Chapter 4
Riots broke out all across the city upon news of Nuhrii’s death.
Jaller and Takanuva made a run for it, just narrowly escaping the clutches of the angry mob that was pursuing them, only to run into another mob that was trying to ransack the Council building. The Turaga with the exception of Dume and Raanu were evacuated to safety, but the other four Toa Nuva were nowhere to be seen. Upon being noticed, the entire crowd formed a circle around the two Toa, who were trapped in the middle of the mess. Takanuva and Jaller put down their weapons, and were confronted by a lone Ta-Matoran.
“So.” He walked into the center of the circle, addressing the two Toa with barely contained rage. “It was you two.” At this accusation, the entire crowd fell silent.
“IT WAS YOU TWO!” he yelled angrily, shaking his finger.
“Us two what?” Takanuva responded, confused.
“You both killed Nuhrii!” he screamed, pointing at them.
“Look, we didn’t! We turned around and—” Jaller was abruptly cut off by the angry Ta-Matoran, who shouted:
“Stone these traitors to death!”
Taking his word as command, the mob began to throw whatever they had right at the two Toa, attacking relentlessly without giving them a chance to explain themselves.
“WE DID NOT DO THIS!” Jaller screamed loudly, but his voice was drowned out by the mob.
“Don’t make me do this! I don’t want to hurt you!” Takanuva yelled, his spear charging up with a bolt of energy. Just as he was about to release it, a tremor shook the ground. This was enough to frighten the mob of Matoran and Agori to stop them from attacking the two Toa.
Jaller and Takanuva looked up to see Kopaka, Pohatu, Lewa, and Onua, weapons drawn and glowing with elemental energy.
“Leave them,” Toa Onua said coldly.
Obviously riled up, the crowd turned to face the Toa Nuva.
“Defending the murderers, are you?!” a jungle Agori screamed.
“Traitors!!!” shrieked a De-Matoran.
The crowd launched themselves in a full on assault on the Council Building, causing the entire Council sector of New Atero to erupt into rage fueled chaos. The might of the six Toa combined was not even close to the power of the infuriated public, even while being aided by RCF squadrons desperately trying to quell the rebellion. The Toa desperately tried to convince the crowd that Jaller and Takanuva were innocent, but they did not listen, and their efforts were in vain. Elemental blasts flashed everywhere, combining with the deafening cacophony of stun blasts, screaming, and objects breaking. The massive onslaught into the council building inevitably caused a major stampede, leaving behind dozens of dead bodies.
Before the Toa could even make a move to subdue, the RCF squadrons opened fire on the crowd.
Turaga Dume was sitting in front of the telescreen in his chamber, watching the massacre unfold and the crowd demanding answers out of him and his council.
It was exactly the atmosphere he had hoped for to establish a dictatorship with him at the helm.
He rose up from his chair and reached over to turn off the telescreen set. He sat back down in his chair, reflecting upon what he had just seen. The recollections of the morning’s face off in the council room re-entered his brain just at that moment, and it filled him with rage. An idea popped into his mind.
It is time to establish myself as the one, true, supreme Leader of New Atero, he thought with a wicked grin.
He stood up slowly, and walked over to his wall, where there were portraits of his opponents and political dissidents. Among the portraits were the faces of the six Turaga.
“The general election is fast approaching,” he remarked aloud to no one in particular.
He pointed his finger at the first portrait of Toa Hagah Norik, which was marked with a big red X, and began to slide down the row. His finger stopped at the portrait of Turaga Vakama.
“I’ve gotten rid of my dissidents, whoever stood up to me … ,” he said, “ … every last one of them.”
“Except for you,” he said, pointing to Vakama’s framed picture on his wall. “And your stupid little cronies.”
“You. You’re all that stands in my way of becoming the supreme leader. You and your little gang always oppose every single one of my policies, as if your proposals are better,” Turaga Dume vented aloud.
“You and your gang are the reason this city is going to hell. It’s high time I get rid of your lot and claim my rightful place among the rulers!” he raged.
In a fit of anger, he punched Vakama’s portrait, causing the glass cover on the portrait to shatter. The portrait fell to the ground, the frame breaking apart.
“As soon as I become dictator, I will have the Toa executed for treason and I will subjugate the Matoran and Agori and make them my subordinates!” he screamed.
He walked over to his desk and sat down at his computer. He opened up the RCF control program on his computer and began to write a new command for all the squadrons and units:
“Assassinate Raanu and the Turaga.”