CHAPTER FOUR
Night was beginning to fall. Most of the villagers had returned to their huts, their work done for the night. Kazi stood outside his own home, staring out towards the Green Belt and anxiously awaiting Garan and the others' return.
"You're worried about them, aren't you?"
The Ko-Matoran turned to see Dasan walking up to him. The old Matoran of Sonics wore his trademark smile on his gray mask, which was cracked and worn in several places.
Kazi shrugged. "I know I may never show it, but I do care about the others. Garan, Balta, Piruk...." He kicked himself for his next words: "Even Velika. But don't tell him I said that."
Dasan chuckled. "Garan and Dalu are both fine warriors, and Balta is not half-bad himself. I'm sure they'll be fine."
Kazi frowned, his voice falling into a whisper. "And Piruk? What if something's happened to him?"
The De-Matoran's characteristic smile faded and he did not respond.
"The Red Star burns where it never was before," a voice suddenly said. "Is it a star, or is it a signal, beckoning us to the world we are lost from?"
Kazi cringed as a Po-Matoran hobbled up to him and Dasan. "Velika. I thought you had gone to bed."
The enigmatic Matoran of Stone smiled. "He who goes usually intends to return, or remain with those whom he loves in spirit if not presence."
Kazi sighed in exasperation, struggling to comprehend his fellow Matoran's riddles. "And if they don't return? Or if they do and aren't the same person they once were?"
Velika's smile faded as well, suddenly looking pensive. "Then they are lost."
* * *
"Why have you brought us here?" Garan asked Tansari when she and Fortaan brought the Matoran to a halt. They had reached the edge of the Cape of No Hope, with nothing to see but ice and the endless ocean. "There's nothing here."
"To the naked eye, perhaps," Tansari said. "But just because you can not see something does not mean it isn't there. Take my hand."
Reluctantly, Garan did so while Balta and Dalu linked up with him and Fortaan took Tansari's other hand. Instantly, they were surrounded by a blinding light. It lasted for a few seconds before vanishing to reveal bright stone walls. Majestic drapes and banners drooped down them and tall, narrow windows provided a glimpse of clear blue sky.
"What... is this place?" Balta asked.
Before Tansari could answer, a booming voice spoke up from up ahead, though the glare of the sun from a high-placed window obscured the unknown speaker.
"Tansari, Fortaan. I see that you have returned... with four guests. Care to explain."
"Yes, King Mathus," Tansari said as she and Fortaan bowed. "These three Matoran were in search of a fellow villager. I presumed Banteras had something to do with his disappearance."
"And the fourth?"
"You should recognize him, King," Fortaan said, dropping the unconscious Axonn unceremoniously to the ground. "He was one of us."
"Ah, yes. Was." Disdain tinted King Mathus' voice. "At least until he went and joined Helryx's inferior reincarnation of our order."
Dalu cleared her throat to get the strange beings' attention. "So, uh, does anyone mind telling us what this is all about."
"You don't deserve to know," a raspy voice spoke. All eyes turned to a tall being clad in black and yellow armor, walking with a limp due to a mutilated leg. "Unless you don't mind spending the rest of your lives down in the dungeons."
"That's enough, Banteras," King Mathus said sternly. "We are not like Helryx's band of barbarians. We do not take innocent lives simply because of what they know."
Banteras glared in the direction of Mathus' voice. "If we were to tell them what we are and then release them, then our knowledge is no longer sacred."
"Just because they would know of our existence does not mean anyone would find us. Like the great Artakha whom we honor, we would become a myth spread around--"
"Forget it," Banteras growled. "I've heard your spiel a hundred times already."
Mustering his courage, Garan stepped up to the tall being, looking him straight in the eye. "Where's Piruk? Give us back our friend."
Banteras' face betrayed no emotion. "Piruk. Should I know that name?"
"He's a Le-Matoran. This is his mask." Garan held up Piruk's discarded Kanohi mask.
"Oh. Him." Banteras waved a careless hand. "I was forced to... handle him when he saw me working in the forest."
"What were you doing in the forest?" Tansari asked, her voice cold.
"It doesn't concern you," Banteras said sharply.
"But it does concern me," King Mathus boomed. "Tell us, Banteras."
The black and yellow being was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his raspy voice was as soft as grass. "I was searching for Brutaka."
The name hung in the air. Finally, Mathus said quietly, "I know that name. Was he not a lieutenant of the Makuta?"
"Was, yes. From my understanding, he now works for Helryx's organization."
"Why would you wish to seek him out then?" Mathus' voice was suddenly bitter.
"Because he carries one of only two Kanohi Olmak in the universe. With that mask, we could transport our castle to anywhere in the universe, instead of being stranded out here in the middle of nowhere."
The King was silent for a moment, as if he was contemplating this. Finally, he said, "Yes, that would be useful. Fortaan, go help Banteras find this Brutaka and procure this mask."
Fortaan bowed and went to link arms with Banteras. In an instant, they were gone.
"Tansari, go take these Matoran to their friend."
Tansari bowed as well and beckoned the trio to follow her while dragging Axonn's unconscious form behind her. As they entered an adjacent hallway, Balta said quietly to her, "So, who are you guys, exactly?"
"We," she said, "are the Hand of Artakha."
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