TNTOS

I saw the movie yesterday and really enjoyed it (Batman was my favorite character, though Benny was great, too). Also enjoyed the Bionicle reference, as brief as it was. -TNTOS-

Chapter 16: Confrontation The snow was blisteringly cold, yet Nastan walked as though he were taking a stroll through a field of flowers. He noticed his seeming-immunity to the cold, too, though he assumed that since he was empty of all light and warmth that the cold did not feel all that much different compared to the darkness inside of him. His eyes spotted a Toa-shaped figure fly up through the clouds, scan the area, and then descend back down. He immediately knew that that was Chimoy, for none of the Shodios possessed a Kadin. He now had confirmation on what he already knew: The rest of the Toa Shika was in this mountain. It was going to be a happy reunion, he knew, right after he killed Barilo, of course. He had been walking for hours now, having taken a break last night to rest, though it was an extremely brief nap and he had wasted no time getting up and restarting his hunt again. As he walked, he wondered if any of the Shodios knew where the Toa Shika had gone. They probably do, Nastan thought, kicking up snowing as he traversed the area. Wonder if they sent the whole team? If so, this is going to be the reunion of reunions, and I’ll have six more morons to kill, it seems. He was extremely glad that he was going to be with Akuna again. Despite being a figure of pure shadow now, he could still feel the emotions that he could when he had been a Toa of The Green: Love, anger, confusion, happiness, and so on and so forth. So he knew that when he reached Akuna he would be happy again. He also knew that when he killed Barilo he would be even happier. Today’s going to be a happy day, Nastan thought cheerily. - Chimoy quickly told Addis what he had seen. The Toa of Plasma was not happy. “Chimoy, it seems like a big risk to me,” said Addis. “We will basically be walking right underneath the enemy! What if they find us?” “Well, it’s the only path I could find that leads out of this place,” said Chimoy, folding his arms. “We all just need to be really quiet and we’ll get by them.” “I don’t know,” Addis said doubtfully. “Come on!” said Barilo. “I’m getting sick of this cold and all this snow! I’d risk fighting a Shodios and a handful of Kra-Matoran than stay here any longer.” “Fine,” Addis said reluctantly. “But if we get killed, I will know who to blame. Come on.” With that, the other four Toa followed behind Addis, with Chimoy up in front with the leader. He was giving Addis directions as best as he could, though he speaking in a whisper in case Jiki was within earshot. Soon the party arrived at the trail that Chimoy had told them about. It was steep and narrow and looked slippery. Barilo wasn’t so sure that they could safely climb down it without slipping, but Addis seemed to think that they could. “Okay, guys,” said the Toa of Plasma, turning around to face the others. “We’ve got to go down this trail. Chimoy says it will lead us out of the mountains. I know it looks slippery and dangerous, so we’re going down one Toa at a time so we don’t all slip and go crashing down and make a lot of unnecessary noise. I’ll go first and catch the next person who comes down, okay?” However, before Addis could climb down the steep incline, they suddenly heard the sound of someone walking in the snow above them. All five of the Toa froze in place, their hearts beating loudly. Whoever was above them seemed to have found them, because he did not moved any further and they could hear the sound of snow being crunched on by armored feet. “Draw your weapons,” Addis mouthed as he pulled out his plasma cannon. The rest obeyed. They were not going to get killed by a stupid ambush. They planned to go down fighting. Suddenly, a tall, Toa-like figure jumped down from a nearby rock and landed behind them so quietly that he was almost unnoticeable. But the five Toa noticed him and immediately aimed their weapons at the unknown figure. It was too dark to make out who he was, but they all knew that he probably wasn’t friendly because he had his bow drawn. Wait. . . . Akuna thought, tilting her head. Bow . . . .? It couldn’t be, she knew, could it? Maybe it was him. She decided to find out by activating her Mask of Night Vision, even though Addis was quick to tell her to shut it off so as to not provoke him, but she ignored him. The bright, blue light of her Ruru revealed the tall, skinny form of- “Nastan!” Akuna shouted carelessly. She lowered her weapon and dashed straight into Nastan’s arms, almost bowling the Toa over. Behind her the other four Toa Shika all looked completely stunned. “Nastan?” Barilo repeated. “Is that really him?” “Yes, it is me,” said Nastan. His voice was strangely cold. “I am back. Isn’t that great?” “Oh, Nastan, I’ve missed you so,” said Akuna, burying her face in his chest. “Please don’t wander off again like that!” “Oh, I won’t,” said Nastan. Barilo thought he had a very eerie expression on his face. “I’m not a fool like Barilo.” “Hey, I’m no fool,” Barilo said defensively. “Nastan, where have you been?” Addis asked sternly. “We thought the Shodios had gotten to you!” Nastan cocked his head in Addis’ direction, looking straight into the Toa leader’s eyes. It was at that moment that Addis noticed his eyes were now blood red, not the usual bright yellow they used to be. And, perhaps worst of all in Addis’ view, they held none of the warmth and happiness that Nastan usually had in his eyes. “Ah, the Shodios did get to me, I can assure you of that,” said Nastan, pulling Akuna closer to him. “But I got away. . . . Though not before they really got to me.” Suddenly, Akuna looked up at him, puzzled. “What does that mean, Nastan?” “Haven’t any of you noticed my appearance?” asked Nastan. “Haven’t any of you noticed something . . . different, about me?” Now that he mentioned, Barilo thought, Nastan did look a little different. For one, his eyes were blood red, and two, his armor looked much darker than usual, even in the light. In fact, his whole demeanor seemed to change. He seemed much less like the brave, heroic Nastan that Barilo had known. Now, however, there was something strangely reminiscent of the Shodios about him, which was not good. “Your armor is different,” Chimoy said immediately. “It’s black now. And your eyes. . . .” “Bingo!” said Nastan, a crazed look in his crimson orbs. “You are correct! And can anyone here tell me exactly what I am now?” Akuna, still held firmly against his body, did not feel the warmth of his torso that she usually did in the past. No, what she felt now as a dead kind of cold. A kind of cold that she knew all too well, one she recognized instantly as- “Shadow,” she breathed into his chest, the fear rising in her body. “Akuna is correct!” said Nastan, though his voice sounded strangely mangled, like he was attempting to be threatening and cheerful both at the same time. “Not only is she beautiful, but she is smart, too. Yes, folks, I am no longer Toa Nastan, Toa of The Green. Now. . . .” He raised a hand shot a blast of shadow at a nearby mountain. Suddenly, snow began to fall from it and soon the trail that they had been following was blocked, filled with snow and slush so thick that it would be impossible to dig through. “ . . . I am Toa Nastan, Toa of Shadow!” Nastan finished, grinning insanely. “What the Karzahni?” Nonzra shouted in confusion. “How did that happen to you?” “Simple,” said Nastan, gripping Akuna firmly. She was trying to get away from him now, though he wasn’t about to let her go. “I was taken to Castle Kra shortly after a shadow storm transported me into the Shahada Desert. There I listened to the boring history lesson of a Kra-Matoran prisoner, was taken out soon after by Jero, and then that same Toa went ahead and used his new toy ball to take away all of my light, making me the Toa you see today.” “No way,” said Barilo, gravity axe gripped firmly in his hands. “There’s just no way-“ “Did you not just see the shadow I shot at the snow?” Nastan snapped. “I have given you undeniable proof that I am a powerful, almighty Toa of Shadow now, and that all of you are mere insects in my way!” “Nastan stop talking like that!” Akuna shouted, trying to get out of his embrace but failing to break his incredibly firm grip. “You’re not a bad person! You’re a Toa, a hero! You’re sounding an awful lot like those Shodios now!” “So what if I am?” Nastan said, his red eyes piercing her own green eyes. “I am better now. I can now fully understand why the Shodios do what they do. You are inferior to my power. Shadow can defeat all, because no matter what the environment, shadow rules! Remember the tales from before the creation of the universe? There was darkness until the Great Beings came and created us. Darkness shall again rule when I take over this place!” “Nastan, you are speaking madness!” Addis shouted. “No. I am speaking reason,” said Nastan. His voice now sounded delusional and distant, like he wasn’t real. “I have seen the darkness and I understand all now.” Suddenly, he felt a small jolt of electricity surge through him. He yelped in pain and let Akuna go, who quickly ran back to the rest of the Shika. She drew her staff of lightning and took a battle stance, her face set. “Akuna, I thought that you loved me,” said Nastan, who was now aiming his bow at the Toa Shika. “I thought that you wouldn’t object to my newfound shadow power.” “I do love you,” she answered. “But not this you. I love the Nastan who is a brave and heroic person, who is willing to protect his friends and his honor, even at the cost of his life. I am not in love with the loud, obnoxious, evil person I see in front of me today. You are not Nastan. You are just an ugly, evil shadow who took the form of my beloved Nastan. Not a real being.” “How poetic, Akuna,” Nastan chuckled. “Well, I originally planned just to kill Barilo and the others and take you as my queen once I am king of the universe, but I guess you are a little too noble for my tastes.” Suddenly, Jiki and her gang of Kra-Matoran appeared above them, standing on a plateau, looking into the narrow ravine. They saw the six Toa immediately and the Toa Shika saw them at the same time. There was a long pause as the enemies looked at each other, startled by the sudden appearance of the female Toa of Shadow and her squad. Jiki was quiet surprised herself, but she quickly recovered and ordered, “Kra-Matoran, aim your weapons and kill all six of the Toa Shika!” - Jero, Teivel, Rhatara, Ira, and Tikcah, along with a large band of Kra-Matoran, were heading toward the Nui Mountains. Along with them they had Rahi beasts such as Muaka and snow wolves, with caravans filled with weapons. This time they weren’t about to underestimate the Toa Shika. While the heroes may have been weaker than them and less experienced, they seemed to be just as clever as the Shodios and fast thinkers, too. Jero saw the huge, dim outlines of the Nui Mountains coming into view, and scowled. They were too far away and it would take at least several hours to get there. By that time Jiki might have already killed them or the Toa Shika might have escaped. The reason why the Shodios weren’t using shadow travel was because they couldn’t bring their Kra-Matoran, Rahi, and other things with them that way, and they didn’t want to underestimate the Toa just because they believed themselves to be superior, which seemed to be a flaw that Jiki had, Jero noted. She is underestimating them again, Jero thought, shaking his head. Why doesn’t she realize that underestimating her opponents will eventually lead to her downfall? Then again, Jiki was never the cleverest of the Shodios. She was always the first into battle, and the last standing. He remembered one time when they had been taking over the northern continent and Jiki had been assigned a squad of Kra-Matoran to take the acid falls. They had succeeded (quite easily, in fact) but almost all of the Kra-Matoran had got bad burns from the acid and quite a few of them had got killed. Jiki herself had gotten hurt by the acid, but still somehow managed to take several villages and claim them as property of the Kra-Matoran Empire. That is why Krashadi bothers to keep her alive, Jero thought. She’s a bumbling fool who deserves to die, but at least her methods work, which is what Krashadi values the most: Results. Teivel was in front of the group, looking just as stone-faced as ever. Tikcah was sitting right next to him on their caravan, her head lying on his shoulder. Tikcah’s feelings for Teivel were not unusual. She had always loved him, or so Jero thought. He also knew that Ira, for some reason or another, seemed to dislike her for this, though Jero knew that whatever the reason for that was, it was private, although he had the feeling that Rhatara knew why she was like that, since he could read minds. He acted like he knew it, too. They were passing through a village when suddenly a Kra-Matoran ran up to their party, apparently out of breath. He was one that Jero had never seen before, but he seemed to have some important news. “Sirs and madams!” said the Kra-Matoran, bowing in front of them. “We have just received an important message from the wise and strong Toa Jiki!” “What is it?” Rhatara snapped. “Did she get caught in an avalanche and needs help?” “No, my lord,” said the Kra-Matoran, shaking his head. “She has reported finding the six Toa Shika and is attempting to kill them even as we speak.” Jero shot him a double take. “Six Toa Shika? Are you sure she said six?” “Absolutely certain, sir,” said the Matoran. “All six of them.” “So now we know where Nastan is,” Teivel said in a cold voice. “And he has apparently rejoined with his little friends as well, the fool.” “Then let’s keep going,” Rhatara said hurriedly. “I wouldn’t want to miss this reunion, would you?” - Addis, Chimoy, and Nastan ran and dodged Jiki’s shadow bolts, rolling out of the way of snow that was falling as a result of the Toa of Shadow’s attacks off-target attacks. Earlier all six of the Toa Shika had been united as a group, but then Jiki and her team of Kra-Matoran had arrived and found them and scattered them into teams of three. Nonzra, Barilo, and Akuna had gone another way in the confusion of the battle and Addis, Nastan, and Chimoy had gone this way. Addis hoped that they would all regroup eventually, though he had no idea how far into the mountains Barilo’s team might have gone or if they were even still alive. Nastan was firing balls of shadow back at Jiki. It didn’t really work, because she was mostly immune to the energy, but it was the best that they could do right now, for they were all running and had no time to think about doing anything else. “We’re going to die unless we kill her first!” Nastan shouted as he ran. “Let me kill her!” “No! We can’t slow down,” Addis yelled, dodging a bolt of shadow that smashed a rock wall to his left. “We’re like ants to her! She’s got thousands of years of experience using her elemental powers and she just needs to strike at us with one solid blow to kill us all instantly!” Nastan didn’t argue any further, for the three Toa had now reached a dead end. It was a high, steep, frozen stone cliff. It looked too slippery to climb and they couldn’t smash it, for it seemed to be part of the mountains’ very foundation. Addis looked over his shoulder and saw Jiki advancing rapidly, her axe glowing with shadow energy. “We’re going to die,” Nastan said bitterly. “And it is all your fault, Addis!” “How is it my fault?” asked Addis. “I didn’t do anything!” “He’s right,” Chimoy said hurriedly. “Anyway, now’s not the time to argue. We gotta think of something quick, otherwise Nastan’s right. We’ll end up deader than a rotted corpse that was burned.” Addis glanced desperately around the area that they were trapped in. He could find no way to escape, no tunnels to hide in, nothing to hide behind or hide atop. It seemed like they were going to die, which prompted him to say, “Guys, draw your weapons. We’re going to fight and, as much as I hate to say it, Nastan’s right. We’re going to have to kill Jiki and get to our friends if we’re going to survive.” “Finally,” Nastan muttered, drawing his bow and placing an arrow inside it. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that!” Chimoy created a long, thick sword out of thin air along with a shield. He got into the stance of a soldier ready for combat. “I’m ready.” Addis drew his plasma cannon and aimed it straight at Jiki, who had now stopped and was looking at them. She seemed to be amused about something, because she was smiling and she was not throwing blasts of shadow energy at them anymore, either. “So you’ve finally decided to fight me,” said Jiki, twirling her axe in her hand. “Great. I was hoping that I’d get to fight you guys before killing you in the snow.” “I was, too,” said Nastan, shadow energy swirling around the tip of his arrow. “But, just so you know, we’re going to win and I am going to kill you in cold blood.” “Ha! You, beat me?” Jiki laughed, shaking her head. “You are still pebbles compared to my mountain-sized experience as a Toa. But why should I waste time talking when I can spend it smashing your skulls in?” She suddenly shot forward, dodging plasma balls and Nastan’s arrows as she ran. As soon as she got into their midst, she swung her axe around and scattered the three Toa, hitting them in all directions. Chimoy was the first to his feet and blocked her axe with his shield. He lifted his sword and brought it down on her, but she blocked it with her arm blades. With little effort Jiki pushed Chimoy back onto the ground and then brought her axe down. It was coming too quick to block, so he rolled over just as her weapon cracked the ground where he had been a few minutes before. Nastan was back up, too, and was shooting as many arrows as he possibly could, yet they all bounced off of Jiki’s hard, thick, battle-damaged armor, even when they had shadow energy channeled through them. Addis knew that his plasma could probably penetrate her armor, but she kept dodging it and kicking up snow in his face. Chimoy tried to stab her with his sword but she merely grabbed the tip of it and ripped it off, causing the Toa of Iron to stumble backward. She lifted up the sword tip and brought it down into Chimoy’s shoulder, causing the Toa to scream out in pain. But he managed to get her off of him by kicking her off with his still-functioning legs, sending her stumbling backward into a wall. “Die!” shouted Nastan, shooting a burst of shadow at Jiki. She jumped out of the way, allowing the shadow to hit the wall, cracking it. Before any of the combatants could do anything else, however, they all heard a loud rumble like thunder, though there was no lightning in the sky. Jiki glanced around and then looked up. Her eyes widened just as she screamed, “Avalanche!” She was right. Coming down toward them, covered in darkness, yet still clearly visible against the shadowy sky was an avalanche of a size that none of the assembled Toa had ever recalled seeing in their lives. It was moving too fast for them to dodge and in minutes it hit the ground and smashed into the four fighters, covering them all in several feet of ice-cold snow. - Barilo, Akuna, and Nonzra were having a much easier time than Addis, Chimoy, and Nastan were. They had managed to lose the Kra-Matoran that had been chasing them in the twisting valleys of the mountains. So now they were walking calmly, or as calmly as one could be when one is lost in cold, snowy mountains with half of your friends missing while being hunted down as a fugitive by the land’s inhabitants, that is. Akuna was the most worried of them all. Disgusted though she may be at Nastan’s recent transformation, she still had feelings for him and couldn’t seem to stop talking about how she missed him. “I hope he is okay,” Akuna said, glancing around the icy walls as if expecting to see Nastan come running back out of nowhere. “I mean, he’s got Jiki on his tail and she’s tough! What if he dies? Or what if he’s already dead? What’s to stop Jiki from killing him and the others? Am I the only one who heard what sounded like an avalanche earlier? What if he got buried beneath it and is dying right now? He may be evil and insane now, but I terribly miss him. I already went through a very long time separated from him before! That’s it, when we reunite I will personally make sure that he never leaves my side again!” “Akuna, please!” Nonzra snapped, thoroughly frustrated and tired from the cold. “We get it! You can’t live without your boyfriend and you will die unless he miraculously reappears in shining armor!” He turned to Barilo and whispered, “Geez is this how everyone acts when their loved ones are missing or what?” “Don’t know,” Barilo whispered back. “Maybe it’s just Akuna.” “I am not acting crazy!” said Akuna, glaring at Nonzra. “I am simply worried for Nastan. I just don’t want him to be dead. . . .” “Whether he’s dead or not, I think we still ought to continue on,” said Barilo. “I am leader of this group, since I am Addis’ second-in-command. You can worry about Nastan all you want, though I suggest that you do it in your mind, because I don’t want the Kra-Matoran to find us again. Besides,” he added, “it wouldn’t surprise me if Addis and his group have already left the mountains. Maybe they’re waiting for us to get out, too.” “I hope so,” Akuna said in a miserable voice. “I don’t know what I will do if Nastan is dead. I don’t know if I will be able to live without him.” “You’ve done a fine job of it in these past few days,” said Barilo, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I guess so,” said Akuna, looking back at Barilo, although she was worried just the same. “Thanks anyway, however.” “Then let’s stop talking and get walking!” said Nonzra impatiently. “Come on. Maybe we’ll run into the others on the way there.” So the three Toa continued their journey into the ever-deepening mountains, Akuna worried that, if they did not find the others soon, they would never find them at all. Review Topic

Chapter 15: Lost in the Mountains As they flew farther west, the air got increasingly colder around them. They could see their breaths now and the Cracko was starting to shiver and shake. It didn’t seem to be used to the cold weather and seemed to want to get out as soon as possible. In fact, it was looking quite tired already. It was obviously not used to carrying five Toa on its back and it fatigue was showing through the way it flapped its wings with less speed than before. The cold wind nipped at Addis’ fingers, freezing the metal chain he was holding and making his hands numb with little icicles on them. But he held on firmly anyway, even though he desperately wanted to let go and warm up his hands. “Addis, I think we should land somewhere,” shouted Barilo. “The Cracko’s getting weak!” “Hold on!” shouted Addis. “It’s going to be okay! I just need to find a safe place to land-“ But the Cracko, apparently, did not want to wait for him to find a safe place to land. Instead, giving into its weakness, it fell straight out of the sky, falling with the force of a rock. All five of the Shika were screaming, looking down as they flew through the dark clouds. Is this it? Barilo wondered. Will we die here on a giant bat? Mata Nui, I always thought I’d die fighting an evil universal monstrosity or something like that. You know, dying as a hero. “We’re all gonna die!” shouted Nonzra. As if that isn’t obvious enough, the Toa of Gravity thought. But surprisingly, despite the fall, they were not nearly as high up from the ground as they thought they were. They hit a snow peak, smashing into it with enough force to knock the Crack out cold. The impact of the fall caused the Toa Shika to go flying off of its back, but the soft snow helped to break their fall somewhat. Barilo lay half-buried in the snow, nearly unconscious. He saw the rest of the Toa had fallen off of the Cracko, too, and were scattered around him like leaves that had been caught in an updraft. He couldn’t tell if any of them were awake or not because of the blizzard that was blowing loudly in his ears and the snow that was whirling in his eyes. The fall had hurt his back and he didn’t really wish to move at all, but he knew that if he didn’t move he would freeze to death and therefore he put a bit of effort into sitting up. Over to his left, he saw the Cracko recover quickly, and then shot off back into the dark sky, disappearing from view until Barilo could no longer hear the flapping of the bat’s wings. “Wait. . . .” said Barilo, holding his hand up weakly after the beast. “We need you. . . .” But his plea for help was drowned out by the sound of the howling wind, and even if it had heard him it wouldn’t have returned. He supposed that it made sense, since the Cracko had been their unwilling mount. Yet he knew that it might very well be their only way off of this freezing mountain and if they didn’t move fast they would all be buried underneath tons of cold, icy snow. “Addis!” shouted Barilo over the howling wind. “Akuna! Chimoy! Nonzra! Is anyone awake?” “Yes,” Nonzra, who was looking like he had fallen on something hard, gasped. “Though right now I wish I wasn’t. . . .” Barilo could see the other Toa Shika moving, too, but none of them were getting up. Finally, he saw Akuna, wiping the snow off of her armor and using her staff as support, stood up. She looked very tired, but she had enough strength to go and help Addis up. After all five of the Toa Shika had been rescued from the snow, Addis gathered them behind a thick frozen tree that was standing on the top of the mountain, which blocked the wind somewhat, though it still whipped their faces and bodies. “Okay, guys!” Addis shouted over the howling wind. “We’re going to need to find a way off of here!” “As if that isn’t obvious,” Nonzra mumbled in a disgruntled voice. “Akuna, we need you to use your Ruru to light the way!” Addis told her. “I saw a path near this tree that might lead to the ground!” Akuna looked at him as if he were insane. How did he expect her to be able to see in this dark blizzard even with her mask? She decided to voice her opinion and said, “Addis, I really think we should find a cave to hide out in for a while. No telling when this blizzard will end!” “She’s right,” Chimoy shouted over the storm. “We really ought to find some shelter to endure this storm!” “Okay,” said Addis, looking from Toa to Toa. He wasn’t too used to others objecting to his plans, but he decided that Akuna’s idea made more sense than his did anyway. “Let’s hold hands so we don’t get lost! And Akuna, I think your Ruru may help anyway.” He added. With Akuna in front, her Mask of Night Vision alight, the five Toa walked down a small, barely visible path that Addis had seen, the strong airstream trying to knock them off the top of the peak. Akuna was having a very hard time seeing herself, even with her Ruru activated. It was like trying to walk through the thick proto forest back on Shika Nui, except replace vines and thick trees with snow and ice cold wind that stung her body and you’d have a pretty good idea of how it felt. Fortunately, it did not take them long to find a cave to hide in, though if Barilo had not pointed it out they might have missed it completely. “Look! There’s a cave over there!” Barilo shouted, pointing at a grotto that was barely visible underneath the snow. “Let’s go over there, then!” Akuna shouted as she led the other Toa over to the snow-blocked entrance. After quickly digging through the slush they quickly filed in one by one until all five Toa Shika were safely in the back of the cavern, all of them shivering. It wasn’t much warmer inside the cave than outside in the storm, but at least they didn’t have snow always being blown into their masks or the wind nipping at their fingers and bodies. Chimoy momentarily took off his Kanohi and wiped the snow off it. As he put the Mask of Flight back on his face, he said, “When do you think this storm will end?” “No idea,” said Addis, shaking his head, shivering. “But until then we should make a fire.” Barilo glanced around the small cave. He looked up at the icicles hanging from the ceiling like stalactites, but saw no wood or anything else that could be used to start a fire. “Uh, just how do you expect to do that?” asked Barilo, who was growing increasingly irritable as a result of the storm. “We’ve got no wood, so your plasma won’t be that useful!” “Well, I’m sure I can think of something,” said Addis, waving his hand. “Just give me a minute.” “In a minute I’m afraid I will be half-frozen,” Nonzra replied bitterly. “Hey, remember that frozen tree outside?” asked Akuna. “Maybe one of us should go out there and chop it down and use it as fire wood. It should take too long to dry with your plasma and it might burn well after that.” “Good thinking, Akuna,” said Addis, nodding. “I will do it. I can cut it down easily with my plasma.” “Hurry back,” Barilo called as the Toa of Plasma left the cave. The howling, stinging wind struck Addis in the face like a sledgehammer, but he braved the wind anyway. It shouldn’t take too long to get to the tree, he knew. All he needed to do was get up there, use his plasma, break it into pieces, and bring back as much as he could carry and then go back and get the rest. Not too hard, he thought, at least compared to what I’ve had to do in the past. When he reached the peak, he saw the frozen tree, standing just as still as always, sitting at the edge of the cliff. He walked over to it, his arms tightly around his body to keep in the warmth. He finally got to it and pulled out his plasma cannon and aimed it at the tree. But before he could shoot, the wind blew away some of the snow that was on it and he gasped and nearly dropped his weapon. It wasn’t a tree. No, it was a pillar of rock, standing up high in the sky. Its tips were branching out a like tree branches and it towered over him menacingly, looking down at him with a faceless front. It looked artificial, like someone had made it, but who had, he didn’t know. What he did know was that they couldn’t burn rock, so he decided to head back and tell the others that they weren’t going to have firewood this Naming Day. As he walked through the freezing weather, he wondered if they were all just going to die out here in the icy mountains without ever being remembered by anyone except for the Kra-Matoran and Shodios. It wasn’t a cheerful thought at all. - Jero was getting very worried. He and his group of Kra-Matoran had yet to find any trace of Nastan. It seemed like he had disappeared into thin air or something like that. It frustrated Jero because he knew that Nastan didn’t have any sort of teleportation ability and couldn’t travel via shadow, since he probably doesn’t know of that ability yet. Or does he? Jero wondered. Who says the experiment didn’t give him any extra new abilities, such as teleportation? No idea what else he may or may not have, but that just increased his threat to Wyoko. He looked up at the large temple which used to be the main area of worship for the Kra-Matoran ever since they had been imprisoned in Wyoko until smaller temples had been created in each village. As a result of having more local temples, people starting visiting it less and now it was mostly a place where Jero occasionally experimented in. It was still the largest and tallest temple in Wyoko by far, but it had none of its original glory and beauty that so many Matoran had once admired. All of a sudden, Tikcah emerged from the shadow of a nearby tree. It didn’t startle Jero too much, since he was used to his fellow Shodios using shadow travel to get from place to place quickly, but he wondered what she was doing here anyway. “Tikcah, what are you doing here?” asked Jero. “Did Krashadi send you to help me recapture Nastan?” “No,” said Tikcah, shaking her head. “I came here on my own. Jiki told me that she nearly caught five of the Toa Shika, but they escaped on the back of a Cracko and were last spotted flying toward the western mountains.” “Idiotic Toa,” Jero spat. “How the heck did they get a Crack on their side?” “No idea,” said the female Toa of Shadow. “But Jiki is going after them with a team of Kra-Matoran she got from Wael. She sure is full of herself, I noticed.” “Indeed,” said Jero, turning back to look at the huge temple. “Why did you tell me this, anyway? What is the point? It has nothing to do with Nastan, and that, might I remind you, is my mission, to find that rouge Toa of Shadow and-“ “Well, if you want to know the reason why I came here to tell you is because those other Toa are Nastan’s friends, right? So what if he saw them fly toward the mountains? What if he’s going after them, too?” asked Tikcah. “It makes sense. I suggest going there with Jiki to trap them and possibly catching Nastan at the same time, too.” Jero stood still for a few minutes, thinking over her suggestion. Yes, it would make sense for him to go there. After all, this way they would capture all six Toa in one go, kill Nastan, and take the other five as new experiments. Yet he also felt reluctant to go. The Nui Mountains were, after all, known for their frequent avalanches, which is one of the reasons why it is one of the few places in Wyoko that had was not populated by the Kra-Matoran. He didn’t want to end up buried underneath tons of snow and ice, freezing to death with no way to escape. The avalanches will probably kill the Toa Shika unless they’re careful not to shout, Jero thought. But what if it kills Nastan, too? He’s needed if I am to figure out what went wrong with him so I may not repeat those same mistakes with future test subjects. “Okay, I’ll go,” Jero said finally, turning around to face Tikcah. “Where will you go, Tikcah? Do you wish to join me, too?” “Okay,” she said, nodding. “I think Teivel, Ira, and Rhatara will come as well. They’re getting bored and want to fight and I already told them about Jiki’s report.” “Well, then,” Jero said grimly, looking back up at the dark, black sky. “It seems like the whole gang is coming together just to kill a few pesky Toa, then. I do wonder what that says about our character. . . .” - “I s-sure w-wish that N-Nastan was s-still with us,” Barilo said through chattering teeth, “b-because we c-could have used s-some o-of his elemental p-powers right n-now t-to burn s-some wood, . . .” “M-maybe w-we s-should huddle up t-together,” Akuna suggested, “to s-share o-our b-b-body h-heat.” “T-that s-sounds l-like a g-good idea,” said Addis, shivering. “B-But will it b-be e-enough?” “It is w-worth t-trying, anyway,” said Nonzra. “I’m f-freezing!” So the five Toa Shika (the four males feeling very uncomfortable) huddled up together with each other. Though they were all freezing cold, they at least felt warmer than before. Barilo felt uncomfortable, but Akuna was right next to him, so it didn’t feel all that bad, at least. “We’re g-going to h-have to s-sleep here t-tonight,” said Addis. “O-Okay?” The others nodded. It was clear, however, that none of them were going to sleep well that night, what with the loud, howling wind, the cold air, and the uncomfortable situation that they were all in. Barilo remembered his bed back on Shika Nui. It had been a good, warm bed, with a thick blanket for cold nights during winter. It was so nice compared to the situation he was in now and he wished that he had at least his blanket to cover himself with. But he had to content himself with huddling up with the other Shika, which was a lot worse than his blanket. So they were up all night, listening to the loud, screaming wind outside and trying to stay warm. Barilo assumed he had fallen asleep at one point, because soon he could not hear the storm anymore and it was slightly less cold now, though still quite frosty. Addis looked up and said, “R-rise and s-shine, everybody!” Grumbling about the conditions that they had to sleep in, the other four Toa Shika separated and sat up, yawning and trying to wake up. Akuna was still leaning slightly against Barilo, but she was awake, though feeling a bit like she just wanted to sleep instead of moving. She saw Addis get to his feet and the Toa of Plasma said, “C-come. We c-can’t s-stay here all d-day. We m-might f-freeze.” Like we haven’t already, Akuna thought bitterly. She normally didn’t think this way, preferring to take a more sensitive and optimistic approach to her thoughts like Nastan (if slightly more realistic than him, however). But sleeping in an ice-cold cave in the middle of a winter snow storm in a land of shadow make people act a lot more different than they usually would. So with some effort the group of Toa all rose to their feet and began leaving the cave, stretching their frozen limbs and yawning some more. The storm was over: Now they were in a winter wasteland, with snow in all directions. Because it was slightly lighter outside now, they could see that their peak they had landed on was actually one of the smallest, despite the height that they had dropped from, and they could see that at least one of the mountains rose above the clouds. “Okay, guys,” said Addis, trying very hard not to stutter. “We survived the night and now we’ve g-got to get down this mountain to warmer ground.” “Then let’s get moving!” Nonzra shouted. “I am sick of this cold! The sooner we get down the better!” “Maybe Akuna should go first,” said Addis, looking down the steep cliff. “It is very dark down there and we have no idea what is coming up. She has the Mask of Night Vision and will alert us of any obstacles coming up.” Akuna walked over to him and looked over the edge. It was deep, dark, and vast and she didn’t think that even her Ruru could pierce the shadows. She looked up at Addis and said, “Addis, I am not sure I want to be the first down. The side looks unstable and with the shadows as dark as they are I kind of doubt my Ruru will be useful.” “Come on, Akuna,” Addis urged. “It’s not that dark!” “Well, isn’t there a safer way down, at least?” asked Akuna. “I doubt all of us will be able to climb down without causing some sort of avalanche.” “Akuna, there’s no reason to worry,” Addis snapped, a bit more harshly than he intended. “You’re a Toa. If there’s anything wrong we can fix it. Trust me on this.” Akuna looked up at him with a doubtful expression on her face, but she said, “Fine,” in a tone of resentment and, after tying a rope to her waist just in case she were to fall, began to gradually climb down the cliff side, her Mask of Night Vision shining down in the darkness. As she climbed, the other Toa followed her, climbing down just as slowly. Addis and Barilo climbed down the rocky, cold cliff last at the same time. Barilo decided to talk with Addis about the way he had snapped at Akuna earlier. “Addis, I think you were a little too harsh on Akuna earlier,” said Barilo, carefully placing his hand in a handhold. “She really did have valid concerns about this climb.” “So what?” Addis said in an irritated-sounding voice. “I am the leader, and she, like the rest you, is supposed to follow what I say.” “Yeah, but you’re not a dictator,” Barilo pointed out. “We’ve always had a sort of ‘everyone counts’ view of leadership, even when we were Matoran. You would talk to us and ask us for our opinions before doing anything.” “Yeah, well, Barilo, we are in a different environment now,” said Addis. “We are no longer Matoran. We are Toa now, stuck in a land where we are fugitives just for existing and are always on the run, and Shika Nui, I might add, is still in the hands of the Dark Hunters. In this place we need to work together firmly and I just can’t stand anyone who tries to get me to change my mind when we can’t afford any mistakes!” “Well, maybe you should consider their point of view like you used to,” said Barilo, trying to keep his temper down. He hadn’t got much sleep last night and was feeling very bad like everyone else. “Maybe they have a reason for trying to change your mind.” “Like I said before, we can’t afford any mistakes,” said Addis. “I have thought through my reasons enough to know that we can’t afford conflict or we’ll end up dead. Do you want to end up dead? I don’t.” “I know, but I just thought you were a little harsh on her is all,” said Barilo. “I know I would certainly hesitate to climb down a dark, seemingly-endless cliff, even if I had a Ruru. I just think you should sympathize with her is all.” Addis was very quiet for a few minutes, climbing slowly down after Chimoy. Finally, he said, “Barilo, it is very hard being team leader, especially during this time. I am the one who has to make the big decisions that will determine our destiny, in a way. Our team being incomplete only further complicates that and having to sleep in a dark, cold cave all night didn’t help my temper much, either.” “Oh, well, I just wasn’t used to you being so temperamental is all,” said Barilo. The hard surface of the cliff felt very cold beneath his fingers, but he dare not let go for fear of falling to his death. “I understand. I’m not in too good a mood right now, either.” “Well, we can discuss this later, I think,” said Addis, looking down. “Looks like Akuna, Nonzra, and Chimoy have already discovered the bottom.” He was correct. The three Toa had finally arrived at the end of the ominous cliff side and were waiting for Addis and Barilo to join them. The two Toa climbed down quickly and immediately landed next to the others. Akuna was looking slightly annoyed, but Addis assumed it was because she hadn’t got much sleep last night, if any at all, and not because she had been the first one down. “Where do we go next?” asked Nonzra, looking around at the dark, snowy area. “Which way leads out of this nightmare?” “Um,” said Addis, thinking hard. “I . . . don’t know, unfortunately. We will have to go in a random direction or something-“ “Wait,” Chimoy said abruptly. “Does anyone here remember that I wear the Kanohi Kadin, the Mask of Flight? I’ll just fly above the mountain tops and find a trail for us to follow.” He saw Addis open his mouth to object, but the Toa of Iron cut him off. “Don’t worry, Addis. I’ll try to stay out of sight so that none of the Shodios or Kra-Matoran will notice me.” “Okay,” said Addis. “Fly, then. But come back down here as soon as you find a suitable trail.” “Sure,” Chimoy said just as he activated his mask. Within minutes the Toa of Iron was now flying well-above the heads of his fellow Toa, streaking through the dark, snow-filled clouds. Flying always felt exhilarating to Chimoy. The way the air pressed against your face, the sheer feeling of being weightless, and the powerful and quick flight power his mask provided added immensely to the pleasure. Out of all of the masks of the Toa Shika, Chimoy always felt his was the most, how would he put it, fun. He shot up higher, trying to get above a particularly tall peak until he was so high up that he could not see any of the other Toa Shika. Finally, he stopped in midair and looked beneath him. This was his least favorite part of flying: Looking down. It always made him feel woozy, like he was going to fall. But he knew that he would need to scout for a trail and looking down was the only way to accomplish that mission, although he wished that it wasn’t. His sharp eyes found a path at last. It was narrow and steep, but he could tell just by looking at it that it led out of the mountains and into the rest of Wyoko. He was about to fly down to tell the others when he saw a flash of black armor against the snow and immediately looked back to see what it was. Chimoy saw Jiki trudging through the snow, a small band of well-armed Kra-Matoran following her. You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that these guys were not planning to have a harmless snow fight. They were walking near the trail that he had spotted, but he was sure that, if he and the other Toa moved quietly enough, Jiki would never notice them as they slipped past. As he descended toward the ground where the other Toa awaited, he did not know that he had failed to see one other thing, another Toa walking through the snow, though not a Shodios. Though it was forgivable because the Toa in question was moving very fast and quietly, so even if he had been paying his utmost attention he still might have missed him. The Toa was Nastan, who was heading to meet his fellow Toa, and once he did that he would kill Barilo. But Chimoy did not know this, nor would he find out until it was far too late. Review Topic

I thought it only had that one song. With the exception of Fluttershy's beginning thing. According to TV Tropes, there's at least three: 1) "Music in the Treetops" (the one by Fluttershy in the beginning) 2) "Find the Music in You" (this one) 3) "Find the Music in the Treetops" (the one I blogged about here, which is kind of like a combination of the last two songs) Perhaps "lots" was a bit of an exaggeration, but however many songs it had, they were still really good. I used to have a Lhikan avatar when BZP had a bunch of stock avatars for members to use. Switched back to this one when they took away the stock avatars, but yeah, it is quite old. -TNTOS-

http://youtu.be/V1zBd6gj990 Newest episode had a lot of really good songs in it. This might be the best (though I wish it were longer). -TNTOS-

So many memories I don't even know where to begin. I'll just list the ones that immediately come to mind: Being a member of the Epics Critics Club was great. Had tons of fun reviewing epics and hanging out with my fellow critics on Skype (most of whom I'm still friends with, actually). Posting (and, more importantly, finishing) my first ever comedy, My Bionicle Road Trip, was pretty fun, too. Yeah, it was terribly written dreck, but it was my terribly written dreck. The comedy itself is not on BZP anymore (you can thank the Dataclysm for that), but I will always remember the fun times I had with my readers and the fun times I had writing the crazy thing. Being able to ask Greg questions about the Bionicle story was really awesome. How many other fandoms get to talk directly to the writer of the franchise itself? It may very well have been one of BZP's best selling points back in the old days. It was definitely one of my favorite parts. BZP has given me a lot of good memories and experiences over the years. It hasn't been completely perfect, obviously, but I don't regret joining this site for one minute. The good times and good experiences, for me at least, trump the bad ones every time, and always will. -TNTOS-

Anyone up for a quick trade? I need help evolving my Electabuzz into Electivire for my team, so I want it to be a quick back-and-forth trade. So you won't keep the Electivire or anything and I won't keep whatever Pokémon you trade to me. If you're interested, send me a PM with your Friend Code and I'll send you mine so we can trade later. -TNTOS

Chapter 14: Escape Wael It took only minutes for Addis to decide what to do. “We gotta climb the building from the outside,” said Addis. “Get to the others before Jiki gets to your room!” “Yeah, but how?” Barilo said in puzzlement. “The building is completely smooth on the outside. We can’t climb it!” Addis looked out of the window. Jiki and Daaj were nowhere to be seen now and he saw a nearby hut that looked abandoned. He stared at its roof, which looked strong enough to hold at least two Toa. He looked back at Barilo and then said, “I think I know how we can get up there.” “How?” He pointed at the roof of the hut. “Get me up there with your gravity powers and help me get up to the rooms of the other Toa.” Suddenly, they heard footsteps, a door being swung open, shadow being blasted, and then Jiki’s enraged shouts, all coming from Barilo’s now-abandoned room. “Where did the Toa go?” they heard her demand. “We don’t have time to use your plan!” Barilo whispered hurriedly. “Quick, when they open the door I shall use my gravity powers and knock them out and then we’ll run up to the higher floors.” Addis looked doubtful, but he agreed with the plan anyway just as their door blasted open, an enraged Jiki and Daaj and four guards standing in the door way, shadow energy practically radiating from their bodies because of the power they were about to use. “ ‘Night, Jiki!” shouted Barilo, using his gravity powers to slam Jiki and the Matoran into the walls. He pinned their unconscious bodies to the stone barriers and then turned to Addis and said, “Addis, let’s go up to the higher levels. The other guards might have heard the commotion down here and might be trying to kill Chimoy, Nonzra, and Akuna!” Addis nodded, and soon the two Toa were running up the stairs. Barilo heard a low ‘thump’ from below, signifying that Jiki and the four villagers had fallen off the walls they had been pinned to. They were still unconscious, although he hoped that they would stay unconscious for a little while longer. When they arrived at the landing of the second floor, they saw the guards of Chimoy and Nonzra’s rooms were gone, with the doors to the rooms ajar. “Do you think they’re already got them?” Barilo asked worriedly. Suddenly, a blast of earsplitting sound came from Nonzra’s room and two unconscious guards went flying out of the chamber and smashed into the wall, leaving a large dent where they had hit. Then Chimoy’s sentries shot out of his room and smashed into the wall as well, though they were bound with metal straps. Chimoy and Nonzra emerged from their rooms, weapons drawn and faces apprehensive. Once they spotted Addis and Barilo, they ran over to the two Toa and Chimoy said, “Addis, Barilo, what’s up with these Matoran? Why were they trying to kill us?” “They nearly stabbed me in the face!” said Nonzra, angry. “Are these guys crazy?” Barilo quickly explained to them what he and Addis had heard and when he finished Chimoy said, “We ought to find Akuna, too. She might get killed!” But as soon as the words left his mouth two stunned guards broke straight through the ceiling and then smashed through the floor behind the four Toa and into the first floor. Above them, Akuna looked through the hole in the ceiling, saw the other Shika and the unconscious guards near them and said, “Well, maybe I was a little too trusting of the Kra-Matoran. But why did they suddenly attack me - and from the looks of it, you guys, too - for no reason?” After having it explained to her, Akuna looked slightly hurt and said, “So, I guess we really were morons, considering we believed them.” She sounded very unhappy. “It’s not your fault,” said Barilo. “Like you said, we all believed them, though I was still suspicious of them.” He added. “Whatever,” Addis said, shaking his head. “We got to get to the roof of this place! Jiki could get up any minute now!” Addis, Barilo, Chimoy, and Nonzra jumped over the hole in the floor that Akuna had created and then ran up the stairs to the third floor, where Akuna was waiting for them. She looked just as worried as ever, but led them over to a staircase that apparently headed up to the roof. The roof of the building was completely flat but felt very solid underneath their feet. There was no sign of any way off of it. No ladders, either, and jumping off seemed like a very bad idea considering how high they were above ground. They could hear the sounds of Jiki and her Matoran running up the stairs behind them and knew that they needed more time to figure out a way off. “I’ll stop them,” said Addis, aiming his plasma cannon at the entrance. He fired off two balls of plasma, both of which melted the entrance closed. He didn’t doubt that Jiki and the Kra-Matoran could break through eventually, but it gave them a little extra time to think of a venue of escape. “Anyone got any ideas?” asked Addis, putting his plasma cannon away. “No,” said Akuna, shaking her head. “Don’t ask me if I can use my gravity to get us down there,” said Barilo. “Because one, I can’t focus on us all, and two, we have some unwanted visitors waiting below for us, if you know what I mean.” Addis looked over the ledge and saw what must have been the entire village of Wael waiting at the bottom, all of them holding weapons and shouting what sounded like cheers for Jiki. He did not doubt that they would tear down the entire building if it meant getting at the Toa Shika, especially if Jiki told ordered them to. “So jumping is out of the question,” said Addis, sighing. “We only have one other choice, then.” “What is that?” asked Nonzra. “We fly,” replied Addis. “Uh, in case you haven’t noticed, only Chimoy wears a Mask of Flight and I am pretty sure that he can’t lift all of us,” said Barilo, exasperated. “Flying is out of the question.” “No, it isn’t,” said Addis, looking up at the dark sky. “What are the chances of a huge Rahi that could hold five Toa flying around at this very minute? Maybe Nonzra could use his Mask of Summoning to summon whatever it is.” “Well, Addis,” said Nonzra, hearing the sound of Jiki breaking through the melt entrance behind them and talking quickly. “I agree with you, but remember I can’t control what my mask summons. For all we know it could summon some horrible evil creatures that would want to eat rather than save us from the Kra-Matoran.” “Try it anyway,” said Barilo, looking over the edge. “The Kra-Matoran is getting very impatient. Whatever you summon probably won’t be much worse than that mob down there.” Nonzra sighed and said, “Okay. I’ll do it.” He activated his Mask of Summoning, feeling its power reach out to the wilderness around him. He had no idea what it would choose, but hoped that whatever it was it would be useful. Suddenly, out of the blackness of the Wyokan sky, a huge, dark, bat-like shape came hurtling into view, moving faster than Nonzra’s eyes could follow. Soon it landed on the roof of the structure they were standing on, its black eyes regarding them curiously. “What is it?” asked Akuna, standing slightly behind Barilo. “It looks like a giant, ugly bat!” It indeed carried a very close resemblance to that of a bat. Its large, thin wings were spread out at its sides, flowing gently in the wind. It had large, sharp teeth, with purple metal and fur covering its body. Its sharp toenails were digging into the roof, as if it were trying to steady itself and it was drooling what might have been shadow. Barilo thought it looked big enough to hold all five of them, but they needed to tame it, and they didn’t have enough time to tame it. “Chimoy, make me a chain,” Addis said immediately as he tossed a glance over his shoulder. “Jiki’s going to break through the entrance any minute now!” “Here you go, Addis,” said Chimoy, a long chain instantly springing into existence in his hands. “I think you know what you are going to do, although I can’t say if I think it will work or not.” Addis took the chain and then, with the speed and agility of a skilled athlete, ran and jumped onto the giant bat’s back, simultaneously latching the chain around its neck and pulling the creature’s head up. The monster didn’t like the chain around its neck nor Addis sitting on its back and tried to shake him off, but Addis firmly held the chain around its neck and twisted and turned it until it gave up fighting, which only took a few minutes, surprisingly. “Get on!” shouted Addis to the others, who all looked impressed with his ability to quickly tame the creature. “We’re taking this beast out of here!” “Uh, sure,” Barilo said in an awed tone. I didn’t know he could control a giant bat so easily! He did not think about it any further, though, because Chimoy dragged him to the monster. Everyone else was already on its back and soon he was as well. With a loud “Yah!” from Addis the giant bat flew off and into the dark night sky. It was immediately obvious that, with the weight of the five Toa on its back, it could not fly as fast or as graceful as it had before, and Barilo was sure that they would get hit by the Kra-Matoran on the ground. He looked down and saw all of the villagers, who looked like ants from his perch, standing with their mouths open, awestruck. He wasn’t sure if they were surprised at the appearance of the beast or of the Toa Shikas’ chosen method of escape. Regardless, he knew he and his friends had escaped from the villagers and were hopefully on their way to safety. Behind them, he could hear Jiki, standing on the roof of the building, cursing at them as loudly as she possibly could and also shooting shadow blasts at them, but missing because their ride was dodging the blasts rather skillfully despite the weight of the five Toa. He thought he heard Jiki call their mount a ‘Cracko,’ which he thought was a rather odd name for a giant bat. Soon Wael was out of sight, with the Kra-Matoran, Jiki’s curses, and the entire village disappearing into the darkness of Wyoko as their rather bumpy ride flew higher and higher in a random direction with apparently no help from Addis to guide it. “Where are we going?” Akuna asked with her arms tightly wrapped around Addis’ waist to avoid falling off. “To be honest, Akuna, I have no idea,” Addis replied. “I am hoping toward The Door.” “Well, I still think we should search for Nastan,” said Akuna. “Considering how hostile the villages are, what if they tried the same trick on him and he fell for it? I can’t stand knowing that he’s still out there somewhere!” “Well, maybe we can find him from up here,” Barilo said, who was looking down. “But we’d have to get real close to the ground. It’s too dark up here to see anything.” He was right. Below them there was nothing but darkness and shadow. There were no lights from the ground because the Kra-Matoran hated light and therefore used it as little as possible. But there seemed to be light near the ceiling of Wyoko’s dome, for they could see small, dim pinpoints of light on the ceiling, letting them see shadow clouds and a few other flying Rahi in the distance, but not too much else besides that. “By the way, Addis,” said Barilo, who broke his gaze away from the dark sky. “How come you’re so good at taming this Cracko? You got it to agree with you awful quick.” “Well, it doesn’t seem to be as violent as I thought it was going to be,” said Addis, looking over his shoulder. “It didn’t put up much of a fight as I expected it to do, but that’s better than getting ripped to shreds by it, right?” Suddenly, the Cracko lurched to the side and Akuna gripped Addis around the waist even tighter to avoid falling off. The others did the same, holding on tightly to one another. Then the giant bat flew down toward the ground, passing through dark clouds and flying by other Rahi (one of them looked oddly like a giant flying squid to Barilo) as it dove. Addis was pulling it around the neck with his chain so that it would go back up, but it ignored him and kept flying down. “This thing is going to crash if it keeps this speed up!” shouted Addis. “Maybe it’s trying to shake us off,” Nonzra muttered. “If it is, it’s working quite well.” “Just hang on tightly and I’ll see if I can get it back up!” Addis replied, pulling hard on the chain. The Cracko reluctantly went back up, if only to ease the pain on its neck as a result of the hard, metal chain being pulled against its collar. So now they were flying again, and Barilo wondered where they would be going now. After all, they were too high up to see The Door and he doubted that the Cracko knew or cared about where it was. Addis looked like he was thinking hard, probably making up a new plan for them to use. “Okay, guys,” Addis shouted the sound of the loud flapping of the Cracko’s wings. “I’m going to try to get this beast to fly near the ground and then we’ll dismount and walk to The Door.” “Walk?” Barilo asked in disbelief. “But we’ll be seen if we walk!” “Not to mention it will take much longer to talk to The Door than to fly,” Chimoy added. “I know,” said Addis. “But this creature is getting rebellious and might try to shake us off again, plus we can’t afford to be spotted by the Kra-Matoran or Shodios and then get shot down. If we walk we will be able to hide more effectively than flying, and, might I add, we don’t know where The Door is exactly, and we’ll be able to see it clearly from the ground, or at least know of its general direction.” “But first,” said Addis, looking down. “We ought to fly quite a ways away. The Matoran of Wael might be nearby, maybe sending a search party to find us. Remember, they can see us in this darkness and we can’t, so they have an advantage over us. We gotta land somewhere far away enough from Wael so the Matoran won’t find us. Yah!” He pulled the chain again and the Cracko shot forward toward the north, the cold wind of Wyoko whipping their faces as they flew. Akuna kept looking down all the way, hoping to see some sign of Nastan, though she knew it was a false hope, for they were too high up to even see the ground. - Nastan ran through the darkness of Wyoko, his mind ablaze with all kinds of thoughts and emotions. First he felt angry, then he felt happy, then he felt sad, then he was confused, and then he was angry again and then he suddenly felt all of the emotions in the universe and now he was happy again. Despite his very conflicted mind, he knew one thing for sure: He was in his natural environment. I cannot understand why the Shodios would ever want to leave this place, he thought, glancing around at the dark forest that he was in. This is perfect for a Toa of Shadow like me! Complete and utter darkness, scary nightmare creatures everywhere I look. It is practically paradise. I even have night vision! How cool is that? But, despite his newfound happiness, he felt . . . lonely, somehow. He missed the other Toa Shika, despite them not actually being Toa of Shadow. He missed Akuna most of all, whom he now knew he loved very much, though he knew that Barilo would simply have to be killed if his friends were to become Toa of Shadow like himself. And, he thought, if any of the others got in his way, he would have to kill them, too. Akuna could become a Toa of Shadow like me, he thought happily. She would love it because she loves me and would do anything for me, even give up her light. And hey, being a complete shadow being sure is fun! The whole reason that he had abandoned Jero back at the Place of Lightlessness was because he had wanted to search for the other Toa Shika by himself, and he didn’t like Jero much anyway. He had no idea where they were. Maybe they were in a village? He doubted it, considering what the Kra-Matoran think of the Toa Shika. So they obviously must be in the wilderness somewhere, probably heading toward The Door, Nastan thought. Just like them, he thought bitterly. Leaving me behind here in Wyoko without even trying to find me. Barilo most likely persuaded them to do that. Hopefully Akuna will separate from the group to try and find me, at least. With the agility of a ninja, he launched himself onto a tree branch and then started climbing. Now he may not be a Toa of The Green anymore, but he still had his amazing tree climbing abilities, though he noticed that they had lowered considerably, since he was taking a longer time to climb, branch by branch. He was also getting noticeably more worn out as he climbed higher, an obvious side effect of his abrupt change from being a Toa of The Green to a Toa of Shadow. Finally, he reached the top and sat on the highest branch, scanning the landscape around him, panting, almost out of breath. He saw The Door, though he was many, many miles away from it and it was nothing more than a small sparkle of light in the distance. He saw a few villages, plus Castle Kra, but they were all far away as well. He spotted the western mountains to the left of him, with their huge, white snow capped peaks. His eyes, however, wandered up to the sky above them, where he saw a most unusual sight. Flying very close to the peaks of the mountains was a giant bat, of a species Nastan had never seen before. He thought it was extremely weird, but regardless, it was flying awkwardly, looking as if it had something heavy on its back. In fact, Nastan did notice what looked like a large, multicolor lump on its back that was moving slightly. It can’t be them, can it? he thought as he watched from his treetop perch. How the heck did they end up on a giant bat? Well, I should probably go and greet them. Looks like they’re going to- The giant monster suddenly fell out of view into the dark mountains. -fall, he thought. Hopefully Barilo got impaled by some sharp rocks or something. But nevertheless, they are within my grasp, so I don’t have to be away from Akuna any longer. Climbing back down the tree, his blood-red eyes fixated on the mountains, he planned to give his five friends a very nasty shock. Especially, he thought, Barilo. Review Topic

Like I said earlier, not sure if yay or nay. I don't want to judge it yet until we get more information or more substantial clips. -TNTOS-

That cake looks really good (despite soul-less Lewa). As for cake ideas, maybe a Hero Factory one? I dunno. I think Rayg's suggestion for a Lego Movie-themed one would be cool, though. -TNTOS-

Chapter 13: Lies The experiment, Jero thought, was a success as he watched as Nastan, his armor completely jet-black and his eyes a light red color, rose from the stone slab he had been lying on. The absorbing sphere had worked perfectly: Nastan was no longer a defender of light, a self-righteous ‘hero.’ Now he was a Toa of Shadow, stripped of all of his light. His physical appearance was largely the same, except now he was completely black, Jero noted. “So, Nastan,” said the scientist, looking up at the new Toa of Shadow. “How does it feel to have no light anymore, to be a complete ally of the shadow?” Nastan, who had been examining his new form, glanced up at Jero, as if noticing him for the first time. He smiled a sort of crazy smile and said, “It feels good. Really good. Like, stealing a bunch of Cordak blasters all full of ammo from a heavily defended Dark Hunter fortress and getting without being seen kind of good. I love it.” “Experiment loves it,” Jero muttered as he wrote notes. “Anything else? Like, how did it feel to get your light forcefully taken out of you? Did it hurt?” “At first, yeah,” said Nastan, now leaning up against a wall and examining his hands, as if he had never seen them before. “But as the light left me, it felt . . . painless. I was starting to accept it, love it, to know that I was part of the darkness and that it was pointless to reject it.” He looked around the room for a minute and exclaimed, “Wow, being able to see in the dark is tons different than being able to see in the light. The only bad thing is that there is nothing in here to look at but your ugly mask, Jero.” Jero fought the temptation to hit Nastan over the head for insulting him. He knew that the Toa of Shadow’s body and mind were still adjusting to the drastic changes that had resulted in having his light taken away and therefore he would be pretty unstable for a while. He had deduced this by studying the way Nastan reacted to his new powers and appearance. But Nastan was still annoying just the same. “So, what do we do next?” Nastan asked eagerly. “I want to show Akuna my new powers.” “That is, if we can find her,” said Jero. “That shouldn’t be a problem, though. All of Wyoko is on watch for the five Toa Shika and are ordered to take them alive or kill them if they resist.” “Spare Akuna and Barilo,” said Nastan. “Why? Are you close to them?” Nastan shot the Toa of Shadow a look that even gave him the chills and replied, “Akuna, yes, we’re very close to each other. But Barilo . . . He’s a different story.” “Why is that, Nastan?” asked Jero. “Did he do something to you in the past that makes you angry at him?” “Yes,” said Nastan, though it was clear he did not want to talk about it, for it brought back painful memories. “He tried to kill me once. He was stopped, obviously, and was exiled from the team. But later everyone but me forgave him and let him rejoin the team. Even Akuna agreed to it. Yet none of them considered my feelings. What if I still didn’t trust him? What if I thought he wasn’t worth being a Toa and should stay exiled? But no, they unanimously voted him back in without hesitation.” Jero noticed shadow energy starting to crackle in Nastan’s palms. It was obvious, because of his outburst of emotions, that he was losing control of his powers, since he did not seem to notice what was happening. Jero didn’t bother to tell him, for he wanted to see Nastan use his new shadow powers for the very first time. “I want to kill him,” Nastan said savagely. “I want to see his corpse burning. I want to see justice served. I want to see him dead!” With that last shout, he fired a huge blast of shadow energy at a nearby wall, blasting the barrier apart and creating a huge gaping hole in the wall of the temple, revealing the outside which looked just as bleak and depressing as the inside. Nastan was still seething, while Jero stood up and clapped his hands, grinning evilly. “Very good, Nastan!” said Jero, smiling. “The experiment is a full success and you are living proof of it. I am so proud of myself!” “Who cares if it was a success?” Nastan snorted. “I am just so very happy that I do not have that stupid conscience to annoy me anymore when I want to do something that it says is ‘wrong.’ Now I need to find Barilo. I want to kill him with my own bare hands!” “You’re moving way too much ahead of yourself, Nastan,” said Jero. “First, I have to show you to the other Shodios and Turaga Krashadi, just to prove to them that it is indeed possible to artificially remove the light out of a being. Perhaps then the old coot will allow me to start mass producing the things.” “Why didn’t he allow you to make more before?” asked Nastan. “Because he is not a man of science like me,” said Jero. “He did not think I could succeed in sucking the light out of a being and thought it would be a complete waste of time and resources. But now I have proved him wrong. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees you.” “Yeah, sure, whatever,” said Nastan dismissively. “Let’s get going already. This place is too cramped for my tastes.” With that, he blasted yet another hole in the wall and leapt through it with such speed and grace one might have mistaken him for a brakas monkey. Jero looked through the hole and saw that, though they were several dozen feet above ground, Nastan had somehow managed to land safely without so much as a sprained ankle, at least from what he could see, anyway. The new Toa of Shadow shouted from below, “Let’s go! I am getting tired of waiting!” “Um, uh, coming!“ Jero said, slightly taken aback by Nastan’s quickness. He pulled out his note pad and scribbled, Subject A’s agility has been increased as a result of having his light take away. Will need to monitor him for now to see if there are any other unforeseen side effects that I am unaware of. With that, he decided to take the stairs down to the ground level. Nastan may be fast and very agile, but Jero was a rather old Toa, and while he may have been stronger and more powerful than a Kra-Matoran or Krashadi, he still did not trust his legs to give out underneath him were he to drop from such a height. Once he reached the bottom, Nastan was nowhere to be seen. He glanced around the dark area and saw only the caravan they had taken to get here, which was flipped over. He saw two pairs of legs sticking out from underneath it; two pairs of legs that belonged to the villagers who had driven the wagon here. He did not wish to find out what the rest of their bodies looked like. After conducting a quick search of the immediate area, he concluded that Nastan must have run away, which added one more problem to today’s list. First, the Toa Shika got away and their location is unknown, thus turning all of Wyoko into a energy hound that keeps an eye out for intruders on its territory, he thought. Then, Nastan, now a Toa of Shadow and equipped with an insane and unstable mind, has run away and his location is unknown, too. Mata Nui, what is this place coming to? Will we all end up dying in the end? - Several thousand miles away, in the village of Wael, Toa Barilo had a hard time sleeping, twisting and turning in his soft bed. His mind was bothered by a lot of things, mostly by the welcoming Kra-Matoran. He couldn’t name it, but there was something about them that seemed very wrong, deceptive almost. While the others seemed to have accepted the Kra-Matoran, he himself was not so sure. But it didn’t seem to be a trick, either. After all, if they gave the Toa Shika the things that they normally reserved for the Shodios, then they obviously must be genuine, right, considering how much they worship the Shodios like gods? Well, that was something he was not so sure about, even though he had no evidence to back up his doubts. Why would they suddenly start to act so happy and nice and friendly when other members of their tribe have been far more hostile to us? he thought, troubled. I want to accept this as genuine, but something in the back of my mind is keeping me from doing it. That little voice is telling me that this doesn’t make sense, that there is more to this than meets the eye. But what is it? He wondered if any of the other Shika might be thinking the same thoughts he was. If so, maybe they had their own reasons that Barilo did not know, something they may have noticed about the Kra-Matoran that tipped them off, if anything at all. He decided to go and talk to Addis, who he was close friends with. He kind of doubted that the Kra-Matoran would let him visit Addis, but this could also be a test. If they let him go and talk to Addis about this, then he would be convinced that they are the real deal. If they didn’t let him go and talk to Addis, then there would be a very good chance that all of the Toa Shika were in great danger tonight. There were two Kra-Matoran guards stationed outside of his door. At first he had insisted that he would be fine and would not need any guards, but the villagers had insisted that he should have at least two and that’s how those two ended up there. As he placed a hand on his doorknob, he froze at the sound of the two villagers talking to each other, though they were talking very quietly. “Man, I am getting sick of treating these light lovers like they’re Turaga Krashadi himself!” one of the Kra-Matoran complained. “Don’t worry, I heard that a message has been sent to Toa Jiki that the Invisible Black Mask has been defeated, but that we have the five Toa Shika here for her to take,” said the other guard. “Or kill them, whichever one suits her.” Barilo was thunderstruck. So they really didn’t like the Toa Shika! The Kra-Matoran was just playing with him and his friends all along! It was a trick! He needed to somehow get the others out of here, but first he would have to convince them. But how would he get to their rooms without first getting past the guards? It was clear to him that the Kra-Matoran would not let him go and leave his room just because he wanted to. If Jiki really was coming, and if she was coming to get the Toa Shika, he would need to break out and get to his friends before it was too late. He looked at the window near his bed. It was open and looked wide enough to allow someone of his size to get through. Perhaps he could climb out of it and into the others’ rooms to warn of them of Jiki’s coming? He saw only two flaws in the plan: One, he would need to make sure no Kra-Matoran were waiting outside the building just in case they saw him climbing the structure and tried to get him down. Two, he would need to find a way to convince the others that this was all a sham, that they would need to get out of Wael quickly before Jiki arrives, since he had no solid proof that Jiki really was coming to get them. Barilo looked out of his window. He did not see any Kra-Matoran, nor did he see anything else but lots of huts. It was a risky plan still. What if the guards heard him climbing out and warned the other guards, or just stopped him entirely? But he knew he needed to get out and rescue his friends, so he decided that it was a risk worth taking. Since he was on the bottom floor, his window was located only a couple of feet above the ground. Jumping out of it, he landed silently on the ground and then tiptoed over to Addis’ window, which was on the same level as his. Unfortunately, Addis had shut his window, which meant that Barilo would have to open it through sheer force. He pulled out his trusty axe and then, as silent and quickly as he could, started to cut around the bottom of the window. It took a few minutes and more than once Barilo looked over his shoulder just in case someone was watching him or had heard him, but eventually he managed to force it open and crawled inside Addis’ window, closing it as he entered so no one would look in and see two Toa where there should only be one. The Toa of Gravity quickly and quietly fast walked over to Addis, who was fast asleep on his bed, muttering to himself in words that Barilo couldn’t understand. “Wake up,” whispered Barilo, shaking the Toa of Plasma. “Addis, it is a trick. The villagers really don’t like us as much as they say they do and are going to hand us over to the Shodios if we don’t get ourselves out of here soon!” “What?” Addis said sleepily, sitting up and yawning. “Barilo, what are you doing in my room? How did you get in here? And why are you in here?” As quickly as he could, Barilo explained to Addis about the conversation he heard between the two guards and how they should get out of Wael before Jiki arrives. Addis only half-listened, however; the rest of his mind was still in dreamland. “That’s nice, Barilo,” Addis yawned, laying back down and turning over. “Why don’t you just get some sleep and we’ll think about this tomorrow?” “There won’t be a ‘tomorrow’ when Jiki gets here!” said Barilo, trying to keep his voice low. “We’ll all be dead by then!” “But you have no proof or evidence to support your theory, Barilo,” said Addis, now sounding annoyed. “Why should I believe you?” “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because we’ve known each other for over 30,000 years?” said Barilo sarcastically. “When you’ve known the Kra-Matoran for barely more than a day?” “I still don’t know. . . .” Suddenly, they heard voices outside of Addis’ window. The Toa of Plasma looked toward it, wondering who the voices belonged to. He recognized Daaj’s, who was speaking as loudly and enthusiastically as usual, but the other voice was muffled, as if it were whispering. The two Toa moved toward the closed window and cracked it open ever so slightly. In the shadows of the night they saw two figures standing just outside Addis’ window. One was obviously Daaj, for it was holding her walking staff and had the same voice. The other was Toa-sized and had a large frame. They recognized that one as Jiki, for it had the same voice as her. “So you really duped the Toa into believing you are their allies?” asked Jiki. “I am impressed. I never thought that mere Matoran such as you were capable of such elaborate deceptions.” “Oh, Toa Jiki, it would have been harder had they used their brains,” said Daaj, who sounding quite proud of herself. “All of the light on the surface must have fried their brains, don’t you think?” “You say the Toa are in this building?” “Yes, Toa Jiki, they are. They’re all fast asleep. Shall I have my guards go in and capture them all and bring them out here for you?” “No,” Jiki said, shaking her head. “We tried to capture them before, and they escaped. This time, we’re going to kill them all, because if we capture them they will just escape again and, with the situation as it is, we can’t let them get away and possibly reunite with their lost friend, what was his name, Nastan, that’s it.” “I agree, wise and wonderful Jiki,” said Daaj, nodding her head in agreement. “Perhaps you should kill them quietly, ma’am. I do not question your wisdom or knowledge, but I do not think we should have a long fight on our hands that could possibly damage Wael.” “Whatever,” said Jiki, who was now getting impatient, “I just want to kill them and be done with it.” “Then come right his way, Toa Jiki.” Addis and Barilo looked at each other. They instantly knew what they had to do: Find the others and get them out of here! - Turaga Krashadi sat at his desk in his tower, scribbling plans for the battles on the surface that would surely come as Teivel quietly entered the room, his face half-covered in darkness, though it did not necessarily hide it, for Krashadi could see in the darkness quite well. He looked up at the leader of the Shodios and said, “Teivel, what brings you here today? Do you have more news on the Toa Shika situation?” “Jiki has sent a messenger,” Teivel said in his usual cold tone. “She says she has found the Toa Shika in the village of Wael and plans to kill them.” He stopped talking, as if expecting Krashadi to say something in disagreement with Jiki’s plans. But he was to be disappointed, for Krashadi said, “I suppose that makes sense. They have been giving us such a hard time that I wouldn’t bother keeping them alive, either.” He paused, as if lost in thought, then said, “How does Jero’s experiment on the Toa of The Green go? Any news about that yet?” “None,” said Teivel. “He hasn’t reported back-“ Suddenly, Toa Jero burst into the room, looking as if he had just run several miles, which he probably had, considering the condition of his armor. He had dirt splattered all over his chest and feet and looked like he was out of breath, which he probably was. “Nastan . . . escaped! Gone!” Jero panted, clutching his chest. “What?” Teivel snapped, surprised by the sudden appearance of Jero. “Explain yourself, scientist!” “That Toa I was experimenting on,” said Jero, trying to explain what he was trying to say. “My absorbing sphere was a success! But then Nastan escaped!” He had a very mixed tone, sounding like he was proud of his success, yet he also sounded as if he were worried. “So, there’s a new Toa of Shadow roaming Wyoko without any supervision?” said Krashadi. His tone was becoming increasingly darker and more thunder-like as he spoke. “Why in your right mind would you let such a valuable experiment loose upon our people? Are you trying to figure out what would happen if you let a homicidal maniac out onto a continent full of innocent Matoran?” “No experiment!” shouted Jero. “He ran away on his own! I don’t know where he is!” “Did he give you any clue as to where he might be going?” Teivel asked sharply. “Well, he did mention wanting to kill that Toa of Gravity, Barilo,” said Jero. “But he has no idea where his friends are.” “But what is to stop him from intercepting one of our messengers and forcing the Matoran to tell him the location of the rest of the Toa Shika?” questioned Teivel. “He may be heading to Wael, which is where the Toa Shika are at this very moment.” “He may, but for we know all he could simply be wandering,” said Jero. “I noticed he had a very sudden change in behavior after I changed him into a Toa of Shadow. I suspect his mind must have been damaged because of the imperfect technique that I used on him, which may mean he is simply insane and might not be a serious threat to us.” “But just the same, it would make sense to kill him,” Krashadi said calmly. “He doesn’t know what to do with his new shadow powers. He may attempt to do something stupid, like attack this castle. He may be insane, but being insane does not instantly make one stupid.” “You’re right, Krashadi, we can’t have a being like that wandering around our realm,” said Teivel, nodding. “I shall go search for him from the skies. If he is heading for Wael, I can intercept him and kill him.” “Hey, I gave you no permission to kill my experiment,” Jero said angrily. “He proves that I could mass produce absorbing spheres and we could use them on other light dwellers. I still need to study him to figure out what went wrong!” “It’s obvious,” said Teivel. “You’re just a bad scientist. I honestly don’t know why we would want to convert our enemies to our tribe, especially if they’re all going to be as unpredictable as Nastan.” “I think that the new Toa of Shadow should be killed,” Krashadi said in tone that made it obvious that the discussion was over. “Jero, form a search party of the best Kra-Matoran in this castle and then lead it to try to find to Nastan. Teivel, find the other Shodios and bring them to this castle. We have to discuss battle tactics when we begin our conquering of the surface world.” “Yes, Turaga,” said Jero, bowing slightly. “I will bring Nastan-“ “-dead,” Krashadi finished for him. “Teivel is right. He is too unpredictable and unstable to be allowed to wander free like that. Kill him and bring the body back to me.” Jero glared at Krashadi, but he left anyway, leaving the small room and running down the staircase. Teivel followed soon after, leaving Krashadi all alone in his study. The Turaga of Shadow jumped off of his chair and then walked over to the window, looking over the whole land of Wyoko. Beyond it he could see The Door to The Light, which was closed, but not, he knew, locked. He could not wait to go through it, but with the Toa Shika and Nastan still running around, it may be a long time before he would ever see the light of the surface again. Still, he knew that, if need be, he could simply destroy the Shika himself. If he knew light Toa - and he thought that he knew them - they would survive Jiki’s attempted murder and then, like all Toa, would attempt to raid Castle Kra, because they would assume that Nastan was here. Once they got here, Krashadi decided, he was not going to hold back. He was going to wipe them off the face of the universe and after that he would lead his people out of Wyoko to begin a new Kra-Matoran Empire, one even better than before. Yes, he thought as he gripped his staff tightly in his hand. The Kra-Matoran Empire shall rise again and this time, no one will stop us. Review Topic

The reversed happened to me, actually, when I read the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon series, for those who might not recognize the name) a couple of years back. Heard they were the most awful books ever written, but when I actually read them myself, found that they were basically 'eh.' Not great, to be sure, but not worth all the sheer hatred I saw people lobbing at them, at least in my opinion. I've read worse. -TNTOS-

Chapter 12: Trickery & Schemes Nastan lay on a large, flat stone slab, his arms and legs bound to the table with protosteel straps, making escape impossible. He had been struggling to get himself free for a while now, but it was a useless effort because the straps were too thick and tight. So he decided to just lay there in the dark room, wondering when Jero would return with whatever it is he had promise would ‘change’ Nastan, though he didn’t know what that meant and really didn’t want to. A few hours ago, Nastan had been taken from his cell in Castle Kra to the area of Wyoko known as ‘The Place of Lightlessness’ to its inhabitants. It was an old, seemingly abandoned temple in the shape of the one he had seen in Kra-Koro back on the surface of Shika Nui. It was incredibly dark and scary, with more than one figure moving in the shadows that Nastan could not identify. Jero had explained to him that it was called The Place of Lightlessness because it was dark even compared to Kra-Matoran standards. Plus, there were a few rumors that stated that anyone who went there that wasn’t a Shodios or Turaga Krashadi would be eaten alive by beings of made of pure shadow, which discouraged anyone visiting this place. Nastan hadn’t seen any, but he had an awful feeling that the rumors of shadow beings may very well be true. He sincerely hoped not. Suddenly, the door swung open and Jero entered, holding a small orb in his hand that was covered with a cloth. It was too dark to make out what it was he was holding, but Nastan really didn’t want to know. After all, if whatever it was made a Shodios giddy, then it had to be bad. “Nastan, I know you probably cannot see me very well in this darkness, if at all,” Jero said in a quiet tone. “But I would like you to know what is about to happen to you first, so that you may understand its significance once the transformation is complete.” “Transformation? What transformation?” Nastan asked, with more than a hint of fear in his voice. “What are you going to do to me?” “This is an absorbing sphere,” said Jero, unveiling the ball from the cloth. It was dull and dark, as empty as a dark pit. “It is one of my newest creations.” “What does it do?” Nastan asked, straining his head to get a better look of the ball. “I do not know for sure,” admitted Jero. “But if my theory is correct, it should be able to absorb all of your light inside you and transform you from an idiotic Toa of The Green to a powerful Toa of Shadow. If it doesn’t, nothing should happen, but you never know. . . .” “You can’t do this to me,” said Nastan, now staring at the absorbing sphere with fear. “What if I don’t want to become a Toa of Shadow? What if I’m happy as I am?” “Think of yourself as a lab rat,” Jero said, now holding the sphere above Nastan’s face. “And think of this as an experiment. I am the scientist and I am curious and want to find out how it works, so I use you, the lab rat. If the experiment is a success, you will survive, perhaps even for the better. But if it fails, I will have to dispose of your corpse and work on another light dweller, perhaps one who has already allied him or herself with the shadow and therefore would not resist nearly as much, if at all.” “This is inhumane!” Nastan shouted, still struggling against the bonds. “This is insane!” “On the contrary, I find this to be quite exciting,” said Jero, in a voice that suggested he was getting very eager to begin. “I began this project a few years ago and just recently perfected it in this absorbing sphere. I have been testing it on Rahi beasts, but they have very little light and there is little to no difference in their attitudes or appearances.” He paused, as if lost in thought, then said, “Perhaps it is because they were made to fit into this environment. Regardless,” he added. “I was hoping that I would get a light dweller to test it on. But I thought it was a stupid dream, since until recently The Door has been locked up tightly. Then you and your friends came along, however, and I just couldn’t believe my luck.” “I just can’t believe my unluckiness,” Nastan muttered. “Unluckiness?” repeated Jero. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it ‘unlucky.’ After all, how many people get their light forcibly removed from their bodies and become Toa of Shadow every day? If this process works, as I theorize it will, then I will mass produce them and use these on other light Toa and Matoran on the surface and recruit more beings into our army, thus eliminating even more potential foes that will try to stop us.” He sounded proud, yet slightly crazed. “Turaga Krashadi will be proud, I suspect.” “Now enough talking,” said Jero, shaking his head. “The experiment officially begins now.” With a sound of a ‘click,’ Nastan suddenly started to feel . . . different. He felt like someone had reached into his stomach with a giant fork and was trying to grab his innards . . . and succeeding. He tried to fight the impulse to do evil, but as his light began to get siphoned off into the absorbing sphere, he found the temptation of evil becoming greater every minute. But even if he could resist the evil temptation of shadow, there was still the unbearable pain that followed it. It shot through his form like a lightning bolt and burned and stung every inch of his body. He couldn’t scream. Instead, all he did was struggle and heave, but he knew it was pointless to try. “Don’t struggle, Nastan,” Jero breathed, as he watched the orb in his hand gradually fill with light. “Soon, it will be over. Soon, you will have no reason to resist darkness. Soon, you will be the brother of shadow, of the Shodios. And soon, you will have no reason to struggle at all.” - Back with the rest of the Toa Shika, Barilo was sure that the Kra-Matoran would attack them, since they were light dwellers, and based on how the other Kra-Matoran they had met acted around them, it only made since. But instead, the villagers bowed deeply at their feet, chanting ‘Hail the Toa!’ at the top of their lungs as if it were a ritual that they performed every day. None of the Shika knew what to make of it, though, and they were all standing around, dumbfounded, not sure of what to do or if they should do anything at all. Maybe run away while they’re distracted? Perhaps stay and ask what they think they’re doing? Fight them, possibly? Or do something else entirely? Suddenly, one of the Kra-Matoran, a tan and black colored villager wearing a Huna, broke away from the crowd and ran up to the Toa Shika. She was obviously the leader of the group, for she wore a robe and held a staff of office similar to a Turaga’s, but she did not look like a Turaga. On the contrary, she seemed quite lively and young, which made Barilo wonder how she could have became leader of the village. Barilo instantly recognized her as the Kra-Matoran he had rescued earlier from the rubble of that damaged hut, for she had the same piercing crimson eyes, though he wondered why he hadn’t noticed the robes before “Welcome, Toa!” she said enthusiastically, bowing in front of them as if they were some sort of higher beings. “I am Daaj, the leader of Wael, this village you are currently standing in. We fully appreciate your efforts to defeat the Invisible Black Mask that has been terrorizing our village since earlier this morning! Honor the Toa!” She whirled around and lifted her staff high, apparently some sort of signal for the Kra-Matoran to begin shouting again. “Honor the Toa!” the group of Kra-Matoran shouted in unison. Daaj turned around to face the Shika again and said, “We also appreciate the fact that you saved me from that smashed hut, Toa of Gravity.” “Uh, you’re welcome?” said Barilo, a little overwhelmed by the way the Kra-Matoran was acting toward them now. “Please tell us your names so that we may properly address you,” said Daaj, looking up at them. After the five Toa informed her of their respective names, she smiled broadly and said, “Your names are . . . different from what we’re used to, but since you are Toa we shall refrain from ridiculing your rather ludicrous-sounding names.” Barilo wanted to tell her that she had just insulted their names now, but she seemed to have ignored them and now gestured to about five other villagers to enter a nearby warehouse. Soon they had emerged from the building with five well-decorated thrones that were obviously reserved for Toa such as themselves, probably for the Shodios. “Please sit in the thrones,” Daaj said, motioning to the fancy chairs. “They are normally reserved for the amazing and wise Shodios, but today we offer them to you five.” “Uh, thanks, I guess,” said Addis, taking a seat, followed by the other four. “We, uh, appreciate this? I guess?” He looked over toward Barilo and the rest, all of whom simply shrugged. Daaj looked from one Toa to the other with a curious expression on her face as she said, “If I may ask, is there a sixth member of your team? Surely you have a full team of six Toa, do you not?” “What makes you think there was a sixth Toa?” asked Barilo. “Because Toa, with a few exceptions, always travel in groups of six,” said Daaj. “It is practically a rule in your world, isn’t it?” Now that she had mentioned it, Barilo could not name any Toa team off the top of his head that was more than six. He knew that, in the Dark Hunter/Toa war back on Metru Nui all of those years ago that there had been at least 300 Toa then, but they had been part of an army. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that made sure that almost all Toa teams to have no less or more than six Toa unless it is was an emergency? He had no chance to ponder the thought further, however, because the Kra-Matoran were now busily bringing a large amount of food and drinks to them, and placed them on a long, flat table that lay before the Toa. All of the foods looked quite exotic and odd to Barilo. One of the foods looked like a tentacle with a spike sticking through it, and another might have been a fish at one point but now it looked like it had been turned inside out for some reason. Barilo wasn’t quite sure what to eat first. Then again, I am not sure if I should eat at all, he thought as he looked at the odd food. He glanced down at the others, who were all looking just as uncertain as he was. He didn’t feel particularly hungry and he thought the others didn’t either, but then he saw Nonzra pick up a piece of fish, eyeing it distastefully, and then absorbed its energy into his body. For a moment, nothing happened. Nonzra did not look sick, so maybe the food really wasn’t poisoned, but he certainly looked like he didn’t want to eat any more of the chow. Despite Nonzra’s attempts at eating and finding it to be not poisoned, no one else bothered to eat the food because they didn’t trust the Kra-Matoran nor were they hungry. Well, they really were starving, but they did not want to just take the food without thinking. It seemed the villagers knew that, however, for more Matoran appeared and took the food and drinks away. None of the Kra-Matoran looked disappointed or offended by this. Barilo assumed that they were used to the Shodios ignoring their food, but he didn’t blame them. He thought he had seen one of the berries in the food move, though he rationalized away that he had just been seeing things. I hope, he added silently to himself. Next, the Kra-Matoran insisted that the Toa go inside the temple, where they would ‘worship’ them and ‘entertain’ the Toa. But the five Shika respectfully declined the offer, all of them feeling tired and wanting to sleep and possibly think of a plan to get away at night when the Kra-Matoran villagers were asleep. Besides, they didn’t want to be worshiped, anyway. But before they entered a large building that the villagers insisted was where the Shodios slept whenever they entered the village, Akuna asked Daaj, “Have you seen our sixth Toa, Nastan, Toa of The Green? He has a long arms and legs and is blue-ish green and wears a Mask of Accuracy and also wields a bow.” “Nope,” she said immediately. “Never saw him and never heard of him.” She paused and asked, “Why did he leave you guys? Did you guys get into a fight with or something and he decided to go out on his own? It is very dangerous to travel around Wyoko alone if you don’t know the place, you know.” “Actually, he did not run away because we had a dispute,” said Akuna, her temper rising. “If you need to know, he and I were very close friends and he would never leave without telling me why. We just woke up earlier this morning and he was gone. We tried to find him, but couldn’t. We don’t know where he is now.” Then she added under her breath, “I hope he’s safe.” “Earlier this morning?” questioned Daaj. “That’s when he disappeared?” “Yes. Why? Did something happen?” “Yes, a shadow storm started near the forest over the mountains and came near this village,” said Daaj. “It didn’t get us, but it did leave us that nifty little Invisible Black Mask. Your Nastan may have been caught in it and, given the nature of shadow storms, is probably on the other side of the land by now. He may be in another village, I don’t know.” Akuna felt relieved. At least she knew that Nastan was safe, somewhere. Maybe tomorrow she and the others would leave and try to find him. But before she went into the building, she had one more question to ask Daaj. “Why are you treating us like this?” “Treating you like what?” Daaj said in a puzzled tone. “Like we’re royalty, like we’re the Shodios,” said Akuna. “Aren’t you aware that we were given a mock trial, sentenced to being eaten alive by shadow eels (whatever those are), and then we escaped? Why are you guys treating us like the Shodios, when all of the other Kra-Matoran we’ve met acted like we’re worse than a Piraka?” “Well, Toa Akuna,” said Daaj, looking slightly alarmed. Akuna could tell she hadn’t expected this question, but the Kra-Matoran was going to answer anyway. “I don’t know about the mock trial or the sentencing to getting killed by shadow eels. That doesn’t sound like the Shodios I know. Sounds like a huge misunderstanding, which it was, in fact,” she added. “We got news from Castle Kra that any village that found the Toa Shika were supposed to let them in and treat them as we’d treat the Shodios. They now think of you five as allies and maybe they will help you find your friend if he hasn’t already found a village of Kra-Matoran that are willing to let him into their homes by now. That is why we’re treating you like this despite the fact you are not Toa of Shadow, Toa Akuna. You are now considered a friend of the Shodios, and indeed all of Wyoko.” Akuna felt slightly happy. Was it possible? The Shodios, the ones who had acted the most evil and cruel to them, now accepted them as equals? This further supported her earlier theory; the Shodios and Kra-Matoran weren’t as evil as she and other Toa had originally thought. They were simply misunderstood, it seems, and now that they realized their mistake, maybe she and the others should help the Kra-Matoran leave Wyoko. After all, she thought as she entered the large building. With an entire army of Matoran of Shadow on our side, plus the Shodios, the Dark Hunters won’t stand a chance against us. We’ll be able to free the Matoran of Shika Nui! And with twelve Toa, no one would ever be able to take Shika Nui away from us ever again. She felt very optimistic about the whole thing as she was directed to her own room, located on the top floor of the building. The structure, she learned, had three floors, with two rooms on each floor. Each room held one bed, one chest of drawers, and one window. They were also quite large, with lots of room to walk around. Akuna sat on the bed in her room, feeling very happy. With the Kra-Matoran and Shodios on their side, the future was looking up indeed. She felt happy; no, more than happy. She felt overjoyed, actually. Tomorrow she was going to tell the others what Daaj told her, unless they had already been informed, in which they could skip directly to the part where they would find Nastan with the help of the Shodios. But even as she pulled the scratchy purple and black blankets over her, a small voice in the back of her head was still voicing her hidden doubts, that all of it a trick, that it was all fake, that she shouldn’t be feeling so happy-go-lucky, especially with Nastan still missing. But she pushed those doubtful thoughts away and went to sleep, hoping that soon she would be reunited with Nastan. Review Topic

Yes. -TNTOS-

Chapter 11: Hailed As . . . Heroes? Toa Barilo peeked through the window of a warehouse-like building. All he saw were crates, dust, and darkness. No Nastan. He sighed and climbed down from the window sill. There were still a lot of other places to check, but he doubted any of them held Nastan. But I must check anyway, Barilo thought. Even if there’s the possibility that he is not in this village at all, I must search. After all, I wouldn’t want to disappoint his girlfriend. Suddenly, he heard a slight growl to his left and he turned his head just in time to feel something big and invisible smash into his side, sending him flying into a hut. He smashed into the roof and ended up in the living room of a Kra-Matoran, who had been sitting on a chair reading a stone tablet. The villager looked up from what she was reading and then her mouth hung open, surprised to see him. Barilo suddenly realized what had happened: His mask had shut off and now he was completely visible for everyone to see. The invisible thing suddenly bashed through another wall, causing the Kra-Matoran to scream and run away through the door, slamming it shut as she left. The Toa of Gravity got to his feet in time to dodge the unseen monster, and he immediately knew he had only one option: Call for help from the other Toa. “I need help!” he shouted as loud as he could before getting cut-off by the beast before he could finish. He only hoped his words had been carried by the wind and heard by the other Toa, though they were very high up a large cliff and might not have heard him at all. - As it turned out, the minute Addis, from his high perch above the town, saw Barilo go flying into a hut inside of the village, he quickly organized the team and got them down the cliff, though with some difficulty considering they also had to be slow and steady so as to not fall down and get accidentally kill themselves. Once that was finished, the Toa ran up to the gate, which was strangely guard-less, though Addis supposed it was because that all of the guards were going to catch Barilo. The gateway was locked, but a quick use of Chimoy’s power over iron quickly broke down the entire gate with a loud crashing sound (“Not a very subtle entrance,” Nonzra commented) and now they were all running down the street of the Kra-Matoran village, hoping to find Barilo still alive somewhere. Fortunately for them, they did. Except he was seemingly jumping around and doing all kinds of acrobatics while buildings and structures got smashed and broken as he jumped out of their way. It looked like Barilo was going insane to Addis, for he was not sure what the Karzahni Barilo thought he was doing or what was smashing the huts. “Hey, Barilo!” shouted Addis. “What are you doing?” “Trying . . . to . . . dodge . . . invisible . . . thing!” the Toa of Gravity answered as he jumped again. “Don’t just stand there! Do something! Help me!” “We can’t see it,” said Akuna, who had now activated her Mask of Night Vision and was looking around the area. “It’s invisible of course we can’t see it!” Nonzra snapped. “Maybe we should just-“ Suddenly, the invisible thing rammed into his lower body and he went flying into a hut, smashing into its roof and falling into its depths. Chimoy tried to guess the location of the creature by creating iron walls wherever it went, but it seemed to be able to break them down quite easily with little-to-no effort at all. Barilo had stopped jumping around now and was standing on the roof of a building, looking at the fight scene below, while Kra-Matoran villagers were all evacuating their huts, screaming and running around everywhere. What the Karzahni is that thing? Barilo thought as he tried to trace the beast’s movements. Suddenly, he remembered the conversation that two of the Kra-Matoran were having, something about an ‘Invisible Black Mask’ or something like that. Could that be what they were facing now? It was a possibility, he thought, though how he and his friends could possibly defeat an invisible creature, he had no idea. It didn’t help that it was very dark out, too, which added to the already bad situation. With no light, he could tell his friends were already having a very hard time dodging the Invisible Black Mask’s attacks, and he doubted that the Kra-Matoran would be willing to help them with it. Or would they? he thought. Perhaps I can make one of them talk and tell me what this thing is and how I could defeat it. He scanned the village and saw one Kra-Matoran stuck underneath some rubble, struggling to free herself, but failing miserably from what he could tell. He started to move, but stopped. What if she tried to attack him if he tried to help her out? She might attempt it, but he had no doubt in his mind that she might have an idea on how to defeat the Invisible Black Mask and also might tell him how to do it. He knew it was a risk worth taking. He nimbly jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he arrived at the ruins of the hut. Using his gravity power, he lifted the debris off of the Kra-Matoran and tossed them away, much to the surprise of the villager. She quickly scrambled to her feet, though, and immediately shadow energy began cracking in the palms of her hands, a look of caution in her eyes. “Who are you?” she questioned. “Where do you come from? Are you one of the Toa Avha? Have you come here to kill us?” “No,” Barilo said, shaking his head. “I am not interested in killing you guys at all, and I have never met the Toa Avha, either.” “Well, I can obviously tell you’re on outsider,” said the Kra-Matoran. Suddenly, comprehension dawned on her face. “Wait . . . does that mean The Door is open? We’re free. . . . ?” “Yeah it’s open,” said Barilo, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the fight going on in the middle of the village. “Look, my friends and I need to know what that invisible thing is and how to beat it.” The villager gave him a doubtful look with her red eyes and she said, “And just why should I tell you that, as Toa Jiki is going to be arriving soon-“ “But soon enough to save you guys?” he asked. “Look, you have five able-bodied Toa right here, three of whom are fighting that monster. Just tell me what it is and how to beat it and we’ll be on our merry way, got it?” She looked a little like she didn’t want to tell him, but seemed to think that his offer made sense, for she sighed and said, “Okay. The monster fighting your friends is called an Invisible Black Mask. They are invisible creatures who rely on their unseen forms to kill their opponents.” “Okay, how do you beat it?” “You have to trick it into becoming visible,” she said. “Making it visible will stun it fast enough to kill it.” Barilo looked into her eyes. He knew she could easily be lying, though she had no signs of deceit in her red eyes. She looked completely honest, though a little angry and excited at the same time. He assumed she was like that because of The Door was opened, though he had no time to ponder that further, for he said, “Okay. Thanks,” and soon was heading back to the scene of the battle, trying to figure out how one fools a Black Mask into revealing its visible form. When he returned to the sight of the battle, he saw that Chimoy and Akuna were trying to hit the creature with iron and electricity, but because they had no idea where the monster was they were having little success. Addis was attempting to use his plasma to burn holes in the ground to cause it to trip, but nothing doing. Nonzra was nowhere to be seen, though Barilo assumed he was still unconscious somewhere. Running over to Addis, Barilo tapped the Toa of Plasma on the shoulder. “What is it?” Addis asked irritably. “I asked one of the Kra-Matoran how to beat the Invisible Black Mask and she told me that we had to trick it into becoming visible in order to defeat it,” Barilo said quickly. Addis looked doubtful. “You sure she wasn’t lying just to get us killed?” “Well, she didn’t look like she was lying to me,” said Barilo, though he was having the same doubts as Addis. “Still, it’s the only plan we have right now and I say we should at least try it.” “Okay, but how do we do it?” Addis asked, while signaling Chimoy and Akuna to get closer. “How do we trick an invisible being into becoming a visible being?” Barilo looked like he was thinking. First he looked over at the carnage, then at Addis’ mask, then back at the ruins again. A slight smile crept onto his face as he said, “I think I know how, but it will involve your Suletu.” “Sure,” said Addis, nodding. “What is it?” - The Invisible Black Mask was frustrated, tired, and more than a little hungry. Not too long ago, it had arrived in this Kra-Matoran village looking for a meal, but most of the inhabitants hid from it and only a few stayed out, searching for it with weapons. The Invisible Black Mask began to get bored until a gray and purple-colored Toa appeared, apparently sneaking around the village, though why was a mystery to the Black Mask. Still, it didn’t care and had attacked the Toa because it had thought that a Toa would make up for the Kra-Matoran, but almost as soon as it did strike, four more Toa appeared out of nowhere and began to attack it. It didn’t like that and began to attack back. Already it had knocked out at least one Toa and it hoped to get all of them and have a grand feast, but they weren’t going down very easily, it seemed. Now, however, something odd was happening. The Toa were beginning to fade in and out of existence. Even the Invisible Black Mask, despite having the dull brain of a Rahi beast, knew that beings didn’t usually fade in and out like that as if they weren’t real, so it knew that something was wrong. Yet it also didn’t want to do anything to disturb them. The Black Mask decided that it was going to wait and watch them as they disappeared like ghosts, just to see if it could spot any weakness in them that it could exploit. But instead, they all disappeared and were totally gone. The Rahi immediately began wondering why that was or where they went. Maybe they weren’t real at all, the Invisible Black Mask thought. Maybe I was fighting illusions, though they didn’t seem like illusions to me. Still, it decided that, since there weren’t any other fighters around, it dropped its invisibility and then it was suddenly hit by a large bolt of lightning that came out of nowhere, smashing into its face and knocking it out instantly. - “Good job, Akuna,” said Addis, nodding his approval as he walked over to check out the unconscious Invisible Black Mask. “Thanks, but if it hadn’t been for your Suletu, I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” said Akuna, smiling slightly. “I had no idea the Mask of Telepathy could make illusions!” “I’m just as surprised as you are, Akuna,” said Barilo. “If it hadn’t worked, then we would have had to find a new way to beat it.” “But it wasn’t really an illusion power,” said Addis, shaking his head. “I fooled it into thinking that we weren’t there anymore. We, of course, are still here, but it didn’t know that, so it thought it would be okay to become visible again.” “I wonder if that can work on Matoran,” said Nonzra, looking around the destroyed area. “Who is willing to bet we’re gonna be run out of this town? Or, better yet, get killed where we stand?” “Well, I doubt my mask would work on beings like Matoran,” said Addis. “Their minds are probably strong enough to resist it. But look at this thing. . . . Have you ever seen a Rahi that looked exactly like a giant Kanohi?” The Invisible Black Mask was not called ‘mask’ for nothing. It literally looked like a giant Hau, except it had a full back, like it was a living organism. It looked a lot more organic than mechanical, though, and Barilo wondered where it had come from. He had never seen such a beast before and he doubted that he would see something like it ever again. “This explains why it rammed into us instead of swiping with claws or something,” said Barilo, “because it didn’t have any!” Suddenly, the sound of stomping, marching feet and Matoran digging through rubble signified that the villagers had recovered from their initial shock and were now gathering around the Toa. As Barilo looked around, he saw Kra-Matoran gathering all around on top of the pile of debris everywhere, looking down at the Toa with curious and intrigued eyes. Some of them were standing in the streets not blocked off by wreckage and by the looks of it there was nowhere to run for the Toa Shika to run. “Think we’ll have to fight our way out?” Nonzra asked as he drew his sword. “Because that fight with the Rahi took a lot out of me and I sincerely doubt that I could fight my way out of a village full of Matoran, most of who seem to be at full strength.” Addis looked around, a look of worry and anger on his face. Barilo wondered if the Toa of Plasma was thinking about the impossibility of the situation and how they could possibly get out without suffering any casualties. But nothing seemed to have come to his mind, so Addis said, “Guys, I don’t think we’re going to survive. So let’s just drop our weapons and-“ Before he could finish his sentence, however, all of the Kra-Matoran unexpectedly bowed down at the feet of the five Toa, which surprised the heroes quite a bit. The villagers then started chanting something in unison and at first the Toa were unable to hear it because they were all speaking very fast, almost incomprehensibly fast. Then, as the Kra-Matoran started shouting louder, the words began to form in the audio receptors of the Toa and none of them were quite sure if what they were hearing was good . . . or bad: “Hail the Toa! Hail the heroes who saved our village! Worship them! Hail the Toa!” Review Topic

Chapter 10: History Barilo carefully climbed down the cliff face, occasionally looking down toward the village below to make sure that no Matoran were coming up toward him. He was using his Mask of Stealth, so even if any of the Kra-Matoran were coming up, they would not be able to see him. Nor hear him, for that matter. Still, just to be careful, he was moving as slowly and gingerly as possible. Above, Akuna and the other Toa were looking down at him. The Toa of Lightning looked very impatient. “C’mon,” she muttered. “Get going already . . . Nastan isn’t going to wait forever if he is down there. . . .” “Don’t pressure him,” Chimoy whispered, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “There is still that chance that Nastan is not there. We don’t want him to recklessly run straight into a trap, you know?” “I know,” Akuna whispered back. “But Nastan could be hurt.” “Both of you be quiet,” Addis snapped. “We can’t risk exposing ourselves. It is too dangerous.” Akuna glanced down over the cliff again and said, “I think he made it to the bottom now.” She was just saying that, though. None of them knew for sure if he had made it to the bottom yet because of his Mask of Stealth and the darkness of Wyoko made it almost impossible to see him, at least with their naked eyes. Akuna was not going to use her Mask of Night Vision, for that would surely attract the unwanted attention of the local villagers, so they just had to hope that he had made it safely into the village. She was partially correct, however. Barilo had indeed made it down to the bottom of the cliff, but he hadn’t gotten into the village yet. The gate was protected by two Kra-Matoran guards, one in black and green armor, while the other was in black and blue armor. Neither of them looked like they would be willing to let him inside if he asked and he knew that he would need to either trick them into opening it or do it himself, for fighting them would just attract the unwanted attention of the rest of the Matoran, which was something he was trying to avoid. So, using the slightest bit of his gravity power, he caused a stone to go flying up into the sky and fall down on one of the guards’ head. “Ouch!” the black and green Matoran said, massaging her head. “Where did the rock come from?” “Someone probably threw it as a stupid joke, Taya,” said the black and blue Matoran. Now that they were distracted, Barilo quietly walked past them toward the gate. Unfortunately, it was locked and he was not going to open it with the two villagers standing only few feet in front of the gate. So he used his elemental powers again to make the same stone fly up and into the cliff wall and the two guards, curious about what had caused the sound, dashed over to see what had happened. Neither of them realized that Barilo had stolen Taya’s keys while she was distracted and neither of them heard him open the gate ever so slightly and enter the village. Barilo looked around. The village seemed lifeless to him. He saw only a few Kra-Matoran walking the streets, all of which were armed with swords and spears and other weapons, so he assumed that the villagers were perhaps staying inside their huts because of some kind of danger, though what they might be hiding from, he had no idea. Good, the Toa of Gravity thought. That way I will have less obstacles that I will have to get past. Though he still wondered what they might be hiding from. Perhaps some kind of Rahi beast was loose in the village and they were all hiding from it? He decided not to think about it, since the fewer obstacles the better. Anyway, he doubted that he would have to fight the Rahi if there was one. Where should I start? Barilo thought, looking around the village. It’s rather large and all of the buildings look the same to me. What did Addis tell me? ‘Check the bigger, more important-looking buildings.’ Okay, sounds good to me. He looked around. It was not hard to find the bigger structures, which looked a lot like warehouses. He quietly ran from alleyway to alleyway, trying to dodge the patrolling Matoran. Barilo heard two of the Matoran talking with each other about something as he hid in between two huts. “. . . .They’re sending Jiki, I hear,” one of the villagers was saying. “I hope she can beat it,” the other said grimly. “We’ve lost several Matoran already and I think it is still prowling around the village.” “Has Jiki ever fought an Invisible Black Mask, though?” the first villager inquired. “I remember she has fought Cracko and shadow eels before. . . .” “Aw, she’s fought practically all of the creatures in this place at least ten times. Surely she has fought an Invisible Black Mask before, and she probably beat it, too.” “I suppose you’re right. But I still think they should also send another Shodios along, maybe Toa Rhatara-“ “Brother! We aren’t supposed to question who they are sending and who they aren’t,” the other villager sternly said. “Whoever Turaga Krashadi is sending will surely help our village, right? He is always right, you know.” What in Mata Nui’s name is an Invisible Black Mask? Barilo thought. Well, whatever it is, I should get out of this village quick after I find Nastan. If Jiki’s coming, I do not want to be here when she arrives. She’ll get me and the others for sure! So he continued on his way to one of the large buildings, never realizing that he was being followed by an invisible, mask-like being that made no sound as it passed over the huts, never even realizing that despite his Kanohi mask power it could still see him as clearly as day, and it was hungry . . . hungry for Toa. - Nastan slumped against a cell in the dirty and grimy dungeons of Castle Kra, looking quite grim. After being knocked out by Teivel, he had been taken here and placed in a cell. He had been assured that Jero would be coming along shortly to take him to a location called ‘The Place of Lightlessness,’ though he had no idea what ‘The Place of Lightlessness’ was or what Jero planned to do with him there. Kill him, perhaps? That would certainly fit with their nature, he thought grimly. I just hope it’s quick and painless. This cell, he knew, was not the same as the one he had been in when he had been first taken to Castle Kra about a day ago. Nor were the ones around him the same as the ones his friends had been inside when they had been here, either. This was a new set of cells in another area of Castle Kra, but they were just as run-down and gritty as the first ones, if not worse. But one thing was certain: The bars were as strong as if they had been built just yesterday and they still absorbed his elemental power whenever he tried to use his power on them. So now he was all alone, with no friends but plenty of foes all around. “When I became a Toa, it had never occurred to me that I would find myself in the dungeons of a castle ruled by a crazy Turaga and evil Toa,” Nastan said to no one in particular, frustrated. “Nor did I ever think that I would be alone, either!” “Is someone there?” asked a hoarse, ragged voice from another cell several chambers down. “Who is it?” Nastan was surprised. He didn’t know there was someone else down here. Who was it? Another outsider who got caught by the Shodios, perhaps? Unlikely, but he decided that he was going to find out. “Yes,” said Nastan, getting to his feet and placing his hands on the bars, trying to get his head through the bars but failing yet again. “I am Toa Nastan, a Toa of The Green. I am not native of Wyoko, obviously, and I am prisoner here, as you can no doubt clearly tell.” There was silence, and then the voice asked, in a quivering, fearful sort of voice, “The Door to The Light is open, then?” “Yes,” said Nastan, nodding. “My friends and I opened it because we thought there was treasure or a weapon behind here or something like that.” “How foolish,” the voice said in a sad tone. “You were motivated by greed, just like the Shodios, and did not stop to think of the consequences of your actions. You are lucky that our crimes will not result in your people being exiled to a place of shadow such as Wyoko.” “Hey, we didn’t know that the Shodios were behind here,” said Nastan, sounding annoyed. “We had no idea at all. And, by the way, who are you? What’s your name, your story? Are you a Kra-Matoran or. . . . ?” Suddenly, a Matoran’s thin, flat head appeared out of a cell several feet down, but because of the combination of the distance and of the shadow, he could not clearly make out the villager’s features. “My name?” said the Matoran. “I am Siklo, a Kra-Matoran, obviously. I was thrown in this dungeon by Rhatara when he overheard me calling him a bad name. He rebuked me, and then tossed me in here, though I think he has forgotten me, because he promised to let me out in six months . . . and it has been 600 years since then.” “Oh,” said Nastan. He was now starting to feel sorry for the Matoran, although he also didn’t want to feel too sorry for him, for Siklo was a Kra-Matoran and he very well might be trying to deceive him. “That’s harsh.” “At least the guards remember to bring me food and water every day,” Siklo sighed. “But I miss my home village, Daol. I miss climbing the mountainside and exploring the caves. It wasn’t the best place in the universe, but better than this pit. This dungeon is just . . . I can’t describe it. . . .” Nastan listened. Siklo did sound sincere and he thought it wouldn’t be too out of character for Rhatara to toss someone in prison and forget about them for years based on what he knew of Rhatara’s personality. But this could all still be a trick, he reminded himself. He may just be fooling me, although I’m starting to think otherwise. . . . “What about you?” Siklo asked. “Why are you in here?” Nastan then explained about how he and the others came from Shika Nui, got captured by Rhatara and Ira, were given a rather unfair trial by the Shodios and Krashadi, and then how he and the others escaped and how he got separated from them and got recaptured by Teivel. When he was finished, Siklo said, “From what you have described, Nastan, it sounds like a shadow storm got you.” “A what?” “A shadow storm,” Siklo repeated. “Shadow storms are rare in Wyoko, though they can happen anywhere at any time. They are impossible to predict and when you do get caught, they usually transport you far away from where you originally were. Some of my best friends have gone missing for months after getting caught in a shadow storm and then when we found them they were be gibbering lunatics who no longer resembled their original selves. You are one of the very few, it seems, who didn’t go insane. You are a very lucky Toa, Nastan.” Nastan made a mental note to tell the others what had happened to him if he ever escaped Castle Kra. Siklo, Nastan decided, was not like the rest of the Kra-Matoran. Unlike the other villagers, he was almost friendly and did not seem to be a big fan of the Shodios. So Nastan decided to ask the most important question that he had on his mind. “How did you guys end up here in Wyoko?” asked Nastan. “I’ve only heard bits and pieces of your people’s past from the Shodios and Krashadi, though I only really know that something happened 100,000 years ago and you guys got put under here by the Order of Mata Nui and the Toa Avha. Would you be willing to tell me what happened all those years ago?” There was a very long, silent pause now and for a moment Nastan was worried that he had said something wrong. He should have thought before he spoke. After all, whatever had happened 100,000 years ago was obviously a painful chapter in the history of the Kra-Matoran and Siklo, being a Kra-Matoran, might not be too excited to talk about it. But to his amazement, Siklo said, “Okay, I shall tell you what had happened, all those years ago. I really do not want to talk about it, because it is a memory that is in the minds of almost all of the Kra-Matoran that live in Wyoko today and it is still too painful and real for many of them as though it had happened yesterday, even if though it had been about 100,000 years ago.” “Well, if you don’t want to talk about it-“ “But I must,” said Siklo. “I must, for I feel that I should recount it to you, a warrior of light, if you are to combat the Shodios and escaped Wyoko.” “You’re against the Shodios, even though you are a Kra-Matoran?” Nastan asked, amazed. “If you had ever been tossed in prison for 600 years by a Shodios, then yes, I would think you would understand why I don’t worship them as gods like the rest of my people do,” Siklo replied. “Anyway, now onto the story: “100,000 years ago, at the dawn of time, the Great Spirit Mata Nui decided to create a new tribe of Matoran, one he dubbed the Kra-Matoran. He believed that the elements were unbalanced, or so I was told, and thought creating us would help balance them out so he would not have to worry about what was happening in his universe. He did not realize that it was all a great, big mistake and his own subjects would soon learn that for themselves. “He placed us on Shika Nui, gave us six Toa, who were known as the Toa Shodios back then, and a Turaga, Krashadi, to lead us. At the beginning, we had good relations with the other islands around us and quickly became known as a dependable, if a little antisocial, people. But none of them knew that, because we had more shadow in us than others, we were more prone to violence and bursts of anger and frequently got into arguments with one another. Whenever we had visitors to Shika Nui, though, we always pretended to be peaceful, happy villagers like those of Metru Nui, for example. “Perhaps it was that violent and angry nature that caused Teivel to approach Krashadi with a plan of universal domination. I do not know why he did, but this I do know: It wasn’t too long after our creation, perhaps a year or two at most, that he convinced Turaga Krashadi to mobilize an army of Kra-Matoran and conquer the rest of the universe. He had managed to get the rest of the Shodios on his side and it was only a matter of time before Krashadi agreed to their plan. “It was two months after that meeting that we first struck. We took over Stelt, Xia, and nearly got Zakaz, but the Skakdi beat us back, at least for a little while. This started an era known by us Kra-Matoran as the ‘Golden Years.’ Your own people, from what I remember, refer to that era as the ‘Dark Years.’ “We struck various islands and places until we practically had the entire universe in our hands. The only places that we hadn’t yet taken were Metru Nui, Tanjo Nui, Karzahni, Artakha, Daxia, Destral, and parts of the northern continent and the majority of the southern islands. It seemed to us that soon we would have the whole universe in our grasp. “But destiny was not on our side, it seemed, because a team of Toa, known as the Toa Avha appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, along with a small group of beings known as the Order of Mata Nui. They struck hard and fast, taking down several of our most strategic fortresses and rallying the people of our conquered lands to rebel. Teivel and the others thought they would be easily destroyed, but they proved to be our downfall. “Eventually, they made it to our main fortress on Shika Nui and took us out swiftly. Originally, the leader of the Order of Mata Nui, a Toa of Water named Helryx, wished to have us all slaughtered to prevent us from ever rising again. But the leader of the Toa Avha, a Toa of Lightning named Klio, disagreed and convinced her to place us in Wyoko and lock us away forever. The Golden Years of the Kra-Matoran Empire had ended the day when we had all been locked away under here. All except Oggakia, who because of her faithfulness to Mata Nui’s Will and because she had been passing important information to the Order and to the Avha was granted to freedom to live on the surface with everyone else.” “What happened after that?” “I do not know,” Siklo said, his head drooping slightly. “I do not know what they did to all of our forts, bases, and histories. I can only assume that they destroyed them all so no one would remember us. It seems to have worked well, for you come from Shika Nui, our very homeland, and yet did not know of us until you and your friends came here!” All of this information was almost a little too much for Nastan to take in. The Kra-Matoran Empire had once taken over the entire universe? These beings had once lived on the surface, conquering lands and spreading fear and death wherever they went? And yet, like Siklo had said, Nastan had not known any of this until Siklo had told him! Whoever these Order of Mata Nui guys are, they really are pretty good at completely destroying any traces of entire civilizations, Nastan thought. Really, really, really good. Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening and slamming shut and the echo of feet walking slowly down the staircase that lead to the dungeon. And then two Kra-Matoran guards appeared at the foot of the stairs, holding spears and shields. They walked past Siklo’s cage and several others until they arrived at Nastan’s cell. “You’re in luck, Toa,” one of the guards snapped. “Toa Jero is here and is ready to take you to the Place of Lightlessness.” The cage doors flung open without warning and two shadow rings burst into existence around Nastan, trapping him and sapping him of his energy. The two guards grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and got him walking. As he walked by Siklo’s cell, he whispered, “I’ll return for you someday, Siklo. You’re not like the rest.” The Kra-Matoran prisoner merely nodded at Nastan as the three beings went quietly up the stairs and disappeared from view. It did not take long for Nastan and the two villagers to arrive in the courtyard, where he saw Jero, who was sitting at the top of a large vehicle, looking just as evil as ever. He smiled evilly at Nastan as the two guards brought him up to the caravan. “Ah, Nastan, I have been hoping I would get to test my newest creation on a light dweller,” Jero said eagerly. “What does that mean?” Nastan demanded with more than a hint of fear in his voice. “It means I get to use this on you,” he answered calmly as he dug through his bag and pulled out a large crystal ball that sent a shiver up Nastan’s spine. “What does it do?” “Well, let’s just say that when we’re done with you, you won’t even recognize yourself. In fact, if all goes well, you should feel right at home here in Wyoko. Won’t that be fun?” Review Topic.

This seems pretty cool. I hope it stays because it seems like a good idea to me. -TNTOS-

Chapter 9: “The Key to Defeating Our Enemies” Barilo and the other four Toa Shika were traveling among the rocky hills of Wyoko. While he would have preferred it if they could have taken the roads or something, Addis had told them that it would be too dangerous, for the Kra-Matoran probably would see them, considering how much their rather-bright color schemes contrasted with the dark shades of the Wyokan skyline. The Toa of Gravity could tell that Akuna was not thinking about her own safety, for more than once she nearly fell off of a steep cliff. It was as if she was not paying any attention at all to where she was going, which made Barilo slightly curious. “Akuna, what’s up with you?” he asked as he climbed a large boulder. “You look even more worried than Addis!” “Oh, Barilo, I just fear for Nastan’s safety,” she said, climbing up after him. “It isn’t like him to just wander off and not return to us. Someone must have gotten to him. What if that someone is trailing us, too?” “I kind of doubt it,” said Barilo. “I do not hear anything nor has Addis picked up any other mental signatures but our own and a few Kra-Matoran traveling on the roads beneath these hills.” “Addis’ Suletu can do that?” Akuna asked in disbelief. “Well, yeah,” said Barilo, nodding. “He’s using it to help us navigate through these hills, he told me. How else do you think we’ve managed to avoid the Kra-Matoran all of this time?” “Well, whatever,” said the Toa of Lightning. “I just hope that, wherever Nastan is, he’s safe.” “Unlikely,” said Barilo, shaking his head. He pointed up ahead and said, “I think we should catch up with the others. They’ve stopped and are looking at something.” The two Toa walked quickly to catch up with their friends and soon were behind the three Toa, who were all staring at something down the cliff. Once Barilo got a good look at what it was, he knew why their progress had halted. On a plateau near the base of the cliff, a medium-sized Kra-Matoran village rested. They could see huts and a few large warehouses and a large gate that acted as the entrance to their cliff and to the village itself, with two Matoran guards standing in front of it, both of them well armed. On the other side of the village another entrance was visible, guarded by Kra-Matoran who, like the first guards, was well armed with weapons and armor. It was completely blocking their path, and Barilo could see that it was too large for them to go around without being noticed by somebody. Addis quickly crouched down and gestured for the others to do the same. Once they were all down, Addis quickly whispered, “I hope all of you saw the village of Kra-Matoran down there?” “Yes, we did,” said Barilo, nodding. “Looks well-defended.” “May I be the first to suggest that we find an alternative route, Addis?” Chimoy offered. “It isn’t very likely they will let us walk through the village alive.” “That was what I was thinking,” said Addis in agreement. “We should-“ “But what if Nastan is down there?” Akuna asked who had now diverted her attention back to the village. “This place is close to our camp site and we don’t know where Nastan went. Maybe they’re keeping him prisoner down there or have already killed him!” “It doesn’t seem very likely,” said Addis, peering over the edge of the cliff. “I mean, Nastan’s smart enough to not walk straight into a village full of Kra-Matoran that probably hate us with a passion.” “You’re right, but maybe he didn’t just walk in. Maybe he wandered a little too far from the forest and they captured him,” she suggested. “Can’t we at least check it out?” “But how?” asked Barilo. “It’s not like we can just walk down there and say, ‘Hey, we think one of our buddies is down here, maybe a prisoner, we don’t know. So could we check the village just to be sure? Thanks.’ That just isn’t going to work.” “He is right,” said Addis, thinking. “We can’t just walk in there. . . .” Chimoy looked like he was thinking, too. But he apparently got an idea before Addis and said, “What if we send Barilo down there? He’s got a Volitak. He can simply use it and check the village out real quick. He’s sneaked into the Dark Hunter fortress before, and that, might I add, was much more heavily defended than this place.” “I don’t know,” said Barilo. He really didn’t want to have to risk his life for Nastan, mostly because he was still sore about their argument earlier. “What a great idea, Chimoy!” said Akuna, her eyes ablaze with excitement. “He can do it! He’s always been the spy of our group, even as a Matoran!” “Hey, I am an intelligent being, you know,” said Barilo, sounding irritated. “Don’t you want my opinion?” Akuna turned to Barilo and touched his arm with her hand. She looked into his eyes and said, “Please? Would you go? Just do a cursory check of the village and come back. Nastan could be down there. Would you do it for me, at least?” Barilo was having a hard time saying no to the way she was looking at and touching him, but fortunately he did not have to say anything, for Addis spoke up and said, “Well, firstly, I am the leader of this team, so I need to give the okay, otherwise he isn’t going.” “I-I’ll go,” said Barilo, raising his hand up. “Just a quick check, like Akuna said.” Akuna smiled, but Addis said, “Are you sure? You’re going straight into the middle of enemy territory and we won’t be able to follow you in to make sure that you don’t get yourself killed.” “I’m sure,” said Barilo. “I can defend myself, and if I do get in trouble, you guys can come and save me, right?” Addis looked like he didn’t want to have to risk losing his second-in-command, but he said, “Okay, you may go. But check quick and only look in the bigger, more important buildings. We can’t waste any of our time, not when the Shodios are probably already heading toward The Door.” - Jero tapped a small, dark crystal hanging from the ceiling of his hut. To anyone else, his manner would have been curious. His hut, which looked pretty much like every other hut on the outside, was mostly bare in the inside, with no furniture at all and only a few windows. But Jero knew what the crystal was hiding: His laboratory. He had designed it this way not too long after first arriving in Wyoko. He had decided that he would need a large and private space to conduct his experiments in without being interrupted by any of the other Shodios or any Kra-Matoran. So he built this hut and then dug out a lower basement level that acted as his lab. The other Shodios knew about it, but they rarely ever entered without his permission because he always went ballistic whenever someone entered without his okay. A panel in the floor slid away, revealing an old, worn stone staircase. He walked down it and then the panel replaced itself without a single indication that it led to a secret lab. That was good for him, for he valued his privacy very much. It didn’t take too long for him to arrive at his laboratory. Tall, thick tubes of protoglass, filled with the same liquid used by the Makuta for their experiments, kept in beasts that were in various stages of mutation. Like the Brotherhood of Makuta, he had devoted himself to studying and mutating Rahi beasts and had actually succeeded in creating his some of his own design, though not too many and they usually didn’t last long. Perhaps once we get out of here, I will conquer Destral and take all of their best viruses, Jero thought as he sat at a desk. Then maybe I will finally be able to create some actual worthwhile Rahi that will last longer than two weeks. He picked up a stone tablet and began to read his notes where he had last left off before Rhatara had brought the news of The Door being opened yesterday. According to his notes, he had been in the middle of a Rahi experiment on a Cracko, trying to give it more wings and failing spectacularly. He grunted and then looked up at a glass bottle in the corner of his lab, where the Cracko he had been experimenting on rested in suspended animation. Maybe I should start on something new, he thought. I have been on this same Cracko for weeks now. Perhaps I can convince Jiki to catch a mask thief for me. Then again, we will be leaving Wyoko very soon, so maybe I should just wait until then. After all, there will be a greater range of Rahi – and intelligent beings – for me to use then. Suddenly, he heard the footsteps of someone climbing down the staircase of his secret entrance and minutes later the cloaked form of Tikcah appeared at the foot of the stairs, looking quite worried. “Tikcah, go away,” said Jero, scowling at her. “I am in the middle of an experiment. You didn’t even ask for permission! Mata Nui, what could be so important that you have to come here and bother me about it?” Tikcah opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to be at a loss for words. Annoyed, Jero said, “Out with it, woman!” “The Toa Shika escaped,” she said so quickly that one word tumbled into the next. “They got free of the escort that was taking them to Ghenla and their whereabouts are currently unknown!” Jero dropped the protoglass bottle he had been holding. When it hit the hard stone floor, it made a shattering sound as it smashed into pieces. The Toa of Shadow sat back down in his chair, holding his head with one hand, looking surprised. “They . . . escaped?” he asked. “How?” “I don’t know how,” Tikcah admitted. “But all of them are on the loose. . . . Well, almost all of them.” “What do you mean, ‘almost all of them’?” Jero asked. “Luckily for us, my dear Teivel brought one of the Toa, Nastan, back to us,” said Tikcah, with more than a hint of admiration in her voice. “He found him in the Shahada Desert and thoroughly beat him. He says he’s willing to give Nastan over to you to experiment on.” “What use could I find for a Toa in my experiments?” Jero asked in an exasperated tone before he suddenly stopped, as if realizing something for the first time. “Wait a minute. . . .” He darted over to another desk and ripped open one of its drawers. He dug through it for about a minute or two and then pulled out a small sphere made entirely of protoglass. He seemed to be eying it with a sort of triumphant look in his eyes, though Tikcah had no idea what was so great about the ball, for it looked nothing out of the ordinary. “This is what Teivel must be talking about, sister,” Jero said, holding the orb up high with both hands. “This is the key to defeating all of our enemies!” “What is it?” she asked. “Well, I can’t tell you yet,” said Jero, putting the ball lightly in his bag as if it were a bomb that was about to explode. “It is still in its experimental stages. I told Teivel about it a while ago and now apparently he thinks that I can put it to use on the Toa of The Green.” “No fair that you’re keeping it a secret from me!” said Tikcah, striding over to him angrily. “Can’t you at least tell me what its name is?” Jero turned to face her and said, “Sorry, Tikcah. I do not want to tell you what it does, for I do not know if it will do what I programmed it to do quite yet. But trust me. If it does indeed work the way I expect it to work, then you will be seeing its effects soon. Actually, very soon in fact if I can get to Castle Kra quick enough.” He put a hand on Tikcah’s shoulder and said, “Good bye. I am going now.” With that, he ran past her and soon had sprinted up the staircase, leaving behind a confused-looking and extremely frustrated Tikcah. Review Topic

Chapter 8: Captured Unknown to the rest of the Toa, Nastan was still alive, but where exactly he was, he had no idea. He was in the very middle of the cloud of shadow that had absorbed him earlier, yet he felt like he was falling down a very steep cliff. He saw glimpses of various shapes and forms, though they were all unfamiliar and vague and frightening. All except for one in which he saw two Toa fighting six beings that looked familiar to him, though he couldn't place it. One of the Toa, a red-armored warrior wielding a fire mace, looked especially familiar to Nastan, but he had no more time to ponder it, for the very next minute he had landed face down in a pile of sand. He could feel his bones aching from the pain and for a while he just lay there until he decided that he got tired of the taste of sand and rolled over onto his back to get a better look of where he had ended up in. He was still in Wyoko. He could tell because the dark sky was the same. But as he lifted his head up to get a good look at where he was, he saw that he was in an desert, possibly the region that he had seen when he had climbed that tree, although he wasn't certain. All around him, he saw sand, big rocks, empty and abandoned huts half-buried in sand, and little black scorpions that had electric blue eyes crawling all around in every direction he looked. Moreover, it took him merely seconds to comprehend that the scorpions were not only crawling all over the ground, also all over him. "Ah!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and scraping the bugs off his body. "Get off! Get off! Don't sting me!" Nastan had always had a morbid fear of scorpions and all of these dozens of little ones crawling all over him dramatically increased the fear. He frantically jumped around, thrashed with his hands, even rolled in the sand until the last of the scorpions had fallen off of his body. The bugs quickly scurried away from him into the sand and then he sat on a large rock, panting, looking around to make sure all of the scorpions had gone. Once he was sure of that, the realization of his situation suddenly sank in. I am alone, he thought, terrified. Alone in Wyoko, the place full of people like the Shodios who hate me and others like me. No Akuna, no Toa Shika. I would even like it if Barilo were here. I am a vulnerable target for any Kra-Matoran waiting to get me. Plus, I am surrounded by scorpions. What could possibly be worse than that? He glanced around. No villages or Matoran or Shodios in sight, maybe he was safe, at least for a little while. He would just need to stay out of sight of Matoran and somehow find the rest of the Toa Shika. Yeah, that's it. Just stay out of sight. Stay . . . out . . . of . . . sight. . . . I can't, he thought. Not with all of these scorpions around. Ugh, they're so disgusting! Then again, I am significantly larger than them, so I could just stomp on them if they get in my way. I know I don't want to stay in this desert overnight, though, so I gotta find somewhere to sleep, somewhere safe. He decided that he was no going to get anywhere without moving, so he carefully climbed off of his rock and onto the cold sand. Nastan looked around. Which direction should he go? He decided to go north, for that was the direction he had seen The Door and his friends would most likely be heading that way, too, so there was always that chance he would run into them on the way. Yet there's also that chance I could run into the Shodios, too, since I doubt that they would leave The Door unguarded. He decided to take that risk and soon was off, walking in the general direction of The Door, keeping a careful eye out for any Shodios, Kra-Matoran, and especially scorpions along the way. - Rhatara felt very good today as he walked down a long corridor in Castle Kra. He hadn't felt this good since the Golden Age of the Kra-Matoran Empire. Today, he knew, he and the rest of the Shodios would soon leave Wyoko, along with the Kra-Matoran and Turaga Krashadi. Or, at least, he and the others would inspect The Door and then pack up and leave, though considering that they would be taking the entire population with them, he knew it would take much longer to leave this place behind completely. Maybe two weeks at most. It doesn't matter, he thought dismissively. All of the Toa Shika are dead now, so we won't be waiting very long. Not very long at all. He felt like shouting, though as he walked by a couple of Kra-Matoran servants whispering to each other, he kept his composure, not wanting them to see him in a moment that he would consider weak. But as he strode by them, he heard them whispering, "They've escaped?" and "Heard the news last night!" Rhatara stopped abruptly on his feet and slowly turned to face the two Matoran, his face alight with curiosity, his eyes burning in anger. "What are you two servants talking about? Who escaped? No, wait. Don't answer. I will simply read your minds and find out for myself." The two villagers looked horrified, but they had no say in the matter. Minutes later, Rhatara had learned of who they were speaking of, and now he looked beyond angry. He looked enraged, perhaps even beyond that. "The . . . Toa . . . Shika . . . escaped?" he hissed, every word coming out of his mouth very slowly and carefully, as if trying to make sure he got it all straight. "Please tell me that . . . I misinterpreted your mind patterns . . ." "Y-you didn't, sir," one of the Kra-Matoran whimpered. "We just got the news last night. W-we were going to tell you . . ." "But why didn't you?" Rhatara asked, advancing menacingly on the villager. "Why did I have to read your mind to figure out what had happened? Did you intend to sabotage our escape from this prison?" Now he was very close and speaking in a whisper. "I don't like people who keep secrets, especially important secrets, from me." "Please . . ." the other Matoran pleaded, "don't kill us . . ." "Sorry, but you're disobedient servants," Rhatara shouted, his hands crackling with shadow energy. "If you stay alive, you'll give the others the idea they can disobey us and do whatever the Karzahni they want and get away with it too!" "No!" shouted the first villager. "Please!" "What is all of this shouting?" the voice of Ira floated into Rhataras audio receptors right before he could kill the Matoran. He glanced down the hallway and saw his sister walking toward them, looking like she had just awoken. She looked very irritated, yet at the same time Rhatara could detect puzzlement in her eyes. "So? Why do you feel the need to punish them so . . . harshly, Rhatara?" she asked. "What did they hide from you that you felt you needed to know?" "The Toa Shika escaped," growled Rhatara. "I read their minds. They say they got the news last night and neglected to tell us immediately, as they should have done, I might add." Ira looked shocked. "What? Please tell me that they're lying!" "They aren't," Rhatara said through gritted teeth. "I wish they were, but they aren't." "Oh my . . ." said Ira with an expression on her face that made her look as if she didn't want to believe the news. "If they get to The Door before we do . . ." "Then we will be locked behind here for another 100,000 years"! Rhatara shouted, looking crazed. "Tell Krashadi! I shall contact the others!" Before he left, however, he turned to the Kra-Matoran and whispered in a menacing tone, "You got off lucky this time, villagers. You will live . . . for now, while I will go and tell my brothers and sisters about this unfortunate news. But when I return, expect to find yourselves buried alive several hundred kio underneath this castle." With that threat finished, he darted down the hallway faster than either of the villagers had ever seen him run before. Ira also took off toward a staircase that lead up to Krashadis tower, her eyes ablaze with anger and worry. After all, who knows how far the Toa Shika could have gone in a night? They very well might be at The Door right now! But, she reminded herself. There is always that chance they aren't. There is always that possibility that they are totally lost in Wyoko and don't know where The Door is, so we still might have a chance to beat them to it. For some reason, she doubted that thought, but kept running anyway, knowing that Krashadi had to know about this, or their entire plan would fall into more pieces than a Kanohi mask smashed by a Kikanalo stampede. - Nastan had been walking for what felt like hours. The desert, while quite cool because of lack of a true sun, still was quite warm nonetheless. His feet sunk into the sand as he walked and more than once he had to pull them out and continue walking again, this time moving more nimbly over the surface of the sand to avoid falling in again. There was also the threat of the scorpions, which he suspected were following him, since wherever he went he always saw at least ten and several times he had stepped on a few that had randomly appeared in his path. Were they trying to keep him away from something? He doubted that, though he had an awful feeling these bugs were a lot smarter and clever than they looked. He also lacked water. All of the food and water supplies was still with the rest of the Toa. He had nothing of his own to eat or drink and more than once he contemplated catching one of the scorpions and eating it, though the more he thought about that, the more it disgusted him. Still, he knew that, if he got too hungry, he very well might have to catch a scorpion or two to eat, if only to sustain his energy. And then there was that feeling he kept having that made him think he was being watched. Not by the scorpions, but by something that was much bigger than any of them and incredibly dangerous. He had no idea why he felt that way, but he walked faster and loaded his bow with an arrow just the same anyway so he wouldn't find himself beaten easily. The only good thing he felt about the situation was that he was still heading north, but even then, this desert seemed to go on forever and ever, with no end in sight at all. And a new thought occurred to him: What if he wasn't in Wyoko at all? What if this was some kind of weird pocket dimension that looked like Wyoko's desert but wasn't really it? It would explain why he hadn't come across any other intelligent beings and why the desert just seemed to stretch on and into eternity. That thought made him drop to his knees, punching the sand hard with his right hand. He was panting and sweating and needed water, but where could he get some? Should he dig a hole and try to find some water? It would be a lot of work, but might be worth it . . . Suddenly, there was a huge shift in the ground, like something was digging through the sand. He quickly got to his feet, even though he knew a fight with something huge would probably sap the rest of his energy and get him killed. But he didn't want to go down without a fight at least. A huge, black claw that looked like a huge scorpion pincer burst through the ground, followed by another, then a stinger, and finally followed by the body of a big scorpion. Instead of having blue eyes, though, it had very red orbs and giant spikes shot out of its back like that of a porcupine. Nastan was frozen in spot. It had been worse enough with all of those small ones, but this one was the mother of all scorpions, he thought, and it looked quite angry at him, though he wondered what the red eyes and spikes were all about. No time to worry about the odd body parts, he thought, a panic rising in his very soul. I gotta figure out a way to. . . . Oh, what am I saying? That things going to kill me with that big stinger tail or crush me with its large body or rip me apart with its pincers or maybe do something even worse. Once it does, no one will know that I am dead. My friends will think that I am gone forever and will never return to them. Oh, why didn't I ever tell Akuna how I really felt about her? Why was I so shy? Why? The creature did not move. It simply stared at him with its small, beady eyes, daring him to do something. For a moment, Nastan was wondering why it hadn't killed him yet. Maybe it was messing with him, trying to make him feel safe and secure, then strike him just when he let his guard down. But he wasn't going to let his guard down, he decided, he would never let his guard down. He would fight the beast until the very end and he knew who would win, but regardless he wanted to go out fighting anyway. So he aimed his bow at the creature's skull, a grim expression on his face. "Okay, monster," said Nastan, his voice ragged. "I doubt you can understand what I am saying, but I will talk anyway, since these will probably be my last words." The giant scorpion did not move or do anything, so Nastan continued on. "I am afraid of scorpions. Big ones, little ones, and medium sized ones, doesn't matter to me. I have always been afraid, ever since I fell into that pit of scorpions back on my very first job on Shika Nui. I hate the way they crawl all over you and can sting you and everything. As you can imagine (though I am not sure scorpions have imagination), me facing a huge scorpion like yourself has got me shaking to my very soul. But I am a Toa and part of a Toas job is fighting big, scary beasts like you. So give me your best, monster, or die trying." For a minute, Nastan thought he had scared the beast off purely based on his little speech, for the monster took a step back, as if it planned to leave him alone. Instead, it laughed a very deep, yet oddly bug-like, laugh, one that echoed throughout the entire desert and made Nastan shiver. "How can you laugh?" Nastan said, shaken. "You're a scorpion!" The beast shook its head, however, as if to say no. Suddenly, its tail shot back into its body, its six legs were replaced by two Toa legs, its arms and body transforming completely and finally its head transformed into a very familiar one, the head of- "Teivel!" shouted Nastan, surprised. "He nearly dropped his bow, but managed to keep his grip on it." The Toa of Shadow was still laughing, as if amused. Then he stopped and became serious, his eyes as cold as ice. "Ah, Nastan is it?" asked Teivel, sounding mildly amused. "Where are your friends?" He did not ask it as if he really was concerned about the others. He was merely taunting Nastan, and the Toa Shika knew it. "I got separated from them," said Nastan, still aiming his bow. "Where are your friends?" "Oh, probably back in Castle Kra," Teivel said dismissively. Then he changed his tone to that of one discussing the weather. "So tell me. How many Matoran did you kill to escape?" "We didn't kill any!" Nastan snapped. "We just knocked them out and tied them up." "I suppose that is what you would do, since you are a hero," Teivel said in a sarcastic tone. "What are you doing out here in this desert?" asked Nastan, still standing in a fighting position. "How did you know that I was out here?" "I came out here because I was simply letting my energy out," Teivel said vaguely. "At first, I did not know you were out here, until in my scorpion form I communicated with the scorpions around here, who all told me of a scared, jumpy Toa who simply reeked of fear. I knew it was none of my brothers or sisters, for they are rarely, if ever, afraid of anything. So naturally I assumed it was one of you, and I started following you ever since." "I am not afraid." "I doubt it. Even when not in my scorpion form, I can smell your fear from a mile away. What are you afraid of, Toa? Dying out here all alone? Your friends getting killed, leaving you all alone? Getting stung by scorpions and getting a horrible protodermis-eating virus stuck in your system?" "That's what their stingers do?" "Yes. Jero has been experimenting with their poison and discovered it after testing it on a Kra-Matoran. Poor guy didn't last more than five minutes after being injected with it." Nastan was starting to feel slightly afraid now. Here he was, up against a 100,000 year old Toa of Shadow, who was more than likely to kill him here. He knew there was no way to win this fight, but if he was going to live up to the Toa of the past like Toa Joha then he would have to fight this fiend, even if it meant giving up his own life and never getting to see his friends again. "So you see, Nastan, I will not kill you." "You won't?" "No. I feel no need to. Not after what Jero has just created." "What has he created?" Teivel shot him an evil look and said, "He wants me to keep it a secret, but I can tell you this: Once he's through with you, you won't recognize yourself anymore." "What does that mean?" Nastan demanded. "Tell me!" "Why should I tell you, when you can learn for yourself?" asked Teivel as he swiftly charged Nastan. The Toa of Shadow hit the good Toa in the mask with his sword, knocking Nastan over. Teivel then blasted the Toa of The Green with a blast of shadow, knocking Nastan out instantly. With that task finished, Teivel transformed into a Nivawk and then picked up the unconscious Nastan and winged in the direction of Castle Kra, knowing that very soon they would have one less light Toa to deal with. Review Topic

Chapter 7: Shadow Storm Nastan was the first to awake. He got up very early in the morning before anyone else. He considered waking them, but then he got another idea that he thought was better. Perhaps I could scan the hillside for a road or a village for us to avoid, Nastan thought. It will just be for a quick minute or two and then I will be right back with Akuna and the rest. He glanced down at the Toa Lightning who was sleeping near him. She had always been good friends with him, yet he always felt differently about her than about the rest of the Toa Shika. He always wanted to be with her and protect her, though he knew she could defend herself pretty well and respected that. Still, he knew that he did not like being away from her for extended periods of time. But this will just be for a quick minute or two, he reminded himself. Climb up one of these trees, quickly look around, climb back down, and wait for everyone else to wake up. Easy as picking bula berries from a tree. Quietly standing up, he walked over to the nearest tree and looked up it. It was at least 25-feet-tall, but he had climbed taller trees before and so was used to it. He reached out with his long arms and grabbed a branch and hoisted himself onto the limb. He kept climbing up, finding it becoming increasingly more difficult as he progressed. The branches became thicker and there were more leaves up here than on the lower branches. Still, he continued on until he reached the top. Sitting himself on a large branch, he took in a deep breath of fresh air from having to climb so much and then glanced around at his surroundings. He could see Castle Kra to the north, as huge and dominating as ever, but it looked smaller, although he supposed that was because he was farther away from it. Even further north of it, he saw a small glimmer of light, very dim from his perch, but he instantly recognized it as The Door to The Light. So we’re going to have to go through or around Castle Kra to get there, he thought. How fun. He averted his gaze to the west, where he saw several villages near a group of mountains. To the east, more villages, though this time near a desert-like area. But just as he examined the eastern lands, he heard what sounded like a thunderstorm coming from behind. It sounded loud and he was afraid that it might strike him if he stayed where he was, but he was curious enough to turn around to see what it was anyway. When he finally looked over his shoulder, he saw to his surprise a huge black cloud of shadow rapidly moving toward him. He wondered how that was possible, since shadow never gathered in clouds to attack Toa like that. But he decided not to ponder the impossibility of the situation, only to act. Unfortunately for him, he did not even have enough time to act, for in minutes it had enveloped him. Once it passed exactly one minute later, there was no indication that a Toa had been there at all. - Barilo awoke at the feeling of someone poking him. But he didn’t open his eyes and instead rolled over and mumbled, “Stop bothering me. Five more minutes, please . . .” “Barilo, wake up!” the voice belonged to Akuna and she sounded very worried. “Nastan is missing!” “Good riddance,” Barilo muttered. “Barilo!” “Okay, okay, sorry. I didn’t actually mean it.” “What’s all the noise?” asked Addis, who sounded very irritable. “I was trying to sleep!” Chimoy and Nonzra had awoken as well and both looked just as irritated as Addis. Akuna quickly explained to them the situation and Addis asked, “Did you check the area? Maybe he went out scouting and got lost or something.” “I sort of did,” Akuna answered. “But I only checked a few feet away from the camp. I didn’t want to run into any Kra-Matoran or Shodios without you guys.” “If you’re implying Nastan got captured by one of them, then that doesn’t really make sense,” said Chimoy, yawning and shaking his head. “Given what we have seen of them, I doubt they would have stopped with just Nastan. They would have gone after us, too.” “Whatever,” Akuna said. “I’m just worried for Nastan.” “Worried for your boyfriend, you mean?” Barilo asked slyly. “Barilo!” “Okay, okay! Just saying,” said Barilo, who had now opened his eyes and was sitting up like the rest of them. “I didn’t mean anything bad by that. Romance between Toa is, uh, ‘good,’ I guess.” “Would you shut up?” hissed Addis. “If there is any Kra-Matoran nearby, then we should keep our voices down.” “But what if they got Nastan?” Akuna asked anxiously. “We should go find him!” “That’s what I was going to suggest,” said Addis. “Let’s split up into groups. Chimoy and Nonzra, you two go that way.” He pointed to the north. “Akuna, you’re with me. Think you can take care of yourself, Barilo?” “Sure,” the Toa of Gravity said as he unlimbered his axe. “If I had a girlfriend, I think that I wouldn’t really need her to look after me, unlike Nastan.” “Barilo!” “Sorry!” Barilo said sheepishly. “Just saying . . .” “Now let’s spilt up!” said Addis. “If any of you find any trace of Nastan, use your elemental or mask powers to signal the rest of us. I do not want any of us to leave this forest unless Nastan is found outside of this wood, okay?” The others nodded and pretty soon they had all separated, each team going into different directions. Barilo activated his Mask of Stealth, just in case he ran across any Kra-Matoran and was soon off, heading deep into the woods, axe at the ready. As he walked, he noticed the trees were significantly larger and thicker than the ones back on Shika Nui. While he wasn’t a small person himself, he felt like a protodite in a city around here and knew that if he did not pay careful attention to where he was going he could easily get lost. Perhaps that is what happened to Nastan, he mused. Then again, he is nature boy, so it is unlikely he could get himself so lost that he could not find us again. So something must have happened to him. But what? That was what was bothering him the most. If it had been Kra-Matoran, they would have found him and the rest of the Toa Shika. Had it been Shodios, they would have most likely killed him and then would have gone directly after the rest of the Toa Shika next. So it was someone else. . . . Or something else. Suddenly, he felt a slight shiver up his spine. Who said it was a person who got Nastan? What if a beast had gotten him instead? What if this beast dwelt in this forest and had already eaten up Nastan? What was to stop it from getting him or any of the other Toa? He hadn’t been in Wyoko very long and so knew very little about its wildlife. What if there was a creature that could blend in with the shadows? What if it were stalking him even now? Even if it was, it wouldn’t be able to see me, he thought. After all, I am wearing the Mask of Stealth. No way it can see me. He paused, as if a new thought suddenly entered his head. What if it can smell me, though? And it might be following my scent. I haven’t bathed in a while, so I must smell pretty bad. He glanced around at the dark trees. He could see no shape in the shadows, nor could he hear anything. He was almost congratulating himself on how cautious he was being when something big leaped out from the trees and tackled him, causing him to lose his concentration and become visible again. It was too dark for him to see what it was, though he realized that it had short, sharp claws that were slashing at his armor and it was breathing in his face. He punched it in the face, but that did no good. So he did the only thing he could do in his situation: “Help! I need help!” Suddenly, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from all around him, but the beast was not giving up. It kept trying to rip his mask off, but with significant effort he managed to keep its claws away from his face. He kneed it in the stomach, but it managed to hit him in the face, leaving his chest wide open. It raised its blades and, right before bringing them down on his heartlight, a ball of plasma shot through the air and hit the monster’s face, burning it and killing the beast instantly. Barilo was too surprised by the sudden death of the creature that he did not do anything until Addis and Akuna appeared and heaved the large beast off of him. He scrambled to his feet and looked down at the creature, now illuminated by Akuna’s Mask of Night Vision. It was a big, cat-like monster, with seven toes on each foot that ended in dull-looking claws, as if they had been used again and again for years without getting polished every now and then. It had black colored armor, which Barilo thought was perfect for camouflage in the darkness of the forest. Its head was melted completely because of Addis’ plasma, so he did not know what its face looked like, although he suspected that it probably wasn’t pretty. “You okay?” Addis asked, his plasma launcher still out, his sharp eyes looking around the dark area for any sign of any other creatures like the big cat. “Yeah,” Barilo panted. “That thing jumped me from one of the trees. I sure thought I was a goner for a second there!” “Do you think that this . . . thing got Nastan?” asked Akuna, sounded slightly terrified. “Considering how violent it acts. . . . I don’t want to see how Nastan’s corpse looks . . .” “I kind of doubt it,” answered Barilo. “Nastan wouldn’t let a thing like that kill him, would he?” “If it jumped him and he was unprepared, then I’d be willing to say that Nastan may not be in this world with us anymore,” Addis said sadly as Chimoy and Nonzra broke through the bushes, weapons drawn as they looked around for the threat. After explaining to the two Toa what had happened, Chimoy bent down and examined the beast’s dead body. After studying it for a minute or two, he got up and turned to Barilo. “Barilo, did you by any chance get a good look at this creature’s face?” asked Chimoy. “No,” said the Toa of Gravity. “It was too dark. Why do you ask?” “Well, you said it tried to get your mask, didn’t you?” said Chimoy. “Then this must be a mask thief.” “A what?” Nonzra asked in a puzzled-sounding voice. “A mask thief,” the Toa of Iron replied, “is a Rahi beast that steals masks from Toa, Matoran, Makuta, or any other beings that wear masks and generally kill the original owners of the Kanohi, though sometimes they don’t if they feel the original wearer isn’t big enough a threat. They steal masks to wear because it gives them extra energy and keeps them alive longer. They only attack when they need a mask, so this one must have not had had a mask, which is why it attacked Barilo. These beasts are rare, I think, but I do remember reading up about them on Shika Nui before the Dark Hunters took it over.” “So . . . there’s still a chance for Nastan to be alive?” Akuna asked hopefully. “Yes,” said Chimoy, nodding, “though he probably isn’t still in this forest. Nonzra and I didn’t find hide or hair of him. He must have left the forest and got kidnapped.” “That sounds likely,” said Addis. “I remember one time, back when we were Matoran, he got himself captured by a few Dark Hunters and I broke him out. Then we had to sneak out of the prison camp, which was very hard, because so many Hunters were patrolling and there was at least one energy hound from what I remember. But we did escape, though I severely scolded Nastan after that for being very clumsy.” He chuckled and said in a nostalgic voice, “Those were the days.” “Well, maybe we should get going,” suggested Akuna. “Maybe he is heading toward The Door.” “Or got captured by one of the surrounding villages,” said Barilo. “Considering how foolhardy he can be at times, it wouldn’t surprise me if that happened.” “What should we do, Addis?” asked Akuna. “Should we head toward The Door or maybe search Wyoko for Nastan?” Addis had a perfectly good answer for this. “We simply search for Nastan. We need him if we are going to open The Door, I think, since we need all six Toa to create a Toa seal. But I do suggest that we try to head in the general direction of The Door anyway, since Nastan is most likely heading that way if he is still free.” Akuna looked slightly more cheerful at this and soon the five Toa Shika were walking through the dark forest, each one of them wondering what had happened to Nastan and if they would ever find him again. Review Topic

Chapter 6: Escape! “I don’t like this cage!” Nastan said after the fiftieth bump on the road rattled the cage, causing his head to bump on the top bars again. “Don’t you Toa ever stop complaining?” snapped one of the Matoran in the caravan. “I mean sheesh, it’s like you guys are extremely whiny whiners. Honestly, you are not setting a good example for your own people.” “Well, if you were stuck in a small, old, bouncey cage with five fully armored people the same size as you, you’d be complaining as well,” muttered Nastan. They were now traveling through a small village alongside the road. The huts looked almost exactly like the kind that they had seen in the ruins of Kra-Koro back on Shika Nui, except these ones were in much better state. The villagers of the town all came out of their homes to see what was happening, and they were all equally surprised to see the six Toa Shika. All of the Kra-Matoran stood, looking curious, as the caravan moved through the tiny village. Barilo supposed they were too shocked by the appearance of the Toa to do or say anything, until one of the Kra-Matoran ran up to the Matoran driving the caravan and hurriedly whispered a question to him. Once he got his answer, the villager ran back to the others and began telling them all what the reply was. By the time the caravan had left the village, there was the music of a great celebration beginning back there, with lots of shouting as well. Barilo assumed the guards had told the villagers about the fact that The Door was open and they were now probably celebrating how they were going to be free of Wyoko forever and never have to see this place again. Three hours later (it seemed much longer to Barilo, though) a large village situated next to a huge lake of shadow came into view. Nonzra, being on top of everyone else in the cage (literally), saw it first. The shadow in the lake seemed to act like water, he reported, for he saw boats and swimmers in it, oddly enough, and also he saw fishers catching fish out of the lake with nets and rods as if they were fishing in a normal body of water. “Okay, this place really is weird,” said Akuna. “Shadow isn’t water!” “Must have something to do with how this place is,” said Barilo. “After all, Wyoko is almost like a world of its own. Maybe it even has its own physics, too.” “Whatever the case,” said Addis, “I say we make a plan on how to escape.” “We’ve had several hours to do that, Addis,” said Barilo, annoyed. “And you just chose now?” “Sorry, I was a little bit distracted by the constant bumps of this cage to do anything else,” snapped Addis. “No one else has thought of any idea, have they?” No one answered, so Addis said, “Thought so.” Up in the driver’s seat, one of the Kra-Matoran, a female named Eruki, heard some muttering behind her. She twisted her head around and saw the Toa Shika whispering to one another. She did not know what they were saying, but she knew by looking on the expressions on their faces that they were planning something, probably an escape. “Hey, Jiicha,” said Eruki to the villager sitting next to her. “I think the scum are plotting to escape.” “Just shoot them a little with your shadow,” Jiicha muttered distractedly. “These Muaka are making the caravan bump around too much.” Eruki turned around and shot a small blast of shadow at the Toa, which instantly got their attention. “Stop plotting or we’ll kill you ourselves!” “Then why don’t you do it?” Barilo challenged. “You have the power, obviously. You villagers seem to be very strong for Matoran and you also have elemental powers.” “The reason I don’t do it,” she snapped, “is because Toa Tikcah specifically ordered you six to be fed to the shadow eels. If she or Turaga Krashadi or any of the other Shodios gave us the okay to kill you, we would have done it right there back in Castle Kra.” “Personally, I think you’re just too weak,” said Akuna, trying hard not to smile. “Look, we’re stuck in here, in this cage. We have nowhere to run or hide and we certainly can’t use our elemental powers to escape, because this cage can probably absorb elemental energy, just like the ones in the dungeons. The perfect opportunity to kill all of us in one, single, mighty blow. . . . Unless, of course, you’re too weak or afraid to do it.” “You don’t want to make me angry,” said Eruki, brandishing a knife and pointing it at the prisoners. “I have a very bad temper.” “She does,” Jiicha added. Then he muttered, “Stupid Muaka! Slow down!” “Well, I suppose you wouldn’t kill us,” Barilo said as he sighed a huge, fake sigh. “After all, you’re just a good little soldier who takes orders without question. Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that perhaps the Shodios aren’t better than the Great Spirit Mata Nui himself?” That did it. Barilo could tell it did because Eruki looked extremely mad. Looks like our plan is working, he thought. Anger the guards and make them break us free. “Don’t . . . you . . . ever . . . say that . . . again . . .” she seethed, walking closer to them, her knife held high. “Or do you want your shoulder wounded again? Or how’s about I just take it off completely?” “You couldn’t cut a bula berry with a sharp rock if you had one, much less my arm with that knife!” Barilo taunted. “I mean, that blade’s probably over 100,000 years old and if it so much as glanced off my armor it would fall into itty bitty pieces!” “Die!” Eruki shouted, charging towards the imprisoned Toa, her knife held high. She swiped at Barilo with her blade, but the Toa of Gravity managed to move out of its way, despite the little room the cage had to offer for any movement at all. She hit the bars very hard and then shot a blast of shadow at it. This, combined the oldness of the pen and the fact it was practically breaking at the seams because of how cramped the Toa were, caused it to break open so suddenly that Eruki fell backwards, dropping her blade and yelping in surprise. The caravan immediately halted and the Matoran guards walking around the vehicle stopped at the same time. The Toa Shika all fell out of the back of the cage, which had fallen into pieces, but they were prepared for this. Jumping to her feet, Akuna stunned the guards with a blast of electricity, while Nonzra used a large wave of sound to knock out the ones that Akuna had missed. Jiicha turned around to see what was causing the commotion and immediately shrieked out of fear and fell out of the caravan. With no one holding the reins, and with the sounds of battle growing louder behind them, the Muaka that were pulling the caravan immediately ran out of fear, pulling the vehicle along behind them as they ran until they were out of sight. Jiicha looked up from the ground at the Toa, who had now surrounded him. Strong as he may be, he knew he stood no chance against six Toa, six well-armed Toa at that. All he had was a knife, but even he knew that a knife was nothing compared to a plasma cannon or an axe. “Please! Do not kill me!” he shrieked, bowing at their feet. “I do not want to die!” He expected them to make a snide comment and then finish him off in the most gruesome way possible, as he was used to seeing the Shodios do to those who failed as badly as he did. But instead, thick bands of metal appeared around his body, tying up his arms and legs, which kept him from running off. “We are not going to kill you, Matoran,” said Addis. “That isn’t what true Toa do.” “I don’t know, Addis,” said Nonzra uncertainly. “What if the Shodios find these guys? Shouldn’t we, well, dispose of him so he won’t tell them that we’re free?” “Nonzra, that would make us no better than the Shodios themselves,” said Nastan, shaking his head. “Let’s just knock him out. Once he’s out, let’s-“ “-Not tell him where we’re going until he’s out,” Barilo cut him off. “He’s still conscious. If the Shodios were to find him, he would be able to tell them where we are going.” “I’ll do it,” Akuna volunteered. “I’ll just electrocute him.” She looked down at the frightened Kra-Matoran and said in a gentle voice, “Don’t worry. It shouldn’t hurt at all.” With that, she hit the villager with just enough electricity to knock him out and, to Jiicha’s amazement it didn’t hurt, as she had promised, although now he couldn’t feel anything at all since he was out cold now. Once that was done, Nastan said, “We gotta get going to The Door. If we’re lucky, we should get there in a few days.” Addis looked around at the barren road and said, “Yes, but, which direction, exactly, is The Door?” All of the Toa looked around. None of them had been paying any attention to where they had been going in the last few hours because they had been distracted by the bumpy cage. Now that they were free, they all wished they had paid better attention to direction that they had been going in. “Well, I think we should stay in the mostly uninhabited parts of Wyoko,” suggested Barilo. “If the rest of the villagers are as crazy as these ones, then maybe we should avoid villages or at least the big ones anyway. I don’t want to have to fight hundreds of these Shodios-worshipping guys.” “Sounds good to me,” Addis said, nodding. “I think we should go northeast. We should stay off the roads, too, unless they’re deserted. Agreed?” “Agreed,” the other five Toa said in unison. After quickly making sure that all of the Matoran were really unconscious and tied up well, the party quickly ran into the hills around the road, running into the bushes and trees. They kept going for about an hour or so. And then, after they were sure that they were well-away from civilization they camped out in the middle of a dark forest, for they were sure that they wouldn’t be found in there. It seemed to be getting darker now, for they could barely see themselves. Barilo thought it was becoming nighttime, though considering Wyoko is a land of shadow, he could not be sure. Still, Addis suggested that they build a fire and that they did, gathering up some twigs and branches and putting them in a pile. Addis used a small portion of his plasma and a minute later a fire was blazing. Not as big or as grand as the kind a Toa of Fire might make, but one big enough to provide heat and light for them all, although they all sat around it to try to block the light so no Kra-Matoran would notice them. Now they sat in silence, saying nothing, merely thinking over the events of the last 24 hours. Finally, Akuna spoke up and said, “Um, am I the only here who feels sorry for these Matoran?” “Why would you feel sorry for these creeps?” Barilo asked incredulously. “They basically worship their heroes like gods and see us as their version of Makuta Hajax. Why in the world should I feel sorry for them?” “Unlike you, I see the point Akuna is making,” Nastan said indignantly. “For whatever reason, they were imprisoned under here 100,000 years ago and have been here since then. It very well may have seemed to them as if Mata Nui himself wanted to banish them from his sight forever, which would be a very bad thing, you know.” “I agree that they’re creeps,” Akuna agreed. “But why did the Order have to go to this length and trap them beneath our island? Why didn’t they just make peace with them?” “I don’t know,” Addis sighed. “And to be frank, I don’t really care. We don’t know much of the Kra-Matorans’ exile except what they say and we all know how honest those Shodios seem to be.” “I know,” Akuna said. “I was just saying that perhaps we should consider their view for a minute. Are they really all that evil? What if the Order of Mata Nui is evil? It seems like they go to extremes if they have to imprison an entire tribe under here with not so much as a trial.” “Maybe we should postpone this little discussion,” suggested Chimoy. “It’s getting dark. . . . Well, darker than usual, anyway. And am I the only one who is tired enough to sleep through several nights?” Suddenly, the rest of the Toa felt the weight of the last few days fall on them and they all immediately looked ready to take a good sleep for a few hours. “Yeah, sounds good to me,” Akuna yawned. “I still think that perhaps we should give the Kra-Matoran a chance . . .” “Whatever,” said Barilo, “good night, everyone.” With his power over planet life, Nastan created six large leaves that acted as blankets for himself and his friends. They weren’t exactly the most comfortable things in the world, but they kept each other warm at least. Before shutting his eyes, Barilo noticed how close Nastan and Akuna were sleeping next to each other. It didn’t look like it was a coincidence, either, for they were looking into each other’s eyes as they lay on the grass. He didn’t give it another thought, however, because the minute he closed his eyes, his mind drifted off into dreamland. Except, this time, the dream wasn’t mysterious or cryptic like his last one. No, this one was just way too weird, long and complicated, so there was no point in describing it. - Toa Ira lay on her bed in her room in Castle Kra, looking up at the ceiling. She may have liked darkness and shadow, but even Toa of Shadow needed rest and her bedtime just happened to be the same as the usual light dweller’s sleep time. Her room was decorated fairly nicely. A large, purple-black carpet lay on the floor near the large wooden door, while a carving of her face hung above her bed. Big curtains hung above her windows and on a stone desk next to her bed lay her diary, which she used to write in the day’s events. Even though she was a Shodios and even though they already had a Chronicler, she preferred to write the actions of each day herself without having to let her brothers and sisters read her own thoughts. Not that they would, she reminded herself. They know better than to look through my things. The room itself was completely and utterly dark. She preferred it this way, because she hated light. Yet, despite the room being in the perfect conditions that suited her, she felt slightly uneasy. Maybe it was because she was excited about the fact that she and the others would be leaving Wyoko soon, or maybe it was something else entirely, something she herself only knew of that the other Shodios did not. Perhaps it is because I alone of the Shodios know the truth about Teivel, Ira thought as she turned in her bed. Years ago, before they had been exiled here, she had seen Teivel turn into something very . . . bizarre, and she instinctively knew he hadn’t been using his Mask of Shape Shifting, because he changed very differently than the way she was used to seeing him change. He had strictly told her afterwards not to tell anyone else, for if she did, she would die a very horrible death. It troubled her. On one hand, she did not particularly like Teivel much, especially after he and her broke up shortly after getting exiled into Wyoko and then Tikcah began taking visible interest in him not too long after that. But on the other hand, she thought her teammates and Krashadi ought to know about Teivel’s true form. But who says they don’t? she thought. Just because they don’t talk about it doesn’t mean they don’t know about it. Maybe they’ve all seen him change into it at one time or another and were told, like me, not to tell anyone if they valued their life. Still, yet another thing bothered her. It was the Toa Shika. “Shika,” she knew, was an old Matoran word, meaning ‘endless shadow.’ She wondered why these self-proclaimed warriors of light would dub themselves this, since they seemed to associate shadow with evil and light with good. Perhaps the term is so old they do not know its meaning, the Toa of Shadow thought. Either that or they’re a whole lot more stupid than I thought. All that light and heat on the surface must have fried their brains or something. She looked out her window at the dark sky. She did not doubt that this was going to be the last time that she would see the shadow clouds and the dim, almost burnt out stars of the Wyokan sky. By this time tomorrow, she no doubt knew, she and the rest of the Shodios, Turaga Krashadi, and all of the Kra-Matoran would be out of Wyoko to restart their conquering. This time, she knew, there would be no one to stop them. Not the Toa, not the Order of Mata Nui, not anyone. Review Topic

So much sports, in fact, I could not tell you how many sports there were. It was certainly a sporting event, if I may say so. -TNTOS-

Chapter 5: Nastan and Barilo’s Argument To pass the time while the Shodios and Krashadi decided the fate of the Toa Shika, Barilo decided to tell his friends of the weird dream he had had in his cell before being taken to this cage. When he finished, all of the other Shika looked puzzled and confused. “The Graalo is closer than you think?” asked Nonzra, frowning. “What does that mean?” “No idea,” said Barilo, shrugging. “It was probably the weirdest dream I’ve ever had. The cloaked being seemed familiar to me, but I don’t know who it was.” “Maybe it . . . no. . . . Never mind,” said Akuna, quickly shaking her head. “Can’t be. . . .” “What are you going on about, Akuna?” asked Barilo. “Do you have any idea of who it could be?” She looked up at him and said, “Well, I thought, perhaps it might have been Makuta Hajax.” The others stared at her, stunned. They all knew very well who Hajax was. Makuta Hajax was the Makuta of Shika Nui, or used to be, until he had had his original armor pierced and his antidermis form leaked into the air. The Makuta had been against the Plan of Makuta Teridax and was thought dead for some time, until just recently, when Barilo learned that Hajax had been hiding in a robot that was the personal assistant to a Dark Hunter. Hajax had allied himself with Barilo for a while because he too wanted to rid the island of the Dark Hunters (though mostly for his own reasons rather than out of any sort of goodness). He even created a mind link between them so that they could keep in contact with each other. Unfortunately, what Barilo had not known at the time was that Hajax was really planning to kill them all. He had hired a Skakdi named Iroko to kill them, but they stopped her and went after Hajax soon after. Last time they’d seen the Makuta, he had been surrounded by all of the Dark Hunters on Shika Nui and most likely got killed, so the suggestion of him visiting Barilo in a dream was quite absurd. “Akuna, that’s crazy,” said Addis, shaking his head. “If you’re suggesting Barilo’s dreaming about that freak, or that he is visiting Barilo in his dreams somehow, I think that is one of the craziest things I have ever heard, especially coming from you.” “Well, Barilo, did the cloaked being’s voice sound the same as Hajax’s?” asked Akuna, somewhat ignoring Addis. Before he could answer, Nonzra suddenly spoke up and said, “Guys, this dream sort of seems like, well, like it’s sort of pointless to discuss. I mean, how do we know that this dream is anything special? Sure, it sounds mysterious, but dreams are always mysterious and random. Personally I think we should worry more about the here and now, figuring out how to escape Wyoko and whatnot instead of pondering random dreams.” “But this dream felt really different than other dreams I’ve had in the past,” Barilo insisted. “You know, Barilo, I do sort of agree with Nonzra,” said Chimoy. “It was just a dream, after all. Everyone has dreams, so why do we act like this one is any different or unusual than others?” “Because Barilo is trying to get attention,” snapped Nastan. His sudden change in attitude caught Akuna off-guard, but he continued on, “Look, he’s already deputy leader, was evil and then turned back to good again, got his shoulder damaged and healed, and also tried to kill me. Personally, I say we should dismiss his fantasies because that’s all his dream is: A fantasy.” “Nastan, this dream wasn’t normal,” said Barilo, trying to hold back his temper. “It seemed all too real for me to dismiss it as ‘just a fantasy.’ The Graalo and the Kra-Matoran seemed like they represented something to me, and that cloaked figure is definitely fishy.” “Did the cloaked figure suggest to you to try to kill me again?” Nastan challenged, getting to his feet and staring Barilo in the eyes. “No, but if you keep acting like a paranoid moron I just might do that!” shouted Barilo, jumping to his feet and drawing his axe. “Bring it, gravity boy!” “It’s on, plant man!” “Stop it!” shouted Akuna, standing between the two arguing Toa. “We have more important things to worry about than personal grudges!” She looked at Nastan and said, “Nastan, stop acting like a paranoid moron, like Barilo said-“ “Oh, so now you’re taking his side, eh?” Nastan said savagely. “Here I thought you liked me. Guess I was wrong.” “It’s not like that!” Akuna shouted, standing in front of him, looking into his eyes. “I am not taking sides here! I was just going to-“ “Akuna, please get out of the way,” said Barilo. “I want to hit Nastan in the face with my axe and I don’t want to accidentally hit you while I’m at it.” She whirled around to face Barilo and shouted, “Don’t you hurt him! We’re all friends here! Friends don’t hurt each other like this!” “Everybody, calm down!” shouted Addis, standing up and grabbing Nastan and Barilo by their shoulders. “Akuna, thank you for trying to help, but I think I will be needing to talk to these two, so go sit down with Chimoy and Nonzra, please.” “Fine,” the Toa of Lightning said, throwing Nastan and Barilo a look of disappointment as she sat down next to her two brothers in arms. Addis hauled the two arguing Toa with him to another side of the cage. It wasn’t very far away because of the size of the cell, but he all he needed to do was stop these two from tearing each other apart. He then stood them up against the bars and looked from Barilo to Nastan, his eyes daring them to be quiet. “Now before I begin, I want neither of you to interrupt me in any way at all unless it is important,” said Addis, his eyes glowing like the plasma he created. “Got it?” “Yes,” the two Toa said in unison, obviously feeling uncomfortable with having to explain themselves to Addis. “Now, Nastan,” said the Toa of Plasma, turning to face the Toa of The Green. “I want you to say you’re sorry to Barilo and Barilo, I want you to do the same to Nastan.” That seemed to be a little more than they could take, for Barilo looked up and said, “But Addis-!” and Nastan said, “I am not saying sorry to that little-!” but the Toa leader cut them both off. “I said do it,” Addis said, this time more firmly. “Now. Like Akuna said, we have much more important things to worry about than personal grudges. Need I remind you how we ended up here in this cage? Or do I need to smack some sense into both of you?” Neither answered, but instead they did as Addis had told them and turned to face each other. Without looking into each other’s eyes, they both mumbled, “Sorry,” and turned back around, their arms folded, obviously not wanting to talk with each other. But apparently Addis thought it was good enough, because he said, “Okay, let’s go back to the others,” and took them back to Akuna, Chimoy, and Nonzra. He sat down in the middle of the group and placed Nastan and Barilo on opposite sides of the team. Nastan sat near Akuna, seething in anger, while Barilo sat next to Nonzra, looking like he wished he could do something very bad to Nastan. But neither of them was saying anything to each other and that, Akuna thought, was better than having them sneer at each other or worse, get into an actual physical fight. Suddenly, the six Shodios and Turaga Krashadi appeared in the chamber, closing the door to the Chamber of Fate behind them as they entered. From the looks on their faces, Barilo could that tell they had good news. Good news for them, perhaps, Barilo thought, but probably bad news for my friends and I. Oddly enough, only Tikcah walked up to their cage to deliver the news. The other Shodios and Krashadi left through the same door that they had used to enter the room earlier. Tikcah clapped her hands together and looked down at the captured Toa, her yellow eyes gleaming with delight. “You Toa shall receive a rather . . . gruesome death,” said Tikcah in a voice that Barilo didn’t like at all. “You will be fed to the shadow eels, and shadow eels, might I tell you, do not eat their meals very cleanly or slowly. Guards!” She clapped her hands loudly and the two Kra-Matoran sentries from before ran into the room and then stood at attention, saluting the Toa of Shadow with their right hands. “Yes, Toa Tikcah?” asked one of them. “Take these Toa and bring them to Ghenla,” she ordered. “When you get there, have them fed to the shadow eels. Make sure they do not survive. If they do, your lifespan will be significantly shorter, I can assure you that.” ”Yes, ma’am,” the sentry said, bowing solemnly. “We shall try our best. May we get a few more guards to help us escort these filthy prisoners?” “Fine,” said Tikcah. “Take as many as you need. No telling what these Toa are capable of, although I doubt they are very bright, since they were the ones who opened The Door in the first place.” She quickly left the room, as if in a hurry, and the two guards left through another door and soon came back with at least four more sentries. They opened the cage, created shadow rings around the Toa, and then forced them out and through another door into a staircase that lead down. The rings were sapping the energy of the Toa and they all knew trying to escape from them would be useless. So they decided to see where they were going before making any sudden moves. Soon they had emerged into the courtyard. The dry, dull-colored grass crunched beneath their feet as the Matoran and Toa walked. Barilo twisted his head and saw banners bearing the masks of all six Shodios and Krashadi mounted on the walls, almost exactly the same as the ones they had seen in the courtroom, except more worn and pale from the constant exposure to the weather. One of the Kra-Matoran broke off from the group and ran into a stable. Minutes later he reemerged with two Muaka that were much darker in color than the kind Barilo remembered seeing on Shika Nui, and the villager came out with a large caravan as well. The reason for the size of the caravan was no secret: A large, rusty, old-looking cage sat on its back with a small wagon behind it. What it was originally used for, Barilo did not know, but soon he and the rest of the Toa were squeezed inside. It was cramped, squeezing them all together in a very uncomfortable way. The villagers obviously did not care about the fact it was cramped inside, since they cared very little for the Toa Shika, and soon they had gotten into the caravan. One of the Matoran grabbed the reins and yelled, “Yah! Yah! Get moving!” The two Muaka cats quickly moved forward, not liking the sound of the villager’s tone or the whipping of the reins. The draw bridge was lowered and soon the squad was out, going down south of the castle. The old cage rattled and clanked as it moved along on a pair of old wooden wheels. There was no room for them to bounce around in, so the Toa Shika all managed to hit each other as they bounced in the cage, making the ride even more painful. “Um, excuse me,” Addis called from the cage. “Could you it slow down a bit? It’s really uncomfortable back here.” “Shut up, light spit,” one of the Kra-Matoran snapped. “Or I’ll whip you hard and I’ll let you know that I am very good at cracking whips.” “Well, we don’t quite like it back here,” Addis shot back. “And we don’t quite like you,” the villager growled. “Remember the whip!” She lifted the whip and waved it threateningly so Addis could see it clearly. Addis decided to be quiet after that, not because of the threat of being whipped, but because it was obvious that the Matoran would not slow down the caravan for their comfort even slightly. So the cage rattled, clanked, and bounced around as they headed towards their shadowy doom. Review Topic

That's cool. Like you, I've never been a huge fan of Sayger's art style, but he sounds like a really cool guy. Sounds like you guys had loads of fun talking to him. -TNTOS-

Chapter 4: Trial of the Shodios Despite what Krashadi had just said, none of the Shodios said or did anything to indicate that they were about to trial the light dwellers and neither did the Toa Shika. That same silence that had plagued them earlier was back again and no one really said anything. In fact, the Shodios were staring at the Shika like they were some kind of new creatures that they had just discovered under a rock, while the Toa Shika looked back at them with curiosity in their eyes. Finally, Krashadi, attempting to break the awkward silence, said, “I assume you six have already met Teivel, Ira and Rhatara?” “Uh, yes,” said Barilo. Suddenly he felt the pain in his shoulder sting and he exclaimed, “Ow!” “What is the problem?” asked Krashadi, in an almost concerned-sounding tone, which differed wildly from his previous tone. “Well, uh, I sort of got a dagger tossed into my shoulder back on Shika Nui and now it is broken and hurts badly,” Barilo said awkwardly. Why was Krashadi concerned for his shoulder? Maybe the Turaga wasn’t so evil after all, the Toa thought. “Jero,” the Turaga said abruptly, turning to face the Toa of Shadow with claws and wings who was sitting on his right. “Please give the Toa of Gravity a heal berry for his shoulder. We cannot have him constantly complain about his broken shoulder if this trial is to go well.” Jero shot him a look of extreme disbelief. “But he is the enemy! We do not help the enemies! It is not logical!” “Jero, the only reason I tolerate your ridiculous science experiments is because they are useful,” said Krashadi in a very different – and darker – tone than before. “I could easily order your execution now if you do not give the Toa a heal berry.” Jero glared at him, then muttered, “Fine, fine,” and he climbed down from his high chair and walked over to the cage, already digging through his pouch for the fruit. He finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a small, spiky berry from his bag and handed it to Barilo, who reluctantly took it. Jero looked away and muttered, “Just eat it.” Barilo looked back at his teammates. What if it was poison? The Shodios had already shown how much they hated ‘light dwellers’ before. What was to stop them from trying to kill Barilo in the middle of a trial? But based on the looks of the other Shodios and Krashadi, he didn’t dare refuse it and then absorbed the energy of the berry, though rather reluctantly. Suddenly, his shoulder began to feel different. It began to feel better, in fact. As he looked at the wound, he could see it repair itself, reattaching metal and organic tissue for about five minutes until finally it was well again. He rotated it around just to make sure and it moved extremely well, even better than before and he felt no pain, either. He thought it was a complete miracle. The other Toa Shika looked just as amazed as he did, perhaps even more so. None of them had ever heard of a ‘heal berry’ before and they had thought it wouldn’t work like Barilo had, but apparently it did work, for Barilo was twisting his arm in all directions without any pain at all as Jero sulked away from the cage, mumbling to himself about how dumb it was to heal their enemy and how it would give them an significant advantage if they were to fight them. “How-?” Barilo asked as looked up at Krashadi with curious and grateful eyes. “I thought you would be more willing to answer questions if your shoulder was not constantly hurting you,” said Krashadi. “Now. . . .” His voice suddenly changed from a warm and almost friendly tone to that of a thunder storm at its peak. “Who are you? Where do you come from? Answer quickly, Toa, or I will tolerate your non-shadow presence anymore.” “I will answer,” said Nastan, walking up to the cage and gripping the bars. “I am Toa Nastan and these are my friends, Addis, Chimoy, Akuna, Nonzra, and Barilo,” he gestured to each one as he spoke their names, “and we come from the island of Shika Nui, which is above this land, I think.” It may have seemed dumb to tell all of this to potential enemies, but what would it hurt? It’s not like he and his were part of a secret organization that was supposed to keep their identities hidden, anyway. Besides, Nastan did not doubt that the Shodios had the power and will to kill him and his allies if they refused to answer them. “And why, oh why, did you come down here, to Wyoko?” asked Krashadi, his voice in the same thundering tone as before. “What foolish stupidity could have possessed you to free us? Don’t your people tell stories of the Kra-Matoran Empire crushing all opposition, conquering lands, and slaughtering countless beings in our conquest of the universe?” “We had no idea you guys were under Shika Nui, Turaga,” said Nastan. He was hoping that if he spoke respectfully to Krashadi he might let them free, although he kind of doubted that it would work. “As Matoran, we never heard of any stories of Kra-Matoran of Toa of Shadow before or of Wyoko either. We sort of expected to find a large amount of treasure here or perhaps some powerful new weapon that we could use to save our island.” “What does Shika Nui need saving from, Nastan?” Krashadi asked in an almost bored-sounding tone. “Turaga, we are wasting time,” Rhatara hissed. “I could easily search their minds with my own telepathic powers and get all the answers you need, plus more.” “I would rather hear it come from their mouths, Rhatara, than from you,” replied Krashadi. “Because there is always that chance you are lying.” “Why wouldn’t they be lying?” challenged Rhatara. “Because they are light Toa,” said Krashadi in a tone that sound as though he was explaining it to a child. “Toa, at least the kind that we faced, do not lie. You, however, have no conscience, Rhatara, and therefore have no reason not to lie to me. You may be thinking, ‘Krashadi could get killed by whatever is waiting on Shika Nui and I could over the Kra-Matoran Empire and become king of the universe to boot.’ Honestly, Rhatara, between you and Teivel I’d say you’re the easiest to read and that, my Toa, is saying something.” Barilo half expected to see Rhatara fly into a fit of rage and start to threaten everyone in the room, but the fearsome Toa of Shadow actually looked quite intimidated by the Turaga and did not speak back. Instead, he looked back at the Toa Shika, although Barilo could tell his eyes were not focused on them. He looked more like he was thinking about how he had been so thoroughly humiliated by Krashadi in front of everyone. Why would he be so intimidated by a Turaga? Barilo wondered. Granted, he’s a pretty scary Turaga, but a Turaga nonetheless. A Turaga is in no way strong enough to defeat a Toa. This Krashadi must hold some sort of influence over them, but what? Aside from being the leader of the entire land of Wyoko, that is. “Continuing on,” Tikcah said suddenly, as if the whole Krashadi-Rhatara incident hadn’t happened, “what is it that you thought you would save your island from, Toa?” “The Dark Hunters,” replied Addis. “They’re sort of a group of mercenaries and bounty hunters who have a huge outreach. They’re also at war with the Brotherhood of Makuta.” “Really?” asked Ira, looking at him suspiciously. “The Brotherhood of Makuta, you say?” “Yes,” said Addis, nodding. “What about them?” “Nothing,” she said, leaning back in her seat. “I was just interested to learn that the Brotherhood was still active, considering how my brothers and sisters and I believed that the Order of Mata Nui had replaced them.” At the mention of the ‘Order of Mata Nui,’ Ira glanced at them, as if expecting to see some kind of reaction from the Toa. Instead, all she got was a bunch of blank expressions staring straight back at her, as if she had spoken a word in another language to them that none of the heroes quite understood. “Order of Mata Nui,” Ira repeated, this time more firmly. “You know the organization that is supposed to be serving Mata Nui’s will? Haven’t you ever heard of them?” “No,” said Barilo, shaking his head. “Never have.” “You mean you never heard of the organization that almost single-handedly defeated the Kra-Matoran Empire some 100,000 years ago?” she questioned. “The one that’s members have dedicated themselves to carrying out the will of the Great Spirit himself?” All of the Toa Shika looked at one another at that, and Addis said, “Sorry. Don’t know what you’re talking about, though back on Shika Nui we found a poem in an ancient temple in the mountains that spoke of a ‘secret organization that follows the will of the Great Spirit Mata Nui.’ We don’t know if that’s the same as the Order of Mata Nui, though.” “An ancient temple in the mountains?” said Rhatara, his attention back on the Toa. “Was there an entire village?” “Yes,” said Addis, already thinking of what Rhatara was going to say next. “That was once Kra-Koro in the old days before we were exiled here,” Rhatara said with a sigh. “I am surprised the Order did not destroy it.” “And what about the poem?” asked Jero sharply. “Did it by any chance say who wrote it?” “Well, the only indication of someone having written it was the name ‘Oggak,’ but we have no idea who or what that is,” said Barilo, shrugging. “Ah, Oggak,” said Ira with a strange sort of a chuckle, “that little traitor of a Matoran. She used to be our Chronicler, but apparently she was far more loyal to Mata Nui than to us, for she began to give the Order information about our latest plans and strategies, which I’ve always suspected is one of the key reasons we failed. For that, she was the only Kra-Matoran not sent here after the fall of the Empire and still remains out there, somewhere, but apparently well-hidden if you morons don’t know about her.” “Her full name was Oggakia, if I remember correctly,” said Tikcah. “She used the name Oggak as a penname.” “Enough reminiscing,” Krashadi said in a voice that made it clear that the discussion was over. “We have collected enough information from you Toa. Now we shall go into the Chamber of Fate to decide your destiny. Hopefully, whatever it is, it will be . . . painless, if for your sake only. Come, Shodios.” With that, the Turaga of Shadow rose from his chair and climbed down the staircase behind his seat, followed closely by Teivel and then the rest. They all went behind a large, faded gold door that lay against the southern portion of the chamber, and once they were inside, Nonzra then looked around at the other Shika with fearful eyes and said, “Am I the only one here who thinks that, whatever their decision will be, it will end with us dying horrible deaths?” - The chamber that the Shodios and Krashadi were in was a large, circular room with a long, gray-colored stone table in the middle, with seven chairs, three on each side, the seventh one at the head of the table. Besides that, it was a mostly bare room, save for the piles upon piles of stone tablets that piled one corner, which were notes taken in past trials. Despite having only been in the room for a couple of minutes, the discussion had turned fierce almost as soon as they all sat down. Almost all of them had different opinions on what should be done with the Toa Shika and few of them agreed on what to do about the light dwellers. “That Nonzra, the Toa of Sonics,” said Rhatara angrily. “He reminds me far too much of Ukio to be allowed to live, in my opinion.” “Now, now, Rhatara,” said Krashadi, although it wasn’t a gentle voice. “We all have a say in what the fate of the Shika should be and I, for one, would like to get rid of them in the quickest way possible so that we may live Wyoko immediately.” Jero was not talking, instead simply scribbling down notes, which usually helped him with his thinking. And Jiki, sitting next to him, slammed her fists on the table and said, “I say that I should get to kill them. I haven’t had the thrill of fighting other Toa in over 100,000 thousand years. It gets pretty boring having to fight Rahi all the time, especially after you’ve finished memorizing their fighting patterns and so know what’s going to happen hours before they actually do it.” The impact of Jiki’s fists on the table made it rattle slightly, but enough so that Jero scrawled across his tablet, messing it up. He looked up sharply at Jiki and said, “Do you mind?” “Sorry,” said Jiki, though by the tone in her voice it was fairly obvious that she didn’t really mean it. “Personally, I think we should just drown them in the lake of shadow,” said Teivel dismissively, ignoring Jiki and Jero. “They may be Toa, but they can’t breathe in pure shadow.” “I agree, Teivel,” said Tikcah, staring at him with a sort of dreamy look in her eyes. “I can imagine them just now getting eaten alive by the shadow eels, while you and I stand over them, laughing at them.” Teivel glared at her and said, “Are you saying that because you really do agree or are you just agreeing with me because you like me?” “Maybe a little bit of both,” Tikcah said slyly as she reached out with her hand to touch Teivel’s arm. “Want to find out?” “Touch me and die,” the male Toa of Shadow growled. Tikcah reluctantly pulled her hand back and folded her arms, sighing as she muttered to herself, “Why doesn’t he like me?” “I agree with Krashadi,” said Ira, ignoring Tikcah and Teivel. “We should kill them all quickly and get out of here as soon as possible. As nice as Wyoko is, I am getting sick of seeing the same things and same people every day with nothing to conquer. I want to get back to ruling the universe.” “You know, my subjects,” Krashadi said thoughtfully. “I have just realized the perfect way to get rid of them.” “What?” Rhatara snapped. “Toss them into the lake of shadow and let the shadow eels eat them,” suggested the Turaga. “Remember, shadow eels can smell light beings from a mile away, so we will not have to do much to attract their attention.” “It sounds like a nice plan,” Jiki said impatiently. “But I don’t get to fight them if we follow your plan and that means giving up the thrill of fighting other intelligent beings, something I haven’t done in 100,000 years. So I say no.” Krashadi leaned toward her and whispered in a menacing tone, “And you dare to oppose my plan despite being fully aware of the power that I wield? Are you prepared to give up your life, should you oppose my idea any further, Jiki?” “No, Turaga!” Jiki said with more than a hint of fear in her voice. “I-I-I didn’t mean it like that!” She smiled apologetically, but it was really an expression of fear and respect that she wore in her eyes. “That’s good,” Krashadi said quietly as he sat back. “We shall go with my plan as I proposed it. Anyone disagree?” No one answered. Even Rhatara was too intimidated by the knowledge of what would happen if he openly disagreed with the Turaga to say anything. Krashadi looked around at all of them for a minute or two, then said, “Well, let us go and tell our ‘guests’ about their fate, then, for all beings that will die gruesome deaths should be allowed the knowledge of what will kill them, do they not?” Review Topic