Bionicle Legacy: Volume I, Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

"The Odaku?" Zuken said in confusion. "I've never heard of them."

"I have," Axonn muttered, staring hard at Turaga Virun. "How do you know of them?"

Virun gave a dry chuckle. "I take it that you've never heard of the Toa Dragar. Many years ago, shortly after the League of Six Kingdoms fell, the Toa Dragar were the protectors of the Northern Continent. Peace did not last there as long as we had hoped, however. Without warning, the Odaku attacked and nearly decimated the region. If it weren't for Toa Siddari's efforts, who knows what could have happened.

"After Siddari became a Turaga, the Toa Dragar broke up. I have no idea where the others went off to, or if they're even still alive. But as for myself, I eventually settled on the Southern Continent, after using the last of my Toa Power to create three new Toa."

"But you made them shortly before Makuta Teridax's reign," Axonn noted. "Whereas the Odaku were defeated thousands of years before that. What did you do during that time?"

Virun looked up at him with a dark, cold gaze. "For the most part, I wandered through the Northern Continent as a hermit of sorts, until..."

The Turaga of Air gave a small shudder. "Until I broke the Toa Code."

"You broke the Toa Code?" Zuken repeated in surprise. "How?"

"The ending of it should be predictable," Virun grunted. "There was a rogue group of Skakdi terrorizing a village of Matoran. I tried to settle the conflict peacefully, but when one of those slimy barbarians killed a Matoran, I...returned the favor."

He looked up at the Le-Matoran and Axonn. "There you have it," the Turaga said bitterly. "My life's story. If that will be all, you may leave."

Axonn looked down sadly at him. "Everyone makes mistakes, Turaga. Yours happened thousands of years ago. It's time to let go of the past and make sure the people of the next generation don't repeat your mistake."

Virun simply glared at him. "Tell that to the Matoran who shunned me."

Axonn sighed in defeat and strode out of the hut. Zuken lingered for a brief moment to give Virun a meaningful look before leaving as well, leaving the Turaga alone in his cold, dark room.

*  *  *

Jaller awoke to find himself lying across a stone slab withing a dark chamber. He attempted to get up, but quickly realized that his arms and legs were restrained to the slab by chains. He tried to project enough heat from his arms to burn the chains, but came to no avail.

A quiet voice chuckled, sounding across the chamber. "Don't bother," it murmured. "I would be a very bad captor if I put you in restraints that weren't heat-resistant."

Jaller strained his head to look up, searching for the source of the voice. He activated his Mask of Sonar and detected the presence o a being looming over him in the shadows.

"Who are you?" Jaller demanded. "What have you done with my friends?"

The stranger laughed. "I have done nothing with them. They are still in Bota Magna, wondering where you've ran off to."

A large figure stepped forward. "As for who I am...you may call me Valdek."

Jaller narrowed his eyes angrily at the being. "Valdek...you're the one who captured the Av-Matoran, aren't you?"

The figure let out another chuckle. "Yes, I have captured...a few. Now how did you figure that out?"

"Someone...told me."

"Yes, I would imagine word would eventually get out." A towering silhouette circled around the Toa of Fire. "I have good reasons for capturing them...and you."

"And those would be...?"

"I am rebuilding the Brotherhood of Makuta," Valdek explained. "Rebuilding it into something better, stronger! I have gathered the remnants of the Makuta's army, as well as the remaining Barraki warlords. With the Av-Matoran in my hands, I can change them into Shadow Matoran, and eventually Toa of Shadow."

"So where do I come in?" Jaller asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Valdek replied. "You're going to serve as a test for our Toa of Shadows!"

*  *  *

"Any sign of him?" Nuparu asked Johmak as the many crystalline that comprised her form took shape.

"None," Johmak answered. "He couldn't have gone far, so he was either teleported away or..."   

She did not finish her sentence, but the others felt the meaning of her unsaid words.

"We have to find him," Hewkii finally said. "Whatever happened to him must have been what to happened to the Matoran, which means Valdek must be behind this!"

"If he is at all," Trinuma noted. "It could just be a ploy set up by Vezon and his Great Being friend."

"But why would they frame Valdek?" Kiina asked. "From the sounds of it, it seems that you're the one of the few who actually knows this person."

"Perhaps," Trinuma muttered. The nine-foot-tall being looked out towards the darkness of the jungle and sighed. "Very well," he said. "Let's go find Valdek, and hopefully Jaller and the Matoran as well."

As the team of six moved out, none of them noticed a large, scorpion-like creature watching over them. If any of them did when it struck, it was too late.

*  *  *

"Are they gone?"

"Yes," Turaga Virun answered. "They have left."

A silhouette shifted in the shadows. "Karzahni is dead. I have not killed Tren Krom yet, but he is next on the list. Helryx is of no danger...yet, which leaves only Artakha."

"I know where he is," Virun said. "He is in the desert region, most likely near where the Mask of Life is being held. The Order of Mata Nui has placed as many protections as they can on the mask. Artakha is one of them."

"Interesting," the Turaga's companion murmured. "You have certainly proven your use, Virun. If all goes well, you may be granted a place among gods."

Virun smiled. "I would humble and eternally grateful, master."

The door opened, but the light strangely did not illuminate the silhouette. "I shall return," the being said. "And when I do, we'll be one step close to restoring the golden age of the Great Beings."