Because having just one in-progress story isn't enough for me.
CHAPTER ONE“If I didn’t, would I be risking my life to meet you here?” Makuta Krika retorted sharply.
It had been several years since Krika had last seen Spiriah. After the disastrous results of his tampering with the Skakdi species, Spiriah had gone into hiding after the Brotherhood had declared him a rogue agent. Krika had to admit he was surprised Spiriah had even responded to his call, though it was possible the Makuta of Zakaz considered Krika more forgiving than most Makuta. After all, Krika had been the one who decided to spare Makuta Miserix.
When Teridax seized control of the Brotherhood, Krika had been one of the last to join him. Having reservations about the Plan, Krika had spared Miserix rather than kill him as ordered, in case the former Makuta leader was needed should Teridax’s plan turn out for the worse. For better or for worse, it seemed that Krika had been right in his judgment.
“I must admit,” Spiriah said as he walked up to his fellow Makuta. “I would have thought you’d be back at Destral, invading Metru Nui.”
Krika frowned. He had not been to Destral since the Hand of Artakha had attacked. He had hoped leading Mallake and his followers to Destral would have impeded the Empire’s conquest at least somewhat. Clearly that was not the case if they were already taking back Metru Nui.
Noticing his brother’s hesitation, Spiriah tilted his head. “Unless… you are no longer on speaking terms with the rest of the Brotherhood.”
“You could say that,” Krika murmured. “You do realize where we are, correct?”
“Of course I do. It’s where we brought Miserix. Where you decided to do the stupidest thing a Makuta could do.”
“If you knew of my treachery, why didn’t you do anything about it?”
Spiriah snorted. “And just who would’ve believed me? You outrank me whereas I’ve always been the laughing stock of the Brotherhood. I would’ve only made more of a fool of myself had I told anyone.”
“Perhaps you have a point.” Krika fell silent for a moment, casting his gaze to the active volcanoes of Artidax. Finally, in a low whisper, he said, “You realize why we’re here.”
Spiriah frowned. “Do you actually think it will work?”
“No. But it’s all I can think to do. Teridax must be stopped and Miserix may very well be the only one who can stop him.”
“He won’t be pleased to see us.”
“I know,” was all Krika said as he began making his way towards the central volcano.
* * *
Macku held her breath as she watched the squad of Rahkshi and Vahki Zadakh march past her. Behind them trailed over a dozen Po-Matoran, all held in shackles as they were taken to the prison in the Canyon of Unending Whispers. She scanned the group to see if Hafu was among them but did not spot the carver.Once the entourage had passed, Macku made a dash for the hideout, quickly squeezing herself into the alleyway and crawling through the crack in the wall, just big enough for a Matoran to fit through. As soon as she had gotten through to the other side, she was greeted with an armful of Po-Matoran.
“Thank Mata Nui you made it,” Hewkii said as he tightened the hug.
Macku managed a grin despite her insides being crushed. “Those… Vahki… wouldn’t know what.… Okay, you can let go now.”
Hewkii apologized as he released her. Once Macku had recomposed herself, she looked around at the other Matoran in the former Toa Metru hideout. Nuparu was huddled in a corner, tinkering with some kind of machinery. In another corner, a red Ta-Matoran was moving slowly in one place, though Macku had no idea what he was trying to accomplish. Finally, standing in the center of the room was the Ko-Matoran Matoro, studying some kind of tablet in his hands. He lifted his head to give Macku a nod of acknowledgment before returning his attention to the tablet.
Turning back to Hewkii, Macku said, “Have you heard word from the others? I already know Nokama won’t be able to leave her occupation….”
Hewkii shook his head. “Nothing. Matau was supposed to be here by now, but he obviously hasn’t made it yet. Matoro tells me that the Vahki in his Metru have Nuju in their thrall. Great Spirit knows where Vakama is….”
Macku gestured to the slow-moving Ta-Matoran. “Wouldn’t he know? He’s a Ta-Matoran, isn’t he?”
“His name’s Kapura, and he says he hasn’t seen Vakama since the invasion began.”
Macku slowly nodded as she regarded Kapura carefully. After a moment, she glanced back at Hewkii. “Do you know why he’s…?”
“No,” he muttered. “I’ve been too afraid to ask.”
She let out a sigh. So far, this resistance wasn’t shaping up to be as strong as the one she was a part of back when they first rose against Makuta. It didn’t help that they now had the entire Brotherhood on their shores, with endless hordes of Rahkshi, Vahki, and Visorak at their disposal. It was honestly a miracle that enough of them had escaped capture so far given how swift the takeover had been.
Shifting her attention to Nuparu, she walked over to the Onu-Matoran and took a moment to regard the machine he was working on. It looked like some kind of walker with long arms ending in hooks and a small cockpit for a Matoran to fit inside.
At this point, Macku was well-aware of Nuparu’s history with mobile machines. Between the Kralhi, the Vahki, and the short-lived Kralik, the inventor had not had a good track record for machines that didn’t turn out bad for the Matoran. She could only imagine the amount of pressure he had weighing on his shoulders at this very moment.
As Macku struggled to think of something to say, Nuparu spoke to her without even looking up from his work. “Don’t worry. This one won’t have a mind of its own.”
“Come again?” Macku asked.
“This one can be operated by a Matoran. It won’t be like the Kralhi or the Vahki or the—”
“Nuparu.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Stop beating yourself up over those things. You know that none of us blame you, right? Especially not for the Vahki; that’s all Makuta’s doing.”
“You did, once,” Nuparu replied.
Macku closed her eyes as she exhaled deeply. “That was before I realized how big this situation really was. This is… this is bigger than any of us. And we all need to stick together if we want to have any hope of getting through this.”
“Dang, that’s pretty deep,” said Kapura, appearing right behind Macku.
The Ga-Matoran let out a yell, nearly falling into Nuparu and his work. “Mata Nui! How did you— I didn’t even hear you walk up to me! You were way over there!”
Kapura beamed. “You mean it worked? My stealth technique was successful?”
“If by ‘stealth technique’ you mean ‘scare the living daylights out of me,’ then yeah, it was really successful.” Macku rolled her eyes. “Seriously, don’t ever do that again.”
Kapura was still smiling as he walked back to his corner. Shaking her head, Macku turned back to Nuparu to see him staring at the Ta-Matoran with a curious expression.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“Nothing,” he murmured, rubbing his chin. “Just thought I had an idea….”
“Well, we’re going to need some kind of plan if we want to move forward,” chimed in Hewkii. “I’m having Matoro try and decipher tablets Kodan left behind when he was Chronicler.”
Macku tilted her head at the Ko-Matoran. “Why do you need to decipher them?”
“Kodan always wrote in a special language he made up so that no one could read his work and copy it,” Hewkii explained. “Kodan was strange like that.”
“And Matoro can translate it?”
“I’ve always had an interest in different languages,” said Matoro. “Whenever I visit the Onu-Metru Archives, I like to study how the Rahi communicate with their kin.”
“And what exactly is it that Kodan’s written that could be of use to us?” Macku asked.
“Toa Mangai battle plans.”
Macku blinked, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Kodan followed the Toa Mangai wherever they went,” Matoro went on. “He would observe how they operated as a team and how Toa Lhikan would plan out their missions.”
“And… you really think we would be able to pull them off? We don’t even have elemental or mask powers like Toa do.”
“Obviously we would have to modify them to account for our limitations,” said Hewkii. “Think of it like an Akilini game; different matches call for different strategies.”
Macku frowned. “Except we’re not going up against another team of Matoran. We’re going up against the entire Brotherhood of Makuta.”
“Hey, since when did the Toa Mangai ever go up against another team of Toa?” Hewkii pointed out. “If they could bring down the Kanohi Dragon, then we can take down the Makuta.”
Macku did not feel quite as optimistic as Hewkii was, but she couldn’t bring herself to argue with the Po-Matoran. “I suppose any form of action is better than inaction,” she admitted. “So long as we’re all in this together.”
“Agreed,” said Kapura, appearing right behind her.
Macku didn’t even bother stopping her fist from flying into the Ta-Matoran’s face.
A WORLD OF DARKNESS
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