Pyro and Joseph came through the terrasect portal with the mutants Gaia and Proteus on heir shoulders. Essex was pleased to see this though he was doubtful of the loyalty of those now in his employ. There was the Pyro the master over flame and his partner Joseph. Sinister had saved them from a large group of demon hounds in Australia. Fontanelle and ever he had found in the old Hulkbuster base as it was overrun by Darkstar's forces. Omega Red he found trapped in the ice of Siberia and Post he saved from Holocaust and Juggernaut in the northwestern USA. Mutant Forger surprisingly had come to Sinister willingly. Almost all of them had been his opponents at one time or another. But as the saying goes: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Right now their entire enemy was Apocalypse. In this day and age you were either for or against En Sabah Nur. Sinister and his mutant allies were determined to make stand whether it is for revenge, justice, or for some other twisted reason. If there was one thing that made Sinister cautious about the alliances it was the fact he might be betrayed readily if the ancient mutant was ever defeated.

"I see you bring them to me unharmed," Sinister mused from his self-made throne. It was ebony black like the depths of Essex's soul.

"No telling what Darkstar might have done to them though. I'm bringing them to the Med Lab," Joseph said. Sinister nodded his head in agreement with the son of Magneto. If only Essex had found this mutant first the things he would have done with him. Joseph would have been such a force that all before him would fall. Genosha, the X-Men, and any other opposition that came upon him would be crushed beneath his boot.

Pyro approached Sinister and with an impatient look on his face said, "So now that we've got these two mutants what's our next move?"

"We must be cautious in how we approach our situation Pryo. One wrong move and we'll all fall into ruin."

Fontanelle came around the corner having heard the conversation and chimed in her own thoughts, "I find myself agreeing with Pryo though Sinister. We've been doing minor hit and runs for so long we're all starting to grow impatient. I think it's time for the big push!"

"SILENCE!! All of you! My word shall not be challenged. We shall wait and we shall prepare. When the time is right we'll strike against Darkstar and free all those held in her captivity," Sinister proclaimed his eyes intensely focused.

Pyro huffed angrily and walked to catch up with Joseph. Fontanelle decided it would probably be best for her to get far away from Sinister, but before she could he called out to her.

"Fontanelle. Forgive my harshness, but I have been doing a great deal of thinking as of late. Allerdyce is right in that we need to take the fight to Darkstar, but I've just been devising how. I believe the answer is soon coming though. If you don't mind me asking could you ask Mutant Forger to come and meet me in my lab? We have matters to discuss."

Fontanelle shrugged and said, "Yeah sure. No problem."

Once the middle-aged woman was gone Sinister rose from his seat and headed down the hall Joseph had went down only a few moments ago. Essex was going to his lab to prepare and finally begin to make the "big push" as Fontanelle termed it. The halls of this building were sleek silver and this one was no exception. Over each room there was a red light, except for rooms that had life forms in it because they shone a bright green. It was Sinister's way of preventing some teleporter coming into his base unannounced. This base was one of three Sinister had left in the world. Iceland and South Africa were where the other two bases were hidden. All of his others were annihilated by the demons of Limbo led by a crazed Rachel Summers. How ironic that the one thing he sought so hard to attain, the Summers line, would be the one thing that destroyed all that was precious to him. Sinister was no fool though and he that Apocalypse would stop at nothing to destroy everything Sinister ever had a hand in. He was never one to create life hastily like that buffoon Dark Beast except in desperate situations and this most definitely was a desperate situation. Now if only he could make Mutant Forger see that and all just might be well.

Essex after about a five minute walk down a flight of spiral stairs at the end of the hall finally reached his gigantic lab, which if necessary could create an army of 10,000 mutants in 8 hours. Of course there had to be the memory programming, battle training mind download, and the behavior inhibitors, which would add in total about to 13 hours. Nonetheless a quick effective army could be built, but Sinister had a slight problem. He could easily build an army, but he had nowhere to house them once the fight was over with. And having them all just fight until they were all dead would simply be stupid and a waste of resources.

At the far corner of the lab was Mutant Forger floating slightly off the ground with his telekinesis. His long black billowed though there was no wind down here, his black pants seemed to shimmer in the dim light of the lab, and his large exposed chest gleamed from sweat. Sinister had long ago forgot what sweat rolling down your face felt like. It was a distance memory to him. His body operated on an entirely different level from regular mutants and humans. Apocalypse had made him something more than a mere mutant or man long ago. Till this day Sinister himself was not surely full of what En Sabah Nur had specifically done to him.

Mutant Forger quickly floated towards Sinister, bowed slightly out of respect, and asked, "You summoned me?"

"Yes I did Forger. Yes I did. The time is coming when I shall have need of you. Darkstar must fall and only you can help me do that through your powers," Sinister exclaimed as a shocked look climbed on Mutant Forger's face.

"Sinister if I have not stressed this enough my powers are uncontrollable and I shall not use them no matter how dire the situation," Mutant Forger said near shouting. He had to hold back his shock and resentment at Sinister for trying to manipulate him by playing on his feelings in such a manner.

Essex sighed, but as always he was persistent, "Forger, understand this. I can create an army 10,000 strong in a little over half a day, but even when they charge into battle they will need reinforcements quickly. You could easily provide that with your massive power. You yourself would become a one-man army capable of massive destruction if you were to do this for me and for this world. If we all aren't willing to make sacrifices the High Lord shall never stumble."

Mutant Forger stood his ground firmly, "Perhaps, but there are other avenues of approach to this situation. Your hit and run method has been proven effective though maybe a bit slow. I just must insist that my powers cannot be used lightly. You do not know what they are capable of. I've seen though it is faintly in mind of what happens when my powers are abused."

"So you think helping your friends and your world an abuse of your powers. So be it, but I can't help but think that this time you abused your powers was for something much less. Much, much less," Sinister said in a clipped tone hoping to anger Mutant Forger since appealing to his emotions wasn't helping any.

"How dare you?! I've fought for this cause as strongly as anyone else in your employ! A burning city and a hundred mutants being the cause of it haunt my dreams. I know my limits and the more I create the more strain it puts on me to control them. I cannot and will not put that risk on my friends. NO matter the cause!!" Mutant Forger bellowed his face blushed a deep red.

Sinister smiled to himself. He was getting to Mutant Forger at last. Being defensive of his decision was the first sign and the intense anger was the next.

"If you're so confident of this Forger I won't ask you anymore, but when your allies lie dead beneath the sands of this desert they will only have you to blame because of your weakness. You fail to risk and so you fail greater than you ever will know," Sinister preached hoping to divert the anger of Mutant Forger into guilt. Guilt he would use to get exactly what he wanted.

Mutant Forger stood silent for a few minutes the expression on his face one of anguish. Finally he slowly said, "What do you want me to do?"

One of them laughed with victory while the other cried with defeat. The first phase of the war was beginning. Sinister's forces were on the move and only time would tell what Darkstar would do.

Darkstar sat contemplating upon what would happen upon the arrival of Apocalypse's special agents. He complained once more of what he considered to be her ineptitude and her lack of speed in important matters. Not that she would tell anyone this, but she was growing infinitely tired of the High Lord and his bitching. One day many a year from now someone would destroy Apocalypse once and for all. His own arrogance and pride would be his downfall.

Suddenly there was a large sucking sound and in front of Darkstar a pink portal opened and she assumed it was the agents of the High Lord. The first to step out of the portal was a blonde haired man in his late 20s.

"Hello Apocalypse Dawn Division Leader. I'm Deus of the Dark Riders and we've been sent here to rid you of the pest known as Sinister. Though I would much prefer a massage of some sort right about now I guess I'll have to settle for killing."

Laynia was taken aback. She had heard tales of the Dark Riders, but never believed they truly existed. They were some of Apocalypse's most lethal mutants. Each of them was incredibly powerful and had an enormous hunger for destruction. Killing to them was like a baby feeding off his mother's breast. Killing just came natural to them. Few stood in their way and even then they didn't stand for very long. Deus, if the tales were true, was the sneakiest and most cunning of the Dark Riders. He had once deceived a squad of human resistance fighters into believing he was a resurrected prophet here to save them. The fighters feel foolishly to their deaths.

Deus smiled as he said, "Oh so another one of the non believers. I understand of course. The High Lord likes to keep us under wraps for some wild reason. None can explain his thinking. He is his own being. One can not explain his ways."

Nodding Darkstar replied, "Indeed. Though I don't understand why I couldn't have just been left alone to handle this problem myself. My Dawn is more than capable of handling the problem."

Just then a being of pure energy walked throw the portal with a large green beast by his side. The energy being was the mutant known as Radian and the green beast was someone very protective of Deus. His name was Craze and he was mentioned with whispered fear amongst the many resistance factions spread across the globe. After Craze the psycho mutant with the deadly touch known as Payne stepped through the portal with Tusk. He was a mutant of many facets. They all made up the Dark Riders and they were here for Sinister's head.

Payne stood at the balcony of Darkstar's rusty red tower looking down over it into the harsh desert landscape. All this was Apocalypse's and once Sinister's forces were annihilated it would be his forevermore. Such was the way of Apocalypse. He came and he took. No resistance will stand against the new age that was going to be spearheaded by Apocalypse. For to try and resist Apocalypse was an utterly futile task all in itself. His every move could mean doom for hundreds if not thousands. He was a wave of absolute power and if you could not realize that death would be the result. Once this mission was done he would move forward to hunting down the man called Logan.

Everything in his life would only be a prologue to when he finally killed Logan. Nothing else would matter to him after this deal with Sinister was completed. No one would be able to stand in his way. He would not stop his vengeance from being quenched. For years Payne had been him. And for years they have secretly battled in a way only the two of them could ever and would ever understand. Long ago their rivalry had begun on the shores of the Arctic Circle in a raggedy Alaskan fishing boat.

If Payne recalled correctly the name of the ship was the Santa Bingo. It was there that Logan took something precious away from him. Something precious was most definitely taken though Payne could not remember it. All seemed jumbled to him these days. Even now that pain still remained in Payne's blackened heart. The rest of Payne's memories were vague now, but he did remember that and the ever-seething hate for Logan that was within him.

Darkstar came up from behind and put her arm gently on Payne's hunched broad shoulder, "What bothers you Rider of Apocalypse?"

"Nothing Darkstar. I was just preparing myself mentally for the battle ahead with Apocalypse's forces."

Laynia smiled pointing towards the large fenced chasm in the ground a few miles away, "Then you shall have your chance sooner than you think Payne. My soldier's guarding the human slave pit have just informed me that Pyro and Joseph of Sinister's forces are attacking. The rest of the Dark Riders await your arrival at the front of my castle."

Payne arose from his bent position and put on the posture of the warrior he was. That was his job and all other things had to be pushed aside for the time being. In the face of danger one must be vigilant and ready. Battle was soon to be staring him in the face and Payne was never one to look away from it. Battle was part of his very nature and it was ingrained in his soul just like all the other Dark Riders. Each of them was killing machines of Apocalypse and now it was time to prove it. Who better to prove it against than the lackeys of the protégé of the High Lord? Sinister would learn pain today and for many days to come.

"Excellent Darkstar. Tell them I shall be there ASAP," Payne said adrenaline flowing through his body at the approach of battle. Blood would be shed today and he would not allow it to be from the soldiers of Apocalypse, the High Lord.

Pyro blasted one of the shorter of the mutant sentries in the head with a ball of fire the size of a larger tire. The mutant engulfed in orange and red flames hit the ground his body spewing everywhere a vomit green mist. Whatever the mist touched withered and many of the mutant's fellow sentries fell victim to the mist dying agonizing deaths filled with screams and Pyro would have as well if not for Joseph erecting a light magnetic shield around him. That was all that was needed to shield the deadly mist from reaching the body of St. John Allerdyce.

"Thanks for the save mate. I thought the little man had me there for a second," Pryo said to a hovering Joseph. His mind was still on the sentries and their screams. The screams were bothering him and the scars of war ran deep. He just wished those images would jumble like his memories of the time before Apocalypse were.

"Next time be careful of who you swallow up in flames," Joseph said as he touched the ground. He wasn't angry with Pryo, but he just wished he would show more caution with his powers. Not for the enemies' sake, but for Pyro's own insanity. Killing was not something done lightly and it stayed with the mind for a long time afterward. More sentries were coming out of the slave pit's gates. Ten of them came armed with blades, bones, and other projectile weapons attached to their bodies. Their mutations were grossly psychically related. That much was obvious to the man called Joseph. He felt for these physically-scarred mutants. Especially since Apocalypse used and abused them so readily. They were one of the lowliest types of mutants to be in Apocalypse's new emerging world order. Perhaps one day Joseph would be able to save other mutants like these from the hands of Apocalypse. Joseph outstretched his hand and snapped the necks of all the mutants. He then took all the natural protrusions out of the dead mutants' bodies forcibly and used them against the next wave of mutants that came out of the gate.

Pyro was providing Joseph with cover from the avians that threatened to attack his friend that he felt he had known for a much longer time than he actually had. His memories were jumbled from before the time Apocalypse took over, but he felt like he had some strange connection with Joseph that went beyond them being a part of Sinister's forces.

As Allerdyce was continuing to provide defensive cover there was a loud noise like a plane crashing and only a few feet in front of him there was a portal. Five mutants stepped through the portal each of them having the stare of a battle-hardened warrior. Pyro knew at that moment Joseph and himself were in major trouble.

"Joseph we've got company and these jokers look tough!" Pyro yelled as he lobbed off a dozen large fireballs at the five mutants. The one that glowed like a giant blue light bulb blasted away the fireballs with no trouble at all. If only Allerdyce had known that the mutant Radian had an almost limitless supply of energy flowing through his body. He was nearly pure energy if not for the fact he had a brain and nervous system.

The blond-haired charismatic mutant stepped out from behind his teammates and said, "You stand against the Dark Riders now servant of Sinister and opponent against Apocalypse."

Just as Joseph was about to go on the offensive with a magnetic attack he reeled back in pain as astral claws from Deus ripped through his mind. Energy flowed out wildly from Joseph throwing off the Dark Riders as well as Pyro. St. John knew he was going to have to do something quickly to get Joseph back in control so he created a pack of fire wolves to charge against the Dark Riders.

This momentarily distracted Deus giving Joseph the time he needed to fight back against the telepath's attack. With one focused magnetic blast he hurled Deus across the sky at the speed of sound and with another blast he bought Tusk and Craze to their knees.

Suddenly out of nowhere there was a large popping sound and about three meters above the human slave camp there were hundreds of four-foot men armed with metal wings and large orifices in the middle of their chests that spewed out a green acid. You could hear the screams of the mutant guards as the acid reached its destination.

"These two were only a distraction for the real attack! Let's go!" Payne growled his eyes filled with anger at being duped. Radian surrounded his Dark Riders in an energy bubble and departed into the camp. From afar you could see a pink blaze across the sky headed towards the camp. Obviously Deus had survived his encounter with Joseph.

"Distraction?" Pyro asked dumbfounded. Joseph's intense stare and crossed arms said it all. Sinister had used them as bait.

"Perhaps I did use you two as bait to draw the Dark Riders out. Does it really matter now? You survived did you not and you played your role exquisitely. You two distracted the Dark Riders long enough to unleash Mutant Forger's little creations upon the mutants in the human slave camp," Sinister explained sitting haughtily in his throne. The sheer arrogance in his tone was enough to make Pyro want to fry him where he stood. Joseph on the other hand was patient enough to have a wait and see attitude with Sinister's actions. Besides something else the man had said caught his attention.

"Did you say Mutant Forger's creations?" Joseph asked. Sinister smiled as he pressed a blue button on the armrest of his throne. Suddenly a map of all of Darkstar's territory appeared in front of the two mutants.

As this map appeared Gaia, Ever, and Fontanelle came from one end of the compound while Omega Red, Post, and Mutant Forger came from another. All of Sinister's forces were lined up and ready for whatever he was about to say.

"Welcome. I'm glad to see everyone could make it to this important strategy session. If all goes correctly this should be our last session dealing with Darkstar and her forces. I have a plan that will almost guarantee victory," Sinister smiled his eyes filled with the desire of conquest.

Darkstar smiled her eyes filled with the desire of conquest. Apocalypse had given her the means to the downfall of Sinister. His own greedy ambition would be turned against him and it would mean his utter destruction. The two large canisters that Holocaust personally delivered to her contained two mutants that were such powerful bargaining chips that Sinister would do anything for them. Piotr Rasputin and Shiro Yashida were the beginning of the death of one of the greatest enemies the High Lord has ever known.