CHAPTER TWO
My name is Mavrah.
This was becoming a very odd day for Toa Pohatu. It had, of course, started out quite simple: He and his fellow Toa Nuva Kopaka had found the mad tyrant known as Karzahni dead at the bottom of Iron Canyon, with Toa Lesovikk's discarded Air Sword near his corpse. They later found the messy remains of the ancient being Tren Krom, followed by the mental image of the enigmatic Red Star. Not long after, they encountered a mutated Matoran named Gaardus, who, at their behest, took them to the star.
Upon arrival, the two Toa found out that the Red Star was more like a station of some sort, run by a strange group of beings called the Kestora. It soon became clear that Kopaka and Pohatu were not welcomed on the Red Star and managed to evade the Kestora who had greeted them, while Gaardus vanished.
They then reached a hallway where the lights went out and they were surrounded by... things. They were then saved in the nick of time by an Onu-Matoran, who led them into a secret room of sorts. When asked for his name, the Matoran had introduced himself as Mavrah. Which was find and all... if it weren't for the fact that, according to the Turaga's tales of their adventures as the Toa Metru, Mavrah had died over a thousand years ago.
It was now that Pohatu wondered if anything could top the strangeness of today.
As the Onu-Matoran led the two Toa Nuva down a narrow corridor, it was Kopaka who voiced his brother's mind. "Excuse me, but... the Mavrah we sort-of-know is supposed to be dead."
Mavrah glanced back at them. "Trust me, for the longest time, I thought I was supposed to be to. One minute, I was falling towards my certain demise, the next I'm... here."
"So, you don't know why you're not dead?" Pohatu asked.
The Onu-Matoran shook his head. "Do you know why you're not?"
"We never died in the first place," Kopaka replied. "We were transported here by someone called Gaardus."
Mavrah turned around fully to look at them, his emerald eyes wide behind his Kanohi Pakari. "You mean he teleported you here?" he asked. "You mean there's a way out?"
"Well, he brought us in," Kopaka clarified. "I don't know about out. Besides, it doesn't matter; we've since lost sight of him."
"Maybe there's still a way," Mavrah murmured, more to himself than to either of the Toa. He gestured for them to keep following. "Come on."
As the two Toa Nuva did so, Pohatu then asked, "Are there more... not-dead people here?"
"Yes. We've been trying to hide from the Kestora, who think they'll find the solution to fixing this place by dissecting us."
Pohatu exchanged a worried glance with Kopaka. "Er... anyone out here we should... watch out for?" the former asked.
"The ones I just saved you from, for starters," Mavrah said. "They've been tampered with by the Kestora so they can use them to hunt us. Some of them are just merely traumatized by the fact of not being dead that they've fell in with them."
At the end of the hallway, the three of them reached a door. Mavrah lightly rapped his fist on it and a soft, slightly stressed voice responded. "Password?"
"A good Kinloka is a dead one," Mavrah said.
The door slowly opened to reveal an old, red-colored Turaga, a crooked mask planted on his face. His green eyes flickered back and forth, glancing from Mavrah to the Toa Nuva.
"Who have you brought here, Mavrah?" the Turaga asked.
"Two... guests, sir," Mavrah replied. "They did not arrive here by normal means. I think they might know a way out."
The Turaga stared at the Toa Nuva, both with suspicion and intrigue. Finally, he said, "Very well. Come in."
Pohatu and Kopaka followed Mavrah and the Turaga and were instantly appalled by what they saw inside the room."
* * *
"Do you really have to ask?" Tamaru said, instantly dropping the branches he was carrying. "Of course I'll join!"
"Thanks, Tamaru," Kopeke said. "I really-"
"Hey, I can't finish this hut all by myself!" called the Jungle Agori Tamaru was working with.
"Well, then, go find a Bo-Matoran who can help," the Le-Matoran replied. "I'm sure they'd be a lot more helpful than I am."
The Agori simply glared at him and said nothing, setting off to find another co-worker.
"So, when do we start?" Tamaru asked Kopeke.
"Soon," the Chronicler replied. "I'm going to find Taipu next, then we'll all meet near Iconox."
Tamaru nodded. "Got it. See you then."
As Kopeke started to leave Tesara, admiring the newly-made Matoran homes that made him thank of the island of Mata Nui, he suddenly got the feeling that he was being followed. He looked over his shoulder to see nothing. He turned back around and let out a yelp at seeing a fanged black-and-lime mask staring at him with menacing red eyes.
As he fell onto his back, the small being standing before him frowned. "Sorry about that," he said. "I though that would be, I don't know, funny."
Kopeke scowled at him as he got back to his feet. "Well, I'm not laughing. Who are you, anyway?"
"Name's Vican." He offered Kopeke a sharp clawed hand and instantly pulled it away, thinking better of it. "I was... one of the Shadow Matoran serving the Makuta until a Klakk restored my Light."
"Though it obviously didn't restore your original appearance," Kopeke muttered, eying the Matoran's frightening appearance.
Vican chuckled uneasily. "Yeah, I haven't found time to... fix that."
"Right. Well, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way."
"Wait!" Vican said, fluttering his wings and stepping to block Kopeke's path. "I overheard what you said to Tamaru and... well, I want to join your Chronicler's Company."
Kopeke eyed him carefully. "Are you sure? I mean, you must've heard of the dangers there will be-"
"You're talking to an adventurous Le-Matoran who served a mad Makuta scientist and managed to live." Vican grinned. "I doubt anything could top that."
"I suppose you've got a point," Kopeke said, smiling slightly. "Meet me near Iconox in about half an hour."
The Matoran fluttered his wings excitedly. "Great! See you then!"
Once Vican had left, Kopeke continued his way out of Tesara, still having the gut feeling that he was still being followed.
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