Introduction
No… it wasn't possible!
But it was. The being known as X moaned in pain, suffering the agony of knowing that it had all been for nothing. Selectol had been destroyed.
How had it happened? What had caused his homeworld to suddenly be obliterated in an instant? Had his race destroyed itself, or had their enemies been responsible?
He didn't know.
And that was the worst of all. This had been so unexpected, and there was no why… it simply was. He had no purpose, no reason…
He had to return. He had to determine if his senses were accurate… if this was truly…
Deep in his soul, he knew it was. But perhaps… perhaps there would be survivors. Others, like him, with whom he could engineer a fresh start. A rebirth.
He had to leave. It was imperative that he return home… if it could still be called that. And yet, he could not leave with matters in the state they were at present. The Black Hole Plan…
That was the key.
The Black Hole Plan… A malevolent twist, that not even that idiot Katse would see coming. It would serve these puny minions right. This was appropriate recompense for their multitude of failures. And no one had been more of a failure than his own creation.
Of course, he couldn't leave such an important thing to Katse. That bungling fool had been thwarted far too many times by the Science Ninja Team. At some level, X understood that if he were to leave now, Galactor would be defeated once again, and his plan would never come to fruition.
X had to stay on this worthless rock until the bitter end.
He couldn't afford another failure, and he could not trust in Katse. His power to act himself was limited, as a result of the unique combination of the vast networks of ultraredonic magnetic pulls associated with this planet. Without significant shifts in the Earth's mantle, he was unable to physically move, and his powers only stretched so far.
But there was another option.
The apparatus.
Before he had left Selectol, his superior had given him this device, carefully instructing that it was only to be used 'in times of extreme emergency; where there is absolutely no other alternative'. X understood the meaning behind this dire warning: the results were unknown, and only to be risked if there was nothing left to lose.
Perhaps this was the time…
But then again, was all truly lost? Was it completely impossible that Berg Katse might succeed on his own, without outside aid?
A mere thought brought the Chaos Apparatus close to hand, its inky black surface seeming to engulf all other light in the chamber. X stared at it, lost in its ebony depths.
Did he dare?
Activating the apparatus meant giving up control: handing over the results of this contest to pure chance. For Time itself would be disrupted, and Chaos would ensue… and who was to say whether that chaos would help or hinder his cause? In the fifty orbits he had suffered on this remote world, he had never once even thought of activating the apparatus. But now, was there truly any other choice? If he left the planet, then Berg Katse would fail. In his soul, he knew it to be so.
Passing a portion of his energy over the Chaos Apparatus was sufficient to activate the device. The very air seemed to hum on a molecular scale, and he could feel the matter of which he was made begin to tear itself apart, atom by atom. A bright blue light enveloped his entire being, flashing forth, only to be swallowed by the darkness of the Earth surrounding him.
What had he done?
Horrified by his actions, X pulled back his energy, shutting down the process he had barely begun. This Chaos Apparatus could spell his doom! Before he could be tempted once more, he banished the device to the furthest reaches of his domain: a place that would never be disturbed again. X had made his decision. He would remain on Earth just a few days longer: long enough to supervise Katse, and ensure that the Black Hole Plan reached its appropriate conclusion.
From deep within the bowels of the Earth, the Chaos Apparatus was still. Yet a pinpoint of light had appeared on its otherwise perfect surface.
All was not as it had been before.