A Spark in the Black

A Spark in the Black is a story written by set in a version of the Hard Reset Alternate Universe

Prologue
''Throughout time it is said, that all endings are merely beginnings waiting to be born. This story is very much the same. But before the beginning must always come the end. Long ago, there was a world. The world was ruled by a benevolent spirit who ensured that his duty was carried out. For a time, all was well. As with all things however, it was not to last...''

Chapter 1
The first thing Tenubu realized was his name. Tenubu. It was all he could remember. Nothing but that name. His name. Tenubu’s eyes opened or at least he thought he did. The only thing he saw was black at first, but as he blinked his eyes adjusted. He was in a tall cavern of some kind, with glass tubes lining either side of the hall. Tenubu’s fist instinct was to reach to his hip, and to his surprise he found nothing. Naturally, Tenubu thought. He stood up. As he stared into the darkness a pulse of pain started pounding in his head. He fell to his knees as his ears rang loudly. Tenubu’s eyes closed and he saw things flash before his eyes, things he could not understand. A raging storm, a dark sea, and a black mask which released a wave of awesome power. Then the mask changed color and size, red, green, blue, yellow, then black again. Voices whispered in his mind, phrases he couldn’t decipher, except for two words. Find them. With that his headache stopped and the ringing went away. Tenubu stood staring into the large cavern. What did those images mean? And who were the people the vision had referred to? Tenubu stopped himself. Right now he had to escape from wherever he was. He would worry about the rest later.

Tenubu walked down the hallway, looking for some kind of direction. The only thing he saw were the walls of the cavern and glass tubes. As he passed by a countless number of these tubes he eventually saw that there were things inside them. Curious, Tenubu peeked inside one, and was shocked to find what he recognized as the corpse of a bird floating in liquid. At the bottom of the tube was a dusty plaque and a button. After clearing off the layer of dust Tenubu read the plaque. The language was one Tenubu was not familiar with, yet he was able to read it clearly. ‘Gukko Bird’ it said. Each tube had plaques like this one. Now Tenubu looked at the button. The button was green, and had no markings on it whatsoever. What harm could it cause if Tenubu pushed it? So, he did. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, Tenubu heard a low hum come from the tube. As it hummed, the liquid inside the tube drained away until all that remained in the tube was the body of the Gukko bird. Finally, the tube opened. Tenubu walked closer to examine the tube when a plate at the bottom of the tube triggered, shooting out the body of the bird right at Tenubu’s feet. Tenubu jumped back in surprise, even uttering a sharp yelp. His nerves calmed, and he looked at the body. Upon closer inspection he noticed something strange. The body had no organs, but was covered in ash where the organs should have been. Strange. Tenubu continued investigating when he heard a sound behind him. He whirled around to face whatever had made the noise, but all Tenubu saw was darkness. He was just about to turn back towards the Gukko when he heard the noise again. This time he could identify what it was. The sound of metal tapping on a stone floor. Tenubu turned back to the darkness and found he could just barely see something. It was on four legs, and its eyes were green. Tenubu’s first instinct was to run. And run he did. As he ran he heard a screech coming from the creature behind him.

The tap of metal on the stone floor was consistent as the creature bounded after him. Tenubu didn’t look back. He kept running. He ran past tube after tube and didn’t look back. He kept pushing forward until he saw something unfamiliar up ahead. An intersection. This was his chance. Once he reached the intersection he turned to the left and dove forward. There was another row of tubes that lined the hall. Thinking quickly, Tenubu ran to one of them and hid behind it. He heard the tap of the metal on the stone floor get closer, then further away. The tapping was now inaudible. Tenubu still stayed behind the tube. He wanted to make sure the coast was clear. Ever so slowly, he craned his head out from his hiding spot, and looked at the intersection. Nothing. He turned his head slowly to the left and froze halfway through the turn. There, not 4 feet in front of him, was a jet black creature, walking on 2 legs, with two metal staffs in the hands of thin arms. Its eyes were the same green he had seen staring back at him in the darkness earlier. He held his breath to keep himself from giving his position away. He had to make sure he wasn’t noticed. Ever so slowly, he moved his head back into his hiding spot, until he could no longer see the creature. He heard footsteps. What was the creature doing? Was he moving away? As he listened to the footsteps Tenubu realized, to his horror, that they were coming closer. The footsteps were closer now, closer, closer, yet closer, until he could hear faint mechanical whirs inside the creature’s body. Then suddenly, the whirs became slightly louder, and Tenubu saw a faint shadow rise up on the other side of the glass. He braced himself for the inevitable.

Crash

The tube next to his smashed open as liquid leaked out. The spring mechanism triggered, and a corpse flung itself at the machine’s face. Without thinking, Tenubu ran. He heard the loud thud of some creature’s corpse on the ground, and a loud screech shook the walls of the cavern as Tenubu pressed onward. Then, the tapping. It started again, more quickly now, as the machine gave chase. Tenubu turned left and right through the dim maze, past tube after tube. Soon, he started to see other things line the wall: great swords, banged up axes, many different tools, and masks of all shapes and sizes. No matter what, Tenubu ran, his breath heavy and his pulse firing. He was almost sure he heard his pulse bounce off the walls of the cave as his feet thumped on the stone floor. And yet, the tapping continued. He turned corner after corner, until he found himself in a dead end. There were no tubes to save him this time, only the oars that belonged to the many boats that hung above him. He turned back and saw at the end of the hall the machine, standing on two legs, staffs held in an offensive position. Tenubu panicked, his eyes darting all around the cavern looking for something, anything, that could help him. The only things he saw were oars. The machine started walking towards Tenubu. It knew there was no contest. In a moment of adrenaline-fueled action, Tenubu grabbed the most powerful looking oars off the wall and held them in a position mimicking that of the machine. The machine stopped. Never in its time had it seen a creature stand up to it. The machine would have laughed if it could. No matter. It was just another enemy, another threat, that needed to be destroyed. The machine advanced again. Tenubu planted his feet, ready to meet whatever offensive the machine might have. The machine was about 2 feet away from Tenubu when it charged forward, staffs spinning in a blind fury. Tenubu charged in as well, using his oars to grab at the blades of the broken machine. His oars caught right at the edges of the blades, and Tenubu found himself holding the machine in a vulnerable position. Tenubu kept pushing, holding the blades apart, hoping he could tear them from the hands of the robot. The machine wasn’t about to go down this easily however. It had one last trick up its sleeve. Tenubu stared the robot in the face and noticed something he hadn’t before. The robot had pincers that held a disk inside them. The robot pulled back a little, then shot the disk from its mouth. The disk hit Tenubu straight in the face, and he felt the adrenaline-fueled rage that was holding the machine’s staffs away and keeping him standing on his legs disappear all at once. He collapsed on the floor, barely able to keep conscious. Tenubu felt the cold tip of the staff’s blade touch his chin and lift it up. His eyes met that of the machine’s and he knew this was the end.

Wait.

''No it isn’t. This can’t be! There’s no way it ends here! It’s just a machine, I can beat it!'' All these thoughts ran through Tenubu’s mind as he called upon his last ounce of strength to hook one of his oars on the staff once more. Then, he pulled with all his might. The machine was not expecting this, and wasn’t able to resist long enough for its arm to get torn straight out of its socket. The robot keeled back and a cry that sounded almost alive rose from its mechanical mouth. Sparks flew from the open joint. This was it. It was now or never. Tenubu stood up and the machine took a step back. For the first time in its life, against all odds, the robot felt something. Fear. It was small to be sure, but it was there. The robot was frozen in its tracks as it stared at Tenubu. Tenubu lunged forward and hooked onto the other arm. This time, the arm did not tear out, but instead the entire machine fell face-first onto the cold floor. Tenubu saw his chance. He dug the sharp ends of the oars into the machine’s sides and pushed. The robot screamed for the last time before it stopped abruptly. It could function no longer. Tenubu panted as he recovered from the fight. Then, he cheered. He had triumphed. Now, it was back to finding the way out. Tenubu looked down the cavern and saw that it continued forward without another intersection apart from the one he came from. He stumbled down the hall and found himself at a large door. As Tenubu approached the door, he saw it open in front of him, and he stepped out of the cavern to whatever might lie ahead.

Trivia

 * A Spark in the Black is ’s first story on the Custom Bionicle Wiki