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[Grantaire]

-=-

Two vahki walking up a hill
one's shot and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The Hunters have come in the night
now’s your time to flee or fight

-=-

Chapter One

-=-

.....”All right. The beach is in sight, none of the Hunters have spotted us.” These words came from a toa of air, peering through a small window set in the front of the barge. The other eleven toa relaxed slightly.

.....”We might actually do this,” one pointed out, sensing what his fellow toa were thinking. All around him, the warriors were straightening mask and armor, making sure their weapons were loaded, in good condition, and making every other pre-battle preparation that one could think of. They were nervous, and with good reason: they were in the first of a dozen barges on their way to the legendary city of Metru Nui. They had received a cry for help from that island; a half drowned toa of water dragging herself onto the shore of a nearby land, gasping out something about Metru Nui being invaded by a horde of Dark Hunters. It was not a thing to take lightly, and even less after the toa had recovered enough to give the full report. Metru Nui swarming the city, vahki slaughtered and driven back, matoran unable to leave their homes, the toa and turaga besieged in the coliseum... It sounded like something from a horror story.

.....”Wait!” the same toa shouted again, startling everyone. Every eye was upon him as he continued,

.....”We have been spotted! Half dozen Hunters, they came out of nowhere. My bet is that they’ve been watching u-UGH-” The last word came out as a grunt. Before the toa’s startled eyes, the air warrior collapsed in a mixture of shattered glass and blood, a neat hole through the forehead of his kanohi; a sniper had shot in the through the small window. The barge was plunged into chaos as the Toa leaped out of the way of the viewing hole, as if more bullets would somehow strike them through it.

.....Their leader, a veteran Toa of Ice named Anzon, quickly settled them down with a few angry commands. He whipped out a small communicator and spoke into it.

.....”This is barge one, we’re approaching the shore, a Dark Hunter sniper got one of us through our viewing hole, we guess a Sanok; make sure that can't happen again. I suspect a trap. Anyone here have an Akaku?”

.....”This is barge seven, we’ve got one, scanning now.” There was a pause.

.....”You were right, barge one, there are about a hundred Hunters, maybe more. They’re in every form of cover known to man; trenches, rubble, buildings. They’re all armed too, I see a few artillery turrets.”

.....”Not good,” Anzon replied, “Our barges are built for transport, nothing else. They’ll cut us down before we can hit the water, powers or no powers.”

....."What other tactic do we have? Surprise was our best tactic!" came a rather irritated voice from one of the other barges. Anzon sighed and was silent for a moment before finally replying.

....."We have a hundred twenty toa here, we're Metru Nui's only hope, and we're almost in range of weapons more powerful then their snipers. Are you telling me we have nothing planned except for opening our barges and getting butchered?" his voice was hard and he sounded like he was addressing a more dumbwitted novice toa.

....."Iron and stone, get to the viewports, I don't care how many snipers are trained on them!" he barked suddenly. "I want a wall at least thirty feet high between us and the shore; move!"

.....One toa in his barge moved forwards, hesitant until he caught the glaring eye of his leader, upon which he moved swiftly to the port hole, clenching his fists and activating he earth power even as he crouched down so that only an eye was showing through the hole. The water churned as the sand underneath congealed and rose, and to the half astonished eyes of the waiting Hunters, a wall of segmented stone, earth and metal rose up out of the silver sea. In some places the wall was of wood, showing the designs of some of the plantlife toa.

....."Out!" Anzon roared before the toa could relax. "Get into the water before they break that thing down!" Almost in perfect timing, the front walls of the barges were unlatched splashing onto the water. The toa poured out, protected momentarily by the hastily erected barricade. The water was at neck height, the water shallow for how far out they were. Weapons trained at the barricade the moved forwards. Even the flyers stayed in the water, knowing that they would be too large a target otherwise. A half dozen Kakama users grouped at one side, preparing to charge as the advance forces.

.....The barrier exploded, the barrier fragmented and collapsed under a thunder of attacks. The toa of water divided the seas before them, drying the mud into sand; a narrow causeway. The Kakama toa sprinted down it, too fast to be hit. The dry made land fell apart as the toa of water realized the deathtrap they had created, even as several toa going down it were killed or wounded. Powers flashed back and forth as did bullets and energy bolts. On the land the Kakama toa broke into a series of hit and run attacks, focusing on the artillery which was bombarding the toa with both shells and various energy or elemental attacks. Hardly a hundred feet separated the two armies, and the toa, only u to the armpits, increased speed as much as possible. The water was brown from shattered earth barriers, and fragments of trees floated about the water, which was continually being poured, boiling hot thanks to fire toa, upon the Dark Hunter forces, cover or no cover. The toa were relying on constantly made and constantly shattered barriers, but even so they were taking losses. Flyers launched into the air, as did anyone who could get out of the increasingly deadly water. Distance closed, and the Hunters began drawing melee weapons, forming battle lines. Water streamed off the armor of the toa as they closed in, power blazing.

-=-

.....Eyra, toa of sonics, crouched behind a particularly large boulder, shaking a little. An arrow was nocked to his string, and no Hunters were shooting at him. It was passably the first respite he had gained since the landing: the toa had gained the beach almost an hour ago, and the fighting had spread into the general area, although it was more duels and sniping wars than a full fledged battle. His hand reached under his mask, wiping the sweat off his brow. Closing his eyes he forced himself to activate his sonar, scanning the area. After ten seconds, he saw it, a skakdi crouching inside a half destroyed shed.

.....”Found one,” he murmured softly to the toa of iron next to him. The grizzled warrior nodded.

.....”Your job, Eyra,” he said simply. The novice toa glanced at him almost pleadingly, but he was unmoved.

.....”Shoot him. Now.”

.....”All right, Rahkan,” Eyra replied a little resignedly. He got to his feet, still concealed. He had turned off his sonar, but still knew exactly where his target crouched, twenty yards away, the building offering no protection from their direction. Evidently he had not noticed them when settling in. Eyra closed his eyes, calming and preparing himself. He had little doubt of this, as unskilled in his power as he was. As long as he could remember, the bow had always been his weapon, and he had sometimes managed to bring down targets as large as Muaka with a single arrow. If he couldn’t shoot this Hunter, he doubted many others could. Slipping his fingers onto the string, he pulled back to full draw; he could keep at that position for almost a minute without tiring. Slowly, carefully he stepped out, eyes and bow focusing on his target. He released the arrow in the second o the three seconds he had allowed himself. The skakdi had just noticed him as he released, but had no time to dodge. The arrow slammed into his side, triggering the weaken aspect of it. As if he’d been hit by a level 7 weaken disk, the Hunter crumpled to the ground, too weak to even move. Glancing at his mentor, Eyra was rewarded by an approving nod. A grin splitting his face he slid behind the boulder.

.....”Where to now?” he asked. Rahkan grunted.

.....”Our team leader was killed in the first landing, recall? I have no way to tell what the landing forces have planned,” was his rather irritable reply.

.....”Shouldn’t we try to rejoin another group then?” Eyra asked, a little bemused.

.....”This place is still crawling with Hunters, and our forces are too spread out,” Rahkan replied. Then after a moment, “no, we’ll just continue on; if we meet up with any other landing forces, we’ll stick with them. If not, then we’ll have to plan our next move. Now go!” With a barely suppressed groan, Eyra got out from the cover of the boulder, arrow nocked to his bow. Rahkan held his compact, custom made lightstone rifle at the ready, eyes flicking around for the sight of any Hunters. Their area of beach was completely empty.

.....“The price paid for getting in a drawn out fight,” Rahkan commented, and both their minds flashed back to the battles they’d endured since landing; the last one had been rather long, and both of them bore the scars of it. They passed the skakdi where he lay, not bothering to bind him; it would be hours before he could even crawl away. Ahead the beach changed into houses, mostly matoran summer homes. A flash of metal on the smashed window of one drew Eyra’s attention, but before he could look at it, he felt Rahkan’s hand on his arm, and glancing at the toa he saw him shaking his head, eyes looking both sad and grim. All the same, it was only seconds later when Eyra looked back again. There, lying sprawled over the windowsill was the corpse of a Ga matoran, blue armor still gleaming in the sun, but the eyes dulled by the fact that her neck was almost severed from her body. He jerked his head away, repulsed.

.....”Is it like this everywhere?” he asked, aghast.

.....”Maybe not. Only where the matoran tried to resist them, or the Hunters needed them gone,” Rahkan replied. “I told you not to look.”

.....”You never said a thing!” Eyra replied in a feeble attempt to regain some of his earlier cheer.

.....”It’s war, boy,” was Rahkan’s grim reply. “You might want to get used to it; the city won’t get brighter after this.”

.....Eyra walked on, already wishing that he’d never received the summons to come.

-=-

.....It was almost evening by the time the toa had gained full control over the area and regrouped. The earlier merry army was sober and quiet, the sights and sounds of war fresh on their minds. Of the landing forces, only a little over ninety remained, and they had hardly retaken any of the city. Novices and captains alike lay sprawled on the beaches or drifted in the water, never to rise again. The veterans and leaders were hardly surprised, but among the younger, the general consensus was that if this was victory, they didn’t want to see defeat.

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Edited by Zarayna: The Quiet Light, Jun 19 2012 - 08:07 PM.

[Grantaire]

Chapter Two

.....The toa who walked through Ta Metru looked everything other than the proud liberator he was supposed to be. For the thousandth time, Eyra gave a sigh, looking around at the matoran who seemed to perpetually around the streets, for once free to move after weeks of confinement. I should be sympathetic, not annoyed, he tried to reason. It’s like in the village; they didn’t plan that celebration to annoy me, but to thank me. He shrugged it off in attempt to reason but failed. Matoran kept trying to talk to him, but he shrugged off any attention with some mumbled words and an increase in pace. Matoran having much shorter legs, it wasn’t too difficult. Eyra missed the feel of grass under his feet, but after the days spent in an uncomfortable barge, even the scorching heat of the city’s now running furnaces are a welcome relief. Of course, on the barge he could remain relatively silent, even covering himself in a field of silence so that he didn’t have to pretend to not hear people, until Rahkan shook him (literally) back to reality because he had missed some piece of news or other. Now his mentor was waiting for him at the chute station on the coliseum’s island, and expecting him in less then an hour. It would be faster, he had originally thought, to go by chute, but he had wanted to see some of the city. He hadn’t counted on the crowds however, a little disillusioned by memories of the silence of Ga Metru. The corpse he had seen in the window in the morning had not been the first he had seen, and had left a long lasting sobering cloud over the young toa, used as he was to the death of rahi. This, as well as his own reclusive nature, made the festive air of the city dwellers so grating on ear and mind. Eyra quickened his pace, dodging nimbly around matoran and wishing that he had access to some super speed power. Fortunately, Ta Metru wasn’t that large, and soon he reached the edge where the landscape changed dramatically. Previously there had been little to no damage, but here in the buildings nearest to the moat that separated the coliseum from the rest of the city, entire buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed, and rubble clogged the streets. In places there were distinct scorch marks, and at one point the half melted remains of a colossal iceberg. The toa team that was the original protectors of this city had defended the capitol well, for it was hardly damaged. However, it looked unlike what most inhabitants of the city would remember; towering walls of stone linked the chute stations together, and these were scarred and pitted by the battles that had taken place. The main building of the coliseum was the same as it always was, and as some said, always would be. The water of the moat was muddy and liberally sprinkled with flotsam. Eyra found it comforting here, strange as it was: it felt more real then the festive city outside. The main chute from Ta Metru was overhead, but he elected to take a footbridge, recently remade, instead of trying to jump in. A toa and two vahki stood guard, and it took a little time to pass their checks. At last, glad to still have his weapons and mask, Eyra continued on. The footbridge connected directly to the chute station, and after some confused minutes of searching, he managed to find his mentor. Rahkan was conducting the arduous task of repairing a wounded toa’s chestplate, which included slowly disintegrating and removing the fragments of the shattered armor that were imbedded in his chest. Happily, he was almost done, and so Eyra did not have to wait long before Rahkan turned to him with a grunt.

.....”It took you long enough. How was the city?” he asked. Eyra sighed.

.....”Festive, invasively festive, completely oblivious to the fact that there’s still most of the Dark Hunter force at large,” he replied, a little bitterly. Rahkan raised an eyebrow.

.....”Matoran will be like that,” was his mentor’s short reply as he slinging his rifle onto his shoulder. “Command wants me to lead a patrol of vahki through Onu metru, thought you’d like to come.”

.....”Anything to get away from the crowds,” Eyra replied gratefully, following his mentor out of the station.

-=-

.....An hour later, Eyra was wishing he had taken his chances with the crowd. He crouched behind a shard of a shattered wall, flail in hand, his bow lying in the open, one limb broken and twisted. His head ached from the blow, even though it had been lessened by the bow. He righted his kanohi, knowing there would be a dent in it, right where there was a bruise on his forehead. Had it been less then a minute since they were ambushed? From the sound of falling bodies, Eyra guessed that by now the squad of vahki they had been leading was gone for good. He only hoped the Rahkan wasn’t among them. There was no way he could just crouch here, and so he did a quick scan; there was only one enemy, the same one that had delivered all their losses so far. Most likely there would be more nearby. One Dark Hunter had caused this entire ambush; it did not bear thinking, even for Eyra, whose head was wired somewhat differently than the standard honor obsessed toa. Propelled by anger, the toa of sound threw himself out from his cover. The massive Hunter, several heads taller than a steltian, had just finished off the last vahki, tearing its head right off its shoulders. Eyra was forced to go into a dive as said vahki’s corpse was hurled at him; right then and there he counted his bruised head and dented kanohi lucky; a direct hit from the brute would have probably pulverized head and mask. Coming to his feet, Eyra hardly had time to register anything before a blast of water slammed into him, sending him into a building’s wall, and congealing around him, turning solid. Eyra’s eyes widened in shock; this was not just a brute. He reached out with his power over sound, even as he began to grow faint from want of air. The trick was one of the first he learned: a high pitched scream shot through the Hunter’s ears, causing him to start, instinctively clasping his hands to his ears. In an instant, Eyra was on the ground, soaked by the no longer solid water, and gasping for breath. Get up! Get up! His mind screamed, and he reluctantly obeyed. His hands flexed around nothing, his mace and chain lost in the attack. The Hunter was on the offensive again, launching blast after blast of water at the unarmed toa, who was reduced to desperate gymnastics, leaping, rolling and running, water hitting in front, behind, above, and pretty much every place but where he was.

.....It was ultimately a cycle of impossibility, and as the street became more flooded, Eyra’s breath came in ragged gasps, and the attacks either narrowly missed him or grazed him. The Hunter was irritated; his other foes lay strewn o the ground, battered and defeated, but this one single toa insisted on dodging every one of his attacks, unarmed as he was. It did not help his temper at all when Eyra collapsed momentarily behind the same piece of rubble he had started from. With a roar the Hunter slashed his short blunt axe, and in reaction a wave of water flew out from him, slamming into rubble and toa alike. This time he didn’t bother trapping Eyra, just allowed the wave to send both the living and dead bodies of the patrol slamming into a building, although the pressure was not enough to send them through the wall. The wave collapsed, leaving them in a heap.

.....Triumph was the last emotion Eyra was feeling as he dug his way out from under two of the vahki. His grasping hands found a vahki staff, a poor replacement for bow or mace. Where was Rahkan? He asked desperately, that thought blocking out even the Hunter moving towards him. The gleam of newly flood-washed orange armor quickly led him to his mentor, who lay sprawled limply a few feet from him. Eyra’s eyes took in two important facts; first that his heartlight was beating, and second that judging from the wound in his side, it wasn’t likely to remain beating for very long unhelped. Even as he remembered the Dark Hunter, even as he turned a massive hand grabbed him by the leg, pulling him into the air. Grabbing the staff with both hands, Eyra managed to retain enough sense to block the first block from the ax with the staff. His hand slid along the back of his weapon, triggering its stun power. The bolt that flew was invisible, but the shout of rage from the hunter combined with the ax falling to the ground told of his hit. Unfortunately, the other arm was very much active, slamming the toa straight into a wall, and then throwing him into another. Eyra lay where he fell, head spinning, body aching, completely beaten. Or almost completely; groaning almost silently, he tried to get to his feet, although that was about the last activity he wished to engage in. The staff had been clenched in a deathgrip during the battering, and he forced himself up with it as a lever, leaning upon it and trying to look less winded than he felt. The Hunter was approaching slowly, not attacking. The ax was grasped in his left hand now, Eyra noticed. Wearily he regarded his foe, wondering whether it would be better to simply lie down and get killed, or to keep fighting for another few seconds. The Hunter seemed to sense this, approaching almost carelessly. As he stopped in front of him, his heavy foot careless knocked a body aside, drawing Eyra’s eyes down. They held there, as he stared at the face of his mentor, eyes closed, although not in death. The hands of the sonic toa clasped the staff tighter, the skin white under the silver plating. His eyes shot up, the deep green slit seeming to spark. Even as the Hunter brought his axe down, He shot forwards, the axe slashing through the air where he had been. On the right of the Hunter now, he was safe for a moment as his foe instinctively tried swatting him with his paralyzed arm. Wishing for his bow, Eyra snatched an arrow from his quiver: deceptively weak as it was, the battered toa knew that one touch of its head would end the fight once and for all. He jabbed viciously, a smile of triumph crossing his face-

But the blade twisted faster

The shaft flew back to batter

The hero-skull near shattered

And Eyra’s fight was done

.....-Even as the arrow descended, the black metal of the axe shaft flew back, crashing into the toa's head, and Eyra’s smile of triumph was frozen, and slowly he crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and very lucky that the blade had missed him. Ever faintly his ears registered the sound of a person hitting the ground lightly, and voices swam groggily through.

.....”Is he still alive?”

.....”Might be. I don’t see any blood.”

.....A faint groan passed from Eyra’s lips, a groan he hardly registered. The last thing he hear, was:

.....”Let’s bring him back to base then, they can take care of him to their liking there.”

.....Mercifully, darkness took him before the first Hunter slung him over his shoulder as easily as if the toa were nothing more than a light burden.

-=-

.....All about the island, chaos and turmoil set in as the Dark Hunters out of nowhere struck back. Their forces strung out, the sudden celebrations impairing their organization, the toa forces were separated and cut apart, over dozen dying in the first few hours, and more as they tried to regroup.

.....All about the island, chaos replaced peace, and fear and confusion supplanted the joyous air of the matoran. The Hunters had not left, they had merely retreated slightly, and now took leaps forwards instead of mere steps, even as desperate toa clung to their feet.

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Edited by Zarayna: The Quiet Light, Jun 28 2012 - 12:49 PM.

[Grantaire]

Chapter Three

.....The throbbing pounded through his being, pounded into his very sound. Eyra's world seemed to be made of that pounding, and nothing else. Slowly the toa's eyes half opened, his eyes looking blankly at the stone wall. He tried to bite his tongue to repress a groan, but made a small silence field around his head instead, his moan unheard by everyone, including himself.

.....How long have I been here? was his first question, followed by the next: where is here? It seemed that the second question could only be answered by moving, and that was something he did not intend to do, at all. The throbbing was captivating, and he allowed his mind to drift into it.

.....The clang of metalshod feet came heavily to his ears, diverted his mind from his head. He forced his body to flop over to the point where his head was facing the direction of the footsteps. The bars that met his eyes brought it all back.

.....The ambush. His capture. Rahkan... That last one brought him up, as he half jerked to his feet, only to flop down again. His fists clenched as he killed swiftly the desire to look for his mentor. A Dark Hunter prison was not the easiest to walk out of.

.....A hulking figure blotted out the passage. Eyra stared up at his hulking foe, who stooped a little to fit into the passage. Red eyes gleamed threateningly, and yes, triumphantly. The door slammed open, and a lithe figure slipped around the hulk. A toa, Eyra recognized. But the expression on her face was not a toalike one, nor a ladylike one, in any sense of those words.

....."What do you want?" he asked coldly, using his element to cut out the agonized undertone. The toa smiled a little; his power hadn't done a good job.

....."A few quick questions before your death," she said coolly, tearing the quiver off his back, and the mask from his face.

....."Security has gone to the dogs these days," was her comment.

....."Questions. Questions without answers," Eyra replied, his voice a little more under control. The Huntress got to her feet, and a vine sprouted out of her hand, dragging Eyra up as well. Her mouth twitched at his grimace of pain.

....."Hordor's slipping," the Huntress said, regarding him. "That ax should have totaled you. Pity, then I wouldn't have to waste my time here." Her face, close to Eyra's was filled with contempt.

....."Don't think I care about you being silent. It just means I get to kill you sooner, and... More creatively."

.....Eyra didn't reply, hanging limply from the plants. His head was still throbbing, but it faded from attention. Mask, on floor, arrows, in interrogators hand. Those perceptions filtered in swiftly, and he noted them, trying to formulate a plan.

....."So talk," the Huntress finished, looking expectantly at him. Eyra raised his eyebrows.

....."I don't do talking," he replied evenly. His power could be used inside, they probably thought him too weak to use it.

....."One last chance, I'll give you," the Huntress replied, almost more. Eyra took one breath. Then another.

....."No."

.....The floor was hard, and being suddenly dropped on it hurt even through his armor. He looked up at his soon to be tormenter, and saw her smile.

....."Ahh well," she said, her palm glowing as she stepped forward. Eyra gathered his power, but either she guessed he would fight, or was just naturally fast, because before he could summon a single sound, her hand clapped across his face. Form the outside, the only thing that happened was Eyra beginning to writhe. From the inside...

.....The toa walked through a plain. From all around, the thump could be heard, rhythmic, like a constant throb; it matched perfectly with the pounding pain in his head.

.....The grass was dead, not the green it had appeared when he'd first seen it. Dry, yellow. It seemed to crunch like brittle bone, and he moved faster, hoping to come to something.

.....Then the first tree stump met his gave. Shorn straightly low down, they stood in the uneven scattering that trees typically form, even in death. The sun shone down glaringly upon him, not hampered by the soothing leaves of the trees. Sadly Eyra knelt, his hand stroking the nearest stump; for a native of the forest, to see such widespread destruction was appalling. But he was compelled to look up, to move forwards. He resisted the first, staring at the now bare and parched earth under his moving feet. Suddenly, however, the ground under his feet changed to cement. Looking up, Eyra was shocked to notice a city ahead of him now. Uniform, plain. The toa winced instinctively; it was even worse than Metru Nui. In perfect lines of concrete buildings, pristine streets. It looked like some detailless animation, and was unbearable. The streets were empty as he walked down them, the heat of the concrete detectible through his armored boots. At least, he decided, everywhere the streets were empty, not filled with whatever monstrous strangers this city might produce.

.....Such an assessment proved wrong, however, as he progressed farther in; eyes began to peer at him from doors, and a shape moved here and there. Clenching his fists, he wondered: Where the heck am I? Was I teleported? He decided that he had not been teleported; the Huntress’s kanohi had been a Matatu.

.....At length, he came to the center of the city, and the shapes were no longer seen in the corner of his vision. His whole being relaxed; no monsters walked about, but the familiar shapes of matoran, mixed with the occasional toa. He broke into a run, subsiding into a brisk walk as his head throbbed even more. There were people about, there were recognizable people around. His inherent shyness dissipated a little as he approached eagerly. As he drew close, the nearest figure turned to face him, and Eyra’s heart leaped. For there facing him was, of all people, Rahkan, his armor as bright as the day it was made. The obvious question of how he was here slipped Eyra’s mind as he exclaimed.

.....”Rahkan! You’re alive, brother!”

.....The eyes that looked at him were the same yellow eyes he had always known, but they were focused blankly. He turned away wordlessly, and began walking off. Eyra reached out, grabbing his mentor by the arm.

.....”Rahkan, what’s wrong?” he exclaimed. The toa stopped, turning back to him.

.....”Inquiry: why is my progress being impeded,” were the words that tonelessly came forth from Rahkan’s mouth.

.....”You’re talking like a robot!” Eyra replied, not letting his grip of Rahkan’s arm loosen.

.....”Hypothesis: reasoning inadequate for stopping. Conclusion: proceed with duties.” With a wrench of his arm, he tore himself out of Eyra’s grasp and began to move away. Eyra was faster however, regaining his olhd on Rahkan.

.....”Listen to me brother! We need to get back to Metru Nui!” he almost shouted, drowning out Rahkan’s reply:

.....”Hypothesis: duties impeded. Conclusion: deactivate impeder for repair.” Had the toa of sonics heard that, h would have certainly acted differently. Rahkan rammed him, sending Eyra staggering back. The palm of the iron toa glowed with orange energy, and before Eyra could recover, a spike of iron shot out of his hand, slamming into Eyra’s shoulder, and sending him to the ground.

.....”Rahkan?” he cried out, even as his mentor charged another attack. “Why?”

.....Then the iron spike slammed through his heartlight.

.....The Huntress tossed Eyra to the floor as he came back to reality, watching him with a smile. The toa lay still, his had throbbing even worse, and his stomach feeling like it was tied up on knots.

.....”What… Was that?” he gasped.

.....”That was round one,” the Huntress said. “Ready for the next?” Eyra was silent, allowing only his rapid breathing to break the silence. Then, at length, he opened his mouth. What he probably said was some form of affirmative, but it came out as a small power scream, sending the Huntress staggering back into the wall. He leaped to his feet, reeling as his head seemed to split in two. Ignoring the pain, he snatched his kanohi, slapping it onto his face. The Huntress slammed him into the wall with a well placed kick, and he lay there. She approached silently as he feigned defeat. His mask power reached out, searching.

.....It found, it grasped, it called. Even as the Huntress reached for his mask, there was a bellow from outside, and then the sound of battle. A blast of sound threw her back, and Eyra staggered past her. Outside, Hordor was fighting off two rahkshi, with some difficulty. Eyra ducked under the fighters, staggering down the passageway. His mask reached out again, calling to more rahi, until another four charged at the two guards. The world ached and spun in his mind as he crashed down the passage. He was in Onu Metru, he guessed by the presence of the rahi, but where, he had no idea. Most likely in a tunnel of some sorts. His eyes flicked up, searching for an entrance to the surface. None presented themselves, so he continued. Behind, he could still hear the sounds of battle.

.....At last, the sight so mundane but important presented itself: a ladder built into the wall, and a hatch above. Utterly exhausted, Eyra began to drag himself up it, his mouth bone dry, his limbs shaking from his exhaustion. Above, the hatch was closed. The toa closed his eyes for a second, then slammed his hands into the hatch, sending it flying open. And Eyra, toa of sonics staggered out into the light of the city of Metru Nui, staggered out into the still raging war.

-=-

[color="#EFF3F7"].....[/color ]The panicked fighting had lessened at last, as territory was conquered, battle lines established, and some basic economy formed. The toa remained locked behind fortress walls, while the Dark Hunters settled into the tunnels systems of the archives.

[color="#EFF3F7"].....[/color ]Dark Hunters and toa fought on land, while pirates prowled about the waters, capturing supply ships and bringing them to the Dark Hunters, despite the valiant defenses of the Metru Nui airships. The bloody battle continued, with no sign of victory.

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So ends Survive, part one. This is, as you know, formed to make the backstory of my private character in the RPG Strike from the Shadows. I may continue it, after the RPG is complete.