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Danger Close


Peach 00

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Danger Close1Plan The eyes of the morning sun glared over Rohan’s snowy mountain peaks, the red-hot volcano a meteor-like obstruction of the Fire Region as the steaming-hot coals and flames glowed in the coal mines, where Ta-Matoran worked hardily. The Air Region’s forests sounded of song birds and crows, sounding a morning call to group in a formation above the paradise island. The Water Region filled with warm breezes, mermaids’ songs and the genuine splashing of water as fish swung themselves above the water’s surface. The constant tinkering of carvers and statue-makers echoed beyond the canyons of the Stone Region, irritating the neighboring Sonics Region of deserted cities and unnaturally quiet crowds. On Rohan, you could immediately say all was tranquil. The toxic-blue clad Toa stepped upon the hover bike. She revved the little engine to its most powerful, placing her foot on the gas petal and keeping her left foot kept firmly above the brake petal. The engine remained quiet as it powered itself, and soon it sped off through the city’s inside. It reached its destination in a flash—there was just a flash of the sunrise on the view from the city, between the twin skyscrapers. The glow of the golden sunrise reflected off the glass materials on the skyscraper sides, a blinding shine on the corner sides. Talin downshifted on the hover cycle, slowing it to a gradual stop as it parked at the front of the abandoned building. As it sounded a low humming, the brake lights shone a bright red and darkened to nothing. She stepped off the bike, then quickly rushed her way into the building, then realized her mistake at the door of it. “61346-22513-74381-90931,” she said, rambling off the numbers to no one in particular. The door made a high-pitched yet muffled humming sound as the door automatically swung to side into the wall. Three cameras centered a red eye on Talin as she stood at the beginning of a long hallway. The door shut behind her in an iron clang, echoing. The three cameras, two on the walls left and right to her at a corner above the door, while the third was on the ceiling further down the hall, attached by a simple sleek black wire encasing of black metal. As she hurried down the hallway, littering the hallway floor was tiny bits of wiring, papers shrouding the floors that had become so familiar and recognizable to her. Things were scattered every where as she reached the end, where their waited a pair of metal grey doors that shut against each other. The keypad on the wall near the doors had become a routine for her to reach for. Talin pressed a light blue fingertip upon the keypad, pressing a quick and fast-paced movement of activating as the doors opened, revealing an elevator awaiting visitors to carry to floors. The water-Toa stepped inside it without any hesitation, waiting patiently for her destination as she pressed the button that went to the floor she wanted to go to. But an insipid expression crossed her face as she entered. Impatiently she waited as the doors closed, and rushing itself the elevator simply dropped itself, a fast and heavy falling of the elevator that shook her violently until it went to an abrupt halt. Talin fell to the ground at the rocky stopping point, and the doors opened. Revealing the area outside of the elevator was the control room and headquarters for the Toa Rohan. “I see you landed steady,” a voice answered her. Awaiting her entrance had been the familiar and friendly face of Silvian, Toa of Iron. “Good to see you, we’ve been waiting for you. We’ve been discussing strategies of our upcoming enemies attack that is supposed to be unexpected. You do realize it is coming in a week from now?” “That’s why I rushed down here,” she responded. “I heard about it and didn’t want to miss out on it. With the way these Dark Hunters’ minds work, we’re going to need every Toa of our team as a strategist. They’re going to be every where by the time we blink our eyes if we don’t get a move on,” “We’ve been working on it for weeks,” Silvian replied. “Training for military recruits, Elite Stealth Division recruits, strategist recruits, mercenaries from the local islands, planning allied support—it’s driving me nutty. By the time we’re done with this, I would have died of exhaustion from just planning. It almost seems more worth it to grab a few machine guns and do a ‘shoot’em-up’ free-for-all. It would take a load off my shoulders, that’s for sure,” Talin giggled. “Don’t worry,” she comforted. “You’ll be glad when these troublemakers will be wiped out,” He smiled as he stretched his arm out to her, his hand clasped in hers as she stood up by his pull. She dusted herself off, and then sighed. “Come, we want to see you,” Silvian said, his tone turning to a grim and grave tone. She followed him as her smile turned to a dim grimace. “Has any procrastination in strategies become of our strategists?” she asked. “Not so far, no,” he answered. “As a matter of fact, and on the contrary, it’s quite the opposite. Over a million ideas have been shared among the strategists, and I’m not exaggerating when I say a million. I hear them prattle on all day in the conference room, rambling on about endless strategies I myself could never understand,” Talin smiled. Entering the large rounded room was thousands of high-tech systems, computers and disc drives, PA systems, microphones—all were scattered across the room on tables, and all of this was involved with only a few of the Toa Rohan in the room working. “As you can see, things are a bit messy,” Silvian pointed out. He continued. “We’ve been trying to track the ship that Uzian and his crew our on right now—” “Ship?” Talin’s mind made a hop, skip, and jump to the question in an instant at the thought of a ship. Silvian stopped and inclined his head towards her, nodding to try and make her understand in a gradual manner of ways. “Yes, we have been informed that he is boarded on an airship,” he replied. “Perhaps we are thinking of assaulting it, even when it is in midair, and perhaps we might be able to take it down when it is in the air or board it from the skies. We’ve gone through these ideas a hundred times and Spira nit-picks every little seep of problems that would emerge from things. I would think that just doing a whim-bam-boom, brutally fast assault on the airship and take it down with rockets. We have plenty, I would suppose,” “I would both disagree and agree with your ideas,” Talin responded hastily. “I agree with a brutal assault, but I disagree that it should be done in haste. Stealthily making an appearance and ambushing them as they came would seem more suitable, would it not?” “You have a good proposal there,” Silvian countered in a way, and soon he continued. “But, would you propose that they would expect a brutal assault on their airship? Maybe even a stealthy escapade?” Talin put a toxic-blue hand upon her chin, her mind racing with schemes and plots. “True, true,” she said. “But we wouldn’t know that. Splitting seven Toa into two groups with seven each—one group would begin a brutal assault after the second group made a distraction of gunfire, or appeared from a patch of trees and bushes. It would seem surprising and abrupt,” “Yes, but would Spira expect it?” he joked. “I know,” Talin said. “Spira has been locked in her cabin and just keeps on prattling on to herself. I haven’t seen her in weeks, and I know if we tell her this she’ll be embarrassed at the fact that we came up with something that sounds variably plausible to execute. I have a feeling that Spira would think to say that she had already thought of that idea and would nit-pick even more and find something to criticize,” Silvian laughed, “No doubt, no doubt,” Silvian gave a glance at the wrist watch banded upon his wrist, and he shook his head. “Oh, butterscotch—we need to get a move on. Let’s go to my office, should be just up stairs. We’ll take the elevator,” Talin flinched slightly at the word elevator. Elevator, she thought. “Err....” she stammered. “All right,” As they walked among the tables and high-tech devices, they boarded the elevator at one corner of the large room. Talin tried to overwhelm the burning fear that began to erupt inside her. To think...to think. It startled her at the thought of cramped spaces and being tightly packed in a little moving floor room that advanced to an open destination. As a matter of fact, the Rohan headquarters was too tight for her comfort zone as well. As they entered the elevator, Talin looked slightly strange and pale-faced to Silvian. “Something wrong?” Silvian questioned her, a worried look adapting to his expression as he took daring glances at her as she grew paler and almost less of air and oxygen. “I’m...fine...” she gasped, waiting as her gaze grew hazy upon the elevator numbers as the cramped space advanced upward to a higher floor. Still, Silvian gawked upon her face in some worry. As the doors opened the elevator reached the specific floor, Talin sprinted out as she enjoyed a more open environment. The room was a wide and open hallway going in two directions, left to right. Though nobody knew it, the abandoned building was simply a skyscraper, center of the city. The remarkable view of the sunrise was breathtaking in all ways possible, as you could look out the glass windows straight through between the twin skyscrapers of the city. The reflective look against the glass of the two skyscrapers meters away made it sincerely beautiful and embracing. She seemed to strangely breathe as finally she entered the atmosphere of fresh and open air. Silvian took a sharp left towards the end of the hallway, where on a black background sign in golden letters was Silvian Straits, the name adopted from a series of events long before. Silvian rushed ahead of Talin, reaching the door and opening it for the water-Toa. He nodded his head as she muttered a quick ‘Thank-you’ to him. She entered the office as he closed the door behind them. Silvian leaned upon the cherry-wood desk, folding his arms as he watched Talin rushed to the window a little bit, opening it the slightest and letting the crisp, fresh, and winter air into her lungs. “Are you alright?” Silvian inquired once more. “Oh, I’m perfectly fine,” Talin answered to keep inconspicuous of her unnatural fear of cramped spaces, shorter to be known as claustrophobia. “But, on with our discussion?” Silvian nodded at the said-sentence in understanding and agreement. He turned his head and outstretched his left arm towards the buzzer on his desk, pressing the button on it as a loud buzz noise came about. “Miss Zimaya?” he said, his voice clear to his secretary outside. “Give Watua and Spira a quick buzz and tell them to come in here, Talin and I have been discussing ideas. And if Spira says she’s busy, tell her I command her, same with Watua. I need to speak to them immediately, a private matter. No calls or visitors will be accepted for today until they leave,” “I’ll get right on it,” the secretary responded. “Zimaya?” Talin asked with curiosity, not meaning to be nosy. Silvian nodded. “Yes, an Elite Stealth recruit,” he said. “She’s trying to get a grade on dictation—you know, Nagii wants good dictation in case anybody’s made assistant to a fellow Elite member. I gave my regular secretary a two week break for now to go to the Elite Stealth as well for other tests and grades while Zimaya is doing her job. They slightly switched,” “I can see,” she answered. “I noticed earlier you’ve decorated your office a bit,” Talin glanced around at the items and things decorating the walls. Behind his cherry-wood desk—a gift from a Toa Rohan member—was a sleek black sniper rifle, the scope an intimidating black with a handle under the barrel. The rifle was bolt-action, a reflective look on the glass end of the scope and the stump-like end where it would go up against one’s shoulder a rubber black color with a long rifle strap from the barrel to the butt-end. A few things cluttered the desk as well as a tall stack of papers unsigned and lingering in anticipation. To the right was simply glass skyscraper-like windows, left a quaint fireplace area with two armchairs and on either side of the wall where the door stood was simply a couch on the right and two armchairs with two end tables between them—specifically on in the corner and one in between the armchairs. “Yes, I decided to change,” he replied. “I’ve had the same arrangement for the past five years, I figured I’d finally have a bit of spontaneous action. Obviously it was time for something new and not so meticulous, no?” Talin nodded in agreement. “Anyway, on with discussion,” she continued, quickly to the point. “Let’s keep this simple. Let’s say Uzian, Tikiani (if she’s in association with them), Fuzan, Colorn, and Silio land here on their flying little rainbow ship, with dark but eerily bright thoughts on their mind and death their motivation. So, we hide. We get the Elite Stealth or the underwater expert swimmers or so-and-so to hide underwater with plenty of harpoons, spears, crossbows, the whole kit and caboodle. And once they land, we ambush. “And as they come up, we get a nice, thick, solid headshot on Uzian with the crossbow. Throw a few semmties on the airship, blow it to smithereens, kill all the others in the most brutal way possible, and send them all to Karzhani in wrapping paper. Pretty straightforward, I’d say. We don’t need any flashy entrances and stuff like that. Just something that’ll shock them like fish and kill them in an instant,” Silvian contemplated the quick notion of just plain annihilating their hinds. “Sounds good to me, but you know there will be scouts everywhere,” Silvian answered. “They’ll probably just spray the area down with gunfire,” “We don’t need any flashy, stealthy, complex, and over-detailed schemes,” Talin retorted rather nastily. “Just something that will get the job done. Maybe we’ll just stick with stealth habits, though, only because a few lives might be lost, and we can’t spare our best,” She shrugged. “We’ll keep that between us,” he said. “Spira will naturally object to something so fast, brutal, and easily gory,” The door opened as a five second silence had become of the two, and revealing the two tall characters of the Toa of Lightning and Toa of Air. Watua had teal, lime-green, and a glossy leaf-green armor, while Spira was clad in dark blue and white and silver, natural for a Toa of Lightning of her nature. “Hello, you two,” she said in greeting. Watua gave a quick hand-shaking motion towards Silvian, who followed kindly while Talin and Watua awkwardly greeted each other, odd looks becoming of their expressions. “Hello,” Talin said to Spira and Watua, kindly giving a gesture of welcome to them, motioning for them to seat themselves in any way they wanted. As Spira sat herself down on the sofa, she sighed and put her hands on her lap. “So, let’s get on to business, shall we?” ~~~ It's back, and sadly unedited, too. Either way, it's FINALLY reposted, after a long time of having to deal with procrastination. Either way, go report to the review topic now - or when I can figure out how to do URL coding again. >_<

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Visitor The Toa’s eyes drifted over the hundreds of sheets of paperwork in awe, disgraced by the mass of procrastination on dozens and numerous amounts of paperwork to sign, signatures to be written for petty things unneeded and overstocked items for Rohan to keep at some little storage dump somewhere. While he was tiring away his day, he had thought over and figured it would be wiser to just teach his secretary how to copy his signature and do it for him. He had enough to worry about, including the upcoming war that was visiting and passing through the island’s premises. It would seem a waste to not welcome the war. The dark and deep blue eyes of the Toa of Fire traced over every tiny typed-up word on the sheet of paper, reading it and finding that all it was is just a bunch of snobbish, fake-happy, and crude people with no care for wasting anybody else’s time but their own. It was slightly nauseating. He grunted. “If it’s not too much trouble, my metal rear-end,” he muttered in disgust. He was sick of the countless stacks of papers that had trampled over any nice, beautiful, able to be well-spent afternoon that he could spend with himself by having a decent and warming lunch instead of cardboard and tasteless snacks to linger with while he repeated his signature over a million times a day. Though his complaint was harsh and repetitive, it was indeed troublesome for him to load off all the work off his secretary’s shoulders. “Gosh darn outposts over ten kilometers away...” he muttered over and over. “Oh, butterscotch, why can’t they just get it from a closer island that’s less than fifty feet away?” He prattled on over the countless things that made him even more miserable than ever, but he had plenty reason to. Jilin, leader of the Toa of Fire, for once in the life, was typically, irritably, outrageously, exasperatingly, irritatingly, angrily, mentally annoyed. He cursed a harsh word inaudible under his breath, hoping that any more papers sent to him would blow away back to where ever they came from. Sadly, to his most miraculously grief, all of the papers and numerous amounts of stacks of vile work to be done came from less than ten feet away from him. And that annoyed him. The buzzer upon his desk rang irritably into his ear, buzzing loudly to him and he grunted in distress. “Sir?” a voice came, a little bit of a low-pitched voice of a female’s. “You have a visitor. He says he is a Toa from a distant island, but he won’t tell me anything else,” Jilin sighed, shaking his head. “Send him in,” he answered. The door quickly opened, revealing in the threshold a tall, silver, white, cleanly-clad, and bearing a sleek jagged-edged dagger with a gleaming white Miru upon his face, cooling blue eyes. “Hello,” the white-clad Toa said. “You must be the leader of your organization. My name is Irui; I come from a distant island named Aruen. I have come because my homeland became desolate. I heard of Rohan and thought I might live here. But I have been told I must consult the leader of your group—you, I presume. It has been said that immigrants must be allowed onto the island first, why I settled to go to you, CEO, first,” Jilin nodded, sighing. “I see,” the fire-Toa responded. “First, consult with our third-in-command, a tall Toa of Water called Talin. She’ll give you a survey and perhaps a sheet of paper about yourself and if you are passing on being able to live on the island. It is a routine for all immigrants of ours,” Jilin hesitated. “You are a Toa, no?” “Yes, I am a Toa of Ice from Aruen. Our island was frozen over by glaciers, and it became unlivable throughout the years and became a desolate and icy place,” Irui answered. “I decided I had to leave, before it got any worse. The isle became a floating glacier, I had to leave,” “How did you leave?” Jilin inquired. “By boat made of drift wood,” he said. “It took a full three months to build it, I was accustomed to the climate of cold weather,” Jilin narrowed his eyes in a way of disbelief. “I made it and reached the nearest island in sight. You were nearest, and so I tried to row it here as fast as I could. I know you might not believe it, but my boat is roped upon the docks,” Jilin nodded, a thought running through his mind that resembled something of ‘Yeah-I-knew-he-was-going-to-say-that’ type of way. “Well, consult with the third-in-command first,” Jilin said. “Then return the sheet back to her and she will approve of it if you are fine to be granted privilege of being a part of Rohan—we try to go through lie-detector tests, everything to insure complete safety and that you are not a criminal,” Irui flinched the words. “Oh, I think I can pass that,” he replied coolly. Jilin rose an eyebrow with some suspicion. “Is that so?” Jilin said. He crossed his arms, beginning to lean back in the chair with some curiosity. He clasped his two hands together, his scarlet armor seeming to reflect against the shining sunlight streaming through the glass windows. Jilin stood from the chair, beginning to saunter here and there gradually. It confused him—suddenly a strange, unknown, and very well-mannered Toa of Ice comes around, well-matured and the completely opposite of the Toa Rohan’s mannerisms. He was...so mysterious. And another reason as to why Jilin did not understand the sudden appearance of this stranger from a strange land—he came out of nowhere. But it was a famous thing to say: The one who appears from nowhere stirs up a riot, untenable plans of good people turn to messes—and suddenly, poof, he disappears as though he was never there. It was something rose some suspicion to Jilin. Stop being so...suspicious, Jilin thought. He’s just a Toa of Ice; he’s desperate to live somewhere, not on a glacier of an island. I can not deny him the right to live somewhere where he possibly belongs to be. It isn’t right to deny him of living somewhere comfortable, cozy, nice, and including very welcoming to a friendly feel. I don’t believe that he is someone disguised in something sinister, cruel, demanding, and very deceptive. He may seem slightly unreliable now, including deceiving with looks. Well, as the expression goes, I guess you can’t really judge a book by its cover so easily, specifically with this Toa. He doesn’t seem like a deceptive type...maybe just the least bit perplexing... Comfortably Jilin sat himself back down, crossing his arms. His eyes carefully traced over the Toa, studying him closely as the ice-Toa watched him with peculiarity. The Toa of Ice was rather the opposite of Atuu, the Toa Rohan’s company sore-sack and grumpy personnel. Instead, Irui was cool, mature, well-mannered, sympathetic (in the way that somebody had to feel sympathetic for him), and slightly quiet. He was too mysterious, too deceiving for Jilin to solve. Suddenly out of nowhere... “Well, for one, could you possibly get out of my office?” Jilin retorted finally, the slightest bit of unintended rudeness spewing out from his words. Irui nodded, as Jilin cleared his throat and added, “I don’t mean to be churlish, but, I have too much work to get done. If you can see the big, hazy, pile of clean white papers on that desk, you know that I have plenty of workload to scrape of my silver platter. Do you mind?” “No trouble at all, uh...?” Irui hesitated politely at the end of the sentence, with some confusion. “Jilin,” “All right—” Irui responded. “No trouble at all, Jilin,” Irui turned around, the blue eyes glistening behind his Miru mysteriously shining. He opened the door and left, quietly closing it behind him as Jilin seated himself back in the position he had when the Toa of Ice had entered. He took his quill, dipping it hastily into the ink bottle on his desk and set to writing once again. His signature repeated, over and over as the day tediously dragged on with such boring hours. It was an endless null of papers that he had to go through. ~:~ The gleaming blue eyes of the Toa provided the secretary with some curiosity as she saw the tall charming white-clad Toa saunter by. He seemed to stand at her desk, his fingers lightly touching the edge of it and his eyes gazed upon the Ce-Matoran with question. He began a smile upon his shining white Miru, and she—in a way like she was in a trance—gawked at his clean shining Miru with a tiny pinch of curiosity creeping over her expression, noticeable to the tall white-armored stranger. “Excuse me, miss,” he began, his tone light and gentle. “Would you please tell me if Miss Talin is still in Deputy Silvian’s office? I was informed she was,” The secretary smiled, and then inclined her head down at the little radio-like buzzer standing so small on her desk. Hearing it buzz in the other office, she said softly, “Silvian, there is a tall stranger here. He wants to see Miss Talin right away in her office,” She pressed a tiny black button on it, waiting for his voice to link through to her buzzer. His reply was very quick. “All right, tell him I will tell Talin to meet him back at her office,” he replied. Zimaya glanced back up at the white-armored Toa. “She will be in her office, please wait patiently,” she responded. He nodded with a wide smile, than awaited the accommodation of the Toa of Water. As the door slowly opened, it revealed in the threshold the tall, toxic-blue clad, smiling, Suletu-masked Toa of Water Talin. His eyes widened at the first glance of the tall, slim, sapphire-clad Toa of Water. His first impression of her in his mind was an average type of Toa that didn’t seem the least bit appealing. But his opinion changed hastily. “Let’s step into my office, shall we?” she said with a dear and gentle smile, rushing towards the elevator at the end of the hallway. He followed her with a wide grin upon his face and gladly hastened to follow her path with an enjoyable feeling about him. ~~~ Another one's up - I'm not sure what the epics posting rules are at the moment, but there may be another chapter up tonight if Hahli Husky is letting everybody repost their epics freely up to the last chapter they posted. Cross your fingers I'll be able to post another one tonight! =]

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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ContemplationThe duo exited the elevator, as a wide and open area was revealed. The floor was carpeted, a stiff and red-colored carpeting that kept a sturdy flooring base, and around the area was simply just a waiting room in all honesty. Four comfortable chairs, two on either side and against the wooden walls, were standing with end tables between them and a bright and elucidating chandelier dangling above upon the ceiling with crystal accents featured with it to make it rather nice to gaze up at. At the very end of the room there was a wooden desk, a white and blue armored Matoran wearing a black-rimmed pair of spectacles featured on her face. On either side of the desk where there would have been anticipated walls were to stained white glass doors, one on either side and both engraved with lettering that was hard to see at a distance, but could have been seen as Toa Talin and Toa Watua. Below Watua’s name was a small black sign with white lettering on it, the words ‘Strategist and Consultant’, while Talin’s was engraved with a sign similar to the other but lettered instead with ‘CEO of Immigration Department and Third-In-Command—Telepath’.Talin hastened to saunter forward in a slight sprint out of the elevator, and she rushed towards the door to the left that was her office. “Adia, tell any visitors or callers I have irritably busy and must not be bothered,” she informed her secretary hastily. As she opened the door to let Irui in, she added, “And if Watua’s in his office, tell them to revert to his office and to consult him on anything and I will be messaged the information and will answer to it ASAP,”She closed the door a little more loudly than she wanted, and quickly she stepped into her office to seat herself at her desk. As she relaxed and rested her head in the chair with her hands behind her head, she sighed, and then hurriedly leaned forward with her fingers fumbling for a pen.“So, sir,” Talin began with a light tone. “I understand that you want to immigrate to our island?” He nodded expectantly with a smile. “Good,” she added. “Then we mustn’t keep others waiting, then, shall we?” Talin hopped up from the chair making her way to the tall storage of drawers full of different folders, each of the drawers holding a silver lock activated by mysterious and confusing combinations. Activating one and opening the drawer, she pulled it out.“Where are you from?” she asked. Irui hesitated.“Aruen,”“All right,” Talin replied. “Fedra-Nui—why the Karzhani do I still have that?—Echo Isles, Odus—oh, gosh darn it, my secretary rearranged my files again, butterscotch—err, Circle-Line Islands, ah-ha! Aruen,” She pulled the file from the drawer and slammed the file drawer shut, and then she threw the folder onto the desk with some playful zealousness. She sat herself back in the chair and glanced up at Irui, and their gazes seem to meet, unwavering. Talin shook it away, and then picked up the file. “Sir, you should be happy to know that I still have that old and dusty file concerning immigration from Aruen to Rohan and a fresh stack of survey papers for your consideration,”Talin then opened the folder and began rummaging through the countless amounts of thin papers messily crammed into the folder. At the very end of it she spotted the survey sheets, divided into three pages exactly with questions and fill-ins. She took the three survey pages and handed them delightfully to the ice-Toa and gave him a pencil from her pencil cup.“Take a moment to answer the questions,” she said. “Be patient—we’re not in a big rush,”After hesitating for several minutes of awkward silence (with several ‘Are you done yet?’ type of questions being asked), Irui handed her the papers with a joyous look upon his face. “I’m finished,” he stated. “I am hoping that my answers exceed your acceptance with some pleasing results,”Talin gripped the corner of it, shuffling through the pages to find the first page. She took it, her eyes tracing over it and going in a back and forth motion. She read over it, nodding and making differently oriented sounds resembling grunts and things like that. She was on to the next page, quickly finishing this and going onto the next. Her eyes became wide with some surprise at his answers that had seemed to confuse her.“Sir,” she began gradually. “I must have time to think about this, or discuss it with one of my fellow comrades, if you do not mind, Irui,”“I can tolerate your surprise, and I will be patient and await the decision,” Talin nodded, then took the survey with her and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind her with Irui sitting in her office by himself, the silence his only companion at that moment.~:~“What’s so wrong about him?”The voice of the sonics-Toa was rather confused with his partner’s temper. The Toa stuck her hands to her mask as she tried to figure this all out. It was too odd—a Toa with a perfect record and well over exceeding the passing grades for being able to be a part of the Rohan civilization. “He’s too perfect,” Talin answered angrily. “I have a bad feeling about him—it’s like as though every time I look into his eyes, there’s always something dark and discerning about him, as though he’s been to a place damp and agonizing, a place full of acerbic feelings and bitterness. It just isn’t right; I know there’s something wrong with him. If I just can fuse my mind with his, to seep information from him—I wouldn’t mind as much,”Stelt considered the anticipation of something wrong with the Toa of Ice opening from Talin to Stelt. It was too plain to see. “Talin,” he said. “I respect your opinion—but just because of him being so right, it doesn’t matter. We need someone like him on our side. After all, having a perfect defense record, a great strategist, a great opener to secrets and able to handle enemy information so well and to hide any sign of being seen, well; obviously he’s someone we need with us,”“But that’s just it,” she retorted. “There’s something spooky that’s following with him, just a bad feeling carried everywhere he goes, a darkening aura or demeanor about him that doesn’t satisfy me one bit. It scares me just of the thought of what he’s carrying as a secret with him,”“Well,” he began in reply. “There’s one way we can find out, but I doubt Jilin or anyone else would approve of the idea—a truth serum,” Talin shook her head in reply. “Talin, if you want me to find out so much, we must find out something. Something to satisfy you if we can—maybe Sylin is our best bet,”“She wouldn’t approve of sneaking around on someone that seems perfectly innocent to everyone else,” Talin said. “I should just forget about the whole thing. But nonetheless—I don’t think, on average, being able to walk just through any attack he wants to can be possible. Boats made of driftwood, great defense lines, smarter than just about anybody on the island. No, I don’t feel right about it; not one bit. It doesn’t make any sense,”And she continued. “I don’t even think Aruen exists—beforehand I went to the file chambers for any information on an island named Aruen, but Forei the record keeper couldn’t find anything on the place. And I don’t even know in that case how I possibly got a hold of a mysterious file on Aruen,”He shrugged. “Well, we can’t trouble ourselves over something that may or may not exist,” Stelt replied. “But keep this a secret between the two of us. Don’t start rumors or any trouble, because if Jilin gets wind of this, he’ll be on our backs for months for thinking such a bizarre thing, no offense to you, of course,” Talin smiled, crossing her arms as those words repeated in her mind many times over. No offense to you of course, she thought. Rumors aren’t my style, anyway. If I care to do anything like that, it will only be with myself.“I think I’ll be getting back to Irui,” Talin said. “I actually kind of like him, regardless of what I think. He’s in a way sweet,” Stelt smirked in a funny type of way as a gushy feeling about Talin came about him. Talin was like a daughter for Stelt. She was an independent and quick to the point and temperamental female with a wild temper, but could be a calming and soothing soul to him. He may have come across as a father-figure as well for Talin.“If you do, be delicate and very careful,” he advised. “After all, if you do believe these superstitious fears, you shouldn’t let him be suspicious of them, you know,” She nodded in understanding as she engaged her mask power subtly. I won’t, her voice echoed in his mind. He smiled.“I better get going, but I guess will have to accept him as a citizen, but if it goes any farther to him joining the team—” She stopped for a moment. Stelt hesitated, giving Talin a look of questioning. “—I won’t mind,” she said. And Stelt nodded with a small but devious smirk.He smiled at her with a sly demeanor crawling over him. “Just don’t be too reckless around him, though,” he said. “Please at least reassure me of that, I don’t exactly enjoy the thought of something going terribly wrong in this case. After all, he seems too temperamental—he seems too easy to trust. I’m beginning to sound like you—oh, butterscotch,” Stelt laughed at his own statement. “Well, not that that’s a bad thing,” Stelt added deviously, and then he gestured to Talin in a waving motion.“Again, I better get going,” Talin responded, smiling.~:~As she entered the office and sat herself down, she sighed. To add a little drama and suspense to the Toa’s mind, she remained silent for several moments until she clasped her hands together and laid back in her chair. Reasonably she was toying with his mind. It added a hint of articulacy to the moment, building on a small foundation of silence and suspense.“Irui,” she began in a troubled manner. “You are hereby declared...” Talin hesitated. “...a civilian of Rohan,” A wide grin spread on her face, and as well for the Toa of Ice. And he only sat there smiling with delight as he had joined a place he intended to be a part of.

~~~

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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DependenceThe short but intimidating figure of the Matoran remained motionless, the icy blue eyes tracing over the recruits carefully. Her eyes were transfixing to the thin and gangly-looking recruits, while they resembled something cold and represented an unwavering gaze that gawked at each individual, but also represented something of a hawk that watched its prey carefully and studied its every movement. But no one cared to watch her; all were naïve, nervous, and it seemed like a forbidding movement to stare at their leader, the one who would seem so fierce and little and could cause riots so easily that it seemed she could do it with the snap of her fingers. But, to no avail did she dare scare the armor off the recruits—she hesitated until she cared for the time when it was right, to give them courage and bravery to face whatever she was going to throw at them; technically the term was ‘leading them on,’ but the Matoran did not care for that phrase and tended instead to use the phrase ‘scaring the hind off of them’.The fearful Matoran of Lightning sauntered lightly upon the grassy ground, her footsteps silent and barely a rustle of the fallen leaves sounding as she walked. Her eyes glared deep into each, as though her eyes are burning into their souls like laser beams. She looked at the line of recruits, each having their heads down with hands clasped behind their backs impatiently and waiting for any sort of resolute expression the Matoran had to disappear and to finally speak. Behind the Matoran of Lightning was the deputy or second-in-command Ga-Matoran, Sylin, who was a little less icy than the Matoran of Lightning. She carefully examined each of the recruits and informed the Elite Stealth leader of each of their names and background information that could tell anything about each of them for the Matoran. But now, Sylin was keeping silent, as was her close friend and leader.As they reached the end of the line, the Elite Stealth leader halted at the sign of a strong and well-muscled Po-Matoran, next to him a feeble Le-Matoran. Her eyes stopped upon the Po-Matoran, an impressed look crawling on her face. But she shook it away—muscle and strength wasn’t the key to stealth, yet it was a good quality. Lightweight but strong-muscled figures was the key, including a tall yet thin figure to be precise. The leader was studying the two carefully.“The Po-Matoran is Horsta,” Sylin began. “He has been renowned as a famous sculptor, but he is also infamous for his strength. The Le-Matoran, Chandok, is a rookie racer in the Air Region who spends most of his time at the test tracks in the Lightning Region. He may seem small and weak looking, but he is silent and quiet and is actually a little stronger than he looks,” Sylin watched her friend eye the two with careful glances, her eyes gazing upon their masks. The Po-Matoran wore a sleek brown Mahiki, whilst the Le-Matoran wore a metallic green Komau. Her eyes witnessed their unwavering and steady motions, glancing at their armor which was grey and brown and emerald with leaf green.Finally the Matoran of Lightning spoke in a light and gentle tone, though it seemed unyielding in pitch and was slightly more bitter than anticipated. “Horsta, Chandok,” she spoke. “I would like you both to demonstrate a combat stealth course that will resemble stealth in missions. For one, the fast-paced timed combat course, near the third testing facility or inside base locking chamber, shall be fitting. The test consists of moving platforms and using your mind for situations of invading an area, by lifting things and ducking and weaving through areas, going prone and crawling your way through mud puddles and making sure you are unseen by guards passing. There will not be any assistance of cloaks or anything to hide yourself with but to test your ability of stealthy capabilities. As an extra note, there will be guards,” She took a long and deep breath, then added casually, “Keep in mind that everything happening on this test is kept on your file records, including that all such of this will be noted and told to authorities of my nature that are not here today,”Sylin whispered inaudibly to the fearsome yet intimidating figure of Nagii, the Elite Stealth leader and Matoran of Lightning, and then said finally aloud, “Begin the stealth course, and we will be watching you via security cameras. The guards are already set and walking—begin the course,”And, with no attention of anybody else, Nagii slipped away and kept this business up to Sylin, and she disappeared with the background silently with no notice of anybody around. She slipped away to where she attended to papers and petty paperwork to bore her with tediously to waste away the hours of the day.~:~Steadily the Matoran of Lightning traced her amethyst-colored finger over the line of words that had become so familiar they seemed like an old friend—recruit business was the job at the moment. Nagii had become accustomed to the boredom and tediousness of paperwork and recruit applications, filing, rearranging office messes, cleaning her office, throwing away the constant amount of weak letters from random people that send death threats, and it continued on and on with much dull time wasted on petty projects that never occurred to her as interesting. Though, of course, the rush-in of applications had become of the rumored attack, as well the qualifying traits and qualities needed had been put to a stop and anything would be accepted as long as they weren’t too noisy, could handle any weapon, and at least have a decent size and strength. The requirements for the Rohan armies were put to hold as well, and regulations had been put to a weaker point except for yelling at officers, not following others, and et cetera.Yet, of course, Nagii still followed her own rules. She knew that requirements of people joining had to be made, and temporary-made members that had been approved of for the attack reason were to be immediately resigned from the service of the Elite Stealth once the messy business was dealt with and no trouble left to be tidied up with several deadly and lethal weapons. Numerous reasons Nagii never enjoyed her time when the wartime duties came to call for others to fight: One, the amount of deaths were troublesome and caused too many casualties to boot because there is always a friend dying with another being left behind at the sight of his or hers friend dead in their arms; two, the amount of trouble gone through for only a few lousy people joining for a battle that might not even come and die in the snap of your fingers; three, the trouble of getting defenses and proper protection for every soul alive can take months in advance; four, strategists just about worked triple time for things and the Toa Rohan had quadruple the work to be done.Nagii shook her head—it seemed a waste for a few people to be brought in and die so quickly. It was chilling; the battlefield was indeed. One minute, a person sees their friends standing beside them—the next, all dead and one lying in the person’s arms as tears swelled down their mask. Yet, of course, Nagii was used to it. It was a prospective of war and battle, to see the bitter blood and guts of others strewn across dirty ground with bodies falling, eyes lifeless. Nagii knew the daring risks others would make to save one life, yet kill five others in the attempt as others were summoned by soldiers of the battle. She shook her head again at the dwindling image of crying Matoran in pain.“Nagii?”The voice startled her. She jumped up in her seat, her desk echoing a resounding low-pitched clang sound when she tried to stand from her chair. She saw the figure in the threshold of the door, a tall and ruby-red clad Toa with dark black interwoven upon his upper-armor of his torso, scarlet and crimson on lower armor and surfacing upon his expression was something of a grin. He had not seen the Matoran in many weeks—she had been put on double time of work, and after an embarrassing moment of a kiss, they had tried to ignore each other and avoid anything much like that happening ever again. They preferred to keep it a secret and silent.As Nagii saw the face, she had an expression that closely resembled her nearly breaking into tears. “Jilin!” she shrieked in surprise, embracing him greatly. “I can’t believe you’re here—I know, I’m too excited, but I’m very glad to see you. I dearly need help, if you care to assist me in approving recruit applications, then I need to go over the troops and—”“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” he said, and she stopped. “Slow down, I just came here to say that I was going to help you, but I need to go over some things first. One, Talin and Watua have been going over some strategies, while Spira and Tulya have been nitpicking over every thing about the strategies. I do know that Silvian was talking to Talin, Spira, and Watua at the time, but afterwards all left and Alyssia, Kuhi, Litela, and Canan were going over some things as well with the EI.”“All right,” Nagii replied, breaking away from the hug. “Anyway, we’ll go over that—later. My assistant is bashing me for not getting all that much work done and I shan’t let her bugging me every five seconds for petty paperwork. I need to get the rest of the reports and approvals of applications out. Once that’s done today, I need to clear through the troops and recruits so approved, and go over them. After that, we’ll review everything you’ve got,” Jilin shrugged, then nodded his head in approval and stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him with a creaking noise resounding afterwards. He sauntered towards her desk.As Nagii muttered inaudibly to herself and hummed, reviewing her following work to be done, she turned to Jilin, taking half of the stack of applications and handing them to him. “That’s your pile of work,” Nagii supplied. “Don’t worry about the simple yes/no questions—just go to the longer sentence by sentence questions that are very long to answer and review those. After that, I’ll sign my name on the last sheet of paper to say that I have approved of the application. After that, I’ll give you others if I’m not done yet with my half,”Jilin nodded silently, pursing his lips expectantly. The idea of having to do this every day did not appeal to him one bit. As a matter of fact, the whole job was an unattractive offer of leadership—then again, he had to do the same. And even that became tedious after only being leader of the team for a year and a half.He moved his head back and forth, reading the words in seconds as he handed paper after paper to Nagii, until finally he was finished and Nagii still had many left. She handed the rest to him and they finished the job, at least an hour later than they had planned.“Oh, butterscotch,” Nagii muttered. “I’ve got to rush to the base to meet with these recruits, and then see how my previous groups of recruits are doing. Would you care to review the new set and I’ll see the previous group?” Nagii’s eyes gazed into Jilin’s eyes, and Jilin knew he could not refuse. He sighed.“Fine,”~:~As the scarlet-clad, tall, courageous-looking characterization of a brave Toa studied the eyes and expressions of the various troops, he seemed bewildered—most of the Matoran standing before him were barely above the status of weakling or barely below the status of a gladiator. It seriously seemed to make him wonder how these Matoran thought they would make it. Especially with the fact they believe they’re silent, he thought to himself, and then mused with the thought for a minute or two. Well, I guess I could give them the least bit of a boosting of self-esteem and self-confidence, try to teach them something... He thought a few moments about to himself, and then disagreed. No, Nagii wouldn’t approve of that...“Sir?” The inquiry interrupted his thoughts with ease. Jilin hastened to incline his head towards the being that voiced the question, and saw a tall and graceful figure, shimmering sapphire armor with a jewel embedded in their blue armor. The voicing figure had been a female Ga-Matoran with a genteel and courteous expression crossing her sapphire-blue Kaukau. Her smile was one unable to not respect and like. She stared at the Toa of Fire with some uncertainty. “Is there something on your mind, Toa Jilin?” she added politely, her voice high-pitched yet delicate and gentle.“Nothing, nothing,” he replied carefully, continuing. “I suppose you must be recruiting for another reason entirely? After all, you seem much too...delicate, I guess—to be joining this outfit of stealth. Ah-ha, here you are on the list...” Jilin checked the clipboard he carried with him, spotting the name Jila with further information, carefully studying the selection of information chosen as significant. “You’re joining because you are experienced in the stealth department, hmm? Well, you seem reasonable in selection. It seems you have a high record of intelligence and an admirable amount of successful missions...well, let’s try you out on the course, shall we?”“Aren’t you going the least bit too fast?” the Ga-Matoran, Jila, responded. “I suppose I can, and I will. I don’t want to distract you from reviewing the rest, so I’ll just get going...” While she walked away, the figure seemed the least bit mysterious and quick to acknowledge the fact that she was chosen, though Jilin hadn’t meant at that very moment—only after reviewing the other recruits.Obviously, she wanted to keep it quick and clean.~:~The two Toa, racing through the bunkers silently, was watched by the light, icy, cold, and blue eyes of the strange and mysterious-cloaked being far off at a distance. Horsta carefully crouched as he studied his surroundings and the dim and green-grey landscape appearing around him, cautiously moving his eyes left to right, right to left to observe the area further. At any moment, he suspected the guard patrol to move forward past his camouflaged position, whilst they passed with out any sign of movement in their eyes.Horsta, concealed within the shadows of the bushes less than two meters away, kept to a low prone position, his stomach lying against the hard dirt ground, and slowly he advanced further, wiggling gradually to reach the sandbags of the bunker. He cramped his body in a position concealing him against the wall of sandbags surrounding the deep bunker. Above, he saw the shadows of at least six guards, each holding automatic high-powered rifles, with thick armoring them with an assortment of other weapons at their belts. As he heard their heavy footsteps creep by and dwindle to a faint and light-sounding footstep touching the ground. The guards had passed.The Po-Matoran crawled upward, squirming slowly over the sandbags and, at a low crouch, rushed silently across the pathway that lead to a solid steel building. Connected to the building and leading to the inside by a doorway was a steel platform with a solid iron crosspiece underneath, supported underneath by thick iron poles at each corner. On this was a metal ladder leading to the platform’s top. But, to his misfortune of crossing the road, he realized the ladder was half bent the outward, fallen to the ground.Horsta noticed a low steel platform, attached to the steel poles at one side, but too low to reach the secondary platform higher. He leaped up to it, and then regretted it slightly when a light clatter of steel sounded. He leaned against the solid steel wall dividing the two courses, which the building and platforms as well were welded to. After thirty seconds of sharp breathing and waiting, he attended back to the deed ahead.He reached his hand out towards the broken down ladder, heaving it upward with massive strength and found himself holding the half part. Turning it gradually vertically to where the bent side touched the platform’s ledge perfectly, Horsta let go of it and placed his hands on the ladder’s rods. Climbing upward slowly to remain silent, he reached the platform’s peak and continued onward, noticing the doorway leading to the building’s insides. He ducked to avoid being seen—standing would mean being seen, considering he was taller than the wall’s top.Horsta reached the building’s metal door, and slowly reached for the doorknob to go inside and continue onward.~:~The Matoran advanced. The feeble-looking Matoran had advanced far more than his competitor, a good side of quick and fast movements yet stealthy nonetheless. As he slowly reached level ground from the stairway, he quickly rushed forward, arriving at the next doorway. Much to his surprise, there was a window next to it. He speedily ducked his head in the flash-second moment when he observed the fact of four guards standing outside the door.Chandok lowered his head, cramping his body to rest against the wall to avoid from being seen. And, finally, he realized the finishing line of the end of the course’s rough challenges was nearby—less than forty feet. And he grinned at the thought of finishing before his opponent could beat him.~:~The cloaked Matoran of Lightning stood at the testing facility’s window, sixth-story window of the testing facility and she witnessed the Matoran advancing forward through the course. As she stood still, she turned behind her to catch a glance of an azure-clad Toa with a Suletu as their mask, climbing up the ladder leading to the metal mesh catwalks which Nagii stood on as well.“Talin?” she quickly asked, and the Toa of Water’s head shot upward towards where the Matoran of Lightning had called the Toa’s name. The Toa rushed upward up the ladder and ran on the mesh catwalk, reaching Nagii’s position in seconds. The Toa smiled at the Matoran of Lightning with some surprise. “I see you’re here unexpectedly. I have a feeling you came for advice—or something that resembled that closely, anyway,”“I am, indeed,” Talin answered, grinning at Nagii’s mind-reading abilities. “I came after I’ve met with a Toa of Ice, a mysterious one at that. He came to me by asking for a survey to become a civilian, and I agreed. He has an outstanding record, yet also a rather unbelievable story. His name is Irui, and I’m pretty suspicious about him—” With this being said, she pulled the survey from which Irui had answered the questions, and this being the survey that Irui had taken.Nagii scanned it in an immense amount of speedy time, and studied it once more. “I see that most of this seems the least bit suspicious, but I don’t think we should be too paranoid,” Nagii responded. “I do see a need to worry, but it is out of our hands. If he is anything including the complete opposite of a Toa, we should check any records of Aruen and scan if such a Toa named Irui existed. Otherwise, we’ve got a need to give something of a truth serum or ask serious questions towards him and see how he replies,”“I only brought these to you due to the fact of worry and curiosity,” Talin said. “If there is anyone I can depend on with such knowledge as this, it is you. And, now, I need the bond of dependence in this situation to avoid any questionable resources from the others, including to conceal any existence of this suspicion.”“I will agree to not inform anyone of this,” Nagii answered. Talin smiled slowly.“While I tend to think that if this knowledge seeped to the rest of the Toa Rohan and perhaps even Irui it would ruin any chances of allies now for the battle ahead of us, I would also agree that news would travel fast even if one of the others accidentally spread this to a gossiping pincushion, would you not?” Talin replied. Nagii grinned.“You certainly are witty, aren’t you, Talin?” Nagii responded, a grin seeping across her lips. The epitome of dependence was not just any trust that could easily be broken—it was one that could bind if dependence was a virtue to both Talin and Nagii. And, fortunately for both, it was.~:~Yay, another chapter posted. ^^ Fifth chapter should be up tonight, and this same system will keep on going until I get all the chapters up. After that, I'll go back to my normal posting routine for this. Anyway:

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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TrustworthyAs twilight was nearing to become an affinity to darkness, the orange-blue skies gradually would become night, as the moon replaced the sun’s brightening rays of light with shimmering essence of greyish-white light. The Toa inhaled the fresh air of darkness prevailing, and he slowly cracked a smile. The white-clad Toa knew that guard duty was approaching for him in less than one hour, and the thought of guarding the area let him only observe the area more—he was surely intent on examining the strange and mysterious island further to finally understand the intricacies of the island’s secretive sections.While Irui had known of the paranoia beginning to seep into the mind of the young water-Toa named Talin, he also expected her spreading this to closer companions. As it was, Irui noticed a slight attraction toward her which he felt—she had seemed the least bit odd, yet appealing with her quick business-like attitude and the temperamental demeanor that he began to notice.Irui gazed at the night skies beginning to seep through sunset. The stars began to set, the moon rising on the velvety boundless skies far beyond his reach. He grinned, yet it was not one of happiness or laughter. It was one that was conspicuous to many, yet he hid it quickly. He was pleased with nighttime—it would give him a chance to experience the island’s areas further. He was intent to discover his newfound home.~:~The group of Toa examined the jungle area from above carefully. The binoculars held in the Toa of Air’s hands were brought to his eyes, and he scanned the area far below and he tried to find the pearl and white –clad Toa beneath the jungle’s trees. The Toa Rohan had hired Irui for guard duty, which he had successfully been doing. They watched him carefully, but suddenly the standing figure of Irui disappeared beneath the shadows of the trees.“He doesn’t seem all that peculiar to me,” the Toa of Earth, Canan, stated quietly in a deep tone of voice. “He seems fairly trustworthy to me, Stelt,” The Toa of Sonics inclined his head towards Canan with much disappointment. Stelt’s eyebrow rose quizzically.“The fact that he seemed much too eager to go on guard duty makes me suspicious,” he responded. “Talin had mentioned curiosity with his records on the island Aruen and his background story. She said that it seems the least bit conspicuous, and he seems very eager to join our island’s civilization yet reluctant to say much of his past,”“Talin?” Watua inquired, lowering the binoculars from his eyes quickly. “Why would she jump to such conclusions as this?”Stelt stared at the Toa of Air with a little curiosity of how interested he was in the subject. “She just found it odd,” Stelt replied. “He does seem rather different, doesn’t he? I do agree with her at some points, but sometimes I think that she is the least bit paranoid about the Toa of Ice,”“He doesn’t seem all that strange,” another interjected, who was incidentally the Toa of Ice Atin. Atin, as it was, had a completely different attitude compared to this ice-Toa counterpart. Atin was stubborn, cold, disobedient, strangely temperamental, angering, and usually having a tantrum every five seconds he could. Obviously, Atin was a different soul yet the stereotype of an ice-Toa, while the counterpart had seemed the opposite. And Atin tried to hide the fact that he disrespected such behavior of being the opposite of a typical stereotype.“Irui seems trustworthy, I don’t know what Talin has to worry about,” Atin continued. “After all, he doesn’t seem the least bit suspicious to me. He just becomes to me as...curious. He seems like he is the adventurous and exploring type of Toa, one always eager to fling himself into action,”At that moment, everyone seemed to freeze. After all, kind words from Atin were a rarity—perhaps even unpredictable and hapless to happen. And, each began to think that Atin thought that he was trustworthy. And that approval was far beyond intensely hard to gain.~:~The Toa of Water was in distress. Not only because of the recent happenings, but the sudden ally having been made in only a day. The eagerness of this sudden appearance of a being named Irui began to trouble her. After all, nothing was confirmed that everything he had stated and told to Talin was immediately correct and inconspicuous. And, indeed, the Toa of Water began to worry of this...interesting arrival. Litela was not amused with the whole ordeal.Why should we accept so many unknown beings without pause? Litela thought to herself. After all, they could possibly be adversaries disguised as allies—everyone seems too blind, too blind indeed. We cannot go gallivanting off to find friendly beings with no sense of warfare or combat training whatsoever. It doesn’t seem right that Irui was so eager...As Litela felt lonely with her thoughts, she did not feel comfortable with the idea of bringing in unknown to make them unworthy allies against powerful enemies who could trick us into believing anything, or powerful enough to disguise themselves as friend, not foe. But, alas, Litela knew that the fact of this was that she was being just plain paranoid. To seem untrustworthy of friends leads to paranoia, and paranoia leads to revenge, to anger, hate, and darkening paths further towards becoming an adversary and non-trustworthy.And, this she knew was a path deniable to her, and she herself could not turn on comrades by simple paranoia. This, Irui, to Litela, was not a trustworthy soul. Not trustworthy at all.~~~Heh, I could't wait for later - but, either way, there will still be one tonight. =P

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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M.D.S.“Stand at attention!”The soldiers, only fifty, instantly hopped with an echoing clap as their feet hit the floor. The facility was wide; the height distance between from the floor to the roof was far over forty feet. The line of Matoran varied in size and weight, region they were from and armor color, with many differences among them all. Because the line of soldiers was divided into which regions they were from, it made it easier to tell which from which. And, as the female Matoran continued forward, her feet clapping as they hit the concrete flooring, the cloaked Matoran reached a distance of ten feet between the line of soldiers and herself. Her cold, unwavering, light blue eyes stared at the line of Matoran.She, herself, was very pleased with the amount of disciple given and that they obeyed every deed she sent a missionary to do. “I underestimated you all,” she said, pulling back the cowl on the cloak to reveal her amethyst Calix, her eyes gleaming with pleasure. “None of you has been punished, you have been very obedient, which as well as shown the ability that you have to perform any feat without hesitation and successfully do the job right, and you all seem worthy of the target goal ahead: to defend.“Each of you may have faults and good points, yet your records prove that you are worthy opponents for our meat-bag adversaries, who will be beaten like a Rahi in a butcher shop. The tasks that I plan to set ahead of you will be the final countdown to victory in your training. If you succeed at this, you will be put on the defense team with pleasure—if you fail, it will be put into your record and we’ll try to drill everything you’ve learned back into your mind by restarting the training over again until you succeed once more.“With some luck and stupendous sense of confidence with you, this will not happen if you do not tire during the course, and will have the strength to succeed at each task. The latter will conclude that you are indeed worthy and you will be put on the defense team as the newest squadron members, and will be put on record and labeled as a member of the MDS,” The Matoran cleared her throat, and then gazed into the eyes of each Matoran standing before her. “Is this clear?”Yes, ma’am!” a chorus of voices shouted, and Nagii smiled.Good, she thought to herself with a mental grin. Out of all the hard training thrown at these troops, they lasted without deteriorating after a number of tasks and feats. At least the MDS recruits will be over and done with and I can move onto my last division of troops. Thank Mata-Nui for that miracle, maybe I can just take the rest of the day off—after all, I’ll leave them be and let them do what they need to do, which is prepare for the final tasks in the end of their training.“Get to work, boys,” Nagii said happily, grinning. “You’ve got a big day ahead of you, and right now, you might want to get every prepared. After that, get some sleep. You’re going to want to wake up early before sunrise,” And, with that, Nagii walked away from the line of Matoran, and all of them scattered out of the facility with thoughts busying them in the meantime.~:~The two squadrons inspected separately the base’s facilities and barracks, the armories, the training courses, grounds, and smaller sections of the base with some interest of the area. The two groups each held two Toa, with Group Alpha (military names used with the two squadrons) having Toa of Water Talin and Toa of Ice Atin, while Group Baker having Toa of Stone Kuhi and Toa of Psionics Alyssia. The two beings who lead each group were Nagii, who acted as a guide for Group Baker while Ga-Matoran and co-deputy of the ES Sylin guided Group Alpha gladly.“As you can see,” Nagii hastened, while behind her was Alyssia and Kuhi while she lead them through the barracks. “I make the soldiers neat-nicks to make sure they have a clean area when it comes to housing themselves in barracks. Otherwise, I advise them not to let cleanliness get in the way of wartime when on battlefields—if anything else happens otherwise while they’re trying to clean the battlefield, they’ll all be shot at,” The corporals and privates in the barracks stood at attention, Nagii witnessing several salutes from the line of troops.“Then why keep a clean area?” Kuhi questioned.“Usually cleanliness is the way to go in barracks,” Nagii answered. “Sloppiness is the worst to say for a camp if there is possibly an inspection. As well, keeping a neat area is better for when bombings, artillery strikes, et cetera and so on happens. Obviously you wouldn’t want to wade in garbage and to die if you get stuck in your own mess if an emergency comes about, no?”“I suppose that sounds very right,” Alyssia replied before Kuhi had a chance to reply. “Indeed, having to tread through your own mess wouldn’t be the best of things if in any case battle comes and everyone has to rush to the exit. As well, I noticed the intellectual placement of numerous doorways—very smart building,”“Yes, one of the team’s troops thought of that,” the Matoran of Lightning responded. “He has in architectural mind, I will give him that. Let me lead you to the training grounds; you might find some interest in the intellect of making the troops use their minds sometimes,” Nagii smiled, hastily leading them to one of the many exits in the barracks. Then, she added, “At ease, troops,” and gradually exited the barracks as the soldiers loosened from saluting.The grounds of the area were a wide and open square-shaped area for recreational purposes. At most, the grounds of the camp were at most 55 acres at the very center of the camp’s buildings, barracks, armories, and training grounds. Wide and open, the ground was not of dirt but of soft and well-mowed grass, the buildings consisting of metal alloys, as well of brick and wood and glass for buildings. While some were made of plain stone and brick, the officer’s areas and buildings were mostly built of solid steel and aluminum, sometimes titanium and other special silvers. Coating the metals was liquid protodermis dried after painted on the metals, to make it stronger and more durable, as well as slightly bulletproof until after a certain time of being broken through.The group continued forward through the camp’s areas, slowly judging each detail with some impressing comments from both Kuhi and Alyssia, the same going for Talin and Atin. Both duos were immediately impressed with the training grounds as they ventured through the bunkers of the camp that were used as battlefield units. Neither had said anything that downgraded the camp.~:~Silence—the greeting to everything that entered the chamber. The stone was aged by over fifteen years, green and utterly gruesome mold growing upon the dented pewter-grey tiling of the floor. The enormous iron doors that acted as the entrance of the chambers could have easily intimidated anything living being to walk in the very forbidden and ominous halls of the fortress. Everything piercing, terrifying, horrifying scream that echoed throughout the fortress—a thin and villainous smile crossed upon the being’s pale face behind his mask.The only beings that had the decency and fearless sense of overpower were the servants and invaluable members that walked in the stone and torch-lit hallways of the fortress, enjoying the sight of pale-faced prisoners who rotted in their cells before released, while torture was discipline and the punishment to disobeying servants and missionaries. And, the wrath of the highest power in the fortress was one that made the wind blow, the chill that crawled up a being’s spine, the feeling of death as one’s life faded, and the feeling of the winter sun coming to a solid chill as the sunlight hit a being’s back. That was the power of the force behind the madness, the mastermind of the evil and most villainous movements that plotted the most twisted schemes to ever be created in the universe—Lord Uzian, Master of Twilight, Keeper of Darkness, Lord of Shadows.No being could look this Dark Hunter in the eye—not even Mata-Nui could. If one could, all they would see would be the twisted thoughts of a man who had a burning fiery like hated for every living organism or thing to ever crawl the universe’s dirty ground, even the darkening and acerbic mind of a man who cared for murder and hate, anger and torture for anything he could possibly want in the whole world. Everything—every single word of this could have not even explained the twisted entanglements of a being so cold and bitter, that even the Shadowed One could not match the astringent behavior of Lord Uzian—the being who had just so many statuses among the universe’s most powerful people.The massively built figure stood at the center of the chamber, his blood-red eyes closed in concentration; he stood at six-foot-five, with a heavy broadsword at his waist with dark black and crimson armor, a long black cape buttoned around his neck, and maroon-colored scars taped to every muscle of his body. Still, the half a foot long wound that had been sorely placed on his upper left leg was a gleaming memory of a proving of his most invaluable member’s entrance to the organization, and this member had indeed proven the fact they were worthy for anything that faced them—even having a bag full of bricks hit them in the face couldn’t have stopped that Toa from joining.His body was cramped. Each metallic-feeling bone beneath his armor cracked with his aging tissues, yet he thought that ignorance would be bestowed upon him if he daresay made age a threat to his leadership. A simple cramp couldn’t kill anyone—he knew the way to play the game was to pretend the existence of age was minor myth, and only something that would distance him from achieving the goals he wished to conquer over. Age was a mere obstacle, while his broadsword could easily swipe it away.Uzian opened his eyes, staring at his hands, which had become a teal and red mixture in his palm as his armor seemed to rust. The dents that had been placed on him from battlefield injuries were too much at some points, and it was hard to overcome the pain. And, yet he knew that pain was obstacle. Anything that had anything to do with his bodily functions was mere myths—the way to victory was to overcome obstacles. Slaughtering every living being could possibly be the only way to become victorious, and nonetheless, he still even did this. Uzian knew the ways of the battlefield, the slaughter, the blood spilled across dirt as wounds were filled with grime and dried blood—all an ugly formality.Despite this, Uzian knew the feeling to nearly be grasped by the hand of death. And, with any luck, death would grasp at Rohan’s center.~:~The two groups reunited at the very center of the camp’s grounds. They settled for a moment, taking a gradual break from the reviewing and inspection of the area. Talin sat on the grassy ground, the sunlight glaring in her eyes heavily. She continued to pick at the wire-like grass, pulling it from the roots of the ground tediously. Talin inclined her head at her comrades, glancing slightly at the ever-bored Alyssia. She smiled at the Toa of Psionics as Alyssia was sitting on the ground cross-legged, holding her head in her hands with sunlight pouring over her.“You always seem to be bored with stuff like this, don’t you?” Talin concluded, grinning. Alyssia turned her head to glare at her Toa of Water friend, laughing aloud to no one in particular. Her eyes, a glowing bright yellow, seemed to stare into Talin’s with some surprise at the statement.“Do I seem like that all the time?” she responded with some sarcastic curiosity. “Yeah, I don’t usually like sitting around with no one else here but just us four soreheads. After all, we are just a few beings sitting in the sun and burning up. But, who cares? I suppose it doesn’t matter anyway...I’m hoping Nagii and Sylin return, I’m getting pretty tedious with what we’re doing. Wait? What are we doing? I couldn’t remember! Oh, wait nothing...” Alyssia rambled onto herself for the next few seconds until she finally asked a worthwhile question. “Where are Nagii and Sylin anyway?”“I don’t know,” Kuhi answered. “I’m pretty sure they said they’d show us something supposing to be interesting...”“Ah, who care’s anyway,” Alyssia replied. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? I mean, if it’s something super big and surprising and something really impressive, then I’ll be happy. But waiting around isn’t exactly the way to go with everything...” At that moment, a large shutting of doors sound emitted from a not-so-far distance.After a few seconds of waiting, at a distance they could see a purple-colored figure leading a large band of Matoran. As the journeyed further to the center of the camp grounds, they formed into two rows of Matoran, separated into twenty-five troops in each row. Nagii stepped forward, checking each individual. She stared at each one, in the proper position needed, each in their hands a semi-automatic rifle with aperture sights on each.“Greet our guests with respect, soldiers!” Nagii commanded loudly, and each saluted.Hello, guests, welcome to our camp!” the rows of troops screamed. Nagii nodded with satisfaction.“Now—scream your battle cry!” she ordered further.Hoo-rah!” each individual hollered, and the group of Toa was easily impressed. Nagii raised a hand to hasten them to stop them, putting them at ease. She stepped toward the small assembly group of Toa, smiling widely at each. They stared back; impressed with the presentation assembly Nagii had set up for the group, they did not easily respond with a matched expression.“Talin, Alyssia, Kuhi, Atin—” Nagii began slyly. “Meet the M.D.S.—Mission Defense Squadron.”
~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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CloserThe constant dull hum of the airship was tedious, a marked reoccurrence in the Toa’s surroundings. The figure studied the area closely, recognizing in the distance a blissful island paradise which had hauntingly brought back the memories of leaving many comrades behind. Cowardice had unfolded in the psionics-Toa’s actions, and irritability had been the defense which shielded her from remembering these painful, anguish-inducing, bitter, acerbic memories. Her charisma and personality had become one of a raging bull, wanting to tear the island to shreds to reconnect with short-term memory loss to forget these painful occurrences of the past.And, this flimsy excuse to destroy the island was becoming obvious to others around Tikiani. She knew that making contact with past friends but present foes in battle would be heartbreaking to her memory banks, like a needle piercing her in the arm. Tikiani knew that facing these people—people she had known well, people she loved, people who were her friends—would hurt her deeply, but too deep when facing a best friend who was like her twin counterpart: Talin.She contemplated this fact for a moment. She contemplated just the image of the Toa of Water with much dissatisfaction coming to her. That feeling of being shoved headfirst into a rock was the way she was feeling at that second. The feeling of getting your head slammed into a brick wall, and then heavily thrown at another brick wall and then retract back towards the opposite wall. And then rebound a few hundred more times until you finally are dead—this was the way Tikiani felt.I shouldn’t have thought of this... Tikiani digressed, beating herself up mentally. It’ll be like finding a needle in a haystack to actually put the pieces back together on that relationship. She’d never forgive me for that—probably would take her a million years for her to forgive me and a million years for me to mend broken fences with Talin.Rohan’s icy mountain peaks were off at a distance, the stars and moon showering them in silver light to make them look like they were sparkling, while the snow reflected it like a mirror. The volcano continued to rumble on its own, belching out molten rocks coated in lava and carefully mounted into the underground mining caverns where Ta-Matoran tinkered and mined at the lava rocks—the volcano had been known to have rather shiny silver at the inside of the rocks, which was soon melted into a type of silver made for equally strong blades on swords, which Po-Matoran and Ta-Matoran would gladly try to smoothen with fire torches and weld cracks in the silver. After this, the blade of the sword would instantly be welded into a hilt.The jungles rang with the sounds of nocturnal animals, including fox-like Rahi with lynx-like creatures as well, wolves howling in the night as a full moon rose. The beaches were deserted, the Lightning Region coated in wet asphalt and cities spread out. The Sonics Region was usually quiet, the third city-oriented area of the island.Tikiani studied the regions carefully, for any sign of any havoc reeking or anything easily suspicious. Far below, in the Lightning Region, the Elite Stealth grounds were possibly a capital of Rohan, and fairly deserted and quiet, without any sign of activity near the testing facilities. Surprisingly, there was no sign of any of her old and previous comrades. All must have been nesting at the Center City, the very center section of the island where activity was easy to see. Rohan Headquarters was based at that area, an old abandoned building unbeknownst to many.The standing pole-like cliffs that were at most two miles from the island in a square shape were at separate corners of a barrier shield core that was based in each cliff, and when an alert was put on, the barriers released and were activated, activating a strong barrier that held at least up to thirty power units in each to keep the shield generated with enough power to last for over a week.While Rohan’s defenses were modernized and perfect for all situations, Tikiani knew everything of the island’s secrets, including the unbreakable crystal held far below Rohan that reunited each of the Regions together. All elements were put in it, and from every element there came a beam of light pointed at each region. This enabled a strengthened defense, and if each of the beams were cut from the regions, the regions would disconnect and possibly be blown far away from Rohan, and if each were disconnected, all that would be left would be Center City, which would sink deep below the ocean waters.Tikiani knew that breaking the beams away would take much force, a large amount of power and force that she did not contain and the access to this power was a united group of the Dark Hunters within Uzian’s organization—at least ten to break each beam, each Dark Hunter having to launching their most forceful attack simultaneously for it to work. While so many codes were to be unleashed to reach the underground of Rohan’s core, Tikiani was oblivious to half while she knew the other half well, drilled into her mind.She was anxious—anxious to get the ordeal over and done with. It was only five days until the attack. Uzian was counting on her to lead the attack, yet she wasn’t sure of his other plans. He had only mentioned something involving ‘Toa’ when speaking, and now she was quite unsure of his actions and what he was strategizing at the moment. For all she knew, he could have been moonlighting as a Matoran on Rohan who was watching the Toa Rohan’s every move. For all she knew, he could have been on the ship at that moment.For all she knew, he could have been advancing further onward to add to the attack, with a ship of his own he would use to create destruction on Rohan.
~:~

The group of five Toa nestled into the leader of the Toa Rohan’s office, carefully seating themselves and finding comfortable positions in the room. The whole lot of them were strategists, throwing around ideas at midnight in the Center City, specifically the Rohan Headquarters. Spira, Watua, Tulya, Canan, and Jilin were the only Toa in the room at that moment.The five were considering ideas and tossing random ideas out into the open for a defense system against Uzian. While initiating the barrier poles around the island was an easy way to get out of the battle, but finishing off Uzian for good was the only thing that seemed sensible. Cowardice was not the answer to their problem, only going down fighting—down and dirty.“What other ideas do we have here, huh, guys?” Jilin asked. “I mean, literally, we can’t just sit around all day, right? Throw anything out there; I’ll accept it and just plain out say what I think of it. For Mata-Nui’s sake, it’s midnight,” Each of the Toa stared at each other with reluctant expressions, and Jilin sighed, throwing his head in his hands angrily. “Oh, come on!” he finally shouted angrily. The Toa gazed at him, their eyes blinking surprisingly at the use of anger and rage in his sentence.“Well, obviously we need a good defense,” Tulya suggested a little slowly. “At least a surprise ambush—why don’t we all hide, get the citizens to the underground as an evacuation to keep them safe. In that meantime, we’ll be hiding somewhere throughout the island’s regions, awaiting their arrival. We’ll let the Elite Stealth catch them by surprise and we’ll show up and start fighting,”“What if they knew?” Watua inquired. “I mean, after all, any inside information can come from allies who aren’t exactly friends but only adversaries, and maybe they might pass that on to their allies who are only our enemies. After all, the saying of ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ could be so true in our case. Discussing these strategies is very dangerous in this room alone—someone might have planned a microphone, or someone might be eavesdropping in on the conversation,”“Watua, you’re paranoid,” Spira remarked. “Talin has been jumpy lately as well—I specifically don’t understand why all of you have been so paranoid. Give me a break, we’re going to war with someone that we have very little background and information about. Everyone in this room has paranoia written on their masks, anyway,” She sighed. “Let’s get on with this, shall we?“All right,” she continued. “We need defenses. We set up an illusion for these thieves. The extensive barriers we have attached to those pole-like cliff tops can be seen from miles, a blue and white barrier shield made of protodermis and fermented metal alloys, correct? So we need a way to create an illusion that could look much like that—if we could secure someone who could do such a thing, who I would easily think would be Alyssia, we could possibly win this. After all, Uzian may not know of the barriers, even though Tikiani knows. So, if she tries to deactivate a fake barrier, she turns on the real barrier and we spot the airship above, we can prepare for battle arrangements while she fiddles with that. Of course, we’ll change the codes on the barriers and process the information into the computer systems and it will take her years to complete the task of getting the right passwords.“If she actually does get it right after an hour or two, we’ll be waiting as an ambush for their arrival, and they’ll be harmed with extensive ease with no protection whatsoever,” Spira smiled greatly at her plan, but Jilin didn’t seem as well excited about it. He put a firm hand over his chin, pondering over the plan.“What if she already knew we were waiting for her?” Jilin inquired sternly.“I suppose that we would have to make it less conspicuous in that case, yes,” Spira plotted. “But...at the beaches, hiding in the sands like invisible beings, we would await their appearance. After all, we do have those sand-like blankets or nets that we used to have when we invaded some of the superior islands nearby. The Elite Stealth will send a signal to us when they are underneath the sand nets, and we’ll be waiting at the Air Region, whereas we’ll wait at the forest edge dividing the forests and beaches of the Air Region. Sound better?”“Better,” Jilin grinned. “We’ve got less than one week. Watua, tell Stelt to command some revamping of the passwords of the barrier, and tell Alyssia to start in the building of an illusion-like fake barrier. In the meantime, the rest of us we’ll start battle arrangements and construction of some further reviewing of our soldiers. As well, we’ll need some more of those sand-patterned net-blankets weaved by some of our special utility ops Matoran. They’ll create some new weaponry for us for the upcoming battle,”“There is five days: Five days left until the attack,” Canan pointed out. “We must hurry—five days is the equivalent time it takes for most of these operations to take place. It is midnight, and now we should get to work. Let’s get working everyone—the battle is ever-so closer,”

~:~

The Toa of Psionics sighed. The time was drawing towards 1:00 A.M., and tomorrow was coming closer—only four more days when dawn would crack upon the horizon. Tikiani was getting worried—everything would be placed into her hands when the battle started, and though she was growing ever-so naïve, she knew that nerves wouldn’t be able to stop her from what she attempted to do: Attack Rohan. The impending battle that lingered in the open frightened her—she was waiting for it to approach nearer, and nearer...Tikiani sighed, burying her head in her hands. Why, why? Why was it me...for bitter memories to creep on me like so...why...? she thought, terrified. Fear was now her deadly companion...it was like a trance, a nightmare. For Rohan, it was an execution. An execution whereas they would dance to death, a dance relevant to one of a hop and skip, and fearsome leap as they awaited their final moments—and it was approaching all too quickly.“You are troubled, Tikiani,”The voice made Tikiani jump. But she sustained from such fright, retaining her fear and only stood still like a statue, identifying the voice of the character who spoke. She recognized it, yet it seemed so vague and hazy to her. She knew...she knew it was one that she had here a mere two hours ago. She had discussed business with this voice: Fuzan.“I will neither admit that I am or am not troubled,” Tikiani answered sternly. “I will not let Rohan try to scare me into the enemy’s hands, Fuzan. I will not let them take me as prisoner, and I will survive this. I won’t let these...painful memories make me feel remorse or regret. My final decision is this: Destroy Rohan, no mercy left to use.” Fuzan smiled deviously.“We will attend to these orders with perfection and precise instructions that will not be failed,” Fuzan responded. “We will not let you down,”Tikiani finally felt some freedom of decision. “Good,” she replied, slyly smirking. She gazed around her and realized it was approaching. The battle was drawing ever-so nearer, and she wasn’t afraid. She knew: The battle of Rohan was growing even closer by the minutes.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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ObservationsThe Toa’s face was cloaked underneath the cowl of the dark black cloak, his eyes observing the adjacent surroundings of the city. Everything was so well-knit together, and he knew this well. Rohan was a city full of the havoc wreaking in city’s everyday—accidents, the rush-hour traffic, and the usual sound of engines roaring with power on occasion. He knew this sound well; him studying the city for so long in the morning, afternoon, and night when the forlorn light of streetlights and stars shined in the city’s insides had become a day-to-day routine on a regular basis.Slowly he leaned his head forward to look around the building’s concrete corner side, tilting it from side to side to examine the area closely to make sure a passerby wasn’t eying him with suspicion, and he rushed around the building corner unseen in the building’s long casted shadow—he crouched and sidled along the concrete wall, projecting a mere shadow as he sprinted over the light shining through the alleyway between the twin buildings.Above, there was a catwalk or bridge that connected the two office buildings, and below the steel platform was a dark alleyway, light projecting between the buildings in the morn while the moon cast a shimmering silver pathway to light the alley. His objective was to climb to the steel walkway and observe the area closely. In the width, the walkway was twenty feet long, and gave a perfect view of the city below these buildings. At the wall on the other side was just an enormous brick wall, on either side ladders leading to the roof tops, while from the higher floors of the buildings you could see the brick wall dividing an area thirty feet below, a large ledge dividing to different sections of the city. Leading down to the second section of the city were stone staircases that almost went in a half-circle around the building downward.While the Toa intended originally on going to the walkway, he decided against it. I could see much more of the city’s outer rims if I were at the roof tops, he thought. Forgetting about sidling along the second building’s concrete wall, he dodged the sunlight shining in the alleyway by ducking, and he sprinted into the alleyway, ducking behind the brick wall. The area smelled much of garbage and rotting food, only because the area also was a small garbage dump for both buildings.Trying to cover the disgusting odor and fragrance from him smelling it by covering his mask with a firm white-colored hand, he instantly rushed to the backside corner of the building, not caring which side he had gone to. With that, he saw the steel ladder and began to climb up it, rushing upward to study the city’s streets and buildings from the roof tops. And the Toa continued upward, until he finally reached the peak of the building, whereas he saw a breathtaking view of the city far below him. Yet to feel it was amazing...it almost seemed too low of a character as him. He knew the city well—he had once lived here himself. As he reached the top, he threw off the cloak.His appearance was a black and white –clad character, a long scabbard holding a devastatingly large broadsword at his waist, the scabbard buckled along the side of the leather black belt around his waist. He had a half-black and half-white Miru; his eye on the right side of his mask (evidently the white side, the left side black) was a piercing ice blue color, while on the left side held a devilish and villainous scarlet eye. His appearance was frightening—it seemed natural that the two entirely different colors represented that he held two elements. One was shadow, the second ice.As he examined the area, he knew that the plan he had been preparing for so long was coming closer. He only needed to contact superiors and lower servants—it was almost time. He had to inform them now to make it only two days until the attack. It would catch the Toa Rohan off guard easily.It was perfect.~:~She studied the area from miles around, far and wide at the sight. From one of the highest peaks of Rohan’s snowy mountains, she had reached the top to catch a glance of the hard-to-see hoax barrier they had formed. Alyssia was proud of the construction herself—everything would be ready, preparations complete, and Uzian and his group of mischievous bandits would be hit without even knowing what hit them. And this made her grin and snicker all the more when she would see Tikiani’s face go to a sly smirk to shock and awe of what she had accidentally done.It was masterfully, skillfully planned and devious, complete perfection.Alyssia carefully studied her surroundings. Out in the distance, she saw the distinct sight of the clouds flying by conspicuously fast. She took this as a sign that the airship of Uzian was approaching, as well that a storm was beginning to approach Rohan gradually. And this was a bad sign; Stelt was a clear sign to be useful now, as he was a psychic. Studying things was his best skill, and maybe he knew something that would be useful for the group. After all: If he found something out about Uzian and his band of mischievous mercenaries, something like he was coming faster to make an ambush, Stelt would have to create images to know what would happen next.With that, Alyssia started climbing down the mountain peak to ask Stelt for her request to be accepted.~:~The chambers were quiet. The room was wide and high, all made of stone that would be steadily covered in mold in a few years, while the flooring was comfy carpeting that would be rather comfortable to simply sit on. At a corner was a queen-sized bed, with a table lamp on a small wooden block. At the front of the bed was a wooden chest with a sturdy iron lock at the front of it while the key to it was hidden securely somewhere. At the opposite corner from the bed was a large wooden chestnut desk with a pencil cup on top with several other things naturally found on a desk, while there were two drawers on either column of the desk. There was as well a chair made of stiff fabric that remained stationary.At the two opposite corners was a couch, two beanbag chairs colored a navy and azure blue, a large table that was at least seven by three feet as its perimeter. There were many chairs surrounding it, a bouquet of flowers standing in a glass vase while the flowers were alive with color at the center of the table, which incidentally had a colorful tablecloth. At the center of the room was a small stone platform, standing at least at half a foot above the carpeted flooring. On it was as well plush carpeting with four cushions surrounding a square that wasn’t covered.And, hovering above all these cushions was a tall, navy-blue, silver-clad, white-armored Toa with a shining white Miru, meditating above all this with his eyes closed relaxingly. In his mind were simply horrifying images. A few times his facial features would adjust to something different that would explain the situation slightly.It was Rohan. Above Rohan was a large airship with the lettering Jila on its side, while standing at the deck of it was a sapphire and gold-clad Toa of Psionics, her eyes full of hatred, yet something of remorse still burning their suspiciously. As she climbed off the ship’s deck via a ladder made of rope tied firmly to the railing, she was climbing down to one of the standing pole-like cliff faces that had the familiar blue laser coming forth from its side, connecting with the same poles in a square shape around the island. The circular barrier covering everything except the poles seemed to hold an odd wavy motion within its liquid blue exterior shield, and the Toa of Psionics climbed to the top of one of the poles. She mumbled a few words and numbers, and a metal hatch opened freely to the Toa, who gladly dropped inside the cliff face.As she went inside, the hatch closed once more, and she disappeared without a trace.He shook off the imagery as it shattered like a mirror in his mind as he turned his head, noticing that the iron chamber doors off the chambers were opened, and he turned his head, accidentally falling flat on to the pile of cushions, which gladly made for a cushy landing. Standing in the threshold was the tall figure and familiar face of Alyssia, who gazed back into his cool blue eyes. She didn’t seem to hold anything back, which Stelt had firmly anticipated—after all, he was indeed a psychic and secondary telepath of the Toa Rohan.“Well, I’m surprised you weren’t expecting me,” Alyssia stated, a thickly sarcastic tone plainly put into her voice. “I see you were meditating. I hope I didn’t interrupt you or anything, Stelt; I know it would kinda bother you in some way, you being psychic and whatnot,”“I was meditating, yes,” he answered quietly, carefully stepping down from the solid stone platform. “I just had a vision of a Toa stepping into the depths of one of the barrier poles. She had climbed down a rope ladder from an airship, and I was interrupted when the hatch of one of the poles closed,”“Sorry,” she apologized. She sauntered silently to one of the beanbag chairs and let herself fall into it, crossing her arms securely and gawked at Stelt’s shiny white Miru. “I came here for business reasons; you being psychic were one of them. I have a strange feeling about our newcomer, Irui, while I also have a feeling that they are coming faster than we are anticipating. I could have thought that the pattern of the clouds seemed the familiar storm pattern that approaches every few months. It could be a sign,”Stelt contemplated her explanation and story carefully. While in one of his visions recently there had been a battle while lightning struck in the distance not far from Rohan while rain poured, it was far from coincidence, even though he was considering it as one now. But, again, that feeling of resentment in him that his psychic visions were just coincidences about certain things came to him.“You make a strong point,” Stelt responded. “I am not exactly sure whether or not trusting this new Irui would be the smartest idea in the world. But any ally available is usually the best decision, because Uzian is indeed advancing toward us faster by the second. For all we know, he could be here in less than a day, if not only an hour. Everything is putting everyone on edge, and it’s hard to know who to trust in this case. Contemplating whether to trust someone or not isn’t the smartest thing. It’s either a straight yes or no answer, not switching on and off to whether or not indicate people like this as friend or foe.“Secondly, there is a high percent of them advancing faster towards us. There’s a chance that they are here now, but it would be entirely hard to prove. We could try using those binoculars or goggles we used to use to see hidden things; I remember we called it the Seeker, yes? We need someone to start scouting the island using this, to find any real sign of them being here already. And looking up in the air is necessary; they could be using a cloaking device.“Last, I had guessed that there was a storm approaching yesterday. Because I always watch the clouds for any signs of weather change and whatnot, it seems pretty serious that if the storm strikes when the battle starts, we may be at a disadvantage—after all, none of us have ever fought enemies and adversaries in the rain, and even that slight disadvantage might cost us a victory and we might be overrun,” Stelt took a few sharp breaths and then settled down, breathing more slowly and evenly.“You, as well, make a strong point, Stelt,” Alyssia responded. She glanced from side to side, and then beckoned Stelt to lean forward. She then whispered, “I saw a strange being today; he was a black-cloaked being, which isn’t a very common sight when it comes to the more hectic part of the city. You would naturally see someone of this caliber in the back alleys of the southern part of the city where the black marketers make there wheeling and dealing and the criminals lurk. I caught a glimpse of his face; he had a red eye on one side of his mask, and the other side had a blue eye. He didn’t appear to have any weaponry with him, but they could have been concealed underneath the cloak,”Stelt leaned back, and then sat in the beanbag chair next to her, carefully considering what she had said. She was right—it didn’t seem at all natural, and it would seem more like this person would be lurking in the back alleys of the city, trading with the black marketers nearby and stay in captivity or hostage of criminals, or be a criminal or mercenary himself. It wasn’t common at all.“You raise a confusing question and perplexing puzzle for me to deal with, Alyssia,” Stelt said in almost a retort, but she only deviously smirked back. “In truth, this person could have just been a mercenary looking for whoever he was paid to find. That’s a common sight anyhow, but indeed reporting the sight of someone like that would be the wisest choice and decision. After all, I’d rather have the Rohan police force deal with that,”“Are you kidding?” she replied, stunned. “The RPF wouldn’t dare go after anything like that. If they did, they would be as brave as Karzhani, and that in itself sounds stranger than this person. At most, I could see some of our missionaries looking for someone like that, but I’d feel safer if the missionary was carrying a broadsword or a high-powered automatic rifle,”Stelt laughed. “I can’t deny the fact that you’re right about that,” he answered. “Oh well, I’d like to start contemplating what you’ve told me about. At most, I’d like to continue seeing my visions, and if I get anything important in any way, I’ll make sure to contact you about,” Alyssia nodded her head, and then gave a small embrace to Stelt, and sauntered out of the room.Now, Stelt was left by himself with only his thoughts as his company.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Delrak’s PlanThe seven Toa were scattered across the island, scouting the area carefully. Atuu was in the Ice Region, Alyssia in the Lightning Region, Kuhi in the Stone Region, Litela in the Water Region, Watua in the Air Region, and vice-versa for Canan and Tulya, although Tulya was in the Fire Region. Each were cautiously going through the regions, though any enemy intelligence was sparse and seldom for them so far. Nothing had been found, but the only person observing their search was Delrak, a high-ranking official and officer in the Elite Stealth and was a De-Matoran. His profile that Nagii had set for him was only three words: Quiet, extremely dangerous. These three words were quite truthful indeed.While he had tried to keep it secret, he knew something of Uzian. Although nobody knew it, he had been with Uzian’s organization at one point in his lifetime, his codename ‘Silent’. The only person he trusted with this information was Nagii. Now, it came to mind: What if he came back, pretended he was returning to turn to his old occupation and soon disappear when he got the information Rohan desperately needed? Now, it came clear to him that Nagii would be deeply interested in this plan. As well, it would be the second time she’s ever heard him speak.And, silently he sent the thoughts of his plan to Nagii. For a few moments, there was no reply, and Delrak quietly waited. As he looked up in the sky, he saw the outline of a camouflaged airship. Delrak’s vision was top-notch: He could see anything, even invisible things. He realized that Uzian and his organization were drawing in closely.“Nagii,” he said aloud. His voice seemed unique; it was deep, yet not a native accent to Rohan. He stood out very well. “Do you...remember? It has been only too long. It is but a distant memory, but it comes alive again to me in my mind. Do you remember it?” Delrak gazed into the night sky’s willowing beauty, but all along holding in it the sparse twinkling of stars, and yet the stars stared back like diamonds in the sky, but acted as eyes.“I do not understand,” Nagii retorted, ignoring the idea of the memory. In her mind, she knew the memory. She knew it well: They had once danced together underneath the blanket of the stars as protection, and they were lost with only themselves to discover their true destiny. They were total strangers to each other that night, and all there was the stars to guide them that night. They had danced in the sliver of moonlight that was there, and only gazed into each others’ eyes like they were staring directly into each others’ souls. Nagii cherished the memory, but dare did she say she possibly did. Nagii wanted to keep it a bittersweet memory that would not bring back what both held for each other.“I can read your mind, Nagii,” Delrak responded slyly. “I know your thoughts, inside and out. To me, you are still a glimmering amethyst jewel. And you are the only being of your kind—it is said that those of seldom color are to have good luck forever and to always love many, yet still have a special kind of heart none other can have. The Great Being who said this was clearly right.” Nagii ignored his continuous gawking gaze, and only stared at the distinct trace of something camouflaged like Delrak had.“Shut up, I’m trying to concentrate,” she said scathingly. “I liked you better when you didn’t say anything.” The De-Matoran’s eyebrow rose quizzically.“If I remember correctly, you were the one who put ‘Quiet, extremely dangerous’ on my record,” he countered. “I may be a QED, but one can’t always be so silent, though, right?”“Like I said, you were better a QED than a flattering pinhead,” Nagii replied harshly. “What was it you wanted? To charm me? Or did you have something that was actually worthwhile to come here for?” Delrak pondered for a moment. Although more on his mind was Nagii’s harsh yet witty comment, he remembered his information and strategy.“What if I were to return to Uzian’s organization?” he responded.“Seriously, that’s not going to make me say that you can stay,” Nagii said sarcastically.“No, I meant as a plan, Nagii,” he snapped. “Pretend I was willing to rejoin and help him in the destruction of Rohan. He would believe me, and he would know I could be a vital part of this plan of his. No doubt he will accept my rather...juicy, offer.” Delrak snickered, and Nagii grunted slowly.“What else with that did you have in mind?” Nagii inquired.“If I can possibly find out anything in a day, I’ll report back to you and say I was going to scout the island in case they have any suspicions,” Delrak replied. “And, when I don’t return the next day, they will realize I had gotten the information and they had been tricked,”Nagii considered it. If he died, there wouldn’t be much loss. But, then she realized that was a bad and cruel thought; he was useful, and she knew that he’d risk his own life if only it were to be for the safety of Rohan. “All right,” she replied. “We’ll go through with it, but you’ll have to start getting ready for the mission. Much weaponry will be in order, and you’ll have to be ready for any question they throw at you. You’re going up to the airship tonight,”Delrak grinned. “Right on,”~:~This is the transportation?”The question only made Nagii cast a crooked smile. “It’s all we’ve got,” she answered. “And besides, we don’t want something that can distract the eye or attract attention. We want something small and compact that can get you on without any acknowledgement from the members on the ship.” Delrak grunted.“You’re going to make me the most uncomfortable person in the universe, right?” he questioned.“Bingo,” she replied, grinningly slyly. “You didn’t expect me to treat you like you were something priceless?”“Maybe,” Delrak responded. “I just anticipated you would take this more into consideration; they’ll here me screaming with pain when I go up in this contraption. And, I just expected something more...comfortable. This wasn’t exactly what I thought would be the transportation.”“Well, it is now,” Nagii said. “Get in, or I’ll shove you in. And you know how brutally I can shove, right?” Delrak sighed, and narrowed his eyes at her as he climbed into the considerably small transportation pod. All it was a tiny black inside for the being to crouch inside, while there was a button for immediate invisibility and also a button for the emergency hatch to escape. At one side there was just a circular glass in-plate to look out at the surroundings, and the entrance for the space capsule was a simple automatic open and close door, but immediately locked after the being entered it. To Delrak, it was uncomfortable, but to Nagii, it was mildly comfortable—that is, for Delrak.“Get going, Delrak,” she said. “We need a considerable amount of information. You won’t know much, but lay low—we can’t let them know your being a double-agent, otherwise they might change to a different plan and kill you. And that won’t be too good, will it?”“Which one won’t be too good?” he inquired, expecting a completely different answer than he hoped for.“The plan changing, of course,” Nagii answered, grinning as she happily exasperated the De-Matoran. As Nagii started to press her finger on the button that released the pod, she could have sworn she heard him shout something. But, by that time, he had already gone and was starting to launch to the target: Uzian’s airship.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Boarding the CruiserHe carefully watched his outside surroundings from the pod’s cramped space, watching out the glass plate eagerly to see when to release. As Delrak carefully outlined the shape and landing point of the ship in his mind, he awaited until the pod was at least fifty feet above the ship’s deck area, and then would release and drop down onto the deck. Before ejecting from the pod, he would press the self-destruct button and break through the glass plate to land safely. The pod would then destruct in midair.As the distance rose mildly above forty-five feet, he watched as it finally reached fifty. Without pause of this, he pressed the self-destruct button, hearing the computer pod inform its guest, “This aerial space pod will self-destruct in ten seconds: Ten, nine, eight, seven..."When hearing it reach five, Delrak punched his fist furiously into the glass plate and created a hole at least big enough for him to crawl through. As it reached three, the De-Matoran quickly jumped through the hole and felt the air whiz by him. It was a breathtaking experience—never had he felt in his lifetime so free and hovering, freefalling against the wind’s strong current and felt gravity pull him downwards. He wanted to reject gravity’s forceful push to bring him down. Behind him, he heard the aerial pod explode with an enormous bang and a fireball emitting in response to the self-destruct. The pod crashed quickly into the undisturbed waters around Rohan and watched as the stillness of the surface was broken. The shuttle sunk quickly.As he looked down, he watched as the ship began to materialize before him and he was about to land on the deck. And, uncomfortably, he crashed on the deck with no apparent sound surprisingly. Grunting as piercing pains shot through ever piece of tissue in his body. With some anguish, he tried to stand up, and felt that his joints had broken from the impact. Delrak sighed, and started the dust himself off feebly and tried to maintain his balance and not let his mind fall into the hands of exhaustion.But, as he finally maintained a steady position for him to keep his balance, he felt the cold steel of a dagger at his throat, and chills ran down his spine. Though he dared to admit it, he was afraid to move a muscle, or possibly even swallow.And, finally, a cold voice came, icy and as sharp as the being’s dagger, and he felt their cold breath raise the hairs on the back of his neck. “Who are you, and what is your purpose to be on this airship, pesky and feeble Matoran?” To Delrak’s surprise, it was the voice of a seething and icy female, and he only kept in his position. He knew that, if he dared to move an inch, he would have the dagger quickly pierce the tissues of his throat. “I said, who are you?” she repeated again, this time louder and much colder and astringent than before. She moved the dagger the littlest bit further inward towards his throat, and now, he could feel the stinging sensation of the steel piercing him, and he could begin to feel the blood trying to seep.“I am a De-Matoran,” he said, beginning to stammer slightly. “I was...once a member of Uzian’s organization. My codename was Silent. My real name is Delrak. I am from Rohan, but my motive is to rejoin Uzian and help him seize triumph and destroy Rohan’s very existence,” As Delrak said these words, he thought, I think I’ve never lied that much in my life. He then added, “Who are you?”“You do not ask the questions, Matoran,” she retorted angrily, her voice becoming more acerbic. She then loosened the dagger from his throat, and Delrak caught the glimpse of a shining mechanical hand. He studied it for a moment, but he could not place his finger on whom this being might have been. “You are coming with me, though; I would imagine that Uzian and my master will be very pleased with the treat I will have brought them...” She cackled villainously, and it haunted Delrak.I’ve made a huge mistake, he thought.~:~He heard the sound of the iron door clashing against its stopping point, and finally he was thrown at the stone flooring of the airship’s more resolute quarters. He considered where he might have gone to. After having had a knife at his throat, Delrak couldn’t remember what happened afterwards except that he had been hit rather hard on the head and everything had gone dark. Aside from that, he was completely lost to his surroundings.“Who is this juicy piece of meat you have brought for us?” a deep voice inquired pleasantly. Delrak identified the voice as Uzian’s, and then heard another say something else, but could not quite place this one as much as Uzian’s.“He looks like he was just fed to a Muaka and then revived,” another voice added. The female in the room, presumably Delrak’s kidnapper, suddenly did a lithe yet graceful somersault, and did a slight bow after it. Her master smiled, his scarlet and perfectly devious blood-red eyes gawking at his most prized servant that would always serve him well and come to his every aid. “You have done well,” he then added. “You have done well, Lariska,”“I do not need praise, master,” she solemnly replied. “I still have to finish the job—killing him as my last step to the job being done.”The Shadowed One’s eye narrowed. “I see,” he responded coldly. “Lariska, attend to getting Tikiani. She must see your prisoner, and I would think that Uzian would like to tend to this flesh-and-bone scoundrel of a Matoran,” Uzian gazed towards the Shadowed One almost happily, but in an eerie way.“With pleasure, my lord,” Uzian answered. The Lord of Shadows gazed a cold and bitter eye on the silver-and-blue –clad De-Matoran in front of him. Lariska dispersed from the chambers without a sound, hastily sprinting to where Tikiani was currently. Uzian meanwhile examined Delrak with interest; he seemed heavily bruised after a series of beatings Lariska had given him when he did not answer most of her questions, and Uzian raised his eyebrow with some surprise.“I see you have returned, Delrak,” he quietly said. “I imagined you would come back one day, you knew you would not be able to leave without facing my wrath first. But, I see you are none of cowardice but only bravery to try and face me. I am, as many have known for many a year, an indestructible mercenary of villainous being. I attend to business I won’t let simply wait for me to finish it—I handle things in my own easy and simple way. That way, as you well know, is to brutally torture others for disrespect and disloyalty to one of my caliber, or, if not better, disrespect to my equals. I do not let a soul remain unscathed once they escape my grasp. You may have filed a resignation to me, but...when joining me, you can never escape. I am always near, and none can leave once entering my grasp. They dare to walk away without my attention.“I am the ruler of all among my kind; cold, ruthless killers and mercenaries, Skakdi who infest the lives of others and steal the blood of many like vampires, while people like Fuzan and Tikiani find a strategic route to success, destroying many in the process of their destructive plot. I, on the other hand, tend to business with an iron hand—I simply kill them with a swift slice of my broadsword. None should be alive if against me.” Uzian pulled out his broadsword swiftly from the scabbard fastened tightly on his belt, hidden beneath his black and brown mottled cape. He put the tip of the sword under Delrak’s chin, and he could not resist Uzian’s intentions. He added tension to the moment, and then—“But you, Delrak, I will keep alive. It is not mercy that makes me perform this task, but only as an added force to destroying Rohan. If you trade Rohan’s plans, I will give you your life.” Uzian pulled back the sword and thrust it swiftly back into its scabbard, and he sighed. “You, my loyal servant, are lucky. I had the chance to execute you, but I have given you a second chance—never have I given anybody that chance. And never will I again give anybody that chance,”Delrak thought for a moment, repeating those words in his mind. Never again...I should be the luckiest Matoran alive to survive the wrath of Uzian, he thought to himself.~:~The Toa of Psionics stood at the ship’s end. Forever had she been gazing out at her homeland, and prior to becoming a Toa she had been such a peaceful and caring soul. Although she had been thought of as an outcast among the Ga-Matoran of the Water Region, the Lightning Region accepted outcasts frequently and accepted them in their region. And, to Tikiani, being declined by others had an impact to her lifetime only because she had been rejected by friendly people. But, the Lightning Region was her pride and joy; she easily helped it with many processes, becoming an icon.“You seem to still be pondering,” a sleek and smooth but icy voice echoed, and Tikiani intently identified it as one of the Shadowed One’s Dark Hunters. Tikiani turned around to see the sleek yet thin form of Lariska, clad in green-blue and black with a mechanical arm at her side. On her was at least over ten daggers; two were in each of her hands, and many dangling on the belts crossed over her armor and around her waist. They were all held in several small scabbards, and the throwing daggers were used as a deadly weapon at best.“How is it your business, Lariska?” Tikiani asked bitterly. She turned back around to face the bliss island far down below her, and she heard a rush of wind behind her flow, and quickly Tikiani did a somersault to avoid Lariska’s head-on charge towards Tikiani. And, by that time, Lariska had realized that she had slashed through thin air.“It is mine, only because of the Shadowed One’s bidding, and your lordship’s command,” she snapped, and by that time Lariska did a lithe and acrobatic leap above Tikiani, and with that the Toa of Psionics released her feather-like sword and swung it hastily at her opponent. Lariska did another jump or two, throwing two sleek and jagged-edged throwing knives at Tikiani. Dodging from left to right, she ducked her head as another one was thrown straight at her.“Then what did they want?” the psionics-Toa questioned. She did a quick thrust of her sword at Lariska, but the Dark Hunter leaped above Tikiani. Dumbfounded by what happened, Lariska landed on Tikiani hard, and she groaned at the impact. “Not fair play, Lariska,” she added briskly. Lariska began to climb off of the Toa, but Tikiani slammed backward to trap the Dark Hunter underneath her. Lariska groaned loudly with little pain, and tried to release from the Toa’s tight grasp.“They wanted you to come,” she answered, continuing to bicker through knives. Tikiani then leaped off Lariska, and thudded her sword into the metal of the ship’s deck, and Lariska dodged by barrel-rolling to the side. Quickly she stood up and somersaulted again over Tikiani.“Oh really?” Tikiani said. “Did you get downgraded to a mere servant, Lariska?” They matched knives with swords, the steel clashing against each other as Tikiani advanced on Lariska’s position, and finally she was at the edge of the railing, and Tikiani had a sword at the Dark Hunter’s throat.“No,” she answered, then reached her hand up and twisted Tikiani’s sword arm, and the sword dropped on the deck. Lariska quickly managed a punch to Tikiani, and ran off hastily, and Tikiani simply grunted. She managed to pick up her sword once again and maintain a decent amount of balance.“Coward,” she muttered to herself. With that, Tikiani sprinted to where Uzian and the Shadowed One awaited her appearance.~:~Delrak sat on his knees uncomfortably, his hands tied behind his back in iron chains at the center of the chamber, while Uzian continued to circle around him carefully to study the De-Matoran. Lariska arrived, rushing to sit at the Shadowed One’s side. “Fighting again with Tikiani, eh, Lariska?” he questioned. Lariska remained silent. “Lariska, we mustn’t fight with our allies. We are helping them, and if you possibly sabotage their mission, you might end up being punished again.”“I will not let you down, master,” Lariska answered. Abruptly, the limping figure of a black-eyed Tikiani came in, and Uzian’s eyebrow rose at the sight of the beaten up Toa of Psionics. She fell to her knees, let out a small shriek of pain as a sharp sting came to her tissues. There was a little bit of blood on her leg and addition to that was an asphalt black color to the blood from where Lariska had sliced with a dagger when barrel-rolling, although Tikiani had not noticed it until now.“Tikiani, my dear, what happened?” Uzian asked gently towards his invaluable mercenary. Tikiani, weakly, she looked up and pointed a feeble index finger towards Lariska, and Uzian’s head inclined towards the green-blue –clad figure beginning to stand next to the Shadowed One. “Lariska, have you done this to my servant? My best yet? The one commanding you currently?”Lariska bowed her head in silent, ashamed and slightly humiliated. She knew that lying would not cover. “Yes,” she answered weakly. Both Uzian and the Shadowed One turned their head at the black-clad Dark Hunter. “I started it. I tried to charge at her with my daggers, and we engaged into a fight. She had her sword at my throat at the end, but I punched her in her eye and ran off. I also sliced the tissue of her left leg. I didn’t know it would hurt her that badly,”“Badly?” Tikiani asked in a sarcastic tone. “Oh, this doesn’t hurt at all. As a matter of fact, it feels like I’m in Karzhani right now,” Lariska’s eyes seemed to turn to daggers, and she was about to thrust herself at the weak figure of the Toa but the Shadowed One yanked at her mechanical arm, and this etched a little bit of anguish to Lariska.Lariska!” he quickly proclaimed, his face turning to one of cold bitterness, solemn and now deadly serious. “Do not do anything, otherwise I will punish you. And you wouldn’t want two mechanical arms now, would you?” Lariska inclined her head at her master, and realized that her master was right. Tikiani feebly tried to stand, and Uzian glanced at her once more.“I’ll make sure you are tended to immediately, Tikiani,” Uzian stated. Then, he added, “And if Lariska—” He added tension to the word Lariska purposely— “would be kind enough to go and get a medic for us to put a few bandages and whatnot on that wound, we will get down to business.”Lariska grunted, and quickly pranced off out the iron chamber doors to get medical assistance. Tikiani sat herself down at a wooden bench near the stone walls of the chamber, the torchlight above her flickering in her daring greenish-blue eyes. Almost in less than five minutes, Lariska returned with comfortable bandages, which she coldly flung towards Tikiani to put on herself. Tikiani’s eyes narrowed at Lariska, and she began to attend to the wound carefully.“Now, getting to business—” Uzian began. “Tikiani, here is Delrak. You should remember him, his codename was Silent? He was one of our top mercenaries. He claims he has come back to return to his position. As being the commander of the raid, what is your opinion and do you think we should allow him his position again?”Tikiani considered it, contemplating the decision carefully. “Let him back in,” she answered, putting one of the bandages on the wound and feeling a cool and utterly soothing effect begin to come as she put it on the blood-ridden lesion. “I figure that, if he wants to help us, we should let him join. After I tend to this bandage, I’ll be glad to unchain him and at least clean him a little bit,”Delrak turned his head and stared at Tikiani. He was finally aboard—and with Uzian’s organization once again. Now, he was succeeding in his mission. And he was going to continue succeeding.~:~

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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ConfrontationIt was early morning. The light was shining so brightly through the windows of his cozy chambers. The blue and purple swirls of the colorful skies glowed in his eyes, and he watched the orange-rimmed golden circle rise on the colorful horizon. As Delrak looked outside, he knew: It was dawn. And Delrak knew that reporting to Nagii was vital by midnight. But first, he must discuss plans with the famed leader of the Dark Ones, Uzian and Delrak’s commander on this attack, Tikiani.As he remembered a meeting was supposed to take place after checking his watch, he dashed out of the chambers and hurrying to the conference room. And, as memory served him, he remembered the conference room was less than ten feet away from his chambers. Delrak smacked his palm in to his mask, which made a resounding clang and hurt badly to his forehead.He turned around from the stone-walled hallway and entered the conference room across from his chambers, opening the large wooden doors that fortunately came memorable to him after going in and out of his room to eavesdrop on Uzian, Tikiani, and Fuzan’s conversation. As he entered, he looked around at the sight around him, which came to him as a gorgeously decorated room with stiff yet thick carpeting colored a burgundy or plum red. The walls held red tapestries that were said to change every hour to tell fortunes. This room was not called the conference room as much as it was called the Tapestries of Fate.The long table at the center of the room had four chairs—two from top to bottom and two from left to right—and three chairs were occupied. Delrak looked at the third chair that was occupied, and he saw who it was: A tall, emerald-armored and dingy-white –clad being, much taller than Tikiani. His mask was a slightly grey Crast. Delrak could only recognize him as the snake-like, cold-hearted, and icy Silio, Uzian’s advisor and a deadly mercenary.Delrak took his seat, one at the bottom opposite of Uzian. “Silio is joining us?” he asked. He inclined his toward the emerald-clad Dark Hunter in question. Uzian nodded in return, and Tikiani raised a suspicious brow at the De-Matoran.“Yes, I figured it would be better with his presence here to discuss the plan,” Uzian answered. “He is vital. Tomorrow, we will strike Rohan’s core and center.” Delrak nodded, grunting. Mentally he smacked himself—he had to get to Nagii, but figure out the plans.“Can we get to discussing the plans, then?” he said, easing into it. “I am not well informed. If I am to come with you in battle, I must know the strategy.” Both Uzian and Tikiani nodded.But there was no discussion. Instead, Tikiani just took something from below the table, and quickly put it on the table. She slid it slowly in Delrak’s direction, and he took it in hand. It was a thin and stained piece of paper, and he looked at it. On it was almost five paragraphs of small lettering and words, and he read it from the top.Strategies : PlansOrder of the Lord UzianAs it stands, in order of the Lord of Shadows, the plans to destroy and defeat Rohan and take the crystal it holds are ready. Tomorrow at dawn’s rise, the vessel Jila will drop to surface and land, materializing at last to prepare for battle against the Toa Rohan and any other army or force that stands in the way of victory for the Dark Ones. As I, Tikiani, have been ordered, I am leading the strike and battle that will concur at dawn tomorrow. Uzian will be at my side to let me enjoy the sweet scent of victory soaring in air when Rohan has its downfall.The plan is simple: At dawn, a squadron of five will drop to the ocean and engage in decoding the barrier that Rohan has equipped. When that happens, we will attack Rohan with a full army, with me, Uzian, Silio, and the Shadowed One will follow me to the core of Rohan, far underground towards where the spectacular Crystal of Life stands, the core of Rohan that must be stolen from Rohan to let the Regions shatter from Center City, and the floating island will be torn and sink to the bottom of the sea.When this occurs, we will be victorious.Rohan, of course, has a very great force of army. They have two stealth divisions, a defense team always, and a Matoran army of over a hundred, and of course, the Toa Rohan themselves. At best, I suspect they will spread out through the Regions, perhaps two in each, and will ambush us when we deactivate the barrier they have engaged. We know they will at least have enough time to gather their forces while we decode the barrier’s password.We have an army perhaps superior to them. This increases our chances of winning incredibly, for Rohan’s army is indeed enormous, and if we, as a smaller unit of force, can still beat their army—it give us glorious victory, the one thing Uzian and myself have wanted since to beat Rohan down without mercy. We, I promise all of you, will win.As Delrak finished, he put the paper down, and slid it back towards Tikiani. “Interesting plans, Tikiani, and Uzian,” he said. “But, uh, might I ask where Fuzan is at?”“I am here,” a slithering voice answered. Delrak looked over his shoulder to see the red and black –clad figure of Fuzan. In his hand was a weapon of beauty, one Delrak had never seen before—it was a sword with a blue-grey hilt, a sapphire in the crosspiece and the blade of gold. On it was X shapes of blue-grey as well, and he recognized it: The Sword of Zeya.How...how did he find it? How did he get it? Delrak asked himself in his mind. The Echo Islands...it had been left there for over fifty years, I believe. He couldn’t have gotten it. He couldn’t have...Delrak considered the circumstances. With that sword, Fuzan could have easily been immortal—harmed, though he might be at any place on his body, the sword would heal the wound immediately. The De-Matoran’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the sword. Both Uzian and Tikiani gazed at Fuzan—his eyes were a light blue, like a blue topaz jewel. During daylight they were this color. By sunset they were purple, and night ruby. Depending on the time of day the color would change. It was very strange, although it had been like that since he was a mere Matoran of Rohan himself; it made him stranger than he already was.“Ah, Fuzan,” Uzian greeted him. He scowled all of a sudden. “You are slightly late.”“Yes, my lord,” he answered. “I was cleaning my sword, you must know. I haven’t touched it for over two years—I figured I would tend to it before the battle tomorrow, yes?” Uzian nodded, now smiling.“I understand, Fuzan,” he responded, nodding his head in understanding. Fuzan nodded his head once in silent reply, and his blue eyes stared deeply at the group. First at Uzian, next at Tikiani, then Silio, and then finally Delrak. But he gawked the longest at the De-Matoran—Delrak could sense there was something that he suspected, something that Fuzan was trying to solve in his own mind. It troubled Delrak; what if he found out? If he knew Delrak was creating his own lie to report to Nagii, he would easily be murdered, and then how would Rohan find out of the information he was gaining gradually?He shrugged it away in his mind, and shook away Fuzan’s gaze. It was mesmerizing, the way he just studied Delrak quietly. It scared him, almost haunted him eerily in his mind. Stop staring at me! Delrak tried to communicate through a stern stare of his eyes, but Fuzan seemed to ignore it. In reply, it seemed Fuzan’s eyes said, No, I will not until I figure out what you’re hiding.Delrak closed his eyes furiously, and after a long period of time going over some of the plans already mentioned in the paper handed to Delrak, the conference or meeting ended. He quickly slipped away to his own chambers, a small yet comfortable cabin on the cruiser. It had a simple bed, a couch with red yet stiff cushions and a few other fashionable traits and specifications in the room. An example was a small wooden dresser with a regal print along the edges of the dresser, and the bed having clean white sheets with a comfortable red plush blanket as the cover, a crimson pillow case covering a comfy and cushy white pillow. When he went to relax, to simply lay down and nap before the journey back to Rohan to report to Nagii, he heard a noise.The strange sound was like a metallic yet somewhat plastic-like clang that echoed. He ignored it, but as he closed his eyes, he felt a hard, strength filled hand at his throat. He did not dare move—he simply laid there, feeling the mighty grip of the hand laying upon his throat. He did not swallow, but opened his eyes: Looming above him like a shadow, was the crimson-clad and black-armored Dark Hunter that had stared at him so long, and he realized it was the raging face of Fuzan, his Kanohi Felnas hovering but centimeters away from his face.His eyes weren’t that soft, calming blue topaz anymore—they were a deadly serious, grave, and eerie crimson of anger and pure hatred for the victim at his disposal. Fuzan was filled with hatred.“You...you measly, stupid, and mostly dimwitted pest...” he breathed, his voice sharp and cold, filled with hatred and bitterness. “You will not get away, my dear weakling...you, an insignificant little piece of metal scrap, will not get away from the torture I plan for you...and I won’t report you to Uzian, no—I’ll let you suffer to think that Uzian will not be able to come to your rescue if he tries to stop me. He might think I’ve gone insane, but I haven’t, no...it’s known as hatred, petty Matoran, hatred...“My dear, dear, De-Matoran, you do not realize the hatred I have surging through my veins, destroying me that Nagii, that nuisance of a Matoran of Lightning, has created you to be a so-called ally, and my hatred for her grows stronger...she will not succeed in her little plan. I will torture you until you die, and I will give you the most painful death a betrayer of the Dark Ones can have. It will be slow, and I will ease into making you scream in agony, my dear, dear, Delrak.” Fuzan tightened his grip, and Delrak tried to fight against him, to retaliate in anyway imaginable to survive this haunting, insane being’s wrath.“N-N-No...” Delrak barely said in a whisper. “You...y-you are the o-one that will not succeed, F-Fuzan...” But Delrak’s life seemed to fade away. As his eyes closed slowly, he saw faintly in slower moments Fuzan lessen his grip, the Dark Hunter’s head turning around to see a being standing tall, clad in a mottled cloak. Fuzan let go of Delrak, but by that time, he was either unconscious or dead, but he himself could not tell. Unable to identify the figure, he felt himself drift away to a state perhaps death, or simply sleep.He fell asleep, restless and passing into a dreamless and darkening sleep of what seemed to be despair. Delrak’s mind went black.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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AwakeningDelrak...Delrak....His mind drifted. He awoke, looking around. Around him were the clouds of what appeared to be heaven, a bliss heaven which Rohan myths spoke of that only heroes were allowed to be passed to when dead. He could not tell his surroundings clearly enough—everything was a haze, blurry and almost unreal. He looked at himself: Delrak was clad in a simple cloak of grey and what appeared to be burgundy. As he looked up, he saw a figure approaching him, but he could not identify them exactly. As the De-Matoran’s vision cleared, he saw it was a tall, swift, graceful, and beautiful amethyst and ruby -clad Toa of Lightning, her face enchanting. She stood at six feet exactly, high-heeled boots to her knees with armor colored purple interwoven with fiery red and scarlet with an ornate-looking royal-purple Huna with flame-like scars from head to boot, and she had velvety black wings that looked barely two feet in width and height. She had hazel-green eyes that possibly had a paralyzing effect and feature to them in Delrak’s eyes.“What the—?” Delrak mumbled, surprised at the sheer sight of the Toa. It was like she had a glow about her, like one of a Great Being. He tilted his head to the right quizzically, staring at the Toa of Lightning, dumbfounded. “Who are you?” he asked, quiet. She stepped lightly, like a cloud so gracefully floating through a blue sky with other clouds of pearl. She stood next to him closely now.“I cannot tell you,” she said, her voice as light as air. “All I can say is to advise that you, Delrak, are in great danger. Your life is being saved now, but you are dreaming—you are unconscious, far down below in your reality. You will awake, but I promise you—you’ll be in an entirely different place. I cannot give you too much information to your future.”“Who...who is saving me?” he inquired.“I cannot inform you of that,” she answered. “When you awake, you will find out.”“But—” Delrak tried to say, but the female interrupted.“I cannot stay any longer, my dear Delrak,” she said. “Goodbye.”“But wait—!” It was too late. She disappeared in a flash, everything turning to a bright, blinding white. The flash did not clear for what seemed to be hours, and finally it cleared, revealing his initial reality before the female’s entrance.~:~Delrak! Delrak!The voice was roaring in the De-Matoran’s ear. Everything appeared in front of him once more. He realized that it was a male voice. Above him, he saw a piercing-white –clad figure of a tall Toa, his mask a shining white Miru with blue eyes seeming to slice through Delrak’s mind. He quavered for a moment, drawing in a rather sharp breath as he saw the sight. He could see through the open aircraft panel that they were in midair, in a small chopper-like aircraft. He could hear the flames of the jet turbines equipped on the chopper for efficient speed.“Delrak, are you okay?” the Toa questioned in a worried tone. “You look pale,”“S-S-So do you...” Delrak stammered. He straightened his posture suddenly, gazing around at his surroundings. The chopper blades from the top of the helicopter could be seen through the open panel or sliding door area, and he drew in a slow and deeper breath. He saw he was lying on a comfortable and olive-green cot, with a white pillow at his head and a blanket laying on him lightly. There was that familiar net pattern on the chopper’s insides that was a trademark for the army choppers used in the Rohan military. Delrak stopped for a moment. “Are you...Irui?” he suddenly asked.“Yes,” the ice-Toa answered. “We intercepted with Uzian’s airship, a distress signal was launched. Without your knowing, Nagii set a pair of Matoran—Elite Stealth—up to the airship when you met with Uzian last night. They would make sure a distress signal was sent to HQ in case anything happened. They were monitoring you via some cameras they planted in your room, so when they caught sight of Fuzan about to kill you, we caught sign of the signal on radar. I was sent directly by Nagii’s orders up here, for it was easy for us to spot the airship. Now, we know Uzian’s hiding place.”Delrak took a few minutes to digest the information he had just heard. “So...you mean to tell me that there was back-up on the ship, although Nagii had said that I would be the only one there?”“Yeah,”“That little liar...” Delrak muttered to himself bitterly about the Matoran of Lightning. Irui cocked his head to one side quizzically like a hawk, and then shrugged in reply to Delrak’s ramblings.“Anyway,” Irui continued, “we arrived on the spot easily. Uzian was uncovered, and we can detect the airship easily. At the same time, the pair of Matoran planted some scanners and whatnot so we can keep track of the airship’s movements towards the island. Everything we’ll be easier from here on out.”Delrak nodded in answer. It all made sense to him now. But there was one last thing he wanted to say.“Irui?”“Yeah?”“While I was on the ship...I spotted Fuzan. He had a sword in his hand, which he could use to possibly be immortal. You...have heard of Zeya, correct?” Delrak questioned.“Yes, I’ve heard of her. She was possibly the most famous Toa on Rohan at one point.” he answered.“There was a sword that she had...it was called the Sword of Zeya. If anybody had that sword in their possession, wishes and villainous desires could be granted at a moment’s noticed, but not by the sword’s wishes—it could be used that way. Somebody could control the world with it. I hate to say this, but...Fuzan has that sword.” Delrak could feel emptiness in his stomach as he gravely said the words to the Toa of Ice. Irui seemed to tremble just at the information in return, his breath sharpening, and as he spoke it was barely a whisper.“You’re not joking, are you?” Irui maintained.“No, I’m not.”There was a long, reluctant silence between both, only the whipping sound of the helicopter blades above. It seemed as though cold air had blown through the area, and both were too chilled to the bone to say anything.“We’ve got to inform HQ.” Delrak whispered finally. Both nodded, silence finally encasing the area. Night was falling, and soon they would have to inform Nagii and the headquarters of Rohan that the battle might be harder to win than they had thought.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Beginning the Chase – Part 1Nighttime—an eternal substance, darkness that oozed over land and sea, shadows disappearing that originally cast on outside ground through daylight. The sun had set in the east only an hour ago, with twilight lasting for a mere thirty or so minutes and nightfall in its place. The sliver of moon had appeared from the west, and vice versa would happen with the sun in only a few hours. That was the cycle of life in the sonic-Toa’s mind.Stelt: A tall Toa, clad in silver and a protodermis-blue substance as a secondary armor color. That was his appearance. His weapon was a sonic saber, and he held it strongly in his tight grip. He stood at the ledge like a hawk, watching the stars twinkle above. He cocked his head to the right with a mesmerizing gawk at the midnight sky. Soon, dawn would rise. Nagii had told the Toa Rohan of everything that would occur, showing them the paper that Delrak had seen onboard the cruiser. He was awaiting the battle-cries of war, the shrieks of Uzian’s charging brigade of fighters while Rohan’s military would respond with an equal amount of force.Visions were racing in his mind. He heard thoughts from afar, scenes of battle and death. But it was a haze...he couldn’t see anything clearly enough to predict the battle in advance. It was like Mata-Nui was blocking it all out, to just let the events happen in the sequence planned in life. But he tried to still find the answer, to know the proper way to win.The ledge he stood on was a cliff-face that viewed Center City, the glory of Rohan and its center that connected the Regions. Center City was filled with Matoran on the asphalt-ground streets and stone sidewalks, a glimpse of light shining on each individual’s face when they stepped near the streetlights standing high near the sidewalks.He had been standing at this ledge every night after a decent dinner, and wouldn’t leave until dawn rose. He had observed the city—mainly after Alyssia’s complaining of a dangerous-looking being. Stelt’s suspicions were too enormous for him to ignore blatant curiosity. But his ignorance of who this being was prevented him from doing anything about the problem but watch him, after finally spotting him within the city, and always at nighttime. This time, he would go down to the city and follow him.Stelt—from his left hand—brought a pair of leather-bound black binoculars up to his eyes. He stared through them, occasionally zooming in with his right hand—of course after very lightly dropping his saber on the grassy ground—on the small cylinder-shaped switch. He looked through them carefully, and caught sight of the figure after a few minutes.Right on time, he thought. The figure had white and black as armor, white on left and black on right, with a blue eye on the left side of his mask—a Kanohi Miru—and a red eye on the other side. The being also had a black cape, a broadsword in their hand. Stelt noted this as he acted as a spectator, carefully gawking at the doings of this mystery being.The being was waiting cautiously at the end of the street, laying their back against a concrete building wall near the sidewalk. The streetlight that would normally be brightly lit at nighttime was unlit, just a long-cast shadow in the moonlight. It seemed the being shifted his multi-colored eyes from left to right, as though he was waiting for somebody. Last night, he had in his hand a different weapon, like a crossbow. Probably on the prowl for blood, Stelt remarked bitterly in his mind.Finally, Stelt dropped the binoculars. The being had kept their place for over twenty minutes. He would be moving soon enough, and that was perfect timing for the sonics-Toa to go in pursuit. He put on the dark grey and black mottled cloak on, putting the cowl over his head and stuffing the binoculars inside a pocket in the cloak. He took the sonic saber, breaking it down into simply a tube-like item—a useful feature to hide the long spear-like sword.Now, soon, he was encased with the darkness. Climbing down the ledge was a simple task, but slipping by unnoticed in the city streets while keeping track of where the being went wasn’t as assuring as it should have been in Stelt’s mind. He cautiously made his way from the cliff to the city, glad to see that the being had not moved yet. It had taken him an average of fifteen minutes for him to get to Center City from the cliff, which was about a quarter of a mile to cross. He had made it there in a reasonable amount of time.Thank Mata-Nui he—she—it is still there, Stelt thought.Of course, he realized something—he’d be conspicuous if he was walking around in a cloak if anybody else might have seen him. So, he threw off the cloak as he was walking on the sidewalk near a small shop, at least thirty five to fifty feet away from the tall black-and-white –clad being. He sat down on a wooden bench nearby, to appear inconspicuous. He sat there for a few moments, until finally he stood from his position, beginning to walk with his footsteps silent and his appearance unnoted by the being.Stelt began to whistle softly, like just an average Toa walking at midnight. But that of course wasn’t average—no, it still seemed conspicuous, but he could not help that factor. At the corner of his eye, he saw the black and white –clad being began to saunter lightly without noise off to the west. Stelt followed without his notice in pursuit.The Toa of Sonics stopped whistling now. He would have to seem as though he were a stranger who had walked off to a different district of Center City with no awareness or notice by the person just a few feet in front of him. Of course, this mission would be difficult—he wasn’t ordered by anybody to undertake this assignment, he had created it on his own accord. He would need to find out more about whoever this person was.Stelt sidled along the building wall, keeping a somewhat stellar eye on the being. He watched as the being stopped, and Stelt stopped hastily. They were heading towards the western side of Center City. From what he knew, this was the place where criminals and mercenaries were hanging around, meeting for any sort of subject. He watched the cape-clad being advance onward forward through the street. He wasn’t far off, but he kept a good distance between the two if he made any sudden movements. Stelt gawked at the tall being as he walked quietly on the damp and asphalt street, his direction turning more to the northwestern side of the city now.Northwestern Center City was the black market area, where mercenaries, scandals, runaways, and stolen merchandise ended up. Everybody there was welcome but unwanted in secret, but only the bounty hunters and mercenaries controlled the area like the police of the black market. Anything wrong they put right, but what they put right wasn’t the way the RPF deal with any issue.Stelt watched as the being snuck across the seemingly empty street, gaping as the being made a run for it across and entered the darkest side of Center City. Stelt did not hold back as he entered it behind him, and he realized where he was going. District 9, Northwestern Center City, District Hal, Wheeling and Dealing Hal 9 – black market section, and everywhere would be the glowing eyes of disgusting mercenaries hiding in the alleyways watching him, while his business would be carefully questioned.It was getting the being or nothing at this point.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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In Pursuit – Part 2Now, Stelt was easily regretting throwing his cloak away. He wasn’t prepared for having to typically go into District 9 walking in the dark and damp streets, considering any mercenary would put ransom up for the Toa of Sonics’ blood. However, he was armed – hidden on the back of his arms were scabbards containing powerful, sleek, jagged-edged knives able to cut a being’s throat with the slightest touch. Two of them were at the back from his wrist to his elbows, while he had two more at his waist. The four were hidden with ragged cloth, almost a trend within the district that everybody used on themselves, however some used it to conceal weaponry like Stelt was doing now.The being stopped – Stelt copied the movement – and took a left down the street into one of the darker alleys. As the sonics-Toa gazed around in the darkness, he noticed, at the corner of his eye, the glowing scarlet eyes of a deadly enormous figure hiding in the alley. It was a character he didn’t intend to cross paths with: Unless, however, it was the other way around...He avoided the devilish, dangerous gawk from the person and continued following the prey he wanted to capture. The person who had been gazing at him might become his pursuer, and that would be the highest trouble on his list if that happened – but it might become second highest if the thief ahead of him fled without Stelt able to track him down or ever track him again. This wasn’t a continuous loop or cycle that he could restart over and over; soon this person would realize he was being followed, it was only a matter of time for that to happen. That was the danger of this chase – the hunted will find out soon his hunter, and would flee with the hunter as well becoming the hunted.Stelt comprehended, contemplated, thought, and even toyed with the idea of his fate. There were at least four possibilities of this – the first being the most hopeful choice for Stelt – and they were the following. One, Stelt would be able to capture this person, interrogate them, and get the information he wanted; two, Stelt would capture this person, not get the information he wanted, and this person would plan to track him down and put him up for ransom until the Toa Rohan decided to make a trade; three, he would be able to corner the being, yet find out the scarlet-eyed mercenary or black market wheeler and dealer would be pursuing him at the same time and his life would be on the line; and, last, Stelt wouldn’t be able to capture him, the mission would blow up, and he might get killed instead. That, of course, was the worst of all the possibilities.The alleyways became more zigzags and sharp turns, and it was becoming harder for Stelt to keep track of the being he was pursuing. When he saw them stop – and Stelt had a feeling it would be for a long time, oddly enough – the Toa of Sonics began climbing the building to the side. Chasing this being from the rooftops above would be a way to track them. He could see down below, and the suspicions that might be concurring in their mind could perhaps lessen.He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, watching below. The skies were stormy grey above, and he could see most of the sides of Center City. He could spot the twin skyscrapers, the butterscotch factory at the eastern side of the city, almost a landmark, and the headquarters further to the south near the outskirts, a simple abandoned building underground with special codes to unlock the doors, cameras watch every hallway and corner, and much more.Stelt looked below, spotting this being still walking slowly in the alleys. He slowed his pace, hunching over the alley like a hawk waiting for his prey to show himself. Stelt kept this position overhead until the being moved a little faster, and Stelt matched this. However, he moved up further – there was a large space of street, and at the east of his position looking the opposite way more north, there was nothing but a dead end. This would be where it would end – a battle, a capture, or one of them would flee. The more dominating choice to flee would be the person being hunted. Stelt would stand his ground: He wouldn’t run, even if trapped at gunpoint.He landed on the hard street pavement, dizzy from the fall and trying to regain clear vision. As fast as he could, he ran to the dead end of the street, his back against one of the walls. He was like a ghost in the night at this point, and he waited for the person to show face in the alley. Stelt levitated with the power of his Kanohi Miru upward, telepathically trying to reach this person. However, nothing came.He must be well trained in the art of closing one’s mind, Stelt thought.Obviously, this person had ways of controlling powers others couldn’t master properly. Stelt prompted himself into thinking that perhaps this person was a master of many other techniques, and then provoked him to even thinking this being might be a master or professional of close-quarter combat, or just combat in general. That would make things much tougher for the Toa of Sonics – definitely tougher.As he reached the right level to watch over this being, he watched the being immerse from the alley, still clad in cloak and white and black armor, including the broadsword still in hand. It looked much more devastating up close than from a distance, and it made Stelt have more regrets about the mission. However, nobody knew he was here – only himself. He wanted this to be secretive, and drag this mercenary to who thought this might be useful as an ‘information-dispenser’ type of being. This person was Alyssia, who had told him of this mystery person, and that person was just below him.Something happened – he couldn’t really piece together the events, it all went too fast for him to actually understand what happened. It was a flash, when it seemed this being slashed the broadsword in an upward attack, and Stelt barely avoided the flash of suddenly quick slashes and thrusts that he didn’t expect. Stelt’s balance had become uncontrollable, and he tumbled, with him following hard on the concrete street. His head throbbed as it hit, and he, even in that moment of dizziness, knew he had suffered a blow to the head, at least a concussion. He felt himself eventually being dragged, but he dozed off.Nothing was left for him to figure out.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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AftermathDizziness; confusion; drowsiness – the perplexing feeling and wooziness, or even vertigo, made it harder for the pain and throbbing to fade, and his vision had no clarity whatsoever. Everything was a haze, nothing but blur in front of his eyes, like he had gone temporarily blind. He could feel a sharp pain like a needle stabbing into his leg, an enormous weight resting on his head to him. His mind would shift away from subject to another, one becoming the most important, passing over time to time: What would become of him?He felt on his head a soft bandage, and this made him wonder more. It became an enormous puzzleAs his vision cleared a little, he looked around. His surroundings were a simple room, and he realized it was his own chambers. The room was lit by torchlight, and Stelt was lying on his bed. He could see at a distance the figure of a slightly short Matoran. It dawned on him: It was Nagii, amethyst armor and all. Geez, she certainly gets around, doesn’t she?Stelt groaned. “That you, Nagii?” he asked. The Matoran’s face angled sharply towards his more drowsy demeanor. The purple Calix masked two piercing blue eyes that seemed to slash him through the heart. She turned her gaze back towards where she seemed to be pouring a glass of water.“I thought you’d be knocked out longer,” she responded bitterly. “It probably would have been better that way.” Nagii sighed. “Look,” she began once more, her tone even colder. “I fished you out of District 9, and that is even hard for me. You, like a complete pinhead, walked in there and thought you’d get away with capturing that guy!”“Look, Nagii – ”“Don’t give me that!” she screeched angrily. “Stelt, something like that you give to me. Jobs like that are harder for less-skilled Toa like you, you’ve been with the team for only four years, tops. I’ve been here eight. Eight. I’ve been doing jobs like this for ages, just because that’s what the ESD does if it’s necessary. You’re pretty slick yourself with stealth, but I’ve been experienced in that league of occupation. You’ve got to be doing that over five years before it becomes acceptable for a Toa of your type.” Nagii sighed. Her tone had softened a little near the end.“Did you manage to get him, though?” Stelt asked. “Sorry if it sounds like I ignored what you just said, I think you’re right. But, did you get that guy?’ Nagii nodded, although her expression did not change whatsoever. He grinned in response, knowing that he had wanted that fate for the mercenary.“He’s in Rohan HQ, Litela and Atuu are personally questioning him,” Nagii answered. “I figure that, if anybody tries to help that blood-thirsty hunter escape, I’ll personally kill him.”“You always get me at the heart,” he replied.“Don’t you dare try to make me crack a smile,” she said. “You know what happened last time somebody tried to do that,”“Oh, yeah,” Stelt began. “I remember when that Matoran had his memory scarred when he was slammed against the wall and nearly shot at with dual-wielded semi-automatic pistols with 22 caliber bullets. If I recall, he told a horrible joke about you when you were dressed in a cloak and nobody could really identify who you were. Wasn’t that at a recruits’ graduation party or something?”“Something similar that,” Nagii replied. “He probably regretted saying that one...” She sighed. “Anyhow, I figure that I’ll take you to where we have him held captive tomorrow. He’s been hard to crack when it comes to answers. See you later?” He nodded his head.Without a trace, Nagii left when Stelt blinked
~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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DawnThe crisp, warming golden rays of the sunrise was welcomed at the sky’s peak, the light shining downward at the city. However, despite the sunlight being so warming and the day beckoning its approach, it seemed to cause coldness. Nothing was good about the dawn’s rise to the Toa Rohan. This meant the approach of war cries, ambushes, and the battle to save Rohan from self-destruction. However, the stranger part was that there were no such things at that moment.As promised, Nagii took Stelt to where the mercenary was. His name was Naizu, and he was a foreigner from the Echo Isles looking for war criminals. He admitted to some interesting things, such as being compromised at a distant island far south of Rohan – although he made no mention of the name – by a group of what appeared to be Dark Hunters and another group of mercenaries belonging to an organization. He didn’t know the name, but Nagii had guessed it was Uzian and his rag-tag group of baddies.Naizu had made a narrow escape only armed with an explosive-tip crossbow and an electroshock knife. He made mention of destroying a rocket at a relay station on the same island, where projects were being concocted to create a biochemical weapon that would be extremely deadly, released as a gas in the air invisible to the naked eye. The missile had been launched towards Rohan as a way to call the Toa Rohan’s bluff that they had their barrier surrounding the island.Although Naizu didn’t know the missile was being launched toward Rohan, he knew it would cause trouble anyway, despite his not caring. With a guided rocket he had broken it and two, causing alert all over the station. He had made it out through the emergency tunnels, leading underground to the wasteland surrounding the area. Naizu had made it out alive by the skin of his teeth.Nagii didn’t see Naizu posing a threat to the battle; however she wanted to keep him in custody. He might skate back to Uzian, as a secretive ally. But she created a pact with him during the interrogation, with Stelt witnessing the deal between the two.“Let me lay the cards down on the table for you,” Nagii began, with her tone flat out serious and cold. “In at least two hours, the airship that Uzian is on is going to either make a dive into the sea and deactivate what they might think is a real barrier, or break straight through the barrier knowing its fake and preparing torpedoes, rockets, missiles – anything they’ve got armed on the ship, including themselves. The promise I’m making to you will make you willing to agree to my arrangement.“Now, we need all the help we can get for the battle with those bozos. I promise you your freedom if you assist us in battle, using every weapon you have on hand. According to Stelt, you have quite a weapons cache, and if you shared it with our military and the Toa Rohan, we’ll have the upper hand.“Your freedom is this: You’re allowed to come and go as you please on Rohan, although you are instantly outlawed on the island if you’re seen lurking around the city on the prowl for criminals again. If you want criminals so much and don’t intend to act as a bounty hunter as much as you appear, apply for the RPF. It’ll help with someone like you to throw some unwanted people in prison for a change, our police force can sometimes be lazy with that...”Naizu had considered, contemplated, thought out – everything, just to think about the plan itself. Finally, he replied, “Deal.” Nagii had a devious crooked smile on her face as she realized she had gained a powerful ally and turned what may have been an enemy.~:~A straight line formation was done at a wasteland in the Lightning Region, which always had an infinite amount of field to use for the military. As Nagii’s own region, it was used often, and there were at least seven hundred and fifty residents living in the region, as which none of them made complaints of training and whatnot for the Elite Stealth, any military divisions, and most of all, the training of any new recruit for the Toa Rohan.The Lightning Region’s infamous, tan-sanded wastelands made it easy to test military equipment, specifically any nuclear weaponry, targeting with knives, crossbows, rifles – anything, and anything out of the ordinary. At that moment, most of them were testing Naizu’s weapons with much curiosity.First was the explosive tipped crossbow, including regular bolts. He had carried it with him through the relay station, and Sylin, second in command to the Elite Stealth, was finding that it had infinite accuracy and could penetrate the armor of any being. It seemed quite efficient in any situation. The regular arrows packed a punch, but they were weaker than the sticky-grenade-like – or semtex-like – explosive arrows.Next, and used by Nagii for testing, was the electroshock knife. Its appearance was a dim grey blade, with wires embedded within the blade and the wires themselves were easy to see. There was a button at the crosspiece of the knife, its appearance concealed as a fancy, green emerald jewel. The hilt was completely black. What made it so good was pressing the button once would keep the electricity on until the button was pressed again. If the user pressed the button, then stab the victim, the shock would hit the victim hard, and they might be temporarily paralyzed, for at least ten minutes. A quick charge with the blade would make things easier.There were at least twenty more, an assortment of many weapons, maybe thirty more to count. Everyone tested, and each picking the secondary weapon they want to carry into battle with their first weapon. After awhile, Nagii had picked up a special sword, similar to the Sword of Zeya, but custom made, and instead would erupt with ice instead of fire, and still healed any wounds.Sylin picked the crossbow, the Toa Rohan each picking a special weapon, with Talin picking a laser crossbow with a specially made crystalline sight on it, and also a laser that would make the aim easier. However, it could blend in with the surroundings, so the enemy wouldn’t know it was there, although instead you could see it as a red through the sight. It was quite unique.Next, the Elite Stealth took their weapons, with the regular Rohan military dealing with the regular weaponry given to troops: A high-powered assault rifle, secondary weapon a lightweight submachine gun. The third weapon was also a small, portable sniper rifle with an ACOG scope, also having a stand at the end and extended magazines. It has power, shooting with an unknown caliber of bullet. Still, the impact was said to be powerful, despite the rather small four-foot size of the rifle.Now, the preparations were complete. Dawn had risen, the sun was out, and the sky, despite it being so blue, seemed grey to everyone else. They saw the sight of the airship looming on the horizon slowly, with what could be seen as Uzian and Tikiani standing tall on deck.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Beginning – Part 1The first thing that the Toa Rohan (and the Rohan military, Elite Stealth, and other divisions, including the EI, the acronym for Enemy Intelligence) wanted to do was evacuate all Matoran in the regions. There was an underground network of caves that they would immediately navigate their way to. The signal was this: The Toa Rohan would flash a red light, seen as a light in the sky created by a remote controlled helicopter, which the airship might see and shoot down. At least twenty people would see the red light, and they would have plenty of time to inform others of this if some people didn’t. This would be a simplistic task. This was the beginning and first part of the plan for everyone.Second in the plan, the hostiles would be kept safe in the several units of caves. They’d be able to live for over a month in the underground, with plenty of preserved foods kept safe, including other things that were needed for day to day life. Although natural light would be missed, it was the only safe place for them all until the battle was over. That would be their hideout. Last, there would only be the battle. This would be the result of the fate of Rohan – everything came down to the final battle, regardless of the little other things that might occur within it. It would be a sensation of all sorts of things.The Toa Rohan – including Naizu and Irui and Nagii – were split into three groups, all able to contact each other by transmitters. There were five in each group: Group AB, or Alpha-Bravo, had Jilin, Kuhi, Talin, Spira, and Alyssia. Jilin headed the group, Kuhi second, and Talin redeeming her initial position on the Toa Rohan. Spira still acted as a strategist for the group, as always, while Alyssia transmitted enemy intelligence to the two other groups that she learned.Group CD – Charlie-Delta – had Silvian as the leader, Tulya second, and Canan third in command. Watua and Litela were the secondary members on the team, and the team had also most of the strategists on the Toa Rohan, which was why Canan transmitted messages of strategies to Alpha-Bravo, and the third team.The final group was Group WE, or Whiskey-Echo. Nagii leaded the group, Stelt second in command, and Atuu was third in command. Naizu and Irui were the secondary members, and the only reason why they were on the same group was so Nagii could keep an eye on them. She wanted to make sure Naizu wouldn’t betray the Toa Rohan and run off at the aid of Uzian, and Irui to make sure he didn’t do the same in case Talin was right about him in any way.The preparations were complete at best, with each team undercover by invisibility cloaking devices on the higher pinnacles of Rohan. Group WE would be at Kino Valley, the area where the snow peaks of the Ice Region were. The vicinity was named Kino Valley because the mountains were divided by the irregular and somewhat concealed valley separating and isolating the mountains from each other. It was discovered by one of Rohan’s – the name of the creator, a Toa of Magnetism – comrades, Kino.Charlie-Delta would be at one of the pinnacles surrounding the island, and if in an emergency, might move towards the pinnacle that would deactivate the barrier, or activate in this case if the plan went wrong. Group Alpha-Bravo would be at a high cliff at the Water Region.Everything was prepared. The groups had assembled at their strategic checkpoints, the Elite Stealth camouflaged in spread out areas near where the airship might land, in case an ambush might occur. The whole Rohan military – at least over three thousand soldiers, all armed with procedure weaponry, and some with different weapons – were at separate places, similar to the Elite Stealth’s method of attacking at a precautionary measure. Snipers were set up at every corner.The eyes of every Toa, Matoran, and any other being or Rahi were all watching the airship. It was do or die time – everything depended on every soldier of the military, Elite Stealth, Toa Rohan, and any other divisions of Rohan, just on the actions of each individual.It was now time.~:~Contemplation. Confusion. Bitterness. Acerbic thoughts. Cold feelings. Nothing but the thought of everything that was planned to happen. Everything was being contemplated, by Fuzan, by Silio, by Tikiani – even by Uzian and the Shadowed One. However, there was only confusion, remorse, and a bitter no-end to what was for only one being: Tikiani.She couldn’t describe the feelings, the thoughts that were continuously flying back and forth through the depths of her mind. Was it remorse? She couldn’t figure it out – perhaps minutes away from the battle, she was thinking uncomfortably about people she once loved and admired. And the Toa of Water, her closest and most loyal friend that would be with Tikiani when she was needed, would be her enemy. It made her feel...strange.Tikiani still was piecing the parts of this hard and confusing puzzle together. She never thought she’d feel remorse for those who she had hated for so long. At least twenty straight years of continuous hate...and now she was giving it up for lent for a few miserable, dreadful moments of remorse.The Toa of Psionics had waited so long for the defeat of Rohan, since she left it for good and had betrayed it. She was a traitor, and since she had come back, she was having second thoughts, for her past at Rohan was haunting her in the present. She knew it was a beautiful place, with villagers that were more generous than those of the renowned City of Legends. The beaches of the Water Region sweet with the scent of an ocean breeze, the Air Region full of voluptuous forests.Tikiani couldn’t deny that Rohan was her homeland now. Her decision of whether to leave now and not feel any more repentance or to stay and make it a battle to the death had to be fast – otherwise, Uzian might question her loyalty to the Lord of Shadows.However, these thoughts were cut out when she felt a presence nearby. Within a split second of sensing this, she immersed herself in the background. Engaging the power of her Kanohi Huna, she concealed herself in the air. Tikiani made a quick turn, seeing the face of her definite enemy, Lariska.“Seems like you can sense people, huh?” Lariska sneered. “However, that ability won’t help you if your enemy already knows you are there.” Tikiani made a quick dive to the ground, avoiding several knives that were thrown at her. By now, Tikiani had reappeared, now that it had seemed obvious Lariska knew where she was. At lightning speed she unsheathed her sword, quick to retaliate with a wave of powerful attacks. One after one and again and again she continued to do a wave of several attacks.The first was a straight thrust, the second a quick parry to defend against Lariska’s sharp daggers, a quick swing to the side, another parry, and then an overhead hit that could be varied hitting to either side or straight at the head. This order would continue, although another defensive movement before the next chain of attacks and defense occurred in succession.“Lariska, I believe the Shadowed One gave you a strict order to not fight with me again,” Tikiani retorted. “If I recall, he told you that you’d lose another arm that way.” Lariska derided at Tikiani’s words. She continued to hurl a streak of jagged daggers at her foe.You’ll lose one this way,” the female Dark Hunter responded scathingly. Quickly she cut her knife in a direct stab towards Tikiani’s waist, and the mercenary somersaulted lithely, avoiding the attempted thrust by a hair. Tikiani closely watched Lariska as, like a hawk, Lariska was crouched and slowly moving forward, like she was about to take flight. There were two knives in the hand of her mechanical arm, with at least three spread out like a fan in her other hand.“I don’t think we should be playing this game, Lariska,” Tikiani began, her voice slow, calm, and icy. “After all, we are supposed to be allies. However, we know both of us only are allies because of Uzian and the Shadowed One’s contact. However, both Uzian and the Shadowed One have given us warnings. What if they caught us now? With the battle looming closer, we won’t be in our fit condition for this measly conflict.”“Fighting you is like hitting a practice dummy,” Lariska scornfully responded. Tikiani squinted at the disdainful line, and leaped far upward in the air. But both were frozen, however – their next movements were stopped, like time had completely frozen around them. All they could do was move their eyes, looking around to see what had happened.“That’s what I thought that noise was.”The two frozen figures were staring at where the noise came from. It was a figure that was entirely cloaked in navy blue, with a strangely floral-like –printed mask at the mouth; all seen as any sort of armor was the being’s mask, or just the top half. The mask looked like a Kanohi Rau, or Mask of Translation, with the being’s hand lightly over the mask and seen were long, neatly polished fingernails. The voice had been female, unknown to Lariska and Tikiani.“It seems you two are at it again,” she said, her voice bitter. She slowly walked forward, and while she did, the sound of metal clanging against pointed heels. From what it looked like, she was wearing stiletto heels, holding a knife in one hand. “Well, well, well, aren’t I always the one to fix things?”She quickly pointed her finger up at where Tikiani was frozen in midair, and a quick thin line of laser shot out of her fingertip, and her stationary position was transformed back into movement. Tikiani collapsed to the ground, hitting the balcony level hard. The female Dark One was still for a few seconds, as well as silent. Lariska was still frozen, her eyes at the very corners trying to look at where Tikiani laid sprawled on the ground, looking like she was unconscious.Next, she unleashed another laser to let loose Lariska. Lariska fell down to the ground, and the fem-fatale looked at the two collapsed figures. “Y’know that feeling you get, like a first impression when you first meet people and you already know how you feel about them?” Lariska began, her voice a little weak at first but slowly becoming stronger.“Yes?” the masked female responded, her deep-blue eyes narrowed.“I’m getting one of those first impressions,” she continued. “And I know I hate you already...”She almost cackled when she laughed, and it echoed throughout the surrounding air. Tikiani began to rise, recognizing the figure now that she looked closer. “Well, Colorn, it was certainly the right time you came, wasn’t it?” Tikiani said in a heavily sarcastic tone. The transformation of the figure was strange, like she vaporized for a moment, and then seemed like a holographic figure fading with static, and then she changed into the same trademark look: Emerald armor, Kanohi Zaath, black and blue with the green.“I always thought you would have looked like an enormous bruise if your green armor color was purple,” Lariska scathingly inserted into the sudden ring of conversation.“You always appeared as a pain in the – ”Stop!” Tikiani shouted. “Before any more unkind words are exchanged, I believe Uzian will be calling us at any moment to land down. We know their plans already, and Uzian and Fuzan are briefing us on the mission, where we’re attacking from, and more. We’ll follow along with what they want us to do, and everything will be set.”“Whatever...” Lariska muttered. Tikiani set a dangerous, cold, and acerbic glance at the Dark Hunter, one eyebrow high above her eye while the second one was lowered. She held her sword with a tighter grip than usual, and Lariska winced. Now, Tikiani wasn’t playing a game to just keep everyone quiet. Now, it was a threat.“Now, I say we meet with Uzian and Fuzan for the briefing,” she continued. “Otherwise, we’ll have no idea what we’ll do for the mission. After that, we’re parachuting down with the ship landing with us. However, our target area is the pinnacles. I’m going for the one that activates the barrier, while you two are going for the others. From what I’m aware of, there’s an exploit with the barrier – you can enter beneath the barrier by going underwater underneath the line where the barrier stops protection, and swim up to the beaches. The airship is going with us.”“Let’s go – Uzian and Fuzan won’t be waiting for us.”

~:~

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Going Under – Part 2Positions had been set for the Toa Rohan, all special divisions, and the military. Snipers were watching the airship, other snipers guarding those, and snipers watching even the Elite Stealth positions and the Toa Rohan. Every sniper was set to guard every other individual – it was a military procedure, or as it was more well-known in Rohan’s military as a synonym to ‘process’ or ‘procedure’, modus operandi. It was a more technical term and meant ‘the mode of operation’ in a dialect found on the Echo Isles.The Matoran of Lightning stayed close to the snow-coated ground, feeling just the slightest mound of grass underneath the piles of snow. She stayed hidden with the snow in a completely white suit, a ghillie suit with patches of grey, white, and brown –colored leaves attached to the suit to blend in with the surroundings. It was a key point in any military operations for vital missions requiring stealth and concealment. It was well-used for snipers, and the rest of Group Whiskey-Echo was using it in the snow-peaks in case Uzian and his group would start searching for any signs of a group of several Matoran or Toa. Nagii knew that Uzian wouldn’t want any prisoners, unless it was either her or Jilin.She crawled forward a little bit, looking to her left – down below was a far downward fall into the bottom of the valley. To her right was flatter land, which she stood up a little bit to walk to, just to avoid falling into the valley. The snow peaks were the second most dangerous place to be at in Rohan due to the slippery ice covering the snow. Walking on it is near impossible, so going prone on the ground crunches the ice and gives better control than walking. When the ice is crunched, there’s just the thick snow to walk on that isn’t at all slippery.Behind her was Naizu, Irui behind him, and Stelt and Atuu making up the rear of their group. Stelt and Atuu could watch Irui and Naizu in case they pulled anything tricky, whilst they stayed behind Nagii, as she was head of the group and she could spot out any danger up ahead. She was half-tempted to put Naizu in front in case they were shooting for somebody at the lead, but decided no.There wasn’t much activity now that she looked up at the airship. All she could see was three beings up at the airship deck through the binoculars. All she could do, and many others could do, was simply wait for the airship to either land or for whoever to go down into the pinnacle. When that happened, that was the cue to move towards the defense line, an area near the Water Region. There the two other groups would rendezvous with Alpha Bravo. That would be the defense line, guarding where the ship might land.As Nagii looked, she saw somebody now through the slightly iced-over binoculars, the winds making it harder to see. They had a parachute pack on their back, with gold, dark blue, and purple armor. That was the cue now. “Let’s go, everybody – we don’t want to keep Uzian waiting.” Nagii said.

~:~

Nobody wanted to keep Uzian waiting. Everybody had rendezvoused with Alpha-Bravo at the defense line, with everything under control. The blue and golden –armored being was presumed to be Tikiani, and it seemed that the barrier had activated, right after Tikiani had stayed in the pinnacle for a few minutes. The pass code for the barrier’s activation had been decoyed as deactivation, as they had been instructed by Jilin and as planned.So far, so good, thought the Toa of Psionics, Alyssia.But something was wrong.Alyssia noticed something: Of course, there was a barrier covering the top part. They had misjudged the factor that Uzian and his airship could come underneath. The barrier for the underneath had malfunctioned so many times beforehand they ignored fixing it. Now, however, it could come in handy – if only they had remembered to fix it.“Jilin…?” Alyssia asked, with a scared tone to her voice.“Yeah?”“We’ve got a bit of a loophole here,” she responded. A questionable expression appeared on his face, with his brow rising quickly as Jilin watched her face twist into a more concerned facial appearance each moment.“What is it?”“Remember the below barrier system that malfunctioned all the time?”“Yes?” he said, his tone becoming sharper and more annoyed.“I think we forgot to fix that,” Alyssia responded, her head finally drooping down in disappointment at forgetting such a significant deed. Jilin’s heart seemed to stop for a moment. This was an important factor – something that couldn’t have been ignored so easily. But he realized that it was too late now to fix it, and it would be hard to forgive Alyssia for her forgetful manner.“It’s too late now, Aly,” Jilin replied coolly. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. We might as well go on as planned – but I think we can get some extras down near the beaches. We might pull through okay.”

~:~

The water was cold and bitter as the Toa swam underneath the barrier. She followed through with her instructions – going into the pinnacle, and activating the real barrier. Tikiani watched as bubbles rose from her mouthpiece, temporarily clouding her vision every now and then. To her right was Fuzan, his burgundy Kanohi Felnas like a shadow in the dark waters. To her left was Silio – both beings had been by her side for ages. It was only time they strike now.She looked above – the dark shadow of the island’s underneath loomed. Tikiani made a waving motion with her hand, beginning to swim faster up to the surface. She could hear the sounds of the mermaids singing, but as she turned to look at them, they swam away with speed. They were frightened: They knew the fate just as well as the offenders.Without a moment’s hesitation, Tikiani swam to the surface, taking the mouthpiece from her lips and slipping onto the soft-sanded beach. She could feel the sand stick to her armor as she lay down on the beach: Behind her she looked to see if Silio and Fuzan were behind her – indeed they were.There was no sign of anybody hiding anywhere, but as a precaution, she quickly activated her mask power. Concealment was the key. Despite her absent use of her Kanohi, Tikiani knew it would be essential for this mission. All of them knew now that every weapon they had in their possession would add to their success in the mission.All of them knew that it was now or never to take over Rohan.

~:~

Sorry for whoever is reading this about the delay, I haven't been very eager to write a lot of chapters for this or attempt to finish it. It will be finished it, but when is the biggest question. Nonetheless, I'm glad I finally got the chapter up. I would really love some comments and reviews.

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 5 months later...

Ambush

“So, wait, you’re telling me that we forgot to fix the underneath barrier?” the Toa of Stone asked.“No, I’m telling you we’re going to a parade and we’re going to go get ice cream,” the female responded sarcastically, agitated. “Of course that’s what I’m telling you, pinhead!”“Calm down, Lyss,” Talin said, but the psionics-Toa’s temper blazed more.“What have I told you people about the nicknames?” Alyssia retorted, enraged at this point.“Look,” Jilin said, his voice edging towards a more forceful tone. “There’s no reason to freak out about this. Of course, they may have already found the loophole in this system, but we’re going to win. Even if they’ve gotten in at this point, we’ll be able to flank them. If they only keep at one section of the island, we can flank. It’ll be a change of plans, but it should work.”“Sounds good, but we’ve got to still transmit this plan to the rest,” Kuhi said. Spira nodded, a grimace crossing her face. All eyes were upon her for a moment as they waited for her to respond.“We must hurry,” she explained carefully. “We already know Tikiani has dropped down, and has exited. We don’t know what they could do next,” Each individual nodded in agreement.There was a rather annoying sound which buzzed in their ears, more or less a constant tick, and leaves rustling behind them. They believed it to be the wind, something that was frequent on the Water Region cliff top. But by the time they realized what it was, it was too late to react, and they knew that their plan wouldn’t be able to be initiated just yet.

~:~

“Alpha Bravo, come in,”She grunted, exasperated. Something was wrong, and deep down she knew that the group had been hit out of nowhere. The plan had gone terribly wrong somewhere along the way, and the mistake might have cost them everything there was to lose. She refused to believe this, one of her many faculties – she was a narcissist, more or less. Once again, she repeated the words once again in hope that they might answer. She was greeted with nothing but static, and afterwards a long silence.Nagii sighed. “We’ve lost them,” she informed her colleagues in an icy tone. Whether or not they were safe was something that continued to etch away at her mind, like a continuous ticking sound that repeated over and over. Nothing could keep the importance of their safety from worrying her. Stelt put a firm yet gentle hand on her shoulder.“Let’s head out,” he said. “We can head in their direction, and maybe cover them. I’m sure their fine.”“Stop burying me in clichés, Stelt,” she snapped furiously. “I know that they are not alright. And besides, I’ll decide where we head out; I’m still the leader of this group. Toa or not, I am still your superior.” Surprisingly enough, the Toa of Sonics was not harmed by her harsh words. He had grown accustomed her sting, her words always fierce and full of a frivolous sort of anger. Deep down he knew that she was frightened like everybody else, although she was too proud to admit it to others.“Regardless,” Nagii continued. “We’ve got to head towards the Water Region, yes. But we’re not going to charge in there like rampaging Muakas. We’ll be killed by the time we’ve said one word. Somehow we’ll make it through in some form of loophole. I don’t know how we will, but somehow…”She looked around for a moment. The blizzard-like conditions made it insanely difficult to see even a few feet in front of you, but something made her feel uneasy. Not simply because of the worry of her comrades’ personal safety…but something in the environment troubled her. The amethyst-armored Matoran noticed somebody missing. This was when everything clicked in her mind.

~:~

Silvian and Canan had been trying to transmit strategies to AB for over three minutes – it was obvious something had gone wrong. There was no way to determine if they had realized the loophole in the barrier system, considering they could not reach them. They probably realized it the same time we did, Silvian thought. He had seen Tikiani exit, not to mention hit the water. He could not alert Alpha-Bravo – he could neither contact Whiskey-Echo. The plan had failed, and it was impossible what to do next without confirmation.“All I can think to do now is to dive into the water, and hit the beaches,” he eventually said. “Find the first cover nearby, and try to follow the group. We have no choice; without the ability to contact the other groups, we’re going to have the abort this strategy.”Litela stepped forward towards Canan and Silvian silently. “You are right, brother,” she answered. “Water being my element, I propose I go forward first. Wait exactly thirty seconds to go one by one, and I will wait for your approach.”“That is a brave move, Litela, but you are invaluable,” Canan disagreed. Although respecting her bold proposal, there was no use in wasting a member of the team in case of capture, or, worse, death.“I will go,” she argued. “I am not about to let them get any further towards their objective. You no just as well as I do that perhaps thousands of lives are in jeopardy as we speak, and it becomes far more dangerous every second we wait here arguing. I’d prefer to be the one to sacrifice one life for thousands of innocent bystanders in this war, Canan!”“Calm down, both of you,” their Toa of Air comrade interrupted in an attempt to stop the pointless arguing. “Litela will do what she has to do. We’re better off letting her go – despite being important to the team, she’ll have to go. It’s the only plan we have.” Each sighed in agreement. He added an after-thought: “Now, once you drop down, I’ll have an air-cushion ready to catch you. You can much more easily hit the water so it isn’t as forceful a landing and won’t be as loud, at the very least.”She nodded, agreeing with the idea. The water-Toa approached the edge of the pinnacle, and looked down upon the water. It was a luxurious part of nature, worshipped by the species of water Matoran and Toa for its benefits to life. She did not see as such a sacred body, and simply saw it as a part of the universe, just like the forests and the air she breathed. She shook away the thought of its importance now and simply jumped.Litela felt the rush of the air, cold and whistling in her ears as she dived downward. Inches away from the water, she felt the uplift of air conflicting with gravity, and her body was thrust upward. She performed a lithe somersault, with acrobatic prowess flipping in mid-air to fall backwards into the water, each movement planned.The water was icy cold, and quickly she dived further into the depths. Looking up at the surface, she knew she had further to go until she eventually could reach the beaches. With the waving of her arms, she accelerated, propelled forward by the swift current of water she had created. She slowed down, swimming rapidly up to the surface until she saw the sandy ground just three feet away from her.Having reached the beaches, she crawled upon the sand. She gazed to her right, only to see two dark figures in the night, slowly approaching the inland.This won’t be as easy as I thought it would be, she thought, breathing deep.

~:~

The Dark Hunter stood at the cliff-face, gazing out at the beaches. She saw the figures of Fuzan and Silio steadily approaching the area where she stood. She smirked. She recalled when she first met them – two demons in her eyes. But she was just as thrifty as they were. She had followed her charade for years, secretly a servant to Uzian for more than ten years. She had been a secret to all members of his organization for far too long; she had her orders to reveal herself tonight.Why, she had pulled such a clever disguise. Both her masks had kept her well-supplied of powers – a Kanohi Kualsi, allowing her to travel quickly wherever she wanted, and a Mahiki to allow her to shape-shift into whatever she wanted.Civyl had waited far too long before she could unleash her real wits, instead of being a rookie Toa who was new to war. She had received too many scars, for she was a veteran in war. She was an agent of disguise, mastered in concealment. She had played double-agent for both sides in all of this – first being Irui, the dimwitted, rookie Toa of Water, and then the Dark Hunter who had been nicknamed the Velvet Steamroller by her enemies. She was a Toa of Water and Dark Hunter, no doubt, but she was certainly not dimwitted. She was happy to finally reveal herself at last.She watched her cohorts scramble up the beaches, but then glanced at her own victims. The leader of the Toa Rohan, who had once been called a pinnacle of courage and bravery by his comrades, was now sitting on the ground, tied-up and blindfolded, unconscious. The rest of his group was unconscious, with the exception of one – a Toa of Water like her. She had run, but Civyl knew she had no choice in the matter.The Dark Hunter knew she would be back.

~:~

A little bit of a plot twist I couldn't help but add. Anyway, I hope you the reader enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review if you care to, I'd love it if you were to. For those who aren't familiar with the character and for those who can't remember, Civyl was the character at the beginning of my last epic, A Dark Hunter's Tale, the prequel to this.

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Clash – Part One

“What is it, Nagii?”She sighed, wrapping herself in the leaf suit tighter to keep warm in the winter landscape. The Matoran of Lightning took a look at everyone around her to confirm her prediction. The face which she presumed missing was indeed omitted from their group. She took a long, steely glance at Stelt, and the blue of her icy eyes glistened sorrow only the Toa of Sonics noticed in her pupils. But he made the same notice she had at that moment.“We have been betrayed,” she announced. Deep within she felt anger…she knew she should have seen it coming. A leak such as that is one that she should have been able to plug, able to notice when it came time to come to her attention. She blamed herself for the mistake, mentally beating herself angrily. Nagii gritted her teeth, attempting to put a stopper on the anger.Her predictions had been wrong at first – Naizu had not been their enemy after all. He was an ally most of all, for he was more trustworthy than Irui had been. It seemed less likely for him of the two to stay with them at this desperate hour of the battle to be fought.“We have to get out of here then,” Stelt eventually said. “Jilin didn’t answer us, so they’re in trouble, no doubt. We have to reach the Water Region – the question is, how can we get out of here fast?”The thought sent a blow to Nagii’s mind and heart. It stung throughout…he was endangered. Anger began to rapidly grow in her interior, and slowly her own needs began to take over her system. Again she gritted her teeth, clenching her fists tightly.No! she screamed to herself in her mind. I can’t let my own selfish needs take over my duty. I know I’d only endanger my comrades now if I tried to go and attempt saving him. He’ll be alright…deep down I know it. I can’t go now…She relaxed herself quickly. She wasn’t going to let anger cloud her vision, to let it throw off focus on the mission at hand. A thought now came to mind – the one thing that would help them now.“Give me the binoculars,” she said. Atuu handed a pair to her, and she hastened to look through them.Nagii looked carefully through the set of binoculars. The defense line which they were supposed to rendezvous with Alpha-Bravo at was at least a few meters from the AB’s positioning: A cliff-face in the Water Region that gave them a clear view of their situation. The climate control center which was at least a mile or two from Whiskey-Echo’s position had been set to full power now, for the blizzard conditions had lessened. She could see with more clarity through the binoculars now.She saw the defense line: Whoever the offender was had neglected the group of Matoran soldiers. They were still hidden in the small amount of forestry a few meters from the cliff-side. She viewed the cliff-side next. Standing on the cliff was a slightly tall, dark figure, unable to make out in the darkness. They turned around, viewing something on the ground. There was no telling who they were or what they were looking at, but Nagii could only guess that it was Irui. But upon closer examination, the figure in the dark was not at all built like Irui, but instead more feminine-looking.“Gentlemen,” Nagii began coldly and quietly. “We have found our woman.”A woman? Stelt shook his head at the thought. Could it be Tikiani? But he knew that it wasn’t possible. Indeed, Tikiani had been nearing the Water Region on her approach towards the island, but it was impossible that she could have possibly cleared at least a mile’s worth of distance in minutes to ambush the group.“As everybody is probably wondering,” she continued. “No, it is not Tikiani. The being does not resemble her at all. But she is indeed on their side.” She sighed for a moment. Out of all people, she could have been a true great among the team…had she not run away from her team, she would have been here, helping them in the battle now. But that was the past, and Tikiani had chosen that fate for herself.Atuu looked at each of them for a moment, and sighed. “It does not matter now who is on their side and who isn’t,” he said bitterly. “The significant point is that we need to get out of here. Now, the quickest way, if you could all bear with me…” He took a quick look at the ground – he took his spear from his back, wielding it as if it were a feather, and touched the icy tip to the ground.Shooting out in spikes were layers of ice, covering the ground with lightning-fast speed. At least forty to fifty feet of ice had covered the ground at that rate of speed; he stepped upon the ice, skating and sliding with control. Each of the members of the group watched him with awe, the exception being Nagii, who simply stared with crossed arms, shaking her head. A sly smile crossed her face still, despite her resentment towards his straightforward suggestion. What she more resented was the fact she didn’t think of it herself.“For those who aren’t skilled on the ice can be assisted by Stelt,” Atuu explained, rambling on as he skillfully skated across the silvery blue, glistening ice. “His Miru should easily levitate those who aren’t used to this way. Anybody who doesn’t want to take that route, follow me, please,”Nagii adjoined Atuu, while the rest followed quickly. Naizu followed speedily with Atuu, Nagii and Stelt close behind. Within minutes, the elevation lowered, ice continuously spreading as Atuu created it each step they took. They were lower to the ground having exited Kino Valley, and now harder to see in the darkness – it was only minutes that they reached the barrier, allowing them into the neighboring Water Region. It was at this point the temperature changed, and they would no longer be able to skate on the ice. Walking was their only form of transportation and crossing distances now.

~:~

Charlie-Delta had hit the beaches. Weapons in hand, they traveled silently up the shoreline. The cloaking devices had kept them unseen in the night. At least that didn’t malfunction too often, Tulya thought. She sighed. She was new to the battlefront – she was unlike her cohorts. She was native to a foreign land, far from Rohan. She never imagined to be a Toa…it is an honor to be part of a team like the Rohan.She shook away those thoughts. She watched around her carefully – her group was inching their way up the beaches, just as the team opposite them did. It was best that they followed the group instead of remaining stationary while they watched Uzian’s followers one by one approaching the beaches.Tulya heard an irregular sound of water – a splash, as if silenced for a moment but then whoever caused it gave up on the task. “What was that?” she whispered in the darkness. Silvian turned around. The Toa of Iron was distressed when he heard her whisper. He viewed the shore, and saw nothing.A repeat of the sound was triggered, and swiftly Watua searched behind them. There was a rush of wind, loud in their ears. They looked around again – suspicion and concern overwhelmed them. Another sound of water splashing came, until it came to the point that each readied their weapons. Within seconds from that moment, weapons clashed. The enemy had met them head-on, without any pause. Sword against sword, projectiles firing, elemental blasts flying off to the distance – all of it had triggered out of nowhere. They had been prepared for it, and that was the only hope they were riding on for their comrades.Watua’s featherweight katana slashed rapidly at the slender, female emerald figure in front of him – she had daggers darting at him, while he dodged them with difficulty. He watched as her form changed to an unfamiliar one; he gazed in awe as abruptly her figure distorted into that of a purple Nui-Jaga. He jumped back for a moment, and watched as she attempted to rush forward, about to launch venom. He somersaulted, making one strike towards her that would hit her head on, but the figure again distorted, returning to the previous form. The figure became indistinct once again, changing into that of a scarlet hawk.She spit fire from her beak straight at the Toa of Air – he repelled the blast of fire with a strong burst of his own element wind, extinguishing the fire quickly. She darted this way and that towards him, difficult for Watua to predict its plan of action. There was no pattern emerging from her attacks, and it made it harder for him to dodge each time. Eventually the shape-shifter tripped him: He landed on the ground hard, and watched as she dive-bombed straight at him. His last attempt at a swift attack towards her was a quick thrust of his katana straight at her right wing, and the attack hit home. She screamed in that of a bird’s way, and flew backwards, hurt.Watua watched as she gained altitude, flying off at a rapid pace with extreme difficulty towards the Water Region. He was still in shock at the shape-shifting abilities of the being, but he knew it was no time to think of that now. The air-Toa quickly rushed to assist Tulya and Litela in their own battle against a tall earth-Toa – it was a devious mercenary, no doubt.He’s recruiting everybody, isn’t he? Watua thought scornfully as he rushed headlong into the fray.

~:~

She could feel the wind rushing past her as she ran at a speedy pace. The forest surrounded her with lush green trees, exotic plants that glowed a bright yet strange blue in the night…there were all sorts of wonders in Attempting to get through this was an impossibility – the majority of those on Rohan knew that was not an exaggerated point. It was a forest of the Water Region that connected with the Air Region. It was an invisible forest to say the least, for it could only be seen by those destined to be Toa or those who are Toa.Talin ran faster than ever before, despite the advanced weight her broadsword added to her load. She engaged in the power of her Suletu, and concentrated: I’ll come back, Jilin, I’ll come back… The message transmitted from her mind to his in an instant. She thought for a moment, and knew the next person to send a message to.Nagii, Jilin’s out cold along with the rest of Alpha Bravo. I’m in the Forest of the Toa, and I’m headed straight for the beaches. I know there is something I should do there…somebody I am destined to meet. Your group needs to meet at the cliff-face – an advanced warning, there’s a Dark Hunter that will be there to meet you. She’s the only one there…she’s not too crazy about ice and loud sounds, apparently, so use that as a weakness. I’m going to be meeting up with Charlie-Delta, but there’s still something unresolved before their location that I’m drawn to. Talin out.She disengaged her mask power, and continued to the end of the tunnel like forest. She could see light at the end of it: The exit. It would drop her right at the strip of beach at the Water Region. Whatever was pulling her towards the location, it was a powerful force, but it certainly was not positive.The thought of it all came to mind…the Crystal of Life was endangered. For thousands of years, it had been protected by the Toa Rohan, and now the island itself was in danger of disintegrating. She herself had not seen the Crystal, but she believed in its existence – the island would not be there, if the Crystal did not exist.The tale of the Crystal of Life itself was amazing. As the story goes, the Crystal of Life was made up of all elements in the universe: Fire, Air, Water, Stone, Earth, Ice, Lightning, Sonics, Iron, Psionics, Plasma, Magnetism, Gravity, The Green, Light, Shadow, Time, Creation, and, of course, the key ingredient, Life.A god or goddess represented each element – the Great Beings picked average Matoran or Toa in the universe, and provided them with one special quality that was extremely rare. They could either be on Rohan or come from across the universe. But at one point, a god or goddess would be at Rohan at one point in their life. Should the crystal be broken into shards, there would be a period of time of which the island would slowly try to break away from the core.One time in the course of history has the crystal had all of its guardians on the island – its creation. When they were present on the island, it triggered the elemental powers of the crystal and created an invincibility that would last thousands of years. Over time it would wear down: If the guardians were once again present on the island, its invincibility would be revived and restored.A story that is told of this is that one Matoran is created from the crystal when the guardians are present on Rohan, and it is a special kind of Matoran known as a Crystal Matoran, Matoran of the Crystal, or Az-Matoran. There is perhaps only one of this Matoran in the entire world, and there should only be another one if the guardians returned to the Crystal’s sanctuary.Talin chuckled to herself for a moment. Yet another tall tale told, but I believe it, she thought. But there was no time for amusing herself at that moment, for she heard a rustling of leaves in the forest. There couldn’t be anyone else here unless they were a part of the Toa Rohan… She heard it louder in her ears this time, growing louder, closer with every step she took. She stopped, her heart racing, breathing fast. It was right behind her…She spun around swiftly, taking out her broadsword and hearing it clash with its own opposite. She could not believe her eyes…after all these years she thought she would never see the face again, and only hoped she would never see the face again.“So, we meet again,” the being opposite her announced. The voice was like a chive driven into Talin’s heart. Tall and thin, with blue-grey, purple, and golden armor, carrying a broadsword on her back and a longbow in her hand with an arrow ready to be propelled: Tikiani, former member of the Toa Rohan. Her closest friend…or who was once her closest friend. It made it twice as painful now than it ever was before to be confronting her now…when the battle was about to begin.Light shone through the forest suddenly. Dawn was approaching. Despite the night’s darkness, the sun had a special way of rising on Rohan – the night would be completely black, until it burst forth blinding light and beautiful skies, as if a flash-bang had just exploded in the universe to show the magnificent sunlight. When it happened, Talin took the moment to rush forward as the light blinded Tikiani, pinning her against the row of hedges to her left. Both anger and sorrow overwhelmed her. It was about time to get over it and for her to realize that she had no choice in the matter but to do what was needed for Rohan’s safety.First, however, there were a few loose ends she wanted to tie up.“Alright,” Talin started haughtily. “Let’s start our routine questioning. But instead of going through the absolutely useless barrage of questions, I’ll head straight to the lightning round. Why did you abandon us? We lost hundreds of our soldiers, all on account of your cowardice.” The water-Toa struggled to keep the Toa of Psionics from escaping her position. It was time she finally answered this question.“Lightning round, huh?” Tikiani replied belligerently. “I’ll tell it to you slow. I had a lot of reasons to leave at the time.”“You’re not answering the question correctly,” the Toa of Water retorted. “Try again.”“All right, if you want the truth so badly,” the female mercenary answered. “I’ll give you an advanced warning. It will hurt.“For one,” she began. “I was tired of the orders and commands. The job day in and day out. I wanted action. I liked all of you quite a bit, but I couldn’t stand the fact that I was never really exposed to the adventurous side of our team. What hurt me more…was whenever I asked for a task to dispose of a few hundred useless Skakdi, I was denied the opportunity. But it was worse when the battle came…when those Skakdi marched our way.“Fighting on my home turf wasn’t great because I had a weakness for Rohan. I loved it too much to actually affect the landscape because of battle. It’s a general rule of thumb that people are weaker on their own land than they are on somebody else’s because they could careless about the scenery in another place. It hurts to see such a beautiful land be filled with destruction and destroyed. The problem was, when it came time to defend it, I didn’t love it enough to protect it.“When that opportunity for action knocked, I didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t been given any assignments for any task on the battlefield in years, even if it was a simple battle that could be fought by a one-man army, or large chaotic fights that would take more than dozens of soldiers to win. It was as if I had forgotten all I had been taught. I was confident for the first half of the battle, but when I was essential to winning the battle for the team…I ran.”

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Clash – Part 2

Attempting to digest that information was harder than jumping over a Muaka – trying to survive hearing that was too painful for her. Because of the pressure of the battle, Tikiani ran. There was still more she had to ask; gritting her teeth, she continued to pin her old comrade to the thick hedge, her elbow digging rather painfully into the back of the psionics-Toa. Tikiani groaned for a moment, but refrained from crying out in any form of pain to reveal a weakness.“You’re telling me,” Talin began, calm at first. Her voice deepened to a hateful, unremorseful tone, loud. “That you left, just because the battle was pressuring you? For Karzhani’s sake, Tikiani, there are a heck of a lot more reasons for you to stay than to leave. You had almost a dozen people that admired your skill on the battlefield, and you threw all that away because you were under pressure? We face pressure every day of our lives!”As she yelled at her former friend, she dug her elbow deeper into the back of our opponent. This wasn’t as friendly as she had hoped it to be. As opposed to her trying to convince her to rejoin the team, it had become smashing fences violently, contradictory to mending them in this case. Tikiani kicked and struggled, until finally one of her kicks struck home and hit Talin hard in the leg. Talin quickly grabbed the longbow and quiver Tikiani had on her back before falling to the ground. Because Tikiani was not one to run away from a battle, she engaged her mask power, turning invisible in an instant. Fortunately for Talin, not silenced.Having already prepared to launch an arrow, Talin took a defensive position, listening as she stayed silent. Thank Mata-Nui I let Nagii teach me a few of the basic ESD arts, she thought. Keeping a completely still position but having the ability to move fast in less than a second gave her the advantage: By not making a single sound, she was not fooled by her own noise but could attune her hearing to listen for all sounds around her, more intent on hearing the noise of Tikiani moving. The noise she heard next gave the Toa of Psionics’s position away as if on cue.A twig snapped in two behind her. Talin spun around and had aimed for where she hoped was the lower-half of Tikiani’s leg. She heard the sound of the bow retract, the snapping of the bowstring and the arrow whiz through the fresh morning air. She heard a brief cry of pain, and knew it had hit home. Tikiani had become visible – she was lying on the ground, with little blood seeping from where the arrow had hit just above her ankle with the impact of a thick iron needle being thrust into her leg.With little regret for her actions, Talin smiled. Though realizing she was no better than the enemy, she knew it was a bittersweet sort of pain Tikiani was experiencing at that moment. A pain which she deserved.

~:~

The sea’s waves crashed on the sand, harder than ever. As if echoing in the windmills of his mind to wake him, Jilin’s conscious was roused by the sound of the sea’s destructive force of the waves against the beaches. He was bound by cloth, and knew it would be an easy task to penetrate it. With all his might, he used his elemental power to his advantage and watched as the cloth around his hands, feet, and legs burned to ashes. He grinned evilly. He viewed his comrades, bound by the cloth, too. He stepped over to Kuhi, Alyssia, and Spira and removed the cloth with ease, tapping each of them on the shoulder to wake them.He decided to wait a moment before bothering them further. He had a rather unsightly incident in years previous when attempting to wake any of his comrades, all of them including a knife to the throat. He looked towards the beaches – Charlie-Delta was on the beaches, fighting with some of Uzian’s followers. WE could possibly be nowhere in sight – possibly because Nagii’s tactics of stealth were unfaultable. It was up until this point that he started to use them when he caught sight of a feminine figure standing on the cliff’s edge.Another one of his, he thought, repulsed. By this time he had taken his broadsword in hand, and upon extending it outward, he watched as a rope of fire launched forth, almost as if lassoing the figure in front of him. Wickedly he smiled, happy to see the mercenary trapped just as he had been. Except, move an inch and you’ll be burned to a crisp.Although having this mercenary held in her position, next was to deal with the two figures he saw scaling the pinnacle of rock, close to the top of the cliff. He watched suddenly as a chunk of stone landed in their direction – in the morning light, he saw the ruby-armored being pull his comrade to their right to avoid the devastating boulder. Jilin turned around to see Kuhi, grinning as he rained boulder after boulder in the direction of the two climbers, watching as each rock plummeted downward towards the scrambling mercenaries. Eventually it came to the point where it was useless to send anymore rocks down toward them, as they had dodged each stone boulder that came their way. But there was no time for this it seemed – something else had caught his eye.On the blue and pink horizon, Jilin saw the silhouette of a fiery-red bird flying towards the cliff. Although it did not pose a threat at first, he watched as it flew closer and closer, until it was a mere few thirty or fifty feet from his location. It dive-bombed towards him, and when it touched the ground, it transformed quickly into the shape of a Toa, with emerald and black armor – apparently another of Uzian’s mercenaries.He has everybody work for him, doesn’t he? Jilin grumbled to himself in his mind. Grunting, he controlled the rope of fire around Civyl and rather forcefully flung it – with her still in it – behind him, the fire disappearing with his broadsword still in his hand. The fire-Toa heard her hit the ground hard behind him. At least that technique was useful, he thought to himself. Now to deal with the mercenary.He shuffled his feet, as if getting into a fighting position, and gripped his broadsword with his right hand. The Dark Hunter scoffed at his actions. “Is this some sort of swordfight to you?” the Dark Hunter ridiculed. The voice surprised him as he realized it was another female mercenary. “Because trust me, I don’t fight with a sword.” As Colorn said these words, her form distorted, until it changed to that snake.She slithered across the ground, black with dark green stripes across her new body. The beady eyes of the snake watched Jilin, as if she were taunting him, toying with his every action and acting with unpredictable movements. In an act of defiance, he thrust his sword downward, barely centimeters from slicing the snake in half. She reacted quickly, hissing in response. She revealed her sharp, dagger-like teeth to Jilin, showing him what she could do to him with a proper venomous bite. Rising upward, she rushed forward with an unbelievable speed, almost biting him in his left arm. He dodged it by leaning his whole body to the right, trying not to fall to the ground at the same time.She’s fast, but I’m quicker, he thought.

~:~

The pain burned up through her right leg. She cried out in anguish, falling to the ground. The wind had been knocked out of her when she was hit by the steel-headed arrow, and upon loosing the strength of her legs to hold her up, she fell to the earth. It felt as if she had been hit by a wall of bricks. The ex-Toa groaned at the searing pain being shot through every fiber of her being. Although it was even more painful than what she was experiencing now, she loosened the arrow from her lower leg, slowly pulling it out. It felt as if trying to remove a seven-inch thorn from her leg.Tikiani eventually removed the arrow’s head from her leg. Viewing her wound, she realized it wasn’t necessarily deep, but the injury was causing her to loose blood at a rapid pace. She sighed, the anger going through her creating a rather strong flow of energy in her muscles. She glanced at her former comrade, and she bowed her head. She knew she deserved the pain she was going through now. The agony she was experiencing was remorse for what she did, and Talin’s understandable revenge for abandoning the Toa Rohan in their hour of need so long ago.She felt something she had not felt decades. “I deserve this,” Tikiani said bluntly. Her voice was sharp with regret and agony. She groaned again, this time in a higher pitched tone as she adjusted her position on the ground. “I’ve always deserved this. It just took this long for it to happen…to finally dawn on me.” There was a mixture of hurt, sorrow, sympathy, and an unremorseful attitude being revealed on Talin’s face. Her emotions seemed to seep through, despite her trying to hide them. It hurt like Karzhani for Talin to shoot her former best friend, not to forget see her admit something that was partially the truth – and an all and out lie.“You know that just as well as I do,” Talin answered, visibly upset at this point. “Who doesn’t know that is Uzian.” A plan was rather slowly being produced in her mind. Whether it would actually work was something she wasn’t entirely sure of – it was worth trying anything to attempt and win the battle at this point.

~:~

The ESD leader viewed the cliff-side with a cautious eye, and saw the battle taking place at that moment. Jilin was awake again at least, including Kuhi, Alyssia, and Spira. Perhaps they are safe now… she thought. Her own personal feelings encouraged her to rush forward and assist Jilin in the battle with the shape-shifting mercenary, but she knew she didn’t have a choice in the matter. It was cast her duty to the side and let her own feelings take over her system, or play it safe – the choice had already been made for her when the battle started.Besides, Jilin is a very strong fighter, the Matoran of Lightning thought. He is capable of defeating the mercenary himself. He is strong-suited in a defensive fighting style, so he should be perfectly capable of defending himself without my help. He has teammates with him anyhow if he needs assistance, or any form of protection. He’s clever anyhow, so why should he need any extra help?She shook the thoughts from her mind with ease. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. Then a thought dawned on her. “Guys,” she began briskly, following Atuu at the quick running pace. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s split up into separate groups – Naizu and Atuu help CD at the beaches, while Stelt and I head to the cliff-side. That Miru of yours should help us, Stelt.” He nodded. They agreed rather quickly to the idea.“Alright,” she said, stopping. “At the count of three: One, two…three!” Stelt engaged his mask power, grabbing Nagii by the hand as the two silently levitated upward to the cliff side. Atuu and Naizu sped off towards the beaches at a rapid pace after them.When the edge of the cliff was in reach, both grasped the ledge with their hands. After a few seconds of rolling themselves over the ledge to be on the solid ground of the cliff, Nagii and Stelt, holding their weapons in hand – Stelt’s weapon was a spear with his elemental power enclosed in it, Nagii having over a dozen weapons with her, a large broadsword being her weapon of choice at that moment – prepared for the battle ongoing.Jilin was shuffling his feet, dodging a snake that was twisting and coiling itself, taunting him with vicious maneuvers. Alyssia, Kuhi, and Spira were in a confrontation with two beings Nagii quickly recognized: Fuzan and Silio, Uzian’s closest followers. Another person caught her eye she did not recognize, but had a feeling that her prediction was right. It had to be Irui, or whoever faked being Irui. She immediately jumped into Jilin’s battle.“Need some assistance?” she said. She felt extremely at ease around Jilin – no matter how cold, tough, and absolutely bitter she might be, him being around softened her attitude. She stepped this way and that, watching as the cold-blooded being hissed, as if preparing for something it wasn’t going to do.Nagii pulled off a maneuver which Colorn had not exactly anticipated: With lightning-fast speed, Nagii had thrust the sword forward, predicting the snake’s next movements as it dodged to its right. While evading this attack, Nagii basically juggled the sword into her left hand, and sliced across the snake’s skin. The attack hit home with ease, and the female mercenary shape-shifted into a form unfamiliar to all. It was her true self – an emerald-armored Vortixx, slender and tall, towering over Nagii. The contrasting forms were like comparing a shrimp to a giant with their differing heights.The injury was bright scarlet on her left arm. Colorn had dropped to her knees, her head bowed to the ground as if praying to Mata-Nui for forgiveness. If this was indeed what she was doing, Mata-Nui wasn’t going to be on her side of this battle. The blood trickled down her arm to the ground, little droplets of red bright as day on the earth. Nagii scoffed bitterly. A mercy plea to a higher power? she thought scornfully. She must be joking – no higher power is going to be saving her behind.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

So, apparently there were a few problems in the coding, and I know there are probably a bunch of errors, but I'm still in the process of fixing them. If any reviews for this chapter include something to do with coding, I'm still fixing them slowly but surely. Thank you.

Clash – Part 3

Stelt had quickly joined the fray which Alyssia, Kuhi, and Spira were a part of. He watched for something Nagii had informed him about – Fuzan’s sword. Knocking down Fuzan as fast as he could would be his objective, for he held something in his right hand which would make the fight difficult to win. The Sword of Zeya was Stelt’s objective. Apparently, it’s Nagii’s, too, Stelt thought as he watched Nagii leap into the fight. Nagii had switched weapons once again – except fight with a sword of equal value, strength, and weight. A complete copy of the Sword of Zeya, except with the elemental power of ice as opposed to fire.With it in hand, Nagii pressed in the little sapphire in the centerpiece of the hilt, as ice shot out like a rope. It hit Fuzan square in his left foot, freezing it immediately as it held his foot hostage in the ice block. He groaned instantaneously at the impact of the ice striking him. It was like having a miniature glacier for a foot to him – he pointed the Sword of Zeya towards his foot, activating the hot fire from the sword in the same way Nagii launched the ice. The ice melted rather quickly. During this commotion, Nagii simply waited like a cat about to pounce, toying with his mind.In an effort to keep the sword from being too heavily damaged, Nagii avoided as much contact with the Sword of Zeya as possible. Having it in the hands of the Toa Rohan was a better place for it, as they would use it effortlessly but still evade the possibility of having it damaged in battle, for their fighting style was different than their enemies. With her copy of the sword in hand, she used an overhead attack with the weapon – or the more basic term for the attack, the helm splitter – quickly slicing it through the air as if she was attacking with a feather, for it was so lightweight in her hands.Fuzan evaded the movement by shuffling to his left, glancing side to side to make sure there wasn’t the chance of an ambush by one of the other Toa Rohan members nearby fighting with his comrade, Silio. This shrimp of a Matoran is irritating me… he thought coldly. He was going to simply irritate her, acting as a rash to her if he could. He used as many attacks as he could with the Sword of Zeya, for he knew that was the ideal point in this battle that could lead him to being victorious.Now, it was just a matter of making her itch and itch until she was so irritated and angry that she would make a mistake somewhere along the way.

~:~

The Ga-Matoran watched as mercenary after mercenary jumped forth from the hovering airship, quick to approach the beaches and in the center of the fray. She grunted. She held up a hand behind her to attempt to stop the group of ESD soldiers behind her. Sylin, deputy of the Elite Stealth Division, was leading her own, miniature army of silent soldiers, who were wearing heavy amounts of leaf-colored armor in an attempt to hide. Despite being extremely tall and large, the Spartan-like soldiers were hidden rather well in the greenery.She signaled to move up by flattening her hand, and extending it outward. Silent, they followed her. Up ahead was a battle going on at the beaches, between half of the Toa Rohan and a large amount of Uzian’s mercenaries – it was definitely a heated battle. She raised her hands above her head, putting them together, and quickly spreading them apart. The group split in half, eight going to assist the Toa Rohan at the beaches, and the other half still with Sylin. She pointed towards the cliff, and the eight behind her headed at a rushed speed, silent and nearly invisible as they went to assist AB at the cliff side. It was now just her alone.With the tube-like object in hand, she pressed the button of it, feeling herself warped to another entire dimension. It was like going through a black hole – by opening your eyes, you would have a mixed amount of feelings, one of them including nausea unfortunately. She knew that the scarlet and aquamarine flash of light going across the horizon was giving her objective away, but knowing these mercenaries, they wouldn’t necessarily care. It would look more like a mercenary escaping than anything.She heard the sound of bullets being launched from assault rifles as she was being teleported. They’re doing pretty well for themselves, she thought with a crooked smile. Eventually the feeling of sickness and dizziness subsided, and she felt herself be dropped onto a comfortable yet flat surface. Opening her eyes slowly, she realized she was on a bed. And thankfully, she had reached her objective:The airship.This will be a bit of a game-changer, with any luck, Sylin thought. She stood from the bed, and examined her surroundings. There was a minor amount of counter space at a corner of the cabin, with a coffeemaker and mug sitting on the silver counter. There was a small sink with a towel next to it; a coffee table sat in the center of the room, a corner sofa against the wall near it; the bed itself where she had landed, and a doorway leading to a hallway. The opened door had a name written in gold lettering:

TIKIANI

She put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. It had to be close to Uzian’s quarters, which would pretty obviously be the largest chamber on the airship. She eyed an object that made her grin evilly. What luck, she thought to herself happily as she grabbed the map lying on the table. As she was about to depart from the cabin, something caught her eye. It looked like a small journal – curious of its contents, she took it into her toxic-blue –colored hand. She opened it gently and read the pages.Day 1It’s the day we’re traveling to Rohan. I’m not necessarily too eager…I’m going to a place I love, a place which doesn’t deserve such high levels of destruction being caused on its land. I told my past to some rookie Toa of Water. Her bubbly personality made me want to parachute off the ship, she was so exasperating. Can’t do much about it, I guess. Just wish I wouldn’t have to go…I love Rohan – not to mention my old friends. Not that they would trust me if I were to go back. I have no choice but to wait until I reach the island to figure out if they have any forgiveness for what I did.- TShe was stunned. Had Tikiani really felt that much regret and remorse for her actions? She decided to read on. Perhaps there was more to this than what meets the eyes.Day 2Still on our way to Rohan. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach, growing harder to overcome over time…like I shouldn’t be coming. Something wants to pull me back to where I should be, which is with the Toa Rohan, but another part of me wants to pull me away…- TShe continued to read, losing herself in the pages slowly but surely.Day 3As always when I confront this journal with my thoughts, the crew is still on the way to my favorite and least favorite place in the universe. Typical, isn’t it? That I should be coming back here? That I’m escorted by that pirate the Shadowed One and Lariska the walking dagger? Uzian is using me as a pawn in his chess game with Rohan to get the Crystal of Life. Like all masterminds, they go for something they want for ‘world domination’ or to ‘end the world’. What’s the reason for it? Why must you dominate the world? End it? Why try to even become more powerful than Mata-Nui? It’s useless to ask why. They just do it. I feel ashamed to be a part of such a plan that involves an unfaultable greed and a power-grabbing attitude. I had no choice, unfortunately…At first she wanted to read more, wondering what exactly had driven Tikiani to abandon the Toa Rohan, but she heard a noise come unexpectedly. Dropping it in her small leather bag, she ducked down, practically invisible behind the table. There was silence once again. She stood up, keeping her longbow in hand with an arrow at the ready, as she stepped towards the doorway silently. Checking both sides of the hallway, she sauntered out, tasting the salt air on her lips almost. She strode fast but quietly down the white-painted corridor, viewing each corner before she rounded it. Clear, she thought. It felt like she was playing a game of cat and mouse as opposed to hunting down this villain – he could just as well be hunting her.The hunter could have become the hunted.After a short while, she ducked into a nearby room, viewing her map quickly. According to the maps coordinates, she was approximately sixty feet from the center control room of the ship, or Uzian’s chambers. Rolling the map up anxiously, Sylin dropped it into her bag, keeping the long bow at the ready still. Everything seemed too quiet to her…something almost didn’t seem right. Perhaps it was just a feeling of paranoia – nonetheless, something, wherever it was, whatever it was, or whoever it was, made her feel strangely uneasy.

~:~

With her lightning-staff in hand, the Toa of Lightning drove it into the ground in front of her. Spikes of electricity surfaced, as if roots in the ground, and almost electrocuted her target. He had dodged it by seemingly hopping away from the purple electricity uprooting itself from the earth. Pulling it out, she kept it in her stronger left hand, attempting to thrust it into Silio. He hissed as it was just millimeters from his torso. Gritting her teeth, she stepped a few steps back, watching as her comrades abandoned this fight and decided to watch her move, knowing that they would not be of any assistance in the next few minutes but only a disturbance and irritation unless it was needed.Sword and spear clashed several times, and numerous times one of her comrades intervened to save her from a fatal blow, slowing Silio in the process. She realized that they were evenly matched, and the battle wouldn’t be easy. This should work, she thought, preparing herself for the next move.Taking a deep breath, she lunged forward, her low-pitched scream being her battle cry as she jumped, holding onto the spear and let it be driven like a stake into the ground with her weight and the powerful force she used to make it an even more powerful blow to the ground. She held on tight as she felt all the energy drained from her own being and the spear itself. She clenched her teeth, eyes shut tight, as she felt the electricity surging through the ground, a lightning storm beginning to surge around her. She saw as Silio was almost crippled, falling to the ground. Everything around her stopped as she lost the energy she needed to complete the full effect of the attack – drained, she fell from the spear, falling to the ground.She watched as one of her comrades blocked an attack that could have instantly killed her. Spira still felt crippled, depleted of her energy – the elemental power that was before so alive with in her had deteriorated, sucked away from that final move she had performed to attempt to stop the emerald and dingy-white –armored mercenary. Her breathing slowed down, watching as things became hazy. She tried to raise herself from the ground, and watched as, one by one, the other Toa Rohan were knocked down to the ground from the sheer power of this mercenary. He eyed her as if, as a predator, he was stalking his prey.He took his sword in both hands, preparing to drive it into her, but one thing stopped him – she simply scoffed at him. “I’m an old veteran,” she began slowly. “I am one of those old Rahi that you keep for awhile, that you know will eventually die, but you keep it anyway, knowing that you’ll always have a lot of young, more efficient Rahi to take my place, but you try to hold on and keep me as long as you can because I have a lot of faith in you and would never leave your side.“My attitude? Go ahead – kill me. I’ll always have somebody to take my place. I’m just one of those old Rahi, and if you kill me…it won’t make one bit of difference.” Silio simply stood for a moment, but it was too late for any of them to react. Silio drove the sword down into the limp body of the Toa of Lightning, watching as her heartlight flashed bright red, and faded quickly. Her eyes shut immediately from the blow.Her final thought echoed in the minds of all the Toa Rohan members. You know who to replace me with. Don’t screw this one up – and just one thing I ask of you all to do for me: Watch after Tulya for me. Goodbye.

~:~

Her heart froze immediately. She viewed the cliff and felt something she had never felt before in her life: Loss. She watched as her mentor, her idol, her closest, dearest friend – died, right before her eyes. Tulya knew that her mentor’s death was imminent, but she never realized that it would come so abruptly. The lightning-Toa kicked her nearest enemy, hearing them hit the ground hard, and looked at the group of Spartan ESD soldiers.Go!” she hissed, pointing towards the cliff. There was an anger brewing inside her unlike any other. They did not move, despite her direct order. This was only adding to the agony she was experiencing at the moment – rushing forward, she headed instantaneously to the cliff, her spear in hand, hurrying to climb the cliff quickly. She had complete forgotten the idea of losing energy and used all speed she could to reach the cliff in a minute, and hurriedly climbed as if she had been doing it all her life.When reaching the top, she dove into the fight with Silio; ignoring the fact the other Toa Rohan members were handling the situation at that moment, she jumped headfirst into the battle, clashing her spear with Silio’s broadsword instantly.“Another one willing to bite the dust?” he hissed in his snakelike voice, cackling ever-so-slightly. Her deep growl was her response; she took the spear of her dead mentor and used the identical twin spears to her advantage. Being ambidextrous, she was skilled with dual-wield weapons. Thrusting her right-hand spear – her own – and clashing Spira’s spear with Silio’s sword, she laughed at him.“You think you can take me down?” Tulya retorted, laughing coldly. “You’ve got another thing coming to you, Silio.” His eyebrow rose instinctively at the fact she recognized him. How could she possibly remember me? he thought. This could get ugly…She knew she wasn’t that confident in her own abilities, but one thought guided her – do what Spira would do in this battle. She left the world, but if she was confident in knowing that I was going to be even more skilled than she, she knew that I could take care of myself. The only way I will become for skilled than she was is to do what she would do in this situation instead of letting my revenge take over me. Crossing the blades together, she energized the spears’ tips with her own elemental power, until two bolts of conjoined lightning sparkled from the spears, purple and red. The lightning unleashed with immense force, but Tulya held her own and gripped the spears tightly. Silio dodged the unpredictable bolts that launched from the surge of lightning, until one of them actually struck him in the arm. He felt his flesh penetrated, electrocuted and burned rather easily. His cried out in pain, watching as his arm was seared by the electricity. The bone-like steel structure of his right arm from the elbow down was all that was left, with no organic tissue surrounding it.“You pest!” he yelled, the hiss in his voice gone and all that was left was pure anger. The steel hand launched forward, nearly hitting Tulya in the torso but she performed an acrobatic jump over her. He knew it was too much – there was no way he was going to conquer this Toa, seeing as Fuzan was in a battle of his own. The best chance he had in surviving was to run, or at least fall out and retreat to the airship if he could. He recalled the small teleportation device he had and grinned evilly – she would not expect it.Kicking him to the ground, she pinned Silio to the ground, but he didn’t seem to care. As she was about to drive both spears into him, she watched as he disappeared in a flash of blue light before her eyes. Silio was gone, and there was no way of knowing where he had gone. I’ll find you, no matter the cost, she thought, gritting her teeth with anger. There was no use to find him now – the best she could do was try to make sure the body of Spira was not left there, vulnerable on this miniature battlefield to further damage.

~:~

Nagii had not necessarily ignored the flash of light she had seen blaze across the horizon. She knew that Sylin had a plan in mind, but she wasn’t prepared to go ahead and let her friend get herself killed. Forget the Sword of Zeya, Nagii thought. One of the others can take care of that. I know Uzian is on that airship, and that’s more important to me than this sword. If such a replica like the one I have now can be forged so easily, then why risk my life to get it?Taking one last stab towards Fuzan to psyche him into dodging her attack, she watched as he jumped back, and she jumped away off the cliff. One of the ESD soldiers would have a teleportation device – it was standard equipment to them, not a delicate, fragile weapon that could be used as an advantage.She landed lightly on her feet down on the slightly sandy ground; this area being so close to the beaches, it would be easy to grab one of the devices from an ESD soldier. They would not even sense her approach once. She hurried to the beach, seeing one of the soldiers shooting at one of the dozen mercenaries fighting with Charlie-Delta, and speedily yet silently grabbed the device from the utility belt of the Spartan soldier.She knew he had sensed it, but he didn’t seem to care – the senses of ESD soldiers were so well polished to knowing who was there that they could easily detect if it was friend or foe. Then again, those eye pieces they wear to help them view behind them help, too, she thought, grinning to herself.In the same flash of blue light, Nagii disappeared, now simply a streak of light across the horizon for others to see. A moment later, she was aboard the airship, quietly crouched at a corner of Uzian’s chambers, invisible and observing what was in front of her now.

~:~

Fuzan laughed. “Coward,” he said aloud in his cold, smooth tone of voice. For just saying that, he had received a painful kick to his stomach, reeling as he hit the ground. He looked up at his attacker to see a scarlet figure towering over him, with a red Hau and cool, dark blue eyes. Jilin’s mouth twisted in a grimace as he stared down at the burgundy and black –clad Toa of Fire and ex-leader of the Rohan.“Wrong word,” Jilin said, and with little remorse, bitterly smashed Fuzan’s right hand with another furious kick. The Sword of Zeya dropped from his hand, and he gasped – it was essential he had that sword, and if he didn’t have it, it would not be a good result for him. The Toa of Fire grasped the sword, putting away his own broadsword and simply put the point of the Sword of Zeya right at Fuzan’s neck. Keeping him at bay was Jilin’s only idea for a plan – it was just a matter of making it succeed now.“Sir?”The voice startled him at first, but he realized it was only Stelt. “Yes?” Jilin answered – his voice sharp and bitter.“Spira is dead,” A sudden wave of grief overwhelmed him, as it probably overwhelmed all of them.“Do me a favor,” the leader started. “Disarm Fuzan for me, and try to keep him down. Restrain him as much as possible. For the meantime, I’ll just do this – ” He pointed on figure down at the ground, around Fuzan, and formed a small ring of fire. “Don’t move or you’ll fry,” Jilin grimaced, sighing a moment, and hurried to view Spira.He went to the spot where Spira’s frail body lay. He looked and saw Tulya lying over her mentor, silently weeping. He kneeled down, bending over the young Toa of Lightning and holding her gently. He too felt saddened by her death, but he knew that there was still the chance of something extremely wrong happening. The battle was not yet over. Standing up, he prepared to make a brief announcement.“Though I wish we could mourn her death or give her a proper burial,” Jilin began sadly, hesitating as he saw Tulya’s eyes stare into his, a tear trickling down her mask. “We have to continue with the battle. Tulya, you may stay and protect Spira’s body – if anything, try to transport it to Center City, and they’ll prepare a burial for her at the Rohan Cemetery. The rest of us have to help Charlie-Delta at the beaches. There are several dozen or so mercenaries that have to be taken care of down there. And, if one of you wouldn’t mind, stop that mercenary right there that’s about to kill me.”Quickly Stelt grabbed Civyl from stepping one foot closer to the Toa of Fire, rather forcefully throwing her to the ground and pinning her to the ground. “Take this one prisoner, too, Jilin?” Stelt said, grinning. He nodded.“Add her to that ring of fire with Fuzan, if you wouldn’t mind,” he said with a sly smile.

~:~

There it was before him. A jewel of many shades and colors, yet rather tiny in size…hit, or even touched, and it will disintegrate, each particle and element going to a place of comfort, a place where it matches with the proper environment for the element. He gazed in awe at the simplicity of its design. The Great Beings were both wise yet stupid for creating the crystal, he thought. The defense mechanism for the crystal was of a rather pointless design, as all guardians of the crystal and its elements had to be present on Rohan for its invincibility to be revived and stronger than before. This was the perfect time to take it now.He wanted to savor the moment. He did not ask for much out of life, not power of any sorts, although he enjoyed the power. But out of all things he had wanted…out of all things, he had wanted a certain amount of respect from his peers. He had tried to earn the respect he wanted, but it was always difficult. By doing this…just this…Silio would garner respect from all of Uzian’s organization. He would be a superior, not another mercenary that had power.And he would savor the respect he would earn from this especially.

~:~

“What did you have in mind, Talin?” The Toa of Psionics attempted to stand, but failed miserably. Irritated, she laid down, silent, waiting for an answer from her former comrade. Talin turned around slowly with a devious smile – a smile Tikiani knew well. Talin was known well for scheming and being rather deceptive, although it wasn’t a talent she flaunted carelessly. She preferred the job as telepath for the Toa Rohan to being a strategist – her outlook of it included a few thousand people screaming at her, “What have you come up with yet?”, and “We’re counting on you to keep us safe with your strategy, have you come up with it?”“With you prattling on about your regret…” Talin began. “Why don’t you come back to our side?”“Are you nuts?” she scoffed.“As a matter of fact, yes.” Talin countered, smirking. She could always outwit her best friend, but never running it in.“Why would I want to come back?” Tikiani retorted coldly. “I wouldn’t exactly have a big reception, and I am being paid rather happily by Uzian.” Somehow, deep down, Tikiani knew she was just denying herself the opportunity to come back to a group of friends she loved very dearly, purely because of her pride and the fear she would be shunned, not welcomed. It was juts a matter of keeping that hidden from Talin, a task difficult as the water-Toa was an expert at digging deep into the psyche of enemies and friends.Talin smiled carefully for a moment. “I know you Tikiani – deep down, you want to come back,” she stated rather matter-of-factly. “I know you’ve wanted to come back since you joined Uzian’s alliance.”“Who told you that?”“You,” she replied quickly. She smiled at her old friend, and knew this deal was an open and closed case, no matter what the psionics-Toa tried to deny.

~:~

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

Hidden

She viewed the area very carefully. Around her was a brick-walled chamber, not necessarily well-furnished, although that was the taste of the occupant in question. Near the iron chamber doors, in the left corner, was an antique cherry-wood desk, polished and shiny in the light. A wooden chair with brass button-like notches accompanied it, old books piled up on both chair and desk. From what the Matoran of Lightning could see, there was a bed the size of Krikua in the right corner for him to sleep in, a curtain drawn around it. A set of chairs and two or three tables including a miniature kitchen were the surroundings of the room, not to mention the grand yet rusty-colored throne opposite of the chamber doors.Her only ally in this whole situation.Nagii was crouched behind Lord Uzian’s throne, listening intently to the conversation being shared between two of the most influential leaders of mercenaries in the universe – Uzian himself, and the Shadowed One. The discussion at hand was as interesting as Karzhani, as both were making plans for the future. Typical of these lords, Nagii thought bitterly. They haven’t even won the battle and they are already imagining what they will do after their so-called ‘vigorous performance on the battlefield’. For Mata-Nui’s sake, one of them ran away and two have been taken prisoner!“Will you stay a faithful ally to me?” Uzian asked rather carefully. “I do need some of your assistance. These people will be pests to me, no doubt, you know.” The Shadowed One nodded. He was not fickle or stupid – in trade for his services in helping the Lord of Shadows; he would receive a hefty sum of money. Every second his Dark Hunters assisted Uzian and his self-proclaimed Dark Ones in battle, he would be gaining money slowly but surely.“You have been a good friend for a long time,” he said, his bold-faced lie unseen to his unsuspecting, dimwitted companion. The Shadowed One was simply receiving cash without losing anything; he was not stupid enough to risk losing his best fighters. Certainly, Lariska was his only valuable Dark Hunter he brought along, but she stayed aboard the airship. The rest of the ‘Dark Hunters’ he recruited for this mission were warriors on the island of Toskaniala, of which he did not care about at all. A small bribe kept their mouths shut as he lied through his teeth when saying they were Dark Hunters to Uzian.Nagii couldn’t help but mentally laugh. The Shadowed One has something behind all of this, she thought quickly. Something Uzian for some reason isn’t sensing – he is too trusting of the Dark Hunter leader. I don’t know what he has behind all of this, but that will be on the list to figure out. For the meantime, it’s my job to take out Uzian if I can.She looked from side to side for a moment. Where was Sylin? Nagii had seen her disappear in blue light, shooting up towards the airship. She had to be in this room, unless she was searching for something else. If she wasn’t here, she was obviously sidetracked by something else, but what could it be?

~:~

Sylin quickly dove into a room as she heard footsteps going down the corridor. She was not familiar with the surroundings, but she pinned herself against the wall next to the door. The person walked by, but Sylin had the eerie feeling that this person was simply toying with her. Then, an eerier feeling came over her – there was a noise. She was unsure of what it was, but it was a slight ticking sound. As she looked up, she was face to face with an unusually large bomb, ticking away. There was but twenty minutes left to save the ship, and at least a fraction of the people on it.Oh, Mata-Nui… she thought.

~:~

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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Time

20:00 minutes left…She couldn’t believe the appearance of the bomb here. It seemed so remarkable…it was apparent to her it did not belong to the Rohan military or the Elite Stealth Division. The ESD created very sophisticated equipment, while this had a unique yet crudely made design. The ticker was set in the center of the explosives, and was strapped to the bombs by thick black straps. There were four sticks of dynamite, two below and two above the timer, while there were, at maximum, several pounds of plastic explosives set inside and around the dynamite. Several thin, black wires, tied intricately together by small straps, came from the dynamite and plastic explosives to connect with a small detonator. This detonator had a timer that was synced with the timer on the bomb – when both timers hit zero, the ship would be gone.Sylin shook her head in amazement. It was so cleverly orchestrated…but who was responsible? She looked at the watch on her wrist. She set a timer on her watch for nineteen minutes and twenty seconds just as the seconds hit twenty on the bomb timer. She rushed out into the hallway, wall-jumping from the cabin wall to the railing, and up onto the steel roof above the passageway. As she crawled her way upwards, she felt the grueling pain of a high-heeled foot digging into her right hand.“I thought the last of you had surrendered to our side,” the cool, seductive female voice sneered. Lariska took one of her knives out and a small silk piece of cloth out from the pack on her belt. She tied the cloth tightly around Sylin’s wrist, and dug the knife into the cloth and steel roofing. Sylin groaned for a second, feeling the stinging pain as Lariska lifted her heel from Sylin’s right hand.“We didn’t lose, and you were far from winning,” Sylin replied, irritable. “Also, this isn’t that effective.”18:00 minutes left…Sylin quickly reached for one of the swords on her back – being ambidextrous, she used her left hand to grab the sword and swing upward at Lariska. The female Dark Hunter was taken aback by this surprise attack, while Sylin cut the cloth speedily with the sword. She took the dagger in her right hand as she maintained balance on the angled rooftop.Sylin climbed rapidly up onto the stable, flat rooftop. Lariska hissed at her prey – she knew this was not going to be an easy battle, but she would succeed. Lariska threw five daggers in rapid succession at Sylin, while Sylin lithely dodged each one by doing a varying range of somersaults and jumps. Sylin, naturally fed up with this battle already, flipped her cloaking device on with the simple press of a button, and disappeared entirely.Invisible to her foe, Sylin carefully snuck up behind Lariska, and brutally kicked her with her heel in the back. She watched as Lariska fell to the ground – delivering another grueling kick to Lariska, she watched further as Lariska rolled closer and closer to the edge, where she would eventually roll off the roofing and fall to her death.Unbeknownst to Sylin, however, Lariska had stolen the transportation device used by the ESD – she disappeared in a flash of blue light, heading in a direction far from Rohan. It seemed she was heading in the direction of the Dark Hunters’ fortress, and Sylin knew there was absolutely no point in following her. She was gone for good.No matter, I have extras, Sylin thought. Now, to focus on what matters. She sighed for a moment, and hurried to the edge of the rooftop. Down below was the center of the ship, and there was a small staircase, clearly leading to Uzian’s chambers. She eyed her watch timer for a moment, and felt herself become tense and uncomfortable. I’m running out of time…16:00 minutes left…Nagii, crouched uncomfortably behind Uzian’s throne, listened carefully to the conversation at hand. The Shadowed One deceived Uzian completely, and Uzian was too trusting of him to notice. She laughed mentally to herself – the Shadowed One’s plan was certainly successful. Not only had he made sure that the self-proclaimed Lord of Shadows lost the battle with the Toa Rohan, he gained money, did not lose any of his best Dark Hunters, and also made Uzian lose the majority of his mercenaries. It seemed like revenge towards Uzian for leaving the Dark Hunters in the first place, and he was successful at actually committing the crime.I hate to admit it, but you have to respect that, Nagii thought. She closed her eyes, breathing silently, and glimpsed to the right. There was a tapestry on the wall, embroidered with golden thread, and colored the deepest scarlet. It seemed strange to simply gaze at it so…but the tapestry itself was not what she was noticing. It was what was behind the tapestry that she saw – the tapestry was obviously not moving due to a sudden draft circulating in the room.Sylin is definitely out of practice, isn’t she? Nagii thought, smirking. It was pathetic to make fun of her best friend now. It was such a crucial point in this battle…this was no laughing matter. She watched as the tapestry moved slightly, fortunately unnoticed by Uzian and the Shadowed One. Although it was a dangerous move in this deadly game, Nagii knew that she had to communicate with Sylin.Sylin, this is Nagii. I’m behind Uzian’s throne, and I know you are behind the tapestry. Just stay still behind it, and we should be fine. I have an idea – we need to create a distraction. Somehow we need to get the Shadowed One off the ship. He isn’t important anymore, since he was just trying to get money out of Uzian, and now that he’s gotten his money, we can get rid of him. Uzian is who is important right now…you deal with the Shadowed One, and I’ll deal with Uzian. Deal?14:00 minutes left…Nagii, it is me, Sylin. I have bad news – there is a bomb on board the airship. We have thirty minutes to dismantle the bomb or get off the ship with Uzian still on it when the bomb blows up. I’m fine with that arrangement, but getting the Shadowed One off is harder than it sounds. Deal.Sylin crouched behind the tapestry, and carefully activated her cloaking device. She quietly made her way down behind Uzian’s wide throne, unnoticed by her adversaries. She sat for a moment beside Nagii – she smirked, seeing as how Nagii did not notice Sylin’s movement towards the throne.Nagii, I’m next to you, Sylin telepathically communicated to Nagii. She heard Nagii give a slight sound of surprise, and then she sighed afterward. She crossed her arms, irritated.I knew that, Nagii responded, obviously too proud to admit that she was surprised. Alright, I want you to sneak around behind the Shadowed One, maybe you can try to choke him. Uzian won’t warn him – he doesn’t care about him. Hurry up and do it – quickly, but quietly.Sylin sighed. Here it goes, she thought. She stood up, throwing herself against the wall, and silently sidled along it. She made her way to the corner, and slowly sidled along the other wall. She was now but five feet from the Shadowed One – she rapidly made her way alongside the wall, and then she was just two feet away from him. As she carefully slowed her pace and crept up towards him, she thought about this attack for a moment. She took her knife out, and held it steadily.12:00 minutes left…She rushed upward, and wrapped her hand around the neck of the Shadowed One. The knife was just barely scrapping against his neck – the slightest movement could kill him. She deactivated the cloaking device, and she watched as Uzian stood up swiftly. Nagii revealed herself from behind the throne, and had a sleek, silver pistol pointed straight at Uzian’s head.“Well, well, well,” Uzian said coolly. “This is not a surprise. I see you have come back to finish me off once and for all. You do not seem to care much for the idea of reinforcements, do you, Nagii?” Nagii grunted – in fairness, he was right. She always neglected to send for allies, seeing as she felt that she would risk their lives more than she would her own.“Not really, no,” Nagii replied icily. “You obviously stake everything on them, though…that backfires rather easily, though, doesn’t it?” Uzian was confused by her remarks. She had seemed to finally stump him. Sylin glanced over at her comrade, and was thoroughly confused herself. Nagii then continued, “You see, Uzian, you lost some of your best people today. First, you lost Tikiani…I received a telepathic message from Talin, and she told me that Tikiani plans to return to the Toa Rohan.”So she did feel remorse! Sylin thought excitedly. I don’t believe it…she hasn’t been with the team for more than ten years…“Then, you lost Fuzan,” Nagii continued loftily. “He was caught by our new leader, and finally, you lost Civyl. Who knows where your other best mercenary went…personally, I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Uzian began to laugh maniacally; Nagii was not aware of Silio’s position on Rohan. Her eyebrow rose instinctively, and she added, “What are you laughing at?”10:00 minutes left…“My dear, dear, Nagii,” Uzian began, grinning. “Silio is on the island…and positioned but ten feet away from the crystal you hold in such high regard. Just one touch of a finger and the countdown begins. I do not think you should count on winning this battle so soon.” She stood extremely still, frozen to her spot.But…how? was the only thought running through Nagii’s mind. She could not believe it. It didn’t seem right…but what was done was done. All she could do now was eliminate Uzian from the picture, and most of the power would be gone in that case. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, but it was all that she could do. She stood for a moment, and thought. But as she was thinking, Uzian lunged forward with lightning-fast speed and knocked the pistol from Nagii’s hand, and Nagii reacted quickly to this by shuffling to her left.She took out her own copy of the Sword of Zeya, and the blow that should have killed the Lord of Shadows was met with a broadsword, triple the size of Nagii’s sword. She thrust her sword to his right, to his left, and very close to his neck, but none of the blows hit home. Uzian’s reactions were quicker than her own, and were also stronger defensive movements. Then she realized that was her problem – she was playing on the offensive, not the defensive.As this was happening, Sylin felt a small weight lifted from her belt, and she did not realize that the Shadowed One had lifted her transportation device. In that familiar flash of blue light, the Shadowed One disappeared in the blink of an eye, following Lariska’s same path. Sylin felt herself fall to the ground, and the knife slipped from her hand. It spun as it slid across the flooring and grazed Uzian’s foot. Uzian groaned in pain at the accidental attack, and Sylin smiled slyly.Yes! she thought frivolously. 8:00 minutes left…Uzian felt a sharp, stinging pain hit part of his left foot as the knife abraded his heel. He did not falter from the battle at hand, and simply repressed the horrid pain in his foot. He continued to fight his opponent with all speed, watching as Nagii at points would back off. He noticed her more defensive movements, and he realized it was he, not her, that began to play the offense. Not necessarily happy with this arrangement, he backed away, until the sound of swords was no longer heard.Sylin leapt into the battle with her own sword, swinging the sword wildly at Uzian like a madwoman. Her sword skills were not necessarily the best, but her most effective attack was her spinning sword maneuver, fondly known to her as the Propeller. She used this attack against him, and Uzian, having no room, wall jumped above Sylin, therefore dodging her attack completely. Get out of here!” Nagii yelled violently, and Sylin smiled sadly at her old friend. Nagii was under immense strain, and Sylin knew that. She was about to use the transportation device she had, but she realized it was gone. The Shadowed One had stolen her last one – all she could do was run and jump off the airship.“Good luck, old friend,” Sylin said, and she rushed off up the staircase. Within a few seconds, Sylin had jumped off the ship, whilst Uzian and Nagii were left alone now to fight in the comforts of Uzian’s chambers.Uzian glared at his adversary. Nagii simply stared back, as the iciness of her blue eyes met with the ferocious anger of his scarlet eyes. She smiled for a moment at her enemy. In Nagii’s mind, never had she been so close to somebody whom she pledged to hate for eternity.6:00 minutes left…“You feel hatred towards me, don’t you, Nagii?” Uzian asked, smiling for a moment. “It is a strong hatred…that icy type of hatred that you are known for. I know it well, as do all those who have known you for no more than five seconds.”Nagii grunted. She clashed her sword with Uzian’s, and then said, “I have hatred for many. I never regretted that hatred. I simply strengthened it.” She thrust her sword towards the Lord of Shadows, and watched as he simply swung the sword around with one hand. Her wrist became twisted, and she knew immediately he had caused her to sprain her wrist. Her right hand now useless, the only weapons that she could use with her left hand would be a mace, a pistol, or knives. The pistol was far from her reach, and although carrying a mace with her, it would take too long to take out.She instead grabbed the knife on the floor in front of her, and tossed it towards Uzian. It was just inches from his Kanohi, and it hit with a hard thud into the wall. Seeing as Uzian was detained in dodging the knife, she quickly took the mace and chain in hand and swung the spiked ball maddeningly towards her foe.Uzian began to back away steadily as Nagii hastily approached him with the mace. The spiked ball came closer and closer…despite this obvious setback for Uzian, Nagii was still at a disadvantage. Unlike Sylin, she was more attuned to using her right hand, not both her left and right hands. She held the mace with a shaky left hand, while her wretched right hand hung limp at her side – she was approaching Uzian until he was but four feet away.4:00 minutes left…Silio smiled. It was there in front of him…he knew he had probably savored this moment long enough. As he was about to touch it, he heard a telepathic message from his master, the Lord of Shadows.Do not touch it…not yet, Uzian said mentally. I shall give you the order to do so. Wait patiently for the orders, and when you hear my command, do not hesitate to proceed. The opportunity is coming…alright, now!Silio lunged forward, as his hand grasped the crystal. Within seconds he watched as the most marvelous of events unfolded before him – each colored shard leapt from its position inside the crystal, and went easily through solid structure to its destination far away from Rohan. The disintegration of the Crystal of Life happened within the blink of an eye. Light obstructed his view, and he became blinded, while all the elements released a small bit of their power in front of them.He felt the fire, the cool water, the soft breeze, the icy mist, the dirt beneath his feet, and the rocks of the cave beginning to collapse around him. Lightning was striking, while light blinded him yet shadow shrouded him in darkness. It was a completely insane display of the elements around him, and yet he believed every second. Suddenly, there was an unexpected rumble. A shockwave was released from the crystal in one last farewell to Rohan, and it exploded, each disparaging shard crying its last cry and disappearing to their rightful environment. Silio grinned, and he disappeared with the use of the transportation device to Odus, the base of the Dark Ones. Mission accomplished, my lord, he communicated to the Lord of Shadows.2:00 minutes left…The shock wave released from the Crystal of Life’s disintegration process made the airship rumble, even slightly losing its balance and tilting it in one direction. Nagii felt herself slip as the airship slanted beneath her feet, and the rapid inclination of the airship caused her to fall. Most of the objects in the room slid to the far right wall, while Nagii felt herself slide with the objects. Uzian held his ground by using the knife buried in the wall as a hanging tool. He dangled from it rather helplessly, while his Matoran of Lightning nemesis hit the wall hard. He noted her dropping her transportation device, and he hastily swiped it from the ground.“Dear, dear, Nagii,” he said, smiling. “Let us finish the battle that we have begun. And although some might consider it the coward’s way out, I consider it the smart way out.”He was fully aware of the bomb on board the ship. And he had used this knowledge to his advantage by using the detonator supplied to him by the Shadowed One, a little something he had acquired or stolen from his once ally. Should the timer on the detonator not work, the Shadowed One kept it as a spare detonator. Fortunately for Uzian, it was perfect for him to steal. Uzian released himself from the knife, and slid downward, until he teleported just before he made contact with the wall.From the comforts of his home on Odus, Uzian clicked the detonator with no remorse.0:00 minutes left…Sylin felt the exhilaration of free-falling to the ice cold ocean water below her. As she was a few hundred feet away from her final destination in the water, she heard the ear-shattering sound of an explosion. Just as she heard this, she felt herself hit the water. She swam hastily to the surface, and the Ga-Matoran looked above to see a fireball of smoke and orange flames produce from the once undamaged airship.The airship split completely in two, and she watched as it fell faster than she had to the ocean waters. The blinding flash from the bomb seemed to sear her eyes, and she could feel the heat from the explosion. She defended herself hurriedly by swimming as fast as she could towards Rohan, going underneath the surface. She felt the stinging pain of a cold, lonely world…but she did not feel this because of the dense ocean waters. It was the death of her dear friend Nagii – somehow, Sylin knew that there was no possible way that Nagii survived the explosion. Despite Nagii’s already cold mannerism, Nagii added her own warmth to Rohan, warmth beloved by all of the Toa Rohan and people of Rohan.Rest in peace, Nagii. You shall be dearly missed, Sylin thought, and as she touched the surface, it was not the water of the ocean she felt on her face. They were tears.

~:~

From tears we find pain,And from pain we find strength.From strength we find vengeance,But the vengeance of a thousand samurai,Could never replace your existence here.Goodbye, dear friend,For we have parted ways.Whether it is a year or a thousand days,I will not forget you until the very end.

end

~:~

Edited by Peach 00

On the day the wall came down / They threw the locks onto the ground

And with glasses high / We raised a cry / For freedom had arrived

 

On the day the wall came down / The ship of fools had finally run aground

Promises lit up the night / Like paper doves in flight

 

I dreamed you had left my side / No warmth, not even pride remained

And even though you needed me / It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

 

Now life devalues day by day / As friends and neighbors turn away

And there's a change that even with regret / Cannot be undone

 

Now frontiers shift like desert sands / While nations wash their bloodied hands

Of loyalty, of history / In shades of grey

 

I woke to the sound of drums / The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you / And all but the bitter residues slipped away

 

slipped away...

 

 

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