As gentle as the moment between Blackthorne and Jackie proved to be, not all was right with the world. In the lower depths of a cavernous underground lair, a humanoid figure shrouded in perpetual darkness stared penetratingly at a floating crystalline sphere that hovered in the air before him.

Bright yellow eyes, the eyes of a wolf, narrowed even as tendrils of darkness swirled outward from his perpetually shadowed frame. Things had gone so well up until a moment prior. The boy had seemingly been on the brink of endless despair. It was a fitting place for one who shared the same first name, and bore such a striking resemblance, as one whom he hated.

The images that reported his torment came to him with great clarity previously, but now nothing appeared on his viewing sphere. It was as though the pathetic brat had disappeared from both worlds entirely.

"Melisandre. Report," said the shadowed figure in a tone that bridged the gap between anger and boredom.

A circle made of red lightning appeared on the ground before the dark man's throne. It rose up slightly into the air as flames shot outward. A series of radiant beams of light speared up and down along the circumference of the symbol amid a harsh crackling sound that filled the air.

Slowly a new humanoid figure appeared within that wicked lightshow. First came the tips of vividly blue leathery wings. Next appeared spiraling golden horns followed immediately by electric blue hair and a human-like face which bore no flaws. The new arrival had both eyes as golden as her horns and soft red lips that matched her hair in vibrancy if not color. Her skin glittered softly in the light, while tiny currents of electricity flowed along the curvature of her body. She was no tiny and cute girl, however. Her frame was born of strength, the epitome of feminine power and grace.

Despite her obvious strength, however, she appeared in the throne room on her knees with her head bowed. Around her neck she bore a collar, and at the center of that collar rested a blood red jewel.

"Boss King, I have come," said Melisandre. There was neither joy nor sorrow in her words. They seemed almost mechanical, a thing said by rote and without emotional merit.

The shadow-clad man's predatory smile broke the darkness to reveal sharp wolf-like teeth. "Something has disturbed my pleasure..."

Melisandre did not speak. She leaned back and lightly began to lift up the hem of her battle bustier.

"Good idea, but not what I was getting at..." said Boss King. He rose from his black throne, a seat carved from obsidian and decorated with numerous human skulls. Ominous in appearance at first glance, in truth it held the same level of design merit as the seat of a cheap villain from a throwaway fantasy novel.

Boss King took a single step down from his throne then glanced to the side. A teenage girl knelt there, her eyes cast down at the floor. Strangely her only garments were the collar around her neck which was attached to a chain and connected to the floor, a headband with floppy dog ears attached, and a literal tail plug inserted into her anus. The fluffiness of that tail had long since become matted with all manner of feces and bodily fluids. Now it hung limply down against her bruised thighs.

Glassy-eyed, as though her mind had long since fled or was never there in the first place, she made not even a sound when Boss King snorted and kicked her under the chin. Her neck snapped even as her jaw broke apart. Several cracked teeth fell from the ruination of her mouth as she dropped dead to the floor.

With no concern shown for the broken thing that he'd left behind, he took another step down from his throne then gazed penetratingly at Melisandre's kneeling form. "Something has stolen my fun. Tell me that you have made progress on the one task I have actually demanded of you."

"Boss King, the abyss is vast. Though I have searched for over ten years now—" began Melisandre, only to have her words die in her throat as the air flow was cut off and her bronchial tubes began to close up.

She gasped and clutched at her collar even as the pressure and tightness in her chest intensified. Boss King merely stared at her form a moment before he allowed her to breathe once again.

"If you do not have useful words for me, it is best not to waste your breath on pathetic excuses," said Boss King in an imperious manner.

"Yes, Boss King," whispered Melisandre softly. Despite her desire to hold back her emotions, a tiny trickle of fluid began to build along the rims of her eyes.

Her dark master pointed down at the broken girl and he said, "That little bitch has eluded me for far too long. My endgame demands that I have the entirety of her soul, not just the cast off portion of her mortal psyche."

"Yes, Boss King," said Melisandre. Her words flowed outward with no emotion. She knew well how she must respond, and respond properly she did.

The dark man strode over to his subordinate then gripped her chin in his hand. His fingers tightened like a vice. Pressure bruises began to form along her jaw that even her attributes and titanic life force could not prevent.

Melisandre knew better than to cry out. Her pain would only cause her master to become aroused, and then she would know true torment. Instead, she fought down the urge to scream as his shadowy fingers came within a hair's breadth of cracking her jaw. Slowly, her eyes began to glaze over as though she stared off into an unseen thing in the distance. Just as she had needed to do many times before, her mind began to retreat within itself even as her body suffered.

"What are you, Melisandre," he said in an almost gentle tone.

"Your toy, Boss King," she said in a soft monotone.

The dark man tilted his shadowed head to the side. "What does a toy do?"

"A toy brings its owner pleasure, Boss King," she replied in an equally soft tone as before.

The pressure given off by his fingers intensified just enough to cause hairline fractures within her jaw. The glassy expression on her face flickered as the pain rose to an intolerable level that even her well-practiced escapism could not abate.

"What does an owner do with his toys if they do not bring him pleasure?" he asked her in a strangely soothing tone.

"The owner discards them, Boss King," replied Melisandre.

He squeezed her jaw with even more casual intensity then forced her to look up at him. He stared down at her, his yellow eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness. "Who will take the place of my discarded toy?"

"Boss King, I—" whispered Melisandre.

The dark man's reaction was swift and brutal. He released her jaw and slapped her hard across the face. Part of her cheek caved inward due to the force of the blow. Teeth were knocked from her mouth in broken shards that readily scattered themselves across the floor of her master's throne room. It was a blow which would have killed a human woman. Unfortunately, Melisandre's kind were formed of much sterner stuff. Less than a second after receiving her punishment, her bruises faded and mouth began to heel. Despite the blood that poured from her mouth, here wounds were nearly healed within the space of a few seconds.

"After all of this time, your whore mouth still likes to make excuses..." said Boss King in a menacing tone.

Melisandre did not speak, she merely lowered her eyes. There was nothing that she could do in that moment but accept the way of things. The jewel at her throat began to glow brightly as her thoughts turned murderous, but nothing else occurred.

Boss King reached down and took a lock of her hair in hang. He pulled forward with casual strength and forced her face close to his crotch. "Those pathetic lips of yours have better uses than to spend their time speaking excuses..."

He blinked once then grinned. "Hey, that rhymed..."

The darkness around his crotch departed. Melisandre was forced to watch as something foul began to writhe around inside her master's pants.

Acquiring a serious tone once more, he asked, "What takes the place of a discarded toy?"

"An unspoiled toy, Boss King," she said softly.

"Correct..." he said.

His demeanor changed slightly and he spoke in a mildly cheerful tone, "By the way, Melisandre, how are those kids of yours?"

She fought down the urge to slam her fist into his groin. Doing that would only give him the excuse that he needed. "They are well, Boss King."

"Good..." he said, before he slipped one hand down to lightly trace the curve of her lips with his thumb, "That's real good... I'd hate it if anything happened to them."

Her urge to shudder violently was barely contained. For the sake of her disparate brood of orphans she was forced to submit to this man. The seals and commands placed upon her body and soul would have long since destroyed her had she nothing left to lose. The greatest violation of all, to Melisandre, was that this vile creature knew that she would not abandon her children. They were so small, so helpless. Should anything happen to her and her brother, those sweet tiny little lights would have nothing left but their faith to sustain them, the promise spoken to their kind long ago in the age of dreams.

He pressed her cheek against his crotch then lightly stroked her hair in a simulacrum of fatherly concern. "Life is so hard, for such precious little dragons living in a foreign world. Isn't it?" he said in a warm tone.

"Yes, Boss King," said Melisandre as her master's hideous tentacle stroked her cheek through his pants.

"Luckily for them, they have me to look after them and their worthless slut of a mother..." he said in a gentle tone most would have found soothing outside of the content of his words.

"Yes, Boss King," whispered Melisandre.

"Why, I'm practically your father..." said the dark man.

"Yes, Boss King," she said mechanically.

He chuckled softly, paternally, then stroked her hair once more. "You should thank me for the grace I bestow upon one such as you, child."

"Thank you, Boss King," she said mechanically.

"My mercy... Truly it knows no bounds. Yes?" he asked her softly.

"Yes, Boss King," she replied.

"To think, a god such as myself dallying among you mortals while this world slowly becomes my playground.... and even giving a creature such as you a place at my side..." he said in a self-adulating tone.

He sighed wistfully while he pressed her face against his crotch with even greater force. "Aren't I a true and benevolent god, Melisandre?"

"Yes, Boss King," she said mechanically. She no longer even attempted to squirm away from the hideous thing he hid within the confines of his pants. A soft hissing noise reached her ears as his terrible serpent slithered back and forth in search of prey.

"Then you may worship at my altar, child," said Boss King in a beatific tone.

"No," said Melisandre in a small quiet voice.

The darkness swirled around his eyes as the hateful word tore at him. "No...?" he asked her, his voice filled with venom.

"Yes, Boss King," she said without a hint of sarcasm, or any emotion for that matter.

He snatched her head back by her hair and stared down at her. "Worship at my altar, Melisandre."

Life returned to her eyes and she stared defiantly up at him. She practically spat her answer into his shadowed face, "Never."

Enraged by her denial he shrieked, "I am your god!"

He slapped her hard across the face. Even before her shattered teeth his the floor he roared, "Worship me, you bitch!"

She did not bother to get off the floor but she defiantly raised her head once more. Her irises flattened like those of a serpent as her pupils began to give off a radiant glow. "Never."

"I'll eat their fucking bones!" snarled Boss King. "I'll sell your children to a whore house and eat their fucking bones as a mercy after they learn the true way of the world!"

"Oh, hateful child who pretends at glory. Tear our bodies asunder. Pollute our souls with your venomous lies, and defile our lives with your sickening desires. It matters not. My kind will never worship a creature such as you," she spoke in a voice both steady and authoritarian.

Emboldened by her zealotry, Melisandre rose up to her knees and continued, "Our true master is so far beyond you that you might as well be a lowly ant destined only to stare up at the midnight heavens in uncomprehending and futile wonder," There was no discussion on the matter.

He could make her do anything, but the one thing he wanted most of all from her. The incredulity in his expression gave rise to a hateful snigger. "Your true master?"

Boss King threw his hands up in the air and laughed uproariously. He span around in place and made grand imperial gestures at the air. "Oh, yes! Do tell me once again about your all-powerful big ass dragon with wings that blot out the sun."

Snidely he continued, "Does he like candy, too? I have a lollipop in my pocket for him. May his fictional ass choke on it."

His mocking laughter caused her cheeks to become flush with rage. Electricity sparked upwards along her horns, but the jewel around her neck began to glow brightly. Her outburst was quelled as her mystical power slipped away, absorbed by the jewel.

Boss King snickered at her once more, but his snicker turned into a hateful sneer as she began to sing the song he hated almost above all others. Only that stupid red whore's hit single, "The Ballad of Fat Scott," angered him more.

"On midnight wings he comes to us, yet he blazes like the sun..." Melisandre sang out defiantly.

He screamed at her, then kicked her in the chest. Temporarily the air was driven from her lungs. He proceeded to kick her repeatedly all about the body as he unleashed his rage. However, as she got her breath back she began to sing once more, though her voice was weak and trembled mightily.

"His fury born of righteous scorn, all wickedness shall be undone..." she sang out as hot tears fell from her eyes.

"It's a fucking lie, you damned lizard!" shrieked Boss King before he kicked her in the face.

He kicked her hard in the chest again before he shouted down at her, "I've been all across the heavens and your god doesn't exist!"

Blood spattered lips gasped out another line of verse, "Children sheltered beneath his wings, rest safe their weary souls..."

Boss King reached down with one hand and snatched her up by the neck. He ripped her dress apart with feral rage then gripped one of her heavy hanging breasts in a brutal vice-like grip. He squeezed both her breasts and her throat hatefully before he snarled, "Bitch! I am your fucking god! No fairytale will come to rescue you!"

She tried to continue singing, but only her lips moved as no air escaped her lungs. Boss king crushed her windpipe in his hand, and hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Yet, despite the terrible injury she continued to try and sing. All the while she stared up at him with a terrified, but somehow scornful, expression.

Surprised that she would still continue her zealotry even now, he regained a modicum of his sanity and relented. Her wounds healed rapidly, but her voice did not come quite as quickly.

She continued to gasp out words that were only barely audible for a moment. He could barely make them out, though he believed her heard her hoarsely whisper, "In that darkened time he'll come..."

A morbidly wicked curiosity caught hold of Boss King. He pulled her mouth to his ear to better hear her foolish lullaby.

The final verse came to pass as Melisandre softly sang, "... to slay the evil one."

His rage died away in that moment. Soon it was replaced by a strangely jovial nature. "You really think some big ass dragon is just going to swoop in and save your pathetic brood, don't you?"

Melisandre said nothing. Dress torn open and her breasts luridly on display, she ignored it all and once again began to whisper her gentle hymn.

"Even if your Dark Messiah really existed, why would he want used goods like you?" he asked her curiously.

Boss King threw on the floor like discarded trash then sighed. "I should just kill you and your little brood, but you have your uses I suppose."

In truth, she and her brother were his only minions capable of searching through the abyss to find the treasure he craved. Her brother was actually stronger, but he was also not nearly as pleasant to torment. Either way, his end game demanded the little bitch to be present completely in this realm.

She continued to sing for a moment, but soon her master grew weary of her religious nonsense. "Shut up, and go back to the abyss. Don't come back here unless I call, or you actually find that little bitch."

"Yes, Boss King," said Melisandre without a hint of emotion in her voice. She teleported away to do her master's bidding.

He groaned loudly then sighed in perturbed annoyance. He glanced over to the cooling corpse of the teenage girl chained to the steps of his throne. "I suppose you're waiting for your messiah too, eh puppy?"

Amused by his own comedic sensibilities, he whistled a merry tune for a moment. The throne room remained quiet. No one attended him unless he asked for it. Bored of the silence he went to check his sphere once more.

A low growl escaped his lips. "Still?" he asked. Boss King slapped the side of the sphere a few times, but no further video of the brat became available. He brought up a menu screen to check a few things then smirked obnoxiously. "Well, at least I still have control of some of the audio."

Boss King turned up the volume and listened to truly classical music. A voice screamed out, "Degenerate freak! Hugging her like that! Pathetic!"

Another voice crowed obscenely, "You're just being nice to her because you can't hold it in anymore. You want to shove your tongue in that poor hard working slut's ass so you'll know what your perverted soul tastes like!"

Scott's voice weakly whispered words most eloquent, "Fuck off! I'm trying to have a sweet fucking moment here, you stupid fucking voices!"

"That's a lot of fucks to give! Who am I, your little sister?" snarked another voice.

Yet another voice chimed in by speaking out in a lurid and childish tone, "Makes sense, she liked it in the ass too!"

Boss King cackled in mad glee as the voices continued to assault the stupid brat's psyche. He tapped the sphere and said, "Now that's a proper hymn! Worship me, child. Worship me with your impotent rage."

"It's your own fault for being born with that face and name," remarked Boss King lightly as the sweet sounds of Scott's attempts to fight back against his inner demons filled him with renewed joy.

He listened to the heated dialog for a time, but not long into his enjoyment of the moment Boss King stood stock still. Suddenly his head drooped and he began to snore loudly with his baleful yellow eyes wide open.

Several minutes passed before his head popped back up and he blinked. A new smile appeared on his lips, this one slightly less predatory. "Ah, yeah! Time to get to work!"

He tapped the sphere once more then managed to show evidence of a pout through the dark layers that swirled around his face. "Ah, dang bro you were right. This thing is busted... Bummer..."

With a long-suffering sigh Boss King turned and took stock of the throne room. "You always make such a mess..." he mumbled.

He called out, "Hey someone get in here and clean this up!"

Dozens of imps, small green skinned and bat winged humanoids, appeared out of the shadows. Some carried mops or buckets. Others carried wash cloths. Four of them wheeled in a wheelbarrow and one carried a hack saw. The dead girl was cut free by and tossed into the wheelbarrow along with her old chain, while the other imps set about cleaning up the teeth and blood spatter left behind by their master's moods.

"Hey? Forgetting something?" asked Boss King in a slightly high-pitched tone.

Several imps looked back and forth at each other then blinked. One of them pointed at the empty space at the foot of the throne then rapidly began to speak a bizarre chittering language. The other imps nodded to the first imp, then one of them flew off into the darkness. Not long after he left, he reappeared while holding a chain. From out of the darkness a teenage girl walked forward. Clad only in a collar, puppy ears, and a fluffy anal tail-plug she was identical in appearance to the previous occupant who had knelt at the foot of the throne.

"Puppy!" cried Boss King in a strangely feminine tone.

He rushed over to the new arrival then placed his hands to her cheeks. "You're so cute!"

Boss King squished her cheeks. The girl blinked slowly, then showed the barest hint of an emotion when her eyebrows shifted into a slightly curious expression.

He sniffed at the air then giggled. "Love that new puppy smell..."

The imp leading the girl by her chained collar decided to try and sniff her. Boss King absent-mindedly kicked it away and the imp went screaming into the darkness.

The girl stood in place with her curious expression still evident, but no other impression of intelligence given. Boss King kissed her lightly on the cheek then giggled and blew out a breath against the side of her neck performing what many might call a 'raspberry'. A flapping noise echoed through the throne room. *Pbbbt!*

Boss King wrapped his arms around the unspoiled girl then cuddled against her. He finally noticed her expression after a moment, however.

He gasped and said, "Look at you," in a cheerful manner.

"That's adorable! She thinks she's people!" exclaimed Boss King. He started to tickle the new puppy and laughed happily as the girl made soft noises akin to subdued squeals of protest.

"Who's almost a person?" asked Boss King as he nuzzled his nose against the girl's cheek. "You're almost a person. Yes you are! Yes you are!"

He continued to babble baby talk at the girl as though she actually were a puppy. Strangely, for a brief moment, the fluffy tail wagged.

"Hey, I know!" he said after a moment. "Wanna go for a walk?"

The girl blinked slowly, but said nothing. Boss King asked again, "Go walkies? Walkies?"

The fluffy tail wagged slightly, and her floppy ears perked just a little.

"Yesh, we're going walkies!" exclaimed Boss King in a cutesy tone. He reached out and rubbed the girl's head playfully then patted her on the hip.

He gripped her chain tightly in one hand then looked to one of the imps foolish enough to remain in the throne room. "If anyone asks, I'm out taking Lizzie for a walk."

The imp nodded at him then chittered something. Boss King grinned. Today might be fun after all. He did have a new puppy to play with, after all.