Into The Darkness

[otter]

Prologue

Grantuur stared into the tunnel leading from the center of the temple. He grabbed his sword, fastening it to his belt, and he strapped his shield onto his arm. His life had been nearly spent in rather useless fights across the entirety of the universe he lived in, and now he had to finally fulfill his destiny, or die in the process. He accessed his Kanohi Hau, creating a small shield around himself. He dropped down the face plate of his red and gold hued armour, and stepped confidently into the shadows.

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"Hey, Grant!" Grantuur turned, hearing his best friend calling out his name. He dropped the armour he had been working on, to compliment a mask he had recently forged for a perspective buyer. He looked about exasperatedly, until his friend finally popped out from behind a pile of discarded masks and chest plates.

"What is it now, Dendron?" He asked the hyperactive Le-Matoran, as he pulled off his goggles. A day full of work, from obtaining the needed protosteel to trying to weld the bloody stuff. Honestly, he couldn't understand why he tried working with the stuff so often.

"The Turaga found something!" Dendron exclaimed, before puffing out his chest. "But not without my help," he added, smugly. He started to walk about the forge room. "I was walking along the path to my shop," the Le-Matoran said quickly, "After my usual trip to the suva, of course, when I noticed that there was something in one of the bushes. It looked like some sort of lightstone or heatstone, but it was glowing this weird reddish color, so I brought it to the Turaga to see what it was-" Dendron stopped talking as he was interrupted by Grantuur.

"Wait," the Ta-Matoran said, staring incredulously at his friend. "You mean to tell me that you saw some odd stone glowing red in the bushes, and you decided to pick it up?" Grantuur buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. Really, he would never cease to be amazed by his hyperactive friend's ability to stupefy him.

"Well, that part doesn't matter," Dendron said, slightly annoyed, "Because the Turaga told me to call you to take a look at it." Dendron opened the door to the forge, letting in a slight breeze. "Would you care to come with me to the Citadel?" Dendron asked, standing by the door and letting more fresh air into the shop.

Grantuur breathed deeply of the air, only just realizing how stuffy the shop had been as he worked. "Sure," he said, picking up a couple items from the table. "If the Turaga wants me to see it, I should probably get there fast." He walked out into the sunlight, turning in the direction of the large Citadel dominating the Ta-Central skyline.

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"Ah, Grantuur, nice of you to come," the aged Turaga of the city, Virthee, said. "You see, when Dendron brought me this stone, I noticed something about it that you both might like to know. In fact, just the other day a Ga-Matoran brought me a green stone she had found...and I think that these two are linked." Virthee reached in a drawer, pulling out the green-glowing stone and wrapping it in cloth like he had wrapped the first. "Come with me, come," he said, grabbing his staff and walking out of the room. "I have transport."

"Where are we going to, Turaga?" Dendron asked respectfully, a rather surprising feat for him...but then again, this was Virthee they were talking to. He certainly commanded your respect, no matter how weak he might look. He was the resident doctor of the island, after all. Nobody wanted to make him angry.

"Nice of you to ask, nice of you to ask, my good boy," Virthee said, climbing into the small scuttler he used to travel around the city. "We're heading to the central square-the suva," he sighed, as he sat back in his comfortable Muaka-Leather chair. He used the reclining function of the chair, leaning back and sighing in pleasure.

"What are these stones for?" Grantuur asked, curious as to what connection the small glowstones might have with the suva. After all, what use were they to anybody? Probably just some sort of lighting implement, he supposed. Virthee only chuckled.

"You'll see," the aged turaga said, laughing. "Oh, you'll see alright."

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"Ah, here we are, here we are," Turaga Virthee said, stepping down the extending steps from his personal scuttler to the ground. "Now, to the center," he said determinedly, leading the two Matoran through the temple.

"The center?" Grantuur exclaimed. Dendron seemed to be thinking the same as he did, as he said, "We can't go there! That's one of the very laws you set, Turaga!" Grantuur glanced at his friend. "Like you follow them," he muttered. "Not to the letter," the Le-Matoran said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes, it is my law, and as such I'm allowed to bring you there!" Turaga Virthee exclaimed, slightly annoyed. He opened the door to the center of the Suva temple. "Now, I want you both to go up there. There are two things you will need to check-first, go up to the Suva and drop your stones inside the corresponding holes inside it." The Turaga then smiled at the matoran, especially Dendron. "Then, I want you to go inside the armoury room and grab whatever catches your eye best."

Dendron nodded eagerly, with Grantuur wearily following after him. His Le-Matoran friend reached the Suva first, dropping in his stone in the northernmost hole. He stood there, impatient, as Grantuur looked around. There were eight pillars, for the four cardinal directions and the four secondary, or that was how the Ta-Matoran thought it out to be. The armour was blocked off by large iron doors, too heavy for a matoran to push aside. He breathed deeply, inhaling the musty smell of the room.

"Will you hurry up?" Dendron yelled over to him, and Grantuur looked up from his reverie. He stepped up the too-high steps to the western hole of the Suva, dropping in his stone. He started in fright as a small bolt of energy flew from the Suva, hitting him right at his heartlight. He clenched his fists, a thousand jolts and sparks running across his body instantly. He felt his legs lengthen, his arms becoming larger and more muscular, and his armour seemed to be...not heavier, just that there was more of it, more of him.

It wasn't just that, though. He felt...different. His thoughts had a clarity to them they had never had before, and he was able to think more clearly. And, most importantly, he felt energy pulsing through his veins-it felt as though it was just beneath the surface, as though the hot fire of his very being were about to rip him apart in an inferno. He opened his hands, and stumbled a couple of times before he got the hang of walking in his new form.

He looked into a small puddle of water on the floor. Parts of his armour had turned a rather attractive dull-golden colour, and the rest of him was a deep maroon, the colour he had been as a Matoran. His mask was golden, also, a shining Kualsi he could use to travel anywhere he needed. He looked up, towards his friend.

Dendron was a Toa, too, it seemed, leaping around like a fool, blowing himself up higher than he ever could as a matoran. His armour was highlighted with silver, his shining Pehkui looking over its surroundings. Grantuur walked up to him, speaking in a different voice, that was yet somehow the same.

"Well, Dendron," he said, his voice deeper now, more masculine, "It seems we're Toa!" He patted his friend on the back, then walked off towards the Iron doors of the armoury. He heaved at it, but was unable to push it open. He looked at Dendron for help.

Dendron smiled back at him. "Let me help, my oh-so-powerful brother," the Toa of Air said sarcastically. Suddenly, Grantuur felt a powerful wind, and was blown over as the doors opened like large sails. He stood up, disoriented for a moment, and looked around. There were all manner of weapons-spears, staffs, swords, disk-launchers...the list could well have been endless. Grantuur noticed a particularly old scimitar-like crescent shaped sword, and he picked it up. He swung it around a couple times, the weight feeling perfect, like just an extension of his arm. He looked over at Dendron, who had picked up a rapid-launch disk thrower with a hair trigger, that could also extend into a set of glider wings on his friends back.

"Looks like we found our Toa-tools," Dendron said, looking at him. "I say, what should we do now?" Dendron smiled, looking to Grantuur for an answer. Grantuur grinned back.

"I think we have some Matoran-saving to get to, don't you?"

Review topic

Edited May 27, 2012 by Beek Jr.

[otter]

Chapter 1

Grantuur stared at the target farther down the range, concentrating. He held out his open hand, forcing the heat to flow from his veins into the center of his palm. A small flame shot out, incinerating the target thirty meters away from him...not too bad, but he could do better, he knew he could. He turned, looking out over his teammates at the range.

He looked at Dendron, who had somehow managed to affix a scope to his disk-launcher, and was aiming at a target rather far away...somewhere along the lines of five-hundred meters, he assumed. He crept up behind his friend, as silently as he could. He watched as his brother began to pull the trigger...and made a short-lived fireball near his friend, making a large crack sound as the air superheated, expanding rapidly. His friend missed the target completely, teleporting a small amount of sod on top of their other teammate, Onuzek.

Onuzek was working on controlling small rocks with his gravity power, shooting them out in one-hundred meter increments towards various targets down the range. He held one up in his hand, about to let it fly...as the clump of dirt and grass landed on him. He lost all concentration, dropping each and every pebble he had held. He growled, smashing down a timber without even using his Pakari, his outburst of anger startling the Matoran on the range with them. He advanced on Dendron, angrily, as Dendron turned to face Grantuur.

"Don't look at me," Dendron sputtered, throwing his weapon to the ground. "Look at him, he's the one who made me miss!" Dendron glared at Grantuur, holding up his palm. He looked about ready to bowl the Toa of Fire over with a small Matoran. "Have anything to say for yourself, fire-spitter?"

"Oh calm down, both of you," Grantuur said, doubling over in laughter. "You were looking too serious, I thought you could use a bit of a laugh." He looked over at Dendron, forcing his hand down. "Although, I'd assume it'd more likely be you who would provide the jokes, Dendron...after all, you are the air Toa." Grantuur smiled at his friend triumphantly.

Onuzek picked up the still-laughing Toa of Fire, and forced him against the wall. "You still made Onuzek miss too, mask-maker," The Toa of Gravity said, raising up one claw-gauntleted fist. He seemed just as angry as Dendron, though one hit from him and Grantuur would be in bed for weeks...if he was lucky.

"As Grantuur said, calm down, both of you," a Toa of Water yelled, annoyedly. She walked up to them, swiveling her hips gracefully, and stopped. She crossed her arms, and glared at Onuzek. "Let him down," she said, in a tone that would allow no argument. she watched carefully as the larger Toa let down his friend and stepped back. Grantuur rubbed his neck, wondering what sort of yelling he would have to endure this time.

"Grantuur," she said simply, and walked away. Grantuur glared at Dendron for laughing at him, and walked along too. He came with the other Toa to his house, and walked inside. Sitting heavily on the couch, Grantuur sighed as he wondered what sort of punishment he would have this time.

"Before you say anything," Grantuur said for what seemed the thousandth time, "Can I just say I'm sorry and walk out?" At his girlfriend's disapproving glare, he added, following the common rhythm of this event, "Please, Ryllia?" He shrank into the cushion as the Toa of Water glared at him, until he wondered that he wasn't falling through.

Ryllia sat down beside him, her arms still crossed. "What have you done this time, Grantuur?" She said exasperatedly, looking at the Toa of Fire. Not glaring, at least. Things might go well this time. She waited for an answer as he tried to, again, come up with the best way of describing what he had done. "Just tell me!" She exclaimed, making Grantuur jump. "What, did you blow everybody into the air with an updraft? Set fire underneath Onuzek's feet? What did you do?"

"None of those," Grantuur said, disappointed in her lack of imagination. "No, I made a bit of a sonic boom right next to Dendron's ear...he had earplugs anyways, it's not like he'll go deaf," The older Toa snorted, thinking about how angry Dendron had gotten. Really, couldn't he just take a joke?

Ryllia sighed, shaking her head. "Really, Grantuur," she said to him, "You're the leader of this team; Why won't you act like it?" She looked at his supposedly-innocent expression, and sighed again. She reached over and hugged the Toa of Fire. He smiled to himself.

"All better?" He asked, jokingly. He winced as she jabbed him in the ribs, one of her favorite pastimes whenever he did something stupid. He wondered how many bruises he must have gotten from her doing that.

"You'd like to think so," she play growled at him, before nestling further into his chest. "But that doesn't really mater right now. We're heading across the bridge to the continent, Virthee said." She looked up, annoyed slightly, as Grantuur straightened immediately. She forced him back down.

"To the continent?" He asked, incredulously. "Why would we need to go there? They have Toa, don't they?" He tried shaking Ryllia off him, so he could go grab his things, but she wouldn't let him. He'd never been to the Northern Continent, and he'd really rather stay on his home island. Ah, well, he thought to himself, I guess I have to travel sometimes. The world's running out of Toa, so I can't really stay in one place anymore, can I?

"Don't worry," Ryllia said, pushing Grantuur down again. "We won't have to leave until next week. Really, why are you in such a rush? Their Toa are just leaving to help with some battle over in Metru Nui, Lhikan called them." She regretted saying that last piece of information as soon as she said it-Grantuur had a fierce rivalry with Lhikan.

"Oh," he said, hotly, "That puffed-up Toa thinks he doesn't need us, eh? Maybe he should learn to do things himself, he needs the practice." Grantuur snorted at the thought of that hiped-up, annoying, pretentious softy fattening himself up in Metru Nui...

"Oh, calm down," Ryllia said to Grantuur, throwing herself on top of him and pinning him so he wouldn't run off. "At least he took Nidhiki, so we won't have to deal with him when we go over there." She glared down at the larger Toa, stopping him from moving any farther.

"Ah, well," he said, giving in. "I guess that's the good part of it all." He then smiled up at Ryllia, a funny look in his eye. "While we're here..." he began playfully. He stopped when Ryllia shushed him and turned off the lights.

"I locked the doors," he heard her whisper in the dark.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Kal Grochi

[otter]

Chapter 2

"I don't see why we have to do this," Dendron complained as he walked along the bridge to the mainland. After taking time to prepare, Grantuur and his Toa Iden had begun to make their way back to the Northern Continent. And Dendron wasn't happy about it. "After all," he said, coming back to his old argument, "They already have enough Toa. Not just that, Metru-Nui is just a short distance-hop away!" He exclaimed, kicking an unoffending stone into the water.

"Because Grantuur and Ryllia say so," Onuzek rumbled, the bridge creaking under his weight. "They in charge, Onuzek listen. Keep moving." He heard the bridge creaking, leaned on his right foot and put a hole in the bridge. He activated his gravity power, floating alongside the group after that.

Grantuur sighed, walking alongside Ryllia. He had been listening to the two of them argue for two...no, three hours now! He looked up, seeing the trees and buildings ahead of him. He smiled, coming up with a way to make Dendron shut up. "Hey Dendron!" He said to his friend, turning back slightly, "See the mainland up there? If you beat me there I'll let you order me around for a whole day." He laughed when he saw the light coming into Dendron's eyes, and the Toa of Air sped ahead.

He laughed some more as Ryllia punched him in the shoulder. "Why'd you do that?" She asked Grantuur, looking up to the Toa of Fire. "After all, he's only going to get even more angry when we get there." She sighed when Grantuur smiled at her, looking away.

"Well," Grantuur began, to explain his reasoning, "What would you rather do-listen to him complain for the rest of the day, or give him a diversion so that he stops annoying us?" He looked at the Toa of Air, jumping in the air and cheering now that he had reached the end of the bridge. He was acting a fool, as though he had just won the most important Akilini game in the domes.

Grantuur walked up to his brother, clapping. "Very good, very good," he said, clapping his brother on the back. He then began to walk on, and turned back as though confused when Dendron didn't come. "Come on Dendron," he said, "We have to see the Turaga of this village."

"But what about our deal?" Dendron said, crossing his arms obstinately. "You said I'd get to order you around for a day, not the other way around!" He then began to walk on towards the village, passing Grantuur. Grantuur held out his Khopesh, tripping the Toa of Air with the hook in it.

"That may be," Grantuur said, starting to laugh, "But in your excitement, you forgot to shake on the deal. Therefore, the bet was off. Meaning you won nothing." He laughed in full as Dendron came up, sputtering angrily. His brother reached to punch him, but then Onuzek picked the Toa of Air up and began to carry him. Dendron began to fight against the titan-like Toa of Gravity, to no avail.

"No hurt Grantuur," Onuzek said to the recalcitrant Toa of Air, clamping his mouth shut and continuing to walk. He didn't notice the blows Dendron gave him in his anger, and began to laugh when Dendron hit his ticklish spots.

"Thank you, Onuzek," Grantuur said, sheathing his Khopesh. "Now that he's been taken care of, shall we head to the Koro?"

Edited February 27, 2012 by Kal Grochi

[otter]

Hmm, well, I just noticed that there is now another epic titled "Into the Darkness." I find this funny. Oh, this one'll be from the perspective of Onuzek.

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Chapter 3

Onuzek's name is Onuzek. Onuzek is a Toa of Gravity, though he doesn't remember how he became a Toa of Gravity. Despite that, Onuzek happy. He left his island, coming to the island where his friends lived...Aki-Nui, Onuzek think it named. Onuzek was walking around, not knowing where to go or what to do when nice Toa Grantuur came up to him, offering to lead him around a bit and show him what the island was like.

A little while later, he introduced Onuzek to Ryllia and Dendron, and Onuzek make them friends too. Before Onuzek knew it, he was part of Grantuur's Toa team, helping keep the island free of evil and mean Rahi. Onuzek like that-it gives Onuzek something to do, so that Onuzek is not bored. That, and Onuzek make some of the Rahi into pets-Onuzek likes riding his big Kane-Ra that he kept, and the Kane-Ra likes Onuzek. That makes Onuzek happy.

"Keep coming with us, Onuzek," Toa Grantuur said. Onuzek started, and turned-Grantuur and Ryllia and Dendron were already far ahead of Onuzek. Onuzek ran to catch up, and smiled. Onuzek didn't notice that Onuzek had grabbed a tree, though, but Grantuur did. He tapped Onuzek's hand, and Onuzek noticed the tree and dropped it on the path. Grantuur and Ryllia and Dendron all laughed.

"Onuzek thinks we should speed up," Onuzek rumbled. "Onuzek thinks that if the Matoran Council needs Onuzek and friends, Onuzek and friends should get there faster." Onuzek smiled when the others laughed again. They liked laughing, and Onuzek liked laughing too.

"Sure, Onuzek," Toa Grantuur said. "But you'll have to carry us." Onuzek nodded his head emphatically, already reaching out and putting Onuzek's friends on his shoulders.

"Okay!" Onuzek said happily, and began to run on to the other village.

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Short chapter, I know, but I figured Gravity would be fond of it. Haha.

[otter]

Chapter 4 [What, an update after just two days?(Part two is here!)]

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Grantuur laughed when Onuzek picked them up and began running through the forest, having to duck a few times in order to make sure he wasn't hit by any low-hanging...well, actually, just not hit by any branches. Soon, however, the trees thinned out and the small city on the outskirts of the Southern Continent came into view.

"Hold up, Onuzek," he said, grabbing the Toa of Gravity by the mask to forcefully slow him down. "We ought to walk on up to the city, we don't want to frighten the Matoran," he reminded his friend, before jumping down with the other two. He smiled, looking about the surrounding landscape.

There were airships in the air, larger than those used in Metru-Nui, carrying the Great-spirit knows what. Caravans of both Rahi and mechanized carts trundling along the roads, sometimes with Toa guarding them, sometimes not. His bemused smile reflected his thoughts on all that he saw with his eyes, before he took a deep breath, and began to walk onwards.

"Well, what're y'all waiting for?" He called back happily, stepping onto the bridge he had to cross. He laughed slightly, but the laugh was abruptly cut off. A swish and a whoosh and a happy laugh later, a Toa of Air with a Hau was standing before them. He had black and green armour, and his mask was green as well. He had a large quarterstaff in one hand, and he had a bright smile upon his face.

"Nice hack-sword you got there, fire-spitter," the Toa of Air laughed, dancing around Grantuur slightly. "Care to pit-test it against my wind-staff?" He gave a quick twirl of his quarterstaff, showing why he called it a wind-staff. Grantuur barely followed it. However, the Toa of Fire growled back.

"I'd much rather pass the bridge, thank you," he said stiffly. "I'm on a mission from Turaga Virthee to meet with Turaga Kaylov, and you're hindering my progress." He went to pass the Toa of Air, who quickly leveled his staff out, blocking Grantuur from passing.

"Ah, fire-spitter, the spar-battle is the toll-payment!" the oddly-coloured Toa exclaimed happily. "If you can best me, your hack-sword versus my wind-staff, then I may even see fit to help-join your little mission-party." He stepped back, the staff clacking against the ground as the Toa of Air stood there, leaning on it.

"So what do you say, fire-spitter?" He asked, smiling. "Shall we?"

Grantuur looked at the Toa of Air, sizing him up. He stepped back slighly, putting his weight on his left foot. He then drew his Khopesh, the sickle-sword's bronze blade gleaming in the light. His face was expressionless, his only thought was in the duel at hand. Then another came to him.

"Before we start," he asked, what's your name?"

"Zodir," the Toa of Air said, taking a ready stance as well, though his grin was the same as before. He slid both hands down onto the staff, holding it near the middle, though his hands were spread apart. He nodded at Grantuur, signalling for the Toa of Fire to start.

Grantuur let out a low growl, the rushed over at Zodir, raising his Khopesh slightly and slashing down. Zodir piveted, moving away from the sword strike and smacking Grantuur in the chest with the end of his staff. The Toa of Fire rolled with the blow, though he still felt as though he had the wind knocked out of him.

Zodir jumped forwards, and jabbed forwards quickly with the staff, towards Grantuur's neck. Grantuur rolled out of the way, reaching out with his Khopesh. The hook of the sword caught on Zodir's ankle, tripping the Toa of Air as Grantuur quickly pushed himself back up.

"Good tactic, fire-spitter," Zodir said, smiling. "It seems that you're working to beome a master-swordsman, eh?" He polevaulted with the staff, coming over and behind Grantuur quickly. Grantuur turned, sword ready to block a center strike. Zodir, however, jabbed him hard enough in the shoulder he couldn't help turning from the blade.

Grantuur attempted to turn back, but Zodir smacked him hard in the back. His lack of balance in the turn caused him to fall foward, almost over the edge of the bridge. He dropped his sword to the ground, his field of vision white from pain for a moment as he attempted to gain back his wits.

"Stand, fire-spitter," he heard, and turned quickly, grasping his Khopesh, ready for a strike. Zodir laughed at him, and pointed out their positions. Grantuur looked down, and noticed he was almost back on the grass. No, not back on it, he'd gotten over to the other side of the bridge!

He looked confusedly up at Zodir, who smiled. "Tell me, fire-spitter, who was the greatest swordsman known?" The Toa of Air asked. Grantuur thought for a moment, going back over his histories. It couldn't be Lihkan, he was more so an elementalist than a swordsman. Virthee was never much of a fighter, more a healer.

"Toa Lesovikk," he said, having come up with the answer. Zodir nodded, smiling. Then he gestured to the staff he carried.

"Who was the only being ever to defeat him?" He asked, and Grantuur was stumped. He thought for a while, knowing of no swordsman who had defeated Lesovikk. The Toa of Air could take them out in a heartbeat. Zodir laughed at him, and then one of Grantuur's party jumped into the conversation.

"Onuzek heard it was a farmer," the Toa of Gravity rumbled. "A farmer with a quarterstaff, Onuzek was told." Zodir laughed, and clapped his hands.

"Exactly right! A simple farmer-matoran, with knowledge of how to use their quarterstaff, able to defeat the greatest swordsman-duelist alive! Lesovikk learned a lesson that day, and I dare say our fire-spitter here has as well!" Zodir laughed again, and stepped aside.

"You managed to get to the other side with your wits intact, fire-spitter," he said, smiling, as Ryllia, Onuzek, and Dendron crossed over. "Wits intact and head held high, I say." Grantuur smiled and continued to walk along, his friends behind him, as Zodir watched them depart, his smile still plastered.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Kal Grochi