ALVIS

Chapter 22: Desolate City

 

Cutscene: Escaping this Hole

 

The last ten seconds felt like an eternity to Smiley. After the implosion of the portal, mutated beasts had swarmed him and Gresh, and they were fierce. Ferocious, indeed, but with all the wit and strategy of trained killers.

 

He didn't have the energy to take them all on, and he wasn't sure he could trust Gresh to survive a teleport. The Glatorian was taking quite a beating, and an unsettling trip through inter-dimensional space might push him over the edge. What to do, what to do...

 

Suddenly, Smiley came up with an idea. From the fighting habits of these mutants, he could guess that they were Dark Hunters… and if that was true, he could use their former nature against them.

 

Without warning, he latched one hand onto a mutant's neck, the other on its gun's trigger, and turned the fighter to face the others. Then he squeezed. When the survivors whirled to see who was attacking, they saw only one of their own with a smoking weapon, and converged on him. After a few moments, it turned into an all-out brawl between two factions of the mutants.

 

Smiley, having teleported to Gresh's side after firing the weapon, smiled more broadly as they tore each other apart. It bought him time to steady Gresh's digestive system, create a portal, and escape the pit.

 

*insert level: inter-dimensional space. Playable characters: Smiley, Gresh. New enemies: assorted Mutant Rahi. Notes: ends at a portal, all enemies are mutants.*

 

Cutscene: Bad Neighborhood

 

Smiley and Gresh arrived on the other side of the portal, fully expecting enemies to leap at them. But they were mistaken - a look at the surroundings revealed only a picturesque cityscape.

 

But not quite so picturesque as all that, Smiley realized. For a closer look (and listen) revealed two disturbing things:

 

One. There were signs of a battle here - scrapes on the buildings, blue blood smeared across the asphalt, and a few broken weapons here and there.

 

Two. It was quiet. Deathly quiet.

 

As they walked into the center of the city, it got worse. There were no buildings any more - just burning shacks, littered with bodies. A few were still alive, groaning and pleading for help, but Smiley knew from a glance they were beyond help.

 

Something came over Gresh's face. After a few minutes, he turned to Smiley and asked:

 

"Do you think death hurts?"

 

"It depends. Do you mean a death like those poor souls back there?" Smiley replied.

 

"Yes. No. I don't know," Gresh said. "Any kind."

 

"Well, I'd say it depends on how you died. A natural death is much less painful than a spear being driven into your heart," Smiley said cheerfully. "But if for the right cause… it doesn't matter. That's the most you can ask for in war - to die for something you believe in."

 

Gresh considered this, nodding.

 

"Of course, you don't have to worry about dying. Not while I'm around," Smiley quickly added.

 

"Of course not," Gresh chuckled. "Do you think -"

 

The Glatorian stopped speaking. Stopped walking. Smiley had gone a few meters when he turned back to see the green-armored warrior peering around nervously, as if waiting for an attack.

 

"What's that for?" Smiley asked.

 

"Can't you hear it?" Gresh said, starting to sweat.

 

"What?"

 

"The clicking," Gresh murmured, "the never-ending clicking…"

 

Smiley listened - and indeed, there was a clicking noise, growing ever louder. Mixed with loud buzzing. Ever louder. Ever closer.

 

"It's -" Gresh started to say, panic on his face, but he needn't continue. For just then, something blotted out the sky, black masses filling the air. And the clicking was intolerable.

 

They were Nui-Rama. Dozens of them. Hundreds. And standing in the middle was one very evil-looking Toa Kualus.

 

*insert multiman brawl: Smiley and Gresh vs. 30 Nui-Rama.*

 

*insert single-stock brawl: Smiley and Gresh vs. Dark Rahi Trainer (all Rahi).*

 

Cutscene: Bigger Guns Nearby

 

Kualus screeched with pain - not the sound a Toa would make, but an animalistic utterance. Then he slammed the wormhole device on his belt and disappeared.

 

Smiley looked away, trying to rub the image out of his retinas. He was amazed at how confident the Makuta were in their mind control - and how absolute it was.

 

Smiley and Gresh set off for one particular building, neither saying much for the rest of the trip. But eventually, Gresh's curiosity got the better of him:

 

"Why are we heading for that building, anyway?"

 

"I recognize its type," Smiley grunted. "It's a weapons research center. We're going to need much bigger firepower if we'll be breaking into the Makuta's master lab."

 

Gresh grinned. "I like the sound of that plan!"

 

Smiley grinned, too. It was kind of funny, after all.

 

The two ran for the research center with higher spirits than before.

 

*STAGE CLEAR reward: None.*

Chapter 21: Recovery

 

Cutscene: The Hunter Awakes

 

Pohatu sighed. It seemed like an eternity to him since Talos had collapsed. It didn't help that the Hunters seemed to be in a Toa-hunting mood. He had to duck out of sight every time one strolled by. Eventually, he snapped.

 

"For Mata Nui's sake, wake up already!" he yelled. "Onua is still trapped on that alien planet and so far all you've done is sleep!"

 

Suddenly, Talos's eyes flickered open and he leapt up, causing Pohatu to yelp in fright.

 

"Mata Nui! You could have given me a warning," the Toa wheezed.

 

Ignoring him, Talos plucked the strange device he'd given Onua from Pohatu's belt.

 

"Hey-!" the Toa began, but stopped as Talos began to fiddle with the dials.

 

"With a slight recalibration…" the Dark Hunter muttered, turning the knob until the small screen flashed "LAST LOCATION", "we can open a portal right back to…"

 

There was a thunderous boom, and the two were unceremoniously thrown onto a prison cell floor.

 

"What in the--?!" Onua yelled, but quickly recognized Pohatu.

 

"Brother… is it truly you? Not some mockery of Makuta's?" the Toa of Earth whispered.

 

"It is I," Pohatu grinned. "So far, our rescue mission seems to be going pretty smoothly."

 

"Break these shackles," Onua grimaced. "They're blocking my elemental powers."

 

Talos obliged. He then proceeded to kick down the heavy door, crushing a Skrall platoon on the other side.

 

"Let's get out of here," Talos said. "The wormhole device needs time to charge, so we've got to get to a calm place and wait."

 

"That's what my cell was until a few minutes ago when you broke the door," Onua said.

 

"I don't need your commentary," the Dark Hunter snarled. "Let's go."

 

*insert level: Prison. Playable characters: Onua, Pohatu, Talos. New enemies: Skrall warden.*

 

Cutscene: Escape from Atero

 

The three hurtled out of the ruined city, a newly-made wall of rubble keeping the enemies at bay.

 

"I think we lost them," Talos panted once they'd covered an enormous amount of ground. He began to examine the mutation bomb and the wormhole device.

 

"If I can wire these together…" he muttered.

 

"Why? What will that do?" Pohatu asked.

 

"Nuke all the bad guys and make a pretty pony for us all to play with," Talos replied sarcastically. "No, it'll just figure out where these bombs come from and open a portal to that location. Give it time, though…. arrgh, stupid system's not compatible! Looks like I'll have to do it the hard way…"

 

A portal snapped open, and a squadron of guards fell out. "There they are!" one cried.

 

"Ugh…" Pohatu grimaced.

 

"You're telling me?" Onua said.

 

"Hold them off!" Talos commanded.

 

"Yeah, we were thinking about doing that," Pohatu snapped back.

 

*insert multilane brawl. Playable characters: Onua, Pohatu.*

 

Cutscene: Escape

 

"That's it!" Talos cried, and a portal split the air in front of the heroes.

 

"Don't let them escape!" a maddened Skrall shrieked, but they had already disappeared and the portal closed behind them.

 

*STAGE CLEARED reward: None.*