Jump to content

Aderia

Recommended Posts

fauxbanner2.gif

Prequel: Perfectionist (A Short Story)

₪҉₪

Part 1 Setting the Stage: A mission of infiltration, a plan twisted enough for Karzahni himself, and a manipulated son of Makuta at its center. Borrowing from the dead to steal from the living, this sinister plot aims to destroy an entire Stronghold of Toa, and at the same time, put Metru Nui itself at the mercy of the Makuta. And as we know, Makuta have no mercy.

₪҉₪

“You were created to be perfect. Anything less is unacceptable.”Those were the words that had welcomed Evior into the world. He had woken up on a bright metal lab table, being carefully observed by Makuta scientists. Evior was every bit the spawn of the Makuta. He had the dark armor and surly air about him, completed by a handsome Kanohi Shelek. In his short century and a half, he had been trained like any Makuta would be. Occasionally he was sent to oversee external Visorak movement, or acted as a trainer for Rahkshi or other minions. But mostly he served as the main hit man for the Makuta. If they needed someone captured, it was his job. If they wanted something stolen, he took care of it. And more often than not, they needed these errands run. Once in a blue moon did they actually order an assassination, but when they did, the duty was his.Slightly taller than a Vortixx and muscular like a Makuta, Evior made an intimidating enemy. The Makuta knew this. But even more dangerous was his barbed whip, which was his weapon of choice. If his physical prowess and combat capability failed, Evior had at his disposal the same forty two Kraata powers that the Makuta did. The drawback was, however, he could only use them for short periods of time, or at a very low level of power before he succumbed to the resulting headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. Somewhere deep within the fortresses of Destral, in some underground lab, designs to negate this drawback were being worked on.Evior had yet to fail a mission. And this, he assumed, was the perfection that was expected of him.Now, as he sat in a shallow cavern, more of a scoop out of the side of a hill, Evior tried to imagine what would happen if his current mission did not succeed. The ring of lightstones in the center of the cavern cast dramatic shadows over his companions. This was a completely different kind of mission. It required stealth, it required deceit, it required wit and constant vigilance. Most importantly, and what Evior found most frustrating, is that he could not complete it alone. The two of his companions were bickering like rahi birds, making no attempt to keep their voices hushed.“I’m telling you, this is the worst possible place to set camp,” Kalott’s voice was shrill with irritation. From a distance, one might think her a Vortixx. But upon closer observation, it was clear she was not. She was more gangly than lithe and wore a Kanohi mask, whereas Vortixx do not.“If you don’t like it, then you can go scout out a new location. I for one am perfectly content here,” the other being replied. This was Scuro. He was almost comically opposite of Kalott. He was a red and brown armored brute, and this unfortunate color combination left the impression of rust. He could wrestle down an Arthaka Bull and still have strength to spare. A fierce light danced in his eyes, and the combination of the glow of the lightstones and the curve of his Kanohi Tryna made him look savage.“The wind and rain are going to blow straight in here. You’re lucky we don’t have a real fire to feed.” A scowl darkened her Kanohi Iden.The two sides of the argument pressed on, neither of the two seemingly willing to shut up. Evior’s gaze fell upon the last ‘member’ of their party, lying as silent as ever in the back of the cave. His mission, his team’s mission, was to infiltrate and secure the Toa Stronghold on this island for the Makuta. The Brotherhood wanted this particular island due to its proximity to Metru Nui. And now it was within their grasp, thanks to this last part of the team.Ducha, Toa of Water, or at least, she used to be. A Brotherhood operative had come across her body, crushed by a rockslide, about a year ago. Sources identified her, and traced her back to the Stronghold. Makuta Mutran had formulated the plan from that point. Evior didn’t know how to feel about this job. While it was genius, the immorality of it haunted him continuously.As much as Evior didn’t enjoy the presence of Scuro and Kalott, they were a key part to this mission’s success. Evior’s job was overseer and guardian, which didn’t bother him. But Scuro and Kalott had the real work to do, and their task sent chills through Evior’s frame. Working together with their respective Kanohi Tryna and Kanohi Iden, they would puppeteer the body of the Toa of Water, thus gaining access to the Stronghold.Dark clouds obscured the setting suns. The ceaseless jabbering presently brought Evior back from his wandering thoughts.“Tomorrow’s a big day,” He cut in abruptly, and his companions fell quiet. “You need rest.”“Good idea,” Scuro nodded. “Kalott can keep watch first.”“What? And get soaked through the armor by this storm that’s coming? I don’t think so.” She shook her head indignantly.“The storm will pass us by, don’t worry.” Evior said tiredly. They’d spent a sleepless two days traveling to the island, and then trekked another half a day to their little cave from where they’d concealed their ship. They were all exhausted. “I’ll stand guard,” He told them, even though he had no intention. There was no need for a guard. As Scuro and Kalott milled around, trying to settle down, Evior closed his eyes and focused. Invisible energy pulsed out of Evior, and the two of his companions dropped immediately into a Kraata-power induced slumber. “Sweet dreams.” He murmured, drifting off in histurn.

₪҉₪

Toa Inéha sat up, gasping and trying to suck air back into her body. The black and purple armored hand of her sparring partner, a Toa of Gravity, appeared in her unfocused field of vision. Obligingly, she grabbed it, and was hoisted to her feet. She tried to squeeze out her thanks between undignified, gaping inhalations, but had to suffice with a grateful slap to her partner’s back. “The Great Spirit gave us Elemental Powers for a reason, you know,” Valeron chuckled as the young Toa of Psionics recuperated. “This was a training session!” She told him accusingly, leaning heavily on her trident, although she couldn’t keep a smile from creeping onto her Kanohi. “You had no need to drop me from thirty feet up in the air.” “I had every need,” the Toa of Gravity countered, returning the smile and mock indignity. “In a real battle, your opponent wouldn’t help you up after you got the wind knocked out of you, Inéha. The least you can do is attack his mind while you recover. But really, what you should have done is one of those telekinesis tricks and landed on your feet.” “Yeah, well,” Inéha shook her head. “I don’t plan to be falling thirty feet in a real battle any time soon.” “You don’t plan those types of things,” Valeron told her, most of his light mood had worn off. “Whatever you say, Valeron,” Inéha consented. “So what do you say? Are you up for a patrol, old timer?”

₪҉₪

“Do you think it’s true?” Inéha inquired, nudging Valeron’s arm as the two of them picked their way along the rocky beach that ringed the front half of the Stronghold. “You know, about the Dark Hunters and the war in Metru Nui?” “I know it’s true,” her companion answered, eyes not wavering from his path. “They talk about it in the Control meetings every week. “Oh,” The idea of war, both the innocent and the instigators dying, put a damper on Inéha’s mood. “Well things have been awfully quiet around here for a time of war, don’t you think?” The Toa of Gravity nodded, “But don’t get comfortable. If Metru Nui calls for help, we’ll be the first to know.” The Toa of Psionics cast her eyes towards the horizon. The suns were just beginning to descend. She saw a ship way off in the distance, probably on its way back from a distant trade. “I’m a Toa. Life should be adventure, and danger, and adrenaline. Not training and patrols and sentry duty. What good is all that training you put me through, if I don’t have a chance to apply it?” “You’ll never be assigned to a field position if you don’t learn to use those Psionic powers of yours in battle.” Valeron reminded her. Inéha replied, “What good are flimsy Psionic powers, really? I’d rather be able to move mountains and shake the earth.” “And with enough training, you can do just that.” Valeron sighed, because they’d been over this a thousand times. “Valeron, I’m no Toa of Earth. You know that,” She refused to meet his eyes. “What I’m suggesting,” Her mentor continued, “is that you focus on training with your Elemental Powers, instead of your hand to hand combat or weapon specialization. Think about it. You could provoke a herd of rahi-bull into a stampede. You could trigger an avalanche with a well placed telekinetic blast. Is that much different from causing earthquakes or moving mountains?” Inéha shook her head no. She’d heard this whole spiel before, or at least the like. The Toa of Psionics frowned, and activated her Kanohi Mask. “Do you know why I chose this mask?” She asked the Toa of Gravity. But she didn’t give him time to answer. “When I was a Matoran, the village I lived in had one Toa. And she was a Toa of Psionics. And trust me when I say she was almost as well trained in her element as you are in yours. But all it took was one enemy, one, with a mind shield. The Toa was no match for his raw strength. The enemy turned out to be an assassin, coming after our Turaga. A few of us Matoran tried to stop him, but really, what match were we? We ended up losing four Matoran, one Toa, and one Turaga to the brute, because our one protector couldn’t even throw a decent punch.”Inéha emphasized this with a punch of her own that shattered a nearby boulder to fragments. “And when I became I toa, I promised myself that wouldn’t be me. That’s why I got rid of my Mask of Possibilities, which is a mask most Toa would be lucky to wear in their lifetime. I traded it for a Mask of Strength. And my Pakari gives me more than just strength, it gives me security.”Valeron had been nodding in understanding, and he saw that Inéha was winding down. He saw a chance to voice his thoughts. “To be honest, Inéha, I think the only ones on this island that could best you in physical combat are the commanders here. If you’re not satisfied with that, I don’t know what to tell you. But if you learn to master your element, you would be unbeatable, simple as that. And if you would just let me, I could show you how.”Inéha was silent as she began walking again. Valeron followed, letting the young Toa mull things over. She’d been a Toa for almost three decades, and he’d known her for about fourteen and a half years. She was no fool, but she was not without her own stubbornness. After it became clear that she needed no more combat or physical training as she insisted, Valeron had taken every chance he could to encourage, nag, remind, suggest, and advise her to start using her elemental powers. He knew it irritated her, but he hoped that one day his message would stick.He’d heard the watered down version of her story before, but even with today’s expansion, it still didn’t completely explain her stark refusal to use her elemental powers. Valeron knew that she knew she was one of the best fighters; she didn’t need him to tell her. Even so, she did not want to move on to elemental training. It was strange, because most young Toa chose to hone their elemental powers before anything else. Valeron’s best guess was that something scared her about using her powers, but he couldn’t be sure. If he was to be the best mentor he could be, Inéha would have to be the best learner she could be. But for now, he would work with what she gave him.He had begun to review in his mind the lessons of his own youth when quiet laughter caught his attention instead. “What’s so funny?” He asked.“You’ve been my teacher for so long now, almost a full decade. And it’s taken me this long to figure out that the old ones really are thewiser ones. Whenever you want to begin this new training, I’m ready.”

₪҉₪

Edited by Aderia: Toa of Ducklings

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

₪҉₪

Part 2

₪҉₪

“For Karzahni’s blasted sake, will you stop it?!” Evior growled at the being that walked beside him. Her plastered smile only widened. “It’s unnerving.”To any outsider, she looked like any other Toa of Water, if not a little worn out. Her armor was dusty blue with age, and marred by some dents that could never be fixed. She walked with a slight limp and was blind in one eye. Her Mask of Speed wore a forced smile, as her one good eye followed the rock strewn coastline up towards the Toa Stronghold on the far coast of the small island.She was Toa Ducha, except not really. She was Kalott’s spirit in Ducha’s corpse that had been reanimated by Scuro’s mask. Scuro and Kalott were holed up in the small cave, completely hidden from the world. Evior could not begin to fathom the amount of willpower and focus they needed to maintain this marionette masquerade for hours on end. And Kalott insisted on having Ducha walk around with a fake smile that came off as disturbing. Evior and Faux Ducha were trekking up towards the Stronghold on the coast, following a well worn patrol path.“It’s only unnerving because you know who I really am. No Toa here will know the difference. Don’t worry,” Ducha reassured him. The pair of them continued towards the Stronghold slowly but steadily. Faux Ducha’s limp was making Evior impatient.“Let me cut you a staff, we’ll be able to move faster.” He said. It wasn’t an offer, or even a suggestion. He was surprised when the Toa of Water stopped dead, and glared daggers at him. “What?”“Wow. Just wow. I’d heard that you didn’t get out much, Evior, but you really need to learn some things about the world.” Faux Ducha reprimanded him.“I…I don’t follow.” Evior frowned, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong.Faux Ducha’s exhale emerged as an exasperated sigh. “Evior, you’re worthless, ugly and pathetic.”“Excuse me?!” Evior was insulted.The Toa of Water smiled, for real this time. “See, you’re offended. You’re going to have to learn that other people have feelings too. And some people, in particular females, have this thing called ‘self-consciousness’. They may or may not be sensitive about certain things, like a scar or in this case, a handicap like a limp. It’s best not to bring up things like that. Period.”Evior’s frown had slackened as his companion had explained. This was Kalott talking, not Faux Ducha. “You’re out of character.” He told her distractedly.“I know. I didn’t work centuries in intense psychoanalysis for nothing.” She told him, as she started heading for the Toa Stronghold once more. “And Evior, don’t take this the wrong way, but until you get more…comfortable… around people, you’d better let me do most of the talking.”“Yeah, I get it. No problem.” Evior nodded. He’d spent a few months while he was learning to oversee the Visorak observing their social structure and interactions, but a closely knit society of highly intelligent Toa was a whole different game. He had assumed that the Stronghold would be something like that of Destral, in terms of atmosphere and associations. However, the way Kalott was acting in Ducha’s body, and the way she was grooming him to behave suggested otherwise. All of the sudden, he was a bit more appreciative of his partners on this mission.“Kalott?” he called, catching up to her.“Who?” Came the innocent reply.“Ducha,” Evior corrected himself. “Ducha, how are we going to get in? Will they just open the door for us to go in?”The ‘Toa’s’ laugh had a patronizing ring in it. “Of course not. We have tight regulations about who comes and goes. If things haven’t changed, that is. It’s been a while since I set foot in the Stronghold, I hope they still remember me.” Faux Ducha answered. Kalott had evidently done her research, and was playing her character very well. Either that or she was a very convincing storyteller and liar. “Evior this is where you come in. Instead of going to them, we’ll get them to come to us.” Evior had caught up to his companion, and glanced at her, waiting for her to continue. “See, this is where you ask, ‘How?’ or something to that extent.” Kalott said, breaking character again. “Anyways, according to Makuta Gorast, you have limited Kraata powers. Is that right?” “Yes.” “Good. We’re going to stage a vicious Rahi attack. No decent Toa would sit by and watch.” She smiled, quite liking the genius of the plan. “The idea wasn’t mine, by the way. Scuro was the one that suggested this.” “Well you can congratulate him for me when you take your rest. But I’m not sure if we can stage the entire attack.” Evior told her. “To hold total control over a Rahi for so long would put me in a coma, most likely.” “Ah, well that’s problematic.” The blue Kakama bent into a frown. “I could provoke the attack,” Evior suggested. “That would be easy, but there’s no telling what will happen after that, or even what kind of Rahi are around here. It could be a Tahtorak attack, or maybe just an Ussal crab.” “Well the sooner we’re on the inside, the better. The last thing we want is to be picked up by a patrol unit,” Faux Ducha weighed the options in her head. “Remember, once we’re on the inside, no mentioning of Kalott, or Scuro, or anything of the like, understand?” “Of course not. I’m no fool.” Evior replied. “Good. Now work your magic.” The Toa of Water said, pulling out her double headed spear. Already, they were within a half mile of the Stronghold. It would be almost impossible not to see them in the sparse forest. “I didn’t know you knew how to use that.” He commented, nodding at her weapon. “I don’t. Ducha does.” Evior cracked a smile, and set about his task. With his eyes closed, he swept the area, trying to detect a mind nearby. Rahi minds had a distinctive wild, untamed feel to them. Within a matter of moment, Evior had his target pinpointed. He sent low key pulses of Fear towards the animal, and followed up with a concentrated beam of Anger. With one last burst of ‘Rahi Control’ energy, he sent the beast into a violent rage and set it on a beeline path straight towards them. He only hoped it was a formidable foe, and nothing too pathetic, like a Ruki fish in a pond. “Be ready, it could be anything,” He spoke softly, trying to key in on any tell tale sounds of an approaching foe. At the same time, he assessed the toll his power usage had taken. To his relief, only one wave of dizziness rushed through him before he settled.He began to unwind his whip.

₪҉₪

Toa Inéha stood beside Josun, a Toa of Sonics, and one of her old friends. Before joining the Stronghold, Inéha had been volunteering as a freelance Toa around local islands. A Matoran island, not even half a day’s sail from the Stronghold had recently been damaged by a hurricane-strength storm. Inéha had been making her way to Metru Nui, and was passing through the island when the Matoran village was destroyed. She stuck around to help clear debris and put the village back in order. Josun had been part of the rescue team sent out by the Stronghold in response to the village’s distress call. He knew a young, eager Toa when he saw one, since he still considered himself one, and told her about the Toa Stronghold. And now, years later, the two of them stood among another small group of Matoran and Toa who had just returned from a trade and check-in at Xia. An Onu-Matoran was excitedly trying to describe the types of machinery and weapons that they’d seen on the trip. Inéha was practicing her mind reading as Valeron had instructed her. She saw the machines and weapons in the Matoran’s mind’s eye like she was watching a hologram or projection. All of the sudden, Josun hushed the group. He managed this both by saying “Shhh!”, and by manipulation of his element. “Do you hear that?” “Of course we don’t,” One of the other Toa hissed. “Not all of us are blessed with your-“ Josun cut him off again with a quick gesture. One peek into his mind, and Inéha heard it too. They were on the northern end of the fortress, and from beyond the southern wall vague, unfamiliar shouting could be heard, intermingled with the distinctive bellowing of a Muaka tiger.Inéha lashed out in that general direction with her Psionics powers and sensed strong, sapient minds. This wasn’t a Muaka making a short meal out of some unfortunate Rahi animal. There were people out there, and they were in trouble. Josun released the hold on everyone’s voices, even now drawing out his crossbow. He glanced over the south wall towards the source of the disturbance. “There’s something I need to go investigate. I’ll be right back.” Inéha told them. “Are you allowed to just come and go as you please?” A Matoran asked. Inéha had never seen him around before, so she assumed he was new to the Stronghold. “I’ll go with her,” Josun cut in. “I know the Toa on sentry duty, he’ll let us out.” Josun called over his shoulder, and broke into a hurried jog across the training field towards the southern sentry post. From atop the sentry post, the Muaka’s roars could be heard distantly. The sentry, a Toa of Air, peered into the woods, trying to pinpoint it. “Hear that?” Josun asked breathlessly as he cleared the last of the unnecessarily steep stairs. Inéha waited by the gate below. Now he could hear distinct words, and definitely didn’t recognize voices. “Yeah,” the sentry chuckled a bit. “Sounds like some Muaka tiger is having a bad day.” The Toa of Sonics stared at him. “There’s people down there. You can’t hear them?” The Toa of Air’s amused disposition evaporated instantaneously. “Is it one of our patrols?” “That’s what I’m going to find out. But I need you to unlock the doors.” Josun told him. Now he was itching to find out what was going on. The Toa of Air punched a few controls on a panel. “Thank you, and leave it open until we get back!” Josun bounded back down the stairs. Inéha had already pushed the bulky metal and wood door out of her way and they dove into the woods, wondering what in Mata Nui’s name could be going on.

Edited by Aderia: Toa of Ducklings

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Part 3

₪҉₪

"A tiger!" Faux Ducha shouted. "You called a Muaka tiger!" She turned away the beast's charge with an unsteady bolt of water."I'm sorry," Evior yelled back over the wild growling. "I told you to be prepared for anything." In the process of leaping out of the way of the lunging animal, Ducha fell over a long fallen branch and into a dense thorn bush with a yell. Evior cracked his whip just inches away from the cat's nose, drawing its attention to him. He couldn't imagine how mentally exhausted both of his accomplices must be.The two of them danced between trees and around fallen logs. They just needed to keep the little chase up until the help, which the false Ducha had predicted would come, came. Evior stumbled out of the cat's reach. He was keeping his Mind Reading ability activated on a low level, so he would be able to detect any being approaching, but the continuous use was taxing him. He concentrated on keeping the Rahi distracted, lashing at it with his whip, occasionally nicking its thick armor plates, until Ducha could recover enough to be useful.His mind radar flared up for a brief moment and he cast a hopeful glance in the direction of the Stronghold. This created just the distraction the Muaka needed. With a snarl and lunge from the beast and a curse from Evior, both of them hit the hard packed forest floor.A blast of Chain Lightning from Evior sent the Rahi flying. Cat's always land on their feet, and by this time, both Evior and Ducha were ready for it when it rounded on them again. Evior took advantage of the Rahi's indecision of target, and his whip wrapped around the animal's neck, and a powerful twist of Evior's arm, and the Rahi was flailing on its back. Another yank of the whip, and the choking wheeze of the Muaka's breath was the only sound it could make. The flailing of limbs subsided, giving Evior the opportunity to move in, with his boot to the Rahi's windpipe."Not so tough now, huh?" He leered down at the animal. Ill tempered Rahkshi and unruly Manas crabs had been his sparring partners, and he figured that an enraged Muaka couldn't be that much different.Suddenly, Evior's head snapped up. A short compact crossbow bolt flew past him and lodged itself into the tree directly behind him. "Ducha?"He whirled to look at her, but she had her double headed spear lowered, and mouthed the word 'Toa'.Evior nodded and turned his attention back to the subdued Rahi, deciding that Ducha should be the one to deal with the Toa. Just as he began to reach down to unwind the whip, the crossbow bolt exploded into a deafening sonic boom. Evior's cry of surprise was lost in the explosion of sound. As he was thrown off his feet and into a fallen log, he saw Ducha and the Rahi thrown backwards a dozen or so feet. Both of them landed heavily, and stayed down. Evior thought it was best he did the same.

₪҉₪

"Inéha, get rid of that cat," Josun commanded, "I've got you covered." He kept his crossbow trained on the Rahi cat, and his eyes flicked towards the two other unconscious forms in turn. He'd never seen these two before, this Toa of Water and her companion. They would be taken to the Stronghold and the Toa in Command would deal with them.Inéha knelt by the Muaka Tiger, placing a hand on its neck. Wake up, She spoke into its mind. She wasn't exactly sure if this would work, but she trusted her Toa instinct. Light swiftly seeped back into the Rahi's eyes, much to her satisfaction, but the eyes were glazed over in the fog of command. Go back home, go peacefully. As soon as the Rahi had disappeared into the woods, Inéha turned her mind-sight to the Toa of Water. The Toa's mind was curiously blank, void of anything. The more Inéha was using her powers, the more she saw how foolish she had been, suppressing and neglecting them for so long.She assumed that the Toa's blank mind was simply the result of her unconscious state, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something more eerie was attached. If she had been better versed in her element, Inéha would know how to further investigate this oddity.The Toa of Psionics sighed to herself and turned to the next being's mind. She nearly jumped out of her armor as she encountered his mind. He was awake, curious, and very, very alert. The keen-ness of his mind cut into her own mind like a blade, causing her to panic.Go to sleep! She screamed into his mind, which was the first impulse that came to her. She didn't know if it was the force of her mind-scream that knocked the other being out, or if her command had actually worked, and she never would know. In the end, she decided, it didn't matter. She and Josun had two captives to take back to the Stronghold.

₪҉₪

Scuro's eyes sharpened back into focus as his Kanohi Tryna lost its glow. "I love my job," He said, not exactly to himself, but not exactly to Kalott, his companion, either.Halfway across the island from the Toa Stronghold, the armored titan shook off the day's mental exertion and groaned to his feet."We should be on the inside by now," Kalott told him, rousing from her own trance. She sat still, even as Scuro carefully pushed aside the camouflage of their alcove to work the day of immobility out of his system.Kalott, however, had not made such a speedy mental recovery. Unlike Scuro, her part in this plan wasn't just simply running her Mask all day.She was the other half of the dynamic duo. Evior was counting on her mind, not just her mask. When she had finally found enough willpower to rise, Kalott also exited the cave to find two half-full moons staring sleepily down at her through the patchy canopy.Squinting into the innocent light, Kalott could make out her companion in a small clearing, seated on a rock. She paced back and forth, replaying the day's events, in detail, in her mind. Undoubtedly, Scuro was tapping away at the transmitter, sending his report back to the Makuta for the day. Kalott didn't know what his report might consist of. She didn't know if he could consciously see what was going on while he animated the Water Toa's body, but honestly, she was too tired to care.Kalott emerged from the spotted shade of the trees as her comrade rose to meet her. He handed her a small electronic device that was just big enough for her to hold in both hands comfortably."Be sure to replace the camouflage when you're finished," Was all Scuro bothered to tell her before heading back for their hiding place.Nodding and murmuring something unintelligible, Kalott sat down in the moonlight-bleached grass and began typing away her report.

₪҉₪

Toa Inéha stood at the observation window, leaning against the sill heavily. Her calm, intelligent gaze rested on the single figure in the interrogation room, propped hastily on a Toa-sized chair. The chair was almost comically flimsy in appearance, compared to the powerful build of the figure.The subconscious sense of balance that kept the prisoner from toppling off the seat was only a hint of who he was. The characteristic curious blue of Inéha's eyes was masked by a cool, controlled sense of authority the color of the ocean on a cloudy day.The fact that her captive was staying on his chair, even while unconscious, did not escape her notice. It suggested almost supernatural, conditioned coordination. Undoubtedly, she was gazing upon a seasoned warrior. The whip that lay on the table beside her was the only weapon that was found on him, which she found curious.Inéha's first impression of this prisoner was somewhere in between mistrust and disdain. His dark-colored armor and the fact that her first glimpse of him had been of him strangling a frail old Muaka tiger probably had something to do with that. Of course, the Toa of Psionics knew better than to judge people like that. As far as she could tell, he and his companion were simply defending themselves from a crazed rahi attack. Also, the fact that he was travelling with a Toa of Water chided against her initial suspicions.Eventually, her eyes moved on to the figure's face. He wore no mask that she recognized. But the Kanohi was dark like his armor, and its sharp angles and deep furrows looked like a scowl. Inéha twisted her head a bit, trying to see the mask at a more realistic angle. The figure's head was drooping towards his chest, with his arms crossed over his chest, and his legs extending out before him, looking more like a sentry fallen to idle sleep on duty than a prisoner.The Toa of Psionics jumped as the door behind her unbolted and opened with a series of metallic clangs. She expected the interrogators, an aloof-aired Toa of Ice and a powerful hulk of an Earth Toa to walk in. But she was surprised by Josun and Valeron. She greeted her friends with a questioning half frown."Are the interrogators coming?" She asked them."Nope, the interrogator is you, this time," Josun replied. The grin that spread across his mask contrasted the expression of alarm that crossed Inéha's own Pakari.A thousand and one arguments arose in her mind. "I can't," Was the only one that made it out of her mouth, unfortunately."It's good practice for your Elemental Powers," Valeron told her. "The other interrogators are busy with this body's companion."Of course, Inéha couldn't argue with that. She turned on her heel abruptly, and exited through a second door into a short hallway that led to the chamber before she could talk herself and her comrades out of this. If she wanted any hope of a field position in this coming war everyone was talking about, the worst possible thing she could do was to turn down a chance to broaden her horizons."She'll be fine," Valeron told himself, just as much as he told Josun beside him.

₪҉₪

Evior heard the complex lock system of the door to his interrogation room click and clack to itself as the key was inserted.He didn't move a muscle.From the limited readings his low-key mind reading sweep had shown him, he could handle this interrogator easily. The entire two day journey from Destral to the Stronghold Island, he and his companions had solidified their story. All he had to do was stick to it and hope to Karzahni for the best.Not even creating enough of a breeze for Evior to detect, the door to the steely chamber swung slowly and silently open.

₪҉₪

Edited by Aderia: Toa of Ducklings

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Part 4

₪҉₪

Toa Inéha stepped through the doorsill and into the interrogation chamber. She halted just inside, long enough to catch the eye of the tense coil of blue and gold armor that was her reflection. Calm down, She told herself. The Toa of Psionics knew that her mentor and her friend both waited on the other side of the one-way mirror, waiting and watching ready to record the whole interview. She closed the door as silently as she could, and then made her way around so she faced her captive, and her back was to the mirror-window. She couldn’t bear to watch herself any longer. As far as she could tell, the figure was still unconscious. Not knowing what else to do, she reached out with her budding Psionics powers and poked at him with two simple words. Wake up, She whispered from her mind to his. Immediately, luminous black eyes snapped open. Even though the mask they hid behind didn’t move, Inéha could sense him smiling inside. And not a pleasant smile, either. This was a smile that reminded her of a wolf. “No need to beg me,” He said, smiling with his mask this time, patronizingly. The scare he’d given her was not mirrored in her reflection. Inéha had sat in on a few other interrogations before. She knew roughly how they worked.Subtly intense blue eyes broke hurriedly away from the dark ones. “What is your name?” She demanded. Only now she realized her mistake of breaking eye contact. He already thought she was weak, and now she was just giving him more and more evidence to back up that opinion.Raising her eyes back to meet his, Inéha saw brash smugness in the captive’s features. She braced herself for some snarky retort, but she didn’t get one.“Evior,” He replied simply.The Toa of Psionics frowned. “Where did you come from, Evior?”“An island close to Odina,” Came the answer, very calm, very distant. At the mention of Odina, Inéha’s alarm skyrocketed.“You’re aware that Odina is the headquarters of the Dark Hunters?”“Yes,”“And you know that we Toa are even now preparing to wage war against that very same organization?”“Not exactly, no,”The air of overconfidence was still all around this Evior being, but his tone of voice and easy compliance threw her off. Inéha took a step back, worried that she was giving more information to Evior than she was getting.“Are you a Dark Hunter?”“Would a Dark Hunter really bother answering your inquiries?”“I’ll take that as a no,” Inéha grumbled, and then continued. “Were you looking to join the Dark Hunters?”“No,” Evior sighed.“Evior, why don’t you tell me your story,” She suggested, quickly evening her voice out.Evior barked out a short laugh. “Now why would I do that for you?”“Because it would save us both a lot of time and effort,” Inéha snapped.“Well, I’m not in any rush, I don’t know about you,” Evior uncrossed his arms and stretched them behind his head, the very image of something Inéha wanted to punch very badly in the gut.“Unlike you, I am in a rush,” She growled. “So why don’t you do us both a favor and start talking?”“You still haven’t told me why I should do that for you,” His last few words were obscured by a yawn.Before he could finish his yawn, the Toa of Psionics had lashed out at his lazily stretched out legs with a none-too-gentle kick that tottered his whole chair on two legs. “You’ll tell me because I’m asking you!” She snarled as he cried out in surprise and steadied his chair by planting both feet firmly on the ground. Inéha took two deep breaths, promising to reprimand herself later for letting this insolent Piraka ruffle her so easily, if Valeron and Josun didn’t do it for her.“No, you’re not,” Evior spoke calmly now, seriously. None of his snooty act was left. It had gone so quickly, that she was sure it was only an act. “You’re yelling at me.”In three quick strides, she was standing not six inches from him, praying to Mata Nui that her anger and the fact that she was standing and he was sitting made her look intimidating, as opposed to desperate. She was forced to take an undignified step backwards as Evior rose to his full height, almost half a head taller than herself. Still, she refused to back down. “I wouldn’t have to yell if you weren’t being such a crosswired moron!” She hissed up at him.“Hey, easy there, angel,” He held his hands up in a disgusting mockery of innocence. “All you have to do is ask.”“Go to Karzahni,” She sneered, standing on her toes to look him evenly in the eyes.“Been there,” He smiled again, right into her face, “Done that.”It was all she could do, not to send him toppling to the ground with a nice shove. Instead, she whirled around to face his reflection in the mirror, already looping around him to make her exit. “You’re going to wish you cooperated with me. The next interrogator won’t be so angelic!” She shouted this last bit as she slammed the door shut behind her.“I was being sarcastic about that part,” Evior called after her.

₪҉₪

Evior couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Now he understood why Kalott loved acting so much. With the type of work their kind did, it was a relief to pretend to be someone different every once in a while. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed on a mission. But he did check himself. He couldn’t get himself locked up or worse just because he wanted to lighten his mood a bit.He had to play his part, and play it well. Kalott was relying on him. Ducha was relying on him. So he took a few deep breaths, sat back down in his chair again, and waited for the worst.

₪҉₪

“On a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest,” Valeron intercepted the young Toa of Psionics as she rushed into the observation room. “I’d give you a negative five.” “That’s why I don’t do that type of thing, Valeron,” She replied curtly, dancing awkwardly trying to get around the Toa of Gravity. “He enjoyed every minute of that, I guarantee it,” Josun told her, nodding towards the prisoner. “Does it look like I care?” Inéha gasped, exasperated. “Did you even think about using your Psionics?” her mentor demanded, taking liberty to use his own element to root her feet in place. He knew the answer was ‘no’, but he asked her anyways. A string of curses from the Toa of Psionics followed. Valeron wasn’t sure if they were aimed at him, or Inéha herself. The Toa of Gravity counted evenly in his head to eight, and right on time, Inéha fell silent, having exhausted her profanity and unsure what to say next. “Are you done?” Valeron crossed his arms. “Quite,” came her reply. “Then be ready to take notes,” He said, releasing his gravitational hold on her and taking the keys from her. “And behave.”

₪҉₪

This time, there was no subtle click-clack grumbling of the door being coaxed open. It was all slam-bang ruckus. Evior had waited only a few minutes for this next Toa to arrive after the last one departed. Evior was glad when the next one did arrive. It gave him an excuse to not be himself again. He assumed this new interrogator had previously on the observation deck he now faced. “On your feet, Evior,” This new interrogator said. Opening his eyes, Evior saw a Toa of Gravity with an intelligent Kanohi Pehkui in the mirror. Personally, Evior didn’t like the purple and black armor scheme. From a distance, Toa of Gravity looked like giant walking bruises. Obligingly, though taking his own time, Evior did get to his feet. But he didn’t turn to face the Toa, since he could see him fine in the mirror. “I know what you’re doing,” He said to the Toa. “The good-guy/bad-guy interrogation.” “Aha, no. Nice try though. This is just a regime change,” the Toa replied. “We’ll just pick up where you left off.” “Didn’t say much of a goodbye to me, did you?” He asked the mirror. His instincts told him that the Toa of Psionics was standing right on the other side of that glass. He didn’t need his X-Ray vision to know that. “Maybe next time, angel.” Inside, Evior laughed at himself. He loved that he could get away with this ridiculous cocky attitude, and they didn’t think any less of him. It was liberating. The Toa of Gravity cleared his throat. “Evior, tell me what you were doing, so close to Odina.” Focusing on the reflection, Evior said, “I was a prisoner.” “For how long?” “Oh, it must have been years,” He spoke quietly now. “You could ask my companion. We orchestrated the jailbreak together.” “Yes, we’ll talk about your companion later,” the Toa promised. “But for now, what brings you all the way up towards Metru Nui after your jailbreak?” “To fight the Hunters, of course. I’d heard rumors of conflict, and I had nothing to lose by coming to investigate.” He told the Toa. “Before you were a prisoner, what were you?” “A whole bunch of things,” Evior started counting off with his fingers. “Security guard on Stelt, shipment manager for Xian trade routes, merchant on the Southern Continent, and a few other jobs here or there. You get the idea.” “When we searched you, we found a whip, like the type used for Kikanalo herding on Zakaz. Can you tell me how that came into your possession?” “I was a Kikanalo herder on Zakaz,” Evior smiled. “Right,” The Toa’s voice was dry with obvious disbelief. “If you don’t believe me, ask her,” He inclined his head past the one way mirror. “She’s a Psionics Toa, she should be able to tell if I’m lying.” “I don’t need a Toa of Psionics to tell when you’re lying,” the Toa said evenly. “And I don’t need to be smart to tell you’re bluffing,” He retorted. His whole story had been a lie, right after he’d given hisname. “And your companion,” the Gravity Toa continued, ignoring Evior’s jibe. “How did you meet her?” “In prison,” “How long have you known each other?” “As long as I was in that jail. Like I said, the exact time measurements are a bit fuzzy. When you’re stuck underground forwhat feels like years but could be only days, it gets a bit confusing,” Evior confessed. Try as he might, his naked eye could not pierce the one way mirror. He settled, focusing back on the reflection of the Toa in the glass. “And why, pray tell, were you arrested by the Dark Hunters to begin with?” “Remember that part about Xian trade? They thought I was smuggling some of their special weapon designs off to Xia to be mass produced under the Vortixx’s name. They didn’t like that too much, so I ended up locked in a slammer. I figured they forgot about us in there, since the ‘real’ prisoners were actually kept on Odina. I got tired of them wasting my time, so I did something about it. now here I am.” “I see. Thank you, Evior,” And the Toa of Gravity did sound thankful, to a point. Evior didn’t move as the Toa turned to go. Evior spoke through the glass. “Angel, if you should go interrogate my comrade next, be a bit kinder to her. She’s not as young as she used to be.”

₪҉₪

“I don’t like him,” Josun grumbled, as soon as Valeron had reappeared. The Toa of Sonics arranged his small stack of tablets he’d taken notes on. “Well, I do. He’s got backbone,” Valeron said. “I don’t like him either,” Inéha agreed with Josun. She was a bit unsettled by how that Evior character had stood right in front of her the entire conversation with Valeron. Even though she knew she was hidden, it was still unnerving. “Don’t lie to yourself, you liked it,” Valeron told her, using his all-knowing special veteran-toa voice on her. “We need to compare notes to the second interrogation group. Grab your notes, Josun,” Inéha deliberately ignored Valeron and exited the observation deck, fleeing towards the second interrogation chamber and clutching her report to her side. “Whatever you say, angel,” Josun muttered mockingly. Valeron chuckled, took one last look at the captive, and then followed the two younger Toa, locking the door after him.

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Part 5

spacer.jpg

Thump, thump, thwack, thumpThump, thump, thwack, thump A faceless Dark Hunter stood before a Toa of Psionics. The two of them, Toa and Hunter, stood on a delicate catwalk above a flow of molten Protodermis in a desolate Ta-Metru.Thump, thump, thwack, thumpThump, thump, thwack, thump The Hunter stood silently while Toa Inéha filled him with punches. Beneath them, the Protodermis bubbled and hissed, taunting her. The Toa’s own shadow danced on the far wall, obscured by hanging chains swinging slightly, pipes carrying cooling agents to mask forges, and more catwalks. Steam or smoke, Inéha couldn’t decide, screamed up at regular intervals around them. The stead drumming of her blows helped her to focus. She threw hr elbow up, catching her stoic foe under the chin. Still, he did not move.Thump, thump, thwack, thumpThump, thump, thwack, thump No matter how much force Inéha threw into her punches, uppercuts, jabs or elbows, she couldn’t get her opponent to budge, even when she activated her Kanohi Pakari. Frustration was beginning to seep through her concentration. Reflecting this, molten protdermis that ran through ceiling pipes began to seep through newly formed cracks, showering the combatants. Inéha felt nothing.Thump, thump, thwack, thump “Nice work, Angel,”Thump, thump, thwack, WHAM! One adrenaline fueled roundhouse finally sent the Dark Hunter flying off the catwalk. Just as the Hunter splashed into a vat of water used to cool the Protodermis, reality began to piece itself back into focus. Practice weapons lined the walls of an undecorated training room. The room lay adjacent to the sparring ground serving as weapons room and a place to spar when it rained. It was also equipped with weights, targets, and dummies that doubled as punching bags. One of those punching bags lay disgruntled against a support pillar halfway across the room. “Evior,” Inéha turned. She didn’t power down her Mask of Strength and reached for her Trident. This was the second time he’d found her since he had been released from Interrogation yesterday. His companion, a Toa of Water named Ducha, had vouched for him. Inéha had yet to meet this Toa Ducha. From what she’d heard, Ducha had lived at the Toa Stronghold almost three decades ago before disappearing. But the other Toa seemed to trust the Toa of Water, so that was sufficient for Inéha. Ducha trusted Evior, but that only made the Toa of Psionics distrust him more. “No need to call the guards, Ang-“ “Inéha. My name is not ‘Angel’,” She spat. “Toa Inéha to you.” The first time she’d seen Evior out and about, she’d called security, only to be told that he had been released from the Interrogation wing on Valeron’s word. “And I will call security if I have to.” “You’ve got spunk, Angel,” Evior said. “I like it. There’s no need to raise a ruckus, I’m just giving myself a tour of the place.” "Well, there's nothing much to tour," She informed him. "We train, we answer calls for help, we process orders from Metru Nui, we rotate on and off duty on Matoran islands, and when we're not doing that, we're training some more." "It sounds like you all have the perfect little system going for you," He sounded cynical, but his drawl didn't match his body language. Inéha expected him to be leaning against the doorframe smirking, or even entering the room just to pick at blunted weapons as though having a conversation bored him. But instead he stood in the doorway looking exactly like he didn't belong and very ill at ease. His mannerisms were perplexing. "If life was perfect, Evior," The Toa of Psionics told him, finally powering down her mask, "There would be nothing to live for. It would be boring." She turned her attention to her punching bag, intent on moving it telekinetically. But the fact that she'd never moved anything bigger than a Kolhii ball before, and that she had an audience, made herself conscious. In a few brisk paces, she'd made it over and then dragged the dummy to sit next to its brothers in a corner. She grabbed a specialized crossbow that mounted on the forearm and attached at the elbow with a joint, allowing for free movement, and lined herself up with the targets at the far end of the room. Loading a wooden bolt into the weapon, she saw that Evior had vanished.

spacer.jpg

The setting suns in the distance slowly melted into the Silver Sea, painting everything their sleepy rays touched in a wash of orange and gold. Evior squinted into these suns as he sat on the flat roof of a sentry tower. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the distant City of Legends. He absentmindedly wrapped and re-wrapped his whip around his arm, eyes on drifting seabirds and their shadows over the sun-colored waters.

.You were created to be perfect-.........................If life was perfect, Evior--......................................... -Anything less is unacceptable.........................--There would be nothing to live for. In Evior's mind, the two philosophies warred like night and day. Even though he tried his best to push Inéha's words from his head, they stuck. He wondered if the Toa hadn't infused them with some of her Psionics powers. As soon as the words had tumbled out of her mouth, they'd struck a chord. They had sent a vibe thrumming throughout Evior's mind, opening a floodgate of new thoughts and realizations. Even as he tried to focus on the mission, things were being called to question, things that he never would have called to question before. These Toa seemed to be good-hearted, hard working people. Evior had been led to believe that they were not to be trusted and liked to meddle with how things should be in the Universe. He remembered missions that required the termination of a Toa, but curiously couldn't remember a good reason for completing that mission. You were created to be perfect, anything less is unacceptable. ”Who is it unacceptable to?" Evior muttered to himself. These Toa didn't expect perfection, his angelic friend had made that clear, and it was freeing to know that. Toa did not kill. Evior knew this to be one of their laws. But even if there was no law, he didn't think they would kill anyways. Why? Wouldn't you sleep better, knowing that there was one less being out there with your name on his dagger? Why go to all the trouble defeating an adversary, just to let him live, and most likely plot his revenge against you? Evior wondered if he had any enemies. He wasn't aware of any of his targets that he'd taken back to the Makuta Base ever leaving. Maybe the captives, and victims as well, had friends to avenge them? And what could ever be so special about another individual that would drive a person to avenge his death anyways? It's not like the dead could thank the living. Surely a mere memory of someone wasn't enough to drive people to such heights, repay one death with another. If everyone took vengeance on everyone else, there would be nobody left in the world, Evior thought to himself. So what's the point in the first place? As all these questions rolled through his mind, Evior sank deeper and deeper into confusion. The questions only led to more questions, and ultimately more uncertainty. It was vexing. Obviously, not everyone sets out to kill someone that's killed one of their friends. So, what about the friends of murdered people who don't go out looking for blood payment? Do they just get over it? If so many people have others that they care about so much, how could they get over it? Evior didn't understand. How could one single person have so much depth to them? He knew that there was nobody in the world that would devastate him if they died, but he wasn't particularly bothered by this. But if there did happen to be such a person that existed, he wasn't sure if he had the capacity to feel the hurt and sense of loss that he imagined other people felt. Did the fact that he could imagine imagining other people's emotions give him the same depth as them? Should he feel pity for himself, because he had nobody to break his heart? He didn't know. He had been taught that society, more specifically, the individuals that made up society, were dangerous. They were dangerous because they could make you weak. They could make you care about them just with their words and simple actions. And caring led to vulnerability. Vulnerability mean weakness, and weakness ultimately resulted in error, and too many errors led to failure. Failure was unacceptable. You were created to be perfect, anything less is unacceptable. Makuta Gorast had described the weakness that people infect you with as 'companionship', or a more common term, 'friendship', making it sound like a disease in Evior's mind. Contracted by close interaction, excessive thought about, and eventually extended conversations with individuals.

If life was perfect, Evior, there would be nothing to live for.

Evior sighed in exasperation, wishing his mind would stop running in endless spirals. Companionship, friendship, couldn't be all that bad. If it were, people would be stuck talking to themselves in their heads all the time. And from recent experience, Evior knew that that could grow very tiresome. If you grew to hate yourself, who would you talk to then? "Evior! Come down from there! I need your help with this," Evior turned on his rooftop, irritated and thankful at the same time for the interruption. Toa Ducha stood in the training yard, looking up at him. "I'll be right down, Ducha," He called, getting to his feet. Getting up had been the easy part, slipping out the window. Down, was a different story. After a minute of indecision, Evior leapt off the building, plummeting forty feet only to land as light as a Rahi-panther, and he deactivated his kraata-ability that let him control Gravity. "What do you need help with?" "Nothing. But we need to talk," Faux Ducha said, grabbing him by the shoulder armor and heading towards the gate that led to the beach. Since Kalott wasn't particularly bothering to play amiable Ducha right now, Evior could only guess that he wouldn't like what she wanted to talk about.

Edited by Aderia

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Part 6

₪҉₪

Toa Inéha watched as the catwalk and the forges of Ta-Metru blurred into existence again. The illusions were spring to life more quickly and more in sync with her mind's eye the more she practiced. As she fed more and more energy into the illusion, the training yard and its inhabitants began to fade, like there were living behind a translucent canvas that was growing steadily more opaque. Through the canvas, Inéha saw her mentor emerge from the headquarters building making a beeline for her. She stopped breathing life into the smoldering foundry and switched her focus. She sent an invisible loop of power out to Valeron, and as it snaked around him, he seemed to switch from behind the illusionary screen to in front of it. And as Inéha's power stream adjusted to accommodate this new burden, Valeron smiled and nodded his approval to her as the vision came to life for him. “Good work, Inéha. I can see that this is coming easier for you now,” he indicated their surroundings, which were progressively looking more and more tangible, with a vague gesture. He reached up as he followed the causeway, grasping at a dangling chain. His hand slipped through it like he was grasping at a stream of water. “It’s very good, and very realistic,” he told her as the illusion had completely blocked out reality. “Keep practicing, though. Eventually, your illusions should be able to trick all five of the senses completely.” Inéha nodded, afraid to speak and lose her concentration. “And the more you practice, the less energy it will take. Tell me, have you ever actually been to Ta-Metru before?” Even though he knew the answer was ‘no’. With a quick, irate exhalation of a breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding, the Toa of Psionics broke her focus and let the forge melt away. “I really don’t get you sometimes,” She sighed at the Gravity Toa. “First you tell me to practice as much as I can, then you come waltzing in on me while I actually am practicing and try to strike up a conversation so I can’t practice.” “Consider it another obstacle for your training,” He replied. “Besides, you were expending too much energy, maintaining that illusion. You would have exhausted yourself. You see, when it comes o making your illusions realistic, it really helps to have a first-hand knowledge of what you’re trying to replicate.” “Meaning no disrespect,” Inéha cut in, tone contradicting her words, “But how do you know so much about my element?” Valeron chuckled and he began walking for the staircase that led to the top of the north-western wall overlooking the beach and Metru Nui in the distance. He motioned for her to follow. “You see, contrary to popular belief, we Ba-Toa are quite capable of more than just picking things up and putting them down without touching them. Before you knew me, I’d trained with a Kanohi Mahiki, a Mask of Illusions. And before that, a Kanohi Suletu, a Mask of Telepathy. And on top of that, I’ve had limitedexperiences with the Kanohi Komau, Mask of Mind Control, the Kanohi Matatu, Mask of Telekinesis, and-“ “Yes, yes, I know my Kanohi. And I get it. The older, wiser one wins again. I shouldn’t question you.” Inéha cut in. But he wasn’t finished. “I’ve also had the privilege of studying under a Toa of Psionics and alongside some Ce-Matoran philosophers.” “Alright, you don’t have to rub my mask in it,” She snapped. They had reached the top of the wall, and she turned to look out over the vast expanse of water. The two slivers of the suns cast long shadows. “What did you need me for?” She turned back again. “Look,” The Toa of Gravity nodded down at the beach. Two figures were walking close together, heads bent in low conversation. “Toa Ducha,” Inéha recognized the old Toa of Water by her slight limp. “and Evior.” “Indeed,” “Did you know Toa Ducha, back when she lived here?” She wanted to know. Valeron shook his head. “If we were here at the same time, I didn’t know here. It is most likely, that she was on rotary duty out on some Matoran island when I came.” “And nobody else remembers her?” “I’m probably the Toa who’s been here at the Stronghold the longest,” He told her. “Even if I weren’t I doubt anyone else would remember her.” “And so you let her wander free?” Inéha demanded. She had not questioned Ducha’s presence because she had been under the impression that all the other Toa trusted her. “Yes,” “Why? Do you know how incredibly stupid that is?” “Of course we do. But sometimes, interrogation and weeks in a holding cell aren’t the best ways to get answers,” Valeron explained. “And letting mysterious ex-Stronghold Toa and their minions run amok is supposed to be better?” “Yes,” “You’re crazy, Valeron.” “Call it what you will. I prefer the term ‘strategic’.” “I give up. What do you need me for?” The Toa of Psionics changed the subject. “Glad you asked. Headquarters wants to give you an official duty, your first, if I’m not mistaken. Are you up for it?” Valeron asked. Inéha managed to swallow her initial response, ‘Mata Nui, of course I am!’, and answered, “Depending on what it is.” “I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but the way each Toa wields his or her elemental powers is unique. At the moment, you are the only Toa of Psionics that the Stronghold can spare. Until further directed, they would like you to keep tabs on the Toa of Water, Ducha, and her companion, Evior. They also suggested the use of your elemental power to help you with this assignment.” “They want me to find out what Ducha’s deal is, and why Evior is with her,” She translated. “By abuse of my powers.” “No, not abuse. Toa are given their powers for a reason, Inéha, we’ve been over that a thousand times. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but lately, there’s been a significant increase in air and sea traffic circulating through Metru Nui. And ever since the Dark Hunters sent some of their people to try and kidnap Dume, security has been doubled in the city. But even all the extra Toa, even Matoran in security training, cannot completely monitor each and every airship and sea vessel making port. So right now, the people in Headquarters are buried up to their Kanohi in preparing teams to send to Metru Nui. “After you left Interrogation yesterday, though Aviara had a spare moment in her schedule to come and scan Ducha’s mind,” Valeron continued, but Inéha snorted in disbelief. When would the Stronghold’s chief coordinator, a Toa of Psionics almost as old as Valeron, have time in her schedule to drop in on Interrogation? “But do you know what she found?” “All the secrets of the universe?” The Toa of Psionics guessed in a dry tone of voice like sandpaper. “A counter for Visorak Venom? The Shadowed One’s real name? The location of Arthaka? ” “Nothing,” Valeron cut her off before the sandpaper tone could wear a hole in his armor. “What?” “Nothing, Ducha’s mind was blank,” He repeated. “Do you mean shielded?” Inéha wanted to know. “No, blank. Evior’s mind was shielded, and Aviara didn’t bother to pry. But Ducha is another story entirely. We’re not sure what it is, but Headquarters wants you to try and get to the bottom of it,” He said. In the ensuing silence, Valeron prepared for any argument she might throw at him. “Okay, old timer,” She finally spoke, “You know me. You know that I want to be the best I can be. And you know that I’m smart enough to see that this is a perfect excuse to practice with more of my elemental powers. But you also know that I’d need even more of an incentive to agree to this, because I could just practice Psionics on my own without anyone’s permissions. So what deal have you brokered on my behalf this time?” “Well, for one thing, I told them you are brilliant, almost scarily so, and accepted for you so you actually have very little choice in the matter. You’re the only Toa of Psionics at the Stronghold at the moment, besides Aviara. If, and I expect when, you succeed, you will be put on your first rotational patrol, most likely to Metru Nui,” He smiled. “I thought you’d like that. You may thank me when you’re leaving for the big city.” Inéha smiled in turn. Metru Nui was her dream. “Or I could just thank you now,” She offered her fist a Toa’s salute, but when the Toa of Gravity went to return the symbolic gesture, she opened her hand and grasped his forearm, pulling him instead into embracing hug. “It really means a lot, for someone to have so much faith in me, Valeron. Thank you.”

₪҉₪

“We need to regroup,” Faux Ducha snapped at Evior. “We miscalculated.” “What?” Evior looked at her. “I don’t see anything wrong. They let us out of the questioning rooms and holding cells, didn’t they?” He stopped to shake some sand off his feet. The Toa of Water let out a half sigh, half growl. “When are you going to grow up? They don’t trust me. They don’t trust you. They gave us some slack in the leash to see what we’d do with it. And I don’t doubt that we’re being tagged by every single Ce-Toa and Elda-user on this island.” “You’re out of character,” Evior warned. His companions words bit into him sharply. “Toa of Water are supposed to be nice and pleasant.” “You don’t have any room to talk, you insolent Makuta-Spawn,” She hissed. “It’s just my luck that I got stuck with a psychotic dolt with no concept of society.I’d be better off on my own. If anyone would give us away, it would be you, with your flimsy mind-shield and loose tongue. You can’t even-“ Ducha choked to a stop, there was suddenly no air to inflate her voice. Beyond the vacuum, Evior had stopped walking, staring daggers at the ‘Toa’. He couldn’t kill a corpse, but he didn’t mind trying. When he spoke, his voice was very dangerously quiet.“You’ve been walking a very fine line, my friend. And you just crossed it. I will tell you this. You would be defenseless without me. A Toa of Water who can’t use her elemental powers or Kanohi mask. She’s too frail to hold her own in a fight and too prickly to make friends. Success here without me is not an option. So unless you want my next report back to command to suggest your immediate termination, I would hop back over the line you just crossed and stay there.” He released his hold over the vacuum that had cut Faux Ducha’s air supply. “Are we clear?”“Yes, perfectly see through,” She replied after a few undignified gasping breaths. She began walking back towards the Stronghold. “Just like your acting.”With one more burst of energy, Evior used his power over plantlife to cause a root to bubble out of the ground, tripping the Toa of Water, sending her fragile body crashing into the sand. He could feel a headache forming at the base of his skull, but it was worth it. If it weren’t for the sentries atop the Stronghold wall, he would have used heat vision or maybe chain lightning. But for their façade’s sake, he rushed to help Faux Ducha to her feet again.“You’d better watch where you’re walking, Ducha. These sandy beaches can be pretty tricky when they want to be,” He smiled wolfishly at her.The Toa snatched her arm away from Evior, “You’re despicable.”“Yes, I’m aware. I’m also very humble. It’s another one of my best qualities,” He returned.“Evior, when we get a chance, we need to get on the patrol list and go back to the cave,” Faux Ducha whispered abruptly. “We need a new plan of attack.”“We? I thought I told you, I see nothing that I’ve been doing wrong,” Evior muttered.“I miscalculated, then. Does that make you feel better? I didn’t think there would be anyone left in the stronghold that remembered Duch- that remembered me,”“Really? Who?” Evior inquired.“I’m not sure, but I plan to find out,” Kalott answered, and they ceased talking as they pushed open the gate that led back into the Stronghold.

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Part 7

₪҉₪

“You saved me from cleaning crew!” Inéha greeted her mentor in the shadow of a gatehouse. It was the start of a new week, and she’d been assigned to the cleaning and maintenance crew. She’d just been in Headquarters, scrubbing down the mirrored corridors. She’d left a nice, embittered message, I am a Toa of Anti-Rusting Solutions and Cleaning Agents, written in dry soap for whichever unfortunate picked up the job after her. Looking up, she saw dark thunderheads hovering overhead. "You’re not getting off easy. You’re needed elsewhere,” Valeron replied, his tone of voice piquing her interest.“Oh, really? Do tell.”Glancing at the various sparring groups, he answered pointedly, “You see, two of our new recruits just left on the long patrol to the other end of the island. I think you should go and see if you can catch up to them and make sure they don’t get lost.”“New recruits, what?” Inéha felt that she was missing something. “Why would I care about two trainees on-“ Then she understood.“Oooh. Those recruits. Gotcha.” Evior and Ducha.“Yes, those recruits. They left about seven minutes ago. We can’t have them losing their way,” The Toa of Gravity nodded at the gate.“Mmm, that would be unfortunate,” She agreed, also wishing she could use telepathy, she had some important questions to ask.“Well, they’re not going to stop and wait for you,” He said, pushing open the gate for her.“Thanks again for getting me out of janitor duty,” She told him, before slipping out of the Stronghold just as the first raindrops began falling to the earth with a quiet rumble of thunder.

₪҉₪

“Ducha, we have company,” Evior said quietly. The two of them walked on the beaten patrol path. Even though they were moving as fast as they could, Evior felt that a Dermis Turtle could have outpaced them, no thanks to Ducha’s limping gait. "Company?” The ‘Toa’ glanced around, squinting through the rain that dripped through the leaves. “Don’t look around, for Karzahni’s sake," Evior snapped in a hushed voice. “We’re being followed.” He tapped his temple, because he’d picked up another sentient mind on the edge of his mind radar. “How close?” Ducha asked, still looking around. “Stop that. They should be within range of vision, so just walk like nothing’s happening,” He gave her a shove to get her moving again. “I don’t see them either, it may be a Huna user.” “Well, isn’t that rude,” she grumbled. “What do you think? Wouldn’t it be tragic if our vague friend fell victim to another not-so staged Rahi attack?” “Tragic,” He agreed drily. Ducha chuckled to herself, and lurched into her limping walk again, “Work your magic, Evior.”

₪҉₪

The sound of rain falling with a vengeance in the background was faint against the bleak staccato of her frantic heart. Inéha pressed her back into the trunk of the tree behind her, focusing on calming herself. The Toa of Water, Ducha, had looked right at her, right at her, and it was all the Toa of Psionics could do to stand rock still and scream in her mind over and over, Don’t see me, don’t see me!, and pour elemental energy into those thoughts, since she didn’t actually know the specifics of mind tricks.And now that Ducha and Evior had turned away and were continuing on their patrol path, she could only assume that her trick had worked. She only allowed herself one deep breath to calm herself before she forced herself to move again. Already, her quarry was getting hard to distinguish between the trees and bushes in the forest as the rain came through the thin canopy harder and harder.In a flash of lightning, the Toa saw the two figures ahead of her clearly, and then almost immediately thunder in the not so distant distance answered. She shook the rain away from her eyes and the rumbling from her ears as she hastened after her targets. The storm was picking up ferocity, because no sooner had the first rumble of thunder died away, then another roar came in after it.Wait, Inéha didn’t slow her pace, but she knew that there had been no burst of lightning between the two thunderings. Another lightning-less bellow of thunder rang through the air. Now, Inéha halted, her sixth sense screaming in warning. As a Toa of Psionics, her sixth sense was sensing minds, and she would be a fool to ignore that sense. She reached for her trident.Cursing the rain, deafening and blinding her to any sign of the approaching enemy she sensed, Inéha spun desperately, trying to pin the source of this paranoia. She squinted through the rain in the direction of the Stronghold and cast around. She couldn’t see anything. She swung around to face the direction her targets were headed, and was met by a sight that petrified her.The source of the off-time thunder was not thunder at all. Rushing straight towards her through the trees and pelting drops of rain was a huge, loping monstrosity. Her first impulse was to stand and fight, her conscious mind thinking of the Muaka tiger she’d seen when she and Josun had captured Evior and Ducha in the forest. But she didn’t have time for a spat with an animal. Stowing her weapon and refusing to waste more time, she ran at the nearest tree.Inéha leapt, landing with one foot half a Toa’s height up the trunk, and pushed off again at an upwards angle, years of combat training coming into play. Her momentum carried her up high enough to reach the bottom most branches of the neighboring tree. Her hands wrapped around a sturdy branch and she swung herself up into the canopy with her momentum.Her recent drilling with her elemental powers overrode her instinct to stay and fight. From her vantage point, she launched barbs of Psionic energy were launched at the animal’s mind. The Rahi had not lost her, even in the trees. She saw now her mistake. It wasn’t the Muaka tiger. It was a fully grown, foaming mad Ash Bear. She could feel her mind attacks glancing off the wall of the rahi’s perpetual rage. She didn’t know how such a huge bear and a Muaka could share territory on the island.The Ash Bear turned its nose to the air pinpointing the Toa’s location. With snarling that Inéha could hear over the rain, it lumbered around the base of her tree. Inéha saw that there was only a disturbing ten feet between her and the Rahi. She pressed herself to the trunk and clung to the slippery branch, screaming at the Rahi’s mind with her own. If anything, it was making the animal’s rage blaze even more. “Of all the twisted things in Karzahni,” Inéha cursed under her breath some more. When she’d thought the rahi was a Muaka, climbing a tree was a life saving idea. Now that she was facing an Ash Bear, climbing a tree may have been her death warrant. Even worse, she was defenseless. A trident in a tree was guaranteed to lose her balance for her. The Ash Bear let out another thunderous roar and reared up on its hind legs. Inéha yelped as the distance between them was cut down to a mere arm’s length, and scrabbled around the trunk, reaching for the next branch. The Toa grabbed on to a slender branch over her head, looking for a foothold or another limb to swing herself up onto.Still bellowing, the Rahi rammed its forelegs into the tree, shaking the entire thing. Screaming with her mind and aloud, she prayed that someone would hear her as she was jostled from her perch. Satisfied with his work and sure that his prey would be falling to the ground very soon, the bear sank back to all fours, growling at the base of the tree.The flimsy branch was bending dangerously with Inéha’s full weight. Before the Rahi could rear up and snap at her dangling legs that were completely and utterly at its mercy, she tucked upwards and flipped upside down, hooking her legs up over the branch and grappling at the trunk to try to pull herself up. With nothing to grip and pull herself up with and a trunk slick with rain, the Toa was virtually stuck. Still she tried. If the Rahi rammed the tree again, there was a good chance she’d not live to see the storm pass. She let out one more mental scream for help, willing someone from the Stronghold to hear and come to her aid, or even Evior and Ducha on patrol.From her upside-down point of view, she met the bear’s savage eyes. She launched another mental harpoon, attempting to get through its primal rage to sedate it. But again, the attack only provoked the bear into retaliation. It reared up once more with cries like thunder.

₪҉₪

“Evior, can’t you do something about this weather? You have weather control, don’t you?” Ducha grumbled. They’d cut the distance between them and the hideout in half since they’d last spoken and Evior had located a large, animalistic mind nearby to provoke. "Yes,” He replied testily. “But I’m feeling a bit drained after my last favor for you, Ducha. Tough it out. We’re almost there.” Ducha, or Kalott depending on how he looked at it, was taking an increasingly antagonistic stance towards him recently, and it was getting hard to ignore her snips and hostility and put the mission first. Even when there were Toa and Matoran around and she played Ducha’s role, he was finding her detestable. "What good is it for you to have all those Makuta powers if you can’t even-“ All in one motion, Evior grabbed his whip and spun around, his weapon wrapping itself around Ducha’s neck and one shoulder. He tightened the whip like a noose and said, “Do you remember that fine line we talked about not crossing, Kalott? You’re playing a dangerous game, and I can promise you, if you make an enemy out of me, you will lose.” With a practiced flick of his wrist, he released her. “You’re a Toa of Water, why don’t you do something about the rain? After all, it—“ A piercing cry sounded in Evior’s mind, cutting him off, and before his eyes, an image of a raging Ash Bear flew by. “You’re pitiable,” Faux Ducha spat as she brushed nothing but rainwater off her shoulder armor. “Don’t expect my report back to glorify you either.” Evidently, an animated corpse could not receive a telepathic message. One name made its way to the front of Evior’s mind. And all at once, everything made sense. Without another word, he pushed past the Toa of Water at a run, back towards the source of the scream. "Where in Karzahni are you going?!?” Faux Ducha cried after him. “It doesn’t concern you. Go on without me, I plan to catch back up with you,” Evior yelled over his shoulder. It wouldn’t take him very long to catch back up to Ducha, with her limp. He couldn’t let an angel be mauled by a bear, no matter if he was spawn of Makuta or not. Especially not after she’d recently given him so much to think about, concerning life.

₪҉₪

A cry that sounded like death ripped through the air as the Ash Bear’s giant forepaws slammed into the tree again and Toa Inéha’s grip on the branches vanished. She twisted in the air on her way down, trying to land as far from the Rahi as she could. The Toa hit the ground ungracefully, and a sharp crack rang out. Immediately, Inéha’s entire left leg howled with an indescribable pain of its own. Immediately she knew that something was broken. But that wasn’t her main worry; the furious Ash Bear was. She didn’t know what else to do, but deep rooted instinct told her to open the floodgates to her mind. And so she did. She channeled the flood of overwhelming agony stemming from her entire leg and left shoulder towards the Rahi, smothering it. Instantaneously, Inéha’s gasping sobs were joined. The Rahi, submerged in invisible Psionic power, felt its own leg as though it was broken and was rendered immobile by the pain. It must have only been a few minutes, but it felt like decades that Inéha lay there, oblivious to the continuous shower of rain and torrents of mud that were now flowing around her. Her only focus was keeping the Rahi in as much agony as herself. It was taxing to the utmost and nearly impossible for a Ce-Toa with her lack of training, and the most difficult thing she’d ever done because of her own injuries. But not a moment too soon, she heard vague yelling and saw through eyes blurred by either tears or rainwater, a dark armored figure rushing towards her.Inéha wasn’t exactly sure what she was seeing, but she saw it. The being dropped to a kneeling position at the Ash Bear’s head, and placed a hand between its eyes, muttering a word that was lost in the hushing of the rain. And then the figure turned to her, and she saw a face that shocked her into numbness. Evior.She tried to say something, but nothing comprehensible came out. She tried to shrink away as the strange, unknown Kanohi peered at her and his armored hand came up to rest on her own forehead. “Go to sleep, Angel. I'll come back for you.”

₪҉₪

Review

Edited by Aderia

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Part 8

spacer.jpg

The scream.Eyes, as Evior recalled hearing once, were widely considered to be the windows through which one's innermost being is seen. When the windows are closed, though, nothing can escape. No secrets, no emotions, no thoughts, nothing. Not even the scream.As tired as he was, Evior could not shut his eyes without the piercing cry reverberating throughout his being. It ricocheted relentlessly, long and lonely, and making him wonder if he really was as hollow as the haunting echo made him feel.Through his mind shield, the Ce-Toa's Psionic distress call should not have been able to reach him. But somehow, it had. And it had been burned into his mind, along with the terror Inéha had felt at that exact moment.As a son of Makuta, terror was something he had never experienced before. Fear, the very notion of it, was something he had never been created to experience. A body isn't created to tolerate the venom of a Visorak spider, so it is forced to change in order to accommodate. Evior had years and years of Visorak command tucked under his belt, he knew all about their venom. But to be injected with a fear that is not your own? What could he do against it? Any defense he had built up over the years was rendered obsolete.Through limited observation, Evior had discerned various responses to fear, whether it be vengeful retaliation, whimpering cowardice, hurried flight, or rationalization. But on a distant plane, he saw his own reaction to this vicariously sensed fear.Guilt. Guilt like mud in a riverbed, stirred up in an instant, and left to cloud the water into swirling brown oblivion.He was standing water alongside a river, and although constant ripples from the mainstream of life had passed through him, that’s all they’d ever done, nothing more, nothing less, and always leaving the water as still as before.He was also himself, looking at his reflection in that standing water as it rippled and stilled and rippled and stilled again. He could see himself clearly when the water was calm. When it wavered, he did too. But now, in the muddy water, he could not find himself, try as he might.Why, though? Why was his every thought tagged and weighed down with guilt? He had never observed such a reaction before, nor did he ever expect to, much less observe it within himself. Was this normal? Did he even qualify for ‘normal’? Did he even know what ‘normal’ meant?Inéha, the Toa of Psionics. This was her doing, he knew. He saw her as honest and independent and spirited. He saw himself as none of those things. He was not a ‘good’ person, by the standards of society, he had learned that long ago. His hands were created dirty.Evior sat on a stone protodermis bench in the infirmary’s corridor. He stared unblinkingly at the whitewashed wall across from him. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, in some places, the metallic protodermis could be glimpsed through layers of paint that had been slapped on thinner than others. He pictured smearing the ‘dirt’ from his hands on the wall, leaving an ugly stain. The wall had never done anything to him to deserve such poor treatment. In fact, it helped him by sheltering him from the outside storm. To mar it like that was meaningless and frowned upon, but he understood why now.Inéha had never done anything to him to merit any harm. Without knowing, she’d helped him with his mission by bringing him in to the Toa Stronghold. She also provided conversation, however little and however wary, and it was better dialogue than he would ever have with Faux Ducha. It was true, when he sent the Ash Bear to attack, he did not know who he was sending it against. But nonetheless, the past had passed, and now Evior was left with a broken Toa of Psionics weighing heavily on a conscience that he had paid little attention to before.Footsteps.Evior was hauled out of the ever-deepening pool of his mind. Shaking himself, he turned his head slightly to see the Toa of Gravity striding down the hallway. He saw recognition and ensuing wariness on the Toa’s dark Kanohi Pehkui. “Valeron,” Evior began, interrupting the footfalls. “I-“ He berated himself for speaking in the first place, he’d had no idea what he was going to say to begin with.“Evior?” The Ba-Toa had drawn even, and now stood before Evior, gazing down at him questioningly.Grasping for words, he pieced together, “If you’d done something wrong to someone,” He frowned, not knowing still how to pose his question. It would be easy to say, ‘nevermind’ and go back to drowning in himself. But something new, this new level of his conscience, pushed him on. Evior instinctively knew he couldn’t ask these sort of questions to Ducha, and Valeron’s patient waiting encouraged him.“If you’d wronged someone, and caused them harm,” He searched the Toa’s face for a reaction. “What would you do about it?”The veteran Toa was unreadable, just like muddy water. “I would apologize. And then I would right my wrong.” That was his simple answer. He started for the infirmary door.“After you’re done, then, may I?” He tilted his head towards the door.“Who am I, to stop you?” Valeron shrugged in his way of answering and disappeared through the door, closing it after him and leaving Evior alone with his muddy thoughts once more.

spacer.jpg

Inéha had woken up to an empty infirmary. The four other cots in the sunlit room adjacent to the Interrogation chambers were hardly company. The medic, a Ko-Matoran, and his assistant, a young Toa of Plantlife, were nowhere to be seen. The pain seeping through her unconsciousness was what had finally roused her. Her entire left side, especially her leg, throbbed with a dull fire. From mid-thigh down, her one leg had been stripped of its normal dark cerulean armor and was encased in a vaguely leg-shaped cocoon of iron, and completely immobile.She’d woken up at least a quarter of an hour ago, and to take her mind off the things she’d rather not think about, she’d been practicing with her Psionics power, telekinesis to be more specific. There was a long cloth bandage on the stand next to her, among other various medical implements. The strip of cloth hung in the air before her, twisting and untwisting itself into knots, the Toa focusing intently on it.“So, I heard you fell out of a tree,” An amused chuckle followed the words through the door. Inéha glowered at the Toa of Gravity as he entered.“Let’s not talk about that,” She grumbled.“No, but really, it will make a great story to tell when you’re a wise old Turaga,” The Toa of Gravity was enjoying himself thoroughly.“It’s not funny, Valeron,” She snapped. With her Psionics energy, she balled the bandage up and hurled it at his Kanohi Pehkui. “And I’ll have you know, it wasn’t my fault. There was-““An insane, rabid Ash Bear, I know. I heard.” Valeron caught the rolled up bandage with his own elemental powers and tossed it back on Inéha’s lap. “By the way, he’s waiting outside. Evior is. He said he wanted to talk to you, or implied it.”Spreading a thin web of mind-radar out, she reached past Valeron’s steady, pulsing mind and picked up sharp, vibrant brainwaves right outside the infirmary door in the corridor. Had his mind shield been deactivated? “Oh yes, it feels like he has a lot on his mind.”“You’re getting good,” The Ba-Toa smiled, liking her use of her elemental powers. He dragged over a chair and sat, leaning forwards and placing his elbows on his knees. “There’s something I think you should know. And you won’t like it.”“If you’re going to tell me I’ll be crippled the rest of my life, I’ve already thought that through,” She smiled ruefully, half joking, half not.“No, no. Nothing like that. But the reason I didn’t come right away,” He nodded vaguely to the hospital-like setting around them. “Is because I was in a Command meeting. They received an SOS from the Toa in Metru Nui.”“The war?” Her Mask of Strength furrowed in a frown. “I didn’t know things were that bad.”“Nobody did,” He said, and let out a weary sigh. “They’ve only just managed to get the message out. Effective immediately, evaluations are going to begin to find those of us fit to answer Metru Nui’s call for help.”“The Dark Hunters, they’ve blockaded the city ports, though, haven’t they?”Inéha asked, because the last she’d heard, that was true.“Nobody’s sure of anything. But it will take a few days to get all the Stronghold Toa in from their external rotary patrols from the various Matoran islands. The Toa in Command, they’re estimating that three quarters of our force will be sent to help.”“You mean, basically, anyone who isn’t crippled or a complete dolt,” She muttered.“Well it will take at least a week to get everybody organized. And by then, you may or may not be well enough to travel with them. They need Psionics Toa, you see. But…” He trailed off, not entirely sure how to word things.“But…?”“I’ll be staying here, Inéha. Therefore, you will be too, no matter if you’re completely healed or not,” He sat up straight in his seat, trying to gauge her reaction.“Beg pardon? You just said-““They’ll be leaving me in charge of the remaining Toa at the Stronghold,” He interrupted. “And as your mentor, I say it will be a good learning experience for you to stay here and learn more about how things are run while you recuperate.”After a moment, Inéha spoke, “Well that’s great. I mean for you, that is. But for me…” She trailed off, picturing nothing but a bleak, empty infirmary and slowly going crazy from lack of activity.“It’s a perfect time to expand your Psionics powers,” Valeron told her firmly. “You will not be idle, I promise.”“Sounds more like a threat to me,” Inéha let out a short, emotionless laugh at that.“Call it what you will, but a rotary patrol from one of the Matoran islands nearby is due back any minute now, I’m on my way to meet them,” As he finished speaking, he was already halfway out the door. “I’ll send the medic back for you when I see him.”“I don’t need the medic, I need that assistant Toa’s Mask of Healing!” She called after him.His vague reply was lost by the distance he had already put between them. The only way she knew he replied at all was that he’d left the door wide open, to her irritation. “Shut the door.” She grumbled.“Gladly,” Came the unexpected reply. Evior stepped into the room, and it seemed to shrink around his tall, dark and armored form.“You,” Inéha’s eyes widened in alarm. She covered the long bandage in her lap with her hands. It would be so easy to send it flying through the air to tighten around Evior’s unsuspecting throat. “What did you do to me? Back in the forest, what happened?”Instead of answering directly, Evior nodded at the same cold metal chair Valeron had only just occupied. “Do you mind?”“Yes,” She snapped, very untrusting.“Well, then,” With a quick gesture and a minute flare of energy, he used his sway over Magnetism to call the chair to him. He sat down right there and propping his feet up on the end of Inéha’s crude hospital cot, partially in retaliation to her frosty attitude, partially because the chair was not meant for someone as tall as him. He told her, “It’s a bit of a long story, don’t mind if I don’t mind your minding.”With a telekinetic burst, she knocked his feet off with a clatter. “I don’t have a long time. Don’t get comfortable.”“I’m sure you won’t mind, either way,” He said, tilting the chair back on two legs and closing his eyes.“Are you mocking me?” She demanded.“Not at all. Now hush, I’m trying to think of a good place to begin.”

Edited by Aderia

(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
ThosePeskyFirespitters.png.3dbdb65e6a28cbbc5957d81c09a685b6.png
Those pesky firespitters... 
Library | The Sculptors and the Smelters | The Ternion Review Topic 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...