CHAPTER TWELVE
Hiding in the shadows, Krika watched from afar as his fellow Makuta attacked Miserix. The former leader of the Brotherhood had already succeeded in killing a few of them, such as Odirahk and Nimtra, while the others pressed on, heaping attack after attack as they cycled through their forty-two Kraata powers. Despite all of this, Miserix was showing no sign of stopping… and there was still no sign of Teridax.
This concerned Krika, yet at the same time it didn’t surprise him. Did Teridax truly not care for his brothers and sisters enough to save them from Miserix’s wrath? Was he simply biding his time until they had weakened Miserix enough so he could finish his predecessor off?
He knew the others were too blindly loyal to see Teridax’s selfishness for what it was. The plan was never truly about the Brotherhood of Makuta ruling the universe; just Teridax. Because at the end of the day, he was the Makuta. Why else would the Matoran constantly refer to him by that name rather than his true one? To them, he was the personification of all their fears, all of their nightmares. Few other Makuta, if any, achieved the level of fear and respect that Teridax had; not just with the people of Metru Nui, but the rest of the universe as well.
Krika could only hope that that would soon change. Out of everyone in the universe, Miserix was the only one who could match Teridax in terms of power and strength.
Returning his attention to the battle above, Krika noticed that there was no sign of Antroz and that Icarax had taken his place, wearing the Mask of Shadows. Before Krika could speculate as to where Antroz had gone to, a powerful cyclone tore through the city block and threw him out of his hiding spot. As he landed mask-first onto the ground, a black and crimson figure landed next to him, long claws extending from their arms.
“Traitor,” Makuta Antroz growled, eyes blazing behind his mask.
Krika glared at him as he got back to his feet, drawing a pair of long blades. “Antroz,” he said carefully, “I need you to listen to me.”
“And I need you to die.” A shadow hand burst from Antroz’s chest, which Krika barely avoided in time. It grabbed a piece of rubble and receded back into Antroz’s chest, forcing the Makuta to destroy the debris before it could be absorbed.
“Teridax is using us,” Krika went on, dashing to the side to avoid a bolt of lightning. “Does it not concern you that he has not yet emerged to take on Miserix himself?”
“He has his reasons,” Antroz retorted, using his disintegration powers to destroy the ground beneath Krika’s feet. “In the several millennia that he’s led us, never once has he failed us or given us improper direction, unlike with Miserix.”
“You are blinded by loyalty.” Krika activated his Mask of Repulsion to lift himself up in the air, causing nature itself to bounce off of him. “The only reason he’s kept you and the others around is because he knows you would jump off a cliff if it meant fulfilling ‘the plan.’ If you showed the slightest shred of hesitation, he would obliterate you without a second thought.”
Antroz scowled as he created an orb of plasma in his hands, but did not throw it just yet. “Is that why you spared Miserix? So that he could one day return and remove Teridax from power?”
“I knew he would be the only one with the power to stop Teridax,” Krika replied. “The combined strength of every Toa in the world would only succeed in subduing him for a time, but not destroy him. After the Brotherhood took over Metru Nui, I knew it was a matter of now or never.”
Antroz narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Why do you have so little faith in the plan?”
“Because all it is is a vehicle for Teridax to stroke his own ego. He doesn’t care about protecting the Matoran or bringing peace to the universe. It was never about that; he just wants to rule. He just wants to be the ultimate power of the universe. Even if he decides to spare us once the plan had come to fruition, we will just be pawns to be used in his little game, from now until the end of time.”
Antroz did not move, and Krika started to wonder if his words had had their desired effect on his brother. Behind the red Makuta, he spotted Spiriah approaching silently from behind, his three-pointed claw bared. Krika met Spiriah’s gaze and silently warned him to not make a move. The former Makuta of Zakaz simply gave him a sinister grin before lunging at Antroz.
Spinning around on his heel, Antroz slashed his claw across Spiriah’s chest, piercing through the protosteel armor. The exiled Makuta gasped as he staggered back, his Antidermis energies leaking out. Spiriah then looked up at his brother, eyes wide with fear, as Antroz fired a beam of heat vision from his eyes and obliterated the gaseous cloud. The Makuta of Zakaz’s armor crumpled to the ground, devoid of any life.
Antroz turned back around to face Krika, only to see that the white and black Makuta was flying in the direction of the Coliseum. With a raged roar, Antroz spread his wings and took after him.
The Coliseum
In less than a second, the seven Toa Tenebrae had been teleported into the Coliseum’s main chamber by Taurrus. Sitting at the end of the chamber upon his throne was the Makuta of Metru Nui himself, clad in black and gold armor with a monstrous mask that did not resemble the Kanohi Kraahkan he was infamous for. Upon the Toa’s arrival, Makuta Teridax stirred in his seat but did not rise.
“Toa,” he said, his voice rumbling against the walls. “What a pleasant surprise.”
At once, the Toa Tenebrae drew their weapons. Looking over to Taurrus, Lesovikk gave him a nod and the Saevta vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving the seven Toa alone with the Makuta.
“No easy way out, eh?” Teridax mused, a smirk forming on his obsidian mask. “At least you’re giving yourselves a challenge, if not setting yourselves up for failure.”
“Enough words, Makuta,” Lesovikk snarled. “This ends, here and now.”
“Does it?” Teridax chuckled, roaming his gaze across the septet of heroes one by one. “Let’s see what we have here… a Toa of Iron and Gravity; yes, I see how they can be useful. Lightning and Plasma, also impressive. Psionics, maybe not so much. And lastly, Air. The leader of the group. A leader with so much baggage weighing on his shoulders.”
Lesovikk tightened his grip around his Air Sword. “We’ve already defeated Karzahni,” he muttered. “Defeating you will be no challenge.”
“Karzahni?” Teridax laughed, which caused the room to shake. “Karzahni is nothing compared to the power I wield now. Power that you to do not understand.”
“Your powers are the same as any other Makuta,” retorted Zaria. “They don’t make you stand out from the rest of the Makuta outside.”
“No.” A wicked grin spread across Teridax’s face. “But this does.”
With that, the Makuta’s mask began to glow… and the whole world was set ablaze.
Fire sprang from the floor of the Coliseum, becoming hot to the touch. As the Toa jumped back, a strong gust of wind filled the room and blasted them into the wall. Pillars of stone erupted in front of them, creating a barricade between them and Teridax. As the fires continued to rage, the temperature quickly began to drop to freezing levels and the Coliseum swayed with the rumbling of the earth.
“Every element in existence is contained within this mask,” laughed Teridax. “Anything you throw at me, I can return in equal if not greater force.”
Seldaan dropped to the floor and used his Plasma powers to melt the pillars of stone blocking his path. His natural resistance to heat made it easier for him to withstand the flames and he proceeded to charge towards Teridax with his Heat Swords drawn. He lunged at the Makuta only to be thrown up into the ceiling by the force of gravity.
Pressed up against the wall, Chiara drew her Lightning Spear and pointed it at Makuta. A bolt of electricity zapped from its tip and headed straight for Teridax, only to bounce off his armor. Teridax chuckled before raising a hand and using his own electricity powers to shock her and the other Toa.
“We can do this all day long,” the Makuta said. “But in the end, it is impossible for you to stop me. I have become unstoppable.”
“So we can’t use our elemental powers against him,” muttered Orde. “What about our mask powers? Can we use those?”
“Don’t look at me,” grunted Lesovikk. “Unless any Rahi show up, my Faxon would be useless.”
“Not much use for stealth at this point,” remarked Chiara.
“I could use my Calix,” said Varian. “But to do what, I’m out of ideas.”
“My mask would go haywire in trying to adapt to any of this,” commented Zaria. “And I don’t think Seldaan can run from the position he’s in.”
All eyes fell to Arctur. The Toa of Gravity glanced back at his comrades, green eyes nervous behind his black mask.
“Yeah, I won’t be of any help,” he said, a bit too hastily.
“Arctur, what even is your mask power?” Zaria asked. “When we were on the Toa Xia, you had a Mask of Shielding. But ever since we disbanded, you’ve taken to wearing that strange mask. It’s not a design I’ve ever seen before.”
“Neither have I,” Arctur said quietly. “That’s why I don’t know what it is. I… I’ve been too afraid to use it.”
“A Toa afraid of his own mask!” Makuta’s laughter echoed throughout the chamber. “How pathetic.”
Chiara shot a look at Arctur. “Well, now is the time to find out what it does. Even if it turns out to be a reshaped Mask of Water Breathing, at least we’ll die knowing we had exhausted all of our options.”
Arctur looked from her to the others. He regarded them each one by one before sighing heavily. “All right,” he said. “Here goes nothing.”
The flames that had been surrounding the Toa had since relented somewhat, allowing Arctur to step towards Teridax. The Makuta of Metru Nui gazed down at him with a sadistic smirk upon his still-glowing mask.
“Go on then, Toa. Let us discover your power together.”
Arctur took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. A glowing aura began to surround the black mask upon his face. In an instant, the flames receded back into the floor as the stone barricades crumpled into dust. The earth ceased shaking as the room’s temperature returned to normal.
The mask on Teridax’s face stopped glowing. The Makuta of Metru Nui raised an eyebrow, expressing intrigue. “Interesting,” he said. “A Mask of Deactivation. Those are rare to come by.”
“What did it do?” asked Varian.
“It disabled his mask power,” said Orde. “Which also means we can’t use our mask powers, either.”
“Wonderful,” muttered Chiara. “Good thing we already decided they wouldn’t do us any good anyway.”
Arctur turned back to the others, his expression filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I… I didn’t know it would have an effect on all of you.”
“It’s all right, Arctur,” Lesovikk said calmly. “At least he can’t use his mask power on us anymore.”
“Indeed,” Teridax rumbled. “However, I can still use my other powers against you.”
He flicked his hand and Seldaan came crashing back onto the floor. The Toa of Plasma let out a groan while Varian and Zaria rushed to his side.
“And you will be pleased to know,” Teridax went on, “that its effects are only temporary.”
Before any of the Toa had a chance to react, a Shadow Hand emerged from the Makuta’s chest and seized Arctur from behind. The others cried out his name as he was pulled back towards Teridax and absorbed into the Makuta’s body. The plates of Teridax’s armor shifted as it grew from the additional mass, and the red pieces of his armor slowly faded into varying shades of purple.
“Next time,” the Makuta of Metru Nui growled, “no one will be able to save you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment