Cutscene: In the Place of Shadow

Smiley, Kualus, and Gresh arrived on the other the other side of the portal. Smiley, being used to this kind of travel, walked gracefully on arrival. The others, not being used to it, fell flat on their faces, having been tripped up in interdimensional space. Smiley, wanting to get moving, helped the other two up.

“How do you get used to that?” asked Gresh.

“Experience, you get used to it a lot faster than you think,” replied Smiley.

“I don’t think I will ever get used to that!”

“Trust me, by the time this is all over, you will be used to it.”

As if on cue, a space-time rip opened up right above their heads spewing enemies out ahead of them, near a giant hole up above. Most of the enemies didn’t even notice the three heroes, as they were too busy jumping into the hole below.

“Well, if they are so interested in that hole, then I guess that is where we need to go!” Smiley said.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Kualus replied.

*Insert Level: Place of Shadow. Playable characters: Rahi Trainer, Smiley, Gresh. Climbing in a canyon ending at a hole with enemies surrounding it. New enemies: None. *

*Insert Multi-man Brawl: Around hole fighting various kinds of enemies.*

Cutscene: Freedom of the Beast

The three heroes jumped down into the hole, Smiley heating up the ground beneath them to slow their descent. He couldn’t share his powers, which was unfortunate, because that would probably be easier. Smiley could manage, but the ride wasn’t necessarily as smooth as usual. This power loss was getting tougher and tougher, as if Smiley’s powers were still being drained from him. Then, they fell, luckily they were close to the ground when Smiley went unconscious, he had lost too much energy. After recovering, Gresh saw the problem, a shadowy figure standing at the side of the cavern. Focusing the stolen energy on helping a giant creature break out from the wall. The wall shattered and the creature turned and attacked.

*Insert Boss Fight: Rahi Nui. Playable Characters: Rahi Trainer and Gresh.*

Cutscene: The Shadow in the Pit

The Rahi Nui slid back into the wall, defeated. Suddenly, the shadow figure who had been watching the fight jumped up towards the beast. Smiley woke up just in time to see shadowy tendrils wrap around the great beast, turning into a creature of greater nightmare. Spikes shot out along its body, a black coat wrapping around and around its massive body, ending in deep, red, triangular eyes, reminding Smiley of the eyes of the Makuta. But this wasn’t the work of the Makuta, just one of his deputies. The aforementioned deputy, sat on top of the beast that he changed, a look of malice in his eyes.

“He found his master after all,” Smiley said, mostly to himself.

An all too familiar laugh rang through the chamber, sending a chill down the heroes’ spines.

“I finally have the tools to annihilate you, Smiley!” Shadow Smiley yelled, in a deep roar.

“We’ll see about that. C’mon guys, let’s defeat this servant of Makuta’s!”

They charged into the battle, none of them truly believing they could win.

*Insert Boss Battle: Mutated Rahi Nui. Playable characters: Smiley, Gresh, and Kualus. At least three times stronger than the previous boss fight. Also includes new shadow based moves. Shadow Smiley also throws random powers into the mix.*

Cutscene: A Short-Lived Victory

The giant rahi toppled to the ground, slowly changing back to normal. Kualus took advantage of the creature’s weakness to take control of the great beast. He helped heal the creature’s wounds with a nice chill.

Shadow Smiley lay on the ground. Just as Smiley was about to reach him, the doppelganger flew up into the air, looking down on the heroes and the beast.

“You haven’t won yet; the Makuta still needs me for his master plan. And, in spite of my loss, I think I will bring him one, no, two nice presents. I hope for your sake, he forgives my failure.”

With those words, he pulled out a gun-like device and pointed it at Kualus and his new prize. He shot the burst of mind control at the two of them after draining some more energy from Smiley. He opened a dark portal and the three disappeared.

Smiley was speechless. This was his fault. He didn’t know what to do.

“We’ll find him, just not yet. We have to find some others to help us though,” Gresh told Smiley.

With that Smiley felt confident once more, though the peace was not going to last. Space-time rips opened all around them and spewed out mutated monsters, each carrying a mutagen bomb.

Chapter 20: In the Place of Shadow

 

Cutscene: Darkness

 

In a flash of light, three beings appeared where there were none before. Standing and surveying their surroundings, they found only darkness. Impenetrable shadows. Pitch-black.

 

Technically speaking, only Smiley did so; Gresh was bent over a rock, vomiting, and Toa Kualus was examining a nasty dent in his arm from an inter-dimensional collision. Shrugging, the minifigure turned back and helped ease Gresh's retchings.

 

"How - do - you - EVER - get used to that?!" Gresh asked, frenzied, as Smiley disintegrated his ejected lunch.

 

"Experience. Before long, you're hopping between worlds and stuffing your face at the same time. No sweat!" Smiley grinned.

 

"I don't think you understand," Gresh frowned. "In the past few hours, I've gone from fighting off a marauding sand dragon to seeing cracks form in the sky, battling mechanic monsters, and now teleportation - and you say you -"

 

"Never mind that. But trust me… the teleporting's not over, not by a long shot. I think we'll be hopping around the universe for the rest of this adventure, whether you like it or not," Smiley said. After a moment, he added, "If you want to stay behind and go about everything like a snail, though, fine by me."

 

"Less talking. More searching for the -" Kualus began, but stopped as… something… blasted past him. It hurtled down a side tunnel, a shapeless, black mass of matter… leaving a sizzling rut melted in the ground where it had run.

 

The three looked at each other.

 

"What… in the world… in all of these worlds… was that?" Gresh asked.

 

"Nothing good," Kualus frowned. "Not a Rahi - I could have sensed that. Something more powerful, more intelligent… more sinister."

 

Gresh whirled to Smiley. "What was it?" he demanded.

 

The minifigure sighed. "It's a demon… a thing… soaked in the blood of many a pure soul. It's all-powerful… armed to the teeth… and serves only the shadows."

 

Kualus raised an eyebrow. The minifigure was actually hanging his head.

 

"What is it? What aren't you telling us?" Kualus asked. "What about this thing affects you?"

 

Smiley didn't reply, not for a long time. But when he finally looked up at Toa Kualus, there was no happiness in his eternal smile.

 

"It came from me," he said, fear in his eyes.

 

*insert level: The Place of Shadow. Playable characters: Rahi Trainer, Smiley, Gresh. New enemies: None.*

 

Cutscene: Freedom of the Beast

 

Slowly, Gresh stalked forward, warily waving the torch he'd looted from a Skrall. But its light found nothing but stone and spiderwebs.

 

"There's nothing here," he said, confused.

 

"The shadow's tracks stop here," Kualus noted, pointing to the very center of the room. "But where did it…?"

 

The floor shattered, sending the three heroes hurtling down into the abyss. In the nick of time, Smiley's hand glowed with flames, and the air beneath them skyrocketed in temperature, forming a heat thermal to slow their fall. But as they fell, the flames flickered and dimmed… and their speed increased.

 

Luckily, Smiley saved them from a crashing death on the rocks below with a feeble force field - but it collapsed after a few moments. Then the power in Smiley's hand faded almost completely.

 

"What's wrong?" Gresh asked.

 

"It's him," Smiley whispered in terror, pointing a quivering hand at the shadow hovering above them. Then he collapsed backwards into a wall and said no more.

 

"Shadow creature!" Kualus cried. "Explain yourself!"

 

The faceless mass of black energy stared coldly at him. "I don't think I really have to," it cackled, and dissipated - just as the Rahi Nui burst through the wall, claws at the ready.

 

*insert standard brawl: Gresh and Rahi Trainer vs. Rahi Nui.*

 

Cutscene: The Shadow Finds a Steed

 

The Rahi Nui collapsed, defeated, and Kualus immediately seized control of its primitive brain. Grinning, he began to patch its wounds. Luckily, they were not deep.

 

Unluckily, the shadow was back, and shadowy tendrils were emanating from its chest. As the heroes watched, they curled together, forming one huge, boarlike mount. Its deep red eyes glowed with malice.

 

The shadow's laugh echoed through the cavern, shaking them to the core. Smiley's eyes snapped open, and a ball of flame formed in his hand.

 

*insert boss battle: Shadow Steed. Playable characters: Gresh, Rahi Trainer, Smiley.*

 

Cutscene: Short-Lived Victory

 

The shadow's mount dissipated, but no such luck with the entity himself. He shot into the air, looking down upon those servants of the light with disgust in his aura.

 

"You are fools to challenge the shadows!" he cried, and those dark tentacles sprang from the darkness of the room, grabbing both the Rahi Nui and Kualus. The Toa's struggling was not enough, and after a few moments, it ceased… and Kualus stared at Gresh and Smiley with hate-filled eyes.

 

"The Makuta's master plan will do wonders for me," the shadow taunted. "I think I ought to present him with a gift… don't you agree?"

 

Without letting Smiley reply, the shadow sucked his prizes into a portal and flew in after them. Gresh lunged, but the portal imploded and the Glatorian smacked into a rock instead.

 

Smiley was speechless. All of this… the shadow's very existence… was his fault. The shadow was a part of him… and that was the most frightening thing of all.

 

The only way to kill it was to bring it back into him. To absorb the murderous, dark urges of himself… could he ever bring himself to do that?

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: Rahi Trainer leaves team.*

Chapter: (number unknown): Recovery

 

Cutscene: The Hunter Awakes

 

*Pohatu continues to wait impatiently for Talos’ eyes to open, it seems like an eternity to him since Talos collapsed and he has to constantly hide from other Dark Hunters.*

 

Pohatu: For Mata Nui’s sake wake up already! Onua is still trapped on that alien planet and so far all you have done is sleep.

*suddenly Talos’ eyes snap open and he jumps up*

Talos: then lets get going!

Pohatu: Mata Nui! You probably could have given me a warning.

Talos: Perhaps, Let me see the device I gave to you.

Pohatu: Why? *hands the device over*

Talos: With a slight recalibration….*turns knob until it says “last location”* we can open a portal right back to…*the portal opens beneath their feet and they are sucked in, and spat out directly into Onua’s prison cell on Atero. From the ceiling of course*

Talos: Ahh what luck.

Pohatu: Maybe for you but you are quite heavy…

Talos: Oh sorry.

Onua: Pohatu? Is it truly you?

Pohatu: It is brother, we have come to rescue you.

Onua: I am certainly glad that you two are here, these shackels they have put on me have prevented me from using my own elemental powers, and the metal used in the doors is far too strong for me to break.

Talos: I belive I can help on both fronts. *with a jester of his non-mechanical hand the cuffs around Onua’s wrists crumpled and fell to the ground, before the Toa can say anything he makes another jester with the same hand and the door flies off its hinges strait forward and crushes the platoon of Skrall sent to investigate the dimensional disturbance.*

Pohatu: How….

Talos: It may be best if you don’t worry about it, come the portal generator needs time to recharge and I’m sure more of them will be on the way.

 

[insert level prison new enemies: prison guard (should look like Stronius)

 

Cutscene: Escape from Atero

 

*Talos, Pohatu and Onua are all sprinting out of the prison*

Talos: ok I think we lost them, give me the generator.

*Talos picks up the generator and mutation capsule and connects them to one another*

Talos: This device that they made can attach to any artifact and it will open a portal to that location, that is how they have been able to go so many places with out knowledge of them.

Off screen voice: There they are!!

Pohatu: ugh…

Talos: I need more time to reconfigure it, hold them off!

Onua: Gladly.

 

[insert multiman brawl: hold off the guards for two minutes P1: Onua P2: Pohatu]

 

Cutscene: (you know, I’m not even sure if this should be a cutscene since its so short.)

 

Talos: That’s it! *a portal opens*

Guard: Don’t let them escape!

*all three jump into the portal and then it shuts leaving all of the prison guards behind*

 

Stage complete!

Reward: Everyone is at the laboratory like Bob asked.