Deep Sea Ambush

Deep Sea Ambush is a short story by. It revolves around the escape of the League of Six Kingdoms. It was continued in The Realm of the Barraki, which was part of the same collection, namely the Rumors of the Rippling Oceans series.

Plot
After the Black Current, which destroyed the Pit, Helryx and others go look for possible escapees. However, they find more disturbing things than only a few escaped prisoners, as they find out the former League of Six Kingdoms is freed by the destructive current which raged through the prison.

Deep Sea Ambush
"We are about to enter the forgotten realm of the Pit, miss Helryx." The Toa behind the controls started a few more programs and commanded throughout the submarine: "Toa, at the ready. We are about to enter the Pit, the former prison of the Order of Mata Nui. Get ready for deploy in the sea."

"Miss Helryx, I am getting a rather disstressing report of Deep Blue Squad III, who are in the heavy prison right now." the same Toa said again. "In their section, it seems the cell blocks are completely wrecked, not to mention they are empty."

"Contact them again. ask for a strict confirmation they truly are empty. And put them on speakers, please. I want to hear it myself."

"OK. Speaker on, and contact." Helryx had always found his habit of saying his actions somewhat irritating. "Deep Blue Squad III, could we have a strict confirmation yourr current investigation section is empty?"

"I confirm." a voice spoke over the sub. "The cells are empty, save a few rottened corpses. It seems we are too late to..."

A Toa behind a dashboard interrupted them: "Miss Helryx, Deep Blue Squad II and IV have lost contact. Deep Blue Squad V has reported an ambush coming to them. In addition, several unidentified creatures have been located by radar. All are around the missing squads."

"Call an emergency alarm! Sea Squad I, II, and III, go with Mini-Subs to assist! go,go,go!"

A burning fire in a bowl of water, it was the exact feeling Ackron had right now. His Overheat Scythe became as cold as ice upon entering the waters of the Pit. Only standing in the shallows of the former prison island, his heat returned to his body again. The icy waters of the black structure weakened him critical only a few minutes ago. But his pause was already taking too long, far too long, as Helryx said already. He carefully stepped in the tunnels of the black jail.

Before them lied the body of Hydraxon. After walking without any trace of victims or escapes, they found the first of them, the jailer of the dreaded place in the Northern Protodermis Sea.

"He is dead." a Toa stated. "His wounds also seem he has been slain with something extremely sharp. It could be a knife, a blade, a..."

"Claw." Helryx stated. She turned around to the shadowy cell behind her, and said: "His claw."

Behind them stood a towering giant with shredding claws, and a metallic grey face. A little bit of bloody flesh hung in his mouth, presumably of his last prey. His four-fingered claws, each sporting a nail, were aimed at a Toa beside Helryx. Around them, smaller, and thinner beings gathered. The beings around them were Zyglak, though the being standing before them definitely was not. They raised their claws peacefully, and gestured them to come. The Toa followed suspective.

Entering a large cell, a Toa with a Rau shaped noble, stepped forward, and let her mask translate the speakings of the Zyglak.

"This is the... Tribe of Honor, a tribe of noble and peaceful Zyglak. Their leader is the former master of the Pit, who domesticated them before he was imprisoned by his own guards upon our takeover. His name is long forgotten, but they tell me he goes under the name of, um... "The Faint Remembrance". They are hunters of the Pit now. They tell me they are very sorry for our warriors, but that they were harming the natural balance of the Pit."

"Tell them the Pit is harmed by the Black Current already. Tell them they have to help us find the League."

"They can`t do that. At this moment, they are the only beings keeping the Pit from becoming a dark ruin, filled with fear and pain."

And with that words being spoken, the Faint Remembrance returned to the cells, waiting for prey.

"Well that mission was just plain waste of elements, I have to say." Ackron spat out. "I mean, what did we accomplish? Nothing!"

Just as Helryx calmed him down, a shadowy being appeared in front of them. He introduced himself as Mantax, one of the leaders of the League. But, his menacing appearance still not forgotten, Helryx carefully said he was lying, and that Mantax was not the being standing before them.

But his scars were showing enough. The large scar of a sharp sword cutting a bleeding hole in the shoulder of his still was present. Helryx gasped, and watched the scar made by her very own sword.

Mantax hit Helryx over the edge of the bottomless caverns the Pit was build on. The Toa of Water could only barely swim up in the currents of mutagenic liquid beneath, but she did, and hit Mantax in the body. The Barraki`s eyes smiled. ''How interesting... A Toa in my trap!''

Mantax flung a rock at Helryx, which she could barely dodge, only to be raised up by the mutant`s dirty claw. Only one look on the other Toa made them stumble backwards. Mantax took Helryx in his grip firmly, and threw her over the side of the Pit.

To be continued in "The Realm of the Barraki"