Malideus...

I'm... I'm not sure what I should be looking at, when I reach the foundry at the heart of my city. Kelias said he had my ride waiting for me when I got there, but after the hellos and handshakes, all that was presented to me was a large, metal box, with several spray-painted 'caution!' signs on it. Needless to say, if this is what I'm paying that devil for, he's so unbelievably fired. But, I guess I can't fire the bastard yet until I've seen what's inside first, so with a moment's pause to gather myself, I pry my eyes away from the unassuming metal box to turn my gaze to my devil friend, who, despite my disappointment, seems pretty proud of himself right about now.

"So... this it?" I ask calmly, to which Kelias replies, not taking his eyes off the box.

"If yer talking about the box, then no. However, I do think that once you actually open it, you'll be pleasantly surprised with what I managed, sir." Kelias replied, and my gaze then turned back to the box, my curiosity there, but my disappointment still remaining, for obvious reasons. I looked at it a while, my disappointment at an uncomfortable high, but still, I learned to trust Kelias over the time I'd known him; if he said this suit was good, then I would bet my whole career as a villain that it probably was. Even so, I turned back to Kelias, and with a nod, I give my affirmation that this would do, as long as I could see the product first.

"Alright, Kelias. Open it up." I said, and Kelias, in turn, nodded his head at a couple of devils beside the giant crate, and they pulled two chains on either side of the cubical chunk of metal, resulting in a loud, echoing 'clank', and with only a moment's pause, the sides of the box fell over, and I was then greeted by a gargantuan, metal suit that put Hezafen to shame... almost, anyway. Anyway, the suit itself was an impressive display of painted metal plates and bright lights on various places in the armor, which all glowed a bright, highly active red, except for the head, on which there was only one light, and it was green. The armor itself was quite impressive, being at least nine feet tall, painted black with yellow stripes in certain areas like the feet, jets, and arm cannon. The shape of the suit was humanoid, but extremely bulky and hunched, with two massive shoulder plates, each of which bore a red insignia on it; a devil's head, surrounded by flames with two hammers in the background. The arms were both thick and trunk-like, with one ending in a massive, destructive-looking claw with three pointed fingers, clearly to be used for gripping, piercing and crushing, and the other, as previously mentioned, ended in a equally-massive, barrel-shaped cannon of some kind, with hollow glass tubes protruding from its 'body', all filled with spastic streams of electricity, for unknown reasons. The body itself was basically a plated, barreled chest, armored pelvis, an angled, v-shaped head, like a, uh... what were those things, again..? Uh... Hunters! yeah, like a hunter's head, from Halo. I don't know how I remember those things anymore, but whatever, it just means I haven't gone insane yet... I think. Anywho, the legs were next, and they were GIANT, like with massive plates, lots of hydraulic pumps and pistons, and several small jet-like openings near the feet proper, like they were made for jumping and landing more than walking, and they looked perfect for curb-stomping. Actually, now that I think about it... it kind of reminded me of my old friend, Terridax. I wonder how he and his rakshi doing in this day and age... not that it's important, I mean.

In conclusion, I daresay, Kelias, thanks to this wonderful miracle of machinery and artful destructive firepower, was, in fact, NOT fired. In fact, it was all I could do not to kiss him, because I don't swing that way. However, it certainly was not the giant, fire-breathing mech that I'd been hoping for all this time, and definitely seemed a tad underpowered. So, without further ado, I turned to my red-skinned friend, and promptly voiced my concerns.

"Well, Kelias, It's certainly nice... but I can't help but feel that it might not be enough. What exactly does it DO?" I ask, and Kelias turns toward me, and explains.

"Well, boss, this here machine of war is all I have left after you went and blew up five million dollars worth of blood, sweat, and tears in your last fight, the one in Las Pegasus. So, I could've built jack squat and let you run around Canterlot helpless, slapping your ass the whole way like a retard. But, being the generous soul I am, I pulled together a tedious mining operation, dug deep enough, and managed to whip up some darksteel for your own, personal battle armor, if only for the assurance that you didn't wreck this one this time." Kelias replied, and I sighed as I remembered that farce back in Las Pegasus, where I piloted a giant, several-story-tall H.O.U.N.D into the city, only to have it blown up by Celestia.

"Oh... So, what is this one capable of, then?" I ask distantly, and Kelias smiled at last, before turning back to his wonderful creation, and replying.

"Well, there are many lovely features to the armor, so let's go over them a bit..." Kelias went on, pointing out the various features in the claws, gun, and jump jets situated in the feet and on its back. Meanwhile, though, as I listened, I found my mind drifting every so often, to other things I deigned unimportant; the city was one, as in what my plan was to infiltrate it, and that was simple: I had none. But, that's never stopped me before, has it? Another thing that came up was Ragnek, and the other old gods, then came Khorne and his imminent rematch, and something about pie for some reason, and then, weirdly enough, I found my mind drifting towards the last thing I thought it would: Terridax. My memory of our last encounter drifted through my idle brain a bit, but as Kelias finished going on about the aether cannon and how deadly it was against magically-attuned enemies, I pondered about just why such a thing would ever cross my mind. Yeah, he was one of my first allies, and honestly, I respect him more than I do any other dark, brooding god-like figure, even if he does come off as a manipulating jerk. But still, I had almost forgotten about him, ever since Jarvis' untimely demise at the hands of Twilight Sparkle. I began to wonder again why the thought of him was coming up now of all times, when Kelias snapped his fingers in my face, breaking me free of my stupor.

"Hey, Mal, ya listenin'? Did'ja hear ANYTHING I said about the suit's features?" Kelias asked, and I quickly shook the last of the unwanted thoughts out of my head, deciding to go back to them at a later date, and I hastily replied.

"Um... Oh, yeah, somethin' about jump jets and lasers, I got it all." I answered quickly, but apparently unconvincingly, earning a skeptical raised eyebrow from Kelias.

"Oh really? How much force does the claw grip with?" He asked, throwing me through a loop, and when I didn't give an immediate answer, the devil sighed, and repeated his little factoid. "It grips with over 400,000 psi. That means it can crush anything you grab, and it also means to be CAREFUL with it, do you hear me? I mean it, if this suit ends up in the scrap heap because of you, I'm going to make you regret it! You hear me?" Kelias demanded, and I nodded quickly, not wanting to invoke the devil's ire toward myself.

"Yeah, I got it. Now how do I get into it?" I ask, inspecting the armor all over, until Kelias presses a button on a small metal remote control, and the chest on the metal behemoth folds and opens up, revealing a small cavity inside, just big enough for me, with various harnesses and grips and footpads within. So, as soon as I crawl inside, Kelias calls out to me, getting my attention with one last piece of information before the suit closes in on me.

"Last thing, boss, this piece is just to get you through the wards and over the wall. I don't have to remind you how badly it will end for you if I see a single scratch on this suit, do I?" Kelias asks, earning a quick and vengeful retort from me.

"No, 'mom'! just tell me how to pilot this thing!" I cry, followed by a reply from Kelias, his tone bored and tired, but relieved.

"Just move the footpads to walk, and pull the handles to move the arms. the triggers activate the claw or the cannon, respectively, and holding both buttons activates the jump jets. Can you remember all that? Or do you need a manual?" Kelias taunts, but I ignore him with an indignant grunt, and I close the chest-hole up, and put one massive, earth-shaking leg in front of the other, my way revealed by a screen that dropped from above me to settle in front of my face. So, with the ability to see and a clear direction to go, I continue to move my legs until the suit has broken out into a full run, going a bit faster than I thought it would, and without a look back, I focus my charge toward Canterlot, ready to end this sorry story once and for all.

Meanwhile, in the ruined city of Cloudsdale, over Malideopolis, from an unknown devil's point of veiw...

I sat, staring, as the city over Malideopolis, which had not long ago been destroyed by Malideus himself, was undergoing a devilish reconstruction, into what could only be the most diabolical war machine in the known multiverse, with me as the cannon!... Oh, apologies, I should most likely introduce myself to, well, you viewers, I suppose. My name is Schlosh, and the only reason I know that you are there, reading these thoughts, is because I've likely crossed your path once or twice. Yes, I have seen you before, in one of my many lifetimes, and you have definitely seen me, in every emotional breakdown with inexplicable circumstances, to every time your girlfriend (assuming you have one) bit your head off during her 'time of the month'. Yes, I am a devil of emotion, and I used to be very busy... actually, I'm STILL very busy. Right now, as of this moment, the armies of Malideus are about to enact one of the greatest plans ever conceived by devilkind; we're going to plunge the whole world into total, irreversible war, a feat we've only ever done two or three times, all of them on earth. Yeah, we were behind Hitler, what did you expect? Anyway, the reason behind this stunt mostly secret... That, and I really don't care about the 'why', only about how fun it will be to watch. What matters now, is that we complete rebuilding of the weather factory as soon as possible, so that the ponies don't interrupt us. We normally don't have to worry about that, but Malideus has just been unleashed onto Canterlot, and we need to act fast in order to be prepared for an inevitable counter-assault. But seeing how quickly we've just rebuilt the city proper, I have no fears about the factory being completed on time.

"Hey, Schlosh, get yer tailless bum o'er here, ya hobknocker!" I hear a high-ranking devil by the name of Skorn call out to me as I think of these things, and I groan as I get off my seat of a fallen pillar, and I quickly make my way over to him as he waves his long, fiery tail back and forth impatiently. I feel kind of miffed at him calling me 'tailless', as having a tail is a very prominent status symbol in the general clusterfuck that is our paltry and malnourished semblance of 'society'. See, most devils are divided into three types, much like the ponies of this odd world; those without tails, like me, are the lowest class, even though we tend to be the smartest, or at least the most likely to survive past the first four years of our birth. Then, over us, are the devils with unlit tails. They're pretty much in the middle, and are fairly un-noteworthy. And above them are the devils with lit tails, or 'fire-tips', as they are called by everyone else. But every so often, like the alicorns of this world, we get a MANED devil, and they're pretty much the epitome of devil society: Long, flowing manes, fiery-tipped tails, and tend to be as angry as a neo-Nazi at a black Jew convention. Anyway, back on topic: Skorn and his pretentious, fiery-tailed ass.

"Yes, Skorn?" I reply to the upright, lizard-headed devil as I walk up to him, not even pretending to look interested in anything he had to say.

"Hey, we gotta get you into th' fact'ry antechamber ASAP, we're on a tight schedule here! Get into th' fact'ry, now! Move it, devil, move it!" Skorn ordered, and with a compliant groan, I turn back toward the factory, and begin my walk into the main antechamber at the center, where I was going to fuel the colossal machine of hate and spread the seeds of war...

You know, assuming nothing goes wrong in the next five hours, that is...

Meanwhile, with Jarvis, er, Kanden.

I can't help but feel watched ever since I escaped that wretched city back there. Not just by them, I mean, but by... well, I don't know, but it feels familiar, like I've seen whoever's been tracking me, but I can't remember. Ah, just as well. I should have expected as much from my escapades; I did just break out of a city. Even so, I still feel curious about my new pursuer: The feel so familiar, maybe they know about my past... not that it matters to me that much anymore. Still, it's better than stumbling around in the dark like this... Nonetheless, I ignore it in favor of my current goal: Malideus. So, walking on, I try my hardest to ignore that dark, familiar presence in the back of my mind, and I trudge onward through the quaint, rolling grasslands I have been walking through for hours, hoping to see at least SOME form of civilization in the distance as I follow the long-abandoned train tracks that rolled on along with the lush, verdant hills that plagued my vision with filters of green and blue. But lo, even through hours of movement, my patience is wearing thin as I see nothing but grass, grass, and more grass. Oh, and that same clear sky, just like always. Damn it all, who could ever make such a sickly sweet world like this!? It's disgusting and BORING! But, I steel myself regardless, and try to trudge onward. Ugh, between me and the sky, this is the worst thing I've likely ever experienced. This grass, these tracks, that sky, and that inconspicuous shadow moving from tree to tr... wait what? What was that just now!?

"Huh..? What was that...?" I accidentally ask aloud, my speakers conveying my confusion almost perfectly. But as soon as I saw the shadow move, it simply vanished, leaving no trace that it was ever there. And as I blinked and looked again at where I saw the phantom, I stared in silence a moment, and then, at last, laughed. I should have figured, but it seems that all this walking in these god-forsaken grassy hills have finally driven me bananas. I laugh a bit at my situation, seeing as there likely WAS no phantom shadow to begin with, and all this wandering has finally snapped my brain like a dry twig.

"Heh... Heh ha ha ha ha ha ha! Agh, this stupid landscape has finally gotten to me! Well, I'm not going insane without a fight! Fuck you, gently rolling verdant hill landscape! GRAAAAGH!!!!!" I shout, stomping at the ground, and tearing up entire chunks of earth and throwing them as far as I can, my cacophonous rampage echoing throughout the hills and sparse trees, but despite my spectacle, nothing moves, and once I've gotten my rage out of my system, I look around, sigh, and focus on going forward, still ignoring that familiar darkness in the back of my mind. Whatever it was, I wanted nothing to do with it... though I felt that it really wanted a piece of me. So, I trudged onward, and onward, and onward, until I felt that I was stuck in some kind of hellish time-loop. But as soon as I looked up, what I saw made me feel like breaking into the most frivolous song and dance I could muster from within me; Towers, like those in a city, rose above the lumpy, uneven horizon like beacons of sanity graced unto me by some kind of wonderful god. So, some semblance of sanity reinstated into my head, I begin to walk, well, more like run, toward the column-like towers in the distance, my every thought now replaced with the solitary goal of reaching that city, at any cost, and no matter who stood in my way, or who followed me. Unfortunately, though, that thought would be the one that ultimately BIT ME IN THE ASS. Because, no sooner did I start breaking toward the city, than I was stopped by a figure jumping in front of me, forcing me to stop hastily to keep from goring them... whatever they were. Seriously, the thing looked like a bipedal bug of some sort, but with a staff, no antennae, and a hunched, tubular back. God damn, I just can't seem to catch a break, can I? When I finally catch Malideus, he has some serious explaining to do.

"Ayayayayay!!!! What the hell, man!?" I shout through my speakers as I skid to a stop in front of the massive bug-thing, which gave off almost oppressive vibes of familiarity. And as soon as I stop, the creature glances me over, and upon spotting my head, he sighs a breath of relief, and replies to my previous query.

"Oh, good, I figured that it was you, but couldn't tell from your suit... Man, what did that stupid wizard DO to you? You feel like a whole different Kratta..." the strange creature blurted at me, and I stepped back in mild shock at his familiarity with me, despite ME having no memory of HIM... whoever he was.

"Uhhh... I'm sorry, but who the Hell are you? And what wizard are you talking about? Do you mean Malideus?" I bluntly reply, and the giant bug seems taken aback, almost heartbroken, to an extent at my rejection of him.

"You... you don't..? Don't you remember me, Jarvis? I know I look a bit different, but still..." The creature says, but I interrupt him right there, hearing the odd name from his 'mouth', and I quickly express my confusion.

"Woah, woah, woah, easy there, cowboy. See, I think you've got me confused with someone else there, man. My name's Kanden, not 'Jarvis'." I explain, and the big, humanoid bug suddenly goes limp in his arms and jaws, dropping his spear and staring with almost terrifying intensity at me, a look of utmost shock evident on his face. I guess he must really miss this 'Jarvis' character, huh?

"... I... I think you need to go back to Terridax, he can fix your memory up..." The bug finally said, grabbing at my arm, but I quickly pull the extremity away from the obviously confused robot thing, and back away from him with a bit more haste than I intended.

Hey hey hey, No touchie, no touch! I already told you, I'm NOT 'Jarvis', I'm Kanden! KANDEN! Now I don't know who this Terry-Dax guy is, but I'm afraid he's made a mistake, and I'm not going anywhere until I find Malideus." I sternly explain to the giga-bug mutant, but he seems only furthered in his resolve to drag me off to god-knows-where, and he makes it startlingly evident in the next thing he says.

"What?! You don't even remember your own name, and you want to go back to that moron of a wizard!? Come on, man, we've got to get you..."

"Dammit, I said no! Look, I don't know who you are, but you have twelve seconds to back off before I mess you up even more than you are right now!" I retort with utmost seriousness, wrenching myself away from the clearly-crazy bug-person, and making my way to go around him as fast as I can. But even so, he seems hell-bent on blocking me off, like I'm a confused old man with Alzheimer's and a chainsaw.

"Look, Jarvis, I don't want to hurt you. But if you keep this up, I'll be forced to drag you ba-WAAAAAAAUGH!!!" The big bugman tries to convince me to go with him to Candyland, or wherever, but before he can finish, I charge the mantis-like butthead at full speed, and grab him, throwing him over my shoulder with a flick of my wrists. Then, as he crashes into the ground behind me, I make a full sprint toward the city, only to have my feet tripped by a sudden pothole that wasn't there a moment ago, and the pursuing bug-man finally gets up, and breaks after me, only for me to turn onto my back, and introduce his charging gut to my foot in one colossal kick, which then quickly leads to him going ten feet into the air, and resulting quickly in another hilarious union involving the bug's head with the side of a hill, whereupon he gets stuck up to his shoulders in dirt, and is without his staff, which I now have.

"I told you to bugger off, dude. But you just wouldn't listen. Now, you gonna git, or am I going to have to send you back to your boss in pieces?" I ask, snapping the staff in half in my hands, which seems to faze the bug person with it's noise alone.

"Was that... My staff!?" The big grasshopper asks, finally prying his head out of the dirt, mixed expressions of shock, hurt, and horror in his eyes, and I slowly crack my knuckles, growling my reply.

"Yeah, it was. And if you're not out of my sight in ten seconds, your neck is next." I threaten, and the creature's aura quickly turns from sad to pissed, and he gets up, picking up the remains of his staff in his hands.

"That arseheaded wizard... He's going to pay for this, and you, Jarvis, are going with him!" The angry robo-bug-person hisses, but I just roll my eyes in a severe lack of interest, and make my own retort.

"Yeah, yeah, get in a fuckin' line, you twat, 'cuz you're not the only one who wants him dead, it seems. Now, I believe I told you to vamoose, bug." I say, waving the flustered robot away, and with a growl, the robot gets up, and makes to run away like the baby he is, saving time for one last quip before he goes.

"Malideus won't get away with this... When father hears about this, you and him are dead! DEAD!" The outraged creature yells back at me, but I just shoo him off with a bored wave of my wrist.

"I look forward to the union, jackass!" I yell back, flipping him my middle finger as a clever retort to his previous statement, and the bug finally runs off like the baby he is... but, despite the hilarity of the situation played out before me, I suddenly have to ask myself... Why do I feel like I just royally fucked up?

... Well, I shouldn't think on the irrelevant now. I have a goal to pursue, and It's Malideus. I need to know what the fuck is going on, and he's the only one who can tell me, since the princess that put that bounty on his head probably has a nice little poster for me, too. So, with that thought out of the way, I rush toward the sprawling, evil-looking city with much gusto, eager to, at long last, put this whole quest behind me once and for all... hopefully.

Meanwhile, from the devil's point of view...

As I make my way to the antechamber in the center of the formerly pony-controlled Weather Factory, I slow my pace a bit inside the factory proper, and begin to think, if only a little bit. Well, not think, so much, more like ponder. I think that, at first, it's just me having last-minute doubts about the whole operation, but that's not it. I never have doubts, ever. But still, something is nagging away at me horribly... but what? What the Hell could it be? I shake my head after a while of trying to figure the feeling out, and ultimately ignore it altogether, feeling that if I can't figure out what's wrong, then it isn't really important. So, at last, I continue on my way to the antechamber, passing through my last door on the way there, and gazing at the machine built into the center of the whole factory; a giant, glass sphere upon an even bigger, metal box of sorts, with lots of flashing lights and buttons that would've given a lesser devil, or a goblin, a fucking heart attack.

"So... I'm going inside that?" I ask aloud, though to no one in particular. But despite the question being directed at no one, a high-ranking flame-tailed devil answers me regardless, a look of disinterest on her face as she stares at a clipboard full of papers.

"Yeah, right in that sphere. Now come on, we don't have all day." The devil says, and I make my way to the gargantuan machine in question, entering it, and climbing up into the glass sphere,which felt a bit snug, but I fit pretty well. Now, I guess I just had to do what I do best: Blow it out my nose. So, while the machinery whirred to life as another tailless devil pulled a lever on the machine down, I took a great, deep breath, expanding my diaphragm to its limit, and let out a great breath through my nose, causing a pink, sparkling mist to billow out of my nostrils and fill the glass sphere. However, just as soon as the mind-altering fog had filled up the globe I was in, it was just as quickly sucked through a hole in the bottom of the sphere, and I was told by the devil in charge to do it again. So, I did, and I kept blowing, and after a while, I began to see the result: out of the cloud-processing machine next to me emerged several giant, light-pink clouds, all full of my special mind-addling pheromone, ad they were being taken out to the hangar by several enslaved pegasi, who already seemed affected by the clouds by their mere proximity to them. However, I don't really know why they wanted me to do this whole thing; they said it was to make the countries all angry at each other, but my pheromones have completely random effects, depending on my current mood, and who was inhaling them. Ah well, it's not my job to ask.

So, this continues on for a few hours; inhale, exhale, cloud, repeat. Yes, it seemed monotonous, but this job was very important: if Malideus was doing what we thought he was doing, we needed to buy him as much breathing room as possible. Plus, it sort of fills our own agendas, too. I just hope that nothing bad happens... wait, is that the alarm? I stop to listen a bit as the unmistakable blare of the warning sirens goes off, but before I can mentally prepare myself for what the problem might be, the door explodes inward, and devils go flying as tall, bipedal figures enter the room, and once the dust clears away, so too does the color from my face.

"...Oh, hell..." I mutter, as a few pegusi, dressed in golden armor, kick away several devil knights, and I hear them shout as one points to me and my glass orb, and they start moving for me. So, oh crap, they see me, and they know what I'm doing, I guess. So, what am I to do? Well, for starters, I try to get the entry hatch open, but it seems to have been locked, which means I can only wait as the eight or so soldiers coming for me manage to pry me out. However, that in itself breeds a great Idea for my escape. So, with little to do while the ponies rush the machine, I wait, twiddling my thumbs as I watch them climb up, and get ready to shatter the glass. However, I did not have to wait long; the moment I looked away from them, they were already upon me, yelling at each other from beyond the glass, and getting ready to bash it in. Before the incident could take place, though, I was already prepared to enact my escape. Taking a deep breath, a held it in until they started bashing, and once the ponies' hitting caused the first few cracks to appear, I let a massive breath out of my nose, and before the danger could register to the thick-headed oafs, the orb shattered, and pink mist flowed out of the orb, consuming the eight ponies, and causing immediate, and highly amusing, results: One guard began to break into fits of hysteria while two began punching eachother, two others broke down sobbing, two more started making out, and one just fell over, curled into the fetal position and whimpering to himself.

So, with those soldiers distracted, I began to climb down from the destroyed contraption, and tried to make my way out of the factory, hoping that this whole scenario was just a fluke, despite the sirens blaring all around me. Before I could fully escape, though, my way was blocked by two soldiers, both of them facing me with spears bigger than their own bodies, and glares that would've killed lesser men. And, without warning, the two charged me, forcing me to duck to the side. Fortunately, that left them open, so I ran up behind them and, using my knife-like nose, which was in fact hard and sharp enough to pierce flesh and bone, I stabbed one of the guards in the back, but as he fell, his partner grabbed me by my neck, hoisting me up to her face, and readying her knife to finish me off. However, before she could, I took a deep breath, confusing the guard, and let out a big cloud of pheromones right in her face, causing her to drop me in shock. As soon as I hit the floor, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, only managing to look back just in time to see the guard fall over and start spazzing out like a million spiders were crawling all over her. So, that done, I made my way at last into the cloud-laden streets of former Cloudsdale, only to find that, just as my fears predicted, the city was being trashed up and down by pegasus royal soldiers, and the devil knights were too busy figuring out what was happening to defend the city properly. Of course, it had to be today, they must've known somehow... but how? Devils don't betray their own, and last I checked, Malideus flushed out all the traitors. So, unless they've been spying on us, which is very unlikely, seeing as we reverse-engineered the wards they put up, this was most likely just a very well-timed and thought-out fluke.

Suddenly, breaking me from my own thoughts, I hear several wingbeats nearby me, and I look around to see that I am surrounded by soldiers, all of them looking at me with unusual intensity. And at last, after a brief staring match, the leader of the group points at me, and shouts:

"That's the one! Grab it!" The soldier yells, and the group moves toward me, and fast, giving me only a little time to think. Dammit, they knew about this operation! But how? They didn't have any spies or anything, how could they know of what we were doing up here? Suddenly, interrupting my thoughts, I hear an odd sound, like the sound of some kind of energy being charged up, like a shrill 'whirring' noise, and the next thing I see is a flash of green light, and the soldiers all around me are tossed every which way, some dead, some dying, others just unconscious due to the force of being thrown. And before I can react to whatever the hell just happened, I hear a loud, echoing voice call out, and I see a taller figure behind the cloud of mist that it just kicked up. then, several leering eyes peer from behind the settling cloud, and then it appears, a giant, armored humanoid, with the weirdest anatomy I had ever seen, and it speaks again, startling me.

"You! Devil!" the thing exclaimed, pointing to me, and then holding out his hand.
"Come with me if you want to live!"

Hoo, boy...

Previously, from Kanden's point of veiw...

I thought a while as I walked on the encounter that had just taken place. That robot... he claimed to know me, even with this suit... And yet, I did not know him... It's strange. He called me Jarvis... why did that name sound familiar? I thought my name was Kanden. Still, even so, I'm not ready to give up on my quest yet. He said something about a wizard before... maybe he meant Malideus? Did I work for Malideus before? Gah, this isn't helping! Why did I attack him, anyway? He was just trying to help! Urgh, I can't think straight anymore... I just need to figure this out, get all the answers, like 'who was that guy?', or 'who is terridax?', and 'who's Dr. Sano?'. I already know who I am, I just need to find Malideus... he has to know the answers, he just has to. As I come up to the city, I feel my mood brighten as I reach my destination, Malideus's capital. At the same time, though, I feel a sense of dark foreboding, like I shouldn't go there yet. But despite this, I power on, knowing that I'd gone too far to go back now. I needed Answers, and I need them from that wizard, dammit.

"... Alright, no lollygaggin'. Let's do this." I mutter, cracking my (neck? abdomen?) as I gaze at the city, and I march right forward, eager to get this whole quest done and over with. Why I needed to know my past so bad, I had no idea, but I didn't care about that. I wanted to know, and I had the power to find out. So, with a grunt, I trudged onward, watching the city get closer and closer to me as I walked, until I saw something in the distance that, quite frankly, disturbed me: thousands of dots, flying around the buildings, and into a cloud that hovered statically above it.

"What is going on over there..?" I pondered, but only briefly, because as I looked again, the dots were now all over the cloud, and I began to have sinking feelings about what was going on. So, without further ado, I picked up my pace toward the city, breaking into a full-blown run, and I began to understand the scene as I got closer: Buildings were looking trashed, the streets looked empty, and whatever those flying guys were, they rained hell on this place. Taking my first steps into the city, I cursed myself for taking this stupid journey in the first place as I looked around, seeing signs of battle everywhere; scorch marks, broken weapons, and discarded pieces of armor littered the ground, and even worse was that I recognized one of the pieces of armor almost immediately: a golden helmet, with an open face and a red crest along the top, like a roman soldier's. This was a pony helmet, like the ones I just escaped.

"If... they're here, though, that... that means..." I ponder, almost fearfully, looking up at the static cloud over the city, and seeing thousands of vaguely humanoid-like specks flying around it, further confirming my suspicions. However, before I could devise a way to get a closer look at whatever the ponies were attacking, I heard something that made me freeze in place. Hoofsteps... just one, though, thankfully. But still, after hearing them, I turned about, ready to meet whoever was heading my way. Soon enough, just as I thought, a golden-armored figure soon entered my field of vision, and I theirs... and they stopped, giving me a good look at them. However, upon seeing their terrified expression and twitching hands, eager to unsheathe their weapons, I soon realized that the soldier I was facing was not just that, but a female, and only a child in her teen years, no less. Man... did Malideus make these ponies desperate or what? Tangent aside, the two of us stared for a while, unsure of what to do, when the brash child yanked her sword from its sheathe, and charged me, yelling as she ran, forcing me to move a bit to the side, and she and I were both surprised at how fluid and quick the motion was. But, not wanting to give my inexperience away, I kept a cool face and air, and before the young soldier could react, I turned and grabbed her arm, provoking a sharp yelp from my captive. then, in another swift motion, I bent her arm behind her, and threw the child into a wall, pinning her up against it, and I stood a moment, letting the young pony's defeat register in her head. But as soon as it did, I immediately regretted my decision to let her live when she started bawling, crying for help and all that nonsense. So, as not to attract any more soldiers here, I quickly tried to put my hand around her mouth, but ended up underestimating myself, and I snapped her neck instead, and watched in mild horror as her eyes shot straight ahead, glazed over, and she fell over like a sack of potatoes, her face frozen into a look of immeasurable fear. Ok, so, on one hand, she's quiet now. On the other hand, though...

"Ohfuckinghell,whattheshit, I just killed a fucking KID!!!" I yelled, officially panicking right now. I know my morals are slightly skewed, but I'd never hurt a CHILD! that's just wrong! But, despite my panic and moral dilemma, I managed to calm down, and think this through.

"Oh... kay... A kid's dead, I just killed her... I'm going to pay somehow for this, but I need to calm down for now... Now, how am I going to dispose of this body..?" I think, prioritizing my goals. So, with a little thought, I get an idea to vaporize the corpse, seems easy enough, but then I notice something: the soldier's wings. With those, I could probably get up to that cloud to see what's going on. But How to graft them into myself... Wait, I just got an idea. A sick, demented, utterly profane idea, but it's all I got right now. If I inherited a dark god's powers from this suit, then I can basically do whatever I want, within reason. So, by incorporating this poor kid's body into my own, I should get whatever part of her I don't have... let's just pray I only get her wings. So, praying to whatever god that will listen that the only thing I get from this is the wings, I pick up the filly's body, and brace myself for the horrid act I am about to be part of.

"Eurgh... S-sorry, kid... just business..." I say to the corpse, and with a single thought, the armor reacts to my will, the chest cavity opening and swallowing the body whole in a disturbing flurry of metal teeth, claws, and black, slimy tendrils. Then, without a second to spare, an odd feeling washes over me once the body in gone, and suddenly, two black-and-green, shining metal wings, with blades for feathers, erupt from the suit's back, causing me to look back in shock. I look at the wings for a second, before giving them a couple of experimental flaps for confirmation, and I see that they are, in fact, legit; I just grew two real, badass-looking wings, just from eating someone. On one hand, I feel sick. After all, I just ATE a KID. but on the other hand, I have fucking WINGS now! This, I admit, put the whole moral crisis of eating a child off for a while, at least long enough to let me focus on my goal: That cloud up there. So, giving my new wings an experimental flap, I finally move them hard enough to lift me off the ground, albeit VERY uneasily, and begin my shaky, slow, but momentous ascent into the heavens, to put a stop to this pony attack and finally find and speak to Malideus...

At least, I hope that's how this will go.

Meanwhile, from an unknown perspective...

Grrr... I'll not forget this, not ever. I don't care who he was before, that... THING, that isn't Jarvis... not anymore. I do my best keep these angry thoughts in my head while I trudge through the lush, verdant, abominable fields that make up my vision, and if I had my staff, these hills would be a lot less green. But, thanks to Kanden, formerly Jarvis, my weapon is destroyed, and I still haven't found the idiot called Malideus yet. I growl audibly a moment, and unable to restrain my anger, among my other raging emotions, at Jarvis's betrayal, I finally let out a yell to the sky above me, hoping no one would hear my words:

"GRAAAGH!!! Damned Jarvis, damned wizard, damn everything in this world! When I find that pathetic, scrawny, underweight fake wizard, I'm going to rip his limbs off, and feed them to that fat demon of his! I swear it!" I cry to the heavens, hoping I was unheard, until I picked up an odd sensation, as if I was... being watched. Rather uncomfortable with the situation presented, I looked over my shoulders, but was left with no sight of anything but grass and the occasional tree. However, just as I was about to get frustrated again, all my anger quickly and inexplicably became replaced by a, oppressive sense of despair and horrible emptiness, and the world's colors seemed to dim and wash out, before a loud and booming, metallic voice rung out seemingly from all directions at once, causing me to involuntarily cringe at the sound, not so much out of fear;

"Well Well, what have we here? A new toy, sent to us by an aspiring 'god'? How sweet. Mayhap this one will last longer than the other... Or, on the other hand, maybe not. Only time will tell..." The omnipresent voice growled, drumming my head like so many sonic waves at once, threatening to crush it if I didn't shield myself. However, as soon as the voice finished its oh-so-dramatic entry speech, I was quick to straighten my pose, and talk back to whatever low-life scum that would call my father an 'aspiring god'.

"Who's out there? How dare you speak of Makuta Terridax, Lord of dark and nothingness, in such a tone? Do you know who you're dealing with?" I ask, pondering, just for a moment, if angering the disembodied, dreadful-sounding voice was a good idea. But, in only a moment, I cast the thought aside, albeit brashly. I was far too angry with far too many things to be concerned with this one voice, but as if sensing my short-lived doubt, the voice laughed at me, hubris and oppression, much like Terridax, but... skewed, indirect, as there was no direction in his mockery. Before I could ponder this, though, it at last spoke, taunting me.

"Keh heh heh... Oh, unfortunate little puppet of fate, I know exactly what and whom I am dealing with; perhaps you should have asked yourself the same before challenging me so... brazenly." The voice taunted, the color further draining from the world around me until pure monotone remained, and then, it spoke again.

"Yessss... it seems that this 'Terridax' character was not satisfied with sending me one toy to break. perhaps it was his arrogance that sent me another... or maybe his fear? Either way, it is all the same to me... just another doll, to dance to my song until its legs break off... again, in this case." The arrogant, snide voice finished, laughing as his taunt echoed in my head, angering me far beyond anything the fake wizard has ever done to me in the few moments I've been forced to listen to it. Gathering my brewing anger, I quickly lashed back at the voice, frantically searching for where it might be coming from, to understandably little avail.

"And yet you hide from me, demon! If you truly are so powerful, then why are you not before me, giving me any insight into what exactly I should be fearing?" I ask, and as soon as I finish, the world seems to vibrate softly, but palpably, as if trying to shake itself apart. Then, to my surprise and horror, the voice roars its reply, inside my head, as opposed to all around it, causing me to grasp my false head instinctively, praying that the pain this voice brought would just end.

"I DO NOT HIDE, INSECT, MUCH LESS FROM ONE AS PATHETIC AND SMALL AS YOU!!! MY PHYSICAL BODY WAS CAST BENEATH THE GROUND, INTO THE DEPTHS OF TARTARUS! WERE IT MY WILL, I WOULD SIMPLY DESTROY YOU, AND CAST YOUR LIFELESS CORPSE BACK TO YOUR FATHER AS A WARNING! TO ME, HE IS LITTLE MORE THAN AN ANNOYANCE, AND LIKE YOU AND EVERY UNIVERSE OUT THERE, HE WILL MEET HIS END AS I COMMAND IT!!!" The voice bellowed, causing me to try and scream as my head came very close to splitting, but no sound would come, and I simply laid there, on the gray hilltop, wishing I could cry so that I could release all this pain the voice thrust into my skull. However, sensing my defeat, the voice taunted once more, further agitating my already-aching head.

"You see now, I do not need to be seen to break you. You are nothing to me, even as I slumber beneath the world... Although, I will not kill you. Not yet." The voice mocked, causing my head to throb, but before I could respond, or even ask why, it started again, with a hint of curiosity in its haughty, disdainful tone. "I Know that you are curious as to why I am sparing your miserable existence. Well, it is quite simple: You hold a key I do not yet possess, one that lies with only two others: Jarvis, and Chris. Unfortunately, Jarvis has lost his hey, and it cannot be recovered. Chris, though, retains it, though he has refused me and will not allow me back in his mind. So, it seems that the honor of telling me all I wish to know falls to you, little mortal creature." The voice finally subsides with a hissing laugh, and I feel nauseous as the voice returns to the outside of my head, but still, I'm relieved that the pain has finally gone. But, not willing to let this blasphemous demon win, and now knowing the true name of the fake wizard I'm forced to steer right or destroy, I manage to stagger to my knees, and utter one last, defiant quip;

"You think... I'll just hand ANYTHING over to you, demon? I... am not weak... you can put me through as much pain as you want... but you'll receive nothing... nothing from me... I'll never betray my father to you..." I try to retort, but suddenly, the presence grips my mind again, and before long, I feel myself slipping out of consciousness, but not before hearing the demon taunt me one last time beforehand:

"Is that what you think? I think, Ah, KNOW, that you will give me what I want, regardless of your standing. Do not feel bad, though; You can't help it. I don't know what rules you followed in your world, but this is MY world, and here, you play by MY rules. Now... Sleep. And by the way, my name is not demon...

"It's... Ragnek."

Author's Notes:

Alright, here we are, one chapter closer to the end.

Can you believe it? The end is fast approaching, along with Ragnek's assured victory over all the world. Can Malideus or Nathan stop Ragnek the Unmaker? Or will all life once again bow to him, and finally come to a permanent end? Also, who does Terridax think he is, trying to send an assassin to off Malideus like that? And what of poor Kanden, what say does he get in this? Well, I can't tell you. So, here's the last few Old gods I haven't mentioned yet to keep you busy while you wait.

Mantu-Usu: Old god of the stars and the unknown, and keeper of all secrets. Mantu-Usu, like Gethys, is one of the very few original old gods who is unaffected by Ragnek's influence, having known the secret of immortality since his birth, which he refused to tell Djiin-Gytaxes, to the old god's chagrin, which likely was what led to that very same old god wiping out an entire population to figure it out for himself. Mantu-Usu, being the keeper of all secrets, is a trusted friend to a few powerful old gods, including Klein, Wahr-Seher, and Gaian-surr. However, this very charge makes him bitter enemies with all who seek his knowledge relentlessly, including Djiin-Gytaxes, Lumi (somewhat), and Noxus, for unknown reasons.

Diaxes: Old goddesses of family, camaraderie, and love. Actually two gods, the pair are said to have been so affectionate since their birth, that their love for each other, aside from causing most old gods to gag, merged them mentally and spiritually, paving way to the creation of the only old gods and old goddesses to share a name. Even more, the two have spent so much time together that they've developed a sort of hive mind, wherein their minds have both become one, and they are fully aware of it. Legends say that their love is so strong, it not only merged their spirits, but freed them from Ragnek's influence for as long as they remain together. However, the opposite is also true; it's said that if Diaxes was ever separated for any amount of time, they would both die. Diaxes see Malideus as a very dangerous piece on the board, and if given an opportunity, they would surely do everything in their power to sway him to their side, or remove him. Diaxes are allies with many of the old gods, except for Kaijurax, Shoggoth, Proteus, Djiin Gytaxes, Kragda-Maul, Gol-Garoth, Gaian-Surr, Noxus, and, of course, Ragnek.

Proteus: Old god of war, invasion, and victory. Proteus is an extremely warlike Old god, as one can tell from his title, and is said to be the progenitor of all dragons, hydras, sea serpents, and other giant, unpleasant reptiles. Being the god of war and such, Proteus gets into many arguments within the pantheon, most usually with Mundas and Klein, and is not hesitant to reveal himself to those who summon him. Unlike most old gods, however, Proteus is one of the very few who still accept Ragnek's rule and will him to be free again, and also is one of the only old gods who maintains mass worship in other countries, mostly by Griffons and Dragons, however, the ponies have taken the exact opposite approach, and have made it a punishable crime to even speak his name. When invoked, Proteus takes the form of a massive, 100-headed dragon, each head said to represent a different way to kill an opponent in combat. Proteus fully supports Malideus' endeavors, and is hated by quite a few old gods for it. Proteus is succeeded by a daughter, Progenia, who happens to be one of the few 'New' old god/goddesses to willingly take up their parent's mantle.

Kaff-Jago, Old god of rhythm and dance, and one of the three Old god patrons of the arts. Veiwed mostly as a tribal battle-god by the ponies and other Old gods, save his two siblings, Kaff-Jago is actually a wise and noble Old god, though he sees all the intricacies of life and such as a long, complex dance, especially war, his favorite dance of all. Together with his sister Munna, and his brother Poe, the three create the tribunal of art, creation, and free thought. Kaff-Jago often appears to mortals as a tribal chieftain, decorated in various feathers, paints, and plates of wood and metal, and many who speak to him or his siblings often learn to unlock their minds' eyes, becoming more philosophical and expressive in the process. Kaff-Jago is allies with Munna, Poe, Wahr-Seher, Gethys and Luft, but enemies with Shoggoth, Mundas, Klein, and Rusty Shackleford.

Munna, Old goddess of music and song, and one of the tribunal of art, along with her brothers Poe and Kaff-Jago. Also known as the moonsong maiden, the siren of thought, or the maiden in blue, her many names all pay homage to her one affinity, singing and music. Her views on the world are quite colorful, and she has a song for everyone on the planet, even Malideus. Her singing and music-making is constant, as one would expect, though as her time draws to an end, she seeks an heir to carry on her voice for when her song finally draws to a close. Munna is one of the only Old gods who can stop Kaijurax when he's rampaging, but often finds herself too preoccupied with her rather persistent enemies, like Shoggoth and Tyrranax, to find time to stop the destructive old god when he goes on a rampage.

Poe: Old god of legends, stories, and poetry, as well as the third member of the tribunal of art. Poe is a dedicated writer amongst old gods, and is often in charge of saving history through the theatrical arts, as well as inspire passion, thought, and freedom through them as well. Unlike his siblings, however, Poe has already created an heir to his throne to carry his legacy after his death, though the new god/goddess has yet to make a name or consistent form for themselves, though they have taken a liking to the name 'Perost', and seems to be developing an affinity to the cold and to happiness, an unusual combination indeed.

Ragnek, old god of endings and inevitability. Said to be the firstborn and most powerful of all old gods, Ragnek ruled the world in the past-times for countless millennia, observing all that transpired and exacting his will alongside his counterpart, the second-born old goddess of beginnings and choice. Not much is known of these times, except that the old gods under Ragnek, including his own counterpart, rebelled against him in an attempt to halt the destruction of all they tried so hard to create. However, Ragnek took countless many old gods with him when he finally fell, including his own counterpart, who he, according to oral legend among old gods, 'split into two halves, to be stripped of almost all power and never be whole again'. Ragnek now resides in the lowest bowels of Tartarus, slumbering patiently as he awaits the day he would be freed by none other than Malideus himself, using the blood of the old goddess of creation to free him from his infernal tomb.

Celune, Old goddess of beginnings and choice, said to be born into the world after Ragnek, to keep him in check. For many years, Celune carried out her mission with ease and success, never faltering in her vigilance over all creation. One day, though, the old goddess was tricked by those below her, deceived into believing that the one she thought she had under control, Ragnek, was actually a tyrant and a monster, destroying all that Celune and those below her tried so hard to create, all for his own sick amusement. The lesser old gods tricked Celune into aiding them in fighting Ragnek, but though they outnumbered him many times over, Ragnek still destroyed many old gods, turning them to dust in moments, but he spared Celune by tearing her in half, rendering her incapable of ever opposing him again. But though the action seemed cruel and desperate at the time, and to the many who witnessed it, it was in fact his own love for Celune that prevented him from ending the goddess of beginnings where she fell. After all, how could an old god like Ragnek ever bring himself to kill his own sister?