Inside a humble abode in the city of flesh and bone, a snakeman found himself looking in a mirror on one morning as he prepared himself for the day.

'It's been..... haha..... 7 years I suppose?'

This man had the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human, though he still had fangs and slit eyes.

Fixing his hair, the man let out a sigh with a rough smile.

'7 years..... of peace.'

Fixing a hat which appeared to be in the style of a world war commander, he nodded as he exited the room into his home.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw a beautiful snakewoman who wore her hair in twin tails which were wrapped around one another.

This woman wore a light apron, and stood before the man with both hands on her hips, glaring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Were you going to leave without eating first?", the woman asked in an irritated tone.

"Well..... I have my duties to attend to-"

"Your duties can wait. Their excellencies won't mind if you show up a few minutes late. It's not like there are actually any duties for a soldier like you to perform. After all, if someone were to cause a scene or commit a crime...."

"I get it, I get it. But even so, his excellency puts a great emphasis on promptness."

"Yes well I'm going to put a great emphasis on you having something in your stomach when you leave for work all day. And if his excellency thinks that showing up early is more important than your health then I suppose I'll just have to have a talk with him."

The snakeman was taken aback at the obstinacy of the woman before him, yet no retribution came.

No bolt of lightning struck the woman from the sky, nor was there any ill willed response.

"You..... really shouldn't say something like that. You know that their excellencies and her eminence understand everything we say and think."

"If they understand what I'm thinking then that's all the more reason for them to allow me to do this. They know that I'm just trying to care about you."

With a snort, the woman walked off while motioning for the man to follow her.

This woman was Pliara, and the man was Thomar.

Survivors of the slaughter of snakemen 7 years ago, in which roughly 100 snakemen joined the side of the very demons who destroyed their city and killed most of their people.

Today, Thomar worked as a mere guard, making his rounds about the Capital of the Dictatorship to ensure the peace.

Yet as Pliara noted, his job was more of a formality than anything.

Peace was prevalent within this nation.

For none would dare to so much as cause a disturbance in this realm of demonic rule.

"Sit down, shut up, and eat."

Pulling out a seat and pushing Thomar from behind, Pliara then placed a large platter in front of him filled with all kinda of breakfast foods from various cultures.

"You've always been resourceful. You really are able to make anything from anything.", Thomar said with a light smile as he picked up his fork and dug in.

"Of course I have. It doesn't matter what you have to work with. It matters who's working with it."

With this statement, Thomar was left to laugh to himself.

This girl, Pliara, had been raised in the slums.

Her very existence was a crime in the nation of the snakemen, and it was solely due to the efforts which Thomar took that she was allowed to go unnoticed.

Yet that all changed one day when four humans appeared in the nation.

And on that day, Thomar took a stand.

"Alright alright. Thank you. It was great, but I really have to be going now."

Standing up to leave, Thomar felt the irritated glare of the girl from behind him.

"You only ate half of it."

"You made so much."

"You need to eat a lot. You're a man, you know."

"Haha..... I really have to be going....."

"Tch. Fine."

With the reluctant approval of the woman, Thomar begun to walk towards the door.

"I'll be home before you know it. Then we can rest for the weekend."

And with that, he slithered off.

However just as he opened the door, the man felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck.

He felt the warmth of a person on his back, and the girl whispered into his ear.

"Don't overwork yourself. Be safe, and come home."

Stopping in his tracks as he heard this voice, Thomar tipped his hat forward to cover his snakelike eyes.

"Yeah. I know."

The girl let go of him, and he walked off, whispering back.

"Thank you. For everything."

----

"I'm off to work, dad."

"Me too."

"Me as well."

"Cya."

"Bye mom."

"I'll bring back something good tonight."

A large number of humans said their goodbyes to a pair of insectoids.

A male humanoid spider and a female humanoid wasp.

The two waved and smiled as these men and women left the house, headed out to work.

"So many of em have grown up.", the wasp whispered, her voice choking with motherly joy.

"Yeah.", the spider replied. "They've become..... proper people."

"Mom, can we go out today?"

"I wanna see the nest. Can you take us there?"

"Me too!!"

A group of children between the ages of 10 and 12 approached the wasp, tugging at her chitin dress.

"Can we?"

"Ah..... er....."

"Why not? Lets take em there. It's been a long time for you as well, hasn't it?"

"I..... suppose."

Grabbing each of the three children with one of her arms, the humanoid wasp walked alongside the spiderling outside into a large city.

The skies were dark, yet the city was lit up by bright lights all over the place.

Hundreds of people were traversing through this major hub, and it gave the feel of a modern day megalopolis.

"Their excellencies and her eminence certainly have managed to expand everything over the past 7 years.", the spider stated as he attached a web to the back of the wasp.

"Tell me when you're going to do something like that, Coran. It tickles."

"Haha...."

Then, taking flight, the wasp took to the skies.

The spider hung below her and was strung into the air, grappling on by a single thread.

"Mom, how long will it take to get there?", one child asked.

"Not too long. Be patient and wait.", the wasp responded.

This wasp was Alicia, and the spider was Coran.

Slaves of the antiheroes and the Determined, they had served the rulers of this world long before they took over everything.

"Mom, tell us what the nest was like again."

"Yeah! I like hearing your stories, mom!"

"Tell us about how you met dad again!"

"Well..... rather than telling you.... maybe you should just wait and see for yourself.", Alicia stated, looking to the children with a smile.

"Ehh...."

"Boo...."

"Haha...."

With a light laugh, the group flew across the skies, and looking up into the darkness, Alicia smiled deeply.

"There was once a time where I had to carry Coran through these skies with my own two feet. He hung below me, not unlike how he is right now, and we made our way to Porta for the first time. That was when we first saw you all."

"Ah..... I was only 3 at the time so I barely remember...."

"I was only 5...."

The children seemed to lament not remembering, but they were met with the ruffling of their hair by the wasp.

"That's alright if you don't remember. You don't need to, because I'll always remember. And so will your father."

With this, the four flew off into the distance.

----

Standing at the entrance to an enormous wasp nest which appeared to not have been touched in years, the five looked around with interest.

"Whoa...."

"Mom, you made this home?"

"You were the Queen here?"

"Wow!!"

The children quickly started running around the hive like it was a playground, interested in their mother's past.

Alicia however, walked over to one of the walls, feeling it with her human hand.

"It certainly brings back memories, doesn't it?", Coran stated.

"It.... does."

"Are you sad that I killed everyone here, Alicia?"

"No. Not at all."

Shaking her head to Coran's question, the wasp looked upon him with a smile.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way than how it happened."

"I see."

Looking upon the children who were happily playing, the two nodded with satisfaction.

"It worked out for the best I suppose. After all.... if I hadn't enslaved you on that day, then we wouldn't have been able to raise these children together.", Coran stated.

"You allowed me to become a mother, Coran. When I was a Queen, I birthed many children.... yet they were nothing to me. I felt no motherly love or bond. And because of you.... because of the children we kidnapped..... I've been able to experience what it really is like to be a mother."

Looking to Coran with sincerity, Alicia smiled brightly.

"So thank you."