A deep freeze gusted through the sewers. As Lumi walked through the tunnels, frost climbed onto the brick around him and the water below him turned to ice. He happened upon a cross of paths where there were drains on the walls. They filled with the sound of hissing as snakes rushed through them. Without a second thought, he covered the exits with thick ice. The snakes hit it like a wall. They slithered and hissed out of anger.

Kuza walked up behind him, taking note of all the damage he'd done. He knelt down to the ice below and frowned, seeing one of the crocodiles frozen in ice. "That wasn't very nice of you. Poor Ganji."

"After all these years, he still is childish enough to name those vile creatures and keep them as pets?" Lumi grumbled. He turned around to see the vampire behind him, visibly becoming shocked. "I know you. You used to be Prince Vepar's guard."

"I was actually his husband's guard. Even though Chris married a prince, he never wanted to be called one himself. Doesn't matter though. I have a much different job description." He smiled brightly.

"And what would that be? Don't tell me Croc has gotten weak enough he needs a vampire to guard him?" He scoffed.

The sound of ice shattering startled him. He spun around to see one of the ice barriers he'd put between him and the snakes had been broken. Another vampire, to him another pest, stood in his way. Ricky punched the other ice cap, releasing the other half of the snakes. They slithered down the walls, gathering around his feet.

"I assume if you know his face, you know mine too." Ricky said.

He smirked, "How could I not? Cerulli's right hand man. Ironically, it looks like you lost your right hand. I have to say I'm impressed. Very few are strong enough to break through enchanted ice. Please, do entertain me by telling me what you two are doing here?"

"Protecting our family." Ricky responded, "I'll admit that when Kuza and Croc first started seeing each other, I wasn't happy about it. Now, I've seen the way he'd do anything to protect Kuza. He loves him unconditionally and he's learned to be selfless. Those are two things I can guarantee you'll never be able to do."

"Wait, let me get this straight." Lumi looked back over to Kuza, "You're Croc's boyfriend? He's done a lot of idiotic things, but I never thought he'd go as far as to settle for a vampire."

Kuza crossed his arms over his chest. "No, no, please, keep insulting me. It'll only make him angrier."

He laughed, "You two seriously think that fool can beat me, don't you? Thanks, I needed a good laugh. Here's a news flash for you stupid rats. Crocodiles are cold blooded creatures. Meaning, when the outside temperature drops, so does their internal temperature. I'll make him suffer. He'll die slowly from hypothermia, and I won't even have to lift a finger."

Ricky stepped aside, gesturing him forward, "Fine. If you're so confident, go 'head."

"What happened to all that brave talk about protecting your family a second ago?" He questioned.

"Croc didn't ask me to protect him. He asked me to protect Kuza, so that's what I'm doing. The way I see it, the farther away you are, the less of a threat you are to him." He explained.

"Your logic is flawed. I'm afraid I can't waste time chatting, though. I need to be disposing of my brother already, but I'll leave you a parting gift." Lumi smirked.

He waved his hand, carelessly casting a spell on the ice below them. As he walked away, the ground began to shake. Ricky and Kuza both jumped back out of the way, the snakes following. From the ground emerged a demonic tiger made entirely of enchanted ice. That wasn't going to be as easy to break as the ice caps. Regardless, Ricky did make a promise. He stood up and took a fighting stance.

Lumi could care less what happened to the two. His reckless attitude towards human life was part of the reason why they called him The Cold Lord. Obviously, the power he possessed also played a role. For a demon to be that powerful when they weren't even in their true form was unheard of. He continued to walk until he'd finally found his dearest little brother.

"I'm surprised you haven't frozen yet." He patronized him, "Oh, and you should know, my ice tiger is making your boyfriend his dinner right now."

Croc remained sat on the ground, his back against the wall. He kept his head down and ignored looking at his sibling. "I didn't think your arrogance could get any worse, but here I stand corrected. Tell me, brother, how have the others been?"

"Do you think I care about the others?" He sneered.

"I was just curious to know if you'd even noticed Covey and Thursday had gone missing." He smiled softly, "Now, no need to be upset. I warned you his heart had turned to ice. You didn't believe me."

Lumi started to get angry simply out of frustration, "What are you on about, you loon?"

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you." Croc finally stood up. As he did, he picked up the staff laying beside him. "Poor Thursday has had a hard time accepting the truth, but now, I think he does see what Covey and I do. He seems you as the monster you are, dear brother."

The eyes of the steal raven on top of the staff glowed purple. Then, the eyes of the bat pendant around his neck illuminated red. Finally, the eyes of the iron crocodile on his belt buckle lit with a burning green color. In the darkness of the sewer, their glow stood out prominently. Lumi mistakenly let his fear show temporarily. He shook away the thoughts that he could possible be defeated. Even now, his arrogance remains.

"You may have been able to beat each of us on your own, but there's no way in Hell you could beat us when our power is combined." He smirked, "Covey said you should save yourself the embarrassment of losing."

"You traitors! I'll destroy all three of you. I don't care if you are my brothers!" He yelled.

"Funny, we said the same thing about you and Apollo. Speaking of, I believe my future nephew is currently playing a game of chase with him." He slowly started to walk closer. The ice under him was cracking just from the sheer power radiating off of his soul. "I say future nephew because he's Ricky's son, and I believe after this, I'm going to purpose to my beloved. I made a promise to him that because I worried about my future, I'd take care of my past."

He pointed the staff towards Lumi, shooting a beam of black energy towards him. The ice demon dodged it, just barely. "It'll be a little hard to purpose when you're both dead."

"You're still so cocky. It'll be the death of you." He replied.

Bats fluttered in through the grate behind them. Magic flowed from Covey's staff, flooding the tunnel with darkness. Demons could see in the dark, but not in a sea of a dark energy. It blinded them both actually. What Croc had that his brother didn't was an alternative way of hearing. The bats made squeaking noises, of which only Thursday could understand. Using their echo location, they guided the three brothers through the darkness.

They managed a few hits into Lumi until he was able to catch on. He caught Croc's fist, throwing him back. Then, he raised ice pillars that absorbed the darkness. They were back on even grounds, both being able to see again. Croc wiped a little blood from his mouth with the most evil look in his eyes. His brother looked down, realizing the ice spell he'd cast on the ground had been broken.

A swarm of ravens rushed towards Lumi and pushed him back in the water. He grabbed onto one of the floating platforms, trying to pull himself up. Croc stood over him, a sadistic sense of happiness rushing through him. Part of it was pride, too. Finally, his babies could have some fun.

On Lumi's arm was a leather cuff with a large diamond in the center. Croc pulled it off his wrist, taking a huge amount of his power with it. The charms their family wore helped to amplify their abilities. Lumi still could fight, but he wouldn't be the beast he typically was.

"Let me introduce you to one of my babies. The waters you're currently swimming in happen to be right at the entrance of Snickers' cove. All this commotion's woken him up." Croc said. Following his words, there were small ripples in the water from spikes grazing the surface. The look of fear on Lumi's face was priceless. "He's a saltwater crocodile, and a rather big one too. He's over twenty feet in length and weighs over two thousand pounds. Don't worry. He won't kill you, but he'll keep you company while I go check on my little kitten. Don't have too much fun without me."

He stood back up as his brother was suddenly pulled under the water. Croc wanted to be the one to kill Lumi, but he decided some torture was in order first. After all, he spent plenty of years causing the rest of the family pain. Croc left Snickers to enjoy some time with his big brother while he walked towards the sound of a fight.

As he entered the area where the ice tiger had been summoned, he was just in time to watch Ricky finally shatter the beast. He was pretty damn beat but he'd accomplished his goal. With heavy breaths, he collapsed onto the ice. "I think my age is starting to catch up with me." He panted.

"You're still a long way off from that." Croc responded, "Thank you for protecting Mike for me. I know what Lumi's monsters are capable of and I was worried he wouldn't be able to take one himself."

"Are you underestimating me?" Kuza asked in a challenging tone.

He smiled, setting his hand under his submissive's chin, "Of course not. I just didn't want to underestimate my brother. It'd been so long since I'd seen him, I had no idea what is power was like. It seems like he's weaker. I have also gotten much stronger, though. Snickers is entertaining him right now."

Kuza frowned as he suddenly remembered, "He froze Ganji."

There was a moment of sadness mixed with spite in Croc's eyes. He thought back to his first pet, and what Lumi had done to him. Croc gently smiled, "Don't worry, Baby Doll. Covey's staff can thaw his ice with no problem and Ganji will be fine."

The raven's eyes illuminated again. Black matter rushed down in the ice, traveling through it in veins. All at once, it shattered, most of it turning back to water. Some tiny shards floated into the air, mixing with the broken magic, to make it like it was snowing in the sewer. It only lasted a minute, but it was the perfect romantic moment for Croc to steal a kiss from his love.

Covey's soft voice spoke to him, to both his brothers, "I believe that all beings, no matter their bloodline or innate nature, chose their own path. Whether it comes the day we are born or the day we die, at some point in our life, we will have a moment that truly decides whether we are good or bad. For me, it was the day I saw you crying over the death of your pet.

You'd spent all your time during the day caring for him and nursing him back to health after the world had so cruelly disregarded him. The rest of us saw him as a nuisance, but you saw the love in his heart and the value in his life. The pain you felt in losing him made me realize that all lives are important. At that point, I had already killed several, but it took me until that day to realize that their loss hurt someone. They were criminals just the same as us, but someone did love them.

I truly believe there is no such thing as a person who is not cared about. No matter what, there will always be someone to miss us when we're gone. That is why I dedicated myself to learning spells that could save as much as they destroyed. I never had the courage to leave the family, but you did. You left, and you found your own family. Just like you'd taken in that sick hatchling, you took him in. You protected him and healed his shattered hope."

"It's truly beautiful, isn't it, Covey?" Thursday responded, "If only Lumi and Apollo could see the beauty in the world like we now can."

"They never will. Just as we chose to to live mercifully, they chose to be merciless. It's time they felt the pain of all the lives they've claimed without a second thought."

"Agreed." Croc murmured. He placed a soft kiss on Kuza's forehead, "Take Ricky somewhere he can rest. He's too weak now."

Ricky stood up, leaning himself against the wall, "I'll be fine. Just give me five minutes."

Kuza sighed, "Don't be an idiot." He glanced back up at his dominant, hugging him around his neck, "I love you. I know you're going to take on Apollo after this. Please, don't let your need for revenge cloud your judgement. He's tough, and if he gets too be too much, back down. I can't lose you."

"You don't have to worry about me, Kitten. By the time I get to Apollo, his allies will be gone. He'll be all alone, but I won't." Croc kissed him one last time, "I love you. Be safe."

Hesitantly, Kuza parted from him. He wrapped his arm around Ricky's back to help him walk. They slowly made their way to a place far away from the fighting and commotion. Kuza would've just let Ricky be a wreck loose asshole if it weren't for Ghost. He'd kill Mike if he found out he didn't take better care of his husband.

Croc watched them leave to make sure they got away safely. Snickers had dragged Lumi through the tunnels, finally throwing him up to the surface at his master's feet. The ice demon sputtered out the water in his lungs as he rested on the floating platform. He foolishly tried to get up, thinking he could still fight. Croc kicked him directly in the face and made him fall back into the water.

He reached down and pulled Lumi back out. Holding him by the front of his torn shirt, he growled, "That one was for Happy." He pulled Lumi closer and looked him deep in his cold eyes. "I am sorry it ever had to come to this, but I know there was never any changing you. You will always be cold as ice. You never loved anyone, not even mom. In fact, I swear you hated her."

"I did." He replied, "That bitch deserved to die. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't have been the one to kill her. You were the one that gets to take credit for that, Cromwell."

His words actually brought tears to the younger demon's eyes. Thursday softly whispered, "Please, don't listen to him. It wasn't your fault. Just because she died giving birth to you, that doesn't mean it was your fault. You did nothing wrong."

"You were an accident." Lumi sneered, "And if you had never happened, she'd still be alive. She never wanted you."

"That's not true, Cromwell. She loved you before you were even born. You meant the world to her. He's lying, and he's just trying to buy himself time to regenerate his magic. End this, now." Covey instructed.

His grip on Lumi's shirt tightened, "I may have spared my brothers, but I will not spare you. I will make this as painful as possible for you. I will tear apart your soul until there is nothing left. It's time, Lumi, that karma caught up with you."

His older brother really didn't think he'd do it. His last emotion was shock when he saw Croc was actually going to do it. Then, anything he felt, anything he could feel, turned to agonizing pain. His soul was slowly torn from his body while snakes started to crawl on him. They bit down on his skin, injecting their venom to make his last moments hurt even more. He deserved to suffer.