Return to Apollyon

Fenrir opened his eyes to the gray light of dawn. All around him sprawled his succubi, Safara occupying a place of honor against his side with her head pillowed on his arm. As he gently disengaged himself, Nelith, on his other side, stirred as well. Despite him whispering that she could go back to sleep, she stretched, catlike, and followed him out of bed with the same leonine grace.

They dressed in silence, but once safely beyond earshot of the others, the dark-haired succubus looked up at him and asked, "So have you made up your mind about who you're going to take along?"

"Aside from you, you mean? Well, I think I'll take Myrina, but I hadn't quite decided who else yet. Did you have any thoughts on the matter?"

Nelith took a moment to consider. "Not really. I mean, based on what you've told us about Apollyon, most of us wouldn't be much use in a fight without one of those Keys." She gestured vaguely at Fenrir's belt pouch. "And if there isn't any fighting, any one of us would be about the same amount of use, right?"

Fenrir shrugged. "More or less. -Barring those of you with children to look after, of course."

His companion nodded, and for a moment there was silence. Then she asked, "Why don't you just take Katari again? It's not like she'll complain."

"I could, yes, but I was thinking she might deserve something of a break. I've taken her with me on every single trip I've taken so far."

Nelith snorted. "Chief, I'd bet a month's worth of sex with you that she'd rather stay close to you than not, no matter where you go. That girl is so devoted it even puts Yumiko to shame."

Fenrir raised an eyebrow, grinning. "A month? Sounds like you're pretty sure."

"Of course I am. I mean, pretty much all of us are in the same boat when it comes to that anyway, so it's like betting on whether Aimi wants sex."

Fenrir had to laugh at that. "Point taken," he said, opening the door to the bathing hall for Nelith to pass through. They had ended the night before with another orgy, but had neglected to clean up before falling asleep. Looking at Nelith though, he had to admit he quite liked the look of her all messy and disheveled in the aftermath of the fun, even if it was multiple hours old by now.

He tore his eyes from her body as she continued, "But who else would you even take? If you just want a pair of extra hands, Katari is probably the strongest of us anyway, except for Myrina maybe, and no one else is nearly as useful in a fight. Hmm... Did you consider taking Saeko?"

"Do you think I should consider her?"

Nelith momentarily stopped undressing to glance up at him, brow wrinkled in confusion. "...Yeah? Why wouldn't you? Do you not trust her?"

Rather than answer, the direwolf threw the question right back at her. "Do you?"

"...Mostly, I think? She's holding something back, and sometimes it kinda feels like she's putting on an act, but most of the rest of the girls really like her, and I can't really point to any one thing that says I shouldn't trust her." Nelith paused, turning the question over in her mind. "I dunno, maybe it's bitchy of me, but I don't like her very much. It feels almost like she's being fake, sometimes, even though I know she's been nothing but helpful ever since she got here."

Fenrir chuckled. "You're a sharp one."

Nelith's eyes went wide. "You mean I'm right?!"

"Don't sound so surprised." Fenrir finished undressing himself and joined Nelith in the bath, casually admiring her naked form as he did so. No matter how often he saw it, he never seemed to tire of looking. One ear flicked towards the door to ensure there was no one approaching who might overhear, before he continued, "Yes, you're right. Saeko is hiding something. She's not as committed to me as she'd like us to believe; from what I can tell, she's got other loyalties elsewhere, and she doesn't trust me any further than she can throw me. She thinks I'm dangerous."

Nelith snorted. "She's right about that."

Fenrir laughed again, prompting an answering smile from Nelith before she grew serious again. "But if you're keeping her around anyway, that means you've got plans for her, right?"

He nodded. "She'd make a powerful ally, not just in raw fighting strength but also in influence and subterfuge. She's extremely clever, and no less knowledgeable."

Nelith smirked. "And I'm sure her being absolutely gorgeous has nothing to do with it."

"It certainly doesn't hurt," Fenrir grinned back.

A comfortable silence fell between them for several minutes as both cleaned themselves up. Fenrir broke it by asking, "What do you think of Tsavani?"

"Tsavani? She reminds me a lot of Violetta, if Vi were a little more sure of herself. She's obviously got her own circumstances, but she's never felt fake the way Saeko does, even when she's trying to put on an act."

Fenrir chuckled. "That's just because she's not very good at it."

"Yeah, true," Nelith shrugged, grinning back. "Why, were you thinking of taking her instead?"

"I was considering it, yes, though less because of how useful she'd be and more because it gives me a chance to spend more time with her."

Nelith laughed. "Oh, poor you. You've made your harem so big, you barely get to see some of us."

Fenrir nodded in mock gravity. "I know. It's a real problem." Nelith just laughed harder at that, and after a moment Fenrir could no longer maintain his serious expression and joined in.

Once they quieted, however, Nelith said, "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea. I know the Light-races consider beast races to be Dark-race, but to me they've always felt closer to Light-race than Dark-race."

Fenrir raised an eyebrow. "So you don't trust them?"

"I don't trust most people, Chief." The succubus paused, then added, "Look, what I'm saying is, the more attached to you she is, the better I'll feel about her being here."

"I'm fairly sure you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to her, but I think I will take her along as well. Maybe spending some time with her yourself will set your mind a bit more at ease."

Nelith shrugged again. "It's not as if I distrust her or anything. After all, I trust your judgement, Chief, so if you say she's okay, I don't have a problem accepting it."

"Yes, but if you're going to be my second-in-command, you'd do well to build a relationship with each of my followers yourself. You can just leverage my authority to get them to follow your orders when I'm gone, but the more you do that, the less they'll like you for it."

Nelith nodded soberly. "I know. I'll do my best, Chief."

"Good." Stepping behind her, Fenrir rested his hands on her shoulders, before sliding them down her sides. She looked up at his face, her curiosity evident. "But I think that's enough serious talk for now." And with a devious grin, he grasped her around the middle and suplexed her backwards into the water.

Nelith's shriek was lost halfway through as she went under and she came up half-laughing, half-angry, and fully soaked. "Why, you!"

Fenrir's grin could have put a Cheshire cat to shame, but Nelith didn't give him much time to be smug about it. With a sudden surge of movement she scaled his body as if it were a tree and locking her legs around his neck, overbalanced him backwards into the water again.

Rather than trying to right himself, Fenrir twisted in her grasp and blew a cloud of bubbles directly into her crotch, making her let out a similar cloud herself in the form of a gasp. Her legs spasmed under the stimulation, and when he kept doing it she uncrossed her legs and tried to shove him away.

He allowed it, since he had just about emptied his lungs with the improvised motorboat and needed to come up for air. He was given all of a second and a half to take a breath before he felt Nelith grip him about the ankles and upend him yet again.

A part of Fenrir was impressed that she was strong enough to do so; even with the water supporting some of his weight, that was still quite a feat for the much smaller succubus considering she didn't have much traction herself. The rest of him was already plotting how to turn the tables on her, and he did so by grabbing her by the thigh and upper torso, lifting her high out of the water -she squirmed and squealed in his grasp- and bringing her down again with a splash large enough to flood half the bathing hall.

By the time they agreed to call a ceasefire and climbed out of the bath, both were thoroughly out of breath, though how much of it was because of laughter and how much because of the repeated dunkings was difficult to say. Despite the temptation to pick her up and throw her into the water one last time, Fenrir allowed Nelith to dry herself and redress in peace. Fun as the roughhousing had been, today was an important one.

It was time to return to Apollyon.

It was midmorning by the time everything was ready. Tsavani had needed no convincing, and neither had Myrina. Both now stood in the courtyard, Myrina holding the bridle of the pack horse they were taking along to carry the various goods they intended to trade while several of the succubi finished tying down the last few items.

Fenrir had made certain to check up on Saeko earlier that morning, just to ensure she didn't intend to leave after what she had learned the night before. Ten minutes of conversation, along with the benefits of God's Eye, satisfied him otherwise. She did a good job of hiding it, but she was warier than ever, and it was clear almost from the first that she was also more determined than ever to be valuable to him.

What she couldn't quite hide was her disappointment upon learning that he didn't intend to take her along. "After everything you spoke of last night, I admit I was quite curious to see Apollyon for myself," she had told him in a low tone.

"Well, it's not as if this will be the last time we visit. Perhaps you can come along next time." Fenrir had paused, then chuckled. "I might not even go along next time, if this trip goes well."

She had shot him a lightning-quick glance but had not pursued the subject, and a moment later Fenrir had been called away to help continue the preparations for the trip.

Now she stood in the courtyard, ready to lend her aid wherever it might be needed. Fenrir checked her over with God's Eye one last time, but when he found nothing to worry him he turned his attention to the imminent dimension jump.

If that was what it was, anyway. He had to admit he didn't really know how the different planes stood in relation to each other. It wasn't likely that he could reach Apollyon by any amount of mundane travel, even if he had a way of moving in any direction without restriction.

Well, however it might be classified, he was about to do it for a third time. Fenrir took out his Key and examined it. It looked exactly as it had since the first time he had held it, the same lidless eye making up the majority of its head, the same smaller eyes and fanged mouths lining the shaft, the same shifting wards and shimmering blade like the flame of a candle.

He had already given the second Key to Nelith; just last night they had finally pushed her past level twenty and she was now a full Succubus, having finally lost the 'Lesser' designation. With it there had come an upgrade to her Fireball spell as well as a new ability called 'Drain'. While he wasn't sure what that did, he figured he could make a fair guess, and he could see it being quite useful if it worked the way he suspected it did.

Just now he focused on the Key, and as before, a keyhole materialized in the air in front of him, ready and waiting for him to insert the Key. Satisfied, he turned his attention to his followers, dimly aware of the keyhole fading out again as soon as his focus was elsewhere. All seemed in readiness, so with one last check of his axe, he stepped forward into the crowd, gently shooing several of his goblin children out from under the pack horse.

Thankfully, she was a fairly calm mare, and by now well used to the goblins clambering around and over her. They had picked her for precisely that reason, since Fenrir expected that the jump between planes would be nerve-wracking enough for even the steadiest horse.

"Form up!" he called over the noise, and with several last-minute goodbyes those who were going along separated from those who weren't. Fenrir himself took a position on one side of the pack horse's bridle while Myrina remained on the opposite side, both ready to forestall any panic on the mare's part. Nelith took his other hand, clasping hands with Tsavani as well so they were all physically connected. Fenrir wasn't certain physical contact was required, but it had worked for bringing everyone out of Apollyon, so he assumed the same should apply in reverse.

The keyhole faded back into some approximation of existence, and Fenrir inserted his Key, and turned. As before, an impenetrable blackness blossomed from the keyhole, wrapping itself around them and blocking out all sight and sound. There was an instant of falling, then nothingness.

It seemed as though eons had passed by the time an old castle came into sight around the shoulder of the mountain. Elmeria had chafed at every delay, from the time she had taken a wrong turn and lost three whole hours, to every stop she'd had to take to let her horse rest. Speaking of which, though it was among the best the Cathedral had to offer, the poor stallion was already nearly exhausted, and it was still only midmorning. It really made her wish she was able to fly like Tomoko.

"Not much farther now, come on," she urged it on in an undertone. It snorted, shaking its head and sending lather flying from its neck, but it attacked the next slope gamely, Elmeria doing her best to help it along however she could.

As she rounded the last corner and finally got a glimpse of the courtyard, the scene there made her heart drop into her boots. A clump of shapes was already dematerializing, vanishing into nothingness before her eyes. And chief among them was the familiar shape of Fenrir.

No! No no no! Too late by so little!

It felt like a cruel joke. For half a second the hope that it had merely been a teleportation spell occurred to her, but no, she knew what a teleportation circle looked like in operation, and that had not been it. Instead, it matched up perfectly with the accounts she had read of those who traveled to Apollyon using a Key.

She reined in, heedless of the startled confusion among the various others in the courtyard, and for a moment despair threatened to consume her. Then she clenched her teeth and lifted her chin. No, she would not allow it. Fate would not take her master away in such a manner.

She still had a way into Apollyon. Never mind that it crippled her fighting ability. She was going to find him if she had to search every square foot of Apollyon to do it, and once reunited, her presence would allow him to return to Ruyanei.

Several of the people in the courtyard were now rushing towards her, but the panic coursing through her veins and pounding in her ears muffled their words into so much meaningless noise. Suddenly afraid that they might delay her and jealous of every second lost, she raised her hand and cast the familiar banishing spell, the deep red of the spell circles springing into existence beneath herself and her horse.

He snorted and shied away, not liking the feeling of the magic which emanated from the circle beneath him, but there was no avoiding it, and a moment later, they were gone.

Safara came to a stop, staring at the space which had so recently held the Saintess. She had gotten a glimpse of the raw terror on Elmeria's face, and it made a very uncomfortable worry settle in the pit of her own stomach.

She had entered the courtyard in time to catch a glimpse of Fenrir's departure. Did she not know what it meant? No, because from what Safara had read on her face, it was evident that she had understood, and from her immediate casting of the banishment spell, that she had interpreted what she had seen correctly. But why was she so concerned about Fenrir returning to Apollyon that she could not wait even a moment to confirm it with those of his followers who were left behind?

What did she know?

It was almost a surprise when Fenrir opened his eyes to the inside of the cathedral at the top of Apollyon's central city instead of some in-between space. He had been half-expecting that one of the gods would intercept him for some reason or other.

But no, this was undoubtedly Apollyon, and a moment later any such thoughts were shoved to one side for the present as his attention was needed to help Myrina calm the frightened packhorse.

"So this is Apollyon, huh?" Nelith asked, peering around at the interior of the massive cathedral. "Feels like... I don't know how to put it. Otherworldly? Like I wouldn't be surprised to see Melanoche walk out from behind a pillar or something."

Fenrir chuckled. "Unlikely, but never say never I suppose. In the vestibule there's a statue of both the Dark Twins that feels suspiciously alive, almost as if some part of their power resides in it. And, well, just look around. Their influence is evident throughout the cathedral."

Nelith nodded thoughtfully and Fenrir caught Tsavani doing the same out of the corner of his eye. Myrina only looked around, but he could see in her eyes mingled wonder and unease.

Looking around himself, it seemed little had changed since he had last been here, not that he had expected otherwise. The same massive chandeliers hung low from the shadowed ceiling, the same portals lined the walls, the same empty thrones surrounded the rostrum on which they stood, the same mosaic dominated the wall behind, depicting the same scenes of carnality and war in the same bizarre merging. Even the unnatural darkness that clung to every shadow was the same, lending the hall its mysterious, brooding atmosphere.

"Alright, let's get going," he said, stepping forward. Nelith and Tsavani fell in behind him with Myrina bringing up the rear, pack mare in tow.

They passed through the vestibule in silence. Nelith peered up at the statues in open curiosity, but both Tsavani and Myrina tensed as they came within sight of it and did not relax until the huge doors of the cathedral closed behind them with a low but resounding boom.

Fenrir noticed. 'Myrina I can understand, being that she's Light-race, but Tsavani ought to be Dark-race. Are beastfolk too far divorced from the 'traditional' Dark-races by now? Or were they never really Dark-race in the first place? It brings up the question of how people originally decided who's Dark-race and who's Light-race again. ...Or it could just be that she's still feeling more timid than usual. She's been making great strides, but it's not as if she's entirely free of her past trauma just yet.'

He shook off the thought, leading his party around the massive stone fountain in the center of the courtyard. All three girls gawked at the many different Dark-races depicted in its stonework, and Fenrir took especial note of the presence of a statue that looked very much like a catfolk. 'Makes me wonder who carved this fountain, and why. For that matter, why does Apollyon even exist in the first place? I rather doubt its original purpose was as an extradimensional prison for Dark-races, considering its architecture.'

They passed through the first of the mighty gates that separated many of the districts of the stone city, Nelith murmuring "Wow," as she registered the scale to which the buildings were built. "Chief, why's everything so big?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Fenrir answered, shrugging. "Presumably, those who built it were quite a bit bigger than us, but I don't know anything for certain. But look at that." He pointed out one of the Watchers, standing guard out on a battlement.

"What is that?" Tsavani almost whispered, her brilliant orange eyes wide.

"According to Chief Shazrak, that's a Watcher. They guard this city, though they don't seem to mind if people pass through."

"It looks like it's made of stone." This came from Myrina, who judging from the look on her face was evaluating how difficult it would be to defeat.

"It wouldn't much surprise me," Fenrir said, watching the still figure. Now that he looked more closely, he realized it was large even for the scale of the city, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it as an instant later he became aware something approaching rapidly from their front.

The thing mentioned was a young drake, about the size of a horse, covered in the same white fur and blue-white scales that the White Horror had sported. "Uh-oh," the direwolf muttered, drawing his great-axe. "It seems the White Horror is still on the hunt for his missing treasures."

His party prepared to meet the charge with impressive celerity, Nelith readying two fireballs which she heated in her hands until they took on a blueish hue at the center. Myrina drew the horse back out of harm's way, while Tsavani slipped off to the right in preparation for a flank attack.

But none of them got the chance to do anything. Before the drake had covered more than half the distance, the still figure on the battlement turned, and with a speed that Fenrir didn't believe even he could match, streaked across the intervening space to impale the young dragon on a sword longer than Myrina was tall. It didn't stop there, either. With smooth, almost mechanical movements, it extracted its sword and slammed it down across the drake's neck, decapitating it on the spot. It had never even had a chance to react, much less fight back.

Nelith let out a breath as she allowed the fireballs to fade back into nothingness. "If that hadn't been so terrifying, I'd have said it was cool as hell."

"Why not both?" Fenrir grinned as he watched the towering figure stride off, back to where it had been standing watch. "But this does indicate that we'd better be careful. If the White Horror's spawn are out wandering around on this side of the portal that leads to his realm, there's no guarantee that he's not out here somewhere as well, and I'm sure I don't need to reiterate how dangerous he is."

And as they continued they found more evidence of the White Horror's passing. More drakes, ranging from between the size of a large dog and approaching that of a house lay dead, and here and there lay scattered the strange stone-like armor of the Watchers. There were also pillars and broken chunks of the same blueish-white ice that Fenrir had last seen during his fight against the White Horror.

Tsavani paused by one. "Look," she murmured. Encased in the ice was one of the Watchers, sword still raised as though to strike.

"Do you think he'd still be alive if we got him out of there?" Nelith asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Fenrir replied, examining the still figure, somewhat distorted by the ice. "I'm not convinced they're alive in the first place."

"So, what, you think they're golems or something?"

"That's what I'm inclined to believe, yes. The way that one earlier moved didn't seem entirely natural."

"Fenrir." Myrina's voice was tight with urgency and suppressed excitement.

He followed her gaze to see, crouched on one of the roofs some distance away, another dragon, this one among the largest he had seen barring the White Horror himself. It was watching them, and seeing it had been discovered, it rose, stretched, and leaped down off the roof, flapping its wings heavily to help slow its descent. It still hit the ground hard enough for them to feel the impact several hundred feet away, raising one of Fenrir's eyebrows.

'Seems it can't fly, even despite the considerable size of its wings. Interesting.' Aloud, he said, "Myrina, put the horse in that building over there. I have a feeling we'll need everyone's help to take this one down."

Chapter one hundred! And it didn't take me a month to get it out, either! You love to see it.
What you might not love quite so much is the cliffhanger, but too bad. :P I was already over four thousand words, and next chapter you'll see why I had to either stop here or have my chapter bloom to probably 8k or something similar.
As for this chapter, we get some bonding time with Nelith, Elmeria shows up just in time to be too late (I know, I know, it's cliche, but I couldn't resist), and we get our second look at Apollyon. Fenrir's actions on his previous visit seem to have had consequences, but we've not seen their full effects just yet.
To celebrate one hundred chapters, I've been playing with the idea of having a non-canon character Q&A, where you can ask any of my characters any questions you please. I of course reserve the right not to answer them if it would spoil the story, but I feel it could be a lot of fun. What do you think? Vote below!
Also, it might seem strange, but even a hundred chapters in, I still get nervous about hitting post on each new chapter. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but no, every time I'm worried I've forgotten something or the like. Anyway,
Enjoy!