Punish...or be Punished

prelude
The regular scedule of a Kuai's life:

-Wake up

-Eat a good breakfast

-Take the usual rounds of patrol

-Kill any Enemies you encounter

-Go back home and have dinner

Sounds simple, right? Not when there's another Kuai around that wants the Agnoka for himself...

Chapter I
It started one day when I was taking the usual rounds. My route of patrol was to fly from the north island of Gahru Nui to the southeastern one, guard the Agnoka-Suva for eight hours, then fly back to the north island. Today, I came to the Agnoka-Suva and greeted the other Kuai on patrol there.

"Hey, Mekinru! How've you been?" Lijuhen greeted me. I smiled at him, but i was looking at something behind him. It was another Kuai; one of Magnetism. I walked past Lihujen towards the lurking Kuai.

"Hey, Mekinru? Mekinru, where are you...Mekinru? Do you hear me?1?"

In fact, I wasn't listening to Lihujen. I recognized the Kuai of Magnetism as my friend, Cerysk, but he didn't see me. I saw him enter the opening in the Agnoka-Suva, and he was saying to himself,

"The Kanohi Agnoka...it's mine now...with its power..." Cerysk stopped. I saw him lift the Agnoka from its pedastal. He looked at it and turned around. He jumped; surprised to see Lihujen, Triando, Ruakai, and me standing there.

"Oh! Er...hi, there!" Cerysk stammered, "I was just...er...um--" at this he ran past us, but Ruakai used his Kualsi and appeared in Cerysk's path, blocking his way.

Lihujen and Triando both jumped at Cerysk, but the Kuai of Magnetism used his magnet staff to repell my friends.

While Cerysk did this, he didn't notice that he had dropped the Agnoka. The Great Mask started to glow. The glowing got more intense so that it blinded me, and it shook violently.

Then, what I feared would happen, did happen. A blast of energy came from the mask and hit Cerysk. He started to loose his red and grey coloring; his armor turned a protordermic-grey.

"No!!!!" I screamed. But I could do nothing to save my friend; the Agnoka had cursed Cerysk by draining his element from him.

Cerysk fell to his knees; weakened by the drainage.

Chapter II
My other friends locked energy restraints around Cerysk's four arms. Then they did something that surprised me.

"You didn't try to stop Cerysk." said Triando.

"Wah?!? What do you mean?" I stammered.

"What Cerysk did was against the Kuai oath." Lihujen stated.

"Well, yes...I know that..."

"Your act of doing nothing is also against the Kuai oath."

I paused, thinking over what Lihujen said.

"Now guys...you're not going to turn me in for that...nobody saw it but you guys..."

"The Great One could be seeing us. He could tell Vertiwen. Then we'd all be punished." replied Ruakai.

My mouth hung open; I was unsure of what to say next. Before I knew it, my friends had bound in energy restraints, just like Cerysk.

My friends dragged my through the forest towards the Kuai capital, Iwa.

Chapter III
Iwa was a city you did not want to be dragged on the ground to by you friends. Iwa was not only a capital city, but a prision city. Yes, Iwa is the place where they imprision and execute criminal Kuai.

I felt like I had let down every Kuai in Gahru Nui. I had worked up to achieving the posistion of a Suva-Guard, and I had lost that. I didn't know how I could ever redeem myself. I dazed out while I was being dragged, and don't remember any of our journey to Iwa.

---

When I finally woke up, we had arrived at Iwa. I was dragged all the way to the Kuai supreme court, where Judge Vertiwen would be waiting.

Vertiwen was the best judge ever known, if you're simply watching the trial. On the other hand, if you're being dragged up the steps, into the courtroom, by the most respected Suva-Guards, then Vertiwen is you're biggest enemy. With his Kanohi Rode and his Staff of Judgement, the guilty have no hope. That is what I felt when we where finally standing face-to-face with Judge Vertiwen: hopeless.

The trial was quick (as was every trial) and I was surprised; Cerysk and I had gotten it easier that most Kuai would have. Cerysk was to be sent to prision for 100 years, and I would go to prision for 35 years. This sounds a lot better when your where certain that execution was your fate.

to be continues...

Characters

 * Mekinru
 * Lihujen
 * Cerysk
 * Triando
 * Ruakai
 * Judge Vertiwen