when all life is eradicated from the universe by Famine, Plague, War and Kaos. and Death swoops in to usher off the souls to their respective afterlifes... there are going to be a lot of mass afterdeaths as well. hehehahahhaah. we're heading straight into the stomachs people! we are going into the stomachs of HEaven and Hell where will be digested by both of them, our souls disintegrated and the energy absorbed by the entities known as Heaven and Hell. we're all on a specially crafted turkey line, you know those turkeys on the treadmill heading in to get butchered? yeah that's us, we're going to get pretty evenly divided, some sent to Hell some sent to Heaven then we're gonna BURN! and the only ones to witness our destruction at the hands of our own ignorance, shall be the ones smart enough to book the train going on to Purgatory.. which coincidentally is where i'm hoping to go, so see you suckers burning in the stomach acid of Heaven. seasons greetings fuckwad. hehahahahahahhaaahaaah ohh CLaire Howell how nice of you to join us, how is Simon Adebisi?

Illidan Stormrage, POV.

I leaned forward to listen to what she had to say intently, she looked to be quite uncomfortable to my sight, sitting on that rock she'd chosen for a chair and I thought briefly of taking her into my lap, but decided that might get us off track so I didn't, maybe after though.

"As you probably know, when Arthas invaded Quel'Thalas, I was its current Ranger General and so I defended it, it was my duty… and I failed… I hated him and I hated his undead bastards, I hated what became of my people it all disgusted me and he… he killed me and he turned me into a banshee… an undead the very thing I despised."

She briefly glanced at my wings and my horns and my hooves before looking away again, the "Just like you." went without saying, I thought of these changes I'd experienced, how I'd went from pure Night Elf to a hybrid of Demon and Night Elf, more demon than Night Elf really, if we were being honest here, considering how I looked. In the beginning I do think I hated the change but… now I… well now I just went with it, focusing more on the Naga and thinking how I could be like them. Not nice no, but it got me to sleep most nights… least when that was the problem giving me insomnia anyway.

I thought of what Sylvanas had gone through was still probably going through and I felt bad for her, knowing it was even worse for her than it was for me. What I had become… what I am it came with benefits, what Sylvanas was or had been… that had no benefits that I could see and I placed a comforting of somewhat hesitant and uncertain hand over her's and she blinked over at me, smiling just for a second before she turned her eyes back down to the floor. "When I got my freedom back, I don't know how umm… I tried to go home, tried to… go back to my family or what remained of it to my sisters my real ones and Lor'Themar."

She closed her eyes in remembered pain and I asked, "Whose Lor'Themar?"

"He is… or well he was, my fiancé," she swallowed fighting back tears that wouldn't have fallen even if she hadn't fought them so, it was the principle of the thing I think. I stared at her in shock and she nodded shakily, "Y-yeah, I… I tried to have something, something outside of the one night stands, I tried to have him, despite the fact he was so… I don't know… but he was below me in rank a mere captain whereas I was general, we probably wouldn't have worked out anyway but that didn't matter to us at the time, we were young and stupid and in love, what can I say… when I tried to go back I tried my family first what remained of them, my sister Vereesa, I… she couldn't look at me, I tried to talk to her but she just kept staring at me like I was a thing a monster instead of her sister who loved her, she looked at me and… she just didn't see me.. My aunt, Areola'Vaspen Windrunner, she well she was uhmm religious heavily so and lets just say holy water and flaming crosses and screaming mobs and leave it at that shall we…"

Her face twisted up in anguish and pain and I wanted to hold her, desperately more than anything I wanted to comfort her and felt true sympathy for her and just the startings of hatred towards this family of her's.

"And then I… I went to my grandfather, Demian'nalas Sundweller, my mother's father." she whimpered and I did hold her now, "h-he was always so kind to me so sweet, especially when I was younger and I… I at least expected him…. Of all people to understand but… he didn't, he saw me and knew of me and h-h-he said…" she broke off in a hurt little whimper.

And I wondered what the man said, to make this strong, confident, casually arrogant, woman hurt so much I remembered how Malfurion's words had hit me… "Foul Beast!" and… "You are not my brother! You're a soulless demon, begone from this land and never return!"

"H-he said that I was… a disappointment, a failure that not only had I failed to defend our people properly but… but that I, that I was coward, that I didn't have the decency to go down with my people that… that I should have shared the same fate as them." she looked truly miserable now and I felt bad for her and I felt truly sympathetic at this point, we'd both been rejected by what remained of our families and we'd both been accused of something we weren't. "But you did share their fate," I said softly, quietly outraged beyond belief that her grandfather had been incapable of seeing that, "you share their fate now, just like them your no longer either living or dead your caught in purgatory between the two and incapable of truly having a place in the world, surely he could see that?"

She shook her head, "No… he didn't. he never could, he, he had, well he has a zero tolerance policy for the undead, especially those whom he'd known in life, just like Lor'Themar as it turned out… he tried to cast fire magic at me, but I dodged away from it and ran… and then I tried to see Lor'Themar… stupid really, he and grandfather had always gotten on well and had so much in common, I should have known better than to expect that his reaction would differ from all the others, I mean after all if your own family rejects you for something you've done or become… who the hell else from your old life will accept you!"

She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, but still she wouldn't let me take her into my lap so she could rest herself against me, her haunted anguished face… god it was so much. "Lor'Themar… he reacted even worse, he just stared at me dumbly like Vereesa… and then his eyes got cold like Grandfather's and he just stared at me, cold as ice even as I told him what happened I tried to get him to hold me and he just… backed away and stared at me and called me… Demon and then monster, soulless wretched and harpy and witch and dead whore and… and then he tried a similar thing to what Grandfather did and I got angry even as I sobbed and I cried as I do now, I got angry, instead of ducking and running I deflected the strike, the arcane missiles they were I deflected them rr-right back at him, with a black spell the missiles were twisted and black and…they didn't kill him but they wounded him badly, damaged his heart… last I heard he needed to have a demonic crystal implanted into his chest cause his heart… it just c-couldn't take all the stress his job put on him, he had 4 heart attacks the last one almost killed him and h-he had the crystal implanted in his chest so, so he could do his job and have no further fear… I hear its driving him slowly mad."

With that she truly broke down and cried, though no tears came and I rocked her in my arms, she had finally let me take her into my lap and I rubbed at her back gently, hugging her tightly as she cried and really wanted to meet this Lor'Themar, if only so I could implant this memory into his head, call my woman a soulless monster did he? Well I would show him that he was wrong first chance I got… you know before I killed him in some slow and unusually cruel way… yes his death would give even the coldest Inquisitors indigestion and nightmares. Not nice? Maybe so but I never claimed to be nice! I never claimed to be fair or good or pure all I claimed was that I wasn't soulless like my so called brother insisted I was, that I indeed had both soul and heart.

And that both hurt… a lot… just as her's did too.

I breathed in her scent and sighed softly as the smell of sunshine and redwood, and lilacs came to my nostrils, along with the bitterness of her sorrow and her hurt.

"I'm sorry," I murmured softly and she sniffled, "really truly sorry." she looked up at me with a grateful but confused look, "T-thanks but, why? I mean its nothing you've never heard before and I- well, its not like its your fault or anything… just mine, mine for not defending my people like I should have mine for not," she choked back a sob, "for not sharing their fate!"

I sighed sadly, "But you did Sylvanas." I sighed, stroking her hair gently, "You shared their fate, you became one of the many mindless undead who roamed the planet, just like all the rest of them and you couldn't have hoped to truly defend against the force Arthas has, not when everyone else fell, not the way he attacked, he had people on the inside who betrayed you, no one can truly defend any place against all that he had going for him against you… not even the Nigh Elves could hold against the undead, not alone we needed the Orcs, the humans, the trolls, the taurens, we needed every race's help to beat them back and even today there are those that still remain within the forests, picking us off, you aren't to blame."

She sniffled and sobbed again, "I know, I know I'm not to blame, but… I just can't help but think about his words about how I failed my people and… god I just… I just I wanted so badly to protect them I still do and… sometimes its hard to think whether they might have been something I could have done, I wasn't Ranger General of the high elves for nothing Illidan, I was talented and strong and athletic and agile, I was practically the perfect warrior for them, I should have managed better than I did… but I didn't. just as I didn't share their fate Illidan, the majority of my people still roam the lands as mindless beasts and I… I am free, where over thousands of elves are dead and nothing more than slobbering monsters I remain free and clear headed, even before whatever it was that freed me from the Lich King's grasp in the first place, I was clear of mind, I could think my own thoughts and even had a limited form of free will… I do not share their fate."

I wondered if I should mention that it had been my own ill-fated attempts to kill the Lich King, that had been what had ultimately been what freed her and decided to leave that for… ever and besides I wasn't even sure it was true.

"Sylvanas," I murmured softly, pulling her up to face me, stroking her hair and face gently, "it was not your fault, how can I make you see that and that the fact that you were able to keep your mind is a gift, you were probably the most capable person in the world for the job of taking down Arthas, even I faced off against him once as you know and I failed and I got the scar to prove it."

Said scar tingled and ached with coldness as I remembered just how badly it had hurt.

"Sylvanas… you saved us, you saved us all from the Lich King… you're a fucking hero, you should have statue put up of you in the halls, just like they should of me… put your lovely face on a coin too." he grinned and I… laughed, it was somewhat bitter and shaky laughter, but it was laughter all the same and it felt nicer than trying to sob your eyes out… how do I know this? Believe me I'd rather not say anything more than I had a lot of time to be bitter at things and see the funnier side of things.

"I-I'm not a hero," she sighed, brushing back a stray lock of hair to look up at me with eyes that once more appeared to have turned from violet to red. "I'm a monster… Illidan I killed people when I tried to kill arthas, I had my forsaken fire off bombs that killed the undead and the living alike, hundreds of alliance and Horde both died that day, along with a mere 400 of the undead… I'm no better than Arthas was."

I felt my heart breaking for her and mentally swore at her, I have enough things to be broken hearted for about you wench, don't add another! but I just held her and kissed her forehead lightly in comfort. "Yes you are, Sylvanas, your crying. True they are tearless sobs but your crying nontheless, that means you feel remorse for your actions and I think we can all agree that Arthas was a psychopath. He felt nothing but satisfaction for killing those he did, nothing but joy at their screams… and the only screams of pain you've probably ever enjoyed were those made by Arthas and maybe his people and you probably felt guilty for it later, just as you feel guilty for your actions now, you have a heart Sylvanas, you have a soul, two things Arthas didn't and never could have had to have done the things he did… your heart and soul are exactly why you did all those things, Arthas broke your heart when he slaughtered, mutilated and raped your homeland and he damaged yours when he killed you with Frostmourne and brought you back…"

I trailed off just for a second and she had stopped crying and was staring up at me, eyes considering all of this and I pressed on my tone gentle and soothing as ever.

"But you didn't let your spirit break, Sylvanas and neither did you let your heart the trampled and stamped into the ground, you picked up the pieces ignored the pain, ignored how the pieces cut and bit into your flesh and slowly one by one you put your heart back together so you could have the passion and the courage enough give it one last go, to not only be Ranger General of the High Elves, but to be Ranger General of the world, to save all living creatures from his terrible evil. I think, I think… that if your not a hero, I don't know what is, if your not a hero, I don't think any one who has been called a hero is, cause you outshine them all so, so fucking brightly it hurts, even I don't think I'm a hero if you aren't Sylvanas, so please are you just going to let people's words trample and stomp on your heart and just let the pieces fall where they may when not even Arthas could convince you to do so? Are you going to let your spirit shatter under their rejection and fear and loathing, when not even Arthas could do this one single thing?"

I felt I knew what to do here and I turned just a little away from her with a shrug and said quite casually, "Cause there's a circle of hell for cowards I think."

I felt her stiffen on my lap and smiled inwardly. "I am NOT a coward, you over grown cock sucking Vampire Bat!" she seethed and I snorted, "Then show me, you are unafraid to carry the title of Hero, Sylvanas?" I asked, my tone returning to its usual melodic and arrogant one.

"Show me and show yourself that you truly think of yourself as a hero, by carrying the title of Hero of Azeroth! Slayer of Arthas Menithil, Slayer of Darkness, Champion of the living!"

Sylvanas, stared at me, "W-what!" she asked me softly and I growled at her, "There is going to be a convention of sorts, in which the so called heroes of Azeroth are going to meet and greet and speak at, and I want you to come with me back to Azeroth, I want you to stand up there on the podium, push someone preferably my brother (cause god knows he's gonna be there) out of your way, stand tall before them and declare your right to BE Azeroth's! New! Hero! To be Champion of the Broken and Savior of the Forsaken!"

I realized I was ranting and I stopped, feeling an embarrassed flush come to my cheeks, "Also I could really use a date when I go to crash that party myself and insist that I deserve to be put up as a Statue in the Halls of Heroes as well, maybe go on an above and beyond the call of duty thing for my plead seeing as it cost me my Night Elf purity and if you ask my so called Brother, my soul."

Sylvanas stared at me as though I were a madman and I twitched and wriggled slightly, uncomfortable under her gaze before she nodded and swallowed, clearly nervous but her jaw remained set and determined, "Alright then," she said softly her voice cold and deadly, as righteous fury came to her… I'm not exactly sure what for but if it helped, "when do we do this?" she asked…

I blinked and thought a moment, scratching my head slightly, "You know I am not really all that certain, I mean I know its more than 3 weeks off from now, but aside from that I really don't know I'll have my scryers take a look, in the meantime I just have one more question, if you will."

She nodded and I took in a deep breath and asked, "Where the hell did you learn to fight with Warglaives?"

Warlock POV.

I stalked through the corridors and lobbies and courtyards and lunch rooms and the barracks and about a thousand other things, staring all around the place fascinated. How in the hell does a lowly pit lord, gain control of all of this? I wondered to myself and glanced at one of the nearby walls and saw a depiction of a great tentacle faces demon I recognized all too well and the great monster known as Magtheridon standing before the great demon lord somewhat below waist height and really close at that. Oh that's how. I shook my head in disgust and amusement, wondering why in the hell Magtheridon would put up tapestry that depicted his rise to power.

But Magtheridon wasn't my concern right now, no getting to Kael'Thas, was however and giving him the items he'd need for this party that Maniac was setting up.

I grinned, to myself as I thought of the screams and practically tasted thefear already. The blood in my hair, the smile on my face, the screams of terror and the diseases, the claws. I'd wreak havoc on this temple and lick up every single undiluted drop of despair, I'll suck their eyes and their tongues right out of their heads, I'll set the few who survive alight and I'll take that Sylvanas wench even as she breathes her last, Synthablood bubbling up from her mouth as her body rejects the substance, I'll-

I stopped and shook my head. Whats wrong with me, I didn't use to have such thoughts, I never thought beyond doing my Masters' will, beyond having a few drinks with a pretty lady and trying to get her into bed with me and usually succeeding. I thought of the possible causes for this sudden lust for blood and despair and came up with two that were intertwined. that abysmal magic Sylvanas sprung on me, it changed me, changed my skin, my eyes and my hair and I'm unusually susceptible to the dark magics that stain this World's spirit, god I'm surprised it even has a spirit, its in pieces literally how could it still be alive? Must be the demon magics, the same ones that taint this planet now taint me as well, I'm immune to the acid rain caused by the demon magics and infused with them, but they still have an effect an unusual strange effect on both my mind and my body and these effects are changing me once more, slowly but surely tainting my mind as well as my body! I need to get out of here.

I looked in at where Kael'Thas sat in the corner, still muttering about Scarecrows and I wondered what the hell it was with him and scarecrows. "Hey there, prince Kael'Thas, I got a present for you." I smiled and got out the mask and he stared, eyes wide with terror and his arms shifted and tugged at the dark gray straightjacket. I kneeled before him and held it up to his face, pressing the rough burlap sack against his face and gauged how well it looked to fit and was pleased to find it looked to be a perfect fit, but only one way to tell or sure.

"Kael'Thas, I know you have a strange sorta thing for or towards scarecrows, so I sorta figured maybe you umm, like to inflict what you feel on others." Kael'Thas watched me with wide eyes and I smirked as just a glimmer of understanding came into his eyes. "Yes I think you do, now what do you say to trying it on for size just for a second at least, what do you say? Just nod, for yes."

Kael'Thas nodded and I put it on him. It was a perfect fit, in more ways than one.

"When I get out of here," he said his voice becoming lower and darker but more resonant, "I'm going to find the Wolfe and I'm going to show him what true fear is!" he snarled and I smiled, "Good, great, so Kael'Thas your sane again?"

Kael'thas looked at me and I saw his mouth form a contemptuous sneer behind the mask, "No Scarecrow!"

I shrugged, "Whatever, are you gonna be good for the party this weekend?"

Kael'Thas nodded, "Of course, I will. I need to cause some fear in this world, I need to show them whats inside, I am going to show them just what sort of damage a scarecrow can really do."

I nodded, "Good, great, now if you don't mind I have to remove this mask, it just wouldn't do for the guards to see you with this on, they'd take it away and be alerted to the presence of someone capable of twisting the shadows and you'd have an even heavier guard, I'm gonna put it in a magical pocket up there okay, when the time is here I will open it up from elsewhere and it will fall into your lap and the belts on your arms will be undone, okay. Then you can use your ability to cause fear in creatures on the guards and as they scream and cry you can convince them to give you the keys and then, have them kill themselves, alright?"

Scarecrow huffed, "I'm a not a child or an idiot." he growled, "Maybe so but, you are insane particularly when this mask is off it seems and I was taught to treat the insane like complete and utter idiots." I grinned and swept the mask off and insantly Kael'Thas was back to sobbing in the corner about Scarecrow and how he was mean to him and other such things. Not noticing me as I sent the mask to the ceiling locked its position around Kael'Thas and linked it to my spirit.

Okay that's one, maniac down… now lets try for two. I thought as I went further down into the dungeons, down to where Magtheridon awaited me.

THis party is going to be a riot!

I experience the world through the words of others and I create my own world via the words of those others… I AM leech but I am an honest leech most of the time. My life span is little longer than that of fly and my mind only slightly larger and more original than that of a gold fish… but I make do, I improvise… it is what I do, it is what I am for. It is me and I am it, I have seen the truth of the universe, the heart of everything, I know the secret of the Madness Maze, I know what hunger lurks within the great stomach's of Heaven and Hell, I know what true fate awaits those who are not smart enough to take the road to Purgatory, Purgatory is a bitch but she's all we got if we want immortality of our souls to be absolute, we've got to choose her every single time if we pick Heaven or Hell even once… instead of Puragory, even ONCE! Then we damn ourselves to a terrible, gruesome death. On the one hand Hell likes its prey cooked and tenderized, likes the smoke and a little bit rareness never hurt anyone let alone Hell, on the other Heaven likes its meat raw with a lot of flesh on the bones… Heaven likes its meat to be well indulged in and pampered and squishy… Hell likes the crunch of bones with her meals, Heaven likes the squishy texture, the salty bittersweet flavor of the flab under the meat of the soul… and both get more than their fair share of their preferred meals when the universe collapses and dies… Lucifer and God see to it, if they didn't see to it that their master's got enough food into their stomachs… well then they'd go down the hole and into the stomach along with all the rest of us… odds are good that they'll go down anyway, but there is still just the faintest chance that they won't… and they'll take any chance they can get not to suffer the same fate us pourr retarded fuckwads… message ends.

Additional: need more marshmallows, there's gonna be a big fire at the end of the universe and the few us smart enough to take this belief to heart are gonna have a big get together and fry a bunch of stuff over your thick skulls... maybe use a few pelvic bones as crude bowls and plates.

Additional Additonal: lot of people are gonna be there: Ghandi, Hitler, Jack Random, Alastair Crowley (Yes Crowley he was a believer despite his being a satanist) Bill Clinton, Judas Ascariot, Antichrist, Christ, Biff, Kahn, Stan Lee (God i hate him), Brian Warner, Heath Ledger (The wimp too cowardly to face the full extent of life took the easy way out the damned fucking lucky fucker... god i wish i had the guts) err that guy he screwed in Brokeback Mountain, Ron White the man should be president, and a bunch of other people... maybe Valentine Wolfe the man who tried for Emperor and got killed by his own brother Daniel.