Out of the Ashes/Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Quake felt he was good at investigating. Sure, sometimes he had to resort to threats, but he always managed to get what he wanted. But today, that was not the case. He had gone over the town, inside and out, talked to every person he could possibly find, and found out basically nothing. No one could tell Quake anything that Renua hadn't already said.

Quake now found himself wandering the streets, thinking through the information he had again. Renua had been very careful to be positive about Juhhar and his organization. Careful enough to make Quake think that Juhhar was hiding something nasty. But suspicions didn't make anyone talk about it.

Eventually, Quake decided he'd return to the hotel, have dinner, and finish his preparations to leave. He'd have to travel South-East, to the center of the Kerris Island Cluster where Droschan was. It was the opposite direction Quake wanted to go, but if he could get the money to travel to Stelt, or the Northern Continent, or anywhere else for that matter, it would be worth it. Quake didn't think about what he'd do elsewhere. He didn't know, and he didn't want to think about how purposeless what he was doing was.

He finally found himself reaching the hotel entrance, and swung the door open only to freeze in his tracks. There was a brawl going on in the hotel. Taking stock of the situation, Quake realized it wasn't a brawl. It was an attack, and Renua and his friends appeared to be the victims. Given the lack of people, Quake guessed that the other hotel patrons were hiding in their rooms. Given that a few of the assailants had knives and the apparent leader, a Steltian, had a sword, he decided those people had chosen wisely. Quake, on the other hand, didn't really feel like making a wise decision.

"Break it up, NOW!" Quake boomed, his voice easily drowning out the sounds of fighting. "As a Toa of the Order of Altronia I demand you surrender yourselves!" ''Maybe being a Toa is useful. ''He thought. The Steltian laughed. "Kill this chump, lads. " ''Or not. . .''

Quake whipped out his swords before the attackers could advance on him, causing them to freeze in their tracks. "I have an idea," Quake said. "How about everyone puts their pointy objects away, and you five all take me on in a fist fight. The losers, you five, all get to go to jail. Sound fair?" The Steltian sneered and slowly sheathed his sword. "Fine, we'll just beat you down without having to risk any severe injuries. Works for me." In the background, Renua and his men were working with the hotel manager to put as many tables and chairs between them and the attackers as possible. ''Or, don't help me out, Renua. That works too.''

"So, you five are what, a gang? What do you call yourselves, the pathetic punchers? Or maybe the weak hitters?" Quake taunted. The first two rushed forward, now angry and intent on rushing and beating him down. Quake lunged at the left one, slamming into him and knocking the thug flat, and then dodged a punch from the first one, delivering his own lightning-fast riposte a moment after. Quake followed up with a kick that sent his opponent flying back into the others.

The first thug got up and, with the the third and fourth, began circling Quake. He smiled at their sudden caution. Before they could surround him, he attacked the third, faking a high swing and then driving his fist into the thug's chest. The first lunged forward and Quake wheeled, ducking under a swing and smashing his heel into the first's ankle. The first winced and stumbled, and Quake floored him with two quick, disabling blows. In the meantime, the fourth had grabbed a chair, which was simply a polished block of wood, and swung it into Quake as he turned. He hit the ground hard, and the fourth brought the chair up to smash down on him. Quake rolled on the ground and swung his right leg into the fourth's knees, and with a cry of surprise and pain, the thug fell. Quake rose to his feet first and delivered a swift kick to the fourth, taking him out. Smirking, he turned to face the remaining three. The smirk disappeared when the Steltian hit him like a Kane-Ra bull.

Quake hit the ground hard. His head snapped back, slamming into the cobble floor. He slowly looked up as a foot slammed down on his chest, pinning him in place. Through blurry eyes, he watched as the Steltian drew his sword and, seemingly in slow motion, raised it. Still in slow motion, the Steltian began thrusting his sword down at Quake's throat.

Clarity came in an instant. The blade plunged down and Quake's left arm suddenly swung up, his palm hitting the flat of the blade and shifting it to the side just enough. The moment the sword stuck into the ground, Quake grabbed the Steltian's hand and the handle of the blade. The Steltian tried to pull his hand back, only for Quake's grip to tighten. With a grunt of effort, Quake shoved the surprised Steltian's foot off and rose to his feet, pulling the Steltian's hand up so that the sword was pointing up between them as he rose. That was when they both noticed that the sword was literally rusting before their eyes.

Quake paused and stared at the sword as it rusted away, not particularly noticing that he was tightening his grip and that the Steltian was practically on his knees from the pain. "I believe I've just discovered my mask power." Quake stated, leaning down close to the Steltian's face as he said it. "Which means you, and all my enemies, are in a lot of trouble."

Cerran was having a good day. Not just a good day, a great day! He had a good job, with a pay raise in his near future, had a good house, and was about to go and have a big dinner at the Sleepy Dermis hotel to celebrate. Given his focus on the good times ahead, it's not surprising that he was completely shocked when a Steltian went flying through the double-doors of the hotel to land at his feet. He was still staring at the Steltian when a Varen went flying through as well, and was still staring at the Varen when another one went flying out the doors. His mouth hanging open, Cerran stepped back as two Vortixx joined the three already outside.

Quake strode out the doors to the Steltian, leaned over him, and, with a smile, said two words: "You. Lose."

Things had wrapped up nicely. The local police, having been informed of the "brawl" in the hotel, quickly arrived on the scene with a warden from the Order of Altronia and arrested the thugs. Then Quake, Renua, and Renua's friends were all individually questioned. That was less enjoyable.

Quake was currently being interrogated by the Altronia warden, a Toa of stone named Razii. "So, you entered the hotel and saw the fight going on. Then what did you do?" The Warden asked. "I sized the situation up, saw that it wasn't just some brawl, and charged in." Quake replied. "I see. . .What made you decide it wasn't 'just some brawl'?" "One side was using weapons. Renua's lot will be able to correlate with that." "Hm. . .Very well. Now for more serious questions; Where did you learn to fight well enough to win a five on one?" Quake paused. He didn't particularly want to answer, but he knew there wasn't much of an option. "It wasn't really-" Quake started, only to stop when Razii shook his head. "Answer the question." Razii ordered. Quake sighed. This could be interesting. He thought. "Let's see... I've brawled all over these islands, usually joining one or unintentionally starting one. I studied martial arts under the tutelage of a Runask on Stelt, and I studied and sparred with a Skakdi and a Yelnir on the boat ride to Stelt, as well as the ride to these islands. Oh, and I apparently learn really quickly."

Razii raised an "eyebrow." Runask had excellent muscle memory and, with diligence, could become masters of anything in a short amount of time. Yelnir were a weaker species, but were extremely agile and fought with powerful kicks and disabling blows. And Skakdi, well, Skakdi were just plain brutal. If this 'Quake' fellow was really a good learner, then Razii was sitting in front of one of the deadliest beings he had ever met. And, depending on his morale standings, an excellent recruit.

"That leaves one final question for you, Quake," Razii stated. "Why did you help?" Quake froze at the question. "What?" Razii continued staring at Quake, waiting for his answer. "Well, uh. . .I just. . ." Quake stuttered. He didn't know why it was so hard. "I don't even know. Renua seemed like a nice guy, so, I thought I'd help him."

Razii continued to stare at Quake. "Are you sure it didn't have something to do with the fact that you're a Toa?" The response was not quite what Razii hoped for. Quake's look darkened greatly, and his voice filled up with anger. "I'm not a Toa. Nowhere near one. Toa stand up for the less fortunate, give up their lives for others, and yet at the same time, hold back from using their full potential. Toa are foolish, choose to be weak, and aren't up to the task of taking care of the universe, let alone the Matoran! This place is a clear example of that."

Razii was silent for nearly a full minute, contemplating his option. He didn't have the morally inclined individual he was hoping for, and he didn't have any more questioning to do. Finally, he decided on his response. "Very well, Quake. You may go, but remember this: I've fought every type of vile thing this universe has to throw at me for all my life, walked through Karzahni and back on a dozen occasions, and you know what it's made me?" Razii leaned closer across the table. "Not afraid to stand up for what's right. Fearless for what's right. And it's a trait I have that you clearly lack."

Quake stared back at Razii, and continued staring at where Razii was when he got up and left. His personal opinion of Toa had not improved, but he knew for sure: Razii was right.

It was a full thirty minutes before Quake got up and left, having been lost in his thoughts.