Around four thousand years ago…
Orde, Toa of Psionics, groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His entire body felt weak, and by feeling his face he was able to tell that his Kanohi mask was missing. He tried to stand up, only for his head to hit something hard and metallic, and he slumped back down. Through his hazy vision, he discovered that he was surrounded by iron bars, and that the cage he was in was tight and small, making it impossible for him to stand.
Must be a prison made for Matoran, he said to himself. That thought brought forth a rush of memories, and he suddenly remembered what had brought him to this very moment.
“The Matoran,” he wheezed, his voice hoarse and rough. “Where… where are—”
“They are safe, thanks to your valiant efforts.” The voice, sardonic and sinister, seemed to come from a cloud of green that floated past the iron bars. “Unfortunately, those efforts didn’t do yourself any favors.”
Orde rubbed his eyes and he watched in astonishment as the cloud of green particles merged together to form a single figure. The Skakdi, clad in green and gold armor, grinned savagely at the Toa of Psionics as he stepped closer to the cage, red eyes blazing.
“How was your nap?” the Skakdi asked. “Apologies for your missing mask, by the way. My friend here has a certain… obsession.”
Orde’s eyes drifted and he saw that the Skakdi was not the only Dark Hunter in the room. Besides a brown-armored Skakdi of Stone sitting nearby with his arms and legs crossed, there was also a four-armed being with a belt wrapped around his chest. Lining the belt were a number of Kanohi masks, in all sorts of shapes and colors. In the Dark Hunter’s hands was Orde’s very own Kanohi Sanok.
The four-armed creature regarded the mask with a look of confusion. “Mask of Accuracy… nice to have one, but isn’t it kind of redundant? I thought Psionics types could—”
“Shut up and enjoy your souvenir, Collector,” the Skakdi snapped at him.
Collector glared at his fellow Dark Hunter as he attached the mask to a place on his belt. “I don’t need attitude from you, Snake. At least I’m in better standing with the Shadowed One than you….”
Orde noticed the green Skakdi bristle from the comment, the particles making up his form briefly convulsing. Closing his eyes, Orde tried to muster some elemental energy to at least get a read of the room and his captors, but the lack of his mask as well as the headache he was starting to feel made that a near-impossible task.
Instead, he decided to retrace his steps, hoping to find some solution to his current predicament by recalling how he had gotten into this situation in the first place.
About a week ago, a number of Matoran—at least a dozen or so—had gone missing from an island close to the one he and his team were operating on. At the request of the local Turaga, they had gone in search of the Matoran and eventually found them in the captivity of the Dark Hunters, who were planning on selling them to a Steltian slaver in exchange for weapons stolen from the Xians. Orde and his team had moved in then and there, figuring the odds were in their favor as they outnumbered the Dark Hunters six to four. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been accounting for three of the Dark Hunters to be Skakdi, and for one of them to have the ability to project mental blasts.
Orde had taken the brunt of the attack, and was able to withstand the worst of it thanks to his mental shielding. However, because it had caught him off-guard, it had allowed one of the other Skakdi—the green one, Snake—to attack him with his laser vision, hitting him and knocking him to the ground. The rest had become a blur as something or someone had pulled his mask off his face, weakening him before hitting him with another mental blast. Then, all had went dark.
As it was, he had no idea where the rest of his team were or what had became of the Matoran. Snake had said that they were safe, but he was not about to take a Dark Hunter for their word. Perhaps once he had mustered enough energy, he could read one of their minds and figure out a way to escape.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound as a door slammed open and a crimson-armored Skakdi came storming into the room. “Zaktan! I’ve been looking for you! Just got a message from a courier and—”
“Quiet, Hakann,” snarled the green Skakdi. “You know how Avak feels about loud noises.”
The red Skakdi frowned as he looked over to his brown counterpart. “Huh? Since when did—”
“Have you guys forgotten your codenames?” growled Collector. “It’s Snake, Trigger, and Bully. Just like I am Collector.”
Hakann rolled his eyes. “Those names are awful, and you know it. Only reason we call you by your codename is because you won’t give us your real one.”
“I’m not supposed to! It’s supposed to be top secret, right?”
“Then why does Lariska go by her real name? Or Triglax, for that matter?”
Collector frowned, appearing to be genuinely perplexed by the question. “Because… because, uh….”
“It doesn’t matter,” Zaktan snapped. He then seemed to think for a moment as he stared at Orde. He then glanced at Collector and asked, “Do you have any elemental masks? Such as, say, a Mask of Psionics, perhaps?”
“Eh… those are pretty rare.” Collector went through his collection before removing a Kanohi Komau. “How about a Mask of Mind Control?”
“Close enough.” Zaktan took the mask from his fellow Dark Hunter and attached it to his face. As it fused on, Collector regarded him with a confused expression.
“I thought most Skakdi didn’t have the mental discipline to use masks….”
Zaktan chuckled. “I am not most Skakdi.”
Suddenly, Orde felt a pang of agony and he cried out as a voice pierced his mental shield.
Tell us where to find Turaga Barresh.
Orde’s eyes went wide as he registered the name of the Turaga who had asked for his team’s help. “Why… why do you want to know?” he managed to say.
Tell us where to find him, Zaktan repeated in his mind, with more force.
“No.” Orde closed his eyes and took in a breath as he felt his mental barriers rebuild themselves. “I don’t think I will.”
Zaktan tried again to break through his barriers but to no avail. Growling with frustration, he tore off the Kanohi Komau and threw it carelessly to the ground, causing Collector to gasp.
“Careful! You’ll scuff it!”
“Do you have a Mask of Telepathy?” Zaktan growled.
While Collector retrieved the Kanohi Komau, Hakann spotted a Kanohi Suletu on his belt and took it, handing it over to Zaktan. The Skakdi attached it to his face and Orde immediately felt the Dark Hunter’s mind infiltrate his own, scanning his mind for the information he sought. Still, even as weak as he was, the Toa of Psionics’ mental fortitude was too strong for Zaktan to break and the Skakdi of Air ended up tearing the Mask of Telepathy from his face, throwing it back at Collector.
“I see how it is,” Zaktan snarled. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way to break you. Even if it takes a hundred years… we’ll find a way.”
With that, the green Dark Hunter dissolved into a cloud of protodites and flew through the door Hakann had just opened. Hakann then looked at Orde with a savage grin, before hitting him with a mental blast that knocked the Toa of Psionics back into unconsciousness.
The hours stretched into days. Every other hour, the Dark Hunters would wake up Orde and interrogate him, using every method they had at their disposal. Each time, Orde forced them out of his mind whenever they tried to pierce it, and he was able to withstand Hakann’s mental blasts. At worst, said blasts would simply knock him out, and they would repeat the process all over again.
A normal Toa probably would have been broken by now. But Orde did not see himself as normal by any means.
Still, by the fifth day, he felt that he was at his limit. Without his mask, he was unable to recharge his elemental powers fully, and each time they were depleted by the Dark Hunters’ interrogation sessions, they recharged with less amount than the session before. Pretty soon, he would run out of energy entirely and he would end up either going mad or giving away the information his captors sought.
He still wasn’t sure what exactly they wanted with Barresh. He knew that the Turaga had once been a member of the Toa Valmai, the same team that had saved Mata Nui during the Great Disruption, but beyond that he knew nothing else of note regarding Barresh. It was possible they only wanted his location from Orde, but that didn’t tell him what they wanted the Turaga for.
He thought back to the dozen Matoran the Dark Hunters had captured from Turaga Barresh’s land. Had they simply been using them for trade? Or were they trying to hold them for ransom in order to extort whatever they wanted from Barresh?
On the morning of the fifth day, the door opened and Zaktan stormed in with Collector close behind him. The protodites making up Zaktan’s body swirled as he got up to the cage and grabbed the bars, glowering at the Toa within.
“I’m getting tired of this game, Toa,” the Skakdi growled.
“That makes two of us,” Orde muttered back.
“There’s only two ways this is going to end,” Zaktan went on, brandishing his triple-bladed sword. “Either you give us the information we want, in which case we let you go… or you die. Plain and simple.”
“And here I was hoping for you to be a bit more creative,” Orde replied. “I’m not telling you anything, so I guess that doesn’t leave you with much choice.”
Zaktan sneered. “You’re the one who has a choice to make here, Toa. Life or death.”
“I’ve already made my choice. Have you?”
Zaktan bristled from the Toa’s words before spinning on his heel to face Collector. “Masks. Now.”
With a sigh, Collector started to hand him a Kanohi Suletu when Hakann suddenly burst through the door, causing Avak to jump and curse.
“Zaktan!” the crimson Skakdi cried. “The Toa! They’ve found us!”
“What?!” Cursing to himself, Zaktan threw the mask to the ground before taking a Mask of Summoning from Collector’s belt. “Fine. Let’s deal with them and get this over with.”
He then attached the mask to his face before dispersing into a cloud of protodites, with Hakann running after him. For a moment, Collector simply stood there before starting for the door as well.
“Hey!” Avak snapped. “You’re just going to leave me here?”
“I don’t want Snake ruining my mask,” Collector replied. “I fought hard for that Zatth!”
Ignoring Avak’s continued protests, the four-armed hunter ran through the door, leaving the brown Skakdi alone with the captive Toa. Sighing to himself, Avak got up and walked over to the cage, striking the bars to make a sound wave that worsened Orde’s headache.
“I still don’t think you’re worth the hassle,” the Skakdi of Stone muttered. “I don’t see why we can’t just use one of your friends instead. I’m sure they would break a lot easier….”
As Avak returned to where he had been sitting, Orde closed his eyes and grabbed onto one of the bars, pressing his head against it as he tried to ignore the ringing and the pounding headache. While the Dark Hunters had been bickering, Orde had been able to muster up enough energy to call upon his elemental powers, even despite the pain in his head. Focusing on Avak, he tried to be as discreet as possible as he perused the surface of the Skakdi’s minds, picking up on his present emotions and feelings.
Not to his surprise, the Skakdi was feeling frustration from having been practically abandoned by his teammates. Looking past that, Orde was also able to pick up on a sense of concern. Recalling that Zaktan had said something about Avak being sensitive to loud noises, he tried to search deeper for something regarding that but found nothing from a cursory perusal. It also didn’t add up with the fact that Avak had just created a loud noise himself moments ago by banging the bars of the cage. Unless Zaktan had been lying about that… but for what? To cover up something he didn’t want Orde to know?
At that moment, Avak yawned as he sat back down, and that was when it all came together. Zaktan, Hakann, and Collector had all come and gone over the course of the last five days, yet Avak had stayed in the room throughout all that time. At first Orde figured he was simply standing guard, but then why hadn’t they exchanged shifts? Why hadn’t Hakann taken a turn at watching him, or Collector for that matter?
Orde had heard the stories about the Skakdi; about how they had been experimented on by a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta and given powers that they did not have originally. Each power was unique to that particular Skakdi; Hakann’s was mental blasts, Zaktan’s was laser vision, and Avak’s….
Suddenly, there was a massive quake and Avak cried out in alarm as he was knocked out of his seat. As he fell to the ground, the prison around Orde instantly vanished and he was able to stand to his full height. Immediately, he dove for the Kanohi Suletu that Zaktan had dropped earlier and attached it to his face, his body convulsing as his energy was fully restored. He then turned to Avak, who was getting back onto his feet and raising his Seismic Pickaxe. A burst of mental energy knocked the Skakdi into unconsciousness.
As he started to make a run for the doorway, the walls of the hallway outside suddenly came down. Orde stopped in his tracks and braced himself for a fight. Then, a brown-armored figure poked their head in.
“Orde!” the Toa of Stone exclaimed. “Thank the Great Spirit you’re alive!”
Orde allowed himself to relax as he smiled at his teammate. “It’s good to see you, Ishira. Was that you that caused the quake?”
Ishira smiled sheepishly. “I did tell you that Mask of Earth would come in handy one day. I don’t care how redundant people may say it is; Stone and Earth are still separate elements!”
Orde chuckled as he patted his sister on the back. The two of them then stepped through the rubble and emerged outside of the Dark Hunters’ hideout. Right away, he saw the rest of his team locked in combat with the remaining three Dark Hunters. Sora was making a whirlwind out of Zaktan’s protodites while Nakano drenched Hakann with a stream of water. Meanwhile, Vestara and Kopri were locked in combat with Collector, barraging the four-armed Dark Hunter with fire and ice.
It was clear that the Dark Hunters were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Zaktan seemed to realize this as he managed to get his protodites out of Sora’s whirlwind and reconstituted his body atop the rubble of their hideout.
“You win this day, Toa!” the Skakdi snarled. “Collector, get Hakann so we can get out of here!”
Collector grunted in acknowledgment as he broke away from the two Toa he was fighting and charged towards Nakano. The Toa of Water saw him coming and managed to flip out of the way with the aid of his Mask of Fate. Collector ignored him as he grabbed the drenched Hakann before running back towards where Zaktan was.
“Let them go,” Orde said just as his teammates were able to take pursuit. “So long as the Matoran are safe, then our fight with them is over. The last thing we need is a war with the Dark Hunters.”
“They’re just going to cause us more trouble,” Vestara muttered, resting her Inferno Sword on her shoulder as they watched the Dark Hunters flee.
“Maybe so. But that’s just the life of being a Toa, isn’t it?” As Orde met the eyes of a glaring Zaktan, the Toa of Psionics said, “Come on. Let’s get back to Kora Nui.”
“You know I do not take kindly to failure.”
Zaktan stared defiantly at the Shadowed One, who sat atop his throne. Behind him, Hakann and Avak tensed with fear while Collector fidgeted nervously with his masks.
“I may not have the Turaga,” Zaktan said, “but I have a location: Kora Nui.” He had overheard the Toa mention the name while he and the others were retreating.
The Shadowed One glowered at him, eyes flashing. “If you have a location, then you would have the Turaga as well… and with him, the Nui Stone.”
“You’re going to need more than four Dark Hunters to get your precious rock,” Zaktan snapped back. “The Turaga has at least six Toa at his beck and call, and I have no doubt he can call upon more if we were to make an overt effort to strike the island.”
The Shadowed One continued to glare at him but seemed to consider his words. “Very well,” he finally said. “Perhaps this is indeed an operation that will require more… strategic thinking. Still, I don’t want to delay things too long, lest the Toa catch on to what it is we’re after and make efforts to keep the Nui Stone further out of our reach.”
Zaktan nodded, and waited tensely for the Shadowed One to say anything further. Eventually, the leader of the Dark Hunters relaxed in his throne and motioned to the four Dark Hunters.
“You are dismissed. You will be summoned again once I have formulated a plan.” The Shadowed One’s eyes flashed dangerously. “If,” he emphasized, “I decide you will be a part of it.”
With a stiff nod, Zaktan turned and swiftly departed from the chamber, with Hakann, Avak, and Collector close behind. As soon as they were outside of the Shadowed One’s sight, Hakann stepped closer to Zaktan to whisper into his ear.
“That was too close,” the red Skakdi growled. “One of these days, Zaktan, your defiance is going to get us all killed!”
Zaktan smiled. “You need to know how to play the game, Hakann. It’s a game of balance; for every moment of defiance, there must be at least one of obeisance. So long as you maintain that balance, you will keep your enemies’ trust and you will be able to reach your goal.”
Hakann narrowed his eyes. “And just what is your goal?”
“Now, Hakann, that’s the second most important rule of the game.” Zaktan grinned wickedly at his fellow Skakdi. “Never give away your hand, even to those closest to you.”
“That is quite the story,” Turaga Barresh said over the sounds of the crackling fire. “Still, I am glad you are alive and well, and you were able to rescue the Matoran.”
“Indeed,” Orde said, arms folded over his chest. He stared at the fire and did not meet the Turaga’s gaze right away, debating with himself over whether or not to voice the questions weighing on his mind. Taking a deep breath, he decided to give in to his own pressure. “Would the Dark Hunters have a reason for kidnapping so many Matoran?”
Barresh eyed him carefully, leaning on his staff. “I thought it was to sell them in exchange for illegal weapons.”
“That’s what I thought as well, but I think there was more to it than that.” Orde paused, hesitating to speak the next words. “When I was being interrogated, the Dark Hunters demanded to know where you were. I think they were trying to get to you, and they were going to use the Matoran as ransom.”
A dark cloud fell over Barresh’s blue-green mask. “Is that right?” he said quietly.
“Is there anything you have or know that the Dark Hunters would try to extort out of you?” Orde asked.
Barresh was silent at first, staring at the fire. Then, with a sigh, he said in almost a whisper, “Have you heard of the Nui Stone?”
Orde frowned. “I’ve heard of the legends….”
“It’s not just a legend. It’s real. After my time with the Toa Valmai, I came here to Kora Nui where I met the then-current guardian of the Nui Stone. He told me of what it was capable of and the danger it posed, and I promised to watch over it, as he was not long for this world. To prove that I would not be corrupted by its power, I sacrificed my power and became a Turaga, before ensuring the Nui Stone was kept in a safe place.”
“Do the Dark Hunters know you have the Nui Stone?”
Barresh sighed. “Rumors spread, and I have a bad habit of recounting my experiences as tall tales for the Matoran. It was perhaps inevitable that word would eventually get out.” The Turaga paused before looking up at Orde. “You know, it has been a long time since Kora Nui has had a dedicated Toa team. You and your team would be graciously welcomed as its new protectors.”
Orde smiled sadly. “Thank you, Turaga, but I’m afraid my team won’t be around for much longer. Vestara has recently received an offer from the Brotherhood of Makuta to serve as one of their Toa Hagah. Ishira, Kopri, and Sora want to return to their homelands. And I believe Nakano is considering retiring and perhaps even passing on his Toa Power himself. Maybe the Toa he will create will serve as the Toa Kora. But it won’t be us, I’m afraid.”
“I understand,” Barresh nodded. “You know, I must admit, I have never met a male Toa of Psionics before. Or a female Toa of Fire, for that matter.”
Orde smirked. “You’re not the only one. I remember there being a time where female Ta-Matoran and male Ga-Matoran weren’t exactly as rare or uncommon as they are now. But ever since Metru Nui pushed for its own standardization… well, it wasn’t long before the other Turaga followed suit when it came to creating new Matoran.”
“Hmm. Well, if the duty ever falls to me to bring more Matoran into existence, I will see what I can do about defying standards,” Barresh said with a wink.
Orde smiled back at him before looking up wistfully towards the stars. “Believe me, Turaga,” he murmured. “Defying standards is practically second nature to me.”