There was no change in the expression on the strategist's face when he arrived to the location they had agreed on beforehand. He hadn't exactly expected Yuber to be on the site yet, but then again, nothing surprised him when it came to the demon.

"Done already? That was swift," Albert commented dryly. "Is the lizard dead?"

Yuber smirked as he casually leaned against the cliffs surrounding their meeting spot and stretched his arms. He then, with a quick motion of his hand, took out one of his swords. He showed the blade to Albert, then drew it horizontally across his throat in a mocking gesture of cutting something. With another quick motion the blade was returned to its holding place, and the demon folded his arms.

"I'll take that as a yes," the strategist continued as he stopped next to the Black Knight. "That means the war has started now. I hope Master Luc is as serious about this as he said he was."

"He better be," Yuber said, idly watching the cliff on the other side of the area. "I had great fun just now, and I'm quite anxious to see some more action... Although I do prefer all-out wars over assassination missions."

Albert turned to look at the direction he had come from then nodded slightly. "If Master Luc does his part, you'll have your war, Yuber. I might still have use for you for a couple of more sneaky missions, but I suppose you're fine with that as long as you get to kill someone." He paused, then turned to look at the demon and added, "What does make me a bit curious though is, how can you be so indifferent about it?"

Yuber grinned. "Hmm?"

"I suppose it comes from you being a demon," Albert continued calmly. "It doesn't concern you. It is what you live for, and since it is what you do, it comes off as casual. Being emotionless and sadistic also has something to do with it, I would say."

The demon laughed. "Are you analyzing my behavior now, Silverberg? Yes, I suppose that's how it is..." He raised his hand and adjusted his hat then looked at the strategist and grinned again. "And what would you know about me being sadistic?"

"Certainly enough."

Yuber gave his companion a knowing look but didn't comment on the particular matter. Albert surely did know enough about his sadistic tendencies. "Heh. And how are you any better than me? Your brilliant plans are what will be starting a war here, and you surely don't seem to show any more emotion than me..."

There was a hint of a smile on the strategist's face; he then shook his head. "Emotion? I would say you're more emotional than I am, Yuber. I make such plans because it's what I'm good at. I simply don't show emotion because a good strategist never lets his emotions get in the way. You, however... You would be easily enraged under certain circumstances. You enjoy killing and chaos, and it shows. It's what you exist for."

"You're analyzing again," Yuber replied with a mischievous tone in his voice. "But you're right, because that's what you are good at. Always analyzing everything, from every move the enemy could make, every detail of the battlefield, everything from the weather to what color of underwear your soldiers are wearing."

Albert gave the demon a slight smile. "You don't wear any underwear."

"Ha! There you go," the demon exclaimed, then suddenly grabbed Albert by the throat and pressed him against the cliff. "And you are right of course, as you always are. So analyze this, Silverberg. What am I doing?"

Albert gave the demon an unconcerned look, then replied, "Anything to get me to express feelings, anything at all. You are second to none, and you are convinced that if I can read your feelings so well, you can force some out of me. You could hurt me, but I wouldn't give you a response, and thus that is not what you'll do. There are two other choices instead. You could question me for my..."

The Black Knight cut him off with a feral kiss, then dropped to his knees and pulled the strategist's coat open. He would have ripped it but that would have only resulted in Albert coldly expressing his annoyance about the matter, and that was not what he was after.

"...Indifferent attitude about the situation," Albert continued while the demon's hand worked on getting his pants open. "And you would claim that under certain circumstances I would show emotion about my profession, especially if questioned about the validity of my moves. In such a case I would simply tell you that I plan my every move with such detail that there is nothing left to question and thus any questions about my strategies would be answered with precision. In the end there would be no need to question it," he finished just as Yuber pushed the white-gray coat out of the way and captured the strategist's sex into his mouth.

"Or, you are about to do this," he added.

Yuber didn't answer for obvious reasons. Albert closed his eyes for a moment, calculating the time it would take for Luc and Sarah to finish what they were doing back outside the Great Hollow. They were probably done by now and on their way to meet them here. That meant this had to be finished quickly. Unfortunately to him, 'quickly' equaled to him not staying calm during the act, as Yuber was not likely to stop until he got what he wanted.

"In which case," Albert said quietly. He knew that admitting defeat was the best option, if he wished to get out of the situation before anyone showed up. "I shall admit my defeat. You win, Yuber."

"Damn right I do," Yuber commented with a wide grin on his face as he looked up for a moment. "But when it comes to certain things, your body tells what your face isn't telling. For example, the moment I got to this, you were already hard."

Albert stared at him coldly. "That is true, yes, but since that's the case... Are you now convinced about my ability to read you, then? This was, after all, my second option for what you might be doing."

"Hah... I was convinced of that already," the demon answered while removing his gloves. "But don't think playing along is going to get you out of this."

The strategist frowned slightly as Yuber returned to what he had been doing. He considered pushing the demon away, but it would have been useless, and he knew trying to talk himself out of the situation would get him nowhere. If Yuber was determined to get his way, he had to allow it for now or the Black Knight could have decided to take it further. The problem was the time limit; Albert could have made Yuber work for what he wanted, but that was not an option. He had to give in, and giving in meant not keeping his cool.

Which means he does indeed win, he idly thought and then closed his eyes and lowered his face. Fine, have it your way. I'll make you pay for this later.

Yuber raised his hand and gently massaged the shaft of Albert's sex with his fingertips while taking the tip into his mouth. He licked and sucked on it slowly, teasing, until the strategist reached to grab him by the hair, pushing Yuber's hat away while doing so.

"We don't have time for that," he stated icily. "I admitted my defeat and will give you want you want, but I expect you to get that over with and stop playing around."

The demon looked up and grinned. "Tell you what - the more you respond the way I want, the faster I'll get it over with. Good enough?"

"I don't suppose I have a choice," the redhead answered, then buried his fingers into the demon's blond hair, tugging carefully. He leaned his back against the cliff and relaxed then spread his legs a little. "This good enough? Or do I really have to be crying out your name before you agree to finish this?"

"That would be nice indeed," Yuber answered, drawing his tongue along the member in his hands. He slipped his fingers a little lower to caress the base, and Albert closed his eyes again and let out a quiet sight. "But you wouldn't give me that much," the demon continued. "Ah well. I'll just take what I can get, then."

The strategist didn't reply but just grabbed Yuber's hair with both hands and forced him to continue. The demon chuckled, then took as much of the erection as he could into his mouth. Albert gasped - a reaction he wouldn't normally give, but they had a deal and he had to allow it. He hated acting in such a way, without perfect control, but there was nothing he could have done. He reminded himself that they didn't have the time.

Might be interesting though, he thought. I've never allowed it after all and don't even know what I'm like without control.

He leaned his head against the cliff while Yuber continued sucking on his sex, skillfully licking on it while at it. He tightened his grip on the demon's hair and pressed his hips forward a little. He then blinked, raised his left hand to his mouth and pressed it over his lips. A quiet sigh, almost a moan of pleasure had escaped from his lips, and while Yuber had won, Albert wasn't planning on going to let the demon hear him cry out anything.

"Hey, that's cheating," the demon commented. "I wanted to hear."

The strategist took a deep breath, then looked down. "I'm afraid I can't afford it. The cliffs might have an echo, and we're expecting company any minute now. Finish it."

Yuber grinned. "Only if you promise to let me hear later."

Albert gave the blond an odd look and then, for a reason he couldn't figure out right then, laughed softly. His mind, still collected despite of everything, told him that it had to be the because of the lack of control over his body. He smirked and shook his head. "Deal, Yuber - but only if you let me hear you later."

"You play an interesting game, Silverberg, but you have your deal," the demon replied, then cut the small talk and captured the strategist's erection into his mouth again. His fingers fondled the base of the organ and the soft sacs between the redhead's legs while he continued. Albert tugged the demon's hair and thrust into the warm mouth, gritting his teeth and idly wondering why was he allowing this to happen in the first place.

Test of control, perhaps?

He clenched his eyes shut, then found himself biting his lip when he suddenly came without a warning. He rested against the cliff, feeling somewhat weak for a moment. He then took a couple of calm breaths and looked at the demon who was laughing.

"Nice, " Yuber said, then stood. "I definitely need to try that again..."

Albert lowered his face for a second, then composed himself and worked to fix his clothes. "Wipe your face," he stated calmly. "You have something on your left cheek."

The Black Knight laughed but turned away; on that moment, Luc and Sarah walked into view. Albert straightened his coat a little, then nodded to the two. He waited until they came closer, then asked, "Did everything go fine, Master Luc?"

Luc returned the nod. He studied the pair with a hint of curiosity in his eyes but apparently decided he didn't want to know. "This should do. I would like to rest now though, so we'd better be going. Sarah?"

The woman stepped forward and closed her eyes for the concentration the teleportation spell required. Albert took a step closer, prepared for departure, but he couldn't help but admire the demon as he picked his hat from where it had fallen and stepped into the spell range as well, smirking casually, like nothing had happened while they had been waiting.

As the green flash of the spell surrounded them, Albert returned the smirk and gave the Black Knight a slight nod. Yuber certainly made evil look casual.

Author's notes:

Eh. Albert has issues, but so does Yuber. And no you don't get to see what they made a deal about - unless I feel like writing that sometime later of course.

- Lady Harken (July, 2005)