Hitze wandered through the Forbidden Hills, scavenging again.  He did this often so he'd have enough food and supplies to last him a while.  He HATED having to scavenge all the time, but it was required for his survival, so he did it.  He also sometimes stole food from the lair, but he wasn't in the mood for that today, even if it was close by.

He hesitated for a moment when he saw ashes on the ground and went over to investigate.  They were phoenix ashes, alright.  He looked around.  The entrance of the lair was close by.

Kasai!  Kasai was coming over here to look for her brother.  He froze when he realized.

"I told her to be careful..." he muttered to himself, shaking his head.  He wondered who had killed her.

No matter.

He scoffed and was about to leave, but took one final look at the ashes.

"...I can't believe I am doing zis."

He sat down by the ashes and waited for Kasai to reform.  He may not know her very well and may have other things to do, but she seemed pretty nice.  Maybe if he helps her, she can help him in return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kit and Kat were playing together in the lair, but immediately stopped when they saw Dokusei approach and leaped to their feet.

"KitKat. I need you to guard the entrance to the lair for a while. And by a while, I mean until I can find someone else to do it. You know it's the least wanted job."

"We won't let you down!" they both mewed, rushing to the entrance to guard.

Dokusei managed a small smile as she watched the two nekos. She sighed. They didn't deserve the past they had gotten.

She had found them in a basket near the entrance to the Forbidden Hills. They were unconscious, so they couldn't escape on their own. They looked starving, like they had never eaten in their life. They were, after all, only babies. There's no way they'd be able to fend for themselves, so Dokusei decided to raise them as her own. She didn't realize they could've been of any use until they were older. She only took care of them because she felt bad for them. She herself had been abandoned by her family...

...all except for her brother, but he had died years ago.

She pushed the thought of her brother out of her head. She didn't like thinking about him.

"My queen? Is something troubling you?" a voice came from behind. Dokusei froze and spun around to see Nuclear.

"N-no, everything's fine. The traitor is currently in the middle of his punishment, and all is well."

"Good. And the prisoner?"

"Still trapped."

"Even better."

Dokusei nodded once, doing her best not to show that she had been thinking about her family again.

Nuclear seemed to notice anyway.

"You still miss them, don't you?"

".. yes. I do."

Nuclear sighed. "You need to move on, Dokusei. Forget about them."

"I know. I try, but I fail."

"That's not my queen. My queen does not fail. She overcomes. She succeeds."

Dokusei hid a blush.

"...I won't let you down." she said, then did the unthinkable.

She hugged Nuclear.

He froze for a moment, not expecting this.

Dokusei realized what she did and froze, pulling away.

"Forgive me! I-I didn't mean to! I-"

"No."

She looked back up at Nuclear, who removed his mask.

"Don't worry about it." He kissed her, making her freeze.

He pulled away and put his mask back on before leaving.

Dokusei stared for a moment, blushing wildly.

"Well then. There's our proof."

She froze and spun around again. Alex was leaning against the wall behind her.

"I knew you loved him."

"Oh, be quiet." Dokusei muttered, turning away from him.

He just smirked.  "I know you have a soft spot, 'queen.'  You should really use it more.  Maybe then I'd be able to see my family."  His smirk turned to a glare.

Dokusei rolled her eyes.  "Don't make me punish you too." she muttered, storming off.

"Teresa!  Teresa, where are you?" she shouted.  Teresa immediately went over to her.

"Yes ma'am?  What do you need?"

"Keep an eye on the prisoner.  Make sure no one decides to free him.  And make sure the traitor's under someone's watch, too."

"Yes ma'am." Teresa said with a salute, running off again.

Dokusei smirked.  If only all the followers were like Teresa.

Maybe then her army wouldn't be such a failure.