The Dark Hunter Chronicles, A Collection of Epics about MOCs Options

[jallerthebountyh...]

After so long... It has arrived. Chapter 10! Thanks for being patient guys. It's been busy. This is a monumentous occasion, since it's the finale of this arc and it's Super-Special-Double-Stuffed-Story-Arc-Finale-Chapter. So enjoy it. I'll be back at midnight with the epilogue. I'll be taking time off(again) to write the next few chapters of the next story. Don't worry, I have loads more time with no school. So, without further ado, I present... Ba-da-da-da-DA-dum-da~d~da-de-duddle-duddle-da-de-da-*huffhuff*-de-duddle-duddle-da-da-da-DAAAAAAA! CHAPTER TEN!

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Chapter 10: Secrets

2999 years ago…

“What’s going on?” Triglax asked. It was midnight, and The Shadowed One had awaken all Dark Hunters, and ordered them al to march down to the beach on the coasts of the island. Primal, the multi-legged staff wielding Dark Hunter replied in an annoyed tone, “The Shadowed One wants to show us something, cool dude.” Triglax was also a little irritated. He had returned just mere hours ago from a mission of protecting a little village from a group of Rahkshi, and he was really tired. In the day he’d been gone, he heard that a stranger had come to Odina, requesting training for payment. The Shadowed One was enraged by this, but apparently, something had changed his mind. There was a rumor that it had to do with Nidhiki. Triglax really did not care one way or the other. He just wanted this over with so he could go back to sleep.
They were no more than a hundred feet from the beach. He could see a figure in the shadows- most likely Nidhiki, based on the shape of their armor and Kanohi- sitting on a rock, looking out at the ocean. Triglax was slightly intrigued. Then suddenly, a Rhoutaka spinner flew silently through the air. To Triglax’s astonishment, the Rhoutaka struck Nidhiki, and the Ex-Toa’s body began to twist and bend, becoming a horrific form. The torches ignited, and Nidhiki’s scream ravaged the beach. Triglax’s eyes bulged and his mouth dropped open. The Toa was… no longer a Toa. His head had grown long, with powerful jaws and a face that looked like a Vahki’s. His torso and arms changed, his hands turned into pincers, and four legs sprouted from his abdomen. He looked like some giant insect Rahi monster.
The torches lit, and Nidhiki screamed as he could see a reflection of himself in the water. As Nidhiki struggled to walk on his four legs, Triglax heard a voice at the front of the group say “Can I assume I have purchased my training?”
In that instant, everything stopped. His lungs would not breathe, his mind would not think, and his eyes could not see anything but the tall, ebon female at the front of the group. He’d known her before, in another life. She was the one who had crushed his dreams, destroyed his life, and killed his friend. Time had slowed to a crawl. It seemed he stood there for an eternity. When Roodaka’s imagine faded from his sight, reality came crashing back. The rest of the Dark Hunters and Roodaka had fled back to the fortress. Now only he stood on the beach, looking down on Nidhiki.
He had just managed to right himself and taken a few steps. The scream he let out was that of a wounded animal, that was thirsty for blood. Nidhiki gazed savagely upon Triglax. Triglax just replied blankly, “So… want to kill Roodaka?”

* * *

The next day, Roodaka was in the arena practicing. The servants drug the mangled body of the wannabe Dark Hunter out of the battlefield. Every thing was back to normal on Odina. No one seemed to notice Nidhiki’s horrific appearance, and Triglax was just sharpening his tools. Neither one of then glanced at each other. The looked perfectly nonchalant.
At sunset, the arena was mostly empty as usual. Roodaka was just throwing Rhoutaka at bags of sand on poles that erupted from the ground. Roodaka had just obliterated a dummy when a harsh voice said, “Nice aim. You could kill a fireflyer with that precision.” She turned to see- to her surprise- Nidhiki standing behind her. His eyes burned into hers. Roodaka replied, “Thanks. I try and practice on traitorous Toa.” When he was silent, she turned back to the training course. Finally, Nidhiki said “Really? I try and practice on treacherous Vortixx.”
Roodaka spun and threw a dagger at- nothing. The blade flew through thin air, as Roodaka scanned the area. She didn’t notice the sand moving beneath her feet, at least not until it transmuted into a hulking brute that knocked her off her feet. She went flying and hit the ground with a sickening thud.
She recognized her assailant as the Dark Hunter Devastator. She launched a Rhoutaka at the attacker, but it sailed over his head when he transformed into a Toa-sized, green beast. “I heard that the only thing that can undo one of your Rhoutaka mutations is one of your Rhoutaka,” the shape shifter said.
He took a menacing step forward. “But you see,” he continued, “I don’t want to go back. I have nothing left for me in my old life. So, Roodaka, I guess this is my way of thanking you.” He struck quickly, but Roodaka was quicker. She rolled and sprung out of the way of his strike. She was just a few meters from the arch leading out of the arena. He could see the X he had marked in the dirt, the spot where he had to get Roodaka to stand so that Nidhiki could spring the trap. He looked into her eyes, expecting to see fear, panic, maybe even a little bit of rage, but he did not expect the look of confusion he got. “I don’t know who you are, but if you want me to kill you, then so be it.”
Triglax felt as though he’d been smacked across the face. She… doesn’t even remember me… HOW COULD YOU FORGET ME!? The last thought Triglax didn’t realize he screamed. Rage had consumed him, and made him bellow “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” as he transformed into a Spiny Stone Ape. He lunged so quickly that Roodaka had no time to defend. His powerful fists made connection with her abdomen, and sent her 5 meters away, in the opposite direction of the trap. Nidhiki sighed. Why are my partners always cool dudes? He jumped down from his hiding place above the arch, and into the arena. He launched the Kanoka from his mandibles. Triglax was supposed to lead Roodaka to the arch so he could have a clear shot with the disk. But he had botched that plan, so he took his best shot. Roodaka though, leapt out of the way of the disk, which struck Triglax. Instantly, a meter of ice formed on him.
He flexed every muscle in his body, trying to get just enough room to maneuver. But in the mere moments it took him to transform into a lava eel and melt the ice, Roodaka was already on Nidhiki. She delivered several quick jabs to his abdomen, which knocked the wind out of him. Even Triglax winced when Roodaka pulled out two daggers and plunged them into Nidhiki’s front legs. The sharp cry of a wounded animal escaped his mandibles. With one final kick in the chest, Nidhiki tumbled over onto his back, his legs jutting up at odd angles.
It was just Triglax and Roodaka now. Both were fierce warriors, each with much skill and training. But both of them paled in comparison to the being that had just stepped into the arena. As Triglax and Roodaka both lunged to strike, eyebeams shot at the space in between them, and caused a mighty explosion that sent both flying backwards. When the dust had settled he’d noticed The Shadowed One was standing over him. Across the arena, he could see Sentrakh picking up Roodaka and ushering her out of the arena. He then turned and picked up Nidhiki, and carried him out the door. That left only Triglax and The Shadowed One.
His leader bent over him, so that their faces were an inch apart, and he whispered “I let you live- this time. But mark my words. Anger me again, and I’ll make sure you can’t breathe without feeling pain for weeks.”

* * *

After the battle, Triglax was locked in cell below The Shadowed One’s fortress. He would remain there until Roodaka left Odina. Nidhiki too, was locked in the infirmary, recovering from his injuries, which would most likely heal after Roodaka was gone. He counted the days by making scratches on the wall. Finally when he had sixteen scratches on the wall, he was visited by the person he least wanted to see at the moment.
“It took a while for me to recognize you,” the cold, female voice echoed throughout the cell. He didn’t even look up at Roodaka, who was standing outside the cell. “I even had to do a little digging to remember it all. You were my first assignment for the Brotherhood. I raided your island, and only you and your friend survived. You killed most of my Visorak when you dropped that cliff on top of them. You became a shape shifter, thanks to the Hordika venom and my Rhoutaka, and killed any of the unfortunate survivors. I don’t know where you ran off to afterwards. I figured you’d crawled into a hole and died. But I guess you did the next best thing, and wound up with this thieving, murdering bunch. And now you’re living the clichéd life of a Dark Hunter, tormented by your past, trying to fill the void with senseless killings, and all the while trying to redeem your crimes by looking for your lost friend. How pathetic,” Roodaka finished with a spat.
He had tried to ignore her, but something she said had disturbed him. “What do you mean, looking for my lost friend?” he muttered more to himself than Roodaka. “She died, when you invaded.” For a second, Roodaka looked confused, but then a smile slowly spread across her face. “Is she… no, she couldn’t be…” he muttered. A horrible cackle escaped Roodaka’s mouth. Triglax ran up to the front of the cell, and bashed on the bars. “Tell me what you know!” he shouted at Roodaka as she began to walk away. “TELL ME! IS MY FRIEND A-” the final word died in his throat. Hot tears swelled forward and ran down his mask. It couldn’t be true. After so long, his friend couldn’t possibly, actually still be- alive?
Triglax let out a pained cry, so loud, that it echoed all the way down to the deepest, darkest level of The Shadowed One’s dungeon, in a chamber where no ray of light had ever penetrated. The two sole occupants of that room looked up at the ceiling. It had been a long time since either of them had heard any sound besides their own voices. Over the millennium, they had shared their stories. The first prisoner was the survivor of a natural disaster, which forced her and her friend to work together to survive. Then, one day, her friend had discovered he had “photographic reflexes”, and could mimic any feat he saw. Shortly afterwards, she was kidnapped in the night by the ruthless Dark Hunters, and has since been their prisoner.
The other prisoner had a similar story. Long ago, her island was ravaged by the Visorak. Only she and her friend had survived, but they were cornered by the hordes. Her friend had managed to escape and ambush the horde, collapsing a cliff on the spiders. The tremor though, had knocked her off the cliff and into the sea. She didn’t know how, but she’d managed to get to shore. She was found by Makuta and Roodaka, and forced into servitude by the Brotherhood of Makuta. In her time with them, she had seen many horrific things. Then one day, after about 500 years of serving the Brotherhood, she was mysteriously bought by the Dark Hunters. But instead of serving them, she became their prisoner. But she didn’t lose hope. She knew that one day, her friend, Triglax, would come and rescue her. After all, all she could do was hope.

This post has been edited by jallerthebountyhunter: Jul 16 2008, 06:39 PM

[jallerthebountyh...]

As promised, here's the epilogue. Kinda short. Like I said, I'll be taking a break. See you Soon!

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Epilogue

The Recorder laid down the tablet. The rest had all been trivial records of Triglax's other missions. Triglax still worked for the Dark Hunters, but he did his job with a newfound purpose. He used his work as a way to search for his friend. He even took a piece of equipment he was supposed to give to The Shadowed One and used it to buy information about his friend's location. But all he got was punishment from Lariska.
It appeared though that he had a new hope. That if he could find his friend, he could find redemption for his crimes. The Recorder shook his head. How foolish.
The night had grown even darker, but the Recorder didn't feel tired. His eye was caught by another cabinet. This one was obviously more ancient than the previous one. His eyes strained to make out the aged writing. Shocker the inscription read. The Recorder found himself strangely not remembering this Dark Hunter. He opened up the compartment, wiped away the dust, and began to read.

This post has been edited by jallerthebountyhunter: Jul 17 2008, 12:35 AM