CHAPTER SIX
--Destral--
Pistons creaked as Makuta Antroz flexed his arm. Although he would never complain otherwise, he was silently grateful that it had not seen much wear while under Teridax's control. Still, he was simply glad to be out of that accursed vat; he would be sure to "thank" Icarax for that contraption as soon as he got the chance.
He casually glanced over his shoulder at the Makuta Fortress, where Teridax was being supplied with his new body by the Nynrah Ghosts. Antroz had not been able to catch a glimpse of said body when he had been released from the vat, although it had obviously impressed Teridax enough to use as his own.
As Antroz continued to saunter away from the fortress, he spotted his fellow Makuta Vamprah up ahead, a grim look on his mask as he stared off towards the island's shore. Antroz followed his brother's gaze and was greeted by the sight of two other Makuta wrestling with a female titan with horns.
"A Saevta?" Antroz growled, baring his claws. "Another agent of our enemies?"
Vamprah shook his head, sending a telepathic message to his brother, which prompted Antroz to frown.
"One of our's? I'm sure I would've known if we had a Saevta in our ranks?"
"Makuta Sakron!" the Saevta roared, being brought to her knees by one of her assailant's poison-laced spear. "I have returned to you! Please, call of your brethren!"
Sakron? Antroz wondered what business this titan had with his fellow Makuta. Striding over to them, he said to his brothers, "Let her go. I want to hear what she has to say."
The spear-wielder sneered at him. "This creature is beneath us, Antroz. We should not stoop so low as to interact with it."
Antroz glared at him. "Don't you have better things to do, Nimtra? Has overseeing both chains of the Southern Islands since Bitil's death been too much for you to handle?"
Nimtra scoffed. "As if there's anything of worth to look over."
Ignoring him, Antroz turned his attention to the Saevta. "You speak the name of Sakron," the Makuta of Xia said to the titan. "Why?"
"He is the Makuta of my homeland," the Saevta replied. "Not long ago, he came to my land in search of recruits. As a member of the Order of Mata Nui, I would've killed him, except...."
Antroz leaned forward, red eyes glowing. "Go on."
"Except I realized that the Order had no chance against your growing empire. As such, I pledged my loyalty to Sakron and have since been serving as his spy within the Order of Mata Nui."
"His spy?" Antroz tilted his head. "Have you not interacted with any other Makuta?"
"I have not. I did not think it necessary, as I'm sure Sakron would have relayed everything I told him to you."
"And when was all this?"
"About a month after the Cataclysm."
"Oh, dear." Antroz tapped his chin. "Your job must have been short-lived, then."
The Saevta frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Because it was around that time my sister Makuta Gorast killed Sakron for not executing the Saevta warlords as ordered."
The Saevta's eyes widened. "What?! You mean all this time I've been sending my reports to a dead man?"
"They must've been tossed away, as we don't accept mail from our prospects." A smirk formed on Antroz's mask. "But don't worry. You're free to tell all that you've told him."
"Well...." The Saevta dipped her head, glancing at all of the Makuta before her. "Most of my reports concerned an island in the eastern chain of the Southern Islands, on the very edge of the universe. It's one the Order's been very protective of."
"Oh, really?" Antroz said, giving Nimtra a sidelong glance. "I've been told there's nothing of interest there. Are you accusing my brother of lying? What a shock."
Shaking with anger, Nimtra opened his mouth to retort until a shadow fell over all of them. Seeing the Saevta's eyes grow wide with fear, Antroz turned around... and gasped at the sight that greeted him.
"Please, continue," said Makuta Teridax, looming over them in his massive new body. "I would love to hear what you have to say."
--Unknown island--
"So... how well do you know this Trisuma lady?"
Toa Zaria glanced at Chiara, who sat beside him on the mysterious island's beach. Night had quickly fallen, and Lesovikk had suggested they wait until dawn before exploring. They were all supposed to be taking turns as guards, but really, all of them were on their guard after all that had just transpired.
Returning his gaze to the sea, Zaria sighed. "You want to know why Arctur and I aren't her teammates anymore, don't you."
"That, too," Chiara said, staring at him intently. "Come on then. Out with it."
Zaria was silent for a moment before speaking. "Have you ever been to Xia, Chiara? Or at the very least met a Vortixx?"
"Can't say I've been there, but I did know a Vortixx once," Chiara replied. "She was a real snooty spawn of a Brakas."
"Yeah, well, imagine living with a whole bunch of them your whole life. I was one of the few Matoran permitted to live there because I was good at making stuff they could use. If I had the funds, I would have gladly returned to the Northern Continent. Unfortunately, the Nynrah Ghosts who also lived there didn't like competition, so they made sure I gave a large percentage of my earnings to them.
"At some point, I was given a Toa Stone by a wandering warrior -- I never caught his name -- and I got turned into a Toa. Now, normally, Vortixx hate Toa in their land, but they decided to keep me around because I still had my crafting skills. Plus, I could help ward off any pirates or thieves that came by.
"Not long after that was when I met Arctur and Trisuma. They were part of a team of novice Toa who were marooned by their power-mad leader. It took some convincing, but the Vortixx agreed to let them join me as their defenders. And thus, we became the Toa Xia."
"And Trisuma was your leader?" Chiara asked.
"She was the best fit. Arctur was too irresponsible, Nira too hot-headed, and Pyreus was already dead, so... yeah."
"Was she a good leader?"
Zaria was silent as he stared off into the distance. Feeling Chiara's intent gaze, he shrugged. "I guess."
"You guess?" Chiara snorted. "Come on, don't leave me hanging. It's a simple yes-or-no question."
"Well, it depends on what you consider a good leader." Zaria's tone suddenly turned bitter, which startled the other Toa. "For example: Does a good leader sic the Brotherhood of Makuta on you?"
Chiara blinked, her mouth falling open slightly. "You mean...?"
"It had always been Pyreus' dream to become a Toa Hagah for the Brotherhood. Trisuma shared this vision and would always try to paint as perfect an image as possible for us. She even kicked out Arctur for that reason. So when the order came down for all Toa of Iron and Magnetism to be executed...."
"She sent them after you."
Zaria nodded. "I had been on leave on the Northern Continent, catching up with some old friends, when the Makuta assigned to that particular region came knocking on the door. He murdered my friends before going after me, and I... I snapped. I had no other option. My mask was useless against him and there was no other way to turn...."
He fell quiet again, allowing silence to take reign once more. Chiara was about to speak again when she heard the sounds of a weapon clicking.
The two of them immediately jumped to their feet, just as the others awoke, and drew their tools. They quickly took pause, however, when they were greeted with the sight of six Matoran standing before them, armed with rotary guns and uniform masks that bore intimidating expressions.
"We're going to give you thirty seconds to explain who you are and why you're here," said the lead Matoran. "Better make them count, because they very well may be the last thirty seconds of your life."
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