BIONICLE ALTERNATIVES: EMPIRE OF MAKUTA
Volume III: The Hand of Artakha
PROLOGUE
These days, venturing out to sea was not the wisest thing to do. The Brotherhood of Makuta were conquering lands one by one, Dark Hunters were plundering ships that came anywhere near their waters, and storms were becoming more common with the fall of Mata Nui.
None of these things concerned the solitary Toa that wandered the Silver Sea. He had braved several terrors in his life; few things could be worse than most of them. As such, he was aware of the risk he was taking by striding into the land of Xia without a passport.
He had not made it far into the main industrial sector before three native Vortixx accosted him. Two of them-- both male-- grabbed him by the shoulders while the sole female of the group came forward to address him.
"You are bold, even for a Toa," she hissed. "You may think you're high and mighty just because you're the defenders of Mata Nui's precious Matoran, but even the Great Spirit himself would need a passport to enter here."
The Toa stared back at her, not the least bit intimidated. "I apologize for being an intrusion. Will you accept my business as compensation for lack of passport?"
The Vortixx sneered at him. "What business would a Toa have here in Xia?"
"I'm not what you'd consider an average Toa," he said darkly. "In fact, I've long since abandoned the title."
The Vortixx regarded him carefully before saying, "Is that right? What is it you wish to procure then?"
"Weapons. The most efficient you've got."
The black-armored titan smirked. "Efficiency is a requirement for all Xian inventions. Come; I shall show you our inventory."
He was led by the three Vortixx to a workshop owned by the female. Inside, he found a wide array of weapons and tools resting on the shelves, ranging from blades to blasters.
"The Hagah Plasma Cannon can certainly pack a punch, even if it is a bit unwieldy," the Vortixx said, gesturing to a large yellow and purple turret. She reached into a metal crate and brought out a gangly bladed arm attachment. "The Energy Siphon Blade; now this is a tool that can be incredibly useful when fighting other Toa. Then there's the Vortixx Rhotuka Battle Axe and... ah."
From one of the shelves, she brought down a six-barreled gatling gun, loaded with six red mini-rockets.
"The Cordak Blaster. Fires explosives rockets. And when I say explosive, I mean extremely."
"Cordak, you say?" A dark expression crossed the Toa's lime green mask. "How many widgets?"
The Vortixx scoffed. "Those pathetic things are worthless here. I am open to a trade, though. Have you anything valuable on your person?"
"Only my Kanohi mask and my sword, neither which I'm willing to part with."
She shrugged. "Too bad. I guess you will be leaving empty-handed then."
"I beg to differ."
Moving quickly, the Toa released a gust of wind from his palm, knocking the Vortixx off-balance and causing her to drop the Cordak Blaster. He quickly dived for the weapon and swung it at the other Vortixx, knocking them out cold. He then bolted out of the workshop, already hearing alarms ringing and orders being shouted out. He did not worry about either.
His name was Lesovikk. And revenge was all he sought.
CHAPTER ONE
--The Northern Continent--
--The Northern Continent--
"Thank you for coming here on such short notice, my liege."
"This had better be worth my time, Sidorak," growled Makuta Nathuz as he stepped off of the Brotherhood ship. Clad in silver and red armor, the Makuta of Stelt was considerably taller than Sidorak, but most of that height was lost in Nathuz's hunched-over position. Scarlet eyes gleamed behind his silver mask, striking fear in the hearts of many. Having been long in the Makuta's service, Sidorak was not among the many.
"I assure you that it will, my liege," the Steltan said as the two began to walk side by side. "My forces have found something that may interest you."
"Where at, and how did it escape destruction?"
"It was found in a De-Matoran village. Roodaka was present for the invasion and, needless to say, it caught her eye."
"Show it to me."
Sidorak led Nathuz to the Brotherhood campsite, where the Visorak Horde and other servants of the Makuta were preparing for their next raid. Entering the main tent, the two of them found the Vortixx Viceroy Roodaka standing at a table. Place on top of it was the item they had discovered: a stone fragment with the details of a map sculpted in.
Nathuz tilted his head, eying the tablet skeptically. "Is that a map of... oh, Great Beings, it cannot be."
Roodaka was smirking. "The writing below it says it all. This is a map to Artakha, the Great Refuge."
The Makuta of Stelt shook his head, not ready to believe this. "It's impossible. Every last map was destroyed after Makuta Kojol's raid. How could this have survived the purge?"
"We captured the Matoran who was keeping it hidden," Sidorak said, a plotting smile crossing his face. "We were hoping you would be able to get answers out of him."
Malice glinted in Nathuz's eyes. "Take me to him-- now."
* * *
Krakua sat alone in darkness, humming a soft little tune to himself. It was what he did to keep himself calm, lest he break down into a nervous wreck. All he could think of was what had led him to this predicament.
A week ago, the leader of De-Koro had begun acting nervously, murmuring to himself while pacing back and forth. Concerned of his well-being, the other villagers had approached him to discern the matter. That was when he snapped.
Bolting out of his hut, the Matoran of Sonics had dashed through the village, going door to door before finally reaching Krakua's residence. Without a word, the De-Matoran leader thrust a stone tablet into Krakua's arms before fleeing the village. A day later, the Visorak Horde attacked.
Krakua had stood by while his friends fell to the horde's wrath, helpless to do anything. Had it not been for the tablet which he held, he would have joined them. For that he reason, he despised the object; he would rather have died with his brothers than be forced to live with that haunting memory.
"You are afraid," a voice suddenly spoke from the darkness, starling Krakua. "And you are angry. That is good. Such emotions are fundamental in life."
Krakua shot to his feet, searching for the source of the voice. "Who's there?"
"You are in no position to be asking questions of me, Matoran," the voice snapped. "If you wish to see the light of day again, you will answer my queries. Are we clear on that?"
The De-Matoran crossed his arms as he reluctantly sat back down. "Yes," he grudgingly replied.
"Excellent." A dark shape moved in the shadows. Krakua could not make out much details, other than that the being was very tall, more so than a Toa.
"The tablet that was found in your possession; do you know of its origins?"
"No," Krakua quietly replied. "It was given to me by the leader of our village, Darrus."
"Do you know how long he had it?"
"No. I didn't even know of its existence until he gave it to me."
The figure shifted again the shadows. This time, Krakua could see a pair of red eyes glaring at him.
"Did you ever get the chance to examine the tablet before... the horde arrived?"
"Yes," Krakua murmured. "It looked like a map, but I couldn't tell of what. The writing on it was too archaic for me."
"Is that right?" the being hissed. "Anything else you care to share about it?"
The De-Matoran shook his head. "That's all I know."
"Then you have outlived your usefulness to me." The being finally came into view, revealing a frightening form of silver and red. "I promised you the light of day. Perhaps I should have said oblivion instead."
A crimson vortex opened up in the Makuta's chest, birthing a mighty hand of shadow. Knowing that there was no escape, Krakua closed his eyes and braced himself for the end.
"Airships inbound!"
At the sound of the cry, Krakua's would-be murderer ceased his attack and looked up towards the ceiling. Before either of them knew it, it was quickly torn apart by rockets.
* * *
As he loaded up his Nynrah Ghost Blasters-- modified to launch projectiles instead of simply controlling machines-- Trinuma looked over the balcony of the Muaka's Fang to the land below. Dozens of Visorak were gathered at the Brotherhood campsite, scattering about in alarm upon the airship's clamorous arrival. The commanders of the horde-- Sidorak and Roodaka-- could be seen giving out orders.
After affixing his blaster to his arm, Trinuma glanced at his combat partner Tobduk. The Korvis assassin-- a good foot taller than Trinuma-- was firmly grasping his staff, white-hot energy burning at its tip and in his eyes.
Many in the Order were aware of Tobduk's story; years ago, his homeland was invaded by Visorak and his village destroyed. After fleeing to Stelt, Tobduk was recruited by the Order of Mata Nui as an assassin. Since then, he had sworn vengeance on the Visorak and their Makuta creators.
Trinuma had no doubt his fellow agent was looking forward to the upcoming slaughter.
Turning towards the cockpit of the airship, the Tirivon saw nothing but a steering wheel turning by itself. He knew that this was not necessarily the case, but it was an amusing sight to behold nonetheless.
"Jerbraz," he called to the invisible warrior. "We're ready to be dropped off."
"Are you?" a haughty voice replied. "And what if I'm not ready to drop off?"
Trinuma smirked. "Then my mask and I may need to do some persuading."
"We don't have time for this," Tobduk growled. "Just drop us down already."
"As you wish." Jerbraz suddenly brought the airship into a nose dive, swooping in low enough for its two passengers to jump off.
Rhotuka spinners were instantly launching off from the Visorak's backs, shooting past the Order agents' heads. As Trinuma fired his Nynrah Ghost Blaster at the spider-like Rahi, Tobduk lunged at a red Vohtarak specimen and impaled the tip of his staff into the Visorak's carapace. A green Keelerak then leaped at him but a dagger thrust into its under-section permanently impeded its assault.
While Tobduk continued to unleash his anger on the arachnids, Trinuma turned his attention towards a red-armored Steltan, directing his horde from afar. Knowing this being to be the so-called "King" Sidorak, Trinuma took aim with his blaster and fired.
The projectile never reached its target, for out of nowhere came twin beams of energy, turning the missile to ash. Trinuma spun to see a tall, fearsome being approaching him, eyes burning with hatred.
"I am terribly sorry," Makuta Nathuz growled, "but I may have to kill you for this intrusion."
Before Trinuma knew it, a Shadow Hand was shooting out from the Makuta's chest and heading straight for him....
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