This was originally supposed to be part of Chapter Twelve, but I split it off so it wouldn't be too long (still posting them on the same day though, just 'cos).
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Miserix’s patience was at an end.
He had given Teridax ample opportunity to come out of hiding, but the Makuta of Metru Nui had yet to emerge from the Coliseum. The other Makuta were unrelenting in their attacks against him, even after he had killed a fair share of their numbers.
Mutran was the latest to meet his end. The Makuta scientist had dove in from above, firing bolts of energy from his Shadow Spear, only to receive a blast of lightning from Miserix’s claws. Mutran howled in pain as the electricity coursed through his armor, electrocuting him. The intensity of the attack eventually incinerated his Antidermis energies within and Mutran’s lifeless body plummeted towards the ground below.
Gorast screamed in rage as she jumped onto Miserix’s back. Digging her claws into his armor, she activated her Mask of Disruption in the hope of scrambling the dragon Makuta’s powers. Before she could do so, a seismic shake shook the ground and Miserix lost his grip on the Coliseum, falling towards the ground with an anguished roar.
The ground shook again as Miserix hit the earth. Gorast had dismounted from his back in time and was now surrounding the former Brotherhood leader with the remaining Makuta — Icarax, Vamprah, and Chirox. Miserix had no idea where Antroz had gone, but that was not a pressing concern on his mind.
As Miserix tried to right himself, Icarax took a step towards him, holding his sword and Rotating Shadow Blades aloft in his hands. The Kanohi Kraahkan, the Great Mask of Shadows, adorned his face. Miserix could not fathom why Teridax would bequeath such a mask to someone as untrustworthy as Icarax, but it would not have been the first decision Miserix had questioned of his usurper.
“How the mighty have fallen,” Icarax began. “Your effort was an impressive one, Miserix. But I’m afraid the plan simply does not have room for you… and I’m not just talking about your new size,” he added dryly.
Miserix’s eyes flared at the Makuta of Karzahni. “Teridax’s plan will only result in your deaths, just as it already has.”
“So far, the only one causing deaths is you,” growled Chirox. “Once we’re through with you, that will no longer be the case.”
“Indeed,” hissed Gorast. “Let’s stop wasting time and finish him once and for all!”
“No!”
The cry came from up above and the five gathered Makuta all looked up to see Krika descending to the ground to join them. Right behind him was Antroz, who dove in to attack the white-armored Makuta only to be flung back by the latter’s Mask of Repulsion.
“You don’t realize what is happening,” Krika said. “Teridax has gone mad with power. That quake we felt… that was caused by his new mask.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Icarax.
“I have seen the mask he now wears. Though I’ve only heard stories, I know that the Kanohi Nui is one of the strongest masks in existence… and that it was never meant to exist. No being in the universe can control the power it contains for long; eventually, Teridax will end up destroying himself with it, and take us with it.”
“Impossible!” Gorast snapped. “Makuta Teridax is the strongest among us. He is more than capable of controlling such power.”
Krika glared at her. “As ever, Gorast, your fanatic loyalty to Teridax and his plan blinds you. It blinds all of you.”
“You can preach all you want, Krika,” said Antroz as he got back to his feet. “But you are outnumbered. Even if Miserix is on your side, it is two against five. I will give you one last chance to reconsider where your loyalties lie.”
“My loyalty is to the Great Spirit,” Krika said quietly. “As it should have been for all of us long ago.”
“Then you will die like all the others,” Gorast said as she brandished her claws. She moved to lunge at Krika only to be knocked back by a blast of shadow energy. To the others’ surprise, Icarax stepped over to stand beside Krika, spinning his Shadow Blades.
“Make that three against four,” the Makuta of Karzahni said.
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Antroz muttered. “You were never in support of the Plan, were you?”
“Not so much the plan itself so much as Teridax’s methods,” Icarax replied. “If our leader has so much power in his hands, then there is no point in putting the endgame off any longer. After seventy thousand years, I am quite through with waiting.”
“It doesn’t matter!” Gorast shrieked. “All three of you will die then! If not at my hands, then at Teridax’s!”
“Enough of this,” Miserix rumbled as he rose from the ground. “I am sick of watching you squabble like kinloka over the last morsel of food.”
Before any of the other Makuta could stop him, Miserix sent them all flying back with a powerful cyclone. He then set his eyes on the base of the Coliseum and attacked, unleashing all of his powers upon it.
* * *
Time was a funny thing.
It could never be seen, never be touched, yet its effects could always be felt. Every moment — even the smallest of seconds — was crucial, especially when you were a Toa up against the most evil being in the universe.
Toa Lesovikk had learned this the hard way when he had lost his team to the Zyglak. The briefest of hesitations was all it took for the Zyglak to destroy Nikila and the others. It was from that point forward that he had sworn from ever calling himself a Toa again. But as fate would have it, here he was leading a team once more, going up against only the second power-hungry tyrant in as many hours. With the Makuta preparing to unleash all of his might on them, Lesovikk knew that he could not make the same mistake again.
He did not know if the Kanohi Vahi had been affected by Arctur’s mask power, as it was not being worn by anyone, but there was no time to dwell on that. Bringing out the Mask of Time, Lesovikk removed his own mask and replaced it with the Vahi. He could already feel its powers surging through him, giving his body a sharp jolt.
Makuta Teridax paused just as he was about to attack, his eyes narrowing. “The Mask of Time,” he growled. “So the mask maker was successful in creating it.”
“Yes,” Lesovikk replied. “And I’m sorry to disappoint you, Makuta, but you will not be using it for your diabolical plans as you had hoped.”
Teridax scoffed. “And just how do you — a mere Toa — hope to use it against me? You simply do not have the willpower necessary to control its power.”
“You underestimate me, Makuta. You underestimate all of us. That is why you will never win.”
Teridax’s face twisted into a sneer. “Prove it.”
Lesovikk closed his eyes as he activated the Mask of Time, just as a dark tendril of energy extended from Teridax’s chest. A temporal wave generated itself between the Toa and the Makuta, causing time around them to slow to a snail’s pace.
The Toa of Air tried to move only to realize that he couldn’t. The slowed passing of time was affecting not just Teridax but the six Toa Tenebrae as well. None of them would have been able to move fast enough out of the Vahi’s range to strike at Teridax before the Shadow Hand consumed them. Switching the mask itself off would have also been suicidal, as it would surely grab at least one of them and pull them into the Makuta’s body.
“No,” Lesovikk whispered to himself. He had failed his team again. He already watched Arctur die, and now the others’ fates were sealed as well, in addition to his own.
Before Lesovikk could think of what to do, he saw Makuta Teridax vanish in the blink of an eye, along with the rest of the Coliseum. Suddenly, the six Toa Tenebrae were back outside. A strong hand struck Lesovikk and knocked the Kanohi Vahi from his face. The Toa of Air looked up to see Taurrus before him, along with the Matoran, the Rahaga, and the two Order members.
“What was that for?” asked Seldaan. “Makuta is still in there!”
Taurrus said nothing as he pointed to the Coliseum. The Toa all turned in time to see the top tower of the Coliseum topple from its base, courtesy of the red dragon that had been attacking it. The remaining Makuta — now only six where there had once been many more — scattered to avoid the falling building, which crashed into the central arena. Before it fell, a large shape burst out from its walls and flew up into the air, suspending itself on giant black wings. The black, purple, and gold armored Makuta of Metru Nui glared down at the red dragon, rage filling his eyes.
“Miserix,” Teridax growled. “You should be dead.”
“And so should you, Teridax!” Miserix bellowed. “And once I’m through with you, you will be!”
With that, Miserix sprouted wings of his own and shot up towards Teridax. The two Makuta collided in midair, energies crackling from their bodies and clashing with each other.
“We have to do something about this,” said Varian. “If we don’t stop them, their sheer strength alone will destroy Metru Nui!”
“Maybe we can create a Toa Seal,” suggested Zaria. “There’s six of us, right?”
“Six of us, but only five different elemental powers,” muttered Orde. “And even then, mine haven’t fully recharged yet.”
“So we need a seventh Toa.” Zaria looked over to Viraka and Trinuma. “I don’t suppose you two know of any other Toa you can fetch?”
Before the Order agents could answer, a huge wave of water emerged from the direction of Ga-Metru, which some of the fleeing Makuta had been heading towards. A blue-armored figure could be spotted riding the wave, channeling her elemental powers via the spiked mace in her hands. As the Makuta scurried to escape the tidal wave, Toa Helryx brought the wave crashing down and flooded the area surrounding the Coliseum, submerging a number of the Makuta.
Helryx then used some of the existing water to propel over to where the Toa Tenebrae and the others were, landing in front of Lesovikk. She stopped to regard the Toa of Air before looking up to see Teridax and Miserix fighting.
“Well,” the Toa of Water muttered. “That’s an unexpected factor.”
“Helryx!” Viraka exclaimed. “I thought you were staying on Daxia?”
Helryx smiled. “And miss the fall of the Makuta? I don’t think so. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on the Shadowed One and his thugs.”
“Helryx, we need to create a Toa seal around Makuta Teridax,” Lesovikk said urgently. “It’s the only way we can stop him.”
“I find that very doubtful,” the leader of the Order said grimly. “With a mask like his, he could very well break through it.”
“Then we knock the mask off his face,” said Chiara. “How do we do that?”
Unbeknownst to the Toa, Makuta Miserix was already focusing on that part as he continued to clash with Teridax in the air above Metru Nui. Even as lightning coursed through his armor, Miserix managed to grab onto the sides of Teridax’s Kanohi Nui, though did not yet have the strength to tear it off.
“I was holding back the last time we clashed, Teridax,” the former Brotherhood leader growled. “I didn’t want to kill my greatest lieutenant; I thought for sure you would have realize the error of your ways. But then the others sided with you, leaving me outnumbered.”
Teridax said nothing, his red eyes blazing behind his obsidian mask.
“But now it’s just the two of us,” Miserix went on. “And this time, there will be no such thing as mercy!”
With a mighty roar, Miserix succeeded in ripping the Mask of Ultimate Power from Teridax’s face. The Makuta of Metru Nui lost his grip on his predecessor and he proceeded to plummet towards the ground, crashing into the fallen tower of the Coliseum.
The Toa wasted no time in making their move. The Toa Tenebrae (sans Orde), along with Helryx, quickly moved over to where Teridax laid and joined their fists together. At once, their elemental powers shot out as a single beam of energy. Makuta Teridax did not move as solid protodermis slowly formed around his giant body, encasing it within a crystal. Once the seal was complete, the six Toa broke their formation to stop the energy beam.
Lesovikk dropped himself onto the ground, exhausted. Helryx leaned on her mace to stop herself from collapsing. The other Toa stood and marveled at the Makuta’s imprisoned form.
In the air above, Makuta Miserix regarded the Kanohi Nui in his hands. Something stirred deep within his mind, whispering for him to don the mask himself. He pushed such thoughts back into the depths of his self-consciousness and dropped the mask to the ground. Just as he was about to obliterate it with heat vision, Zaria caught the mask and held his hand up to the Makuta.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “Who knows what kind of destruction it would bring to destroy a mask like this.”
Miserix glared at the Toa before snorting. “Whatever. Just make sure it doesn’t fall back into the wrong hands.”
“Wait, Miserix,” Helryx weakly called out to him. “The other Makuta… we might need your help to—”
“They’re already gone,” Miserix snarled.
Indeed, the flood that Helryx had created has since receded away, revealing no sign of the six Makuta that had been submerged beneath it. When everyone looked back up, Miserix’s body was already shimmering, teleporting away before anyone could stop him.
Lesovikk released his breath as he lowered himself onto his back, staring at the darkened sky above. “This has been a very long week.”
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