Whilst all this chicanery involving our heroes went down, the villains of the story have been up to some stuff as well. So, for the sake of variety and plot advancement, here's what Handsome Jack and company have been getting up to:
THE OVERLORDS' TURBO-MANSION, PRIDE RING: Valentino had finally recovered from his Krieg-induced coma, and was now angrily demanding to know why some guy wearing a Halloween mask with a peacock in his lap was sitting in his personal armchair. "Who the bloody hell are these two, and why are they in my seat!?" yelled the moth-pimp, pointing towards Jack and Stella. "Well, Val, during your extended absence, Jack here effectively blackmailed us into letting him and his cronies join our ranks." explained Vox, clearly just as unhappy with the situation as Val. Just then, Nisha and Wilhelm walked into the room. "Ah, you're back!" exclaimed Jack as he stroked Stella's hair-like feathers. "No sign of those Vault Hunters, boss." reported Nisha with an air of disappointment in her voice. "Yeah, it's like they've just disappeared or something." said Wilhelm, his voice audibly glitching.
Jack began growling in frustration, only to be stopped by Stella. "Calm yourself, my sweet. Let's focus on putting Stolas in the dirt." "Right, right..." said Jack as he recomposed himself. "Put who in the dirt?" asked Valentino, confused as to what was going on. "Oh, nobody, just Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia." said Velvet, playfully sitting upside down in her armchair, excited at the idea of killing Stolas. "We've been waiting for you so we can go through with Jack and Stella's plan." said Vox, still just as displeased with having to work with the former CEO of Hyperion. Jack gathered everyone around a table, where their plan was written and drawn out. "Alright, people, let's go over this one last time, so none of you screw it all up. We simply head to Stolas' castle, take him and his little brat hostage, then wait for that imp he's been banging to return along with the Vault Hunters, we kill 'em, then we just wing it from there." "Wait, wouldn't killing the Vault Hunters just send them right back here?" asked Valentino. "Shit, you're right. Unless they spawn in Hell without their freak-ass powers, that kinda puts a wrench in the gears."
Suddenly, a dark(er) presence filled the room. Everyone turned to see none other than the Radio Demon standing across from them. "Alastor!? What are YOU doing here!?" shouted Vox, jumping into Velvet's arms. "Why, I'm here to provide assistance, of course!" "Hey, aren't you that guy that got bitched on by Krieg?" asked Jack. "Why yes, I am. Thank you for asking..." answered Alastor, barely able to hold his smile, clearly angry about being reminded of that moment. "Ahem, as I was saying, I am here to assist you lot in this plan of yours."
Jack snapped his fingers. "I got it! Gather 'round people." Jack then pointed to Alastor. "I've heard you got a buncha crazy-ass powers, right?" "Yes indeed, Mr. Jack! I've got a motherlode of arcane spells and magics under these tattered sleeves of mine!" "Alright, in that case, a little change of plans, then. Al, you use Stolas' kid as bait to lure the Vault Hunters to his castle, while we meet with him and the imps. You kill the Vault Hunters, and maybe the kid for good measure, we kill Stolas and those bottom-feeding imps. Once we get our hands on that book of his, we'll be unstoppable!"
Wilhelm suddenly butted in on the conversation. "Sir! Remember our old spy we deployed in Sanctuary?" "Oh, yeah, Johnny Waffles. Never really liked him, guy was a prick." "Well, sir, I just got word from him, apparently the Vault Hunters are taking Princess Charlie, her friends, and those imps with the book on a tour of Pandora." Nisha pulled out a pair of Jakobs Longarms. "Let us at 'em, boss! I'm dyin' to pay Salvador back for what he did to me back in Lynchwood." "Calm yourself, cowgirl. You know you and Wilhelm can't take on all the Vault Hunters at once. If you two really wanna kill them yourselves, one at a time's your best option." "Didn't your plan dictate that I was the one to kill them?" asked Alastor. "Well, yeah, it's just that me, Nisha, and Wilhelm want revenge on the specific 6 Vault Hunters who killed us. Any other Vault Hunters those Crimson Raider bastards recruited since then are all yours, Al." Alastor's smile widened. "Splendid..." said the Radio Demon.
One of Jack's Loader-Bots walked into the room. "[ATTENTION, MASTER JACK. THERE IS SOMEONE WHO WOULD LIKE AN AUDIENCE WITH YOU.]" Behind the Loader-Bot was a very large sinner demon, who wore a bright green suit, as well as a ripped up luchador mask. "Whaddya want, pal? We're in the middle of something, so if you're looking for a ringside manager, you're gonna need to wait." Velvet stood up in excitement. "Hey, I recognize you! You're Killbane! The Walking Apocalypse!" The luchador demon chuckled. "Heheh, good to see I've got some fans down here..." As Velvet took a selfie with Killbane, Nisha and Wilhelm readied their weapons. "Well, Mr. 'Killbane', would you care to explain why you're stinking up my office with your presence?" asked Jack, scowling. "I'm glad you asked. A few days ago, I was killed by the 3rd Street Saints, specifically this upstart wrestler called Kenny, dude had some freaky eyes..." Killbane shuddered. "Anyways, prior to my death at Murderbrawl XXXI, I had heard the Saints were associated with someone called Krieg, whom I also heard you guys talk about. So, regarding that whole revenge scheme you're working on, any chance you could fit the Saints into the body count?"
Handsome Jack held out his hand, grinning. "Eh, why the hell not? Consider yourself an Overlord, Mr. Killbane." As Killbane and Jack shook hands, Vox pulled on where his hair would be if his head wasn't just a TV in frustration. "YOU CAN'T JUST MAKE SOMEONE AN OVERLORD LIKE THAT!!" "That's pretty much how you made him an Overlord, Vox." pointed out Velvet. "HE EFFECTIVELY HAD US AT GUNPOINT, VELVET!"
Killbane chuckled with glee. "Hahaha, thank you for this, Mr. Jack. The Luchadores will be an invaluable asset to your plan. But be careful when dealing with the Saints, they're some tough damn customers, especially that Johnny Gat fellow." "Well, thank you for the heads-up. PRINGLE!" Jack called for Stella's long-suffering imp servant. Pringle walked over, towel hung over his arm, like most butlers in fiction. "Y-yes, Mr. Jack?" "I'd like to have an Overlord armchair commissioned for Mr. Killbane over here." ordered Jack as he pointed towards the newly-dead luchador. Pringle nodded and walked away. "Why don't you get your own chair as well!?" asked Valentino as he pointed at Jack. "That happens to be my chair!" "No can do, Pumpkin." retorted Jack. "This thing's a bit too comfy for me to want to give up at the moment. Here, this should do for now." Jack placed a crappy plastic porch chair between Vox and Velvet's armchairs. As Valentino angrily sat down, he leaned towards Vox. "What's this guy's endgame? He clearly doesn't seem like the type to be content with just simply killing Stolas and taking his book." whispered Val as he pointed towards Jack, who was once again stroking Stella's hair-feathers. "I don't know, but we should definitely make sure this guy doesn't do anything too crazy, don't want Ol' Luci getting on our case..." answered Vox.
Alastor lurked in a corner of the room, ensuring nobody was looking at him. Once he felt he was in the clear, he opened his hand, where an apparition of Loki appeared in his palm. "Ah, Alastor, my favorite servant. Have you managed to appeal to Handsome Jack?" "Why, yes I have, Master Loki." Good, good. However, I bring alarming news. My father Odin has revealed himself to our enemies, and is now directly supporting them." "What are we to do about that, Master!?" "You leave that to me, continue going along with Jack's plan, and ensure that Krieg cannot interfere with Ragnarök. Remember, it is the glorious purpose with which you are burdened..." "Understood, Master Loki." said Alastor as the vision of Loki disappeared. The Radio Demon quietly laughed to himself as he turned to see the Overlords surrounding a table, revising their plan.
Watching all this through a window was Carlos, a former Saint who had been killed by a rival gang years ago. Realizing what his friends were up against now, he ran like the wind away from the Overlords' turbo-mansion, hoping to find a way to warn his friends.