Dear Tahu Stars,
It has come to my attention that the months long truce we have held must come to an end. Yes, that does mean that I know of your ambush. Yes, the one where Maxilos found himself surrounded by your Skrall Stars and Rahkshi... and defeated every single one of them. Be glad he was merciful, and allowed them to live. It shall not happen again... maybe.
I feel I must warn you that I will no longer bide my time. Hero Factory arrives soon and I must prepare for their arrival. Having you in my way will only make things harder for us all to keep under control, and our very existence could be thrown onto the threshold of chaos if I don’t do my duty and destroy you.
Good luck.
-Tahu Mata
Chapter 10 – These Guys Really Suck at Fighting
Evo grunted as Lewa Mata smacked him back to the floor before he’d even finished standing.
“Can’t you be a gentleman and let me up?” he asked.
“Stop it with the jokes.” Lewa Mata ordered. “It makes it harder for me to beat you senselessly.”
“Oh, it’s not senseless, I’m sure.” Evo said brightly. “You’re being far too gentle for it to be senseless!”
“You’re quite possibly the most stupid set I’ve ever known.” Lewa Mata said to him. “And why are you so freaking heavy?”
“I told you he’s fat!” Rocka called.
“I am not fat!” Evo protested.
“Oh for the love of ALMIGHTY, shut it, both of you.” Lewa Mata muttered.
Evo started to say something that was probably going to be yet another snarky joke or comment at Rocka’s expense, but Lewa Mata was tired of the comedy routine. He grabbed Evo’s head and slammed it into the ground, knocking him out for what was hopefully the final time.
“Who’s next?”
He was answered as Thok clubbed him from behind and sent him sprawling towards Rocka, who aimed his crossbow and fired a shot right into his chest. Lewa Mata grunted, before swinging his axe in an ark and catching Thok in the chin, using the point of the axe to slam the Skakdi into the wall. Rocka leapt onto him from behind, grunting, but Lewa Mata simply flung himself backwards, landing on top of Rocka with a crunch.
“Oh, you gotta be kidding me!” Rocka grunted. “That was a dirty trick man.”
Lewa Mata said nothing, spinning back up and delivering three lightning-quick punches to Thok’s gut. The white Piraka stumbled backwards, flipping his ice pick up to block Lewa Mata’s axe.
“Can’t you just die already?” Lewa Mata asked.
“No, I’d rather not, to be honest.” Thok said.
“I’m going to do you in.” Lewa Mata said.
“To be honest, I’d rather you didn’t.”
Lewa Mata continued to push Thok back towards the wall, swinging his axe every which way so fast that Thok could barely keep up. Just as Thok reached the wall, Lewa Mata grunted as Rocka grabbed him from behind and yanked him backwards. He shoved the hero down and used him as a stepping stone to flip back to his feet before advancing back on Thok.
“Can’t you just fall down?” Rocka asked, failing to trip him.
Lewa Mata said nothing as he kicked Thok into the wall and disarmed him.
“This is bad.” Thok said.
“You’re right; this is bad... for you.”
Lewa Mata swung his arm back, and then swung it forward to land his axe in Thok’s face. However, a well-timed blast from Rocka sent his axe flying to the side, and he caught Thok’s shoulder instead.
“Well, this is excruciatingly painful.” Thok said. “However, I suppose it’s uh, better than being dead.”
“I hate you two.” Lewa Mata muttered, pulling his axe out and flinging it away.
He grabbed Thok and threw him into Rocka, who fell to the floor again. He then pulled Thok back by his foot and punched him right to the floor. Thok groaned upon impact, before Lewa Mata kicked him back up and then smashed him into the wall again, knocking him out.
“There, finally, that’s one of you.” Lewa Mata said, panting. “Your turn, Rocka... no more stupid shots from that crossbow of yours, do you understand?”
“But that’s my only advantage!”
“Precisely my point, stupid.”
*-*-*-*
“Hey Nokama,” Takanuva Stars called, “How have you been doing? I’ll tell you the truth; I’ve been feeling rather humiliated. I think it’s time to repay the favor.”
“Or...” Nokama trailed off, swinging her weapons in idle circles casually, “Perhaps you weren’t humiliated enough, hmm?”
Takanuva Stars charged, leaping from a foot away and trying to slam his feet into a Nokama that was no longer there. However, he reached out with a staff and caught her as she dodged away and dragged her back into him, shoving her to the ground and stabbing down, only for her to roll away.
“Stay still, Toa!” he growled.
“Why would I ever do that?” Nokama asked teasingly.
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“Don’t try to fight me and I won’t have to.”
Takanuva Stars narrowed his eyes and charged again. This time Nokama simply pushed at his head, delaying him long enough for her to flip over him and then use his momentum against him. As he crashed into the wall, Takanuva Stars decided to re-design his combat strategy – he would let her come for him.
“Bad mistake!” he gasped as Nokama barrel rolled into him from behind.
“So, I think this is the part where you begin to realise I’ve humiliated you in the field of battle again” Nokama said casually, sitting on top of him.
“No, I’ll never give in!”
“You sort of have to... I can sit here all day, you know.”
“Nope, not giving up.”
“Alright, I lied. I can’t sit here all day – enjoy your time down under!”
Takanuva Stars blinked and ducked away, barely missing Nokama’s fist. However, her next blow hit him hard, and his vision faded to black instantly.
*-*-*-*
“Man Furno, when did you get so good at fighting?” Surge asked, gasping for breath as he dodged away for the millionth time.
“I think a better question is, when did you get so bad?”
“No seriously, you could hold your own against Takanuva Stars now. I don’t get it.”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. Maybe it’s just I have an actual cause I’m fighting for?”
“That’s a load of bull Furno, and you know it.”
“Yeah, that actually was. I’m ashamed of myself....”
Surge snickered and then Furno realized they were supposed to be fighting, blasting a sphere at the blue hero. However, Surge ducked underneath it and then responded with a blast of his own, catching Furno in the chest. Furno stumbled backward and Surge stole the advantage, swinging his sword and catching Furno in the chin. However, Furno grabbed his arm and twisted it, forcing Surge to release his sword.
“Uh oh... not good.” Surge said.
Furno shrugged, blasting Surge’s blaster halfway across the room.
“You really are rather useless in a fight.” Furno commented. “That was a little too easy... almost as if....”
“Hey ‘redtard’, catch this!” a voice yelled.
Furno turned and caught one of Nokama’s aqua blades with his face, releasing Surge and sprawling onto the floor.
“That was mean.” Furno moaned.
“That was rather... excessive.” Surge said.
“Yeah... it was worth it.” Nokama said, glancing at him with a strange look. “Do you want the honours, or shall I?”
“Well... I’m kind of, you know, no good at fighting, so you can have it I guess.” Surge said, shrugging.
“You won’t be bad at fighting for long.” Nokama said.
Before Surge or Furno could ask why, Nokama kicked Furno so hard that one of his pipes popped off, and the red hero’s eyes closed instantly.
“You killed him!” Surge cried.
“Nonsense, he’s only knocked out.” Nokama said, sighing. “Promise me something, Surge.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t bother about your weapons or your friends – I’ll see to them. Just run away from here and hide outside, in the Backyard. You’ll find a spot... there’s lots of them. I need you to stay safe.”
A horrible suspicion washed over Surge, and realization dawned on him.
“Nokama...” he said tentatively. “Do you... do you love me?”
Nokama glanced at him, a sharp look on her face as she rolled her eyes.
“No, why would I love you?” she snapped. “You just might be useful, ‘blutard’. You aren’t useful if you’re in jail.”
“Oh... never mind then.”
“Yes... please, never ask me that again. I hate awkward conversations.”
*-*-*-*
“What are you rickety old Turaga doing in my Living Room?” Black Phantom asked.
“They’re trying to send everyone here to jail.” Vezok told him. “You gonna fight?”
“Well, I haven’t actually had an opportunity to fight anyone yet.” Black Phantom admitted. “So, I suppose I can try.”
“That’s the spirit! Don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, I can handle them both. Probably.”
“I highly doubt that!” Turaga Matau said, laughing maniacally as he leapt into the air and onto Black Phantom’s face.
“Augh, he’s on my face! Get it off! Get if off!”
Vezok took aim with his zamor launcher, but was knocked aside by Turaga Onewa, allowing Turaga Mata to proceed with beating Black Phantom senseless.
“Ow, that was my knee! That was my femur! That was my thigh! Augh, not the face! Not the face! No, not the shoulder either! Not the hand! Preferably not the stomach! Please not the back, that’s a fragile area!”
“Oh, is it?” Turaga Matau asked.
“Yeah, unfortunately.” Black Phantom said. “Here, I’ll show you.”
Black Phantom rolled over to show Turaga Matau his back and the Turaga hissed in surprise.
“Oh dude, I am sorry about that.” Turaga Matau said. “I’m so sorry about that, I won’t beat you there. That was my bad.”
“Oh no, it was my fault.” Black Phantom said, shrugging. “I should’ve informed you earlier that LEGO sucks at designing Titan backs now.”
“Shall we continue?” Turaga Matau asked.
“Alright hold on for a minute, just gotta get into position...” Black Phantom muttered. “Ready!”
“I shall now continue to beat you senselessly!”
“Augh, not the elbow! Not the staff! No, my staff! Augh, my face again! Urk!”
With the last blow, Black Phantom fell unconscious and Turaga Matau laughed maniacally some more before turning to face Vezok and Turaga Onewa.
“You have the creepiest friend ever... of all time.” Vezok said.
“You have the weirdest leader ever... of all time.” Turaga Onewa said.
“Are we going to beat him senseless too?” Turaga Matau asked.
“Might as well, I suppose.” Turaga Onewa said.
“Whoa now, wait a minute you two.” Vezok said, backing away. “I uh, I think you ought to know what you’re getting yourselves into....”
“Oh, we already know.” Turaga Onewa told him. “The boss told the two of us everything, and we get to share it when we like.”
“Yeah, we know about your precious little group!” Turaga Matau said, laughing.
The three paused as Splitface ran by, both halves of him screaming incoherently about two different issues that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Pohatu Nuva was chasing them.
Vezok used the distraction to his advantage, flipping his weapon out and hooking Turaga Matau, throwing him halfway across the room before blasting a zamor sphere into Turaga Onewa’s face. The brown Turaga’s eyes bulged as his mask was flung away, and he rapped his hammer hard on Vezok’s head, making the Piraka begin to feel woozy.
“What the heck do you put on that hammer?” Vezok asked.
“Just good old fashioned discipline sauce.” Turaga Onewa told him.
Vezok flinched as Turaga Onewa rapped him with it again, before taking a step towards him and falling flat on his face, snoring.
“There, that’s that dirty task taken care of!”
“Aw man, you took him out without me!” Turaga Matau said, pouting as he returned. “That is not fair.”
*-*-*-*
Rocka’s vision became fuzzy as he lay on the ground, Lewa Mata on top of him and raining punches down upon his head. His left arm, with the crossbow, felt like lead while his right arm, which had a semi-useful shield, was actually pinned underneath him, which only made the position hurt that much more.
“What do you have to say now, you bugger?” Lewa Mata asked.
Rocka would have replied with a snarky comment or two, but unfortunately he was a little beyond that as his vision faded to black. However, as he fell unconscious Rocka could’ve sworn that a furious Nokama had smashed Lewa Mata right off of him.
Had Rocka still been awake, he would have noticed that his assumption was correct – Nokama had smashed Lewa Mata off of him and she was furious.
“Where do you ever get away with stuff like that, Lewa?” she seethed.
“Well, obviously here.” Lewa Mata said, disgruntled. “Do we really need to do this? Nex 2.0 was the best fighter this house has ever seen... and I killed him.”
“That doesn’t stop him from haunting your dreams though, does it?” Nokama asked. “And I’ll bet he haunts your waking moments, too.”
“Shut up!” Lewa Mata yelled. “Get back, Turaga! She is mine! I will kill her!”
“You’ll try!” Nokama challenged.
Lewa Mata charged, as did Nokama. When they met, Lewa Mata swung his axe to counter Nokama’s blow and then punched her, knocking her back. Nokama grabbed him and body slammed him to the ground, punching him in the face before being thrown away. As Nokama rolled across the ground, Lewa Mata threw his axe and caught her in the shoulder, causing her to cry out. However, a second later Lewa Mata groaned as he was smashed into the wall, his own axe embedded within his shoulder.
“You’ll get it for that!” he yelled.
Nokama responded by slicing him with a blade and then grabbed him, body slamming him again and this time swinging her tool with a thud into his other shoulder, rage fuelling her into a fight that she normally wouldn’t be able to win. However, Lewa Mata grabbed his axe and ripped it out, smashing it into Nokama’s head and sending her tumbling away... as his worst nightmare toppled into view.
The nightmare was a shiny plastic bag, with a picture on it that depicted an orange and white Hero Factory set. Only it wasn’t a picture, but rather the orange and white hero mimicking the picture, but with one noticeable change... his launcher was now in his left hand, leaving his right free, and instead of his weapon there was an all-too-familiar multi-tool ice shield attached to his wrist.
“Oh ALMIGHTY, I am done for.”
“What’s up everybody?” the newcomer asked. “Having a little fight, are we? I had about four to get this cool shield. Let me show you what I’ve learned!”
He turned to Nokama, grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her into a jutting out corner before flinging her away to the floor, where she began to weakly push herself to her feet. The newcomer just shook his head and pointed at Lewa Mata.
“You next, green one.”
“No, please....” Lewa Mata gasped.
The newcomer lunged forward and grabbed Lewa Mata, hefting him into the air. Lewa Mata struggled but couldn’t free himself, and was slammed into the ground mercilessly, his Kanohi popping off and scattering away across the floor to rest at the feet of Turaga Onewa. The newcomer tossed Lewa Mata away like a ragdoll and the Toa Mata of Air lay still.
“You two seem nicer... well, maybe only a little.” the newcomer said, ignoring the fact that Nokama was stumbling away behind him. “Can I help you two with anything?”
“Uh... well....” Turaga Onewa trailed off, too stunned to speak.
“Yes... please help us gather everybody.” Turaga Matau said. “Several of them have committed crimes and must be taken to jail.”
“No problem, I can do that.” the newcomer said, saluting them. “Just point out the ones you need and then show me the jail!”
“You don’t... want to know why?” Turaga Onewa asked.
“Nah, not really.” the newcomer said, shrugging. “I can ask you guys about it later. Just... convince the green guy I mean no harm.”
“Oh, we will, do not worry.” Turaga Onewa whispered, sharing a look with Turaga Matau. “Things are going very well indeed....”
To Be Concluded in the Epilogue next week!
With Rocka, Evo and the others taken prisoner, Furno a traitor, and Lewa Mata having obtained the aid of a mysterious and powerful set, Surge must now earn the right to hear some of the House's greatest kept secrets - secrets kept as such for so long that less than eight sets have ever known of them...
“Where is this place?” Surge asked.
“You don’t need to know that right now.” Nokama said.
“Why not?”
“You just... don’t.”
“What are those mounds of dirt?” Surge asked.
“Those are graves.” a female voice said curtly from behind him.
Surge turned, readying his sword before realizing that he didn’t have either of his weapons anymore... Lewa Mata must have taken them. Before him stood a blue Toa that was similar in build to Lewa Mata.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Gali Mata.” she said with a sigh, glancing at Nokama. “Are you sure he could be worth it? He didn’t even make it out with his weapons.”
“He’d only fought once before, and that was against Takanuva Stars.” Nokama explained. “I’ve decided to make it his decision. Give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“I’m glad I inspire so much confidence in you all.”
“It’s not about inspiring confidence right now, rookie.” Gali Mata said. “Right now it’s about whether or not you’re going to agree with what we’re about to tell you.”
Tune in next week! Hope you enjoyed it! Post your favourite parts!
