Redemption

[Voltex]

RedemptionA Short Story by iBrowDisbelief.That is what I feel as I am lead by these scientists to my doom, unable to even slow the progress. Just moments ago, I still thought that I could rise to power here. How wrong I was....Fury.It surges through me at how my arch rival felt mercy, trying to save me... and couldn’t. Fury at those Makuta, and their experiments that made me what I am... but that isn’t true, is it? I was evil long before the Makuta even knew I existed....Fear.It’s far too late for me to be granted a reprieve. There is nothing that can restore me to my original element of fire... nothing that can undo my actions in the past... nothing that can erase my memories... nothing that can save me as I walk towards my doom.Hatred.Something I never really thought I could feel towards the Makuta in my state... but I do. I saw them in my foolish younger days, and idolized them. Became like them. Yeah... that definitely worked out, didn’t it?Desperation.A brief struggle leaves me completely drained of any energy; it’s all I can do to continue stumbling wherever they want me to go. My heartlight is flashing quickly, my breaths leaving my body faster then they enter.Regret.My actions as a Matoran of shadow are nearly forgotten; regret for the actions that I made under my own right mind, before the total corruption, disgust me. An old Turaga killed, and for what? Villages burned to the ground. Several attempts at murdering someone I’d once considered a friend....Resignation.Hope? What is hope? Hope is something I’ve lost, as we draw near to the room where I will die. Or worse... for I’m sure these maniacs know things worse than death. But who am I to call them maniacs? I deserve this, with what I’ve done....Fury, Once More.Hatred mixed in there as well; what have I done to myself, those I loved? I created terror, people were afraid of me wherever I went; even the Makuta were weary of me... all wasting my life. Wasting the lives of others... I am done.Disbelief.Just like she saved my life at the bottom of the mountain, she has arrived to save my life again. But this Makuta... she is the Makuta who saved me back then, but at the same time, a different one altogether. I was a matoran of fire, saved by a Makuta of shadow; now I am a Matoran of shadow, saved by a Makuta of light.Determination.Even as those scientists rage, I feel that familiar stubbornness inside me. The refusal to give up... the determination that I will not die....Once more, I am making my escape; Makuta Gorast has looked into my mind, and decided to save me. I run through the halls, as those I served under shadow in one world fight to save me in another.Freedom.I feel the shadows that have long become familiar for as long as I can remember vanish; a wall of fire erupts right beside me... but I feel nothing. I run faster, only to find myself rising into the air; glancing up, I see that Makuta Gorast has saved me once again.Hope.A feeling that I once considered only felt by fools on the side of the light. Something only those on the light can ever understand... something I feel now. I glance back; those Makuta of light have all gathered to join me, we’re rising higher into the air....Darkness.What was my purpose in the universe? Did I ever serve it, or did I travel off the past, altering everything in the process? What did I do in the light that others couldn’t have done without me? I search my head, but cannot find an answer... though I must live, if I can think....Death.I know it now... I died. I see them now, those Makuta of light, punished but alive. I can only hope that they are able to rebel, as they vanish and my arch rival appears, standing in a field with the Makuta that replaced me. I fight to reach them... but it s no use. I find something in my hand; a dagger, the one that I nearly killed him with. It falls from my grasp to land in front of them.And I fade away, staying just long enough to see the look of shock and confusion on his face; and one last blast of fury, that he will never know of how I changed back.***The dagger flew down in front of Mazeka with a whoosh, stabbing into the dirt in front of him. He glanced at Teridax; the Makuta of light shrugged, and Mazeka crouched down, yanking the dagger out of the dirt.He wiped away the dirt, and as he cleaned it, dropped it softly with a rustle into the grass, glancing up at the sky, though there was nothing there; he returned his gaze to the knife, lying in the field, gleaming in the sunlight.“Vultraz....” Mazeka whispered.“Was that your friend?” Teridax asked, as Mazeka picked up the dagger once more.“He... was a friend once.” Mazeka responded softly, turning away, staring at the dagger. “But this was his... how did it get here?”“Easy.” Teridax’s armour clanked as he sat down on a nearby rock. “He brought it here.”Mazeka turned to face him.“But... that’s not....” he trailed off.“Your friend is dead.” Teridax told him. “Of that much, we can be certain.”Anger rose in Mazeka’s chest, and he gripped the dagger tightly, preparing to throw it away.“One last attempt to kill me, then?!” he muttered angrily.“On the contrary,” Teridax began, rising and grabbing Mazeka’s arm gently. “I feel it may be him trying to tell you one last thing in his parting. Give you one last important message.”Mazeka yanked his arm away from the Makuta’s arm, but did not attempt to throw the knife again, still staring at it.“The only thing I can think of...” his voice caught in his throat. “Is that... he came back... to... my side... our side.”“Our side... the side of the light.” Teridax confirmed. “Facing inevitable death, a death concocted simply because the Great Beings could, possibly freed him from the shadows. I have a feeling that in his last moments, Vultraz did what took my fellow Makuta and I years.”Mazeka glanced up at Teridax’s face, a questioning look on his own face.“He banished all shadow within him.” Teridax answered the unasked question. “He truly rejoined the right side.”Mazeka shook his head sadly.“There’s no use, though.” He said dejectedly. “No way for him to be remembered properly....”“Unless we tell them the proper tale.” Teridax told him. “And what we say will be true; in the end, Vultraz did regret his actions. And he thus turned good... but paid for his crimes with his life.”With that said, Ko-Matoran and Av-Makuta set off on their journey to destroy the being who had usurped the universe they stood in, and watching from far above, the faintest glimmer of Vultraz smiled slightly at them, before vanishing forever.End.I wrote and posted this on BZPower back on April 1st, and thought I'd repost it for people to enjoy/maybe actually read() again.I'll repost Avalanche soon.Anyway, just keep in mind that my writing has improved greatly (I think lol) since I wrote this.-ibrow