Episode Seven: Whispering Illusion 2: Invocation Of Apocolyptic Evil

The land surrounding the remains of Quahog was dark, and bleak. Almost everything and everyone had been destroyed.

(Bhaal: This is gonna cost us SO much money to fix...DAMMIT.)

Jaina stood there, with what remained of her beloved family. They had been attacked, injured, and some of them killed by the man they once idolized.

(Material: This is GRIFFIN IDOL!)

The US Army had tried to stop him, but they couldn't do a thing against a being so strong. Sometimes, Jaina would look up to the stars...wondering where this God that everyone was praying to was. If he really loved his children, why wouldn't he save them from this nightmare. Jaina looked over at her half sister, Rosie. In a way, they had both lost their fathers in this battle. Rosie's had been killed...and Jaina's father was no longer recognizeable. Jaina had watched in horror as the evil being that had attacked their town hurled her mother into a building, and crushed her under the weight of it all. Tears began to form in her small eyes. The once innocent, sweet, adorable little girl was now a shell of her former self.

(Bhaal: I hate it when my former self hides in his shell.)

There was nothing left for her in this world. She was done for...as was her sister. But if she was going down...she was going to take that monster down with her.

(Material: Yaaay! Self Sacrifice!)

With a look of determination to her sister, they merged into their powerful Spirit Merging form. Standing tall and proud, she stepped out onto the battlefield that had been carved out by the destruction of the city she called home. She saw him standing there...laughing his head off, a maniacal laugh that only further strengthened her conclusion that he was dead to the world...and couldn't be brought back.

"TURN AROUND AND FIGHT ME!" she yelled, her voice deep with rage.

He turned around...his face almost covered by the twisted shadow that had corrupted him.

"Well well my dear," he said, "I do believe that you have a death wish. You may go. Take what's left of your 'family' and flee. I will not follow you. You are not the one I'm after."

"You once saved me when I turned to evil," Jaina said, "Now I have to do the same...Dad!"

Matt gave a twisted grin, and drew his sword, "Then you will die trying!"

(Material: Oh this should be good.)

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(One Hour Earlier...)

(Material: Bhaal, you're a jackass!)

Meg sat on her bed, looking at the latest letter from Matt. There were tear stains on her face. Matt's unit had been ambushed late at night, and only a few of them made it out alive. The letter said that Matt was planning to assault the base of the people who had attacked them. She had not heard anything from him since then. This letter was sent a month ago, and news from the Army was that Matt's unit had gone missing. She got up, and she knew that Matt could get out of there okay...he would never leave her alone. Climbing out of bed, she headed downstairs, where Lois and Jaina were eating lunch.

"Hi guys," she said, "What's for lunch?"

"Just some sandwiches," Jaina said, telekineticly handing her one from the counter.

(Bhaal: What's funny is that she does it so casually, like her powers are nothing.)

"Thank you sweetie," Meg said, sitting down and biting into her lunch.

"We heard what happened to Matt's unit," Lois said, "It's terrible."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Meg said, pulling out a picture that Matt had sent her several months ago. It was him standing with his unit...and he had Kevin leaning on his shoulder. There was one thing strange about him though. There were black and red veins almost completley covering the entire left side of Matt's face...like it was some kind of virus...or something even worse.

Then, there was a knock on the door. Meg got up to answer it, and was shocked to see Kevin standing there, supporting himself on two crutches, with a bandage wrapped around his head, and his shoulder bleeding.

"Kevin!" Meg said, helping him in, "What are you doing here?"

"General Ryder," Kevin panted, "He's gone insane."

(Material: Insane in the membrane!)

"Matt?" Meg asked, "What happened?"

"Well..."

(Flashback)

We were doing fine against our enemies. Matt was a great leader, and he never left any of us behind.

Matt, and several others were crouched behind cover, with enemy troops firing at them.

"Orders sir?" Kevin asked.

"No orders," Matt said, "I'll deal with them myself."

But as he used more and more power to win battles, the more and more sinister he became.

He jumped out, and all the other's could see was a black shadow blast over the truck they were hiding behind. When they came out, they saw the enemies dead, and Matt panting. A closer look showed black and red veins creeping up on his face.

"Are you alright sir?" asked one troop.

"Shut up," Matt sneered, "Now get into that outcroping."

Then one day...he just snapped and started killing us all.

"Sir, what are your orders?" asked one troop.

"My orders?" Matt asked, in a much more evil sounding voice, "Just one...DIE!"

With that, he cut down his troop, and the rest of him men. However, Kevin managed to hide behind a tank, and avoid detection.

(End Flashback)

"When he stopped killing people, and took off into the sky, I immedietly came here to warn somebody," Kevin panted.

(Bhaal: Do you know anybody I could warn?)

"What do you mean Matt started killing his own men?" Lois asked.

(Material: I think it was pretty obvious.)

"What did I just say?" Kevin asked, "I said he started killing his own men. I heard him say something about a global purge, but then he took off."

"Global Purge?" Meg asked, "Oh my god...I think Matt is going to slaughter the whole world."

"He would never do that," Lois said, "You were just talking to him last month."

(Flashback)

"So Matt, I can't wait until you get home," Meg said seductivly.

"Oh really?" Matt asked over the phone, "What are you going to do?"

"You'll have to wait and see," Meg said.

"Oh damn you," Matt said in mock anger, "You know what Meg? You're my kryptonite...you're the only thing that can hurt me."

(End Flashback)

"I've already warned the army," Kevin said, "They think he might come here first."

"And why do they think that?" Lois asked.

"Because I also heard him say 'the gung-ho US goes first'," Kevin said.

Then, there was another knock on the door. Lois answered it, and it was Joe this time.

"Lois, I just got a call saying that Matt has entered the city with intent to kill," he said, "What is this all about?"

(Bhaal: It's a slow day for you guys isn't it?)

"Ask your son," Lois said, "He's in here."

Joe peered in, and couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw.

"Oh my god...KEVIN!" he ran in and hugged his son tightly.

"I'm alright Dad," Kevin said, "It was Matt who saved me."

Then, without warning, the house across the street (Not Cleveland's, a different house.) (Material: Oh well, that's good) exploded in a ball of fire. The entire family ran out, to see a black figure hovering over it, a pair of sinister looking, black wings on his back. Then, the army showed up, pointing every weapon they had at the airborne man. He landed to the ground, his wings dissappearing into his back. He lowered his hood, and showed that it was Matt.

"General Matthew Ryder," said President Obama through a megaphone (Bhaal: You know with him here that this is not gonna end well.), "You are under arrest for conspiracy to commit mass murder. Please come quietly, or we will be forced to take action."

"...And what action to you intend to take?" Matt yelled, his voice slightly deeper and more malevolent, "If it's a fight you want...you've got it."

Matt drew both his swords...they were both dark Valkyrie Swords. In a flash, him and the army were in Downtown Quahog.

"Quick, get in the car!" Peter yelled, "I'm not missing this for the world!"

Before they could do anyhting, though, a portal appeared, and out stepped Matthew Kennedy and Rosie Kennedy.

"Jaina, I got your call for help," Rosie said, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Jaina replied, "Come with us, we'll have to make sure."

Everyone piled into the car...except for Meg, who was digging through the umbrella stand.

"Hurry up Meg!" Peter yelled.

Meg found what she was looking for, Matt's golden Angel sword. She stuck it in her belt, and got in the car.

"What did you bring that for?" Lois asked.

"I don't know...I just feel like I need it," Meg replied.

They tore off down the street, without a second glance.

In Downtown, Matt was standing before the entire US army. Only one thought was in his head: Kill.

(Material: Well this should be easy. He only has swords and the rest of the have massive guns and firearms.)

The troops in the army readied their guns, and open fired. Matt drew his swords, and spun them in complicated fashions in an arc in front of him. Every bullet that came his way rebounded off the blades of his swords, some even being directed back at the person who fired it.

(Bhaal: Whoa!)

(Material: Hey how come we don't get swords? All we have are these crappy guns!)

As soon as the soldiers had ceasesed fire, Matt lunged at the nearest one, slaughtering him in a way to horrifying to describe.

(Bhaal: And we weren't focusing on this guy before because...?)

Then, in a whirl of unholy steel, he quickly turned on the rest of the soldiers. They dropped like flies, each one too heroic to save their own skin.

(Material: Pfft! Americans.)

Matt was easily able to dispatch the first wave, laughing insanely at the carnage he was causing. He peered into the distance, and saw that several snipers had taken refuge in the taller buildings. Matt lifted his hand, and closed his fist. The buildings they were in crushed in on themselves, and fell into a pile of rubble. Looking up, Matt spotted several helicopters flying overhead, pointing massive guns at him. He hurled his off hand sword into the sky, slicing off the propellors, and easily removing the tail of the nearest one. It fell to the ground with a sickening crunch.

(Bhaal: I'm seeing a Wolverine reference here.)

(Material: Guys, we need to try something else other than standing here and getting killed.)

Matt leapt into the sky, landing inside the second one. He quickly killed the pilot, and destroyed the controls. Leaping out as it fell to the ground, he blasted a Shockwave at the final helicopter, reducing it to bits of painted scrap metal.

(Material: Okay, that was...different, but we're still getting killed.)

He landed on the ground, not even hurt. In the twenty minutes that he had fought, he had destroyed almoset half the US army, and a few of their aircraft. He turned to the person who dared to put up a fight against him...Obama. He tightened his grip on his swords, and charged at him. Deflecting the bullets from the remaining soldiers, he got closer and closer.

(Material: Okay, you know you're going to have a lot of emails from the politicly correct, right?)

At that moment, the Griffins, Kennedys and Ryders pulled up at the end of the street. Meg got out as soon as the car stopped, and ran toward her husband. Climbing over rubble, corpses, and broken weapons, she drew Matt's sword. But, when she got close enough to him, he stopped his charge at the President, and turned around to face her. Without a word, he grabbed her by the throat, and gave a twisted, evil grin. Spinning her around, he hurled her into a nearby office building. Lifting and moving his hand, he brought the enitre structure down around her. It collapsed into a pile of rubble and broken glass. There had been no time for her to scream.

Jaina, Matthew and Rosie got out of the car as well. They gasped at what they had just seen Matt do.

"Oh my god," Jaina said, "He killed Mom."

(Bhaal: Thank you Madame Obvious.)

"I have to stop him," Matthew said.

"The hell do you plan to do?" Peter asked from the car.

(Material: I'll be quiet at him until he DIES!)

"What I have to do," Matthew said, grabbing a gun from the ground, and charging in.

He got a hundred yards from Matt, when he was blasted away by a red particle spell. He hit the ground, and crumbled into ash.

"Dad!" Rosie yelled, "Oh no, we're all going to die!"

"No we're not Rosie," Jaina said, starting to cry, "We're going to stop him."

"Why the hell do I have to stop him?" Rosie asked, "I'm not related to him, or a part of this story."

"He's married to your...late mom," Jaina argued, "That makes him your stepfather!"

"...Touche," Rosie said.

Jaina took a good look at the carnage before them, and the reality of what she had to do set in.

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(Material: Wow, that was the longest flashback ever.)

Jaina drew her daggers, her tall form standing powerful and proud. However, she knew she didn't stand a chance. Matt was far more powerful, and far more skilled than she was. This would most likely be her last fight. But, if this was her last fight, she would do as much damage as she could before she died. Matt took a step towards her, but in a flash of light, there was somebody standing between them. It was an Angel. One with wings far larger than Jaina, and he wore similar robes to Matt, though his were the purest white. There was a staff on his back, with blades on either side, leaving a two foot handle between them. Jaina suddenly felt safe with this man here.

"Matthew Ryder," he said, "Come back to the light. Let us help you."

Matt merely laughed, "Don't fight a battle you can't win, Archangel."

(Bhaal: What kind of a name is Archangel, anyway?)

"The I will have to destroy you," Archangel said, standing next to Jaina, "Keep your guard up, Matt has a very aggressive fighting style."

Jaina responded by getting into a battle stance. Matt replied by sheathing his swords, and lifting his hands. Massive pieces of rubble rose up, and hurled themselves at the two. Jaina and Archangel quickly jumped out of the way, taking flight into the skies. Jaina held both her hands out, and rained fireballs onto her father. Archangel supported her by raining down shards of ice. Matt held both his hands out, summoning up a dark bubble that swallowed their attacks. He fired a Shockwave, followed by a dark tendril into the sky. Jaina was struck by the Shockwave, but managed to dodge the other spell. She flew back down, charging at him. When she got close enough, she teleported behind him, and struck him in the neck with her fist. Not waiting to see if it had any effect, she simply flipped back, kicking him to the ground in the process. Archangel, not allowing Matt time to recover, blasted Lightningat his fallen form. The electricity surged through Matt's body, and he writhed in agony. Jaina caught a glimpse of his face, and saw the black and red veins receding somewhat. When the lightning stopped, Matt lay motionless, but the veins began to creep back onto his face. In an instant, he leapt up, and flew after Archangel. He drew his swords with lightning speed, and drove them into his gut. Archangel screamed out in agony, then burst into a thousand tiny particles.

(Material: Well, his sword is vastly superior.)

Matt turned his attention to his daughter. With a horrifying cry, he leapt at her. Jaina dodged Matt's charge, and struck him with a barrage of prismatic bolts. Matt fell to the ground, limp. He slowley turned over, to see Jaina charging at him. Reacting quickly, he threw his swords forward, and they both ran right through her stomach. Jaina stopped in her tracks. The pain was tremoundous for her. SHe fell to her knees, Matt's swords still sticking out of her stomach. Matt got to his feet, chuckling.

"You were foolish," Matt said, his voice laden with a screechy undertone, "And you have lost."

He grabbed the hilts of his swords, and wrenched them from her gut. Jaina fell to the ground, coughing up blood. WIth all her power, she split back into Baby Jaina and Rosie. They lost conciousness shortly afterward.

"Oh my god," Lois said, her voice barely a whisper, "What's happened to him?"

(Bhaal: Uh, he's evil...hello! It's only been an occuring thing for the WHOLE STORY!)

"J...Jaina?" Stewie said, tears coming to his eyes.

"What are we going to do?" Lois said.

Matt turned to them, and started walking toward them.

"Oh my god, he's coming this way," Lois said, starting to get scared.

Mat got closer and closer to them. Just behind him, though, the pile of rubble that had collapsed on top of Meg began to move. Jaina and Rosie stirred, slowley getting up, reverting back to their normal forms having healed their wounds. Then, Meg dug her way out of the pile of rubble. Her clothes were tattered and torn, and her hat was missing. Her hair was messed up, and it was scattered all aorund her head. There was a look of unrelenting fury on her face.

"ENOUGH TRICKS!" she yelled, causing Matt to halt, "FIGHT LIKE A MAN!"

He slowly turned around, and smiled.

"It seems that you're very hard to kill," he siad, his voice still thick with the screechy undertone.

Meg revealed that she was holding Matt's golden Angel sword. It seems that having the sword had protected her from the thousands of pounds of steel that she had been buried under. Matt smirked, and leapt at her. Flipping and spinning, he landed by delivering a fatal blow to Meg's neck...but Meg parried the attack? Matt spun and hit her again, but this was also blocked. Meg took advantage of Matt's bewilderment to spin around and deliver a roundhouse kick to his jaw. Matt stumbled back in agony, but quickly regained his composure. He ran at Meg, slashing at her side, but Meg blocked the blow. Meg and Matt started swordfighting feircly, neither one being able to break the other's defenses. Matt's movements were wide and aggressive, but Meg's were controlled and basic.

(Material: You know, it would be pretty pathetic if this battle hardened warrior, who just took down a global superpower and two Angels got beaten by a teenage girl who'se never held a sword before.)

Matt was fueled by anger and hatred toward something she could not see. Why had Matt done this? Was he truely evil at heart? Or was the new powers he got as a Valkyrie corrupting him? Meg snapped out of her thoughs to slash at Matt's side. It hit! Meg took this success to flee, and run up the stairs of another nearby building. Matt stayed on the outside, firing Extrocate spells at the walls, trying to blast her into oblivion. Meg reached the roof, but Matt was already there, his wings dissappearing into his back.

Meg struck down at him, but it was block. She spun around and slashed at his legs, but he backflipped off the building onto a nearby crane. Meg folowed him, though she had more difficulty. Meg struggled to keep her balance on the crane, though Matt had no trouble at all. Matt unleashed a sequence of attacks, that Meg had trouble blocking, but she managed. Then, she heard an explosion. They both turned in time to see a rocket headed straight for them. With no other option, Meg leapt off the crane, as did Matt, and fell to the ground below.

The wind on Matt's face was calming. Then, the black veins on his face dissappeared. He looked around, as if he did not knowhow he had gotten there. Then, he saw Meg next to him, falling to her death. Matt rolled over her, and grabbed her upper arms. His wings spread, and he tried desperatly to pull up. He levelled out, and let Meg go when he was close enough to the ground, but he himself collided headfirst into a pile of destroyed metal, and was knocked out. The veins came back onto his face, and he stood up with the sadistic grin on his face again. He turned to Meg, and charged at her, knocking her sword from her hand, and knocking her to the ground. He pointed his sword at her, and laughed.

"Did you really think you could beat me alone?" Matt laughed, "There's no way you can kill me."

"Who said I had to kill you?" Meg asked.

(Bhaal: I kinda assumed it, since you were fighting me.)

"DAD! HELP! SOMEBODY'S TRYING TO KIDNAP ME!" came Jaina's cry from the distance.

The veins on Matt's face dissappeared, and he looked up, "Jaina?" he called out, worried.

Meg, not noticing the change in Matt, grabbed the sword next to her, and slashed at his face. The blade grazed across his eyes, and he reared back in pain.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled, clutching his eyes in agony. Then, Rosie leapt up behind him, and slammed one of Jaina's daggers into his back.

Matt's arms flew out from his body, and he let out a mournful cry, as a black and white smoke erupted from him. He fell to the ground...motionless.

(Material: And the was the third time I died.)

Meg, breathing heavily, turned Matt over, and gasped at what she saw. His face was back to normal, and his expression was peaceful. The only explaination was that he had reverted back to his old self before Rosie has stabbed him. She covered her mouth with her hands, and fell back against the shattered wall of the building she was backed to. Lois, peter and Chris came running over. Lois picked up Jaina and Rosie, while Chris helped Meg up. She was crying so hard that she could barely stand.

(Material: No wait, I recinder that, I'm positive he's still alive.)

(Bhaal: Yeah, that's not even a surprise anymore.)

"What have I done?" Meg said, "I killed him again."

(Material: Wow Bhaal, you're so lazy you have the characters answering their own questions.)

"Meg...you did what you had to do," Lois said, "You saw what he did."

"But he was a good man," Meg said, "He was back to normal before I killed him."

"Well, can you explain what made him go crazy?" Lois asked.

"...No...I can't," Meg cried, "All I know is that the Matt I knew was in there somewhere...and I killed him!"

Peter lifted up Matt's body, and followed the rest of the family to the car. Suddenly, a bubble fell over the whole family, excluding Matt's body, and there was a brilliant flash.

"What was that?" Peter asked.

"That was me," Jaina said weakly, "I erased everyone's memory. Even the one in Dad's brain."

"But he's dead," Peter replied.

"This should prevent anyone trying to figure out what happened," Jaina coughed, "Let's just go home."

They all filed out to the car. Peter put Matt in the trunk, and drove off. They didn't go straight home, they stopped at at cliff over the beach. Jaina used what was left of her powers, with Rosie's help, and carved out an altar. They laid Matt's body on it, and set a stone up in front of it. Jaina used her dagger to carve out a message, to anyone who would walk by.

Matthew William Ryder. Husband, Father, Warrior

(Bhaal: Mary Sue, Protagonist, Jackass, Villian, Overpowered Omnipotent Warrior-Magician-)

(Material: Okay, we get it.)

Meg set Matt's golden sword in his hands, and took the black ones from him. They left him there. They drove away, heading home. You could hear Meg and Jaina crying until the car dissappeared down the road.

Matt's body laid on the little altar made by his daughter. His sword was in his hands, and he was holding it like a true warrior would. Then...in a single second...his hands tightened around the hilt.

(Material: See? What did I tell you?)

End Episode