A Promise Kept

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 1

It’s been a couple years since the Great Spirit Robot has been destroyed, thanks in no small part to the actions of my former master, but thankfully the recovery process has gone fairly well up until this point; all sentient beings who were known to be alive at the time of the collapse have been accounted for, and it’s estimated that at least 80% of the wildlife has also been successfully evacuated. However, there was still a thing or two that I, Toa Hagah Norik, found myself still weary about. It was something that I didn’t want my team worrying about, so I assigned Bomonga to lead the team in my absence and I returned to the inside of the destroyed Robot alone.

Eventually, I had made my way to what remained of the Dark Hunter headquarters on what I now knew was the island of Odina. I’ll give them credit, they hid themselves incredibly well. The Makuta who was assigned to supervise that island, Vamprah, was known to be incredibly thorough in his job; he was a hunter above all else, so he knew the best places for prey to hide. How the Hunters slipped past Vamprah’s detection is anyone’s guess.

After entering the fortress, I made my way to what remained of the dungeon, where the Dark Hunter’s evil master, The Shadowed One, kept trophies of his accomplishments. The sights there were truly disturbing: some were as tame as Kanohi masks ripped from fallen Toa–some intact, some not–while others were the bodies of creatures and people alike trapped in suspended animation–some intact, some not. However, I was here for one thing and one thing only.

About seven millennia ago, a very close companion of mine, a Toa of Psionics named Varian, was captured by the Dark Hunters. At least, I like to tell myself she was captured. You see, we were on a mission with a Toa of Sonics named Grey to investigate the disappearance of some Toa in a Matoran settlement when we got caught in a scuffle with the Hunters. I have no memory of how that mission ended, but I have not seen Varian since and I have grown to believe that Grey had betrayed us. Whatever happened that day, I have never forgiven myself for leaving her behind. No longer bound to protect the man that would go on to destroy the universe, and now living in a new one of relative peace, I finally have an opportunity to make right my greatest wrong. If Varian is still alive, I can finally save her. If she is not… well, I’d like to not dwell on that possibility.

During my journey through the dungeon, I spotted a stasis chamber which held inside what looked like a cross between a large Toa and a kikanalo. I thought centaurs were just myths, I thought to myself and carried on my way. If nothing else, it proved to be a nice little distraction from the sheer size of the dungeon relative to the number of prizes. I almost have to wonder if there were more of them before the evacuation, and if so, how many have made it out so far. I shudder at the thought, hoping Varian was not among them.

Some time later–minutes, hours, days, I’ve honestly lost track–I had begun to give up hope that Varian was still here. The best case scenario was that she was carried out, but if she was, then she’ll be locked up in whatever fortress the Shadowed One has set up now. Considering that the Brotherhood’s most eagle-eyed hunter could not find it last time, there is little chance anyone can do so no–

THWACK!

Something had slashed me in the back and made me fall over from pain. After I finally stopped rolling, I fought the pain and forced myself to stand up.

“Of course,” I said to myself, “I should have expected a Dark Hunter to still be here after all this time, guarding what treasure still remains to be taken out.” Though I could not see the attacker in full, I saw that they were a large humanoid creature with glowing, ruby-red eyes and a fiery-red sword to match. If this Hunter thought they were going to stand between me and my friend, they were going to have to fight me for it. I willed my spear and my shield into existence and assumed the best defensive stance as I could.

“Why are you here, Toa?” The Hunter called out. “Looking for something? Someone? You’ll never find it, whatever it is.”

“Why?” I sneered. “Because you won’t tell me where she is?” Something flickered in the Hunter’s eyes. Was it something I said?

“If you’re looking for the same thing I am, then I’m afraid we’re both lost causes.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean ‘the same thing you are?’” To my surprise, the Hunter began stepping forward into the light, revealing himself to be a centaur, like the one I saw earlier. Could it be…?

“I am looking for someone very close to me, and have been for many thousands of years, someone I’ve loved all that time,” the Hunter stopped, “someone who I believe became a victim in the Dark Hunters’ scheme. Sound familiar?”

“How did…?”

“You’re not a difficult read, Toa. Your kind doesn’t care about power or wealth, and armor and masks are easily replaced,” the Hunter replied as he put his sword away, “no, the only reason you’d come here, of all places, is if it weren’t just something but someone important to you.” I’m not sure whether to feel more comfortable or more on edge given how absolutely correct he is in his assessment so far. Either way, I’m not putting my tools down yet. There’s something that isn’t adding up here.

“If you think your…” I probably should’ve waited for him to describe whoever he was after first, “…someone might be down here, how did you avoid detection from your master?”

“The Shadowed One used to send me on missions that took me further and further away from this place. At first, I thought nothing of it, but eventually I began to grow suspicious. The destruction of the Universe finally gave me the opportunity to return to this place without his ever-watching eye. I almost want to thank Makuta for setting that in motion.” I feel like I did a remarkably poor job at hiding my disgust at someone genuinely uttering the phrase “thank Makuta,” but if this Hunter saw it, he did not comment on it.

“My wife is here, Toa, and I believe your girlfriend could be here as well,” the Hunter declared. Wait, girlfriend? What did he mean by–“Don’t be so surprised. I told you, you’re an easy read. You’re here for the same reason I am. Look, how about we team up? You help me find my wife and I’ll help you find your girlfriend, and we go our separate ways, forgetting we ever met. How does that sound?” I can’t help but feel indignant by the Hunter’s continued use of that word, but I’m inclined to hold back for now.

“Ok then, consider this a truce.” I finally put my tools away and reach out my hand. The Hunter reaches out his hand and we shake on it. For the time being, we are allies.

“By the way,” the Hunter asked, “do you have a name? If we’re going to be on the same side, it feels wrong to keep calling you just ‘Toa.’”

“Thought you’d never ask,” I laughed, “my name is Norik. And you?” The Hunter seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“My codename used within the organization has always been ‘Mimic,’ but my name,” he paused again, almost like he had forgotten, “my real name is Chiron.”

“Well, Chiron, it’s good to meet you. Now, let’s get started.”

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 2

Before my new friend, Chiron, and I began searching for our missing companions, we exchanged stories on how we both seemingly ended up as victims of the Shadowed One. I told him of the time Varian and I spent together and how other Dark Hunters may or may not have lured the two of us into a trap, leaving out any mention of Toa Grey. In return, he told me stories of his companion–whom he wouldn’t stop referring to as a “wife,” whatever that means–and the lovely times they had shared together before she had mysteriously disappeared. Eventually, the Shadowed One approached Chiron with a deal: work for him and he would dedicate resources to finding her; a deal that, with the benefit of hindsight, it was obvious that he had no intention of following through on.

“Your…wife,” I paused, the word still foreign to me, “if you don’t mind my asking, what did she look like?”

“Well, she looks a bit like me,” Chiron explained, “but slightly shorter and has the most beautiful green eyes you’d ever seen.” I’d beg to differ. Varian’s eyes are more striking.

“So she’s your species? Another centaur?”

“Indeed.”

“I think…I think I might have seen her.” No sooner did I finish that statement, Chiron turned to me with optimistic disbelief.

“You saw her? Seriously? Where?!” Chiron asked.

“About half a kio in that direction, I think,” I answered, circling the general vicinity of where his wife was, “follow me and I can lead you to her.”

I am not quite sure how it happened, but Chiron managed to convince me that, since I was still injured and he couldn’t wait to see his wife any longer than he had to, he would prop me on his back and I would guide him in the right direction as he ran. On the one hand, I guess it kind of makes sense–he is a centaur after all, and kikanalos are known for being pretty good mounts. On the other, I was still riding on the back of another sentient being. I decided to just go with the flow here. Perhaps I’ll leave this little detail out when I recount my adventure to the other Toa Hagah.

After a few minutes of Chiron running, we arrived at the stasis pod where the centaur I saw earlier, Chiron’s wife, was stored. He carefully let me off his back so I could approach the pod and I immediately began looking for ways to open it. Meanwhile, Chiron just stood back, staring in awe at the chamber. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t entirely comprehend the degree to which Chiron admires her, but I know he cares for her deeply, just as I do Varian, so his reaction to seeing the pod is understandable.

“She was here,” Chiron whispered, overcome with emotion, “this whole time. She was here this whole time.”

Operating a stasis pod was no easy task, especially seeing as I had never seen one of these control panels before. To make matters worse, I had to be delicate. Chiron’s wife was inside and I couldn’t afford to hurt her. Thankfully though, I seemed to do something right, as I could hear the distinct sound of gas escaping from the pod. Moments after that, the pod began to open. Chiron’s wife began to drop, but Chiron and I both instinctually moved to catch her (I am very thankful he was there to lessen the load; there is no doubt that, with my injury, I would’ve dropped her alone) and carefully laid her down beside the pod. Fortunately, she was breathing, which was good news for Chiron for obvious reasons and for me, because it meant that if Varian was in one of these pods, she could still be alive as well.

After a few very tense moments, the female centaur finally woke up.

“Chiron?” She asked in a voice that sounded out of breath.

“Medon,” replied Chiron, fighting back tears, “it’s me. I’m here.”

“What happened? Where am I? Why do I feel dizzy?”

“I’ll explain everything later. I just…” Chiron paused before pulling in Medon, his wife, for an embrace. “I’m just so happy to see you again.”

I figured it was wise to let them have their moment. This bond between a man and his wife, it certainly appeared to be a wonderful thing. The best way I can describe it is like the camaraderie that exists between brothers-in-arms, but somehow greater? Hmm. Is there a word for this kind of emotion, this kinship, this love? Is what Chiron and Medon have similar to what Varian and I had once upon a time? I might need to do some more digging on this subject after the fact. It’s a very curious thing indeed.

“This here is Toa Norik,” I heard Chiron say, snapping me back into reality, “he helped me find you.”

“Thank you, Norik,” said Medon, “truly. I don’t know what we can do to repay you.”

“Let’s get you outside before we discuss that sort of thing, madam,” I answered. I would’ve just told her not to worry about it, but something in those eyes told me she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Besides, Chiron and I still have work to do here.”

With that, I informed Medon of a Matoran scavenging team currently operating in the Silver Sea that would be glad to offer her a ride as soon as their business was concluded, Chiron and Medon said their good-byes, ensuring they’d be temporary, and Medon began her trek to the Sea. Once again, Chiron had me hop on his back, and this time I wasn’t so reluctant to oblige.

“So, your girlfriend,” Chiron asked, “what does she look like?”

“My friend, Varian, is a Toa of Psionics,” I replied.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, Norik. After the first six, I’m not familiar with elemental color schemes at all.” I can’t exactly argue with him on that. After the elements of the Toa Nuva, light, and shadow, the other elements aren’t exactly as famous, for lack of a better term.

“She’s light blue and gold. She’s got two elbow blades and a Rhotuka shield like mine.”

“Does she wear a Mahiki?”

“No, a Calix.” At this, Chiron stopped dead in his tracks.

“I know exactly where she is.” And then Chiron started running as fast as he could get away with without me falling off. Do note that “not falling off” and “easily hanging on” are not necessarily the same in this situation; another detail to leave out when I tell the Hagah where I’ve been.

“Where are we going?” I asked, feeling like I was holding on for dear life.

“Where the Shadowed One’s most valuable trophies were kept,” answered Chiron, “we’re going to the throne room.”

[Rukah]

Ooh interesting. Nice job so far. Hopefully they can find Varian!

[Rhyla416]

this is really good - cant wait to see more!

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 3

I am starting to understand why it became a fun fact among certain Matoran schools that Lhikan never actually rode on the back of a kikanalo. Doing so evidently takes much time to master; more time than I’m willing to put into it, anyway. They may look docile and easy to ride, but clinging onto a slow-moving one, or in this case a centaur like Chiron, was difficult enough as it is. Sure, I was injured, which probably made things more difficult than it would’ve been otherwise, but I think I’ve had my fair share of riding on anything’s backs for one lifetime. Thankfully, that fair share had come to an end. Chiron and I had reached the remains of what once was the Shadowed One’s throne room.

The walls of the room were in surprisingly immaculate condition given the state of things, but that was undercut by the artifacts scattered around the room, not to mention the bodies of unfortunate Dark Hunters who apparently did not survive the collapse. As soon as Chiron let me down, I drew myself to a particular Kanohi mask that had fascinated me. It was a Felnas, the Great Mask of Disruption, and I believe…yes, upon closer inspection, this Felnas belonged to Pestas, the Toa of Water that once led Bomonga’s team prior to his joining the Toa Hagah. I found a satchel elsewhere in the room and stored the Felnas inside. It’s unfortunate that Bomonga’s former master met such an end, but I hope this mask will bring him some closure. I saw nothing else that could be important or sentimental to me or any of the other Hagah–I choose to believe that is a good thing–so it’s time to focus on why I was here.

Thank Mata Nui, it didn’t take long to find her.

To my amazement, there Varian was, trapped in a stasis pod in the corner of the room. Of course, he’d have her right here, I thought to myself, of course he’d want to stare into her lifeless eyes as much as he could.

“Yeah. To put it lightly, my boss was a bit of a creep,” said Chiron, as if he was reading my mind, “rumor has it that he specifically chose her element because he was aroused by her kind. I don’t know all the details–like I said, he kept me away as much as he could–but…”

“I’ve heard enough,” I cut him off. I knew the Shadowed One was a monster, but I found myself personally offended at the apparent reason behind his actions with Varian. “Just…let’s get her out of here.”

In an ideal world, I would’ve just done whatever I did to the other pod earlier. There was some combination of button presses and lever pullings that led to the chamber opening safely last time. Unfortunately, I have no idea exactly what I did last time and in what order; so now I’m panicking hoping that I’m not doing something wro–

SMASH!

In the blink of an eye, glass shards were flying everywhere and Varian started to fall. I had to somehow avoid getting harmed by the shards and catch her before she hit the ground. Add on top of that predicament my injury and I have a recipe for disaster on my hands: one that I need to manage to work through and ultimately avert in about half a second, tops. Luckily, Chiron was right there, seemingly not as afraid of the shards as I was, and helped me catch Varian and lay her down beside the now-destroyed stasis pod. It took me a few moments to process what had just happened, but once I did…

“Are you out of your mind?!” I roared at the top of my lungs.

“You got my wife out, I got your girlfriend out, we’re even,” answered Chiron, as though he was describing the weather, “I believe the magic words are ‘thank you.’”

“You could’ve hurt her!”

“Clearly, you don’t know how stasis pods work,” he chuckled. “Look, inside the pod is a special gaseous substance that slows down the bodily functions of anything that breathes it in. However, any amount of oxygen mixed in with the substance will cancel the effects, so the seals of the pod must be completely air-tight.”

“So, those controls…?”

“…are really only important for keeping things in. And I guess reusing the pod for something else after it’s released, but I’ve never seen one of these used more than once.”

“So, if I did this with your wife…”

“I would’ve been cool with it. My species is half-kikanalo after all, we can take a little fall from time to time. Honestly, if you Toa can’t say the same, then I’m surprised there are that many of you left.” Low blow, Chiron.

“Well, I guess Varian didn’t actually get hurt from that,” I sighed, resigned, “so I guess it’s alright this time. How long until she comes to?”

“The oxygen began mixing with the substance the moment my sword pierced the glass. She’ll be up and about any moment now.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” said a threatening voice from the doorway. Chiron and I both turned to look at the figure. He appeared to be Toa height, but he had a grotesque, yellow insectoid form, almost like a sick recreation of the legendary Rahi Keetongu.

“You? What are you doing here?” Chiron called out. Evidently, he recognizes this creature. Strangely enough, I am recognizing his voice, but I can’t put my finger on it.

“Did you honestly think that our boss would seriously let you take on this assignment alone, Mimic?” The creature laughed as he casually tossed his dagger, something else that seemed familiar. “No, he knew you’d find your wife unsupervised, so he sent me here to watch your back. I was to either keep you away from her or reunite you with her in death. After I’m done with you, she’s next.”

“Who is this, Chiron?” I asked.

“His name is Triglax,” Chiron replied with disgust in every syllable, “a rather obnoxious Dark Hunter with powerful shapeshifting abilities. He went by the codename ‘Ditto.’”

“And you’re in cahoots with a Toa now,” Triglax said, making theatrical gestures as he goes, “ooh, you’re in so much trouble now.” I can see why Chiron called Triglax obnoxious.

Chiron and I assumed defensive stances but didn’t draw our weapons just yet. Triglax wasn’t charging at us. He seemed to be…studying me?

“Hmm,” Triglax began, “something about the Toa of Fire seems incredibly familiar.”

“How funny,” I retorted, “I was feeling remarkably the same way. But I’m not interested in making new acquaintances.”

Triglax said nothing. He turned his attention to Varian.

“Who’s the girl?”

If looks could kill, Triglax would be dead right now.

“Ah, wait, I think I know,” he suddenly exclaimed, “oh, this is amazing! I know who you are, and I know why you’re here! Ok, stop me if you’ve heard this one.”

Before I could stop him, Triglax took a deep breath, rubbed his hands together, and began to distort his body in horrific ways. If the transformation was causing Triglax any pain at all, he wasn’t showing or expressing any of it. The process went on for the better part of one minute before I realized what he was turning into: A figure resembling a black-and-grey armored Toa of Sonics with red eyes that wore a Noble Kanohi Huna and had something resembling coattails attached to his lower back. I didn’t want to believe it, but everything about this form’s visage made the connection undeniable; he was even holding the dagger blade-side down, the way I had always known this Toa to have done so. This man, this Hunter, this monster…he was Toa Grey.

“Long time no see, Norik,” said Triglax, with a most venomous smile that made my blood boil.

“Chiron,” I said, my eyes never leaving Triglax’s, “get Varian out of here. I’ll cover you.”

Without a single word, Chiron did as I asked. He calmly scooped up my greatest friend in his arms and he made his way out of the throne room. Triglax did not follow him. Good, he might be obnoxious, but he doesn’t look like a coward. We have a score to settle and we’re going to finish things today.

[Rukah]

ooh this is gonna be good!

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 4

Ever since the mission that led to Varian’s disappearance, I have held a grudge against Grey, the third Toa that accompanied us on that mission. A part of it was simply because I had not seen him since the incident and was therefore unable to get any sort of closure into Varian’s fate. Another part of it was because I had grown to blame him for it, though for the better part of seven millennia I had nothing to back up my feelings except a desire to say it could’ve been avoided. Now that I know that my feelings had been correct, from a certain point of view, it was time to get answers, justice, and…now that I’m thinking about it…revenge–I suppose being a Makuta’s guardian does a thing or two to a Toa’s spirit. After a tense moment, I finally will my spear and my shield into existence and brace myself.

“Once again,” said Triglax, “that’s a nice trick. Seriously, I mean it. I wish Nidhiki taught us how to do that before he went crustacean.”

I have no idea who this Nidhiki person was or what “going crustacean” means, but I don’t care. I also wasn’t about to dignify Triglax with any more remarks. I pointed my spear at him and unleashed a cyclone of fire at him, but he flipped to his right too quickly. When he landed, his Kanohi Huna began to glow black and he suddenly disappeared. I had no idea such a thing was possible, but before I could process my surprise at this revelation, I turned around looking for him; as soon as I turned my back, he reappeared behind me, close enough that our masks practically touched, and slashed across mine. I instinctively reached up to inspect the damage, but Triglax kicked me down before I could grab it. I landed hard on the ground behind me, right on the spot where Chiron had slashed me earlier. It wasn’t impossible to get back up, but suffice to say, I was in a lot of pain, and my yelps did nothing to hide it. A quick look for my mask, which I could feel was no longer on my head, suddenly confirmed that my bad day had just gotten much worse.

If my Kanohi Pehkui wasn’t completely destroyed before, it was now. The first thing I saw after hitting the ground was the mask broken in two, cleanly sliced from Triglax’s dagger. I could possibly continue the fight as is, but given the circumstances, that wasn’t an option. You see, a Toa’s Kanohi isn’t just important for the unique power it provides. A Toa’s Kanohi is important because, without it, our elemental powers are diminished and our physical strength will rapidly deteriorate. Luckily for me, the Pehkui was not the only Kanohi I had on-hand. A quick feel in my satchel revealed that the Felnas I had picked up earlier was still intact. If I could actually put this mask on, I might’ve been able to turn things around.

That wasn’t going to be easy. Given everything that’s transpired, I can feel myself getting more and more disoriented by the minute. Conversely, Triglax was in prime physical condition and was even able to access his caricature’s Kanohi power. What I needed to do was get Triglax to stop moving just long enough to get this thing on. Hiding behind my shield, I started talking, hoping that he’ll take the bait.

“Why did you do it, Grey?” I asked weakly.

“Come again?” Triglax replied.

“Why did you do it? Why did you betray us?”

“You’re as naive as you are weak,” he chuckled. “I never betrayed you because I was never on your side to begin with. I’m on nobody’s side except my own, and my directive has always been to follow the dollar.”

Triglax took the bait. Good. I reached for the Felnas as quietly as I could and figured that playing the naive, see-the-good-in-all hero archetype would be the best way to keep him talking.

“But you’re a Toa. You defended Varian and I from other Dark Hunters! Why would you side with them?!”

“First of all, Gatherer and Lurker were also in on the scheme. We knew we had to look convincing so we were actively trying to kill each other for most of it–of course, I shouldn’t have to explain to you that the less you divide a reward, the greater portion you get. Second of all, I joined the Shadowed One because he knew how to appeal to my directive. The simple life of a Toa who does good for no reward simply wasn’t cutting it for me.”

“Why did you let me live then?”

“I didn’t. Your friend, the Toa of Psionics did. The boss requested an audience with her and presented her with a simple math problem. He had three Toa and only needed two, so he had her decide which one to subtract from the equation: you or me.”

I almost faltered and blew my cover at him saying that; I felt so touched by the revelation that Varian had essentially given her life for mine. What is this I’m feeling? Is this how Chiron feels about Medon? Is this what having a wife is like?

“Personally, I feel a little hurt at not being chosen,” Triglax continued, “but I guess everyone saw it coming. The boss was even counting on it. Ah, well. It’s what the boss wanted, and even I know better than to question the boss. I brought him his trophy, he gave me my dues, you got to live, everyone wins! I’m able to continue doing what I do best: lie, cheat, steal, and get away with it. And you get to continue doing what you do best: foolishly believe that your heroism will mean anything in the long run. If it makes you feel any better, Norik, during our time together, I began to admire Varian. The Shadowed One had a point going after someone of her kind. She really did have a certain charm about–”

I, for one, have had enough of his rambling. The Felnas was now firmly attached to my face, so it’s time to strike back. I unleashed another inferno Triglax’s way as quickly as I could. He managed to leap away again, but just a moment too late this time; he let out a yelp of pain as he landed and discovered that his right arm had been fairly severely burned from the elbow down and that the dagger he was holding had been reduced to little more than a silver puddle. He grabbed his burnt arm with his good arm, inspected the damage, and looked at me with an aura of fury.

“You had me monologuing,” said Triglax, “well played.”

“You talk too much,” I retorted.

It’s time to finish this. Though my new mask did nothing about my injuries, it did provide me with a small adrenaline boost and a renewed sense of clarity. With that clarity, I realized how exactly I would defeat Triglax. How I will have done so will be another detail I leave out in my retelling to the other Hagah–may the Great Spirit forgive me. I picked up my spear and leaped into action. I swung and thrusted it at Triglax; he was dancing to and fro dodging the thing. I had no intention of hitting him, merely to provoke some kind of reaction. Soon enough, he and I began wrestling for the spear, a fight he ultimately won, and he shoved me back. I stood ready nonetheless; a shield is still a weapon after all, and mine is more than just a shield.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” I taunted.

“If you’re so eager to die,” called out Triglax, “then I’ll be happy to help you on your way!”

Triglax tossed the spear aside–apparently, he realized that the tip is pretty blunt for a spear and not of much use without elemental abilities–and took a deep breath. This was the opening I had been waiting for. His body began to change and morph again, but before he could complete his transformation, I fired a Rhotuka spinner from my shield. The moment it made contact with Triglax’s body, all of his bodily functions slowed down by over 75%, including his transforming abilities. This wasn’t going to stop him, nor would it cause him any harm, but the point of the Rhotuka wasn’t to stop him, but to slow him down to give me more wiggle room to perform the final step of this plan.

With some reluctance, I walked up to the abominable amalgamation that was Triglax’s mid-process body, placed my hand firmly on his forehead, and activated the power of my Felnas. The mask glowed silver, and I could feel the energy radiating from the mask, down my arm, and into Triglax. His eyes turned from furious to horrified as he realized what was about to happen. Once the effects of my Rhotuka spinner wore off, the effects of the mask began kicking in at normal speed. Triglax’s body began expanding and contorting all over the place, neither at the same rate and never settling on one form. His body also began growing and shrinking completely irrelevant to everything else going on. I believe that whatever he was planning to turn into was larger than a Toa, because the one constant in any of these changes was that his body mass was gradually increasing. It only took about two minutes before Triglax began morphing in such unnatural ways that parts of his body began falling off. It should go without saying that he was screaming from unimaginable pain for the entire time, but at some point the screams suddenly stopped, which was honestly chilling in its own right. Eventually, Triglax finally fell over, and after that, all of the throbbing stopped.

Triglax was dead.

I killed him.

Being trained as a Toa Hagah means that the act of taking another life has less of a burden on my spirit than the average Toa’s if the cause was justified. There was no way around it–there’s no negotiating with a Dark Hunter–either Triglax dies; or I and the others die; and Varian is either killed, returned to statis, or worse. But, even as a former soldier of the Brotherhood of Makuta, I found the method for having done the deed rather cruel. The only thing that makes this act remotely bearable is that no one was here to witness the details. This is a secret I will be taking to my grave.

“Good riddance,” I snarled through my teeth.

For just a moment, I considered taking Triglax’s body, placing it inside the destroyed stasis pod as a makeshift pyre, and burning the body so he would at least have a dignified sendoff. Then I remembered why I was here and decided that he didn’t deserve it. With everything said and done, I recovered the broken pieces of my Pehkui and placed them in my satchel, picked up my spear and shield, and started walking out of the throne room. It was time to finally reunite with an old friend.

[Rukah]

Oof that ending scene was pretty grim. But either way the battle itself was fun to read and visualize.

[DuneToa]

@InChandyWeTrust

he didn’t deserve it.

Well, that was both expected and unexpected. I didn’t ever think of Norik being that angry.

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 5

It didn’t take me very long to find Varian; Chiron had not taken her very far at all. I should be miffed that he kept her here and put her at possible risk had I not defeated Triglax, but given everything that’s just transpired in the throne room, I simply don’t have the mental capacity. I asked him if there were any other Hunters in the vicinity that we should be wary about, but he told me that, given the kind of character Triglax was, if there were more, we would’ve seen them before meeting him. All things considered, I think I can believe that. He also informed me that Varian had twitched a few times since taking her out of the pod, a sign that life was slowly returning to her.

I knelt down, hoping that being eye-level will make things easier for Varian to calmly wake up again.

“Hey,” nervously asked Chiron, “are you…ok…about…?”

I turned to look at Chiron, and apparently my look told him everything he needed to know. Miraculously, he dropped the question right then and there and returned his attention to Varian. After a number of tense moments, she woke up at last.

And she screamed for a very long time.

The shock of the sound caused me to stumble back a bit. This didn’t happen with Medon, I wondered to myself in a daze, did it? When she finally stopped, she stood up and glanced all over, quickly deducing that she was still among the Shadowed One’s trophy collection. She then turned to look at Chiron. Given that she is a Toa of Psionics, it doesn’t take much to guess that she was probing his mind for certain memories: ones that affiliated him with her captor. Realizing that Chiron was a Dark Hunter, she manifested her elbow blades and made a rush for him.

“Where is he,” she yelled, “where is the Shadowed One?!”

Chiron was a bit preoccupied with defending himself to give an answer. The fight appeared even at first, but gradually leaned in Varian’s favor. Chiron has a unique ability to perfectly mimic any swordplay he sees, hence his Dark Hunter codename “Mimic,” an ability that served him well against Varian’s elbow blades. That said, her Kanohi Calix, which enables her to perform at the theoretical absolute peak of her physical ability, made it increasingly difficult for him to catch up. Once I got over my daze and realized what exactly was going on, I stood up and rushed in between the two combatants, reaching one arm out to Varian and the other to Chiron.

“Varian, stop!” I shouted. “He’s a friend! Chiron is my friend! He helped me rescue you!”

“But he’s a Dark Hunter,” Varian protested, “they’re the ones that trapped me here in the first place!”

“That may be true,” Chiron interjected, finally able to speak for the first time since Varian woke up, “but search my memories again and you’ll find I wasn’t there when you and Norik were taken in.” Varian appeared to drop her guard. Something Chiron just said had apparently taken her by surprise.

“Norik?” Varian asked me. “Is that you? Is that really you? When did you get the paint job? Silver is definitely your color.”

“It’s a long story,” I said, fighting back a chuckle, “but I think more pressing ones need to be told right now.”

It took longer than I’d like to admit to convince Varian to put away her weapons, but I ultimately got her to believe that Chiron and I were allies, at least temporarily. Once everyone was calm, the three of us started to share our stories; how alike Chiron and I realized we really were and how we ultimately found our greatest companions in this dreaded place. The moment I dropped Triglax’s name in my story, I saw a subdued fury in Varian’s eyes that I hadn’t seen since Toa Hordika Vakama after he was seduced by Roodaka and the power of the Visorak hordes.

“Where is Triglax now?” Varian asked coldly. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, for I feared how Varian would react if I did.

“He is still in the throne room,” Chiron said, “Norik and I fought him together. The Toa tried doing most of the heavy lifting himself, but once he couldn’t stand easily anymore, I snuck up behind Triglax and dealt the killing blow. He now rests in the stasis pod you once occupied.”

“Huh, I see.”

Varian looked at the two of us quizzically, almost like she was thinking how stupid do you have to be to lie to a girl who can literally read your minds, but for the first time in her life, she decided not to pry me for answers. Instead, she told us the story of how Triglax, Toa Grey, betrayed her and the torture she was forced to endure under the Shadowed One before entering the pod. She described the time she felt in the pod as “a short while longer than the blink of an eye…think of it as sleeping without the sleep.” Suddenly, everything about the differences between Medon’s and Varian’s reactions upon waking up made sense. Medon likely didn’t experience much before entering the pod and appeared to not know what had transpired; while Varian was beaten, mentally assaulted, and played with like a doll before being forced inside. Upon being woken up, neither one perceived much time as having passed–from both their perspectives, they might as well have been shoved into their pods yesterday–so while Medon just had a rather confusing day, Varian had no time to cope with the abuse.

“I,” Chiron nervously said, “I knew the Shadowed One was bad, but I never knew he could be such a monster.”

“Poor judge of character, that one,” Varian said to me, with a bitter sense of humor.

“Hindsight is remarkably clear relative to its usefulness,” I replied.

“So I’m gonna ask again,” she turned back to Chiron, “where is the Shadowed One now?”

“Let’s see,” he answered, “after the collapse, he realized it probably wasn’t safe to keep all of his forces in one place, so I imagine that he’s set up a few small bases on Spherus Magna before he considers himself strong enough to send Hunters out again.”

“Back up a bit. ‘Collapse?’ ‘Spherus Magna?’ He moved out? What is going on?!”

“Let’s just say a lot has happened since you were captured, V,” I chuckled.

“No kidding! How long was I out?!”

After I finally stopped laughing, the three of us made our way out of the former Dark Hunter fortress. I was in no mood to ride Chiron again, so Varian took over and used her elemental abilities to telekinetically carry me most of the way. Chiron, being Chiron, semi-jokingly told us that we’d make a good husband and wife one day. I couldn’t hide how flustered I was. Varian, conversely, had no idea what those terms meant, so Chiron, much to my chagrin, started to explain the concept. Unbelievably, it didn’t even take two minutes after he had finished before she started using those words against me. On the one hand, I really wanted to chastise her for it. On the other hand, I could tell this was her way of accepting the concept. Does this mean that my feelings actually make sense after all? Does she feel the same way about me? The idea of that makes me really…happy.

“Oh good,” Chiron said, snapping me back into reality, “a comm device.”

“Does it still work?” Varian asked.

“Maybe. If it does, I can contact my boss and find out where he is.”

“Good,” Varian says as she finally lets me down, “I need to settle the score with him, get even.”

“Varian,” I say somewhat worryingly, “you’re not gonna–?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not. I have something else in mind.”

Chiron let Varian off his back. The two of us started walking out of the collapsed Robot while he tried getting the comm device to work. The Spherus Magnan sun was nothing new to me by now, but it was certainly brighter than the artificial sun used to brighten the inside of the Robot. It was honestly kind of cute watching Varian attempt to adjust to the difference. Now outside, we met up with Medon and the Matoran scavenging team from the Silver Sea. The Matoran saw I was injured and offered to help me with whatever supplies they had brought on hand, which they could easily spare now that their mission for the day was over. Injured, waiting for Chiron, and unwilling to say no to a Matoran, I obliged.

---

Meanwhile…

Lower communications barrier.

“Mimic to Dark Hunter bases, come in. Repeat, this is Mimic. Come in.”

“This is the Shadowed One. Go ahead, Mimic.”

“I am pleased to report that my mission goes well. Most of the artifacts are still secure, however there was a mishap or two along the way.”

“Mishaps?”

“I believe Triglax has turned traitor. He transformed into the ‘Toa of Sonics’ that accompanied Toa Varian and freed her from her stasis pod.”

“That is…most unfortunate. Where are they now?”

“Triglax is dead; I killed him for his treason. As for the Toa, she unfortunately managed to escape, but I have a fairly good idea where she’s gone.”

“Hm. I will send you my coordinates. Bring her to me alive. Don’t let me down.”

“Orders acknowledged.”

Raise communications barrier.

[Wekua]

Dude I’m really loving this story

[Rukah]

ooho that latest chapter’s ending was quite the surprise. Can’t wait to see what happens next…

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 6

It seems like everyone has a story to tell these days. When I expressed my curiosity at the Matoran scavenging team and the quality of their supplies, they told me that they originally hailed from Karda Nui–which makes sense, of course the heart of the universe would have the best tools for sustaining life–and told me a little bit about themselves: One half of the team was involuntarily recruited into the Brotherhood of Makuta and used as so-called “Shadow Matoran” while the other half fought alongside the Toa Nuva to stop the Makuta, rescue their friends, and finally awaken Mata Nui once and for all. Something that struck me as odd is that, we from Matoran societies generally like to do things in groups of six–don’t ask me why, I suppose it’s just cultural–but this scavenging team was only five. I asked what happened to the sixth Matoran, to which they said that she apparently turned into a Toa-like being, but with Makuta’s wings and powers, and flew out of the Robot, abandoning the team. Before I could press further into this new development, Chiron came out of the Robot at last with one of his own.

“He’s hiding in the White Quartz Mountains,” exclaimed Chiron, causing everyone to look at him. “He’s there, Norik. We can finish this.”

“Those mountains, where are they?” I asked. In response, the black-armored Matoran who claimed to be the leader of his team pulled out a map.

“Let’s see,” he said, looking somewhat quizzically at the map, “you’ll have to forgive me, Spherus Magna is just as new to us as it is to you, but I believe those are about seven or eight hundred klicks southeast. Should be about four or five days’ travel if you’ve got a good ride.”

“Did we see any vehicles inside the Bot?” Varian chimed in.

“Yeah,” answered Chiron, “I think I saw something. Not sure if it’ll carry all three of us, though.”

“What did it look like?” I asked.

“It was long, red, and it looks like it could be used as a missile if the pilot isn’t careful.”

“That would be the Axalara,” interjected the black Matoran, “the best of the best. Once I came to my senses, I’ve always started to envy Toa Lewa for being able to drive that thing. It’s always been a dream of mine.”

“Well,” I said, “after we come back from the Mountains, we’ll come find you and let you take it for a spin.”

“I think I’d like that.”

The Matoran were kind enough to give us a copy of the map so we could find our way to and from the Mountains. Since their mission didn’t produce as much salvage as anticipated, not to mention one of their number went AWOL, they also let us take one of their trailers so there’d be no hassle trying to fit Varian, Chiron, and myself on a rather cramped vehicle. Chiron let his wife Medon onto the Matoran’s trailer and gave them instructions on where to take her, while I exchanged farewells with the black Matoran, whom I now know is named Kirop, and our two factions resumed our respective missions. The Matoran began in the direction of the city of New Atero and we began in the direction of the White Quartz Mountains.

I asked Chiron to take first drive so Varian and I could catch up and discuss a few things. At most things, she was as giddy as I remember her being, but whenever I tried to work what she intended to do with the Shadowed One once we arrived at his new headquarters into the conversation, she would either freeze up, quietly request that we change the subject, or rudely change the topic herself. I don’t necessarily mind her acting this way in the moment, given that she’s essentially had no time to cope with the Shadowed One’s treatment of her, but I am growing increasingly concerned with why she feels like she needs to hide whatever she is planning from me.

…
ABOUT FOUR DAYS LATER…
…

Nothing happened in the journey to this place, at least nothing worth writing down. Upon reaching the base of the White Quartz Mountains, Varian immediately began complaining of the cold. I took that as my cue to channel heat through my spear and hold it near her, but even I found myself taken aback by how cold these temperatures were. Ko-Wahi was practically a tropical paradise compared to this place–if the Dark Hunters ever move out, I’ll have to tell Kualus about it sometime. Of course, we were only at the base of the mountain. I was very much afraid that we’d have to climb.

“Where do we go from here?” I asked.

“There’s a secret tunnel system underneath the Mountains,” answered Chiron, “recently ordered by my boss and created by lower-ranked Hunters. We’ll just have to travel through the maze and we’ll find him eventually.”

“But surely it won’t be as simple as waltzing in and out, how will you explain…” I began asking while turning to Varian, who looked like she was in some sort of trance. “How will you explain us?”

“I’ve already thought of that. The Shadowed One knows I’m coming with Varian.”

“He what?” Varian exclaimed, snapping out of her trance. “What did you do?!”

“I contacted him, told him I’d bring you in. I figured the best way to get revenge on your tormentor is to do it face-to-face. Am I wrong?”

Varian could only look stunned. She wanted so badly to feel betrayed but quickly realized that Chiron’s plan was exactly what she was relying on to get close to the Shadowed One. Sure enough, a quick mental scan revealed his true intentions.

“That being said, your arrival needs to look convincing. Norik, do you still have your broken mask?”

“Yes, I do,” I said, reaching into my satchel. Chiron smiled as I pulled out the two pieces of my now-destroyed Kanohi Pehkui.

“Y’know, I was wondering why your mask looked so different,” Varian said, “what happened to that one?”

“Our old friend ‘Toa Grey’ broke it,” I answered.

“Here’s the plan,” Chiron interrupted, “I’m gonna take Varian to the Shadowed One and deliver this mask as ‘proof’ that I captured her. Meanwhile, Norik is gonna stay some ways behind us and dispatch any other Hunters he comes across.”

“I am not going to kill anyone,” I said, “not anymore.”

“Sometimes,” Varian muttered, “needs must.”

“I’m not asking you to,” said Chrion, “just do whatever you need to do so that they don’t come back up after a fall. This will both make our escape easier and the bodies will give us a trail to follow on our way out.”

“That I can do,” I replied, “shall we, Varian?”

After a few moments’ hesitation, Varian finally answered.

“Yes, let’s finish this.”

With that, we sprang into action. I took Varian’s Kanohi Calix from her and put it in my satchel for later while Chiron looked for a long enough vine to tie her arms behind her back. I regret having to put her through the kind of physical distress one experiences without a Kanohi for an extended length of time, but we both knew that it would make her capture look more convincing and that I would give the mask back soon enough, so she was willing to take this one for the team. Chiron then escorted her inside the tunnels. After a few tense minutes, I decided that enough time had passed and I entered the tunnel as well. Somewhat conveniently, almost every Hunter I came across revealed before I knocked them out that they had previously run into Chiron, or “Mimic” as he’s called here, which made him very easy to follow. After the fifth or sixth Hunter, I started to worry that this might’ve been too convenient.

…

THE SHADOWED ONE SPEAKING…

…

“Something isn’t adding up here,” said my Recorder, who temporarily halted scribing my thoughts into the diary, “but either neither of us know what’s going on or there’s something you don’t want written down. Then again, I know you well enough to not doubt your plans.”

No sooner did the Recorder finish his thoughts than the Dark Hunter “Mimic,” whom he and I were just discussing, entered my room with the Toa I had ordered him to capture.

“There will be a time and a place for everything, Recorder,” I said to him, “and right now is neither. You are dismissed.”

At that, the Recorder scurried out of my room the same way he came in.

“Greetings, Mimic. Long time no see.”

“I have done as you asked, my Lord,” Mimic answered, kneeling forward.

“The Toa is unharmed?” I asked, rising from my throne.

“She is,” Mimic replied while knocking the Toa forward, “but she probably won’t be for long.”

“Where is her mask?”

Instead of speaking, Mimic handed me what looked like pieces of a Kanohi mask. It looked like it was sliced cleanly in two. I almost want to applaud him for that kind of precision, but such little things do not earn my praise.

“Good work. I’ll send to get this Toa cleaned up and she’ll be hanging from my wall again in no time. Oh, and before I forget, how’s your wife?”

Mimic’s eyes widened. The suspicions I hid from the Recorder were suddenly confirmed.

“You think I wouldn’t know? Triglax was hired to either keep you away from her or to forever reunite you with her. With Triglax’s death and your survival, it can only lead to one conclusion.” I paused for just a moment to strike Mimic down and knelt on his back when he tried getting up again. “You found your wife, freed this Toa, and have brought her here to kill me. Not only have you conspired to betray the Dark Hunters, but you have utterly failed in completing any step of your plan, including fooling me with this mask. You brought me a silver one, when this Toa’s armor is gold. Where is her real mask?”

For just a moment, I think I hear commotion outside my room.

“Her boyfriend is delivering it to her,” Mimic answered, “right…about…now!”

As soon as Mimic finished speaking, a large flame came bursting into the room. I instinctually leapt toward my throne and hid just in time. When the flame finally stopped, standing before me were one Toa who would soon hang from my wall, one Toa who would come to rest in an unmarked grave with no one to mourn for him, and one treasonous Dark Hunter who had just made a very bad mistake.

…

NORIK SPEAKING…

…

When the smoke cleared, I rushed over to Varian and gave her back her Calix. Just as it happened to me, I could see her strength returning almost instantly. Before confronting the Shadowed One, we had just one opportunity to exchange words.

“Whatever you’re planning to do, Varian,” I said, somewhat nervously, “you’d better do it soon.”

“Keep him occupied,” she said back, “I need to get behind him.”

“In case we don’t get out of this one, I… I…”

“It’s ok,” she said as she brought our foreheads together, “I love you too.”

For once, I’m glad she can read my mind. She knew what I wanted to say but couldn’t bring myself to. Even better, I now know for sure she accepts the concept and reciprocates the feelings. We couldn’t help but smile at each other for the brief moment we had. With newfound confidence and determination, Varian and I drew our weapons and stood in front of Chiron. It was time to finally settle things with the Shadowed One.

[Rukah]

ooh the next chapter is gonna be good! can’t wait!

[InChandyWeTrust]

Chapter 7

A quick glance at our centaur friend revealed that he was staggering; he could barely stand on his own. Varian and I wordlessly agreed to keep him behind us and confront the Dark Hunter leader ourselves. Evidently, I turned my attention away from the Shadowed One for just a moment too long, for he used the opportunity to fire his eye-beams at us. Varian instinctually moved in to block the beams, which only resulted in her Rhotuka shield vaporizing before our very eyes.

“You owe me for that one,” Varian groaned in a telepathic message she sent to my mind.

I figured we’d have a few minutes before the Shadowed One was physically able to fire them again so that’s when we rushed in. I went one way while Varian went the other way. Possibly because he saw her as more defenseless, he turned to her first. She lashed at him with her elbow blades, but he blocked all of her strikes with his staff. I heated the tip of my spear and lunged it into the tip of his tail, cleanly severing about a six-inch piece. The Shadowed One growled in pain before quickly using what remained of his tail to slap me away. In that same motion, he knocked Varian into a torch. When the torch’s glass broke, the flames came down, blinding her with its light and quickly beginning to burn her. Without hesitation, I immediately turned my attention away from the Shadowed One and rushed to Varian’s side.

…

THE SHADOWED ONE SPEAKING…

…

The utter selflessness of a Toa is something to be admired, if only because of how satisfying it is to exploit. While the Fire Toa tries to aid his Psionics friend, I turned my attention to Mimic, who was struggling to maintain balance but was still bracing himself for a fight. This man really doesn’t know when to quit, does he? Very well, then. I decided to entertain him and myself. I swung my staff like a sword just to see how many times it would take to disarm him. I’ll give him credit, he held his own much better than I would’ve anticipated, but after a while I finally got bored with this charade and fired a Rhotuka from my staff. The fool was on the floor babbling like an idiot in a matter of seconds.

The law of the Dark Hunters is that traitors are not to be granted the mercy of death, but seeing as I still have two meddling Toa to deal with, I unfortunately had to cut Mimic’s sentence short. My Rhotuka inflicts the target with temporary insanity, so I used that to completely ruin his mind for what few moments he would still be permitted to live. If there is an afterlife, I would hope his mind is still broken there. I took the business end of my staff and rammed it into Mimic’s side. It would seem that death came faster for him than I would’ve liked, but there will be plenty of time to indulge in my sadistic fantasies with the Toa, whose anguished screams at having witnessed this were music to my ears.

…

NORIK SPEAKING…

…

“CHIRON!”

I had only been fast enough in clearing the flames off of Varian for us to both clearly watch the Shadowed One murder Chiron. We had only known each other for a few days but he had helped me so much in that time. We were friends now, and now he was gone. My mind was suddenly plagued with feelings of dread, having realized that Medon will never see her husband again. I looked at Varian. I was afraid. Here I was, staring the surviving avatar of evil in the face, afraid.

Because I couldn’t bear to lose Varian again.

Without thinking, I coated my hands in fire and made a rush for the Shadowed One. The goal was to wrestle with him for the staff and try to melt it into pieces. I tried launching a Rhotuka or two his way to make the task easier, but in the moment my aim was sloppier than normal. Nevertheless, I kept the distance between us small. Varian even made a few hit-and-run jabs on him in an attempt to disorient him. Despite the two of us attacking on two fronts, the Shadowed One was still gradually winning this fight. He has landed a few hits on Varian and I, and I’m finding myself increasingly worried that more Hunters will come bursting through the door at any moment–knowing his archetype, I wouldn’t expect him to play such blatantly dirty unless he was beaten, but I couldn’t be sure.

The Shadowed One knocked Varian down and diverted his full attention to me. I picked up another torch and hurled it at him and used my elemental powers to amplify the heat. While he attempted to put out the fire and inspect the damage and his injuries, I turned to Varian.

“Whatever you’re planning, V,” I said, wheezing, “you gotta go it soon.”

“Get him to grab you,” replied Varian.

“What are you–?”

“Trust me!”

I sighed. Good old Varian, never one to back down if she thinks she has a decent idea–honestly, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love that about her. After a quick analysis of the room, I think I realized what she wanted.

“Alright. Stay down and wait for my signal.”

It was time to get reckless. I saw that the Shadowed One had dropped his staff when he tried to escape the fire, so naturally it seemed like a good idea to leap towards that. I reached the staff just milliseconds before he did, but said advantage wound up meaning nothing for me. Instead of bending down to reach the staff, he kicked it, which means he hit my hand as I was grabbing the staff and broke it. The pain was immense. The Shadowed One responded to my screams by slightly lifting me up and pinning me to one of the walls.

“What is your name, Toa?” The Shadowed One snarled.

“Norik,” I said defiantly.

“Well, Norik, your friend will have the honor of gracing the Dark Hunters with her image forevermore, while you will be lucky if anyone even remembers your name after today. That said, I am a man of mercy, so if you have a final statement you’d like my Recorder to transcribe, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Varian had gotten up. It was now or never.

“NOW!” I screamed.

And everything went black.

…

…

…

I woke up to the sound of soft fire crackling. My head felt like I was hit by a very large chute. In fact, everything hurt at the moment–one of my arms was even wrapped in some sort of very firm material that I couldn’t really identify. The one thing that’s keeping me sort of located in reality is the softness of the sand, which feels incredibly nice compared to the hard rock floor of the White Quartz Mountains.

Wait a minute, I remember thinking to myself in a daze, sand? When did I get in the desert? When did I get outside? Where are the Mountains?

“Oh good,” called out a familiar voice, “you’re finally awake! Do you have any idea how hard it is to start a campfire when you’re not a Toa of Fire?”

I looked and saw it was Varian, looking and sounding remarkably chipper. Behind her was the Axalara and the trailer we had used to reach the mountains, and resting on the trailer covered in a blanket was…Chiron?

“What,” I groggily asked, trying to stand up, “what happened? Where are we?”

“Ok, first of all,” answered Varian while using her Psionic powers to sit me back down, “you need to rest. You hit your head pretty hard back there. Second of all, we’re about 550 kilometers away from the Mountains.”

“550?” If I wasn’t awake and aware before, I was now. “How long was I out?”

“About three days, give or take.”

I wasn’t sure how to phrase this next question nicely, but I also knew there was no beating around the bush.

“Are we going to deliver Chiron’s body to his wife?”

“Oh, that? After I dragged you two out of there, I checked his vitals. I could sense cranial activity.”

“When did you learn how to do that?”

“I’m no medic, but if it involves the mind, I can probably do it,” Varian answered proudly. “Anyway, as far as I can tell, Chiron’s entered one of those ‘trauma hibernation trances.’ His metabolism or whatever slows down to the point that he looks dead so his body can dedicate resources to heal otherwise lethal injuries.”

“Where did you learn about that?”

“I read it in a book once. What was the author’s name? Toa Kruhk, I think?”

“I’ll have to ask Kualus about that sometime,” I chuckled, “he’s all about Rahi and other interesting creatures.”

“Who’s Kualus?”

“Oh, right. After you…disappeared…I was called to lead a new team, the Toa Hagah. Kualus is one of that team, along with Gaaki, Iruini, Pouks, and my deputy Bomonga.”

“Sounds like a fun bunch. I wanna meet them.”

“How can I say no to you?”

I held off asking Varian anything else for a while; sitting in front of a fire huddled with someone you love feels nicer than I could’ve imagined it and I wanted to savor the moment as long as I could. Alas, such a burning question couldn’t remain unasked for long.

“Before I forget,” I began, “how did you manage to stop the Shadowed One?”

“Well,” replied Varian, in a surprisingly somber tone, “I know you’ve been concerned that I’d kill him or something. You’ll be pleased to know that’s not the case.”

I mentally sighed with relief.

“I know how easy it is to walk down that dark path. Even when you wish with all your heart that there’s a better alternative, sometimes there’s nothing you can do but shed blood. And once you’ve acquired the taste, it’s so easy to become hooked and to want more and more.” She placed her hand onto my unwrapped one and looked me dead in the eyes. “I know you’re the one who actually killed Triglax, but I don’t hold that against you. You were in trouble and it was the least evil you could reasonably come up with in the moment.

“Even so, I get that it can be incredibly easy to jump off that slippery slope and start justifying your sins for increasingly petty reasons. I understand that you were simply looking out for me and I’m glad that you care. I didn’t kill the Shadowed One, Norik, but he will no longer be a threat to you, or to me, or to anyone in this new world. I didn’t kill the Shadowed One. All I did was hurt him in the one way I knew would count.”

“What did you do?”

===

FLASHBACK, VARIAN SPEAKING…

===

“NOW!” Norik screamed.

With my now glowing golden-blue blades, I made a rush for the Shadowed One. In an instant, he threw Norik my way. I instinctively used my elemental powers to redirect Norik into a corner of the room, but I cringed a bit once I realized that by doing so, I caused him to hit his head hard. I was alone now. I had no time to go to his side though; what I wanted to do to the Shadowed One, I had to do it right now. As I ran, he fired a Rhotuka at me, but I activated my Calix to leap over the spinner and onto the Shadowed One’s shoulders. As he tried in vain to shake me off, I took my glowing blades and stabbed them into his arms. I fought hard to stay on top of him to let the energy flow down my arms, through the blades, and into his body. I couldn’t hold on forever, though.

“Get off me!” The Shadowed One shouted.

He successfully grabbed me and threw me to the floor. I landed hard with a sting. When I propped myself back up to face the Dark Hunter leader, he towered over me, just as he did most beings. While on most days, he would gladly take the time to toy with his prey, this time he had a noticeable hesitation in his demeanor. The last time I looked upon him, he was fear incarnate, but now it looked like he was the one who was afraid. His eyes, once a fiery, bloody red, were now a bright blue color. With every passing moment, he looked more and more unsure of himself, stumbling in his steps and beginning to have trouble breathing, like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

“What’s,” the Shadowed One gasped, “what am I feeling? I feel…sad, lost, a need to repent, a desire to make right, but that’s impossible. It can’t be true. I am the Shadowed One!”

I let out a small chuckle. My little plan worked.

“Toa,” he demanded, “what have you done to me? What trick have you’ve pulled?!”

“That, my ‘dear leader,’ is the one thing you’ve lacked for your whole life: compassion.” The Shadowed One tried to say something, but the words died in his mouth. I paused to savor the moment his eyes widened.

“When I arrived here with Chiron,” I continued, “I peered into your mind, and saw everyone you’ve ever hurt. Hundreds of thousands of people that you’ve harmed, killed, or worse because they had something you wanted or because they were in your way or because they had the audacity to talk back to you. You even killed your only friend because he knew of a treasure you’d found and what you’d wanted to do with it.”

“Ancient,” the Shadowed One whispered, his eyes darting all over, “he was the inspiration for all of this. And you, and Norik, Lariska, Mimic, Sentrakh…”

“All of that grief. All of that despair. All I’ve done was return it to you.”

“What have I done?” The Shadowed One asked, the pain increasing in each word. “What have I done?!”

The Shadowed One and I locked eyes for a few moments. When I came here today, the Shadowed One was as proud of his accomplishments as ever, but now he was a broken mess desperately wanting nothing more than to atone for the millennia of sins on which he had built his empire. He fell to his knees and began to sob. I found a dark satisfaction in watching my tormentor being reduced to this, but I knew better than to indulge here and now; I still had to get Norik and Chiron out of here and I doubted I had the energy in me to give other Hunters I could run into the same “change of heart” I gave their leader. With little time to lose, I placed Norik’s unconscious body on top of Chiron’s and telekinetically lifted the two of them together like a large box on a floating cart. Before exiting the room, I turned back to look at the Shadowed One, who in turn looked up at me.

“Have a nice life, Vudaile,” I called out, half-jokingly saluting him as I closed the door behind me.

I don’t know what became of the Shadowed One, who made no reaction to me using his real name, after we left the Mountains. But it didn’t matter. He’s so overcome with feelings of remorse and the knowledge that any attempt to reintegrate into legitimate societies will be rejected, that he couldn’t lead the Dark Hunters or other lowly gangs, or use any of his powers or his weapons even if he wanted to. I filled his mind with a desire to reconcile, and with it came the realization that he truly had nowhere to go, nowhere he’d belong. He no longer had influence over anyone at all. The Shadowed One may still be alive somewhere, but if he is, he is little more than a distant memory now.

And I can live with that.

===

PRESENT, NORIK SPEAKING…

===

I found myself utterly speechless after Varian had concluded her story. I couldn’t help but admire the creative irony in how she’d done it. She found a peaceful way to end the Shadowed One’s reign once and for all. She hadn’t quite killed him with kindness, but she might as well have. Still, I found myself bothered by one thing that wasn’t adding up.

“So on the way to the Mountains,” I asked, “when I tried asking about this, why did you want to hide this from me?”

“Honestly,” Varian sighed, “because I wasn’t sure if it would work. I never wanted to kill him, but deep down I knew that I might’ve been forced into that course of action and I didn’t want you to hate me or judge me for it.”

“Oh, V.”

I pulled her close with my one good arm. I didn’t want Varian to be afraid of me, ever. We were partners once, now we are more. I told her in no uncertain terms that there would never be distrust between us and that there’s just about nothing she could do to get me to hate her, and she affirmed the same to me. We’re keeping our past demons, like Triglax and the Shadowed One, in the past, and we’ll face the future ones together.

“That,” Varian chuckled, “and I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Of course you did,” I sighed.

After an annoyed moment or two, we both broke into laughter for who-knows how long. After it finally died down, all I could remember next was waking up with Varian still in my arm. For the first time since she disappeared, I had felt truly at peace with myself and was looking forward to what the new day would bring.

A few days later, Varian and I had made our way to New Atero. We delivered Chiron to his wife and asked them to stay in touch with us once he had woken up; found Kirop and lended him the Axalara we had been using to finally drive it himself; and reunited at last with the other Toa Hagah, who were getting along with Varian just fine–albeit, they were utterly confused with our use of the terms “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”–and couldn’t wait to hear the story. Once I told them everything they needed to know and gave the Felnas I’d been wearing to Bomonga (who graciously accepted the gift, as it had once belonged to his Toa master), the seven of us resumed our duties as the guardians of peace in this strange new world.

===

End.

There will be a short epilogue after this but the story proper is now over.

[Wekua]

Chandy you son of a gun you did it

This was a great story

[Rukah]

That ending was pretty good! The way Varian defeated the Shadowed One was great - very ironic. Overall a good story with a great ending. nice job

[InChandyWeTrust]

Epilogue

To say the events that have transpired in the past few weeks have been most interesting to have witnessed would be an incredible understatement.

Many millennia ago, not long after the Dark Hunters organization was founded, I, the mercenary codenamed “Darkness,” was hired by the leader himself to watch his every movement very carefully. It was my task to keep an ever-following eye on the Shadowed One to ensure that he would never become weak, never grow soft, never become noble and compassionate like the Toa beneath us–his only waking moments that my eyes were taken off of him were when I needed to sharpen my claws, so to say, on certain unruly Hunters who had stepped out of line, but I considered them little more than practice for the real deal–and yet, when the criterion to fulfill my end of the contract was satisfied, I genuinely had to take some time to process what it was I had seen.

The day the Shadowed One lost, I was preoccupied by the one called “Savage,” who had gotten particularly restless and was to be either tamed or put down, which proved to be surprisingly easy–before him, the last time I was called to discipline bad behavior was the Piraka, the band of five Hunters who attempted a mutiny and the ones I most previously sought out; it was good to know I wasn’t out of touch. After Savage was dealt with, I was informed of the events that transpired in the Shadowed One’s throne room. I briefly held off on fulfilling my end of the contract because I had to see this for myself. Though my contract said to eliminate the Shadowed One if he showed even the smallest lapse in his cruelty, even I found the apparent one-eighty in his personality very hard to believe. Sure enough, though, there it was, clear as day: He put an end to the creature Sentrakh’s existence, penned a manifesto citing and apologizing for everything he had ever done, released everyone and everything inside his trophy vault to their rightful owners, and turned himself in to the proper authorities.

Now, the once cold, proud, and ruthless leader of the Dark Hunters was wallowing in his misery, alone in a dark cell, overcome with grief, and mumbling to himself “What have I done?” over and over again. It’s truly pathetic to watch. It’s a fate worse than death. Personally, I would’ve loved to leave him in there to rot; he doesn’t deserve a quick death. But I’m not one to let my feelings get in the way of my duties and my goals. Orders are orders and mine was crystal clear. But before I killed the Shadowed One, I would’ve very much liked to hear his perspective on the event in question, if only to learn from his mistakes.

I used my elasticity powers to stretch and squeeze my body through the cage and into the cell. Now that I’m in here, I made no attempt to hide the utter contempt in my face.

“So, you’ve finally grown soft,” I said, “how did that happen?”

“That Psionics Toa I had Triglax reel in,” softly answered the Shadowed One, “she was released, hit me with a blast, and…it changed me.”

I really wanted to laugh.

“One measly Toa?”

“It was no physical blast, my friend. I’ve taken plenty of physical beatings over the years, but she…she attacked my mind, my spirit. By giving me the gifts of love and compassion, she has condemned me.”

The Shadowed One stumbled back, catching himself on the wall. I used this momentary pause in the conversation to inspect him closely, particularly looking for any sign that he’s either deceiving me, testing me, or preparing to defend himself. He’s never lied to me before. After careful consideration, I didn’t think he was starting now.

“The chains. The chains are the easy part. It’s what goes on in here,” the Shadowed One whimpered, pointing to his brain, “that’s hard.”

“I don’t have time for this,” I said while readying my blades, “I’m returning to our base of operations to continue rebuilding our glorious empire. There’s no room for imperfect, softhearted fools such as you.”

“Perhaps both of our worlds would be better off without me.”

With his final words spoken, the Shadowed One closed his eyes and waited for the end. I struck quickly and true. Perhaps it is a mercy that death at my blades came instantly for him. I chose not to ponder it. As I moved to recover the body, a thought entered my mind: What will happen to the Dark Hunters now? Will I inherit the throne as my contract specified? Or–I know we’ve got someone named Lariska who’s practically been raised to be the Shadowed One’s heir–will I have to fight her for it?

I, for one, am very much looking forward to finding out.