The day had arrived. Once everything at the tower was over and done with, Magolor had called Daroach to remind him of their meeting. Daroach was told to bring everyone, and he planned to do exactly that. It seemed Taranza had seen them on their way and joined in. When they got to Onion Ocean, Magolor was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where is he?" Daroach called Magolor on the phone. "Where are you?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? The meeting's cancelled."

"WHAT?"

"I imagine this is the first time you've ever been stood up, so let me explain further. You've been had, rodent. Don't bother looking for me. I need everything to go smoothly and I can't risk putting you or anyone else in danger." He hung up.

"Taranza."

"Yes?"

"We're hunting him down. Come along."

"Aye aye, captain."

As the rest of the squeaks split up to search Popstar, Daroach took Taranza along personally to where the Lor Starcutter was usually landed. To his surprise, it was still there. Then they went to check on Daroach's ship. It was not still there. Daroach tried calling Magolor again after noticing that. No answer. He tried again. Nothing. Then Taranza tried. This time, he picked up. "Hello?"

"YOU STOLE HIS SHIP?"

"Yikes!" He hung up.

The two went back to the Lor Starcutter. Taranza called to the ship. "Do you know where Daroach's air ship is?"

"I do. Isn't that Daroach himself next to you? Wouldn't he know?"

Daroach was outraged. "No! Magolor tricked me and stole it!"

The ship was silent for a moment. "That does explain one thing."

"What?"

"Your ship is on Halcandra."

- ... . / .-. .-.. .- -. / .. ... / -.-. - - .. -. -. / - - -. . - ... . .-.

The four headed dragon kept watchful eyes over the ever-expanding factory that was covering the planet. A voice from behind them prompted them to turn around. "Landia. It's been, what, nine years?" They turned around and saw the face of the devious mage who'd gone to extreme lengths to steal the crown.

"What are your intentions?" The dragon asked, sure that they would be unsatisfied with the response.

"I'm just here to meet with an old acquaintance. I wanted to speak to you first because I don't want to fight you for that."

"Where is the Lor Starcutter?"

"I left her behind. I didn't want her to get attacked here."

"Acceptable answers. We will let you go, but know that you will regret any reprehensible actions you may commit."

Magolor nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Landia. And… I truly am sorry."

The conveyor belts hauled various denizens of Halcandra through the hallways and machinery of the factory. Spiked plates moved up and down. Eels in the water slithered in and out of the pipes they dwelled in. Magolor travelled through the engines, much more expansive than he remembered. His destination was a moderately sized open area amidst the chaos of the machinery. He arrived, and lay eyes upon the one he'd been searching for. "You know, I always did consider you an anomaly. You exist, despite having no discernable origin. You hold power over this planet, despite never being put in that position. Very little about the nature of your existence makes any sense, unless you know what I do."

" You… know? And what exactly is it that you have learned? "

"I knew it. You could speak all along, General. Or… no. You've been calling yourself that for so long, I suppose you've forgotten your humility. I should be calling you… R1-G."

The blue robot finally turned to face Magolor head on. " Go on. "

Magolor felt the anger welling up within him when he looked into the robot's eyes. "Is it a monologue you want? If so, I'd be happy to oblige."

" I'd love to hear it. Please, explain all you know. "

Magolor already had his thoughts lined up. He got his nerves under control, folded his hands in front of him, and began.

"Project Restoration was created for the purpose of bringing Halcandra back to its former glory. To that end, they made a facility and built a portal that was intended to eventually be used to send the subjects to Halcandra. Then they made the subjects. They had two concepts. You, a robot designed to be able to get the land pollution under control, and me, made to be the new captain of the Lor Starcutter. You realized fairly early on that you were being mistreated by your caretaker, but assumed that was just the researchers being uncaring. That changed when I was born. Because you were made to be able to interface with all sorts of technology, you figured out the security cameras in the facility pretty quickly.

Because you had eyes on what was happening in most of the facility, you noticed the contrast between the two of us. You were treated in a way that implied they thought you were expendable, whereas I was not. Subconsciously, they looked at you as lesser because you're a robot. Eventually, it became too much to bear. You faked a facility break-in and attack on both subjects, when really it was just you breaking out of your room and into my room. You brought the fragment of the Master Crown with you, which was kept in your room because a robot wouldn't succumb to any temptation. Where they got that fragment, I'm still not sure.

That was the first time I ever met you. We didn't talk. I barely even saw you. But you saw me, and did much more than that. You embedded the fragment into my head, and waited for someone to notice. Unfortunately for you, the first person who noticed made sure no one else would find out, so you took matters into your own hands. You broke into my room again and stole me away to reveal to the other researchers. When they found out, they took away my father's log and deliberated over my euthanasia. During the meeting, the presence of a bomb in the facility was announced, and everyone panicked and went to climb aboard the evacuation vessel. The bomb was, of course, planted by you. Because you were absent from the meeting due to being a fellow subject, you had time to move the bomb to the evacuation vessel, but set it up so that no one would notice that it moved. My father used the evacuation to try and escape through the recently calibrated portal with me in tow. When you noticed that was happening, you wanted to make sure I lost that influence, so you flew into the room through the garbage chute and killed him.

I was unconscious at that point, so you gathered the contents of the case and prepared to take me to Halcandra and leave me on my own. But then, a problem arose. The vessel exploded, which not only killed everyone on it, but did considerable damage to the facility. That damage rocked the room we were in, and destabilized the portal. Because of that, I ended up getting sent through the portal before it could recalibrate, which left you alone in the facility with the case I was in and my father's log. The portal recalibrated, so you took those things and went to Halcandra.

I was stuck in Another Dimension, and would remain there for a while. In the meantime, you found the Lor Starcutter before I did, and used the artificial extension method to ensure that the mind of the ship didn't awaken while you were there. Your goal was to interface with the Lor Starcutter, which wasn't very difficult, so you had eyes on the system and could control it at will. Once you were in, you left a drone behind in the Lor, and then shut her down. Then, you worked on establishing yourself as a leader so you could effectively take over most of the planet. Once your monopoly was self sustaining, which took you about two years, you tried utilizing the artificial extension method to send me to Halcandra using her portal creation technology. It took you a few tries, because you weren't designed with the intention of actually operating the Lor. Once, by accident, you ended up giving Marx a portal to Popstar.

When you finally got it right, you put yourself in a position where I'd be forced to find you and rely on you for survival. After all, I had no food. With that fragment in my head, and with the anger and sorrow I built up from being alone and scared for all that time, it was guaranteed that I'd try to take that crown eventually. It wasn't exactly an intended side effect, but it worked out well for you. All that was left was to just play your role, wait for me to get the crown, and I'd regain my memories at that moment and be grateful to you. Or, that was what you thought would happen. The plan with the Master Crown ended up being a complete disaster, and I didn't even end up remembering you. So, you decided to torment me.

A few years after I settled into living on Popstar, you put a plan into action. The drone that had been in the Starcutter all along, hidden from view. It made a noise in the pantry, and then hid in an old crate full of bananas alongside a metal wire. I found the crate, and the message scrawled on it, and went into the main room. Then, you used the last of the energy you had to influence the Lor with to show me the brain scan that revealed the crown fragment. I panicked and ran way, carrying the crate. Eventually I realized that I should just put the crate down, and that was when the drone took the crate and wire, and went to Marx's house. Well, sort of.

You knew there was some kind of cave around there, and that I'd wander in there on instinct. You had been monitoring me for most of my life, after all. You had deduced there was likely someone down there, so you brought the wire with you. By you, I of course mean the drone. You got to the cave, scoped out a plan, and waited for Marx to get lured out by the sounds of me and Taranza talking in the cave. When he came out, you ambushed him, put him in the hole in the ground, set up the puzzle in his house, and left the photo of me in the nightstand drawer. Once that was done, you wrote the extra notes, then went back down into the hole where Marx was, and instructed the drone to self-destruct.

That would have been everything, but there was also the Haltmann Works Company. They came to Halcandra, and with your permission, made identical copies of you for their security force. Because they were exactly like you, they were unusually hostile to me in particular. And, because the one that attacked me in the woods came into existence after the original you found out about the crown, it knew that I'd get completely discombobulated after being grabbed by the head. That was also how Susie knew how to get into the Lor unseen. She got the weak points from the security force robot, who was a copy of you.

Everything you did was to the same end. You cooperated with Haltmann because you and Star Dream had the same goals. You aimed to erase all organic life because all that you had seen from it is that they're incompetent at best, and obstructions at worst. When Star Dream was destroyed, you had nothing left. No hope to achieve your ambitions. Even if you manage to eliminate everyone on Halcandra, you'll never be able to exact your vengeance against the universe for treating you like a mere item."

Metal General simply stared straight ahead throughout the story. " Are you sure about that last part? "

"Huh?"

" My wish to end everything is very much achievable. Even if it is slow. "

Magolor suddenly got hit by a wave of dread, and he shuddered at the cold hard confidence in the robot's voice. "What?"

" You brought what I need right to my doorstep, as it were. The ship. All I need is a way to leave Halcandra, and the rest… I'd call it history, but there will be no more of that when I'm done. "

"I'm not letting you take that ship."

R1-G made a noise that sounded eerily similar to laughter. " That will never be your decision to make. Thank you for being so confrontational, but I'm afraid this accursed planet will be your tomb. " Magolor tried to hit him with a revolution flame, but it had no effect whatsoever. He darted forward, and knocked Magolor unconscious with a swift blow to the head.

.-. . ...- . .-.. .- - .. - -.

Daroach almost doubled over coughing as he scaled the volcano. "Damn, he lived like this?"

Taranza was clearly not enjoying himself. "Even if he did just steal your ship, I somehow have more respect for him now than ever."

They got to the top. Landia looked down at the two of them, both of whom looked about ready to hack up a lung. "Three in one day. Who are you, and how did you come into possession of the Lor Starcutter?"

Taranza had heard about Landia before, but couldn't come up with words to say. Daroach went first. "We're acquainted with Magolor and we're looking for him. The Lor is helping us."

Landia pointed to a part of the factory. "He went in that direction." They turned away.

Taranza threw his hands up in exasperation. "He's not even up here? Then why did the Lor say-"

Daroach indicated a spot on the other side of the volcano. "There it is. There's the ship. We need to find him and bring him back there."

"Okay… that's… fine… can we just… take a moment… to rest…?"

"Yeah. Okay. We'll be no good if we can't even breathe." They found a stable spot and rested.

.-.. - - -.- / - ..- - / - ...- . .-. / - ... . / -.. . .- - ... / ..-. .- -.-. - - .-. -.-

Magolor opened his eyes. His already uneven breaths almost stopped entirely. As soon as he examined his surroundings, he realized he was in a glass case. "W-why?"

" You finally woke up. I wanted you to get one last taste of home before I obliterate you. "

"Ngh…"

" It's okay to start crying. It's an appropriate look for someone who's always been a whiny, petulant child. "

"Fuck…"

" If you have any last words, I'll deliver them to your darling Taranza before I send him to join you. "

"..."

" Well? "

Come on, think! There has to be something I can do! I can't fight, I can't talk him out of it, what CAN I do?

" Nothing? How amusing. "

Wasn't there something that Haltmann told me? Or something in the file? Wait. There is one thing. If I can just figure out what it means…

" Looks like that character development you were looking for actually went somewhere. You learned how to shut up. "

The file mentioned a failsafe. The failsafe, the telegraph keys everywhere, come on. I'm smart enough to figure this out, I know. "There was a telegraph key on anything important"... Magolor looked up. There was a telegraph key on the ceiling of the case.

" Well then. I suppose this is goodbye. "

"Wait. I do have one thing to say."

" And what is that? "

What did it say? His caretaker was talking about the failsafe. What did she say? Something about remembering the- That's it! "Thank you for being so confrontational, but I'm afraid this accursed planet will be your tomb."

" What? "

Magolor reached up to the telegraph and tapped a sequence of dots and dashes.

.-. . ... - - .-. .- - .. - -.

The moment he inputted the final dot, R1-G began making an odd clicking noise, then sputtering like a car that wouldn't start. " What is going on? "

Magolor smiled with as much affection as he could muster to this individual he despised so deeply. "I have no idea what you mean."

" You malignant tumor of an imbecile! Why can I not move?! "

"Oh, that? I thought you'd recognize it. You really stuck me in the one place where I could kill you? I hardly think I'm the imbecile here."

" Is this that failsafe nonsense? "

"Oh, you remember! Yeah, you're gonna die. Cause for celebration, as far as I'm concerned."

"YOU FOOL! IF I SELF-DESTRUCT, THE ENTIRE FACTORY WILL GO WITH ME!"

"WHAT?"

"UNHAND ME FROM THE PRISON OF MY OWN BODY! IF YOU DON'T, YOU'LL DIE!"

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't!"

Metal General's forehead opened up, revealing a timer with a familiar label on it. PRG.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

Magolor put up his star shield again. The first explosion shattered the glass case. Then came a second. He lost a part of his shield. Then another. As more explosions kept going off, he lost more and more pieces of his shield. Then, it broke altogether. Weakened from the ordeal, he moved toward the volcano-

And then everything went dark.