Member Name: Toa SonisTheme: Alternate UniverseWord Count: 456Story: The Darkness Has WonBalta stumbled backwards, alarmed. This was no Voya Nui, nor even the Southern Continent. It was…a city, like the legendary Metru Nui Turaga Jovan had spoken of. Skyscrapers cast towering shadows upon the ground, which was cold and hard. Yet at the same time it seemed almost…alive, like it had many, many years ago. Before the Great Cataclysm, when he had still been just a regular Matoran. While, not regular; no Matoran who had gone through Karzahni was regular.But his past was not what bothered the Ta-Matoran. It was where he was now, and what had happened to him just a few moments ago, that was more troubling.When the Toa Inika cut the stone cord, Voya Nui had gone rocketing back to its rightful place in the Southern Continent. Matoran had piled out of hiding, eager to see their old home. Everything had been fine for a few months, until today when Balta went out in the newly established lava fields. He was taking a break on the fringes when a strange being reminiscent of a Piraka materialized in front of him and grabbed hold of his arm. The next thing he remembered was darkness.As Balta sifted through these memories, he noticed something odd. There was no one on the streets of this magnificent metropolis. Not a rahi sang in the air, not a Toa walked the roads. A piece of paper drifted by on the light breeze, and Balta caught hold of it. A strange message was inscribed on the papyrus-like substance: Meet tonight at the base of the Coliseum. A band of rebels will be there; Turaga Ahkmou has sent orders to eradicate them.The Coliseum! Before his death, Jovan had spoken of such a place. It was supposedly a pillar of good, a veritable palace of heroism. From the Coliseum the Toa-Dark Hunter War had been fought. Balta knew he had to get there.Hours later, the wandering Matoran found a building that matched his old Turaga’s description. With eyes long used to assessing hiding places and caves, Balta spotted a dark figure disappearing into an alley. He ran after it, deflector blades at the ready. As he entered the shadows, Balta was roughly grabbed and pressed against the Coliseum wall.“What are you doing here?” hissed a voice. “You aren’t from this place, are you? Whose side are you on?”“From…other…universe…” he gasped. “Southern Continent, warrior. Where am I?”The strangling hand retracted. “Another universe, eh? What’s it like there? Who controls it?”“The Great Spirit, of course,” Balta responded, “except he’s asleep right now. Like he has been for the past, oh, thousand years?”“So,” the being mused quietly, “in your universe, the darkness has not already won.”