Dwellers in Darkness

Dwellers in Darkness Chapter 10

There was nothing quite as satisfying as success, Teridax had decided. After thousands of years of preparation and planning; of countless conquests and several intentional defeats; he had finally completed the Plan. Mata Nui’s spirit had been sealed within the Mask of Life and banished into the Wall of Stars. And now, he, Teridax, had taken the place of the Great Spirit, gaining all the power that came with that role. Even now, he could feel those energies pulsing through him and the massive body that he now possessed. And the best part was that the only people who posed any sort of threat to him were dead, incapacitated, or imprisoned, as in the case of his current “guest.” Teridax focused on Toa Helryx, leader of the Order of Mata Nui, and now his prisoner. “So tell me, Makuta,” she said, sitting crossed-legged on the chamber floor, “How long do you think you can continue this little coup?” “You sound as if you don’t expect my reign to last, little Toa,” Teridax said, smug confidence practically dripping off of his words. The ancient Toa of Water glared into the darkness from whence Teridax’s voice emitted. “I have existed since the Great Beings created this universe. In the 100,000 years since, I have seen megalomaniacs, tyrants, and would-be gods such as you rise and fall. Your time will come.” “And what makes you say that?” the Master of Shadows asked, “I control the Matoran Universe and everything in it. Your Order is nearly extinct, the survivors few and scattered. The same goes for your fellow Toa. Why will I fall to the likes of you?” “Because it is our Destiny to preserve peace and justice in this world,” Helryx said, anger filling her voice as she stood up, “Because it is our Duty to stop beings like you from threatening that peace. And most importantly, we have Unity; we work together to fulfill our Duty and our Destiny. You, Teridax, are alone and misguided.” Helryx sat back down, a smile on her face. However, that disappeared from her face as Teridax’s booming laughter filled the chamber. “Oh, you have no idea how wrong you are,” Teridax said, “I am not alone. I have legions of Rahkshi at my command. I have servants, spies and slaves in important positions throughout the universe. And most importantly, I have my consort by my side.” Helryx looked taken aback. “What consort?!” she asked, her calm demeanor slipping away in shock. Teridax laughed again, enjoying the look on the Water Toa’s face. “You’re so smart, oh ancient one, you figure it out,” he said, his tone implying he was smirking, despite his current lack of a mouth, “Now if you’ll excuse me, petty Toa, I’m already late for my date.” Ignoring Helryx’s protests and demands for answers, Teridax allowed his mind’s eye to drift from the chambers and tunnels underneath Metru Nui, and began searching the universe. It was a tiring task- he did not yet have enough mental discipline to have his mind in all parts of the Great Spirit’s body at once. Finally, he found the one that he sought. ‘Ah, there you are,’ he thought with a mental smile.

Roodaka sat on the floor of her prison cell, leaning against the wall with her legs outstretched and her head leaning against her fist. She had thought that the infamous Pit would be more entertaining of a jail, but to be honest she was bored out of her mind. She was in the lowest level of the Pit, which according to her jailers was the most secure area of the entire prison. She had hoped that meant she’d have some interesting people to talk to. Unfortunately, the only other prisoner on this level was a creature called Karzhani, which was so deranged it made that lunatic half-Skakdi Vezon look sane. At that memory, Roodaka cringed. It only reminded her that she had willingly acted against her master’s interests. The Order had forced her to help retrieve Teridax’s predecessor Miserix from his imprisonment on the island of Artidax. And right now that beast was out there somewhere with the sole intention of hunting down and killing the only being in this whole universe that she cared about. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps. She looked out through the bars of her cell as Hydraxon, the warden of the Pit, climbed down an iron ladder set into the wall and walked over to Roodaka’s cell. He smirked at the caged Vortixx as he asked, “Enjoying your stay?” Roodaka spat at the Order member. “Does that answer your question, you son of a kavinika?” she snarled. Hydraxon wiped the spittle off his face. “Still defiant, I see,” he remarked, “But tell me, what good will your defiance do now that your masters in the Brotherhood have been defeated?” Roodaka shot to her feet as her heart leapt into her throat. “What?!” she shouted. Hydraxon placed his hands on his hips as his smirk blossomed into a full grin. He was clearly enjoying his prisoner’s torment. “That’s right,” he said, “Most of the Makuta were wiped out in Karda Nui by the Toa Nuva, their main army was crushed while laying siege to Metru Nui, we’ve taken Destral, and as for Teridax… well, I wouldn’t want to be him when Miserix finds him.” Hydraxon started to laugh then, but that turned into a yelp as a blast of Shadow energy shot through the bars of the cell and hit him square in the chest. He staggered back, but righted himself after a few moments. He looked at the slight burn mark on his breastplate, and then looked up at Roodaka. Her hand was outstretched, fingers still cackling with energy, and tears of anger were forming in her eyes. “Well, I see that struck a nerve,” the Order jailer said, eyes narrowing, “And now, you just struck mine. I think I should teach you a lesson.” Hydraxon pulled out one of his exploding boomerangs and held it behind his head. But before he could throw it, it suddenly flew out of his hand up into the air and exploded. “What?” he asked, but the only answer he got was a boulder shooting out of the ground and knocking him on his back. “What’s wrong, Hydraxon? You don’t like fighting someone who can fight back?” Roodaka felt a shiver run down her spine as she heard that wonderfully familiar voice. “Master,” she said quietly, with more warmth than she’d ever said anything. Hydraxon, on the other hand, practically had ice dripping off his voice as he snarled, “Teridax! Where are you, Makuta?” “Everywhere,” was Teridax’s only reply as Hydraxon grabbed his Cordak Blaster. He swept his gaze around the vast cavern that was the Pit, searching for any sign of the voice’s owner. “Show yourself, coward!” he shouted. This time, the only reply he got was the sound of twisting metal. To both his and Roodaka’s surprise, the bars on her cell wretched themselves free from the walls of the cell opening and fell to the floor. Both captive and captor looked at the bars in surprise, before Hydraxon reacted and brought up his blaster to bear with the Vortixx prisoner… only to be tackled by Karzhani. Roodaka blinked in surprise at the sight of the jailer being attacked by an ex-tyrant with the mind of a rabid Rahi, and looked at the rest of the cavern. As she suspected, the bars on all the other cells had fallen out, releasing all the other prisoners. Several others were jumping down to the lower level to aid Karzhani in gaining vengeance on their jailer, but most were heading towards the upper levels to try and escape. Roodaka was about to join them, when there was a sudden flash of light that blinded her.

When her eyesight cleared, Roodaka was surprised to find herself in a different, but still familiar, location- the throne room of the Coliseum in Metru Nui. A sudden tearing, ripping noise caused her to turn around. To the further shock of the former Visorak Queen, parts of the metal floor and walls were ripping out of their places and merging together. After a few moments, they had fused into a large figure, whose head soon twisted into a familiar shape… her master’s Kanohi Kraahkan. As he turned his crimson eyes to gaze at her, Roodaka sank to her knees and bowed her head. “My Lord,” she said softly. Teridax smiled. “It is good to see you are well. Now rise, there is something I want to show you.” Roodaka obeyed immediately, following her master towards the balcony. When they reached, Roodaka saw a sight that took her breath away. Huge walls surrounded the shores of the island-city, several holes blown in them. Smoke rose from ruined weapons emplacements on the walls, as well from several others on the roofs of many of the buildings. But the thing that really shook Roodaka was the platoons of Rahkshi marching down the streets. They moved through the remains of barricades in the streets, piling bodies of Matoran and other beings that she couldn’t identify- presumably agents of the Order of Mata Nui. “This… this is…” Roodaka stuttered, trying to find the right word to describe what she was seeing. Then, it dawned on her. “This is magnificent,” she said, awe in her voice. Teridax glanced down at her with a smile. “It is quite something, isn’t it?” he asked. Roodaka looked up at her master. “It would seem the Plan was successful, my Lord. But when I was in the Pit, Hydraxon said that the Brotherhood was defeated.” Teridax laughed at this as he walked back into the throne room. “The Brotherhood may have lost, but I have won. The destruction of my brethren was all part of the Plan.” Roodaka looked at her master in shock. “You destroyed your own kind?” she asked, before a frown creased her brow, “Why keep your word to me, if you wouldn’t for your fellow Makuta?” Teridax simply gave a shrug as he sat down on the throne and said, “I promised that you would rule beside me, Roodaka- I never made any such promise to my brothers. They had to be destroyed; they were the only ones who had the knowledge and power to threaten my rule of this universe.” “What about the Order? Or the Toa?” Roodaka asked, walking over to the throne of the new Great Spirit. “The Toa Nuva and the Toa Mahri fled this city along with the Turaga and most of the Matoran, and now they’re on the run. As for the Order, I’ve destroyed their headquarters at Daxia, scattered the survivors to the wind, and am now holding their leader prisoner. She’s sealed away in the caverns underneath this city right now.” “And the Dark Hunters?” Roodaka asked, “I worked with them long enough to know that the Shadowed One will not accept your rule.” Teridax scratched at his chin in thought for several seconds. Finally, he said, “An excellent point, my dear. Those vermin have been an annoyance for far too long. I think it’s high time they were exterminated.” Teridax closed his eyes, and his body glowed with power as a wind suddenly swept through the room. It settled down almost immediately, and the glow disappeared from Teridax’s form. “What was that?” Roodaka asked, shocked by the display of raw power she had just witnessed. “Oh, nothing much,” Teridax said nonchalantly, examining his fingers, “I just transported a battalion of Rahkshi to Odina. That should keep the Shadowed One and his cronies busy for a while.” Roodaka was about to ask another question, but Teridax interrupted when he felt the ground shake. “What?!? What is this?!!?” Smoke filled the room and soot and ash mixed in with it as well. When the smoke cleared, two figures stood in the room in front of Teridax and Roodaka, one of which Teridax had never met, and one a figure that made Teridax whisper only one word. “No…” “You killed many innocent people in the past few days,” said one of the figures. “Now we will see to it that they are avenged.” With that Toa Lhikan and Toa Krakua charged forward, ready to confront their greatest enemy.