//------------------------------// // Queen of Nothing // Story: Legion // by Thule117 //------------------------------// The queen of darkness dread and death Clung to her crown till her final breath Yet amid the ruin, once her throne She ruled naught but ashes, blight, and bone. . . . -Rhyme of the Fallen Queen     Derran entered the throne room feeling mentally drained, even as his body felt as rested and awake as ever before. It was truly a strange disconnect. While he did in a sense still become 'tired' it was an entirely different sensation than back when he was an ordinary man. Mental fatigue could take a toll on him, but his body rarely, if ever, showed any true signs of physical strain. Being tired for him was. . . similar to getting cut and not noticing until you looked directly at it. It was there, and you could see it, but you couldn't feel anything. Sleeping was a mechanical process, like rapidly turning off a light with a dimmer switch. Where the world faded swiftly to black, and then next thing he knew he was awake. Nevertheless, he still could feel things like stress and anxiety, and they did have an effect, even if his body no longer responded the way it once did. Thus was his experience now, as he entered the most holy seat of the Seraphim's power. . .       The throne room of Canterlot, was a tasteful, if grandiose, room. Made almost entirely of marble, the long rectangular structure was flanked on either side by walls set with gorgeous stain glass windows showing various events of recent historical note. The floor was a single gigantic slab of marble, polished to a mirror finish, with only a single red carpet leading to the dais on which the throne sat. Overhead, the high vaulted ceiling was covered with elaborate murals of key moments in Equestria's ancient history, held aloft by rows of doric columns set out from the walls. Tapestries of flawless make, hung from the ceiling and on the wall behind the throne, each depicting the sun or moon in some lovingly rendered capacity. As for the throne itself, it was set upon a dais of pure gold, accented with gorgeous scrollwork, royal purple lilies, and a pair of fountains flanking the second lowest step of the structure. The throne was also gold, a high backed chair built directly into the dais and upholstered in red silk. It was there, seated upon a cushion of red velvet, that her divine majesty, Princess Celestia, Seraphim of the Sun, Diarch of Equestria, held court. Walking as confidently as he could manage down the red carpet flanked by stern faced guardsponies, Derran fell to one knee before his lady.     After his outburst at the market, Derran had come straight home, still caked with stone dust, to the arched eyebrows and gawking expressions of the palace staff and visiting nobility. Derran however, had been too preoccupied to answer their unspoken questions, as he had been lost deep in thought. Though he had been forgiven by all involved, shame and worry had still nipped at Derran's heels, as he stowed the contents of his shopping bags and headed to his room for a shower. His mind consumed by memories of his loss of composure, and his inability to shatter the reverence the ponies held for him. Only once he had dried and dressed himself, did he feel something approaching mentally sanguine again. Though the guilt and anxiety yet lingered at the edges of his thoughts. As he had headed, with almost indecent haste, to the throne room.      "My Lady." Derran breathed out, as he knelt before one of the only beings in the multiverse, worthy of his absolute deference. Before he had even bowed his head, and in what would normally be an unthinkable breech of royal protocol, Celestia ran down from the dais to embrace Derran. "Derran! I heard about what happened at the market! Are you ok?! Was anycreature hurt?!" Derran, despite himself, gave a small smile as he raised his head to return his beloved's embrace. Only Celestia would ask after everycreature's safety, despite logically knowing they were fine.      "All is well my Lady." He declared softly. "The driver is safe, there were no serious injuries to speak of, and damage was kept to a minimum. I shall write up a full report as soon as I am able." Celestia let out a sigh of relief as she released her hold on Derran, and he rose to his feet.     "Thank goodness. A messenger only just arrived a few minutes ago to give me the details." For an instant, Derran stiffened, waiting for Celestia to inquire about his furious outburst. "We're incredibly lucky nocreature was injured, it's a good thing you happened to be out shopping today, or things could have been much worse." Derran arched an eyebrow, as Celestia withdrew to return to her throne.     "Is there. . . nothing else, my Lady?" He asked, slightly confused by her lack of further comment. Surely his beloved must have heard about his moment of impropriety? Celestia looked puzzled for a moment.     "About the market? No. . . should there have been?" She inquired curiously. Derran opened his mouth to reply.     "I. . ." Before shutting it again. If he were to hazard a guess, he would venture that the ponies at the market had decided not to mention his outburst to the messenger, likely out of some questionably reasoned sense of courtesy. He knew he owed his lady a full account, and an explanation. At the moment however, still perturbed by his own inner turmoil, he was unable to summon the mental fortitude for further elaboration. "No. . . nothing my Lady, or at least, nothing you need concern yourself with right now." Here Celestia frowned slightly, her face etched with concern.     "Is something troubling you Derran? You seem a bit distracted, are you sure you're ok?" Derran nodded slowly.     "As I said my Lady, it is nothing you need worry about now. However, when I return from Ponyville, there are matters of some import that I wish to discuss with you and lady Luna." Celestia arched an eyebrow at that, giving Derran an appraising look.     "Very well. . ." She replied after a short pause, her tone one of perplexity. "I'll make some time in my scheduled for when you return." Derran inclined his head in a polite bow.      "My thanks my Lady." There was a slight pause as Derran noted the concern lingering in Celestia's gaze, and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he ordered his thoughts. His own worries would be addressed in time, giving in to his dour mood now would serve no purpose. Driving the dark clouds from his mind as best he could, Derran forced a smile to appear on his face. Determined to reassure his love, he swiftly decided on a change of subject.       "By the by, you will never guess what Lady Fleur De Lis dragooned me into this morning." He stated, his grin becoming slightly more genuine at the memory. Celestia gave Derran a look of curiosity, as he managed a chuckle. "She apparently decided the Canterlot fashion show would benefit from a human presence, so I agreed to be a model for the event." Celestia's eyes widened slightly, before she let out a giggle.     "Well, I can hardly fault her taste. I'm guessing Rarity also twisted your arm?" She asked lightheartedly. Derran chuckled again, his well concealed poor humor, gradually evaporating as the conversation went on.     "Not personally, but Lady Fleur did mention her name to help me make up my mind." Celestia smiled as she rolled her eyes.      "That does sound like Fleur." Here Celestia gave a suggestive smirk. "So does this mean I can look forward to bragging about being engaged to a fashion model in the near future?" Derran returned her smirk with one of his own.     "So it would seem." He replied, before deciding he might as well run with his plan from earlier that day. At this point, he needed a break every bit as much as Celestia deserved one. "On that note, I was curious if you'd care to join me in the garden for a few hours? If I am going to be getting up on a runway in front of everycreature, I ought to work on my strut. Perhaps milady would care to critique my method?" Celestia continued to reflect Derran's mischievous smile as she regarded him with a raised eyebrow.     "Are you trying to seduce your princess Mr. Grandel? Scandalous." She declared softly, with a sensual, half-lidded gaze. Derran barely batted an eye as he gave a look of mock surprise.     "My lady I would never!" He declared, his tone exaggerated and his prior bad mood all but forgotten. "Though, now that you mention it, I did happen to procure a bottle of spiced Sweet Apple Acres cider, and a very moist vanilla cake with buttercream icing, that I was rather hoping to share with somepony? . . ." He trailed off suggestively.  For an instant, Celestia's eyes widened, licking her lips at the mention of her favorite dessert. However, a moment later, she let out a frustrated sigh, as she frowned.     "Much as I would love to join you, I'm afraid I can't." She stated apologetically. "The incident at the market caused enough damage that I'm going to spend most of the day in meetings." Derran frowned, but otherwise hid his disappointment.     "Shall I come with you then?" He asked, his frown turning into a sympathetic smile. "I have few other duties to attend to today, and the work would doubtless go faster with the two of us?" Celestia let out another sigh, as she gave Derran a look of sympathy.     "Unfortunately, you have your own meeting to get to." Instantly, Derran stiffened, as his smile faded back into a frown.     "Ah. . . yes. . . I had forgotten about that." He declared slowly, trying his best not to grit his teeth or clench his fists. "I could always postpone it? Surely assisting you takes precedence?" He offered, trying not to sound too hopeful, and carefully concealing his disappointment as Celestia shook her head.     "I know you don't like it, but it's very important you go." Once more Derran took a deep breath, before slowly letting it out.     "My Lady. . . you know I would march against the Darkness itself if you so asked it, and that I would never seek to second guess your divine wisdom, but, considering our lack of any change in the. . . situation these last last six months, I feel compelled to ask. . . are you certain this is necessary?" Celestia smiled gently as she descended from her throne once again, to gently place her hoof on Derran's shoulder.     "I promise Derran, I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think it was important. Please, trust me?" Derran nodded, bathing in the warmth of Celestia's proximity. Once or twice, Derran had heard it claimed by various ponies, that being in his presence was sometimes a heady experience. That he at times had an. . . aura, for lack of a better term, that projected power, authority, and a, frankly understandable, degree of fear. Though, in honesty, he'd personnally never noticed any sign of the ability, aside from the reaction of those around him. However, his aura, if it indeed existed, was nothing, compared to what Celestia was capable of.     When she wished, the princess of the sun could exude a presence like no other. It was gentle, warm, and filled those around her with a sense of awe, hope, and peace. Colors seemed brighter, smells more intense, and even food seemed to taste better. It was as if all the caring and kindness in Celestia's soul was being projected outward. Bathing the world in the love of a goddess. Wrapped in that aura, Derran felt all his worries retreat to the back of his mind, the tension in his body relaxing, as he felt his heart soar. It was an almost transcendental experience. In this state, this close by, Celestia was at her most pure. She held nothing back, showing her truest self to the one she loved, it was a gesture of complete and total trust. Raising his hands, Derran cupped Celestia's cheeks, as he placed a delicate kiss on her nose.      "There is nopony I trust more." He declared truthfully. "If you say it is important, then that is all I need to hear." Celestia smiled, and to Derran, in that moment, it was as if he had gazed upon a sunrise of such beauty, it made all around it seem hollow and gray. However, all too soon, she turned and walked away. Duty, as ever, recalling her to her throne. As Celestia withdrew her aura, Derran almost flinched, the world around him suddenly seeming to become more plain somehow. From experience, he knew it was a temporary sensation, but that it was also the reason Celestia avoided too much use of the ability. Even she didn't know quite how it worked, but she did know it could become like a drug, albeit one only addictive in the extreme short term, and those exposed to it for too long could have. . . awkward reactions, for a few seconds after it ceased.                "I will send you now, and reopen the portal in two hours." Derran nodded, forcing himself to remain stoic despite his swiftly returning disquiet.     "As you say my Lady." Celestia gave a final, reassuring nod, as her horn began to glow. An expression of fierce concentration on her face. Instantly, an orb of blazing golden light appeared in the air before Derran. Swiftly, and with a sound of fluctuating arcane energies, the orb flattened, before transforming into a ring. Rapidly, the ring expanded to become nearly seven feet tall and six across. The golden light around its circumference pulsing softly, as, through a translucent veil like oil slicked water, a location far from the throne room was revealed. It was dark, and filled with a cold blue-green light, that looked almost black in the well lit throne room. "I will see you in a few hours my Lady." Derran declared. Steeling himself, as he stepped through the, all too familiar, gate.     He emerged in a large roughly hewn chamber. The walls and ceiling made of a shimmering dark purple stone akin to obsidian glass. Around him, dozens of large cages of enchanted black iron stood in rows, some even stacked on top of each other, and each containing some variety of monster. Instantly, the hisses, shrieks, and growls of the prisoners were silenced, as they beheld the dark gaze and tight lipped frown, of the Guardian of Equestria. Derran glared at the various beasts through the bars of their prisons, instantly causing them to shrink back, as the portal snapped shut behind him. The monsters cowering in terror, as waves of controlled malice rolled off of the bipedal figure in their midst.     Dressed in a fashionable looking tailcoat, black dress pants and shined leather dress shoes, and bereft of so much as a dagger or even a sidearm, Derran still cut an imposing figure, as he walked slowly past the cages filled with the Seraphim's imprisoned foes. In one cage, a Bugbear hid its normally fearsome gaze behind one of its six sets of paws. In another, a manticore huddled in a corner, trying to make itself as small as possible. And in yet another, a chimera and its three heads very nearly pissed themselves. As Derran paused before their cage, to glare at them in undisguised hatred. He always took the time to do this, as he knew for a fact, that this particular beast, had tried to devour a filly, who to him, was as close as his little sister. And he took a certain dark pleasure in making the tri-headed monster squirm.      As for the rest, they watched him in a tense silence. Not one of the monsters daring to utter a sound in Derran's presence. Knowing he did not require armor, nor weapons, to kill them all, whether caged or not, and that, given any excuse, he would not hesitate to do so. Sweeping his wintry gaze over the cages one final time, Derran gave a curt nod, before continuing deeper into the strange cavern. As he withdrew, the monsters breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they had been spared for another day.     His silent reminder given, Derran moved deeper into the realm of Tartarus, Equestria's maximum security prison dimension. Hidden under a mountain in the most remote location in Equestria, this was where the Seraphim put those beings who had committed, or attempted, acts of violence against their little ponies. Had it been up to Derran, he would have executed every creature within this place with his bare hands. However, that was not the way of the Seraphim, who believed every soul was deserving of a second chance. That said, while they were undoubtedly merciful, the Seraphim were not stupid. Tartarus, while humane, or more accurately: 'equine', was hardly a nice place. Prisoners were given three squares a day, plentiful water, and even allowed opportunities for exercise or hobbies, dependent upon their crimes, but that was about it. What's more, Derran had made certain on his first visit, the prisoners understood that, unlike the Seraphim, he did not object to spilling blood.     The first time he had come here, he had unlocked every cage in the first chamber, and told the prisoners that they could either remain in their cells or, if they could get past him, they could go free. Unsurprisingly, they had all tried to rush him. Then, as now, he had brought neither armor nor weapons. . . it was not even close to a fair fight. Derran had beaten every single one of them unconscious with laughable ease, before, quite literally, throwing them back into their cages. He had then waited for them to awaken, before explaining that any of them who left Tartarus before his ladies released them, would return in a small pine box. Assuming there was even enough of them left to fill one. Since that day, and despite them previously being an almost monthly occurrence, no matter how often they failed, not a single escape had been attempted.     Leaving behind what was often referred to as the 'minimum security chamber', Derran entered a tunnel of dark purple stone. Covered with Equestrian warding runes. The arcane symbols, carved deep into the rock and glowing faintly blue, deactivated as he passed. Tartarus, contrary to what most thought, was not one homogeneous chamber. Rather, it was actually a series of carefully crafted pocket dimensions stitched together with magic. And while they appeared easy enough to enter or leave, anycreature who tried without authorization, would swiftly find themselves trapped in a maddening extradimensional labyrinth. Designed to, after hours of aimless and confused wandering, spit them right back out in the chamber they just left. In addition, magic didn't work here, a constant scrambling enchantment meaning that any spell would either fizzle out instantly, or create some random, if harmless, effect. Which made the place especially terrifying to the prisoners when Derran stalked the tunnels. After all, he didn't need magic to rip monsters into pieces.     The air shimmered slightly as Derran left the rune encrusted tunnel, arriving at his final destination far too soon for his taste. The chamber was even more massive than the previous one. A narrow path leading toward the center of the cavernous interior, its sides ending in a sheer drop. The bottom, if indeed there even was one, constantly shrouded in ominously swirling blue mist.      Splitting like the branches of an immense tree, the path terminated at one of dozens of strange rocky platforms, seemingly carved from gigantic grey stalagmites. The platforms were circular, and lit by a strange spotlight effect that seemed to come from nowhere. There were no visible bars or chains on the platform, but only because the bindings of this chamber used restraints far stronger than paltry steel or iron. As Derran moved toward the one currently occupied platform, a voice, arrogant, and at the same time seeming to hold back a troubling amount of excitement, rang out.      "Welcome back my future consort. Another round already? . . ." Derran felt his teeth clench and his gaze narrow. As he arrived at his destination, and the former queen of the changelings looked at him with a sickening mixture of obsessive excitement, and lust. Derran regarded her with a carefully composed expression of neutrality.     "Good day, Chrysalis." Derran greeted, keeping the hatred from his voice with an extreme effort. "I see you are well." Chrysalis gave a tittering laugh that made Derran's hands itch for a weapon.     "Better now that you're here my king." She declared, her tone revoltingly amorous. Taking a deep breath, Derran tried to steady himself, but Chrysalis swiftly made the gesture futile. "Mmm, yes! Breath in my scent! Can you tell how much I want you?" She inquired salaciously, not even trying to disguise the mirth in her eyes. Instantly, Derran had to fight back a cloud of red at the edges of his vision.     "Keep speaking to me in that manner, and I shall rip off your wings." He declared, his voice an icy abyss. However, the tone that would have instantly cowed any sane creature, only seemed to excite Chrysalis further.     "Oh, I am such a naughty Queen." She declared, running her tongue slowly over her obsidian lips. Instantly Derran felt his composure crumble. As he slammed his fist against the invisible barrier between him and the former queen, hard enough to send a spiderweb of cracks through it. The fracture lines vanishing a scant moment later, as the barrier repaired and reinforced itself.     "Enough!" Derran hissed, his eyes blazing red, as he loomed over Chrysalis with a look of pure wrath on his face. At last, Chrysalis had the sense to look worried, as she adopted a more normal tone.     "You really do know how to spoil a mare's fun Doom Slayer." She declared, her voice sounding ever so slightly petulant. Derran once more attempted to take a deep breath, this one, going uninterrupted.     It had been shortly after Tempest Shadow's ill fated assault on Canterlot, that, to the surprise and dismay of everycreature, Chrysalis had, more or less, recovered her wits. How her mind had revived from its catatonic state, neither Derran nor any of the doctors whom had examined her, had been able to say. But it had swiftly become a cause of constant misery and frustration for Derran. For reasons she had declined to share, Celestia had requested that Derran spend a period of no less then two hours or more, talking to Chrysalis, a minimum of three days a week. Derran had obeyed, assuming that at worst, he'd just be listening to Chrysalis engage in a bit of impotent vengeful ranting. The first time he went, he had almost looked forward to it. After all, if he couldn't kill Chrysalis, he could at least make her life psychologically unpleasant. It was to his shock and horror, that he learned, contrary to all logic and sense, Chrysalis had no apparent desire to take revenge on him. What she did want, was infinitely more disturbing. . . She wanted him as a mate.     Evidently, prior to their reformation, changeling society valued only one thing: power. Changeling matriarchs only chose their consorts, often more than one, based on their fighting skill and the amount of love they could feast on at once. As Chrysalis had explained, in far more detail than Derran had ever wanted, her last few consorts had all been capable of defeating a minimum of thirty other changeling warriors at the same time. Only those who reached this, supposedly impressive, standard, would be considered as candidates for breeding, and even then, only after they had killed all the other potential candidates. Unfortunately for Derran, defeating an army of the most powerful monsters in the known world, meant he was a fair bit more desirable than any potential mate Chrysalis had ever had. As such, her new plan for world conquest was effectively, to make Derran her king, and with him, breed an army of invincible Changeling super soldiers.      Needless to say, calling her plan 'insane' was grossly understating how deranged it was, and the fact she was so brazen about it, only made it that much more unsettling. Nevertheless, Chrysalis tried every visit to tempt Derran in some fashion or other, and her attempts at flirting were very nearly as disturbing as the fact that she was trying to woo him in the first place. Everything from descriptions of slaughtering rival queens, to nauseating accounts of her prior sexual conquests, mixed with less-than-subtle offers to give Derran a chance to beat their performance. Derran had seen a great many revolting and vile things in his long life, so it meant a great deal, that Chrysalis was one of the few beings able to make him feel genuinely nauseated.     "Must we go through this disturbing tedium every time I am forced to return here?" Derran demanded, keeping his tone level with an effort that was nothing short of god-like. "In case it has escaped the notice of your breathtakingly deranged mind, your attempts to sway me are failing. . . abysmally." Chrysalis just made a dismissive sound.     "Please! As if you could do better? You settle for a princess, but you could have a Queen. Deny it all you want, but our joining is as good as inevitable." Derran shook his head in disbelief.      "You truly are pioneering new lands of being snake-fuckingly crazy aren't you?" He grumbled, his exasperation eroding further his already precarious veneer of feigned civility. "Even assuming you are serious in these. . . offers, I would rather castrate myself with a spoon, than take you up on it." Chrysalis just laughed.     "Oh come now, you know full well that my offers are genuine. No lie I've tried to tell has ever gotten by those gorgeous eyes of yours." She declared, in what she clearly imagined was a coquettish manner. Unfortunately, sickening as it was to realize, Chrysalis was indeed telling the truth, or at least believed she was. Nocreature, in this, or any other reality, could lie to Derran. After all, part of fighting demons was resisting the very best liars and cheats in existence. Often, all Derran had to do to know whether somecreature was lying to him, was meet their gaze. And Chrysalis's gaze was, horribly, dead honest. Hardly a comforting thought.     "Truth or not, your entreaties do nothing but disgust me. Are you truly so addled that you actually believe you are making some kind of progress?! My beloveds have more worth in one hair of their manes than a mill-no, a trillion of you, could ever have in your entire bodies!" Here Chrysalis glared at Derran, her voice brimming with arrogance as she replied.     "What could those pathetic princesses ever have that I don't? Free me from this cage and I promise to show you pleasures those prim and proper weaklings never could!" Derran again shook his head.     "Putting aside that you clearly know nothing of Celestia and Luna's carnal appetites, if you genuinely must ask what they have that you lack, you will never understand the answer." Here, Chrysalis gave a snarl, Derran having touched a slight nerve.     "Every time I ask that's your answer! You just can't admit that they're not nearly as special as you want them to be! I'm superior to them in every way! I'm tougher! I'm smarter! I'm stronger than they could ever hope to be! Together we could claim the entire world as our kingdom! You, leading an army of our children, conceived in a passion so sublime it would seem like the stuff of legends! You would be more than a king, our subjects would worship us as gods!" Derran shook his head, disbelief, and an almost imperceptible hint of pity displayed on his features.     "By the Light, you truly don't understand do you?" He whispered, his voice almost sympathetic.      "THEN TELL ME!!" Chrysalis screamed, slamming her hooves against the invisible walls of her cell, her expression a combination of rage and desperation. Derran let out a sigh, his anger seeming to drain out of him as he did so.     "Very well then. The answer is this: you could never love me, because you have no understanding of what love actually is." Chrysalis blinked, her brain taking a few seconds to process the unexpected reply.     "What?!" She shouted in disbelief. "Of course I know what love is! I literally feed on it!" Derran shook his head almost ruefully.     "And that is part of the reason why you do not understand it. To you, love is an energy source, like electricity or magic. You do not see it as an emotion, merely as a source of power and nourishment, and I can say with complete confidence, that never in your existence have you experienced it in an emotional capacity." Chrysalis stared at Derran with an expression as if he had suddenly grown two heads.     "What are you talking about?! Of course I've felt love?! I've been in love with you ever since you defeated me!" Derran just made a dismissive sound through his teeth.     "No. That emotion is desire, not love. You don't want me as your consort because you love me, you want me because I am powerful, and because you hope to exploit that power for your own gain." Chrysalis scoffed.     "Oh please! I consider you worthy of me, how is that not love? Your precious princesses are no different. You protect them, so they mate with you and do nice things for you to insure your loyalty. If anything, my love is more pure because unlike them 'I' am honest about what I truly want." Derran gave Chrysalis an expression of disgust. He was already in a poor mood, and knew he had reached his limit.     "Your arrogance is stifling, and I tire of trying to explain color to the blind. I will wait out the rest of this tedium in one of the other chambers." He declared in annoyance, turning to go. Cutting off his visit early wasn't normally something Derran would do, however he knew full well that if he stayed any longer he would likely rip Chrysalis's head from her shoulders.      "Blind am I? Are you sure you want to cast stones in that direction?" Chrysalis declared, her voice like a dagger being drawn across silk. Derran wanted to ignore her, but something in her tone made him stop.     "Was there a point to that comment?" He demanded, his back to her, and his tone heavy with restrained anger. Chrysalis let out a mocking laugh.     "I may not know what love is, but I do know what lies are. Like you, I can spot a lie a mile away, even one somecreature is telling themselves. . ." Turning back toward Chrysalis, Derran regarded her with a cold expression.     "And, do elaborate. What lies do you believe I am telling myself?" Chrysalis just chuckled with sadistic delight.     "I'm not entirely sure. All I know, is that I see it in your face every time we meet. Shimmering like fresh spilled blood on a moonlit night, just behind your eyes. I don't know what the lie is, but the last time I saw a look like yours, it was in one of my children who had gone quite mad from a terrible sickness. He was so delirious he actually thought he was Princess Celestia, trapped in the body of a changeling. He even challenged me to a duel while transformed into her." Here Chrysalis laughed. "I destroyed him of course. But as he was dying, and he realized his mistake. . . well, let's just say it wasn't pretty. Even 'I' sometimes have nightmares about those screams. . . such unimaginable despair. Finding out everything he believed himself to be. . . was a lie." Derran glared down at Chrysalis with pure hatred.     "Why I ever, even for a single moment, pitied you, I cannot imagine! Keep your madness and lies to yourself, they bore me." Chrysalis just smirked, as she leaned on the transparent walls of her cell to stare deep into Derran's eyes.     "Am I lying, Derran Grandel. . . am I really?" Derran scoffed, as he turned from Chrysalis's gaze.     "You are insane. And the insane always believe they are telling the truth." He said, his tone one of finality. Yet, as he walked back down the path out of the high security chamber, he heard Chrysalis laugh, and for some reason, a faint sense of unease gripped him, as her parting words chased after him.     "Isn't it convenient, that insanity is so well hidden from the insane. . ."