Chapter XXV: The Stand. -Markior Archonius Xel'Naga.

Markior lowered himself and slid one hand through the soil. His eyes narrowed. "No sign of Lord Ulrezaj or Lich.... Aurora isn't anywhere to be seen too..." He thinks. "And I wonder if... my people are secured." Markior stands up. A beam of light comes from his shoulder shield. The beam stops infront of him and shows a screen. Above the screen, there is writing in Xel'Naga language. "Yoshi's Island. Terra." It reads. Markior grins to himself. "Well... This shoulder shield will prove to be most usefull, my father..." He says as he looks into the screen. The Yoshies are alright again. Their guardian spirit lives again. They carry on as regular. "Shield..." Markior speaks. "Display to me the location of Sir Pseudo Havering, demon of the seventh circle of Whir-Rhoh-Tin." The screen goes blank for a moment, and then displays Havering walking through a long hallway. "Havering..." Markior growls. He casts RECALL, and a portal opens to the location where Sir Pseudo Havering walks. Through the screen, one sees the black portal appear infront of Havering. He looks surprised. Markior then stops. He waves his hand and the black portal disappears. Havering looks around him and walks further, a little faster now. "No..." Markior mumbles. "That is what the old Markior would've done... But I know I'm no match for him on my own....." He says. He looks around and sits down on a rock. With a finger he draws words in the sand. "Let's see..." He mumbles. "Let's think reasonable now... One at the time, I must answer all my questions on my own... First question: Why am I, Lich, Ulrezaj, Multex, Aurora and Dev here?" Markior thinks to himself. He mumbles the possibilities. "Havering lured us all in here. For what reason?" .... "He said: "You are not going to stop me..." When we battled. Stop him in what? He must know that I pose a threat to him... but I wasn't able to defeat him, so what threat could I be?" Markior keeps thinking. His hands slides through the dirt. He then stares into the ground. "Sand..." He mumbles. "Sand... one piece of sand means so little, yet..." Markior's eyes glow alittle brighter. "We pose a threat to him when we work together." Markior smiles. "We are like the quicksand that has already taken his foot, but has not yet gained any real grip on him..." Markior stands up. "Shield." He says. "Display the location of Dev the Zergling, on this world." The screen goes blank, then displays the little Zergling sitting infront of the platform back in the abandoned village. "Now.. display the location of Lord Ulrezaj." The screen displays Ulrezaj, roaring ontop of a mountain in a rage of assumed victory. Markior smiles. "I'll make sure that rage calms down again, Dark One... After all... Raszagal gave me her message..." After having sen the locations of Aurora and Lich as well, Markior turns around. He looks at the horizon, and just sees the abandoned village's rooftops. "First, let's get Dev... after that..." Markior says. He looks up and grins. "After that, we shall make our stand. IF we pose a threat to Havering if we work together, we shall.. ney, we must work together. Aurora, Lich... I'll find you both." With those words, Markior starts his journey back to the abandoned village, to retrieve Dev...

"The stand has begun.... Havering didn't make sure we came here.... I don't believe that. I believe Destiny placed us here.... "