The Face of Death

Prologue
One year ago... "This is Kahu calling for emergency extraction." The being known as Kahu waited for a response over the radio communicator in his helmet. Several seconds seemed to go by, each one seeming to be an hour. No response came. The radio just emmitted static, quiet as a dead man. Kahu ducked swiftly as a blindingly bright search light hit the spot where he had just been hiding moments before. Blood trickled from his bandaged wounds; the effort he had been using was weakening him. Kahu needed to leave as soon as possible. He once again turned his radio back on again as the search light faded, leaving it very quiet and peaceful in the back alley the assassin was resting in. "I repeat, this is Kahu! I need an emergency extraction!" whispered Kahu into the radio. As a few precious seconds went by, Kahu began to give up what little hope he had left. He was going to be dead soon. Kahu waited several more seconds. No response. Kahu took a deep breath. It was time to give up. He was too weak to fight off anyone anyway. He began to move, as if to get up, when his radio started making noise. "Roger that, Kahu. Stay where you are." The radio voice was the sweetest thing Kahu had heard. Ever. The happiness of safety energized every muscle in his body, and Kahu got up. He felt energy swirl around him, and he began to yell out, "So long, you sons of bi-" Kahu, however, was cut off as the energy around him engulfed his body. Kahu began to be squeezed to the smallest fraction of an atom, then expanded radically, as he was transported to the base of operations of a small but mildly succesful branch of the Brotherhood of Makuta that had rebelled and went into hiding. These renegades had orchestrated the mutation of Kahu, although the assassin did not know it. In recent years Kahu had been mutated twice, visited the pit, killed countless matoran and assassination targets, fought some crazed rahi, and basically went through hell. He had lost his two best friends, although he had long been deprived of the ability to feel anything for others, the results of mutations and experiments done to him. Kahu stepped forward, and fell to the floor immediately. He was too weakened to even walk a bit. His mind faded into nothingness as he passed out; extreme exhaustion had prevented it from processing what just happened. Kahu fell into unconsciousness, and it seemed to last forever. It was, surprisingly, a vivid and dreamed filled sleep. Or so we think it was. Did you think you were the only one? The voice funneled through Kahu's brain. Great pain followed the voice. ''We are watching, Kahu. Always watching. It is our job. Before you know it, we will find you.'' Kahu experienced a massive amount of pain. The shock was so much that his body's adrenaline activated, and Kahu burst out of the table he was strapped into. He fell to the floor, panting, still trying to process what just happened. He noticed the pain had stopped, as if it was never there. Kahu leapt to his feet as he cought his breath. He was in a surgical room. Makuta Renegaid and a Raakshi of Fusion stood before him. Its staff was still smoking from apparent usage. "Hello Kahu," said Renegaid. "I see that you have failed the simple mission you were given. Toa Narkz and Toa Ajak are not dead. In fact, no one is dead. You were beaten and captured. You are lucky I still need you, assassin. Now sit down. I must discuss some modifications I have made to your armor. Leave us, Raakshi." The Raakshi left the room cautiously, as if it didn't trust Renegaid. It was then that Kahu noticed that some parts of his armor were slightly heavier than usual. He peered at a strange opening on the armor of his right wrist. There seemed to be something hidden inside. The same thing had happened to his left wrist. "Kahu," said Renegaid. "You have failed me. Avorax is a trusted friend. You have put me in a bad light. Avorax wants you killed, but I have denied this. I need you. This small batch of renegades needs you. Teridax continues to promote his Great Plan and thretens to annihlate not only myself, but my operatives. Fortunately he is busy chasing after the Toa who evacuated Metru Nui. Intellegence has informed us that he is actually far away, beyond the normal boundaries of Mata Nui's body. It appears he has gone to the surface of the planet on his goose chace. This is why you have been upgraded. I want you to attack a Brotherhood fortress not far from here. They are close to discovering us. It should be easy with your new upgrades." Kahu looked once again at his wrists. "What exactly did you do to me?" "Well," replied Renegaid, "You have a hidden gun in your left wrist. There is a button hidden under the surface of the armor on your hand. The same goes for your right, although I have put a blade in there instead. It will be good for stealth killing. Try them out." Kahu made fists, feeling for the buttons implanted in his hands. He found the buttons on both hands, and upon pressing them, a gun barrel shot out of his left wrist. A small knife-like blade shot out of his right. He slashed the knife around and fired the gun at the wall. It went straight through the wall and actually continued to go through each room until it eventually hit a Makuta at the other end of the small complex. "I would also like to point out that we have patched up your wounds. You are completely healthy and mission-ready. However, there are some upgrades you need to know about as well. Your armor has become more adaptive over time; It appears it is possible to attach extra equipment to yourself. We have attached several small pockets. Each one contains a knife, just in case. You also have a laser-rifle on your back. It fires concentrated elemental energy just like your old sword, but it has been reworked into a gun." "Alright," said Kahu. "But I think I may need to rest up a little. Something about that last mission bugged me. Maybe we can do this 'capture the enemy base' thing another time.....?" "Are you...challenging me, Kahu? You are my assassin? Do you need to be reminded? You are lucky I did not have your throat slit! Your failure was embarassing, Kahu! That Toa beat the dung out of you and took your sword. Instead of pursuing him, you fled. Then you were captured by officers! It took you a day to get your head back in the game and escape! You were not designed for that!" "Wait....how do you know what I'm designed for?" asked Kahu suspiciosly. He began to circle Renegaid. Something wasn't right. "I CREATED YOU!!!" yelled Renegaid in a fit of rage. "EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU WAS ORCHESTRATED BY MY OPERATIVES!!! YOU WERE MADE TO SERVE ME, AND ME ONLY!!!!" Kahu became trapped in great shock. What the heck was Renegaid saying? Everything that had happened to him; the hatred, the being cast away by the matoran he had served, the experimentation, his trip to the pit....all because of Renegaid? "Maybe....I don't to serve you, and you only anymore!" exclaimed Kahu, obviously anrgy beyond words. "I am done with you and your pathtic excuse for a resistance! I was, am, and always will be superior to you!" With that, Kahu pressed the button on his right hand and his knife shot out of his right wrist. He quickly stabbed the surprised Renegaid, who fell to the floor. Kahu pinned the Makuta to the floor and continually stabbed him. One through the eye. One in the chest. One in the legs. Then Kahu slashed through the armor again and again, until Renegaid resembled a thousand-year old armor set that belonged in a junkyard. Antidermis flooded out like gushing blood and flew around the room, seeking shelter. Kahu ripped open the door and ran down the hallways of the complex. As he ran Kahu extracted the gun barrel in his left arm. He fired behind him without looking. He could hear several creatures coming up behind him. After the shots there was only one. Kahu made a sharp turn and waited behind the line of sight in the corner of the hallway. A Raakshi came running through, but was immediately killed as Kahu sprung from hiding and stabbed it straight through its armored back. The Kraata inside was killed, and the beast collapsed. By that time Kahu had proceeded farther down the halls, and two Makuta lay shot, their essences leaking radically from their armor. Finally Kahu came to a dead end. There was a wood wall put up, and a sign that read Closed for repairs. The recent Rahi attack had caused dozens of openings in the walls to be created. Taking advantage of that, Kahu ripped through the wooden wall into a crumbling sections of the base. Barely any parts of the walls still stood. Kahu ran straight out through these openings and into the unknown wilderness of the island. Kahu ran through the thick brush and the seemingly never ending amount of trees. Every so often a Yellemoth native to the island would rise from aits nest and try to chase Kahu away, believing he was an intruder in their territory. But Kahu was like a red blur as he ran swiflty through the jungle. Soon a small amount of light could be seen shining through the tall trees of various types and hues. Kahu suddenly halted as he almost ran straight off of the edge of the island. he looked down below to see that the whole land mass was elevated. Rocks were visible below, sticking out of the shallow water. "Well, I have nothing to lose," said Kahu to himself. He dived into the shallow water, knowing he might land on a rock and get wounded, or worse. Soon he would be free to go wherever he pleased. It was the beginning of his end.