Furthest Reaches

[BuckJohnson]

Hello all, I've returned with the beginnings of a new story. This time, it is spin-off/follow-up to my last epic, The Volara Cycle. Due to the general popularity of Kulu in that story, I decided it was worthwhile to give him a full story of his own, while giving full closure to his arc as a character. Thus, if you haven't read the Volara Cycle, I highly recommend heading there before reading this one. Without saying too much I want this to have more of a focus on horror than my previous story. If that sounds interesting to you, then I hope you enjoy! Just like TVC, both genders exist in all elements.

 

Chapter 1

 

There was a dull thud and a sharp snap as a single, lightstone ignited in the center of the room, illuminating the form of a lone Toa in a shaft of bright, white light. She winced, shrinking from the light as her eyes adjusted. Around her, in the darkness, she could hear the shuffling and whispering of unseen forms, several pairs of eyes fixed on her. She thought she could make out some of them; the outline of a mask here, a shifting silhouette there. It could've just as easily been her mind playing tricks on her, her eyes desperate to see anything in the perfect darkness. She wondered if there was something covering their heartlights, possibly a one-way mirror obscuring the lights of their eyes and of their bodies. If she had her usual Kanohi Arthron, she would've been able to detect their positions, their outlines, exactly how many there were. It, along with her other tools and belongings, had been stripped from her before she had entered the chamber. A glowing blue shackle had been placed over her wrists, further inhibiting her elemental ability. She wondered if they could sense her trepidation, her anxiety. In this place, she was well and truly vulnerable. Just breathe, she told herself, it will all be over soon.

 

Finally, a voice spoke up directly in front of her. Its cadence was strong and imperious, but it sounded positively ancient, as if the very stones beneath her feet were accusing her.

“This hearing has been called as part of a larger inquiry into the outcome of Operation Strident Three. As part of that inquiry, you have been called to testify on your role in the operation itself and its ultimate result. Start at the beginning,” it said, “Tell us every detail you can about your last mission, from its conception to its conclusion. From insertion to extraction.” The Toa shifted uncomfortably. She had expected a new line of questioning, not retreading old ground.

“I already told all I could in my debriefing...”

“And we've all read it,” a second voice, gravelly and aged, cut in, “for the sake of this hearing and the record, please repeat it.”

“To be frank, I have not been informed of the purpose of this hearing. Is it disciplinary or...”

“If it was disciplinary, would your testimony change?” Asked a third voice in a strangely soothing tone. The Toa wasn't sure how to answer, gawping for a moment before the first voice spoke again. “This hearing is, for the moment, purely inquisitive in nature. It is our duty to examine every detail of the late operation and determine if the objectives were completed, if the general secrecy of the Order of Mata-Nui was upheld, and if unnecessary Order casualties were sustained. If your actions were found by this council to have violated these three precepts, then this could easily become a disciplinary hearing. But first, as Order bylaws state, this council must hear your side of the story. Now, if you would prefer a more guided line of questioning, then I will begin. What is your designation within the Order?” The Toa sighed, swallowing her uncertainty before answering, “Vielu, Toa of Psionics. Code-name Kirikori. I was originally a member of the Order's training and reeducation department before the beginning of Operation Strident Three, at which point I and my charge were reassigned to the field teams, and I was given the rank Seeker.” There was a short pause as the council shuffled, obviously looking over some notes. Somewhere in the darkness, an auto-inscriber whirred, striking her every word into a fresh tablet. The third voice spoke next, asking, “who was your charge?”

“Prisoner 5572390,” she responded quickly, as if the number was burned into her mind, “Kulu, Toa of Shadow. Captured on Volara-Nui at the end of Operation Tidal Four and referred to reeducation.” Another hesitation, more shuffling. A new, fourth voice chimed in, sharper than the others.

“What was the nature of this reeducation?” The voice had come from her right, indicating that the council was arranged in a semi-circle around her. There were other slight noises further to her right, nearly behind her. Just how many councilors could there be? “My objective was to turn the prisoner into a viable Order agent, ensuring compliance and removing any enemy influence. My secondary objective had been to probe his mind and discover any actionable intelligence about the enemy that I could. I had been training him to shield his mind from telepathic attacks when the news came that we had been reassigned to Strident Three,” Vielu responded. “Tell us about Operation Strident Three,” the first voice said, “Tell us about Eskatae.” Vielu felt her insides drop, and her breathing became irregular. For the past few months, she had been trying very hard not to think about Eskatae.

“I wish to speak frankly again,” she started, her voice beginning to quiver, “Eskatae, Operation Strident Three, was a nightmare, start to finish. Every day, every waking moment, was a new fight for survival. We were cut off, in the most hostile landscape imaginable. And the dreams... I don't think I could describe Eskatae to anyone. Part of me will never truly leave that island.” Despite Vielu's clear terror at the prospect of reliving Strident Three, the voices seemed unimpressed.

“We've read the reports,” the second voice said, repeating his sentiment from earlier, “It's clear to anyone that Eskatae was Karzahni made over, and Strident Three a waking nightmare as you've described. If it wasn't there would be no reason for this council to convene. However, this council has a job to do, and that job begins with hearing your testimony. So, to the best of your ability, tell us all you can. If you must, reach out to that part of you that is still on Eskatae.” There was cruelty laden in that last jab, and Vielu tried hard not to let if affect her. “Fine. The first time I heard about Strident Three, Kulu and I were in a training session.”

 

The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air, and the heat of the burning buildings staved off the cold of Ko-Koro. All around him, the Ko-Matoran were screaming, running for the ephemeral safety of their homes, as the twisted shapes of the Kra-Matoran chased them down. There was blood seeping into the snow as Kulu strode through the chaos, a blade in hand. In front of him stood the village's last defender, the only person still standing their ground. Turaga Velal's Hau shone through the acrid haze, and he brandished a bladed staff as the Shadow Toa approached him. Kulu laughed cruelly, kicking the crumpled form of a dead Ko-Matoran as he drew closer and closer.

“I was afraid all of you would run rather than fight,” he said, leveling the blade at Velal. Velal seemed unimpressed. The shield generated by the Hau shimmered around him, causing the ashy snow to be deflected off it as it fell.

“I will not let it be said that this village was laid to waste by monsters without a fight, and that Turaga Velal did not lay down his life for his Matoran.” The Turaga slammed the butt of his staff into the ground before charging headlong at Kulu. Kulu struck, but his blade bounced off of the shield, and he had to step backwards to dodge Velal's staff.

"Very noble,” Kulu hissed, pulling his shadow up off the ground and manipulating it in his hands, “but it means nothing. If you fight or not, this village will still be ruins come tomorrow.” Kulu hurled the razor sharp shadow, hoping to break the shield surrounding the Turaga. It struck the force-field, causing it to flicker and blink, but it did not falter. Velal lashed out again, drawing a parry from Kulu that nearly knocked the staff away. The aged elder was not a match for Kulu in any way. It would only be a matter of time. “Fight me, monster!” Velal shouted, “I'm bound by no code. I will gladly add your blood to this snow!” Kulu laughed heartily at that, and did as he asked.

The two clashed again and again, Kulu pummeling the shield with blade and shadow as Velal struck out at every opening. Despite his age, Kulu had to admit the Turaga was fast. Multiple times he had come within inches of the blade. Although he was enjoying the bout, Kulu realized that his soldiers must be watching the duel. Taking this long to dispatch a Turaga of all things would not look good. The fruitless sparring had to come to an end. Kulu batted away another attack before stepping backwards. He appraised his options before coming up with a plan.

The light of the fires had given each of them a multitude of shadows, each one dancing on the ground around them. Kulu reached out with his powers, manipulating the shadows and crafting them into copies of him. In an instant, Velal was surrounded by no less than five Kulus. Surprised but not cowed, Velal examined the shadows, trying to find any difference between them and the real Kulu. He saw one, to his right, who seemed more animated than the others, moving more like a living being than the others. Velal lashed out with his remaining strength, swinging his staff over his head at the shadow Toa's mask. For just a moment, it seemed that the Turaga had done it. The staff disappeared within the shadow, causing it to flicker and disappear. Velal didn't have time to regret his choice, as the real Kulu struck from behind him, his blade sneaking past the shield and coming to rest in his back. Velal groaned as life left him, crumpling to the ground as Kulu pulled the sword out.

As Kulu swung the blood off of his blade, something suddenly seemed off to him. The screaming had stopped, and the Kra-Matoran were nowhere to be seen. On the ground, Velal's empty eyes stared back up at him, the Hau seeming to silently judge him. Kulu felt sick, throwing the sword down as it became clear to him. He heard a clapping behind him, and he spun around to face it. It was another Toa, armored in blue and gold. The fires reflected off of her gilded Kanohi Arthron, her eyes glowing cerulean underneath it.

“What a fight,” she said disdainfully, “You must have broken quite a sweat fighting that dangerous Turaga. It was really close at times, but you somehow made it through.” The image of the burning village started to blur around Vielu, and Kulu felt as if the world was made of smoke. With an exasperated flippancy, she snapped her fingers, causing the world to first stretch far away into nothingness and then go dark. To Kulu it felt like being dragged bodily through a lightless tunnel.

With a gasp he jolted out of his seat. He hadn't been in Ko-Koro, or even on Volara-Nui. He had been sitting at a table across from Vielu, somewhere in the bowels of Daxia, in the midst of one of her “training” sessions. “Training” had been the word that she had used, claiming that the purpose of these sessions was to shield his mind from telepathic attacks. To Kulu, it was torture. A systematic undressing of every foul deed, every selfish desire, every negative thought he had ever conceived of. Nothing was safe from Vielu's probing grasp. He had made progress, sometimes able to block her march through his psyche. He was only successful in stopping one out of every ten attacks, however, and she made sure each failure stung as she trawled his mind for whatever struck her fancy. Despite what she claimed, Kulu swore he could sense relish in her torment.

“That Makuta really did a number on you,”she said. Between them lay a writing slate and a stylus. The stylus seemed to move of its own accord as Vielu telekinetically penned her report on the session. As the stylus scratched on the slate, she stared Kulu down with those cold, blue eyes. “Your mind is less like an unlocked door than a door that was never closed to begin with. I've never seen a psyche more pliant than yours. It's honestly sad.” Kulu glared at her, arms bracing against the dampening shackle around his wrists. His old master, the Makuta Vortidax, had come and gone as he pleased from Kulu's mind, taking what he needed as he needed it. Kulu could never tell whenever Vortidax was reading his thoughts, unlike Vielu, whose presence raked against the inside of his head like a dull blade.

“You can't blame the student who has a sorry teacher,” Kulu spat, hands balled into fists, “Go ahead, tell me to 'focus on the emptiness between thoughts' again. I'm sure that it will work this time.” Vielu was unfazed. “Focus on the emptiness between thoughts,” she deadpanned, “I'm sure it will work this time.” Kulu scowled at her, knowing a new assault was incoming. This time, however, he was ready for her. He focused on a particularly dark memory, one that kept even him up at night. She snapped her fingers again, and Kulu gasped as he felt his psyche take the full force of the attack.

The light was suddenly swallowed by infinite blackness. In the impossible distance, the pinpricks of stars could be seen. The void crushed Kulu, ripping the air from his body with incredible force. He was a split second away from blacking out when suddenly the air returned. As he caught his breath, he noticed he was not alone in the cold nothingness. To his right was a strongly-built brown-armored body. This was Akarius, the Toa of Stone, his nemesis during the Volara War. To his right, Nemick, one of Volara-Nui's feckless Turaga. Directly in front of them all was the imposing form of Vortidax. In the distance past the Makuta loomed an enormous sapphire sphere, larger than any of them could comprehend. Sprawled over the surface of the sphere was the shadow of a Toa-like figure, submerged under the endless ocean that gave the sphere its color. Calmly and coldly, Vortidax explained to them that the figure was their world, the Matoran Universe. Everything they ever knew was contained within the massive robot. Before they could even process what he was telling them, Vortidax spoke again.

“If Teridax is successful, he will kill Mata-Nui and place himself in control of his body. Everything, the world as we all know it, will be under his control. All of us will be at his mercy.” Kulu's memories bled together at that point before melting into a nightmare. Suddenly, Vortidax crumbled to dust before their eyes. The forms of Akarius and Nemick floated around Kulu, their eye sockets empty and their heartlights dead. In Vortidax's place stood a decrepit Matoran, armor rusted and corroded and eyes glowing a baleful yellow Its Hau was twisted, betraying no hint of emotion whatsoever. Through memories of memories and through corrupted hallucinations, it was like Teridax was really there, murderous visage and all. He was the nameless fear that hounded Kulu in his sleepless nights, the thing he dreaded more than execution at the Order's hands. There was another snap, and Kulu was again dragged back into reality. Teridax stared at him the whole way before erupting in a mass of oily black tentacles that seemed to chase him into the light of the chamber.

This time it was Vielu who was jolted out of her seat. Her chair was sent to the floor as she jumped up, stepping backwards as if to put distance between her and the thing haunting Kulu's mind. Her eyes betrayed her fear as they darted around the room, searching for any explanation for what she had just witnessed. “What... was... that?” She demanded, back pressed against the wall. The stylus, which had been writing dutifully, now rolled back and forth over the slate before coming to a rest. “My burden, the weight of which you now share,” Kulu said, standing up as well, “Where in the body do you think Daxia is? The torso? The hand?”

“Shut up,” Vielu hissed, composure regained, “This session is over.” There was a knock at the door. Vielu made a motion towards Kulu, shoving him back down into his seat with an invisible hand. She made another gesture towards the door, causing it to swing open. In stepped a tall, lithe figure with jet black armor; a Vortixx. Kulu had not seen this one before, but could tell just by the way he carried himself that he was a veteran agent. Vielu seemed surprised to see him here. “Rinax, come in, we had just finished today's session,” she said, indicating an empty seat beside her. Rinax shook his head, instead eyeing Kulu coldly.

“There's no need,” he said placidly, continuing to stare at Kulu. It wasn't until an uncomfortable moment had passed before he even looked at Vielu, reaching into a pocket to retrieve something as he did. “I'm only here to give you this.” He reached her an object, what looked to be a small tablet of some sort. She took it and read it, her eyes widening as she did. She looked up at the other agent, mouth agape. “You're reassigning me?” She asked incredulously. Rinax shook his head again, before clarifying, “We're reassigning both of you. The prisoner's training is to be cut short, and he is to be transferred to a field assignment. Since you're his handler, that means you're coming too.” Now it was Kulu's turn to be shocked. “Field assignment...” he repeated, “Where?” Rinax turned his gaze back to the shadow Toa, regarding him with veiled disgust. “Eskatae. I'm certain neither of you have ever heard of it. It's an island in the far southern reaches.”

“The legs,” Kulu mumbled, as if unable to stop himself. Rinax gave him a confused look, while Vielu glared fiercely at him. Rinax continued: “Anyway, a strange, interdimensional rift has appeared on the island, spewing pure energy into the area and causing a great disturbance. The only place that a similar event is known to have occurred is on Volara-Nui, where your Toa of Shadow saw it firsthand.” Kulu blinked in disbelief. Surely they must be joking. “I saw this rift, but that doesn't make me an expert on it. No more than I am an expert in you right now. Surely there must be others you can send,” Kulu reasoned. Rinax sighed. “Do you know what your file lists you as?” He asked. Kulu shook his head. Rinax looked at Vielu for the answer. “Exploitable/Expendable,” She said, almost sheepishly. Rinax nodded a smile beginning to form on his face. “Excellent!” He said, “Thanks to Vielu's probing, we've already gotten the exploiting part out of the way. Now comes time for the expendable part.” The tall Vortixx took a few steps towards Kulu until he was towering over him. In a voice barely above a whisper, Rinax growled, “You will find a way to close that rift or you will die.”

 

Review Topic

Edited May 12 by BuckJohnson