OOC: Massive jam up ahead. You have been warned.
IC: Xerov, Myka, Xylak, Erux, Tarrhus & Lezac (Vorex); Zyron (Taka Nuvia); Huaki (Doctor Wotz); Feongulf (Javert). (Onu-Koro)
It's dark.
As far forward as I have moved, I still don't like the darkness. You can't see in it. There could be anything there with you, and you wouldn't even know. If you lose a sense, you lose some safety.
There are few places darker than the tunnels of Onu-Wahi, the only illumination the odd lightstone attached to the wall at irregular intervals, throwing a little pool of light on the ground, ceiling and walls, reminding you that you're in a dark, damp tunnel. As I pass the remains of some kind of Rahi, I grimace. It's small, but everything's been eaten off it, just a few scraps of armour and bone left behind. Makes you wonder what could lurk in the dark, just out of sight.
With all that stuff about darkness said, I must admit that I'm not looking forward to reaching The Unfortunate Fikou all that much. Whoever The Dreamer is, I doubt he likes me. I doubt even further that he doesn't want me dead.
And speaking of people who want me dead, Tarrhus is somewhat of a problem. If Myka is still trailing me (which I doubt, I've moved quite a bit since Le-Wahi, but I still have to wonder), could Tarrhus be trailing her? Could Tarrhus find me on his own?
And there's another reason not to like the dark; when you're alone in the dark, you end up thinking. And believe it or not, thinking isn't always a good thing.
Feongulf hated the dark.
Or, to be more accurate, she hated what might be lurking in it.
She and Xerov had spoken little, as usual. Feongulf had come to the conclusion that she was positively gregarious in comparison with her companion, a thought that had left her grinning. Descending into Onu-Koro's tunnels had wiped that levity from her face, however, and her eyes darted around the at the edge of the lightstone's illumination, fingering her dagger's grip and readying for whatever threat might appear out of the darkness the two Matoran had ahead of them. The small Rahi did not faze her in the slightest and she opted to ignore it as soon as it could be confirmed that the beast was, in fact, dead.
Her head turned to survey the tunnel behind them, which looks more or less the same as what was in front. Darkness, punctuated only by lightstones mounted on the walls in the exact pattern the Onu-Matoran miners had placed them Mata Nui knew how many centuries before. The only thing that differed was the outline of two more beings walking down the passage Feongulf and Xerov had already passed through.
What reasons would anyone else have for choosing this half-abandoned way when there's so many alternates? she thought. Not good ones, whether they're part of this whole conspiracy or not. Feongulf was growing uneasy about this whole League of Shades thing, fearing retribution for her abandonment of her post with Makuta's followers, and the fact they seemed to know more about her companion then she did only bred more suspicion. That was just one coincidence to many.
Feongulf drew the dagger at her hip, holding it behind her cloak to keep it obscured from whoever they were's view. She stepped forwards and nudged Xerov with her other arm, whispering: "Turn around and look- Carefully!"
As Feongulf speaks I turn my head silently, to see two silhouettes further down the tunnel. They seem to be quite a distance off, and look like they might be Matoran. Suddenly, I remember the Ko-Matoran who tracked me to the inn -- spies, sent by the Dreamer to watch me? Possible... or my good friend Tarrhus and some friend of his. Either way, they're probably not good news. I pick up my pace slightly, planning to put some more distance between my stalkers and me.
"Any idea who's following us?"
"Not sure. It could be Tarrhus and someone else, or maybe people associated with the Dreamer. Or..." For a few seconds, I consider the possibility that Myka and Zyron could have followed me this far. But that would have been impossible without being spotted. "Nah, never mind."
"Never mind what?" Feongulf replied, peering back over her shoulder at their pursuers. "Generally speaking, I like knowing who it is trying to kill me."
"Ssh," I hiss, deliberately avoiding answering the question. Firstly, Myka and Zyron wouldn't be trying to kill us (however, I doubt that would prevent Feongulf from getting rid of them anyway), and second, whoever is tailing us will be able to hear us speaking. The end of the tunnel is coming up not too far ahead, and as I look at it a plan begins to form in my mind.
Myka had lost sight of Xerov in the dim light, and was walking as close to Zyron as possible. Courtesy of the darkness, it was nearly impossible to see him even if she was standing right next to him, but as long as she could make out somewhat of an outline she felt a bit better.
Not for the first time, she wondered if she had just imagined seeing Xerov back in Ta-Koro. There hadn't been any sign of him since, and even what she had seen had only been a glimpse.
But it was pointless wondering about it. If it was him, it was him. No point turning back when they'd already come this far.
As Zyron walked next to Myka, he got a bad feeling about the situation, as always. But maybe it was just the darkness of these tunnels, who could really tell?
Still, something made him feel quite uneasy. Due to an old habit his hand slowly sneaked into his bag, reaching for the small knife, taking it out. The Le-Matoran knew it would not be of any use in a real combat situation, but just holding it in his hand made everything at least a bit better.
Myka saw something metal glint in Zyron's hand as he took it out of his bag. A weapon? It's probably just to defend us, she decided. There could be anything down here.
Zyron still had no idea why Myka had actually made a run for the tunnels, but he assumed it would have to do with whatwashisnameagain - right, Xerov. That Matoran everyone seemed to be going after these days.
One way or another, he really felt safer now. If only there was a way to get rid of the darkness.
Usually he would have tried to lighten the mood a bit, however, he was fairly certain that this was neither the right time nor place for joking. After all, they were trying to follow someone carefully, weren't they...?
In the little pool of light cast by a lightstone up ahead, Myka spotted two Matoran, walking quickly. So, Xerov -- assuming of course that she had the right person -- was with someone else, another Matoran. But who?
It suddenly occurred to her that they were headed towards Onu-Koro. That was where that Ko-Matoran had wanted her to go... It was beginning to look a lot like a trap. But was it for her?
What had Myka ever done? Nothing. True, she hadn't gotten along well with her mother, but there was no one who would want to take revenge on her for that.
Xerov, while he was still Elax, had killed Jalna. That's what Tarrhus had said, that's what he himself had said. A lot of people could potentially want rid of him.
Zyron? At first she dismissed the thought, but then... Zyron never really spoke about his past. And there was that scar, and now the knife... The knife, she supposed, was normal, but the scar wasn't, especially in the way Zyron never spoke about it and seemed to touch it when he was worried...
But it didn't matter. If it was a trap, well, they'd know who it was for soon enough.
At this point Zyron too noticed the two other Matoran ahead of him, and immediately his grasp on the knife tightened. Slowly things were getting interesting... well, more or less.
"When we get out of the tunnel," I whisper, "You go to the right, and I'll go to the left. When our stalkers come out, we can catch them by surprise, but don't attack immediately -- 'shoot first, ask questions later' is never a great policy."
Feongulf doesn't reply, but when we reach the end of the tunnel she does as I told her to, waiting for the Matoran tailing us to come into view. I get ready to attack whoever it is, just in case, but stop myself just before leaping at them as I recognise who they are. "Myka?"
Hearing her name, Myka turned to look at Xerov, crouched by the passage's exit, and then looked across at Feongulf.
"It's all right," the Vo-Matoran said, addressing Feongulf. "They're not enemies."
"Elax, what's going on?" Myka hissed at Xerov. "There's a Vortixx looking for you who managed to find Zyron and me, and a Ko-Matoran found me in my inn and asked me to go to-"
"The Unfortunate Fikou," Xerov muttered, glancing down at the ground, processing the information. "Whoever The Dreamer is, he wants you there too. You may as well follow us, I suppose."
Not enemies yet, thought the Fe-Matoran, crossing her arms and glaring at the two other Matoran. Well, neither of them seemed to be armed, at any rate. That's something.
That didn't completely ease her suspicious, of course. You could fit almost anything in the bag slung across the Le-Matoran's back.
Well, what a surprise, Zyron thought to himself as he saw Xerov. He didn't recognise the other Matoran, all he could see was that she was a Fe-matoran.
What made him feel more concerned though was the thing about The Dreamer. And of course that everyone seemed to be heading for the Unfortunate Fikou now.
The Le-matoran raised an eyebrow.
"Yay for group travelling," he muttered to himself.
Most of the rest of the journey is made in silence, without much speech; there's enough suspicion between all of us, of each other and the being who's summoned us here, to keep us quiet and careful.
Not too far away, The Unfortunate Fikou comes into view. This is it, my last chance to turn back. If I keep going, I may die, or worse, and similar fates will meet the people with me. I brought all of this on myself and on them through my own bad decisions. Whatever happens next is my fault, and mine alone.
Sure, these people have chosen to follow me, but they wouldn't have had to if I'd just taken the time to think. I had so many chances to turn back. That first day on the beach, when I met Jalna and Myka and the others, I didn't have to talk to them. I didn't have to go near them. I didn't have to meet them again, I didn't have to make their lives worse. Because I have made their lives, and my own, worse.
Jalna is dead. I go on living because she told me to, but it's hardly much of a life. Myka... I don't know. I doubt she's been unaffected. Nikarra and Traxia I haven't heard anything from. Tarrhus... Tarrhus is ruined. He wants revenge, and that's all he wants, and if the day comes that he gets it he won't have any purpose, but even now I doubt he's happy. Tarrhus and I aren't really that different; neither of us has made any attempt to move on. I suppose I have tried, but never particularly hard, because this is something I'll never be able to come to terms with fully. Tarrhus wants me dead because I killed his sister, and has wanted me dead for eighty years. That's not moving on. I don't know exactly what that is, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't accepting the loss and trying to move on. But then, loss is a difficult thing to accept. We both lost someone close to us, and only one of us was to blame, which means that that one of us is the one who should suffer. And yet Tarrhus is the one suffering, not me. I'm just always on the move, out of his reach, while he tries to make up for his sister's death by getting rid of the one who killed her. Will it help? I don't know. Will it bring her back? I doubt it. But we all need to have something that drives us.
Except me, apparently. Because there doesn't seem to be anything driving me. I just move around, ruining lives wherever I make contact with them.
OOC: Breaking up your jam slightly to recommend that anyone reading this listens to When Things Explode from this point on.
We're all quite close to the Fikou, and I can see a Toa standing in front of it, and the memories start coming back. He was there, along with another Toa and a Vortixx. But where are they?
Something isn't right. This has to be a trap. He's standing too still, just in front of the door, leading us towards him. We're close now, and I'm reminded again of how he's standing so still... perfectly still, in fact. It doesn't even look like he's breathing. It finally clicks in my mind that it's an illusion as I see it flicker, and I stop. But it's too late. I'm close enough.
There's a bang somewhere to the right, from the roof of one of the buildings, and I feel myself shoved roughly out of the way, leaving my head spinning. As I pick myself up, I look around, trying to figure out which of the three Matoran saved my life. For a second, I almost think that by some miracle no one was hurt.
Then Myka collapses.
Everyone has something driving them. Everyone has a purpose. But all I can do is ruin the life of anyone who comes too close.
"So, we're here-" Feongulf remarked in a dull monotone as the party neared their destinations, cut off by all karz breaking lose. The Toa standing at the Unfortunate Fikou's door melted like a mirage, and the sound of a firearm discharge roared from a nearby rooftop.
The Fe-Matoran hit the ground and rolled back to her feet, her dagger leaping from its sheath. "Find cover!" barked Feongulf, stepping forward and throwing their wounded companion -Myka isn't it?- and, throwing the crumpled body over her shoulders, began to dash for the side of the Fikou at the fastest she could while carrying another Matoran, something that was difficult even with the greater strength Feongulf possessed.
"Unless ending up dead sounds fun to you people."
Out of an instinct Zyron had jumped aside just when he had heard the noise, without thinking about where it could have come from or what it could mean.
He saw Myka shoving Xerov aside - why - and then collapse. For a second, his world came to a halt. For just a single moment he realized how much she actually meant to him, and how little he'd wanted to admit it to himself before.
Then reality caught up with him again and he spun round and started off towards the buildings.
Everything is moving so slowly. Except me. Because I'm stuck.
I've tried to move a few times, but it's like I'm frozen in place, watching everyone else dashing towards the buildings in slow motion. And then something moves, and the spell is broken.
"Wait!" I shout, turning to Feongulf. "I saw the shooter move on the roof, he's making a run for it. Feongulf, let Zyron take care of Myka and come with me."
Before I've even finished the sentence, I pull my pistol out and cock it. "We're going to find the **** who shot Myka, and we're going to kill him."
Feongulf turned her head back towards to the others.
"Sounds like fun," she replied, a grin tugging at the ends of her mouth as the bestial thoughts of her Parakuka flashed through her mind. Laying Myka's body down behind the end of the building and striding back to Xerov, a hand rummaged through the bag at Feongulf's waist and produced another blade, smaller then the ones grasped by her opposite hand.
"How about we make this Piraka pay?"
Zyron made his way to where Feongulf had laid Myka down. The Le-Matoran kneeled down next to her and took her hand, gently holding it. He had no idea what he could do, actually there were no real thoughts left in his mind at all. Of course, a desire for revenge, but the other two Matoran would certainly be able to see to that, wouldn't they...
"Sounds good to me," I reply, a dark expression on my face. I spare a glance to where Myka and Zyron are together, stirring up further anger in me -- at myself, at the son of a Piraka who shot Myka, even at the very world we live in. There is no light here. "Follow me."
With that, I run off, without waiting for Feongulf to respond, my only thoughts of revenge. I practically smash through the door, sprinting up the stairs to the roof. I look around, trying to figure out where the assassin went, and curse when I realise he isn't here anymore.
I take a moment to look over the edge, standing where he must have fired from. The Unfortunate Fikou is right across from here, and I can't help but think that the less-than-cheerful name should have tipped us off earlier. Then I see something else, bringing my mind to a realisation that I couldn't have come to in all the chaos of the past few moments. Myka threw herself in front of me to stop the bullet, to put a hole in the Dreamer's plans. But he called her here too, which means that he might have anticipated her self-sacrifice... which means that we're still in danger.
I've only just come to the conclusion as I see a crowd of Ussalrymen on their way to the scene of the crime, and at their head a Matoran I recognise only too well: "Tarrhus."
Then it all clicks. I'm standing on a rooftop overlooking the scene, a pistol missing one bullet in my hand. Myka, a friend of the Matoran I killed eighty years ago, is shot and dying. The building only has one entrance, one exit, right where the Ussalry can see me. The only problem is witnesses -- but as I see the Ko-Matoran from earlier walking out of the Fikou, I realise that the Dreamer thought of that too. With Myka dead, Zyron grieving and Feongulf more than likely on the run, only that Matoran and me could claim to have seen what was going on. He wasn't going to kill me. That was never the plan.
What he had in mind for me was so much worse.
"Help! Help! Ussalry! Anyone!" cried a Ko-Matoran running from the Unfortunate Fikou. She continued screaming as such and looking around until she spotted the Ussalry squad headed by Tarrhus. She looked relieved, but still traumatised and harassed.
"Thank Mata Nui you came!" she sighed shakily, stepping in front of Tarrhus and the Ussalrymen. "You heard the shots? You heard- Oh, god... Sorry, I..."
"It's okay. Look at me," said one of the Onu-Matoran, stepping forward. She did so. "Good. Now, explain as best you can what happened."
"I... Okay, I was in my room in the inn, and, and I saw that Matoran on the roof, there- He's still there, he shot her!" she pointed at Xerov on the roof. "He shot her, the Matoran! He's still there! If you're quick you can catch him! Oh, god..." tears streamed down her face, the Onu-Matoran comforted her while the others set off after Xerov.
"Zyron?" Myka whispered, looking up at the Le-Matoran. "Is... is that you?"
Everything was growing dim, and even though she could feel the ground underneath her she felt like she was miles away from everything around her.
"Yes, Myka. It's me", he replied and looked into her eyes. He feared that she might not make it. Yes, of course he hoped it weren't so.
"Everything's going to be alright..."
"Well, this is going great, just great," Feongulf muttered to herself, following Xerov out onto the sniper's roof. There was no sign of the gunman, and there was an Ussalry contingent progressing down the tunnels towards them.
Things just keep getting better, don't they? she thought, turning back to the Matoran of Lightning.
"Xerov, we have to get out of here," said Feongulf, her face calm despite the terror seething within her. "We have coppers coming, and whoever it is shooting at us'll be back."
I remain silent as Feongulf speaks, not turning to look at her until a few seconds after she's finished. "It's over, Feongulf. This whole thing was a plan to frame me. Tarrhus is at the head of that party, and I'm going to be either shot down or arrested. You have to get out."
I look around, and see that there's another street behind the building. "If you can, try to get down that side. Tarrhus doesn't know you exist, and since he's at the head there, I'm willing to bet he's leading them here. If I leave, I just have another crime to my name, and running's going to be a lot harder. I'm out of options. You can still get away."
Feongulf cocked her head and glared at the other Matoran.
"Xerov, you really know nothing, don't you."
Her hand flew through the air and collided with the right of his face. "What is this? Some attempt at a noble gesture? A heroic last stand to allow your friend to escape?" Feongulf barked. "But see? Me and you aren't heroes, but you're my friend too. And friends don't let friends get themselves karzing killed!"
The Parakuka latched to Feongulf's back hissed as it fed adrenaline into her bloodstream, her body quivering as her limbs and body grew stronger and larger. She hefted the Matoran of Lightning over her shoulders, an easier task with the blood of beasts running through her veins.
She paused a moment to listen to the clomp of approaching Ussal crabs on the cave floor below, then growled to silence Xerov's struggling in her grip. They leapt from the roof, Feongulf landing gracefully on the stone below, immediately braking into a dash, fleeing towards the nearest tunnel out of the cavern. She hazarded a glance back at the Unfortunate Fikou and the Ussalry brigade approaching it. Hopefully the other two Matoran would be fine; Other beings being imprisoned on her account wasn't something she had ever wanted
Turns out, this is no journey's end, she thought, vanishing into back the way they'd came. Nope, this is just another beginning.
Feongulf's grip is strong, and she doesn't feel like letting me go. She doesn't understand. I have to stop running. It's over now. My face still stings from where she slapped me, and I can barely move, but I have one advantage: my pistol. She never took it out of my hand, and I've kept a hold on it. I'm sorry, Feongulf.
I take a shot at her leg -- not enough to do any major damage, it seems, but enough to make her stop. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, I fall off her shoulders, landing hard on the ground. When I pick myself up, I turn to face her. "I can't go with you, Feongulf. I can't run anymore. I've run for too long, and now a second person is dead because of me. If I give myself in, there won't be any more death, except, perhaps, my own. But I can't keep running, because I've tried running, and it's *****. I'm a coward. I always have been. I get hurt, and others get hurt because of me, and I've had enough of it. I meant what I said, Feongulf. This is no heroic last stand. This is the final act of a man who has too much on his conscience."
It takes a few seconds to register with me that Feongulf is oddly silent, and isn't looking at me, but behind me. Slowly, I turn around, to see the Toa who was in the illusion.
"Elax, Elax, Elax," the Dreamer chuckled. "So much fire. This is how you want to be extinguished?"
He turned to look at Feongulf. "And Feongulf, in her final act of defiance. I hope you don't consider this your resignation, because that's not something I take lightly."
He walked, slowly, toward the two Matoran, before crouching down so that he was at eye-level with them. "How about we make a deal, hm? Elax turns himself in like a good little boy, and you walk away like this never happened. Alternatively, you could take the better solution: run. Because you don't have long; neither of you do. Elax must face his destiny, and you have to get out so that you still have a chance to face yours. I hear marching, Matoran; I hear the sound of drums, the echoes of destruction and war looming on the horizon. And I want you two in the right places when it starts. I am a planner, and a thinker, and I'm surprised you thought you could get away this easily. You can't. Because Tarrhus is with me, and the Ussalry, for now, is with him. As we speak he's breaking off from the crowd to take a back alley route to where we're standing right now. When they arrive, Elax will walk into their hands and Feongulf will run away before she gets caught, because that's how this must end. And, I'm very sorry, but I think it's time for me to go."
The illusion flickered and disappeared, revealing the same shortcut that the Dreamer had mentioned only moments before.
I look to Feongulf as the Toa disappears once again, then begin walking towards the oncoming group of Ussalry Matoran. I raise my hands into the air, and look back for a second, to see that Feongulf is no longer in sight. I'm hoping she had the sense to save herself. The Ta-Matoran in the lead grins as he reaches me.
"Weapon on the ground, murderer," Tarrhus hissed, a sadistic glee in his eyes.
Maybe this is the journey's end, for one of us at least, came a thought unbidden into Feongulf's mind as the mirage of her old boss vanished into the air. She glanced back at Xerov, barely keeping herself from weeping. "There's nothing I can do," she whispered.
Then ran.
Zyron's voice was distant, but Myka was still able to just about pick up on what he was saying. She smiled sadly and tried to shake her head. "No, it's not... I'm not going to make it. I know you want me to pull through, and... I want to pull through too. But it's not happening. This is the journey's end, Zyron. And you were the best company I could have asked for."
For a second, Zyron remained silent. He did not want to accept that this was the end.
"So were you, Myka" he replied quietly, unaware that his eyes were filling with tears, that his knees began to hurt from kneeling, ignoring the noise of a shot somewhere in the distance.
"I'll miss you..."
"Be brave," Myka whispered, feeling a few tears dropping from Zyron's eyes on to her mask. It was all she could do to hold back tears herself and put on a brave face for Zyron, as inside she was terrified of what was to come. Everything was getting further and further away, and she was leaving Zyron behind, and it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that Zyron had to lose her. It wasn't fair that whoever had killed her was able to walk away, it wasn't fair that it was always the innocent who seemed to get hurt. She didn't want to go. She had a future, she had a life... "I'll miss you too."
As a single tear rolled down her face, she took one last breath, and as her chest rose and fell she became still, her heartlight flickering and dying.
As Myka's heartlight darkened, Zyron felt nothing but sadness, hollowness. He was still there, kneeling next to Myka's now lifeless body, tears that had just been filling his eyes now running over his cheeks in two little streams.
He reached out and touched her face, then began to gently caress it, finally allowing his grief to overwhelm him. They could have had it all... or at least a life together.
"What did he offer you, Tarrhus? What are you getting out of this?" I ask, looking into Tarrhus' green eyes, so similar to his sister's and yet so full of hate, hate that's been growing for decades.
Tarrhus took out a pair of handcuffs, and brought his elbow into Xerov's stomach to make him double over before kicking his pistol out of the way. "We heard the shot and followed the sound. You a little too trigger-happy?"
"What did he offer you?"
Tarrhus walked around behind Xerov, taking his hands and locking the cuffs into place around them, before leaning over slightly to whisper into the Vo-Matoran's ear. "They're gonna kill you for this. You're a murderer, Elax. One more hit and you would even be a serial killer. They're gonna put a bullet through your head, and thanks to my co-operation the Dreamer's puttin' in a good word so that I can be the man to do it."
I laugh as I hear Tarrhus' pitiful motivation. "You moron. He's not putting in any kind of word for you, he's a criminal. You were played. You were played just like the rest of us."
Tarrhus' face fell as two Ussalry Matoran grabbed Xerov and began pulling him away as he continued to laugh, practically in hysterics. "You were played just like me, just like Myka, just like everyone else that ***** has ever spoken to, and you didn't even have the brains to realise it."
As she clutched the arm of the Onu-Matoran who she had kept by her side, Huaki looked over Xerov's shoulder while he was being dragged away. She could see Tarrhus' emotions getting the better of him, the sudden realisation that had come to him with Xerov's words.
And she smiled. She smiled a cheeky, innocent little knowing smile.
Then she was sobbing on the Matoran's shoulder again, a terrified little girl who needed someone, anyone to keep her company, keep her safe. Turning her head, her eye caught Xerov's as he was being dragged away, and winked at him.
I'm being dragged away, laughing. It's odd. I haven't laughed in a long time.
There's a strange feeling rising inside me, like... like some kind of freedom. I don't have to run anymore. I can settle down and live the short remainder of my life in the Ussalry Headquarters. I know that soon this is going to go away, I'll be filled with guilt and anger, beating myself up for feeling like this, but... still. I have to enjoy the sensation of this weight being lifted off my shoulders while I can.
I catch the Ko-Matoran winking at me, and with barely a thought return the wink. Why? I'm not sure. So that it looks like I know what I'm doing? Because -- as I acknowledged before -- she is actually pretty good-looking (although not my type, I'm not really a big fan of the homicidal ones; granted, that's a bit stupid for me of all people to think, but still)?
The look on Tarrhus' face is priceless. His right eye is twitching, flickering, and his hands are curled up into fists. If I was close enough, he'd kill me -- but he lost his chance when he handed me over, and that's just making him all the more angry. Then I'm brought out into the street, and I catch a glimpse of Zyron and Myka, and all the guilt and the grief and the anger hits me at once, leaving me winded. There's no sense of freedom, no weight lifted off my shoulders, just the image of Myka's body before a crying Zyron, burned permanently into the back of my mind, just like Jalna's broken body, just like the anger in Tarrhus' eyes as he announced his plans for revenge. It's all my fault. It's all my fault.
It's all my fault.
- - -
Hours later, Huaki walked out of the Guard headquarters, spotting a black and silver Toa in the shadows. "Did they give you much trouble?"
"They give me much trouble?" Huaki smiled confidently, and walked closer. "You, of all people, should know I never get trouble from them. Everything went surprisingly well, for such an elaborate plan. Not that I had any doubts in you, of course," she smiled again, this time more warmly. She wasn't sucking up, she genuinely trusted and believed in this man.
"It had to be elaborate, or it would have been predicted," the Dreamer explained calmly. "The Vo-Matoran is intelligent, a thinker, but he jumps to conclusions far too quickly. All I needed was a set-up that looked simple but just complicated enough to disguise the real plan.
"But, bragging aside, we have to go to Ko-Wahi. Erux is taking charge and there's a job we have to do."
"I understand. What kind of job, exactly?"
"The kind that no one wants to do," the Toa responded quietly. "This is where everything changes, Huaki."
With that, the Dreamer began walking slowly away, Huaki in tow, leaving his trail of corpses and shattered dreams behind him.
OOC: Xylak and Huaki to Ko-Wahi.
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