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Nuparu's Folly (Exchange '18 for AceGreenLegend)


Dane-gerous

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The enforcer stood, dormant, as if it was silently guarding the workshop.

 

Dust and filth covered the machine, obscuring its original matte grey and blue colors in a subdued sleepy tone. It looked simultaneously ancient yet also incredibly advanced. Hahli couldn't even begin to fathom how it worked. Notes and carvings covered the small room in the workshop.

 

...Nuparu's work. 

 

She had trouble reading a lot of the notes, but a word kept repeating. "Vahki". Hahli knew these robots. Police automatons. She had encountered a few heavily malfunctioning ones whilst traversing what was left of Onu-Metru.

 

This one, however, looked intact. The Ga-Matoran looked over the droid. It had completely empty hands, devoid of the signature staffs the Vahki often carried. Hahli's eye caught onto something by the pelvis of the machine. 

 

A switch.

 

A very small switch, mind, but it was there. 

 

The innate feeling of curiosity was common among Matoran, though somewhat paradoxical to their original purpose. Hahli's hand crept to the switch.

 

A few moments passed.

 

Click.

 

The switch flipped under the pressure of the curious Ga-Matoran's finger. Nothing happened at first. A quiet buzzing seemed to emit for a few moments but the room quickly returned to silence.

 

A frown appeared behind Hahli's powerless Kaukau. 

 

Then, a dim blue light began to glow in the otherwise soulless optics of the Vahki. 

 

The Vahki's head tilted upwards, suddenly.

 

Hahli jumped back almost instantly. She could begin to hear cogs whirring as the robot's individual parts began to move. The vahki seemed to stare at the Ga-Matoran for what seemed like minutes.

 

"Dest....roy...." A monotone, yet sure voice managed from the sound box of the droid.

 

In reaction, Hahli's form seemed to shift, growing larger and savager, arms becoming legs, hands becoming claws. Her back soon nearly reached the ceiling as the being known formerly as Hahli transformed into a Muaka.

 

The Muaka roared at the vahki, before pouncing on the bot, front claws pinning the Vahki down. 

 

"Memory core....dest...royed....what are my orders?" The vahki continued, weakly lifting its head. 

 

The Muaka's head tilted. The vahki finally seemed to notice that the Matoran had completely and utterly changed forms, and a small, yet potent shock went through the vahki's body. Claws flew off the vahki as the giant tiger Rahi yelped, legs smoking from the shock.

 

Legs began to shrink again and the Muaka's stance shifted upwards, taking a more familiar, upright, yet smaller stance. Dark green armour now covered what was once Hahli as well as a Muaka. A Kanohi Volitak adorned the Toa's face. "Memory core partially restored. Your powers match that of intelligent Rahi known as Krahka. You have assumed the identity of Toa [iNFORMATION WITHHELD]. Info banks still not complete."

 

The Toa, or more accurately, Krahka, relaxed a little, seeing that the Vahki wasn't approaching. He gingerly nodded, surprised by this Vahki's ability to speak. "This person...it's Toa Nidhiki. I met him once. He tried to kill me. Like many of your top-dweller masters tried."

 

The vahki didn't immediately react, but a few moments later it seemed to nod. "You are considered hostile by most city personnel, including my fellow vahki and the Toa [iNFORMATION WITHHELD]."

 

"How...can you speak? I never saw your kind speak before." Krahka's voice seemed unnatural even to herself. She didn't usually speak either. There weren't many people to speak to. Not anymore.

 

The vahki looked to think, almost, as it formulated an answer. "I am...unique. Nuparu, the Onu-Matoran responsible for the creation of the Vahki concieved me as a higher command unit to accompany vahki squads. I would be followed by similar units for each Metru. Mine was...I cannot access which Metru I was meant for."

 

"Toa Nidhiki" listened to the Vahki's words, taking another look around the workshop. The robot hadn't been locked away by any means. It was out in the open, in fact, right on display at the back of the workshop, standing above all of the benches and numerous notes and spare parts and notes. 

 

Yet it had been abandoned, and it was in fact alone. Krahka's eyes narrowed behind the Volitak. 

 

Nuparu. Yet again Nuparu was at the forefront of her questions. 

 

The vahki stepped forward slightly. "You broke containment. How?"  

 

"There wasn't much left to keep me down there. Most of you top-dwellers are dead, if not gone mad." Toa Nidhiki's image replied, still observing the room. The vahki's eyes glowed brighter, almost as if surprised.

 

"...Explain."

 

Krahka stayed silent. Instead of trying to explain, she simply gestured to the door, and left. The vahki followed behind, if slowly.

 

***

 

Every building outside that had once stood tall now lay crumbled and rusted deep in the nooks and crannies of Onu-Metru's subterreanean land. A single rusted watch tower peeked out of the crevice Krahka and the Vahki were. Dozens of small openings to other huts and workshops peppered the belts of the crevice. 

 

The sky was an rusted, sickly orange. Onu-Metru looked like it had been baked in a hot Ta-Metru furnace and thrown out, burnt and ruined. 

 

The Krahka gestured to their surroundings. "This is what is left of Metru-Nui."

 

***

Far, far away from Krahka and her newfound companion, a hulking mechanical suit sifted through the scraps of its last skirmish. A few dead stray rahi and a destroyed vahki were strewn around the area. 

 

Appropiated disk launchers and a few prototype weapons adorned the shoulders and arms of the mech. Whoever was piloting it was completely covered in armour and devices. A speaker had been stuck on the front of the large suit, though it was rarely used. Barely anyone was around to hear it, and those that were didn't want to.

 

Deciding there was nothing there for it to scavenge, the mech stood up, walking away from the mess. 

 

Ta-Metru was a ways away, and he needed to get moving. 

 

To be continued.

Edited by Dane.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Chapter 2

 

The vahki had no immediate response. It seemed to observe the area around them, its huge processors whirring to try and comprehend what had happened.

 

"What you call the archives are no more. Most of the creatures closer to the main breach are... gone. The ones that aren't...they aren't what they used to be. Not at all." Krahka pointed to the large open hole in the large complex that was the Archives, to the north of them. 

 

"I don't know how it happened. I don't think any top-dweller left does, either. I was only safe because your masters all drove me deep into the archives." Krahka looked into the distance at the hole. 

 

"The only one of your kind I think might have some answers for me is your creator. You said the name Nuparu. It isn't the first I've heard of him." The rahi looked back at the robot. "You can help me, if you'd like. If you can. Help me try to discover what he was doing."

 

The vahki's eyes glowed. For a few moments, it seemed to just stare at Krahka. It searched desperately through its directives, trying to find out what it was to do. What could it do? 

 

Krahka stared back. The machine's disbelief perplexed her. Was this strange creation capable of emotion? If not, was the truth of the situation really too much for even the automaton to comprehend? 

 

The Vahki's voice processor interrupted her thoughts. 

 

"If what you say is correct, then the logical choice of action would be to follow you. It is likely in this situation that Nuparu is no longer alive. However, it is also relatively likely that Nuparu may have left behind some information regarding what might have caused Metru-Nui's destruction. From the records I have stored, he was connected to much of the projects pursued in Metru-Nui. The records I have are limited, however."

 

The vahki finally broke eye contact, looking back to the wastes of Onu-Metru. Krahka nodded. 

 

"Do you have a name I may call you?" 

 

The vahki almost seemed to blink. "My creator never assigned me a name. You may call me Vahki, if that is convenient to you."

 

A small smile appeared behind Krahka's Volitak. 

 

"Ahurei. It's a word you top-dwellers use. It means unique. I'll call you that." 

 

The vahki tilted its head. "Ahurei. I...will save that."

 

***

 

The jaws of the vahki exploded. Shrapnel and metal from the metal prongs on its face plunged into the clockwork devices that lay in the vahkis head. The green glow in the vahki's eyes immediately switched off, and the what was left of the robot fell to the ground, sparks flying from the breaches in the robot's armour.

 

Smoke gradually faded from the assailant's disk launcher, before it folded back into the arm of the mechanical suit. 

 

The vahki, in its malfunctioning state had assumed the hulking mech was hostile. That assumption had cost the robot an explosive disk to the face. Not that it was a wrong one, however. 

 

The suit bent down, inspecting the vahki's still-sparking corpse. This one had still retained its original weapon, a staff of command. 

 

This was a rare find. The few vahki that were still functioning had mostly abandoned their original weapons. The mech reached for the staff and grabbed it with a large mechanical hand. It held its new weapon, inspecting it curiously. It shone, despite the dust and ash that covered its enviroment. Ga-Metru was perhaps the most unfortunate of all the Metrus. What used to be a lush and beautiful part of the city looked more like an ashy Po-Metru. Most, if not all of the water had dried up. The schools lay decrepit and ruined. 

 

The staff was a remnant of a better time. 

 

The mech held onto the staff. It was a useful piece of equipment. 

 

A much better time.

 

A roar in the distance broke the mech's concentration. 

 

Back to work.

Edited by Dane.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Chapter 3

 

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The ash bear towered over even the mechanical suit. Its left back leg was completely twisted, bent in the wrong direction, but it didn't dissuade the bear from roaring in the suit's face, taking the assembly aback. Its sharp fangs had elongated even further, forming into large and long tusks. 

 

Retaliating with a hard left punch, the operator smashed the bear in the face with a reinforced metal fist. Metal colliding with bone, the bear roared, staggering back. The rahi was almost certainly not used to being hit like that. It lunged forward, incredibly fast for a creature of its size. 

 

The operator, surprised by the speed, couldn't move in time. Tusk crunched into the headpiece of the construct, metal grinding against the bear's teeth. The rahi's claws flew forward too, attempting to knock over the mech. 

 

The operator clutched the controls tight.

 

Pistons extended downwards, the suit's feet digging deep into the aged ground below it. 

 

Energy boosters on either of the mechs arms fired up, shoving the ash bear back with incredible force.

 

Multiple weapons folded out. Disk launchers, rhotukas, even a scavenged lightstone rifle from a vortixx visitor. 

 

Beep! Beep! BEEP!

 

The rahi's mouth opened, roaring a final time before a loud cacophony of sounds erupted from the operator's assortment of weaponry. 

 

***

 

The newly christened "Ahurei" clung tight to Krahka as they soared through the polluted sky. She travelled astonishingly fast, blasting through the remains of Onu-Metru quickly. 

 

She had grown accustomed to her new form almost instantly. Kahu were rare in Metru-Nui, especially now, but she was lucky enough to have met one on her many travels before being locked away.

 

Her avian face frowned at the thought of her past. 

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the vahki on her back. 

 

"Le-Metru is the last trace I have on my memory of Nuparu. We should travel there first." He said, still gripping tight to Krahka's back, her wings spread wide as she flew.

 

FWOOOOOSH!

 

Ko-Metru soon began to come into view. 

 

The icy sector's many knowledge towers had toppled over in the Event, and more had simply disintegrated. A pathetic amount of snow remained, leaving most of Ko-Metru a crystal ridden barren. Some of the larger buildings still stood tall, though damaged and creaking.

 

The quiet Metru was even more so, now.

 

FWOOOSH!

 

Krahka manuevuered past a still-standing tower. The vahki's grip tightened on her back as she swerved sideways.

 

"It would be far safer if you were to not come close to those towers." The vahki muttered to the Kahu. 

 

Krahka completely ignored Ahurei, soaring almost perfectly into a 360 degree spin as she flew through the skyline of Ko-Metru. 

 

Ahurei could hear Krahka cry out, triumphant, as he desperately tried not to go flying off of the Kahu's back. He could fly temporarily, but from this altitude it would not save him.

 

This was going to be a long journey.

 

***

 

The Ash Bear was still intact, after the onslaught. This surprised the operator. 

 

It was still dead, of course, but much of its original structure remained. The mech nudged the rahi with a hulking foot. 

 

Scorch marks were all over the bear's green skin, and its once twisted leg was now completely gone. Disk fragments lay nearby. It was more than likely that this was one of the survivors from the original impact in the archives.

 

The operator disliked dealing with rahi as opposed to the malfunctioning mechanical constructs that now roamed Metru-Nui's corpse. Most notably because they carried nothing to scavenge. No technology, no remnants. Only their corrupted anger and disjointed form.

 

But he had to do it.

 

The mech moved, kicking away the Ash Bear's remains.

 

Got to keep going.

 

***

 

A loud cry came from the cursed skyline of Le-Metru.

 

Matau looked into the sky. 

 

A...Kahu?

 

It had been time-long since he'd seen one of those. 

 

He watched as the Kahu began to fly downwards, seemingly towards part of Le-Metru. "Hey, Orkahm! Look-see! Rahi's here!"

 

A jittery Matoran ran to Matau's side, a customized disk launcher in his hands. "Mutant?" He asked, hysteria deeply set into his noble Matatu.

 

The other Le-Matoran walked to his Moto-Sled, jumping in the front seat. "Don't know! Get in!"

 

To be continued.

Edited by Dane.
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  • 3 weeks later...
Chapter 4

 

Le-Metru was deathly silent. The green in the city had rusted and corroded, turning into an ugly dark emerald colour. The streets, very low into the city, smelled damp. The shattered transports pipes hanging around the city hinted as to why. 

 

Krahka touched down, letting Ahurei down from her back. The vahki clambered down, landing on his feet and looking around shortly before assuming his regular, slightly bent over stance. 

 

The Kahu's form shifted, shrinking gradually and slimming down into the familiar image of Toa Nidhiki. "There doesn't look to be much left, Vahki."

 

"That is an accurate observation." The vahki admitted, his eyes flashing as he observed his surroundings. A slight rumble in the distance turned Ahurei's head to the right. 

 

"Sound to the west. Audio file doesn't match any records I have." 

 

Krahka's head was already pointed at that direction. "It isn't a rahi." She said, strangely solemnly.

 

"Would that not classify as a positive discovery?" The vahki queried.

 

'Toa Nidhiki's features shifted underneath the mask. "Do you not remember what I told you of, before? If they're not rahi, they're top dwellers."

 

Ahurei paused for a moment. "Does this stem from your aversion to sentient life other than yourself?" 

 

That question, whilst sterilely intentioned, seemed to frustrate Krahka.

 

"That's not-I don't think that." She responded, features clearly twisting. "I was underground when the Event happened. I didn't see what caused this all. But...some did." The rumble grew closer.

 

"Their minds, they fractured. They couldn't handle it."

 

The vahki's jaws buzzed as he attempted to summon a Kanoka. No such luck.

 

"We are currently defenceless. Assuming these survivors are in fact hostile, would retreating not fare us better?" He turned his head toward Krahka. She almost mistook the emotionless blue tint of his eyes to indicate fear.

 

The psuedo-Toa looked into the distance, eyes squinting. "No. We stay."

 

"Does this not contradict what you just stated?" Ahurei walked closer to Krahka.

 

"Maybe. But your information lead you here. They may know something about your creator."

 

The rumble was very close now. The vahki's optics focused on a small dot in the distance that was steadily growing bigger, inbetween the ruins of multiple buildings.

 

"Keep your defences up, Ahurei. I can still use the powers from this form." 

 

Metallic fists readied themselves. 

 

The Moto-Sled was close, now.

 

***

 

The tower of metal stood stationary. Despite the many skirmishes it had fought and won, the suit still remained in almost perfect shape.

 

Almost perfect.

 

Tooth marks on the mech's headpiece shattered the illusion. The first mark in a very long time. It was starting to age.

 

Time, quite literally in fact, was against the mech and its operator. The operator in question sat up off the rock. He gave out a light sigh.

 

He had one last stop to make before the final stretch to Ta-Metru.

 

His green eyes moved to the coast. An almost overturned temple stood in the ocean.

 

There was something still there for him. Something final for him to recover. 

 

He was nearly done.

 

The operator clambered back into his giant suit of armour. Beeps and whirring of cogs greeted his return. One last trip. It'd all be over soon. 

 

Back to prestige. Back to prestige.

 

To be continued.

Edited by Triple D
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  • 1 month later...
Chapter 5

 

Matau and his companion disembarked from the vehicle in two different fashions. The slightly more composed former climbed off confidently, his improvised yet solid looking sword strapped to his back, and chewing a small weed in his mouth. The latter threw himself off, landing slightly clumsily on the ground but not hesitating to hold his weapon up and aim it at the newcomers, the brain behind his noble Matatu tossing up whether to stare at the Toa or the Vahki. Both were a strange sight in those parts.

 

The vahki, on the other hand, had his optical sensors right on Orkahm. 

 

Disk in launcher matches that of a level 5 Kanoka of Freezing manufactured in Ta-Metru. Target appears indecisive on selecting individual to fire upon first. Await further orders from superior before defaulting to standard programming of proceeding to disarm and confiscate weapon.

 

The earth-green Le-Matoran broke the silence. 

 

"How odd-strange it is to see you here, Toa Nidhiki." He said, leaning against his Moto-Sled. The Event hadn't changed his cocky attitude. 

 

"Yes! Very odd-strange. Why do you walk-travel with a Vahki, Toa?" The jittery Orkahm questioned further, blinking a few times too many. Krahka didn't say anything for a moment, simply watching the two's body language.

 

"The Vahki has been reprogrammed. A friend, Nuparu, did so." The faux-Toa explained, gesturing to her companion. Orkahm didn't react, but Matau flashed an unreadable look.

 

Superior is using deceit. Do not interfere. 

 

Matau stepped closer to Krahka, his red eyes flicking between her and Ahurei. "Nuparu...is that right? Strange. I haven't seen that cog-fixer in a long time." Orkahm shot a look at Matau, lowering his launcher temporarily. "Nuparu...is alive?" The gun wielding Matoran asked his companion.

 

"He's around. I can state-say that." Matau said, looking at Krahka directly now. "Where have you been, Nidhiki? Our great city is soil-ruined. Monsters destroy anything that remains. Where were our Toa heroes in our greatest time of need?" He was very close to Krahka now. 

 

"...What is your name?" Krahka asked the Matoran.

 

"Matau. My name is Matau. That's Orkahm. You're lucky I remember that. Most who still stand-live can't even recall that." Matau glances at Orkahm for a moment. "We came here to find-look. A Kahu flew past us, and went this direction. Did you see it?"

 

Krahka didn't react, simply shaking her head. "I haven't seen a Kahu in a very long time. Not since before the Event."

 

"Well, me and twitchy over here definitely saw it. It'd be pretty hard to ignore-miss." Red eyes were locked onto Krahka, watching her reactions. "Surely a Toa of Air could feel such a thing in the sky."

 

Krahka shook her head again, more slowly this time. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

 

This time, Orkahm spoke up. "Kahu make good scavenge-scraps! And quite beautiful, too!" He looked distracted and smiled for a moment, before his eyes narrowed again, holding tight to the launcher.

 

Matau nodded. "Yeah, that. Our shelter's crumble-falling apart. Could use a few scraps to repair it with." Krahka resisted expressing the inner feeling of disgust at the comment that the two Le-Matoran had made. She was, after all, a rahi as well. 

 

The Mahiki wearing Le-Matoran noticed Ahurei's silence.

 

"Can it speak-talk? Did our Onu-Matoran buddy rewire that out?" He approached the vahki, curiously. 

 

"He only speaks when asked a question or spoken to." Krahka cut in, before Ahurei spoke up for himself.

 

Subtext recieved. Do not speak. 

 

"Don't like small-talk, huh, Nidhiki. Never pegged you for a loner." Matau chuckled briefly. "I can see why you and Nuparu travelled together. What happened to him, anyway? An invention of his finally crush-splat him?"

 

The shapeshifter looked at the Vahki for a moment before looking back at the dark-green Matoran. "He disappeared on us. We are unsure of where he went. When you saw him last...where was he, by chance?"

 

"...You too, huh. He ran-abandoned me when we got to Ta-Metru and I eventually wanted to leave. Have you been there yet? Even taking this karzhole into account...it isn't pretty. He was obsessed with staying, regardless. Kept saying Ta-Metru had something for him. Just needed time. I assumed he just lost it, and you can bet I wasn't waiting on cog-head any longer. Not in that place." Matau explained. In his hands were his sword, which he was examining. "Fix-built this for me, though. Good craftsman, that Nuparu."

 

Krahka looked at Ahurei, nodding. "I see. We didn't visit Ta-Metru. Do you think he's still there?"

 

The Le-Matoran placed the sword on his back again. "I don't know. He was pretty fixed-set on staying. I'd wager that if he isn't there if you make your trek-walk, he'll return. If he isn't dead, that is. Why's it you asking? Your vahki malfunctioning or something?"

 

"I have a few questions for him." Nuparu's expression shifted as she said this. 

 

"Questions?" He asked.

 

Krahka nodded. 

 

"He's not likely to answer. He's a secretive guy, and the answers he gave me were always vague. He was working on something before The Event, I managed to gleam that much. Never told me what. After a while of travelling with him, his secrets drove me up the wall." Matau said. "Maybe you'll have better luck, being a Toa hero and all. Us Matoran respect you, doing such a good job protecting us." His words were laced with sarcasm. 

 

Krahka didn't respond for a moment, thinking. "Vahki, Ta-Metru is our next destination." Ahurei nodded.

 

"Whoa, whoa, leaving so soon? Come on, Nidhiki, don't be like that! I haven't had proper company in ages." Matau protested, stepping closer in front of him. Orkahm twitched for a moment. 

 

Orkahm spoke up, pointing his gun at Krahka. "No, you're not leaving! I don't like-trust you!"

 

Matau looked back, holding up a hand. "Orkahm, cool-calm it! If Nidhiki wanted to hurt us he could have blown us away when he met us. Put down the launcher, twitchy!"

 

The Le-Matoran shook his head frantically, blinking fast. "We keep them prisoner! Maybe break-scrap the Vahki for parts."

 

Matau moved closer to Orkahm. "Put the weapon down, right now. We're not going to take them prisoner, they've done nothing to us."

 

Krahka wasn't taking the chance of staying. She had what she needed, and she knew the volatile nature of the survivors that still lived on Metru-Nui. Her form shifted again, her arms transforming into claws and her body transforming into that of an Energy Hound, her canine jaws opening and closing as she ran into Ahurei, grabbing him in her jaws as she bounded across the strange smelling landscape of Le-Metru.

 

Suddenly, she was knocked backwards as an explosion of ice followed a light whining as a disc flew past her legs.

 

Ahurei fell out of her jaws, and she fell backwards.

 

***

 

A robotic hand punched away the rock cover of the hole he'd left in the Great Temple. What little religious value the place once had was completely gone. It didn't matter to the Operator. That wasn't why he was there, not at all.

 

However, it was a poetic place to hide the thing he needed. A place that was almost a testament to the old world, was a cloak for the thing that would help return him back the old world.

 

The Operator jumped out of his giant suit of armour, and looked into the hole for a moment. It wasn't especially deep, but he'd have to climb to get down there.

 

One final labour, before he could get back to prestige. 

 

To be continued.

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