CHAPTER FOUR
"I see dead people," Pohatu murmured.
Kopaka was too shocked to reply. Essentially, his fellow Toa Nuva was right; they were standing in a room that was filled with, for lack of a better term, dead people- or at least people thought to be dead. He could recognize only few- among them being the Order of Mata Nui member Botar- while others were only vaguely familiar, such as a black and silver being. There were plenty of Matoran, Toa, Turaga, and even the spare Vortixx, but none of them struck him as familiar.
His musings were interrupted when the red-armored Turaga who had greeted them spoke. "Indeed, we are dead... or, at least, should be."
"But you aren't," Pohatu said. "And you don't know why either?"
"That's an understatement," muttered the black and silver being.
"So," the Turaga said, "Mavrah here says you might know how to get us out of this place."
"Yeah, 'might' being the operative word," Pohatu said. "We were teleported here by someone called Gaardus. Of course, he's disappeared."
"But wait," Kopaka said. "Botar can teleport, can't he?"
All eyes turned to the large, monstrous being himself. He returned their gaze and tilted his head.
"I... am not certain."
"None of us have been certain about anything since we've arrived here," the Turaga said. "We aren't sure if our powers can work in this place, or if those... beings out there have made it so that we can not."
"It's worth trying, don't you think?" Mavrah asked. "We may never find a different opportunity."
"While you may have a point," said a Toa of Water, "there are too many risks. What if Botar's powers don't work and it ends up killing us all?"
"I wouldn't mind that if it spared us of our misery," the black and silver one said.
Before Mavrah or anyone else could protest, a scraping sound at the door cut any such reply short. Silence befell those in the room.
Activating his Kanohi Akaku Nuva, Kopaka's enhanced vision pierced through the wall to see what was threatening them outside. The sight sickened him.
"We've got company," he muttered.
"Wonderful," Pohatu said dryly. "What do we do?"
"Nothing," the Turaga murmured. "What ever fate they have in store for us, let them bring it upon us."
"Knock it off with the misery!" Pohatu snapped. "Now's your chance to try your powers!"
"And if they end up failing us?" the Toa of Water asked.
The Toa of Stone sighed. "Then... so be it, I guess."
The Turaga seemed to consider this, his eyes flickering from the ground to the two Toa Nuva. Finally, with a sigh, he said, "So be it. Hydraxon, open the door. Naho, prepare to flood them when they enter."
"And then?" Botar asked.
"We make our getaway." To the Toa Nuva, he said, "Do you two happen to have the means to, let's say, blast a hole in the wall?"
Pohatu grinned as he brought out his Midak Skyblaster. "As it happens... yes."
* * *
Night had fallen upon the beaches of Aqua Magna. The moonlight reflected upon the Great Sea, creating a beautiful image that words could not describe. But it wasn't imagery such as this that prompted Toa Norik to bring his comrades to a halt.
"I see something in the distance," he murmured to the other Toa Hagah. He pointed to a cliff on the shoreline. "It looks like a fortress or something."
"Want me to quick-travel there and see what's going on?" Toa Iruini asked.
"Fine, but don't take any action. We told Toa Kopaka that we would scout out the situation and then report to him."
Nodding, the Toa of Air triggered his Mask Power and, in an instant, he had teleported to the edge of the cliff's slope, silently observing whatever activity was taking place there.
While the other Toa Hagah waited for him to return, Norik began to wonder if this was where the Toa Mahri and the gold-skinned being they were following had gone to. The fortress matched the one Kopaka had said he saw the golden one create.
Suddenly, Toa Gaaki, who was standing beside him, began to stagger. He caught her as she fell, seeing that her Mask of Clairvoyance was glowing.
Her voice coming out as a croak, the Toa of Water said, "They... do not want us here. The Great Beings... shall bring... death. Chaos... shall reign supreme." She then stared directly at Norik, her eyes wide with terror. "The end... of everything."
With that, she slipped out of consciousness. At the same time, Iruini returned before the other Toa's eyes.
"All right, bad news first," the Toa of Air said, his voice fraught with anxiety. "There's a large group- maybe even an army- of Skakdi. I didn't see any sign of "Goldie", but I did see some of the Toa Mahri working with them."
"And the good news?" Norik asked.
Iruini frowned. "I never said there was good news. Instead, there's worse." He pointed a thumb back at the fortress. "One of the Skakdi spotted me. I think we're going to have company."
Norik sighed. Never send a Toa of Air on a scout mission.
Out loud, he said, "All right. Kualus, stay here with Gaaki until she recovers. Pouks, Bomonga, and Iruini, you're with me." The Toa of Fire then brought out his Lava Spear and Rhotuka Launcher shield. "Let us go and greet our company."
No comments:
Post a Comment