Night of the Long Knives

Night of the Long Knives is a short story written by BobTheDoctor27 as an entry for Vorred's Writing Contest.

The story revolves around the actions of Toa Nuva Merall, Brorag, Chaeus and Dorvan during the events of Uprising.

Part 1
The twin suns burnt brightly in the clear sky above the wasteland, highlighting the parched earth and lush, overgrown hills. A coarse green carpet of vegetation covered much of the land, choking the dry soil. Indeed it was a vast tract of unenclosed wilderness. A somber, windswept stretch of emerald valleys and turfs, virtually treeless as far as the eye could see. This was an ancient space shaped solely by the forces of nature and seemingly impervious to the efforts of Matoran.

Ensnared beneath the shrubbery, Toa Theran, Toa of Fire, stirred. There was a long and mellow moment of disorientation where a dark cloud obscured his vision. For a full minute he lay sprawled on his back before he realized that the strange sensation was that of sunlight flooding in through his closed eyelids. It had taken him several moments longer than it should have to come to that conclusion and it took longer still for him to come to his senses and open his eyes.

Scattered randomly around him where five familiar faces; his fellow Toa. Each teammate of his was spread-eagled, like plush dolls that had been caught in a gale and dumped on the ground.

Calling upon every ounce of his inner-strength, the crimson Toa struggled to his feet. His muscles ached and were slow to respond but he managed to stand, albeit awkwardly. Theran swayed a couple of times before finally gaining his balance. His movement disturbed the others and, one by one, they too began to budge, the shackles of their slumber lifting. “Ow,” groaned Theran, feeling the aching in his joints. “What happened?”

His head was pounding. Nausea, headaches and the strange sensation that something was very wrong flooded his attention. The haze still had not cleared from his mind and his thoughts remained fuzzy.

“It seems that we were somehow... teleported,” groaned Range, the team’s male Toa of Water, as he pulled himself upright.

Indeed, the landscape that encompassed the team was completely alien. Plus they had no idea how long they had been lying inert in the middle of it.

Theran nodded then shot a glance at the terrain before them. All that there was to be seen was plant life as far as the horizon.

“We should split up and look for some villagers,” he stated halfheartedly. “Maybe they can help us.”

“I don’t think that splitting up is our best option, Fire-spitter,” bristled Merall in her typical morning mood. The female Toa of Stone was still rubbing her eyes. She had not even woken up and she was already criticizing him.

The Toa of Fire grunted in response then turned to Chaeus, Toa of Earth. “Brother, let’s have some of that Akaku Nuva magic.”

The black-armored Toa frowned, the Telescopic Lenses on his Kanohi swiveled out accordingly, like a microscope in a Ko-Metru laboratory. Almost instantly his Mask of Vision began to glimmer in the midday sunshine, then he twitched from side to side, peering in each different direction.

“There’re three footpaths leading out of here,” he replied idly. “It looks like we’re in a clearing too.”

Then the frown that came naturally with the shape of his Kanohi deepened.

“But that’s not all,” he muttered, attracting the attention of the entire group. “I can see something… something underground, giving off crazy energy readings.”

“How crazy?”

“It’s too far away to tell,” shrugged the Toa of Earth carelessly. “But it seems pretty small. Maybe some Turaga buried a bunch of Toa Stones nearby.”

“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” grunted Brorag, Toa of Ice. He was busy pulling pieces of grass out of the folds in his armor. “How’re we going to do this, Theran? Are we going to toss a widget to see who gets stuck with Range?”

“Hey!” snapped the Toa of Water sharply. “I’ll remember that remark when Naming Day next comes around, brother.”

The Toa of Ice and Water glared at each other icily for a long, hostile moment before they sprouted grins and clanked fists.

“So what’s the smart-plan?” asked Dorvan, Toa of Air in his usual, sarcastic Chutespeak.

“There’re three roads and six of us,” responded Theran with a shrug. “Three teams of two.”

The six Toa glanced at each other awkwardly then shifted towards whoever stood closest to them: Dorvan with Merall, Brorag with Chaeus, and Range with Theran.

“Remember, we’re visitors in this land,” continued the Toa of Fire, but already the team had splintered off along the different paths.

“Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints.”

But Toa Theran’s hollow warning would fall upon deaf audio receptors.

Part 2
It had been two hours – roughly – since Brorag and Chaeus had parted ways with their team. Two hours of crossing overgrown valleys and plant-covered hills. The air breathed most sweetly over this strange land. They stumbled many times, scratching their armor, and cutting themselves, but neither Toa could take his eyes off of the marvelous wonders of the wildlands. They had wandered into a jungle of thick, weaving grass, long, snaking vines, and stunted, twisted trees.

Yet the natural world was rarely so fruitful and the landscape proved to be no less alien the further they progressed. Gradually, they came across traces of Rahi – droppings, bones, scruffs of fur – but saw no actual specimens until they entered the thickest edge of the jungle. There they found a curious mix of the familiar yet strange creatures. Most of the Rahi were similar to the images that they had in their heads – Mahi, Fusa, Fader Bulls – but different, usually in size or coloring. Some of the differences weren’t so readily apparent. At one point Chaeus insisted that he’d seen a Husi with two heads and surprisingly sharp claws wandering around the forest floor.

Cautiously, the two Toa readied their weapons in case any larger Rahi engaged them. The tools were blunt and thin. They wouldn’t be much against the likes of a Kane-Ra, but they helped to frighten off the small yellow Brakas Monkeys that jumped from trees on to the heads of their victims, blinding them with their claws and teeth then finishing them off as they stumbled around madly.

“I’ve never seen Brakas behave this aggressively,” gasped Brorag, as they watched a group of the Rahi bring down and devour a Rock Lion.

“Me neither,” gulped Chaeus sullenly.

As they watched, the Brakas paused and sniffed the air suspiciously. One ran to a thick bush and screeched threateningly. There was a deep grunt from within the shrub, then a larger, crimson-coated Brakas stepped out and shook a long arm at the others. The yellow underlings bared their teeth, hissed, and threw small pebbles at the newcomer, but it ignored them and advanced. The smaller Rahi retreated, leaving the red Brakas to finish off the remains of their victim.

“I guess size matters,” muttered Brorag wryly, exchanging an intimidated glance with his teammate before they both slipped away, leaving the Alpha Brakas to feast in peace.

The path was rocky and treacherous underfoot – not to mention hard on their lightly-armored feet. As they traveled further and further into the strange wilderness, it soon became more and more evident that they were not the first to have walked down this same path.

“The topsoil has been disturbed,” grunted Chaeus, remarking a small footprint in the mud. The telescopic lenses on his Akaku Nuva swiveled and adjusted mechanically. “Recently, too. It’s about the size of a Matoran footprint.”

“What manner of Matoran would venture into these dangerous parts?” asked the Toa of Ice. Chaeus only shrugged in response.

As luck would have it, the duo found their answer sooner than expected. A small clearing opened up ahead, beneath the branches of a large tree, which was adorned with a broad canopy of glowing emerald leaves, a thick trunk, and buttress roots that rose above the ground by several bio. The grass and shrubbery seemed to recede back, giving way to bare soil. Nestled in between the roots of the great tree was the first Matoran structure '' they had encountered on their expedition: a campfire.

Or at least the remains of one. The flames had long-since died down and the wood had cooled into crisp, fragile, pieces of charcoal. There was no smoke to be seen, but the air had a faint sensation of burning riding on it.

“Alright,” muttered Brorag, drawing his blades. “We’ll split up, give the place a fine search, and meet up with any evidence we find.”

“No need,” replied the Toa of Earth, his Akaku Nuva glowing. “Only one Matoran came here, he left a mark in the ground where he sat. Probably a Po-Matoran, he must’ve been heavy to leave that kind of print.”

Brorag blinked in astonishment.

“This place was definitely abandoned,” continued Chaeus. “There’s a half-full water container and a rucksack; containing a blade, some dried-up flowers and a straw sleeping mat. The guy was probably warming up against the fire when he got attacked.”

Brorag made a mental note to himself: ''Start saving up to buy a Kanohi Akaku. ''

“There’s more footprints in the soil,” reported the Toa of Earth. “But these ones are very erratic, and they’ve been obscured.”

“Best guess?”

“A Rahi attack,” remarked Chaeus. “The creature snuck up behind our Matoran camper, killed him, then dragged the body off, smudging its own tracks.”

“Clever Rahi,” added the Toa of Ice, feeling more and more obsolete by the second.

“We cannot allow this. A Matoran has been killed here.”

“We’ll have to capture some of these Rahi and find out what’s wrong with them,” Brorag nodded. Although spectacular, the creatures presented a clear and present danger to the local villagers.

“Shall we set a trap?”

“You ever caught a Rahi any other way?”

“This could be different,” noted Chaeus.

The Kakama Nuva-wearer waved his companion away with a curt hand gesture. “If this is the Rahi’s territory then it could come back this way again soon. Most predators are on constant patrol. We should prepare.”

“Our best option is to dig a pit in the ground,” proposed the black armored-Toa. We’ll lure it in by catching a more docile Rahi and using it as bait.”

“Good plan,” murmured the Toa of Ice. “But, we’ll need to find some Energy Hounds.”

Now it was Chaeus’ turn to look perplexed. “Energy Hounds?” He asked uncertainly. “Ideally,” shrugged Brorag. “Their spikes can stick in a larger Rahi’s snout, paws and mouth. They might slow it down or distract it."

Chaeus shook his head. “We’re going to need more than Energy Hound spikes to kill a Rahi this intelligent.”

“With luck we’ll startle it when it comes to feed on the bait. We can jump out and frighten it into the pit. Hopefully it will die there.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

The Toa of Ice sighed deeply. “You know, Chaeus, I have no problem working with a Toa of Earth as my companion, but I will not tolerate pessimists.”

“Seriously, Brorag.”

“We’ll use my Kakama Nuva and make a run for it.”

The Toa of Earth frowned. “I didn’t know you could use your Kanohi, yet. I thought I was the only one.”

“Dorvan too,” grunted Brorag. “And Theran was very surprised last week when he started gliding away.”

Chaeus fixed him with a severe glare.

“OK, I haven’t used my Kakama Nuva yet. I haven’t really had to. But all the legends say that our powers will reveal themselves to us when we are in need of them, and I’m pretty sure that being chased by a huge, Matoran-killing Rahi will be one such situation.”

“So if Plan A fails, there is not Plan B.”

“Exactly,” Brorag grinned edgily. “Then we’re in trouble.”

After ransacking the absent Matoran’s belongings for supplies, the two Toa set to work. Brorag had started clawing at the ground only for his teammate to point out that the tree roots would make it impossible to dig any hole in the area. So, grudgingly, they departed in search of more open ground.

Roughly five minutes later, the pair came across a clearing in the trees, with a thick bush at one end where they would be able to hide. They spent the rest of the morning digging a deep pit with their hands, tools, and rough spades that they fashioned out of branches, leaves and string. The whole ordeal would’ve been a lot less strenuous had Chaeus been able to unlock his Elemental Earth Powers, but Brorag himself was in no position to make fun of him. He could only form small ice structures with his powers and, with the midday sunlight burned their backs, they both ached for a cool, gentle burst of snow.

When the pit was done, the Toa harvested a couple of thick branches and sharpened the tips on Chaeus’ blades, creating stakes that were bound together at the base of the hole.

Growing bored with the task, the Kakama Nuva-wearer left his Earth-bound ally to finish planting the murderous stakes while he went off in search of an Energy Hound, or anything else to use against the mysterious Rahi.

Toa Brorag spent the rest of the morning searching for cacti and rocks to hurl at their prey, but he may as well have been searching for a Protodite in Ta-Metru forge. Instead he simply ended up making mud-balls using leaves and fresh mud from a nearby stream, hoping that the mud might temporarily blind the creature.

He searched hard for Energy Hounds, and other Rahi with spikes, but if any were in the vicinity, they were keeping an ultra low profile. He had to report back empty-handed after two hours.

“Never mind,” uttered the Toa of Earth, sitting at the edge of the completed pit, fiddling with the mud-balls Brorag had created. “Let’s create a cover for this and catch some bait. After that, everything is up to Mata Nui’s judgment.”

Together, the two Toa built a thin blanket for their trap using long twigs and leaves, laid it over the hole and went hunting. In the end they decided to pick off a Mahi, as the specimens here were shorter than the ones they were familiar with, with longer heads. They couldn’t run as fast as their counterparts, but were still remarkable swift. It took a while to track down a lame straggler and bring it back alive. It was early afternoon by the time they tied it to a stake next to the pit, and both Toa were tired after a long, taxing few hours.

“What happens if the Rahi attacks during the night?” asked Chaeus, still trying his best to manipulate the mud-balls himself.

Brorag hesitated then released a deep inward sigh.

“Why do you always have to anticipate the worst?” he grunted.

The afternoon passed quicker than the Toa would’ve liked, by which point they’d already picked out multiple flaws in their plan from their positions behind the bush opposite the pit. In an ideal world – or at least one in which Brorag was always right – their coveted Rahi would attack the Mahi. With luck it would come at the helpless creature from the far side of the hollow ground and would fall in. If not, they would leap up whilst it was dragging off the Mahi and hopefully force it backwards to its doom. Not the most elaborate plan either of them could have concocted, but it would have to do given their resources.

They said nothing as the minutes turned to hours, silently waiting for the Matoran-killing Rahi. Brorag’s mouth was dry and he sipped frequently from the water container that he’d filched from the dead Matoran’s campsite. Chaeus went without water. He wasn’t the one who was used to cold climates.

About an hour after midday, the Toa of Earth laid a hand on his fellow Toa’s arm and squeezed warningly. There was something long and black skulking in the trees. Both teammates stared hard. As they did, Brorag was sure that he saw the tip of a snout stick out from around a tree and sniff the air testingly. He kept his mouth closed, willing the creature to advance, but after a few hesitant seconds it turned and padded away into the gloom of the jungle.

Chaeus and Brorag looked questioningly at one another. “It must’ve smelt us,” whispered the Toa of Ice.

“Or sensed something wrong,” Chaeus whispered back. Lifting his head slightly, not daring to activate his Kanohi and give off a mechanical whine, he studied the grazing Mahi by the pit.

Brorag jerked a thumb backwards. “Let’s get further away. I think it will return. If we aren’t here, it might be tempted to attack.”

“It’s too far.”

“You’re wearing an Akaku Nuva, Chaeus. You’ll be able to use it without the Rahi hearing you if we pull back.”

“It’s an Akaku, not a Kualsi!” snapped the Toa of Earth.

“I know,” whispered Brorag. “But we don’t have a choice. It knew something was wrong. If we stay here, it’ll also know when it returns and it won’t come back.”

The teammates wriggled further back into the bush, not stopping until they were almost at the end of the grass and vines. From this point they could only vaguely see the Mahi.

Another hour passed. Brorag was beginning to abandon hope that the Rahi would return, when the sound of deep breathing drifted towards them from the clearing. The Toa of Ice caught flashes of the Mahi jumping around, straining to break free of the rope. Something growled throatily – the Rahi. Even more promising – the growls were coming from the far side of the pit. If the Rahi attacked the Mahi from there, it would tumble straight into the trap.

The pair of Toa lay motionless, barely breathing. They head twigs snap as the sinister Rahi closed in on their bait, not masking its sounds any longer. Then there was a loud snapping sound as a heavy body crashed through the covering over the pit and landed heavily on the stakes. There was a ferocious howl and Brorag had to cover his audio receptors with both hands. That was followed by silence, disturbed only by the pounding of the Mahi’s paws on the soil as it leapt around frantically by the edge of the hole.

The Toa of Earth slowly got to his feet and stared the edge of the bush at the open cavern in the ground. Brorag stood and stared with him. They glanced at each other.

“It worked.” The Akaku Nuva-wearer mulled the words over in him mouth, as if they were a bad-tasting Steltian Ale.

“You sound like you didn’t expect it to,” grinned the Toa of Ice.

“I didn’t,” chuckled his companion as they started towards the trench before growing serious once more. “Careful,” he warned, hefting his blades. “It could still be alive. There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded Rahi.”

“It’d be howling in pain if it were alive,” snorted Brorag confidently.

“Probably,” agreed his teammate. “But let’s not take any needless risks.”

Stepping forwards, he moved off to the left and signaled for the Toa of Ice to go right. Raising his short throwing blades, Brorag circled away from Chaeus, then they slowly closed in on the crater from opposite directions. In his left hand, the Toa of Earth had one of the mud-balls, ready to throw like a rock if the creature was still alive.

The taller of the two Toa activated his Akaku Nuva before Brorag had come within sight and stopped, confused. As he got closer, the Toa of Ice saw what had bewildered his ally. He also drew to a halt, not sure what to make of their catch. A body lay impaled on the stakes, organic blood dripping from its many puncture wounds. But it wasn’t the body of the colossal Rahi they had expected – it was the crimson Brakas Monkey.

“I don’t understand,” Brorag muttered. “Brakas can’t make the kinds of growling sounds we heard. And they don’t approach a Matoran on foot. They jump down from trees.”

“But how did…” Chaeus stopped and fear flashed into his eyes. “The throat!” he gasped. “It’s been torn open. That must mean –”

He got no further. Even as Brorag was leaping to the same conclusion – that the Matoran-killing Rahi they were after had killed the Brakas Monkey and dropped it into the trap to fool them – there was a blur of movement in the upper branches of the tree closest to him. Whirling, he caught a brief glimpse of a brown object flying through the air.

At first glance it looked like an Ash Bear, adorned with a mix of tan, brown and black armor. But, on closer analysis, their attacker seemed to resemble a Toa of Stone. A strange and incoherent rage blazed behind the eyeholes of his Kanohi Elda.

Then he was upon Brorag, roaring triumphantly as the Toa of Ice was dragged to the ground for the kill.

Part 3
To Be Written

Part 4
To Be Written

Characters

 * Merall
 * Brorag
 * Chaeus
 * Dorvan
 * Theran
 * Range