The following week passed without too much incident, if you didn't count Jackie's brushes with death and/or mutilation. Seriously, I don't know if the girl was born on a Friday the thirteenth or maybe some pony witch put a curse in her or something but the girl seemed to possess an uncanny amount of bad luck to make even Woebegone look like Fortuna's favorite.

Just the following morning after we buried the filly and I was still too miserable to get out of bed, the brat, bless her, came into my room well past midday and refused to leave until I got my ass off and went to eat something. No sooner did we take a few steps outside the door to my chambers that just like that, out of nowhere, an honest to goodness flowerpot smashed atop Jackie's noggin. Ignoring the fact I never remember this place even having anything remotely close to flowers (Lyra got it for herself, to brighten up the Tower or something along those lines), it was hella weird, but after some muttered cursing on Jackie's part, it was dismissed as a freak accident soon enough.

That lasted until the next day when, as I brought Jackie to the Diamond Dog mines to show off my workers and riches, one of the dogs tripped as he hauled a mining cart full of gems. The thing, with a good ton or two of weight behind it, soon barreled out of control and very nearly succeeded in turning the girl into a messy red paste on the wall. Jackie settled for throwing everything short of the destroyed cart itself at the unlucky dog as he beat a hasty retreat.

The day after, as we got together for lunch and Wiener brought in, to both out delights, a roasted goose with browned, crispy skin, and little potatoes cooked in molten goose fat (I made sure to reward him for just that alone) and when the chef Minion jumped on a little stool and set about to carving the bird, that the bigass carving knife of his slipped clear out of his greasy grasp and landed point down where Jackie's hand had been not moments before, deeply embedding itself into the wood, wobbling slightly.

"Okay, now this is getting ridiculous!" I exclaimed, my eyes never leaving the quite deadly implement. "Jackie, did you slight a Pony witch or a maybe ever run afoul of a rhyming Zebra mare that lives in the Everfree? Did you picked up a rubber ducky in an old dungeon despite better knowledge? Cos it slowly looks like you are cursed or something."

Girl didn't have an answer to that and merely muttered something about the universe trying to get her because reasons. Oh, how right she was, even if she didn't realize it at the moment. Meanwhile, I had Lyra sent away to Ponyville.

Faithful and dedicated though Minty Horse has proven to be, I could tell she missed Bon Bon and to be fair I has been cooping her up in the tower for quite some time so it would probably start to look suspicious despite the cover story we made up for Lyra´s prolonged absence. And of course, it became imperative I had a set of eyes and ears on Ponyville, even if said eyes and ears belonged to a raving, mentally unhinged, weirdo mare. Needless to say, many a Minion had sighed with relief knowing they'd no longer have to toil under the bossy pony's metaphorical thumb. Hell, I'm pretty sure they even had a party to celebrate the event. That might explain why one morning I woke up to find my munchkins sprawled unconscious throughout the tower, looking like a mini tornado had swept up in their wake.

The issue of the tunnels also needed to be addressed. As it was, the original tunnels had run dry as to any valuables hidden in them, and if I wanted to keep my goodies and riches flowing, and I really do like my goodies and riches, my dogs would have to expand the network of tunnels.

This meant that the ones that ran dry would be left to gather dust, aside from the scattered segments where my slaven dogs made their home, leaving me with abundant amounts of wasted space. Jackie was quick to point out that so many unused, unguarded space would be ripe for ponies or any other critter to move throughout the vast network of unused space without drawing attention. The security risk was simply too high to ignore and so I made it a priority to rectify this.

Legions of Minions had been dispatched to work under the dogs' watchful gaze. It was a perfect idea on my part, if I did say so myself. Though they lacked in the intellectual department, the dogs had an uncanny knowledge of the mechanics behind building halfway stable, secure underground complexes, better than any Earth foreman or architect could hope to achieve.

The dogs (mostly Patches though) expertly guided my unrelenting Minions, whose unlimited magical stamina allowed them to work tirelessly and without rest. In just a few days, my faithful kobolds' work already showed. Unnecessary tunnels had been caved in or blocked off, while the rest had been retrofitted to serve other utilitarian purposes. A few of the networks that ran under my tower had been converted into secret tunnels, accessible only to those who knew where to look, a fair few leading away from the tower in case the day came when I had to make a stealthy getaway, another one to a secluded bunker buried deep beneath the earth, another one connected to a dungeon, should I ever feel the need to take prisoners and that sneaky walnut Gnarl had somehow, without me knowing, had some of the kobolds outfit a chamber into a torture room, replete with torture racks, a wide assortment of whips, thumbscrews, various other crude instruments and an honest to goodness pit where unfortunate victims would be sacrificed to a pair of vicious Manticores! How Gnarl had gotten ahold of them, much less sneak them in without me knowing was beyond my ability to reason, and when I confronted him with it, he shrugged and said "One can never have too many torture chambers, my Lady."

In the end I relented and allowed him to keep his little... ugh, playroom (just thinking of it that way makes me shudder) promising untold pain should he ever use it on any unfortunate souls without my permission. At the very least I did acknowledge the shock value it could possess against the untrained, should I ever need to coerce an uncooperative individual into talking.

And to mine and Jackie's very unpleasant surprise, as I guided her underneath to examine my Minions' efforts, we literally shrieked in fright as out of the darkness emerged a very familiar and very fugly sight. An honest to goodness Mole Rat the size of German Shepherd, with saggy, wrinkly skin; soulless, milky eyes and a set of yellow chompers the size of a banana, capable of chewing through rock without too much trouble. Luckily, before either Jackie or I unintentionally caused a cave-in in our near frantic efforts to obliterate the fugly vermin where it stood, a Brown, Scabies, shuffled next to the Mole Rat, patting the thing and eyeing us quizzically.

Turns out my Minions had unintentionally ran into a whole pack of them as they dug and had, for lack of a better word, domesticated the damned things. A couple more Browns emerged from the darkness with flickering miners helmets on their noggins, mounting even bigger rats, the size of a pony, sporting wide grins in their faces and after much pleading on their part did I allow them to retain the disgusting beasts as pets and living tunnel drills, provided I never had to set eyes on them again.

Aside from that, Jackie and I enjoyed several days of R&R. I set her up in a swanky room close to mine with all the amenities including her own proper bathroom and a cozy bed. Smaller than mine, though, and though I offered (one half cheekiness, one half serious) that we could merely share a room and cuddle, she resoundly shut me down. I chuckled and relented, not taking offense. Besides, from what she tells me, she didn't have much in the way of privacy back in her 'Verse so I couldn't really fault her for wanting some me-time. After a few seconds of thought, I sent a mental note to Welder to make a name plaque for the room, indicating its new owner. It was shaped like a big, two headed war axe with Jackie's name on the handle.

Truth be told, I was a little worried the girl would be bored out of her mind seeing how my tower seemed to lack the amenities from good old Earth, but it didn't seem to bother Jackie any. I suppose it was the same back in her verse and she had to find new ways to occupy her time. Admittedly, though I did like my leisure time as well, I was constantly being delegated some Overlady duties day after day. Nothing big, just the mundane runnings of my tower which did their job in keeping me occupied, lest I die of boredom.

Girl constantly kept me company, save for when she wanted a little me-time, and quickly enough became familiar with the tower itself. And I must say, my little friend underwent something of a change in her personality.

It seems I'd been right when I pegged the squirt as being too wound up. Dunno if she was constantly under a state of stress or something back in her 'Verse, but she certainly seemed to loosen up during our little vacation. She smiled more, for one and even started to tentatively try to engage in conversation with me. I never would have expected it of the previously moody girl but man could she talk. Well, she is a teenage brat, so I guess that's to be expected. Hell, her mood turned so good she even made up with Onyx of all things. Well, they punched each other´s shoulder and for a chance it had been the black she-dragon who had been send flying. That in turn seemed to have earned Jackie some props with Onyx. Not sure how it happened but I am grateful nonetheless.

On nights, when the temperature would drop into the single digits (damn you awesome but glassless windows), we huddled together close to the fireplace in my room, roasting marshmallows, nuts, little bites of meat and anything else we could come up with.

But alas, our vacation came to an end. On the second week of her stay, I'd wandered to the library to peruse the ancient tomes in my possession, just to see if there was anything of note when I heard a rather telling explosion outside my window.

"The hell?" I muttered. Even from my vantage point way up in the tower did I recognize that tuft of black hair.

I opened a portal and stepped onto a rocky field outside my tower because A, I could and B, it was so much easier than running down all those stairs. Jackie was there, looking satisfied as can be, panting slightly and wiped a trail of sweat from her forehead. "What's going on here?"

Jackie looked momentarily surprised at my abrupt entrance, but smiled widely. "Practice."

"Practice?"

She bared her teeth in a grin. "Watch." She turned from me and rubbed her hands. I took in the field before us. Massive, craggy stones jutted out the ground every dozen paces or so and quite a few spots where the boulders should have rested looked like they exploded outwards, which might account for the many, many pieces of broken stones that littered the space in between their intact brethren.

After taking a few bracing breaths, Jackie cupped her hands, as if she were holding an invisible something. I felt something surge within her and in her half closed mitts, a bright green power threatened to slip through. Jackie bent down on one knee, hands planted in the ground as if she were about to go for a sprint and she let the power loose through the palms of her hand.

One of the boulders exploded, shattering into hundreds of little pieces as a broad column of that green energy erupted from the ground.

"Whoo," Jackie sighed. "I'm getting better but damn if it isn't tiring." She wiped more sweat off her forehead and looked eagerly at me, waiting for my reaction.

"Well. That... is... I... Wut?" Hm. "What the actual blinking blue blazes was that?"

"Like I said, practice. I have all this magic mojo inside me. Might as well put it to good use."

"And what use is blowing things up, Jackie girl? The massive awesome factor aside, I mean?"

"You never know." she said cattishly. Oh no you don´t! I do that smile on other people, creeping them out as fuck, not the other way round!

"Much as I encourage you to enrich that little noggin of yours, what purpose could this possibly serve? You look into taking a job in demolitions?"

"I was thinking more in the line of vaporizing ponies or any other assortment of critters."

"Jackie," I sighed. "We have been over this. Ponies are annoying but mostly harmless nuisances, no targeting practice."

"And can you guarantee we won't have to charge into battle with the little beasts for as long as we live? I guess you're gonna tell me next we will all be best of friends."

"Alright, maybe I'll admit we might have to... ugh, fight at some point but this is too damn excessive."

"Says you."

"What does that mean?"

"I mean this method..." She repeated the process, obliterating another innocent boulder into smithereens. "Is a lot quicker and cleaner than going face to face with beasties. I dunno if you noticed but I got drenched last time with the cultists and all. Got their blood and guts all over me and with a ranged move like this, I won't have to go around smelling like a soiled tampon."

Eugh! Even I couldn't help but bury my face at the crude remark. "I swear, Jackie. One of these days I will hold you down and give that potty mouth of yours a good scrubbing. With super bleach."

"Uh-huh," she drawled, looking none too impressed at my threat. "Because you're so much better, yes? Who then called Gnarl a moldy, shit stained Lustmolch [lecher], whatever that last part means.

"Argh, point taken." Just as I was about to rub my temples in frustration, I felt it again, the call. "Oh, boy." I muttered.

"What is it?"

Shit. Shitshitshitshit! I'm being called to battle while Jackie was still visiting!

"Hey, what are you...?!" Jackie protested as I pulled her close to me.

"Hush girl. Now be a good little brat and act as your beloved friend's human shield. We're about to be pulled over and..." I didn't even get to finish before we dissolved in countless motes of light.

The brat and I emerged on a little village. Nighttime, it looked like.

"What just happened?" Jackie asked, all too baffled as she disentangled from my grasp.

"We were summoned. Remember all that I told you about the Displaced and tokens?" She nodded. "That's what just happened. Another Displaced called on me. Although this one did a quite summon, I heard not a single word. Normally, people say at least a small line or something."

"But why?"

I wondered that myself. The village we found ourselves in looked deserted for the most part. Nary a sound save the whooshing of wind, rustling of leaves and the odd croaking of frogs. Nevertheless, I drew Ruin, the no longer unnamed sword I wielded in the cultists' cave and at my will, the blade erupted in flickering hellfire that made even Jackie too uncomfortable at close range. I had started to make it a habit to wear some sort of weaponry around and for some reasons, the blade made me feel secure somehow.

Hah, a razor sharp, burning blankey!

"Be ready, girl. Displaced call each other to help them fight baddies or beasties. Stay close and keep an eye out. This whole place just screams 'fuck me sideways with a garden rake'."

We wandered carefully through the small settlement, alert to any sounds our ears picked up. No such luck. Where was everybody? More importantly, where was our summoner? "I swear, if we got called here as some sort of prank I am going to be very..."

"Can we just go back to your tower?" Jackie asked. I didn't answer. Something about the situation didn't sit right with me. Where were we? Why were we summoned? Who summoned us and why hadn't they come out to say howdy do?

"Fraid not Jackie-Bear, not until my timer is up or my summoner sends us back. There are few rules about being a Displaced but those who are there mostly suck majorly," I explained in a low voice. I suddenly had an idea. What if my summoner was like Jackie, hesitant to come out or without a blue clue what just happened? I suppose Ruin did have a bit of an intimidating edge to it. I prepared to switch to Ley Sight, hoping I could pinpoint my summoner's magical signature or something.

A gargled scream tore from my throat almost immediately. My eyes burned and Jackie hastened to my side. I could hear her asking any number of questions, but I was in too much agony to respond.

"Jackie, we need to go." I said thickly, struggling to stand up.

"What do you mean? Is there..." A sharp gasp from her drew my attention.

I followed her gaze down the road where a lone pony stood. I hefted Ruin, should the little creature make a move.

"Careful, girl! That's not a pony. Not a normal one, at least," I muttered darkly, eyes never leaving the unmoving equine silhouette.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking none too impressed at the pony.

"This whole place. It's not nearly as empty as we thought. There's magical signatures everywhere. But something's wrong with them."

A door creaked from behind us, and another pony stepped out, silent save for the clopping of his hooves, his moves stiff, slightly awkward. And as if in unison, dozens more doors followed. The ponies, stallions, mares and foals filled the street, unblinking eyes trained on us both. Jackie hissed as they surrounded us and I literally had to fight to keep my composure and from freaking out.

"Jackie, not gonna lie. This is not an up-hill battle and not a tactical advance backwards, but rather I´d have it we get the hell outta dodge. The literal air here feels wrong on a fundamental level and coming from me, that means something." I tittered, never stopping to keep as much of the creepy horses in my field of view as possible.

"What? Come on, these are even less than those cult freaks. We can take em!" My little friend ranted.

"Bail to fight another day Jacqueline. We are in unknown territory and unknown shit is going on. Like my old Sarge would have said, we need to 'get our lazy asses out of the zone intact and get some intel on the enemy forces stat' and I agree."

But whatever plans we had were negated when a lone earth pony stallion trotted forward, a crude spear in his mouth. He lumbered still with that blank, emotionless unblinking gaze that unnerved me more than a raging pack of pissed off Yorkie dogs.

Jackie uttered threats to the advancing equine and I hoped beyond hope he would heed them. No such luck. "Ey, I'm talking to you!" Jackie yelled, eliciting no response from the pony. This was bad, I could tell the girl was getting freaked out to no end, and combined with that juju inside her...

Before I could stop her, Jackie's palm glowed with that sickly green light again. I watched as the energy congealed into a wibbly-wobbly sphere(sloppy spellwork and all) in her palm and she threw it like a baseball at the pony. I gasped as the sheer might inside that little orb completely severed his front leg. The pony stumbled, but otherwise made no reaction to the crippling wound it now bore. It steadied itself on his remaining hooves and drew closer.

"Great, Nurgle ponies!" I wailed "Also, fuck Jackie, fuck dammit!"

"The hell is up with these things?" Jackie seethed.

"Some of the blackest magic, that´s what!" I hissed back, tightening my grip on my sword.

The pony advanced. In desperation, Jackie conjured another of her gunky green magic things and hurled it at the pony. This time, the green orb carved a deep gouge in his chest. The stallion's body shuddered violently and a haze lifted from his eyes. He looked down in surprise to the big hole in his chest and screamed in agony, falling on three legs and uttered a death rattle before going still.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered. "They're being controlled. This... What kind of dark magic could do this? The only bad guy I know so far... nah, not nearly enough crystals around..."

The remaining villagers looked to their felled comrade and moved as one with the clear intent to swarm us.

"Jackie dearest, I think you just set the hornet's nest on fire!" I almost screeched, unable to hold my irritation and fury back any longer.

Already balling her fists and shrouding them in her magic, Jackie barked back. "I gave plenty of warnings but no, that zombie horse did not heed em, so he got it! What? Should I have given him a bloody love tap and send him to the corner instead?"

"Not now!" I barked back, feeling the lightness in my head that came with adrenaline. My body was at this point screaming at me to finally make up my mind and choose between fight or flight.

Now few ponies silently produced an array of mob weapons, mostly what looked like worn cooking knives, a few shivs, clubs that were nothing more than thick branches too long for the oven and the like.

A foal, a filly if I had to guess, starred up to me with these blank eyes, a pointy piece of metal wrapped in a bit of cloth to form a handle held in her mouth and took a step forward.

Ice cold dread flooded my core.

At this rate, it was more than certain that we would end up fighting. Jackie already had drawn the first blood...

Pictures of the poor filly from the cave rushed back to my mind and with it the memories of helplessness but also the burning hatred that so soon had replaced it.

No!

I would not fight children, I refused to lower myself to that! I was a monster, yes but not a beast. Not yet!

A loud crack brought my senses back and I just saw a bunch of the controlled ponies getting bowled over by one of their own and Jackie in the last motions of swinging a right hook.

"Get your shit together!" The brat yelled. "I swear, if you have some sort of breakdown now, I will ditch you here and now!"

Crude as her words where, she had a point. Surviving now, everything else later!

Just in time for me to feel something bump and scratch against my shinguard. Looking down, I saw the foal with its shiv wailing away at my leg since that was all it could reach. It would have been cute in a deranged kind of way would it not had made my heart clamp together painfully.

"Sorry." I whispered, gritting my teeth and kicked the young pony like a football, sending it tumbling between the legs of its adult brethren until it finally hit the wall of one of the huts with an audible clonking sound. Did not sound wet, thanks for small favors.

Said small favors came to an end when Jackie charged up again and sent columns of that crippling volatile energy straight into the ponies. The unfortunate equines were literally torn apart into fleshy, bloodsoaked pieces that slapped against their brethren, who continued on their silent march.

"Call your Minions already. Do you wanna end up as a bloodied paste?" Jackie snarled as she picked up a discarded club and threw it at the advancing ponies, cracking at least one skull.

I relented and opened two portals. Forty gibbering Browns and twenty Reds spilled forth. The battle, if it could even be called that, began in earnest. It was little more than a slaughter. My Reds divided in groups and climbed atop the buildings, pelting the unsuspecting ponies with globs of hellfire from their vantage points.

My heavily armored Browns charged as one. Spears and halberds literally skewered the lumbering ponies as the wall of Browns clashed with the controlled but numb equines. Despite my best judgment, I joined in and sent a mental command to my Browns to cripple instead of kill. It wouldn't do any good to the already dead ponies but better late than never.

Those that weren´t torn apart now found themselves with a broken or missing limb or severe, crippling burns. But even then, they remained stoic, under whatever spell controlled them. Only death seemed to grant release.

Ruin arced through the air, severing limbs, immediately cauterizing them under the searing heat of the hellfire. Taking inspiration, I bombarded a stallion with a Corruption Burst. His body jerked and twitched in agony, but it seemed even the power of my favorite spell could not overwrite what dark sorceries plagued his mind.

Of course, the ponies did not take this lying down. They stomped where they could, felling Minions under their surprisingly powerful kicks, caving in heads and breaking bones and more than a few of my kobolds found themselves on the receiving end of a shiv, garden rake, scythe or whatever else the ponies appropriated as weapons. They charged without regard for their own safety, as if determined to overcome my kobolds through sheer numbers alone. Then again, my Minions were kind of the same.

Nevertheless, I did not like at all how many munchkins fell under the ponies' assault. I felt a slight pang of guilt knowing I was partially responsible. My kobolds were limited in their abilities due to the no killing rule and now they were paying for it.

Two columns on sickly green energy tore through the ground, courtesy of Jackie, literally tearing ponies apart again and stunning the rest, thus giving my Minions some much needed respite.

After that, it became a clean-up operation more than anything. Stragglers were liberated of their weapons and tied up with whatever was available. Throughout the whole ordeal they uttered nary a word and looked at us through literally bloodshot eyes. Creepy...

I surveyed the damage to the town. Numerous houses were already on fire, courtesy of my Reds or in some instances a flaming pony who brushed against said settlements. Bodies and body parts littered the ground, itself wet with blood and the stench of organic waste hung heavily on the air.

"Someone is gonna pay for this!" I growled.

While Jackie was busy wiping off pony blood from her arm, I used my Ley sight again, searching for a possible source of magic. I caught something. A single dim spark far away, underground. Not the overpowering darkness that hung off the possessed ponies but a living, coherent being.

I rushed the place as far as my feet could take me. Whoever this bitch or asshole was, was gonna pay. My run led me to a concealed set of doors that led downward, hidden underneath some bushes. With a Corruption powered punch, I broke the lock and dove inside. Shaking the pain in my hand away, I looked around. A narrow hallway, lighted by the flame of a single lamp with a door at the end. I gripped Ruin and kicked down the door.

A magical bolt shot straight to my face, but I narrowly dodged it and went in. An equine figure collided against my taller form, causing me to drop Ruin. I was suddenly grateful for Gnarl putting me through all those strength exercises for otherwise, the pony would have succeeded in bowling me over. I hefted the surprised pony and threw it (or her, if the scream was anything to go by) into a nearby desk which broke under the weight.

I picked up Ruin and stepped closer to the moaning mare. A slight pink coat and two toned mane of purple and blue.

"Starlight Glimmer?" I rasped.

The pony's eyes shot up, taking in my form. There was no fear there, just a weary resignation that clearly mirrored her face.

"You... you did all this?" I asked incredulously. "Why?" I demanded. "You stupid, self-centered, communist bitch!" I grabbed her by her, well, collar? Do naked Ponies have a collar? Anyways!

The pony looked down miserably, not saying anything.

"Oh no, you don't," I picked her up, her small form almost weightless under the sheer fury that coursed through me. "I want answers and I want them now."

"What does it matter?" She asked miserably. "You killed them, all my ponies and now," she choked back a sob. "Now I won't have a chance to make it right."

"Make it right? Make it right?!" I screamed in outraged astonishment. "Of course you can't make it right, you commie bitch! You just sent innocent ponies to die. You broke their minds so thoroughly that most of them not even noticed when they got literally shredded to bloody bits! And for what? What did you hope to accomplish with all this?"

"It's all my fault," she said miserably. "I had to fix things. I wanted to make it right again, just as it should be. Not this. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"And so was Auschwitz, Dachau and all the other death camps!" I roared into her self-pitying face. Disgusted, I threw the pony down and leaned close. "By God, you're gonna talk straight or what I did to your victims out there I will inflict on you tenfold. Now talk."

Starlight looked up at me with such weariness, no fear on her features. She was awfully tired, so much so that it overcame whatever fear she should have felt. "I had to do this," she said in a small voice. "It's my fault. This timeline, Sombra, the war. All the lives that have been lost in his lust for power. It's all my fault. I never wanted this. I wanted to break her, to make her suffer. I wanted to take Twilight Sparkle's destiny from her. I never meant for all this to happen, I swear." She licked her lips.

"Sombra's armies are too powerful, his methods brutal. I... I had to do something. Something to help end this war. I wanted to build an army for Equestria. An army even grander than Sombra's so he could be defeated and this pointless war come to an end."

"What? What are you even babbling about?" I asked.

"This, all of it," she waved a hoof. "This skewed timeline is my doing. I never wanted it, I swear," she said yet again. "But now it's too late. Some dark magic is disrupting the flow of time. I can't go back and make things right again, but if I can, I will help end this war."

I rubbed my head. This is way more than I'd bargained for. What was she talking about anyway? Did something happen in the show with Pony Stalin after I came here? I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but before I could, several things happened at once.

An oppressive presence manifested itself in the small chamber, so overwhelming I nearly fell to my knees. Something materialized in the room. Something that radiated dark power, but almost immediately was subdued. Nonetheless I jumped for Ruin. Starlight screamed and the familiar sound of metal cutting through flesh and bone filled the air. When I looked, there slumped Starlight's lifeless body, her severed head rolling away.

"Holy fucking hell!" I whirled around, sword raised and adrenaline hammering through my veins. I lunged at the figure, a broad structure of muscle and armor, easily towering over me which was a feat in itself. Ruin swung, itching to repay the favor. Just because I gave Glimmer a thrashing and a bit of abuse, decapitation had not been on the list.

A sword longer than mine blocked my thrust. Undeterred, I went in for more strokes, but Ruin was expertly blocked time after time, the figure's swordplay a step above my own.

"Die!" I screamed and in irrational anger, magics pooled in my palm, forming a massive Fireball, which I hurled at the figure. An armored hand moved forth to intercept the fiery projectile, which exploded in a searing blast of heat, light and concussive force. The close proximity caused me to sail through the air and crash into the wall. My head was ringing, a trickle of a warm something flowed out of my nose.

The world was a blur as I fought to right myself before he could finish the job. A set of hurried footsteps could be made out and a familiar pair of hands held me down. Jackie's face blurred through my vision, her features lined with worry. I saw a smoldering figure lumber close. I tried to open my lips to call out a warning, but a gurgle was all I could make out. Starlight's killer stopped beside Jackie. He uttered some words to the girl, too garbled for me to make out. I wanted nothing more than to stand back up, get Ruin and finish our duel, but he bent down, his massive palm covered my eyes and then, darkness. Nothing.

Author's Notes:

Shit officaly hit the fan, clocked it and set it on fire, people.

The heartless Renegade arc is rapidly approaching it´s climax (three chapters left), with a mysterious stranger stepping onto the stage. Stay tuned peeps and peepetes and prepare some umbrellas cause those in the first few rows will get wet.