"That @%#$ fool! He act#@&$y managed to %$#^^&* my system." The robotic voice was filled with static and crackled like a distant radio signal.

The wolf and Bakade were both still lying on the splintered ground as Nugget rose up from the cracks. She closed her eyes as the overhead voice continued to crackle.

The chicken was hurt, she was covered in blood, dust, and singed feathers. Still, she refused to stand down. She hopped from one chunk of ground to another with her eyes still shut. Slowly, she got closer and closer to the now collapsed pylons.

She stopped as she got inside the perimeter of the pylons. The ground inside was in much better condition. There were barely even cracks along the fairly smooth ground, despite the wolf's recent attack just a few dozen feet away.

"Wa$t, how did y%$ survi$*?" the spectral voice had clearly taken notice of Nugget.

Nugget tilted her head towards the grown and then flung her eyes open. She almost seemed surprised as she saw the dirt in front of her face.

"What? Can't *ou ev&^ [email protected]#r me?"

Nugget ignored the voice as she careful dragged her talon across the ground in front of her. Small clouds of dust were flung into the air as she disturbed the dirt.

"Dumb animals. Don't &56w why # [email protected]'t get any go%^ help ar%$nd here." the voice complained.

Nugget raised her leg up towards the sky as high as she could. She held it above her head for just a moment as her muscles seemed to tense up. In the next instant, her foot had come all the way down with such force that her entire body twisted around.

A loud dust cloud flew into the air as her downward kick created a small hole where dirt had been. At the bottom, a small glint of metal appeared.

Nugget closed her eyes again as the dust surrounded her. Her head tilted up until she was facing the oval shape that was at the center of this circle. With a hop, she leaped up and landed on top of it.

There was a loud, high pitched droning sound that was followed by a quick series of ones and zeroes were listed off too quickly to truly understand, "01001000 01100101 01111001 00101100 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101111 01100110 01100110 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01110101 01101101 01100010 00100000 01110100 01110101 01110010 01101011 01100101 01111001 00100001"

SKREEEE

It sounded like nails dragging on a chalkboard as Nugget scratched the top of the oval.

It was like a factory had just been switched on. The sound of moving machinery roared to life. Gears turning, furnaces blasting, metal doors sliding open against the worn concrete beneath them. The sound of industry all rolled up into a neat little ball, and Nugget's little scratch seemed to awaken all of it.

A mechanical hand lifted up from underneath the ground and flew towards Nugget. The hen was still obscured by smoke, but with her eyes closed her head perked up towards the sound the moving hand made. She quickly dashed off to the side, as the hand slammed down against the oval where she had been just a second ago.

Nugget stumbled slightly as the ground underneath her began to quake. Then, the dirt began to crumble and crack as the ground itself tilted up towards the sky. More and more metal was revealed as chunks of earth fell back towards the ground.

She did not move away quick enough and was carried up quite a ways before she actually fell off. Instead of freefalling towards the ground, Nugget leaped from falling boulder to falling boulder, until she landed on the crushed remains of one of the pylons.

Towering over her was a massive machine of twisted black metal with sections of red highlights that glowed with the raw power obviously coursing through them. On top was a clear dome that was currently filled with smoke.

"Successful reintegration of backup systems implemented." A feminine, and clearly childlike voice called out.

"There now." the voice was much clearer now.

As the smoke cleared in the dome-like head, it revealed an old man with severe balding and bushy white hair where it still clung on to his scalp. He had a black lab coat with black rubber gloves on. With an air of superiority that surrounded him.

It was the old man that had tormented Sid.

"Well, well, well. Seems anyone that comes here can't help but drink."

The smiling man had suddenly appeared by Abraham, Azrail, Harold, and the hollow king while they were drinking.

"Wh...who are you?" Harold stepped back as he dropped his mug of alcohol in surprise.

"Now, now, you can't just go an spill something this good." the smiling man grinned as he was suddenly right next to Harold and holding his dropped mug.

Abraham frowned at the man who was somehow constantly obscured. Azrail raised an inquisitive eyebrow as his eyes tried to focus on the newcomer.

"I...I asked you a question," Harold said a little firmer as he regained some of his composure. "And I expect an answer."

"You want to know about me? Why, I'm flattered!" he giggled menacingly. "But after everything that's happened, I'm afraid I am no one of consequence. Not important a smidge."

Azrail grinned. "Come now, you're being modest. It's obvious you're important. Why, that frightful presence of yours is enough to make you important on its own."

The smiling man looked down at the hollow king. The emaciated man was just sitting there with a smirk of his own, and the smiling man's beaten-up hat in his hand.

"Glad you took such good care of it," he purred.

And then, he was gone.

"Hey, there's got to be an outlet somewhere around here, right?" the man's voice called to them from a where the kitchen used to be.

"He's avoiding answering," Abraham grunted.

"He must have a reason for it," theorized Azrail. "Why? Does it make you nervous?"

Abraham was almost shaking, and he grinned at Azrail's question. "Nervous? No. It makes me want to fight him."

The smiling man walked back over to them with a metal box in his hands. "Nevermind, I think we can figure something out."

He set down the box with a thud, and then pulled out a small cube from the side of his pants. It may have been a pocket, but it was too hard to see exactly what any part of him was doing to know for sure.

There was a power cord on the box, and he plugged it into the cube. A low electrical hum rang out, and he smiled with satisfaction.

"There now," he said as he patted his hands together. "All ready to wait this mess out."

"You certainly like to take control, don't you?" Abraham chuckled as he cracked his knuckles.

"Only now and then, when my lessers like you need some instruction, you see." he explained. "Besides, I promised I'd be back with some friends, and they should be showing up some time."

"Friends?" Azrail asked as he rubbed his chin.

"Oh yes. Not that we don't have faith in the little rag tag group that's formed and all, but better safe than sorry you know. A ruptured world is no joke after all." he rambled as he started to press through buttons on the box.

Abraham snorted. "Doesn't matter if a world ends if you die a sinner on the new one you jumped ship to, does it?"

The smiling man stopped abruptly and turned towards Abraham with a wide grin. "Oh, but it makes a world of difference. Not everything dies just once, or so easily. But if the world itself dies, well...not much many things can do about that."

"But why would someone do that? Are they gathering the energy of all these worlds for something?" Azrail queried.

The smiling man let out a mocking laugh. "It's always the simple answers you see. Blind rage. Revenge. Nothing to gain, just wanting to hurt." His grin grew malicious as he tilted his face towards the lightning filled sky. "The purest motivations always get the best results you see, and not many have a purer desire than that man."

The smiling man was silent for a moment as he bent down and rummaged through the debris. "Now," Azrail was knocked back a bit as the smiling man threw a microphone into his chest. "What kind of song should we start this party with?"