girls were still Empire agents...and therefore were just as cruel and sadistic to their enemies as any other.

The Dark Queen would remain their hostage, forgotten by the outside world. Her deeds would fade into obscurity, a mere footnote in a long and dreary history of violence.

Well...better than being Sajah's experiments in biomancy.

And she could only take it for a long, long time...

Chapter 16: Family Life

Planet Caladan...

The sun rose over the Imperial Palace of the Capital Planet, ushering in a new day for the inhabitants of this place of power...

...and the rays soon entered the room of the Emperor and the Empress...

They were sleeping off the events of a... vigorous night of kinky sex.

And good thing the castle was so large, otherwise someone might hear their cries of lust.

But the raptor soon stirred, his crimson eyes opening. His nude wife lay in the bedsheets beside him, also stirring slowly.

Emperor Krocken clicked his jaw as he pushed himself into a sitting position, watching his Empress. Schala was in the middle of dreaming and waking, that fine line where consciousness starts to peer through the subconscious like sunlight through a stormcloud.

A psychic he may be...and a powerful one at that...but he would not invade her dreams without her consent.

No, he stood from his bed and stretched, tail flexing and lower half sticky.

Meanwhile, Schala rolled over onto Krocken's side of the bed, enjoying its warmth as she opened her eyes and smiled at her Emperor.

"Hey you," she murmured.

He himself allowed a smile. It was good to have someone close to him.

It wasn’t always soothing, the two of them having sex late into the night, but at least it kept the nightmares at bay.

Krocken’s dreams tended to be on the horrors he fought in the past...notably the Demon of Destruction.

Gods...cocks should NOT be like that.

Ah, but the day was new. It was time to go out and seize it! Schala rose from the bed, stretching her arms over her head and standing on tiptoes as she let out a dainty yawn. Naked from head to foot, she looked far younger than her true age.

As did he. Magic and power allowed this, along many others of the elites and leaders.

Hell, they could be even be mistaken for the slightly older siblings of their grown daughter.

Speaking of whom, Sajah was starting her day as well, elsewhere in the palace. Compared to her parents, her routine was... a bit unorthodox.

Usually by waking up sprawled over her desk, parchments and datapads about. Always working.

Today was no different. Sajah stirred at her desk, mumbling as she came out of a dream of her own.

Just so many variables and experiments running through her mind as her science team lay scattered about, also taking a rest on the spot after some hard work.

Kokonoe and Ciel were nearby, her closest associates.

Yawning like a cat, Kokonoe rose from where she'd fallen asleep and proceeded to shake Ciel awake.

"Whazza...what happened?" The blond rose up as all the others began to get up as well.

Berix and Winry had dozed off in each others' arms, and hurried such to get up that they bumped heads!

Gaster was quick to awake as he stood tall with zero effort as Coco, asleep in her chair, stirred. The bandicoot muttered something about bazookas as she came out of dreamland.

While Alphys, Zelda, Julius, The Professor, Susie, Tager, Dr. Puzz, and Litchi soon followed.

Finally, Sajah rose from her own slumber and noticed, once again, that she'd worked herself to sleep.

"What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Morning time," Zelda sighed. "We worked hard last night...you should join your parents and aunts for breakfast..."

"Right... breakfast," Sajah muttered, standing up a wee bit too fast.

Made her head spin, trying to make her way to the teleporter to the main castle...

How were her aunts doing?

It just so happened they’d spent the night in the harem... again.

With the new...guest they had obtained sneaking about.

Said "guest" was making her way toward Not-So-Tiny Tina, dagger in hand.

The Dark Queen glared weakly. Being milked, stuffed with toys, head dunked, and more was not great.

And now... she would have some respite, however brief. She loomed over the slumbering woman, blade raised...

...and Tina rolled over, knocking the Dark Queen into Eilonwy's arms.

"Ah...so soft..." the necromancer cooed darkly.

The Dark Queen struggled, but Eilonwy hugged her so tight that she dropped the dagger and squeaked like a rubber toy. That was enough noise to wake Tina, who looked at the scene and mumbled, "How'd YOU get free, bitchy?"

"Not...my...fault..." Kameo muttered from her drowsy state. "Foxy did the tying..."

Said fox responded by smacking Kameo on the ass.

Waking, Eilonwy clamped a hand over Dark Queen's mouth, stifling her attempts to yell.

"Well then, one of you had better do a better job this time," Tina replied. "We don't want this doll running around."

In just a few short moments, the bitch was hogtied, fingers taped and toes tied, mouth stuffed, cleaved, taped, and OTM gagged.

Perfect.

"Oh, and it's very likely our brother knows you're here," Eilonwy drawled. "Psychic and all."

"Hmmmff," Dark Queen whimpered, her eyes widening in terror.

"Well, that was fun," yawned Tina. "Let's go snag some breakfast!"

Was not long before all five members were together in the kitchen, working on their own preferred foods.

Rather than relying on a servant chef to prepare their breakfasts, the royals knew how to cook on their own. Liked to make sure they themselves did not get sloppy and fat. Finest food from the Gourmet World for them.

Among the hardest bounty to obtain, but also the most delicious. And those who delivered were paid VERY well.

"So...how's the new toy?" Schala asked Eilonwy with a devious grin.

Eilonwy smiled like a cat, "Taming process underway."

"How's the project going, kiddo?" Tina asked Sajah.

"Slightly ahead of schedule," the princess replied. "But there's always room for improvement."

Yes, always room to improve. Science was not about perfection, usually more about the best-known result.

Hmm, she needed some help with some food here. Sajah snapped her fingers and summoned an unique Servitor.

A large female based one, with the arms replaces by long bionic ones with large sharp claws, an armored lower 'dress', and helm that left only the monotone mouth exposed.

Her grandmother.

"What is thy bidding," the Servitor once known as Zeal rasped.

Surprisingly had enough brainpower to talk...but only if prompted.

"Make sure everything is cut up right," Sajah deadpanned.

With a nod, the Servitor turned and proceeded to precisely and efficiently slice up Sajah's food.

Schala turned and looked...this was her mother once...and she was the one who did the initial conversion...

She still had those memories, notably how it all started.

She was just a little girl, in her bed on night, thinking about the past few months how her mother was changing...and then said mother came into her room with rope and cloth.

This would be the first of many, many painful nights where Zeal would bind, gag, and force herself on her own daughter. Schala still felt the aches from time to time, in both body and mind.

From childhood, to teen, to near young adult...

...and Schala studied her magic arts...and soon found she had no limits to her skills in magic.

Enough to even surpass her mother... although that thought eluded her at first. It didn't seem possible to overcome such evil. Always beaten and raped, forced to muffle past her gag 'harder, mommy!', for the sick amusement of Zeal.

Then one day, things... changed.

All started with her future husband. A day that was as clear in his mind as it was in hers...

He came as a conqueror, already several planets and warriors backing him up. And hers was supposed to be just another realm.

It just so happened that she was the first of the royal family to meet him.

Him, backed by hordes of inhuman creatures...and two small blondes, his sisters...

And she found herself drawn to him. She had seen raptors before, but never one like him.

Psychic powers and sheer strength...and he was drawn to her magical power...

And in such a case, they made an alliance.

In the ensuing battle, Schala personally faced her mother, unlocking her true potential at last. Less of a mage, and more of a force of nature, unlimited potential.

And now, she had taken her rightful place at the top with Krocken. As for her brother Janus, Schala was dismayed to learn that she had intervened too late to stop Zeal from affecting him as well... though thankfully, not in the same way as her daughter.

No, Janus had been traumatized in a far more roundabout way, such that he could no longer bear to stay in the palace. He left home at the first opportunity, not long after Zeal's defeat.

And soon they had built the Empire, with them, the sisters, and now their daughter at the top...

Ah, but enough of that, breakfast was soon to be ready.

They all took a seat at the table to dig in and discuss the events of the upcoming day.

From hunting sea serpents in the local oceans, to the affairs of other planets that needed tending to. Royal life was so complicated.

And now...

"So...the prophecy," Eilonwy spoke up. "Any progress on learning more on it?"

"I considered Chara as a possible candidate for one of the two mages," Schala explained. "He is certainly bloodthirsty enough to seek 'impossible vengeance,' but I've not heard of him ever showing interest in the Raven King."

"And besides, he seems rather content to settle for using blood magic," Krocken observed.

Eilonwy shrugged. "So many mages in this Galaxy. Hard to find the right one..."

"The part about the gilded girl is especially puzzling," Schala continued. "Whether that means literally coated in gold or relating to her hair color."

"Probably the latter," Sajah sighed. "Auric golems aren't exactly known for their leadership capabilities."

That was true...

"Unless the gilded means Slaanesh..." Eilonwy hissed...

In her youth, her home had been razed by Chaos agents, and she was just another lamb for the sacrifice...

...and then the raptor who would be her brother raided the lair and slaughtered every Chaos cultist in the area.

"Ooh, that's just too scary to even think about," Tina said with a shudder. "Some Chaos floozy who worships Slaanesh getting power? All the nope."

"The Raven King did hold his own against the Chaos gods," Schala observed. "Some accounts even suggested he was powerful enough to become one."

What she didn't mention was that this was one of the many, many reasons Schala dreaded the possibility of the Raven King returning from wherever he'd gone off to.

Maybe even what he became in the process, corrupted by the foul things beyond...

Krocken knew that even his own formidable psychic powers had no chance of breaching the labyrinth of Yūko's mind. But even if he could, there was no guarantee that she had any idea what the Raven King was talking about.

She was an enigma, even to herself.

Standing up, he made his way to the window, overseeing the marketplace down below.

Already, shopkeepers and marketgoers were turning out for another eventful day.

Selling all sorts of things and animals from all across the planets...and sometimes dumb sentients for others to eat.

There were... certain planets out in the galaxy that were originally peopled by beings that lacked substantial intelligence. One such planet had a hierarchical system based on physical height of all things.

It was't hard to conquer them at all.

And from there, an earth-like planet heavily polluted and populated by moronic humans.

Some, like the Membrane family, were shipped off and given better lives and jobs. The vast majority of people were used as 'cattle'...and were so dumb they failed to realize this, even as the gatherers came to herd them off.

A few of them might have figured out the truth about "Soylent Green," but there was too much discord and confusion among them to organize any sort of meaningful resistance. And the monsters of the Empire simply enjoyed the meals.

Ragna was down there, making his rounds, when he suddenly went stiff and started walking, as if transfixed, toward the wishing shop. But why he went there, and what was said, is a story for another time.

As for the palace...

Kameo suddenly came in, bowing. “Family...several Leaders are on route for the meeting today.”

“Thank you, Kameo,” Schala replied, nodding graciously.

Yes, always needed to listen to issues of the worlds. In general, as long as they kept loyal to the Empire as a whole and stamped out the forbidden gods, Leaders could run their own agenda as they saw fit.

Preparations for the meeting were already underway, setting up tables in a grand hall. The first few guests were due to arrive soon.

Ships of various designs were coming from orbit, waiting to land.

First to touch down was the Dreemurr flagship, carrying Asgore, Toriel, and their three heirs. A few of their most loyal retainers had come along as well to serve as bodyguards, Undyne, the fish-monster, chief among them.

Next came the Overlord, a succubus and leader of the Monster Girls...who Sajah had a one-night stand with in order to get a book to help her research. She came flanked by a pair of Minotaur girls.

Jon Snow, King in the North, came afterwards, his morose demeanor a stark contrast from the Overlord's intense charisma. Followed by his massive white Direwolf, Ghost, and followed by wolf-like soldiers. His wolf helm concealed all.

Next were Chel and Kida. The two queens of Atlantis, accompanied by a detachment of elite palace guards. Alluring and beautiful...and deadly to their foes.

Elsa and Anna, the sister-lover queens of Arendelle.

Bowser, ruler of the Mushroom World, with his son and favored generals, the Koopalings, and ally leader King Boo.

Paarthurnax, dovah and ruler of Skyrim.

Ty, Shazza, and Sly, warlords of Australia.

Rachel Alucard, a vampiric noblewoman.

And Ranger General Sylvanas Windrunner and her wife, Seras.

These were the ones summoned for the time being, with other leaders engaged in their own tasks.

The Hall was vast, decorated with bones, tapestries, and statues, many of great beasts, stories, and more. The snake motif ran through the Hall.

Its dimensions were more than enough to house even the great Paarthurnax, who was certainly pleased to be back.

Servants made sure all sorts of food were readied for the guests. Only the finest would be here.

Krocken himself was dressed for the meeting. Long black cape, with matching red, white, and black accessories, making him resemble a saurian Dracula.

Schala was dressed for the occasion as well, her blood-red dress recalling the predatory beauty Carmilla.

They were at the end of the table with the three others, Sajah in a stylized lab coat.

Tina wore a low-cut, hip-hugging dress, while Eilonwy was in her best alchemical robes, with the bones of great creatures mixed in. All five gazed down at the gathered leaders and associates, before the Emperor spoke.

"I am glad you all could come, and I wish to make you feel at home...but first, business. Let us start by discussing our new 'wish seller'."

"I would be wary of her," Jon spoke up. "Hundreds of years old and she only chooses to come forward now? The last time such a witch stepped forward, she dressed in red and encouraged sacrificial immolations." The man's helm had been taken off, to show his world-scarred face, knowing so much, yet as the cost of much as well.

"Oh, pooh," Rachel huffed. "I had a perfectly lovely encounter with Miss Ichihara not four decades ago. She wasn't hiding so much as waiting to be found, but I shan't say I'm surprised a foundling wouldn't know the difference."

"Yeah, well, not all of us had your experience," Shazza hissed, "She could have become a right bloody mess in the meantime."

"I, for one, am curious," Elsa began, "If you kept her here to keep an eye on her."

"I would second that," Asgore agreed. "One must always be willing to see the good and the bad in all beings."

Chara whistled nonchalantly.

"Yes..." Schala mused, her staff in her hands. "She is an enigma to all...and I will see to it that the story she has is unfolded..." She looked about. "Now, then, what others news do you bring? New worlds? Threats?"

"We've given a lot of thought to undergoing 'the Ceremony,'" Anna spoke up. She referred to a magical procedure that gave those undergoing it an elemental body. Ever since the failed Chaos coup on Arendelle, the two sisters had been entertaining the possibility, but it was a huge commitment.

Not just Elementals, but full-blown dragons as well. People in the past have died...badly, their bodies cracking and melting from the stress.

“You would both be welcome to join dragonkind,” boomed Paarthurnax.

“Hmmm, a thought to consider,” Elsa mused.

“As for my people,” Sylvanas spoke up. “We have discovered and are monitoring a planet, with a mountain the natives call ‘Morta’, protected by a single family.”

“Sounds promising,” Eilonwy remarked. “What does this mountain have to offer, and what of this family?”

The undead elf pushed her lips. "The Family, of which the scouts know as the Bergson clan, guard the mountain to keep the 'Corruption' from spreading..."

"Kinda like Chaos...but it's local, and not QUITE as bad," Seras added as various harem girls came in to help with food and drink. With both she and Sylvanas planning to get a sniff in of some thighs…

"Good, they might make valuable allies in time," Krocken said with a nod. "Maintain surveillance for the time being, at least until we can reach out to them."

"And we..." Chel began. "Are still looking for the one planet you have many others looking for as well...the planet of the Kaiju Graveyard."

The Kaiju... the mysterious ancestral race of sapient giant creatures. Presumed extinct, they were the ones who shaped galactic society.

And some would say the Emperor was related to these beings, and he seeked out any link to the past.

“Our current leads have led us closer to the oldest parts of the galaxy,” Kida added. “And now we risk running across wormholes.”

And even then, no real idea where it could be...

"Speaking of worlds," King Boo spoke up, "Rumor has it you and the Family have been looking into a world with some...anomaly."

"Seven anomalies," Sajah clarified. "We have not pursued much investigation other than the initial scan due to other problems at large, but once we feel ready, we will investigate further."

“We may be able to offer you some assistance,” Toriel said. “Sans seldom expresses such interest, but he IS Gaster’s protegé.”

Not to mention, he had experience with confronting anomalies. He proved as much when he exorcized a demon that possessed Frisk.

A Slaanesh demon, kicked back to the Warp where it belonged. Freak of nature...

“Thank you. If we have need of another quantum physicist, we will contact you,” said Chel.

What else was there to discuss?

"Hell Demons are on the rise," Jon spoke up. "So far we are keeping them contained in the North."

"I sense a 'but' coming up," Rachel remarked, to which the King in the North answered with a harsh glare.

"Every now and then, some slip through...and yet Doomguy keeps them at bay," He went on...

"Still, this is concerning," Krocken observed. "One race of demons is bad enough, but two could split our focus."

And so many others as well, not to mention Devils as well, a more lawful type of evil.

Good thing some Demons were on their side, notable the Overlord herself, and Firebrand.

Given the state of things, however, they scarcely referred to themselves as such.

Ah, but such hostile Demons were always beaten back...with Eilonwy as the foremost expert on Chaos...coupled with a BURNING hatred for them.

What could be done to cut off the Hell Demons?

That was Doomguy's job, always ready to rip and tear. Even if no one knew his origins.

Speaking of unknown origins, Jon found himself thinking on the mystery surrounding the Emperor.

The raptor supposedly was thousands of years old. How did he live for so long, and why didn't he look a day over twenty-one?

And Schala and the sisters...may be the same age? None of them spoke of it. Ever.

Something was definitely up with that family. But as long as they ran things smoothly and allowed his sector its autonomy, everything should all be okay... right?

Er, what else was on the agenda for now?

Bowser seemed like he had something on his mind. The massive turtle adjusted himself, "Family...we have an issue as well...sightings of some...thing calling himself Jevil, going on how he's the only one free and all others are trapped."

"Jevil, you say?" Schala remarked. "Pray tell, does he dress like a jester?"

"Yep," Bowser confirmed.

"A sort of figure who thinks we all live in a work of fiction," Eilonwy mused. "Yes, we do know of him."

"Well, I'd just like to know how to get rid of him," Bowser thundered.

"Sadly, there is no known strategy for chasing off Jevil," Krocken sighed.

"Of course not," Bowser sighed.

And it was at this point rivalries between factions would rear up...starting with Chara.

"Ah, the big guys can't get rid of some jester guy, eh?" He mused. "How sad..."

"Are you volunteering, girly boy?" Bowser Jr. bristled.

“Oh, maybe...” Chara grinned. “But it’s fun to watch you wiggle,”

"Indeed, how hard can it be to neutralize an annoying clown?" Rachel added.

"Thank your lucky stars you never had to face Pennywise," Jon snapped.

Krocken and his family sat back, amused for the moment, ready to step in if things got TOO heated.

Pennywise, ah yes...nasty stuff right there

Just one of many forms assumed by the demon known as It, Pennywise terrorized the Northern sector for centuries before Jon Snow finally put a stop to the crazy clown's machinations.

Notably after it tormented him in the form of Daenerys...

Arya, Jon’s half-sister, almost went mad when Pennywise took the form of her father, holding his own head. She was already a hardened warrior at the time, but she fled back into the unexplored outer-galactic regions after the entity’s defeat.

She was still alive, but remained a mercenary for hire. It was her life...

"Oh, people get so scared of clowns these days," The Overlord mused with a dark grin. "Wonder why? Bad experience as little babies?"

“As opposed to being afraid of sock puppets?” Ty challenged. Overlord flinched, but recovered quickly and flared at him.

“Ha-ha,” she deadpanned.

"Always looking for the next dude to screw," Sly jeered as well.

"Better than driving those metal monstrosities about, with some idiot of yours playing guitar on a machine!"

Frisk just sighed, resting her chin on her hand, and snarked, “Never a dull moment at these meetings.”

So many ideals clashing together...and casual insults.

"Loli snob!"

"Dateless bastard!"

"Terrapin tyrant!"

"Illiterate bogan!"

"Glorified slut!"

So busy squabbling that only the Family noticed someone teleporting in.

Botar, a member of the Inquisition, a secret police force that operated from the shadows, granted limitless resources to keep the Empire safe from threats. Caring little for morality, these feared beings answered only to the Family.

For Botar to be here meant something was to be reported.

Wordlessly, Krocken waved Botar over.

The massive being stalked over, this time getting everyone's attention.

He stopped before the royals, taking a knee. Not only as a gesture of deference, but also for convenience sake.

“Report,” said Krocken.

A pause as all turned to him, as the Inquisitor spoke.

“Jackal has been spotted on a distant world, plotting with the Devils of the Nine Hells.”

"That bottom-feeder?" snapped Tina. "What does he think he's doing?"

"Jackal is as arrogant as he is cowardly," Krocken mused. "Perhaps he overestimates his intelligence."

The man always mused he could fool the Gods themselves.

Krocken doubted the Gods would be impressed.

"I am currently gathering resources to lead the hunt," Botar went on. "I simply came by for the warning."

“Then hunt well, Botar,” said Schala, “and if there is enough of it left, return with Jackal’s head.”

The Inquisitor nodded, then vanished once more.

"Ah, speaking of scumbags," Chel mused. "We have reports ourselves of some idiots calling themselves the 'Children of the Vault'."

“A cult?” asked Krocken.

"Led by Tyreen and Troy Calypso, a pair of twins who treat the whole thing like a livestream," Kida muttered.

"How classy," Eilonwy remarked in a sarcastic voice. "I take it one of them is a Siren?"

A race of women who had great powers of elements...and were very, VERY few in existence. Single digits really.

"Both of them, actually," Chel said with a sigh. "We're not sure how, but it seems Troy Calypso might be the only male Siren in existence."

"Hmmm..." Sajah mused to herself. "Interesting. Brought in alive, I may discover his secret."

"I suppose that would involve vivisection?" Sylvanas smirked as she groped as nearby Constance on the thigh as her wife sniffed the girl.

"Possibly."

"They're still a minor presence for now," Kida clarified, "but we would appreciate anything our fellow rulers could provide to ensure they do not get big heads."

A nod all about as they all took this in.

Was there anything else...?

Ah well...best be time for rest and relaxation...and hunting in the sea.

Few outside of the elites had the necessary resources to hunt dangerous deep-sea creatures, a favorite pastime of the ruling class.

And not just deep creatures, but various dangerous monsters from all over the Empire. A way to test skills and to brag about.

Jon, after much prodding and goading from Chel and Kida, reluctantly joined the hunt for once.

And the Family would oversee the gathering...

...as they did for all.

Chapter 17: Bloodedge Wish

Caladan City...

The Empire Capital was buzzing in the marketplace, as usual, more so with the leader meeting going on today. They would hunt, then feast, with many elites invited.

Ragna among them.

He was patrolling for the moment, picking up a bit of extra coin as security detail for the day. It was peaceful work, if a bit boring, but on this particular day, he was about to get an up close and personal view of the latest vendor to open up in the marketplace.

Yes, past all the gear, weapons, jewels, clothes, knick-knacks, animals, food...you got this wish store. He was a little fuzzy on the details...but apparently the owner managed to convene the family to set up shop in the marketplace.

So he was walking along, keeping an eye out for shoplifters and pickpockets, when suddenly he felt some... force come over him. It was as though his own body had decided to change course altogether, and he was just along for the ride.

Damn...he simply groaned and went with it. Sooner he got this through, the faster he could do his job, go to the feast, go home with Noel...and fuck her brains out.

Wow, that sounded jerkish.

He didn't remember walking through the door to the shop, but next thing he knew, he was standing in the lobby, taking in the gorgeous wutai decorations.

"Ah, so you came after all..."

"Damn it," Ragna growled. "The hell did you do to me?"

"I?" Yūko laughed. "Not a thing, my lad. You might not believe me, but it was your own thoughts that brought you here."

"Fat chance!" Ragna scoffed. "I don't need a wish. I make my own way!"

"Ah, but don't you wanna hear something cool?" She said playfully.

"Damn...here anyways, so fine!"

"Follow me," she purred, sashaying into the next room. Ragna grumbled to himself as he tagged along.

He was going to regret this, he knew it.

But now was the time to see what life held for him.

They were soon seated in a room at either side of a table with a crystal ball in the middle of it. Ragna cocked an eyebrow, confused.

"What, you're gonna tell my fortune?" he deadpanned.

"Not quite," Yūko said with a wink. "This isn't for me to use. It's for you."

"I...what?"

"Now, now, listen well..."

She pointed down at the ball, indicating he should focus on it.

"Think about your life," she said. "Your experiences, good and bad. Let it all coalesce in your mind. Now let that take shape in the crystal before you."

Ragna sighed. The loss of his home, good memories of early life...so much fighting and violence...being indicated into the Elites of the Empire...meeting Noel...

"Ah, you are fortunate to have such love in your life," Yūko said with a sigh. "Where shall that carry you?"

Ragna focused. Where indeed? He saw upcoming missions and endeavors take form, hinting at things to come. Proposing formally to Noel... a marriage ceremony... a strange woman in red reaching through a mirror to beckon to Noel...

"Wait, what?!"

"Troubled?"

"WHO IS SHE!?" Ragna bellowed, standing up while Yūko remained unfazed by his outburst. "If she so much as touches Noel, I'll-"

"Look again," Yūko interrupted, her voice as casual and perky as ever.

Ragna stopped, blinked, and took another long look at what he was shown.

Noel was approaching the entity in the mirror, as if in a trance, when suddenly a bolt of magic struck the polished glass surface and shattered it! It was then that Ragna noticed himself standing behind Noel, his own arm outstretched in a casting gesture.

"That... that's me," he gasped. "But... I can't perform magic..."

"Are you sure about that?"

“Wha-”

“Everyone is capable of magic,” the witch smiled. “All that matters is the willpower and training.”

"So, what does this mean, I'm secretly wishing to learn magic?" asked Ragna, to which Yūko shrugged.

"Sometimes we hide our own desires behind excuses," she replied. "Remember, you're the one performing this divination."

Well that made no sense whatsoever...but everything soon faded.

Ragna stood up again, mystified. How much of that was real? Did he really have it in him to learn magic after a lifetime of using brute force to solve his problems? And who was that tart in the red dress trying to kidnap Noel?

"Well...have a nice day!" Yūko said cheerfully, as Ragna just grumbled as he left.

Where would he even go to learn magic? It wasn't like he hadn't tried in the past.

Damn. The feast should help him out. For now he did his rounds, making sure people stayed out of trouble while dodging pesky merchants.

Evening arrived sooner than he felt, and he was on his way to the Palace.

Noel came with him, dressed to the nines.

Lovely dress, her fine legs exposed and ready for the feast.

They entered together, arm in arm, stepping into the opulence of the Palace, which had taken on an Alabastan theme.

The dining room was full, not only of the Family and the Leaders that had come, but various Elites and Traders.

Fleet Admiral Jaina Proudmoore; General Esdeath; the ten Keybladers; the Musketeers; Gambling managers Charlie and Itchy; beast-keepers Billy, Rolly, Chick, and Bantam; The Science Team; The Hyrule Champions; Alucard; The Straw Hats; and Spyro and his allies.

Just to name a few.

"Is something bothering you?" Noel asked Ragna innocently.

"Eh, I'll tell you later," Ragna said as he walked in, also noticing Firebrand and Ecco (surrounded by a water bubble) among the crowd.

They came upon Rattlesnake Jake, who was in the middle of swallowing an entire roasted turkey and looking rather intensely concentrated on his meal.

Not to mention a large number of non sentient snakes filled the area. Like usual.

They approached a banquet table, and Noel slipped her opera glove-clad arm out of Ragna's arm to allow him to pull out a chair for her.

All around were the finest food, many from the Gourmet World, others from butchered beasts and great plants. Even fresh fruit from the Yoshis!

It all looked so mouthwatering! Even Sanji, the Straw Hat chef, looked impressed with the bounty.

At the head table, the Family oversaw it all. They, along with the other Leaders in attendance, had been involved in a grand hunt earlier in the day. Some of the fresh kills from that hunt were there for consuming.

Sea serpent meat...a delicacy for all.

Everyone was there, ready to stuff themselves and get shitfaced.

The harem girls were at their own table as well, enjoining the feast.

Ragna looked around the room, brooding on what he'd seen in the wish shop. How was he supposed to learn magic? Would someone here teach him?

So many of them knew the arts, Eilonwy and Schala in particular...yet who would be the best to ask among these people?

He knew he could rule out the Straw Hats. Their command of magic was extremely niche, and Nami would make him pay through the nose to even begin to learn what she knew.

Firebrand was obnoxious as hell, and Ecco was more psychic...and a dolphin.

Now that he thought about it, either the Champions of Hyrule or the Keybladers, magic knights themselves, were the best choices.

Since he was a swordsman, it only made sense to him for a potential magic mentor to have that sort of expertise as well.

Yeah, Keybladers were the best option.

As he tore into his tentama udon, Ragna considered who among the Keybladers would suit his needs the best. The red-clad mercenary had enough self awareness to recognize his hotheaded tendencies; he’d need someone with the patience of a saint.

Hmmm, Namine would be a good choice, despite her gadfly tendencies...

He still wasn't sure how to break this to Noel. What should he tell her, that some mirror-dwelling harlot was going to try to snatch her away some day?

But as he thought about this...

"Oh, troubled, edge boy?" Charlie's mocking voice made him bristle.

Suppressing the urge to growl at the annoying dog, Ragna replied, “What’s it to you, furball?”

Such confrontations and arguments were expected to happen at least once during meeting events, and were always seen with excitement when they boiled over. Right now, it was low key.

"Just busting your chops, man," Charlie said with a chuckle. "C'mon, live a little."

"I do live, sometimes a lot more. You do recall I did smash in the face of a Keeper of Secrets. You know, a GREATER DEMON?"

"Sure, if you call THAT living," Charlie smirked. "There's more to life than crushing bad guys."

“Well, fucked whores recently?” Ragna sneered.

"Ragna!" Noel scolded. "Mind your manners!"

"Uh oh, someone's in the doghouse!" Charlie chortled, turning to go.

A slam on the table, causing many eyes to draw to them.

"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME SO FAST, MONGREL!"

"Keep your shirt on, shithead!"

All around were the feasters clamoring in excitement.

"Going to be a fight!"

"All right! Dinner and a show!"

"Go for the balls!"
Noel massaged her temples with her gloved fingers. She knew it was a lot to ask for Ragna to put a lid on his hot-blooded temper, but it would be nice if he at least tried for once. Meanwhile, Ragna and Charlie were squaring off as several bystanders gathered around them.

"How d'ya like your odds, emo boy?" Charlie taunted.

"Better than yours, fleabag!" Ragna fired back.

Most of the Family were watching with silent, dark amusement. Sajah had lost interest, focused more on checking on the info pad on that 'anomaly' she sent small probes to investigate.

While Ragna was used to going one-on-one with bipedal opponents, he'd had a few tussles with Spyro over a wager gone south or two to understand how to fight a quadruped like Charlie. Even so, the dog wasn't making things easy for him...

Oh, yes, Sajah, between this and the slow progress of her works, was getting tense. She looked over to the harem group. Constance, Kameo, Foxy, Gloria, and Marie...she zeroed them out, mentally telling herself to tell them to come to her bedchambers when this was over.

Ragna and Charlie's taunts and blows faded from her consciousness as she purposefully distracted herself.

Then...she saw her datapad act up. Hmmm...

She looked up to see what was going on...

There. The source of the anomalies...in a word that was mostly medieval, seven human...teens, it seemed, had come to it from...another realm, perhaps?

This required immediate attention. Rising from her seat, the princess wordlessly excused herself. But not before passing the harem table. "Constance, Kameo, Foxy, Gloria, Marnie...when you're done, report to my bedchambers."

“Yes, your grace.”

“Of course!”

“Ready and willing!”

“Forever yours, Princess.”

“Anything for you.”

And knowing that sessions with the princess could be rather...fearsome.

Meanwhile, the Keybladers were watching the fight with varying levels of interest.

"Get 'im, Charlie!" hollered Sora.

"Man up, Ragna!" bellowed Riku.

"Bite down on each other!" Xion called out.

Elsa and Anna watched with dry amusement from their section.

"Funny he can take on greater demons, but struggles against that mutt," Elsa remarked.

"Well, they still are comrades," Anna pointed out.

The Straw Hat Pirates looked on as well, though some of them had to hold back Luffy from trying to join the melee.

But it was then Schala stood...curious on what was Ragna’s mind.

With a snap of her fingers, all present went quiet and still, turning to her.

"Bloodedge...something on your mind?" She asked.

A pause, then a sigh. No use hiding it from the Family.

"My Empress...permission to ask for the Keybladers to teach me the art of magic."

A heavy silence hung over the crowd. Did he really just say that? THE Ragna Bloodedge, a guy who regularly pulled doorknobs off of doors by accident trying to open them?

And yet...

He felt the Keybladers staring holes at him, judging him already.

"What say you, Keybladers?" asked Schala, turning her gaze towards them. Before Sora could throw out some snarky comment or Xion could start laughing, however, Aqua spoke up.

"I see some... potential," she remarked. "But magic is a tricky path to walk."

"I'm prepared to do whatever it takes," Ragna insisted.

He knew they were all tough bastards, ready to pummel him as part of the training...perhaps gleefully so.

Aqua nodded and said, “Report to our headquarters in two days, rested and sober.”

Of course. Needed to be to prepare for getting his ass kicked.

And so, the banquet passed, and soon Ragna and Noel were in their way home

“Magic,” Noel remarked. “I had no idea you had such an interest.”

She managed to keep cool after the mess. No sense raising hell over it now.

That night, Ragna found his dreams troubled by the maiden in the scarlet gown from his vision. What had that wish peddler done to him?

Sleep came odd that night...until Noel came to his bed.

Lying beside him, she whispered, "I'm proud of you, Ragna."

She didn't know it, but he heard her. Even in his dreams of strange ravens.

Dreams...such an odd thing...

Chapter 18: Marvel of Zombies

A recollection of a disaster prevented…sometime ago…

The Land before Time was already dead. They just didn't know it yet.

In the early hours of morning on a random day two weeks after a feast day, something crashed into the upper atmosphere, ignited before slamming into a forested area of the planet.

Sitting in the middle of a crater, miraculously was none other than the famous zero Spiderman. Why he'd fallen from orbit and how he'd survived would not be known to the planet's inhabitants.

They would only know the terrible hunger which consumed him, as he lifted his rotting, zombified body and caught the smell of fresh meat.

And though he failed to realize himself, he was in fact spreading a gift. Father Nurgle, always eager to share his blessings with the realms, had cooked something nasty up this time.

This virus was really something else. Nurgle had shaped it, but had not created it, no matter how much the plague father would protest otherwise. There was something of the other gods in it. Peter Parker felt rage, like rabies, he remembered pleasure and terrible withdrawal when he went with an without flesh, and at last the virus had a mind of its own and a plan.

He was aware of himself when he saw the first living thing and ripped its throat out.

He was crushed underfoot in a flash by the dinosaurs...but the damage had been done already. The nightmare soon began.

The dinosaurs flocked around the injured youngling, which then rose up from the dead and bit the nearest mother. The Longneck cried out in pain and shock as its eyes turned milky white.

And one bite led to another...and another! Soon all was madness.

The herd of Longnecks kept moving. One Sharptooth who bit one swallowed infected flesh and was itself infected. The infection spread.

It took hours until the zombie dinosaurs reached the first settlement. But the virus had something in mind. It needed to turn and convert magic users and scientists; to get off world and spread itself.

But how, how would it do so on this backwater planet?

The virus knew a few things ahead of time about this Empire.

Everything was connected.

Emperor Krocken had bent over backwards to build transportation across the Empire, from advanced faster than light travel to local bus service on backwater planets.

What this planet had was a botanist mission with a ship, which is had gleaned from the mind of an infected flyer.

But it was still a distant ways off...

...and said botanist had eyes and ears all over the planets via drones.

The planet really didn't have a capital. The sentient dinosaurs were nomadic mostly and beyond a few religious shrines there were no real settlements.

The closest the planet had was a trading post in the north, near some conifer forests. The colder weather kept away most Sharptooths and in summer the dinosaurs would come to trade or offer to join Krocken's Royal Armies.

In the security hub of the trading post, a very worried botanist watched zombie dinosaurs rampage across the land.

Dr. Puzz, usually one for mechanics, had also taken up botany as a side project...

...but now things looked like they had to wait.

The good Doctor looked at the screen before her, right as a zombified flyer took it out. "This isn't good and it looks like it's spreading fast." She turned to the green reptilian next to her. "Yooka, we need to contact the Local Guard Divisions. We need to put this planet on lockdown."

Yooka gulped as Laylee fluttered on his head. So...this what is has come to.

The bio shields were also to be put up, to make sure the virus did not get in here.

The settlement was so small that there was no real form of civilian defense. The adventurous reptile and his flying companion punched the tornado alarms and started shouting for people to get to the shelters. It was better than nothing.

"A supply ship arrives in three days," he told Dr. Puzz. "We can last until then. Gunboats will be here faster if we can get the broken relay antennae fixed."

Yes, they needed backup, notably inorganic that could not be tainted by this crap.

...Perhaps even the Family.

"This is LBT Trading post," began Yooka "We are dealing with a zombie outbreak, send backup immediately."

Over the radio, the local guardsman groused. "So hit them with clubs."

Dr. Puzz grabbed the radio from Yooka, "Damn it, Pete! They're fast and hungry! Just send droids! Or snipers!"

"Aright, keep yer shirt on!" Pete groused. "How bad are we looking, in fact?"

"We need immense backup!"

High in orbit, Pete scratched his nuts and threw an empty donut box from a display panel. "Fucking people, can't solve their own problems."

He dropped his cigar when he saw the readings. "Holy shit," the spread of zombies were already across half of the planet's one super continent. "Oh crap."

"Goof!" he shouted across the cramped corridors, "Get the droids out of moth balls! I need them yesterday!"

All while he scrambled for the communicator.

The Emperor and others needed to know about this!

As for the Emperor at the moment...

Krocken and his people were fighting to defend Svastapol Station from a Xenomorph infestation. The station was settled along a major trade rout and provided a port from warp storm for ships of all ages and makes. Commercial, military and private shipping passed through it; hundreds of ships a day.

Compared to that, the loss of the Land before Time was not a priority.

Pete's eyes widened when he got a recorded message on the line. "The Emperor is busy at this moment. Please leave a message and his majesty will get back to you in at least two business days."

Pete slammed his fist into a console. "Ah, you Dick diddler!"

Looks like he needed some extra help here! But where? Panic set in as he simply set out a distress signal to anyone who could hear it. Marines, Inquisitors, he didn't care right now!

Pete brought up a control panel and saw that there were a few scattered bases around the planet.

To his horror, bringing up the contact took him face to face with zombie guardsmen; ripping into the flesh of their former comrades and civilians who worked on the base.

It had spread so damn fast. It had sought out military assets to neutralize.

"Goof! Scramble the droids!" he panicked.

GAH! This was getting to crazy!

But his signal had reached out to nearby patrolling ships in space.

The Hyrule Champion, The Keybladers, Geralt, Samus, and Bayonetta were among those to receive the signal.

Samus herself was cleaning her weapons when she received the call. Putting out her cigarette, she accepted the message from Pete.

And thank her upgrade genetics that smoking did nothing to her.

"Yes, can I help you?"

“We got zombies spreading fast on the Land before Time!” Pets gasped.

“Shoot them in the head,” Samus grunted,

“They already took out half the garrison on the planet! All I got are some obsolete B52 battle droids!” Pete begged “this is an emergency!”

Damn...Samus nodded. "Right, on my way."

Shutting down the communication, she readied her ship. Samus looked over to her partner, Pikachu. "Well...let's make some noise."

The electric type nodded, cracking its knuckles

She addresses the team “Ok people, we have zombies. From the look it of they may be sentient or otherwise controlled by a hive mind. Suit up; leave nothing to chance!”

The others, who had also got the message, either used protective magic or injected themselves to protect their minds and bodies from this virus.

Back on the planet, Puzz, Yooka, and Laylee were still in their base, safe thanks to the bioshield, which kept the virus out.

Hundreds upon hundreds of flyers were dying like flies on a windshield to break the shield.

"What a sight," Revali muttered dryly from the Hyrule ship.

“At least this way there’s no escape from the planet.” Samus noted.

“And the survivors are also trapped,” Pikachu noted.

Geralt, on his own private ship and patched in with the others, sighed. "Let's get this crap done."

On the planet, the zombies were swarming the last settlements.

And it was still spreading across the native wildlife.

At best they had hours, and they was the optimistic assessment.

The fighters, both still on the planet and in space, managed to put on magic and tech that would protect them from the plague. Time to bring the fight to them.

Armor was paramount.

No skin contact was permitted. Even fabric armor was useful against most garden-variety zombies.

In the cargo bay, squadrons of Terminators were brought on line. Elite level war robots with advanced AI and problem solving skills.

The Family’s help would be nice...but occupied as they were, it was time to fight themselves.

"Okay, we've got a virulent and intelligent zombie strain! The undead seem to have their full intelligence! So in case we fail we get the Imperial Navy online, get Exterminatus. We try to save survivors if we can, but nobody leaves the planet!" Samus called.

The Terminators entered first, being fired directly into space at the planet. Their hardened frames protected them and emergency parachutes would allow them rapid atmospheric entry.

They landed, and were quickly attacked...

...and they struck back.

HARD! Firepower decimatied the zombies by the score.

The Terminators formed the vanguard. Their impact had struck with the force of a small nuke, vaporizing tens of thousands of zombies. Their plasma weapons burned the bodies.

Samus and crew arrived by teleport seconds later. A scout craft flew overhead trying to see who was alive and who wasn't. Zombies in other settlements had rigged crude sensor jammers, so a closer look was needed.

Thankfully, Puzz's place was still alright. Once this was done, they could be airlifted outa of here!

Samus fired off some missiles, blowing more zombies into bits. Odd...this plague...

She heard a noise.

Over the trees there were speeder bikes coming, humanoids infected by the plague were attacking them. They were shouting to each other and coordinating an attack.

This was very not good.

But Revali was in the air, taking them out with well-aimed arrows. Skilled, but still an ass.

Never mind, on to the fight.

The planet's population was yesterday, about a hundred million.

As of this very moment, the non-zombie population was only a few thousand people who'd escaped to the main settlement.

Worse yet, nature wizards who'd been turned were shooting Amber Spear spells at the settlement shield. This was looking bad.

But now the Terminators were forcing them back, as best they could, while other robots, Guardians, joined the fray with laser beams.

Over the radio, Samus could see the reports. The Settlement shield was down to red. "Revali! Can we beam the survivors up?!" she shouted.

"Negative!" came the reply, "There's too much interference. We can use the shuttle if we can take out the air defenses."

Geralt was coming up, cross bolt in hand, his gaze ready.

Hunting monsters...always his job. The Witcher knew his work. "There's no way this will end well," he grunted over the coms. "We should think about retreat."

"We retreat when I say so!" Samus growled.

"Yeah...good point," Gerald shrugged, arrowing down his foes

The Keybladers, clad head to toe, in armor, when taking the fights directly to the plague beasts.

"Is Nurgle really that willing to spread his 'love'?" Ven asked dryly.

An explosion rocked everything, a giant chunk of metal came down from the skies and crashed into the settlement shields.

High above them, a stray PDF space station was coming down, likely taken out by cannons.

It was burning, turning night into day.

"Well...shit," Xion said as it crashed, burning a jungle into cinders.

Things were going to hell fast.

The impact crashed into a jungle, setting two hundred thousand acres of woodland on fire. The column of smoke could be seen from space. The dust cloud would block out the sun for over ten years.

Heh...not like this planet was going to be saved anyways.

"Have the Terminators go into suicide overload!" Samus cried out. "Let them nuke everything!"

In the settlement, Yooka and Laylee watched in horror as the shields went super critical.

And then went down altogether.

"SOMEONE GET TO THE BACKUP POWER! ALL WEAPONS TO SHIELD!" Laylee shrieked.

They could hear voices, Yooka and Laylee booked it to the shield generator with all haste.

And they saw that a zombie guardsman was cutting the wires.

There would be no shields, as the zombie then smashed the alignment crystal.

Damn it. A least they had the hazard suits on.

But now they had to fight with all their might.

The duo screamed as they raised a laser axe taken from the armory.

It would cauterize wounds and reduce the risks of infection.

The zombie went down easily, as Puzz got onto a turret and readied herself, before blasting more swarms to bits.

Outside, the Terminators and Guardians kept the march.

The custom–built killing machines ripped a swathe through the zombie horde.

Then a zombie T-Rex exploded from behind a building.

They had their work cut out for them.

But the Keybladers were all over it, swearing and stabbing at the body.

The six tons of undead flesh hardly felt it and only reacted with rabid ferocity.

In the towns control center, alarms went off, zombies had entered the last holdout of survivors.

And yet...above space...a hole opened, and the Royal Flagship arrived. The message HAD been received.

Everyone cheered.

Everything seemed fine.

Then the message came down.

“Loyal Citizens, this is your Emperor. It is with a heavy heart that we bring the cleansing flame of Exterminatus. You will be remembered and honored. Your sacrifice is not in vain.”

Oh...crap...

"However, I can identify those who are unharmed and uninfected...please prepare yourselves..."

Yooka, Laylee, Puzz, the fighters who came, and several others citizens began to glow...

“I bless you with my mark,” the Emperor announced. “You are my newest kings men, you are my blade. You are forever bound to serve.”

Well, the citizens were at least. Everybody else were already part of his rule, and answered right to him.

“Starting the teleport protocols now,” Geralt announced “T-minus two minutes to Exterminatus.”

Well...this was going to be something, as Krocken hooked himself up to a machine in the ship, to amplify his psychic powers of destruction.

The zombie virus was crafty and would not be allowed to spread. Could not. Even if he brought a billion strong droid army, they would find a way off world.

It was never an easy choice...but it was not open for debate now.

And now as all made it on the ship…

Yooka was numb as Laylee cried.

Samus had choice words for them, “it wasn’t your fault.”

It provides no comfort and Samus knew it. But it was true regardless.

All were on board as the cannons focused with dark psychic energy.

Kairi began to mutter a deep prayer as she watched this all. She, and the other Keybladers, were always the type for violence...but still, this could be overwhelming.

They saw it. The teleport took them somewhere they could see the world.

It was ten seconds to destruction.

On the planet, some zombies were rebuilding old and decommissioned space ships. They’d be off world in 5 minutes.

But they would never realize their ambitions...

The blast came like the hand of a god!

The world was ripped to pieces and nothing survived. Even viruses were wiped out, including the zombie virus.

So in a million years from now no space explorer could get the virus from a sharp rock sample.

At the cost of a verdant world and many friends.

Morally this mission was a failure.

Tactically it was also a failure.

But strategically it was a victory. A substantial threat was crushed in its crib. And planet crackers like Ishimura could pick apart the asteroid field that used to be a planet.

And the Emperor watched this all with a solemn expression.

Truly, the weight of crown pinned him down at times...but it was for the good of all...

He needed some rest.

Chapter 19: Might For Right

"Violence really is the last resort of the incompetent," Schala sniffed.

Her husband smiled, "I know you don't mean that. You're a very logical and clinical girl but force has its place."

"I just dislike these silly gladiator games and I dislike these Gorn you have slaved to your service," she sniffed, putting down her tea cup and passing it to a servant.

"The Gorn are loyal but their loyalty needs renewal in blood," Krocken explained. "They live to die and they respect strength; truly respect it. It helps that sadism is not in their blood. On a more personal level, if you don't experience combat for yourself in hand to hand you'll have no appreciation for your lowliest soldiers."

Well, her husband was right there. Hard to knock a few skulls every now and then to show you had what it took to rule the Galaxy.

"You should try fighting the Gorn," he suggested. "You may not only like it, but they would be a valuable asset if something happens to me."

"If you are going to manipulate me like that, then yes I will try it," said Schala.

"As shall I, father," said Sajah, "I've always been interested in fighting the Gorn to test their abilities; for science of course."

“Count me in!” Tina grinned, her Hamon energy flowing. “Pounding fuckers into paste is awesome. I love squeezing out their GORN jelly!” She laughed “and they don’t have penises, but they finger me until I scream!”

“Ew,” Sajah muttered.

Eilonwy rolled her eyes, then made to make calls to Leaders and Elites, inviting them to the upcoming show.

“The GORN are good people,” said Krocken “Unlike Orks, they have a sense of honor: a code of conduct”

“Let us be away to the great arena!” Tina shouted “I need murder for my cunt!”
--
The Gorn home world was a tough place. Outside the main cities was the vast, harsh wilderness, filled with powerful and aggressive monsters.

The first thing that shocked the princess was the size of the Gorn..

Sajah was in awe of the seven-foot tall slab of grunting muscle.

There was something erotic about the buff warrior wearing nothing but a helmet and loin cloth.

“Hail king,” the Gorn grunted.

“You speak to the EMPEROR, not a king,” Eilonwy insisted as other leaders began to move about the seats.

The Gorn cocked its head “Krocken fight. We follow.”

“Language isn’t their strength,” Krocken assured everyone. “Violence is their native language “

He looked over who had come with his Family. Sylvanas and Seras were there, naturally.

Seras raised her hand meekly. "I'm here for the blood. You know when you want to eat like a pig at a buffet until you need new pants? Well, this is like that for me."

"There'll be more blood than you can drink," Krocken assured her. He turned to the lone Gorn. "Take us to the arena, it's time for business."

The ten Keybladers were there as well, followed by Settra, Zacian, Zamazaneta, Hornet, Drifter, and the Beheaded.

The Keyblade holders were there to blood themselves. To test themselves.

"Make sure that the champions are here," Krocken assured. "I want a real fight with flexible enemies."

"Yes, Krocken," grunted the Gorn, as the Party headed to the dank and dark gladiator dungeon.

Settra was not always partial to this...but he was happy for now. Blood would be shed at this event, and the bodies would be piled up.
The Tomb
King impatiently held his kopesh style sword.

The doors opened to reveal the sand of the arena.

At the top of the vast arena, a man rung a gong. Spectators cheered for their Emperor. Women wanted to carry Krocken's babies, men wanted to bed the Empress and some people wanted both at the same time. Let the commoners have their fantasies.

All over the planets people came, many streaming the events from home. Biggest fighting blood games under the Blood Dome at Center.

Gorn were famous for this. They never backed down, they never retreated. They were merciless. And strangely enough, they lacked sadism entirely.

Against Krocken and his party were a party of ten or so Gorn with nothing but their fists.

In their eyes there was no fear and no remorse.

The only thing Gorn feared was dying peacefully...and fists were first, but weapons would be added...to all parties.

These were fresh Gorn, only recently emerged from the vats.

Even so, they knew what to expect. One of them began to stomp towards Schala.

With a twist of her hand, Schala bent that Gorn like a pretzel, shoving his head up his own ass.

"Oh dude!" Tina cried out, "That's super murder!"

But the warrior wasn't dead, and his backhand swing sent Tina flying. She slammed against the wall...and bounced off, unharmed, while EIlonwy used shadow magic to spread across the area, the tendrils getting up one Gorn and slamming right into the eyeballs, before twisting the head right off.

Krocken took a more direct approach. With a blunt sword, he swung and chopped the head of the first gladiator he met. The force was so violent that the screaming head had the eyeballs pop out. Another tried to punch him, but he simply grabbed him and hurled him against the wall with such force and speed the Gorn splattered into pieces.

Another Gorn grabbed the body of a dead gladiator to use as a club. Krocken would hate to waste that kind of creativity.

So he simply chopped the arms off the gladiator, then hurled him over the walls of the arena.

He’d leave a crater in the pavement, but his Gorn physiology would see him survive and prosper.

Sajah had her guns at hand now, blasting the heads off left and right.

The funny thing was when she shot the Gorn in the head, their high blood pressure made their heads fly forwards.

One Gorn head got blown clean off and went flying at her, hitting her in the shoulder.

How much blood was back into these things anyways!?

Sora took a hold of Gorn sword to go with his Keyblade...funny thing, said sword looked and moved like rubber, but still was the real deal.

Gorn with weapons were moving in. Their immense strengh was causing their weapons to wiggle like they were made of rubber.

But the almost sixty pound steel ball on the end of the mace was the real deal. It flew above Sora's head enough to ruffle his hair.

And for that, Kairi shoved her Keyblade into the neck, and supercharged it with lighting magic. The Gorn shuddered, and then blew to pieces, all fried up.

The explosion of blood was incredible. Seras began sucking it up like a vacuum cleaner. She filled herself with blood like never before.

Sajah herself was suddenly confronted by a Gorn carrying badgers as weapons. She fired a magic bolt at the badger, only to see the creature immune.

The badger sunk its teeth into her leg, which only fueled her rage. Reaching out, she grabbed the Badgermancer by the throat and ripped out his trachea.

Usually a calm, stoic scientist, battle and bloodshed awakened a far more...savage berserker within, venting her rage weaver she could.

And as fierce as the badgers were, they were among the weaker animals of Gorn...which was saying something.

They were immune to magic, but not to having their heads ripped off like dandelions.

Sajah roared like a beast incarnate. She was hungry for blood.

Her rage only spurred on the Gorn, who attacked with broad swords, bows and knives.

And they were easy targets for Windrunner, whose bow stabbed several right through the eyes. Their falls with arrows in their brains was most satisfying, their almost four hundred pound bodies hitting the sand with a thunderous crash.

And Terra had taken the whole 'stop hitting yourself' trick to a whole knew level as he tore off the arms of Gorn and beat them to death with said arms.

Most other creatures would have shit themselves with fear.

But this seemed to invigorate the Gorn. They charged with the coordination of a Toddler and the ferocity of a rabid bulldog.

They swung gigantic axes with swords and axes so big that they would take seven men to lift them.

But the Empire agents were no babies themselves. They had all fought the worst the Galaxy had to toss at them. Greater Demons, Archdevils, Ork Warbosses, Xenomorph Queens...worse.

The Gorn however were undeterred.

An arrow whizzed Past Krocken's head. A dwarf riding atop a giant Gorn scowled as he notched a fresh arrow.

The thing had good aim. He could have killed Krocken.

Excellent.

Made his blood boil and flow, his teeth ready and cruel.

Lea was having the time of his life, his Keyblade burning up his foes.

One of the Gorn lurched at him, face horribly fucked up and charred. It looked like a walking pile of hamburger meat. Then it blew into pieces.

Tina had finally convinced Sajah to cut loose and grab a ball and chain.

"Suck my ball!" Sajah shouted. "Suck my--

The force of her ball shattered a Gorn like a porcelain statue.

"Wow!" Sajah gasped,

On the stands, the Hyurle Champions watched the scene, Zelda taking notes on the whole thing.

"Fasting," she said. "They seem to show no fear, no hesitation or self preservation. But they are self aware and have a kind of warrior culture."

"I thought they were just giant muscle babies," Link laughed.

"Utterly dumb and disgusting," Revali groused, rolling his eyes as below, Sajah summoned her servitor, Zeal, to aid her.

Her grandmother, now a mindless fighting machine, with an eye obscuring helm (with sensors), and large mechanical claws.

Bigger Gorn were coming now, the Champion class.

A pair of big ones with nunchucks charged Zeal, only to be sliced in half. But more began to dogpile her.

The servitor felt no emotion, having been removed of that for her crimes of raping her own daughter. Schala would never forget or forgive.

She was a tool to be used, as she had used others.

Rapists were commonly punished as such, for it was one of the very few crimes in which there was no excuse and no need. Even theft could be understood in some situations.

And now she served Sajah, as a fighting drone for close ranger combat. Zeal spun her long arms and claws like buzzsaws, turning the Gorn on her into mincemeat. Blood poured down the arena...and none of it was dedicated to Khorne.

Cold and clinical, it was the very antithesis of what the Blood God desired.

A large crab was scutling towards Zeal, its large claws ripping a chunk of flesh from her side.

As it did so, Sajah slashed in half the dwarf riding the crab.

Zeal knew no pain anymore either, and it would soon be repaired.

Meanwhile, Zacian rushed up to the crab and used her sword to bash it to death. The shell cracked, showing all the organs within.

The sweet, delicious crab would be boiled up, seasoned, drizzled with butter and given to Gorn who passed with muster.

Many would die, but those with particular ferocity would be spared. They'd have their limbs hacked off but those could be reattached.

Meanwhile, Riku had gotten some gloves with claws sticking out, which he used to great effect! Actually less cutting at times and more shearing faces off.

"I'm so keeping these things!" Riku grinned. "Good for Skaven hunting!” He laughed, “I am Wolverine!" he screamed as he drove the clawed blades through a Gorn's mouth.

The thing gasped before he twisted his wrist and ripped the head right off.

Riku could be stoic...but every now and then he had to let loose to have some fun.

And this was fun, as a Giant Gorn was stomping towards them with a dwarf on his shoulder. But Settra faced him down, mowing down several Gorn in his way like some juggernaut.

 

The blood splatter flew up like fireworks…

…getting all over Zelda's notebook and ruining her page. "You bastard!" she screamed. Right as a Gorn head flew over her shoulder.

Settra simple ignored the scientist brat. These worms needed to die!

A giant crab scuttled towards him, but his magic attack blasted the dwarf from its back.

The Dwarf landed in the sand in front of Settra, yet despite losing all of its limbs, it glared up at him like it was daring him to finish the fight.

He obliged, ripping the head from the Dwarf's rubbery body.

Namine had got her hands on a small hand-held cannon...and was blasting the heads right off the Gorn soldiers. Not too shabby.

Even with their legs blown off, they dragged themselves towards her.

When the gun ran out of ammo, she clubbed them to death with the heavy barrel.

Other Gorn were ripped to pieces by the immense psychic power of the Emperor, unable to see the attacks.

Unlike Orks, they did not believe powers and magic to be against the rules. As long as bodies were torn apart, this was fine by their crude religion.

Schala, Empress and Master Archmage, performed a magic combination, summing thorny vines that crushed and skewered a good number of Gorn. Then the vines fired of spikes, impaling some more...and then said spikes turned into ravenous piranhas that stripped flesh from bone.

The gore fountain was beyond description.

The whole crowd screamed with delight as blood showered them.

Seras victoria glutted herself on Gorn blood like a pig at a banquet.

Schala was already making another spell combo. This was one of the ice spells she'd learned from the Fairy Tail Guild.

The Gorn Goliaths were a bigger breed than average and with tougher hides. They'd need special attention.

Time to unleash it all upon them!

The ice shards flew and took off heads and hands.

Dozens and dozens of Gorn charged into the fray like men into the machine guns and barbed wire of World War 1. But the Gorn were willing.

Limbs were hacked off, Gorn with their eye ripped from their sockets marked blindly forward, only to be trampled by their fellows when they fell.

Meanwhile, Sajah and Tina were fighting back to back with long-range weapons.

"Ah, so much blood!" Tina laughed, "Just like the time we fought Princess Blubbergut!"

"AGGGH! Don't mention that to me EVER again!" Sajah snarled. She turned back to the Gorn "Now you will die!" She shouted!

She launched a mighty punch with her power first at a Gorn. Sending the warrior flying out of the arena and stretching like he was made of rubber.

"Oh shit!" said Tina, "That guy straight up gumbied in mid air!"

She simply shrugged, grabbed the crab gauntlets, and began to entertained herself by pulling Gorn about. She crushed skulls in her gauntlets like grapes. Tore off limbs and heads.

"These are the best things in the universe!" Tina crowed!

Blood everywhere, a new paint replacement for the arena.

The bells of the arena rang, signaling the patrons the chance to fight.

The crowds began descending into the pit to fight with their Emperor. Many had their limbs torn off by the superior strength of the Gorn, but there was no conflict without blood.

All was as the natural order dictated.

Mere patrons did die, but not the Elite class of fighters!

The Emperor was all about proving his power. Proving his justice.

Here in the arena only skill and ability mattered.

It was a critical piece of theater to legitimize his rule and separate him from would be tyrants and pretenders.

He and his Family did now cower and issue dumb rules for no reason. No, they were like anyone else! Ready to fight and die to live!

From the very start of his reign, Krocken had tried to win the people. He could care less about corrupt nobles and upstart bishops, constantly haranguing him to give them more when they already had more wealth than a being could spend in a hundred lifetimes.

The commoners actually rewarded his devotion.

As did Schala, now in the form of a large mantis, ripping heads of Gorn. She watched over the people...

...provided they did not cross her. EVER.

It was for good reason they called her the mother wolf.

She was never capricious or sadistic. So when she killed you, you always knew why and so did the horrified onlookers.

She took a certain joy in the killing of Gorn. When she was finished, the survivors would look to her as their Empress. "Alimta," they would call her in their crude language.

Blood was spilled by the gallons today.

But all things must come to an end, and soon the ceremony was done.

At the end of the ceremony, the bloodied Emperor declared a feast. Roast beasts, goat, pig, cow and even Gorn were all served and all invited were allowed to take their fill.

Not to mention giant crab meat. Ah, such a feast for all gathered! Seras drank the blood by the cupful, much as she could, allowing her wife to massage her chest.

Seras was living up to her intentions, going wild like a buffet goer at Chinese New Year.

Much butter was melted down in vats to aid the eating of the giant crab.

And there were vegetarian options for people who liked killing, but didn't like eating meat.

Such a glorious day! Tomorrow, the Family would head back to the capital planet to do their work. For now, FEAST!

Chapter 20: Rival Ladies

The world of the Shattered Isles...

Town of Ramsgate...

San, a powerful hunter of the Empire, sat at the tavern, still fresh from the latest hunt. The Shattered Isles, home of the Behemoths, were known for the hunting market, and she was all over it.

She sipped her drink, thinking about the near-mountain of game she'd brought in this day.

The hunt...is what she lived for. Using dimensional magic (she hated ships), she traveled across the wild worlds, always on the move, always looking to test her mettle against the savage monsters.

She'd be hard pressed to linger in one area longer than necessary... unlike another wandering maiden she could think of.

Who was thankfully not here now, so she could just rest and-

“Why, hellooooooo, little wolfie!”

Fuck.

She didn't have to look up to confirm that a curvaceous blonde woman in a revealing white dress was standing there, martini glass in hand and a smirk on her lips. Holli Would, a sorceress and cosmopolitan con woman.

A member of the Empire also used to keep tabs on the people of various planets, she had the ears of the Family...

...and she and San did NOT like each other. AT ALL.

San saw Holli as some vapid whore, getting by on seduction alone. Holli, for her part, saw San as some brainless feral girl.

"No thanks, witch," San muttered through her teeth, "I don't want to hear about your venereal disease collection."

Holli gave a scornful giggle and said, "My, my, you're using such big words, aren't you, little wolfie? Have a gold star!"

A typical portrayal of the relationship between them. Sure, rivalry between factions was nothing new, but even this was caustic.

San rose from her seat and faced the sorceress, eyeing the alcoholic beverage in her gloved hand.

"Don't tempt me to finish what your liver started, hussy," she growled.

"Now, now, mutt," Holli grinned. "Here for business, and maybe some help...we have reports of pirates in the sector."

“And you come to me?” San muttered, snarling like a wolf. “Why?”

"Sometimes a good dog is needed to sniff things out."

Despite all the dog jokes, San knew it was crucial to put down pirate attacks whenever possible. However, she was loathe to swallow her pride against this hussy.

But first...

"Who is the so-called pirate this time?" Euron was dead, so he was ruled out.

“The Beast Pirates, of course,” Holli purred. Well now, that was concerning. The Beast Pirates were led by Kaido, a fearsome, nigh-invulnerable dragon who could take the form of an enormous ogre. He was notorious for filling his ranks through press-ganging those he deemed strong enough to serve him.

And now it seemed he was emerging from the shadows into Galactic territory. Not great.

Before Holli could make another snide remark about her animal nature, San remarked, “Don’t worry, I won’t let him take whatever’s left of your virtue.”

"Concern appreciated," The smile was clearly forced.

And so, despite their hatred for one another, the two rivals found themselves aboard the same ship.

San, again, hated ships, but had no choice in this regard. She stood on deck, grumbling to herself as she leaned on her spear. Holli, on the other hand, couldn’t be more pleased.

So many soldiers about, ready to fight and die for the Family!

Somewhere out there, Kaido’s fleet was waiting.

In the dark vastness of space, where so many other Empire factions were going about their business...

Like Grimm and his traveling troupe, his circles being rather...dark and unsettling, yet always awe-inspiring. And thankfully, only sentients performed, no wild animals.

Kaido had performers to spare, many of them twisted amalgams of humanoid and animal courtesy of extremely illegal synthetic Devil Fruits, known by their street name, Smiles. The name was a cruel reference to how every fruit had a chance of disfiguring its consumer with a grotesque permanent grin and compulsive laughter, and no animal powers to show for it. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Straw Hats and the Family, Smiles would never be synthesized again, but there were still enough in circulation for Kaido to keep feeding to his ranks.

As for Orochi, the man who helped with Smiles...

San didn't think a man could bend like that...or scream that loudly.

As the ship drifted closer to the last known position of the fleet, Holli could already sense the presence of those cursed brigands. They were definitely on the right track!

San could smell them! The hunt was on the foot!

Sure enough, the insignia of Jack the Drought, one of Kaido's elite commanders, came into view. Jack was notorious for his cruelty and love of wanton destruction, but even so, he was the weakest of Kaido's inner circle.

Which, considering how tough he was, was really saying something about the others.

They'd strike his division first, throwing the Beast Fleet off balance. As the imperial ship closed in, Holli commanded, "Activate cloaking device!"

A Kremling nodded, working on the systems to make sure they got in close enough to kill.

The cloaking device was working as intended, allowing the imperial ship to slip past Jack's outer defenses. But as they approached the dock of the commander's ship, something went horribly wrong.

Namely, some large...thing grabbed the ship.

"What-?!" Holli cried. "Emergency protocol! Get a visual on what's stalling us!"

Crew members were rushing about to check on what the heck was going on!

A screen came up, showing two large pincers grasping the ship! San gripped her weapons, realizing that somehow, Jack's crew had seen through the stealth system.

This was why she hated ships. That, and too tech for her liking!

"To arms!" yelled Holli, and the Kremlings rushed to grab weapons... right as the first wave of boarders manifested on board. They were Pleasures, mid-level grunts who had been disfigured by faulty smiles. Laughing mirthlessly, they brandished pulse rifles and beam swords as they rushed the crew.

The Kremlings had weapons of their own, plus powerful jaws to rip their foes to pieces. Magic surrounded Holli as she leapt down, San following with knives drawn.

The Pleasures laughed their disturbing laughter even as they were wounded and killed by the imperial crew members. San gritted her teeth as she stabbed a Pleasure in the throat, watching as he choked on his own blood while chortling. What sort of sick leader would do this to his own subordinates?

Something the like of Dark Eldar would so, damn shits they were. But now, time to put them down!

After some time, the surviving Pleasures beamed out, replaced by successful Smile users: Gifters. Unlike true Zoan fruit users, Gifters looked less like animal hybrids and more like unholy experiments gone horribly wrong!

There were those whose arms transformed into the heads of wild beasts, centaur-like beings whose faces contorted to resemble the creatures whose bodies were joined to their torsos, and even men with what looked to be half-formed animals growing out of their midsections. It was enough to make Holli want to puke.

Coming from a woman who could easily and horribly torture someone to get what she wanted, and kill someone without blinking an eye.

She wasted no time blasting as many monstrosities as she could. Unlike the Pleasures, Gifters were more resilient, but their powers weren't always reliable.

Failures to the end...and yet...felt like they were softening the Imperials up for the big guns.

San gritted her teeth. No good trophies here!

The Kremlings fought hard, but their numbers could only do so much against the erratic and unpredictable Gifters. Then, as if from nowhere, another presence beamed aboard... this one much larger, and armed with strange curved swords.

Jack the Drought!

A true Zoan user, with a very short fuse, a love of violence, and sheer brute strength!

And a fine trophy for San!

"The Imperial whores reveal themselves," Jack observed, his voice unnervingly calm and cool. "Still standing amid the carnage. Fine recruits for the crew."

"That's not a request, is it," San deadpanned. She was well aware of how Kaido was fond of kidnapping powerful warriors to replenish his ranks.

"Sorry, big boy," Holli purred, not even flinching at the slur. "I'm not one to mess up a good thing."

It was time to dance, it seemed, as Jack quickly shifted into his powerful mammoth form, ready to crush all these in his way!

San grinned, feeling her predatory nature take hold as she ran toward Jack! Swinging his trunk, Jack took out a squad of Krushas, but San leaped over it and raised her daggers, sinking them into his snout, the blood pouring loose! Jack howled, pain filling his body!

He charged ahead, slamming against a wall. San barely had time to jump clear of him before impact. This character was faster than he looked!

Ah yes! A hunt!

Holli, though, had her own ideas...and that was a painful death for the mammoth, and bring her a rank up!

As an enraged mammoth man turned to face her, Holli concentrated her magic, spreading her hands to cast a spell... only for something to slam into the back of her head, knocking her to the floor. Standing over her was a scantily-clad young woman with curious black horns, long purple hair, and a sadistic grin. Shouldering her mace, Ginrummy, one of Jack's lieutenants, looked down at the barely conscious sorceress and leered, "Thanks for looking at the mammoth, girlie."

Ah, wonderful...and San tried to for another attack...but herself was caught off guard!

In this case, blindsided by a punch to the face... with ram horns? Sheepshead, Jack’s other underling, grinned unwholesomely as he slipped out of his Gifter form.

“Next time check your peripherals, puppy,” he jeered, placing a foot on the small of San’s back.

Damn! So close, and now the tide had turned against them!

Shaking off the blood from his wounds, Jack looked to his subordinates and commanded, "Bind and gag those two. We will present them to his lordship."

Crap...no time to fight back or even move. Energy drained out of them.

Holli slipped out of consciousness as she felt a magic suppressant collar snap in place around her neck. San, on the other hand, fought tooth and nail until Sheepshead managed to jam a tranq stick into her side.

And just in case, she was collared as well...right, get the whores trussed up like livestock.

To this end, they were tightly bound with enchanted ropes, wrists behind their backs, arms to their sides, and legs together. For gags, their captors stuffed their mouths to the brim with cloth, wound shiny silvery tape tight over their lips, and for good measure, bound thick black kerchiefs over their heavily taped mouths.

And tossed into a small room together, the door locking on them.

Lying side by side in the holding cell, the two rivals could only sleep off their injuries and wait for the big moment.

And it really did suck they had to share a room with each other!

San was first to regain consciousness, her head pounding. As she opened her eyes, moaning in pain, she felt pressure on her body from her bonds and gag.

"Wh....HNNNGGG!" She quickly began to wiggle, her fur-clad body flopping about, covered breasts pressing beneath her.

San shook her head in an attempt to at least dislodge the outer OTM layer on her gag, but it wouldn't budge. Meanwhile, Holli was coming around, arching her back and lolling her head to the side as she moaned softly. Even now, she couldn't help but eroticize herself.

Oh, she did this to herself often at nights, alone, sleeping in bondage.

This, however, was not an act of self-bondage. As she regained her senses, Holli began to struggle as well.

"HMMMN?! MMMMPH!" she yelled, writhing away on her back as her breasts strained against the confines of her dress.

Well, she had them better than the wolf here, so there was that!

But as the two of them struggled, they'd soon learn that they had bigger things to worry about than who had the bigger sweater puppets.

Namely...what would happen to them next? Get the rest of the crew out of this and-

"Here they are!" a voice boomed as the door suddenly swung open.

Oh...nice to meet them already.

Pirates came in and dragged the two captives out.

Time to meet the fucker himself.

Oh, how San wanted to make him a trophy.

And yet, what all failed to know is that in their triumphs, the Beast Pirates were drifted into the travel route of a rather...unsavory creature.

Time to meet the fucker himself.

Oh, how San wanted to make him a trophy.

And yet, what all failed to know is that in their triumphs, the Beast Pirates were drifted into the travel route of a rather...unsavory creature.

For the moment, however, the girls found themselves beamed aboard the Beast Pirates flagship, where Kaido sat at the bridge, guzzling huge bottles of sake like water.

"Lord Kaido," Jack greeted his master, "we have captured these imperial brats."

Here, the pirates holding San and Holli threw the girls on their knees before the great brute, eliciting indignant muffled squeaks from both. San glared up at Kaido with a mix of contempt and desire, eyeing his horns as potential trophies. Holli simply glowered murderously at him.

While Kaido was...drunk. Really drunk. As often he was known to be.

"Sho... you're pretty tough to tangle wiv Jack..." he slurred. "Why keep shticking wiv dose idiotsh? Come join MY crew!"

San just glared hotly, refusing to muffle anything.

Holli was likewise silent, letting her defiant body language give her answer.

"Have it your way," Kaido growled. "PUT 'EM IN THE BRIG!"

Again? That sucked! How uncreative, though!

Regardless, they found themselves dragged away by Ginrummy, who pulled them both by the feet.

"You two are in for a rough time!" she cackled. "When we break guys, we put them to work, but for brats like you, we keep you tied up and locked away with nothing to do!"

Well...that may work to their advantage, giving them time to think on how to escape!

Such as it was, the two captured girls soon found themselves stashed away in a cell... tied back to back. Rears pressed on each other.

San winced as she was forced to smell Holli's overwhelming perfume, while the sorceress likewise fought back the urge to retch as the scent of the huntress' filthy furs assailed her nose. Gagged as they were, breathing through their mouths wasn't really an option.

"Mmm, UMMMPP!"

"HHNNNG, GGGMMMPH!"

At once, the two very uncomfortable damsels began struggling against their bonds, intent on wresting themselves apart. Ignoring (somewhat) how the rear ends rubbed and pressed on each other.

Around them, they could faintly hear the sounds of other women muffling and whimpering into tight gags.

Must be other captives as well, collected from raids. That sucked.

As the two girls struggled, they tipped over, falling on their sides. Little did they know, the Beast Fleet had stumbled into some dangerous territory, even for them.

And the beast watching them, white and scarred, did not like intruders...

With the fleet showing no signs of changing course, the monster struck.

The results where immediate, the attack of a large jaw causing the entire ship to shake and jolt.

Several unlucky crewmates found themselves sucked out into the vacuum of space, such was the damage. At once, security protocols went into effect, sealing off the various sectors to prevent leakage. The captive women doubled their efforts to get free, with San remembering a pair of backup daggers hidden in her boots. If only she could reach...

"MMMPH! HNNNGH!"

She may have to rely on Holli for this...

...That hurt her pride.

What she didn't know was that Holli was trying to draw a hidden blade of her own, one that she kept strapped to her inner thigh. Sighing through her nose, she realized she'd need San's help for this.
It was then they both noticed what they were doing...and looked at each other...and groaned.

Wonderful.

Meanwhile, Jack was shouting for order. "KILL IT! KILL IIIITTTT!!!"

But Moby Dick was no ordinary space whale. Aside from sheer ferocity, he seemed to be...hard to truly harm...

...and almost unnatural, as even Demons and Devils steered clear of him...as though he was the very cosmos themselves.

That didn't stop the Beast Pirates from trying, of course. From aboard his own personal ship, Kaido's second strongest general, Queen, was furiously launching dangerous and highly contagious custom-designed pathogen bombs at the White Whale. So far this only seemed to annoy it.

Just what WAS this thing?! The fat man shifted into his brachiosaurus form to try and ram into the overgrown tuna!

And King, likewise taking on his pteranodon form, sought to rip the beast's flesh asunder with his talons. Under these circumstances, most captains would be trying their hardest to change course... but Kaido was positively giddy.

Here was something he could take down and earn himself some prestige among the Galaxy! He had fought the mightiest of Greater Demons of Chaos and survived. Surely this would be child's play!

So, with a wild laugh, the boss of the Beast Pirates assumed his true form and flew out to take on Moby Dick himself. Even if he lost, he'd at least come close to tasting death. This left the rest of his fleet... basically rudderless.

And left them open from any attacks from within the ship.

Back in the holding cell, San and Holli were trying to communicate some sort of plan of action to cut each other free, something the gags made rather difficult.

"Hmm thhrrr!"

"Thhr?"

"HRRRR, YHH TWWWTT!"

Every now and then, they'd take turns headbutting each other out of frustration as they both groped for each others' knives. And groped each other as well by accident all over.

If there was one good thing about being tied back to back, it was that they couldn't see each other blushing. But at last, after much unintentional molestation, they managed to finally liberate each others' hidden blades and start sawing through their bonds!

Right...time to go for it as the ship shook and rattled.

Free at last from their bindings, the girls tore off their gags and made to leave... but the cries of the other captives continued. It was at that moment that San realized something important.

"Stop!" she barked at Holli. "You remember what the whore told us about what they did with captured warrior women, yes?"

"Your point?!" Holli snapped as she picked the locking mechanism on her anti-magic collar. Just then the full impact of what San just said hit her. Of course, they'd have an entire army of furious, vengeful ex-captives to assist in their escape! And possibly recruit into the imperial ranks, if they survived!

Yes...more to add to the might of the glorious Empire!

They wasted no time setting about springing the girls from the other cells. One of them was even a Nord shieldmaiden, Lydia. Not a bad find, considering how strong Nords could be.

For the Family! Take out some pirates!

Meanwhile, Kaido was faring...not great.

Already the beast had torn his two strongest men to pieces, leaving their remains drifting through space. And if that wasn't enough, Moby Dick had already bitten off one of Kaido's forepaws. But Kaido was undaunted, reveling in the first worthy battle he'd fought in years!

"YES! SHOW ME YOUR WORTH, YOU GREAT WHITE FISH!" he roared, a perverse grin on his lips.

Moby Dick did not seem the care...though as the supposed avatar of the cosmos, perhaps that was natural...

Kaido coiled his body around the massive whale, hopping to crush it...but failed to notice a potion of his body get too close to the sickle-like jaws.

Sure enough, the cosmic whale bit down, bisecting the mad dragon at the waist and mortally wounding him! It took him a moment to realize what had happened, but when he saw his own blood floating before him in massive sizzling globs, Kaido felt oddly... peaceful.

"Ah, so this is death," he muttered. "Thank you, white beast."

The whale did not acknowledge him, and continued to smash down on the ship. It didn't paid heed to anyone here or before...like that odd one-legged man a few years back, screaming at him and trying to harpoon him.

Sheepshead had his skull spilt in two by an axe he failed to see coming. Ginrummy similarly wound up riddled with laser blast holes when she found herself outflanked. And leading the charge was none other than San, with Holli riding her coattails. Or perhaps Holli was leading, with San trying to upstage her. More likely, they were both trying to lead at once, and just so happened to have a common goal for a difference.

Jack himself was coming though, smashing through several crewmates of his in his mad rush to crush the rebels.

Seeing her chance to collect at least one trophy from this sorry affair, San lunged at Jack, intending to finish what she started...

Jack, with nothing to lose, turned, bellowed, and lunged...

San's daggers cut quick and deep, slicing off the top of the mammoth man's head, ripping open his back, and separating his spine from the rest of his skeletal system. Jack was dead in mid-air, and San had her trophy.

Now, back to the ships!

San turned, catching a glimpsed of the fabled whale outside a window...

There was Moby Dick, in all his majesty. A humbling moment for sure. Yet...foreboding...he was something beyond understanding...

Bowing her head, San went on her way, acknowledging the unknowable force of nature as the instrument of her revenge.

And soon, both Empire and new recruits were on the various ships leaving the raging whale behind.

San and Holli both knew to report to the Imperial Palace for this major update.

And who knows... maybe they learned a little something about one another from their shared ordeal.

"Hmm, for a shambling primitive, you did rather well to avoid getting yourself murdered back there," Holli sniffed.

"I'm just surprised you didn't fall and break your brittle neck from all that running in those pointy shoes," San fired back.

Perhaps not.

 

And so, several hours later...

"Kaido is no more?" The Emperor seemed surprised at that.

"He did have the misfortune of coming across a certain space-faring whale, your majesty," San said with a nod. "I saw the miscreant dead in his jaws myself."

Hmmm, Krocken himself had fought Kaido many times in the past, and they always ended in stalemate. For Moby Dick to make such easy work of him...

Yeah, that made it all the more important to make sure NO ONE bothered him.

On the bright side, another pirate down, alongside Eruon and the Dark Queen. And it only seemed right to appropriately reward these two elites for their work, cleaning up the remnants of Kaido's crew while bringing them an influx of valuable new recruits.

Yes...some increase in ranks for Holli, though such things meant little to the wild San. Yes, what would be suitable compensation for a drifter such as herself?

It was then Eilonwy spoke up from nearby. "Perhaps, my lord, Lady San might have use for a more... practical arrangement?"

Krocken turned to his sister, her face covered by the top half of a saber-tooth skull helm. "Proceed."

"San," Eilonwy turned to the hunter, "Perhaps we could do with a...commander in deep warfare?"

San cocked her head to the side in curiosity, much like a canine.

"I'm listening," she replied. As did Holli, perked up.

Smiling behind her helm, Eilonwy proceeded to tell them. "All over we have foes in the deepest parts of the wilderness, hard to storm with typical armies. We need more...specialized units."

"A commando force, then?" San asked.

"Call it what you will," Eilonwy said with a shrug. "Should you accept, you would be its leader."

...

"I am still a hunter, and the missions should allow me to obtain the trophies, correct?"

"Indeed," Schala's own smile was serpentine.

San pondered the offer for a moment... then nodded.

"Done."

First, she had to clean her trophy, still at her side, much to the amusement of those gathered. Old Jack finally kicked it as well.

Off she went to the temporary quarters she used every now and then at the palace. Sure, she preferred to keep on the move, but San was loath to turn down the Family’s hospitality.

Room was designed to look like a natural forest/jungle.

She did like how the Family promoted nature and clean energy, thanks Ciel for that. She was also present when Krocken made sure Mr. Burns updated his power plant with safety measures...

...or else.

In the Empire, you really couldn’t put a price tag on quality of life. Not if you wanted to wake up the next day.

For that...San was satisfied, and began to work on her trophy. This one was going to be a masterpiece...

And hopefully Holli would not bother her now.

Chapter 21: Lesson in Temperance

Ragna had honored his agreement with Aqua, arriving at the appointed hour for what was to be his first magic lesson. Sure enough, Aqua was already there to greet him.

As were the other Keybladers...all ready to train and/or torment him.

Lovely. Just...wonderful. How did he get roped into this again?

"Wow, you actually showed up," Sora remarked.

"Hah! Pay up, sucker," Kairi needled him, holding out her hand.

Oh for the love of...

"Yeah, let's just get this started," Ragna growled. "Can't be here forever."

"No..." Aqua agreed. "So...darkness is your element, it seems."

Ragna nodded. "That's how it's always been."

"You'll need someone very specific for that," said Aqua.

"Wha-"

"Darkness is a powerful element..." Aqua noted. "It was the element that allowed High General Eilonwy to slay the admiral Kizaru."

Oh yeah...now that was something spectacular.

Kizaru, once a feared and powerful war criminal, had seemed untouchable for the longest time before the archmage destroyed him. Crushed to death in a miniature black hole... now there was a killing method both creative and horrifying.

Something his powers over light could not handle.

Said Devil Fruit was later put on market. Very expensive.

Anyways...

"So, focus on that right now?" Ragna asked.

Aqua nodded. “Choose your mentor wisely.”

Ten to choose from...all of them looking to pummel him in interesting ways.

Yet to Ragna, it was a no-brainer.

"Namine," he said quickly. The blonde stepped forward, her mischievous smirk spreading into a grin.

"Let's get to it, rookie," she purred.

Likely go right for the balls on him. Nice.

A circle was drawn in the ground, showing off the 'arena'.

Ragna drew his sword, and Namine summoned her Keyblade. The two of them faced each other.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Namine goaded.

He paused, trying to find an opening. Darkness was his element, and he could use it to an extent in his attacks...but to directly control it freely?
Doing his best to focus, he lunged forward, sword first... and Namine easily blocked him.

"Sloppy," she crooned, savoring the word.

More humiliating was the fact she was much smaller than he was.

To further hammer in the skill gap between them, Namine flicked her Keyblade, sending Ragna spinning. He just barely had time to stab the ground with his blade, steadying himself.

"Still on your feet," Namine observed. "At least your reflexes are sharp."

Ragna was strong, no doubt, but he lacked finesse.

He recalled that yes, he DID 'kill' a Keeper of Secrets, A Greater Demon...but mainly due to luck, equipment, and other small factors.

"Well, come on, then," Namine demanded. "I'm not exactly sparring with you for my own health here!"

Growling, Ragna pulled his sword out of the ground and charged at the petite blonde once again. She feinted as if to block, only to suddenly drop down and sweep her Keyblade at his legs. Ragna went down like a sack of angry potatoes.

"Ow..."

"Too rushed there," Namine said, a crowd of folk and elites gathering to watch. "Need to stay focused...and prepare for low blows!"

And just as Ragna predicated, a kick to the balls.

His eyes bugged out as he let out a pained grunt. Even if he did see that cheap shot coming, it still hurt like crap!

He hoped Noel was not among the crowd to see this!

"Come now, I didn't hit you THAT hard," Namine teased. "Now show me what you've got already."

Ragna got to his feet, now truly frustrated.

So many eyes upon him, and he noticed Li-Ming among them, smirking.

Li-Ming was a Nephalem, a group of seven humanoids said to have been born from the union of High Heavens Angels and Burning Hells Demons. Outcasts, they found solace as members of the Empire...

...and regardless how people felt about them personally, no one could scoff at their battle prowess, wield incredible might and great powers.

Li-Ming was a power mage, cocky, sure, but she could back up any boast with her power.

Rolling his eyes, Ragna stabbed the ground once more and got to his feet. Glaring in Namine's direction, Ragna focused everything he had into his next strike, intent on making SOMETHING happen. Something that wouldn't involve him getting smacked around.

He let darkness channel though, enchanting his weapon, ready for another dark attack.

"DEAD SPIKE!" He thrust forward a bestial head of energy.

Namine's eyes widened as she saw the technique manifest before her and acted quickly, swinging her Keyblade...

Slicing right through the head, just in time.

Ragna once again found his blade blocked, but this time Namine seemed different, almost impressed.

"Now, that's more like it!" she remarked.

The power to mold dark energy into forms...how quaint.

Keep on going!

Meanwhile...back at the Palace…

Eilonwy had received word of a recent Chaos uprising, led by a sorcerer and dark priest by the name of Jafar.

She moved through the halls of the palace, expression dark. Chaos...an insidious force that deserved to be ground under her heel...

Time to call in recruits. The Keybladers, of course, would be invaluable. As would the Nephalem, Hyrule Champions, the musketeers, and more...

...and perhaps Ragna the Bloodedge.

She knew he'd started training with the Keybladers to learn magic, and what better way to jumpstart that but to send him into the thick of the action? After all, he'd always been a reliable warrior. And she had always been the type to test them on the fly.

Eilonwy began to prepare herself, this time, out of her massive skull-mask collection, chose a top half of a large bird of prey.

She tried not to think of the Raven King as she set the helm on her head. Although he was the seminal figure in galactic magic, his legacy had undertaken a truly dark turn with the rise of Chaos worshipers, many of whom saw the Chaos Gods as his true successors.

Hmmm, Chaos...still the scars pulsed...

This was no time to distract herself with trauma, however. Standing tall, the archmage strode from her quarters and prepared to put out the call to her chosen forces.

Not just soldiers and elites, but other leaders (King Boo, Lunala, and Solgaleo had answered the call) and some Inquisitors.

She, for the moment, made her way to the training area.

Jafar had to be stopped, and soon.

All those gathered turned and went silent as one of the High Generals came forward, staring down Ragna and Namine.

The two elites immediately took a knee, bowing their heads at the General's approach. As did all others surrounding them.

"We have an issue," Eilonwy began, "A Chaos Sorcerer by the name of Jafar is operating on an unclaimed planet. We believe he is trying to summon the Slayer of Souls to wreck havoc of several systems."

The Slayer of Souls, common name for Aetaos'rau'keres, was a VERY powerful Lord of Change, themselves already freakishly powerful Greater Demons of Tzeentch. Little was known about this particular Lord, as he was feared by many. A mad, spiteful, and destructive monster, only the most nihilistic or foolhardy would dare summon him.

"That is no laughing matter, to say the least," Aqua said, folding her arms. "Time is of the essence. We are at your disposal, General Eilonwy."

Others began to talk among themselves, trying to figure out who should go and face down the threat.

Ragna was silent.

He knew the Keybladers would not go easy on him, but maybe... just maybe...

Could the battlefield be his true proving ground for tapping into his potential?

Already people were stepping forward. Not just the Keybladers and Nephalem, but many others.

Rattlesnake Jake. Gelu. Crunch Bandicoot. Millia Rage. Musketeers. Doomguy.

So many answered the call...

...and Ragna stepped forwards and-

"Ah! Just who I wanted to see!"

“Wha-?”

“You are training magic, correct?”

"Er..."

"Well, a perfect chance!" Eilonwy smiled darkly. "Here we can put your skills to the test!"

Ragna’s mouth dropped open in shock, but before he could stammer out a response, Namine jumped in.

“My apprentice would be honored, my lady,” she purred.

"APPRENTICE!?"

"Excellent," Eilonwy nodded. "You and the other Keybladers as well," She turned. "Now, I must see what my niece had made to aid us."

Ragna sputtered, but found himself jostled along as the crowd of volunteers followed Eilonwy back to the palace grounds. They were headed for Sajah's workshop.

Ecco and Firebrand had joined as well, ready to rumble.

The workshop, more like some fortress, was where Sajah and her personal cronies. Far from a stereotypical 'brat' princess, Sajah was dour, humorless girl who focused much on her own work of building and creating technology, weapons, monsters, and more.

She appeared without fanfare, looking at the assembled rabble her aunt had brought in to get geared up.

"Ah, my dearest niece," Eilonwy said with cheer, annoying Sajah. "How goes the investigation on that planet?"

"We are simply monitoring it to see how things will proceed," Sajah said flatly. "More focused on other projects right now."

"Quite so," Eilonwy chirped, unruffled. "We are to pursue Jafar."

A nod as all were led into the lab. "Fulgore has received his latest upgrade and is ready to join the hunt as well."

"Brilliant!" Eilonwy cried, pulling her deadpan niece into a hug that ended as quickly as it started. "Do show him out, will you?"

Fulgore...a cybernetic super soldier created from old documents from a extinct company... Created and modified by Sajah, Fulgore proved to be rather...strong, mowing even through Chaos Space Marines.

With the army assembled, it was time to head for Jafar's last known location.

Said planet was Jakku, a desert planet, backwater, populated mostly by scavengers making a living in many ways.

The Penitent One, a silent and holy Inquisitor, would be meeting them there.

Ragna sat across from Namine, contemplating what lay ahead. This was all moving so fast. He'd heard stories of magical prodigies before; Bianca, the rabbitfolk sorceress who was part of Spyro's group, was on of them. But there was another, an entity whose name had recently come up with the arrival of that wish peddler.

The Raven King.

Schala seemed to be interested in uncovering his secrets, likely to help crush Chaos once and for all.

How was he supposed to even try to learn magic under these conditions? After all, it wasn't like HE was a prodigy. Right?

He sat on his seat of the large transport ship, looking at the flying stars...so many worlds under their control...and still...

"Something on your mind, Ragna?" asked Namine, snapping him out of his funk.

"Huh?"

All around, other agents were milling about, waiting for the arrival and the battle to begin.

"You seem lost..."

"...What do you think the Family is after these days?"

Namine's face changed from an expression of curiosity to one of dread. Clearly, she had some strong opinions.

"Have you heard of the Raven King?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Only a little..." Ragna admitted. "One of the strongest mages ever?"

The Keyblader nodded, but still looked somber.

"It's thanks to him that magic is so widespread across the galaxy," she said. "But he left a trail of darkness in his wake. His powers were rooted in Faerie magical arts..."

Huh...they had Fair Folk among their forces, like the Ebott Monsters, Ferngully fairies, and Fairy Pokemon. No big deal there.

"So what?" Ragna probed.

"The fairies you're thinking of are descendant races from the kind of the Raven King's time," Namine explained. "An entire domain parallel to our very own, practicing magic in its rawest form to the point of madness. These are the ancient fairies, barely a step up from demons."

Hmmm, that was alarming.

"Ah, the old tales, eh?" Firebrand hung from the ceiling. "Telling the stories of the folk of old. Say that some still exists in the wilderness of the Galaxy...even beyond!"

"Are there any tales of a Faerie woman in a red dress who lives on the other side of a mirror?" Ragna pressed.

"Oddly specific," Firebrand remarked. "It's hard to narrow down any one Faerie based on their wardrobe."

For a dick, the demon knew a lot about the hosts of old.

Just dandy.

"But I might have one idea...."

Ragna leaned forward, but before Firebrand could elaborate, the ship came to an abrupt stop, sending the red-jacketed warrior stumbling.

They were getting close! And dark ships had come to fight!

Screamers, ray-like Demons of Tzeentch, came swarming.

Sgt. Byrd and Agent 9, who had volunteered themselves to man ship turrets, opened fire on the ghastly creatures.

The ammo used in their weapons was special, used to fight Demons, as Chaos Demons in realspace were not...'there', just a projection, in a sense. Killing them here would send them back into the Warp.

Other gunners soon joined the dogfight, thinning the hoards that blocked their way. The surface of Jakku was ever closer with each blast...

Ah, but so many damn Screamers and-

Great blasts of energy from another direction took them all out...and a massive jungle temple-styled ship appeared.

"Wha-is that Queen La's ship?" King Boo mused.

Sure enough, a familiar sultry voice buzzed in on the intercoms of the various other Imperial ships: "You didn't really think I'd sleep on this one, did you, archmage?"

Eilonwy grimaced with a roll of her eyes. Sure, La's help was nice...but...

"Ah, great, now she's gonna brag about this for months," grumbled Jake, perfectly encapsulating at least one of the problems with La's personality.

The battlefield, though, was soon in sight, and drop pods were in order.

The Dark Angels Space Marines were already fighting. The Kremling shock troops weren't far behind, charging ahead like maniacs.

And speaking of shock troopers, the Bugs came swarming as well, under the thrall of the Empire, ready to mow down the Chaos Mutants blasting on the surface.

The Elites soon followed the various minions, with Leaders deploying as well.

King Boo laughed, using his ghostly power to wipe out his foes, while Firebrand shredded some Flamers. Lunala and Solgaleo, meanwhile, used their psychic auras to great effect to dominate the hardier foes.

Eilonwy was in front, surrounded by the Family elite guards: Buff, naked, women with helmets, trained for young age to nigh-invincible warriors, magically sterile, and utterly loyal.

Doomguy was a force of nature, blasting foes indiscriminately with his super-shotgun and lobbing all manner of explosives into their ranks.

Crunch used brute force to crush his foes, while Millia used her hair powers to skewer and cut!

Ragna kept forwards. The Mutants of Chaos were beings who gave themselves over to the foul powers, becoming hideously mutated in the process...Tzeentch the most gifting in mutations. As such, they scarcely looked themselves anymore.

There was no point in having sympathy for them anymore. He struck them down as he pressed the advance.

All around, Lesser Demons and Mutants swarmed, all under the call of the Great Deceiver.

Somewhere beyond these unholy forces was Jafar, no doubt in the middle of some disgusting summoning ritual.

The Penitent One was to Ragna's side, hacking away silently with his sword, Mea Culpa...

...then Namine popped up. "So, ready to continue your training?"

"WHAT?! NOW?!? WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF LIFE AND DEATH!!"

"Exactly, the perfect learning conditions!" Namine chirped. "Nothing says sink-or-swim quite like potential cataclysm!"

"Oh, you can't be-" Ragna was cut off when a Horror latched onto his head. "OH FUCK ME!!"

"Getting angry won't help you," Namine chided.

Ragna punched the Demon into submission, hand coated in darkness. Teach the little shit some things.

"That's a step in the right direction," Namine observed.

Right, use powers to defeat Demons, not just brute power. Got one nowhere.

With a growl, Ragna faced the enemy and concentrated on tapping into his shadow powers.

And right through it went, smashing it and sending the essence back into the Warp.

Gelu, nearby, nodded as he sliced up some Mutants.

Deeper into the Demon ranks, meanwhile, Jafar was indeed making preparations for the ritual that would summon the terrible Lord of Change... the appropriate runes and sacrifices were in place. Of course, the final sacrifice would have to be a loyal follower of Chaos, but that could be easily fulfilled... and foil the royal witch from capturing him.

Still...he could enjoy the show of the carnage and magic.

Watching from the window of his compound, Jafar gazed out at the battle below and laughed.

So many fools, come to see the rise of the Slayer of Souls into real space. A good show!

The Imperial forces were cutting a swath through his forces, but he didn't care. They would arrive just in time for the main event!

After all...all part of the plan. Upon his own...plans, he would ascend into a Demon Prince, and power, ultimate power, would be his!

But even Jafar forgot something: ALL were pawns to the Great Deceiver, ESPECIALLY underlings.

Outside, the shock troops were doing their best to compete with Doomguy in terms of sheer killing ability. Even with their numbers, he was giving them a serious run for their money. Jafar's compound was in sight, but Eilonwy wasn't going to celebrate just yet.

The big guns were yet to come out.

Namely, Chaos Space Marines. These of the Thousand Sons.

The Dark Angels readied themselves to fight the fallen Marines, while Ragna stood ready as well.

The front gate of the compound burst open, and sure enough, out came the corrupted Space Marines, all armed to the teeth and ready for a nasty fight. Ragna focused, feeling the dark mana build inside him once again.

Thousands Sons...most of them actually didn't have bodies anymore...just armor filled with dust.

Long story there.

Right, just use the mana to rip right through them...

When he finally felt ready, Ragna let loose with his spell, executing a powerful slash of dark magic that tore through the wave of Thousand Sons.

Eh, they could get more, but they were more concerned about the power displayed right there.

That was the opening the Imperial forces needed to rush the compound.

The Dark Angels provided support fire as the others made to rush in, Bugs overwhelming the Mutants.

General Eilonwy led the charge, ready to confront Jafar and put a stop to his dark designs for good.

The compounded as soon broken into, and she lead the units in, where the man was waiting with confidence.

"General Eilonwy in the flesh," the mad sorcerer greeted her with a sneer in his voice. "I'm afraid you're too late to rescue the sacrifices."

Indeed, the unlucky "volunteers" he'd forcibly recruited had already been drained of their blood. Jafar held the blade he'd used to exsanguinate them to his own throat.

"You shall never harm anyone henceforth," Eilonwy said in a cold voice, "not even yourself."

This drew confused looks from her cohorts, and a smirk from Jafar. "Oh, and you have something in mind?"

"This...will not be pleasant," A dark pulse of magic shot out from Eilonwy.

Before Jafar knew it, the bolt had struck him, startling him such that he let go of the dagger and staggered back. A strange sensation came over him, as if his skin was... bubbling...

He looked at his hand, and sure enough, the flesh pulsed and formed strange lumps that painlessly popped and reformed.

"What... what did y-" he stammered, but his mouth filled with strange ooze, his body slowly collapsing on itself.

"Introduce you to a world of nightmares," Eilonwy smiled, eyes flashing under her helm as Ragna watched this occur.

Jafar seemed to be...regressing.

His limbs seemed to melt back into his body, becoming useless stumps, as did his neck and head until they were conjoined with his torso. The sorcerer's eyes grew wide with terror, as if realizing what was going on, as his hair and beard fell out and slime continued to issue from his mouth, nose, and ears. Soon every hole on his face except the eye sockets were smoothed over, as if closed off by skin.

And in a few short moments...

A medium-sized blob was there, black with vestigial yellow eyes...

...

"Uh...what did you just do?" Kairi asked.

"I reduced him to a soft, gelatinous form that can do little more than crawl and absorb nutrients," Eilonwy explained. "But make no mistake, his mind is still perfectly intact."

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked King Boo.

"Oh, he can't do much now," Eilonwy replied. "Especially since I also altered his sense of time...I think he might want to scream...buuttt he can't!"

Sure enough, the thing that used to be Jafar was vibrating wildly as if trying to make some sort of sound. But even if he did have a mouth, his vocal chords had melted away along with his throat. He couldn't even communicate distress through his eyes, which were foggy and unblinking.

Namine watched this all with a stoic expression. She had seen polymorphing like this before; it was a trick used by the fairies of old to preserve sapient beings they took as playthings far past their natural lifespans. Eilonwy had made significant adjustments, of course. No fairy would want a senseless, voiceless blob for company. The Keyblader leaned toward Ragna and whispered to him, "That's the sort of thing the Raven King brought to the galaxy back in the day. It's why we don't speak of him."

"Ah."

King Boo smirked as he approached Jafar with one of his magic portraits, "And soon, he won't be able to even move!"

Trapping defeated foes in magic portraits was King Boo's favored method of collecting trophies from the battlefield. While it wasn't an uncommon practice to gather such tokens of victory, it was unusual in that rather than claiming heads or weapons from a fallen foe, he was preserving them for eternity within a miniature magical plane that froze them in place, but left them fully conscious.

Not great for Jafar in his sorry state.

The painting slammed down on the blob.

King Boo held it up, and sure enough, there was the thing that Jafar had been reduced to, a pitiful creature for all to see for generations to come. At least if King Boo felt like showing off his collection.

Well...it was really...

"Quite ugly," La noted, coming in after slaughtering a good number of Mutants.

Looking at the finished portrait, King Boo observed, "Yes, I suppose this one is an acquired taste. Might wanna put it in the private section."

Well...time to clean up, then head back home to rest and relax. No cataclysm today.

Bodies were cleaned, blood was drunk, and signs were erased...
All the while, Ragna couldn't help but think about what he'd just experienced. When he'd sent out that wave of darkness magic, it felt so liberating, almost as if he'd found a part of himself that had been missing for so long.

Was that how it felt for everyone?

He was thinking about this even while in bed, waiting for Noel come join him...

...and join him she did.

Quietly.

Like a cat.

With no clothes.

She pressed her naked body against him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she snuggled up to him.

"You had a full day, didn't you," she remarked.

Ah, she was in that mood, eh? He could oblige.

“Yeah...very much so...” He replied.

He turned in bed to face Noel, taking her in his arms. Sure he was tired, but he wouldn't turn down a roll in the hay given the choice.

And he was soon quite hard down below...

Noel moaned, spreading her legs in anticipation.

And as they fucked, they were not the only ones to do...

The Palace...

Alone in their room, Eilonwy and Tina were getting it on.

Their trysts, even without harem girls, could get especially wild.

Both were nude, pressing on each other, kissing and groping.

Between smooches, Tina snarked, "So, General Zappy-Hands, wanna make ME helpless?"

"Well, since you did it to me last time," Eilonwy smiled. "I'm sure I can take up the challenge."

Both were wet and wanting.

With that, Eilonwy proceeded to conjure a series of stringent bindings to hold the force of nature that was Tina. First, duct tape cocoons formed around her hands, trapping her fingers.

Next came the tough rope designed to hold down a beast. All over her body it went, from wrists, ankles, breasts, arms, legs, feet, toes, and between her legs!

As for her gag...well, a big-mouthed girl needed a big gag.

To wit, Eilonwy stuffed a significant chunk of her underwear drawer's contents into Tina's mouth, followed by at least ten turns of duct tape around her head to cover her lips. Next came a thick white bandanna, pulled over Tina's tape-encased mouth and knotted off tightly behind her head. Finally, Eilonwy added another ten layers of duct tape over the OTM for good measure.

And one last OTM gag, bandit styled, keeping her mouth shut.

Now it was time for her 'punishment'. Eilonwy felt her wetness grow.

Tina looked up at her in mock defiance, mewling expectantly into her tight, heavy gag as Eilonwy loomed over her... and began grinding!

"Hmmm...mmmphhh..."

Eilonwy simply grinned as she leaned down and began to suck on a massive breast, kneading the other.

Tina let her head relax into the fluffy pillows beneath her, moaning in satisfaction as Eilonwy dominated her. Truly a perfect way to end the day.

As did Ragna and Noel, shared in love. So much love as they called out to the heavens...

Chapter 22: Black Hole Homeland

Sajah eyed the plans for the Black Hole Colony. "At present projections, the upcoming colony around the Canopus 3 Black Hole can house several hundred billion citizens and have a surface area three to four hundred times the surface area of Caladan."

"Preposterous!" came cries from the Parliament, Her father raised his hand and the room quieted.

Sajah continued, "The gravatic waves and kardashev radiation of the black hole could also provide several thousand times the power of every anti-matter reactor on this planet with our present day technology. The only issue is financial cost and labor."

"And what of materials?" One member asked.

"Already looked at," Sajah noted. "Hoxxes has a wealth of regenerating minerals, and the Deep Rock Galactic mining corporation is willing to do the work."

Stubborn people, that corporation. Hoxxes was a deadly planet, a scorched wasteland on the surface, with the mineral rich tunnels filled with insectoid monsters.

There was more clamor among the Parliament. This was another test by her father. She had mastered battle. now she had to defend her ideas and policy before the gathered body of the Empire. Before the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The Emperor had final say, but as brilliant as he was, there was no way that Krocken could run an Empire this efficiently by himself.

His wife was at his side as well, as were his sisters/Hands/Generals, Tina and Eilonwy.

And his daughter helped with scientific progress, her team, sometimes working with the Hayden's Mechanicus.

Hayden had been Sajah's strongest supporter in this matter. The tall biomechanical technocrat did not care about such things as disruption of markets or the changes black hole colonies would have to trade routes or the balance of power among the middle and high aristocracy. No, it was time for progress and learning, and this was it.

The Emperor was always about relentlessly driving to better society. He did not allow himself to look upon his wealth and excess and assume stability in his Empire. When a nation was strong a leader could do no wrong, when a nation was weak a leader could do no right.

Krocken had no intention of squandering his or his nation's strength.

"Construction of the Black Hole colony can also be used to produce smaller black holes which can provide cheap artificial gravity for starships as well as power sources far more efficient and safe than fusion or anti-matter reactors," she went on.

Right, make sure that would keep people quiet.

It did not.

Leaders great and small opposed change for any reason.

"We don't need black holes!" shouted Mr. Krabs, "We have all the land we could ever need. We don't need new fancy tech ruining everything!"

"And you plan to drain me more of energy!" Mr. Burns complained.

Krocken listened impassively. Knew some petty whining was going to happen, and it was their job to have to listen to it.

Sheesh, the other Leaders didn't usually give him his crap.

“In all likelihood the black hole power generation will render your nuclear plants obsolete,” Sajah dryly informed Mr. Burns “And since black holes can turn hydrogen into pure energy we will have approximately five billion years worth of fuel at present power needs.”

Yes, Springfield was a crazy place. After Mr. Burns had to bring his plant up to code on pain of death, the education system had to be reworked.

THEN came the issue of Whacking Day, a day of pointless cruelty against snakes, holy animal of the Empire.

That was quickly banned.

As much as Emperor Krocken was an avid hunter, he was not a fan of needlessly killing defenseless animals who did no wrong.

Not to mention it caused the spread of rat plague across Springfield.

Right, back to business.

"Any other complaints to be made?" He asked, his tone cold. “Our energy supply is a matter of imperial security,” Krocken finished “Not to mention the construction of black hole ships would allow space lanes to be kept open independently of hyperspace drift or Warp storms.”

Some grumbles could be heard, but nothing substantial. Good.

"Right then, that concludes this meeting," Krocken said as he and his daughter left, intent on going to the Space Rig over Hoxxes to oversee the gathering.

Naturally, he did not inform the gathered the Inquisition would be watching them for 'funny stuff'.

“Illiterate science denying weasels,” he could hear his daughter hiss under her breath.

Hmmm...always prideful, like her parents.

And so they found themselves on the Rig overlooking Hoxxes. A hostile world, DRG was the company who worked here because they employed dwarves... the type of guys stubborn/mad enough to go to the planet.

“It’s not enough to have a good idea,” Krocken quietly reminded her “You have to sell a good idea. In my early reign I solidified my popularity by inventing sliced bread,”

Wow, just old was he?

Eh, didn't matter.

Right now, on the Rig they could rest a bit with other official leaders and Elites, with the employees happy to work for them in return for a good payment.

Sajah needed the rest as she’d been working on this project for a year straight, sixteen-hour days
And about her also helping with the project was her science team.

CIel, Kokonoe, Berix, Winry, Susie, Coco Bandicoot, The Professor, Litchi, Gaster, Alphys, Zelda, Julius, Iron Tager, and Dr. Puzz.

Jon Snow was also in the area. The Iron Wolf, as Jon liked to be called, was her chief of security on the project.

Funny for a Leader to be this for now.

Samus Aran was also in the area to keep an eye on things.

This was a potential game changer, like how fusion energy killed the fossil fuels industry.

An industry which once tried to have her father assassinated in his first year as Emperor.
The entire company was killed after that.

Others leaders included Chel, Kida, and Zarude the Rogue Monkey Pokemon.

The Keybladers hung about the area as well, some looking out the window at the deadly planet below.

“All planets look beautiful from orbit,” Chel remarked “but truthfully I’m more comfortable on a starship than any planet”

Sajah nodded as she looked at the planet. Nice...but deadly!

Chel strutted behind Sajah, “At least on a space ship I can go anywhere, I feel trapped on a planet after too long.”

“Our mission shouldn’t take long” Sajah reminded her compatriot.

Right...next batch of dwarves should be back up, assuming the Glyphids in the tunnels of the planet had not ripped them to pieces yet.

Surface was bad enough, making the tunnels the best places to mine...as well as they did not breach the hardest seals of the planet, where the darkest monsters were said to dwell.

She sighed and looked over to the Abyss Bar, where Berix and Winry were sitting.

The dwarves were ideal workers for her future black hole project. The work itself would be difficult and dangerous.

But by her calculations still safer than what was going on down below.

Right…best make a good impression and help out directly soon.

The Dwarves needed Sajah's help and she was honored to do so.

"In T-Minus Ten minutes. we make planetfall," she announced over the intercom. "I wish to speak to the representative of the dwarves."

So the man was working today, not on the rig. Great, best make sure they were armed.

The drop pod, armed with a drill, was docked for the descent in a few minutes…

“Computer scans say that the tunnels are swarming with Glyphids,” announced the dwarf driller.

Well, what was new...that’s why everyone going was armed to the teeth. To blast any of the damn things. Sajah checked her revolver.

Engineering requireed self defense.

The great building projects of galactic history always needed to be defended from marauding forces.

“Begin extermination,” she commanded, “I will personally lead.”

Her father stayed behind to help oversee operation on the rig, as the vehicle descended.

The tunnels were large, rocky, and thick, full of precious rocks and minerals. Dark as well.

Sajah knew she was in good company.

The dwarves were hardened and they had the technical expertise to create a black hole factory from the native minerals.

Berix and Winry were also close, ready to help.

"Huh, with all the tectonic and volcanic activity crap on the surface, think it would be more crazy in the tunnels," Berix noted.

“Remember to preserve the red crystals,” Sajah warned “Glyphids eat them and I need them for a black hole laser factory.”

Sajah was known to be overly focused on things that she sometimes ignored her science team at times. It was her weakness.

Krocken feared his daughter would become terminally cruel and heartless.

Part of this was a mission to test her morality.

Winry stayed focused, alchemy tattoos glowing on her arms.

Right...time to make sure she would be in the right place this time.

Hmmm, so far, things were going smoothly with mining.

“Don’t take foolish risks,” Sajah warned Winry.

“I would give my life for you,” she responded as the group entered a vast cavern.

Yeah...that was good...good to have...friends...

"Princess," Ciel's voice spoke on the line. "Everything all right?"

Ciel, along with Kokonoe, was Sajah's right hand among the since team, due to her powerful intelligence.

“I’m fine,” Sajah have a rare smile, “you can activate the remote seeker drone to scout ahead.“

Right, always be prepared for violence and gunfight if the monsters came.

Hmmm...violence...some workers resting on the rig were likely watching a game of Blood Bowl right now.

Sajah was always more clinical about violence.

Except when the earth under her feet began to shake.

"Er, hey," Kokonoe said in a deadpan voice over the radio. "Glyphids coming your way. Whole swarm of them."

“You’re also sitting on top of the biggest cluster of red crystal I’ve seen in 50 years!” Shouted a dwarf burner as he stared at a scanner.

"Right...to arms everyone! No one gets killed on my watch!" Sajah barked, gun at hand.

The screeching could be heard. More than imagined as they came swarming.

“We don’t have the numbers for this!” Sajah howled over the horde, “We need reinforcements!”

“My lady,” shouted a dwarf engineer, “there’s a block on the teleport, we’re trapped!”

“Treachery!” Krocken seethed.

"What?" Zarude looked confused, looking over his Emperor's shoulder alongside Kida and Chel.

Krocken turned to Jon.. "Take the Keybladers and search the area. Find the saboteur!"

The cavern shook as a vast tunneling machine broke through.

Behind it, a legion of B1 battle droids marched. Disposable soldiers who would pin down the princess until the Glyphids did their work.

What was going on here?

There were those who wanted to stop Sajah’s project.

Krocken never thought they’d resort to regicide.

But Winry was fast, and used alchemy to raise up a stone well, smashing many droids up into the ceiling, and disrupting the rouge vehicle.

The Glyphids were closing in.

But even worse depth charges were going off deep on the stone.

“They’re bringing the tunnels down!” Shouted the driller.

Sajah gritted her teeth as she gunned a few remaining droids down. What madness was this!?

She had fought dangerous beasts and battled in the gladiator arenas.

This was her first assassination attempt.

Then she saw a droid land a lucky shot on Winry.

Just on the shoulder, though it still caused her to cry out in pain, prompting Berix to fire out a jet of high pressure water.

The droids were merely a distraction. The collapsing tunnels would end them.

Sajah scooped up Winry like a prize, “Head to the underground river!” She screamed.

Berix, concerned for his lover, moved out to help Winry as the dwarves helped collapsed the tunnels,blockng out both droids and Glyphids.

Meanwhile, back on the rig, Jon led the fully-armored Keybladers through the halls to track down the culprit.

“The jammer has a fixed location,” Jon snarled, “Get all communication officers on locating it.”

As Namine made the contacts while moving, Jon drew his sword, while the others summoned their Keyblades.

It was Xion who used a radio to speak through the loudspeakers. "Attention traitor! Give yourself up quick and we'll just snap your neck. Quick, clean, and a whole hell of a lot less painful that what the Emperor and Empress will do to you!"

The voice on the Vox was panicked in response “Oh shit, it wasn’t me! It was Eugene Krabs! He’s the one you want!”

Wait a second...that voice... That was Pete, personal bodyguard of Flintheart Glomgold!

What was he up to? No, Glomgold himself? Why do this? Why risk his life turning against the Family?

Pete was panicking. "Look, I'll spill the beans on everything! Just grant me immunity and I'll spill the lot!"

Jon Snow was not so forgiving. "You'll tell me what I want to know or I'll skin you."

Right, no bluff there.

"Glomgold! Yeah, he set me up to this!"

"Why?" Aqua snarled.

Pete was terrified, but also exasperated. “Money! What else? The black hole project is going to eat the profits of his trade empire! It’s going to hurt the stock options of the companies he owns stock in. Trust me, Greed isn’t that hard to understand.“

Right...so the duck had his own plans for the future, eh? Needed to be squashed for that...

Glomgold was a distant concern.

For Krocken, punishing him came second to preserving his daughter.

Sajah, meanwhile, blasted away at the Glyphids.

Had to get the damn teleporter working again! Hurry!

Ciel and Kokonoe worked to reboot the damn thing.

Ciel cursed as she worked, as the machine had been shot up by droids.

She had one shot to get this right.

Some damn droids managed to get into the Rig as well. Already they had been wrecked, but the damage was done.

“Get the princess here!” Ciel shouted, “Her life matters!”

Kokonoe snarled as she finished the job! "Right! Evacuate all of them! Her, Winry, Berix, and the Dwarves! No one left behind."

“We can do a suicide overload of the circuits and have a 67 percent chance of surviving!” Ciel clarified.

If she died, they would die too. But no other option was available! The machine was activated...and in 10 seconds, the befuddled Princess and her unit were back on the rig.

They were mostly alright, except Ciel was coughing up blood from the strain. The energy from fixing the machine did a number on her...but she would recover, having experimented on herself to give her a better body.

Sajah prided herself on being coldly logical.

So that was why she hated feeling this hate.

Revenge should be delivered clinically and coldly.

Just like when she stomped out the Fazbear Killer.

That was nasty work.

Some men wanted to watch the Galaxy burn.

Others would burn the Galaxy for profit.

Both types deserve the same fate.

Right...first thing first. Get everyone healed and the minerals processed.

Then head back to the capital. It was time for a Family private meeting.

“I need a shower,” Sajah tried to stay calm.

Truthfully she wanted to cry, but she refused to be seen crying.

And so, later at the Imperial Palace...

Sajah looked in the mirror.

She applied eye drops to calm her red eyes.

She hated crying.

Right...make sure she was prime and ready. Her parents her aunts would be reaching the private meeting room. Just the five of them, to detail plans that others did not need to know.

Sajah was immaculate for her meeting.

Her suit was perfectly pressed and she’d even put on makeup to make herself look more masculine.

She sat down at her end of the small round table, the five of them facing each other.

Time for business.

Sajah entered the meeting chamber in full military uniform.

“Father,” she bowed.

He nodded as she took her seat. Time to start.

“As well know, construction itself has been smoothly,” Krocken began. “But someone has attempted to take Sajah’s life. Glomgold, in fact. Let it be known he is to be dismissed of all loyalties, and for any of our units to capture him and bring him to us. Failing that, he is to be killed on the spot. An attack of this magnitude must be met with swift justice,” he continued “Our Empire has prospered by working for the good of our people. Those who harm my family are also striking at our nation.“

"Indeed," Schala nodded, hands flashing with elemental energy, her calm face hiding a burning rage for those who dare harmed her daughter. "They only want stagnation...only by progress can we endure the ways of Chaos and the others threats of the Galaxy."

"I don't think I ever told you about Doctor Strangelove," said Krocken, "We worked together before I killed him. We fought against the Umbrella Corporation many years ago. I hated them because they were robbing the poor and destroying the environment. He hated them because he thought the company was run by Jews, Sometimes evil is just a function of banal selfishness."

...

True. So many dark people out there, even worse than they could be...

Sajah knew the value of both technology and nature, which is why she worked hard to combine to two into harmony, and while Ciel's work on the CIEL System was highly praised.

“So besides killing the conspirators, what can we do to make people see reason?” She asked.

Her father shrugged “Well, if their pay depends on not seeing reason, they never will. So cut loose a bit and enjoy the killing.”

Indeed. Inquisitors, Assassins, Harlequins, Bugs...so many were ready to kill at the masters command.

Still...no telling where the fool was...

But as they exited the room, May, a harem girl, came up. "My leaders...Trazyn has arrived, saying he has information."

The Necrons were an...odd branch of the Empire's forces. Ancient killer robots from another time. Over sixty million years old.

They traded their free will from the old C'tan in exchange for subservience to Krocken.

He was a much easier master than ruthless ageless beings from the dawn of time.

But Trazyn was an oddity of himself. An affable enough individual, he was well-known (and disliked) for his collecting habits, both taking things not his and collecting people. But he was a skilled information broker, and a fine fighter as well.

"My lord and savior," said Trazyn "I thank you for you presence and that of your gracious family. Truly you are the rulers we all crave."

"Spare us, collector," Schala and her kin were never one for flattery. "You have come for a reason,"

"Indeed...you are looking for the one named Flintheart Glomgold, correct?" The Necron Overlord asked.

"...What of him?" Eilonwy asked under her crocodile skull helm.

"Well as you know, I have a great love of ducks. I have spent much of my fortune preserving their habitats galaxy wide as well as stuffing and collecting their dead bodies for taxidermy. As you may have guessed, I have dearly desired to stuff Glomgold. It is thus, I know where he is."

"And you'll tell us in exchange for us giving you his body to use?" Schala asked darkly.

"Exactly.I have a passion for duck,” the Necron stated. “Especially when the skin is freshly peeled.”

...

“You shall have the body,” Schala stated. “Where is he?”

“You shall find him at the annual video games conference where he will be promoting loot boxes and in-game gambling. It’s taking place on Mandalore.”

Loot boxes...fine when you got them from gameplay itself, but a bit more annoying when you had to outright buy them.

“It’s time to put his heart in a loot box,” Sajah hissed.

“That’s a poor prize,” Krocken laughed.

Right...agents were contacted, and were sent to work.

Assassins were brought in.

The goal was to snatch Glomgold without him being seen.

Agent 47 had the honor of the job.

A man who worked outside the system, even from the Inquisition. A sort of man who very few knew of, only the Family and their closest associates...very few indeed.

Right, he rode his personal ship to the locations of the area.

Officially he had no standing.

But he was there for Krocken when Inquisitors and regular assassins weren’t enough.

And he was dressed in a pink flamingo outfit to approach Glomgold.

The duck was rambling on to a crowd about his latest goods, unaware he was now a marked duck.

Technically the pink flamingo costume was part of the spectacle, so in context it fit in.

In the shadows secret agents were selected to overcome Glomgold’s extensive security detail.

Dark beings loyal to 47 and the Family. One by one, they began to take out the security.

It was quiet.

Glomgold, being such a bastard, cared nothing for the lives of his men.

He wouldn’t look too closely at their faces.

He had not even noticed what was happening...until something spoke from somewhere.

"Your services are no longer required..."

BANG.
It would have been merciful for Glomgold to be shot.

But Agent 47 only used a tranquilizer dart.

The medical team on site confirmed the old duck needed medical attention.

And off he went in an ambulance that was anything but.

Needed to be carefully killed for the Infinite's collection to work as out, as was ordered...but not before Schala tortured him.

To the public, Glomgold passed away from choking on a pretzel.

His companies were nationalized.

Glomgold himself was to be taken to a secret torture dungeon under Moe’s Tavern.

And he woke up, confused and sick...and saw the Emperor and Empress before him.

Trying to escape, Glomgold realized he was nude and chained up.

Moe always did have the best rusty chains.

Schala approached him, eyes narrowed into dark slits. When she spoke, it was cold and calm...hiding the burning fury within...

"We consider ourselves harsh, but fair," She began. "People can live their lives as they see fit for the most part...but we have rules...and we expect such rules to be followed."

“I was fair!” Glomgold retorted, “I did everything I did to benefit myself. I never hid my intentions.”

Krocken scoffed. "Yourself, eh? Do you know what it means to be in charge of something?"

“I killed people and tortured them, just like you,” Glomgold tugged at his chain “what makes you better than me?”

"I have an Empire to rule," Krocken hissed. "I have to make decisions at times to see who lives and who dies, like when I had to destroy entire planets to keeps infections of Chaos from spreading."

“And that’s good. With Chaos around you can bleed everyone dry and they’d never complain because you’re the lesser evil,” Glomgold elaborated.

"Oh, shut up," Schala snapped. "We never cared if we were right or wrong. We can't afford such luxuries at times. Survival matters...and we, at the top, have to make the hard choices...as our daughter is doing, taking a risk for the betterment of others."

“But in a survival situation, you can enrich yourselves at the expense of everyone else,” the duck sneered bitterly, “You’re just such bleeding hearts.”

"Oh, is that so?" Krocken scoffed. "Only reason I'm not cutting you to pieces is because the informat wanted you whole for taxidermy."

“You what?” Glomgold was shocked

“The difference between us is that we will lose money to do the right thing, now hold still,” Schala raised her scalpel.

And in the corner, the eyes of Trazyn flashed darkly, the Necron amused by this all. "Ah...another piece for the collection."

Glomgold screamed as his skin was slowly removed from his flesh.

Blood stained the walls.

And while this happened...

Sajah was back at her fortress-lab, where nearly all her work was done. The other place was Black Mesa, her own personal planet.

The science lab was peaceful.

Rick Sánchez taught her that science was about failure. Nine out of ten experiments would result in failure on a good day.

She was fine with that.

Right now, in this place (bigger on the inside, like the Palace), she was going over some data with her team for make sure everything was still in check.

Berix was at her side, working on some gravity repellents to negate the black hole.

“We are on schedule and on budget,” Sajah smiled. This was a good day for her.

Kokonoe and Ciel did some tests on a small hole inside a special chamber. Right, everything looked well, and soon they could build this station and focus on other things.

The Empire would have both a revolutionary new power source and a new way to build settlements.

Just needed to get the damn thing built properly. Hopefully nothing would go wrong there.

At the end of the day she preferred this work. Something built to make people live easier.

Right...what was next here?

She knew what was happening to Glomgold. She didn’t care.

She needed to check up on Ciel.

She was doing fine thanks to tech and medicine. Just bandages now, and already working.

It was then Coco, on the phone with someone, turned to the princess, "Sajah, it's the Overlord of the Monster Girls. She wants to talk to you about some magic to help with the station," She frowned. "And she has a tone that kinda screams 'DTF'".

No doubt based on that one-night stand Sajah had with the Overlord for a book to further her studies.

Sajah sighed. "Tell her I hate her, that she's ugly, and a terrible lay and she can go die in a fire."

"That's a bit harsh," Coco winced.

"I used her for knowledge," said Sajah, "I'm fundamentally aromantic. If I need nookie, I can use a toy."

"...I don't think she's going to be repulsed by that," Coco stated.

"Oh, for-" Sajah stormed over and took the phone, and breathed. "So, uh, what can I do you for today?"

The elegant, culture voice spoke on the other end. "So you are planning to build a station, all around a black hole...I simply wish to help."

"If I wanted your help, I would have asked for it," Sajah crossed her arms, "As such, I think your help would cost more than it would benefit me. Besides, what do Monster Girls know of nuclear and black hole physics?"

"More so than you realize, Sajah," The Overlord said. "And I just want to help to keep people from dying, because they would mean less people for us...and we can get so lonely," She crooned.

"Guess that makes sense," Sajah admitted.

"And you know what happens when I'm lonely?" The sing-song voice sang.

Sajah just groaned.

The Overlord smiled over the phone. "I get hungry at the point," She said, "And when I'm hungry...I want to SLOBBER over that wet twat of yours," He face became slightly crazed, "Wrap my tongue around your neck and squeeze while crushing your tits," Her face was now borderline insane, "Licking your milk and cum before TAKING MY FIST AND RAMMING IT UP YOUR ASSHOLE WHILE YOU SCREAM 'HARDER MOMMY' LIKE A FUCKING BABY!!!"

Sajah shut off the line and handed her communicator to Coco, "Please throw that in a blender, drink it. And you know that bridge off the Grand Highway?"

"Yes?" Coco narrowed her eyes.

"Please shit off of it." Sajah finished.

Right...into the sea...

Aside from that, things went smoothly from than on...and some saw a Necron ship flying away from the planet.

The Necron lord indeed was extraordinarily happy with his new fresh duck suit and just had to show it off.

Now...time for the new era to come!

So exciting!

Chapter 23: Dragons Rising

Planet Arendelle, in the castle of Elsa and Anna...

Ever since the failed coup, the sisters have been mulling over something that could bring in a much needed power boost to them...albeit one of high risk. A sort of potion that could fully awaken the elemental energy within them...and make them dragons!

Records showed, however, that while some successes had happened, others had died in horribly agony...

...and this is what the sisters were currently discussing in bed.

"Well... I guess there's no use ignoring it anymore," Anna sighed. "Are we gonna do this, or not?"

Elsa was silent for a moment, her covers pulled up. Yes, some risks, but it could be worth it. What annoyed her more right now was the whole ceremony and pomp that had to come with it. Invite guests-including the Family-, get things ready, blah, blah, blah.

Was it all worth it?

...Their pride was damaged during the coup, and in this Galaxy...sometimes you had to take risks to survive...

Reaching out, she took Anna's hand in hers and said, "If you would face the ceremony, my sister, I would be by your side."

This earned her a smile. Well...might as well give it a shot.

First off...

The next morning came, and the sisters were walking down the halls, the visiting Keybearers in tow.

"So, you're gonna go through with this," Sora observed. "I hope you both come out the other side."

"Well, we need to prepare first," Elsa stated. "Talk with the Family and others to get them here...Ah, but let us go to our storage of great magic."

"Yes," Anna nodded as they approached a dark hall, with a large metal door at the end. All walked to it and looked over it. "Secured to our biology."

"Without us, not even a bug could get in or out," Elsa said as she and her sister pressed their hands on the scanners, causing the doors to open in several layers, to show a room...

...with Sans in the middle, casually eating a hot dog.

"Wha-?" Anna stammered. "S-Sans, how in blazes did you get in here?!"

...

...

...

"...my name is emperor krocken."

Even the stoic Elsa's mouth dropped open at the skeleton's brazenness.

A blink from all present...giving Sans enough time to vanish.

"Wonder how he keeps doing that," Riku pondered.

"Keeps doing?" Elsa questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"Let's just say he's given us our share of surprise visits," Lea explained.

Well, never mind that. Time to gather the parts they needed...what they had, at least. The Family also had a hand in the creation of the elixir…

When they pooled both their resources and their knowledge, they were capable of amazing things. Especially Sajah.

For now, Elsa and Anna rooted through the room, gathering the parts they needed of the bizarre collection.

Every little bit helped, all of it potentially increasing their odds of survival. Soon, they would leave for the site of the ceremony.

Get it ready for the various guests that would arrive in a weeks time.

Speaking of which, on the capital planet...

"So, they finally accepted the offer?" Tina observed. "Took 'em long enough."

Sajah as she helped her mother, aunts, and team work on part of the elixir, her father making the other arrangements. Paarthurnax was coming, as were Spyro and his friends, many of the Dragon-type Legendaries, the Hyrule Champions (currently stationed on the capital), and more.

"The Straw Hats coming?" Eilonwy asked.

Zelda, coming up with some documents, shook her head. "Unlikely. They are currently exploring the Koronus Expanse. Be a while before they return."

"Can't say I'll be missing them," Revali grumbled. He was still nursing a grudge against Luffy and Sanji for mistaking him for a Sunny Villa giant chicken once at a banquet.

Yeah...a lot of cursing, bloodshed, pummeling, and just foul moods for a bit.

"We also have word," Schala began, "Ainz Ooal Gown and his underlings are coming as well."

"Really?" Kokonoe looked up. "Didn't think this would be up their alley."

"As if we didn't already have enough skeletons with egos," sighed Winry. "Er, no offense, Dr. Gaster."

"None comprehended," the skeletal scientist said affably.

Hmmm...the elixir was still coming along...hopefully it would not lead to horrific body failure here...

There had been a few... incidents in the past where a subject wound up in a horrific state, their bodies so twisted and malformed that they couldn't even speak from the sheer agony. In the case of a failed transformation, death was the best outcome.

Yes...Schala looked over the liquid, her magic flowing as the blood of dragons was added.

The concoction burbled and hissed... ah, seemed like a green Chromatic had contributed to this batch. Might explain why such a hefty sum of gold left the royal coffers recently.

Dragons...so greedy...but hey, what could ya do?

Yes, this part of the potion was nearing completion.

Only a few more reagents, and it would be ready for the ceremony. Hopefully this would work out. To lose the sisters to a defective potion would not only be a terrible loss, but a massive humiliation as well for all involved.

Well...and the ceremony was not just a few minute thing. It was for a few days of feast, events, and catching up...

The first day came...

...and the sisters' ship came in, arriving right on schedule.

Right...here it where things would be happening, right on the capital. Things would be prepared for the events, from games to feasts.

Spyro, ever the showoff, was particularly looking forward to the games, hoping to further stoke his mostly friendly rivalry with Revali.

Yeah...

Elsa and Anna soon approached the Family.

"Ah, so good to see you," Schala said with warmth and a smile.

"The pleasure is ours," Elsa replied, giving a gentle smile of her own.

Right, time to get settled in and help set things up for the others to come.

The Keybladers sighed as they carried the heavy bags of the sisters...

It really was a far cry from the kinds of exciting adventures they were used to, all this fetching and carrying like common bellhops.

Oi...thankfully the Pikmin soon came and carried them away. Just as other ships began to arrive for the ceremony.

Ahead of the others was Spyro's vessel. Of course, he wouldn't miss the potential birth of two new dragons for anything.

And have some fun as well. Excellent.

Paarthurnax came through a portal, as did Giratina, the first of the Legendaries to arrive.

Ty and his fellow warlords weren't far behind, just barely managing to land their ship without crashing it. Again.

Oi...

Now...where was Ainz now? The Dremurrs had arrived as well, so maybe he and his band were being late.

One of the downsides of the Straw Hats being unavailable was that the skeleton musician Brook wouldn't be there to display his virtuosic musicianship, but it was likely for the best. Ainz didn't exactly approve of his "skull jokes," and he barely tolerated Sans's puns.

That's when the dark portal opened up, right after Bowser landed.

Out came the Sorcerer King himself, clad in his long black scholar's gown and holding his twisted staff. Alongside some of his most trusted minions: Albedo, Shalltear, Demiurge, Cocytus, Aura, and Mare.

"And so it begins," Ainz boomed.

Drama guy...

Well, others were still coming, but already things were set up and people were settling in as Tina talked with the sisters.

"As you all wait, feel free to indulge with our...daughters," She grinned at the pet name for the harem. "Make sure to tie them down, they like it when you do that."

Paarthurnax chuckled, already looking forward to a good romp.

Doooo....

Meanwhile, the Nazarick fellows were speaking with the Hyrule Champions.

"You say the Straw Hats have traveled to the Koronus Expanse?" Demiurge asked.

"Yes indeed," Daruk replied. "Quite the mystery, that place."

"And it keeps the rubber idiot busy," muttered Revali.

No doubt about that...

Rayquaza soon flew in from the skies, eager to see how this would all play out.
Rayman and his retinue weren't far behind, gliding in from a dropship.

"Wheeeeee!" the limbless guy and his frogfolk companion Globox squealed like small children as they came in for a landing. Ly giggled as she followed them.

Excellent. Shaping up to be quite the event. Even San showed up, fellow nature hero Ori on her shoulder.

Who else would be coming...?

Well, plenty, but now events were underway.

All under the eyes of the Family.

All manner of amusements were scattered about the area. Archery, dueling grounds, markets...

Plenty of ways to spend, make, or lose money. Charlie and Itchy even had a little gambling wheel set up.

Yes...all part of milking the id-er, helping the allies contribute to the cause of the Empire!

Totally wasn't rigged. No sirree. Elsewhere, a bit of jousting was taking place.

Link and Hornet tested their skills, keeping sharp. Had to be in this Galaxy, full of monsters that wanted to kill them horribly. Astride mechanical mounts, they held their lances and nodded to each other.

While Sajah watched, taking in every detail, analyzing...

It was her thing, to learn, to study, to adapt...made her calm...kept the...beast within from going crazy.

Some would say she inherited her father's rage, but even he found her... less than graceful outbursts to be a bit much. Elsewhere on the fairgrounds, Spyro and Revali were having their usual flight competition.

"Give up yet, pigeon boy?" goaded Spyro as he executed a seamless midair loop.

"Feh! Don't you be getting cocky, newt!" Revali spat back, spinning through the air with grace while using his bow to mark several targets.

Not to be outdone, Spyro spewed fireballs at another row of targets while performing a barrel roll, incinerating each of them without harming anything else.

Always trying to one-up each other...

Elsewhere, Rayman and his friends were doing something that brought them joy. A bit of showing off themselves with magical spectacles...

They were pulling off an intricate acrobatic routine, with tricks of sleight-of-hand peppered in between.

Yes, all to entertain the people...as the Family liked it, making sure all were entertained to keep them happy and peaceful.

And so, the first day of the ceremony passed with feasting and merry-making, without too many unfortunate incidents.

And as things went quiet, some went to the royal gardens to relax. A vast area of the vast palace, it was filled with flora and fauna from across the Galaxy.

Elora let out a deep, contented sigh as she wandered through the lush greenery. Sure, it was far more controlled than her native forest, but the Family had taken great care to replicate the inviting atmosphere of a natural environment.

Several environments, in fact, populated by reptiles, amphibians, fish, odd plants, and more.

For some of the more predatory guests, there was a strong temptation to try to hunt some of the animals on display, but thankfully decorum prevailed. Although Spyro and Hunter found it hard not to salivate...

Careful...some creatures were predators themselves..usually kept calm by the aura...but if something seemed off...

She came across Bowser, talking with Chel and Kida about recent events.

"So I really think those guys are starting to get big-headed."

Who were they talking about?

"You mean the Federation eggheads?" Chel asked.

Ah yes...a relatively small power bloc of humans...kept to their own right now, without being aware of the true Empire...

"Well, after what they did to those insectoids, they've been pretty full of themselves," Bowser sighed. "Sheesh, give 'em some low-level psionics and they think they're invincible."

Chel nodded. "Hmmm, hopefully they won't try anything stupid..."

Elora sighed, thinking over the many different possibilities. She knew enough about the Federation to understand that they operated on a militaristic totalitarian system. The Empire certainly put emphasis on respecting their own armed forces, but not to the point of glamorizing them. Arts and learning were also important to life.

Economics were inevitable, education was imperative, and military strength was all well and good, yes, but without culture, a civilization was doomed.

"If they try anything funny, they'll regret it," Bowser declared.

No doubt about that!

Meanwhile, the women of the hour were walking together through another part of the gardens, musing on what they saw around them.

"Wonder how it feels, having scales," Anna mused, watching a python lazily coiled up on a rock.

"Well, don't act like we're going to be stuck as dragons," Elsa noted. "Still retain our human forms when we need it."

"True..." Anna mused as Ori leapt about in the trees.

In a few short days, the two sisters would face their destiny.

Events came and went...but now...at a large theater...all had gathered.

The time for the Ceremony had arrived at last. Everything was set up perfectly.

The Family were on the stage, waiting for the sisters to come...along with some to bring the elixir.

Dressed in their finest gowns, Elsa and Anna approached the stage, hand in hand. Just ahead of them were a few members of the science team with the elixir.

"Don't drop it," Kokonoe hissed to Berix. "It's hard to make."

"I know," The Agori whined.

"We're almost there," Dr. Gaster muttered to them in a reassuring tone. "You're both doing great."

Schala, for her part, turned to the audience to speak.

"Today, we see the ascension of two rulers into something more!" She announced. "Shed their current forms and rise as great beings! The enemies of our Empire will tremble at their might, and know we are not to be casually trifled with!"

Elsa did her best not to wince as Anna tightened her grip on her hand. They'd already come this far; surely her younger sister wouldn't get cold feet now?

But now it was here, the elixir poured into two glass chalices...both sisters picked one each. The smell was...quite strong.

Facing each other, each raised her chalice to her own lips and drank...

The taste was sharp, but surprisingly not unpleasant.

And it seemed to have no effect at the moment.

"Huh..." Anna said simply.

"Odd," Elsa noted, "Thought it would have bit more kick th-"

A sharp, TREMENDOUS pain came over the two of them, causing them to drop the glasses.

"Oh, there it is…!"

Both of them doubled over. Anna bit her lip to keep from screaming, though a whimper still escaped her. Elsa's breath came in shuddering gasps, her entire body twitching.

"Hey, don't worry!" They heard Tina say cheerfully. "That horrible pain means it's working!"

Plenty of reasons to worry.

Elsa clutched her stomach. Looking down, she cried out as her hands began to transform into claws... Her teeth felt sharp, and elemental energy began to pulse in her blood.

The same transformation was coming over Anna. Through the pain, she felt something changing both without and within. She was gaining power!

So much...so much! Fire and ice began to swirl around them, concealing them as the others were forced back by the storm.

What would happen to them now was anyone's guess. Spyro tried not to wince as he remembered the fate of old Neptune, the king of Mermaid Island, who made it this far into the Ceremony only for his heart to give out. That was a sad day, made worse for the dragon when he'd been the one to snap the unfortunate merman's neck to end his agony.

Still, the rest of his family did good in ruling...

What was new was when the floor collapsed, and a large hole swallowed up the sisters and storm...

...

...

Dead silence.

Carefully, Berix approached the edge of the hole and peered into it.

"Hello?" he called down. At first, all he heard was the echo of his own voice...

A mist stared back him...

...then came the growls...

He barely had time to get out of the way as two colossal forms came flying out of the crater!

At top speed, two massive dragons took to the sky, one blazing fire, one shedding ice!

The crowd let out a collective gasp as the two dragons took wing before bursting into cheers! A success!

Krocken smiled as he watched. A true show of dominance, ready to face down the hours of their myriad of foes.

As for Elsa and Anna, they faced each other for the first time since the transformation, admiring their new forms.

The sleek and muscular forms, massive wings...

Yes, this was their true potential! The two newly formed dragons turned their faces skyward and roared in triumph, spewing fire and ice into the air.

Glory to the Empire! Glory to the Family! Death to Chaos

"HUZZAH!!!"