Backstory
Prologue -
Some beings commit evil acts fully aware of the villainy they’re creating. Others deny their own vile nature, aiming to justify the actions they take with the results they dreamed up in every victim’s nightmare. Those are the beings I find myself surrounded by now. Beings… No, creatures who have lost any values which could consider them civil. They now only exist to drag others to their level; a place I must admit I am now.
A short time ago, I had a life many would envy. Peace, friendship, respect, those were the only things that mattered to me. But now I have been reduced, forgetting what I stood for, only holding my own survival dear to me. It would be cowardice to place sole blame of my failures onto my captors, but I cannot deny the horrors of my circumstances, and what that has brought me to do.
What I have witnessed and experienced would be more than enough to drive any matoran to insanity, but I, with the strength of a toa should have been enough to resist the temptations, but instead I find myself losing yet another title. To call myself toa, would put shame to all the true heroes both past and those to come. Although death would grant me release from the cursed body I have been given, I cannot overcome my desire to live, to one day redeem myself to the eyes of all. Alas, that day would have to wait.
Chapter 1 -
The ever-cold air still felt the same, even within the metal walls of this facility, which would only grow colder as the strange beings entered the chamber. Although it was my deepest desire to destroy them, the liquid which surrounded me sapped every ounce of energy I may possess. Absolute silence escorted them in, a strange syringe in the hands of one. It was linked by a tube to a pack attached to the hip filled with a dark silver fluid.
The one armed with the syringe inserted a needle between plates of armor on my shoulder. A feeling of significant amounts of fluid being pushed into my body was one unwelcome, and only made worse as it pushed the capacity which was meant to be held, stretching the surface of my shoulder. Although the pack did eventually empty, the agony was long from being over. A blend of soreness and throbbing pain was a feeling I would come accustomed to for a long time. Fortunately, an eventual slip into unconsciousness saved me from endless hours of pain for now.
When my eyes opened again, the area around me was different then before. Darker, smaller, and I was no longer encased in liquid. The soreness had been reduced, instead being replaced by an ache far inside of me, beneath the layers of armor, like all my internal workings were failing. If you break your leg, you can hold it and writhe in agony, but you cannot gain even such a small comfort with internal pain. Although I had only be conscious for moments, I now dreamt only of such rests again, to be free from pain until a brighter future could wake me.
Instead, the dark small room I was currently contained in filled with light as the wall in front of me rose. I stepped out into a large room, the wall falling shut behind me. A lone tablet placed on a table before me, surrounded by hastily organized structures, obscuring my view of what was beyond. Lifting the tablet up revealed a kanohi mask of evil aesthetic. The tablet itself explained my current circumstances. I and many others had been placed in this pit, all facing the same pain, from the same experiments. Each one of us was given a mask of the same power, one to absorb he life of that which is dead. A power which would stop the pain we all felt.
I placed the tablet off to the side, examining the mask. I reached for my own, but only to find nothing there. The possibility of this makes no sense though, a matoran would be dead if found maskless for so long, but here I am, with a body so unfamiliar, it would be no surprise that I am not a matoran anymore. Raising the kanohi to my head, it snapped into place, and I could feel strength returning to me, a strength I had never known before. A passion to go on, to overcome what has ailed me now.
Journeying through the metal metropolis, I located another being, he had the stature of a toa, but his armor was fragmented and cracked. His kanohi resembled mine, and I felt an unstoppable urge to kill him. He had noticed me, so quietly I snuck up behind him, grasping his throat with both hands, and squeezing until I could no more, and until he could no longer fight back.
The limp body had a strange feeling surrounding it. The feeling was mesmerizing, and without thinking I used my mask, absorbing the fleeting life. A rush of relief enveloped me, easing every pain I felt, reminding me of the life before I gained strength. I felt that I could finally take a full breath again and was able to carry on without a limp in each step.
Not much farther, I could hear the sounds of a fight. Getting closer, I could see the ends of what was a struggle between two beings. The victor was partially covered in ice, and stooped over his enemy’s corpse, presumably absorbing the last life left inside. The white being then turned to face me, not hesitating at all to walk towards my area. Almost instinctively, I reached out, pulling the figure towards me, and held him in place. The being was not helpless yet though, a barrage of ice swept passed me, breaking my focus, and obscuring my view. He had an opening now, and dove through the ice, kicking me to the ground. A large spike of ice nearly hitting me soon after.
I rolled to the side, dragging myself off the ground and immobilizing the being once again. This time I wasted no time, pulling them apart with my newfound control of magnetism. With the being dead now, I could absorb more energy, offering another addicting wave of pain relief.
A feeling of eyes broke me out of the state of joy though, and a blast of water sent me straight back to eternal torment. Looking back greeted me with yet another wave of water, carrying me down the plaza and leaving me in a knee-deep pool of water all around. The one responsible turned the corner, surfing atop the liquid which surrounded us. Hurling more liquid at me as she closed in, narrowly missing a swing on the pass by. The being looped around again, moving much too fast for me to catch with magnetism. Instead, my only hope was to dodge until they made an error, or until I could find an opening.
Although the waves of water were constant, there was space between them, an interval which was increasing the longer the fight went on. A few more evasions presented me with a gap long enough to grab the being with magnetism, and a more restraining grip then the previous encounter. I forced her head beneath the water she created, leaving her in a helpless struggle disturbing the surface of water. But as it grew still, I could feel the life energies already being drawn to my kanohi.
Once again, I pulled out the remaining life, adding it to my own. No sooner was I done that a distant hissing could be heard. It came from far above, into the dark ceiling. As I looked into the darkness, the world around me as well faded to black.
Chapter 2 -
I awoke, again encased inside the strange sapping liquid I was not long ago. Although the passage of time was uncertain, the effects of absorbing life had worn off, as the unforgettable aching was back, and felt worse than it had before. Reminiscing on what I had done to ease my own pain brought upon a guilt that I had always ignored before.
No time to linger on such thoughts though, as the door opened, two figures entering the room just the same as before, syringe and needle in hand. They brought to my shoulder again, but before they could inject anything, I used the power they gave me, and ripped the apparatus restraining me apart, shrapnel throwing the beings away from me.
I moved quickly, picking up the first of the two, and slamming them into the ground. Although incapacitated, the lack of life flowing off them to my mask told me they were still alive. But now was not a time for mercy, as there was still another to deal with. Almost to their feet, but not fast enough, as I grabbed the needle off the ground, and pushed it into their neck. I pushed down on the syringe, pushing in the strange liquid far faster than was intended, causing the beings neck to swell, and burst shortly after.
The corpses reeked of energy, a bountiful supply which was all taken in by me. As I examined the room around me, fully able to view it in 360 unrestrained, I saw a weapon held on a pedestal. It was a scythe, one of ornate, but savage design. I reached out to grab it, noticing that now even my armor had changed, no doubt to reflect the vile kanohi I was made to bare. It was a dark, and shiny grey color, spikes emplaced all over it. Although disturbing by virtue, I would need it to free myself of this place.
Heading out the door, I entered towards the end of the hallway, and going down to the open end was a larger room, filled with equipment and vials of various fluids. Each one was a slightly different color, labeled by number in a clear casing. A door in the center of the far wall slid open, one figure walking through. The darkness of the area allowed me to stay hidden long enough to creep up behind them. After that, a swift swing of my scythe cleaved their head off.
Further exploration of the structure was mostly worthless, as every room other than the central one was nearly identical to the one, I was kept in, except each was empty, and looked to be in a state of abandonment. The central room gave me only the minimum amount of knowledge I could have desired. Everything was made int sets of three, but that was the most I could gather.
With no more reason, and far less desire to stay in this place, I approached the far door. The sight on the other side was a mountainous zone, one covered by the sweeping cold air I knew well. Reentering this world made me realize just how far estranged from it I had become. The things I valued, the things I called out others for lacking, every last one of them I had left inside that building, and as a reminder of my fraudulence, I would be plagued by torture, and with it a temptation to repeat the actions I despise.
I wish I had never tasted such relief of pain to begin with, for now it calls me every hour to grasp it again. Even the cost seems negligible when the all-consuming urges creep up again and again, each time only desensitizing me further to the acts I commit. I now live on, to try and redeem myself, to ensure that when I die, it is not as one to be despised, but as one who overcame himself.
