TNTOS

I think this story is off to a great start. In particular, I think you describes things well, helping me imagine the characters and setting without bogging down the story. That can be hard to do sometimes, so good job there.

You did a good job setting up the tone of the story, too. While it's a bit too early to say for certain, I think this story is going to be fairly dark and grim, though not hopeless (although of course I could be wrong). You established that tone in the prologue pretty well, which again is another thing that can be hard to pull off sometimes.

I would like to point out, however, that your tense is inconsistent. Early on, until Kana's appearance, you use the past tense ("He walked to the grocery store"), but for the rest of the chapter you use the present tense ("He walks to the grocery store). It's not usually a good idea to mix tenses like that because it can be confusing. Personally I think you should go with past tense, but you should really just choose the tense that you think fits your story best.

Keep on writing,

-TNTOS-

Chapter 24: Underneath

For a while now, Hajax had been in control of Barilo’s body, while Barilo himself had been locked away in the deepest corners of Hajax’s mind. It was here that the Toa of Gravity, once proud and strong, was having his will and energy being sapped away as Hajax’s spirit slowly began to replace his own. It was an agonizing kind of pain that he had never experienced before. It didn’t help that he was stuck in what appeared to be a stone cell, with no windows or even a door, which symbolized his current predicament quite well in his opinion.

But it wasn’t the pain that was bothering him the most. He had long ago learned to live with this pain, for it was unavoidable in his current state, even if he didn’t like it. What was annoying him was the feeling of extreme helplessness that had been plaguing him ever since Hajax had possessed him. Right now, Barilo had absolutely no control whatsoever over his body. He couldn’t even so much as move his smallest finger a couple of inches.

As a result, he had no way to control whatever Hajax decided to do with his body. He was aware, however, that Hajax had been pretending to be him to be for a while, then revealed his true identity to the others, and had now kidnapped Oggak to hand over to the Tuikas. Barilo knew Oggak’s true purpose as well and just what would happen if she was given over to the Tuikas; how the universe itself would end, taking everyone and everything in it to the grave.

He wanted to do something. He wanted to fight Hajax, the Tuikas, and anyone else who was a threat to Shika Nui. He wanted to save the universe, but he couldn’t. It seemed as though every step, every word Hajax spoke merely reminded Barilo that he was not in control of his body, that he was no longer able to choose what he wanted to do, that he was weak and helpless in the face of a Makuta. He hated that feeling, but there didn’t seem to be any way to rid his mind of it.

He was also aware that Hajax had brought Oggak straight to the Tuikas and had been on the verge of giving her over before Barilo’s friends showed up to fight the Tuikas. He wasn’t so sure what happened after that; he had the distinct impression that Hajax had fled from the battle, though he didn’t know for sure.

I just hope my friends manage to catch and stop him, Barilo thought, forcing himself not to scream as he felt the very foundation of his soul being ripped apart and replaced with that of Hajax. Even if I can’t do anything to stop him, it would fill me with relief if they, at least, were doing something.

He suddenly gasped in pain, though it was different than the kind he had been feeling for the past week. It took him a few moments to realize that Hajax’s body – his body – must be under attack. Whoever was attacking must’ve been doing a number on Hajax, for the pain was almost like the kind he had been feeling for a while now. He wondered if it was one of his friends attacking Hajax. He hoped it was.

Somehow, however uncomfortable it was, just feeling the pain reassured him unlike anything else had before. It proved to him that he was still connected to his body, however weak and vague the connections might be. If so, he may just have a chance of retaking it after all, or at least interfering with Hajax’s plans. He just needed to focus all his mental energy on Hajax’s mind and try to assault him there. If he could knock out Hajax from within, he might just be able to take his body back again, or at least give the others time to finish the Makuta off.

Of course, Barilo knew what would happen if Hajax was killed; he himself would die, too. But he didn’t care. So long as Hajax died, he would be happy, even if it meant his own death as well.

As these thoughts went through, his mind Barilo realized that he did not feel so helpless after all which was another reassuring thought to add to his very small collection of such thoughts.

-

Akuna swung her staff of lightning at Kidah, but it was a miss; Kidah dodged and countered with a vicious punch that sent Akuna sprawling in the dirt. Kidah then tried to stomp her head flat, but Akuna rolled out of the way just in time, and was back to her feet just as quickly. Aiming her staff at the Tuikas, Akuna shot twin lightning bolts from it, both of which struck Kidah, sending her stumbling backwards into a nearby crater.

Taking advantage of Kidah’s temporary disappearance, Akuna glanced around the area at the rest of the combatants, panting slightly. She saw Kigin was fighting Draza, both of whom seemed evenly matched. Death had joined the fight earlier, having apparently been hiding from something she didn’t know about, and was helping Chimoy fight Skik and Koya, though those two Tuikas seemed to be winning, as they were getting more hits on Chimoy and Death than her friends were getting on them. Fortunately Chimoy and Death were still fighting, but she was worried about them just the same.

She did not see Zoil or Hajax anywhere, both of whom seemed to have disappeared. As for Jokao, he had gone, too. At first she thought it had been because of the fact that he was in no condition to fight, but now she was wondering if he had gone after Hajax, if that Makuta had indeed fled the battle already. It would certainly explain his absence.

She could not see Nastan anywhere, either, which worried her greatly. She had thought that when the fight had started, he would have joined the battle immediately. Yet he was nowhere to be seen; was he already dead? Or was he hurt and hiding somewhere to stay out of the fight? She hoped he was safe, wherever he might be.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot that Kidah was still alive, which she was reminded by when the female Tuikas flew straight out of the crater and punched Akuna hard in the face with enough force to send the Toa of Lightning flying. Akuna landed hard on a slab of stone and yelped as pain shot up her back. However, she managed to roll away just as Kidah flew straight down where her head had been a minute earlier, smashing the slab into a thousand pieces that flew in every direction.

Akuna swiped at Kidah’s feet with her staff, knocking them out from under the Tuikas and sending her falling to the ground hard. Akuna was back on her feet instantly and attempted to spear Kidah on the sharp end of her staff, but Kidah merely grabbed it right before it made contact with her chest and forced Akuna back, sending her stumbling backwards slightly and off-guard.

That was all the time Kidah needed to strike, for she was back on her feet in an instant and shot two laser beams from her eyes, striking Akuna in the chest, burning a hole in the Toa’s armor and causing Akuna to cry out in pain as she fell.

“Now you must die!” Kidah shouted, flying high up into the air before soaring down, her tail aimed directly at Akuna’s chest. She was moving so fast now that she was almost a blur. “For the Dividing!”

Akuna looked up and knew she had only about three seconds before Kidah crashed into her, most likely killing both of them in the process. That meant she had absolutely no time to think or plan; just to act.

So, raising her hands above herself, she emitted an electrical force field that covered her entire body in an instant. She had never done something like this before; she had always shot lightning bolts or would send small electrical shocks through someone’s body if they were making physical contact with her. She didn’t know if it would actually protect her, though, as Kidah might just crash straight through regardless. Still, she had no other options and this was the first thing that came to mind.

Kidah, unable to stop her assault, collided with the electrical barrier with enough force to nearly pierce it, but luckily for Akuna, it held strong and fast. Akuna sighed deeply; she was safe.

Kidah, however, looked to be in pain, for she was screaming and struggling to escape the barrier but was failing miserably. Akuna sensed her own power going into the Tuikas; she imagined that the pain Kidah must be feeling right now was totally unbearable. Yet as she watched, Kidah seemed totally trapped, unable to escape the electrical barrier that was protecting Akuna from all harm.

Finally, however, Akuna, who was becoming increasingly horrified by this, sent an extra strong jolt through the force field with enough power behind it to eject Kidah, sending the Tuikas flying high into the air and falling with a crash into a nearby hut. She did not get up, nor did she even move. From where Akuna lay, Kidah looked quite dead.

And for the first time in her life, it struck her. She had just killed another being, one seemingly on the same level of intelligence as herself. She had never killed anyone before and so had never realized that it was such an easy thing to do, at least in her opinion. She had acted without thinking and this was the result. She hadn’t meant to do it, but it had happened. Evidently the electrical barrier had been too much for Kidah’s body, Akuna concluded grimly as she sat up, shaking her head and collecting her staff, which lay a few feet to her right.

As she rose to her feet, ignoring the throbbing in her body and head, she glanced at Kidah’s body, which was half buried underneath a large pile of rubble now. Seeing that cold, lifeless body lying there like that didn’t fill her with joy, as she had thought it might. Instead, she felt just as cold and lifeless as the corpse. She knew that the Tuikas would have had to die in the first place, but she had always imagined it as being a satisfactory event, the killing of a Tuikas. Right now, though, she didn’t feel particularly satisfied or happy at all; just frightened and confused.

But I’ve got no time to waste thinking about this kind of thing, at least right now Akuna thought, shaking her head. The others need my help right now. Maybe later, if I have the time, I’ll think about it.

-

Ignoring the sounds of battle from behind him, Zoil stealthily ventured forth from the destroyed gates of Ironos and into the wild countryside, his eyes carefully scanning the hills, rocks, and trees that lay before him. He was going after Hajax, whom had fled the battle the minute it had started. He had been given hasty orders from Skik to find the Sacrifice and kill the Makuta who was keeping it away from them. Zoil fully intended to follow and fulfill those orders.

It looks as though I will be gaining the honor of being the one who initiates the Dividing now, Zoil thought as he walked quickly down the worn path, idly kicking a stone out of the way as he went. What a fool, that Hajax. He thinks he can run, he thinks he can hide. But so long as he has the Sacrifice with him, I will find him no matter where he goes.

Zoil stopped. He was mentally feeling around for the Sacrifice; his senses told him it was nearby, but he had yet to figure out where, exactly. Hiding just beyond one of the hills, perhaps? Maybe behind a tree? Or a boulder even? Zoil didn’t know for certain, though he figured that wherever Hajax might be, he wouldn’t be sitting in plain sight. That would be stupid, and as far as he could tell, Hajax was not stupid. At least not totally stupid, anyway.

Zoil searched for some minutes, casually bashing aside boulders and trees with his large club to look behind them, occasionally glancing back at Ironos to check on the progress of the battle. He felt no urgent need to return to the fight, though he just wanted to make sure that his brothers and sisters were winning. From where he stood, he could not see who was winning, but he was confident that his allies were going to come out on top, regardless of how hard their enemies fought against them.

Besides, it doesn’t matter if they all die or if they all survive, Zoil thought, shaking his head. So long as even one Tuikas lives, then the quest for the Sacrifice must continue. Otherwise, we will have failed the Great Beings themselves. I cannot think of anything worse than that that we could do.

He glanced to his left. He saw a steep pathway leading down into what looked like a mine nearby. His senses were telling him that the Sacrifice was somewhere down there. He looked into the deep darkness of the mineshaft; he could not see much, which is why, he assumed, Hajax must have hid down there. After all, if Zoil could see anything, it would give the Makuta the advantage of surprise.

But Zoil was smarter and cleverer than any Makuta, or indeed any other being in the universe. He was not going to be taken by surprise today. And if he was, he would simply smash his way out of it, which was the best Plan B in his opinion. It had worked well in the past, though admittedly he had never been taken by surprise in battle once during his life, so he did not know for sure how well that actually worked. He decided it would be better to have a plan, though he doubted that it would be completely necessary.

So he entered the tunnel, his mind calculating a plan even then . . . if he would need it at all, that is.

-

Jokao slowly, painstakingly walked, his legs screaming in protest with every step he took. He glanced over his shoulder at Ironos; he could not tell who was winning and who losing from where he was. They all looked the same to him. Every blast of energy, every being he saw flying through the air from some devastating blow looked exactly the same to him now. He hoped his friends were winning, but seeing as it was only four on five, he wasn’t so sure about their chances.

Still, at least they were making sure that the rest of the Tuikas didn’t come after him. He had seen Hajax flee the village at the beginning of the battle, followed moments later by the Tuikas he recognized as Zoil. He had decided to go after both of them, since Oggak was still in the clutches of Hajax. True, he likely would not last long against either of them in battle, but the other option was sitting around doing nothing, which would be completely contradictory to why he wanted to go after Hajax in the first place. So he was willing to take a chance, even if it resulted in his death.

How he had managed to make it out of Ironos unscathed was unknown even to him, but it didn’t matter. He had just spotted Zoil heading down into an abandoned mineshaft. Unless Zoil had a hidden hobby of touring abandoned mines, he figured that meant that Zoil knew where Hajax and Oggak were. If so, then he, Jokao, would simply have to follow him, though he kept his distance; if Zoil realized he was there, then Jokao knew he would be dead in an instant. He just had to keep a reasonable distance from Zoil so that he could keep the Tuikas in view while at the same time making sure Zoil didn’t notice him following.

His legs, however, were making what should have been a somewhat simple task into a nightmare. They felt like they were on fire, like they would fall off any minute. Though they had healed up somewhat well during the week he had spent in bed (helped by certain types of medicine Telka had given him), they still hadn’t healed up completely and needed a lot more rest. Going like this, he was sure, would result in him losing control of his legs completely. They might even come off if he wasn’t careful.

But I can’t just rest, Jokao thought, watching as Zoil’s colossal back disappeared into the darkness of the mine. That would be lazy. Resting when the person I love the most is in danger is just . . . I can’t even begin to describe how wrong that is, even if I do need it. Especially since the universe itself depends on who gets Oggak. If the Tuikas get her, we’re all dead. But if I get her . . . we may just stand a chance.

-

Hajax’s back ached as he carried Oggak through the pitch blackness of the mine. He cursed this physical body once again; when he had been antidermis, he had never had to deal with these kinds of pains except in unusual circumstances. True, he had learned to deal with and ignore this, but he still didn’t like it and wished that he had now chosen a tougher body that could take the pain easier.

This will have to do for now, though, Hajax thought resignedly as he reached a fork in the tunnel. He glanced down both ways, but could not see much, even with his night vision. He didn’t know which way to go, so he randomly chose the right tunnel.

Hajax glanced over his shoulder as he walked around an empty mine cart. He did not see any of the Tuikas or Toa following; he seemed to have lost them, though he wasn’t going to stop until he found a satisfactory place to rest. It would be stupid to stop simply because he thought he had lost them; he wanted to be sure they weren’t following before even thinking of halting his progression into the mines.

He glanced at the mining equipment as he passed. He knew what these mines had been used for, of course. The Dark Hunters had dug them out when they had taken over Shika Nui 25,000 years ago, primarily for the rich source of raw protodermis located deep underneath the island’s surface. Here hundreds of Matoran slaves had worked night and day, without rest, digging up protodermis and sending it back up to the surface in mine carts, to be collected by the Dark Hunters and taken off the island to be sold or traded for goods in other lands.

Of course, there were other reasons for the existence of these mines. Hajax knew that the Dark Hunters, in their quest to find and open the ancient wall of protodermis – which was actually the gateway to Wyoko – had dug out many of these mines to try to find it and had only ceased when the wall was actually discovered in the middle of the island, where Koro Nui was now located. These other mines had stayed active, though, because they brought good business to the island’s economy and helped give the Dark Hunters more protodermis for their own weapons and armor, too.

Unfortunately, he could not remember how deep this particular mine ran. He knew that some went so deep that it would take days to go down them and even longer to get back up. Elevators had been installed in a few to make it easier for Dark Hunter inspections, but most of the time, you either walked or took a mine cart, neither of which were fun or easy and sometimes seemed to require more work than the actual mining, Hajax thought as he walked down the tunnel.

He walked for what seemed like hours until at last he emerged into a large, roundish room, which had several light stones embedded into the walls. At the far end of the room, he could see protodermis glistening off the stones, untouched for some time, apparently. He also spotted a few mining tools, which looked as though they had been dropped in a hurry. Two other tunnels branched off this one, he could see, but even then, he saw no sign of the Matoran miners who worked here, which struck him as odd. He would have thought that some Matoran would have tried to find a haven in these tunnels when the Tuikas attacked, yet so far, he had not come across even one. Nor had he seen any corpses, either, which ruled out the possibility that something – perhaps the Tuikas – had killed them already.

It doesn’t matter, Hajax thought to himself as he walked over to the very end of the room, intending to place Oggak there. He would then hide in the shadows and wait for whoever might be coming after him, using Oggak as bait. He figured that someone was probably after him and he didn’t intend to get caught by whoever that might be. Neither the Tuikas or the Toa will be able to resist once they rest their eyes on her.

Once he reached the end of the room, he placed Oggak in a sitting position carefully against the wall, right where she could be seen by anyone who entered the same way as Hajax had. Then he turned around and looked down the two passageways, trying to decide which one he should hide himself in.

The left one looks darker than the right, so I’ll hide in there, Hajax decided.

He made towards the left tunnel, which was slightly farther down than the right. He would be able to hide easily there, since it was so dark and there did not seem to be even one light stone to illuminate it. Not even the Tuikas would know he was in there, Hajax thought, so he would simply take up a position, choose which power would be the most effective to kill his enemy instantly, and then wait. True, he was almost sick of waiting by now, but just one more time and he wouldn’t have to wait any longer, he thought.

Something huge barreled through the door at that moment and smashed into him, sending him flying into the wall opposite. He crashed and slumped to the floor, stunned and dazed by this surprise attack. He was also angry. Who had dared to strike him? One of the Tuikas, perhaps, using a different entrance than he had? Or one of the Toa, even? Whoever it was, he decided, would die a horrible death and their corpse buried under in this mine once he was through with it.

He shook his head and glanced up in time to see a large, hulking green dragon creature staring at him with large, yellowish eyes. A moment later, a familiar-looking rusted Matoran entered, dull blade in hand, looking at Hajax in surprise. Hajax recognized the pair instantly.

Ah, yes, my old friends, Ramoth and Kavi, Hajax thought, with a mixture of sarcasm and annoyance. What the blazes are they doing here?

“You are that Toa of Gravity, Barilo, I think your name was, that Ramoth and I met a while ago,” said Kavi, pointing at Hajax with his dull knife as the Makuta got to his feet, thinking of the many ways he planned to kill Kavi and Ramoth now. The Matoran’s eyes narrowed and he said, “What are you doing here, Toa? These mines have become the home of Ramoth and I now. I thought we made it clear that we do not want visitors here, in our home? We said we would visit you, not-”

“Shut your mouth, insolent villager,” Hajax snapped, pulling out his spear and twirling it in the air. “I did not come for a visit. I came here to deal with my enemies, who are likely approaching even as we speak.”

Ramoth growled at Hajax’s threatening tone, but Kavi held up a hand to stop him. His orange eyes were focused on Hajax as he said, without flinching, “It looks as though I were right, Ramoth. This poor Toa’s soul is not his; it is that of an evil spirit. I care little for the Toa’s original spirit, or whatever happened to it, though I must ask you to state your name, possessor, or I will have to ask you to leave. Of course, you will have to leave anyway, since I dislike trespassers in my tunnels.”

Hajax laughed, barely amused, but laughed nonetheless. “I am Makuta Hajax, Kavi, soon-to-be king of the universe. I find it funny that you threaten me, as though you were some kind of king yourself.”

“But here, I am king,” Kavi snapped, gesturing at Ramoth, who had still yet to move, but was growling even louder than before. “You may be a Makuta, stranger, but Ramoth is still stronger. He can kill you with only one swipe of his powerful claws, Makuta, without even trying.” His eyes flickered towards the unconscious Oggak and he asked, in an uncaring tone, “What is she doing here, Makuta? Is she dead? And you want her corpse to infect my home? If so then give her a proper burial elsewhere. Then again, I am sure Ramoth would enjoy a tasty Toa of Shadow for dinner . . .”

“She is not dead,” said Hajax, whirling his spear even faster now as greenish energy crackled at both tips. “She is alive. Merely unconscious, if you will. She has her purpose, but why should I tell you my plans when I can simply kill you?”

He shot twin bolts of pure thought at Kavi, but Ramoth was faster; he jumped in the way of the bolts, protecting his master but burning his own hide. Much to Hajax’s surprise, however, Ramoth did not scream or cry out in pain. Instead, he merely opened his mouth and unleashed a wave of heat, hitting Hajax hard, though he took it in stride and managed to hit the ground, dodging the most devastating part of it as the heat melted the rock behind him.

Just as he hit the ground, he unleashed Barilo’s gravity powers, sending both Ramoth and Kavi flying into the air and to the ceiling, from which they fell and smashed into the rocky earth hard. Kavi looked knocked out, but Ramoth was still kicking and was back on his feet in an instant, growling even louder than before as it unleashed another attack; the ability to disorient his foes. Much to Hajax’s chagrin, it worked even while he was lying on the ground, making it hard for him to focus on the dragon or even keep his head up, which would mean he was likely to die soon unless he did something quick.

Ramoth may have a thick and protective hide, making most physical and even some non-physical attacks useless against him. But he does not have the mental training a Makuta such as myself has, nor does he have any kind of mental barrier like the kind Oggak possess. Hajax thought. One good mental hit and he should go down for good,

He could hear Ramoth rumbling towards him and with a great effort, struck the dragon’s mind as hard as he could. He hoped it would work and that Ramoth wouldn’t have some sort of hidden mental abilities to protect himself with that Hajax was unaware of.

It worked; his world stopped spinning abruptly and he heard Ramoth roar in pain. He glanced just in time to see the Fryke fall to the ground with the force of a small tremor; dead. Hajax smiled as he rose to his feet. The battle had gone far faster than he had thought originally it would, but he didn’t complain. He needed to save his energy for the inevitable battle with the Tuikas and Toa that he knew would follow soon.

He heard a weak groan and looked over Ramoth’s huge corpse to see Kavi now sitting up, shaking his head, apparently having recovered. Kavi abruptly stopped, however, and looked at Ramoth’s unmoving form in front of him. At first, his expression was unreadable. But then, he actually broke into tears, much to Hajax’s surprise and disgust.

“Ramoth!” shouted Kavi as he got unsteadily to his feet. Once he was balanced, he ran over to the dragon and threw himself on it, sobbing into its corpse. “No! Ramoth! Don’t be dead!”

Hajax snorted. “And here I was actually beginning to respect you, Kavi. But I suppose, since you wish to be with your pet so badly, you may as well join him in the afterlife.”

Hajax raised one hand, shadow energy swirling in his palm, a cold smile etched on his face as Kavi’s tearstained mask looked up at him, his expression a mixture of fear, sorrow, and surprise.

“You have tried to kill me,” said Hajax, without a hint of mercy in his voice. “You tried to kill me several times, in fact. And all of those times you failed. But let me tell you that every single one of them has stood out vividly in my memory recently. Today I shall exact my revenge upon you, just as I did upon your pet. Good bye, Kavi. It was nice knowing you.”

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Chapter 23: Deals & Conflicts

Jokao and the others set out for Koro Nui almost immediately after Chimoy received a new mask, since even the slightest cracks can permanently damage a Kanohi, as Jokao knew. Because Chimoy’s Mask of Flight had been cracked when Hajax had rammed his head into the wall earlier, thus making it unusable, he had been given one of the few extra Great Masks they had available. This turned out to be a Kanohi Calix, the Mask of Fate, which Chimoy said felt uncomfortable to wear because he was not very used to it and seemed to constantly be adjusting it on his face, as though it did not particularly fit well on his head for whatever reason.

They also lingered just long enough to listen to Joha explain to the Matoran of Koro Nui what had happened to Oggak and Barilo and why all of Koro Nui’s last defenders had to leave immediately and where they were planning on going.

The Matoran had a mixed reaction, mostly curious, though some complained that if the Tuikas attacked, Koro Nui would be ground to powder within minutes. However, when Joha informed them that the Tuikas only attacked the village because Oggak had been here, they quieted up immediately and instead wished the party luck on their rescue mission.

Many were worried for Oggak, which was to be expected, since she had been respected and liked by all of the villagers because of how well she had protected them during the past few weeks. A few of the braver ones even volunteered to come along, but they were denied this, since it was considered too dangerous for any Matoran to go, even if they were going to be with the Toa and Kigin.

Jokao was surprised, though grateful, that none of the Matoran seemed to think any less of Oggak after hearing the truth, based on their reactions. Knowing that the Matoran still cared for Oggak, himself, and the others would make it both easier and harder to go confront the Tuikas and Hajax. Easier in that he knew that the people he cared about were counting on him to save the day; harder in that if he and the others failed, then not only would the universe itself possible end, but they would have let the Matoran down, too, which was something he didn’t think he would be able to accept.

So, after saying good bye to the assembled villagers and Joha, Jokao lead the team into the proto forest, on the same path that Igici and Nastan had used to reach Ironos. The basic plan was to find Nastan and Igici, tell them what happened, and then find Hajax, Oggak, and the Tuikas. Jokao didn’t want to think too much about the last part of the plan, which would almost certainly be the hardest, since no one present had any idea where the Tuikas might be, nor where Hajax had teleported off to.

“I just hope Nastan hasn’t run into Hajax,” said Akuna as they walked as quickly through the forest as fast as they could, her voice slightly breathless. “Because if he has-“

“It’s not something we should think about,” said Chimoy, who performed an amazing leap over a fallen tree, landed expertly on the ground, and continued walking as normal. “Too grim to even think about . . . though I must say,” he added, with a slight smile on his face, “this Calix is a bit more fun than I originally thought it was going to be.”

“We don’t have time for fun,” said Jokao seriously, limping slightly. The main reason they were not running was because Jokao’s legs still hadn’t healed up and any attempts to run made it necessary for him to stop and rest, which they couldn’t afford to do. At best they were walking quickly so Jokao could keep up. Even then, his legs still hurt anyway. “At least, we can’t sit here and test out our powers all day. We’ve got to save Oggak before Hajax tries to give her over to the Tuikas or something. We’ve just got to.”

-

Raider watched grimly as the flying monsters surged towards him, screeching and screaming all the way down. He had hit the lead one earlier, but the others – evidently smarter than they looked – managed to dodge all of his bullets, even when they weren’t looking. He was impressed; they seemed to not just be normal Rahi beasts, like he had originally believed, which would just make the hunt all the more challenging, he thought. It was made even more interesting by the fact that few had ever dodged his bullets before, which almost caused him to respect them.

He glanced at the Toa below, lying in a fetal position with both hands over his head, as though to protect himself from the oncoming beasts. Raider had shot him in the ankle earlier and had only been aiming to wound, not kill, him. This was because Raider decided that he would need people to question once he finished, so he would let at least a few of them live for now, anyway. He could have easily killed the Toa had he wished.

All of that went through his head in less than two seconds; now was the time to act. The monsters grew closer with each passing second; they moved faster than any Rahi he had ever seen in his lifetime. He aimed his rifle; he would try to take out one or two of them and then retreat into the forest, where he would hide and strike them from the shadows as they searched for him. It was a rather risky plan, but he had made far riskier plans in the past and had succeeded spectacularly. This was going to be Matoran’s play, he told himself.

Just as he took aim with his rifle, the beasts growing ever closer, they stopped suddenly – almost unnaturally – in midair, much to both his and their surprise. They struggled hard against their invisible bonds, screeching, though apparently unable to move their limbs or do anything else. They were trapped, but how, Raider didn’t know.

Raider himself, too shocked to shoot, lifted his head up to get a better look at the monsters. Their expressions had changed from shock to anger very quickly; they were now bellowing threats in what sounded like Matoran, much to Raider’s surprise, since he had assumed they were dumb Rahi incapable of any kind of real speech. Were they simply talented mimics or was there more than meets the eye to these beasts?

“Let us go!” the lead one bellowed, still bleeding from the bullet Raider had shot at him earlier. “Put us down, or we shall kill you!”

Raider, getting over his own disbelief quickly, snapped at the leader, “I am not the one responsible for your plight, beast. However, since you are in the way of my mission, I must kill you anyway.” He lowered his eye into the crosshairs once more and said, “Time I put you out of your misery, you foul, idiotic beast, both you and your-“

Before he could pull the trigger, before he could even aim, his rifle went flying out of his hands and snapped itself in two in midair. Raider did not have time to figure out why this happened, for the next moment he was sent flying high over the monsters, tumbling heard over heels in midair and feeling sick, unable to see anything he was moving so fast.

He then abruptly fell, crashing hard and breaking noisily through the roof of a hut, landing on and smashing a small stone table. Groaning in pain, covered from head to foot in dust, barely conscious though still ready to fight, he looked up in time to see the fliers unfreeze and begin flying around the area, howling in anger as they searched for whoever or whatever had froze them in the first place. Raider was secretly glad that they had seemingly forgotten about him. Though he was by no means a coward, he did not wish to have to fight five armed and dangerous beasts with no weapons of his own at the moment.

“Who dared attack us, the Tuikas?” the lead one screeched overhead, firing a blast of energy in a random direction as if to relieve his anger. “I, Skik, demand that you reveal yourself or face our collective wrath!”

“Ah, Skik, I wouldn’t be so hasty to get to know me,” said a cold, deep voice that sent chills down Raider’s spine. The Legendary Dark Hunter stiffened immediately, listening hard. “Nor would I use such a violent tone towards someone who had just saved your life from that ugly, ugly Dark Hunter.”

He knew I was there, Raider thought suddenly, tense. Somehow he got me. I don’t know how he knew I was there, since no one knows I am here but the Tuikas, Death, and that Toa, but I intend to figure out. I hate mysteries.

Still groaning slightly, he casually wiped dirt and small pieces of debris off his armor as turned over onto his stomach, looking out of a small hole in the wall that was big enough for his eyes. Because of the position the ruin was in, it afforded him an excellent view of the village itself, allowing him to see just who that voice had belonged to.

At first, he saw nothing but ruins, dirt, craters, burnt corpses and buildings in every direction; in other words, the usual. Then he spotted something; standing right in the middle of the village was a Toa of Gravity, with another black-armored female Toa slung over his shoulder. He had no idea who the female Toa was or why she was slung unconscious over the Toa of Gravity’s shoulder like that. However, he began to wonder if this Toa of Gravity might have been the one who froze the Tuikas and snapped Raider’s gun in two like that, though he did not know for certain and decided to keep his head down in case this Toa proved hostile. At least, in case the Toa proved more hostile than he already had, anyway.

He saw the leader of the Tuikas, Skik, fly into view with the other four, growling and hissing as he drew closer to the Toa of Gravity, who did not even flinch as the monsters flew overhead. Raider tilted his head; this Toa of Gravity looked very different from other Toa he had seen in his life. This Toa held himself with the dignity of a king, which was odd, since Raider had never thought of Toa as the most proud beings. Naïve and stupid, maybe, but not particularly proud just the same.

The expression on his face was different, too. He looked cold and emotionless, without even a hint of fear as he looked upon the approaching Tuikas. The expression looked unnatural on the Toa and made Raider feel uneasy. Though Raider had faced many powerful and ruthless foes in his time as a Dark Hunter, he personally felt glad that he was lying unnoticed in the ruins of a hut, out of the view of a Toa who somehow looked evil in his opinion.

At first, Raider thought the Tuikas would simply kill the foolish Toa on the spot without a second thought. But to his surprise, they kept their distance. In fact, their eyes were not so much focused on the Toa of Gravity as they were on the unconscious female slung over his shoulder.

Then he heard Skik say, in a breathless, yet quiet voice that nonetheless carried on the wind, “Is that the . . . the Sacrifice?”

“It is indeed, Skik,” said the Toa of Gravity, gesturing carelessly to the female Toa, “very much so. I have brought her here for you to take, to complete your destiny. To finish the Dividing and-”

“Barilo! What are you doing?”

Startled by the loud voice, Raider looked around until he noticed the Toa of The Green lying on the ground not too far away from the Toa of Gravity (whom he assumed was Barilo) and the Tuikas, who were still flying nearby but not making any moves. The sudden arrival of Barilo had driven the Toa of The Green straight from Raider’s mind, but he was pleased to see that the Toa could not walk because of the injury he had sustained from Raider’s silver bullet earlier.

“Barilo, why do you have Oggak?” the Toa of The Green asked, crawling towards Barilo on his stomach. Thanks to Raider’s excellent eyesight, he could see that the Toa looked frightened, though apparently determined to reach Barilo anyway. “What do you mean by ‘the Sacrifice’? Why can the Tuikas talk like us? Why do you have Oggak with you like that? What the Karzahni is going on here?”

The Tuikas with the scorpion-like tail made a sudden move, as though to attack the injured Toa. Raider almost closed his eyes, as he knew that whatever the Tuikas was going to do to the fallen hero was not going to be pretty.

However, Barilo said, “Touch the Toa and I will eliminate your precious little Sacrifice. She is no use to you if she is dead, am I right?”

“Fine,” said the Tuikas with the scorpion tail, in a voice that sounded a bit like the screech of a bat, though Raider caught the annoyance and resentment just the same. “I will not touch him. Not yet, anyway.”

The Toa of The Green – who had raised his hands to protect himself from the attack he had been expecting to come – slowly lowered his arms and looked up at Barilo, still confused. “But I still don’t-“

“Don’t you understand, Nastan?” asked Barilo with an evil grin on his face, turning to face the Toa of The Green, his unconscious captive still in his grasp. “Don’t you understand why I have Oggak with me? Don’t you understand why I am bargaining her life with the Tuikas?”

“Yes,” said the Toa of The Green, named Nastan, who seemed to be ignoring the pain in his shin. “Yes, that’s-“

“That is because I am not Barilo, Nastan,” said Barilo, who look even eviler than before. “I crushed that poor fool’s spirit long ago and have been in control of his physical body for quite some time. The Barilo you know, in other words, no longer exists; I, Makuta Hajax, now control his body!”

Nastan’s eyes widened in shock and he said, in a quiet, trembling voice that Raider could still hear, “H-Hajax? B-But how? He’s dead!”

From his perch, Raider felt just as surprised as Nastan. He had heard of Makuta Hajax, of course, but he had assumed the Makuta was dead, just as Nastan said. Hadn’t Hajax been executed for crimes against the Great Spirit Mata Nui thousands of years ago? How could he still be alive? Raider had even heard rumors that Makuta Icarax and Makuta Gorast, the Brotherhood’s two best fighters, had killed Hajax when he had tried to flee. Logically there was no way he could have survived, yet if this Toa was telling the truth then Hajax was alive and well, somehow.

Either that or he’s utterly insane, Raider thought. I’d say the latter, personally.

“I need not disclose to you how I successfully managed to take control of this fool’s body,” Hajax snapped, and with a flick of his hand Nastan was raised into the air, most likely through telekinesis. The Toa struggled to free himself but failed. “That is for me and me alone to know. What you do need to know, however, is that with the Tuikas on my side, the entire universe shall fall before my might. You are just unnecessary baggage, Nastan, as all Toa ultimately are.”

“What are you going to do to me?” asked Nastan, the fear in his voice obvious even from Raider’s high perch. “Torture me? Lock me up in some small jail cell somewhere?”

“Don’t be silly,” said Hajax with a cold laugh. “I will kill you.”

With a snap of his fingers, Hajax sent Nastan flying several feet away, crashing into a small group of ruined huts with so much force that the Toa of The Green did not rise again, nor did Raider even see him stir. This did not bother him much; he held no pity or sympathy for any Toa. Right now, he was more concerned about how he was going to get out of here alive with both the Tuikas and Hajax around. He did have his silencing ability, but they knew where he was, and might just try to go after him if he made a run for it.

Maybe they have forgotten about me, Raider thought hopefully, watching as Hajax turned to face the Tuikas, all five of whom were now on the ground a few feet away from the Makuta, growling and snarling at him but otherwise not making any hostile moves. Perhaps they will be so focused on each other that I will be able to slip away and get off this island without ever being noticed. The Shadowed One absolutely needs to know about this.

“So,” said Hajax below, causing Raider to freeze and listen. He had developed a habit of knowing when someone was going to say something important over the years and was now applying it, despite knowing that it would be unwise to hang around here much longer than he should. “Now that that is out of the way, let us get back to business.”

Raider saw Skik step forward and snarl in a disbelieving tone, “Business? You have no right to bargain with us, Toa, or Makuta, or whatever you are. You will hand over the Sacrifice, or else we will kill you and take it ourselves.”

“But it depends, who is faster?” asked the Makuta. Raider saw that Hajax was holding a sword, which he hadn’t noticed there before. “Can you kill me before I kill her, which would make her useless for anything else other than stinking up the place? If I am correct, Oggak must be alive in order for you to initiate the Dividing. If she is dead, you have no point to live and you shall have let the Great Beings themselves down.”

“Skik, why do we even bother listen to this fool?” asked the Tuikas to his right, a bulky, white and teal monster, who batted his club against his free hand in anger. “He should have been dead long ago.”

“I should have, yes,” said Hajax, nodding. “But I think your leader knows that he is nowhere near fast enough to stop this blade from colliding with poor Oggak’s neck and divorcing her head from her body for good. If I am correct, while he believes he is the faster, he doesn’t want to take any unnecessary chances. Am I right, Skik?”

The Tuikas growled louder and more threateningly, but said nothing in reply. Hajax, it seemed, had gotten the best of him.

“Very good, then,” said Hajax, with what appeared to be a triumphant smile on his face. “Now here is the deal: I will give you Oggak on only one condition. If you do not choose to obey it, I will be forced to kill you and Oggak without mercy. But if you do, rest assured you will have your precious little Sacrifice eventually.”

“What is it?” Skik snapped. “We are listening.”

“You will obey me and help me on my conquest of the universe, in exchange for Oggak,” Hajax said shortly, which raised a storm of protest from all of the Tuikas before he added quickly, raising the blade, “or else she dies. You decide.”

That quieted the Tuikas up quickly, so instead they simply looked furious. Raider watched, daring not to breathe too loudly lest he miss even a word of the conversation that was going on below. He understood the importance of this situation; if the Tuikas said yes, then Hajax would most likely wage war against the Dark Hunters. If he did that, then the Dark Hunters may very well fall, what with the fact that the Brotherhood was also waging a vigorous campaign against Raider’s group as well.

But if I can get back to Odina and inform the Shadowed One of what has happened before they get off the island, we might stand a chance, Raider thought.

Making up his mind, Raider got up to leave. He knew nothing of this ‘Sacrifice’ business and honestly could care less about what it might mean. As far as he was concerned, whether a bunch of angry monsters got their hands on some obscure Toa was completely unimportant to the Dark Hunters.

What was important, however, was getting to Odina as quickly as possible. He wasn’t going to hang around and hear the Tuikas’ answer to Hajax’s demands; whether they said yes or no, something big would happen either way. With the Tuikas on his side, Hajax would have a good beginning conquering force, if the Tuikas were indeed the cause of the deaths of all those Dark Hunters who had been stationed here, as Raider believed. And if they said no . . . Well, Makuta were notorious for their charisma, and if left alone, Hajax might be able to raise his own army to conquer the universe in a few years. Either way would be bad for the Hunters unless they knew about it in advance.

Which is why I have to return to Odina, Raider thought, raising himself off the ground. Now more than ever, in fact.

But he had barely risen even a few inches when, all of a sudden, without warning, a fire bolt came seemingly out of nowhere and struck the ground between Hajax and the Tuikas, sending sparks and flames that made both parties stagger backwards in surprise.

“You trick the Tuikas?” Skik yelled over the sounds of the angry screeching coming from the others, “when we were about to make a deal? You’re a double-crosser, you-“

“It wasn’t me,” Hajax snapped, looking around for the source of the attack. “It was someone else!”

But who? Raider thought, crouching low in the ruined hut as he watched the forest, which was where he had seen the fire bolt come from. Who could have shot fire like that?

As he watched, hidden from view, he saw four beings emerge from the shadows of the trees, all wearing expressions of grim determination on their faces. He did not recognize the three Toa, though he supposed that the fire bolt must’ve came from the red-armored Toa of Fire who was apparently heavily wounded already, for he was leaning on the Toa of Iron for support as though he could not stand by himself.

The fourth being, however, he instantly recognized as Kigin, who looked rather angry as he whirled his mace above his head. Raider knew him because he had been the one to recruit Kigin many, many years ago when he had been on a mission in Kigin’s homeland, but wondered why he was allying himself with Toa. Raider remembered Kigin being very anti-Toa, both before and after he had joined the Dark Hunters because of a bad experience with them that he didn’t like to talk about much. Perhaps the threat of the Tuikas forced him to join forces with the Toa, Raider thought, though he doubted Kigin enjoyed it at all.

He briefly wondered what the Toa and Kigin were doing here when he heard Skik shout, “Toa! You have come to stop us from achieving our destiny?”

“That’s right,” he heard the Toa of Fire respond fiercely, watching as the four readied themselves for combat. “We’re going to rescue Oggak. That means we’re going to have to fight you, which we are all too willing to do after what we have been through these past few weeks. Of course, Hajax, you could just give her back to us and-“

“Never!” snarled Skik as he and the other Tuikas faced their foes, all of them looking ready for combat. “The Sacrifice is ours and ours alone! By the ordinances of the Great Beings, we shall have it and complete the Dividing!”

“Not unless we stop you first, Skik,” Kigin shouted, whirling his mace even faster above his head as he spoke. “I’m sick and tired of you. And whenever I get sick and tired of people, I kill them. I am sure you can figure out for yourselves what that means for all of you.”

“And we’re going to take down Hajax, too,” the Toa of Lightning added as she spun her staff expertly.

“Then let us fight!” Skik roared as the Tuikas shot off in the sky towards the four fighters, who charged down the hill towards the oncoming fliers. “Come, my fellow Tuikas! For the Great Beings! The Dividing! And our destiny!”

Review Topic

Chapter 22: Renewed Determination

“Oggak!” shouted Jokao, hobbling over to the spot where Hajax and Oggak had been seconds before, frantically looking around for any sign of them. “Oggak! Please answer me! Oggak! Come back!”

Jokao knew that they were gone, knew that he was in no position to save her, and knew she probably had no choice in whether she came back or not, but he didn’t care. Calling for her felt better than just standing around and looking shocked, in his opinion, even if he didn’t actually accomplish anything other than shout loudly.

He heard a groan of pain and, looking down, noticed Chimoy was still lying there. He looked battered and bruised, but still alive, fortunately. The Toa of Iron rolled onto his back and, raising his head a little, looked around the area in confusion.

“Where’d he go?” asked Chimoy, his Mask of Flight looking a little cracked in some places from the repeated bashings it had taken. “And where’s . . . where’s Oggak?”

“Hajax kidnapped her,” Akuna answered, walking over to him and helping him to his feet. She still looked angry, but she managed to keep it out of her voice as she addressed Chimoy. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” said Chimoy, leaning against the bars of the cell next to them, one hand holding his head. “My head hurts like crazy and I think my mask is broken, too.”

“We’ve got no time to sit here and complain about broken Kanohi,” said Jokao impatiently. He turned around and began heading to the stairs, intending to go after Hajax, wherever he may be. “Oggak’s been kidnapped by Hajax. We should go after them immediately. I don’t know what he plans to do with her, but we’ve got to stop him, no matter the cost.”

“But didn’t you hear what he just said?” asked Akuna, sounding exasperated. “Hajax said the Tuikas need her to destroy the universe. She kept that a secret from all of us, including you, Jokao, for a very long time. She did not bother to tell any of us why our friends were getting hurt or dying. If she had just been honest with us in the first place, I think it would have been much easier to fight the Tuikas, personally.”

“As much as I hate to agree with a Toa, I think she has a point,” said Kigin, who still looked a little dazed from Hajax’s mental attack on him, but otherwise seemed completely normal. Or his temper was, at least. “Oggak lied to us for no reason other than to save her own hide, apparently. If we do go after Hajax, I say we kill Oggak, too.”

“What? Why?” asked Jokao in surprise and horror. He was unable to comprehend what they were saying; didn’t they even care that she had just been kidnapped by Hajax without being allowed to say good bye, even? “What’d she ever do?”

“It’s what she hasn’t done that will get us all killed,” said Chimoy before Kigin could answer. He took a deep breath, one hand still on his head, and continued, “The Tuikas need her to destroy the universe. I doubt even Hajax will stand a chance against the five of them. So if the Tuikas manage to beat him and take Oggak-“

“We’re all dead,” Kigin finished for him. “Every single one of us will be dead. So I say, if we do go after him, we kill Oggak, too, so the Tuikas won’t ever get a chance to kill m- er, all of us.”

“But how do we know Hajax was even telling the truth?” Jokao demanded. “He’s a Makuta; aren’t Makuta liars and deceivers?”

Kigin laughed, which was a laugh devoid of any mirth. “Didn’t you see and hear Oggak’s reaction when we started accusing her, right before Hajax disappeared? She didn’t say anything to contradict him and actually tried to justify – that’s if she ever could – her actions, so I doubt it’s just another Makuta lie, personally.”

“I don’t know about killing her,” said Akuna, her tone obviously bitter. “But I think Nastan had a point about her. She deliberately lied to us about what the Tuikas wanted, and probably even about their origin, too. I mean, if she truly trusted us, or even liked us, she would have told us what the Tuikas really were and what they really wanted. It was because of her that all of those innocent Matoran and, er, not-so-innocent Dark Hunters died. And I just can’t help but think that if we just knew this before, we probably could have stopped the Tuikas a long time ago.”

Jokao wanted to retaliate, but somehow he just couldn’t think of a good defense. He hated to admit it, but there was some truth to her words; if Oggak had selfish reasons for keeping it a secret, maybe she wasn’t so trustworthy after all. Had their friendship – no, their entire relationship – been built on nothing but lies? What else was she keeping secret? Did she even consider him a real friend? Or was it all just a fraud?

He did not want to hate her, though. He still loved her and wanted to keep on loving her. He didn’t want to say a bad thing about her – at least not right now, in the situation that she was currently in – and wanted to save her, regardless of whether the others agreed or not. He would ask her himself about her motives once he saved her from Hajax.

“But would it have been any easier to stop the Tuikas, even if she had told us the truth in the first place?” Jokao asked, a little harsher than he had intended, though the pain in his legs was growing almost intolerable, so this was how he chose to express his pain without screaming horribly. “It wouldn’t have made them any weaker or easier to defeat or anything, would it?”

“I suppose not,” said Akuna with a shrug. “But still . . . If she truly trusted us, why didn’t she just go ahead and tell us? Didn’t she consider us friends?”

“She did, but-“

“But nothing,” Kigin interrupted, swinging his arm sharply away from his chest. “She’s too dangerous to keep alive. We go and stop Hajax and her, before it’s too late.”

“Hey, she’s not working with him of her own free will, you know,” said Jokao and for a moment the temperature rose in the room before returning back to normalcy. He took a deep breath and said, in a slightly calmer voice, “It’s not like they were secretly collaborating or anything. She’s always wanted to have real friends; that’s what she told me a while ago. Maybe she wasn’t too good at it, if she was still keeping secrets like that, but I believe her motives were pure. Whatever you may say, she’s still my friend and I am going to rescue her whether you guys think I should or not.”

“Have whatever opinion you want of her, but it doesn’t change the facts,” said Chimoy, shaking his head, which he immediately ceased doing, for it seemed to hurt him. “She may or may not have wanted friends for real – I don’t know – but don’t you think she could have been a lot more honest, though? Why did she have to lie to gain friends like that?”

“Because she obviously knew that none of us would accept her or want to be friends with her if we knew the truth,” Kigin snapped. He grabbed his head and muttered, “Ow. My head still hurts . . .”

“What Kigin said,” said Chimoy, nodding. “I mean, not the part about his head hurting (though I admit mine does, too) but the part about us not accepting her if she told us the truth. I can’t see any of us wanting someone like her on Shika Nui with the knowledge that the Tuikas are continually going after her and are willing to do whatever it takes to get her. She probably thought we would kick her off or tell her to go away instead of staying around here any longer, which means she would never get any true friends.”

“That, and the fact she’s a Toa of Shadow – who are the biggest liars and deceivers ever – may have had something to do with it,” Akuna added in agreement. “It may have been part of her instincts to make up some sort of elaborate lie to deceive us with, though that doesn’t mean we should let her off the-“

“I don’t care what you say,” said Jokao, turning to the stairs again. They were wasting time. Who knew what Hajax could be doing to Oggak now? “I’m tired of arguing. The more we talk the more time we waste. I’m going to save her, regardless of where she is, even if I have to go by myself.”

He turned to Turaga Joha, who had been rather quiet during this discussion and said, “Sir, what do you think? Should we go or shouldn’t we? Just so you know, I’m still going regardless of whatever you say, but out of respect for your leadership I am asking for your opinion.”

Joha wiped the sweat off his mask, looking a little indecisive. “Difficult to say, Jokao. As you have already said, you will go no matter what I or anyone else will say. But you are in no condition to be running around after Makuta and Tuikas, even if I agree that saving Oggak would be the right thing to do. I’m no doctor, but even I can tell your legs have still not healed up completely yet.”

“I don’t care if I rip my legs up trying to save her,” said Jokao, growing increasingly impatient the longer he was kept at bay. “I don’t even care if I die because I . . .” He hesitated, and then plunged recklessly ahead. “Because I love her. That’s why, even if . . . even if no one else does.”

There was silence at these words. And Jokao, his impatience nearing the breaking point, tried to hobble forward after deciding that no one would want to come with him. He had known it the minute they had voiced their doubts about Oggak; with those kinds of attitudes, he understood why they would not want to help him rescue her.

But then he felt someone’s hand grab his shoulder. He figured someone was trying to stop him from going, even though he had already told them he would not be stopped no matter what they said or did. After all, if he didn’t save Oggak, then who would?

So turning around, intending to tell that person off for trying to stop him, he was slightly surprised to see that the hand belonged to Chimoy, who looked different, somehow. He seemed to be on the verge of saying something he didn’t want to, but was going to anyway.

“Jokao,” said Chimoy, after taking a deep breath. He looked reluctant, though determined. “Akuna and I shall accompany you on your rescue mission. Despite what we’ve said, we both realize what will happen if we let Hajax get away; the Tuikas might succeed in their destiny or plan or whatever it was and everyone and everything we care about will be destroyed. If we – the only ones with the power to stop them – just sat here and did nothing and let the Tuikas destroy the universe, we wouldn’t be true heroes. We would not really be Toa; just people who look like Toa.”

“Chimoy’s right,” said Akuna, joining them with an expression of determination on her face that resembled the one Nastan sometimes wore. “Maybe this will be our last stand, the final time we can do anything to save the universe. Well, I don’t want any of us to die – especially Nastan – so I’m going with you, like Chimoy said. It’s what a true Toa would do. How’s about we save the universe one more time, eh?”

Despite himself, Jokao smiled. He felt relieved to know he wasn’t going alone; as brave as he was, he wasn’t sure he could take on both the Tuikas and Hajax all on his own with two badly damaged legs. He thought he would likely collapse from the sheer pain he was experiencing or something, so he felt grateful that they wanted to come along and help, even knowing that they would be taking on not only Hajax, but the remaining Tuikas as well.

“I’ll come along, too,” said Kigin suddenly. He took a deep breath, evidently trying to relieve his head of the pain, and said, “I have a bone to pick with Hajax and the Tuikas. They’re both enemies of the Dark Hunters, which automatically makes them my enemies. I’m not going to let them get away that easily, even if they do manage to kill the universe itself. If they do succeed, I will make sure that they are the first to die.”

“But you won’t kill Oggak, will you?” asked Jokao quickly.

“No, I won’t,” said Kigin with a slight sigh. “If we manage to stop Hajax and the Tuikas, I won’t even touch her.”

“Good,” said Jokao, relieved.

“It is wonderful to see you going to rescue a dear friend,” said Joha, who still looked a little worried. “But Jokao, it still might not be good for your legs. I am merely concerned that you may not be in top fighting form once you actually find and confront Hajax.”

“Define ‘fighting condition,’ Turaga,” Kigin muttered, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. “My head still feels like someone came through with a heavy hammer and aimed especially for my brain.”

Ignoring Kigin, Jokao said to Joha, in an exasperated voice, “I have already told you. My legs have healed up fine and I’m going regardless of what you may say. No disrespect meant, Turaga; just saying.”

“Fine,” said Joha, in a half-amused, half-resigned-sounding voice. He stood out of Jokao’s path and gestured to the stairs. “I shall inform the Matoran of this recent turn of events. Take whatever you may need; food, water, weapons, you name it. Also, try to find Igici and Nastan; they’re still out there, and if they encounter Hajax or the Tuikas or even worse, both, they may not last long at all on their own.”

Jokao nodded and smiled slightly. “Thank you, Turaga. Now let’s go, guys. We’ve got a friend to save.”

-

Hajax and Oggak materialized out of thin air in the town square of the ruins of Kra-Koro, the original settlement of the Kra-Matoran tribe, which was located in the mountains of Shika Nui. It was all but empty now, with absolutely no sign of life within its stone walls, as though time itself had stopped here, holding its breath for whatever would happen next.

But Oggak had no time to worry about the perpetual darkness that shrouded the village, nor the cold wind that cut through her body like a knife. She was trying to figure out a way to escape Hajax even as the Makuta scanned the area for any sign of the Tuikas.

“Where are they?” asked Hajax, looking this way and that for the monsters. “I was certain they would be here.” He glared at Oggak and growled, “Tell me where they are, Oggak, or I’ll make you tell me. Believe me, I can make you talk if I wish, since I am a master torturer and know a variety of ways to make people tell me what I want them to tell me.”

Oggak looked defiantly at Hajax and said, “I’m not telling you. My mind is shielded from all mental intrusion – designed to stop intruders from learning the secrets of the Order, especially Makuta such as yourself – and I won’t talk, no matter how much you may torture me.”

Hajax smiled in a rather chilling way. “What would be keeping quiet accomplish for you, my friend?” He brought her closer and breathed, “You have no one to return to. The others know all about your dirty little secret now, Oggak, and I doubt any of them are happy about it. After all, just when Jokao was insisting that you were good, honest, trustworthy . . . you went ahead and broke his trust like a thin twig. I can simply see him now, on his knees, cursing your soul to the very depths of Karzahni itself. So naturally, Oggak, I have no reason to torture you to get the information; you have no reason to keep secrets anymore, so you may as well tell me where the Tuikas are and be done with it.”

“Jokao would never curse me,” said Oggak, though even she caught the hint of doubt in her voice that she was feeling deep down inside. “He loves me . . . and I love him. You can go to Karzahni yourself, Hajax, and take the Tuikas with you, too. I’m sure they would love it there.”

Hajax shook his head sadly. “How idiotic. I knew you Toa were all unbelievably naïve and loyal to the point of idiocy, but you bring it to an all-time low, Oggak. Really, is it so much for me to ask where the Tuikas are? I need to negotiate with them, after all, if I am to claim the universe for myself soon.”

“I said no,” she snapped, struggling fiercely to break free, though he managed to hold her well. “You can go find them yourself.”

“Is there a point to this stupid defiance?” asked Hajax, who sounded irritated. “Is it because you think Jokao still loves you? Or that anyone back in Koro Nui even likes you anymore? I can’t see something like this staying a secret for long. Most likely Kigin or one of the Toa Shika has already told the Matoran of what has happened. Wouldn’t surprise me if all they want now is to see you dead.”

“The Matoran love and trust me,” said Oggak. “They won’t hate me, no matter what I have done or said. I am their protector, and I will protect them from monsters like you!”

She then struck him with a blast of shadow energy, causing Hajax to cry out in pain and let her go. She stumbled backwards a bit, then whirled around and began bombarding him with shadow blast upon shadow blast, repeatedly hitting the same spot over and over again. Dust was in the air now, obscuring her vision, but she didn’t need to see well to know that she had nailed Hajax.

I’m not going to let him live, Oggak thought, furiously shooting as cold sweat dripped down her forehead. Even if he’s in Barilo’s body, he’s too much of a threat to leave alive.

So she kept repeatedly firing until finally, exhausted, she let her arms drop to her side, breathing hard as she looked deep into the thick dust cloud that floated in the air before her. Much to her relief, she could not see Hajax anymore, though that may have had to do with the fact that the dust was so thick rather than the fact that she had destroyed him. Still, she felt hopeful, for she could not see his silhouette anymore.

That was when a bolt of lightning struck her directly in the back, causing her to shriek in pain as she hit the dirt streets of Kra-Koro. She tried to get back to her feet, but was pinned to the ground when a powerful foot smashed into her back. She could barely move as the foot’s weight pressed hard on her back.

“You thought that you had gotten the best of me? Pathetic,” said Hajax from somewhere above her. “Your foolish attempts at escape were destined to fail from the very beginning. You should never have even tried. All it amounted to was being a big, unnecessary waste of time, and nothing else.”

He lifted his foot off her back and then roughly raised Oggak back to her feet. Turning her around to face him, he redoubled his grip on her again and brought her face close to his. She saw anger in his eyes, yet also noticed he seemed to be impressed, which somehow looked even more disturbing and threatening than his anger did.

“Now tell me,” he hissed. “Tell me where the Tuikas are, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

“Find them yourself,” she snapped with what little energy she had left. She was too weak to try to break free of his grip, but she wasn’t going to submit to him yet.

Hajax actually smiled and the impressed look in his eyes became even more prominent as he studied her. “You still have some spunk left in you . . . You will make a fine queen for me once I am king of the universe. Not to mention you are quite beautiful as well . . . All the trappings of a true queen, I’d say. It’s just that pesky hatred of me you possess that I will have to deal with someday.”

“I already told you I don’t want to be your queen,” Oggak said fiercely. “You’re insane.”

“That’s what they all say,” said Hajax with a shrug. “But since you are obviously won’t be talking any time soon, I may act on my next best guess as to where the Tuikas might be right now. However, since I know you will simply squirm and try to get away from me, I will have to knock you out lest you should somehow escape my grasp.”

He raised one armored fist and smashed it into the side of her head with enough force to send her whole world into darkness. But she was still conscious enough to feel Hajax hoist her on his shoulder and then teleport away with Oggak, to a location unknown to her.

-

Nastan decided that today was the worst day of his life, even worse than his brief period as a Toa of Shadow. And that had been quite bad.

He was trapped in the ruins of a village – a village he had even lived in at one point – with a crazed sniper trying to kill him. He was also trapped with a Dark Hunter, a wounded one at that, and they had no way to escape alive, lest they expose themselves to the flurry of bullets that were burying themselves in the fragile stone wall they were using for protection, which looked as though it would fall apart any minute now from all of the hits it was taking.

And to make matters worse, Death had just pointed out the Tuikas to him, which were flying nearby. Though they did not seem to have noticed the two of them, Nastan was worried just the same. If they attacked Koro Nui, as he suspected was their current plan, then Akuna or one of the others might die. He thought about Nonzra and Addis and decided that he didn’t want to have to go through something like that again, especially if it was Akuna who died this time.

But he was in no position to rush back to the fortress and warn them of the Tuikas or help in any way at all. He was frustrated by this helplessness; he felt like a dumb Rahi being played with by a sadistic hunter who was only prolonging their inevitable deaths because it amused him to do so.

That’s probably how he sees us, Nastan thought, rolling over onto his back to look up at the five approaching Tuikas. He wondered if he could hit them from here, possibly distract them from Koro Nui, but then remembered that Icetraz had destroyed his bow earlier. That’s probably all he sees anyone as . . . and that’s what he wants his victims to feel like; poor, dumb, helpless animals that are only live because he wants to savor the hunt, and nothing else.

“If the Tuikas spot us, we’ll have to run for it,” said Death, whose voice was surprisingly calm despite the tense situation they were in. “Even if it means Raider gets us. We can’t defend ourselves properly from this place. Too open and we are both weaponless. We should try to find an intact hut to defend from for at least a little while.”

“What would be the point, though?” asked Nastan, who felt defeated and frustrated. “With both the Tuikas and Raider gunning for us, with absolutely no reinforcements to call for backup, I can’t see us lasting long in the open, if at all.”

“Funny, I thought you Toa were supposed to be brave heroes who never gave up until you breathed your last breath,” Death commented in his calm voice, though Nastan caught the sarcasm in it, which annoyed him. “Yet you’re giving up already?”

“Hey, I’m brave,” said Nastan, raising his head a little higher with an annoyed expression on his face. “I’m just being realistic. We may both be good fighters, but since neither the Tuikas nor Raider play fair, and since the Tuikas have too much power than they should have, we both will probably go down pretty quickly.”

“Raider plays fair,” said Death, shaking his head, evidently trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder. “He just likes to play fairly by his own rules.”

“Right,” said Nastan. He looked up and noticed something odd in the sky. Pointing upwards, he said, “What’s wrong with the Tuikas? Looks like one of them got injured.”

As Nastan watched, he saw the Tuikas named Skik falter slightly in the sky. Even from here, the Toa of The Green could see what appeared to be blood oozing from somewhere around Skik’s chest. He figured Skik must have got hurt or something, since the other Tuikas had apparently stopped to check up on him. He hoped Skik had gotten a fatal injury, though he figured he was being too optimistic.

“Raider must’ve got ‘im,” said Death, watching the Tuikas, too. “He’s being incredibly stupid, attacking the Tuikas like that. He’s going to get himself killed if he keeps this up.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess,” said Nastan, lowering his head again. “Maybe if he’s preoccupied with the Tuikas, we’ll be able to escape while they’re fighting.”

“That won’t work,” said Death, shaking his head again. “Raider’s got a good eye. The minute he spots us trying to escape – even if the Tuikas do begin to attack him – we’ll be dead. Better not risk it ‘til we’re sure he is too distracted by them to worry about us.”

Nastan sighed exasperatedly. “But that may take forever! I’m getting sick of lying here in the dirt, hiding behind walls like a coward. I want to get back home now and get back to Akuna. This place stinks of death and burnt wood neither of which smells all that good and both of which are extremely nauseating. I’m leaving.”

He began to sit up, but then Death pushed him back down with surprising strength and demanded, “Are you crazy? Once Raider sees you, he’ll calculate where to hit you, which bullet to use, when to hit you, and more, all in less than three seconds. I’ve been on a mission with him once or twice myself; and believe me, whenever anybody tried to escape – no matter how quiet they may think they were being, even if they thought they were escaping completely unnoticed by either of us – they die. No exceptions save for whenever he’s supposed to bring somebody in as a prisoner. All he does then is cripple them for life usually, or at least make sure that their wounds are bad enough so they will have a difficult time healing quickly, if at all.”

“You sound frightened of him.”

“I am,” said Death, staring at him hard. “It is the wisest way to regard him.”

“Well, I suppose I am a little frightened of him now,” said Nastan slowly, his hands on the ground, staring at the dirt, pretending to be lost in thought, “but not enough to keep me from wanting to escape this ruin and get back home.”

He then leapt to his feet, taking Death by surprise, and without waiting, without even listening to the Dark Hunter’s protests he darted to the right, his eyes on the partly intact hut ahead. He would duck in there for a few minutes and then continue on to the next hut and repeat the process until he reached the forest. It would be easy to do, since Raider seemed to be too busy with the Tuikas to bother with a Toa such as himself. After all, Raider hadn’t shot him yet, had he?

I doubt he’s really as good as Death says he is, Nastan thought dismissively as he leapt over a crater. Probably just rumors spread to scare beings who are not as brave as I. Well, I don’t-

He felt a hot, burning sensation in his right leg as a bullet tore through his armor and organic tissue underneath. He yelled out in pain and missed the landing; he hit the ground face first, groaning loudly as he lay there. He looked down at his leg and saw blood splattered all over it, with an ugly bullet wound in his shin, just above his ankle. He could also see, glistening in the dull sunlight overhead, a silvery bullet lodged firmly in the wound. He did not think he would be able to get it out it without special tools of some kind, which he didn’t have with him at the moment, unfortunately, though he figured he could still crawl if he tried.

He’s better than I thought, then, Nastan thought, trying to crawl to the nearest standing wall for cover, which seemed to be miles away, even though it was more like ten or twenty feet at most. Much better, unfortunately for me.

His thoughts were interrupted by a terrible and familiar screech in the sky overhead. He glanced up and saw with dread that the five Tuikas – no longer inspecting Skik anymore – were rocketing towards the village with deadly speed. He guessed they were looking for Raider, but the thought brought no relief to his troubled mind.

He then realized that up to this point, he had been so naively certain, even after the deaths of Nonzra and Addis that he would never fall in battle. That was part of the reason he was a brave Toa; besides the fact that that was what Toa were supposed to be, he mainly thought that he would always come out on top of any challenge he faced and save the day, no matter the odds, despite coming very closer to death many times since his transformation into a Toa hero.

But now? Lying here, with a bullet wedged deeply in his leg, lying defenseless on the ground with no weapon of any kind? How did he feel now? What did he think his chances of surviving were?

Well, he thought he would be lucky if his corpse managed to come out even vaguely recognizable to the others once the Tuikas were done with it.

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Chapter 21: Target Locked

Nastan leapt out of the way of a bolt of ice, which shattered the stone wall that he had been standing in front of into pieces. He was tired, hungry, thirsty, and in pain, but he couldn’t stop now. One false move and he would become the most realistic Toa ice sculpture ever. Considering he doubted that Akuna would be very happy to see him frozen, he didn’t think it would be a very good thing.

It didn’t help that he was mostly helpless against Icetraz. Control over plant life was fine in certain situations, but since he had no time to do anything but jump and dodge it seemed rather useless at the moment. He almost wished he had Death’s ability to generate lava balls out of thin air; at least that way he could be somewhat useful.

“Traitor!” shouted Icetraz. Nastan was amazed at the way he could fire Cordak missiles with one hand and shoot ice bolts with the other like that, though that only made him even more dangerous in his opinion. “Filthy Toa! Traitorous, filthy Toa!”

Nastan wanted to correct him on that, since Nastan had never been a Dark Hunter in his entire life and had never betrayed them in any definition of the word. However, Icetraz looked too crazy to listen to logic and reason and seemed to be merely spouting out words and phrases at random, regardless of whether they made sense or not.

Death leapt over a missile and flung about three lava balls at Icetraz, which blew up at his feet, sending Icetraz flying through the air with a shout as he hit the ground hard, temporarily stunned by the impact of the explosion and resulting crash.

Nastan took advantage of this moment and made extremely thick tree roots burst out of the ground and wrap themselves tightly around Icetraz’s body. Icetraz struggled against his bonds, but failed to break them; he was effectively captured.

“Let me go!” Icetraz shouted, his eyes bulging in rage. “Let me go, or I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you to death!”

Death quickly ran over and wrenched the two Cordak blasters out of Icetraz’s hands and tossed them to the side. He then took a few quick steps away from Icetraz, out of the ex-leader’s reach, just in case.

“You’re in no position to threaten us, Icetraz,” Death told him coldly. “Got that?”

“But I am the leader of the Dark Hunters of Shika Nui!” Icetraz bellowed, and Nastan saw with horror that the roots were beginning to crack at the strain that Icetraz was putting on them. Fortunately, though, they looked like they would hold for at least a little while longer. “I deserve respect, even from those who have renounced the organization! You should free me, and after that, let me kill you!”

“Yeah, that’s the problem,” said Nastan, rubbing his legs as he sat down on a piece of rubble, sighing in relief. He was glad that the battle was over, if temporarily, but was ready to continue if necessary. “We would let you go if you wouldn’t kill us, I think. We could become the best of friends, you know.” Nastan said that in a very sarcastic voice; he couldn’t imagine him ever becoming best friends with Icetraz, or any other Dark Hunter, for that matter.

Missing the sarcasm, Icetraz snapped, “I would never be friends with Toa! Never!”

“What’s up with him?” Nastan asked Death, bored. “Has he always been this crazy or what?”

“I’m not sure,” said Death with a shrug. “He was far saner before, but I think that fight he had with that Makuta Hajax really messed him up or something.”

“Why are you whispering like cowards?” Icetraz bellowed again and one of the roots actually snapped off his chest he was struggling so hard. “Speak to me like men!”

“Yes, he’s very crazy,” said Death offhandedly, looking at the Dark Hunter as though he were some kind of unimportant interruption. “What should we do with him? Leave him here or take him with us?”

“I’m surprised you didn’t suggest we kill him,” Nastan said. “Gone soft since the Tuikas started attacking, have you?”

Death shot him an irritable look and said, “I’m not as bad as other Hunters, you know. So stop implying that I am. I do think you may have a point, however. Unless he changes his mind soon, we may be forced to-“

“I . . . must . . . be . . . free!” Icetraz shouted suddenly.

Flexing his thick, powerful muscles, the strong tree roots that had been holding him down snapped loudly as he jumped to his feet, his hands raised and ready to fire two bolts of ice, eyes glinting insanely as cold energy began crackling around the palms of his hands.

“Too late, fools! Today you both die!” Icetraz screamed.

There was no way to dodge; Icetraz was too close and had moved too fast. Neither Nastan nor Death had been prepared for something like this. All Icetraz had to do was get off two shots, and they would both be as good as dead.

But then something very odd happened at that moment. Icetraz was still ranting, but his breathing became heavier and slower and he was beginning to take deeper breaths. The light in his eyes was rapidly fading and the ice energy dissipated in his hands even as some kind of reddish liquid came rapidly trickling out of the side of his mouth like water in a fountain.

For a moment, Nastan, watching in shock, wondered what the reddish liquid was. Then he realized it was blood, but too late. Icetraz, breathing harder than ever, gasped loudly for air and fell forwards onto the ground, blood flowing freely from now-exposed his skull all over his back. He stopped moving and seemed to stop breathing, too. As far as Nastan could tell, Icetraz was dead, but what had killed him, Nastan didn’t know, though he was far too shocked to think much about it.

Death looked confused at first, too, but in a minute his eyes widened with horror and, grabbing Nastan roughly, he shouted, “Get down! He’s here!”

He forced Nastan down behind a stone wall even as the ex-Dark Hunter cried out in pain. Nastan hit the ground hard, both surprised and angry at this sudden move. He also felt extremely uncomfortable with Death on his back like this, but fortunately the ex-Hunter got off him, groaning in pain, allowing Nastan to sit up, glare at Death, and indignantly asked, “What was that for?”

“Keep your head down!” Death snapped, pushing his hand down on Nastan’s head hard. “Don’t give him a target!”

“Get your hands off me!” Nastan hissed, though he kept low just the same, for Death looked very serious. “And don’t give who a-?“

He heard a sharp crack and, glancing at the wall, saw a bullet made out of some kind of silvery metal was embedded into the stone. He was surprised that such a little thing could have pierced the thick rock, but then another bullet of the same material struck a few feet above it, followed closely by a third.

“Who’s shooting at us?” Nastan asked, starting to feel tense and frightened. “Kigin?”

“Not Kigin, you fool,” Death hissed, his hand gripping his shoulder as another bullet caught in the wall behind them. “Raider.”

“Who?”

“The Legendary Dark Hunter,” Death said, wincing in pain a moment before continuing. “He’s the only one I know that has a rifle which shoots totally silently. No one has ever been able to hear the bullets quick enough to dodge, because by the time they realize he’s aiming for them they are usually dead – if they ever even learn that he was there in the first place, that is. I was lucky. I knew he was there, so I only got a minor wound.”

He lifted his hand off his shoulder, revealing an ugly wound which was bleeding all over his armor. Nastan recoiled slightly at the disgusting sight even as Death covered it up again.

“I think he got Icetraz,” Death continued. Nastan was surprised at how well Death was ignoring the pain in his shoulder like that, as the wound had looked pretty bad to him. “I don’t know why, but perhaps the Shadowed One sent him here to kill Icetraz.”

“But who is Raider, exactly?” asked Nastan, both in frustration and confusion. “You only told me he’s the ‘Legendary’ Dark Hunter and has a silent gun. What’s so ‘Legendary’ about him?”

“Raider was one of the very first – and one of the very oldest – members to join the Dark Hunters,” Death explained hurriedly as more bullets pelted the barrier. “Some say he joined right after the Shadowed One and Ancient formed the organization, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he is one of the best and is a living legend among the Dark Hunters. He once raided and captured an entire island all by himself, Nastan.”

“What?” Nastan said in shock. “He took over an entire island by himself?”

“Precisely,” said Death, glancing over the wall for a split second before getting down low again. “He is one of the most successful members of the Dark Hunters and is held in high esteem by the Shadowed One. Unlike others, though, he works by stealth; he even has the ability to eliminate all sound he makes, so even if you happen to have the best hearing in the universe, he could still follow you for years and years and you would never know he was there unless you saw him or had been told he was following you.”

A part of the wall which they hid behind suddenly went flying and collided hard with the back of Nastan’s head. Cursing softly and rubbing the spot that had been hit, Nastan looked down and saw a bullet wedged right in the center of the fragment that had hit him.

He soon got a much closer look at it than he would have liked, for the next moment, Death pushed him straight down while yelling, “Down! Don’t give him a target!”

“Okay!” said Nastan, now lying uncomfortably flat on the ground, which he figured was the safest place to be at the moment. “I know!”

“Whenever Raider’s got an eye on someone, that person never comes out alive,” said Death harshly to Nastan. “I have heard stories of a powerful Turaga who, after hearing rumors that Raider had been sent after him, went hiding in the most obscure part of the universe, deep underneath the earth with several bodyguards keep a watch on all exits and entries. Yet somehow, Raider not only killed the Turaga but took out all of the bodyguards, too. He is that good; he has successfully completed each and every mission he has been given with near perfection, or so I have been told.”

“Well, what’s he doing on Shika Nui, then?” asked Nastan, annoyed at the way Death was snapping at him like that. “Didn’t you say he was after Icetraz?”

“It seems so, but I just can’t imagine how he got here in the first place or how long he has been here,” said Death, crouching lower behind the stone wall as another bullet went flying overhead. “Why didn’t the Tuikas get him? How did he survive the Tuikas? Then again, this is Raider I am talking about; if he wants to get somewhere, he gets there. Always, regardless of whoever or whatever is in his way, even if it takes a while.”

-

Raider calmly reloaded his rifle with another soundless bullet and took aim. He had already taken out Icetraz; he went down fairly quickly, since he had left the back of his head wide open for Raider to easily snipe.

But Death and the Toa seemed to have realized he was there, or at least Death had, for they were hiding behind the ruins of one of the huts now. The Toa’s head had been briefly exposed for a couple of seconds earlier, but had disappeared just as quickly. Now all he had to do was wait for them to come out and play. And he had all day to do it, too.

Still, he was beginning to feel restless. True, he had done what he was supposed to do – kill Icetraz – but he wanted to make a clean job of it and get rid of them at the same time. He was patient, of course – he had waited an entire week for this moment – but he also wished they would simply come out and let him shoot them. Then he could return to Odina to inform the Shadowed One of what happened on Shika Nui and return with reinforcements to retake the island.

Assuming there are any left for me to take, Raider thought as he fired a shot, remembering how the Dark Hunters were still at war with the Brotherhood with little troops to spare for anything that did not relate to the war effort. I may very well have to take this island all by myself. Oh well . . . I did it once. I could so easily do it again.

It may have seemed wasteful to simply fire at the ruins over and over again without really doing much more than making the place look worse than it already did, but there was a method to Raider’s madness. He figured that eventually – whether it will be Death or that Toa – one of them would become so frightened that he would attempt to make a run for it. Of course, the Legendary Dark Hunter seriously doubted that whoever it was wouldn’t get more than five paces before he found one of Raider’s silent bullets buried within his skull.

He was about to fire another shot – he had thought he had seen Death’s head exposed – when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, something flying in the clouds above that should not be there. Several somethings, in fact, were among the clouds.

He focused his attention a bit more closely on the things in the sky and saw five monstrous-looking Rahi, apparently flying of their power, soaring through the skies towards the fortress in the opposite direction. He recognized two of them as the beasts that had attacked him when he had reached Shika Nui a week ago, but the other three were unfamiliar to him, though he figured the unknown three must be the friends of the other two.

It did not take him long to recall his theory about how those monsters might be the real cause of Shika Nui’s downfall. He debated whether he should try to shoot them down or not. He thought he might be able to kill them, but he didn’t want to end up fighting all five of them at once in case he didn’t.

If I aim at them, then I may let myself open to attacks from Death and the Toa, Raider thought, his mind quickly processing this information. But if I don’t, I may let the true threats escape. And if that happens, I have no doubt in my mind that the Shadowed One would not be pleased. Assuming, of course, that these beasts are the ones responsible for the elimination all of the Dark Hunters here, as I believe they are.

He bent down a little closer to the earth – he didn’t want to give Death or the Toa an easy target – and took aim at the approaching beasts. They still seemed unaware of his presence, so he took aim at the one in the lead, a red and blue armored bat-like monster. He decided to shoot it in the neck, which appeared to be its weak point. He was slightly worried that he might miss, however, since they were moving pretty fast and he was already having enough trouble aiming as it is.

I’ll just have to shoot fast, then, he decided and, making sure his aim was as perfect as can be, swiftly pulled the trigger.

A silvery bullet went flying out of the rifle’s barrel, straight into the sky. Raider waited, watching the monsters fly. He had aimed a little bit ahead of his target, so that the monster would fly into the bullet for him. He knew it would hit; he had one of the best aims in the Dark Hunters and could hit almost anything, regardless of where it was or how high up in the sky it might be.

Sure enough, he saw the read and blue being suddenly falter, blood dripping from a wound in its chest. Odd, he thought as he watched it slow down in midair, he had been aiming for the throat and seemed to have struck its chest instead. Must’ve been moving faster than my bullet, he concluded.

He watched as the other four monsters stopped and flew back to check up on their companion. Raider smiled; this would make them so much easier to hit, gathered together as they were.

So, taking aim yet again, he remembered just how beautiful the sport of hunting really was – and how nice the heads of these monsters would look mounted on the wall in his room back on Odina.

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Chapter 20: He Escapes

The first thing Makuta Hajax realized was that his head was hurting like crazy. It felt like someone had hit it with a heavy sledge hammer many times in rapid succession. It didn’t help that he was apparently lying on cold, hard stone floor, with not even so much as a pillow to lay his head upon to ease the pain.

The next thing he realized was that he was bound with some kind of metal chains. They felt tight and sturdy, but he had no doubt in his mind that he could snap them if he really tried. However, he felt too weak at the moment to do anything other than toss and turn in his sleep in a vain attempt to find a softer bit of floor to rest upon.

He could also hear voices talking lowly nearby and caught a rotten yet distinct scent in his nostrils. The smell was like the kind he knew in the dungeons of the Dark Hunters’ fortress, which at first didn’t make sense to him. After all, no one knew he was Barilo and-

It was then that it all came rushing back to him in one swift stroke. Oggak confessing the secrets of the Tuikas to him . . . their brief fight . . . which ended with Oggak knocking him out cold with a well-placed punch. He remembered all of those things, and much more, but none of it explained why he was chained up in the dungeons for.

Have I been captured? he thought, rolling around a little in his chains, which were very uncomfortable. Maybe Oggak bound me and put me here to prevent me from attacking the others. That would explain it.

So now that all of those little mysteries are solved, I might as well break free.

Without opening his eyes, he swiftly shattered the chains that bound his body. But the minute he did so, he heard a gasp from somewhere nearby and new chains appeared and constricted his body. They felt stronger and thicker than the previous chains; he wondered how long it would take him to snap these.

“Stop struggling,” he heard someone’s voice say. It was hard to tell who it belonged to, though he thought it sounded older and slightly hoarse. “Don’t make us have to hurt you, Barilo.”

“I am telling you, Turaga, he is not Barilo.” That voice, he realized, most definitely belonged to Oggak, and based on who it was addressing, he thought the first voice must have belonged to Joha. “He’s Makuta Hajax. He told me himself.”

“That’s really difficult for me to believe, Oggak,” said another voice, which sounded distinctly like Akuna’s. “Have you any proof?”

“Well, no, I don’t,” he heard her admit. “But trust me on this: He’s not who he says he is. He tried to hurt me.”

Hajax rolled over onto his side and opened his eyes to get a better look at his environment and find out who was talking to whom.

He was indeed inside the dark dungeons of Koro Nui, for he could see several rusted, thick bars that separated his cell from the rest of the room in front of him and the stench was just as bad as he remembered it being, if not worse.

He also noticed several others beings standing on the other side of the bars. One of them was holding a torch, giving enough light for them to see him and for him to see them, though being a Makuta, he merely found the light annoying and didn’t need it to see in the dark, unlike the others.

Turaga Joha stood in front of the jail cell, with Oggak standing right behind him. Next to her was Akuna, who looked puzzled and a little frightened. And near Akuna was Chimoy, who wore a similar expression to Akuna’s, except more curious than frightened. Kigin also stood there, but he, unlike Chimoy, did appear curious at all, but rather looked like he was thinking of the best way to kill Hajax should he prove to be a threat.

Hajax also noticed that a red-armored Toa holding a torch was standing among them, whom he identified as Jokao. At first, he wondered how the Toa of Fire was managing to stand, considering how badly his legs had been damaged, but then noticed that he had a stick he was leaning on. One of Oggak’s hands was resting firmly on his shoulder, too, perhaps to help balance him. Jokao looked pale to Hajax, though slightly better than he had a week before, but he didn’t seem to have regained all of his former strength yet.

“Look, he’s awake,” said Jokao, pointing at Hajax with his walking stick before placing it back on the ground to avoid falling over. “Barilo or Hajax or whoever he is, he’s awake.”

Joha was standing closest to the bars and looked tired, yet interested. He peered in closer at the bound Hajax, who looked back at him with a politely confused expression on his face. Though Hajax felt angry and indignant for being in this position, he was not going to fall for whatever interrogation techniques they had in mind; so long as only Oggak knew he was Hajax and had no proof, he would be safe.

“Hello, Barilo,” said Joha gently, tapping his staff against the bars. “Do you know why you are here?”

Faking surprise, Hajax looked around and said to him, in his most innocent-sounding voice, “No, Turaga. I don’t. I am honestly surprised that I am being treated like this, almost like I was an enemy prisoner, really.”

“You are here because Oggak claims you both attacked her in the East Tower and revealed yourself as Makuta Hajax, the ex-Makuta of Shika Nui,” Joha said, without stopping. “She has no proof of these claims, but as they’re extremely serious accusations, we wanted to ask: Are you really Hajax?”

Hajax hesitated and looked at Oggak, who was staring right back at him suspiciously. He thought about holding the charade up a little while longer – after all, it would be so delightfully fun to see Oggak trying her best to prove his real identity while failing badly and making a fool of herself in front of everyone in the process – but then he decided there was no real reason to. He had the information that he had been looking for and he knew that he would be able to break these chains eventually. So for now, he would simply manipulate and play with them until he decided he had enough.

Getting into a sitting position, he looked up at Joha with an expression of amusement and said very curtly to him, “Of course I am. Oggak is telling the truth; I, Makuta Hajax, have returned from the dead and have taken Barilo’s body as my own.”

Their reactions were exactly as he expected them to be: Akuna and Chimoy both looked stunned, shocked to learn that one of their best friends was being possessed by their worst enemy; Oggak looked less shocked than the others and more apprehensive; Jokao and Joha seemed surprised as well; while Kigin merely snorted and said, “I don’t believe you.”

“Oh? Why not?” asked Hajax with a wicked smile, focusing his attention on the Dark Hunter now. “Are you afraid of ghosts and don’t want to believe they exist?”

“I ain’t afraid of no ghosts,” Kigin snapped, brandishing his flail as he did so. “I am simply skeptical as to how you could have survived being slaughtered by us Dark Hunters, if you are indeed the real Hajax.”

“Unbelief will get you killed someday, my friend,” said Hajax, who was now looking at Kigin with amusement. He did not see the Dark Hunter as much of a threat, though he was not necessarily underestimating him, either. He was no fool like Teridax. “Besides, why should I reveal how I survived to beings who will be corpses in a matter of hours? The very mention of my name has brought fear into your hearts. Besides, I do not think lesser beings such as you would ever be able to understand my deep and ingenious plans.”

“But how?” asked Akuna, ignoring Kigin as she approached the bars, clasping them tightly in her hands. “How could you be here? When did you take over Barilo’s body? And why . . . why are you telling us who you are now?”

“Looks like at least one of you has enough courage to actually ask,” said Hajax acidly. “But to answer your questions, I crushed Barilo’s pitiful soul long ago and now have complete control over his every action. Adjusting to having a physical body has been a real pain, but I have mastered it now. And to answer your last question, the reason I am revealing myself to you all is because I am in no need of hiding my identity anymore. Oggak here has given me the information I need, which, by the way, is quite shocking.”

“What’s he talking about?” asked Jokao, turning to look at Oggak, who was now looking up at the ceiling, apparently afraid to look at anyone else, which made Hajax feel satisfied. “What information did you give him, Oggak? Why aren’t you looking at me?”

“That’s if he really is Hajax,” Kigin said, his eyes locked on the Makuta in disbelief, though he seemed to be slightly more cautious now. “He may just be pulling our legs. Either that, or he’s gone completely insane.”

Hajax laughed. “You did think that my snapping those chains without the slightest bit of effort was because of Barilo’s strength, not my own? Then I shall give you undeniable proof that I am indeed Makuta Hajax, my unbelieving friend.”

With the barest of nods, he sent a tremendous bolt of mental energy into Kigin’s mind. Though he did not directly affect the Dark Hunter’s body, Kigin screamed in pain, staggering backwards into the wall as he clutched his head. Hajax knew that Kigin was feeling horrible pain, perhaps beyond anything he had ever felt before, and the Makuta enjoyed it. He hated the Dark Hunters just as much as he hated the Toa, so seeing one in such pain and helplessness brought him much happiness.

“What’d you do to him?” Joha demanded, knocking his staff against the bars of Hajax’s cell threateningly.

“I merely gave him a taste of what one receives when one does not properly fear and respect a Makuta,” Hajax replied calmly. “He is not dead – obviously, otherwise he wouldn’t be screaming anymore – but I bet he wishes he was.” He leaned forward a little, his eyes on Kigin. “Don’t you, you dumb Dark Hunter?”

“In . . . your . . . dreams,” Kigin managed to spit out, and then he was screaming again, this time even louder than before.

“Ah well,” said Hajax, shrugging. “You will eventually, I’m sure.”

“But what’d you do with Barilo?” asked Akuna, who sounded hopelessly confused now as she looked from Kigin to Hajax, her eyes widening in fear. “You said you-“

“Crushed his spirit, yes,” Hajax replied, nodding. “He no longer exists in any form you know of. He is now nonexistent . . . which is probably for the best, since I put him through the worst kind of pain and agony imaginable before finally killing him. He died begging for his life, you know.”

That was, of course, a lie. Though he was now the dominant spirit, Hajax knew Barilo’s soul was still somewhere within his body, weakened, yes, but still alive. In fact, he needed Barilo alive, at least for a little while longer. Kill him now, and Hajax too would die, since Barilo’s soul was still so intricately connected to his body that it would be suicide to attempt destroying his soul now.

But he was not going to tell her that. He was simply enjoying seeing the horrified looks on their faces, the agonizing screams that Kigin was giving off, and the general dankness of the cell, as uncomfortable as it was. Of course, at some point he would have to break free, but for now he would simply enjoy torturing them.

And then, without warning, Chimoy dashed forward and grabbed the bars, shouted, “You monster! You horrible, evil monster! I’m going to rip you limb from limb, you b-!”

“Chimoy, that is enough,” Joha said firmly, grabbing the Toa of Iron’s arm. “There’s no need-“

“Shut up!” Chimoy snapped, in a voice very much unlike his own. “Let me in there! I want to . . . “

“Do what? Kill me?” asked Hajax maliciously. “Because I killed your friend?”

“That’s what I . . . shut up!” Chimoy said. He had let go of the bars now, but he looked very much enraged. “I . . . I don’t know what I want to do, but I want to do it anyway!”

“Chimoy! What’s wrong?” asked Joha, who seemed honestly surprised at the Toa’s behavior. “This isn’t how you usually are.”

Before Chimoy could snap at Joha again, Hajax said to the Turaga of Stone, “He’s simply dealing with the painful emotions that are building up in him as a result of losing his dearest friends. First he lost Nonzra . . . then Addis . . . and now Barilo. He is grievous and angry because of their deaths and doesn’t know what to do or who to blame. So he wants to kill me to take out his frustrations that he cannot take out on the Shodios or Tuikas. You would know that, Turaga, if you had been paying any attention to these Toa at all this past week.”

“He’s dead on,” said Chimoy, who now looked sullen and brooding, taking a step back from the bars. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. Losing my friends like this . . . it’s just been too much for me, especially since they have happened so soon after each other. That’s why I’m going to finish him off with my bare hands!”

Chimoy raised the palms of his hands and the bars of the cell immediately rusted and fell apart, leaving nothing to separate Hajax from the others. Chimoy then raised his sword and charged at Hajax so fast that the others couldn’t do more than shout in protest, which he ignored as he charged the Makuta.

That was when Hajax acted. He snapped the chains restraining him and then teleported behind Chimoy. He grabbed the Toa of Iron, who was too surprised by Hajax’s sudden move to do anything, and smashed Chimoy into the stone wall that he had been sitting in front of previously. He smashed Chimoy into it again and again until the Toa stopped moving, his sword falling to the ground as his arms hung limply at his sides, though he wasn’t dead based on the thought patterns that Hajax could still detect inside his head.

Tossing Chimoy aside, Hajax said dismissively, “Pathetic. I expected much more of him, but I suppose I was being too optimistic, wasn’t I?”

He looked up in time to see the others had drawn their weapons. Even Kigin was back on his feet, though he looked rather dazed and still seemed to be hurting, based on the grimace he wore. They all looked ready to fight, but Hajax really had no interest in a battle today. He had to carry out his plan and they were merely annoying insects who were in the way and desperately asking to be squashed.

“You’re not getting past us without a fight!” said Jokao, who did not seem to have brought his weapon, but seemed to still want to fight anyway. “We’re ready to fight to the death!”

“Such noble stupidity, as some call it,” said Hajax, shaking his head in disgust. “When will you Toa learn that the smartest thing to do whenever faced with fighting a Makuta is to simply run and hope he doesn’t run after you? Of course, I doubt I would let you leave alive, but it’s the thought that counts, you know.”

With a snap of his fingers Oggak was suddenly teleported to his side, causing her to gasp in surprise. He then wrested her sword out of her hand and swiftly placed it at her neck, one arm around her body. She stopped moving and became very still, for he had placed the sword in such an angle as to make it almost certain that she would literally lose her head should she move in the wrong way.

“One more move and she gets it,” Hajax hissed, for Jokao had taken a few steps forward with a look of worry in his eyes. “And I mean it.”

“What are you going to do with her?” asked Jokao, his voice a mixture of anger and worry.

“She has her uses,” Hajax remarked calmly. “I think the Tuikas will be quite pleased to have her as an early Naming Day gift, wouldn’t you say?”

“The Tuikas? What do they want with her?” asked Jokao in surprise.

“Told you he was insane,” said Kigin irritably. He rubbed the back of his head, which still seemed to be hurting from Hajax’s attack. “The Tuikas don’t want anything but food, which is apparently what we look like to them. He’s just trying to throw us off-guard.”

“Not a lie, Kigin,” Hajax said, shooting a look at the Dark Hunter, who flinched, as though thinking he would be attacked again. “Oggak here has been keeping many secrets from you for some time. She has evidently decided that your minds couldn’t comprehend what the real purpose of the Tuikas is nor what vital a role she plays in it.”

“No, I didn’t,” said Oggak to the ceiling, for the blade was held up so high to her neck that she had to look up, else she would simply end up beheading herself. “That’s not it at all.”

“Oh, yes,” said Hajax, with a look of mock realization on his face. “Thank you for reminding me, Oggak. You kept the Tuikas’ true purpose a secret from them because you didn’t want Jokao to hate you, right? You told me you loved him so much that you didn’t want to lose his love simply because the Tuikas are after her. Toa are so stupid that way.”

“What?” Jokao said, who sounded disbelieving, though Hajax thought he caught a hint of worry in the Toa of Fire’s voice. “The Tuikas are after Oggak? Why? What’d she ever do to them?”

“It’s what she hasn’t done that is making them all upset,” Hajax replied in a matter of fact voice. “They need her to complete their destiny, and she in turn must complete her destiny by allowing them to complete theirs. You see, if the Tuikas get her, they will cause an event known as the Dividing to occur, which will destroy the universe as we know it. It’s because of her fear of letting that happen that she has kept this a secret from you all. It is because she is unwilling to face her destiny that the Tuikas have been killing and hurting innocents. Simply put, fear – and perhaps her idiotic love for you – is why she does not simply go and let the Tuikas take her, as destiny says they should.”

“You mean that’s why the Tuikas have been attacking?” asked Kigin, who sounded outraged. “That is why all of my fellow Dark Hunters were killed? Because Oggak did not want to die? That is why the Dark Hunters are no longer the supreme rulers of Shika Nui anymore?”

“If I am sacrificed, then everyone dies,” said Oggak resolutely. “At least while I live there’s a chance of stopping the Tuikas.”

“So you thought the deaths of all of those innocent Matoran were insignificant?” asked Akuna sharply, pointing her staff at the Toa of Shadow. “You didn’t tell us the truth because you thought Jokao wouldn’t love you anymore? Addis had to die because you didn’t tell us what the Tuikas really wanted? I think Nastan was right about you; you really are no good.”

“No! Please!” Oggak said, the panic rising in her voice, though she was still remaining stationary and did not look down at anybody, lest she should literally lose her head. “I didn’t mean for all of those people to die! I didn’t want the Matoran or Dark Hunters or Addis or anyone to die like this! Please, you have to understand-“

“I think they understand quite well, Oggak,” said Hajax simply. “Now we must go. We have a date with the Tuikas and it would quite rude of us to be late, wouldn’t you say?”

And with that, Hajax and Oggak disappeared into thin air, the Makuta smiling in triumph as he watched the bewildered, frightened, and angry faces of the others disappear from view. Right now, he knew that, regardless of whatever hardships he may have faced, however long it may have took to figure out the truth, it was all worth it, just to see the betrayed expressions on their faces. Very much worth it indeed, in his opinion, though he knew he still had a long way to go before completing his final goal, but he hoped that it wouldn’t take too long, at least. He had enough of waiting; he didn’t want to wait any longer than he should have.

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Chapter 19: Of Insanity and Betrayal

Raider followed Death and the Toa from a reasonable distance in the ruins of Ironos. He had to keep them in view while keeping himself hidden, so that they would not accidentally see him and try to stop him. He remembered what he had been warned about the Hunters here possibly being on the lookout for any loyalists to the Shadowed One. He knew he wasn’t likely to be caught, but it was still important to remain hidden anyway.

He didn’t necessarily need to be quiet; his power to create a field of silence around himself made being stealthy quite an easy task for him. All he had to do was stay out of sight, which was going to be somewhat of a challenge, since he was a rather large being, but he had been in far worse situations before and had always managed to come out alive.

However, neither Death nor the Toa of The Green showed any signs of noticing him or even realizing that they were being followed. He attributed that to both his silencing powers and his very good stealth skills, which were legendary among the Dark Hunters. Even the Shadowed One, he knew, recognized his talents in the field of stealth, though that was no surprise, since he had been one of the organization’s first members when Ancient and the Shadowed One had founded the Dark Hunters many years ago. So he did not feel the need to be extremely cautious at the moment, so sure of his own abilities he was.

He was vaguely curious about the fire that was burning in the hut up ahead and wondered exactly what was so interesting about it. True, it had been raining rather hard recently, so he was surprised that whoever had built the fire had managed to light it at all. But other than that, he did not see what was so important or interesting about it. He thought he remembered overhearing them mention that some Matoran may be living there, but he honestly could not see why they would go all the way out to this desolate ruin just to rescue a couple of homeless Matoran.

But then, he was also starting to see a connection between the apparent alliance of the Dark Hunters and these Toa and those strange monsters that had attacked him when he had first arrived on Shika Nui. Perhaps there were many more of those monsters. Maybe they had been powerful enough to kill most of the Dark Hunters and make the rest of Shika Nui uninhabitable. It would explain why he hadn’t see any other Dark Hunters on Shika Nui, outside of Death and Kigin, and why Ironos was apparently destroyed, when last he had seen it had been a thriving slave village.

Death and the Toa passed the ruins of a large building that Raider easily recognized as the headquarters of whoever the local slave master here had been even in its destroyed state. He saw the two stop and briefly discuss something. The Toa looked disgusted about something and made some comment that made Death sigh and give some sort of explanation to the Toa. But being too far away, Raider could not hear much of what they were saying.

After a few more minutes of discussion – during which he thought the Toa must have said something extremely rude, for Death’s voice raised angrily for a moment before going back to its normal volume – the two unlikely companions continued on, and so did Raider, who paused before the master’s house a moment to examine what had made the Toa so upset.

He spotted it immediately: Carved into the stone of the building was a picture depicting a large throne made out of the bodies of Matoran rising high above several hundred other villagers, who were bowing at it, and with a Dark Hunter based vaguely on the Shadowed One sitting upon it in triumph. The Shadowed One-lookalike’s expression of satisfaction and triumph was visible even through the blackened stone.

Raider knew this symbol well. It was commonly found on Matoran islands under the control of the Dark Hunters. It symbolized the slavery of the local villagers and the iron fist with which the Shadowed One ruled them with. Raider understood why the Toa might not have liked it, for if the Toa was native to this island, he most likely had seen it as a Matoran wherever he went and had probably acquired a deep dislike of it and the things it stood for.

He shook his head and looked up just in time to see Death and the Toa walking around a large pile of debris. He moved fast to catch up with them, hiding behind the remnants of huts, in the huge craters that dotted the street, anywhere that would hide him from their view. If they glanced over their shoulder even once and saw him, this whole mission would be compromised and he would have to resort to violence. He knew he would be forced to do it eventually, but fighting – save for gunfights – was not something he particularly enjoyed doing. He liked to get others to fight for him, though that didn’t mean he wasn’t a good fighter himself. He just didn’t like melee combat much, especially if he was up against more than one opponent at a time.

As he followed the two, Raider’s thoughts drifted to Icetraz for a moment. He had not seen Icetraz at all during his surveillance on the fortress, nor had he seen any sign that the leader of the Shika Nui Dark Hunters was even still living there. Perhaps those monsters had killed him, which would make sense, since Icetraz had never been much of a thinker, in Raider’s opinion.

And if he is indeed dead, as I suspect he is, then that will simply make this mission that much easier, Raider thought.

After several more minutes of navigating through the ruins while keeping out of sight of the travelers, Death and the Toa were about twenty or so feet from their destination when two Cordak missiles – coming seemingly from out of nowhere – struck the ground before them and blew up. Death and the Toa were launched into the air and collided hard with the ground, their weapons sent flying out of their hands and landing several feet away as they fell.

Raider was taken by surprise, but still smart enough to quickly hide behind a ruin. He peered through a slim crack in the wall and saw Death and the Toa still lying on the ground, both stunned by the shockwaves of the explosion.

Death, however, seemed to be recovering faster than the Toa and reached for his fallen sword, which was lying near him. He never got it, though, for another Cordak missile went flying out of the shadows of a hut and blasted the sword into smithereens, causing Death to yelp in pain and pull his now-burnt hand back to cradle it, as if somehow hoping to make the burning feel less painful.

“Who’s there?” asked the Toa, who looked a little winded but seemed ready to fight. He was glancing wildly around the place; he evidently did not know which direction the Cordak missiles had been fired from. “Show yourself!”

Raider, who was also interested in the identity of their attacker, looked in the direction of the ruined hut and saw nothing but shadows for a moment before a large, hulking figure, wearing a makeshift cloak, stepped out of the ruin, one badly damaged but apparently still functioning Cordak blaster raised. Though the rest of his body was covered by the cloak, Raider noticed that he had not bothered to pull the hood over his head, revealing the Kikanalo-like face of Icetraz, leader of the Dark Hunters of Shika Nui.

But his face looked different now, Raider thought as he looked closely from his own hiding place. There was a large, ugly scar running the length of the side of Icetraz’s face which had almost certainly not been there before, and his wide blue eyes were bulging. Raider took note that Icetraz’s horn had been snapped clean off; the Dark Hunter had evidently seen many battles during the past few weeks, he concluded.

“Icetraz?” asked Death, shaking his head as he got on his hands and knees. “Is that you? I thought you were dead!”

“Shut up,” Icetraz snapped. He gestured to the fire that was still burning nearby. “I made that fire, in the hopes that someone would find it. I hoped some loyal Dark Hunters would see it and come to find out who had made it. But apparently, all I managed to attract were the insignificant, dirty little insects you are.”

He swiftly fired off a shot at the Toa’s bow, which the Toa of The Green had been reaching for. The bow blew up, sending dirt and mud into the Toa’s face as he stumbled backwards, recoiling from the blast.

“Toa, Death?” asked Icetraz in apparent disbelief. “You are allying yourself with Toa now? I knew how much you wanted out of this organization, Death, but I would never have thought you would have sunk this low. Toa are our enemies, save for those who choose to join our organization and abandon their petty codes of conduct. Yet here you are, taking an afternoon stroll with a Toa without even the simplest of plots to kill him while he wasn’t looking? Pathetic. Almost as pathetic as this Toa here is, really. I will have to report you to the Shadowed One once the situation has been taken care of, providing I simply don’t kill you in the first place.”

“Hey! I take insult to that!” the Toa protested, wiping the mud off his mask and looking up at Icetraz angrily.

“And for your information, Icetraz, the Dark Hunters are all dead,” Death added, already attempting to rise to his feet, his cold eyes focused on Icetraz as he spoke. “All save for me and Kigin. The Tuikas eliminated the rest; I have no one to betray and only allied with the Toa for my own protection, as well to redeem myself.”

Icetraz snorted. Raider thought that Death and the Toa were taking Icetraz’s unexpected reappearance very well, considering they both evidently thought him dead for quite a while.

“’No one to betray’? Just because everyone else is dead, Death, doesn’t give you the right to betray the organization itself,” Icetraz snapped. “You and Kigin – if what you say is correct about him – are traitors to the Dark Hunters, and for that I must do my duty as a loyal Hunter and kill you. That is the law of the Dark Hunters; anyone who tries to quit must first taste the flavor of death. No exceptions, especially for you. Now die!”

Icetraz raised both arms, both of which had Cordak blasters attached to them, and shot off several missiles. The Toa and Death leapt out of the way of the projectiles, and Death shot off a few lava balls at Icetraz in reply, who merely knocked them out of the air with his heavily armed arms.

“Fools!” shouted Icetraz over the sound of exploding Cordaks. “All who oppose the Dark Hunters must die!”

Raider watched with interest at the fight before him. It seemed to be mostly between Icetraz and Death, however; they kept trading lava and ice bolts, as well as Cordak missiles while the Toa merely did everything that he could to keep out of the line of fire. He found the battle mildly amusing, but wondered if he should move to a safer position soon.

What if one of their blasts accidentally hits me? he thought. Either I should get out of the way or join the fight. I choose the former.

So, turning around, he began climbing over the debris to find a safer spot higher up the hill, all the while listening to the sounds of battle that seemed to be growing ever louder behind him. True, he had been ordered to kill Icetraz, but he didn’t want to be right where everyone could see him, at least. Besides, he figured the Toa and Death could soften Icetraz up for him; then he could go in for the kill with his expert marksmen skills himself.

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Chapter 18: Truths & Falsehoods

Makuta Hajax sat right behind a mounted Cordak blaster, in the highest room of the East Tower. Today he was supposed to be on guard duty alone, manning a lone Cordak blaster to shoot any Tuikas that he might see out of the skies. Personally, he thought the weapon was primitive and savage, much unlike his refined soul. But he did not complain; he now had some time to plot ways in which to get the truth of the Tuikas out of Oggak.

That was one thing he had failed to accomplish during the week. He had been on guard duty frequently, or otherwise doing some task for the good of Koro Nui (such as using his gravity powers to help move debris out of the courtyard, for example). He had had virtually no time to speak with Oggak. It was made even more difficult by the fact that she kept inside Jokao’s room almost the entire time now, like she lived there or something. Only she and Joha were allowed to visit Jokao at the moment, meaning he couldn’t follow her in there, either, although now that he thought about it, it would be quite impossible for him to interrogate Oggak with Jokao and that Po-Matoran doctor Telka in there with them.

That was another thing that was bothering him. He was experiencing a feeling of helplessness at the moment, which annoyed him greatly. He was a Makuta, for Mata Nui’s sake, and he shouldn’t be feeling helpless even in the slightest. Only lesser beings ever felt as though they were in no position to do anything; Makuta didn’t. After all, if Makuta felt they were helpless and incapable of affecting anything, Teridax wouldn’t have dared gone ahead with his precious little Plan unless he was completely idiotic. Which is always a possibility, Hajax thought with a scowl, scanning the gray clouds that floated overhead, threatening to rain at any moment.

He had not heard much about the Plan or what the rest of his fellow Makuta were up to nowadays, save for what little information he had gleaned from the Dark Hunters when he had been in possession of one of their robotic servants. Even then, no one outside of the Brotherhood really knew about the Plan, much less its finer details or what it would ultimately accomplish if it were to succeed.

He hoped that the Plan was not going well. Surely the Great Cataclysm would have affected things? And the war against the Dark Hunters, too? He knew Teridax hadn’t factored that into his Plan, so perhaps it was going badly and maybe, he thought hopefully, the other Makuta were getting restless. He thought that perhaps Icarax at least might try to lead a rebellion, but again he had no way of knowing because of Shika Nui’s current isolated state.

What I wouldn’t give to get off this island, which has been almost like a prison to me, Hajax thought, shivering a little as the cold air blew in his face. One day, I would like to visit Destral and give my brothers a surprise welcome . . . after I have gotten an army big enough to crush that island into little more than fine powder, of course.

He heard the door creak open behind him and, turning around, saw to his surprise that Oggak had entered the room. She looked worried and sad, which was how she usually looked these days. Hajax knew it had to do with the fact Jokao was still badly wounded, which had made her worry about the Toa of Fire, but he could honestly care less about her personal life right now.

“Oggak!” said Hajax in false surprise, spreading his arms widely with what he hoped was a smile on his face. “What brings you here today? Your shift isn’t until later, so why are you here now?”

“What?” Oggak said, looking as though she had not been paying attention to him, much to Hajax’s annoyance. “Oh. Hi, Barilo.”

Hajax now wondered if she had simply wandered into here unintentionally, since she seemed so unfocused and distracted but he didn’t mention it. He did not want to scare her away; if she had come into her for a reason, he might be able to get the truth of the Tuikas out of her somehow, since this was the first time he had been alone with her in a week. He would have to act sympathetic to whatever worries might be plaguing her, however much he hated the idea.

“Oggak, you look sad,” said Hajax in a fake sympathetic voice. He gestured to an empty chair nearby and said, “Why not sit down? Is there something you wish to talk about?”

“Er, I guess,” she said, walking over to the chair and sitting down on it. She looked up at Hajax and pursed her lips, as though she were trying to figure out what to say. “I. . . . Well, I’m worried for Jokao, Barilo.”

Hajax, who had been expecting her to say this, merely nodded and said solemnly, “I know. We all are. But I have heard he’s getting better.”

“He is,” said Oggak, who was nervously twisting her hands. She looked like she wanted to confess something to him. “But I just . . . I feel guilty.”

Hajax, surprised, asked, “What do you mean? You had nothing to do with Jokao’s injury! It wasn’t your fault!” Secretly, though, Hajax enjoyed seeing her look and act so worried. Seeing others unhappy or depressed always made him feel good, almost happy at times.

“Directly it wasn’t,” she said, averting her gaze from his face and looking out the window. Hajax glanced over his shoulder but saw no sign of the Tuikas, though Oggak looked worried just the same. “But . . . oh, Barilo, I’m . . . I’m guilty of everything.”

“What?” Hajax asked, slightly caught off guard by this sudden confession. “What do you mean, ‘guilty of everything’?”

“I can’t . . .” she got up and began pacing back and forth, now looking rather guilty instead of worried. “It is all of my fault. Everything is. The attacks . . . all of the deaths . . . all of this pain, it’s all because of me that this is happening.”

“But why are you telling me this?” asked Hajax, trying his best to keep the eagerness out of his voice. He thought he knew what she meant; somehow, she was connected to the Tuikas. He didn’t know how, but he intended to find out. “Why not tell Joha or Jokao or someone else?”

“Because you were there when Jokao got hurt,” she said, still pacing back and forth without looking at him. “You and I helped get him back to the surface. I know you said some awful things about him back there, but I just feel that you would understand what I am feeling better than anyone else. But then, how could anyone understand what I am feeling right now?”

“Okay, what do you have to tell me, then, Oggak?” asked Hajax, standing up while watching her pace. “Why is it your fault? What did you do that caused all of this?”

She stopped and looked up at Hajax, her red eyes looking large, but she merely mumbled, looking away from him again, “It . . . my destiny . . . I can’t . . .”

“Tell me,” said Hajax, with more urgency voice in his voice than before as he grabbed one of her hands. He looked into her eyes and said, “But I will understand if you can’t . . .”

Oggak pulled her hand out of his, but oddly instead wrapped her arms around him, much to his surprise, and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she broke down completely, crying into his shoulder loudly. He wanted so badly to push her away from him; it was disgusting the way she was crying like that. Undignified, that’s what it was. It made him happy to know that female Makuta were much stronger than that. He could not remember Gorast, for example, ever breaking down and crying like this, though he supposed that Gorast being who she was, she probably didn’t even know what the word ‘crying’ even meant.

But, in order to keep up his disguise (which he hoped he wouldn’t have to do much longer), he said softly, patting her on the back, “There, there. It’s all right. What happened? Is there anything I can do about it?”

“N-no,” she shouted, and then cried, if possible, even louder and harder than before. “There’s nothing . . . n-nothing . . . anyone c-can do about it . . .”

“Then why bother tell me at all?” Hajax muttered angrily. “Er, I mean . . . you can still tell me. We’re . . . friends . . .” he uttered that word in a gentle voice, but deep down inside his mind was reeling in anger from the very mention of the word. “Friends don’t keep secrets from each other, do they? They tell each other the truth at all times and do not lie to or deceive each other.”

He hated himself for even daring to speak such horribly bland Toa clichés, but he hoped it would make her calm down and tell him exactly what he needed to know.

Unfortunately, she cried even harder and gasped, “Nailed it . . . I’ve been lying and deceiving everyone, even Jokao, all this time. Almost everything I have said is a lie; every single bit of it. I have lied about my past, my connection with the Tuikas, and many, many other things that you don’t even know about. And if I tell you or anyone else the t-truth . . . Everyone will hate me. B-but if I say nothing at all. . . .” Her voice trailed off there and she cried again.

“Oggak,” said Hajax, this time a little bit more firmly than before. He pushed her away from him and tried to look into her eyes. He’d never get anything out of her if she kept this up. “You’ve gotta stop acting like this. Pull yourself together and speak clearly and calmly to me, okay?”

“O-okay,” she gasped. She wasn’t looking at him, as though she were afraid that her eyes would give away what she was trying to tell him. “I’ll t-try.”

She took a long, deep breath and said, still not looking into his eyes, “The Tuikas were not created by the Brotherhood and the Order had absolutely nothing at all to do with capturing and placing them under Shika Nui. I don’t know everything that I do know about them because of Order studies; it was because I and the Tuikas are so intricately connected that they always know where I am and I always know where they are, regardless of where we might be, th-though I am capable of hiding my energy signature to confuse them.”

Hajax’s heart was beating faster and faster. He had never thought that Oggak was connected to the Tuikas in the way she described; all it did was make him hunger for more and more knowledge that he could only gain from her.

“Yes? What else is there?” asked Hajax, a feeling of excitement mounting in him. “Tell me, Oggak; what is it?”

Tears pouring out of her eyes, she wiped them away as best as she could and said, “The Tuikas aren’t just mi-mindless beasts, either; they’re just as intelligent as you and me, but far more aggressive and intent on . . . intent on completing their mission, which involves me. They want to capture me, Barilo, and initiate the Dividing. It is the only thing that matters to them; nothing else does. No one else matters to them; they’re willing to kill whoever gets in their way, even in-innocent Matoran villagers.”

“What is the Dividing?” asked Hajax, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice any longer. “Tell me! I need to know!”

“Let me start from . . . from the beginning,” she said. She briefly closed her eyes, as though thinking, and then opened them and said, “One hundred thousand years ago, back in the beginning of the universe itself, the Great Beings h-had put in many different fail safes in case Mata Nui were to fail h-his mission. The Tuikas were one of them, yet are probably the most dangerous and cruel, since unlike the others they had minds and powers of their own and are quite capable of being merciless towards those who happen to get in their way.”

“Where do you come into this, then, Oggak?” asked Hajax quickly. He was just about to learn the jackpot of knowledge; knowledge, he was certain, would give him power over these Tuikas, whatever it was. “Why do you blame yourself for all of the bad things that have happened?”

“Because, in order for the Tuikas to initiate the Dividing, they needed a unique being, whose energies could . . . could be converted into a single energy blast that would totally annihilate the very heart of our world,” she continued. She was now looking into his eyes; perhaps she thought it would be easier to tell him that way, Hajax thought. “That was why the Great Beings made me, before the idea of a Kra-Matoran tribe was ever even conceived of by Mata Nui. Because I was the only Matoran of Shadow in the universe at the time, my dark energies were supposed to be used to destroy Karda Nui, the heart of the universe, and, as a result, Mata Nui himself would die and th-the Great Beings would be allowed to start anew elsewhere. I was kept in stasis until then, where I was kept safe until the time came for my destiny.”

“Then how did you get here?” Hajax asked, almost too quickly. “Who freed you from your stasis? Why? What did they hope to gain or achieve from it?”

“Mata Nui himself awoke me,” Oggak whispered. She was no longer crying, but the tone of her voice was still clearly sad. “He wanted to create the Kra-Matoran and discovered me in a place very far away from here. I don’t know if he knew of my real purpose, but he took me and used me as the basis for the creation of the entire Kra-Matoran tribe and placed me among them to serve as Chronicler. I have always carried the knowledge of the Tuikas in my mind, but I never did anything about it, since I have . . . I have always thought that fighting destiny was pointless, and besides, the Tuikas weren’t awake then, so what would be the point of telling anyone all of this? What would be the point of causing senseless panic and fear when the Tuikas were not harming anyone or even posing a threat when it could be avoided, I asked myself?”

Hajax waited, watching her, his heart beating fast. Was she going to reveal anything else to him? Or had she told him all she knew? If so, he would have to act now, for a plan was already forming in his brain, though he decided to wait just a little while longer, just in case.

“I now realize what a fool I’ve been,” she said, tears beginning to leak out of the corner of her eyes again. “It was because I haven’t told the others the truth, the reason I exist, and the reason the Tuikas exist, the reason that everyone who has died at their hands has had to die. It is my fault, every single death or injury that any Toa, Matoran, or Dark Hunter has ever sustained from the Tuikas. Nastan’s right; I am just as bad as the Shodios, because I chose not to act, rather than them, who chose to act and as a result, faced the dire consequences of their actions. I feared the consequences; what if everyone hated me? Or distrusted me? I couldn’t deal with rejection, so I instead made up a silly lie about the Brotherhood creating the Tuikas, placing the blame on someone else. Everything is my fault.”

“So you were afraid of the consequences of telling the truth?” Hajax asked, his tone as quiet as hers now.“You thought everyone would hate and fear you?”

“That’s it exactly,” she said, nodding. “I have even played with the idea of leaving Shika Nui forever, since the Tuikas would go after me no matter where I went. That way, at least, they would leave my friends alone, since the Tuikas don’t kill others unless they get in the way. But I just couldn’t, because if they caught me – which I have no doubt they would do if I was on my own – they would simply drag me back here and initiate the Dividing, as they were meant to do, even if I did travel to the very farthest corners of the universe.”

“I see . . .” Hajax breathed, feeling his heart beating faster than ever before. “So that is the secret you have been keeping from me all this time . . .”

“What?”

“Er, nothing,” said Hajax quickly. “Just sort of-“

He was interrupted when she roughly broke out of his grip, an expression of shock visible upon her features as she took a step away from him.

“I shouldn’t have told you this,” said Oggak, her eyes wide as she reached for the doorknob behind her. “You probably . . . I mean, forget you ever heard any of this. Okay? I . . . I was just lying, like-“

“Don’t even pretend it was false,” Hajax snapped as he seized her again, this time with a firmer grip so she would not escape. “You have told me the truth otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten so emotional about it. Don’t deny it. It simply makes you look stupid.”

“Let go of me!” she said, struggling to free herself. “You shouldn’t have . . . I should never have told you. I want to go away, and we should never bring this up aga-“

“But why not?” asked the Makuta. Because he was using the fullest extent of his physical strength now, it was incredibly easy to detain Oggak. “The others deserve to know, don’t they?”

“I . . . I don’t know!” cried Oggak, the panic in her voice obvious. “Just let me go, or I will hurt you!”

“I would think twice about that, Oggak,” Hajax said in a quiet, threatening voice. He know how painfully tight his grip on her was and said, “You don’t want me as your enemy, because when people are my enemies, I can make them and their friends suffer. Badly, I might add.”

Oggak looked surprised at his abrupt change in tone and said, “What do you mean? Barilo, that’s an evil thing to say – and you’re not evil. Why would you even joke about-“

“But that’s the thing,” said Hajax. He whirled around and tossed her toward the other side of the room with all of his strength. She smashed into the wall hard and looked dazed, though still conscious. “You see, the Barilo you thought you knew has been gone for a long time. His weak spirit was crushed by my own superior soul, giving me complete control over his former body, which has been in my possession for quite some time now.”

To his surprise, Oggak actually rose back to her feet, her sword now at the ready. She looked fearful, yet brave and defiant, too. She appeared ready for battle, even after having been thrown into the wall by Hajax. He decided that she must have gained her impressive resilience from training with the so-called Order of Mata Nui, as he doubted any other Toa would naturally have been able to rise from such a devastating blow so quickly.

“I’m not surprised,” she replied, shadow energy crackling around the tip of her sword, which was raised over her head in her usual battle stance.

“You are not?” asked Hajax, activating his magnetism power to make his spear, which he had propped against another wall, fly into his hands. He whirled the weapon in his hands and green energy began swirling around the tips. “You certainly looked it to me. Whatever made you think that I wasn’t Barilo?”

“Well,” said Oggak, who was now beginning to circle him. Hajax, noticing this, began to go the other way, his eyes fixated on her weapon. “The way you’d acted on our expedition . . . at first, I thought it was just your way of dealing with Nonzra’s death, along with the Tuikas attacking and all, making life even more difficult for you than before. But this week, you’ve been acting strange, in a way that’s made me feel uncomfortable. You’ve acted cruelly towards the Matoran, your friends, the Dark Hunters, and just about anyone who got in your way. It’s worried me, which is part of the reason I came up here. I wanted to see if you were okay . . . and there was the fact that I wanted to tell you what I just told you because I . . . I still felt guilty,” she finished in a quieter voice.

“You’re even cleverer than I thought,” Hajax remarked, his eyes on her sword hand. He thought if he could just hit it with a blast of shadow, he would have the upper hand in this battle. “I thought you were just as dumb and naive as the other Toa, but you would make a fine queen if you ruled the universe alongside me. We don’t need to fight; between you and me, the universe doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I would never ally with . . . with whoever you are,” she snapped, brandishing her sword threateningly at him as they stopped. Her back was to the door and he wondered, briefly, if she would try to escape. He doubted it, but he still kept a mental note to stop her if she made any sudden moves. “I don’t want to be your queen, or anybody’s queen. I don’t even want to be queen of the universe; I just want to be me. And I want to be with those I love. And if you try to harm me or my friends, then I will fight you.”

Hajax laughed, twirling his spear around dangerously through the air as he did so. “You honestly think that you could fight me, a Makuta, and somehow win? Only the Great Spirit himself could ever hope to defeat me in combat. Even then, he would have to use all of his wisdom and cunning to block my first move.”

Oggak staggered a bit at those words, obviously shocked. “A Makuta? You can’t be-“

“Oh, yes, that’s exactly who I am,” the Makuta responded, quickly striking the floor between them with his spear, burning a hole straight through it as the power of pure thought coursed through his weapon. “I am Makuta Hajax, ex-Makuta of Shika Nui, and soon to be king of the universe.”

“But you’re-“

“Dead, I know,” said Hajax with a grin. “That’s what Barilo said. I wonder if you will go down as easily as he did.”

“Not a chance!” Oggak shouted, and, moving faster than any Toa Hajax had ever seen in his life, she shot off half a dozen bolts of shadow at him.

All of the projectiles hit him hard enough to send the Makuta staggering backwards into the Cordak blaster mounted on the window behind him. He quickly grabbed the blaster, so as to not fall off, and looked up in time to see Oggak already in front of him, one fist raised.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’m going to let you succeed with your plan of universal domination, Makuta,” Oggak growled, in a voice most unlike her own. It reminded Hajax (accessing Barilo’s memories, of course) of how Teivel sounded whenever he planned to do something very painful to someone. He realized that he didn’t like it. “That would be rather ‘un-Toa-like’ of me, wouldn’t it?”

With that, she swiftly smashed her fist into the side of his head with enough force to send him falling onto the stone floor hard, his spear slipping from between his fingers as his head collided with the ground.

Review Topic

Chapter 17: Expedition

The rest of the week went by rather peacefully in Nastan’s opinion. There had been no sightings of the Tuikas and as a result no attacks. The tense mood that seemed to grip the entire village lessened ever so slightly, but according to Reesha, the Chronicler, the village’s inhabitants had learned to never let their guard down, even if there was no immediate threat. This was because the first time they had done so, the Tuikas had nearly crushed the fortress before being beat back by the Toa and Dark Hunters. So it was more of a ‘take advantage of the peace while it was there’ kind of peace, rather than true peace.

But just because the Tuikas weren’t attacking didn’t mean everything was fine and dandy, for there were still many other problems facing them.

The main problem was where to find edible food and drinkable water, both of which were becoming increasingly scarce with each passing day. Though they had been able to survive on the Dark Hunters’ own supplies that had been left behind when the Tuikas had killed them all, it was becoming increasingly difficult to feed over 200 Matoran, six Toa, one Turaga, and two Dark Hunters on what they had left, yet it was still too dangerous to travel far from the village with the ever-present threat of the Tuikas hanging over their heads.

They had apparently learned that the hard way when an impatient Matoran named Saias, believing that the Tuikas were nowhere near the village at the moment, had left to go and find some food from the ruins of Ironos, the nearest town. He had insisted upon going alone because he thought it would be quicker, which unfortunately proved to be a fatal mistake, for when he approached the forest, the Tuikas burst out and killed him in such a way as to discourage any other thoughts of finding food outside the village for good.

There was also the weather, which had turned from mild to unbearable in one day. A storm from the sea had brought in torrential rains, cold, scathing wind, and what seemed to be days that went on forever. True, nobody really got hurt and most of the Matoran never complained about being inside all day, but Nastan, Akuna, Chimoy, and Barilo – all of whom were unused to being cramped inside one building for such a long time – were starting to get restless and impatient. Nastan himself kept looking out the windows whenever he passed, just to see if he could spot a hint of sunlight in the dark clouds and thick rain. But all he ever got was a lot of rain in his face, since there was nothing to keep the water out, save for a few makeshift sheets made out of leaves and other plants, intended to absorb or keep the rain out of the village, and those were only kept in a couple of windows. He found himself thinking almost wistfully of Wyoko; at least there he had been free and able to go wherever he pleased (so long as no Kra-Matoran or Shodios were nearby, of course) and had had a lot of room to roam around in.

Nastan and the others were also taking the deaths of Addis and Nonzra harder than before. Many times they would stay up until late in the night, talking about their memories of Addis and Nonzra; specific quirks or personality traits they remembered; things like that. Though none of them had ever actually cried for their two lost friends during any of these discussions, Nastan often felt strong emotions rising inside him, which sometimes made it hard to sleep or pay much attention to what someone was saying to him until they went down.

Surprisingly, the only one who didn’t join in the reminiscing was Barilo, who had become increasingly withdrawn and snappish as the days progressed. Almost any time anyone said something other than ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good night’ to him he would snap at them and occasionally make threatening gestures, as he had done when Akuna had offered him some water a few days ago.

Nastan still remembered how he had reacted when Barilo had raised one fist, as though about to hit Akuna. He had grabbed Barilo’s wrist, while at the same time giving the Toa of Gravity a look that told him to back off, and tried his best to gently lower Barilo’s fist, but all it seemed to do was make him even more irritable, for he then said, “Get off me, filth! Or I’ll knock that idiotic expression clean off your face!”

That had been enough to get Nastan angry; so much, in fact, that he had wanted to punch Barilo out, which he very nearly did. Fortunately, Chimoy managed to break up their argument, telling them – in a rather irritated way, Nastan remembered – that if they got into a fight they would be sleeping in the courtyard that night. That had been enough to stop them, though Nastan was now keeping an eye on Barilo from now on, just in case he tried to actually harm Akuna or someone else again.

Though Nastan was never the most observant person in the village, he had begun noticing how Chimoy, rather than Barilo, was taking charge of the team. Chimoy frequently left to go speak with Joha on important matters and managed to gain some of the air of leadership that Nastan had always associated with Addis. This was rather odd, considering Barilo had been deputy leader when Addis had been alive, but Nastan didn’t have too many complaints, mostly because he hadn’t seen Chimoy leading in battle.

That, in Nastan’s opinion, would settle whether he really was a good leader or not. Not that it would affect his opinion of the Toa of Iron himself; he still considered Chimoy a good friend, but just because he was a good friend did not automatically make him a good leader, at least in Nastan’s eyes. Regardless, he found he liked Chimoy leading better than Barilo, since the Toa of Gravity was acting very unlikeable recently and would probably get on Nastan’s nerves even more than he already was if he was leader of the team.

And then there was Akuna. Somehow, despite the sour weather, she had become even more interesting in Nastan’s eyes. The two of them spent a lot more time alone together now, usually whenever they weren’t doing guard duty or in some other way helping the village. Nastan liked these moments because they made the world seem less threatening and gave him the confidence that he needed to do what he needed to do. Akuna encouraged him and he encouraged her, so it worked out pretty evenly in his opinion.

Of course, he reflected bitterly, despite the fact that he and Akuna were closer now this somehow seemed to be making them get more easily angry at each other, too. But the fact was that they were in a tense situation, with the danger of dying always present and ready in their minds. Add in the small, barely edible meals they had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, with some of the gloomy weather that was hanging over the village like a Visorak spider web, and it was almost no surprise that they were often short with each other nowadays.

Breaking up was out of the question, however; they were still in love, despite those times were they acted downright unlikeable to each other. He often had to remind himself that it was because of the dire circumstances which they were in that was affecting their moods, not because of any ill wishes that they might be feeling towards each other. His brief argument with Akuna on the first night of the week was still present in his mind, however much he tried to forget about it.

Nastan hadn’t seen a lot of the Dark Hunters around the fortress, but he wasn’t complaining. He didn’t like them, and they, in turn, didn’t like him. Occasionally he would walk past Kigin or Death (who kept insisting that everyone call him by his real name, ‘Igici,’ now, rather than his codename, though Nastan still thought of him as Death) in the hallways, but he would always try his best to ignore them. He knew how easy it was for him to get into trouble with other people if he let his tongue act before his mind did, though he still sometimes shot an insult at Kigin under his breath, and the Hunter would give him one back in return, often far more witty and creative than whatever Nastan had came up with (this irritated him greatly).

He also didn’t see a lot of Oggak, either. Whenever she wasn’t on guard duty she usually spent her time in Jokao’s room. She seemed really concerned about him, despite the fact he was getting better. At first, Nastan had been completely clueless as to why she never seemed to do anything other than eat, visit Jokao for extended periods of time, and sleep; but he was now starting to suspect that Jokao and Oggak might be closer than ‘just’ friends, which made him feel disgusted.

Why would Jokao ever wish to be with a Toa of Shadow? he would sometimes think as he took over guard duty from Oggak, who would always seem to head directly to Jokao’s room once her shift was over. I mean, okay, maybe she’s not totally evil and insane like the Shodios, but seriously, can’t he see that she and him just can’t be together? True, I’m no Toa of Fire, but ever since we went to Wyoko I see the world in terms of us and the Kra-Matoran. And in my view, there’s absolutely no compatibility whatsoever. Don’t really understand what he sees in her, anyway; she’s not nearly as beautiful as Akuna.

He had only seen Joha a few times during the week, and every time the Turaga looked the same; tired, breathing deeply, and looking weaker, as though his life was being sucked out of his body. This was worrying Nastan, since Joha’s health seemed to be getting worse as the days progressed. Nastan wondered if this had to do with the fact that Joha, being the leader of the village, had a lot more responsibilities than everyone else. There was also the possibility that his old age was finally catching up with him; he was quite old, though not as old as some people Nastan had heard of. Perhaps the Turaga of Stone had sustained some injury during the past few weeks that no one knew of? Nastan hoped not.

Because the only times he had seen Joha were during brief meetings, most of which involved helping to evenly divide their supplies among the villagers, he had not gotten a chance to ask the Turaga why he was allowing the Dark Hunters to stay here. Though Nastan knew that it was too late to simply kick the Hunters out, he wondered why Joha – who had been vehemently fighting the Dark Hunters for thousands of years – was not treating them as scum, as he rightfully should (in Nastan’s opinion, anyway). He thought that Joha most of all would be against them, yet he did not seem to treat them much differently than anyone else, as far as Nastan knew.

Maybe he thinks we need the Dark Hunters’ help, Nastan thought after one meeting. I suppose the Hunters do help in the defense of Koro Nui. Still, I’m just shocked he accepted them into the village in the first place. It just doesn’t make sense. Maybe I can ask him about it later, or something.

But there never was any opportunity to ask Joha about it during the week, since everyone was so busy keeping an eye out for the Tuikas, divvying up the supplies while making sure that no Matoran, Toa, or Dark Hunter got more than his or her fair share, and many other things besides. So Nastan decided that he would ask about it whenever he got the chance and put it in the back of his mind for later, if he happened to remember it.

It was only at the next meeting, at the end of the week, when all of the guardians of Koro Nui were assembled in the throne room, that Nastan was finally given the chance to explore the rest of the island a little bit.

Joha, who still looked sick and tired, explained to them that he thought another rescue expedition to find any survivors who had not yet made it to Koro Nui would do them some good. He said that because the Tuikas had not attacked for a week, he thought it might be safe to do a quick search for any surviving Matoran nearby.

“I don’t know, Turaga,” said Oggak, who looked in the direction of Jokao’s room as she leaned against the stone wall of the chamber. Jokao was the only one absent because he was still recovering from his injuries. “Without Jokao, it would be rather difficult for me to make the journey alone, especially if I run into the Tuikas.”

Joha coughed loudly and then said, looking at Oggak, “You will not be going on the expedition alone, Oggak. You will be accompanied by Igici this time. That is,” he added, “if you wish to go at all. I would understand if you want to-“

“I would like to stay, yes,” said Oggak quickly, nodding. Her eyes kept flickering down the hallway which lead to Jokao’s room and back again. “I mean, not that I don’t care about finding any survivors, but-“

“Fine,” said Joha abruptly, nodding. He turned to Nastan and said to him, “You will go with Igici instead.”

Nastan, startled, looked at Death suspiciously, and then said to Joha, “Turaga, I can’t work with a Dark Hunter. What if he-“

“I would never backstab you or leave you for dead if the Tuikas attacked, if that is what you were about to suggest,” Death replied curtly. “I am an honorable warrior. You can trust me.”

“Trust you?” Nastan snorted in disbelief. “You want a Toa to trust a Dark Hunter? Please, I would rather hug a doom viper than trust you.”

“Enough arguing!” shouted Joha, slamming his staff onto the ground hard and loudly, the sound echoing off the walls. “There is no discussion about this! You two shall go later today and should get back as soon as possible with any survivors you might find. All right?”

“Er, yes, Turaga,” Nastan said. Joha had never snapped at him before, but it was certainly enough to make him forget all about his objections and simply obey. “We’ll do that.”

“We will indeed, Turaga,” said Death, nodding solemnly. “We will do as you command.”

“Good,” said Joha, who looked and sounded rather relieved now. “Now go get your weapons and armor ready. It’s not going to be easy out there, and I don’t want both of you dead because you went in unprepared. Take whatever you need and get going as soon as possible.”

-

Raider sat in the treetops of the proto forest, casually wiping dirt off his silent rifle. He would occasionally glance towards the direction of the fortress, which looked much different than when he had last seen it about 10,000 years ago or so. Its walls were no longer made of stone but of iron, though it was spread about in various places and gave him the impression that whoever had done it either wasn’t a very good artist or had only tried to repair the places that had been damaged in an attack of some kind. Regardless, it did confirm one thing: Those bizarre monsters that had nearly killed him earlier this week were choosing this place as their target, though why, he did not know.

Raider had reached the shores of Shika Nui about a week ago and, almost the minute had he set foot on its beaches he had been attacked by a couple of the strangest creatures he had ever seen in his life. One had been bat-like in appearance, but wore blue and red armor and had a beak-like mouth, while the other had been Toa-sized with a scorpion-like tail and spiky pale brown armor.

At first, he had thought they were some kind of mad Rahi of a species he had never seen before. But they quickly proved to be much more than just mad Rahi; they seemed to react to his movements in ways only a sapient being, such as a Toa or Dark Hunter, could. Just the two of them alone had been enough to drive him off into the forest, and if he hadn’t managed to lose them like he did, he doubted he would have survived long enough to find a place to sleep.

So in order to stay safe, he was staying hidden in the proto forest, having made a kind of nest in the treetops. From here, he kept a careful watch on the Dark Hunters’ fortress, during which he had made a startling discovery: Toa and Matoran were now apparently coexisting peacefully with the Dark Hunters, of which he had only seen a few.

It wasn’t unusual to see Matoran slaves around the fortress; when he had been here, he had seen many delivering food, water, and doing the daily, necessary chores needed to keep the place from falling apart. But to see them, as he had, walking and even talking with some Dark Hunters, as though they were friends or comrades, made him feel as though he had just stumbled into an alternate reality of some kind where Matoran and Toa were friends with Dark Hunters, a thought that disturbed him greatly.

What is going on in there? he thought, straining to see over the walls, but failing to see much of anything besides a Matoran or two standing on the barriers, apparently working as guards. Why would Dark Hunters work side-by-side with Toa and Matoran? Have they gone insane? Or have the Matoran, somehow, managed to free themselves of the Dark Hunters and take over the fortress? I have to know. The Shadowed One would be very interested in learning about this, as would I.

Oddly, he had not seen any other Dark Hunters around besides Kigin and Death. He concluded that that had something to with those monsters he had run into earlier; if two had given him, the Legendary Dark Hunter, trouble, then surely, if there were more here, there would be few other Dark Hunters still alive on the island.

Perhaps that is why there has been no word from the Dark Hunters here for many weeks, Raider thought, polishing his gun slightly slower now, frowning. Maybe those beasts have been sinking our ships and killing off anyone who tries to escape or come to the island. If so, then they are a force to be reckoned with, though I have no doubt in my mind that a force of hundreds of well-armed and well-trained Dark Hunters could easily take them out, depending on how many of those things there really are.

He paused to watch the gates open and a Toa of The Green he did not recognize walked out, along with Death. They both seemed to be in conversation and were pointing in the direction of the west village, which was the closest to the fortress, Raider knew. He wondered why Death was working alongside a Toa, but then decided that it probably made sense. Death had never had proper Dark Hunter pride – If there was such a thing as proper Dark Hunter pride in the first place, he thought sardonically – and never seemed to think about the things other Dark Hunters usually did, such as loot, fame, power, and so on. Perhaps Death was thinking he could get out of the organization if he allied with Toa, which just made Raider smile.

What kind of fool thinks he can ever leave the Dark Hunters once he joins? Raider thought, shaking his head as he began to slowly climb down the tree. The Toa and Death had begun walking in the direction of the village of Ironos and he didn’t want to let them out of his sight for even a minute. He wanted to know where they were going and why, as it was obviously important if they were willing to risk their lives with those monsters on the loose, he concluded.

-

Nastan walked carefully and quietly through the proto forest, Death at his side. Both of them had their weapons out and were keeping a careful watch on the path ahead. Though the Tuikas were not known for attacking the proto forest, they were known to attack Jokao and Oggak whenever they were on rescue expeditions, regardless of where the two Toa were at the time. They were going slow now mostly out of caution and a little bit of fear, though Nastan would never admit to being afraid, not especially to a Dark Hunter.

Their expedition today was not going to take them far. They would be heading to the ruins of the village of Ironos, which had been the biggest settlement on Shika Nui before the Tuikas destroyed it and was near Koro Nui. Joha had told them that he suspected that some Matoran may have taken refuge there, since according to some of the North Tower and West Tower guardsmen, there were signs of someone or perhaps a group of people living there now. Though the possibility of it just being some Rahi – or even a Tuikas trap – was suggested, Joha still did not want to end up with even more dead Matoran, not if it could be prevented, at least.

Nastan was stunned by the current state of the proto forest. Back before heading into Wyoko, the proto forest, while not as big as it had been before the Dark Hunters had first came to the island had been alive and well with many different types of Rahi beasts and insects inhabiting its trees. It had been Nastan’s favorite place on the whole island, not only for the fact that he was Toa of The Green and thus was closer to nature than the others. It had to do with the fact that he felt at home here and that it had been the most peaceful and beautiful place on the island, even when the Dark Hunters had ruled.

Yet now it was virtually dead. Everything looked gray and lifeless; he no longer heard the screeches of the brakas monkeys from somewhere deep in the forest, nor did he see any insects crawling on the ground or underneath fallen branches. All he saw were lifeless trees and, though many still held leaves they looked to be dead and seemed as though they would fall off at the slightest touch. The crunching of leaves underneath their feet felt wrong to Nastan. Somehow, it felt as though he were stamping over dead bodies, even though he knew there was a big difference between corpses and dead leaves.

He supposed that these thoughts that he was having were natural. He was a Toa of The Green, after all, and had a closer connection to plant life and nature in general than the others. He also felt slightly chilled and tense, as though he were stepping through a graveyard, though he assumed it had something to do with the cold wind that penetrated the forest’s trees.

“What happened here?” Nastan asked Death in a whisper, ducking underneath a branch that was just barely hanging onto the tree it was attached to. He stopped to look at it with a frown. “Everything looked as though it just . . . died, or something.”

“Various battles with the Tuikas here have caused the trees to wither and die,” Death replied quietly, his bright, golden eyes still fixed on the path ahead. “That and my fellow Dark Hunters weren’t too kind to these trees, either. These are merely the aftereffects of all of the proto mining we’ve been doing here. I knew it would happen eventually, since it happened back on my home island, Niji, many years ago.”

“So you and the Tuikas are to fault, then,” said Nastan angrily. He pointed at a dead tree and snapped, “It’s because of you that these trees and plants are dying. I always knew that cutting down the trees and mining out the protodermis deposits buried underneath was wrong.”

“Did you?” asked Death, raising one eye brow as he briefly averted his gaze from the trail. “Funny, when you were a Matoran, I never heard you complaining much about what we did.”

“Well, I was busy,” Nastan argued, leaping over a fallen tree expertly, “too busy to think about the environment, even though I still cared about it. That’s all.” He looked around and added, “I used to live here, you know.”

“Odd,” Death commented, focusing his attention on the path again. He cut a tree branch out of his way as he walked (much to Nastan’s chagrin). “When the Dark Hunters took over Shika Nui, I was under the impression that all Matoran living here had been moved out into the surrounding villages or made slaves to work in the mines. How could you possibly have lived in here?”

“It was very briefly, before I joined up with the others,” Nastan answered shortly, glaring at Death as the Dark Hunter kicked a fallen tree limb out of his path rather roughly. He has no respect for the forest at all, he thought. “Because I got into trouble with some Hunters, I hid in here for a couple of weeks or so and then I accidentally stumbled onto our old hideout and, since I had nowhere else to go, Addis and the others let me . . . let me stay and join them.”

He fell very quiet as they progressed deeper into the woods. He was remembering Addis. He remembered very well the day he first joined the crew, how hungry and thirsty and tired he had been when he had stumbled upon their little group of thieves. He had learned firsthand that living in the wild wasn’t all it cracked up to be, even though he had been a Gre-Matoran, and so had eagerly joined when they had offered him membership and a place to rest his head. It had been a very kind thing of Addis to let him join, he thought; even as a Matoran, Addis had been a good person. It made Nastan realize just how much he missed Addis, but he tried to push those thoughts away, since he had other more important things to deal with at the moment.

Death, who apparently noticed his sudden silence, asked quietly, “Do you miss Addis?”

Nastan whirled around, seething in anger as he looked at Death. “Why do you care? You’re just a Dark Hunter; I don’t have to tell you what my feelings and thoughts are if I don’t want to.”

“I agree, you don’t have to,” said Death with a shrug. “I was merely asking because I was concerned about you. And I don’t like the way you called me ‘just a Dark Hunter.’ I didn’t join the Hunters because I wanted to and I certainly did not approve of their behavior here on Shika Nui, either.”

“Whatever,” Nastan said in disgust, shaking his head. “I don’t feel like arguing with scum, even if Joha thinks you are good. We’ve got to keep our eyes open for the Tuikas.”

“I agree,” said Death, nodding. “That is the most logical thing to do.”

They continued on for a few more minutes in silence, both keeping their eyes and audio receptors open for even the barest hint of Tuikas. Nastan tried his best to keep his mind clear of thoughts of Addis, the Dark Hunters, or anything that wasn’t particularly relevant to the situation at hand. He did not want to end up dead like Addis, but there he was thinking about Addis again. Besides, it hadn’t been Addis’ fault he had died, either; he had bled to death and hadn’t known a whole lot about the Tuikas before charging into battle in the first place, anyway. He thought it was being unfair of him to think that Addis hadn’t been prepared; he had been all right, but he had died because . . .

Well, he didn’t know why Addis had died and didn’t want to think too much about the most obvious conclusion, that the Tuikas were simply stronger and faster than Addis or any of the others, which might have been the reason that their leader had died. He decided that it just happened because people died in wars. Nonzra had died in a war, too, and now he was beginning to feel sad about Nonzra. Nonzra had been a good friend and had done one last act of heroism before dying, but that didn’t make Nastan miss him any less. On the contrary, somehow that made him miss the Toa of Sonics even more than before, though he didn’t know why that was.

He actually found himself envying Death, who did not seem to be bothered by thoughts about lost loved ones. The Dark Hunter had his attention focused entirely on the path ahead, towards a break in the trees, which would lead them to Ironos. Death had no one to worry about, or remember, or angst about. Of course, he was also a Dark Hunter; if there was anyone close to him in his past that had died he probably did not care, at least not anymore, since Dark Hunters were all heartless, cruel, evil beings who only worked with others if it would help further their own agendas. So he decided that Death had nothing to be envied for, not like Nastan himself.

I have three great friends, am heroic, and have saved the universe itself once, Nastan thought proudly as he walked around a fallen log. What does he have on his list of personal achievements? Probably murder, theft, cruelty, and palling around with others just like him. Not much, in my opinion. Not much at all.

Soon, they arrived at the end of pathway and, standing on a hill top, Nastan finally saw, for the first time, what a once thriving village such as Ironos looked like after the Tuikas were done with it.

It was barely recognizable as a village anymore, in his opinion. Destroyed huts stretched out for miles in every direction below him; one nearby hut had been totally obliterated, leaving nothing but a small crater where it had once been. Large chunks of rock had been ripped or blown out of the streets, leaving craters of irregular sizes dotting the avenues. The river that had ran through here in the past, though still filled with water, looked dirty and undrinkable and he did not see even a stone rat using it for drinking water now.

Worst of all perhaps was the stench. It smelled of death and burnt wood and stones, filling his nostrils and causing him to cough as the smoke was blown into his face by a strong gust of wind. It was horrible, even worse than the scent of death that hung over Koro Nui. He didn’t know if he would be able to breathe properly down there, not if it smelled like that.

“Come on,” Death said, already making his way down the hill along a rough pathway. “I think I see where the Matoran may be. Look over there.”

He pointed towards the end of the ruined village. Nastan looked in the direction he was indicating and saw a small fire had been lit in the shadow of one of the larger huts. The fire didn’t look as though it was burning the hut down, however; it seemed to be under control, as though somebody had made it.

“How many do you think are there?” asked Nastan as he followed Death down the pathway, occasionally tripping over a rock or piece of debris lodged in the dirt.

“Not more than four or five, I’d say, based on the size of the fire from here,” Death answered as they drew closer to Ironos. “Could be wrong, but the fire doesn’t look big enough for a particularly large group. Besides, that’s how many Oggak and Jokao generally find whenever they go on expeditions like this anyway.”

The scent grew so bad that once they had finally reached the smashed village gates Nastan had to stop for a few minutes to get some fresh air into his lungs. He also saw that the streets were littered with corpses in various states of decay; he felt as though he was going to be very sick, very soon.

“The Matoran who live here must have stronger stomachs than me,” said Nastan weakly, putting his hand over his mouth to avoid breathing in anymore of the foul air. “Otherwise I doubt they would have moved here.”

Death shrugged. “You get used to the smell of death and decay after a while. Doesn’t bother me a whole lot, personally. Now come on, we’ve got Matoran to save. Complaining won’t get us anywhere nearer that goal than we already are.”

“I know that,” Nastan snapped, walking after the Dark Hunter. “I was just saying that I don’t want them to get sick all over me once we do find them.”

“Right,” said Death. His eyes were focused on the fire ahead, which seemed to be hundreds of miles away to Nastan, though he knew it wasn’t that far away. “Just keep moving and we’ll be out of here in no time at all.”

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Chapter 16: A Visitor

The seas around Shika Nui were harsh and stormy around this time of year, and tonight was no exception. Waves of hundreds upon hundreds of tons of water went high into the air and fell back into the sea with a large splash that sent even more water flying. Ice cold rain poured out of the sky and into the depths of the ocean below and onto the wrecks of Dark Hunter ships that littered the ocean’s surface. Even the sea birds that were native to the area had to struggle to make it through the hard, gelid, and unrelenting wind that swept over the entire place like the plague.

Few sane beings would ever attempt to reach Shika Nui without a boat of some kind, especially in this weather. Even fewer sane beings would ever even conceive of trying to reach it any other way. And even less than that would be able to come up with the idea of traveling via swimming underneath the waves, exposing themselves to the many dangers of the underwater world, such as unpredictable currents, deadly Rahi, even deadlier plant life, and many other things that would render such a task impossible for a normal, sane being.

But the Dark Hunter known as Raider never thought of himself being particularly sane, nor was he what you would call a ‘normal’ being, considering his body was capable of surviving in the great ocean depths. He had a mission to accomplish – given to him by the Shadowed One himself – and he would complete it regardless of the weather. After all, he was one of the very best – and oldest – members of the Dark Hunters and, having completed many more missions than almost all of the other Hunters, was in no position to turn tail and run. He hadn’t even reached the shore yet, and besides, he knew the price for failure among the Dark Hunters was death. He had personally seen many other weaker Hunters fail their missions and had watched, with satisfaction, as they were slain in many different ways. He himself had actually carried out most of the executions, since acting as executioner was his on and off job in the Dark Hunters.

Of course, he thought as he swam underneath the surface of the silver sea, his mission today was different. Ever since Icetraz, the leader of the Dark Hunters of Shika Nui, had failed to send in weekly reports about the Dark Hunters’ progress regarding the ancient wall of protodermis, there had been rumors that Icetraz was rallying the Hunters under his command to rebel and take over the organization. Worried by these rumors and what they could mean for his leadership, the Shadowed One had sent Raider to infiltrate Shika Nui’s shores, figure out what happened, and, if necessary, kill Icetraz and any loyalists to his cause. After that, he would send a message to the Shadowed One to inform him of his success, and he would have yet another completed mission under his belt. He felt this one would be worth boasting about, personally.

Despite his immense strength and physical resistance, his arms and legs were getting tired from all of the swimming he had done in the past several days. So he decided to take a quick peek at the surface and try to find a place to rest for a couple of minutes or so, while also staying out of the way of any ships that might be patrolling the waters. He didn’t want to be captured by any defectors who worked for Icetraz. Not that he wouldn’t be able to defeat them in combat, but stealth – not brute strength – was what this mission required, at least for the first half, and he wasn’t going to mess that up.

He shot up to the surface, casually punching out a nearby Takea shark that had been swimming idly by as he swam, and finally his reddish black colored head broke the surface of the silvery water. He took a deep breath of air and looked all around for a sign of any ship, his narrow green eyes scanning the waters with ease, even in this storm.

To his surprise, he saw no sea vessels traveling the oceans this morning. All he saw were a large cloud of mist, many rising waves, some seagulls, quite a few ship wrecks, and in the distance, the outline of the mountains of Shika Nui. He was nearly there; it would take him another hour or two to reach the shore, certainly, but the fact that he could now see his destination filled him with a little excitement and relief.

He swam with his head down through the waves and rain until he reached the mast of a sunken Dark Hunter ship, which was still connected to the deck and was just barely floating on the ocean’s surface. He climbed onto its slipper, splintery surface and sat on it, stretching his arms and legs out with a sigh. Though he was a natural born swimmer – his people were seafaring nomads and knew how to swim excellently and for an extended period of time without ever stopping, just like himself - even he could get tired sometimes. Right now he needed to rest his limbs a little before setting out again.

So he took the time to scan his surroundings. It looked like a ghost shipyard; everywhere he looked there were the remains of some destroyed ship and occasionally he saw a glimmer of metal or gold from one of the wrecks in the distance. Every single ship he saw was wrecked and sunk; some were smashed so badly that only timbers of wood, floating lonely on the water, were the only things to suggest that there had ever been anything as large as the war vessels of the Dark Hunters.

He frowned. That was another rumor going around. According to the rumor, all ships coming and going to Shika Nui were being sunk by some mysterious force and as a result no one had made any success journeys to the island in weeks, as far as Raider knew. He hadn’t believed the rumor at first – Dark Hunter ships were among the finest on the seas and it would take several tons of brute force to even crack the hull of one – but now he totally believed them. He saw no functioning ship for miles around, though that may have had to do with the fact that the mist hid most of the wreckage. Still, he doubted that he would find even a simple rowboat among all of these wrecks.

Exactly what was sinking these ships, he had no idea. It had to be powerful, whatever it was. Maybe Icetraz really was rebelling against the Shadowed One’s rule and had sunk all ships that had attempted to escape to warn the Shadowed One of the rebellion.

That is something I certainly wouldn’t put past my icy little friend, Raider thought, admiring the way that the waves went many feet into the air and fell back down with a force so strong that it would kill a normal being. Icetraz has always been ambitious, and personally I have always thought it a mistake to put him in charge of a whole island such as Shika Nui. It was bound to increase his ego tenfold; it was only a matter of time before he thought himself strong enough to take on the Shadowed One. And for that, he will have to die, just as the Shadowed One ordered me to.

Raider saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Thinking it might be one of Icetraz’s ships on patrol he whipped out his sniper rifle, but saw to his relief that a small seagull – barely bigger than his head – had taken refuge on a nearby piece of driftwood. Though it was not threatening him in the slightest, he wanted to practice his aim anyway. It had been several days since he had been able to shoot anything and adding his old age to that he was beginning to think his skills were slipping a little. He would have to refine them for the kills to come, he thought.

He took aim with his sniper rifle. This rifle was different from other kinds of guns; it was quiet to the point of soundlessness, even without Raider adding his own power of deafening sounds to it. Thus, if he were hidden well, he could literally shoot whoever he wanted and no one would notice until the bullet hit. He smiled as he remembered a particularly memorable time when he had been hunting a couple of Toa and had shot one of them in the leg. The attack had been so quick and silent that it had taken them a couple of minutes to figure out that one of them had been shot, and by the time they had came to that realization, several more bullets had pierced their skulls and killed them.

True, the seagull in question was smaller than any Toa he had ever met and he was sitting on an increasingly sinking piece of debris, in the middle of a stormy sea with low visibility, with huge tidal waves on all sides that could easily crush him. But that just added to the challenge, he thought, already aiming at the seagull’s skull. And challenges, he thought as he pulled the trigger, watching the bullet go flying in the direction of the seagull’s head, were always fun.

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Chapter 15: More than Meets the Eye

After following Kavi’s instructions, it did not take long for Hajax, Oggak, and Jokao to reach the surface. They simply went straight ahead, as he had told them, and made no detours. After what they’d just been through, none of them were in the mood for unexpected surprises, though Hajax kept his spear out just in case. He did not want to let his guard down again.

Upon reaching the surface, they soon found that it was around midnight, based on how dark it was. So they decided to camp out for the night, near the cavern mouth. Should the Tuikas find them again – which seemed likely, for the Tuikas apparently did not sleep, according to Oggak – they would retreat into the tunnel and find another, safer way out.

Oggak and Hajax took turns keeping watch, while Jokao slept. He was still in far too critical to stay up for long periods of time, so it was up to the two of them to make sure no one tried to kill them while they slept. Oggak expressed worries that Hajax – who she, like everyone else, still thought was Barilo – would not be able to see any incoming foes in the darkness and therefore was in danger of being killed much easier than her. Hajax had reassured her that after his experiences in Wyoko he was quite capable of discerning what was hiding in the darkness, regardless of how deep the shadows were, which seemed to satisfy her. The truth was, of course, that he was a Makuta and so therefore could see in the darkness far better than any Toa of Shadow could, though again since no one knew this he saw no reason to blow his cover and tell her the truth.

Of course, unlike her, I have a reason for keeping my secrets, Hajax thought as he sat on the edge of the campsite, glancing over his shoulder briefly at Jokao and Oggak, who were both sleeping quietly, and then looked back into the dark countryside. Just what is her reason for hiding the truth about the Tuikas? Whatever it is, I will find a way to get it. A Makuta always gets what he wants, and I am no different.

They continued their journey at dawn, avoiding any wide open spaces, for it would have been too easy for the Tuikas to spot them if they didn’t have cover of some kind. So they mostly passed through ruined villages and kept low to the ground the entire time, moving slowly because of Jokao, whose legs had yet to heal, occasionally stopping to let him rest for a few minutes before continuing on. After about an hour and a half or so, Koro Nui’s huge outline appeared on the horizon, easily recognizable for being the only building still standing for miles around.

“There it is!” said Oggak, pointing above the dead, rotted trees of the proto forest towards the fortress. “We’re nearly there.”

“Good,” said Jokao. He took a deep breath and continued walking with some assistance from Oggak. He hadn’t gotten any better overnight; his legs were still badly damaged and his arm was hanging limply from his side, though he seemed to be mostly ignoring the pain. “When we get home, I just want to sleep all day long and maybe tomorrow, too. Might take a little longer than that, considering how bad these wounds are, though.”

He gestured at his legs, which were dragging limply along the ground. “That’s if they heal at all.”

“They will,” said Oggak reassuringly as she helped Jokao down a steep hill they were going down. It and the proto forest were the only obstacles between them and Koro Nui now, though it seemed to be taking a long time to get through them in Hajax’s opinion. “At least I hope they will.”

“What I hope for is that we reach Koro Nui as fast as possible,” said Hajax, tripping over a small rock. He staggered forward a few steps and, regaining his balance, cursed. He looked at the bottom of the hill. There were several sharp rocks down there that looked as though they could be fatal, though if they continued their current pace they would be able to walk right around them. It would be so easy to push one of them and make it look like an accident, Hajax thought as he continued walking carefully, but he would have to help with the cleaning up and he wasn’t so sure he wanted to waste time doing that. “I’m tired, hungry, and sick of this cold weather.”

“It’s the middle of winter,” Oggak said as she and Jokao carefully walked around the many rocks littering the ground. “Of course it’s going to be cold.”

“Doesn’t bother me,” said Jokao. “I guess I am a Toa of Fire, though, so I suppose it’s to be expected. Besides, Koro Nui isn’t much better. There are dozens of small, covered up holes that only have the thinnest layers of rock or metal covering them. It gets pretty chilly, especially at night.”

“Also,” Hajax added, ignoring Oggak’s and Jokao’s comments, “I dislike being out in the open like this. The Tuikas could be anywhere and aren’t too picky about where they decide to fight. I say we move as fast as possible, without stopping.”

“If we walk too fast, we’ll fall and die, or at least get seriously injured,” Oggak answered. She gestured to Jokao with her head and added, “Jokao can’t go too fast with these injuries anyway. They would just get even worse. Though I agree, I don’t like being out in the open like this, either. There aren’t a whole lot of places to hide in or run to.”

“Then let’s keep going,” said Jokao impatiently. He groaned in pain as Oggak picked up the speed. “Carefully now, though. Don’t want to lose the feeling in my legs, even if it would bring relief.”

So, after a few more minutes of careful maneuvering, they finally reached the bottom of the incline and walked around the sharp rocks. Hajax glanced curiously at the boulders as they passed. He thought it was a strange place to put giant, sharp rocks like that, though he thought it was an excellent spot to execute someone. Perhaps, when he was ruler of the universe someday, he would put it to use and slay his enemies on those rocks. It was worth thinking about, anyway, he decided.

-

The sun rose slowly in the west, its light reflecting off of the newly added layers of iron that now coated the walls around Koro Nui, courtesy of Chimoy. The courtyard had been cleared of all corpses and debris, the door on the North Tower fixed (again, thanks to Chimoy), and any broken weapons or pieces of armor found were taken to be repaired or added to other things later on.

But, as Chimoy surveyed the courtyard, standing on one of the newly refurbished walls, he did not feel joy or pride at his own handiwork; merely relief and exhaustion. He had been up all night, as he had predicted, both with the metal working and the cleanup projects. Despite the fact that the courtyard was no longer filled with the corpses of Matoran, it still stank of death and the imprints of all of those bodies – along with those of Arija, Addis, and Tyu’s reanimated corpse – seemed to be stuck in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to get them out.

He sighed and then grabbed his head with one hand. His skull was throbbing and felt like it was about to burst open any minute; his arms and legs ached and felt as though they were about to fall off, and he was not sure how much longer he would be able to keep his eyes open. He felt as though every single part of his body had been smashed with a sledge hammer several times in rapid succession, wielded by a giant of Tahtorak proportions with twice the physical strength of said Rahi.

His thoughts then drifted to the Dark Hunters. He had been surprised to see Death and Kigin helping with the repair and cleanup. Though the other Toa Shika had pitched in to help (which he had expected them to do), he hadn’t been expecting to see the two surviving Dark Hunters aiding with their own powers and great strength. Not that he was complaining, of course, since they had been a huge help in clearing the bodies and debris away, though he still wondered about it just the same, despite the pain that washed over his body like the waves in the sea.

He, like the others, had always seen the Dark Hunters as cruel, ruthless, and greedy beings, caring little for those outside of their group and possibly even less for each other. Thus to see them working alongside Toa and Matoran like that felt a little disconcerting to him.

Maybe they think that if they don’t help that we will leave them at the mercy of the Tuikas, Chimoy thought as he turned to walk down a staircase. If so, I agree with them. I know that I wouldn’t like to have to survive all on my own in the wilderness with the Tuikas out there hunting me down like dogs.

He wanted to sleep now, though he had to check up on a few last things and then he would get to sleep all day. As long as the Tuikas, of course, did not decide to attack later on.

At that moment, however, there was a sudden loud ringing noise that startled him, though he realized what it was instantly: It was the Tuikas alarm, the one designed to warn the rest of the village in case of Tuikas attack or if one or more was spotted nearby, to help the defenders get into position and to aid the villagers in finding good hiding places before the inevitable battle that was soon to follow.

So the sound of the alarm must mean that the Tuikas had been spotted, he thought as he whirled around, long, thin sword in hand and at the ready. He hoped that it was a false alarm, though; he still hadn’t completely healed from the injuries he had sustained from the last attack and he wasn’t sure how long the new walls would last if the Tuikas were to come barging in immediately like this. He had made the barriers as best as he could, sure, but they were still new and he wasn’t particularly confident about his abilities at the moment.

But as he scanned the skies overhead with alert eyes, he saw no sign of any Tuikas in the sky, which was lit by the morning sun now. This puzzled him. The alarm, he knew, was supposed to never be set off for anything but for a definite confirmed sighting of the Tuikas, and nothing else. This was done so that no one would frighten the villagers for no reason other than a mistaken sighting and, while there was no true punishment for setting off a false alarm, whoever did that was usually looked down upon by the other villagers and would lose a lot of respect, generally. At least, that was what the Matoran guards he had worked with in the East Tower had told him, though he could understand if that was true.

He was about to dismiss it as a false alarm when he abruptly saw three beings stagger out of the nearby woods. It took him a moment to realize the identity of the three: It was Oggak, Jokao, and Barilo, all of which were looking tired and, in Jokao’s case, very badly wounded.

Chimoy sighed in relief as he put his sword away. It was only those three; he had thought that a guard in one of the towers must have seen them and mistook them for the Tuikas. He was glad to see them all alive in one piece. He had been worried that the Tuikas might’ve got them.

Looks like they might’ve fought with ‘em, though, Chimoy thought as he waved at the approaching Toa. He was basing this on the fact that all three looked damaged and wounded, particularly Jokao, who looked as though he had been buried alive with all of the mud and dirt on his armor.

Ignoring the pain in his legs, Chimoy sprinted down the metal steps into the courtyard, where Akuna, Nastan, and the Dark Hunters were already gathered, Kigin and Death pulling the thick, heavy gates open as Oggak, Barilo, and Jokao approached.

“Barilo!” said Akuna in surprise, watching the Toa of Gravity, who looked rather disgruntled, helping Oggak bring Jokao in, who looked even worse up close. “I was so worried-“

“Save your sympathies for later,” Barilo snapped in an uncharacteristically harsh voice. “I don’t need them.”

“What happened to Jokao?” asked Death, looking concerned as he and Kigin shut the gates closed again. “His legs look like a giant sat on them.”

“We’ll explain once we get Jokao back to his room,” Oggak said to them all, heaving the Toa of Fire, who looked rather weak and sickly. “He’s in serious condition, though he’s been hanging on fairly well for a while.”

Nastan moved to help support Jokao, and once he had laid hands on the Toa of Fire, Barilo immediately let go, saying, “Glad to see you’re actually being useful for once, Nastan. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must go-“

“Go? Go where?” asked Kigin, who was standing in Barilo’s way as Oggak and Nastan began dragging Jokao through the courtyard, followed by the others. His eyes darted from Barilo’s dented, scratched armor, stained with mud and dirt in many places, and commented, “Then again, if I were in your situation, I do not think I would wish to remain looking like that any longer. However,” Kigin added, moving to the side as Barilo tried to side step him, “it would be quite rude of you to go and take a bath while Jokao is in such critical condition, wouldn’t it? Your friends might think less of you, though I assure you that you cannot lower yourself in my eyes any more than you already have, Toa.”

Barilo looked as though he wanted to snap, but instead said, in a forced calm voice, “Ah, yes, I see. In all of the excitement, I had forgotten that it would be rude of me to go off to, ah, take a bath, as you said. I shall go join them and see to my friend’s injuries, as any good friend would do.”

“Then go,” Kigin snapped, pointing at the retreating backs of the others. “Or else I’ll make you go. Got it?”

Barilo looked defiantly at Kigin for a moment before replying coldly, “Of course I get it. I’m no dumb brute like your large friend Byki had been.”

Kigin glared at Barilo, but said no more as the Toa of Gravity turned and began walking in the same direction as the others. The Dark Hunter soon followed, keeping a careful eye on Barilo as they entered the village.

-

Jokao was taken straight to his room once they had reached the fortress, where the village doctor, a Po-Matoran named Telka, was instructed by Turaga Joha to keep a watch over him and make sure he got better. Meanwhile, Oggak and Barilo informed the others of their adventures, explaining how Jokao got hurt, why it had taken them so long to return, and so on. Everyone was much surprised to hear about Kavi and Ramoth, though Joha seemed to recall hearing something about the Tamers sometime ago. And almost everyone was happy to see that Oggak, Jokao, and Barilo had managed to make it back alive at least.

Upon hearing of Addis’ death, Oggak had seemed surprised and almost sad, while Barilo, much to Akuna’s astonishment, acted unaffected by it and merely shrugged the news off as though it wasn’t important to him. This was surprising because Barilo had been the closest to Addis before his death, so the fact that he was acting as indifferent as he was made her feel confused. She, Nastan, and Chimoy had been greatly saddened by Addis’ death, and were still sad about it, yet Barilo did not seem to be bothered in the slightest. She decided that Barilo, tired out from his expedition with Jokao and Oggak, hadn’t processed the news in his mind yet, though she was still worried about him just the same.

She didn’t know how Jokao reacted to the news, since he had been told about it privately in his own room, where he would have to be for a while, according to Telka, since he would need some time before his injuries were fully healed. She thought he must be sad, since he had been a friend of Addis, too, but beyond that she could not know what he felt upon hearing the news.

When the news of Jokao’s terrible injuries became more widespread, the villagers seemed to take it even worse than Addis’ death. That was perhaps because Addis had not been as loved or as well-known as Jokao had, though it still annoyed Akuna. While she did care for Jokao and wished him to get better, she knew that he would heal up, eventually, while Addis had died and would never come back. She also thought that the Matoran ought to remember Addis’ own accomplishments, but she decided not to bring it up. She couldn’t get the Matoran to change their minds or opinions and it would be pointless to even try.

Since they had nothing else to do that day, the remaining Toa Shika all gathered in their room on the 12th floor to rest and talk. Or they tried to talk, but since Barilo was sleeping deeply, there was not much to talk about it other than what they already knew about the expedition. They avoided talking about Addis for obvious reasons.

“Are you sure we can’t just wake him up?” asked Nastan, glancing at the sleeping Toa, who had pulled his blankets over his head, his body rising and falling gently underneath the covers. “I mean, we’ve been through a lot more than him, haven’t we? Shouldn’t he stay up at least a little while longer and give us more details on the expedition or something?”

“Well, if what they say is true, he’s earned his rest,” said Akuna as she rubbed her legs, which were still sore from all of the fighting and running she had done last night. “We shouldn’t bother him. He needs rest just as much as we do.”

“I suppose so,” said Nastan with a shrug. “I just want to know more about the details, specifically about what Oggak did.”

“Haven’t you given up your obsession with her yet?” asked Chimoy with a yawn. He was getting ready to sleep, too, though he seemed to want stay awake a little while longer and partake in the discussion. “Don’t you remember what we talked about last night? At Nonzra’s and Addis’ graves?”

“I’m not obsessed with her,” Nastan protested. “And I remember exactly what we talked about, brother. It’s just that I am still suspicious of her. Aren’t you?”

“We’re all suspicious of her to an extent, Nastan,” said Akuna with a shrug, examining her newly-fixed staff of lightning. During last night’s battle, her weapon had been snapped in two, though Chimoy had fixed it after the funeral. “Just not as suspicious as you are. Anyway, why not go ask her yourself if you’re so curious? I’m sure she’d be willing to talk about it.”

“Well, if she did do something wrong or whatever, she’s not likely going to tell me about it, is she?” asked Nastan, annoyed as he sat cross-legged on his mattress. “Barilo’s likely to be a lot more honest about her mistakes than she is. That’s why I want to talk to him.”

“Well, there’s not much we can do about that, then,” said Chimoy, pulling his own blankets over himself and closing his eyes. “Barilo’s sleeping, so you can’t talk to him, and you don’t want to talk to Oggak herself because you think she might lie. The best you can do for now, Nastan, is wait until Barilo wakes up. Now be quiet. I need to rest.”

Chimoy then turned to face the wall and immediately began snoring, indicating that he had fallen asleep already. Nastan looked at Chimoy for a moment with a disgruntled look on his face and then shook his head and looked at Akuna, who had put aside her staff and was now lying on her back in bed. She herself was getting sleepy now and wanted to rest for a while.

“What do you think I should do, then, Akuna?” asked Nastan. “I mean, I want to know the truth, but if Barilo won’t wake up and tell me . . .”

Akuna yawned and said, “Maybe you should just forget about it for a while, Nastan. There’s really nothing you can do about it until tomorrow. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it, if it were me, at least not as badly as you.”

“I am not obsessing about it!” said Nastan again. “I’m just-“

“Please be quiet now, Nastan,” said Akuna irritably. “I’ve had enough of your ranting for the day, all right? Just sleep and we can talk about it tomorrow.”

“No,” said Nastan, arms now folded in defiance. “I am not going to drop it. Nor do I want to sleep.”

“Well, I do!” said Akuna, slightly louder than she had intended. She got out of bed and began pulling her cot away from Nastan’s. “You can stay up all night worrying about it if you want to, but I want to sleep, okay? I’ve been through a whole lot and don’t have the energy to worry about what Oggak may or may not have done on that expedition.”

“Wait, no!” said Nastan, reaching out towards her but failing. “I didn’t mean-“

“Good night, Nastan,” Akuna replied abruptly, stopping once she had found a reasonable distance from Nastan. She hopped onto her bed, turned onto her side, and pulled the blankets over her head. “I am going to sleep and don’t want to be bothered anymore tonight. Got it?”

“Fine, then,” said Nastan, with more than a hint of anger in his voice. “I’ll just . . . I’ll just go to sleep, too, then! And then, I won’t have to bother you!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“Fi-“

“Quiet!” came another, more hoarse voice, catching both Nastan and Akuna off-guard. “Some of us are trying to sleep here, you know!”

Akuna looked around until she saw Barilo, his eyes wild and angry, glaring at them from his own bed with such ferocity that she was almost frightened by it.

“If either you says anything else, you’ll both sleeping on the ceiling tonight!” Barilo snapped, pointing upwards as though they had not understood him. “Understand?”

“Er, yes,” said Nastan, with such timidity in his voice that Akuna had never heard before. “We’ll, um, not be loud-“

“Good,” Barilo said shortly, before turning around in his bed. He pulled the blankets over his head again. “And remember the ceiling!”

For a moment, there was an awkward silence between Nastan and Akuna, before the Toa of Lightning said, “Well, um, I guess we ought to go to sleep then, shouldn’t we?”

She was thinking about the ceiling. She knew Barilo, being a Toa of Gravity, could probably carry out his threat if he wanted to, and the ceiling really didn’t look too appealing a place to sleep to her at the moment.

“Right,” said Nastan, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her. “Well, good night, Akuna. Hope you sleep well.”

“And, uh, you, too, Nastan,” said Akuna, somewhat awkwardly. “Good night.”

Nastan lay down on his bed and closed his eyes as Akuna did the same thing, though she wasn’t necessarily asleep just yet. She had been a little unsettled by Barilo’s tone, but she understood it. Based on what Oggak and Barilo had told them that last expedition must’ve taken a lot out of the Toa of Gravity. Still, Barilo’s voice had sounded different when he snapped at her and Nastan and it wasn’t just the tone, either, though she could not place what was so different about it right now.

She decided not to worry about it too much. She herself was tired and wanted to get some sleep before tomorrow morning. She figured there would be a lot of work to do, even with the courtyard and walls cleaned and fixed up and she needed all the energy she could get.

So she soon drifted off to sleep, her mind still troubling over Barilo’s voice, whatever she had decided otherwise.

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Chapter 14: Speculation & Conspiracies

Grief, perhaps, was the only word that could have described the feelings that Akuna, Chimoy, and Nastan were feeling, standing over Addis’ newly buried grave, which they had just filled themselves.

The cause of Addis’ death was of no surprise to them. Anyone who lost that much blood so fast would have been a medical miracle if they had survived. It was more the fact that it happened, that he was dead, that he had actually been killed was what filled them with grief and sorrow.

It was late at night that they were holding this double funeral for Addis and Nonzra, the latter whose corpse they had removed from the tunnel earlier. It had taken them about half an hour or so to dig out two graves, which they had then deposited the corpses in. They were also alone, having asked the others to give them some privacy. Even Turaga Joha, who had known Addis and Nonzra before, was not present, for he had respected their request and was currently, as far as Akuna knew, overseeing the burial of the Matoran that had died in the last attack. Akuna was secretly glad that only she, Nastan, and Chimoy were here; she didn’t feel like the others would understand the feelings they were sharing as they looked at the gravestones of their two friends.

Will a third soon join them, though? Akuna thought, watching Chimoy writing on the rocks that they used for headstones. Barilo, Jokao, and Oggak have been gone an awful long time . . . what if something happened to one of them?

Though she had been reassured by the other inhabitants of Koro Nui that it wasn’t unusual for Jokao and Oggak to be gone for this long, she still was worried. The Tuikas were out there and were quite capable of murder, as they proved when they had killed Addis and all those poor Matoran. If dozens of Matoran, four Toa, and three Dark Hunters had had a difficult time with the Tuikas, then she thought it would be a miracle if Barilo, Jokao, and Oggak returned in one piece.

She glanced at Nastan, who looked extremely serious now. She knew what he was thinking. He was probably blaming himself for Addis’ death, since he had been paralyzed by Kidah’s stinger and had been helpless to save Addis or at least do something to ease the Toa of Plasma’s pain. He had actually seen Addis die right before his eyes. She wondered how much that had hurt him. Though all three of them were feeling sadness and grief, she knew that Nastan, having personally witnessed Nonzra’s death along with the others, was most likely feeling emotions of such sorrow that she was surprised he had not simply fallen on Addis’ grave crying his eyes out like she would have expected him to.

Guess he’s a little bit stronger than that, Akuna thought, gripping his hand reassuringly. He looked at her and she smiled slightly, to show him that she was with him and that she understood his feelings.

But oddly enough, he did not smile back or do anything to show that he had understood what she was trying to get across. Instead, he looked back at the tombstones with the same serious expression he had been wearing for a while now. Akuna, crestfallen, looked down and saw that Chimoy had finished writing the memorials to Addis and Nonzra. They read, respectively:

Here lies Toa Nonzra, Toa of Sonics, who had been a good friend and ally in battle, giving his life to save the Matoran of Shika Nui – and the universe – from the threat of the Shodios. He shall be remembered forever.

Here lies Toa Addis, Toa of Plasma, who had displayed leadership and loyalty to his teammates at all times and gave his life to protect the Matoran of Shika Nui – and his friends – from the wrath of the monstrous Tuikas. He shall be remembered forever.

They weren’t much, but somehow Akuna didn’t think much more needed to be said than what was written on those tombstones. She could actually feel tears welling up in her eyes as she read the memorials again and was unsure if she would be able to make it through the eulogy, which they had decided would be presented by Chimoy.

The Toa of Iron looked at Nastan and Akuna, then at the graves, and back again. He seemed to be wrestling with himself for a moment before he finally said, “Nonzra and Addis were great Toa and even greater friends. They both displayed bravery, loyalty, and courage in the face of the greatest threats they had ever faced. They were heroes of a higher caliber than we could hope to reach and will always be remembered by their friends who survived.”

Once he had finished, Nastan had one arm around Akuna, tears pouring silently down her face. She had already accepted Addis and Nonzra’s deaths before, but now, seeing their graves here, it was more final. Death was, of course, always final, but now she absolutely knew for certain that they were both dead and were never coming back. She had never fooled herself with thoughts that they might still be living, but occasionally she had thought it was all just a bad nightmare and that she would wake up to find that they were both alive and well with her and the others, that their deaths had never happened and that they would all be happy.

What a foolish way to think, she thought, shaking her head. But I guess that’s just how I think, I guess. I don’t know.

Chimoy looked up at the moon, which hung high in the sky overhead, shining through the breach in the tree branches overhead, and cursed under his breath. Akuna assumed it was in frustration and sadness that he had cursed, before Nastan suddenly muttered, “I know how you feel, Chimoy, and I blame her and them.”

“What?” said Akuna curiously, wiping the tears out of her eyes as she looked at Nastan. “Who do you blame?”

Nastan looked at Akuna with a completely serious expression on his face and said to her, “The Dark Hunters. Oggak. They’re responsible for this. Nonzra would still be alive if Oggak’s people hadn’t tried to take over the universe 100,000 years ago . . . and Addis wouldn’t have died if the Dark Hunters had been . . . well, they were just there when he died and gave no indication that they cared whatsoever.”

“Not entirely true,” said Chimoy, whose eyes were still on the moon in the sky. “Death actually showed some concern over Addis’ death and wanted to help with the burial. But Kigin didn’t care at all, so I agree that the Hunters weren’t very helpful.”

“I don’t know about Oggak, though,” said Akuna slowly. It was clear that Nastan was on a roll and she didn’t really want to get him angry at her. Still, she had to say something, since rushing to conclusions like this didn’t seem quite right to her. “Teivel did kill Nonzra, but she really had nothing to do with it, once you think about-“

“Shut up, Akuna,” said Nastan, who had taken his arm off her and was standing a few feet away. “You don’t know what you’re saying. Those Toa of Shadow. . . . They’re all the same. She’s one of them and, though she didn’t directly kill Nonzra herself, she helped make sure that everything went that way, whether she knew it or not.”

Akuna was shocked by the way he had snapped at her and said, a little angrily, “You don’t need to snap at me, Nastan. I know her history and Wyoko’s history, but I am just saying it seems a little bit like a stretch to say that Oggak was directly responsible for Nonzra’s death. That’s all.”

Nastan laughed harshly. “Right, because Oggak’s betrayal of the Kra-Matoran, which lead to their exile to Wyoko, and which lead to our entering Wyoko, didn’t cause Teivel to kill Nonzra? It was because of their hatred of us that he killed Nonzra. An irrational hate that blinded the Shodios to the truth: that they’re evil, lying, miserable villains who deserve Wyoko.”

“Are you being much different, Nastan?” asked Akuna bluntly. “You’re jumping to conclusions on Oggak just to hate her, like the way the Shodios and their people hated us just, well, just because? I admit we’re not nearly as evil as the Shodios, but-“

“The Shodios hate us because of what our ancestors did to them,” Nastan replied sharply. “And we hate them because they hunted us down, gave us an unfair trial, and killed Nonzra to boot. What they did to us is far more personal than being locked away in some physical representation of Karzahni. That is why I deserve to hate Oggak; that is why we deserve to hate her.”

“And are you accusing us of being as bad as the Shodios, Akuna?” asked Chimoy pointedly, who was no longer looking at the moon and was now staring at her with cold eyes. “We’ve never been nearly as evil as the Shodios and never will. We’re the heroes; they’re the villains. Hate, perhaps, isn’t always justifiable, but based on the things Nastan listed – and several more that I can think of – hating and distrusting Oggak may not be entirely irrational.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” said Akuna, kicking a nearby stone in frustration. She didn’t like being ‘teamed up’ on by these two like this. “I was just saying- well, look! You two are sounding almost exactly like the Shodios. You may not be willing to do the things they did, but the way you say we deserve to hate her is just . . . I don’t know if I can support that kind of thinking, even if it is true. It just doesn’t sound right to me. It just doesn’t sound like something a Toa would say. Not that I actually trust or even like Oggak, but I’m just saying that this kind of thinking, well, frightens me, especially coming from you, Nastan. I thought you were better than that.”

“I’m better than her people, if that’s what you’re saying,” Nastan replied. He reared back and punched a nearby tree hard, as though to release his anger. Or maybe he did it for no reason at all. Akuna couldn’t tell. “You know how I feel, Akuna. You know what we’ve gone through . . . what I have personally experienced. I was one of them for a while, Akuna, remember that? I know how they think and what makes them tick, and it’s not good, or fun. It’s evil; pure and utter evil. And if Oggak is a Toa of Shadow – which she is, something she doesn’t even bother to try to deny even – then I can’t see how she could possibly keep herself pure from the evil influence of shadow. It’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“From what I can tell, yes, it is,” said Chimoy, nodding in agreement. “The Makuta went evil when they embraced the shadow, and so did the Shodios and their people, the Kra-Matoran. I share Nastan’s skepticism. If shadow is evil, as we know it is, then how could Oggak possibly be even slightly good? It just doesn’t make any sense, don’t you see?”

“I- I guess so,” said Akuna with an uncertain shrug. “I really haven’t seen any truly good wielders of shadow. Maybe you are right, though I don’t really like the way you put it.”

“Glad to see you agree,” said Nastan, with a triumphant look on his face. “When Oggak, Jokao, and Barilo get back, we’ll confront her.”

“Confront her?” asked Chimoy, who sounded just as surprised as Akuna felt. “About what? We’ve got no proof she’s ever done anything wrong or evil before. All we can accuse her of is being untrustworthy and, considering she’s been fighting alongside the others for several weeks against the Tuikas and has saved many lives while risking her own at the same time, I doubt that accusation would hold much, if any, water.”

“True, we really don’t have much to accuse her of doing,” Nastan admitted, but after glancing at the graves of Nonzra and Addis, he looked up at Chimoy with an odd grin on his face. Akuna thought the smile he now wore on his face looked frighteningly like the one he had worn as a Toa of Shadow – and whenever he wore that, he had always been about to do something dangerous and evil. “But I’ve been thinking. We don’t really know why the Tuikas have been attacking us, do we? I mean, why haven’t they just left Shika Nui for an island with bigger prey? There’s like what, a few hundred Matoran and a handful of Toa, plus a couple of Dark Hunters and a Turaga here? With the power that the Tuikas have, surely they could be off conquering other lands or something like that?”

“But the Tuikas are Rahi, Nastan,” said Akuna hurriedly. She did not like the expression on his face and wanted to try to divert Nastan’s attention from his own plan quickly before it became something monstrous. “You can’t usually apply logic and reasoning to Rahi, Nastan. They may just be too stupid to understand or know that there are other islands out there to find bigger prey. Besides, I seriously doubt that a bunch of powerful Rahi are much interested in conquest in the first place. They aren’t Barraki, you know.”

“I know,” said Nastan conspiratorially, his smile widening as he went on. The expression really didn’t match the rest of his face, in Akuna’s opinion. “But here’s my theory; what if they are working for Oggak, instead of against her? What if, while we are busy fighting the Tuikas, Oggak is doing something behind our backs that none of us know about?”

“What could she possibly be trying to accomplish behind our backs, Nastan?” asked Akuna in disbelief. Distrust Oggak though she may, Akuna didn’t think the Toa of Shadow was up to anything secretive at the moment.

“Maybe she wants to free her people and bring about a new age of the Kra-Matoran Empire,” Nastan suggested, looking from Akuna to Chimoy with a crazed expression in his eyes. “I know, she says she betrayed them, but she could have changed her mind since then. Maybe she wants to free them now and lead the empire herself. I’m sure she thinks ‘Supreme Empress of the Universe Oggakia’ sounds good.”

“You don’t really have any proof of that, though,” said Chimoy, shaking his head. “It’s all just speculation, Nastan. For all we know, there could be no connection whatsoever between Oggak and the Tuikas, which I doubt there is. As much as I distrust her, I don’t think she’s planning anything malicious, even if I do think she’s no good.”

“And Nastan,” Akuna added quickly, before Nastan could retaliate, “you’re starting to sound an awful lot like you did when you were a Toa of Shadow. Your smile and eyes look almost like they were when you were evil. I mean, what’s next? When you were a Toa of Shadow, you actually tried to harm and kill us. I don’t want you to get into a fight with Oggak on the basis of some wild mass guessing that might be false.”

Nastan rounded on Akuna and, grabbing her shoulders roughly, shouted, shaking her, “What if I’m right, though? Am I going to have to just sit back and watch her get away with it?”

“Nastan!” said Akuna, shocked, struggling to break his grasp but failing. “You’re hurting me . . .” He really was. He was gripping her too hard and shaking her too fast.

Chimoy threw his arms around Nastan’s waist and managed to pull him off her with a supreme effort. He pulled Nastan away, who was now looking almost savage, wrestling to break free of Chimoy’s iron grip on him but failing, while Akuna walked as far back as possible from Nastan’s outstretched arms. The fear she was feeling towards Nastan now vividly reminded her of how she had felt when he had been a Toa of Shadow, which was exactly how she felt right now.

“Let go!” Nastan shouted, flailing his arms and legs but failing to free himself from Chimoy’s hold on him. “Let me go, or I’ll-“

“Or you’ll what? Kill me?” asked Chimoy sharply, holding Nastan with surprising ease. “Nastan, listen to yourself! You nearly hurt Akuna and are starting to sound like how you did when you were a Toa of Shadow! Snap out of it! If you want to prove you’re better than the Shodios or Dark Hunters or Tuikas, then act like it!”

At first, Chimoy’s words did not seem to have pierced Nastan’s head. Indeed, Akuna thought he was going to eventually rip his way out of Chimoy’s grasp considering how violently he was thrashing his arms and legs about.

But then suddenly – very suddenly – Nastan stopped, almost as if he hadn’t been doing anything at all. He was now looking at Chimoy with an expression of fear upon his face. Akuna had seen him look that way before, back in Wyoko, when she had managed to snap him out of insanity shortly after his phase as a Toa of Shadow. She had thought she would never see the helpless, scared expression on his face ever again, the one that seemed to always contrast with how she thought of him. Still, it was much better, she decided, than the crazed, violent expression he had worn earlier. At least he didn’t look frightening to her now, she thought.

“I . . . I’m sorry,” he said, his head hanging on his chest, not looking at either of them. His voice was quiet now. “I was just . . . I wasn’t thinking right. I didn’t mean to harm either of you two, especially you, Akuna. It was my shadow side, I think. Ever since Wanderer cured me, my shadow side has been stronger than before my transformation. I’ve been trying to fight it, but it is sometimes too strong for me to take on alone, and it isn’t always obvious, either. It’s subtle and tricks me into false thinking and makes me want to hurt people, even people I love and care for.”

“But I don’t think that quite excuses what you almost did,” said Chimoy, who had relaxed his grip on the Toa of The Green, but still held both hands on him just in case. “While neither of us hate you, Nastan, next time I think you should try harder to resist the shadow within.”

Nastan glared at Chimoy and growled, “Do you think I don’t try? I- well, okay, I sometimes don’t because I forget about it. But when I do know it’s there, I try to stop it and I sometimes succeed. It isn’t easy. It’s like my dark side suddenly became more powerful after I was cured; like I wasn’t made completely good after all.”

Akuna took a tentative step forward (she still had no idea if Nastan would go berserk and try to harm her again, so she thought it best to keep her distance) and said to him, in as gentle a voice she could muster, “No one is completely good, Nastan. We all deal with our evil sides every once in a while, some more than others. I still love you, even if you did try to hurt me, though I admit I was a little shaken up by it. I’m also, however, willing to help you. No one can do it alone, and we need unity in this time, as cliché as that may sound.”

“Precisely,” Chimoy added, letting go of Nastan, who was now on his knees and staring at the ground in shame. “Unity is of utmost importance right now, though I admit, I don’t particularly like our new allies. Still, it would be better to keep these thoughts to ourselves, at least for now. Driving us apart will simply make it easier for the Tuikas to smash us into a million little pieces.”

“I guess so,” Nastan muttered, getting back to his feet with help from Akuna. “I . . . I don’t really think Oggak’s got anything to do with the Tuikas anymore, not for real. But I still don’t like her,” he added, looking around at them defiantly.

“Whatever,” Akuna said with a smile, feeling less fearful around Nastan now that he was back to normal. “I think we ought to head back to the fortress now. The others might be worried about our prolonged absence.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” said Nastan in agreement. “I was getting a little tired, though I doubt I’ll get much rest.”

“You’re telling me,” said Chimoy jokingly as they began to walk back to Koro Nui. “Joha gave me a word before we left to bury Nonzra and Addis. He told me that I should use my powers over metal to reinforce the walls, towers, and anything else that got heavily damaged in the last attack. I’m going to be up all night and for much of tomorrow morning, I suspect.”

“Well, somebody has to do it, right?” said Akuna. “You’re the best person for the job, probably.”

“Yeah, my powers are useful for the rebuilding, I guess, but I’m not much of an architect,” said Chimoy with a shrug. “It may not hold up well against the next attack.”

“Maybe when Barilo returns he can help you with that,” Nastan suggested. “Like, use his gravity to move debris, you know? Be useful for once.”

They all shared a chuckle at that. Though she was enjoying this greatly, Akuna knew this lighthearted behavior would only last a little while. She had no doubt in her mind that soon they would all be mourning Addis, more so than before, as well Nonzra. It seemed likely to her, too, that when Barilo got back and learned of Addis’ death the mourning would get even worse.

But for now, she was determined to enjoy this moment of happiness with her two friends, however brief it may be.

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Chapter 13: Tamers

Hajax lay on the ground of the brightly lit cavern, his body aching all over as he watched Ramoth bare down upon Jokao. He did not care much for the Toa of Fire’s life, but he was currently burning in anger at the Matoran villager, whoever he was. This Matoran had dared to order his dumb beast to attack him, Makuta Hajax, and had succeeded in landing a blow. He would have to pay dearly, the villager and his stupid pet.

That is if I can even get up in the first place, Hajax thought as his body ached all over. I nearly forgot what it felt like to have to deal with a weak, frail thing like this physical body. Something I will have to deal with at some point, but for now I must force myself to get up, however difficult that may be.

But, as it turned out, he didn’t even need to move, for half a dozen bolts of shadow struck Ramoth’s behind, stinging it and causing the dragon to roar in pain. It whirled around to face Oggak, its attacker, who was back on her feet despite having been hit as hard as he and Jokao had, her red eyes flashing in anger as shadow energy trailed from her hands. Hajax noted that the Toa of Shadow was apparently stronger than she looked, which would make any future interrogations harder to accomplish, he decided.

“Don’t you dare touch him,” she said quietly, though Hajax caught the threatening tone very well and so did Ramoth, apparently, who was looking at her in rage. “Or I’ll make you pay.”

“Ha! You can’t kill Ramoth,” said the Matoran, who Hajax noted, with some satisfaction, had moved himself well away from them. “You don’t have your sword, for one, which I took from your bag when we first captured you. And two, Ramoth’s hide is thick enough to take whatever you throw at him. Trying to kill him would be like trying to stop a stampeding herd of Tahtorak; it just isn’t happening and you’ll end up dead sooner or later. So give up, and maybe I’ll have Ramoth kill you before he eats you whole.”

Oggak laughed, a harsh, cold laugh that reminded Hajax, now accessing Barilo’s memories, of whenever a Shodios laughed, particularly Teivel. Not so different from them, then, is she? Hajax thought as he got onto his hands and knees and shook his head to clear his vision, which was still a little fuzzy from the hit he had taken.

“Your dragon may be stronger than me, true, but if you know what’s good for you, you will call him down. Now,” she added, and Hajax noticed shadow swirling around her hands. He thought he knew what was going to happen, but wondered if Oggak was really going to do it or if she was just bluffing.

The Matoran snorted. “Are you threatening me, Toa?”

“No,” she replied simply. “I am warning you.”

“Warning me? Ha!” the Matoran laughed. “I think you forgot-“

Suddenly, bonds of shadow appeared around the Matoran’s body and constricted, even as the villager yelped in pain. Hajax recognized those; the chains were of the same kind used by the Shodios and Kra-Matoran back in Wyoko. He had no idea that Oggak was capable of it, though he supposed upon reflection it made sense. Try as she might to disassociate herself from her own people, she was still just like them, in powers and personality. Hajax then realized that he wasn’t much different from Teridax or any of the other Makuta that had followed him, but did his best to push that thought out of his mind. He was different; smarter, for one, and much better at manipulating people, too, among other things. No similarities at all, he told himself, besides being of the same species, which was something that he couldn’t help.

Ramoth took a couple of steps forward, snarling at Oggak, but then without warning a cage of raging flames sprung into life around it, the bars of which were so hot that it actually yelped when its thick armor came into contact with them. Hajax glanced to the left and saw Jokao, though still lying on the ground, had one hand raised and aimed directly at Ramoth. Hajax then looked back at Ramoth, which had apparently burned itself again, for it had screeched loudly in pain.

“You don’t mess with Toa and get away with it that easily,” Oggak told the Matoran coldly. She pulled her hand back and the Matoran’s shadow chains began floating towards her with the captured prisoner in its grasps. The Matoran tried to break free, but it was clear that the energy sapping ability of the shadow chains was at work, since he was having no success at all in his endeavor.

“Y-yeah,” Jokao gasped, wincing. Hajax remembered that Jokao’s legs were broken, which was probably the reason for his wincing. That and the fact that it was likely taking a lot of energy out of him to keep the cage in existence for as long as it was. Hajax thought that the Toa of Fire must be stronger than he appeared.

I will have to keep an eye on him, too, the Makuta decided as he rose to his own feet, now feeling rather sick. He found himself thinking almost fondly of his bed back at Koro Nui, where he could rest his battered body and refresh himself, but he pushed those thoughts away. He had to concentrate on the here and now, which his body apparently wasn’t very interested in at the moment.

“Now tell me,” said Oggak, calmly and quietly, once the Matoran was within arm length of her. She had her attention focused solely on the villager now, and her eyes, which had been burning in anger earlier, were now calmer, though somehow that looked worse to Hajax than the anger. “Does your name happen to be . . . Kavi?”

“Yes, it is,” the Matoran replied indignantly. “I am certain the name is much better than your own, shadow spit.”

The chains constricted again and the Matoran yelped in pain as Oggak continued quietly, “I knew it.”

“What did you know, Oggak?” asked Hajax, in what he hoped was a curious-sounding voice. “Do you know Kavi? Have you met him before?”

“I’ve heard of him,” said Oggak not paying attention to Kavi anymore, who was now looking rather weak and was no longer struggling to escape his bonds. “On Daxia, the Order kept Shika Nui under surveillance after the Kra-Matoran were exiled into Wyoko. As a result, we probably know quite a bit more about Shika Nui’s history than even its own inhabitants do.”

“The Order is still active?” asked Kavi interestedly. “I thought-“

“No one cares what you think, Matoran,” Hajax snapped, mostly out of habit. “Or-“

“Barilo, stop insulting him,” said Oggak firmly. “You’re just enraging him for no reason.”

“Ah, yes, I forgot,” said Hajax with a fake shrug. “Of course, I can’t possibly insult him, now can I? But you, of course, can sap him of his energy with those shadow chains . . . the very same, I may add, that the Shodios and Kra-Matoran used on me and my friends back in Wyoko. Totally makes sense.”

He smirked at Oggak, who did not reply. He had effectively pointed out her hypocrisy so well that she could not respond. He loved it when he did that.

“Um, guys?” said Jokao, whose voice sounded strained. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep Ramoth at bay. This cage won’t last forever, you know.”

“Right,” said Oggak, nodding. “Now where was I? Oh, yes, that’s right. Well, you see, Shika Nui was then inhabited by many Matoran, who came from places all across the universe after the Kra-Matoran were imprisoned. Because the universe was still in a state of turmoil, Shika Nui needed protection, much more than the six new Toa who had come in being when the Toa Avha had turned into Turaga shortly after completing their destiny. So the island’s new inhabitants began to tame some of the native dragon-like Rahi that lived in its lower depths, which are called Frykes. Matoran who tamed these creatures were known as Tamers and eventually, after a few years, an organized group of Matoran emerged, which was comprised primarily of the most famous Tamers at the time, as well as a few trainees who were to follow in the footsteps of their elder Tamers.

“The Tamers did quite a bit in Shika Nui’s early days, ranging from protecting the Matoran of Shika Nui from dangerous Rahi to helping make certain parts of the island more habitable for the new settlers. In essence, the Tamers and their Frykes acted like Toa, except much less noble, with no such code against killing, for example. They also worked alongside the Toa of Shika Nui that were active at the time and were often associated with the heroes. Some Tamers were even hired by the leaders of other islands to do work for them they were so successful and well-known. And for a while everything was goi-”

“We were looked upon as heroes!” Kavi interrupted, speaking up suddenly. “We were loved by all and given special honor during Naming Day ceremonies! We did all the work, but we were disbanded and replaced by the Toa Shika, who had grown strong and experienced enough to defend the island on their own without our help. And there no need for us after the island was completely settled, either! Did we gain recognition for our work? No! The Toa replaced us. The Toa . . . they . . . I . . .”

The bitterness in his voice surprised Hajax a little, though at the same time, he could almost feel himself sympathizing with the villager, or as much as a Makuta could sympathize with another being, anyway. He remembered how jealous the other Makuta had been when they had learned that the Matoran gave all of their thanks and praise to Mata Nui, rather than to the Brotherhood, which had worked tirelessly every day to ensure the safety of the villagers. He had always suspected that jealousy had played a large part in Teridax’s creation of the Plan. So in a way, he understood Kavi’s apparent anger, bitterness, and feelings of betrayal that he felt towards other Matoran.

“What does he. . . . What does he mean, Oggak?” asked Jokao weakly. He did not seem like he could stay conscious much longer, based on his tone.

“He means that the Tamers were indeed replaced, though he has distorted some of the facts,” Oggak said, after throwing a surprisingly irritated look at Kavi. “You see, though the Tamers were indeed respected, they were also feared. Their Frykes, like Ramoth, were strong and had very bad tempers. Even the slightest, most insignificant annoying thing would be enough to offend them, which would almost always result in the death of whoever was stupid enough to offend the Fryke in the first place. This culminated when, about ten years after the Tamers were formed, several Frykes which were supposed to be under Tamer control went berserk and went on a destructive rampage all over Shika Nui before the local Toa team managed to stop them. Combining this attack with the growing fear of the Frykes was enough to force the Turaga at that time, Turaga Omira, to disband the Tamers for good.”

“I remember that day all too well,” Kavi muttered, more to himself than anything. “It wasn’t our fault that some moron angered our Frykes enough to go on a rampage. They simply weren’t as well behaved as Ramoth. Isn’t that right, Ramoth?”

The dragon, still in its cage of flames, merely growled softly in reply, its yellow eyes never leaving Oggak, who continued her explanation.

“Since the Tamers were disbanded, the Toa Shika of that time period were given the status of Shika Nui’s main defenders and peacekeepers,” she continued. “Former Tamers, while still allowed to live on Shika Nui, were feared and sometimes hated by their neighbors, causing some of them to leave the island to find work elsewhere. A few left just to avoid all the hate they attracted on the island. Even then, however, news spread of the accident, which caused the inhabitants of other islands to reject them, for fear of having their cities and towns decimated like what had happened here.”

“My people had to retreat to the southern islands,” Kavi added bitterly. “I was the only one to stay here, the only one who chose to hide beneath the earth, never to see the light of day ever again . . . never to be seen as a hero to the Matoran . . . always feared and hated . . . always-“

“Shut up,” Hajax snapped, looking around for his spear. “What’d you do with our weapons, Matoran?”

“Why should I tell you?” asked Kavi angrily. “You, who have intruded upon my home, who have captured me and my harmless pet-“

Hajax snorted. “’Harmless’ is not the word I would use to describe your dumb dragon, Kavi. ‘Lethal,’ though, fits much better, in my opinion.”

“So,” said Oggak, ignoring Hajax. “You went under here, Kavi? You didn’t want to go with your friends because-?”

“I do not need to explain my intentions to any of you, especially to shadow spit like yourself!” Kavi shouted, struggling against his shadow bonds again. “Your people, I might add, slaughtered thousands of innocent beings, including some of my friends, and-“

“Kavi, I don’t care if you think I’m just as bad as the Shodios or not,” said Oggak firmly. “All I want to know, however, is why you have never returned to the surface. That interests me more than anything, since not even the Order knew you were down here. We thought all of the Tamers retreated to the southern islands like you said.”

“I didn’t return because my people hated me, shadow spit,” Kavi snapped. “Returning would only remind them of the old times, and they would likely force me off Shika Nui. But I just can’t leave . . . this is my home and . . . and I can’t go anywhere else . . .”

He suddenly, without warning, started sobbing very hard, much to Hajax’s surprise. This Matoran had showed defiance in the face of three beings who could easily eliminate his worthless life, and yet was now showing such an undesirable weakness as crying? Hajax didn’t understand him, but then, he had never understood Matoran very well. That was Antroz’s sort of thing, not what he specialized in.

“Ever since the accident . . . I could never be forgiven,” Kavi sobbed. “I cannot take anymore rejection and hate . . .”

“It’s okay,” said Oggak kindly and gently. “Nobody remembers what you or the Tamers did all those years ago. You can come back to the surface with us, you and Ramoth. We need help against the Tuikas, Kavi, and I think you can redeem yourself if you come with us. Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

“Never,” said Kavi through gritted teeth, though tears still rolled down his face. “I would never ally with shadow spit such as you. I’m too good for that. Just go away, back to the surface, and never bother me again, got it?”

All of a sudden, the chains of shadow that had been binding his limbs together disappeared. Kavi fell on to the ground with an expression of shock on his face as he looked up at Oggak. Hajax was alarmed by the Toa of Shadow’s unexpected decision. Why did she free him? True, he was not much of a threat without Ramoth, but still, Hajax recognized he was a clever little brat who ought to be chained up for their own safety.

“Jokao, let Ramoth go,” said Oggak to the Toa of Fire, who along with Hajax immediately began protesting.

“Oggak, that’s crazy!” Jokao said in a shocked voice. He was still lying on the ground and was looking weaker and weaker every minute, though he managed to keep the cage of flames alive and well just the same. “Ramoth’ll kill us all the minute I let him go.”

“Jokao is right, Oggak,” said Hajax coolly, stepping in between Ramoth and Oggak and looking at the two. He had no doubt that he could eliminate Ramoth’s mind with a simple mental blast in case he needed to, but since doing that would raise a lot of questions he wished to avoid, he was worried. “Ramoth is a menace that ought to be put down immediately. If you want me to, I could kill-“

“No!” Kavi shouted suddenly, running to get in between Hajax and Ramoth. “Don’t kill him! He’s my only friend. Please don’t kill him, whatever you do. Kill me instead, if you have to. He’s the only living thing that doesn’t hate me anymore.”

“We’re not going to be killing anyone or anything,” Oggak replied. She looked back at Jokao and said, this time more firmly, “Release Ramoth from his cage. You can rest a bit if you want afterwards.” She glanced at Kavi and said to him, “I want you to order Ramoth not to attack any of us. This way, none of us have to get hurt or die. If you do not comply, we may just be forced to kill him, even though I would rather we don’t.”

Based on the expression on his face, Kavi seemed to be fighting with himself. Hajax knew what he was going through; if Ramoth was released, then he could order the Fryke to kill them all. Yet if he obeyed a Toa of Shadow – which he hated – and she did as she promised, then that would mean there would be no senseless killing or fighting that could injured himself or Ramoth. Hajax also suspected that Kavi was starting to doubt Ramoth’s own strength; what if he were to get killed in battle?

Pathetic worries and fears that I have since discarded, Hajax thought derisively. Though I suppose, for him, it is hard to decide. Personally I would not give into the threats of some puny Toa. I am a Makuta and to do that would be incredibly embarrassing and disgraceful.

Finally, Kavi said reluctantly, without looking up at Oggak, “Okay. I promise not to order Ramoth to kill you all, or to even attack you. I’ll . . . I’ll do as you say, if you uphold your part of the deal.”

“Good,” said Oggak, nodding. She glanced at Jokao and told him, “Let Ramoth out. Kavi’s agreed to the deal.” Jokao looked doubtful, so she added softly, “Don’t do it for him – do it for me.”

“Okay,” said Jokao, lowering his hand abruptly to the ground. “I’ll do it for you, Oggak.”

The cage of flames immediately ceased to exist and Ramoth, now free, reared back to strike Hajax, who was nearest, before Kavi ordered, “No, Ramoth! Don’t attack them. Keep your ground and stay where you are, got it?”

Ramoth halted and stood back. Though its body was obeying, Hajax noticed how it was eyeing Oggak and himself very carefully, as though awaiting further orders. Hajax wanted so very dearly to knock it out now, or perhaps kill it, but since that would be counterproductive he decided against it.

Oggak walked around Ramoth to Jokao, who was now lying very motionless on the ground behind it. She bent down and helped him to his feet, speaking in words too soft for Hajax to hear. He assumed she was asking him how he was doing, how he felt, simple, trivial and uninteresting things like that that he could care less about. So he glared at Kavi, who stared defiantly back.

“What else do you Toa want?” the Matoran demanded, never flinching even slightly at Hajax’s stare. “I have already chosen to spare your lives. Go and leave now; I can’t be bothered to tolerate your presence any longer.”

“I simply wish to know where our weapons are,” Hajax told him, the barest hint of a threat in his voice. “After all, it would be most unwise of us to leave unarmed, in case we were to be attacked by the Tuikas once we reach the surface.”

Kavi looked at him suspiciously. “What’re Tuikas?”

“Monsters that look like the things that come out of your worst nightmares,” Hajax replied. Truth be told, however he had never seen the Tuikas up close himself so he didn’t really know if they were that bad-looking or if it was just an exaggeration. “Killing machines that make your pet look harmless. In short, it’s as if every evil, vile, and disgusting thing in the entire universe has taken on the form of six beasts that all want to rip and tear for no reason other than for the pure and utter joy of it. Now where are our weapons?”

“Over there,” said Kavi, pointing towards the wall where a mace, a spear, and a sword were propped. “I took them away from you so you wouldn’t try and use them on me or Ramoth if you awoke.”

“Thank you,” said Hajax, sweeping over to the weapons and picking up his spear, which he examined to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with. “You are a most gracious person.” He had said that last sentence very sarcastically.

“And you, in turn, are ‘gracious,’ if that is the word you wish to use,” Kavi shot back.

Once Oggak and Jokao (now leaning on Oggak for support) had collected their own weapons, the Toa of Shadow turned to look at Kavi and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us back to the surface? Ramoth in particular would help greatly in our fight against the Tuikas.”

“No,” said Kavi, in a forced, would-be calm voice. It was clear that he was beginning to regret the deal immediately, but at least he was making some effort to be polite towards her. “The surface world holds nothing but contempt for me. Besides, why should I fight and die for people who I hate, and for people who no longer remember me? It would be pointless. I have lived under here for 100,000 years and will live another 100,000 before I ever even think of accepting your proposal, shadow spit.”

“Good,” Hajax muttered. “I don’t know if I would be able to live in the same building as you for more than five minutes anyway.”

Jokao asked, “So you aren’t going to come back to the surface ever?”

“Perhaps . . . maybe at some point I may visit,” said Kavi, turning away to walk over to his stone platform, which he sat on and then looked up at them. “I have lived under here for 100,000 years. I sometimes get bored, but if those Tuikas are still active, and if they are as bad as you say they are, I won’t be coming to visit you anytime soon. Not especially if you have shadow spit like her infecting the surface,” he added nastily, looking at Oggak with hate.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Kavi,” said Oggak quickly, before Jokao could retaliate. She looked around and added, “Could you please point us a way out of here? The way we came in was blocked and we’re not sure we should try to dig our way out in case the Tuikas are waiting on the other side.”

Kavi reluctantly pointed behind them. “There’s a secret passageway that leads to the surface behind that segment of the wall. There are a lot of those passageways hidden underneath Shika Nui. I don’t know what they were made for, but Ramoth and I use them a lot for exploration. Some may even lead to other lands; I don’t know, I’ve never bothered to do much exploring. All I know is that you can reach the surface if you keep following that tunnel straight, and that you should never return here, ever. If I want to see you again, I’ll come after you myself. Got it?”

“Fine,” said Oggak, nodding. “Thank you. Let’s go, guys,” she added, turning around with Jokao towards the wall, which slid away to reveal a dark tunnel that extended far beyond Hajax’s range of vision. “We’ve got friends awaiting us on the surface. Let’s don’t make them wait any longer.”

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Chapter 12: The Loss of Life

“Die, you dang beasts!” Kigin shouted, swinging his mace at Arija. “Die, die, die!”

The mace made contact with the tan-armored Tuikas, sending her tumbling into Chimoy, who immediately sent her flying over the wall with a well-aimed hit from his hammer. Kigin didn’t even think of celebrating, though, for the next moment Arija came leaping over the wall again, screeching angrily as she landed on all fours and fired two blasts of solid sound at them.

Kigin had been expecting this, having fought the Tuikas for so long, and jumped out of the way. Chimoy managed to dodge it, too, but just barely. He had obviously not been expecting the attack, Kigin thought, which made the Dark Hunter smirk. Though he knew how valuable the Toa were as allies, he still didn’t like them all that much and wouldn’t mourn their deaths if they happened to get killed in combat.

However, now was not the time to think about such things, for the next moment Arija tackled him to the ground. He managed to rip her off himself, however, and threw the Tuikas away. Rolling back to his feet, he unleashed a sonic scream at her. While his ability to accurately copy any sounds he heard may not seem as powerful as some powers, such as fire or shadow, at times like this it came in very useful, in his opinion.

Suddenly, Chimoy darted at Arija with his giant hammer, evidently seeking to get her first. But since he had moved too soon, both he and Arija were hit by Kigin’s sonic attacks and were both sent flying. Chimoy landed hard on the ground a few feet away, while Arija collided with the wall. She looked too stunned and dazed to move.

“You fool!” Kigin snapped at Chimoy, who was starting to get back to his feet with a hand on his head, looking a little dazed as well. “Didn’t you see my attack? I have no idea how you Toa have managed to survive for as long as you have with brains like yours!”

“Sorry,” Chimoy replied angrily, shaking his head in frustration. “I didn’t notice it. You should have warned me.”

“It doesn’t matter, Toa,” Kigin said, glancing at Arija, who was already back on her feet and snarling. “We’ve got to deal with this Tuikas here. Got it?”

Chimoy didn’t reply, but merely glared at Kigin before transforming his hammer into a sleek sword and slashing at Arija, who blocked the attack with her claw. Kigin, taking advantage of the distraction, swung his mace and struck Arija hard, causing the Tuikas to collapse underneath his weapon with a cry. She did not get up, though she didn’t look dead yet.

“Is she dead?” asked Chimoy, panting as he took a step backwards in surprise.

“No,” Kigin replied, raising his mace again, the ball in his other hand. “But she soon will be.”

He swung his mace at her again, this time with more force than before. He struck her hard enough to make her stop moving. Now on a roll, he kept striking her in savage triumph. He smashed his weapon onto her corpse again and again, channeling all of his fear and anger onto this one beast. He cared not that she was already dead; he would pulverize Arija’s corpse into a million little microscopic pieces and scattered them throughout the known universe like grains of sand in a desert if he had to.

“Kigin, what are you doing?” asked Chimoy in a raised, slightly scared-sounding voice. “She’s dead. Mindlessly smashing her corpse into oblivion isn’t-“

“Shut up, Toa,” Kigin snapped, halting his attacks to glare at the Toa. “You have no idea what it was like to watch the entire Dark Hunter army of Shika Nui fall to these . . . these monsters! To see them all die before my eyes . . . it is indescribable. To kill even one of these beasts is a great victory, reminding me of the days when we Hunters ruled this island with an iron fist. So either get out of the way or I’ll-“

A sudden rush of wind cut him off and, looking over his shoulder, Kigin saw in surprise the five other Tuikas now flying towards him and Chimoy at full speed. He guessed that they had seen him slay their fellow Tuikas and were now going to try to avenge her death. He readied his mace and swung it over his head like a warrior, when the Tuikas did the most unexpected thing that he hadn’t thought they would ever do; they merely kept on flying and flew right over him and Chimoy and over the walls, without even sparing a glance towards the two as they soared.

“Where are they going?” asked Chimoy, watching the Tuikas fly past them, bent slightly as though he had ducked. “Why are they retreating like this?”

“No idea. But I’m not letting them get away!” Kigin replied as he swung his mace at the retreating Tuikas in an attempt to hit them as they fled, but he did not hit even one of his targets. And within seconds the Tuikas had gone over the walls out of sight, much to Kigin’s frustration and annoyance.

“Well, I’m glad they’re gone,” said Chimoy with a shrug. “I don’t think I could have fought much longer, personally.”

“I could have,” said Kigin, though in reality he felt very tired as he stowed his mace away, seeing no reason to keep it out any longer. “But I doubt they could have, which is most likely why they fled tonight. They did not wish to face my wrath after watching their ally go down easily.”

“Right,” said Chimoy, who sounded unconvinced. “We should go check on the others, I think. Maybe they know why the Tuikas have retreated, since I’m pretty sure they were winning, weren’t they?”

Kigin turned around and scanned the battlefield. It was dark out, but his species had fairly good night vision, though he had never used it much before. His species, the Amakans, had two different eye visions: one for day, and one for night. They automatically switched between times without any conscious effort on the Amakan’s part, though he knew some who had learned how to control it, but he had never seen much use for being able to control it, really. As far as he knew, it was mostly for bragging rights, since it was a difficult thing to learn to do, something he had never been particularly interested in doing.

As he looked around, he saw that there were quite a few corpses dotting the courtyard, though there looked to be less than usual, or so he thought. Great chunks of the walls had been blasted out and the North Tower’s door and part of the wall had been blown clean off. All in all, he thought it looked slightly better than previous attacks, though he knew it would still take a long time to clean up, and clean ups were never fun or enjoyable, in his opinion.

But there did seem to be one unusual sight he spotted: Several beings – mostly the Toa, though he noticed Igici among them as well – were crowded around something he could not see. From what he could tell, they wore expressions of sadness and shock, though he did not know why that could be.

Chimoy, though he did not possess night vision, seemed to have noticed them, too, for he asked, “What’s everyone else doing over there?”

“Are questions all you ever ask, Toa?” asked Kigin harshly. “Or are you just stupid?”

Chimoy glared at him. “Just because we’re supposed to be allies doesn’t mean I have to like you, Kigin. And if I had my way, we wouldn’t be . . .” his voice trailed off, but then he shook his head and said, “Never mind. That’s what Nastan would do, not me. Anyway, let’s go see what they’re doing. That’s really the only way to find out for sure.”

“I know, Toa,” Kigin snapped as they began walking towards the group of beings. He noticed how grim and solemn the mood around everyone seemed to be. He thought something bad must have happened. “I . . .”

His own voice trailed off as they approached the group and as they did so, Igici, glancing over his shoulder, apparently noticed them and separated himself from the group to go meet them. Kigin noticed his eyes looked grim and sad, but he didn’t know why. True, they had lost a lot of Matoran in the fight based on his observations, but it was significantly less than last time and the Tuikas had retreated much easier than they usually did, too. So he saw nothing to be particularly sad about.

Then again, he thought, stopping with Chimoy as Igici approach, his eyes still looking sorrowful. This is Igici I am talking about. He’s one of those Dark Hunters who was blackmailed into joining the organization based on his position of power and what would happen to him if he said no. Those kind are always the weakest kind of Dark Hunters; the kind who go along with our plans and missions until they try to pull off some valiant rebellion that almost always gets crushed and always results in their deaths.

“What’s the problem, Death?” asked Chimoy tentatively, looking over Igici’s shoulder as he said that. Kigin noticed that the Toa of Iron was keeping his distance from Igici; that made sense, since none of the Toa Shika cared for or trusted the Dark Hunters much. “Did someone get hurt?”

“Worse, Chimoy,” said Igici, sharply thrusting his thumb over his shoulder at the group behind him. “Your leader, Toa Addis, is . . . He is dead.”

“What?” Chimoy said in shock and disbelief. “What do you mean he’s dead? Addis isn’t dead. He can’t be dead. You must be mistaken-“

“We’re not,” said Igici, shaking his head. “He was killed. Lost more blood than he could take and. . . . Well, you should see for yourself, I think.”

“Let me through,” said Chimoy, his voice heavy with disbelief. “Let me see for myself.”

Kigin stepped aside as Chimoy ran past them to join the small crowd of beings looking at what he now knew to be Addis’ corpse. Igici turned to join Chimoy, then asked Kigin, without looking back at him, “Are you even going to bother look?”

“No,” said Kigin, shaking his head. “I see no reason to weep over a Toa’s death, much less a Toa I hate.”

“Heartless,” Igici muttered, shaking his head as he walked away to rejoin the group. “Much like the Dark Hunter you are, my friend.”

That insult did not bother Kigin. He had never liked Addis, so he saw no reason to be sad over the Toa’s death. Death was something you dealt with daily if you happened to live in Koro Nui. If you happened to fight the Tuikas like Addis and the others did, you would be staring death in the eyes every day. If they didn’t get over that fact soon, he would then know for sure that the Toa were indeed as weak as he thought they were.

He was also disgusted at the way Igici was sympathizing with them. True, Igici had never liked being a Dark Hunter, but this was just downright disgraceful, in Kigin’s opinion. Where was the Dark Hunter pride he should be displaying? Was Kigin the only one who now identified as a Dark Hunter anymore?

Just because we are the only few alive does not mean the organization itself has fallen, Kigin thought, shaking his head dismissively. As far as I know, the Dark Hunters are still going strong, even if they have lost Shika Nui. Someday, maybe soon, when the Tuikas are dead, I shall be waiting on the shores of this island to greet any reinforcements that will obviously arrive. And when that day comes, I shall be given honor above all other Dark Hunters and maybe even be put in charge of my own island base, which would be very nice.

But, as he glanced around the dark, corpse-strewn courtyard, with the scent of death and decay filling his nostrils, he realized that that probably wouldn’t be for a very long time. In the meantime, he would have to work with these Toa and Matoran in order to survive. That, at least, was something he understood, though he didn’t quite like it.

-

Jokao’s head was hurting. His legs were hurting; in fact, his entire body was hurting all over, like he had been hit with a particularly large sludge hammer that had been swung by a giant. Though he was used to this sort of pain (if you fought the Tuikas, you would have to learn to live with it), it still felt uncomfortable and painful and he wished it would stop. His head felt like it would explode any minute and his legs felt like they would fall off from the sheer pain he was experiencing.

For a moment, he also forgot where he was or what he was doing here, and didn’t particularly care until a flood of images and memories filled his mind. He now remembered what had happened; he, Oggak, and Barilo had been just about to exit the tunnel, when some kind of heat wave had hit them, and then something really heavy smashed into him. That would explain why he had a burning sensation in his muscles, too, though it did not explain why he felt like he was lying on rock rather than grass, since he was sure he and the others were now on Shika Nui’s surface, not beneath it anymore.

His first thought was that they had been attacked by the Tuikas, though he dismissed that idea almost instantly. After all, none of the Tuikas had heat wave powers, though he had to admit many of them could have been equally strong enough to knock him silly with just one blow like whatever had hit him before. Still, something about the way he had been hit told him it was no Tuikas that did it. He didn’t know why, but thought it might have had something to do with how he was hit, perhaps. There seemed to be a difference between the way that the Tuikas hit things and how whatever had hit him hit things, but again he didn’t really know, since he was too busy worrying about the pain in his body to try to analyze that sort of thing. Not to mention he didn’t know a whole lot about how any of that worked, anyway. He was no Toa of Kinetics.

His next thought (besides wishing he wasn’t hurting so bad) was to find Oggak and see if she was still alive. Everything was black; he knew it had to do with the fact that his eyes were shut closed and nearly impossible to open, so weak he was. So he felt around instead and felt somebody’s hand to his right and gripped it. He heard a moan that sounded like Oggak, and felt relief wash over his mind. At least Oggak was safe, he thought.

He wondered where Barilo was and began feeling around for him, too, but could not find the Toa of Gravity, no matter how hard he felt. So he merely sat back up, which was difficult because of the pain though he managed it anyway, and tried to open his eyes now, for he had the distinct feeling that someone nearby was watching them.

With a great effort he wrenched his eyes open and was immediately blinded by bright light, which resembled the kind given off by the sun. He lifted up his free hand to block it, since his eyes had begun to water in pain. He heard what sounded like a faint sniffing noise and lowered his hand to see a pair of giant, yellowish eyes staring at him straight in the face.

“Ah!” Jokao shouted loudly, instinctively recoiling. “Back away, you . . . you thing!”

He reached for his fire mace, but for some reason it was not on him. So instead he conjured a ball of flames in his hand, but evidently the mere appearance of the fire was enough, for the strange pair of eyes quickly backed away. But as it walked back, Jokao realized it was more than simply a pair of large eyes. It had green armor and a head, with a long snout that had smoke rising faintly from its nostrils, and two large, plated wings that were folded on its back like a beetle. He gasped in fear as he realized what it was: A dragon. A monstrous dragon that, while around the same size as himself, looked far more lethal and powerful than he ever would hope to be. He had no doubt that it could kill him in one hit from one of its monstrous claws, or from its long, spiked tail that swept the ground behind it.

Beside him, Oggak’s eyes flickered open and she looked around for a moment, asking, “Jokao where are-?” before her eyes rested on the large dragon before them. She instantly tensed at the sight of the beast and Jokao saw, out of the corner of his eye, her hand reach for her sword, but she didn’t seem to have it on her, for she cursed softly under her breath as her hand dug around her pack with no success.

“Oggak, don’t move,” said Jokao, never taking his eyes off the dragon, which was still looking at them rather intently. “We don’t want to unintentionally provoke it now . . .”

“It looks as though it’s already provoked,” Oggak commented, though she remained very still just the same. “Its legs look like its weak point. Maybe if we move fast-“

“There won’t be any fast moves around here, my visitors,” said a voice off to Jokao’s right.

Jokao and Oggak glanced in the direction of the voice and at first, only saw Barilo, who was lying unconscious near them, still alive from what they could tell. Then Jokao noticed a Matoran wearing rust-colored armor standing on a raised stone platform before them, his hollow orange eyes staring back at them with as much intent as the dragon, several large, yellow light stones in the ceiling above him; the source of the sun-like light Jokao had seen earlier. Jokao had never seen this Matoran before and wondered where he had come from.

“Ramoth, step back and give our guests some breathing room,” said the Matoran. At first, Jokao had no idea who ‘Ramoth’ was until the dragon took a few steps back, obeying the command, its huge eyes still focused on the three Toa. He then realized that this Matoran, whoever he was, was the master of this dragon. It wasn’t a very comforting thought. “Good Ramoth. Here, have a stone rat.”

The Matoran lobbed a particularly large-looking dead stone rat into the air, which the dragon, named Ramoth, caught in its mouth and began to chew up greedily. It was a disgusting sight, so Jokao tried to keep his eyes focused on the Matoran, who looked satisfied now as he climbed down from his stone platform.

“Ramoth means no harm,” the Matoran said as he stopped about twenty or so feet away from the Toa, gesturing towards the dragon, which was still eating its meal. “He is merely . . . curious, as we haven’t had so many visitors in such a long, long time. Though I must say, if he gets angry, his wrath is something to behold. But even when enraged he always awaits my commands before doing anything.” The Matoran’s eyes narrowed and he asked, in a much harsher voice, “Now who are you and give me one reason as to why I shouldn’t have Ramoth eat you for desert.”

“We’re Toa,” said Oggak hurriedly. She had moved a little closer to Jokao now, her eyes never leaving Ramoth, who had finished his stone rat and was looking at the three Toa again, this time with a glint of hunger in its wide orbs. “My name is Toa Oggakia, Toa of Shadow. This is Toa Jokao, Toa of Fire, and the one lying unconscious over there is Toa Barilo, Toa of Gravity. We mean no harm and only came down this way because we could find no other way out.”

The Matoran frowned, as if thinking hard. Then he said, “Ah, yes. I remember your kind well, Toa of Shadow. They enslaved those who were weaker than them, including myself. Why, it was a most glorious day on Shika Nui when they got what was coming to them. I personally oversaw their imprisonment, you know.”

Jokao had the distinct feeling that this Matoran was a rather prideful type, since his tone was that of a braggart. But he kept quiet; if he voiced any of this aloud, he did not doubt that the Matoran would order Ramoth to eat him immediately.

“But,” the Matoran said, his eyes narrowing. He had taken a few steps forward and was now holding a dull rusted blade that looked even older than its owner. “How could you have escaped from Wyoko? The Toa Avha, the great heroes of old who so righteously fought for the freedom of this universe’s inhabitants, fought against the evil Shodios and Kra-Matoran, locking the Door forevermore. Nobody could get in . . . and nobody could get out, either.”

“I was never imprisoned,” said Oggak quickly. Her eyes were still on Ramoth, which was sitting very quietly now, almost unnaturally so in Jokao’s opinion. “I had betrayed my people during the war and for that I was granted freedom by the Order of Mata Nui. But I have been hidden on another island, isolated from the rest of the world for all of these years so that no one would ever know the Kra-Matoran ever existed. I am on your side, Matoran, and on the side of anyone who fights for Mata Nui’s will. Please believe me.”

The Matoran snorted, sheathing his dagger as he did so. He evidently didn’t think they were much of a threat, thought Jokao, or perhaps planned to have Ramoth eat them. He hoped it was merely the former.

“On my side? I am on my own side, shadow spit,” the Matoran told her harshly. “I am the only surviving member of the Tamers. No one has ever thought to find me . . . I fled down here, years ago, with Ramoth once we proved, ah, unpopular.”

“Watch your mouth, Matoran!” Jokao snapped. “She’s not shadow spit. Take that back, you nasty little-“

“Jokao, please,” said Oggak, tightening her grip on his hand more firmly than before. “Don’t insult him. He could order Ramoth to kill us anytime, you know.”

“The shadow spit is wise, my friend,” the Matoran said with an evil smile. “It would be wise not to get smart around me, wouldn’t it? Don’t want Ramoth to bite your head off, do you?”

Jokao wanted to yell at the Matoran some more, but after looking at Ramoth – who looked very hungry still – he decided against it and merely glared at the villager with as much hatred as he could muster.

“Good Toa,” the Matoran cooed, as though they were mindless beasts like Ramoth. “Maybe you can become new pets. True, the Tamers always used Rahi, but Rahi get boring after a while. Rahi have to be trained, but Toa come pre-trained. Don’t they, Ramoth?”

The dragon merely nodded, though Jokao suspected it had been trained to do that and likely didn’t really understand what its master had just said.

“We’re not pets,” said another, harsh voice from behind them. Jokao looked around and saw Barilo, still lying on his stomach, glaring contemptuously at the Matoran. “We are Toa. It is you who should be our pet, villager.”

The Matoran’s features contorted with rage almost instantly. “Ramoth! Show him who is in control around here!”

Ramoth dashed forwards, one claw raised, but Barilo, moving faster than Jokao had ever seen a Toa move before, was already on his feet before the Matoran had even finished his order and, with one casual flick of his finger, sent Ramoth flying into the wall on the other side of the chamber. Ramoth crashed into the rock wall hard and slid down slowly, apparently unconscious from the impact, leaving an imprint of his body on the spot where he had collided with.

“Now who was it that you were saying was in control around here?” asked Barilo, his tone flat, though he conveyed his point quite well in Jokao’s opinion.

The Matoran looked from Barilo to Ramoth for a moment before taking a cautious step backward, his eyes now on Barilo. “Who do you think you are, Toa?” He paused, looking Barilo up and down, and then shook his head and said, “You are no Toa. A spirit inhabiting this Toa’s body and dominating his original soul but a foreign spirit just the same. That’s what you are.”

Jokao thought he saw Barilo flinch before the Toa of Gravity snapped, “You’re an insane liar. I am me – that is to say, I am Barilo, and always have, always will be. Even if I was being possessed, how could you tell?”

“Easy,” said the Matoran, snapping his fingers for some reason that Jokao could not guess, other than to perhaps surprise them or something. “Yours is a spirit that is far too violent to be a Toa. But then again, the Shodios were about as violent and evil as Toa get, so I could be wrong. Or not.”

The Matoran went flying off his feet and into the stone platform that he had been standing on earlier. He kept repeatedly slamming into it, with more force every time, seemingly all by himself. It took Jokao a moment to realize that Barilo was using his gravity powers to smash the Matoran into the platform. And, friendly villager or not, he realized that what Barilo was doing was wrong.

“Barilo! Stop!” Jokao shouted, rising to his feet with Oggak. He winced, for his legs were still wounded badly, but he ignored it, leaning on Oggak for support now. “You’re going to kill him if you keep that up!”

Barilo did not seem to hear him at first; but then the Matoran suddenly fell to the ground, breathing heavily as he lay there. Oggak took a step forward towards him, her eyes filled with concern, but the Matoran shouted, waving his now-unsheathed dagger at her, “Get away from me, shadow spit!”

Upon these words, a wave of heat, stronger than the last, slammed into the assembled Toa, knocking them off their feet and scattering them around the stone chamber like leaves in an updraft. Jokao hit the stone wall on the other side of the room hard and fell to the ground with as much force, his head spinning and legs aching worse than before as he glanced up to see Ramoth back on his feet, looking at them all with fiery rage in his eyes.

“A little trick I taught him,” the Matoran was saying, and he walked into Jokao’s line of sight, with a malevolent grin on his face. “Snap my fingers and he’ll be up as soon as I say so, even if he has been knocked silly. He’s very well-trained like that, isn’t he?”

“I don’t care,” said Jokao, struggling to get back to his feet. But then his world started spinning; he was feeling disoriented again, and, without the ability to balance, merely fell on his face and cursed. He was starting to think that Ramoth had some sort of confusion ability, since he doubted the Matoran had anything to do with it. “I . . . just . . . want to . . . to . . .”

“To do what?” said the Matoran with a laugh. “Kill me? Toa don’t kill; that was something established very early on. But we Matoran don’t have to follow your silly old code; we can kill whomever we please, whenever we like, in whatever way we want. So say good bye, my friends. Ramoth hasn’t had this much fresh meat to eat in a while; I dare say I’m spoiling my favorite little pet. He will be full for a week, I bet.”

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I had no idea this even existed until today. Highly doubt I'll be buying it, though, because like DeeVee said, it's way too expensive.

-TNTOS-

Chapter 11: New Ambitions

When Akuna and Dusa finally managed to reach the courtyard, Akuna was momentarily stunned and horrified by all the chaos around her. She had been in the midst of huge battles before, but this was so much different than those of the past. Dark though it was, she could see corpses littering the ground; saw the shapes of many different beings fighting in the shadows, few of whom she could identify, and blasts of power being shot to and fro all over the courtyard. She heard a loud scream from her right, but did not know who it belonged to. All she knew was that she had to both beat the Tuikas and find Nastan, the latter whom she could not see in the night.

“What’s that?” asked Dusa in surprise, pointing towards the West Tower as a ball of lava and ice exploded in midair, momentarily lighting a dreadful sight that Akuna would never forget.

Addis was lying on the ground in a deep pool of blood and was not moving an inch. She saw Nastan lying on the ground near the fallen Toa of Plasma, though he seemed to have been paralyzed somehow and looked to still be alive, fortunately. She also saw an unidentifiable corpse lying near Addis, but she had no idea where it had came from or who it was. However, she suspected that Addis’ Tryna may have had something to do with it.

Regardless of where the corpse had come from or how it had got here, she knew she had to act. Kidah was now stalking away from Addis and Nastan, apparently going to join Skik and Zoil, who were already giving the few Matoran still fighting them much trouble. Akuna decided to get Kidah while she was distracted.

“Dusa, you go help the others fight Koya over there,” said Akuna, pointing towards the North Tower. “I’ll take on Kidah, okay?”

“Don’t need to tell me what to do,” Dusa muttered, but he obeyed just the same, running towards the North Tower with his sword raised high above his head.

After watching him go, Akuna leapt forwards and, upon landing on a bare piece of ground, shot off three bolts of electricity at Kidah. None of them hit, however, because Kidah whirled around and deflected them off her tail, sending the bolts ricocheting away into the darkness and striking the stone walls that protected the village.

The Tuikas then dashed towards Akuna with shocking speed, though the Toa managed to jump out of the way in time to dodge the attack and landed, unfortunately, on a Matoran’s corpse, which she quickly slid off in disgust and fear. Kidah, unable to stop herself, crashed straight into the door of North Tower, breaking it off its hinges and sending her tumbling into the darkness of the unlit hallway. She did not emerge from within.

Akuna, panting hard, crawled over to Nastan amidst the fighting to make sure he was okay. Though she knew she should probably be fighting with the others, Nastan’s safety was a higher priority for her at the moment. She wanted to make sure he wasn’t too badly hurt.

“Akuna?” said Nastan in surprise when she came into his view. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she replied, ducking under another blast of energy that went soaring straight into the wall behind her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bit stunned,” said Nastan. “Whatever Kidah’s got in her stinger’s enough to stun even a Toa. But enough about me; why aren’t you helping the others fight?” His tone suddenly became snappish and impatient and Akuna felt slightly hurt. Didn’t he care that she had stopped just to learn whether he was still breathing or not?

But she didn’t bring it up, and merely answered, “You’re right. I should be fighting with them.”

“Then go do it,” said Nastan, his tone impatient still. “Stop wasting your time worrying about me and start wasting it fighting the Tuikas!”

Akuna nodded, slightly irritably, and jumping back to her feet, ran back into the thick of the battle, ignoring her own hurt feelings from Nastan’s anger. She decided not to take it personally; considering Nastan’s current situation, she thought she would be pretty irritable and angry, too. That didn’t mean she liked the way he snapped at her, though. Anyway, thinking about this would distract her, and if she let her guard down for even a second, she had no doubt in her mind that she would be killed.

-

The tunnel, Hajax noticed, seemed to be a lot longer than Jokao had described it. Though the Toa of Fire had only went up and down it in a few seconds, it seemed to be taking them hours to walk and they still hadn’t seen any sign of the bright light that Jokao had mentioned. Not that Hajax was complaining, of course; he preferred the dark over the light any day, but he knew that he would never succeed in his dreams of universal conquest if he kept walking down an endless tunnel forever.

So to pass the time, he thought about his own dreams and ambitions and future. His goals had changed much since he had first met the Toa Shika many weeks ago. Originally, he only wanted to depose of Makuta Teridax and put the Brotherhood of Makuta back in its rightful place as makers of Rahi beasts for the good of the Matoran. True, his methods may have been a little questionable, but he always believed that the ends justified the means, regardless of what other, lesser beings such as Toa may have thought.

But now? Well, he was now playing around with the idea of becoming king of the universe himself. After all, the Brotherhood still held absolute power, and if he replaced Teridax, he would be in control of whole armies comprised of Rahkshi, Visorak, Exo-Toa, and whatever else his brothers and sisters may have added to their forces during his absence.

The universe itself would likely be in need of a strong, decisive leader after the Brotherhood of Makuta/Dark Hunter war was finished, especially since Mata Nui was still asleep and could only be awoken by the Toa Mata. And as far as he could see, those beings were no closer to completing their destiny that he was to completing his own.

And who else in the universe, he decided, would be better to lead than himself? He was strong, charismatic, clever, good at making others do what he wanted; all the qualities of a true king, in his opinion.

My brother Teridax relies too much upon complicated plans and schemes, Hajax thought as he dragged Jokao along, without bothering to make it even slightly comfortable for the Toa of Fire. He thinks he factors in every little faction, group of people, or simply powerful beings that may pose a threat to him. He thinks he has learned everything there is to know about them; how to stop them if they pose a problem to the Plan, what to do if they try to interfere, and so on.

But one thing he doesn’t know about is me. And that may someday be the death of him. I certainly hope it will be.

He half-glanced at Oggak, who was in the lead and seemed to be the most determined to reach the surface, based on the fact she had voiced her concerns about how undefended Koro Nui was in their absence and was walking faster than either of them. He had tried to read her mind earlier, to see if he could figure out the truth of the Tuikas that way, but was prevented from doing so by some kind of mental barrier that protected her mind from intrusion. Where she had learned to do that, he had no idea, though he wondered if this ‘Order of Mata Nui’ she had mentioned (an organization he had never heard of until recently) had trained her to protect her mind from any unwanted detection. If so, then he would also have to force her to tell him every little thing she knew about this Order or break her mental barrier. Clearly, if this Order trained its members to protect their minds from Makuta, it would obviously be a threat to his future empire.

Besides that, Hajax also wondered about the tunnel itself. With his ability to see in the dark, he had seen many strange symbols and words inscribed on the walls, though since it would be suspicious if he stopped he had not been able to stop long enough to study them. From what he could tell, though, they seemed to be depicting giant, green-scaled dragons being tamed by beings that looked like Matoran. What that meant, he had no idea, though he assumed it must have been carved by some villagers a long time ago depicting an epic battle between good and evil or some crud like that. He didn’t know and honestly didn’t care. Though Makuta were keepers of history as well as scientists, he had never personally been interested in that sort of thing.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Jokao shouted, “Hey, look! I see light up ahead!”

Hajax glanced up and saw that he was right. Though it was very far away, there was indeed a small, yet bright light not too far up ahead, which looked to be the exit, just as Jokao had described. Hajax was excited and disappointed; excited that he would now finally be able to continue his plans, and disappointed because he had been starting to really enjoy the darkness.

“You’re right, Jokao,” said Oggak, who had began walking faster now, her eyes focused directly on the light. “I see light. That means we’re nearly free.”

“Oh, I really want to get home now,” said Jokao, who urging Hajax to walk faster, though the Makuta ignored him and kept at the same pace as always. “I just want to rest on my bed for a few weeks at most.” He groaned, obviously from the pain in his legs.

“All I hope is that we make it out in one piece,” said Hajax, scowling. He did not appreciate the way Jokao was spurring him on, trying to make him go faster. It annoyed him greatly. “I mean, have you seen the paintings on the walls? Those dragons looked . . . dangerous, to say the least.”

Oggak glanced at the walls as she walked. “I see them. But I see no reason to worry about them. We haven’t found any evidence of those beasts here.”

“Oggak’s right,” Jokao added. “We’ve got our own problems to deal with right now anyway.”

“I was just giving an example,” Hajax snapped. “I don’t believe they are an actual threat. I was just saying we should be more careful and watch our own moves a little bit more diligently, my friends.”

“You’re right, to an extent,” Oggak admitted, without looking at him. “Rushing recklessly into danger is almost always what gets people killed in the end. But like I said before I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. We’re nearly free – and once we are, we can return to Koro Nui immediately.”

“Agreed,” said Jokao as they approached the light, which was getting larger and larger as they drew nearer and nearer. “We’ve got nothing to worry about. Well, except for the Tuikas, but we’ve survived long enough against them and know how to deal with ‘em if we have to fight, don’t we?”

“Right,” said the Toa of Shadow with a nod. “We do.”

Finally, after several more minutes of walking in silence, the exit was nearly upon them. Hajax was no great lover of the light, but a feeling anticipation was filling his being as they drew near. He was getting a little tired of the dirt and rocks, the scent of dampness, with nothing to liven up the place. He was getting restless and so actually began walking a little faster now, though he reminded himself it was because he wanted to do it, not because Jokao was spurring him on and not because he wanted to be in the light again.

And with one more burst of speed, the trio reached the exit and were bathed a bright, almost blinding light that hurt Hajax’s eyes. He shut his orbs to protect them as Jokao shouted, “We’ve made it! We’ve-!”

A wave of heat, hotter than anything any of them had ever experienced before, suddenly swept over them, hitting them to the ground with enough force to knock the breath out of their lungs. Hajax tried to get back to his feet, but suddenly the whole world seemed to be tilting back and forth and he just could not stand up, no matter what he did. He was confused, disoriented, and did not know how to balance himself properly, even when he was just lying down.

Something heavy suddenly smashed into his body, sending him rolling into Jokao and Oggak, who seemed to be just as confused as he was. He tried to untangle himself from their limbs, but was unable to and, after receiving yet another blow to the head, went down completely, his mind drifting into unconsciousness, his body limp.

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Chapter 10: Tunnels

Hajax, Jokao, and Oggak walked slowly and carefully down the dark, ever-deepening tunnel, Jokao still having to lean on Hajax in order to walk. Thus far, they had not met anyone or anything. All they had found were more scraps of armor, broken or damaged weapons, some more dead Brotherhood minions, and an Exo-Toa or two. None of them had voiced any concerns or worries about where they were going, though Hajax was privately starting to wonder what would happen if they ran into a dead end. He cared very little for the two Toa, but he did not want to die in here like vermin. He was better than that, but as far as he could tell this tunnel simply went on forever and ever, without an end in sight.

Is that the punishment I have received for all of my crimes in my previous life? Hajax mused, as Jokao, breathing heavily, walked with him. To simply wander underneath Shika Nui with these two fools for the rest of my life? Or am I simply being too dramatic? Most likely the latter.

Hajax glanced at the tunnels and frowned. There was something about them that seemed familiar. They didn’t look natural; it was almost like someone had dug them out with giant spades. Where had he seen these before?

That was when it hit him. He remembered many years ago when Makuta Mutran had told him about the blade burrowers and had even shown him some of the tunnels. If he remembered correctly, the blade burrowers could cut through rock and dirt as though it were water, making almost unnaturally smooth tunnels that went in seemingly random directions. He also remembered that Shika Nui was home to a particularly large nest of blade burrowers. All Hajax hoped was that they didn’t end up in combat with them; he wasn’t afraid of a bunch of dumb Rahi, but in here, where they ruled, he felt his odds weren’t all that great, not especially because of having to lug Jokao around with him, too.

“What’s that?” said Oggak suddenly, stopping and point up ahead.

Hajax stopped, and Jokao did, too. The Makuta peered down the tunnel and for a moment saw nothing but two gaping dark holes, which he soon realized were actually two smaller tunnels branching off the main one they were currently traveling in.

“What do you guys see?” asked Jokao breathlessly, glancing up in the direction they were looking. “Some kind of danger?”

“A fork,” Oggak replied. “Two tunnels. We can only go down one.”

Hajax so dearly wished he knew which tunnel lead out and which one lead deeper in, but as he had no way to know he could not properly plan ahead, which frustrated him greatly.

“I think we should go right,” said Oggak, walking a little ahead of them to peer into the twin tunnels, “though I really don’t know for sure, since I’ve never been down this deep under Shika Nui before.”

“Why don’t I just use my Iden?” asked Jokao, gesturing at his mask with his good arm. “I could just go down both tunnels to see which way leads out.”

“I don’t think you should, Jokao,” said Oggak warningly, looking at him with concerned eyes. “You’re already weak enough as is. I don’t know if you have the strength to use your mask without overexerting yourself too much.”

“Don’t worry about me,” said Jokao with a smile. “It won’t take long for me to scout ahead. I’m perfectly fine.”

“If you were ‘perfectly fine,’ you wouldn’t need to be using me as a walking stick,” Hajax muttered quietly, unheard by the others.

“Well, okay,” said Oggak reluctantly. She then gestured towards the tunnels. “Just be quick, though. I know you can’t be hurt in spirit form, but I don’t want you to leave and then have us get attacked. Your body might get damaged, or even destroyed.”

“Whatever,” Jokao said, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. “I can do it. In fact, I’ll do it now.” He winced from the pain in his legs, but looked determined just the same. “Hold on, Barilo. My body may suddenly go limp . . .”

Jokao’s body suddenly slumped in his arms and Hajax, caught off-guard, nearly dropped it before redoubling his grip on the Toa of Fire’s now-uninhabited body. He lowered it slowly to the ground, grateful that he wouldn’t have to support the heavy Toa at least for a few minutes.

“I just hope he’s all right,” Oggak muttered, looking at Jokao’s body with the same worried eyes as before.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” said Hajax with a shrug, without thinking. “One Toa more or less doesn’t make a difference.”

He was suddenly slapped hard across the mask and looked up to see Oggak standing over him, one hand raised, looking far more angry than he had ever seen her in his life, though he had only known her for a few hours or so. But even he recognized that she wore an expression unlike herself; an expression of rage, almost hatred, contorted her normally calm and collected features.

“What was that for?” asked Hajax angrily, rubbing the side of his face as he rose to his feet and stared her hard in the eyes. He was not afraid of her, though he did not particularly want to get into a fight with her at the moment.

“For . . . for treating Jokao like he’s an expendable nobody!” Oggak snapped, her red eyes almost burning. “’One Toa more or less doesn’t make a difference’ . . . I thought he was your friend? Why would you even say something like that?”

Hajax was about to open his mouth to retaliate when Jokao’s body suddenly began stirring. Abandoning her anger at him, Oggak bent down even as Jokao’s eyes flickered open. The Toa of Fire looked up at them both and, based on his excited expression he had evidently found something good . . . something very, very good.

“Left tunnel,” Jokao said as Oggak wrapped an arm around his body to help him sit up. “It ended in a very bright place; but I didn’t get to see much, since I ran out of energy and had to return to my body right then. Still, I am convinced that I saw Shika Nui’s surface, so it must be the way out!”

“Really?” said Oggak eagerly. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Jokao replied. He hugged Oggak tightly before suddenly letting go with a slightly sheepish expression on his face. “Er, right. Well, like I said, I’m positive that the left tunnel is the one we should go down. Most definitely the left.”

“Great,” said Oggak, who looked just as embarrassed as Jokao did. “Hey, Barilo, want to help him up?”

“All right,” said Hajax, pretending to sound just as happy as they were. “This is . . . great.” He forced a smile as he bent down to help Jokao up. “What could be better than the light? But we mustn’t celebrate too soon; we don’t want to go walking down the tunnel too wrapped up in our own success, do we?”

“I didn’t see any monsters or anything like that down there if that’s what you mean,” said Jokao with a shrug. He winced as he put his full weight on his legs. “It looked pretty safe to me.”

“Of course, if the Tuikas are out there, we may be totally boxed in,” Hajax continued in that same false happy tone. He had no particular reason at the moment for wanting to worry the two of them; he simply wanted to see them become fearful and thus easier to manipulate. “That is, if they don’t decide to kill us first.”

“It’s a chance we’ve got to take,” Oggak said determinedly. “I want to return to Koro Nui as soon as possible. What if the Tuikas attack the fortress in our absence?”

“I doubt it, Oggak,” said Jokao as the party began walking down the left tunnel. “Don’t you remember what everyone keeps telling us whenever we come back? About the fact that the Tuikas never attack while we’re gone? And remember how the Tuikas always come after us when we’re on a rescue expedition?”

Oggak shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Yes, but just because they’ve done that in the past doesn’t mean they won’t do it now, Jokao.”

Jokao nodded, though he did not look as though he believed her and did not pursue the subject further.

Hajax, however, was listening carefully. He found it odd that the Tuikas never attacked the fortress while Oggak was gone and always went after her and Jokao when they were out. He thought that might be a clue as to what the Tuikas were really up to, but so far he had no conclusion other than the Tuikas might be after Oggak, perhaps. Why they would be after her, he didn’t know for sure, but he intended to find out.

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Chapter 9: Battle & Pain

Akuna was leaning on the window sill of North Tower, feeling rather bored. She had just finished a lengthy discussion regarding life in Koro Nui with Ferha and Dusa and, with nothing else to discuss, they were simply staring out the windows now, watching for any signs of an enemy Akuna was sure would never come. She had seen neither hide nor hair of the Tuikas all day, and the sun was starting to set, too. She was now starting to wish she was curled up back in bed with Nastan, sleeping comfortably. But she knew that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight, not if she was supposed to be keeping an eye out for the Tuikas, anyway.

She was also worried about Jokao and Barilo. They had been gone for hours now and there hadn’t been a single sign of them. She had shared these worries with Dusa, who had told her that sometimes Oggak and Jokao were gone for days at a time on these expeditions, so it wasn’t unusual for them to be gone long like this, though it did make everyone feel tense just the same and usually the two tried to avoid being out for longer than was necessary.

It wasn’t that she was afraid they wouldn’t survive in the wilderness out on their own. Barilo, along with the others, had had to sleep in the wild in Wyoko for several days without the comfort of a real bed, and she was confident that both Jokao and Oggak had some experience in wilderness survival, too. It was just that the Tuikas might be out there, hunting them down and killing them. Barilo and the others didn’t have the safety of the village to protect themselves; they could only hope that the Tuikas wouldn’t know where they were, which didn’t make Akuna feel any better about it at all.

Dusa yawned widely. “You know, I think my shift is over. It’s about time that Niham takes over. Is your shift over yet, Ferha?”

“Not yet,” she replied, looking just as sleepy as Dusa. “Just a couple more hours and I’ll be free to rest until my next shift.”

“Are you going to change shifts with anyone, Akuna?” asked Dusa, as he mounted his sword and shield on the wall.

“I don’t think so,” said the Toa of Lighting with a shrug. “If I was, nobody told me. Maybe I’m supposed to do an all-nighter tonight.”

The Ta-Matoran nodded. “Makes sense. A Toa would be have an easier time dealing with the Tuikas than a couple of Matoran, right? Well, good night.”

“Good night,” said Akuna. “See you in the morning.”

But before Dusa’s armored hand even touched the doorknob, Ferha, who had been watching the skies the entire time, suddenly screamed, “Tuikas!”

“What?” Akuna said in surprise. She leaned out of the window and scanned the skies but didn’t see anything. “But I don’t see any-“

“Down below!” snapped Ferha, aiming her cannon towards the ground. “They’re trying to breach the gates!”

Akuna glanced down and saw a group of six monsters already in the courtyard – the Tuikas. It looked as though they were already in combat with the guards below, for she could see blasts of energy and hear metal clanging against metal even from her height.

“Fire!” shouted Dusa as he rushed to the window and looked out of it with Akuna. “Hit ‘em with everything you got, Ferha!”

“But I can’t,” said Ferha, who sounded frustrated, though she was carefully aiming the blaster at the Tuikas just the same. “What if I hit the others? These Cordak missiles pack a punch, you know.”

“She has a point,” said Akuna, before Dusa could say anything. “The guards are too close to the Tuikas to risk firing. Not to mention that you may just harm the rest of the fortress as well if you misfire.”

“Then what do we do?” asked Dusa angrily. He was clearly upset at the fact that he was losing control of the situation so quickly. “Sit back and let our friends die?”

“No,” said Akuna, shaking her head and grabbing her staff of lightning. “You and me will go down there and fight the Tuikas ourselves. Ferha, you stay here and try to shoot any Tuikas that attempt to escape, all right?”

“Yes, Toa Akuna,” said Ferha, still aiming her cannon downwards. “I’ll do my best.”

“Get your weapons,” Akuna told Dusa, though the Ta-Matoran did not need to be told that, for he already had both his sword and shield and looked ready to fight. “Okay. Let’s go.”

“Wait, I see a Toa’s down there already!” Ferha shouted suddenly, pointing towards the gates. “He’s right in the thick of the battle!”

“What?” Akuna said, though she was not necessarily surprised. After all, if they noticed the Tuikas, then surely the rest of the guards did, too, though she didn’t know who exactly might be out there. “Who is it?”

“Hard to tell from up here,” Ferha replied, squinting at the battle below. “Has blue-ish green armor, from the looks of it, though I can’t say for sure . . .”

“Nastan,” said Akuna, a small smile creeping onto her lips. She thought it might be him. “He’s always the first one to enter a fight and the last one standing.”

“Well, I just hope he doesn’t go and get himself killed,” said Dusa as he and Akuna dashed towards the door.

As Akuna wrenched it open, she replied, “Nastan’s a good fighter. I’m sure he’ll survive.”

-

Nastan ducked to avoid a vicious slash from the scorpion-like tail of the Tuikas he recognized as Kidah. He shot an arrow at her, but all it did was bounce off her spiky pale brown armor and annoy her even more.

Earlier, Nastan and his Matoran guardsmen had noticed, from the South Tower, that the Tuikas were trying to break into the fortress. Telling Kerja and the other Ko-Matoran to stay where they were and shoot any of the Tuikas that attempted to escape, Nastan had rushed down the tower and into the courtyard, where he had joined the guardians of the gate in their battle against the Tuikas.

So far, the battle hadn’t gone very well. Five Matoran were dead already and a good deal of damage had been dealt to the walls, though fortunately none of the Tuikas had yet managed to break into the fortress itself, so distracted with the fight they were.

But he now knew why the Tuikas were so feared: They were unrealistically fast, with enough strength to send someone flying halfway across the courtyard if they made a direct hit (something he had seen happen to an unfortunate Matoran near the start of the conflict). They also looked like something from the nightmares of the most evil, insane, and cruel of Dark Hunters, as though they were unnatural abominations that had crawled out from the deepest, darkest, and filthiest parts of the universe.

He had no time to think about this any further; Kidah hissed and fired twin beams of lasers from her eyes. He ducked, and the beams blasted a fair-sized crater in the ground behind him. He reared back and punched her with all of his strength, but the blow accomplished nothing. It did however seem to make her even more enraged, if possible. Kidah pounced, but he managed to get out of the way in time and she merely sprawled in the dirt before leaping back to her feet, growling in anger.

“Come on, ugly,” said Nastan, panting hard. He knew how stupid it was to taunt an enraged foe, but angry people were also stupid people, and Kidah was definitely an angry person right now. “You’ve wiped out 300 Dark Hunters, but can’t catch up with one speedy Toa? Are you just getting slow or-“

Nastan didn’t even feel Kidah’s stinger piercing his shoulder until he felt her horrible-smelling breath on his face and saw her hollow black eyes boring into his. Once he realized what was going on, he screamed loudly, but could not get her stinger out of his shoulder. He felt something hot and uncomfortable coursing through his arm, numbing it, making him feel sick and dizzy . . .

Kidah punched him hard in the stomach, with enough force to send him sprawling in the dirt, the Tuikas’ stinger now free of his shoulder. She growled again and advanced on him, holding her stinger high above her head, ready to strike again.

But Nastan didn’t think she would need to kill him off like that. The unforgiving pain he was feeling in his right arm was causing him to scream and sob in pain as he lay there on the ground. This pain was nothing like he had ever felt in his entire life; it felt as though his arm was shriveling up on the inside from the flames that were now burning brightly within his bones, if that made any sense.

Right before Kidah struck, however, a ball of plasma went flying through the air between her and Nastan, just close enough for the Tuikas to back away from the extreme heat but not close enough to actually hit her in the face. Nastan, fighting down the urge to scream, looked up in time to see Addis exiting the bottom of West Tower, with a few armed Matoran behind him. Plasma cannon still smoking from his last shot, the Toa of Plasma scanned the battlefield before him with a mixture of determination and fear.

The courtyard was in utter chaos. Several Matoran were trying to drive Skik and Zoil back, but weren’t doing too well from what he could see, while Draza was in combat with Death and a badly damaged-looking Po-Matoran who Addis didn’t recognize. He glanced towards the gate and saw Arija, another Tuikas, battling Chimoy and Kigin, who were amazingly working together fairly well. Meanwhile Koya, nearer the North Tower, was taking on several Matoran at once and was obviously winning, though the villagers were putting up a worthy fight. Energy and elemental blasts went flying back and forth between sides, illuminating the darkened courtyard and the Matoran corpses that littered the bare, grass-less earth beneath their feet.

Addis, horrified though he was at the chaos all around him, decided to help Nastan, since he was the most helpless and closest at the moment. He also doubted that Kidah would want to leave him alone after his near hit. And sure enough, the Tuikas leapt at him, hissing loudly while clawing at the air as she landed in front of him. He took a step back in surprise and nearly tripped on the Matoran behind him as the tip of Kidah’s stinger buried itself in the stone where he had been standing before.

He tried to aim his cannon, but his leg suddenly started hurting again and he cursed. His limp still hadn’t healed, even with a full night’s sleep. Thus, he was a little slow to dodge a swipe from Kidah, which sent him falling to the ground. He gasped as he slammed into the rough dirt, and he realized, from the sharp jolt of pain coming from his lower area, that he had fallen on a sharp piece of metal, which had pierced his armor, causing blood to come oozing out.

Ignoring the blood bleeding from his side, he looked up and saw the two Matoran guardsmen that had been stationed with him were trying to hit Kidah with their swords and spears. But the Tuikas, with amazing speed and agility, was dodging all of their blows easily. With one swift swipe had killed Asah, a Ba-Matoran, and then with a devastating kick had sent the other Matoran, Gorkor, flying into the stone wall and actually smashed through it upon impact. Addis then glanced at Nastan, who was apparently trying to rise to his feet, though whatever Kidah had injected into him seemed to be taking its effect, since he seemed barely capable of even the slightest movements without grunting loudly in pain.

Gotta do something fast, Addis thought as Kidah advanced on him, her stinger tail slowly rising above him. Can’t lift my cannon . . . too heavy . . . can’t move . . . too weak . . . But what about my mask?

Addis had been thinking about his new Kanohi Tryna quite a bit ever since he had gotten it. It was supposed to have the ability to reanimate dead things, but he had never used it before, and didn’t really want to know what it would look like to have an army of the dead at your command. He knew the Tryna wasn’t a particularly good mask, morality-wise, but if he didn’t do something quick he would just be one more name to add onto the likely-vast list of Kidah’s victims.

Mata Nui protect me, Addis thought, concentrating hard on his Tryna, forcing it to work.

He looked desperately around for some sign that his mask was working, but did not see any of the corpses being reanimated. They were just as dead-looking as before, if not more so, somehow, as more villagers fell to join their comrades in the afterlife. His heart fell. Why wasn’t his mask working? Was it defective after all?

He looked up in time to see Kidah’s stinger coming right at him, but it never did make contact with him. Instead, something burst out of the ground underneath him, sending the Toa of Plasma flying out of the way of Kidah’s attack. He landed hard on the ground, pushing in the piece of metal lodged in his side even deeper upon impact, but he managed to look up just in time to see the corpse of the Dark Hunter Tyu standing where he had been lying a few seconds earlier, with the tip of Kidah’s stinger tail lodged firmly within his decayed skull.

Despite the darkness, Addis could see Tyu’s undead form clearly, though it was just barely recognizable as Tyu. One of his arms was missing; the other still-attached arm had had much of its armor and organic tissue burnt off to reveal the bare bone underneath. Tyu’s legs looked okay, but his chest had apparently been ripped open, yet had no organs or anything inside it. All that was left was an empty black hole, and, as Addis watched the newly risen Hunter pry the stinger out of its head, a disgusting-looking insect crawled through one of its hollow eyes.

“What the Karzahni?” Nastan exclaimed as his eyes widened in exactly the same way as Kidah’s at the undead form of Tyu. “What’s going on here?”

“It’s my mask!” Addis shouted over the sounds of battle. “My Tryna reanimated his corpse!”

“Cr-crazy!” said Nastan, who was now lying completely still on the ground as though he could not move. “I never imagined the Tryna’s power to look like that!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Addis replied, rising to his feet as he watched the undead Tyu smash its thin bony fist straight into Kidah’s face, sending the Tuikas tumbling backward. “What we’ve got to do is- Ow!”

The pain in his side from the shard of metal lodged in his side intensified all of a sudden. He looked down and saw that it was a long, thin piece of iron sticking out just underneath his armpit. Without thinking, he immediately removed the shard from his side, a decision he soon regretted, for it caused him great pain as blood poured out of his wound. With a shout he fell to the ground in a pool of blood, the wound so bad he couldn’t get up.

“Dang it,” he muttered, trying to stem the flow of hot blood by covering it with one of his hands. He then looked back up at Nastan, who looked horrified and frightened. Addis, however, continued speaking normally, ignoring the intense bleeding with some effort. “As I was saying, we’ve got to do something.”

“How?” Nastan asked as a bolt of energy flew over his head, which surprised him and made him yelp, though the bolt did not hurt him. “I’m almost completely paralyzed. And you’re in no condition to fight yourself, Addis.”

Without answering, the Toa of Plasma looked back towards the fight and saw that, despite all of her fierce blows, Kidah had yet to down the reanimated Tyu, which just kept coming back again and again. Though he was grateful for the fact that his mask had saved his life, it was more than a little unnerving to acknowledge that he had brought that thing back to a semblance of life. He wondered if perhaps there were any other, less brutal Great Masks lying around that he didn’t know about, when he suddenly fell onto his stomach, causing him to scream in pain as even more blood flowed without end.

“Addis!” shouted Nastan, who sounded extremely frightened. “Addis! Don’t die!”

But Addis wasn’t sure if he was dying, or simply falling unconscious. The blood loss was starting to take its toll; it was becoming harder and harder to retain consciousness every minute. It seemed as though every second was simply a battle to remain awake until, unable to take any more loss of blood, he fell unconscious, his body as stiff as a rock and just as living.

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Chapter 8: Only One Way to Go

There was only one word that Nastan could have used to describe guard duty at the moment: Boring. Boring, boring, boring, and even more boring. All he did was sit around with two Ko-Matoran (who did not seem to be very interested in talking to him) and watch the sky all day, which he realized, for the first time in his life, was probably the most boring thing in the entire universe. All that he ever saw in the sky was clouds, the sun, and maybe some birds – that was it. No Tuikas or anything else like that.

Why did they have to put us all in separate towers? Nastan thought, glancing out one of the windows, which was aimed at North Tower, where Akuna was stationed. Why couldn’t they put me and Akuna in the same tower? It would be a lot more fun and less boring if we were together. Besides, we’ve never had much time alone together ever since we got back from Wyoko. Maybe Oggak just doesn’t want us to plot behind her back while she’s away, which would make sense, since she is a Toa of Shadow after all. They love to plot against others but hate it when others plot against them.

Nastan knew how his prejudice came across to Jokao, Joha, and anyone else who was convinced of Oggak’s innocence, but he didn’t care. He had seen what Toa of Shadow were capable of doing – and he had literally experienced some of it himself, back when he had briefly been a Toa of Shadow. That had been a dark time, and according to his friends he had been extremely menacing and cruel. After that, he was unconvinced that anyone who associated with the shadows could be even slightly good. He stuck firmly to that opinion and was not going to allow anyone to change it, not even Joha, whom he admired greatly.

I’m glad the others agree, but I just wish that Joha and Jokao would see the light, at least, Nastan thought, toying absentmindedly with his bow and arrows. I mean, they have a Toa of Shadow and Dark Hunters working with them! I mean, what the heck is up with that?

He especially didn’t know what Joha was thinking. Joha had been the worst enemy of the Dark Hunters of Shika Nui for over 25,000 years. Nastan expected he would be vehemently against allying with any Hunters, even if it was for the greater good. Yet Joha was compromising the Toa’s code (at least in Nastan’s opinion) by even just letting them walk around armed! What if they tried to kill him, or one of the Toa Shika? Or even tried to harm the Matoran? It was ridiculous and he could see no logical reason for allying with scum like that.

I’ll never understand Turaga, he thought angrily. But I understand how Toa of Shadow think perfectly well, and I know that they aren’t even remotely good.

He glanced out the window again. Still no Tuikas . . . . Now he was beginning to wonder if the Tuikas really existed or if everyone was just being paranoid. Then again, he remembered seeing the beasts locked up in the stasis tubes underneath Shika Nui, so he supposed that they really existed. But were they as bad as everyone said they were or was it just another Dark Hunter or Toa of Shadow trick?

He scowled. He had no answer to that question and decided the only thing to do was to wait. Perhaps he would ask his fellow guardsmen here for stories regarding the Tuikas, the Dark Hunters . . . and Oggak, too. He wanted to know what everyone thought of her; whether she was trustworthy, honest, and a good Toa, or if she was exactly what he thought she was: scum.

“Hey, Kerja?” said Nastan casually, addressing one of the guards, who turned around silently to look at him.

“Yes, Toa Nastan?” Kerja replied. “Did you want to ask me something?”

“I was just wondering what you think about Oggak,” he continued, in the same casual tone as before. He was starting off small; later he might ask Kerja or another Matoran about the Hunters, but for now, learning more about Oggak interested him a bit more than learning what the Hunters were doing. “I mean, is she nice, or good, or honest, or trustworthy, or anything else? I don’t know her very well yet, but she seems to be . . . trustworthy, I suppose.” He did not want to describe her negatively, at least not yet, so Kerja would not get suspicious.

“She’s good,” said Kerja. “She’s been protecting us from the Tuikas for weeks now. She’s kind of quiet, but she’s trustworthy, and I am sure she is honest, too. I wouldn’t trade her for any other Toa in the world.”

Nastan sighed inwardly. It looked like Oggak was considered a hero by some of the Matoran or at least by Kerja. How was he supposed to get the dirt on Oggak now? There had to be something bad about her . . . something that made her unlikable, something to justify his prejudice. Maybe if he pushed her a little she would tell him something bad about Oggak.

“Okay,” said Nastan, slightly annoyed now. “But has she ever been unkind or dishonest or something to anyone, besides the Tuikas? Ever said something strange?”

Kerja frowned. “Why would you ask that? She gets stressed out like everyone, you know. Protecting an entire village of Matoran, with the possibility of dying horribly every day, is enough to make anyone a little annoyed and angry at times. But to answer your question, I don’t think she’s ever been unkind or dishonest towards anyone. She’s told us all she knows about the Tuikas, and I believe every word of it.”

“Er, okay,” said Nastan. He was now starting to reach the conclusion that Kerja was incapable of saying anything bad about Oggak, even if it happened to be true. He decided to ask another, less loyal Matoran later on. Maybe one of them would tell him something about the Toa of Shadow that would make her look bad. “Well, I-“

“But now that you mentioned it,” Kerja continued, as if uninterrupted. She glanced out the window again, then turned to face Nastan and said, “Sometimes, when she seems to think no one is looking, she looks kind of guilty and sad. But I’ve always dismissed it as me imagining things, since she always goes back to looking normal a second later.”

Nastan leaned forward a little at that. Now this was interesting. Oggak looking guilty and sad when she thought no one was looking? Now why would she do that? Was she hiding something from everyone else and was beginning to feel guilty about it? What could it be?

Probably something sinister, Nastan decided, feeling a thrill of excitement course through him. I knew it. She’s done something or is about to do something that she will regret. I gotta stop her . . . wait, what if she’s really in charge of the Tuikas? What if she is their master and is using them as a distraction for her own sinister needs? That would explain why they keep attacking again and again . . . they aren’t aiming to eliminate us, just distract us, from her real goals.

He disregarded the fact that she apparently looked guilty and sad. She had nothing to be guilty or sad about and he doubted she was beginning to regret whatever she wanted to do. He was now convinced that the Tuikas were working alongside Oggak, but what were they aiming to achieve? World domination? Gaining all the riches and spoils of Shika Nui?

He didn’t know what Oggak was after now. But he knew one thing; once she, Jokao, and Barilo came back, he would have to confront her. If he could get her to reveal her true motives – preferably in front of dozens of Matoran and Turaga Joha – then he would be the savior of Shika Nui. That way, they could figure out how to stop the Tuikas for good, and it would be all because of him.

I hope they get here soon, Nastan thought as he strode over to the wind and peered out it, now looking at the ground several feet below. Because soon I’ll be a hero. And Oggak will be where she rightfully belongs; in prison, where all shadow spit ought to be.

-

Hajax, Jokao, and Oggak were walking quietly and with caution down the cold, ankle-deep waterway. Hajax was quite happy with himself; he had just secured three of his old minions, and if he could keep going on these missions like this, he was certain he would be able to rebuild at least a part of his old forces. Once that was over with, Koro Nui would fall to his power, he would naturally learn the truth about the Tuikas, and, after smashing the Tuikas into fine powder, he would begin conquest of the universe, to set right what once went wrong, and so on.

His only regret was that he had not yet gotten a chance to interrogate Oggak. Of course, there was still the rest of the journey home, but he doubted he would gain any alone time with her so long as Jokao was still with them.

When we get home, maybe I’ll just interrogate her in her room, he thought. That might work, depending on whether I feel up to it or not, though I will have to if I am to succeed.

That was yet another problem beings with physical bodies had; exhaustion. Though he did his best to hide it, he felt exhausted and wanted to actually go and rest a little. He knew it was idiotic, but he could not tell his body to not be worn out. Maybe, just maybe, when he got home he would take a quick nap and then interrogate her. Just a quick nap; maybe a few minutes long, that’s all. Long enough to regain most of his strength, at least.

Finally, after walking for several more minutes, they reached the exit. As they left, Hajax noticed for a split second that some of the rocks had been smashed into pieces, before being hit very hard in the chest back into the cavern with Oggak. He splashed into the cold water face first with Oggak and struggled to his feet, looking up in time to see six strange beings that he didn’t recognize flying towards them, while Jokao stumbled back in, clutching his arm, which seemed to have been damaged.

“Tuikas!” shouted Jokao, raising one hand towards the ceiling. “They’re . . . they’re here! Get back!”

“Tuikas? Here?” asked Oggak, though Hajax thought he caught a hint of expectancy in her voice mingled in with the fear, but he didn’t know what that was all about. “Now?”

“Watch out!” Jokao shouted, firing off half a dozen fire balls at the ceiling. “I’m sealing off the entrance before they can get in!”

“What?” Hajax shouted in shock, ducking underneath a bolt of lightning that had been shot by one of the Tuikas. “But that’s crazy!”

“It’s the only thing we can do!” Jokao replied, still firing blast after blast at the ceiling. “Three Toa aren’t strong enough to take on six Tuikas alone!”

The Tuikas were closing in fast. Hajax doubted that Jokao would be able to bring the entrance down before the Tuikas could get in . . . on his own, anyway. Should he help Jokao? After all, he wanted to live at least a little while longer, which he doubted the Tuikas would allow him to do if they got any closer.

But it seemed like Oggak had gotten the idea first; she had jumped to her feet and began firing shadow blasts at the ceiling while simultaneously flinging bolts of shadow at the incoming Tuikas, who had also increased the ferocity of their attacks. Hajax rose to his feet, intending to help Oggak and Jokao. While he cared nothing for the two Toa, he himself was not going to die, not today.

So he focused Barilo’s gravity powers on the same spot Jokao and Oggak were attacking, increasing the gravity of the archway tenfold until it finally collapsed, cascading tons of rocks and dirt down upon them. A cloud of dust billowed over them, blinding Hajax and sending him falling into the now-muddy water with a loud splash. The entrance was now effectively blocked, though Hajax now wondered if all of the mud and dust was really worth the effort.

“Is everybody okay?” Oggak called from somewhere within the dust cloud. “Hello?”

“I’m . . . fine,” Hajax coughed, managing to get into a sitting position and rubbing the dust out of his eyes. “Wasn’t hurt too badly, I think. Just very dirty is all.”

“My arm . . .” Jokao groaned. He sounded like he was lying in pain somewhere nearby. “My legs . . .”

Hajax so dearly wanted to blow the dust away with a cyclone so that he could see, but doing that make Jokao and Oggak ask questions, as he was pretty sure that Barilo did not have the ability to summon cyclones in a cavern. So he merely groped around in the darkness, looking for Jokao and Oggak as best as he could, but the sticky mud and thick dust cloud made it nearly impossible to move or see well. It made him feel weak, which was something he hated feeling, but he had to deal with this weakness for now.

“Where are you?” Oggak shouted. “Jokao, where are you?”

“At the . . . at the entrance,” Jokao called, and Hajax, following the Toa of Fire’s voice, realized that he was indeed by the now-blocked off entrance. “Follow the fire . . .”

A bright ball of flames appeared within the sand cloud, which drew both Hajax and Oggak towards its source. Once they were within view of Jokao, Hajax saw him lying half-buried underneath a wall of debris blocking the entryway, with one arm up in the air holding a sphere of fire within its grasp. Jokao looked hurt; his right arm was bleeding and had a bad burn on it, while his legs were completely buried underneath a ton of rock and dirt. His mask appeared to be in one piece, however, though it looked rather muddy to Hajax.

“Jokao!” said Oggak, crawling over to him and cradling the upper half of his body in her mud-encrusted arms. Jokao’s flames illuminated her red eyes, which were wide with fear and anxiety. “Please speak to me. Can you still feel your legs?”

“Right now I wish I couldn’t,” Jokao groaned, keeping his ball of flames well away from Oggak.

“Good, that means you may still be able to walk,” she said, slightly calmer now. “But we’ll still have to get you out of there, or else you might not be able to feel them at all anymore.”

“No,” Jokao muttered quietly. Hajax gleefully noticed that his flames were starting to die out. “Leave me here. You and Barilo try to find another way out.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me,” Hajax agreed, looking up at the mountainous pile of rock and dirt that stood before them. In his present condition, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to play Onu-Matoran miner at the moment. “Really, he’s got a-“

“No,” Oggak said fiercely, slowly lowing Jokao back into the dirty water. “We’re going to save him. We might not even have to dig all that much; you’re a Toa of Gravity, right? So why don’t you just lift the rocks off him and I drag him out?”

“Er, good idea, Oggak,” said Hajax reluctantly. He would have to do it; to go against her would look suspicious, and looking suspicious was what he was trying to avoid at the moment. “Stand back, then.”

Oggak slid backwards on the mud a few feet away, though she was still looking at Jokao with worried eyes. Jokao, meanwhile, put out his flames by dousing his hand in the water and then put his hand on his head, as though to protect it from what was to come.

Hajax rose unsteadily to his feet, the mud clinging to his armor. He was annoyed, uncomfortable, and tired, so with one flick of his finger, half a ton of rock and dirt went up into the air, well above Jokao. Oggak slid forward on the mud and rose to her feet as she reached Jokao. She bent over and grabbed him around the chest and began heaving him out, with some assistance from the Toa of Fire, who was pushing himself along with his one good arm rather feebly.

Once he was free, Hajax dumped the debris back to the ground, creating yet another, slightly smaller cloud of dust that blinded them for a few minutes until it settled. The Makuta turned and saw Jokao and Oggak were holding onto each other very tightly and closely, muttering to each other in tones that were too low for him to hear.

He glanced at Jokao’s legs and what he saw nearly made him, Makuta Hajax, wince. Jokao’s legs looked to be broken; his left leg was twisted at a weird angle, while his right leg looked as though it had been detached from its socket. His red armor was barely visible underneath the thick layer of mud, dust, and dirt that now lay upon it. Hajax wondered if Jokao would ever walk again, but then decided that that would be for the better. It would be one less obstacle for him to deal with in the future, after all.

“Jokao, are you okay?” asked Oggak as she glanced at his legs and winced. “Can you walk at all?”

“I don’t think . . . I don’t think I can,” said Jokao, flinching as he tried to move his left leg. “May need someone to hold me if we’re all going to get out of here.”

“Okay, okay,” said Oggak soothingly, patting him on the back, while holding him even closer to her body. She looked up at Hajax, then at the debris, and back at him again before asking, “Barilo, can you-?”

“I could,” said the Makuta shortly, glancing at the debris that covered the entrance. “But I’m afraid that our old friends may still be waiting out there for us. It may be wiser to continue on until we find another exit.”

“Is there another way out?” asked Oggak. “You said you’ve been here with the other Shika when you were Matoran. Surely you thoroughly explored the place before using it to hide treasure?”

Hajax shrugged. “No, we didn’t. Like I said before, we didn’t get to use it very long before the Hunters scared us out. I really have no idea what’s down there, to be honest.” He smiled in a rather fake way at Oggak, who did not look any more reassured than before.

But he had told her the truth; despite hiding his minions in here, he hadn’t thoroughly explored the place yet. He had sent some of his men down the tunnel in the past, but they never came back. The farthest he had ever gone was this fork where the tunnel branched off, but that was it. Beyond that, he didn’t know what else was down there. Maybe another exit. . . . Or perhaps just a dead end. Regardless, they had no other choice but to go forward now. He didn’t like the idea much – who knew what could be waiting for them down there? – but he couldn’t see any other options.

“Maybe there’s another way out of here,” said Oggak, glancing over her shoulder down the tunnel. “And if there isn’t-“

“Then we take our chances with the Tuikas,” Jokao finished for her. He coughed loudly, and said, “I’d rather die fighting the Tuikas than die in some muddy old cave like an animal.”

“Well, if we are going, why not just go?” asked Hajax, who was getting a little sick of standing around in the dust and mud. It felt extremely uncomfortable. “Oggak, you can help Jokao walk. I’ll lead.”

“But how?” asked Oggak, puzzled. “You can’t see in the dark.”

“Oh, er, you’re right,” said Hajax hastily. “Maybe I’ll carry Jokao, while you lead.”

“I don’t know,” Oggak said, again in the same worried tone as before. “What if-“

“Just shut up and let’s go,” Jokao snapped suddenly. “I’m tired of sitting around and doing nothing.”

“But would it be wise to move you in your present condition?” asked Oggak, in a surprisingly harsh voice, as she pushed him away from herself so that she could look him straight in the eye. For a moment, Hajax thought he saw the short temper of the Shodios in her eyes as she looked at Jokao. “I’m no doctor, but even I can tell that you are in no condition to move much, if at all.”

“But we can’t just sit here all day and wait until help arrives,” Jokao argued, his voice surprisingly strong despite having just been buried under a ton of rocks. “Sure, they know where we are, but we’ve been gone a long time in the past, too, so they may think we’re just doing the same thing as before and won’t bother to come get us!” He had coughed various times throughout his speech, making it slightly hard to understand at times, but Hajax was sure that Oggak had gotten the gist of it.

“Well, do you feel good enough to move?” asked Oggak impatiently. “If you do-“

“I do,” said Jokao firmly, grasping her shoulder reassuringly with his good hand. “I really do.”

“Then let’s go,” she finished. “Come on, Barilo. Help Jokao, will you?”

Hajax complied, and soon the party of three was walking slowly down the tunnel again, Hajax privately wondering if he would ever manage to live long enough to learn the truth about the Tuikas now.

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-TNTOS-

Chapter 7: A Familiar Place

Hajax stumbled over some rocks and cursed. He was still adjusting to his new body, which reminded him there were some things that even a Makuta had a difficult time relearning. His arms ached, his legs were tired already, and he needed to stop for breath, though Jokao and Oggak, who were already well-ahead of him, did not seem to have noticed and were continuing without slowing down to even let him catch up with them.

I had forgotten what it’s like to need to do things like rest, Hajax thought as he continued walking, rubbing his aching thighs. Or how to drink, or sleep, or, indeed, do anything the average biomechanical beings needs to do every day. A necessary evil, I suppose, for the chance to have a body again, however frail and weak it may be.

They were currently at the western end of the island, which was rocky, with thin gray clouds floating above them. Hajax knew this region well; he had used it to hide many ex-Brotherhood minions in the old days before launching a full-fledged attack on the Dark Hunters. It wasn’t exactly this spot, of course, but it had been near here in a hidden cavern where he had kept his soldiers. Whether the Tuikas had destroyed it yet, he did not know, but hoped they didn’t. Perhaps some of his old minions had taken refuge around here, though he doubted that they were waiting for him, since he was still technically supposed to be dead.

Up ahead, Jokao and Oggak had stopped to survey the hillside, while Hajax struggled to climb the steep incline. If he had been inside his normal body, he thought angrily, this would have been no problem whatsoever. But since he was so unused to having a normal physical body, just walking was sometimes torture. Still, he had to ignore it for now. So long as nobody noticed that Barilo was acting strange, his true identity was perfectly safe.

“Do you see any Matoran, Oggak?” asked Jokao as Hajax approached, now quite out of breath. “’Cause I don’t.”

“No, I don’t, either,” she said, shaking her head. “But we should keep looking. They may be hiding somewhere.”

“What . . . makes you think . . . there are any Matoran still alive besides the few in Koro Nui?” asked Hajax in between gasps for air, unable to keep the fatigue out of his voice. “I doubt the Tuikas . . . would leave any of them alive . . .”

Jokao nodded grimly. “A lot of the time we’re unsuccessful, especially in recent days. We keep searching and never find more than about a dozen or so at a time, and sometimes not even that much. The bigger problem is transporting all of them to Koro Nui without the Tuikas killing them first. But there’s still that hope that some are still alive, and that hope is what keeps us going even in the darkest hours of the night.”

While Jokao looked away, Hajax rolled his eyes. More Toa naivety. . . . He could not wait until the time came to stop pretending to be Barilo, which he thought he was doing a rather poor job at, though no one said anything to him about it. Once that time came, he would rid the world of Toa. They were pointless; but perhaps not totally pointless, he thought as he eyed Oggak, who was pointing down the slope towards some unknown destination.

“Maybe we should look in that cavern,” she was saying to Jokao. “It looks safe, so maybe the Matoran decided to hide in it.”

“Worth a try,” said Jokao with a shrug. “Barilo?”

“Yes?” said Hajax, quickly adjusting his face to look curious, rather than annoyed. “What is it?”

“Oggak thinks there’s a place the Matoran could have hidden in,” said Jokao, pointing in the same direction as the Toa of Shadow. “Down there, near the sea. Looks a little dangerous, though, but if there are any Matoran in there they are probably safe.”

Hajax got onto the same level as the other two and looked at where they were pointing. He stifled a gasp; it was the cave he had used before, except it looked slightly more flooded now and someone – perhaps some Matoran, perhaps some of his old minions, or maybe someone else – had evidently tried to build a blockade at the exit with a waist high pile of rocks, which were in danger of being knocked over by the violent waves that beat against them.

“Ah, yes, that place . . .” said Hajax without thinking. “I remember it well . . .”

“What was that?” asked Jokao curiously.

“Er, I mean,” said Hajax hastily. “I remember it well from my days as a . . . as a Matoran! Yes, that’s where I remember it from. Ah, yes, my friends and I used to hide our treasure in there all the time. Those were the good old days . . .” He grinned unnaturally at the Toa of Fire, who tilted his head in confusion, then shrugged and began climbing down the slope with Oggak, who was already a few feet below them.

Too close, Hajax thought as he began climbing down with them. Almost gave myself away. Got to be more careful from now on, I should, though I can’t go making up memories forever, since someone is bound to contradict me at some point.

The cold wind blew against Hajax’s face, causing him to shiver. Cold was something else he was not used to. Another sacrifice, though he still didn’t like it. He would never understand how the Toa and others managed to live with these kinds of physical limitations and pain. He supposed they just ignored it most of the time, but he wondered how they could ignore it for so long like this without complaining even slightly.

Perhaps they’re stronger than they looked, Hajax thought. He slipped a little and nearly fell, but managed to hold on. He cursed. I guess that raises them in my eyes . . . a little, maybe. Not much, if at all.

After some minutes of climbing and unsteady walking, the ground began to level out and they were now walking towards the shore. Hajax glanced nondescriptly at the sand ahead; no footprints or tracks, though considering the fact that the tide was in, any tracks or footprints that might have been there had probably been washed away now. That was good; he didn’t want Jokao and Oggak to think there may be some unfriendly strangers inside there and make them want to turn back.

“We’re going to have to wade,” said Oggak, pointing at the water, which looked even colder than the wind, Hajax thought. “There’s no other way in.”

Jokao groaned, and Hajax privately wanted to do the same. “You sure, Oggak? We can’t just find another way in?”

“As far as I can see, the only way in is through the cavern mouth,” she replied. “There’s no other way.”

“Okay,” said Jokao reluctantly. “Let’s go, then.”

Oggak took the first step into the water, but did not seem to shiver at all. Perhaps the water wasn’t as cold as Hajax thought, but then, when Jokao stepped into it, he cursed under his breath and shook fast, which confirmed the Makuta’s worst fears.

“Stupid cold water,” Jokao muttered as he waded over to Oggak. “Why does it have to be cold?”

Oggak laughed playfully. “You’re not afraid to take on all six of the Tuikas with a broken knife, but you’re afraid of getting cold and wet?”

“Whatever,” Jokao said, disgruntled. He shivered and turned to look at Hajax, who had yet to join them. “What’re you waiting for? You weren’t put on this mission just to stand around and look stupid, you know!”

Hajax’s anger burned deep inside him. So he looked stupid, did he? He wanted to lash out at the Toa of Fire, attack him, tell him off for daring to insult a Makuta. But he managed to hold it all back. It would simply get him into trouble, and trouble was the last thing he wanted, at least at the moment.

“Er, coming,” said Hajax awkwardly as he waded in after them and violently shivered. Jokao was right; the water was cold, but he didn’t complain about it as he drew closer to the two. He did not want to display weakness in front of them.

Once Hajax had joined them, Oggak lead them towards the cavern, which looked a lot smaller than Hajax remembered it being. Oggak kicked aside the makeshift wall as they walked, which fell apart quite easily. Hajax was disappointed at that. If his minions really had built that wall, then they had done a lousy job of it. Must be Matoran, then, he decided.

The tunnel itself was dark, though Hajax did not care. He loved the dark and could see quite easily, even with Barilo’s weak eyes, but they were still knee-deep in the cold water, which made it much less enjoyable than he would have liked. But the thought of the sandbank up ahead, where they could get onto dry land, kept him wading with Jokao and Oggak all the way.

“I’ve never been in here before,” Jokao remarked. A sudden flash of light startled Hajax, causing the Makuta to fall backwards into the water with a splash. He looked around and saw, with a jolt of anger, that Jokao had conjured flames in his hand so that he could see his surroundings easier.

“Barilo, are you okay?” asked Oggak, stopping and looking down at him with a slightly worried expression on her face. “Did something startle you?”

“If Jokao would have warned me about what he was going to do before he did it, I wouldn’t have fallen in,” said Hajax, glaring at the Toa of Fire as he rose to his feet, now visibly shivering as he wrapped his arms around himself to keep in the little warmth his body still had left.

“Sorry,” said Jokao. “Has being in Wyoko for all of these weeks made you forgotten what real light looks like?”

“No,” said Hajax angrily, pushing his way past Jokao to continue. “I know full well what real light looks like. Yours is just too bright. Douse it with this water or something.”

“It isn’t that bright,” Jokao muttered.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Oggak as she caught up with Hajax. “We’ve got to keep going. If there’s only this cold water in here, the Matoran might be freezing to death.”

What a tragic loss that would be, Hajax thought, though he kept these thoughts to himself.

They walked for a long time, occasionally stopping to examine part of a sword or a piece of armor sticking out of the water. Although Jokao and Oggak were puzzled by the smashed armor pieces and broken weapons they found, Hajax was not, though he pretended to be. He recognized them as belonging to his minions, though they seemed to be fairly old, which gave him hope that perhaps some were still alive deep within this cavern.

“Hello?” Jokao called down the tunnel. “Anyone down there?”

His call echoed off the walls, but there was no answer. Jokao looked discouraged, but Hajax was not. He had specifically trained his minions to never answer the calls of anyone but himself. Since none of them had leapt out of the darkness at them, he figured their training had paid off.

After walking for a few more minutes, Jokao stopped and said, “You know what? It doesn’t seem like there are any Matoran here, or even any Dark Hunters that might have survived the slaughter. Perhaps we should head home.”

“There’s still some ways to go, though,” said Hajax, who had not stopped. “Just up ahead, there should be a sandbank we can get on. I’m sick of this water already.”

“Okay,” said Jokao as he continued walking, though he sounded like he still wanted to go back.

Their shadows danced along the walls from the light of Jokao’s flames and in less than a minute they reached the sandbank Hajax had spoken of. They quickly walked onto it. Hajax then immediately glanced around, but saw no sign of his minions. He was crestfallen; this would make taking over Shika Nui that much more difficult a task than it already was.

“What’s that?” asked Jokao, pointing into the darkness. “Looks like armor . . .”

“It’s an Exo-Toa,” said Oggak as they approached it, “though badly damaged. Don’t think it works anymore.”

She was right. Slumped against the stone wall was the metallic suit of armor known as an Exo-Toa. It was, just like she had said, damaged; its chest had apparently been ripped open and one leg was totally smashed. Its lifeless red eyes flared in the light of Jokao’s flames, but it was definitely not in any working condition anymore. Hajax didn’t particularly care; he never liked Exo-Toa in the first place, so he didn’t see this as much of a loss, though he did wonder who or what had done that to the armor in the first place.

“Where’d this Exo-Toa come from?” asked Jokao with frown. He turned to Hajax and asked, “Barilo, did you and the others put this Exo-Toa here? You said you used to use this place to hide your treasure, after all.”

“I did?” asked Hajax, confused, before hastily correcting himself, “Oh, yes, I did tell you that didn’t I? But we didn’t get to use it for long; the Dark Hunters discovered it and scared us away. I believe they used it to store destroyed Brotherhood weapons, armor, and sometimes minions, though I don’t think they ever found our treasure.”

“I see,” said Jokao, nodding. “That explains the bits and pieces of armor we’ve been seeing here.”

There was sudden movement up ahead, catching their attention immediately. Oggak pulled out a long sword and stood up straight, her eyes squinting into the darkness, while Jokao whipped out his flail and swung it a few times. Hajax unlimbered his new spear. Before leaving the village, Hajax had replaced his old axe with this new spear, which apparently had been highly prized by the Dark Hunters before the Tuikas arrived. The spear was supposed to be a “mind harvester,” meaning it could take the thoughts of its user and transform them into pure energy, though at the cost of sometimes making the user a little dazed or confused for a few minutes after use.

“Who’s in there?” asked Jokao. “Oggak, what do you see?”

Oggak, being a Toa of Shadow, could see in the darkness better than Jokao, and answered, “I can’t tell, Jokao. Even with my night vision it’s- Ah!”

A bolt of darkness struck the ground in front of Oggak, who stumbled back in shock. Then a blast of heat vision nearly hit Jokao’s head (A shame it missed, Hajax thought), and Hajax dodged a Rhotuka spinner that melted the area he had been standing on earlier, now angry at nearly having his feet melted off.

Three beings – two tall, humanoid ones, and a small, spider-like one – leapt out of the darkness, hissing and growling at the three warriors. Hajax recognized them immediately; the first one was a Rahkshi of Darkness in black-red armor, the second a heat-vision Rahkshi (recognizable by its distinctive yellow armor), and the third a green Visorak Keelerak. All three of them looked crazed; the Keelerak was snapping its pincers hungrily, while the two Rahkshi took aim with their staffs.

Well, I’ve found some of my old minions, Hajax thought as he took a step back in surprise. But they don’t quite seem to recognize me, unfortunately.

Darkness, heat vision, and an acid Rhotuka spinner went flying towards them, but they managed to jump out of the way of the combined attack just in time. All three projectiles hit the spot where the party had been standing, which created an explosion that rocked the floor

Jokao’s flames had gone out now, plunging the cavern into total darkness. This was no problem for Hajax and Oggak, who could see very well in the shadows, but Jokao was not used to it – which would probably lead to his death, Hajax knew, unless the Toa of Fire was very good at improvising. This thought did not make him sad at all.

The heat-vision Rahkshi tried blasting the Makuta, but he easily deflected it with his spear, which he swung into the Rahkshi’s face. The Rahkshi stumbled, stunned by the blow, which gave Hajax the opportunity to send a mental note to the armored slug via telepathy. He did not want to fight and possibly kill his own minions when they could be of use to him in the future.

It is me who you and your allies are fighting, pathetic Rahkshi! he shouted in the Rahkshi’s mind. I am your master, Makuta Hajax, though in a different body than you might remember. If you dare fight me further, I shall personally see to your immediate demise. Understood?

The Rahkshi, incapable of verbal communication though it might be, could quite clearly understand its master. It bowed humbly, but he scolded it via telepathy at once.

Don’t bow now! Hajax snapped, looking around to make sure that Jokao and Oggak were too busy fighting to notice that him and the Rahkshi were not fighting. Hear this order; I want you and the other two to leave now. Abandon this fight and I promise that you shall live to see another dark day on Shika Nui. In due time I will call you to rejoin me, but for now, I want you to find refuge elsewhere. Understood?

The Rahkshi stood up immediately, and, without giving even the slightest hint that it had heard its master’s orders, tore off into the darkness past him. Based on the sounds of more metallic feet clanking against stone and dirt, the other Rahkshi and the Keelerak were leaving, too. He felt relieved; he now had three of his old minions back under his control, though it would probably be a long time before he would call them again, he knew. He hoped they would lay low for a while, just so they wouldn’t end up getting themselves killed before he needed them.

“Hey, where’re they going?” Jokao shouted in confusion, from somewhere within the darkness. “Why’re they just running away like that?”

“I don’t know,” Oggak answered, who was standing a few feet away from where Hajax stood and looked just as confused as Jokao sounded. “I really don’t know.”

“Obviously,” said Hajax, walking over to her as Jokao joined them. “They realized that they would not survive an encounter with the three of us – most especially, me – so they took the wise option and ran for it. What we really should be worrying about,” he added, on a spur of the moment, “is that they don’t attack Koro Nui. Wouldn’t it be just simply tragic if dozens of Matoran died just because of our carelessness?”

“I doubt two Rahkshi and a Visorak could give the others that much trouble,” said Jokao, shaking his head. A ball of flames ignited in the Toa of Fire’s hand, illuminating his puzzled, tired-looking face. “But the Tuikas . . . it’s them I’m most worried about. I always get this worried whenever we leave the fortress, even though there are more defenders now.”

“I know what you mean,” said Oggak. “The Tuikas are easily more than capable of demolishing Koro Nui if they want to. But this job is important: No Matoran should be left behind, especially if we can do something about it. It’s something we got to do, no matter how many times we may fail.” She looked around, and added, “Perhaps this would be the best time to go back. I doubt there are any more friendly beings in here. If those Rahkshi and that Visorak were hanging around, I doubt that any Matoran would risk trying to live in this place.”

“Guess you have a point,” said Jokao with a shrug. “Although I must say that I am amazed that those two Rahkshi and the Visorak managed to survive so long, considering the fact that many more better trained Dark Hunters went down extremely fast.”

“Maybe the Tuikas didn’t think they were worth destroying,” Hajax suggested. “Anyway, I do agree with Oggak: It would be best if we head back to Koro Nui. We’ve been gone long enough; the others might, ah, ‘miss’ us. Or at least me, anyway.” He looked at Oggak as he said that. He had no doubt in his mind that none of the Toa Shika would shed even a tear for Oggak if she died on this mission.

“Well, I’m sure the Matoran at least will be wondering where we are,” said Jokao reasonably. “We have been gone pretty long, though. We ought to return.”

So, with one last look down the tunnel, the party of three turned away and began walking towards the exit, Hajax secretly making plans to have his minions strike Koro Nui later on, once he felt safe enough to reveal himself to the others. He wondered for a moment how strong the Tuikas really were, but decided that the Toa were probably overestimating them. Though he did not plan to underestimate them – a flaw that he, unlike Makuta Teridax, did not possess – he did not think the Tuikas could stand even five minutes in a fight against a Makuta such as himself. Of that, he was certain.

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That sounds really cool, but sadly I don't think I'll be there tomorrow (unless my plans drastically change at the last minute, that is).

But I hope that whoever does go there has a good time nonetheless.

-TNTOS-

Chapter 6: Assignments & Missions

Akuna woke up the next morning feeling much better than she had last night. Though she was still slightly hurting, her back ached less and her legs did not feel like lead anymore.

She also felt a little bit more cheerful, too. She didn’t know why, but perhaps it was because she had slept so well she was happier. It might also have had something to do with the fact she had slept on a real bed for the first time in a while.

Of course, she was still a little sleepy, and almost thought about sleeping in when Nastan softly nudged her and said, in a quiet voice, “Wake up, Akuna. Aren’t you hungry? They’ve given us breakfast.”

Despite the fact she was warm and comfortable where she was, she realized that she was extremely hungry now. She had forgotten that she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in a few days (or weeks, depending on who you asked) and opened her eyes slowly to see Nastan staring down at her.

“Good morning, Nastan,” she yawned, stretching her arms and legs a little as she did so. She raised her head a little and asked, “Where is breakfast?”

“Over there,” said Nastan, pointing in the direction of the door.

She glanced in the direction he was pointing and saw a small table had been put on the right side of the door, where Addis, Barilo, and Chimoy were currently sitting, eating and drinking without talking much. Lying down, curled underneath the blankets with Nastan, she could not tell what kind of food it might be, but she was so hungry that she thought she could’ve eaten whatever it was, even if it was just stale bread and dirty water.

Nastan got up and helped her out of bed. Akuna, with Nastan at her side, walked hungrily over to the table and sat down on one of two unoccupied chairs, the second one which Nastan took. She noticed that the food was indeed stale bread and dried up berries mostly, while the water in the jug looked surprisingly good, though it was not necessarily crystal clear. Still, she was quite hungry and began to absorb the energy from the food with one hand, while at the same time drinking her water a little too fast, causing her to choke a little.

Addis noticed this and said, “Hey, don’t drink too fast, Akuna. Don’t want to accidentally drown yourself, eh?”

Akuna, swallowing the rest of her water, looked sheepishly at Addis and said, “Sorry, I was just-“

She stopped midsentence when she realized that Addis looked different. At first, she could not place what was so different about him exactly, but then noticed that he was wearing a different mask. He no longer wore a hastily rebuilt Suletu; he now wore a gleaming red mask of a shape she could not place at the moment, which was slightly dented in some places, as though it had been handled roughly.

Evidently noticing the expression on her face, Addis pointed at his mask and said, “Like it? It’s a Tryna, Mask of Reanimation. It’s the only Great Mask that they could find in the Dark Hunters’ old loot, though they think there may be more hidden somewhere. Joha says one of his original teammates, Serixo, used to wear a Tryna and thinks it’s the same one, but he doesn’t know for sure, though he’s letting me keep it anyway. They brought it here this morning with the breakfast.”

“Cool,” said Nastan, who had finished taking a huge swig of water from his cup. “So what does it do?”

“I think it reanimates dead things,” said Addis with a shrug. “Not bring them back to life, per se; I just will them to live. Haven’t tried it out yet, but maybe I’ll get my chance soon, if the Tuikas are as bad as everyone says they are.”

“I hope you never do,” said Chimoy quietly, drawing the attention of the others towards himself. “Because you know what that would mean, if you ever got to use it . . .”

Akuna was at first puzzled by this statement, but then its implications sunk in quickly and abruptly. Horrified, she glanced at Addis, who seemed to have reached the same conclusion that she had, judging by his shocked face. Nastan looked confused, but Barilo, bizarrely enough, did not seem to have noticed what either Addis or Chimoy had said and was merely eating and drinking as though nothing had happened.

“That’s not what I meant, Chimoy,” said Addis, sounding slightly shaken. “You know I would never wish for that to happen. You’re right. I don’t ever want to use my Tryna. I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry.”

“What is there to apologize for?” asked Barilo unconcernedly. He was drinking rather strangely; it was almost as though he were not used to it, the way he was holding the cup, with water dribbling down his chin a little. “I see nothing wrong with wishing to test out a new mask. Personally,” he added, leaning back in his chair with a yawn as he put his cup back on the table, “watching reanimating bodies dancing would liven up this rather boring place.”

For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence as they all looked at Barilo, who was still leaning back in his chair as though enjoying the way they were looking at him.

Then Addis said indignantly, “What the Karzahni are you talking about, Barilo?”

“Er, nothing, nothing,” said Barilo suddenly, changing his expression from one of smugness to that of fear, so quickly that Akuna almost missed it. “I was just . . . joking. Yes. That was all. Just having a laugh, though I suppose the joke wasn’t the most appropriate for this situation, was it?”

“You bet it wasn’t,” said Chimoy. “Why would anyone want to seriously see dancing corpses? It’s morbid and disgusting.”

Akuna was taken aback by the way Chimoy was acting. He was usually very quiet and reserved and rarely spoke up except when necessary. To see him speaking as loudly as he was now, and with as much emotion in his voice, was rather unsettling to her.

Maybe Nonzra’s death hit him harder than he would like to admit, she thought. He was always closest to him, after all.

“I agree, Chimoy,” said Barilo, who now looked unconcerned again. “But must we worry about the past and the dead? There is no reason to when we have our own present to worry about. The dead can worry about themselves; we can only worry about ourselves. So relax, and take life easy for a change, my friend.”

Chimoy looked like he did not know what to say, so he merely shook his head, muttering darkly under his breath, and continued eating. Barilo merely smiled in a strangely satisfied way and continued his breakfast, too.

“So,” said Addis, who was clearly relieved to see that the encounter was over, looking from one Toa to the other. “I don’t know what we’re going to be doing today. I think Jokao or one of the others will probably come up here and tell us what to do. Or we could just go down and talk to them ourselves. I don’t know. Depends on how everything works around here, I guess.”

“So long as it isn’t one of the Dark Hunters or Oggak, I’ll listen,” said Nastan.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Barilo. “I wouldn’t mind it if Oggak came up here. I would like to . . . get to know her better, if you know what I mean.”

“No,” said Akuna, feeling rather uncomfortable as she watched Barilo crush a dead berry in his hand and toss it away. “I’m not sure if I want to know.”

“Of course, I did not mean anything inappropriate by what I said,” Barilo continued. “If we are going to be working alongside her, we might as well become . . . allies, should we not?”

“Barilo, you must be insane,” Nastan said, staring at him in disbelief. “She’s a Toa of Shadow! I would rather die than become friends with her.”

“I never said become friends with her,” Barilo snapped, looking angrily at Nastan. “I just think that we should not act extremely hostile towards her. We are all Toa here, aren’t we? So maybe we should give her a chance, if you will.”

“I’m not following you, Barilo,” said Nastan, shaking his head. “You’re saying we should give a Toa of Shadow a ‘chance’? Don’t you remember what the Shodios tried to do to us? What they did to Nonzra?”

“I do indeed,” Barilo said, more calmly now. “But if you don’t want to know her, then I will. I am just more open-minded than you are, I guess.”

“Open-minded or foolish?” countered Nastan. “I can’t tell the difference at the moment, to be honest.”

Before Barilo could respond, there was a quick knock at the door and Addis, sitting closest to it, said, “Come in.”

The door opened almost before he had finished speaking and a small Ce-Matoran entered, looking a little nervous. She wore pale gold and blue armor, with some other pieces of armor in different colors slapped on in various places, which made her look as though she had splattered many colors of paint all over herself without much thought to aesthetics.

“Hello,” said the Ce-Matoran with a quick bow at the five Toa, who were now all looking at her. “M-my name is Reesha, the Chronicler of Koro Nui. I have been sent to deliver orders to the Toa Shika.”

“Well, hello, Reesha,” said Addis as he turned in his chair to face her. “What, er, did you just say?”

Reesha took a deep breath and said, “Orders. Turaga Joha has sent me here to give you your assignments. Joha says that now that you are here you will have to help defend Koro Nui like everyone else.”

“Well, obviously,” said Barilo, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “There’s a surprise.”

Reesha seemed taken aback by Barilo’s attitude, but Nastan told her, “Don’t mind him. He’s been acting weird lately.”

“Uh, okay,” said Reesha, though she was still staring at Barilo warily. “Right. Well, Turaga Joha has told me to tell you that some of you will stay here to protect Koro Nui and that the rest of you will be sent on an expedition around the island to search for any survivors of the Tuikas’ attacks.”

“Which of us will do what job?” asked Addis curiously.

“Um,” said Reesha, pulling two tablets out of her bag and looking at them. “Toa Addis, Toa Nastan, Toa Akuna, and Toa Chimoy will assist in protecting Koro Nui, while Toa Barilo will be going on an expedition with Toa Jokao and Toa Oggakia later today.”

“Is that all?” asked Addis.

“Yes,” she said, bowing. “Er, I’ll be leaving now, since that’s all I . . . all I have to say. Good bye.”

Reesha then turned around and left, though she was still looking at them over her shoulder as she went. Akuna wondered why Reesha was staring at them like that, before remembering that the Matoran of Koro Nui had only ever known two Toa, Jokao and Oggak, and so were not used to seeing five other Toa living in their village with them like this.

“Why is Barilo getting to go on an expedition?” Nastan said, snapping Akuna out of her thoughts. “Not that I want to go with that piece of shadow spit, but I don’t really want to be locked up here all day, either.”

“I don’t know,” said Addis with a shrug. “Maybe Joha thinks he can help somehow.”

“Well, I see no reason to complain,” said Barilo with an odd grin on his face. “If this means I can speak to Oggak privately, then I will merrily go along.”

“Right,” said Akuna, casting the Toa of Gravity a wary look similar to the one Reesha had worn earlier. “Well, guard duty sounds a little bit safer, in my opinion, and after all the danger we’ve been through, I’m not sure if I want to openly expose myself to the enemy like that.”

“Probably necessary, though,” said Addis as he finished his breakfast. “There may still be some Matoran out there who need help. If so, they need to be saved, and who better to do it than Toa heroes, who are supposed to protect and keep them safe in the first place?”

“Besides,” said Barilo, rubbing his hands together rather eagerly. “I can easily crush the Tuikas – literally.”

“What-?” Nastan said, before the door flung open again and Jokao entered without, looking a little tired as he approached them.

“Good morning,” said Jokao, rather drowsily, to the five Toa Shika, who all stood up immediately and greeted him in return. He then shook his head and continued in a much more brisk voice, “The only reason we let you sleep in late like this is because you guys obviously needed the rest. But now that you’ve finished your breakfast, time to do your jobs. I assume Reesha has already filled you in?”

“Yes, she has,” said Addis, nodding. “So Barilo goes with you and Oggak, while I and the others stay behind to protect the village from any Tuikas attacks?”

“Right,” Jokao confirmed. “You’re supposed to start your shift now. And Barilo, we’re leaving soon, so get your weapons and armor ready.”

“You’re . . . right,” said Barilo through gritted teeth. It was almost like he didn’t like to admit that Jokao was right, despite the fact that Barilo had never shown such reluctance before. He pulled out his axe and eyeing it with disgust added, “I’ve never been much of a fan of axes anyway. Er, I mean,” he said hurriedly, upon spotting the questioning look on Akuna’s face, “my axe is getting old, you know. It may be time for a new weapon. Perhaps a sword would do, like our dear old friend Nonzra had.”

“Perhaps,” said Jokao, nodding, though Akuna noticed he had a slightly confused look on his face. “A new weapon might help better you than your old damaged one. Come on, then,” he added, turning around in the doorway, “we’re late. Also, I’ll be showing you guys where you’re supposed to be and what you are supposed to do if you spot any of the Tuikas coming.”

-

The Toa Shika were separated and put in the four towers that extended from the fortress’ main body. Akuna was placed in North Tower, Nastan in South Tower, Addis in West Tower, and Chimoy in East Tower, while Barilo and Jokao left to go meet Oggak on the ground level, in the courtyard.

Before leaving, Jokao had told all of the Toa what they were supposed to do in case of a Tuikas attack. If they saw any Tuikas coming or any sign of them, they would have to raise the alarm immediately and without hesitation. According to Jokao, those precious few seconds when the Tuikas were still out of range of the fortress could mean all the difference in everyone living or dying, since all of the Matoran knew what the alarm meant by now and knew exactly where to hide in case of an attack. Other things they had to do were attack the Tuikas with whatever they got and to make sure that no one got hurt badly, though that last one, Jokao had told them, was nearly impossible to pull off and told them not to worry too much if someone did get badly hurt, because that was to be expected if you fought the Tuikas. He had said nothing about what to do if someone was killed, which worried Akuna a little. Perhaps he figured that they would react the same way as someone getting badly injured, but she wasn’t so sure since she had never dealt with allies dying in battle like Jokao might have. Well, except for Nonzra, obviously. She still didn’t know how she would react to it, however, which was what worried her most. She didn’t want to be distracted by someone’s death and get herself killed because she wasn’t paying attention to her opponent’s moves.

So Akuna now sat in the highest room in the North Tower, with two other Matoran guardsmen who carried swords and shields that were slightly too big for them. Huge Cordak blasters were mounted on the windows, aiming towards the sky, which was where the Tuikas always came from, according to one of the Matoran guardsman she was stationed with.

The tower itself looked as though it had seen a few battles during the past few weeks. Large chunks of the walls, ceiling, and even the floor had been hastily repaired with various bits of metal and stone that were surprisingly firm, though Akuna was still worried that the floor could fall in underneath them if it was hit hard in the right spot.

There wasn’t much in here, either. Aside from some stools, the aforementioned Cordak blasters, and some light stones for when it got dark, there really wasn’t any kind of furniture or decorations. Akuna assumed that was because, if they had a lot of furniture up here and the Tuikas attacked, that would mean a lot more unnecessary cleanup work for them. And there wasn’t a whole lot of room for anything else anyway.

Her fellow guardsmen were two Matoran. One was Dusa, a Ta-Matoran who acted a little bit like Nastan, though slightly more serious. The other was an Et-Matoran named Ferha, who was more like Chimoy, in Akuna’s mind: quiet, rarely speaking except when necessary, but a reliable person all around.

“What is it like when the Tuikas attack?” asked Akuna as she examined her staff, which was a little bent near the top. She wondered if it would affect her fighting style much. She hoped not.

“Death and chaos reign,” Ferha replied, manning one of the Cordak blasters. She was not looking at Akuna; instead, she had her eyes focused entirely upon the sky. Akuna understood that Ferha was one of the best gunners in Koro Nui and therefore never took her eyes away from the sky for even a moment if she was at work, just in case the Tuikas were hiding somewhere in the clouds overhead. “Things get smashed and people die or get hurt badly. It’s not pretty.”

“She’s summed it up pretty well, in my opinion,” said Dusa, running one finger along his sword’s edge. “There is really nothing more to add except that if you survive, you usually feel extremely guilty about being a survivor. You have lots of questions; like, why did I survive? Why did everyone else die? Stuff like that. You usually forget about them, though, when the next attack comes ‘round and you need to have your wits about you to just survive. Have you ever felt that way, Toa Akuna?” He asked that without looking at her. He seemed unused to the Toa of Lightning, which was probably the case, since he hadn’t known any other Toa besides Oggak and Jokao before the Toa Shika.

She considered his question. She had never really felt that way before, since no one she knew or had been close to her had ever died while she survived. But then her thoughts drifted towards Nonzra. He had died and she had survived. She had never thought about why she or the others had lived while Nonzra had died back there. Nor would she have time to worry about it. She had plenty of other things to think about at the moment; no need to worry about why she was the survivor, since she didn’t know why and doubted she ever would, though she did miss Nonzra quite a bit.

“I’ve never really felt that way before,” she said slowly. “I mean, Nonzra’s died and I survived, but I’ve never really questioned myself about it, even now.”

“Well, good,” said Dusa, who was now done with his sword and was also looking out the window with Ferha. “That means you can focus on something else, like the Tuikas, for example.”

“Uh, right,” Akuna said, though she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “Well, how long have you been a guard, then?”

“Ever since we first took this place as our home,” Dusa replied. “Fortunately I’ve survived every attack, but that doesn’t mean I’ll always survive. Some day – maybe even today – I’ll be too slow or make a wrong move and bam,” he punctuated this by slamming his fist into his other hand, “I’m dead.”

Akuna was amazed by Dusa. Despite being a Matoran, he was already displaying the attitude of a Toa, or how a Toa should act, anyway.

Guess these Matoran have had to learn to be strong to survive, she thought, now glancing out the window with the other two. They’ve already accepted death as part of their life. Dusa, at least, doesn’t seem horrified or even slightly frightened at the prospect of death. Then again, these Matoran have been through the cruel enslavement of the Dark Hunters and the wrath of the Tuikas. Perhaps they learned to be strong a long time before I even noticed.

Her staff leaning on her shoulder, she decided not to think about it at the moment. If what Dusa said was true, then she would need to keep all of her attention focused completely on the sky, where the Tuikas were likely to strike from. She didn’t want to die like a fool, unaware of her surroundings, allowing a much cleverer enemy to strike her down when she least expected it. That would be stupid, especially considering all she’d recently been through.

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Chapter 5: Possession

If what Hajax said was indeed true, then Barilo knew there was nothing he could do. Despite this, he was still flailing his arms and legs like a madman, struggling to free himself. He heard Hajax tut disapprovingly behind him.

“There’s no reason to prolong your death, Barilo,” the Makuta said without a hint of compassion in his voice. “Really, you’re just making things worse for yourself.”

Barilo’s mind ran through many different ideas and plans of escape, each one just as unlikely to work as the last. He had to agree with Hajax; it looked like he wasn’t strong enough to beat him after all. Despite everything he had been through, the Toa of Gravity was still not strong enough to defeat Hajax. And with that thought, he gave up all hopes of freeing himself and stopped flailing. There was no reason to continue; the Makuta had won.

With one final surge of power, Hajax tossed the weakened Barilo aside. Though not dead, the Toa of Gravity no longer posed a significant threat to him anymore. Hajax considered finishing him off, but decided against it. As appealing as it sounded, that was another side effect of the soul splitting process: The original soul had to stay alive, at least for a while, during the replacement period, otherwise Hajax would just end up killing himself in the process, since Barilo’s soul was still too tightly connected to the rest of the body to make killing the Toa immediately a wise decision.

So instead, he turned to face Barilo and said, “Be gone, pathetic Toa! Get out of my sight – now!”

Instantly the floor opened up beneath Barilo and sucked him inside. Within minutes Barilo’s limp form was gone, and Hajax smiled. He had done it; he now had a new body. He would be able to continue his legacy, to rebuild his forces and strike at his former brothers and sisters, who had all betrayed him many years ago.

Of course, he realized that he could not merely announce his presence to a room full of Toa immediately, weakened though they all may be. That would be suicide; he would first have to work alongside them for a while, and learn the truth about the Tuikas, something that the Toa of Shadow named Oggakia had apparently decided to keep a secret from the rest of them.

The Tuikas being creations of the Brotherhood was a laughably simple story, he thought, amused. Ever since the Great Cataclysm Toa and Matoran had begun making up lies and stories to make him and his race look bad. True, he did not think much of his former brothers and sisters anymore, but the story of the Tuikas’ creation was so stupid he wondered why the Toa Shika and the others hadn’t seen right through it immediately, as he had.

Then again, these are Toa and Toa are very gullible beings, he thought with a smirk. Besides, no one has offered an alternative explanation, so they don’t see any reason not to believe her. I knew lesser beings were stupid, but these people just fell to a brand new low of stupidity.

As he knew very well, the Tuikas were not creations of the Brotherhood; nothing like them had ever been created by the Makuta, last he checked. Of course, there could have been changes since the last time he had visited Destral, but he knew for certain that the Tuikas, at least, were not Brotherhood creations.

As a matter of fact, he did not know anything about the Tuikas, for the library of forbidden knowledge on Destral made no mention of them in any of its records, except for one very obscure, off-hand piece of text he remembered reading a while ago. The words suddenly appeared in his mind as clearly as though on a tele-screen like the kind found in the city of Metru Nui:

Among some of the strangest tales of this universe are those of the Tuikas. Of course, they are also the most mysterious and little - if anything - is known about them, save that they are supposed to be hidden underneath some faraway land. Their purpose is unknown, but it is clear that they are important to the universe in some way, shape, or form.

Now onto the legends of the southern lands . . .

That had been where the text had ended.

No wonder I didn’t remember it until now, Hajax thought, annoyed. It’s so vague to be almost unimportant. However, I know the Tuikas exist for real now; if they didn’t, then the Toa, Matoran, and Dark Hunters wouldn’t have had to relocate into the fortress. But what is the truth about them? Oggak must know, otherwise she wouldn’t have lied. And if she knows, then I will have to get that information out of her myself, though I do not know why she lied in the first place.

It was decided. Though at some point he would have to reveal himself to the Toa, take over Shika Nui, and wipe out the Tuikas and others who would stand in his way, he had to be patient. He did not want to act until he knew exactly what the Tuikas were, what they were doing (or thought they were doing), what they were capable of doing, what their purpose was, who put them there, and why. He would have to be subtle about it, but he was sure that, with his amazing skills of persuasion and cunning he would be guaranteed to get the information out of her soon.

Sometimes I love being myself more than I already do, Hajax thought with a smile. But I shouldn’t be celebrating too soon; it would make me overconfident and cocky, both of which are the pitfalls of cunning and persuasion, among other things.

So, slowly lapsing into unconsciousness, he decided that, however long it may take, he would learn the truth about the Tuikas, whether Oggak wanted to share it with him or not.

-

Jokao slammed the door to his room shut, seething, as he sat down on his makeshift bed. He looked around for something to smash, to relieve his anger, but there was nothing in this little room save for his bed (which he needed to sleep on), a small chest (which held his weapon and a few other objects he needed), and a lightstone embedded into the ceiling, which was the only source of light in here. So he merely punched his other hand with his fist and cursed under his breath.

Why would anyone think Oggak’s evil? he thought angrily, as he made a fire ball appear and disappear in his hand, merely to release his frustration and annoyance in a non-violent way. She’s never done anything bad to any of us. Those Shodios may have been evil, but just because they’re evil doesn’t make her evil, does it? She even betrayed them when she was a Matoran because she was disgusted by their evil ways! If that isn’t good, then what is?

He quite understood what the others had gone through; he thought that perhaps he would have had the same attitude as they had he experienced what they did. But it was still frustrating, since they hadn’t even asked him if she had done anything good. They could even ask any of the Matoran if they didn’t believe him, who would probably tell them about how she’s fought the Tuikas, saved many Matorans’ lives during many journeys across the island, and on more than one occasion saved Jokao’s own life. He could not see how any of that could be seen as ‘evil.’ Personally, he thought they were being paranoid.

Lying down on his bed, he thought, Maybe after they’ve got to know her better they’ll like her a bit more. They’ll learn she’s not evil, nor cruel, nor sadistic, nor any other negative words that you could use to describe someone. She’s good, and that’s that.

He heard a soft knock on the door just then and said, without sitting up, “Come in.”

The door opened and looking up he saw Oggak enter, looking a little concerned at him. Jokao wondered what she was here for, though he wasn’t very surprised by this visit. Since he and Oggak had been the only two Toa on Shika Nui for the past few weeks, they had grown close and were good friends. It was not unusual for either of them to come meet each other like this, and in fact Jokao often enjoyed these visits from her.

“Jokao, it’s your shift,” Oggak told him as she closed the door behind her. “Mine just ended a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Jokao, sitting back up and looking at her. “I forgot. Sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Oggak, shaking her head. “I understand that what the Toa Shika said about me has been affecting you. You probably forgot it was your shift in your anger.”

“How’d you know that?” asked Jokao, amazed, as he leaned forward.

“You didn’t make much of an effort to hide punching Nastan earlier,” she replied as she sat down next to him. She was smiling slightly at him. “Nor did you try to conceal your defense of me, either.”

“Er, I guess I did overreact a bit,” said Jokao sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “But I just don’t like what they were saying about you. All of it is untrue.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, shaking her head again. “I know that if my best friend had been killed by Toa of Shadow I probably wouldn’t trust them, either, but seeing as I am a Toa of Shadow, I suppose that’s kind of a moot point.”

“So none of what they say bothers you?” he inquired, getting up and walking over to his chest, intending to retrieve his weapon before taking on the night shift. “Nothing?”

“I won’t lie and say it doesn’t,” she admitted, watching as he held up his fire mace and closed his chest. “Because a lot of their words aren’t kind. However, I’m not going to worry about it. What they’ve been through has probably given them a bad mental picture of a Toa of Shadow – one that more resembles, say, Teivel than me – and it will likely be a long time before they will even think about trusting me. I won’t bother them about it and I don’t think you should, either.”

Jokao shook his head in amazement. “See, this is the reason they’re so wrong. If you were as bad as those Shodios, you wouldn’t be saying something as wise as that, in my opinion.”

“Thank you, Jokao,” said Oggak as she stood up and followed him to the door. “But I don’t want you punching Nastan or any of the others again, even if they do say bad things about me, okay?”

“Okay,” said Jokao with a nod, though he privately wondered if he would be able to resist, depending on how bad they talked about her. “See you later, then.”

“All right,” said Oggak, hugging him tightly before letting go. “Hope you survive.”

Jokao smiled grimly. Guard duty, especially at night, was always a tense and often dangerous job. One never knew if the monstrous Tuikas would be the last things you ever saw, if you even saw them coming from the shadows in the first place. Jokao knew many Matoran guards had been killed in past attacks without ever seeing more than a claw or a blast of energy before dying. Both he and Oggak knew the high stakes involved with the job, but it was necessary, otherwise Koro Nui would have fallen long ago and Shika Nui would have been totally leveled.

So the two Toa left the room and separated in the hallway, Oggak heading towards her room, Jokao towards the towers.

The halls were empty tonight. All of the Matoran were asleep in one room or another. Few Matoran had a room to call their own. They had to share, which often made living conditions dirty and crowded. However, there was no way to expand the fortress or relocate the villagers to the outside, both of which would simply allow the Tuikas the chance to kill more innocents, something they had been desperately trying to prevent these past few weeks.

Still, the Matoran were used to this by now. All of them knew where they had to sleep, for they had been sorted to make sure that no one room had significantly more Matoran than the others, and whenever he and Oggak brought new villagers back home with them after a rescue mission there was always more sorting and relocating. It used to take a long time back in the old days, when the Matoran were still new to it, and had been quite chaotic, too. But now it didn’t take nearly as long and was much more organized.

Jokao, personally, was looking forward to the day when the Tuikas would be vanquished, since that would mean the Matoran would be allowed to go and reclaim Shika Nui. It would, at last, be the property of the Matoran again, since it had been in the ownership of the Dark Hunters for the past 25,000 years or so. True freedom was so close, he thought, yet at the same time so far away.

But enough thinking about things that might come, he decided. He had to focus on the here and now, not the then and before, or the soon and coming. He knew all too easy what would happen if you did not pay attention when battling the Tuikas. You get killed, as he had seen happen to many unlucky Matoran over the past few weeks. He was determined that would not be his final fate.

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Chapter 4: Discussions & Suspicions

It took them several minutes to reach the 12th floor, mostly because all of the Toa Shika were very tired and hurting, though they managed to make it anyway. By the time they made it all of the Toa were exhausted, even more than they had been before. Akuna felt just about ready to collapse as Death led them to the room at the very end of the stone hallway, near the stone staircase that led up to the top floor. He opened the door for them and stood back to let them enter.

Akuna’s first impression upon entering the room was that it was, indeed, large. The ceiling was very high above them, while the walls stood many feet apart. Evidently this place had been used as some kind of storage facility, for she noticed a bunch of spare tools, masks, armor, and other assorted things scattered about the floor, though they all looked broken or damaged in some way as to be totally useless.

And then her eyes landed upon five beds that sat in a corner, all alone, and she heaved a sigh of relief. True, the beds looked rather old and moldy and probably were not as comfortable as she thought they might be, but she was too tired to care.

I just want to rest, she thought as she and the other Toa Shika began walking over to the beds. Like, right now.

“We use this room for storing our broken or damaged tools, masks, armor, and anything else,” Death explained, still standing in the door way as he gestured at all of the garbage. “The Dark Hunters used it as a storage place, too, though they had put treasure and other things inside, since it was a fairly heavily guarded room before the Tuikas came.”

Nastan, who was already pulling one of the beds towards the middle of the room, asked with more than a hint of annoyance, “Is there any reason you’re telling us this or is it because you’re trying to bore us to death?”

He smirked, apparently amused by his own joke.

“I merely thought you would be curious about the place, so I decided to inform you of its previous and current uses,” said the Dark Hunter with a shrug. “That’s all.”

Addis, looking around with a little bit of a greedy expression on his face, asked, “Where is this treasure you spoke of, Death? You said the Hunters had stored some up here before. What happened to it?”

Akuna smiled to herself as she pulled her bed next to Nastan’s. Though now a Toa, Addis had been a thief as a Matoran and so still seemed to carry a vestige of the greed that came with the job, even now. But Akuna, too, was curious about what happened to the treasure, for surely they would not toss it all out, would they? If this room was heavily guarded, she thought as she glanced around the room, then throwing it all out like that seemed foolish unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Most of it was being transported off Shika Nui when the Tuikas attacked,” Death explained. “The Tuikas flew out to sea and sunk the ships, including the treasure. So right now it is all probably sitting at the bottom of the ocean where no one can get it . . . at the moment, anyway.” He paused, and then added, “I should be leaving now. You all need your rest and you cannot get it if I stand here and give you a history lesson. So good bye and good night, my friends. Hope to see you at the front lines soon.”

With that, Death left the room, closing the door behind him as he left. Akuna fell down onto her bed – which wasn’t very soft, but better than sleeping on the ground, at least – and was just about ready to sleep when she heard Nastan snort.

“My friends . . . what a joke. A Dark Hunter, thinking of us as friends?” said Nastan disgustedly. “I’m not buying it. Nor do I believe Kigin or Oggak is trustworthy, either.”

“Well, what can we do about it?” asked Barilo with a yawn. Akuna looked up and saw he was lying on his bed, too, with some old blankets stretched out over his body. He seemed relaxed. “I mean, I don’t like them much, either, but as far as I can see, they have been helping protect the Matoran from these ‘Tuikas’ or whatever they’re called for the past few weeks and both Jokao and Joha seem to trust them. So I don’t know . . .”

“I agree with Nastan,” said Chimoy in a quiet voice. He was not lying on his bed; he was sitting up, looking at them all. “It was a Toa of Shadow that killed Nonzra . . . and now we have one, right in our midst. I don’t like it; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Not to mention the Dark Hunters aren’t too friendly, either,” said Addis, who was sitting on his bed and rubbing his leg. “Ow . . . Dang leg won’t stop hurting . . .”

“Well, I think we should just let the Tuikas have the Dark Hunters and Oggak!” said Nastan, punching his old pillow with a lot more force than was necessary. “We can’t trust any of them.“

“That sounds a bit extreme, Nastan, even for Dark Hunters or Toa of Shadow,” said Barilo with a frown. “I mean according to the others, the six Tuikas slaughtered the vast majority of Dark Hunters and Matoran quickly, easily, and mercilessly. It would be just too cruel to hand them over to the Tuikas like that, in my opinion. However, I agree we can’t trust them, even if Jokao and Joha are convinced they’re trustworthy. How do we know they really are good? That’s what I want to know.”

“It isn’t a matter of whether they are ‘good,’ I think,” said Akuna, propped on her elbows. “What matters is if we can trust them. I don’t think we can, really.”

“It seems rather amazing that after we’ve been enslaved by Dark Hunters for 25,000 years, chased, attacked, and nearly killed by Toa of Shadow, that Joha and Jokao expect us to trust them!” Nastan said indignantly, shaking his head. “I mean, I respect Joha and all, but I think he’s going a little senile in his old age. After all, he’s spent the last 25,000 years warring against the Dark Hunters by himself, never giving up once. So I find it very hard to believe that he really, truly trusts them.”

“No one said he did,” said Chimoy with a hint of coldness in his voice. “Perhaps he really doesn’t trust them and only tolerates them because of the fact that they protect the Matoran. If so, then we shouldn’t trust them, either, I think.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” said Addis, who was now lying on his back with his covers over him. “If he doesn’t truly trust them, then I doubt we can, either.”

“Maybe the same goes for Oggak, too,” said Nastan, visibly seething in anger, lying down on his mattress. “I mean, I know she’s a Toa, but as we all learned in Wyoko, not all Toa are good, and the Shodios are the prime example. Maybe she’s just tricking them into believing she’s good; that would make sense, since the Shodios and Kra-Matoran were masters of deception and falsehood too.”

“Probably,” said Akuna as she snuggled up next to him. “But we can’t prove it. And it seems to me, at least, that we should try to work with them anyway. I know I don’t want to do it, and no one else does, but if you realize our current situation, fighting them rather than the Tuikas would be very stupid.”

“I guess . . .” Nastan grumbled as he put one arm around Akuna and pulled her close. Their beds were right next to each other, so making physical contact was easy. “Maybe you’re right, Akuna, as you usually are.”

Akuna smiled at him and said, “You’re right sometimes, too, you know.”

“Er, perhaps we should go to sleep now,” said Addis uncomfortably. Akuna wondered if he was feeling nervous at the way she was outwardly showing her affection for Nastan like this, though she found she didn’t care much. “I’m just too tired to talk any longer. Let’s get some rest, and maybe, if there’s time later, we can continue our discussion. Good night.”

“Good night,” the others said in unison.

Akuna fell asleep quickly, her head on Nastan’s chest and her arms around his body. She felt a little happier now, lying in Nastan’s arms like this, and felt slightly safer, too. She felt like she would be able to sleep well tonight at least, even though every bone in her body was aching badly.

-

Barilo was sleeping, but his mind seemed incapable of shutting down for the night. He kept replaying Nastan’s words over and over in his mind, “not all Toa are good,” again and again until he pretty much had them down pat. For some reason they kept grabbing at his conscience, even though he had no reason to feel guilty anymore, not after making peace with Nastan back in Wyoko.

A while ago, Barilo, in a fit of rage, had tried to kill Nastan but failed and as a result had been kicked off of the team for a while. Though the others eventually forgave him and allowed him to rejoin, Nastan hadn’t, and it was only until after Barilo saved his life in Wyoko that the Toa of The Green forgot all feelings of enmity and had rebuilt their friendship. So there was no real reason for Barilo to feel guilty about something he had done so long ago, not anymore, especially since Nastan wasn’t upset about it anymore.

That was why the words hit him the most, he thought as he rolled over in his bed. He had not been a ‘good’ Toa before. In fact, he had been very greedy and arrogant and cared little for the wellbeing of others. He was more Toa-like now – and for that he was thankful – but there was still a little voice in the back of his mind that kept reminding him about his mistake, no matter how hard he tried to stifle it.

You had nearly killed your friend, the voice said. Barilo imagined the voice belonging to some shadowy figure, standing high above him, pointing at him accusingly as though he, Barilo, were on trial. Sure he has forgiven you, but tell me, do you feel forgiven? Doubt it. Your conscience will gnaw at you for the rest of your life until you are finally driven to the point of suicide. Guilt can do that to a being, you know, especially a self-proclaimed ‘hero’ like yourself.

“No . . .” Barilo muttered, swatting at thin air as though an invisible bug was annoying him. “It’s not . . .”

Suddenly, he was flying through a white, empty space, so fast that he almost felt sick. He had no idea where he was, what he was doing, but he seemed to have a very specific destination in mind. He concluded he must be in a dream, which would explain why he also seemed incapable of speaking, try though he might.

He flew for a while, before his feet abruptly hit the floor. Now he felt disoriented. He had been sure he had been flying forwards, yet if he hit the ground that must have meant he had been flying backwards, even though that made no sense. He concluded yet again that, since he was in a dream, it didn’t have to make sense, though he still felt confused and disoriented just the same.

Where should I go? Barilo thought, looking around the vast empty space of white. He could see absolutely nothing for miles around in every direction. North, south, west, or east? Or some other direction entirely?

Suddenly, he felt another presence in his mind . . . a darker one, one that definitely did not belong to him. It was very familiar, yet at the same time, it made no sense for it to be there. He was dead, which was a fact; Barilo had seen the Dark Hunters killing him before he and the others left for Wyoko. There was no way he could still be alive, and moreover, inside the Toa of Gravity’s own mind. But the presence was unmistakable; it belonged to him, all right, and he seemed to be hiding somewhere in the darkest depths of Barilo’s mind. Barilo didn’t know why he hadn’t sensed him before, though he supposed his enemy must have been cloaking his presence from detection somehow.

“Makuta Hajax! Show yourself!” Barilo shouted, stamping his foot and glancing in every direction. “Show yourself, or I’ll-“

All of a sudden, a cloaked figure, floating cross legged in midair, appeared fifteen feet in front of Barilo. That cloak didn’t fool Barilo, though; he immediately knew it was Makuta Hajax, ex-Makuta of Shika Nui. How he was still alive, Barilo didn’t know, but he knew that this being that floated in front of him was not some mysterious entity of unknown origin. He was dangerous; a threat to not just Barilo, but to his friends and very possibly the universe itself, too.

“Or you’ll what?” asked the figure with a hint of sarcasm. “Kill me? Expel me from the confines of your mind? I think not. You do not have the power nor will to kill me, and trying to force me out will simply make it easier for me to take over.”

“So you are Hajax!” Barilo said, pointing at the cloaked figure. “Or are you just a figment of my imagination?”

The cloaked figure merely shrugged and his coat disappeared, revealing a hulking, blue and yellow armored figure with a long tail wrapped around his waist, looking almost bored at the Toa of Gravity. Barilo recognized that form as the one the Makuta had taken during the battle between the Dark Hunters and Hajax’s own forces, and it wasn’t any better than his previous form, either, Barilo thought.

“I am not of your imagination, Barilo,” said Hajax. “I am just as real as this place.” He looked around the dream world, and added, “Bad example. Perhaps it would penetrate that thick skull of yours if I tell you that I am as real as yourself. I am alive and well, Barilo, and ready to take a new body for myself.”

Barilo whipped out his gravity axe and got into a battle stance, eyes locked on Hajax, sensing a fight coming.

“I don’t believe you,” said Barilo, his axe never wavering. “We all saw you get slaughtered by the Dark Hunters. I doubt even your essence could have survived that, Makuta, since it looked pretty brutal from what I saw.”

“You are quite right about that, my annoying little Toa friend,” said Hajax, with a grin of triumph and superiority on his face. He leaned forward a little and whispered, almost too quietly for Barilo to hear, “I am dead.”

Barilo frowned. How could someone be both alive and dead? He figured Hajax must be playing mind games with him, but he wasn’t going to fall for it. He was smarter now; Hajax couldn’t fool him like he had in the past.

“Your trickery and mind games are pathetic, Hajax,” Barilo snapped, pointing at the Makuta with his axe. “You can’t be both alive and dead. You’re either alive, or you’re dead. No exceptions.”

Hajax chuckled. “Perhaps I should have been clearer, my friend. What I meant is that my original self is dead – and I am now born anew in the deepest, darkest corridors of your mind. Isn’t that amazing? Even I sometimes surprise myself with my own genius.”

“You were . . . born anew . . . in my mind?” said Barilo slowly, confused now. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Obviously, it means that I planted a part of my soul inside your mind, which bloomed when I ‘died,’” said Hajax, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You see, when I lived, I discovered ‘soul splitting,’ a technique that allows me to split my soul into as many parts as I see fit and to put any part wherever I want, whenever I want. I could put parts of my soul in physical objects, such as a stone . . . or inside the mind of another being. As you can see, I chose the latter and you will be my new host now. Isn’t that exciting?”

“Wait, you put yourself in my mind?” Barilo asked, temporarily forgetting to hold his axe up. He put his free hand on his head in wonder. “But how-“

“When we shared a mental connection, I knew that I had a high chance of possibly dying,” Hajax continued, as though Barilo hadn’t spoken at all. “I did not want to die, since I had cheated death once before. So I split my soul and put part of it deep in your mind, buried under your most forgotten memories. That way, you would not discover it before I needed you to otherwise your friend Addis could have easily extracted it with his now-destroyed Suletu.”

“Well, why haven’t you tried to attack me before?” asked Barilo, who had regained his battle stance. “I mean, there was that one time you visited me in Wyoko-“

“I was weak back then,” Hajax replied. “You see, I still needed time to grow, otherwise I have no doubt in my mind that you would have killed me fairly easily. But now that my original self is gone, I need to act. That is one of the unfortunate side effects of soul splitting: if the original soul dies, then the other pieces will, too, unless they activate beforehand and take over their hosts, which will give them enough energy to survive for as long as their host lives.”

“So let me get this straight,” said Barilo. He was telling himself to move, to strike Hajax now, while the Makuta was still distracted, but for some reason he couldn’t. Maybe it was part of the dream, or perhaps Hajax was doing it to him, he didn’t know for certain. “You split your soul, put part of it in my mind, and when your original self died you woke up and have been growing steadily more powerful ever since. Correct?”

“One hundred percent, my friend,” said Hajax, who was no longer floating; he was standing on his feet, his sword suddenly at his side. “But you will not live much longer to enjoy it, Barilo, because in order to claim your body I will have to kill your soul.”

One moment, Barilo had been standing upright; the next moment, he was sent flying and smashed into a stone wall that had appeared out of nowhere. He slid down it, dazed and hurting, and glanced up in time to see Hajax, moving faster than anything he had ever seen before, bearing down upon him, sword raised high above his head, perhaps unrealistically so, though because this was a dream he didn’t think about it much.

The Toa of Gravity hesitated for a split second before rolling out of the way of the sword, which split the wall behind him in half, causing the two halves to fall in opposite directions and smash into pieces, filling the air with dust that Barilo could barely see through.

But he could hear Hajax running towards him and knew that the dust must not be affecting the Makuta’s range of vision the way it affected his. So he raised his axe just in time to block a stunning blow from Hajax, which actually sent him falling through the floor. He landed with a thud in another white room and saw Hajax hurtling towards him. Barilo once again rolled out of the way and Hajax, moving too fast to stop, crashed headfirst into the ground so hard that he did not get back up. Nor did he move much, either.

Barilo, having rolled a significant distance away from Hajax for his own safety, got painfully back to his feet and looked around. He watched Hajax’s unmoving body tentatively. Had he died? Or was he simply stunned? Barilo didn’t know, but he doubted it was the first; Hajax was a Makuta and had survived much worse in the past than simply hitting his head on the ground too hard.

Yet he wasn’t moving at all. As far as Barilo could see, Hajax did not even move a finger, though he didn’t dare let his guard down. He knew just how tricky Makuta could be, and wasn’t about to relax just because Hajax wasn’t moving. It was almost too easy, in his opinion . . . far, far too easy.

Hajax faded out of existence so rapidly that Barilo barely had time to register what happened. An armored hand, with thick, long nails closed around the Toa of Gravity’s throat without warning and squeezed, causing him to flail his arms and legs madly, trying to hurt his attacker but failing miserably, for Hajax was holding Barilo well away from his body to avoid getting hit.

“Too easy,” Hajax said with a laugh. “You Toa are always like that, always letting your guard down just when you think you’ve won. How stereotypical you are, Barilo.”

Barilo would have corrected him, but since there was a hand tightly squeezing his throat he could not get out much other than some incomprehensible grunts of pain.

“Now, time to finish you, Barilo,” said Hajax. Barilo felt extremely weak at that moment, as though his very life was being sucked right out of his body. “Don’t panic, don’t protest. It’ll be all over in a few minutes, and when the deed is done, I shall be the new owner of your body, Barilo. Count on it."

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