Never Weigh Me Down

Never Weigh Me Down is a short story written by as his entry into the Ten Year Anniversary Contest. It features Hydros and Kylord as the main characters.

Story
He had always known that becoming a Toa would be no walk in the park. Nor did he expect it to get easier as he grew older. No, he expected it only to get harder from here.

The Toa of Fire, Air and Earth looked up at the brilliant orange and violet sky above him. Light gray clouds streaked the vanishing light of day. He sighed. It was neither a sigh of relief or worry. Just an exhalation.

The Hau-wearer looked down from his perch at the arrival of another Toa who bore a mask in the same shape as his own had been before the project, but he knew very well that this figure’s Kanohi was the Suletu, Mask of Telepathy.

“What’s up, Krakua?” he asked the newcomer.

“Helryx wants to see you, Hydros,” the Toa of Sonics replied.

He sighed. Now it was one of worry. It was never a good sign when the Toa of Water leader of the Order of Mata Nui wanted to see him.

“Very well,” the Toa conceded, jumping down from the ledge he had been sitting on and landed next to Krakua.

Together, the two walked across the courtyard and through a tunnel entrance and down a flight of stairs and into the underground base of the organization the two served.

They walked through several corridors, passing other operatives along the way. Formalities between agents was only reserved for the tasks at hand, and not for the occasional passerby. Of course this didn’t bother Hydros. Ever since he had lost his memory, he had been anti-social, even after regaining his memory. Avoiding any interaction that he didn’t need was a blessing.

Eventually, the Toa of Sonics and the Toa of Fire, Air and Earth arrived at a large silver door at the end of one of the corridors, a scanner next to it. Each of them pressed their hand on the pad and the door slid open upwards and they entered the room beyond.

Helryx’s office was much more well-furnished and welcoming than the rest of the base, which was colored in various shades of silver and white. The room featured a glass desk with a black chair on one side against a dark gray wall while on the other side were two similar chairs, although not as comfortable.

The other three walls in the room were a dark blue, the one opposite the desk featuring a large silver panel which Hydros knew to open to reveal a screen. The remaining two walls were lined with shelves holding several of the Toa of Water’s prized possessions.

In the middle of the room was a small table surrounded by shorter chairs. Behind the set were also four figures: the nine-foot Trinuma, the Mersion scientist known as Mersery, a silver and black armored Toa he knew as Kylord and Helryx herself.

“Greetings,” the Toa of Water welcomed them.

“What do you need, ma’am?” Hydros replied. He found it easier dispensing with the formalities with her too. Helryx smiled at this.

“We need you to accompany Kylord here,” she indicated the silver Toa. “On a mission to recover an artifact for us.”

He glanced at the Toa, who returned it, before turning back to Helryx. “What is this artifact?”

“A Brotherhood of Makuta Tablet of Transit,” Trinuma answered as the Toa of Fire, Air and Earth’s eyes widened.

“A Tablet of Transit? With that we’d be able to-.”

“Be able to cross Brotherhood borders, yes,” Helryx finished for him. “That’s why we want it. It would aid us greatly in the war.”

“And you want Kylord and I to recover it?” he looked to the silver masked Toa again.

“Indeed,” Mersery nodded.

Helryx looked to the two Toa as she spoke. “You will both leave the island at dawn escorted by Dortan to the Northern Continent where the Tablet is located. Be ready.”

A shiver had run down Hydros’ spine at the mention of Dortan, Botar’s replacement, although he didn’t let it show. The Order’s new titan jailer had always made him uneasy, same as his predecessor. Something about them just didn’t bode well with the Toa.

“Dismissed,” the Toa of Water then said, their cue to leave. Together, the two Toa exited the room, Hydros before Kylord as they walked down the corridor to their rooms in silence.

It was night when Tyrant arrived on the shores of the Northern Continent, which was not an issue with him. Under the cover of darkness, he did not run the risk of Matoran spotting his crimson colored armor from afar, and he would have to be close for them to do so, and by then it would already be too late.

Despite doing countless missions from the Dark Hunters, like the one he was currently preforming, he had never really considered himself an actual Dark Hunter. Instead, he felt the real reason he was there was to lead the organization himself. He had always thought the Shadowed One was unfit for leadership, even back on their home island.

This attitude he did not particularly keep secret, and that usually got him into trouble.

Not that it particularly mattered at this point anyway. He had been doing this job long enough that it didn’t matter whether he lived or died. ‘Joining’ the Dark Hunters had basically marked the beginning of the end for him. For all of them, really.

It was only a matter of time.

Tyrant pulled the Protosteel boat from the water and dragged it across the beach to the edge of the forest of the Northern Continent. He shoved it between two trees and tore up some foliage and threw it on top of the vessel, hiding it from the passer-by.

“If I’m lucky, I won’t have to be here long,” he muttered to himself. Maybe in another life he hadn’t joined the Dark Hunters or had just been banished from them. Either way, not working for the Dark Hunters was a thought he entertained often.

Now that his mode of transportation was concealed, he crossed the threshold into the forest. Hopefully finding his prize, a Brotherhood of Makuta Tablet of Transit, would be easy and quick so he could return to the base. He never liked being around Matoran, and if their information was correct, the Tablet was in a Matoran village.

He smiled. The Matoran probably didn’t even know what was in their precious village. Such ignorance. Of course, that’s what the species essentially was: a race of ignorant little slaves. Tyrant remembered his days of ruling over an island of Matoran. It was actually how he had gotten the name of ‘Tyrant’.

How accurate the name was.

As he made his way through the forest, he could only envision the Matoran as he slaughtered them.

The two Toa met again in the morning in the same courtyard that Krakua had found him the previous night. Both had prepared packs for the mission and had tuned their weapons. Hydros carried a sharp blade and a Cordak Blaster while Kylord carried a similar sword with a large hilt and handle.

Suddenly a tall, lean figure adorned in golden armor appeared with a crack of energy in front of them, slightly startling the two veteran Toa.

“Ah, you two,” Dortan said. This was as much of a greeting as they were going to get from the Order’s new jailer.

“Helryx briefed on where to bring us, right?” Hydros asked. Formalities.

The titan leaned his head back and let out what was probably supposed to be a laugh, but sounded more like the roar of the Kardas Dragon.

“Toa, I know more about this mission than you do. Of course I know where we’re going.”

“Then can we get going?” Kylord chimed in. This was one of the first times he had heard the mysterious Toa speak.

“Well somebody’s itchy to leave!” Dortan smiled. “I guess we are on the brink of war.”

“All the more reason to leave,” the silver Toa followed up.

“Right. You two ready?”

They both nodded.

“Then let’s not delay any further.”

And with that, they disappeared in a crack of energy.

It hadn’t been the first time he had teleported, but he could never get used to the sensation. It was like getting shattered into a million pieces and then thrown into a tornado and spun around for a while before being put back together at once before your feet hit the ground again.

Hydros grunted as they landed on the hard ground of the Northern Continent. He also heard Kylord grunt as he slammed feet-first into the ground. Good to know that neither of them were immortal.

“This is it,” the titan said.

The two surveyed their surroundings. They were in a large forest. The morning light was beginning to shine through the gaps in the trees. The wind rustled the leaves as small insect Rahi buzzed about. It was almost serene.

Except for the fact that they weren’t here for meditation. They had a mission.

“How will you know when to get us?” Kylord asked their escort.

He chuckled. “Oh, I’ll know.”

And just as quickly as he had appeared, Dortan vanished once again into the void. Hydros and Kylord exchanged glances before shrugging and walking off through the forest.

The ground crunched with each footstep, and with the near-silence of their environment, they seemed as giants stomping amongst the trees.

“So...” Hydros began uncomfortably, attempting to break the silence between them. “Where are you from?”

“I’m from Metru Nui,” he replied, seemingly relieved that one of them had broken the ice. “But I came to the Southern Continent after I fell off a cliff because of an Infection Dragon and a Toa of Iron found me. Eventually I came here with a friend of mine and we stayed here until that same Dragon showed up and attacked the village.

“It was going to kill me when another came and risked its life to save mine. He ended up becoming my pet. Then I encountered a Makuta by the name of Tazzuk, and he killed my friend. Then the Order came onto the scene and defeated the Makuta and that’s how I ended up joining the Order and becoming a Toa.”

“You?” he asked his Toa of Fire, Air and Earth companion. “I don’t think you get to control three elements without a story.”

“I came from Nynrah, and was one of the Nynrah Ghosts. I also had this friend, one whom I went on many adventures with. At one point we were chased to the edge of a cliff by Muaka, and I was similarly knocked into the sea. I drifted aimlessly to Daxia, where Kamax found me. By that time, however, I had lost most of my memory.

“The Order convinced me to become one of their servants and Zuvak gave me part of his power and trained me. Then one day they injected me with a special concoction that accidentally created a dual personality in my mind, known as Shados, and I nearly killed Zuvak and Helryx before Skydrax knocked me out.

“Shados lost control of my body and I regained consciousness. When I awoke, I remembered nothing, and I also found that my body had been mutated and I was able to control three elements. They created what was basically a prison for Shados in my mind, hopefully keeping him at bay.”

“Incredible,” were the first words to come out of Kylord’s mouth. “Did you regain your memory?”

“Yes,” he said. “I was blasted with energy on one of my missions and I recalled everything, even the Shados’ incident. Apparently the Order had tried to keep that knowledge from me. I don’t know why.”

“Maybe to protect you?”

Hydros shook his head. “I doubt it. But I’ll never know for sure.”

Just then they came to a wooden sign with Matoran symbols that were fading away. Together, they were able to make it out.

“Chaleur,” they read.

Kylord stood up and looked through the trees beyond the sign. “I wonder if the Matoran have any idea to where the Tablet is.”

“It couldn’t hurt to ask,” Hydros said, beginning to stride forward.

“Unless they’re not friendly,” Kylord muttered to himself, walking in the Toa’s wake.

The village couldn’t be far from here.

Tyrant was getting close to his goal, he knew it. He could feel it. As soon as he retrieved the Tablet of Transit, he could get off this forsaken continent.

The Dark Hunter cut away another large vine that rested in his way. He had never been fond of nature. It was too unclean for his liking. He preferred much more to residing in his palace on his island south of Odina. If he had found even a speck of dirt in any of his rooms, the cleaner would not live to see another sunrise.

He was making his way under a tree’s roots that were growing over the trench in his path when he heard something in the distance. Tyrant turned towards it and narrowed his blazing red eyes.

Matoran, he thought.

Readying his Kinetic Launcher, he ran off towards the direction of the noise, ducking under branches and jumping over hills. Matoran meant a village, and a village meant he was close. Soon his quest would be over, and he could return to Odina with the Tablet of Transit for the Shadowed One.

However, he couldn’t help shake the feeling that someone else was searching for this Tablet as well. And if they got it before he could, then he probably wouldn’t need to worry about grabbing anything with his hands again.

They hadn’t gotten very close to the village when they were stopped by what could only be the village guard, led by a Ta-Matoran wearing a Noble Kanohi Rau.

“Halt right there!” he barked.

The two Toa glanced at each other before shrugging and stopping in their tracks.

“Who are you?” the Matoran, most likely the Captain of the Guard, came up to them.

“I’m Toa Kylord and he’s Toa Hydros,” the silver Toa introduced both of them.

“Hydros, eh?” he looked to the multi-elemental Toa. “I’ve heard of you. What business do you have here?”

Hydros glanced at Kylord again, who nodded. “We’ve come looking for something.”

The Captain crossed his arms. “Oh? And what’s that?”

“A Brotherhood of Makuta Tablet of Transit,” Kylord replied.

The group of Matoran looked at each other before turning back to the Toa.

“Come with us.”

Together, the group of Matoran led them into the village. As they crossed the threshold, both Toa could feel dozens of pairs of eyes flicker in their direction as they passed several villagers. Obviously Toa were not a common sight in this village of Matoran, or visitors in general.

“This way,” the Rau-wearing Captain of the Guard directed them towards a hut set apart from the others. This one was circular while the rest of them in the village were square. They came to the door and he knocked on it four times before it opened.

Stood before them was a Turaga of Psionics bearing a Noble Kanohi Elda, her staff of office in hand and staring at them with yellow eyes.

“It’s been a long while since we had Toa here. Tell me, what brings you?”

“They come in search of the Tablet, Turaga Teltha,” the Captain of the Guard replied.

She chuckled. “It’s about time someone came to collect it. However, I must inquire to what you intend to do with such an artifact?”

Not for the first or last time, the two Toa exchanged glances before turning back to the Turaga before them. “We have been assigned to retrieve it for our leader,” Kylord replied.

“Ah. I was wondering when Helryx would send you.”

The two’s eyes widened as the Turaga casually mentioned Helryx by name, and how she seemed to know exactly who they were.

“How did you-?” Hydros began.

Teltha smiled. “While we may be out here in the middle of nowhere, I have been around the block a few times. I used to be a servant of the Order of Mata Nui before I came here. Helryx had always been planning a war.”

She then turned away from them and went back into her hut and they heard her rummage around through her various possessions before reemerging with a triangular black tablet with a blood-red logo of the Kanohi Kraakhan inscribed on it.

“Use it well,” the Turaga of Psionics handed the object of their quest to Hydros. He looked it over and smiled before placing it in his pack.

Suddenly the hut exploded behind them, sending everyone around flying backwards. The two Toa hit the ground hard as debris from the Turaga’s hut fell around them. Matoran crashed into their fellow Matoran and other huts as the shockwave ripped through the village.

His ears ringing and head pounding, Hydros managed to look up and see a hunched, crimson-armored figure approaching. As he neared, he saw that the being was similar in structure to that of a member of the Shadowed One’s species, and that he also had a large cannon attached to his right arm.

“I knew I felt I was expecting to encounter someone else who was looking for the Tablet,” he heard the creature chuckle to himself. “I just never thought it would be two Toa.”

Mustering as much strength as he could, Hydros shot up and grabbed his Cordak Blaster and sword from his back and aimed it at the figure. The barrel spun as he unleashed a barrage of missiles. The being expertly jumped out of the way of each of the dozen projectiles, exploding behind him as he landed.

“Too easy,” he smiled through his large jaw piece.

By this time Kylord had managed to get up and was brandishing his own blade.

“Who are you?” he asked their attacker.

“I am Tyrant, a member of the Dark Hunters, and I’ve come to claim that Tablet of Transit for my master.”

“Well, you’re not getting it,” Kylord said, nodding to his comrade.

The figure rubbed his forehead. “Of course you’re going to give it up. You’re Toa. So I’ll just have to take it from you.”

In the blink of an eye he thrust his weapon forward and unleashed another blast of energy. The two jumped out of the way before executing an attack on the Dark Hunter.

Kylord was the first to reach him and swung his blade down on Tyrant. The being blocked it with his left arm and then struck the silver-armored Toa back with his tail. Hydros sent forth a whirlwind from his blade which pushed the Dark Hunter away. However it did not work for long as Tyrant launched another blast from his weapon, which struck the Toa of Fire, Air and Earth.

It was like getting hit with a rock thrown by a tornado at full force. The impact ripped through his body as he flew backwards, his very being vibrating as he soared in the air towards the ground.

When he did hit the dirt, he bounced off and landed sprawling on the floor. His every muscle ached as his head spun round and round, his photo-receptors barely compensating.

Hydros managed to look up and saw that Kylord was not faring too well against the Dark Hunter himself. Tyrant unleashed a barrage of quick jabs mixed with the inclusion of his spiked tail swinging at the Toa’s stomach, who barely dodged it.

Finding the strength to crawl to his knees, his pushed himself up using his blade and managed to point his Cordak Blaster at his target. But Tyrant saw this out of the corner of his blazing red eyes and as soon as Hydros pulled the trigger, he flipped out of the way and blasted Kylord with his cannon before charging at the other Toa.

He had barely raised his blade when the Dark Hunter brought his clawed hand down on the Toa. Tyrant then brought a sharp right hook which Hydros managed to block with his launcher but he was quickly knocked back by another jab from the red-armored warrior.

Hydros brought up his blaster again, the barrel and Tyrant separated by mere inches. The Toa smiled as he pulled the trigger when he felt a suddenly rush of heat and the Dark Hunter launched fifteen feet in the air. The missile shot out of his Cordak Blaster and struck a fruitstand, blowing it to pieces.

“Oh, Toa,” Tyrant taunted mockingly from the air, still hovering. “Now that wasn’t nice.”

Suddenly he unleashed another blast of energy from his cannon and the Toa was violently thrown to the ground, a massive jolt of pain rippling through his body. Above him the Dark Hunter aimed his weapon for another attack.

Kylord by this point had recovered and read the Hunter’s intentions. Readying his blade, he knew he only had one shot at this. Tyrant hadn’t seen him yet, and his back was turned, which now he was at his most vulnerable.

Drawing his arm back, he aimed directly for the soft spot between two plates of armor on his back. He only had seconds before the Dark Hunter struck Hydros with another deadly kinetic blast, and who knew what that would do to the Toa.

Narrowing his eyes and deciding that waiting any longer would be too late, he took a deep breath, and threw the sword.

It soared through the air, its aim well and true, and struck Tyrant directly where he had intended. He screamed in agony as he fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground, blood beginning to pour from the wound in his back.

The silver-armored Toa quickly ran over to his comrade and helped him up.

“Are you okay?”

Hydros rubbed his head. “I’ll be fine after a few day’s rest, I think.”

This caused both Toa to smile before they turned their attention back to the Dark Hunter struggling on the ground. Hydros got to his feet as they began to approach Tyrant. Kylord was the first to reach him and looked to Hydros and nodded before the Toa pointed his Cordak Blaster at their captive. The silver Toa grabbed hold of his blade and pulled it out, twisting it sharply on the way out.

“Argh!” Tyrant cried on the ground. He quickly attempted to make a run for it, but Hydros blasted him with a Cordak missile, sending him rolling across the ground.

“No you’re not getting away,” the Toa of Fire, Air and Earth said as they followed him.

Suddenly there was a crack of energy before the figure of Dortan appeared in the village, surveying the destruction around him as well as the three figures.

“Dortan!” Kylord called. “Where have you been?”

“I came when you were ready, like I told you,” the giant replied.

“You could’ve come a little sooner,” the silver Toa smiled, gesturing to Tyrant.

Dortan chuckled. “Ah, Tyrant. Fancy seeing you here.”

The Dark Hunter weakly looked up at the new arrival. “Oh, can it. Botar was never like this.”

Teltha and the Captain of the Guard approached the group, the Turaga of Psionics using her staff as a walking stick.

“It’s been a while since I saw a battle like that,” she remarked.

“Ah, Teltha. It’s been too long,” Dortan greeted the Turaga.

“Same, old friend,” she smiled.

“We’re really sorry about your village, Turaga Teltha,” Hydros apologized.

She waved him off. “I was planning on rebuilding anyway. Not much else to do out here, you know.”

“Alright then. Everything seems to be in order,” Dortan said. “Do you have the Tablet?”

Hydros searched his person for a moment before pulling out the triangular black tablet again and showing it to their escort.

“Good. And we can bring this sorry sack of parts with us as well,” he glared at Tyrant still sprawled on the ground.

The Dark Hunter groaned as Dortan grabbed him and hoisted him over his massive shoulder.

“I guess I did want to leave the Dark Hunters,” he muttered to himself as he hung there.

The two Toa joined their fellow operative as they looked at the inhabitants of the village.

“Thank you all so much,” Hydros nodded to them.

“We appreciate all your help,” Kylord added.

“May the Great Spirit Mata Nui be with you always,” Teltha bowed as the rest of the Matoran followed her.

The Toa bowed in return before there was a crack of energy and they were pulled into the void once again, spinning away into darkness.

Characters

 * Hydros
 * Kylord
 * Tyrant
 * Helryx
 * Dortan
 * Mersery
 * Trinuma
 * Krakua
 * Teltha
 * Captain of the Guard
 * Several other Matoran

Trivia

 * Hydros belongs to, Kylord belongs to and Mersery belongs to.
 * The decision to place the story in an alternate universe was merely to allow creative freedom with the characters, bringing different aspects of their histories into one story and to prevent any continuity errors within the character's respective storylines.
 * The story is written for the Ten Year Anniversary Contest.