The dull tinkling of glass echoed throughout the otherwise silent chamber. Frowning, Sir Pseudo Havering glanced down at the wine droplets that were now staining his pants a slightly darker hue. Closing his eyes, the TIme Bender spoke to some force other than himself that seemed to be present, with much annoyance to his tone.
"Really now...can't we think up a tad more constructive means to bother me? These juvenile tactics grow tiring, oh gaseous one.."

Standing, Havering turned to peer down one of the numerous corridors branching off from his inner sanctums quarters. "Well..do bring him in. We can't be standing around all day, waiting for an invitation."
Slowly, Pseudo Havering watched as Pseudo Havering stolled into the chamber, an orange lizard like creature following close behind. "Ah, splendid work. You've brough him here in perfect time. Will The Dark Sand be joining us soon, would you say?" the first havering questioned. The second grinned the now trademark sneer slightly as he spoke. "He should be nearing us any moment now. We made him well indeed. He left this one in perfect condition to take hold of by the time I had arrived."
The first Havering nodded, "Good, good. Well then, if you wouldn't mind, I'm feeling a bit tired, so.." "But of course; I was thinking the same thing." the second replied to the unstated question. The room seemed to take on a sudden chill, and shortly after, a rushing of air could be heard from the center of the chamber. Breathing in deeply, the demon slowly opened his eyes to where his double stood. He was the only one in the room, save the company of the Yoshi. Stretching his arms, Pseudo crossed over to the orange being, eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the creature.
"So..this is the Guardian of the Cyan Arc..This is one of those who held a destiny in my demise. ...I feel insulted!" Havering spat upon the floor, his rage showing. "You..a Lizard; a lowly bipedal reptile, whose only purpose is to smile with grins idiotic, and devour fruit in the manner flies fall to toads! Simply ludicrous!!" the Time Bender bellowed, his blue eyes slowly turning opaque, and clear. Two clear, glass pupils penetrated the dull gaze of the yoshi.
And, though still under the effects of the mind control, Havering could smell the involuntary fear, wafting from his prisoner. The chilled, salty odor only terror could give to the nose of one born in darkness. A scent that seemed to put a fire in Haverings veins, and even more so addicting than any narcotic known to man. Rage slowly quelled, and in it's place, a sneer slowly rose. The feeling of Power and utter Control was the high induced by that drugged scent. It was truly the greatest addiction known.
"Hmm...though mind you, I'm not one to get overly caught up in my own strength." Havering smiled slyly, pacing around the statue-esque figure. "You have a few..'advantages' others do not. You're not a lowly human, which is the basic start. You're not a god, which is even better; they're arrogant, and grow to lazy to even present me with a challange. You, guardian, have the makings of quite an adventurer- A hero in your own right!" Pseudo grinned, reaching out and raising the yoshi's chin to forcefully sneer down into his gaze. "But, you're one of the fools, I'm afraid. One of the cursed ones indeed." he said with a shake of his head, pacing once more.
"You care for others..deeply. You're loyal to your companions, and ever devoted to the one who sets your lizardine heart a-fire. ..That, is why you have no chance against me, poor, hopeless guardian. You'd sacrifice yourself to save those you care for, which will get you no closer to me in the long run. You don't have what it takes to destroy me; to choke the life's breath from my body, and to bury me in eternal darkness which you believe I deserve. Perhaps..your beloved may hold some of that which is needed, and might be able to rub a bit off upon you as well. Though, as I can see, none of you lizards present that threat to me. Nor that metalic abomination from the future year, nor the forest huntress. I'm only concerned about one.."
Sir Pseudo Havering seemed to pause as he stared off into space, his smile fading to a look of deadly seriousness. "He may not be as strong as those lizard gods of yours..nor the gaseous one..nor perhaps the rest whom I have brought here. He's brash, overconfident, and his mistakes are countless. Yet...he has that which will bring him the closest to the goal you all seek." Havering paused only a moment to close his eyes, and refleively tightened his clenched fist. "He's closer to myself than you fools take him for. He'll not stop until either he or I lay dead at the other's feet..or both. He may seem like a friend..but don't be fooled. If you ever stood against him in his mission to kill me, don't think that you aren't expendable. He's done it before, and, with how he feels seperate from your group, it's only a matter of time. You have a murdering, relentless hound in your midst; so why not surrender this futile quest and save yourselves the misery. You have till the completion of the second act of this grand scale show. Make it count...I'm longing for my era."
"Do you really think we can't dispose of these interferers by the intermission?" a voice from behind inquired. Turning, Pseudo found Anubarik in mid bow of respect. But, what caught his attention more than his subordinate's dedication was a silver, bent object balanced on the head of his staff. Smile rekindled, the demon nodded to the jackal like robot in approval. "Seems like this just keeps getting better. Now, would you mind if I examined the prize, Dark Sand?" "It is yours, Master. I am just pleased to have been alowed to retrieve it." Havering's grin widened. "No, thank you, loyal warrior. Noch Tlaht! Awaken and bring me the arc."
From under havering's cape, something rustled with a sound that resembled grating bones mixed with a metallic clatter. Without even the bat of an eye, the demon slightly raised one arm as the bladed top rod of his sickle snaked from it's strap on his back, through the air and towards Anubarik's staff. In a swift movement, with a whiplike "crack!", the ornate boomerang was secured in the serpantine, chain coils of the sickle. Upon return, the weapon drew up in such a way that, the object it was ordered to retrieve was nearly on eye level with Havering.
Raising a hand to his chin, Pseudo's eyes made a thorough analysis of the 'Boomerang of Light', as it was known by some. After a few moments, Anubarik took his cue to leave the room, giving only a smirk to the unmoving Lich as he passed through the door he entered by.
----------------------------
Ratch half smirked at the Baron's comment. "So..you really were the freak's first enemy, hunh? What were his tactics back then?"
The usually downcast Holograntis glanced up to the robotic commander, a slight smile on his face. "He was quite a match barehanded; he didn't have the command of that fire of his back then you know." "It's not fire." Ratch interjected, causing the baron to look back with a face of confusion. "It's not fire...it has the appearance, but it's not nearly hot enough to be live flame. He calls it the "Rage Force", probably because it seems to activate whenever he's pissed, or if you blast him with some energy based assult."
Both Holograntis and Necronimus stared in unision. Ratch folded his arms and slightly sneered. "That's why that Agent is Mine, and mine alone. Bet Pseudo already knows I'd even cross his orders to deal the deathblow...but it's probably why he hired me." the robotic commander said matter-of-factly. Necronimus half shook his head, his cattle skull grin reflecting his mood to a tee. "We-heh-hell..seems someone doesn't care for the master much. Even goes as far as to use his first name! How come such an approach, Brother?" Ratch turned a half disgusted expression in the way of his "sibling". "Frankly, you can take this 'master' crap, and blow it to the Nexus. I have only one purpose, and one priority. I don't care if my so called creator, or one who influenced my creation, wants to do the job himself; if I was designated to it, not even the bloody Death Union is going to stop me." Silence lingered. Then, finally, Necronimus chuckled.
"Ah, well it seems you gentleman have your scores to settle with your respective victims. Though, I have a target of my own now, I must say." Ratch looked at the skull headed robot with intrigue. Necronimus's grin simply widened as he continued. "I seem to have taken a fancy to one of the enemies; that rather savage barbarian to be precise. She's..quite a looker when she's angry.", the robot winked. Ratch blinked. "..You realize, she's a mortal, and wants to scrap you, right?" Necronimus's grin widened yet again. "Well, I am the master of the dead, and, once you're gone nothing really matters.." the robot chuckled. Ratch stared long and hard. "You, pal, have a major problem. Don't speak again, I'm gonna be busy deletin that thought from my memory banks, you sicko."
As Necronimus laughed, and Ratch shook his head in disgust, the Baron spoke. "So..that's how it works.. He focused his rage to..deal out those attacks and even enhance his gun? That's..." "Astounding, how you gentleman can banter about some trivial nuissance and put him up to worldbeater status! Simply astounding."
The three turned their gazes to Anubarik, who was standing in his usual, sleek and streamlined, at attention stance. Ratch let out a snicker. "Well, if it isn't the suck up. Tell me, mister ass kisser, what have you been discussing with the good demon today? Perhaps...no, wait! Let me guess- How to keep us wasting away our time in this sub dimension, in the middle of this wierd schittsville factory, where God knows WHAT is waiting to lurch out." This got a unison of sneers and chuckling, from all save the Jackal headed robot who remained livid in expression. "You're a real commedian, Havoc. Perhaps, someday, you'll rid yourself of your foolish vendettas and work for an actual dream."
As Ratch was about to reply, the echoing sound of footsteps in the hallway diverted all attention from the present argument. Within moments, Havering stood in the center of the room, Lich at his left flank. Only Ratch's keen eye noted that the Time Bender must have planned to work later, as his new find was now slightly protruding from his belted side pouch. But what made the Commander wonder, was the odd smile adorning his demonic face. Glancing around to his gathered forces, Havering's grin seemed to speak before he even got the words out.
"Boys...who's up for a little raiding, plundering, and descecration? Hope you are, because I sure am! It's time to begin showing these fools just what we can do...and I have the perfect place to start."
-----------------------------
"I feel like this ought to kill any urges I ever have of powerwalking in the future.."
Agent 707 appeared less than happy as he continued upstream. It had been...what? Twenty plus minutes now? And still, the scenery remained the same. The sights of rocks, fish, and dust stirred up with every step, and the constant howl of the rushing water began to grate on his nerves. Until, of course, fate tossed him another curve ball.
"...A waterfall...why am I not surprised? Water..AND mossy rock climbing...tally ho!" Groaning, Multex crossed through the vortex of rushing currents at the base of the falls and proceeded to scale the outjutting rock face ahead. Numerous times, with a flurry of explatives and sputtering of a mouthfull of water, the Agent crashed back into the turbulent base of the falls due to a misplaced handhold. But, after what seemed like eons of struggling, and a new spin on overuse of the word "damn", Multex was finally pulling his weight over the crest of the falls...before meeting the oncoming log face first. With a cry of frustration, the falling Agent's body became once more surrounded by the red, Rage Force aura. But, unnoticed by the agent, the red fire was tipped with slight hues of a strange, black outer glow.
"ALRIGHT! That's it!! RAGE TIME!"
With a growl and a narrowing of his eyes, Multex707's mind and reknowned improvisation skills sprung into action. Grabing hold of the log which was still within arms length, the agile Agent clambered around and ontop of the falling timber, and, with a tremendous leap, and a red glow in his wake, he leapt. Though his flight was greatly enhanced by his RF enduced leg strength, Multex quickly saw that it wouldn't be nearly enough to clear the fall. But, that alone was hardly going to be a detriment. Directing his path straight for the water, he drew his legs up to chest height and waited.
As soon as his front was bombarded in the water, the Agent's boots found purchase on a series of the rocks he had used to climb, and off of those he leapt again. This pattern continued, each leap sending the agent soaring higher on his way, and with each jump, the red aura surrounding him dimmed. But, as the final lights flickered and faded, Multex's grasp fell upon the grass of the river bank from which the fall formed. Setting foot on dry land at last, Multex grinned and heaved a dignified breath of relief. Quickly followed by a spin on the tip of his right boot, a downward jerk of his arm and the trademark Multexian victory grin. "Multex 1: Falling timber Ze-ro! Now, mister forest, let's see what you've got." And, with a laugh, he was over the river, through the woods and walking right into fate's next little surprise.
---------------------------
The afternoon sun was high in the sky as Multex set foot out of the forest and drank in the warmth from above. Surveying the land ahead, he nearly did a double-take. "He-llo PARADISE! I've stumbled into eden!"
Indeed, Multex's assessment was quite accurate of the picturesque scene. A placid river ran through an almost perfect groove that spanned the length of the grassy field. Green, full trees lined the far side of it's embankment and lead towards a sight which made this gardeners paradise a dream to anybodys eyes. As he neared it, Multex could begin to see the intricate statues that framed either side of the path leading towards the most ornate building he had laid eyes upon. Though it appeared to have be around for countless centuries, the sanctuary and it's adjouring building gave off a radiance that was either of holy origin, or told of a demented janitor who would slay any bystander who scuffed his floors. Either way, it was a clean with a vengence.
Though, the bounty hunter leaning against the statue of Drakonis Yoshi the Tenth seemed to give hint at another story. One where, as the song said- "There's trouble in paradise".
"Bout time you arrived. You just missed the fun." Vaurix remarked as Multex stopped alongside him, now following the robot's gaze to the wide open doors of the sanctuary. The Agent simply groaned. "Lizards...I can't escape from em. Of all the worlds in the multiverse, they had to stumble into mine. Uh..by the way, who decided to open the main doors? Usually only the Aurorium and New Auroriums doors will remain open to everybody. The Sanctuary's are usualy sealed shut the moment I'm able to see them." "They were shut; keyword 'were'", Vaurix remarked, shifting his weight to the opposite leg and pushing back his face shield. "Some otherworldly force held them shut even against my strength. But, Havering and his boys showed up here a good fifteen minutes ago and changed that. Seems Havering has a lizard working for him, an orange fella; used him to open the doors so the all could enter. Then, once he was through the doorway, that devil performed some sort of ritual, pointing to the door hinges as he did. Sounded as if the whole foundation was going to uproot, but instead, those doors threw themselves open wider than I think they're supposed to go."
Taking in the situation, Multex never noticed his fists clenched to the point where his knuckles were as white as the gloves he wore.. "I'm gonna end this all here...end what I thought concluded the three years bussiness." The bounty hunter turned to look at the agent, who was nearly shaking with either fear or excitement, perhaps even something deeper than anger..
"You think it's going to be ok for us to barge in? Won't these..'lizard gods' be kinda ticked if we go into their holy place and start a major battle?" Multex shook his head in disagreement. "Highly doubtful. The head goddess, Luna has been extremely busy lately, and that keeps her focus elsewhere. And believe me, the other gods could care less about this Agent. I've gotten the first hand experience. No, I could care less what they say to this all...what comes around goes around." he glared thought the doors bitterly. "Besides", he added, "that orange lizard is a good friend; I owe him this one."
The bounty hunter slightly nodded, remaining silent as he watched the Agent reach into the interior of his coat and withdraw four objects; three metallic disks with gold M insignias prineted on the rounded tops of each, and one, well polished silver pistol. Gripping the pistol tightly in his right hand, Multex shifted all three disks to his left, them so that each was seperated from the others by a finger. "Havering had the entire gang with him, right?" he asked, gaze remaining on the almost beckoning doorway.
Vaurix nodded. "Yes. Himself, the Baron, Ratch Havoc, and two other robots of similar make. Vaurix couldn't help but notice how quickly Multex paled at the last statement. "Ratch..and two robots of his type of design??" "Yeah, the torso design was pretty similar, as were the joint guards. And by the looks, I'd say one's definately built for speed, like myself, and the other for strength." Multex's gaze narrowed as he muttered under his breath. "Great...just perfect..as if Tin Grin wasn't enough, now there's two more of the series in there, Along WITH Holograntis AND Havering! Sh**.."
As he spoke, the Agent slowly got down into a runner's stance, his right hand knuckles proping him up, the gun still clutched tightly in their grasp. The robotic bounty hunter glanced down with some unsurity. "Surely...you're not going for a run-and-gun." No response but the now rhythmic, timed breathing of the Agent came. "...You're a damed fool, Tex! This is one of the most obvious set ups I've seen yet!" He was cut off as Multex suddenly interjected. "No. It's no setup; not a full one at least. He did prepare for me, true, as my eye's picking up Ratch's heat signature a ways back, facing us. But Havering doesn't go for these types of ambushes; they're not his style, too hasty and dicey. No, if he's planning a setup, he'd have done it alone, with no subordinates to interfere with his plans.."Multex trailed off, leaving the last few words to be said and heard only in the depths of his mind.
"Just like I'd do it.."

--------------------------------------------------------
Within the span of a moment's time, the sanctuary had become host to the most hectic and chaotic battle it had ever seen. Through the doorway, what appeared to be a minature jet had cut through the air; too fast for what would have been a perfect swing of Anubarik's staff. It rocketed onward, Necronimus catching a wing and what appeared to be a red flash of laser fire in the chest; crashing through a bust on a pedastal against the right wall. As it neared Ratch, the sharp eyed commander quickly picked out that the blur was infact, two distinct figures. Such quickly became apparent, as, banking sharply upward, the green armored aircraft's passanger flipped off and away from his ride. Ratch easily made out the distinct body shape of his arch rival moments before the small metal disk flew on a direct path aimed for his body.
With a last moment blast of the thrusters in his boots, Ratch narrowly evaded taking the mine in the chest. Instead, it found a detonation zone on the mosaic tiled floor. In an instant, a grand portion of the expertly laid artwork was ripped from it's foundation as the massive explosion spread to nearly as far as the door. Necronimus appeared to have vanished in the flames of the blast, while Anubarik had taken refuge on top of the doorframe itself. Ratch snickered from his vantage point as the Agent seemed to be falling right for the the still blazing fires below. But, to his dismay, the aircraft's left wing slid back as an arm shot out, grabbing hold of Multex's sleeve and towing him upward to safety.
As the in-flight mode Vaurix banked sharply to avoid colliding with a rafter, Multex caught sight of the Jackal headed Anubarik, reading to spring. Without even a hint of the usual Multexian wit and sarcasm, the Agent uncerimonoiusly wound up and sent the second mine sailing. Though fast the Dark Sand was, he was not fast enough to totaly escape the second explosion of flames and shrapnel. He collided hard, front down, on the torn and scathed floor; a massive pannel of one ankle guard nearly blown to shreds. Calling up to the robot who nimbly dodged every extent of the two blasts, Multex found himself having to swing his legs upward to avoid getting them fried in a well aimed shot of Ratch's twin cannons. "Hey, best be dropping me off by those stairs over there! I'll take the second floor, you take the basement! Be on guard for the Baron, I haven't seen a trace of him."
"Right!", a voice echoed from near the nose of the jet-like robot, "I'll catch up with you if our dear mister Havering isn't my way! Good luck and try not to break too much!"
With an acrobatic swing and triple flip, the Agent landed in a crouch by the door of the stairwell, quickly dropping the last mine directly behind himself before making a mad dash up the twisting, sunlight staircase. At the same time, in mid flight, the aircraft's wings, torso, and nose cone shifted positions until Vaurix was once more in his usual form and bounding down a hallway neatly nestled aat the back of the foyer on the left wall. As a black-faced Necronimus half leapt to his feet, and Anubarik struggled out of the derbis that had buried him, Ratch only watched. As the final mine detonated, and the framework of the stairway collapsed in upon itself, the massive robot simply glared.
"Round one goes to you, Freak. But next time, there'll be no exits; just us and the Grim Reaper."
---------------------------

Compared to the mind-rending din of the foyer, the upper level of the Yoshi Sanctuary maintained a comforting silence. As his boots echoed on the tiled floor, Multex even swore he heard some sort of soft melody. It sounded fainly as if someone, somewhere was either singing softly, or playing some melodious instument. Though, albeit the song beautiful, and perhaps heavenly to the ears, the Agent couldn't help but feel a deep, dull pain within his body; increasing and fading almost in rhythm with the melody.
"Damn...if..that tune's giving me grief, I wonder how Pseudo's handling it...or where he is even.."
Moving down one side of the seemingly endless halls, Multex idly glanced about at the murals painted on the walls, and the occasional stained glass window. All seemed to be depicting scenes in Yoshi History with sunlight streaming in. Except for one, further on down the hallway. Passing numerous ornate tables with ancient vases, flowers and other such objects, it became clear that the black, shadowish light wasn't coming from a window, but from around the edges of one of several doors. Even stranger was the fact that every door but that one appeared to have been opened and half closed...as if someone had been in each and not bothered to completely cover their tracks.
Moving up to the nearest door, which was half open, The Agent slightly knelt to read an inscription on a small plaque under the doorknob. In Yoshian writing, the plaque simply read "Poshi". A flash of insight leapt into Multex's mind like a lightening bolt. "I'm in...the hall of the yoshi gods..I must be.
Now, while any of the Yoshis or their dieties could argue for hours of how the Agent knew such information, none could know the truth. Most likely because of the fact that, when he had visited numerous times, few of the lizard species in either the sanctuary or the Aurorium had paid him more than a nod or a wave. Such had brought Multex to the massive library of the sanctuary. It had been locked, and practically sealed with the ages, but Multex's usual luck had caused him to unwittingly gain entry, and nearly blow one of the doors off. But that was another story. Having blundered in, oh so long ago, the Agent began to pass the time on every visit reading many of the ancient texts, trying to understand a bit more on the yoshi species, and to perhaps gain him a bit of social status. But, such seemed to come to useless trivia in the end. Until now.
At the moment, Multex's memory was traveling back to the ancient tomes (some of which became ancient dust by the same Multexian 'luck'). According to the books, the ancient sanctuary had consisted of numerous areas of worship to the different gods and goddeses, a cellar with catacombs, and the hall of the gods, where he now stood. Thinking back to the readings, Multex slowly surveyed the corridor, comparing it to what knowledge he had somehow retained in his scatterbrained mind.
"Let's see...the hall of the gods was the physical place where the gods would sometimes manifest, sleep, eat, and dwell umong the mortals. Until they really started hanging out in Yoshi Olympus. Uh...hmm...this place was linked to Olympus somehow...some room.." Multex frowned in thought for a moment before snapping a finger and nodding to himself. "Right! The stairs of transcendence were located through a passage way linked to Luna's chambers, as she created the sanctuary! Which, if my guess is right, would be 1)Behind this closed door and 2)Where I'm going to slay that demon once and for all!"
And, with that mental declaration, Multex took a step back, summoned forth a full red Rage Force blaze, and charged! The door toppled under his force, and into the chamber he set foot. His eyes met those of a glass like, clear, endless depth depth. The eyes of Pseudo Havering.
"Welcome! Multex! Glad you could make it!" Havering beamed. "So good to see you now. Can I get you anything? A drink, earmuffs for this bloody cacophany, a lizard?" the Time Bender smiled, gesturing to the corner of the room nearest Multex. A sidewards glance revealed Lich, still standing straight as a statue. Turning his gaze back to Havering, Multex's eyes and mind finally noted why the room seemed a bit..dark. The walls and cieling seemed to be of the color and vaporous shifting manner that the Agent had seen only one other place, one other time. "So...you've taken this room to the..Corrupted Rip, eh?" Pseudo grinned, though this time, the friendly smile was replaced by the canine exposing sneer that still sent a chill down Multex's spine.
"Very estute of you! Bra-vo, Agent; you remembered! Recall that bout you and the projection of myself engaged in? The one that lasted near a week?" Havering snickered. Without even a change of expression, Multex assumed his usual fighting stance. "Yes, I do. I killed you. Now, I'm going to do it again. Get ready, Pseudo."
In the moment that followed, the only sounds were those of a pistol being activated and a long, chained sickle being drawn. Then, with a cry on either side, the battle began. Multex instantly fired off a furious storm of perfectly aimed shots, diving out of the way of the Noch Tlaht's blade which screeched for his face. The sickle head only missed severing the Agent's arm by a fraction, and the laser fire merely seemd to dissipate into thin air within feet of actually hitting their target. "Damn! He's got some sort of shielding! Gonna have to get in with full rage..",
As the battle raged on, Multex slowly fought his way inward, closing the distance between himself and that which was the cause of his life's hellish existance for so long. Though, with each punch, as Havering slowly realized and Multex didn't, one fact was becoming extremely certain to the demon. "Whyr above...He's RF enhancing each punch but..it's NOT fading a bit!! Astounding...He's...just like..."
Havering's thoughts were suddenly cut off by what sounded like a resounding straining of something extremely heavy sitting on very thin glass. Both made this realization at the same time. With a sudden, almost evil grin, Multex drew back his fist once more, winding up momentarily as the RF energy surrounded it in a dense red glow. "Rage Force...GRAVIK-PUNCH!!!" With a resounding bellow as he summoned forth the mighty technique, and, then, with a lunge like a ruthless predator readying to deal the death blow, he struck!
A low and loud rhythmic droning blared throughout the chamber. Waves of energy coursed against the now opaque dome of havering's shield in a reverse dome shape around the agent. Havering clenched his teeth, straining to maintain the barrier, but couldn't help noticing the strange demonic grin. This time, it was on the face of his foe.
"You can't beat THIS one, you ba****d!! Your projection couldn't, and YOU won't as well!! Get ready to die, Pseudo. I'm going to love this! Now, YOU suffer!!" Multex's voice growled. Suddenly, with a violent sound of something fragile cracking, Multex's aura seemed to blaze with an unrivaled fury. Still, fist frozen in mid punch, his body remaining in mid lunge in the air, Havering's barrier began to bend inward. It was a losing battle, and Pseudo could see it.
"Damn..his...RAGE FORCE!! I..Can't...keep this up against someone who only hits HARDER every time!! My..head's...throbbing! The...burn..."
And, with a shattering sound, finally, the punch hit home; a direct hit landing square on Havering's jaw. There wasn't a sound other than a groan of agony as the demon lost his footing and toppled backwards. His body, legs, and finally helmet covered head collided with the tile of the floor with an echoing crash.
Multex stood, panting, his breath showing his exaustion.
No movement from Havering. Not a jerk, or a spasm of pain. Nothing..

But, just the same, the Agent watched.

"....Dammit....I'm right..."

With a blinding movement, Havering was upright once more. His hand was on his chin, and his eyes burned with what looked like a mix of hatred and shock. "You!...You...INSIGNIFIGANT LITTLE DOG! You've got it; there's no doubt in my mind now!! You're going to pay for this, damn your soul, now YOU get to suffer!"
Multex didn't even see the attack coming. All he felt was the sharp stinging as the sickle decended upon his body like an enraged serpant. Pain came from all limbs, as well as a chill of something wet on his skin. Then, there was the sensation of being lifted, and hurled through the air. In the blink of an eye, Havering was there, waiting, knee drawn downward in preparation. The kick jarred his spine, and Multex cried out in pain as his body lurched in mid air and crashed to the floor, rolling once or twice. Havering's eyes blazed as he once again appeared where he had first stood. "How can such...Scum have it...? Ludicrous! You're nothing but a twisted reflection of what once was, and I'm going to purify my dreams, and that image by purging you from my sight.."
With amazing speed and an odd gracefullness, the Twilighter leapt back, pulling off a reverse flip as he soared through the surreally lighted air. As his flip completed, Pseudo's boots came into contact with the wall behind him, echoing this fact with a loud "clack!". Then, pushing off the wall, the demon once more flipped, this time forward. As this flip ended, it brought him to a crouch on the cieling; directly over the prone body of the Agent who was, by now, struggling to rise. With a bellow that could be described as nothing but demonic in origin, the Time Bender leapt from the cieling; cutting through the air like a bat out of hell. Midway in descent, he executed a final flip, righting himself.
The sickening "CRACK!" echoed throughout the room as Pseudo's boots met their mark on the Agent's chest. He watched as Multex's face contorted from one of mind-rending agony to one of questioning, awe, and shock. As he stepped back, the Agent made an odd, slightly mechanical wheezing noise before coughing up a grand amount of a light green substance on the floor next to him; slowly hugging himself, teeth locked together, eyes shut and unable to open. Finally, as if coming out of a daze, Sir Pseudo Havering slightly smiled..though one could almost sense a twinge of pity behind the grin.
"You assumed I would be as easily defeated as a meager projection...I'm insulted, and dissappointed, Multex. You were pitifully reckless this round; therefore I'm not even going to consider calling this a fight. You...have something; Im sure you can feel it. That which let you drop my blockade so easily. That is why I expect more out of you, and why you will never truly be accepted." Havering shook his head, gesturing to Lich. "Though you call them 'friends', you have no real friends...save the robot, and your agency aquaintences. But even they can't fathom you fully; and thus, you will always be alone. ...You're pitiful really. I thought you could do better than this. I feel foolish even considering you on my level."
With a snap of a finger, Lich seemed to revert to consciousness. And, with a sudden feeling in the contents of his stomach, he rushed from the room. But, with his exit, several more pairs of footsteps entered, all gathering behind their leader. Each seemed to be carrying numerous containers of all sizes on their person. Havering himself now held a gold pendant with a central green jewel in the palm of his hand.
"With your loss, I will take my right to kill you, and instead, keep those treasures which I have found here. I wonder what these relics could do for my abilities, being posessions of the gods, don't you?" Pseudo Snickered, closing his fist around the pendant. Multex could hear the rip hole as it opened, and the robots and now accounted for Baron leave through it. But Havering remained a moment longer. As multex forced one eye open, all he could see was Haverings grin. The canines exposed as again.
"Oh...I don't want you dying just yet. I still have need of that diamond you know. So, let's just say..this will be some incentive for you to live, hmm?" With the grin still present, Sir Pseudo Havering turned to the wall behind him. With a wave of his hand, the Corrupted Rip's darkened walls faded, revealing the middle of a massive bed chamber with moon symbols adorning most everything. Now, a massive set of double doors, intricately carved were set in the wall where the demon faced. "Hmm, by recalling your amazing intuition, I do believe you know these are the way to the Steps Of Transcendence. But of course you would- that's elementary! Now, for my little parting gift to you...here!" havering laughed, thrusting his right hand, palm open, at the massive double doors. With a shrill, drawn out hiss, the dull music that eminated from the sanctuary was suddenly cut off, and a trail of the familiar, black, shadowy light shot from Havering's hand towards the doors. With an echoing clang, a large, gold bar snapped into existance down the seperation of the two doors; locked tight with a massive, and familiar gold M insignia in th center.
With a laugh, havering turned to Multex, smiled, and bowed before vanishing from existance- leaving no trace of a battle. Not even the blood the Agent had coughed out remained, though his injuries were still very real. Everything was silent. Until, shortly later when the door was hastily forced open, then slammed shut. Vaurix sprinted over to Multex's body, quickly putting him in a fireman's carry. "We have to book it! Seems havering had the Baron over at the Aur..whatever building!, convincing folks you were going to wreak hell over here because of some cocamamey story about you wanting to be one of their group. Sounds insane, but apparently, Baron's a convincing actor. Don't bother talking, I can guess what happened...but now, if you're in there, dohang on with what you can..this is going to be dicey."
With a quick conversion to his flight mode, one hand remaining normal as to keep a grip on the agent's body, the bounty hunter rocketed for the only exit, crashing through a swarm of angered yoshies. With an extreme banking, and a half loop, the pair crashed out a large stained glass window, and into the late afternoon sky. And from his seat, wine glass in hand and full to the brim, Sir Pseudo Havering smiled.
"Check."