Through The Eyes Of Red

[-Bionicleman-]

PrologueA wasteland lay before the Muaka. Or, at least, what the Ta-Matoran would call a wasteland. To the Muaka and the occasional Ko-Matoran, however, the frozen expanse known as the Drifts was home.The Muaka, though, didn't care about the name of this land. All he wanted was food, the drive which had led this Muaka here from a ruined city below. He had originally hoped for some delicious Rahkshi, but none were to be found on this island. Instead, he found the arrival of large, flying, metal ships which left behind hundreds of spheres and six tall figures, which eventually became hundreds of short figures and six beings only slightly taller. It was enough to make the most intelligent Rahi's head spin.The Muaka didn't bother thinking about this though. He was too busy focusing on his stomach. He hadn't eaten for what felt like ages and didn't seem any closer to finding food. He couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him, and bits of snow kept landing on his face. The Muaka roared in frustration.A few hours later, the cold had made his limbs so stiff that he stoped and laid against a rocky wall of Mount Ihu. His starvation started to set in, and his simple mind began to fall unconscious. Just as the grey of the Drifts started to turn to black, however, a dark silhouette appeared on the horizon. The Muaka suddenly forgot his exhaustion. He knew what that silhouette was.A Rahkshi.He charged ahead, extending his neck in preparation for the savory bite. Just as he was in reach of the shadow, however, it vanished. The Muaka screamed violently in anger, shaking the very foundations of Mount Ihu.Suddenly, the Muaka felt the sudden jab of two Kanohi smashed on him. Their corruption and darkness started to feed into him, as if a sudden black flood had been unleashed upon him. The Muaka could feel his will falling to another, and though this new will was far more intelligent than the Rahi, it was also far more primitive and brutal.Just before this will took complete control, the Muaka managed to glimpse a pair of scarlet eyes, piercing into his heart and mind. In the next instant, the Muaka was seeing through these eyes and could see far, far back into their twisted history. Then, as the Rahi looked back beyond this vast labyrinth of time and space, all he could hear was the echo of three simple words.

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Edited October 19, 2011 by -Bionicleman-

[-Bionicleman-]

Chapter 1Mysterious Words

Unity. Duty. Destiny.

I stopped. The three virtues had suddenly flashed inside my mind, like a sudden thunderclap in a clear sky. They then disappeared just as fast, but the memory was still there. It was an... unpleasant sensation.I chose to ignore them. Weaker creatures would dwell on such thoughts, but I was strong. I was a Makuta.I continued my work on my newest creation. I had yet to name it, but it was going to be a small land creature. Miserix had ordered me to create a small Rahi, as the Makuta had recently been obsessed with creating large, strong Rahi. If there was to be balance in the universe, he had said, then some Rahi had to be weak.While I knew Miserix was right, it was also somewhat dull to create a Rahi you knew could not win in a fair fight with a Matoran. But I had a fleeting idea. If the skin of the creature was covered with a poison, those who attacked it would be killed, and the Rahi would have a meal without having to hunt at all. Miserix would never have to know of the poison, it would be simple enough to disguise it, as I knew hiding techniques Miserix could never even dream of, and once the poison appeared in the wild, I could claim it was a random mutation.But I had never broken orders from Miserix before, unlike some of the other head-strong Makuta. Miserix had said this was why I was his most trusted lieutenant. I also knew that to defy Miserix was to defy Mata Nui himself, something I would not dare to do. Mata Nui could destroy me in an instant. I pushed the rebellious thoughts away.----Before they were to be released into the wild, Rahi had to be approved by Miserix. I had finished my land creature, which I had decided to call a Mahi, and was now presenting it to him.It was always tense watching Miserix observing your Rahi. He always moved it around, looking at it from every possible angle. He seemed to absorb every single detail about the Rahi: it's appearance, how it moved, and what it seemed to be thinking about. I could only imagine the list of objections he had with the Rahi. All of the objections were naturally minor, but to Miserix a minor issue in ear size was the difference between a masterpiece and a pile of scrap protodermis.Finally, he spoke."It is acceptable. No further changes will be necessary," Miserix said.My spirits soared. That coming from Miserix was like saying it was the greatest creature he had ever seen. Miserix rarely didn't demand some sort of change to the Rahi, and often times he would send the Rahi back multiple times. Kojol was still trying to get one of his Rahi approved my Miserix after trying for over a year.Miserix then sighed and continued speaking, "Teridax, you are the only Makuta thus far who has turned in a Rahi that is actually weak. Some ignored my orders all together, and everyone else made Rahi with hidden strengths that could only be found after close examination.""I was merely following your orders," I said, trying to sound as humble as possible, even though I couldn't stop smiling on the inside."I know, but you are one of the only Makuta I can truly trust now. All the others are getting more and more anxious to create weapons or armies, and now that I need them to create weak Rahi, it has only made things worse."I simply nodded. I did not dare reveal that I shared their restlessness."That is therefore why I am asking you, Teridax, to talk to them on my behalf. Convince them that my orders are for the good of the Matoran, the universe, and Mata Nui. You are popular among them, they will listen to you."My spirit suddenly crash-landed. The other Makuta were my comrades. I shared their hopes, aspirations, and fears. Betraying them didn't feel...right. On the other hand, I was loyal to Miserix, and I knew that to have his favor was to have power. And power was very enjoyable."I will do that sir." I said, finally making a decision.Once I left the room though, I had another fleeting thought. I could simply tell Miserix that I had talked to them, and that they were unresponsive. I would also need to tell the other Makuta what he had asked me to do, to make sure I would not be caught in the act.Unity. Duty. Destiny.They had come again, but this time with even more force. I struggled to keep my balance. Even more uncomfortable though, I now understood what caused their arrival. They had appeared earlier when I had thought to put poison on the Mahi, and were appearing now after thinking to betray Miserix. There was a common link, one I did not like at all.Review Topic

Edited October 19, 2011 by -Bionicleman-

[-Bionicleman-]

Chapter 2

A Threat

I had returned to my chambers, but my mind was not at ease. I kept on trying to not think about the three virtues appearing in my head, but just like trying to not think about red Tahtorak, it only made it worse.

"Deep in thought, are we Teridax?"I looked up. Icarax was standing there."What do you want Icarax?" I said. I never much got along with him. He was always trying to gain more power and statue in theBrotherhood, and that often involved challenging another Makuta to a fight. He lacked any secrecy or intelligence in his effort for power."There are many things I want," he replied, "but from you, I want you to go to Miserix and demand that he remove the order to create weak Rahi.""Why can't you do that yourself? Too scared Miserix might yell at you?" I growled in reply."I have done it myself. He won't listen to me. He won't listen to any of the Makuta, except you. Creating weak Rahi is a disgrace to the talents of Makuta, and I will not allow it.""Even if I were to talk to him, what makes you think he will remove the order? Miserix has always been stubborn about his directives, what makes you think this time will be any different?""Let's just say that I have a hunch," Icarax said, smiling."A hunch," I said."Yes. I have a hunch that you will not be happy if you do not grant my request."I simply stared at him. It was not unlike Icarax to threaten other Makuta, but he was threatening me. Miserix's most trusted Makuta. He wouldn't dare make Miserix unhappy.Unless...Suddenly, everything came clear. I knew why he was threatening me, and why he wanted me to talk to Miserix."You have one day," he said. He then turned and left.So, now I had two orders. One to talk to the Makuta as a whole to convince them to accept Miserix's order, and another to speak to Miserix to convince him to dismiss that order. Not only that, a threat from Icarax.That above all else gave me chills. I was not frightened of him, no, I could take him down in any fight. It was why he threatened me that gave me chills.Icarax was attempting to overthrow Miserix. Review Topic

Edited October 20, 2011 by -Bionicleman-

[-Bionicleman-]

Chapter 3

The Decision

Gone from my mind the three virtues. I was completely absorbed about what to do about Icarax. I knew the Brotherhood would not last long under his rule, but to turn against Icarax was to turn against every other Makuta. Icarax must have gotten their backing in order to pull this scheme, it was why he wanted me to talk to Miserix. Icarax would use it to show that Miserix wouldn't listen to anyone, including his most trusted lieutenant. All of this was on my mind the next day as I was working on my next Rahi, a small bird. This Rahi was small enough to finish in one day, but just as I was about to put on the finishing touches, Mutran ran into my work area."Have you heard? Miserix has called a Convocation.""He has?" I asked. "Have you heard why?""No, but rumors say someone is going to get punished for breaking the order."A great feeling rose inside of me. Had he learned of Icarax? If he punished him, then that would solve all of my problems.Mutran and I rushed to the Convocation chamber, where many other Makuta had already gathered. When I entered, some Makuta looked at me with admiration, while others had contentious looks on their faces, something I was not used to. Had my popularity dropped that much? I then searched through the crowd of hundreds of Makuta for the one person I wanted to see here, Icarax. I searched, then searched again. He was not there. The coward. He likely fled Destral, but he wouldn't get far. Miserix would send an entire army of Rahkshi to finish him off, or send something even worse. My mind flashed to Miserix's fierce Tahtorak.Alas though, Icarax entered the room alone. He was greeted by many pleased faces in the crowd. That's why he came late. He wanted to be the last one, get the limelight. However, as usual, Icarax miscalculated. Kojol, who was always late to everything, came running in shortly afterwards. Miserix, after shaking his head in disgust, began to speak."A few days ago I made an important order to all of you. An order that I expected to be followed. Most of you, however, chose to give me Rahi that had hidden strengths, or were blatantly strong. I warned you that if you gave me another Rahi that had one of these strengths, that you would be punished severely. One of you-"He lost his voice, coughed a moment, then spoke again, but I doubted he had any trouble saying his next words. "One of you decided to present me with a strong Rahi. Mortis, please come forward."My heart pinged. He wasn't going to punish Icarax. Mortis hobbled towards Miserix, looking like he wanted to be everywhere else but there. "I have nothing more to say." Miserix said.At first it didn't look like anything was happening. But then it was clear that something was wrong. Mortis's body started to shake, slowly, slowly, faster, faster. He fell to the ground. He was gasping for breath, now shaking violently.Suddenly, his body began to change. It began to twist inwardly and outwardly. Mortis then did something no other Makuta had ever done before. He screamed. It was the most awful sound ever, worse than anything a Toa of sonics could ever produce. All the Makuta were standing by helpless, none going to his defense. Miserix didn't even care, he continued to mutate Mortis. He continued to change, getting smaller and weaker by the second. Suddenly, he stopped changing, but the screams continued.I did not understand. I had seen Miserix use his mask before, but it had always been instantaneous. Now, he was using it for torture. Mortis no longer looked like a Makuta, he was now a weak imp creature sprawled on the floor, screaming to no end."ENOUGH!" Miserix roared at the creature. He stopped, but continued to wimper."I hope this was a lesson to all of you," he said. "If not, perhaps this will be."Suddenly, he reached down and picked him up by the neck. He began to release vicious lightning into his body. It illuminated the room with beautiful colors, but there was nothing beautiful about this at all. He no longer screamed, all life was gone from him. But the lightning still lived, coursing through his body. Suddenly, I knew I had to stop this. UNITY. DUTY. DESTINY.NO! The words appeared again, and with so much force I lost all will to end it.It ended. Miserix dropped the empty shell onto the ground. "You are dismissed," he said simply.I walked out, feeling like someone had dropped a Tunnel Stalker on me. I didn't know Mortis very well, but I knew he was a hard worker who always finished on time. He had created the Razor Whale, and had many friends in the Brotherhood.Out in the corridors, Icarax walked up to me. He whispered something."24 hours."I walked away, ignoring him. As if I needed reminding. The Convocation had far from solved my problems, no, now I had no idea what to do. Miserix had gone mad with power, but I could not serve under Icarax either. I returned to my work area, managing to finish the bird at last. I brought it reluctantly to Miserix."Hmm," Miserix said, turning the bird around in his had, "it works."That's all you ever say about my Rahi, I thought. After hours of working on his small bird, perfecting it and re-perfecting it, and then perfecting it some more, all he could ever say was "It works." Before these words would be of comfort to me, but the past day had changed everything. "What is its diet?" Miserix asked."Insects, fruits, seeds, plants. Nothing smarter than a sand snipe." I replied."Then why does it need to fly?""It's a bird. Birds fly." "Not this one. Remove it's ability to fly, and then it can be duplicated and then released." "But why?" I said angrily."Like I said earlier, we need weak Rahi to balance the universe.""The bird is weak enough without flight.""Teridax, these orders are not mine alone. I have received directions from Mata Nui himself to create both strong and weak Rahi."This changed everything. I knew now I could not change Miserix 's mind, he would never dare break the rule of Mata Nui, even with something as minor as a small bird. "Very well. I will do that now.""I took the Rahi from Miserix and walked away. Suddenly, I had another fleeting thought. I could simply duplicate and release the bird without removing it's flight. Miserix did not scare me.Unity. Duty. Destiny.They happened again, but this time it was different. No longer did it make me weaker, no, this time it made me strong. I now stood in defiance of the words. "Just curious," Miserix asked, "what did you decide to name it?"I thought about it for a moment, then smiled. The strength from the words had fueled me, allowing me to make two decisions at once. I was giving a name for the Rahi and Miserix."Pokawi."Pokawi was the Matoran word for pawn.Review Topic

Chapter 4A Plan

I was running. The hallways of the fortress passed by me in a blur, as did the occasional Makuta, but I didn't stop to look. I could feel my heart beating, faster, faster.Unity. Duty. Destiny.The words were firing in my head like mad, but they only egged me on. I knew exactly who needed to lead the Brotherhood and what I needed to do to make that happen. I did not understand how I thought of it; all of it had fallen into my head in one moment. My own genius astonished me, but I didn't have time to think about it. I had to take care of someone else first.Unity. Duty. Destiny.Unity. Duty. Destiny.At last I reached my destination. I blasted open the doorway to the lab, hoping for dramatic effect. However, inside was only a lab assistant, who didn't even seem to care that I had blasted down the door."Looking for someone?" he asked calmly, as if I had simply knocked."Where is your master!" I cried, annoyed."He's out," the assistant said with a smile.Unity. Duty. Destiny.Suddenly I filled with massive rage and grabbed this fool by the throat, slamming him into the wall for good measure."I am Makuta! That name means little now, but in a short time a simple utterance of it will cause even the mightiest titan to tremble in fear. You do not want me as an enemy when that happens, so again, where is your master?""He's in front of the western tower," the assistant croaked. I still did not drop him to the ground. Instinct was leading me on; I had one more thing to ask."What is your name?""Pridak"----Back in the hallway, I started formulating that assistant into my plans, but now was not the time for that. The short delay with Pridak didn't give me much time. I began to teleport.The Destral fortress is surrounded by four towers, each in one of the four compass directions. The towers are designed so as to see any arrivals from a distance. Miserix had been against their construction; he had said that Makuta were mere Rahi creators and would have no need for something as imposing as a tower. However, a few Makuta built them against orders as a symbol of the Makuta's strength. Miserix punished them by having their Kanohi destroyed, forcing them to make a humiliating search for new masks. The towers instead became a symbol for defiance against Miserix.I teleported to the top interior of the western tower, thankfully noticing no one was currently on watch. I hurried to the window facing the fortress.Unity. Duty. Destiny.My racing heart grinded to a sudden halt. There were more than 20 Makuta assembled there, all facing one in particular who was speaking loudly and gesturing towards the tower. I knew exactly who that was."Makuta of the Brotherhood, we cannot ignore the crimes against us. Miserix has always plotted our destruction, he did not want this tower, he does not want us to be strong, but we will turn against him. He will be hunted down and defeated. Any Makuta still loyal will suffer the same fate."All of them gave thunderous approval. I gave my own thunderous response.KAAAAAAAAAAAABLAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM!Chaos. All of the Makuta except their leader teleported out of the way of the falling tower. He instead used his Kanohi to protect him from the crashing."Oh look, you finally found a use for your new Hau," I said, using careful control over sonics to modify my voice.Icarax looked as hard as he could for the source of the voice, but I had covered the debris-strewn plaza in shadow."A Makuta too cowardly to show his face. He shall be the first to die."Anticipating an attack, I started to teleport. Suddenly, a bright pounding light shot into my eyes, and I felt a massive rush of heat. I started to feel a scorching on my left leg, but suddenly the heat and light stopped. A coolness and low light welcomed me, for I had managed to teleport to the top of the wall surrounding the plaza. Looking below, I saw that Icarax had unleashed the most powerful plasma attack I had ever seen, for nearly all of the tower debris had been vaporized.I couldn't let that stop me however. I raised a field of shadow surrounding me, and then teleported again, but making sure I left the field behind. I now arrived at the balcony of the main fortress, raising a second field to surround me."YOU!!" cried Icarax, looking at the small field of shadow still on the wall.What a fool, I thought as I began to move the field onto the plaza, as if someone was jumping inside it. As it moved, Icarax shot a bolt of lightning straight through it, but it simply landed onto the plaza unharmed."MADNESS!!" he cried, and then proceeded to blast as much as he could. Bright flashes of fear, heat vision, and fragmentation all illuminated the plaza. I decided now was the time to dissipate it, so as he was sending a massive cyclone into the field, I pulled the shadow away.Icarax had a brief moment of confusion mixed with joy, when I sent my own blast of lightning. It instantly knocked his mask off, and I crushed the Hau with fragmentation. Knowing my work was done, I teleported back to my quarters before he could see what happened.I instantly heard massive noise of many people running. I opened the door to see dozens of Makuta and their assistants running towards the western side of the fortress, some even with half-made Rahi in tow.They're too scared to teleport, I thought with a cruel smile. That will change soon.Suddenly a sharp pain shot up in my left leg. Looking down, I saw that much of the armor on my leg had melted off from the plasma attack. I had been too focused on putting through my plan to notice.What worried me though was not the injury, but that it might give me away as the attacker. My feeling of confidence slipped away; for the first time since leaving Miserix I was at a loss for what to do.Unity. Duty. Destiny.An idea flashed into my mind. A brilliant idea. Why hadn't I thought of it sooner? It is so obvious. But I didn't have time to admire the genius of the plan, I needed to act fast.I teleported down to the Rahi pens where they were kept before being sent out to the wild. I was greeted by the whistling cry of some bird-like desert Rahi. I hurried around the various pens until I found the Rahi I was looking for. Nearly a dozen Mahi had been made since I had finished them yesterday. I only needed one...I sent out a shadow hand to the nearest Mahi and felt it coming back. I absorbed the creature into my body, feeling a small surge of power. I closed my eyes, and began to shapeshift...----Back at the plaza, I was greeted by the sight of most of the Makuta gathered together, all looking towards Miserix who was giving an impassioned speech. By his side stood Icarax, looking pathetic without his Hau."Let it be known, anyone who attacks a Makuta, humiliates a Makuta, and destroys the mask of a Makuta will be hunted down and-Teridax!"Miserix and the others had finally noticed my arrival. Some gasped at my new, slightly larger appearance. After a short pause, Miserix spoke again, this time much less angry."Where have you been, Teridax? And what is the explanation for your new form?""The answer to both is the same," I said, hiding a smile. "Once I had heard of the assault on Icarax, I knew that the Makuta must make themselves stronger, for certainly the attacker will strike again. I hurried to the Rahi pens and absorbed one of my new creations, the Mahi."I knew that some of the other Makuta were not convinced of my lie, but that did not matter. What mattered is what Miserix thought. I waited with baited breath..."Your logic is sound, loyal servant." My inner smile spread onto my face. I could not help it. "The time has come for the Makuta to defend themselves against our enemies! We shall make ourselves stronger, rely on our great abilities! Our place in the universe shall be known!"All of the Makuta, even Icarax, yelled their support, and I joined in. Inside though, I had an even larger cheer.Miserix's change did not shock me. He had for so long believed in peaceful co-existence that my attack on Icarax shook those beliefs so soundly that he needed to turn to the power of the Makuta. Icarax, meanwhile, wouldn't dare to overthrow Miserix any time soon, knowing fully well that he had a powerful enemy, thought I doubted he would be smart enough to know who it was.I had little doubt that anyone did not suspect that it was a Makuta who fought Icarax. Indeed, I had used many known abilities of the Makuta against him. What was important though was that they were not sure which Makuta. Certainly many would suspect me, but I knew very few of them would challenge me. I was far too powerful. Regardless, a level of fear and uncertainty would pierce the Makuta, and they would have no choice but to make themselves stronger.As for who would lead the Makuta?Well, I think that one was obvious. Review Topic

Edited October 21, 2011 by -Bionicleman-