Dark Realities

Dark Realities is a story serial that focuses on the struggle between a resistance of freedom fighters and the combined forces of Eostra Nihiltian, the Dark Lord, and Millennium, who have conquered the recently reformed Spherus Magna in an alternate universe.

Prologue
A cloaked figure moved through the darkened skies of the night. She strode through the land with confidence and strength, not fearing the dangerous creatures that stalked these parts. They held no threat towards her, no significance, and if they dared attack her; well, their life wouldn't last as long as they had hoped.

It was for this reason none of the local wildlife within the Black Spike Mountains dared attack Eostra Nihiltian, for although she did not look like a particularly threatening opponent, her appearance disguised the raw power at her disposal; power that was nearly totally unmatched.

The Elemental Prince of Annihilation strode into the assigned meeting place, and growled in frustration. As she had predicted, no being had been at this meeting place. She knew she shouldn't be here. It had only been, perhaps, a day since Teridax's death at the hands of Mata Nui and the reformation of the planet Spherus Magna, and Eostra had already begun assembling the legions of the Shadowy Ones following their mass migration to the new world.

She was certain that if she attacked now, whilst the new society of the Matoran and Agori was being built; she could conquer all of Spherus Magna in several years; at maximum: a decade. However, a mysterious telepathic message had been sent to her shortly after her arrival on Spherus Magna, distracting her from her planning. The message was extremely cryptic, simply saying meet within the mountains.

Whilst she knew from her own experiences throughout her life that it could merely be a trap prepared by one of her enemies, something about the message told her it wasn't; and she couldn't help but remain curious as to what this "meeting" was about.

Eostra turned to leave the clearing, when she heard the sound of heavy, armored footsteps trudging towards her. She turned towards the direction the noises were coming from, and raised her mighty trident as she took an offensive stance.

She waited a total of five seconds.

Then, out from the darkness of the forest, came the rough outline of a tall, bulky, yet surprising lean, figure. Although no definitive aspects of this being's appearance could give away it's identity, the moment Eostra's eyes locked with that of the entity's, she knew immediately who it was.

"So... the legendary "Dark Lord" of the mighty Empire of Shadows has summoned me," said Eostra in a bitter tone.

The Dark Lord was a being of great power, so great that his strength perhaps rivaled her own. She didn't like beings that were on equal terms with her own advanced levels of power.

The Dark Lord didn't move from the darkness, almost making it seem as if the shadows themselves were clinging to his body, grafted their by some unseen force. All Eostra could truly make out were those piercing red eyes, eyes that had struck fear into the hearts of thousands who had met his gaze. Eostra was not one of them.

"I did not summon you," spoke the Dark Lord in a chilling tone. This confused Eostra, though did not surprise her, and she quickly realized the situation.

"Then you are here for the same reason I am."

Had she been able to see him, the Dark Lord would have been nodding.

"Indeed you are," spoke a new voice.

Eostra and the Dark Lord turned their heads, and before them stood a tall, intimidating silver and black being, wielding a menacing axe, and dressed in a dark cloak. This time, the arrival of this particular entity did take Eostra by surprise.

The being chuckled lightly. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is—"

"Millennium," spoke the Dark Lord in disbelief, "leader of the Shadow of Ages... but you cannot possibly exist. Everybody knows that the tales of Millennium are a myth. Stories told to the Matoran in order to scare them into working harder."

"So it would seem," spoke Eostra. "Though why do you summon us here. If the legends surrounding you are true, you possess a mighty army, and following the recent circumstances of Teridax's death, we all need to rebuild our empires."

Millennium simply smiled; a truly ugly expression. "That is why I summoned you here. This world is weak, whilst we stand strong and proud. I'm more than aware that once we reform our legions we will all attempt to claim this world as our own domain. However, our three mighty factions will no doubt clash in an effort to claim ultimate power."

"Then let it stay that way," cried the Dark Lord, the tone of his voice forcing the nearby rocks to crack. "Let the strongest empire stand over the others, and rule the world."

"True," spoke Millennium. "But a war between our armies would only result in huge casualties on all sides that would cripple our forces to the point where the Matoran and Agori could stage an uprising… and actually succeed."

Eostra spoke. "What are you proposing, then? What solution do you suggest to this problem?"

Millennium laughed hard, prompting Eostra to launch her fearsome powers of annihilation at the Shadow of Ages leader. This was followed by another blast of power from the Dark Lord, who attacked Millennium merely out of cruelty, as was his nature.

Millennium shrugged off the blast, and bombarded Eostra's mind with a powerful mental blast that shattered her concentration. The smile that had decorated Millennium's face earlier had vanished, and this time, he spoke in a much more menacing tone.

"The 'solution' I refer to is an alliance between our empires. We are all equals, and neither of us could truly triumph over each other in a battle without killing ourselves off in the process. No, if we unite and join forces, we could cause the rise and falls of civilizations on a whim, we could lay waste to entire cities effortlessly, and we could even conquer all those celestial bodies that exist beyond this world."

Silence followed Millennium's speech before the Dark Lord spoke up. "Very well. I hereby commit the vast armies of the Empire of Shadows to this alliance, with the single goal of conquering creation itself. Once this is done, we shall rule together as the universe's true and just masters."

"Excellent!" cried Millennium. "And I therefore commit the devotion and power of the Shadow of Ages to this cause with you, Dark Lord, and together, we will ensure the conquest of all reality itself!"

The two entities turned to face Eostra, her head bowed menacingly as she weighed her final decision in the depths of her twisted mind. ''This alliance is unstable; though it may suit my purposes until the time our conquests are complete. Once that is done; I will have no need of these two, and the art of betrayal shall be required.''

I wouldn't try that if I were you," said the Dark Lord, who had been reading her mind lazily.

Millennium continued the dark being's speech. "We each are all-powerful in our own right; and betraying each other would only critically weaken our alliance to the point of collapse. Face it, Eostra: you need us, whether you like it or not."

"And therefore, we're the only beings you can trust," the Dark Lord added finally.

Eostra raised her head, and stared at Millennium and then at the Dark Lord, whose crimson eyes never flickered away from her. She then chuckled.

"Very well, then. I, Eostra Nihiltian, hearby ally the might of the Shadowy Ones and the Corpse Empire to the cause of this union. And I now decree that Spherus Magna, and the worlds beyond it, shall fall!"

The Dark Lord spoke up. "Excellent. Now let us part ways for the time being, we must gather our legions, and ready them for battle."

"Indeed," finished Millennium. "And once that is done, we shall come to this place one final time before our conquest, and once we have cemented our alliance, Spherus Magna shall submit before us. Because from this point onwards, we are no longer three different factions fighting over domination, but a sole indestructible force of unparalleled power. We are the ones who now decide reality’s fate. We are the ones who choose who lives and who dies. For we our now, and forever more... the Dark Empire! Now come, my... friends. The time has come for us to rewrite the course of destiny itself..."

Chapter 1
Leviathos walked through a dust-covered hall, in a city that had once been called Atero, the location of the partially destroyed Arena Magna. So much had changed on their world since Millennium, Eostra, and the "Dark Lord" had taken over most of the planet in the past 100 years. All the inhabitants of the planet; regardless whether they were native to Spherus Magna or the Matoran Universe, lived in constant fear of death from day-to-day, and were forced to hide out in the most remote places to stay alive. In response to the takeover, Leviathos and several other beings had formed a resistance against the conquerors, and had their base made in the ruins of Atero, a place where no one would look for them. After all, who was going to look in an old arena, laid waste by an army of Skrall, for a group of rebels?

After arriving in the city, Leviathos and his allies had partially rebuilt Atero, and managed to stabilize the old building's structure. They had added a number of extra chambers to the original architecture and constructed a number of underground tunnels and emergency escape routes out of the city.

Leviathos walked into a room, where five other beings sat around a circular table. He knew these beings as the resistance's leaders. Decorating the walls surrounding them were the carvings of several great Glatorian: Ackar, Tarix, Vastus, and Certavus to name all but a few. The room was famous, and was referred to by the Agori as the Wall of Champions.

One of the beings seated, a Ko-Matoran named Ixtil, rose up from his chair. "Hello, Leviathos. Please have a seat."

Leviathos sat down on a rickety and dust-covered chair, and looked to a battered, hulking, white and gray figure carrying a large staff. "Conqueror, any word from our outpost in the Tesara region?"

Conqueror sighed. "Yes, but not anything good."

Leviathos looked intently at him. "Let me guess: they were overrun, and no one survived?"

Conqueror leaned back. "Absolutely correct."

"What of the attack on the Dark Lord's fortresses on borderline of the Northern Frost?" asked Leviathos.

We managed to catch four of his fortresses by surprise, and used the sheer power of our numbers to claim three more," said the figure that Leviathos recognized as Shardak. "We've gained a foothold in the Northern Frost, though our scouts have discovered large contingents of Dark Empire soldiers, led by Makuta Treix, on the march to recapture their bases."

"I calculate we have an approximate chance of 64.3% of surviving the assault, with a 46% chance that Triex's armies will force us to retreat," added Ixtil.

"Excellent," cried Toa Jareroden. "That means we'll be able to loot their fortresses of anything valuable, resupply, and be prepared enough to tackle Treix's forces with devastating results. Once that's done, and with Treix's forces exhausted, I'll be able to lead my army through the White Quartz Mountains to the borderlines of the Black Spike Mountains, where we have chance of capturing that weapons-manufacturing outpost."

Many would have considered Jareroden unfit to be one of the resistance's leaders, despite being an experienced warrior. Perhaps this was mainly because the leading council was made up of only the most seasoned, cunning, and powerful warriors still fighting the dark beings that ruled over all.

However, the war with the Dark Lord and his allies had changed Jareroden. He had evolved from a simple Toa into a hardened veteran of combat. As such, he was considered a worthy leader, and following his success during the Fourth Occupation of Vulcanus, he was believed capable of heading the resistance with its other founders.

Leviathos turned to face the last resistance leader, who had yet to give a report.

"And what do you have to share, Freztrak? Did you and your forces manage to smuggle those Water Stones out from Eostra's kingdom in the Great Jungle."

The former Skakdi warlord remained quiet for minutes that felt like hours before finally speaking.

"We only managed to steal eighteen stones. We originally left with at least fifty, though our caravan was ambushed by a bounty hunter named Nightwatcher. He took thirty of our Water Stones, and the lives of over a dozen of our warriors. We... we lost Mersery in the conflict that followed. He distracted Nightwatcher from killing us all by battling him, sacrificing his life to give us the time to return to Atero. Mersery knew what he was going against. He didn't stand a chance."

All the seated beings bowed their heads in respect for their fallen comrade.

Eventually, Leviathos broke the silence. "Jareroden, get your army ready to leave, it's a long way to the Northern Frost, and our troops up there will need all the help they can get."

The Toa nodded, and left the room in silence. Leviathos turned back to the rest of the leaders. "The times are darkening. The armies of our enemies are growing."

Shardak looked at Leviathos, and spoke the same words that a Glatorian named Gresh had spoke over a hundred years before. "Leviathos, do you think we can win?"

Leviathos sighed, and spoke the same words Tarix had spoke a hundred years ago. "No, Shardak, I don't think we can, all I know is that we have to win, or else... or else all is lost to the shadows..."

With that, the resistance leaders rose from the table, nodded to each other, and went their separate ways, each with their own matters to attend to. Had they possessed the hearing of a De-Matoran, perhaps they would have heard, thousands of miles away, the sound of the dark laughter echoing on the wind.

Two Corpsians stood guard outside of one of their outposts in the Great Jungle. It had been a relatively boring day; no one had come, save a few scouts and messengers from other areas of the world. No fighting had been waged in that area of the vast forest, some troops were thankful that they didn't have to risk their necks in the front, while others, such as the two Corpsian guards, longed to be out in the fighting. But, they had been stationed here following an "accident" with one of the Dark Lord's machines.

One Corpsian pointed a clawed finger into the morning mist. "Look, someone's coming."

The two black-armored beings crossed their spears, barring anyone from entering. A voice then pierced the fog, carrying more than a hint of insanity. "Don't worry, troops, it's just me."

The being stepped into view, and one of the guards spat out his name with distaste. "Merodos."

The insane Skakdi/Makuta nodded. "Bingo."

One of the Corpsians pointed to something Merodos was dragging behind him. "What's that?"

Merodos held out the slumped figure of a black and green Skrall. "Oh, this? This is one of the resistance lackeys I captured. His name is Korzor."

The Corpsians drew back their weapons. "You may pass."

Without another word, Merodos walked into the shadowed doorway. Once he reached a designated prison cell, he flung his captive unceremoniously inside. Once he was out of the room, Korzor raised his head, and activated a hidden commlink, just like the ones all the other resistance members used.

"Alright, I'm in."

A muscular black and gray armored Toa walked down a long, narrow corridor. His name was one ushered with fear and terror in every village and every hidden rebel base. He was known to rain death and destruction down on entire settlements without a single regret. He was known for butchering anyone who dared to stand in his path. And, finally, he was known for his lack of any social ties, any connections to any factions that could affect his loyalties.

It was for this reason the bounty hunter Nightwatcher had such a profitable job. Bounty hunting was dangerous work on this planet, even for him, but it ensured the highest pay. As the centuries had passed, more and more bounty hunters had perished, until only the most ruthless, merciless, and skilled bounty hunters remained to reap the rewards of the missions offered.

Nightwatcher entered a large chamber. The room was circular, and nearly pitch black. All that lit the room were small Lightstones embedded in the ceiling, generating only enough light to see the ground. However, as Nightwatcher walked before a flight of stairs that ascended to a high platform with a massive throne mounted on it, Nightwatcher could make out the rough form of Eostra Nihiltian.

She activated her Mask of Dread, hoping to humble the war-hardened killer before her vast and incomprehensible power. The mask had no effect on the fearsome bounty hunter. Eostra projected her mask's power to its full level, which would be enough to drive even the shielded mind of a member of the Order of Mata Nui insane.

"Don’t bother, your majesty. Your mask has no effect on me." Nightwatcher spoke calmly, with a hint of mockery in his tone.

Eostra shrugged. "May I question you as to how?"

"No," said Nightwatcher with a chuckle. "Call it... my little secret."

This was a statement new to Eostra. No one would ever dare to reject anything Eostra demanded out of a fear of suffering pain greater than death, though Nightwatcher was a different subject entirely. For now, she tolerated the bounty hunter.

"Did you succeed?" she inquired.

Nightwatcher nodded, hurling thirty water stones out of a small bag.

"What of the rebels who dared steal them? Did you... deal with them?"

Nightwatcher didn't reply. Instead, he snapped his fingers and two Corpsians entered the room, and threw the body of Mersery onto the ground.

"I decided to keep this one's body intact as a trophy for you. I killed several other rebels too. Zyglak, Skakdi, Matoran, Agori. Their bodies were... in too many pieces to bring before you."

Eostra chuckled. "So... one of the key figures of the resistance is dead. Millennium will be most pleased that his old nemesis is gone."

"Ah, well that's nice to know. Now how about you stop rambling and start paying me. Seven thousand I believe I was promised; and I would prefer it now."

"In time, my murdering ally," replied Eostra. "But first, I want you to complete another assignment."

"Which is?"

"A group of rebels were spotted walking through the village that connects my kingdom with that of the Dark Lord's. Three days before this, another group of organized rebels infiltrated my archives, and stole valuable information that is essential to my plans. I believe those resistance fighters are the same ones that were caught wandering through the villages."

"Who would I be going against?" asked Nightwatcher, who lazily added a fake yawn to introduce a false sense of boredom.

"A small band of resistance fighters. My spies name them Nalek, Crystallus, Galika, Tryx, Shika, Lesovikk, Bomonga... all of whom are being led by Toa Hydros."

Nightwatcher thought for a time. Not exactly an easy hunt, but profit could be made from it. "I'll accept on the condition you double my usual fee."

"I'll increase your reward by a triple, though only if you bring all the rebels back to my fortress... dead preferably."

Nigtwatcher smiled, and finished their conversation with four words that could possibly seal the fates of six individuals.

"You've got a deal."

Chapter 2
All was quiet as darkness shrouded Spherus Magna in a half-light. Nothing could be seen or heard, save the footsteps of a tall being.

His name was Tetrack, and he was once a ruler himself.

After Millennium's self-proclaimed takeover, Tetrack and a small group of his most loyal aides had survived and joined a small group of rebels. Now he was following their leader, a Toa known as Blast. He, Tetrack, and two other Toa were attempting to find a passageway into the Eostra's fortress.

"No Corpsian guards," Blast muttered under his breath. "Odd."

Tetrack was seriously considering crushing Blast to bits and taking the consequences for such an act of betrayal. It was extremely annoying for him, following a small, weak Toa into battle. Although Tetrack knew he needed Blast and his allies, at least for know, Tetrack knew that a fight between them was near.

The dark being motioned to one of his servants, a Makuta known as Kaluu.

"This way," he snarled. "Blast has found a way in."

Tetrack took a long breath, savoring every moment of conquest. Soon, every Toa who stands in my way will die, and I alone shall rule the universe.

Neocrax and Tenork crouched on a hill, watching as an assorted army of Empire of Shadows and Shadow of Ages soldiers marched alongside a riverbed.

Tenork turned to Neocrax, and asked him the same question the sixth time in as many minutes. "Are you sure you know the plan?"

The Rahkshi-headed Makuta sighed. "Yes, Tenork, after all the times you've asked me I think I should."

The Torshurrr pointed to a depression in the rocky land. "Good, once they get to there, our forces hidden in the riverbed can ambush them, and drive them back."

Neocrax tightened his grip on his daggers as the enemy approached the depression.

Rando, Gurren, Algor, and about twenty other Toa hid in the shadow of the riverbed, waiting for the army of the enemy to pass.

Gurren nervously toyed with his hand-gun. "How much longer?"

Rando whispered between clenched teeth. "Not long. Be patient, or do you want to run headlong to your death?"

All fell silent as heavy trudging sounded directly above them, and great shadows were cast along the ditch as the opposing army marched not three feet above them. Eventually, the time to strike came.

Rando leapt out of the ditch, yelling. "NOW! ATTACK!"

The many Toa leapt out of the riverbed, followed by Algor.

Meanwhile, Neocrax and Tenork raced down the hill and joined the battle. Neocrax launched a blast of laser vision, killing several Imperials and Shadow of Ages members. Tenork flung his torch, setting an empire soldier ablaze.

Gurren watched in horror as Algor was felled by a Shadow of Ages soldier's blade. "Algor! No!"

The Ko-Matoran fell to the hard ground, his lifeless body making a soft thud against it. Enraged, Gurren unleashed his entire arsenal on the enemy, utilizing his handgun, his shoulder-mounted laser, his beam rifle, his Thornax Launcher, his shield, and his two swords. The enemy fell in waves before him.

Meanwhile, Rando flipped about, slashing with his blade. He had numerous cuts and dents in his armor, but he ignored it, caught up in the rush of the fighting.

Eventually, the enemy was demolished, save their leader, a Makuta named Vicoran.

Rando walked to the slain body of Algor, picked it up, and called to the remainder of the squad. "Come on, we need to get back to Atero."

Before they got ten feet from the battleground, a tall, quadrupedal, black and silver being appeared in front of them.

Neocrax twirled his daggers. "Skorpix..."

The Elemental Prince chuckled. "I'm glad my name is known in your resistance. Now, you will all perish."

Chapter 3
Shardak strode into the main arena of Atero. Following his council meeting, Shardak had been informed by a Toa known only as 95 of the completion of the resistance's large scale recruitment operation. New people made Shardak uneasy. Some were innocent beings who simply desired the chance for adventure and excitement, and lacked any real skills in combat. Some were shady characters plucked from the darkest corners of Spherus Magna, who couldn't be trusted, yet their powers and capabilities made them useful to Shardak's allies.

No matter, these new fighters were usually the first to have their heads removed, which wasn't Shardak's favorite thought to think about. He strode into the Arena Magna, standing atop of a podium in order to oversee the vast crowd before him. Shardak sighed before speaking.

"My name is Shardak. I'm one of the leaders of this faction. You, on the other hand, have no rank, no experience, and no idea as to what we're going against."

A Toa named Chronuva gulped hard.

"It is in the resistance's best interest to defeat our powerful enemies, yet their will be casualties, my friends. Battle shall never come too soon. Many of you may die fighting for this cause, whilst others may die in regret and guilt."

Shardak descended from the podium, and walked towards a vast training course that covered at least one quarter of the arena. "This training course will decide if you have the skill, power, and guts to survive the hardships ahead. The course won't kill you, though I can't grantee you'll all leave it in one piece."

A Skakdi warrior named Serhaktem sneered, looking at a Zyglak who looked all too eager for bloodshed. Another figure, Thornax, twisted a smile across his face, confident he could triumph over this practice course with ease.

Shardak sighed. "Very well, then. Take your marks. Three... two... one... GO!"

The warriors charged into the course. Several practice dummies emerged from the sandy floor as several other strange training devices retracted from the ground. Shardak walked back onto the podium. Beings of every kind were fighting to get into the resistance.

Zyglak, Matoran, Toa, Agori, and even a few Skrall as well. However, despite the fearsome conflicts that were taking place ahead, Shardak knew only a small collection of those warriors would make it through. It didn't exactly give the resistance a powerful boost of reinforcements, but it gave them the most determined and skilled warriors capable of fighting the Empire.

Far to the west of Atero, a patrol of dark soldiers strode through the rebuilt city of Tajun. Following Millennium, Eostra, and the Dark Lord's domination, they had authorized the reconstruction of the pillaged and ruined village of Tajun, which had been lost during a raid by a combined Skrall and Bone Hunter army during some war no one was bothered to remember.

Following the reconstruction of the city, it had served as one of Millennium's lairs and personal retreats during the early years of his rule. However, when Millennium began to favor his base in the Valley of the Maze over his one in Tajun, he began to pay less attention to the water village. Eventually it fell into anarchy, becoming a haven for murderers, exiles, bounty hunters, and thieves alike, resulting in it quickly transforming into a grimey crime underworld after a number Vortixx blacksmiths and rogue Nynrah Ghosts established a series of weapon factories in the city.

The leader of the patrol now wandering through these treacherous streets was known as Purberax, and his name was certainly something to be feared amongst the ranks of the resistance. After all, who wouldn't be terrified or at least unnerved by a Toa of Shadow who specialized in the killing of his own kind. He was accompanied by a much larger warrior named Raptrix, a warlord originally from the Southern Continent. Although they weren't the best pair, they were effective nonetheless.

They stopped at their destination: a battered, crumbling apartment building, all of its windows blocked off by large, wooden shutters. Dismissing the rest of their patrol, Raptrix and Purberax entered the building and were quickly upon the first floor; which consisted of a long, thin corridor which led to a short set of stairs which, in turn, led to a wooden door. Purberax and Raptrix headed to the top of the stairs, looking at the door as a dimly-lit Lightstone flickered above them.

With great hesitation, Purberax knocked on the door. Raptrix grumbled behind, and Purberax could understand why. Their assignment was both dangerous, and costly. After a few seconds a voice could be heard from behind the door.

"Who is it? Name yourself and your business."

"My name... is not important,” began Purberax. “Though I, and my companion, identify ourselves as a warriors of the three who rule this world."

"You mean you're lackeys of the Dark Lord, Millennium and Eostra? What brings you to these parts? Soldiers like you are more likely to be shot and stabbed than be welcomed in these streets."

Raptrix spoke up. "We come here with a... proposition for you. Our masters require your talents."

"I see... though what for? Or do you already know the nature of my job."

"We require you services for a special assignment," continued Raptrix. "One that requires the natural skills of one such as yourself."

"I see," said the being behind the door. "Then you know the prices I charge for such missions. My line of work is treacherous, risky, and dangerous all at once, and as such, I always expect to be well rewarded for completing my assignments."

This time, it was Purberax who spoke. "Our masters offer you a total of fifty thousand. No greater, no less."

The being, chuckled. "That's funny. If you truly wanted my abilities on the battlefield, you would be paying me eighty thousand. I accept no less than what I ask for."

"Are you crazy?" roared Raptrix in disbelief. "Eighty thousand is what a single merchant can make 400,000 years! You're pushing your luck too far. Our masters will make sure you..."

"That's... enough, Raptrix," replied Purberax, calm as ever. "Let me rephrase my earlier offer: How about I give you seventy-three thousand for your services; and you fulfil our leaders' missions."

The being muttered something incomprehensible for a few seconds, as if he was considering the proposal. Finally, he spoke again.

"I stick with my earlier price: eighty thousand. The lowest I'll go is seventy nine thousand."

"Seventy-six."

"Seventy-eight."

Purberax growled. His patience was now wearing thin. "I offer you a total and final fee of seventy seven thousand for your services, in addition to a decrease on the price on your head."

"What makes you think I want a price deducted from my death?" asked the being from behind the door.

"I like the idea that I'm considered a danger to your Empire, and besides, I like decent challengers to come and fight me every now and then. They keep my skills sharp, and my mind alert. Whatever made you think I want things to change?"

"Because if you don't," began Purberax. "We're going to increase that price on you by 75%, and I'm sure my masters wouldn't mind me hiring mercenaries such as Nightwatcher to kill you. Face it, you either settle on what you've got, or you loose your life."

There was a long pause.

Then, finally, the sound of protection mechanisms unlocking could be heard from behind the door. Once the clipping and snapping sounds of the defense devices had vanished, the door opened, and out came the tall and powerful form of the famous hunter Janneus, adorned in his pitted and scarred emerald armor.

"Well what are we waiting for," asked the bounty hunter. "I've got a mission to complete, and a reward to collect."

"In due time," added Raptrix. "But first, you’re making a trip with us to the Valley of the Maze."

"For what purpose?" demanded Janneus.

"Why, for our masters to explain your mission to you, as well as to allow you to meet your new... partners."

"Partners?" inquired Janneus in a confused tone.

"Indeed," added Purberax. "We've got a lot to talk about, my friend."

Chapter 4
Varkanax strode confidently across the razed village of Tesara, his jet-black armor gleaming as the huge warrior watched soldiers of the Corpse Empire root out surviving Agori and Matoran and brutally slaughter them. The villagers had stood absolutely no chance against the armies of Varkanax, who had led his legions on a surprise attack around the back of the village, while the main Shadow of Ages force had cut down the defenders.

After the resistance was formed against Eostra and the other two entities who ruled alongside her, Tesara had become a base for multiple resistance fighters. Tesara had been given a chance to surrender to the Shadow of Ages, and refused. However, a small group of Agori had escaped the razed city, and taken many of the resistance fighters with them.

Varkanax was not looking forward to telling Eostra Nihiltian he had failed. He had secured Tesera, but failed to capture most of the resistance fighters. Only two Resistance members had been captured, and neither of them were very powerful. One was an Agori, a minor soldier. Varkanax had crushed him, watching as shattered bits of his armor scattered across the ground. The other was a weak Toa, who killed himself rather then let Varkanax read his thoughts. Varkanax let out a malevolent hiss. The resistance may have been suicidal, but it was brave to the point of insanity.

An Aspect of Corpse walked over to Varkanax. "We have rounded up all the Agori and disposed of them," it said in the nasal, emotionless tone common of Corpsians. "They knew nothing."

"Of course not," Varkanax said, switching to the same tongue. It was said that only Elemental Demons and Corpsians could truly utter those words correctly, as the tongues of other beings were not designed to speak such words of pure evil. The only two exceptions were Eostra and the Shadowy One known as Skorpix, who together had created the Corpsian race. "The resistance is not stupid. They knew we would come for them eventually."

Varkanax turned, and issued orders to a small, elite group of Corpsians, mostly Aspects, but with a few Annihilator of Corpse as well. "We will pursue them. They could not have gone far."

Turning, the hulking Elemental Demon led the Aspects and Annihilators away from the destroyed village of Tesara, where hundreds of Matoran and Agori had died because they would not submit to the might of Eostra and Millennium.

Galika, Tryx, Shika, Nalek, and Crystallus were journeying along a narrow chasm, trying to hide from the Corpsian armies. After the razing of Tesara, the remainder of the resistance fighters were forced to flee, realizing that they would be killed if the Shadow of Ages soldiers captured them. Two resistance fighters, Agori villager Invek and Toa warrior Crodak, had been captured and killed after the surrender of Tesara.

"Shadow of Ages soldiers approaching," hissed Galika quietly. "Hundreds. Varkanax and a small force of Corpse Soldiers are coming this way."

Nalek cursed. "So Millennium is coming after us. He obviously doesn't want any of the resistance alive to warn the leadership of the resistance about the destruction of Tesera, or the planned attack on Vulcanus." With the fall of Tesara, Vulcanus was the only place in all of Spherus Magna where the resistance could roam freely. They had spies in Tajun, however, the crime-ridden half-destroyed village was hardly a safe haven. The Valley of the Maze, the Great Jungle, and Roxtus were ruled viciously by Millennium, Eostra Nihiltian, and the Dark Lord, respectively, and places no one could turn for help.

During the group's journey to Vulcanus, Nalek and the rest of the team had been led by the famed Toa Hydros following a successful raid on Eostra's libraries of secret knowledge. However, during their escape into the wastelands, they had stumbled into a small desert outpost, forcing Hydros, Nalek, and the rest of the team to kill the guards at the camp in order to prevent them from alerting the Dark Lord.

Knowing that warriors of the Empire of Shadows would be on their way to investigate, Hydros proposed to split up, with himself and two other Toa heading off to the west, intending to circle round and arrive at Vulcanus, whilst Nalek and the rest of the team had agreed to head off in the intended direction. The plan was to leave two sets of separate trails behind in order to confuse the "Dark Lord's" soldiers, forcing them to split up into smaller, much more manageable groups in order to track them down. As Nalek had anticipated, Hydros and the other two must have already reached Vulcanus at this point.

Tryx and Shika took up defensive positions, while Nalek prepared for the attack with his glowing sword raised. Shika and Galika readied twin Midak Skyblasters that they had taken from the corpses of Shadow of Ages gunmen.

A Copy of Corpse was the first to spot them. He barked a single nasal word to a tall, black-robed aspect, then fell dead to the ground with a wound from a Midak Skyblaster to his head.

"Idiot!" hissed Nalek at Galika. "You've given away our position!" Corpsians turned as one and saw Nalek's glowing golden armor amid the rocks.

Another aspect barked an order to a group of Shadow of Ages soldiers. The soldiers began to charge up the cliffs, ready to crush the forces that were trapped at the chasm. But Nalek's forces had one great advantage over those of the Shadow of Ages. They had ranged weapons, while the Shadow of Ages's soldiers were virtually unarmed, save typical spears. A few carried swords made of iron, and there were no ranged weapons in their force.

"All right," said Nalek, turning to his forces. "We go down, but we'll take as many as we can with us. Shika, Galika, and Crystallus, you all wield ranged weapons. As they charge, kill as many as you can before we all perish."

The Shadow of Ages soldiers charged, yelling battle cries that reverberated through the air as the Midak bullets, coupled with Cordak ammo, struck the soldiers dead on, flinging their corpses from the cliffs into the chasms below. "Fire!" Crystallus called as more Shadow of Ages warriors reached the slope's edge. Bullets found their mark as Shadow of Ages warriors fell screaming to their deaths.

But still more came, charging up the slopes. Crystallus turned, then was struck by a Corpsian's scythe. As he cried out when the Shredsteel pierced his body, Tryx flung himself at the Copy of Corpse, decapitating it in seconds and flinging its mangled body into the abyss below. Another Corpsian disarmed Shika, and a Shadow of Ages soldier turned and grabbed Galika from the throng. With Crystallus injured and Galika and Shika captured, the rest of the Shadow of Ages were able to climb up the slopes without fear of being shot down by Cordak bullets or Midak ammunition.

"Charge." ordered Nalek grimly. This was their last chance. At least one of them needed to survive to warn Hydros of the attack on Tesara. And without Galika and Shika, their task would be doubly as dangerous.

Nalek and the remainder of his team charged into the fray, Tryx cutting down Shadow of Ages soldiers like they were bothersome insectoid Rahi. Nalek dodged a blow from a Corpsian, then cut down another Shadow of Ages warrior. The Corpse lord who held Shika was inches away, and Nalek dodged a blow from his scythe and cut down another Shadow warrior before whipping around and facing the black-robed Corpsian.

Blocking a blow, he grabbed Shika from his grasp and pulled her over the edge of the chasm. As he fell, the Corpsian lashed out with his scythe, cutting a deep wound in his side. Nalek winced as he impacted on a ledge far below the one he and Tryx had been trapped on. He and Shika clung on desperately, but he could not support them both and they fell into the chasm below until they landed on the ground below.

"Run!" he yelled to Shika. "Tryx, Crystallus, and Galika will hold them off! We need to warn Hydros!"

But as they ran, a thought nagged at him. Galika had seen another being with the Shadow warriors and the Copies of Corpse.

Where was Varkanax?

Nightwatcher peered through the shadows, watching as Shika and Nalek turned and fled from the Shadow of Ages warriors.

He had been tracking the Toa until they had split up. He had followed the group led by Nalek, realizing that he was walking into a Shadow of Ages trap. He had watched the battle and seen the capture of Galika and Shika, and Nalek's and Shika's desperate escape from the Corpse lord Now, he saw another being, Varkanax, following the beings, and Nightwatcher pitied them.

''I'll watch Varkanax crush these Toa, and if he fails, I'll finish them off. If he succeds, I'll be off to Vulcanus.''

Nightwatcher absolutely did not care who lived or died in this conflict.

''Let the Toa fight the Dark Empire, and the Dark Empire fight the Toa. I alone will survive unscathed, and with a considerably larger amount of widgets.''

Nightwatcher followed them like a shadow, proving his name was well-earned.

And far, far more power than anyone has ever dreamed of.

Chapter 5
Tryx, Crystallus, and Galika formed a triangle, trying to hold of the oncoming Corpsians and Shadow of Ages soldiers, but it was becoming evident that they were fighting a losing battle, as they were gradually getting surrounded.

Crystallus yelled over the sounds of the conflict. "I don't think we can hold out much longer!"

Galika ducked under a blade swipe from a Corpsian, and slashed him across his face. "We have to randeviouz with Hydros!"

About five bio away, a Shadow of Ages soldier stood on a rock, armed with a plasma launcher. He looked through the scope, and aimed at Tryx, who was demolishing several Corpsians. The Makuta punched a hole in the chest armor of a Shadow of Ages soldier, and at the same time, he flung a Corpsian into a very sharp rock.

He turned around to see a bolt of plasma hurtling toward him, but it was too late. The Makuta screamed in agony as the plasma hit, almost immediately incinerating his armor. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign Tryx had ever stood there.

Crystallus tried creating ice barriers, but each time he did, they were shattered by Corpsians, or Shadow of Ages soldiers' weapons.

The Toa of Ice swung his blade, decapitating a Corpsian. "Galika, I can't hold them off much longer, get out of here! Save yourself!"

But, the message fell deaf on the Toa of Water's ears, as she had already been overwhelmed by Dark Empire soldiers, and knocked unconscious.

Crystallus kicked a Corpsian off of him, and sighed. "Well, I guess it's up to me then — AUGH!"

He doubled over in pain, after a Shadow of Ages soldier slashed him across his stomach, and crumpled to the ground. He braced himself for a hit, and when it came, unconsciousness was a blessing.

Two Shadow of Ages soldiers, each bearing the unconscious forms of Galika and Crystallus, trudged through the sand of the Wastelands surrounding Roxtus, the "Dark Lord's" current base of operations.

The soldier carrying Galika peered through the mist. "Going to this place always gives me the creeps."

The soldier carrying Crystallus muttered to himself. "Me too, what's up with all the mist?"

The other soldier shrugged, almost dropping Galika. "How would I know?"

Eventually, they reached the skull-like structure of the city, and it's shadowy entrance held no welcome. They walked in, and took a moment to look around. Apparently, the Dark Lord had done major renovating inside the massive city, as there was no sign Skrall had ever resided there. The skeletal forms of the Empire of Shadows' soldiers could be seen scurrying here and there, either creating new war machines or gathering for a siege. The city was extremely advanced, as alien technology could be seen everywhere, while on the other hand it was barbaric, as masks and other trophies of conquest could be seen adorning the walls.

They continued walking, and eventually reached large, Protosteel doors, with the symbol of the Dark Empire on it, and guards stood on either side of it.

They crossed their weapons, barring the two Shadow of Ages soldiers from entering. "Halt! Who dares enter the realm of the Dark Lord?"

The Shadow of Ages soldiers promptly answered. "We are soldiers of Millennium, and we have two Toa captives." They showed the guards the unconscious forms of Galika and Crystallus.

The guards lowered their weapons. "Alright, you may enter."

The metallic door opened, and a dark room illuminated by dark red Lightstones could be seen. The two soldiers walked in, dragging the Toa behind them. Their hearts froze with fear, as two bloodred eyes opened.

"What is your business in my realm?"

One of the soldiers gulped audibly. "W-we have two captive T-Toa, my lord."

The ghost of a smile appeared on the Dark Lord's lips. "Excellent; now, I have no further use for you..."

Before they had time to react, they felt their heartlights shutting down, and in seconds, they were dead.

He called to two Imperial soldiers. "Clean this up, I cannot abide a mess in my throne room. Also, take these two Toa to the prison cells."

The soldiers nodded, and went to their tasks, quickly, as they knew that failure to do so would be seen as incompetence, and incompetence would be met with great punishment. Once they were finished, they nodded to their master, and left.

Once they were out, the Dark Lord leaned back in his black throne.

''Millennium and Eostra think they have power, but they are wrong, I am ultimate power. Soon I will have no further use for them, and they will be dealt with, and I alone shall rule...''

Far away to the south, in the village of Vulcanus, Raanu strode down one of the empty streets of his tribe's settlement. Alongside him stood the powerful form of Toa Hydros, his battle-scarred armor gleaming dully in the orange light of the evening. Raanu knew who he was, though that didn't mean he was happy to see him. "Why should I let your kind take root here?” he demanded. “Why should I put my people in danger by letting you give Vulcanus unwanted attention? We're under enough pressure as it is."

Hydros sighed. He was never the best at negotiating, and Raanu was a remarkably stubborn person when it came to decisions. Because of that, it would require extra effort and patience to sway him. However, he could understand the reasons behind the Fire Agori worry. After the Dark Empire had taken over, the Fire Tribe had become an important factor in the mass production of weapons and other tools due to the skill the fire villagers expressed in the art.

Several of the best mask makers, crafters, and weapons-smiths had been forced to leave their homes and travel to Vulcanus in order to aid in the work there. Trade with Iconox had been left open, and convoys carrying a combination of Exsidian and Protosteel would enter the village regularly. Raanu himself had retained command over the Fire Tribe, though everyone knew that he lacked any real control over the tribe, as his decisions were often "recommended" to him by members of the Dark Empire.

Nevertheless, he remained the village's elder, and he would lead the Agori and Matoran as best he could.

Finally, Hydros spoke again. "Look, I know... It's not easy being a leader. Trust me, I've had my fair share of leading groups against power-hungry tyrants, though that's all the past, and this is the present. The resistance would really appreciate it if you lent us any form of shelter here in your village. I am certain people such as Ixtil and Conqueror would be eternally grateful for your help. I..."

"You expect me to give into a few charming words," snapped Raanu. "You are greatly misguided. My people are already at risk by you and your two companions being here in the first place,"

Raanu sighed as he pointed at Hydros' two Toa companions, Lesovikk and Bomonga. Raanu turned, his eyes gleaming like a furious explosion, and slowly started walking away. Hydros was losing his patience. If his discussions with Raanu did not reach a suitable conclusion by the time Nalek and the others got here, then by the Great Beings, he prayed that the Dark Empire would not find them here.

Suddenly a thought came to Hydros' mind, a thought that could possibly turn the tables in this debate.

"Wait," Hydros called out to Raanu.

The Agori stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head.

"What if we organize residence in the underground tunnels of Iron Canyon? I'm sure the resistance can expand them enough for us to make a base. And from that point on, during the periods that the Dark Empire convoys aren't occupying Vulcanus, my warriors can walk freely inside the village until our scouts report enemies headed this way."

Raanu turned to face Hydros, took three strides towards him and looked the Toa dead in the eye. There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"Very well," he said in a cold tone. "I will approve of this... little arrangement, though be warned, Hydros. If the Empire's forces find you here, it will be your people who suffer, not mine."

Hydros knew this would be a tricky situation to live with, but he knew it wasn't going to get any better. With a heavy heart, he voiced his final three words on the matter. "It's a deal."

"Good," muttered Raanu. "Now when are your other warriors going to arrive?" "Oh, you mean Nalek and his companions," inquired Hydros. "They'll be here before dawn. I doubt they'll have ran into too much trouble on a mission as easy as this."

Chapter 6
Korzor sat in a damp cell. For any resistance fighter who lacked a plan, this would be a dreadful situation. Though Korzor was sharper than most warriors of his kind, and as a result, was prepared for every eventuality. He was a member of the Elite Warrior class, and therefore he was one of the most powerful Skrall within their ranks, and because of that, one of the most respected Skrall still alive.

Korzor looked at his Corpsian guard, who stared coldly at him from the other side of his cell, any emotions having been deprived from its face. Korzor was going to have to change this.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

The Corpsian didn't reply.

"Answer me, and turn that hollow shell you call a head away from me; the sheer magnitude of its ugliness is driving me mad!"

Like before, the Corpsian didn't reply.

Korzor chuckled before he changed his mood. "You know, I once knew an Agori just like you. He was from Iconox, I believe, and he ended up in a cell in Roxtus one day, where he betrayed his whole species just to save his own backside. He expected the world to go round the way he wanted, when he never knew how the future would play out for him, which is why..."

Korzor slowly opened a small compartment in armor around his waist, and pulled out a small, coin-sized disc. Abruptly, he lunged at his guard, the disc skidding across the ground and through the gap in-between his cell's bars. It hit the Corpsian's foot, prompting the creature to stare down and look at the coin in confusion.

To its surprise, a small bulb built into the device was flashing, and before the Corpsian could realize what was going, the disc detonated, melting the cell door and sending the Corpsian reeling backwards.

Korzor leapt out of his prison and wrestled the guard's sword from his grip. "Which is why you have to die," whispered Korzor calmly.

The Skrall lowered the blade, and in that one instant, ensured his jailer would never rise again. He sprinted down the corridor, ignoring the pleas of fellow cellmates to free them. All that mattered was what was in the lower depths of this fortress, in its basement. Finally, he reached a large, bolted door. Korzor eyed it for a second, and recognized its lock, one which required a series of codes to be unlocked. He began tampering with the mechanism, even as the footsteps of Corpsian guards sounded closer in his direction.

Korzor knew he had to be careful. This lock was one of the finest in existence, having originally been discovered by the Dark Lord in the Great Being's hidden laboratory in Tajun. If Korzor made one mistake in trying to unlock the device, he knew all the gears and mechanisms would melt within in it, preventing all entry into the chamber.

The footsteps grew louder.

Korzor tampered with the gears for a few more seconds until…

"Yes," he whispered to himself.

The lock opened, and Korzor dashed inside. He closed the door behind him, and the lock immediately reactivated itself and generated a random new code as Corpsian warriors hammered their claws on the door.

Korzor turned around, and his jaw dropped in shock. For there, right in front of him, beyond the platform he was standing on, was a massive, uncompleted, replica of the robotic head of the gigantic robot that had challenged Mata Nui 100 years ago, suspended above a huge bottomless pit. The leaders of the resistance called the robot "Teridax."

The upper half of the head was uncompleted, allowing Korzor to stare at the head's inner contents. All he saw was a series of gears and mechanisms connecting to a large circular dome. Korzor assumed that the device would act as the core processor of the robot. Suddenly, Korzor heard two voices echo throughout the massive chamber, prompting Korzor to retreat into the shadows.

Two figures strode past him, one an engineer of the Veiled One Empire, the other none other than Merodos himself.

"The processor's motor functions still appear to be acting up," began the engineer. "If we attach the head to the rest of it's behemoth of a body, it will suffer severe malfunctions to the point of total collapse."

"We still have a schedule," replied Merodos calmly. "We need to finish this project before the Dark Lord comes to retrieves it and shuts us down. We're running out of time."

"Then get some more," snapped the engineer, "If the robot is fully activated and the motors in its cranium fail, it may rebel and gain independence. So I suggest you go to your master and ask him to expand our time slot."

Merodos didn't speak. Instead, he responded by grabbing the engineer by the neck, slamming him against the nearby wall, and suspended him over the platform they were standing on. The engineer whimpered in terror, flapping his limbs uselessly as he tried to avoid falling.

"Now you really shouldn't talk like that," Merodos chuckled. "Otherwise, I may just accidentally loosen my grip on your neck, and accidentally watch you fall to the bottom of this pit to your death. Now, this is what you're going to do: You're going to fix this "motor function" problem, you're going to finish this sad, little face, and then you're going to watch it kill everything and everyone. Is that too much to ask of you?"

"N-no sir,” spluttered the engineer, his words reeking with fear. “I will increase our working efforts by triple of what it is now. The robot will then be completed on the assigned time to not only conquer Spherus Magna, but the countless worlds beyond it!"

"Good," answered Merodos coldly. "Now, get back to work!"

Merodos lifted the engineer high in the air, and threw him hard onto the dull, metal platform. The engineer swiftly climbed to his feet, and fearfully ran off to return to his work.

Merodos sighed light, a smile creasing across his face. "I really do love my job," he said as he walked off while his insane laughter echoed through the chamber, leaving a worried Korzor to ponder on what Merodos and his dark masters had in store for the rest of Spherus Magna.

Jareroden trudged through a blizzard in the Northern Frost, with about a hundred or so resistance soldiers behind him. He had ran through his plan at least seven times in his head: they were to intercept Treix's forces while they assaulted a Dark Empire base captured by the resistance, then head off into the Black Spike Mountains.

He climbed over a large hill, and surveyed the scene before him: hundreds of Dark Empire soldiers, with assorted war machines, assaulting a fortress about the size of Vulcanus, with resistance fighters fighting bravely against them.

The Toa had hoped they could arrive at the fortress before Treix, so they could rest, and resupply, but apparently, his hopes were denied.

Jareroden turned to the resistance soldiers. "Alright, soldiers, we have to get down there, fast, or else our forces down in that fortress are doomed. Now, for victory, for freedom!"

All the resistance soldiers gave a hearty cheer, raised their weapons, and charged down the hill. Jareroden's forces raced down the hill, eventually reaching the foot of it.

Jareroden cut the line of a catapult, making it collapse on itself, killing several of the skeletal Empire of Shadows soldiers.

The Toa spotted Treix through the mist, and raced at him, alsot slashing him, had the Makuta not leapt back just in time.

The Makuta chuckled. "Well, well, well, Toa Jareroden, one of the leaders of the resistance, this was most...unexpected, but, you must die either way."

Treix activated his chainsaw, and with a roar of rage, charged at Jareroden. He leapt up over Treix, and kicked him in the back, sending his enemy stumbling forward.

The Makuta immediately regained his composure, and slapped Jareroden across his face, hard. "You fool, you seriously expect to win the is battle? This war? Well, you are sadly mistaken."

Jareroden dodged away just in time before Treix bludgeoned him. "You're wrong, Makuta, we will win, and freedom will be restored to this world, and your Dark Empire will be destroyed."

Treix grabbed Jareroden's foot, and slung him into a nearby rock, almost splitting the rock in two. Jareroden slumped to the icy ground, half conscious. He blinked, and looked up, to see Treix looming over him, saw raised. "Now, Toa, your annoyance will end, permanently."

Jareroden's eyes widened, as time seemed to slow down, as the saw descended. The Toa flung his blade upward, and heard the sound of ripping armor when it hit. Jareroden opened one eye, and saw his blade, sticking right through Treix's stomach area. Jareroden pressed a button on the hilt, and electricity flowed through the blade. Treix screamed in agony, and fell back.

Jareroden smiled. "Over twenty thousand years, and this blade is as good as ever."

Treix extracted himself from the snow, clutching his abdomen so the Antidermis wouldn't flow out. "Toa, so foolish to attack a Makuta..."

Treix spread his wings, and flew through the air, shooting laser vision at Jareroden. Jareroden dodged most of them, and activated his Mask power, sending one bast slamming back into Treix's chest. The Makuta spiraled through the air, crashing into the snow covered ground. He got up, and and smiled ruefully at his scorched chest plate. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, so persistent. Let's take this to the next level, shall we?"

Treix launched a blast of chain lightning at Jareroden, who did a back flip, causing the bolt to miss, and electrify several Corpsians. The Makuta snarled in anger, and shot his Nynrah Ghost Blaster at Jareroden, who barely evaded. The Toa of Psionics turned his head, and used telekinesis to lift a catapult, and hurl it at Treix. The wooden structure slammed into the Makuta, disorienting him.

Jareroden chuckled, and started to circle Treix. "What's wrong, scum, getting rusty?"

Treix growled. "Don't push your luck, Toa."

Jareroden leapt above Treix's head, and slashed his wings, rendering them useless. Treix spun, and dug his claws into Jareroden's chest. The Toa of Psionics gave and agonized yelp, and fell face-first into the snow.

Treix put his foot on Jareroden's back. "What's the matter, Jareroden? No clever retorts? No rambling on about how your resistance will win? Very well, I suppose you must die then. It will be enjoyable taking the pleasure away from Benjarmin."

At the mere mention of his hated enemy's name, Jareroden gave a muffled yell of rage, and unleashed a telekinetic blast, sending Treix flying several kio into the air. When he eventually slammed into the snow covered ground, he found Jareroden's blade at his neck.

Jareroden's former mood had deserted him, and his face was stone cold. "That's impossible; he's dead."

Treix chuckled. "Oh no, you're far from correct; he's as alive as you are."

The Toa pressed his blade to Treix's throat, partially piercing it. "Where is he?"

Treix looked into Jareroden's eyes, cunningly. "Now, why exactly would I tell you?"

Jareroden pressed even harder on Treix's throat. "Tell me, or you might lose your head."

Treix's eyes narrowed. "Fine, he's in a Dark Empire base, in the Black Spike Mountains. Now..."

Treix launched the blast of shadow he was charging up, sending Jareroden flying through an ice wall, and skidding to the edge of a cliff.

The Makuta walked up to his prone enemy, and picked him up by the throat. "I have had just about enough of you!"

Jareroden kicked Treix in the stomach, making the Makuta slacken his grip on him just enough so that he could squeeze out. Jareroden clashed his blade against Treix's, causing a clang to ring through the air, and for sparks to fly through the air. Jareroden use telekinesis to crush Treix's right arm and chainsaw. He yelled out in pain, and fell backward, and almost off the cliff.

He spat at Jareroden. "I thought Toa don't kill."

Jareroden held his blade to Treix's forehead. "The old rules don't apply anymore, Makuta. Now, it's kill to survive."

Treix leapt up, and slammed his fist into Jareroden's jaw. Jareroden gave a groan, and stumbled back, as Treix pounced. In a wild desperation, the Toa swung his blade, knocking Treix away, and to the edge of the cliff. Jareroden would never know why he reached out for Treix. Maybe he wanted to save him, or maybe he just wanted to make sure he was dead, but either way, he was too late. Treix tumbled into the abyss, but he couldn't fly out, as Jareroden had cut his wings of, and he was too weary to regenerate them.

Treix gave a final wail of dismay as he tumbled into the darkness. Jareroden stood there for some time, watching. Eventually, he turned away, and arrived back at the battle field, to see the resistance had won. Jareroden walked to the commander of the fortress, a Toa of Iron named Zercks.

Zercks clanked his fist against Jareroden's. "Good work, Jareroden. After you defeated Treix, their forces surrendered, and we were easily ably to slay all of them."

Jareroden put his hands behind his back. "Good, now, I must go off into the Black Spike Mountains."

Zercks looked at him, confused. "Why?"

Jareroden answered quickly. "Treix told me Benjarmin was in a fortress in the mountains."

Zercks sighed. He, along with almost everyone else in the resistance, knew Jareroden had a bitter rivalry with Benjarmin. After the destruction of the Matoran Universe, everyone assumed the Makuta was killed. With Treix's revelation though, it seemed he survived, and had allied himself with the Dark Empire.

Zercks clasped his hand to his head. "Jareroden, you have a commitment to the resistance; you can't go chasing rumors."

Jareroden clasped his blade even tighter. "I have to try. I promised myself tens of thousands of years ago I'd kill him."

The Toa of Iron sighed once again. "Fine. If you're so intent on killing him, I can't stop you."

Jareroden signaled to the remainder of his squad. "Alright, were to head to the Black Spike Mountains immediately." He spoke to himself under his breath. "I have a score to settle with Benjarmin."

Zercks watched them march off, and thought to himself. ''He's so intent on killing Benjarmin. How can he know if he tries, it could be his downfall?''

Chapter 7
Janneus paced back and forth inside a small room. Connected to this room was a large door. Behind him stood Purberax and Raptrix; warriors of the Dark Empire.

"Can we get on with this already?" hissed the mercenary.

Raptrix growled nastily at Janneus. He had experienced just about enough of him during their journey to the Valley of the Maze, and now his patience was wearing thin.

Purberax spoke up. "We can, and will gladly, Janneus. Though that will only occur after our masters have finished negotiating with their new ally."

Janneus let a laugh escape his lips, despite the lack of any comical meaning in Purberax's words. "They may be your masters, Toa, but they're not mine. My patience is wearing off, and people usually end up dead when that happens."

With that, Janneus stormed passed Purberax and Raptrix and burst through the nearby door, prompting the two to follow after him in protest. As soon as Janneus entered the next room, he stopped dead in his tracks. For now he stood in the central chamber of the Valley of the Maze, the Great Beings' laboratory, but that didn't seem to matter to him.

What mattered was the towering behemoth of a being standing in the center of the chamber, surrounded by Millennium, Eostra, and the Dark Lord. They turned to face Janneus, and after a second, disregarded him and returned to their discussions as if the bounty hunter was nothing more than a lonely Ussal crab.

"We insist you combine your forces with ours," said Millennium. "With your power and resources in our hands, the rebellion will fall before us, allowing our order to be restored."

The being whispered something incomprehensible before laughing to himself aloud. "I care nothing for the resistance. They pose no threat to me or my empire. They are little more than Scarabax insects scuttling around my feet."

The Dark Lord spoke in his chilling voice. "But they will become a problem for you. You've been sending your warriors on missions to attack their hideouts merely for sport for decades now. Because of that, they will target you, and they will kill you." "Then I'll prepare my forces for the upcoming battle," snapped the entity.

"That being an even better reason for you joining us. The Dark Empire could back up your armies," added Eostra.

"Face it, you either with us, or against us," continued Millennium. "If you refuse this opportunity, well... I'm sure you wouldn't mind if allowed my agents to leak information about the strengths and weaknesses of your forces to the resistance."

The being stared at the three rulers for only a few seconds before he made his mind up. "Very well, I'm with you... not to say that I'm happy about it."

"Good," replied Millennium. "But before you go, take these design plans with you, they may prove useful if you wish to create these war machines."

The being snatched the parchment from Millennium’s hand and eyed it for a second. "Odina Drones?" he inquired.

"Yes, my friend. Robotic warriors of great power,” answered the Dark Lord. “We found the schematics for them in the ruins of an abandoned Dark Hunter base, indicating The Shadowed One had planned to use them to combat us. That is, of course, before we wiped them out entirely.”

The being eyed the three dark lords menacingly, grunted, and then walked out of the chamber, passing Janneus, Puberax, and Raptrix on the way out.

"What in the name of Mata Nui was that colossal?!" demand Janneus.

"The Element Lord of Technology," replied Purberax. "A being we've been trying to get onto our side for a very long time. So, my masters, it would seem your negotiations were successful?"

Millennium shot a fear-inspiring glance at Purberax, before walking up a flight of stairs to sit down on a large, ornate throne. Since his departure from Tajun, the Valley of the Maze had become his personal palace and stronghold.

The Shadow of Ages rattled his claw against his chair’s armrests. “The Lord of Technology has indeed submitted to us; and he and his armies will prove useful pawns in our plans for the resistance. But alas, that is not why I have summoned you. Is this the bounty hunter we have requested for?"

"Yes, your greatness," answered Raptrix. "We found him in Tajun as you said we would."

"Excellent," said Eostra. "Millennium, I think it is time we bring in Janneus' companions for his assignment."

Millennium nodded, and with a wave of his hand, dismissed Purberax and Raptrix. He then slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne, and suddenly, a set of twin doors opened, allowing four beings to walk through. Each was well armed, pitted with numerous battle scars, and utterly terrifying in their own respects. Janneus knew them as his chief rivals in the bounty hunting underworld, and each were considered in their own right some of the greatest killers on all of Spherus Magna.

He knew their names too. The first one Janneus had seen enter the room was the fearsome reptilian creature known as Proto-Beast, an ex-Dark Hunter who had mysteriously disappeared for a few centuries, before reappearing during the madness of Teridax's reign, during which he had entered the bounty hunting business.

The next being who came forward was the warrior codenamed Lethal, another former Dark Hunter of great ruthlessness and power, who had his gained his universal reputation as the leader of the renowned mercenary band known as the Hunters’ Brigade. A master assassin and killer, he was one of the last surviving members of the Brigade known to be active.

After him came the famous hunter Raduke, an honorable and experienced warrior of the nearly extinct Lepidian species, a fact which only served to add to his already compelling aura of mystery. He was known as talented thief, and his skills had led him to build a respectable reputation.

The last being to pass through the door was the treacherous Zeverek known as Skorr, a bounty hunter renowned for his double-crossing nature and for his reliance on his state of the art weaponry. Famous for his mighty greed and corruption, yet capable skills and ruthlessness, Skorr had become one of the most effective mercenaries in world.

The bounty hunters strode into the center of the chamber, their faces expressing no fear towards the leaders of the Dark Empire. If a little reluctantly; Janneus joined the four in the center of the room. Millennium gazed at them for a second before noting a problem.

"Where's Nightwatcher, Eostra? You promised to have him as the leader of our bounty hunter team."

"There was a... complication," she added. "Important information was stolen from my archives by a group of rebels led by Toa Nalek and Hydros. I sent Nightwatcher to aid my forces in recovering that information after they razed Tesara."

Millennium frowned. "Did you have Varkanax amongst this legion of yours?"

"I believe so. He was the leader of our strike force against the jungle village."

"Then I believe there is no need for Nightwatcher to be among them. His services are more valuable here."

"It's too late now, Nightwatcher has already gone to aid Varkanax and retrieve his reward. He may be up for hire again in maybe a week or so, you know what he's like... so calculating, so scheming."

“Can we not hire Evuk instead? Is he not available?”

“Regrettably, that is case. He has signed up with the resistance, and I suspect he will remain in their employ for the rest of his career. I…”

Eostra's words were suddenly interrupted by a blast of lightning focused up at the dome-like ceiling, the sparks and flares dancing across its smooth surface violently. When the beam of energy stopped, Proto-Beast lowered his clawed arm to his side.

Lethal decided it was his turn to speak. "If we can get back to business, your majesties, what would you like us to do?"

The Dark Lord strode to the center of the chamber to confront the hunters, his dark cape never exposing even a trace of his true form. Once he was still, he spoke.

"The resistance has proven to be a great annoyance to our plans in recent years. The time has come for them to be permanently eradicated. They've been very clever when it comes to tracking them, and every scrap of information is valuable to us. Even those wild rumors whispered by the Bone Hunters are useful to us."

"What's the pay?" asked Raduke in a bitter tone. These bounty hunters were not the sort he would ever associate himself with, so the reward would have to be great if the Empire wished to receive his assistance.

"The Empire will pay a total of forty thousand Widgets for your collective services, which will be split fairly amongst you once and only you have completed the mission. Essentially, if you succeed, you will be paid eight thousand each."

Janneus smiled. If Purberax and Raptrix kept their mouths shut, he knew he would be getting an extra seventy-seven thousand reward, which they had originally offered to him. No doubt they would forget the whole payment ordeal until Janneus himself reminded them.

"You all will be teamed together for this mission, as this mission is of the upmost importance to us, so we would prefer it if you don't try kill each other. Since Nightwatcher is not present to lead your group, I have selected Lethal to lead your team."

Skorr groaned in annoyance. He and Lethal were old rivals due to their past associations with the Hunters’ Brigade, meaning that this mission would be a particularly painful one if he had to submit to Lethal's orders. Still, the payment was too great to refuse, so Skorr decided to say nothing.

The Dark Lord continued his speech. "In addition, I, and my fellow rulers, have assigned you an extra warrior to aid you, who will represent the Dark Empire. His name is Shadowhawk."

At that point, a figure emerged from the shadows and walked to stand beside the Dark Lord. His very posture radiated with power.

Proto-Beast laughed. "You've failed to answer one question, though. What exactly is our mission? You don't expect us to go running around killing people, as fun as it sounds, without any goals, do you?"

The Dark Lord chuckled, and when he spoke, his words vaguely echoed back to the same ones Trinuma had said to Vezon.

"No. No, I do not. Your mission is to attack and cripple the resistance itself at its weakest point, and this is how you're going to do it."

Chapter 8
This chapter was written by Varkanax39, Jareroden97, and Chicken Bond

Gurren jumped away from Skorpix's shadow hand and stabbed out at the Elemental Prince. Skorpix reared up on two legs, and slashed his sword across Gurren's side. Gurren winced in pain and blocked Skorpix's next strike.

Skorpix saw a green blur out of the corner of his eye and whirled around. Rando landed on top of the Elemental Prince and smashed his blade down hard on Skorpix's head. Gurren leapt at Skorpix again, spearing the dark one through his wing.

Skorpix roared in pain and smashed his undamaged wing against Gurren, flinging the Toa to the ground. Gurren blocked his next blow, and the Elemental snarled in frustration. Rando stabbed his sword through Skorpix's side. Skorpix whipped around, his eyes blazing in pain and fury, and Rando knew he had made a potentially fatal mistake. Skorpix's savage teeth tore him apart, and Rando fell, dying, to the ground.

Gurren stabbed outward wildly, but was unable to hit the Elemental. Skorpix flicked his blade from his hands the way a Makuta would swat a bothersome Rahi, and speared the Toa through the shoulder. Gurren raised his other hand, but Skorpix raised his other blade and skewered Gurren's arm to the end of the sword. Gurren winced in horror and pain, and Skorpix smiled darkly.

"I could kill you both, right now." Skorpix said. "But I think it would be more satisfying to let you live, wounded horribly. It will show how futile the power of the resistance is compared to the might of our Empire."

"You'll...never...win..." Gurren managed to get out, but his words were hesitant and faltering.

Skorpix smiled again. "Is that so, little Toa? There will be battles, there will be wars, and there will be cataclysms, but when the apocalypse is over, the Dark Empire will still be standing, and your puny, insignificant little resistance will be nothing but a small, half-remembered blight on our history! Remember that."

Gurren tried to stand, but Skorpix slapped him across his face and he slipped into unconsciousness. Tenork flung himself at Skorpix, and the Elemental Prince cut him down with a single strike from his blade. It was not a fatal wound, but it was still serious. Neocrax whirled around and speared the Elemental through the side, where Rando had injured him. Skorpix stared at Neocrax hard, and a Shadow Hand flung him to the ground.

Neocrax stood up, twirling his daggers. "Your powers of shadow have no effect on me."

Skorpix hissed evilly and tore a deep gouge in Neocrax's armor. The Makuta whipped around and saw Skorpix's sword stabbed through his hand.

"So many ways to kill, but only one Makuta," Skorpix mused, raising his second sword above his head. Neocrax suddenly unleashed a large blast of power, flinging directly into Skorpix's face. The Elemental snarled, in rage more than pain, and stabbed his sword out at Neocrax, but the Makuta had vanished. Skorpix saw Tenork, his body covered in scars, grab the wounded Makuta and race away into the undergrowth.

Skorpix let them go. They would never make it alive to the resistance's base alive in Atero, and he still had Rando and Gurren to return to Eostra Nihiltian.

Soon, Skorpix thought. ''Soon we will attack Atero. And their insignificant resistance shall crumble before our might.''

Galika opened her eyes. She was in a cell, with Crystallus and a particularly foul smelling corpse of a Skrall. She tried to stand up, only to find that her leg had been injured in the previous battle, preventing her from standing up.

She crawled over to Crystallus, and shook him awake. "Pssst! Crystallus, wake up!"

Her voice was barely more than a whisper, as she didn't want to alert the guards, but apparently it was loud enough to wake Crystallus. "Ugh, my aching head."

Galika's voice was urgent. "Shhh, keep your voice down. There are Empire guards right down the hall."

Crystallus nodded grimly. "Do you think we could use our elemental powers to break free?"

Galika frowned. "That might be a problem."

Crystallus tilted his head, confused. "How?"

Galika pointed to bracelets around their wrists. "These bracelets have elemental inhibitors, making it impossible to access our powers while their on."

Crystallus sighed. "Let me guess: they confiscated our weapons too?"

Galika nodded. "Correct."

The Toa of Ice sat down miserably. "So, now what?"

Galika sat down next to him. "Until help arrives, we wait."

Crystallus sat bolt upright. "What?"

The Toa of Water sighed. "Look, there is thousands of Imperial soldiers in this city; there's no way we could defeat them all. So, until someone rescues us, we're stuck here."

Just then, a guard opened the door, and grabbed Crystallus by the arm. "You two, come with us."

Crystallus squirmed in the guard's grip. "Hey! Where are you taking us?"

The guard smiled wickedly. "Interrogation."

Sovnoron strode across the deck of a warship forged from protosteel, with the banner of the Dark Empire flying at the mast. He had been told by the Dark Lord that there was a resistance base on a small island in the Great Sea, and he had told Sovnoron to destroy it. He had, of course, accepted, knowing that earning the "Dark Lord's" wrath for disobeying would be quite...undesirable.

He turned the being at the wheel, a tall, jet-black Corpsian. "Helmsman, how far from the island?"

The Corpsian kept his unblinking eyes set towards the eastern horizon. "My estimate, seventeen nautical miles."

Sovnoron chuckled. "Good, we should get there within the hour."

He turned to two Empire of Shadows soldiers, and barked out orders. "You two, alert the soldiers below deck to prepare the cannons."

The two soldiers nodded, and went to their duties. Sovnoron turned away, and walked to his cabin. He shut the metal doors behind him, and activated a holoprojector.

The Dark Lord's image appeared on the screen. "Ah, Sovnoron, what news?"

Sovnoron cleared his throat. "Master, we are right on schedule. We most likely should arrive within the hour."

The Dark Lord clasped his hands. "Good, good, I expect another report once the battle is over. Ending transmission."

The image fizzled out, and was cut off. Sovnoron reclined in his chair, and closed his eyes, he would wait until the time came.

About half an hour later, a knock sounded on his door. "Lord Sovnoron, it is time."

Sovnoron stood up, grabbed his machete, and walked out the door, without speaking a word to the servant. He walked out into the gathering night, and looked to his left and right, and saw his two other ships along side him. Even above deck, he could hear the clamor of the entire army preparing for an all out assault. He saw the approaching coast of a small island that was mainly covered by a dense jungle.

He turned around, and climbed to the crew's nest of the ship, pushing the soldier inside of it to a fatal fall.

"Now, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

Meanwhile, in the wastelands of Spherus Magna, a band of bounty hunters strode through the region of Sandray Canyon. After their meeting with the leaders of the Dark Empire, the group had journeyed to Tajun to resupply before continuing their journey.

The leader of the group, Lethal, strode with confidence through the canyon. After he and his companions had accepted the mission at hand, Eostra had revealed in hushed tones the location of the resistance's headquarters, Atero. Under normal circumstances, no one would have known the location of the resistance's base, though through the information passed on by a spy within the resistance's ranks, the Dark Empire had learned of the location of their base.

With a little help from a battered, old Skrall warrior named Branar, Lethal and his team now knew the location Atero. Suddenly, Proto-Beast reared his head up, his senses on full alert.

"What's that smell?" He inquired.

Lethal and the others took a moment to inhale the aurora of the canyon, and they knew they didn't need Proto-Beast's keen senses to smell that horrid scent.

"Ugh! That’s disgusting," roared Janneus.

"Smells like a corpse to me," added Raduke. "Proto-Beast, can you tell us in which direction the scent is coming from?"

Proto-Beast nodded, and inhaled the air. After a minute, he raised his clawed arm, and point to the eastern section of the canyon.

"Over there, I believe," he said.

"Someone should take a look," said Lethal. "Perhaps we should..."

Before Lethal could finish his sentence, Skorr soared into the air, and passed by the warriors at an stunning speed. Using his powerful wing blades, he flew towards the direction Proto-Beast had indicated. After a moment he called back.

"I think you may want to take a look at this."

The mercenaries charged forward, expecting to see something revolting or utterly disgusting to be in front of Skorr. When they reached the Zeverek, they saw what they had imagined, but not in the way they had expected. Because there, lying in a large cave carved in the face of Sandray Canyon, was a dead Skopio, its organic body already decaying whilst its powerful legs lay spread out across the sand.

"A Skopio?" anquired Janneus. "What is it doing here, and how did anything have the power to kill it?"

Shadowhawk and Raduke strode forward, standing right in front of its jagged mouth. "It would appear the creature was entering its old age," said Raduke. "Though its wounds don't consist with those expressed by a beast that would die naturally."

"You haven't answered the question," said Skorr. "How did it die?"

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed throughout the canyon, a roar that matched the one made by the feared Tahtorak dragons.

"I think that gives us our answer," said Shadowhawk. "That Tahtorak must've killed the Skopio living here and taken over its territory. Judging from the Skopio's wounds, the old beast didn't go down without a fight."

The Tahtorak roared again.

"Well that's nice to know. How about we leave before the beast eats us too," proposed Janneus.

"I completely agree," said Proto-Beast. "Let's go."

And so, the bounty hunters set off again, carefully making sure they didn't attract the Tahtorak's attention. After several hours of walking, the group reached their target's base, and smiled as the morning sun rose over the clearing and shimmered on the ruined city of Atero.

Lethal chuckled, and two words escaped his lips that indicated the start of a great battle yet to come.

"It begins."

Chapter 9
Tetrack, Blast, and Kaluu walked carefully through Eostra’s fortress. The corridors of the underground passages were empty, and no Corpsian guards were present. To most this would be relieving, though if you were as clever as Tetrack you would know something was wrong. Knowing Eostra, he expected her have had even at least even a small contingency of Corpsians patrolling these underground routes.

At that point, the rough outline of a door could be seen in the distance. Kaluu smiled wickedly, and readied his claws for combat.

When the door was in clear sight, the trio stopped. Tetrack turned and gestured to Blast, who raised his scythe of creation and fired a blinding, yet silent, barrage of energy at the Protosteel door. The door was disintegrated in seconds.

They walked through the bare hole into a dimly lit room. Blast scanned the chamber for several seconds before raising his hand to point at a lever built into the far wall. Kaluu nodded, and in the fraction of a second, had teleported to the lever and pulled it. In that instance, lightstones embedded in the ceiling brightened to their full potential, allowing a dull orange-colored light to lift the darkness from the room.

At last, thought Tetrack with a grin. The Vault.

As Tetrack and Blast had calculated, the unused underground tunnels had lead them directly to the lowest level of Eostra’s fortress; a level which only contained one large room. This room was the Vault, a chamber which hosted some of the most treasured artifacts ever known to exist, all of them divided into a number of columns.

Tetrack strode down one of the isles, passing by numerous dust-covered treasures. On the left he saw the Staff of Darkness, the weapon Makuta Teridax had used in his conflict with Takanuva.

Decorating a life-sized mannequin on the right, were the pieces of the mysterious Golden Armor, which had been worn by the famous Toa Tahu during the great Battle of Bara Magna. According to legend, when the Dark Empire first began its conquest, Tahu had helped mount the first resistance efforts against it along with many of the warriors of Spherus Magna. This resistance fell swiftly, and Tahu and most of the Toa Nuva were lost in the process.

Tetrack passed by more relics of lost times until one more emerged in front of him at the end of the isle. It was wired directly into the wall, and roughly resembled a Toa canister. Upon closer inspection, however, Tetrack realized it was not. The width and dimensions of this canister did not match those required to make a Toa Canister, and the metals that made up this one were too weak to suit a real canister’s purposes.

Tetrack turned to a bank of machinery mounted on small control panel. After fiddling with the keys and switches for a few seconds, a sharp hissing noise erupted from the canister, and a thin sheath of metal retracted from the canister to reveal an even thinner sheet of glass.

Tetrack strode up to the canister, and attempted to make out the silhouetted figure hidden behind the glass. Although the being’s features could not be distinguished, Tetrack knew in an instant who it was, and what this canister actually was.

“It’s a stasis pod,” whispered Tetrack under his breath. The grin on his face grew wider. He turned around to face Blast, who stood by the spot where the door to the vault had once been.

“I’ve found him,” said Tetrack. His voice betrayed no emotion.

In an instant, Tetrack sensed a being standing behind him, and when he turned; his gaze met that of Kaluu’s. The Makuta spoke.

“Are you certain it’s him?”

“Indeed,” replied Tetrack in a voice no louder than a whisper.

Knowing what needed to be done, Kaluu turned to the stasis pod’s control panel, and after raising one of his clawed hands, shattered the atomic structure of the machinery, effectively disintegrating it. Disintegration was a fast and quiet way dealing with obstacles on these kinds of missions. Suddenly the glass layer of the stasis tube retracted into the wall, allowing stasis gas to spill out. Tetrack covered his mouth to avoid breathing in the fumes whilst Kaluu, on the other hand, remained still, as he had no need to breathe.

When the fog cleared, Blast strode up to Tetrack’s side and watched as the figure contained within in the tube move his body for the first time in 100 years. When his form could finally be made out, Blast smiled and said.

“Welcome back to the world of the living… Toa Fairon.”

The Toa of Light stared at the three resistance fighters in confusion.

“Ugh. Tetrack? Blast? What happened? How long have I been out for?” he asked.

“Last time I checked, you’ve been in stasis for 100 years,” answered Kaluu.

“100 years?” asked Fairon, alarmed. “You mean to tell me I’ve been napping for a century?”

At that second, the lightstones in the ceiling turned a dark crimson, and began flashing repeatedly. Following this was a loud siren, and all doors connecting to the rest of Eostra’s fortress instantly locked themselves off.

Blast cursed under his breath. “We’ve got to go, now!”

As swiftly as they had arrived, the four resistance fighters charged towards the hole in the wall. They escaped into the tunnels, running furiously as Corpsian soldiers pursued them. Eventually, their footsteps died out, and the group stopped to rest.

“Well, that was something,” said Fairon. “How long will the journey take to return to Atero?”

“On foot, it would take weeks,” commented Tetrack. “Though if we somehow gain some form of transportation like a Thornatus, then it may take mere days.”

“Too bad you won’t be living long enough to return to your hidden base,” said a new voice.

Kaluu turned to look at their unseen enemy, and snarled sinisterly when he met his opponent’s gaze. For there, standing atop of a lean boulder, was the feared Skrall assassin known as Sawrall. Growling next to him, was the vicious canine Rahi known as Gardorax.

Sawrall chuckled in a menacing tone. “Goodbye, fools. Enjoy your death, and have a nice day.”

Toa Soalaz strode through a battered, filth-covered street in Tajun. Had it not been in his nature to conceal his emotions, he would have shuddered in disgust in consideration as to what atrocities were committed regularly in this decaying, urban city.

The ironic thing was, this was one of the more pleasant streets he was walking through. The Toa of Ice coolly passed by a patrol of Dark Empire soldiers led by Vicoran, being careful not to catch his attention. The Makuta had only been sent to Tajun a day ago to aid in the "basic patrol duties," which was code for "Scour the streets for any possible resistance fighters."

Soalaz sighed.

Ever since the resistance had managed to make successful negotiations with a pack of Vorox led by an exiled Glatorian named Malum, the Empire had doubled its presence in numerous local villages and towns after Malum had begun attacking the Empire's desert patrols. Soalaz wasn’t sure how much longer the Glatorian and his savage friends would be able to continue ambushing the Empire’s forces before being rooted out and exterminated, but at least, for now, they were playing their part in Resistance’s plans.

However, due to Malum's actions, half of Tajun was now dominated by the Empire presence, whilst the other half remained crime-struck, with the infamous gang known as the Blood Vines having recently gained substantial power in the region.

Soalaz’s thoughts were shattered when his destination entered his view. Without expressing any emotion, he approached it. It was a large, and noticeably old cantina, with pitted walls and a severely ruined paint job. In Tajun, this place was a cross for every kind of person; resistance fighters, bounty hunters, Empire soldiers, and even a few refugees.

To the people of Tajun, this place was a hot spot when it came to gossip, and all the latest rumors and tales could be found here. It was for this very reason why this tavern had been given its now iconic name, the Smuggler’s Grove.

Soalaz passed through the doors, and surveyed the room before him. Crudely made furniture, carved from wood and plant fibre, littered one half of the room, whilst a small, mock arena dominated the other. The people perched on the chairs stared at Soalaz for a few seconds, before returning to their doings.

Soalaz strode passed the numerous brutes until he found his target, who was slumped in a relaxed manner on a chair in the far corner of the room. When he looked up, a smile instantly formed on his face.

“Soalaz! Good to see you, old friend,” said the being Soalaz recognized as Chameleo. Soalaz’s dead-cold persona, however, didn’t change at the sight of Chameleo.

“Good morning, Chameleo. Do you have any information for me?”

“Plenty,” said the Reptisapean. “Please, have a seat.”

Soalaz sat in the chair Chameleo had gestured to, and rested his arms on the table, whilst staring his friend in the eye. When the resistance was formed, Chameleo had been one of the first to join them, and was soon sent by Shardak himself to infiltrate Tajun’s crooked society and serve as the resistance’s personal spy there; with direct instructions to report any valuable information he caught whiff of to an agent of the resistance.

“So what do you have for me, Chameleo, and make it fast. Harlen and Heehvan are expecting me to leave Tajun before the afternoon comes.”

“Well, what I’ve got to say isn’t much, but it may be useful. According to rumors whispered on the streets, the Dark Empire is in middle of negotiations with the gang known as the Blood Vines. It’s said they’re trying to convert the crime group into their allies, though I don’t know how far these ‘friendly talks’ between the two factions have gone.”

Soalaz grumbled in annoyance. “That could prove a problem for the resistance’s operations in Tajun,” he said. “I’ll report this to Ixtil. If we’re lucky, any underground operations attempted by us to prevent these negotiations from going through, may ruin any hopes of an alliance. Have you got anything else for me?”

“Well I know a group of Empire soldiers recently encountered a cloaked warrior in the northern districts of Tajun whilst performing a night patrol,” began Chameleo.

“Not many of them survived the encounter, and those that had, have been taken away for mental rehabilitation. When Empire forces arrived in the area to investigate the scene, the only thing they found, other than the corpses of the patrol members, was a message written on a wall saying The Blood Summoner has returned. Whoever this killer is, he’s certainly caused a stir within the more senior ranks of the Empire, particularly for Makuta Benjarmin.”

Soalaz nodded. “Hmm, this person could simply be a rogue Empire soldier, or a vengeful assassin of some kind. Whoever this hunter is, I’d like you to keep me updated on his activities or any sightings of him.”

“Sure thing,” said Chameleo, if a little nervously. “But I do still have one thing left to tell you.”

“Which is?” inquired Soalaz.

Chameleo hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Roughly two days ago, a band of bounty hunters passed through Tajun with an Empire soldier asking for information on the location of Atero. Whilst there weren’t many locals who could offer anything, an old Skrall beggar named Branar offered to give the location to them in exchange for a few widgets. After pointing them in the right direction, they left without a word. I-I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad sign.”

Soalaz didn’t reply; his brain was too busy calculating the goal and motive of the bounty hunter team. A group of bounty hunters, and a soldier of the Empire, he thought.

''Goal: Locate the resistance to make an alliance? No, unlikely, not with a soldier of the Empire among them. Attack our fortress in Atero, indefinitely; or is there possibly something more to that plan? If they’ve got bounty hunters, then they must want something we have, something valuable. Weapons, no, Vulcanus already are supplying the Empire with plenty of them. Artifacts, no again, Eostra already has plenty of those in the vault of her fortress. That eliminates all the major reasons for an attack on Atero, what else is there? Think, think, think!''

Suddenly it hit him. And when he realized the motive of the bounty hunters, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock. The resistance's archives!

Soalaz turned to face Chameleo. “I’ve got to go,” he said as he got up and ran out of the tavern.

When the morning had reached its end, Soalaz had reached the outskirts of Tajun when Harlen and Heehvan emerged from their hiding spots.

“Whoa! Slow down there,” said Heehvan. "What's the hurry?"

"Is something wrong?” asked Harlen in a curious tone.

“Get on your Sand Stalkers,” started Soalaz. “We need to get back to Atero immediately.”

“Why?” asked Heehvan.

Soalaz turned to face the Toa of Fire. “Because if we don’t, then the resistance’s most powerful artifact will fall into the talons of the Dark Empire. And if that happens, all hopes for freedom will fall. Now go!”

With that said, the three Toa jumped onto their Sand Stalkers, and rode off into the heat of the morning sun.

Hydros paced back and forth just beyond the gates of Vulcanus, barely being able to contain his high levels of impatience. Where are Nalek and the others? he thought. Several hours had passed since Hydros had estimated the arrival of Nalek and the others to Raanu, and since they hadn’t arrived yet, the establishment of the resistance’s new base in Iron Canyon had been delayed.

If they come up to me saying they were ambushed by Vorox or Vorahi, then they’ll be facing not only my frustration, but that of the entire resistance.

Suddenly, two black dots appeared on the horizon line. Hydros couldn’t make them out, but he could distinguish them as two living beings. He readied his sword for battle. For all he knew, those two could be soldiers of the Empire. After a few minutes, he could make out the shapes in more detail, and eventually, he could recognize the forms of Toa Nalek and Shika.

“Nalek, Shika,” he said. “What is the meaning of this delay? And where’s Tryx, Crystallus, and Galika?”

Nalek struggled to speak over his heavy panting, and his initial words were gurgled.

“What are you saying?” asked Hydros.

Now it was Shika’s turn to speak. “W-we were attacked by the Dark Empire. A legion of Corpsians and Shadow of Ages soldiers caught us off guard. We left Treix, Galika, and Crystallus to fight them off, though I don’t know what’s happened to them. No matter, the Corpsians are now marching as we speak towards Vulcanus to not only burn it to the ground, but to kill us so as to prevent us from sharing the information we stole from Eostra’s libraries with the resistance.”

“No,” Hydros managed to say in a gasped whisper. “If they’re coming to wipe us out now, not only will the resistance lose Vulcanus as a haven, but we’ll never be able to tell the others of what we’ve learned.”

“Indeed you won’t,” said another, sinister voice. Hydros, Nalek, and Shika turned to face the new speaker, and when they met his gaze, their hearts dropped.

Nightwatcher chuckled, his emerald eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

“Good afternoon, imbeciles. My name is Nightwatcher. I have been hired by Eostra Nihiltian to kill you, and as a result, you have two options. You can let me kill you now, or you can make a futile attempt to defeat me until Varkanax and his Corpsian legions arrive. And they may not be as merciful as I am.”

Nightwatcher then raised his sword menacingly, and energy flashed and crackled from its tip. A thin smile appeared on his helmet as he stroked the edge of his blade.

“Last words, anyone?”

Chapter 10
Shardak surveyed the training center battlefield. Three Toa had fallen almost immediately, two to a raging Zyglak and one to the being known as Thornax. Chronuva had just escaped the blade of a Toa known as Vaerak, and quickly assessed the situation. Two other beings were locked in combat near to him. One was a tall ex-Dark Hunter, the other a powerfully built Glatorian.

Suddenly, a tri-bladed scissor slashed out of the darkness, laying open his shoulder. Chronuva winced in pain and whirled around to face his attacker, the Toa known as Corridax. Shardak watched as the former Toa disarmed the Toa of Air, then winced as Chronuva was sent flying through the air and crashed against the walls with a sickening crunch.

The Zyglak suddenly appeared behind Corridax. Before the Toa could even realize he had won, the Zyglak's claws smashed him to the ground, where he lay motionless.

Shardak saw the Skakdi Serhaktem engage another Toa, a tall Toa of Stone, in combat. His eyes moved to another area of the battle, where a former Blood Vine gangster had shot a small Matoran to the ground. Shardak saw the being known as Evuk throw the Blood Vine so hard he smashed halfway through the wall. Shardak realized he would require extensive healing, and moved over to the fallen ex-gangster.

As he bent over the fallen form of the Blood Vine, Shardak suddenly felt a tingling feeling of dread. He saw a Skakdi fell a tall Toa, and more Skakdi down three more combatants. Shardak saw a Toa fall dead, crushed apart at the hands of a tall, emerald armored Skakdi.

''Dead? They're not supposed to—''

Shardak suddenly saw that the Blood Vine had stood, and had raised his gun, ready to plunge back into the battle. Shardak was about to offer a warning when he looked down and saw the Blood Vine lying dead at his feet.

Two of them! Shardak suddenly realized what had happened. They had infiltrated Atero. This "training session" had provided the perfect opportunity for them to win the war. Shardak saw the Blood Vine whirl around and fire in the same motion. Shardak saw two shots strike his armor, one injuring him badly. There was a third shot, but Shardak had already fallen, badly wounded, on the ground.

The Skakdi who had killed the Toa beckoned to the Skakdi legion. "The Toa overseer was a high-ranking member in the resistance. We can control the base from here. Lock it down. Let them think that Shardak has gone insane. Then we shall strike a decisive blow for the Dark Empire!"

He gestured to an ebon-armored Skakdi. "Chain the remaining contestants up. Dazrak, Slaar, stay and guard them."

As the Skakdi raced to obey, Dazrak, a brown-armored warrior, and Slaar, a crimson armored Skakdi, split away from the group, looking unhappy to be separated from the main force. The rest of the Skakdi turned and awaited their leader's next command.

The tall, emerald Skakdi was using Shardak's controls at the podium. "Lockdown. Sequence 81939746." he said, using the password he had gained from a traitorous member of the resistance. "Seal off each room for full defense. Sequence 34132894. Allow entry of all individuals accompanying the bearer of this item. Sequence 55674325."

The Skakdi lord turned back to the massed Skakdi.

Now, Skakdi, in the name of the Empire! Attack!"

Leviathos was walking through the corridors when he heard the fortress go into lockdown. Doors were closed, shut tightly and locked.

Grabbing his portable controls, the Noctian realized the signal wsa coming from the training room, where Shardak had been stationed.

''This is a time of peace, for now. What has...''

His thoughts were cut off as a large group of newer recruits came charging toward him. One, a Toa of Stone, spoke first.

"Leviathos, Shardak has been captured, possibly killed!"

"What has happened?" asked Leviathos, suddenly alert.

"The Skakdi," replied the Toa. "They came charging out of the training center, screaming war cries and attacking us. They slaughtered two rooms full of innocents before killing our soldiers. They've locked down the entire fortress and are killing our rebels!"

"Come with me," said Leviathos. "I can override Shardak's controls, but I must be nearer to the point of origin. How far away are the Skakdi? How many?"

"At least thirty, sir, along with at least twenty Blood Vines. and they could be anywhere by now. They were last seen on the second floor."

"Come." said the Noctian, his mind racing.

''The Empire could not have infiltrated us. And even if they could, why make a move now?''

Leviathos raced toward the stairway that lead to the second floor. As he saw the corpses of three Matoran, it hit him.

Distraction! ''This attack is a decoy. I was played for a fool. The real attack is coming from-''

Leviathos had no time to finish the thought before the Skakdi were upon them. Green, Ebon, Tan, Sapphire... they were everywhere, hacking and stabbing and shooting down the Toa. Leviathos counted at least thirty Skakdi, and no Blood Vines. This was not the full army, then. There were still a few Skakdi and Blood Vines to deal with.

Leviathos saw The Toa of Stone shot three times before falling dead to the ground, and watched a massive red Skakdi smash two Toa's heads together, killing them both. Leviathos flung himself at the Skakdi, crushing his armor plates. The Noctian tore and hacked at the Skakdi's armor, but his opponent matched him blow for blow.

With a screech of desperation, Leviathos tore the Skakdi's head from his shoulders with his teeth. The head flew one way, the body the other. Before the Skakdi had time to regroup, Leviathos beheaded two Skakdi pikemen. A Skakdi soldier scored a blow across his torso, and two more spears punctured his shoulder. Leviathos fought his way up the staircase, and his group followed him, and despite their massive losses, made the Skakdi pay for every death.

Leviathos lost track of time. All he could remember was cleaving through the Skakdi, cutting swaths in their ranks. Corpses littered the ground, Toa and Skakdi alike.

Leviathos felled a massive ebon Skakdi, then surveyed the battlefield. The tide had turned against the Skakdi, and the Toa had reached the second floor, but at a terrible price. Only six Toa were still standing, and two were badly wounded. Only fourteen Skakdi were still fighting, and at least twenty were dead.

Leviathos saw the Skakdi crush three Toa who were trying to figt their way up the stairway, killing one and wounding the others. The three other Toa were holding their own against a formidable force of five Skakdi warriors. The Noctian realized that more Skakdi were charging up the stairway, ready to join the others. Leviathos smashed through their ranks with a roar.

A crimson armored Skakdi's heat vision scalded his body, and a bolt of lighting fired by two yellow-armored Skakdi struck him dead-on, wounding him badly. Leviathos crushed two Skakdi to pieces, and tore another in half with his teeth. The two lightning Skakdi let loose another bolt of lightning before he could reach the third warrior, sending his body flying through the air and smashing against the wall. Leviathos saw another Toa fall. Rage lent him strength, and he charred the lightning Skakdi, ripping the legs out from under one and flinging the other down the staircase. he landed with a horrible crunch, and lay unmoving below.

The Skakdi were barbaric, deadly warriors. But with more than half their number dead and the rest badly wounded, the survivors knew when to withdraw.

"Retreat!" called an ebon-armored Skakdi, and the Skakdi warriors raced to him, where they counted their numbers. Six warriors were still fighting-fit, while three others could be pushed, if needed, to fight. The rest were dead or too wounded to continue, and the Skakdi abandoned them, scattering into small groups and disappearing into the second floor.

Leviathos counted his own warriors. All were dead, save four badly wounded Toa, three crippled beings, and two other Toa. They had paid a terrible price for victory. And for what? The Blood Vines were still out there, and the fortress was still locked down. And worse, the real attack could come at any moment.

"Come." said Leviathos to the two toa. "We have to warn the rest of the Toa. The doors will open for me."

In a small, darkened corridor, the emerald armored Skakdi, followed by a small group of four Blood Vines and two ebon Sakdi, crept silently down the passage.

"Stay silent," the Skakdi hissed. "And keep an eye open for Leviathos or other rebels. I don't trust my forces to deal with them completely."

The Skakdi had split his forces, leaving the main body of his force to deal with the Toa and Leviathos. The Blood Vines had stayed on the first floor, slaughtering the rest of the trapped rebels. He, as well as his elite Skakdi and Blood Vines, would attend to the most important job of all-the signal.

"The signal has been readied. Shall we fire?" One of his Skakdi interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes" hissed the Skakdi. "Launch it."

Serving the Empire was only the first step. He would gain control of this world himself, once both the rebels and the Empire were destroyed. He was, after all, a Piraka.

Yes thought Zaktan. I will rule this world.

And farther away, the Bounty hunter Janneus received the signal. The signal that meant only one thing: attack.

Chapter 11
Conqueror roared as he skewered the armor of three Skakdi, and beheaded another. Behind him, Freztrak had entangled a trio of Blood Vines in tendril-like vines, and swiftly retracted them into the ground. The gang members didn’t have time to even scream. Conqueror turned to face the former warlord after stabbing the very last of their foes.

“This invasion is an embarrassment to Atero’s security! Let these fools know how we treat intruders.”

Freztrak nodded slowly. “Where are the other resistance leaders?” he asked.

“Ixtil’s barricading the chambers we have recaptured, and Leviathos is facing off against the main Skakdi force. Shardak has been captured, and is being held hostage as we speak.”

“I will go to retrieve him,” began Freztrak. “He would surely be an important factor in repelling this invasion force.”

“Oh I don’t think you’re going anywhere,” said another voice.

The two commanders turned around to see a lone green armoured figure carrying a crossbar, and wearing a matching wide-brimmed hat. Freztrak gestured to two resistance fighters behind him, and they instantly came forward. One was a Vohari, the other a Toa named 95.

“Identify yourself,” barked Conqueror, power crackling from his weapon.

“Me?” asked the warrior. “Why, I am merely a humble Rotaxian hunter, striving to live a humble life.”

“A bounty hunter?” asked Freztrak, in a tone mixed with curiosity and uneasiness. “Let me guess, Janneus, is it not?”

“Oh yes entirely,” replied Janneus. “And I must say, I’m a being who’s lived a most interesting life.”

“We don’t care about your--“

“I once lived on the planet of Gigas Magna, you know,” he began, cutting Freztrak off.

“I was among the thousands recruited into the army of the Great Being Brominax when he learned of the Dark Empire’s conquest of Spherus Magna. Oh, you should have seen it then. The Brotherhood of Gigas Magna itself was even willing to forge an alliance with their enemies to attend this new threat. Even Tetrack Nui himself left to join the war, having had his deteriorated mind restored to its original, brilliant state through the combined efforts of Brominax and Slicer themselves.”

Conqueror knew of this tale. During the 100 years of leading the resistance, he had learned all about Gigas Magna and its inhabitants; though had never learned why they had come to aid the people of Spherus Magna.

“However, there were complications. Our forces were gobsmacked at the strength of the Empire, and eventually, we were decimated and scattered to the winds. But that is ancient history, and my involvement back then does not matter now. All that matters is my mission here and now.”

“And what is this ‘mission’ of yours?” asked Freztrak. “And may I inquire as to how you learned the location of our base?”

“Oh that was easy,” replied Janneus, smiling wickedly. “The Empire told me.”

Conqueror widened his eyes. “Guards get him! Stop him before he can get inside the city!”

95 and the Vohari nodded, and charged at Janneus. The Rotaxian’s smile widened as the Vohari plunged at him. Janneus dodged the attack and battered it with his weapon. The Vohari was back on its feet, and snarled viciously. It was about to lunge a second time, when it suddenly collapsed to the ground, dead. Janneus eyed its body for a second to see a mark in the side of its head.

Skorr, he thought.

A short distance away, Skorr watched the battle, perched atop a large rocky outcropping with his Plasma Launcher. Too easy, he though to himself.

Conqueror roared and charged at Janneus, only to be tacled to the grounf by a large, reptilian being with sharp claws and a menacing gaze.

“Proto-Beast?!” asked Conqueror in a tone of utter confusion.

“Good morning, Zarak. It’s been so long since I last saw you on Metru Nui, prior to my banishment to the Pit. Now if you don’t mind, I and my partners have an object to retrieve.”

Conqueror rose to stand in a menacing stance. “Over my rotting corpse,” he replied.

“Very well, then,” answered the ex-Dark Hunter, as he charged forwards whilst twin bolts laser vision were secreted from his eyes. Conqueror dodged the blasts, before parrying his staff with Proto-Beast’s talons.

In another part of the battle, Freztrak clashed furiously with Raduke, whilst 95 challenged Janneus. Neither side seemed willing to concede.

As 95 pushed forward, Jannues couldn’t help but laugh. “I admire you puny efforts, Toa, I’ll give you that. Though even as we speak, our mission is being completed.”

“What?” the Toa asked in confusion, as he attempted to try and focus a burst of life energy at his foe.

Three resistance soldiers, who had arrived to enter the fight, fell dead as bolts of power struck them in the head; victims of Skorr’s legendary sniping skills.

“You heard me,” snapped the bounty hunter. “I, and my four other comrades are merely diversions. Our mission borderlines completion as we speak.”

A gust of air erupted from Janneus’ palm, sending 95 reeling back into the sand.

Jannus strode forward and stood over the Toa, perching his head menacingly at him.

“And there’s nothing you can do about.”

Meanwhile, Lethal and Shadowhawk crept through a dark corridor, their shadows twisting in the darkness.

“Brilliant,” began Shadowhawk. “Truly, brilliant. I never believed bounty hunters had the tactical edge to plan such complex schemes.”

“Well, in that case, you sorely underestimate us,” snarled Lethal. He had decided he did not like Shadowhawk, though that was no surprise. After all, he hated anybody who refused to show him respect.

As they continued to walk down the corridor, it soon became apparent that Atero’s lower levels were not heavily guarded. Zaktan had played his part well in distracting the resistance.

Lethal and Shadowhawk continued to walk down through the corridor, until an exposed room entered view. A room that was considered one of the most, if not the most important room in all of Atero. This chamber was the archives, an area where the resistance held all their greatest weapons and artifacts.

Lethal and Shadowhawk strode in, not particularly sure what they were meant to retrieve.

“Eostra labelled the object we’re meant to retrieve as Mask 34861,” whispered Shadowhawk.

“Start searching in the section designated ‘Kanohi,’ Lethal. I’ll cover you.”

Lethal nodded and strode into the archive section. All these ancient items had been placed within massive filing cabinets. Each draw with a number on it. The bounty hunter scanned the numbers for several seconds until he found the right one.

“I’ve found it!” called Lethal to Shadowhawk as he opened the draw.

“Excellent! What is it?”

Lethal did not reply.

“What is it, Lethal?”

He still did not reply. Had Shadowhawk been able to see Lethal, he would have seen him staring shockingly at the contents of the draw. Then he chuckled.

“I can now understand why the Empire went to such great lengths to get this object.”

“Why? What is it?”

Shadowhawk would never hear a reply. All that he would remember seeing was Lethal sending a punch in the face that forced him into the dark void of unconsciousness. As his body slumped to ground, Lethal looked at the Deity mockingly; in one hand his blaster, the other, the legendary Kanohi Ignika. Dormant within that mask, was the spirit of Mata Nui himself.

“Apologies, servant of the Empire,” began Lethal. “Though, I’d rather take my chances returning to Eostra with a Tahtorak dragon, than go back with you, and allow you to take all the credit.”

Without another word, Lethal left the archives, laughing as he activated an alarm that would summon resistance fighters to the scene to capture the betrayed Shadowhawk.

In the training arena, Shardak lay on the ground, clutching his wounds. He had been chained to one of the far walls of the area, where he had been left to die, guarded by two Skakdi warriors. Suddenly, a winged, crimson-armored being materialized before them. Beside him, stood a bizarre, armed robot. The Skakdi instinctively raised their tools to attack, only to lower them when they identified the beings before them.

“Makuta Harponok!” cried one. “What brings you here?”

“I was sent here to retrieve your… burden.”

“Who, this guy?” inquired the other guard, gesturing to Shardak.

“What’s so special about him?”

“Don’t question me, fool, unless you want your life to meet a very painful end.”

“Of course, Sir,” replied the guard.

“Millennium and the others require this fool for their plans. If he has suffered any permanent damage in any way, believe me, you will be answering the call of death itself.”

“V-very well, Sir. Will that be all?”

Harponok didn’t reply. Instead, he shifted his gaze upon the robotic being standing beside him.

“N4-11, retrieve the resistance leader.”

Without even expressing a gesture of acknowledgement, the Baterra strode forward, and cut Shardak loose, slinging his unconscious form on his back.

And then without another word, the pair were gone, leaving behind the two bewildered Skakdi.

Lethal walked into the sunlight as he exited Atero, staring at the battle before him between his fellow mercenaries and the resistance.

Without even bothering, he called out one word. “Skorr!”

In an instant, the Zeverek was behind him. Lethal acknowledged his presence, before barking out another order. “Bounty hunters, regroup on me!”

Janneus, Raduke, and Proto-Beast nodded, disengaged from their fights, and were soon standing beside Lethal.

Conqueror, Freztrak, and 95 got to their feet.

“Goodbye, old soldiers,” Lethal started. “Thank you for making our mission that much more interesting, but now, we really must get going. Skorr, now!”

Before Conqueror could realize it, Skorr had activated his teleportation gauntlet, and in an instant, the mercenaries were gone.

“NO!” he roared in anger, slamming the pommel of his staff into the ground, which sent out a faint tremor.

“Whatever they’ve stolen, it’s valuable to us. And when this battle’s over, the resistance is going to personally eliminate each and every one of those hunters.”

He turned to look at Freztrak and 95.

“Well, what are you waiting for, you two? We’ve got an invasion to repel, and an empire to crush!”

Far away to the north, Makuta Benjarmin scanned his chamber. His mission was nearing completion. Shardak had been placed in one of his fortress’ dungeons by Harponok and N4-11, as planned. All he needed to do was await the arrival of his… guests. Suddenly, the holographic projector in the center of the chamber flickered on. The image of Raduke fizzled in.

“Ah, Raduke, at last. My patience has finally paid off. Tell me, have you succeeded in your mission?”

“Indeed,” began Raduke. “We are on our way to your fortress as we speak.”

“Good,” replied Benjarmin. “I will greet you with your reward upon your arrival.”

The hologram flickered off, only to be reactivated seconds later by another incoming transmission. This time, the “Dark Lord’s” general, Sovnoron, appeared.

“Sovnoron? What business do you have with me?”

“I am here to check the progress of the plan,” he replied. “I need to know the exact stage we are on before my attack can commence. My fleet is almost in position.”

“The bounty hunters have retrieved the Ignika, and are on their way here. Shardak has been captured. Merados has reported the Empire’s new Great Spirit robot will be completed on schedule. And Varkanax and his legion have already decimated Tesara, and are moving onto Vulcanus. What more do you truly need to know of our progress?”

“Hmmm. Very well then, my attack can commence at this stage. Good luck, Benjarmin. You are going to need it.”

With that, Sovnoron’s image faded out, leaving Benjarmin to merely plan ahead of time for the bounty hunters’ arrival. Suddenly one of his servants entered the chamber.

“Master, your scouts have reported Toa Jareroden on the march through the Black Spike Mountains. He, and his legion, will be here in a matter of days!”

Benjarmin rose from his makeshift throne. “Excellent! Prepare my warriors for the upcoming battle. I want to be ready for Jareroden’s foolish invasion. And when he falls, the Empire will rule!”

Chapter 12
Ixtil watched as six Toa of Fire felled the last of the Skakdi invaders. One Skakdi was blasted down in a raging fire, another was beheaded, and the third was stabbed through the heart.

Good. Thought Ixtil. Another chamber recaptured.

The Skakdi had split their forces, their main invasion force was attacking the defenders on the second floor of Atero, though they had suffered many loses, according to the Toa that Leviathos had sent to Ixtil with a message of victory. While the Skakdi continued their assult on Atero, Leviathos was freeing the first floor and attempting to put down any remaining Skakdi resistance below. Shardak's status was currently unknown.

We need to win this battle in exactly 10.51 minutes. Ixtil calulated. ''Or the Skakdi will escape us with whatever they have come for. Logically, the main force of the Skakdi will be destroyed by the armies in Atero, but it is only a distraction for whatever the Empire really is doing.''

"Those were the last of them." The six Toa reported.

"Excellent" said Ixtil. "Now, we will join the Toa defenders who are fighting the main Skakdi force."

The Skakdi commander Vezruk was annoyed.

The Skakdi invasion force had been completely decimated by Leviathos' forces. They numbered barely twenty, and the majority of their numbers were new recruits, who had fled from Leviathos' legions in the levels below Atero. Now, to continue Zaktan's plan, they would be forced to attack the defenders above the staircase, which numbered thirteen, all powerful Toa, rogue Makuta, and other beings who could only be classified by the Skakdi as beings.

We can still win the battle. Vezruk thought. But they have the height, the weapons, while the majority of our Skakdi are armed only with spears and claws.

Of all the elite Skakdi commanders who had led the invasion force into Atero, only Vezruk, Darvath, and Sh'laath remained. All of the others had either been killed in the initial skirmishes, and the others were destroyed in the battle with Leviathos.

Above, Vezruk could see the defenders were massing. He would have to order the Skakdi to attack now, or loose the edge.

Suddenly, a volley of missles thudded against the staircase, which exploded into flames.

Vezruk snarled. "Skakdi, attack!" Ten Skakdi, armed to the teeth, charged up the staircase. The more lightly armed unit led by Darvath charged next, followed by Sh'laath's group, primarily consisting of wounded Skakdi. Vezruk felt a jolt of excitement run through him. This was what a Skakdi lived for, this was why their race was powerful and warlike. Battle gave him a thrill like no other.

More missiles followed the first, skewering two Skakdi who stood behind Vezruk. More Skakdi were wounded, and the other Skakdi in Vezruk's group raised their shields, and the missles thudded harmlessly off the metal. Vezruk felt his arm weaken as his shield took two missles and began to melt. A third missle struck the shield, and the shield exploded into fragments of metal.

Flinging the useless shield aside, Vezruk and his eight warrior Skakdi struck the enemy like a raging tide. Vezruk's gleaming Ebon armor was hit by three blades and dented as he tore the head off a Toa. The enemy numbered thirty, and had the height, and the missles. Another missle struck an Ebon-armored Skakdi in the head, felling him, while another Skakdi was run through by a Toa's spear. Vezruk saw that Darvath's unit of seven Skakdi had been attacked by a group of spearfighting Toa. A Skakdi pikeman behind Vezruk fell onto the staircase as three missles crushed his skull.

This can't go on. Vezruk thought. We have to win now.

Vezruk tore another Toa apart, then tore off another's arm. Three more Toa rushed at him, two attacking the three surviving members of his group, another attacking him. Vezruk killed the Toa easily, then attacked another Toa in a raging whirlwind of daggers and spears. Vezruk saw the Toa fall, his body falling away from the Skakdi warlord. The other Toa stabbed a Skakdi through the shoulder, then speared another through the side. One wounded Skakdi fell to the ground and was speared through the head, the other fell backward, disoriented. The Toa stabbed again, catching the Skakdi in the back. The Skakdi turned, ready to plunge his spear through the Toa's head, and the Toa speared the Skakdi in the back again. The Skakdi fell back, and the Toa stabbed the spear through the Skakdi's body.

Vezruk ran the Toa through, and the surviving Skakdi from his group stabbed the Toa through the neck.

Suddenly Vezruk saw the missles. The struck the Skakdi dead on, killing him instantly as his body fell to the ground. Vezruk snarled in rage, abandoning the surviving Skakdi on the staircase. Sh'laath and three other Skakdi were fighting on the edge of another cliff-one that overlooked the old arena of Atero, the Arena Magna. Vezruk watched as a Skakdi warrior speared one Toa through the chest and flung another Toa's horribly mangled corpse to the ground. The Skakdi now numbered less then thirteen now, as most of the Skakdi elite had been destroyed. Vezruk watched as two more Skakdi fell to the arrows that had killed moast of the invasion force.

Vezruk saw now that the Skakdi were nearly defeated. Sh'laath was still fighting, guarded by three Skakdi pikemen. Darvath's command still fought with the Toa, but only three remained other then the commander. But Vezruk would not give up. The Skakdi would all fall, but they would take as many Toa as they could with them. With a roar of rage, Vezruk clawed a Toa apart, then slashed another to the ground. The Toa now numbered fifteen or less, but the archers were still causing damage. Vezruk saw another Skakdi from Darvath's command fall dead, and saw the missles strike another Skakdi on the cliffs above. Vezruk tore into another Toa, felling him before he could attack even once. The Skakdi warlord called orders to the two Skakdi who still fought the Toa on the cliffs overlooking Atero. Sh'laath killed another Toa, then was shot in the shoulder by one of the Toa's missles. The Skakdi commander fell backward into two Toa, who stabbed their spears at him. Sh'laath smashed one to the ground, an the other stabbed at the Skakdi, striking a blow to Sh'laath's leg. Sh'laath disarmed the Toa easily, then slew him with a blow to the head.

Vezruk turned away from Sh'aath, watching as the two Skakdi pikemen stabbed three Toa to the ground. They were only wounded, but were hurt too badly to continue fighting. One of the Skakdi stabbed a Toa through the neck, and the other drew a dagger and stabbed it through a Matoran guard. Vezruk felt some of his confidence return. While the Skakdi's losses were mounting, they could still destroy the Toa.

Then Vezruk heard a Matoran's voice, at the head of a large group of warriors. Ixtil led at least eight Toa, as well as ten or more Matoran guards. Vezruk saw the archers begin firing, and saw a shattergun fire, destroying one of the pikemen. Vezruk dodged the next missle, and the other pikeman was struck in the shoulder. He raised his weapon, vanishing into the mass of Toa. Vezruk decapitated a Toa, and dodged another shatterer as he searched the battlefield for any Skakdi survivors.

Sh'laath's soldiers, emboldened by Vezruk's attack, had been caught in the open, directly in the firing line. One Skakdi was struck in the chest and killed instantly. The other raised his spear, and readied to attack. Sh'laath knew the attack was doomed, and was about to call a retreat when a throwing spear appeared out of nowhere. Sh'laath ducked, and the spear slew the one remaining Skakdi in her command. He watched as the Skakdi soldier fell beneath the Toa's charge, and speared a Matoran guard to the ground. The Toa attacked, and Sh'laath managed to escape instant death, the shatterer stricking another Matoran and killing him. The Skakdi had managed to fight his way to Darvath, where the other Skakdi still fought the Toa spearmen with his two soldiers. They had finally gained a victory, but had been pushed back by the Toa. Darvath's soldiers were fought to the edge of the cliff, and one fell, slain by a Toa's spear, the otherwas stabbed through the shoulder by a spear and fell to his death over edge of Atero.

Sh'laath ran to Darvath, who had been nearly overwhelmed by the Toa reinforcements. The Skakdi warlord had been stabbed in a hundred places, yet still he fought. Sh'laath tore apart a Matoran guard. The Toa fought the Skakdi warlord to the edge of Atero, their corpses lying scattered across the battlefield and slowing him. Sh'laath stabbed another Toa, then turned to face another Toa. Ixtil raised his spear and ran the Skakdi through. With a scream, the warlord collapsed over the edge of the Arena Magna.

Darvath fought on, cornered and badly injured, then fell beneath three Toa spearmen. He fell to the ground, pinning Vezruk to the ground. The two Skakdi who still fought had been cornered and would soon be killed. Vezruk saw one fall just as a Toa ran him through. The warlord's eyes glazed as his claw dealt the Toa a blow to the head. The Toa's spear fell from his hands. Vezruk's claws had speared just as deeply as the Toa's spear was stabbed through the warlord's heart. Both Toa and Skakdi fell to the ground, one atop the other.

That blow finished the battle completely as the Skakdi survivors fled. Two fell dead immediately, the other collapsed, mortally wounded, to the ground.

The battle of Atero was over. Ixtil strode silently through the battlefield, trying to count the number of casualties. Below, the weakened, defeated Skakdi had surrendered. Above, the Skakdi invasion had been completely destroyed.

Ixtil turned to see Leviathos approaching him, and breathed a sigh of relief. With Leviathos on their side, the resistance was 20.371 times more likely to suceed defeating the Empire.

"We destroyed them." Ixtil reported. "Did you eliminate the Skakdi below?"

"Yes, they were all slain. What shall we do with the Skakdi prisoners?"

"Barricade them in a chamber below Atero. They are less likely to escape from the hold then from Atero itself."

"How likely?" Leviathos asked.

"Exactly 23.64-" Ixtil began, but Leviathos cut him off.

"Okay, I'll take them to the hold." Leviathos turned away from Ixtil and issued orders to the surviving Toa.

We have won this battle. Ixtil thought. But there are still Blood Vines loose in Atero, and Shardak is still held prisoner.

But there were two factors Ixtil was not aware of - Zaktan and the Skakdi, who were still free in Atero, and the bounty hunters, who had now just stolen the most valuable artifact in resistance's possession, and only Mata Nui could know what their employers had in stall for the rest of the universe.

Chapter 13
This chapter was written by Varkanax39 and Chicken Bond

Nightwatcher and Hydros’ swords locked again, clashing against each other for a mere second before another move was made; another punch, another kick, another swipe. Despite the devastating blows being dealt, Hydros still managed to keep going. Had Nightwatcher been a lesser being, he would have snarled, but judging from obvious superiority over his foe he had no need to.

Cold eyes of brightest emerald connected with his enemies’, almost lazily avoiding looking at his own blade’s lightning-fast movements to increase his aura of fear. Despite the fearsome power of Nightwatcher, he couldn’t seem to shatter his foe’s strength, his willpower, or his morale.

Hydros was a great warrior, not a doubt, but to still stand tall against an enemy more powerful than himself unnerved him. Nightwatcher hadn’t been unnerved in millennia. Perhaps it was because of the Toa’s experience that kept him together, despite receiving unimaginably painful blows.

Perhaps it was because he was a fool, too willing to sacrifice himself for a cause that was long since lost. Or perhaps it was because; Nightwatcher had tried to keep this possibility concealed in the back of his mind for as long as possible, but found himself unable to do so anymore. Perhaps it was because Hydros knew that he represented everything Nightwatcher could no longer be. Noble, just, righteous, and whole. As those words echoed in his mind, the faint image of Toa Charon took form, who now no longer walked across the plains of the world; having been consumed completely by Nightwatcher.

The bounty hunter growled at the image of his former self, and utilized the combat form of Vauhti to cut through Hydros’ defenses and send him reeling. In another swift, almost careless motion, Nightwatcher span around to dispatch the forms of Shika, Nalek, Lesovikk, and Bomonga.

The Toa Hagah of Earth was the first back on his feet, but reacted too slow as his enemy fired a fatal bolt of Shadow at him, bringing him to his knees, and killing him instantly.

Suddenly, Nightwatcher felt a faint blast of fire hit his back armor, and turned to see Hydros rising from the weathered ground. Lazily raising his sword, Nightwatcher fired a bolt of energy that sent the mutant Toa tumbling back into the sands.

He felt a twitch on his shoulder as his Girahk scuttled across his armor. Extending his hand, Nightwatcher let the Rahkshi scuttle into his palm, and then onto the ground.

“Deal with the other Toa,” he whispered. “Hydros is mine.”

Girahk scuttled away obediently, in a form no larger than a Scarabax Beetle, before growing to a tremendous size of ten feet tall. The Rahkshi turned to face Nalek and the others, and let a chilling roar escape its lips before charging at them.

Nightwatcher chuckled before turning to face Hydros. “Sorry for the delay. Those imbeciles needed something to take their mind off our little farce. Now, where were we?”

With surprising speed, Hydros leapt to his feet and charged at Nightwatcher, punching him in the face, forcing him back a step. Nightwatcher laughed as he shifted his jaw from side to side. “Nice move, fool, that almost hurt. Now, how about I skip the pleasantries, and bring about your crushing, painful deat—“

Nightwatcher would not finish his sentence for obvious reasons. After all, no one could possibly bear speaking when one had a ball of searing, burning flames encompassing their head.

Nightwatcher tried dissipating the flame ball, only to be knocked off his feet by a powerful gust of air that extinguished the fire, and sent him flying into a boulder. Hydros smiled as the sound of a delicate crushing sound reached his ears. Nightwatcher fell on one knee for a mere second to catch his breath, only to be sent flying high into the sky by a fist of pure rock that had emerged from the soil, grabbed him, and flung him into the sky.

Righting his body in mid-air, Nightwatcher let himself fall to the ground, and crush barren rock beneath his heel, as he almost delicately landed on his feet.

“It seems I need to adjust to the situation of this battle,” said Nightwatcher sinisterly, distaste and anger echoing in his words. “Lets start again.”

Before he knew it, Hydros could see Nightwatcher charging at him at a dazzling speed, bringing his blade into a plunging motion as he stabbed at Hydros' body. The Toa fell to the ground, and Nightwatcher readied to bring the blade down into Hydros.

"This is the end, Toa." Nightwatcher said casually. Hydros could see Varkanax's massive form appearing from the mountains, at the head of a large group of Veiled Ones. Girahk had downed Shika, wounding the Toa badly, and Lesovikk's corpse lay, badly mangled, at the Rahkshi's feet.

"You'll never be able to defeat me." Hydros snarled. "You can kill us, but you can never kill our will to fight."

Nightwatcher's sword paused midair.

"We are not that different, Nightwatcher." Hydros gasped. "Leviathos knows us, he told us about you, and we all know you're not as ruthless as you pretend to be."

Nightwatcher had heard enough. "Then let those be your last words, Toa."

His blade spearing down into Lesovikk's corpse, draining every bit of power from it. Every last drop of energy the veteran Toa had possessed. Hydros tried to stop Nightwatcher, but the bounty hunter felled him in an instant. Falling to the floor, Hydros kicked out one more time, but Nightwatcher had drained much of the power from his body. Nightwatcher felt the power burn through him, and he readied to release-

A massive amount of white-hot light exploded from Nightwatcher's body, and the Toa, the Corpsians, and Varkanax were struck by the shockwave as it decimated the Corpsian legions. Hydros struggled to remain conscious. it was only the great durability of his body that kept him so. He should have known Nightwatcher would do this: Drain the energy from his body, as well as the little left of Lesovikk's, and use it to release this shockwave. it was merely luck that Lesovikk's body had little energy left in it, limiting the effects of the blast. but Hydros had predicted Nightwatcher's strategy long ago, and had devised a winning plan to defeat not only him but Varkanax as well.

When the blast had ended, Hydros' blurry vision could make out the rough form of Nightwatcher, a jet-black arm leaning against a boulder as the bounty hunter panted wildly. Summoning all the remaining strength he had left, Hydros jumped to his feet and charged at Nightwatcher, only to be grabbed mid-charge by the throat. Hydros' sword clattered to the floor. Nightwatcher's grip tightened.

"You have tricked me!" growled Nightwatcher, ibtterly. "You delayed my burst until Varkanax and his legion arrived. I have not been tricked before, imbecile. Now you will suffer a torment a hundred times worse than death itself. Goodbye Toa Hydr--"

Nightwatcher's speech was abruptly cut off by the unique sensation of the ground shifting. He had felt such sensations many times in the past, whilst carrying out some of the more dangerous missions for Tetrack Nui and the Gigas Magna Empire, but not one like this. Suddenly, the ground beneath his heels collapsed, drawing Nightwatcher deep into the dark chasm. Hydros back-flipped to solid ground and sealed the underground tunnel off and scanned the battle scene. Nightwatcher's Girahk had been forced back a few feet, relying on its staff to stand up. Shika merely lay on the floor, breathing heavily, with Nalek beside him, using his mysterious powers to try and heal him.

Hydros rushed to his side, and using his Cryo-Vision, froze Nightwathcer's pet Girahk, before it could reach them. He then turned to look at Nalek. "How bad are his injuries?"

"Too severe to detail. That Girahk must have stabbed him so deep he penetrated his organic tissue. There's no telling how long he has unless we get him treated by an experienced healer."

Hydros turned at the sound of a chilling roar. Atop a nearby hill, he could see Varkanax struggling to his feet, the beast gazing at what was left of his once proud legion. Before Nightwatcher's shockwave, his legion had numbered in about ninety eight troops. Now, he only had about sixteen; all weakened and wounded horribly. His army had taken most of the blast. Varkanax rose to his feet. He knew he could not destroy Vulcanus at this rate, his legion was too crippled to do so. Barking an order at his troops in his race's dark tongue, Varkanax and his forces turned and departed, indicating a sign of retreat.

Hydros let a sigh of relief escape his lips. It was finally over, or at least, so he thought. Suddenly, Nightwatcher burst out of the ground, sending debris and chunks of earth everywhere. Hydros rose to his feet menacingly, staring deep into the bounty hunter's dark green eyes that seemed to blaze like the sun itself. Then, suddenly. Nightwatcher turned away and outstretched his arm, sending out a beam of energy that shattered Girahk's icy prison. The Rahkshi roared,and leapt high in the air, slowly shrinking down to the size of a Scarabax Beetle, before landing lightly on Nightwatcher's shoulder. the battered assassin looked up at Hydros.

"This isn't over," he said in a tone resembling a mutter, and with that, he vanished, his figure fading and dissolving into the background of the wastelands.

"Where's he gone?" asked Nalek. "What's he up to."

"Nothing," replied Hydros. "He's retreated with Varkanax. I suspect he will be among his remaining forces."

"Well, what does this mean now?" asked Nalek. "What does this battle mean to the resistance?"

"I think..." began Hydros. "I think its a sign that times are changing. That our conflicts with the Empire are escalating. Nalek, I think this is a sign we are going to war. Our small conflicts with the Empire are over. The time for political arguments and minor battles have passed, and fully-fledged warfare is overshadowing us now. Like the cloud of death itself."

He then turned to look at Nalek, noting the worry in his eyes. "Come now, Nalek. We need to get back to Vulcanus and find Raanu. He may be able to find us a healer for Shika."

Nalek nodded, and hauled Shika on his back, and soon, he and Hydros were walking towards the gates of Vulcanus. They did not speak. Did not raise their voices. Did not bark their opinions, all that was irrelevant now. Only one thought burned through their mind: Could the resistance really wage war against an evil that can rule reality itself?

Chapter 14
This chapter was written by and 

Tetrack's lime green eyes flashed menacingly at Sawrall, who’s face was decorated with a mocking smile. Beside him, his canine Rahi Gardorax growled menacingly, scrapping one of its razor-sharp claws against a rock.

“I must admit, I wasn’t expecting a warrior as elite as you, Tetrack, to be doing such dirty work for the resistance. What happened to Tetrack I know? The Tetrack who once ruled the Gigas Magna Empire?”

Tetrtack snarled viciously, his sinister eyes reflecting his partial insanity. Whilst Slicer and Brominax had succeeded in healing most of the mental damage done to his mind, they had not completely healed Tetrack’s insanity.

“No comeback? No retort from the disgraced emperor? You disappoint me, Tetrack. But I cannot allow you to leave this region with Eostra’s… pet Toa. He has knowledge that should never fall back into your hands. Now, will you relinquish Fairon?”

In a swift motion, Tetrack raised one of his chainsaws tot indicate he would not. As a sign of acknowledgment, Kaluu readied his claws, whilst Fairon allowed the energies of Light to swirl at the tip of his lance, whilst Blast charging his scythe.

“Very well,” said Sawrall coolly. “Gardorax, take those three, though keep the Toa alive. Eostra wants him in good condition. I’ll take Tetrack.”

With unexpected speed, Gardorax leapt into the air and tackled Kaluu to the ground, even as Fairon and blast stabbed at its back. With a light chuckle, Sawrall turned to face Tetrack.

“Well, your greatness, it would seem the tables have turned. But enough of the talking, let’s draw this out.”

With a roar of rage, Tetrack charged forward, his chainsaws blazing wildly. Meeting his challenge, Sawrall ran at the massive Kodax, locking their blades together as their great battle began. Tetrack stabbed out, his chain about to impale Sawrall. Sawrall managed to dodge with the speed of a Doom Viper, then stabbed out at Tetrack wildly, stabbing the Kodax over and over with his swords. Tetrack was massive, but Sawrall was fast, and it took all of Tetrack's power to strike the Skrall. Sawrall managed to dodge the blow, then one of Tetrack's wildly swinging chainsaws struck him a blow to his chest, flinging the Skrall backwards. Sawrall readied to strike at him again. Tetrack whirled around, and saw that Gardorax had overcome Fairon. With a barbaric screech, Tetrack charged at Sawrall, and the two beings readied to battle to the death.

"Tell me, Toa, what is your resistance's plans?" Benjarmin asked Shardak, his voice silent and deadly.

The Toa stood very still, tied to a post made of a strange, gleaming substance. He braced himself for another round of pain. Three Rahkshi, all carrying water, flung it over the Toa. As soon as the water touched the pole, Shardak would be shocked as electricity shot through his body. More water poured from the ceiling of the fortress, and Shardak convulsed as the shocks of lightning struck him over and over. The pain was excruciating.

"We- only have one base." He said. "Your Skakdi will eliminate us."

"Liar!" Benjarmin snarled. He glared at the Rahkshi, and the mechanical beings drenched Shardak again, and more water struck Shardak, and the Toa screamed as the pain tore him apart.

"Now, will you answer me? Who is following me? WHAT DOES YOUR RESISTANCE WANT?" He screeched. He spoke again, his voice quieter. "Tell me, Toa, and I will make your end painless."

"I'll tell you nothing, Benjarmin." Shardak managed to get out.

Benjarmin's face contorted into a mask of rage. "Do you need more convincing, then? Rahkshi, flood the room, and increase the electricity! Then he will talk!"

Water poured from the ceiling and rose from the floor, striking Shardak over and over, waves of pain traveling through his body. Words cannot describe the pain that Shardak felt. He could barely hear Benjarmin's laughter. Shardak screamed and screamed, and finally he sank into a half-conscious state, the pain becoming too much to take. He could barely hear himself speak through the red haze of pain.

"You'll kill me before I tell you what I need to know, Makuta."

Benjarmin smiled. "Then I will make your end as painful as I can, Toa."

Benjarmin raised a small controller. The electric pole flared even brighter as water drenched Shardak once more.

The Toa couldn't speak anymore. He couldn't even scream. He could barely feel the pain running through him. He was lost in a world beyond pain, beyond terror, and beyond death itself. As the screams and roars died out, Benjarmin walked forward, and wrapped his clawed hand around Shardak's throat. The Toa chocked hard as Benjarmin tightened his grip.

"Since you are unwilling to answer any of my questions, I will ask another: What do you know of the Kanohi Ignika?"

Shardak muttered something under his breath, his body's motor functions almost completely hindered. "I wear it you fool. isn't that much obvious?"

"Yes, we know you were in the possession of an alternate Ignika. That version is not the one my masters desire. What do you know of the true Ignika? The one from this universe?"

Shardak didn't reply.

"Don't pretend you don't know anything, Shardak. The Empire knows the Ignika was in the resistance's possession. We had a team of bounty hunters recover it during the Skakdi raid. Your resistance fought them off, but were unable to capture the mercenaries. Now... tell me what you know of how to use the Ignika?"

Shardak didn't reply; too consumed by the numbness of his body to even speak. Benjarmin frowned.

"Throw him in a cell. I'll interrogate him later."

With that, two Corpsian guards and at least one sentry of the Empire of Shadows dragged Shardak out of the room. Benjarmin sighed. He had dealt with many hostages before; whether they be members of the Hunters' Brigade, Exiled Ones, Bounty Hunters' Guild, Society of Guardians, Fallen Six, Hand of Mata Nui or even the Brotherhood of Unity. But none of them had ever quite put up the fight Shardak had. That's what worried Benjarmin. If the resistance were actually this willing to oppose the rule of the Empire, then warfare was inevitable.

The resistance wouldn't let "legal enforcements" such as the Razing of Tesara, the Fourth Occupation of Vulcanus, the Conquest of New Atero, the Onslaught of Iconox, the Kodax Massacre, the Deity Purge, the Skrall Degradations, the Sacking of Creep Canyon, or even the mysterious Great Being Rebellion be tolerated any longer. Could it be possible this would actually evolve into a war? And if so, were current operations like the Seizure of Vulcanus and the Atero Termination the first steps of a true conflict?

Somehow, Benjarmin suspected the resistance and the Empire had always been at war. In every known conflict, the resistance had somehow been involved, even during events as unrelated and obscure as the Noctian Negotiations, and the Fall of the Guild, both of which had almost nothing to do with the resistance. these "preludes" may well have possibly become the building blocks of a true war. If things really continued the way they were heading, the official political debates between the resistance and the Empire would truly escalate into a true war.

Suddenly Benjarmin's musing were shattered by the sound of of multiple footsteps echoing from his throne room above. The bounty hunters are here, he thought. He slowly walked up the long plight of stairs connecting the throne room to the dungeon. ''Well then, let us see whether war is truly destined. After all, after my decision is made, nothing will ever be the same again.''

A shadowy figure drifted through the streets of Tajun like an avenging phantom. The night had yet again fallen over Spherus Magna. He had left a trail of victims behind him in the last century, but not a soul had been able to connect the murders until now, when he had left the message unmasking his return. Had Serrakaan had even a shred of emotion, he would have chuckled, but his empty, black heart found itself unable to do so. He had been waiting in the shadowy slums of Tajun for years now, watching the universe unfold.

At first, he had thought the the Dark Empire was the real threat; the true danger to his power. But as time past, he had learned they were not. They were merely the front for a greater evil that lay in the darkness, waiting to be stirred from a deep slumber to plague existence once again. Serrakaan knew what this great threat was, but he knew it would be futile to combat it. He knew of the Empire's efforts to keep it at bay, but knew they would fail. And he knew the resistance would soon wage war, and the devastating effects they would have on those efforts.

He knew what was coming: the storm of eternal darkness. And when everyone else lay on the floor dead, Serrakaan swore to still be standing high; and when that moment came, he would be powerful enough to challenge the darkness. But until that time came, he would remain here. In Tajun. Purging it of the weak and building up his strength. Because he knew that his day was coming; and knew that the day was approaching more rapidly than anyone could even possibly imagine.

As silently as he had come, Serrakaan allowed himself to blend in with the shadows of the weathered streets, his movements never changing, his plans for the future never altering.

Jareroden trudged through thick mud, each step seemingly sapping more and more strength out of his weary body. His troops felt his pain, and in the depths of their minds they begged for rest. But Jareroen was determined to meet his old foe, and bring him down no matter what it cost. However, he knew he could be walking into a trap. Benjarmin was no fool. He was not only cunning, ruthless, intelligent, and perceptive, but he was also in the possession of a truly brilliant mind, one that had been wasted on corrupt ambitions.

But Jareroden knew the Makuta had to be stopped. He MUST be stopped. Many of his troops would have deemed unfit to command in these circumstances; for leading a conflict with a vengeful mind rather than a calm one could be fatal. But Jareroden knew that Benjarmin could only be stopped by him. He had studied his foe as the years had passed, and had learned all of his tactics, all his tricks, and had even learned how he thought.

Through the mist of the night, a fortress could be made out, built against a large cliff face. Large, ancient spires towered from the fortress, their designs giving off a false impression that they were organic. Reasoning would tell Jareroden that this fortress extended deep within in the mountain, and would also tell him this was Benjarmin's fortress.

In a mere day, Jareroden knew lives would be lost, and wounds would be drawn. But until then, the troops would rest, recollect, and remark on their lives before entering battle. Jareroden could not speak for them, but he knew he could assume that they would go foward for their beliefs, and prove that the rule of the Dark Empire must come to an end. For now, they rested. But tomorrow, everything they had come to know, would never be the same ever again.

Chapter 15
Dawn was breaking over the Black Spike Mountains. It's first yellow rays shone over the pointed mountain-tops, casting a pinkish hue over the many-towered fortress of Makuta Benjarmin. Jareroden's troops were walking about their encampment, gathering their weapons, armor, supplies, and many other things that would be important in the coming siege.

Jareroden stood on a rock that overlooked the valley which held the fortress. He took a breath of the fresh morning air. He knew that this might be the very last dawn he would ever see. He knew when he set foot in that dark fortress, it might be the very last time he ever saw the open sky, smelled fresh air, felt the clean soil beneath his feet. But over all, he thought of Galika. He knew that they might never see each other again, and this was a saddening feeling. But he would gladly give his own life to hinder the Empire's plans, even if it was only momentary setback for them.

Jareroden turned to his gathered soldiers. He knew that many, if not most of them would die in the battle. He gave a small speech to rally them. "My fellow soldiers, my friends, this will be the last battle for many of us, but I know all of you would gladly give your lives to defeat the Empire just as much as I would, so I give my sincerest thanks to you all. Now, we charge, for the downfall of our oppressors, and the freedom of all!"

All of Jareroden's army cheered, and unsheathed their weapons, and charged.

The Protosteel gates opened, and out poured Corpsians and Slayer X2 robots, along with many other fell servants. The two armies met in the center of the bowl-shaped valley. the clamor of swords and shields striking each other arose in the former morning stillness, along with the sounds of various forms of artillery being shot.

Jareroden cut his way through the enemy ranks, occasionally using his power over telekinesis to send about a dozen at a time fly into the air. He eventually made his way to the fortress gates, and with a great heave, opened them, and as soon as he was in, he shut them.

He walked through the darkness, searching around the fortress. What guards he saw he quickly dispatched before they had time to raise the alarm. He eventually reached a gigantic, spiraling staircase, which went up at least one thousand feet. After more than half an hour climbing he finally reached the top, and approached a black, iron door, with Benjarmin's mask imprinted on it.

Jareroden pushed it open, and stepped into the dimly illuminated chamber. For a moment, there seemed to be no life, until a deep, sinister voice rang through the chamber.

"Hello, old friend. It has been far too long."

Jareroden turned to face his hated enemy, who had seemingly materialized out of the shadows. "Benjarmin."

The Makuta chuckled. "I am happy that you came here, as now I can kill you much easier, and not take so much time in doing so."

He unstrapped his blade from his back. "Now, are you ready to die?"

Jareroden grabbed his blade. "Only if you are."

Benjarmin let a cold laugh depart his lips. "You've lost, Jareroden. Atero has fallen. The bounty hunters have recovered what they paid to find. The Skakdi have ravaged you forces. Shardak has been captured. Rando and gurren have been defeated by Skorpix. And Varkanax is no doubt wiping out Vulcanus as we speak. You have lost, Toa. Lost with no chance of winning."

Jareroden was speechless. Atero had been attacked by bounty hunters and Skakdi? Shardak had been captured? Rando had failed? Varkanax was preparing to wipe Hydros and the others out at Vulcanus? the Empire knew the resistance would be its weakest when the bulk of their forces were split up into small groups, and by striking a them separately would surely eliminate them. And now the resistance was going to pay the price.

"Regardless, if the resistance does survive your masters' plans, then you know what that will me: War. Official political debates will breakdown between our factions, and we will both be declaring all-out war. And it will give the resistance no greater pleasure than to begin their war with your death."

"Very well then, Toa. Make your last move."

The two then charged at each other, and their blades met.

The two clashed their weapons against each other's again and again, and again. Jareroden leapt over Benjarmin's head, slashing him on the shoulder as he went. Benjarmin's response was blasting him with shadow, which sent him slamming through it. Jareroden got up, groaning and coughing, and saw Benjarmin approaching him. He stood up, and the battle continued. They started down the stair never letting their guard down, each anticipating the other's blows.

About halfway down the steps, Benjarmin began speaking. "Did you ever learn what really happened to your old team?"

Jareroden faltered.

About a decade ago, Jareroden's team (besides him and Galika) had vanished under mysterious circumstances, and were never found.

Benjarmin smiled. "I shall take that as a no then. So... I shall tell you:I had a covert squad of our soldiers capture Taro, Treedaka, Sayna, and Korasaunt, who were knocked unconscious, and taken to a cave deep in the White Quartz Mountains."

"I saw to their executions."

Jareroden's stomach lurched when he heard the word executions.

Benjarmin could sense Jareroden's insecurity, so he continued. "First, I saw to the death of Korasaunt. I took out a special ice dagger in my possession. I stabbed him right in the stomach, and injected ice into his very being. He was shivering all over, his armor slowly taking on a blueish color. I stabbed it this time right into his forehead; it froze him solid. When I could tell he was completely frozen, I swung my hand, shattering him."

"Next I took car of Sayna. I strode up to her, and stabbed her in the chest, and I slowly rotated the blade, and when I withdrew it, a fair amount of organics came out with it. I then raised my blade, and let it fall again, having it rip through her neck. When I was finished, Sayna's head was only attached by a thin strand of neck."

"You should have seen Treedaka crying and sobbing as and after I killed Sayna, so, in an act of mercy and pity, I decided I would end his misery. I went to him, and first cut his arm off, then stabbed him in the abdominal area. I then slashed from his left ribcage to his right shoulder, and his head and neck area fell to the ground."

"Then, only Taro was left."

"I slashed him all over his body, then slowly cut off all his armor. Once that was out of the way, I chopped him clean in half. His body his the ground, and he looked up at me, his eyes blazing with hate. My foot then descended on his head, and a very satisfactory crunching noise issued."

Jareroden could not take it any longer. He screamed in rage, and hit Benjarmin with a near Nova blast of telekinesis, which sent the Makuta flying through the wall of the tower. Benjarmin fell through the air, and slammed through the roof of the main building. he fell through one floor, then another, then another, and even more, before he finally hit the basement; the prison facility.

He looked up, to see Jareroden falling toward him. He blocked Jareroden's descent with his sword, and then continued to fight him. Jareroden ran up a wall, kicked off of it, and scored a deep whole in his chest armor. The two continued in their vicious fight, making their way down the cell hall at the same time.

Inside of one cell, Jareroden saw the unconscious form of Crystallus. Benjarmin was gradually realizing that he was losing.

Jareroden panted, and walked to Benjarmin. "Give up yet?"

Benjarmin smiled darkly. "I have one more trick up my sleeve."

Benjarmin reached inside one of the cell, and, by the throat, pulled out--

Jareroden gasped. "Galika!"

Benjarmin placed his blade a her throat. "What a touching reunion. Now Jareroden, lay down your weapon, or..."

He pressed his blade tighter on Galika's throat. "She dies."

Benjarmin chuckled. "Now Jareroden, what will it be?"

Chapter 16
Far away in a towering fortress, the Element Lord of Technology sat on his iron throne, contemplating his final decision. The decision he was weighing was a great one. Either fully pledge his empire’s support to Eostra, Millennium, and the Dark Lord, or maintain his neutrality and almost certainly be obliterated by their armies.

The Technology Lord turned his massive head to his side table, reaching out to it with his mind, and activated a projector built into its metallic structure. A three-dimensional image of an Odina Drone protruded from a silver disc, and numerous readouts materialized, pinpointed on certain parts of the robot's diagram.

The blueprints of the once fear-inspiring robots had originally been salvaged by the Dark Hunters from a wrecked warship of the Gigas Magna Empire. They had kept hold of them for many years, though had lacked the proper resources to actually mass produce the Drones. When the Empire wiped them out, Millennium had uncovered the plans, and had spent the next decade or two trying to decode the locking codes attached to the schematic’s disc. Obviously, he had only recently succeeded in breaking the lock.

The Element Lord turned to one of his Baterra bodyguards. Not long after the Restoration of Spherus Magna, he had managed to come across the Baterra in the Black Spike Mountains, and asserted his dominance over the robotic minds.

“Download these schematics into the master computer,” ordered the Technology Lord. “I want at least 400,000 Odina Drones mass produced by nightfall.

The Baterra silently acknowledged the command, and left the room to carry out its task. Now alone, the Element Lord leaned against the back rest of his throne, and rattled his armored fingers against one of the arms.

War is coming, he thought to himself. ''Endless war, that may never end. And when the Empire and the resistance have destroyed each other, I alone will stand to take their places as the supreme power in the universe!''

Spinorak stood atop a mountain ledge standing beside another warrior named Kental. Before them, Gurren, Neocrax, Tenork, and Rando trudged through a canyon-like ditch. They had been tracking this group for a long time, and had watched as Skorpix had battled them, and let them live. In the book of the Dark Empire, that meant the general wanted the resistance fighters to live for a little longer. In Spinorak's eyes, that time was up.

The Makuta gestured to Kental. “Eliminate them, leave no survivors.”

The murdering warrior nodded, and raised his weapons. Spinorak chuckled as shadow energy silently crackled from his fingertips. The pair were about to launch themselves at the group when a set of powerful arms pulled them back.

Startled, the pair twirled around with lightning speed, only to come face-to-face with Skorpix, his crimson eyes gleaming with power. Behind him, the form of Millennium’s personal general and second-in-command, Dredzek, materialized.

“General Skorpix. General Dredzek,” whispered Kental. “Why do you disrupt our hunt? We were under the assumption that you wanted us to eliminate the targets”

Skorpix glared at them sinisterly. “War is coming, Kental. Not a violent tantrum or political stand made by a group unsatisfied with their role in life, but real, true warfare. Atero has withstood the Skakdi invasion, Vulcanus has not been burned, and Benjarmin has openly engaged Toa Jareroden. Conflict is due, and we need to prepare.”

“But why not kill these fighters now,” asked Spinorak. “Would it not be best to limit their numbers early.”

“Don’t test our patience,” snarled Dredzek. “It would be a foolish strategy to have our legions scattered over the planet to eliminate small pockets of resistance groups, whilst the bulk of their forces sit in Atero waiting to strike us while our guard is down. No, if war outbreaks we need our armies assembled. Meaning we can crush them in one swift, elegant blow.”

“Then what do you propose we do with this lot,” asked Spinorak. “Do we let them slip away.”

Skorpix didn’t need to answer that question.

“Head to Eostra’s territory,” began Skorpix. “Our forces are being assembled there. The public’s fear of the Empire will be maintained by the lowly law enforcement squads.”

The two generals then turned away, and began heading on their way.

“Where are you two going?” asked Kental.

Dredzek turned to Kental and smiled, his skull twisting at the gesture.

“We’re leaving to give Benjarmin a... fighting chance.”

And then, in a brilliant flash of light, they were gone.

Somewhere else, Conqueror brought his staff down on the old, marble table of the resistance’s council chamber. Any arguments or debates being held were dropped and forgotten. Freztrak, Ixtil, and Leviathos looked up to face Conqueror’s menacing, yet calm face.

“Squabbling like this will not get us anywhere,” he roared. “We need to deal with this matter now. With Jareroden occupied, and Shardak missing, it will be much more difficult to spearhead any efforts of retaliation and investigation into the Empire’s activities.”

“Judging from the tensions between the Empire and the resistance, I calculate there is approximately a 97.8% chance that the fragile, and uneasy truce we have had with the Empire will break down, and actual conflict will commence.”

“We’ve always known conflict would come,” began Leviathos. “After all, isn’t that the very reason we formed this resistance? To fight? To win?”

A silence followed Leviathos’ words, the resistance leaders obviously considering their meaning. Finally, Freztrak piped in.

“We should assemble our forces,” he began. “We must gather Tetrack, Hydros, and Rando’s units before our opportunity to strike is too late. We...“

Freztrak’s words would never reach the ears of his friends, too quiet to be heard over the noise of the large iron door behind them being slammed open. Standing in the doorway was a Toa of Ice, a Toa of Fire, and a Toa of Radiation. All looked exhausted and heavily drained.

“Soalaz, Heehvan, Harlen,” said Ixtil, surprised. “You have returned, but we have much to tell you. Atero has been…”

“Invaded?” inquired Harlen. “Attacked, raided, assaulted? We thought as much. Chameleo’s information pointed towards that much."

“Information?” inquired Leviathos. “What information did Chameleo have to offer?”

“It would seem the Skakdi’s attack on Atero was a mere diversion. A diversion the bounty hunters took complete advantage of. The Skakdi were merely intended to distract Atero’s guards, not actually conquer them.”

“Then what was the objective of the bounty hunters?” demanded Conqueror. “What was their purpose in all of this?”

This time it was Soalaz’s turn to speak. “They were headed for the archives.”

“The archives?” retorted Freztrak. “Whatever for?”

“I believe they knew what was down there.”

“That is not possible. There is approximately a 99.9% chance that they would have any knowledge of our possession of the Kanohi Ign--”

“I’ve checked the archives,” Heehvan said, cutting off Ixtil. “It is no longer there. All we found was one of the Empire’s servants, Shadowhawk, unconscious on the floor. Apparently, he was the soldier assigned to accompany the bounty hunters, and was obviously betrayed. We’ve placed him in one of our more durable cells.”

Silence followed Heehvan’s words. After several seconds, Leviathos broke the quietness.

“You three are dismissed, the council has much to discuss.”

Soalaz, Heehvan, and Harlen bowed their heads respectively, and turned to exit the room, only for the door slam shut and lock just as they were to pass through it.

Conqueror looked at his other in confusion. “What is the meaning of this? None of your are using your override controls are you?”

The resistance leaders shook their heads.

“The what is...”

Suddenly, a holographic image of Zaktan materialized on the large silver plate built into center of the table.

“I believe I am the cause of the commotion, Conqueror.”

“Zaktan?!” spat Leviathos, surprised. “How can you be here? You were killed by Teridax according to the accounts of Helryx and the Toa Hagah.”

Zaktan chuckled. “I suppose he... underestimated my capacity to survive, but now back to business. I am in the Atero control room. All security and lockdown systems are at my command. Every door, every window, every exit has been barricaded under the terms of the “Extreme Protection Protocol.” None of your warriors are leaving Atero anytime soon.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” replied Ixtil. “To have total access to Atero’s control systems, you would require the bypass controller of a resistance leader, which you do not have. The E.P.P. order can be overridden by the command of any resistance commander.”

Ixtil tampered with his control for several seconds, his surprise gradually increasing.

“I believe the possibility of me possessing Shardak’s override control escaped your logical thinking, Ixtil. And now that its hooked up to the main security banks, I can lockdown Atero.”

“We can still bypass these doors,” began Conqueror. “If at least three resistance commander activate a certain code at the same time, we can override any lockdowns.”

“I have taken that into account,” snarled Zaktan. “But I am utilizing Sequence 66432789, which, when combined with Atero’s security systems, means that any successful override attempts against doors and entry points will automatically lock again in nine seconds. Believe me, its going to be a long time until you reach the control tower. Readouts of Atero’s foundation position the tower on the other side of the city.”

Silence followed before Zaktan continued.

“And that means I will have plenty of time to prepare myself for your arrival. Unfortunately I cannot access the full might of Atero’s inbuilt defenses, though I can still access some of them. A few intruder detectors here, a few auto-turrets there, and it will take you at least a day from now to reach me. And I doubt you will want to damage any of your hand-crafted mechanisms.”

Leviathos had heard enough. “No matter, Skakdi. You will fall.”

Zaktan holographic face turned to eye the Noctian before breaking out into sinister laughter. Levaithos growled as he pressed a switch on his control that cut off Zaktan’s transmission.

“Get your gear, my friends,” he said, in a surprisingly calm tone. “We’ve got a Skakdi to catch.”

Elsewhere on Spherus Magna, a single being walked through an empty corridor. To his left and right, were a number of empty, dust-covered cells, their iron doors still creaking as a gentle breeze whispered through them. All of them brought back numerous memories. Painful memories at that. Memories, of sickness, and fear, and weakness, and…

The being let the thoughts retreat back into the depths of his mind before they threatened to overwhelm him. He remembered this place far too well. Ankum once had a saying: ''“If the tides turn against you, retreat to remember the past. The memory of those long lost days will make you confront your actions, consider them, and make you challenge your life with a new approach.”''

Verex would have smiled. Ankum was a wise and good friend, a friend who had valued the meaning of peace in a way none had ever seen before. He was long since gone. The villagers of New Endolise had perhaps been the most ill-prepared beings for the war with the Dark Empire.

They were caught in the cross-fire, and many of them fell. With even Toa Akatark understanding Ankum’s worries for his people, the tribe had retreated from the war in order to continue living their isolated existence, though continued to aid the Society in any way they could. Five years into the Empire’s reign, Ankum had passed away; a combination of old age and battle wounds.

Verex and Inzek had sat next to him in his final hour; and as Inzek wept, not even Verex could calm her. Only Ankum himself had smiled and reassured her, telling his daughter to stand tall and strong with a brave face. His death was peaceful and painless, and Inzek decided to take on the responsibility of leading the inhabitants of New Endolise.

She had asked Verex, Ranzesk, and Drex to stay with them, but they had refused, the three being unable to live in peace whilst the world of Spherus Magna was falling around them. Verex had promised to one day to return to New Endolise; on the day the Empire would fall, though that promise had been made a long time ago. Perhaps too long ago.

Verex had followed Hydros and Conqueror to Atero, where he had stood with his companions and watched the founding of the resistance.

Verex had fought against the Empire with all his might in those early struggles, earning him a respectable position among the resistance’s ranks. Ranzesk and Drex had followed him every step of the way, helping him throughout his numerous ventures. Even as the war raged, the three of them remained close friends. However, Drex and Ranzesk had been instructed to take part in an investigation in the Bota Magna, and had been forced to part ways with Verex roughly ten months ago, leaving him to fight his battles alone with Hydros.

Verex continued to walk down the corridor until he stood before a massive set of twin doors. Pushing them open, Verex entered the room and shivered as more memories resurfaced. He had expected entering Skirvex’s private chamber would have that effect on him, for it was here he was enslaved, forced to attack Inzek, battled with his own will to resist Skirvex’s orders, and watch as he had prepared to strike the female huntress down.

But that was also a long time ago. Now, the room was empty; dust-covered, a sign that the Gatherers had not attempted to reclaim their old fortress. Verex’s mission was a simple one: Conqueror had long since suspected that the Gatherers had survived the collapse of the Legion of Shadows, and had instructed Verex to search their bases to see if any evidence would come to light. So far, there had been nothing.

Verex strode to the other side of the room and pushed open another door to continue his search, only to find a towering, black and silver armored monster standing in the way.

“You!” Verex growled. His red eyes suddenly blazing furiously as he stared at the sleek being before him.

The creature chuckled. “Verex, my friend, fancy seeing you here. I honestly did not expect to see you again.”

“Skip the pleasantries, Zevrahk,” barked Verex bestially. “What are you doing here? Is the Empire up to something? Or are you just doing some dirty work for what’s left the Legion.”

Zevrahk continued to chuckle. “You should know I wouldn’t serve the Empire, Verex. And the Legion is long since gone, as much as I regret to admit it. Our forces were scattered to the winds when the Empire betrayed us, our edge broken like the back of a Rahi.”

“Then what are you doing here?” asked Verex, who had by this time unsheathed his sword.

“Verahk and Kylla disappeared not long after the Legion’s fall. Not even the Empire knows what happened to them. I have been spending the last few centuries traveling the world to find them. My efforts, so far, have been wasted, and I have come here to see if the Gatherers still existed, in hopes that if they should, they may know something. Obviously, they are just as much a relic of the past as is the Legion.”

Verex’s saw shield began to spin wildly.

“Sorry, Rahkshi, though I might have to put myself between you and your master.”

Zevrahk let out a chilling laugh. “Whoever said I was your enemy, Verex. In fact, I am quite the contrary. No, I want to help your little resistance.”

The blades of Verex’s shield began to rotate much slower, until they stopped entirely, though Verex’s sword remained in place. He looked at Zevrahk in a mixture of suspicion and confusion.

“You do?”

“Indeed, reptile,” replied Zevrahk. “Think of me as… a loose associate. Your resistance has the edge in this war. The Empire is disciplined, and strictly organized. The resistance is not, but has greater warriors, better hideouts, and better tactics. The Empire relies too heavily on overwhelming brute strength, which has allowed you to gain a foothold several times. However, you need someone who knows how to best combat the Empire. How to best manipulate them.”

“And what do you gain from this?” inquired Verex, suspiciously.

Zevrahk laughed. “Nothing that will affect the resistance’s stability, Skrall. All I need is a confirmation from you that I will receive a suitable rank and position.”

There was a silence for several seconds. Finally, Verex sighed.

“Very well, creature. You will have what you wish, but be aware that some, such as Hydros, will not tolerate any mistakes made by you.”

This time, Zevrahk returned Verex’s menacing stare with one of his own. “Then I will make sure I don’t make any flaws in my… service. Now come, Verex. Its time you show me where the resistance’s ‘hidden headquarters’ truly is.”

Chapter 17
A fiery cauldron of pure rage rose up inside the Toa of Shadow's body as he approached the massive metal fortress. Modeled after several of the great bastions of the past, Nightwatcher once again recognized a jumbled mix of architectural styles, all for purposes of either pure attack and defensive power or simply intimidating attacking armies.

The obelisk-like towers of a black-colored enhanced form of Protosteel were those of the Gigas Magna Empire, the almost impenetrable design of the thick walls taken from the Noctxia Guardians and Brominax's Resistance, as were the designs of the hidden energy cannons that were positioned along the walls. Too many to count were the small details that had been lifted from the Dark Hunters, Order of Great Beings and Brotherhood of Makuta. The best of each organization, each of which had once staked its claim on the universe; a completely invincible base.

How naïve they were.

He reached the first layer of gates, thick and imposing as they rose above him, though not so thick and not so high that he couldn't see through them with his X-ray vision. A lime-armored guard from a species that had never taken a name for itself but was instead remembered by the name of the most famous of them all—Ehlek—approached him, raising a hand as Nightwatcher towered over him.

The guard's collected look revealed nothing of his emotions, which in itself was enough to annoy him; he liked seeing beings' fear on their faces. Of course, he could sense his fear through the aura field, but this was different.

“Stop immediately,” the guard said. “This is a forbidden area. Please identify yourself or—”

“I don't have time to be threatened by little fools playing soldier,” Nightwatcher spat. The venom in his voice alone was enough to make the guard step back a few paces. “I have an appointment with your leaders.”

“Identify yourself,” the guard repeated, though he looked more frightened now, “or I shall be forced—”

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by a blast of flame which made the guard cry out in horror. He tried to step back, away from the pillar of fire that was emanating from Nightwatcher's hand, but to no avail. The cry became a scream, and then faded into silence as the guard's incinerated, lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

Immediately, alarms began to sound, but the bounty hunter ignored them as he pulled back his hand and punched through the solid wall. Deliberately and slowly, he continued forward as the alarms grew louder, his pace measured and even but by no means calm. He was angry, and when Nightwatcher got angry, someone always had to pay the price.

As he approached the next line of defenses, a row of Vortixx guards came to his attention. Their armor a cold black that seemed to shine in the light of the moons, they eased out of ready position within half a second and fired without hesitation.

Plasma bolts ripped through the darkness, strong enough to turn a Toa to ashes, but Nightwatcher didn't stop. He allowed them to smash into him, unhesitating as he strode forward. They did him no harm, and only increased the mounting energies within him as he came forward, which continued to build inside him until they were like a bomb waiting to be detonated. The Vortixx guards seemed to realize this, and were wise enough to retreat as he continued.

The plasma cannons on the walls did not activate; Good, Nightwatcher thought. At least they learn.

The second wall he encountered was that of the fortress itself. It was perfectly smooth, and it appeared peaceful in the darkness. But the peace was deceiving; probably, inside, hundreds of beings were readying themselves to stop him. It mattered little to Nightwatcher, of course; there was nothing inside there that had the slightest chance of stopping him. Especially not now.

He didn't stop at this wall either; instead, he simply stepped into it as if it were made of water and not the hardest known substance in the known universe. As he pushed forward, his body filled the gap where the wall had been, and a few moments later there was a Nightwatcher-sized hole in the titanic base's wall. He didn't bother sealing it; no doubt, someone would attend to that, assuming he didn't bring the fortress down during this meeting.

An orderly line of several dozen guards from a motley collection of species rose up to meet him as soon as he reached the other side, again blasting him with several particle weapons of different types; clearly they wanted to see which one had the greatest effect on him. Again, he walked calmly through the firestorm, stepping past them as if they weren't there.

They didn't fall back as he turned and began to walk along the corridor towards the Imperial throne room, instead following him and continuing to pelt him with energy blasts. Momentarily, he considered killing them all, but the matter was rendered moot when, on an unseen signal, they hurried away.

Thus he was left alone and unhindered as he moved down the corridor, black as night — the lights, not as protected from the energy blasts as Nightwatcher, had been pulverized — with most of the walls blown out by the force of the attack upon him, and approached the massive twin doors that reminded him so much of those of Tetrack's Empire.

But this was not the Gigas Magna Empire. This was the Dark Empire, the most powerful force in the known universe since the time when the Zormacht had created the Great Beings and left for the stars beyond. This was the ultimate power in all of reality, capable of crushing all those who had ever opposed them.

Of course, they had never had to deal with him.

The smallest twitch of his wrist, and the twin doors were ripped from their hinges, blasted back into the hall towards him. He ignored these just as easily as he had ignored almost everything else, stepping through the wreckage into the circular chamber. To his mild surprise, the Lightstones in the ceiling were still there; he had assumed that the Emperors would want a darker atmosphere than usual for a meeting of this nature.

"Greetings, Nightwatcher," hissed Eostra quietly. She was sitting in the black throne at the top of the platform, her hands clasped together on her knees. On her Kanohi Salek was a ghostly smile that would have chilled the heart of almost anyone but the being she was addressing. "I bid you welcome."

The twin doors lifted themselves back up, placed themselves into their hinges, and slammed shut, leaving them alone in the Imperial Chamber. Nightwatcher stood motionless as stone, staring up at the being on the high end of the ladder.

"Eostra," he said in a low, rumbling growl, "I see you brought friends." All traces of calm had vanished from him; although he had barely moved, it seemed his body was filled with tension and at the same time a furious energy. He was not so much as pretending to be in the least lazy, as he had been while toying with Toa Hydros.

For once in his life, Toa Charon was being deadly serious.

Two figures arose out of the darkness behind the Elemental Prince, silent as they carved inky paths through the darkness around them while they stepped forward. Three pairs of red eyes stared unblinkingly down at the bounty hunter, making clear an unspoken challenge.

"You failed to kill Toa Hydros." It was Millennium speaking this time, his voice not just as cold as ice, but as cold as the void itself. "Why?"

"I was not given enough time to finish him in a... satisfactory way," Nightwatcher spat. "Now he will meet a hopeless end fighting vainly against Varkanax's armies, instead of a noble and far more interesting end at my hands. He is rather courageous, after all, and has earned the right to die quickly, an opportunity I am sure will not be offered him now."

"You know what we mean." The Dark Lord's powerful voice boomed out of the spot where his mouth should be. "Hydros should have had no chance against you of all beings. You prolonged the conflict, and just when you released the shockwave, Varkanax just happened to arrive, correct?"

"I will not deny," said Nightwatcher with cold distaste on his lips, "that I prolonged the conflict. Nor will I deny that I waited until the last moment to use a shockwave against him. But that was all part of the plan, of course."

Millennium interrupted with a cry that would have been a roar had it not been so eerily quiet. "You obliterated Varkanax's forces! And you left Hydros alive!"

"A regrettable amount of collateral damage, nothing more," said Nightwatcher. He knew the moment was mere seconds away, but remained as still as ever. "You know me. Collateral damage is to be expected."

"You failed in your mission."

"Only because you called me here. I assure you, had you allowed me to, I would have finished my plan and finished him off."

"Plans?" Eostra spoke again. "Let me make this simple for you. We make the plans. You carry out our plans. Your failure was not part of the plan."

"It was part of mine."

"No more plans," she said. "You have been useful to us in the past, Nightwatcher, but now you are becoming inconvenient. And like any tool that becomes inconvenient, you must be disposed of."

The three leaders of the Empire started slowly down the steps.

"I have not betrayed you," hissed Nightwatcher.

"That is no longer of importance," said Millennium. "It does not matter to us anymore whether you have betrayed us or not. We have chosen to eliminate you, and now we shall."

A slow grin began to spread across the Toa's face as the leaders of the Dark Empire approached him. They were very close now, only a few bio away...

"You summoned me here because you wanted to dispose of me in person," said Nightwatcher. He gripped the handle of his spear, clutching it tightly as he raised it in a mock salute. "You believe that you are the only ones powerful enough to kill me and trustworthy enough to be sure to finish the job." The moment of battle was coming, was slipping ever closer.

"Try as hard as you want," Nightwatcher spat, "try as hard as you can, try until your Empire has fallen... You can't get rid of me. The three of you have made a very bad mistake.

"A fatal mistake."

"Don't be so sure," yelled Eostra, in earnest this time, and she lunged at Nightwatcher, launching bursts of Annihilation power from her hands. The two others followed, Millennium coming left, the Dark Lord from the right. In a sudden flash of light, the cataclysmic battle exploded into action.

The clash of the titans had begun.

Chapter 18
Sovnoron strode down the gangway of his flag ship down to the ground below. Cannons and all sorts of other artilery boomed through the clear mid-morning day.

The Empire had recently caught wind, via several of Eostra's spies, that the rebels were hiding the legendary Kanohi Avohkii: the Mask of Light. Such a mask could cause catastrophic troubles and setbacks to the Empire's plan. The Dark Empire wanted that Mask. Now.

The clang of swords could be heard as the two sides met, and screams were also evident. Several Resistance fighters raced towards him, weapons ready, but Sovnoron cut them down without hardly even looking.

He advanced down the stone pathway, his cold, sinister, blood-red eyes set upon the Protodermis and stone fortress. His silver-black armor was shining in the sunlight.

He reached the gates of the mighty building, and with three strikes of his machete he carved out an opening to climb into the inner-fortress with.

The courtyard was shaded by steep walls, and inside there was array of peacefulness.

The ghost of a smile appeared on Sovnoron's fanged mouth. Not for long.

Sovnoron walked into the fortress building itself. He reached a hallway, and went down it, slaying anything that stood in his way.

He was on about the eighth floor, when he heard a heavy footstep behind him. He coolly spun around, to see the large form of Shadowsnake behind him, brandishing his weapon.

"What is you and your army's business here, Imperial filth?"

Sovnoron responded in a powerful, commanding tone. "I am Sovnoron, high general of the Dark Lord, the supreme commander of the legions of the Empire of Shadows, the mastermind of this assault, and, unless you take me to the mask you are keeping here, your murderer."

Shadowsnake began circling Sovnoron, and Sovnoron did the same. A moment that seemed like a century passed by as the two combatents slowly circled each other.

Shadowsnake made the first move. Twirling his blade above his head, he charged.

Sovnoron smiled, and readied his blade. This is going to be fun.

Jareroden stood, facing Benjarmin. He was faced with a grave ultimatum:either lay down his weapons, or Galika would be killed. Silence reigned.

Eventually, Jareroden sighed, and spoke. "Fine... you win." He laid down his blade. "Just let her go..."

Benjarmin chuckled, and released his grip on Galika. She fell to the ground with a moan. Jareroden was at her side immediatly. He grabbed her hand, and began to help her up.

Seizing the oprotunity, Benjarmin hefted his blade, and swung it at Jareroden's back. The Toa of Psionics barely had time to sun around and block Benjarmin's sword with his own before it would have killed them both.

Jareroden looked over his shoulder. "Galika! Run!"

Galika hesitated. "But..."

"No questions! Just GO!"

Galika turned and ran. She ran until she was out of the fortress and on a hill overlooking the battle going on below her.

She spun around at a voice behind her. "Well, look at what we have here. Toa Galika, Toa of Water. I must say I did not expect to see you here. Oh well, it shall be quite a joy killing you anyway.

The voice belonged to none other than... "Dredzek..." Galika whispered, her voice concealing none of her fear.

Dredzek slowly advanced on Galika, who slowly backed away until she was right on the edge of the cliff. She had absolutely no weapons to defend herself with. She was as good as dead aagainst the Makuta.

Sure, she could use her Mask power to heal herself of some wounds, but she knew that she could not survive against her adversary.

She leapt over Dredzek's head, and slammed her foot into his back, and gave a yelp of pain as it hit. She fell backwards to the ground.

Dredzek gave a chuckle. "Pathetic. I expected more, even from you." He raised his claw for the kill. "Embrace death."

Galika shut her eyes tight, preparing for the end. She waited, and waited, but nothing happened. She opened them, and saw the large form of Lesorask battling Dredzek fiercely.

He called over to Galika. "Toa, get out of here! I'll hold him off!"

Galika nodded and ran back to the battlefield.

Lesorask turned to where Dredzek was, only to find that he was gone. He heard a gentle scrapping noise behind him, and by the time he turned, it was already too late.

Once Galika arrived on the field, the battle was dying down, and it seemed that the Resistance would win. Galika picked up the blade of a dead soldier, and joined the battle. It was over in minutes.

The Resistance drove back their enemies and slew almost all of them. When the battle was over, Galika remembered Jareroden. She raced back to the fortress, closely followed by several soldiers. They reached the prison area, and found Jareroden, his armor battered and in some places completely torn off.

But, he was alive. Unconscious, but alive. As she knelt beside him, using her mask to heal as much as she could, a soldier ran up to her. "Sir, we have explored the entire fortress, but we have found nothing. All the machines, prisoners, and everything else is gone, along with the Makuta."

"As well, we have found Lesorask dead where he engaged Dredzek. He and Skorpix are gone, and we assume they came to buy Benjarmin the time to get everything out."

The soldier then left, leaving Galika alone with her unconscious friend.

Chapter 19
Conqueror dodged the Blood Vine's massive sword and watched as Freztrak stabbed him through his side. For a moment, the Blood Vine remained upright, then fell to the ground. Behind him, Leviathos and Soalaz had slain two other Blood Vines, one stabbed through the throat the other torn apart by Freztrak and Leviathos. Conqueror watched as the two other beings joined them at the next doorway. Only then did Conqueror dare to speak, glancing at the small communications device he carried with him.

"Ixtil, we've reached the sixth door. We've just finished off three of Zaktan's pets. More may be coming, but with so few of his minions left, I doubt he'll risk losing more. Where are you?"

"We've just apprehended two of Zaktan's minions in the training center, apparently they were a rear guard. Harlen and Heehvan are attempting to interrogate them. They're not talking."

"They will, when I... meet them." Conqueror growled. "What other traps does Zaktan have in store for us?"

"I am only relying on my memory at this present moment, though considering Zaktan has complete control over Atero's security systems, then he must be utilizing the six hidden traps in the next hallway, and the five others that are currently not active but can be triggered with Sequence 21768. I do not know if Zaktan knows how to operate them, but be on your guard. Once you pass through two more doors, you will enter the arena itself, then you are free to proceed on and eliminate Zaktan."

Conqueror almost sighed. They'd spent almost all afternoon chasing Zaktan and disabling the traps and Blood Vines he'd sent to slow them down, and while they'd made progress, they were still a long way from reaching Zaktan's fortress. The control tower was built like a fortress, with many defenses. And now they were all in the hands of one insane Skakdi.

"Anything else?" He asked Ixtil.

"Nothing, but... My sensors indicate that a large group of Zyglak, perhaps twenty, are moving slowly toward you."

"Zyglak?" asked Conqueror. "But that's impossible! In order for them to break through, they would need-"

"A resistance commander, yes." Said Ixtil. "Three to override the sequence Zaktan is using. Many of them are our allies, but at least five do not have resistance identification. There is a 87% chance that they attack your team."

Conqueror betrayed no emotion outwardly, but within, his thoughts were in turmoil.

For them to break through Zaktan's door sequence, they'd need three resistance commanders, unless-

Conqueror shut off the communications, then whipped around.

"We need to catch Zaktan, and fast. Twenty Zyglak have somehow broken through Atero's security system, and are heading toward us. We need to render the remaining traps on this corridor inoperative."

Freztrak cursed, and Leviathos drew a massive curved sword. Each of the resistance leaders spoke the sequence that would open the door for nine seconds before Zaktan's sequence shut the door, and the four allies entered the next corridor, weapons drawn. There was only a small torch left to provide illumination, but Conqueror could see just as well in the darkness.

Suddenly there was a harsh screech and a massive Zyglak appeared out of the darkness, six others following him. The Zyglak smashed his blade against Leviathos' and the two beings, locked in combat, vanished into the shadows. Conqueror raised his staff above his head, striking a Zyglak a blow to the head, and the brutal being fell dead.

"They aren't allies!" Conqueror yelled. "They're working with Zaktan!" As Soalaz shot a bolt of ice at a second Zyglak, the being jumped away, launding on his back. There was a massive explosion and a strange sound filled the room. The four remaining Zyglak suddenly collapsed on the ground, their armor torn apart by the one of Atero's security traps. Conqueror grabbed Freztrak by the arm and dragged him against the wall, where he knew they would be safe. Anyone touching the wall while this trap was activated would survive it. Soalaz froze as the sound assaulted his very life force, then his heartlight winked out like a dying ember. The Toa's body, half smashed by pressure, sank to the ground.

Leviathos raced to Soalaz's side as soon as the trap deactivated.

"He's dead." the Noctian said heavily. "We can't help him." Conqueror knew that Leviathos was right, he'd known that Soalaz had stood no chance against the powerful sonic laser.

How can we take on the Empire if we can't catch a single Skakdi?

Conqueror inspected the room, and saw that he, Soalaz, and Leviathos had killed three of the Skakdi, and the sonic laser had slain the other four, but the four Skakdi all bore small wounds, as if something had torn through their armor. Two of the Skakdi had also been torn by ice shards.

"Five of the six traps in this corridor were deactivated by the Zyglak." said Conqueror. "We'll be able to make it to the Arena Magna safely."

Moving carefully to avoid any traps, the three beings stepped over the corpses of Soalaz and the seven Zyglak. As Conqueror rounded a corner, he came face-to-face with another Zyglak. The Zyglak's eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed tired and weakened. As Conqueror raised his staff to slay the Zyglak, the being slammed against Conqueror. Conquorer heard Leviathos shouting as more of the Zyglak appeared down the corridor. Some bore wounds from traps they'd activated. Conqueror struck the Zyglak a penetrating blow to his chest, and the Zyglak's claws scored a wound in Conqueror's thick armor. As the Zyglak raised a second claw, Conqueror, now desperate, shoved the Zyglak backward, into a second Zyglak. Both of the monsters fell to the ground, and were consumed by a massive explosion as the sixth and final trap exploded in their faces.

Conqueror tapped the communications device. "Ixtil, we've entered the last corridor. Zyglak are everywhere. What are the trap positions?"

Ixtil replied hurriedly. "There are three traps set along the walls, but the Zyglak have already tripped them. You need to know that we're converging on the Arena Magna, and, according to my sensors, so are many other resistance members. Zaktan has been manually activating insanity mist traps along Atero's corridors, and in Corridor 167 a Toa has killed three Matoran. It is impossible to tell how many resistance members are affected by the insanity mist. Keep moving, we'll join your squad in approximately-"

Conqueror turned off the communication's device. The three Zyglak were closing in on Leviathos. Freztrak had already slain two of the monsters. Conqueror speared one through the chest, and Leviathos tore one apart with a massive spiked mace. The last Zyglak dealt Freztrak a bad blow to the head, and Freztrak was staggering backward, leaving him open for another attack. Conqueror and Leviathos struck the monster at the same time, and it collapsed in a limp heap on the floor.

"Zaktan's been activating insanity mist traps, and he's somehow caused them to attack other resistance members. Ixtil's team is going to join us in the Arena Magna."

"What-" Leviathos began, and was suddenly cut off as six beings, mostly Toa, Skakdi, and Matoran, raised their weapons and attacked. Conqueror watched as more resistance members appeared from other corridors, all locked in mortal combat with one another. Traps detonated as beings tripped them, killing four Skakdi instantly, and the battlefield descended into chaos as Toa attacked Matoran and Skakdi turned on Zyglak. Conqueror struck a Toa a blow to the side, and grabbed one of the Midak Skyblasters he was carrying. He shot a Toa through the chest, and smashed his staff into a Zyglak's leg. Firing again, he shot another being, a Vortixx, through the head, and struck a viscous blow to a crazed Skakdi. It was as if their struggle against the Empire no longer mattered; the resistance had turned on each other. In the chaos, Conqueror lost track of time. There was nothing he, Freztrak, and Leviathos could do but keep moving, dealing death to any who attacked them. Ahead, a net trap strangled a Vortixx to death, and a massive wave of darkness engulfed two fighting Glatorian, leaving nothing but dust to mark their passing.

Conqueror shoved his way through the maddened combatants, and Leviathos leapt over the bodies of two Toa to join him. Freztrak, whose shoulder had been wounded by a hit from Midak blaster, slammed two Matoran against the wall before joining Conqueror at the doorway. Using the remaining power Midak blaster, Conqueror charged the weapon, and felled the two remaining beings, a small Toa of Air and a Ta-Matoran.

"How many are dead?" Leviathos asked. His eyes looked haunted, and Conqueror knew that if they couldn't rally the rebels and kill Zaktan, the war would be over before it began.

"There were about seventeen resistance members fighting, counting the Zyglak." said Freztrak. "They're all dead."

They died in a pointless conflict that shouldn't have happened. Conqueror thought. All this because of one insane Skakdi.

Then he corrected himself. All this because of the Dark Empire.

As one, the three resistance commanders opened the door and charged into the battle that awaited them. Conqueror screeched defiance and smashed a Toa over the head. The Arena Magna was filled with at least twenty battling resistance warriors. More of the rebels were appearing from every corridor, their weapons raised. Conqueror knew that this battle would cost the resistance much, but if they couldn't win, then Atero would fall to Zaktan. He could spot at least three Blood Vines among the resistance, their massive blasters firing many shots into the battling armies. But Conqueror knew the real danger was that posed by the traps in the Arena Magna.

It was laced with at least twenty traps, all fatal. Conqueror knew where many were placed, so he and Freztrak were able to dodge many of them. Conqueror spotted Ixtil among the battling rebels, surrounded by four pike-wielding Zyglak that dealt death to any being who came near them. Conqueror grabbed a fallen Blood Vine's blaster, and shot randomly at the battling resistance. Of the twenty or more beings that were fighting, Only he, Ixtil's team, Freztrak, and Leviathos were still sane.

Ahead, a massive explosion of corrosive acid splashed over four Glatorian and their Zyglak opponent, killing them all and injuring a Blood Vine. Conqueror grabbed Freztrak's hand and dragged him out of the way. A Vortixx behind them stabbed one of Ixtil's Zyglak warriors through the neck and was dealt a crushing blow to his side. As the Vortixx staggered backward and fell to the ground, an explosion of dark energy shot out at the combatants from all sides, leaving the Vortixx and the three Zyglak dead and killing several others.

Conqueror shot another Skakdi with his Blood Vine blaster and surveyed the battlefield. There were less then twelve resistance members still fighting, but at least six of Zaktan's Zyglak were still alive, and they were far more powerful then the Toa, Vortixx, and Glatorian that still fought them. Both Ixtil and Leviathos were still fighting, and Freztrak had slain two Agori and a Glatorian and had rejoined Conqueror.

As Conqueror dodged a Zyglak's scythe and smashed its head open with his staff, a massive turret erupted from the ground, firing massive pulses at the remaining combatants. Freztrak was struck by two in the chest, and the Skakdi fell to the ground, either dead or badly injured. There was nothing the Conqueror could do for him, however, and soon Freztrak was lost from view as three Zyglak closed in on Leviathos.

Ixtil was still fighting as well, and had manged to knock a Toa unconscious with a Skakdi's club. The massive Turret spun around and fired again, this time the pulses cut down two Zyglak, a Toa, and a Vortixx easily. Another trap exploded, releasing a swarm of mutated insect-like Rahi that consumed two Toa- Conqueror had heard that one of them was called Melnox- and left nothing but torn scraps of rusted armor behind. Ixtil and Leviathos were fighting the last remaining Zyglak, while two Glatorian were locked in combat.

This must end. thought Conqueror, firing his Blood Vine blaster at the Zyglak. Just then the Turret began to fire again, and Ixtil, Leviathos, and the Glatorian were struck by the blast. Conqueror managed to grab Ixtil and haul him out of the way before he was hit more then once, but one of the Glatorian fell dead to the ground, and Leviathos was injured badly. Conqueror watched the Turret turn on him and fire. Leviathos fell to the ground as he was struck by another hail of the deadly pulses, and Conqueror knew there was no way he could stop the pulses from striking him. The Turret was designed so that elemental powers were unable to effect it.

Suddenly a gust of air swept him off his feet. Conqueror was flung to the ground as a massive wind tore through the Arena Magna. Conqueror stood, and, looking at the door they had passed through to enter the Arena Magna, saw at least seven Toa and Glatorian charge from all sides, led by Toa Echo, who had saved him using elemental air powers, and Toa Silencer. Silencer's massive scythe cut down the insane Glatorian, and the entire group of rebels attacked Zaktan's last defense. The turret fired more rapidly now, and three Glatorian fell to the ground. Conqueror saw Leviathos rise to his feet, a Midak blaster aimed at the massive turret, and Freztrak, armed with two massive Zyglak maces, charged at the turret, weapons drawn and blasters firing. The turret fired again, and three more rebels fell, two injured, one dead.

The injured warriors rose to their feet and hacked madly at the base of the turret, while Conqueror and Leviathos fired Blood Vine missiles at the machine. Conqueror watched as two of the rebels set off an acid trap, which left two Toa lying dead in a spreading pool of acid. The turret had ceased firing and was building up its defenses. Ahead, a Skakdi sprung an insanity mist trap, and Silencer and Echo's reinforcements turned and attacked each other. Silencer, locked in combat with Freztrak, struck the Skakdi a blow to his unwounded shoulder before he was cut down by missiles shot from the turret. Echo and two Toa were still hacking at the turret, but the reinforcements were decimated as three more Glatorian were killed by an animated blades trap and two Skakdi were caught in a fireball trap. Only four of the reinforcements remained, and they had surrounded the base of the turret and had hacked away most of its protection. Freztrak had dealt extreme damage to it with his Zyglak clubs, and a Toa of Acid was using his elemental powers to cause much of the turret's protection to corrode and fall away.

As Echo raised his sword to deal another blow, the turret fired again. Both Ixtil, Leviathos, and the battling Toa were too close to the turret for it to deal any damage to them, but the Toa of Acid staggered backwards into another buried trap, a vortex of disintegration that killed Echo and the Toa, leaving nothing but dust behind. Conqueror saw Freztrak and Ixtil had only narrowly escaped the trap, and were both badly injured.

Not one more resistance member must die in this pointless battle. Conqueror thought, firing again. Leviathos hacked at the base of the turret, that had begun to collapse on itself. Firing at the turret's base, he watched as a massive section fell to the ground and was smashed to pieces. Firing again, Conqueror brought down another section of the turret, which was now barely standing. The turret fired again, but was unable to injure any of the resistance members. Conqueror fired again at the turret, disabling the last of its weapons. Freztrak smashed the base of the turret apart seconds later, and Conqueror's missiles dealt critical damage to the upper part of the structure. For one second, the turret seemed to hang in midair- then it fell to the ground and shattered into smaller pieces.

"Take the Tower!" Conqueror screamed, and the four resistance leaders charged into Zaktan's command center.

Within the Tower, Zaktan watched his last defense fall. The two remaining Blood Vines he had at his command were guarding the doorway to his chamber, and saw the turret collapse. The remaining traps he had at his disposal would only slow, not kill, the Toa. He could activate at least two more turrets, but they would be unable to stop Conqueror's patrol of rebel leaders. What was worse, they would be able to disable all of his remaining traps as soon as they entered the Tower.

"Come." Zaktan said to the two Blood Vines. Both mercenaries looked very rebellious, tired of following the commands of a Skakdi. Despite his fury that the Blood Vines and insane rebels had been unable to kill Conqueror and take the Arena Magna, he displayed no emotion, no hint of what he was about to do.

As the Blood Vines drew near him, Zaktan hissed to them "I-"

He suddenly stopped talking, and ran the first Blood Vine through with his Tri-Bladed Scissor. The second Blood Vine was too stunned to move, and Zaktan slashed off his legs, and, in the same motion, slashed off his head. The Skakdi strode over to the machines that controlled Atero's security system, and deactivated all of the remaining traps within the massive complex. Then, using his scissor, he destroyed all of the machines, leaving their shattered components on the floor.

"Don't want the rebels to retain any of their security systems." Zaktan whispered.

Zaktan's body began to disperse into thousands of tiny Protodites, leaving nothing but his head remaining intact. A single hand suddenly took shape, and Zaktan wrenched open a window. Then his head and hand dispersed into more of the Protodites, which were blown away by the wind, yet somehow remaining together. Many miles away, Zaktan would re-form, leaving nothing behind him but the corpses of two dead Blood Vines and the smashed remains of Atero's security system.

Chapter 20
Sovnoron spun in the air, kicking Shadowsnake in the face as he did so. Shadowsnak stumbled backwards, his hand clutched to his face, moaning.

Sovnoron smiled maliciously. "Oh please, don't tell me you're getting tired already, rebel."

Shadowsnake snarled, and lunged at Sovnoron with the ferocity of a Kane Ra bull. Sovnoron jumped into the air, allowing shadowsnake to pass under him, and slam through the wall as if it were made of liquid.

Shadowsnake fell about a hundred feet, finally crashing into the roof of one of the fortress' towers. Even after falling all that way, they were still a good quarter mile up in the air.

The battle raged on below them. Catapults hurled chunks of Protosteel at the walls and towers, dealing out great damage to both. The melee infantry of each side were grappled in ferocious blade and hand-to-hand combat, as archers and blaster wielders fired at each other.

Shadowsnake turned his eyes to Sovnoron, who stood above him, twirling his blade around his fingers. "You can either submit now, and die quickly, or we can drag this out. Your choice."

Shadowsnake's response was what Sovnoron expected: he launched himself upward, kicking Sovnoron hard in the chest, flipping twice, and landing on his feet as if it were nothing. He turned to face his adversary. "I will never surrender to the likes of you, Imperial filth."

Sovnoron stood up, holding his blade in a reverse grip, and said: "Hmmm, so be it."

The two charged at each other, and when they met they started to fight in vicious sword combat. Their blades were a blur as they fought. Sovnoron was keeping Shadowsnake on the defensive with twenty strikes per second, and it was all Shadowsnake could do to block them for but a few seconds, and he knew he would not last long.

Eventual, Sovnoron spotted an opening on Shadowsnake's defense, and stabbed with his blade. It pierced straight through Shadowsnake's stomach. He gave a howl of pain, and fell to the ground. Sovnoron placed his foot on Shadowsnake's chest. "Goodbye Shadowsnake."

With that, he let his blade fall and stabbed his opponent in the heartlight. Shadowsnake gave a jolt, and then was completely still. He was dead.

Sovnoron gave an insidious laugh, and walked away. He had a mask to find.

A cascade of light reflected off the armor of Toa Hydros. The wounds he had received from his conflict with Nightwatcher had long since healed. He strode forward through the empty wastelands, his companions Nalek and Shika trudging behind him. After ensuring Shika's grievous wounds had healed, Hydros and Nalek inspected the site where the resistance's new underground hideout in Iron Canyon, and after one final discussion with Raanu, the pair had managed to cement Vulcanus' secret support for the resistance. Now, the only thing left to do was to return to Atero, and report the outcome of their negotiations to the leading council.

"How much further?" asked Shika as he clutched his left shoulder. Though his wounds had healed nicely, their aftershocks had yet to pass.

Hydros turned to face his two companions, eying their exhausted expressions with a combination of thought and concern. Finally, he spoke. "If Raanu's map is accurate, it should be over this next dune."

"Then let's speed up," interjected Nalek. "We must inform the Ixtil and the others of the information we have uncovered from Eostra's archives: That we have a traitor amongst our ranks. I'm sure even Conqueror will be shocked at who it is. Who would have thought it would have been..."

"Nalek, be quiet!" ordered Hydros, his voice no louder than whisper.

"Hey, no need to be rude," snapped Nalek. "All I'm saying is..."

"Nalek, look at Atero," Shika said, cutting off Nalek's sentence.

If a little angrily, Nalek turned to observe the sight before him, and when he did, he dropped his sword in shock. Because before them, more or less, was Atero: flames rupturing from the broken windows, corpses littering the outside entrances, and a number of crumbling towers.

Silence caught the tongues of the three Toa for several seconds as the took in the breath-taking sight.

"W-what has happened to Atero?" asked Shika, a look of uncertainty and fear decorating his features.

Hydros didn't reply, for he knew he could not provide an answer. All he could say was: "Come, my friends. We need to get down there."

With the speed of one driven by desperation, the three resistance fighters sprinted down the hill and towards the gates of Atero. Two soldiers came up to greet them; one a Toa of Water and Lightning and a Fire Glatorian. Both looked like they had been through a war.

"Kyhrex, Flardrek," began Hydros. "What in Mata Nui's name has happened?!"

"We were invaded," began Kyhrex, he words slurred and gurgled by her attempts to gasp for air. "A group of bounty hunters attacked us and stole the Ignika! Before we could act, we were attacked by a large contingency of Skakdi lead by a seemingly revived Zaktan. We managed to defeat them, but we were unable to pick up any trace of the Ignika, the bounty hunters, or Zaktan."

The news seemed to startle Nalek and Shika far more than it did Hydros. He stared up at a smoldering tower, and watched as numerous resistance fighters attempted to quell the raging flames.

"Then what happens now?" he asked.

"We repair Atero, tend to our wounded, martial our forces, and prepare for war," answered Kyhrex. "The leading council have declared that negotiations with the Empire are now absolutely impossible."

Hydros eyes widened. He was shocked, yet not surprised at this news. His experiences in Vulcanus with Varkanax and Nightwatcher had almost completely cemented the possibility of warfare in his mind, however hearing it confirmed in person was something different entirely.

"Then what do we do now?" asked Nalek.

"You are to be escorted to the war room, where you will meet with our leaders," answered Flardrek. "They will give you more information on our situation, and you will have to give your report on the outcome of your missions."

"Very well, then," began Hydros. "But before we depart, Kyhrex, I need you to go to the Atero archive center, and recover all files of operatives who have had direct contact and communication with the Empire. Then, I want you to single out all these individuals, and investigate the nature of their meetings with them."

"Whatever for?" demanded Kyherex in a tone that more or less revealed her lack of excitement for her new assignment.

"Because we have a traitor and Imperial informant amongst our ranks; one who possibly supplied the intelligence on Atero's defenses and infrastructure to the Empire for the Skakdi attack, and I need you to investigate the files of all our members who have had encounters with high-ranking members of the Empire, and determine when they met them. We have one major suspect, one that the evidence in Eostra's archives heavily implies it is him, though you need to confirm it."

"Who is it?!" demanded Kyhrex. "Just tell me who your lead is!"

Shika came forward, and with a look of regret and fear in his eyes, whispered the name in Kyhrex's ear. She instantly retracted in shock, her look mingled with terror and surprise.

"No, it can't be?!" she began.

"It might or it might not be him, but we need confirmation" answered Nalek.

"Khrex, please, get to work and identify our traitor," continued Hydros.

Without another word, Kyhrex ran off in the direction of the archives to carry out her assignment.

Hydros and his companions then turned to Flardrek, a look of resignation on their faces.

"Now then, can you escort us to the war room?" asked Hydros.

"Of course, Toa," answered Flardrek, and once that was said and done, the four departed.

The sun of Solis Magna descended beyond the horizon in a beautiful sunset. Another day had yet again ended. The shimmering traces of light reflected off the dull metal surfaces of the skyscrapers of Tajun. For it's inhabitants, another day of brutality and illegal deeds had just passed by. The lower slums of the city were instantly alight by the numerous clubs and establishments. For the rest of Spherus Magna, the day had just ended, but for Tajun, it had only just started.

Low-time mercenaries and bounty hunters patrolled the streets, passing by the homeless refugees who had been left broken and discarded by the Empire's takeover. However, deeper into the older, uninhabited part of the city, not even a flicker of life stirred. This district was once a flourishing center of business and mass productions during the days Millennium had ruled Tajun, though had fallen into a terrible state of decay following his leave and been abandoned. For years, only the most horrid and disguising creatures, outcasts, and exiles resided there. However, for this one night, they were joined by one more person; not in exile, not on run, but fin necessity.

Chameleo turned round another corner and took in the look of the next dark and empty street, revealing more of the crumbling slums. Smoke Hawks screeched in the blackened skies above as the sound of a Kikanalo stampede trampling by echoed in the distance. Chameleo shivered. Some said these parts were even more dangerous than the wastelands, and even the soldiers of the Empire were known to avoid this regions. For Chameleo, the area reminded him far too much of the grittier and dirtier parts of Xia.

The only reason he was passing through the district was to avoid being detected by the Empire's patrols and be ambushed and captured in the process. This was the one region of Tajun that the Empire would not follow a target, subsequently making it the only part of Tajun with an exit route that was not patrolled by the Empire. Under normal circumstances, he would never leave Tajun in order to gather intelligence and await the scheduled arrival of a resistance agent to hear it, though this case was different.

Through great research, he had learned of something horrifyingly shocking. Though the sources and texts he had relied on were somewhat cryptic and vague, he had learned enough to deduce one thing: If the resistance wanted to restore peace to Spherus Magna, they needed to take down a single, greater opponent first not the Empire. The enemy was hidden in the darkness, waiting and watching for its time to come as the events of the universe unfolded before him. The game it was playing would not only the serve as the beacon for its return to the universe, but for far greater consequences that would send ripples that would rock the universe itself to its core. Chameleo knew the critical importance of the information, and was clever enough to deduct the absolute necessity that this information come before the resistance, not just for the fate of Spherus Magna, but for the future too.

A sharp sound suddenly caught Chameleo's notice. He stopped dead in his tracks, his senses on full alert. An Imperial agent? he thought. ''No, I think not. They're usually not this subtle. A Rahi? No... they would have struck at me a long time ago if they were hunting me. Local outcast? Yeah... like they would have any concept of stealth. That can only mean I'm being followed by... someone else.''

No sooner had Chameleo thought those words did he realize that he had a thin, longsword protruding from his chest. Suddenly, Chameleo found himself unable to breathe, and began to gag and choke on absolutely nothing in an effort to inhale air.

To be completed....