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Legion of Worlds: Down & Down


Onaku

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  • 1 month later...

Chapter 1: Come winter...

 

The sky was clear, and yet it managed a dull look that brought no colour to the landscape with its light. The trees were shedding their withering blooms, and the ground was covered with soon to be sleeping growth. The air was dry and cold, unusual for this time of the year, although perhaps not when considering the harshness of the years that had come before. It was autumn, and the coming winter months were sure to bring only more pain and suffering.

 

Kargon looked through the visor of his teal Kaukau as he surveyed the land before him. He sighed at its dying state and moved forward, dragging a cart carrying vegetables. It wasn't much; most of the harvest had failed this year, more so than the last few years. The soil itself was dying, Kargon knew. He could feel its resources running dry as he had tended the starved crops. And when the crops starved, so did his people suffer famine. Ironic how the soil dictated the people of the green just as it did the element they stood for.

 

He shook his head at these thoughts and dragged the cart up a hillside, before then being met with a downward slope. He steadied the cart, holding it back as he carefully guided it down. A single vegetable fell off the cart and rolled down the hill, coming to a stop under the foot of another matoran.

 

Irya...” Kargon acknowledged. The female matoran of green knelt down and picked up the vegetable, inspecting it only to find her fears confirmed. Her dark turquoise Calix took on an expression that could only be described as pure dread.

 

So I'm guessing the harvest was even worse this year?” She said as a remark rather than an actual question, knowing full well the answer. Kargon looked down and nodded with exhaustion. “How in the spirit's name are we supposed to survive the winter... with this?!” She said, emphasizing by signing at the shrivelled vegetable in her hand.

 

I don't know. Honest to the spirits above, I have no idea. I am so sorry.” Kargon felt especially guilty, considering that it was he who primarily saw to sustaining the village's food supply.

 

Irya shook her head. “Don't say sorry. This is not your fault.”

 

I don't know.” He responded. “Maybe if I'd been more careful when tending the crops... maybe if I had done something differently with the fertilizing, we wouldn't...” He hesitated, failing to find the right words, and then finally gave up.

 

Stop beating yourself up about this. These are impossible conditions for any proper agriculture.” Irya said as she walked up to Kargon and reassuringly put her hand on his shoulder. “Look, I may have overreacted a bit just then, but we will find some way through this. I just know it.”

 

How can you be so sure?” Kargon then asked, his eyes drifting up to meet hers. Irya sighed, and looked away for a second, contemplating the question, before then looking back into his eyes.

 

Because we have to, Kargon. We just have to.” Irya turned around, and signalled Kargon to follow her as she walked back towards the village. Kargon followed after her, pulling the cart carefully across the uneven terrain. The village was just behind the large hill, which fortunately offered some protection from the strong winds that would inevitably come in the cold, dark days of the coming winter months. They had before, after all, and they'd be even stronger this year. Some were worried they'd be so strong that they'd cleave right through the hill and swoop the village and its populace away, but the more sensible matoran worried only about the cold they would have to endure in the coming months.

 

Entering the town through the badly weathered wooden gate, you wouldn't know that these people had once thrived well in these lands when looking about. The houses were in a state of disrepair, and most of the people looked like they had no business to be anywhere but in bed at a medical facility. But there were no such facilities that these matoran knew of. There was no community of villages in these lands. It was just the village of the green, and the wilderness that surrounded it. They had been perfectly fine with this arrangement, living off the food their farmers grew from the nutritious soil of the land, and having utter peace and quiet in the absence of any toa. But then the winters got harder. The villagers were growing weak and restless. They were reminiscent of plants rooted into soil famished of nutrition.

 

Just like Kargon's harvest.

 

***

 

The air of Dura-Kaia was filled with the happiness of a dozen hundred matoran, all celebrating the festive season of harvest as well as the coming winter. Last year's harvest had gone wonderfully, with the festival held that year being an overwhelming success. It truly seemed like nothing could go wrong this year either. The skies were as blue as the vibrant eyes of a healthy ko-matoran, and filled with ethereal clouds that seemed like they would bring no harm to the festivities about to take place.

 

A lone matoran of gravity walked down a dirt road. She wore a violet Kanohi Akaku, through which her bright purple eyes shone. She had a mild smile of contention on face, but her eyes showed a far more intense underlying emotion of excitement. Her name was Adiria, and she was on her way to the Festival of Harvest.

 

Adiria had been looking forward to this festival for the entire year now, ever since she had heard of it shortly after her arrival to Dura-Kaia. It seemed like the most amazing event, where all the different matoran would come together to dance, eat, and simply just have a great time with each other. She didn't know anyone from the other villages, so this would be a good opportunity to get acquainted with more people in the community. There was how ever this nagging feeling that she had forgotten something.

 

Eventually she arrived at the site of the festival. The designated tent site already housed many tents of different size, shape, and design, and it was abundantly clear that there were a whole lot more matoran excited for this festival than just Adiria. It did how ever also remind her of what she had forgotten: A tent. She groaned. Why did she have to go and forget to bring one of the most important things for the festival. She had remembered the wooden mask for the dance, carefully crafted by herself to resemble... well, she wasn't too sure WHAT it looked like, but it looked really good, in her opinion anyway. But she had not remembered the spirit cursed tent!!

 

Now somewhat stressed over her terrible lack of a place to sleep for the night, she decided anyway that she should go join in the current festivities, and get her mind off of her troubles for the moment. There was an abundance of matoran present at the main site, some gathered around the tables holding the... FOOD! Oh spirits, she had never seen such great amounts of food in one place in her life. And it all looked so delicious. Grain cakes baked with such skill and intricate care, vegetable pies put together in the most delicious looking fashion, and best of all; A whole lot of arka root casseroles.

 

Her favourite.

 

***

 

It was dark and cold outside, and it was raining like the clouds thought there was no tomorrow. The raindrops hit the paved streets with great velocity, making a somewhat soothing white background noise for the inhabitants of the city. The Metru-Nui cityscape was almost completely hidden in the shower of water, its presence only assured by the lights shining through the rain like beacons in the rainstorm. It made for a beautiful sight, but few people had the view to appreciate it. A certain toa of earth how ever did, and he watched the rain calmly as he contemplated many different aspects of his life and the city.

 

Toa Arkius had lived a long life in this universe, and was more aware of its size than most of its other inhabitants. Originally built by the great creator along with his siblings as protectors of the universe, they had later been summoned to the great city after a then recent skirmish with the Blood Dynasty had devastated one of the city's metrues and killed or injured many of its matoran.

 

After the arrival of the toa, the Blood Dynasty only seemed to become more determined, increasing attacks on the city for what ever nefarious reasons they had. But the toa had stood their ground, and protected their new home with great vigour, keeping the aggressors at bay and the matoran from harm with great success. Eventually, the Blood Dynasty seemed to give up, and they hadn't seen or heard of them since.

 

It had since been many decades, and Arkius was starting to grow restless, as well as paranoid. Rumours of something stirring in the far corners of the universe had reached the great city about half a year ago, and Arkius had been thinking about it ever since. The others in his team had settled down in the metrues corresponding to their element, and they hadn't kept in contact much over the years, although he did hear from his friend in Po-Metru on a regular basis. He'd even paid him a visit, admiring the great artistic-skill of the matoran there through viewing the massive statues their stone carvers had made, although the massive monument to himself made by the resident toa had been the most impressive, if not also hilariously egotistical.

 

But recently the toa of stone had been somewhat busy with internal affairs in the metru, leaving Arkius alone with himself and his thoughts in his tower apartment in Onu-Metru. He had received one message from the toa of fire in that time, which was mostly composed of ramblings of missing “the good old days” and the many insignificant happenings in Ta-Metru, but aside from that, he was utterly on his own.

 

It was for this reason that he had delved into his passion for structural design. Through his walks in his home metru, he had noticed many different structures that were either structurally unsound, or simply plain ugly, and so he had contributed his designs to the city council with a request for improving said buildings. Seeing as how he was a toa, the turaga were hesitant to decline, and so the designs had been implemented, mostly to the joy of the citizens of Onu-Metru.

 

A flash in the rainstorm caught his attention. Well that's unusual. He thought to himself, and he stood up from his chair. As he walked up to the window, another flash appeared in the same location, this time brighter. What in the world?

 

Only a few seconds later was the thundering sound of an explosion heard, the shockwave shaking the whole building and surprising Arkius greatly.

 

That can't be good.”

 
Edited by Toa Onaku
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Chapter 2: Come wear

 

A few hours had passed since the Festival of Harvest had officially begun, but Adiria and many other matoran had already started with the dancing, and were still at it with great vigour. The matoran shook and flung their limbs around in what seemed like the most random fashion, which produced quite an energetic scene, with every other matoran dancing with another one, some managing to blend their moves together in a most graceful manner, while others simply did their own thing.

 

There was one Ta-matoran, female, that Adiria had at one point bumped into on the dance floor, and they had been dancing together since. The Ta-matoran wore a wooden mask that had obviously been used for a few years, and it concealed all but the brilliant magenta colour of her eyes, a rather menacing and intricate image carved into it.

 

For the first few minutes they had been out of sync, but soon enough they found each others rhythm, and now, their bodies moved as one. The energy they put into it had heated their bodies up immensely, and the air around them had become somewhat steamy. The musicians had started out with a somewhat slow but cheerful tune, but it had after some time turned into a rather speedy and rhythmically strong music, with the string instruments being instrumental in making it into the spontaneous masterpiece that now unfolded on stage.

 

After a while more, how ever, the music had steadily declined in energy, soon becoming slow and soothing, calling for a more relaxed dance. People were by now leaving the dance floor, Adiria and the Ta-matoran included. They now sat in the corner, watching the slow dance of the matoran that still were at it, and stuffed themselves with the various food stuffs from the tables. The sky had taken on a dark shade, somewhat like the depths of an ocean staring back into you as you gazed at it, and the ethereal clouds had by now dispersed. The brighter stars were now starting to be visible, and the twilight of the sky created a somewhat relaxing mood for the two matoran. Adiria looked at her companion, smiling.

 

By the way, I'm Adiria. I forgot to ask earlier, but what's your name?” she asked. The Ta-matoran met Adiria's gaze and smiled under the wooden mask.

 

Name's Rikha.” she answered, taking her wooden mask off to reveal a dark red mask that Adiria didn't recognize. Adiria nodded and put out her fist, smiling.

 

Nice to meet you, Rikha.” she said, and the two bumped fists.

 

***

 

The whole city must have felt that.” Arkius thought out loud as he hurried out of his tower. The blast had, by what he estimated, originated somewhere in the centre of the city, probably in the Great Coliseum itself. He ran as fast as he could, and added even more momentum using his Mask of Kinetics, moving somewhat like a locomotive through the still mostly empty streets of the metru. Finally he reached visual range of the Coliseum, and what he saw horrified him. The once great building was now in partially in ruins, and smoke and fire arose from the rubble. What in the spirit's name happened here?!

 

Making his way over the building, Arkius soon made it to a high vantage point, from which he looked over the damage. The turaga had hopefully not been in the Coliseum at the time of the explosion. Strangely enough, Arikus couldn't pin-point the cause of the explosion, or its point of origin. Through the rain and smoke appeared another being. Arkius peered at the shadow, noticing its size was that of a toa.

 

Hello?!” he shouted at the figure, as he jumped down from the pile of rubble and ran down close to the being. The being walked out of the smoke, coughing a bit, turning out to be Kiames, the toa of ice. She looked around, the hexagonal scope on her Mask of Spectral Vision whirring into action.

 

Arkius?” she inquired as she noticed him, apparently surprised to find him there.

 

Yeah. Been a while.” he responded, although at this time, such acknowledgements were somewhat redundant, if not utterly pointless. “Any idea what might have done this?” he then asked her, half hoping she could provide a better answer than the one he didn't have. Kiames looked around again, but shook her head as she turned back to Arkius.

 

Sorry, I can't say for sure. Although...” She half drifted from the words as she looked down into the earth. “Oh spirits!” She exclaimed in shock. Arkius gave her a questioning glance.

 

What is it? What's wrong?” he asked, now worried slightly.

 

There's a lot of electromagnetic activity down below the Coliseum. It's... huge! It seems to spread throughout, and goes impossibly deep down.”

 

Arkius' expression now took on a clear emotion of surprise. “What? How deep does it go?” he then asked hastily. Kiames looked back up to Arkius, her own expression mirroring Arkius's.

 

I'd say... it goes as deep down into the earth as the sky stretches upwards.”

 

***

 

Kargon unloaded his cart of the minute amount of vegetables it carried. A small task that he was quickly done with, but that was in no way a good thing. Kargon once more felt a tinge of guilt, but he decided to shake it off on account of Irya getting on his case again.

 

Kargon looked over to the turaga hut just in time to see as the village's current leader exited the large building. Her name was Kess. She was the daughter of the turaga, and the older sister of Irya. Unfortunately, the turaga had passed away some time ago, and so Kess had been forced to take over the role of chief for the village. Under her guidance, the village had continued to thrive, but nothing could have prepared them for the hardships they would have to endure.

 

Now, about five years since the winters had grown colder, and the soil had withered, the village of the green was gradually fading. Kess herself had refused to eat much, finding it to be her role to bear the most of the hardships so that her people wouldn't have to. Malnutrition soon took her over, and as Kargon watched the withered form of Kess struggle out of the hut while supporting herself on a cane, it became clear to him more than ever before that this situation could not continue. His people had to get out of here.

 

But try as he would, he could not get himself to state this, fearing that the famine-ridden villagers wouldn't survive a journey across the vast land.

 

Kess inspected the meagre pile of vegetables Kargon had brought, and a great sadness took over her weakened expression. She too realized this couldn't go on, but she had the same worries as Kargon. She waved at Kargon to take the vegetables away. To the storage, he knew, but he also felt she just couldn't bare to look upon the small pile of shrivelled growths that signified the oncoming doom of their village.

 

***

 

Don't speak in riddles, Kiames, that's the turaga's job.” Arkius retorted, although it was more from shock of the words she had uttered than in actual humour.

 

Arkius, you might want to switch to my mask and see this for yourself. I can't really explain this, but it's as if the underground has suddenly gone... active. There's probably some kind of a breach, because I have never seen this before, but I've got a strange feeling that this isn't a recent development.” Kiames's expression was one of worry and awe.

 

Arkius raised his eyebrows at her words, even more taken back by what she now said than before. He did how ever decide to heed her suggestion, and thus switched to his own Mask of Spectral Vision, which had harder edges than Kiames's mask. Looking down at the ground, his vision confirmed the words he had heard from her. Even so, he was greatly shocked by the sight that met him. It was true. It WAS as if the radiation reached down as far as the sky itself stretched upwards.

 

What could this mean?” Arkius asked. Before Kiames could respond, a sound of stones moving caught both of their attention. Out of the rubble, the dusty form of one of the turaga emerged.

 
Edited by Toa Onaku
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  • 3 weeks later...

Chapter 3: From ashes...

 

The turaga of Po-Metru, Ikaron, was under intensive care after having half the Coliseum collapse on top of him. Although he had managed to bury his way out of the rubble, he had still sustained serious injuries, and was going to have to stay in the medical facility for some time.

 

Arkius and Kiames stood by his bed. It had been them that had brought him into medical care, but they still needed some answers, answers they were hoping Ikaron could provide them with. But Ikaron was in no shape to give them any answers, as he needed to rest and heal.

 

Unfortunately, they had no knowledge of where the other turaga were, or if they were even still alive. After searching through the rubble, his brother and friend Uramak, the toa of stone, had reported no sign of the other turaga. This troubled Arkius greatly.

 

Arkius decided to take a little walk to clear his mind. Kiames assured him she would call for him when the turaga woke up again, and Arkius left with all the worries of the world on his mind.

 

Outside the medical facility, the elegant cityscape of Ga-Metru stretched out in all directions, with the other metrus visible only barely in the far distance. The sky was beautiful and blue, and the sound of the bustling city created an almost soothing background noise as Arkius walked the streets.

 

But there was no denying that there was also tension in the air. Half the Coliseum had just been laid to waste, and most of the turaga had disappeared, with the only one remaining lying on a hospital bed under intensive care. It was only normal that many of the matoran were worried, if not afraid.

 

Suddenly, Arkius bumped into someone he hadn't noticed. Looking at the being, he realized it was his brother Tirem, the toa of fire. Tirem's expression was grim, but it quickly turned into a smile, which Arkius easily recognized as false.

 

"Brother! Good to see ya. It's been too long. What 'ave ya been up to? Ya nevah replyified my message, so Ah'm guessing ye've been quite busified. Heard'ya did some architecturification over in yer Onu-Metru. A lot of people were pretty chipper about it, from what I done did heard." Tirem's artificial smile widened, as if he himself actually believed the smile to be real.

 

"Yeah, I've been busy." Arkius replied. There was something off here. Sure, Tirem often feigned friendliness, but never like this. Granted, he might have changed over the years, but Arkius suspected something else going on with him.

 

***

 

It was late in the evening when Adiria and Rikha left for the camp site. Adiria had explained to Rikha that she'd forgotten a tent, and asked if she could stay in her tent for the night, to which Rikha fortunately obliged. Her tent was just about big enough to accommodate two matoran, but it would be a tight fit. Adiria didn't really mind, and it didn't seem like Rikha did either.

 

Rikha's tent was the classic fire matoran design she had seen at the camp site on her way to the festival, coloured in a faint dark red and somewhat strong on the edges, but at the same time strangely smooth, with its base almost perfectly round. It was how ever less ornate, and somewhat worn, but it still looked sturdy and weatherproof, which was good enough for Adiria.

 

The two matoran eventually managed to squeeze themselves into the tent, and as they lied there together, the sounds of the bustling matoran slowly faded away as everyone now went to sleep.

 

“So how long have you been in these parts. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a matoran with your colours before.” Rikha inquired. A relaxed smirk dominated her expression, even though the two matoran were tightly pressed together in this tent which was clearly not designed for said amount of persons... although perhaps that was the very reason for the smile.

 

Adiria smiled back, and looked away from Rikha's gaze as she replied. “Yeah, I arrived here just a few months ago, actually. I had some... trouble back at home. Had to skip country... ended up here after a while of drifting throughout the world.” Adiria paused a bit, her smile having faded somewhat at her own words.

 

“Well, if you don't wanna dwell on your past, I won't press ya for it. But I'm always willing to listen if you wanna went or somethin'.” Rikha said, trying her best to comfort Adiria.

 

Adiria smiled at this. “Thanks, Rikha. But I think I'll just... go to sleep for now, if that's ok with you?” Rikha respectfully nodded in response, and the two matoran went to sleep, the only sound on the campsite now being the chirps of the docile cricket rahi in the area.

 

***

 

The village of the green was one of the most isolated communities in the world. They had vast tracts of land surrounding them, and there were no other villages anywhere in sight as far as the horizon reached.

 

Which is why everyone in the village was shocked to see a frayed, weather-beaten matoran of ice stumble in through the gates and drop down on his knees.

 

Kargon happened to be closest to the matoran, so he ran over to them to see if the matoran was alright. The matoran wore a scratched up white Hau, and their eyes were the same dull-blue as the sky above them.

 

"Hey, hey. Are you alright? I've got you, you're safe now, I've got you." Kargon said, feeling it was the right thing to say. But when the matoran looked up and into his eyes, Kargon felt a chill shoot down his spine. The matoran's expression was one of utter dispair and pure, unadulterated horror. And then they spoke up, the matoran's voice shrill and full of fear.

 

"I'm never going to be safe. It's coming after me! It's coming after all of us! IT'S GOING TO KILL ME!!!" The matoran was now in utter despair, and although Kargon was fazed, he also knew that he had to know just what the matoran was talking about. But before the matoran could respond, it they keeled over. Kargon feared for the worst, but was relieved when he saw the matoran's heartlight continue to glow.

 

Kargon pulled the matoran up onto his shoulder, and carried it into the healer's hut.

 

Inside was Floaru, the only matoran in the village that had been thoroughly trained in proper medical procedures. She sat on a chair, tending to a malnourished matoran. She looked up as Kargon entered the hut, an expression of inquiry on her lime Faxon. Kargon stumbled inside and put the matoran on one of the mats that Floaru had set up in her hut.

 

"This matoran stumbled into the village just now. We can't let him die...” Kargon quickly said, hoping she would understand the severity of the situation. Floaru wasn't apathetic, which was a very good thing for a healer to be, so she quickly went to inspect his current state.

 

“Dear me.” She muttered as her quick inspection drew to a close. Kargon eyed her with concern, and Floaru noticed this well as she looked back at him. She put a hand up as a gesture for Kargon to calm down. “Don't worry. He's badly wounded, and has experienced severe malnutrition as well as an acute state of hypothermia. Nothing I can't handle... well, except for the malnutrition.” Floaru eyed Kargon with a slight hint of blame, but he knew she wasn't seriously accusing him of anything... well, at least he was pretty sure about it... somewhat sure, at least...

 

Alright, frankly he didn't know, but that was a discussion for a later date. Kargon nodded and exited the hut. Some of the matoran from the village had gathered around the hut, intrigued by the fact that a matoran of another element had entered their village, seemingly out of nowhere. Irya was one of aforementioned matoran, and as Kargon exited the hut, she inquired; “How is the matoran? Are they going to be alright?”

 

Kargon nodded. “As fine as anyone living in these parts can be...” With those words, leaving the matoran chattering, Kargon walked away from the small crowd and to his hut. He'd had his fill for today, and if there were any more eventful events to occur, they'd have to await his attention until tomorrow.

 

Until then, he quite frankly didn't care.

 

***

 

Arkius had walked about half the Metru of water when a young ga-matoran came running up to him, panting heavily. "Toa Arkius? Toa Kiames sent me. She said the turaga has awakened."

 

Arkius nodded. He proceeded to activate his mask of kinetics, and ran at incredible speeds to the medical facility. He slowed to a complete halt in front of the main entrance, and walked at a steady pace in through the doors. At that very moment, two large beings walked out, bumping into Arkius as they walked past him. They were both clothed in concealing clothing, completely black. One of them carried a large suit case, which was so large that it could carry a matoran within it.

 

But Toa Arkius only paid minor attention to this, as he was in a hurry to talk to Turaga Ikaron about the explosion at the Coliseum. He ran up the stairwell, careful not to run down any unsuspecting ga-matoran on the way, and exited it at the floor which the turaga was being treated at.

 

It was strangely quiet on the floor. Strange because when he left, there had been medical workers running about, tending to the patients they had under their care. But there was no one. This was wrong, and Arkius braced himself for possible conflict. His mind raced, going over the possibilities of what had happened. Were they all on a break? No, it was too early for that, and he had seen personnel below in full swing, working hard.

 

The next thing his mind went to was the two beings he had encountered as he entered the building. Spirits above, what if they had... oh no.

 

Arkius ran through the hall at full speed. He had to get to the turaga's room, he had to...

 

As Arkius came to a stop in front of the turaga's room, only the unconscious and wounded body of Kiames was present. Turaga Ikaron was gone.  

 
Edited by Toa Onaku
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  • 2 months later...

Chapter 4: To flames

 

It was only in the early hours of the morning when Adiria was awakened by commotion from outside. She found that Rikha wasn't in the tent with her, but she barely got any time to wonder where she had gone when the ta-matoran flung open the tent.

 

Come on! We have to go!!” She shouted. Adiria barely got a moment to wrap her head around what was going on when she was pulled out of the tent by Rikha. It was only then when she noticed the smoke rising above the tents, as well as the orange light which could only be from one thing: fire. And lots of it too.

 

Adiria let everything soak in. It was after a few seconds of piecing everything together with her newly awakened mind that she realized the severity of the situation. Rikha pulled on her arm. “Come on! We have to get out of here!” She shouted, a tone of desperation to her voice.

 

Adiria looked around. She could hear matoran shouting from the direction the fire was in. She realized that there had to be matoran that were, somehow, trapped. She ran for the flames, and after shouting a baffled “HEY!”, Rikha followed after her.

 

Wading through the occasional fire, Adiria searched through the inferno for any matoran that required help. On the way, she found one that had somehow been tied up in their tent. After freeing them from the fabric, which only seconds later erupted into flames, she kept going, deeper into the blaze.

 

She was starting to feel uncomfortable in the terrible heat of the flames surrounding her, but she tried to ignore it and press on for the sake of any unfortunate matoran trapped in the inferno. Rikha desperately tried to keep up with her, but Adiria only pressed on.

 

But the heat was really starting to get to her...

 

 

***

 

Arkius glanced around his apartment. There were four other toa present, each another member of his team. There was Uramak, the toa of stone, Eyiruk, the toa of air, Wuhaki, the toa of water, and Kiames, the toa of ice, who had just woken up from being knocked out. She had confirmed his suspicions about the large beings he'd come across at the hospital. Now the toa had gathered at Arkius's apartment to discuss their next move. Everyone was present... except for Tirem.

 

Arkius walked to the table and put his hands upon it, his gaze fixed upon the table's surface. On the table's surface was a two dimensional overhead map of the city. “Alright, everyone, listen up. The turaga have all been, as far as we know, captured by enemy forces. We have no way of knowing whether they're being kept prisoner or if they've simply been killed off... and worst of all, we have no idea where they're even being kept. That is to say, we didn't...” Arkius's expression took on a subtle grin, and he looked around at his siblings. “... Until now.”

 

With one swift motion of his hand, from being flat on the centre of the table, to going up from its surface, Arkius brought up a three dimensional holographic display of the city. With another motion, he zoomed the display in on the outer region of Ta-Metru. “Kiames had enough foresight to anticipate Ikaron's inevitable capture. She planted a tracking device on him, discreetly enough that no-one will be any the wiser. It's lead us to this warehouse-” Yet another flick of his hand zoomed the display in on a relatively small warehouse at the outskirts of Ta-Metru. “-And I think we can safely assume that if the other turaga are alive, they'll be there as well.”

 

Arkius now brought up holographic blueprints for the warehouse, detailing its layout. “Now, we've managed to narrow the tracking device's location down to this-” Arkius motioned to a smaller room to the side of the main storage area “-room right here. There is one door leading into that room, two windows above eye level of an average toa, so the only way in is through the door.” Arkius moved the holographic warehouse down onto the table, displaying it with ample room around it on the table.

 

Eyiruk, you'll scout the perimeter, locate any enemy forces we will have to deal with. Put your masks to good use.” Arkius turned to Wuhaki and Uramak “You two will handle direct combat. Provide distraction, knock out any guards that may be positioned there, anything to keep them away from where the turaga are positioned.” The two toa nodded, and so Arkius turned to Kiames.

 

Kiames, your task is the most important one. You have to free the turaga, and safely guide them out of the compound, after which you and I will deliver them to a safe zone where we will protect them until everyone has regrouped. I myself will be on standby in case things get rough.” Arkius swept his hand at the holographic display once more, and the image faded into the table.

 

Eyiruk suddenly spoke up. “What about Tirem?”

 

Arkius looked to Eyiruk, a subtle expression of displeasure on his face. “Since he has neglected to show up to this meeting, regardless of repeatedly being prompted to do so, I suppose we'll have to make due without him. If he does show up, I will assign him to back-up in case something go wrong, but his current negligence has shown abundantly well that we can't rely on that happening.”

 

Arkius paused for a moment, then concluded with the simple yet mandatory question: “Is everyone ready?”

 

***

 

The flames were starting to wear Adiria down. They clawed at her, gnawed at her flesh. She felt a burning sensation throughout her body, and she was starting to regret not getting out of here sooner. But it was too late. She couldn't get out of here now. What a way to go. Less than one year in this place and now she was to die here...

 

It was ironic, really. After everything she had done to escape the shadows of her past, she herself would now become nothing but dust in the wind to be forgotten. Adiria fell to her knees, her knuckles now singing in the heat as they collided with the ground. She groaned from the sheer intensity of the heat.

 

And then, she heard a sound. A voice. It was close by. But who could be speaking here, in this inferno? With great care to avoid the flames, Adiria cautiously approached the voice. Why would anyone be here? In this fire? Talking? So calmly too. As she got closer, she almost felt a sinister tone to the voice. Almost if they were... gloating? What the Imrath was going on here?

 

She carefully moved around flames eating up the tents and grass around her. It sounded like she was closing in on the source of the voice. It was still hard to make out what the person was saying, but she managed to pick up one word over the intense crackling of the fire. Interfere. But who was interfering with wh-?

 

It was then that she heard the screaming.

 

***

 

Arkius waited patiently as Eyiruk stealthily moved around the warehouse, taking note of anything and everything noteworthy. She used her mask of spectral vision for it, which proved very useful in detecting life signs, power sources and other things that emitted electromagnetic radiation. It wasn't long until she returned to the team with her report.

 

Two guards, one on each of the smaller doors. Then there's about three of them outside the main big doors. I can't seem to see inside the compound itself, though.”

 

Arkius gave Eyiruk a confused look at the last part. “What do you mean you can't see inside?”

 

Eyiruk hesitated a bit before answering “Well, when I look inside, there's nothing there. There's no electro magnetic radiation eminating from there. Not on the low spectrum, not on the high spectrum, heck, it might as well be absolute zero in there if my readings are correct.”

 

Arkius nodded. “Yeah, I can see what you mean. Well, I haven't heard about anything that can block all types of em rays, but I guess I haven't been in the game for some time. Alright, we need to be careful about this. Wuhaki and Uramak, you take down the guards on each of the smaller doors. Be discreet about it. We don't know who or what's inside that warehouse.”

 

Arkius turned to Kiames. “Kiames, look for an opportunity to get inside undetected. We can't risk direct confrontation with the turaga around, especially since we don't know what these guys are capable of.”

 

Arkius paused for a moment, then turned to Eyiruk. “And you. I need you to keep a lookout for anyone that might try to enter this area. Be gentle or be forceful, but keep everyone away from the warehouse. We can't risk any additional variables. There are enough as it is...”

 

After a final pause, Arkius nodded and looked up at his teammates. “Alright. Everyone move out.”

 

The four toa moved to their objectives with a haste that reminded Arkius of the old days. The days when the matoran needed them. When they were heroes, and not just some relics sitting in their towers, watching over their metrues as mere observers, forgotten by the masses.

 

But now they were needed again. They were necessary again. And of all people, Arkius thought Tirem would have been the last person to shrink from that kind of an opportunity. A chance to relive the old days. To save the day. To be a hero once again.

 

Oh well, too bad for him. His loss, Arkius thought.

 

***

 

It was a terrifying sound, but Adiria approached it regardless. Behind a mass of burning tents, she finally made visual contact with what had been giving off the voices and screams. Matoran. Four of them, counting the one strung up between the two burning tent poles.

 

What the Imrath are they doing to him?!! She thought to herself, but it was quite obvious what was going on. They were torturing the matoran. She couldn't quite tell if it was the light of the flames, or whether the three torturers were all ta-matoran. On closer inspection, it seemed to be the latter, since the tortured one had some shards of armor left in the colours of a po-matoran.

 

It was a terrible sight. The matoran had clearly been burnt all over, and his natural body armor had been forcibly torn away from the soft tissue underneath, leaving exposed organics in places where they shouldn't be. This is appalling. I need to find a way to get him out of here... but how am I going to accomplish anything in this heat? And me against three of them? No chance. I gotta-

 

In that very moment, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, followed by a loss of sensation taking hold of her body. She fell forwards and her vision started blur and darken, but just before she passed out, she could have sworn she saw Rikha's mask...

 

***

 

This is Urumak. I have taken down the target. Shall I proceed inside?” Urumak's voice came in over the intercom. Arkius pressed the button on the device attached to his right auditory sensor.

 

Arkius here. Negative. Wait for my signal. We don't know what's in there. Wuhaki, have you engaged your target?”

 

A short silence emerged, but was then swiftly replaced by Wuhaki's voice. “This is Wuhaki. I have taken down my designated target.” Arkius nodded as if anyone could actually see it, before becoming slightly flustered over his mistake, and then realizing no one had even seen him make said mistake. He pressed the button on his 'earpiece' again.

 

Proceed to make visual surveillance of inside the warehouse. Be careful not to be detected. They have at least one hostage, and things could get ugly if they try to use him against us, so no barging inside unless you are out of options.”

 

Arkius proceeded to waiting for a bit, before the confused voice of Urumak came over the intercom again. “Um, Arkius? Are you sure we have the right warehouse? I mean, there were crooks outside, sure, but...”

 

Arkius replied hastily, cutting Umarak off. “What are you talking about? The tracking device leads here. What do you see?”

 

There was a short silence before he got a reply. “Well, see, there's sort of this-” “It's empty. There's no one and nothing here.” Wuhaki's voice came over the intercom. “Are you certain about the accuracy of your locating the tra-?” Wuhaki was abruptly cut off.

 

That's either a glitch, or someone's jamming our signal. Arkius sighed and stood up. “Kiames, do you copy?”

 

Kiames soon came through on the intercom. “This is Kiames. I copy.”

 

Arkius gave a sigh of relief over hearing her voice. “I think it's about time you make your entrance.”

 

Kiames' reply surprised Arkius. “I'm already inside, and I can confirm that there is nothing here. The place is empty. I can't even... OH MY GOD! ARKIUS! I REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE!”

 

Arkius was immediately put into a state of alert. He stood up from his position and began running for the warehouse, quickly activating his mask of kinetics to gain some speed. Along the way, he quickly glanced to where Eyiruk was sitting on top of a tall building, keeping watch. The worry in her face was obvious... before suddenly a blood splatter emerged from her chest. Arkius watched in horror as Eyiruk's face took on an expression of agony, and she keeled over.

 

Arkius hesitated. What was going on? Was this a trap? Had they been set up?! It was in this short moment of hesitation that Arkius suddenly felt a slight sensation of heat on his side that faced the warehouse. This slight sensation immediately then became searing, before a heightened pressure suddenly appeared on his side and began pushing him away.

 

Arkius was thrown away as the warehouse exploded into smithereens. His right side was singed and battered, and he groaned from the pain as he lied on his back. The pain increased as he suddenly felt pressure applied to his chest. Looking up, he could see... Kiames?

 

Kiames? What's goin- Aggh!” Arkius let out a shriek of pain as Kiames applied more pressure to the wounded side of his chest. She kneeled down until her face was only two heads away from Arkius' face, her foot still firmly planted on his chest, keeping him from getting up.

 

You still don't get it, do you? You toa are so focused on your perceived truths that you never stop to think if maybe something is off.” A twisted, unprecedented smile came over Kiames' mask. “Stupid little toa, so caught up in being heroes that they never think twice. You know, I had actually taken several extra precautions just to be sure this little charade worked, but it seems like I didn't even need them after all. HAH! What a joke. And you guys are supposed to be the protectors of this city?”

 

Kiames knelt further down so that her face was now almost touching Arkius'. “You can't even protect yourselves.” She concluded as her face suddenly transformed into that of Tirem, the wicked smile still there.

 

***

 

Kargon woke up with a start. He'd just had a terrible dream. A nightmare. It had been so vivid. Visions of fire, and a great city in grave danger. He had dreamt of treachery, a great evil, and a face... no, two faces. The face of a great warrior, burdened with worry for the world, and a young matoran with shadows in her past. They were both in peril in his dream.

 

But what could this mean? Was it the stress finally getting into his head? Kargon groaned as he slowly got out of bed and walked outside. Everyone was... packing? Kargon quickly rushed over to where Irya was helping Kess with her bags.

 

Irya! What's going on? Why is everyone packing?” He asked in great confusion.

 

Irya looked up from the bags to Kargon. Her face was more determined than ever. “While you went off to sleep, the matoran woke up and began screaming. It took some time before we managed to calm them down, and that's when they brought us the news.” Irya paused for a moment, as if she didn't quite still believe what she was about ot say, but then she looked back up to Kargon with determination.

 

There is a great shadow coming. It has eaten up villages, destroyed mountains and engulfed entire lands. If we are to survive, we need to get out of here now!”

 

Both Kargon and Irya now shared the same face of hopeless dread. Dread for what was to come. But even then, they did not fully realize just what was soon coming their way.

 
Edited by Toa Onaku
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  • 2 months later...

Chapter 5: Memories

 

Adiria slowly opened her eyes. Carefully, almost. As if she would hurt herself if she were too hasty. Her head hurt like Imrath's keister, and yet she felt numb all over. Her gaze first moved to her surroundings. She was in a hospital room. Quite a bit more advanced than anything at home. By the abundance of red décor, she deduced she must be in the fire village... although from what she had heard, the 'village' was everything but.

 

She then looked at herself, and noticed that there were bandages wrapped around various parts of her body. What had happened? She tried to remember. She recalled a lot of heat... she had been woken up by Rikha. And there was a fire. Someone was shouting for help... and she ran into the flames. The last thing she remembered was-

 

She recoiled as her memory of the tortured matoran came back. Her face took on an expression of disgusted terror. She felt sick. She had to...

 

Adiria let out a groan after having thrown up over the side of the bed, herself now lying on the edge on her stomach. “Well that's going to be a mess to clean up.” Adiria looked up and saw Rikha enter the room. “How is our brave hero doing?” Rikha continued with a half-baked smile upon her lips.

 

Adiria shook her head. “I don't... feel too good in my stomach, but I guess I'm alright. Is everyone alright?” Adiria knew the answer was a big no for at least one of the matoran, but she was somewhat hesitant to talk about what she had seen. She barely knew her, and for all she knew, she could have been working with those other ta-matoran. It didn't help that she now recalled having seen Rikha's face before falling unconscious.

 

While Adiria moved to lie back in the bed, Rikha answered “Well, most people got away safe, some with only minor burns. The one you saved; and yes, they came by here earlier today to leave that-” She pointed to a vase full of colourful flowers “-as a big thank you and a I-wish-I-could-repay-you; got away with mostly minor injuries, and only one severe burn that was easy to mend.”

 

Rikha paused for a moment before continuing, her voice now heavier, and her face taking on a sadder expression. “But I guess not everyone got out... They found a charred body in there after the fires had died down.” She slapped Adiria on the leg somewhat angrily, which made Adiria flinch from the sharp pain. “And that would have happened to you if I hadn't found you lying on the ground in there. You could have gotten yourself killed!”

 

Rikha's expression seemed more hurt than angry, although really it was just an expression of heavy worry. “I didn't wake you up to watch you run into the flames instead of away from them.” Her arms were now crossed, and her gaze moved away from Adiria.

 

Adiria realized how she had hurt Rikha. She felt sorry about leaving her like she had done back then, but she didn't feel sorry about saving the matoran. She moved her hand, reaching it to grasp the Rikha's shoulder. “I'm sorry about worrying you, and I'm sorry about leaving you behind. But you can't deny that my decision ended up saving someone's life, someone who would instead now a charred corpse among the rest of the camp site, just like the one they found. And yes, I know, I could have ended up that way myself, but I didn't... and I have you to thank for that.”

 

Rikha's expression softened into a light smile, not too different from the one she had entered the room with a minute or two ago. Her hand moved from her crossed arms to hold Adiria's hand as she sat on the chair next to the bed. Rikha's gaze seemed filled with conflicted feelings, but she seemed to have enough control over her other facial features that they didn't betray her emotions.

 

So how do you feel? What's the last thing you remember before you fell unconscious?” Rikha suddenly asked. Her tone indicated great care for Adiria, but the question itself that she posed, within the context of what Adiria had seen, made Adiria more than a little suspicious. She decided to lie.

 

I don't really remember too much. I mean, I remember saving the matoran, but then there's just... flames. Then there's nothing until I woke up here.” Although Rikha's expression was that of caring, Adiria noticed both her eyes and her body posture losing tension. “Well, it looked like you had fainted from the extreme heat, and then hit your head on a something hard when I finally found you. The back of your head will probably be a little sore for a while.”

 

Adiria smiled and nodded, rubbing the back of her head. Sure enough, it felt sore when she touched it. Rikha's lies hurt Adiria, yet at the same time she felt like she couldn't really blame her for wanting to keep her secrets. For one, she did save her from the fire. But that matoran... could it have deserved it? Was it maybe... no. No one deserved that kind of torture. It was cruel and it was evil.

 

Adiria was going to have to keep a level head, open eyes and well tuned ears from here on out. She was going to find out what was going on, one way or another.

 

***

 

The being Arkius had thought to be his sister Kiames held a crooked blade up to his neck, stopping him from getting up or attacking it. A mad smile was on its lips, which were now a part of a strangely familiar face. But he couldn't recall where he'd seen it before. The words “Wh-who are you?” left his mouth as he carefully held his head and neck down and away from the blade.

 

A slight hint of displeasure dented the being's twisted grin, but it quickly brought its expression back to 'normal'. “You insult me. I thought you of all people would recognize the very being whose ambitions you RUINED some decades ago. Or have you grown too weak-minded to remember? I heard you matoran race folks grew frail and old over time, but this is just revolting.” It took a deep breath as if to calm itself, and then returned its gaze back to Arkius.

 

Allow me, then, to help you remember. It was about seventy four years ago. Ring any bells for you? That's when you fought tooth and nail to 'protect' this big hunk of metal you call a city from our organization.”

 

Arkius grimaced. “Yeah, I remember that. And I know what you are. I faced a number of you back then, so you'll excuse me if I don't exactly remember any individual one of you.”

 

The shapeshifter grit its teeth. Its loathing for Arkius was well apparent, even through its unusually structured face. “Well then, how about I jog your memory a bit?” it said as it raised the dagger it held in its three-fingered hand, making itself likely to stab it with force into Arkius.

 

But then, a piercing howl came from the being as a spike shot from the ground and pierced its ankle. Arkius knew he had to act quickly, and in anticipation of the assailant that had taken down Eyiruk, created a wall of earth surrounding himself. As Arkius retracted the spike into the ground, the being stumbled backwards away from Arkius, allowing him to sit up and crawl a bit to gain breathing room.

 

Just tell me who the Imrath you are!” Arkius winced in pain as his entire right side was badly burnt and pummelled from the blast. The shapeshifter, being in the similar situation of being wounded, winced as it looked up from the ankle it was holding in its hands.

 

Instead of telling you who I am-” The being raised its hand as if to add emphasis, and a wicked smile came to its face again “-how about I tell you just how misguided you are in thinking this stupid wall will protect you?”

 

Arkius felt a small portion of his side explode open and blood shoot out. He screamed in agony. As he looked up at the shapeshifter, he could see another being standing beside it. It was... a toa. But it wasn't anyone he knew. They were clad in dark red and black armour. Even the mask they wore, sporting protruding spikes in a menacing fashion, was unknown to him, and through its eyeholes their piercing red eyes shone. The shapeshifter raised its hand again, and the toa's mask lit up. This time, Arkius's blood began to boil inside of him. And this time, he was in too much pain to even scream.

 

But then, suddenly, the shapeshifter and the toa were knocked down. Arkius felt a cool gust of wind blow at him, and as he looked up, cold sweat dripping down his body, he could see Eyiruk clutching her chest. Before he could voice his surprise and happiness to see her alive, she grabbed him and jumped over the wall of earth, carrying him on her shoulders.

 

As she ran from the scene, her breath rapid and growing shallow, she ducked in between the buildings of the area, searching for any kind of cover. Finally, she found a tight alley way, and sure enough, she found a door there. Kicking it down, she made it only a few steps before collapsing, dropping an agonized Arkius on the floor.

 

The toa of earth looked up, and although still in pain, he crawled over to the door to close it. His breath was deep and heavy as he laid his back against the wall next to the door. Looking at Eyiruk as she got on her knees, one hand clutching at her chest wound, he let out a sigh.

 

A great deal of things were in that sigh; sadness, anger, confusion, but also happiness and relief. Sadness and anger over the death of his two siblings, confusion over the return of one of his enemies from the war against the Blood Dynasty, and happiness and relief that Eyiruk was still alive. That he still had someone left.

 

***

 

Sleighs, roughly but sturdily put together by the ones more experienced in carpentry in the village, carried the matoran which could not walk on their own, among them being Kess, the village chief. The ones with more strength dragged the sleighs on, and at the forefront was a sleigh carrying the matoran of ice, dragged by Kargon himself. In order to escape the coming shadows, they needed the ko-matoran's guidance, at least for the first few days. At the very least, they needed to make sure they were going away from the darkness, and not running straight into its clutches.

 

Finally, as the suns began to set over the mountains, the villagers came to a halt and set up camp. The surrounding area was, surprisingly, quite a bit more populated by plants than their home had been, but they had now been travelling for a few days. The matoran cut down a few of the less healthy trees, and set up a camp fire to keep themselves warm through the night.

 

Kargon sat down next to Irya and let out a deep sigh of exhaustion. Irya looked to him with sympathy, knowing full well how hard he was being on himself out of guilt. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault they were in this mess, but she knew he wouldn't listen to it. So instead, she gave him an assuring embrace around the shoulders with her arm. Kargon smiled faintly to Irya, him quite clearly being too tired to stay awake for much longer.

 

“Remember when the hills were green with grass, and the trees in the distance were tall and bold and vibrant, so much so that they almost seemed to be daring anything to try and take them on. I remember one tree, near the village. It was always so tall and strong, and we used to always go play there when we were younger... And then it just... withered away. Almost as if it was slowly being suffocated.” Kargon sighed.

 

“Which I imagine how it must feel to be deprived of the very foundations in which you grew up on. To have that foundation poison you, drain you of life...” Kargon looked up at the stars.

 

“We aren't plants, Kargon. We do not have roots. We can move. We can change. We can tear ourselves up and plant ourselves elsewhere in more fertile, thriving soil. The plants stay where they are born until they die unless we move them. But we don't need to wait for someone to move us. We move ourselves. Our element is the green, but that does not mean we are our element.”

 

Kargon nodded and smiled lightly at Irya's speech. The two sat there on the makeshift log bench, warming themselves by the fire as the cold night rapidly approached the villagers. And together, they each contemplated what the future had in store, be it good or ill.

 

Eventually they went to sleep with the rest of the villagers, each of them crawling into one of the shared tents. There Kargon lied, surrounded by other sleeping matoran, and as he looked up into the dark tent ceiling, he continued to think about the future. Soon enough, he too fell asleep.

 

But he would find no refuge within his dreams.

 

***

 

Eyiruk winced in pain as the fire touched her wound. The first step towards the two of them getting out of this situation was to take care of their wounds. Eyiruk's chest had been burst open by the very blood running through her veins, and they had to be shut if she was to not bleed out. Same applied to Arkius's side, and he grimaced hard when the fire sealed the bleeding wound shut.

 

Arkius sat up by one of the support pillars and clenched his now sealed wound. His eyes were emptying of pain... but this only allowed another, deeper pain to come to light. Eyiruk knew exactly what it was, and she shared his grief.

 

“Maybe Kiames is still alive. Maybe they just... took her prisoner. And they're keeping her somewhere in the city.” Arkius offered. Kiames shook her head. “No, they had no qualms killing us, and they most certainly had no reason to keep her alive any more then us.”

 

Arkius grimaced at the hard logic Eyiruk offered. “Tirem, then. We haven't seen him in years, maybe he's still alive and we just don't know it.”

 

“Unlikely. As you said, he would have been the first to jump at an opportunity to relive the old glory days. Good lot of luck that did us!” She remarked, coughing up a bit of blood almost as emphasis.

 

Arkius put his face into his palms. Everyone was gone. His whole team. The very people he had known since the day he first opened his eyes to behold the world. All gone... except for Eyiruk. Although in the state she was, he didn't know if she would last any longer herself.

 

“We need a plan... some way to stop these people-” Arkius began, but before he could proceed, Eyiruk interrupted “We are in no condition to fight anyone! I have an exploded chest and you have half your body burnt and beaten and your side torn open. Even with the bleeding stopped, we're still in no shape to stop them, or anyone else for that matter. What we need is a plan of escape. We need to get out of here. Out of the city. Somewhere we can regroup, and reach old contacts... if we still have them.”

 

Arkius was at first going to object to Eyiruk's proposal. It sounded cowardly to him. And also a bit selfish. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized Eyiruk was right. They were too badly injured to take on their assailants, and they couldn't stay in the city lest they be found and slaughtered. They couldn't do any good by staying in the city. They had to leave. And leave now.

 

So regardless of aching muscles and sore wounds, the two of them took together what they could find of supplies in this abandoned house, and placed them in makeshift packs in which they could carry them. Out the back door they went, and with help from their masks of perception disruption, they made their way through the city, and to the waterways, completely unnoticed. With a stolen boat and a the knocked out owner of it placed on the docks where they would wake up unharmed, the two of them set off on the silver sea. Their destination...

 

The Northern Continent.

 
Edited by Toa Onaku
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